#and I have a law school event tomorrow that’s going to take all day

[ovaryacted]

Coming back to writing after not writing for a while will fr throw you off course. Like damn, I forgot how to use words. 😭

[soupandsimple]

Feelings (with Aaron Hotchner)

[ the lead up of you and neighbor, Aaron, revealing you have feelings for each other ]

* fluff 🩶 (+ light angst)

** have never watched the show, have never wrote for him and will probably never write for him again but I’ve read a ton of his fics and had this idea and just really wanted to write it out and share it!(pls be nice)

…………….

Aaron is your divorcee neighbor; has been for about a year. Within that year, you’d say you’d become pretty good friends with him as well as with his son who he had with him most weekends. To anyone, it was all seemingly platonic from both ends. You’d bake and gift them batches of sweets and he’d take down any packages you may need sent out on his way to work in the morning…etc.

Any unspoken feelings either of you harbored unfortunately only began to come to light when his ex wife, Hayley, was horrifically killed.

Aaron came to your door as soon as he could the night of the tragedy and with glossy eyes said, “Is this a bad time? I need someone to talk to.”

“No, of course not. Come in,” your voice shook, instantly thinking the worst. “What happened Aaron, where’s Jack? Is he okay?”

“He’s fine, he’s with..with Hayley’s family,” he said, struggling to keep up his stoic demeanor before completely breaking down in sobs. “Oh Y/N.. it’s awful, it’s — … you have- you have no idea.”

That was the first night you ever spent together. He had fallen asleep on your shoulder with teary eyes as you ran your fingers through his hair to soothe him. When you both woke up in the morning, Aaron apologized for burdening you with his troubles and said he had to get going to see what was going on with the funeral preparations. Although neither of you mentioned it, there was a shift in your friendship from that day forward.

After giving him some space to tend to what he needed to do, you went over to his place.

“Hi. I was going to come over yesterday but who wants to see anyone after a funeral..” you said lightly, walking in after he gestured you inside his apartment.

“I would have loved if you did.”

You nodded and tried not to blush as he closed the door. “Is Jack here?”

“No. I’m letting him spend one last day with Hayley’s parents while they’re still in town.”

He then went on to explain how the plan was for his sister-in-law, Jess, to start coming around to help out with Jack when he couldn’t be with him but that in the meantime, he’d be looking after him while he took some time off from work while Jack took some time off from school too.

“Well I hope you know you can also count on me helping out too.”

“I wouldn’t ask that of you, but you’re more than welcome to. I know Jack loves having you around...”

You ordered takeout that night so he wouldn’t have to make dinner or be alone and before you left, promised you’d be back in the morning.

“Y/N, when you said you could help I thought you meant after I went back to work. You don’t have to start rearranging your schedule yet, I’m still going to be around for a couple of days.”

“I know…but I know you and I know you’ve been putting up a brave front for me tonight and you don’t have to do that with me. I want to be here for you to lean on these coming days.”

“I don’t-”

“I’ll be here tomorrow, and don’t forget to drink that cup of tea I made you before bed, ” you said with a quick, parting hug, leaving him no time to protest as you were already back inside your own place.

You ended up helping the following days more than he ever expected. Since you were an assistant to an event planner, you worked mostly from home making and getting calls; the hours were very flexible so it gave you the ability to do all you could for the Hotchner boys.

Meals and household chores, like laundry and dishes, were all easier for Aaron to accomplish with you around; you were such a positive encouragement for both of them as you made sure Jack stayed on top of his tasks too, like making his bed, brushing his teeth and cleaning up after himself.

Of course with being over everyday, Jack began clinging to you more than he ever used to and while you loved the little boy to pieces, you were worried if you being around so much would affect him negatively. When you expressed your worries to Aaron one night after Jack went to sleep, he immediately put them to an end.

“I don’t know if you knew this but Hayley knew about you. Jack would talk to her about you … and she enjoyed it— listening to how much you cared for her little boy,” Aaron told you as you both stood leaning against the island in his dimly lit kitchen before you left for the night.

“I didn’t know that,” you answered, eyes beginning to gloss.

So what if he left out the small detail of Hayley telling him he should ask out his pretty neighbor Jack always talked about; that wasn’t the important part of the memory, well, important for the matter at hand anyway.

“And almost every night before bed, Jack tells me that he’s happy you’ve been coming everyday. That you make him feel ‘okay-er’. Y/N, he loves you and he knows you’re not here to replace anyone.”

Mind at ease then, with a small smile and a stray tear or two, you pushed yourself off the kitchen island and hugged yourself into his chest, which he more than happily accepted and embraced you tightly into for a minute.

“Thanks for making me feel ‘okay-er’ about all this,” you said, looking up at him from where your head rested against him.

He smiled down at you and wiped a tear from your cheek. “Thank you for being here for us.”

All was well as the days went on until it was time for Aaron to return to work. Jack had returned to school the day before and since everything went smoothly, Aaron could then confidently go back to work too knowing Jack had readjusted just fine.

But that morning, Aaron took longer than usual to come out dressed for the day after breakfast, and the time frame he could use to take Jack to school before work was starting to get dangerously close to closing.

“Hey Jack, I’m going to go check on your dad. If he doesn’t come out soon you just might be late for school. Stay put while I get him, finish watching your show,” you said, tickling his side a little making him giggle as you walked off to Aarons room.

You knocked twice at his door and when he didn’t answer either time, you took a little bit of a risk and went in uninvited. What you saw was him sitting on the edge of his bed, looking down at the floor pensively, dress shirt untucked and tie undone around his collar.

“Aaron?” you spoke quietly.

“I can’t do this,” he said, still looking down.

You closed the door behind you and slowly walked towards him.

“You can’t do what?”

“Return to the real world.”

Your eyebrows furrowed a bit as you sat down next to him and waited for him to continue.

“It’s been- it’s been so great being here in the apartment with just Jack and you… in our own little private world but I’m afraid— it just all feels so different. I feel different. I don’t think I’m going back mentally the same way I left.”

“Well of course you’re not going back the same. You went through something incredibly traumatizing..”

You grabbed one of the bottom edges of his tie and looked down at your fingers as you delicately ran them back and forth over the smooth silk.

“Aaron, I know you’re a little nervous of stepping back into everyday life and I’m.. a little nervous for you too but you got this. I believe in you. You’re the best at what you do and nobody can take that away from you,” you said, letting go of the tie. When you looked up at him, his eyes were on you and seemed to be full of fondness; it made you blush.

“N-now finish getting ready so you can go drop off that adorable little boy out there in time,” you smiled, nervously standing from where you sat next to him.

As you turned to walk away, he stood too and stretched his hand out to gently grab one of your wrists. You turned back completely and both just looked into each other’s eyes for a few seconds; millions of unspoken words and emotions passing between you.

He then finally spoke.

“I really hope I’m not ruining anything but more than ever, I think it’s important to tell you I’ve had feelings for you for pretty much as long as I’ve known you.”

“I’ve had those feelings too, for you,” you admitted.

Relieved, he smiled and you did the same. Slipping his hand down from your wrist, he then took your hand into his properly and interlocked his fingers with yours.

Towering over you like always, he stepped closer and closer and slowly craned his head down as he gently placed the hand that wasn’t holding yours, behind your head. You both closed your eyes and you could feel his lips right in front of yours but could tell he was hesitant to go further.

“Kiss me Aaron,” you told him with a little tremble in your voice. And although you couldn’t see him, you felt him smile before he softly pushed his lips against yours.

Your first kiss was a tender one but after the initial pull away, both his hands landed on your waist and yours around his neck as you leaned back into each other for a more heated and passionate kiss. It was an internal struggle, but eventually you managed to pull yourself away from his lips completely.

“Jack needs to get to school,” you giggled.

Aaron rested his forehead against yours. “And I need to get to work. This beautiful neighbor of mine believes in me and I don’t want to let her down.”

“Hm, sounds like a smart girl,” you teased.

He stood tall and interlocked his hands with each of yours. “Incredibly smart, incredibly caring, incredibly attractive.. the list could go on,” he concluded, embracing you with a warm hug and a kiss to the top of your head. <3

[octuscle]

Welcome to Overland!

Overland Park in Kansas. I really had to google it first. Where the hell did my father get the idea that I would really study here? I mean, I have offers from Stanford and Cambridge. I'm not going to Overland Park. Kansas! Sure, it might have been a good fit for my dad. My dad is the prototypical corn-fed athlete. He looks dazzling for his 42 years, still a cross so wide that my two younger brothers and I can hide behind it. His mullet is a bit of a show-off, if you ask me. But he seems to go down well with his customers. His car dealership is the biggest in the state. My two younger brothers both have petrol in their blood. They both want to get their MBAs at Overland Park. But I'm much more interested in law. And Harvard would be my dream for that.

Anyway, my father gave me a car for my 18th birthday. A super impractical Dodge RAM. Doesn't suit me at all. And the car came with a gas voucher and a voucher for a mall around the corner. Well, I hope they'll have a Brooks Brothers store. But I'm quietly guessing that they'll only have cowboy boots and plaid shirts… Okay, not to be ungrateful, I'm making the trip to Overland Park in the monster car. I'll also attend his alma mater's orientation event if I absolutely have to. But I'll sign up over my dead body!

The drive to Kansas wasn't so bad. I admit that the car is really huge and comfortable. But the closer I got to the Midwest, the less comfortable I felt. Guys with arms thicker than my legs asked me about the car at gas stations and rest stops. I have no idea how much horsepower it has… I'm not interested either. But here you're obviously only defined by your car. And most of the muscular rednecks here made no secret of the fact that they didn't begrudge me this car. It got even worse when I parked the car in front of the hotel in Overland Park… The valet service looked almost sympathetic when I got out of the car. Tomorrow I'd better take the bus to the information day at the university.

It's incredible how many people are interested in this pathetic campus. It's pretty full in the auditorium. The dean gives a speech that is as boring as the landscape here. And the faculty members either all look like they're coaches of the football team or gardeners on campus. Hillbillies. All of them! The professors introducing each faculty call on the potential juniors who have signed up on the list for that faculty. I didn't put a cross anywhere. All uninteresting for me. And so the auditorium empties out with each professor dragging a train of high school seniors behind him. And at some point, the auditorium is empty. Only three people are still sitting here. A redhead who spends the whole time reading a book. A skinny guy playing with his cell phone and me. I speak to the skinny guy. "No desire to go to Overland Park either?" "Not on your life. I'm not studying thousands of miles from the nearest decent opera." The redhead interjects, "And pretty much everything else you'd call civilization." We laugh and introduce ourselves. Erik, the redhead (how appropriate, I'm not joking), the skinny one is Brayden and I'm Callan. We start talking. Somehow we all have a similar fate. Either our fathers or our brothers studied here. We all have more artistic than sporting interests. We all want to study either in California or New England. Erik suggests that we go out and sit on campus. The weather is nice. It's a good idea. We're sitting in the sun talking when we suddenly hear a voice.

"Hey squad! Finally found you, fam! I've been straight up grinding and hunting all over this place to link up with my homies!" Towards us comes the epitome of everything I loathe about university. An unkempt muscleman, his greasy mullet tamed with a baseball cap on backwards, in a sweaty tank top. Four bottles of beer in his hand. He hands each of us a bottle and says "Yo, yo, yo, what up fam! The name's Ryder, my professor homie spilled the tea that there are three total bros up in here who ain't about that study life, and guess what? Yours truly got the task of keepin' it real with y'all. Haha, I'm the king of slacking off, ain't nobody got time for studying and whatnot. Let's kick back and chill, my dudes!" Ryder stinks of sweat. Disgusting. But somehow also hypnotizing. He opens his bottle and says "Cheers". As if in a trance, we open our bottles and say "cheers".

"Yo, fam, check it out, I'm gonna give you a lit tour of the campus, but not that lame-o typical stuff. Like, forget about the snooze-fest library or whatever. Bro, regular dudes walk in there and walk out looking like they just stepped out of a nerd convention with their thick glasses and wack sweaters. Let's bounce and hit up the real vibes, ya feel me?" Ryder almost chokes with laughter at his own joke, which Erik counters with a fist bump. What the…? "Yo, peep that cafeteria comin' up! It's legit crucial for gettin' in that dank protein intake, ya feel me? And bro, protein is like, the holy grail of gainz. That's the fuel for them epic protein farts, man! Rock on, get that fuel, unleash the beast!" As if on cue, he lets out a fart. Shit, that stinks. Erik laughs. And farts too. Shit, didn't he actually want to study piano? At the conservatory in Boston? Strange behavior for a pianist….

Ryder tells us to wait a minute. He runs into the cafeteria and comes back with four fresh cold bottles of beer. Shit, yes, the beer tastes good. I take a deep swig. And…. BUUUUURP! Ryder and Erik are laughing uproariously. Brayden looks irritated. And I reply ""Yo, it's gonna be, like, forever until those protein farts are unleashed. So, a real dude just gotta let out a mega burp, bro!" Erik and Ryder give me a high five. And Ryder says that he's about to lead us to the source of all protein farts.

You can smell the gym changing rooms before you see them. Erik and I take a deep breath. Brayden holds the sleeve of his jacket in front of his nose. "Yo, bro, it looks like we're getting closer to your second home, huh, Ryder? Watch out for the vibes!" says Erik. Ryder does a double bicep pose and says that Erik can fucking take it. Poor Brayden is standing right next to Ryder. His nose is basically right in the sweaty bush in Ryder's armpit. "Dang, I forgot my gear for the gym! I'm totally itching to pump some iron, man." comes out of his mouth. "Dude, no worries, at our next stop we'll totally score something way cooler for you to rock." says Ryder. "Yo, dude, spit it again - what's your name, pumpin' pal?" Braydon copies Ryder's double bicep pose. I didn't think he had muscles like that. "Yo, my dudes, I'm Beau, like, duh, isn't it obvious? I mean, come on, who else could it be, right? Beau in the hizzouse, representin' like a boss!" The two of them do a chest bump. Erik and I actually look at each other a little enviously. I mean, everyone wants to be best mates with Ryder, the hottest guy on campus.

"Yo, dudes, head to the most lit spot on the whole campus. And watch out! If you think it already smells like sweat and musk, you haven't seen anything yet!" We walk across the student parking lot towards the football field. Past my baby. Ryder raises his eyebrows appreciatively and says that you rarely see cars this cool here. I pose proudly: "Geez, check out this 410 horsepower beast with eight cylinders and 581 Newton meters of torque! My 6.7-liter monster needs that kind of power too. Rocking full leather interior, a massive 12-inch touchscreen infotainment system, and a killer 750-watt sound system with 17 Harman Kardon speakers. Damn, could never roll in a hybrid after this!" Ryder gives me a chest bump too. Shit, I'm in the club!

Erik thaws out when we're finally in the changing rooms of the football stadium. He takes a deep breath. "Yo, peeps! You feelin' me on this? This smell is like pure home vibes, amirite?" he says. Ryder points to the pile of dirty laundry in the corner. "Yo, dudes, wanna toss some balls around? Let's get our sporty vibes on and slay the game with our rad skills! Let's flex our muscles and show off our mad throwing game. Let's get that adrenaline pumping and have a blast on the field. It's gonna be lit, so don't miss out, fam! Let's do this!" He really doesn't have to say that twice. In no time at all, we're undressed and rummaging naked through our clothes for something to pass. Erik deliberately lets his cock swing for a very long time before putting it into an XXL urine and cum yellow jockstrap. Dude, that boy would make horses jealous! And he can impress Ryder. Out onto the pitch and with a well-directed throw he chases the ball the length of the pitch through the goal. Four-chest bump! Shit, we all can't wait to play for the college team!

"Yo homies, any more burning questions for your boy? The sickest crew on campus is definitely mine - Alpha Phi Alpha, baby! Don't stress, you guys are total Alpha bros, so of course you'll get in. If you're down, we're throwing a lit party at the frat house tonight. Crash on the couch if you want, solo, duo, trio… whatever floats your boat. Just remember, never make eye contact, that's like, no homo!" Beau asks where he can get a cold beer now. Rick has a mega boner. And I can't wait to suck him off right away. Unless Ryder beats me to it. Shit, I'm so proud to be a business major at the University of Kansas on the Overland campus. My dad will be even prouder.

"Yo, so you wanna join the sickest crew of all the raddest universities in the damn USA?" I love the information days on campus. Lots of hot fresh meat. And the premium meat belongs to Alpha Phi Alpha, just like us! "Yo, peep this dude with the sickest Mullet ever, that's my bro Beau. And check out the fiery buff dude over there, that's Rick, the top quarterback of the football squad for real. I'm Cletus, and we 'bout to show y'all the raddest spots on campus. But first, in honor of the hottest dude to ever grace this campus, let's crack open a cold one." We take a big sip. And burp "Ryder" loudly!

[friendly-neighborhood-boricua]

[3] Career Fair

Summary: James holds a parents' career fair, to which Liam's mom is invited.

Notes: Marauders modern elementary school AU, kindergarten teacher!James Potter x nurse!reader, mom!reader x son!OC (Liam), inspired by this post by @ravishinglavishingluvr. Hah, remember last time where I said I was updating semi-regularly? Ok well I actually mean it now, I promise lmao. Not edited but I'll do that tomorrow. Also kinda short, sorry

A/N (1/8/2024): okok I came back here to change the names of some kids bc I forgot that this is a marauders au so I can use the names of like real kids from harry potter smhhhhh please don't get mad at me this is my first time writing an au

Previous Part: Seeing Each Other Around Town Next Part: Liam and James Make You A Birthday Gift Series Masterlist here

James ended up pushing the career fair back a couple weeks because there was a conflict in the schedule

(not because you emailed him back saying you wouldn’t be able to come the day he had originally planned it)

(and definitely not because he asked you to send him your shift schedule so he could make sure you could come, and you were working overtime for two weeks straight)

(James was pretty sure your work schedule violated some labor laws or something, but he was in no place to question you)

Liam is soooo excited for the couple days leading up to the career fair

Because his mom is cool af and he can’t wait to show everybody just how badass you are

(You had Liam pretty young, so you’re totally the parent who all the kids think is the coolest person alive and who all the kids’ older siblings have crushes on and who all the kids’ parents judge because of your age and assume you’re irresponsible, but we don’t have to talk about that)

James is also excited because he hasn’t had a real conversation with you in a couple weeks and he really just wants to talk to you

Poor Sirius and Remus have had to deal with him swooning and fawning and over you and also helping him frantically prepare for this career fair because “guys it HAS to be perfect”

But at long last, the day finally arrives

James scheduled the career fair in the afternoon so he could threaten children with canceling the event if they misbehave, so both he and his kids are bouncing off the walls in excitement all morning

He eats lunch in the library with Remus and Sirius, and they both spend the entire time hyping him up

(It’s mostly Sirius tho)

“You’ve got this, Prongs—be smooth—be nice—you’re a nice bloke, that’s not gonna be a problem for you—”

And eventually, it’s time

The parents that are participating in the fair arrive ten minutes before James has to get the kids from the cafeteria so he can explain to them what’s going to happen (because god knows the majority didn’t read the goddamn email he sent)

You’re a little late (profusely apologizing again, and it reminds James of the first time you met back at parent-teacher conferences) but you read the email the night before (and take another piece of James’ heart hostage while you’re at it) so it’s no worries

James’ summary instructions take a shorter amount of time than expected, so the ten or so parents all get to talking

And ofc James takes this opportunity to talk to you

You’d emailed back and forth about the fair but you hadn’t really talked in person since that night in the grocery store, and James was starting to feel like he’d die if he went another day without talking to you

So he’s plotting his route to you across the classroom when he notices you’ve secluded yourself a few steps away from the majority of the parents’ conversation

James is also horrified to discover you look slightly uncomfortable

Like you’re somewhere you don’t belong

And of course James can’t have that

So he sidles up next to you and asks how your day is going, if your boss gave you a hard time getting off work early, how the chocolate chip cookie dough from a month and a half ago was—anything he can think of, really

By the time James has to go get the kids from the cafeteria, you’re smiling and laughing, and James desperately wants to keep you like that all the time

He shakes himself out of his daydreamy state on the way to the cafeteria because this is your JOB, James, you can’t be distracted by your favorite student’s mom. His sweet, kind, whip-smart, dazzling … mom …

(In the back of his mind, James knows he’s screwed, he just has no idea what to do about it)

(CERTAINLY not act on it, because that would be a complete conflict of interest and totally unprofessional of him)

(But it’s just a crush)

(It’s fine)

(Right?)

ANYWAY

Liam’s on the lookout for you as soon as he steps through the door, and he beams the sweetest little chubby-cheeked smile when he finds you and points you out to his friends

You wink playfully at him, and he and his friends giggle excitedly as they sit in their seats

If James is being completely honest with himself, the career fair was a little disappointing

The majority of the parents’ presentations were kinda lame

And they didn’t make their jobs understandable or appealing for the kids

Dean's mom (she’s regional manager of a popular grocery store chain) complained to the class about her boss pretty much the whole time

Luna’s father, a rather eccentric professor at the local university, just spewed a bunch of nonsense technical jargon about the soul or the meaning of life or something that not even the adults in the room could understand

And Draco's dad (he owns the local insurance company and is just obscenely wealthy, which explains quite a bit of his son's attitude) straight up said he hated his job, so there’s that

But then there was your presentation

James is sure he’s in love by now because you made being a nurse sound so amazing

You talked about how you’re in charge of taking care of people when they’re sick or hurt, how it’s nice to be able to help people, how even when your job gets hard, you feel like you’ve made a positive impact at the end of the day

Once the parents left, James asked the kids who’s presentation they liked the most

And ofc every kid in that room agreed that yours was the best

And a solid 75% said they wanted to be a nurse lmao and he was just so proud

Proud of his kids and also you because your presentation was just so fucking good

As James is taking the kids out to the buses, Liam thanks him for inviting you to the career fair

Ofc James says it was no problem and that you’re really cool, so it was a pleasure to have you there

And Liam kinda gives James this … look … and is like “… yeah, my mom is cool …”

And James gets this horrible feeling that Liam somehow knows

Knows he’s completely smitten for Liam’s mom

Fallen head over heels

Practically in love at this point (though James has a nasty habit of throwing that word around willy-nilly)

(Liam kinda freaks James out a bit sometimes lmao)

Next Part: Liam and James Make You A Birthday Gift

[mechazushi]

Iharu's Day Out {co-staring Dadka} (A Kn8 short story)

Preamble] So I've got this idea for a series of {what was supposed to be short?! Don't know where all this came from} one-shots about Kaiju n.8 that are all about Kafka interacting with one member from the third Division because we only really see him talking to Reno or Hoshina most of the time and not a lot of the rest of the team gets much more screen time. I don't know how often I will be posting these and they will NOT be in chronological order. The time frame they will be taking place in is after everything is over (Number 9 is dead, Tachikawa base is rebuilt, the public knows about Kaiju n. 8, and the original members of Division Three are back together.)

Notes] Alcohol, implied off screen sex act, minor law breaking, pining IharuxReno, background HoshinaxKafka, implied HaruichixAoi, confession, basic tomfoolery, uncensored swearing.

Summary] Iharu's plans with Reno get derailed when Reno has to leave on a mission just before they have to leave. Depressed and dejected, Iharu heads back to the barracks to drown his sorrows in food... only to have that plan as well get derailed by Kafka.

#########################################

This was the third time in thirty minutes that Furuhashi had changed his outfit. Finally landing on white high tops, black camo jeans, a black leather jacket and a white graphic anime tee. He kept going back and forth on the tee, debating on whether or not it made him look like he was too childish. Iharu spent an extra minute mentally kicking himself for not bringing more casual clothes from home when the base got reopened. Then again, asking Reno out to a movie date was pretty spur of the moment at the time. He caught himself mid thought and placed his hands on either side of the closet that was designated to every member of the Division. "Not a date. Movie night-. It's... a movie night. This is to see if this could lead to a potential date. Yeah, just... focus on that right now."

Knocking him out of his thoughts was a very distinct ringtone. Iharu had spent a lot of time messing around in the settings on his phone and was very proud of himself when it came to the songs he picked for each member of the Third Division. Aoi was the theme song from Cops, Kikoru's was the Nightcore version of Pretty Little Psycho. The one that was playing now was Cold as Ice by Foreigner. A little on the nose, considering who it was attached to, but nonetheless fitting for person who he thought was the coolest guy on the force.

Reno☃] Hey. Can we talk?

Reno☃] Somethings come up.

############################################

"Sure. Sounds fun."

Iharu played Reno's response to this movie night plan over a week ago in his head over and over, taking his chilled and plain response and visualizing it as a bat to beat himself and this unfortunate event the two over them have gotten themselves into.

"Last minute dispatch to the mountains. Sorry Iharu." Reno had said, wanting to give him the bad news in person as he sat on a bench in a locker room and laced up his boots over his tech suit.

"Guess that means you'll be back late then, huh." Iharu leaned against a locker, arms folded and looking into the distance through the doorway. He didn't want Reno to see the disappointment. Not that seeing it would change the situation, just didn't want make Reno feel bad over the fact that, not only is he leaving Iharu behind, but he has to take a rain check on their date movie night- it was supposed to be a movie night, Iharu had to remind himself. He didn't feel like it was fair to take his crush/rival out on the town and call it something so loaded without seeing if the feeling would be returned.

"Yeah. Sorry." Reno picked up his bag and started to walk pass Iharu. "Movie will still be there tomorrow. Right?"

Iharu tried to school his expression into something more optimistic to mask his depression. " Yeah, but I'm in Weapons Training all day tomorrow. Maybe another movie?" He crunched the unnoticed prepaid ticket stubs in his fist and shoved it in the pocket of his jeans. "Mind kicking their monster ass a little harder then normal. For me?" He didn't mean to come across as pleading as he said that, but it helped channel the last bit of resentment at the situation out of his head so now he can spend the rest of the allotted time off to sulk in his bunk.

Reno smiled and clasped a hand on Iharu's shoulder. "Sure thing."

Reno walked out of the locker room and headed toward the door that lead to the chopper pad that would whisk him away, as well as Iharu's plan for the three hours that he could squeeze out of Vice-Cap. All Iharu could do was watch as Reno lightly jogged away and feel as if he was doing that to get away from him faster. He knew that Reno liked him as a friend at least, but he felt that Reno could act a little less chill about being forcefully blown off a dinner and a movie. Iharu turned and started walking toward the canteen with the intention to take as much food and drink he could smuggle out to his bunk, make a Blanket Fort of Solitude*tm and attempt to stuff his dashed feeling under a quarter pound of katsudon, cheese puffs and soda popsicles-made in prison style.

Iharu was dragged from his thoughts by a loud, friendly, and familier voice. "OYE! Iharu! Wait a sec!"

Kafka Hibino came barreling down the hallway having turned a corner and apparently looking lost. The man was almost out of breath by the time he managed to catch up to Iharu. "Have you seen Reno around? I -huff- wanted to tell him safe travels before he -huff- left."

"He's heading down to the heli-pad now. Book it and you might catch him." Iharu said apathetically, scratching his neck. Which was really out of character for him, but he couldn't help hoping that was the end of the conversation, seeing that he just wanted to spend his three hours of time off drowning in food.

"Great! Thanks! Hey, you headed to the canteen?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Give me a minute and I'll meet you there. Want to talk to you about something." Kafka took off running in the direction that Iharu pointed in before Iharu could refuse. He sighed deeply and started his way back to a journey to food-comaville; population one.

Iharu made it during a lull in orders and took his time deciding what to pig out on. He walked over to a seat at a table that was as far as he could make it from the others in the large and sparsely populated room. He managed to plow through 4 chicken kievs and a large bowl of rice with a coke before Kafka managed to walk into the lunchroom. He searched for a bit, found Iharu and started to walk to him... before deciding better and grabbed a Hamburg steak meal and then headed over.

"Well, I didn't get to tell him goodbye, but he did get to see me waving from the platform, so there's that. I feel better." Kafka sat down next to Iharu and assembled his steak to his preference.

"I'm glad." Iharu said sarcastically, "What did you want to talk to me about?"

"Your attitude, actually." Kafka said, then took a big bite of smothered chopped steak. Iharu partially choked mid-sip, Quickly recovering to stare down the senior with barely concealed audacity. Kafka saw and chuckled a bit around the food in his mouth.

"Nothing serious! Saw you were looking a little down in the dumps when I talked to ya. Just wanted to check in, make sure its nothing pressing, though I'll understand if you're not open for conversation at the moment."

"What are you, a counselor?" Iharu said defiantly. Kafka put his hands up in surrender before diving back into his meal.

"Say the word and I'll leave. If its not anything Reno said, I'll leave you to your moping."

Hearing Reno's name and the implication that he might of said something caused Iharu to curl up slightly, not bothering to hide the change in expression that very much told Kafka that Reno definitely said something. The pinkette paused for a minute before responding "What makes you think he did?"

Kafka smiled a warm, knowing smile, put down his fork, and swallowed. "Because I know Reno. He is extremely chill most of the time, but sometimes he can't tell that his coolness... can unintentionally burn others. Especially when you don't tell him outright." He turned to a slumped Iharu before continuing, " He told me that you two were going to watch a movie together tonight, right? He seemed excited about it.... in his own little way."

Iharu pushed his food away from him and dug his face in his crossed arms. 'Of course Reno would tell the division's Father Figure.' In admitting defeat, Iharu sighed and turned his head to face the half kaiju man.

"It wasn't just going to be a movie. There was going to be food too. There's a food stall festival a block from the movie theater that was selling some really good smelling food and it was the last day for it to be around and I had thought maybe we could take a shortcut through that really pretty shrine afterword- the one that lights up all those paper lanterns when sunset hits- and I had planned to pay for all the food and there was going to be gifts a-a-and-" He sat up to dig up the crumpled ticket stubs from his pockets and rudely threw them on the table, "And I had even PREPAID THE TICKETS AND.....haa. I just...... I wanted a nice evening with him. I knew three hours were rushing things but it was all Hoshina could let us take today."

Kafka picked up the stubs and straighten them out with the edge of the table. "And it absolutely would of been had it not been for a sudden arrival of 5.6 mole kaijus, huh." Iharu tucked his head back into his arms.

"Yeah, fucking mole kaiju. The least they could do was let me come with, but noooo! Everyone seems to think that I'm only relevant to Reno if he's wearing his stupid super suit."

'"If it makes you feel better. Reno likes having you around inside and outside the suit. Definitely enjoys the push-n-pull thing you two have going on." Iharu haphazardly wiped his nose on his leave as he looked to Kafka again.

"Doesn't matter anymore though, does it. He's not here and there's no sense going to the theater with two tickets and only showing up by yourself." Kafka scratched his ever present 5'o-clock shadow as he contemplated for a moment.

"Could ask around. I'm pretty sure Aoi hasn't taken any hours off in a while. Or maybe Shinomiya? She might be into cowboys verses bio-mech-monsters." Iharu tilted his head up hearing Kafka describe the movie.

"You've seen Ranger Rika against the Metal Mess of South Bend?"

"Just the trailers for it. Tokusatsu style, right? Watched a bunch of those as a kid. Somehow managed to pirate a few movies onto a mp.3 player when I was younger. Got me through a lot of bunker-hunkering in my middle school years."

Iharu laughed, "An mp.3 player? God you are old. And when was sitting in a kaiju shelter called 'Bunker-hunkering'?" Kafka reached over and playfully shook the younger compatriot by his shoulders.

"MP.3S ARE NOT THAT OLD! MINE STILL WORKS AND I STILL USE IT, YOU ASSHAT!" Hearing this only caused both of them to split themselves into fits of laughter. A moment later Kafka was lightly hugging Iharu and trying (and failing) to slow his heart and breathing while Iharu was wiping away tears and giggling. The shark-toothed teen looked up at the division's adopted father figure contemplatively.

"Ya know.... why don't you come with me." Kafka looked a little taken aback at that offer.

"Really? With me? I mean, I'm not going to turn down a free movie. Just thought that you young folk would rather run around with... well, people of similar age." Iharu started laughing again.

"What, so you finally decided you're old now?"

"Well, there's no hiding the fact that I'm damn near forty." Kafka said as he rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, but you're cool and forty. Which is like, guaranteed cool. And you're probably the only person here that would enjoy a movie of this explosive caliber." Iharu got up from his seat and picked up the tickets, offering one to Kafka. He smiled massively and pushed the offering had back toward Iharu.

"Hold on to them for now. I gotta talk to Hoshina about taking some hours away from base first. Tell you what, grab a bag of snacks to take in and I'll meet you by the garage."

"Bag of snacks? Ya know the theater sells them there, right?" Furuhashi said walking side by side with Hibino as they wandered back into the hallway.

"Excuse you, but I have been raised on the philosophy that you never buy theater snacks when you can sneak in your own. The theft of it all makes them taste better." Kafka winked as the two of them parted ways. "Should only take a minute or two. Text when you hit the garage!"

############################################

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN NO?" Kafka said calmly as he adopted a wide defensive stance against is superior.

"I get you can be simple some days, but even you should know what that word means." replied Soshiro Hoshina, the vice captain of the Third Division. The man carefully put down the log book that contained the recorded hours of all enlisted that each individual was allotted to spend.

"What I mean is, do you mean no as in 'You still have chores or training left', or no as in 'I can't afford to have you leave base today'." Kafka breathed slowly through his nose in irritation as he emphasized each scenario.

"No as in 'You have no hours left to spend.' You used them all." Hoshina turned the catalog to face Kafka as the burly man planted his hands on the desk. All he could do was sigh at his unforeseen short comings.

"Honestly, I wanna talk to whoever came up with the policy that cut half of our vacation days and replaced them with this 'Payable Recreational Hours' bullshit. You seriously can't fudge the rules even a little bit?"

"Trust me Kafka, I wasn't the one who opted for that either. And as Vice Captain and currently the highest ranking on base, 'Fudging the rules' as you put it, would be a terrible move and give me a soft reputation. So, no."

Kafka shrunk his appearance and pulled out his big doe eyes to aid in his pleading. "But this is important! Hoshina, please. Its not even about me, this is for Iharu's sake."

Hoshina's interest piqued exasperatedly upon hearing that. "Oh? And pray tell, what could be so pressing that you have to emergency call off three hours for?" Kafka started to sense that this was the first slip into a bad situation and immediately back peddled.

"If it helps, I guess I could get away with an hour and a half?" he shrugged.

"So what was the other two and a half hours going to be spent on?" Hoshina said, leaning back in his office chair and crossing his arms.

Kafka knew he couldn't lie to someone so close to him, especially when that person was adept at seeing through his lies specifically. "Just, uh... food and... travel?"

This isn't helped by the fact the man can't even get away with half truths in the first place. Hoshina leaned his elbows on the desk as he stared down menacingly at the resident Kaiju Man.

"Kafka. The whole truth now, and I'll let you off with janitorial duty for a week." All Kafka could do was unclench his body and accept defeat.

"Ok. Iharu had prepaid some movie tickets to a Ranger Rika film and we both felt it would be a waste not to use them and the plan had involved a food stall festival and Reno was supposed to be there-!" Upon remembering what Iharu's initial plan was, Kafka was struck with an idea. "Hey that could work."

'What" Hoshina said in a clearly vexed manner.

"Why not give me Reno's hours? They both called off right? And since he had to leave, doesn't that technically mean that there's hours left on the table?" Kafka's brilliant smile was quickly diminishing as his superior kept staring a hole through his skull.

"First off, that's rude." Hoshina said holding up a hand to count on, "Second, that's got to be a violation somewhere. And Three, even if it wasn't, I still wouldn't allow it."

"What, you want me to see if Iharu will hand both the tickets over and we both go?" Hoshina just pinched his nose bridge at that and sighed.

"No, Kafka. I'm irritated that you're trying to weasel your way into blowing off duty for street food and movie tickets."

"But they're prepaid movie tickets!" Kafka sighed. He could only hang his head in despair as he could see his impromptu plans slipping away from him. "Is there nothing that could change your mind?"

"No. Not when I'm this irritated." Hoshina said as he went back to crossing his arms.

'Irritated, huh?' Kafka rolled his partner's choice of words in his head, before coming up with a horrible idea and using it to fuel a devilish course of action.

"Well, then. I guess I'll just have to break out the big gun." Kafka whispered as he smirked. He rounded Hoshina's sturdy desk, a fact the two of them had certainly proved time and time again, and now Kafka was going to have to certify that statement one more time, it seems.

"Kafka?" Hoshina questioned as his work buddy visible stopped acting like his associate and donned his more... submissive side. Starting with turning the chair to face him, Kafka got down on his knees in front of his commanding officer and slowly slid a hand under the left pant leg to lightly tease his superior's ankle.

"Guess i'll have to help with that irritation before I leave, won't I?" Hibino said, still wearing a cocky, lopsided grin as he brought the other hand just under Hoshina's knee.

'Kafka, no." Hoshina gritted out, bringing his hands to the arm rests and firmly gripped them.

"Kafka, yes." replied the kneeling man as he kissed his secret lover's knee.

"Kafka, if you think I'm going to give you your requested hour and a half-"

"Three hours."

"You're not going to get any hours if you keep this up."

"Come on. We both know that's not true, Soshiro." Kafka said, looking up from his kiss to the knee and molding his throat into his other voice. The one where he isolates a partial transformation around his vocal cords, adding a low growl to his already bass tone. Taking extra care with using Hoshina's first name, Kafka leaned forward and caressed his cheek against the side of Soshiro's inner thigh, letting in a wicked light in behind his glossy eyes.

"We both know I get what I want if I work hard enough for it."

Kafka began to tease the inside of Soshiro's thighs, littering them with light and slow kisses. Switching back and forth between the two, inching close, but not close enough. Hoshina felt rooted to the seat, pinned down by this tormenting display. All he could do was reach over and place a hand in Kafka's surprisingly soft tufts of hair. He carded it through a little before gripping it. Not enough to hurt, but definitely attention getting. Kafka let out a hot puff of air against his commander's hip, reveling in the feeling of Soshiro's short nails digging into his tough scalp.

"Give me a good performance, and we'll discuss what I'll let you get away with." Hoshina said, mentally kicking himself for not training his pet to be on a shorter leash.

############################################

"Come onnn. Where is he?" Iharu whined, shifting one strap of the back pack off one shoulder to the other as he was on his way to Hoshina's office. "How long does it take to call off a few hours?"

Furuhashi had made it to the door of the office just in time to see Hibino walk out in an entirely different outfit than the work jumpsuit he was in earlier.

"You know, with that much work, I should get a thank you as a courtesy!" Kafka said with the biggest shit eating grin one could have on their face. This statement was quickly followed with him slamming the door closed before he could be hit with whatever Hoshina tried to throw at him. All Kafka could do in response was giggle uncontrollably before stopping in his tracks at Iharu's sudden appearance.

"When did you get here?"

"I sent you a text that I was at the garage and you didn't respond. I waited, like, 9 minutes before I wondered where you were and now I just have more questions. Like, did you change in Hoshina's office? Why was he throwing shit at you? Thank you for what?" Kafka's face got visible red as he tried to find a way to change the subject and instead, opted to grab Iharu's upper arm and drag him harshly back toward the direction the garage was in.

"Ask no questions, and I'll tell no lies. Better news, I just got us a lot more than three hours."

"Can I ask HOW?"

"Maybe later. Got the snacks?" Iharu wrenched his arm out of Kafka's grasp to slip the simple, black, mini back pack off his shoulders to show the contents to his impromptu partner for the night.

"Yeah, got some drinks too. Had to break into Kikoru locker to get a less conspicuous bag to put them in, though."

"Good idea. You know where the theater is?" Kafka said, picking up the pace a little more the closer they got to the getaway vehicles. Iharu had no problem matching his pace, but was getting increasingly worried as to why they were acting like they were in a hurry. The movie didn't start for another forty five minutes.

"Yes, its close by so I don't know whY weRE RUNNING?"

"Cause not only do I want to catch the pre-showing, we really, really should leave before Hoshina saw what I put down in the time log sheet."

"WHAT DID YOU DO?" HIbino got to the heavy security door and opened the entry to the covered garage where most members of the defense force kept their personal vehicles.

"Nothing I'm going to regret later. Here, take this." He said as Iharu walked through the door and tossed him a suspicious set of keys. Iharu caught them and examined them quickly.

"Are these... Hoshina's keys? The one to his supercharged bike? You know I have my own bike, right?"

"Yeah, but when you think about it, his bike's bigger and I can't drive one, so I'm going to have to ride pillion. And trust me, you're going to want that extra bit of room."

As the two of them jogged to the Vice Captain's super bike, all Iharu could think that this wasn't going to be a simple movie night anymore.

###########################################

The two of them had made it into the theater with plenty of time to spare and minimal suspicion. They turned in their stubs and walked inside the air conditioned room that was showing the Ranger Rika film. There, Kafka was met with a surprise.

"Holy shit! You prepaid seats to a show that had in-house recliners?" Kafka walked by in awe and they made their way to one of the seats closer to the front. "Surprised you didn't pick seats closer to the back. Kinda bougie place to bring 'just a friend' don't ya think?" Kafka winked at Iharu as they settled down into their reserved seats.

"I don't ever want to hear the word bougie out of your mouth ever again. And I felt like paying extra for the reclining seats, that ok with you?" Iharu said defensively.

"Fine, fine. Just wondering why you felt the need to score brownie points with Reno, is all. He'd be happy just getting off base with you, being an easy guy like that." Kafka started to root around in Iharu's stolen bag for the drinks he mentioned earlier.

"This isn't point scoring! I just... I wanted to- what I'm trying to say is... give me that." The furious looking teen grabbed the glass coke bottle out of the older man's offering hand. Kafka looked on warmly at Iharu, piecing together some dots in his head. Not enough to make a solid conclusion, but his previous levels of mopiness started to make sense. Hibino brought the sealed bottle to his mouth and cracked the metal pop top off with his teeth.

"You know that they make these twist off now, right? That has to fuck up your teeth something awful." Iharu stated as he began to twist off his own bottle before the movie really started. At least he was trying to, and apparently failing miserably due to the sharp edges on the bottle cap digging into his hands uncomfortably. Kafka took the bottle from his hands and proceeded to open the bottle like he did before and handed it back.

"Again, I am not that old. Don't ruin my one piece of happiness in my life."

"Opening bottles... with your teeth?" Iharu replied, pushing the button that reclined the seat back and brought the foot rest up.

"Old habit from childhood that I've managed to keep because Monster Sweepers has a surprisingly great dental plan. Now hush, previews are starting." Kafka said as the lights began to dim in the room.

############################################

"Holy shit! That movie was amazing!" Iharu said as they left the theater doors and landed on the sidewalk.

"Yeah, that was a great movie. Was a lot more emotional then I was expecting." Kafka mentioned as he squatted low and stretched a leg out to the side.

"You weren't kidding! That plot twist that Missy Whisky was a plant based robo-zoid horse and the scene where she was dying and her body fueled a new oasis got me actually crying! I never cry!" Kafka could only look up at Iharu incredulously, knowing that the younger soldier cried at anything involving animals; sometimes even about Kaijus.

"I think my favorite shot of the whole thing was at the end when Ranger Rika was in a lawn chair with a beer, sitting in that new oasis and we get to see that Missy Whisky was ok, she was just a metal skeleton now." Kafka said as he stood back up and stretched his back.

"Yeah, he deserved that beer, honestly. My favorite scene was when Rika had to jerry rig a new leg and ended up making that burst shot rocket leg. When I heard Golem explain the concept, I thought it sounded so stupid! Whats the point in putting a rocket in your leg if it can only fire off in short burst? Then it trails into the scene in the canyon where he has to fight the Centa-Snake and he was keeping up on foot! Certified Ultimate Badass moment this year!" Iharu started to walk away, following the flow of the crowd so as to not interrupt it too much. Spurring Kafka to hurry up and follow him as well. The two of them walked far enough down the street to where they could walk side by side more comfortably.

As they walked farther away from the theater, it became clear that Iharu was still basking in the warm afterglow of a good memory made. He was still chattering about all the details of the movie, even going into the depths of character analysis and how it showed through in the clothing the characters were wearing. It was very clear he was dying to watch this someone as his mouth seemed to be going a mile a minute with no signs of stopping. Kafka kept up as best he could with the conversation, adding what he could to the conversation. If he was being honest though, he didn't really see as much in the movie as Iharu apparently did. It seemed Iharu noticed as well as he started to slow down his talking speed, becoming more quiet as they went along.

"You good?" Kafka said, noticing the small, slight drop in demeanor.

"Yeah, Im...I'll be fine. I think. I got to see the movie today, which is what I wanted." Iharu stated, visible not looking as fine as he tried to say he was. It was clear to Kafka that it wasn't the possibility that Iharu might of not watched the movie that got him feeling down. I seemed that he still couldn't get Reno not being here off his mind. Kafka felt it was a bit early to press the matter, seeing they got out of a good movie and didn't feel like spoiling the once good mood with questions, so he decided to try and redirect Iharu's train of thought to something more pressing.

"We are walking in the right direction for the festival, right?" Iharu looked up at the older man, redirection of thoughts successful.

"Oh yeah, Food! That was a thing wasn't it? Uhhh...." Iharu said, stopping to process their current location. "Yeah, one more block and a right and we should be there."

"I remember that you said you found it because you... smelled it?" Kafka said quizzically.

"Oh, yeah. There was an attack early last week two streets down and I wanted to stop by when I smelled it. Couldn't though, had to check for yoju then head back to base for a report. Couldn't leave for a week and started feeling desperate. It smells really good-!" Iharu stopped dead in his tracks, looking straight across the street.

"What? Is everything Ok?" Kafka said, looking around before landing his eyes at whatever Iharu was looking at. Across the street, in a store window, sat a rack holding a cluster of very unusual looking hats.

"Cowboy hats. Can you believe it?" Iharu said, looking absolutely puzzled as to why they were there. Taking a longer look, the window belonged to what appeared to be a restaurant dedicated to American cuisine. Specifically western style - steaks and big burgers. it looked like the restaurant had conjoined with a kitschy souvenir store. Kafka thought hard for a minute before turning back to Iharu.

"You wanna?" Kafka asked, jabbing a thumb to the store front. Furuhashi looked back with a clearly confused look. "Come on, we just got out of a Cowboy movie. Isn't it customary to get a least one in honor of a good movie?" Kafka playfully punched Iharu in the shoulder as Iharu just shook his head before he responded.

"I have never heard that ever, and I'm a fan of all the Ranger Rika films."

"All I'm hearing is you've got some hat buying to catch up on." Kafka said, committing an act of jaywalking to drag his new friend over to the store.

"We don't need to buy a cowboy hat!" Iharu protested as they hit the sidewalk.

"Fine. Then I'm getting one without you." Kafka retaliated, hand on the store handle.

"OH, no. If I leave you alone in here, you're going to buy me one in a stupid color. Like blue or green." Iharu said, walking into the store before Kafka.

"But I thought you said you didn't want one?" the Half-Kaiju said, throwing a pointed smirk at Iharu.

"I just said I don't trust you, therefore I have to buy one to make sure you don't buy one for me." the pinkette said defiently, studying the hats on the rack. Kafka just chuckled quietly behind him and soon joined him at the rack too, but not before ordering a side of steak fries to go.

Minutes later, the two of them left the store with hats and fries in hand. Kafka bought a black one with a braided rawhide band threaded with turquoise beads and Iharu's was a simple white stetson.

"Kinda surprised you didn't get the pink one." Kafka said, placing his hat on his head.

"I thought about it, but I mean... pink on pink? It might be a bit much." Iharu said, gesturing to his hair. "That and I thought that white hats just looked cooler anyway."

"This decision totally isn't related to Ranger Rika and his outfit design at all, right?" Kafka said, dripping with sarcasm and Iharu fiddled with the chin strap on the stetson.

"Pfft, Of course not! Why would you say such a thing?" Iharu said through a choked chuckle as his ears got a noticeable shade pinker.

###########################################

Short walk later, they had made it to the start of the street where the festival was held. Both sides of a seemingly endless boulevard was lined with lanterns, ramshackle food stalls, and carnival games. The lights gave the whole street the warmest inviting glow that paired with the slowly setting sun and the scent from the cooking food made the entrance all the more enticing. Adding on the visual ebb and flow of the crowd flittering between the brightly advertised stalls truly made the scene before them come alive. All that was needed to become one with the crowd was as simple as stepping inside and it would feel like a whole different reality. Before the duo could, Kafka decided to take a look at the parked sign at the beginning of the boulevard.

"Hey, did you know about this?" Kafka pointed at the sign.

"No. What's it say?"

"It says that the food festival is in collaboration with the local bars on this street. Beer and cocktails are half off." Iharu whistled approvingly at the news.

"God, a beer sound wonderful right now. Haven't had any since Hoshina trashed my stash in the vent." Kafka said, groaning at the distant textural memory of the cool, aggressive liquid sliding down his throat.

"I don't know man. We still gotta head back to work in a couple of hours. Getting drunk tonight that worth it?" Iharu questioned. Kafka choked on his own spit in a suspicious manner for a minute at hearing how long they had left on the outside.

"Speaking of which..." Furuhashi began to eye the old man intensely now, "How many hours did you get out of Vice-Cap?" Kafka made an attempt to clear his throat before answering.

"Yeah, about that...I, uhhh...didn't have any hours left."

"HIBINO."

"Honestly, the whole payable hours thing sounds stupid anyway so when Hoshina wasn't looking I... wrote in our own hours?" Kafka shrugged at a very red Iharu.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'OUR'? HOW MANY?"

"Three... hundred and thirty six." Kafka said quietly. When Iharu didn't respond back, Kafka felt the need to explain himself.

"I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE FUNNY! 336 hours equal out to two weeks so I thought it be like an 'I'm quitting' joke. Ya'know, in retaliation of the stupid new hours rule? Vice Captain wasn't giving me any wiggle room here and you said you were coming to a food festival with Reno and two hours for a food festival is not a lot of time, especially if you want to do it right, and now there's possible booze involved which is another two on top of that and I just think that only getting three hours to spend away from base isn't a lot of time and you really looked disappointed at not being able to go- albeit the original plan involved Reno- but I mean we're here now and..."

Kafka could only sigh at his now clearly flawed line of thought as Iharu put his face in his hands. One one hand, Iharu agreed with him. Three hours wasn't a lot of time and he also hated the new hours ruling. But that short amount of time would of been worth it because he would of been with Reno. But now... Reno wasn't here. He was with Kakfa, a close member of the team that was trying his best to look out for him and cheer him up in light of the disastrous change in his plans. Iharu was here now, without Reno, and was still enjoying himself despite himself. The whole reason for coming was because of Reno, but here he was anyway; feeling guilty because he was having fun without Reno, knowing this was to be for him. Iharu wasn't really angry about the hours that Kafka had managed to cheat out of Vice-Cap. He knew he was going to pay for them as soon as Kafka got involved on this little outing. It just didn't feel right, him about to be having fun with someone who wasn't supposed to be here.

Kafka clasped a gentile hand of Iharu's shoulder.

"Hey. If you're not comfortable with this, we can just grab one or two things and head back early. You can tell him about the prepaid tickets and bring him back a snack. I'm sure he'd appreciate it after fighting in the mountains all afternoon." The older man smiled comfortably down at the distressed teen.

There he went again. The Dad of Division Three. He really knew just how others felt sometimes. Just when it didn't conflict with the mans's own feelings, that is. Kafka could tell that he was stressed about staying here too long and having fun without the one he wanted to be here with, so now he's trying to accommodate by telling him they could leave and bring back a gift that Reno couldn't help but like. Iharu wanted to come here with Reno... but he was here with Kafka. The happiest, most understanding, and most uplifting person to be around. Especially when you're upset, just like he is right now. And you know what, Kafka is here. With him. Right now. He got Iharu to the movies and spared him a day of sulking around the barracks getting fat and feeling sorry for himself. And that should be rewarded.

"You know what? Fuck it. I'm game." Furuhashi said, dropping his hands from his face.

"About what?"

"Getting drunk. I was going to stuff my face with cafeteria food earlier, and now I get to stuff my face with fried street food and alcohol. Honestly? Upgrade."

"Wait a minute? Are you sure about this? I mean, its not like those hours actually count or anything." Kafka said, reeling slightly from Iharu's change in demeanor.

"Hey man, you're the one who wrote in two weeks of hours, and I'm going to use them. Unless someone from base comes down here and carries my plastered ass off the sidewalk, I don't plan on leaving. Besides, didn't you say there's a right way to food festival? Maybe I'd like to know the secret too. Ya' know, for next time." Iharu stared into the sunset over the festival, feeling empowered about his newfound dereliction of duty.

He was upset. About the time constraints, about a lack of Reno in his presence, about not being able to tell him how he felt in a way he had been planning for about a week now, and about a dozen other minor things that had gotten under his skin recently.

None of that matters now. He was here. In good company. And with access to cheap booze. And may the Gods themselves strike him down now, because he wasn't going to let this opportunity go to waste.

Kafka approved this new feeling welling up inside new drinking buddy and sealed the deal by lifting Iharu's hat off his back where it was hanging and placed it on his head. Making his voice gravely and southern, Kafka quoted a line from the movie.

"So... You finally decided to take charge of your own fortune, aye Rika?" Feeling the new weight on his head, Iharu turned to look up at Kafka and saw the brightest, toothiest, most genuine grin he thought that man could fit on his face. Iharu's eyes started to gather tears in accepted pride, but he blinked them away harshly and looked back at Kafka, matching his Kaiju smile with an aggressively mischievous one of his own.

"First things first. Nearest 7/11 location." Kafka said, turning toward the closest convenience store he could see.

"O-Ok? Why?" Iharu questioned, but followed Kafka's lead anyway.

"They carry this wonderful little drink that prevents hangovers. Fantastic shit, truly. Take it from a guy who use to party with a group of people who went on pub crawls every time someone had a birthday, hangovers do not need to be experienced more than necessary." Iharu's eyes lit up at hearing this.

"oh man! You have to have some crazy stories from your college days."

"College? You seriously think I had the attention span to make it in that kind of setting? This was from working in Monster Sweepers. Let me tell you, Tokuda; guy I used to work with, couldn't let go of a scotch bottle to save his life. Which is funny because having one on him is what saved another guy I worked with..."

#########################################

"And that's how my second boss ended up eating his own ring finger, wedding band and all." Kafka said as Iharu finished up the last of a batch of heavily sauced, fried chili shrimp.

"Damn, I didn't know you guys caught so many strays on the job site. Ya'll really need a security detail while you're working or something."

"Yeah, it can get to be a bit much some days. I actually proposed a deal to Haruichi that asked if his dad's company could come up with some Kaiju-fiber t-shirts or arm sleeves. Just *burp* something cheap they could throw together from scraps to help out my old buddies on the job site. Just a little protection or a way to finish the job faster so we're not working so long."

Kafka finished up a can of beer as Iharu checked a notification on his phone. They were leaning against the base of one of the few stone building that were on the street. The two of them had already hit up several food stalls and three bars in between. Currently they were standing off to the right of an ally that led to the last one they were in, having left to get some fresh air.

"Don't see a reason why they couldn't? It's more money for them, isn't it? Hey! it finally downloaded." Iharu said, propping up his phone on a jutted window ledge.

"What did?"

"I downloaded that song that played during the saloon walkabout scene. I thought we could maybe make a TokTic with it." Kafka tossed his empty into a trash can before turning to Iharu.

"TokTic? Oh! Those short video things. Shinomiya is always sending me those. Her attempt to 'Keep me from falling back to the Stone Age'. Prissy brat. Love her! Just... so damn rude some days."

"Well, now here's your chance to show her that you can be relevant." Iharu chuckled, "Alright, here's what I was thinking."

Iharu began to lead Kafka through some easy dance steps and dictated which pattern this was supposed to happen. They ran through the process a few times so Kafka was sure he could do it, even though Iharu reassured him that it doesn't have to be perfect. Iharu pressed record and they started doing a intensely cowboy inspired, feet shuffling based choreography to 'No Diggity' by Blackstreet with their new hats on full display.

They wrapped it up with them moonwalking off screen. Furuhashi then quickly ran back to grab the phone. They ducked back into the ally to get out of the way of the rippling crowd as the phone's owner began messing with the video's settings and cropped the beginning and end to make it feel cleaner. Hibino whistled as he looked over Iharu's shoulder as his fingers flew over the screen with what seemed to be practiced efficiency.

"You've made a few of these?" Kafka asked.

"Yeah.", Iharu said sheepishly, "I had this account back when I was in Subjugation School. It kinda started as something I messed with in my down time between classes, making edits of shows and movies I was really into at the time, and then it just sorta turned into a daily routine showcase-turned-ask blog. Soon after it started to pick up followers, especially after I got to join Division Three." He began to show one of his latest edits that he made to Kafka.

"Wow! I have to admit, but the editing seems really smooth. I can see a lot of thought went into this." Kafka said as he took a brief overview of the collection that Iharu had made over the years. Furuhashi looked away bashfully as his face turned as pink as his hair.

"It really is just a hobby at this point. Most of my followers seem to just enjoy the daily blog stuff more. But, to be honest, I always told myself that if, for some reason, I didn't make it in the Defense Force I... might have pursued a career as a film director." Kafka slung his arm over Iharu's shoulder and drew him in close.

"Now that, I would have definitely paid... to... see." He stepped back to look at his surroundings, taking in the view of the ebbing crowd and sensing a disturbing lack of panic and chaos. But... why would there be? There was nothing to be afraid.... oh.

Oh Shit. There it was.

Kafka got a familiar sinking feeling deep in his gut. Like a cold wave of heavy mist and dry ice was dropped into his stomach. He started whipping his head around, trying to see if he could place the direction in which the dangerous disturbance could be coming from.

"Iharu! Eyes up! Trouble incoming." The teen flashed a worried look toward Kafka as he hurriedly put his phone away.

"Kaiju attack? Here?"

"Yeah, a honju. Small one though, it feels like. To close for comfort, though. Get the alert out!" Kafka ran to one of the food stalls next to them and grabbed a megaphone out of a hawker's hands

"EVERYONE! IMMINENT KAIJU ATTACK! START HEADING TO THE SHELTERS!"

Some people started to gather up their stuff while others only looked on in disbelief, thinking he was some drunk prankster, until a small earthquake rattled the street and stalls. Everyone began to feel the threat approaching with the sound of distant buildings crashing over the sudden wailing of the alert system through speakers and phones alike. The people started sprinting toward the nearest shelter, with Kafka and Iharu helping the stragglers and the fallen catch up to the rest. Once it seemed like a majority had made it off this particular street and others, too scared shitless to move, had been relegated to closer, save enough zones like basements and reinforced closets, did Kafka start running toward the source of the disaster. Iharu, not far behind, ran after him.

"Sir! Do you think we should be heading toward this? Its not like we could be of much help without gear."

"Kinda figured we'd look at it and go from there? Least I could do is break it down visually and have you relay the information." Kafka started to summon some of his Kaiju bio-works through his system, calling forth faster speed and inhuman claws, and used them to get to higher elevation. As the cryptid soldier began to race across rooftops, Iharu mentally broke down the things that he could help with, starting with field reconnaissance and path prediction.

##########################################

Even without the suit, Iharu was keeping up with with a supped-up Kafka. It helped that he was trying to gain more height than speed to better survey the land and find the cause of danger. Once he found a sign of the monstrous disturbance, Kafka began giving directionals down to Iharu. As the man on the ground, he took it upon himself to keep track how they were moving between the three of them, figured a possible heading, and started to send directions back to Kafka in an attempt to head whatever this was off at a pass. So far, they hadn't hit any major damaged areas yet, so Iharu wasn't too focused on checking for possible trapped survivors.

Thanks to Kafka's sight and Iharu's planning, the two of them had made it to the location of the honju. Bursting through a broken and slanted ally way, Iharu had caught sight of the beast first. It was cephalopod based, resembling a mix between a squid or an octopus, crossed with an armored spider. Its' head was blue and bulbous, with a thin, wide, white ribbon running the diameter of its rounded top. It had four darker blue tentacles, each ending in a triangular nub covered in wicked spiked suckers, and another eight acting as its legs. All of them covered in what looked like black, striped,and jointed keratin plating and all of them ending in squishy tarantula paws. It was big, about a family-of-four house sized, tall as well as wide, and it was pissed.

"You don't think it smelled all the fried seafood and wanted revenge, do you think?" Kafka leaped down from a shattered rooftop and landed close to Iharu. The younger one grabbed the senior's wrist and dragged them both behind some cover before the honju saw them.

"Well, you said you wanted to break it down. Now's your chance." Iharu hissed quietly.

The aquatic beast lumbered forward, bellowing a watery warble as it bashed its tentacles against the building to its left. Kafka braced his back against the large piece of broken wall and shimmied upwards slowly in an attempt to gain a better look without breaking cover. He began to mentally run through a back catalog of information about Honju and Yoju, both from personal experience and from research on his down time, and came up with very little. But what he did come up with could still be very useful.

"Ok, here's the deal. Both Honju and Yoju can have aquatic forms and when they do, they stick unusually close to the original anatomy of their more normal counterparts."

"And how is that helpful?" Iharu whispered harshly as he stayed close to the ground in a crouched position.

"I'm getting there, hold on. From what it looks like, this bastard is sticking pretty close to something from the squid family. Which means it would be a safe bet that its core is somewhere close to the surface of the body, situated around the junction between the trunk and its head, and under a thick backbone made of cartilage."

"Alright, i'll tell everyone to aim for the.... neck I guess?" Iharu began to pull out his phone, but Kafka shooed it down to dismiss the idea.

"Here's the thing. You can actually kill a normal squid really easily by hitting it right at that junction. And I mean like one hard smack kinda deal." Kafka slid down the cover to better demonstrate with his hands to his partner.

"Yes, this has been established." Iharu sounded exasperated, almost desperate too as the beast trudged on by.

"I have a really bad idea." Kafka looked Iharu dead in the eyes with as much seriousness as he could. All Iharu could do was send a look of disbelief right back.

"Whatever it is, no."

"Ok, but if I'm right, the Defense force doesn't even need to show up because we'll be done already."

"HOW, may I ask? We don't even have any weapons." Iharu was becoming flabbergasted now, slowly debating to stop bothering with discrepancy.

"Ah, but you forget, I'm a living weapon. I don't even need a full transformation. Just make sure it doesn't turn around for a second while I grab a lamp post and get to higher ground." Iharu just groaned into his hands while Kafka turned and ran to find a suitable post, preferably one already uprooted.

Minutes later, Kafka had managed to fine a suitable improvised weapon to attack with and was trying his best to lug it over quietly. Iharu was still hiding behind the original piece of cover, watching his battle buddy struggle while keeping an eye on the yoju, making sure it hadn't been alerted to Kafka's presence. Kafka was on the other side of the street, opposite to Iharu's position and had much more cover to work with since that was the side the monster seemed to be taking its aggression out on. However, this came with its own set of problems as Kafka kept knocking the lamp post on what seemed to be every obstacle imaginable. Causing Iharu to flinch and indirectly slowing the beasts progression as it kept picking up on Kafka's poor attempt at stealth. After Kafka had managed to bang the bottom of the post against an unseen rock and cause the honju to turn around and face his general direction, it became clear to him that if he was to scale a building and get closer, some preventative measures were going to have to take place.

After waiting for the monster to turn back around, Kafka started to wave his arms around to get a hold of Iharu's attention.

'Go distract' Kafka tried to pantomime using military hand gestures.

'Me distract?' Iharu responded back, to which Kafka affirmed

'Are you nuts?' Iharu sent back, ducking as a chunk of debris flew over his head.

'Just throw a brick or something.' Kafka sent before picking up the post and tried to quietly lean it on the nearest building. Iharu hung his head at the absurd situation and looked around for a suitable rock.

Speedily crouch walking past several broken walls and roof pieces, he had managed to get back in front of the honju's path. Looking back, Kafka had transformed his hands back into claws and was now trying to climb the side of a building while alternating bringing the pole up with him. He seemed to be doing fine so far, trying his best not to make more noise than he could get away with. Kafka had made it to a metal fire escape landing that was miraculously still attached to a partially demolished building. He leaned over to pull up the light post behind him... and smacked the top of it into the landing above.

Before the monster had time to react to Kafka's blunder, Iharu had thrown the rock as hard as he could, aiming for it to land in front of its face and keeping its attention forward. This would of worked had Iharu had picked a smaller or lighter rock, as it had flown straight into one of the beast's wiggling tentacles. Iharu didn't have time to duck behind cover as it had turned to face the source of bodily harm. The honju roared as it raised its front arms and tentacles in defiance and began to lumber quickly toward the only thing it could really see, a mop of alarmingly pink hair.

"Shit, shIT, SHHHHIIIIIIIIIITTTTTT!" Iharu bolted down the street, leaping and bounding over ruble in his path as the squishy, blue beast rapidly shuffled behind him giving chase. Kafka vocally mirrored the pink human rocket's sentiment as he rushed to carry the light pole up to the remains of the roof.

The buildings around Furuhashi turned into a blended blur as he blasted down the street, the journey made easier now that he hit a section that the honju hadn't demolished yet and left no obstacles to jump around. However, that didn't mean that he didn't have an easy time running away. With every footstep the multi-limbed monster made, sent the road trembling, forcing Iharu to find some sea legs fast. While it seemed to be a constant fact that spider based kaiju were slow enough to be outrun by anyone able-bodied, The shaking this one was creating gave Iharu a feeling that one misstep, one slight falter in his adrenaline fueled gait, could spell a messy end for him.

As he came onto a three-way, he juked the literal fish-out-of-water and whipped right, feet sliding out from under him. Iharu had to recover quickly as the squid-spider had regained it's footing as well and picked up its pace. Tentacles slammed and swiped all around him, causing the younger soldier to duck and weave intensely and dug deep inside of himself to find the strength to go faster.

A simple image. A snow blonde man with frosted violet eyes. Once facing a complimentary sunset, turned back to face Iharu in his mind's eye.

That's all it took for him. Not thinking too much about it (surely if he did, he would call himself out on his patheticness) Iharu managed to speed up just in time. He found himself passing under a familiar Torii gate just as the honju began to bring down a weighty tentacle. Before it could though, a squelchy crunch sound echoed down the food stalls lined boulevard him and Kafka were on earlier. Iharu kept going until he noticed the lack of quaking that was accompanying his previous flight for his life. Slowing down cautiously, he turned around to gawk at the scene that had unfolded behind him

Just passing under the Torii gate was the unnatural squid like beast, now limp and an opaque, milky color. Stood on top of the bulbous trunk in a victorious killing pose was Kafka, having hammered the concreted base of the lamppost square over its one-shot kill spot. Kafka let go of the post once it seemed sure that the monstrous cephalopod wasn't going to move anymore and stood up and relaxed. He flashed Iharu a thumbs up in reassurance.

Iharu was far from reassured and was shaking from the head to toe in adrenaline withdrawal. He took a second to catch his breath and immediately regretted it, running over to an uncovered trash can and vomited his stomach contents from the nerves.

#########################################

Several back rubs, gurgled curses, and vehement apologies later, Iharu felt okay enough to walk again. Kafka took a second to extend his kaiju sensory powers to check the immediate area for more threats while Iharu double checked him with research from his phone. Certain they had eliminated the only threat that had decided to make its presence known, the two discussed their next course of action. Seeing that the damage had been localized to a different part of town and how none of it had really reached the festival, they decided to see if they could encourage those that were still around to start the food stalls back up. To be honest, the decision was made from a mutual understanding that if it didn't, the two of them would have no choice but to head back to headquarters. Which felt like admitting defeat too early, seeing as they had wanted to stay out as long as they wished tonight, damn the consequences.

The two split up and went around to the surrounding buildings and encouraged the caged civilians inside that it was safe now. Once told that it was some off duty members of the Defence Force, those inside started to walk out and braced themselves for the possible damage that wasn't there. Some of the bartenders of the local bars that hadn't left in the evacuation started a one time only deal of giving everyone that had stayed a round on the house. Once it seemed that the neighborhood's basements and closets were emptied, Kafka and Iharu met in the center of the street.

"I got everyone on the left." Kafka started.

"And I got everyone on the right. Going to head to the shelter where everyone headed to and see about bypassing the lock on it to get everyone out. You coming?" Iharu said, already turning to leave.

"Nah, I'm gonna stay here and see what I can do about the squid at the gate. Get it out of here before it gets rank." Iharu managed two thumbs up as he briskly jogged away to the rescue.

A large crowd had begun to form around the fishy corpse under the gate. Kafka could make out some of the hushed phrases as he politely muscled his way through.

"Can't believe it had gotten so close."

"There doesn't seem to be any casualties so far?"

"We were lucky that some members of the third division were here tonight."

"Its almost seems like the gods were looking out for the festival, don't ya think?"

"The spirits must have considered the food too good to waste- excuse me, coming through! Make way, if you don't mind." Kafka began to move more easily through the crowd after making his presence known.

Getting to the front, he stood proud and took a long look at the situation before him. His past experience in the Sweepers began to flow easily into his mind as he walked around and over the dead beast. It was soft and squishy, with a tough skin. Not so tough that it probably couldn't be pierced by a good knife, he thought. The keratin plates were only held on with a thin sheet of tendon and looked like it could be filleted or pried off with little difficulty. The legs seemed closer to a crab than a spider at a closer glance, it just had an extra set. Breaking the crab legs would be challenging, however. Sure they could be cracked, but only after heated drastically and directly at the joints. Kafka leaned back and sighed. He knew he wasn't going to be the one cleaning this up, but he'd hate to have the whole squad out here for what could be a three person job.

Well, three if they had five hours. The more people, the less time of course. This one just so happened to be simple to break down, however. Give him ten minutes and he could teach everything that was important to the crowd in front of him. They could probably have this all dismantled before the Sweepers even got out of bed.

"Hey! You're with the Defense force, right? How long do you think it would take to get this out of here?" A portly man in a tan canvas apron shouted up at Kafka. The half kaiju man slid down the deceased squid beast so he could talk to the man in an appropriate manner.

"Well the thing's dead, so that parts' already done. Getting the body out of here is down to the Sweepers. I used to work with them, so I can just call a few of them up and we can get this dismantled and out of here soon. It's all a shame though."

"What make you say that?" A taller man behind the chunky one piped up.

"Well, for one, if the JAKDF finds out I'm here, I'm gonna have to get back on duty sooner than I'd like." This caused a slight chuckle from the neighboring crowd that heard him, causing some to relax slightly.

"And this is me saying from previous experience, the dismantling for this thing would be easy; it's just labor intensive. Wouldn't need fancy tools or anything. Just some willing hands, and I'd hate to bring out a whole ten piece crew for something this small. I don't even think Izumo really messes with squid types anyway. Not unless they exhibit some unnatural power so this would end up getting tossed in a trash heap in the end." The short man from earlier turned to look at the milky squid spider and shook his head in sympathy.

"Damn shame they aren't edible, huh?" A light bulb went off in Kafka's head as he turned to look at the man. Looking down, he saw that, in the pockets of the man's apron, was a handful of toothpicks and a couple sets of sharp metal chopsticks with bells attached to the ends of the wooded handles. Instruments designed to get people attention when someone made takoyaki.

"Actually.... most aquatic type kaiju are."

Half an hour later, Iharu lead the throng of people that had made it to the shelter back to the street and saw the most ridiculous sight. People had swarmed the dead honju, a third of it now seemed to be missing. Some had rigged a makeshift pulley system over the Torri gate and was lifting large chunks of milky, spotted flesh up and away from the rest of the body. Kafka was at the base, directing others on how to properly separate the armored plates from the legs while somebody on the other side was using a cutting torch and passed off the legs to another group that was putting them in a steaming metal barrel. Some had set their respective stalls back up and had hurriedly changed or added on new parts to their signs, all now advertising a kaiju variant of wherever fried food they were selling before.

"KAFKA! Mind telling me what's going on?" Iharu shouted over the sound of intense manual labor. Kafka looked at everyone and asked if they understood. When everyone nodded yes, Kafka broke away and joined Iharu.

"Funny thing, actually. I was talking to this guy in the crowd about the labor and how it would be a waste if we got the Sweepers involved. He said something about 'Shame it ain't edible' and it made me remember that some sea-bearing ones are and the guy I was talking too ran the giant takoyaki stand, the one where they're as big as your head, and the guy behind him was selling calamari rings and-"

"So you thought it would be a good idea to teach everyone here how to dismantle a kaiju? You don't seriously expect people to eat that, right? It's kaiju meat, how are you so sure it doesn't have parasites or something?"

"Oh! Already solved that problem." Kafka said, "Quick vinegar bath. Kills the sturdier ones and the heat kills the rest." Iharu looked past Kafka suspiciously and stared at the group of volunteers working away at the dead and, apparently edible, body.

"And where's the organs and shit going, might I ask?"

"Called an old work buddy that has a truck. He's going to be here in an hour to pick up the double bagged trash bags and throw them over the fence at work. He's getting paid in fried food when he gets here." Kafka mentioned, sounding proud of himself. Iharu just shrugged it off, thinking that it sounded like Kafka-appropriate levels of absurdity and that he shouldn't complain too much about it. After all, this removes any and all reason for the third Division to come down here. No chaos, no bodies, no trouble. Which meant that they didn't have to explain to co-workers why they weren't back yet and be forcefully dragged back against their will, so wins all-around honestly.

The squat man from earlier walked over to where the two were talking, carrying two white and unmarked carryout boxes the size of a soccer ball.

"Here, you killed the damn thing. You get first dibs on the spoils." he handed them over and jogged back to his station, now flooded with a line of people wanting to try kaiju squid takoyaki.

The off duty officers looked at each other briefly before rapidly tearing open the top of the box, revealing the most wondrous sight and smell. Inside was a massive takoyaki ball, fried with a variety of fillings, more than just onions and corn and slathered in eel sauce and kewpie mayo, topped with bonito flakes.

'Maybe it was worth almost getting smashed into a pancake.' Iharu thought before diving into the free meal.

########################################

'Cleared the surrounding area of potential causalities in quadrant Charlie, found none. Path of destruction heads east. Permission to follow?" Aoi Kaguragi, a member of the Third Division, relayed the pertinent information through his ear piece, awaiting further instruction.

"Message received, free to follow Kaguragi. Take care." Okonogi relayed back.

Aoi nodded over to his partner for tonight, Haruichi, and the two of them headed in the direction of the chaotic path of broken rubble. The two of them, as well as a small crew had been sent out to examine the emergence site of the recently exposed kaiju. The team was originally sent out to fight the disturbance, but halfway through suiting up, was almost called off due to the honju signature suddenly disappearing. Vice Captain Hoshina had the last say however, and made the crew go out anyway. Saying at the very least they should check for injured and make a damage report. He didn't say this specifically, but the impression was given that, since they were all the way out there, someone might as well find out why the signature disappeared in the first place. Aoi and Haruichi got done first, so they went to find the answers.

Following the cracked pavement lead them to a three-way intersection that had clearly sustained some bludgeoning damage as indicated by the mid-sized honju-like dent in the buildings in front of them. They turned to the right and continued to follow the rows of spider cracks that had imprinted onto the houses and streets, only to have their concentration broken by a passing truck clearly overladen with bulging, lumpy, stained trash bags.

"Was that a giant squid backbone?" Haruichi questioned.

"I'm surprised you know what one looks like." Aoi stated, not letting small things distract him from following the path of structural chaos that led down the street.

"You do know that I go fishing with my cousins on occasion. 'Cook what you catch' kind of vacations."

"What, on your overpriced yacht?" Aoi smirked as he couldn't resist adding a touch of teasing in his voice. Haruichi could come across as so mild mannered some days, it made it hard to picture him as a son of a business tech tycoon. Everyone on the base that knew him would occasionally tease him about it and it seemed that, as polite and agreeable as Aoi was in person, even he wasn't above the periodic ribbing-of-the-rich.

"It's a moderately sized deck boat, thank you very much. If I kick out the family, it should be big enough for the two of us to have some fun. If you're interested, that is?" Haruichi said, words dusted with seduction as he winked at Aoi. Kaguragi's lips thinned in an attempt to not break his resting bitch face at the salacious suggestion.

"Then again, that implies either of us get enough time off to go anywhere these days." Haruichi huffed. Aoi quietly grumbled in agreement before he straightened his attention to the sight down the street.

As the two crested the small hill, the sounds of the festival became more apparent and the smells of the food crashed down on them like a tidal wave of spices and fried oil. They noticed that the damage they had been following seemed to have stopped here suddenly, directly under the Torri gate still covered in ropes. A couple of people on ladders were carefully taking them down and a pair of women, one young and one old, were on their knees scrubbing away at what looked like a large blue ink stain.

"Hello! Sorry to bother you, but have either of you seen a medium sized honju pass through here? We're with the Defense Force and we would like to make sure that the threat isn't still around."

"The big squid spider lookin' thing?" the younger lady of the two said as she looked up.

"I would assume so, we didn't know what it looked like since it seemed to disappear so quickly. My partner and I followed its tracks here, but they don't appear to be anywhere else." Haruicho adjusted the kevlar strap attached to his gun so it would sit squarely on his back and kneeled down to talk to the women face to face.

"A couple of off duty members of yours already took care of it. It was sitting here, spilling its blood on the sidewalk until the big, polite looking oaf got the bright idea to tell Aki that it was edible. Once that got passed around, some of the other seafood fryers wanted to get in on its dismantling and get their own pound of flesh to fry. If ya want to try it, better hurry. It's selling out fast." The old woman pointed to the stalls behind her just as some of them had walked out to write on their respective signs detailing about how they were almost sold out of fried or battered kaiju meat.

Izumo looked back to his partner and could almost see the drool cascading from Kaguragi's open mouth. Aoi looked down at him, hoping that he wasn't going to have to defy a direct order that didn't allow him to get in line. Haruichi dismissed him wordlessly with a hand wave, not that it mattered as Aoi had already left and now it seemed he was trying to use his Defense Force title to skip ahead in line. Sighing at his partner's antics, Haruichi returned to his conversation.

"You mentioned a 'polite looking oaf', and from that description, I have a feeling I might know who you're talking about. Would you mind telling me where the festival savior headed off to?"

"Last I saw, him and his pink haired friend went to celebrate in one of the bars around here. There's several, mind you, but I don't think they've crossed over to the left side yet. Best guess? Stick to the right and see which one sound the loudest." Haruichi thanked the old women for the advice and walked down the street. He stopped by Aoi and told him the same thing before starting his investigation in earnest. The words of the old women came back to mind, however, once he pieced together who the off duty members could be.

'Kafka's with Iharu? Here? That's odd. I thought Iharu was leaving with Reno? And weren't they just heading to a movie? Shouldn't they have been back by now?' Haruichi thought. As he passed down the street, carefully listening to the volume of any of the bars he passed, all he could do was hope that neither of them were too plastered to answer some questions.

#########################################

Haruichi walked up and down the street to get a good idea as to which of the bars seemed to be the loudest and popped his head into a few of of them to see if he could find his fellow co-workers. Third bar he picked seemed to be a karaoke bar. It was fairly narrow, with the bar on the right and the left wall lined with as many booths as one could fit comfortably. There were a couple of standing tables placed offset to each other in the middle of the room it seemed, but it was hard to tell how many there were through the mass of people crammed in the room. From the top of the short set of stairs he was standing on, he could see to the other side of the bar at least and look at the loud drunken pair singing their lungs out on the shallow stage placed at the end of the sitting area.

And who would of guessed it would be the 'polite looking oaf and his pink haired friend'. Kafka was the one holding the mic and had his arm slung over Iharu's shoulder, almost looking like he was putting his full weight on it with how far the two of them were bending toward the ground. Iharu was holding a large beer mug that was a quarter full and was still threatening to spill out onto the floor. The two were heavily engrossed in their rendition of... God, Haruichi couldn't even tell. Thankfully he wasn't subjected to the aural torture much longer as the song finished. While Iharu thanked the very drunk, very enthusiastic crowd for being such good listeners, Haruichi waved his arms over his head and got Kafka's attention.

"Heyyyyy! I'll be DAmned! It's fucken' Haruichi! Holy SHIT!" Kafka exclaimed. He dragged Iharu clumsily off the stage and waved Izumo over to some bar stools that some patrons happily got off of once Kafka explained himself and that his friend from the Defense Force showed up. Haruichi managed to muscle his way through the crowd and make it to the seats next to the others just as Kafka wrapped him up in a massive drunken bear hug.

"God, man! Where you've been? We've been here keeping this party going since we took down that ugly mutherfucker. Hey, you didn't hear about us from Hoshina did you?" Kafka's breath smelled heavily of cheap whisky but wasn't slurring his words half as much as Haruichi thought he would.

"I'll answer your questions if you answer mine. What the hell are you doing here? And with Iharu? I thought him and Reno had a date or something?" Kafka made a silencing gesture with his hand as he got closer to Haruichi.

"I wouldn't try and say that too loud. Reno had to blow the date for a mission and I don't think Iharu's been taking it too well. He had prepaid the movie tickets and I mentioned that I like Ranger Rika films, so now we're here."

"Okay, and what about the kaiju that showed up around here? I heard from the locals that you killed it?" Iharu, who had picked a spot on the other side of the two, had leaned in to hear them better and had perked up at the mention of the kaiju fight.

"OOHHH MAN! HaRU! YOU should of SEEN US, MAN! I wasss running for ma LIFE from that THING! I got chasssed ALL the WAY to the- the.... big red thing and Kafka ;OH man, KAFKA! HE came on it from ABOVE and smacked it with a fucken' LIGHT POLE! A light pole, MAN!" Iharu accentuated his retelling with wild hand gestures and made it clear to Haruichi that either he had more than Kafka did or couldn't hold his liqueur very well.

"Don't mind him, he's on his fourth mug right now. Is the rest of the division here with you?" Kafka asked.

"No, It's just me and Aoi here at the festival. The rest of the group is back at the emergence site making sure there's no casualties and taking a damage toll. Aoi's outside at the festival buying out all the fried food he can get his hands on right now." Haruichi replied, politely refusing the bartender's inquiry of whether or not he would be having a drink.

"Oh, that's nice. here's hoping that he manages to grab some of the kaiju meat before it's gone." Kafka downed another shot of whiskey that the bartender had poured out for him.

"Okay, sure. Last question. Aren't you guys supposed to be back by now?" Haruichi tried to look very pointedly at the two of them when he asked.

'What do you mean by that?" Kafka pounded on his chest as he said, fighting the burning sensation firing its way back up his throat. Izumo looked around appearing very puzzled before he looked back at Kafka.

"I don't know what time you guys left, but you can't tell me the two of you have enough hours to be out here for much longer." Hibino choked on his own spit for a second before trying to respond to Haruichi pointed suggestion, however it seemed to be a second too long as Iharu had already heard him and took the chance to... vocally express his opinion on the matter.

"FUCK THEM HOURS!"

'Iharu, maybe not right now-" Kafka tried to interject.

"NAH! I'M TIRED ABOUT HEARING ABOUT HOW MANY HOURS I GOTTA HAVE OR HOW MANY I GOT LEFT!" Iharu had gotten off of his stool and now began directing his speech to the drunk crowd behind him.

"WHEN I SAY I WANT A DAY OFF, I SHOULD GET THE WHOLE DAY OFF! NOT GET BACK A 'SORRY, CAN'T LET YOU DO THAT' OR 'WE NEED YOU TO COME BACK IN' TWO HOURS INTO A BREAK I SCHEDULED OFF THREE FUCKIN' DAYS AGO!" Now the crowd was cheering for Iharu, getting riled up on his behalf and probably relating as well due to how he worded his rant.

"SAY IT WITH ME! FUCK THEM HOURS!" Iharu started the chant with his mug held high in the air.

"Fuck them hours!" the crowd chanted back.

"FUCK THEM HOURS!" Iharu tried again

"FUCK THEM HOURS!!!" All the people in the room joined in this time.

"You think we should do something?" Haruichi asked.

"I think they're already handling it." Kafka pointed to two tall, well built men dressed in black polos walking over to the center of the crowd where Iharu had made himself at home, driving the people around him into a frenzy. The two at the bar watched as their friend was lifted up, crowd surfing style and was carried to the front door of the bar. They rushed off of their seats and joined in at the back of the mock revolution that was following their leader, still chanting 'Fuck them hours."

The two of them watched as their coworker was unceremoniously tossed onto his ass on the street outside of the bar. Watching their appointed leader get treated with such carelessness seemed to shake the throng of people out of their rebellious state of mind and dispersed quietly. Kafka and Haruichi looked down at a stunned Iharu laying spread eagle, not really sure what he should do next. Kafka decided to lay down next to Iharu while Haruichi sat down on the lip of the sidewalk behind their heads.

"So, you just got your first experience getting kicked out from a bar. How do you feel?" Kafka asked, not looking at Iharu but instead looking up at the stars being framed in the corners of his vision by the lanterns lining the street.

"Ssstars look purtty tonight." Iharu replied, pointing up at the sky with the glass mug he was holding onto inside the bar.

Kafka chuckled, "Yeah, they sure do buddy."

"You think they're going to notice the mug you're still holding?" Haruichi asked, face in his hands and his elbows on his knees. It looked like Iharu finally realized what he was holding as he brought it closer to his face. Looking closer at the mug, he could see that the glass had a pattern molded around the base. An interlocking pattern made up of a six pointed star with tiny branches spouting off the ends of each point. Almost like a snowflake.

Iharu violently convulsed into tears at the thought and curled up into a ball, clutching the beer mug close to his chest.

"Geez, what did I say?" Haruichi asked.

"I have a feeling this is about something else." Kafka said, rolling onto his side to comfort his partner.

"I jussst wanted to take him on a date, isss dat so wrong?" Iharu sobbed, fighting to talk around the mucus building in his throat.

"Reno?" Haruichi asked

"Reno." Kafka replied, hugging Iharu close to his chest as best he can.

"I was going to show him how much we have in common and take him to pretty placesss and buy him nice things! I jussst wanted to tell him how much it meant to me to be his fwend and how much I loved hiiimmm..." Kafka just rubbed his back as his body became racked with shakes from his struggle to breathe. "I jussst wanted to tell him that I thinks he's so cooool and that I think he's pretty when he's asleep and I didn't want to sssound creepy when I did! Why couldn't he be here?" Iharu screamed into Kafka's wind breaker, now stained with tears and mucus.

"It'll be okay. You'll have other chances to tell him." Kafka tried to say reassuringly in the awkward position.

"Buts I wanted to tell him today! I don't think I can wait any longer before I say sssomething ssstupid and ruin everything! And I don't even know if he'll like me baaaack!" Iharu only to calm down slightly, but at least the shaking stopped. Kafka looked back at Haruichi expectantly, silently asking him to help out here. Izumo slid himself off the sidewalk and scooched over to the men making a scene in the middle of the street and placed a hand on the younger one of the three.

"There, there. I'm sure you two will be able to talk it out. I have no doubt that Reno harbors anything less than love for you in his heart."

"Okay, that'sss nice and all, but do we know it's love 'as a fwend' or love 'as a partner'? 'Cuz I really want it to be 'as a partner' but I don't want to tell him if he'sss going to find that uncomfortable." Iharu said as tried his best to wipe his face clean with the sleeve of his jacket. Haruichi pondered for a minute before suggesting a plan.

"Maybe... I could ask?", Iharu looked tearfully behind him as best as possible to look Haruichi in the eyes. "I wouldn't say anything incriminating, just... see if he's open to the possibility?"

This seemed to pacify Iharu a little bit as he brought himself to a sitting position.

"Yeah, but that doesssn't solve what I could do for a date, though. This wasss da best I could come up with and I was racking my brain for a week." Iharu slurred, wiping his face. Kafka up-righted himself as well and scratched his side as he positioned himself perpendicular to Iharu.

"Well, either way, you're going to have to wait and save up time again before you're allowed to head back out." Kafka thought for a moment as he paused in his scratching, "Its the middle of June now, right? Late July, early August is a pretty good time for a beach date. Romantic enough and lots of places do a sorta 'last week of summer hoorah' kinda deal."

"And we're pretty close to the beach. Wouldn't need to save up many hours if you're that desperate for time." Haruichi chimed in. Iharu took all of the information in and, for the first time tonight, seemed genuinely happy. The kind of happiness that can be seen all the way through someone's core.

"Did I miss something?" A familiar, but muffled baritone rang out from the left of the group. It was Aoi, back from a successful shopping spree in the festival. His arms were laden with bags upon bags of different types of food. It was almost comical how many bags there were seeing as one couldn't even find his large torso. Ranging from white plastic bags, to brown paper ones, to clear ones showcasing the goods inside. All seemingly stuffed to the brim.

"Is that... a hamster butt hanging out of your mouth?" Haruichi asked. Aoi quickly chewed and swallowed it so he could speak more clearly.

"Its hamster shaped kikufuku mochi. I almost feel guilty eating them because they're so cute. Unfortunately for them, they're just as good as they look. Don't worry, I bought enough for everyone. Three of these boxes are for me though." Aoi paused and stared at the bags really hard for a second. "Actually, it's two now, but my point still stands."

######################################

Haruichi made the suggestion that, maybe, they should be making their way back to base but Iharu became very irate at that suggestion. So to pacify him, the pair-turned-quartet walked around the festival a little longer, buying some more food to help Iharu feel more like his happier self. Well, everyone else walked. Kafka started giving Iharu a piggy back ride when it seemed like he was swaying on his feet and complained about foot pain. They had made it halfway down the other side of the street when Kafka looked over and saw something that jogged his memory. Aoi noticed the feeling of disconnect in the group and turned around, causing Haruichi to look as well.

It was another Torri gate, nestled between two brick buildings, looking like it was erected as a protective marker. Blocking against the bustle of the festival, locked behind its towering height was a well worn stone path trailing up and to the left, hiding its destination behind a thick grove of trees. What refreshed Kafka's memory, however, was that the trail was lined with a multitude of overly colorful paper lanterns in a variety of shapes and sizes. The stillness of the trees and the ethereal light pouring out from the lanterns contrasted against the feeling that came from being out on the street. It really felt like there was a chance one could get swept away by playful spirits if one made the decision to turn off from the sidewalk and explore this detour.

"Hey, Iharu? Kafka asked, shifting his friend's weight on his back and rousing him from the light slumber he was about to slip into.

"Yeah," Iharu said sleepily, "What's up?"

"Didn't you say there was a shrine that you wanted to take Reno to that had paper lanterns and was close to the festival?" Iharu looked over at what Kafka was looking at and lit up a little at the memory.

"Oh yeah! Thisss might be it actually." Kafka looked over at the other two members of the party.

"I think we're going to take a detour. He had plans to stop by the place earlier. The path ahead might be long, so you can go ahead on back, If you want."

"Oh, no. We're sticking with you to make sure you both actually make it back to base." Haruichi walked over to stand under the gate and made an 'after you' kind of gesture. Kafka shrugged his shoulders and walked ahead of Izumo and Kaguragi.

The path had no steps, but sloped upwards gently. Turning sharply left then right then back again, it took the group on a slow and peaceful journey up a hidden hill behind the buildings back on the main boulevard. Kafka was in the lead, setting a slow pace with a sleepy Iharu on his back while Aoi and Haruichi had a quiet discussion further back. Still keeping pace, but leaving enough room between the two of them as to not make things feel rushed.

The path lived up to its initial impression back at its entrance. The trees seemed to block any sound from the festival down at ground level. Not to make things eerily quiet, was a methodical thrumming of cicadas and crickets weaving through the quiet rush of leaves dancing in the light wind. The lanterns were attached to arms connected to rough-hew logs and cast their warm, glassy light over the leaves, bushes, and stones. The shards of colored light danced over Iharu's partially lidded eyes, preforming a hypnotic dance that succeeded in keeping him half awake, half asleep.

His thoughts walked themselves backwards through the events of the day. Starting with the foods and the drinking, quickly sweeping past the terrifying chase against the giant squid monster, slowly reliving the events after, though, and before the movie theater. All the way back to the start, with Reno. Was he sad that he didn't get to do any of this with Reno? Absolutely. But considering the alternative was spending three hours in the barracks, wrapped up in a bare minimum of three stolen blankets, and blowing all that time feeling shitty about the situation he was in; getting to experience all of this anyway, in spite of how he wanted things to go, and having fun with someone he always worked with and was now getting this chance to be closer to as friends... well... this night did a fine job of making him happy anyway. And that was okay.

"Hey... this was nice." Iharu mumbled as he nuzzled Kafka's shoulder. Kafka just gave a big, warm smile back and let Iharu enjoy the scenery as they continued to find the end of the path.

The group finally hit a set of stairs that led to the main part of the shrine. Cresting the top of them, they were greeted with a lovely sight. A moderately sized shrine and a couple outbuildings were surrounded in the thick grove of trees on this hill. The lightly cloudy night sky was visible only in the center of the grove, with a half moon peaking out from the edge of the canopy's opening. It initially seemed that the main source of light was coming from candles and more of the lanterns that lined the path up here. Looking around longer proved that a building off to the right had electric lighting and was the one providing the most light. The light bulbs inside seemed to have attracted all the bugs in the forest and made the projecting light flicker chaotically onto the ground.

Both the shrine and the buildings around it appeared to be old, but very well maintained. Shimenawa ropes of all sizes lined the roofs of the Shrine and select other buildings. The candles, some exposed; others in glass containers, were on the floor of the main shrine and illuminated the collection box at the end of the stone path.

The four of them walked down to the end to pay their respects and make donations. Since Aoi's hands were full and he didn't have much money left after his buying spree, Haruichi paid for them both. Kafka's wallet was in the back pack on Iharu's back. So, without jumping off, Iharu took off the bag and pulled out both of their wallets. Kafka had plenty left but Iharu only had a couple 1000 yen bills and a lot of spare change. He dug out some 5 yen coins and tossed them in with Kafka's donation, still riding on his back. Haruichi made his and the whole group held their hands together in silent prayer.

The group turned around after a moment and walked back toward the entrance they came through. This time staying closer to the right as another group of people walked into the holy grounds as well. Sticking closer to the right afforded the group a good look at the wares the only properly illuminated building was selling. It was mainly some snacks and wooden key chains. There was the omikuji box of course, right next to a display of handmade protective charms and talismans. There was a man on the inside working away, oblivious to the world as a women sang a gentle song on a small black radio. Iharu glanced over the selection of charms and saw one that immediately caught his eye.

"Hey! Heyheyheyheyhey." Iharu's hand shook as he pointed at the charms display.

"What? What is it?" Kafka asked, trying to look at where Iharu's hand was pointing at.

"Looklooklooklook. The blue one." Iharu said vaguely. Kafka walked closer and leaned in to scan the display stand better. He found the light blue one that Iharu was pointing at. It didn't stand out much more differently than the rest, with all of them having the same complicated looking decorative knot pattern and they all were made with different colors of fabric. What he finally put together was that the pattern on the fabric... had snowflakes on it.

Kafka sighed heavily. "I take it you want the blue one for Reno?"

"Yeah, yeahyeahyeah." Iharu nodded quickly.

"You do realize you're broke now, right? You don't have enough money on you to pay for one." Kafka stated. Iharu hung his head and started to whimper loudly and pathetically into Kafka's shoulder.

All Hibino did was sigh heavily again. "Hand me my wallet." Furuhashi gave a small, delighted squeal as he dug out Kafka's wallet again. He paid the man for the charm and turned to meet back up with the other two. Looking around, they found them at a different part of the grounds, standing by a makeshift stall. Getting closer, they could see that it was selling bottles of plum wine and offering free samples to interested buyers. Aoi was sampling his, while Haruichi was having a conversation with the old lady running the stall. Aoi nudged Haruichi to let him not be shocked by their arrival. As Haruichi let Kafka in on the discussion he was having, Iharu immediately spaced out of it and let his eyes wander over the stall. The eyes eventually landed on the label that was on the bottles.

"Oooohhh!" Iharu cooed, "There's snowflakes on it."

"Don't tell me you want to gift Reno that too?" Kafka said exasperatedly. Iharu started to whine again as Haruichi passed a small wad of money over to the shocked lady behind the table.

"That's okay. I shouldn't be needing a whole case of wine anyway." Haruichi walked over to the side and grabbed a large plastic crate of wine bottles.

"And yet... You're buying a whole case of it anyway?" Aoi said with a raised eyebrow. As they walked back to the entrance, Izumo pulled out a bottle and tried to slide it into the open portion of the bag on Iharu's back.

"It's called 'Supporting local businesses'. And it wouldn't hurt to have something to surprise him with on that beach da- Hey!" Haruichi refuted as Iharu pulled out another bottle from the crate as he backed away.

"And, yoink!" the mischievous mohawked man giggled as he held his ill-gotten prize over his supplier's hands.

"Haven't the two of you had enough alcohol tonight?" Aoi said, witnessing the altercation.

"Hey, we made plans to get plastered tonight and I'm still feeling way too sober for that goal." Kafka said as he helped Iharu keep the bottle out of Haruichi's reach.

"You are a horrible role model, you know that?" Izumo said, giving up on the task in favor of protecting the rest in the crate.

"Eh, open." Iharu said, rudely tapping the lip of the bottle to Kafka's mouth.

"Ya could say please, ya know." Kafka returned as he took the bottle from Iharu. He did a partial transformation on his mouth and stuck the largest fang into the cork at the top. Wiggling slightly, the stopper popped satisfyingly and as he spit the cork into his hand, Iharu took the opportunity to steal the wine back.

"HEY! Leave me a sip of that, will YA?"

###########################################

The group made it back to street level and started back on the path to headquarters. They began the trip with the intention of taking a bus back, assuming the truck that Haruichi and Aoi came in on already left without them. The two of them weren't surprised, they were the ones that offered to look for the missing kaiju signature and haven't reported back on it yet, as it was hard to do so since the earpieces only have so much range. And seeing as how long the two of them had been gone and how late it was, they thought that it would be less of a hassle if they hiked it back to base and went inside quietly, just to give their reports in the morning.

The closest bus station was still a ways away, so the group started to walk in the general direction. The walk was quickly derailed as they passed the restaurant that sold Kafka and Iharu their new hats. With some major protesting from Aoi, who was against the idea, Haruichi purchased a dark navy blue one for Aoi and a vibrant red one with silver stars for himself anyway, seeing as Aoi still had his hands full with bags and physically could not intervene. The grumbled protests from Aoi were eventually silenced when he got to keep a large chocolate peanut butter milkshake all to himself.

Thankfully, the bus ride home was uneventful, save for Iharu drunkenly talking Haruichi's ears off when he asked what the Ranger Rika film was all about. However, problems began to arise again as they reached the main gate of the base.

"Ssso, how are we gonna get inside?" Iharu slurred from the top of Kafka's back. He started to carry him again after they got off the bus and saw that he was still swaying on his feet. They were all the way through the empty parking lot and reached the imposing security wall that surrounded the institution. Just under half a kilometer, was the double gated entry point. One of three that were imbedded in the thick concrete barrier.

"What do you mean?" Izumo asked as he turned around to look at the two behind him.

"We probably should've been back, like, hours ago. So if we show our i.d's to the guard, we're probably going to get flagged and that's not something that we want to deal with right now." Kafka said slowly, the gratuitous amounts of alcohol finally catching up with him.

"Did you guys have any sort of plan to get back inside quietly after this little exhibition of yours?" Aoi asked as Haruichi just looked annoyed. Kafka looked back at Iharu as Iharu could only shrug back an answer. He looked back and thought hard for a minute.

"Well... I think Shiggys' working the east gate tonight." Kafka said.

"And... Who's Shiggy?" Haruchi inquired.

"Oh, he's super chill. Dude works the late shift and isn't really a 'by the books' kinda guy. If either one of you has an i.d. on ya, he'll probably just let the whole group on in, no question." Aoi and Haruichi looked at each other, silently debating if they should go through with this. Aoi tried to give a very pointed look to Haruichi, indicating that he should be the one to whip out the i.d., but Haruichi had to defend himself.

"Sorry, but I only carry some cash out on missions. I leave the wallet and cards in my locker."

"Why do you even bring cash with you in the first place?" Iharu mumbled out.

"Last second grocery buys. Snacks, body wash, other things I forget sometimes." Haruichi turned back to Aoi. "So what about you? You can't tell me an ex-military officer doesn't carry at least six forms of identification for emergencies." he mocked. Aoi looked at Izumo, down to the ground in deep thought, gave a hard glance at the plethora of bags he was still holding, and finally hung his head in defeat. Kaguragi sighed heavily as he turned his back to his partner.

"Haruichi... I give you permission to touch my ass." Haruichi gasped in delight as he carelessly dropped the plastic box of wine and wiggled his fingers in excitement.

"Ooohhoohoo! This is a rare treat! What's the occasion, might I ask?"

"If I'm right, my wallet should be in my left back pocket. JUST the left one." Aoi said, looking back with a very pointed expression.

"Yeah you say that, but maybe I should check the right side too. Just to be sure." Haruichi giggled darkly, clearly taking too much joy out of this.

"Do that and I break your ha-nds!" Aoi's voice cracked when Haruichi slyly pinched both of his ass cheeks.

"Ah, would you look at that! Found it." He said as he pulled out the wallet.

"Kafka... shoot me if I ever start acting like that around Reno." Iharu said.

"I don't know. It's kind of endearing... in a weird way." Kafka quirked an eyebrow at the odd scene.

"Ah, trouble. I'm not seeing your base i.d., babe." Haruichi said after a few seconds of rummaging around in the wallet.

"You're sure? Fuck." Aoi cursed quietly. "Do I even trust you enough to look in my front pockets?"

"Nope. I'm going to look anyway." Haruichi giggled again as Aoi visibly winced at the feeling of the other's hands slowly sliding into his thin front pockets from behind. Izumo's hands didn't stick around long, which Kaguragi was thankful for, but it only brought them back to the original problem.

"I'm not feeling your i.d. in here either." Haruichi said as he gently patted Aoi's hips.

"Shiiiiiiiit. That means I never took it off the lanyard in my locker." Aoi threw his head back in disappointment. While this exchange was going on, Kafka and Iharu were looking off in the distance, specifically at the impossibly tall wall. Kafka scanned the parking lot to make sure that there wasn't that many cars to worry about and asked Iharu a question.

"You think If I run fast enough, I can scale that?" He said, nodding to the concrete barrier.

"What, in kaiju form?" Iharu contemplated for a moment, "Yeah. I think you could."

"I know I could, but what about if I carry three other people?" Kafka nodded back to the other two who were deep in what seemed to be a battle plan discussion. "Plus baggage."

Iharu took a long look at the pair next to them while he processed what Kafka was suggesting. He began to chuckle darkly as it all fell into place for him.

"I don't know man, but it be hilarious to try." The two of them began to chuckle in agreement before Kafka decided to put his plan into action.

"Haruichi! Grab the box. I wanna try something." Kafka said as he walked into position.

"Oh, that's great! Honestly, me and Aoi here were getting nowhere with a pla-HEY!" Haruichi cried out as Kafka grabbed him by the waist forcefully after he picked up the crate. Aoi was also none too pleased with where this plan was going, shall we say.

"Passengers, this is your captain speaking. Flight Kafka 690 will be taking off shortly, so please make sure that all baggage is secure and accounted for before it's wheels up and time for take-off." Iharu said smugly as Kafka walked back a few feet, holding a struggling Haruichi and Aoi.

"This is BY FAR the stupidest plan I have ever been forced to be a part oooOOFFFF!" Haruichi screamed as Kafka began to run full sprint toward the insanely high wall. As he got closer, his legs turned into his kaiju ones and the flaps on his calves flared open to reveal the after burners the transformation offered. Jumping onto the wall itself, Kafka's afterburners set fire to the bottom of his pant legs as he rocketed himself and everyone he was carrying into the sky. He could feel his back and elbows transform too to help him keep his back straight as the burners on his elbows helped stabilize him as he somehow managed to stay rooted to his path.

"Kafka you BASTARD!" Aoi screamed.

"If I drop this, I'll KILL YOU!" Haruichi mirrored, changing his grip on the crate of wine, somehow having not dropped any bottles yet.

"FUCK YEAAAAAHHHH!" Iharu cries of joy overshadowed the screams of the others.

"ALLLLMOOOOST THERRRREEE!" Kafka shouted, deep in concentration. The top of the wall got closer and closer, the end of this terrifying ride nearly in sight. The screams of the whole group rose to a deafening peak as Kafka just barely passed the edge of the wall. Relief was felt only for a brief moment when a noticeable shock wave passed through Kafka's body and transferred into the bodies of the others.

"Oh shit." a collective conclusion that was voiced by the whole group.

#########################################

It was just passed one in the morning when Reno and the team he was with made it back to base. He was so very tired. No one ended up being injured, thank God, but the anxiety of the situation took a severe toll on everyone involved. The mole kaiju were easy to take out, but the process to do so ended up becoming the world's most stressful game of literal Wack-a-mole.

Reno thought things would get better when everything was over, feeling hopeful on the chopper ride back, but when Reno pulled up his Chatter app and saw he's feed was just a timeline of Iharu and Kafka having the time of their lives at the food festival, it really put a damper on the ride back.

'I guess he really wanted to leave base today' Reno thought somberly. Iharu was his own person. If he wanted to leave, that's on him. If he wanted to take someone with him, that's on him too.

'It's just... I really wanted to go with him. And thought... he wanted me too..." Reno packed away his gun and excess supplies into his locker, feeling sluggish as he did. Suddenly, a loud metallic slamming noise decided to ring out through the locker room that he was in and dislodged him from his thoughts. Suit half unzipped, Reno tied the sleeves around his waist as he looked down the aisles to see where the door slamming was coming from.

Looking down the row behind him, he saw what seemed to be a very pissed off Kikoru Shinomiya, telling by the feral growling and tearing at her spare bio suit.

"Ummm... Is everything okay? Shinomiya?" Reno asked tentatively.

"I"M GOING TO MURDER THAT PRAWN HEADED RAT BASTARD!" Kikoru growled out as she finally managed to get her lower half into the power suit. Reno only became increasingly concerned now knowing this unbridled rage had something to do with Iharu. He couldn't ask anymore questions, however, since Vice Captain Soshiro Hoshina decided now would be the time to make his presence known.

"Reno. Good to see that you and the rest are back safely."

"Ah! V-vice Captain." Reno stuttered out, startled. "I was just getting my stuff packed before I joined the others for the after mission briefing."

"Good to know, but I think the rest of the team can make the report without you for now." Hoshina said curtly.

"S-sir?" Reno questioned vaguely.

"Don't worry, it's nothing life shattering. I just want to ask you about what the original plans you had with Iharu Furuhashi were about." Hoshina said, his voice giving off the sense that there was some concealed irritation.

"Um, plans? You mean the trip to the movies?" Reno asked.

"Yes, and where you were... haa, hold that thought. Go for Hoshina" he said as his hand made it up to his earpiece.

"Hoshina, this is Okonogi. We've got a massive disturbance at the front gate."

"Define 'disturbance'." Hoshina requested. If one looked closely, you could almost see his temple throbbing in a matched rhythm with his heart.

"I'm pulling security footage now. It's... Kafka Hibino, Sir? It appears that he is trying to... run up? The outer wall and is carrying three other Division members."

"I'm sorry? Other Division members?" Hoshina clarified.

"Yes Sir, that is correct. Just a moment... It looks to be Iharu Furuhashi, Aoi Kaguragi, and Haruichi Izumo. The absent members from this afternoon."

"What the hell is going on?" Reno asked, adjusting his own earpiece to the main channel, wanting to be included in the conversation.

"Sir, update! Kafka had made it up the wall, but has tripped and all four of them are in free fall on the other side" Okonogi reported. Hoshina's sigh turned into an exasperated growl toward the end.

"Come along Reno. We're apparently going to have to save our respective dumbasses." Hoshina turned to leave the room with a puzzled Reno trailing behind.

"Respective dumbasses?" Kikoru muttered. Immediately, a light came on upstairs. "Not until I get a hold of that ASSHOLE FIRST!" Kikoru turned and blasted past the vice captain and ran in the opposite direction of the front gate.

"Who put a bug in her suit?" Hoshina asked as they both leaned on the doorframe and watched her go.

"WRONG DIRECTION, KIKORU!" Reno added helpfully.

######################################

"SSSHHHHIIIIIIIIT" Everyone screamed as they realized what was happening. Kafka relaxed his arms as Haruichi and Aoi planted their feet on his hips and pushed themselves away as far as they could. Iharu, though, hung on for dear life. Haruichi and Aoi still had the their bio suits on, so the landing from such a height didn't give them much trouble. Izumo landed on the balls of his feet and managed to roll with the momentum onto his thighs, through his knees and back onto his butt. All while managing to keep all the wine bottles in the crate. Well, most of them. Two had slipped out during descent and were still up in the air. He rushed forward, leaped into the air, and grabbed them before they touched the ground. Aoi just tanked the landing and kept on his feet.

"You good?" Haruichi asked.

"Just fine." Aoi said through gritted teeth.

Kafka and Iharu were not so lucky.

Kafka also tried to roll into the fall, but messed up and landed on his foot weirdly. Iharu still hadn't let go at this point, so when Kafka fell to the ground, Iharu's knee made contact next.

"Fuck! That was a knee!" Iharu exclaimed. Once momentum seemed to stop, the two of them untangled and rolled away from each other.

"Well, that didn't look pleasant." A sly voice from away came into clarity.

"Vice Captain!" said Haruichi.

"Vice Captain, Sir." said Aoi when he felt recovered enough to speak.

"Well, shit." came from Kafka, knowing he'd been caught.

"YOU THIEVING PIECE OF CRAP!" Kikoru had made a beeline to the crumpled Iharu and began to physically berate him with her foot. "WHERE THE HELL IS MY BRADA BACK PACK?"

"Here, here! It's right here! WAIT, MY SHIT'S STILL INSIDE!" Iharu said as he handed over the stolen bag, only to realize too late that he left his gifts inside.

"I can see that! What is this? Wine? Plum wine? and a beer glass?" Kikoru took a whiff inside the mug, "A used BEER GLASS? What the hell is this doing in here?" Kikoru pulled out a ring of keys next.

"And who the hell's keys are these?' She asked. Hoshina immediately took them from her hand and looked at them in his.

"Kafka... why the hell does Iharu have my keys in a stolen back pack?" Hoshina said, gritting the words through his teeth. Kafka and Iharu looked at each other for a moment before shouting in unison

"OH SHIT! WE FORGOT THE BIKE!"

"YOU WHAT?" Soshiro screamed, hauling Hibino up by his collar.

"And is this... are there FRY CRUMBS IN MY BRADA? IS THAT A CHILE SAUCE STAIN? IN MY BRADA?" Kikoru began to weaponize the empty bag and used it to beat the already downed Iharu.

"Oh, damn. I didn't know that was Brada." Haruichi said, trying to pass by the commotion.

"Thanks Captain Obvious, I think we figured that out." Kafka retorted as he was dragged off the ground by Hoshina.

"NONE of you go too far. You all have some explaining to do." Hoshina said, gripping tightly to Kafka' forearm.

"Kikoru, I think he's had enough!" Reno said as he finally stepped into view and intervened in the one sided fight between the two of them. As he helped Iharu off the ground he asked, "Hey, are you alright?"

It didn't take Iharu very long to realize who was helping him up and immediately threw his arms around Reno's neck.

"AEDZGJNSTR, RENO! You're back! I'm so happy now!" he said as he gurgled drunkenly around his words. "I'm so happy that you're back! I was missing you all day. I'm sorry that left without youuu. I prepaid the tickets and Kafka said I should use them, so I did, but I was wishing that you were there 'cuz it was a great movie and I went to the festival without you too and it was making me sad, but I had food and I thought I would be okay and then I saw this mug and it reminded me of you-" Iharu broke away to grab the somehow intact mug from Kikoru's hands.

"It was this mug, 'cuz see! It has snowflakes on it and it made me think of you and how much I missed you and how I wanted to take you with me on the date but I couldn't and I thought about how I thought I blew my chance to tell you that I love you-" he took a big deep breath, "But Kafka and Haruichi said that I could take you to the beach and I felt happy again so the mug made me happy again because it still reminds me of you so I want you to have it." Iharu had finally stopped talking for a moment and looked deep into Reno's widened eyes with his watery, eager ones. Reno could feel his face start to burn once he slowed down all the words that Iharu had said and realized what it meant. Before Reno could even begin to tell him anything, Iharu looked like he remembered something else and turned back to a stunned Kikoru, who had been listening to the entire conversation. He grabbed the protective charm and the bottle of wine and clumsily shoved them into Reno's hands.

"Oh! Also, Me and Kafka and Haruichi and Aoi all went to this shrine that I wanted to show you because I thought it was pretty and you remind me of pretty things and when I was there I saw this charm and it has snowflakes on it, so of course I had to buy it- well, Kafka bought it, but I still want you to have it 'cuz its pretty and do you think they'll let me put this on your gun? 'cuz I think that would be cool-ohohoh! OR I could put it on the suit! That would be really cool if they let me do that. Oh and speaking of cool- looklooklook-" Iharu picked up the bottle of plum wine and showed him the label.

"This has snowflakes on it too! It's going to be a surprise when I take you on our beach date in a few weeks!" Iharu had wrapped his hands back around Reno's neck and begun to swing themselves around, causing Reno to put his already full hands on Iharu's waist to keep themselves upright.

"I'm going to save up my hours again and when we go to the beach, we're gonna go on a picnic and I'm gonna break out the bottle and I'm gonna tell you how much I looove youuu and how much I like being around youuu and how much I like being yourrr rivaaal..." Iharu had finally stopped spinning them around and leaned all the way onto Reno, wrapping his hands tightly around his crush's shoulders.

"Doesn't that sound really nice?" He whispered, gently nosing the shell of Reno's ear.

Reno felt like he was shaking. Whether from shock or excitement, he wasn't sure. He took the bottle that was still in Iharu's hand and tightened his around the sleepy drunk's waist. He felt his face flush even harder, blood flooding his brain and making his ears and shoulders feel like a million degrees in the cool night air. Burying his face into Iharu's shoulder, Reno confessed his only thought on his mind.

"That... sounds amazing, Iharu." But Iharu wasn't listening. Having fallen asleep, nuzzled into Reno's neck and breathing softly, almost snoring.

"Well, wasn't that a touching display." Hoshina said sarcastically, not one to let the quiet stand infinitely. "He's still getting a hefty reprimand, as well as you." He said, directing the last bit of statement to Kafka, which he was now holding by the ear.

"What the fuck possessed you to write in three hundred AND THIRTY SIX HOURS? DID YOU THINK YOU COULD HONESTLY GET AWAY WITH THAT? AND YOU LEFT MY BIKE BEHIND?" Hoshina said as he began to drag Kafka away, causing the rest of the group to cringe in response to the abuse.

"Forget a week of janitorial duty! It's a month- no, three months! And you can forget the office sex too!" Aoi and Haruichi were nodding along solemnly to what Hoshina was saying, mentally grieving for Kafka and any spare time he would've had, only to snap back to reality at the last bit of punishment.

"Oh, come on! It was a joke- wait, lets thINK ABOUT THIS!" Kafka cried, 'Three months for a joke is a bit much, don't ya think! I'll get the bike back, I swear!"

"YOU CAN'T EVEN DRIVE IT! If you keep arguing, I'll cut out the blowjobs too!" Hoshina said sternly, still dragging Kafka away. His cries of disappointment were heard all the way to the guard house.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ Bonus/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"You sure you don't want help with that?" Kikoru asked, carrying her (apparently) expensive black back pack and a couple plastic bags of food that Aoi got her at the food festival.

"No thank you, I'm good." Reno said as he struggled to carry an asleep Iharu, the items he got for him, and the bags of food that Aoi also got for him.

"Are you at least aware that you have to make a left turn in about twenty feet?" Kikoru retorted, smiling smugly at all the trouble that Reno was going through to not disturb Iharu's sleep.

"Yes, Kikoru, I know where I'm going. A fair bit better than you, since you still can't remember where the front door is." Kikoru snobbishly stuck her nose in the air at the insult.

"The front door was always down and to the right of the of the mission personnel lockers. It still seems stupid that they would change the layout in such a drastic manner."

"Whatever Kikoru. Have a good night." Reno turned to go into the male barracks as Kikoru parted to go to her side of the building.

He walked into the area holding the bunks and put Iharu down on Reno's bed since Furuhashi slept on the top bunk. Reno knew better than to try and get him up there by himself. He set him down as gently as he could, making sure not to catch any of the gifts under Iharu. Reno set his stuff down and leaned over to put the deeply asleep soldier's feet on the bed, and since he was down there, took off Iharu's shoes too. Carefully wrenching the sheets out from under the body, Reno tucked him in as gently as possible. Getting shocked for a moment when Iharu shifted and grabbed the blanket from Reno's hands, but when all Iharu did was tuck the sheet under his chin, Reno let out the breath he didn't know he held.

Not wanting to leave him alone so soon, however, Reno took a pillow from another bunk and placed it on the floor about where Iharu's head was. Getting to the floor as carefully as possible, he sat down on the pillow and opened the bags of food, courtesy of Aoi. He rummaged around quietly and started to pull out some of the goods based on what seemed more delicious at the moment, eventually pulling out a large, marked takeout box that just said 'kaiju squid' on the top.

Before he opened it, he felt a hand lightly smack him on the back of the head. Reno turned around, thinking that he somehow ended up waking Iharu, only to see that he was just shifting in his sleep. A hand was now exposed from its place from under the covers and was hanging limply from the bed's edge. Thinking for a moment, Reno gathered some courage and bravely placed Iharu's hand on the top of his head. In doing so, he could feel Iharu's fingers lightly twitching in his hair, almost like it was trying to brush through it in his sleep. Reno just smiled and went back to his midnight meal.

(holy fucking shit, I did it! I got this made! World, prepare to meet my first public fanfic.)

[finchesslingshott]

You should know I’ll be there for you — a Modern!Newsies HS Oneshot (Race and Finch comfort) (cowritten by @coffeeistired)

!! TW: mention of eating disorder !!

Summary: Finch and Race have a sleepover the night before their opening show of Seussical. When he gets home first, Race goes snooping around Finch’s kitchen and finds it startlingly empty, confirming his suspicions. (They are THE best friends ever) Title from If We Have Each Other by Alec Benjamin.

WC: 1950 words

“I can’t even believe opening night’s tomorrow,” Finch said tiredly, running a hand through his hair as he sat on the floor in front of Race, struggling to tie his shoes.

“Me neither,” Race replied leaning back on his palm, taking the toothpick he held in his mouth out, leaning over to help Finch with his shoes — though Race was almost doing a worse job then the other had been.

“You still down to spend the night at my place tonight?” Finch said, smirking at his best friend. “If you’d rather flirt with Conlon over Discord all night again, then by all means, be my guest.”

Race’s face lit up instantly, he took Finch’s shoe off, throwing it at him. “Shut it! We aren’t— it’s not like that, and you know it.” Race huffed, putting the toothpick back in his mouth, chewing on it. “I guesss I'll still come over.” He added on dramatically.

Finch giggled a little, taking his shoe back and straightening up. “Cool. Well, since we both drove separately, and I don’t trust my car in the school parking lot, I guess I’ll just see you at my place? You have my address.” “Well, I hope I do.” Race said, feeling his pockets- keys, phone- okay. Good. “Bet ya 5 bucks I get there first.” He joked, standing up.

Finch smirked, rolling his eyes. “Whatever, Higgins. See you in a few.”

Race snickered. “See ya in a few.” He replied before instantly booking it to his car, pushing past Finch. He wasted no time in taking off, definitely breaking some traffic laws. He got to Finch’s apartment first, finding the spare key hidden under the doormat and letting himself in. Race looked around the familiar place, a grin on his face, satisfied that he did in fact get there first — he got lost all too easily, and had a hard time paying attention to where he was going, getting distracted by the scenery or the other cars around him most of the time. He closed the door (not locking it) behind him just as his stomach growled. Suddenly he realized he’d forgotten to eat that day. Again. Damn it.

Finch wouldn’t mind if he stole some cookies or something surely — he did it almost constantly. He waltzed right into the other’s kitchen, going for the fridge.

Huh.

Race was no nutritionist but he didn’t think energy drinks were exactly the healthiest to have, and it didn’t seem like Finch had anything else. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, going to the cabinet and finding nothing but a couple measly bags of coffee. Pure black coffee grounds. 

His face slowly fell. Did Finch not have food?

Could he not afford it? Race got being poor — he was way less better off before Medda adopted him — but surely Finch knows he can ask for money if he needs it, right? Race felt a small shudder shoot down his spine, he shut the cabinet door, waking off to Finch’s room.

He needed answers. He felt a little sick to his stomach with something didn’t usually recognise. 

Worry. That’s not something he did a lot of. He didn’t like it. 

He usually would respect the other’s privacy but…the lingering fear in the back of his mind wouldn’t let him, so with reckless abandon, he went through Finch’s stuff.

He found his bedroom, and opening the door, found a relatively clean room — Finch hated messy situations, they stressed him out. On the top of his dresser, Race found a bunch of unopened things — bags of chips, candies, multiple chocolate bars — all clearly from Christmas, work, or some cast party or other events. They all looked like they hadn’t been touched in days, weeks, maybe even months.

Race’s brow furrowed. Why would he have all of this? He was chewing so hard on his toothpick at this point that it snapped. He quickly shoved the broken thing into his pocket- if this got any worse he’d probably need a cigar- the thing the toothpicks were meant to replace.

He couldn’t bring himself to investigate further, he just sorta stared awhile— unsure of what to make of it all.

He remembered a conversation he’d had with Buttons and Davey a while back, and Davey talking about his suspicion that Finch might have developed something called anorexia.

“It’s a type of eating disorder,” Davey had explained, noticing the confused frowns on Buttons’ and Race’s faces. “Mainly characterized by avoiding food altogether. Haven’t you noticed he barely eats in front of other people anymore? And that he’s been ‘forgetting his lunch’ more than usual recently?”

“Fuck.” Race said under his breath, his mind drifting back to the present, hand clinging to the leg of his pants. His eyes were glued to the sight in front of him — he wasn’t fit to handle this — he was stupid, he’d just make it worse — but he can’t just pretend not to know, that’s wrong. This is all wrong.

He sighed shakily, eyes darting to the door. Finch should be here soon. What was he going to say? Hey, bro, have you been eating lately? Do you have that thing Davey was talking about with a name I can’t pronounce?

Why didn’t you tell me?

Why didn’t he tell him? Had Race done something wrong?? Did Finch just not trust him anymore? Was he gonna die or leave or whatever happens to people when this happens? 

Race felt the tears already force their way into his eyes. He quickly wiped them away, shaking his head. This wasn’t about him; it was about Finch. 

He had to make sure he was okay. Just…somehow.

“Race! You already here?” Finch’s voice called from the living room, and Race heard the thump of Finch letting his bag fall to the floor. Speak of the devil.

Race sighed again, taking out the container of toothpicks he’d been forced to carry by Spot, putting one in his mouth as he left the other’s room, just kinda…standing in the hall, trying to control his breathing. 

“Hey…Finch?” He called. “Got anything ya might wanna say?”

Finch frowned slightly, examining Race’s face. “What do you mean? Is something wrong?”

“You tell me. Is something wrong?” Race asked back, crossing his arms, he was going to snap yet another toothpick if this kept up.

Finch’s eyes darted away, then returned to Race’s face. “Apart from my Algebra 2 grade, not really. What are you talking about, Race?”

“Oh- your Algebra 2 grade is fine.” He replied in expersation, walking further down the hall. “Do I gotta spell everythin’ out for ya?” 

He was doing this wrong. He probably sounded mad — he needed to shut up really badly, but he was never good at shutting up. He leaned against the wall, eyes glued to the floor despite the way he spoke, he was nervous. He squeezed his eyes shut, breathing in shakily. 

“Your….room,” he mumbled, trying to not have to do the one to bring it up.

“What about it?” Finch said, his frown deepening. “Race, you’re acting weird. Is everything alright?”

“Are you a hoarder or something?” He blurted out- No- Damn it Race- He mentally cursed himself. “I uh…have you been starving yourself?” 

Wow. Way to sugarcoat it, Race.

Finch froze, staring at Race. He felt his chest tense up, his heart beating faster. Shit. Shit. Shit.

“I— No, Race what’re you— Why would you—”

“Don’t….Don't lie to me,” he mumbled, looking up. “C’mon, Adi, you can talk to me. What is it? If ya need money or something you can ask fer it, y’know?” Race forced himself to stop rambling, taking a few steps closer, coming to a stop. 

“Finch, I can’t lose you too,” he said suddenly, looking back to the ground, hands clenched into fists.

Finch let out a quiet, shaky breath, not looking up as tears welled up in his eyes. “How… How’d you know?” he whispered, his voice cracking.

“Uh, Dave, really. Y’know, the guy can’t keep his mouth shut. He mentioned somethin’ a couple months ago, ‘round the time the Seussical cast list came out — somethin’ with a big fancy name I can’t pronounce.” Race gulped slightly. “And— your collection of old food in your room, th-that was— was a pretty big giveaway.” Race’s voice had dwindled away, almost a whisper now. “Just…tell me what’s wrong, Adi, please. I’m beggin’ over here.”

Finch didn’t look up — he couldn’t, more like — and just stood there, his breathy shaking as he tried to force himself not to cry. “I can’t,” he whispered, his voice cracking.

“Ya can’t…what?” Race prompted, looking up, gesturing for Finch to go on.

Finch shook his head, starting to attempt to speak before crumpling, starting to sob quietly.

Race flinched, quickly walking over to Finch, sliding to his knees, wrapping his arms around the other, chin rested atop his head as he sighed. “Hey, look, ‘m sorry, Adi, I’m just— confused?” He tried before shutting up.

Race started to exaggerate his breathing, hoping Finch would take the hint and match it.

He didn’t seem to grasp it yet, just crying into Race’s shoulder. This was the hardest he’d ever seen Finch cry, and it was startling.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” he choked, his voice shaky. “I-I just thought— thought you’d get mad if you found out. I— I didn’t want you to make me stop.”

Race rubbed circles into the other’s back. Maybe he was taking deep breaths for himself rather than Finch at this point, because what was he meant to do? What was he supposed to say? Should he say anything?

“Yeah, well… ya thought wrong, loser. I’m the furthest thing from mad,” Race retorted, trying to lighten the mood. Stop what? Stop not eating? Well, duh, Finch needed to eat something. Race knew he probably would figure out a way around it if he tried to make the other eat. That’s okay. He’ll think of something, as long as Finch was okay in the end.

“Are you gonna tell Benji?” Finch said, his voice almost a scared little whimper.

“Nah…Who said I even talk to him at all?” Race tried to joke — shit, that was a bad joke. A horrible joke even. “I…no, I ain’t tellin anyone.”

Finch snuffled, running a hand through his hair. “Thanks. I don’t… I don’t wanna stress him out. Especially with finals coming up.”

“Yeah…don’t mention it.” Race said, just holding the other tightly for a while, trying to think. “…wanna talk about it?” 

Racetrack was not someone to just…comfort someone, he was horrible at it, a 10 year old would be a better comfort then Race in all honesty, but he wanted to help, he really did.

Finch didn’t answer for a second, thinking. “Not… Not right now,” he finally said, his voice still shaky. “Let’s… Let’s talk Monday. I don’t want both of us to be stressed out during shows and stuff.” He sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry. I kept trying to find a time to tell you, but… Never felt like the right moment, y’know?”

“Well, for your information. I gotta be a furry, I’m already stressed out,” Race shot back playfully, tracing random shapes into the other’s back— a star, then a square, then a circle, then random lines. 

“I’ll hold ya to that then,” Race said, his eyes squeezing shut as he hugged his best friend. “You can tell me anythin’ y’know? I’ll never get mad, scouts honor.”

“Race, we dropped out of Boy Scouts in seventh grade.” “You know what I mean!” Finch laughed a little bit, snuffling quietly and hugging his best friend. “Yeah, I do. Thank you.”

[falconcoast]

morning warm up | thin ice au! childe x reader

day eight. ice skating ft. childe

event masterlist

you and your husband go for your morning warm up on the frozen-over lake. 

a/n: hello thin ice nation this one is for you!! don’t know what thin ice is? find the beloved hockey player childe x ice-skater/manager reader series here :D (also side note: tomorrow’s drabbles will most likely get pushed to thursday as i have a calc final (i hate math second derivatives are stupid and i hate them))

tw/cw: none apply!

the holiday season was especially busy when you spent it with childe’s family. all five of his siblings were home for the holidays. his older sister and brother both managed to spend the season away from their work in the government. anthon, teucer, and tonia were on break from school. and of course, your husband had a week or two off from his ever-busy hockey season. as for you, you had skipped a skating competition or two in order to spend time with your in-laws.

“can’t believe that you could skate like this nearly every day when you were a kid,” you said, waddling out on the ice. “i’m jealous. cider lake never gets cold enough to freeze.”

“yeah. i’d say this is where my hockey career began,” he bragged before you smacked him upside the head. “agh, hey! just telling the truth!”

“you started playing hockey because your older brother beat you while you were speedskating and you never let it go,” you deadpanned under your bundled up scarf.

“hey, i thought you said you wouldn’t bring that up again!”

as you skated forward, you held hands with him. the early morning sun reminded you of the times you would warm up in the archon arena as a college student and as a teenager in barbatos arena. pink and orange highlighted the sky in faint streaks. for once, the snow lessened and the birds took flight.

“it’s a great time to warm up,” childe said, stretching out his arms and he twizzled around. rolling his shoulders and turning his head back and forth, he grinned at you. “you wanna race?”

perking up, you raised an eyebrow with a knowing smile. “do i? of course i--” without much time for a response, he took off, sticking his tongue out and leaving you behind. “hey!”

racing forward, you chased after him. there was a certain comfort in hearing the blade hit the ice again, leaving soft shaved bits of ice in your wake. he whirled around you suddenly, making you nearly turn around and fall on your bottom. moving forward once more, you caught up to him with a pant. “haven’t lost my touch just yet,” you breathed out heavily, latching onto his hoodie.

“oy! that’s cheating!” he scowled, floundering on the ice. “w-woah!”

with a thump, he fell down, taking you with him. you sprawled out on the ice with quick breaths making your chests rise and fall. holding his hand, you felt for his hand under his glove.

“i definitely beat you, by the way,” you wheezed out, sitting up.

“uh, helllll no, you didn’t! you made me fall!”

“well, i--”

“mom says to quit arguing out there!” a tiny voice called from the house. “and she also says to come inside and have breakfast before getting a cold!”

teucer stood at the porch deck, wearing his pajamas. he waved, small puffs of fog rising from his figure. getting up, you waved back. “coming, teuce! be there in a minute!”

“looks like we’re heading back in. that’s good, because my cheeks are so cold!” he exclaimed, rubbing his hands.

kissing his cheek, you smiled at him. “you’ll be warm soon enough,” you said, shrugging your shoulders. suddenly, you took off again. sliding without friction, you whooped. “race you!”

“hey, that’s cheating! again!”

[sunnyie-eve]

12 | Accepting

Series: A Zombie's Serenity 

Paring: Zed Necrodopolis x OFC Buchanan!

Word Count: 1.5k

A/N: Might be a few mistakes, and I'm using Brenna D'Amico as how the OC's looks

| MASTERLIST |

~~~

All morning before leaving for school, Bucky wouldn't shut up about winning the election against Zed. "Okay, can you shut up about it now? You won, woohoo." I snap while I eat breakfast. 

"You're just mad your monster didn't win because he zombied out." He baby talks me as he heads to he front door. 

"And he would have won if he didn't!" I shout as he leaves. 

"You know how your brother is... just ignore him." Mom tells me and something catches my eye. 

"Your hair..." I get up from my seat. 

"Oh, yeah. Someone helped me to stop hiding it." She gives me a smile. 

"Why didn't you ever tell me?" I look at her hair that was just like mine, actually the exact same as mine. 

"I never felt confident or comfortable but watching you since you started showing it off started to make me think about it." She tells me so I give her a big hug. "Now get out of here and get to school." She shoves me off of her as our doorbell rang. "I'll get it. You get your bag and put your bowl in the sink." She leaves the room and I do what she said to do. "Oh, Zed." I hear her say making me do it fast. 

"You have hair just like Serenity too?" He points it out. 

"I do. I hid it my whole life until now. Serenity, taught me that I should be comfortable in something that means me." She give him a smile. 

"We better get going to school like you told me to." I kiss her cheek then take Zed's hand into mine. "

Have a good day. And Zed remember you're welcome over whenever you feel like it. If Bucky says thing, I'll just send him to his room." She makes him laugh and say okay as we leave.

"You didn't tell me she had hair like you." Zed looks down at me. 

"I didn't know. Like she said, she hid it her whole life." I laugh as we walk. 

"Have you talked to Addison?" He brings her up. 

"Nope. Do you think I was too harsh yesterday?" I stop walking to ask him. 

"I personally don't think it matters if you were or weren't because you were letting your feelings out you seem to have bottled up. Just remember you are special to some people. Especially to me." He kisses the top of my head. 

"Let's just get to school." I laugh and we walk to school hand in hand.

"Attention, everyone. This is you new president, Bucky reminding you that the Prawn is tomorrow night." Bucky says over the PA. 

"As you know, with the anti-monster laws still in place, this is a human only event." Principal Lee adds. 

"Why exactly are the laws still in place? Aunt Missy put them back because everyone was scared of the werewolves attacking... then they come to school and do other things but they never got rid of them." I complain as we get to school. 

"You have a point. Are you going?" He asks me. 

"I already told you no. I don't care about dances. Plus I'd rather spend the night with you at home." I squeeze his hand with a smile.

The day went by fast and anytime Addison and I were near each other you could feel the tension. We tried our best to ignore each other and we did a good job till we had to pair up together. The teacher wasn't exactly happy that we didn't discuss the topic we were on in class. Our conversation had about less than five sentences. 

As soon as the bell rang we split apart not wanting to be near each other. I get a text from my mom telling me to tell Zed that he's invited to dinner tonight. He slightly startles me when he pops up next to me at my locker, "My mom said your invited to dinner tonight." I tell him and his eyes widen. 

"Wait, really?" He asks so I show him the text. "What am I going to wear? How much crap is Bucky going to talk? Is your dad okay with this?" He starts to rant. 

"Zed, wear what you normally wear. You don't have to impress anyone. My parents like you. Just be yourself and they'll like you even more. So no pretending to be someone you're not." I poke his chest.

When I get home I tell my mom Zed said he'll come over later when it's closer to dinner time. "That's great. I even went down to Zombietown earlier to get some food just for him so he'll feel at home." She smiles as I take a seat at the island. 

"You scare me lately. You know that." I laugh at her. 

"How so?" She starts to work on dinner. 

"You went from hating zombies strongly to making a special meal for one you invited over for dinner." I say causing her to turn around. 

"And I was wrong because they aren't as bad as I thought. Plus Zed is such a sweet handsome boy. Not to mention he stole my daughter's heart." She gives me a sweet smile. 

"You sure it's wasn't his quick wit and charming smile?" I laugh. 

"His smile is charming... I understand why you feel for him as soon as you saw him."

"Actually when I first met him I didn't see him because it was dark in the zombie safe room. Then the lights came on and Addison punched him in the face." I let her know. 

"Speaking of Addison... I heard you two were at it yesterday? What happened?" She asks with her back towards me. 

"Long story short she was trying to become a werewolf. Zed stole her necklace that would turn her into if she was one. She got mad at me because I knew he took it and I wasn't going to tell her. I told her it wasn't my place and that I told Zed, he knows what he has to do. Then I snapped telling her she's obsessed with her hair wanting it to mean something special. Unlike me who doesn't care and know it has no special meaning. She can't live with the thought that it has no special meaning. She constantly whines about not feeling like she belong, not having her own little pack, when she have so many people who care and love her for who she is." I explain in a mono tone making her turn to face me.

"Her response was I can't see myself or understand myself yet I say I'm nothing special or important but I'm okay with that. Then she adds she knows why because of the constant reminder in my head telling me, grandma said she's more special. I hate the fact that I don't know why she said that. So I have no choice but to see myself as nothing and pretend I'm okay with that." I roll my eyes. 

"Grandma Angie told you Addison was more special?" She tilts her head. 

"Yep, and it's been burned into my brain." I nod my head. 

"Growing up she told me Missy was more special than me. She told me when you were born she was disappointed that we both got brown hair with our white. Said we won't have the spark... whatever that meant." She walks over to stand next to me and touch my hair.

"Then does our hair actually mean something? Then what?" I ask confused watching her face. 

"Said I didn't need to worry about it." She forces a smile and I could tell she was keeping something but I let it go. 

As she goes back to making dinner I head upstairs to my room. As I was working on some things for class, Bucky comes into my room with a big smile across his face. "What?" I whine. 

"I thought I'd be nice and keep one of each for you." He pulls out a poster, and a bangers of the, Zed for prez, he made to make him look like a monster. "I know you like your monster so I saved it for you." He puts them on my bed. I decided to keep that Zed was coming over for dinner so he would be surprised. "Now I have to work on president things." He chuckles leaving my room.

I have no clue where he thinks I can put this big banner because it was long than the length of the wall. I fold it up and put in in a box and put the standing banner in a corner of my room. I go over to bag and pull out the crumbled poster to look off the wall yesterday. I smooth is out the best I could then put it up on my wall. I did hate when he tries to make himself look normal but I mean he was running to make change.

[jammie3132]

Sir Knight and Prince Charming, Ch. 3

So...I haven't posted here in a while (DUH) and it looks like a lot of things have changed. Since I'm pretty confused, I'm just going to post this here like this. What I am going to do is put the link to AO3 ( at the bottom) because I don't remember if I posted the first 2 chapters. My timeline is all whackadoodle and I'm going to need more time (and a lot of wine) to go through that mess. Wish me luck!

THURSDAY…EXACTLY 2 WEEKS LATER

Santana stared at the 3x5 cards on the push-pin board in her office, uncertain of what to do with this new clue.

**June Dolloway cancels B’s Showcase & Met Gala**

Granted, it couldn’t be helped. Her sister-in-law broke her hip and she was going to France to take care of her. But, since June and her bad directions/wrong number brought Sir Knight into the picture in the first place, anything June related had to be included on the Blaine Board.

But where?

Trouty was in Kentucky for the twins’ birthday which meant it fell on her shoulders to get some answers. Seriously, it did, and this time it wasn’t for fun like when she figured out Berry’s sleazy ex was a gigolo. Ok, yes, she originally thought drug dealer but tomato-tomato. What bugged her was it only took 3 hours to solve that mystery and 2 weeks later she was no closer to figuring out what caused the change in Blaine.

He hadn’t left the basement in over a week. In one way this was completely understandable. Afterall, the place was called Blaineland.

None of them (even those who lived there) had ever been in the basement. Mercedes constantly reminded the group the record label declared it off limits and she wasn’t going to piss them off. Then the Andersons bought the brownstone and wanted some pictures of the furnace.

Everyone was stunned by what they discovered but Blaine fell to his knees and sobbed like a baby. The whole thing was a state-of-the-art recording studio with a baby grand piano and 2 lounges, one being a home theater and concession stand with a movie theater popcorn machine!!!

This was all amazing but not leaving the basement included Blaine’s classes at NYADA. Yes, he arranged excused absences for earlier in the week because he didn’t know what his state of mind would be with Tuesday being the one-year anniversary of the shooting at McKinley.

You say school shooting and people are a bit more understanding.

Today was Thursday…no classes but he flat-out stated he wasn’t going to his Song Writing Workshop tomorrow.

Damn it! She’d fallen down a rabbit hole yet again. Stay focused, Lopez! Back to the beginning, or what Blond Chameleon (dork!) believed was the beginning.

**Sir Knight=Sebastian Smythe?**

This never felt quite right. Don’t get her wrong, her psychic Mexican-third eye was screaming the SOB was somehow involved.

The only thing she couldn’t get past was Blaine’s insistence his Knight in Shining Armor couldn’t possibly be Slushie Smurf. There’s a sadness behind the denials. A sadness Blaine’s expressive eyes couldn’t hide, at least to her. How come she seemed to be the only one who saw it?

Wasn’t Blaine supposed to be the oblivious one, not his best friend and boyfriend?

Hummel kept insisting whatever was happening was no big deal. The day after the Thursday from Hell, Blaine met with his song writing professor and it didn’t go well. In fact, it went so badly the professor told him if he didn’t fix his assignment by the due date, she’d have no other choice but to fail him.

**Song Writing Fail**

She pulled off the card and moved it to align with the Sir Knight card. This made more sense to why Blaine practically moved into a music studio.

Well, that and the fact his old room was now her office/temporary bedroom and his new room was part of the remodel.

But the meeting with the professor happened on Friday which meant it couldn’t be the catalyst for Blaine’s change. Too much crap happened the day before, especially some events she believed hadn’t been given enough attention due to their (*cough* Sam’s) Sir Knight focus.

**Kurt’s temper tantrum saying Blaine was responsible for his getting kicked off the photoshoot**

**Kurt talks to Chinese Food delivery guy, has a complete 180 attitude change and apologizes for earlier behavior**

**Kurt never explains what happened at Vogue or what caused the attitude change**

Rachel (accidently) mentioned something about Kurt having to sign a big NDA agreement for the photoshoot but, of course, didn’t know details. Did everyone at Vogue have to sign an NDA? If so, there was no way to get information there. But what about the delivery guy? What did he say to flip Hummel? Should she go try to talk to him?

Should she add all this to the board?

She was still deciding when her phone rang. Looking at the clock, she remembered Pamela had scheduled a call at this time. But from the ringtone alert it wasn’t her but her husband.

That’s weird

“Hello, Mr. Anderson.”

“Good morning, Santana. How are you?”

“Um, a little confused. I was expecting Pamela so we could finalize the schedule for tomorrow’s demolition and the start of the remodel on Monday.”

The Andersons hired her (temporarily) to handle Pamela’s ridiculous (and constantly growing) To Do List. Blaine and Sam had too much on their plates, especially when it was announced Sam had won the role of Mike in the Magic Mike Musical.

She still couldn’t believe she caught Rachel’s reaction to the news. It was even better when Artie put the video on a loop (with cut ins of Sam doing his body rolls) and set it to music…Pony, of course.

Anyway, one day after she went (verbally) Lima Heights on one of the contractors (who Blam believed was mobbed up) the temporary title went away. Now she’s the Andersons’ personal assistant/house manager and unofficial Blam babysitter.

It was the best job she’d ever had and not just because she’d been fired by both Yeast-I-Stat and the diner (long story). Charles calling had her worried. He must have picked that up from her tone. “Santana, everything’s fine. Plans changed and Pammy left for LA this morning to see Cooper. You’re doing a great job. Better than we dared to hope.”

“Thank you, Sir.” Wait… “When you say plans changed, does that mean the record label got the judge to void the sale of the brownstone?”

His laughter made it clear that wasn’t the case.

“Nope. Like I said all along, it’s not mine and Pammy’s fault the producer who was supposed to live there funneled 3 million dollars from the company to build a studio and no one noticed. And even though the paperwork isn’t completely finalized, enough of it has been. It also helped we purchased the place in cash, as is, expedited closing at the label’s insistence.”

“As is being the important part. Right?”

“Smart girl but the label being the party to insist on the fast closing didn’t hurt. The judge did admit my getting the contracts pushed through in less than 24 hours tied his hands. It usually takes around 30 days to close on a property.”

“Not your fault you’re good at your job…whatever it is. It was fun watching the people from the label heads explode when they realized how badly they screwed up. But, Mr. Anderson, you haven’t said what the change of plans are?”

“Turns out you are not the only one who believes I’m good at what I do. The parent company of the record label offered me a job running the non-talent portion of the label. You know, the boring stuff. I’m flying into NYC in the morning to listen to what they have to say. Since today is Thursday, can you tell Blaine I’m coming? Sam told me you’re now the gatekeeper for emergency contacts and I’ve learned my lesson about interrupting his Blaine Time.”

This is your job…this is your job…this is your job

You love your job…you love your job…you love your job

“Yes, of course I’ll tell Blaine. Do you want him to call you?”

“That’s not necessary. My appointment/interview is more of a business lunch so I’ll call him afterwards.” There was a pause, but she could feel he wasn’t finished. “Santana, tell me the truth, at least as much as you’re comfortable telling me without breaking Blaine’s…I mean…it’s just, how is he doing? Sam said the anniversary of the McKinley shooting hit them all harder than they realized it would. Then June Dolloway cancelled his Showcase…”

“You know why she did that. Right?”

“Oh, yes. My mother fell and broke her hip last year. My brothers and I all took turns caring for her so, as a son, I completely understand. As a father, I’m worried about the ramifications for my child.”

A father who gives a damn, even after all the crap that happened when his child came out as gay. Must be nice.

“I do know he has a meeting with Carmen Tibideaux at NYADA next week, but otherwise he really hasn’t said anything. Remember, he only found all this out yesterday.”

“He’s not talking to anyone? I know Sam’s in Kentucky but not even Kurt? And what about that new friend of his…the guy he calls Sir Knight?” WTF? How does he know? “Sam told me the two of you have been trying to find out who he is.”

I…AM…GOING…TO…KILL…HIM!!!!!

“You know Sam. No way his Superhero alter ego can pass up on a mystery.”

“He said maybe there was a tie in with the Warblers. Pammy says Blaine tried to keep his friendships with them even after what happened with his eye but after the steroids everything fell apart.”

That was new. Ok, maybe Sam wasn’t going to die. Plus, Charles was referring to the Warblers as a whole and not one particular Warbler who nearly blinded his son.

“We did think there might be a connection to the Warblers but don’t see how it would connect back to June.”

“June?”

“She gave Blaine the wrong number which turned out to be Sir Knight’s. But our research didn’t go anywhere because neither of us knew any of the Warblers’ full names.”

“Having those names is important?”

“Can’t cyberstalk someone if you don’t know their name.”

They did know the name Sebastian Smythe. Why hadn’t they just Googled the ass? What an epic fail.

She blames Sam, or even better, Blond Chameleon.

“True, but please try to not call your research cyberstalking. Let me get ahold of Pammy and see what she can do, if anything. And Santana, thanks for helping look after my boy. Something’s going on and I don’t want Blaine falling back into the depression he was in last year. Pammy and I still haven’t forgiven ourselves for not catching on sooner.”

After their goodbyes ended, she started to write down all the new information Charles gave her. Right when she pinned the last new 3x5 card to the Blaine Board, an email alert from Pamela popped up on her computer screen. In it was her log-in and password to the Dalton Parent Portal. She’d just gone online and confirmed it worked.

After all this time? Blaine left Dalton nearly 3 years ago. You’d think a fancy private school would have better cyber security. Reading further, Pamela explained alumni bios were listed by graduation year. No graduation, no listing, and yes, that included Blaine.

Again…so why did Pamela’s log-in and password work?

Bios would include the college the alumni currently attend. Since the majority of Dalton boys usually wound up in the Ivy League, at least one of Blaine’s old friends should be close to the NYC area.

The email also contained a list of names to concentrate on. She almost fell out her chair when she got to the final name.

Sebastian Smythe

Even with that mind-blowing development, she knew going through the Dalton site could take hours. She’d have plenty of time for research tomorrow when the kitchen and bathrooms were being ripped out. The best thing to do was to stick to her original plan to try to find the delivery guy from 2 weeks ago.

There was something she had to do before she left.

When she got to the bottom of the stairs, she was surprised to see Blaine at the theater’s concession stand and not in the studio.

At least he’s eating.

“Hey Hermit, it’s Blaine Day. Go to a park and sit under a tree like you usually do.”

“Hermit? Isn’t it Hobbit?”

“Not after this week.”

“Santana…”

“Hey, it’s your fucking life. Do what you want. I just thought you’d like to know your dad called and is going to be here tomorrow for a meeting. If you don’t want him asking more questions than he already will, get some sun on your face!” As she quickly planned a dramatic exit for emphasis, she calmed down long enough to suggest “Call Sir Knight, or text, whatever.”

“I can’t.”

WTF???!!!

“What the hell do you mean I can’t? You’ve been communicating with the guy non-stop for 2 weeks. I’m still in awe how you convinced Hummel to give you a pass on the whole Klaine texting is cheating bull-shit.”

“It’s not a big deal. We agreed to end our chats. He left the country for work, or his grandmother is sick, or both. I don’t know. He said he’s going to be extremely busy and knew I needed to focus on my Showcase, although, that’s not a problem anymore.”

“When? When did you guys break-up?”

“We didn’t break-up and does it really matter when it happened?”

“Blaine…”

“Santana, it’s not like we were friends. He was a wrong number.”

From the look on his face, she knew Blaine was lying. Even in that short amount of time, Sir Knight had become important to Prince Charming. “Call June and ask her what the hell’s going on. We all know that so-called wrong number wasn’t random.”

“She’s in France taking care of her sister-in-law. I’m not going to bother her with this. Sir Knight is gone, so you and Sam can stop your not-so secret mission to prove he was Sebastian which I told you wasn’t possible in the first place!”

3 HOURS LATER

She let herself into the brownstone and proceeded to her office, ignoring the overwhelming desire to go to the basement and check on Blaine. No way he’d gone to a park.

Even though it was barely 1PM, she decided to change into comfy clothes. The best perk of her new job was getting to move out of the loft and into the brownstone. She didn’t care if it was going to be under construction for the next month. Had to be less annoying than Hummel and Berry’s constant bitching. And it’s not like she couldn’t escape if she wanted. Blaineland was completely soundproof due to the studio and home theater.

Sitting back at her desk, she checked her messages. She had one from Sam but if she had a guess he wanted the breakdown of what happened with the delivery guy…Ray. She didn’t even bother to read what he sent and sent one of her own reminding him to spend time with his fucking family. He’d be back in a few days and they’d fix the Blaine Board then.

It wasn’t that she was pushing Blond Chameleon out, he’d just be laser focused on the Sir Knight/Prince Charming (non) break-up. She’s 100% certain Kurt’s Thursday from Hell behavior was the key to all this and her trip to Manhattan only reinforced her beliefs.

Everything went better than she hoped. Not only was Ray working, he remembered her as a friend of Kurt’s (his words…not hers). The first thing she asked was if he knew who sent the food to Blaine. He said he had an idea but was curious why, after 2 weeks, she came all this way to ask.

She had prepared for this.

Her story was that Blaine knew who sent the food but won’t tell anyone. He did say all of them knew/at least met the person from high school. It was beginning to drive them crazy so she and Blaine’s other friends, other than Kurt, turned it into a bet to see who could solve the mystery first. She pulled out a $100 bill…

Still had no idea how to put bribe money in the petty cash ledger but had a feeling the Andersons would be fine with it.

“I’m willing to pay for information.”

The flashing of money brought others over to “help”. They all agreed with Ray when he said, though he couldn’t confirm it, the food had to be sent by the talent or someone in their entourage. The reasoning being unless it was Isabelle Wright, who all agreed it wasn’t, the Vogue employees working the photoshoot couldn’t afford the dinner(s) sent to the brownstone.

And while the NDAs were no joke, and Vogue employees were extremely careful with what they said in public, each of her new buddies had overheard bits and pieces about that night.

It was to launch the new face of a famous fashion house, and the person being shot was a guy. Also, he was an unknown who’d been discovered when a model went AWOL at one of last season’s Fashion Week runway shows in Paris. A friend of a friend (something like that) called this guy and begged him to do it even though he wasn’t a model. The rest was history. One girl added she overheard there was something else going on with the guy, something bigger, like maybe an acting role.

She thanked everyone and pulled out two more $100 bills for them to split as they saw fit. Then she took Ray to the side and asked how much of this information Kurt had. He told her the one thing he told Kurt was the talent sent the food to Blaine, not that it was only a theory. Then he reminded her Kurt had to know a lot more than any of them but wasn’t saying anything due to the NDA.

Must be one hell of an NDA.

She put all this new info on 3x5s cards but after pinning them to the Blaine Board she found herself at a crossroads. Everything was ready for the contractors’ arrival in the morning. There were no more errands to run. She could go down and watch a movie.

Relax and clear her mind of all things Blaine Anderson.

Who was she kidding? The reason she’d allowed herself to get tangled in this web in the first place was so she didn’t have to clear her mind. If she did, she might have to start dealing with the fact Dani dumped her by leaving a letter at the diner for when she returned from Iowa. And how that bitch Brenda found it and convinced the staff to do a routine to Taylor Swift’s We Are Never Getting Back Together as she handed her Dani’s letter. And how she punched that bitch Brenda and had the choice of being fired or having the cops called.

And how in the letter Dani asked her to tell Kurt Elliot had gone to Nashville with her, completely blowing up Hummel’s band. While she could somewhat see Dani in Tennessee the Glitter Rock Vampire made zero sense.

And couldn’t she have asked Berry who still worked at the diner? Who knows, maybe she left a letter for Rachel asking her and that bitch Brenda did something with it. She managed to keep all her other evil plans secret from her then roommate.

Stop it! She needed a distraction and even though she scheduled her Dalton website research for tomorrow, it wouldn’t hurt to check out the one surprise name on Pamela’s list.

Getting on the site was ridiculously easy as was finding the alumni lists. Assuming Smythe graduated the same year as Blam (although she would’ve sworn Blaine was a Senior, not a Sophomore, when they met) she went to 2013. He wasn’t there. That didn’t make sense. Was he still at Dalton?

She put Smythe into the home page search engine and the only things that popped up were Warbler competition videos (the last being last year’s Sectionals) and articles about the LaCross team from the previous year. All mentions of Sebastian end there. Did he leave Dalton before he graduated? Oh crap! Did he have something to do with the steroids? Both Sam and Blaine said there was no proof he was and the Warbler who ratted them out never mentioned the former captain.

*Ding…Dong*

Oh, thank God! While she wanted a distraction, she could see getting lost in this rabbit hole for hours and she had an early wake-up time.

Reaching for the doorknob she prepared herself for Kurt and whatever drama he’d twisted into an emergency to get her to call Blaine for him. She was pleasantly surprised to instead find a beautiful woman with a radiant smile and a killer body.

Not the time Lopez

“May I help you?”

“Are you Santana?”

“Yes…and you are?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I thought Sam told you I’d be stopping by. My name is Annabelle and I’m one of his manager’s assistants. I’m here to pick up the packet he left so we can get his tax and union paperwork filed before he officially begins work on the musical.”

“He didn’t…wait, he sent me a text but I assumed it was for something else. You don’t look like a serial killer so if you want to come in while I check, you’re more than welcome. Warning though, there’s nowhere to sit because remodeling begins tomorrow.”

Annabelle smiled a smile Santana was trying really hard not to read into. “I’m definitely not a serial killer, although my primary client might disagree. I have threatened him with bodily harm on more than one occasion.”

“Sorry, sounds like a douche bag.”

“No, he’s not, more like an annoying little brother. But I’ll never tell him that.”

“Ok, now I can totally sympathize but at least you don’t get a 2 for 1 like I do with Blam. I’ll be right back.”

As she tried to not look at Santana’s ass as the beautiful woman went to what she assumed was a home office, Annabelle took in her surroundings. There was a rumor going around that one of the major music labels had millions of dollars embezzled by a producer to build a studio in the brownstone they bought for him. In addition, they didn’t find out until after they sold the place.

The guy who bought it was some sort of genius and had a judge agree anything attached to (even just screwed into the wall) the structure was included in the as is purchase price.

Since everyone in the NYC entertainment (not just music) industry thought the CEO of the label was an asshole they were celebrating still unknown man as a modern-day Robin Hood. And while the odds this being that particular brownstone were astronomical, she was still going to ask.

“I got ahold of Trouty. Yes, he did send a message, the one I ignored, so here you go.” Santana handed over an envelope, both women going out of their way not to touch the other’s hand. “He also said his manager wanted to know about the study system Blam developed back in high school to help his dyslexia.”

“You keep referring to Blam. Who is that?"

"Sam and his best friend. It’s like they have one mind so it’s easier to give them one name.”

“Would it be possible to get his number so I can talk to him on how to help Sam?”

“He’s in the studio in the basement. Maybe Hermit will actually leave it if he knows it’s to help Trouty.”

Hermit? Trouty? Annabelle only cared about one word “Studio? There’s a studio in the basement?”

“Yeah, it’s pretty sweet. We found it when the Andersons bought the place. Hold on, I’ll have to send a text. The whole level is soundproof.” Santana watched as Annabelle turned into a cartoon character with as wide as her eyes got and how far her jaw dropped. “Is something wrong?”

“Holy Shit! The rumors are true?”

“Rumors?”

“The brownstone with the studio!! How the guy who bought it screwed the label out of millions of dollars. He’s a fucking legend!”

“My dad didn’t screw anyone out of anything. It’s not his fault the label had such shitty bookkeeping.”

Annabelle turned around and went straight back to cartoon mode. She’d recognize that guy anywhere. “Blaine Fucking Anderson.”

“Excuse me. Who the hell are you to call me that?”

Santana was put off as well. Things had been going great until that moment. “Annabelle…”

It was Blaine’s turn to turn into a cartoon character. “Annabelle? Annabelle who works as an assistant to an entertainment manager?”

Their guest still wasn’t talking and had gone so far as to put her hand over her mouth. Santana quickly came to the conclusion she was the only one with no idea what was happening. “Blaine, why does Annabelle’s name and job matter?”

“Because Sir Knight had someone like you who took care of shit for him but she was his manager’s assistant and her name was Annabelle. Joey, the driver, knows where I live but he didn’t know my name.”

“Blaine, I’m sorry…”

“Are you here to spy on me under the pretense of taking care of Sam? There’s no reason. Sir Knight left the country and told me he’d be too busy to chat so it would be best if we stopped.” Then it dawned on him. “How do you know my name? Did you do some sort of research on me?”

Santana huffed and threw up her arms in frustration. “If she did and got your name, she’s much better than me and the Blond Chameleon. We still have no clue who Sir Knight is. How did you figure it out? Is it because the driver guy had Blainer’s address?”

Annabelle pulled back her hair, obviously a nervous habit, and shook her head. “You don’t understand. I could lose my job for the little bit I’ve already accidently said.” She looked away from Santana to Blaine and saw the same pained expression on his face that she saw on Sebastain’s when he left for Paris. Yes, he was worried about his Nana but she knew it was also for the loss of his Prince Charming.

She had no idea why he cut Blaine off when he needed his friend (love of his life) the most. He had an international phone plan. Screw it! The jerk needed her too much to have Benny fire her.

“Sir Knight knew you were Blaine Anderson the second you called him the first time. You obviously hadn’t changed your number in years.”

Blaine and Santana grabbed each other’s arms as a means to keep balance. It was a bad time not to have any furniture to hold on to. “I haven’t changed my number. The Ohio area code should have been the first clue” Blaine said as he tried to remember his first conversations with Sir Knight. “But he had changed phones recently to a private line.”

“Yes, and I set it up with only the 22 contacts he was allowed to keep. Evidently, he later deleted his parents and put you in himself…under the name Killer. It looks like you both figured it out but if you’re looking for confirmation…Sir Knight’s name is Sebastian Smythe.”

“Damn it! The Blond Chameleon is going to be an even bigger pain in the ass once he finds out he was right all along!”

AO3

[kinetic-elaboration]

January 8: Grieving

Today was a really long day and I’m feeling it now. I didn’t necessarily feel bad, or stressed, or sad, or tired at work, but it’s just shocking to me that it’s Monday night and not, like, Wednesday. For the most part, my friend and coworker’s passing still feels like just something that happened, an event with certain practical consequences to be discussed, rather than something emotional. There’s still a lot of discussion about things like where the communication is coming from and who wrote the email and what the email did and didn’t say, and what the students will think when they come back, and how to tell our former co-workers, and when the service will be, and what the law school will do, and should we get flowers and so on. On the one hand, I do feel her absence really strongly. But on the other, it feels sort of impossible that I’ll never see her again.

My supervisor’s grief has involved feeling guilty again about the poaching incident from 2019. I understand why that’s coming up again for her and I don’t judge anyone’s emotional reaction but it also means, like, a lot of stupid work drama was being rehashed. For me 2024 is truly the year when I put things in perspective and that is just not something I want to waste my brainspace on, personally. It’s tiring.

And of course the rest of it doesn’t stop. I still have a huge backlog of work that I barely touched today. I’m still moving my office and even though I think I’m doing a damn good job of not stressing about it, there’s still s popping up every 5 minutes wanting to move the filing cabinet into my soon-to-be-old office and all this shit about work orders and stuff I don’t care about. And once I finish moving tomorrow—the worst part, the computer and printers and cables—I still need to unpack, as it were, so the project isn’t really over. I have 2 extra meetings this week and people are wanting help moving furniture and tasks like that. I need to care about oral histories again. I volunteered to help look for photos for the law school memorial service, which I think it’s important for me to do, but it’ll be hard. It’s just a lot, is all I mean. A lot a lot. I’m not really scared by most of it, but I am tired.

As I was leaving, I stopped by her desk to look at the sort of memorial that was sprouting up there. All the personal items she left behind were put up on the top of the desk—a gift from her husband, a couple of awards she’d been given, some old photographs—as well as a candle and some small items. By the end of the day there were 4 or 5 small bouquets of yellow flowers there too. I think it hit me hard in part because I just wanted her to be able to see it. So I was pretty sad as I was leaving work.

Then I had to go shopping. And the thing is, I don’t know if it’s that I would often meet her on the bus on my way back from shopping, or because on my way back I pass by the turnoff to her house, or just because of the desk memorial, but I just felt it pretty hard. Half-crying in the Walmart or whatever. I honestly can’t remember most of shopping or coming home. I’m pretty drained right now. Tired, but in the sense of like there’s nothing in my body except maybe some vague achiness. I know I just need to feel the way I feel but I still hope I am okay at work tomorrow. Gotta take a shower and get to sleep soon.

[occasionalsurveys]

What’s your favourite place to get pizza?

Lately its been at this sports bar we like going to

Did you ever get detention in school? What for?

No, I was too much of a goody-goody lol

Do you believe in horoscopes?

No but they're still fun to read

When you were growing up, did you share a bedroom with anyone?

I shared a bedroom with my younger brother until maybe 10?

Have you ever worn a wig?

I know I have for Halloween but I forgot what I was, it was when I was a kid

Do you have any trips coming up?

Yes! We're going to St. Petersburg tomorrow for a WWE NXT event. Then in Dec, we're spending NYE weekend in Tampa (going to WWE SmackDown on Fri 12/30, doing a NYE Cruise on Sat 12/31 to ring in 2023 then TB Bucs vs Carolina Panthers game on Sun 1/1!

This is the first time we're taking vacation together in a long time (all other PTO/vacation days were spent with family or visiting friends) so this time alone is very much needed.

If you could take lessons/classes for anything, what would you do?

Japanese classes. I took some before and they were super helpful!

When was the last time you had an eye exam?

July

Have you ever eaten Indonesian food?

I dont think so

Do you have any spaces to park a car at your home?

I just park in the driveway

What accents do you really struggle to understand?

I'm usually pretty good with understanding them

Do you have a Bachelor’s degree?

No, just an Associates

What’s the first thing you see when you look to your left?

My water bottle

Do you have a big sweet tooth?

No, more salt-tooth

Have you ever been mistaken for a celebrity?

No

Do you plan to do much or go anywhere for the upcoming weekend?

I have tomorrow off and my Husband and I got tickets for WWE NXT in St. Petersburg so we're going up there tomorrow afternoon. On Saturday (since we'll already be up that way), we'll be going to the Sarasota Renaissance Festival

Right now, are you hot, cold or just right?

A little cold

What’s your regional term for swimwear? I’m Aussie so I call them swimmers :)

Swimsuit

Have you had caffeine today?

Yes, I had a cup of coffee this morning

Do you own any textbooks? Are you currently studying from them?

Yes I do - Japanese and Korean study books (I dont study Korean anymore but I'm still going through my Japanese one - Genki). I also own a couple of Series 7 and Series 66 books that I was studying from before I took those exams (worst exams I've ever taken but somehow I passed both!)

What were the last earrings you wore? Where did you get them?

They were leaf looking ones made out of leather. I borrowed them from my Sister-In-Law when we went to the Renaissance Festival in my homestate when we visited a few months ago. Whenever we go, we always dress up in Medieval attire! Its a lot of fun!

Are you waiting for anything right now?

Yes, to be done with work so i can start my 3 day weekend!! Only 5.5 hours to go....

Do you know how to drive a stick-shift/manual transmission car?

No >< my Dad tried so hard to teach me but I just could not get the hang of it. I wish I continued learning though

What sort of music have you been listening to lately?

None really. I've been listening to SeinCast on my way to work in the mornings (awesome Seinfeld poscast!) Then on my drive home, I listen to the Dave and Mahoney show (they play Rock music occasionally)

Where is your crush/lover right now? Make a guess if you don’t know.

Hes probably in bed, hes feeling sick :(

When was the last time you had blood taken?

Its been a very long time

Have you ever watched the original Japanese version of Iron Chef?

No

Do you hate it when taxis and ride share drivers ask you a lot of questions?

I dont take taxis or rideshares.

What scent is your body wash or soap?

I'm not sure, its my shampoo that doesnt have a distinctive smell. I mean it smells good but nothing I can really pinpoint

When did you move into the house you currently live in?

We moved into my in-laws house Oct 2020 and it was supposed to be a short-lived thing until we could buy our own house - and FINALLY they started building it so we'll be moving into it Feb/March 2023. We were not supposed to be living with them this long and it has been super difficult for us BUT we're very thankful because its allowed us to save up for a pretty good down-payment.

[misscaptainamericana]

begin again - andy barber x reader

word count: 1861

content warning: professor/student relationship ish??, age gap, talks of sex/ smut not written out

author's note: rich student in law school, events take place after the finale of defending jacob, k thanks :)

Andy Barber had had a hard few years. These years ended with him divorcing Laurie and burying his son, it was time for him to start over. He moved to the complete opposite end of the country. Oregon state to become a law professor and that’s when he met you. You were in his first class and there was an exercise where groups had to take terms questioning a murder suspect. You were feisty and quick-witted, he loved that. You took two of his classes for your undergrad degree requirements before applying for the position to be his TA throughout your graduate years. You had thought about being his TA immediately after you were done taking his classes. During the application you were so worried that he wouldn’t remember you or even worse he would have a bad memory of you. Towards the end of the interview he put down the notepad he was holding and told you, “I was delighted when I saw your name in the list of applicants. You were an absolute pleasure to have in class.”

You couldn’t help but sit up straighter with a smile, “Wait, really?”

“Really, one of the best students I ever had and you’re going to make an incredible lawyer someday.”

“Well, thank you Mr. Barber, truly!”

“Call me Andy.”

“Okay…Thank you, Andy.”

“Want to start tomorrow morning?”

“Sounds great! What time do you normally get to campus?”

“Around eight in the morning but as long as you get here before ten I won’t fuss about it.”

The first month was tame. Lingering glances or touches that last a second too long or obscene comments either of you let slip, hinting at the other to do something. By the end of the fifth week, Andy could barely concentrate on anything. You never noticed it while taking his class but he always had to fidget a pen. Whether it be clicking, taping, or intense scribbling - he needed to use his hands. Staring at him all you wanted was to feel those hands over every inch of your body. A few minutes had gone by before you decided to clear your throat and ask, “Something on your mind?”

“No, I just- Trying to figure out a better way to quiz them so it actually sticks. I hate paper tests, they don’t prove you retained any information.”

“Well, I can try to think up some things and email you a list.”

“Okay, okay, yeah…That’s a great idea.”

You smiled and stood up before beginning to grab your belongings from around the room while Andy tapped his pen on the desk. With a sigh he spoke up again, “Actually, Y/N, Tomorrow since there’s no classes and we’re just grading do you want to grab coffee first?”

The question took you off guard a little, “Oh, sure. Where at?”

He shrugged with a smile, “I was hoping you would know a place.”

You thought it over before responding with a minute nod, “Actually I do know a place. It’s called Crema.”

“Okay, seven thirty?

“Sure thing…See you tomorrow.

“See you tomorrow!”

The next morning you were a bundle of nerves, you had woken up at five just to make sure you had enough time to get fully ready. You could’ve showed up in the basic attire and makeup you did every day but this felt special. This felt different.

You changed three times that morning and were about to change a fourth when you realized you needed to make it over to the cafe. The Wednesday morning air was cold as you made your way into the building. You were expecting to pick a table off to the side and scroll through twitter waiting for Andy, but he was there. He placed down his coffee cup and stood up from the table in the back with a small wave. Your heart began to race as you walked over to the table, “Good morning!”

“Good morning! You look incredible.” He told you with a warm smile as he pulled your chair out.

“Thank you, I like this dark blue color on you.”

He smiled looking over his button down shirt, “Yeah?”

You nodded, not being able to help your smile as he started to blush.

Andy cleared his throat before standing up straight, “Is there anything I can order for you?”

“Uhm, sure! I’ll take a honey vanilla latte and a cinnamon roll.”

“Coming right up.” He lightly patted your back before making his way over to the counter. It took a few minutes but he returned with your order and a breakfast sandwich for himself. The nerves were there for both of you for the first few minutes but when Andy changed the conversation to personal stories. Something to do with your honey latte and the first time he was ever stung by a bee. This led into your story of your first time riding a bike at the park and you fell into the pond. Andy threw his head back laughing and you accidentally let out a small snort.

The coffee date was something so sweet and personal that it really opened up your relationship at the college. Most days you would bring Andy coffee and pastry from the cafe and he would go out and get your favorite foods for lunch. With the holidays coming up and the classes and even staff starting to dwindle, there wasn’t much work to do besides prep for the influx of final papers. You and your parents hadn’t spent a holiday together since you were eighteen and you knew Andy had nowhere to go. You had finally felt comfortable enough so you decided it would be a nice time to invite him over to dinner.

“Mr. Barber?”

He looked up from the paper in his hand with a smile and took the pen out of his mouth, “Andy.”

You rolled your eyes with a smile, “Andy, would you like to come over on Friday? I know we have a long weekend coming up and I’d love to make dinner for you.”

“I’d love that…What time?”

“Six?” You asked as you quickly scribbled down your address on a sticky note.

“I’ll be there, should I bring anything?”

“Just your appetite.” You said in response, holding out the note to him.

He gently took the note from your hands and placed it in his pocket, “You got it.”

Friday night came around and when he pulled up to the address in his GPS he was surprised to see you lived in a full townhouse. When he walked in he complimented your place before taking off his jacket and you thanked him with a small smile as you shut the door.

“With a place like this I imagine you have people over for college parties all the time.”

You shrugged and your smile slightly fell, “Having daddy’s money and simply going to college doesn’t get you very many friends.”

“That’s a shame, they’re missing out.” He told you with a smile, placing a hand on your back as he followed you to the kitchen. He helped you carry the food out to your small dining room table before you both sat down to eat. The dinner was nice, it felt nice to talk to someone about something other than work. It was nice hearing stories from his past even though some had pained him to talk about. He more than enjoyed hearing the stories that made you into the person you were today. After dinner and doing the dishes together, you both resigned to your living room to drink and continue the discussion. He made his way through the living room, looking things over and pointing out the James Taylor record collection, before sitting in the emerald green chair by the window.

His eyes studied you as his tongue danced around your teeth causing you to laugh before asking, “Why are you analyzing me?”

“You’re a lot more shy than you are in my office, why is that?”

“I don’t know…Trying to think something over before I do it.”

“Well that’s not like you.” He said with a chuckle causing you to gasp.

“That’s not fair!”

He quickly pulled the bottle away from his lips, nodding quickly, “It’s very fair!” He called out with his accent lingering on the word ‘fair’.

His eyes narrowed as they studied you, “You’ve always been so quick on your feet, connecting dots the fastest. So what is it? What are you stuck on?”

“I can’t talk about it.” You said before biting your lip.

“Can’t talk about it in general or can’t talk about it to me?”

The room fell silent for a few minutes before he down the last of his beer and looked back at you. “Well, I guess it’s time that I head out.”

“Andy wait-” You sighed as you quickly rose to your feet wanting to stop him from leaving.

He relaxed back into the chair with a raised eyebrow, “Yes?”

You slowly walked over to him wringing your hands together, “Andy.”

He looked up at you with a small smile, “Yes, Y/N.”

“Did you come over to my house because I’m a great assistant or is there something more here?”

“You’re a smart girl, sit down and tell me what you think is going on here.”

You took a deep breath before sitting down on his lap and rubbing his chest lightly, “I can tell you what I’m hoping is going on here…I’m hoping that this amazing man Andy came over to my house for dinner and he liked dinner enough to stay the night with me.”

“I didn't tell you to tell me what you were hoping for.” His voice was so low the vibrations of it shook your soul.

You swallowed hard before looking in his eyes, “I think me and you have been playing cat and mouse long enough. I think you should take me up to my room and make me scream your name until I lose my voice because I’ve earned it.”

“I think that can be arranged.” He said softly as he reached up to grab your chin and pull you in to kiss him.

He was so nervous to have sex with you. You were so much younger than him and he wasn’t sure how much experience you had. However he was going to make sure all of this waiting was worth every second. By the end of the night you were a whimpering trembling mess, both of you more than satisfied. As he laid down next to you and you quickly cuddled up against him, he kissed your forehead and began to softly rub your back. “Do you want me to draw you up a bath or-”

“No, no…Just hold me.”

“Mmkay, honey. Whatever you want.”

When he woke up the next morning you were still resting on his chest and the sun was out. It was the first time in years that he had peacefully rested through the night. For the first time, what’s past is truly past, and he felt like he was taking the first steps towards healing.

[helliontherapscallion]

(Y/n) and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week: Thursday (Part 2)

Monday     Tuesday     Wednesday     Thursday (Part 1)     Friday     Saturday     Sunday

Spotify Playlist (collaborative)

Warnings: panic attacks, swearing, puking, concussions, mentions of injuries/bullying, homophobia

Word count: 5,138

After school, you were sitting on the couch as you furiously typed on your keyboard at an extremely fast pace. You were on a roll with these essays, they were probably going to be finished by the time you had to go back to the school to get on the bus with the team. You figured that you could even finish Annie’s essay and get started on Sammy’s US history presentation on the sociopolitical climate of the United States in the mid twentieth century to today. However, instead of covering a variety of topics like the rubric requested you to do, you were only going to talk about the significant events that happened to the LGBT+ community starting with Stonewall and going to Obergefell v. Hodges. You were also going to go in depth about how even if there are more opportunities available and more laws set in place to protect for LGBT+ people in the present then there were in past, members of the LGBT+ community still suffer heavy discrimination in the workplace and in the public. With receipts of course, the assignment required a minimum of three pictures per slide, and the group chat was a perfect source.

After that was done, you would email Sammy’s teacher (you had her last year for US history and you knew that she had a son in the grade below you currently transitioning from female to male) that you were the one that did her project and send screenshots of Sammy calling you slurs. Luckily for you, you had receipts of her being transphobic in the past that you could also send. Everything was effortlessly falling into place for you today. 

As you were typing, the front door swung open and two overly excited fifth graders ran into the house and up the stairs. A tired Schlatt followed them. “I will never know how the hell Phil keeps up with them.” 

“I dunno, maybe because he’s already raised three kids before.”

You watched as your uncle jumped and whipped his head over towards you, his hand clutching his chest. He lightly glared at you, “christ kid don’t do that, you nearly gave me a heart attack.”

You smirked at him before turning back to your laptop to continue typing the essay. You were almost done with the conclusion paragraph on Annie’s essay and you wanted to get to Sammy’s presentation as fast as possible. As you were typing, you felt a warm air fan across your neck and your uncle’s voice right next to your ear, “whatcha typin?”

You lept off the couch and almost fell into the coffee table before steadying yourself and deadpanning at Schlatt. “I was typing an essay before you interrupted me.”

He snorted, “it looked like you were on a roll, just thought I’d see what my beloved niece was writing. Can I read it?” 

Your eyes lit up as an excited grin split your cheeks, “yeah, but lemme catch you up real quick. Adrian, Sammy, and Annie got mad at me a few days ago and wanted me to do some homework for them as a sort of payment. But after they pulled that little stunt in the lunchroom yesterday, they decided to be little bitches to me and call me slurs. So naturally, I decided to change the essay prompt into an in depth analysis about discrimination LGBT people face from their peers on the daily. My english teacher’s really against homophobia and the project’s worth twenty five percent of our overall grade, so it’s perfect.”

While you were rambling on and on about your detailed plot for revenge, Schlatt couldn’t help but be proud of the person you’d become. A major part of him was impressed that you came up with a detailed plan so quickly, that meant that his cunning nature was rubbing off on you and that made him ecstatic. Sure you mentioning not being straight was new to him, but he was prepared to accept you for whatever you identified as. He didn’t care how people identified, he just cared if they were good people. And his niece was one of the best kids he knew. He’d let your slip up slide for now until you felt comfortable enough to properly come out to him. 

“That an amazing plan, fuckin brilliant. Though, you could do more.”

That piqued your interest, “I’m listening.”

“Do you have any blackmail?”

Your eyes glinted with sudden understanding, “why yes I do, uncle dearest. I just so happen to have thousands of texts from them talking shit about each other and basically the entire school. And them being incredibly racist. They would be destroyed if that came out.” 

“Two things. One, never call me that again. Two, perfect. Keep it as leverage if they try to do something. You don’t pull out all the good cards in the first round, you wait for the right moment to strike so you can win. You need to constantly defend yourself against other players and anticipate their every move. If you leak everything right now, you won’t have anything to use against them if they have something up their sleeve you didn’t know about. Patience is key in things like this.”

You absorbed every single word that came out of his mouth like it was the holy gospel. Although he was your uncle and you loved him with all your heart, but he was a sly bastard when he wanted to be. He knew his way around fighting and manipulating people just right, so you were incredibly happy that you were on his good side and he absolutely adored you. Though questionable and morally gray, he was giving you advice because he cared about you and you’d be an idiot to not heed his advice. 

“That’s genius, Uncle Schlatt. What would I do without you?”

“You’d get along just fine without me, you would’ve gotten there eventually. You’re smart. I’m just givin you a little push in the right direction.”

“I honestly would’ve never thought about waiting, I was so dead set on getting revenge that I would’ve just leaked everything all at once. I want them to feel how I felt when they were around me. I-” you paused. Would this make you the same as them? You’d be screwing up all their grades, Adrian’s job, and Sammy’s athletic career. You came to the chilling realization that you’d be the same as them. You’d be as manipulative as they were. “...Uncle Schlatt, would that make me the same as them?”

“Fuck no! You’re always gonna be better than them no matter what. When they’re at their best, you’re always gonna be a whole lot better than them. They deserve what’s happening to them, it sounds like they put you through so much shit the past few years. I actually think you could do a whole lot worse to them if you’re willing to put more work in, but it’s your plan and if you think that what you’re doing is too much,” he darkly chuckled, “you wouldn’t like my idea.”

“You’re right, they deserve everything I have planned for them. God, I don’t know what I was thinking, ‘would that make me the same as them,’” you mocked what you said earlier, “what a load of shit. Anyways, thanks Uncle Schlatt. I’m gonna get back to writing this. They’re due tomorrow and I wanna finish as much as I can before I have to go.”

“Alright, whaddya want for dinner? Phil’s gonna be like thirty minutes late from work so I’m cookin tonight.”

Oh no. No, no, no, no. That man can barley cook boxed mac n cheese, let alone anything else. He’d burn down the house if you left him alone in the kitchen with the stove. “On second thought, why don’t I help you with dinner? We can make some chicken alfredo.”

“Awe, you’d rather hang out with me than finish your homework? Ya really do love me. C’mon let’s start.”

The process of making dinner was… interesting. Multiple times, Schlatt almost spilled boiling water on himself and he even managed to burn the pasta while it was in the water. How he even managed to do that you’d never find out, you had your back turned cutting up vegetables and herbs at the time. That was when you subtly started to take over in the kitchen, giving him smaller tasks while you handled everything else. You felt bad for Tubbo, his father can’t cook for shit. 

By time you finished, about an hour passed and Philza had come home and changed out of his work clothes. The two adults sat at the table discussing something that you didn’t pay attention to while your brothers and cousin were in the living room waiting for you to finish dinner. Finally, you set the table and it was time to eat. 

Because you couldn’t have many fatty foods before any matches or practices, you had made a separate plate for yourself that only had plain pasta, chicken, and broccoli. You were surprised with how well it turned out, you were following an iffy recipe you found on the first link Google brought up. 

After dinner, you went upstairs to put your uniform on and pack a little bag full of things you might need: a small blanket, some snacks, a water bottle, and a portable charger. Oh, and fuzzy socks and a pair of crocs. You could never go wrong with fuzzy socks and crocs. Feeling a vibration in your pocket, you pulled out your phone.

Hales : )

(Y/n), I’m omw to your house

Gonna give you a ride to the school

(Y/n)

Hales you don’t have to give me a ride, I can drive

Hales : )

Don’t care

Omw, be there in like 7 mins

You swiped out of yours and her conversation and opened up the family group chat

(Y/n)

I don’t need a ride to the school, Haley’s giving me one

She’s gonna give me a ride home too

Dadza

Alright, thank her for me

Tell her I said good luck too!

Uncle Schlatty Patty

Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do

Dadza

(Y/n), do everything he wouldn’t do

Uncle Schlatty Patty

Fuck you I’m a good influence

Dadza

You’re really not

Wilby

^^^^

Technology Sword

^

Uncle Schlatty Patty

Fuck all of you 

You heard Haley’s car pull into the driveway and dashed out of your room with your bag. Just as you put your hand on the doorknob, a hand stopped you.

“Coat.”

You grumbled as you reached past Philza to grab your coat. After you slipped it on, you were pulled into a hug. “You’re gonna do great out there. I know you’re gonna win this, we’ll be watching in the stands.”

“Damn right she’s gonna do good, she’s my niece after all.”

Schlatt pulled you away from your father’s hug and tried to ruffle your hair before you swatted away his hand, “don’t. You have no idea how long it took me to get a perfect ponytail. I have an ungodly amount of hairspray and bobby pins in my hair right now.”

“Fine. You’re gonna kick their asses tonight.”

Tommy and Tubbo pushed past Schlatt and both tackled you into a hug making you stumble slightly back. 

“Kick their asses good (y/n)!” Tommy cheered, making you crack up before one stern glance from Philza completely stopped you. “Tommy, don’t say that. (Y/n), not funny.”

“Alright, Haley’s waiting for me. I gotta go, love you guys!” As you turned to walk through the door, you could hear your family following you and shouting “good luck”. You felt heat creep up on your cheeks as Haley rolled down her window and wove at your family with the biggest grin on her face. 

“Thank you! We’re gonna take home the gold for sure!”

You hopped in her car as she rolled up the window and chuckled. “I love your family, they’re always so full of energy. It’s refreshing to see compared to how boring my family is.”

You glanced at your entire family gathered on the front porch. Tommy and Tubbo were practically vibrating with excitement, Wilbur and Techno calmly smiled and wove at you, Philza was grinning widely at you as you saw his mouth forming words that you couldn’t hear or read, and Schlatt was grinning cheekily at you. You raised your hand to wave at them as they vanished from view when Haley pulled out of your driveway. You smiled softly, “I love em too.”

The car ride was relatively quick with the same soft indie pop music floating from the speakers and an easy going conversation with Haley about the match tonight. You both thought that you could beat the other team if everyone focused 100% and played exactly like you guys did in practices. If everyone did that, you would be unstoppable. 

Luckily for you and Haley, you were the first ones in line to board the bus so you two got the back seat with Zara and Jazzy sitting across from you guys. The hour long bus ride passed quickly and lively with you four passing around your phone and playing some mad libs, you were sure that by the end of the last game you four were laughing and crying. Sometime in the middle of the trip, you noticed that Haley would start to lean on your shoulder and continuously glance at you as she laughed. You desperately wanted to believe that it was because she liked you, but she was straight and she was your best friend. She was probably trying to make sure you were having a good time. 

When the team had gotten to the opposing school and left the locker room to stretch in the gym, you could hear your family start to scream your and Haley’s names from the front row next to you, Tommy and Tubbo being the loudest amongst them with Philza trying to get them to quiet down so you could focus. You felt your cheeks heat up as you smiled at them and Haley wove enthusiastically back at them. Zara was laughing at you two. Stretching went by in a flash and before you knew it, you were on the court facing the opposing team. 

The first match was won by the opposing team by five points. The second match stretched on and on until it was won by your team narrowly by two points. The team was going to have to shape up in the third match if you guys wanted a chance at winning, the opposing team was good. Before the third match started, Coach Williams called for a time out so you guys could talk about strategy. Before Haley could go back onto the court, you pulled her aside.

“Hales, we need to do what we practiced. The other team won’t be expecting it at all, I’ve been setting you up this entire game. They’re never going to expect you setting me up for a spike.”

“When are we going to do it though? We need a better plan.”

“I’m sure the opportunity will come and both of us will recognize it. We just can’t do it too early in the game though, that’ll ruin their surprise.”

“(Y/n), I hope you know what you’re doing.”

“When do I not Hales? We gotta get gold this year.”

The third round went by with both teams constantly swapping places until you both were tied fifteen to fifteen. You saw the ball flying towards Haley, giving her the perfect opportunity to set you up for a spike.  “HALEY NOW!” 

You watched as her face hardened in determination as she pretended like she was going to spike it by jumping high in the air and stretching her arms back, making the opposing front row players all gather in front of her. Much to their surprise, she launched it towards you as you leaped up and went for the kill. The stinging of the ball hit by your wrist and the smack sound the ball made when it slammed onto the open gym floor was something you’d never forget as the crowd around you went wild over the unexpected play. You could hear the high pitched screaming of Tommy and Tubbo over everybody else. Glancing at them over your shoulder, you saw them jumping up and down on the gym floor and looking at you with awe filled eyes and gaping mouths. The rest of your family looked at you with similar expressions, their cheers echoing in your mind. Winking at them, you turned back to your team and went straight to Haley. Clapping a hand on her shoulder, you pulled her into a quick hug, yelling over the raving of the crowd. “HALEY WE NAILED THAT!” 

“HOLY SHIT I DID NOT THINK THAT WAS ACTUALLY GONNA WORK!”

“You have such little faith in your setter! You wound me Hales.”

“Well, I would have more faith in you if you weren’t chaotic on the court, sweetheart.”

You felt yourself surge in happiness at the nickname, but you couldn’t afford to focus too much on it. Your team only needed one more point to win best in the state and go to nationals. It would be the first time in your team’s history if you reached national level, and you’d be damned if you were the one to screw it up for them. 

The last rotation went on for a while, each team fighting tooth and nail for the state championship title with clashing determination. You tried your best to block every hit and try to set Haley up for a spike, and you were successful for the most part, only missing a few blocks. You saw the setter adjacent to you set the spiker up for a spike and jumped up in time to try to block it, your arms stretched upwards and your palms out. Only, the ball didn’t hit your hands. It collided painfully with your nose, ricocheted off your face with a thwack and sailed over to the other side of the court. Your head whipped back as your body followed suit and flew backwards onto the floor. Without giving you any time to react, your head bounced back and cracked against the polished hardwood floor of the gym. Everything went black. 

“...(y……”

“..(y/n)......”

“(Y/n).”

You faintly heard someone calling someone’s name over the continuous ringing noise. Was it your name? It felt right, so it had to be your name. You peeled your eyes open to see a blurry figure hovering over you. It was swirled with tans, browns, and backs. After a while of the figure repeating your name, it slowly became more recognizable, albeit appearing twice in your vision. It took you a while to figure out who this was before your muddled brain recognized Haley.

“Hales! There’s two o’ya. Twice as beautiful babe…” You slurred out as you attempted to smile at her.

“Oh thank god, PLEASE WE NEED A DOCTOR SHE HIT HER HEAD!” Her usually angelic voice gritted against your brain like sandpaper making you cringe as pain exploded in your head.

“God babe you’re so loud, why’s so bright? I-wha's goin on?” You blearily tried to move your head to look around only to be stopped by a pair of large hands on each side of your head gently holding it in place. You moved your laggy eyes around to look at the figure. He was a blonde man with blue eyes and a hint of stubble on his chin. His eyebrows were knitted together and he looked… he looked… your brain worked to figure out why he looked how he looked. Who was he?

“Please don’t move hun.” His muffled voice was baritone. You squinted at him trying to figure out who this man was.

“Who th f-fuck… why?”

“I’m your dad hun. Do-do you not recognize me?” You made a noise in the back of your throat as your stuffy brain finally put a name to the face.

“Dad- wha’s goin on? I’on feel so good…”

“Shh, I know, I know. Just stop moving and talking. Everything’s fine. I’m here. You’re okay.”

“Mmk… Dad, where are we? I’ont know- you’re so quiet.”

“Stop moving so much. You’re on the floor in a gym. You just won your team the state championship. Now stop talking please.”

Huh. So that’s why everybody seemed to appear from above you. You strained your eyes to look around you, but you could only see your dad’s face hovering above you. “Shit I- who’s aroun’ me? Where’s Hales?”

“I’m right here sweetheart. I got the doctor, Mr. Minecraft.”

Your dad’s face moved away from your vision so fast that it made your head spin and your stomach twist. Another face appeared above you that you once again didn’t recognize.

“I’m Doctor Martin, can you tell me your first and last name?”

“Uh, (y/n) Minecraft?”

“Good, what month are we in right now?”

“Nov-November?”

“Close, it’s late October. Can you tell me who this,” he pointed to your dad, “is?”

“S’my dad Phillip.”

“That’s your dad Philza.”

The questioning stopped as he suddenly shined a blinding light into your sensitive eyes. You hissed as you tried to move your head away from the offending light only to be held in place by your dad’s hands. Your head spun as you moved too quickly and a wave of nausea hit you, making you groan and move your arm to cover your eyes. Your hand was stopped by something warm and soft wrapping around it and holding it tightly. Everything was so overwhelmingly and painfully bright and loud. You wanted to make it stop. 

“Mr. Minecraft, your daughter appears to have a concussion. I don’t have the tools on hand to determine the severity of it, but it’s worrying that her pupils are asymmetrical, she’s delirious, and has slight memory loss. I understand you live about an hour away from here, and it’s alright for you to take her to a hospital closer to your house. Make sure you keep her alert.”

Your delirious mind only registered about half of what came out of the doctor’s mouth. You mumbled gibberish as you once again opened your eyes to look around. You were only briefly able to crane your neck to the left. Several figures large and small were standing behind your dad. Your family, your mind supplemented. Slowly, your mind was starting to recognize your surroundings even if there was currently double of everything and everything was blurry.

“I’m going to help you stand up. Do ya think you can do that?”

“Yeah Dad.” You lifted your upper body off from the ground with a gentle hand on your back helping you sit up. Fighting the wave of nausea that slapped you in the face, you reached up to rub at your eyes. A hand once again stopped you. You peeked your eyelids open and lightly glared at whomever stopped you. “Hales you’re lucky you’re so cute I woulda slapped you. I like holdin but you’re bein annoying. Stop.” You attempted to make your voice sound firm, but the words that came out of your mouth were slightly slurred.

She was silent as she helped her dad haul you to your feet. Once on your feet, you saw the room spin and felt yourself start to sway slightly. An arm wrapped itself around your shoulders and pulled you close to them so that your weight was supported. They were a little taller than you were making it easy to lean on them. 

“...Can you walk?” A deep, monotone voice rumbled the chest of the person you were leaning against. 

“Mhm. ‘M not weak.” Though your limbs felt like they were made of molasses, you placed one foot in front of the other slowly. The person moved alongside you, “you’re doing so good, keep going.” That sparked familiarity in you as you stopped in your tracks and tried to look up at the person you were leaning against making the person tighten their arm around your shoulders when you almost fell over.

“Tech?”

“Yeah, it’s Technoblade. Just focus on walking. You’re almost out of the gym.”

When you realized that you were out of the gym, you sighed in relief. It was so much quieter and darker. Though it was still relatively bright, it was better than the gym. 

“S’better.”

“When we get her to the car we can give her some sunglasses or something if it’s still too bright for her.”

“Wilbs-”

“Focus on walking.”

You huffed in irritation, “don’ tell me what to do bitch.”

You felt Techno’s body jolt slightly as he chuckled, making your head throb at the sudden movement. “Just walk.”

When you walked outside, you shivered as you felt the cool air nip at your exposed skin. Right, you were in your volleyball uniform. “I’ll go pull the car around, you guys stay with her.” 

You saw a tall brunet start to walk away from you. Uncle Splat? Uncle Schmat? Whatever his name was, you were sure he was your uncle. You tried to snuggle closer to Techno, craving warmth but never being satisfied. Where was your uncle? 

After a while, you saw a car moving towards you and blinding light pointed right at you making you cringe away and groan. Techno started to slowly walk towards the car. “C’mon (y/n), you’re almost there. When you’re in the car you can relax.”

“Tommy, Tubbo, and Techno, you’re in the back row. Schlatt can drive and Wil, you’re taking the passenger seat. I’ll stay with her in the middle row so she can have some room to lay down.” Tommy and Tubbo were with you? Why weren’t they talking, they usually were very vocal.

“Tom, Tubbs didja like the game?”

They didn’t say anything as they climbed into the car. Did they not hear you? 

“They’re just… tired (y/n).” Your dad’s voice reassured you as he took Techno’s place holding you up. 

“I wanna nap. ‘M so tired.”

“You can’t sleep yet. We gotta get you to a doctor first.”

“Mm. Makes sense.”

“Let’s get you in the car hun.”

As he helped you climb into the car, you felt an overwhelming wave of nausea wash over you making you lose your balance and almost faceplant into the cloth seats. You felt yourself being gently, yet urgently taken out of the car and led to grass as you felt your esophagus shorten. Something burning made its way up your throat and spewed into the grass. You felt someone rubbing your back as you puked up your dinner. 

When you were done, you reached up with a shaking hand to wipe your mouth. “You feelin better? Think you can get back into the car or do you need to sit down for a bit?”

“Car.”

After some difficulty, you were successfully in the middle row of the car laying down with your head on Philza’s lap. Soon enough, your shoes were taken off and a blanket was draped over you. 

“(Y/n), what do you remember?”

You scrunched up your face as you squinted at Philza’s face. “I remember playing volleyball with Hales. She’s so pretty, she’s straight though. I remember the other team hitting the ball, me jumping, then nothin. Wha’ happened?”

You watched as Philza winced, “well, you got everything right so far. You got hit in the face with the ball so you fell and hit your head on the floor. You were passed out for a minute before you woke up. It was a pretty nasty fall, we’re going to the hospital now. How’re ya feelin?”

“Head hurts, ‘m seein two of everything, an I can’t think.”

“Do you know what a concussion is?” You nodded in his lap slightly, “you probably have one.”

After a while of talking, you were slowly starting to come to your senses and your speech was clearing up, but your head was still too stuffy to think about what you were saying before you said it. You didn’t have a filter.

“Do you wanna tell us about your week so far? Do you remember most of it?”

“Mhm, it was shit. On Monday I had a panic attack and Adrian, Sammy, and Annie were being bitches to me all day. They fucked up my back. On Tuesday, they got mad at me for ditching them and they had me do their homework, had another panic attack, and Haley told me that someone took pictures of our boobs ‘n stuff and they were gonna leak it to the school if Haley didn’t stop hanging out with me. Haley and I almost kissed, but she’s straight. Pulled an all nighter and Wednesday I accidentally came out to Tech and Wil and had another panic attack. Annie, Adrian, and Sammy took more pictures of me through my window, Annie outed me to the entire school and slapped me. Another panic attack, skipped the last two classes and felt like shit the entire practice. Today Adrian and Sammy told me to kill myself and I had another panic attack. ’S about it.”

As you were going through your week, the hand that was previously gently stroking your hair had frozen as the car was enveloped in a tense silence. Luckily, Tommy and Tubbo were passed out in the back seat so they didn’t hear how bad your week was. Everyone awake knew that you had a few bad days this week, but they didn’t know the full extent of it. You watched as Philza’s expression had turned downright murderous, but you didn’t really care. You were busy talking about your week.

For the rest of the car ride, Philza asked you simple questions like what your favorite color was, your favorite animal, basically your favorite everything. Eventually, the car pulled into the hospital parking lot and Philza helped you get out of the car. “Schlatt, can you take the boys home so they can get some rest? I’ll stay with her.” 

“Yeah, I’m on it. Don’t cause too much trouble (y/n), we all know you can raise hell.” He watched you for a reaction, but when you didn’t react, he coughed. “Well, I’ll see ya later kid. Good luck.”

The car drove off leaving you and Philza at the front of the emergency room building. “It’s gonna be a long night (y/n).”

“I gotta finish Annie’s essay and Sammy’s presentation though.”

“No you don’t, I’ll email your teachers.”

You two checked in with the front desk before moving to sit on the uncomfortable chairs. It was going to be a long night. You were so tired.

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[venomous--fics]

Anon asked: maybe a continuation of the peter b parker kid thing where they finally confront the mom and get the readers things back 😩💞💞

a/n: ask and thou shall receive! this spent so long in the drafts bc i felt so insecure about it tbh, so any feedback is appreciated! I love seeing messages about what you guys think! really keeps me motivated! also, requests are open

Warnings: mentions of past abuse

Peter was sitting at the kitchen table, constantly looking at the clock. It was almost 5pm, you were supposed to be home an hour and a half ago. Yes, he keeps track of everyone's schedules, yes he knows the exact second you should be walking through the door. He's already texted you, but maybe you had detention. Nah, you were a good student, he highly doubted you'd have to stay after school.

His phone finally rang, and he was way too quick answering it.

"You okay?"

"I need some help."

"What is it?" he was already out the door.

You sighed, knowing he was probably going to give you an earful later.

"Well, it's a really long story, right.. But my mom showed up after school-"

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I think. Anyways, we got into it on the way home, which is no- Not normal." you adjusted how you were sitting, "And since she was dragging me back to the house, I figured I'd just get my crap and come home, right? Makes sense, saves us the tri-"

"She took you without permission?"

"Technically she is my m-...Parent. I guess, y'know, legally she can do whatever- But..Okay." you began to feel bubbles of anxiety and pain and even resentment form deep in your core, "She locked me out." You rubbed your neck.

"Are you," he paused, looking around at all the faces passing by him, "Still there?"

"Yeah. Unfortunately. I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for? Don't apologize, you didn't do anything."

"I keep causing problems for everyone."

"Not for me. Or Mj."

It was quiet on your end.

"You still there?"

"Yeah."

"I'll be there in like ten minutes."

"You probably shouldn't."

"Nah, nah." He said, having a sudden wave of anger rush over him, "Let me take care of this."

And true to his word, Peter was there in ten minutes. You hopped up from your spot on the porch as he made his way up to the door and knocked on it as hard as he could. He gave you a reassuring pat on the back.

The door swung open, and your mother seemed awfully surprised and confused to see some random man just standing there. Peter held no emotion has he looked her dead in the eye, "Can we come in."

She opened the door wider so that way you two could step in.

"Go get your stuff." is all Peter said to you.

Wasting no time, and not wanting to be in the middle of a potential argument between the two, you skedaddled to your room. It almost felt like too much to be in there. It looked so empty and barren compared to your room at Peter and Mjs place. Seems really dull. Lifeless, almost. Dust covered every surface, which meant that nobody had ever even bothered to see if you were even still in there.

You heard their voices from the living room, but they seemed so distant, seeing as all you could focus on was every shitty thing that woman put you through.

You remember the day that you got bit. It made you deathly ill, and you just thought you were dying from some sort of allergic reaction to the spider bite. You tried to get her to take you to any doctor or anywhere that could help because all you could seem to see were stars.

Everything then was so loud. Everything was so bright. It was all too much, and you were certain that the reaper was waiting for you. What did she say?

"Suck it up and stop pretending. Everything has to be so dramatic with you."

Or that time you forgot a single item on the shopping list. You got this whole speech about how stupid you had to have been. To forget one item. It was the world's most useless item.

Everything else seemed to play all over again, all at once. Like a waterfall. It should've made you sad. It should've made you cry, or scream.

You recounted all the times you wanted to fight back, or just run away. Leave everything behind and just run until your legs gave out. But you never did. You always found some reason to linger.

The conversation was growing louder where Peter was.

"You aren't going to do this to them ever again. Sign the papers."

You nearly dropped your last belonging on the floor as you scrambled to your door. Papers? He wasn't serious. Well, obviously he was. He just said it.

"Fine. It's not like the-"

"Zip it. Sign the papers."

"Who are you anyways? The law? If so, whatever they've told you is a b-"

"Listen, lady. I didn't ask for any attitude. I told you to sign the papers." he seemed to huff in annoyance, "That doesn't require talking."

"I'm a good mother."

"And I'm the king of France."

"Really. I gave them a good home. I have fed them and kept them warm-"

"Really? You think you did all that? Or are you convincing yourself that you did all that?"

"I am-"

"Can I be honest with you?"

"Ye-"

"I've never said this about anyone, ever. I don't like speaking to or about anyone like this.. Ever, but, you? I think you're a piece of shit."

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, look. You finished signing the papers. I'll take those. Thank you."

Realizing that it was your time to go, you stuffed your blanket into your duffel bag and rushed out the door and down the hall. Peter looked at you, expecting to see at least three bags. But he only saw the one.

"Where's the rest of your stuff."

"Uhm," you shuffled around, pretending as thought you dropped some, "This...This is all my stuff."

"That can't be ri-" He laughed a little, and noting the expression on his face, you saw that he was NOT happy. "That? That single duffle bag is all you have? That's it?"

"Yes..." you took a step back, "This is all.."

"I can't believe it." he said, "You're joking! One bag worth of stuff?"

He turned his attention back to your mother, who, for the first time in your life, actually looked like she got caught red handed, "You're pathetic. Absolutely pathetic."

"But they're so u-"

"No! No, you don't get to talk anymore. You've done enough."

You awkwardly shuffled behind him, in the event that you two had to make a mad dash out the door. That and you needed to not be seen as you tried to hide your almost evil grin.

"The hell is wrong with you? You have this amazing kid, and THAT'S all you've ever gotten for them? And you sit there and call yourself a mother? Absolutely, without a doubt, bullshit. I'd be ashamed of myself to call myself a father if that's all I've provided for my kid. Don't even get me started on you as a person, we made that clear."

It almost felt cursed to hear him swear, seeing as he made it a point to tell you to not swear. Every time you did, you have to give a quarter to the swear jar. Mj was always on your side, though. She'd say a swear that was much worse and have to pay a dollar. Each word had a value.

"Maybe we should just go." you suggested, tugging on the sleeve of his arm, "She's not worth it anymore."

"She was never worth it, it seems."

You finally made eye contact with her, and the look in her eye. It's like she understood, but was choosing to not do anything about the situation. She could look sorry all she wanted, but you knew she wasn't.

"I'm sorry, Y/n. You know that right."

"That means nothing to me."

"I can change."

"If you can change now, that means you could've changed then. You just chose not to."

"But I'm your mother, you should realize how I feel. You should want-"

"You're not my mom. You stopped being my mom the first time you-" You turned towards the door and started walking towards it, "Whatever. You mean nothing to me."

You practically kicked open teh door just to leave, and Peter was right behind you, shouting about how he'd make sure to egg her house everyday, just to piss her off.

"Do you really think I'm amazing?" you asked, the walk home feeling rather quiet.

"I think you're more than that. Just can't put it into words."

"Did you really mean it...That we could egg her house?"

"You want to? There's a store right on the way home."

"How about tomorrow."

"I'll have to clear up my busy schedule. See if I can work in a drive by egging. Well, swing by egging."

"You promise?"

"You kidding? I haven't egged anyone's house since college."

You had so much more you wanted to get off you chest, but you opted to just talk about it at home, with everyone present. You wanted to talk about how you felt about everything, and the papers. Whatever those were. But you were, for the moment, busy laughing about Peter's story about how he used to Egg this one reporters house. Someone named Jonah.

You wonder if Jonah ever put two and two together.

[hey-michael-young-history]

December 16th, 2021 4:16am

Took a break from writing (and sleeping, obviously) to find more WIPs.

I had a dream a while back of Ace Attorney Hanzo in a suit YES, a suit, and it was pretty fantastic. So I wrote this over the course of a couple of days and didn’t like the direction because, once again, far too soft Kuai Liang. I need to just allow myself to indulge already.

It’s a long one because, seriously, Hanzo Hasashi in a suit.

A New Friend

He knew that he would stick out here, that he didn’t belong.

Kuai Liang kept his face as neutral as possible as the senior partner concluded his speech and began to shake hands with the freshly hired attorneys, welcoming each to the firm by name.

He couldn’t help but smile when he heard his brother’s name. Kuai Liang had chosen a corner in the back of the room to observe and stay out of everyone’s path. He had enough experience with these events to know that the less attention he attracted, the better. But he wouldn’t miss the opportunity to support his brother’s accomplishments. He had missed out on Bi-Han graduating college and law school. Despite that, Bi-Han still took him in when he had nowhere else to go, so the least Kuai Liang could do was put aside his discomfort and support him.

He could imagine how proud Bi-Han looked now and, for a moment, wished he could get closer, to actually see him. But he didn’t need to be reminded that his presence was only barely tolerated here- the woman who checked him in had avoided looking at him, and when she couldn’t, her eyes lingered at his scar, the ugly scar that dragged along the right side of his face.  

No matter how nicely he was dressed, no matter how polite he was, people reacted to the scar, and it always made him self-conscious.

“I never want to see you hiding it. You have nothing to be ashamed of.”

Bi-Han insisted on this when Kuai Liang came to live with him. He had mastered hiding it, using makeup to soften it, to the point where his brother hadn’t noticed until he had forgotten to lock the bathroom door one day.

From there, he had put two and two together and focused on getting Kuai Liang to do something other than sit in the tiny apartment they now shared.

He didn’t know how Bi-Han had become so successful, considering how harsh and cold he was with other people. He hadn’t seen his older brother in ten years, when he initially refused to take him, leaving him in foster care until he aged out.

Kuai Liang shook his head and clapped as everyone else did. A few heads turned his way, so he clapped softer until everyone finished, and the senior partner invited everyone to enjoy the night. The ceremony was over, and he hoped Bi-Han would be ready to go.

He stayed in the corner, watching others laugh and drink around him. This was a beautiful hotel, and this room was filled with lively people, with nice smelling food and elegant music playing. He could imagine Bi-Han in the midst of it, blending in, being part of the fun. He tried to smile, as everyone else was, but he felt everyone staring, knowing that it was fake and he didn’t belong here.

His phone vibrated, and he looked, already knowing it was his brother. There was no one to give his number to, no one who would text him. Eat something. The message was brief, but if he needed to eat, Bi-Han anticipated being here for at least another two hours.

This was expected but still disappointing. He had been in classes all day, and tomorrow was another heavy class day. He had just gotten home when Bi-Han texted him the address and the dress code. He had taken a bus to cross the city, then spent the last of his money on a cab to get to the hotel. He hadn’t asked Bi-Han for a ride home and hoped that if he agreed to stay without argument, he wouldn’t have to.

Yes. Kuai Liang’s response didn’t matter; Bi-Han just needed acknowledgment that he had received it. Now, Kuai Liang needed to find a new spot to be in. Eventually, some of these people would get drunk and try to talk to him, get him to dance, or keep him hostage with controversial opinions. He also needed to figure out an alternative, just in case Bi-Han couldn’t give him a ride home.

He put his phone back in his pocket but not before seeing a handsome stranger approaching him with two drinks.

********

Hanzo Hasashi dreaded these kinds of events.

For five years, he had attended these quarterly celebrations, beginning with his very own, and since then, he always thought it would be better suited for an email he could delete, not a night he was forced to attend.

He looked over the new hires, most fresh graduates. Families were watching, spouses mostly, and a whole lot of alcohol.

Hanzo had learned early on that these parties were notorious for hooking up, and though he had never approached anyone, colleague or otherwise, he was not averse to passing the time with some harmless flirting.

The partners always offered everyone a room. To avoid any irresponsible driving issues, they insisted. Hanzo always took it, especially on winter nights like this. No point in fighting the traffic, and it gave him an excuse to call out the next day.

His eyes swept over the room until they landed on him.

A young man standing in the back corner near the door. He stared ahead, keeping his head slightly tilted to the right with a passive face as one of the partners greeted each hire by name.

It wasn’t boredom. He listened closely to each name, leaning forward, then settling back. Every so often, he would fold his arms, muscles tightening against the clean white collared shirt, before putting them behind his back.

He was not an attorney here; he was too young. Though it was hard to assume from the lack of facial hair. He couldn’t be older than his mid-twenties.

A faint smile suddenly graced his face, causing Hanzo to turn and listen. Ah. He must be here for that hire- this one had all the makings of a golden boy, and the firm had pursued him. He wasn’t much younger than Hanzo, so he was a brother or cousin, perhaps.

He turned his attention back to the young man, smiling brighter and clapping enthusiastically. Others were smiling at him as he clapped. And why not? His smile lifted a veil and brightened his entire face. Once he noticed the attention, the young man’s face dimmed, and he slowed his applause.

He continued to listen but retrieved a phone from the pocket of the jacket he was holding. Hanzo couldn’t take his eyes off him. He didn’t check his jacket in, so either he was new to these functions, or he didn’t plan to stay long.

A flash of disappointment crossed his face, but he quickly closed the phone and put it away. His eyes looked around the room, but he didn’t move his head. Perhaps he was looking for someone.

Hanzo approached a nearby bar and carefully took two glasses. He wanted to speak with this young man. His company would surely be more interesting than the same talking points he had expected from these events.

He made his way over and was surprised at how quickly the man spotted him. He saw another flash of emotion, but it disappeared as quickly as it surfaced.

“Hello,” Hanzo began. “Would you care for a drink?”

The young man took it but turned his head even more to the right. “Thank you.”

He looked away from Hanzo and frowned at the flute he now held. Hanzo smiled.  Likely not a drinker.

“May I ask your name?”

“Kuai Liang,” he said.

“Kuai Liang,” Hanzo repeated.

He blushed immediately, and Hanzo couldn’t help but chuckle. Perhaps he was not used to others saying his name.

“Are you here with one of the recent hires?”

“Yes, my brother, Bi-Han.” At that, Kuai Liang smiled again and looked Hanzo straight in the eye. “He worked very diligently, and he is so pleased-”

He stopped speaking suddenly and touched his right cheek as though he was confirming that it was now facing Hanzo. The attorney raised an eyebrow, then furrowed them when Kuai Liang didn’t continue and instead turned to hide the right side of his face again.

He was speaking freely, and even though he wasn’t speaking of himself, he had relaxed. A conversation was starting.

Before he could think better of it, Hanzo grabbed Kuai Liang’s jaw and turned his face to see his right side.

Ah.

A scar just above his eyebrow ran over his eye, down to the bottom of his cheek. A deliberate scar. Though long healed, it broke the symmetry of Kuai Liang’s face. He couldn’t have been more than twenty-five. Who did this? Why?

Realizing how intently he was studying his face, Hanzo released his hold. “My apologies, I-”

“I have to go,” Kuai Liang said quietly. He still hadn’t looked at Hanzo and quickly put his jacket on.

“It was not my intention to--”

But Kuai Liang didn’t wait to listen. He quickly walked into the crowd, keeping his face down as he did so.

———-

His stomach was in knots.

Today of all days, he would meet someone like this stranger.

His voice kept repeating in his head. Kuai Liang. Kuai Liang. He said it so melodically, with a smile on his face. This handsome stranger had made his way to him, out of everyone there.

And he had made a fool of himself.

He sat on the fountain outside and sniffed the wine again. Still smelled sharp and unpleasant.

He would now have the awkward duty of returning the glass. Hopefully, Bi-Han wouldn’t see him do it.  

Kuai Liang’s fingers reached up and traced the scar. Another person was put off by the mere sight of his face. Except this time, he had let his guard down and left his face completely open.

His chest tightened when his mind replayed it. Bi-Han was wrong about this. The scar frightened people. And that was okay because if the scar didn’t frighten them away, they would be put off by him.

“Kuai Liang.”

He looked up before he could adjust his face to the moonlight. It was the stranger walking towards him.

“I believe you dropped your phone.”

He stopped and extended the small flip phone to its owner.

“Oh…” Kuai Liang checked it, but no messages from Bi-Han. “Thank you… ah?”

“Hanzo Hasashi,” the stranger said with another smile.

“Mr. Hasashi,” Kuai Liang repeated, and Hanzo smiled a little wider.

“I apologize for making you uncomfortable. But I would like to continue conversing.” He sat next to Kuai Liang on the fountain's edge as he spoke.

He was on Kuai Liang’s right side, and knowing that Hanzo had full access to his scar made his head swim. Say something. Hanzo’s complete attention was on him.

“Bi-Han, my brother, he’s very excited about joining--”

“I have heard promising things of your brother. I wish to know more about you.”

Kuai Liang grimaced. He wanted to know about the scar. That was it. And his face would morph from pity to disgust until he had enough and would leave, whispering to other people about him.

“It can be difficult to speak freely about yourself,” Hanzo said. “I will help you. To start…"

He took the flute from Kuai Liang and teased, "Would you care for a different drink?”

“I am sorry. I did not wish to offend you when you offered it,” Kuai Liang began. “I did not want to cause trouble.”

“You do not have to accept anything offered to you if you do not want it,” Hanzo assured him.

“I do not care for the taste or the way it makes me feel,” Kuai Liang admitted. “Bi-Han believes that I need to try more. He believes it would be easier for me to relax and make friends. If I make friends, I may do better in school.”

“What school do you attend?” Hanzo asked.  He could gauge an age here.

“The… city college. I began this fall.  My finals are next week,” he said quietly. He was looking at his hands now, with his head lowered. “There are many people, and Bi-Han asks why I do not attend study groups or go to campus activities. I…”

Community College. He was at least eighteen, but he looked older.

“I shouldn't….”

“Shouldn’t?”

He clenched his hands. “I shouldn't….” He turned and looked Hanzo in the eye, a deep alluring brown. “Please forgive me, Mr. Hasashi, but how old are you?”

“Hanzo,” the older man insisted. “I am thirty.”

He looked relieved at that number which almost made Hanzo sigh in relief himself.

“I am twenty-four. When Bi-Han was my age, he was in law school. Our parents were very proud of him.” He looked down at his hands again. “They were not proud of me. They would still not be.”

“I am sure--”

“They wouldn’t,” Kuai Liang interrupted. “Please. Don’t.”

“I am proud of you,” Hanzo said even faster than he thought.

Kuai Liang looked up and smiled. “You do not know me.”

“I know that you are very supportive of your older brother. I know that you are attending school and trying your best. It is difficult to resume college once you take time after high school.”

He smiled a little wider and looked at his feet. “Thank you.”

He yawned, and Hanzo wasn’t sure what it was, but something, some kind of understanding, had passed between them.  This was beyond the harmless flirting he thought he’d partake in tonight.

He rested his hand on Kuai Liang’s back.  “Would you care to join me in my room? The night will only get cooler, and we could enjoy the privacy.”

He stood and extended his hand, fully expecting Kuai Liang to push away his hand, to politely reject the offer. But to his surprise, he looked at his phone, closed it, and took Hanzo’s hand without hesitation.

——-

Kuai Liang became a lot more chatty with alcohol in him.

Hanzo had convinced him to try a mixed drink that smelled more of fruit than alcohol. He wanted more after the first glass, but Hanzo led him to his room while the younger man smiled and spoke eagerly.

Hanzo learned a lot on that trip to his room. His parents had died when he was a teenager. His brother had already left home, and Kuai Liang was placed in foster care until he aged out and, after some years, found Bi-Han.  He was completely devoted to his brother, performing the domestic chores, handling the cooking, and listening to him reason out arguments. Their apartment was small, but he didn’t mind sleeping on the couch so Bi-Han could keep his room. Now that Bi-Han had a good job, they would look for bigger apartments so that Kuai Liang could have his own room. But he didn’t mind their apartment at all.

He didn’t like school, but Bi-Han asked him to go. He had spent the last year confined in their apartment- his choice, not Bi-Han’s, he insisted. Being outside was still a bit challenging. He almost didn’t find this hotel. English was not his first language, and he had been homeschooled, so sometimes it was difficult to remember oral directions. He didn’t have a phone with GPS capabilities and didn’t want to ask because he didn’t want to be selfish. Bi-Han had already done so much for him, letting him live there, encouraging him to go to school, and even finding a place with more rooms.

Hanzo gave him a bottle of water, which he was extremely grateful for. Kuai Liang drank the water and sat on the edge of the bed. He removed his jacket and folded it, setting it in his lap. It was as though he had trained himself to take up as little space as possible.

“You are very handsome, Mr. Hasashi,” he said. It was objectively stated as though it was a simple, undeniable fact. If it was an attempt at flirting, it was so straightforward and purely intentioned that Hanzo couldn’t help but be charmed by it.

“Hanzo,” he insisted again. “Thank you.”

Kuai Liang looked down at his jacket, then back up at Hanzo.

“Bi-Han doesn’t know,” he said.

“About?”

“Me,” Kuai Liang’s smile was gone, but the flush in his cheeks stayed. “That I… like men. I kissed another boy once.”

Alcohol-induced confessions weren’t new to Hanzo, but the guilt was so clear on his face that Hanzo couldn’t help but sit next to him.

“But I haven’t since then,” Kuai Liang insisted, and Hanzo believed him. “My parents didn’t want me around anymore. But Bi-Han didn’t want me either. I don’t know why he changed his mind, but I always wonder when he will find out.”

Kuai Liang shook his head. “My foster parents said I could tell them anything, so I told them. I still think of it, and I want to kiss again. And they didn’t want me either. But I did everything they asked, so they would forgive me. I even tried to stop thinking about it.”

Hanzo grabbed Kuai Liang by the neck and kissed him. In part to stop him from talking. And… because he sounded so resigned to the fact that he’d never kiss again. So guilty over the small pleasure of enjoying someone’s company. So afraid that the person he admired most would immediately reject him for his very human desires. He shouldn’t have touched this obviously sheltered person, but if he never saw Kuai Liang again after tonight, he wanted to send him away with good memories.

He was reassured by how quickly Kuai Liang reacted to him. He moaned and pressed closer immediately. Hanzo wrapped his arm around him as he deepened the kiss, pulling him down onto the bed.

“Swear to me that you will not tell,” Kuai Liang requested. He sat up and looked down pleadingly.

Hanzo laughed and reached to pull him down again, but Kuai Liang held firm. “Swear it.”

“I will not tell a soul,” Hanzo promised.

[olivyh]

TWST FAMILY HCS PT2) Savanaclaw and Octavinelle

Feel free to tack on your own Hc’s too!!! I love reading what other people think and how their view of the characters and of Twisted Wonderland in general change from person to person!!!

Savanaclaw:

Leona:

-Farena: We already know Leona describes his brother as being carefree and relaxed, but deep under that I think he’s a deeply intelligent man (how can you run a kingdom and be stupid?). He tries his best to make time in his schedule for his wife and child, and even try to get bonding tike with his younger brother (which never works out well). He tries to teach Cheka as much as he can, often giving him little life lessons while they play games. He’s a very kind and straightforward man, often being blunt when he doesn’t mean to. He stands a little taller than Leona, with Orange hair similar to Chekas. He keeps his hair tied out of his face as much as he can.

-Sister-in-law Kingscholar: A strong and confident woman, not afraid to speak her mind when she wants to. She’s blunt and she’d let you know about it. She’s also very kind in her own way, often dragging Leona off and trying to have serious talks with him, which he appreciates but doesn’t show. She adores Cheka and often spoils him without meaning to, and will spoil Leona too (but indirectly in a way similar to Ace’s father’s). Also very intelligent and good at reading people. I think she stands a little shorter than Leona, but she holds herself higher, and he slouches, so it looks as if they’re the same height. She has long yellow hair (again, similar to the ends of Cheka’s) that she often ties back as well.

-Cheka: We already know him, so heres a few Hcs!: He sometimes asks his mother to do his hair the same way as Leona’s, and tries to do everything like him (such as standing like him, trying to deepen his voice to sound like him, throwing sand at various objects in the castle yelling “King’s Roar!!”)

Ruggie:

-Grandma Bucchi: As he said himself, a stern and prideful woman. I think she’d be on the stricter side, having to teach Ruggie how to survive rather than him having to face those hard truths alone. She likely stands a lot shorter, likely 5’0 (sorry to anyone whos that height), than most other beastwomen. She’s a lot physically stronger than she looks, often still trying to pick Ruggie up at his age. She tries to spoil him when she can, trying to make him relax after working and taking over the household chores (which he declines, still cleaning up when she’s not looking- which earns him a smack to the head with a broom). She’s also a prankster, quietly jumping out from corners and scaring Ruggie or one of the other children. I think she feels a lot of regret over seeing Ruggie grow up so fast in the environment that he had, but she’s the proudest grandma ever. Whenever he sends pictures back she boasts to everyone at home (“See that! That’s my grandson’s school! See that there! He plays magift and is one of the best on the team! Look there! He’s got those nice ceremony robes!”), and even boasts about him with what little baby pictures they have (“See him walking at such a young age? Isn’t he so strong?”) Will never stop talking about her grandson, ever.

-Neighborhood kids: I think they’re like little siblings to Ruggie, so I’m adding them. They try to tale over what Ruggie did when he was at home, helping people fix up their houses or entertaining the baby hyenas when their mothers have other things to do. They also leave gifts to Ruggie when he comes back, between little dolls they made, bracelets they thought he’d like, charms, or pretty rocks and leaves. He keeps all of the gifts, no matter how small.

-His mom (bc the poor woman deserves a spot)(Poor meaning unfortunate)(The more i think abt it, both. It means both. Bad time?): I think she looked a lot like him, but with brighter blue eyes than his. She was definitely a prankster at heart, leaving clever traps behind for any poor soul to get stuck in. She was a very hardworker much like her son, taking on any task she could find to help out her mother. I think she’d try to leave as much behind for Ruggie as she could, which would include little notes and scribbles about how she was feeling throughout her pregnancy and how excited she was for him. Ruggie also kept all of those safe and sound, in a small box he keeps in the corner of his room.

(Can you guess who my fav chara is?)

Jack:

-Grandma & Grandpa Howl: A very loving couple, who always make time out of their schedule for their grandchildren, whether it be for school events, emergencies, or if any one of them want to come by and talk. They met when Grandpa Howl got lost and wandered by Grandma Howl’s family’s cabin (which happens to be the one they, and the rest of the family, still live in to this day) and he spent the night. I think they fell in love at first sight :’)

-Mama Howl: A very soft and loving beastwoman who is willing to sacrifice anything for her children. She is often strict, and sometimes a chatterbox, but she always reminds her children to stay safe and that she loves them. She always pats their head or cheek when she walks by, even if she has to reach a little to plant a kiss on Jack’s forehead. I think her hair would be a little darker grey, and she’d definitely be a little more muscular and taller, reaching six ft one when standing straight up. She’d have the same yellow eyes as Jack, and her hair would be cropped shorter due to her still moving around a lot.

-Papa Howl: Very similar to Jack personality and appearance wise. He stands an inch or two shorter than Jack, but is still very muscular due to working around the house and in the woods (chopping wood for the campfire, dragging around tools, carrying three wolf pups at a time in his younger days (only one now wants to be carried, which hurts the poor man’s heart a bit)

-Baby brother Howl: Huffy and a little moody, but a hard worker even if he complains while doing it most of the time. That’s often with his parents, but when he does something with Jack he doesn’t complain a bit. He’s very attached to his older brother, looking up to him for his strength and strong morals. He often compares him to superheroes and star athletes in his mind, but sometimes it slips out, resulting in one very embarrassed wolf boy and another very flattered wolf boy, ignore their wagging tails, it means nothing. I think he stands pretty tall for a preteen, around 5’7-5’8 and growing taller by the day. Same hair and eye color as Jack. Acts like he doesn’t like to play games with his younger sister but will never turn down a game of tag.

-Baby sister Howl: An absolute sweetheart. She just wants the best for her family and will do whatever she can to make what they want happen. Jack is hungry? Good thing she made her special dessert (it’s a poptart with whipped cream messily piled on top with sprinkles and literal sugar cubed wedged in it, but don’t tell her you don’t like it, please she’d actually bawl). Her other older brother is tired? She can get him extra blankets! Mama needs help cleaning? She can mop (she really just throws water on the floor and praises herself for a job well done). Papa need to cut wood? She can- no, she can’t. Please don’t give her an axe. She’ll cheer him from the sidelines with a song she made up just for him instead! She has their mother’s grey hair and father’s dark brown eyes, and loves to do her hair like the princesses she sees on Tv! (Yes, Jack will wear a too-small dress and Tiara if his sister wants to play princess. No, he will not let anyone take pictures.)

Octavinelle:

Tweels:

-Mama Leech: At first glance, a very kind woman with soft eyes. Willing to open her arms to anyone who might need help. Then, a terrifying grin similar to Floyd’s as that poor unfortunate soul realizes the trap they’d been thrown in. She’s very kind and patient towards both her boys and husband, as well as their friends (even of she is on guard near their friends, throwing a few hollow threats to see if it’d scare them away)(She doesn’t like to share her babies). She dotes on the tweels as much as possible, indulging im whatever curiosity they may have. Floyd wants to know what going through riptide is like? They leave tomorrow to find one. Jade wants to know more about life on land? She’ll find as many books as possible and ask (threaten) people for their land belongings. She knows when too far is too far though, and is very skilled at reeling the boys back in if they get to that point. Will always call them her little guppies, no matter how big they get. I think she’d have a teal bob on top, with the underside of her hair being black (which makes her hair look color changing when she swims). Im her human form shes only a few inches shorter than her boys, ranging around the same as Jack’s mother.

-Papa Leech: The definition of old Hollywood New York mob boss. Strict and blunt about his interests and problems, and not afraid to cause any problems if provoked. When the tweels were younger and they’d wrestle and bite at him, he’d throw them off him easily, telling them they need to work to beat him, even if he was impressed by their teamwork at first. Will die to protect his family, and was likely put in that position many times in the past due to his uh… business. He values his wife and children more than anything, and has done everything in his power in the past to protect them from harm. When they went to NRC at first, he felt defeated and almost wanted to beg them to stay safe with him (not that his pride would allow it).(Both the tweels can see through his facade easily)

Azul:

-Grandma ‘grotto: A very stern and prim octomermaid. What she says goes in the Ashengrotto house, and she often catches herself making unnecessary comments. She does apologize. Also a very loving grandmother towards Azul, often babying him whenever possible (doing the classic “you’re not eating enough here take some more” grandma move)(She will smooch his face whenever possible when there are no business clients nearby). Tries to boost his confidence since she knew about what was happening to him (Chances are she went through the same thing- being an octomer as well) and dod her best to protect him and make him happy. She taught him how to write with his tentacles and encouraged him to do his best in everything he does.

-Mama ‘grotto: Another businesslady in the front absolute softie in the back situation. Adores her son and is incredibly proud of how far he’s come.I think she looks identical to Azul, but more heavyset and, of course, female. She coddled Azul as much as possible, which worked out well with baby Azul’s clingy nature. She had no shame in walking around with the little guy stuck to her (unless he smacked a tentacle to her face when she was working on her restaurant), and made sure everyone knew what a good boy he was. She would show pictures to everyone (similar to Ruggie’s grandma), but respects his wishes in wanting to hide pictures of his past. She still shows anyone who asks pictures of him at NRC (compliments to the twins, who send her updates when her son is busy), and will tell everyone how smart he is and how much he’s grown.

-Step-Papa grotto: A very professional man in every aspect of his life, which stretches to his relationship with his stepson. When he learns about the contracts and Azuls UM, he’s over the moon with how happy he is. He swam around with a little more pep than usual, flicking his tail and flaring out his fins the more and more Azul told him. He helps him reword and format his contracts to his advantage, and is always willing to talk with him about Mostro Lounge or (on rare occasion) some memories before Step papa Ashengrotto met Mama Ashengrotto (which always make him happy that Azul trusts him enough). I think he’d be a pretty generic looking Mer, with an average looking tail and such