#and she needed a cabinet so she grabbed some random college kids off the street

[reimulin-art]

hiiii here’s my MLP ocs thank you bye

[btsmakesmehappy]

Palate Cleanser | 1

Genre: Agent au, friends with benefit (sort of), Stranger to lover, Angst, Fluff, Eventual Smut

Pairing: Agent!Taehyung x Baker!reader

Word Count: 5,6k

Rating: 18+ (M)

Warning: broken heart, cursing.

Chapter: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 completed

Summary: Taehyung needs something to take his mind off his broken heart. His best friend, Jimin, suggests that he should meet another woman and the first woman he met was you. Would you help him even though you have your own problem, that you hate men?

a/n: Hello again! This mini series is a continuation from Broken Vase. You can read it as as a standalone, but it’s better if you read it first for better understanding! As always, english is not my first language, so I would really appreciate if you give me correction or any suggestion. Please tell me if you want to be added on the taglist!

Also this is gonna be a part of The Company series (Click it for agents’ description!). Please look forward for it!

Taehyung walks mindlessly in the city. It is already noon, but still, he doesn’t want to go back to the company. The sun shines brightly like it is mocking him. And how the roads are full of couples, it is like hell to him. He hates it. He wants to be with someone too. Someone whose hand he can hold in the middle of a busy street. Not just someone, but someone he truly loves. That particular one who chooses Namjoon over him. He knows that the girl loves Namjoon deeply. He always knows it. Yet he refuses to acknowledge it. He thought that if he stays with her by her side, she will reciprocate his feelings. But it is just a mere hope. Love is not that simple.

His phone vibrates inside his pocket. He looks at it only to find Jimin is calling him. “What do you want, chim?” He then moves to the sidewalk, to take the call. His back leans onto a brick wall.

“Hello to you too. Where the fuck are you? The meeting is in 5 minutes, you know!” Jimin yells from the telephone. Taehyung taps his foot impatiently, waiting for Jimin to stop his blabbering. “Just come here fast!”

Taehyung interrupts, “I am not coming.”

There is silence on the phone and when Taehyung wants to turn his phone off, Jimin yells again. “Are you crazy? The meeting is about our mission in Hawaii. All of the agents who worked in it must be present. Our boss and that girl are gonna ask me about you.”

Taehyung can feel his heart stop for a bit after hearing about that girl. The girl he loves. But still, he doesn’t want to meet her. He is not ready. She will be together with Namjoon in the meeting. A sight he never wants to see. “Just act like you don’t know anything! I am hanging up!” Taehyung hangs up before Jimin replies back. He then turns his phone off and puts it again inside his pocket.

Yes, he thinks that it is not professional for him to avoid Namjoon and the girl. He doesn’t hate them, Hell no. Namjoon is one of his best friends and so does she. But he still needs a moment to mourn, to finally moving on. He sighs and walks again. His stomach grumbles. He hasn’t eaten anything since yesterday. He doesn’t even believe it himself. He thinks that only women will have anorexic as a breakup phase. But it seems, losing appetite applied for every human being who is brokenhearted.

His feet stop in front of a small bakery. It has a blue color outside and yellow inside, a rare combination since some people think that blue is not an appetizing color. He decides to buy some bread and eat it in the park, he is not in the mood of any rice right now. He just needs something to fill his empty stomach. The bell in the door rings as he opens it.

He is welcomed by delicious smells of freshly-baked bread. He takes a tray and walks around. Somehow the smells make his stomach growls even louder. After many considerations, he chooses a bread with red bean paste and butter and also an egg sandwich. He also takes a coke from the chiller and walks to the cashier.

He puts the tray in the cashier and his eyes wandering around the small bakery. The bakery itself is cozy, with some corners full of cute photo spots. There is only some seating area in front of the cashier. Taehyung is nodding at the rhythm of the music when his eyes dart at a little placard with a hand-written scribble beside the cashier.

Girls get 50% off

Taehyung frowns his brows and asks. “Why do only girls get 50% off?”

You raise your head. “Because all men are trash.” You reply dryly.

Taehyung gawks with that sudden explanation. “I’m sorry, what?”

Just before you say anything to the random guy, someone hit your head. “What the fuck, Hani? Why did you hit me?” you touch your head and look at another girl, Hani, who holds a rolling pin in her hand.

Hani then grabs the placard and tears it into pieces. “How many times did I tell you not to use this stupid ‘girl only’? You want us to go bankrupt?” She then throws it into the trash can. Hani turns to the man in the suit in front of them. “I am really sorry sir.”

“Why? I said the truth!” you shrug. Hani then glares at you, which shuts you up. “Fine. You handle this then.” you then walk to the back, to the kitchen, while Hani handles the cashier.

Taehyung is flabbergasted. His eyes following your back. What a weird girl. “So, how much?”

Hani then smiles, “2700 won. Would you want to pay with cash or card?” Taehyung gives her an exact amount. “Oh, this is a free cookie for you. It’s a new recipe.”

Taehyung takes the paper bag and nods politely. “Thank you.”

“Thank you! Please come again!” She yells to the girl as Taehyung walks out of the door. He can hear how the weird girl is being yelled at. Somehow he finds it amusing and funny, not at all weird.

He walks to the nearby park and sits on the bench. He puts the paper bag beside him. He looks at the bag. Palate Cleanser. A weird name for a bakery. It should be used for an ice cream parlor or that kind of stuff, but instead, they use it in a goddamn bakery. Well, not only the people working there are weirdos, the bakery itself is weird too.

He chuckles. Taehyung loves unusual stuff. He was once scolded by the higher-ups when he showed up in the Company in a pajama set and the other time in a suit with some doodles on the back. It is just his fashion sense, and everybody in the Company just looked at him like he was crazy. Why can't he be the unique one? It’s not that he bothers anyone with his habit nor his fashion sense. He opens the sandwich first and bites it. Not bad. Maybe he will come to that weird bakery again.

“What the fuck, Y/n? You almost scared him away!” Hani yells at you. She puts her hand on her hips. It may be the fifth time she yelled at you about this, this week.

You shrug. “So what? That is my intention anyway.” You open the kitchen cabinet and pull out a sack of flour, chocolates, caramel, and a bottle of peanut butter.

She pinches the bridge of her nose. “He just wanted to buy some bread for god sakes. Not making a move at you!”

You look away and walk to the kitchen island to make another batch of cookies. “Men still are trash.” You said as you rolled your sleeves.

Hani just shakes her head. “Not all men are trash.”

“They are!” you yell. “You lucky you found a good one.”

“Enough with the stubbornness!” She sighs. “Fine then, just think like that. But don’t you ever put that placard again! People would think that this bakery is a lesbian crib, you fucker.” Hani stomps her foot to the front, leaving you alone in the kitchen.

You sigh. I hope I am a lesbian, maybe It’s just better that way. You begin to measure the cookie ingredients. Your mind wanders freely as your hands work. You have done this for almost 5 years now, and you can measure a basic cookie dough subconsciously.

It’s because of Youngjae.

It was maybe the lowest point in your life. You found Youngjae naked in the bed with your college friend who you thought was your best friend. But frankly, she was just a bitch. Youngjae was your boyfriend for 3 years, you dated him in the last year of high school. He was kind, handsome, and smart, basically a grade-A boyfriend. You thought you were blessed for having a nice boyfriend. You gave all of you to him. But apparently, he cheated you all the time in your relationship. For 3 fucking years.

You are glad that you have a nice family and friends to help you through it. You cried, starved yourself, and did not take a bath for weeks in your break up. Hani is one of your friends that supports you in that hard time. Instead of just depressed and sad, she helped you move on. She was the one who printed huge ass banners that said ‘Youngjae got herpes’ with his photo and stuck it on every surface in your college. It probably cost you some dates but you were happy and satisfied. You were relieved that you got out of that unhealthy relationship. But still, you despise all of the men in this world.

You studied hard after that, took patisserie classes, not bothered by guys and dating. You get on your feet and finally, you open a bakery in the middle of the city with your best friend. It is like a successful revenge. Even that jerk ruined your life, you still have your best friend and a great job that you have always dreamt of.

You always love baking since you are just a little kid. You love the moment when you wait in front of the oven. You love to see how all the raw ingredients turn into an edible one. And you love to give your food to people, you love seeing their reaction. There was even a time when you made bread with a miso paste fillings. It was a horrible combination that made Hani and your family throw up. But you love trying new things, or just watching them trying your disgusting food.

You put the cookies in the oven. This time you made a batch of sumbitches, cookies filled with peanut butter, chocolate, and caramel. It is your bakery’s special and most favorite one because your customers are mostly girls. Who says that the girls need love? Well, who needs love if you can eat chewy, sweet, salty, and crunchy fresh baked cookies while watching Netflix?

Taehyung decides to go back to the Company after his lunch. He is racking his brain to avoid the other guys. He looks at his watch. The meeting should be over in an hour. He better moves faster. He speed-walks to his cubicle, nodding at everyone in his way. It is not that he has a job to do. He hasn’t got a new mission yet, so he basically can slack around. He sits on his chair. It’s been a while since he moved back to this city. He always chose to be located in other countries as an asset. He loves to interact with new people and to be in a new environment, not stuck in this tiny cubicle in a suit. But after that Hawaii Mission, the boss orders him to return to the head office, and well, he can’t refuse. Even Yoongi, who was an asset in Hawaii, ordered his return too.

He moves his chair around. He is bored. Maybe he is going to ask Jungkook to play with him. Oh but Jungkook is at the meeting. He sighs as he props his hand under his chin.

“Tae! Where have you been?” It’s the voice he wants to avoid the most. She walks to his cubicle with her bag on her shoulder. He can see the scar on her cheek is not as red as before, since it was from two weeks ago. “You are lucky, the Boss didn’t ask for you!”

He smiles sheepishly. “Ah, right. I kinda forget. So how is the meeting?”

She looks at him suspiciously and puts her arms across her chest. “Yoongi found that Ji Seok had contacted some people before he came to Hawaii. So, we need to investigate them. They sound suspicious from what Yoongi told us before. We thought that they might be the newest members of the Black.”

He tilts his head. “I’m sorry. We?” He is fine with another job to save him from boredom, but to work with her again? It’s just uncomfortable.

She laughs, “Oh, I am sorry. I mean you, Yoongi, Jin, Jimin, and Hoseok. Everyone except me and Namjoon. Can you believe that?”

Taehyung raises one of his eyebrows. At some point, he feels relief that he won’t work with her. “What? Why?”

“Namjoon is getting his ‘punishment’ and sent away to teach the recruits and as for me, I have finally decided to go on therapy.” She smiles proudly.

His jaw drops, “Oh my God! I am so glad you decided to do that!” He stands and hugs her tightly. “What makes you change your mind?”

She returns the hug. “Well, Namjoon kinda talked me into it. I was afraid I would get fired, at first. But he told me that if I get fired, he will leave too.” She laughs. “And after that, I gathered all of my courage to tell our Boss. Fortunately, he doesn’t fire me and encourages me to go to therapy. They told me to think about myself first.”

He gulps and gives a faint smile. “I am so happy for you.”

She then releases his hug. “I want to talk to you more, but I must go to my first session. Talk to you soon, okay?” she then waves and walks to the tall man standing beside the door. The tall man smiles and then puts his arms behind her back and walks with her happily. She never smiles like that before and if Namjoon is the only one who can make her happy, he will gladly let her go. Even if his heart aches whenever he sees her with Namjoon, he will be happy for her. He tries to be happy for her.

He needs to move on. He must let her go.

He drowns in his thoughts, not realizing Jimin walks to him. “Hey, bro. How are you?” Jimin has always been his best friend. They both went to college together and finally decided to work in the same place, Taehyung works in the field area, whereas Jimin works as a handler. Her handler. And Jimin was the one who introduced her to Taehyung.

Taehyung sighs. “So-so.”

Jimin pats his shoulder. “I know. You are doing good, by the way. I am so proud of you.” Jimin always knows about Taehyung’s love for her. It’s not that he is not supporting it, but Jimin has always known that the girl loves Namjoon, since a long time ago. Basically, he is stuck in between helping Taehyung, his best friend, or helping the girl. But love is not that simple, and can’t be controlled with a mere human being like him. It just goes with the flow like a log in the river. And unlucky for Taehyung, the log flows to another stream. “Just tell me if you want to hit the strip club okay? Hoseok is waiting for it too.”

“Haha. Yeah right.” Taehyung shrugs. “Maybe next couple of years.”

“Dude. Why are you so pessimistic about it? You are going to move on soon.”

Taehyung glares at him. “I have loved her for 3 years, okay? It’s not that simple to unlove someone you love.”

Jimin sighs. “You know what? I think you need a palate cleanser.”

Taehyung knits his brows. “What? Why do I need that bakery?”

“What bakery?” He asks back. “No, what I mean is you need some sex to help you get over her! And then you can get ready for a new one.”

“So, you suggest that I should hook up with a prostitute?” He crosses his arms across his chest, finding Jimin’s suggestion to be amusing. Amusing as Jimin who is a hopeless romantic and has been in love with his childhood friend since he was a kid suddenly told him to get a one night stand.

“Eww. No! Just look for a girl, you stupid. Hang out more.”

Taehyung chuckles. “Shouldn’t it be easier to find a prostitute?”

Jimin’s nose scrunches in disgust. “If you say a prostitute again, I won’t ever talk to you.” He then drops a binder on Taehyung’s desk. “Anyway, this is the data for our mission. Jin said that we would have a meeting tomorrow, so you should study it. Oh, did I mention that I am joining the fieldwork too? Finally, I don’t need to stay in front of my computer. I am so thrilled!”

“Wow, congrats bro.” Taehyung pats his shoulder and takes the binder and opens it. “But you should practice your gun skill more then.”

“Right! I think I will practice after this. Alright then, if you need other data just tell me, okay? I’ll see you soon.” Jimin then walks away.

Taehyung drifts his attention to the binder. It looks like there are 3 suspects. They have been contacted by Ji Seok for at least ten times in the last 3 months before Ji Seok is caught. The First suspect is Byun Baekhyun, he went to the same college with Ji Seok, now working in a restaurant in the city. The contacts all happened in his restaurant, with no telephone trace. The second suspect is Park Chanyeol, he lived in the same neighborhood with Ji Seok. He now works as a journalist in a food magazine, last seen with Ji Seok at a work party. The last suspect is Jung Eunji, she has no connection with Ji Seok, but her credit card was used to buy a plane ticket to Hawaii.

His forehead furrows. There is still not enough data to capture them, which means they needed to go to the field to investigate. Another troublesome mission. But at least, he won’t be stuck in front of his computer.

It is the morning. You wake up lazily. You are not a morning person. Even though you have a job which requires you to go to work at 6 am for years, you still go to bed after midnight. You always have other activities that make you busy, either you watch movies or read books. Well, not books. You have been using Tumblr for almost 10 years now. That application has occupied your browser history for almost 10 years, and that is the only reason why people never get to see your phone, there are too many links to your favorite smut authors. There is no way people can see that. Basically it’s just like porn, but you always think that it is more than that. Smut is just full of artistic things too. You love how the author writes such a poetic description of humping with emotional touches which make you cry until 2 in the morning. Well, you did other stuff too besides crying. Let’s just say that not only your face is wet.

You take a quick shower before you go to work. You wrap your body in a towel and pick your clothes for today in the closet. You never go to work in classy clothes, usually, you just wear a t-shirt and jeans, you have to change into your kitchen clothes later after all. You wear your black t-shirt and your ripped jeans quickly, then after tying your hair into a messy bun, you grab your jacket and your purse on the couch. You should go now if you don’t want to be late, or getting scolded by Hani. You shudder in reflex.

It is still chilly in the morning. You keep thinking to yourself, why you hate morning so much when you love the morning weather and how empty the road is, like you own it. You yawn. Well, you hate the wake-up part in the morning. You hate to leave the comfort and the warmth of your blanket.

The walk from your apartment to your bakery is not that long. You are lucky to find such an affordable apartment in the middle of the city. It is small, but it is still livable and pretty. It is close to many things, like the market, train station, and even your bakery. It is a pity you don’t live with Hani. You were going to be Hani’s roommate when you first moved to the city, but now she lives with his boyfriend, Jackson. That’s why, when you first saw the ad of your apartment, you called it without any further thinking.

You arrive at the bakery as you sigh in relief for not seeing Hani’s head inside. Lucky to you, she won’t scold you for this morning. You unlock the door and go straight to your locker room to change your clothes. You then skillfully sweep, mop, and wash all the dishes. And after an hour, you begin to prepare your today’s bread. It’s just your usual menu in your bakery. While you are preparing the dough, your mind wanders, where the hell is Hani?

It’s almost 9 am, and you still can’t find Hani anywhere. You wanted to call her, but as clumsy as you are, you left your phone in your apartment. So you just hope that Hani is fine but her ass will not because you are gonna kick her ass for letting you prepare the bread alone. You sigh as you walk to the front door to turn the sign to ‘Open’.

It has always been a hectic morning for two people to make, display the bread, and handle the customers. And now you are the only one here. It is basically like a war. You still feel lucky, to have people loving your bread. But after 2 hours of working alone, you are admitting defeat. You change the sign on the door to ‘Still baking’ and run to the kitchen to bake some more. It is the only thing you could think of right now. All the bread this morning has already sold out, after all. You are never a multi-tasking girl. So it seems fair for you to work in this type of situation or you will go insane.

Your next batch of bread is already in the oven, and you finally can take a breather. You look at your clock on the wall, it’s almost noon, and Hani is still nowhere to be seen. You begin to worry, but it’s not like you can leave the bakery alone. Then the bell on the door rings. You almost run to the front to yell at Hani for coming so late, but instead Hani, it is a guy.

It’s a guy from yesterday.

He wears a different suit from yesterday, now he is wearing a navy one. His curly hair falls on his forehead smoothly, framing his frowning brows. “Are you close or something?” he asks after he observes your display area.

“My friend is a little late, so I work alone right now.” You give a half-smile, a business one. “If you do mind, you can come back for an hour for the bread. Can’t you see the sign on the door?”

He turns his sculpted face to the door, “Oh, right. Sorry.” He then walks to the seating area, “Can I wait here?”

You bite your lip. But before you say anything to him to forbid him, your alarm in the kitchen rings. You snarl and walk back to the kitchen. “Your call.” You begin to pick your bread and put it to the cooling rack. You then put the already cool one to the plastic back to put it on the display later. Your eyes leer to the guy sitting casually in the seating area in front of the cashier. The presence of a man close to you is kind of uncomfortable.

Taehyung looks at you from the kitchen window. It is a big glass window to show what’s going on inside the kitchen. And that noon, the window lives to its purpose, he can see what you are doing inside. He can see how uncomfortable you are. How you fidget every time you have nothing on your hand. How your eyes sometimes leer at him. It is his ability to know body language, he is an agent, after all. He knows that you are nervous.

Since you told him that all men are trash yesterday, he still thinks of you as a weird girl. Somehow he is drawn to you. At first, he thought it was just a joke or a prank, but seeing how awkward you are when you see him, he realizes that you do hate men. And he thinks it’s really adorable.

You then go out from the kitchen with a pan of freshly baked bread and walk to the display. You put them neatly, quietly, trying not to mind him, while mentally praying for Hani to come sooner.

“Wow, you really do hate men, don’t you?” He asks abruptly.

His deep voice startled you. Your empty pan falls to the ground as the impact, making a loud noise in the room. You then give him a dirty look. “Pardon?”

He walks to the display area, casually observing the bread. He then takes a piece of bread. “I thought it just a joke when you said all men are trash.” He walks back to his chair, opens the plastic, and bite the bread.

You raise one of your eyebrows. “So?” You ask without batting an eye.

“Nothing. Just find it amusing.”

You walk to the chair in front of him and pull it. You sit there facing him. “You have a problem with that?”

“No.” Taehyung throws his last bite to his mouth and chews it quickly. He inches forward to your face. “Let me guess. Hm.. You got dumped, didn’t you?”

You widen your eyes. “No, I didn’t! I was the one who dumped him!” You put your hand on your mouth. What the hell are you doing telling strangers that?

He hums and folds his arms across his chest. “Okay, let me try again.” He studies you for a bit. “Your boyfriend cheated on you with your friend?”

Your jaw drops and you can feel a flush crept on your face. “How do you know?” You ask in a shock.

He smirks and shrugs confidently. “I am just that good you know.” He chuckles. “Actually no, I just guessed it.”

Just when you wanted to reply to him, the door opened harshly. And there you find your best friend rushing towards you. “Oh my God, Y/N! I am sorry.”

You observe her from the top to her feet, well, she seems fine. That’s the important thing. You sigh. “Where have you been?”

“Jackson got sick so I took him to the hospital. I have been calling you for a hundred times, where is your phone?” Hani asks. You can see her face is bare, she didn’t even draw her eyebrows.

“I left it at home. Is Jackson okay?”

Hani takes off his jacket and rolls her sleeves. “Yeah, just a little infection, he will be fine.” She looks around the bakery. “I can’t believe you open this yourself, I feel terrible.”

You wave your hands. “It’s okay. But I think we should hire a part-timer. It has been a hell for me.”

She rubs her chin. “Yes, I think it is time for us to have a helper.” Hani then looks to the side to find a man there. “I am sorry. Am I interrupting something?” She smiles.

Taehyung smiles back and laughs. “Not really. We just discussed about her hatred of men. I got free bread for guessing the reason right!”

“It’s not free-“

You are interrupted by Hani’s laughter. “It is ridiculous, right? I talked to her all the time that not all men are like that.” Her voice then quieten. “I even told her to find a palate cleanser, you know. And, this is a lil bit TMI. But actually, it’s the reason why we use that name for our bakery.”

Palate cleanser. Taehyung then remembers what Jimin said to him yesterday. And an idea comes to his head.

You push Hani’s back to the locker room. “Alright, alright. Just go change already.” She follows your instruction as she waves to Taehyung.

Taehyung looks at his watch and then gathers his stuff and rises from his chair. He walks towards you and he holds out his hand to you. “I am Taehyung.”

You take his hand after many considerations. “Y/N.”

Taehyung smiles. He then takes his wallet out from his pocket and pulls out a card. A black name card. “This is my number. If you are interested in the palate cleanser thing,” he then forcefully puts the name card on your hand, “please give me a call.” He winks and Taehyung walks away to the door, leaving you speechless on the spot.

You are stunned, seeing the card on your hand. After a few seconds, you realize. You ran outside to catch him. “Hey, you haven’t paid!” but Taehyung has vanished in the crowded road.

“Finally!” Jimin yells. All of the 5 members gather in the meeting room, with Jin in the middle. It’s already 15 minutes past the meeting time. Taehyung walks faster and sits beside his friend.

Jin sighs, “I swear to God, if you are late one more time, I will kick your ass in the practice room.” He shifts his eye to Jungkook beside him. “Actually, I will ask Jungkook to do it.”

Taehyung being such a brat, like he always does, shrugs. “Fine. I am sorry. Please continue the meeting.”

Jin pouts and rolls his eyes. “What I am saying is, we need to gather as many pieces of information from the 3 suspects and they should know nothing. The Black is still an influential organization. We must be careful not to attract any attention.”

Hoseok raises his hand. “But actually, haven’t we attracted the attention already by capturing the leader in Hawaii?”

“That’s true. But most of the new members seem to be a rookie in this field, they haven’t been that loyal to him. For short, they are terrified. They will do whatever they take to throw all of the evidence that shows they’re in the organization right away. That’s why it’s our chance to dig a little deeper.” Jin continues.

“So what is the plan?” Jungkook asks.

Yoongi rises from his seat and connects his laptop. He then shows all of the suspect’s profiles. “Jin and I already talked to our boss. We think that we should divide ourselves into groups to tail them.”

“So, Jimin and Yoongi will investigate Jung Eunji. Taehyung and Hoseok will investigate Park Chanyeol, and the last, Jungkook and I will investigate Byun Baekhyun.” Jin folds his hands across his chest. “You will be needed to submit your report every single day at 00.00. Just tailing, no harsh approaches. If they suspect something, you will retreat and report to me. We don’t need another attraction. Are we clear?”

All of the members nod and rise from their seats as Jin dismisses them. Taehyung walks to Hoseok. “So do we get a stake-out van?”

It is almost midnight but you still can’t fall asleep. You move your body anxiously on the bed, trying to get comfortable. Finally, you surrender. You pick your phone, scrolling on Tumblr. It is a bad idea actually. You always think that reading some stories will make you go to sleep, but instead, you feel excited and end up reading fifteen chapters of 10k stories. But tonight, you can’t find other stories to read.

You sigh. Your mind begins to wander. And suddenly Taehyung pops out in your mind. A palate cleanser, huh? It is tempting actually. He looks nice. Well, nice doesn’t do justice to him. You have never found a guy as handsome as him. It really makes nonsense to you. His beauty is beyond words. And to have such a guy to offer you such service, you must be dreaming.

Or, is he a prostitute? That’s why he looks so ethereal!

You turn your headlamp on and walk to your purse, where you kept his name card. You look at it carefully on both sides. It is just a simple card, with simple ‘Kim Taehyung’ written in gold in the center, with his email and phone number under it and ‘The Company’ on the other side of the card. It seems too sophisticated for a prostitute’s agency, well, not that you ever got it though. Or is he like an exclusive prostitute?

Should I just text him? You sit on your couch. You input his number on your phone and hit the message button. What should I send? You tap your phone on your chin. You have never texted a guy since college. It is lame actually. Whenever you got a guy’s number, you always ignore it. But now, you just got the feeling that you can ignore Taehyung.

You walk to your pantry, pouring a glass of wine, and bring the bottle to the couch. You begin to type.

To Taehyung: Hey...

You knit your eyebrows, what are you? A high schooler? You can do better than this. You delete and begin typing again. You gulp the wine in one shot and pour another glass.

To Taehyung: Dear, Kim Taehyung. I was happy to receive your number and I hope to see you again.

Are you his business partner? Damn, woman. Just type casually. You drink your wine again. Typing and deleting, and drinking. For several hours. Until you fell asleep on the couch with the phone on your hand.

And just like the safety slogan on the road, ‘Don’t Drink and Drive’. You need a new one.

‘Don’t drink and type’

[readyourimgaines]

Chapter Three: New Starts and New People

I actually have a tag list going on this now. @iamnotbrianmay @board-certifiedbastard If you want to be added, shot me a message. And as always, thank you to @thatbarricade for everything you do with this. 

“I was left to my own devices; many days fell away with nothing to show.” Enjolras’s voice carried slightly from the shower to the nearby kitchen. “And the walls came tumbling down into the city that we love.” 

Grantaire sat up from where he had fallen asleep on the floor the night before, the fluffy blanket still under him. He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand and yawned. He caught the scent of bacon, something similar to bacon, and the sound of faint singing. The painter stood and stumbled into the kitchen, going into the fridge for the carton of milk before finding a glass. 

“Who’s singing ‘Pompeii?’” he asked Combeferre. 

“That’s Enj.” He flipped a piece of bacon on the griddle. 

“Come again?” 

“The singing. It’s Enjolras,” Ferre elaborated. “He’s got a pretty good voice, huh?” 

Grantaire blinked. “I thought he was recording.” 

“He’s a talented guy.” Ferre grinned. “Want some breakfast?” 

“Sounds good, thanks.” He paused. “What’s the weird smell?” 

“This fake bacon stuff I picked up from the store for Enj. He doesn’t eat meat, so I figured he’d like it. It kinda tastes like turkey bacon, actually.” 

“Is Courf still asleep?” 

“Yeah. At some point during the night he just went to our bed instead of sleeping in the living room. He was still asleep when I went to get dressed.” Ferre plated some of the bacon and started getting eggs from the fridge. 

“Do you want help cooking?” 

“Can you cook?” 

“I’m not terrible at it.” R shrugged. “I know what a whisk does and that a fork works better and faster.” 

“Good enough for me. You wanna cook the eggs and I’ll try waking up my lazy boyfriend?” 

“I can do that.”

*****

“Okay. So Enj’s got work at one, Courf’s got his shift starting at three, mine’s at five. Uh… On the way to my shift I’ll stop by the café and give you your key to the house so you can get in when you get off…” Ferre ran a list through his head making sure he wasn’t forgetting anything. 

             “There’s food in the fridge, freezer, and cabinets; help yourself- obviously- to whatever you want. R, you always find a way in.” 

“I pick the lock on the back door.” 

“Are you seri- you’re being serious.” Ferre shook his head. “I think I covered everything. Okay. I’ve got to get some stuff from the shop and do some other errands. I’ll be back later. Courf, please don’t cut yourself with a box-cutter again.” Ferre pecked Courf on the forehead. 

“Enj, don’t freak out too much, okay? Eponine’s really chill and is going to help you along as much as she can. And if you start to panic, remember: inhale for four, hold for seven, exhale over eight.” Enjolras rolled his eyes when the older young man kissed his forehead. 

“I’m not kissing you.” Ferre stopped in front of Grantaire. 

“Awe. Why not?” 

Ferre kissed the palm of his hand and patted it against R’s cheek once. 

Enjolras laughed at the mockingly wide grin Grantaire responded with. 

“Okay. I’m off. Don’t burn the house down while I’m gone please.” 

“Bye, Ferre.” 

“See ya.” 

“Bye, Love.” The three replied together. Ferre waved and walked out the door. 

“What do we wanna do for half an hour?” Courf asked. 

“Well, my shift starts at one, but I’d like to be there a little earlier if that works.” Enjolras glanced to R. 

“Works for me. Whenever you wanna go. I get free coffee anyway, so I’m good whenever.” 

“Why do you get free coffee?” Courf asked. 

“I’m friends with Eponine and I babysit her little brother sometimes. I don’t get paid to watch Gavroche, so I just get free coffee when I want it.” He shrugged. 

“Gavroche?” Enjolras looked a little confused. “Isn’t he the little kid that’s always running around town?” 

“Yeah. That’s him.” Grantaire grinned. “That little guy gives me life sometimes, I swear.” 

“But it’d be cool if I grabbed my backpack and we went?” 

“Sure thing.” Grantaire checked his pockets for his keys. “Oh fuck, not again.” 

“Ferre put your keys on one of the hooks by the door last night.” Enjolras said as he got off the couch and went to his room to grab his backpack. It wasn’t a school sized backpack like R thought it was going to be, but rather one that was about half the size of a regular backpack. From the handful of rants, explanations, and his sense of humour, R thought the bold red colour of it fit the blonde well. 

“I’m good to go.” 

“Don’t I get a kiss?” Courf asked from where he now laid on the couch. 

“I don’t want your super-herpes.” Grantaire’s voice had a false empathy to it. 

Enjolras opened the door and stopped, turning to face the darker haired man and held his hands up at shoulder height. “No homo. Wait.” And slowly backed out the door making both of the other men laugh.

*****

“That was well played.” Grantaire was still laughing as they got in his truck. “Why do you carry that bag around?” 

“It’s functions as a purse, but I don’t get laughed at because it’s backpack. I’ve got a whole bunch of random stuff in here. I probably don’t even need half of it.” Enjolras now had the bag sitting on his lap as he strapped in. 

“Fair enough. I should carry one around with me so I can have my 

sketchbook and shit with me. Oh! That’s another thing I wanted to ask. How come you don’t swear like everyone else in our generation?” Grantaire looked over his shoulder as he reversed the truck into the street from Ferre and Courf’s driveway. Well, he was half parked on the lawn and half in the driveway since the space wasn’t big enough for two cars. 

“I could. My father swears a lot, so I probably could have gotten away with it. My theory is just that with how versatile the English language is- seeing as it borrows words from almost every other tongue on the planet- there are so many other words that can be used to get a point across that aren’t vulgar and offend some people.” 

“That’s an interesting take.” Grantaire nodded. “Alright, so on how to go the Musain… I don’t know street names for shit so I go by landmarks instead. There aren’t a lot you can go by, but there are a couple. There’s a dollar store three blocks from Ferre and Courf’s, and the Musain is two blocks up from that.” 

“So three to the left, two up?” 

“Yep. It won’t take long before it’s on autopilot. I had to think more about telling you how to get there than actually driving there. I graduated high school two years ago and Eponine’s been working here since we were juniors, so it’s not something I have to dwell on, you know?”  

“Wait. How old are you?” Enjolras wondered. 

“19- 20 in February.” 

“Want to know a secret only Ferre knows?” 

“Why not?”

“I was supposed to graduate when Combeferre did but my parents can be kind of stupid sometimes so-” 

“I could have told you your parents are dumb.” 

“Thanks.” Enjolras laughed. “We moved up here the summer between my Freshman year and what should have Sophomore year. They did some paperwork wrong, or didn’t turn it in on time, or something, so my credits didn’t transfer and I had to repeat Freshman year.” 

“You’re fucking serious.” 

“Yeah. Had to take a whole year over again and I still maintain a 4.0- including the first time I was a Freshman.” 

“How have you not slaughtered your parents in their sleep?” Grantaire shook his head.

“Five years of High School. Personally, I’m 80 percent I would have killed myself. High school was terrible.” 

“I’ve known Ferre and Jehan for four years so they help a lot. There’s this weird kid- he goes to a different school but comes to all our sporting events and such- he keeps things interesting, too.” 

“Who’s that?” 

“Marius Pontmercy. He more or less stalks one of the girls at the school. He’s not dangerous- I’ve talked to him- he’s just...weird.” 

“Off topic, but Ferre mentioned yesterday you’re going to college for law, right?” 

“Yeah.” 

“Have you ever considered going to into acting?” 

“Not really. I’ve been in a couple school productions and I’m in the school’s choir, but I don’t think it’s something I want to do for a living. It’s a fun hobby though. But being a lawyer? It’s something I’m interested in— the world, especially America, needs fewer corrupt lawyers. There are so many stories on the news about lawyers being paid to keep quiet about something, or that turn down clients because of the pay. That last one is unconstitutional, actually; it’s in the Miranda Rights.” 

“How do you know all this? You aren’t even taking classes yet.” Grantaire was more impressed than he was willing to admit. 

“Like I said, it’s something I’m interested in. Besides, I do my homework. I’m not going to choose a career that pays well because it pays well. I couldn’t care less about the money; I care about seeing that people who don’t deserve punishment evade it, and that those who do deserve it can’t buy or slither their way out of it.” 

“Since lawyers do get paid well, what would you do with the money if you don’t care about it?” 

“Invest it in charities. Save some aside in case someone needs it for hospital bills— if they need it, or if someone needs a place to stay a couple of days. I don’t know but there are too many people in this world that need help and money for me to consciously live in a fancy manor like some do. I wouldn’t want it that way- I just got away from that kind of mess.”

*****

“So this Enjolras?” asked a curly haired girl as he and Grantaire walked into the Musain. Enjolras guessed her to be around R’s age. 

“Yeah. This is him.” 

“Alright. So, with you being under 18, you can’t legally work here by yourself or use a couple of the machines, but there are plenty of things that you can do.” 

“You’re getting ahead of yourself, ‘Ponine.” R walked behind the counter and grabbed two cups. 

“Right. Sorry. I have a lot of fun training new people and we don’t get them often.” Eponine shifted from one foot to the other and twirled a curl around her forefinger.

 “When you work you’ll mostly be working with me, but there are a couple of other workers here, too. Grantaire fills in from time to time if we’re desperate.”  

“Which we are about three times a week.”

“Anyway...if you come over here, I can show you how the cash register works. I’ll be looking over your shoulder or a couple feet over if you have a question about something. And don’t worry if you press a wrong button or mess something up. It’s easy enough to fix.” 

Grantaire placed the second cup he had in front of Enjolras. “Tally ho, boys.”

*****

The bell over the door jingled as Combeferre walked in and he laughed at the wide eyed look on Enjolras’s face. “Everything okay?” 

“Apollo’s doing better than he thinks.” Grantaire said from next to Enj. 

“Apollo?” Ferre raised an eyebrow. 

“16 people have called me that today. I have a name-tag and everything and they keep calling me Apollo.” Enjolras wiped his hands on the white and red striped towel on his shoulder. He shook his head. 

“I don’t get it.” 

“Ferre!” Eponine grinned as she came around the corner from the staff room. “I don’t know where you and R found Enjolras, but he’s amazing, and I wanna keep him.” 

“He’s a friend of mine from high school.” Ferre’s smile was still in place. “Anyway, I came by to give you this.” He handed the key to Enjrolras. 

“It’s for the front door. The back door doesn’t have a functional lock.” 

“I may have broken that when I was first learning to lock pick...I’ll buy you a new door knob. Don’t worry about it.” 

“So can you make drinks? Or do you only run the register?”

“I can make drinks that don’t use the steam...thing.” Enjolras answered slowly. “I don’t remember what it’s called. I’ve been here for two hours and things have happened.” 

Ferre chuckled. “Are you sticking around, R?” 

“I got nothing better to do. I’ll bring him home.” 

“Oh! Some of the guys might be around later; Courf wanted to watch something. Enjy, if you’ve gotta recharge in your room, don’t feel bad about it. Take your time and just do what you have to. You aren’t the only one in the group with anxiety, so you don’t have to worry about someone coming to conclusions or anything.” 

“Okay. Who are these ones?” 

“Bahorel, Joly, Feuilly, and Bossuet.” Ferre adjusted the messenger bag on his shoulder. “They’re the only four, aside from Gav, that you haven’t met.” 

“That’s a lot of people.” 

“Well, not if you think about it. You know Courf, R, Eponine, and I. So then it’s those four and Gav.” Ferre sat down. “Now that I think about it, can I get a butterscotch steamer on ice to go?” He smiled fondly at the blond as he set to making the drink, and slipped a ten in the tips jar when Enjolras turned his back to get the flavoured syrup.

*****

When Enjolras and Grantaire returned to the house around 6:30, there were four young men sitting on the couch watching TV. Enjolras hadn’t seen any of them before and Grantaire caught the blue eyed blond straightening his back even more than he thought possible when the four looked over. 

“You’re the new one, right?” the bald one of the four asked with a grin. 

“Yeah. I’m Enjolras.” He gave a stiff wave. 

“Well, I’m Lesgle-” 

“Everyone calls him Boassuet.” This one was sandy-haired. “I’m Feuilly and they’re Joly and Bahorel.” Each one waved when their name was stated. 

“Want some dinner, Enj?” Grantaire asked. He walked further into the house after toeing off his shoes and noted that Enjolras kept his on. 

“Sure, thanks. I’m going to put my bag in my room.” Enjolras pointed his thumb in the direction of his room and R nodded. 

“Hey, how come you’re just now moving in with Ferre and Courf?” Bossuet asked. 

“I, uh-” Enjolras went white. 

“Just time to move on from home, ya know?” R called from the kitchen. “Sometimes parents are just too damn suffocating and it’s time to go.” 

Honest, vague, and to the point. Enjolras could live with that explanation. 

“You’re gay too, huh?” Feuilly asked with a smirk. 

“H-How did you…?” 

“With that posture?” Feuilly chuckled. “After being outta the closet for a while, you develop something called a ‘gay-dar’. Hella useful when trying to find a boyfriend.” Feuilly dropped his voice so it was hushed but not quite a whisper. “R’s single, ya know.” 

Grantaire poked his head into the kitchen. “And Fee’s looking to get his ass kicked.” 

“Given how flexible you are, R?” Joly joked. “I don’t think he’d mind.” 

“Am I missing something?” 

“Just their jealousy of not being able to dance or do back flips.” Grantaire dismissed. “I can literally dance circles around these fools. Remember how earlier Ferre mentioned that my parents are fucked up too? Well, my mom made me take dance and gymnastics. My father didn’t want his son being so ‘girlie’ so he signed me up for boxing and fencing classes.” 

“Bet he regretted the boxing classes later, though.” Bossuet laughed. 

“What?” 

“That’s a story for another time,” R’s usual carefree demeanor slipped.

*****

When Combeferre came home around midnight, Enjolras and Courfeyrac were seated on the couch beside each other playing a video game. Courfeyrac had his feet up on the coffee table and Enjolras had his back against the arm rest, his legs stretched over Courf so his knees were in other’s lap. 

“Looks like you two are having fun.” Ferre laughed as he closed the door and hung his keys on the hook. 

“Were you the guy that put a ten dollar bill in the tips jar?” Enjolras asked. His voice wasn’t accusing, but rather amused. 

“You don’t know that,” he scoffed. “The guys have gone already?” 

“Joly and Bossuet had a date with someone from the Musain.” 

“Musichetta?” Enjolras laughed. “She wouldn’t stop going on and on about these cute college boys she was seeing.”

“You’re okay with them being poly?” Ferre smirked. 

“Are you kidding me? It’s awesome. You never see anything like that in high school. I just- it’s so odd. I don’t actually know them yet, but they’re fun and seem cool.” Enjolras didn’t take his eyes off the screen as he spoke. 

“Well, I’m gonna get something to eat quick and then I’m going to bed. Did you eat, Enj?” 

“Yeah, Grantaire made spaghetti for everyone.” 

“It was actually pretty good. It wasn’t just half cooked noodles and tomato paste.” Courf started pausing the game.

 “I think I’m gonna call it a night, too, Enj.”  

“Alright. Is it cool if I read for a bit?” Enj picked at a hangnail on his forefinger. 

“First of all, it’s summer.” Ferre placed his hand over Enjolras’s to stop from picking at the dead skin. “Second of all, you’re responsible enough- I know from working on projects with you- that you can set a schedule for yourself.” 

“I’m going to read for a bit, then.” Enj nodded. 

“Enjoy your book.” Ferre kissed his forehead and Enjolras rolled his eyes again. “Good night, Enjy.” 

“‘Night, Enj.” Courf ruffled the blond’s hair as he passed.

*****

Half an hour after Ferre and Courf went to bed, there was a rattling at the back door for a few moments before Grantaire stumbled through after having caught his foot on the threshold. 

“Wanna get some soda and go for a drive?” he asked. 

“Are you drunk?” 

“What? No. I tripped. Grab a jacket; let’s go.”

[ibelieveinahappilyeverafter]

Father Time - A Christmas Truce Gift

Happy holidays, @qlinq-qhost! That’s right, Dee, I was your back up Truce partner! I’m so sorry to hear that your original partner wasn’t able to get you a gift this year, but that just means I can give you one myself. You wanted some good old father/son Clockwork and Danny fluff and I am all too happy to provide. I hope you enjoy and that you have a great new year!

                                         ⍣ I have a Patreon! ⍣                                           ☪ I have a tip jar! ☪

                                                Father Time

The sound of canvas material tearing and ripping against the force of too many papers and books sent Danny Fenton into a panic as he felt all the weight in his backpack disappear. A reluctant look over his shoulder showed exactly what he had been expecting to see, which was the sight of a week’s worth of missed or late homework scattered alongside the sidewalk and road with crumbled, wrinkled textbooks.

It took a long moment for it all to sink in, but when it did, Danny was pulling his now broken backpack off and throwing it at the wall of a nearby brick building with as much force as possible. The few objects that had remained inside were free to tumble out and hit the strips of grass and gravel, Danny ignoring the newest problem in favor of taking care of what was currently his biggest problem.

While Danny was used to exhausting days considering he was the town hero Danny Phantom and half-ghost, it was somehow worse when it was just normal human things that managed to get to him.

“Oh, come on!” The words burst out of him violently as a car sped past, running over the papers still in the street and either ruining them or kicking them up into the air. Danny tried to grab what parts of the papers he could, near shaking with rage when it happened two more times before he got everything picked up. “Just my luck.”

He had half a mind to blame Johnny 13 and the teen’s own usual bad luck, but he hadn’t seen Johnny in almost a week. No, this was Danny’s bad luck and the results of it all had him contemplating throwing everything of his that was school related into the nearest dumpster. Before he could, though, his phone was ringing, forcing him to juggle things around before he managed to answer it with a huffy little, “What.”

“Wow, someone’s having a bad day!” At hearing Tucker’s voice, Danny relaxed the smallest amount and gave a groan as an answer. “That bad, huh?”

“Let’s just say the last few days haven’t been the best.” It was at least a relief to hear Tucker’s familiar voice where he had been out of town for the last few days, now. “How’s the family reunion?”

“Half of them think technology is a sin, so, you know, I’ve been using technology to make their lives hell over the last few days. What’s been going on with you? Sam back, yet?”

“She should be back on Saturday. Why did you two both have to have family reunions at the same time? I can’t believe the school even excused you for that.” 

“As long as I do the homework, I don’t think they care, and I think Sam’s parents bribed the school with a new gym or something. Seriously, though, how are you? You sound like you’ve had a rough week. Wanna talk about it?”

Considering Danny was a week behind on homework, had dealt with five ghost attacks, hadn’t seen his parents since they left for a science convention, and had to deal with Jazz stressing herself out about college finals, Danny supposed it could be said that he was having a rough week. He also didn’t want to bother Tucker with it when he was so far away and couldn’t help, though.

“Nah, just minor things. My backpack finally reached the end of its life, though, and sent all my books and papers into the street.”

“That sucks.” Tucker’s tone was flat and matter-of-fact and Danny had to fight off a laugh. “Nothing too bad, though?”

“C’mon, Tuck, I can handle a week without you and Sam here - although you are very missed. Thank you for leaving snacks in your locker at school all the time, by the way.”

“Hey! I was saving those!”

It was easy to turn to bickering and teasing as Danny started the walk home again, everything clutched in one arm awkwardly as he fought to keep it balanced without losing anything. It didn’t help seeing as he had to stop to pick up one or two things every few feet, but his conversation with Tucker at least kept him from going off the deep end.

It took almost an hour to get home, Danny finally ending the call with Tucker and shuffling his way into the kitchen and dropping everything onto the kitchen table. Half of it fell into the floor and Danny didn’t even try to pretend to care about it.

“Hey, Jazz! Is there anything here to eat?” Not hearing a response back, Danny groaned and started going through the cabinets on his own, scrounging up some chips and a can of soda that would have to do for the night. “So much for going shopping today.” He understood that Jazz was busy with finals coming up, but he was pretty sure she was either starving herself or had snacks squirreled away in her room - which she probably did. She had a mini-fridge, after all.

Grabbing a few notebooks and pages off the mess on the kitchen table, Danny stomped his way up the steps and fell into the chair at his desk, setting everything out as he finished off his chips. It took hardly five minutes before he realized it was too quiet and his focus was nowhere near his homework.

Every few seconds he kept thinking about how they were almost out of food or how he hadn’t seen Jazz for almost three days besides a quick hello and goodbye in the morning. If it wasn’t that then it was the half dozen ghost attacks that he had dealt with alone this week. Three of his teachers had given him extra work on top of his makeup homework due to missing so many classes, as well, and Danny was honestly stressed enough that he just wanted a few seconds where everything was under his control.

It turned out that being sixteen was no easier than being fourteen and was, in fact, proving to be worse.

Turning back to stare at his homework that had tire marks in some places and was ripped in others, Danny finally gritted his teeth and shoved the books to the floor before standing up.

“Man, forget this.” Digging for that feeling inside of him that he had only ever been able to describe as ‘cold,’ Danny dug his fingers in and grabbed a hold of it, bright light moving around him before he was falling through the floors to land in the basement of Fenton Works.

After a small moment to make sure no alarms were about to go off, Danny launched himself into the portal with more aggression than he probably should have.

He expected to see familiar shades of green that overpowered everything else, but instead what he got was soft shades of blue and purple and the background sound of hundreds of clocks all ticking in time with one another.

“Nice of you to drop in.” The familiar voice was the only reason Danny didn’t throw an ectoblast, but it didn’t stop him from glaring up at the ghost who apparently oversaw all of time. “It’s been a long week, hasn’t it?”

Just like that, Danny felt all his anger drain out of him as he slumped against what he realized was an overstuffed armchair that was a soft, faded purple. Looking up to Clockwork, Danny sighed quietly, “You have no idea.”

“Well, I have a few ideas,” Clockwork chuckled, flying over to settle on a couch that was only a few feet away. It was the same color and looked just as plush and overstuffed as the armchair. “I’d be willing to hear more, however, if you want.”

“It’s been absolute hell!” The words exploded out of Danny as he sat up, and he was feeling his energy spike around him as if his body was preparing itself for a ghost fight. “The ghosts never seem to stop, my parents pretty much abandoned us to ourselves, I haven’t seen Jazz leave her room in days, and my best friends are out of state and I’m left to not only protect the town but try to pretend like my entire life is somehow normal, which, you know, I’m not. I’m just the creepy little kid with creepy little powers-”

“Here I thought you liked to use your own words to describe things and not others’.” Startling slightly at that, Danny glanced up to see Clockwork was looking at him with an unimpressed look. “I believe we’ve both heard enough of what Penelope Spectra has to say on others.”

“Sorry,” Danny finally muttered after a few moments, slumping back down in his seat. It was easy to forget, but Clockwork had been working with him for almost two years, now. “Guess I’ve been a pretty poor mentee, huh?”

“I wouldn’t say that.” Clockwork had approached him with the offer to train him and teach him about the Ghost Zone, but Danny hadn’t expected to get as attached as he had. With the way his family had always been self-sufficient, Clockwork almost felt like another dad to him. “In fact, I was going to stay I’m rather proud of you.”

“Wait, what?” It took half a moment for Danny to zip over to Clockwork’s side on the couch, eyes narrowed as he stared at him. “If you’re just lying to make me feel better-”

“Daniel.” Clockwork’s lips pulled into a smirk, the ghost setting a gloved hand to rest on his head. “When have I ever lied to make you feel better?”

“I… Never, I guess.” Never being as in Clockwork could be brutally honest about some things - not that Danny hadn’t needed the words, at the time. “I’ve been barely holding on this week. How can that make you proud?”

“It’s precisely because you’ve been holding on.” Clockwork ruffled his hair and Danny couldn’t even begin to stop himself from relaxing at the gesture. “You’ve been facing challenge after challenge all on your own and yet you’ve kept pushing yourself back up each and every time.”

“Yeah, but, that’s not much.” Danny settled more on the couch, crossing his arms over his chest as he stared at a random spot on the couch. “I mean, it’s not like I can stay down, can I?”

“Oh, Daniel. That’s precisely why you’ve become such an amazing hero.” Resisting the urge to look up at Clockwork’s words, Danny didn’t get a choice as fingers curled under his chin and lifted his head up to meet Clockwork’s gaze. For as much as his eyes were nothing but red, they still had always felt soft and caring. “You never let yourself give in - even when you want to.”

“No, but- I keep failing.” Danny slammed his eyes shut, not quite able to bring himself to meet Clockwork’s disappointed look when he realized what Danny was saying. “I’ve failed at everything this week.”

“And how have you failed?” Clockwork asked, as if he didn’t have the ability to see Danny’s past week in high definition on a mirror.

“I only just barely won my last two ghost fights and each time damage happened to the city or someone got hurt.” His eyes dragged open at the quiet laugh he heard.

“I believe Amity Park is used to getting hit a few times. As for the people, there was nothing more than a few bruises and scrapes. You also have won all your ghost fights - barely or not.”

“I can’t figure out any of my homework and I dropped it all in the road today. Half of it is destroyed.” His teachers were going to kill him for that one.

“Accidents happen,” Clockwork said softly, Danny looking down to his left hand out of ingrained instinct - and ingrained pain. “That doesn’t mean we don’t learn from them, however, or become stronger from them.”

“Thanks, but I’m still screwed where half the teachers are sick of my excuses,” Danny snorted, not letting his eyes return to Clockwork’s. “I’ve… I’ve barely seen my friends and family for the last week.”

“Yes, that one is difficult… How has that made you fail in anything, however?” How hadn’t it made him fail?

“I’m- I should be okay without them, shouldn’t I? I’m a sixteen-year-old hero. I should be okay if my friends and family are all busy for a few days and I’m left on my own. I shouldn’t just- I shouldn’t just fall apart like this. It’s stupid!”

“Daniel.” Clockwork guided his gaze upwards again, serious expression on his face - serious, but not disappointed. “I would be worried if you were alright when left on your own.” Yeah, no, that response didn’t make sense. “I know you’re about to hate what I’m saying to you, but you are still a child, Daniel.”

“But-!” He was Danny Phantom! He was a hero and he was responsible for making sure it was everyone else who got to be a kid.

“But you’re growing and learning and becoming better from your mistakes. That’s the very definition,” Clockwork laughed, finally letting Danny’s chin go to instead place a hand on his shoulder. “The people we care for and who in turn care for us are pillars for us. They hold us up when we need a break from the weight and they remind us why we keep going.”

“That doesn’t mean I should just suddenly fall apart when they’re all gone, though. That means I’m-”

“That means you’re tired, and upset, and need rest. Nothing more and nothing less.” The hand on his shoulder gave a light squeeze and Clockwork’s voice dropped into something softer. “Daniel… You aren’t Atlas. You weren’t born to carry the world on your shoulders.”

Danny stayed quiet this time, wincing when he heard Clockwork’s quiet sigh. When he felt something fall on his shoulders, he blinked as he saw it was Clockwork’s cloak. “What- What’s this for?”

“I can’t help with bringing your pillars back to you, but I can at least give you some time to rest from carrying all that weight.” The cloak was cool and soft against him, the cloth brushing against his cheek and making him think of newly washed blankets still fresh from the dryer. “My Citadel flows against time differently than what you’re used to, but that means it allows you a few hours of just resting without any time lost.”

“And… you’d really let me stay here for no other reason than just to- To sleep?” Danny leaned back a bit and the cloak draped more around him. While it was loose on Clockwork, it seemed to utterly dwarf Danny. It was like a blanket and, if he focused, he could smell something that reminded him of a clean, fresh scent that made his shoulders relax before he could think it through.

“I have never had a problem with you staying here for any reason, Daniel, nor will I. Whether you need advice, training, someone to talk to, or even just a place to rest, my Citadel is always here for you.”

“Alright, jeez, there’s no need to be so sappy.” The words tumbled out of him more than he wanted to, Danny pulling the hood over his head and shivering as he felt… safe. “How long do I have?”

That familiar hand landed on the back of Danny’s head and gently pushed him down, Danny not bothering to fight the feeling as his head was guided to lay on Clockwork’s lap, the ghost tugging the hood more around him before answering quietly, “As long as you need.”

“Hey, Clockwork?” For a few seconds - or maybe forever - there was a peaceful silence in the room as the clocks created a soft sound that filled up any white noise that could bring back Danny’s thoughts. His eyes, still barely open, caught sight of the room that was made of light blues and faded purples - soft colors that went completely against the harsh green of the Ghost Zone and the bright colors of the human world.

Staring at the sight for as long as he wanted, Danny hid a smile against the inside of the hood as he turned around and curled up more against Clockwork, body losing all its tension.

“Thank you.”

                                                                    ::

When Danny woke up, it was soft and gently - not at all like the violent jerking he was used to. There was no blaring of the alarm clock, no lingering unease from a nightmare, and no one pounding on his door. It was just an opening of the eyes and the realization that there was a beam of golden sunset light across his face.

Yawning and pushing himself up, and mentally grumbling about the short winter days, Danny blinked at seeing it was still only around five in the afternoon. He had apparently laid down to rest, but he felt the best he had ever felt, and he had only gotten home half an hour ago and had sat down in his room five minutes ago.

When he moved and felt soft material brush against his skin, Danny looked down to see an oversized purple cloak that was snugly wrapped around him. It didn’t take much longer than a few seconds to remember his trip to Clockwork’s and the talk they had.

“He could’ve taken the cloak back,” Danny finally muttered to himself, standing up and yawning wide enough to crack his jaw as he shuffled to his desk. What he saw instead of his torn notebooks was his homework and textbooks neatly ordered and made to look as new as the day they had been made, a single sheet showing him what chapters were needed for what assignments as well as a list of helpful study reminders. Next to it was a plate of warm food and a bottle of water that was still cold to the touch.

Falling into his chair and watching the sunlight fill up his entire room and warm his skin, Danny leaned his head back and gave a quiet laugh as he curled his fingers into the cloak with a tight grip.

Having a second dad who could control time wasn’t so bad, it seemed. 

[juicehoee]

All Along the Watchtower {Chapter 6: Catnip} (Juice Ortiz)

One/Two/Three/Four/Five/Six

Chapter Six: Catnip

“Isn’t she a beauty?”

Juice’s newly bought Jeep sat proudly in his driveway, shiny and modern in all of it’s camouflage glory. He almost second guessed the camo pattern, but ultimately decided that the whole thing just reflected his personality too much to turn down.

It was a sunny afternoon built for cruising around the neighborhood on their bikes, but Juice was much more interested in taking his new Jeep for a joyride with the doors off. He decided he needed something to go back and forth from Nevada with that would be a bit easier on his back and could carry a bit more stuff with him. It was hard to pack all his shit in a little mesh backpack that barely had room for a toothbrush and he was sure Uncle Lenny was wary about his precious niece being on the back of his bike all the time (even though Uncle Lenny had his own hog in the backyard in pristine condition).

Juice and Opie stood around the back of the Jeep, Juice admiring the exterior while Opie stared part in shock and part in disbelief of the younger man’s purchase. Jax was around the front, checking out the engine. In truth, Opie thought it looked like something out of that Kardashian show (not that he had ever watched it, or would admit that he’d seen it) and those girls just had bad taste, in his public opinion.

“Well,” Opie’s eyebrows furrowed, not quite sure of what to say to Juice. “Sure. If that’s your kind thing, then it’s perfect.”

“You really mean that?” Juice asked, touched in his heart by Opie’s words.

“Yup. Meant every word of it.” Opie pat Juice on the back. “You did good, Juicy.”

Jax came around to meet them at the trunk of the Jeep. “Kinda looks like something you’d see Kylie Jenner driving around Calabasas.”

Juice took a step back with wide brown eyes. “You know about Kylie Jenner?”

“Yeah,” Jax shot back, defensive. “Anyone with an internet connection has heard of Kylie Jenner. She’s everywhere, you can’t really miss her. Right, Ope?”

Opie shook his head side to side and put his hands up, trying to stay out of it. “Nah, brother. Don’t know who that is.”

Opie gave Juice a knowing glance while Jax was looking the other way and Juice shot him a thumbs up behind his back. Jax was none the wiser. It was so easy to get him riled up over random shit, so Juice and Opie made a game out of it to see who could get him to lose his shit the fastest.

“You really good with all that camo, Juicy?” Jax asked, inspecting the car with a judgmental scrutiny that he could have only learned from his mother. “You’re sure you’ll be able to find it in the parking lot?”

“Jeez, you’re funny.” Juice clapped Jax on the shoulder. “Stop with the humor, funny man. There’s a stitch in my side.”

“I’m just saying, man.” Jax said. “You didn’t want black or blue or something like that?”

Jax’s nose was two centimeters away from the Jeep’s bumper and Juice entertained the thought of kicking the back of his knees in to get him to trip, but refrained from it. He didn’t answer the question (he didn’t think he needed to, it was his truck for God’s sake and he really liked it).

“I like the camo.” Juice said, shrugging. “It’s not like I can show up with a receipt and get store credit for the thing anyway.”

“Can you get me a water or something from inside?” Opie turned to Juice. “My throat’s a little scratchy.”

As Juice jogged up the driveway and into his front door, Opie grabbed Jax by the collar and shoved him forward. Opie slugged him in the kidney real quick, glancing at the door to see if Juice had come back yet. He hadn’t.

“What the hell was that for?” Jax yelled. “Kidney hits fuckin’ hurt.”

“Stop being a dickhead about the damn Jeep, Jax.” Opie grumbled. “The kid’s excited about it and my truck’s a piece of crap but I’d knock around anyone who gave me shit for it. Give Juice a break, he’s pussy-whipped and he just bought a camo Jeep. Let him live a little without makin’ him feel bad about it.”

“Fine, fine.” Jax agreed. “I’ll let up on him a little bit.”

Inside, Juice was grabbing them all a few waters when Dolly and Shiloh came rubbing against his legs. They were being suspiciously nice which, in Juice’s experience, usually meant they wanted something. The food bowl was full. So was the water dish. There had to be something else.

“You sneaky bastards want catnip, don’t you?” Juice said, scratching them both behind the ears. “Well, alright. You know I spoil you.”

They just stared at him, but the meows started going when he opened the cabinet he kept the catnip in. Sometimes, they were smarter than he gave them credit for. They were a lot like him in that way, he figured. Underestimated.

Dolly and Shiloh were practically jumping to reach his hands as he sprinkled it on the floor for them to roll around in for a good fifteen minutes. It must be nice to have such a simple life where fifteen minutes of catnip could keep them happy for the next week. That, and the fact these spoiled cats get to sleep in his comfortable king size bed gave them a pretty content life. He envied it.

“Jesus, Juicy! Get back out here!” Jax yelled through the front window. “You can jack off later after we leave!”

With a dramatic sense of gusto, Juice fled out the front door, grabbing the three water bottles from the counter on the way out. He tried not to look too flustered. Hopefully, his face didn’t look too red to his friends when he emerged from the house.

“What were you doing in there?” Opie asked, catching the water bottle Juice tossed to him.

“Shut up.” Juice mumbled. “I was feeding my cats.”

“You have cats?” Opie raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah!” Jax smiled, a malicious grin taking over his face. “You didn’t know that? He’s got two of ‘em. What are their names again?”

“Dolly and Shiloh.” Juice answered. “I’m not ashamed of my cats. Actually pretty proud of them. They’re self sufficient.”

“Dolly?” Opie asked. “As in Dolly Parton?”

“Yeah,” Juice shrunk into his boots. “Not so proud of that though. I had a weird country phase the week I got them.”

“You sure it wasn’t about the fake tits?” Jax smirked.

Juice considered this for a second. “Yeah, it might have been a little bit about the fake tits.”

Hanging around with Jax and Opie like buddies was a rare occurrence for Juice. Only a couple months ago, he had been a prospect and everyone looked down on him (quite literally since he spent most of his time cleaning out the toilets). Even now, most of the guys treated him like a prospect, and technically, he was still a new guy. Jax and Opie got down off their high horses once in a while to treat him like a brother, like an equal, and those times were like beer that Juice could guzzle down a gallon of on a hot summer Sunday. He liked having buddies. He liked having brothers.

“You wanna go for a joyride in this thing?” Juice asked, dangling the shiny new keys to his shiny new Jeep. “Might as well break it in to go grocery shopping. Super exciting stuff.”

“Take it to Nevada. Impress that pretty little thing you’ve been daydreaming about.” Opie laughed. “She better be worth all the shit you’re putting into this.”

“She is.” Juice said. “She really fucking is.”

“She better be,” Jax chimed in. “You’re worth it, Juicy. Don’t let anyone else tell you otherwise. And if they do, punch ‘em in the nuts.”

“And if it’s a woman who tries to bring you down, just send ‘em to Gemma.” Opie hugged Juice for a moment. “She’ll take care of that issue real quick, believe me.”

“Thanks, guys.” Juice fought the emotional tears welling behind his eyes. He meant it.

Damn, it was fucking good to have brothers.

{***}

“Hey, stranger. Need a ride?”

Juice pulled up beside Lana on the sidewalk as she was walking down the street. He knew he’d have to talk to her sooner or later and it would take the pressure off of his shoulders. The idea of cutting this whole thing off was like a fat rock pressing down on his chest and it was starting to put a damper on him. Better do it now when Clay and Tig were out of sight. Tig gave him a good beating that had left him with a solid bruise under his left eye and a cut on his lip that hurt like a bitch every time he tried to eat anything hot. Buffalo chicken was out of the question until at least next week, and Juice knew he needed this pain to fuel the conversation with Lana that was about to ensue. He hoped they could still be friends.

“Juice?” Lana furrowed her brows. “Is this- did you just buy this?”

“Yeah.” he twiddled his thumbs against the steering wheel. “Get in, I need to talk to you without Tig beating my face in.”

“Are you trying to lure me into your car, Mr. Ortiz?” Lana asked. “I’ve watched To Catch a Predator. Can’t trust anyone. Chris Hansen taught me that.”

“I’m serious, Svetlana.” He was surprised he used her full name. “I don’t have time for this right now.”

It killed him to put on such a cold front, but Gemma was the wisest person he knew when it came to women, what they wanted, what they needed. He felt so lost and naive when it came to relationships and Gemma seemed so happy with Clay. He just wanted a girl who would ride on the back of his bike in thirty years and not get tired of him. He wanted what Clay and Gemma had. Might as well follow her advice seeing as he was swirling down a dark path with Lana and he needed to stop it before things got worse for him.

“Okay.” She looked hurt as she climbed into the car. “I like the camo.”

“I don’t want to lead you on anymore.” Juice said, trying his best to be blunt but gentlemanly. “I shouldn’t have kissed you and I shouldn’t have taken you home that night. You’re nineteen, you need a nice college boy who will take you to parties and make sure you get home okay. You don’t need me.”

“But I like you, Juice.” Lana said. “I mean, if you don’t want to be with me, I understand that, but if you’re gonna pull some angsty Hollywood movie bullshit about how you’re not good for me, then I’ll tuck and roll out of this Jeep right now.”

Lana’s voice had an aggression in it (she must have learned it from Gemma, it sounded very Gemma-like) but she wouldn’t look at him. Instead, her eyes were glued in her lap and her dainty fingers played with the fringe of the ripped denim shorts she wore. There was an instablility in her hands that made him shake and he prayed his hands wouldn’t shake that bad or he’d have to pull over the car (and he really needed to get to the damn grocery store before it closed, he was running out of chocolate-covered raisins).

“I’m seeing someone.” Juice said. “A girl in Nevada. I really like her and she’s been really good for me. If things keep going well, I might ask her to move in with me.”

“In Charming?” she asked quietly.

“Yes,” Juice said. “Considering that I currently live in Charming.”

“You really gotta be a smartass with me right now?” Lana snapped. “Were you seeing her before you kissed me?”

Juice froze. He didn’t think about it like that. His brain stopped working and he ran through a red light, much to the chagrin of the beeping drivers around him.

“Yeah.” he said. “Nothing official, but I was going to Nevada to see her a bunch.”

Her hands clenched into fists, leaving little red crescents in the soft flesh of her palms. She didn’t care. How could he have been so fucking selfish? It was humiliating to be played by him in front of the whole club. In front of Clay. In front of Tig. In front of Jax. They all knew about it and they would al know that she was rejected. She was just some little kid trying to put on her big girl pants and be part of the club when they all wished she would move away to paint shit and go to class.

“What the fuck, Juice?” her voice was low, but strong, on the verge of her breaking point. “How could you lead me on like that? How could you do that to me?”

“Did you really think there was ever a chance for us, Lana? I mean, it didn’t seem ridiculous for us to be together?” Juice rose his voice. “You really think we would have survived with Clay and Tig trying to beat the shit out of me for even looking at you?”

“Don’t fucking yell at me, Juan.”

“Why the hell shouldn’t I?” Juice yelled louder. “Thanks to you, I’ve got two black eyes and a split lip and Clay’s gonna bury me somewhere in the woods before I even get anywhere with the Sons! This club means everything to me and I put that in jeopardy because I knew you needed a friend.”

“So you were just my friend for five minutes because you pitied me? You kissed me and took me home with you because you pitied me?” Lana threw her hands up, incredulous. She was no longer quiet. “That’s fucked up, Juice.”

“That’s not-”

“You think I’m just some pathetic little kid who can’t handle her own. Who’s stupid and helpless and needs someone to hold her fucking hand while she cries.” Lana fumed. “I don’t need your pity.”

“Yeah? You don’t need my pity?” Juice said, looking over at her. “Then stop fucking going around feeling sorry for yourself like a damn puppy with her tail between her legs and then you won’t look so damn pathetic-”

Juice’s words were cut off by Lana reaching for the steering wheel and jerking it to the right, forcing the car to swerve to the side of the road. His stomach lurched and sank like a rock as they went flying. He couldn’t breath. His lungs were dead. (If there’s a fucking scratch on my new car, she’s fucking dead.)

Juice’s arm jutted out to his right and slammed Lana’s back against the passenger seat to prevent her from flying through the windshield. Gunshots rang out on all sides, bullets embedding themselves into the interior. He can see the silver rip the leather all around him in slow motion. His heart doesn’t speed up as he goes delves into his instinct, grabbing Lana by the neck and shoving her down.

“Don’t get up!” he screamed and floored the gas, speeding away from whoever was shooting at them.

In the chaos, Juice didn’t pick up much of whatever was going on outside; he was too focused on making sure neither him nor Lana bit the dust in his brand fucking new Jeep (he couldn’t return it with bullets lodged in the sides. Damn.) However, he did see that shiny motorcycles surrounded him on all sides, and that’s where the bullets must have been coming from. Some guy was on the ground, sprawled out and covered in blood, next to his bike closest to the side of the road. The bike was smashed and so was the guy’s skull; brain matter covered the ground in a death sentence Juice would have nightmares about for weeks. These must be the Roman Skulls MC Clay was worried about.

They must be new. A daylight drive-by reeked of amateurs trying to nudge their way into outlaw territory.

Shots still fired as he burned rubber to get the hell out of there. His tires marked the ground and the car groaned under the pressure of the accelerator. What a big hunk of metal.

The shots slowed the farther he got, but a bullet caught him in the arm at the last second, right above his elbow. Juice screamed in agony, but focused on the road before him and put the pedal to the floor, hightailing it to the SAMCRO clubhouse. Blood poured out of his arm and Lana tried to get up to fix the wound.

“Stay down!” he barked. “Don’t get out of the car until Clay or someone comes and gets you!”

Juice tore his neck around to see if they followed. They didn’t. Maybe these guys weren’t complete numbskulls. If they had any sense, they’d be hightailing back to wherever the hell they came from.

{***}

Chibs and Bobby were in the office talking to Gemma when an obnoxious camouflage Jeep shredded the concrete in the parking lot. Chibs immediately stormed out of there, ready to put the idiot in his place when he saw Juice in the front seat of the car. Next, he noticed the bullet holes in the side of the car.

Juice grabbed a sweatshirt from the backseat and used it to quell the bleeding of his arm until Chibs could stitch him up in their makeshift hospital. It stung, but it looked like a through-and-through: two clean bullet holes with no slug lodged inside him. Count him lucky, but it still hurt like a bitch.

“Don’t get out until someone gets you. I don’t think they followed us, but you’re not getting a bullet in your head on my watch.” Juice ordered.

Juice climbed out of the car, holding his arm tight. Chibs rushed over, holding the half-assed tourniquet and leading him inside to where he could assess the damage. It didn’t look like Juice was gonna bleed out, but he was getting woozy from blood loss. There was just so much fucking blood.

He never did well with blood. When he was ten years old, he tripped and fell off of his skateboard, smashing his face into the side of a telephone pole. Seeing the blood on his hands, Juice had passed out and his sister found him a few minutes later. Things had gotten better, but Juice still hadn’t shaken the queasy feeling he always felt at the sight of blood. He was a Son now; he’d have to toughen up.

“Lana’s in the passenger seat. Not hit. Someone go get her.” Juice struggled out between labored breaths. “She’s fine.”

“BOBBY!” Chibs yelled. “GET LANA IN THE FRONT SEAT!”

Juice leaned against Chibs heavily, feeling his head grow lighter than a balloon. At any moment, he could float away through the clouds, away from Charming, and away from the Sons. He pictured flying all the way to Nevada down in Priscilla’s backyard so he could catch a last glimpse of her before he came crashing down, probably getting caught in a tree or something dumb like that.

“Juicy boy, are ya-”

[sintama]

Stardew Valley Fable of the Six Farmers(Chapter 1!)

(This is a long one, brace yourselves! Our sextuplets finally have enough with modern reality and decide to open Grandpa’s letter.) It had been 20 years since grandpa passed away. The sextuplets had grown, passing their classes, making friends, getting into and leaving relationships, causing trouble, graduating… Now, they were each separated, as 24-year-old adults with their own homes, jobs and lives… And it was terrible. Nina had succeeded with average grades, her worst class being English. Her high school years weren’t too exciting- she simply wanted to graduate. But once she did… she had no clue what was next! Being the normal one had its flaws, as she could only get part-time jobs and night shifts for lousy pay… Until Joja Mart was set up and seeking new workers. She jumped at the opportunity, seeing as Joja Mart was practically a superstore! It included employee discounts and everything! HUGE. MISTAKE. Rather than getting the usual supermarket job, Nina was stuck as an office girl, gluing herself to a seat and typing reply letters from happy or unhappy customers for… honestly, she forgot how long. The days wore her out, the nights were miserable, her sleep schedule was never the same, her eating habits out of control. Everything had gone downhill so quickly… On the other side of the coin, Marien had passed high school as a model student. Student council president for three years in a row and a usual volunteer for whatever the school needed. Too bad all that work had gone to waste. Marien had graduate, with the goal to go into college… But without a degree in mind! Rater than waste money on courses, she decided to save up… Which meant working in a run-down grocery store, having to force a smile to even the whiniest customer. Her boss was no help either- insisting she do all the work while co-workers got off slacking. It was a living nightmare. Maybelle ended up no where better. The quiet kid at the back of class who was a B student, was now a delivery girl for the newspaper… The very boring, no-one-buys-this-but-your-aunt newspaper. Her pay was terrible- so poor she had to resort to staying in a crappy apartment with noisy neighbours. She had to pay rent quickly, and worry about food later… She’d sometimes go days on a single meal. Oh, why was the world so unfair? Amelia had tried to stay optimistic- she really did! After all, it was her dream to work with jewellery… But not like this. She didn’t want this… Standing for hours on end, watching patrons in the mall pass by, giving no second thought to the jewellery store on the corner, right across from a family restaurant… She’d be bored out of her mind before her shift was ever over. The jewellery they had wasn’t even well done! It looked cheap, and breakable to even the most average person imaginable. Amelia could do better in her sleep! If one thought Ciel was depressed before adulthood, wait until they see her now! The formerly adventurous and rebellious child was now a lazy, do-nothing adult who lived in the basement of their parents’ home. All she would do is wake up, eat a meal or two, then hide back into the dark basement as she scrolled through posts on her phone until her shift at the arcade. Correction; it wasn’t an arcade- it was more like a video arcade junkyard. The place was a mess, the pay was garbage and the carpet was stinky from… something. Soda? She hoped so… Half the games there were broken, the glass cases smashed by teenagers who had broken in, or simply did it while the workers were on break… And who’s paycheck was cut because of it? Ciel’s. It didn’t help that the arcade was on the pier, Ciel having a fear of the ocean since a bunch of drunk teens thought it’d be funny to take the employee of the arcade and throw her out into the ocean on a stormy night… It… wasn’t pleasant. Cynthia was the last to embrace the empty feeling that had consumed each sister one by one, like grapes picked off the vine. She was the worst academically, so she only got a job at a fast food joint down the street. Not only were the hours long and every day, but she had to deal with the DUMBEST people! If the menu doesn’t say it’s 10 dollars, then it isn’t 10 dollars!! Understand this, please! And then there’d be times she would be blamed for another worker’s error. Like, no, she didn’t do your order- yell at Steve, not her. It began to weight her down, her smile having to turn more and more forced by the day… Suddenly, as if on instinct, one night, each sister remembered the letter their grandfather gave them on his death bed… One by one, they searched for the letter, eventually finding it in drawers or a dirty cabinet or their pocket. Taking a deep breath, they peeled back the covering and took out the letter. As if by fate, each had their names on it… ‘My dearest Nina,’ The letter began, the handwriting slightly shaken, though it was obviously their grandfather’s writing. ‘I understand you are a very sociable girl, even at your age! In the future, you will find your outgoing nature to be your greatest strength, and it will guide you on the path of success. Rather than give you and your sisters a random object that could easily be lost or forgotten, I am giving you one of my six farms. Yes, that’s right, your old man had six farms. Though, some got more use than others. One of them, which I am bestowing onto you, dear Nina, is Magnolia Farm, named after the wonderful magnolia flowers your great grandmother gave me. This land is just outside of town, only a short trip away. I figured it would be perfect for you, seeing as you adore meeting new people so much! Where is Magnolia Farm? It is in Stardew Valley, a country-side town I lived in for years. I have told the residents to prepare for your arrival- don’t be surprised if the Mayor visits you first, Lewis was always such a funny fellow! Much love, Grandpa.’ ‘My dearest Marien,’ Marien read on, having to grab her reading glasses for this. ‘Do you remember the time you shared a story with me? The one about the water princess? And how you were convinced the river outside my home would take you to her kingdom? And you kept saying you would be the next heir to the water throne? You were so captivated by the water, I sometimes thought I’d have to drag you back indoors! I hope this love for nature continues into your adolescence. Because, rather than give you and your sisters an object or heirloom to share, I’ve decided to give you each one of my old farms. You, dear Marien, will earn the deed to Stardew Farm, a farm surrounded by rivers. It’s quiet a way away from town, but I’m sure you will enjoy the solitude it brings. Stardew Farm is in Stardew Valley, a country-side town that small and quaint- just your taste. Don’t worry, your sisters will be joining you there. Become your own water princess, my dear Marien. Grandpa believes in you!’ ‘My dearest Maybell,’ Maybelle sighed. “Even after four years, he can’t spell my name.” She scoffed, laying back before glancing at the ceiling, as if her grandfather could hear her. “There’s an ‘e’ at the end…” Nonetheless, she read on. ‘I understand you are not the most sociable person out of your sisters. I also understand your hidden love for nature.’ “…Shit, he caught on.” Maybelle chuckled to herself. ‘From the walks in the woods, to the grass bracelets, your love of the forest was apparent from the start. As such, rather than give you or your sisters an heirloom to share, I’ve decided to give you each one of my farms. You, dear Maybel,’ “My name isn’t that hard!” Maybelle whined, groaning into a pillow in anger before continuing. ‘Will be the new proud owner of Pine Farm, a lot of lush land that lays deep within the forest of Stardew Valley. The path may be overgrown by now, but with your hard work, you’ll clear it in no time. Do you remember Stardew Valley? I showed it to you and your sisters a while back. It’s in the country; it’s a small town with a low population. The locals will be very friendly, I should know. Hopefully, one of them remembers where Pine Farm is, and can guide you there. Enjoy yourself. -Grandpa. P.S:’ Wait, there’s more? ‘I know how to spell your name, Maybelle. I just enjoy messing with you.’ “…Of course.” Maybelle shook her head, chuckling. ‘My dearest Amelia,’ “Oh! That’s me!” Amelia smiled, relieved to hear, or rather read, her grandpa’s voice again. ‘Do you still have that ring you ‘borrowed’ from grandma’s jewellery box?’ “…Uh oh, he knew about that?” ‘Or the ruby necklace that you swore you’d only put on for a second?’ “…And that?” ‘Or what about the diamond bracelet that you got muddy?’ Amelia gulped. Grandpa was far too observant for her liking… ‘Nonetheless, I trust you have kept every piece of grandma’s jewellery safe from further harm, yes?’ This letter just made Amelia feel worse… She had to sell most of it to pay for housing, food and what have you… Though she did keep quite a bit of it. ‘Either way, your love of jewels must mean you like digging for them, right? I remember how many times I’d have your father bury a small stone for you to dig up in your sandbox or in the backyard. I hope your love is still strong- because, instead of giving you and your sisters money or more objects, I’ve decided to give you each one of my farms in Stardew Valley. You, my dear Amelia, will get Crystal Farm. Don’t get too excited now! The farm is atop a large hill, where mining is a major source of income and you can mine all the gems you desire!’ Amelia jumped to her feet, her eyes beaming at the thought. Her own gems? It sounded too good to be true! ‘Remember to visit town when you can, and be mindful of the weather- wind is terrible up there! Love, Grandpa.’ ‘My dearest Ciel,’ Ciel blankly looked at the paper. Great, after 20 years of nothing, she was getting something stupid- a watch, maybe? ‘I know you don’t like reading,’ No. ‘or listening to rules,’ Nope. ‘or doing anything by the book.’ Got that right. ‘So, I will be blunt with you. You are without a doubt the bravest of your sisters. You always face danger head on, and it is both admirable, and a very dangerous habit… So, rather than give you or your sisters special prizes, I decided to each give you the deed to one of my farms in Stardew Valley. You, dear Ciel, have Ebony Farm, a farm found deep in the mountains, where monsters lurk at night. I was hesitant to give this to one of you, but I know you can do it. Stardew Valley is a country-side village I fled to when I was in your situation, and I hope it’s a refuge for you and your sisters in your times of need. I wish you all the best luck. -Grandpa.’ Ciel put the letter away, deciding to sleep on it. Would she just abandon everything to go to the country…? ‘My dearest Cynthia,’ Cynthia’s eyes threatened to close already from exhaustion, but… She had to keep reading. ‘I remember you telling me of those summer days, when your family would take you to the beach and you would be the first in the sand, building sandcastles and molding forts while your sisters did their best to stay cool in the water. You said you were stronger, because the heat never bothered you. Well, what would you say if I got you a beach farm? Because, I’ve decided to give each of you girls one of my farms in Stardew Valley. Yours, dear Cynthia, is Dusk Farm, situated right on the beach. True, the rising tide may cause some issues, but you are sure to love it!’ A beach farm? That sounded… like an interesting challenge! ‘Do your best. And remember your sunscreen! Love, Grandpa.’ Almost simultaneously, each sister rose to their feet, began packing their bags, gathering what money they could and scrambled to the bus station for a ticket. They were each leaving the next day, wasting no time to escape this dreadful reality to embrace what their loving grandfather had left them. Their gratitude towards him were limitless now; their hearts soaring at the thought of a brand-new life… The next morning, each of them said farewell to their parents, exchanging hugs and kisses and promises to write while tears of happiness were shed. At around 8 A.M, they headed for the bus station to take the bus to Stardew Valley, sitting one behind the other as discussion rose over what was to come of them. What were their first plans? Who would they meet? Were any of them going to back out? No. They couldn’t. This was their new start. But, it was a long bus ride there… Only time would tell of their future in Stardew Valley.

[anonymous-butnotquite]

autumnal asks

I reblogged this last week and I’m finally in the mood to actually do this.

“This” being purge out all the things I’ve never said out loud, feel like I say too much, and just pretty much in between, while listening to  listen to Ari Lennox , SiR, and Snoh Aalegra.

lantern - how did you meet your best friend? What were your first impressions of each other? - I met my best friend through a mutual friend in the 8th grade or right after it, I’m not sure. My first impression was “Wow, this girl has a personality. Not in the “Oh! She’s so funny.” No i mean, this girl has opinions, and their different than mine. Man, she has these views and she has them so much conviction." She is intimidating and I’m not sure if I’m ready for this >.>

Turns out I did, we would wax and we would wane, and now my faith in our relationship is as strong as my belief in the moon always making her way back to us.

frost - if you could give some advice to your younger self, what would you say? - don’t wait, just do it. be selfish, it’s okay to want what you want. you’ll always find a way so don’t be scared to leave. be diligent in your relationships, be that family or friends. you don’t know when they’ll need you or you’ll need that person. let people know you love them. don’t be scared, don’t worry, be young, want, love, but continue to trust your gut, it’s always (99.99999%) right.

maple - is there a hobby / skill that you’ve always wanted to try but never did? - man, ha. Uhm, I guess archery. I’ve loved it since i was 8 and i watch inuyasha with my cousin for the first time on vacation in Applevalley, CA.

harvest - what fictional character do you most identify with? Why? - Ooh, that’s tough.. I feel like I find myself in all the heroines I read about. If I had to choose though, I’d certainly say at this time, Emi from the Red Winter Trilogy by Annette Marie.

*oh shit, slide away by miley cyrus just came on. it’s lit.

fireside - if you had your dream wardrobe, what would it look like? - ooooooh, {((>,<))} such a colorful variety, but only like 50% the other 50% needs to be my neutrals (black, grey, white, and more black.) So I’d have jackets and hoodies upon themselves, LOTS of denim, a pair of overalls, tees, sweaters, crop tops, high-waisted errthang. off the shoulders shirts, blouses whatever. belts -i never have any of these and i have no idea why,- but yeah it be easier to just look at my pinterest board lol

cider - a food that you disliked as a child but now enjoy? - mmm, honey mustard. that’s a condiment i know. truly though, it was a breakthrough.

amber - share an unpopular opinion that you may have. - yeeeeeeekkkkk, i think gender roles are okay as like an outline, but then once you have your kid and he/she starts having opinions you can swap out things or trash it who cares for what your child feels comfortable, and your family supportive.

fog - how well do you think you’d do in a zombie apocalypse scenario? - dawg. i feel like given the right resources, i’d do okay. def steal a truck/suv, grab my crew, and drive out to the country and stay on a farm or some shit.

jack-o-lantern - if you could look like any celebrity, who would you choose? wellll, zendaya. I’ve heard i favor her and i don’t all the way see it but if i really could have those brows and face structure, yeesh. imma be stuck up.

spice - have you ever encountered a house that you believed to be haunted? - my elementary school had this story about the basement being haunted from a custodian killing her. and i was dared to use the restroom down there. i def got the bottom step and straight hustled out that mufucka.

orchard - share one thing that you’d like to happen this autumn. -i’d like to feel connected. that blissed out feeling of the breeze coming over your body on that cool day, but with a person.

crow - which school subject do you wish you had an aptitude for? - wish? hmm, language. had i felt more comfortable i may have went into college for some writing/ communications major from the start.

bonfire - describe your dream house. - too long. but here’s go killing time. dark green, black accents covering the exterior. a beautiful front porch, yes with the swing. gorgeous deck for entertaining, back yard with fence but 3 good and full trees to provide more privacy from the neighbors, toward the back so that way on the deck i can see the sky and moon at night. inside.. a mud room from the 2 car garage at the end of the mud room to the side the laundry room complete with shelves for the washing/drying items and hangers for the the gentles. in the opposite direction you walk into a spacious kitchen. complete with a double over, sitting on top of each other, large cabinets that at as the pantry, cabinets on cabinets on cabinet space. a fun but elegant back splash. the island/breakfast bar. deep double sinks, stretching into the living room just this is getting way to detailed and i’ll finish the rest. but bottom line. great vanities in my bathrooms, 2 upstairs, a half bath down stairs. (yes 2 stories and finished basement which also has a half.) 4 bedrooms master connected to bathroom with huge claw bath. another for the kids (2-3) if no 3rd kid forth room is an office/ we use for reading, writing all dat. you know what this is my dream so regardless of children i will have this. filled with lots of laughter, love, smiles, talks, discussions, advice, and understanding. 

cinnamon - if you had to live in a time period different than the present, which would you choose and where? - man, i would say something crazy like oh with the samurais and shit and then have to remember women have always had it rough everywhere and we still do! and add that on to the fact that i am color? not really bout it. but it women right’s were the same. i would go back the edo period, or when america bounced back from the depression. oh wait i wanna avoid all the WW’s... yeah every time period had their hangups. 

cobweb - (if you’ve graduated) do you miss high school? - nah, i really just miss the responsibilities. they truly weren’t anything. 

cranberry - what’s one physical feature that you get complimented on? my hair.

maize - share the weirdest encounter you’ve had with a stranger on the street. - i’m not sure about strange, that gives it a negative feel to me. but on my 25th birthday i was drunk downtown with my friends and while walking back to the car i heard this guy (the stranger) talking about sauske (from naruto, clearly) was the greatest character in the series, and i just yell out “sauske’s a bitch.” dude took it in stride and was saying how come? and i proceed to have this existential conversation on the street at like 3 am about naruto. NARUTO. it was like a dream come true. but definitely the most random.  

quilt - how do you take your tea (or coffee)? - coffee, a quarter of it needs to be creamer (flavored preferably) with 2 sugars. tea, i am surprisingly starting to put cream in it, like that only 1-2 sugars. without 2-3 sugars. I like my stuff sweet, sue me? 

pumpkin - do you think that humans are inherently good or bad?  -this is tough. i guess since we are born “in sin” we are inherently bad? we’re taught in life what our morals are and what things we shouldn’t do. 

moonlit - are you a neat or messy person? Is your room / house orderly? - eat, neat, neat. if messy it is a organized chaos. my house is orderly now i just got done cleaning before i took a shower and started this. 

flannel - have you ever gone on a bad date? - yesssssssssssssss. yes. yes. he was sooo fine too. like just great looking. still love looking at him on instagram attractive. but he was just so materialistic and judge mental. he still shoots his shot from time to time and i be like... should i? then i’m like nah, he always annoys you when you do. 

cocoa - if you could have any type of hair, what colour and cut would you have?- and it be natural? i love to be a natural red hed. i think they are just bombshells. i know they get the fire crotch jokes growing up but i’m skipping that phase. and cut? i think i would keep a medium borderline bob hair cut. 

ghost - is there someone that you miss having in your life? - i don’t miss anyone that ... wait i miss my penguin girl. but i was going to say that the person i miss in moments like this is someone i’ve haven’t met yet.