#anyway i wonder how pizza milk would taste...

[the-acid-pear]

Don’t know why you’re being called a bunch of weird stuff but anons, but I hope your day gets better and that you’re doing alright! Have some pizza milk.

GLONTCH

Ty fr tho these ppl are driving me crazy I'm just Some Guy 😭😭

[piedpiperart]

Phantom in Gotham 6

Chapter 5

Danny startled awake, half-choking on the spit that collected in his mouth while he slept on his back. He groaned, rubbing at his eyes and swallowing to get rid of the weird tastes. Did he sleep with his mouth open? That’s embarrassing, he thought. He sat up blearily, reaching around for his phone. 

The phone light blinded him and his heightened eyesight for a moment before he adjusted to see the 10:00 numbers shining at him. He groaned, plopping his head back down on his dusty pillow. He really didn’t feel tired physically, but emotionally was another story. Either way he wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep. 

Usually, he was incapable of sleeping more than a few hours unless he was injured. Same with eating, and no matter how worrisome, he just didn’t have an appetite. It felt weird to eat when he wasn’t hungry, but Jazz made him promise to eat at least two meals a day anyway. Halfa biology was weird, and he wasn’t about to ask Vlad for advice. Besides, he was doing fine on the two-ish meals he ate every day. 

Suddenly, Danny sneezed, jolting him into a sitting position. He heard a faint shuffling, and he froze. Danny wondered why he woke up so abruptly, and had a suspicion that something was nearby that woke him up. 

Now alert, he squinted, scanning the room for anything different than usual. There was a stack of milk crates, his backpack, dude with a bike helmet, pizza boxes- wait a minute. With a shout, Danny scrambled to sitting position farther away from the shadowy figure in the corner. 

“Red Hood??” Danny exclaimed, his hand on his chest registered his heartbeat was going so fast it was probably back to how it was before the Accident. How did the Red Hood find him? Did he know Danny was Phantom? 

“Relax kid,”Red Hood grunted, stepping closer with his arms raised in a surrender motion. “Didn’t mean to startle you, jus’ wondering who was hidin’ out in the Pizzeria this time of year. It’s so cold I almost thought you were dead, kiddo. Scared the shit out of me when you just woke up.”

Danny let out a breath of relief. So he didn’t know Danny was Phantom, good. Hood probably thought he was just breaking into the Pizzeria and wanted him to leave. That’s.. Fine, Danny could do that. He could find another place to stash his stuff. “Nope, uh, just sleeping. Um. S-sorry- I didn’t think anyone would care- uh- I’ll go some-somewhere else, just um, give me a few minutes?” Danny stammered, reaching for his backpack.

“I don’t mean that,”Red Hood huffed. “I meant that this isn’t the best place to stay in the middle of winter, kiddo. You’re going to freeze to death here.”

Danny’s eyes widened in realization. “..Oh.” Danny murmured, furrowing his eyebrows before looking up to Red Hood with hopeful eyes. “So I can stay here?”

Red Hood sighed, pulling up a crate to sit on. “You can stay here, but if you do you’ll freeze to death. I know a few places that can take you in on short notice, at least for the winter. Then you can come back here for all I care.”

“No thanks,” Danny stiffened. There was no way he was going to stay with some foster family, and he’s heard stories about the homeless shelters. “I’m fine here. Promise.”

“Kid,” Red Hood sighed, shaking his head. “I’m not gonna let you freeze to death. It’s already cold as shit in here and it’s been snowing outside for hours. There’s a blizzard coming later, just, let me take you somewhere warm okay? I’ll buy you some food on the way.” Jason added, hoping to bribe the kid with food. It usually worked with most of the homeless kids out there.”So come on,” He said, standing up from the crate. 

Danny stood up, dusting himself off before saying,”No thanks. I’m not going anywhere with you, and I’m staying here. I have no problem with the cold, and I promise I won’t freeze to death.” He motioned for Jason to leave with both hands in a way that said ‘shoo’, glaring at him insistently.

The Red Hood looked at him with what Danny guessed was exasperation and a bit of annoyance. Hood muttered something that sounded vaguely like “I don’t have time for this”, and pulled out a gun. “Get your stuff packed, you’re coming with me whether you like it or not kid.”

“This isn’t the first time I’ve had a gun pointed at me,”Danny drawled, unimpressed.”And I’m not leaving, even if you shoot me. I called dibs on this place.”

Hood let out a frustrated groan, but holstered his weapon anyway with exasperation. “You can’t- Just, come on. I don’t want you freezing to death here. I’m sure your friends would be sad if you died here when you could have stayed somewhere warm. You can trust me, I promise.”

“My friends don’t need to worry, because I will be fine,”Danny huffed, moving towards Hood and doing his best impression of herding the man out of the attic, feeling more annoyed than scared of the man. In a way Hood reminded him of his sister, and he was not above pushing his sister out of his room. “Now go do whatever it is you do, and we can pretend this never happened.”

“Okay then, well my job is to protect kids like you and I’m worried about you freezing to death here, so I’m not leaving until you do,”Jason countered. Danny let out a defeated groan, slumping with exasperation and despair before attempting to push Red Hood towards the door. 

“Just- go, man, I’m perfectly fine here,”Danny groaned, leaning further against Red Hood’s sturdy arm as he pushed him. Unbeknownst to Danny, Jason grinned in amusement under the helmet, amused with the tiny string bean of a child trying to push him out of his makeshift room. The kid had the strength of a puppy. “God- why are you so strong-” Danny grumbled, realizing that Jason had indeed not moved at all, and shifted so he was leaning of his body on the vigilante in exasperation.

“Look, kid, just do yourself a favor and let me take you somewhere safe,”Jason repeated, still standing perfectly still despite Danny trying his best to push him out. 

“No way!” Danny exclaimed, socked feet sliding on the wooden floor.”You pointed a gun at me and broke into my space, why would I go with you?!”

“Because you’ll freeze to death?” Jason pointed out, and in a fit of annoyance, Danny let out a bit of ghost strength and managed to make Hood take a step back.

“And I told you… I’d be fine! You on the other hand will get trapped here in the snow and I definitely don’t want a roommate.”Danny retorted, feet skidding on the ground until he found a good hold, making Hood take another step. He felt a wave of accomplishment set over him at those two steps. Besides, it wasn’t like he could tell Red Hood that he was already dead (ish) so the snow wouldn’t bother him. He had to settle for the normal human way of getting Hood out of his space. That or he would run away and turn ghost to come back, but Red would probably find him again. Anyways, that was plan B. 

Hood let out a sigh and before Danny could process anything, he was hoisted onto the vigilante’s shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Danny gasped, too surprised to struggle in the moment. “I don’t have time for this,”Hood growled, taking steps to go back out the way he came. 

“Wha- wait you can’t just- just kidnap me!” Danny exclaimed, wigging and pushing at Hood, but the man held him securely. Seriously, what did this guy eat to get this buff, Danny thought.  “This is probably illegal!”

“Probably?” Jason snorted, “Look kid, I’m just taking you to someone who can help you, alright? I’ll come back to get your stuff for ya later.”

“No! I don’t need help!” Danny panicked. He knew if he used his ghost powers he could slip out of this, but he really didn’t want anyone to know his status as a halfa. And, in a weird way, he knew Hood wouldn’t hurt him, so he knew he wasn’t in any danger. He’d just… have to try to get away like a normal non-superhero ghost kid would. Danny figured he had time to get away at some point before Hood brought him to CPS. And, now that he was thinking about it, he could just disappear at any time. It wasn’t like Hood knew what school he went to, so if he left and switched hideouts he could avoid the guy. ” I don’t want to go! And leave my stuff alone!”

“Relax, don’t make me knock you out,” Jason huffed, kicking the door in front of them open. A chilling breeze hit them and Danny could feel Hood shiver through his jacket. He felt a little smug that the cold was bothering the man so much when Danny felt fine in just his t-shirt and jeans. Danny kicked his feet, absently swinging them. Was it weird that he kinda liked being carried like a sack of potatoes? He was probably just touch starved, Danny’s inner Jazz informed him. 

“That really doesn’t help me relax,”Danny snarked, relaxing despite saying otherwise. He was sort of invested in this now, and wanted to see where Hood would take him on such short notice.  “Where are you kidnapping me to?”

Hood snorted,”You’ll see.” 

Danny huffed,”That’s ominous and creepy. I hope you know that kidnapping is usually frowned upon. Rating this experience so far though I’d give it a seven out of ten.”

“As compared to..?” Hood asked, absently humoring the kid as he messed with his grappling hook. It’d be faster to grapple to  the manor from here, and he didn’t want the kid to try to jump off his cycle. 

“Uh, this time doesn't involve a bear trap, so it’s definitely one of the better times.” Danny commented nonchalantly, missing Jason’s pause of concern. “Though either way, you should let me go because I have some homework back there I need to get done. Ms. Riley can be a bit of a b-”

Suddenly Danny and Hood were airborne, and Danny nearly died (again) of shock as he let out a shout of alarm. His stomach dropped at the quick change and he cringed at the wind in his face, frantically trying to grip Hood’s jacket so he wouldn’t fall. Hood kept a sturdy hold on him though, so he probably didn’t need to worry. At some point they reached a peak in the grapple, where Danny gasped out,”You can fly?”

Hood barked a laugh at that, but tightened his hold on Danny and told him to hang on tight. After hearing the sound of wire, Danny recalled the grappling hooks the bats used. Right, none of them could actually fly except Danny. However, flying as a ghost and flying as a human were two very different things, and Danny found he only enjoyed one of them. “Oh sh-” Danny exclaimed, grasping tightly onto Hood’s jacket and closing his eyes at the sudden drop. “I hate you so much right now-” Danny managed to say through gritted teeth. He’d no longer wondered what it would be like to use one of the grapples he’d seen the other bats use, and wanted no part in them from here on out. 

Hood just laughed at him. 

---------------------------------

What felt like hours later, but was actually only a couple of minutes, Danny found himself dumped on the doorstep of a dark and creepy castle. Hood, having set Danny gently on the ground, made a noise of surprise as Danny sank to the floor in anguish. “Ya all right there kid?” Hood asked with a tone of amusement. 

”I’m gonna throw up on you,”Danny threatened from the ground. He heard Hood snort at his reply and scowled. The porch was covered in a light dusting of snow and felt nice and cool against his back. He heard a doorbell ring from somewhere and looked blearily up at the strangely large and elegant black door. “Who’s house is this? Batman’s? It’s so dark and creepy,” Danny groaned, putting his arm to rest over his eyes. Maybe he could take a nap here, he thought. 

Hood barked out a laugh at that, and nudged Danny lightly with his foot.”You should get up, bet it’s fucking freezing down there, and you’re getting covered in snow. I swear, you’ve got the self-preservation of a lemming.”

“That’s a misconception, actually. The documentary guys pushed them off a cliff on purpose, the bastards.” Danny muttered, reminiscing about Sam's heated powerpoint presentation in biology class. He stayed on the ground, keen on staying put when Hood lifted him effortlessly by his armpits like a wet kitten. “Do I just weigh nothing to you?” Danny lamented, reluctantly standing on his own two feet when Hood made sure he’d stay put. 

“Like a couple of grapes, kid. You should eat more,”Hood scolded, and Danny snorted. 

“I eat just fine, thanks,”Danny scoffed, and before Hood could retort, the door opened, startling Danny into stepping more or less behind Hood, who huffed a laugh at the movement. 

“To what may I owe the pleasure of a visit from the Red Hood?” An old man in a very spiffy suit and the coolest mustache Danny had ever laid eyes on said. His eyes seemed to spark with amusement, and Danny wondered if the vigilante often dropped strays off at his house. The man was impeccably dressed, but Danny thought he looked a bit like a butler. Did he wear a suit every day? Did he have a lot or just one suit he never took off? Danny shook his head, trying to get rid of the strange intrusive thoughts of the suit actually being his skin. 

“Kid needs a place to stay,”Hood grunted, shoving Danny forward, but gently so he didn’t slip on the snowy porch, despite the vaguely human shaped indent already made in the snow. 

“Wha- no, he just threw me over his shoulder and dumped me here. I was perfectly fine-” Danny protested, turning to argue with Hood yet again when the butler (?) extended a fluffy towel towards him.

“You’re sopping wet, young man. Do come in for some tea, or to warm up at least,” The butler man interrupted, in a tone that Danny found himself surprised yet unable to argue as the towel- fluffy and extremely warm- was draped over his shoulders as he was guided inside. “I am Alfred Pennyworth, but you may call me Alfred. May I inquire about your name?”

“..Danny,” He absently replied as he looked back to find Red Hood mysteriously gone.  He blinked and suddenly found himself in what looked like a kitchen, Alfred dropping something warm and fluffy in his arms. 

“I shall put on some cocoa, if you’d be so kind as to get out of those wet clothes of yours and take a warm shower,” Alfred said in his not-quite-a-demand-but-totally-was voice, and Danny found himself steered towards and into an elaborate bathroom, way nicer than anything in Vlad’s castle. “Do come and join me in the living room for a warm drink when you finish.”

As the door closed, Danny snapped back to himself, taking in the decorative old house and the nice pajamas and fluffy towel in his arms. “...What the fuck,”Danny whispered softly, bewildered at this strange turn of events. He briefly considered going ghost and making it back to the Pizzaria, but at the prospect of a warm shower he shrugged, deciding to follow along with the butler’s instructions. Besides, he’d feel bad leaving the older man to drink cocoa my himself. Maybe he was lonely? Is that why Hood brought him here? To keep this elderly man company for the harsh winter? Danny figured Alfred didn’t look fragile, but maybe Hood worried about him anyway. Well, Danny is okay with keeping a nice old man company if that's what this is. 

At the thought of helping someone out through winter, Danny’s core gave a pleased hum, and he felt a nice chill spread through his chest. He then got to work on figuring out the shower, contemplating how or why his core had already latched onto the old man as someone he needed to protect. Danny knew he couldn’t just leave now without making sure the man would be alright without him. 

Chapter 7

[thedisneychef]

Puffed French Toast

This recipe, like all great recipes, was first used out of desperation. Desperation and an overflow of bread.  And it so happens to be one of the recipes that has some of my fondest memories. I swear, whenever I feel a little bummed and lonely for Disney, these are my pick-me-ups, my hug-on-a-plate. Just back from Disney, I was in what I call the "Disney Blues."  People who've been are, I'm sure, familiar with it.  Symptoms of "Disney Blues" usually include listening to music from the park constantly, re-watching favorite Disney movies, habitually checking ride line apps on your cell phone to just to see how long ride waits are (like it matters), and dwelling on irrational, pointless thoughts like "Right now, somebody's FastPass for (insert favorite ride) just became active and now they're on the ride and I'm not." I myself freely admit, I'm guilty of all some of these offenses.

Anyway, it was the morning, I was in the midst of full-swing Disney Blues, and trying to recreate Disney in any way possible.  Usually this meant making my favorite foods into a Mickey shape. In the last week, we'd had Mickey-shaped pizza, Mickey-shaped cookies, Mickey-shaped sandwiches... If it could be made to the face of Mickey, I did it. My plan of attack this morning was to break out the Mickey cookie cutter and make toast shaped like Mickey. Not all that creative, but it was early and I'm not a good morning thinker. Then, out of the sleepy fog I was operating in, it occurred to me... Extra bread is perfect for French toast. French toast, which I've never made before and had only a rough idea of what went into making it. Surely Mickey had a solution... And he did. I cracked out my Mickey Cookbook and found this amazing recipe for Puffed French Toast from Crystal Palace.  As soon as the first batch of toast hit the frying pan, it smelled just like every food court and restaurant at the Magic Kingdom during breakfast. Of course it tasted so Disney, sweet and decadent, heavy without being filling. I almost felt like it was time to go conquer the parks after breakfast. Tons of memories came flooding back like they'd happened yesterday, the castle lit up at night, getting your first glimpse of EPCOT on the way to your hotel to check in, walking with a full tummy from Tusker House to Dinosaur because you're a little too full for Everest... This recipe made me so happy, and brought back so many amazing memories, it was the inspiration for me to seek out other Disney recipes And that inspiration inflated my Disney recipe collection from just two little cookbooks to over 1,500 recipes that are direct from Disney, not to mention being on a first-name basis with the customer service rep (and several cast members, even a chef or two) of various restaurants around the The World. And who would have thought all of that would come from too much Wonder Bread? :) ~~~~  °o°  ~~~~ Puffed French Toast As is served at The Crystal Palace, Magic Kingdom - 2 whole eggs - 2 1/2 tablespoons sugar - 1/2 teaspoon salt - 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract - 2 cups milk - 1 cup flour - 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder - 12 slices of bread (Texas-style toast is used at Disney) - Butter or oil for frying - 4 teaspoons cinnamon - 3/4 cup sugar Mix eggs, 2 1/2 tablespoons sugar, salt, vanilla, and milk until well blended and a creamy yellow. Slowly add flour and baking powder and mix until very few lumps remain. Dip bread slices in batter, allowing the extra to drip off.  If you're using thin bread, do not allow the bread to soak. Fry bread in a hot pan using butter or oil (enough to keep the bottom of the pan coated) on both sides until golden brown. Remove from heat to drain on paper towels for about 30 seconds. For the best toast, fry one side for about 1-2 minutes, flip and fry for 1 minute, then remove from heat. The fewer times the bread is flipped, the fluffier the toast and the better the coating. Meanwhile, combine cinnamon with 3/4 cup sugar. After toast has drained, coat both sides with cinnamon sugar mixture.  Serve warm. Read the full article

[luvdsc]

doing the bf tag with my bf.

hey, siri, does bf stand for best friend or boyfriend? (or both?)

pairing :: na jaemin x reader genre :: fluff / best friend + youtuber au word count :: 4,691 words warnings :: none playlist :: mean it (lauv & lany) ⋆ always, i’ll care (jeremy zucker) ⋆ fearless (taylor swift) ⋆ fingers crossed (coin) ⋆ cardiac arrest (bad suns) author’s note :: this fic is a tiny bit different than my usual writing because i emphasize more on dialogue than description in order to mimic a youtube video. happy birthday to this absolute darling angel! you have the biggest heart in the universe, and thank you for sharing so much of it with the world ♡ ↳ part of the not clickbait series.

Your subscribers have always wondered if you would do this type of video countless of times, and you never thought you’d ever actually record one due to the state of your love life (or lack thereof), yet here you are.

Unfortunately, the romantic department of your life still remains very much empty though. But lucky for you, so is your best friend’s. And that pretty much works out perfectly because he could stand in for your nonexistent boyfriend in order to complete the popular GF/BF tag (along with a hidden challenge that was popular by demand and personally requested by a certain friend with a flair for baking. Now if only the frantic butterflies in your stomach would settle down just enough for you to do it).

After all, BF could stand for either boyfriend or best friend, right?

It’s also no secret that yours and Jaemin’s subscribers shipped you two together either. Heck, you may be a little delusional as well because you ship yourself with your best friend, too. Blame the massive crush you’ve been secretly harboring. But two best friends sharing an apartment and frequently appearing in videos on each of your respective channels? In the eyes of your fans, that’s basically the perfect setup for a modern day love story.

It would 100% be the greatest love story since Kat and Patrick in 10 Things I Hate About You, but at this point in your life, your story is going to be marked down as a tragedy. You feel even more hopeless and dramatic than Romeo was about his unrequited love for Rosaline. Also, that dude got over her way too quickly at the sight of another pretty girl. You wish that would happen for you, too, but your heart is much too stubborn over Jaemin.

When you had asked him if he would do the video with you, Jaemin immediately agreed much to your initial surprise. The publicity would be good though, you surmise later on, and both our fan bases would grow, so of course, he would agree. It’s not like your best friend liked you back. That would be absolutely absurd.

“Are you ready?” Jaemin speaks up, breaking your train of thought, and you’re slightly startled. He plops down in the plush pink rolling chair next to you, the chair moving back a few inches. He scooches it closer to your own chair, buzzing with excitement. You smile at your best friend, pushing down the butterflies erupting in your stomach. You nod before reaching forward and pressing the record button on the camera set up in front of you. You pull up the list of questions on your phone.

“Yeah, let's do this.”

How did we meet?

“Oh, this is an easy question,” Jaemin says, flashing his award winning smile at the camera before he throws his arm around you happily, hugging you affectionately. “It was freshman year. You ran into me. Literally. We were in the same class, and it just ended. You were trying to shove your textbook into your bag and didn’t notice where you were walking until you face-planted into my back.”

The memory is still fresh in your mind, and you remember how you had already resigned yourself to your fate of becoming good friends with the floor. But Lady Luck was on your side for once, and she sent an angel in the form of Na Jaemin to save you from embarrassment on your first day of university.

“Yeah, I almost fell flat on my butt, but luckily, Nana has great reflexes and when he turned around, he grabbed my arm before I hit the ground,” you add on, still squished into his side. He beams, eyes crinkling into half moon crescents before placing a kiss on your cheek and turning back to the camera.

Your heart skips a beat, but you ignore it. Jaemin has always been affectionate, and kisses were all in good fun. You continue on, plastering a nonchalant smile on your face. “And he said, ‘Looks like you just fell for me.’ And then he insisted that we get lunch together.”

“And the rest is history!” he exclaims happily, resting his cheek on the top of your head. You smile fondly before going onto the next question.

Where was our first date?

“The dining hall immediately after you ran into me.”

“That wasn’t a date,” you interject. “We can skip this question since we aren’t dating.”

Jaemin shrugs, waiting for you to read the next question. He murmurs faintly under his breath, “It was supposed to be one.”

We’re going out to eat, where are we going?

Jaemin answers immediately, leaning back in his chair. “The little pizza place down the block! They always make three different types of unique pizza everyday, and once they sell out, they close for the day.”

“We always go on Wednesday because they make both of our favorite pizzas then.” You chime in, and he nods enthusiastically, moving closer to the front and throwing his hands up in the air for emphasis. “They have corn and potato pizza that day!”

You wrinkle your nose slightly before leaning towards the camera. “To my subscribers, for the record, I assure you that I have better taste than that, and I love the artichoke pesto pizza with ricotta.”

What food do I dislike?

“... Corn and potato pizza,” he says reluctantly with a pout. “And kiwis. The outside is furry and creeps you out, and the fruit makes your tongue itch.”

You flash a thumbs up at the camera, and your best friend grins, puffing up his chest. Chuckling quietly, you shake your head before answering the question yourself. “And this dork absolutely hates anything strawberry flavored. And he’s lactose intolerant, so dairy is his enemy.”

“I love cheese, but cheese hates me,” he says mournfully, hanging his head down low before he jumps back up and reads the following question listed on your phone’s screen aloud.

Who is my best friend?

“Me!” Jaemin shouts gleefully, throwing his hands up in the air, and you can’t help but laugh, grinning widely at your best friend, a fond expression on your face.

“You.”

Am I a morning person or a night person?

“We’re both night people,” you say, and Jaemin nods in agreement. “You won’t catch either of us waking up before noon if we can’t help it, and we each have to set up like five alarms just to wake up.”

“It works out because we can stay up together watching movies or editing our videos,” he adds in, turning to you and smiling fondly. “And I always have a partner when I want to go on a midnight snack run to the convenience store nearby.”

Do we have a song? What is it?

“Jeremy Zucker’s Always, I’ll Care.”

“That’s our song?” You’re surprised. You were going to mention one of the go-to karaoke songs the two of you liked to belt out on the top of your lungs after a movie and wine night. Jaemin makes a great Sharpay Evans when you both want to bop to the top.

“It’s the song that reminds me of you,” he says, voice growing softer as he reaches the end of the sentence. Curse your heart for melting into a puddle. His cheeks turn pink under your gaze, and he becomes uncharacteristically shy, clearing his throat awkwardly.

“Anyway, what’s the next question?”

What’s my nickname?

“Nana!” You reach out to poke his cheek, and he puffs them up before pouting at you. He reaches out and pinches your cheek.

“I call you ‘angel’ sometimes. It’s why your channel is called peachyangel.”

What's my weirdest habit?

“Jaemin eats way too much cilantro,” you state, swinging around side to side in your rolling chair.

“I do not!” he protests loudly, and you give him a blank stare. The two of you sit there in silence, not breaking eye contact until he finally relents.

“Okay, maybe I do. But you pour cereal before milk!”

“That’s not a weird habit!” You defend yourself. You are appalled at your best friend. Neither of you have ever woken up early enough for breakfast, so this has never come up before. If you would’ve known this in the past, maybe you wouldn’t be so ridiculously in love with him in the present.

“Yes, it is! Your cereal gets all soggy that way!”

“Only idiots pour their milk first!”

He clutches his heart dramatically. “Are you calling me an idiot?!”

“... So moving onto the next question—”

What do you think I’m talented at?

“Making people fall in love with you,” Jaemin blurts out, and your eyes widen at his answer as your grip on your phone loosens considerably.

“I—I mean, you’re just so approachable, and you’re kind to everyone. You care so much about everyone and everything. People feel comfortable around you, they always gravitate towards you, and you just— I don’t know, you make people feel loved,” he explains, unable to meet your eyes, and his cheeks darken. He fiddles around with the loose strand on his sweater sleeve.

Your heart swells ten times bigger and beats faster than ever. You wonder if Jaemin knows he has the same effect on everyone, too. You hope he does.

You wonder if he knows you’re in love with him and if he would love you back. You hope he does.

When was the first time you said “I love you”  to me?

“Uh, we can skip this one, too,” you say awkwardly, but he throws his arm around your shoulder again, hugging you tightly. “Nope, not skipping! I have the answer to this one!”

He grins toothily at the camera before pinching your cheek for a second time affectionately. “I said ‘I love you’ when you showed up at my dorm and brought me pop tarts at three in the morning after I accidentally drunk texted you, instead of Jeno. That’s when I knew you were a keeper.”

“I did that because I felt bad about throwing up on your shoes at the party we went to the weekend before that,” you mumble, face growing warm when you remember your best friend’s drunken confession a few years back. “Besides, you were drunk. It doesn’t count.”

“Okay, fine, but we say it to each other all the time. The second time I said it was when you brought me chicken nuggets, and I was hungover, but sober.” He says, spinning in his chair.

“I can see the pattern now. You say it when I bring you food,” you say, crossing your arms over your chest with a fake pout. “You love food, not me.”

“That’s not true!” he exclaims, halting mid spin and facing you. He turns your chair towards him, moving forward to clutch both of your hands in his, and stares directly into your eyes seriously. “I love you.”

You inaudibly gulp, helplessly gazing back at him as you feel your face begin to burn, your heart speeding up in your chest. Jaemin grins, leaning back and letting go of your hand. “See? I love you!”

“Y-yeah.” You swallow hard, fumbling over your words. “You love me.”

What is your favorite thing about me?

“Your laugh,” Jaemin replies honestly, reaching out and absentmindedly drawing circles on the back of your hand as he looks at you. “Hyuck told me the other day that whenever I try to do something funny or make a joke, I have a habit of turning towards you for your reaction. It makes me kinda proud that I can make you laugh.”

You know that you’re stupidly grinning like an absolute idiot at this point, but you don’t care. You even almost forget about the camera.

“Your smile,” you answer, maintaining eye contact with him. Your smile widens when you see one appear on his face, his eyes shining brightly. “You have the prettiest smile, and I’m grateful that I’m able to see it everyday or be the cause of it sometimes.”

What film always makes me cry?

“Oh, The Lion King.” Jaemin responds automatically. “We both cry our eyes out at the stampede moment and when Simba tells his dad to wake up.”

“When we saw the live action version together, we brought along a ton of tissues with us, and he used almost all of them.”

What drink do I always order?

“Jaemin is crazy and always gets a venti iced americano with no water and eight espresso shots. He used to drink it six times a day until I yelled at him about it,” you say, shaking your head at the camera before glancing over at your best friend. “It’s seriously bad for your health.”

His lips jut out into a pout as he whines, “You wouldn't let me cuddle with you until I changed it!”

“It was for your own good! Plus, that drink tasted like battery acid!” You exclaim, and he sulks quietly before begrudgingly agreeing. You pat his head in consolation, and he grabs your hand, naturally interlocking your fingers with his.

“I drink it less now and with only two and half shots.”

If I could, what candy could I eat all day long?

��Chocolate,” you blurt out immediately. “Jaemin is a chocolate fanatic. But he’ll take anything with sugar. He has such a sweet tooth. He eats brown sugar when he’s bored. Even his boba drink has 100% sugar.”

“It’s as sweet as you.” Jaemin winks at you exaggeratingly, and you roll your eyes, turning your face away slightly to hide the smile that begins to spread across your face.

“Y/N likes matcha green tea Kit Kats.” He leans closer to the camera, peering into the lens in a serious manner. “If any chocolate companies are watching this, we are both open to sponsorships.”

If I could live anywhere in the world, where would I live?

“Here,” Jaemin says confidently, beaming at you, “You’d want to live here with me. And I want to live here, too. Because this is the bestest place in the world.” He hesitates, faltering for a moment before searching your eyes. “Right?”

Who are you to say no to that?

You smile at him. “Right.”

What am I deathly afraid of?

“You’re afraid of spiders,” he announces, “You make me take care of all the spiders in the apartment.”

“Yeah, it’s the only reason I keep you around,” you say casually, and he gasps, insulted. You give him a cheeky smile. “I’m just kidding.”

He scowls at you, lips pulled into a frown. “You better be.”

What is the first thing that I do in the morning?

“Jaemin is never awake before I am,” you inform the camera, crossing your legs. “I have to wake him up first if we go anywhere.”

“Even if you don’t have to go to an event, you still wake up early to make sure I’m awake, so I won’t be late. So that’s what you do first thing in the morning: wake me up.” Jaemin nudges your leg. “You always come into my room as a blanket burrito with your comforter wrapped around you.”

“That’s because I have to face the treacherous cold to make sure you aren’t late to your events. But you still end up late anyway because you drag me down onto your bed and refuse to let me go until we lay there for twenty minutes,” you grumble, pulling up your legs onto your chair and wrapping your arms around your knees.

“Cuddling is a good way to conserve body heat and start the morning,” Jaemin states, waving his arms around to emphasize his point.

“Really? Do studies show that it’s beneficial to cuddle in the morning?”

“I don’t know.” Jaemin shrugs, making a noncommittal noise. He smiles at you, causing your stomach to do flip flops and your heart to do cartwheels. “But it makes me happy every morning, so I’d say that’s enough proof.”

Who usually wins our arguments?

“Y/N does,” Jaemin sighs heavily, leaning back against his chair in resignation. “You always win.”

“It’s true.” You nod, patting Jaemin’s arm consolingly. “It’s tough always being right, but someone has to do it.”

“You always pout, too, and I just give in because you’re too cute,” he says casually, and you freeze in your seat. Never mind the fact that he’s implying you’re wrong, Na Jaemin just called you cute.

Good thing this is caught on camera because this means you can secretly watch this multiple times in private. And also cringe over your awkward reaction, but let’s not talk about that right now because once again, Jaemin just called you cute. You! Cute! Jaemin! Your mind is honestly short circuiting, and you can’t do anything, except nod and smile like a complete fool.

What do we usually argue about?

“Adopting,” Jaemin says solemnly. Eyes widening, you wait for a moment, but he offers no explanation. You lightly shove his chair, and he rolls a few inches away. “Nana, you can't just end it like that! You have to say more than that!”

Turning towards the camera, you hurriedly explain, “He’s talking about pets. He wants to adopt five dogs and name them after Jisung, Chenle, Jeno, Renjun, and Mark. And then he wants to adopt a snake and name it after Donghyuck.”

“She said we could only get one dog and the snake.” Jaemin scowls, slumping in his seat as he stares into the camera. “I can’t believe she isn’t letting me get five dogs. I love Jisung and all non-Jisung’s equally.”

What’s my favorite clothing item?

“It’s not even yours. You always steals my white hoodie. I haven’t been able to wear it for the past month,” Jaemin complains, and you have the decency to look a little guilty.

You play with the strings of said hoodie that’s currently engulfing your body, curling into yourself as you tuck your face into the sweater like a turtle. “Your clothes smell nice.”

“But we use the same laundry detergent.” Jaemin wrinkles his eyebrows, confusion evident in his eyes. “All our clothes smell like snuggles and cotton.”

“It’s not the same,” you insist, wrinkling your nose, and he shakes his head, lips curling into a smile. He reaches over and tugs the hood of the sweater over your head playfully.

“Okay, whatever you say, angel. You look better in them than me anyway.”

Where am I on a Friday night?

“You’re here with me, eating Chinese take out and watching Criminal Minds,” you answer, and he agrees, nodding.

“We just finished watching all twelve seasons on Netflix, so if anyone has any show recommendations, please send them in!”

What is my weirdest interest?

“Once again, my clothes,” Jaemin says, and you begin to protest but he wags his finger at you. “No, no, no, you don’t get to disagree! You hoarded like six of my sweaters in your closet. I bought you the exact same sweater for your birthday, but you still take mine!”

You silently decide that it is better to accept this defeat than correct him because you actually have seven of his sweaters and a few tee shirts as well.

Who’s my favorite YouTuber?

“Me!” Jaemin’s hand shoots up in the air. “I’m your favorite YouTuber. Next question.”

Your hands start to get clammy as you look down at the final question you have been saving for last. It’s been a good fifteen minutes, and the butterflies still haven’t subsided. If anything, they seem to have multiplied and transformed into a whole rampaging zoo complete with elephants and monkeys.

“Uh, are you sure about that, Nana? ShowMeTheMonet is really good. I also really like itsmebetch a lot.” You stall for time, staring at the last question until the words are stamped in your mind. “Dream Unsolved and Worth It are amazing, too.”

Suddenly, Jaemin is right in front of you as he spins your chair around to face him, frowning and complaining, “What do you mean I’m not your favorite? You’re my favorite! What kind of best friend are you? This is a betrayal! An insult! This is worse than Jisung not calling me his favorite! How could you do this to m—”

“Okay, okay, you’re my favorite! I’m sorry! It was a joke,” you interrupt, but he turns away from you, crossing his arms over his chest.

“No, go make a video with ShowMeTheMonet instead.” He sulks, shoulders hunched over. “If you like her so much, go be best friends with her.”

“I’m sorry! I’ll buy you all the chocolate you want after this,” you plead with him, placing your phone on the table next to you. “I’ll even buy you boba everyday for a week!”

Jaemin brightens up at that immediately. “Oh, yeah! I want some milk tea after this! Okay, what’s the last question?”

You swallow hard, nervously fiddling with the hoodie strings once more and shoving all the butterflies down to the pit of your stomach. Twisting in your seat, you move your chair and spin his around until you’re both facing each other, knees touching.

“‘Where and when was our first kiss?’”

At the immediate thought of kissing you, his cheeks explode in various shades of pink, the tips of his ears catching fire. He’d be lying if he said he hasn’t thought about kissing you daily. Heck, he had to stop himself from doing so earlier when you were burying your face in his stolen hoodie. It’s so unfair that you’re always so cute and looking so… so… kissable.

“I, uh, I don’t think I can answer that,” your best friend stammers out as his eyes dart towards your lips before meeting yours.

“But you got all the other answers right.” Your voice comes out steadier than you thought it would, and you mentally pat yourself on the back. Gnawing on your bottom lip, you pause for a moment, balling your hands into fists before uncurling them and asking hesitantly, “Should I help you out?”

“Yes.” He wonders how exactly you can help him out. Oh god, did he kiss you before when he was drunk? But you would’ve told him if he did that. What if he had ki—

A soft pair of lips lands on his.

You’re kissing him. Oh my god, you’re kissing him! Jaemin wants to jump up and shout it from the rooftops. His heart leaps from his chest, and he’s wildly cheering in his mind as fireworks explode around him before he suddenly remembers that he has to kiss you back.

And so he does.

Jaemin tugs you closer until you’re pulled onto his lap, a muffled squeak of surprise coming from you, and he laughs as he presses his lips against yours more firmly, hands gripping your thighs as you straddle him. Your arms loop around his neck, and your heart ricochets in your chest as you kiss him back until your lungs are screaming for oxygen and you have to pull away.

Jaemin positively beams at you, eyes sparkling as he leans forward and nuzzles his nose against yours affectionately. He laughs breathlessly, resting his forehead against yours. “Yeah, that was really helpful. Our first kiss just happened right here a few seconds ago. And now, our second kiss is about to happen.”

Your best friend closes the distance, crashing his lips against yours once more, and you kiss him back just as fervently, smiling against his lips as he does the same. Never in either of your wildest dreams did you think this was going to happen, but you sure as heck aren’t complaining, and neither is he.

When the two of you finally break apart, you bury your face into the crook of his neck, flustered, and Jaemin laughs giddily, cheeks flushed and eyes twinkling. He hugs you tightly to his chest before nudging you to look up at him. “So did I get a 100% on the boyfriend tag?”

“Yes,” you say, sitting up straight on his lap and grabbing both of his hands in each of your own, intertwining your fingers with his. “You got twenty five out of twenty five. Congratulations on your perfect score.”

“Technically, you did do the boyfriend tag with your boyfriend then, right?” he says slyly, squeezing your fingers. “Shouldn’t I get some bonus points for helping you do the tag correctly?”

You chuckle, failing to contain your smile. “Okay, fine, you get bonus points, too. You did an A plus job, Nana.”

“I’ll take those bonus points in the form of kisses.” He puckers his lips at you, and you easily comply, wordlessly leaning forward to give him one, two, three kisses.

Jaemin grins at you, positively delighted before he attacks you with kisses, peppering soft kisses onto your cheeks, forehead, chin, the tip of your nose, and everywhere else in between until he finally kisses your lips gently.

If this was a cartoon, there would be hearts floating around his head and shooting from his eyes. He leans forward again to kiss you one more time for good measure. You smile mischievously, tilting your head to the side slightly as your hands curl around his shirt. “Are you sure there’s nothing else you want for your bonus points?”

His eyebrows furrow for a split second before his entire face lights up. Jaemin carefully cradles you, picking you up as his grip tightens under your thighs. You let out a quiet squeal, wrapping your arms around his neck, as he stands up enthusiastically.

“Cut the cameras!”

One new notification: peachyangel uploaded a new video!

nana ଘ(੭*ˊᵕˋ)੭* ੈ♡‧₊˚ commented:

I LOVE YOU SO MUCH ANGEL 🥺💗💞💖💗🤩💝💕💜🤧💖💘😭💘🌼💐🥺💖🥺🥺🥺

peachyangel replied: ily too baby 🥺🤧💖💖

insert goofy’s chuckle commented:

is this allowed?? there are minors here 😫 jisung look away

peachyangel replied: get your mind out of the gutter, ya nasty 🙄 we turned off the cam because he wanted to go get milk tea

jisung pwark replied: I’m 18!!!!! Stop treating me like a child!!! 

ghosts are real so suck it hyuck replied: @ jisung pwark stop making me cut the crusts off of your sandwiches then

big head king replied: @ ghosts are real so suck it hyuck how come you don’t cut the crusts off of my sandwiches 😭😭

ghosts are real so suck it hyuck replied: @ big head king because you are a grown adult and jeno already does it for you

jenojam commented:

congrats jaemin!! :)

Starbucks Official commented:

we would love to sponsor you, Mr. Na!

FIGHTING HAEYADWAE commented:

OH YOU ARE NANA!!1!1!!! 🤯🤯

ShowMeTheMonet commented:

um hello i would love to do the gf tag with you! i accept!!! it would be an honor 🤩

peachyangel replied: omg yes!!!! 🥺🥺 let’s do it soon 💖

insert goofy’s chuckle replied: @ nana ଘ(੭*ˊᵕˋ)੭* ੈ♡‧₊˚ did… did we just lose our gfs 🤧

mork lee rawr xD commented:

hahaha nice guys ! this was really cute haha

ty track commented:

the babies are all growing up too fast ):

jeno is my favorite commented:

.... i feel so single @.@

DonutKillMyVibe commented:

let it be known that I was the friend who challenged @ peachyangel to do the challenge and hence, I am the reason these two are together 👀👀

ghosts are real so suck it hyuck commented:

someone should make an updated version of that jaemin complaining video compilation with this

big head king commented:

ayyy you all are the GOAT 🐐🐐🐐

jenojam commented:

so are we just gonna let it slide when he called everyone except jisung “non jisungs” ?

jisung pwark replied: 😎😎

insert goofy’s chuckle commented:

is no one gonna comment on how he called me a snake?????

ghosts are real so suck it hyuck replied: @ insert goofy’s chuckle is no one gonna comment on how much of a clown hyuck is???

insert goofy’s chuckle replied: @ ghosts are real so suck it hyuck wtf? where did this even come from

ghosts are real so suck it hyuck replied: @ insert goofy’s chuckle sorry I thought we were stating the obvious here

big head king replied: LOLOLOL

apado gwenchana god commented:

nice 😎👍🏻

[babytaes]

Serenity

➳ 𝚜𝚞𝚖𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚢:  You run into an old friend on the way to pick up your delivery, who seems to be waiting for his pizza as well.

❥ 𝚙𝚊𝚒𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐: joshua x female reader

❥ 𝚐𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: college au, fluff, slice of life

❥ 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚍 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝: 3K

➳ part of the song series

↳  I was hoping it'd be different when I saw you but it feels the same

Never changed   

I was certain I'd flushed you out my system

But you're printed in my DNA

Your head slammed onto the desk as a wave of exhaustion washed through you. Professors enjoy assigning all of this work and expect it to be completed promptly. Sadly, I'm not a genie who can just wish it away.

When you turned around to face your roommate, who seemed to be in the same situation as you, a low growl came from her throat. To see if she was awake, you threw a pen at her back.

Without even looking up a small moan struggled to come out as she turned to face you. 

As you stared at the disheveled state in front of you, a gasp echoed from your throat.

“Damn, you got it rough. Maybe more than me.”

She flung your pen back at you with a sly smile on her lips, dodging to the left as it hurled at your face. This was so out of character for both of you. Although both of you had great study habits in high school, junior year of college was beating your asses. Like kicking it.

You grunted as you walked over to your bed and plopped down to relieve some stress, grabbing the stray books and hurling them onto the floor

Seon-ah chuckled and twirled her pen in her chair as she examined your body, which was still but also very tense.

“Hey, how about we unwind for a while and maybe get a bite to eat? You know food will give us more energy and willpower to finish these last few class assignments. What do you say?"

She closed her eyes and crossed her fingers in an attempt to sway you. Fortunately, you just let her win today, as shown by your growling stomach. For most days, you wouldn't eat or take a rest until all of your work was completed. Was it beneficial to you? Perhaps not, but it did motivate you to complete the task quickly.

You propelled yourself up and toward your laptop, raising a fist in the air.

“What a great idea, Seon-ah; how about some pizza? I'll pay for it.”

As a thank you, she squealed and jumped up and down in her chair, giving you spontaneous heart signals. 

You smiled as you rolled your eyes at her and turned your attention to the computer in front of you. It was almost as though you could taste it. The buttery fluffy crust melting in your mouth as the various spices and flavors swirl around inside. Anyway...

“I'm getting our usual Moe's pizza with pineapple and pepperoni. Will be in 15 minutes. Let the break time commence ”

Seon-ah spun around and looked at you with a worried expression on her face.

"This is not the Hunger Games, Y/N?”

You threw your pillow at her as she laughed and walked over to her side of the room, sitting down on the bed, resting her eyes.

“Wake me up when the food arrives; in the meantime, I'll get some beauty rest.”

You snickered as you returned your gaze to your phone, which you had started idly scrolling through on social media, silently saying.

“You could use it.”

“Hey, I heard that.”

Rather than waiting in your bed, you could wait near the door for easier access to the food. When you turned around and saw that Seon-ah was still sleeping, you decided to wake her up when you returned with the goodies.

You quickly gather your slides, key card, and phone, as well as a few dollars for the tip. Before heading down to the lobby to get your food, you double-checked to see if the door was locked.

You put your earbuds in and press play on your latest playlist, which included some of your favorite tracks. On the way to the downstairs lobby you did a little jig.

As you came off the stairwell, a pair of men's eyes fell on you. Not only were you dancing a little too good, but you never expected to see this person in a while. When you began walking over to him, he smiled and grinned as you quickly removed your earbuds.

“Hey there... Long time no see. I hope you didn't witness that."

He laughed and shook his head as he waved his hand at you.

“How are you doing? I saw some of it, sadly. Wonderful moves.”

It felt like your heart was racing faster than normal, something it didn't usually do unless you were taking a test. However, as you stared at him longer, things began to seep back into your heart.

You coughed and rubbed the back of your neck, trying to say something to ease the awkward tension in the air.

“So-”

“Wha-”

He laughed at you and extended his hand to you, signaling that you should begin.

“What brings you here, Joshua, at this fateful hour of ten o'clock?”

He sighed and cocked his head to the side, a habit you're never tired of seeing.

“Well, Jeonghan and I wanted to order pizza, and he agreed that I should wait downstairs for it. I think he just wanted to stay in the dorm, like a lazy ass.  

You chortled.

“You did always say he was some lazy bum, but I'm shocked you stuck with him this long.”

Joshua sighed as he remembered all of the times he spent with Jeonghan and his other friends, a time when you and he were never apart.

We're going to be late for orientation if you don't hurry up, Y/N.” You mentally flipped him off and dashed out of your dorm, trying to keep all of your things in your arms as you slammed the door shut.

“Josh, you should have given me another 5 minutes.”

“An extra five minutes would have put us late, and well we...., I can't afford that

“Oh shut up Hong, shall we bring up the Milk situation, or are you done?”

Joshua came to a complete stop and rolled his eyes at you as he waited for you to catch up to him. As you laughed, he softly shoved you.

“I thought I told you not to bring that up anymore, and Seungcheol texted me and told us to meet them at the square,” 

You laughed as you shook your head and grabbed Joshua's hand, pulling him towards the door.

“Well, we'd better get moving. Mr. 5 Minutes,” 

He looked up from his sullen expression when he saw you looking at him. He blushed when he realized you were here, rather than in his memories

“Well, before I tell you how I'm doing, tell me how you're doing. I believe we haven't talked since Freshman year. A time"

You coughed and tapped your leg quickly, avoiding Joshua's eyes as you crossed over to the chair on the other side of him and sat down to get a closer look at him while mentally preparing some responses.

“You're right; I'm not sure why I'm so jittery. It's not like we were best friends at one point in our lives.”

When you folded your hands and mentally slapped yourself, a hushed silence fell over you both.

As you started, a nervous chuckle escaped your mouth

“Anyway, remember when I told you a long time ago when I wanted to start my business. Well, Seon-ah and I we're planning to apply to the Startup Fund next week for more details. If you know someone who enjoys such things, please forward this message to them.”

Joshua turned his body to face you further and shook his head, watching as your hand movement flowed as you continued to speak about the business concept. It's as if you two reconnected on a more simple level.

You looked up to see him studying your hand movement patterns, which made you come to a halt while you folded your hands as you turned away from his eyes.

“I apologize for rambling; I just get too excited talking about this with someone other than Seon-ah.”

“No, it's all right. You can proceed; I missed this.”

A gulp ran down his throat as he coughed, signaling that he needed some water. He excused himself and walked a few feet away from the lobby to the water fountain.

Great going Josh

You stood there watching as he walked over to the water fountain, hearing some mumbling but not understanding what he was saying. Instead of focusing on him, you turned your attention to yourself.

Y/N, you’re acting like a fool. He is, well was your friend. It's complicated, you know Joshua.

When you remembered why you were here, you felt a wave of calm wash over you. The DAMN PIZZA. You leapt to your feet and quickly opened your phone, where you discovered a text message.

Food is Delivered.

You let out a squeal as you walked over to the door and checked to see if the Pizza car was still waiting for you. You walked over to the car, gleefully handing him the money and thanking him for the meal.

You swiped your card and walked in the entrance, oblivious to Joshua and preoccupied with the food you were about to consume. You noticed something out of the corner of your eye as you heard him say.

“Y/N, what happened to us?

As a single tear fell from your eyes, you came to a halt and sighed, trying to catch your breath. You brushed it away and slowly turned to Joshua, feeling down and disappointed that your pizza had to wait.

As you began to approach Joshua, you let out a long-awaited sigh. You and he were like best friends for a long time. You'd meet in your freshman year of college and clicked right away. He not only exhibited a gentleman's aura, but he was also very accommodating and polite when you first met him. Despite the fact that he had some noisy and strange friends, they added to the magic.

Although life seemed to be so fine and enjoyable for you, things soon became hectic.

It was the day before your class's annual retreat to Jeju Island, where all Sophomores attended. Unfortunately, your presentation lasted longer than anticipated, and you were forced to give it on the day they all left. You weren't upset because this was something you'd always wanted to do, and you could see the possibilities opening up if you succeeded.

For Joshua, though, this was a missed opportunity to tell you how he felt about your relationship. His heart was in the right place, but the wording was incorrect. You'd stopped by his dorm to borrow a few things before heading to class.

“Why don't you just miss this one and come along with us on this trip?” You're going to miss out on all the fun we're having.”

You scoffed when you turned around.

“You know I can't do that; this presentation is half of my grade, and it has the potential to greatly expand my business opportunities.”

He chuckled and rolled his eyes without pausing to reflect.

“Why waste your time."

You turned around, stunned at what he had just said, and stopped looking for a jacket.

"Excuse me, wasting my time. Unlike you, I am not well-off and do not come from a wealthy family. There are still people who still have to struggle for their goals. I apologize if this is a "waste of time," but this is a serious matter and a dream of mine. You know what, fuck you and your jacket. I'll ask Seon-ah."

You rolled your eyes and walked out the door, completely deaf to his summons.

“I didn't mean it that way; I merely-”

You came to a halt and yelled back at him.

“Why don’t you just enjoy this “once in a lifetime trip” without me, and when you come back just go on without your life. I guess my priorities and life are now meaningful enough for you."

As you ran to your dorm, you shed a tear as your heart was crushed. Your last ray of hope for each other was shattered. You couldn't love someone who didn't understand the importance of your dream

The rain began to fall as you rushed into your dorm hall, weeping. At the very least, you had faith in yourself, and that is all that matters. 

“If you're thinking about that incident, you should know that I didn't mean what I said at the time. That was a huge mistake on my part, and sophomore Joshua was a dick, and I really want to apologize for it. I didn't know how important this was to you until seeing it up close. I can see now how dedicated and enthusiastic you are about your business. And I genuinely want to say I am so sorry for the way I behave. That still doesn't help me understand why we didn't, you know, get back together as friends. 

As you quickly turned away from him, a tear spilled from your eye, which you quickly wiped away. You smiled and raised your eyes to him. His gaze was still drawn to your altered demeanor. That was one of his best qualities: he could always tell when you weren't feeling yourself.

“Hey, if it's too difficult for you to talk about, we can just forget about it and go our separate ways, if that what ”

You went on, waving your hand at him and taking a breath.

“Well, I can only tell you my side of the story; I have no idea why. I guess I didn't mean it when I told you to stay out of my life. I guess I got caught up in the midst of it all. Even though I nailed the presentation, I apologize for blowing up at you. I know you were trying to help me relax, but sophomore me mistook it for you trying to restrain me.”

As you began to choke up your words, your breath began to hitch in your throat. Joshua came up to you and put his hand on your shoulder, attempting to calm you down.

You leaped to your feet and backed away from him, wiping tears from your eyes, trying to catch your breath.

“Please-ee, just stop. Stop doing that .”

"Doing what Y/N, what is going on?"

“Why aren't you angry at me if, stop being so nice to me?"

As soon as you saw him move, you fell to your knees, weeping. He was embracing you and turning your head to see what was wrong quickly. You started spitting out words he couldn't understand. He kissed you instead of trying to learn.

“Wha-”

He cupped your face with his hands as you held on to his shirt for support. Something inside of you just exploded, and it felt as though your heart had been set free. You took a step back and realized he was tearing up. As you brushed away the stray tears. You gazed into his brown eyes as he cupped your hands and kissed them.

“I've always wanted to do that; forgive me for not asking first. 

“No, it's fine; in truth, that's something I've always wanted to do.”

He gasped as he processed what you had just said and looked up at you.

“Wait, don't say you had a thing for me.”

You chuckled as you brushed away the remaining tears with your sleeve and walked back to the coach section.

 “Yes, Joshua, literally half the campus has had a crush on Mr. Gentleman, although you are definitely the opposite sometimes. "

“Hey, don't try to ruin my reputation around here,” he said, laughing. “I am undoubtedly a gentleman.”

You rolled your eyes and chuckled at his expression for a few more minutes, just soaking up the newfound bond that had just re-emerged.

Before you could take your gaze away from him, he shook his head and found your staring eyes. He wrapped his arms around your waist and pulled you into another embrace. You had a big smile on your face the whole time, holding him tightly.

“So are we good, 'cause you were definitely into that kiss."

You slapped his chest and peered up from his chest.

“Yeah, we're good, friends again.” You extended your hand to him, and he enthusiastically shook it.

"Also I was thinking we can be more than friends."

You stopped breathing for a second and processed his request, you laughed and shoved him.

"You’ve gotta ask me out properly. I'm going to forget you said that and be more surprised when you ask again."

Joshua nodded his hand and went in for another hug. Your hand abruptly landed on his chest as you remembered.

“WAIT, OUR FOOD."

You turned around and dashed to the once-steamy box, only to find a cold but still warm pizza waiting for you. You peered at Joshua, who dashed out the door and returned with his dinner, smiling fondly at you.

“I forgot we came to get our food; I've got to get this to Seon-ah; she's probably awake and hungry.”

He grinned and walked up to you, kissing your forehead before taking your hand in his and directing you to take the lead. You laughed and blushed with embarrassment when he finally saw you in all your glory.

You hastily dragged him up the stairwell and toward your dorm. You were both awkwardly still, not wanting this moment to end. You lifted your head from your trembling hands and kissed his nose before waving goodbye and entering your room. You slid to the ground, pondering what the HELL just happened.

Joshua, on the other hand, pumped a fist in the air and headed back to his dorm, grinning from ear to ear!

You regained control and put the pizza down as you stepped forward to see a groggy Seon-ah waking up, rubbing her eyes, and yawning at you.

"Damn you took a long time, did they get our order wrong? You had better not eat without me."

You chuckled and pushed the box to the center of the table, taking a breath as you tried to process what had just happened.

“Oh, I've got something to tell you while you eat. You have no idea who I just ran into. Come closer, it's going to be a good one.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

➳ Navigate to the Maze

[mizugucci]

Mairin Hai! How are you? I think of you every time onf crosses my playlist 😌 anyways I know you just took a break but if it's not a bother may I request a music note ask? If not, that's okay and take ur time? I hope you're doing fabulous <3

hey!! im so so sorry this is late, but i did promise to do this eventually ^^ so tonights the night! hope you like it! @dokyeomblr

position: i think obviously youd be a fantastic singer, probably a main vocalist but youdont get many lines except in title tracks because your voice is suited to cheesy upbeat cutesy pop songs, while your group's bsides are all darker and a bit rough for your vocal range. honestly i also think youd be the maknae and be totally spoiled and have everyone wrapped around your finger

group name: MOONDANE (pronounced like mundane) the name is directly related to your groups' concept and is explained a bit more below. but basically its saying that you exist in an ordinary light, like youre going to be so popular/wellknown and accepted by the general public that you're just something to be expected, mundane. not derogatory or boring tho. also its spelled moon because the moon is a permanent fixture in life -- just like your group -- and just like the moon has 8 phases, your group has 8 members.

concept: the idea of 'mundane cliches' is something i think your group would explore a lot! for example, your debut is based around being pizza delivery girls (i wonder where i got that from?) and some other 'mundane' concepts include: the school concept (but in particular, college students who have nothing to lose and are always wearing pjs, that ver. of cliches) AND!!!!! ANOTHER VERSION which i would never actually recommend as a real concept unless as a joke is cute milk maids as a gg concept.................. and i think you'd be perfect for it........... take that as u will LOL with cute double braids and bows and frocks! cmon its cute, and it fits with the general concept of your group

debut song: hmmmm i think it would be a mixture of your group concept and your group name. for example, the lyrics/mv are probably relating to pizza in a poetic and upbeat/confident way (ie everyones different [we all have different toppings] and its all good because pizza is good in general! even if u hate pineapple, someone else loves pineapple and people have both different tastes and ARE different! and ofc the lyrics would be far far more poetic, but u get the gist. for the type of song i think it would reflect the 'moon' portion, feeling dark ut awake and beautiful, kind of dreamy? but still a type of upbeat. like a happy, dreamy ballad probably! (see: what jeong sewoon does a lot of)

fun fact: your group gets insanely popular bc for your debut (as pizza delivery girls) your company was like huh lets make this interesting, each fan can order a 'pizza' (an album) and 'order' which PCs or what inserts they want in the album... its a revolutionizing marketing ploy and it actually spent more money than it brought in, BUT fans of kpop flocked to you for the ingenuity and it was a smart move in the long run

send me a 🎵 and ill create a kpop group with you in it, based on you and/or your blog!

[sunseteyes]

yo yo yo! do you do platonic x readers? if not then just ignore this-- BUT i was wondering what it would be like to be best friends with shinso & midoriya (separately?? idk). im ✨lonely✨ and theyre both really sweet, so 👉👈

platonic relationship headcanons

ㅤㅤ ↪︎ STARRING: izuku midoriya, hitoshi shinsou; gn!reader

ㅤㅤ ↪︎ THEMES: platonic (obv), fluffy!

ㅤㅤ ↪︎ INTERMISSIONS: so sorry for the late response! thank you for requesting and i really enjoyed writing this! plus omg i love the new minimalist banners :D

『• • • ✎ HITOSHI SHINSOU

hitoshi is also a cancerian like izuku. for short, he is one of the best people to be a friend because of his personality

due to his past, hitoshi would be untrusting at first. you have to be patient with him if you want him to be your friend. for short, you have to earn his trust.

at first, he’d be really confused why you’d want to be his friend. do you have some ill intentions? are you genuine? 

when he sees you on a positive note, he will slowly accept you in his life. little by little, he’d trust you. 

it’s in his nature to be straightforward. so do expect him to always say the truth, no matter how harsh it is 

but don’t worry, because that is hitoshi’s way of caring for you. he would always want the beat for you, and if he had to be harsh, then he’d do so. 

“why would you want to be my friend, anyways?” he’d question you during the first few times you’d hang out with him, sipping some tetra pak milk you offered him because you pretended that you brought it on a buy 1-take 1. he’d know you’re lying anyway

he rarely has trusted friends—none, to be honest. every friend he had, if they ever considered him that way, only wanted to use him for his quirk. whilst some stopped hanging out with him because of the same thing—they’re just afraid of it

it would take awhile for him to adjust, but hitoshi would already trust you and call you his friend in his mind, no matter how it seems he doesn’t on the outside

deep conversations. that’s what you should prepare for when you’re a friend of hitoshi. he often doesn’t sleep because he’s overthinking or he just simply couldn’t, too used to his old habits that never died. 

he treats you to snacks often, if you love eating. he often does the small things for you. 

he sometimes becomes distant, especially when you’re teased for always hanging out with him, and he won’t come back if you don’t initiate it or prove to him that you’re his friend and it’s a choice of your own

『• • • ✎ IZUKU MIDORIYA

izuku’s zodiac sign is cancer. it’s basically in his nature that he is a very good friend

when he first saw you, he never had an inkling of judgment on you, not that he always found them in people. it just feels like he knew that you are a kind person through and through from a single glance

call it his intuition

that’s probably why you easily became one of his closest friends in class a; always eating lunches together, walking side by side in the hallways, and even taking you to your place no matter how far it is whenever you come home from hanging out with him in his house—well partly because it’s his mom who insisted him to take care of his friend 

being izuku’s friend also includes being used to how he mumbles and drifts off a lot, so there will be times when he would not listen to what you’re saying, but don’t be mad at him because he’s not doing it purposely

also, you have to indulge in his all might fanboy tendencies because well, it’s quite obvious that he’s a fan of the said hero

everyday, especially when you’re both in hero training, is a scary day too. izuku can be such a risk-taker that you, as his friend, worries about him and his life to the point you’d get irritated and sometimes snap at or smack him when you see him all bruised up as usual

if you had been his friend since middle school, you also have to stop bakugo and others from abusing your friend most of the time that it would get you headaches everyday

when you two got to yuuei and found out you and izuku were in the same class with bakugo, you’ll just have to facepalm yourself, muttering “here we go again” under your breath

it’s fun to be with izuku, nonetheless. he blabbers a lot, he’s very decisive when it comes to where you two would eat lunch, he is also a very giving friend:

you want another piece of sushi? he can give you his! you want the last slice of pizza? take it! wanna taste the flavor of his ordered boba? he’ll gladly offer you a sip! 

he’s very open, welcoming and such a literal sunshine that it would be your choice to want to always see him smile or happy

you’d want to see him live and be the greatest hero—his very dream

so then you’d be inspired to follow him to yuuei, with quirk or not. you’d want to watch him succeed in life, even if you’ll sacrifice yourself, you will. you’re just be the protagonist’s friend, and you’d surely feel that way

[ssson-of-sparda]

A Trip To The Beach - Part 1 (Dante x Fem!Reader)

Summary: Dante's tab is nearly erased. After Patty finds a letter you wrote to Dante years ago, the girl decides to pay you a visit to know why and how things ended between you and Dante. (Part 4 of A Tab To Erase) (Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3)

Tags: Pre DMC3 Dante / Dante is Tony Redgrave / Love / Fluff / Blood and Gore / Minor Character Death / Violence

Author’s note: I've decided to divide "A Trip To The Beach" into two parts because it was way too long. The next part will be the end of this story. Thank you for reading and sorry for keeping you waiting.

MISSION 4

Despite the menacing grey clouds fading the picturesque view before her, there was something adorably charming in the house Patty was looking at that should have made the girl feel rather at ease. And yet, she couldn’t move a muscle. Stress probably. Stress, yes. She thought as she glanced again and again at the letter she was firmly holding in her hands.       She repeated the address out loud, checking again for the umpteenth times if she was at the right place and wondering if she should be here.    What if Dante learnt about her being here? What if he learnt about her sneaking into his personal stuff? About her stealing this letter in the drawer of his desk? The one Y/N had written him years ago. The questions popped up in her head one by one as quickly as Dante’s devastating bullets and tied her stomach in a knot. She had never been afraid of Dante. Not really. And she wasn’t sure she was afraid of him right now. Maybe she was simply afraid of hurting him.

“This was a silly idea.” She sighed and finally turned around to leave. Maybe if she hurried up she would be able to catch the next train back to Red Grave before the storm and be home early enough to make Dante a strawberry sundae.

The wind suddenly blew hard, so hard it was gusty enough for the pink ribbon in her blond hair to be blown away. Patty gasped and quickly ran after the long piece of silk trying to catch it back. But it somehow landed right in the flowered garden she hadn’t dared step foot in and Patty couldn’t help but see it as a sign of fate. “Can I help you?” A sign of fate she couldn’t ignore now.

Y/N was as pretty as Patty had imagined, maybe even more. And as she kept on observing her, her little turned-up nose purposely plunged in the tea mug so that she would not have to speak (a premiere in her life), she wondered how and why Dante had let her go (She had jumped to this conclusion when she had read the letter she found at Dante’s in which Y/N was asking him to come back to her). “ Would you like another biscuit, Patty?” The blond girl shook her head nervously. “Or a strawberry sundae maybe?” Patty froze and her blue eyes fixed at Y/N in panic. “If you’re friend with Dante I assume you must have them quite often.” There was no bitterness in her voice, just a motherly sweetness tinted with a bit of sadness.             “ How?”                “ The letter.” She nodded at the envelope sticking out of Patty’s pocket. “How’s Dante?”     “ He doesn’t know I am here!” Patty confessed rapidly as if to exonerate Dante of her presence here. “And he doesn’t know about the letter.”    “That’s alright. Relax.” Y/N smiled, amused, as she put her mug on the coffee table. “I was just asking. Curiosity.” And care also.                   “ Oh … Then I guess he’s … Dante.” The young girl finally said after searching for the perfect word to describe her friend.  “You know eating pizza and strawberry sundae everyday … and sleeping all day long.” Y/N frowned. That was not the image she had kept from her ex-boyfriend at all. A lazy pizza and sundae lover sure but there was something off in Patty’s description. “Oh and losing at gambling which probably led to why I’m here.”            “ What do you mean?” Y/N raised an eyebrow; genuinely curious though amused to know Dante had not improved his gambling skills since the last time they met.       “ Let’s say he owed me so much he started selling pieces of his past to pay me back.” The woman laughed. That sounded like Dante for sure. “He started telling me about you because I asked him why he loved strawberry sundaes so much. And then he kept extorting me and used my curiosity at his advantage.” “ How much did he owe you?” “ Six strawberry sundaes. A dozen ice-cream cones. Two dresses and one trip to the beach. He stills owes me a trip to the beach though.”              “ Of course he does.” Y/N scoffed as she took a sip of her tea.                 “ Fortunately I’m a very patient woman.” Patty declared as she started drooling over her homemade raspberry-filled biscuit.       “ Well, I guess you have to be when you hang out with somehow like him.” Patty’s eyes darted back at Y/N who was now stirring her tea even though she hadn’t put any sugar or milk in it. A defence mechanism, Patty thought.         “ Is that why you two broke up? Because you lost patience?” Patty dared ask even though a part of her had a feeling she shouldn’t.             “ No. No. That’s not because of that.” Y/N admitted. “We broke up because Dante couldn’t help being Dante.”        “ I always tell him his uncouthness drives women away.” Y/N had a sad smile that Patty immediately noticed. “Sure he lacks manners but that’s not why we ended things. We ended things because … I guessed he cared too much for me.”

A TRIP TO THE BEACH - Part 1

She could remember that day as if it was yesterday, every detail of it. From the moment Dante kissed her good morning to the moment he kissed her goodbye. She could remember his smile, warm and beguiling. She could remember his tears, cold and desperate. She could remember everything about him, everything about her.

She was wearing a red summer dress. Dante’s favourite. He used to say it was because of the colour. “You know how much I love red, baby.” But she knew it was because of the way it hugged her figure so beautifully. He could pretend to be a gentleman but he couldn’t fool her. She could tell he was lying just by the way his hands would grab her curves each time she was near him in that dress.

They had parked the car by the beach. An old red convertible he claimed to be vintage when it was just a piece of junk. If he thought any sort of romance would happen in it, he was clearly wrong.

Don’t tell he already had this awful car! Don’t tell me he still has it!

But Y/N wasn’t sure Dante was in the mood for romance or any sort of distraction. He looked preoccupied, very preoccupied, and she knew him all to well to know that this anxiety – or whatever Dante was feeling right now – was nothing good. After all, one could use many adjectives to describe Dante but anxious and preoccupied, no. He was too carefree and devil-may-care for this.

“Something’s wrong.” Y/N said as she looked up at him, her head on his shoulder. Dante sighed. “Nothing.” “That was not a question.” She clarified and watched him leave her embrace to pick a beer in the cool bag they had especially prepared for their picnic at the beach. “Talk to me.” But he didn’t. “It’s better if you know nothing.” She frowned, not enchanted at all to be left in ignorance.                  “Better for whom? Me?” He remained silent again and she felt anger starting to grow in her chest. “Answer me, for god’s sake! It’s been days, Tony! Days since you’ve been acting strangely. Days since Enzo came to visit to tell you god knows what.” Dante’s eyes met hers and he could finally see how furious and sad she truly was. “What? Do you really think I can’t put two and two together? Do you think I’m that stupid?”          “No.”     “Then what’s going on?” Dante opened his mouth but was quickly interrupted by a strange noise coming from Y/N’s purse. It was her pager furiously vibrating and ringing.

Pager? Welcome to the nineties, Patty.

“It’s my parents. -Emergency at the restaurant. Need your help-.” She read and sighed. “I got to go. But this conversation is not over, Tony.”             “ I know and I promise I’ll tell you everything. Just … just give me time to make sure …” But he didn’t finish his sentence. And why would he? The last thing he wanted was for her to worry and telling her ‘Just give me time to make sure you’re going to be okay.’ didn’t sound very reassuring, right? “Make sure of what?”  “ I love you, Y/N. You know that?” He cupped her soft cheek and caressed her delicate skin with his thumb. She nodded. Of course she knew. He didn’t have to say it. But she hated secrets and right now he was too secretive to her taste. Nevertheless, she indulged his desire for a loving kiss when Dante’s lips came to claim hers. “I love you too.”  “ You’re staying at my place tonight?” She nodded. She could never deny him, especially when he was so sweet.

So that’s why you broke up? Because he had secrets? No. Not because he had secrets. Because of something more complicated than that.

The second the bus dropped her off at the stop a few meters away from her parent’s diner, Y/N knew something was wrong. The reddish pink neon sign of the restaurant was not shining like a beacon in the street and inside the lights were all off. Weird for a Friday night.            She walked to the door anyway, holding on tightly to her purse, a worried frown creasing her young face that soon became as pale as milk when she noticed that the door was slightly ajar. She should have called the police or even her boyfriend. Surely that would have been the wise decision but when she heard a loud noise coming from the inside, she instinctively rushed in.

It had come from upstairs, from where her parents lived. Y/N climbed the stairs one by one, quickly but cautiously, with a lamp she had picked on a table in her hand to use as a weapon though she wasn’t sure that would be enough to knock out whoever had broken into the place. She could hear her heart beat loudly in her chest, ready to explode, Thump Thump, and her foot creaking the wooden floor more and more with each steps despite all her attempts at remaining silent. Creak Creak. Creak Creak. Splish Splash.

Y/N suddenly stopped and looked at her feet. Her sandals were wet. Water? But the bathroom was too far away and the liquid felt weirdly warm and way too dense. She squatted down and slowly touched the flooded floor with her fingertips. She shivered at the sensation. This felt weird, slightly sticky even. Oil? No. It wasn’t slimy enough to be oil. It was something else.                 She looked closely, searching for a source of light. Fortunately she didn’t need much to realise that the liquid tinting her skin was dark and … red?

Her eyes widened when she understood she was squatting in a pool of blood. Horrified she tried to get up and run but eventually slipped and squealed when she fell on her butt and the red splashed and drenched her dress and her naked legs.

Her half-eaten biscuit in her hand, her mouth agape, Patty was staring at Y/N, unable to move or to look away. This story was fascinating … scary but fascinating. And Y/N had better storyteller qualities than Dante. He always had the tendency to exaggerate.           “What happened next?” Patty demanded with an over-excitement she knew was certainly inappropriate. “Next …” The doorbell rang loudly and Patty jumped and squealed. Her heart skipped a beat and her eyes widened when the bell rang again, this time almost furiously. “I guess we have an impatient visitor.”         Needless to say, Patty exactly knew who that was. “Oh no.”  “Don’t worry. I’m sure a nice strawberry sundae will calm him down.” Y/N smiled and got up to welcome the person impatiently waiting under the porch.

[gallavictorious]

You know, it's quite possible that Mickey still doesn't know about Frank not being Ian's biological father. Not because Ian's tried to keep it a secret from him or anything, but because Ian finds the whole thing so utterly irrelevant that he neither thinks nor speaks of it again after his and Lip's little trip to see Clayton. So what if, on one happy day, Ian and Mickey runs into dear old bio dad?

I'm thinking that Ian is picking Mickey up from work, because for once there's no kids to look after and they both just got paid and true to the somewhat unorthodox timeline of their relationship they've started going on dates now that they're married. Not too often and nothing too fancy, but a meal in a decent restaurant once in a while; a movie maybe; a few drinks. Makes them feel very adult and normal (which is probably more important to Ian than it is to Mickey) and besides, it's just nice to get away from everyone else and their drama once in a while.

So, Ian's waiting for Mickey just outside of Old Army, and Mickey's changed out of his uniform – which he hates and Ian finds just a little bit cute, they way he finds a lot of things about Mickey cute – and now he's wearing a pair of black jeans and gray shirt that might be slightly too hot for the season but which speaks of him making an effort, and yeah, that's Ian's heart fluttering just a little bit, because Mickey.

There's casual “heys” coupled with small but subtly delighted smiles, and then they're leisurely making their way out of the mall, chatting about their respective and fairly uneventful days when a small toddler suddenly runs toward them at a truly impressive speed, eyes eagerly trained on a giant teddybear over by the toy store. Ian takes a small step to the left to avoid being mowed down by the kamikaze kid and almost bumps into an well-dressed man going the other way. Both Ian and the man begins to offer polite apologies, but then they see each other, and the words die on their lips.

Mickey's still walking, but it only takes him a few steps to realize that Ian's no longer by his side, so he stops, too; turns back to survey the scene.

It's a fucking weird scene, Ian staring stonily at some red-haired guy who's staring right back at him with a really strange expression on his face, surprise mixed with uncertainty and something else that Mickey doesn't quite recognize. And it's odd, but the guy kind of looks like Ian, except older and shorter and less hot.

Now, Ian would probably prefer to just mutter his apology and move on, but before he can do that Clayton clears his throat: “Ian. Hi.”

Ian dips his head. “Hi.”

A pause. Mickey looks from Ian to Clayton and back again but doesn't say anything. Clayton tries for a tentative smile. “Are you... doing okay?”

“Yeah, fine.”

Another protracted silence.

“I, ah, saw something on the net,” Clayton finally asks.  “About a van that... exploded? There was a trial?”

Ian lets out a soft sigh, as if giving in to something inevitable. “Yeah. Got sent to prison, was released within the year, married Mickey,” – he indicates Mickey with a small jerk of his head – “and started working as an EMT again. Still live back at the house. I'm doing fine now.” His voice is earnest but his face carefully blank as he looks straight at Clayton. Giving nothing away; inviting nothing.

Clayton nods slowly: understands. There might be a flicker of sadness in his eyes, but there's relief too. “Glad to hear you're doing well,” he says and sounds like he means it, even as he shifts ever so slightly, even as he's already getting ready to move away and move on. He glances at Mickey and smiles briefly. “Congratulations on your marriage,” he offers.

“Yeah. Thanks.”

One last, lingering look, and Clayton is gone. Mickey watches him hurry away with a slight frown, before turning to Ian – who for some reason is studiously avoiding his eyes. “What the fuck was that?”

Ian still won't at him as they start walking, stepping out of the mall and into the summer twilight. “What was what?”

Mickey gives a little snort of a laugh at that, raising an eyebrow, because really, Gallagher?

“That, asshole,” he says. “Why the fuck did he stare at you like that? And why you acting all weird?” When Ian still doesn't answer, he adds. “C'mon, man, you're the one always whining about how we need to talk about our fucking feelings or whatever. What's going on?” And if he sounds  a bit impatient now, if he sounds a bit rough, it's probably because he's starting to worry, just a little. Ian has a habit of keeping things close to his chest, but he doesn't normally hide stuff – not from Mickey, not anymore.

A thought occurs to him, and it's actually nasty enough to twist his stomach: “Jesus, did you and your uncle – ?”

“What? No!” Ian gives him a wide-eyed look, which then turns togresignation. “Monica did,” he mutters. “I guess he's kind of my... biological father.”

And that... Mickey wasn't expecting that. Has no idea how to react to that. “What, really?” is what he finally says.

“Yeah, really.”

They walk on in silence for a while. Mickey keeps sneaking glances at Ian, who keeps staring down at his feet as they cross the street and enter La Villitia Park. Mickey might bite his lip, that old habit that he's mostly shaken but doesn't always bother to repress when he's alone with Ian.

Finally he offers: “I found out Terry wasn't my dad, I'd throw a fucking parade. I'm not fucking kidding, there'd be fireworks and shit. And if my real dad had any money, I'd milk the motherfucker for every last cent. Serve the bastard right for dumping me with fucking Terry.”

That seems to have the desired effect, because Ian smiles, a tiny little thing. “Yeah, well. Frank's an asshole, but he hasn't got anything on your dad.” He pauses. “It's not really about him anyway. It's everyone else, Fiona, Lip, the kids. They're my family. I don't want that to change.”

“They'd still be your family, man. Same mom, right?”

“It wouldn't be the same. It's... Whatever. I just don't care. I don't care if he's my father.” He shrugs. “I just don't.”

Mickey nods. “All right. Where are you taking me anyway? I'm fucking starving.”

And this is the point, I think, where Ian is once again hit by an almost overwhelming rush of love for his husband, because Mickey just accepts this; accepts Ian and Ian's feeling without batting a lid and without making a big deal out of it. He has a way of taking things in his stride, Mickey; of rolling with the punches, and not even the very sudden and surprising appearance of a biological father is enough to rattle him. For all his volatile temper and violent tendencies, there's something strong and steady here, and yeah, Ian loves him for it.

Impulsively, he reaches out to tug at Mickey's arm, and when Mickey comes to a halt and turns to look askance at him, Ian pulls him in for a brief but passionate kiss. Mickey lets him; returns it.

(And there's a small wonder here, though neither of them has a thought to spare for it right at this moment: a small wonder in the way Ian kisses Mickey, right there on the street, in the fading daylight, and in the way that Mickey lets him. In the way he doesn't even hesitate.)

“The fuck was that for?” Mickey asks, eyebrow raised, once they break apart and start walking again. It comes out a little grumpy, maybe, but the small, secret smile on Mickey's face is anything but. He knows what it was for anyway, and Ian knows that he knows, so he doesn't answer. Lights a cigarette instead, and takes a drag before handing it over to Mickey.

“New pizza place opened down by the river,” he says. “Mia at work was going on and on about it, thought we'd give it a go.”

“Yeah?” Mickey ask, blowing smoke at the sky. “Pizza's good, man. But anyone try to put goddamned pineapple on my pie, I'll shove it so far down their throat they'll taste it down in fucking Hawaii.”

Ian laughs. “You know that doesn't make any fucking sense?”

Mickey just grins at him. He knows.

[trouvelle]

You Might Melt Me

Fandom: Detective Conan/DCMK Pairing: Heiji/Kazuha (mentioned Shinichi/Ran) Rating: PG Genre/Tags: Fluff, Comedy, College!AU Warning: Implied smut (a tiny bit of dirty talking) Summary: “So what?” Kaito asks, “Do you watch her eat and stuff?” “It’s like a ritual,” Shinichi tells Kaito helpfully.

•

Heiji is only twenty and he’s already facing a quarter-life crisis.

It’s not the fact that he has an entire class period (which dares to take up any normal person’s lunch time) every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon. Yes, having to have late lunch just so he can attend his class dutifully does sort of bothers him. And no, Heiji does not hate studying. Not at all. Especially when it’s chemistry, one of the areas of study that he excels in, aside from maths... and biology. And physics. Yadda, yadda, he’s smart.

The unfortunate quarter-life crisis he’s currently facing, though, has been one and the same for as long as he can remember.

And it’s also right here, in his class, as of the moment.

Heiji pushes down the urge to bang his fists on the table surface as he tries to listen to the professor’s explanation. Trying would be so easy. In fact, scoring a perfect score would be a piece of cake with a cherry on top if only the girl beside him would stop spending the entire class period stuffing her face with food and making Heiji want to scream at him to please freaking stop for his sanity.

She doesn’t stop eating, the ends of her chopsticks stained with sauce and mouth munching at a piece of glorious fried chicken, and doesn’t seem fazed by Heiji’s intense glaring.

This is why it’s a serious crisis and not some random matter that he can shrug off and forget. He has to pass this chemistry course with flying colours but concentrating on the lecture isn’t easy when Toyama Kazuha is eating right beside him, a box of karaage on her lap and without a care in the world, and Heiji seriously considers smacking the packaging right at her cute face. Beautiful face. But also undoubtedly annoying face. Not like he pays her extra attention or anything.

Kazuha pokes a piece of chicken into her mouth and turns sideways to glance at him and he is absolutely not staring at the way the piece of chicken visibly pokes at her cheek from inside her mouth as she continues to munch nonchalantly and the way her mouth moves rhythmically as she chews and swallows down her food. He ignores the way his heart is thumping excitedly in his chest. There was a time when there is no possible way Heiji would ever think that Toyama Kazuha is cute. Nowadays, whenever he sees her, his mind is always spelling out at him, in capitalized bold glittery letters, the word CUTE.

Kazuha raises a perfect brow at him, looking like she is sizing Heiji up and has a judgmental remark at the tip of her tongue ready to be thrown at Heiji, only that she’s too busy munching to do that. She only looks away when Heiji does.

She spends the rest of class occasionally looking up to nod at the professor’s words. He spends the rest of class trying not to notice.

•

Today is Tuesday.

Tuesday means pizza at the campus cafeteria.

That doesn’t mean Heiji is going out to buy two boxes of pizza for both lunch and dinner so he doesn’t have to wait for his beloved roommate Shinichi to return to their dorm with his girlfriend’s homemade food. Well, that too, but Pizza Tuesday mainly means that Kazuha gets to eat pizza for lunch. In class.

Pizza Tuesday also means Heiji slumping down in his seat as he listens to the boring lecture (boring, because Heiji always comes to Organic Chemistry II academically prepared and knowing that he’s already had firsthand knowledge about the materials anyway) and tries not to watch the way the slice of pizza disappears into Kazuha’s mouth.

Said girl looks too cheerful for twelve at noon.

She is also wearing a sleeveless and cropped sports tank top today and he chokes on his own saliva when he sees the band of her black freaking bra as she moves to bring a slice of pizza into his mouth. Damn that top of hers with armholes too wide to even qualify as a shirt. He reaches for his water bottle and ignores the way his mouth waters at that delicious piece of… pizza! Yeah. Definitely the pizza. Heiji is undoubtedly craving for pizza right now.

Half way into the lecture he finds Kazuha turning to him with a mildly pitiful look on his face. She’s definitely thinking Heiji is salivating at his pizza. Which Heiji is. Definitely. 

Heiji slumps further down his seat and grumbles into his sweatshirt.

•

Heiji wonders if it’s possible for him to react with excess oxygen to form water and carbon dioxide because at this point, he might as well just combust. At least then he won’t have to listen to the constant sound that she lets out as she eats, the sound so loud and distinct Heiji wouldn’t be surprised if she had been eating her cookies right in front of his ears all this time.

He feels like crumpling his desk into a makeshift ball of anger and smacking it at her face as she won’t stop snacking her pretty and pouty mouth off, seating relaxedly on her chair as the sound intensifies, and he thinks he’s going insane because no one else, not even the professor, seems like they give a damn about Kazuha eating extra loudly and practically disrupting the lesson. He doubts they even notice, which is probably the case with their professor.

Heiji wants to scream.

•

Heiji doesn’t scream.

Not in class, anyway. But he does scream when he goes back to his room, lying face down on his bed with his feet resting on the headboard. It’s a very comfortable position.

“Hattori!” Shinichi growls from his desk as Heiji continues to scream and scream and scream into his comforter because if Kazuha can disrupt his studying period by making the loudest and most enticing noises possible, then he has all the rights to yell as much as he wants.

“Hattori, I swear to your pathetic wrinkled ass that if you don’t stop that—”

“My butt is amazing!” Heiji yells back at him, still into the comforter, because getting up and shifting into a different position just so Shinichi can hear him is too much work and a waste of valuable energy.

Shinichi makes a disgruntled sound.

Something flashes in Heiji’s mind and he halts his screaming to a stop. Shinichi is gathering his stuff up when Heiji lifts his head to look at him.

It’s only happened too many times, Heiji can’t even pinpoint when exactly he became entranced by the sight. He vividly remembers that one time wherein he was walking behind Kazuha (they usually walk side by side) and didn’t waste his chance to stare at Kazuha’s back figure and the way her jeans hugged her toned legs and the curve of her ass so wonderfully.

Heiji sighs, almost dreamily. She looks amazing. Shinichi makes wild, incomprehensible gestures with his arms that Heiji thinks make him look like a ridiculous flailing pigeon. Heiji sighs again, this time more heavily because he has too many unnecessary feelings. He turns to Shinichi, hoping that the pout on his face makes him look pathetic enough for Shinichi to sympathize with him.

Shinichi merely gives Heiji a disapproving look before coldly closing the door behind him and leaving twenty minutes early for his date with Ran. Lover boy.

•

Heiji confronts Kazuha one morning, on the hallway just outside the lecture hall. She doesn’t look the least bothered by it, instead sporting an amused smile on her face as she licks at her chocolate ice cream like the irksome ahou she is.

“Can you not eat in class?” He asks, looking her in the eye and trying not to stare at the way her tongue drags down the side of the ice cream. Oh, how he misses their high school days when food is absolutely forbidden during class time.

“Why?” She asks, peering up at him. She has really long lashes.

“Because,” Heiji says and wets his lips when she licks at her ice cream with a torturously slow drag of her tongue. “Campus regulations prohibit food and drinks in class.”

Kazuha merely blinks at him before bringing her ice cream up so that she can suck at the swirling tip of it. His breath hitches involuntarily, which results in him inhaling a waft of what is probably her scent that strongly smells like citrus and vanilla. “I don’t know,” she says, an innocent look on her face. “Professor doesn’t seem like he minds.”

Heiji wants to strangle her. And maybe dip his finger into Kazuha’s mouth so he can feel how that ice cream must have felt like to be licked by that⁠—wait, what?

“That doesn’t make it okay,” Heiji growls instead, voice dropping an octave lower to show how serious this matter is for his future.

“Why?” A wet tongue darts out to lick ice cream off her lips that curl upwards at the end into a mischievous, kittenish smile and Heiji feels his insides melt and twist and swirl and explode into a myriad of feelings. “Does it bother you?” Kazuha asks, looking up at him and her mouth working, savoring the taste of milk chocolate. He might also be wondering how her lips might taste like, though nobody else has to know about how long he’s been having that thought for. Too goddamn long.

“Yes,” he says before his mind can register. After it does, he quickly adds, “No!” with his forefinger pointed at her because he’s supposed to be angry. “I’m supposed to concentrate on the lecture but I can’t because you’re right there beside me and won’t stop snacking in class and it’s getting on my nerves, you ahou!”

She ignores him and runs her tongue around what’s left of her ice cream and Heiji feels like he’s the one melting instead of the ice cream.

He must look really dumb standing right there with his mouth hanging open as he stares at her speechlessly.

She watches and studies him, still with that same mildly amused smile on her face, as he tries to find something to say and fails miserably. “Ahou.” Kazuha says with finality when she’s decided that he doesn’t seem like he’s got anything else to say, and continues to munch and bite into her cone as she walks away. Just like that.

•

Heiji decides the best decision is to unleash all of it to Shinichi and Kaito after class and make them listen to a verbal showcase of his concerns because that’s what friends are for.

“Oh. You’re early,” is Kaito greeting, the man not tearing his eyes away from his bowl of noodles as Heiji barges into his room and drops himself on their couch. Shinichi barely looks up before turning back to his laptop. He’s probably gotten tired of being exasperated by Heiji at some point.

“Are you not going to ask me how chemistry went?” Heiji gurgles into the couch.

“How was chemistry?” Kaito asks, monotonously.

“That ahou brought another food to eat in class again today,” Heiji says, sighing emptily.

“So what?” Kaito asks, before he seems to get it. Is this guy even more hopeless than he thinks? “Do you watch her eat and stuff?”

“It’s like a ritual,” Shinichi tells Kaito helpfully. When Heiji turns to look at them, Shinichi is still typing into his laptop, probably doing some essay for his literature class. 

“She eats too goddamn loud. I can hear everything—her chewing, munching, swallowing—it drives me crazy! And it’s so annoying because I can’t hate her,” Heiji states, jabbing his finger at the couch and totally making a point.

“Why would you want to hate her?” Kaito asks, using his chopsticks to swirl around the remaining ramen in his bowl. “ I thought you⁠ li—nevermind.”

“Because she’s loud and she’s distracting me from studying in class,” Heiji says, glaring at the other boy.

Kaito looks up from his bowl. “She’s distracting you? Not.. you’re distracting her?” he asks, eyes narrowed looking cat-like and a lot more invested in the conversation. If there’s one thing Hattori Heiji is good at, it’s being ridiculously distracting at any given circumstance.

“Yes, and I don’t disturb nor distract people,” Heiji defends himself.

“So she’s loud… and you’re not.” Kaito repeats, this time more of a statement than a question, “And she’s distracting... and you’re not.” 

“Well, yeah,” Heiji shakes his head exasperatedly.

He’s about to snap at Kaito because this is getting ridiculous, but Shinichi joins in, looking up from his laptop. “For the record, Hattori, you’re the only one who thinks Kazuha eats that loud.”

Kaito says, with a quirk in his mouth, “The problem is on you, not her.”

What? “I don’t—”

“Kuroba is having a bowl of ramen and you don’t seem to even realize how messy he’s eating.” Shinichi points out, trying to get his message across the thick-skulled boy, earning an unamused look from Kaito instead.

Nobody says anything, the slurping sound Kaito’s making as he eats his instant ramen is the only sign of presence in the apartment. Heiji briefly recalls what she looks like eating a bowl of ramen. With broth smeared around her lips and still looking effortlessly delectable nonetheless.

“Exactly.” Shinichi finishes with an exasperated look dead set in his eyes, like the wise old man he is, and Heiji really, really hates his friends.

“I hate all of you,” he groans at them both.

“Nah, you don’t,” Shinichi says, turning back to his stupid laptop with that stupid smile on his stupid face.

Heiji trashes his limbs around their stupid couch just so he can make their living room look a lot messier. Very mature. Heiji is proud of himself.

“Nah, you don’t,” Kaito reiterates, getting up to put his bowl into the sink. “Also, you’re on dish duty today.” Heiji doesn’t think they’ve helped him at all.

“You should consider the fact that your brain simply shuts down and all your other senses are heightened whenever Kazuha is present,” is what Heiji hears and ignores before he shuts the world off with his arm draped across his forehead to cover his eyes and sulks away to his sleep.

•

Heiji drops in his usual seat beside Kazuha’s. She’s not here yet, so he concludes that her other class is running late. She walks to class with what looks like soft milk breads in her hand and has an almost unnoticeable smile on her face that she tries to hide by biting into her bread when she catches sight of him.

The next hour he finds himself trying to subtly catch glimpses of her eating. She’s so fucking adorable, sparkly eyes focused on the lecture and cheeks bulging out cutely as she stuffs her face with food. That bread must be so soft and delicious, but Heiji is more curious of how soft Kazuha’s cheeks would feel again under his palm.

It’s stupid, but he doesn’t try to suppress the smile that creeps up his face as he stares at her fondly and thinks that, yeah, maybe he can finally accept this.

•

It has become a habit that Heiji forgoes lunch every Tuesday and Thursday in favor of coming to chemistry class on time. That doesn’t stop him from getting some snacks, though, because food is a must and is absolutely important, even more so than chemistry.

Usually, he stops by the nearby vending machine to get a pack of chips before the lecture and no more. This time, Heiji buys two. He finishes his pack of chips and chucks the empty packaging into the trash can and walks to class.

The professor walks in right after and the lecture starts just as he takes a seat, placing the pack of chips on his desk and dropping his backpack onto the floor. When he looks to the side, Kazuha is sulking in her seat, slumping into her oversized camel coat grumpily. He still thinks she looks the cutest in them.

“Want food,” She whines audibly into the desk, frowning cutely. He makes no effort to resist the urge to reach over and pinch her cheek, so he did. Not before throwing an “ahou” her way to make him seem more sincere, of course.

He glances at the pack of chips on his desk. 

Kazuha looks up when he places it in front of her. “Food?” she asks, sitting up and looking at Heiji with an adorable, confused look on her face.

“Food,” Heiji says unintelligently.

The lights are turned off for a powerpoint presentation the professor is currently doing, but he can see the way her eyes narrow at him in mild suspicion. “What did you put in this?”

He turns at the expected accusation. “Nothing!” he says defensively, feeling attacked. She has apparently not forgotten their middle school prank wars. He sighs. “I just bought it. For you.”

She looks at him intently. There’s a moment of pause, and he shifts in his chair anxiously, before she raises a brow and gives him a small, knowing smile. “I thought you hated it when I eat in class?”

He is ready to respond to her with a snide remark, but it doesn’t come. Instead, he feels bold, confidence growing as he says, “I like watching you eat.” She is toying with the plastic packaging of the chips and grinning when he smiles happily at her.

“Not surprised. Because I eat very gracefully, unlike you.” She throws back at him, a teasing glint in her eyes as she continues to smile at him. Heiji never noticed until now, but their obligatory daily arguments have blossomed into something more comforting and teasing like these ones. He wonders why they used to yell at each other so much when they were younger.

Heiji tunes out the professor’s words as he watches Kazuha throw chips into her mouth, the frown gone from her face. He keeps his gaze until she’s done with the chips. "Do you want something else?" Heiji asks, keeping his voice down and leaning in.

She turns to him. "What do you mean?"

She doesn't tear her gaze as he reaches for his backpack and rummages in it. He smiles as she leans in curiously, trying to peek into his bag with that cute pout on her face. Her eyes widen when he fishes out a bar of chocolate and places it on Kazuha's table.

"Heiji," Kazuha whines, eyes narrowing as she stares at the chocolate bar. "You've eaten half of it," she states as a matter-of-factly.

He indeed has, just yesterday, because he was hungry and who wouldn’t if he knew he had chocolate in his bag? But he still wants to give it to her, because a hungry Kazuha without food is a sad Kazuha and a sad Kazuha is the recipe for a sad Heiji.

He shrugs, pretending to reach for the chocolate. “If you don’t want it, then…”

Her hand quickly lands on the chocolate before his does, covering it with her hand protectively. "Thanks," she says, reaching over to brush the back of her hand against his and smiling up at him with those expressive eyes. She unwraps the chocolate so she can bite into it even though they're clearly in the middle of a lecture, and Heiji can't even be angry at her. Instead he feels like vomiting butterflies and unicorns because Kazuha is so freaking cute and he has never been happier.

•

If Heiji had known that being Kazuha’s boyfriend would be this amazing, he would have stopped burying his feelings years ago and started looking for all the things he can hate Kazuha for since day one.

They’re in Heiji’s room, laptop perched at the end of Heiji’s bed and a bowl of half eaten popcorn left to rest beside it. Having kicked out an exasperated Shinichi and Kaito out of the apartment half an hour back, Heiji made sure that they have the door securely locked, just in case. It’s a fortunate thing, because, as it turns out, Kazuha has a completely different plan for them that does not involve watching the many Avengers movies he has saved into his laptop, and it’s not like he is complaining, anyway.

Kazuha has a downright feral grin on her face as she trails a palm down Heiji’s naked torso, fingers brushing lightly at the hem of his pants as she looks up at him with twinkling eyes. Her hair is tousled up from where he buried his fingers in her dark locks as they made out earlier and he gulps because he’s never seen anyone look so distractingly adorable and suffocatingly hot at the same time.

Heiji shudders at the lingering warmth of her breath on the skin just above where his pants are pulled taut because he’s so achingly hard and her teasing isn’t helping.

“Heiji,” Kazuha purrs, peering up from under long lashes and the ends of her lips pulled up into a feline smile.

He breathes out, grip tightening on the sheets as he pushes down the urge to buck up because it’s only been fifteen minutes and he’s already so desperate.

“Heiji,” He really likes the way Kazuha says his name. “Remember when I had that ice cream? Want me to do exactly what I did to it⁠—” a wet tongue darts out to lick at where skin meets the seam of jeans to leave wet trails behind and he groans as she smirks in satisfaction “⁠—to you?”

“Kazuha,” Heiji hisses out as a warning, feeling like he’s on the brink of exploding because she is so torturously slow. Too slow.

“Want me to lick you up?” Kazuha dips down to take the head of his pants’ zipper in between her teeth. “Suck you dry?” Her palm is hot and welcome as it leaves a burning trail down Heiji’s sensitive ribs. “Swallow you down?”

“Kazuha. Just—” Heiji chokes into a stop when she hushes him up with a soft sound.

The kitty grin on her face makes him want to curse. “Do you want it?”

He looks down at her, chest heaving as he breathes hard. He closes his eyes, willing himself to think because thinking is hard when the body wants otherwise.

Fuck it. “Yes. Fuck, yes Kazuha. Do it.” He all but groans as soon as his mind registers, and doesn’t bother restraining himself from bucking up when she drags her head down, pulling the zipper open with her teeth. Her lips look so beautiful wrapped around the piece of metal and Heiji feels like the luckiest man on Earth to be the sole witness to that. He’s about to melt, physically and mentally, in all sense of the word.

Later, he finally finds out how the ice cream has felt with Kazuha’s lips wrapped around it in a tight, warm heat, and feels so damn happy because, let’s be real, now that he has her, he’s luckier than the luckiest man on Earth.

[purplesurveys]

1188

Have you ever shared a shower or bath with someone as an adult? I did it a couple of times with a past girlfriend, but I’m honestly not a fan of it unless I’m somewhere with a serious lack of bathrooms and it’s the only choice available. I like my space when I get myself all cleaned up lol.

What kind of pizza toppings do you like?  Different kinds of cheeses do it for me, really. If I absolutely have to pick toppings, I do like bacon, bell peppers, barbecue chicken, or onions on my pizza.

When did you first take a shot of alcohol?  I have no idea, actually. Maybe 20? 21? I never noted the year down. I don’t even know the first shot I ever took...if I had to guess, it was probably tequila.

Did you babysit for money when you were in middle school? No. I babysat because I was the eldest daughter and granddaughter in an Asian household, haha.

Who is your favorite band? How long have they been?  Paramore; 17 years, have loved them for 14.

Has the last person you kissed ever been to your house? Many times. She used to be a welcome guest.

Have you ever been to a spa?  I don’t think I’ve ever entered one, no. There’s been no reason to in the past.

When talking on the phone, do you place it against your left or right ear? Right. I don’t remember ever placing it on my left, come to think of it.

What’s your favourite Lunchables meal?  Idk, I’ve never had them. American thing, I’m guessing.

Do you like Bob Marley?  I don’t hold an opinion on him; I’ve never tried listening to his music.

Have you ever eaten at Golden Corral? Nope, I don’t know what that is, either.

Do you sit and eat dinner at the same table with your family?  Yes, we have dinner together every night. We’ve been doing it since the start of the pandemic; and, with that, since my dad has had to stay at home since he can’t report to work anyway considering the situation. I imagine we’d be back to eating separately once he can report back to his job.

Are you listening to any music right now? If so, what are you listening to?  Yeah, I’m listening to Map of the Soul: 7 and UGH! just started playing. This is such a good FUCKING album it’s absolutely insane how good it is. Whatever spirit possessed BTS throughout 2019 to produce an album this unbelievable wasn’t playing.

Who was the last person to make you genuinely smile?  Hobi, since I rewatched the Run BTS segment where he called Conan O’Brien ‘Curtain.’

Is there something you want to say to someone but can’t/won’t? No.

Do you like men who have a sensitive side?  I think it’s nice when anyone has a sensitive side and isn’t ashamed to be in touch and expressive with their emotions. Doesn’t have to apply to just guys.

Have you ever tried to get someone into a certain band/artist?  I don’t do that with any of my interests because I don’t want to potentially irritate or bore someone, or to potentially face the disappointment I’d feel when they don’t end up being enthusiastic about what I’m into. I’m totally okay with my interests just being My Thing, no need to drag other people into them.

Have you ever carved you and someone else’s initials into a tree?  Nopes.

Do you like Dairy Queen?  Just some items, like their Oreo Frappe or whatever it’s called. I’m not a big fan of ice cream cakes and I’ve never really explored their Blizzards.

Is there anyone you know with an amazing personal success story?  Andi.

Is there a song in a different language that you can sing? Well Filipino is my first language rather than English, so yes.

How do you feel about bands that use pyrotechnics in live concerts?  I’ve never experienced this other than One Direction using fireworks at the end of their concert here (and they weren’t launched from the stage either, but somewhere backstage), so I don’t really know what to feel about this other than they should just make sure they’re following safety protocols and standards to avoid mishaps.

Ever fallen down a hole?  I don’t think so.

Do you like bananas?  Not so much, but I don’t passionately hate it as much as I do other fruits. I do like some dishes that incorporate banana, like banana bread and banoffee pie. Recently I discovered Korean banana milk and it ended up tasting pretty good!

How long do you normally spend in the shower? Not even 10 minutes, usually. I've never understood how people can take such long showers. < Yeah, pretty much on the same page. The only times I take a while is if I feel like shaving, but otherwise I shower quickly. Maybe around 4–7 minutes at most.

Have you ever been a featured member on any website?  I don’t think that ever happened, at least when having featured members was still a thing.

Have you ever had any weird pets?  Nope.

Are you currently talking to/texting/instant messaging anyone?  I am not. Though I know I have unread messages from Andi...I just don’t feel like checking them right now.

Have you ever experienced insomnia?  Only when I was a teenager. It’s been a while since I’ve faced any trouble in trying to fall asleep.

Do you like egg nog? I’ve never had a chance to try it but it sounds delicious, and I would definitely take a sip the first opportunity I get.

Would you ever wear Converse with a prom/formal dress?  I don’t see why I would have to but if it’s just for funsies, it sounds pretty harmless so yeah, I would.

Do you prefer hot chocolate with or without marshmallows?  Withoooooooooout. I’ve never understood marshmallows.

How many different people of the opposite sex have you cried over?  In a romantic sense, none. But I’ve cried for other reasons, like when I mourned over my grandpa and Nacho.

Would you rather be a surgeon or mortician?  Surgeon, since there’s a tiny part in me that had always wanted to take up med school.

Would rather be a musician or a painter? Painter, if anything. I’m not creative by any means, but I feel like I’d enjoy a lot more freedom with painting.

Would you rather write your own book or make your own movie? [continued from last night] Write my own book I suppose, but I could only work with non-fiction. I’d embarass myself if I had to write something not based off of real life.

At home, do you have a trampoline? No. But this reminds me of when we’d go to Rita’s place to have meetings whenever we couldn’t hold them in school. She’s the richest one out of all of us, lives in a very old money village, big-ass house, big-ass kitchen, big-ass receiving areas (plural)...and they also have a nice trampoline in their big-ass yard. We always used to horse around in there as soon as we were done with our meetings.

When you are about to go to bed, do you put on some sort of noise?  I used to put on a YouTube video that would entertain me enough to feel relaxed and eventually sleepy, but I haven’t done that in the last few weeks. These days I usually look for a fanfic to get absorbed in, then I read until my eyes start feeling heavy.

What is your favorite Christmas movie?  Love Actually or It’s A Wonderful Life.

And what about your favorite Christmas song?  It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas makes me feel festive and fuzzy.

What is your ultimate favorite stocking stuffer?  My family doesn’t really keep up with this tradition. I remember how our grandparents would fix up stockings for us when we were much younger, but they were usually filled with candy. 

After Halloween, do you sort out all of your candy into little piles?  I never collected candy for Halloween.

When you listen to music with headphones, do you keep the volume low enough to hear surrounding noise faintly, or do you blast it?  Depends. The rare times I’m working and do feel like putting headphones on, the volume has to be just decent enough so I can still focus. If I’m not doing anything else or at least doing something that doesn’t involve too much ~brain activity~, I like my music very loud.

What did you have for breakfast this morning?  It doesn’t really count as breakfast but I’m currently finishing off the remaining two pieces of McNuggets I got last night. 10 pieces is apparently too many for my appetite, haha.

What’s the largest animal you’ve ever had as a pet?  Cooper has probably been the biggest and heaviest so far.

Do you own any kind of helmet?  We have a bike helmet here at home, but it’s not exclusively mine.

Out of everything currently in your refrigerator, what food or drink is your favorite?  I don’t memorize the fridge so I can’t tell you my favorite food that’s currently in it; as for drink, I just stick to cold water.

What’s the worst injury you’ve ever had?  Sprained ankle after I tripped at one of the parking lots in school.

Do you like the taste of cough syrup?  I’ve never had it.

What is something you like to have conversations about?  People with experiences vastly different from mine, because it lets me explore different perspectives. It’s why I always look forward to family reunions with one of my uncles - who’s a foreigner, from a very different country - since he’s able to share a lot of fun and reflective stories about his life and stuff he did in his youth, stuff I never got to experience and live through.

What all is in the trunk of your car?  The trunk used to be my trash can lmao, back when I was still driving everyday. My mom has since cleared it out since the beginning of the pandemic; I believe only a laptop bag is sitting there now.

Do you ever put fruit on your cereal? No. I don’t even eat either.

Is your heat or air conditioning currently on?  My electric fan is. I don’t turn on the aircon until the evening.

Have you ever fallen off of a horse?  Nopes.

Which do you value more, your appearance or your intelligence?  Both are important to me.

When was the last time you drove something other than a car or truck?  I don’t remember. I’ve only ever driven cars.

Were your grandparents present when you were born?  Neither set wasn’t in any of the photos from my birth, so I don’t think so...? My maternal grandparents definitely wouldn’t have been present, since my parents had been living in Manila then.

If you drink/smoke, how often do you do these things?  I vape...pretty much all day. I’m doing it while taking this survey. As for drink, I would say 1-2 times a month. Usually after a particularly grueling shift.

What do you think of fast food?  I love it. Unabashedly. I just don’t have them a lot because I don’t find it filling and the quality is obviously lower; but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t like the way fast food tastes.

What website do you spend the most time on and why?  Google Suite, if it counts. I work 5 days a week; it’s pretty much an extension of me at this point.

What’s the most amount of time you’ve spent online? Is this usual for you?  All day. I’m always using the internet to do things. I used to be embarrassed of it, but these days I feel like having a connection is virtually an essential.

When it comes to travel, what kinds of places intrigue you most? Museums, historical sites, cultural sites, and spots where they show you how they do practices native to the place. I’ve always been about immersing myself in the cultures of the places I visit.

What is the farthest you’ve walked in one day and what made you do it?  I remember having to walk for a very very very VERY long time when we were in Bali - my family wanted to explore more of the city - and the weather wasn’t cooperative at all, so I ended up feeling super cranky. I remember also walking around a lot in Shanghai, but that was a slightly better experience since the city was incredibly lively and there were a lot of things to see and stop at; not to mention the weather was also kinda pleasant. The cold was biting but I would always rather be too cold than walk around with sweat-soaked clothes.

What is something important that’s often on your mind lately?  Our financial situation what with Covid affecting both my parents’ jobs. We get by enough for me not to worry too much, but I also hope my dad can get called back to his ship soon just so I can finally exhale with relief.

What about something unimportant, but you can’t stop thinking about it?  My workplace recently introduced this workout challenge thingy for the month of May that we’re invited to join to encourage us to get fit and healthy. I get notifications whenever someone’s able to exercise for the day and it makes me feel super pressured hahahaha. Since I don’t wanna be known as a killjoy co-worker I know I’ll have to take part in it, which I will start on later.

Do you like oatmeal? If so, what kinds of things do you like in it?  No. Back in elementary my grandma made me eat oatmeal every day for breakfast before heading to school, so I don’t ever want to have another bowl of it.

What was going on the last time you felt nostalgic?  My family and I were having a conversation during dinner last night and for some reason it eventually veered towards mine and my sister’s experiences from our first school and how we managed to get up at 5 AM everyday, have classes from 7 AM–4 PM, then get home from anywhere between 5–6 PM for 14 years straight. How tf did we do that and never complain???

How much attention do you pay to the movements of the stars and planets, and do you believe they influence anything?  None.

What is the most difficult or involved video game you’ve ever played?  While I love watching playthroughs, I am not skilled at video games at all and in most video games I’ve played I never made it past the first mission, unless I was playing a Nintendo game that’s already marketed for kids in the first place lol.

Which accent do you find most sexy, alluring or appealing?  There’s a certain British accent I find very pleasant to listen to, but since I know there are a lot of variations I’m just not sure which one it is. I guess an accurate point of reference would be Hugh Grant’s or Florence Pugh’s accent.

Which accent do you find most annoying, disturbing, or bothersome?  None of them.

Can you cry on cue? Is it any kind of useful?  Nope.

Does it take you a while to actually get jokes?  Sometimes.

Can you wear socks to bed or does it annoy you?  I don’t really like the feeling of socks, so no. I find them a bit itchy, and too tight.

Have you ever bleached your hair?  Never done it before.

Do you like jelly beans?  Erm, it would depend on the flavor, I guess. But they aren’t so much my snack of choice. The texture is a bit weird.

Do you have trouble sleeping when it’s storming?  Not at all, I feel a lot cozier when it’s raining hard.

Who was the last person you know that graduated? (high school or college)  Sofie posted her graduation photo not too long ago, so probably her.

Were you happy or sad when you found out your babysitter was coming?  I never had a babysitter because I was the babysitter.

Did you have a boyfriend in kindergarten?  No. I went to an all-girls school, so I didn’t even get to interact with a lot of boys until the middle of high school.

Did you ever read the Magic Treehouse series?  Nope.

Who was your best friend in elementary school?  Angela. I was also friends for a long time with a girl named Jaynie, with whom I actually started to reconnect ever since she found out I was now into BTS. I find it so cool; I don’t think I’ve talked to her since the 2nd grade, 15 years ago.

Did you ever watch The Land Before Time movies?  I didn’t.

Did you collect anything when you were a kid? Stickers. I'd put them on my dresser everywhere to the point it was absolutely covered. < Literally this entire answer; I don’t have any clue how my overly neat mom managed to never spank me for destroying her closet. I also liked collecting Pokemon cards and pogs even though I never knew how to use them. It just felt nice having large stacks of them lol.

Did you get an allowance?  Not until high school. My grandma (and eventually househelp, when we moved) fixed up packed lunches for me and my siblings. When my mom decided to stop having house helpers at home, that’s when she started giving us an allowance to buy recess and lunch ourselves.

Were you into American Girl dolls?  I was never into dolls in general. Since my sister and I were the only girls at home, we were surrounded by toys marketed for boys and that’s what I enjoyed playing with more.

Were you friends with your childhood neighbors?  We played with the neighborhood kids every afternoon but I wouldn’t call them friends. I was a very shy kid and I found them too rowdy for my liking, especially the boys.

What was your biggest fear when you were a kid?  Flying cockroaches. It’s still one of them.

Did you ever play the "Reader Rabbit" computer games?  I don’t think so.

Did your parents let you drink soda growing up? I’m pretty sure they would’ve allowed me to, but I just never liked the feeling of fizzy drinks so I never drank soda anyway.

What was your favorite kind of cake as a kid?  I think I liked mocha sponge cakes growing up, but that has changed now.

[dragonpigeons]

Roommates Part 2

Tags/warnings: Deku x Reader, Deku x Self-insert, Slowburn, SFW, Aged-Up Characters, Roommates AU, Pro Hero Deku, Deku thirst. Other characters to be added in future parts including OCs.

Summary: Riida gets an idea over Deku’s eating habits. Also pizza. Word count: 1959

A/N: Thanks to everyone who read Part 1 :) Here’s Part 2, enjoy! Part 3 is out on my Patreon 🎉

====

Your room was your haven to be free to express yourself. And by expressing yourself that really meant expressing your love for Deku in every corner possible. You had a shelf full of his figurines. The walls were covered in his posters. Your bed covers had his face on. Your deku hug pillow took up one half of your bed along with all the chibi Deku cushions and plushies. And, of course, you had a few Deku hoodies, sweaters, scarves and socks in the closet, not to mention all the Deku charms adorning your Deku bag. You even had a pair of Deku undies stuffed in the back of your drawer which your friends jokingly gifted you for your birthday and which you deliberately chose to forget about.

In short, you were a massive fan of the pro hero. Your love for him extended into the online world where you were a top member of his fanclub and often enjoyed seeing any news about him. The fanclub was the reason for your private collection of images and videos of him in your hard drive and phone. You were often teased for your Deku passion but you didn't really care. What you felt for him was simply admiration as a fan.

So then why, for the past few days, have you been so nervous, and why, on this morning, were you hiding around the corner from where Deku was doing his morning workout?

The answer was this - he was topless yet again but this time he was doing handstand press ups. When you came to the doorway, you were met with a full frontal assault of his back, rippling with glorious muscles. It took everything in you not to scream.

So you dove round the corner to gather yourself, feeling like some higher being was testing you. Your entire face was burning, your chest was palpitating. You never thought in a million years that you would become this way around your favourite hero. Sure, you had imagined meeting him at a signing event or something, but those were very casual and very quick to get it done and over with. There wouldn't be time to feel anything other than a short burst of joy at meeting your idol. Not to mention he'd be fully clothed too and not half as hormone-inducing.

You took a few deep breaths to calm yourself down before emerging into the kitchen.

"Hey," Deku's eyes lit up when he noticed you, pausing his workout for a moment, "I put the kettle on just before so it should still be hot."

"Oh, okay. Thanks."

You ate your breakfast in silence purposely avoiding Deku's sweaty physique, lest you risk giving yourself heart palpitations. He was very dedicated to the cause though. You wondered about his morning habits.

"How early do you get up to do your workout?" you decided to ask him.

"Pretty early!" said Deku, perking up at being asked a question by you. "Around 5am? Sometimes 5.30 if I want a bit of a lie in."

You raised your eyebrows. You couldn't help but be impressed. "Do you work out everyday?"

"Yeah. Except Sundays. They're my days off. It's bad to overwork your body. But I like doing them because it clears my mind for the day ahead."

"I see. Being a pro hero must be quite stressful."

"Not more than any other job, I imagine."

You had your doubts that a pro hero went through the same stresses as someone with an office job but you let it slide.

"What made you choose to live here?" you asked.

"Simple, really. One, I like the space where I can do my daily workouts. And two, it's in a secluded location where I can afford to get some privacy.”

You found you agreed with his reasonings. The apartment was very spacious given the okay price of the rent and it was out-of-the-way from more popular areas. You personally liked it because it meant quiet nights and humble surroundings.

“Oh, by the way,” continued Deku, “don't tell anyone I live here. The landlady knows and she's signed a confidentiality contract. So yeah, if you were thinking of bringing a boyfriend over or-- just let me know and I’ll stay out of the way."

"I don't have a boyfriend," you corrected him.

"Really?? But, you're so pretty. I thought you would have one for sure."

You almost spat out your food, suddenly hit by that bombshell out of nowhere. It was fortunate Deku had his back to you. Your face was burning red hot and there was no way you could face him at the moment. You decided to steer the conversation another way, clearing your throat, "Would I need to sign a confidentiality contract too?"

"Huh? Oh, er, maybe. I'll talk to my agent about it."

Deku finished his reps and hit the shower.

And you went to work with your face almost permanently red for the whole day any time you thought about his pretty compliment. And you thought about it pretty often.

---

Deku installed a pull-up bar the next morning. He had a black sleeveless top on this time but that did nothing to detract from his bulging arms. Furthermore, he looked good in black. Not that you hadn't seen pictures of him in black before, but combined with pull-ups and it was a knockout sight.

You stuttered as you greeted him good morning.

"Good morning!" Deku greeted back jovially. "What's for breakfast today?"

"Toast. And jam," you replied, deliberately opening your fridge.

"And drink?"

"Just a glass of milk."

"You're always so healthy in your meals," appraised Deku warmly.

"I try," you shrugged, "but sometimes I can't resist a ramen cup or a pizza takeout."

"I get you," said Deku, in a way that was like he was proverbially nodding his head, "nothing like a good pizza to satisfy a craving."

You were spreading jam on your toast when Deku suddenly said, "Hey, I know - let's have pizza tonight!"

"P-pizza?"

"I've been craving it lately and then you happened to mention it. Perfect timing, right? How about it?"

And that was how you ended up sharing two large pizzas with the No.1 Hero several hours later after he got back from work. He even went the extra mile and got dessert and cola too.

You enjoyed your pizza, savouring the taste. Next to you, it seemed Deku was enjoying a whole lot more, cramming it all into his mouth like no tomorrow.

"This is so good," said Deku with his mouth full.

"Mm, yes," you agreed, finishing a slice.

"I haven't eaten since 10."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah," Deku wolfed down two slices in one go. "Was busy with a train incident."

You recalled seeing on the news how a villain group boarded a running freight train, wanting to take the cargo for themselves. Deku managed to stop the group in their tracks with the help of a few pro heroes. The whole thing caused a mess for many passenger trains though and services became delayed. Deku and the other heroes had to sort out the chaos working together with the authorities.

You stared at Deku, asking out of concern, "Do you often skip lunch?"

"I mean, yeah. I'm pretty busy with stuff. It's not just the patrol stuff, there's also all the paperwork and side gigs too. But that's why I like to go all out when it comes to dinner--" He finished his entire 18" diameter pizza by himself in five minutes flat. You watched as he downed a two-litre bottle of cola in one sitting too. A trail escaped from the corner of his mouth and slid down his throat, bobbing over his adam's apple. You quickly turned back to your pizza feeling warm all of a sudden. It was probably the jalapenos, you told yourself.

"Hey, do you mind if I have an extra slice?" Deku eyed your pizza box which was still two-thirds full.

"Sure, have as many as you want. I won't be able to eat all that anyway."

"Really?? Thanks so much!"

Deku gorged himself generously on your leftovers. You had to wonder, if he was skipping meals, was he really holding up the best he can? "It seems bad that you're skipping meals as a pro hero, to be honest," you admitted out loud.

Deku nodded somberly, "I know but I can't turn my back on those who need help to go and fill my stomach.”

You personally disagreed with the pro hero. No job was worth risking your own health, even one as well spotlit as his. You were sure other fans would agree, some even commenting their observations on how Deku was looking on the thinner side lately. A little idea started to form in your head which you would check out the next day.

---

The Deku Fanclub forums were lively as usual this evening with all the banter and discussions surrounding the hero himself. There were some truly diehard fans, bordering on obsessive stalker-ness, who provided endless entertainment and 'exclusive' pictures of the green-haired man out and about. Sometimes they got him on his way to the gym. Sometimes he was caught in action. Sometimes it was a shot focusing heavily on his butt. And that wasn't even the worst of it, but you were there for something else.

You clicked on one thread which caught your eye. It was about Deku's eating habits. Many theorised and agreed that he was eating at least three meals a day and snacking on lots of fruits and protein bars in between. One Deku Diehard (it was its own label for the extremely dedicated Deku fan), however, put together an entire hypothetical itinerary of Deku's schedule for the past several days and proposed that he wasn't getting the recommended three meals a day because there simply wasn't time.

You found a reply to this comment that talked about what Deku should be eating in order to attain, and maintain, his good form. Lots of talk about protein and carbs. A chicken breast here, a salmon fillet there, a scattering of beans throughout, and some tasty meal plans. You bookmarked the meal plans.

That evening you cooked too much for lunch, enough for two people. The next morning you took out the extra portion and sat it on the counter, mentally rehearsing what you were going to say as Deku worked out in front of you. This time he was doing one-armed pull-ups, which wasn’t entirely helping your cause to pass this off casually but you had to remain focused.

"Um, Deku," you uttered nervously. "Last night I made too much food for myself, and I was wondering… W-would you like the extra portion? Not that you have to accept or anything--"

Deku dropped from the bar and said, "Really, you would give me your extra food??"

He leapt over to the counter in excitement, picking up the container. "Chicken and potatoes. No wonder it smelt so good in the kitchen last night!" He grinned widely, then with a knowing look, "It's because I said I skipped lunch yesterday, isn't it?"

"Um, well…"

You were seen right through by Deku. You didn’t think he would remember but here he was, smiling at you, eyes crinkling in gratitude. "You didn't have to do that for me. I really appreciate it though. This way I won't skip a meal. I can't let your hard work go to waste so I promise to finish every last bit!"

You gave a shaky smile back, hoping it wouldn’t taste too terrible to him. You were not the greatest cook but you at least wanted to try your best for the hero you admire.

====

A/N: A longer part this time but I hope you enjoyed it! Let me know in the comments your thoughts :D

[raging-violets]

Stargirl: At All Hours // Rick Tyler

By: Rhuben

Words: 2,829

Note: Kind of a character study for Rick Tyler. This all came together after noticing that Rick walked everywhere.

Also found on: AO3 and FFN

Summary: Rick Tyler has the weight of the world on his shoulders. A weight he never asked for. Managing his grief and anger over his parents' sudden death, his schoolwork, fixing his car to have some sort of reliable transportation, and the nightly calls to pick up his unruly uncle from the bar always had him on the move.

--

Rick settled back in his chair, one arm draped over the back, and peered up at Principal Bowin unperturbed. His stomach growled. Principal Bowin’s eyebrows lifted. Letting out a humorless laugh, he parted his lips and said, “It’s a stupid box of candy. Barely anyone in this school likes it, let alone buys it.” He used his index finger to jab at the desktop. “It’s on that cart, day after day, and no one touches it.”

“That doesn’t mean you can just take it. Nothing in this life is free, Mr. Harris.”

“Whatever.”

Principal Bowin pursed her lips. She crossed her arms over her chest. A moment later she clasped her hands together in front of her. A tight smile came to her face. She wasn’t going to press the issue any further. It never made a difference. “Maybe you could use this time to think about your actions today.” She then turned on her heels and strode out of the detention room.

Sighing through his nose, Ricky slumped down in his seat. Tilting his head back towards the ceiling, he placed his hands over his face before he pushed his fingers into his hair. A stupid box of Nutty Buddys. That’s what this was all about. He was hungry, didn’t want a stupid room-temperature pre-made “for the kids who can’t afford a lot” sandwich that’s been sitting out all morning. So, he took a box of candy. Big deal. He’d think about his actions all right. He’d think about how he had little money after buying his lunch in the first place, and no one would think twice about a box of candy just sitting out in the open.

It’d last him until the morning, at least. At most, until the next time his uncle Matt could pull himself together long enough to get to the grocery store. Even then, however much he’d manage to get was dependent on how much he spent at the bar each night. It wasn’t the healthiest option, he knew, but it tasted good. The chocolate, the peanut butter, all wrapped around that layer of wafer. Absolutely mouth-watering.

And, it was a nice change from another bowl of ramen. They were even running out of that.

Pulling his gaze from the ceiling, Rick leaned forward in his seat and folded his arms on his desk. He stretched his lower back as he settled his chin on his arms. He flickered his eyes towards the trickle of students coming to serve their own detention, before setting them back onto the chalkboard at the front of the room. Bring your schoolwork. He snorted. As if anyone could focus on their schoolwork when just about everything else was so much more important. Like getting something to eat. His stomach growled again, and he pressed his fist into his stomach.

His days always started about five in the morning. Climbing out of bed, first thing he’d do was pack his bookbag of all the textbooks and the homework he half-finished the night before that lay strewn about his bed. Maybe a pen would be stuck to his cheek. A page ripped out of his notebook from where his leg was strewn across it. A textbook laid across his chest, heavy. It was better, he came to understand, to come to school with some of his homework done than to not bring it at all. It lessened the disappointed stares, and the “I know you can do better” head shakes he would get in response to his mumbled explanation of doing his best. When he bothered to give an explanation at all, anyway.

Quietly stepping into the living room to make sure his uncle was still sleeping, let alone still breathing, Rick would pick up the half-eaten plates of food, crunch over the chips that lay strewn across the carpet, and jostle the cans of Red Bull that sat atop the coffee table – at some point in the night, it had been shoved out of its usual position. Once the mess was cleared away, he’d set out a new, clean glass of water and some aspirin before shaking his uncle awake.

“Wha-whatsgoinon?” Matt asked, managing to lift an eyelid with what Rick could only guess was with great effort.

“Get up,” Rick would reply shortly, swinging his arm out of the way to avoid the slap or punch Matt would aim his way. He had learned to anticipate some aspect of retaliation over the years after showing up at school with a black eye and a cut cheek on a handful of occasions. Most times, Matt usually managed to succeed in a swing and a miss, knocking himself to the floor. Rick had also learned to keep his distance between himself and the nauseous smell of unbrushed teeth and stale alcohol breath…and whatever Matt might have possibly thrown up in the middle of the night. “Get in the shower.”

“Don’ tell me what to do,” Matt grumbled, tucking his arms underneath his chest to push himself up into a seated position. “Get out of my way.”

“Aspirin,” Rick said, indicating the white pills on the table, “Water. Knock yourself out.” Then, he would turn and leave his uncle to his own devices. After taking a quick shower, while there was still warm water, he’d throw on a pair of jeans with faded oil stains (though, he wasn’t sure he even owned anything that wasn’t oil stained by now), grab his shoes that seemed to soak up every inch of water whenever it rained, and throw on a long-sleeved shirt that was starting to stretch out at the collar. He’d step outside to continue his, seemingly, never-ending work on his car.

The very same car his dad had given him a model of the night he died. The model that sat in the center of his dresser. That was clutched tightly in his hand during his funeral. Often he wondered how far he’d be in restoring the old car by now if he had his father there to help him.

It had taken him ages to save up the money to buy the parts he needed. Whenever his uncle remembered to give him allowance for the chores he did around the house, he was able to slowly accrue the parts bit by bit. Luckily, with Blue Valley’s junkyard he was able to get the parts at a decent price – as long as the right sizes and pieces could be found. Even with the fancier cars driving around town, it could be hit or miss at times. With his own interest in fixing cars, he at least didn’t have to worry about the cost of labor – and the occasional library book helped him whenever he got stuck enough (always returned on time to avoid any overdue fines).

He could work for an hour or two before his uncle really managed to get himself up for the day.

Once it was clear his uncle Matt was awake and ready for the day, in the shower or changing in his room, Rick would slip back inside in search for something to eat for breakfast. If there was anything at all. Sometimes there were cold leftovers he could scrounge together. A potato or half-eaten two-day old pizza or something. Sometimes they even had enough milk for a bowl or two of cereal. Toast wasn’t out of the question; the bread was pretty good at settling his stomach from how long it had been since he had last eaten anything.

When Matt was ready to leave for the day, Rick would already be back working on his car. Trying to stay out of the way as much as possible. The car never talked back, at least not with words. Whatever sound it decided to make when he attempted to start it was a pretty good indication of what the next step was in his attempt to bringing it to life. Or lack of sound as the case may be. But all parts had a place, working together to give it motion.

So much unlike the two of them.

Rick was never even offered a ride into town to get to school. And he learned not to ask for it lest he wanted to get the same scathing look he had received every day since the funeral. It was Rick’s fault Matt wasn’t a billionaire. Rick’s fault they weren’t living within their means. Rick’s fault that Matt had to leave whatever it was he was doing to talk to the principal, again, about his anger. The reason why life was hard. The reason why he drank. The reason why he had to go into town every single day in an attempt to find a job lest their $50,000 run out.

If he’s even looking for a job, Rick would think with a roll of his eyes as he watched dust kick up from the rotating tires of Matt’s truck. He’d watch him disappear down the long dirt driveway, a small part of him hoping that it wouldn’t ever return. But, with the house finally his, he’d clean up the living room, remove as much dirt and grime from his face, hands, and clothes as he could, (and when he couldn’t he’d don his dark jacket), and leave to start his long walk to school with his backpack hanging loosely off his shoulder.

Maybe he’d make it to school on time. Maybe he’d show up a few, ten, or fifteen minutes late. Maybe he’d never show up. Maybe one day he could walk right past that tree. But for now, he’d always stop to pay his respects. To mark off another day on this earth without his parents. Another day where his anger churned and roiled so deep inside him, he wasn’t sure if he would ever learn what it was like to just be normal. To not feel like punching out the lights of the first person that looked at him sideways. Or even worse, that pitied him and still did nothing to help. No one ever asked how he was feeling. If he was alright.

He wasn’t. He never would be.

School wasn’t anything he ever really tried hard at. He tried hard not to fall asleep at his desk, sure. He tried hard to stop his stomach from growling so loudly. If he got to school early enough to buy what was left of a breakfast, usually a piece of fruit, it helped a little. There just wasn’t anything of interest he was studying – math was never hard for him, not with how smart his dad was. Blue Valley was a small town, one that most people never really left. And most people didn’t expect him to get into college, anyway. So, why even bother?

Lunch time wasn’t any better. Between forcibly being sequestered at the “Singles” table, listening to Beth Chapel blather on and on and on about whatever to her parents (and she could talk about anything), and Yolanda Montez who would just sigh every few minutes while mindlessly spearing at her salads, it was enough to drive anyone crazy. Still, day after day, he took his usual seat and sat in silence. (He trained himself not to look at the good food Beth seemed to bring in every day –perfectly portioned for herself, not enough to share; not that he’d ask – but through it.) Even if they didn’t talk to each other, there was some comfort in not having to sit by himself anymore. Not that he’d say that out loud. Ever.

Then after school, if he managed not to get a detention that day, he’d start the long trek home, stopping by the local general store for a soda. An energy drink. Anything with enough sugar or caffeine to wake him up long enough to attempt to work on his homework as soon as he got home. However much he could get through with their crappy Wi-Fi. When it got too much, he’d take a break and work on the car again. Dinner was spent by himself. And the people on the TV greeted him with a new episode of whatever hit TV show was airing at the time. Whichever shows he could get on the basic package of cable they could afford. Still, Rick would just flip through the channels, letting his mind wander.

Waiting.

Then he would get the call. “Hey, man, you need to come pick-up your dad. He’s not doing well.” Not doing well. Got into a fight. Threatened to have the police called on him. It didn’t matter. That meant he had to make another trek back into town. Another trip where no one would stop long enough to see if he wanted a ride. Once in Blue Valley he’d have to fight to pull Matt away from the bar, forcing the keys out of his hand, and drive him back home where he would only make it as far as the couch before he passed out. Or the call wouldn’t come, and he’d get back to his homework, trying to stay up, making sure his uncle returned safely only to be jolted awake by the front door crashing open and Matt’s grumbling as he managed to stumble his way inside.

Wash.

Rinse.

Repeat.

But today, there was a small change in his day. Enough to pull him out of autopilot and take notice. Not enough for him to care. Just notice. Today, there was a new girl at school: Courtney. He didn’t know who she was, but the whole school seemed to know she was new. After all, they had all grown up in Blue Valley together. They knew who a familiar face was and who wasn’t.

She wasn’t familiar. She was …too blonde? Too cheerful? Definitely the cheerleader type. And she wanted to join them. At their lunch table. And she was another one that wanted to talk.

He wasn’t about talking. He wasn’t about explaining to anyone knew why he was at the table, why he was considered one of them, the “losers” as Beth had called them. He wasn’t about getting that “I’m so sorry” look of pity again. So, he left. And he grabbed a box of candy on the way out. He was just freaking starving.

Think about my actions? Rick thought with a smirk. Yeah right. Why didn’t everyone else just stop and think for a minute as to why he could possibly do something like this? Then again, everyone thought he was a delinquent, so why not play into that? Be the guy they all thought he was. He knew he had a good reason for all of it. Even if no one else agreed with him. Or even wanted to hear it.

It was one thing in his life that he could control. He didn’t necessarily like detention. But it was quiet. It was an hour after school where he only had himself to worry about. An hour away from any and all responsibilities. An hour where he wasn’t Rick Harris. Not really.

He was just Rick.

Finally.

[yamithediaperdork]

Dragon’s roar (YGO)

Joey had a sinking feeling in his gut as he was on his way home from work. normally on a Friday night, and a payday at that, he'd of been happy to make his way back to his new home he shared with his loving boyfriend and his semi new little brother, the Kaiba boys, but he'd caught a glimpse of Mokuba and Yugi in a car heading for the turtle game shop. which meant if Mokuba was having a sleepover and it was date night.. "Aw fuck. I'm gonna be in huggies t'night." Joey groaned, getting a look of confusion from a nearby corporate type who was on his cell phone. "Mind yer own business." Joey huffed and sulked. Seto was a loving boyfriend, and spoiled Joey rotten in so many ways. Joey didn't need to walk to and from his security job at a mall, or even needed the job itself truth be told. But Joey liked to be able to be independent which sadly was a concept his loving boyfriend had some problems with. 'Ya would think someone who was taking collage classes and running a billion dollar company would get it.' Joey thought, slowing his walk down now that he knew what was waiting for him. Despite being seen as a cold and distant person by 90 percent of the world, Joey knew that under that layer of ice was..well more ice. but under THAT layer..well OK more ice. But if you dug down deep enough, there was this giant teddy bear that just wanted to hug you and pamper you. literally. and when Seto got in daddy mode, only one thing would get in his way of whining and begging Joey to let him pad him up. Mokuba. There was a reason Joey had been trying to start a Friday night tradition of pizza and movies but apparently Seto had been able to bribe his brother out of the house. 'And now I'm gonna get home and he's gonna have a pack of those freaking pampers out..and how the hell did he manage to get pampers to make diapers in my size anyways?! ...No you know what? I'm putting my foot down this time. I'm gonna go, have a beer, enjoy a few slices and maybe then I'll think about it!' Joey thought to himself, picking up the pace and walking though the front gate of the mansions yard, then slumped again. "...Oh who am i fucking kidding. it's gonna be milk and baby food and crapping myself tonight. He's taking me clubbing tomorrow night now though!" Joey muttered to himself. walking in he didn't even get a chance to call out that he was home before Seto was standing in front of him, holding up one of the thick massive pamper brand diapers. "Pleassssse?" Seto said and gave joey puppy eyes. "..I'm gonna draw up a list of demands and you're gonna cave into everyone of them. but yes. just let me get a shower first." Joey said, wondering again if the sweet and loving and rational boyfriend Seto was 90 percent of the time was worth the other 10 percent. "Deal!" Seto squealed and went to go and finish getting things ready.

Seto hummed and was grinning ear to ear as he laid out the diaper, some boosters, and a cute little outfit for the cutest big baby in the world, thinking about just how easy it had been to get Mokuba out of the house. One little fake rant about how he'd destroy the pharaoh and the like and Mokuba had asked to stay out for the night, tired of the crazy. The servants were given the night off so him and his adorable little big toddler could just cuddle and play and Seto was so lost in his thoughts he missed it as Joey tried to get his attention, till the wet towel hit him in the back of his head. "...really?" "hey, you want a big toddler, better learn ta pay attention." Joey said and shrugged and held up his hands. "...Your lucky your cute you know that?" "excuse me, but out of the two of us here, who's pushing their luck more?" Joey asked and winked, strolling over and then jumping up and turning mid jump to land on his back on the bed. "heh. Ok I'll give you that. Now did you go poo poo or pee pee at daycare today little guy?" Seto asked, getting into character and lightly tickling Joey's tummy. Joey rolled his eyes,he still wasn't on board with referring to his job as daycare, but taking a deep breath he switched on that baby tone that made Seto melt. "I went pee pee in the potty dis many times t'day daddy." He said and held up three fingers as a blush came to his face. "and I went all by myself!" "Oh my! Such a big boy!" Seto praised. "Daddies still gonna diaper you though since you have a stinky present in your tummy tum just waiting to come out." Seto coo'ed and then leaned down and tickled Joeys tummy more. "Who's got a big stinky present in his tummy tum? you do! yes you do!" knowing full well just how ticklish Joey's sides were Seto targeted them next, making the blond 20 year old yelp and burst into a fit of giggles. "ah! No fair! Cheating!" Joey cried out, trying to get free. "Noooo tickles!" "Sorry little guy, But i"m channeling the tickle monster, and you're monster food!" Seto chuckled. "Ahahahaha n-no stop ahahahaha W-wait I'm gonna!" Joey tried to wheeze out a warning between his laughs and Seto realized seconds to late maybe he should of stopped. Of course by then Joey was peeing on the front of his shirt and Seto stopped. "..I uh..had a big gulp on the way home." Joey said sheepishly, poking two fingers together as the flow finally stopped. "...I'm gonna choice to believe that was done to give me the full experience." Seto said and then lifted Joey off the bed, and onto a back up changing mat on the floor.

Joey was mortified as Seto powered him and got him tapped in the bulky white diaper, and found himself sucking on his thumb and blushing while Seto got out a different outfit for him. while his little accident had managed to avoid the diaper, the light blue short-alls and white diaper shirt hadn't of been so lucky.   'Now der's irony fer ya.' Joey thought, slurping away at his thumb. it was a bad habit he was picking up for all the date nights that turned into baby nights and it was starting to spill over to his big boy time. just the other day at work he'd had to claim he'd banged his thumb when busted by a co-worker. it was also a case of irony that even Seto wasn't a fan of the thumb sucking, which was shown as he turned around with a dark purple t-shirt and a pair of dark green shorts and scowled. "What do you think o- Little man! what have I told you about sucking your thumb?" Seto scolded Joey, coming over and setting the clothes down and pulling the thumb out with a pop. "Uhhh dat's good eating?" the diapered 20 year old tried, really feeling like he WAS just a 2 year old. "strike one." Seto said, trying not to smirk, as he reached into the diaper bag. "Thumbs like boyfriends are made for sucking?"  Joey said and gave his best 'I'm so cute you can't be mad' smile. "Maybe tomorrow if your good tonight. Last chance." Seto said and his mouth was twitching badly as he tried to stay stern. "...Little boys thumbs has germs on it and they should be sucking on paci's." Joey huffed and pouted. He just couldn't explain it, but Joey was of the view that hands down, his thumb tasted and felt better in his mouth then any of the many different pacifiers that they had tried. It was a semi holy quest of Seto's to find one that Joey wouldn't have a fuss about. Opening his mouth for the large nipple of the new paci, and noting it was at least black like his red eyes, Joey gave it a few experimental suckles. "well?" Seto asked. 'shit..dis one actually feels pretty good.' Joey thought, though he made a show of it and shrugged but kept nursing as Seto helped him sit up. with the paci in his mouth Joey instinctively became a lot more willing to play along, raising his arms for daddy and letting him tug the shirt on. then letting daddy help him stand and putting his hands on daddies shoulders while he stepped into his shorts, which were then tugged up. Then he sat on a bed of the bed he hadn't of soaked and raised his feet up as Daddy tugged up some white socks with the red eyes black dragon on them and grinned around his paci. "heh, I'm sorry we haven't gotten your red eyes shirt back from the dry cleaners left after last time. I still wanna know how you managed to turn your pasta into a paste and got it all over yourself though." Seto chuckled. Normally a statement like that would of had Joey all blushy, but again, this time.. He just smirked and flexed his arms. "oh i see. and here i am without tickets to the gun show." Seto teased and tapped a finger on Joey nose. Seto held out a hand for Joey to take, since normally Joey insisted on walking (or crawling if Seto triple diapered him) rather then be carried but he just felt all small and little and held out his arms for uppies. "...You..You sure?" Seto asked, grinning ear to ear, and Joey nodded. "...I'm buying the company that made that pacifier." Seto chuckled and lifted joey up and sat him on his hip, a arm under Joeys well padded tush. Joey leaned in and snuggled into daddy as he wrapped his legs around him and gurgled softly behind his paci as daddy carried them downstairs.

Seto couldn't get over the change in behavior from Joey's normal big baby time to this time.  there was no eye rolling, no smart ass remarks.when he'd sat Joey on a blanket on the floor with some toys, he'd gone and grabbed a stuffie of the red eyes and then scooted on his diaper butt, not even crawling, scooted, over to the couch and crawled up and snuggled into him. "you sure you don't wanna play with your toys little guy?" Seto asked. Joey shook his head no and snuggled in more and Seto for a second was worried about melting into good and getting sucked up but the couch's cushions. Seto put on a episode of Lil duelers for Joey and just kept looking at the little guy who was watching the show sure, but also seemed to be getting a little sleepy. about half way though Joey started to squirm a little bit and started to look up at Seto and then at the screen then back up at Seto and whined softly behind his paci. "whats wrong buddy?" Seto asked. if Joey was gonna keep the paci in his mouth this was going to get a little bit vexing to drag out what he wanted all the time, but Seto figured a few minutes of back and forth with the big baby was well worth the price of this cuteness. Joey whined again and then with one hand hugging his stuffie to his chest, he reached up and grabbed left hand and put it on back of his shorts, so his hand was on Joey's butt. "heh, I thought someone hated bum pats?" Seto asked, and Joey whined and gave him a pleading look. "ok ok, patting! don't give me that look again! You made me feel like a monster for not patting right away!" Seto said, half joking. the little guy giggled behind his paci and as Seto started patting and rubbing his butt Joey closed his eyes in bliss and snuggled in as much as he could. "So I guess this means anytime I wanna stop argument with you all i need to do is pop a paci in your mo-" Seto was saying when a muffled fart came out of Joey's behind, and Seto swore he could feel the heat from it. "heh, did you just wanna fart on daddies hand?" Seto asked, and Joey shook his head no, but his eyes were shut tight. it didn't look like his 'I'm so ashamed' face and Seto went to say something else when a second, louder and more forceful fart came out, followed but a rapid fire series of smaller ones. "Ohhh I see. Somebody wants bum pats while he makes daddy a present." Seto chuckled, and Joey nodded. His eyes were still closed but as Seto realized now, it was because he was bearing down and trying to speed up a bowel movement, or in baby term: make daddy a present as soon as possible. More farts now and Seto was thankful for the oder guard in the diapers, though he was still thinking he should of doubled diapered Joey as his hand was getting a little toasty. Joey was staining and pushing, and starting to work up a little bit of a sweat and Seto frowned. "Joey buddy, I know you wanna be a good boy and make me a present, but you can't just force it like this. you're gonna hurt yourself an-" Seto was saying in a gentle voice when with one mighty effort, the back of Joey's diaper started to expand. Normally Joey would of tried to hide, or pouted to use the potty before taking a dump in a diaper, but this time he was being such a good little boy even as the living room filled with the funk of his gift to daddy. The diaper and shorts by extension took on a interesting shape as Joey grunted and pushed. instead of just puffing out like it would normally do, it was making a semi triangle shape as it pushed out, causing the shorts to slide down. '...what the hell did he eat?' Seto thought but kept that to himself even as the smell had him taking shallow breath. 'Ok, no more food court lunches for him. I'm packing his lunch from now on.' As the bowel movement finished up, Seto rubbed Joey's back (he had switched from the boys butt when the lump had started to form and coo'ed softly at him. "All done now champ?" Seto asked. Joey looked more tired then before, his eyelids struggling to open up but he nodded his head. "Ready for a diapie change then?" Seto chuckled, and to his shock, Joey shook his head no. Normally Joey hated staying in a poopie diaper, and it was Seto who had to beg him to sit in it just for a few extra minutes. 'Go figure, the one time he's actually stinking the place up..' Seto thought. "Ok buddy. we'll let you take a little power nap, then change you, ok?" Seto asked. Joey gave a sleepy nod and then shut his eyes, gurgling and coo'ing as he drifted off to dream land. "...Your a toxic little mud butt. but your worth it." Seto said, stroking Joey's hair and smiling till anther loud fart came out into the back of the blond waste filled diaper. "But don't push it." Seto chuckled.

The end

[in-tua-deep]

i need you to know that every once in a while i go back and read your whole responsible luther au from start to finish and like.... i would legit read 100k of that and still want more, i LOVE that entire concept to PIECES and just kdjdjfhfl thank you for elaborating on that plot so much

adsfdDFSGHF i’m v flattered i will admit I myself didn’t expect to become as fond as I have with that particular au lmao i think it’s a combo of the way luther in that au is generally unflappable and “same shit as always” and the family actually getting together and being an actual family

Not even the big family stuff either just the dumb little interactions

(posts for this au here: one, two, three, four, five, six)

Like Luther comes home from work, exhausted, walks in and the first thing he sees as he walks in is Diego standing at the open fridge drinking straight from the milk carton.

“Diego.” Luther states, halfway incredulous because come on, “Do I live in a frat house? There’s glasses in the cabinet to your right and I know you know that.”

“What do you know about frat houses?” Diego sneers, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, “Not like any of us went to college, ‘les they give out degrees in sucking up.”

Luther presses his hands together and touches them to his mouth for a second of patience. “Diego,” He starts over, “What are you doing here?”

“Babysitting.” Diego shrugs, placing the milk back in the fridge and closing the door. Luther makes a mental note to buy more if only so that he doesn’t have to share in Diego’s gross mouth germs.

He can’t contain it. “For fu - is this what you do at home Diego? Do you even own glasses?”

Diego shrugs again, not even disguising the grin across his face. He likes pushing Luther’s buttons, like the absolute dick he is. “Just saving you on some washing up, Luth.” Diego informs him cheerfully, moving to pass him and clapping him on the shoulder in faux friendliness. 

Luther is about to make an very inadvisable movement (that movement being grabbing Diego and tossing him across the room and maybe pouring out the rest of the milk on top of his smug little - ) when Five pops into the room in a flash of blue.

“Luther!” Luther’s favorite brother greets him enthusiastically as Klaus stumbles out of his bedroom, brandishing a bottle of nail polish like a weapon. Judging from Five’s half-done fingers, it’s clear what they were up to. Luther has a feeling he’s going to end up with nail polish on his coat in a hot second.

It’s more of a surprise when Vanya walks out of the room as well, sporting electric blue painted nails and looking mildly uncomfortable. Of course, mildly uncomfortable is pretty much Vanya’s default state so Luther doesn’t think anything of it.

“Hello Five, hello Klaus.” Luther greets his roommates, smile plastered on his face, “Hello people who do not live here.”

“You need to get more eggs.” Diego tells him, not even looking abashed at Luther’s implied reprimand. Which, considering Diego procured a key weeks ago (which Luther did not give him) might be a little fair. It’s not like Diego isn’t invited maybe 25% of the time.

“Klaus called.” Vanya admits, “He said Diego was being boring and I needed to come over before someone was murdered. Probably Klaus, if we’re being honest.”

“Hey!” Klaus protests automatically, before tilting his head to acknowledge the point.

“Luther!” Five tugs at Luther’s coat insistently as he’s been doing pretty much since they walked out of the bedroom.

Well, time to pay attention to the little monster. Luther reaches down and swings his littlest brother up into his arms, earning a shriek even though it’s a familiar move at this point. 

“Ooh! Me too, me too!” Klaus crowds closer, making grabby hands. Luther sighs deeply but obliges, swinging Klaus up and over his shoulder easily and earning another delighted shriek. Luther wonders what it would be like without his super strength. Wonders how the rest of the world manages.

He ignores Diego’s look as he makes his way over to the couch, swaying both his brothers from side to side as they try and grab at one another. It’s a little bit like trying to balance a very tall stack of books with a wine glass on top - difficult but not exactly impossible. They certainly don’t try make it easier on him.

Having had enough, Luther calmly dumps both of them onto the couch. 

Vanya strolls over and plucks the bottle of nail polish out of Klaus’s hands, circling the couch and nudging him over so she can sit by Five where she wordlessly unscrews the cap and reaches out a hand for Five to put his into. Apparently it’s nail painting time again.

“What did you want, Five?” Luther asks, amused as he collapses into the big thrift store armchair with a quiet oof. 

“What’s for dinner?” Five asks, rolling his eyes.

Diego groans, “Ugh, that’s all he’s been asking for like, an hour.”

“I’m a growing boy!” Five protests, jerking his hands and earning himself a scolding shush from Vanya as the nail polish smears. She uses the corner of one of her own nails to clean it up a little. 

“Growing sideways,” Diego teases, reaching a hand out to ruffle Five’s hair. Unfortunately, it seems Five anticipated the move and Diego narrowly avoids the snap of Five’s teeth and the resulting shit eating grin.

“Luther!” Diego sounds scandalized, gesturing at their grinning brother as Klaus laughs quietly to himself.

“Children, behave.” Luther deadpans. 

“That’s what they say when we’re together!” Klaus immediately sings at the top of his lungs, making Vanya wince away and give him a look. Klaus shrugs unapologetically and she rolls her eyes, turning her attention back to her task.

“We should liberate Luther’s records from the house.” Five says, looking thoughtful.

“No one’s going to the house.” Luther vetoes, again. It’s like Five is just looking for excuses these days to suggest exploring the house for things.

“Maybe when Dad’s dead.” Diego says, finally coming around the sofa to sit in the last remaining armchair. Luther winces and doesn’t respond. As much as he doesn’t see eye to eye with Reginald these days - there’s still a part of him that loves the old man, even if therapy is making him see more and more that the feeling wasn’t exactly returned.

“God,” Klaus sighs, throwing his head back dramatically, “If you had my powers you wouldn’t be wishing for the old man’s death, ugh.”

The family shares a collective wince as they remember that for Klaus, harassment from their father wasn’t exactly something that stopped with his death.

“Aw, don’t look so glum! Ben here has promised to be my guard chihuahua.” Klaus informs them all cheerfully after noticing the long faces. He turns his face to the side, where it’s probably Ben exists. “What? Chihuahuas have a great and noble history! You should be flattered! What? Wait, Ben, no - ”

The rest of the family decides to move on as Klaus devolves into a whispered half-conversation with their dearly departed sibling. It drives them all crazy that they can’t hear one half of the conversation.

“You never said what’s for dinner.” Five points out, just a little petulantly. Vanya gives him a gentle nudge as reprimand for moving too much, but she’s finishing up with the last nail anyway so it’s not terribly important. 

Luther really doesn’t feel like cooking. Mainly because he’s really bad at it. He looks over at Vanya, who is the only person who has been keeping them all from eating like freshman college students and getting scurvy, but she’s studiously examining her job on Five’s nails. Clearly she doesn’t exactly feel like cooking, either.

“Chinese?” Luther offers, hopeful. 

Five pulls a face, but Klaus brightens up, head snapping around from his little argument. Luther’s hope dies in his chest. Feeding their whole family is an adventure in juggling - how their Mom fed them all for so many years without snapping in half from bending over backwards to please everyone.

Then again, it’s not like any of them had the choice to refuse their food in their father’s house no matter personal preference. It was wolf it down regardless of taste or starve and potentially faint during training.

But there is one thing they can all agree on. t’s just a last resort because Luther is so very tired of having it every other night but hey, when needs must, right?

“Pizza?” Luther offers and everyone sort of nods and hums their agreement at that. Luther knows all of their orders by heart at this point. Even Diego “my body is a temple” Hargreeves doesn’t say no to pizza, usually. 

“You know, we could make it slightly healthier and make our own?” Vanya points out, but it’s only halfhearted. “I heard you can make the crust with cauliflower or something.”

“You think we have cauliflower in this house?” Five asks with an arched eyebrow, and Vanya concedes the point. Luther feels almost offended at the implications about the state of health food in his place, but it’s also a fair point so. No like he can rebuff it. 

“Pizza it is.” Luther states firmly before this can devolve into an actual debate on the state of their dinner. 

He gets up to go grab his phone and can hear the sound of a fight breaking out behind him, Klaus’s voice being the loudest. Luther had so hoped Vanya sitting there would have prevented the inevitable but she was in on the shenanigans far more often than Luther would have expected.

(Sometimes he wondered what their childhoods would have looked like if Vanya had been more included. He had suspicions that she would have never been on his side in an argument, anyway.)

Luther shakes his head as he punches in the number for the pizza place. For a few minutes that mess in the living room is not his problem.

Of course, a few minutes of peace never lasts for very long. Not in this family.

[wwounu]

“Jihoon’s ‘usual’ is this place?” Surprised yet not, you find yourself definitely stupid not realising that the café was the usual place Jihoon would want to meet.

“You know about this place?”

You nod at the confused Seokmin’s question. “Ran into Jihoon and Soonyoung here one time.” Which was partially true, taking away the real reason why you went.

You show a smile, wincing as the bruise remained on your cheek. Seokmin shakes his head, silently meaning to not smile due to the slight pain.

That ex could slap hard.

“They’d be at the same spot, let’s go!” You hook your arm around Seokmin’s, almost hugging it. “Is this fine?” Carefully, you ask. The male raises an eyebrow at first before he nods, unable to hold the warmth forming on his ears.

You couldn’t hold back either, you were bursting into shy giggles once you looked away and continued to brought bring inside the café, happy to greet an enthusiastically-waving Soonyoung as Jihoon shuffles away in disgust when Soonyoung’s hand hits his face.

The pair of you settle in your seats, watching as Soonyoung’s expression present a big, sad frown on his face. “Your face looks horrible.”

“Gee, thanks Soonyoung! I didn’t notice.”

“Sorry Y/N, we should’ve been there… We could’ve at least get that idiot to know where she stands.”

“It’s over now. Nothing much we can’t do,” You shrug, hoping Soonyoung’s face would change, “but I did let her hear a few things or two… Besides, this one helped me too.” You poke Seokmin’s arm and the latter swats your hand a way, playfully sticking his tongue at you.

“It was nothing…” Says Seokmin. “All I did was tell her to leave Y/N alone.”

“Good on her! Let that bitch get what she deserves! I wouldn’t mind for her to go to hell—” Soonyoung protests before Jihoon pinches his ear.

“Language! Calling her that doesn’t make you a better person than that fucking asshole is.”

Everyone looks at Jihoon, confused. He doesn’t realise the hypocrisy he just made, only thinking everyone was looking at him funny for no reason. Eventually it hit him after a late beat

“Well woe is me!” He throws his hands up into the air, breaking from his sarcastic tone to a chuckle amongst the three of you.

It didn’t take long for you to tell Soonyoung and Jihoon about the accident — it was actually the next day when you told them — but they handled it well, despite Jihoon’s outburst of anger, needing to be held back by Soonyoung and Seokmin from leaving his shift.

“I’m gonna get coffee. Usuals everyone?”

“I’m still surprised how you can remember all of our orders ‘Hoon.”

“If I can remember your order, I can remember everyone’s Soonyoung.” Jihoon looks at you. “You haven’t told me your order the last time we met, wanna come?”

Looking quickly at Seokmin, you present him a smile before you accept the male’s request. “Sure.”

The line was pretty long, which wasn’t a problem to Jihoon since he was patient, but cursed at anyone who would cut in line (“I’m looking at you, idiot in the red beanie.”).

Suddenly, Jihoon’s voice pops out out of the blue. “I find it funny that we met because Seokmin got offended about you not liking dogs.”

“Yeah. It’s pretty weird for a first meeting.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ve seen worse.” Jihoon’s face strangely zones out, panicked, looking like Seokmin’s when he was talking about his friend. What was his name again? Won-something?

He comes back in a second when the line moves forward and you take the quick moment to check on Seokmin. You didn’t need to really check, since you could hear his loud laugh blend with Soonyoung’s from across the coffee shop, you just had to make sure.

Jihoon notices this, pouting his lip out slightly.

“What are Seokmin and you?”

“Jihoon can you stop scaring me like this.” You threat as his voice, yet again, scares you. But his question had got you thinking too. You never thought of it either. “Um… Friends?”

“It’s hard to believe that.”

“Okay okay! We haven’t discussed about it. Why would we? We’re fine just the way we are.”

“Fair point. You two look comfortable with each other though, so I can’t help but to ask.” Moving along the line, the coffee scent growing stronger, Jihoon speaks more. “And Seokmin can hold things in often, but never do them. You know this, right?”

You nod, now weighing up your options.

“I don’t have place to say this to you — and what the fuck do I know anyway — but as long as you’re comfortable with Seok’, that’s fine. He cherishes you a lot too. But mixed messages won’t do any good for you two if the lines of where you stand are still blurred.”

“Yeah, heard you loud and clear…” Again, you turn to Seokmin who was posing while the male across him was drawing doodles on the back of a napkin. “I don’t want him to push him too much.”

“Same goes for him, but we’ll stop talking about it, you look more like a kicked puppy the more we continue.”

“Thanks Jihoon.”

“Hm, it’s nothing.” Jihoon smiles, finally happy that they’re at the front of the line and ready to order. It amazes the moment he recited all orders so casually, the cashier — who Jihoon said was a new employee — dropped their jaw in surprise whilst processing the information, stopping once he mentioned the amount of milk and sugar to put in.

An employee walked over and greeted Jihoon as if they were best friends and took the order instead, getting to work quickly. The male stops him before going, now turning to you.

“Oh right, what would you like Y/N?”

Nervous, particularly because you didn’t actually have an order or regular to go by, you chirp, “Well… That drink you gave me last time was nice, so I’ll have that maybe?”

Jihoon looks surprised, not expecting what you said. “Oh. Okay then.” And like that he repeated an order without skipping a beat or hesitating.

Scary thing is, it was the exact taste when you had gotten it.

How does he do that?

For the rest of that period, things seemed relaxed. All of you discuss about your current courses and tell a few stories about the flower shop and tattoo parlour. You also speak up about your tattoo for the first time, letting the two males be the first to know that Seokmin did it. He was holding your pinky the whole way through — You tried so hard to not get caught off by it.

Soonyoung rants about his art block, not finding inspiration for ages, but when Seokmin and Jihoon leave briefly, you use up all that time to get as much information about this Sailor Moon Soonyoung slipped out through text.

All you got was that she was a writer, the reason why Soonyoung found inspiration again (which was so cute), bullies him with another friend of his and a bunch of incoherent giggles the more Soonyoung talked.

But when the duo came back, they were suspicious at how pink Soonyoung’s cheeks were, but brushed it off when the giggling gradually grew, thinking he was probably thinking of something stupid, like a worm with arms.

After spending almost an hour in the shop full of chattering and empty coffee mugs, the sun appearing in its golden form, Jihoon offers to go to his apartment. Something about wanting to have drinks and pizza, and Soonyoung was very enthusiastic on the idea.

When you all got to the apartment, Soonyoung landed face first on his couch, snuggling the big, fluffy and grey rabbit toy on there. Jihoon ran in, prying the plush away from the male as well as shoving him off the couch.

“Soonyoung you ass, move! You aren’t the only visitor in here. And since when can you touch Tofu?!”

Soonyoung, hurt, pouts his lips and sits up from the floor while you and Seokmin sit together on the couch closely — for Soonyoung’s sake, obviously. “What pizza are we getting?” The male on the floor asks.

Jihoon tilts his head to you and Seokmin, the strange look coming up again when looking at your proximity. “What do guys want?”

“Let’s have chicken on the pizza!”

“I’m not asking you Soonyoung — so?”

You and Seokmin meet eyes, silently discussing through what you want. It was strange however, because it was more like you were speaking with your eyes. You didn’t hear the ‘are they gonna respond or…’ from Soonyoung.

After a long silent discussion, Seokmin looks over and beams a smile. “We don’t mind!”

The short male grits his teeth, “Gosh, you’re too nice and no help. Let’s look on the site Soon’.”

“But I wanna stay here—“ Soonyoung stops his sentence when he sees the look Jihoon signals to him, which you caught too. “Oh — Oh! Yeah I’ll come with, be right back guys!” And Jihoon lifts him up (Jihoon is strong) and they leave to go to the kitchen.

“Jihoon, that mischievous brat…” You mumble when they leave, and Seokmin hears, loudly laughing. “What?”

“I’m just wondering why you’re so moody towards Jihoon, I thought you guys were fine!”

“We are! But not now. Kinda.”

Seokmin snorts, nodding. “Okay.”

“Can I ask something?”

“Shoot.” He replies, leaning on the couch as you follow, resting on top of him. “I’m tired.”

“Me too… What… What are we Seokmin?”

You physically feel the breaths in Seokmin stop, scared to turn around to look at his face, so you continue to stare at Jihoon’s ceiling.

“I—“ Seokmin chokes out, “I dunno, friends?”

“Do friends lay down like this together?”

“I mean… No, but I don’t mind you laying on me. I lie with the dogs sometimes if that counts.” The two of you chuckle at the comment, thinking about the topic further. “Do we have to be something?”

“Only if you wanna.”

“You don’t… Need to stay with me you know.” The tone of the male’s voice changes with hints of insecurity.

“I want to. I’d really like to stay.” You pick up his hand, adjusting it so its cupping your cheek. The male stifles a laugh, allowing you to roll your eyes. “See, you’re giggling over me touching your hand, that certainly isn’t a ‘friend’ thing.”

“I’m not giggling over that Blossom.”

“Okay then, I’ll just remove your hand from my face-“

“No, keep it there…” Seokmin is quick to react, a small gasp coming out of his mouth from his action.

You’re surprised too, noticing his lack of hesitation. “Seokmin? Everything alright there?”

“Yeah — Yeah… I just — Wow, I don’t know how to feel about that.”

Recently, Seokmin had started seeing someone to help him. You were the first person to know as you recommended the idea, and although Seokmin can normally act like his upbeat self to others, he still had demons to face on the lonely side of things. Again, you didn’t know if this was going to certainly help him, but it was worth a shot.

Seokmin started opening a lot more to you as well. Talking about his feelings, or when he can’t, he’d send written notes to you explaining himself.

And saying the things he wants was definitely improving.

“It’s a sign you’re getting there. You’re doing great.” You praise, pressing his hand closer to your face, trying to ignore the pain stinging through. “That deserves a reward. What should we do to celebrate?”

“Pizza and drinks sound great already. You’re here too which is a bonus too.”

“True…” You agree, snuggling more into his hand, before the pain comes back and makes you sharply inhale.

Seokmin sits up quickly, bringing you with him as he takes his hand away and turns you to look at him. The cool air was hitting the skin where his hand previously was and you missed the touch.

“Are you okay?” He’s talking about your bruise, carefully placing his hands back on your cheeks. The missing touch was gone and you felt your stomach go warm. He checks your face carefully to look at the fading mark closer, too scared to touch it. “Do you want me to get ice? Cold water?”

You shake your head. “This is nice.”

Seokmin blushes, not knowing what to say. And when moments go silent, you let the moment rest and enjoy it.

“I like you.”

Quickly opening your eyes, you face an equally-shy Seokmin who was even more speechless than before. It seems that the man himself didn’t expect to say that out loud either.

“Blossom I’m so sorry — I don’t know what went over me. This is awkward now. I should shut up. Yeah. I’m going to do that. Right about now.”

Seokmin avoids looking at you.

“… Ignore that. I dunno why I said that out loud, you were just… Pretty like that…” His voice fades out, but neither of you want to let go.

“We don’t need to rush, okay?” You reassure. “But I’m happy we think on the same wavelength.”

The male immediately perks his head up, “Does that mean-“

“Of course, I thought I was caught out easily after all this time.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,”

And you curse to yourself about the wrong move you just made, but have a plan to lighten up the mood with a joke.

“Ow, my cheek…” You fake, attempting to make a convincing-enough flinch. Seokmin falls for it, which is perfect.

He studies your face again. The plan is going well. “Are you sure you don’t need an ice pack?”

“Kiss it better maybe?”

Rather than a laugh, you get greeted by a serious look, worrying you a little. The pout on your lips retreats back the more you watch Seokmin stare at you, oddly holding in his breath.

That’s funny, this is what he usually does when he’s deciding things—

And that’s when you feel the soft tug, pulling you closer until the gap closes. Except it doesn’t. Not fully, anyway.

It’s unreal — Seokmin and you were kissing — but the male places the kiss on the corner of your lips, a move done on purpose. You smile into the thought, he probably wanted to save that time for later, not in your friend’s apartment waiting for pizza.

But that would be a fun story to tell all your friends.

He moves away, in a mix of bliss and fear. But he’s smiling. He’s smiling so brightly.

The smile doesn’t leave your face either. In fact, it grows, playfully commenting, “Wrong place, dummy.”

“I better kiss you again then.”

Seokmin’s careful with his words, but takes your comment light-heartedly and shifts his location to your bruise, lips gently pressing on the spot.

“I like this,” He adds and do too, you peck his jaw, humming in agreement.

It’s silent before the two of you burst into a spill of quiet laughter, like high school sweethearts kissing for the first time — the fluttery feeling, awkward silences all present.

“THIS IS SO CUTE I’M GOING TO DIE—“

You scream at the voice, hiding into Seokmin’s chest. Seokmin, too, says nothing but his face is as terrified, staring in the kitchen’s direction. After a while you look too, with no other than Soonyoung’s sparkly eyes watching the moment.

“You just ruined the whole mood Soonyoung!” Jihoon groans, slapping his hand over his eyes. Again, he couldn’t say much, he was adding to the scene too. “Let’s just get that pizza!”

Like earlier the shorter drags the other out by the ear, throwing some spare keys to you, but missing horribly by hitting a wall, yet continuing to tell you to lock the door and that they’ll back back in twenty minutes.

The door closes and it’s quiet again. But the silence is unmuted rapidly when you and Seokmin laugh non-stop, mainly at the duo’s sudden scene, but other than that you don’t know why you were laughing so much. It just felt nice.

Seokmin holds you, wrapping his arms and pulling you back so you’re laid down and laughing in each other’s embrace.

Sure, you don’t know what you were.

Yet whatever it was, it was nice.

OPPOSITES ATTRACT PART FIFTEEN — Tattoo Artist!Seokmin x Florist!Reader

hope this didn’t drag on too much guys! i just love hoshi and woozi a lot bye bye~ plus i love the group chat too okay bye for REAL now

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