#anyways. sorry for not answering until now. i was eeping most of the day. but now back to eep i go

[xavalav]

wanna tell me more about your dnd characters?

ALWAYS!!!!!!!! hi hello i love yapping abt my dnd characters it's my favorite pastime. i've got two main characters i'm playing rn!! the first i made at the start of last semester and the second i just made this past week :]

my first character is athanasius scyre. he is my skrungle who i put in horrible situations and shake around like a dog toy. he is an abyssal tiefling divine soul sorcerer who is so fucking weird about everything. he's like if you took an unethical scientist and gave him religious trauma about it. i like him a lot a lot a lot, he's genuinely one of my fav characters i've ever created. his whole deal is that basically, he was born into a family with of a long line of divine soul sorcerers on his dad's side. but due to world events, their power had waned significantly and his powers never really naturally came in. but then he got kidnapped by a cult! and used as a guinea pig! yippee!!

the cult was fairly disappointed he couldn't actually use his powers and spent a while trying to coax him into using his powers before moving onto trying to force him to use his powers. this culminated in a ritual meant to unlock his divine bloodline that ultimately worked, but there was a rebound and in the aftermath he had been transformed into an abyssal tiefling with little to no memory of who or what he was before. he spent the next few years being controlled and molded by the cult into a fucked up little freak with no baseline morals. he grew into the perfect image of a divine savior willing to do anything for his 'family', including dying to ascend to godhood.

all good things must come to an end tho, and eventually he hits a wall where he can't seem to be able move past it. his powers stall which doesn't make the cult too happy, and they end up pushing him further and further until one day it ends in an explosive confrontation where he fears for his life. he closes his eyes and mutters a prayer and when he opens his eyes again his parents are dead, the room is on fire, his hands and forearms are burnt, and his staff is nothing but ash. he managed to escape the inferno with a few scrolls and his life, running as far away as he could.

that is like. that main gist of his backstory before he went to magic school and got even sillier. he's currently investigating an eldritch god killer named "the eye" who is haunting his dreams right now and making him paranoid as hell. he's also developed a fear of dying which is new for him and he is not happy abt that. he doesn't really appreciate not being able to just jump into things head first with 0 fear anymore but dw, he will experience more horrors also learning that he enjoys having friends and is willing to do anything for them!!

if you wanna see me yap more abt athanasius or see what he looks like, this tag is where i put original posts and art abt him and this tag is where is put reblogs that make me think of him. also this is a spotify playlist i made for him that i listen to a lot :)

myyyy second character is named micah castelle. they are a grave domain cleric vampire in the desert. they are not having the best time bc. well. gestures to The Sun. but they're mostly chillin. i don't have a complete backstory thought up for them rn but i’m working with the thread that they are a grave domain cleric, and clerics of that domain hate undead while they themselves are undead. i really love characters that are walking contradictions or that have some kind of dichotomy within themselves (see athanasius: divine soul sorcerer that is an abyssal tiefling) so i really wanna hone in on that particular point of their character bc i think it’s fun and can leas to some very tasty characterization later in the campaign. right now i’m thinking they died or were on the brink of death and was made a vampire through the request of someone close to them rather than them getting kidnapped or stolen away like a lot of vampire stories go. but this is not concrete and could change in the future, just a fun idea i had that i wanted to explore w my dm.

i will also mention that i partly based them on a quote from the movie good fellas “there’s a lot of holes in the desert, and a lot of problems buried in those holes” cause i thought it would be funny. and i was right micah is very sillay. but their general design is that they are based off of the undertaker trope from western films. they have a shovel that they both use to dig graves and hit people over the head with, and they are surprisingly strong and charismatic for a cleric (their stats are way better than athanasius’ lmao). they also have a big hat with a veil, a long coat, and thick gloves. partly bc even in the desert, they are still cold, and partly bc if the sun manages to even get a peak at them they are so done for.

thank youuuuu for letting me yap!! i love yapping i am the dnd oc yapper :)) but seriously thank you i always love talking abt my ocs, they are genuinely something that i am really proud of designing and writing and really excited to continue evolving them.

[sandwichfox]

AHH LISTEN! You write such beautiful headcannons, I feel like I'm literally there. 6x the joy of getting married and having gorgeous competent spouses to help with our gorgeous grumpy children! Thank you so much for this gift! Would you be down to write for the main 6 a lil oblivious, mutual pining and what causes them/the MC to finally snap? (And if you wanna get racy, what happens next? ;) )

Listen, listen, you came for my entire heart with this ask, the compliments definitely punched me in the face but the mutual pining was what KO’d me, my forking jam. (Also, we are always happy to get racy here in la mía casa)

Asra

★ He already really, really loves you, so it just kind of evolves naturally for him. There’s no internal conflict on his part, because of course he would fall for you, it’s only right. 

★ However, he does want to be absolutely sure you’re ready before taking any next steps, he doesn’t want to set you back in your recovery.

★ Except for Asra, that translates into never initiating anything, ever.

★ He hugs you and touches your shoulder and all, but that’s just Asra with anybody he trusts. He does stare at you an awful lot though. If he catches you staring, this fluffy idiot will think nothing of it.

★ Physical contact is already so natural between the two of you. That one day you just.. kiss him? Oops.

☆(NSFW)☆

★ “wait was that-?” “…oh! Sorry I-“ “No it’s- can I kiss you again?” The answer is yes, he kisses you with purpose this time, soft and warm. Then immediately dissolves into giggles. He kisses you again, still giggling. “I love you” he says, voice stuck between a laugh and a sigh (and a kiss).

★ It was meant to be a brief kiss, but now he can’t seem to stop. (He’s lost count of how many times he’s kissed you now), but his hands -they’re shaking- skim tentatively up your arm, into your hair, hold you by the nape of your neck. And when you sigh he can’t help but brush a finger against your collarbone, then kiss that same spot. 

★ He feels drunk (he probably knocks against the shop’s counter, almost drops a jar of some herb or another), but now he’s got you pressed against it and he’s not laughing anymore, his brow is furrowed with want. He pants your name and you’re both gone.

Nadia

♠ Doesn’t want to come on too strong but she is starting to suspect she fell for an entire dumbass.

♠︎ Maybe you just don’t want her? It’s entirely possible, but then what about all the times you seem to be flirting with her? 

♠︎ She’s tried everything, lavishing you with gifts, turning on the charm, even showing you off at parties and to dinner guests. 

♠ Problem is, she’s the countess, and why would she be interested in you? That’s ridiculous. All this must be because she has all this money, and you’re a special guest, and she’s just amazing like that.

♠︎ But one day you can’t take it anymore, and ask her outright what her intentions are. (Literally “are you flirting with me?” “I have been for a year now, thank you for noticing”)

♤(NSFW)♤

♠︎ Oh boy, she has to make up for lost time, now doesn’t she? She asks you (up front this time) if you’d like to come up to her room at the palace. “Don’t worry, nothing nefarious” her gaze says otherwise. Goodness, she’ll eat you alive. 

♠︎ You get to her chambers and, unexpectedly, she asks you to try something on for her. A necklace, she says, that has been sent to her. She’s not sure about it yet, and would like to see it on you before deciding if she likes it. You’re a bit taken aback, but agree.

♠︎ She’s wicked, dragging the cold metal chain slowly across the skin of your shoulders, breathing against your neck as she fastens the clasp, she takes you (legs shaking) to stand in front of the mirror. She places a kiss against a soft spot on your neck and then presses her teeth against it, her hand travels up to your throat. “Darling, you look ravishing” but you barely hear her, your ears are ringing. 

Julian

♦︎ Oh boy.

♦︎ This dude right here invented pining. He thinks you’re absolutely gorgeous the moment he sees you, but then you two get to talk and it’s over, my man is gone.

♦︎ Alternates between the smoothest man alive and a literal mess. Also, he wants to date you so bad, but he thinks he’ll be bad for you. Can’t decide between being selfish and a self-sacrificing idiot.

♦︎ You like him so much, but he keeps sending these mixed messages, you wonder if it’s better to just maybe just steal longing glances at him for the rest of your life.

♦︎ One day, when he’s feeling particularly angsty, you ask him what’s wrong and he tells you in many, many scrambled words that he likes you. You had thought you had mistaken his usual Julian-ness for flirting, but this new revelation changes everything.

♢(NSFW)♢

♦︎ “You like me” you breathe. He looks up miserably from his pint and nods. You already had a hand on his shoulder from where you were comforting him, but the surprise makes you tighten your hold, dig your nails in. And he- did he-? You snap your gaze to his and yep, he’s red to the very tips of his ears, lip caught between his teeth. “Oh?” You smirk. He lets out another tiny, miserable whine. 

♦︎ You can’t remember ever feeling this giddy, your heart is pounding and your hands feel clumsy, it’s nearly impossible to get the buttons of his coat to come undone. And you’re hiding in an alley, goodness. Julian’s lips still taste of salty bitters, and he’s clutching at you like he wants to climb inside you.

♦︎ “You’re drunk” you say “on you” he retorts, though muffled, he didn’t even miss a beat. You bite his lip playfully in response and he, mmmelts (seriously, you have to catch him a little). “Okay” you say, hot all over, “okay” and you kiss him some more. 

Muriel 

♣︎ Hates it. Hates that he’s pining for you so hard. He tries the whole avoiding you thing and everything but it doesn’t work.

♣︎ It never even crosses his mind that you might want him back. Sometimes he catches you looking at him and his immediate reaction is to be absolutely mortified (has he had something on his face this whole time?!)

♣︎ Doesn’t know what to do with himself, basically. He wants to talk to you but he only goes so far as to following you around at a distance. He wants to touch you but doesn’t want to ask for contact. He brushes against you once in passing and immediately goes beet red. 

♣︎ Thing is, you’re so good. So good, soft, like he doesn’t deserve. You treat him like he’s… Sometimes you bring by some of your cooking, or a shiny rock that you thought was pretty, or you take him out for some smoked eel (and keep him company while he eats it, sat in the shadows). You constantly check that he’s alright “is it okay if I put my hand on your shoulder?” “Are you alright?” “Can I touch you?” “Can I help you?” “Can I hug you?”…

♣︎ “Can I kiss you?” You whisper, he can only nod.

♧(NSFW)♧

♣ Muriel is so sensitive to touch, starved for it, though he’d never admit it. So when you start kissing him there’s an immediate churning heat in his belly. He’s lightheaded, feels like he’s about to boil over, he doesn’t know where to put his hands. 

♣︎ Somehow you’ve ended up in his lap, though he can’t say exactly when that happened (time is strange, when he’s kissing you), his hands have traveled to your sides and something about having you there, holding you to him, he’s going to go mad.

♣︎ He doesn’t want to ask for more than you’re willing to give him. But you give so easily, each tentative press of his lips is met with wet, purposeful pressure from yours. When his hands first brush your skin you shiver and come closer. He kind of never wants to stop. 

Portia

♥︎ Is a whole mess.

♥︎ Listen, she gets lost in your eyes sometimes, alright? That doesn’t mean she’s in love with you. Or maybe it does, but you don’t have to know that.

♥︎ Maybe you’re an oblivious fool (u are) because that’s the only way that you wouldn’t have noticed her pining. Literally goes ‘eep!’ every time you catch her staring.

♥︎ Portia is the kind of person that talks about their crush all the time, (‘the other day I was with MC and-‘ ‘and then MC said- insert mildly funny thing- and haha- wait- hahaha- they said- hahsghdgsh’) so literally everyone knows she’s crushing but you. 

♥︎ She’s naturally flirty with everyone, but one day she says something that you read as actually flirty, so then you’re like wait, really? And Portia’s all ‘oh! Sdgdhhdj I was just, I didn’t mean- I was just, uhm- KIDDING! Just kidd- unless..’ (anyway spoilers you both like each other and then make out lol)

♡(NSFW)♡

♥︎ She spent so long having a crush on you and daydreaming about being with you and now she can actually have you. She has to hide away with you for a little while ASAP. You notice her acting giddy one day in the gardens and ask her what’s wrong “nothing!” She says immediately, then a pause “actually, do you want to stop by the cottage?” A perfectly innocent question, but she’s gone all red. Oh. 

♥︎ You stop by her cottage. As soon as you’re in through the door she turns up the flirty-ness tenfold (you’re gonna pass out), until she finally takes your hand and walks you backward against a wall. “Wanna make out?” She whispers. You do, actually. She’s surprisingly bitey, and very responsive. 

♥︎ After a few moments her hands start wandering, “you’re so cute” she sighs “beautiful, wow”. She’s letting out these breathy little sighs, pressing closer until there’s no space between you. She has one leg slotted between your own, her back arched to press the length of her against your body, one hand on your back at your waist, the other clutching at her shoulder, and she’s moving in a slow, waving motion, kissing your jaw and lips and ear and scraping teeth against your neck (you’re going to die).

Lucio

▲ Oh he hATES it. (Feelings?! No thanks, yuck). It’s probably the whole ‘feelings make you weak’ mentality he grew up around, because he’s not above indulging in company, if ya know what I mean.

▲ But he doesn’t just want that from you, and it throws him on a loop. He keeps bouncing back and forth between sending for you about the most ridiculous things just to see you, and sending you away in a huff when he realizes that no, bad Lucio.

▲ It can’t be helped though, and soon he’s head over heels. He gets ridiculous, honestly. ‘Subtly’ asking about you and giving you increasingly odd, expensive gifts and trying to get your attention. 

▲ As soon as he gives in and admits to himself that he actually likes you his first thought is to go out and demand that you be with him. But he’s actually nervous, and not exactly sure that you would like that at all. So he starts testing the waters. 

▲You think it’s just Lucio being Lucio but you’ve liked him for some time and it kinda? hurts? when he suddenly starts complimenting you and making jokes about being with you for real, saying it so casually like there’s no way in hell and it hurts. So one day you tell him to stop.

△(NSFW)△

▲ “Wha- huh?” He says, and you’re embarrassed, maybe you shouldn’t have said anything, but Lucio’s already seen your face, and now he knows what’s going on. “Oh, sweetheart” he says in a drawl “I’m being perfectly sincere, I love your pretty face” he takes a step closer “that amazing body” his voice is softer, you blush, he takes another step “your powerful magic” another still “your sharp mind” he’s right in front of you know, reaching out with a clawed finger to tilt your chin up “I’d like to be with you, if you’d let me.”

▲ “I’d like to do so many things to you, magician.” His golden hand trails from your chin to your bottom lip, tugging down before letting go and traveling up your cheek to the side of your head. He’s holding himself up against the wall with his other hand, bracketing you in against him, all in your space. “Perhaps I’ll call you to my room, feed you whine and fruit and sweets, drape you in fine silk” he leans in close to your ear “I’ll keep you to myself all day, kiss every inch of you, maybe keep you all night as well.”

▲ “Lucio” you gasp, he grins devilishly and surges in to kiss you. He kisses you long and hard right there in the hallway, pulling back a few inches just to hover near your lips, you lean into him and he pulls back a little more, teasing. “Please” you pout. “Oh no, beautiful, you’re much too pretty to be begging a man like me for kisses. I should be the one doing the begging, getting on my knees and showering you in gold.” He’s grinning, but he’s glowing red with enthusiasm at the thought. “Kiss me then” you say, pulling him to you, he shivers like he’s weak at the knees and does just that. 

[after-valiant-hero-ask]

Soooo, somehow the "keep reading" Thing on tumblr kinda beoken for me, so I can't really post this with the keep reading, but also, I made a post about going to make a fandic of After Valiant Hero that takes place BEFORE the main event onthe comic, sooo, here it is!! I hope you all enjoy it! (And also, it's 2.000+ words long, so, it's kinda long^^)

============================

"TONIGHT"

by LovelyPink2005

——————————

Summary:

This takes 2 months after the valiant Hero ending, right when the toppats decided to celebrate their fully recovered airship and the clan, but something is up with sven that made him missed the whole party.

Note:

I'm not that good on english, so, I'm so sorry if this fic came out bad^^"

And also, this is a fanfic I wrote about the story of the messy doodle/sketch comic I did of sven and Charles on whiteboard, so, uhhh, yeah^^"

——————————

It was the day after they did their first heist after recovering their airship and their clan, which is 2 months after the Valiant Hero ending. It also charles's first time too, he feels strange for doing that, like there's something wrong with it but can't quite put a finger on it. He decided to forget about it. "It's probably just the side effect."

 

The toppat clan wanted to celebrate it for their success, they talk to talk, share to share about having a party for it, until it delivered to charles and sven who is on their room. "A party huh?" Sven said as he put his hand on his chin, thinking about it. "Suits yourself, If you wanted to celebrate it, then go for it" He continue with a smile on his face. He turned his head to charles to see his face full of excitement for that party, like he never had them before.

"Sven" Charles called as he put his hand on sven's shoulder. "Let's have it tonight!"

"Yeah, sure..." Sven paused, looking down for a second, and lifted his face back to charles. "Sure!".

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, if you all want it, then go for it."

"Alright, I'll go inform the others about this." He gives sven a pat on the back before leaving the room.

Sven waves and wanted to say "c'ya" to charles very badly, but charles already left them room. Sighed, and sits back to his bed, and looked up on the ceiling, smiling. "Hey, are you ok there..?" His face could easily shows you a bit of sadness, and pain. Sven was talking to himself, but really, he just missed his old friend.

Someone who used to be around him, a friend who ALWAYS around him ever since he joined the toppat clan. Burt Curtis. That's his name. Sven and Burt joined the toppat clan on the same day years ago, they even meet right before entering the airship. They keeps on running into each other as their relationship grows, until they become the best of friends. Even after Sven become the leader, their relationship or friendship still is the same.

But… sadly… He died at the orbital station when it exploded. got left behind because he was trapped on a room and couldn't get out. Sven wish he could found him, but the other toppats dragged him with force to the pod.

He couldn't save him. He failed to save him. The last thing he even heard from him was a when he called sven after the luxury pod has escaped.

"We're having a party tonight... Wish you could join us burt." A tear runs down on his face.

He wiped it as he rubs his eyes. "Ugh, c'mon sven, pull it together!" He palmed both of his hands on his face and falls on his bed.

"He's gone! Just.. Try to—– uuggghh!" He sighed to himself. He quickly sits up and try to pull his act together. A forced smile on his face, but it's not that obvious.

Take a deep breath, and let it out as he then go outside to also inform the others about the party. Yeah, let's just focus on that, focus on the clan. Maybe the other could distract him from his mind.

 ---

Charles straight up go to the cafeteria since most toppats usually just hang out there. He saw one of the toppat he usually talk to if sven wasn't around. He called him.

"Harold!" Said charles as he waved his hand at him and the other toppats that's with him.

Ah yes, Handsome Harold. Charles usually hang around him since he's the second person who ever talk to him after he woke up and got amnesia.

"Oh, Charles" Harold rise his hand up as high as his face.

"Sve— uhh, Chief said that we're having a party to celebrate the fully recovered of our clan!"

Harold and the other toppats look at each others as their eyes widened open.

What?? "Really?"

Charles nodded. The other toppats slowly having their face with smiles.

"Alright lads! Let's prepare things up for the party!" One of the toppat called Wallace Dagwood, yelled as the others on the cafeteria then cheered.

A couple of hours has passed, and the party is almost ready. The whole cafeteria was full with a lot of stuff, Charles just can't wait for sven to see this. There's a bunch of food and snacks on the food table, such as pizza, chicken wings, tacos, cupcakes, cake, and other food that usually on a party. There's also a berry punch, and some alcohols on the drink table.

Beside the foods and drinks, there's also a lot of decorations and other stuff that changed on the cafeteria. Like a small stage for anyone who wanted to perform anything. Blue carpet on the whole floor of the room, and disco light-ball. Charles can't really describe everything, but all he could say is that everything is going to be awesome!

Huh?

In a flip, he realized something. He haven't see Sven around to help since he know that Sven likes to help around.

Is he not feeling well?

He did startled for sometimes today whenever he talks… is there anything wrong with him?

Charles can only feel worried about him. But he hopes that non of his thoughts are true.

"Oi Charles!"

Sometimes tapped his shoulder. He jumped a bit and making the "eep" Sound as he surprised.

"Hmm? Oh, it's you" He signed, It was of course Harold.

"What were you thinking? I saw you were excited a view second ago, but then you immediately worried" Said Harold.

"What's wrong?"

"I- huh? No no, you guessed it wrong, why would I be worried when there's a party right in front me?"

How the heck did he know? Can he read face expression that good???

Harold sighed. "Charles, it's all over your face."

Shoot, Right. Knew it.

"O-oh, well, you're right" He smiles. "But I only worried because this will be the first party I'll ever have, since, you know.." He scratched his head.

He lost his memories. He can't even remember everything, how can he remember the last time he even go to one, right?

"Yeah, I know, sorry for that" He wrapped his hand around Charles.

"But they'll all come back! Even if they won't, you can always create new memory!" Harold just trying to cheer 'em up. "Just don't forget to have your medicals, 'kay?"

Charles smile and nodded.

Both of them then go to help t he others finishing some stuff for the party.

---

Sven was outside of the security room, the place where he get to see outside and have the winds in his hair (the place where henry got in the airship when we choose the grapple gun (PBT)).

Just standing there, watching the sun setting down. He looked at the sky.

Thinking to himself. Wishing that all of this was just a really long dream, and when he wakes up, everything was still… Normal. Burt still there, the orbital station was save and sound. And Reginald never got arrested.

He's been there for a hour now, until Charles contacted him. His phone buzzing.

"Hmm?" He picked his phone. It's Charles…

He takes a deep breath, and then answer the call. "Hello"?

"Sven! Where are you? I can't find you in your room, or the cafeteria!" Said Charles in a little worried tone.

"The party is starting in a hour!"

"Oh, really?" He responded as his eyes widened a bit. He didn't thought it'll be starting that fast. "That was fast"

"Yeah, and— wait, Sven! Are you at that place again??" Charles could hear the sound of the winds through sven's phone.

"... Well, yeah?"

"What's wrong?? You only goes there is you're down, you know that you have your greatest friend hereto help you!" Charles raised his voice, but not in an angry way, but more like in a worried and abit of disappointed tone.

Huh? Oh right, he knew.

"No, it's fine Charles! I only looking for some fresh air!"

Hmmm, that sounds convincing alright.

"Okay, but you HAVE to be here when the party started! It'll be the greatest time, truste!"

Sven chuckled on how silly Charles is. "Yeah yeah, I'll be there".

He closed the call as he sighed. He closed his eyes and smile as he shakes his head.

"Charles Charles, guess there's different between you two after all" He chuckled.

Sven then make his way In. He walk through the security room, the hall of portraits, and finally, the kitchen. He stopped there for a bit, looking at the drawer. He then turns around and open up the drawer where he knew a bottle of alcohol would be there. He takes it and looks at it for a while. His face seems like he had no emotions, it's pale, but you could see through his face that he's… tired.

Sven continue walking and bringing the alcohol. He's going to his room.

---

An hour and a half has passed, and there is no sign of Sven yet. Charles keeps on looking around. The party already going since around 30 minutes ago. Charles bit his lips for a bit, worried if there's really something wrong with sven.

He takes a sip of the berry punch as he holding one cup of it.

"Sven, where are you?" He whispered to himself.

A toppat named Carol Cross approach Charles from behind. "Where's sven?" She asked.

"Oh! Miss Carol!" He waved his hand to her, and then immediately scratched his head. "I uh, not sure, I haven't see him anyway around this place".

"Hmm, you should go and find him, don't wanna make him missed tonight."

"Yeah, maybe I should" He put his cup on the table. "Cya around Miss carol, and enjoy the party!". Charles immediately left the cafeteria and try to look for Sven everywhere. It'll took him a while since the airship is really big, he could be anywhere.

After a while, he still couldn't find him, until he walked over to their room.

"Sven? Are you here?" Charles opened the door to their room and look inside.

As he though, he was on their room, sitting on the chair right in front of his small desk beside his bed. But is he drinking by himself??

"Uhh… Sven, are you drunk?" He asked as he approach him. He saw a bottle of alcohol beside him that's almost empty. Sven usually can't handle to much alcohol, a couple of small cup can already made him drunk alright.

He sits next to him. "Are.. you ok? You shouldn't drink by yourself sven".

" O-oh… burt, you're here—"

Burt?? Who is he talking about? He's clearly brunk very badly.

"Uhh, sven, it's me, Charles. You're ready drunk, aren't you?"

He then takes the bottle from sven to prevent him from drinking more. "You should stop now, you don't even recognize me that well" He put the bottle away.

Sven looks at sven, his face really looking like a zombie who just came back to life. He smiled as he saw Charles.

"S-stop joking around—– I know that's you Burt-" He hiccups every now and then.

"Heh, you're so silly Burt… I know it's you.." Sven turned his head back to the cup he's holding.

"You'll always found me whenever I'm like.. This—- I know I've only saw you a couple hours ago…But for some reason… i missed you.. So— much.."

Charles has no clue what he's talking about. But then he somehow remember something. Sven once mentioned he used had a friend from high school maybe? He said they're really close friend. One thing he know that sven missed them too, so, Charles assume he think he's the old friend of sven???

A sob could be heard from sven.

"I…Always wanted to tell you something… b-but— I'm always to coward.."

Charles kinda feels bad for him. He then patted sven's back. "Sven, snap out of it, it's me, Charles, you should get some rest and—–" Before he finish his sentence,he could feel that Sven is about to pass out in any moment. "Woah, sven-"

"I know I know… but B-burt.. Before I Pass out, at least let me tell you h-how I—–"

Without any warning, sven grabbed Charles hand and dragged him really closed to him.

"S-sven!?"

Again, without any warning, sven pulled Charles closer as he kissed him on the lips for like 5 second.

What. The. Heck!?!?!???? Did he just..!?

Sven then immediately fall as he fainted. Charles quickly grab him before he fell to the floor.

Charles's face became RED. He didn't know what the hell just happened. Did his friend just kissed him!? That was unpredictable. He couldn't believe that.

"Wh— what was that…!?"

He never and didn't have that kind of feeling towards Sven, so that's not the reason he blushed. Sven literally just took Charles's first kiss. And that's at least how Charles feel about it. He rubs his mouth as in, he wish that never happened. He didn't want his first kiss to be from his great friend.

But at the same time, he still feel bad for Sven. He once mentioned that he used to have this friend on high school and rhat they've separated from each others for so long, with sven still have this feeling for them. At least that's what Charles assume.

Charles sighed. The blush on his face started to fade away as he calmed down.

"W-well, guess sven will missed tonight's party."

Charles then picks up Sven and lay him down on his bed. He put the blanket on him.

After that Charles tried his best NOT to mention that even happened or even slipped through his mouth as he foes back to the party.

---

The sun is rising, another day has come.

The party was a blast last night, but to bad sven missed all of it.

Sven slowly opens his eyes ashe waking up. Yawning and rubs his eyes before sitting down. He feels a bit dizzy, but can't quite remember what happened last night.

Oh wait, think he did, he remember that he drank by himself on the room until he passed out. At least that's how he remembers it.

As Sven was still sitting on his bed,Charles came in the room while having himself a cup of coffee. He then saw Sven.

"O-oh, morning there sven!" He waved his hand at him, highly hoping he didn't remember what happened last night. He sat down on his own bed.

"Morning Charles, didn't expect you to wake up sooner than me" Said sven as he stretched his arms.

"Oh, yeah, uh, well, you were really tired yesterday, so, that's explain why you over slept?" He takes a sip from his hot coffee.

"Heh, pretty much, I was kinda uh, drunk last night and passed out"

Phew, He didn't remember THAT. Charles relief.

"Yeah-" Charles then change the topic in a second to prevent him from trying to remember that night.

"H-hey sven! You totally missed the party! As I said, it was the greatest!" He said as he smiles brightly.

"Oh really?" He smiled back to him. "Tell me about it then.

Charles then when on telling Sven everything that happened on the party, really detailed. From where Charles went off to inform the others about doing a party, until the party ended and everyone have to clean them up after it.

Days has passed, and Sven haven't remember what has happened that night. So Charles decided to keep it a secret to himself, until now.

===========================

Welp, that's all of the fantic! I hope you enjoyed this, and tha k you so much for putting your time to read this all t he way down here! I really appreciate it!✨✨✨

[gabriel-agreste-has-no-rights]

Rating: T

Summary: From cleaning up their city, to strengthening their partnership, to untangling their love lives—New York has taught Ladybug and Chat Noir that they can get through anything together.  Well, everything except automatic doors.  (New York special reveal fic)

Word Count:  6722

XXX

Marinette had gotten back from New York three days ago, but it wasn’t until she saw Chat Noir that she really came home.

He’d arrived early to the meeting spot—a rooftop where someone had planted a pot of blue forget-me-nots—and he hummed under his breath while perching at the roof’s edge.

“Little kitty on a roof... all alone without his lady…” 

She thought she’d overcome the stutter in her heart when she heard that tune.  But that was before she’d almost lost her partner again.

“Not alone anymore,” she said, plopping down next to him and bumping his shoulder.

He didn’t bump back.  That was weird.

“Kitty?”  She leaned forward, trying to get a better look at his face.  The mask made it difficult to tell, but she was pretty sure his green eyes were rimmed with red.  “Are you alright?”

He shrugged too quickly.  “It’s nothing.  I’m really glad to see you again, LB.”

“Which is why you haven’t looked at me this whole time.”

Finally, he met her eyes, and she gasped.  He’d definitely been crying.  A lot.  What had… what had happened?  Was it just seeing the city for the first time since they’d been back?  Mayor Bourgeois had done a surprisingly good job of organizing the cleanup, but there was still a long way to go.  That was the reason they’d come out on patrol tonight, so surely he’d expected the damage.

Could he still be upset about everything that had happened between them?  No.  He knew she’d forgiven him.

Still, she squeezed his hand just in case.

“Chat.  You know you can always tell me the truth.”

His eyes went wide, and then fresh tears welled in them.

“I—right.  I promised I’d never hide the truth from you again.”  He wiped his eyes with the heel of his free hand.  “I’ve just been stupid.  Even more stupid, if that’s possible.”

“You’re not stupid,” she said.  Stupidly.  She didn’t know what would help, but surely she could come up with something more comforting than that.  “You’re the brave, amazing, irreplaceable Chat Noir.”

He snorted.  “My girlfriend thinks I’m replaceable.”

The world screeched to a halt.  The moon could’ve fallen from the sky, and she wouldn’t have noticed.

“You have a girlfriend?”

Chat Noir winced.  Oops.  She probably shouldn’t have shouted right by his ear.

“I had a girlfriend.  For almost a month.”

“And you didn’t tell me?”

His brow scrunched under his mask.  “I didn’t want you to think I was trying to make you jealous.  And… I didn’t tell anyone, actually.  It kind of had to be secret in case my father…” He shook his head.  “Sorry.  I don’t want to get too close to my identity.  Which is another reason I didn’t tell you.”

Of course.  There was no good reason for him to tell her.

She still felt like she should’ve known.

“I’m sorry.  You had every right to keep your personal life private.”  She rubbed her thumb over the back of his hand.  “And I’m sorry about your girlfriend, too.  She clearly doesn’t know who she’s missing out on.”

He looked up from where he’d been staring at their hands.  “I—uh-um-hhhh-yeah.”

She made a noise somewhere between an eep and a cough, jerking her hand back so quickly she almost fell backwards.

“I—I mean, anyone would be lucky to date you—no!  Um, you’re a catch?”  Oh, that was even worse!  What was wrong with her?  “You—you know what I mean!”  

His head tilted.  “I, um. Do I?”

She dropped her head in her hands.  She didn’t even know what she meant.  She was still in love with Adrien.  The last thing she wanted to do was give Chat false hope.

“Sorry,” she groaned.  “Lately I can’t get two words out without making a mess of things.”

“Join the club.”  He snorted.

“I might not be much help, but… do you want to talk about it?”

“You—you’d let me?”

“You did say you weren’t going to hide things from me anymore.”  She smiled, bumping his shoulder.

This time, he bumped her back.  “I guess I did.”

He paused, seeming to gather his thoughts.  The sounds of traffic drifted up from below to fill the gap.  Funny how even the traffic felt more like home in Paris.

“It was my fault, as usual,” he murmured.  “I didn’t tell her I was leaving Paris, either.”

“You didn’t?”  It made sense that he wouldn’t want to hurt his partner, but why would he hide from someone in his civilian life?

“Like I said.  Stupid.”  He shook his head.

“Not stupid enough to break up with you over.”  She frowned.  “Not if she really loved you.”

That probably wasn’t the most tactful thing to say, either.  She hoped Chat’s girlfriend loved him.  He’d always been so full of love, it was difficult to imagine him with someone who wouldn’t return it.

“It… wasn’t just that.”  He took a deep breath.  “Promise you won’t hate me?”

That question didn’t reassure her, but she still knew her answer.

“You’re my best friend, kitty.  I could never hate you.”

The tension drained from his shoulders.

“Right.  I should know that by now.  It’s just hard to remember, when I’m so scared and stupid and—I think I might have accidentally cheated on her.”

Marinette blinked.  Chat?  Cheating?  The boy who would rather turn Marinette down in front of her Marichat-shipping papa than hide his feelings for Ladybug?

“What did you do?”  

His ears drooped.  He looked so limp without the over-the-top confidence that normally filled him. 

“I danced with another girl.  And hugged her a lot.  I thought it was as friends but then my other friend posted some pictures of us to Instagram, because she didn’t know that I was dating K—my girlfriend, and it looked way worse than it was and my girlfriend thinks I’m in love with this other girl and I… the worst and best thing is she might be right.”

Wow.  That was.  There was a lot to unpack there.

“You’re… in love with… two people?”  Neither of which are me?

No.  Bad Marinette.  This wasn’t about her; this was about Chat Noir.  Besides, she wanted him to move on!

“I don’t know.  All I know is that I never wanted to hurt either of them, and I feel awful.”

...Was this about her?  The sentiment definitely hit too close to home.  

“It stinks, doesn’t it.” She sighed.

“More than Plagg’s cheese.”

That got a smile out of her.  “I wish I knew how to help, but the truth is, I’ve never had any luck with love either.”

Chat’s brow furrowed.  “But what about the boy you…?”

Her throat clogged.  Memories flashed through her mind—her and Adrien dancing in the sky, tumbling through doorways, accidental touches and soft smiles and words she’d said too late. 

“This isn’t about me,” she said, banishing those thoughts.“We’re working on your love life tonight.”

Unraveling hers would probably require an intervention from Bunnyx.  Or a Lucky Charm.  Why hadn’t she thought of that before?

Because Tikki would kill me, probably.

“I don’t think there’s much to work on,” he muttered.  “I blew it with my girlfriend.  And what if I do try to ask out the other girl, but I just make the same mistakes again?”

Marinette smiled and placed her hand over his arm.  “You always learn from your mistakes, kitty.  And you’re always thinking of other people first.  If you just learn how to be honest with everyone—including yourself—I don’t think you’ll have a problem.”  

Wow.  Three whole coherent sentences.  That was miraculous.

“Heh.  And you said you didn’t have any love advice.”

“Well… I guess I can give it, but I can’t take it.”  She grimaced.  If only she’d been honest with Adrien…

But it wasn’t over.  She knew how much he meant to her, and she knew what she stood to lose.  Somehow, she’d find a way to tell him.

He bumped her shoulder.  “Come on, bug.  Spill the tea.”

She blinked before bursting out laughing.  “Spill the tea?”

“What?  That’s what you say when you want your friends to tell you some juicy secrets, right?”

“Ew.  Please never call my secrets juicy.  They’re more like… tangled up yarn, so knotted even I barely know what’s happening anymore.”

He winked.  “I’m a cat.  Playing with yarn is what I do best.”

She bit her lip.  He’d opened up to her.  By her own logic—that of no unnecessary secrets—she should return the favor.  But could she really do that to him, knowing how long he’d pined after her?

It doesn’t matter.  He’s in love with someone else now.  Maybe even two someone elses.

The thought was still so bizarre, she could hardly comprehend it.  Clearly he’d been serious about the yellow rose.  He’d moved on, and she… well, she was still where she’d started.  Chasing after Adrien, falling farther and farther behind.

“Maybe another night,” she said.  A coward’s retreat.

He gave her a long look before nodding.  “Alright.”

She let out a breath of relief.  Another night.  He was an outside perspective.  She would tell him later, if only because he might give clearer advice.

She stood and dusted off her legs, even though there was no dirt there.

“Vacation’s over.  We’ve got some cleaning up to do.”

XXX

“Hey.  It’s okay.”  She squeezed Chat’s hand when he paused in front of their statue.  Or, well, what was left of it.  Senti-Robostus had snapped the bronze Ladybug off, then tossed her into the front of a nearby convenience store.  The statue of Chat Noir looked lonely without her perched on top.

“This isn’t one we can fix, is it.”  His voice was sandpaper-rough.

“No.  I don’t think so,” she admitted.  “But it’s okay.  I never really liked that statue anyway.”  

It always reminded her of Copycat, who had turned out to be a total creep.  The Ladyblog had had to ban Theo’s accounts from the discussion boards too many times for comfort.

“...We should get moving again, then,” Chat said, but neither of them did.  They remained standing in place, still linked by their hands.

They’d been shifting rubble for hours, using their enhanced strength and even their powers.  Each time Marinette fed Tikki and transformed, she felt more exhausted than the last.  But Chat had to feel even worse.  His Cataclysm was the most useful for clearing chunks of broken walls, while her Lucky Charm was less reliable when not facing a concrete enemy.  The one score had been a bag of cement mix to fill in a busted sidewalk.

“We can’t fix everything in one night,” she said.  “We can patrol again tomorrow.  Or maybe the night after.”  She had a feeling she’d be too sore to move in the morning, enhanced strength or not.

“Easy for you to say,” he muttered.  “It’s not your fault that everything’s broken.”

She stared at him, stunned.  “Chat.  This is just as much my fault as it is yours.”

“But—”

“No buts.”  She pressed a finger to his lips.  “Paris is our city.  Not yours.  Not mine.  Ours.”

He didn’t argue, but his gaze still remained fixed on the ground.

“I could have stayed.  I could have downloaded an akuma alert app.  There are so many things I could’ve done differently, it could eat me alive,” she admitted, her voice trembling.  “I don’t want that to happen to you.”

“It’s so hard,” he whispered.

She dropped her hand from his lips.  “I know.  But we’ll get through it together.”

He was silent for a moment before nodding.  “You’re right.  You and me against the world… or in this case, you and me against a bunch of crushed buildings.”

She smiled.  It might not be a glamorous part of the job, but they would do their part to make it up to their city.

She raised her fist, and he bumped her knuckles gently.

“I’ll let you know when I’m free for next patrol,” he said, a little more life returning to his voice.  “Probably the day after tomorrow.  My family’s been on edge lately, with… well, you know.”

He nodded towards the broken statue.

“Right.  I’ll keep an eye on Plagg, then.”

Chat chuckled.  “Plagg” was what she’d named the little cat toy that he had the remote for.

This time, she looked forward to hearing the toy’s tiny mew.

XXX

It turned out to be three days before they could meet for patrol again.

“Soooo.”  Chat walked backwards in front of her, grinning in a way that was somehow both obnoxious and adorable.  “It’s another night.”

Oh.  She should’ve known he wouldn’t let that go so easily, especially now that he seemed to be in a better mood.  Had he asked out the other girl he liked?  Or did he patch things up with his girlfriend?  Or maybe he did neither, and he just knew how to move on.

“Technically, it’s not night yet.”  She pointed to the sun that sat low over the skyline.  “Also, there’s a—”

He tripped over a crack in the sidewalk, then toppled backwards against a No Parking sign.  The metal clanged like a gong where his head hit it.

“—pole behind you.”  She giggled.  

He pouted, rubbing the back of his head.  “No Parking?  Why would anyone even try to park here?”

They’d arrived at the worst scene of damage: in front of the Eiffel Tower.  There wasn’t even a road left to park on.  Most of the chasm had been filled in by now, but there were construction crews repairing the pipes and electrical wiring that had been uprooted.  

Of course, the workers had gone home for the evening already.  Marinette and Chat would have to be careful not to get in the way of their unfinished work.  Luckily, there was still plenty of rubble to move, and they’d come prepared with their powerups tonight.

“I’ve got two sets of ears, my lady.  That makes me twice as amazing of a listener.”  He swiveled the leather ears on top of his hair.  When had he learned how to control that?

“Why don’t you save the interrogation for after patrol?”

“It’s not an interrogation!  You accepted my yellow rose, which means we are friends for time and all eternity.  And friends can ask each other about important things in their lives.  Like their crushes.”

“I regret ever bringing that up.”  She pulled the purple macaron from her yo-yo and tossed it into her mouth.  At least she couldn’t say anything incriminating while she was chewing.

The power shocked over her, leaving her magenta space suit in its wake.  A grin tugged at her lips.  She’d never get tired of that.

“It can’t be that bad.”  Chat unzipped a pocket and dug out a purple slice of camembert.  He made a face before chewing it.  “Not as bad as this nasty cheese, anyway.”

He transformed too, plasma-like wings sprouting from his back.

“You know, I can make you the powerup macarons, too.  That way you only have to use the cheese if you’re giving it to Plagg.”

“Wait, really?”  His eyes widened.  “Why didn’t you say that weeks ago?”

“Because it’s too fun to watch you make that face.”  She smirked and flicked his glowing bell.  “But I’m willing to pass up on that in exchange for you leaving my love life alone.”

He sighed.  “If that’s really what you want.”

He looked surprisingly dejected.  Was it just because she was keeping secrets?

“I’m surprised you want to know about… Him,” she said quietly.  “I don’t want to make you feel worse.”

“You don’t have to worry about me, my lady.  I haven’t figured out exactly what I feel for my friend yet, but your advice has helped me start.  I just want to help you in return.”

He smiled behind his helmet.  He meant it.  Somehow, despite all the times she’d turned him down, he just wanted her to feel better.

“Alright,” she relented.

“I swear, I—wait, what?”

“I said alright.”  She chuckled.  “Though I’m a little curious how you planned to convince me.”

He blushed.  “I was going to swear on my honor as your friend that I would take your not-juicy secrets to my grave.”

“Thanks for the thought.  Now come help me with this chunk of cement, and I’ll ��spill the tea.’”

XXX

It was surprisingly hard not to spill too much tea.  As they flew pieces of rubble out to space, she told him everything she could without jeopardizing her identity.  A few unspecific details, vague confession plans, even that there was another boy in love with her.  Though that seemed less relevant now that she realized she couldn’t quench her feelings for Adrien.

“Wow.  Can you imagine being dense enough not to realize Ladybug is in love with you?”  He sighed wistfully.  Maybe he hadn’t completely given up on her then.

“He’s not dense.”  She grunted as she shoved the chunk of road with her shoulder, finally sending it floating off out of the atmosphere.  “He’s sheltered.  And I don’t always send the clearest signals.”

“I guess helping set him up with a different girl would be a mixed message.”  He winced.  Without giving names, she’d explained the whole double-date fiasco.  He’d been polite enough to stifle his laughter.

“I told you my love life was tangled.  I don’t know that there’s anything you can do to help, but thanks for listening anyway.”

She adjusted her wings, slowing the flare from her jet pack.

“Wait.”  He grabbed her hand before she could begin her descent towards earth. 

She stopped, barely daring to breathe.  Had he changed his mind?  Did he still want to be a thread in her knotted love life after all?

“You told me to be honest with myself,” he continued, his voice soft but sure.  “It sounds like you’ve already done that—so be honest with him, too.”

Oh.  She grimaced.  Of course he’d use her own advice against her.  

“It’s not that easy.”

“I know.  But if you never tell him how you feel, you’re not giving him the chance to swoon at how amazing you are.”

He mimed falling backwards, literally head over heels.  He turned a full 360 degrees in midair before grinning back at her.

“You’re such a dork.”  She shook her head fondly.  “You’re right, though.  That’s what everyone else has told me too.  I can’t keep backing down, not if I want anything to change between us.”

Despite imagining a thousand scenarios where they were married with three kids, Marinette found herself unable to picture herself actually asking Adrien out.  It felt as far away as an alternate universe.

“I can help you out, if you want,” he said cheerily.  “Just put your communicator in your ear, and I’ll feed you all the best pickup lines in real time.”

She laughed.  “Thanks, but I think my awkward stuttering will still be better than that.”

“You’re right.  You should give yourself some credit.  You did call me a catch, after all.”  He winked.

“Chat!”  She punched his arm.  “I was just trying to cheer you up!”

“Uh-huh.  Suuure.”

He was just messing with her.  He wouldn’t be trying to help her with Adrien if he still had a crush on her, would he?  Even after all this time, it was still difficult to tell when he was actually flirting, and when he was just engaging in friendly banter.

...When she thought of it that way, it was less surprising that his ex-girlfriend had misjudged his actions too.

“What about you?”  She asked as they floated back towards earth.  “Do you have any updates on your love situation?”

“Sort of.”  He sighed.  “My girlfriend is clear about her feelings.  She’s given me too many second chances already, and my uncertainty has hurt her.  I can’t expect her to keep waiting while I try to figure out what I want.”

“That’s fair.”  Marinette nodded.  “I’m glad she can be so honest with you, even if it hurts.  She must trust you a lot.”

If only she could have that kind of trust in Adrien.  She… she could, couldn’t she?  Their friendship wouldn’t be destroyed after one tiny declaration of love.  Not after everything he’d said about her in New York.

Right?

“She’s never been afraid to speak her mind.  It’s one thing I really admire about her.”  Chat smiled wistfully.  “I hope that she finds someone who’s better to her than I was.”

“Chat…”

“No, my lady.  She deserves someone who’s as decisive as she is.  Someone who can love her the way she loved me.”

That sounded almost familiar.  Hadn’t Marinette had that same thought about Chat Noir?

“Yeah,” she murmured.  “Yeah, I guess she does.”

XXX

“What’s on the agenda today?”  Chat asked brightly when he arrived at their rooftop.  “Restoring the Arc de Triumph?  Planting more grass in the park?”

“No.”  Marinette fidgeted with her hands.  She’d rehearsed how to ask this a thousand times in the past few days, but she still felt stupid.  “I actually, er… I wanted to take you up on that offer.”

His ears perked up.  “You’re going to let me cut your hair?”

“No, not that offer.”  She smacked her forehead.  She’d forgotten he’d mentioned that when she’d complained about how her pigtails stuck out of her space helmet.  “The one you said?  About the communicators, and helping me, with um, Him…?”

Chat’s jaw dropped.  It would have made a great photo, if she’d gotten out her bugphone in time.

“You’re actually going to use my pickup lines?”

“No!  Those are still awful.”  Except the one about her being the lady of his dreams, but he didn’t need to know how soft that had made her.  “In fact, I don’t actually want us to use our communicators at all.”

He blinked.  “So, you want to take me up on my offer, but you don’t want me to do a single thing I offered.  Makes perfect sense.”

“Ugh.  Sorry, I’m so bad at this.”  She should just pretend she was explaining a plan to Alya.  Or maybe that she was coming up with a solution to her Lucky Charm.  That was never so awkward, right?  

“I want you to use this,” she clarified, pulling the toy cat out of her yo-yo.  “I always chicken out before I tell him how I feel.  I was thinking, if I felt like you were there… I might be a little braver.”

He still looked stunned, but a smile slowly crept across his face.

“So I can be your wingman?”

“...Sort of, I guess?  All you need to do is push the button when I inevitably start to panic.” 

His head tilted.  “But how will I know when you’re trying to talk to him?  You need a Plagg, too.”

“You’re one step ahead, kitty.  I was thinking we could go pick one up before patrol.  Since you’ll be keeping it, you should get to choose what kind of buzzer you want.”

He beamed at that.  “Brilliant as usual, my lady.”

Whew.  She’d worried he would think it was stupid.

“Come on.”  She unhooked her yo-yo from her waist.  “The store I bought Plagg at was set to reopen today.  If we’re quick, we can get there before they close for the night.”

He kept pace with her as they swung and leapt towards the west side of the city.  The novelty shop had been in the path of destruction, but by now most of the buildings were functional again.  

The repairs had restored Chat Noir’s good humor, too.  Either that or he’d sorted out his own romances.  Curious as she was, she found herself too nervous to ask.

I’m asking out Adrien.  It doesn’t matter if Chat Noir gets a girlfriend.  Him having a girlfriend hadn’t changed things between them before, after all.  He’d always be her partner.  Always.

She dropped down in front of the store— 

—and felt her soul leave her body.

“Nooooo,” she groaned, gaping at the brand new, shiny, automatic doors.

Chat Noir landed beside her and strapped his staff to his back.

“What’s wrong, my lady?  Are they all out of—” He blinked at the doors, too.  “Oh.”

Oh?  Was her fear of automatic doors that obvious?  Okay, fear was a strong word, but there was no way she could get into the store with her dignity intact.  She’d embarrassed herself in front of Chat plenty of times, but it was still light out, and too many civilians were on the street.

“I, just, uh—feel a draft coming out of this store! Maybe another place sells the same kind of toys?”  She grinned uncomfortably.  

It wasn’t likely.  They were marketed towards people in long-distance relationships. She’d been lucky to notice the beeper toys when she was looking for design inspirations in this out-of-the-way shop.

“Maybe.  Do you know where?  Most stores will be closing pretty soon.”

She sighed.  That had been such a flimsy excuse, she was surprised he’d even bought it.  

“No, it’s fine.  You just—might want to go in without me.”  She tapped her fingers together.  “They, um, have some toy spiders in there that are reeeeeally scary.”

“Oh, no!”  He replied too dramatically.  “I’m, uh, afraid of spiders too!”

“...Are you making fun of me?”

He grinned nervously.  “Why would you think that?”

“Because I know you’re not afraid of spiders.  You picked one up and moved it the other day because you didn’t want to kill it.”  It had been really cute, even if she’d originally screamed for him to squish it.

“Crud, I forgot about that,” he said under his breath.

They were drawing stares by now, standing in the glow of the shop’s windows without stepping inside.  One little kid waved at them, and Chat waved back.

“It doesn’t matter.”  She shook her head.  “We’re going in this shop, and we’re getting you a beeper toy, and we’re not going to be stopped by some stupid automatic doors.”

“Automatic—wait, you can’t get through automatic doors either?”  

She didn’t answer.  She was busy slamming into the glass.

“Ow,” she muttered with her nose squished against the door.  Which still.  Didn’t.  Open.

Behind her, Chat Noir started to laugh.

“Shut up,” she said, but it probably didn’t have much effect when muffled by the glass.

“Sorry, sorry!”  He rushed to help her as she peeled herself off.  “It’s just, this happens all the time to me and my good friend.  I thought I was going to be the one smushed like a bug on a windshield.”

“There’s only one bug here,” she said, brushing off the front of her suit.  “And she’s going to get through those stupid doors if it’s the last thing she does.”

“My lady—”

Frustrated, she banged her fists against the glass— 

—and shattered it into a million pieces.

Sirens blared.  She yelped, jumping back towards Chat.  

This was it.  Her life was over.  She was going to go to jail and lose her miraculous all because she’d used super-strength on a stupid door!

“Uh-oh.”  Chat gulped.

“M-miraculous ladybug!”  She yelled on reflex, though she didn’t have a Lucky Charm.  Could a Lucky Charm even fix this?  A villain hadn’t done the damage at all, unless she counted as a villain, because she’d just committed vandalism, and oh no the owner was coming towards them and— 

“Ladybug!  Chat Noir!”  The man with the white mustache looked more concerned than angry.  That was… that was good, right?  “Did an akuma come through here?  Do I need to evacuate?  There’s no one else in the store right now.  I don’t think anyone realized I’ve reopened.”

She blinked.  Would it be alright to lie, just this once?  To avoid being arrested, losing her miraculous, and letting Paris fall to Hawkmoth?

“No, no, there’s nothing to worry about,” Chat answered for her, holding up his hands.  

Meanwhile, the shopkeeper pressed a button on the wall, turning off the alarm.  If only her pounding heart could be quieted so easily.

“It was an accident,” Chat continued.  “It’s my fault.”

...Wait, what?

“I was trying to hold open the door for my lady, as all good gentlecats do.  But my powers of destruction and automatic doors don’t get along.”  He smiled ruefully, then produced a wad of euros from his pocket.  The shopkeeper looked as shocked as Marinette was. “I hope this will be enough to cover the damage.  And I’m very sorry.  You have a lovely shop.”

The shopkeeper’s glasses slid down his nose.  He pushed them back up, still not moving to accept the money.  “Chat Noir... this is far too much.”

“Consider it a tip.”  He winked.

A tip of… she couldn’t count every bill in his palm, but she swore that was at least three hundred euros. Where did he get that kind of money?  Did he have some kind of superhero donation drive she didn’t know about?

“Please, at least buy something,” the owner insisted.  “If there’s no akuma, then I assume you were coming to make a purchase?  Or was it a return?  Was the item you purchased not to your liking, Ladybug?”

“N-no, it was perfect!”  She said quickly.  Her heart still hadn’t stopped pounding.  He remembered her.  What was his name again?  She should be better at remembering citizens’ names.  “I—we—um, wanted another one, actually.”

“A matched set.”  Chat grinned.  “Would that be alright?”

“Of course.”  He looked relieved.  “Right this way.”

Chat stepped through the broken door frame—which opened just in time to trip him.  Marinette tried to catch him by his tail, but his weight dragged her down too.  They both ended up sprawled among the broken glass.

“Oww…” He groaned against the tile floor.

She picked a shard out of her cheek.  “Why does this keep happening to me?”  

The shopkeeper blinked down at them.  “On second thought, I’ll bring my options out to you.”

That was probably for the best.  While he left, she and Chat untangled their limbs and helped each other up.

“Sorry.”  He grimaced.  “I didn’t mean for my bad luck to rub off on you.”

“Bad luck?”  She tried to brush some glass out of her suit, but it just ended up sticking in her hand.  “If anyone’s unlucky, it’s me.  This kind of thing happens to me all the time.”

“My lady, you haven’t been this clumsy since the day we met.  And I know for a fact that automatic doors hate me.”

“They hate me more.  I couldn’t get through them once in New York.”

“Me either.”

She blinked up at him.  Glass shards were still scattered in his hair, reflecting the shop’s bright lights.  Yes, she could picture him being this unlucky—but could they really both be unlucky in the same exact way?

“I fell in a tangled mess with my crush, and then the doors kept smacking into us.  I’m pretty sure my ribs are still bruised from it.”  There was no way his luck was worse than that.

Pink flushed across his cheeks.  “Uh… me too?”

She snorted.  “It’s not a competition, Chat.  You don’t have to make up stuff to prove you have worse luck than me.”

“I’m not making anything up.”  He took a step forward and brushed a piece of glass from her bangs.  “Did you say that happened to you and… and your crush?”

His voice came out as a squeak.  But—if he was being serious— 

How many French kids had been in New York last week?  And more importantly, how many had been repeatedly squished between automatic doors? 

No.  There’s no way.  She was the girl who couldn’t even get through automatic doors—she was not this lucky.

“No, you couldn’t be her.”  His face fell.  “She wouldn’t even sit next to me on the plane.  There’s no way she has a crush on me.” 

Her mouth hung open.

“Adrien?”  Her shout was tinged with panic.  She was lucky that the street had cleared out, probably because the citizens thought their heroes were investigating an akuma. 

His wide eyes snapped back to hers.  

“M-Marinette?”

“Oh my gosh.  You’re—you’re really Adrien.  Adrien Agreste.”  The love of her life.  Who couldn’t even believe she liked him!

She wanted to shatter like the automatic door.  Maybe then she could avoid the horrible, soul-crushing embarrassment of admitting her feelings after committing accidental vandalism.

“And that’s… okay?”  His voice was barely a whisper.

“Okay?” Her grin must have looked manic, which probably didn’t reassure him.  She tried to force a normal expression.

...What was normal again?

He swallowed and rubbed the back of his neck—only to grimace and pull out another glass shard.  

“Sorry.  I—you didn’t want to know, and—” His expression turned to horror.  “Do I have to give up my miraculous now?”  

“What?  No!”  She clasped her hands over his before he could even think of removing his ring.  “Adrien—you’re the only Chat Noir for me.  I’m thrilled it’s you.”

“Really?”  His ears perked up.  “But I thought… I’m confused.  You said you were stuck in the automatic doors with your crush… but that was…?”

She smiled as tears pricked her eyes. 

“You.”  

After all this time, it was him.  Adrien was her partner.  

And she could trust her partner.

She rested her hand on his cheek, careful not to press any pieces of glass deeper into his skin.  “It’s always been you.”

The corners of his eyes crinkled, filling with water that spilled over onto his mask.

“Even when I thought I was moving on from you, I guess I was falling right back.”  He chuckled and wiped his eyes.  Then he rested his hand over hers.  His ring was a spot of cold against her fingers.

“This would only happen to us.”  She laughed too.  “And here I wanted your help to confess to, well, you.”

“That would’ve been awkward.”  He grinned.  “If we didn’t realize each others’ identities now, we would’ve then.”

She snorted.  “I wouldn’t give us that much credit.  We’ve both been stupider than that before.”

“Fair enough.  All this time, Ladybug was in love with me!”  

“You do realize that means you called yourself dense, right?”

He smacked his forehead, then winced.  “Ow.  I’d like to contest that, but I think I just proved it.”

She held back a laugh.  “As long as you don’t tease me for taking two years to confess to you, I’ll call it even.”

“Two years?”  He blinked.  “You’ve had a crush on me for that long?”

She shrugged sheepishly.  “I did say it’s always been you.”

His expression melted into something so soft, she could hardly stand it.  So it was a relief when he pulled her into an even softer—if glass-filled—hug.

“It was you, too.  Marinette you,” he murmured by her ear.  “It took me too long to realize it, but I always knew there was something special about you.”

Her heart soared at that, even higher than when they’d been dancing in the sky.  It all made sense now.  Alya had posted those photos on Instagram.  Neither of them had known Adrien had a girlfriend—Kagami, probably.  Hopefully she wouldn’t end her friendship with Marinette over this.  They were supposed to have their weekly orange juice tomorrow; Marinette would make sure to be honest with her, too.

But right now, that could wait.  All she wanted to do was feel the warmth of Adrien’s arms—Chat Noir’s arms.

“It was Chat Noir you, too,” she admitted.  “I didn’t want to let you go.  I think I took your love for granted, even when I was in love with ‘Adrien.’”

She felt his arms tighten when she said love.

“Considering you were torn between me and me, I think I can forgive that.”  He chuckled.  “Actually, I could do more than forgive you.  I could kiss you right now.”

Tingles shot through her.  Was she ready for that?  She’d hardly been able to imagine this moment—and she’d definitely never imagined it like this.  Covered in glass, Chat’s claws gently cupping her shoulderblade.

Somehow, it still blew all of her fantasies out of the water.   

“I could let you,” she softly replied.

He pulled back just enough to rest his forehead against hers.  “Really?  I mean… I can still hardly believe this is happening.  I can still hardly believe you’re Marinette.”

She frowned.  “Why?  Because I’m so clumsy?”

“No, because you’re so—” he waved a hand, searching for the word.  “Perfect isn’t the right word.  You’re endearing, and smart, and brave enough to stand up to my father.  You can crush me at video games, and you can forgive me even when I don’t deserve it.”

“Adrien—”

“I left you.”  

In that moment, something shifted in her mind.  She knew he was Adrien, but finally, she could hear it in his voice.

“I left you twice.  As Adrien and as Chat Noir.  How can you still want me?”

She took his face in both hands.  Never again, not for one second, would she let this boy feel like he wasn’t wanted.

“How could I not want you, Adrien?”

He broke, the tears flowing freely.  They glimmered off the bits of glass still stuck to his face.  She wished she could clear both of those away, that she could stop him from hurting.

“See?  This is why I can hardly believe it.  I’m not supposed to be this lucky.”

“Me either.  But I’m tired of worrying about what we’re supposed to be.”  She smiled.  “I love you, kitty.  And if you plan on collecting that kiss—”

He did.  Somehow he was both clumsy and careful, probably because he was dodging the bits of glass still stuck to her face. Not that she minded.  It was him, and it was her—Adrien and Marinette, Ladybug and Chat Noir.

Though it should’ve been the last thing on her mind, she couldn't help thinking that both of Alya’s ships had sailed tonight.

She was just about to deepen this kiss when Adrien pulled back.

“What?”  she asked.  Had she been that bad of a kisser?

But no, he was looking at the shopkeeper.  Who had his arms full of animal toys, and a face red enough to blend in with her suit.

“Oh—ah—sorry to interrupt.”  He cleared his throat.  “Did you still want…?”  

Her face flushed too.  She didn’t think it was possible to be any more embarrassed after breaking the man’s doors, but she hadn’t thought it was possible to kiss Adrien without spontaneously combusting, either.

“I don’t suppose we need one now, do we?”  She glanced at Adrien sheepishly.

“That doesn’t mean I don’t want one.”  He inspected the boxes in the man’s arms.

“If afraid we’re out of Ladybug toys.  They’re our hottest selling item right now.  I even looked in the back to be sure none were hiding there.”

Adrien grinned, and she remembered why she never would’ve guessed his identity.  That toothy smile was all Chat.

“That’s okay.  I know the next best thing.”

XXX

“I hope you know that I’m never going to press the button,” Marinette said when they returned to their rooftop.

“What?  And I thought you loved me.”  Adrien put a hand over his chest in dramatic offense.

“You obviously don’t love me if you thought the best toy to represent me was a cow.”

“Cows are so cute though!”  He held up the black-and-white cow beeper toy, which he’d already named Stompp.  “And she has spots, just like you!”

Cows might not be cute, but Adrien certainly was.  And he knew she couldn’t resist his pleading kitty eyes.

She sighed and pressed the button.

“Moo!” Chat mimicked the toy.  “See?  Moo and mew!  They even sound alike.  What noise would a ladybug have made, anyway?”

“It would probably just call you a dork.”  She smirked.

“Or it might tell me it loves me.”  He wiggled his eyebrows.

“Or,” she took his hand, “you could just be happy with your real girlfriend telling you she loves you.”

His smile was soft and warm, enfolding her like a blanket.

“I think I can live with that.”

[jincherie]

florescence | iii

❀ — pairing: taehyung x reader x seokjin ❀ — genre: hybrid au, hybrid tae, hybrid jin, poly au, fluff, smut (future), angst ❀ — words: 5.7k+ ❀ — rating: sfw ❀ — warnings: fluff, fluff & more fluff ❀ — notes: I slipped in an extra scene and edited what I had for this chapter, and here we are!!! I still have a fair amount of excess so I’m going to continue working on that along with things like tentacledipity huhuhuhuh anyway hope u enjoy this!!!

Okay, so maybe you’re lonely, and maybe there is something missing in your life, a void that you maybe want to fill with a companion that may or may not be of human origin… You’re perfectly content not doing anything about it though, until your best friend calls you in desperate need for your help and you suddenly end up coming home with not one, but two hybrids that may or may not have been on the way to the chopping block had you not taken them in. They’re more than a little rough around the edges, and the situation is less than ideal but… maybe the best things don’t always come in perfect, shiny packages. Maybe they just need a little time to bloom.

— posted; 22.09.2019 // masterlist || prev. | next.

“Next, you put in the eggs?”

You hum in affirmation, feeling Seokjin hover just over your shoulder—far enough that the distance is polite, but close enough that the barest hints of his warmth from his body tickle your skin and make you yearn for more. A somewhat inappropriate and incredibly intrusive feeling that pops into your head, but not one that’s easily escaped either.

“Yup,” you chirp, already reaching for the ingredients. Before you can grasp them, Seokjin hastily retrieves them for you—nearly dropping them in the process but successfully delivering them into your hold nonetheless. You send him a smile and his cheeks flush pink, ears flicking back shyly. From the corner of your eye, you catch his tail attempting to whip eagerly from side to side behind him.

He is so cute you think you’re really going to burst.

“I hope these pancakes turn out better than the last ones,” you murmur softly as you stir, trying to fold the ingredients and mix them more efficiently. It was something that slipped out more as a musing, but you hear an affronted gasp from behind you as soon as the words grace the air nonetheless.

“y/n!” Seokjin says, tone taking on a reprimanding edge that has you fighting a smile. “The last pancakes were good! They were so good, I promise!”

You glance at him over your shoulder, finding him standing with hands in loose fists and a determined, somewhat distressed expression on his face. You really can’t hold back your smile.

“Thanks, Seokjin,” you said, feeling your chest warm as his cheeks flush on cue.  “I appreciate that, and I know they must have been at least a little bit good since you nearly ate yourself sick with them.”

At the mention of the incident that occurred only a day or so ago, Seokjin’s blush takes on another degree of severity and a sound that seems awfully akin to a whine leaks from his throat. You’d learned from Seokjin that they’d never had pancakes at the lab, and had immediately nearly thrown a fit and had an internal meltdown that resulted in you making them right then and there, immediately, to rectify it. You aren’t the biggest fan of pancakes, they aren’t even your favourite food, but they feel like such a crucial experience in life that the idea of the two hybrids never having had the pleasure of trying them… you were compelled to fix it.

As it turns out, they love them, so much that here you are making them again, lowkey teaching Seokjin how to do it himself. You aren’t sure if he’s really here for your company or to oversee the production of the pancakes. You’re inclined to believe the latter, but letting yourself think it is the former is nice while it lasts. You gotta be a little kind to yourself sometimes, after all.

The rest of the cooking experience goes smoothly, save for Seokjin almost burning himself on the pan. He gets a little too excited when you hand him the spatula, ears upright and deceptively alert—you quickly realise you should have been paying more attention to the blur of his whirring tail as he focuses too much on the bubbling pancakes and not enough on his own movements.

When his wrist dips a little too low and brushes the side of the pan, the reaction is immediate—he jerks his whole hand away, spatula dropping from his grasp, and a whimper slips from his throat that has you immediately at attention.

“Ah, Seokjin!” You immediately move and grasp his hand, bringing it closer to inspect it. Subconsciously, you pull him over to the sink as well. “Oh, bub, are you alright?”

Seokjin’s free hand finds your upper arm, gripping the material of your shirt as he flounders and stumbles over a response—your close proximity has him a little flustered, it seems. Catching sight of the red welt beginning to appear on the tan underside of his wrist, you bring it over the sink and turn the tap, allowing cold water to run over the mild burn. He jumps, letting out an ‘eep’ before leaning closer to the sink and, as a result, further against you.

“I-I’m fine!” he attempts to reassure you, before a soft whimper slips out as you tilt his wrist. “I-I’m sorry, I should have been paying more attention… It was stupid of me…”

“A little bit silly, but not stupid. I’m not going to fault you for being excited, Seokjin,” you inform him, turning the tap off and inspecting the burn to assess its severity. When you deem it okay enough that it shouldn’t need too much more water or attention, you bring it to your lips and press a light kiss over it. “There. All better.”

In your defence, you hadn’t really realised what you’d done—for your job you’re around children often and do such things without so much as a second thought. But when you turn and see Seokjin standing stock still, staring at his wrist with eyes blown wide and his entire face turning pink, you quickly realise your folly and are immediately overtaken by the conflicting urges to coo, laugh, and apologise.

You’re a little embarrassed. He doesn’t seem upset about it though, just flustered, so you decide he can go without a flustered, bumbling apology in return and you can save yourself a tiny bit of your pride. You slap on a big, dumb smile and then shuffle back to the pan, flipping the pancakes before they can begin to burn.

With that little incident over, you get back to cooking. It takes a while for the flush to leave Seokjin’s face, and when you emerge from the kitchen with pancakes to greet Taehyung, he sends the two of you a curious, questioning look. The only thing that saves you from having to answer is the way the smell of the food seems to suddenly possess the two of them, and how as soon as it touches their tongues they’ve both completely forgotten.

You’ll have to be more mindful of your habits, it seems.

Over the next few days as you gradually get everything you had on your list and your orders arrive, you’re overjoyed to note that the two hybrids seem to be allowing themselves to open up slightly and draw a little closer, bit by bit. No longer secluding himself in the room or confining himself to the living room on his favourite couch, Seokjin will now occasionally wander into the kitchen when you’re cooking and hover as he had when the two of you made pancakes, curious gaze raking in everything you do. Sometimes he’ll make a comment and strike up a small conversation, ask whatever tickles his interest, but the silence that fills the air between you when he doesn’t isn’t an uncomfortable one, unlike how it might have been before.

Taehyung too seems to be allowing you into his heart in baby steps. While he still hasn’t spoken, it’s becoming easier and easier for you to stop associating his speech— or lack thereof in this instance — with however he might feel about you, and it means you’re able to enjoy the time he spends with you that much more. The tall russet-haired hybrid has taken to pulling you to sit next to him for a movie, sitting apart on the couch but just close enough that his shoulder barely brushes yours. He also, as his most recent effort, tugged you down to sit in the sun with him in your courtyard, both of you laying sideways across the hammock so that your upper bodies are supported and your legs hang over the edge. You can tell that he’s still warring with his incredibly shy nature, because both instances he spends with a pretty blush across his cheeks and nose. You think that both of the hybrids are beautiful, but you also think that the times Taehyung spends relaxing outside with you are where he is most beautiful; with the afternoon sun bathing his tan skin in rays of gold and melting his eyes into pools of ember, russet hair and fur gleaming like silk, he glows ethereal.

Seokjin doesn’t join the two of you when you lay outside, but sometimes when you enter and catch him by the doorway you swear you can see a glimmer of longing in his gemstone eyes.

It is perhaps a week after the events of the day that spurred everything into motion that you finally catch a glimpse of the most vulnerable parts of the silver fox hybrid.

Once more it’s a time of night where you should probably be asleep, yet you find yourself wandering into the kitchen in the dark with the intention of surreptitiously making yourself a tea and hoping you don’t wake your housemates with sensitive ears. You get to the point of boiling the jug when you notice the front screen door is slightly ajar and a breeze is sifting through to brush your skin with a cool caress. Curious, if slightly alarmed, you strain your ears and catch the slight creak you know too well as that of the hammock when it swings under the weight of a body. You pause for a moment, pondering how to proceed, and end up silently retrieving another mug from the cupboard, dropping another teabag in.

A few minutes later finds you padding softly to the door, sliding it open as carefully as you can with both of your hands full. You’re not sure who you expect to see occupying the hammock at this time of night, considering Taehyung is the only one who has shown an affinity for snuggling in it, but the animal he is spliced with is also not the nocturnal type. It is Seokjin that greets your eyes as they slowly adjust to the dark, and the sight of him makes your heart skip a beat.

If Taehyung is a child of the sun, then Seokjin belongs to the moon. His charcoal hair has turned to ink and shines like silk in the moonlight, tan skin tinged soft blue and rose petal lips painted violet. He is lost in thought, eyes glazed and glimmering, and beneath the moons rays he is aglow and radiant. The fur on his ears and tail is the same glossy ink as his hair yet looks so impossibly soft and fluffy your hands ache to touch it. When you take a step closer and his ears flick, registering the sound and your presence a moment later, and he almost jumps out of his skin.

“y-y/n!” he bursts, eyes wide as he scrambles from where he is curled in the hammock, almost tipping himself out of it in the process. “W-what are you doing up? Did I wake you? I’m so sorry—”

You can’t help but smile at his fluster, letting out a soft giggle. “You didn’t wake me, don’t worry Seokjin. I was up getting a tea and heard you out here so I made you one as well. Scooch over, bub.”

At the term of affection tacked on at the end, Seokjin’s face erupts into a violent blush. He sputters but he does what you say without thinking, cheeks glowing with heat. You ease down next to him so you’re both sitting with your legs over the edge, the nature of the hammock causing your shoulders to press together and your bodies to tilt towards each other. You hand him his mug and he takes it shyly, wrapping his hands around the heated ceramic immediately; it’s a little chilly, out here in the open.

“Thank you,” he murmurs softly, averting his gaze as he takes a sip. A pleased hum escapes him before he can stop it, his cheeks warming even further. You take a sip of your own drink to muffle your laugh.

The silence that sinks over you after that is comfortable, the two of you directing your gazes to the sky. You’re far enough from the centre of the city that you can still see the stars, and you’re admittedly a bit mesmerised as they glimmer. The moon, too, is hypnotically beautiful tonight. It’s waxing, and you don’t doubt that in a week or so it will be completely full.

Before long, you can feel a shift in the air, a slight weight that wasn’t there before, and your attention is drawn from the sky. Turning to face Seokjin, he has an expression like he wishes to speak, to ask you something, his eyes flicking periodically from your form to the sky and the flowers in your courtyard.

“Is everything okay, Seokjin?” you ask after a few moments. You wanted to see if he would voice whatever is on his mind by himself, but when he remains hesitant you decide to help ease him into it. “What’s on your mind?”

The hybrid eyes you for a long few moments, amber eyes glimmering, before he realises he is staring and promptly rips his gaze away. You fight a smile for the sake of his pride.

“I just…” he stops as suddenly as he starts, teeth sinking into his lip. Curiously, you note that his canines are a little bit longer than your own human ones—you hope that doesn’t mean he is prone to nicking himself with them. “I…”

You wait patiently, kicking your feet a little and taking a sip of your drink. Seokjin catches the movement of your legs and a small smile catches his lips. It drops when he sighs a moment later, apparently focusing on ordering his thoughts.

“I didn’t think this would ever happen,” he admits finally, voice small and a split second from cracking. His fingers tap against the mug in their hold, his eyes averted from your own and his brow furrowed. You give him a few moments, and he elaborates for you. “I didn’t think I would ever… we would ever, you know…”

When he risks a glance your way your head is tilted, eyes on him as you wait patiently for him to continue. He flushes, mumbling.

“I didn��t think… we would ever get a home.”

It’s as though your heart freezes in your chest for a moment, your mouth dropping open a little bit. Seokjin fumbles over his words a little, but now that he’s started he doesn’t seem to be able to stop.

“I-I mean, I kind of always knew Taehyung would get a home. He is sweet, and loyal, and he meets the aesthetic requirements of his batch. He’s shy, but it’s not a deal-breaker for everyone. But I…” he swallows, blinking rapidly; your hand itches to wrap around his own and intertwine your fingers to comfort him, but you refrain. “But I… I don’t fit what they want, what they aimed for. My features are a mutation—by the definition my creation was an experiment and my existence is a failure.”

“Seokjin…” you breathe, your own eyes stinging. He takes in a shaky breath, sniffling sharply once.

“I don’t know why I’m telling you this…” he says, and you can see his cheeks glowing with heat once more. “I… I can’t help it, though. You…”

He flushes further, if possible, and looks incredibly embarrassed about what he’s about to confess. His tail whips anxiously behind him before wrapping around his middle, ears pressed backwards.

“You feel… safe, to me, to us,” he admits in such a soft whisper your ears strain to hear it. He can barely look at you he is blushing so badly, and you curse the way your heart flips in response to his fluster. “P-please don’t think it’s weird, b-but your scent… it is very calming. It… feels safe. For Taehyung, too. E-even though we haven’t scented y—”

He suddenly cuts off, eyes blown wide and an expression of mortification crossing his handsome features. Unfortunately for him, you can’t squash your sudden burning curiosity.

“Even though you haven’t what?” you prompt, eyes searching his features—Seokjin looks very much like he’d rather sink into the earth and become one with the soil than answer you.

“N-nothing. It’s nothing, it’s not important.” You thought he was just flustered, but to your surprise you note a bit of fear filtering just barely through his tone. What is he scared of? Does he fear that he’ll receive some sort of reaction in particular from you? The idea saddens you a little bit.  

“Seokjin, please don’t be scared to tell me things,” you say softly, finally allowing your hand to reach and grasp his own. He jolts, looking to you with wide eyes; yet his fingers still curl around your own immediately, and the action soothes any sudden worries that might make themselves known in your thoughts. As you speak, you realise that part of his hesitation might stem from the feelings he hinted at the other day. “Nothing you say or do will ever be a deal-breaker for me, Seokjin. Nothing you do will ever be something that makes me take you back. In all honesty, unless it was something I knew you wanted, I’d rather chop all four of my limbs off than take you back or do something that would hurt you.”

The hybrid is more than taken aback at your words, his mouth hanging open and ears part-way extended from his hair. It takes him a few moments for your words to sink in completely.

“Do you mean that?” he asks, and his voice cracks. His eyes begin to water. “Do you… do you really mean that?”

You nod at him, smiling softly. “I’m happy with you and Taehyung, Seokjin. I want you.”

The last three words that fall from your lips are simple yet seem to have a more profound effect on him than anticipated. He lets out a whimper, a choked-sounding gasp of sorts, and jerks as though he wants to throw his arms around you but restrains himself at the last moment. He doesn’t speak, can’t seam to speak, but the second you catch his gaze with your own you find an ocean of emotions shimmering and swirling before you. Gently, you take his mug from his hands and place it with yours down by the end of the hammock. When you sit back up, you open your arms to him and he doesn’t waste a second, another whimper escaping before he throws himself at you, hammock rocking dangerously from the momentum of his movement.

His face is shoved in the crook of your neck once more, arms looped tightly around your middle. You feel secure, safe, and your chest warms with affection as Seokjin shifts and brings you closer to him, barely a few movements away from pulling your straight onto his lap. You run your hand up and down his back soothingly, fingers dragging over the firm curves of muscle.

“Thank you, y/n.” His voice is a barely-there whisper that brushes your neck gently, and you can feel the movement of his lashes as he scrunches his eyes shut and presses his face closer. “Thank you.”

You can’t help but let out a soft chuckle, leaning your head against his as you did last time he embraced you; he lets out a happy chitter. You feel at peace, content, and you can feel the shift in the air—can feel how he has opened himself a little more to you.

“You’re more than welcome, Seokjin,” you murmur.

And you mean it, you really do.

x     +     x     +     x     +

The next morning when you awake, it’s not to your alarm like you expect. Despite the fact you’d still returned to bed later last night, especially after your little one-on-one with Seokjin in the courtyard, you still didn’t want to sleep in too late. To be fair you love sleep, but don’t particularly enjoy the feeling like you’re wasting the day when you wake up too late. Hence, you’d begrudgingly set an alarm despite the fact you don’t really have to be up for anything.

Even so, you’re quick to realise upon waking that the alarm you’d set on your phone isn’t the culprit. Instead the real cause reveals itself as you crack your eyes open and rub them blearily, eyesight gradually adjusting. To your complete and utter surprise, it’s Taehyung’s face that greets you as you come to your senses, his cheeks already flushed the second your gaze lands on him. Confusion filters through your mind and then concern in quick succession—Taehyung has never come into your room before, what made him now?

“Taehyung?” you query, sitting up suddenly and clearing your throat so your voice doesn’t stay so rough. “Is everything ok? Did something happen?”

His cheeks flush further but he holds your concerned gaze as he shakes his head, shifting nervously where he’s standing by the top of your bed. Something twitches on your shoulder and you realise quickly its his finger, his hand gently cupping the curve of it—he must have been gently shaking you awake with his hold.

When he shakes his head, you feel all the tension leave you in one big huff of relief. “Oh thank goodness,” you manage to say before a yawn stopped you in your tracks. “What’s up, bub?”

Again you tacked on the nickname unthinkingly, and it seems to fluster the poor hybrid even more than it did Seokjin the night before. Taehyung stares at you with wide eyes, tail trembling behind him—his ears aren’t flattened against his head, though, so you take that to mean you haven’t embarrassed him too badly.

Instead of speaking—not like you expected him to at this point, in all honesty—he bites his lip and moves his hand to grasp your own. You have barely a moment to register how soft and warm his palm is as it cups yours before he’s tightening his grip and tugging it gently, urging you to follow him. Confused but curious to see what he’s up to, you allow him to guide you from the bed and out of your room, following him as he makes a beeline for the kitchen.

To your surprise, upon entering the kitchen you’re greeted with the sight of two plates with some cut up fruit, boiled eggs and toast placed neatly on top. Off to the side is a third plate covered in plastic wrap so nothing gets on it, and you assume that one is for Seokjin whenever he wakes. You return your gaze to the other two plates as you draw closer, sniffing and absolutely salivating at the smell of freshly-made coffee as it brushes your nostrils.

“Oh, Taehyung, that smells and looks delicious,” you praise him readily, keeping your hand in his as you move closer to inspect the meal that had been so nicely prepared for you. You can’t deny the way your heart skipped a beat, the giddy feeling tickling your stomach, at the fact that Taehyung had taken the time to do this—for you. And Seokjin too, but honestly considering how close they are you wouldn’t expect anything less.

He shakes his head shyly, blushing, and attempts to shake his hair so that it hides his face from you. His ears flick towards you at the giggle that escapes your lips, and he bites his lip as he forces himself to return his gaze to you. You watch as he reaches with his free hand to grasp one of the plates, before standing still and waiting pointedly. Quickly, you do the same, begrudgingly releasing his hand so you can grasp your drink as well. His arm twitches towards you before falling to his side. Cheeks burning, the male makes sure your attention is on him before he turns and begins walking from the kitchen. It doesn’t take you long to realise where he is going.

The sun is warm as it kisses your skin but the air is cool enough to elicit a shiver as you step outside, following the male closely. He moves to the hammock, already smiling as the sun hits his skin, and settles down before looking over at you expectantly. You really can’t hold your grin as you move over quickly, sitting down carefully so you don’t rock the hammock too much. You have to take a quick sip of your drink as you lower yourself so that it doesn’t spill over the top, and let out a pleased hum at the taste. He made it perfectly how you like it—it seems he’s more observant than he lets on.

“What a pretty day,” you comment, taking in the cool shadows of the morning in contrast to the crisp patches of sunlight. Taehyung nods from beside you, lifting his fork but hesitating before using it. You’re confused for a moment, before you realise its something both him and Seokjin have subtly done ever since they’ve been here. They won’t start eating until you do. You’re a little disappointed in yourself for not noticing earlier, since it’s clearly a carry-over of whatever rules they were taught at the lab. In your defence though, as soon as you see food you develop a tunnel vision of sorts. It’s clearly something you need to work on.

Quick to pick up your own fork and start eating so he doesn’t have to wait, you tell him he’s always welcome to start before you. He blushes, but after holding your gaze for a few moments nods in acknowledgement. You beam at him and he averts his gaze, shoving a piece of melon in his mouth. Cute.

You chatter idly as you sit there with Taehyung, not in an attempt to fill the silence so much as just because you wanted to—most of what you were saying were praises and thanks, anyway. He’s clearly flustered at your words but also seems to preen, clearly a little bit proud of himself. You’re pleased to see that. Little by little, he seems to be coming out of his shell, and the prospect is exciting.

Taehyung finishes before you, and the second the last item of food leaves the plate and enters your mouth, he takes the ceramic from your hands and moves it with his own out of the way on the ground. A temporary location. You’ve barely finished chewing when he pops back up, looking somewhat hesitant but with a shimmer of something else hiding in the depths of his gaze. His fingers clutch each other as he looks at you, tail winding and then unwinding around his waist as his ears lower then raise again.

Your immediate instinct is to ask him what’s up, but you hold yourself back—part of you wants to know if he’ll tell you himself, even if it isn’t with words. You want to see how he will proceed.

He seems to catch on quickly that you’re waiting for him, as he wriggles and averts his eyes nervously. He takes a deep breath, straightening his back, and frees one of his hands so it can lift—before it falls back down quickly and he loses his nerve. His cheeks are flushed still, so whatever is on his mind is clearly flustering him, and you continue to wait for him to do what he wants to do in his own time.

His hand lifts again, fingers tentatively touching your hand, then your arm, then your neck where it meets your collarbone. He retracts his hand immediately after, looking troubled as to how to convey what he wants. Curious, you watch as he gathers his thoughts and seems to steel himself once more, before he reaches out with only the slightest tremble to his hand and points at you. He then moves and wraps his arms around himself, looking at you pointedly.

You’re a little lost on what he means, a few possibilities trickling through your mind, but you decide to take the least likely and tease him a bit. “Are you asking if I’m I cold?”

Taehyung’s face drops, his ears twitching as he realises how you could have gotten that message. He huffs, shaking his head, and wraps his arms tighter and higher around himself. This time, he drops his head gently to the side onto his shoulder, looking at you pointedly with pink cheeks.

Biting your lip to contain your smile, you can’t help but tease him a little more. “Do you want a teddy bear?”

A grimace twists his features for a moment, before his expression drops completely—something that makes your stomach fall with it since he seems to be about to give up. He seems even more embarrassed now, in combination with downcast, as he straightens back up, and you’re quick to try and remedy the situation you just created.

“I’m kidding, Taehyung,” you smile softly, fingers fiddling in your lap. This will be really embarrassing for you if you misinterpreted what he was trying to say. “Do… do you want to cuddle?”

Immediately, his expression lights up, and he’s nodding so hurriedly you’re worried he’s going to pull a muscle in his neck. A laugh spills out of you of its own accord as you adjust your position on the hammock, moving to lay down along it and opening your arms to the male.

Taehyung, in what has to be the boldest movement you’ve ever seen him make, dives into your arms so eagerly that the hammock rocks dangerously as a result. It pulls another laugh from you as he stiffens and tries to hold his balance for a moment, tail a little more raised than usual and wriggling in excitement. Once he is sure the hammock has calmed and he wont be tipped to the ground, he eases himself down next to you and wriggles closer, so that he isn’t pressed too closely to the edge.

He seems pleased to have gotten where he is, but you still catch some hesitance in the way he is lying next to you, his arms curled at his chest and tail flicking restlessly. Your shoulders are pressed together, he’s not apart from you, but you get the feeling he is itching to be even closer still. You catch it in the small shifts and wriggles he does, the way his fingers twitch and legs move despite how still he stays.

“You’re too cute, Taehyung,” you laugh, the soft sound catching his attention as he looks up to meet your eyes. “Come here and actually cuddle me.”

With that, you shift and slip your arm beneath his back, wriggling into a more comfortable position and pulling him closer. He blushes madly, but seems relieved you’ve given him the go-ahead as he’s quick to wrap his arms around you, too. You’re on your back and he curls around you on his side, one arm slipping beneath the curve of your lower back and the other draping across your stomach—funnily enough, the way he’s holding you is like you are a big teddy bear in his arms. His tail is soft as it curls over his hip and, as a result, over yours too. The fur tickles you a little and you can feel Taehyung smile against your skin where his face is pressed to your neck. Part of the hammock is in the cool of the shade, but with him cuddled so close you’re more than warm enough.

Humming, with one hand you play with the hair at the nape of his neck and with the other you smooth and brush through the fur on his black-tipped tail. Instantly, the hybrid absolutely melts in your arms, body going so slack in contentment that it melds to your own. You catch him inhaling deeply and then letting out a big breath, the puff of air hot against your skin. His ears flick against your jaw, taking in each and ever sound around you. It’s…. serene. You feel so at peace, and comfortable—you can only hope Taehyung feels that way too.

The silence that settles over the two of you isn’t uncomfortable, in fact it’s quite the opposite. It’s like a blanket of warmth, and before long beneath it and the suns rays the two of you find yourself getting sleepy. Not long into your position on the hammock and you feel Taehyung’s breathing even out completely, his body curling around yours even more as he buries his face further into your neck. You follow him soon after, sleepy eyes drifting closed and sleep eagerly reclaiming you in the comfort of his hold.

x    +     x     +  

It can’t be much later that you’re shaken from sleep by movement on the hammock. Blearily, you open your eyes and blink away the remnants of sleep, struggling to focus them and see the cause of the movement. Taehyung shifts against your side, pressing futher into your neck and clutching you tighter. It’s not him.

You look up and catch Seokjin frozen in his movements, looking at you like a deer caught in headlights with wide eyes and flushed cheeks.

“Uh, y/n…” he stumbles over his words, clearly embarrassed. You quickly realise what he was trying to do as he goes to pull away.

“’s okay, Seokjin,” you smile at him, if somewhat sleepily, and grasp his hand in yours—you use the grip to tug him gently down. “You can come cuddle too.”

The hybrid is visibly overjoyed at your words, and wastes no time in crawling completely onto the hammock as he’d been trying to do before, curling into your side like a puppy. His bushy tail is wagging slightly, before he forces it to calm and wraps it over his hip so it flops over you as well. He seems a little unsure and hesitant of where to put his hands and head, and with a soft giggle you guide his head to your shoulder and his arm to drape over you. You don’t realise Taehyung is awake as well until he moves the arm across your abdomen to hold Seokjin’s hand, resting their conjoined palms over your stomach. The action warms your heart like nothing else and even in your sleepy haze you can’t help but grin, nuzzling into both of them and enjoying the warmth on your skin from the sun and their embrace.

You can only hope that they won’t be afraid to hold you like this again after today.

a/n: thank u for reading, pls let me know what u think!! and feel free to let me know its not total trash by dropping a like or rb,,, if it’s not too much trouble!! and if u enjoyed this and would like to support me, pls feel free to drop by my ko-fi :3

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[ghosthunthq]

Not All Treasure Is Silver or Gold

By: @humanrebel

Ghost Hunt Fanworks Weekend 2020

Prompt: Ghosts at sea. Ghost ships/haunted lighthouse -Anonymous

Summary: It’s not an old location; it was built just ten years ago. The haunting was severe, though, already causing physical damage. Just an average case, like the ones theyve investigated before. The only difference? They were investigating a ship out at sea. And it unnerved her to know that help is so far away. [Post manga]

Word count: ~4.5k

She breathes in the salted air and sighs into the breeze. Sure, she’s seen the ocean – she’s basked on warm summer beaches and jumped over white-tipped waves – but it holds a different quality during the winter.

The kick of sand turns to the crunch of snow. Icicles hang from wind chimes, adding a delicate touch to the sound. And the breeze from the ocean carries a different scent – lighter, fresher, it chills her to her bones in a decidedly good way.

Yes, Mai decides. The ocean is even better in the winter.

“Are you coming, Mai?” asks Naru. “Or do you plan on staring at the water all day?”

“It’s just refreshing, that’s all,” she pouts, but follows him onto the ferry anyway. In the distance, quite a ways out, she can see their destination. She’s not sure how it became haunted — it’s a large ten-year-old yacht — but maybe that’s why the case piqued Naru’s interest. A deceptively innocent place with no exciting history to speak of.

And they had it all to themselves.

Well, mostly. While rooms were often rented out for vacation, there were no tourists here. They still had the crew — none of the SPR team could operate a ship this size — as well as the client and his family, which went against Naru’s wishes.

Because the ghost was violent. It claimed the family as its own, punished them, left them bruised and battered and begging for help. Sure, they’ve had violent cases before, but they were all, for the most part, on solid ground. The only brush they’ve had with the sea was the Yoshimi case.

Mai shivers as she remembers it. She agrees with Naru, there should have only been a skeleton crew and maybe three adults, but when you’ve got as much money as this Ando-san, you don’t listen to logic. Ghosts aren’t motivated by money. While Mai hopes for a quick, painless exorcism, she’s not about to hold their breath.

She’s grateful for the ferry, though. At least they’ll have full supplies while they’re at sea — all the cameras and microphones and screens will help to keep an eye on things. It gives her a small sense of security. (Plus the wind in her hair feels absolutely amazing after being stuck in that stuffy old van for hours.)

She’d rather they investigate while the ship was docked, but apparently the ghosts were only active away from the coast. Which, you know, is fair when you want people to disappear, which has only happened once or twice. To complete strangers. People who rented out Ando-san’s yacht for a quick vacation.

Mai suddenly doubts the client’s intentions. As far as she knows, Naru did nothing to piss him off. Still, Naru pissing someone off is a very likely happening, so she’ll just keep an eye on the Ando family. To make sure they don’t pull any funny business, that’s all.

(She’s joking, of course.)

=•=•=•=

Her mouth drops open when she sees their base. There’s nothing set up yet, but the room–the room is huge. Way bigger than their usual bases, way bigger than she thought would be on a ship this size. The ceiling sits above her, the same size as the rest of the rooms on this floor(deck? level?), but the walls! The walls are far apart, lined with tables and chairs — this is a dining hall, Ando told them. There’s a kitchen through the doors in the back, and chefs that made meals all throughout the day — though Naru dismissed them upon arrival.

She entertains the idea that, perhaps, they were meant to use the dining room as a shared bedroom — but of course Ando thought of that. They each have a room, three in a row across from base. It’s not unusual for her to have a room alone, being the only girl among the official SPR crew, but Naru and Lin often had to share one. She wonders how they feel about that — sure, they shared a hotel room before, and now share an apartment, but to be on a case and have extra rooms? It must be so odd to them.

Then again, their usual clients aren’t always as well off as the Ando family. Mai wonders, not for the first time, what they did to earn such wealth. Sure, Ando rents the yacht out for a not-so-subtle fee. He refers to it as a ‘floating hotel’, but she thinks a cruise ship is more accurate. Either way, he’d need to have some serious money to set up the whole thing. According to him, he came from a small family in a somehow smaller village until he was discovered by a foreign talent agency. That wasn’t how he ‘struck gold’ though. It was just a stepping stone, and he refused to divulge his secrets past that.

Sketchy client or no, Naru took the job. They had no choice, and since the ferry was under Ando’s command, they wouldn’t be able to escape if they wanted. Not that they were ever planning on it. Naru doesn’t run, not when ghosts are involved. He watches and he learns. He’ll figure out what this haunting is and he’ll make sure to solve it with as little damage possible.

He’s saved her life before, and she trusts he’ll save it again if need be.

So she sets down the cameras and sets up the shelves, and she helps Naru with some preliminary camerawork. She throws herself into her work, taking temperatures and running cables, and when she yawns she doesn’t notice. It’s not until her limbs feel like lead and her eyes slide closed that she checks the clock.

“Naru,” she says as she places a box on a table, “I think it’s time to call it a night.”

“We’re almost done setting up.” He digs through the box and pulls out a cable, handing it off to Lin. “You can go ahead and lay down. Lin and I can finish here.”

“You two need rest, too!”

Lin’s voice chimes in, soft and smooth. “It’s almost two in the morning, Noll.” He hooks the cable to a monitor. “This should be fine for right now. We probably won’t get much activity, considering it’s the first night.”

Naru sighs. “I just don’t want to miss anything. You never can tell.” But he scans the monitors, checking over the four that are running, and then he nods. “Very well. Mai can take the room in the middle. That way one of us is bound to hear her if she wanders off.”

“Hey! I’m not–”

He shushes her. “It’s late, remember. Don’t want to wake up the clients,” he says with a smirk.

=•=•=•=

The caffeine in her tea is severely insufficient. Her yawns follow her throughout the day, and it only reminds her of the four hours of sleep she got. Naru wanted to argue for more time, but surprise, surprise! No activity on the first night, as usual. Not a flicker, not a fluctuation, not even one of those vague feelings she sometimes has. The only thing she felt last night was sick.

The rocking of the boat wasn’t so noticeable when she was up and working, but she felt it when she laid down. As soon as her mind settled, her stomach rolled, tossing about like the waves outside her window. It took several stumbling trips to the toilet to finally calm herself enough to sleep.

A yawn breaks her concentration, the twelfth one since she woke up three hours ago. Exhaustion clings to her mind, pulls it further and further down. She rests her head against the table, watching Lin and Naru discussing something in front of the screens — the schematics of the yacht are pinned to the board beside them, dots marking cameras and mics. Deciding where to record next, then. Surely they wouldn’t mind if she took a quick nap? She wants more control over her visions anyway, and what better way than to practice?

She doesn’t even have time to shut her eyes.

“Mai, go set up a camera in dining room B.”

So much for her nap. “Okay!”

With forced cheer and false energy, she stands and collects one of the night vision cameras. A headset, a tripod, and a coil of wire later finds her one level lower. The room isn’t nearly as big as base, but is still formidable in size. Her eyes scan the walls, more decorated here than above. The biggest picture hangs from the wall beside the door and is of Ando and his family — an older, foreign blonde woman, a teenage son, and twin little girls. The other photos are guests, she presumes, though she recognizes a few faces from movies.

All the portraits are haunting, in a way. They line the wall, glaring through glass panes and hanging crooked from their nails. She hurries through the process of setting up the camera, listening to Naru’s directions as she positions it. It takes all her self control not to sigh in relief when he tells her to return. She pulls the door open and steps out–

Four eyes stare up at her, glowing in the dim light.

A small Eep! escapes her, but she reigns it back in when she realizes it’s just children — living children — watching her. She smiles down at them. “I’m sorry. You startled me.”

Two girls stand before her, seven-year-old twins if she had to guess. Their stare grows just a touch unnerving when they speak.

“You’re here with the ghost hunters?” the one on the left asks.

Mai nods, and the two girls look at each other before they look at her.

“And you’re staying up there.” The one on the right points to the floor above, to where her very room would be located if they were up the stairs.

“Yes…” Mai answers. The girls look at each other and lower their voice to a whisper. She tries to listen in, but can’t hear.

“That pretty boy,” the one on the left starts, “his room is beside yours, isn’t it?”

Her face heats up. “It sure is,” she says.

The girls burst out in a giggle. “Secret boyfriend,” they sing to themselves. “Secret boyfriend, secret boyfriend!”

“I bet he sneaks over to her room at night,” says one.

“I bet he kisses her to sleep,” says the other.

“He doesn’t do any of that!” says Mai. Her face is hot, a blush exploding across her cheeks. Seeing her face turn red only proves to excite the girls. They giggle and sing, teasing still, hopping in one place.

And then they stop. They stand still, faces solemn as they look from Mai to the corridor.

“She’s not going to like that,” whispers one.

“She’s going to take him,” whispers the other.

“What are you talking about?” Mai asks them, dread settling in her stomach.

“Naiya,” the girls answer as one. The one on the left continues with, “Naiya owns the boat.”

“I thought your father–”

“She likes to collect things. Pretty things.” The girl on the right says.

The one on the left turns to her twin. “She might want to collect her, too,” she says.

They look at each other, then run away.

“Wait!” Mai runs after them, but they’re gone when she turns the corner. Her walk back to base is full of racing thoughts — namely Naiya and her collection.

“Don’t tell me you got lost on the way back.”

“Hm?” She raises her eyes to Naru’s raised brow.

“I expected you back ten minutes ago. What took so long?

“Oh. I ran into two of the children on board. I think they know something.” He says nothing, waiting for an explanation. “They said someone called Naiya owned the yacht, and that she liked to collect pretty things.”

“I guess I’ll have to be careful, then.” Naru smirks as Mai rolls her eyes, then says, “Yasuhara-san is already investigating the history of the ship. I’ll tell him to look for this Naiya person, as well.”

Mai nods. “I wonder if Masako would be able to help.”

Naru stiffens beside her. “I believe even Matsuzaki-san would be more helpful than her right now.“

“What? Naru, don’t be rude! She’d be able to tell if there were spirits here! Besides, there aren’t any trees nearby. Ayako can’t do anything here.”

“She can make charms and at the very least drive the spirits away. She’s not useless. Hara-san only knows basic warding magic.”

“I only know basic warding magic.”

“But I’m keeping an eye on you,” Naru says, smiling as her face heats up again.

“Nope! No using PK to protect me, Oliver.”  Mai smiles as his face hardens. “I’m not about to be the cause of you being hospitalized…”

Again hangs in the air, but she won’t admit it. The Yoshimi case still burns in her mind, only a few months behind them. She still blames herself. His eyes lose their edge, but his frown deepens.

“It’s always been my fault,” he whispers to her.

She shakes her head, but changes the subject. “Maybe Ayako should be here. Better to have an actual doctor, just in case. Right?”

Naru sighs. “Lin, go ahead and call the regulars, and let me know when they can arrive. We’ll need to tell Ando to have a ferry ready for them.” Lin nods. “As for now, I’d like to start interviews. Mai?”

“Yes, sir!” She grabs her notebook and pen and follows him down the hall.

=•=•=•=

When the case was brought to them, Hiroyuki Ando showcased spectacular showmanship. He was an actor, hamming it up for a captive audience, but the bruises that lined his arms were all too real. His plea was ignored at first — spending time on a ship could mess with one’s equilibrium, after all, and stumbling one day could develop bruises the next.

Naru would have dismissed this case if it hadn’t been for the grizzled old captain. He’d spent most of his life on the sea, and actually was rather shaky on land. He had bruises as well, hidden beneath the long sleeves of his jacket. He didn’t want the crew to panic, he claimed, when they saw that even their captain was subject to whatever this mysterious force was. And, well, it worked.

The crew had no idea anything was going on. None of them had experienced the bruising or the noises; in fact, they thought SPR was there as guests, not as investigators. A few of the younger ones tried to flirt with her, and a few of the older ones turned their nose up at them. They refused the interview, claiming the ghosts to be a figment of imagination, and Mai threw them a nasty look when their back was turned.

“You shouldn’t be so childish,” Naru tells her after the fifth one walks away.

She rolls her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just don’t act like it doesn’t bother you, too.”

“They’ll either believe or they won’t. Nothing I do will change their mind. The best we can hope for is them staying out of our way.”

“That shouldn’t be too difficult. You’ve driven away worse with just a look– yeah! That’s the one!” Mai laughs as his face sours further.

“You two seem to get along well. If I had known better, I would have given you a room together.”

“A-Ando-san!” They turn to face him. “It’s not like that-” Mai starts.

“Can you tell us where the rest of your family is?” Naru asks. “We’d like to ask about their paranormal experiences.”

“Of course,” he says, leading them down the hall.

Naru ignores her as she pouts. In fact, he seems to be smirking at her. Did he want Ando thinking they were together? She’d drop it for now, she had to focus on not falling when two blurs in blue collided with her legs.

“Nee-san!” They cry, smiling up at her.

“You brought your boyfriend with you this time!”

“He’s really pretty, isn’t he?”

“He’s like a prince, I bet!”

“Nee-san, are you okay? You’re all red!”

She chokes out something that she hopes at least resembles an affirmative, and when she looks at Naru, his lips are set in a thin line. But oh, she can see the amusement in his eyes, and he’s going to pay for it.

“Keiko! Kimiko!” Ando-san calls. “That’s no way to treat a guest!”

“Keiko and Kimiko?” Naru ignores Ando, and so do the girls. He kneels down to study them. A smile tugs at his lips, but other than that his expression is unreadable. “You told Mai a little about Naiya, didn’t you? Can you tell me a little more?”

The twins look at each other, expressions flying across their faces in a language only they can decipher. Naru’s eyes soften as he watches until they nod. A decision has been made. They turn back to him.

“She’s a mermaid!” they yell as one.

“She came from far, far away!” says the one in navy blue.

“She bought this boat a long time ago!” says the one in deep purple.

Naru shoots Mai a glance, and she starts writing.

“What makes you think she’s a mermaid?” he asks.

“She lives in the water! She’s always there when we see her, and she never shows us her legs. She told us she doesn’t have any.”

“We want to join her crew, but she says we’re too young. But she does keep an eye on us, and if someone hurts us, she’ll hurt them.”

“Is that so?” Naru mumbles. He glances at Ando and back to the girls, quick enough that only Mai notices. He turns back to the girl in purple. “So you’re able to talk to Naiya, Kimiko?”

She nods. “Yes! She likes to watch us play. She taught us how to play pirates. She says we’d make fine additions to her crew, but only when we’re older. Right now, we just find coins and stuff to give her.”

He turns to Keiko, the one in blue. “How do you give it to her?”

Keiko looks to her twin. “We throw it,” she says.

“And where do you throw it?”

She looks at her father, standing behind Naru. “We, um… we throw it in the water.”

“Is that what you’ve done with your mother’s earrings?!” Ando asks– no, demands. “I’ve told you time and time again, this Naiya is just-just an imaginary friend! Don’t throw stuff away just because–”

“Ando-san!” Mai cuts him off. The girls are huddled behind her, hiding from him. Her hands hover in front of them, as though she can protect them.

Ando glares at her. “This is a family matter, Taniyama-san,” he yells. He steps forward to grab the girls, but Mai backs up with them. He waves his hands towards the stairs. “They’ve thrown tens of thousands of yen into the ocean! Because of some stupid, fake pirate!”

Mai opens her mouth, but his ranting doesn’t stop until Naru steps between them. “Ando-san,” he says, voice smooth and unbroken. “There are many cases of spirits befriending children in the form of imaginary friends. Don’t discount them just because they’re young.”

He turns around to face the children. “Thank you for your time, Keiko, Kimiko. You may leave.”

Keiko grabs Kimiko’s hand and pulls her away, running down the hall. Ando huffs, opening and closing his mouth. His face is red and drawn, eyes narrowed at Naru. He clears his throat, shivering as the temperature drops. “Excuse me,” he says, opening one of the doors in the hall, “it’s gotten rather cold, hasn’t it? Must be an open window somewhere…”

He walks away, checking each room as he goes. Mai sticks her tongue out at him.

“Let’s go back,” Naru says, “before they accuse me of being unprofessional.”

“What was that?” She ponders as they walk. “He seemed so mad about their imaginary friend.”

“He was mad because they’ve been throwing valuables into the sea.”

“He owns a yacht. It’s not like he’s going to miss ten-thousand yen. I spend about that much on groceries for a week.”

“Then he’s greedy. Don’t worry about it, Mai.”

“Well, let’s just hope he doesn’t throw that much of a fit when he sees the bill for this case.” Naru rolls his eyes, but she smirks at him. “I know you’re charging extra for the inconvenience of working on a ship. Don’t think I haven’t seen the nausea medicine you and Lin are trying to hide.”

A smirk plays at his lips. “You’re getting more observant, aren’t you?”

“I have to be when we’re fighting ghosts all the time. Oh! Can I have some, by the way? I get motion sick at night…”

=•==•=

Thunder rolls in the distance. The moon hides behind clouds, and the threat of rain pulls Oliver into bed before he’s done reviewing notes. Mai left for her room earlier, and Lin not long after with a warning for him to sleep soon.

He’s only an hour behind them, really. He can sleep at any time he wants. It’s not that hard.

Except for when the voice calls out for him.

“Noll,” it says in his own voice. “Find me, Noll.”

But he did. He found Gene, and took him home, and laid him to rest, what else could he want?

“Naru,” the voice shifts. It changes, growing higher, then frantic, morphing into Mai’s distressed tone. “Please, Naru! Hurry!”

Well that’s just playing dirty.

He still stands. The floor is cold against his feet, and it almost makes him want to crawl back in bed. But then Mai screams his name again, and he tears himself away from it.

The hall is empty — Mai’s door is shut tight, probably locked. But then, why wouldn’t it be? He knows it’s not really her calling him. It’s some phantom voice that can read him well enough to use her as bait. But her safety is not something he’s willing to risk, so he follows it anyway.

Oliver follows the voice up the slippery staircase and out onto the moonlit deck. The cold knocks the breath from his lungs. He can’t even see the way it clouds before the wind rips it away. He takes a deep, shaking breath, ice sinking to his lungs and spreading through his limbs.

Mai wouldn’t be out here. No one would. They’d freeze before they took two steps. He should just check on Mai and return to bed.

He doesn’t, though. He hears his name again. Ignoring the urge to run to it, he scans the silvery deck. Shadows dance at the edge of his vision, only to vanish as he turns his head.

The voice isn’t on the ship. It’s yelling from over the side.

He walks to the rail and studies the water. It’s the only blotch of darkness in this moonlit scene. The voice changes again. Soft, lilting, it beckons him now, no longer afraid. He circles the ship, trying to pinpoint its location.

It still sounds like Mai.

Anywhere should do, he thinks. He can swim to her. She wouldn’t hide from him. His hands grip the rail, and he jumps. He kneels on the metal, fingers going numb. He just has to find the source. That shouldn’t take long. He tips forward.

A loud bang wakes him. His shoulder explodes in burning pain. Chanting fills his ears, and he can’t sit up. He’s too disoriented, and there’s a weight on his chest holding him down. Rain pelts his face, stinging as it hits his skin.

Then the weight is gone and he’s pulled to his feet.

“Run, you idiot!” Mai yells in his ear, but she’s dragging him anyway. Her clothes cling to her body, and her fingers freeze against his. She drags him down the stairs and into base, slamming the door. She pants as she leans against it, too tired to move.

“That was too close,” she mutters between breaths. Then she glares at him. “What the hell, Naru? What was that?”

“How long has it been raining?”

“Naru!”

“I heard–”…you… “–someone calling me. I went outside to investigate and…”

“And tried to jump into the ocean!” She’s breathing heavily, still, and her shoulders shake. He can’t tell if she’s cold or crying, but if he had to wager a guess, he’d say both.

He’d been tricked. Mai’s shivering worsens as the air chills, and she wraps her arms around herself. Naru stands, offering her his hand. She takes it and lets him lead her to her room.

“Go take a shower and change,” he tells her. “You’ll freeze at this rate.”

“No thanks to you,” she mumbles.

“Meet me at base when you’re done. I’m going to get Lin. We’re going to sleep there tonight, and when Matsuzaki-san and Hara-san get here, you’re all going to share that room.”

She almost refuses — there’s no need for such precaution, she thinks. But then she remembers Naru, dragging himself through the storm, wobbling on the thin handrail. The adrenaline that surged through her, tearing him from the spirit’s grip. The emptiness in her limbs as that adrenaline fades.

“Okay,” she ends up saying, swinging the door shut. Naru stops it with a foot before it closes, and opens it as he leans forward. His lips tickle her earlobe, and when he speaks, his voice is warm.

“Oh, and Mai?” he whispers, grateful for the cold that hides his blush. “Thank you.”

[crystalconjunx]

can you do nsfw optimus with his s/o please?

Wasn't sure which Oppy to do so I went with TFA. //

"I'm made of metal, Optimus, so why am I freezing?" You complained into the radio as you scraped ice icicles off the front of your frame and trudged through a rough blizzard.

A moose from the Detroit Zoo had just so happened to get a piece of the allspark embedded in its antlers just before it was released into the wild, so of course you and your partner Optimus had moved into the cold reaches of Northernmost Canada in the dead of Winter. At the very least, the fragment hadn't moved. It had likely fallen off, which also probably meant you'd have to dig around for a tiny sliver of magical metal in the blinding snow.

"Sorry, Y/n." He answered sympathetically. "You're only about a quarter mile west of the fragment. Just –eep mov--g th- -rec--tion -" 

"Optimus? Captain? You're breaking up." You try again. No answer. 

Frag. Just what you needed. 

You trudged along, following your sensors in what you hoped was west until they pinged you that you were in location. 

You heard a metal 'ting' as your foot hit something. It was probably the easiest you had ever found one of the allspark fragments and you didn't want to question it. You scooped it up and stored it in your subspace before you pulled the coordinates of the temporary cabin base back into your processor and began the mile-hike back. 

The blizzard only seemed to get more intense the closer you got back. You could feel thin sheets of settle over frame and even onto your optics. Warnings about your core temperature were firing off in constant blips. You tried again to radio Optimus— nothing. 

You were less than half a mile from the cabin when the other pede dropped and you found the moose. At least, it was probably the moose. It was huge compared to most of the Earth animals you had seen. It also seemed a lot angrier.

"Hey, moose. Move along now," you said. "Please be a good moose." 

It took your hesitation as a sign to charge you. You tried to grab it by the antlers, but the lack of friction in the snow made you topple back with the moose, and the angry creature pulled one good kick and cracked both your optics.

"Scrap!" You shouted as you heard the moose scramble away.

Now you were half a mile from base and blind as a newspark. 

You kept moving, trying your best to feel around you by extending your sensory net. It didn't help you see a nearby ledge, however, and you suddenly found yourself slipping down a ledge and crashing into some icy water. 

Snow and cold temperatures were one thing, but freezing water was another. You could already feel yourself shutting into stasis as it flooded into your systems in a cold wash. 

You were as good as toast when you felt a strong hand grab you and pull you up, but you were too far gone to figure out who it was. 

You came to with a deep processor ache and found your optics still broken. Ratchet hadn't found you, then. 

There was, however, a warm frame running it's engines on top of you. The vibrations rolled through your chest and shook the ice and water from your internal circuitry. 

"Optimus?" You croaked. "That you?"

"Y/n!" He gasped. "Thank the allspark you're alright! Can you see? Are you going to be okay?"

"Diagnostic says it'll be two days to repair my optics fully. I've got a lot of minor circuit damage that's gotta be fixed first, but I'm not in danger. Thanks to you, anyway"

"That's good," he exvented in a sigh of relief. "I'm glad you're okay. I love you, Y/n."

"I love you, too, Optimus." You reply. His engines stuttered for a moment when you did.

You wrapped your arms around the mech above you in search of that wonderful warmth.

The Prime sputtered as you held him close. 

"S-sorry, Y/n. I know this seems inappropriate but you needed the warmth and energy to melt the ice. Now that you're awake I'll grab you some blankets and light a fire, alright?" He said.

You let out a disgruntled noise and held him tighter. He was warm and pleasant and you find yourself wanting to kiss him- so you did. And then you did it some more. And then suddenly you were glossa-to-glossa and bucking up against his frame.

"Y/n!" He chastised you between kisses. "You aren't in any condition to be interfacing. You can't even see!"

"I don't need to see you to know that I want you to frag me, Optimus. Come on, the body heat will be good for me!" You whine.

"Are you sure you're alright? I don't want you to strain yourself." He said softly.

"I'm sure." You answer him with a smile as you let your interface panel slide open. "But if you're worried about that, you're more than welcome to do the work yourself." You tease.

You don't expect the soft feeling in his field as he moved down between your thighs. "I can do that for you, Y/n. Just let me take care of you." He said. You could hear the fond smile in his voice before you felt it press against your valve.

With your optics damaged, you could only focus on the sensations and the sounds as his glossa teased you open, the wet slide of his tongue inside you falling against your audials. He let your legs come to rest on his shoulders as he brought you to overload and didn't stop. He licked you clean as you gasped his name and bucked against his face. You felt every press of those beautiful lips against your anterior node, and when he added to fingers into your valve and began to thrust, you fell apart all too quickly.

The third time you overloaded, he made sure it lasted much, much longer.

[kusunogatari]

[ Naruto OC x Canon Ship Week 2020 - Face to Face ] [ @naruto-ocxcanon-ship-week​ || @abyssaldespair​ ] [ Suigin Ryū, Uchiha Obito ] [ Alcohol ] [ Verse: Best Years of Your Life ] [ Trope: Online Dating ]

Nibbling her lip, Ryū stares at the slight reflection in her mobile screen. Thumbs flicker over the keys, not quite touching in indecision.

This is the closest she’s gotten.

The concept, admittedly, is just...not one she ever saw herself using. Online dating seems so, so...weird! Lining up your face, your name, a handful of facts, and calling it good. Is that really all it takes anymore? Sure, she...doesn’t exactly have mountains of experience beyond that. Maybe she’s just old-fashioned. But putting up something akin to a mugshot to try and find love seems very...strange.

“Whatcha doin’?”

Eeping in surprise, she claws the phone to her chest, face going pink and heart pounding. “N-nothing!”

Behind her, a coworker she knows mostly only in passing perks a brow. “Whoa, sorry! You looked kinda, uh...distressed.”

Ryū heaves a small breath. “...sorry, I didn’t mean to jump so bad. I just, uh...I’m trying one of those silly dating websites, and…”

The other woman quickly perks up. “Oh! Yeah they’re kinda scary at first but I met my boyfriend on one! I bet you’ll do just fine. Just be smart about it, and it usually all works out fine.”

“Smart…?”

“Y’know...meet in public places, tell someone where you’re going. About the same as a normal date for those like us, huh?”

At that, Ryū can’t help but deflate. “...yeah, good point.”

“Don’t worry, you’ll be fine. People gotta have their pictures on there. I take a pic of any license plates and send them to someone I trust just in case.”

Brow wilting, Ryū admits, “You’re...not exactly giving me votes of confidence here.”

“Hey, gotta be prepared for the worst, but the worst hardly ever happens. Besides, a bit of chatting online usually gives a pretty good indication of if something will even work. And you can always ask friends to go on doubles, too.”

At that, Ryū doesn’t answer. She...doesn’t really have many friends to ask, let alone any with dates she’d feel like asking along. “Yeah, good point. I’ll, uh...I’ll see how it goes.”

“Cool! Good luck!” Giving a wave as she passes by, her coworker heads around a corner and out of sight.

“...what am I doing…” Ryū mumbles to herself, looking back to her nearly-completed account. “I know this isn’t gonna work…” And now the less appealing sides are at the forefront of her mind. Maybe she should just keep her nose to the grindstone and pretend she never brought this up.

...but then again…

As much as she hates to admit it, she’s lonely. Being a pharmacist might be similar to her wish to be a doctor, but it’s not quite what she wanted. It just feels like something is...missing. And while Ryū isn’t the sort to assume all her problems can be solved by a guy (or gal), she’s still pretty able to realize that her social life isn’t the best. No real close friends, passing grades with her coworkers...not even any pets. Up until now, she’s lived life in a series of grinds. School, then work, and now...it feels lacking.

Hence the idea to try the app.

“...no harm in looking,” she eventually mumbles to herself, slowly going through the rest of her profile and hitting the confirm button. “You don’t have to go on with it, but...just look. See how it works. Maybe just...chat with someone. One step at a time, okay?”

Of course, by then her break is nearly over, so she mutes her phone and heads back to work. She...only ate half her lunch, but she’s not really all that hungry anyway. Only once her shift is over does she head back to her little apartment and...give this thing a real try.

At first, it throws nothing but male profiles at her. Which is all well and good, but...it’s not all she’s interested in. Looking over a few names and faces, she eventually bucks up the courage to pick one. He’s a few years older, lives a town over, and works as a physical therapist. Not bad, right?

...ugh, wrong.

As soon as they start chatting, she knows this...isn’t going to work. He’s all Mister Nice Guy, subtly bragging about himself and leaving only certain questions open for her in turn: the only things he wants to hear about, and...things she can easily see through as shallow. Eventually she manages to get him to shut up and quickly deletes him.

Okay...not a great first impression, but it’s not gonna be perfect the first time she tries. This isn’t a fairytale, after all. So, she tries another. And another.

After over two weeks of duds that don’t even get past initial chats, she’s about ready to give up.

Laying on her bed spread-eagle with a sigh, she stares up at the ceiling. What started as a vague inking is turning into nothing but a source of frustration. Not exactly what she signed up for. Weighing her options, Ryū eventually stirs when her phone gives an all-too-familiar notification sound.

Another match...wonderful.

Sitting up with a grunt, she opens the message and looks over yet another profile. At first glance, it’s just another guy. Ugh. The amount of lady-seeking ladies has been depressingly low, but...apparently those are usually on their own kind of sites. So, for now, she entertains herself with this one.

Obito Uchiha...huh. Vaguely sounds like her own Japanese roots. There’s a small spark of curiosity, adjusting her stance slightly. Short dark hair, dark eyes, and...well, his pics aren’t the clearest (he clearly knows his good side (or what he’s assuming is his good side since...it’s all she sees)). But she spies a cat. That’s a win. She likes cats. A glance at his actual profile shows a like of sweets, cats (aha!), and a dislike of...aubergines? Googling that, there’s a hum of understanding. It’s eggplant! She...didn’t know that...whoops. The rest of the summary (stuff about ‘being extreme’ and ‘having abs’) gets her to giggle.

Well...might as well give it a try.

Giving the okay, she opens up the chat window, nibbling her lip in thought. What should she say…?

Hello!

A bit surprised, Ryū jolts slightly, not expecting the quick response! ...hi!

I didn’t think you’d accept it so fast!

And I didn’t think you’d say hello so quickly either!

Oh, sorry...was that too fast?

The apology begets a subconscious smile. No, not at all! My phone is usually pretty quiet is all. Sorry if I’m awkward, I’m...still kinda new at this.

Ha, me too. I haven’t had too many matches yet, so I’m still practicing.

Guess we can practice together! Though I have to ask you…

...eh?

What’s your kitty’s name?

Oh! Her name is Tenebris.

Aww, I love that name!

She’s my lady, haha! Helps me reel in the girls ;D

Ryū can’t help a snort. Well it seems to be working. I don’t have any pets, sadly…

What? None at all?

No...I work a lot so I haven’t gotten around to it. And I don’t want them to be lonely!

Bah, cats are good at being alone. Feed them and clean their box and you’re fine.

I’ll have to think about it, haha~

After a few minutes, Ryū realizes...this is the longest she’s talked to someone on here yet. Sure, it was a little stiff to start, but by some grace they just sort of...fell into conversation. No posturing or anything. It’s rather...refreshing! Encouraged, she keeps texting as she starts working on her dinner.

So what kind of work do you do?

I’m a pharmacist! Not quite the doctor I planned on, but it works.

Ohhh, wow!

What about you?

There’s quiet for a few minutes, and Ryū can’t help but wonder if that was a bad question. But then Obito replies, Sorry, my cat got stuck behind the couch...I uh...am currently working on a garbage truck part time…

She blinks. That’s...very random. Nothing wrong with that. It’s an important job, after all!

Eh, yeah...not very charming though, is it?

Oh, pffft. I stand behind a counter all day and give people medicine over and over. It’s not exactly exciting most days. We all make our ends meet somehow.

I guess that’s true.

Smiling at her phone, Ryū keeps cooking and chatting, giving play-by-plays as he asks what she’s making.

Do you like cooking?

Mhm! Food’s one of those things that’s both a necessity, and yet can be fancy when you want it to be, so...I thought it would be good to learn. And it’s a lot of fun!

I’m...okay at it.

Maybe I can give you some lessons down the road, hm?

You would?

Sure! It’d be something fun to do.

Like a first date?

At that, Ryū pauses. Right...dating. That’s what this is all for. She almost forgot… Sure! If that’s something you’d like to do. I guess dinner and a movie is pretty common for that. We’ll just make our own!

I’d really like that!

Cheeks warming, Ryū beams at the screen. I guess...it’s a date! Eventually. Whenever we can make something work, and maybe talk a little more…?

Sure! I take a lot of random side jobs so I can be a little flaky…

That’s okay - we’ll just keep chatting until then. You’re actually the first person that’s been fun to talk to…

He sends a big smile emoji. Success!

You’ll have to think about what we should make! I have to warn you, I like making dessert, too…

Oh no...my biggest weakness…

And no eggplant, right?

Eugh, no.

Haha, noted!

The conversation runs well into the evening until Ryū admits she’d best get to bed. Guess I’ll talk to you some more later, okay?

Mhm!

Say hi to Tenebris for me!

Haha, I will! Goodnight Ryū.

Night, Obito.

Checking her other messages, Ryū plugs in her mobile to charge before mulling over the evening. As she does, a smile slowly pulls at her lips.

Well, she can’t make any assumptions yet, but...this is a good start.

Chatting with Obito quickly becomes a routine. Though not much of a texter before, she checks in and quips with him throughout the day. He tells her about his latest jobs, and she notes anything out of the ordinary at work. Days blend into a week, and then two.

“So…”

“Hm?”

Leaning against the counter, Ryū’s coworker smirks. “Seems to me you hooked one, huh?”

Her cheeks flush pink. “Um...maybe…”

“You haven’t put your phone down for more than fives minutes all day!”

The pink gets darker as the other woman laughs.

“I’m glad! So, you gonna see him?”

“Yeah, eventually...I think we’re both a little nervous.”

“That’s adorable. You’ll have to let me know how it goes! Been nice seeing you look so bright lately.”

Ryū blinks. “...really?”

“Yeah. No offense, but...ever since I’ve worked here, you’ve been so quiet and to yourself. But lately you’ve just seemed more upbeat and...I dunno, out there.”

The observation admittedly takes her a bit off-guard. “...oh…”

“It’s just nice to see you look happy, that’s all. I know a job like this one’s kinda drudgy. Glad you’ve got something to keep your chin up.” With a smile, the other pharmacist straightens and heads back to work.

Still a bit struck, Ryū mulls all that over. True, she’s always been one to keep her nose to the grindstone. Maybe having a bit of a social outlet just...got her going to opening up some more.

...huh.

So...any openings in your schedule coming up?

Uh...I haven’t really checked lately. One sec!

Waiting for Obito’s reply, Ryū nibbles her thumbnail. She’s going to do it. She’s going to ask him over. By now she’s gotten to know him pretty well. She’s always been able to trust her gut, and...she believes she can trust him.

Though just in case, she’ll be letting her neighbor know when he comes to visit.

Just to be safe.

So I think I actually have Sunday clear. Does that work with you?

Yeah! I’m always on a Monday through Friday schedule, so weekends are almost always good with me!

Okay...cool!

Any idea what you wanna make?

Make?

Yeah! Remember, we talked about cooking…?

Ohhh, yeah! Uh...honestly I don’t have any preference.

You sure?

Yeah, just no aubergines.

I remember, haha.

Should I bring anything?

Nah, I’ll handle it. Though I guess if you have a movie you’d like to watch?

Ooh, okay! Uh...any you don’t like?

Maybe nothing too gory…?

Aw, that’s no fun!

I saw enough in medical school, believe me...it’s not fun.

Okay, okay. I’ll pick something.

And with a few other details hashed out...they have a date scheduled.

Ryū’s stomach can’t stop fluttering: both in excitement, and in nerves. She hasn’t really dated since college...what if she does something stupid? Offends him somehow? Or something just goes...wrong?

Okay, no, stop it. It’s gonna be fine. You’ve talked a lot, so...no need to be nervous. Just do it!

By the time Sunday rolls around, she’s as ready as she’ll ever be.

Fiddling with her hair in the bathroom mirror (can she EVER get it to do what she wants?), she jumps as someone knocks on the door. Trying to manage her nerves, she peers through the little peephole, spying what indeed looks to be Obito.

Taking a moment to steady her breath, she pulls open the door and looks up just as he looks over.

...oh.

She always thought his photo gallery on his profile was a bit...empty. At first she hadn’t really noticed that all of Obito’s photos had been taken showing one side of his face.

So only now, with him looking straight at her, does she see what he’s been hiding.

The apprehension in his face clearly shows he’s awaiting her reaction, and at first she can only blink. Eyes naturally slide to the right side where a plethora of scars mar the skin from his brow to his chin. One even reaches up into his lip.

But though it’s a surprise by novelty, it otherwise does nothing to hinder the blush in her face.

...gosh he’s handsome.

Her gaze lingers on the scars for only a moment before lifting back to his eyes, cheeks rosy and giving a demure smile. “...hi.”

“...hey.”

There’s a few beats of awkward silence, the pair of them stuck staring at each other. “...s-sorry! Um...come on in!” Ryū steps aside, going hotter in the face. A nice button-up shirt and clean jeans make him look quite snazzy. Seems her blouse and skirt wasn’t too much or too little. They hadn’t really breached any ideas about how formal to be…

Stepping in, Obito glances around before clearing his throat. From behind his back he draws a little bouquet of flowers. “Er...for you.”

Ryū’s greys alight with delight. “Oh!” It’s cliché as all hell, but she loves them. Delicately accepting the blooms, she gives them a sniff before beaming at him. “Thank you! I, er...I don’t have anything for you…”

“That’s okay! I mean, food’s good with me, heh.”

Giving a giggle, Ryū retreats to the kitchen to put them in some water, setting the vase on her little table. “There…!”

“You...have a really nice apartment!”

“Thank you...I’m always either working or tired, so I don’t manage to mess it up much,” she laughs. “I tried to make it kinda...cute. I’m not exactly an interior designer.”

“No, it’s nice. It suits you.”

That makes her go pink all over again. “...s-so! Um...are you hungry…?”

Obito gives a grin. “Always!”

“Okay! Um...I thought we’d do something a bit...basic? Just in case? Do you like spaghetti…?”

“Yeah!”

“...okay! Cool. Um…” Awkwardness creeping back up, she claps her hands and giggles nervously. “Then, I...guess we’ll give it a try!”

The pair move back into the kitchen, where Ryū already has everything sorted out and ready to go. “Wow...looks professional.”

“Oh gosh, it’s just…” She gestures vaguely. “...I wanted to be ready so we wouldn’t waste any time…” Turning on the heat under the water, she thinks to ask, “...no food allergies, right?”

“No. At least...none I’ve found…? And I’ve had spaghetti before, it should be fine, hm?”

“Okay!”

A bit stuttery at first, she starts guiding him through her process, letting him take most of the reins and acting more as a guide. Obito listens attentively, looking exceedingly focused.

...it’s adorable.

“Okay, so with the grease drained off, we can add our sauce...and once it’s all combined, that’ll be that!” She, in the meantime, worked on a salad mix. “And the garlic bread should be about done, too!”

“You make this all seem so easy.”

She flushes pink. “It...just takes practice! And you did really well!”

“I had a good teacher.”

Once it’s all finished, the pair of them ferry things to the table. “Okay...you try it first.”

“Me?”

“Mhm! You made it, right?”

Glancing to his plate, Obito twirls some noodles onto his fork, lightly pink at Ryū’s watching as he takes the bite and chews. “...it’s good!”

Beaming again, she follows suit. And it’s perfect! Mouth still full, she gives a thumbs-up, making him laugh. Between spaghetti, salad, garlic bread, and a little wine, they get through dinner with hearty conversation and increasing laughter.

“I dunno why I was so nervous,” she admits once they’re done, a cheek leaning against a fist as she twirls the last few sips of her wine. “I mean...we’ve been talking so much already. Guess I just felt kinda...out of practice. Y’know?”

“Yeah, me too. Though I try to bravado my way through things.”

“Well, we got through it. Should we play the movie…?”

“Sure!” He holds up a thumbdrive, grinning. “From my collection.”

“Oho!”

With a refill of wine, they move into the little living room of the apartment, Obito hooking up the TV and starting the film.

“What is it?”

“You’ll see!”

“Not gory, right?”

“Nooo. But...maybe a little scary.”

“Scary is okay. I like spooks. Just not lotsa blood and flesh and…” Her nose wrinkles. “...y’know.”

“Ha, yeah.”

They settle on the one couch she has, and at first sit...a little ways apart. They’d had opposite sides of the table before, and...well, this is new. But like a couple of dumb teenagers, they slowly meander their way closer, testing the other’s boundaries as they go until Ryū finds herself snuggled up against Obito’s side, head on his shoulder.

Obito, just out of her line of sight, is clearly ecstatic.

The movie starts out tame, but true to his word, it quickly takes on a rather creepy tone. Transfixed, Ryū stares at the screen, slowly worming her way further and further into the dip of Obito’s side.

...if she weren’t so focused on the movie, she’d realize that was likely his plan.

Obito, on the other hand, has technically already seen this one, and instead mostly watches for her reactions. The closer they get to a big scare, the more often he looks, biting back a grin until it finally happens -!

Shrieking in terror, Ryū scrambles for someplace to hide, and...ends up burrowing into his chest with a string of garbled, frightened nonsense as Obito does his best not to laugh.

“You okay?”

“I -! That -!” Her head shakes with a whimper, still hiding. “Nope. Nope nope nope.”

“Want me to stop it?”

“...nooo…” One grey peeks out, finding the screen a bit more bearable now. “...that was fricken’ terrifying! Ohhh my gosh!”

He just snickers, ignoring her continuing whines of discomfort. “It’s almost over, don’t worry.”

To his delight, she remains half-perched on his lap for the rest of the film. Once the credits start to creep up the screen, she loses her tension and goes limp. “...I almost had a heart attack…”

“Aw…”

“I mean it was good! But cripes, I wasn’t ready...eugh…”

Obito rubs a hand along her back, still clearly amused. “Gonna be able to sleep tonight?”

“...I better, I have work in the morning…”

He apologizes, watching as she tears herself from the couch and disappears into the kitchen. “...Ryū?”

No answer.

Brow furrowing, he makes to follow just in time to see her pull a pan out of the refrigerator. “What’s that?”

“Peach cobbler,” she sniffs, setting it on the counter and then fetching vanilla ice cream. “This is my reward for surviving your movie.”

“You’re gonna eat the whole pan?”

She shoots him a pout. “...maybe.”

He mirrors the look. “...I want some…”

“You have to promise never to scare me like that again.”

“Okay, okay. But wasn’t it at least a little fun…?”

Scooping the food into bowls, she thinks back over how nice and warm it was in his arms...and she could smell his cologne… “...maybe a little.”

They stay standing in the kitchen, leaned against the counter as they eat their dessert. Though not as lively as before, they chat in the quiet.

“So...on a scale of one to ten, how was our date?”

Ryū sucks on her spoon with a thoughtful hum. “...a nine.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Why not a ten?”

“Because you scared the bejesus out of me!” After a moment to pout, she asks, “...you?”

“A ten.”

“...really?”

“Good food, good movie...good company. What’s not to love?”

She...isn’t sure how to respond to that, so she takes another bite to excuse her silence.

“We’ll have to try cooking something else next time. Something spicy!”

“Not too spicy, it’ll make me sick!”

“Whaaat?”

“I have a delicate stomach...nothing too greasy, either.”

“That’s all the good food!” he laughs.

“It’s not my fault!”

“Fine, fine...we’ll figure something out. I’ll have to find some of my grandmother’s recipes. From Quebec.”

That earns a blink. She thought she heard traces of an accent in his voice, but didn’t want to assume. “...sure! I’d really like that.”

But eventually, the bowls and the wine glasses are empty. The movie is over. The hour is growing late.

It’s time to call it a night.

...but it’s clear neither of them really want to.

Obito offers to help tidy up, and that helps take a little more time. But once that’s done, there’s really no more excuses.

“...well…” Ryū fidgets a bit. “Guess I’ll...say goodnight?”

“Yeah, I better go. Don’t want to keep you up to late. And I’ve got my route in the morning.”

“Mm…”

She walks him to the front door, the pair of them lingering in the opening for a long moment. “...be safe on your way home. Text me to let me know you made it okay, all right?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“And to say goodnight.”

“...again.”

“...yeah, again.”

Another pause.

Indecision seeming to make her bones vibrate, Ryū eventually makes up her mind. Stepping up a bit closer, she lays a hand against Obito’s chest and - with a bit of posturing up on her toes - she gives him a feather-light press of her lips to his.

Flashing pink, he nonetheless reciprocates, both of them easing slowly back apart.

“...goodnight, Obito.”

“...night, Ryū. I’ll...talk to you later.”

Nodding with a shy smile, she watches him head down the hall before forcing herself to shut the door. For a moment, she stands and holds the knob...then turns and leans against it with a sigh.

...it seems so quiet in here now…

Eyes lift to her little dining room table, where the flowers he brought her are still sitting in their vase. The sight brings her a small smile. As much as she’s sad to see him go...well, that just means she’ll get to look forward to seeing him again next time.

Next time...what a lovely concept.

Heaving a more contented breath, she makes her way back into the apartment. Time to get ready for bed, and wait to hear he got home okay. Then she’ll sleep, and start all over again.

...but at least now there’s something to look forward to.

     All righty, another day, this one with Ryū’s ship with @abyssaldespair​‘s Obito, set in a modern verse! I had...several ideas for these two, and picking one was difficult and ended up costing me time BUT, it’s done xD      Hopefully I can get MORE done :’D      But yes! This was actually an idea Meg submitted to me, with the premise based largely on Obito hiding his appearance on his profile until the big reveal! Ryū, of course, doesn’t mind his scars no matter the verse. She still thinks he’s one cute cookie x3      Anywho, I guess that’s...really all there is to say for this one! Hope ya like it Meg, and I better get to work on more drabbles xD

[chikoriita]

On My Mind

Here is my contribution for SoKai Day 2019! Also dedicated to @floralianspiderboynova​, who requested this a while ago (sorry it’s so late!)

Read on AO3.org

--

Ah, Radiant Garden. Her one last chance at refuge. Kairi only hoped that this was her safe harbor. In the last 12 hours, she was cornered at home and run out of her own house on Destiny Islands. Then, they chased her to Twilight Town and beyond.They would not let her live in peace, would they? She hurried along the outer edges of the borough. The others might not be able to find her here. With the reconstruction of the neighborhoods, Radiant Garden was a sprawling metropolis. If only for a few moments, she could rest easy.

This was, as usual, Sora’s fault. He had to open his big mouth and tell his brothers and sister about the bet. She never should have taken the dare in the first place. How was she to know that Sora could swim farther than her now? If she knew, then maybe she wouldn’t have taken such a silly forfeit. It was supposed to end with Sora dying his hair pink. Instead now, she had to do the unthinkable.

Kairi would have to ride a horse. Not just any horse, but a Pegaslick. Riku, who had been their judge for their contest, said that it had wings. So now, because of her shortsightedness, lest she go back on her word, she was doomed to ride a horse, the one animal in the worlds she could not stand.

Then he had to get the others involved; the others being Roxas, Xion, and Naminé.

“You know Kairi,” Naminéstarted at lunch the other day. “It’s not good to go back on your word. Sora won the bet fair and square, according to Riku. Just fulfill the forfeit, and we can move on.”

Kairi’s jaw dropped. Her own sister was betraying her. “Naminé!” She gasped. “You were once a part of me, and you’re taking his side?”

She shrugged. “It’s not that big of a deal.”

“Yeah!” A voice piped up from outside the window. Kairi peeked her head outside to find Roxas and Xion crouching in the bushes.

“What are you two doing spying on our conversation?” Kairi was both confused and frustrated.

Xion waved sheepishly. “Sora wanted to remind you that you have until tonight to pay up.” She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.

“But he was too scared to tell you, so we decided to help,” Roxas said.

Kairi let out a small growl. “I am not going to let the three of you pester me into the forfeit.” She fled her parents home, leaving the three former Nobodies running after her. She ran until she reached her Gummiship. It was far beyond her old rowboat, and for that she was thankful. Her little boat wouldn’t get her beyond their reach.

And so the three had followed her to Twilight Town, the Mysterious Tower, and even Disney Castle! She thought that King Mickey would at least take her side, but he apparently did not judge in matters of wagers and bets.

“Kairi, you should always pay your debts,” he said softly to her during her stolen hour at the castle. She resisted making a face as she escaped (and not a moment too soon as Roxas’s Gummi landed as hers departed).

All the running and fleeing brought her here of all places. Radiant Garden, the same place Sora asked her to meet him. He requested at the Bastion steps for the ride. He said he would wait until the end of day for her, which meant she had a at least an hour or two to think about her decision. She sat on the perch of one of the fountains and closed her eyes. This was as good a place as any to think.

The ring of her Gummiphone knocked her out of her reverie. Riku’s name flashed on the screen. She quickly accepted the call and pasted on a wide smile.

“Riku!” She saw his Gummiship cockpit. He probably had the phone docked on his ship controls.

“Why did I get a call from the King to check up on you?” He asked. “Is everything okay?”

Oh that mouse, Kairi thought. She was going to have a talk with the Queen about his meddling. “The kids will not leave me alone! They keep pestering me about the bet.” She jumped off her perch and walked toward the Bastion. Not because she accepted her defeat. She just wanted to stretch her legs.

He raised an eyebrow at her. “You mean this is all about the bet? The one that you lost?”

“You don’t have to remind me,” she sulked.

“What do you have against horses anyway?”

“I once saw a horse beat a clown.”

Riku made a face. “Really?”

Kairi shrugged. “It was probably a man in a costume, now that I think about it. Still, I just don’t like them.”

“That’s a shame. Sora really got close to his Pegaslick when we were in the Sleeping Worlds.”

“They are killing machines, and you know it.”

He laughed heartily. “This coming from the girl that jumped into a swarm of Heartless to save Sora.”

A harsh chuckle came from off screen. “Is that Kairi? Tell her to pay up! My brother is waiting.” She heard Vanitas’s voice chime in.

Kairi rolled her eyes. “Tell him to stuff it.”

“Okay, I gotta go. See you soon, Kai.” Riku waved her off and ended the call.

“See you soon?” Kairi repeated. What did he mean by that? She looked up from the screen to find herself at the bottom of the steps. After focusing, she saw Sora waving down at her from the top.

“Eep!” She spun around to avoid looking at him. True to his promise, he had the Pegaslick with him. The winged horse was bright and awash with various colors and stood vividly against the bricks of the castle. She didn’t have to look at Sora to know that he didn’t expect anything from her. Even if she did owe him the forfeit, he would never force her to do anything. She knew that in her heart, and maybe that is why she took the first step up towards him. The remaining steps did not register as they were only a means to get to Sora.

Kairi stopped a bit short of Sora and hesitated. “Hi,” she finally said with a small wave.

“You made it!” He exclaimed, then sobered. “I’m sorry for all of our siblings’ nuisances. You didn’t have to put up with them.”

Truth be told, though it was annoying during the moment, Kairi appreciated the feeling of having pesky family members today. After all, didn’t it mean that they cared about them? Even crotchety old Vanitas wanted to help in his own way.

She reached out to take his hand. “I was the stubborn one. I should’ve just faced my fears.” She threaded her fingers with his.

“I just thought it would be…” He trailed off quietly and turned his head.

Kairi pulls it back toward her. “Would be what?”

“Romantic.” He blushed. Blush was an understatement, truly. His entire face was red. “It’s our anniversary, you know.”

“Our what?” Kairi nearly squawked as he tugged her closer.

His lips lifted into a sly smirk. “Don’t tell me you forgot,” He teased. “One year ago, we shared the paopu fruit.”

Had it really been a year since that moment in the sunset? “It’s been a hectic year.”

“You said you wanted to be part of my life no matter what. It worked; you’re always on my mind. Without you, I don’t think I could have faced my fears, then or now. Tonight, I wanted to help you face one of yours.” Sora petted the Pegaslick with his free hand. “Want to face it together?”

Kairi looked at their joined hands and thought about it. No matter how small of a matter it may seem, this Dream Eater was part of Sora’s life as well. Contrary to how she acted these last few days, Kairi did not go back on her word. No matter what. “Let’s do it.”

Sora’s eyes met hers. “Really?!” He said gleefully.

“Do not push your luck, Sora.” She moved closer to the Pegaslick. “How do we do this?”

He grabbed her by the waist (don’t blush Kairi, do not blush!) and placed her on the makeshift saddle he arranged. “Hold on,” he instructed as he climbed on behind her. Sora placed her hands on the reins and closed his left hand around hers.

“Are you ready?” He whispered.

She scrunched her eyes closed and nodded.With his right arm tightened like a bar against her waist, he gave a small kick, and they lifted off.

Kairi felt the air rushing past her ears as they ascended into the sky. After a few moments, they slowed down and stabilized. She cracked one eye open and gasped. When she opened both eyes, she saw the second most beautiful sunset of her life. They glided above pink and orange clouds, seemingly in their own world.

“How majestic,” she whispered, settling back against Sora’s chest.

He let out a deep breath, one he must have held since they took off moments before. “I promised myself that one day I would take you flying with me. Granted, it’s not the same as pixie dust-” She interrupted him. “It’s even better.” The serenity of experiencing twilight with him was incomparable, whether or not they needed help flying.

“Even though we are on a horse?” Sora asked in a slight tease. She nudged him with her elbow. The Pegaslick wasn’t as bad as she imagined. It was a serene creature, neighing periodically.

Kairi didn’t answer him, and instead, focused on the rays of sunset fading into the horizon. Night would soon follow. Sora circled the castle’s highest parapet three times before beginning their descent.

“We’re done already?”

He chuckled. “Just one more surprise.” He maneuvered the Pegaslick onto a balcony on the parapet where a picnic blanket awaited them. He slid off the Dream Eater and lifted Kairi off deftly.

“Now admire the view from up here while I explain a few things.” Kairi leaned against the balcony railing and watched as the neighborhoods below transitioned into the evening. During twilight’s final moments, street lamps lit the streets snaking through the city. Night markets began trading their wares. Radiant Garden was once again the booming world it once was.

“I’ve told you about Rapunzel right?” Kairi nodded slightly. Her story hit very close to home. The only difference was that Rapunzel’s parents looked for her for all these years while Kairi’s family was nowhere to be found.

“Well, they found her by sending out lanterns every year on her birthday. She found her way back to them by following the light.” Sora came to her side with a glowing paper lantern in his hands.

“Sora…” Kairi didn’t know what to say.

“We’ve been separated so many times in our lives. We didn’t need lanterns to find each other before. But maybe, we could spin the tradition our own way.” He placed the lantern in her hand. “This lantern will be our reminder that there is always a light in the darkness to guide us. You already did it for me. Now let me be your light.”

A tear streamed down her cheek. “Oh, Sora. You already are.” With both their hands, they lifted the lone lantern into the night sky. For a single moment, it bounced against the breeze and lit up against the darkness. In the next moment, a second lantern lifted up from another part of the castle. Kairi looked down to see Roxas, Xion, and Naminé on a balcony. Another lantern floated up from their left. Was that Riku’s silver hair she spied on another balcony? She couldn’t trust her eyes because it seemed like he had both Ventus and Vanitas lifting up lanterns together. Before she knew it, hundreds of glowing lanterns lifted up from the city below them.

“What is all of this?” Kairi asked softly.

Sora lifted her hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it. “Our destinies are intertwined and with them, our family. They all helped me pull off this night.”

“Ah, so you are to blame for their pestering!” She poked him on the cheek.

He grinned. “Guilty.”

“Well, you’re simply lucky that I like them.” She looped her arms around his neck and placed a small kiss on his nose. “And I really like you.”

[lilaclily00]

Apologies (3)

Danny Fenton secretly sort-of joins the family business. 

(DannyMay 2019 Day 23: Scream [It’s still the 23rd somewhere in the world, right?]

DannyMay 2019 Week 4: Dreams)

Hopefully, this is a decent concluding chapter! And decently uses the prompts! They helped so much to get this written, but I struggled a lot, so I am mostly happy for it to be finished.

Part 1 and Part 2

AO3 link

@goinggoblin and @pigte

Val was missing.

That was the consensus when all the other A-listers had met up at lunch and realized that none of them had seen her in morning periods and no one's texts had been answered.

Dash wasn't an idiot. He would've noticed if anyone on the A-list wasn't at school, then would’ve proceeded to not worry about it. He wouldn't have even bothered with checking up on any of them by text. With how often some of them (read: Paulina) skipped anyways, there was no need to worry or feel responsible for them, besides perhaps cover their backs if a teacher was suspicious.

But this was Val.

Val, who spent the whole day on her phone.

Val, who always prided herself on having everything, including good grades. She just about never missed school, where she had the opportunity to achieve and show off her newest clothes.

Val, who took MMA after school for years.

Val, who recently became kind of literally dead, a secret that could lead to a lot of bad stuff if it came out--which admittedly seemed very likely to happen with how impossible she'd found it to control her new powers.

He couldn't say for sure what, but something had to have happened to her.

"Should someone go check on her?" Paulina voiced, biting her lip, picking at the questionable school lasagna on her tray.

Dash deliberated for a couple seconds. "I can. I rode my bike to school," he offered, shoveling lasagna into his mouth. After swallowing, he added, "And I don't have any absences for History yet."

"You sure, man?" Kwan frowned. "Your parents won't be happy about you missing a class if it wasn't because of football."

Dash shrugged in lieu of a vocal response, seeing as there was lasagna in his mouth again. He could live with his parents throwing a tantrum later. He tried to keep them happy most of the time, but they hardly ever were. Sometimes he wondered why he bothered.

After a few more mixed messages of encouragement and caution from his friends, Dash waved them off and pushed the rest of his tray to Kwan. He meandered out of the cafeteria and hid out of sight from staff wandering the halls, then snuck to the bike racks and successfully made it off school property.

It didn't take long to reach Val’s place. He wasn’t terribly fazed when he knocked harshly on the front door and no one answered. He went around back to right under her curtained bedroom window and searched for something to throw at it, ultimately settling on a small rock on the ground. It only took a few seconds for him to get a reaction, a frustrated growl that was so Valerie, especially because he could hear it from all the way down there.

“So you are alive!” he shouted up with a grin, then winced internally. Not the right word to use. “Let me in!”

“I can’t!” she shouted back, some sort of strange echo in her voice.

Dash looked around them; no one in sight. “Why not?”

“I... I physically can’t,” she enunciated behind the curtain, something that sounded like pain in there behind the echo. If his suspicions were correct, it was more likely painfully embarrassed--she must’ve found herself unable to touch anything.

“Then come outside!” he tried, ignoring the pang of guilt that hit him at that realization.

"...Can’t do that either."

Dash threw the rock again. This time, a white-haired girl poked her head out the window--wait, through the window--to properly glare at him with glowing red eyes. He startled at her appearance; he'd only seen it once before, in the accident. She blinked and eeped, flinging herself back out of sight into the room.

"Give me a minute," she called again, her voice nervous but resigned. "Go to the back door."

Dash scrunched his eyebrows, but nodded and walked to the back end of the house. He stood there, tapping his foot, mind ruminating on Val's altered appearance at the window. He felt a strange sensation on his arm, like when things were so cold they felt hot. He yelped, then yelped louder as the sensation yanked at him and pulled him through the unopened door. It immediately released him once he had stumbled inside, and he rubbed at his arm for the tingling to go away.

"Sorry, that's the best I could do," Val's voice said. He flinched, hearing it right next to him. It still sounded like her, but not quite, and not just because of the echoing quality. He couldn't help but feel like it sounded like a supernatural imitation of her.

"At least it worked," Dash muttered, dropping his arm even though it had not ceased the apparent after-effects of... whatever that was. He glanced over to his friend, then corrected his gaze when her face was higher up than usual. She floated at his own height, her mouth twisted apprehensively.

"Yeah. You're the first person I've seen or talked to since I got... stuck."

Dash had a hard time looking at her in the eyes, the unnatural glowing eyes, and turned his sights instead to watching her hair float around her. It seemed he was going to need to get used to this. "When'd you get stuck?"

"In the middle of the night. I couldn't sleep, so I figured I might as well practice." Valerie hugged herself, curling up in the air. "I've been trying to go back to normal all morning. I was hoping I'd at least manage to do it before lunch ended, but now I don't know if I ever will!" Dash's eyes were drawn back to hers when her haunting gaze turned harried and desperate. "Am I just gonna be a ghost now?"

"No," he told her, face hardening with determination. It was his fault she was in this mess in the first place, and he refused to believe the mess could be even worse than they thought. They did not kill her. He did not kill her. "There's gotta be something you haven't tried yet."

"Yeah, like what? You know even less of what's going on than I do!"

"Two heads are still better than one." Dash glanced to the door. "I think first, you need to chill a little. I think it's easier to calm down outside, so--"

"Not happening!" Valerie stepped--no, floated away. Dash suddenly realized her legs were gone, replaced by a tail sort of thing. It was so strange he couldn't look away. "I do not want anyone seeing me. Why else would I have stayed in my house all day?!"

"No one's going to see you in your backyard," he said slowly, as if she didn't already know that. Everyone was at work or school. "And can't you, like, turn invisible and stuff now? You said that a couple days ago."

"I'm trying to stop turning invisible, Dash," she muttered, curling her tail around herself agitatedly. "Let's just say things didn't go well last time someone saw me while looking like this. I don't want to take the chance."

He frowned, but didn't push it; with how much her powers acted up, it wasn't too surprising that she ended up in ghost... mode(?) by accident or something. Hopefully, it was only one person. "Alright, fine. You still need to stop panicking. What will make you relax?"

"I dunno. Most of my efforts to relax have failed because they require being able to touch stuff." Val glared at her tail, flicking it back away from her. "I hate what this feels like. It's like... everything's too numb and too much at the same time. After hours like this I'm going insane. Please tell me I'm not just a ghost now."

"You're repeating yourself," Dash said, only to distract himself from the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach at her description. He didn't know whether he wanted to understand it better or not--understand better just what his own stupidity was putting his friend through. "What about... music? That doesn't need touch." Not if he took charge of whatever was playing it, at least.

Val gave a single, slow nod, then hesitantly added another one. "It's worth a try."

He found some songs on his mp3 player that he knew Val liked, and sat at the kitchen table, lazily bopping his head, as Val slowly took to lounging in the air. She swayed to the beat, but it didn’t seem like she was really relaxing.

"C'mon, I thought you were always the life of the party," Val's ghostly voice teased halfway through the third song.

He raised his eyebrow; that comment was better reserved for a situation that wasn't this. But maybe she needed some sense of normalcy for a second.

"And I thought you were the queen of karaoke," he tried, folding his arms challengingly.

She did not react to that quite like he had hoped, glancing away and looking like she didn't know what to do with her hands. He realized belatedly that she probably didn't like the distortion in her voice at the moment any more than he did.

He drummed his fingers on the table for a few seconds, then turned back to the player. Perhaps what she needed was a hype song. He put on Dumpty Humpty's classic hit "I Punch You in My Dreams (A Lot)", one he knew by heart because the majority of it was just the title repeated a bunch of times.

"I punch you in my dreams!" he shouted more than sang, and Val cringed, putting her hands up to her ears, then stopping to glare at her palms.

"Ugh, that doesn't even work," he heard her groan as he stood up, a giant grin on his face.

"I punch you in my dreams!" He pointed at her to finish the line, but she was instead staring at him like he grew a second head.

"This song stopped being cool in middle school!" she shouted over the insane instrumental.

"Nothing stops being cool until I say it is," he declared, watching as she reoriented herself to a standing position, rolling her red eyes.

Something about that so-very-human action eased a bit of his worry. He couldn't put what the worry was into words, but... it was there. His friend really was there in front of him, no matter how different she seemed.

The next line came up, and he "sang" along gladly. "I punch, I kick, I scream in your face! I hit you over the head with a bass!"

Dash air-guitared as the bassist audibly destroyed his instrument. Luckily, the bass line always picked back up soon on a spare.

"If you think this is supposed to relax me, it isn't working." Nonetheless, the corners of her mouth twitched up.

“I punch you in my dreams!” he repeated loudly, pointing at her again. She shook her head at him, fighting a smile. “If you don't sing, I'm not inviting you to my next party.”

“I don't want to go to your next party anyways!” Nonetheless, she finally started laughing.

“I punch you in my dreams!”

She tacked on grudgingly, “A lot.”

Dash grinned; maybe this was a good plan after all. “Louder! I punch you in my dreams!”

“A lot!”

Together they finished the chorus, “I punch you in my dreams a lot!”

She joined him in rocking to the next instrumental, white ethereal curls flying as she head-banged, her giggles infectious.

Dash held her gaze, making sure she was singing aloud, as they shouted in unison, "I punch, I kick, I scream in your face! I punch, I kick, I scream, I scream, I SCREAM!!!"

They both screamed, but Val's was significantly louder, and Dash ended up stopping to cover his ears and watch her, horror in his eyes. Val, however, didn't notice and kept screaming and screaming, eyes screwed shut. When the scream section of the song was over, a bright light formed around her waist; Dash now covered up his eyes to not go blind. He heard Val topple onto the ground and hurried to help her up--her human body up, dressed warmly from the previous night.

"We... we did it!" Val breathed, patting herself down once standing, a relieved grin stretched across her whole face. "That worked!"

Dash turned off the music and wore a smile, but more of a mask, as she continued to ramble, pacing the kitchen. She pondered aloud the possible reasons why it worked--though she admitted screaming was therapeutic, she liked connecting it to the practice of shouting in her MMA class to move more energy from oneself out.

Val turned back to him, triumph in her eyes. "Would you mind waiting a few more minutes so I can get ready for school?"

"Well, duh," was his reply, and he sat back down at the table as she hurried out of the kitchen to her room. With her gone, he let out a sigh big enough to sag his whole body. He propped his elbows onto the table and buried his face in his hands. He hadn't expected to be so affected by that.

Dash remembered Val's scream.

It was really only a few days ago when he heard her screaming in agony, undergoing torture as the portal did something to her, put her through the kind of pain he couldn't even imagine. The kind of pain he was this close to going through himself.

This scream wasn't the same, he knew that, but... apparently, it was close enough.

He was glad to help somehow, but hated that it ended up being that way, a way that unexpectedly made his heart ache and pound. But he had no right to complain, not really. He couldn't complain about what he was going through, because he wasn't going through anything. He wasn't the one living through this, he was just the one that almost did, and had to watch someone else do it instead.

He rubbed his eyes with his hands, and quietly groaned out, "I'm sorry."

"For what?" He jumped and turned to the doorway--Val had just come in, more silent than she'd ever been before, in a sweater and jeans.

He opened his mouth, then closed, then tried again. He didn't really know how to explain it. His face flaming, he helplessly gestured. "Everything?"

She breathed out, hands at her hips, and watched him for a second. "Apology accepted, but no more, okay?"

He stared at her dumbly, then stood and moved out of the kitchen, feeling the weight of glowing red eyes that could’ve been his on his back. "Okay."

Dash huffed as he finally got to hang up the phone and shove it into his pocket. “Yep, just got grounded.”

“I don’t get them sometimes.” Kwan shook his head as they walked out of school--after classes this time. “Still better than what Val’s dad might’ve done if she was still stuck like that when he came home. How did she get stuck anyway?”

“I dunno. I’m just hoping that was a one-time thing.” Dash shrugged, holding onto his bike’s handlebars. “Guess I’ll see you later.”

He hopped onto the bike as Kwan split away. He cruised down the street, suddenly aware of what being human felt like. The October chill on his bare skin and the warmth of his letterman jacket. The air beating on his face and through his hair as he glided down a hill. The droning, grating noise of the bike’s wheels and chain over the wind whistling through trees and the occasional car passing by. A surprising amount of sun coming through the cloud cover to blind him. How much of that would Val have experienced?

He narrowed his eyes and made his turn around the corner block sharper than necessary. He’d been distracted by these thoughts all day and they didn’t help at all. He needed to stop, and at least try to not feel sorry. He was rarely sorry for anything in the first place. It was easy to act in the few other insistences, but actually not being sorry when he already was was impossible!

He needed something to take his mind off of all... that. School didn’t work, but he didn’t expect it to anyways. Maybe food? Chowing down on leftovers sounded good right now. Or--

He veered to a stop to glance back behind him, up in the sky. Did he--? Yes, that really did look like a person. A person, hovering in the air! Decked out in a futuristic blue suit and helmet! On a surfboard-looking thing shooting fire out the back! He started to wonder whether he really was looking at a time-traveler, because there was no way hoverboards were already a thing.

He nearly fell as he scrambled to turn his bike to get a better view. They barely swerved to go over one of the taller trees, and made a slightly unsteady recovery. Apparently, they were inexperienced with this. It was still so cool, though!

“Hey!” he shouted up, pedaling after them. The startled person lost balance for a second, but successfully froze their position in the sky to glance down to him. He continued, “Can I try out your hoverboard?”

After a few seconds, a fake-deep voice replied, “No,” and returned to flying away.

Dash couldn’t help but pout as he watched the figure disappear behind some houses--surely intentional so they (he?) couldn’t be followed so easily. He thought of taking on the challenge, but his stomach beckoned him to go home instead.

Well, perhaps he could catch a flight with Val, if she ever left the house, he considered as he turned back around for the last stretch home. Hey, if that dude showed up again, Val could hang out with him in midair! Even she would have to admit that’d be cool!

...And there he was, feeling guilty again out of nowhere.

What else could distract him? Using Fenton as a punching bag always worked pretty well, but Val asked him not to for a while. Wanted to try to start on good relations with the loser, she said. He didn’t think it was worth it, but agreeing to a favor like that was the least he could do so she wouldn’t be as miserable.

Not to say that he wasn’t going to watch Fenton closely. The favor ran the risk of him getting out of line in some way, and Dash wasn’t going to accept that. If Fenton pulled anything on Val...

He was going to be more sorry than Dash could ever be.

[pileontheyears]

A Jungle Kiss - Shortaki One-Shot

Helga sat on the jungle floor, looking up through the thick leaves as rain poured down. She and Arnold had somehow gotten separated from Phoebe and Gerald on their quest to find Arnold's parents, so here they were lost in the middle of the jungle withno clue what to do next.

Not to mention Helga had hurt her leg - perfect.

She wasn't as concerned with her injury as she was for Arnold's, he got a nasty gash on his arm that she bandaged with her bow. Soon afterwards Arnold noticed her limping and demanded they stop and rest. If there was something Helga Pataki didn't do,

was stop, so she did what any 10 year old girl stuck in a jungle would do: scheme. She had to figure out a way out of this mess, but it was difficult with the way Arnold was looking at her. Wait, why was Arnold looking at her?

"Something on my face paste-for-brains?"

Great job Helga, insult him, remind him how he's stuck in the middle of the jungle with the worst person he could be stuck with!

"No, I uh, was just wondering if you're feeling ok."

Ok, he's not angry, just try to avoid anymore talking, less she act like a bully or a basket case.

"Don't worry your pure Samaritan heart over me, Football Head. I'll be fine in no time, Patakis are quick healers."

"Oh, ok. Good."

There's complete silence, all except for the rain hitting the leaves. There was no telling what was thicker, the tension or the humidity.

"Look, Helga, I just wanted to thank you for everything you've done for me."

"Did you hit that football head of yours? What I've done is get you stuck in this jungle nightmare, why on earth would you thank me?"

"Because, you're helping me try to find my parents, that's more than enough to thank you."

"Yeah well look how well that's going."

"It doesn't matter how well it's going right now, what matters is that you're helping me, you've always been helping me."

She was afraid of this. Was he going to bring up FTI? She hoped not.

"Yeah, and how's that?"

"Well, your video for the contest, for starters."

Ok good, not FTI, just the video for the contest- that she used tapes upon tapes of footage she accumulated over years she spent stalking him. FTI sounds great, actually, they should talk about that!

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Well, you spent all that time and effort to make that video, showing how I've helped people. But it just doesn't make any sense."

Huh?

"Huh?"

"What I mean is, everyone in the video talked about me helping them, except you. But, you put it all together, so I guess what I'm trying to say, or ask I guess, is why?"

"Why?"

"Yeah, I just don't get it, why you've been helping me all this time, it just doesn't make sense."

Criminey, is this FTI 2.0? Sure they both chalked up the confession to not meaning anything, but come on! Well, since he wants a sincere answer...

"I don't know what you're talking about, Football Head. So I did a good thing? I'm not completely heartless."

"I know that, Helga."

Uh-oh, he's giving her that look, the one that makes her senses go wacky.

"What I mean to say is, what did I ever do to deserve you helping me?"

What did he? To deserve? He doesn't know. He really doesn't know! Well of course not, it's only something Helga and Dr. Bliss know and that was the way it was going to stay. But, here was Arnold, looking like he had no rhyme or reason for why Helga Pataki

cared about him. The real question was why he cared so much about why she cared about him!

"Look, I've told you, I don't completely hate you, so I helped!"

Please stop asking, just drop this, what she wouldn't give for a straw and paper right now so she could just shut him up with some spitballs.

"But why?"

He looked even more determined, she wasn't going to get away from this interrogation. Might as well try to appeal to his conscience.

"Look, Arnold, it's personal, so I'd rather not say."

"But when will you?"

"What?"

"I'm tired Helga! I'm tired of you acting like you don't care and when I try to talk to you for real you just close yourself off. You care about me? Then please just tell me why!"

"Because you liked my bow!"

Great, she's going to sound like such a basket case.

"Your- bow?"

Almost instinctively Arnold found his hand grazing against the pink fabric Helga had bandaged his wound with. But when did he-?

And then it came back to him.

"It was the first day of pre-school. Bob and Miriam were being dazzled by Olga tickling the ivories so I walked to school. It was a crappy, rainy day, I got covered in mud and a dog stole my lunch. I felt completely miserable and then all of sudden, this

kid with this football shaped head holds his umbrella over me and says that I have a nice bow and he likes it cause-"

"It's pink like your pants."

"You remember?"

"Yeah, I mean I think I sort of forgot until now."

"Well, later that day Harold stole my crackers."

"Oh yeah!"

"Hey! You wanted me to tell the story, so don't interrupt!

Arnold gave a quick sorry but was still smiling. What a moron, what a yutz, what a complete buffoon. And yet...

"A-anyways, you gave me yours but then everyone made fun of me so I knocked Harold over and jumped on his gut."

"Why was everyone making fun of you?"

"Hey, you asked what you did to help me and I told you! Sorry bucko, but one story is all you get!"

"I guess that's fair."

There's that tension again. Oh well, at least the interrogation with Shortman is over.

"So everything you've done for me, was because I told you I liked your bow."

She knew he wouldn't get it. Oh well, it's the middle of the night in the middle of the jungle and her leg might be broken. They've got time to kill.

"I know, it's a dumb reason, but it meant a lot to me. It was the first time anyone was nice to me- the first time anyone noticed me. You helped me Arnold, just like everyone else you know. It wasn't anything big like reuniting a family or saving a neighborhood,

but- it was big for me."

There was that look again. It didn't help that if she didn't know any better he was also getting closer. Wait, he was! Did that mean- is he going to-

Snap.

"Arnold? You out there man?"

"Gerald?"

"Yeah! Thank goodness! Phoebe and I have been looking everywhere for you two!"

"Oh, well uh, here we are!"

Real smooth, Shortman.

"I suppose this means we will be making use of this space for the evening. Gerald would you mind helping with setting up the tents?"

"Sure thing, babe."

"Hey Johanssen! You better have good intentions if you're making the moves on my best friend!"

"HELGA!"

"Sheesh, it's a joke people, we've been in the jungle for days now, I can't be the only one starving for entertainment."

"Very funny, Helga. Alright Gerald, let's fashion the tents together."

"I swear that Pataki is no good at all!"

Before either Helga or Phoebe could rebuttal, Arnold had come to her defense.

"She's good, Gerald. After all, she's been helping us this whole time."

"Yeah yeah I know. Like she said, we need some jokes to lighten the mood."

"Hey, I'm all for jokes as long as they don't attack me too much."

"Fair enough, same goes for me though."

"Alright, Tall-Hair Boy, it's a deal."

Gerald and Phoebe went to set up the tents, the previous tension rising again.

"I better go help them."

"Yeah yeah, do your civic duty, I'll just be here."

"Oh um, but first,"

Without warning, Arnold leaned down and caught Helga's lips with his own. She let out a small surprised "eep" but soon closed her eyes and returned the kiss.

"That's uh, what I wanted to do before we got interrupted. Figured I should go through with it. Anyways, I have my civic duty to attend to."

He winked at her and sort of jumped into his run. Helga felt her fingers touching where his lips has been. HIS LIPS! ARNOLD'S! ARNOLD'S LIPS HAD TOUCHED HER LIPS! The heat she was feeling was most definitely not from the humidity and heck, she'd build

a treehouse for her and Arnold to live in out here if it meant he'd kiss her again!

She looked back up at the sky and smiled. Maybe being stuck in the jungle wasn't so bad after all.

[khaleesa]

Fic: Sprouts

Fandom: Star Wars

Pairing/Characters: Obi-Wan Kenobi x Sabé, original child character

Rating & Warnings: K for kidfic

Word Count: 1400

Summary: They can hardly be surprised at their son’s enthusiasm for gardening...

A/N: Is it spring yet? Not quite, but I’ve had a gardening bug lately, and a friend’s Instagram story inspired this little Sabewan fic. (And made me realize how long it’s been since I wrote any fic, eep! I mean to do better!) Set in Born of LIght-verse, a few years after Growing Seasons. Unbetaed. I hope this fic is a nice little glimpse of spring!  Please read, review, reblog. :)

Read it on AO3. Or here. ;)

~*~

Sabé dreamed of gardening, so vividly that she could smell the rich soil, feel the itch of it on her skin, taste--

Spluttering, she snapped awake and sat up to meet a pair of wide blue eyes twinkling at her from the foot of the bed. Specks of black dotted the unbleached bedlinens between their owner and her, like the proverbial trail of breadcrumbs in the fairytale.

"Ben Jinn Kenobi!" Sabé grimaced at the grit on her lips and put up a hand to wipe it away. "Did you throw dirt on me?"

With his sunny grin, Ben held up pudgy hands, displaying evidence of his toddler mischief, the lines of his palms darkened with potting soil. "Pwant seeds!"

Sabé flopped back on her pillow and met another pair of blue eyes now open beside her, crinkling at the corners with his silent amusement.

"Yes, I did say we'd plant seeds today." She scrubbed a hand across her face, scattering more dirt onto the sheets. "I suppose I ought to have specified after breakfast."

"We can hardly be surprised at his enthusiasm for gardening," Obi-Wan said, "seeing as he sleeps in a cellar garden." He moistened the pad of his thumb on his tongue, swiped it across her cheekbone, then brushed his lips over the same spot. "But Benji," he added, sitting up, "you know you are not supposed to play with any of the gardening equipment."

Ben's round eyes welled at the gentle rebuke, only to light up again as he found himself caught in the arms of his father, who lay back again with the little boy on his chest.

"How did he reach that bag of soil, anyway?" Sabé mused as she lay there with them, combing her fingers through his untidy shock of dark hair. "It was on the top shelf."

Ben bolted upright on Obi-Wan's chest, his own puffing with pride. "I make it fwy!"

Sabé noted her husband's rapid blink. "We can hardly be surprised at his enthusiasm for levitation," she said, "seeing as his father is a Jedi."

 ~*~

While Sabé made breakfast, Obi-Wan went out to tend the eopies and Ben--ostensibly--went along to help. A toddler, in all honesty, was more hindrance than help with milking and mucking, but as days in the desert were long, and more so with a child to keep entertained, nobody truly minded the chores taking more time than they ought to. That might change now that Ben could, apparently, make things fly. Sabé hoped he wouldn't test his abilities on anything unfortunate in the pen or barn. At the same time, she'd be sorry not to see it.

An even better sight, however, was that of Obi-Wan carrying their son back toward the hovel on his shoulders, both wearing grins as bright as the twin suns that rose over the dunes. She glimpsed them through the side windows as she set the table with steaming bowls of oatmeal and muja berry jam made from their own crop.  

"I thought Mari Starfall's jam was delicious," Obi-Wan said, hmming after his first bite, "but nothing tastes better than food you've grown yourself."

Sabé had to stop Ben from reaching into his bowl with his hand, closing his fingers around the handle of his spoon instead. "How quickly you've forgotten our first Naboo lettuce crop."

"Pwant seeds!" cried Ben, waving his spoon and flinging oatmeal and jam over his tray.

"It seems after breakfast may prove an unattainable goal," Obi-Wan observed.

"After ours, then," Sabé said.

They wolfed down their oatmeal, then fed Ben as much as they could get him to take--mostly by asking him what they were going to do today, then shoveling spoonfuls in whenever he opened his mouth to reply, Pwant seeds!  After a few bites, he caught on, clamped his mouth shut, and refused to answer, kicking his legs and grunting until they wiped the jam off his cheeks and chubby hands and released him from the confines of his chair. He toddled toward the open cellar door, and Sabé hurried after him, catching his hand to help him descend the steps.

She called over her shoulder to Obi-Wan, who'd started to clear the table. "The washing up will keep till later."

"Yes," Obi-Wan agreed, setting the bowls on the kitchen counter on his way to them, "we'll need something to do after we've completed the single task on our to-do list. Even a three-year-old can't make planting seeds take all day."

"We have potting soil to clean up, too," Sabé announced cheerfully as they were greeted by most of the contents of a large bag piled on the cellar rug. And they'd thought it was safe out of reach on the top shelf. "Thank the stars that didn't fall on Ben's head. How does one childproof for Force-sensitive offspring?"

"Send them to the Jedi Temple," replied Obi-Wan softly, with a sad smile as he scooped up Ben, who'd let go of Sabé's hand to run squealing to play in the dirt. Planting a kiss on the dark hair--which he discovered had jam in it--he said, "The potting soil is for planting, not for playing, young one."

"Not for pwaying," Ben echoed, and wagging his forefinger solemnly in imitation of his father.

Sabé stifled a laugh, but Obi-Wan's grin broke free. Together, they cleaned up the mess, which was an agreeable pastime to Ben, for it meant he got to scoop dustpanfuls back into the bag after Obi-Wan swept. When that was finished, Obi-Wan plopped Ben on a stepstool Sabé had pulled up to the workbench, where empty trays were lined up, ready for new seedlings. She handed Ben a child-sized shovel the Starfall children had outgrown--though it wouldn't be too long before their new addition would be ready to help Mari in her cellar garden-and let him fill each tray with soil. He did this quite competently, and managed to cover the workbench with a healthy layer, as well. Then, one at a time, she gave him salthia beans that had soaked overnight to press into the soil, showing him how to place the eyes facing downward. She had to do most of them over.

"Now we must cover them up," Sabé said, moving soil over the first bean. "Gently! Like you're tucking them into their little beds."

"The seeds sweeping?" asked Ben, looking up at her.

Sabé smiled over his head at Obi-Wan. "That's right. They'll grow while they're asleep. Just like you." She tickled him under the armpit as he reached to cover the seeds. His squeal of laughter echoed in the cellar, then he said, "Top it, Mama! Shh! I putting the seeds to bed!"

"Sorry," Sabé whispered.

"Shh, Dada!"

"But I didn't say anything," Obi-Wan protested in a hushed tone.

The trays of salthia beans were soon sufficiently covered. Ben insisted to be allowed to carry them to their place beneath the grow lights. With some convincing, he allowed Sabé to help.

"Turn off wights?" he asked.

"No," Obi-Wan told him, "unlike you, the seeds need to sleep with the lights on so they can grow big and strong."

Ben stared at the trays beneath the humming grow lights, then waved his hand at them. "Gwow, seeds!"

"It'll take a few days for them to sprout," Sabé said, taking his hand to guide him back upstairs. "Maybe even a whole week."

"Not a whole week!" Ben cried, though he hadn't the faintest idea what that meant.

That evening, when they returned to the cellar at his bedtime, Ben stopped to check the progress of his seeds. "They gwow!"

"I told you, Benji," Sabé said from across the room, where she pulled back the covers of the little bed in the corner by the laundry unit, "they won't sprout for a few days."

"Erm," Obi-Wan said, "you might wish to come re-evaluate that hypothesis."

"Are you barvy?" Sabé asked, joining them. She stopped short at the sight of green poking up through the dark soil, then bent low over the trays, not trusting her eyes.

"Gwow, seeds!" Ben demanded, waving his hand over the trays as he'd done earlier.

"Our son appears to have a natural mastery of plant surge," Obi-Wan said.

 After she'd picked her jaw up off the floor, Sabé slipped her arm around his waist. "Well, we can hardly be surprised."

[saintheartwing]

Undertales of Friendship: Toriel’s Got Talent

Toriel walked through the classroom, humming a tune from a show Mettaton had intercepted in another dimension. The song was somewhat somber and maybe a little sad, but at the same time it was beautiful.

"Come little Children... I'll take thee away... into a land of enchantment..." Toriel sang, perfectly in tone with the soft spoken singer who sang the tune. As she did, she closed her eyes and began to dance, leaving a trail of flame as she did, feeling the fire twirl about her ever so gently.

"hey Toriel."

Toriel eeped and fell over a desk as she was startled by the shorter of the skeleton brothers. She moaned and winced as sans helped her to get up, never losing that smile of his or that gentle, caring look in his eyesockets. After coming to the surface, the two had become good friends. It would never be more than that really, since sans was more like a big uncle to Frisk and Asriel, and Toriel had no interest in marrying again after Asgore.

Still...

It was nice to have a good friend like Sans. And yet he did have a knack for finding embarrassing times.

"Sans, dear, I thought you were seeing the kids to the train to Canterlot?"

Sans nodded. "i did. i saw them as they got to the station, then I closed my eyesockets once they got there so I didn't see them afterward. but I will see 'em later when they get home."

Toriel giggled. "You're so bad, Sans." she hugged her friend and went to finish up with the cleaning.

"nah, just a bonehead."

Toriel bust out laughing, neither unaware that outside two very famous ponies had been listening to Toriel's singing. The one was a greyish brown pony who had her mane done up in a nice little style, as highly refined as the Stratamarevius cello she played. Beside her was the polar opposite in many ways, wearing purple shades and having a mane done up in blue, white, and neon purple that just went everywhere, her coat white as fallen snow. Vinyl Scratch and Octavia were best friends in Ponyville and two of the finest musicians in their fields. They KNEW talent when they heard it.

And they had heard it walking by the school.

"Wow Vinyl, can you believe it? Who knew that Goat Lady was so talented?"

Vinyl shrugged. "Eh, it ain't bad that's for sure. With some wubs backing her up she could REALLY rock!"

Octavia raised an eyebrow. "Always with the WUBS, Vinyl?"

The rocker DJ chuckled. "I'm all about that Bass." She hmmmed. "But she really is a great singer. We gotta get her to share that talent."

Octavia nodded. "Yes... still we should be subtle about it. I recall Rarity telling me how she and her friends tried to get Fluttershy to sing in public. Did NOT go well."

Vinyl hmmmed. "I think I got an idea, girlfriend."

Octavia chuckled. "And there we go with the shipping jokes."

The DJ chuckled, lowering her shades. "Like I was the first one." She winked through the fourth wall, setting off to finalize things.

Later that day, Toriel was stunned at her guests. She had been busy making some pies for when her sons come home, and the smell of apple, butterscotch, snail, and even one blueberry experimental pie hung in the air.

She lived in a modest little house, like most monsters did after arriving here in Equestria. it was a cute little one story made of magical brick, several unicorns helping put it together. In many ways it looked like her old home in the ruins, with a similar house layout... except now it had a bathroom and a basement. Toriel also had a much larger kitchen here, since she was baking lots of goodies either on her own or with Muffet and Pinkie Pie. But today she had different guests.

Two very specific musicians.

"You want me to what?" She asked again, trying to place what she had just been told.

"We want you to sign up for the talent competition." Octavia said. "We heard your singing voice when we walked by your school. It was just amazing!"

Vinyl smiled and handbanged a little... oh no... she was just nodding. "Yeah, you rock girlfriend!"

"I thought I was your girlfriend?" Octavia said with a wink, the playful DJ smiling. Toriel chuckled some, thinking perhaps these two were like Alphys and Undyne in some ways. But she shook her head.

"Not interested." She said. "See... I'm really not that good. Oh I love to perform before a crowd, I do it every day a a teacher. But singing... I only really know the one song, mainly because I can relate to it."

The two ponies sat on their haunches. Octavia tilted her head. "I don't understand."

"You see... before we came here to Equestria, my ex-husband had a policy of killing any human who fell into the underground. I hated it so I left him and hid in the ruins. I was determined to protect any child who fell into the underground but... well, I failed. Now we have six human souls who don't hate us, but are still trapped, still waiting to either be freed and sent home or given new bodies."

Vinyl still wasn't making the connection. "Soooo... why that song?"

"See... I always wanted to take those kids and take them away somewhere that Asgore could not touch them. We could be happy and free, and it'd be so lovable. It was my dream for-"

*knock knock*

Toriel blinked. "Oh no... now what?" She went to the door and opened it... only to be greeted by the hulking form of her ex-husband. He was white furred like she was and had larger horns, but was also very much a goat monster, with similar floppy ears, vampire-like fangs, and a big golden beard. He was dressed in overalls and a blue shirt, as well as a big funny looking straw hat. Toriel glared at him.

"Dreemurr." She said with definitive daggers in her voice. Asgore smiled, embarrassed.

"Sorry, I just was seeing if maybe... oh there you two are!" Asgore pushed past, Toriel clenching her fists as he walked in. "I was looking all over for you two. I wanted to sign up for the talent show."

Octavia clapped her hooves. "Splendid! And your talent?"

Asgore smiled. "Strength. I have been working out on the Apple Acres Farm-"

"Sweet Apple Acres love." Vinyl corrected.

"Ah, whoops. Anyway, Big Macintosh has been helping me train my strength, and we want to work together for an act." He turned to Toriel. "Shame you won't be in it Toriel."

Toriel fumed. "And why not?"

"Oh sorry Tori, but you kinda are outdone with most talents, except maybe your pies. And I do not think those would work for the competition."

Now Toriel literally was burning up, fire forming in her hands. She turned to Octavia and Vinal and spoke with a voice that would scare Satan himself into hiding in his room under the covers.

"Sign. Me. Up." She spat, her flames intensifying. The three guests suddenly a little spooked. An upset Toriel was NEVER a good thing.

"Ummm... I better go." Asgore said, nervously walking out. He eeped as Toriel opened the door, almost getting Asgore burnt when she did. As she closed it however, she smelled something burning.

She soon realized she set her door on fire.

"Oh no!" She gasped, trying to put it out quickly, the two deciding it might have been a good idea to confirm Asgore first for this kind of stuff to prevent property damage.

Toriel stood in the main room of her home, trying to rehearse the song she was going to sing for the show. She had sang it a few times, and the snails she had caught were listening, rocking their heads in the soft time of the somber and beautiful singing.

But she felt like it wasn't right. All she did was stand there and sing... It felt a little like a part of a greater whole. She loved music, yes, but to actually sing was not her thing. From the time she was little she liked to bake more than anything, had…had Asgore been right?

Asgore. Thinking about him made her almost redouble her efforts as her cell phone rang. She sighed and answered it, the voice of her son Frisk on the other end.

"Hi mom!" He said cheerfully. "How are things back in Ponyville?"

Toriel smiled as she focused on her son for now and away from the talent show. "Oh, same as always. How is Canterlot?"

Frisk giggled. "It's fun! Asriel and I are kinda getting a few stares from ponies but overall we like it. We are doing our best to help Twilight with her work here."

Toriel smiled proudly. That was her boys, always eager to help others. "Is Asriel there, son?" She asked. Frisked chuckled some.

"He's with Princess Celestia right now mom."

"Ahhhhhhhh... Those two are going to spoil him rotten at this rate." Toriel giggled.

"More like HE will spoil THEM!" He laughed in return. The two spoke a little further before finally Toriel said it.

"By the way, I will be in the talent show later this week. But I won't tell you what I am doing yet. It's a surprise."

Frisk ahhhed. "I cannot wait to see it! Until then mom, I gotta help Twilight and Spike with some of the books, then we are going to go hang out with some of her old friends. Talk to you later!"

"Be good son!" Toriel said, hanging up, unaware that now someone else was in the room.

"hey Toriel." The familiar voice said, still making Toriel eep out of her fur.

"Sans, will you stop that?! Why do you keep popping up out of nowhere?!"

Sans shrugged. "actually i was in the closet." He said shrugging even more.

Toriel sighed. "Great, I have a closet case in my ho-" She whacked her face with her hand. "OH I soooo walked into that one!"

Sans smiled. Though he was already smiling. "nah, i came outta that one." He said, pointing to the hall closet. "hey, gotta question for ya. you think doing things outta revenge or hate is the right thing to do?"

Toriel blinked. "What? Why do you ask?"

Sans made his empty eyesocket stare. He did it primarily to make a serious point. As he spoke, he actually followed punctuation standards. This was a serious sentence.

"I think you know what I mean Tori."

Tori. The way her name was said that way. She sighed and nodded. "No... it is wrong."

"then why are you in the competition?" Sans asked. "ya doing what you want to do in it, i hope?"

Toriel sighed. "Well... Octavia and Vinyl Scratch think I should sing my song, so I am going to do that. It is my best bet right?"

Sans shrugged. "heck if i know. i am just a judge alongside the princesses and Mettatin."

"Ton." Toriel said.

"2000 pounds." Sans said without a beat missed. "but joking aside your majesty, if the only reason you're singing is to beat the king, then you're doing the wrong thing for the wrong reason. you should focus on a talent you love and want to share with the world."

Toriel blinked. "I see what you mean... but I can't bake pies for the competition."

Sans placed a bony hand on her arm. "i don't mean that. what fills you with a burning passion? what sets your heart afire?" He smiled, winking. Toriel just stared.

Sans waited but no answer came. He sighed and chuckled. "eh, you'll figure it out if you follow your heart." He placed a hand on her chest. "listen to it." He smiled and opened the oven door. "well, gotta go." He said, climbing in. Toriel opened it... but Sans was gone.

"How DOES he do that?!"

The day of the talent show arrived and Toriel was nervous as all get out. She had rehearsed her song for some time but it still didn't sound right. As she went to practice one last time, she heard another singing voice...

We were searching for our place for awhile there,

Trying to find out where we fit in!

But when we failed those times before, we kept on trying more,

Cause the Cutie Mark Crusaders don't give in!

Now there's new faces here in our home,

And they need a Crusader's help too.

So just like the friends we got, there is now a whole new lot

And we'll show them all just what we can do!

We'll make our mark!

For Changlings and Monsters too!

We'll make our mark!

Do our best to see them through

To the ultimate reward, of a Cutie Mark!

Toriel blinked, following the source of the song, and saw three very familiar little fillies, working on an adaptation for their song, making it their own.

"Miss Toriel!" One said, a familiar alabaster filly with a musical note in a coat of arms for her cutie mark. "You wanna help with the next verse? You know it right?"

Toriel smiled. She did, the Crusaders had sung it in her room so many times before. But she had one better. She cleared her throat…

Toriel: I think now I see the true path before me.

I think I know now what to do.

You've helped me see that I must follow my heart.

And I just want to thank youuuuu...

Sweetie Belle: I'm so glad we have helped when you needed.

We want to show you the way.

Together: Because if at the very start, you just follow your heart,

You can help to make it a better, brighter day!

We'll make our mark!

And we'll let our talents shine,

We'll make our mark!

And it will be so divine!

To find the ultimate reward! Our Cutie Mark!

Toriel hugged the three phillies, smiling. "That was wonderful! There is no way my singing can compete with it. You three have the true talents, not me."

The orange brown coated one, Scootaloo, smiled. "I don't think so, you have a real talent too."

Apple Bloom, the custard coated pony with reddish mane smiled. "Yeah, and you add so much, your dancing and your skill with fire, you're amazing!"

Toriel smiled. "Well, when I hear a song I like, I dunno, I just cannot keep the passion inside, I have to let the flames of it come o..." She froze. "Girls! That's It! I know what my TRUE talent is! I gotta find Octavia and Vinyl right away!"

Sweetie Belle smiled and pointed a hoof towards one of the tents near the talent show stage. "I think they are over there."

Toriel hugged her one last time, and went to see them. Now she knew what she wanted to do!

Big Macintosh smiled as Asgore lifted another pony on his back, now up to 15. He was huffing some. He had to do it. Just one more.

"Big Mac, your turn at the top!" Asgore said, sweating. Big Mac nodded, grabbing a flag, climbing the upside down pyramid held up by Asgore, everyone staring in awe. Big Mac climbed steadily until he was at the center post part at the top, and held up a flag.

Asgore straightened out, legs buckling but his strength holding as he went to full height, giving a mighty yell. From the back, Undyne and Alphys wolf whistled and cheered at the sight. With help from the pegasi, the volunteer ponies were lifted off, one by one.

"OHHH! AMAZING DISPLAY OF SHEER BRAWN YOUR HIGHNESS! ONCE AGAIN, KING ASGORE AND HIS TALENT OF UNYIELDING STRENGTH, WITH BIG MAC AND HIS SKILL OF CLIMBING AND TOSSING PONIES!" The audience cheered as MC extraordinaire, Mettaton, placed a huge smiley face on his... um... face... and rolled aside to let the slightly winded but proud king walk by. As he did, he saw Toriel.

"Tori..." He started, but Toriel shushed him.

"I still hate what you did." She said... then smiled. "But you know, you did good out there."

Asgore smiled. "Thanks. But the goal was really 30 ponies. Ah well. In any case, I wanna see what you can do Tori."

Toriel gave a little wink. "I think you will like it." She stepped out on stage, nodding as below appeared Octavia and Vinyl Scratch, instruments ready. Toriel stood on the stage, breathing deep.

It was time to show the world her passion.

The two ponies began to play a melancholy tune filled with passion, the passion of a mother whose heart was breaking, the passion of a mother who could not stand the thought of her child about to face the underground alone.

Heartache.

As the music picked up, her hands lit up with fire. She began to twirl the flames about her in a dance, spinning and leaping, trying not to cry as she recalled the last time she had heard this tone, the source of her passion as a mother.

That day in the underground, when she forced Frisk to prove himself. And he had, not fighting, letting his love shine through.

Toriel recalled this, shooting fire into the air, making the audience awe as they saw it explode like fireworks, guided perfectly through the audience and around them, not touching a one, each flame guided by her magic, each motion like a dance within a dance. All the while Octavia and Vinyl played their hearts out on the instruments, gritting their teeth, eyes filled with tears as their music filled the audience with feelings of awe, sorrow, and hope.

This was her passion. The burning desire inside her. The dance. The dance that changed everything for her, for the underground, for everyone. Frisk's Dance.

With every move the story seemed to play out for those watching, Frisk especially in awe of his mom as he watched it, recalling that last, loving hug. Asriel was unable to keep from crying, it was so beautiful.

And as the music ended, everyone in the audience was on their hooves, stamping and clapping, Toriel exhausted but smiling with a tear in her eyes. She saw Frisk and smiled.

Her children gave her the talent she had. And the happiness she felt, from the time she was one herself, could only come out in the form of her flames and in her dance.

She looked to the two musicians, who smiled, Vinyl sobbing while Octavia bowed.

"That was beautiful." Was all she said. And it was a thought shared by Asgore as he watched from backstage. That was the Tori he remembered.

He also could not stop crying.

As the show ended, Toriel went to the crusaders, hugging them again. "Thank you, little ones. Without you I might not have realized the truth. Music is a love of mine, like my kids or my baking. But when I hear it, I have to let the feelings it gives me out. I have to dance. Even if I have to fight with the music in my mind I cannot keep from making it a dance."

Sweetie Belle hmmmed. "You mean like that spider lady?"

Toriel went wide eyed. "Oh my... your right! I guess I never made the comparison, hehehe" She smiled and hugged again, unaware that Muffet had watched and, like everyone else, was in awe."

"OK, BEAUTIES AND GENTLEBEAUTIES! IT SEEMS THE JUDGES HAVE MADE THEIR DECISIONS! BEFORE PRESENTING THE GRAND PRIZE FOR BEST IN SHOW, WE HAVE PRIZES FOR OUTSTANDING TALENT!" Mettaton first held up an award with a musical note on it. "FOR BEST MUSICAL TALENT... THE CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS!"

Sweetie Belle gasped. "We... we won?!"

Toriel just beamed as she watched the three walk to the stage and collect their prize. Mettaton them picked up one with a pair of Groucho Marx glasses.

"FOR BEST COMICAL PERFORMANCE... OH MY, THIS IS BORDERLINE AGAINST THE RULES, BUT I THINK WE ALL AGREE! PAPYRUS!"

Everyone chuckled as Papyrus came up with...

...a dusty tutu.

"SANS... YOU ARE SO DEAD FOR THIS ONE."

"oh relax bro, at least that was the best Nutcracker."

"SWEET!" Everyone laughed as Papyrus walked into that one. "*SIGH*. WHYYYY MUST I TRY SO HARD FOR APPRECIATION..."

Mettaton then lifted the next trophy.

"FOR SHEER AND UTTER PHYSICAL TALENT... BIG MACINTOSH AND KING FLUFFYBUNS!"

Asgore blushed some as everyone laughed at his nickname, the two stepping forward to take the barbell trophy. Mettaton now lifted the final one.

"AND NOW, THE MOMENT YOU HAVE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR... THE BEST IN SHOW, THE TOP TALENT, PONYVILLE'S PERFECT PERFORMING PRESENCE! AND THE WINNER IS... TORIEL DREEMURR!"

Toriel was wide eyed as she stepped forward, everyone again giving a standing ovation complete with cheers, claps, wolf whistles, and shouts for a speech. But Toriel could only say one thing, something which, in many opinions, is the moral of this story.

"True talent is not about something your good at, or even something you love to do. Talent is, in many ways, something you are good at loving."

Well said Toriel. Well said.

THE END

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...Asriel breaks the fourth wall and smiles.

"Wasn't that an awesome talent show? Who knew mom could dance like that! And the way she could move the fire... amazing!

"Hey! You liking the series so far? Have ideas for Misterebony or NGrey651? Comment below! But... no killing okay? Please?

...

...

..."Well... that's it this time. See you in the next episode!"

[gunnerpalace]

The Two-Body Problem - Chapter 5: Asymptotic Freedom

After the defeat of Xcution, Byakuya stopped just short of issuing Rukia an order to stay with Ichigo. Despite finding that his closet had been set up for her to sleep in yet again (by Isshin), she began to make herself at home in Ichigo’s bed too. A little more than a week has passed and Ukitake has yet to send her any further instructions. Most recently, Ichigo came home beaten up after yet another schoolyard brawl. One thing led to another and their last night in bed became rather more intimate than either had planned.

You can read the first four chapters here on AO3! Set the morning after Chapter 4 (NSFW), this also contains a NSFW situation and language, although the former isn’t explicit and it’s basically all fluff and banter. (It’s a “morning after” type of fic.) Fairly hurriedly written for #IchiRukiWinterFluff, not quite as long as it could be, ≈2050 words.

Sunlight streamed into Ichigo's bedroom—now more properly Ichigo and Rukia's bedroom—from the south, and did its best to wake Rukia gently. Perhaps unwisely, they'd left the curtains open the night before, having felt no need for privacy in the rain. This morning the sun's rays slowly swept across the blankets covering the two of them until, later than Ichigo usually awoke, they caressed Rukia's cheeks.

Still asleep, she mildly fussed at the additional warmth, pressing closer to him and trying to conceal her face in the crook of his neck, but it was a battle she inevitably forfeited. She blinked her eyes open slowly, squinting into the warm light for a moment and frowning.

Soon however, her focus changed, and she turned her head to consider the other source of heat upon her: Ichigo.

He was still sound asleep, facing away from the window. They were nude together, and he was hard against one of her thighs to boot.

Rukia's cheeks grew increasingly pink as she considered him and truly awoke, her memories of the previous night coming back to her. Honestly? How is he already... like this again!? Although she'd huddled with boys for warmth in Rukongai, she'd never really had to deal with the phenomenon of morning wood before—she'd been sleeping against Ichigo's back until this morning too. Her internal exasperation was theater for herself; there was nothing about being encircled within his arms and held against him that was off-putting.

Finally, she closed her eyes and pressed her face back up against his throat, breathing him in and allowing herself to simply enjoy the feeling of his skin upon hers. There was no real difference between how the sun felt on her and how Ichigo did.

She lingered like that for some strange length of time that seemed both unknowably long and altogether too short, before a thought intruded upon her relaxation: breakfast. As if on cue, her stomach growled. She blinked her eyes open with a sudden realization. Yuzu always makes breakfast... what if they...

Wait, what day was it anyway? It had been Friday, so it must be Saturday. The human calendar was mercifully similar to Soul Society's, at least. And Ichigo had explained that they'd all stopped having to go to school on Saturdays sometime the prior year—something about a government directive? Whatever, none of that mattered at the moment! Even though it was only her second weekend back, it was highly unusual to sleep so late into the morning! They would surely notice! And she was so hungry, damn it! This was certainly his doing with... what he'd done the night before...

Rukia abruptly pulled her head back, the flush of her cheeks quickly dispersing. "Ichigo."

He didn't react.

"Ichigo!" she repeated more urgently.

This time, he let out a snore in response.

Rukia twitched an eyebrow and pinched his nose shut. "Fool!"

Ichigo turned his head and sputtered at the sensation. "Ah! Hey! What the—" he began, only to be cut off by her hand clapping over his mouth.

"Not so loud, you imbecile!" she husked in warning. Slowly, she withdrew her hand from his mouth.

He glowered at her for a long moment before their situation drew his attention, and memories of the prior night filled his mind. Oh... He was waking up nude in bed with Kuchiki Rukia. ... Shit. This was... very conflicting!

On the one hand: yes! That had been incredible! He'd done well in both ways, and she'd enjoyed it!

On the other hand: fuck! Why was she so irked?! What were they?! Was Byakuya going to kill him?!

"Now's not the time to be embarrassed!" Rukia admonished, looking him directly in the eyes. Her gaze lingered on him for a moment longer before she turned her head, trying to see his alarm clock.

Ichigo blinked and followed her line of sight. "Fuck," he whispered. It was 10:13 AM.

"We missed breakfast!" Rukia bemoaned, as though they'd been cursed to roam the earth forever.

"Forget breakfast, they're all gonna know!" Ichigo rebuked.

Rukia faced him again with a peevish and accusatory expression. "I am famished, I'll have you know!"

"Don't say that like it's my fault!" How could something like that make her so hungry? It was only possibly because she was so damn short...

"Isn't it?" she demanded, her mien becoming haughty and imperial.

"I don't recall you complaining about the... the midnight snack!" he snapped.

 Rukia's eyes widened as she gaped in disbelief at his audacity.

Ichigo immediately realized what he'd said and squeezed his eyes shut. "Wait, wait, I—"

She slapped his chest and spun around, pulling away from him to feign disapproval as much as to hide the cheeky little smile curving the corners of her lips. The nerve! I didn't think he had it in him...

"Oi, Rukia," he continued, rubbing the back of his head. He looked her way just as the mattress recoiled from her getting off it, and was transfixed by the sight of her backside in the sunlight, bare of everything but her natural beauty. Her skin had such a glow and sheen to it, and her curves were just as proudly shapely as they'd been in the shower the prior evening. He was awestruck and stupefied.

Pointedly ignoring his words, she grabbed her panties and hooked her heels into them to shimmy them up her legs. There was no way she'd let him get away with such insolence and insouciance, even if she was kind of impressed by it. "Well, Ichigo, if you want to stay in bed all day, then be my—" she began to lecture, only to stop with an "Eep!" Her panties were somehow still damp and sticky, and they were also cold from having been on the floor overnight!

She hurriedly yanked them back down her thighs, peering down into them with a flustered expression. What exactly had he done to her the previous night?!

Ichigo was, by this point, beet red, and forced himself to look aside as he got up and stood behind her. "You... should change," he suggested mildly, gathering his own clothes while facing away to give her a moment of privacy.

Rukia glared sideways at him, but without much heat. It was transparently obvious when he was mocking her and when he wasn't, and this was clearly the latter. After a moment of indecision and studying how abashed he was, she kicked her wet underwear off and went to retrieve a new pair from the closet drawer that'd been set aside for her.

They both dressed hurriedly, throwing on their sleeping clothes again and assembling by the bedroom door. The two of them glanced at one another in a conspiratorial way and put their ears to the door, listening intently.

After many, many long seconds, they pulled their heads back and looked at each other again.

"I don't hear anything," Ichigo whispered.

"Neither do I," said Rukia.

They continued to watch each other for a second before nodding at one another. Rukia stepped back and Ichigo opened the door, the two of them heading downstairs in a way that, as they descended the steps, became a practiced attempt to look lazy and blasé.

"Good morning!" Rukia called as they reached the landing, putting all of her acting skills into play.

"Yo," Ichigo added in a drowsy way.

"Sorry we slept in so—eh?" she continued, only to stop and look around.

Ichigo, already at the bottom of the steps, was also doing much the same. "Huh?"

Isshin, Karin, and Yuzu were nowhere to be found. All the lights were off and the downstairs rooms were lit only by ambient sunlight coming in through the windows.

The pair cautiously crept forward, Rukia proceeding forward off the stairs to join Ichigo, both suspecting some sort of surprise at their expense. Still they found nothing until they patrolled into the kitchen.

On one of the counters there was a note.

Ichigo snatched it up and read it, visibly relaxing as he did so.

"What does it say?" Rukia asked.

He simply handed it to her in response.

Her suspicious look ablated as she scanned it.

It was clearly written by Yuzu, and read: 'Onii-chan, Rukia-nee: Dad is taking us to the Tama Zoological Park for a school project! We decided not to wake you since we'll be leaving early. Breakfast and lunch are in the fridge! We'll be back before dinner!'

"We're saved," Ichigo said, exhaling. He wasn't one for prayers, but it felt like his had just been answered.

Rukia's brows knitted together. "What's a zoo?"

He blinked before frowning. "Really?"

"Watch your tone! You know there's a lot I don't know about the Living World!"

Ichigo looked to one side in what was only part of an eyeroll. "It's... a place where wild animals from around the world can safely live while also being seen in person."

Rukia tilted her head in thought. "... What kind of animals?"

"You know, stuff like lions and tigers..." Ichigo trailed off. It'd been a long time since he'd been to that zoo. He was pretty sure they had hares, but Rukia had just finished being pissed off at him for his earlier remark—he wasn't going to set her off again.

She eventually nodded her head sagely at that, and went to the fridge. "Alright, then let's eat, Ichigo!"

He let out a sigh at her one-track mind, before feeling his own stomach starting to grumble. Chastened, he followed her to the fridge and opened it, studying the meals that'd been left for them. "Might as well fix both breakfast and lunch, given the hour..."

At that he glanced to Rukia, finding her beaming at the suggestion, and felt a sweatdrop forming at his temple. "Uh, do you want to have a bath after this, considering—"

Rukia simply and firmly cut him off with "Yes."

Ichigo nodded, not really thinking on either how easily he'd proposed the idea or how readily she'd accepted it, and pulled out the food containers, starting to work on heating them up.

Sometime later, the two of them were in the tub together, up to their necks in hot water. Rukia was seated with her legs crossed between Ichigo's, facing away from and leaning against him as he rubbed her shoulders.

 He had his head back against the edge of the tub, looking elsewhere. It was difficult to be embarrassed at seeing or feeling her after everything that'd happened in the last day, but she was still... pleasantly distracting. He let his mind wander as he worked out the knots in her muscles.

An earlier question returned to him: what were they? They were lovers, at least. And it was clear from last night that they'd... had feelings for one another for a long time. So, were they dating? Or were things just going to go on as they had? Was there a difference? What had that trip to Hoteiya earlier in the week been, if not exactly that? She had fit back into his life again so seamlessly and easily that he hadn't really thought about it... hadn't questioned her living in his room again, or sneaking into his bed.

Being Kuchiki Rukia's lover...what should he do?

Some time had passed when he lifted his head up again. "Hey, Rukia?"

"Mmm?"

"Uh..." He realized he had to be careful with how he phrased this, given what he'd said earlier, and closed his eyes, rubbing the back of his head. "I think... It's been a long time since I was at the Tama Zoo, but I've been trying to remember. I think they have Japanese hares there. They're not quite rabbits, but... Do you wanna surprise my family by meeting up with them there?"

When she didn't say anything, he opened his eyes to look at her.

Rukia had turned her upper body to regard him directly, her hands resting upon his knees. Her mouth was a flawless lunar curve and her eyes were slightly hooded as she studied him.

Ichigo blinked at her expression. She looked gladdened and satisfied.

Her smile turned impish. "Are you asking me on a date, Ichigo?"

After a second, he just grinned.

[jelanisaeed]

Ocean Shipping – First Impressions

First impressions—more like permanent introductions. A bitter battle against anxiety Turquoise learned to loathe. A shame, he supposed. Years should’ve honed his instincts. Granted him that legendary sixth sense Mama spoke of. Yet it evaded him. And anxiety ran its wicked blade through his chest.

I needa stronger armor, he sighed. Upgrade the lazy chainmail for the heavy warmth of silver. Maybe paint it blue. Specks of purple couldn’t hurt either.

Anything to liven the mood. And the atmosphere of his room. It wasn’t healthy sitting in dark at his desk, but it brought a semblance of peace. Well, ignoring the clothes and books slung across the place. Sadness and messiness fell in line together.

The soft orange of the desk lamp set a nice mood. And the perfect time to fix his bedhead. He should’ve never gone so many days without a durag. But…maybe it was for best. A nice wash eased away so much tension. And now he could twist his hair in peace. Who knows? Maybe he’d finally finish the homework due Monday.

(Turquoise-sama,) Ina began with soft steps forwards. She smiled at him with sparkling eyes, levitating a few pieces of clothes with her psychic powers. (Do you mind if I…?)

Unsurprising. Indeedee made great caretakers. The perfect partners for all inspiring breeders and teachers.  

“Aye,” Turquoise nodded. “If it’s no trouble.”

Ina squealed and went to work. Amazing how pokémon rarely had poor first impressions of him. Though he had Lady Mesprit to thank. The Gift of Empathy granted him a closer connection to pokémon than people. Yet Lady Mesprit expected him to utilize his powers to guide others into living their truths. What does that even mean?

Am I supposed to be a detective or something?  Turquoise sighed, finished off his fifth twist. Not gonna lie, that would be lit. Who wouldn’t wanna be a detective? Or just like Pokédex Holder Black and his musharna?

Still, making friends and building relationships should’ve been easier. With his abilities, even the coldest of hearts melted in his presence. It never failed! Besides, Jasper and Ammolite became his best friends in months! And Paxton—

Oh…right, a deep ache rattled his chest. Must be that sword. And the harsher the ache, the more its wielder revealed itself. Until a familiar face sneered at him. Paxton.

First loves always made a lasting impression. Even if their first impression sucked. Not a day went by where he didn’t feel the lingering anger of their meeting. Of how easily Motha wiped the floor with Kiri. Even their future spars never erased that mark. A petty grudge, part of him snarled. Still, that day scared their relationship. And he was a fool to ignore it.

Foolish. Turquoise chuckled, but no humor came to mind. Nor did joy bubble beneath his hazelnut skin until it eased through his pores. Must be the dryness. He’s been so ashy lately. Not to mention the limpness in his coils before the wash. He always heard tales of the disastrous effects of heartbreak. Even seen it firsthand. Yet he never imagined he’d fall victim too.

Might as well add arrogant to the list too.

The last twist finished, and every semblance of peace faded with the completion. Only the drowning loneliness of a dark room. Perhaps homework wasn’t a bad idea. Or he could finally give him team the attention he deprived them all. …Nah, Motha and Empola probably weren’t happy with him. Only Ina wouldn’t pry even if her concern burned through her senses. She’d focus on her tasks and find an opening when she could. She’s clever that way.

Oh, and of course there’s— (Tur-Tur,) Miso drifted down with a sly smile. (How are you feeling?)

Not all pokémon had great first impressions with him. Ina practically threw herself into his arms when they met. But Miso…well, he got a kick out of scaring him. Somedays Turquoise wasn’t sure why the misdreavus stuck around. Did he love scaring him? Or did he care? Answers Miso never gave. And his empathy didn’t help much. Ghost-types always rattled his powers.

“Cruddy,” nonetheless, he pulled Miso into a tight hug. Ghost or not, Miso gave the best hugs. Always so squishy. And—Turquoise giggled, pulling the ghost closer—nuzzled him the best. “But thanks for caring.”

Miso giggled and phased out of his arm. (Of course, silly Tur-Tur!) And all his negative emotions drained out of his skin in vibrant red trails. Sucked right into Miso’s glowing necklace. Everyone knew misdreavus thrived off fear. But maybe they ate all kinds of negative emotions too. (We’re all here for you~!)

Miso had a point there. Still— (Excuse me, Turquoise-sama.) Ina began, folding the last of clothes in a neat pile. (It appears you have a visitor.)

And a brisk orange light erupted behind. “Turquoise?” The voice questioned. Ina had always left to greet him as she always did. But Turquoise couldn’t bring himself to turn. Not now…he wasn’t really for conversation. Especially the kind this one brought with him. Somehow it never failed at swirling up his emotions.

“Tur, I—” a slew of curses snapped out his lips as a slight thud echoed through the room. “I heard what happened.”

He knows. The words echoed through his mind as his blood ran cold. But how? He never told—oh…Jasper. Figures, Jasper never kept these kinds of secrets to himself. Not when he devised a plan to help.

Although, Turquoise failed to see how Navy of all people would help him.

“…You good?”

Turquoise sighed. How eloquent. Yet, he expected no less from the swimmer. Even now he came dressed in only a towel around his neck, a pair of manaphy-themed trunks, and slides. Fresh from a swim too. Water rolled down his toned, ebony body.

They made eye contact for a few moments before Turquoise looked away. Those deep brown eyes always managed to trap him. Even now their waves of worry pulled him under.

“Not really,” he mumbled. This had to be Jasper’s worst plan ever. Navy and an emotional situation? Talk about a finneon out of water. “But I’ma be fine—promise.”

“Don’t lie to me.” Turquoise felt the heated scowl as Navy stalked closer. And those hands fell on his shoulders. Sky blue met deep brown and a comfortable silence fell between them. Never failed. All Navy needed was one touch to steal his senses. “You can lie to everyone else. But don’t lie to me.”

Fair enough. Turquoise wasn’t a good liar anyway. “I guess,” he mumbled, lowering his head. Still, lying made it easier. At least in lies, he didn’t have to face reality. “Sorry.”

“Wait what?” Navy flinched and reeled back. “You apologized? What—you never—” Navy paused and inhaled. Emotions ran rampant in that mind of his. But Turquoise didn’t dare peer inside. Not this time. “Hey, Tur? Please talk to me. We’re friends, right?”

“Why wouldja wanna be friends with me?” Friends…what a concept he didn’t deserve. “I just ruin everything.”

“Tur…that’s not true.” Maybe. Maybe Navy had a point, but he couldn’t be a great person. Great people aren’t tossed out of a relationship. They leave amicability—right? Wasn’t that how it goes? Yet here he sat alone while Paxton finally gained the peace he craved. It’s unfair, but…maybe he did deserve it.

“Hey, don’t do that,” Navy began with a smile. And his grip on Tur’s shoulder tightened slightly. Comfortably so. “Can you stand up?”

Turquoise raised an eyebrow. Of course, he could stand. Why wouldn’t—actually, no. The inner workings of Navy’s mind scared even the most sensible of people. Plus, there’s no telling how Jasper portrayed the situation. So, with a sigh, he stood. Might as well get it over with—

Huh? Navy hugged him. And not one of those clumsy, awkward hugs Turquoise forced himself to normalize. A real one with strong arms wrapped around his back. Pressed against a wet chest, but it only dampened his pajamas—no biggie. Still, it has been a while since he got a real hug from Navy. Or…any forms of intimacy from the swimmer, honestly.

It’s nice, he smiled and returned the hug. I’ve missed this.

“You’re amazing, Tur,” he whispered, tickling Tur’s neck with his breath. “Don’t let that jerk make you forget that.”

…Maybe Navy was better at this then he thought. Well, then anyone thought really. Everyone had mixed first impressions of Navy. And Turquoise was no different. Though, he hadn’t heard any stories as embarrassing as his. Honestly, he couldn’t believe they became friends afterwards. It was…unlike anything he ever experienced before.

Then again, Navy’s unique like that.

They met in a head-on collision, ending up sprawled across the floor. And with a throbbing skull, Turquoise found himself laid out on Navy’s perpetually wet chest.

Awkward. Just…awkward. Thick tension hungover as they stared at each other. Lips only inches apart. To this day, Turquoise recalled the raging blush like it was yesterday as he stammered for an apology. But he didn’t need to.

Navy had already kissed him.

A short kiss. But Navy pulled away with such a dopey smile. “Yo,” he began in a smooth baritone. “I’m Navy.” Eep! Turquoise flinched as hands fell on his hips. “You gon kiss back?”

Bold. Yet not as horrid as he thought. Especially the heated passion or kisses that followed. Or the friendship they built. Who’d a thought? Navy—the swimmer deviant—and Turquoise—the silly empath.

“Besides,” Navy pulled away with a beaming smile. “You’re too cute to ruin anything.”

Cornball, Turquoise chuckled. Yet in soft, desk lamp lighting, his spirit smiled. For the first time in times. Maybe corn was good for the body?

“Thanks, Navy,” Turquoise began, allowing the smile to bloom across his face. And his joyous spirit filled his body. “Thanks for being…you.”

Navy laughed. Yet, Turquoise swore he saw a faint blush burning across that face. “Hey, don’t mention it,” he folded his arms behind his head and grinned. A Navy Signature. “We’re friends! Well…unless—”

Turquoise chuckled. Ina finally finished her cleaning and Miso left for a nap. That left them alone with a fresh clean room. The perfect temptation for Navy. Still, …he had other things in mind.

“We’re friends, Nav. Until time changes things.” Navy sighed in relief. He’s so adorable when he worries.

“Bet. Well, you probably don’t wanna go outside just yet,” understatement of the year, Turquoise sighed, “And I’m not going anywhere. I’ll stay as long as you want me to.”

First impressions weren’t everything. And they would’ve made him miss out on the great person Navy was.

“Stay the night?”

[fire-emblem-heroes-supports]

Hector/Bride!Lyn C-S support

Written by nintendogeek189

C SUPPORT

Hector: Lyn!? Lyndis!? Are you around here!?

Lyn: …

Hector: That’s strange, I thought for sure Alphonse said that [y/n] summoned her earlier this morning…

Lyn:  …*ah-choo* Drat!

Hector: Lyn? Is that you?

Lyn: Eep!

Hector: Oh, Lyn! It’s so good to see you, I-I-What… are you wearing?

Lyn: H-Hector, I-I swear there’s a reason I’m wearing this…

Hector: No, it’s okay. I completely understand.

Lyn: You… do?

Hector: Of course! [y/n] mentioned that the summoning ritual tends to grab random people at random points in time. I’m just sorry you had the bad luck to get grabbed on your wedding day.

Lyn: Wedding day!? No-Hector, that’s not…

Hector: Don’t worry about a thing, I’ll talk to [y/n] about not putting you on the roster for sortie until you’re adjusted and, hey, odds are your fiancé will get summoned any day now.

Lyn: My? Fiancé?

Hector: So, tell me, who was the lucky dog that got you to say yes, huh? Did Eliwood finally man up and pop the question? Or was it that Rath fellow?

Lyn: No, neither of them “popped the question.” It’s-

Hector: Really? Then who…? Oh no, Lyn! Don’t tell me it was KENT!?

Lyn: No! I- Wait, what’s wrong with Kent?

Hector: Nothing, it’s just, you know, he’s so… uptight. But no, no, you’re right. He’ll treat you well and hey, if anyone can get him to unwind and take that stick out of his ass it would be you.

Lyn: !?!?!?!?!?

Hector: You two are good together. Congratulations! I’ll talk to the rest of the Order so that when he shows up, you two can have-

Lyn: UGH! Hector, you’re impossible!

Hector: …Was it something I said?

[Hector and Lyn have reached support rank C.]

B SUPPORT

Lyn: …

Hector: Lyn. I’d… like to apologize for my behavior the other day. Commander Anna and [y/n] were kind enough to set me straight and explain that within the month of June, the summoning ritual begins to favor female heroes that are of or are around marrying age and sometimes bestows upon them “sacred vestments”…

Lyn: …

Hector: However, my lack of knowledge doesn’t change the fact that when I saw you in that dress, I made an assumption abou-

Lyn: You made SEVERAL assumptions.

Hector: -I made SEVERAL assumptions about what was going on in your life and for that, I apologize.

Lyn: *sigh* I… forgive you, Hector. Honestly, I guess anyone would think what you thought if they saw me in this dress, given the circumstances.

Hector: Yeah, about that dress…

Lyn: (Here it comes…)

Hector: You had mentioned there was a “reason” you were in that dress and Commander Anna said that the summoning ritual only gives its “treasures” to Heroes who are either already in wedding dresses, are engaged or are thinking about marriage, so why were you…?

Lyn: Ugh! Do you really want to know?

Hector: I’m just curious.

Lyn: The three Pegasus Sisters and I went into town to procure supplies for the army and while we were there, we passed a Bridal Boutique that had a dress that looked remarkably like this one now that you mention it. Anyway, Farina brought up the topic of weddings with the other two and while they did that, I ‘BRIEFLY’ entertained the idea of getting married and the next thing I knew, I was standing on that cliff, wearing this thing.

Hector: Wow, that’s a tough break. But, if you hate wearing it so much, why haven’t you…?

Lyn: Don’t you think I’ve tried that, Hector!? Every time I take it off and put on a new set of clothes, they turn into an exact copy of this blasted dress!

Hector: Ah, I see. Is the reason you haven’t been using a sword…?

Lyn: Ugh, yes. Every time I pick up a blade, it changes into this ridiculous candle!

Hector: Hey, come on, Lyn… I know this situation isn’t ideal, but you and that “ridiculous candle” helped us out of some tight spots in the last fight.

Lyn: Hector… It’s just…

Hector: Lyn, I-

Lyn: Sorry, I have to go…

Hector: …

[Hector and Lyn have reached support rank B.]

A SUPPORT

Lyn: Yowch! That one still smarts…

Hector: Lyn!

Lyn: Oh, Hector.

Hector: Lyn! Are you alright?! You took a bad hit in that last battle.

Lyn: Yes… I’m fine now. The healers at the castle took care of most of it, it’s just a few cuts and bruises at this point.

Hector: Okay, well, in that case…

Lyn: What are you- Hey! Unhand me you-!

Hector: What the HELL happened out there Lyn!?! You ignored [y/n]’s orders, overextended yourself and walked right into that axman’s range! If Lady Sharena hadn’t taken that hit for you, you could have gotten yourself killed!

Lyn: You’re right, Hector. I wasn’t thinking-

Hector: You’re damned right you weren’t! Look, I’m glad you’re safe, but the Princess is still in critical condition and I can’t figure out where in the Gods-Damned Hell your head was at.

Lyn: You wouldn’t understand, Hector! Nothing about me being brought here has gone well. I was snatched here against my will, was stuffed in this idiotic dress and sent into battle with this stupid candle, so I can’t even be useful!

Hector: …

Lyn: *sigh* Why was I even brought here? Why couldn’t it have been someone else who would actually enjoy wearing this, or who is used to supporting others? Why me?

Hector: …You know what, Lyn? …I’m disappointed in you.

Lyn: Hector? What are you…?

Hector: The Lyndis I knew wouldn’t just give up because of a dress. Now look, you’re right, I don’t understand. I can’t imagine what it’s like being forced into a support role, especially for a frontline fighter like yourself, but damnit Lyn, you’ve seen the kind of things Emblia is throwing at us! We need all of the help we can get! I always figured that the gods, spirits, or whatever else governs those summoning stones gave you that “stupid candle” because it needed someone who was smart enough to use it right and cared enough about other people to use it often, but I guess I was wrong!

Lyn: …

Hector: Lyn, do you remember what you did a few days after we met? You challenged me to a duel and wouldn’t take no for an answer. We fought and you lost. Do you remember what you did after that?

Lyn: …

Hector: You didn’t just give up. You got up, brushed yourself off and started training so that you could close off the holes you found in your swordplay.

Lyn: …

Hector: So, if you’re just going to keep moping around like you’ve been doing, go find [y/n] and have them send you home with your tail between your legs because right now you’re liable to get yourself or someone else killed. Or, you can stand back up, get some fire in your belly, start acting like the Lyn I know and respect, and help me and the rest of the Order send those Emblian dastards to Kingdom Come.

Lyn: Hector, I-I need to think about what you just said by myself for a while.

Hector: That’s all I ask, Lyn. That’s all I ask.

[Hector and Lyn have reached support rank A.]

S SUPPORT

Lyn: Oh! Hector! I saw that you took a few hits during that last battle. Have they been treated? Or should I take care of them now?

Hector: Lyn! No, that’s fine, they’re okay now. And you know as well as I do that if it weren’t for you, they’d be much worse.

Lyn: Oh, Hector. You’re exaggerating.

Hector: No, I mean it. That archer and sword knight had me pinned with no way out. You used that candle of yours to give me an opening to take armored sod out and that gave Matthew the opening he needed to take out the bowman.

Lyn: It’s no problem, Hector. It occurs to me that I never thanked you for last time.

Hector: Lyn, you don’t have to thank me. I kind of snapped at you when you were down.

Lyn: No, Hector, you were right to do that. I wasn’t being myself and was just kind of moping around about the whole thing and feeling sorry from myself. I needed that kick in the rear and I’m glad you were there to snap me out of it.

Hector: Well, I couldn’t just do nothing. You’re usually so strong-willed and self-assured! I couldn’t stand seeing you like that.

Lyn: You… couldn’t stand it?

Hector: Of course, I couldn’t! I respect you too much to see you down.

Lyn: Do you mean that?

Hector: Absolutely! And it’s not just that either. I admire how much you care about others, you’re one of the cleverest people I know, you’re drop-dead gorgeous and, most importantly, you never give up, no matter what. That’s what… what I…

Lyn: Hector?

Hector: Agh! Damnit, Lyn! That’s what made me fall in love with you in the first place.

Lyn: You’re… in love with me?

Hector: Yeah, I am. I have been for a long time. I think since I first met you… I’m sorry for not telling you all this time.

Lyn: Hector…

Hector: Do you remember when you first got here and I saw you in that dress? When I saw you like that, I made an assum- I made SEVERAL assumptions about what was going on and I told myself that I was going to support your decision no matter what, but part of me started to fall apart when I thought about you marrying someone else and I kind of overcompensated in trying to be supportive and I didn’t try to hear your side of the story.

Lyn: Hector.

Hector: *sigh* Well… I had to get that out. Look, Lyn, if you don’t feel the same, I understand and I don’t want this to affect our friendship but if you don’t want to see me after this, I completely understa-

Lyn: Hector!

Hector: …

Lyn: Do you remember what I said I was doing before I was summoned here?

Hector: Yeah… you said you were out shopping, saw a Bridal Boutique and had a passing thought about getting married. Why?

Lyn: I’m afraid I lied to yo,u Hector. I’ve thought about getting married a lot since the war back home started. At first, it was just an idea about what I would do once the war ended, but then it became an occasional daydream about what my wedding would look like and then, well, the daydream started to be about who I would be marrying and, you see… lately, it’s been about me getting married to you, Hector.

Hector: Lyn… are you saying-?

Lyn: Yes, I love you too.

Hector: Oh, Lyn! This is the happiest day of my life!

Lyn: Oh, Hector. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you either.

Hector: That just means we’re even now, right? Lyn, after both of our wars are over, how do you feel about starting over again, just the two of us?

Lyn: I’d love that, Hector.

Lyn: …On one condition…

Hector: Anything! Just name it!

Lyn: If and when we ever actually get married…

Hector: Yeah…?

Lyn: …I’m wearing a DIFFERENT dress!

[Hector and Lyn have reached support rank S.]