#biscotti next. after dinner

[oldmanyaoi-jpeg]

i have to bake 5 batches of different cookies in 2 days. nightmare

[jeridandridge]

As The World Falls Down

You and Melissa get into an argument over legendary charter wanting to take over Abbott. This is my first Melissa Schemmenti x reader fic, so please bear with me 🙃

It starts on a Monday night as you sit on the living room floor with lesson plans scattered around you. Your mind goes a mile a minute as you take your hair down and put it back up into a messy bun again, a nervous habit.

“Hon, take a break.” Your girlfriend calls out from the kitchen, “Come try this.”

You happily get up jogging over to the kitchen and sliding in on your fluffy socks right to Melissa’s side.

“I need that in my mouth right now.” You practically drool looking at the baked good she was cutting.

Melissa grins lifting a brow. “Me or the biscotti?”

“Both.” You smile leaning in to kiss her cheek, arm wrapped around her waist. “I’ll pour the hot chocolate.”

This had become a regular every night thing since you moved in with Melissa over the summer a few months before. You two would cuddle up and have a nice treat and drink after a long day at Abbott.

Ever since Legendary wanted to turn Abbott into a charter, everyone was on edge and exhausted especially the red head. Teaching two classes at once wasn’t easy even with her years of experience. You were lucky, you had the older kids and only had to deal with their sass and pre teen hormones.

Sitting at the kitchen counter you reach over and hold your hand palm up for her when you see her cut into the desert a little too hard. “Mel, breathe.”

She sighs and sets the knife down happily taking your hand.

“It’s Monday, ya know?” She shrugs. You know she’s tired by how soft her voice is, you knew she was tired before she started baking after dinner.

“I know, baby.” You gently squeeze her hand. Your eyes meet pretty jade as you play with one of her rings.

“Everyone’s doin their best and we still can’t get anywhere.” She sighs.

You know what she means right away. Everyone in the staff had been stressed and anxious not knowing what was to come next. You had lost 4 kids to Legendary and it didn’t help seeing your friends and girlfriend so stressed on top of it.

“Maybe it’s a lost cause.” You shrug looking down at the cutting board. Doing so you miss the look of hurt in Melissa’s eyes, only looking up when she pulls her hand away like she’s been burnt.

“The hell does that mean, y/n?”

“I don’t know, Melissa, I’m-“

“No, hon, you know.” She snaps back resting her hands on the counter. “You giving up on Abbott? On those kids? Me?”

“Baby, I didn’t mean it like that.” You sigh following her out to the living room, Melissa grabbing her grade book before she turns pointing a finger in your direction.

“Don’t bother coming up here tonight.” She huffs before stomping upstairs leaving you alone at the bottom of the landing.

“What the fuck?” You let out under your breath.

The next day at Abbott is a tense one. When you woke up on the couch after a night of tossing and turning Melissa had already left for work. After an uncomfortable drive in your own car to the school you get to the front desk seeing Ava and Barbara.

“Oh snap, there’s the pup. How was the doghouse last night?” Ava chimes in with her usual nonsense.

“Ha ha funny.” You roll your eyes. “Barb, have you seen Melissa?”

The older woman gives you a nod, resting her hand on your arm. “I would give her some space for the morning. You messed up in her eyes, babygirl.”

You sigh tipping your head back for a moment. “I didn’t even mean it like that, I’m-“ you sigh. “I’m angry and tired like everyone else.”

“We all are, sweetheart. Give her time and let her come to you.”

You can’t help but scoff. “We’re talking about Melissa. She doesn’t back down.” You refuse to be the one to give in, not when she blew up for no reason.

Barb gives you a soft smile as she picks her purse up.

“Girl, she’s whipped for you.” Ava waves you off, not even looking up from her phone. You sigh heading for your classroom upstairs.

The day goes on. It’s near the end of the school day when you stand in front of the chalk board writing out the kids’ homework for the end of the week during your prep period. You always play music during this period and today was no different.

You stop for a moment when you hear a familiar note, a song that brings a smile to your lips every time you hear it. You and Melissa had watched Labyrinth one weekend early on in your relationship, when this song started you got up and pulled her into a slow dance, your way of telling her you loved her before really saying it.

Today, you hum along to the song that plays from your computer as you work, jumping when your classroom door opens. You look over meeting her eyes.

“A Bowie kinda day, huh?” She asks coming in to lean against your desk.

“Yeah well my girlfriend is pissed at me so I’m kind of down.” you shrug.

Melissa steps forward reaching to take the chalk from your hand.

“Why did that make you so angry?” You ask, still unaware. “I didn’t mean it like-“

“I know you didn’t, baby.” She admits quietly. “I’ve been at this a long time okay? Seeing you give up so fast, it scared me. If you gave up on this school so fast, what could that mean for us later on?”

You looked at her with a soft expression, having an idea of why.

“I’m sorry, Mel.” You all but melt, reaching out to pull her into a hug. It’d been less than a day and you’d missed her so much. You felt so stupid for not realizing why she was angry.

Without another word you wrap your arms around her waist slowly swaying with her to the music.

“I could never give up on you.” You whisper.

Melissa lifts her head from your shoulder giving you a small smile.

“Even as the world falls down?”

You nod leaning into to gently kiss her lips.

“Even as the world falls down.”

[autobot2001]

A Nice Day Out

Author: Autobot2001 Genre: Fanfriction Fandom: Transformers Rating: E Warning: None Pairing: Drift X Jamie (OC) Description: Drift and Jamie have a nice day out.

Day 13; @fluffyfebruary: splurge @fluffbruary: choice | snuggling | furry

Drift takes Jamie into town. He knows Jamie isn't a fan of shopping. He has other plans after checking out a few stores he thinks Jamie will like. Drift also plans on going to the park. Crosshairs smiles, seeing his two friends leave. Not caring if he looks weird. Drift knows Jamie would love going to a bakery. He hopes they'll have things for a picnic by the time they're done shopping. It's the day before Valentine's Day, but he doesn't mind.

Despite its size, the two find things they like at the bakery. Jamie smiles seeing the bakery has the white chocolate macadamia nut cookies Jamie likes that are hard to find. She also spots one of her other favorite cookies, biscotti. Drift smiles, already prepared to buy a lot of cookies. He also wants to buy cake slices. Even if he had to buy an entire cake, he would. Drift knew Jamie would be concerned about how much he's spending. Due to this being a small bakery, he's easily spending a lot. "It's fine," Drift assures Jamie, "so we're splurging. It's not like we're spending this much every week." He tells Jamie to pick what she wants. Her choices are things be also likes. Drift isn't surprised that she wants to get enough for their friends back at the house.

Drift left Jamie in his alt mode while he went into a flower shop. He's happy the bouquet wrapping is hiding the flowers. With no one watching as he walks toward his alt mode, Drift puts the bouquet in his subspace. He hopes to take them out while at the park. The last stop before the park is getting lunch. Drift orders take out to pick up. Jamie likes the idea of lunch at the park. Drift laughs at Jamie, hoping to find ducks. "As always," he smiles.

When the two get to the park, Jamie wants to find the ducks right away. "No, then they'll come try to steal our food," Drift comments, "come on, I know a suitable spot." Drift takes Jamie towards a large oak tree.

Lunch isn't anything special. Drift got two chicken tender dinners. He sits with the three trunk behind him. Jamie sits next to him. Drift knows the silence is unusual for a date. He knows it's one of many things in their unique relationship. Drift knew there'd be leftovers, but Jamie ate a lot. He watches Jamie lie her head on his leg. "Come on, let's go find the ducks before you fall asleep."

The two hear quacking as they approach the pond. Drift gets some bread out of his subspace. Immediately, ducks run toward the two. "Bad ducks!" Drift yells as he tosses some bread, making Jamie laugh, "ok, good ducks." He gives Jamie some of the bread. The ducks enjoy a nice lunch. Drift gets the bouquet out of his subspace as Jamie finishes feeding the ducks. "I got you something," he says. Jamie turns to face him, "it was considered an odd order." Jamie sees the bouquet of red roses and sunflowers and smiles. She takes the bouquet from Drift, allowing him to bend down and kiss her. Jamie didn't think he'd pick her up. "I'd be doing this even if you were only a couple inches shorter," Drift smiles, "I love you." "I love you, too." Drift wasn't expecting Jamie to say the same, knowing why Jamie won't say they're together. The two go home and kick their friends out of the living room.

Jamie wanted to change into pajamas while Drift makes their tea, get the desserts out of his subspace, and put the Flowers in a vase. "Fun afternoon?" Crosshairs asks. "Yes," Drift smiles, "I think Jamie considered today a date. I just don't think this is a change we've been waiting for—." "Nope, I'm not letting you ruin the good day. You know she loves you." Drift sighs and finishes making the tea. He warms up chocolate chip cookies. Once the plate and cups are on a tray, he heads to the living room.

Jamie waits on the sectional, with the blanket from the back of the sectional around her. Drift puts the tray on the coffee table and moves it closer to the sectional. "Now it'll be easier to get out cups and the cookies," Drift comments as he crawls onto the sectional and sits beside Jamie. He puts the blanket on his shoulders. They pick nothing special to watch but still enjoy their time together. Drift pays attention to the time, hoping to get Jamie outside to watch the sunset. More worried about Jamie falling asleep than missing the sunset. He wouldn't be disappointed as he's enjoying snuggling with Jamie.

They make it out in time to see the sunset. Jamie sits on Drift's lap. "I still can't believe how beautiful the sunsets are here," Drift comments. He is unprepared for Jamie to push him down to the ground. She lies on him, her small hands on his cheeks. Drift smiles, and the two kiss.

"I told you this was a good idea," Crosshairs whispers as Sunstreaker takes pictures. "I wouldn't call spying on a couple a good idea. No matter how good these photos are and, we know Drift will love them." "Yet here you are." "I'm telling him this was your idea. Also, can't Jamie sense we're here?" "She can't tell what we're doing." The two leave before getting caught.

The night is as usual, with friends and watching TV. As the friends thought, Jamie ends up falling asleep. Drift takes Jamie to bed, and the terror twins go to bed. Crosshairs stays up a little longer.

Crosshairs walks into the bedroom an hour later, seeing Drift and Jamie sleeping close together. He smiles, happy they had a good day together.

[ofcalloways]

EYES BACK ON TALLIE, burning, smirk playful and precise, “ of course t, i think i know just how interesting you can be. ” noticing the biscotti, not compelled. “i love a trip to paris as much as the next girl, but slipping away in the middle of the night only makes sense if you’re flying private, and as much as i’ve heard that dupont came from some nondescript money, i don’t get the sense that he had a charter waiting on a whim. ” “ did marcel even have a personal life ? ” her brows knit with concentration, trying to recall any mentions of the man’s life outside of meraviglia. for every time she heard him rail on about philosophy or politics or his distaste for incompetence, rattle on about his favourite passages of literature or the best region for grape growing in france, lament the current state of academia, she didn’t recall him ever really showing his hand when it came to his personal life. sure, something here and there, a shiny story that made you feel you really knew him, like the most personal acquaintance in your rolodex, and yet the real marcel dupont always seemed to be flickering like a flame just out of sight. after all, he had all of their secrets, but who had his ? “ maybe some sophomore did so bad on their pop quiz they hired a hitman, ” smirking. “ don’t even get me started on men and their egos, half of the things they say — ” gen of course, lived very much in a glass house ( or mansion, so to speak ) when it came to discussing ego, but hypocrisy never seemed to bother her much. “ adonis said — and chan, just at the praeditus dinner the other night, god, i swear we need to do something about it. ” cutting herself off and correcting course before discussing bedroom talk in public with tallie of all people.

tallie doesn't look over her shoulder to follow gen's line of sight, keeping her eyes on her rather than be nosy. she likes gossip, but, again, senses gen isn't necessarily in the mood to do that right now. tallie doesn't comment on the way she doesn't answer her question either. she doesn't care that much, she was more curious than anything. she'll just ask dom next time she sees him, "am i boring you, g? i can be more interesting." she teases, reaching for her half of the biscotti. "to be fair, i only did that once and it wasn't during a school term — every girl deserves a random trip to paris every now and then. words to live by. take notes." tallie tells her with an amused smile. she already knows how likely the other young woman is to take her words of wisdom to heart (not very likely). she eats her snack as she listens to gen, humming in reply before she swallows — she was taught manners. "maybe it wasn't administration related, more personal life shit perhaps. it's not like he would tell us anything about his personal life like that. i mean, maybe to the boys. i dunno." another shrug rolls off her shoulders, "but exactly, it's probably nothing and he'll be back after the weekend on a warpath. with a stack of pop quizzes on his desk, someone must've pissed him off," she snorts, "men and their egos..." she brushes some crumbs from the surface of the table, "i wish one of my professors would drop off the face of the earth for awhile. that would make my life much easier."

[jellyluchi]

Sid, congratulations on the milestone!! ❤️🎉🎊

If it's not too late, can I request a scenario/hc with a reader-insert? Either sfw/nsfw. It goes somewhere along the lines of Pros surviving after the train incident and leaves the mafia life behind to finally settle down with someone. He gets a peaceful life, albeit a little disgruntled making a compromise for it (but he does get used to it!) since he's a house husband now and his wife is the provider - who's not good at handling household responsibilities (e.g. cooking, cleaning, etc.).

Basically I'm all in for this guy getting a happy ending and am overly fond of male wife!Pros because he'd probably be a great one lol.

A/N: Pen!! Thank you for requesting!! AHHH you're already activating my trap card with House Husband!Pros ✨_✨ my domestic senses are tingling...This is sfw but I will do the nsfw version some day bc this man deserves to be taken over the counter after he's done cooking a meal. Thank you for your patience!!!

House Husband!Prosciutto x spouce!Reader; “Softly”

— warnings: none

— genre: fluff

— Word count: 1.1k

Leaving the mafia is no easy business. For someone who used to instruct others on the lifestyle of the perfect mafiosi, Prosciutto made quick work to move on. It obviously wasn’t his dream job. His aspirations had long been torn to shreds when his loyalty to Passione was established. He enjoyed the profits for what it was worth but his heart lay somewhere else, with you. Ever since your presence made itself known in his life, he wanted nothing more than to hide away and take you with him, his safe haven.

The thought proved to be difficult to make into reality. You were, and still are, a simple civilian who happened upon him by happenstance. Sometimes Prosciutto thought you two were never supposed to meet given how far removed you are from mafia life. However, he considered you his beacon of hope, a ray of sunshine leading him to the end of the tunnel. He promised himself he would survive for your sake.

And survive he did. His bloodied remains on the train track were rescued in the nick of time. It’s an understatement to say you were surprised. While you knew the nature of his work, it never occurred to you how close he was to death’s door. It made both of you cherish each other’s presence all the more.

Had some bastard told this man 5-6 years ago that he would be a 'house husband' he'd have slapped them across the face for looking down on him. It's ironic that now the most adrenaline he experiences is from bargaining with the local vendors or trying to get free coupons. He understands his mistake now, looking down on house spouses all those years ago was born from ignorance. Grocery shopping, cleaning, cooking, baking, they are no easy tasks.

He ponders his current lifestyle silently. Some classic Italian pop song from the 80s plays on the radio on the countertop where his floured dough rests. Prosciutto never considered himself a baker. He thought his hands were too bloody for something so refined. The softness of the dough akin to the flesh he once held before turning it cold and pruned. Now he marvels at browned bread, having given it life through his hard kneading.

The clang of his metal arm meeting the counter-top makes him click his tongue. He thinks about touching the dough with his prosthetic, feeling it but also not. The sense of touch has always been quite personal to him and he remembers the way he used to hold his comrades to give them a pep talk, how he used to age enemies faster. The thought is quickly abandoned as he realizes he would have to clean the thing of sticky dough if he did.

The silent click-clack of a pair of keys and ‘darling, I’m home!’ alerts Prosciutto from his stupor. He leaves the dough inside the bowl before covering it. He sometimes wishes he could age it to it’s proven state.

You find your dear husband in the kitchen, in his usual sweats and t-shirt. “Welcome home dear,” his voice is as soothing as you remember. Nothing keeps you going like the thought of coming home to his embrace.

Ever the traditional man, he must give you a kiss upon arrival every single day. It’s not like you’re complaining.

You notice the resting dough when you embrace him. “Pizza?” and he nods at your inquiry. “Margherita. Your favorite.” and he delights in your small burst of excitement. Being a house husband has washed the harsh edges off of Prosciutto’s body. If he was drowning before, he’s now surfaced and made a life on the beach with you.

He takes your jacket, gently, and places it on the rack where it can always be found. Your shoes which never stray from it’s spot near the front door, your keys that never leave its decorative bowl. Prosciutto spent too much of his life running after disappearing things, cruel magic tricks that bring more gloom than entertainment. Your belongings remind him you’re going nowhere, he has no one to chase, he can rest.

“Would you like me to run a bath for you?” he asks you quietly while washing his hand at the sink.

“That’s alright, I’ll freshen up quickly. Besides, it’s too cold tonight.” As you leave for your room, your husband readies the other ingredients for dinner. He used to memorize lists of names but now they’ve been replaced by grocery lists. When he thinks about it, there wasn’t much of a difference, Passione had a peculiar code naming system.

Even if he’d never admit it, Prosciutto was once nervous about life with his prosthetics. He thought he’d never be able to make your favorites, or even go on date nights with you. But he quickly realized his fears were born of a privilege that comes from a life where he’s not expecting to die the next day. And if there is one thing he can do, it’s persevere to make life comfortable for you. You who pays for his living, you who takes care of him and you who loves him despite the ghosts that haunt him, you who kneaded his harsh planes into soft edges.

He’s almost done chopping the veggies when you come back downstairs. “Can I help?” he always makes you feel a bit bashful. You don’t miss the smirk on his sharp lips even if he tries to mask it.

He hands you the mozzarella along with a knife, knowing you would fumble over your fingers with anything else. When you two first met, he wondered how you were able to waddle your way through life. Where he was methodical you were clumsy where he was routinely you were spontaneous. Sometimes he thinks it’s only fitting that he should be the house husband of the messiest person on the planet. It gives him a home to worry about and mundane experiences to look forward to.

You’ve never seen someone do house chores so eagerly and professionally and you think about his journey from taking lives to making homes. The unspoken ways in which he thought his hands could do no good during moments of uncharacteristic self-doubt always made you remind him of all the times his hands have done more good than harm. Like when he grew flowers in the garden, or when he decorated for your birthday, when he fixed your tattered clothes and put back together your broken heart.

“What would I do without you?” you ask when he pushes the pizza into the oven. You snack on some biscotti in the meantime. He would scold you for spoiling your own dinner but he knows you’re quite famished.

“Burn this kitchen down, no doubt,” he jokes. You laugh heartily and he silently thanks his fate for not taking away his hearing on that fateful trip to Firenze.

[twstarchives]

Happy Birthday・Floyd

Card: Birthday Attire - SSR Characters: Yuu & Floyd. Mentioned: Jade, Azul

Chapter 1

—OCTAVINELLE DORM - BIRTHDAY PARTY VENUE—

NRC Campus News Interview with the Birthday Student ~Floyd ver.~

Yuu: Happy birthday!

Floyd: Oh, Shrimpy-chan came to celebrate. Thanks~

How are you feeling with everyone celebrating for you?

Floyd: It’s loud and tons of fun. We had parties back home, but none were ever this noisy.

I like the ones here better, ‘cause they’re not so formal.

There have been rumors that you keep a stash of sweets in your room. Is this true?

Floyd: Huh? You don’t do that, Shrimpy-chan? Don’t you ever get hungry before going to sleep, even after eating dinner?

Me ‘n Jade aren’t done growing yet.

What’s your favorite sweet?

Floyd: Hm... It depends on how I’m feeling that day... A while ago it was peppermint candy.

Last week it was melon soda gummies... And yesterday I was eating almond biscotti.

I think I like things that are hard to chew more than I care about the flavor. I also like the ones you can only eat on land.

If you ever find some weird candies, could you give some to me, Shrimpy-chan?

I’ll keep note of that. Next, what’s your favorite food?

Floyd: It’s... takoyaki~! Oh, do you know what takoyaki is?

Huh? You do? You don’t really know a lot about this school, but you actually know about those?

Me and Jade and some other students in our dorm had some the other day after the Mostro Lounge closed.

Turning ‘em over is actually pretty hard, but I kept doing it till I got really good at making them.

Takoyaki means “octopus balls,” but you can put other stuff inside and that way you won’t get sick of them.

What ingredients have you tried in them?

Floyd: First I made them with shrimp and cheese! And then sausage, oysters...

Tomatoes, broccoli, strawberries, whipped cream, chocolate, anchovies, potato salad, devil’s tongue jellies...

I see you’ve tried out a lot.

Floyd: Yeah! It ended up turning into a contest over who could make the weirdest combo... All of ‘em were so gross, it was hilarious!

But Azul gets mad at us when we waste food, so we had to make sure to eat all the evidence.

You should do it with us next time, Shrimpy-chan~ It’s a promise, okay?

Chapter 2

—OCTAVINELLE DORM - BIRTHDAY PARTY VENUE—

You often have your collar open. Is it uncomfortable when it’s buttoned up?

Floyd: Not that it’s uncomfortable, it’s just annoying and I don’t like it. I’m good at strangling, but I don’t like having it done to me.

I didn’t like wearing clothes when I first came on land either. It felt like I always had seaweed wrapped around me.

Then you gotta wash fabric clothes right after you wear ‘em, right?

Why do humans have to do all that? It didn’t make sense to me.

But I like picking out clothes now. It’s fun wearing all kinds of colors.

Shrimpy-chan, did you know all the bright colors you see on land look real dark underwater?

And then aside from clothes, you also get shoes and accessories... Dressing up on land is so much fun~

But they start to pile up in my room when I buy things and then it gets hard to deal with. 

Jade always cleans our room so I’ve asked if I could leave them in the empty space.

But he just immediately goes “No.”

Ugh... Maybe they’d let me have another dorm room to use for storage.

Do you like collecting anything?

Floyd: Huh? Jade ‘n Azul like collecting plants and coins and things, but...

I lose interest fast so I don’t really collect any... Oh, wait.

I’m not really collecting them, but I bought some eel merch the other day.

What kind of things did you get?

Floyd: A loose-fit graphic tee and a keychain where the mascot on it is makin’ a funny face.

There’s a legend saying “The Sea Witch had very capable moray eels as her henchmen.”

So eels are seen as really tough under the sea. We’re carnivores too.

But the eel merch they sell on land is weirdly cute. It’s really funny.

I guess this how humans see eels?

I gave the T-shirt I bought to Jade and he happily put it on, aha!

But Azul said “Don’t go out in those clothes.” They’re so cute, though. Wasn’t that rude?

Chapter 3

—OCTAVINELLE DORM - BIRTHDAY PARTY VENUE—

Do you like your merman or human form better?

Floyd: When I first turned into my human form, I didn’t know how to use my legs ‘n my body was just heavy...

I really felt like turning back into a merman and going back to the water.

But I don’t think it’s that bad anymore.

You only see fish and merpeople in the Coral Sea, but there’s all kinds of people at this school.

So it never gets boring.

Also~ if I wasn’t on land, I wouldn’t be able to play basketball or dance, so I think it’s really fun.

I’ve been interested in parkour lately too!

What’s parkour?

Floyd: Oh, you don’t know? You kick off handrails and walls to climb buildings~...

It’s a sport where obstacles will get in your way, and you have to try not to stop moving as best as you can and head for the goal.

It seems difficult.

Floyd: I don’t really think about it being easy or difficult.

I’ve always loved games like obstacle course races.

There are obstacle course races in the sea...?

Floyd: Yeah. You score goals and swim through a set route inside a sunken ship.

A lot of sunken ships get really messy ‘cause things are broken everywhere inside of ‘em, so a lot of things get in your way while you’re swimming.

You wanna avoid obstacles without having to move too much so you don’t lose your swimming speed.

And whoever gets to the goal the fastest wins!

...See, it’s kinda like parkour, right? That’s probably why I like it.

I love learning new moves, and the way it’s just like taking off when you’re swimming is really fun.

There’s no real strategy or “right” way to avoid things, so nothing’s holding you back... you’re also more free?

I hate having to follow strict rules...

Oh! But one time, there was a day that I overslept and used parkour to get into the classroom from the window. The teacher got really mad at me.

But shouldn’t it have been really amazing that I tried so hard not to be late? Next time I’ll have to not get caught, ehe!

Thank you for sharing all of this with us. Once again, happy birthday!

[jostepherjoestar]

Hewwo Queen. I have an ask for ✨you✨! What would happen in La Squadra got a new male member who everyone is haveing a bisexual panic over. Like he’s a super nice guy and really good looking and everyone is fumbling to do stuff when he’s near

ONE BIG ✨BISEXUAL DISASTER✨COMING UP!!

(new title of my blog lmao)

Also in my hc’s all jojo characters are bi until proven guilty (of heterosexuality) so yes they are all disaster bi’s confirmed.

Did someone say simp? Oh no? Just Formaggio? This man will do whatever their newest member asks of him. He needs laundry done? No problem, gives Formaggio some time to look at all his delicates. Want to go grab a snack? He’ll gladly accompany them, “You know how dangerous these streets are!” Formaggio dies every time the new hottie smiles at him or says something nice. Dude will forget the room placement and stumble because he keeps staring at his colleague who’ll gladly wave back at poor cheese man while he falls.

Melone is all over them. He’s never been shy about his attraction to his newest coworker, telling him daily how good he looks and if he worked out. Of course his nice colleague will laugh at his retorts telling him to “Stop it you!” with that playful smile. Melone will want to stick close to him, offering him a seat next to himself whenever possible, happily waving him over while the rest of the team sighs. “You’re all just jealous!”. After completing his file on Baby Face on him Melone will try and see how compatible their star signs are and sigh in relief when they are.

Our newest goodnatured recruit will take up the chance to tease Ghiaccio. He likes seeing him get red and angry while they just sit and stare in amusement. But Ghiaccio can’t stay mad at him, those beautiful eyes, his shiny hair, those pretty lips that say those words that get him so riled up. One day when Ghiaccio’s had enough of his playfulness, he’ll stomp up to him and try to get all up in his face before realising how close he is and much he’d like to kiss those lips and linger in his overtaking scent. Aaaaand he’s turned on his heels, stomping away to his room to scowl.

Pesci will be nervous as all heck. He can’t keep count on all the bruises he’s got from stumbling and bumping into walls and doorframes from being distracted by his coworker. Of course Pesci is still Pesci and on a particularly doubtful and insecure day the new guy came over to calm him down, swinging his arm around Pesci and encouraging him to keep trying. Pesci turned bright red and could barely stutter a word. Remembering his aniki’s stern talks, he overtly thanked him and even bought him a box of sweets. Maybe they should baby-proof the house so Pesci doesn’t break any bones?

The only reason Illuso doesn’t feel threatened by the beauty of his newest comrade is because he’s too busy being smitten. I’ll give Illuso one (1) compliment, he’s very good at being all smooth and shit with compliments and flirting. That’s it, never expect me to be nice to him again (jkjk). Illuso will suavely go over to fix his shirt making sure he lingers just a little longer and winks as he walks away. Illuso will invite him to do fun stuff like see how fast he can jump mirrors or give him a tour of the mirror world.

Prosciutto will be just a smidge more doting on the newest member, I mean he totally needs all the help he can get right? Prosciutto will be one of the more subtle ones, trying not to overstep boundaries. He’ll ask if he’s eaten dinner yet just to see if there’s a chance they’ll be able to go grab a bite together, just the two of them. Prosciutto appreciates how nice and polite the newest member is, making it a point to use him as an example if his squad members are rude to him. He’ll gladly come and give them a stern pep talk if it means he can look into those bright eyes of theirs again.

I left Risotto last because oof imagine this man somehow flustered. He’ll be quietly protective over his newest recruit. Making sure they’re stationed behind him during missions. Risotto’s just worried they’ll get hurt ok. The newest member doesn’t make it easier on his capo, bringing him coffees and biscottis during his all nighters, asking him so sweetly if he’s still feeling alright. Risotto is feeling very soft and doing his best to express his thankfulness for his concern. Assuring him he’ll go to bed soon and then when he doesn’t, wakes up with a blanket over his shoulders... Risotto IS SOFTTTTTT for this dude.

[queenofnohr]

Twisted Wonderland: Floyd Leech Birthday Suit-up (SSR) - Voice Lines + Personal Story

Voice Lines

SSR Summoning Quote: Today, me n’ Jade are the stars of the show~ You’re looking forward to giving us presents, right? Summoning Line: Hey, isn’t it a landweller tradition to sing a birthday song? Then let’s hop to it. Start on three, okay? Groovy: Thanks for celebrating with me. I’ll give you lotsa interesting things on your birthday, Shrimpy. Set Home: Happy Birthday to me! I’m excited to see what kinda birthday this’ll be. Home Idle 1: Azul shined my shoes for me, so I wanted to put ‘em on right away. Look, they’re so shiny you can see your reflection in ‘em. Isn’t it great? Home Idle 2: I got a lot of birthday presents from my parents. But the dorm rooms are small so they stopped sending big ones. Hmph~ Home Idle 3: *yawn*...... All the excitement’s making me sleepy. Wonder if I should go get someone to gimme a present to stay awake. Home Login: Can you guess who the first person who wished me happy birthday was? The correct answer is…… Jade! Every year we’re the first to wish each other happy birthday. Home Idle Groovy: Shrimpy, isn’t that plate bad for serving food? Fufu, it’s okay, you don’t have to start over. It’s funnier this way. Home Tap 1: Professor Knifejaw said that since it’s my birthday, if I don’t do my homework, he’ll give me extra “presents.” He’s so meaaaan. Home Tap 2: Otter gave me a percussion instrument from the Land of Hot Sands! He also gave Jade a string instrument, and the main color on them matches our hair. Home Tap 3: I pestered Goldfish for a gift and he gave me a shoehorn even though he was super mad. It’s even engraved with an F! It matches Jade’s. Aha! Home Tap 4: Sea-snake and Crabby hit me with pies at club practice. It was lotsa fun in the end, with everyone throwing them at each other~ Home Tap 5: What is it, you curious about my brooch? It’s got the same design on it as the shoes I wear with my dorm uniform~ It almost looks like it was shrunk down by magic. Home Tap Groovy: Hey, what’re hiding behind your back? Aha, you’re so obvious, acting all suspicious like that. Go ahead and hand your present over now.

Personal Story

Birthday Suit-up Chapter 1

Happy Birthday, Floyd Leech

-Octavinelle Dorm - Birthday Party Venue-

NRC School Newspaper Special Edition Interview with the Birthday Boy ~Floyd Edition~

> —Happy Birthday.

Floyd: Oh, you came to wish us well, too, Shrimpy. Thanks~

Please tell us how you feel after celebrating.

Floyd: It was real lively and suuuuuuper fun. We’ve had parties at our parents’ house, but it was never this boisterous. I liked how this one wasn’t so stiff n’ stuffy.

—I’ve heard that you always have sweets in your room; is that true?

Floyd: Huh? Isn’t it obvious, Shrimpy? Even if you eat dinner, dontcha get hungry before bed? It’s ‘cause both me n’ Jade are still growing.

—What are your favorite sweets?

Floyd: Mmm, it kinda depends on my mood that day…… A while back I used to really like peppermint candy. A week ago it was melon soda-flavored gummies…… and yesterday it was almond biscotti. I think chewiness matters more than flavor when it comes to the stuff I like. I also like stuff I can only find on land. If you find some rare treats, lemme know will ya, Shrimpy?

I will. Semi-related— what’s your favorite food?

Floyd: That would be~...... takoyaki! Oh, do you know what takoyaki is? Eh, you don’t know, Shrimpy? I didn’t expect the people at school to know, but you’re like a walking dictionary, aren’t ya? Just the other day, after the Mostro Lounge closed, me n’ Jade got together with some other Octavinelle guys and ate some. They’re pretty hard to flip when you’re making them, but I’ve done it so many times I’m reallyyyy good at it now. Also, even though it’s called takoyaki, if you use other ingredients for the filling, you’ll never get bored of it.

What kinds of ingredients have you tried?

Floyd: First was shrimp and cheese! Then sausages, then oysters....... Tomato, broccoli, shoots, fresh cream, chocolate, anchovies, potato salad, and konjac......

You’ve sure tried a lot of things.

Floyd: Yeah, I have. In the end, it turns into a game of who can make one with the weirdest combination…… They all turn out so bad it’s funny! I ate everything properly ‘cause Azul got mad that we made all that gross food. Next time, I’ll invite you too, Shrimpy. It’s a promise.

Birthday Suit-up Chapter 2

—You often leave your collar open; do you have difficulty keeping it closed?

Floyd: I wouldn’t say it’s difficult, just annoying. Just ‘cause I’m good at squeezing people, doesn’t mean I like being squeezed, ya’know? When I first got on land, I didn’t like clothes either. It felt like there was seaweed clinging to my body all the time. And on top of that, you gotta wash your clothes every time you wear them, right? I wondered why humans would bother with such a troublesome thing. But now I like picking out my clothes. Being able to wear lotsa different colors is fun. Shrimpy, did you know? Even if it’s a flashy color on land, it’ll look dark under the sea. Besides, with stuff like clothes, shoes, accessories…… It’s fun to get all dressed up on land. But I get in trouble when I buy a bunch of stuff and load it all up in the room. ‘Cause Jade cleans the room, we got a lot of empty space, so I asked him if I could use it for my stuff, but he cut down my request with a single, “No.” Ahhhh. I wonder if I can use another dorm room for storage.

Is there anything you like to collect?

Floyd: Eh~? Well, Jade likes collecting plants, and Azul likes collecting coins, but…… I tried collecting stuff, but I got bored of it…… Oh, I guess there’s that. I don’t really collect them, but I did buy stuff with moray eels on them.

What kinds of things did you buy?

Floyd: A T-shirt with a loose sketch of one, and a mascot keychain with a goofy face. Because there’s a legend that says the Sea Witch has super-competent moray eels as henchmen, in the sea eels have a kinda rough image attached to them. They’re carnivorous fish, after all. But it’s really weird how moray eel merch sold on land is strangely cute. I wonder if that’s how eels appear to humans. Anyway, I gave the T-shirt I bought to Jade and he happily put it on. Aha. But Azul said, “Don’t you dare go out wearing that.” Even though it’s soooooo cute, isn’t he so mean~?

Birthday Suit-Up Chapter 3

—Which do you prefer - your human form or your merman form?

Floyd: When I first got into my human form, I didn’t know how to move my tail fin- er, legs- and my body felt so heavy…… “I swear I’m gonna turn back into a merman and jump into the sea right now,” is what I was thinking. But lately I’ve been thinking this form isn’t so bad. There are only fish and merfolk in the Coral Sea, but there are lotsa different types of people in the school. So it’s not boring at all. Also…… it’s fun being on land ‘cause I can do stuff like play basketball and dance. Recently, I’ve gotten suuuuper into parkour.

What’s parkour?

Floyd: Oh, you don’t know? It’s when you do stuff like kick off of handrails and walls or climb buildings…… It’s a sport where you head for a goal while keeping your movement as fluid as possible even if there are obstacles.

It sounds difficult.

Floyd: I guess I’ve never really thought of it as easy or hard. I’ve always liked doing obstacle races since I was a kid.

You have obstacle races under the sea……?

Floyd: Yeah. The goal is to swim through a sunken ship on a fixed route. The inside of the sunken ships are broken all over, which makes it complicated to get around since there’s lots of stuff that gets in the way while you’re swimming. You gotta avoid obstacles with minimal movement so you don’t lose your speed while swimming. Then, the one who reaches the goal first wins! ……See, it’s kinda like parkour, right? That’s why I like it. I’m happy I learned to do something new, and it’s fun ‘cause it’s like swimming on land. There’s no set way to avoid stuff or head to a goal, so I guess you could say it’s really…… free? I hate when there’s stupid stiff rules...... Oh, that reminds me, there was a day a while back where I overslept, and when I got to class through a window using parkour, the professor got suuuuuper mad at me. I tried real hard not to be late, so shouldn’t I get praised instead? Next time I’ll try not to get caught. Aha.

Thank you very much for sharing so much with us. And happy birthday, again.

-

*For those unaware, Floyd nicknames everyone after aquatic creatures. (Barred) Knifejaw is Crewel, (Sea) Otter is Kalim, Goldfish is Riddle, Sea-snake is Jamil, Crab/Crabby is Ace, Shrimp/Shrimpy is Yuu/the protagonist.

[alostsock]

Too much and not enough. (2/2)

TW: anxiety, disordered eating/skipping meals

Part 1

Summary: Snuggles, biscotti, and art. Really there’s no plot here, Nicky is anxious and Andy and Joe are soft.

After Nicky had finally given up on trying to eat his dinner, giving Andy a brief shake of his head at her imploring look, he got up and started to clean. Joe pulled his plate from his hands with a kiss to his temple before ushering him toward the stairs, directing him to the room that they were sharing before turning to head back to the kitchen.

Not bothering to turn the light on he pulled the covers back and tucked himself into bed, shutting his eyes and hoping that his heart could stop pounding. He wanted to sleep but was too wired to, so he settled for pulling the covers over his head and trying breathe slowly.

From his cocoon he heard the door open and click shut, footsteps that he knew were Andy’s padding across the room to the bed. There was the sound of mugs being put down on the bedside table, the drawer opening, the soft taps of coasters being put down, and clinks as the mugs were picked up and replaced. He knew that there was no reason to pretend in front of Andy, but he still felt compelled to try to give her a tight smile as she pulled the covers back from over his face, sliding her legs under the quilt to sit next to him.

She ran her thumb gently over his forehead, smoothing out the tense creases there before dragging his pillow, and his head with it, onto her lap.

“Tea?” she asked, running her fingers through his hair. He shook his head, closing his eyes and trying to let the repetitive motion of her hands calm him. He both had energy he didn’t know what to do with and yet didn’t have it in him to move.

“If you want to go for a late-night, snowy run, or if you think you could stomach something different to eat, or if even if you just want something different to eat, you just have to say, you know that, right?” He nodded against the pillow as she continued to play with his hair. She smiled down at him. “Yeah, I know you know. Thought I’d say it anyway.”

He nodded, turning his focus back to her hands in his hair. She paused briefly, reaching over to pick up her own cup of tea before resuming with her free hand. “You sure you don’t want any? It’s black tea with lemon in it.” He shook his head again and she hummed, going silent.

A few minutes later there was the sound of scuffling at the door before it opened and Joe walked in, awkwardly juggling another mug of tea, a plate of biscotti, a bag, and several sketchbooks. As he made his way to the bed Andy quickly put down her own mug to take the dishes from him, putting them down on the bedside table. He smiled gratefully at her before dropping the sketchbooks and bag unceremoniously onto the bed and grinning at Nicky, who blinked up at him confusedly.

“We’re making art!”

Nicky smiled softly. “What are you drawing?”

Joe grinned impossibly wider. “No, no, Nico, we are making art!”

Nicky frowned slightly. “We?”

Joe sat down on the bed before turning the bag upside down and dumping out a collection of markers. “Sit up! It’ll be fun!”

Nicky raised a skeptical eyebrow but pushed himself up, allowing Andy to pull him tightly to her side when he was seated. Joe handed him a sketchbook and a marker before reaching over to pull the plate of biscotti onto the bed. Tentatively, Nicky opened the sketchbook to the first blank page.

“But... Joe, I can’t draw, you know that.”

Joe leaned over to tuck Nicky’s hair behind his ear.

“Anyone can draw, my love. But it’s okay if you don’t want to - here!” He flipped through the sketchbook on Nicky’s lap before settling on a page. On it was an intricate mosaic outlined in black ink. Nicky stared at it blankly.

“It’s beautiful.”

“It needs colour, Nico!”

Nicky blinked. “But you drew it...”

Joe beamed, nudging the pile of markers closer to Nicky. “Yes, I drew it, but now you can add some colour to it!”

“But I can’t draw...”

Joe shook his head fondly. “My heart, you don’t need to draw. You just need to colour it in!” Nicky blanched, and for a moment Joe’s smile dropped, worry taking over his face.

“I’ll wreck it,” Nicky said sadly.

Joe’s face softened. “Never, my love. A splash of colour will only make it more lovely.”

Nicky shook his head frantically, “No, no, I’ll ruin it completely. Joe, you spent so much time on this and -” Joe cut him off by pressing a kiss to his lips.

“Nicolò, I made it for you. I thought it might be something we might try in... in times like these. There are more of them!” He flipped through the other sketchbooks in turn, opening each to a page covered in elaborate geometric patterns.

“But -”

“I’ll start,” Andy announced, reaching across to pick up a blue marker. She uncapped it and, turning to the sketchbook on Nicky’s lap, reached over to add a splash of blue to one of the outlined shapes.

Joe grinned, picking up a pale green, uncapping it, and reaching over to add to it himself. “I like this one because it’s as close as I have ever found in a marker to the striking shade of your eyes, my love.”

Andy rolled her eyes, biting back a fond smile as she reached across for another marker, uncapping it and adding some purple to the picture. Nicky hesitated a moment more, but then uncapped his own marker and leaned down to carefully fill a small square in with green.

They continued in silence, all adding to the image in turns, until Nicky seemed to find a rhythm in filling in the blank spaces with ink. At one point Joe got up to reheat their tea, and when he returned Nicky was bent over the sketchbook, focused intently as he continued to fill the page. Andy had picked up a different sketchbook and was absent-mindedly colouring it herself, leaving Nicky to his own page.

Joe handed her the mug of tea, and picked up a piece of biscotti from the table, dipping it into his own. He sighed in contentment as he ate, the sight of Nicky working fastidiously filling him with warmth and relief.

[jancmalandra]

Moominpapa Steps Up

On the benefits of being in a family of storytellers

As Moominpapa had predicted Saturday was a bright, clear, sunny day. It was a perfect day to do the laundry in the morning and spend the afternoon tending the garden. Moominpapa brought the washtub out into the yard and Moomintroll set up the clothesline. Tayberry took care of supplying the hot water with supervision from her grandfather. Moomin was really looking forward to their turn at storytelling. They wore a light yellow Spring dress that contrasted nicely with their light blue fur and a straw sun hat with a rose from Moominmama's rosebush stuck in it. It was their favorite regular outfit for when they spent their days with Moominmama, helping her and their mother around the house. Snufkin lounged nearby in the hammock playing a slow, sweet, soft tune on his harmonica to accompany Moomin's story.

Moomintroll brought out the sheets from all the beds in Moominhouse in a laundry basket and as he and Moomin began scrubbing them on the washboard, Moomin began their story.

"Grandma, Mom, and Little My reached the Hobgoblin's Hotel with ease. After they checked in, Little My made straight for the dining hall.

" 'The first thing I'm going to do,' she said, 'Is stuff myself with food until I can't move!' "

"The Hobgoblin found this very amusing, and turned to grandma and Mom, asking, 'Will you be joining her?' "

" 'Perhaps you can point us to somewhere where we can eat a lighter meal?', asked grandma delicately."

" 'We have just the thing!', said The Hobgoblin enthusiastically, and he lead them up the stairs just past the reception desk to a luxurious tea room on the second floor. It had several small tables with comfortable easy chairs around them. There was a long table along the back of the room with a solid brass cappuccino machine, several teapots filled with aromatic teas, and tall cake displays with slices of cake, brownies, and biscotti on pretty desert plates. There was also a platter of cookies and a platter with a variety of sandwiches cut into triangles. Along the other walls there were cabinets with a selection of beautiful teacups and saucers from all over the world, each with a special teaspoon that belonged to the set. Every table had a sugar bowl filled with sugar cubes and a small pair of tongs to go with it and a small pitcher of fresh cream."

"Grandma and Mom made themselves a wonderful lunch, and were just sitting down to enjoy it when they noticed another guest having tea at a table in the far corner of the room and observing them with curiosity. She was a tall older woman with long brown hair and pale skin. She wore a flowing gown that was covered with an abstract multicolored design that seemed to move constantly like a kaleidoscope."

" 'Oh! Forgive me for not having seen you earlier. Won't you join us for lunch? My name is Moominmama and this is Snork Maiden.', said Moominmama.

" 'Thank you very much. I think I shall.', said the woman as she brought her tea and cake over to their table and got comfortable in one of the other two armchairs around it, 'My name is Gwendolyn. Did you say your names were Moominmama and Snork Maiden? You wouldn't happen to come from Moominvalley, would you?' "

" 'Why yes, we do!', said grandma, who was a little surprised at the question."

" 'Why, then you must be the mother of the family of Moomins my daughter Alicia has been writing about to me for years!', said Gwendolyn delightedly, " 'I can't thank you all enough for befriending her the way you have!' "

" 'It was our pleasure!', said grandma, 'Alicia is a delightful young woman and we're all very glad that she's the Witch of Moominvalley! She's been doing a marvelous job of it!' "

" 'That's very kind of you to say!', said Gwendolyn, 'I have been hoping to meet you for a very long time so that we could get to know each other properly and become good friends! It may sound strange for me to say this, but I was hoping you could help me get reacquainted with Alicia. She may be a fully mature Witch, but she will still find me quite a bit intimidating.' "

" 'But, why would that be?', asked grandma, " 'You're her mother, after all. She certainly proved herself a match for your mother from the start. I think Alicia wound up changing her for the better more than she had ever intended.' "

"At this Gwendolyn laughed heartily. 'Yes that turned out exactly as I had hoped! I am very proud of Alicia for the change she brought about in my mother. I could have forced her to change against her will, but Alicia's kind ways turned out to work much better.', she said, 'You see, Moominmama, I am the Supreme Witch. I always did my best to let Alicia grow up to be her own person, but it was inevitable that she would find out about my position in the worldwide Witching community sooner rather than later. I'm afraid she's lived in awe of me for a very long time, and we haven't been as close as I would have liked. Perhaps I could come back with you to Moominvalley when you return. I feel sure that you could help me get closer to her.' "

" 'But of course you can come back with us! We can put you up in Moominhouse for as long you would like! But, we were planning on staying at the Hotel for the whole week. I really DO need a proper vacation right now.', said grandma."

" 'But, that's perfect!', said Gwendolyn, 'You can stay with me in my penthouse suite, and we can really get to know each other! I'm sure that your companions won't mind. They can explore the Hotel on their own and enjoy themselves without being worried about you!' "

"Mom nodded 'yes' eagerly and left the tearoom quickly before grandma could raise any objections. She went towards the dining hall. She was trying to quickly formulate a plan to keep Little My distracted to allow grandma and Gwendolyn comeplete freedom."

"Mom found Little My fast asleep in a chair in the hotel's dining room. She was groaning softly with satisfaction. Mom picked her up and stood in the middle of the dining room wondering what to do next for a minute or two. Suddenly, she was struck with inspiration. The Hobgoblin's Hotel was practically a living thing, dedicated to serving The Hobgoblin's friends. Perhaps addressing it directly would help her find the best place to take Little My."

" 'Uhmm, what's the most relaxing place in the hotel?', asked Mom aloud to the room. A door suddenly opened up in the right hand back side of the dining room. Mom went out into the hallway, where only one of the hovering overhead lights was lit. As she walked down the hallway, this light led her way just ahead of her. It stopped in front of a set of double doors which opened for them. Over the doors there was a sign that read, "Hot Spring". There were two small doors in the room that they led to, one with a sign over it saying 'Men', the other with a sign saying 'Women'. Mom entered the Women's room and found a dressing room with two rows of lockers. She thought it would be better not to undress Little My without her permission and walked into the next room, which was a luxuriously outfitted hot spring, just as the sign had promised. She slowly lowered herself and Little My into the shallow end of the hot spring and Little My began to wake up."

At this point in Moomin's story, the laundry had been entirely finished and hung out to dry and the entire family decided to move straight to the gardening so as not to interrupt Moomin's train of thought. Moomintroll brought out the harvesting baskets from the cellar and a large pitcher of lemonade for everyone to drink, Moominpapa started to take care of the weeding, and the children and Moomintroll began to harvest the ripest vegetables for a big dinner they decided to have once Moomin had finished their story. Snufkin sat down and leaned up against the garden fence and continued to play his harmonica for all of them.

Moomin drank a glass of lemonade and then began harvesting the tomatoes as they resumed their story: "Little My was still groggy, and reacted to being immersed in the hot water with suspicion at first; 'Where are we? What are you doing to me?!', she shouted."

" 'Take it easy Little My!', said Mom, 'I asked the hotel to show me a place where we could both relax, and it brought me here. Don't you find the water soothing?' "

" 'Well, yes.', admitted Little My reluctantly, 'But, why isn't Mama with us?' "

" 'I thought she should have this week entirely to herself. None of us will be able to enjoy this vacation if we're all worrying about her all the time. I talked it out with her, and she agreed.', said Mom, 'We'll have more freedom to have fun on our own, especially with the hotel itself guiding us.' "

" 'Well, you're not wrong.', said Little My, 'But, this all sounds very fishy. You're definitely up to something. I'm willing to wait to find out what it is, as long as I'm kept entertained.' "

"After they had dinner, the hotel lead them to a suite of rooms. Every morning for the rest of the week they awoke and the hotel provided their breakfast in their room and then lead them to different areas in it that would provide welcome diversions for the two of them, like a game room with a selection of table games and board games for them to play. They would return to their room in the evening to find a sumptuous meal set out for them. They never ran into grandma and Gwendolyn until the following Friday, when it was time to sail The Adventure back to Moominvalley. Grandma introduced Gwendolyn at the place where the boat was docked and they were all immediately looking forward to introducing her to the rest of the Moomin family and helping her get closer to Alicia."

" 'So that's what you were hiding from me.', whispered Little My to Mom with a sly smile on her face as they set sail, 'I wouldn't have thought that you were so devious. I'll just have to be more careful around you from now on.' "

"Mom laughed a little embarrassedly at this. She and Little My had gotten a lot closer than ever that week, so she was able to really appreciate this compliment from her. The end."

Everyone around Moomin applauded them for their story and brought the vegetables into the kitchen for that day's dinner. As Moomintroll prepared the fried vegetables and rice and Moominpapal and the children set the table, Moominpapa made a suggestion to his family.

"How about we spend all of Sunday camping in the big cave near the beach? We'll spend the day swimming and stay there overnight. We'll have roasted fish that we caught ourselves and I'll tell you some of the wilder stories of my youth that I've left out of my Memoirs until now."

Everyone enthusiastically agreed with Moominpapa's plan.

To Be Continued

[twoblueheartslocked]

Mini Para: July Flashback.

Rating: PG.

Pairing: Seblaine.

Sebastian: @colorsicantsee

Blaine: @twoblueheartslocked

Time: Four and a Half years before the events of ( Hold On To The Memories, They Will Hold On To You ) Start of July before Blaine’s Senior Year and Sebastian’s Junior Year. Blaine (almost 17) Seb (almost 16).

Location: Westerville, OH- In a Starbucks tucked away in a little nook.

Info: The First Flashback. Blaine and Kurt break up before Kurt heads off to college in New York. Sebastian tries to contain himself.

Warnings: N/A

Extra Warnings: (This RP is not Kurt Hummel friendly. You’ve all been warned.)

Notes: Some canon events remain in place while others have been changed. Some things may even be out of order. You can consider this sort of canon divergent AU. A few changes are that Blaine’s parents are different from the show (His mother is Filipina), he didn’t cheat on Kurt or date Dave and Sebastian is younger than Blaine. Feel free to send a message if you have any questions!

Blaine’s POV:

Blaine turned his music down, the poppy sound of Perry fading away as he pulled into the crowded parking lot of Westerville, Ohio’s Starbucks. There were better coffee places, but it was less likely a bunch of people he knew would be milling around a Starbucks. He’d done well to keep his friendship with Sebastian Smythe hushed and he wanted to keep it that way. Sebastian, for his part, did as well. It wasn’t really a secret, but people talked and it didn’t matter that it truly was just a friendship at the end of the day. He tried to ignore the nagging, annoying little voice in his head that scoffed and nagged at him about how he was totally attracted to Sebastian and liked his company more than most of his McKinley friends. Why else are you driving to meet him after the events of the past week, Blaine?

He pushed the thoughts away and pulled the mirror from above his head down and gave himself a quick look, noting that his eyes were only still just a little red and the puffiness from crying had gone away completely. He got out of his SUV, making sure to shove his wallet into the back pocket of his rolled, bright coral shorts and made his way into the shop to get out of the July heat, his Sperrys threatening to melt into the pavement.He glanced around the store, scanning for the tall familiar form of his tentative friend and frowned when he couldn’t find him.

He pulled out his phone to shoot a text when it started to vibrate in his hand, the words making him smile and rolling his eyes as he did as he was told. 

Seb: Turn around, Killer.

The smile was still faintly on his face when he made his way over to Sebastian. His companion had actually secured their nook table that deemed them hidden out of view. The spot was usually taken up by students hoping to get some work done or couples making out and the thought made him blush a little as he sat down across from Sebastian who had made himself at home, long legs spread out and taking up way more space than he needed. The other boy, smirking as usual, slid two biscottis and a grande white and green cup over to Blaine. Blaine picked it up, already smelling that Sebastian had remembered the cinnamon in his drip. His heart gave a little flip because self absorbed Sebastian had remembered the cinnamon and the biscotti but Blaine being Blaine ignored it like usual.

“Thank you. I’ll get the next round, okay? I can’t believe you managed to snag our spot.”

Sebastian’s POV:

Sebastian couldn’t stop the excitement that flared in his stomach anytime Blaine’s name flashed across the screen of his iPhone. He always cancelled his plans in favor of meeting Blaine at Starbucks or to toss around a football or anything he wanted, really. Sometimes Sebastian felt extremely lame because of his all consuming crush and that he’d rather drink stale coffee to the sounds of a ‘cafe pop’ playlist than meet random boys or drink in furnished basements.

Their friendship had been sort of a blur and came out of nowhere. He knew that sounded totally cliche and annoying but wasn’t that just how relationships in high school worked? You suddenly had so much in common with somebody and grew so close that you couldn’t understand how you went without this person in your life before? Sebastian had been obsessed with ‘winning’ Blaine over. He hated that this bashful kid just kept turning him down with shy smiles and dismissive waves of the hand and that his boyfriend was always around and wasn’t intimidated by his sharp wit. Seb hadn’t experienced being turned down before. He became jealous and his mean streak reared it’s monstrous head when he threw a salt spiked slushie at Blaine. All he wanted to do was stain Kurt’s precious clothing, the only thing he seemed to be passionate about.  After the slushie incident, Sebastian had sent flowers and visited Blaine to apologize. Somehow they grew close and met more and more often just to talk. Sebastian had to laugh, he was turning down dates with public school seniors just to read magazines in companionable silence, just to watch Blaine’s cheeks turn red when he teased him, to feel the spark of what could be when their thighs would touch squeezed into a diner booth.

It wasn’t any surprise that Sebastian made his driver get him to the coffee shop before Blaine so that he could get his regular drink and snack. He constantly assured Blaine that he understood that they were just friends and lied and said he was on the same page but couldn’t quell his crush. All he wanted to do was impress Blaine, it wasn’t even about winning anymore and that was like, a really scary thing to admit. He was totally sprung and spent too much time picking out outfits that looked like he didn’t care and memorizing orders and favorite songs and staring at his phone waiting for his phone to buzz.

Sebastian smirked when Blaine turned around to see him in the nook that they both preferred. He pushed Blaine’s coffee and biscotti towards him, “You deserve the best spot in the house. I had to fight a few pre teen girls but it was worth it.” Sebastian took a sip of his iced Americano and smiled around his straw, he hoped Blaine would notice. “So, what’s up?”

Blaine’s POV:

Blaine scooted himself up towards the table, sitting his phone down in front of him face up on the tiny table. He’d shut the sound off because Coop had been harassing him all day about his upcoming visit to Ohio. Just a constant stream of texts all morning pushing Blaine to make sure their parents had the house in order for him like he was freaking royalty. As if Blaine didn’t have enough issues of his own. His mom, Imelda, had laughed softly and given Blaine’s hand a squeeze telling him to just appease his brother because it made him happy. He only obliged for his mom because who cared what Cooper wanted.

Blaine found himself chuckling at the thought of Sebastian scaring preteens away with his rude language and idle threats and again his heart did the little flippy thing that felt familiar and brand new all at once when he told him that he deserved happiness. He cleared his throat and proceeded to pull the lid off of his coffee so he could dip his biscotti into it. He took a bite and Sebastian had put just the right amount of sugar and cream and cinnamon into the cup. He smiled to himself and swallowed before looking over at his friend.

“I can’t wait until I see Sam tomorrow night so that I can tell him that you’re actually just the sweetest, softest boy around.” He laughed, his shoulder coming up in a shrug. “You don’t have to worry though, because he’ll never believe me.” He watched Sebastian take a sip of his drink, his signature smirk had been replaced by this new thing that Blaine liked to say was his smile because he’d never seen him give it to anyone else. His teeth were showing and Blaine got a little glimpse of the crooked teeth that were hidden on his bottom  and top teeth. Blaine had been delighted to hear that picture perfect Sebastian Smythe had undone a bunch of expensive dental work all because he hated his retainer. Blaine was secretly glad because it was so adorable.

He could wax poetic about Sebastian Smythe’s teeth all day but that’s not why he’d come here. He’d come here to get away from the pitiful Facebook and Instagram messages his McKinley friends kept sending him. Telling him they were so sorry and that they just were so surprised about the thing that had made Blaine’s eyes red and puffy. Well, everyone except Sam who knew Blaine like the back of his hand and knew that things had been far from perfect.

Blaine finished his food, chewing thoughtfully for a moment trying to compartmentalize all of his feelings about the situation. He licked his lips and looked up at Sebastian. 

“Kurt and I broke up.” He paused, pursing his lips together. “I mean, I’ve told you how off everything has been over the last few months and with him going away to New York in a month I feel like this is the best move.” He felt a little wave of sorrow as he talked because of course Blaine had loved Kurt and he valued their time together but there was this sick feeling in the pit of his stomach as he thought back to some of their recent fights. Kurt had gotten mean and anytime Blaine took longer than five minutes to answer a text he would make accusations that Blaine was ‘probably out screwing Sebastian’ and even went so far to accuse him of sleeping with Sam, too. Which was... laughable. Everything they did was strained- from their intimacy to New Direction solos to where they’d eat for dinners. He flicked his eyes up to Sebastian, trying to gauge his reaction. Seb knew that things had been rocky but he didn’t know about the accusations. He wondered how he’d feel if he knew.

Sebastian’s POV:

Sebastian rolled his eyes but didn’t stop smiling. He shook his head and leaned back into the leather covered booth seat. “Please don’t. I’ve worked really hard on my image, you know.” Sebastian spread his legs under the table, his knees knocked into Blaine’s leg. It sent a little thrill though his body before he gently maneuvered his long legs so that they wouldn’t invade the other’s space. Sebastian wished he could keep his knees pressed to Blaine’s leg, wished they could hold hands under the table or kiss over their coffees. He caught himself being pulled from his daydream by Blaine’s sober tone. 

He watched Blaine’s face as he spoke, he noticed his red rimmed eyes and it all made sense now. Sebastian fought to keep his face even. He didn’t want to break out into song and dance and flip the table in excitement just yet. The other boy was obviously upset. Seb couldn’t really understand because he had never been in a serious relationship and was always the one to not return calls or texts. He was his friend, though so he needed to chill out and be there for him. “How do you feel?” Sebastian chewed on his green straw, suddenly a little anxious.

Blaine’s POV:

Blaine arched his brow a little impressed by how calm Sebastian was being. He hadn’t made a joke about his relationship or made any kind of swipe at Kurt at all. He shouldn’t have been surprised though, Sebastian had come so far over the year they’d gone from acquaintances where Sebastian shamelessly flirted and made Blaine feel things he shouldn’t while having a boyfriend, to being a massive asshole and getting Blaine hurt, to remorseful and learning about how his words could hurt people all the way to now. Where he was actually sweet and funny and paid attention. If people could see this side of Sebastian they wouldn’t talk so much crap about him behind his back. If people could see this Seb they’d all be clamoring for his time and where would that leave you? Blaine didn’t like to think about it. He liked having this piece of Sebastian to himself. Sounds super friendly. A voice in his head taunted. Blaine ignored it.

He thought for a moment, wondering how he was supposed to feel versus how he actually did feel. There was pain, he’d built a pretty solid relationship with Kurt over the last almost two years. He had loved him. Of course there was pain. He’d cried for two nights after it was over but now he wasn’t sure how he actually felt. It was startling when he realized he felt free.

“I feel, I don’t know, relieved?” He licked his lips and looked into Seb’s lush green eyes. “I- I  don’t think we love each other anymore.” He shrugged, he’d struggled with the revelation over the last few weeks. The truth hit him when he realized all they did was fight and things were often incredibly uneasy when they were once easy. “I mean, we had a good run but… it’s not like he’s going to wait for me to move to New York. He would end up ignoring me and growing apart from me anyway. And eventually we’d hate each other and why do that to ourselves? It was amicable enough.” Was it? Kurt had been livid to the point of screaming and then suddenly he’d just gone calm. An eerie calm and then the calculating look he’d given Blaine was cold and borderline scary, but he’d agreed eventually.  

He paused, wondering how much to give away to Sebastian. “He was starting to get really weird about who I was talking to. Like not just you, but Sam as well. I’ve never done anything to make him worry. I was faithful and did anything he asked me to.” He bit his lip, trying not to let the negativity seep in. “I don’t know, Seb. I feel like this was the right decision.”

He brought his coffee to his lips and took a drink. The caffeine burned through his veins and suddenly Blaine wished they were in the car driving around with the music blaring. 

“But, hey I won’t be going to New York this Summer now. Coop will be here but I can ignore him. And Sam will be camping with his family. Tina’s going to visit some distant relatives and David and Nick are… who knows what they’re doing. So, we get to spend extra time together. I mean, if you can handle that.”

Sebastian’s POV:

Sebastian always knew that Kurt was a little jealous behind the scenes. Blaine had told him so before and even cancelled on him a few times because of it. He told himself it was because Kurt was insecure and maybe deep down really was a little threatened by him. He should have trusted Blaine, though. It was true that Blaine had never done anything nefarious to Kurt, had never caused any damage to their relationship. He and Sebastian were strictly friends (sad as that was.) and Seb even forced himself to control his flirty tendencies (which meant he really liked him because he flirted with everybody.) “As long as you feel okay. This is a move in the right direction.” He winced internally, how generic was that sentiment. 

Seb sat up in his seat and cleared his throat. He needed to cheer Blaine up. “Hey, now you have the entire summer to be a single man. Think of all the cool shit you can do now.  You can go anywhere you want, do whatever you want.”  He wanted nothing more than to spend his favorite season with Blaine. Images of fireworks and swimming and bike riding filled his brain. “I’m down, B.” He would always be down for him, always be willing to drop everything to be where he was. Sebastian knew it was pathetic but he couldn’t help it. It was his best kept secret, how huge his crush was and how utterly heels over head and back again he was. Sebastian finished his drink and pushed his biscotti towards Blaine. “Celebratory biscotti.”

Blaine’s POV:

Blaine laughed, shaking his head at Sebastian. “You’re just dying to say something about Kurt, aren’t you?” He bit his bottom lip to keep from smiling too big, a little ashamed of himself for having such a good time so close to his break up, but he couldn’t seem to help himself around Sebastian. There was just something about the other boy that just made him feel relaxed and comfortable and sometimes Blaine felt like as long as they stayed friends he’d be okay. Sure, he had Sam and Tina and David and Nick but there was something different about being with Sebastian. He didn’t like to look too closely at it though, terrified that he’d ruin this dynamic they had going on. “Go ahead, I’ll let you get in one good swipe but then you gotta promise to behave.”

Blaine gave Sebastian a thankful smile because of course he was trying to cheer him up. Trouble was that he didn’t even need to try. Blaine was already feeling better just being around him. “Yeah, single. Do whatever I want. Hmm…” He narrowed his eyes playfully,  “And yet I’m choosing to waste my free time with the likes of you.” He laughed, taking the sweets that Seb had offered him and dunking it into his almost empty cup of coffee. Kurt would have tisked at him for eating more than one in the middle of the day. He finished it, making a show at how good it was before speaking again. The nickname made him smile to himself even bigger. 

“So, what are you doing right now? Is your fancy driver around here somewhere? You should send him away and spend the day with me. We could take a ride and go get burgers and shakes from the root beer stand and drive around and listen to music. I’ll even let you pick the music.” He looked up at Sebastian, his eyes wide and face probably far too hopeful. “Please? It’s my treat and besides, it’ll make me feel so much better. I promise the stench of public school doesn’t seep into my car like it does clothing.”

Sebastian’s POV:

Was Sebastian so obvious? He laughed, his wide smile that was rarely seen broke out across his face. He really did want to talk shit about Kurt but thought that he could keep that suppressed until he texted Hunter later. Seb cleared his throat dramatically, as if he were about to put on a show and sat up straight. “If I only get one chance I better make this good. He dresses like a depressed librarian that lives off of lean cuisines and thinks that unseasoned boiled chicken is too spicy. He’s so generically bitchy and mean and pre-maturely geriatric that if he started to do drag, he could be a Bea Arthur impersonator. Actually, I’m almost positive all of his humor comes from The Golden Girls anyway. You’re so better off without him.” He sighed and laughed again. “I’m done. I promise I’ll behave as best as I know how.”

Sebastian looked into Blaine’s golden eyes, bit his bottom lip, leaned over the table. He nodded and pulled his phone out to text his driver to leave the parking lot. “If I get to pick the music then I’m all yours.” Seb rolled his eyes and stood up from the table to stretch his legs, gathering up their trash to throw away. “The scent of your hair gel sort of covers up the public school smell anyway.”  He elbowed Blaine in the side, smiled wide so he knew the joke was good natured. “I’m gonna blare Nicki Minaj and I want a large strawberry shake with extra whipped cream and extra cherries.” Sebastian started to walk backwards towards the door, his eyes on Blaine the entire time. “This is going to be the best summer ever, Killer. Promise.” 

/fin.

[redridgehq]

CIVILIAN: Acacia Orozco —

Full Name: Acacia Orozco Nickname: N/A Age: 24 Gender & Pronouns: Cisfemale, She/her Ethnicity: Mexican Sexual & Romantic Orientation: Bisexual/Biromantic Occupation: Cocktail Waitress at Phoenix Casino Affiliation: Civilian Faceclaim: Christian Serratos URL: dulcedulcedulce

Character introduction.

PROMPT:

(“ROUTINE”:  Your muse is in their favorite location, indulging themselves with something they enjoy doing regularly. ) Acacia hummed softly. Like clockwork, she found her little corner of Impulse. It was out of the way, and a little quieter than the rest of the cafe. She could never admit it aloud, but she was envious of Rowan. Acacia had tried to make it as a pastry chef herself, a decision that had gotten her disowned by her family. And here she was, with nothing to show for it but failure. It was a hard business to get into, but in truth, this only made her respect Rowan even more. The other woman’s creations were astonishing and delightful, just the combination needed to succeed. Perhaps that’s where Acacia’s shortcomings had lain. She hadn’t been creative enough in the right way, hadn’t known what people would want. Or maybe it was her they didn’t want. The restaurants she’d left for one reason or another still used her recipes, the heartless bastards.  One bite. That’s all it takes to pull her from her insecurities and self-loathing. Her dark brown eyes flutter shut as she tastes. It never matters if it’s something new or an established personal favorite, the first bite of any treat is a sacred thing. Different tasting notes make themselves known, and even though it’s a game she plays by herself, she can’t help but guess at what the flavors are. Maybe one day Acacia will work up the courage to ask.  Ducking her head, the woman’s dark hair falls to obscure her face, and the beaming smile tugging at her lips. Nothing is as pure as the sheer joy a good dessert can bring someone. A sip of water, and the pattern continues until she’s tasted and appreciated each of her selections. Only then does she allow herself a sip of the coffee she ordered. The waitress had good enough tips that she even ordered a fancy latte. A thoroughly contented sigh falls from her lips as she pulls her hair to one shoulder, nails carefully shaking out her tresses at her scalp. Anything to signal that she would very much like to be left alone, please. Acacia has had enough bad luck with kind strangers that she knows to be wary. A book, one of her most beloved novels, is pulled from her bag. The weathered copy The Blue Castle has been her dearest friend for so many years. She’ll have to retire it soon, but the thought is enough to break her heart. Acacia opens it, and like a seer with tarot cards, lets fate decide what part she should read today. Blissfully unaware of the world around her, she passes several hours. Once she feels as though she runs the risk of overstaying her welcome, she rises, buses her table, and offers a shy smile and a soft thank you as she leaves.

Tw: child abuse 

(“REMINISCENCE”: Your muse opens up about the worst day of their life to their favorite person. ) “I…really don’t care for souffles,” Acacia admitted quietly. Automatically, her head tilted down and she folded her hands neatly in her lap. Her stomach dropped at the sight of it. One might think that after so many years, she wouldn’t have such a visceral reaction to one. Yet here she was. “I’m sorry..I’m so sorry, but I just..”  I can’t. “Please don’t think me ungrateful,” she pleaded, finally meeting the other’s eyes. What possible reason would actually make them think otherwise, a nasty voice in the back of her mind. They had taken her to a fancy restaurant, were treating her to a lovely meal, and done her the honor of ordering something that would delight any other person. “I just..have a history with them. And incredibly bad luck.”  They hadn’t talked much on her past, and she hadn’t even told the other about pastry school or the fact that the souffle set on the table was her recipe, stolen by the most recent man to break her heart (though it had been a few years). That wasn’t even what was upsetting. Her eyes fell to her hands as she took a deep breath before starting. “I..I’ve always loved cooking, desserts especially. I’m not sure if there’s anything else that my parents would have found more disappointing. My siblings,” the ones they didn’t know she had, “were always doing incredible things. They were intelligent, or athletes, and either way had a gaggle of friends all around. I was just..there. With my cookbooks and cooking shows. I think I was ten? And I thought that maybe, if I made something good enough, they might see that there would be something worthwhile in my cooking.” Acacia paused, needing a moment to collect herself before continuing. In truth, she had been looking for any kind of praise. As a child, she was still stupid enough to think she might be able to earn some. “I thought a souffle would be impressive. Regular tv shows made such a big deal of them, and I was young enough to think I had a chance.” Even now, it was tempting to detail the process. How careful she had been, how beautiful the merengue had been..but none of that mattered then, why would it now? “It was supposed to be a nice surprise after my brother’s baseball game. My parents were furious. I had been petty and jealous to try and take the spotlight away from my brother. A bitter little bitch, to be exact. And wasteful and presumptuous. I hadn’t had any right to use the ingredients they had purchased for family meals for my own purposes. I was only allowed to eat the souffle for the next week, so I could learn the value of food. My mother threw out my cookbooks and I was..discouraged from cooking for pleasure.” It was a polite way to say that they’d beaten her whenever they thought she was enjoying cooking too much. They had never seen talent or skill when it came to cooking. She could still hear the common refrain of, Everyone can do it. Following a recipe doesn’t take any skill or talent. Why can’t you apply yourself like this to school? Or a sport? Your siblings all are talented, why do you have to be useless? Suddenly, Acacia looked up, surprise etched into her face. “I-I’m so sorry..I don’t know why I told you all that. I didn’t mean to ruin your dinner, here, let-let me go. She sprang from her chair, flinching at the sound it made scraping across the floor. “I’ll cover dinner, it’s only fair since I ruined it. And I’ll ask the hostess to bring you a new dessert. The white chocolate panna cotta with passion fruit coulis was one of my best recipes,” she babbled, so ashamed of herself for initial impromptu confession, the fact that more seemed to be pouring from her lips didn’t even sink in. “I don’t know if they still make the thin biscotti I used to, to go with it, but I’ll ask. Thank you, for this, and again, please, I’m so sorry!” Turning on her heel, she fled to the front door, wishing with each step that the floor would just swallow her. 

[theloveofscience]

Shugarl to Komui White Day Gift!

((Here we are! This should be the last of the White day gifts that I need to submit to you. I hope you enjoy it! As always, do with this as you please~))

————————————————————————————-

Shugarl had sent Komui and invitation for March 14th to attend a late-night picnic with him in order to watch the Gamma Normids meteor shower. It was quite convenient that the Gamma Normids shower always hit around this time and peaked on the 15th. The shower wasn’t very bright, but if you paid close attention, and if the surrounding area wasn’t too bright, you should be able to see the meteor shower.

There was a family getaway cottage that should suffice for the viewing. Shugarl sent out the invite rather early, almost a month in advance. Given the date Komui was being invited on, it was clear that this was related to White day.

The location was at the family getaway cottage, so Komui and Shugarl could stay overnight, if they wanted to. If not, Komui could always return home afterwards if he had plans to attend to that following Sunday.

Komui accepted the invitation and with that, Shugarl could commence his planning. He may have already revealed one part of the plan, but a bit of sacrifice was necessary for the greater good.

After the sent invitation, nothing else out of the ordinary occurred, as if everything was ‘business as usual.’ Shugarl and Komui would interact with each other as they normally would, nothing veering from normalcy.

That is, until the 1st of March hit. There were 14 days until the day they were going to meet to watch the Gamma Normids, and Shugarl had planned a few things. A letter that was  personally delivered sat in Komui’s mailbox that Saturday morning.

.

..

.

I cordially invite you to humor me with my version of an advent calendar.

As we count down the days until White Day, I will be sending you riddles and questions for you to answer.

You will get a point for every question you get right, and as you collect points, you will reach different tiers, which qualifies you in receiving a prize befitting that tier.

The questions and riddles will be mailed to you over the weekends, or it will be given to you in your office during the weekdays. Answers should be emailed to me.

Should you choose to humor me, your first riddle is written on the back of this letter.

Have fun.

.

..

.

All the riddles and questions weren’t hard. The riddles were silly, and the problems were things Shugarl knew Komui could solve. Whether they were chemical reaction problems, or mathematical equations, they were something Komui could handle.

On the weekdays, there would be a geode agate waiting for him on his desk. It looked like a regular rock at first, but when you lifted the top, it would reveal a hollow inside. There would be a note nestled in between the shiny agate crystals.

Assuming Komui had decided to humor Shugarl on this silly ‘advent calendar,’ Komui reached the first tier after 5 days. The gift he received was a small box of biscotti, which would go excellent with coffee. 

The next tier occurred after 10 days, and a pink box sat on Komui’s chair. This was a return gift from Jupiter for the gift that Komui made for her a month prior. Leave it to Shugarl to make her return gift a prize for joining the advent calendar game.

Inside the pink box were white and red speckled bath bombs:

.

..

.

[I like bathbombs because they’re relaxing.

I wanted to thank you for the cute dress you made me!

Please enjoy the bathbombs, they’re lavender scented to promote relaxation.

There are dried rose petals included in the bath bomb to make it feel fancy.]

Included in the letter was a picture of Jupiter wearing the dress Komui made for her. She understood how tiring the job of a professor was (because she had Shugarl to attest to that), and she thought that a relaxing bath would be able to melt the stress away.

It was a bit gimmicky, but she thought people loved bath bombs. A lot of people in her class loved them, in fact.

.

..

.

On Friday the 13th, Komui found a note on his desk after he returned from teaching a class. He’d sent off an email response to Shugarl an hour prior with an answer to a riddle.

The note revealed that the final and last question would be delivered in person. Also, the geode agate ‘box’ was now Komui’s to keep.

Shugarl had evidently been enjoying this little game of theirs, considering Shugarl would make mention of it every time they met, followed by a mischievous smirk. All the riddles and questions weren’t very difficult given Komui’s abilities, so it was sure that Shugarl was not taunting Komui by any means.

It was like when you execute a harmless prank against a friend and you both can laugh about it later.

That’s what level this was to him, a playful gesture.

-

[[The next day]]

-

Shugarl arrived at the family getaway cottage early in the day to prepare for the viewing/picnic. He had it set so they could eat and view the show from the porch. Blankets were prepared should either of them feel chilly during the viewing.

For the food, he prepared a number of things:

He prepared a creamy chicken and Gnocchi soup, with a French country Boule bread to dip the soup with. This would be warm and hearty. A side Thai Mango salad with Peanut dressing, was bright and flavorful. For the entrée, Shugarl chose a Smoked Salmon pasta.

As for a dessert, he prepared personal sized blueberry pies, where the crust was fashioned into a Fibonacci spiral. What else could one expect from a math nerd? Of course, he would decorate his pies with anything mathematical.

He chose pies, because he assumed Komui enjoyed them. He made a pi (pie) pun last month, and that left a lasting impression on Shugarl. As such, he chose to bake personal sized pies for dessert.

As for beverages, there were many to choose from. Komui could have his go-to drink, coffee, or he could choose from anything else such as water, wine, juice, etc.

When Komui arrived, the food was prepared fresh and warm, using the kitchen in the cottage. There was plenty of food to last them a while, so they could enjoy their food at a leisurely pace, waiting for the sun to set, and the meteor shower show to commence.

The family getaway cottage was isolated in the thick forest of trees, so there weren’t any lights that would drown out the light of the meteor shower. Shugarl found the show to be rather enjoyable, and having great company to share the sights with was all the more pleasing.

The night was passing by peacefully, and Shugarl excused himself for a moment to fetch something. He returned with a ‘Storm Glass’ and a notebook.

This sealed glass bulb contains chemicals that crystalize in response to atmospheric conditions. Of course, this could not replace the weather forecasting system, but it was a fun exercise. Keeping track of the storm glass’s responses to the weather and making predictions of the weather would be fun, wouldn’t it? Shugarl thought it would be fun, anyways.

“There is no right or wrong answer to the final question, so I’m gifting you the final prize in advance. I found you could make a storm glass yourself, so I did just that. I hope that you will find this storm glass amusing to play with.”

It seemed to be something a Science nerd would enjoy.

Over the month after Valentine’s day, Shugarl had put a lot of thought into his planning, and he’d also put much consideration to himself. This is not something he’d done in a long while, and so it was awkward at first, but Shugarl adjusted himself accordingly.

After much consideration, Shugarl had come to a conclusion he could agree with.

“I’ve put a lot of thought into it, and I’ve come to think of you as someone very important in my life. I don’t think I’ve truly had a person who could truly understand me and share my interests with. I feel comfortable around you, and I can put my trust in you. Even when I’m having one of my episodes, you didn’t chastise me, or avoid me out of sheer discomfort. You took the time to comfort me and attempt to heal the old scars I have in the barren wasteland that people call a heart.” He felt uncomfortable with how honest he was being at the moment, but he did resolve himself to do this, so he shall.

“I had thought that’s all it was at first. I’m not well in tune with my emotions as I’m sure you’d understand. I could not understand until recently, when I dug deep and contemplated on who I am as a person. I’ve deduced a conclusion from various instances throughout our friendship, and that is… I believe the feelings I feel towards you transcend that of mere friendship. I daresay I harbor romantic feelings towards you. What do you think about that?”

That’s it, that’s the question.  

What say you now, Komui?

_______________________________________________________________

Upon the conclusion of Valentine’s Day, to say he hadn’t been curious about what Shugarl was planning for White Day would have been a lie. It wasn’t that he regretted going all out for Valentine’s Day, far from it, and Shugarl had seemed pleased with his gifts only… he wondered if he should feel intimidated at the unknown possibilities. This was Shugarl after all and Komui was well acquainted with his habit of repaying anything tenfold, they had been friends too long for him not to have noticed this characteristic.

When the scientist thought back to their Valentine’s dinner, he couldn’t help but recall that although things were as casual and comfortable as it usually was between them, there had been occasional moments when the atmosphere seemed almost charged and Shugarl more pensive than usual. But surely he had simply been imaging things, either that or his fellow professor was already scheming his comeback for White Day…

In the end, Komui decided he probably felt more excited than intimidated to see what the other came up with this year.

The invitation to watch a meteor shower while enjoying a late night picnic wasn’t something he expected but it certainly was a pleasant surprise. His first thought had been to ask whether he should contribute to the food and beverages they would be consuming but having considered that this was probably part of his White Day gift decided not to. Nevertheless, he was looking forward to it and did not hesitate enthusiastically accepting the invitation.

When the 1st of March rolled around, Komui couldn’t help but laugh. In light of the puzzles he’d had Shugarl solve on Valentine’s day he really should have seen this coming. He had no complaints. The riddles were all things he could answer quite easily and he got gifts for answering correctly to boot. It felt a little like he was being spoiled but it was a nice change from the teasing he often had to endure.

It ended up becoming an inside joke of sorts, something private just between them but then, come to think of it, wasn’t that how it was with a lot of things? Ever since Shugarl had become a professor he’d not really bothered to try get along with anyone else more than he had to. It was always Shugarl he complained to about a hard day or ridiculous test papers, Shugarl that he dragged along to interesting lectures or symposiums, Shugarl that he ate lunch and drank coffee with, Shugarl that he laughed with and was teased by. It was perhaps a little scary to suddenly realise that apart from Lenalee, Shugarl was the one his world revolved around.

When exactly had that happened?

The days passed by and the  14th of March drew steadily closer. He enjoyed the biscotti he received and was touched by the gift from Jupiter. Komui had never used a bath bomb before but since Jupiter had gone out of her way to give it to him, he would give it a try so he could thank her properly. It was also a treat to see how adorable she looked in the dress he made for her. She was almost as precious as Lenalee… almost.

On the day question, Komui arrived at the cottage to see a wonderful spread of food prepared for their picnic which smelled absolutely mouth-watering. He couldn’t help but want to tease the other professor a little considering all the food that was set out.

“You’re not trying to fatten me up or anything are you?”

Admittedly, he was slightly on the slender side and occasionally neglected to eat when he got wrapped up in one project or another but he wasn’t quite a walking skeleton just yet. Jokes aside, he really appreciated all the effort that had gone into the preparation of the meal and he was looking forward to tasting it.

It was an enjoyable evening all round, the cottage being an ideal spot to view the meteor shower and the company made it all the more pleasant. After a time, Shugarl excused himself only to return with a storm glass which Komui eyed with interested fascination.

The scientist was very impressed that Shugarl had made the storm glass himself and also very excited at having received such an interesting device. He laughed warmly as he accepted the contraption, admiring it with sparkling eyes.

“Haha you know me well it seems~”

For a moment he was puzzled over the prospect of a final question until he recalled the note he had received the day before informing him of this very fact. A question that didn’t have a right or wrong answer… now he was truly curious.

…

For a moment in time his heart stopped.

Had he heard that correctly? Had he somehow dozed off while watching the meteor shower only to dream this? But no, this was real wasn’t it.

…I habour romantic feelings towards you…

…romantic feelings towards you…

…romantic feelings…

The words echoed in his mind on repeat and he could feel his face flushing bright red even as his eyes stung and a ridiculous grin started forming on his face without his permission. He probably looked like a maniac right now. Luckily for him, Shugarl had sat down in his vicinity to give him the storm glass so he could conveniently hide his face in the nape of his neck.

He felt far too embarrassed for his expression to be seen right now even if it was dark, although nothing could be done about his trembling limbs. It was unexpectedly nerve wracking to be confessed to for the first time.

It was incredible to know how his companion felt about him, the situation feeling almost surreal when he considered that time not too long ago when he thought he might have ruined their friendship.

Swallowing passed the lump in his throat, he breathed out a shaky sigh before quietly murmuring a response of sorts.

“I I think I’m in shock…”

Perhaps that was a bit of an understatement.

“… honoured… and happy… very, very happy.”

He was, exuberantly so, but that wasn’t exactly the answer he was supposed to be giving was it. There was also a small part that wondered whether he should be questioning Shugarl’s tastes but that was quickly squashed. More importantly, he needed to give him a better answer than that.

What did he think about it. There was only one answer really. 

Apart from Lenalee, the person his world revolved around was Shugarl.

“In that case… it’s okay if I feel the same… right?

[lotusdumpling]

germano and pruaushun for the ask game?

You know my ships, don't you U//w//U

Germano!

who is more likely to fall asleep on the couch

Honestly both but for different reasons. Lovino takes "siestas" (actually he randomly falls asleep anywhere in the middle of the day like a true Roman lol) everywhere and the couch is a go to. Ludwig tends to overwork himself and fall sleep in random places, too. The couch and his desk being two. Lovino usually forces him into bed if he falls asleep at his desk, but maybe they can couch sleep together UwU. But like they'd have to find a way to fit comfortably.

who makes meals and who is more likely to hoard take-out menus

Who dares bring takeout into Lovino’s kitchen??? Into his dining room???? Into his house????? How dare you insult him and his cooking like that? But yeah, he throws out take-out menus. Ludwig likes a nice meal anyway, so he doesn't mind. Lovino cooks mostly. Large Italian lunches, bombass home hosted Aperitivi, filling dinners, maybe tapas if he's feeling it. Ludwig mostly cooks Breakfast, tho, because it's a big part of a German day and not in an Italian one. If Ludwig didn't make them a nice breakfast Lovino would snack and go until lunch (which already tends to be later for him). They both bake, but very different things. Lovino likes things he can bake for a long while but eat in a hurry. Think along the lines of biscotti with espresso, cannoli, babà. He also small fruit tarts and rum cakes because they aren't too sweet. Ludwig has an admittedly large sweet tooth and a soft spot for cakes. Black forest cake, apfelkuchen, Bienenstich Kuchen, Buamkuchen. He likes baking in general, though, and will stretch out towards other things.

who gives nicknames

Both! In a... sorta different way. Ludwig is an awkward romantic, but still a sweetheart through and through. He goes for more sweet titles like Schatzi (treasure), Liebling (darling), Perle (Pearl), or Schnucki. Lovino is a bit complicated if you don't know him as a person. He does use things like Amore (love) and Caro (dear), because he's still a romantic and also to get what he wants shush but he's also likely to call you Capona (block head) and Stronzino (little asshole) in the most endearing ways lol. He would probably also call Ludwig Patanella (little potato) because it's funny.

favorite non-sexual activity 

Catch me outside if it's not baking. Catch these hands because I just love imagining Ludwig getting a bit exasperated because Lovino keeps eating chocolate from the bowl or sitting on the counter and Lovino just does it more because it's funny. God forbid if he doesn't love it, tho. Chocolate kisses? Chocolate kisses.

who leaves notes for the other to find

Ludwig. Actually he doesn't like not leaving them around now. They usually remind Lovino to do stuff or to wake up at a certain time but if he has nothing to say they usually just say how much he loves him because he's a sap who can't convey his feelings in words XD.

who crosses the street to pet a cute dog

Ludwig! He's in essence a child compared to Lovino and loves puppies. Lovino has self control. Usually. Mostly. Sorta. Kinda. Maybe. Maybe not. Now Lovino’s gonna go gush over the dog, too. Cooing in Italian while Ludwig just cries silently because words emotions how??? Their dogs are going to be so jealous when they get home.

who takes notes on the other’s favorite foods and makes sure the fridge is stocked

Ludwig. He has no real need to, seeing as Lovino cooks, but he likes to feel at least a little in control. Lovino used to, but he doesn't mind letting Ludwig do it as long as he gets to look over the shopping list. It gives him more time to do some early morning gardening, anyway.

who apologizes first after a fight

Ludwig, verbally. It doesn't help that neither of them are good with words or emotions and misunderstandings do happen. Lovino even being in his presence after a fight is an apology in and of itself, in a way, tho. He will pretend you don't exist if he's angry with you and doesn't do verbal apologies unless prompted. They usually pretend nothing happened until Ludwig brings it up again to make sure everything is okay and that everything will be okay.

who is more protective 

Seeing as Lovino is the more laid back in general, I'll have to say Ludwig. And Lovino probably finds it amusing lol.

who says “I love you” first

Depends on the context. Lovino is more likely to say it to embarrass Lud than anything. He shows his love in none verbal ways, mostly. Ludwig is the one who actually says it because he is a sap and Lovino probably gets a bit flustered because he's so damn sweet and they're so cute.

Frying pangle!

who is more likely to fall asleep on the couch

Gilbert because he's a disaster. He's probably late night blogging and he fucking face plants onto his keyboard. They find him the next morning replying to something with "yeaxxxhdhsisxxxdyusisowxxndjdjosossxxx" etc and drooling on the keys. Tho if ever it is needed,,,,,,, couch snuggles. He also over works himself but when he does Erzi makes sure he goes the hell to bed lol.

who makes meals and who is more likely to hoard take-out menus

Bold of you to assume they cook. No jkjk. Erzi cooks and Rod and Gil bake but ain't nobody got time for that.

Gilbert: Are you guys hungry?

Erzsébet: yeah always.

Roderich: Do you guys feel like cooking?

Gilbert: Nope.

Erzsébet: I'll call the pizza place.

Erzi does enjoy cooking! Usually when they don't need to cook tho oof. Paprika is always in the kitchen just in case they're making Gulyásleves, Körözött, or Paprikás Szalonna. Roderich and Gilbert just bake tarts and small pastries then eat them in very large quantities lol. Like apfelstrudel, himmelsleiter, linzer kuchen, or sometimes Sachertorte. God I'm hungry.

who gives nicknames

I feel like they're all on name basis, simply because they're used to it and it's comfortable. But if they switch to titles of endearment, Erzi is the first one to do so. Cute names like Drágám, Kedvesem (both of which mean dear), and Édesem (my sweet), but they also use these towards younger children. Roderich will use small things like Süße/Süßer (sweetie) and Liebling (darling). Gilbert is a bit self conscious about seeming really sappy, but I guess if he had to, he'd probably use Hasi (little bunny) or Mausi (little mouse).

favorite non-sexual activity 

Game night! It's either monopoly in which they're all really good at from real life dealing and empire stuff so it lasts a long time and things are most definitely thrown, or Mario Kart and Roderich screams about not knowing the controls and crashing into stuff while it usually ends up being Erzi vs Gil and Erzi most definitely wins every time. Except once when they let him win, don't tell him tho.

who leaves notes for the other to find

Erzsébet, but like small things. Like warning them not to eat certain things or the grocery list for Gil.

who crosses the street to pet a cute dog

GILBERT BECAUSE HE'S WEAK. Roderich is actually afraid of some dogs. Like big dogs and the small ones that bark too much. Which means most dogs. Don't worry, Erzi will protect you from the fluff balls.

who takes notes on the other’s favorite foods and makes sure the fridge is stocked

Erzsébet knows everyone's favorite foods and makes sure they have everything, but Gil is the one that does grocery shopping. Mostly because Gilbert is still amazed by grocery stores in general, Erzsébet probably works, and Rod is a feral old person who refuses to go outside unless they're offered coupon. Speaking of coupons, tho, they do make sure Gil has all of theirs when he goes to the store and tells him what's on sale because they are cheap and he doesn't mind spending time gawking at bananas and only having to pay three cents. Erzi is tired of the cheap toilet paper, tho.

who apologizes first after a fight

Erzi, verbally. They also make sure everything is patched up. Seeing as Gil is the most stubborn, you think he'd apologize last, but he's actually more than likely to apologize before Rod. He's fairly vulnerable after a big argument and he doesn't want those close to him leaving him. Rod has the most trouble verbally apologizing, but they try. If they can't convey how they feel through words, tho, they can always use music. Gil and Erzi can decipher that better than anyone.

who is more protective 

Erzi. They will fight for them, dammit! Gil is on a small scale, tho. Like he annoys Erzi and Rod with bad dad jokes and poking fun but if anyone says anything about them he was low key a military order, you gonna get fucked up. Erzi and Gil gonna fuck anyone up.

who says “I love you” first

Roderich! I bit surprising, but I think they're the one who says it casually, wholeheartedly the most. It catches Gilbert off guard and makes him flustered but Erzi is quick to return it because they love them both too much to say in words. Gilbert says it verbally the least, but he makes it known how much they mean to him.

[finn-nelson-for-the-win]

The Good Life: Chapter 15

Hello, my lovelies! Long time no see...things have been hectic lately, but I finally finished up this chapter and I wanted to get it posted before anything else comes up that makes me put off posting this chapter longer than I have already. Also, sorry in advance that this chapter is so short!

Need to get caught up? The Good Life: Ch1, Ch2, Ch3, Ch4 , Ch5, Ch6, Ch7, Ch8 , Ch9 , Ch10, Ch 11, Ch 12, Ch 13, Ch 14

If you want to be added (or  removed) from the tags list for this story, just feel free to let me know!

@pink-royaute @believethaticanandiwill @milllott @likeashootingstarfades @i-dream-of-emus @eveerez @saintsisterwriter

The Good Life: Chapter 15

Monday morning when Rae walked into the office, she was surprised to see Anna sitting in the chair at her desk, idly rearranging the various pens and pencils that were in an empty coffee mug beside Rae’s computer.

“Uh…good morning,” Rae said as she set her phone and purse down on her desk, “you’re here early. Why?”

“I suppose,” Anna shrugged as she stood up from Rae’s chair and took a seat on an empty corner of the desk to allow Rae to sit down at her desk, “I hoped to catch you before work to have a bit of a chat. You’re usually not one to be walking into work right when your shift is supposed to begin.”

“What can I say? I’ve learned from the best,” Rae chuckled as she began to log into her computer to make up for getting to work later than she usually would.

“Dave isn’t even in the office for a few more hours. Does it really even matter if I show up a few minutes late here and there?” Anna shrugged.

“Happy Monday!” Henry sing-songed with a wide smile as he came around the corner from Rae and Anna’s shared cubicle.

“Ugh, why must you always be so cheerful,” Anna scoffed which earned herself a sarcastic smile.

“Morning, Henry,” Rae said when Henry leaned against the side of her desk and set down the paper bag and cardboard drink carrier he had been carrying.

“It’s good to see you again, Rae! I stopped by the cafe down the street on my way to work this morning and grabbed you some coffee.”

“You did? That’s really nice of you!” Rae said as she reached for the cup of coffee with her name scrawled on it and took a small sip.

“I hope you like the coffee,” Henry replied with a smile when Rae hummed happily after tasting her coffee. “I also grabbed a couple pastries, if you’d like one. There should be an almond biscotti and a lemon-blueberry muffin,” he added as he passed Rae the paper bag.

“Mmm, I love blueberry muffins! Thank you,” Rae said as she placed the muffin on a napkin beside her cup of coffee and handed Henry the bag back.

“I should probably get to work now, but I’ll talk to you later, Rae. See ya, later, Anna!” Henry called over his shoulder as he walked away from their desks.

“So, are you going to explain to me what just happened or are you gonna make me ask you?” Anna asked without turning away from her own computer as she continued getting logged in.

“I have no idea what you’re referring to,” Rae replied coyly as she took a sip of her coffee.

“Well, we can start with that! You’re the pickiest person I’ve ever met when it comes to how your coffee is made. How does he know how you take your coffee?”

“It’s simple, he asked me.”

“Uh-huh,” Anna replied skeptically.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Oh, I don’t know! Maybe the fact that on Friday evening I introduced you to Henry, practically against your will too might I add, and now you two are all buddy-buddy.”

“Yeah, I mean...I really didn’t wanna talk to him initially but then once I stopped being a dickhead, I realized he was a pretty cool guy,” Rae shrugged.

“I knew you two would get on well!” Anna replied excitedly as she turned around in her chair to face Rae, “What else happened between you two? I want to know everything!”

“Well, shortly after you left the bar on Friday Henry decided to leave too. I did the chivalrous thing and escorted him to his car and we exchanged numbers.”

“Oooh! Look at you! I’m so proud of you! Is that all or…?” Anna asked with a quirked eyebrow.

“Well…we’ve been texting and we grabbed dinner and a movie Saturday,”

“Oh!”

“...and we also met up for brunch yesterday.”

“Rae!” Anna said as she gasped, “that’s great! It looks like the two of you really hit it off, huh?”

“Yeah, he’s fun to be around.”

“You’re welcome, by the way, since I introduced the two of you.”

“I know, I know. I’m glad that you made me talk to him the other night.”

“What can I say? I have a knack for matchmaking! Are you two going to go out again soon?”

“Maybe, yeah...I dunno. We’re just trying to get to know each other for now, so I don’t know where this could go, but I’m alright with that.”

“I guess that makes sense. I really do hope you two continue to see each other, though. I’m tired of hearing Henry pine over you every day in the break room during lunch and I’m tired of hearing about your love life—or lack thereof.”

“Oh, fuck off! He has not been pining over me!” Rae scoffed as she playfully threw the cap of her pen across the cubicle at Anna.

“I’m serious! I’ve been telling him so much about you these last couple months that it was only a matter of time before the two of you finally met in-person!”

“And yet you never told me a single thing about him until moments before we were introduced!”

“In my defense, I have two years of friendship with you as evidence that if I mentioned anything about him and tried to make it seem like I was setting the two of you up, you’d do everything in your power to fight me on it and sabotage my plan.”

“I suppose you’re not wrong,” Rae replied with a laugh.

Rae had already gotten started with her daily tasks for the day when she noticed that Anna was still leaning her elbow on her desk with her chin resting on her palm, staring at Rae.

“What...why are ya staring at me?”

“I don’t know. You seem different,” Anna mused.

“Different? ‘Different’ how?”

“I’m not sure…” Anna said as she wheeled her chair back in front of her own desk while she continued to find the right way to phrase her thoughts.

“I guess you just seem sorta happy.”

A/N: So I’m sure some of you recall in my prior couple posts when I mentioned that it seemed like the craziness in my life was calming down and I was going to try to enjoy it while it lasted, right? Well, either I managed to jinx myself or it was foreshadowing of what was to come in the near future, but the last month has been particularly crazy stressful. My life is a mess and after the month that I’ve had, it’s hard for me to not be a pessimist and to not let all the bad stuff effect me, but it just feels like I can never catch a break sometimes.

I don’t want to do nothing but complain here, so a few good things that have been going on are: I had a birthday. I got a new piercing, I still love my job after over 2 months, I finally completed my degree...and last but not least I’m trying to get back into writing beginning with this story! Until next time: Stay Awesome, my friends!

[plusultrabitchez]

Rooms on Fire Chapter 5: Coffee

“Come on! Work with me damnit!” You huffed as you tried to fix your hair, but it was not cooperating with you today. Sunday had finally arrived and you were supposed to meet Hitoshi for coffee. Luckily he hadn’t brought up the sleepover incident so hopefully he would forget about it so you wouldn’t die of embarrassment all over again.

It was warmer outside today so you wore black tank top that showed just the right amount of cleavage with charcoal jeans and burgundy Doc Martens. 95% of your clothes were black or gray, and you had Doc Marten boots in pretty much every color and pattern available. Needless to say it made getting ready relatively easy. You continued to struggle with your hair until you finally manage two adorable pigtail buns that were just the right amount of messy. “This was too much effort for an ‘effortless’ look.��� You muttered to yourself before grabbing your bag that was shaped like a cat head and headed out.

Hitoshi was at cafe in a booth towards the back and had already ordered for the both of you. He just hoped your tastes haven’t changed since school. The door jingled as you came in. You quickly spotted Hitoshi’s crazy hair and headed over. He was wearing just a T-shirt, Jeans, and boots, but his shirt showed that his arms were super cut. You hadn’t noticed them the other night since he was wearing a jacket. You wanted to just squeeze his biceps, but that would make you a fucking creep so you contained yourself.

When Hitoshi looked up and saw your hair in buns he thought he would die from how cute you were. His stood up and gave you a hug. “Hey gorgeous.”

You blushed, but he couldn’t see since your face was buried in his chest as you hugged him. “God how the fuck does he always smell so good?” You let go of each other and sat down on opposite sides of the booth. “I hope you weren’t waiting long. Everything is so different here I kinda got turned around.”

“It’s okay. I haven’t been here long. I did order for us if that’s okay.” The waitress came over with two coffees and a bunch of pastries. She smiled at Hitoshi, but glared at you. You and Hitoshi managed to hold in your laughter until she left.

Hitoshi leaned back and ran his fingers through his hair. His shirt lifted up showing off some of his defined muscles and the beginning of his V cut. You gulped and looked away hoping you weren’t blushing.

“I got you your usual from back in the day.” He rubbed the back of his neck and looked a little nervous. “If you don’t like it we can order you something else.”

You smiled taking a sip of your coffee. “Mmmm.” You closed your eyes and lightly bounced up and down in your seat with happiness. “God she’s so cute.” Hitoshi’s thought has he watched you.

“A black eye with 2 shots.” You smiled at Hitoshi “Thanks Hitoshi. I can’t believe you remembered my order after all these years.”

“Well it helps that it’s the same as mine.” He chuckled. You went wide eyed over the pastries. There were a selection of danishes, donuts, biscottis, and pound cake. Hitoshi remembered that you had a major sweet tooth so he ordered a wide variety. Your heart melted as you looked up at Hitoshi. “You’re way too nice to me.”

“Pssh! Impossible!”

You spent a good 3 hours talking and catching up while drinking coffee and stuffing your face with pastries. When you two ordered your third round of coffee, the waitress commented on how it was unhealthy to drink that much caffeine. She was super sweet to Hitoshi, but was short with you the entire time. At first Hitoshi was annoyed, but you got a kick out of it and found it hilarious. “Where’s that stick you carry around? I may need it if this keeps up.” You joked.

“With that quirk of yours you don’t need a stick.” Hitoshi stretched his arms up revealing his lower abdomen again. Only this time he caught you looking. He smirked at you and put his hands behind his head leaving his skin exposed. “See something you like?”

His question snapped you out of your thoughts. You almost looked away, but you decided to have some fun instead. You grinned at him and leaned onto the table giving him a excellent view of your cleavage. Hitoshi’s eyes instantly made their way to your chest and he bit his lip. “Could ask you the same thing Hitoshi.” Hitoshi leaned forward, your faces now only inches apart and your eyes locked onto each other. Your breathing sped up as he slowly inched closer to you.

“Ahem!” The waitress was back with your check and your to go coffees. You two sat back grinning at each other. You both loved to tease each other so it was a matter of time until one of you caved.

You grabbed your coffees and headed outside. Hitoshi offered to give you a tour around part of the city since a lot had changed since you had been there last. Since you also needed to figure out what part of the city to live in it was the perfect opportunity to explore.

Hitoshi showed you a really awesome bookstore that you ended spending an hour in and buying close to a dozen books. Hitoshi bought a few as well. You passed by other little shops, supermarkets, a big park that had a ton of running trails. The more Hitoshi showed you around the more in love with the area you were. It was pretty close to your future workplace. “I’m pretty sure I want to move here.”

“You should. It’s a great area.” Hitoshi looked down at you as you walked beside him taking in your surroundings. “And, um I live around here so you would be super close to me.”

You blushed and looked up at him. “Well I think that seals the deal then.” He chuckled and wrapped his arm around you. Your heart started racing again. Before you knew it Hitoshi took out his phone and leaned down to put his face against yours. “Smile!” He snapped a picture of you together and smiled when looking at the result. “Lemme See!” You demanded. It was a great picture. He had caught you mid giggle and he was smiling and looking at you out of the corner of his eye. “You know you’re really cute Hitoshi.” You said still admiring the picture. He blushed and pinched your cheek. “You’re not bad yourself kid.”

You laughed before something caught your eye. You were walking by some townhomes that were just passed the park and you saw some “For Rent” signs. You ran up and peered into the window. From what you could see it was gorgeous. Big windows, hardwood floors, exposed brick. It was only 5 blocks from work, one block from the park, tons of restaurants and shopping in walking distance, and Hitoshi was close by. You get out your phone and dial the number on the sign.

“So you’re just going for it huh?” Hitoshi asked as he climbed up the steps to join you. “I’m a woman who knows what she wants Hitoshi.” You said with a wink.

After a few minutes on the phone you got the realtor to come by to let you in for a tour. Hitoshi didn’t mind waiting since it meant even more time with you. You were both in awe of how awesome the place was.

On the main floor there was a huge kitchen, dining room, library, bathroom, and a living room with a fireplace and access to a small deck and fenced in yard. Upstairs there were two small bedrooms with a bathroom joining them. But the master suite was your favorite. It had a fireplace, small balcony, a walk in closet, and a big bathroom with a huge tub. You turned to look at the realtor. “How much?”

Within the next hour you had signed the paperwork and gave them the first/last months rent and the deposit. Hitoshi almost hit the floor when the realtor told you the price, but you didn’t seem phased by it. “I know she was one of the top heroes in her old city, but exactly how loaded is she?” He wasn’t threatened by it, but definitely curious.

You turned to Hitoshi. “Thanks for being so patient with me. I just really need my own place and this place is perfect.”

“It’s no problem (Y/N). I’m just glad you’ll living so close to me.” Hitoshi’s stomach growled.

You giggled and held out your hand to him. “Come on handsome. Let me take you to dinner.”

You went and grabbed a bite at a sushi place that was nearby that Hitoshi suggested. After dinner he insisted on walking you home since I was dark out. You slowly strolled back arms linked reminiscing about old times. After a while you reached your dads place and slowly walked to the front door. Hitoshi watched you fiddle with your keys. He had been fighting the urge to kiss you all day, but he was about to give in.

You unlocked the door but didn’t open it yet. You turned around to face Hitoshi only to find yourself pinned in between him and door, his arms on either side of you. Your breath hitched as he slowly closed the space between you.

“Hitoshi...” hearing you say his name so breathlessly ignited a fire in him. His hand cupped the back of your head and he started to pull you to him.

“(Y/N)!” The front door that you and Hitoshi were leaning on swung open causing you to two to crash onto the floor.

“DAD?! WHAT THE FUCK?!” You yelled as you and Hitoshi got up off the floor. You were barely on your feet before your dad swooped you up into a bear hug. He was as big as All Might, but he was that big all the time.

“MY DARLING! MY BABY GIRL! FINALLY HOME!” He was still squeezing you and swinging you around like a rag doll. “I thought you weren’t supposed to be home for two more days?!”

“I FINISHED THE MISSION EARLY! NOW I GET TO SEE MY LITTLE HERO!”

Hitoshi was dumbfounded as he processed everything that just happened. He was SO. FUCKING. CLOSE.

“SHINSOU!” Your dad yelled finally setting you down. “COME HERE MY BOY!” Before Hitoshi could say anything your dad had him in another bear hug. This made you laugh. “Hey Mr. Kubo.” Hitoshi said in a strained voice. You dad put him down and gave him a noogie.

“Wow, I didn’t think your hair could get any crazier. Clearly I was wrong.” You teased as Hitoshi glared at you.

“(Y/N) is back! We must celebrate! Come in and let’s have a drink!” Your dad closed the door and strutted off to the kitchen. Hitoshi and you looked at each other, both completely speechless. You sighed heavily and took Hitoshi’s hand. “Come on. I think we both need that drink.”

Hitoshi nodded rubbed his neck. “Abso-fucking-lately.”

The three of you hung out in the living room with your drinks as your dad bragged about all your accomplishments. Hitoshi could tell that even though you felt awkward being praised so much you still appreciated it. You and Hitoshi sat across from each other occasionally making silly faces at each other when your dad wasn’t looking. It was getting late so Hitoshi had to head out since he had work in the morning.

“I’ll walk you to the door.” You said hopping off the couch.

“SO WILL I!” Your dad shot off the couch.

“No you will not!” You yelled using your quirk to force him back down on the couch.

“Whoa.” Hitoshi’s mouth was slightly agape. He had forgotten how strong you were when used your quirk. You walked him to the door and you guys stepped outside.

“So uh...” you rocked back and forth on your heels.

“Yeah...” Hitoshi looked down at his feet.

You both then erupted with laughter.

“Let me know when you get home safe?”

“I will.” He said as he hugged you Goodnight.

You went back inside and plopped down next to your dad.

“Were you two on a date?” He asked giggling like a school girl.

You sighed and rolled your eyes. “Dad I love you, but I’m going to fucking murder you.”

(This adorable art by Keiid was a huge inspiration for this chapter)