#bro has roses floating around him n everything

[immortal-cataclysm]

manga meta knight sure is something

[myheroacademiashorts]

i think i’m in love w his blog 🥺💞 (1) how about a scenario during UA where bakugou ends up coincidentally wearing a coat that looks almost identical to that of his fem!crush. she’s more nonchalant about it and like “hey! we’re matching!” with this adorable little grin on her face that makes him blush almost imperceptibly, which his friends tease him for mercilessly—

(2) sometimes they end up accidentally swapping coats and although he’d never admit it, seeing her in his slightly larger coat with a sheepish smile on her face is completely worth the embarrassment of his friends. he’d take this to the grave, but he may or may not leave his coat around on purpose from that point on just to see her in his clothes and pretend they were together. and tho she might not admit it, she likes the sweet smell that lingers bcuz she has a not-so-little crush on him too?

Hiya! Thanks for the request... Soooo I sorta needed to split it up. I have ideas for this fic. ;) ... And I also kind strayed from the original request. I’m sorry! /)-(\ Here is part one!

Title: One Size Too Big (Part 1)

Pairing: Bakugou x Reader

Rating: Fluff, sorta angst?

Words: 3,456

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You had never been a fan of the cold, and this was further proven as you were forced to trudge from class to the dorms. You groaned to yourself, shivering despite the jacket and other layers you had on as a particularly strong gust of wind swept by. “Wow, it’s pretty chilly!” Uraraka sounded happy, and you shot her a glare as she stared up at the gloomy sky with a smile, mittened hands cupped together. “I know, and I hate it.” You grumbled, only earning another bell-like laugh from your bubbly friend.

“Oh, it’s not that bad!”

“I can barely feel my fingertips.”

She rolled her eyes at you, tugging one of your cold hands from the pocket of your coat and enveloping it in her own. Somehow, she was warm, and before you could ask her what her secret was, she was dragging you across the frost-covered school grounds, her giggling rising up with every complaint that escaped from your lips. “If we run, we’ll get back faster!” She said, and you weren’t able to argue back due to the heavy chattering of your teeth.

However, she had been right, and a minute later you were standing in front of your dorm building. Uraraka looked unfazed, her smile still glued to her face, while you looked like you had gone through hell; your hair was a mess of tangles, cheeks red from the cold and running, and a slight shiver clinging to your body as you forced your way inside. “Ta-da! That wasn’t so bad, right?” You settled with a playful glare in your friend’s direction, deciding to stay silent.

Uraraka had wanted to study in the library after class, and like the good friend you were, you followed. You hadn’t expected the weather to become worse, and didn’t realize it had done so until the two of you had stepped outside after hours of studying. The rest of your classmates were already inside, most of them in the living room and kitchen where the heater worked the strongest. Even stepping inside you could feel the difference in temperature from outside, and quickly stripped of your jacket before becoming too warm. You let your eyes stray to them, from the few goofing off in the kitchen while making hot chocolate to the group planted in the other room, a video game screaming at them from the television screen. Bakugou was on the couch, arms stretched over the top cushions and a bored expression on his handsome face as he stared at his friends blankly. It was then that you noticed a familiar article of clothing on the blonde boy.

“Hey, we match!”

At the sound of your voice, Bakugou’s attention was immediately on you, not understanding who you were speaking to at first. Then, his eyes drifted from your bright (E/C) gaze and goofy grin down to your extended arms, where an eerily familiar jacket hung from your frame. His brows furrowed for a moment, before letting his eyes dart from his own body back to yours, mouth agape in surprise. “We’re like twins! Or couple-matching!” You continued, laughing slightly at the comparison between you and the hotheaded boy as two identical sweatshirts were on both of you; sliced right down the center, the left black and the right bright orange with an x-eyed happy face decorating the back of it. You even turned around to show it off further, and Bakugou nearly choked on his own air as the realization sat in. Holy crap, they were the same. Yours, of course, was just a bit tighter since your frame was smaller than his own, but that didn’t stop Bakugou from continuously letting his eyes rake over you.

Your other classmates swarmed you before you could add on any further, pulling you towards the kitchen as they begged you to make them your infamous hot cocoa, and with a short laugh you let them drag you. You stripped yourself of the sweatshirt first, setting it aside on a lone chair before getting to work. Bakugou’s attention on you, however, stayed steady even without you noticing, eyes wide and mouth still hanging open slightly. Your teasing replied in his mind, and finally he forced his jaw shut, teeth clenched as he fought the blush rising up his cheeks to no avail. His right-hand man noticed his expression, toothy grin already placed before he could speak. “What’s got you frazzled, bro?” Kiri asked, and Bakugou immediately controlled himself, instead shooting a glare towards his friend. “Shut the fuck up, Shitty Hair. I’m not frazzled.” He muttered, and he let his eyes stray back to the kitchen when your familiar laugh rose up. Kiri caught the look.

“Oooh, is Bakugou frazzled?” Mina’s voice floated in as she plopped into the empty space on the other side of Bakugou, a knowing grin on her face as she wiggled her eyebrows. At this point, all of Bakugou’s friends had their attention on him, and he felt his face redden. Not entirely from embarrassment, although part of it was, but also from frustration. “I’M NOT ‘FRAZZLED’, ASSHOLES!” As if to prove his point, he sat upright to yank the cursed sweatshirt up and off of his body, cheeks bright as he avoided their gazes.

A few beats of silence passed, his friends trying to smother their teasing giggles to not anger him further. Instead, Bakugou abruptly stood up, fists clenched as he stared down at his giggling friends coldly. “I’m going to bed.” He muttered, and none of his friends mentioned that it was only 6 o’clock in the evening as he stalked off upstairs. You popped your head from the kitchen, eyes finding the troublesome group in the living room with an innocent smile. “Everything okay?” You asked in a soft voice, missing the mischievous looks that Kaminari and Sero exchanged to one another.

Oh, they were going to have fun with this.

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The next day, you were found scurrying through the kitchen by none other than Kirishima himself.

He heard the clatter of pans first, then your frantic footsteps soon after. He peeked his head out from the bottom of the stairs, looking past the wall to see you scrambling for… well, something. He wasn’t quite sure what. “Hey, you alright?”

You jumped at the unexpected bright voice, but quickly relaxed after spotting the redhead as he emerged closed to you. “Kiri! Jeez, you almost scared the quirk out of me.” You pressed a hand to your heart as you laughed, an easy smile flitting to your lips. “I’m fine, but I forgot my sweater down here and can’t find it. Do you remember if you’ve seen it recently?”

Kiri’s brows rose, a strangely secretive smile on his lips as he recollected the actions of the night before. His friends had filled him in on their plans to shove you and Bakugou together, and he was more than happy to help. It was better than hearing Bakugou pretending to complain about you. “Actually, yeah!” He practically bounced to the couch, where Bakugou’s familiar sweatshirt still sat from the night before, long forgotten by the fiery blonde. He hoped you wouldn’t notice the faint scent of cologne and caramel lingering on the piece of clothing.

“Someone probably moved it, but here you go!” He thrusted it into your hands, and you sighed in relief as you grasped the sweatshirt. It was a bit cool from sitting out, but you didn’t pay attention to it as you instead shuffled it on, wiggling your arms into the sweater with a satisfied noise. The plush inside immediately calmed you, but there was something different about it… Were the sleeves always this long? And the hem? Maybe someone had accidentally stretched it out? And when did it start smelling like caramel?

You turned to grin at Kiri in thanks, picking up your backpack and swinging it over your shoulder. “You’re a lifesaver, Kiri. I was worried I’d have to freeze out there.”

“No problem! Want to head to class together?”

You and Kiri had always gotten along, both of your personalities being particularly bubbly and bright as you chatted during the short walk to class. However, he had broken off as soon as you found yourself standing in front of the 1-A door, mumbling something about an errand to run before turning and high-tailing it down the hallway.

You shoved the door open, grunting slightly at its heavy weight as you slid inside of the familiar classroom. The chatter continued as you sneaked in, Uraraka brightening when she noticed you. “Y/N!” Her melodic voice rang out, beckoning you forward as she stayed perched on top of her desk. “I still can’t forget about that hot chocolate from last night. It was so good!” Uraraka looked as if she were about to drool over the mere imagination of the rich beverage, moving her gaze to instead stare off at the wall mindlessly. You dropped your backpack onto the empty desk beside hers as she continued. “Man, if I could make hot chocolate like you, I’d make it all the time. I’d drink it every day! All year long!”

You laughed at her small obsession, and she seemed to want to continue monologuing before being cut off by the door slamming open. It banged against the wall, and in trudged the little gremlin everyone had become so accustomed to during their time at U.A. He kept his glare on the ground as he entered, muttering some curses under his breath for an unknown reason, before finally lifting his gaze upwards. “What the hell are you looking at-?”

And then Bakugou Katsuki’s eyes landed on you, and he froze.

Almost on instinct, you mimicked his action, eyes wide as you waited for his next move. In the short years you have attended the school with the blonde, he had never just… Stopped. And why was he staring at you so blankly?

Bakugou, however, had way too many things flitting through his mind to even think about doing anything else than just freezing mid-sentence. Holy fuck, is that my sweatshirt? I was wondering where the damned thing went. Why is she wearing it? God, it looks fucking hot on her. The last thought had a faint redness rising to his cheeks, more prominent on his ears as he tried to cover his expression with one hand and biting down on his lip to keep his jaw from dropping. Fuck. FuckfuckfuckfuckFUCK. The words were a mantra in his head, constantly repeating until he felt a soft hand wrap around the wrist hiding his embarrassed expression.

“Bakugou? Are you okay?” For a moment, he hated how soft and sweet your voice was. It just wanted to make the hard-headed boy melt to the floor. You were close enough that he could smell you; old and new books, perfume, even the faint scent of your shampoo. And you weren’t loosening your grip on him. Instead, you were tightening it, and tugging at his arm in a weak attempt for him to drop it from his flustered face. Meanwhile, the rest of the class was quiet, shocked at what they were seeing from the infamous, easily-riled pomeranian in front of them. You didn’t even seem to notice, instead leaving his arm to instead press your palm on the exposed skin of his forehead. He couldn’t see your expression, but based on how much he watched you without your knowledge, he could guess that you were frowning.

You were, by the way.

“Your face feels hot! Let’s go to Recovery Girl, maybe you have a fever?” Your voice held a slight edge of panic, not noticeable to most but making Uraraka quirk her brow in curiosity. Of course, she also knew about your not-so-little crush on the guy.

She waved her hand, breaking the awaiting tension that filled the air. “Go ahead and take him, Y/N! I’ll let Aizawa know what happened!” You didn’t look at your friend as you nodded and, grabbing Bakugou’s free arm - he was still covering his face with the other - you dutifully yanked him down the hallway and towards the healing Pro-Hero.

It wasn’t until the two of you had successfully left the immediate area that Aizawa, who had been secretly napping underneath his desk, finally crawled out of his sleeping back with a grumpy expression. He didn’t say anything -  just scanned the classroom knowingly - before huffing slightly and returning to the floor, waiting for the final bell to ring before beginning class. Luckily, he still had a handful of minutes left.

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

“You can drop your arm now, you know.” You grumbled, after walking in complete silence for a few steps too many. All you could think about was how he was acting like a girl from a damned shojo manga. He stayed quiet, keeping his large palm over his face dutifully, and you reached up to tug at the offending wrist until finally his hand landed at his side.

Then, you stared.

If you thought a quiet Bakugou was rare, nothing could prepare you for a blushing one; flawless skin erupting with a dark blush, ruby eyes lowered, and - was he biting his lip? Even his ears were scarlet. You stuttered for a moment, mind blanking on what you had been prepared to say, and instead stood there gaping like a fish out of water. His gaze shifted towards you, and your heart nearly stopped.

“What are you looking at? Dumbass…” Despite his harsh words, his tone was full of embarrassment, and he quickly shifted his attention elsewhere. You were still clutching to his arm and, as if it had become scalding hot, you dropped it. However, you didn’t move away. Instead, you chose to stand a little closer than you usually would to the hotheaded boy, peering up at him as if he were a quizzical math problem. It seemed to only redden his face more, if that were possible. “H-Hey, cut it out, weirdo!”

He reached an arm up to try pushing you back a few steps, but this only resulted in you stumbling further than anticipated. You could feel yourself lose your footing, and just as a gasp escaped your lips as you tensed your body to meet the hard linoleum floor, the same arm wrapped around your waist and hoisted you upright. The arm was warm, and the pads of his fingers had accidentally found their way to the bare skin peeking at your waist. The scent of caramel became stronger, overpowering all of your senses as you stared up at Bakugou with wide eyes and lips open, a flush rising to your cheeks. Your breathing was a bit labored, gaze searching the red, blank expression presented to you. “Mine.”

You blinked up at him. The hold he had on you tightened, and you felt your mouth go a bit dry. “H-huh?”

“That sweatshirt. It’s mine.”

Oh, the sweatshirt. For a moment there, you had thought… You gulped, pushing your thoughts to the farthest corner in your mind as the blonde released you from his grip. However, you could still feel the imprint of his warmth on your body, as if it had been tattooed onto your skin. Luckily you were able to stand up straight with your face stoic, although the bright red on your cheeks showed your true emotions all too clearly. It seemed you weren’t the only one who noticed, either, as Bakugou raised one brow upwards. Then smirked.

“What’re you getting so red for, huh?” He leaned in a bit closer than you would’ve thought he would, vermillion eyes blown wide and glinting mischievously at you. It was a bit cute to see him so cocky yet embarrassed, the blush just as prominent as before. “Got a fever or something?” As if to push it further, he placed his palm on your forehead. At that, you squeaked, causing that damn smirk to only widen further.

With every step he took forward, you took one back… Up until you were pressed against the wall, his hand still attached to your forehead as your cheeks darkened further. His free arm found its way next to you, palm flattened right beside your head, and the other soon followed until you were stuck in a kabedon position. And despite having no where else to go, he only seemed to inch closer.

His lips were hovering mere centimeters away from your own, ruby eyes staring into your own as you waited with bated breath on what was to happen next. There was a surge in the air, as if the two of you had just been zapped by Kaminari, but more tense. There wasn’t really a way to explain it. Was he playing with you? Was this just a joke? Was he going to kiss you like you thought? Like you hoped? The last thought made you suddenly suck in a deep breath as you squeezed your eyes shut.

And then the bell rang.

You nearly groaned at the sound, and opened your bright gaze just in time to see Bakugou move a step away from you; still close, but not as much as before. You stayed quiet, waiting for him to say something, anything. He wouldn’t just act like nothing happened… Right? Because something had happened, right?

Instead, he raked one hand through his spiked hair, the other burying itself in his pocket as he glanced away from you and back down the hallway, where the classroom was. The one you two had escaped from only a few minutes ago, although it felt like much longer. “We should get to class.” His rough voice came out more like a cough, and his eyes stayed away from you as he waited. You pursed your lips. So it looked like he was going to pretend nothing had happened. That just made your blood boil, and you didn’t even remember the reason as to why the two of you were out in the hallway to begin with as you shoved past him and made your way back to class. You didn’t get far, however, before stopping and twisting around, yanking the sweatshirt over your head roughly and throwing it in his direction. Then, you were back to storming down the hallway, hands balled into fists and frustration written all over your face.

Meanwhile, Bakugou stared at your retreating figure, eyes comically wide and a mixture of confusion and regular Bakugou-level anger on his features. “What the fuck was that about?” He mumbled to himself, the sweatshirt gripped in his hands as he frowned. He was just about to ask you on a date right after; not a date-date, of course, but out to that ramen place you wouldn’t stop yapping about with Round Face and Frog Girl. Did he do something wrong? Maybe he shouldn’t have shoved you against the wall so roughly… He saw it in an anime once, and the girl seemed to like it. Maybe he did it wrong? He hummed to himself, brows furrowing. He was a tad bit angry, but he was always angry, to some extent.

When he got back to the classroom, Aizawa had already passed out some worksheets and was dead asleep on the floor, per usual. Bakugou’s gaze first moved to you, and he was able to catch your gaze for only a second before you swiveled your attention elsewhere, your lips pressed into a firm, harsh line as you kept your face blank. From the corner of his eye, he could see Round Face glance at him in confusion. Yeah, me too!, he wanted to yell out, but was smart enough to grit his teeth and plop down in his chair. If he needed to, he’d find your friends later and ask them what the fuck was going on. You didn’t look like you’d be in the mood to talk to him for a while.

“Yo, Bakubro! What’s up with you?” Kirishima had an impish smile, but Bakugou didn’t question it. Instead, he shot his friend a harsh glare, cold enough to make even the bubbly redhead shrink back a bit, grin dropping down a level of its brightness.

“Nothing, Shitty Hair. I’m fucking fantastic.” Bakugou’s voice wasn’t its usual boom, instead barely a murmur, and Kiri almost strained to hear him. Well, that was an unexpected reaction. He glanced at Mina and the rest of the Bakubro group, who all met his gaze almost instantly. They all had a look of worry on their faces as they glanced at their mutual, usually hotheaded friend simultaneously, then towards your stiff figure. Something had definitely gone wrong in the last few minutes.

Crap. They needed to fix this, and fast.

... Is it that obvious that I read shoujo manga? And do i think Bakugou would read it and watch it too for romance advice? Fuck yes.

[adorablele]

killer latte art; l.mh

❦ pairing; lee mark x reader ❦ genre; fluff, just pure cotton candy sweet fluff ❦ word count; 4.2k + (officially my longest fic yet) ❦ summary;  your friends swore to you that this ‘mark’ guy created some killer latte art; however, as you stare at the white blob in your cup, you can’t help but think they were blinded by the sparkle in his eyes. 

HAPPY MARK DAY!!! I hope that he’s eating and sleeping well. I hope that he’s staying hydrated and staying safe. I hope that he’s laughing a bunch and smiling until his cheeks hurt. 

❦ a/n; uhm, so in the process of making this, I fell in love with mark. please enjoy <3

“Alright, that’s pretty much everything.”

“But I haven’t learned how to make lattes yet?” you asked, a little unsure if Jeno, your co-worker, purposefully left out that detail.

He snapped his fingers, “You’re right! Thanks for reminding me.”

“No problem…” you trailed off. He most likely didn’t hear your response, having already focused his attention on someone behind you.

“Mark!” he called out.

The aforementioned barista was currently struggling to tie his apron around his back. He didn’t waste any more time on the task and quickly waved goodbye to a customer before promptly picking up the empty cup left behind. When he made his way over to the counter, he smiled at jeno, “Hey man!” he then turned to you, “and hello newbie.”

You smiled at the bright boy, the curves of his mouth somehow very contagious. Lamely, you waved in return.

“My name is Mark, you can Mark me in your heart,” he greeted. 

In return, he was met with silence. 

You were standing there with a small smile, trying not to dwell on the fact that you were too tongue tied to utter the word ‘hi’ and chose to wave instead. His greeting, albeit quite cheesy, somehow did implant its way into your heart and you refused to open your mouth in case you were to mutter incoherent remarks. With that in mind, you decided to soak in the features of the beaming barista in front of you; simply for observation and not because you thought he was cute, of course. The dazzle of his smile was loud, glimmering like the sun’s reflection on a lake. Your eyes followed the contour of his face, trailing past the apples of his cheeks and to the starry night sky- wait, correction, to his eyes. 

Mark started to awkwardly laugh, “Wow, I- I can’t believe I just said that.”

Jeno cleared his throat, “He makes some killer latte art, so he’ll be the one to teach you.”

It then clicked in your head.

“So you’re the guy that everyone raves about!” you exclaimed.

Mark raises his eyebrows, eyes darting from you to jeno then back to you. He points at himself, “M- me?”

“No, the cup next to you,” you deadpanned.

“Oh…” he frowned, lips pursing slightly.

“No, silly! Of course I’m talking about you,” you laughed.

“Oh,” he chuckled, smile instantly back on his face. The tips of his ears reddened slightly and he turned back to cleaning the cups in the sink. “That’s cool...bro.”

“Yeah, you’re pretty popular. My friends always told me to try your lattes some time. I didn’t realize you worked at Cafe Dream,” you shook your head lightly, “but now, I can see the behind the scenes.”

“Exactly!” Jeno perked up from behind you, “mark, you can show them the ropes of making a latte. I’ll be going now since my shift ended a little bit ago.” Jeno smiled at you, giving you a thumbs up and a ruffle on the head. “Good luck!”

You turned to Mark, surprised to find his eyes already on you. “Alright, are you ready?”

“What’s your favorite latte?”

“Cinnamon dolce latte,” you answered easily.

Mark nodded, checking the cup one last time to make sure it was dry. “Good choice! We’ll be making that today then.”

He had a cute pout on his lips as he scooped tiny bits of espresso. Liveliness swirled in his eyes when he turned to you, mouth moving as he talked about the flat surface that should make an appearance after tampering it. You nodded, not entirely focused on what buttons he was pushing on the machine. Instead, you admired the way his eyebrows slightly furrowed in concentration. He turned to you and you quickly moved your eyes to the brown liquid that no longer dripped from the tubes of the machine. 

“First step done!” he excitedly announced. Mark held one large, round mug in his left hand and held the espresso in the other. He swished the drink and transferred the drink into the porcelain mug. “Once that’s done we’ll warm up the milk,” he promptly took the container of milk, “some high-quality milk.” 

You watched with a raised brow as his hand moved with each word. “Is it now?” you mused. 

He nodded, mouth moving to ramble about how this is the best milk in the business. Mark wasn’t looking at you. His eyes were darting left and right as his heart sped up to be in time with the words that seemed to endlessly flow out of his mouth. He was well aware that he was giving you a ted talk that you didn’t sign up for, but his brain deemed it best to show just how many adjectives he knew to describe milk. 

Amusement was etched in your eyes and to help save the poor boy, you put a hand on his shoulder. “This milk is very good, I understand.”

Rather quickly, his mouth lined shut. Mutely he nodded and pointed to a line in the measuring cup. Once he remembered to finally use his words, Mark’s voice cracked. “This-” he cleared his throat, “you’ll measure it up to here.” You fought the urge to laugh as a wide grin stretched across your face. Of course, you weren’t looking to where he was pointing. No, you were basking in the light hue of red that adorned his cheeks. 

“Oops,” he muttered, chuckling nervously, “it went over the line a little bit…” Your eyes darted down to the cup when he flickered his gaze to you. 

“Relatively there,” you swiftly commented. Heat rose to your face, but you tilted your head at Mark like you weren’t admiring his face a second ago. 

Averting his eyes, he muttered a ‘yeah’ in agreement before turning around to the machine located behind him. Take some mental notes; that’s what your brain was advising you to do. And for the most part, you were. You knew that that lever pushed out the steam and that that spout was where the steam flowed out from. You knew that you had to place the spout a certain way or something to incorporate air into the milk...whirlpools were mentioned? Slowly your interest faded and your eyes wandered away to important information that would help you with keeping this job. 

If all you were going to do was stare the boy, you should’ve applied for a full-time Mark Lee admirer rather than a part-time barista. 

The banging of the cup against the counter caused you to jump out of your thoughts, quite literally. Mark looked at you with round, apologetic eyes, ‘sorry’ sliding between his teeth. His eyebrows rose up a bit, “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Your heart melted at the concern floating in those round pits of warmth he called his eyes.

“It’s okay,” you waved off, slight embarrassment creeping up your neck. He didn’t say anything, simply just keeping his eyes on you. You moved your eyes to the cup of steamed milk in his hand and gestured towards it, “So, that uhm...the milk. The high-quality milk.”

Mark blinked, “Right, yeah! So it should have this glossy texture to it and if there are any bubbles, just make sure to tap it onto the counter.”

You nodded. Anticipation rose high in your chest as he grabbed the white mug with the espresso resting at the bottom. 

“First, tilt the mug to where the espresso is about to come out. It won’t, though,” he reassured, “and then pour a little milk as your base.”

Suddenly, it was really hot in the cafe. Sweat beaded along the line of his hair and he gulped nervously. “Make sure to bring the cup real close,” he instructed, “and I’m not really good at talking while pouring, but I’ll try my best.”

You hummed in acknowledgement and he started to pour. 

“Make sure you aim in the center of the cup. Make sure it’s stable.” 

Going against his own advice, Mark’s hands started to shake, and he hoped you didn’t notice. He tightened his grip on both the cups. Wait, he didn’t know what he was making! A swan? No, it’s too late for that. A tulip? That doesn’t look like an option. It’ll just be a heart, he decided. He focused back on the cup, panic rising when he realized just how fast the coffee was rising.

In your eyes, you had thought everything was flowing just fine; you didn’t see his shaky hands, you didn't notice the indecisiveness in his eyes, you didn’t detect the nervous tilt in his voice. For once, you were actually focused on the task at hand. Everything happened quite quickly, which was quite the opposite in Mark’s eyes. 

He slowly jerked his hand in order to save anything from spilling. Unfortunately, the coffee spilled anyway. It dripped down the rim of the cup, slowly slid down the edge and mocked the tips of his fingers. Though, the sting from the heated liquid was nothing compared to the burn that spread up his neck, passed through his ears and rooted itself in his cheeks.

A wide grin stifled the laugh bubbling in your throat. Embarrassment adorned mark as he shot out apologies like his life depended on it. He went to reach for some napkins, but you placed your hand on his wrist.

“You should go run your hand under cold water,” you suggested, taking the cup from him, “I’ll take care of the drink.”

Sheepishly, he made his way over to the sink. At the same time, you took the napkins he initially reached for and dried the mug. You couldn’t help but chuckle at the blob in the cup; it wasn’t even centered.

Mark walked over to you, hands twisting under a towel, “I’m not usually this messy, I promise.”

“It’s okay,” you giggled, “everyone has their...off days.”

He laughed along with you and nervously rubbed the nape of his neck, “Can you at least tell that it’s a heart.”

You stared hard at the cup.

“Yikes,” he frowned, “that bad?”

“It doesn’t matter,” you excused, “as long as it tastes good, right?”

“I guess,” he shrugged.

You bring the cup up to your lips and, luckily, the drink doesn’t disappoint.

“This is really good!” you praised.

Smiling seemed to come naturally when you were around Mark. How could it not? Especially when his eyes lit up like fireworks during a disney parade.

He stood up straighter, “really?”

“Yeah, it makes up for your quote unquote killer latte art,” you teased.

Mark peered over your shoulder.

“Put it a little closer,” he advised. 

You did as he told you, only lowering the cup full of steamed milk slightly. Without hesitation, he wrapped his hands over yours. The palm of his hand was warm, comfortably covering your own. 

“It should be about this distance.”

Mutely, you nodded. Precipitation made its welcome on your skin and you stared harder at the cup in front of you. Mark’s fingers slightly tightened as he guided you in tilting the cups. He muttered instructions, but they were muffled against the pounding in your ears.

In a matter of seconds, the design was finished, yet his hand was still on yours.

“We did it,” you smiled, gazing proudly at the heart centered in the cup. You turned to look at mark, “Well, I mean, you were the one doing everything-”

“You held the cup!” he interrupted.

“Yeah, that’s true.”

The two of you stood there, side-by-side, hands still touching, and eyes still staring.

“Do you have a map?” Mark asked.

“Uhm, no,” you laughed, “why?

“Because I got lost in your eyes.”

You stared at him in disbelief, “You didn’t.”

“Oh, but I did.”

From across the cafe, Jaemin paused his task of wiping down a table. He chuckled at the scene and turned to Jeno who was fixing the books in the corner library that they recently added. 

“Psst!” 

Jeno dusted off a book.

“Psst!” Jaemin repeated, a little louder this time.

He placed the book back on the shelf. 

“Jeno!” Jaemin drawed out in an annoyed tone.

Jeno jumped. “What?” 

Jaemin rolled his eyes and walked over to the boy. He then nodded towards you and Mark, still standing in close proximity to each other. The light that in your eyes were as bright as Mark’s, and it was comparable to the sun setting in the horizon. 

“Are we sure they’re not dating?” Jeno sighed.

Before Jaemin could answer, a girl walked into the store. The two boys shared a look, smiles wide as the girl stepped closer to the cashier.

Once she stood at the counter, she pushed up her sunglasses. “You guys are a really cute couple!” she commented with a grin.

Jaemin snorted while Jeno held in his laugh when you and Mark jumped away from each other. In the process, you managed to successfully spill the latte on your shirt. Mark’s eyes widened and he quickly grabbed some tissues. He dabbed, once, twice, three times before he stopped.

At the same time, Jeno and Jaemin bursted out laughing. Mark sputtered apologies to you, practically throwing napkins in your direction before turning to the customer waiting at the counter. 

With a flushed face, Mark opened his mouth to explain that the two of you were not dating. However, the only thing that came out of his mouth was, “Boss?”

Your eyes widened. You peeked over at said ‘boss’ and realized that she was indeed the lady who hired you, also known as, the owner of Cafe Dream.

 Kara tsked. “Mark, it’s okay to spend time with your significant other, just don’t act all lovey-dovey during your shift.”

“Boss we’re not-”

“Surprise me with a latte Mark,” she instructed, “I’d like to request a swan please.”

“Yes ma’am,” he sighed. 

Jeno and Jaemin shook their heads as small laughs continued to fall out of their mouths. Mark glared at them from the counter to which they responded with a mock of the previous position that you and him were in.

Jaemin leaned into Jeno's arms, holding the empty coffee mug in his hand and looked up at Jeno dramatically. “Oh handsome one, do you have a map?” he exaggerated.

“I do wish I did, but, as the fates have it, I do not,” Jeno solemnly replied, head bowed and hands also holding the coffee mug in Jaemin’s hands.

Jaemin turned to Mark with a wide grin, “Ah what a shame! It seems that I’ll just forever be lost in your eyes.”

Mark pursed his lips and decided to ignore his obnoxious friends.

The following week was filled with awkwardness.

You and Mark would take turns glancing at one another, only for the both of you to turn at the same time before quickly looking away. You would share small ‘hellos’ and ‘goodbyes’ when the two of you passed each other. Red faces and shy apologies always made an appearance when some sort of physical contact was ever made. 

“Is there a reason why you’re avoiding him?” Jaemin asked you one day when you insisted that you needed help with creating a seven stacked tulip. 

“I’m not avoiding him,” you shrugged.

“Really?” he asked, “so you wouldn’t mind if I called him over?”

“Sure,” you replied nonchalantly.

“Okay, hey Ma-”

“I’m just kidding!” you yelped, glaring at Jaemin. 

“Thought so,” he stated smugly.

You rolled your eyes at him, “whatever.”

“So, back to the original question.”

You frowned at the misshapen tulip in your mug, “Because…”

Jaemin gave you an unimpressed look, “Do you not like him?”

“What? No!”

He raised his brows and glanced at the customers in the cafe who turned their head at the commotion. “That’s a very strong no.”

You apologized with a quick bow before turning to Jaemin. “Isn’t it obvious I like him?”

Jaemin snorted, “Yeah, you practically have heart eyes everytime you look at him.”

“Which is exactly why I’m avoiding him.”

He was now confused. “I don’t get it.”

 “I’m sure that last week he understood that I liked him and he’s been awkward around me since; therefore, I can conclude that he doesn’t like me back,” you explained, leaving behind a puzzled jaemin to process your words while you served a customer your messed up tulip.

When you walked back to the still bewildered Jaemin, he asked, “And did you ask him?”

“Ask him what?”

“If he knew you liked him?”

You laughed, “What are you crazy? Of course I didn’t!”

“So how do you know that he’s avoiding you because he doesn’t like you back?”

“Why else would he be avoiding me, Jaem?”

“Because he likes you and thinks that you don’t like him back,” he answered with a gleaming smile.

You gave him a ‘really?’ look.

He shrugged, “Miscommunication happens all the time.”

You shook your head, “I’m sure this is properly communicated to me; and the message is that I ruined my friendship with Mark.”

“Guess we’ll have to turn to the storage room,” Jaemin sighed, sending an exasperated look to Jeno.

The storage room. 

It’s a nice, small space that can comfortably fit, at max, two people. It was filled with, as you might expect, extra ingredients and supplies needed to run the cafe. There was a small light switch, hidden behind the box of brown sugar on the third shelf located in the back of the closet. Usually, you would just leave the door of the room propped open instead of delving in deep to turn on the light – it was easier for you. 

You frowned and sighed for the nth time. Jaemin had told you that the ingredients for his rice milk latte were gathered in a blue bag hidden in the back shelf. ‘Around the same area as the light switched,’ he referenced. But you just couldn’t find it. 

Suddenly, you heard the door close. 

“Very funny Jaemin,” you muttered, standing up and turning around to open back up the door.

However, you ran into something, or rather, someone.

You screamed and jumped back. You continued moving away from the unknown entity in the closet. Your hand frantically pushed the ingredients off the back shelf to find the light switch.

“Y/n.”

 You paused.

“Y/n, calm down. It’s just me.”

You heard footsteps coming closer to you. “Don’t move!”

The steps paused. You resumed trailing your hand against the wall and finally found the light switch. Upon flicking it on, you saw that the guy was not lying to you; it really was Mark.

“Oh thank the heavens up above,” you whispered, relief washing over you. Without a second thought, you rushed forward and wrapped your arms tightly around his torso. Mark, on the other hand, stood there in shock. When you realized what you were doing, you quickly let go.

You cleared your throat, “Sorry.”

He lightly chuckled, “No, you’re fine.”

Crickets.

“So, uhm, we should probably get back to work, huh?” you suggested.

“Yeah! Of- of course,” Mark smiled, turning around to open the door. He chuckled nervously, continuing to twist the door knob.

“It’s not opening, is it?” you asked.

“No.”

You cursed Jaemin under your breath. “We’re locked in here,” you stated. 

“Yep.”

Clicking your tongue, you made your way over to the door and started pounding on it. “Jaemin, open the door!”

No answer.

“I know you can hear me!” you shouted, fist against the wood never seizing.

Still no answer.

Just as you were about to shout again, Mark spoke. “I’m sorry.”

“That you scared me? It’s fine, I should’ve turned on the lights right away,” you waved off.

“No, I’m sorry that I’ve been avoiding you.”

You stood there, limbs unmoving and back faced towards him.

“I just- we- you-” Mark sighed, “I really like you. Like, like-like you. Like more than a friend.”

If you weren’t bewildered by his confession, you would’ve teased him about the amount of times he used the word like. You turned around and pointed an accusatory finger at him, “Did Jaemin tell you to say that?”

He furrowed his brows, “Wha- no!”

You leaned back with squinted eyes and crossed arms, “was it jeno?

“It...it wasn’t Jeno either,” he answered, scratching the nape of his neck. 

“Mark, if you’re messing with me-“

“Why would I do that?” he asked, voice soft, “why would I confess something that could potentially destroy our friendship?” Mark shook his head, “I understand that you don’t feel the same way, but-“

“Woah woah woah,” you interrupted, “I never said I didn’t like you back.”

He tilted his head, mouth opening before shutting close.

“I’m just...suspicious of your truth,” you squint. 

Mark laughs. His shoulders shake, his feet shuffle, his hands clap and the joyous sound propels out from his wide opened mouth. He slightly scrunches his nose in a lovable manner, eyes crescents as he starts to calm down.

You watched in admiration and, also, concern. 

He starts to walk towards you, top row of his teeth still shone bright as the corners of his mouth curved upwards. You don’t pull away when he takes your hands in his. Softly, his calloused fingers slot themselves in between your own.

“I’m so relieved!” he exclaimed, head thrown back. 

“Are you just going to leave me in confusion or…” you trailed off. Disappointment swirled in your stomach when he let go of one of your hands, but it turned into butterflies when he cupped your face.

“I can reassure you that I like you and it was my decision to confess. No Jeno, no Jaemin, no one told me to say anything,” he paused, “unless… you consider my heart as someone.”

You chuckled.

“Then I guess you could say that my heart told me to tell you that you-”

“Mark, I get it.”

He smiled, “Right. Rambling again, huh? I seem to do that a lot, but mostly around you. During my freshman year when I was presenting-”

You gave him a look.

He cleared his throat, “So, do you like me?”

“Do I-” you stared at him, flabbergasted. You sniffled lowly and turned you head, hoping you looked like you were gazing off cooly in the distance. With a nonchalant shrug, you mimicked the way Mark favored the word ‘like.’

“Yeah. I like you like a little bit, you know, like nothing major.”

“I’m just going to ignore the fact that you attacked me for no reason.”

“Do like what you want, it’s like whatever, you know,” you grinned teasingly.

He shot you a playfully disappointed look. “Is it too late to take back the fact that I like you?”

“Well, it wouldn’t be fair if you marked yourself in my heart and then just decided to leave.”

“Oh my- you still remember that?” he whined.

“My name is Mark, you can Mark me in your heart,” you winked. 

He shook his head, “Gross.”

“Such a way with words,” you teased, “so poetic. Shakespeare is shaking.”

More breathy laughs were exchanged between the two of you before silence enveloped the room. His hand was still comforting your face and your stomach was still filled with butterflies. You felt like your heart would leap out of your chest when he started to lean in; his wide, doe eyes slowly closing shut. You mirrored his actions and started to lean in too.

“Why is the door locked?” someone asked from outside.

The both of you jolted forward at the noise, foreheads bumping roughly. With a wince, you turned towards the intruder.

Jeno’s eyes widened and he muttered a quick apology before closing the door. It didn’t shut, however, because he pushed it back open and grinned at the doorway. 

“Nice!” he nodded, “you guys made up-”

Anything else he was about to say was cut off by you. 

“Go Mark, do it!” you shouted, arms clinging around Jeno in hopes to hold him down.

Mark was quick to move and started to noogie Jeno. 

“Ow, ow, ow! Hey, I’m not the one who locked the door, alright? Jaemin was the mastermind behind all of this!” Jeno tried to explain.

“But you still pushed me in the room!” Mark frowned, stopping his poor revenge on the boy.

You let go of the victim and scanned the cafe. 

Many of the customers were staring at the fiasco in amusement; however, there was one specific person who looked annoyed. You didn’t pay that person any mind, focusing on the barista untying his apron. 

“Would you look at the time?” Jaemin nervously laughed, “it’s my break!”

He gently placed his untied apron on the counter by the register and smiled at you, “Gotta blast!”

And you would’ve chased after the blue haired boy who ran out of the cafe, but that one annoyed customer approached the counter. 

“You know, I keep telling myself ‘I hired them for a reason,’ so please,” Kara said carefully, “prove me right.”

She sternly squinted at you, then to Mark, and lastly, to Jeno.

“What about Jaemin-” Mark started.

“Should you really be worried about him right now?” 

“No boss.”

Kara nodded and smiled sweetly at the three of you. “Are drinks on the house?”

[lovelucybradford]

I Pretend You’re Mine (5)

A/N: Back with the promised continuation chapter! 

Not sure if you’re interested, but when I was writing, in my head I pictured:

Betty White as Grandma Rose

Richard Madden as Levi

Peter Gallagher as Jason Martin

Scott Eastwood as Drew

Masterlist

Tags: @empath-bunny

@ityagirljay

@wolfarrowepz​

@supernatural-crazed-girl

Five: You Were Romeo (I Was a Scarlet Letter)

Day 1: Thursday, June 13th

7:00 pm- Welcome Cocktails in the Stardust Lounge, Deck 6

“Champagne, miss?” The formally dressed waiter offered a flute of sparkling wine, a raspberry garnish floating in the glass. Rosalie took it from his hands with no hesitation, sending the attendant a silent smile of thanks. She put the glass to her lips, then paused and looked up at Derek.

“Will people judge me if I chug this whole thing right now?” she voiced, loving the amused smile that lit up her partner’s face at the innocent question.

“I thought we didn’t care anymore what people thought of us,” Derek reminded her, though she knew that when he was referring to ‘we’, he really meant her. Derek never was one to care what people thought of him.

Rosalie weighed her options, then decided that her family judged her anyways so why not have a good time?

In order to get through this hellish night, she’d have to be tipsy. Best start now.

Without a word of affirmation, she forewent her instilled manners and chugged the glass down in one long sip. Rosalie wasn’t normally a fan of champagne, unless it was Dom Perignon, which she realized made her sound like a total snob. It was the one thing that she’d inherited from her father, her expensive taste in food and drink. It seemed by the familiar, rich, and delicious taste of the bubbly that the cruise ship staff had only provided the very best for their VIP guests.

Rosalie searched for a place to set her glass, finding a nearby unoccupied table and gently depositing it there. She, quite literally, couldn’t afford to even chip one of the crystal goblets.  She stumbled back to Derek, who was waiting for her with an open arm.

“You ready for this?” he whispered in her ear, his breath hot on her neck. It caused unvoluntary goosebumps to crawl up her arms, which she prayed he didn’t notice.

Was she ready?

A part of her never would be. She’d purposely left this part of her life behind, knowing all too well how toxic it was for her mental health. But Rosalie knew if she backed out now, then the family would know that they finally got to her. They would think that she was still strung up and heartbroken about Drew, or jealous of her stepsister for getting the diamond that was meant for Rosalie.

And sure, she had been… once upon a time.

Moving back to Beacon Hills, reconnecting with normal people, people she loved more than her own blood relatives… it had put everything into perspective for her again.

Rosalie could once again be herself, be that strong woman that Talia Hale had raised to be when Rosalie’s own mother had fallen short. The strong, kind, generous, goofy, compassionate, empathetic woman with a mind of her own and a head on her shoulders. Not the ice queen, the submissive and serious woman that her father had tried to warp her into.

And for that, Rose was forever thankful.

She was different now, but exactly the same. And this version of her, with her closest confidantes by her side, wouldn’t cower in a corner.

Rosalie held her head high, meeting Derek’s gaze with a confident look in her blue eyes.

“Yes,” she declared, feeling her confidence rise.

“Good.”

“Lead the way, Prince Charming.”

Derek snorted and shook his head at the nickname, but complied and escorted Rosalie further into the room. She searched for a friendly face among the crowd. Normally, she’d be able to find Lydia by her head of bright red hair, but nearly half of the people in the room had some shade of red hair.

Thankfully, Rosalie didn’t have to look all that hard, as Charlotte came bounding up to her aunt, screaming, “Auntie Rosie! Uncle Derek!”

And suddenly, as the child wrapped her arms around one of Derek’s legs and one of Rosalie’s, all of the attention in the room shifted to the couple.

“Is that Rosalie?” her cousin Noah commented to the man next to him.

“Who the hell is that with her? Because dayum, I’d like to tap that ass,” Noah’s twin, Nick, said back.

“That has to be her friend,” Uncle Alex said to his wife, his lips around a glass of Scotch.

“Not with the way he’s holding her. Besides, did you hear her niece call him Uncle? How she managed that is beyond me,” Aunt Sarah replied, looking Rose’s companion up and down with hungry eyes.

Rosalie ignored all the talk, even though it seemed as if the crowd wasn’t even attempting to be discreet in their conversations.

She reached down to pat Charlotte’s blonde head. “Hey, honey! I missed you!”

Derek ruffled Charlotte’s curls playfully, to which the little girl pretended to be angry with him. But Rosalie could see the smile that she was hiding as Charlotte clutched the adults’ legs even harder.

“All right, all right, Charlie. Let’s let Auntie Rosalie and Uncle Derek breathe, yeah?” Rosalie’s brother, Levi, broke through the crowd, detaching his daughter from the couple and telling her to go on and play with her cousins.

As soon as the little girl was out of sight, Levi enveloping his sister in a hug. Derek held out his hand for a friendly shake, but Levi pulled him into an embrace as well, the two men patting each other fondly on the back.

“I’m digging the beard,” Derek approved, gesturing to Levi’s newly grown beard while rubbing his own.

“What can I say? I was inspired by yours. Although I have to say, mine looks a little better. Y’know, because it’s still all one color,” Levi joked, comparing his solid red scruff to Derek’s salt-and-pepper look.

Rosalie elbowed Derek in the side teasingly. “Yeah, you old man!”

Derek raised one brow and stepped away from Rosalie, crossing his arms. “Oh sure, call me old man one more time.”

Rosalie beamed up at him, wagging her own brows. “What would you rather me call you? Sugar daddy?”

With one fell swoop, Derek was pressed against her, fingers tickling the small expanse of visible skin on her waist. Rose squealed with laughter, trying in vain to pull away from him and begging for mercy.

Levi cleared his throat loudly, causing the couple to separate. Rosalie’s cheeks burned red at the embarrassing scene that she had been a part of. Surely her brother would tease her about it.

Instead, Levi looked a bit pissed.

“So, I guess my daughter didn’t dream up your engagement, then. This,” Levi gestured to Rosalie and Derek, “is really happening?”

Derek shifted his weight on both feet. Rosalie bit her lip and looked to the floor guiltily. She loved her brother. She really did. But she knew that Levi had loose lips, and he’d surely have one too many and (unintentionally) let slip the whole ruse. That, and Rose couldn’t take the disappointment from him.

“It’s about fucking time,” Levi added, sounding a lot more jovial. Rosalie’s and Derek’s heads shot up instantly, shocked at his comment.

Levi slapped Derek on the shoulder. “Bro, I am so glad you didn’t listen to me.”

“What’s he talking about?” Rosalie interrogated Derek.

Derek scratched the back of his neck and turned his head towards the large window next to them. Before he could explain, Jess, Levi’s wife, snaked her arms around her husband’s waist, resting her chin on his shoulder. “Lee was telling me all about how he’d threatened Derek with his guns if he even put his hands on you.”

Rosalie’s jaw dropped. Derek stayed unusually silent. “You gave Der the boyfriend talk?! When was this, big brother?”

Levi raised both hands in surrender. “In my defense, Derek was a horny college kid back then, and I was only trying to protect my little sister. You know the, um, milestones that come with prom night.”

The tapping of a mic interrupted their conversation, which Rosalie was thankful for since she was at a loss for words.

She’d remembered that night in question, fondly. It was the night that she’d realized that she’d had feelings for Derek. Rosalie’s then-boyfriend, Ryan, had dumped her a week before prom for another, more sexy, more experienced, girl. Rosalie was heartbroken, and had sworn off prom, until Derek had shown up on her doorstep in a suit with a pink corsage and a sparkling silver tiara.

She’d laughed, of course, at the reference to the childhood nickname. Then, she’d excitedly rushed upstairs to ready herself, leaving Derek at the mercy of one Levi Martin. Levi Martin, who had, apparently, threatened to cut off Derek’s balls and feed them to the family dog if he had even touched his baby sister in an inappropriate way.

(Levi was always… poetic when it came to his threats.)

Rosalie had hoped, prayed, that as Derek had driven her home in his black Camaro, that he would kiss her, to put a fairytale ending on a perfect night. Sure, he’d kissed her when he dropped her off at her front door… on the cheek, like a brother, or a best friend, might.

Rosalie had dreamt about that night for years afterwards, of what it would be like if he had actually kissed her.

_______________

“I’m sorry, Grandma Rose. I have to go rescue my fiancé from your dear grandson.”

Rosalie stood from the table, feeling a rush in her head for a few seconds. She was definitely tipsier than she thought.

Once Rose got her bearings, she strutted, barefoot, to Derek, who looked highly uncomfortable. With every inch that Nick advanced on Derek, the man backed a considerable distance away.

“Has anyone ever told you that you have an amazing ass?” Rosalie heard Nick flirt from paces away. The way that Nick was looking at Derek, the way that he was blatantly hitting on the man when Nick knew that Derek was taken, it unsettled something in Rosalie. Her vision turned red as she approached the two from behind, wrapping an arm around Derek’s waist.

“Hi Nick. Sorry, this amazing ass is mine.” Rosalie didn’t know what she was saying, didn’t really think through what she was doing. All she knew was that she was grabbing Derek’s right butt cheek with her hand, smiling smugly as Nick’s eyes widened.

Derek waited until Rose’s cousin scurried away before stiffly asking, “Rosalie, why are you grabbing my ass?”

Rosalie let go of Derek immediately, feeling as if she’d spontaneously combust in mortification. “I am, so, so sorry. I just kind of… he was ogling you and it made me mad. Like you’re gorgeous but you’re more than just a pretty face and an incredible ass.” Rosalie’s eyes widened at her word vomit, and now she definitely wanted to throw herself from the nearest balcony and test her drunken theory that she was secretly a mermaid.

“I… I need a drink.”

Derek turned to face her, a hint of a forming chuckle on his lips. “I think you’ve had enough of those, babe.”

Rosalie wished that she could slink away. She wished that someone would hit her in the head, and she’d wake up with amnesia. Maybe she could change her name and move to Antarctica? Yeah, that would be good.

Derek rolled his eyes, grabbing his best friend by the elbow and latching her hand back onto his arm. “I’m not mad at you, Rosalie. Feel free to grab my ass anytime if it makes you feel better.”

Rosalie tried to scowl, but the frown was turning upward with every second. “I hate you so much.”

Derek escorted the two back to Rosalie’s table, where Grandma Rose looked completely unimpressed with the whole shindig. Before they sat, he pulled Rose close and whispered, “I’ll let you grab my ass as long as I can grab yours.”

At that, he pulled out Rosalie’s chair and plopped her down, taking the one next to her. Rose was speechless. Did that actually come out of his mouth? Wait, did he actually want to grab her behind? Yep. Those were his words. Exactly.

Rose’s cheeks flushed a healthy shade of pink. Derek laughed at her slowly coloring face, to which she smacked him on the thigh under the table. Before she could remove her hand, Derek grabbed it and held it between the two of them.

“I always knew the two of you would end up together.” Grandma Rose said wistfully, looking at the couple with soft eyes.

You and everyone else, apparently. Everyone but Derek, Rosalie thought sadly, and tried to shove the painful pang in her heart.

“You know how I knew, Rosalie?” Grandma Rose shakily reached for her flute of champagne, taking a long sip. “I knew it when this one, this big, strong, handsome man,” the old woman reached for Derek’s free hand and patted it kindly, “punched my idiot son in the face at that party, after you got your master’s degree.”

Rosalie snickered at the memory. Jason and Derek had never gotten along. Jason thought Derek was ‘some jock who was too concerned with an unlikely career in basketball instead of his studies’. Derek thought Jason was a ‘pompous, cheating, scumbag, son of a bitch’. (Both quotes were their words exactly)

All of the building tension exploded when Jason had chosen to make a below-the-belt comparison between Rose and Ashleigh’s accomplishments. As if they weren’t celebrating Rosalie graduating from Columbia University, an ivy league, with a master’s degree, with the highest honors.

Derek had broken Jason’s nose. Jason had gotten a restraining order (his favorite defense tactic; it expired last year).

“I’m so sorry,” Derek told Rosalie’s grandmother, though he didn’t sound the least bit remorseful.

“Oh, sweetheart. It wasn’t like every sane person at that party wasn’t thinking the same thing. You were the only one brave enough to do it. Rose’s knight in shining armor.”

Derek’s face flushed red, a rare sight for a man with so much confidence.

“Rosalie, dear. I do have to warn you, Drew and Ashleigh are here.”

Rosalie sighed. She knew that they would be here. The pair had done a very good job at avoiding them; Rose wondered when they’d finally make it around her and Derek’s way. If Rose were lucky, maybe they’d just avoid her the whole trip. Only in her dreams…

“I know, Grandma. I—have you seen them yet?”

“Yes, I had the misfortune of running into both of them while yelling at your father for dragging his ninety-two-year-old mother on an extravagant trip. Do you know how long the plane flight was? Anyways, Drew called me ‘grandma’. You know what I told him, loves?”

Derek and Rosalie looked to each other, both knowing that it was probably something rude. Grandma Rose was Rosalie’s favorite relative, outside of her brother and Lydia. She was the most real of all of them. She spoke her mind and wasn’t afraid to let anyone know how she felt.

“I told him to go fuck himself.”

Derek choked on his glass of white wine. Rosalie smacked him on the back a few times, unable to hold in her shaking laughter.

“Yes, I told dear old Drew to go fuck himself. The only man that’s allowed to call me that is Derek. He doesn’t have his head up his ass. He sees how beautiful, wonderful, and deserving of love my real granddaughter is.”

All jokes aside, Grandma Rose’s words warmed Rosalie’s heart. At least one of the extended family members didn’t think she was a disgrace.

“Well, kids. Would you look at that? The pompous son of a bitch wants to go blab about himself. Someone should go tell him to shut up.”

Rosalie looked to the small stage at the front of the lounge. Sure enough, there was her father, Jason, dressed to the nines in a likely customized Hugo Boss suit, a pink Hibiscus sticking out of his breast pocket. Jason looked around at the crowd, clearing his throat to get the attention of his guests.

“Welcome, everyone! I’m so glad that you’re here and could join me on this fantastic excursion…”

Jason continued his schpeal and Rosalie tuned him out. He was likely talking about how great he was for paying for everyone’s accommodations, or how lucky they were to be spending time with him on this 1K-a-night cruise. Rosalie had heard it all before, multiple times, and she was sick of it, frankly.

What was it about rich people’s money that made them think that they were gods and should be treated as such?

Derek squeezed Rosalie’s hand hard, his nails digging into the back of her hand.

She looked to him in explanation, but he only nodded his head towards the stage.

Where Drew was shepherding Ashleigh up the steps, his hand resting on her backside.

“Yes, as I said, we have two exciting announcements that Evelyn and I could not wait to share with you tonight.”

 Jason looked fondly towards Ashleigh and Drew, who were now hobbling towards him. There were resounding gasps and excited squeals, but Rosalie could only focus on Drew.

Drew was still as handsome as the day that she had first met him. His blue eyes sparkled with confidence and charm. He’d grown a beard since Rosalie had seen him last, wafts of brown hair covering his strong jaw. He stood behind Ashleigh, his hands moving to rest on her stomach, and that’s when time stood still.

Because, under Drew’s lithe fingers, was a protruding bump. Rosalie, despite herself, couldn’t help the gasp that formed around her lips, nor the shaking of her hands.

Drew, when he was with her, had told Rosalie that he didn’t want kids. He’d had daddy issues too and didn’t want his offspring to grow up with a messed-up dad. Even though Rosalie desperately wanted a family, she was so in love with Drew that she’d put those dreams aside, for him.

Now, Drew stood proudly cradling his pregnant fiancée’s stomach as he spoke sweet nothings into her ear, looking thrilled to become a dad.

Derek squeezed Rosalie’s hand tightly, then removed it to wrap around her shoulders instead, nestling her into him. Derek’s lips brushed the top of Rose’s head, then her forehead.

“Fuck, Rosie. I’m so sorry. I… he didn’t deserve you. You’re better off without him. Do you want to go?” Derek whispered huskily in Rosalie’s ear, breaths coming out shallowly.

Rosalie didn’t need to feel the tenseness of his arm around her to know that he was pissed. She could tell just by the tone of his voice that he wanted to kill Drew.

Rosalie turned her head so that now her lips would be close to his ear. “I… I should have known. I—No, we need to stay. If I leave now, then Ashleigh and Evelyn will know that they’ve won, and I can’t let that happen.”

Rosalie rested her head on Derek’s shoulder, finding comfort in his embrace.

Someone kicked her leg under the table. Rosalie raised her head to look at Derek questioningly. His expression matched her own.

“Rosalie? Dear, are you here?” Jason called from the stage, his snake-like grey eyes checking the crowd for his daughter.

“She’s here, you pompous prick!” Grandma Rose yelled to her son, shoving Rosalie gently with a hand to her back. From a distance, Rosalie heard Stiles guffaw. She imagined that Lydia smacked him in the head while trying to control her own laughter.

Jason scowled, but ignored his mother, watching with a forced smile as his daughter and her ‘fiancé’ ascended the stairs. Derek had a tight hold around Rosalie, who had forgone her shoes in the shock of the moment. She leaned on him, both physically and metaphorically, for strength.

“Some more good news for my daughters. Somehow, someone managed to put a ring on my dear little Rosalie. Yes, it shocked us, too. Good on you, Derek!” Jason looked to Rosalie’s bare feet. “And it seems he doesn’t mind her habit for walking around barefoot. Welcome to the family, Derek Hale!”

Most of the crowd laughed, Evelyn and Ashleigh’s shrill merriment sticking out the most. Derek held Rosalie tighter. She bit the inside of her lip in an attempt to stay strong.

From Jason’s other side, Drew asked, “Wait. Isn’t that the guy who broke your nose?”

Derek rested his forehead on the side of Rose’s head, huffing into her ear “Yes. That was me. And if you don’t shut up, I’ll break your nose, too, you douche”.

That made her chuckle, and with his arms securely around her, Rose knew that she’d be alright as long as Derek was by her side.

[bearseokie]

When We Dream (M) | mkt

pairing: soulmate! mark x fem! reader genre: drabble, soulmate! au, fluff, smut, some angst, slight horror [warnings]: mature content, detailed scenes, detailed sexual content, nightmares, mentions of murder + blood, fear, oral (receiving), distance word count: 2.4k summary: Ever dream of a stranger? As the same man seems to be within your dreams, the only link you have to finding out his identity - how he always seems to be around - is by lucid dreaming. A/N: bro i don't even know about this one, it was a fever dream (literally) and has a lot of blind spots. a continuation might be necessary? this is why i made it a drabble. it’s meant to confuse you and make you think.

got7 m.list | navi.

Darkness. That's how dreams always begin. Whether or not you fall asleep immediately, it always manages to find you. Imagination running wild. A thin thread connected to others that can deliver you to the unimaginable, and yet he was always there.

A man - whose name you hadn’t received - a face you couldn't forget.

Desultory settings, almost alone in another world, you took notice of him over time. At first, he was just a bystander within your dream. Walking down a sidewalk, most people were faceless due to your mind never being able to comprehend other's features. But he stood out. A gentle smile as your eyes met his brown ones, keeping on his agenda within the dream. You continued on your way, not knowing what was next. You never controlled dreams.

Too fit in your own daily life, you were drawn to dreaming - it seemed to be the one sense you inherited without having to use any effort or force. It was natural.

By the second time you saw him, your mind grew analytical. Though most dreams faded when your eyes would finally open, his face was seared into your brain. Throughout your days you believed you saw him within other people. His presence a mere mirage. Set in a myriad of daily problems, you always found yourself dreaming instantly as your body fell asleep. 

This dream - in particular - was nothing less of a nightmare.

Running down a twisted hallway with nothing leading you but dim light bulbs above, you were panting. Tears rushing down your face, fear had taken over your body. Something was chasing you, but you couldn't see it. You were afraid enough to be running, scared out of your mind. Screams echoed from different sections, the building seemed like a motel built inside of a factory - another setting your mind didn't program well.

Loud, booming stomps came from behind you, making your pace speed up as you looked through the doorways of the building. One quick glance into a room, and you were met with the gored scene of a murder. The next room you saw was full of flowers, but a woman and man having intercourse. Her moans making your tears fall faster, you couldn't understand the situation. Scared to peer into another room, you kept moving forward. The hallway seemed never-ending. Rounding a corner was when your gaze met his again.

He stood much taller than you, a simple outfit on him as his light brown hair blew from the breeze that was created by you running. He held out his hands, palms in your view. You halted in front of him. Eyes filled with worry, he took your wrist, running down a different hallway. Turning to look back, you noticed he was just as scared as you.

"Where are we going?" you called out to him. With another short glance back at you, he continued to tug you behind him.

His longer legs made it hard for you to keep up, pace slowing every few seconds to reassure you were still in his grasp. Taking you through more hallways, he finally reached a door that was locked.

"Why are you set on this door?" you asked as he let your wrist go, fingers running over the top of the doorframe. He searched for a key to the padlock latched between the door and its frame, ignoring your question. Stumbling around and tossing objects, he found a small key underneath a potted plant. Turning back towards you, he took your wrist once more, placing your hand on his hip. Putting your index finger through the loop of his jeans, he watched over you.

"Do not let go of me," he spoke deeply, inserting the key into the padlock and turning it, pulling it from the latch. Opening the door, you were met with an indoor forest. With the setting being wildly different than the creepy motel-factory, your body shook. As the door shut, you were convinced the other place had vanished. "Don't let go of me." the man repeated as he yanked you forward into the leaves of the trees.

The moist area made you sweat, the man lunging through the bushes. He was convincing you that he knew where he was going, but you sustained his process as being disoriented. Rummaging through more bushes, the two of you stood at the trunk of a large tree. The tree being triple its normal size, both of you shared a curious glance, making your way up to it. Placing your hand against the bark, the man's hand moved beside yours. Hand just as warm as your own, a gasp fell from your lips when his hand made contact against your finger. Feeling his body close to yours, darkness fell over you again, the bright sunlight peeking through your lids pulling you from sleep.

You constantly asked yourself: Is he just part of the dreams? What is his purpose? How was he there again? But no clear answers ever surfaced.

Researching the meaning behind seeing the same face, the universe seemed to always derail you. No mentions of it were accounted for; you were alone on this journey.

You had to give the universe credit, though. Mother nature binding with it constantly sent you on a whirl. Your mind shallowed and allowed you to fall asleep once again, body on fire.

Laying in a pure white room, you rocked up into friction against your core. Opening your eyes, the scene was much different than the leading dreams. White curtains on the blindingly bright window, walls shell white, a large bed with a thick duvet, something moving against you as you could only moan. A tongue was pressed flat against you, your hips bucking into someone's face. You were at a loss for words as your orgasm hit you quickly, mind foggy. You couldn't tell if this was all real or not.

The duvet moved, his gaze meeting yours again. He wiped his chin, taking in a breath. Eyes brighter in the white room, you stared at him in disbelief.

"Hello." he smiled, cheeky and fresh.

"Hello." you choked out.

His lips moved to your bare torso, a confused look on your face. He was so comfortable. Unable to fight against his kisses, your head fell back against the puffed pillow. Moaning into the air, his hands ran up and down your sides, fingers gentle.

"I-I," you stuttered, his face peering up at you, keeping his eyes fixed there while his kisses continued up to your breasts.

Kisses turned to bites. A small hickey was sucked onto your breast, a moan passing through your entire body making you jolt against him. A smirk on his face, a single hand placed at your pelvis held you against the mattress. Keeping with his teasing, he seemed resolute. Lips moving everywhere, his face was fully centered above yours. Finally able to see his features in full view, you were at a loss for words.

Your heart was beating so fast, you knew he could hear it. With a bright grin, his dark eyes blinked and squinted. His cheeks rose up from the smile, soft and kind. His hair smelled like generic soap, the locks soft as you raised your hand to his head and intertwined your fingers within it. His peaceful kisses moved across your face, ending at your lips where they floated above your own. Staring down into your eyes, you watched his irises disappear behind his eyelids, lips connecting with yours. As the oxygen rushed out of your lungs, a spark was within the seam of your lips. Moving in sync, your fingers in his hair gently moved from his head, latching to the back of his neck to bring him closer.

Pulling from you, his eyes shot open, wide with fire. You looked up at him with confusion, brows raised. Never in your life had you experienced such a link to someone else, much less the rapid heartbeat of theirs mirroring your own. His touch on your skin created a heat you never felt before, the mix of feelings emanating from both of you making the room fill with tension. Fixed on each other, you sat in silence with your mind becoming conscious of the dream-like state.

"Are you real?" you asked him, his head tilting as he blinked.

"Are you real?" he mimicked your question with abashment as he sat up on his knees between your thighs.

Neither of you had an answer. Within the white room, all you could do was stare at one another. His features seemed realistic, much more than the others you've come across in your dreams. He seemed to be flesh and bone, just like you. Though you weren't awake, he felt all too real. Your breathing sped up under him, eyes shutting as you woke in your own bed, a position you've become accustomed to.

Body weak, you shook as you stood from your bed. Madness, the dreams had escalated into your reality, your core still aching from the man's touch as you were idle in the middle of your bedroom. Gathering your bearings, you walked to your desk and sat before the computer. Turning it on, you opened your browser, typing in a subtle search of "dreams". The vague study led you down a rabbit-hole, words passing your pupils as a single title caught your thoughts. Lucid dreaming.

Reading over the search, everything listed that in order to stay lucid dreaming - you have to really want it. Staying focused, you would be able to control the dream for a limited amount of time while unconscious - yet conscious. With the slim chance that you would be able to hold a full conversation with the man - to be able to retrieve answers - you agreed with yourself to try it.

Night fell over, your room calm, mind settled as you laid on your back above your covers. Muscles relaxing, breathing steady, you fell asleep within minutes. The darkness took over, everything pitch dark. Your eyes opened - but nothing was in your view.

"Do you hear me?" you called out, hoping the man would hear. Nothing sounded back, your own voice echoing in the dark space.

"Hello?" you asked, voice louder this time. "Relax and control it. Focus. Talk to me."

The darkness seemed to fade as you stood in a room. Walls of black tiles plastered about, an illuminating light behind each one. It looked as if you were in a purgatory state that your mind couldn't envision. Finally being able to see around the room, you noticed the man was now standing at a distance away from you.

"Hello," he spoke slowly, peering around the strange room as his gaze looked you up and down.

"How did you know to do this?" he questioned, eyes large as his hands moved into the pockets of his jeans, rocking on his heels.

"It's called lucid dreaming," you said quickly, moving towards him. "I don't believe our minds can create a setting currently, so let's use this time wisely."

He nodded, hair bouncing as he watched you stare back at him. His lips curled up, taking in your form. His teeth shined through with a smile, making your heart leap.

"It is you." he grinned, your head tilted to the side. "How did we find each other again?"

"Wait," you said, eyebrows furrowed. "Weren't you purposely getting into my dreams?"

"No, not quite. You were in my dream first, the sidewalk."

Your breathing stuttered. Looking down at the floor in thought, he swayed. He wasn't part of your dreams - he is separate, and you both managed to come across each other in a state of mind neither of you could comprehend.

"So, you are real?" he asked, referring to the dream in the white room. "I wasn't just dreaming of a stranger with no face. It really was you again!" he jumped, his right hand reaching out for your own as he held it, looking into your eyes.

"What does this mean?" you asked, startled. "I mean, how is this possible? I didn't think separate, cognitive minds could adjust to the same consciousness, much less same dream states."

He seemed just as confused as you, similar to your second meeting. Looking into your eyes, his brown ones seemed darker than they were in the white room. Purple marks lined under them, his face seeming tired compared to the original instances that you met. He seemed almost ill.

"Are you okay?" you asked, voice almost in a whisper.

His eyes shined in the dim lighting, grip on your hand tightening as he glanced down at the floor.

"Mark?" you spoke.

"H-How do you know my name, Y/N?" he asked, head shooting back up as he seemed lost with his own sentence.

He never mentioned his name, as you never mentioned yours either. Words were falling from your lips as if your brain knew something you didn't. "I-I don't know. You know mine, too."

His hold on your hand warmed your skin, similar to how his body heated you up in the white-roomed dream. Barely able to speak, his eyes were focused on yours. His head dipped down, lips against one another as they met your own. The spark cascaded between your matched lips. His grip on your hand seeming to go numb. You felt darkness take over for the last time. With his touch tattooed into your skin, you laid on your back. Eyes opened to your ceiling, mind wired, you breathed in.

Months passed and it felt as though Mark never let you go. From time to time - within your dreams - you could still feel his kisses. His hot skin against your own. But you never saw him. You felt alone in the world, the connection between the two of you lessened.

Sitting on a bench in your local park, the sunset was in the sky as people moved along their own path. The metal bench below you was stiff, your body standing and stretching, turning. The bright lake beside you was blinding from the little sunlight left, and as your left hand moved to block it out, a shadow was in your view.

Mark stood before you, a wide smile on his face. The purple marks under his eyes were gone. Slowly walking to you, he took your hand in his, lifting your knuckles to his lips as he placed a chaste kiss to them.

"Hello again, Y/N." he smiled. "We have a lot to discuss."

[gemstoneconstellations]

The Happiest Place on Earth

Summary: Epilogue to Angle with a Shotgun. Watch how Bakugo tried and tried again to ask you one simple question.

Word Count: 2443

A/N: thank @voicesoffiction for this, they inspired me to do something for AWS since I was already doing some for HBAN and they also suggested this idea to me. Thank you again!

“So Fujio has had his quirk the whole time?” You placed down a red seven on the tray in front of you. Katsuki and you were on a bullet train heading towards Disneyland to celebrate your one-year anniversary. To pass the time, the two of you played Uno as Bakugo told you the story of how a boys camping trip with Fujio led to them finding out Fujio already had his quirk.

Katsuki placed down a blue seven. Damn, no blue. “Apparently. Ei couldn’t remember him ever scraping his knee before or having to kiss any ‘boo-boos’.” He smirked as you had to draw a card; lucky for you, it was blue.  Katsuki scoffed as he looked over his cards. “Guess it also explains why he didn't get hurt when Dunce Face dropped him that one time as a baby.”

You gasped, smacking him in the arm as he laid down his card. “Bad Uncle Suki.”

Katsuki frowned at you, making you laugh. “The fuck. It wasn’t my fault. Shitty Hair is the one who trusted him to watch his infant alone.”

“Hmmm, I still can’t believe he jumped in the firepit and came out fine.” That was not a phone call you ever expected to receive from Katsuki. You could hear Kirishima’s panicked rambling in the background as you were told the camping trip was going to be cut short and they were on their way to take little Fujio to the hospital. Turned out that his pretend hero name he uses for games was pretty accurate; he really is the Unbreakable Fuji

“My first thought was, ‘Shit, the kid is seriously hurt, there goes my fucking bed and Ei’s balls.’ Remember, you can’t tell anyone about how we found out his quirk, especially his mother.” You snorted into your cards when Katsuki gave you a serious look, like your life depended on keeping this secret.

“Yeah, I know. And it’s our bed now, mister.” You slam down a yellow two. “Uno.”

Katsuki’s nose flared, glaring at his hand that held ten cards, while you were on your last one. “You are fucking cheating.” He changed the color to red, smirking, thinking he’d caught you. The poor fool.

You bat your eyelashes at him. “It’s all about luck sweetie. And I win.” You place a wild plus four down. He gaped at it before slamming his hand down and pushed the cards away, completely done after losing three times in a row.

He crossed his arms, staring out the window pouting. You smile and scoot closer to him, leaning your head on his shoulder. Katsuki’s body relaxed as you snuggled against him, one of his hands grabbing yours and weaving your fingers together. “Not competitive, my ass,” he grumbled as he rested his head against yours.

“Shhhh, I’m sleeping,” you giggled, closing your eyes to sleep the rest of the way to your destination. The two of you had left before the sun rose so you would get to the park early. Within minutes, you were out cold.

Katsuki was jealous of how you were able to relax so easily while he was trying not to show how panicked he was on the inside. A small box weighed heavily in his pocket.

~

Katsuki grumbled from the table, chewing on his straw as he watched you gush over the fucking park actor dressed like a duck in a sailor outfit. Second attempt at a proposal foiled. He’d first tried at the park entrance, wanting to pop the question in front of the sign that said “Welcome to the Happiest Place on Earth”, potentially making that one spot literally the happiest place on earth for the both of you. The plan was to have him go through the metal detector with the ring in his pocket, setting it off, and having the security guard in on it pull the two of you to the side by the sign and have him take out the ring. 

But nooooooo. You have to be so connected to your inner child that you ran ahead without him to grab an itinerary and a map before he even had a chance to scan his ticket. The security guard patted his shoulder, sympathetic. 

Then at lunch, he tried to do that cheesy, ‘Oh, what’s that in my dessert? A ring?’. Nope. Before he could even order the dessert and slip the waitress the ring, you saw that fucking duck waddle his ass over and suddenly your boyfriend didn’t fucking exist. 

“Is there anything else I can get you?” Katsuki slammed a few bills on the table and walked towards you, ignoring the bewildered waitress and not caring about his change.

You were waving goodbye to the stupid duck when he took hold of your wrist, pulling you away. “Come on, glow worm, we got more ground to cover.” 

Time to go to plan C: the giant ass princess castle, the most stereotypical place to propose at this particular park. He knows you’d enjoy it, so who fucking cares at this point. He just wants to put the damn thing on your finger already. 

“It doesn't matter how many times I see it, I’m still in awe,” you sigh, leaning against the railing as you admire the castle. Katsuki wrapped his arms around your waist, resting his chin on your shoulder. “You know you can go inside? If you are willing to pay the price, you can eat in the ballroom and even get married right where Cinderella met her Prince Charming. So romantic.”

“I like the original better. Especially the eye gouging part.” You elbow him in the gut, making him chuckle. He watched as you took a few more pictures of the castle. It was time. 

Katsuki cleared his throat as he dug into his pocket for the box. “You know, if you wanted, we could be one of those people willing to pay the—”

                                              BOOOM BOOOM

Over on Main Street, confetti cannons went off. A fucking parade with floats slowly moving down the road had randomly started up. Why is there a fucking parade!?!?! You launched yourself out of his arms, your body knocking into his hand holding the box and sending it to the ground. “Fuck!”

“It’s 2 p.m. already?! Come on, Katsuki.” Not even looking back, you ran off to get a good view. Katsuki groaned as he searched the ground for the box. 

He found it, but he’d completely lost you. “Are you fucking serious? Does the fucking universe hate me? What did I do to deserve this?!” Katsuki dragged his hands down his face. Taking deep breaths to calm himself, he started to look for you. Lucky for him, your quirk made you stick out. At least he knew you were happy.

After the parade, Bakugo let you drag him onto a miniature train that would take you to the other side of the park with a wildlife tour on the way there. One more attempt. While you stepped away to use the bathroom, he waited right by the entrance to the platform to get a chance to convince the conductor about helping him propose. He had the best chance on this train. No mascots for you to run off to, no extra loud distractions, and no way you could run off without him again. You were trapped to sit through his entire proposal whether you liked it or not….hopefully you did like it….

Katsuki was starting to grind his teeth, becoming more irritated. Where the hell was the conductor? His thoughts were interrupted by his phone ringing. He turned around and answered when he saw who was calling. “What do you want, dumbass?”

“Did you do it yet?! Did she say yes? Of course she did, I’m so proud.” Kirishima’s overly cheerful voice rambled on as Katsuki pinched the bridge of his nose.

Through gritted teeth, he groaned. “I didn’t ask yet.”

“What? You guys have been there for hours! Why the hell not? You get cold feet, bro?”

Katsuki gripped his hair in frustration. “NO! I tried three god damn times! Happiest place on earth, my ass. This fucking place is the worst; why did I think this place would be good? It’s fucking full of distractions and interruptions left and right. I’m lucky enough for her to be next to me for a solid five minutes. I take my eyes off her for a second and she’s fucking gone!”

“Did you even plan it out? Or are you winging it like when you fight?”

He rolled his eyes, turning away from the people who were shooting him looks. “I had a plan; I had three. All failed! I got one more idea but if this goes down the shitter too, I give up for today.” Katsuki was starting to think he should have planned something more isolated like his friend; that had been a smarter idea than what he’d been doing all day.

Kirishima hummed in understanding. “I’m sorry, bro.”

“Is that Uncle Suki? I want to talk to him!” Fujio’s little voice whined over the line.

“Not now, kiddo.” That wasn’t the right thing to say to a four-year-old who had been experiencing more mood swings.

A loud wail rang through the phone; Katsuki yanked it away from his ear in surprise. “Hey, put a cork in the fucking brat before he damages my ear drums.” Kirishima tried to shush Fujio and promised that he could talk to Katsuki later tonight but that wasn’t good enough.

“Are you talking to Fujio?” Katsuki jumped as you stepped up beside him. His head shot up towards the front of the train. The conductor was already there setting up. Fuck. “Hi Fujio! Why are you crying sweetie?”

“Shit.” Well maybe he could still do it on the train ride, it’s not that big of a deal to get the staff involved.

Yeah, he can do this. You’ll calm down the little shit fast and then you both will go on the train.

“Of course I can talk to you. I heard you got your quirk Fujio! That’s so cool, do you want to tell me about it?” 

“All aboard!” The conductor yelled as the gates opened. Okay, so you’ll talk for a bit on the phone. That’s fine. Everything is fine. The two of you sat in a booth as you kept talking to Fujio, listening to him talk about his newly discovered quirk.

The train started to move and you were still on the phone. “No, don't worry about it, Kirishima. I don't mind talking to him. We are only on the train ride getting to the other side of the park. I got time.”

Why….why did he have to fall for a decent person? Your kindness is completely screwing with him right now. You kept talking to Fujio, working out his emotions with him and making him feel better. It’s a good reminder of the qualities that had made him fall for you but why did it have to happen now?

The train was arriving at your stop when you finally said goodbye to Fujio. Katsuki was mentally and physically exhausted; he dragged his feet as he got off the train. You handed the phone back to him, not noticing the scowl on his face was not the same as his usual one. “I’m so sorry, bro.”

“You’re dead to me.” Kirishima whimpered into the phone causing him to sigh. “.... for the rest of the day….I’ll fucking talk to you later, Shitty Hair.”

After hanging up, Katsuki let you drag him wherever your heart desired. You fluttered around like an excited glowing butterfly, having to see every inch of everything. Seeing you glow so much did raise his spirit a bit. You being this happy from just being with him here was worth the amount of time and preparation to get here, even if he didn’t get to do what he came here for.

“No… anything but that,” that was the final straw that broke him. The ultimate torture. The ride straight from hell. It’s A Small World After All. Fuck whoever wrote that damn song; Katsuki would howitzer his has into space if he could right now.

You pulled on his arm, dragging him over to the ride. “Please, for me.” He groaned towards the sky as he was easily pulled into the little boat. He sat in the boat like a grump as you sang along to the song before you’d even entered the tunnel.

Katsuki could already feel a migraine coming on. He better get some therapy sex for the trauma you were putting him through on this ride. With his eyes shut, he tried to tune everything out. Finally everything was quiet….wait, the boat had stopped moving. 

He sat up straighter as his eyes opened to see only darkness. “What the fuck happened?”

“Attention, guests!” Someone who sounded like they were using a megahorn shouted down the tunnel. “There was a small powersurge and a few of the rides are currently without power. Please stay inside the ride until the problem has been resolved. Once everything has been fixed and you get off, everyone will be given a free meal token to any restaurant at our park. Sorry for the inconvenience.”

“Well that fucking sucks,” Katsuki grumbled. Fingers slid across his bare arms as you quickly latched yourself onto him as soon as you were able to find him. He could feel you trembling slightly. “Are you scared?”

“It’s a little creepy to be sitting in the dark with all those dolls staring at you,” you mumbled into his arm. 

He sighed, leaning back and letting you cling to him. “Relax, I’m here dumbass. I’ll always be here for you.” You smiled against his shoulder, humming happily as you held his arm closer to your slightly glowing body. Fuck it, he came here to do one thing and damn it, he’s going to do it. “You know that, right? I’ll do anything for you, even get on a stupid ass ride like this. Cause you love it and I love you.”

His free arm reached into his pocket as the room became even brighter. Now he can clearly see your smiling face right in front of him. “I love you too, Katsuki.” 

You leaned in for a kiss, but he stopped you as he whispered, “Prove it.”

“Prove it? How?” You pulled back and furrowed your brows.

“I've been waiting all day for this. You better fucking say yes.” Finally, Katsuki held up the open box to you. “Be my wife, ___.”

[dbzebra]

Surpassing The Strongest CH 2

A/N: Sorry this took so long, I hit a wall for a long time but finally got past it! Just a reminder, this is kind of an End of Z retelling but will have obvious changes going forward. Also i apologize in advance for the linebreaks, tumblr ruined my formatting so i had to imprpovise lol Enjoy! 

Chapter 2: Goten’s Resolve

“Train hard, study well, eat well and sleep well. That is the Turtle Hermit way to learn!”

Those were the words Master Roshi had told Goku and Krillin during their first day of martial arts training all those years ago. That motto had stuck with Goku his entire life, and molded it into how he trained both himself and his sons throughout their lives, even to this day. 

It was break time from training. Father and son were lying in the grass with their hands behind their heads, watching the fluffy clouds roll by. Pan wasn’t due back for a few more minutes going by the speed of her approaching energy, so they took the time to relax for a bit. 

Neither really spoke for a while, just listening to the sounds of nature. Birds chirped happily, the wind softly rustling the leaves above their heads, and the quaint sound of the river flowing nearby. 

It was Son Goten who finally spoke up, breaking the silence, not breaking his gaze from the clouds. 

“So, what’s next on the agenda?” Goten knew his father likely had an intense training schedule planned, but he was ready. 

“Well, besides our regular sparring, our next step-- is to help you reach Super Saiyan 3.”

“Me? Reach level 3?” Goten quickly sat up, pointing to himself with a dumbfounded look. 

“Of course!” Goku replied, sitting up as well. “That’s been your goal from the start since you began training again, right? And after what you showed me earlier, I think all that’s left is for you to push for the top.”

“Easier said than done! Trust me, I’ve been trying, it ain’t working!” Goten said. 

Goku grinned and put both hands on Goten’s shoulders. “You did it before as Gotenks, and you were only a kid back then. I can feel it in your energy, Goten.  You just gotta break through that last barrier.” 

“How did it work for you? Like how did you reach level three?”

Goku looked up to the sky for a few moments, trying to recall just how he ascended beyond Super Saiyan 2 back in Other World. “Super Saiyan 3 was much different than the previous two forms. While levels one and two required intense rage--in most cases, level three was a different beast entirely. It took intense training and complete mastery of Super Saiyan 2.  At the time, I was wondering how I could go even further beyond or if it was even possible. So one day, I was training with this guy called Pikkon. I kept feeling this really tiny tugging feeling deep inside.” Goku pointed to his stomach, and mimicked a back-and-forth motion with his hands. “And over the years of focus and training, the more I fought the more I felt it. So I worked towards that. I kept pulling back every time I felt that pull. Harder and harder, until--” he made a fist and then opened it-- “Bam! I unleashed all my energy once. And that’s when it happened.”

“...I don’t get it.” Pulling? It all sounded like crap, if he was being honest. But to be fair, he probably wouldn’t be able to explain the feeling either. 

“Just try it out. I know you did this earlier. Remember how you went level three as Gotenks, and combine that with what I told you.” Goku stayed in his cross-legged position, while Goten jumped up to his feet.

The teen took a deep breath. “Alright. Here I go…!”

Goten bent his knees and  let out a mighty roar that reached the heavens. His muscles bulged and once again electricity swirled around the teen as he ascended to Super Saiyan 2, bringing his ki to its utmost limits. The earth itself seemingly began trembling in fear of the awesome display of raw power.

‘This next energy… has to come from deep inside! Push hard to find it!’

The words that Goku had said to him and Trunks that day long ago echoed in his mind. The same words from when they took a break from learning the Fusion technique to see a first-hand demonstration of the ultimate Super Saiyan transformation.

“I did it back then, so I can do it now!” Goten told himself. He gritted his teeth hard and when he closed his eyes, he could almost  see the visage of a Great Ape roaring. As he continued powering up, he felt a tiny, almost insignificant tug from within. That miniscule flicker deep in his stomach was like a just-barely-lit candle. “There!”

This was it.  He had found it! The tremors began increasing in ferocity as the ground cracked beneath him and small rocks rose up into the air.  The ‘flame’ from within grew in size and heat. Goku watched on, smiling  with pride.

But just as he had it, he lost it. Goten’s  golden hair reverted to its original black color and he dropped to his knees. The stones that floated around the teen fell back to the earth and everything was quiet again. Panting and out of breath, the disheartened teenager cursed under his breath and teen slammed the ground with his fist, causing it to shatter beneath him. “I… I can’t do it, Dad! I just can’t! I’ve been stuck doing the same thing for months, it’s not working! I’m just not strong enough to turn Super Saiyan 3!!”

For the last eight months, Goten tried and failed to ascend. He thought he wasn’t making any progress at all, but that was usually the case with self evaluation: you judge yourself much harder. To Goku, however, he  noticed as clear as day that  his son was making leaps and bounds of progress in strength. 

Goku went to console his son, gently putting a hand on each of  his shoulders. “Hey, don't be that way! It’s totally okay! You are good enough, Goten. Remember, you were the youngest Super Saiyan ever, and reached Super Saiyan 2 at only fifteen! You were right there! I promise you!! It took me six years to reach level three, and I was dead! You're doing great.” Goku said, and it seemed to encourage his son going by the faint grin that dared to appear on the teen’s face. ”Let’s switch gears. How ‘bout we try some image training instead?” 

“Image training? What the heck is that?” Goten looked completely lost. 

Goku put his hand on his chin to think how to explain it. It was one of those things where it was easy to understand, but putting into words was a bit more complicated. But after a moment, it came to him. “Basically, it’s kinda like meditating, but you project an image of yourself in your mind. Then, you link up with someone else using telepathy, and fight that way.”

“That doesn’t make any sense. How do you get stronger just by thinking about it?” Goten flatly said, causing Goku to chuckle in response. Much like himself at that age, Goten was never one to mince words. 

“Just trust me, Goten. Your brother and I did the same thing while we were training to fight Cell.” Goku said and crossed his arms, keeping the same grin. “And besides, if we do this image training, you might get to see my secret ultimate technique.”

Now Goten was interested. It never took much to convince him. “Really? What’s it look like?!”

“You won’t know unless you try it out!” Goku goaded his son further. In all honesty, the new technique he developed was a finishing move, meant for a new enemy in case one ever came. It normally took a lot out of him, but just showing Goten once wouldn’t hurt. 

Just as they were about to continue however, the two Saiyans sensed a familiar energy source rapidly approaching. Goku had sensed it from far off from a while ago, but he could see that his son was too preoccupied to notice until now. 

“Guess we’ll save the image training for later then!” Goku said and jumped back to his feet. 

Still seated in the grass and leaning backwards on his hands, Goten turned to the direction of the approaching person. It was far too large to be Pan’s. He knew who this was. The teen’s wide smile returned as another young man with short lavender hair wearing a sleeveless yellow vest and black pants dropped down on the grass in front of his oldest friend.

“Hey bro! What brings you by our neck of the woods?” Goten asked. Still a little sore from training, he held out his hand and Trunks pulled him up. 

Trunks smirked and poked Goten playfully in the chest. “I heard through the grapevine that you were gonna enter the Tournament next week. Tryin’ to sneak a win by without telling’ me?” He raised an eyebrow at his friend. Knowing Goten like he did, he figured there wasn’t any malicious intent. 

“Ah, Mar told you? Sorry about that.” Goten replied with a sigh. “I legitimately thought you already knew and planned on entering. I meant to tell you, really!” Between spending hours with Marron after school on their date yesterday, the excitement over his new gi the night before,  and then the morning training, he didn’t really get an opportunity. 

“It’s fine. I’m just glad to be out of my house. My dad hasn’t shut the hell up about it since! He was grilling me all morning! God, I had to practically throw Bulla at him just for a momentary distraction then I just bailed.” Trunks threw his hands up in frustration. His family got on his last damn nerve sometimes. 

“I hear that. This one over here,” Goten said, gesturing to his father with his thumb, “pulled me out of bed at the crack of dawn while I was in the middle of an awesome dream!”

“Oh quit complaining.” Goku scolded his son while Goten shrugged.

Trunks snickered. “An awesome dream, you say? What kinda dream was it?” 

Goten shot him a dirty look, but before he could think of a comeback, a little toddler dressed in a red gi flew in and landed in the middle of them. 

“I’m back Grandpa!!” Pan chirped, raising her little fists in the air. “I flew around the whoooole world again, just like you said!”

With that signature Son grin of his, Goku smiled down at her. “That’s amazing, Pan! Thats your fastest time yet!”

Pan’s dark eyes lit up at hearing that she was getting better. “Think I’ll be ready for the Toonament?” She asked, innocently tilting her head to the side. 

“Wait, Pan, you’re seriously going to enter the Tournament? There’s no Junior Division, don’t tell me she’s gonna fight with the rest of us!”  Trunks was baffled. Pan nodded up at him, her smile still as wide as could be. She didn’t seem to have a care in the world. 

Goku proudly pat his granddaughter on the head. “Don’t worry about her. She may not win, but she’ll do just fine!” 

“She might end up doing better than Goten.” Trunks added.

“Very funny.” Goten dusted some blades of grass off of his pants, and glanced over to Trunks again, who teasing smirk only seemed to get bigger. The younger Saiyan sighed, shaking his head with a smile. “Dad, can we take a little break?”

“Sure, don’t go too far though. We’re gonna pick up where we left off in a bit.” Goku replied and Goten nodded in affirmation. 

The two teenaged Saiyans walked over to the riverbank for a private chat. They kept their voices low, so a certain little toddler didn’t accidentally overhear certain stuff and then go repeating it, which would end badly for the both of them. 

Trunks stood peering over the rushing waters with his hands shoved into his vest pockets. It was mesmerizing.. His phone buzzed, but decided it wasn’t that important. Meanwhile Goten put his hands behind his head and leaned on the tree nearby, staring up at the branches above. The sun was shining high in the sky; its warm light breaking through the gaps between the trees.

When he was small, he used to play a game where he had to only stay in the shaded parts and couldn’t touch where the sun hit. He smiled at the memory for a moment as his thoughts drifted back to the upcoming main event. 

“So, you gonna enter?” 

Trunks blew air out his nostrils and smirked. “You bet your ass I am.  I’m not just gonna let you just walk in and sweep the competition against a bunch of nobodies! I’ll win,  just like I did last time. If only Mr. Satan was entering, I’d smack him into next month.” 

“Yeah right!” Goten fired back and puffed out his chest a bit, the confidence in his voice building.. “The outcome won’t be the same as last time, I can promise you that. I’ve been training constantly!” 

“HA!” Trunks scoffed. “Good one, man. If by ‘training’, you mean you’ve just been getting handsy with Marron all the freakin’ time, then sure! Meanwhile, I’ve actually been training!” Trunks said, with his usual smug smile. He felt a little bad, but busting on Goten was too easy. 

Goten’s whole face flushed a scarlet color at how nonchalantly Trunks could just bring up what he did with his girlfriend in private. Any confidence he had in that moment fizzled right out.  “H-Hey!! Mar and I aren’t getting handsy!!” Goten blurted out louder than he intended and then swiftly covered his mouth with his hands. “That much…” He said again, practically as a whisper that time.

Trunks tried not to burst out laughing as Goten looked towards Pan, hoping she didn’t overhear him and then go repeating it to Videl or Gohan. Or worse, his mother. Not that she would get mad, just that her teasing comments would only get worse!

“Cut the bullshit, Goten. We’ve been friends for like, seventeen years, and I know when you’re lying. Even after all these years, you still have no poker face. And Marron isn’t exactly the best at keeping something like that hidden either.”

Was he really that obvious?! Goten kicked himself for being such an open book. He huffed and kicked a nearby pebble into the river. 

“Look, no shame! I’m proud of you, man. Good for you. Marron’s a real catch!” Trunks said and proudly patted Goten on the back. The older Saiyan figured Goten would fire right back with a comeback of his own, likely about all those vulgar girls who kept throwing themselves at him at school. It wasn’t his fault he was so good looking! Trunks may have had the outer confidence and charisma of his mother, but like his father Vegeta, Trunks was a bit of a prude when it came down to it, for the lack of a better word. He was all talk, as Marron had pointed out. 

However Goten’s gaze didn’t leave the gentle flowing river, his eyebrows furrowed as if he were lost in thought. Trunks’ face fell. “Hey, my bad, man. I didn’t mean it that way. I really am happy for you.”

“Huh?” Goten blinked, coming out of his thoughts. He put a hand behind his head with an apologetic smile. “Oh, don’t worry, it’s fine. I should be the one apologizing. I’m just… really distracted.”

“You alright, bro?”

Goten didn’t respond immediately, but after a moment he slowly nodded. “I dunno why, but I’m really nervous about this Tournament. I’ve hit a wall trying to reach Super Saiyan 3, and it’s stressing me out. Nothing’s working, and I don’t know what to do. At this rate, I’m almost afraid I’ll end up fighting my dad in the first round and getting wiped out like some chump.”

Trunks knew how Goten felt. Living up to Vegeta’s expectations was tough at times. And frustrating. He also had no luck on reaching the third level. What came easy to them while fused together proved to be their ultimate challenge while separate. But he wasn’t giving up. And he wasn’t about to let Goten give up either.. “Tell me something, Goten. Why do you choose to fight?” He knew the answer fully well, but wanted to hear Goten say it.

“Why does that matter?”

“Just humor me.”

Goten sighed, and then his lips curled into a smile when he thought of a certain pretty blonde. “Marron.” Her name rolled off his tongue effortlessly. “Mar is the reason I started training again. She’s the reason I want to get stronger. She means the entire world to me.  I’d do anything to keep that smile of hers safe.”

After the fight against Majin Buu, Son Goten slowly grew out of fighting over the years. Sure, he trained for exercise or if he had nothing else to do, but it wasn’t much of a priority for him until he started dating Marron two years ago. Once they became a couple, it was like a lightbulb went off in the boy’s head. He knew what he had to do--what he wanted to do. And so he trained intensely, day after day.  To prevent anything like the Majin Buu incident from happening ever again. 

Feeling a second wind, and not wanting to be left behind, Trunks soon joined him as well. It wasn’t long before Goten had closed the gap between them, and together the boys broke through the first Super Saiyan barrier: finally reaching Super Saiyan 2. 

“My point is, look how far you’ve come since then. Marron may be a loudmouth, but she’s a true ride-or-die girl. If there’s anyone who doesn’t care where you place in the Tournament, it’s her.”

“Yeah, you’re right. She said something similar yesterday.”

“See?” Trunks smiled. “I’m far from being the best at pep talks, but I know for a fact that you’re much stronger than you think. I wouldn’t count yourself out just yet. Forcing Super Saiyan 3 won’t help things either. It’ll happen, man. For both of us. Basically, what I’m getting at is; it’s just a Tournament. We have our whole lives to surpass our dads. Let’s just make this one a fun reunion where there’s no genocidal egomaniacs for once.”

Goten truly started to feel better.  “Thanks, man. Really.” He said and the duo did their signature double fist bump. 

“Hey, I have an idea.” 

Goten turned, eyeing his friend suspiciously.. Whenever Trunks Briefs uttered the words ‘I have an idea’ it usually was always something insane, but he decided to hear him out. “Lay it on me.”

“Why don’t we enter as Gotenks? Nobody could stop us that way, not even your dad!” Trunks said excitedly, pumping his fists. “I don’t care about the prize money either, so when we win, I’d just give you my half.”

Goten was touched.  Trunks really was a true friend. Sure, they busted on each other constantly, to the point where outsiders may think they disliked each other, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. When it came down to it, they had each other’s back. 

“I appreciate it, really, but… I can’t. I want to go up against my dad with my own strength. If we won the Tournament that way, I’d feel like I cheated. Besides, the fusion only lasts for thirty minutes; less if we went full power. And then we’d have to wait a whole hour to be able to fuse again, so it’s not exactly practical.”

“Shit, you’re right. I forgot about that.” Trunks replied, scratching his head. His phone buzzed from his pocket again, but ignored it.  “Was worth a shot!”

After the third time his phone buzzed, Trunks picked up and immediately got an earful from his mother, ordering him to come home. He groaned and quickly  hung up. For a moment he considered tossing his stupid phone into the river. But used his better judgement and shoved it back into his pocket.

“Well that’s my cue. Gotta get going before I really get in trouble. My mom just realized I snuck out. Besides, I should let you get back to training.”

“Good luck. You’re gonna need it.”

Trunks chuckled. “Next time I’ll see you it’ll be Tournament day. I hope you’ll be ready, man. It’s gonna be me versus you in the final round.” Trunks said with a smirk. “Oh, and tell Marron I said hi.”

“You can count on that.” Goten replied. “And sure.”

A translucent white colored aura surrounded Trunks’ body. He waved and he took off to the west like a torpedo. And like that he was gone over the horizon.

Goku came up, with Pan trotting along behind him. “Feelin’ up for some lunch before we continue?”

“You bet!” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two days had passed since then. Only four days remained until the big day.

Feeling revitalized, Son Goten continued his training. The day quickly approached, and he wanted to be ready. Super Saiyan 3 or not.  The young half Saiyan blitzed back and forth, kicking  and punching ferociously into the air, appearing only as a blue to the untrained eye. He kept vanishing and reappearing across the whole sky, leaving a golden trail in his tracks. Lighting swirled around his body like a thunderstorm. Goten  fired blasts forward, and teleported in front of his own oncoming attacks and blocked at the last possible second. 

On both of his wrists and ankles, he wore large, red colored weighted training bands. Each one had  twenty-five tons of force. One hundred tons total.  And yet, Son Goten made it look easy.

Meanwhile, a small hot-pink colored air jet sped towards Mt. Paozu. On the side of the left wing had the number 404 written in big black font. The opposite side sported the signature Capsule Corporation logo. 

Bubbly pop music blared from the radio as the teenage girl with hair tied into twin tails piloting the car enthusiastically sang along. She had sunglasses resting on top of her head and wore a small pink crop top and blue short-shorts that showed off her fit, athletic figure. The blonde was giddy with excitement- she was planning to surprise Goten during his training today. She could already picture his adorably stupid face, and giggled to herself just thinking about it! 

From the sky Marron could see Goku and Gohan’s home sitting side by side, in front of Grandpa Gohan’s old nut. It made a picturesque sight for the blonde. She wondered if she’d be living out here with Goten in a house of their own someday. 

Just then, shockwaves shook the air car violently back and forth, but Marron was no chump when it came to this. She easily got the vehicle under control and continued on her path.  Sure, she knew how to fly now, and her fear of heights was long gone, but she still overall preferred traveling this way. The wind while flying was still a bit too much for her.  Unless of course, she got to ride on the Nimbus with a certain boy.

Out of the corner of her light blue eyes, Marron saw a flicker of gold. She could just barely see, but she knew. High in the air appearing like a golden star in the middle of the day. It was beautiful. The blonde smiled as she lowered in altitude as she approached a field next to a river located nearby from the two homes, touching down on the grass a few moments later. 

Marron hopped out of the vehicle and stretched, taking in the clean air of the country and the quietness of nature. She was a city girl at heart, but in some ways this came pretty close. The blonde pressed the button on the side of her jet and with a puff of smoke, the jet returned to its capsule. She moved the sunglasses to her face to cover from the sun. Once her eyes adjusted, Marron pulled out the ribbons from her hair and shook her head from side to side, freely allowing her blonde locks to cascade down to her shoulders. Much better, she felt, 

She squinted and looked up to see if she could see him, but the sub was too bright even with her sunglasses. 

 Just then, as if on cue, a golden haired boy dropped down on the grass in front of her. 

“Hey, babe!” Goten said. Seeing Marron was exactly what he needed right now. He sensed her up in the air and he waved, but he was too far away for her to see. A warm smile curled onto the boy’s lips. He wore a white muscle shirt with blue sweatpants, and his signature yellow boots.

“Hey yourself~” She couldn’t help but gawk. Her blue eyes glanced over his muscles, and for a moment she wondered if it was more than the summer heat that made her feel hot all of a sudden. Marron fanned herself with her hand, trying to ignore the obvious that ran through her mind. But the blonde shook off her dirty idea when he walked up to her. “I hope I’m not interrupting your training.”

“Nah, perfect timing actually. Was gonna do one more thing then take a break. It’s great to see you, Mar. You look great--like a movie star.” Still in the Super Saiyan 2 state, Goten went over to his girlfriend and kissed her forehead.  “I’d hug you right now, but I’m all gross and sweaty from training.” 

Marron giggled, and ran her freshly manicured fingers through her hair. “There’d be plenty of time for that later~!” She winked at him and he grinned.  But when she noticed he was alone, she was a little confused. Not too long ago, she sensed another ki with Goten, who she assumed was his dad. “Oh! Where’s Goku? I thought he’d be with you.”

“Dad? He’s out doing some solo training somewhere in the wilderness. We sparred earlier, but said we should train separately for a little bit. So he got me this heavy training gear. I’ve been out here pretty much all day. After today though, I’m all done training until the Tournament. My dad recommended that I should rest my muscles a bit beforehand so I don’t mess myself up for the fights. I’m free tomorrow, so let’s go somewhere!”

Marron clasped her hands together happily. “Oh, that sounds amazing!”

“Then it’s a date.”

But for now, he had to get back to work. He removed the weights from his wrists and ankles, placing them back in their box. With a click of the button on the side, the box returned to its capsule form. 

Sighing with relief, Goten stretched his arms and legs as Marron watched. He punched the air a few times, satisfied with the result. She loved watching him. Not just because she generally preferred watching fights over fighting herself, the blonde genuinely loved watching her Goten grow and get stronger. She was so happy for him. 

Next, he moved to doing ten thousand push-ups wearing a fifty ton turtle shell on his back, courtesy of Master Roshi. It was a bit of a struggle getting it on, but he managed. Marron sat on top of the shell, her long legs dangling off to the side. She almost wanted to mess with him, but didn’t want her Goten to get distracted when he looked so serious.. So instead she just gave him support. It was getting warmer out, but the mountain breeze made the humidity doable. She didn’t care if her hair got frizzy. 

“Ok, here goes!!”

Fifty tons on your back was heavier than he thought. Harder than the previous exercise, if he was being honest. But transforming into Super Saiyan 2 made it much more doable. In his training, Goten had discovered a form, not quite Super Saiyan 3, but something beyond Super Saiyan 2. However that form was for another day. He wanted to perfect the second level as much as possible.

He started off strong, but about halfway through he really started to feel the strain. But this was normal for him. Unfortunately,  it didn’t get any easier from then on. Normally, it was child’s play. But coupled with wearing a heavy turtle shell on his back, it was no easy task. Still, Goten thought it was fun. 

He counted off the numbers, quickly approaching his goal of ten-thousand. 

“Hey~~” Marron hummed, cutely twirling a strand of hair in between her thumb and index finger. “You’re doing an awesome job! When you finish, I’ll give you a present~”

Goten grinned. “What kind?”

“You’ll just have to see~” She said, giggling. 

“Easy for you to say, you’re just sitting up there looking all hot in that little outfit!” Goten joked as he continued his workout. Marron gasped slightly and touched her blushing cheeks at the compliment. He was too sweet. Always knew how to make her blush. 

The minutes rolled by. Marron happily timed him. And soon he was in the final stretch. 

“9,998…” He grunted, his arms felt like jelly. “9,999…. 10,000!! Aaaand, done!” Goten cried out and practically collapsed onto the grass, drenched in sweat. In between his heavy breaths, he laughed slightly. He could feel he was progressing. A little more each day. He recalled what Trunks and his father told him, which only fueled his refound drive further. 

“You beat your record! Congrats, sweetheart!” Goten winced, almost losing his balance, and it weren’t for Marron helping him up, he very well might have. With a grunt, Goten dropped the ten ton turtle shell, cracking the ground around it upon impact. She happily pecked him on the cheek for a job well done.

He dropped back to base form--his hair and eyes now their original black color. “I’m exhausted…” He grabbed a fruit from a nearby tree and ate it whole. And then loudly burped. Goten sheepishly smiled. “That hit the spot…”

Marron giggled, walking up to him with her hands behind her back. “Well, I’m a woman of my word. Time for your surprise. Okay~ Close your eyes.”

“Why should I? You might play a trick on me.” 

Marron pouted. “Rude. I’d never do that!” Her voice came out squeakier than she intended but it just made him smile bigger. He thought her voice was adorable.

“There. They’re closed.” Goten said, still grinning. He liked to playfully push her buttons; her cute pouting face made it  worth it. “Now can I have a hint?” He sniffed the air, trying to guess. “Is it a snack?”

“No peeking. Or else.” Marron said in a demanding voice, but it still  just came off as cute. 

Marron leaned up, and cupped Goten’s cheeks in her hands. Before he could respond, the blonde gently kissed him on the lips. It was only for a moment, but they were both smiling when she pulled back.

“Pretty great surprise.”

“You’re welcome.” She purred and they kissed again, deeper this time.

After breaking apart that time, she held his hand in hers as they walked along the riverbank, which led to a large lake with multiple branching paths. The same lake where he taught her how to fly. Marron smiled at the memory.

“I’m dying out here!” He took a whiff of his black muscle shirt and grimaced. “Ew. And I smell like crap too. I'm gonna take a swim and cool off. Wanna join me?” 

“I would, but I don’t have my bathing suit with me.”

“So?”

“So I’m not getting down to my underwear!” Marron huffed. 

“It’s not like I haven’t seen you in your underwear before. Besides, nobody else is around. We’re all alone out here.”

“T-T-This is different! Idiot Goten!” Marron’s entire face turned a bright crimson-red from ear to ear at the implication. The blonde definitely didn’t mind if one thing led to another and passion got the best of them right there on the grass, but… but what if they got caught??! She’d probably die of embarrassment if that happened.

Goten only kept his smile; he could tell her imagination was running wild again. He threw off his clothes and laid them on the grass nearby. threw them in a pile nearby. He’d wash them later. Now down to just his boxers, he jumped high into the air and did a cannonball into the lake causing a big splash. He emerged a moment later, spitting water out of his mouth. He swam on his back, just relaxing. The cold temperature instantly made him feel refreshed. It was like he could feel his sore muscles being healed.

Marron dipped her feet into the water.. She closed her eyes and exhaled happily. Life didn’t get much better than this. She sighed blissfully and closed her eyes.  “Hey~ Where should we go tomorrow? The waterpark? Aquarium?” 

No response.

“Goten?” She opened them again to see that he was gone. Cracking a smile, Marron tried to listen for where he could be. “...Come on out, you dork.”

Something touched her foot and she yelped. 

“Goten!!” Marron said again, the panic in her voice growing and she pulled her feet out of the water.  She looked around, still nothing. She pouted. He was playing with her. Well she’ll show him. She had her own ways of playing with him. 

Just then, the teenaged Saiyan poked his head out from underwater and splashed the blonde right in the face. 

“Got ya!” He snickered.

She really didn’t have plans on going in the water. 

Until of course, he just declared war. 

“Oh, that’s it. It is so on.” 

“Bring it, Blondie.”  Goten deviously smiled back as he disappeared underwater, preparing for his next attack.

Marron smirked and dove right in after him.  

She’d made him pay for that. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Four more days rolled by. 

This was it. 

The 28th ‘Strongest Under the Heavens’ World Martial Arts Tournament had finally arrived. 

Skilled fighters who wanted to test their abilities  against the best of the best. Devoted fans who wanted to see one of the world’s biggest events from across the planet. All flocked to Papaya Island. It was the most anticipated event on the planet. Even those who didn’t attend planned to have their eyes glued to the television and radio for this year’s competition. 

Krillin, 18, and Marron were the first of the group to arrive. The family of three stepped out of their red capsule jet and then returned it to their capsule. Roshi and Oolong were next. Marron happily greeted the old man with a hug, Master Roshi was practically her grandfather: always kind to her and gave her wise advice whenever she needed it. If Marron ever got into an argument with her parents, Roshi’s island was always her first stop. 

A blue aircar landed nearby, and out jumped Yamcha, wearing a yellow suit and his black hair tied back into a ponytail. Puar sat on his shoulder “Hey man! Good to see ya!” He greeted his old friend and then waved to 18 and Marron, his goddaughter. It felt like yesterday he was babysitting and telling her stories as a toddler , and now she was a beautiful young woman. Time really flies. 

“Yamcha! How are ya, man? You here to enter?” Krillin asked. 

Yamcha shook his head. “Me? No way. With all those Saiyans, and mostly likely Piccolo too, I’d just embarrass myself. I’m just gonna watch.”

“I’d think you’d do great, Uncle Yamcha!!” Marron exclaimed, coming to his defense. 

Yamcha smiled at her. “Never change, Marron.” The blonde giggled in reply. 

“By the way, have you seen Tien?” The former monk asked. 

Yamcha shook his head. “I mentioned the Tournament to him when I went to visit last month, but haven’t heard much since. Knowing Tien though, he’ll be here.”

18 looked around,  honestly unconcerned with what they were talking about. 

She could tell Marron was preoccupied too. The teen kept fixing  her hair in her pocket mirror, wanting it to be perfect. 

18 smiled. “Teenagers.” She fondly remembered those times when she was that age, just her and her twin brother against the whole world. “Are you here or not, 17? You better not have bailed.”

“Goku said he’d meet us at the main gate. No use idling around here.” 

“Let’s get movin’ then!”

The Son family arrived at the southwestern side of the island. The family of seven, consisting of Goku, Chi-Chi, Gohan, Goten, Videl and the Ox King all made their way towards the registration tables to meet up with their friends and sign up. 

Goten felt nostalgic as he walked with his hands behind his head, wearing his new gi. This was the place he finally met his dad for the first time. Changed his life for the better. 

Pan clung to her grandfather’s pant leg, in awe of her surroundings. Everything looked so much fun!. Gohan and Videl prepped the toddler for today's fights the previous night. They were admittedly a little worried, but knew Pan could handle herself. And there were so many of their friends and family around--Gohan himself included-- that in the slim possibility of something going wrong, they’d intervene in an instant. 

“This place is really buzzing! Far cry from when I entered way back when.” Chi-Chi said.

“It doesn’t even feel like a Tournament anymore.” Videl added. “It’s like a festival! Even more so than last time.”

Pan tugged on Goku’s pant leg. “Hey Grandpa! Grandpa! Let’s go play!” The toddler said and  ran off into the crowd.

“Be back later guys!” Goku called and ran off. 

“Don’t go too far, Dad! You’ll miss registration!!” Gohan called. Goku gave his older son a thumbs up and disappeared into the crowd after his young granddaughter. 

“Two peas in a pod, those two.” Chi-Chi sighed.

“They’ll be alright, Mom.” Gohan said. “Dad’s great with Pan, He won’t lose track of time.”

Pan and Goku went on a ‘carnival adventure', as Pan described it. Well, it felt like one to her at least. She got to try all types of good food, fed the birds, met a giant robot bunny, and even won first place at one of the games, winning her a giant teddy that was at least three times  her size!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile, a small boat arrived at the docks on the southeastern port of the island. Out stepped a small boy, no older than ten. Frail, almost appearing malnourished. He had dark skin, and black hair styled into a spiky mohawk. The young boy’s clothing was dirty and torn up a bit from his life on his family’s farm. 

“T-Thank you for the ride, sir.” He reached into his pockets and pulled out a small sac. “Please, it’s not much, but please take this zeni for helping me.” He was supposed to use it to buy food, but the boy couldn’t just accept a free ride.

“No, please, put your money away, my boy.” The jolly old boat captain said with a laugh. “You came quite a long way to get here, I couldn’t take the last of your change like that. It’s the least I could do. After all, you’re fighting in the Tournament, correct? You’ll need food to keep yourself strong!”

The young boy’s eyes sparkled a bit, and he smiled for the first time all afternoon. It helped ease his pounding nerves somewhat. 

“Do you by any chance know which way I have to go? It’s my first time in a big city like this, and it’s rather intimidating.” He said, trailing off and looking around behind him at the bustling crowds and stalls that seemed endless. 

“Head straight that way.” The captain replied, pointing behind the boy. “You can’t miss it, it’s the huge building with the multicolored streamers coming out in every direction.”

“Thanks again! I’m in your debt.” The boy bowed his head, clasping his hands over his chest gratefully. 

“Wait, I never caught your name, son!”

“Uub. My name is Uub.” The boy now known as Uub replied meekly. He always felt his name was weird, 

“Well Uub,  good luck in the Tournament.”

Uub  bowed to the captain one last time, and was on his way. 

The captain waved as he watched the boy go, happy he could help. “What a nice lad. I hope he makes it to the top.” He got back into his boat and made a U-turn back to the mainland to pick up the next round of passengers. Hopefully they were as nice as Uub was. 

As Uub made his way through the city, he was shocked how big everything was. Skyscrapers that seemed to go on forever. He felt so tiny in comparison. Uub looked down to the ground, avoiding eye contact with most people. Just keep following the signs, he told himself.

Eventually, Uub reached the Tournament grounds. Bustling crowds lined multiple stalls. Food, games, merchandise, you name it. Uub was in awe. They were practically giving food away! His stomach grumbled just thinking about it. Figuring he should fight on a full stomach, young Uub got in line at the nearest burger stand. He never had one before, as his village was very poor. Uub’s village, a tropical settling to the south of Papaya Island, didn’t have the luxuries of fast food. He hoped to change that. 

While he was in line, a little girl with short black hair wearing a red gi ran by a few yards behind him, happily giggling. Not too long after, a certain man with a signature palm tree hairstyle ran after the girl. When the man passed Uub, he stopped for a moment to stare to really confirm it.

“So it’s really true. He’s here!”

“Grandpa, come on!!” The little girl’s voice could be heard from up ahead. But when Uub turned around, the little girl and whoever she was talking to were already gone. 

Uub paid for his burger with his last two hundred  zeni. He just  stared at it for a moment, his mouth watering. “My first burger… Mom, Dad, everyone, I hope you’re proud of me! I’ll try my best!” 

Uub devoured his burger and got on his way. As he walked, he saw monks directing people where to go. Up ahead he saw a man at a booth with ‘Registration’ written on the front in big bold letters. Uub smiled. He made it. He really made it. Uub timidly approached the table when he saw there wasn’t much of a line. 

“Hello!”

“Hi…” 

“Are you here to register for the Tournament, my boy?” he smiled warmly at the young boy. 

“Y-Yes. M-My name is Uub.” Uub averted his eyes. This was too nerve wracking.

The monk looked him up and down for a moment and then wrote something down on his clipboard. “Uub,” he repeated, “okay, you’re all registered. Please follow the path behind me to the courtyard. There you will draw a number.. The preliminary test will begin in about a half hour.”

“Thank you, sir.” Uub nodded and continued on his way. It was becoming real for him now. He gulped. This was it. No going back now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Goku returned with Pan, lugging along her prize from earlier. He found the rest of his family idling around the foot court about an hour later. Still plenty of time to register. 

“Mama! Papa! Look! I won at the hammer game! I rang the bell and then it exploded!! The nice man gave me Mister Bear!” Pan cried happily, jumping up and down. Videl and Gohan looked at each other and smiled. 

“That’s amazing, Panny!” Videl said. “I’ll take your bear for you so he doesn’t get lost, okay?” 

Pan happily nodded her agreement and then ran back over to Goku. “Grandpa are we really at the Toonament?”

“Sure are, kiddo! You still wanna fight, right?”

“Mhmm!”

Goku’s ki sense picked up on someone familiar approaching. He turned around and saw the Briefs family: Vegeta, Bulma, Trunks, and little Bulla.

Bulla and Pan ran over and hugged each other. 

Trunks nodded to Goten. The lavender haired teen wore sweatpants and a black muscle shirt with ‘Capsule’ written on the front in big white letters.. For a moment the two teens stared each other down, electricity sparking between them. Their friendly rivalry was reaching its peak, both believing they’d face the other in the final round. 

Chi-Chi pinched Goten’s ear while Bulma clonked Trunks on the head.

“Be nice, Goten!”

“Yeah, don’t be a hotshot! We already have enough of those with your father around!”

Chi-Chi and Bulma playfully scolded their respective sons. Even when they were practically adults, Goten and Trunks were still easily defeated by their mothers, just like when they were small. 

“You’re entering too, Vegeta?” Goku asked his former rival, now close friend.

Vegeta smirked. “For once, Kakarot, I’m fighting just for the fun of it.”

“Plus, he’s been gettin a little tummy lately!” Bulma poked her husband’s chest causing him to blush and storm off with a scowl. Trunks sighed in exasperation while Goku and Bulma grinned.

Bulla trotted after Vegeta. “Daddy, why do you call Mister Goku a carrot?”

Vegeta knelt down and patted his daughter on the head. “I’ll explain it later, Princess.”

“I almost forgot!” Chi-Chi exclaimed. “Before anything happens, boys, are you gonna ban Super Saiyan this time around too?”

Everyone glanced to Goten and Trunks. The two most likely culprits to break the rule anyway. 

Goten put his hands up in defense. “Hey, don’t look at me! It was an accident last time!” 

“Yeah, besides, we should give those sheep out there a show! Something they’ll never forget.” Trunks added. 

“That’s that then. Anything goes.” Goku said and Vegeta smirked in affirmation. The boys high-fived each other, and with that, once the group finished their little pit stop they were on their way.

The two families went as one big group and together they reached their meetup spot and linked up with Krillin and the others. Even Piccolo and Dende showed up, but they were off to the side, not liking the attention and looks from the crowd.. Piccolo had decided to enter rather last minute, upon the request of little Pan. He couldn’t say no to her, no matter how hard he tried.

“There they are!” Krillin pointed at them, about ten yards away. Goku waved from afar.  

When Marron saw Goten, standing clad in his brand new orange and black gi, the blonde practically flung herself at the young half Saiyan. He happily caught her and spun her around, and they shared a quick smooch. 

“I’m so glad you came, Mar.” She looked gorgeous with that pretty red dress of hers. She was his cheerleader. His number one fan and reason for going on. With her in his corner, he felt like he was the strongest guy in the universe. 

“Of course, sweetheart! You’d think I’d ever miss my boyfriend becoming World Champion? She winked at him. She started fussing over his gi, adjusting it so he looked neat. He looked so handsome, she thought. “I’ll be cheering for you~”

“Can I have one more good luck kiss?” Goten said in a low tone, so nobody heard him but her. His  strong yet gentle arms wrapped around her waist. She smelled really good. 

“I’d be happy to.” Marron replied with a sultry grin.. She flipped her hair behind her back, draped her arms around Goten’s neck.

Just before their lips touched again though, Goten was yanked backward. Marron pouted at the culprit. 

“Come on, lover boy. You two can be gross and suck face all you want later, unless you want to watch the Tournament from the stands. As a spectator.” Trunks grumbled as he dragged Goten away over to the registration stands. 

Marron only giggled and blew her boyfriend a kiss. “Byyye! Good luck! I love you!”

Goten waved back with both hands as he got dragged away, mouthing ‘I love you too’ and Marron just about melted. 

The two teenaged Saiyans went to sign up while Marron went with Chi-Chi and her mother to find a seat. Krillin stayed around to chat with Goku and Yamcha, catching up and reminiscing about the previous times they were all here. 

From deep in the crowd, a blonde woman with a big red ribbon spotted that signature hairstyle. That was unmistakable, even with his back to her. After all these years she could spot him from a mile away. Luckily, she kept her firearms at home. Well, most of them. She had no plans on using them. Unless they needed a crowd clearer. Maybe. 

“I knew he’d be here.” She said to the taller man, her husband, beside her.

“Yes. It’s been too long.” The bald man said. He turned to the smaller man on his shoulder and smiled. “Figures we’d reunite here, right Chiaotzu?”

Chiaotzu nodded. “I’ll be fighting as well.”

And like that, the blonde ran off ahead in the direction of their old friends. She ran right up to Goku and playfully slapped him on the back. “Long time no see, boys!”

“Hey, what’s the-- L-Launch?!! Is that you?!” Goku’s irritation immediately turned to joy at the sight of his lifelong friend. All three of the former Turtle School fighters greeted Launch happily. 

“Wait, if you’re here, that must mean…” Krillin started to say, and then the duo in question appeared. Tien and Chiaotzu. 

It didn’t need to be said, but both Tien and Chiaotzu had gotten stronger. Much stronger. Goku couldn’t wait to see their new abilities. 

“My apologies for the surprise.” Tien said with his usual serious expression. Launch stuck her tongue out and  blew raspberries at him. Chiaotzu laughed at that. “It’s good to see you all again.”

Yamcha  patted Tien on the shoulder with a grin. “Come on, man, we’re your pals. No need to be so serious!”

“So how’s married life treatin’ ya?” Krillin smirked jokingly.

“Great! Right Tien?” Launch poked Tien in the chest. 

“Um, y-yes.” Tien blushed. The Turtle trio all exchanged similar grins. He still wasn’t the best at expressing his emotions in public, especially when teased, but they also knew him too well. 

“This one is a big worrywort. Especially now.” Launch patted her stomach. She was pregnant with her first child. Eight weeks. Admittedly it was a little trippy to find out, after her blue self was the first to learn the news, but her blonde self was equally as happy. Her life on the farm in the western mountains--a life without crime-- was much better than she had imagined. 

Each of the Turtle School trio and Master Roshi sported similar elated grins, as they hugged Launch and gave their congratulations to the future parents. Their little gang would soon have one more member.

A voice came over the sound system. “Last call for registration! I repeat, last call for registration. Please come to the registration desk! Registration will be closing in three minutes!”

“Well, that’s my cue!” Goku said and went to sign up along with Tien and Chiaotzu. The three fighters signed up at the very end, in their typical fashion. The three fighters waved and parted ways with Yamcha, Roshi, Krillin, and Launch, who went to join the others. 

“Just wait till everyone sees you! This’ll be a great surprise!” Yamcha exclaimed. Just like old times. 

The last remaining fighters signed up, and registration came to a close. 

In a private room of the main building, a middle aged man with blond hair adjusted his tie in the mirror. He wore an impeccable suit, ready for another year at the best job in the world. 

He peered out the window at the crowd of participants gathering in the fighters courtyard while thousands of  guests filed into their seats of the main stadium. The man cleared his throat, smiling. Announcing and commentating the World Martial Arts Tournament  was second nature to him now. 

Tournaments past were some of the most exhilarating moments of his life. 

And only one thought echoed through his mind.

“They’ll be here this time. I just know it.”

[suprisedbutnotdisappointed]

To The Girl I Love

Genre: Slight Angst/Fluff

Pairing: Mark Lee x OC

Featuring: Johnny and Lucas

Snippet: To the girl I love. You mean the world to me, and I would do anything for you. I would go to the ends of the Earth and give you the finest riches if it meant you’d be happy. I will love you for forever and I hope that you love me for forever.

— Mark

A/N: This is my first original story on here so please don’t be to harsh! Feedback is definitely welcome and I would like to know what I can do better in the future! Also, don’t be afraid to leave requests if there’s anything you would like me to write next. If you guys like this story I might post another one. Also, this one has an original character being with Mark but if you guys want I could post another one with Y/N instead of an OC. GIF is not mine. Credits go to owner

Junior year. The year it all began. Our junior year was the year I finally had the guts to ask you to prom, and inevitably to be my girlfriend. We had been best friends since we first met in Ms. Hammocks Geography class Freshmen year and since then I knew I wanted you to be apart of my life forever.

“Dude you should totally ask her to prom! There’s no way she’ll say no! She obviously likes you too! Ouch!” Lucas says as Johnny hits him upside the head. “What was that for?!?” He hisses as he rubs the back of his head. “You have no proof that she won’t say no. Just because she talks to Mark on a daily basis does not mean she’s into him. That’s like saying you like him because you talk to him on a daily basis!” “Oh, you’re right” “Mark don’t listen to them.” Rose chimes in. “I’m sure she’d love to go to Prom with you.”

Rose. The girl that introduced us. She’s been your friend since Kindergarten and evidently mine since middle school when Lucas introduced her to me as his girlfriend. She was really upset when you didn’t go to middle school with us because your dad got a job up in Canada so you had to go with him. I didn’t know you at the time but I was glad I got to meet you in high school.

“Are you sure? I mean, what if she says no because she doesn’t like me?” I say with hesitation in my voice. “Really Mark? Her best friend just gave you one of the clearest signs that she’d want to go to prom with you and you’re still struggling?” “Yes I am Rose! It’s scary okay?! She super nice and sweet and I’m scared she’s going to reject me!” “That’s fair I guess, but you never know until you try. I’m just saying. Her answer might just surprise you. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go talk to my teacher about an upcoming test.” And with that Rose left me to my own thoughts and Johnny and Lucas still arguing.

A symphony. That’s all I heard when you walked into the cafeteria that day. You looked like an angel with the way the sun hit your skin through the windows and when your sundress flowed behind you because of the air, you were all I could see. So as Johnny and Lucas continued to argue about wether you liked me back or not, I grabbed the unopened strawberry milk I had bought for you and marched my way over to you with all the confidence I had left.

“Mark where are you going dude!” Johnny calls after me. “Leave him alone dude! He’s gonna go get his girl! Go get her bro!” Lucas yells.

Be cool. Be cool, be cool, just be cool. All I could think was how I wanted nothing more than for you to think I was cool enough for your to go to prom with. I prepared a whole speech the night before but once you turned towards me and smiled at me, everything I knew went down the drain.

“Hey Mark. How are you?” You said with the whole heavens shining through your smile. “I-I’m uh, good. How are you?” God damnit Mark. Could you be any more stupid? You chuckled at me and I don’t think I could have ever gotten more red. “What’s that you’ve got in your hand there Mark?” “Huh? Oh. It’s strawberry milk. For you. But! You don’t have to take it if you don’t want to.” I hold it out in front of me in hopes that I don’t get turned away to quickly. You take it from my hand with a small smile and a thank you. “So. What are you up to? You looked like you were having fun over there arguing with Johnny and Lucas.” you laugh.

Your laugh. It rings through my ears like a glorious choir singing in an empty church hall. It fills my day with joy every time I hear it and I have made it my personal mission to make you laugh each and everyday.

“Oh. Yeah I guess that was pretty fun.” I chuckle while scratching the back of my head. “Well um, I’m actually not up to much. I actually wanted to ask you a question.” At this point my nerves were through the roof. There was no turning back now. “What’s up?” You had a look of actual concern on her face and it reminded why I chose you as the one I wanted to spend the rest of my days with. “I was wondering if you wanted to uh, maybe, go to prom with me? As like my date?” There was moment of silence and I swore I could have passed out right then and there. Your smile appeared once again as you began to spoke. “Sure Mark. I would love to go to prom with you. As like your date.” We laugh as you imitate me.

Prom night. One of the most magical nights of my life. There were fairy lights hanging from every surface available and the soft glow made you look ethereal. I felt like I was floating the whole night and to have you there by my side made everything so much better.

“So the boy finally got the girl huh?” Rose chuckles as her, Lucas and Johnny all walk up to us both. We chuckle in unison and look at each other with a small smile. “I guess so.” I say as Johnny and Lucas pat me on the back. We carry on through the rest of our night, it being full of fun and good times. At the end of the night I drove you back to your place where our relationship took it’s next big step. We held hands as I walked you up to your door. “Welp, this is me.” “Yeah. It is.” We let go of each others hands and before you can walk away I muster up all the courage I can and call out your name. You turn around and I swear my heart was going to burst.

Nervous. That’s all I once again felt as you answered me. Was I really about to do this? Was I really about to ask you this with your dad right inside this very house? Was I really about to risk what could be our whole relationship which had just started blossoming? Of course I was. Because you were waiting for a response and I couldn’t just leave you hanging and wondering what I was going to say. I couldn’t leave you hanging with so many what if’s running through your head.

“Yes Mark?” We’re now eye to eye and I think again, there’s no backing out now. So as we stand there, I take your cheek in my hand and move my head closer to yours. “Can I kiss you?” At this point my hands are shaking but I hope you either don’t notice or aren’t saying anything to spare me the embarrassment. You give me such a small nod I almost didn’t see it, but with your consent I lean in some more and finally connect your lips to mine for the first time. However, I was saved no embarrassment when your dad opens the door catching us mid-kiss. With my cheeks read and face flushed, I bid you and your dad a goodnight and make my way to my car. Once in my car I celebrate our small lived kiss.

The last few months after prom were spent with small kisses, parties with our friends, and us just being the reckless kids we were. When you danced without a care in the world at our last party together I saw the girl I wanted to marry. Then it happened. I got the call and I panicked.

“Hello?” I answered having not known the number. “Hello is this Mark Lee?” A lady asks from the other side of the phone. “Yes this is. Who is this?” I am nurse Montoya from Saint Anthony’s. I’m calling to tell you that Ms. Olivia Roberts has gotten into an accident. You were the last person she was in contact with so we wanted to know if you knew her personally and if you could come to the hospital.”

Panic. That’s all I felt as the nurse explained what had happened. I started shaking and I didn’t know what to do. You had gotten into an accident and were in the hospital. What was I supposed to do? This has never happened to anyone I knew before. I wasn’t prepared for this or what was to come.

“Sir? Sir hello? Are you still there?” The nurse asks, obviously a bit annoyed at this point. “Yes! Yes I’m still here. Sorry. I do know her personally, I’m her boyfriend. I’ll be there as soon as I possibly can!” With that I hung up the phone and drove off to the hospital. By the time I got there your family as well as Rose, Johnny, and Lucas were already there. Everyone was obviously sad and had been crying, upset that this had happened to someone so nice and precious to this world and the people in it. Your mom was the first to hug me and tell me she was glad I was there.

Despair. The only thing hanging on the air around everyone when we got the news. You were in a coma and the doctors said that from the looks of it you would be for a while. Everyone was crying their eyes out. I tried to hold the tears back because someone needed to be strong and you weren’t there to be the strong one, but I couldn’t help it and broke down. Your mom kept asking why. Why this had to happen to her, to her baby girl who never even hurt a fly. She also talked about how no one deserved this, especially not her family.

“You should go home and get some rest Mark. She would want you to be sleeping well.” Your dad looks down at me with red, tired eyes. At this point everyone else had gone home besides me and your parents. “Thank you Mr. Roberts, but I’d rather stay here. I want to be able to see her.” I look up at him with equally red eyes. The nurse told us only one person could stay with you that night. Us three decided I would stay with you that night. I was the last one to go in and see you having been the one to stay out in the waiting room to console everyone else.

Hurt. My chest hurt when I walked in that room and saw lying there with so many tubes attached to you and all the monitors and bags surrounding your bed. Sitting down next you I took your hand in mine and thought about how it should have been me and not you in this bed. You were so nice to everyone and everything you came in contact with. No matter how mean a person was to you, you were still nice to them. You didn’t deserve this, but no one did.

I thought back to all the times you brought me food when you knew I was studying to hard or when you would come and make me take a break whenever I was working on something and wouldn’t come out of my room. You were my rock, the one I always came to when I needed something. You saw me in my strongest times, and stuck with me through all of my weakest times.

And no matter how much I wished it was me instead of you, I knew you would have been just as sad as I am now if it were me in that bed. I sat by your bed until a voice startled me out of my thoughts. “I’m sorry young man, but I just have to check her vitals.” I move out of the nurses way and let her do her job.

I know she can sense my tension and sadness from her having done this many times before. “Are you a relative of hers? A brother or maybe a friend?” I give out a small chuckle and she smiles at that, glad to see me smiling. “I’m her boyfriend.” “Aw that’s nice. How long have you all been together?” I feel my eyes start to water at the question and I look up at the nurse. “We’ve been together for a year now. Today’s our anniversary.” She looks at me solemnly and wraps up all her equipment. “I’m so sorry. I remember when I had to go through this same thing. My fiancé got in an accident the night of our wedding.“

Before she left she told me the story of how her fiancé ran out to grab a tie for his best man and was involved in a hit and run. She told me he never made it to the wedding and by the time she made it to the hospital he was already gone. That’s why she became a nurse. She made a promise to herself from that day on that she would help everyone she could just so they didn’t have to go through what she did. And while she hasn’t been able to save everyone, she’s tried her best and has never forgotten her fiancé or her promise.

I came back to visit you every night for four months. You were still in a coma but that never stopped me from telling you about my day and how everyone else was. Everyone told me that you couldn’t hear me, or that I should just forget about you since it’s been four months and you still haven’t woken up, but I refuse to give up on you. I’ll never leave you behind.

“You know, I read an article that said it’s better if you talk to someone when they’re in a coma because even though they can’t respond they can still hear you and it makes it easier for them to come back rather then not.” I tell you as you lay there steadily breathing. “The cherry blossoms have started to bloom. I brought you some because I know they’re your favorite and you like to watch them bloom. I promise I’ll take care of them for you while I wait for you to wake up.” I grab your hand after putting the vase down and I swear I felt your hand twitch. I remove my hand from yours and reach for it again to test my theory, and I’m absolutely 100 percent positive that you squeezed my hand.

Happiness. What a relieving feeling. I haven’t felt happy in a while so to see you responding to my touches made me happy. I knew this day would come eventually. You were hanging in there like the strong person I know you are and you were finally going to wake up. I would finally get my girl back. When you actually woke up and opened your eyes I was crying tears of joy. Until you looked at me.

“Who are you?” You ask me with the most genuine confusion written on your face, and my heart broke in two. “What do you mean? It’s me, Mark.” “I’m sorry, Mark, but I don’t know who you are. You have a very nice name though. I’m Olivia. It’s nice to meet you.”

The last time I felt this broken was the night you got in the accident, only now you were awake and told me you hade no clue who I was. At this point I thought everyone was right, I shouldn’t have hoped you would just wake up and everything would be okay. That’s not how these usually work. Is it? No, of course it isn’t. I know we can work through this though. We’ve worked through so much before, we’ve got this.

“Well Olivia, it’s nice to meet you too. Would you like to talk over something to eat?” I figure it’s been a while since she’s eaten real food and not slush through a tube. “That’s be nice. How’s you know I was hungry? You’re like a wizard?” I let out a small chuckle at this. She’s always hungry, I think, but she doesn’t need to know that I know that. The nurse comes in at this point, with her parents right behind her. “Oh! Ms. Roberts you’re awake! Your parents are here to see you!”

Her parents heads snap up at this and that come rushing in the room, happy that their little girl is okay. “My parents? Hi! It’s nice to see you.” Her parents let out a breath of relief, and smile at their child. “It’s nice to see you to honey. How have you been?” To say I was a little sad would be a bit of an understatement. Of course she’d remember her parents Mark, why wouldn’t she? “I’ve been good. I made a new friend today! His name is Mark.” She points towards me and I make eye contact with her parents.

They look at me confused and back at you. “New friend? Honey that’s your boyfriend.”

Olivia looks at me with a shocked expression. “Boyfriend?!? I’ve never met him before though! How can he be my boyfriend if we haven’t met until just now?” Her parents look back at me but now with sadness in their eyes. “Oh I’m sorry. I must be thinking of myself. Well, why don’t we get you some food and get you cleared to get out of here?” “That sounds great! Mark and I were just about to get food!” You look at me with a smile on your face and your parents bid their heads understandingly. “We’ll let you two eat lunch then. We wouldn’t want to intrude on anything.”

Laughter. That’s what you would hear if you passed by the hospital room. The sounds that I always loved to hear. I was so glad to finally be able to hear it again, as well as see your angelic smile appear once again. I’ve waited so long to see it all again and even though I have to act as if it was my first time seeing it, I couldn’t be any happier then I was in that moment. To be able to make you smile and laugh again made me feel like I was flying.

“Hey Mark can I ask you something?” My head snaps back to you sitting up in your bed, still glowing just as much as the day I first met you. “Sure, what’s up Olivia?” “Would you like be my friend? We could hang out after I get out of here!” To say I was happy would be another understatement. I was beyond happy, I was over the moon that even though you couldn’t remember me, you still wanted to be my friend, and those were your exact same words when we first became friends Freshman year. “Sure Liv. I would absolutely love to be your friend.”

The day you were finally released from the hospital one month after you had woken up, we went on a picnic, just like we did on our first date. That night I drive you home once again. You invited me in for dinner but I had to go back home to study for an upcoming test. You understood, although you were a little disappointed in my answer.

“It’s okay Liv. We’ll see each other tomorrow and we’ll hang out again.” “Promise?” “Promise.” You smile at that and you lean over to kiss me on the cheek. You exit my car and I’m thankful that you don’t see me turn bright red.

Three more months after you’ve been out of the hospital you came back to school right before prom. With prom right around the corner I was determined to ask you to prom again this year. I was determined to make you mine again. No matter how long it took. So I bought another strawberry milk, one of the first things you ordered with your first meal once you woke up. Still one of your favorite drinks.

“So, you’re gonna ask her to prom again?” Lucas asks with a monotonous voice. “Leave him alone Lucas!” Rose says as she lightly slaps his arm. “Don’t listen to him Mark. I’m sure she’d love to go to Prom with you again. Even if she may not remember the first time. Go ask her Mark.”

I see you walking through the opened library doors and I know now is my chance. So I stand up and make my way over to the table you sat at. “Hey Mark, what’s up?” At that moment I see all the stars shining in your eyes and I’m suddenly not nervous anymore. “Hey Liv. Not much just came to see what you were up to.” I know you love it when people ask what you’re doing. No matter how small the task you’re doing is. So I asked, and it was worth it to see you smile.

“Oh you know, just relaxing on my lunch break. What about you?”

“Oh I’m just hanging out with Johnny, Lucas and Rose. You’re welcome to join us if you’d like, but I have a question for you before we go over there.” At this point my heart is once again racing. I know I said I wasn’t nervous, but your smile head my head spinning and thoughts scattered. What if I couldn’t remember what to say? Or I stumble over my words and you think I’m a dork?

“You can ask me anything! What’s up?” My hands are once again sweaty just like the first time I asked you. I swear to god Mark if you stumble over your words just like the first time I’m gonna bang my head against the wall. I thought to myself. It’s now or never Mark, just ask her. And so I open my mouth prepared to ask you to prom again. And when I open my mouth to ask you, out comes “ I was wondering if you wanted to uh, maybe, go to prom with me? As like my date?” God damnit Mark you’re so stupid I thought to myself. Of course you just had to be a dork and say the exact same thing you did the first time. Jesus Christ.

You laugh at me again just like you did the first time I asked you. “Of course I would love to go to prom with you. As like your date.” You chuckle towards the end and hold your books closer to your chest. “Cool.” I say with a sheepish smile on my face. “Wanna go hang out with Lucas and the rest of them then?” “Sure Mark.” You smile brightly at me, showing me a heaven that exists down here on Earth. “Let’s go.”

On the night of prom we show up at the front doors to be greeted by Lucas and Rose holding hands, and Johnny standing right next to them. When they see us they start cheering and cooing at how cute we are. We spend the rest of that night dancing all our cares away and having fun as the seniors we now are. That night I walk you back to your house and we walk up to your doorstep hand in hand once again, only this time before we can kiss you mom and dad are standing at the door with it already wide open.

“Did you two have fun tonight?” Your mom asks, happy to see us hand in hand once again. We look at each other then back at your parents. “Yeah we did.” We say in unison before laughing together. I give you a hug to say my goodbyes for the night and before I can step off your porch your dad calls my name out into the cold night air. I turn around to be greeted with a soft smile adorning his face. “Yes Mr. Roberts?” Your dad lets out a small chuckle at the formality. “Would you like to stay for dinner?” At the end of his sentence there was a loud crack of thunder, scaring us all out of the warm and wholesome moment. “I guess that’s my que to say yes.” I laugh. “I would love to stay for dinner.”

We all walk into your house, the smell of chicken already having filled the air. “Oh Livie remind me after dinner to show you some photo albums I found when I was cleaning the attic.” Your mom yelled out from the kitchen. “Okay mom I will!” You laugh at her excitement to show you photos you had probably seen before. We begin to set the table as the rain outside becomes complete downpour.

As we laugh around the dinner table the rain settles down. “Mom weren’t there some photo albums you wanted to show me?” Your mom lights up at that and she drops whatever she was doing in the kitchen and runs to the living room where we’re sitting with four different photo albums.

Going through the first photo album we saw picture of you and Rose when you guys were little, as well as some of your birthday parties, you opening Christmas presents, and many other types of photos to capture the good memories of your child hood. Then we moved on to ones with pictures of middle school. They were full of pictures of you, Rose, and Johnny. You all were smiling and looking full of innocence.

Then we get around to one full of high school pictures. The last picture I saw before I walked out of your house was one we took together before your accident. You asked who that was in the picture with you and I couldn’t take it, I know it’s selfish of me to think you could have remembered me if you could remember everyone else, but I know that I was added into your life at a later point in time then everyone else and that it wouldn’t just be hat easy for you to remember me.

You called out my name as I walked out of your house but I was already outside and in the rain. I stood in front of your house for a minute, hoping that you would come run out after me, but you never did. So I started to walk home in the rain, not disappointed in you or the fact that you couldn’t remember me, but disappointed in myself that I thought once we became friends again you would remember me. I was disappointed that I was being selfish. “Mark!” I hear you call after me.

Your voice. So soft like velvet and smooth like honey. Something I could listen to for hours and hours on end. To hear you call after me made me relieved. Relieved that you wanted to see me, relieved that you thought I was good enough for you to run after. So I turn around to look at you, and you’re already standing in front of me, the street lights mixed with the rain giving you an ethereal glow.

“Yes Olivia?” My voice is shaky just like my hands, afraid that I’ll burst into tears at any moment. In that moment you said to me, “You know, when I woke up in that hospital bed to you being the first face I saw, I though to myself, who the hell is the handsome stranger sitting by my bed? Then you told me your name and I thought, why does his name sound so familiar? I’ve never met this man before in my life.” You smiles your heavenly smile at me and I felt like I was completely out of this world. Floating somewhere among the stars and the Milky Way.

Then you continued, saying, “Then we got to know each other, and I swore to myself everyday that I had seen you from somewhere before, but I had no clue where.” Your eyes started to tear up and your voice became shaky much like mine was. “I knew, for the longest time since waking up, that I knew you from somewhere and I was going to make it my life’s mission to find out where. I also knew that I love you, and that I was going to tell you that I love you not only for the person you are, but for the person you will be in the future. I didn’t know when I started to love you or how I was going to tell you that I love you, but tonight, looking through those photo albums with you and my parents, I knew I had found my reasons.”

At first when I heard you say you had found your reasons I was a little stunned. I didn’t know what to say or partially how to even comprehend what was happening. As we stand in the rain, lost in each others eyes, I stand there with baited breath, waiting for the rest of your sentence.

“I started loving you Freshman year in Ms. Hammocks Geography class. My best friend Rose introduced us and I knew I wanted you in my life for as long as I could. I fell in love with you once again our Junior year. You had asked me to prom and we kissed on my front porch, and got caught by my dad.” You say with a chuckle. I’ve seen you in so many different places in my life. You’ve had such a big impact on my life, and I wouldn’t Change it for the world, I wouldn’t change you for the world.” You finish.

Cherry blossoms. They started to fall around us as we stand there looking at each other breathlessly. It was like something out of a movie. The guy gets the girl, the story takes an unexpected twist that no one saw coming, and said guy and girl kiss in the rain with petals falling all around them. Now all that’s left is the kiss.

I close the rest of the distance between us and bring your head closer to mine, your cheeks cupped in my hands. In that moment, I knew I wanted to marry you, and I would never let anything bad happen to you again. No matter what it took.

Graduation day. One of the greatest days of our life. We were finally free of being classified as angsts teenagers who no longer knew anything and now young adults ready to face the real world. I was supposed to give a speech that day and all I could think of while writing my speech was you. How you were there for everything, and how all you wanted was for the people around you to be happy. So that day, graduation day, I gave my speech and thought to myself that I couldn’t forget to include you in there somewhere. So I ask you to come up on stage and say:

“Olivia Roberts has been around for a large part of my life. She’s been there for four of the most important years in anyone’s life, and I couldn’t have asked for someone better.” I take in a shaky breath and continue. “She’s been there through thick and thin, my best and worst moments, she saw it all. I couldn’t have asked for not only a better girlfriend, but also a better friend, a better support system, a better person to talk to. With all of these things she’s done for me, I want to be the one to do something for her now.”

And with that last sentence engraved in everyone’s mind, I move drone behind the podium, get down on one knee, and asked you to be mine for the rest of my life in front of our whole class, their parents, and our senior year teachers. The moment you said yes I couldn’t have been happier. Standing up and slipping the ring on your finger, I started to cry and everyone got to watch.

“Bringing this story of our lives to a close, I knew today would be one of the best days of my life. I’m standing here, in front of all the friends and family I love. A group of people that I wouldn’t change for the rest of my life. Our two best friends Lucas and Rose who got married last year, Johnny who’s still working on finding a girlfriend, but will find the right girl eventually.”

Everyone at the reception laughs and we both give out a small chuckle. “I’m finally getting to marry the girl of my dreams and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Finally getting the girl I love. So, take make a way to long story short, I’ll leave you with this message.” I let out one last shaky breath as I read:

“To the girl I love. You mean the world to me, and I would do anything for you. I would go to the ends of the Earth and give you the finest riches if it meant you’d be happy. I will love you for forever and I hope that you love me for forever.”

— Mark

[exceptionally0unexceptional]

The surrounding air is wonderfully clean, outrageously so, filtered so incessantly that it Ruben’s chest aches; lungs flowering open to absorb more of that sanitary oxygen, a tongue akin to rubber smacking across the roof of his mouth. Everything in this facility feels so unnaturally pure – a retouched image of civilization which never seems to pop! into focus despite how he rubs astronomy into his eyes. Here, like everywhere else, his unkempt boredom is a fickle mistress.

Pushing his lips out beyond their limit – simply to hear the minuscule squelch the movement causes – and smacking them in time to an unknown (yet to be established) rhythm, Ruben’s eyes flicker lazily throughout his sibling’s tidy office. The décor is mystifying, if lazy, a collision of stained oak and rusted embellishments. Certainly not the tastes reflected in his patchwork memory. James was always a plastic over steel type of person. Economy be damned.

Ruben finds his fingertips curling around a rather odd-looking sphere sitting nonchalantly on the center of James’ vast desk. The object bursts with energy, a vortex of brilliant neon light swirling around one and other in a tangle which causes Ruben’s eyes to twist over one together. He shakes the feeling of nausea easily and places the peculiar ball back onto its pedestal; that luminescent spectrum floating in front of his eyes in the minutes which follow. His fingers drum pointless syllables amidst forgotten papers and uncapped stationery and his eyes trace amidst the madness for a flash of anything even remotely Delgado related; a single semblance of the person Ruben used to know – that same being who would get high off sunshine and loathed the color black.

All he can find is a stack of unopened mail and a collection of neatly stacked manila folders. Folders which have been stamped scarlet and wrapped in a loose bow of twine. Each file houses a name, written in beautiful cursive scrawl, which he does not recognize. Curiosity tends to bring out the worst in him – a feline urgency which rattles at the barrier of his bones and has his palms trembling with the urge to explore; his very fingertips are the tools which can excavate an entire realm of unknowns. Even if they do not belong to him. Glancing swiftly over his shoulder as a precautionary measure, Ruben presses his thumb underneath the lip of the top folder and peers cautiously inside in search of someth-

The door swings open with far more momentum than Ruben could have anticipated, handle bouncing forcefully moulded wallpaper, causing him to leap back as though his fingertips had been submerged within sapphire flame. He straightens his posture almost instantaneously – save for the natural buckle of his knees, toes pointed in toward one and other. Porcelain and silver illuminate the entirety of his grin – genuine glee captured within boyish features.

Despite the downward angle of James’ face, eyes transfixed on polished linoleum and ill-fitting shoes, it feels incredible to witness a likeness which has not been seen for years. They have developed a few fair lines around hauntingly tired eyes since their last meeting. Their lashes are fuller, longer and darker. Their cheeks have swollen considerably since that final winter. They look surprisingly healthy despite how their lips pinch hotly in stress, fingertips wrapped around steaming Styrofoam and struggling to balance an oversized binder beneath their arm.

It’s still them. It’s still James.

And that notion alone is enough to bring forth a triumphant “Hi!” from Ruben’s glowing lips.

James flinches temporarily, their coffee wavering in unsteady fingertips while their binder is kept impeccably close. They pause, suck in a tepid breath, and sigh.

“Ruben… What’re you doing here?”

“Uh,” Ruben bounces forward, knotting his fingertips throughout each other until they creak in utmost protest. “I know you said you’d contact me when you’re free, but I’ve been here for a few weeks now and you haven’t given me a call. Or a text. Or anything, really.”

The sight of their younger brother sucking helplessly at the rotund swell of his lower lip is horrifyingly familiar; warmth spills forth like honey into the slender expanse of a previously hollow chest. James fights to keep their patience at bay, pushing a sand of sun-soaked hair behind their ear. They tut – just once – but it is enough to wilt Ruben’s charismatic smile.

“I told you – I’m busy.” Coffee spills like morphine across a dry tongue, allowing James a moment to gather himself; to keep the thorns of his altered psyche from protruding outward. “I’m glad you’re here, Rubie. You look well.”

Rubie. The vowels and consonants flood Ruben’s hyperactive mind with a certain ecstasy he had forgotten could exist; swaddling a heartbeat which had already begun to erupt in thunderous applause for such recognition. His vision dips down toward himself, traces across the loose stripes of an oversized sweater and drops to faded undersized cargo shorts. He is hardly the picture of modern adulthood and yet here is sibling is – passing out compliments as though they were crimson roses. Encore encore.

“You think?”

“Mhm..”

Something feels off. A collision of obsessive lines and organized chaos suddenly knocked into a world of disastrous carelessness. James’ eyes dart lazily across their desk in search of that one thing causing such a sense of disruption. Their throat feels full – so dangerously full – for a rat has been gnawing those wiry little whiskers into business which does not deserve to be caked in sewage. Something is wrong.

There. A file, sitting precariously atop its cousins, has been knocked askew. It does not belong. It has been touched.

“You know,” James begins, straightening the offending envelope. “My job is extremely boring. This isn’t the best place for us to spend time together.”

Ruben’s eyes trace his sibling’s articulation, glossing over fascinating manila and gargantuan binder; his stomach flutters terribly with the fantasy of the unknown. What a thrill.

“It’s probably cooler than you thi-“

“No. It’s not.”

James stands abruptly with their chair sliding nosily from under their weight. Their approach is deliberately slow, almost cautious, as they bring their palm to a rest against the intricate notches of Ruben’s spine. Affection spills with translucent mirth across the younger sibling’s heightened senses. To be touched by someone you love so dearly; to reattach severed strands after such an imposing separation. Ruben cannot help the way his lashes glitter.

“I still have quite a lot I need to do today, brother. But how about I take you out to dinner on Saturday? We can even get your favourite – nothing but chilli dogs and curly fries!”

Ruben doesn’t have the heart to tell them about his developed tastes.

“Yeah, I’d like that a lot!”

“Good!” Returning to their chair, James takes another sip of their rapidly cooling caffeine. You can tell me all about yourself. I’m sure you’ve got a lot to tell me.”

Visions of technicolour penmanship, bold and intricate and oh so vivid, overwhelm Ruben’s easily infatuated senses. His sketches had always been messy but important – characters summoned from a susceptible imagination and transformed into fully-realized beings. His fingers flex around the throat of an invisible guitar, plucking at well-worn strings and across tuneless chords he had sewn together to make his own master mixes yet unheard of. He thinks to the small collection of skateboards left untouched inside a cardboard box yet to be unpacked, the peculiar shapes and light-up wheels he had fought to win over Ebay despite his sincere lack of balance and dedication. All these projects and passions left unfinished that he absolutely worships because they were crafted by his own palms.

And now he has finally been given the opportunity to share such majesty with his estranged sibling.

“Yes! I-I mean, it sounds good. I’ll see you on Saturday, then?”

“Saturday. It really is great to see you, little bro.”

Ruben finds his spidery arms wrapping around James’ nape before he can halt himself, his stomach spilling across the mountainous paperwork scattered around a busy desk, nose buried amidst structured collarbones and grin utterly infallible.

“It’s so good to see you, too.”

He lingers there for a moment. Then another. Then another. Before finally parting from James with another one of those ludicrously vibrant grins. He stumbles from the office on loose ankles, skidding pathetically out the door as he trips on his own oversized feet. Typical Ruben.

Some things never change no matter how gracious time can be.

James, however, does not take the opportunity to laugh. Not when their fingertips are spilling over their intercom to signal their assistant.

“Yes, boss?”

“Courtney. I need you to bring all the footage recorded in my office today. Right away, please.”

“Of course. Right away.”

Thick fingertips press like pebbles across James’ knotted temple, worrying against miniscule tangles which have begun to throb enthusiastically underneath the surface. Through tinted lashes, they rotate their vision toward the large black binder taking pride of place on their desk; focusing on the imposing logo polished prettily on the cover.

H

V

N.

[bethanystan]

Time Is Not Enough

Pairing: Peter Parker x Barnes!Reader Warnings: ANGSTY AF I’M NOT SORRY Summary: Basically, after a HYDRA mission gone right Bucky, your brother, finds your cryotube containing oneself (You have a mutation which controls earth particles/nature) , he brings you home and introduces you to the team, most importantly Mr Parker… Now this is set during Infinity War, so no spoilers as I have no clue in what the storyline will be… A/N: I’m back with a BANG, don’t sue me… Word Count: 1400+

“Go fish…” My big bro said to me after I asked for a 3, “Have you got any 2’s?” I shook my head. 

“Go fish…” God we were bored… We could’ve been watching something on the big grey rectangle thingy, but when Bucky tried to turn it on he got scared when the lady in the wall started talking to him… So now we are both sat cross-legged on my bed with a deck of cards wondering how long the team will take getting the takeout pizza.

“Buck… How long are they gonna take?” He shrugged.

“God knows… but if they take any longer I might commit…” I laughed and shook my head.

“Ditto Bro, ditto…” I sighed dramatically and flopped backwords onto my bed and closed my eyes. My peace was disrupted by a knock on my bedroom door. 

“I’ll get it…” I muttered, Bucky nodded and packed the cards away. I opened the door to see a surprised looking Liz Allen. 

“I’m sorry, I thought this was Peter’s room…”

“Was… He moved a floor up from here when I moved in…” She nodded in appreciation. 

“Aren’t you that weird nature witch who’s like 80 years old?” She asked tilting her head to the side slightly, my blood began to boil. 

“78 actually… Do your research.” I looked directly into her eyes, I could see that she was getting uncomfortable.

“Okay… Right. Nice meeting you…” She turned to leave. 

“Nice meeting you too sweet cheeks.” I said to her as sweetly and as sarcastically as I possibly could. I sighed and closed the door.

“Who was that?” Bucky asked. 

“Peter’s girlfriend.” I said as I walked over to my bed. I jumped onto it a led down. My heart strangely crumpled at the phrase… 

“Ah… That explains a lot…” I turned over to him, Bucky lay down beside me and pulled me close to him. 

“Explains what?” I muttered as I lay my head on his chest, just like I did when I was younger. 

“Explains why the flowers are dying…” I looked over his shoulder to see what he meant. He was right, the blue roses Peter got me for my birthday were wilting. 

“Why do I feel like this Buck? Why am I hurting?” He sighed. 

“He’s your best friend Y/N/N… Everyone can see how you feel about him apart from the boy in question…” Tears sprung to my eyes. 

“What’s wrong with me Buck? Why haven’t guys ever gone for me? Am I that hideous that they don’t even consider me as a partner? Why am I always destined for the friend zone?” I sniffled. Bucky lifted my chin and kissed my forehead. 

“Don’t think that way about yourself kiddo, - I’m not a kid I’m 78 – Still, you’re beautiful, courageous, smart, sarcastic, funny and not only that you fight like a champ. So, what if he doesn’t see that? Screw him.” 

“That was the plan Buck…” 

“EW NO FORGET I SAID THAT!” I giggled.

“There’s that perfect smile of yours, now let’s go eat our hearts out yeah?

“Yeah.”

**

“Hey Y/N/N!” 

“Hey Spiderboy.” Peter rolled his eyes and laughed. God that laugh. 

“It’s Spider Man. MAN.” 

“Sure, whatever floats your boat” I winked. Everything was going great until Liz walked in wearing ONLY Peter’s shirt. Good morning to me I guess. 

“Morning babe.” Liz whispered to Peter, she placed a firm kiss to his lips and straddled him, as though I was not in the room. I coughed awkwardly, blinking away tears. 

“R-right so I have to meet up with Bucky, see you later Pete…” I muttered. I didn’t hear a reply, so I just slipped out of the kitchen bumping into Wanda on the way out. 

“Sorry Wand.” I kept my head down and walked as fast as I could to the lift. 

“Y/N!” Wanda called out, I turned around and stared directly into my eyes. 

“The flowers are dying, shall we go to my room and talk?” I nodded and when she opened her arms I ran straight into them sobbing soundlessly. Peter emerged from around the corner, hand in hand with Liz, lips swollen, hair messy, joy in his eyes, that was until he saw me in Wanda’s arms sobbing. His face changed to a face of concern, he quickly let go of Liz’s hand and ran over to me. 

“Y/N are you okay?” Wanda pulled away from me and grabbed my hand. 

“She’s fine, we’re just about to leave anyway. See you later Peter, have fun.” She monotonously said, pulling me away from the couple. What I didn’t see was Liz trying to make a move on Peter, and him pulling away.

**

“Okay team, just try and kill as many aliens out there, got it? Y/N, Parker, tie as many as you can down.” 

“Yes, sir.” 

“Get to it then.” Peter and I ran out into the battle field, suits on, ready for anything. Together we were the perfect team. I wish he saw this… An incoming alien thingy came towards me and I placed my right hand onto the floor and concentrated. A vine sprouted out of the floor and wrapped around the creature pulling it to the floor instantly. 

“So… How’s you and Liz?” I asked him inconspicuously. 

“Good.” He grunted, punched an alien in the face. 

“Just ‘good’ eh? What did you have a domestic?” I joked, Peter’s masked head snapped over to me. 

“Will you just shut up Y/N/N?! Get your nose out of my business! God you’re so annoying!” I stared. Just stared. I saw an alien thing come up behind him sprouted another vine wrapping it around the alien, throwing it away from him. “You’re welcome.” I said bitterly. 

“Have a good time fighting on your own Peter.” And with that I took off.

“Oh how nice. The Avengers left a kid on his own. Aren’t they civil. What’s up with you? Bad breakup?” Thanos asked Peter, wiping away a fake tear, mocking him. 

“Bring it ya big Smurf.” Thanos suddenly grew angry. He pointed the infinity hand at Peter, shooting energy over to him, luckily Peter swung away, defending himself, this action made Thanos even more angry. This time Thanos caught Peter off guard, sending an even bigger bolt of energy towards him. Peter wasn’t fast enough, he braced the end, it wasn’t until he saw a dark figure jump in front of him, blocking the energy from touching him. The figure got thrown across the road, landing in a heap, not moving. 

“THANOS LEAVE THE KID ALONE THIS IS OUR FIGHT.” Thor roared. 

“Until next time, kid.” And with that he disappeared. Peter immediately ran over to the mysterious person. He recognised the burnt suit from anywhere. 

“NO NO NO NO NO NO.” Peter repeated as he ran over to it. 

“Y/N/N I swear to god…” He ripped off his mask, threw it away and knelt by the girl. Her eyes were closed, and her breathing was uneven. 

“Hey… hey baby wake up…” Peter placed Y/N’s head in his lap. 

“B-baby? Since when was I a b-baby?” Y/N grunted with difficulty, Peter whipped a stray tear from his face. 

“Hehe, n-not now Y/N/N. Just try and stay awake…” She shook her head gently. 

“P-Pete, we both know I-I’m not g-gonna make it.” Her beautiful eyes stared into his. 

“You c-can’t go. I l-lov-“ Peter stopped himself. 

“You can’t go. Think of Bucky.” 

“Bucky w-will be fine, he’s got Steve…” Peter chocked back a laugh. 

“Think of me then. W-What would I do with ought you?” A tear dripped down her cold cheek, Peter wiped it away. 

“Marry Liz.” Her lip quivered. 

“Ha. Be difficult, considering we broke up.” Her eyes widened, she was brought to reality with a cough of blood. 

“Okay before I die. I just wanted to say, that I l-love you.” Peter’s eyes widened as hers closed. 

“NO NO. YOU CAN’T O NOT UNTIL YOU HEAR ME SAY I LOVE YOU TOO!”

But it was too late.

Tagging: @aseasyasdeanspie @yuhkii-kaze

[comicsbeat]

§ Nice Art: Francesco Francavilla gave us the Thing vs Thing team-up we’ve all dreamed of on Twitter.

§ Nice art supplemental! Takashi Miike has made a movie based on the manga JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure and it looks insane!

This is the guy who was somehow able to make us laugh at a scene depicting a hitman slicing off his own tongue in Ichi the Killer, after all. The JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure manga by Hirohiko Araki debuted in 1987 and chronicles the adventures of the Joestar family across several generations as they use their unusual powers to tackle a variety of supernatural threats. With around 100 million copies in print, it’s the bestelling horror manga of all time and also one of the bestselling manga series overall. Judging from the trailer, Miike’s adaptation will feature highly stylized visuals and colors, so we should be in for an incredible cinematic experience when Toho and Warner Bros. co-distribute the film in Japan on 4 August 2017. It stars Jun Kunimura, Nana Komatsu, Mackenyu, and Takayuki Yamada.

Bestselling horror manga? Whoa. Here’s the teaser trailer:

And the character posters! So manga!

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  § Alison Bechdel has drawn a few new Dykes to Watch Out For comic strips, and it might be about a certain orange toned president.

§ Tom Spurgeon interviewed Ron Wimberly about Prince of Cats and the rest:

It’s such a shit show, the human brain. We think the way we remember things, that’s how it truly happened. Photoshop has been great because we’re now even more aware how fake everything is. [laughter] It’s just perception. Now that it doesn’t require someone that’s great at gouging, or working on something with a knife, now that a teenager can put Hillary Clinton’s face on Snoop Dogg’s body, we know everything’s fake. Karen Green asked me something. She had read the book. When I’m thinking of names, I always give myself a game or a problem to solve to come up with answers. So the tape at the beginning, at first they were listening to the Stooges or something. Then I was like, “No that contextually doesn’t make any sense.” What would they be listening to? How is this tape a microcosm of the entire world? What if Milton, a contemporary of Shakespeare: he had written this poem about Shakespeare when he died. So Rammellzee and Milton, I mashed them together, and that’s what in the tape in the tape deck. But I totally forget about that! I had come up with a name pulled from one of the prior authors of a Romeo & Juliet. Karen, being the genius she is, is like, “Oh, that’s such a great thing you put in there. I can’t believe you did that.” And I was like, “Oh, yeah. Thanks.” [laughter] I totally forgot I had done that!

§ Someone PLEASE MUZZLE FINN JONES. The Iron Fist star just keeps digging a deeper and deeper grave with every interview where he attempts to explain why Iron Fist reviews are so awful and people don’t like the whitewashing. First it was “it’s for the fans” then he blamed Trump. Here’s his take in Vulture below. A couple of things: Jones is British and they have a slightly different approach to racial issues than we do in the US. No excuse, but probably why he keeps blabbing. Second, he’s an actor. A young actor. And not everyone can be Cole Sprouse. So please, someone…teach him how to listen and acknowledge. It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.

There’s so much outrage in the internet these days, right? Why don’t people just — look, the issue is that people are judging before they’ve even seen the show. And that’s problematic. C’mon. Don’t get angry and start a mob when you don’t even — you haven’t even seen the show! You don’t even know what we’re doing with it. It’s unjust. It’s unfair. Whatever issues they have may be true of the comic books; it was written in the ’70s. It was a very different time to where we’re at now. Very, very different. I get it. There needs to be more diversity in film and television, in all fucking aspects of life. There needs to be more diversity, period. Unfortunately, this show was picked, for whatever reason. I don’t fully understand, really, but what I say is, Watch the show. Watch the show, then make your opinions.

  § Paste magazine has the picks for comics on sale tomorrow and it’s a good week!

§ Vanity Fair chatted with 96-year-old Al Jaffee who is still cartooning and still amazing.

§ Image is holding a Homecoming Dance at Rose City Comic Con again. Details below:

Back by popular demand, Image Comics is pleased to host a very special formal Fall Homecoming dance for the comics community during the Rose City Comic Con festivities. The dance will be held on Saturday, September 9th from 8:30 p.m. – 12:30 a.m. at The Evergreen. This event will be 21+ only. IDs will be checked at the door.

Tickets to the Image Comics Fall Homecoming Dance are on sale now.

Image Comics’ Fall Homecoming will be in the style and spirit of a traditional high school dance and all comics fans and industry members are encouraged to come mix, mingle, and dance the night away.

Image Comics Fall Homecoming ticket tiers: $20: Entry ticket $45: Add-on pack, including an Image t-shirt, variant cover comic, commemorative pint glass, and enamel pin $79: VIP pack—ticket to the party, add-on pack items, and access to special VIP area at the venue (limited quantity, only 100 VIP tickets available)

§ Britt Hayes reviewed Atomic Blonde, the new comic book movie and liked it:

In one of the most striking cinematic introductions in recent memory, we meet Theron’s Lorraine Broughton, covered in bruises and soaking in an ice bath. She sits on the edge of the tub and plunks ice cubes from her bath into a glass, filling it with Stoli and gulping it down without the slightest wince. If you’ve been waiting for a female 007, she’s here — and she might be even cooler than Bond with all his ridiculous gadgets.

§ But Valerie Complex of Nerd of Color saw a preview for Ghost in the Shell and it was Worse Than We Thought:

On February 28, I saw a 15-minute sneak peek of the Hollywood adaptation of Ghost in the Shell. From the announcement of the project, this has always been a bad idea. But the announcement of the cast and story has made things much worse. Most noticeably, Hollywood adaptations of Japanese anime have yet to be successful. Either their stories veer too far from the source material, the director isn’t a good fit or the casting makes no sense. You would think Hollywood would learn, yet here we are, on the precipice of another anime-adapted flop.

§ Good news for Valiant! The Russo Brothers (Civil War) have signed on to make a Quantum and Woody TV show .

The team behind “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” and “Captain America: Civil War” will develop “Quantum and Woody,” about the world’s worst super-duo, with Valiant Entertainment. Anthony and Joe Russo will be executive producers alongside Mike Larocca and Valiant’s Dinesh Shamdasani.

§ Another graphic novel is coming to the screen! Days of the Bagnold Summer was a hilarious and sad graphic novel about a 15 year old heavy metal music fan forced to spend the summer with him mum. Created by Joff Winterhart, it was shortlisted for the prestigious COsta Award in the UK, and now it’s going to be a movie, directed by Simon Bird, a well known Brit comic known for The Inbetweeners. Some good comic fodder there.

§ Vox runs down why people are so upset about Marvel, Magneto, and Nazis, explained:

For people who aren’t comic book readers or casual fans, the vocal fight over the origins of fictional characters can seem confusing, or even trivial, considering real life white supremacists have become fixtures in the current national political conversation, and bad fiction happens all the time. But the fight goes beyond the comic book history of Captain America and Magneto and deeper into the significance of art’s connection to morality. It’s an embodiment of how powerful fandom can be, and the ever-challenging question of who owns art: the artists creating it or the fans purchasing it.

I know Marvel got locked into this storyline long ago, thinking that the old good guy turns bad switcheroo was a comics book staple, but those days are over now.

§ Also over maybe, line wide events? This article at CBR suggests so.

We’ve come to expect that every year the seeds for an event will be planted to culminate in a crossover that summer. Now, it seems like the only thing that makes these stories different from one another are the principle cast members. It doesn’t help that Marvel touts each crossover as a universe-altering incident that will have repercussions for years to come. How can this be true if the following year’s incident will change the status quo that had been established just a year prior?

§ Finally, this photo from the set of Logan got punked on the internet and now Snopes had to explain that, no it isn’t a photo of a man who got mugged on his way to buy comics for his daughter. Fake news. It’s everywhere.

Kibbles ‘n’ Bits 3/15/17: Please muzzle Finn Jones § Nice Art: Francesco Francavilla gave us the Thing vs Thing team-up we've all dreamed of…