#cause shes been a little weird granted but mostly sweet and helpful and all soft looks for my MC

[threeofeight]

Listen... OK. I've been obsessing over "The Fernweh Saga" by @lacunafiction and like all the ROs are great, but I am utterly enamoured by the mysterious, not a red flag at all, waitress Mal. So I did a quick pic cause the adhd hyperfocus set in.

○ Mysteriously appears and disappears.

○ She knows way more than she probably should, including about the MC. Like really creepily knows stuff about the MC. (Also, that time she said she wouldn't let my MC go, please don't.... Permission to hold on tight).

○ Deceptively strong, like I am 100% sure she could snap a person like a twig.

○ Rides a motorbike.

○ Makes the best hot chocolate.

○ Can unnerve a person with a smile, yet smiles so softly at my MC Morgan.

○ Occasionally her eyes seem crimson, but I am sure that's just the light.

Aka she's perfect and she has done nothing wrong her entire life, I know this and I love her.

[buckyownsmylife]

hold up - andy barber fluff

The one where Andy gets you pregnant but you’re young and haven’t been dating for long.

Warnings:  Age gap (Divorced!Andy w/ College!Reader, so she’s legal), pregnancy, light angst, supportive!Andy, mentions of abortion, fluff, mentions of smutty thoughts so I don’t think I advise minors to read this, AU! where Jacob is alive and in college and Laurie and Andy are divorced, minor medical scare from Andy’s confusion, miscommunication that leads to slightly asshole!Andy but it’s quick A/N: Special thanks to @navybrat817​ and @angrythingstarlight​ for helping me choose this collage. This fic was requested a while back. I ended up focusing more on the fact that the reader was younger than Andy (which wasn’t even part of the request) than on the fact that they hadn’t been dating for long, mostly because in my mind, this was happening in the same universe as this fic. Hope you guys like it and respect the reader’s decision to keep the baby the same way you should respect it if she decided to abort it or give it up for adoption. 

Andy’s P.O.V.

Another day, another case, another headache. Working in law gets more tiring every day, and yet I persisted. Even through a divorce and its subsequent complications, I persisted. Sometimes, I forgot why.

I missed the days I remembered why I got into law in the first place. Those idyllic mornings, when I still thought I could change the world. Now all I wanted to do was to get home and eat my girlfriend’s pussy until she passed out from pleasure.

Just the thought of her sweet cunt had me licking my lips as I drove back to my place, wishing I could stop by hers instead. It still weirded me out that I was now in a relationship with someone that was my son’s age, someone who was still in college, but then I remembered all the moments we shared and was overcome with the realization that I simply didn’t want to let her go.

I knew it was selfish of me, but I believed I deserved at least this good thing in my life after my separation. As long as she wanted me, I wouldn’t let her go. And I was pretty sure that if she decided to leave me, I’d still fight for her to stay.

I loved her. I loved her enough to get through the hazard that was coming clean about our relationship to Jacob. I loved her enough to dream about a future together, even if it looked too far away for now. 

Still, I’d caught myself daydreaming about coming home to her more and more these days. It seemed that the more exhausted I was, the more I wanted her to be waiting for me when I crossed the apartment’s door, and I found myself thinking about buying a ring too many times for someone who had gone through such a lousy divorce and was dating a girl who still had college exams to worry about.

I knew our future together - if there even was one - was still too far, but I couldn’t help but want it now. Like, right now. So the fact that I wouldn’t be able to see her for another week or so while she prepared for finals was the closest thing to hell I could go through right now.

Which only made the sight of her by my apartment’s door that much sweeter. “Baby girl, what are you doing here?” Not even giving her the chance to explain, I pulled her into a needy kiss, desperate to taste her again.

I didn’t even notice that, in my eagerness to have her in my arms once more, I had dropped my briefcase and coat on the floor, opting to pay attention to the girl I held in the middle of the hallway.

I only saw the tracks of tears in her beautiful face when I released her, too. Immediately, my heart started to pound against my chest. Could something bad have happened to her? Was she hurt?

Cradling her face in my hands, I automatically started to wipe away her tears. “What’s going on, sweetheart? Why are you crying?” For whatever reason, my words only served to cause her crying to become more frantic, her sobs breaking out of her chest freely now.

My heart felt heavy at the sight of her that desperate. The urgent need to do something, to help her, but not knowing what could be done made my throat feel like it was closing. So I did the first thing I could come up with - I picked her up, not caring about my personal belongings at all as I managed to open the door and take her to the couch with me. 

“Shh… It’s alright, baby girl. I’m right here with you. Just tell me what happened, I’m sure I can help you somehow.” Again, it seemed like it was the wrong thing to say. My words took her to the verge of a panic attack if her breathing pattern was anything to go by, so I bit my tongue and focused on what I knew I could do at that very moment to help her, even if it was very little. I pulled her even closer to me, so her head was resting on my chest, and softly cradled her while rubbing her arm with one hand, while the other played with her hair. “I love you,” I repeated, over and over again. “You’re okay.”

It took some time, much longer than I hoped for, but at last her sobs started to come in bigger intervals, her breathing becoming deeper again. Slowly, she started to calm down and focus on me, and I waited until she was ready to speak, terrified of making her start crying again by pushing her to share what had caused such a terror.

“I went to the doctor today,” she started, and if at first my mind drew a blank because I had in no way anticipated this to be the start of her explanation, my heart quickly started to pound against my chest when I managed to process what she had said. 

Was she sick? I knew she had been feeling a bit under the weather recently, even throwing up some mornings, but I thought it was a bug that had been going around. She was in college, after all, and those environments were filled with bacteria, just waiting to spread any sort of illness they could provoke.

Was it something serious? For her to be that way, it had to have been. My hands started to sweat at the prospect of losing her. Automatically, I held her tighter, in desperate need to hear more but terrified of what was coming our way.

But she didn’t seem able to say it, whatever it was. Her eyes that had finally connected to mine since she started crying, suddenly fell down to her own hands, and her sniffles warned me that she had started to cry again.

“Y/N…” I begged, covering her hands with mine. “Princess, please, please talk to me. I’m going crazy here, sweetheart. I feel like I might pass out any second now.” Surprisingly, that granted me a giggle, and then, through sniffles and tears, she finally looked up at me again.

Y/N’s P.O.V.

I didn’t know how to drop this bomb on Andy. How do you tell your much older boyfriend, who already has a child who’s your exact age, that you’re pregnant with his kid? I was terrified. Terrified that he wouldn’t want anything to do with me anymore, that he would try to force me to get an abortion.

Terrified that I would have to do this alone.

But I had to tell him. Of course, I had. So taking one last deep breath, I squeezed the hand that was holding mine before confessing, in the bluntest possible way, since it was the only one I could come up with right now, “I’m pregnant.”

I don’t know what I was expecting. I hadn’t actually had the time to figure out how to tell him the news - hence my blurting in the simplest possible way - but that also meant I hadn’t really imagined any outcome for this. I had a lot of fears, of course, but no actual expectation. Still, Andy’s reaction managed to catch me by surprise.

At first, there was nothing at all. He just sat there, his huge hands still covering mine as he stared at me with a blank expression in his face. My heart pounded in my chest, and I could even hear it, amidst the silence in the room. Then, out of nowhere, he pounced on me, effectively knocking me back on the couch when he captured my lips with his. 

I couldn’t catch my breath as he enthusiastically devoured me, his hands cradling my face and caging me in as he forced me to make out with him on his sofa, like two teenagers after school. Andy was such a great kisser that it was hard for me not to melt against the soft cushions, instinctively opening my legs further so he could fit perfectly between them.

The way his strong body made me feel when it was covering mine was precisely what had got us in this mess, in the first place.

“Andy…” I tried to speak and push him away, but he was still kissing me desperately, opting for quick pecks around my face since I didn’t let him deepen his kiss again. “Andy!” I admonished when he continued to ignore me, choosing to suck tiny little bruises from my jaw down to my neck, instead. 

“Baby, I’m terrified over here. Can you please stop trying to distract me and tell me what you’re thinking?” That caught his attention. He finally reduced his kisses, slowly going back to his seating position on the couch and bringing me with him, laying me over his lap again.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart. It’s just… I’m so fucking relieved. First, I thought you’d break up with me. Then, since you talked about going to the doctor’s, I thought something was wrong with you. I was desperate, baby girl. Desperate. I figured, one way or another, I was going to lose you. And I don’t want to lose you.”

Hearing what was going on through his mind while I struggled to figure out how to explain what was happening made my heart feel heavy with guilt. I guess that, in the state I was in I kind of thought he would have realized what I was going to say, or simply not anticipate any sort of information whatsoever, so to hear that his mind jumped to these worst-case scenarios was heartbreaking to me.

“You’re not gonna lose me,” I assured him, reaching out for his hand and squeezing it in a small show of support. “I’m right here. But we need to figure out how we’re going to do this.” Andy blinked a few times before managing to voice his confusion.

“Do this what?” And then it was my turn to be confused.

“This… kid. What are we gonna do about this?” I watched as his nostrils flared, his grip on me momentaneously hardening, before he managed to get his emotions in check through a long exhale.

“You’re not seriously considering aborting my child, right?” The question - the tone - was like a slap to the face. In all honesty, that option had never even crossed my mind, but the way he was saying it, like I had no say in the matter, killed me inside.

“I’m gonna give you the time to figure out what the hell is wrong with you. I know that this is a pretty overwhelming situation and I just sprung this on you, but that is no excuse to address me in such a manner. Especially if you consider just how much I’m the one who’s really going to have my entire life turned upside down because of this.”

Andy’s P.O.V.

I groaned as I watched her leave the room in the direction of the bathroom, knowing this was her way of letting me know I shouldn’t look for her until I was prepared to apologize. But I was already ready. I knew how terrible my words had sounded, but it came from a place of love and happiness with the situation other than possessiveness. 

So, with that in mind, I rubbed my face before getting up and following her, just in time to find her reentering my bedroom. “I’m sorry, princess. I-I just didn’t know how to react when the thought of you getting an abortion popped into my mind. It’s not like you’re a fucking one night stand or a fling to me, but you’re absolutely right. It’s your body and you should do what makes you comfortable. I just ask you to keep in mind that I would love to have this child with you. I’d support you - I’d support the both of you unconditionally. I know we’ve only been dating for a few months, but I’m serious about you. I’m serious about us. I’d marry you tomorrow if it’s what you need to know how serious I really am about this. And yeah, it’s gonna be hard, but I’m here for you. I’m always gonna be here for you, every step of the way.”

By the time I was done with my speech, she had tears in her eyes again, only this time, I knew what it was about, so I only chuckled. “Come here, sweetheart.” I pulled her to me, hugging her close to my body as I caressed the back of her head. “We’re gonna be okay, one way or another.”

“You sure you’re not just gonna abandon me with a small child?” I knew that her question came from a place of insecurity, but I still couldn’t control myself as a growl escaped my chest, my hands tightening around her, as I reminded her, “You’re mine, baby girl. I’m never gonna leave you. Don’t even think that.”

Slowly, she stopped crying, until only a few sniffles were heard every once in a while. “Okay,” she mumbled in a small voice, clearing the bedroom from what was once a silent atmosphere.

“Okay?”

“Okay, let’s do this. Let’s… Let’s have a baby together.”

A huge smile slowly took over my face as I cradled hers in mine to make sure there was no trace of hesitation in her eyes. “We’re gonna be parents?”

“We’re gonna be parents,” she confirmed, accepting my hug again. “Well, you’re already a parent.” The reminder had me chuckling to myself.

“I can’t wait to tell Jacob about this. He’s going to flip.” The mischievous tone in my voice earned me a playful slap on the shoulder. 

“No teasing him more than necessary, Andrew. He’s already going to be pretty affected by this.”

“Can’t make any promises.”

[quicksilverownsmysoul]

13 Going on 30 pt. 3

A Peter Maximoff x reader fanfic based off the movie 13 going on 30

Summary:  You are so excited when the most popular girl in your school agrees to come to your 13th birthday party. But after a cruel prank you find yourself wishing that you were popular and older. By some miracle your wish is granted but isn’t as wonderful as it seems. You turn out to be a major jerk and you don't even talk to your best friend Peter anymore. Can you fix everything and get back to normal or are you stuck living like this forever

Warnings: Angst, Some suggestive content, But it’s mostly pure fluff. (Also Peter has no powers in this fic, and some scenes will be changed to fit Peter and his personality and so I can be creative with it!)

Word Count: 2103

Peter thought it was safe to say that adult life sucked. And it wasn't just because he had run out of lucky charms this morning and had to settle for something called shredded wheat that was hidden away in the back of the panty. They were gross and tasted like cardboard, but Peter was all out of groceries so this would have to do.

 No nothing had seemed to go right for him after high school, he went to college, (even though he spent most of the time partying and goofing off), got the degree and yet he was barely scraping by. But he couldn't complain, all that much at least. He enjoyed his job and even if at times it was hard to earn money he wouldn't trade it for the world. He had fallen in love with photography in freshman year and decided to major in it. He had a minor in business too, something you had always told him would be useful as a backup. You were always practical like that, making sure he never completely fell over the edge. But he was hesitant to use it, because in using that minor it kinda meant he was giving up his dream. Giving in to the regular, soul crossing 9 to 5 job that everyone seemed to have. Peter was a dreamer at heart, in a way it would kill him to do anything other than photography.

He ate a spoonful of his cereal, making a face at the dull taste. Chewing, he glanced over at the stack of bills littering the counter. A lot of them were piling up, sooner or later he may have to give into the normalcy of a business job. Work had been slow lately and very boring. More often than not people hired him to take photos for their weddings or graduation, simple stuff. Stuff that had him bored out of his mind. But there were no clients currently so until he got one he had all the time in the world to himself. Which he loved at first but now it seems he was falling into a bit of a routine.

Peter aimlessly wandered around the kitchen lost in thought, his eyes drifted toward the collection of pictures pinned to his fridge. There was a picture of you on there, from before you had cut him out of your life. Peter set the bowl down on the counter and gently lifted the magnet to pull the picture off. It was a polaroid of you two, You had your arms wrapped around Peter’s shoulders, hugging him from behind. His hands were resting on yours, you both were smiling, teeth missing.

This picture was from the first day of first grade. Even back then Peter had had some feelings for you. And the way his eyes looked at you and not the camera was proof of this. Peter ran his thumb gently over the faded picture, for a moment he let himself wonder about how you were doing, before he snapped himself out of it. He put the picture back in its place and picked his bowl back up. It was too early to be having thoughts like that. 

Peter yawned and lazily plopped down on his worn out sofa, flipping through the channels on the tv. There was nothing on, signing he threw out the rest of his cereal, it had gotten soggy while he was busy reminiscing. He dropped the empty bowl into the sink, only adding to the collection of unwashed dishes. He glanced over at the phone and the soft blinking of the red light, indicating he had voicemails he hadn't listened to yet. He knew he was going to have to take her calls sooner or later but right now he didn't want to deal with her. 

He headed to the park and decided to do some laps on the path, running always helped him to relax and clear his head. He always got stares and shy smiles from the women that were jogging, he found out that apparently the silver hair that everyone made fun of him for was very attractive to women now. Something he used to use to his advantage to pick up the occasional hook up.

After that he went to go get groceries and then played on his pacman machine until lunchtime. He totally knew how to spend his time. He made his way over to the kitchen and looked at all the new groceries he had bought. Twinkies, instant ramen, mac and cheese, he picked up the box of lucky charms, weighing the option of eating it for lunch. He thought better of it and put it back on the shelf, he really needed to eat healthier, god knows sooner or later his metabolism was going to give out.

He picked up the phone and placed an order form the Chinese place a couple blocks away, ordering way more food than he needed. That way he wouldn't have to cook for the next few meals. Peter was inherently lazy and cooking was not something he was very good at. So when he would he just ordered takeout and leftovers so he could eat them later. He hung up the phone and walked over to the fridge and took out the milk, drinking it straight for the carton, while he was doing that he heard a loud knock on the door. “That was quick.” The knocking continued non stop over and over, “I’m coming hold on!” He yelled out as he shuffled to the door and opened it peering through the opening that the chain allowed. “You know it’s rude to-'' The words died in his throat. There was a woman standing at his door, wearing a coat over her night dress. 

*******************************************************

You hadn't been able to pay attention to the briefing your boss gave, your assistant came in about half way through and handed you a small slip of paper. She said that she had found Peter’s address like you had asked. You had pulled her into a hug, creating an awkward tension in the room. The meeting had seemed to go on forever, and for the life of you you couldn't even remember what it was about. As soon as the meeting ended you had bolted out the door, ignoring the calls of your boss and colleagues telling you that work wasn't over yet. 

You had found his apartment after randomly asking strangers in the street which way it was. You were at his door, the number on it hanging lopsided. You began to rapidly knock until the door was pulled open. “You know it’s rude to-” 

He paused as he saw you staring at him. He furrowed his brows in confusion. “You’re not the chinese delivery guy.” 

You felt your eyes widen as you took him in. “Peter?” You asked in a small voice. 

He narrowed his eyes suspiciously at you. “Yeah?”

 You let out a sigh of relief, smiling. “You’re tall.” You looked him up and down. “And you’re so handsome.”

His face turned red at your words. He didn't even know who this random woman was that was standing here, telling him he was handsome. He leaned against the doorframe, taking another drink out of the carton. “I’m sorry do- do I know you?” 

He watched your face fall. “You don’t know me?” 

“No?” He said, wiping the dribbling milk off his chin. Even after all these years his mannerisms were the same. 

“Wait! “ You said rushing forward. He jumped slightly at the sudden action. “It’s me, I saw you yesterday. Well I was thirteen yesterday so I guess it wasn't yesterday. Because now i'm old and I don't know where I am-” Peter watched you ramble on and slowly began to close the door. You continued on. “But you were there at my party-”

Peter paused, squinting his eyes and looking at you closely.. “(Y/n)?” He asked hesitantly, reopening the door as much as the chain would allow. “(y/n) (y/l/n)?” You smiled wide at him. 

“Yes! Yes it’s me!” 

Peter slammed the door shut in your face. You heard him unlock all the locks on his side of the door, when he was down he swung the door open. “Hey.” he gave you a small smile. You lunged at him and tackled him in a hug, wrapping your arms tightly around his neck. He just stood there frozen, slowly moving his free hand up to awkwardly pat you on the back. “Come in I guess.” He muttered. 

You pulled back smiling at him. Even after all this time your sweet smile could make his heart skip a beat. You looked around his small apartment taking it all in. Peter did his best to kick discarded clothes into the closet, and keep you from seeing what a mess it was. You looked along his walls to see framed pictures of portraits and beautiful landscapes. “Are you still taking pictures?” You asked,

“Uh yeah, they pay the bills.” He quickly grabbed the pile of unpaid bills, stuffing them behind the couch cushion. “Usually.” He muttered under his breath. You were pacing around his apartment, in confused circles. He nervously rubbed the nape of his neck. “Hey, (y/n) I don't wanna be rude but why are you here?” 

“Petey I told you.” You said moving closer to him, he let out a little laugh. 

“Petey wow, no one has called me that in ages.” 

“Petey listen I came here cause something really weird is happening. Yesterday was my 13th birthday and then today I woke up and I’m this!” You said gesturing to your body. Peter tried his best not to look you up and down, he couldn't deny that you had grown up well. You were even more beautiful than he remembered. “And you’re that!” You said gesturing towards him. 

Peter looked down at himself self consciously. “Gee thanks. Do I really look that bad?” 

“No!” You quickly said. You felt yourself blush as you looked him over. His hair was tousled and messy, he was wearing an oversized  pink floyd crop top and from the looks of the hem it seemed he had made it himself. You watched the veins in his hands ripple and his arms slightly flex. “Uh you,” You let out an embarrassed laugh. “You actually look really good, like really good.” 

Peter flushed at your words and turned away so you couldn't see his blushing face. “Wow.” He whispered under his breath, he lifted a hand up to his face, doing his best to hide the smile that was forming. He turned back to and regained a serious composure. “Are you sure you're okay (y/n).” He took in your mismatched outfit and broken heel. “Are you high? Have you been smoking pot? Doing drugs, cause if you are I’m not judging as long as it’s just weed or something. Cause I mean I get it, I get stressed to and every now and then need-”

“No, no.” You said shaking your head rapidly. “Wait do you do-,” You lowered your voice to a whisper. “Do you do drugs Peter?” 

“No! No.” Peter shrugged. “Ehhh well not drugs, just weed.” He defended. But looking at your judgmental eyes he quickly continued on. “And I don’t, well I don’t that much any more. It was in college you know how it was.” 

“Actually I don’t.” You moved even closer to him. “Look, I was sitting in my closet, and I- I skipped everything. I can’t- I can’t remember my life.” Your eyes were watery as you started back at him. His heart ached seeing you like this. You continued on. ‘You need to help me remember my life.” 

At this he scoffed, and pretended to look around as if you were referring to someone else. “Me?” he said pointing to himself, letting out an airy laugh. “That’s rich.”

“What why?” He let out another laugh at your response, this one was dry. He looked at your face and saw that you weren’t kidding, you were serious about asking for his help.

“(Y/n) I can’t.” He was in disbelief, did you seriously have no idea what you had done to him. “I don’t know anything about you. I haven't seen you since high school.” Your face morphed into one of confusion. 

“What?” 

What he said next pained him, and he couldn’t bring himself to look you in the eyes. “(Y/n). We’re not friends anymore.”

You felt your heart shatter into a million pieces. “What?”

Taglist:

@lets-imagine-fanfics @steamboat-local @weasly-twin-simp

Let me know if you want to be added!!

[malloryslourd]

Madison Dating Goodeday’s Daughter

—————

Warnings: Some Strong Language, Mentions Of Alcohol Use, Suggestive Themes

—————

A/N: yea yea i did it😼 these are crazy long tho so... oops maybe

—————

before you two even get together there’s always a weird aura around the way you two act with each other

Madison still made her snarky comments but they were better categorized as backhanded compliments instead of her standard bitchy remarks

being raised by a Cordelia and Misty you were always taught to be as nice as possible, but the other girls notice you’re a lot nicer to Madison than anyone else

if you ever need to run an errand Madison volunteers to go with you

only to “get out of the house” tho

if you volunteer to do the dishes after dinner she conveniently will stay behind to help

if she needs help with a spell or class you’re always free to give help

it’s all just really convenient

one of those convenient nights when everyone’s already went to their own rooms and settled, you two were downstairs cleaning up the kitchen

Madison was making jokes about the other girls that you laughed at even tho they were a little rude

after a while the laughter and struggling to breathe at moments turns into a tense silence, the two of you sharing quick glances as you moved around the room

you’d finally stop to take a breath and look at her out of the corner of your eye

“You’ve been a lot nicer to me than usual, you know?”

Madison stopped cold, trying to think if it was that obvious that she had been

“I don’t... You...”

“It’s not a problem. Like, not to say you’ve been outstandingly mean to me. You’ve always been... nice”

you’d both fall quiet again, waiting for the other to continue on

“You’re easier to be nice to. You’re not like everybody else”

the conversation would end again, actually allowing for some cleaning to get done

after that you both hurried to finish and go your own way to your rooms

the convo had been awkward enough, there was no reason to continue it

the next day you talked to Mallory and Zoe about it

“I don’t know... it was just, like, weird to be honest”

Zoe would most def be like “Yeah it was weird because you’re in love with her”

#ZoeIsNoHelp

you kinda both distanced yourself from each other for a bit, neither of you wanting to be alone in a room with the other

it didn’t take long for another confrontation to take place

it would happen at a party thrown at the coven when Misty and Cordelia were away

after a few hours of music too loud to handle and few sips of whatever the hell Coco created in the kitchen, thoughts became words a lot easier

you and Madi ended up sitting next to each other on a couch, not saying anything at first

then you would turn to her, grabbing her arm and tilting your head while you waited for her to acknowledge you

“Why don’t you hate me?” “What?” “Why don’t you hate me like everyone else? What did I do?” “I... I don’t fucking know!”

you’d blink at each other

you weren’t satisfied with that answer and she knew that

“Not cool Madi” “You’re not cool” “Bullshit, you think I’m cool” “Yea, sure I do. I think you’re the goddamn coolest” “Because I am!” “Whatever” “If I wasn’t cool you wouldn’t like me as much as you do. Admit it!” “I don’t like you!”

it was definitely the drinks that had made that hurt a lot more than it should’ve

“But do you really? Like do you like me or what?” “I was joking. Of course I like you” “Not like that... Do you like me?”

she would go extremely quiet, thinking about that fact that maybe she DID like you

“I... I think” “The fuck is that supposed to mean?!” “I don’t fucking no!” “It’s a yes or no question Madi!” “Well then yeah, I like you! A lot!”

you’d let go of her arm slowly, both of you slightly leaning away from the other

“What the fuck am I doing?”

Madi would get up and hurry to the kitchen, you following her through the crowd of ppl

she leaned against the counter watching as you followed her in

you were pissed, what did that even mean

you’d start asking her what was wrong, saying that something was obviously keeping her from telling you the truth

after continuous “I don’t knows” and another cup of God knows what she would finally turn to you

“We can’t be together! Are you crazy?” “Why the fuck not?” “Are you serious? I literally have tried to kill your mother, very unsuccessfully! Everyone here hates me and everyone loves you! It just doesn’t make sense!”

you’d tell her it wasn’t true and shake your head

not everyone hated her, or at least in your mind, and if they did who really cared

“Well fuck them, I don’t care. If we like each other than so what? It doesn’t matter”

her face had somehow ended up in your hands and you both just stared at each other

after a very long discussion, interrupted by way too many drunk ppl, you both would somehow end up in your room, sitting on your bed, facing each other while holding hands and trying to figure out what the hell happened downstairs

you’d fall asleep taking about it, offering absolutely no help to clean after the party- very in character for Madison, very out of character for you

the relationship would be mostly secret from there

Queenie knows everything tho, she knows everything

it would be small changes around the house

the two of you sitting together for every meal, instead of Madi joining just a few errands it was almost all of them, you would go upstairs to go to bed at just around the same time

the girls put two and two together before Cordelia and Misty did

Zoe was $100 richer

Coco? not so much let’s just say that

they didn’t say anything, they knew it wasn’t their place

it was pretty easy for a while until there was a stupid slip up: Madi forgetting to lock your door after coming in to hang out with you

Misty would just walk in to the two of you laying on each other, one of your faces buried in the other’s neck

there was no getting out of it, she knew immediately- everything made sense at that moment

Misty and Cordelia are not the happiest about this relationship

you two were able to keep it secret for two months at the absolute most, but these women aren’t stupid

Cordelia is incredibly disappointed

Misty on the other hand is trying to figure out how long her prison sentence would be if she just so happened to kill someone

it would lead to a giant argument between the three of you, Madison secretly spectating from a bit of a distance to ensure her own safety

Cordelia would say something like “I’m over it, you two can’t be together”

the conversation wouldn’t end well

you’d end up walking out of the room to go rant to Madison or some of the other girls while absolutely fuming

you, Cordelia, and Misty would exchange very few words over the next two or three weeks, at least

Madi would be there to help with it tho

reassuring you that you did nothing wrong or everything would be okay

she would feel guilty, thinking about how she HAD done some pretty horrible things to them both in the past

but she was willing to fix that

your best interest was always Madison’s top priority

she wouldn’t want to ruin anything for you

so she would help you with whatever you needed- magic, chores, literally anything

you would insist it wasn’t necessary but that’s all she wanted to do

and plus it gave you both an excuse to be with each other more

the more time you two spent together the more considerate Madi became to everyone else

granted, everyone thought this was some type of prank or worse some type of sick trap, but it was nice (?)

Cordelia would notice it

the bitchy comments at dinner almost came to a stop(emphasis on the almost), she did what she had to around the house without having to be asked more than twice or so, and she stopped going out of her way to make ppl miserable

but she couldn’t help but notice you were a lot happier too

Misty on the other hand still thought this was all a coverup for some greater evil, or so she claimed

it wasn’t that she didn’t want to admit to the changes, she just didn’t want to admit to the causes of the changes

it did NOT make sense with her reality that her sweet baby was happy with someone so evil

Cordelia would be easier about it, there would be less times she would stop you going to Madi’s room or vice versa, she’d find herself smiling at the two of you getting along instead of being angry

Misty took a lot of convincing from Cordelia on the other hand

like multiple discussions before bed about how maybe they should cut Madison some slack

that girl was not having it at all

she comes around eventually

soon? no. but eventually? sure.

Madi might not be the best roommate to some of the girls but she’s genuinely a great partner

she always puts you first

no matter what

she likes to know that if there’s anything she can do to make you feel safe or loved, she’s doing it

if she’s not with you in person she texts you as often as she can without being annoying

study dates where you’re actually trying to help her but she’s on her phone the whole time or trying to convince you to give up

she’ll “accidentally” knock the book you’re reading off of the bed or out your hands

“Ugh, looks like we can’t do that anymore... Bummer”

you learn to just give up when she starts retaliating

she’ll sneak into your room after everyone goes to bed, greeting you with a quick kiss you both smile through

you only got caught once but Cordelia didn’t even care enough to say anything at the time, just a “don’t let it happen again” in the morning

it happened again

it’s literally most of the time just the two of you talking about whatever happened throughout the day or watching a movie and laughing at Madison making jokes about on of the actors

Madi is very physically affectionate, no matter where either of you are

she won’t admit it but she’s loves sweet soft kisses rather than a rough make out session- but only in private i feel??? she has a character to uphold outside of closed doors

you’ll be laying in bed and she’ll kiss your forehead and you cheek, smiling at you if you even try to act annoyed with her

the other girls are over the PDA... OVER IT

sometimes they can’t even go into the kitchen to get something to drink, it’s ridiculous

Misty is always disapproving of it, without fail

she’s so childish she would literally make gagging noises just seeing you two sit next to each other

she did that when Madison walked into a room before you two started dating but that’s not important

Madi is very much a Look-What-I-Have-And-You-Don’t type of person (always has been, always will be)

she loves to show you off

“So my girlfriend...” “Yeah my girlfriend...” “Did you see that my girlfriend...”

you would get embarrassed after so much of it, getting flustered everytime she would say “my” or “mine”

Madison lives a very expensive lifestyle, no surprise there, so she’s always buying you some type of gift

you come home and there would be a gift bag on your bed or she’ll text you telling you she had a surprise

she has trouble with saying what she means or being able to talk about how she feels so that’s one of her go-to’s when she can’t figure out how to say “I love you”

you try to tell her it’s not necessary but she doesn’t listen

the two of you could spend all day together and not get tired of the other

you find anything and everything to talk about

some conversations carry on for days sometimes

they’ll roll over right to the next morning without missing a beat

Madi loves to call you “Baby”, “Darling”, “Sweetheart”, and “Love”

the Madison-Calling-Her-SO-Mommy stuff started when she was drunk we don’t have time for that right now

anything that makes you feel special is okay with her

you call her “Sweetheart” and “Love” too, maybe “Babe” instead of “Baby”

with her being so possessive she would buy you a piece of jewelry with her initials on it

a ring, necklace, whatever it may be

and she would love to put it on for you

k, Madison loves a good hickey gotta admit

she has no shame in it either

she likes to both put them on someone and have them out on her

she wears hers a lot more proudly than you tho

the other girls make fun of you for it, saying it look like you got in a fight with someone

thankfully you’re able to hide them from Cordelia and Misty, and Madison is nice enough to make sure they don’t see hers

she notices that Misty is still hostile towards your relationship she would eventually take matters into her own hands

Madi would tell her that she knows her and Misty aren’t the best of friends but you made Madi happy and Madi made you happy and it still hurt you to see Misty so upset with you

Misty doesn’t know why hearing this from her made it anymore convincing than anyone else, but she would understand it now

Madison is always touching you to be honest

she’ll come up behind you and hug you from behind, kissing your shoulder and staying there without saying anything

she’d put her head in your lap and just start rambling about something that happened that day

“Are you ignoring me?” “Of course not” “What did I say?” “Something about... something” “ANYWAYS, back to what I was saying” “Great babe, yeah”

half of her twitter is dedicated to you let’s be real

Madison Montgomery Tweeted: My girlfriend is so much better than all of you :)

“Let’s go do something” “It’s 3 in the morning” “... So?”

driving around the city at night, listening to music and holding hands as you take random turns and streets neither of you had really ever been on

people telling you how much better Madison had been since you got together

going on date nights where the two of you argue over who’s gonna pay for thirty minutes

one of you ending up taking the card out of the others wallet before leaving the house

once both of you did this but you were able to come up with the cash together and a tip for the waiter after making them wait so long

Madi will walk into your room to find you studying or practicing your magic and go “Ugh, you and Zoe hang out too much”

she has the most embarrassing photo of you as he screensaver... like ma’am... this isn’t funny :|

the both of you have pictures with each other everywhere in you rooms

she doesn’t like to argue

she really does try her best to not upset you

so she learns how to be more open about her feelings instead of covering them up and acting as if nothing is bothering her

stargazing on nights neither of you can sleep

making sure to tell the other how much you love them at least once a day

[starr-fall-knight-rise]

HASO, “Found Out.”

I took inspiration from the ONE question on the discord server that has caused me no little amount  of annoyance. I have had it asked so many times that now there is an auto response to anyone who asks me the question. Those of you who are on the server know what I am talking about. Those of you who don’t. I will answer at the end of this post.

Simon had to see what was going on.

Granted, the admiral’s business was the Admiral’s business, but there was something strange going on here, and she felt that it was her job to figure out what that was going on. As it occurred to her, generally when something was going on with the Admiral, oftentimes it was something strange and dangerous.

The odd behavior that Corporal Ramirez was now exhibiting might be evidence of some sort of strange contagious mind control alien that…. Well she didn’t know, but it probably infected other people through like…. Spores or something.

She never knew with the Admiral. 

She made her way up onto the command deck and passed the vacant offices. Most of the officers had already clocked off for the day and gone to eat dinner or to bed. Even she should have been off by then, but the strange behavior of the corporal and reports from Yeb (the strange little Tricar with the Green mohawk who now worked with the mess hall staff) that the marine had been stealing large amounts of fruit from the walk in fridge.

Whatever was going on, she had to get down to the bottom of it even if no one else was interested in helping.

She had tried to go to Krill, the only rational person ironically not even a person, to talk to him, but he had been too busy with a relatively routine, but still emergency, surgery and had been unable to speak with her. Dr Katie had been assisting him, and she considered Dr. Katie to be the second most rational person on the ship, and super sweet, but just her luck both of them were too busy.

So it was up to her to figure out what was going on.

She made it up to the Admiral’s door and waited.

She could hear nothing overt just yet, and so she pressed her ear up against the doo hoping that she might be able to hear something, but of course there was nothing. She went to step back contemplating what might be best to do, but as she did, her hand pressed against the opening pad on the door and it slid suddenly open with the soft familiar hiss. She was a bit surprised at first, having expected the door to be locked, and so she stood there blinking owlishly.

The room was dark mostly, light spilled in from the window on the right, bathing the room in the delicate pink of a nearby nebulae.

It wasn’t the only light source though, overhead, on the ceiling a strip of blue neon rested over the bed shedding light downwards on all of his strange and nerdy possessions, movie posters, moon lander replicas, and some other weird stuff that she couldn’t identify.

She saw some movement, and looked down to see the captain’s dog waffles resting in her bed. Her tail thumped once or twice upon seeing Simon.

Simon pursed her lips, she liked Waffles well enough, but was more of a cat person, and was glad the dog didn’t get up,

However, the good things about the animal was mostly to do with her being a good indication of what was going on in the room. As far as Simon could tell, the dog didn’t seem upset in any way, or even distrubed. In fact, she lay her head back down and closed her eyes barely even bothered that Simon had intruded on her master’s room without calling.

Her eyes scanned ver the room as her eyes adjusted, the dull neon light showed more and more of the room.

And the two men lying prone on the bed.

She froze not entirely sure what to think.

Crew fraternization was CLEARLY against the UNSC rules, and a marine with the admiral had some implications that she didn’t even want to think about.

She stood there confused in the doorway for a long moment not sure what to do.

By all rights she should turn the two of them in according to the UNSC guidelines, but… but could see do that? She didn’t know? The rest of the crew would be pissed at her if she did, and she could lose her job. Was this really something she wanted to get herself involved with? Was this really something she COULD get herself involved with.

She stood there racked with indecision for the longest moment until one of the figures began to move, likely allerted. She went to turn around, to run away or something, but just then the Admiral sat up and looked over at her.

He tilted his head as if confused and then his eyes went wide.

She held up her hands, “Admiral I…”

Before she could do anything, the admiral leaped forward off the bed ran over and grabbed her arm, dragging her inside and forcing the door shut. Corporal Ramirez was sitting up now looking groggy and confused.

The Admiral had a hand clamped over her mouth.

Her eyes were wide and wild.

She tried to pull away but he gripped her tighter, “Simon, don’t freak out.”

Ramirez sat up rubbing his head.

“Promise not to freak out, and I will let you go.”

She paused and then nodded, not entirely sure she was going to do what he wanted but she relaxed anyway.

He let her go and held out his hands eying her as if he was ready to jump forward.

Simon didn’t try to run away, but she did cross her arms, “This is unacceptable, Admiral. Absolutely unacceptable.”

He frowned at her seeming oddly confused for someone who had been caught.

“But you haven’t even-”

“Fraternizing with members of the crew!” She announced, she pointed at Ramirez, “And you with your commanding officer.”

The two of them looked at each other for a second confused again before it seemed to dawn on them.

Even in the Dim neon light she saw the Admiral turn red, and Ramirez raised his hands defensively

“Woah woah hold on.”

“We are not , we were’t….”

“Never in my life.:”

“He’s not even my type.”

“This looks weird, but I promise I can explain everything.”

Simon frowned and crossed her arms, “Oh I think it is pretty obvious. You all are acting weird, and then I find you in bed together. That seems pretty clear to me.”

Admiral Vir raised a hand, “I mean I'll admit it does LOOK shady, but we fell asleep kind of on accident, but I would never, not with him.”

Ramirez frowned, “ouch, insulted, but seriously. We weren’t doing anything. And you know me, if we were I would definitely make some inappropriate joke right about now for sure.”

Simon huffed angrily.

“Then what WERE you doing.”

“Well…”

At that moment a dark snakelike shape rose up from the center of the bed, turned towards her and opened it’s mouth.

Simon screamed and tried leaping away, but the Admiral grabbed her again and clamped a hand over her mouth. She tried to fight out of his grip, but he was far too strong. The THING on the bed lifted up higher it’s mouth still open. What was that! Some kind of mind control creature! An alien brain sucker! 

She continued to struggle.

The Admiral Pushed her up against the door hand over her mouth.

“SImon, SIMON!, stop. Stop struggling and we can explain! But I swear if you scream I…. I’lll….. Well I don’t know what Ill do right now, but it will be….. Very unpleasant.” He paused and frowned, “Mindly unpleasant…… well it might be a little unpleasant, definitely a good scolding.”

She frowned in confusion and stopped struggling, and the man, once again, removed his hand from her mouth.

The thing on the bed closed its mouth and blinked one slimy yellow green eye at her.

“What. the. Fuck. is. That.”

Admiral Vir rubbed the back of his head, “Well that is…. That is Jeffery.”

“Jeffery…?”

The snake-thing unwound itself from it’s curled position and slithered onto the floor. Waffles was standing up drawn out of her bed by all the commotion, and as she stood the snake slithered over, reared up and slipped over the dog’s back, wrapping around her belly once and then once around her neck, until it was wrapped around her like some strange looking scarf, head raised into the air like some knd of demented parascope. The dog leaned her head down to lick the snake once before looking back up at Simon.

“Where…. Where did you get it.”

“Huh…. um…. So funny story, we were down on this planet you see-”

She groaned, “You stole and alien from an alien planet!.”

“I mean…. Yes and no, you se Jeffery wanted to come.”

She glowered at him, “Did Jeffery SAY that.”

“Well, no, but I did try to put him back, honestly I did, but then I went to leave. He followed after me and he just looked so sad that I couldn’t leave him.” The man’s eye was wide like that of a child asking to keep a  kitten he had found on the side of the road. 

Waffles took a few steps forward, and now the snake was nearly at chest height looking at her.

She eyed it warily.

“Go on.” The admiral urged, “he likes chin scratches.”

She turned to look at him, “No I am NOT going to pet the snake.”

From the other side of the room Ramirez whispered, “Do it.”

The Admiral nodded encouragingly, and the two of them together frustrated her enough that she finally reached forward and hesitantly rubbed the soft skin under the strange alien’s chin. To her surprise the snake thing learned its head back as if it was enjoying the experience. Before she knew what was happening, it suddenly began curling around her arm and slithering up around her shoulders until it was resting with it’s head on top of hers.

It was…. Strange, and kind of…. nice .

Simon didn’t generally like hugs, or being touched by people period, but there was something about this that felt like…. All the good parts of a hug without any of the bad parts.

She knew pretty immediately that she had been dragged right into this with them.

She frowned.

“Do the two of you even know how to take care of a snake?”

They paused and turned to look at each other. Adam shook his head and Ramirez shrugged.

“Well he isn’t exactly a snake now is he?”

They did have a point.

“Besides, we’ve figured out what he can eat. He likes blueberries, strawberries. And he really loves Pineapple.”

“Pineapple, are you serious?”

“Yeah we were kind of skeptical at first, but he really just went for it, and you know we have been monitoring his health to make sure that he is ok, and it seems to be working rather well.”

Adam nodded, seeming pleased with himself, “Yeah, I seem to recall those berries having a pretty acidic smell, so maybe that’s sort of just the kind of thing that he eats.”

Simon frowned, clearly the two of them had no idea what they were doing. They were definitely going to need her help to be more organized and to take care of this guy way better. She absently reached up to rub Jeffery’s chin.

Don’t worry, she thought, I am going to take good care of you

That question is, “Can Drev eat Pineapple.”  The answer is NO, but Jeffery can!

[voidstilesplease]

command me to be well

(a Beacon Hills Academy for the Supernaturals ficlet)

~•~

Supernatural creatures are known and accepted in society, and they have their branch and section in everything - the government, religion, court justice, health, food production, etc. They coexist with humans. There are still supremacist groups on both ends of the spectrum, but as a whole, supernaturals and humans share the world in equal.

In Beacon Hills Academy for the Supernaturals, mages (magic wielders) and shapeshifters (werewolves, werefoxes, were-coyotes, etc.) study and learn about themselves, strengths, and weaknesses, and adaptation in the human world. 

Stiles takes both mage and shapeshifter classes. His mother had been a fire werefox, and his grandmother a mage. The magic ability stays dormant in between generations, so Stiles received the spark that skipped his mother. Stiles's dad is the Sheriff of Beacon Hills, Homo Sapiens division. (It's not what it's called, but Stiles uses the term to annoy his father.) 

Every werefox can shift to their animal forms since birth. Their blood has no infectious components like werewolves, to turn an existing creature into one. So their kind only reproduces through procreation, but the power comes only between the ages of eighteen to twenty and never predictable. There are thirteen classifications of werefoxes: Heaven, Wind, Spirit, Fire, Earth, River, Ocean, Mountain, Forest, Thunder, Time, Sound, and Dark. And they all have to study every single one element through simulations and a weird practice called internalization. It's like the Buddhists' enlightenment when they have to "seek within themselves the core of their being" or whatever crap like that.

His mage classes are much worse. As a werefox, his reading skills are for shit, even with his human blood. His kind takes time to make sense of written symbols -it's called dyslexia in the human tongue- and so it proves to be a problem in his magic lessons.

"Stiles!" Kira, also a werefox and his non-biological sister, appears at his side after class. "Come over this afternoon and have dinner at home. Dad is making sushi."

The mention of sushi makes his mouth water, but he curls his lips downward. "I can't. I'm on my way to solitary study."

She winces sympathetically, "Yikes."

The solitary study is another word for detention in the Supernatural school. The students are put into confinement to reflect and read. It could be for an hour up to five -their offense and the amount of hate the teacher has for them decides the length of the stay. It doesn't sound bad when you hear of it the first time, but the stillness of being alone in a white room, being forced to think, drives everyone crazy. Stiles is probably the one person in the school who has seen those walls the most.

"What happened?" She asks, hoisting her backpack, forehead creasing intently.

Stiles shrugs, "In my mage class, we were practicing an incantation. I mispronounced a word because the symbols were flying all over the page," they stop walking when they reach the hallway that will separate them; Kira to the exit, and Stiles to his punishment. "All the light bulbs in the room broke simultaneously, and the shards went everywhere, mostly lodged in my classmates' and teacher's faces."

"Ouch,"

Stiles hums, curling his lips. "My incantation teacher hates me, just as much as I hate him. Every mistake I make is an excuse for him to send me to solitary. He also thinks I'm doing it on purpose. He gave me five hours today, and I'm expecting another tomorrow for the potion I fucked up earlier in another of his class."

"But that's unfair," Kira says, indignant for Stiles. "We're dyslexic. Every teacher should consider the limitations of each of us."

Stiles purses his lips but doesn't say anything. He doesn't mention to Kira that when the symbols rearrange in his mind, it's not always a gibberish mess. Sometimes, they're also perfectly readable -and quite harmful, depending on the caster's intention. He doesn't mention that more than half the time, he purposely utters curses and adds the wrong ingredients to concoctions. Stiles only does it for fun, though, to ruffle his teachers and enemies. He's a school jester; everyone knows that. He doesn't mean to cause pain to anyone -not all the time.

He's not vicious or vengeful. He swears he's not.

He's only a playful fox, curious with the less explored potentials of his power -even its violent capacity.

~•~

But it gets worse. It becomes an inclination more than a mere curiosity, especially when Stiles meets him.

In his fourth year in the Supernatural school, the management opened a program for the underaged supernaturals in the custody center. They're the young, homeless lawbreakers abandoned to the care of social workers after countless encounters with the law enforcement and their family's depletion of funds to cover the fines for damages they have caused.

The program grants them one term of attendance in the school instead of being instructed by tutors at the center, and a second one if the first term yields positive reports.

There are eight of them, and all are shapeshifters. There are three werewolves, a kanima, a wendigo, a chameleon, an electric eel (Stiles doesn't want to know how this kind came to be), and a were-coyote. All of them have criminal records, of course, but one has a count for murder - and his sister, no less. And Stiles knew him before his lock-up. They had not been friends because of Stiles's mistrust of canine shapeshifters, but he recognizes him right at first sight in years.

But while werefoxes prefer to stay away from the dogs, the latter doesn't have such urge to keep scarce, especially one among the outlaws: Theo Raeken.

He's taken one look at Stiles and decided to torment him. Witnessing Stiles do illegal magic did not help the case. Instead, it invited Theo more. Theo stalks him (as much as he can inside school grounds), stares at him, vies for his attention, pushes all the wrong but right buttons. Stiles feels repulsed by the way his blood thrums in Theo's presence. He's disgusted with himself for getting excited by his challenge. Stiles reminds himself daily that it's Theo -the one who murders their blood, and will probably have no qualms on staining their hands with someone else's. But Theo keeps provoking him, daring him to let go of caution. 

One day, Stiles does.

He unleashes himself and leaves Theo bloody, beaten-up, broken, and exhilarated, and himself satisfied for the first time. Theo stops prodding him after that. He starts tempting him: We can run. None of them listens. Their truth is the only truth. And Stiles thinks he's right.

He's almost eighteen. His fox's element should be manifesting -and it looks like it is.

~•~

"What happens if I turn out to be the wrong kind?" Stiles asks Kira one night, in the middle of video game night at her house.

Kira is focused on the screen, but she echoes Stiles. "The wrong kind?"

"A dark fox,"

That pulls Kira's attention away from the screen quicker than they can run. Her eyes are wide with alarm when she presses pause and turns to Stiles. She opens her mouth but speaks nothing for a long time. It seems she's too shocked for words. Finally, she shakes her head. "You're not."

Stiles sighs, putting down his controller. "There's one out of thirteen possibilities that I am. It's little, but it's there nonetheless."

Kira scoots closer, holding Stiles's arm, her clutch tight. "Yes, but," she stammers, "there hasn't been one in a long time."

"Of course, there isn't," Stiles agrees, looking at Kira. "They're exterminated as soon as they present to snuff out any chance of gaining power and growing a second tail."

"But you're not one," Kira says forcefully, eyes suspiciously moist.

Stiles replies softly, "I enjoy causing mayhem."

She shakes her head hard, "We all like trouble, Stiles. That's sort of what we are,"

Stiles can't look at her eyes when he admits his truth, so he turns away. "I inflict pain," Kira freezes in her touch. "and like it. The sight of blood makes me sick but with pleasure. I-" he pauses, wipes the sweat that gathered in his nose. He swallows. "I want to get into someone's head and twist their mind. I have done it, and I want to do it again."

Kira draws uneven breaths beside him. Her scent has turned sweet with fear -and though it makes his stomach twist, Stiles inhales it, savors it.

Kira's voice quivers, "If you learn to suppress it-"

"If it can be suppressed and controlled, there would've been no vulpine law authorizing the killing of a nogitsune."

Kira bows her head in defeat, sniffing.

"My magic," his whispering voice is loud in her room, reverberating in its four walls. He's been coming here since he was a child. Who knows when and if he can have the chance again. "It knows what I might be. It flows in my veins with my blood, rushing when I'm doing what I shouldn't be."

They're silent for a long moment; Stiles refuses to meet Kira's eyes, and Kira strives to calm her racing heart. She doesn't recoil from her touch, even when she was afraid. Now that the fear has subsided, she moves to kneel in front of him and takes his face between her small hands, prompting him to face her. When he raises his head, Kira's eyes are glowing, fiery around the black. Stiles flashes his in response.

"If you are," Kira says, tone final and sure. "I'm with you. You're my brother, and I love you."

Stiles knows she will stand by her words, but he doesn't wish her to. Kira has a whole life ahead of her that she can't spend hiding a nogitsune or running with one.

Because Stiles will run, damn if he won't. He's not going down, and he won't let them catch him. 

He leans his head against her hand, kissing the soft palm of it. He rubs his nose on the residual unease still clinging underneath her skin. "I love you, too."

And then he will come back invincible.

~•~

[mochikeiji]

You Found Me

↠ Pairing: Akaashi Keiji x Reader

↠ Warning: none, fluffy for my boy akaamshi uwu Writer!Reader, Aged Up characters.

↬ Word Count: 2.4k

Summary: He was just a fictional character, how can you be foolish enough to believe he were to be reincarnated and to be born in the same world as you live in? Will it even be possible for him to notice you in billions of people and far places?

⇢ Day 1: Reincarnation

You loved him.

More than words can describe.

"Love." can never be enough to portray the amount of adoration you had for this man. Nothing.

He doesn't know you.

He was just a character; written by people who held the most artistic perspectives into capturing a character's personality. They made him seem so real, so easy to love and to be succumbed into his entire being.

But he wasn't real.

Nor is he aware of the millions of eyes and fans from reality admiring him for simply being ethereal in his world of ink and colorful dialogues made by his author.

Nor will he be aware of the amount of love you were pouring out to his inexistence. To reciprocate the feelings, let alone acknowledge you from a crowd filled with much more dedicated people to him.

Yet every night you prayed; longed that one day there will be someone to be reborn as he is. A man to be born with that natural charismatic aura. The blunt, yet soft hearted soul of a person, the dedication he has shown in the show with his desr senior. Everything.

He was the embodiment of everything you wanted, needed.

Perfection at the most flawed world.

"Nobody compares to you, Keiji."

Day dreaming for what seemed like an everyday routine for you, you clicked on the next tab of your laptop away from the world of fictional sight— where mostly your safe haven is. Where you get to imagine a world with him and pondered back into your field of writing.

How long has it been since you've been off your draft? Was it 2 hours ago? Had you been submerged again with the same story you've memorized over the times you've read it? Well, no one can't help it. It was your coping mechanism, your escape from the cruel reality. Though the stories are imprinted in your mind and everyday dreams, you admired the fact how they were well written by different varieties of writers that came to admire his character and brought him to life. How they managed to make him and every character from the show come to life. It was as if all the scenarios you've wanted was all there, all granted. Except for one.

Where he was truly existing in the same world as you do.

"Well done, sweetie, you've lost another promised motivation to write." groaning with your head leaned back on your pillow, you closed your eyes for a short break. By instinct, the stories scenarios began playing inside your head.

All the fluffy ones that made your body feel somewhat lighter from the ghost, feathered kisses as you recalled the lines of your favorite ones. The ones where they would further describe how he would hold you in his arms like a fragile being, link his hands with yours, giving you his warm kisses as he presses you close to his chest.

The angst ones where he would be there to comfort you immediately, wiping away your tears as he helps you out of your struggles and battles in life. Letting him be your resting place and safety.

And lastly the explicit ones where you could only go so far to imagine the lewd things as the words from the screen pages come up to the surface and bound your body at his presence.

What a paradise, you would call.

Yet what a tragic for someone who longs for a person like that to be real.

Eyes opening after the self pitied thoughts, your sudden decision to go out in the cold, rainy afternoon came by. For a shy person you are, you never really liked the idea of squeezing in a crowd or to be seen, but as you eventually grew up, you begin to like places that felt like a second home to you. Be it a cafe or a bookshop, or just an area with a few people and closed walls where you were free to be in dazed once more.

Shutting you laptop closed and placing it back on your desk, you picked out some of your most comfortable clothing; mostly jogging pants and an adorable sweater. Having to be in highschool and growing out the habit of wearing long sleeved shirts even though it was hot was amusing to many. Though, today was exemptional.

You contemplated whether or not you would tie yor hair into a bun or leave it down, like that one character you read in your favorite show, he didn't like his field of vision to be wide. It brought a small amount of relief someone felt the same as you did, so you decided to just put it in a lower bun with your fringes hidig the sides of your face.

Grabbing you small bag and an umbrella, you walked out from your dorm. Your roommate had been stranded in her university from the sudden pouring, ordering her a coffee after coming back from the shop may be a good welcoming gift for her. She was the only person you managed to get close to at the time of your adulthood. It's only fair you have gotten attached and wanted to show her how much you love and appreciate her.

Thank goodness it was only pouring. If the rain happened to be coming with thunder and lightning, you would've gotten out and hid underneath your blankets. It isn't all the time you get to enjoy the droplets from the sky without the God of Thunder stomping down in anger.

The streets were absolutely stunning during the dark or gloomy weather, the lights from each building and shop were lighted up, combining with the rain and its pattering, it felt so serene to you than it did to others. The odd musk from the rain filling nostrils as your eyes cast upon the cemented streets that had colorful lights illuminating them, made you feel at ease and somehow your mind was starting to stir up multiple writing prompts and ideas that made you excited and happy.

The whole world disappearing before you as you were at the best day you claimed. The musk of the rain mixing up with the cinnamon and coffee like scent as you opened the door from the nearby cafe from your dorm welcomes you. Smiling shyly, you moved to the side a bit and removed your glasses to cleanse it as it got fogged up from the cool air before placing it back on your face and walked towards the cashier.

It was a miracle that the infamous coffee and sweets cafe of yours wasn't crowded today, managing to order quickly and waited on the other side of the counter. Your usual frappucino and a chocolate cake for your cravings.

"Ah, you're here again?"

The lovely male behind the counter chirped at the newly arrived customer. He was the nicest crew you knew in this cafe, you loved how he makes you feel at ease.

"Yeah, I got caught up in my papers and it went pouring all of a sudden."

"Always a workaholic aren't we, Kei?"

Kei? Cute name.

Kinda reminds you of that tall, player in the show you watched, Tsukishima.

"Wait there for a second, we're preparing two orders."

In instinct of the male's voice, you scooted away from the receiving counter a little for the next person to be standing next to you. You really didn't like sitting to waot for your order, who knows? You might trip and cause an embarrassing accident.

His scent however, was filling in your nostrils. Combining with the soft, delicious treats, he smelled like someone you would love to hug for days and feel safe. He smelled like home.

Was that weird? Yes.

Suddenly, this scene had made a perfect prompt pop in your head, you had to fish out your phone from your bag to write it down on your notes. It had been too long since you've written a good story. You missed your passion in writing, a good opportunity will never be passed as this.

"Do you write as well?"

Squeaking a bit with your palms already forming a sweat from nervousness and the cold air, you turned your head to your left side of the male costumer, who had an amused smile at his face from your reaction.

You wete never one to come and talk to a random stranger as a kid and teenager. But even as an adult, you felt inferior of them. But taking a few seconds to regain your breathing and judging by your surroundings, nothing seemed to be harmful to reply, right?

"A-ah, yeah, but it's not that good or a job, y'know?....Just a hobby."

Stuttering out and muttering the last part, inside your head you were screaming, had you lost your people skills too? Soft chuckling can be heard from him, he gives you a small smile, not noticing how he scooted closer to you since he couldn't quite hear your voice from afar.

"I think it's incredible how a person can put their imaginations into words and share it so freely to everyone across the world."

Heart beating fast.

He hits it home. He was definitely speaking the language of a writer, and you find yourself standing straighter and smiling a bit wider. There wasn't much people that shared your interest, your relatives and friends were always into musical and artistic drawings, or the domestic kind of jobs and talents. You were the only one who loved writing so much and pursued secretly. Meeting someone who shared the same thought and words as you cannot be forgotten.

You had to know him.

"Thank you..I take it you write as well?"

Score, you manage out a normal reply without being awkward.

"An editor to be exact, it's not as fun as it sounds. I was aiming for literature but it seems life wanted me to have a little detour."

Nothing was boring. In fact, it was making you more happy to hear how much you had in common with him. Not able to hold back the next words, you blurted out,

"I think it's amazing you're still part of the writing community. Be it any position I know you must have such potential in your work."

You catch his eyes just staring at yours behind his glasses. Biting your lip in habit gor when you feel nervous, you clamps your hands together and immediately stammered an apology for invading his personal life.

He laughs, but not too loudly.  The longer you reviewed his features and everything, the more he was starting to look like someone you've been day dreaming.

No, fate cannot be this powerful.

But he seemed so much like him that you wanted so badly to point your fingers to all the matched characteristics he was performing. From his outfit, hair, glasses, and his feature but more realistic, different. His eyes weren't the same gun metal ones as you remember from that character, but he radiates so much of his aura.

"Here are your orders, Kei, ma'am."

Ah damn, you didn't catch his name.

The both of you thanked the kind male before walking away from the counter. Scanning your surroundings quickly for a good spot to sit, you saw the free spot by the window where the rain was pattering and went there. It was like having a television show for free. Seeting your tray down the small coffee table, you stabbed in the straw to your beverage and mixed it up a bit before taking a sip, feeling empty and sad from not getting to know who that person was or to befriend him.

He was nice, gentle, something you would in a man before befriending them. You wanted to know more about his works and his ways of writing, maybe show you his ideas on literature writing. But mostly, you were intrigued from his entire existence.

You wanted to know more about him that it made your stomach twist in guilt and regret from the opportunity slipping away.

"May I sit here?"

And it slipped right back to you.

Biting the straw in your mouth as he smiled at you holding his tray of waffle and steaming coffee, awaiting for your permission before you nod out of daze and watched as he takes a seat in front of you.

Cliche was the first word that came up in your mind. You never would've thought that the scenario of a cute boy in glasses and a sweater hugging his body would want to be seated in a cafe with you.

And you loved cliche scenarios, even dreamed of having your own story-like life.

"The cafe is pretty empty, and you looked like you could use some company."

"I didn't take it that you enjoyed company so I sat far away.."

"You're right, I'm not. I wonder why now."

Was this his way of flirting? If it was, you're buying it. You loved how his voice was smooth and calm. The stoic look on his face earlier replaced by a pleased one with a small smile while taking a sip of his coffee.

"Maybe because I look lonely and you felt bad?"

"I simply wanted to enjoy my treat while chatting with someone who knows my interest rather than myself. Besides,"

He places down his cup on the tray before leaning his head a bit and smiling,

"It's not bad to get out of my shell now, right?"

His face stayed up close as yours was heating with your body getting ligther. He looked like him, he acts like him when he was all grown up. You didn't want to believe in the source of reincarnation and their mysterious, yet hopeful glimmer, but you knew. You knew and you would bet everything that this person was the perfect resemblance to the Akaashi Keiji.

"You never told me your name."

It came out like a whisper from your lips, the rain outside pouring harder as night fall came. He remains the same, smiling like a cheeky person, now fully interested in a person like you, a random stranger whom he just caught writing a romance prompt about a man she met in a cafe.

The detour his life had turned around for him to take, and yours to be fulfilled.

All the possibilities or unexplainable books, movies, theories. The characters, the events, all now making you dizzy at the idea of it all being true at a specific time and place. All of it was too good to be true. Too much that it made your eyes a bit teary to have finally encounter the person who has raised you high and kept you moving. The person who could never compare to the other people, be it fiction or reality.

"My name is, Keiji."

[gracelesslamb]

“Don’t Talk”

Rated: Explicit

Fandom: Code Geass

Pairing: Cécile x Lloyd

Summary: Lloyd will do anything for giant robots. Even show an interest in girls. Sort of. There’s not really a plot it’s mostly just smut.

“Cécile, you’re a woman aren’t you?”

Cécile Croomy holds back her grimace at the obliviousness of Earl Asplund’s question. Could the guy get any more cliché in his cluelessness?

“Yes. I’m a woman. Where are you going with this?”

The Earl chuckles, running his fingers through his light violet locks idly. “Obviously it is to ask a favor of you. I require practice in the art of copulation—“

“ExcUSE ME? That ISN’T something you just ASK for practice in. Look, I get that you don’t understand how human attraction works but you don’t just ask your subordinate, who is not your betrothed to...do stuff like that with you!” Cécile fumes, turning back to her work, her cheeks flaming a bright crimson.

Another condescending chuckle. What was wrong with this man? “Science is trial and error. I want to please my future wife, Miss Ashford, so I can get my hands on those antique Knightmare frames, and I have no experience whatsoever with the opposite sex. Odds are if Miss Ashford isn’t pleased with my performance, the opportunity to study those frames would slip through my fingers!”

Cécile sighs. “Then take Miss Ashford on a date or something. Why should I help you practice?”

“Because you would give me honest feedback. I do see you as my conscience after all. I don’t exactly know how I am supposed to conduct myself in such situations and I will probably need instruction. Besides...it has been awhile since you’ve had a lover.”

The heat rising in Cécile’s face rose to a boiling point. He was right. It had been awhile since she had gotten any action whatsoever. Instead she was just making eyes at Suzaku, who really didn’t notice her or anyone else since Princess Euphemia died and honestly she couldn’t blame him. But...Lloyd? She was pretty certain Lloyd was asexual and sleeping with him would be like going to the doctor’s office except with penetration.

Wait.

Why was she even thinking about it? Granted the Earl of Pudding was easy on the eyes, with his fluffy lilac hair, somewhat handsome face, his lithe frame and...those hands. She wasn’t a prude and had occasionally indulged in casual flings and one night stands before, but never with someone she would actually see daily. Granted, she definitely knew that Lloyd would have no problem pretending their little fling never happened because he was...Lloyd.

“S-so...let me get this straight. You want me to...what? Let you go down on me for science?”

“Correct. In fact, I don’t believe we will need to have intercourse. Unless you want to, of course. If that’s the case I will provide adequate contraception.”

Cécile cringes a bit. He’s so..clinical about this. But...she was intrigued enough by the idea of Lloyd going down on her that she nods hesitantly.

“F-fine. But if you’re weird about it, I’m gonna make you stop, okay?”

“Yes, yes. I understand. I’ll drop by your place tonight at 8:00 sharp.”

Cécile nods again, blushing profusely and not daring to look her future bed partner in the eye. Jeez. What had she gotten herself into?

——————————————-

Later that night, Cécile was ready. She had settled on some deep purple lacy lingerie that was covered by a fluffy white robe. She was fresh out of the shower and sitting on her bed in sheer anticipation. God, why did she agree to this? Sheer curiosity about how her boss would be in bed? That’s a good explanation as anything else she could come up with.

The doorbell rings and she gets up and opens the door. Lloyd, wearing his standard uniform, strides in as if he owns the place. A simple messenger bag is slung over his shoulder, which she assumes has the box of condoms inside. Hopefully he won’t work her into such a frenzy that they’ll need them.

“So, then. Where is your bedroom?” he asks, raising an eyebrow at her current state of dress. “I see you’re ready to get started, hmm?”

A blush rises in Cécile’s cheeks as she points in the direction of the bedroom . “I-It’s that way, you jerk!” she mutters.

Lloyd grins at her embarrassment and walks toward the bedroom, setting his bag on the side of the bed. Cécile, still red-faced, walks into the room and closes the door behind her and dimming the lights to set a less clinical mood. Well. Here they were.

She hesitantly sits on the bed, patting the spot next to her. Lloyd takes the hint and sits beside her. “So, where do you want to start? Some kissing? Or do you want to just get undressed right now?”

Cécile swats his arm lightly. “Just...just shut up and kiss me.”

“Hah. As you wish.” Without hesitation, Lloyd crashes his lips onto hers, threading those delicate fingers through her drying hair.

The kiss was sweet. Sensual. Slow. Enough so that Cécile’s eyes flutter shut and she just lets him nibble on her bottom lip and surprises even herself when she allows her lips to part and the kiss deepens. Eventually, though, the absurdity of who was kissing her was too much to bear and she breaks the kiss, pushing Lloyd away, who just smirks in response.

“What’s wrong? I thought my skills were adequate, judging by your reaction.” he remarks smugly, in such a way that made Cécile want to clock that smug smirk off his stupid face.

“N-nothing’s wrong I was just...expecting something different from you.” Hesitantly, she pulls him into another kiss, which Lloyd reciprocates by pulling Cécile into his lap as she snakes her arms around his neck, slightly toying with his soft hair. This was...surprisingly intimate.

Eventually Lloyd pulls on the robe’s sash, letting the material fall open. Cécile, in turn unbuttons his lab jacket, causing both of them to break the kiss and discard both lab jacket and robe.

“I see you’re enjoying yourself, Cécile.” Lloyd murmurs in her ear before pressing kisses against the skin of her neck, causing a quiet moan to leave Cécile’s lips.

“Ooh, I like that noise. Do it again!” Lloyd comments, before heating up his kisses, adding small bites and suckling to the mix. Céline, already embarrassed that she made such a noise, bites her lip before another moan comes out. “Lloyd, shut up!” she hisses.

“Yes, yes. Just making an observation. How am I doing so far, might I ask. Pretty good judging the noises you’re making, hm?” He pulls her into another heated kiss, swiping his tongue across her bottom lip, begging for entrance. Cécile breaks the kiss to answer, “Passable.”

“Well...I suppose I need to step up my game then, hmm?” Lloyd grins, pulling her back into the kiss, deepening it immediately and sliding his tongue inside of Cécile’s mouth, causing tingles to emanate throughout her body every time his tongue collides with hers.

While they kiss, Lloyd’s hands begin to wander from her back, to the inside of her thighs, causing Cécile to gasp softly into the kiss. His hand creeps upwards and cups one of her breasts through her bra while the other hand reaches behind and...attempts to unclasp the garment, causing Cécile to break the kiss and collapse into giggles as he struggles. “D-do you need help?” she asks, biting her lip as she buries her face into his shoulder, pulling down Lloyd’s turtleneck to press teasing kisses against his neck while he struggles.

“No, no. I simply need both hands to unlock this contraption.” Lloyd mutters breathily, looking over Cécile’s shoulder to see the clasp. Finally, after a few moments of more struggling, Lloyd finally unclasps the bra with a triumphant, “HAH! Success! Now, can you get off of me and lay on the bed?”

“Only if you take off your shirt too.” Cécile fires back, tugging at his shirt.

Lloyd sighs as he complies . “Very well. I suppose that’s a fair trade.” He pulls off the shirt revealing a fairly wiry body with very little body fat or muscle, but it was still pleasing to look at.

Cécile gets off of Lloyd’s lap and slides out of her bra, carefully laying down, avoiding the Earl’s gaze as she does.

Lloyd climbs on top of Cécile, engaging her in another kiss as a hand caresses a modestly sized breast in his palm. Breaking the kiss he murmurs, “I’ve never seen one of these up close before.” Moving down to her breasts, the Earl pokes at one of them with a look of fascination on his face, making Cécile roll her eyes. This man was 30 years old, five years her senior, yet he acted like such a child sometimes. Most times. All the time.

He spent a good amount of time playing with them, poking and prodding at them, squeezing and flicking at her nipples, causing several moans to escape Cécile’s lips, against her better judgement. He had got her going and now she was definitely feeling heat between her legs as he continues to play with her breasts.

“Y-you can put your mouth on them if you want.” Cécile murmurs, gasping softly as Lloyd takes a nipple into his mouth, tracing his tongue around the nipple, causing Cécile’s eyes to flutter shut as she bites her bottom lip to hold back another moan, her legs rubbing together as her lower regions begin to throb with anticipation.

Of course Lloyd was completely oblivious to Cécile’s thighs rubbing together and he continues to play with her breasts far longer than Cécile would’ve liked but she gave the Earl some slack — he’d never played with boobs before.

Eventually, Lloyd decides it’s time to move on and he kisses his way back up to Cécile’s lips, leaning in her ear. “So...how do you want me to pleasure you?” he asks. “With my hands?” His deft fingers rub at her clothed core, causing Cécile to sigh in pleasure. “My tongue?” he nips at her earlobe, “or..” his voice lowers into a whisper. “My cock.” With that he rubs himself against Cécile’s aching core, causing her to moan louder than she expected. He was...a decent size judging by what she had felt through his pants.

“A-all three?”

“How greedy.” Lloyd murmurs softly, pulling down her panties and immediately stroking her core, which by this time was soaking wet. “I guess I did promise to go down on you for science.” he mutters. “But now I need to take care of my own arousal too. How annoying. Do I have permission to penetrate you after cunnilingus?”

Cécile’s face burns bright red as she nods quickly, too embarrassed to say anything.

“Excellent. Then let’s get this show on the road, shall we? Spread your legs for me!” Lloyd exclaims, as if he was about to test a new feature on the Lancelot.

Slowly, Cécile spreads her legs, revealing her core to the Earl of Asplund, who grins with delight as he settles between her legs. “Now, let’s see if I remember my female anatomy correctly.” he murmurs, experimentally sliding a finger inside of her, his face flashing in surprise as her insides just suck him in. “Oh my. That’s..interesting. Just sucks you right in there, huh?”

Cécile was getting impatient. Her loins were on fire and needed relief. “Just get on with it, Lloyd. Please!”

“Fine fine.” Lloyd begins to thrust that finger inside of her, once twice, three times before adding a second, and locating her clitoris, which he presses his tongue against, causing the other scientist to moan softly. “K-Keep doing that” she murmurs under her breath.

“Hmm...your taste is..hm. Interesting. It’s not bad it’s just..” another lick. “Strange. And a bit salty.”

“Stop—mm! talking!” Cécile says, her eyes feeling heavy and fluttering shut as her head tilts back against the pillows as Lloyd thrusts his deft fingers inside of her while swirling his tongue around her sensitive button. With all of this stimulation, it wasn’t surprising that her first orgasm quickly approached her and she fell over the edge with a loud gasp of pleasure, panting slightly.

Lloyd looks up from his ministrations and pouts. “Aw. Did you finish already? I was just getting started. Oh well. Guess that means it’s time for the main event, huh?”

He sits up and removes his pants, underwear and all, revealing a very hard, decent sized shaft. Unashamed of his nakedness, Lloyd hops over to the messenger bag he had brought, finding a condom wrapper and tearing it open and placing it on his shaft.

Cécile watches him while he does this, still trying to catch her breath after her orgasm. He was a virgin, so he probably wasn’t going to last very long, but given the fact that he was 30 years old and not a teenager anymore counted in his favor.

Lloyd climbs back on top of Cécile, pulling her into another passionate kiss just to get her blood boiling again, rubbing the tip of his cock against her entrance, thrusting inside of her sharply, causing both of them to gasp. Cécile tangles her legs with his as Lloyd begins to move in and out of her. Their breathing is heavy and the movements of their bodies results in the bed rocking and creaking back and forth in time with their movements.

Their coupling was surprisingly intimate as the Earl was too winded to offer much more than a few gasps and moans, making the entire ordeal much more erotic rather than the clinical nightmare Cécile was dreading. In fact..she wouldn’t mind this becoming a regular thing. The only problem was that outside of obligation, Lloyd had no interest in sex whatsoever and the obvious: he was engaged.

Cécile didn’t have feelings for Lloyd, rather she would definitely admit to having affection for the eccentric young man who just really liked building giant robots and pudding. Maybe that counted as feelings.

Lloyd’s thrusts begin to speed up and the bed creaks louder paired with the sound of their bare skin slapping together and their shared gasps and moans. He was definitely close. Cécile holds on to the Earl’s waist as they chase their orgasm together, her body arching into his as they both reach their high almost simultaneously.

As they come down from their high, Cécile pulls Lloyd into a gentle lip lock, which he reciprocated, surprisingly. It was gentle and intimate and as they pull away, they both smile, pressing their foreheads together, his glasses almost falling into her face.

As they lay there, arms wrapped around each other, Lloyd finally breaks the comfortable silence. “...So what are your thoughts? I am expecting a report after all.”

Cécile rolls her eyes and laughs. “I’ll give it to you in writing later. For now just...don’t talk. Alright?”

“Alright.”

[beyond-the-mirror]

DMC x Pokemon AU - Which pokemon they would choose

So an idea appeared out of nowhere in my head: If Pokemon somehow existed in the DMC universe and pokemon training and battles were officially a thing too, which pokemon would the crew choose as their companions?

For these headcanons, I will give each character two kinds of pokemon: the first one will be a pokemon they would totally choose as a friend and partner for adventure as well as competitive battles, and the other will be one they would keep at their side mostly as a cute or silly companion, whether it’s a baby pokemon or a fully evolved one, it’s one they are really fond of and always look after.

So let’s get started! More bellow the cut because it’s a really long post.

Dante

Ideal partner: Houndoom

He considers Houndoom’s general appearance as cool and badass, of course he would love having a literal hellhound in his team.

If you think about it, they share lots of similarities: The same color palette, the devil motif, the fact that Dante has horns too when in DT or SDT form… it’s as if this pokemon was made with him in mind.

Dante found him when he was a little puppy Houndour. The poor thing was all alone in an alley near his shop and seeing him crying out made his heart ache.

So he brought the little one back home and nursed him. Now he’s a powerful Houndoom who loves nothing more than to fight alongside his trainer. There’s nothing that can stop those too when together.

Silly companion: Alcremie

Obviously.

One reason only: Infinite strawberry sundaes.

That’s it.

Would totally have an entire team made of Alcremies. He wouldn’t even battle or anything. He just wants to enjoy his lifetime supply of strawberry sundaes.

Vergil

Ideal partner: Aegislash

Vergil is a man of the sword, so it’s clear he would choose an Aegislash as his partner.

The first time he spotted this particular Honedge, he knew. He could see the great power dormant in them, so it was a matter of awakening said potential.

He trained them vigorously, making them evolve into a Doublade, and finally, into an Aegislash. To this day, not a single pokemon has managed to defeat them, the only exception being Dante and his Houndoom.

That won’t stop them though. They are both too prideful in their quest for strength and power.

Silly companion: Snom

Yeaaah, this is a weird one. Snom is such a cute baby, maybe this adorableness can melt Vergil’s heart?

It was Dante who gifted his twin a Snom. To quote him: “You’re too grumpy. Maybe this cute little guy can help you ease some of that grumpiness away.”

Wherever he goes, the little baby follows behind. Vergil will never admit this out loud but he does smile at the peaceful sensation his silly friend gives him.

Also imagine him trying to pronounce their name in that nasal voice of his. SHnom. 

V

Ideal partner: Corviknight, Umbreon and Dusknoir

It was a tie between these pokemon since they represent V’s three demon familiars: Griffon, Shadow and Nightmare respectively.

Corviknight may have a playful personality, but during battles he’s dead serious. He’s down right merciless and enjoys tearing apart his foes.

Umbreon is as calm as a housecat, but beware! She is a fierce one and won’t think twice to attack those who step out of line. Even more ruthless than Corviknight.

Dusknoir is as mysterious as the man himself, but V still trusts them and lets them do pretty much their own thing. Despite V never giving them orders, it almost looks as if Dusknoir can understand his thoughts telepathically. No one is sure how the hell he does it though. Quite a mystery indeed.

Silly companion: Mr Rime

Both wear a coat. Both carry a cane. Both love to tap dance. See what I’m getting at?

The first time V spotted a Mr Rime and witnessed their comical moves, he couldn’t help but laugh in endearment.

You will often find them enjoying a nice cup of tea together. They may speak different languages, but somehow they understand each other so perfectly.

When feeling in a dance mood, he and Mr Rime will dance together in perfect harmony and sync. Singin’ in the Rain is their favorite musical btw.

Nero

Ideal partner: Toxtricity

It only made sense to grant our punk boy Nero a punk pokemon like Toxtricity.

Both share an explosive and energetic personality, as well as an identical inclination towards rock and metal music. They especially love taunting their foes by doing an air guitar together.

The way these two fight is absolutely brutal. Do not anger them, you cannot defeat them.

However, despite their looks like they could kill you, they are actually sweet cinnamon rolls in front of the right ones. Pet them, they are good bois after all.

Silly companion: Mankey

Two grumpy bois grumpying around. Don’t talk to them, they are angy.

Kyrie often teases them with how identical they are. They literally share the exact same expression when angry.

Nero says it’s not funny. It is.

Little Mankey only calms down when given pets and cuddles. “Just like you Nero!” she teases again. 

Trish

Ideal partner: Luxray

Step aside everyone. Two bewitching and electrifying devils are coming through.

Trish was new to the world when one day she encountered a Shinx, except their fur was yellow? Wasn’t the fur supposed to be blue??

She took them to Dante and Lady for an explanation. Their eyes widened in complete awe. “Trish… it’s a shiny. You found a shiny!” “…Oh.”

Now the two are an inseparable and lethal duo. Many have made the mistake of challenging them, only to end up battered and humiliated.

Silly companion: Yamper

Just look at this good boi.

A cute pupper? AND with electrical powers?! Trish is so in!

You bet she spoils her Yamper rotten. She particularly adores baby-talking her lovely companion to no end.

“Have you seen my puppy? He’s not lost or anything, I just wanted to show you how awesome he is” Yep. She did this at one point or another. 

Lady

Ideal partner: Inteleon

A couple of ‘Walking Arsenals’ indeed. Ready to take on any challenge they may encounter.

Lady remembers how she met her partner when they were a tiny and shy Sobble. Now that they’ve become such a strong pokemon, Lady feels so proud of their growth.

Extremely resourceful, even in dire situations. Will use all the tools at their disposition to finish their job.

Their sniper skills are unparalleled so you’d better watch out. In a battle of wits, there’s no beating this duo.

Silly companion: Eevee

Lady is such an Eevee fan, her childhood dream was to befriend one and have numerous adventures together.

So when she finally got one many years later, she actually started crying happy tears. (It was a gift from Dante. He figured she deserved a companion after what happened in the Temen-ni-gru incident.)

She spends her free time playing with her adorable Eevee, there’s even a whole collection of toys for their playtime together.

If you happen to have an Evolution Stone with you, DO. NOT. COME. ANY. CLOSER. Lady adores her Eevee just how it is. You have been warned.

Kyrie

Ideal partner: Gardevoir

I personally consider Kyrie as a woman with a righteous heart and a strong sense of justice just like her brother Credo, so it’s no surprise her pokemon partner is actually a Gardevoir.

Mess with them and hoo boy. So you have chosen death.

She and Gardevoir are actually among the strongest teams in the region. In fact, to this day, Nero and his Toxtricity haven’t been able to defeat these two in a pokemon battle.

Do not underestimate these girls. They can and will drag you through the mud if you dare hurt them or their loved ones.

Silly companion: Wooloo

Kyrie melted at the sight of Wooloo. So soft, and adorable, and puffy!

She loves knitting, so they would be perfect to provide her with lots of top quality wool. 

Once during Christmas, she donated handmade sweaters to the children at the local orphanage. Wooloo and her were so happy to help the little ones, they made it a tradition for them to do every year.

The sweaters and scarfs she knits with the help of her friend are actually very fashionable and pretty. Everyone in the crew loves showing theirs off any chance they get.

Nico

Ideal partner: Arcanine

A fire pokemon with majestic fur, excellent speed and an extremely keen sense of smell. Nico knew Arcanine would be a perfect partner to have.

She can count on their powerful fire to melt the metals she needs to forge her weapons. Her works of art have been made possible thanks to them and she could not feel more thankful.

Using their olfactory sense, Arcanine can track and retrieve any demon parts or carcasses which can later be used to create Devil Arms.

Although they are not that interested in competitive battles, they’re still a very strong duo that should not be taken so lightly. 

Silly companion: Rotom

So one day a wild Rotom sneaked into Nico’s van, causing a ruckus everywhere. Despite the disaster, Nico was incredibly fascinated since Rotom sightings are extremely rare.

She befriended the poltergeist pokemon almost right away. She even built a device for them to inhabit (just like Ash’s Rotomdex in the anime).

Now they’re Nico’s very own pokemon assitant! Thanks to her device Rotom can communicate, take pictures and save files and notes, which is perfect for her work.

Also they’re really nice to have a chat with! Just beware the unflattering pics they may take during battles.

Lucia

Ideal partner: Absol

It’s easy to see the similarities between Lucia and her Absol.

With Absol being erroneously blamed for natural disasters and Lucia being an artificial demon her creator labelled as ‘defective’, you could say they both share similar backstories. They felt outcasted by everyone else.

These two are incredibly agile fighters, using graceful and precise moves that prove to be lethal to their foes.

Personality wise they both appear to be stoic and aloof, but they’re actually very kind. They do tend to worry a lot about their friends though.

Silly companion: Espurr

Espurrs are known to constantly try to control and contain their enormous psychic power with all their might. Lucia understands her cute little companion all too well.

Being with each other has helped them both a lot, their shared company feels therapeutic for them.

Also Lucia enjoys cuddling Espurr. They feel so soft like a plushie!

Often have staring contests with each other. They always end with a tie though.

[yoolee]

IF LEE WROTE OTOME #11 | THE BACHE-LORE

Premise: A seer-turned-private investigator goes undercover on a supernatural reality tv dating show to solve a crime! Featuring love interests:

The (lady vampire) producer: shades of devil wears prada

Fellow contestant (faerie): Childhood rival and tricky, tricky troublemaker

Fellow contestant (fallen star): In love with love, basically an alien

Fellow contestant (fire witch):  Troublemaker with a heart of gold (liquid, scalding gold)

Onset medic (trickster spirit): a supposedly reformed descendant of Lady Luck

Assistant (kelpie): Scottish sweetheart, earnest but a little unrestrained

HEROINE: All the prophecies suggested the same thing--that the first child borne of the thirteenth generation of the heoine’s line would be a seer more powerful than any that came before. Well she is, but there's a catch--she can only See the past and the present. Great for detective work, not ideal for fortune telling (although as the saying goes, history DOES repeat itself). Works as a private investigator for the supernatural, she may be a disappointment to her family, but she keeps her clients happy. Even if it means going undercover on a reality tv dating show…Has the power to see the past and present in absolute clarity, but can't always control that power. Has a little bit of ex gifted child syndrome - where all the weighty expectations placed on her as a kid of how great she was going to be make her a sometimes paralyzed by perfectionism adult who struggles to enjoy doing things she isn't immediately good at. Perennially nervous unless she's in action. Uses snark as a defense mechanism. Has both an acute fear of failure and a gritty determination to put herself in positions where it's an option so that she can overcome that fear because she's pretty self-aware. Detail oriented and organized. Relaxes with lists and color coded spreadsheets with pivot tables. Loves old fashioned board games learned the hard way you can't live in your past. 

THE (lady vampire) PRODUCER: ancient, powerful, and totally sadistic in the sense that schadenfreude is her bread and butter (or blood and butter, if you will). Has an absolutely vicious sense of humor. Will not be shamed by societal niceties and if you try she might eat you. Had a child when she was still alive whose descendants became vampire hunters, so, that's a thing (She finds it charming and is very proud). Glamorous, successful, and makes it look effortless, but she's tough as steel and works like hell. Little bit of a devil wears Prada vibe. Has a very disturbingly spot-on understanding of the average human psyche and milks it for entertainment value. Soft spoken--but everyone listens. 

THE (faerie) CHILDHOOD RIVAL: a faerie who (supposedly) loathes the heroine on principle because her ability to See things makes her difficult to trick. Mischievous, but with a bit of a mean edge to it. Longtime rival. One of those people who is very, very smart but tends to vapid and fluttery, as she prefers to be underestimated. Pretty constantly uses magic (glamours, mesmerizing, super strength). Literally incapable of breaking a promise, so avoids making them. Wild and fun and unfettered. Definition party girl. Magician’s assistant.

THE (trickster spirit) ON SET MEDIC: coworker of the cousin. A (mostly) reformed trickster spirit (descendant of Lady Luck) who was forced to reckon with the chaos he sowed and is trying to make up for it now by taking care of people instead of screwing them over, but old habits and a chaotic nature make it hard to toe the line (especially on a set so ripe for drama). Foster dad to two werewolf siblings (all tied to aforementioned reckoning). Bundle of contradiction. Gets along swimmingly with the childhood rival. Reality-warper, but it’s sneaky (coincidences).

The (kelpie) ASSISTANT: Sent to keep an eye on the heroine by her selkie grandmother. Earnest, often friendly, prefers to dive in and figure it out as he goes. Plenty smart, just not a big fan of overthinking. A little wild. A sweetheart, but also has zero restraint. Unironically an underwear model.

The (fire witch) TROUBLEMAKER: Child of a nature elemental and a witch, which makes her powers a bit unstable. She doesn’t mean to cause trouble. It’s really more that she’s been labeled that her whole life and is presently embracing it. Has a wicked temper, but is really more bark than bite. Feels everything a little too strongly. Thought this was more of an Astounding Race reality show than a dating one. Fiery, though she resents the stereotype. Surprisingly detail oriented and an unabashed nerd, but not above solving her problems by setting them on fire. Mechanical engineer. 

The (fallen star) ROMANTIC: Fellow contestant, genuinely and unironically on the show to find love. Most romantic sap you will ever meet. Loves love. A sweet and optimistic soul. Has spent a very, very long time watching and desperate to experience. It makes her very impatient, and at times wilfully blind to things. Grants wishes, glows in the dark. Sometimes thinks people are super weird. Customer support specialist.

SUPPORTING CAST:

The cameraperson: actual incubus/succubus. Pretty standup person. Doesn't use their powers without explicit consent.

The bachelor: I guess he should probably be a love interest huh. Maybe he's the client? Or child of the client. IDK I’ll figure him out later. He’s around. 

Hotel manager: Kraken, ex-pirate, robs rich people in the desert now because that’s funny.

Cousin: younger than the heroine by two days. He was due (literally) to be the firstborn of the thirteenth generation, but the heroine was born three weeks prematurely. His parents have remained endlessly bitter about this. Some days, he is too, but most days he's glad to have the attention off and they’re black sheep together. A bit fickle in his moods, if it's not life or death he may or may not help, but if is he’ll close ranks and fight like hell. Technically a seer, but not a very strong one. Firefighter, and subsequently underpaid and overworked and tired AF literally all the time. Probably ends up hooking up with the bachelor in the end. 

Grandmothers: her dad’s mother is a selkie from Scotland who is a big believer in fucking off for a three year swim in the ocean when your loved ones are being dumbasses, and her mother’s mother is a seamstress from Korea who taught her the importance of small details and how to notice them. Both of them are staunchly and ferociously on her side, and a haven of support in a family where there is a lot of squabbling over who she is versus who she's supposed to be. Selkie grandma doesn't understand why heroine won't just find a nice fisherman and walk up to him in seaweed and a birthday suit to seal the deal, and seamstress grandma enjoys the heck out of reality tv and has a list of tips for how not to get turned into the villain when she's on air

[infinitum-imaginaerum]

Minghao | F. 25 “You look really cute in that.” | Anon

Words | 6,700

Warnings | Concerns mental health, but nothing too extreme. 

Notes | College!Au. This boy really needs more gifs!!! All the ones that show up in the search are pretty irrelevant so I don’t know if that’s just tumblr being the way that tumblr is or what, but... MORE HAO CONTENT please. 

PLEASE CHECK THE STATUS OF THE GAME AT THE TOP OF THE PROMPT LIST BEFORE REQUESTING.

Send me a bias, a section, and a number and I’ll write you a thing!

He seldom talked to anyone; he was mostly a lone wolf and you weren’t sure who he was friends with if he was even friends with anyone. All you knew about him was that he had been in a few of your classes for as long as you could remember, he was the black leather type, and he’d hardly said but ten words to you in the entire time that you knew him.

In fact, you had to learn from somebody else in your high school days that his name was Minghao. He couldn’t even tell you that much—or didn’t want to.

Over the course of the last couple of years, you couldn’t help but grow somewhat attracted to him in some weird way. You found his habits cute, like the way that he flicked his dark hair out of his eyes when he was working on something, or the way he tapped his foot and bounced his leg when he got anxious, or the way his teeth ground together when he was clearly in a situation he didn’t want to be in… some of the things themselves weren’t particularly cute by nature, but you were a strange one that way.

But those feelings came and went as every semester did. Boys were pretty much the last thing on your mind as you were preparing to graduate college. The only thing on your mind was work and school, you hardly had time to eat or breathe or concentrate on anything except assignments it seemed, and you were getting particularly burned out.

So, it wasn’t as if the notes that started appearing on your car weren’t sweet, they just… were poorly timed. The first note came in the beginning of the semester, just following winter break. You could remember the purple stationary as if it had come out of a young girl’s room, the kind of parchment she would write little love notes on, and maybe, to an extent, this was a love note itself.  Remember to take care of yourself.

A curious little thing, that note was. Of course, the words were important. You often took care of everything at the expense of yourself and sometimes it really showed. Everyone you knew was aware of that, and that graduation was coming up and that some would be graduating with you and some wouldn’t be. The note could be from literally anyone, so you tucked it away in your school things and let it slide.

The next note came only a week or so later. This was extra curious because this note indicated that it was someone pretty close to you, probably someone you interacted with on a daily basis because the note read: Remember you come first; please sleep more. The intimacy of the note, knowing that whoever it was knew you well, drew your eyes to the surrounding parking lot. There were plenty of cars, plenty you recognized that belonged to your peers, but nobody was around that you knew.

You were startled by the sound of a revving motorcycle, kicking to life nearby. It had you jolting so hard, the note crumpled between your fingers as you looked over to the only person you knew who owned a motorcycle on campus: Minghao. He looked over to you for a moment, noticing you were staring, and gave you some semblance of a smile, the way he always did, before fitting his helmet on and taking off. That was the only interaction you typically ever got from him. He knew your name and acknowledged your presence and you supposed that was all you could ask of him. At the very least, he smiled—even if it was his version of a smile.

Another week or so passed before one of your closest friends—who didn’t typically arrive early the way you did—plopped into the open desk next to you with an ingenuous grin on her face. She batted her eyelashes, trying to get your attention but you were too focused on finishing an assignment for the following class that you hardly paid her any mind. Her smile faded as she turned in her chair, getting to the point of her behavior.

“I heard along the grapevine that you’re getting notes on your car,” she chirped.

Your fingers stopped typing as if they had been flash-frozen to the keyboard of your computer. The gears in your head were spinning, grinding, sparking and catching on fire as to how she could even know that when the only entity you told was your dog, Cerberus. Harshly, you swallowed and closed the lid to your laptop, finally granting your friend her warranted attention.

“And who did you hear that from?” you asked, trying to not make it too obvious that it was true, though you were sure you’d already given yourself up by now.

“Anyone and everyone; it’s the talk of the town,” she said.

“And what are they all talking about?” you inquired, genuinely curious at this point. It wasn’t a big deal that someone was leaving notes on your car; the only reason it was interesting or cause for anyone to care is that you had not made time for boys during college and were in the running for valedictorian. School was your only focus on campus; not having fun, not partying, not getting to know people, and certainly not boys.

“Just speculating who it could be. Lots of boys names flying around,” she stated, almost giggling as she gauged the look on your face.

Your nerves were a mess inside, but you weren’t sure what for. The feeling that you had been caught red-handed doing something you shouldn’t be doing was overwhelming, and for what? So what if some random guy—who you knew—was leaving notes on your car about taking care of yourself?

“I don’t have time for boys,” you replied, turning back to your desk after a moment of deliberation to tuck your laptop back into your bag and pull out a notebook.  Your friend continued to rattle off about something while you fell deeper into your own thoughts, speculating about whom it could be yourself and who would even know about it unless one person you knew witnessed another person doing it. And if that was the case, why wouldn’t they just come out and say who it was instead of having all this speculation, unless they liked the drama. You were certain of a few of your friends who were drama queens, but why wouldn’t they come to you first instead of spreading it around your friend circle and further like a bunch of middle-schoolers.

Really, you didn’t have time for boys. The entire conversation in your first class had completely eradicated itself from your mind once it was time to get into school-mode; that’s what you called it, and it was a mode almost unbreakable by any outside influence. You didn’t let it bother you for the rest of the day, but once you were headed out to your car and saw that same purple parchment pinned under your windshield wiper, you were too curious. There was nobody in the parking lot as you glanced around; at least, nobody was visible upon first sweep. You were sure people were getting into their cars, minding their own business, but they weren’t your target.

The parchment was slick against your fingers as it always was. Carefully you unfolded the note, the familiar script flowing across the page that you’d come to expect. This note was simple, and a lot more encouraging than the others: You’re doing great. I’m proud of you.

Although it was more encouraging, it just confused you even further. You had taken it upon yourself to try and get to bed earlier and get as much sleep as you could, because not even you could deny the dark circles that stared you back in the face in the mirror. It had to be someone you saw on a daily basis, but that was too many people to count on numerous hands. Narrowing this down was proving to be more difficult than you thought, and the purple stationary was throwing everything off.

Another few weeks passed and more notes gathered on your windshield. It was getting into the warmer months, so instead of looking like you just rolled out of bed, you managed to put yourself together a couple of times which included one of your favorites: a rose print long sleeve bohemian maxi dress. It was too cold to be wearing things like sun dresses or skater dresses just yet, so you kept it a little warmer. You hulled your heavy bag onto your shoulder, smoothing out the white fabric printed with beautiful coral roses to lay flat against you and swept your hair behind your ear as you gathered the note on your car.

You look really cute in that.

Your eyes were darting around the parking lot again; completely unaware of when the notes were placed, but a paranoid part of you assumed that whoever had placed them would stick around to make sure you got them. Again, the only person you knew in the parking lot was Minghao, but he routinely got to the parking lot later than you.  Still, you gave him a soft smile, the sun radiant on both of your faces as he mounted his bike, this time flashing you a smile that was a little more than a half smirk and gave you a quick wave.

Spring break came up fast and while you still didn’t know who the writer of the notes were, at least the hype about it started to die. Everyone either lost interest or knew who it was, which meant you probably knew as well—there was no reason to keep the buzz after that. But, you played it the same way you always did; you didn’t have time for boys. Spring break gave you a tiny bit of time to relax, most of it spent pent up in your apartment, especially on rainy days when you’d curl up in the bay window that overlooked part of the cityscape as rain trickled against the panes of glass and cupped your hot tea. Cerberus often lay next to you on the ground, enjoying the cool weather. He was convinced he was a lap dog, and Danes were anything but lap dogs. He took up most of your bed, coming up more often than not without your permission to try and find the space between your rear and your ankles to curl up into. He was a pretty big source of your lack of sleep until you’d finally kick him off—he knew when it was time.

You took Cerberus from a friend when he was just a puppy because her apartment wouldn’t allow giant breeds and you weren’t about to see that dog go to a shelter. A good deed done, but you were completely unaware of just how big he would get, and fast. The dog had an appetite of at least ten, and playtime was incredibly tiresome. When you walked, in the beginning it was hard to keep him still but over the three years you had him, he became well-mannered and easy to handle. He was not only your protection, but your best friend, your cuddle buddy, your stress-relief when it became too much. He was the only boy in your life that you could manage; he loved you more than life itself.

Your spring break didn’t go entirely undisturbed. Before the week was up, there was a knock on your door that turned your whole semester upside down. Cerberus growled, as he normally did, wary of anyone bold enough to approach your door without your prior knowledge; he was alarmed that you were surprised as it wasn’t often you got unexpected visitors.

“Cerbs! It’s just me!” a familiar voice called from the other side of the door.  You hurried a little faster to let Junhui, a longtime friend, into your apartment. The door opened and your intimidating boy became all tail-wags and cuddles as he bumped his head into Junhui’s hand. The silver-haired male greeted him first, as he was making it difficult to get in the door, before you. His jovial smile was sunshine on a cloudy day as he looked at you.

“This is unexpected,” you said with a small smile of your own, “It’s been some time, Jun. It’s nice to see you.”

“Likewise. It seems you’re doing well?” he asked, taking a good look at your face. He was happy to see the circles had gone mostly away, that you were sleeping better and appeared that you were eating better, too. Not that you were ever on the unhealthy scale, he just knew better than almost anyone that you had a tendency to overlook your human needs for academia.

“I am, thank you. Can I get you some tea, water, a towel for your soaked self?” you asked, noticing that he had been slightly dumped on as he made it to your place.

“A towel and tea would be great,” he replied gratefully, still petting your very affectionate and somewhat attached hound that eventually let Junhui relax on the couch and went to lie in his own bed, giving him space once the excitement died down.

Junhui patted himself mostly dry as you set a piping mug of tea in front of him, nestling into the couch to his left. He just looked at you with another dazzling smile, not bothering to ask how school was, but instead spilled the gossip.

“I heard you’re getting notes from a boy?” he asked.

“You don’t even go there anymore and you still know the dirt?” you laughed. Junhui had graduated two years prior, but it appeared he was still in the know about you in particular and how you were doing with school and your health; he always made it a point to check up on you every now and again, but the notes were trivial when it came to things to talk about with him. It wasn’t really any of his business, nor did you think he knew anything about it, but now things were curious.

“Do you know who they’re from?” he asked you, ignoring your previous question as his gaze finally turned to yours. You looked at him hard, there was a glint in his eyes that revealed he wasn’t telling you something but instead of jumping the gun like he figured you would, you sat quietly and shook your head.

“Whoever it is, they’re pretty close to me it seems. They have a genuine concern for my well-being and if I didn’t know any better I would say it was you,” you accused with raised brows. You knew it wasn’t him. He wasn’t on campus for any reason at all and would have never known in just a couple of weeks that your condition had improved, much less about what you wore that day that you got that very complimentary note.

Junhui appeared surprised for a moment, but eventually settled back into welcoming stoicism. “Well, that’s an interesting take on the situation,” he commented to you, pretty quietly, albeit you still heard him.

“You’re not telling me something. You know who wrote them, don’t you?” you asked, but your demeanor didn’t change to more exuberant, you were just as calm as you ever were. Junhui, avoiding your question for a moment to decide the best course, took a sip of his tea and looked down at it, watching it swirl together in the white ceramic mug cradled in his large hands.

“Of course I know who wrote them,” he replied, but his eyes continued to be fixated on his tea. “I’m the one who told him to write them— I don’t know what any of them said, I just figured he’d know the best way to approach it.”

You narrowed your eyes at him curiously, some life springing into you. “What are you into, Junhui?” you asked him, probing his endeavors with whoever this mystery boy was and why these things were happening.

“An interesting game of match-maker,” he replied, taking another sip of his tea.

“In the middle of my final semester of college, Junhui, you rat!” you practically yelled.

“Hey, now, I didn’t expect things had escalated so quickly already! I figured by now he’d only have given you three or four with no real substantial bits of anything—”

Things were too curious, now. Your excitement came to a halt immediately as you settled back into the couch with nothing more to say. Junhui seemed open to talking, so you were just going to let him talk.

“—All he was supposed to do was give you a little confidence, a little encouragement, to make sure you were doing okay. You’re so academically oriented, I figured those things wouldn’t throw you off track, but it seems like you might be a little more invested in this than I had initially thought you’d be.”

“Who is it?”

“I’m not going to tell you that; I’ll wait for him to tell you.”

“Am I going to be mad?”

“I don’t think so. In fact, if he plays this right, I think you both will be very happy.”

“So I take it the goal is to tell me after the semester is over.”

“If it were me or if I knew the slightest things about you— that would be the optimum course of action.”

A low hum echoed through your small living room as you soaked in all the information; despite the fact that it wasn’t much, it gave you some sense of stability about the whole thing. At least you knew it wasn’t malicious, it was intended to do good things for you, and it wasn’t supposed to interrupt school which was your priority right now. You wracked your brain for a minute, trying desperately to figure out who it could be; the only problem was that Junhui’s circle of friends was your circle of friends, so that didn’t help narrow it down any.

Junhui spent a couple more days with you for the remainder of your final spring break—it was comforting, if nothing else to have another body in your home besides yourself as you tended to isolate so hard on your breaks that you got lonely. He reminded you to keep in touch as school started up again and not to forget to send him an invitation to your graduation.

The days continued to get warmer, the sun shined more often, you were feeling good about school but continued the same way you always did: entirely absorbed and unbreakable. The notes were coming more frequently in the days following the end of spring break, again just little reminders that you were the most important and that you should focus on taking care of yourself, even at the expense of a perfect score on an assignment.

Despite the warmer weather, there were some days it was really windy. One day in particular you remember losing grip of one specific note you had read over and over and over again; the day you wore that rose print maxi and the note read something about being cute—it blew out from between your fingers and while part of you just wanted to let it go and forget about it, the other part of you had a sentimental attachment to it. So, after throwing your bag in the back seat of your car, you took off after it, noticing that it was pinned under the boot of a familiar boy.

He watched as you skidded to a halt in front of him, the purple parchment under the toes of his shoe and he gave you a curious look, the raise of his eyebrows felt judging somehow, even though he looked at you with the same stoic look he always did. His leather jacket was tugged over a plain white crew neck, dark hair shading his eyes the way it always had.

“Lose something?” he asked you; it was the first time you’d heard his voice in such a while, you almost forgot what it sounded like. How could you, when you were sure it haunted your dreams for the entirety of your junior year.

“Ah… maybe,” you replied nervously. You were shrinking under his intense gaze, eyes boring holes in you like a magnifying glass would with the sun. Another harsh gust ripped through the parking lot and since Minghao parked in motorcycle parking, there were barely any cars to shield the gust, pushing your body unwillingly a step and a half forward and right into him. The burning on your face was unrivaled, even by the sun, especially as his arm wrapped around you to hold you steady, his other hand bracing the both of you on the seat of his bike.

It was daring, the way you looked up at him with both of your hands pressed against his chest to brace the contact. Your eyes peered at him under your lashes, knowing for sure your face was on fire, but felt it necessary to check his. He seemed shocked, an emotion you seldom saw on his face, with a soft pink tinge across his cheeks too, something you never saw.

“I’m so sorry,” you uttered, but made no attempt to scramble away from him, especially not with the way his fingers furled into the back of your dress under the dark jean jacket you were wearing which meant it was incredibly low on your back.  One of his legs was awkwardly outstretched, keeping his foot atop the note you had lost—how incredibly thoughtful considering the moment and chain of events.

“It’s not a problem,” he replied smoothly, no detection of falter in his voice. He waited until you were ready to stand back up which, perhaps, was a little longer than either of you thought necessary. Regardless, he helped ease you up and back onto your feet before you were kneeling down, ready to collect the note from under his boot.

“I’ve heard the rumors about these notes. What’s got you, miss valedictorian, so smitten about them?” he asked. His foot was still firmly on top of said note, waiting for you to answer before he would give you what you wanted. He considered it leverage; the note seemed important enough to you that you weren’t about to give it up and just walk away, so he knew you would answer.

“It’s…” you delayed for a moment, thinking about the best reply. “I’m not valedictorian, yet. Besides that, we’re in college and they don’t recognize that anymore.”

“Pardon, Summa Cum Laude, miss top-of-the-class,” he replied.

It was pretty clear he wasn’t playing games with you, he wanted an answer to his initial question and would go through all of the stalling you wanted before he would give you the note and if that meant that you were going to be kneeling in front of him for quite some time, well that was a choice you made on your own. With an audible sigh, you answered him.

“It’s not really them, it’s that one in particular, that you are standing on,” you said.

Clearly, it wasn’t good enough for him, because he raised his eyebrows for an explanation.

“Come on, surely you know that even I struggle with myself. This particular note makes me feel… adequate,” you continued, trying to give him an adequate explanation even though you didn’t feel like you owed him one. You just wanted the note back.

“And why would a girl like you—smart, funny, pretty—not feel even adequate?”

The blush you had finally staved off returned to a dull burn on your cheeks. Xu Minghao just called you funny, and pretty.  The things he made you feel comfortable to say in front of him all the sudden would have been too much to just stand there and say to him. You could merely shake your head, gaze casting away from him as you looked back down to the note that he gingerly stepped away from, allowing you to gather it in your hands before you stood to address him.

“Smart is one thing. I’ve studied hard. My personality was never really popular, the guys that were interested in me were sleazy; my self-worth…”

“Don’t you know that you’re the galaxies people only dream of when they think of stars in the sky?”  

“Minghao…”   You didn’t want to have this conversation anymore, not with him. The untouchable feelings were bubbling inside you, only now they were much more restricted than they used to be. You didn’t have time for boys, and you made that pretty clear throughout the entirety of your senior year but now he was getting a glimpse into why—it wasn’t because you were too busy with school, it was because you felt like you weren’t good enough for a good guy.

“We never were too close, but even I know you’re a diamond in the rough,” he continued, reaching out to push some stray strands of hair away from your eyes so he could look into them. “But what I think matters not—you come first, and you’re doing great. By the way, you look really cute in that,” he muttered, glancing down at your floral red sundress.

He didn’t even give you time to reply as you just stood there, the gears spinning as he fitting his helmet on and kicked the bike to life, taking off right in front of you. It took you a minute to gather yourself and make it to your car, but you were fairly certain that with that, Minghao just admitted to being the writer of your notes.  

That thought was only solidified when he stopped showing up to the parking lot immediately after you made it, albeit the notes still kept coming. They were encouraging and sweet as they always were, but now they were a little lengthier. Sometimes they detailed little things he loved about you, sometimes they were observations about habits and corresponding scenarios, sometimes they were just reminders to eat well and sleep more and drink lots of water and worry less about some things. Either way, every note ended with an M now.

“It’s Minghao, isn’t it?”

Junhui rolled his eyes as he sat on your couch with a defeated sigh, giving as much attention to your needy Dane as he requested in a vain attempt to avoid eye contact with you. That didn’t matter, you were going to sit there and stare a hole in the side of his head for as long as he didn’t want to answer.

“You really are too smart for your own good,” he replied.

“Maybe you should have told him not to flat out repeat the notes he’s written to me and assume I’m too stupid to figure it out; I didn’t get to be top of the class by—”

“Yeah, yeah princess, I’ve heard it all before. Maybe he wanted you to know.”

“Like I even have time—”

“Sounds like you have time to me, sitting with him in the plaza during your breaks?” Junhui fired back, throwing the facts right in your face as if you assumed he didn’t know. Minghao shared everything with him; they were the closest of friends, so you shouldn’t have been surprised. But, you still were, and the knowing look that Junhui turned to give you had a sinking feeling developing in your stomach.

You opened your mouth to reply, knowing full well that you didn’t have a good one. It was true, ever since that day with the note when you figured it out—or rather, Minghao spilled the beans—you sought him out be it in class or somewhere on campus. He habitually sat under a big oak tree in the plaza on campus. There was a nice planter surrounding the tree with built in benches, that’s often where he sat to have lunch. You saw him every day on your way to classes and there would have been no reason for him to change habits.

“Cerbs, your mom may be smart, but she wouldn’t know a boy in love with her if he gave her a note two times a week,” Junhui spoke to your dog, cupping Cerberus’ large head in his equally large hands.

With the roll of your eyes, you scoffed. “Yeah, in love with me, that’s the funniest joke I’ve heard ever.”

Junhui said once upon a time that he was the one who told Minghao to start leaving the notes and while the intention of that command was still unknown, you had a few guesses. He sounded misleading, the things he said to and about you regarding Minghao, but despite all of that, Minghao had been the only object of your affections in the history of your college career, even if it was just admiring from afar.

That didn’t stop you from continuing to seek him out on breaks, often having lunch with him, enjoying his company on the warm spring days and every now and again you got to see him actually smile which just made him that much more gorgeous to you. The end of the semester was coming up quickly, so with only a couple of weeks and final assignments coming up, you decided it was a good opportunity to confront Minghao about the notes for the first time.

“You asked me a while back, the first time we’ve actually spoken in a long time, what got me so smitten about the notes,” you started in after settling down from some good chuckles. The mood was light; you were comfortable with each other, so it seemed like a good time to bring it up especially since he was still dropping them off in secret.

“I did ask that,” he replied, remembering the incident as he drew the strawberry he was about to take a bite from away from his mouth to look at you.  

“At first, I was smitten about how they made me feel, and we had that conversation,” you continued.

“We did have that conversation,” he remembered.

“Well, the notes continued coming, as I’m sure you’re well aware of. What would you say if I said that I was smitten about the boy writing them?”

Minghao’s breath seemed to hitch in his throat despite his best attempts at hiding it from you. He contemplated for a moment, clear across his face as he thought.

“I would probably say that said boy would be incredibly lucky to have you, but I would also advise that you should wait until after graduation so that you may carefully balance taking care of yourself and school first before you have time for other things like that,” he replied meticulously, carefully, well-thought out as to exactly what he was hoping you would do.

“And what would you do if I said I promise that I will wait, on one condition?”

“Well, naturally I would have to ask what that condition is before I would agree to the contract,” he replied, watching the way you shifted on the bench, shifting your legs underneath you as you faced him.

“What if the condition was that I request a kiss from said boy to satiate my welling feelings until after graduation, as I will be away from said boy for a couple of weeks almost exclusively.”

“Said boy is probably very nervous about that condition, because those welling feelings may not be satiated so easily, both his and yours, as the chemistry between you and said boy has been brimming for quite some time now.”

“And while I have to agree, the fact that the chemistry has been recognized by both parties makes it that much more difficult to stay away from said boy.”

Minghao’s shaky lip found its way pinned between his teeth as he watched you push yourself onto your knees. “While I agree with that, I’m nervous about the end of the school year and the way you’re going to handle this since I wasn’t supposed to reveal myself until it was over.”

“Well, you blew that quite soon after spring break, now, didn’t you?”

“Yes, I did,” he replied, taking one of your hands to lace with his for just a moment before it slipped passed him, both of your hands planted firmly against the bench on either side of him. His eyes, which you had mistaken for painfully dull for so long, held so much life right now, glimmering as they looked at you. You were leaning progressively further and further over his lap, his left hand had to reach back to brace against the bench. “And while I admit that I messed up, I think I salvaged okay considering how badly I wanted to kiss you right there.”

“You say as if you knew I’ve had feelings for you.”

“I’m the only guy you’ve spared a passing glance to in over two years.”

“The quiet ones always were observant.”

“I will heed to your condition if you follow through with the rest of your promise,” he reminded you, unable to contain how pitifully whipped he felt with your mouth practically already on his. He could feel your warm breath against his face, could touch your nose with his own as his right hand cupped your jaw, slender fingers around the side of your neck while his thumb brushed against your cheek. “That means sleeping enough, eating well, and ignoring me for two weeks.”

“I promise,” you uttered.

“You’re going to look so gorgeous in your robe and honor cords, two weeks can’t go fast enough,” he whispered back, anticipating your warm mouth slanting against his. His sharp inhale in response to the sensation drew you in deeper, but kept it tame, even when he sighed against your mouth as you pulled away.

Minghao turned his face, landing your lips against his cheek. “Ahh! You said one—” The rest of his sentence was muffled against your mouth and although he wanted to protest…

“I’m greedy,” you muttered against his mouth.

…he was a little greedy himself.

Word spread like wildfire across the school—some of them were witnesses, some of them had evidence, but Minghao took the brunt of it while your phone and social media were banned from your existence for two weeks.  You spent most of your time holed up in your room; the only reminder to eat was the cute purple stationary with Minghao’s immaculate script pinned to your cork board. Every time you looked at it, you thought of him, and remembered that you had to keep up your end of the bargain.

For the most part, when you saw him on campus, the two of you pretended you didn’t even know each other—back the way it was at the beginning of the semester. You never talked, never exchanged glances and it had people really confused. Finals week was complete hell for the both of you as the most intense studying ensued. Minghao consumed most of your free time thoughts and your phone, powered off, ached in your hand when you begged to talk to him.  He made you promise no contact until you walked and received your degree so when the day came, you were even more giddy than expected.

When your name was called and you crossed the stage, Minghao sighed from the audience having opted out of walking.

“Dazzling, isn’t she?” Junhui asked, looking over to his counterpart.

“I told her two weeks ago how gorgeous she was going to look up there, and I’m not even slightly disappointed,” he replied, never once peeling his eyes away from you.

“So, I’ve heard a lot of things have happened before now?”

“Come on, Junhui… cut me some slack one time,” Minghao groaned, looking over to his older friend who just laughed.

“I’ll admit you played it well; you got her, after all.”

Minghao was far too eager for the ceremony to be over. He wouldn’t admit it, but spending two weeks going back to completely ignoring each other after perhaps one of the most invoking kisses of his life was a lot more difficult than he initially thought it would be. After spending a lot of time on an empty thread with your name at the top, the only way he could adequately occupy his time was gushing to Junhui like he had for years.  

Actually seeing you for the first time again in those two weeks had a feeling boiling in his stomach he was unfamiliar with. He was completely enamored with the way you looked in your robe, unzipped to reveal the navy lace skater dress underneath it. When you saw him, your eyes lit up brighter than the sun and a grin broke on your face. Your heals clicked against the pavement of the stadium parking lot as you approached him, a sharply dressed man with a single rose in his hand which you promptly ignored to wrap your arms around his neck.

He chuckled softly into your ear, swaying with you with his arms low on your waist.  “Hello, gorgeous,” he uttered to you.

“And what about you, handsome? Looking positive dashing in a three-piece and bow-tie,” you returned, finally reeling back to get a look at his face.

“And a very warm congratulations from me,” Junhui pipped up; leaning into the picture to remind you of his presence, though he was sure you had the blinders on.

“Ah, yes, the co-orchestrator of my blissful post-graduation happiness,” you noted, pulling away from Minghao with a little bit of coaxing, an unrelenting grasp that reluctantly let go with a simple gaze, enough to let you hug Junhui.

“See, now. I told you that you would be happy, but you weren’t patient enough.”

“I don’t think I should take the entire blame.”

“You one hundred percent initiated the kiss,” he fired back, “Minghao was doing well enough until you had to go and stick your nose in your secret business.”

Speaking of Minghao, he was waiting for you. He handed the single rose over to Junhui, well aware that you were much more enamored with him than any flower he had to offer you. Aside from that, it was meant to compliment the bouquet the Junhui held for you, but he handed it over and took you back into his arms.

“It’s been a rough two weeks,” you uttered as he pressed his forehead against yours.

“You’re telling me. It was hard going back to basically pretending like we didn’t know each other, especially while constantly being grilled about the kiss with pictures shoved in your face at all hours of the day.”

“There’s pictures?” you questioned.

“Of course there’s pictures,” Minghao scoffed, none too happy about the situation himself, “you honestly expected no pictures of you—top of the class, highest honors imaginable—lip locked halfway over my lap with me—the quiet recluse, ‘bad-boy’ black leather motorcyclist?  We’ve been the exclusive gossip for two weeks, and then for us to go back to pretending we don’t know each other—“

It was easy to shut him up, finally able to kiss him again. His fingers pressed into your back, tugging you into him with your arms wrapped around his neck, fingers ruffling his dark hair. The way he tugged you in, eager for more of you had you instinctively on your toes, one leg barely fluttering off the ground. Whispers filled the air, people stopped walking, a few things you could make out about the two of you being the most unlikely couple, a few more pictures were undoubtedly snapped, but you didn’t care. All you cared about was the softness of Minghao’s lips against yours, the impatient tug of his fingers against your back, and the warmth of his body against your front.

Junhui was right, the both of you were pretty happy with the outcome of that purple stationary, all the rumors, and the end of college.

[spazzbunn]

A Special Day

The daylight was starting to lose its shine. With afternoon starting to go into evening. Throughout the day, two mammals were spending their time together. Going to places, hanging out, basically being sweet to each other. It was Katrice Russets and Spazzie Warren. Katrice was in her casual white and green dress and Spazzie wearing his shorts and gray hoodie. Katrice was full of smiles and giggles on this day. But something about the day seemed off to her. Granted, the day itself was fantastic. They went to her favorite restaurant, Spazzie getting his red panda her favorite snacks and sweets, even giving her affection and cuddles in most of the time. Something was definitely off with Spazzie. But nothing seemed serious. Whenever she would ask, he would say he is just happy. Happy to be around her and being by her side. Katrice would smile and let him do what he wants to do on their long date. Although patterns started to emerge. He ordered the same food in their first date, they went to the place where Spazzie gave her roses in a bouquet, now it looks like they are going to the park. The simple yet always fun to go to park where they take the Kit Kats since it was close. Yet it was also the first time Katrice and Spazzie had met there. Now Katrice seemed to want to question her bunny. As they make it to the park, Katrice stops him as she then gave a soft smile. “Spazzie. This date has been going pretty well. I feel like we almost explored the whole utopia by now.” She chuckles softly as so does he. “Well, I wanted to make this date memorable. You know?” Spazz says with his red panda girlfriend agreeing, having fun to spend time with her bunny. Then she rubbed her arm slightly, to show she had a curious question but didn’t want to seem odd. “Hey umm. I was wondering about something. But I feel like I am just overlooking at things.” “No no please. Ask away.” The bunny insisted as the red panda took a breath and asked away what she wanted to say. “Well, I noticed we have been going to places that I remembered pretty well.” She blushed softly as her cheeks were red. “You know, mostly where we went on our dates over the years.” Spazzie didn’t have the look of weirdness or oddness on his face. Rather a shocked and impressed look. “Wow. You remember all of that?” “Well duh. I always cherish our time together. Always have, always will.” The two laugh softly to each other as the rabbit sighs intently with him rubbing the back of head. He seemed nervous with the hint of anxiousness appearing. He looked shy honestly. Back how he used to be before all those years ago, back when he was a young adult. Back when he spent some years with her just as best friends. The memories still were in Katrice’s head. He coughed and took a heavy breath. “Ok..so I-I ummm...I just want to say something but uhh..” Spazzie looked as if he was going to sweat bullets. “You ok?” Katrice said sweetly to him as she reached over and held his paw. “It’s ok. You can tell me anything.” That pawholding, it somehow made the rabbit feel more at ease as he looked into her lovely enchanting eyes and nodded softly. “Ok...you know, I never told you this but...but I almost gave up on love.” He felt sick saying that. Saying how it was all true. His past relationships were awful. Causing him stress, causing him to worry and have trust issues. Even so far as to be evil and wicked, something he wasn’t. All of his love lives, heartbreak and torment to his heart and mind. He felt like one more heartbreak would kill him. He wanted to give up. “I wanted to give up. But…” “But then I came in to your life?” Katrice knew the answer as the brown bunny proved her right with a ‘yes’. “You just...you are different, you know? You’re smart, you have good will, you were shy like I was. It felt...it felt like I had to give you a chance. Because you could have helped me.” Spazzie rubbed his thumbs on the top of her paws. “And you did...and I wanted to give you so much as a thank you for helping me.” Katrice could do nothing but smile. Deep down she was screaming of joy from his kind words. She never thought that she would someone from pain. Yet she was. And he was right in front of her, being by her side. “I’m always thankful of you being yourself. I don’t want anything but you.” Spazzie kept going, those of hers being his way to be full of courage. “When we first met. I never thought I would fall for you. We would become just buddies. But then...the more times we spoke to each other, we hung out, we talked about everything from our lives...I felt...I felt my heart pounding hard from hearing your voice. Your singing and your plans of what to do. Our talks...I felt so happy.” The red panda just stood there, having her cheeks flushed red from never knowing that. Yes, she did know he had a huge crush on her, but never knew all of this. It was stunning her that she was knowing all of this now from him. “You just are like a perfect angel. A beautiful red and white striped angel who blesses my soul and my heart with love and wholesomeness and happiness every single day.” She felt his words were tugging her heart strings as she felt it pounding hard. Her grip softly tighten from wanting to hear more of his words. “Pardon my french, but I sure as hell was very nervous to tell you my feelings.” Spazzie said with Katrice softly chuckling. “Yeah. I know that.” Katrice assured. “You wanted to tell me because you were afraid of losing me, but were afraid it was too soon.” “Which is why I did so much. I mean, a job, getting tons of cash, a car for one thing! I did all of this for you. All of that was to impress you since I wanted to show I was serious in loving you.” Spazzie felt his eyes water. He meant it all. He did get a life. A job. A car. A house. All of this. Because of her. Because he did in fact loved her with every fiber in his being. “S...Spazzie..I-I-I never knew you did that..and all for me?” Katrice felt in awe. She never knew how much she really changed his world. He nodded and smiled. “When I first had my crush on you, I had to get a job. To show I can work hard. To get cash so I can provide for you and give you anything your heart desires. To get a house so I can show I can keep you safe and warm. I didn’t want to be some lazy bum and be a bane on your existence. I-I just..” Spazzie felt his tears flowing down as he hugs his girlfriend tightly, softly sobbing. Katrice graciously hugs him back to try to comfort him. “I didn’t want to lose you...I wanted to show that I did care for you and I did love you.” “Shhh...Spazzie...calm down” Katrice whispers softly into his ear as he felt his back getting rubbed by her paw. “I know you loved me. But the reason I said yes was not because you had a money, had a house for me to crash in, and a car to drive me around.” She slowly pulls him off so he can look at her. Her smile being his weakness. “I said yes because of how nice you are to me. How you always stuck up for me. Giving me ideas of what to do, on my work, on my life. You always were there for me. To keep my spirits up and to make sure I wasn’t worried...you were always there to keep my smile and hopes up.” Spazzie wiped his eyes. “I did all of those because I wanted to hear your adorable laughter all the time. To see that smile of yours. To hear your happy voice without fear, doubt, or worry in your tone.” He was able to get a small giggle coming out of her lips. “Katrice...I wanted to show that I wasn’t going to be like the other mammals that hurt you. I would never be mean, be calling you names, be gross and insult you. I ain’t like that.” “I know you ain’t Spazzie.” She bends slightly down since she was a bit taller than him to softly kisses his cheek in her efforts to keep him calm and to prevent his tears from shedding more. “I said yes, because I loved you. I loved you for the same reason you loved me. We both keep each other happy and we are good mammals that never want to harm and only to love our mates.” Katrice planted another kiss on his other cheek. “And...I want to thank you...for being a great friend to me...and also for being so thoughtful and so sweet to me. I don’t deserve so much kindness and love that you give me.” Spazzie went into his defensive mode from that. “You do though. Because you are the best mammal ever. You never bring anyone down. You always keep me going. You deserve everything...especially a good boyfriend that would never use you, that would never harm you, that would always be there and make sure you are ok every single day. Katrice...you are so damn perfect I just...I thought I would never feel real love...uh, sorry. Swear.” Katrice felt her smile growing again. Her heart pounding and feeling so much full of life. She couldn’t explain it. Just she felt her tail wag ever so much. “I...I am glad I found you. Because I do love you. For the inside of you. Full of love and goodness. That is all I needed to feel when I wanted a relationship. I’m glad I found you.” “I’m glad too. All of these years. They are the best.” He slowly pulls off, gently letting go of her paws as he coughed and wipes his eyes to get the tears out of his eyes. “Ok..so...I was going to do this but I got so emotional.” “Heh. What was you going to do?” Katrice questions nicely with her bunny having to tap his foot fast as he was nervous until he did a quick breath. “Ok ok! So. I...I wanted to say that the years of us together, I loved them all. You always were there for me as I was for you. We kept out hearts connected in a chain to make our love stronger. We are different. You being into your liking, and me being into mine. I play video games and you ride those...death coasters...but we always try what we like.” Spazzie kept going as Katrice just smiled away. Loving the little speech he was giving out to his pumpkin spice raccoon love. “So Katrice...I want to keep going. I want to keep showing that I do love you...and I forever want to be your Hershy Kiss.” He gets on one knee. That move made Katrice’s eyes slowly rise up. He reached into his jacket pocket with him having a small box in his paw. “Katrice Russets. I want to ask the most important question. More important than my question to ask you out on a date.” He opened the top. Showing inside a beautiful ring that was shiny silver with the diamond having a sparkle to it. Katrice could see her reflection on it. “Katrice...will...will you marry me?” No words were given. She gasped and fell onto her knees. Her eyes watering, her smile being shown, her pupils seeming dilated. The bunny knew right away what the answer was. “Yes! Yes of course! I will marry you!” Katrice was shouting it to the world by now. She hugged Spazzie tight as he holds her close and the two start nuzzling and cuddling on each other. Feeling like the two were going to cry happily. Throughout her years she never thought she would make it like this. To have a boyfriend who loves her and cares for her every step of the way. To be with someone she truly loved and who loved her the same. To have a wedding with the mammal she cared about and loved. Spazzie was the same way. He thought love was fake. It was evil. It would always break your heart. But the day he met Katrice, he felt slowly, in time, his heart wanted one chance. So with hesitation, he letted his heart follow this one chance. And now, he feels free. He feels like himself. He feels happy for once. Because he had Katrice, and she had Spazzie. Today truly was a special day. (Katrice Russets belongs to @msitubeatz) (ALSO Kazzie is a wholesome/joke ship)

[mayasha-chan]

Music, Hats and Panta (Shoumade Collection) #1

Collection Summary: A collection of stories for the pairing Kaede x Kokichi x Shuichi (Or as I've dubbed their ship name, Shoumade)

Some are set in the canon story. Some are AU. And some are in Modern AU.

I'm more than happy if someone wants to make any of these oneshots a full length fic. Just message me which one you'd like to adopt and you will most likely get my permission.

Title: Sparks of Magic

Fandom: Danganronpa V3

Crossover AU - Hogwarts AU

Rating: K

Written by Mayasha-Chan (Can also be found on AO3 - HERE)

“Ugh. Look at who’s walking by right now.”

“Oh gosh, is that the quiet guy who’s always hanging around with them? He’s part of the freaky trio with that creepy three-way relationship?”

“That’s them! It’s so disgusting. Don’t they have any respect for themselves?”

“They’re so weird!”

Shuichi sighed and pulled his books on Patronus’ and Advanced Transfiguration closer to his chest. It seems even in a school bursting with magic, there were still bullies. If only there was a spell that could block out their spiteful comments.

Shaking his head, Shuichi shuffled into the Great Hall and immediately grimaced when he noticed the number of students chatting and gossiping at the four different house tables.

Isn’t supposed to be less busy here in the afternoon? Shuichi groaned internally. How was he supposed to find Kaede and Kokichi now?

Though that proved to be less difficult than he thought, as Kaede suddenly poked her head above the crowd – Her beautiful blonde locks easily setting her apart from the crowd – and waved him over. Even when absent of her usual Gryffindor cloak, Kaede Akamatsu couldn’t mistaken for any other house in Shuichi’s eyes. She encouraging, confident and had a seemingly endless fountain of bravery within her heart. Heck, she was the main one who brought the three of them together – despite their respective houses.

Being friends with students from other houses can be problematic. Especially when all three of you each in a different house. So, Kaede decided that they would each take turns sitting at person’s house table, then at the end of each week, they alternated to another person’s house table and so on and so forth. This week was Kaede’s turn, so they were sitting at the Gryffindor today. Shuichi smiled and slowly made his way down the aisle to the last table on the Gryffindor row. To his delight and mild surprise, the table was mostly vacant of other students. The exceptions being Kaede and unsurprisingly, Rantaro Amami.

Rantaro was, to Shuichi’s shock at first, a Hufflepuff, and had been best friend’s with Kaede since they were little kids. Though, he disappeared from the school every now and then to go on great journeys, and study creatures and magic in different regions, he always came back with a great story, of which Kaede, Kokichi and Shuichi were always the first to hear. Calm, soft-spoken and far more intelligent than he lets people believe, Rantaro was a loyal friend. But what really cemented Shuichi’s friendship with the Hufflepuff was the fact that he didn’t judge either him or Kaede for their relationship with each other and Kokichi. Granted, he’d sat both him and Kokichi down for the “Over-protective Brother” speech. But there was no malice or disgust in his eyes. He saw their mutual love for each other, and respected them for it.

“You can’t help who you love, right? As long as you all love each other, who am I to judge you?”

Shuichi dumped his books on the table with a sigh of relief and quickly sat down. He was immediately greeted with a big hug, and a kiss on the cheek by a beaming Kaede – which as usual, made his cheeks flush red – and a casual wave from the grinning green-haired boy, a Bowtruckle sitting happily in his pocket.

“Shuichi! I’m so happy to see you! You won’t believe what happened in Quidditch practice today!” Kaede released him from the hug, but didn’t move from his side – instead choosing to gently lean her head against his shoulder, very content and comfortably.

Shuichi felt his blush darken in response, faintly hearing Rantaro chuckle at the familiar sight. “Yes. Your girlfriend here scored goal after goal through the 30 point hoop. She truly was an inspirational sight for the Gryffindor team.” Rantaro said.

“Wow, great job Kaede.” Shuichi winced at the lack of enthusiasm in his response. Crap, he didn’t want his girlfriend of all people to know that those girl’s comments had gotten to him.

“Shuichi? What’s wrong? Did someone say something mean to you?”

And of course, she saw right through him.

“A-Ah… It’s nothing really. Just some more gossip about my hat, our relationship—“ Shuichi froze. Oh man, he wasn’t supposed to let that slip.

Kaede’s eyes instantly narrowed in anger, a frown replacing her usual kind smile. “Geez! What’s the matter people! Can’t they just accept that all three of us love each other and are happy together?” She huffed, cheeks puffing out slightly as she pouted.

Rantaro shook his head, “Some people just can’t stand to see others happy. Don’t worry about them Shuichi. If all they can talk about is you, Kaede and Kokichi’s relationship, then they’ve obviously got nothing worthwhile going on in their own lives.”

Kaede nodded her head in agreement, “Yeah, it’s just as Rantaro says. As long as we have each other, it doesn’t matter what they think! You know that Kokichi would say the same thing.”

“Kaede…” Shuichi murmured. Words could not describe how much Kaede and Kokichi mean to him. If they hadn’t approached him in the 1st year, he was fairly certain he would have remained alone, even now in his 5th year at Hogwarts. To hear that the gossip about their unusual relationship didn’t bother either of them in the slightest, it honestly sent his heart soaring.

Kaede gave him a warm smile, “I—I really do love you, Shuichi. Just as I love Kokichi too, and I’m fairly certain that while he will never say it directly, he loves us both too. And the last thing we want to see is you panicking about the opinions of other students – Don’t even try to deny that you weren’t worried in some way because we knew you were.” Shuichi shut his mouth, his protest dying on his tongue. “So please, don’t let their comments or opinions bother you. The only opinions that matter when it comes to our relationship, are our own, ok?”

Feeling the edges of his mouth curl up into a smile, Shuichi couldn’t stop himself from giving his wonderful girlfriend a loving hug. He’d make sure to give Kokichi one too later on. Speaking of Kokichi…

“Hey, where is Kokichi? He’s not normally this late.”

Kaede momentarily blinked in confusion as she glanced around the hall then looked to Rantaro for help, only to receive a shrug in response.

They didn’t have to worry for long though.

An ear-piercing scream tore through the hallway just outside the doors of the Great Hall, causing everyone to fall silent and look to entrance in confusion. Their came in the form in two girls running past the doors, grabbing their hair tightly as they continued to scream until they were long out of ear-shot. Shuichi briefly recalled that they were same girls that had been gossiping about him as he’d entered the hall.

Silence continued to dominate the hall. Everyone both confused and bewildered at what they just saw. But before anyone could comment on it, the ever familiar laughter of a certain small, mischievous purple haired Slytherin boy echoed through the hall as he entered.

“There he is.” Rantaro chuckled, obviously aware of some joke that Kaede and Shuichi were unaware of.

“Oh? Everyone went silent for little old me? Why, you all certainly know how to make a boy feel special” Kokichi grinned, throwing his hands behind his head in his signature pose. His comment drew a few laughs from the surrounding students, easily breaking the tense silence in the room and sending everyone back to their previous conversations.

It didn’t take long for Kokichi to spot them all. He shot them a quick wave and then sprinted his way down the tables, his green and silver house scarf swishing behind him. He only stopped when he was directly behind both Kaede and Shuichi.

“Hey Sweet-chi! Hey Kae-bae! Sorry I’m late!” Kokichi teased, throwing his arms around both of them.

“Kae-bae? Really Kokichi?” Kaede giggled, amused by the new ‘Nickname of the day’. Kokichi didn’t like to stick to one nickname for each of them, so he was constantly creating new ridiculous ones that he claimed “weren’t boring”. Half the time, most of them didn’t even make sense.

Kokichi smirked at Kaede’s response and plonked himself down next to Shuichi, grabbing a few grapes from the fruit bowl in the middle of the table. “Great isn’t it? I came up with that one while I was creating a new potion in Advanced Potions today. Unfortunately, the potion was a bit highly explosive, sooooo… the potions room was completely destroyed.”

Shuichi sighed and glance at Kokichi, “That’s a lie, isn’t it?”

“Nishishi! As expected from a Ravenclaw like you Shuichi! You saw right through me.”

Shuichi watched as Kokichi placed the grapes in a goblet, added some strange sparkling powder and then with a small wave of his wand the contents of the cup melt away leaving a bubbling, fizzing purple liquid in its wake. Which the young boy greedily chugged down as if it was liquid ambrosia. Shuchi honestly had no idea where Kokichi had learnt a spell like that. All he did know is that Kokichi had dubbed it his “Panta Formula”.

“Where were you Kokichi? You’re normally the first one out of Potions classes.” Kaede asked.

Kokichi swallowed the last drops of the fizzy liquid, and wiped his chin with a childish grin. “Oh, I just had to take care of some nosey little mice, who were poking their noses in other people’s business.”

Shuichi frowned in confusion, until something dawned on him. “Wait. By ‘mice’ are you referring to the girls who were screaming earlier?”

Kokichi held a finger to his lips in mock thought, “Hmm. It could have been them, but then again, I could be lying.”

Like Rantaro, Kaede seemed to have also cottoned onto some sort of inside joke as a bright smile suddenly appeared on her face, and she quickly got up and gave Kokichi a kiss on his cheek. “You’re the best Kokichi!”

Kokichi returned her smile with a rare one of his own – genuine – ones. “Well what I can I say? Little mice should know better than to provoke an agile snake.”

Both Kaede and Rantaro laughed at the joke, while Shuichi was still lost in his own muddled thoughts.

“Looks like you won’t have to worry about those gaggling, gossipers for a while, Shuichi.” Rantaro smirked, propping his elbow on the table and resting his chin on his hand.

“W-Wait what?! What did Kokichi do?”

“Nishishi! You’re going to have to figure that one out by yourself, Mr Auror in Training!” Kokichi smirked, sending Shuichi a look that evidently posed the comment as a real challenge.

Shuichi sighed, and decided to open his book on Patronus’ to take his mind off the currently subject. But no matter how hard he stared the moving illustrations depicting the correct wand motions for the spell, his mind kept drifting back to one question.

What the heck did Kokichi do to scare those girls?

[mishamoonberry]

A Change in Attitude

ERASING IMPOSSIBILITY CHAPTER 17 - AO3 / FFN

This chapter doesn’t have Oro-chan-san angst just yet, haha, I think it will appear soon in later chapters.

Thank you so much for your support!

Enjoy reading!!

17 days after Team Minato’s bell test

“Ugh,” is Obito’s eloquent reply to Minato-sensei’s announcement this morning after our daily warm-ups. The boy’s shoulders are sagging, his expression conveying exactly what he thinks about Minato-sensei’s words. “Minato-sensei, why must we take that mission? Another kind of D-rank is better than this!”

“Idiot,” Kakashi rolls his eyes, crossing his arms together as he stares at Obito rather distastefully. “You can’t choose every mission by yourself, idiot. You do what you’re given.” Though judging from his grimace when Minato-sensei announced it, he’s not particularly happy about the mission either.

Obito rolls his eyes in return, his expression somehow mirroring Shikako’s usual ‘I-am-so-done-with-everything-right-now’ expression, in which it’s a clear indication that he’s spent too much time around the Nara. “Yeah,” Obito stresses out, sounding a bit sarcastic, “but they’re D-ranks. Lots of civilians order D-ranks, so there are plenty we can choose from!”

“There’s nothing wrong with catching the cat, Obitobi-kun,” I decide to butt in, chirping happily. My hands are clasped around each other behind my back, and I have to restrain a cackle when Obito sends me a totally betrayed look.

“That’s because the cat likes you, Rin-chan,” he almost whines, his arms flailing about, “the demon almost destroyed my goggles the last time around!”

“I hope it gets destroyed today,” comes Kakashi’s soft mutter from beside me, and I have to elbow him in the stomach lest he says it aloud, making him grunt in a mix of surprise and irritation. Thankfully, it seems like Obito didn’t hear what Kakashi said, and thus no more arguments happen at the moment.

“Ranran isn’t that bad,” I try to placate, watching in amusement as both of them grimace the very moment I said it. The white feline may or may not be this era’s Tora the Demon Cat, considering she is owned by the Daimyo’s young wife, as well. She really isn’t that bad. The last time Team Minato had to catch her, she was willing enough to come to my arms when I tried to crouch and offer her some catnip. I might or might not have placed a soothing genjutsu on her though. Mikoto-sensei’s teaching on Genjutsu really helps a lot in times like this.

Oh well.

What Obito and Kakashi didn’t (and still don’t) know won’t hurt them.

Though I’m pretty sure Minato-sensei knows, judging from his amused glance at my absolutely sweet smile. Seems like I can’t get anything past him. Granted, he’s a Jounin, so… No surprise there, I guess.

He’s still a sadist, though.

He knows neither Obito or Kakashi fancy the cat catching mission. One, Kakashi is a dog person. Two, Obito holds a grudge over the Goggles Scratching Post Incident. Three, while tracking it is easy enough, considering Kakashi’s skills, catching the cat is the main problem in the mission.

I bet Minato-sensei laughs his ass off when the mission ended, the last time around. He didn’t help at all, saying it was a good team exercise and we even spotted him eating dango while watching us, the asshole.

“Alright, alright,” Minato-sensei claps his hands, finally taking charge before any more arguments can happen and breaking my thoughts about the past. “No complaining. A mission is a mission. Let’s finish this quickly, okay?”

Cue groaning ensues.

I smile.

They’re so easy and fun to rile.

19 days after Team Minato’s bell test

“Eh?”

The green chakra around my hands dissipates into nothing as I falter, staring up wide eyed at Kishimoto-sensei. In the Mind Palace, Rinny lets out an equally surprised noise, less because of Kishimoto-sensei’s ability to make both of our concentrations falter, but more because of what he chose to say to the both of us. The older man doesn’t seem to notice my sudden distress as he simply smiles easily and gently like usual, his dark brown eyes meeting my own without any hesitation.

“Like I said,” Kishimoto-sensei says, “I think it’s best if you avoid Oro-tan for a little while.”

“Eh?” I said, again, probably with a dumb expression.

That’s… Really unexpected.

I… Isn’t Kishimoto-sensei good friends with Oro-chan-san? I hastily ask Rinny, who seems to be rendered speechless as much as I am.

I don’t know, Rinny answers, shaking her head, there isn’t any character named Kishimoto in the series but… Kishimoto-sensei calls him Oro-tan, and he seems to be comfortable around Orochimaru-sama, so I thought…

This is really weird, I furrow my eyebrows, and really scary. Why do you think he tells us this all of a sudden?

Um, the Inner hesitates, maybe something happened?

“Uh,” I say outwardly, agreeing with Rinny to ask Kishimoto-sensei on what kind of shit happened to make him said that, “did something happen between Oro-chan-san and you, sensei?”

If anything, Kishimoto-sensei seems to brighten. “Oh, no, no! Nothing of the sort, really,” he waves his hand, “I just heard some rumors, that’s all. You’re my cute little student, and I don’t want your reputation to be stained because of the rumors surrounding Oro-tan.”

“What…?” I breathe out, finding myself very surprised.

“Just do as I told you to, okay, Rin-chan? It’s for your own good.”

For my own good? I can’t help but repeat a bit sardonically inwardly, even though I manage to nod at him, making him smile.

Perhaps—

Perhaps if Orochimaru really is beyond saving at this point of time—when he’s too deep in his experiments, in his desire to know more, to have more—then it really will be for my own good to stay away from him.

But is he really? Beyond saving, that is. Has he really fallen that deep already?

I’ve heard rumors circulating around Orochimaru before, mostly on how creepy he looks and how inhumane his knowledge as well as his repertoire of jutsu, but it’s very weird for Kishimoto-sensei to be wary of the rumors now, because I’m sure as hell those rumors have been around for quite a good while. Especially since Orochimaru looks stone faced whenever those rumors appear—as if it’s nothing of the ordinary, as if it’s to be expected from the people around him—and how he seems to shut himself off more whenever the rumors are within our hearing range. That’s why I always make it a point to scold whoever I find to be talking shit about him. Not only it probably puts me in Orochimaru’s good books—if he even has any—it also causes the miniscule tension in his shoulders and the stony look on his face to melt down completely into something more… soft.

Some shinobi will say I’m hallucinating, but there were certain instances where Orochimaru looks relaxed and completely at peace with himself.

Those are the moments when I was always reminded how human Orochimaru could be, can be.

And would have he stopped being human, the very moment he finds no reason to? As far as I am aware, Canon Rin never had any sort of interaction with Orochimaru whatsoever, and there was never shown an entity called Kishimoto Masashi in the series ever. But Canon world barely covers anything anyway, with how much plot holes it has, and perhaps, perhaps, the equivalent of Kishimoto-sensei did exist in canon.

Kishimoto-sensei is? Was? Close to Oro-chan-san, I mull over, frowning a little bit. If, say, someone who was close to Canon Orochimaru left him behind because of some rumors, would that be the catalyst that set him off the edge?

I’m perhaps guessing things too much here, but I really cannot help but to grasp on the last bits of hope that Orochimaru is not beyond saving. Not yet. I feel like Jiraiya, at this point, or even Sarutobi Hiruzen, for still believing in the good of Orochimaru, for still hoping for a positive thing from the Snake Sannin—

If he really is beyond saving, Rinny says, cutting off my thoughts, what would you do?

I pause.

If he really is beyond saving… If he really, really, has become something similar to the villain that gave Sasuke the Cursed Seal in Canon world, there’s only one thing that I know I would do.

I would run the hell away from him.

He’s Sannin, and I’m just a Genin. I can’t capture or kill him. I’m not in the other Sannin’s or Sarutobi’s caliber. I would just get myself killed if I try to confront him (which shows how suicidal Naruto must be, to throw himself at Orochimaru in his rage and bout of irrationality).

And I… would be sad.

Disappointed, maybe. Because I still believe that Orochimaru can change, somehow. That the soft, insecure man I’ve seen in passing from time to time is there and living and that he still has some good in his heart, somewhere.

Still, there’s not much point in thinking about it now.

I still do not know Orochimaru’s current state. But the last time I’ve seen him, he’s still as normal as ever. I am going to have myself stick with my last Probably Not Reliable assessment of him: that he’s still redeemable and can be steered away from being a traitor, somehow.

I’m not going to let a rumor and a warning from someone who believes on rumors change my perception of Orochimaru. Not even if Kishimoto-sensei is my teacher whom I respect and trust.

It will simply make me more careful, of course; because there are usually small truths within rumors.

Still, whether Orochimaru is beyond saving or not, I will only know when I see him next time.

21 Days after Minato’s Bell Test

“Yahoo, Minato’s little minions!” A familiar voice calls out from the corner of the training grounds, and I perk up. My gaze instantly goes to the source of the voice, Kakashi, Obito and Minato-sensei doing the same. While Obito blinks in confusion at the newcomer, Kakashi simply stares, looking as if he’s restraining a sigh.

Minato-sensei and I, though, we’re grinning widely. The only difference is that Minato-sensei looks more lovesick and dopey than I do.

(I miss the assessing look Kakashi throws at me the very moment he sees me going all goo-goo eyes on Kushina, as well as his furrowed eyebrows when he catches an idea on what’s going on with me at that very moment).

I have to restrain a snort. Hopeless, this one. He’s so whipped, I can see it in his expression.

“Kushina-san!” I greet her, cheerful. The red haired woman approaches us with a grin, her hand already reaching forward to ruffle my hair gently. “What are you doing here?”

“I was bored,” comes Kushina’s answer, “So I thought why not visit Minato’s little minions. I see you’re still as grumpy as ever, Kakashi-kun,” she glances at Kakashi, giving him a teasing smile. Kakashi harrumphs in retaliation.

“And I haven’t met the other minion yet!” She moves toward Obito, bending down to look at him in eye level, watching in amusement when Obito yelps in surprise. “Yo, kiddo, I’m Uzumaki Kushina, Minato’s girlfriend.”

Obito’s expression clears, then, lighting up as if he has some sort of an epiphany. “Oh! I’m Uchiha Obito!” He says, “It’s nice to meet you, Uzumaki-san.”

“Eh, just call me Kushina,” the jinchuuriki waves her hand flippantly, “How about Kushina nee-chan?” She glances at me, “You can call me that too, Rin-chan”.

I brighten up. There is no way I’m gonna pass up this chance! “Kushina-nee-chan!” I exclaim happily.

“Kushina nee-chan, then,” Obito seems to like Kushina too, because he’s smiling as he says it.

Then, the rest of us stares at Kakashi.

The boy looks a bit uncomfortable, but glances away as he says, “…Kushina-san.”

Kushina exaggeratedly pouts, scooting over to poke Kakashi in the stomach. The boy jumps a little, glaring lightly when I snort.

“You’re no fun, Kakashi-kun!”

“…Whatever, Kushina-san.”

“Tch,” Kushina clicks her tongue. Though she’s obviously still in good humor, considering how she still looks happy (and very, very pretty, oh gosh) as she stands up, smacking Minato’s shoulder. “You’ve gotten yourself cute little minions here, Minato!”

“They’re my student, Kushina…” Minato says with a laugh, rubbing his shoulder.

“Students, minions, same thing,” she ignores Kakashi’s mutter of ‘it’s different’ and grins, her hands positioned on her hips, “anyway, you’re not planning anything particular for them today, right?”

Minato blinks. “Well, no, not exactly. Why?”

I have a bad feeling about this. And beside me, Kakashi seems to share the sentiment, considering how he is staring at Kushina warily, as if expecting her to suddenly pounce him or something.

“Well,” Kushina sounds super cheerful as she stares us down, a wicked gleam in her eyes. “I wanna play tag.”

The three of us are frozen, and even Minato-sensei seems to gulp. Either out of fear or arousal, I do not know, but either way, I totally understand him at this moment. Kushina looks predatory¸ and for a second I wonder who is the true sadist in the relationship: Minato or Kushina. I don’t have time to dwell on that more though, because she moves into a stance, causing us three genins to be more alert than before.

“I’m gonna be it,” she grins at us, meeting our eyes one by one, “you have five minutes to escape and try to hide. Starting from now.”

We run like our asses are on fire.

XXX

So.

Both of them are closet sadists.

Aside from the fact that Minato-sensei seems to be torn between being worried for our lives or being very turned on at the sight of his girlfriend stomping us to the ground, he still chooses to sit back and watch everything unfold, with a lop sided smile, while eating dango.

And Kushina seems to hold back when she’s catching us, but not enough.

Seriously, she uses her chains to hold Kakashi down on the ground!

Despite myself being tired as fuck and sore, I can’t help but grin and laugh and just in sheer awe.

She’s so cool. Kushina-nee is so cool.

It’s still terrifying though, and she even cackles while attacking us with her chains.

The rest of the afternoon is spent with screaming and yelling children, and a cackling Red Hot Habanero.

Author’s note:

Hello.

I want to apologize for the long wait and the short chapter. As I have mentioned in the latest announcement, I’m having problems both in real life and in writing itself. Making long chapters is beginning to be very taxing for me, whose mind tend to wander here and there most of the time.

I’ve told you this before and some of you have kindly answered my question, therefore I’ve decided to make each chapters shorter than usual. I used to produce 5k-7k words each chapter, and it’s VERY tiring for me. From now on my chapters will be 1k-2k in length, more if I get lucky, and I hope that you can still like my story despite that. Updates will perhaps be faster as well; mostlikely once every two or three weeks.

[elliearchive]

ALL MY LOVE ➝ LUFINN.

TAGGING ➝ Lucy Clarington, Finn Hudson.

LOCATION ➝ The Empire, Rhode Island.

TIME FRAME ➝ 3/16, evening.

WARNINGS ➝ None.

NOTES ➝ Lucy and Finn are officially in love that is all.

LUCY CLARINGTON

Lucy was generally not a nervous person. She was also not the type to really care about how others perceived her, so the fact that she was genuinely nervous about this whole trip had been a little strange to her. It was mostly just because she’d grown up around the kind of people she assumed the St. James’ to be, she knew how judgmental they could be. It was ironic really, the fact that she’d been the one to judge them before meeting them, because she’d quickly learned that while some of their friends may not have been the friendliest of people, Finn’s best friend’s family were actually very sweet, friendly people. She definitely didn’t feel judged by them, which was more than could be said for some of the people that’d turned their noses up at the sight of the two of them with a baby. She and Finn were plenty old enough to be parents; Lucy didn’t really care about what they thought. “You know this is how it’d be if you ever met my dad, right?” She frowned, handing the struggling baby over to Finn; Sophie was of course reaching for him, as usual. “Fancy party, lots of people with more money than manners. I like Regan’s family, though.” She leaned up, her heels helping some with their height difference tonight, to press a soft kiss to his cheek. “Thank you for inviting us. Are you having fun?”

FINN HUDSON

Finn was pretty excited about the prospect of showing off Lucy and Sophie. Sophie because she was absolutely adorable. And Lucy because she was his incredibly beautiful girlfriend. Both girls had the ability to make him look good. Plus, he promised Regan that he would use the adorable baby to take some of the attention off of her and it seemed like it was working. Finn sent his girlfriend a concerned look as she passed Sophie over to him, the baby immediately ending her struggle as he took her in his arms. He was clearly spoiling her. “You are probably going to have to show me off at one of those fancy parties one day. You know that, right? I can’t just be your hidden boyfriend for years,” he teased, carefully bouncing the baby in his arms. A small part of him was taking Summer’s advice. Dropping hints that he was serious about their future without actually dropping those three words that he really wanted to say. He smirked as she pressed her lips on his cheek, and shook his head as Sophie started playing with his tie. “Of course I invited you guys. You’re making me look good,” he replied, happy when Sophie laid her head on his shoulder. He knew a nap definitely wasn’t in the cards for her. She was too overly stimulated by all the new sounds and the new people, but he wasn’t going to take any moment of relaxation from her for granted. “I am having fun though. People think we’re a good looking family."

LUCY CLARINGTON

Sophie looked adorable in her brand new dress for the occasion, though it crumpled as she handed her over to Finn, so Lucy got to work on straightening it out. It was always teamwork with them, she’d noticed. She liked it. “You think you’re a secret?” She laughed, brow raising as she looked up at him. “You’re not, my dad knows you exist. I talk to him a lot, I think he listens sometimes,” she shrugged. “I just don’t want you to think he’ll be as nice as Regan’s parents have been. He’s kind of… weird.” That was the best way for her to describe her father. Lucy did take note of the fact that Finn wasn’t opposed to the idea of meeting him, though, and that it even seemed like it was something he planned on. That was comforting. She wanted them to meet each other’s families. “That’s the only reason you invited us, huh?” She teased, shooting him a playful glare. It smoothed out quickly; Lucy found that she was always smiling around Finn. Probably a side effect of being in love with someone, though she wasn’t about to bring that up. She felt it more so than usual tonight, though. Especially as she watched her boyfriend with the baby, with him looking extra handsome in his shirt and tie. She hadn’t even meant to match the color of her dress to it, it had just happened. “How do you know what they think? I mean, they’re not wrong.”

FINN HUDSON

“Oh, you talk about me a lot?” Finn teased, shooting a smirk in her direction. Meeting her father did seem like a daunting task. Not because he didn’t want to or because he didn’t want things to be serious between the two of them. He really did. She just didn’t make a very convincing argument for her father. “Weird, how?” He questioned, quirking an eyebrow at her. He was excited for her to meet his mother and step-dad. But that was because his parents were normal. His siblings were fairly normal, but he wasn’t sure how nice they were all going to be to her. The woman whose baby he was raising. “Exactly. You two are only here to make me look better,” he joked. He placed a small kiss on top of Sophie’s head as he chuckled, his eyes looking around the room. A few people had already come up to him and told him that his baby was cute. He was never going to correct them on that. He was just thankful that it hadn’t happened in earshot of Lucy. That would have been embarrassing. “I’ve gotten a couple compliments tonight,” he said with a small smirk. He continued to bounce Sophie as another guest approached him. ”You are a gorgeous family. You are so lucky to have such a beautiful wife and daughter.” Finn could feel his cheeks redden at the compliment. He shook his head and thanked her. “Thank you so much. I am a very lucky guy to love these two beautiful women.” He let out a sigh as the woman walked away, turning his attention back to Lucy. “I’m so sorry. That was kind of strange. I should have corrected her, but I don’t mind it when people think that we’re a family. We kind of are.”

LUCY CLARINGTON

“Always. I can’t have a conversation without bringing you into it,” she joked, though she really did talk about him a good amount. She was just very proud of her boyfriend, it was difficult for her not to. Lucy’s father was a complicated man, it was hard for her to really explain him. She sucked in her bottom lip in thought. “Umm. He kind of keeps to himself, but at the same time he has a lot of big opinions, it’s weird. When my mom died he just kind of pulled away. Emerson doesn’t really speak to him, I don’t think Kya really does either. I do, but whether he listens or not is a different story.” Her family was complicated, she knew that. Hopefully Finn could keep up. “Nice, we have purpose,” she chuckled, smoothing down the back of Sophie’s hair as she laid against Finn’s shoulder. The fact that people had been complimenting him about them made her smile, though she wasn’t expecting someone to actually approach them, so it surprised her when they did. She was still playing with Sophie’s hair, but turned to look at the woman, offering her a smile. Her brow wrinkled slightly as she watched the exchange, and Lucy couldn’t help the swell of love that filled her heart, she didn’t even really understand it. It was just there, there was no denying it. Hearing him talk about them like that, it was hard for her to ignore it. “No, don’t apologize,” she shook her head, eyes on him once they were alone again. “I love it. I love you,” she heard the words leave her lips and almost tried to backtrack, but she realized there was no point. She loved him, it felt like the time to tell him. She spoke a little more confidently this time. “I do, I love you.”

FINN HUDSON

A grin spread across Finn’s face at her joke as he shrugged his shoulders. “I may talk about you a lot too. My mom’s pretty excited about meeting you one day.” It was true. He was always talking about her to his mom and just random people at work. Showing off pictures of her and Lucy was probably his favorite past time. “It’s nice that you at least try with him. When I meet him, I’ll try too,” he replied with a small nod. Her family life seemed a lot more complicated than his. All she had to deal with were siblings questioning her intentions. And he really had no reservations that Lucy would be able to handle herself. People had been approaching him all day. He wasn’t all that surprised when it happened again. He was holding an adorable baby and to anyone in the outside world, they looked like a normal family. He smiled as she told him not to apologize, his eyes meeting hers as she continued talking. Those next words that flowed out of her mouth were surprising. It was exactly what he wanted to hear, but he definitely hadn’t seen it coming. He rested his hand on Sophie’s back as Lucy repeated herself, the words bringing an even bigger smile to his face. “You love me?” He questioned, still finding it unbelievable that she could feel the same way about him that he did about her. “I love you too,” he breathed out with a grin. “Of course I love you too. You’re my dream girl.”

LUCY CLARINGTON

From what she’d heard, Finn’s mom sounded like an angel on earth, Lucy had been pretty excited to meet her for a while now. Before they were even boyfriend and girlfriend, in fact. “I can’t wait to meet her,” she admitted, glad that this all wasn’t one sided. Not that she’d ever thought it was, but it was nice to know that they were both thinking about the same things, both wanting to introduce one another to their families. Finn was a great guy, she wouldn’t expect anything less than for him to try with her father, but she still appreciated the reassurance. It caused her to smile genuinely up at him. “Thank you. He won’t say so, but I’m sure he’ll love you. What’s not to love, right?” In a much more intense way, in Lucy’s case. She hadn’t planned to tell him so, not yet. But she’d bitten back the words a few times now, they just spilled out this time. She was still kind of surprised at herself, but she locked her gaze firmly with Finn’s, knowing that she couldn’t take it back. She just hoped she hadn’t scared him. She didn’t realize she was holding her breath until he responded and she felt herself relax a little bit. Her teeth sunk gently into her bottom lip. “You do?” She asked, voice coming out a little higher pitched than intended. Her cheeks flushed with a hint of pink, and Lucy couldn’t hold back the smile tugging at her lips. “I really wish we hadn’t said that for the first time in a room full of people,” she laughed softly, almost a little embarrassed, “I really, really want to kiss you right now.”

FINN HUDSON

Finn was only a little worried that Lucy’s father wouldn’t like him. Mostly because Lucy had made him seem like he wasn’t the friendliest guy in the world. He wasn’t really the type to get nervous about meeting new people. Everyone usually seemed to like him, but it still felt good to hear Lucy reassure him that her father would love him. Did he one hundred percent believe her? Not really, but he still knew he was ready to meet her dad. He was ready to take that step with her. Because he was in love with her. He really hadn’t expected her to say it to him first. Mostly because he wasn’t sure if she felt that way about him yet. He had an inkling, but Lucy had always been better about hiding her feelings for him than he had about her. In his mind, he had always been pretty transparent about the fact that he liked her, and so he figured that with the way he looked at her, it was probably becoming pretty evident that he loved her. His eyes glanced around the room as he let out a small laugh. She was right. They were in a room full of people, mostly strangers, so it wasn’t the perfect moment for a declaration of love. But it was perfect for them. “Follow me,” he grinned, nodding his head toward the door. He led them outside, his hand still resting on Sophie’s back as she cooed softly. He smirked as they made it outside, removing his hand from Sophie’s back to hover over her eyes. “No one likes to see their parents kiss,” he teased before leaning forward and pressing a kiss against her lips.

LUCY CLARINGTON

Although she definitely didn’t regret it, and had one hundred percent meant what she’d said, Lucy couldn’t help but feel slightly nervous. She was shaking a little bit, in fact. She’d never been in love before, she’d never had to tell anyone she loved them. But here she was, doing just that with Finn. In spite of the fact that she wasn’t so thrilled about there being so many other people around, she was glad that Sophie was there. She was apart of them, they were a little family, something Lucy had grown to appreciate more and more recently. Eyes up on Finn, she nodded her head, before quietly following him out of the room, unsure of where exactly they were going. She was just grateful for the alone time, she didn’t really care where, and found herself laughing a little as Finn held his hand over the baby’s eyes. “You’re ridiculous,” she smirked, leaning up to meet his lips with her own. She liked that, the fact that he’d called them her parents. That was what they were, there was no fighting it. Lucy didn’t even want to, in fact. “I love you, Finn,” she said softly as she pulled back, her hand coming up to move his away from Sophie’s eyes. Lucy laced her fingers with Finn’s. “And so does our daughter.”

FINN HUDSON

Finn had sort of surprised himself. He never imagined any of this happening on this weekend getaway of theirs. He figured it would be a family vacation that they would always remember because it was their first, but he hadn’t thought it would be because they were going to say they loved each other for the first time. He was happy to lead her out of that busy room and to a spout outside where there weren’t as many people. It was just the three of them. Their family. And that was the way it should have been. He didn’t regret sharing their I love yous, with total strangers because it was still their first declarations of love. He was just happy that were going to get a bit of a redo with just the three of them. “I’m ridiculous, but you’re in love with me,” he teased as she pulled away. He hadn’t even noticed that he had referred to both of them as her parents. Lucy was her mother. That wasn’t up for debate, but he didn’t really know if he could be considered her father. Outside of the scam they were trying to pull with the adoption agency, he had never really said out loud that he was Sophie’s parent. At least until today. “I love you, too,” he grinned, his eyes falling to the little girl in his arms. He had always felt it. The love in the pit of his heart for that little girl. “And I love our daughter,” he sighed, shaking his head in happiness. “I love my daughter,” he repeated, ecstatic that he could finally say those words. He let out a small laugh as he stared down at their interlaced fingers. “I don’t want my own room anymore,” he blurted off with a light chuckle. “I want to wake up next you every morning.”

LUCY CLARINGTON

“I would try to deny it just to prove I’m not ridiculous too, but I can’t,” she teased. Really, they were both kind of crazy, especially taking their current situation; adopting a baby together — or at least fake adopting a baby together. Maybe it didn’t even need to be fake... Either way, Lucy was now more sure than ever that it was the right thing for them to do, to do whatever it was together. She’d known Finn loved Sophie like a daughter already, but to hear him say it aloud made Lucy’s heart almost burst with adoration. He wasn’t wrong, he’d been the only father Sophie had known. She didn’t really know what to even say, she was honestly just in awe of their little family as she watched them both, but Finn’s words pulled her back to reality and Lucy looked up at him with a small, genuine smile, nodding her head in agreement. “Okay, then that’s what we’ll do. We’ll look for a place with three bedrooms; one for us, one for our baby and then a spare for the nights I’m mad at you,” she winked, her thumb trailing softly along his knuckles. She pressed a small kiss to the side of the baby’s head. “Is that what we’re going to do now, call her our daughter?” She asked, glancing up at her boyfriend again. “I don’t mind us teaching her that you’re daddy rather than Finn. In fact, if that’s what you want, I’d kind of like it.”

FINN HUDSON

Calling Sophie his daughter hadn’t been scary at all. It barely seemed different to him. Obviously, it was a big deal. But he already loved her. He loved taking care of her and he was enjoying every second of helping to raise her. It just felt like he was finally putting an official title on something that had been unofficial since he’d met her. The words had just sort of flowed out of his mouth. As long as Lucy agreed with him though then he didn’t really feel weird about it. “You’ll never get mad at me,” he teased with a wide grin on his face. “We’ll end up turning that third room into a game room. I’ve always wanted to own my own Pac-Man game,” he joked, letting out another small chuckle. It was a little insane to think about. The two of them were going to be buying a house together soon. Before it was for something fake. A little white lie they were going to tell the adoption agency, but it didn’t seem all that fake anymore. It was going to be their house. They were going to share a room and they were going to raise their daughter together there. Finn wouldn’t have had it any other way. “I want that,” he replied with a nod of his head. It should have been something he said with a little more apprehension, but Finn had never been more sure about anything. “I want to be her dad.”

LUCY CLARINGTON

Although she knew he was teasing, Lucy couldn’t help but silently agree; she really couldn’t imagine ever getting mad at him. But a third room did seem like a good idea regardless, just in case. “Mm, we’ll figure that out whenever we actually get the house,” she promised, knowing it was something they were going to have to start looking into soon. Especially now that things had gotten more serious between them; Lucy wanted them to have their place, somewhere to call their home outside of Finn just staying like a guest in her apartment with she and Sophie. The baby was evidently very content with their little family moment, and made her usual cute little baby noises as if she was trying to talk to them, too. It made Lucy laugh. “You agree, huh? That I’m mommy and he’s daddy?” She smirked, gently stroking the back of the baby’s hand with her finger. There were things they definitely needed to talk about regarding all of that, but Lucy figured they could save that for another time. She knew it wouldn’t be a problem. “Then I guess that’s who we are. We’re her parents.” Sophie’s biological father hadn’t been in the picture, he hadn’t even acknowledged her existence. Finn was already a million times the man he was. “I think you’re the best dad she could ask for, you know? You’re the best guy either of us could ask for.”

FINN HUDSON

It was definitely funny to him that he and Regan were both making these huge life commitments when just a few months ago the two of them were both fairly unhappily single. But Finn knew she was happy for him, so he would be happy to help them look for another place to live in. It was all he really wanted. A place that they could call their own home. As much as he loved Lucy’s place. It would be nice to have a house as a family. He didn’t care how many bedrooms they went for. As long as there were enough for the two of them and Sophie. He turned his attention to the little girl in his arms, smiling at the coos coming from her. “I think she definitely agrees,” he grinned, looking down at her. He leaned forward and pressed a kiss against her head, smirking at the idea of Sophie calling him dad one day. He had never realized just how much he wanted that before that moment. He could see it so clearly in his head and the idea of it brought the dopiest grin to his face. Smiling like that was becoming a common occurrence around his family. “We’re her parents,” he echoed, chuckling lightly. “Poor kid. She’s gonna end up being a dork. She doesn’t stand a chance.” Another laugh escaped from his lips as she shook his head. “I’m the lucky one. I have the most amazing girlfriend and the most amazing kid.”

[thezol]

lord almighty, the one with bad puns ● sheith.

Series of: Not quite a drabble, not quite a fic.

Triggers: None.

Warnings: Really bad puns from everyone’s golden boy. There are cameos of Roy Focker and Claudia LaSalle, both beloved characters from the anime and manga Macross, here is the reason why.

A/N: Written just for fun, nothing else here to say.

*Kolivan’s booming voice echoed in the room* “The only way this is possible is if Galra blood runs through your veins.”

Shiro’s silver eyes widened in realization as a series of specific moments with Keith passed through his mind.

i.

'Cause your kisses lift me higher Like a sweet song of a choir And you light my morning sky With burning love

“Keith… uhh” He knew he was being rude, but he couldn’t stop staring –or fathom a full sentence or a coherent thought for that matter- he was in a state of total confusion. They were waiting for their Big Belly Burger meal, at his favorite booth near the bar, at the moment he could barely hear the large group of customers –mostly Garrison attendants- ordering drinks, all his attention was focused on his raven haired companion date“...Wha—what are you doing?” He didn’t hide very well his nervousness.  

The sound of the thick substance gurgling triggered goosebumps all over his skin.

Shiro saw how Keith removed the thin straw from his mouth and the most accurate manifestation of doe-eyes he had ever had the pleasure of staring at in his twenty two years of existence stared back at him.

“I’m drinking…?” The question mark was almost explicit by the way the younger fighter pilot tilted his head.

“ Yeah, um, I see, but –uh…” He was feeling the sudden urge to rub his sweaty palms on the knees of his jeans; Keith’s eyebrows were starting to form a tiny frown. “… you are drinking *mayonnaise*” “with a straw, as if it is a fucking Fanta” His mind supplied but he forced his lips to remain closed, by biting his inner cheek, hard.

“I know.” The little shrug ended the conversation for Keith, who just reassumed his task, paying no mind to the profuse sweating emanating from his frightened companion.

Shiro’s eyes were the size of plates as he turned pale, completely dismayed horrified. “At least he looks happy”. He couldn’t stop grimacing when the gurgling turned louder and Keith hummed happily –almost giddy- in satisfaction.

“Ahh.” Satisfied, Keith opened his eyes before he blinked rapidly in surprise at finding near his face…

“Ketchup?” Shiro ended up offering with a sheepish smile.    

ii.

“I can hear you brooding.” The raspy drowsy mumble made him smile.

“I’m not.” Without an operational wormhole generator and more than a few broken Teludav lenses, the castle is nothing but a stranded nightmare with no cover whatsoever in the vastness of space, he can’t help but feel a little anxious about sitting ducks to Zarkon… again.  

“Can’t really blame me for worrying about the photochemical damage in our internal organs after the healthy dose of laser radiation we received today.” Puffs of air materialized with each word, they all went to bed exhausted, including Coran, who didn’t have the time will or energy to adjust the temperature scans of the thermostat… or even activate the lights of their rooms for that matter. At the moment the two of them were in his room, with their covers and closeness and touches as only protection against the inhuman temperatures. The events of today and the irrefutable irony of the hysterical cosmic joke that was their lives left them as nothing but a pair of almost-too-literal-deadweights in his freezing bed.  

“Mmm… my fatalistic nerd.” Keith muttered weakly more asleep than awake, his small head nestled on his lap.

Still, the accomplishment of another survived day, with Keith at his side, it was enough.

More than enough.

Enough to hurt.

“Lance even prophesied we’ll all have Presbyopia before we are 30.”

“I remember hearing that.”  

“Still can’t see?” Shiro half-whispered, not quite able to resist brushing his fingers through Keith’s humid hair, if he dared to draw closer his nose to the ebony threads he would smell a frail track of smoke.

Today almost all die scorched like grilled chicken… Pidge’s blatant euphemism, not his.

“Just like—” a tired groan, words low and barely coherent- “…blurry clouds of smoke?... really dark ones.” Of all of them, Keith still presented the aftereffects, temporary blindness. After seeing how the enigmatic purple pigmentation of the red paladin eyes turned gold, Coran and Allura hurriedly promised they’ll turn operational the cryo-pods first thing tomorrow.

“Don’t worry baby, tomo—”

Like always, he is interrupted by the snort of amusement Keith makes at hearing the nickname.

And he dies a bit inside.

He sighs hopelessly. “I’m glad my love for you keeps being nothing but a big fat joke to you.” He deadpans in indignation while he nuzzles his way through the soft strands that belong to the love of his life and settles his lips against the delicate eyelashes he can’t stop kissing. “My soulless munchkin, nothing endears you.”

The breathless raspy chuckles Keith gives melt his insides and leave him boneless.  “You are ridiculous." within each exhalation travels a caress that warms the thin skin covering his hipbones.

“Mm—hmm.” He affirms while he situates himself more comfortably against the wall, reassuming his readings from the Altean tablet.

He patiently waits for any acknowledgement that Keith is falling asleep, that somehow his presence is soothing him, but as time passes, the younger pilot curls unconsciously closer to his only source of warmth, his embrace vehement and natural, cold hands came up to wrap around Shiro’s leg, his fingers curling into the fabric of Shiro’s pants. His faint breathing a little too fast and his grip a little too tight.    

“Why is he still presenting the aftereffects of the lasers? And why his eyes a—are gold?”

“Shiro, you must remember that this ship wasn’t exactly designed accounting the physiognomy of your species, we don’t know for sure the effects our engineering could have on any of your kind.”

“Maybe what is happening to number four has to do specifically with humans with that type of irises? What are the characteristics of humans with violet eyes?”

“I—I don’t know, until I met him… I thought people with violet eyes were a myth.”

“A myth? Oh young boy, your civilization it’s so primitive and weird.”

iii.

“… you reading?”

The muffled sounds around him turned sharper the moment he recognized the raspy voice, like on autopilot, all his senses focused their attention on the person sitting in front of him –pupils dilated, breath ricocheted, heartbeat propelled- dum, ba- dum, dum, dum. As if the raven haired cadet was an ignition switch that gets you off the launching pad, his whole body lit up, his entire form reacting to the same presence all at once, capillaries in his skin stretched and the abrasive heat left him jittery and vulnerable and alive.  

“Yeah?” His silver eyes never separated from the nonchalant lithe fluidity that was almost sewed to the lean body, it seemed that Keith couldn’t find something in his duffel bag.

“I asked about what you are reading.” Keith reiterated vaguely, too engrossed rummaging for his tablet in the war zone he called bag.

Feign casualness Shiro commented, “I’m reading an article about anti-gravity” he couldn’t stop the giant grin stretching his lips, “Aaand just as Commander Holt told me… it’s impossible to put down!”  

The lounge went cryptically silent. The air in the room suddenly heavy and the peace completely crumbled.

“Oh my.” “He’s gotten so bad.” “Spare us the jokes, Shiro.”

“Sorry, I Apollo—gize.” He ended up taunting.

The sound of more than a few chairs scraping against the floor could be still distinguished as the room was suddenly filled with a chorus of lamenting groans.

“I’m outta here.” “Can’t wait for your lame ass puns being in the border of the solar system!”

Heh, no appreciation for good mood in this world.

Smiling to himself Shiro redirects his attention at his companion.

Finding Keith –tiny nose scrunched up- heavily concentrated on his… hand?

“…Keith?”

“Is something wrong with your hand?”

“My hand?... N—no why?”

“Then why can’t you put the tablet down?”

“Why I can’t pu—…oh”

Oh, indeed.

iv.

“Floor L5 – Recognized Lieutenant Claudia LaSalle - Access Granted.” The artificial voice saluted them as they walked alongside onto the empty longue.  

“As I’ve been telling you Shiro, each satellite will also contain an ultra-stable laser; optical systems aboard the satellites will lock the two lasers to a single frequency…” Her words were supplemented by hand gestures that became more frantic as Claudia got more and more engrossed into her explanation.

“So essentially, it’s like creating a single laser operating at a single frequency.” He added, placing their tupperwares on a pristine table.

“Exactly!” She clasped her hands with enthusiasm, warm eyes sparkling, “when a gravitational wave propagates through the solar system it will cause a motion between the satellites, bringing them closer together, then farther apart, and then closer together again!” The second lieutenant sat gracefully and shared with him a complicit smile as he pulled out a chair so she could sit down first.

“Which will cause a Doppler shift of the laser light as it travels between the spacecraft.” Shiro nodded to himself, starting to immerse in the topic as well.

Taking advantage of the solitude of the place and desperate to stop feeling how the irking material adhered to his skin, he casually removed his uniform jacket, it was late in the afternoon, nobody was at the time hanging around that floor, so there was no real risk of exposure to an Iveson-mania encounter, he could feel the uncomfortable beads of sweat sliding down his neck and spine, conglomerating and sticking the cotton fabric of his shirt to his shoulder blades, consequence of enduring more than 12 hours covered in polyester in an infrastructure with no enough refrigeration power to be situated in the middle of the dessert.

“Yes! I tell you Shiro, if the board approves the installation of optical lattice atomic clocks on board of the spacecraft, we could detect gravitational waves!”  Her gaze turned dazed, relaxed and calm. “... Can you imagine?” It weren’t just her hazel eyes –the drop of her shoulders, the hood of her eyelids- her mind and soul were surely wrapped up picturing a network of such clocks in space.  

“It certainly sounds pretty awesome.” It really was, Shiro knew her theory would allow physicists to perform new tests of fundamental laws of nature and searches for the unknown, it was groundbreaking. So, with all the pride and conviction he could muster for his friend, he couldn’t stop assuring her. “And if anyone can do it, it’s you Claudia.” He meant every word, Claudia was incredibly talented and he had nothing but massive proportions of faith for her.

“I’m not so sure about that,” She diverted her eyes, her perfectly manicured nails unconsciously scratching her head –thinking hard and trying to clear a complex puzzle- messing with the small curls of her short afro. “I still consider that it’s highly unlikely the Garrison would want to go with a completely new technology at this stage… I was thinking in asking your friend, the son of Commander Holt?… Umm.” She squinted her eyes with uncertainty, trying to recall the name.

While leaning forward to reach for his sport bottle, a faint metallic sound startled him. “…Matt?” He tucks his dog tags inside his shirt. Shiro pulls the top of the bottle, wasting no time to satiate his thirst for his green thickie, the rich flavor of Kiwi and Kale combining with the sweetness of milk... his smoothie recipe was a religious experience.  

“Yes, Matt Holt, I was thinking in asking for his help to validate some results, I’ve heard he is the best at configuring big data based devices.”

“I’ll ask him, but knowing Matt, he’ll never pass an opportunity to work with you.” He commented as offhandedly as he could –which was a debatable deplorable performance- and at seeing from the corner of his eye how Claudia’s dark skin heated up, Shiro knew he may have kind of slightly fucked up… just a little. Oh well, it’s not like from just one comment Matt’s worrisome crush will be revealed.

“You know she is with somebody…”

“Save that sickening kindheartedness of yours for someone who needs it, and let me stop your stuck-in-the-22th-century primitive mind, I don’t have a crush on officer LaSalle, I—”

“-B—but you just said so!“

“Shh! I have a nerd crush on that woman’s brain. I feel how my neurons fire up, how my synapses rewires, my whole mind floors each time I re-watch her lecture on the nonequilibrium Green’s function approach to the photoionization process in atoms.”  

“… nerd crush? Are you calling her a nerd?”

“Look at me Shirogane, I AM THE NERD!”

Claudia’s exasperated sigh brought him out of Matt’s antics.

“I have a guest lecture in 15 minutes.” With an impatient double click on the screen of her smartwatch, holographic numbers the size of a watermelon materialized in the middle of the table. The artificial blue light not only emphasized the tardiness, but also her frown. “And I’m starving.” Claudia said as if she was condemning her body.

Shiro couldn’t avoid gazing down and deflate at his innocent Tupperware with his still untouched chicken wrap.

“Roy promised me he would be done by now.” Remorseful for believing again the words said by the pilot in question, she crossed her arms over her chest in aggravation. Hazel eyes narrowed like a proverbial sign of pain waiting for the apparition of the entity responsible for their still empty stomachs.

Aha, and he didn’t sign up for this.

As the omnipresent third law of Newton says, to every action there is always opposed an equal reaction, by being exposed to the impossible-to-ignore presence of Roy Focker for almost more than half a decade -including the fortuitous cohabitation of a room no larger than 7ft x12ft for three uninterrupted years- Shiro has recollected an amount of patience that exceeds Fort Knox gold reserves. Being joined-by-the-hip-since putting a foot in the Garrison to that obnoxious son of a bitch has surely made him a patient human.  

Good fucking riddance.

His stomach morosely agrees.

“… For how long Iverson punished him?” He cut off, darting his eyes for the first time to the wall of glass none of them had dared to look through.  

Below them it was situated the gym where freshmen have been pleasantly reunited to endure a self-defense course imparted by no other than Roy Focker, Iverson’s personal cause of hair loss and bane of existence.

“He didn’t specify,” Claudia commented scrutinizing her cuticles, since long-ago desensitized of Roy’s antics. “But between you and me, this time Roy did seriously crossed the line.”

If Claudia thinks that imparting a lecture with a hangover was crossing a line, Shiro wasn’t going to be the one telling her of the time her boyfriend flew the simulator hammered -intoxicated beyond inebriation, honest-to-god shitfacing on the control panel- Besides, that time Roy surpassed a record, shooting down more than five planes.  

“How dare that brute shit pump say that my behavior is unacceptable?!”

“I can't for the life of my grandfather think why not, you were drunk-flying… and insulted his mom.”

“Get off your high horse Shirogane, first! It was just a simulator, and second! I nailed FIVE PLANES!”

“You just said to Iverson and I quote *Fuck off and go back to the Cyclops whore who gave birth to you.*”

“That filth should worship the floor I walk on… and yours too, you are great too, so great.”

“I appreciate the sentiment buddy, but from now on, check with me before you talk.”

“I’m still not sure to whom the punishment really is, to Roy or the poor new cadets.” Claudia inquired nonchalantly.

The following silence dwarfed their concerns the more they entertained the notion.          

“Maybe we should check?” Shiro shrugged his shoulders, palms facing the ceiling, subconsciously imploring to the god of mercy an uneventful afternoon.

“Good idea.”  

Both of them stepped closer to the glass wall with slow caution and dread -not really wanting but having to- peering down to come across Garrison’s first class training facilities, there was indeed a bunch of freshmen gathered around the boxing ring and on top of the platform was the 7’-1” individual called Roy Focker, his height and that hair made him stand out like the big yellow bird thingy from Sesame Street.          

With a sigh that exhaled a sentiment that goes further than dread, Claudia summoned the audio.

“So me, and you and you too, I guess? And everyone! We’re all aware of the importance of healthy eating and adequate exercise and all that crap professor Montgomery wastes ninety minutes of our lives to tell us in that introductory conference, ninety minutes that won’t ever come back, may I add.” A deep confident chuckle boomed through the speakers, even from the distance, Shiro could see how his friend’s blond head shook in exaggerated mock-annoyance.

“Oh, Focker.”

Shiro only nods in agreement with his colleague, running his fingers through his hair, slicking it back with the persistent beads of sweat.

“So to save us all the additional suffering, I will therefore cut the chase, only to say that I’m not addressing this class as self-defense but as self-preservation,” Shiro followed with his eyes how the blond officer kept a languid walk from one corner to the other, trying to make eye contact with as many young faces as possible, cracking a jovial smile here and there. “Up there or wherever, if you are going to be assigned into our atmosphere or fucking space, you gotta have your eyes wide open and your fingers prepared on the trigger! Let me be clear, there is no place for nonsense! You gotta be fast, you gotta be strong and you gotta be smart.”

Leadership 101 from Lieutenant Roy Focker.

“So,…” -Absently he readjust the wireless microphone closer to his lips- “any questions?”  Roy drawls, crossing his arms over his chest.

A cadet with long green hair raised her hand. “Eh… sir?”

The pilot raises his eyebrows. “Yes?”

“What is your name?”

Oh no.

Please don’t.

The wolfish grin was as sharp as a butcher’s knife. “Lieutenant Focker, young lady.”

Aaand he did it.

The silence was sepulchral.

Until –of course- a lanky brunet couldn’t hold his snort any longer and like a collective plague, most of the crowd erupted too.  

"All right, all right." Roy accepts the dig good-naturedly, as if they're all very good friends and this is a very old joke between them.

“Why Iverson does this?” Claudia whispered in consternation.

“… There must be some inner joke somewhere that neither of us understands yet.” He commented while leaning his shoulder against the glass –arms crossed and attention existing solely by morbid curiosity-.

“So let’s start!” Without breaking eye contact with the crowd, Roy tosses his bomber jacket, effortlessly landing it on the nearest post, earning a series of awed looks from his audience. “Any volunteer?” Most of the girls in the crowd considered it endearing –the tousled gold mane, the gleeful spark behind the crystalline ocean colored eyes- how the officer rubbed his hands in glad anticipation, but that boy-charm show didn’t work with Claudia or him, who truly knew the meaning behind the charade. “No one?” It was the eagerness of a predator with a tasty meal about to be served.

“What about… you!” And just like Moses stretched his hand over the Red Sea and by the grace of God a path was opened through the water, the cadets scattered like a halloween patterned parade, enough to expose a tunnel so the chosen victim could cross to the promised land- “Angry little thing over there! Front and center, come into the eye of the storm.” -just like the Israelites.

“He is so predictable.” Despite being Roy’s girlfriend for over two years, it sounds like Claudia still reaches new levels of disbelief.

“Always the eccentric.” He concedes with a lopsided smile.

“He’s an ass.”

Shiro’s silver eyes widened startled at hearing the uncharacteristic spite behind the reproach. He turned his head slightly to the side, to see how her slim figure retreated, the click-clack of her heels echoing down the longue. He was going to follow her and finally eat his wrap, but the commotion below them recaptured his attention.

It seems that angry-little-thing was some crimson hooded cadet that has been keeping his distance from the crowd, from a level above, all Shiro could see was a bloody spot in motion, he couldn’t discern if the indifference transpired by the cadet’s posture was deliberate or not –his intuition told him it was- but he’ll give the kid some credit, he remained imperturbable as he leisurely walked to the wooden stairs, ignoring the whispering crowd and the dubious looks like a pro, always staring ahead, no hesitation, with his hands hidden inside the windrunner pockets, features out of sight.

He is used to the attention.

Unwanted attention.

You only obtain that defiant elusive ease after being the center of attention your whole life.

After struggling with it until you learn how to survive and don’t let it them affect you.  

Again, his intuition whispered at him that it wasn’t a matter of choice.

Survival mechanism.

With an out of character impatience, Shiro stretched out his neck trying to look better, as if the motion could accelerate the kid’s movements, who was currently kicking off his shoes. Silver moonstones narrowed, if Shiro squinted hard enough, he distinguishes what he believes are a pair of customized Jordan basketball Nikes, also scarlet.    

“Claudia, can y—?”

“Already ahead of you.”

With irrational desperation, he darted his gaze to his left, finding Claudia with a remote control on her hand, pointing at the ceiling hidden screen, the monstrosity of seventy inches was still dropping down.  

Come on.

Barefoot and with the red windrunner laying forgotten on the floor, the cadet took the final steps to enter the ring, where Roy has been waiting for him –sarcastic wave and everything-, holding the ropes so he could pass.

The static sound coming from the television caught Shiro’s attention, and after whipping his neck at light speed he was finally finally finally able to see.

The first time ace pilot Takashi Shirogane –galaxy garrison royalty, triumph embedded veins, sun in human limbs- gets to see Keith Kogane, it’s in beautiful high definition.  

With a touch on the screen –how he got so close? when he moved?- the camera feed zoomed at his will.

Long and lithe lethal, the cadet entered the ring with cat-grace and a sinuous silhouette created by the perfect arch of his spinal column, the sight made something catch behind Shiro’s teeth -hot ashes, smoke, flaming scotch- he’ll choke on his own heartbeat.

“Identify yourself, cadet.”

“Keith.”

No salute, no “Sir”, not even a last name.

Discipline issues.

Without the windrunner jacket, the cadet –Keith, the name is Keith- looked exposed, black running tights, loose Garrison black tank top, tousled raven mane, creamy fair skin; the monochromatic outfit adhered to the runner physique like liquid asphalt on an unblemished surface. And Shiro absorbed it all, the tension on the junctions, the rapid reddening of pale-skin-covered shoulder blades, the strain on shoulders and neck, the dig of fingernails into bright red little palms –and God, everything flushes so easy and so pretty- the too controlled breath, Shiro can almost picture the mantra Calm down, can almost hear the cadet telling himself. Calm down. This isn't new.

The mask wasn’t perfect.  

The indifference wasn’t a survival mechanism per se, it was a control barrier.  

This one wasn’t going to quit easy.

Roy quirked an eyebrow in amusement -the back of his knuckles rubbing against the rough stubble at his jaw- oceanic green eyes pondered down the little menace, critically assessing, when his gaze returned to the cadet’s face he let his eyes linger as a languid smile stretches his lips, no trace of annoyance, no insult taken, just pleasure at the entertainment ahead.  

To others, Roy will appear as someone unpredictable, a hot-headed pilot who didn’t think ahead, but Shiro knew him, he knew the extent of his abilities, his strengths and his tactics, and he knew what Roy was doing. He picked up a troublemaker archetype and was planning on making an example with it. Usually Shiro would approve, he’s used the same approach before, but-  

Roy is twenty three and twice Keith’s size.

“So, kids!” The blond officer boomed to the expectant crowd –screaming and certainly spitting at Keith’s face, the angle didn’t permit Shiro to see more than a narrow graced nose and untamed bangs, but he catches how the cadet bit his bottom lip, as if physical pain refrained him- “Don’t be nervous, this is just our first lesson, you’re allowed to commit mistakes and learn from them, as I said before, my course it’s about self-preservation, and in real life, while facing danger in war or the streets, we won’t be carrying with us boxing gloves or anything similar, therefore, we won’t be using them now.” Shiro sees Roy’s hand gestures as he walks again from corner to corner –palms always up- connoting feign surrender, placation, friendliness. “And don’t be afraid, Keith” The saccharine chuckle crumbled the act. “I won’t harm you.” Much.

While popping his neck, Roy’s long legs ate up the space between them quickly, until he was almost hovering over the cadet’s surly aura.

“So, before we begin, any question? Any health condition, any prob—.”

“No problems.” That voice was cut glass, raspy and it was raising a prickle on the back of Shiro’s neck.

“I’m sensing a very expensive lawsuit.”

“Aha.” Shiro affirms, his noncommittal noise paying no mind to Claudia’s I’m-so-done drawl.

“Let me change the—“

“Woa, wha—” Shiro will deny it until the end of times, but an incredibly embarrassing whine –he’s got a puppy in his belly kind of whine- crawled from the bottom of his being, it was so startling that he couldn’t control it. He wasn’t sure if he was more distressed by the noise or the lost signal.

“Relax Shiro, I’m just looking for a better angle, you’ll be staring at temperament issues in no time.”

Those silver moonstones blinked down at her, obviously confused. Claudia could tell the exact moment his thoughts caught up because he started spluttering and looking anywhere but her face.

“What—no! Why would you, I mean I—”

“Shirogane, you are ogling him.” She tried to keep her expression neutral but damn, Shiro was adorable.

“I—I—…no!”

Claudia only scoffed derisively at his indignation and continued searching for another camera feed channel, settling at one showing a different angle, one with full view of Keith’s face.

All he’s been allowed to see so far have been fast glimpses and an elegant profile framed by ebony strands, but it was enough, Shiro knew the guy was attractive, but once his eyes settled on the screen-,

It hasn’t been enough at all.

Youthful symmetrical –angelic quality- features that blend gracefully into a delicate bone structure, high cheekbones, brows, forehead, small, softly featured nose, it has a refined Asian appeal, eyes that defy categorizing –and goddamn, they are violet, scientists have spent obscene amounts of money, for centuries, trying to replicate that color and they’ve never been even close- and-

-that face it’s confidence and defiance perfectly balanced and it probably opens just about any door that Keith wants, doesn't it.

“Pretty.” Claudia comments.  

As if the seventy inches image wasn’t self-explanatory enough.

“You ever boxed before?” Roy inquired while his head tilted back slightly to show that brilliant self-assured white smile.

“Yes.” The monotone voice remained unfazed the exact same moment Roy’s joviality sunk.

“What, like, TRX, CrossFit? ‘Cause that won’t work for you here.” Shiro knew that Roy was probably trying to coax the cadet to open up more, but honestly, it was only making everything worse.

Keith’s frail façade of indifference finally cracks and shows brief annoyance at the statement.

Don’t, be patient, wait.

Your opponent is stronger and more experienced than you, you have to think.

Patience yields focus.

“KICK THAT MULLET’S ASS!”

The cheer not only startled Shiro, but it distracted Keith, who turned his neck by reflex, trying to look for the impatient brunet who had screamed.

And Roy didn’t waste the opening.

“Rule number one, cadet. Never take your eyes off your opponent.”

Keith!

Precise and unforgiving, Roy threw a jab at Keith’s jaw, but it never made contact, with unprecedented speed and keen reflexes, the raven haired cadet rotated his body, using the heels to pivot counter-clockwise –is left-handed?-, allowing Roy’s punch to miss into the space milliseconds ago Keith just occupied, wasting no time, the cadet counter attacked with a jab of his own.  

Roy easily dodge it by taking a step back, the range of Keith’s arm was dwarfed by Roy’s legs.

You’ll never win like that.

His mind was rapidly assessing the fighters’ characteristics, Shiro couldn’t find a scenario were the cadet ended victorious.

There were more than two feet of difference between them.  

Keith was out of his leag-

While taking the step back, Keith distracted Roy with a lead sidekick that landed on the blonde’s stomach, completely caught off guard; Roy instinctively lowers his hands down. At that moment Keith looked up trough long eyelashes and stepped down, body and mind in complete sync with his speed, the raven haired threw a spinning back fist, power coming from the spin.

What the-

Silver eyes stared stupefied the motion, how the back of the pale and tiny fist connected with Roy’s right ear.

With no hesitation mercy and without taking any time to regain his breathing, Keith pivots again, and rotates his body, this time clockwise –ambidextrous then- and like a wrecking ball at the end of a demolition crane, connects his heel with Roy’s solar plexus.

Roy’s gasp intensified the perception of the damage caused, Shiro knew, he knew that amount of pain comes from the spin, from the flawless execution in conjunction with the snap of the knee.

He thinks he hears Roy mutter a curse as he stumbles, the blond tries to stand prepared and block as he sees how Keith pivots again, aiming for his mid-section again, but this time, after the little menace spins, his left temple its hit with another heel, a high kick.

The momentum of the spin, the impeccable alignment of heel, ankle and lower leg channeled a force that if it wasn’t by mere power of will –stubbornness-, Roy would have fallen on his knees.

“Oh my, God! Roy!”

Shiro didn’t hear Claudia’s scream.

His ears don’t hear. His eyes don’t close, neither does his mouth. -Holy shit- He swears, somewhat befuddled, he must have flatlined, but then he finds on the screen those violet eyes and for a moment, they are bright in a liquid, blazing chaotic way that’s so unlike any gemstone in the world, and then he understood the resemblance… -fierceness, a spark, life force- Fire, fire doesn’t have a color, it has a spectrum, and it looks magnificent in violet.  

With a grunt more than a curse, “Mother Focker.” –and aren’t those nice last words before death- Roy threw another punch, a jab thrown while he grounded his body, projecting his force downwards.

Too slow.

Shiro remained completely dumfounded, utterly surprised to the extent that he is unable to keep a rein on his mind. He’s witnessing, close up, effortlessness and lightness combined with speed, determination and precision.

A lion among men.

Fearless, Keith’s knees kick up before he throws his legs on either side of Roy’s body, one high in the torso, the other just in the crease of the knees, providing the raven haired cadet enough leverage on either side of the lieutenant’s body. The two hundred and sixty pounds of muscle mass that is Roy Focker, were disregarded like a piece of paper between two blades of a scissor. Only, instead of slicing paper, Keith was using a combination of potential and kinetic energy to cut through Roy’s center of gravity.

Like a child tossing down a rag doll.

A rag doll of seven feet height and weights two hundred and sixty pounds.

From where comes that goddamned force, it doesn’t make any sense.

v.

For Takashi Shirogane, there are only two types of people in this world, the ones who pour the cereal first and then there is-, no, correction, there is only one type of people in the world, ‘cause those who pour the milk first in the bowl aren’t humans are sickos and shouldn’t be trusted.

He’s never experienced this kind of betrayal in his life.

“What the hell are y—I mean what are you—”

“Hmm?” A bit perplexed by Shiro’s tone, Keith stares up through his eyelashes with curiosity, still pouring the Honey Nut Cheerios into the bowl with milk, as if it has been poured previously.  

As if he’d poured the milk first.

He. poured. the. milk. fisrt!

“… Shiro?” Was all the younger fighter pilot said, but what he truly meant was “Why are you looking at me like your flesh it’s gonna melt off your face?”

“Why you poured the milk first?” He whispered, he couldn’t raise his voice, all his air has been knocked out of his system.

Maybe it was all a misunderstanding, maybe it’s not what it looks like, right? Maybe it was a onetime thing. Maybe Keith wasn’t conscious of what he was doing.

It wasn't denial as long as there was still hope.

“What?” In other circumstances, Shiro would be endeared, the tilt of the head, the big almond eyes, the lazy morning look with the messy topknot, like he's got no goddamn idea how he looks like that, all relaxed lean lines and soft features, in other circumstances. At the moment, the atrocious crime overwhelmed his partner’s beauty.

“Baby, you put the cereal first, it's just against the laws of nature to do it any other way, the milk its liquid, it will find its way into the empty spaces via capillary action, you won’t want soggy cereal; adding the milk last lessens the time the cereal is in contact with it, thus preserving the crunchiness longer. It is just common sense that the cereal element should exist in the bowl first. Don’t you— Keith?—Where—Keith?!”

“It’s too early for your nonsense, Takashi!”

You look like an angel

Walk like an angel

Talk like an angel

But I got wise

You're the devil in disguise

Oh, yes, you are

The devil in disguise

As the luminescent lavender glow died down, while all masked Galrans were focusing their attention on the red paladin of Voltron and the implications of what they’ve just witnessed.

With the tiniest voice muttered in his life, with silver eyes emptily staring at his shoes.

Shiro mumbled. “Oh.”

end.

A/N: alternative title #1: Takashi, honey, all the signs were there.

        alternative title #2: How many shieth drabbles I can write while listening Presley's songs.