#damn wish I had the skills… alas this one is not in my skill set :(

[bleue-flora]

[context] @tanzenlicht

And see now I feel like someone needs to make the ultimate Dream apologist video where it’s like a mix of him building his ‘Evil Lair’ and saying “woof” and being all sad in prison in between very serious lore moments like Doomsday and Disc Confrontation. You know what I mean? Like mix it up so it’s the wholesome clip of him building Tubbo’s house then his “I wanna see white flags!”. Like it’d be so funny and I feel like there’s no way you take him seriously after that ya know. It could be the best conversion video ever because Dream’s just picking a rose one minute then next oh it’s him in the cell getting attacked by Tommy and Tubbo with his plants in the background. Or him making Tommy drop his items in a hole then the scene of Dream doing the same and getting killed followed by the clip of Quackity throwing all the torture axes on the ground. One minute it could be Sapnap and Dream building the community house then the next it’s Sapnap trying to kill him or threatening to in prison….. Oh it could be sooo good like the coolest and also more unhinged complication…

**update: because I keep seeing reblogs of y'all wanting someone to make this - I wanted to let you know, after some thought and tests I figured out how to do it and have actually taken up the task 🫡 so feel free to check the tag #ultimate c!dream apologist video for some sneak peaks and stuff :)**

[yamanaka-shin]

Calling

@kankuroplease  here it is, the fic in its entirety. The other two parts will be taken down soon now that the whole thing is up. Please, please forgive me for being the most late weasel in the world. Life has gotten in my way at every turn for the whole year so far. Hopefully the rest of this fic you have not read yet, like the other sections you have, will spark joy.

Her recollection of the day when he graduated from assistant teacher to full fledged official Sensei is a fond one. When Shino had first stepped up to Iruka and announced that he would like to teach students at the Academy, of course the older man had been equal parts surprised and overjoyed. Katsura herself was told she should have been even more surprised but to her she knew it was something her beloved husband would be perfectly suited for. He was not the most boisterous man in the village nor was he what one would call a social butterfly but he had a way with kids that was incredibly supportive and a desire to guide any and all of those who needed it the most. Really, if you asked her why she wasn't supremely shocked that her socially reserved and introspective husband had chosen teaching as his calling, Aburame Katsura would simply think you insane. Out of his entire class he was the most suited for this line of work and she was very reassured of that fact.

Now that he had actually passed that threshold from helper to leader, the day had come that would assign him a class of his own. From all of his time helping out Iruka and Anko and all of the other senior teaching staff at the Academy he damn sure knew most of what it was like to be the one imparting knowledge and life skills upon the incoming generations of Konoha's future Shinobi. However, he was also well aware that there would be challenges unique to being the actual primary instructor of a set class. Challenges that might wring him dry at times and have him seeking aid and advice from those with more experience as him. Though she herself had put her ninja career in the past, Katsura was committed to helping her husband all she could as well with anything he might ask for her input in. Teaching wasn't her forte. But leaving her love to flounder when faced a daunting task was unthinkable, especially when he wanted her input before or in addition to that of his seniors.

Her train of thought carried on as she put away the remnants of the day's breakfast and her husband was busy getting into his chosen uniform for his new career choice. Shigeki was most likely in his room doing his own thing but the twins were still seated at the table whispering between themselves. When she finally brought herself out of that frame of mind, she stepped over to where Shino had been adjusting his eccentric new eyewear in the mirror so that she may get a good extra look at it too. Sure it was a little odd as a choice for his line of work but it had its practical functions and he'd replace it with a more casual set of shades when he came home every day so it didn't seem like the most questionable choice in the world. His small smile as soon as he got the setting just right reassured her that he was happy with his decision to sport the visor and that's really all she needed to adopt pleased contentment as well. Besides, with his smooth new green jacket accented with insect brooches *and* the new way he wore his hair, Katsura thought he was a damn handsome sight indeed.

"What sort of hellions do you think you'll be working with for your first class?" She pipes up, a little amusement in her voice. It's no secret that she wishes she could be a fly on the wall for his first few days just to see how it would all go down, but alas she had other obligations of her own.

He keeps himself firm and steady so as not to look like he's worried a single bit about what he may face going into work that day. "I've looked over the roster sheet of enrolled students for this year and I don't think any of them will give me any trouble." There's a small pause for a moment and his finishing sentence is just a hair quieter. "But I won't rule out troublemakers."

"You're probably right." She puts one finger to her chin in thought. "It's not like this batch will contain the likes of the Hokage's rowdy son or his cohorts. That's still a few years off."

A minute shiver passes through Shino at the mere thought of that day coming to pass, but he puts on a brave face so as not to look like a coward. "I'm sure when it comes time for Boruto to enter my classroom I will be well prepared to cope with him. This is because by then I'll have had a few years to figure out my student handling style."

"Also because you'll have Anko Sensei to run to in the case he and his friend group give you the runaround." Katsura smirks just a little, a devious look in her eyes, as she pokes fun at her spouse.

"Yes, yes, of course." Shino adjusts his visor on his face as if he were pushing up glasses. A leftover nervous habit. "But I am hoping it won't come to that."

The two of them are so enraptured in their own little world that when Niwa comes up to them with something held up to them in her hand, Katsura is almost embarrassed at her lack of spacial awareness. It seems her beloved five year old had some sort of insect cradled carefully in her small but capable hands. Whatever it was at a cursory glance, centipede or millipede she assumed because of how many legs it possessed, it seemed that her child was somehow proud of its capture. And it wasn't until her little voice spoke up that reality would set in.

"I found him, mom."

"Found who, baby?"

"Tomo. He got out of his cage."

Tomo. That name sounded awfully familiar. But why? She wracked her brain, cursing the affectionate haze that has settled in from her teasing of her husband, until it hit her hard. Tomo was the name of Niwa's favorite pet. A long and hardy centipede they had captured on a bug hunting expedition a year and a half back. But did she say it had gotten out of its cage? Just a little panic had settled into her ribcage as the concept of an escaped pet bug was usually cause for alarm in most people. Thankfully she reigned on her panic quickly with reassurance that this was the safest place for such an incident AND because the creature had, indeed, already been found. She sighs heavily through her nose and runs one hand through her hair in resignment that she'll have to fix the enclosure and thus be late to work that morning. Which also meant not properly seeing her husband off as he went to his first day in his new position as well.

"Dammit." She sighs again, under her breath in hopes the impressionable child will not hear such a naughty word. "Okay, okay. We need to go check out how he got loose so it won't happen again. We can't have him get lost or hurt."

Katsura bends down to pick up her daughter, careful not to jostle the additional passenger she is still carrying, and then turns to Shino once more. He seems to comprehend the gravity of the situation without uttering a word and she's grateful for his power of perception. Still, she feels guilty even though this is no one's fault, and he can probably pick up on that too. So to reassure her just a little that he's not even remotely upset he leans down to press a kiss to her cheek and then moves to give one to the top of Niwa's head as well. At this, the quietly proud child offers up her beloved bug friend to her father and Shino obliges with a featherlight kiss to the cherished beast, not enough to disturb or harm it. It makes Niwa very happy, she dons a smile to show it, and that reminds both of her parents that this one misstep isn't the end of the world.

"What are the plans for today? I'm sorry I have not had time to go over them with you again yet." He apologizes with a genuine tone and hopes his wife will forgive him.

Katsura isn't th least but mad and makes sure her response reflects as such. "I was going to drop the twins off with Aori for the day but I think now I'm going to see if Shibi and Kin can take them. Shigeki is coming with me to work, he asked yesterday and I told him it would be okay."

"I'm sure my parents would love to have the two as company today." He nods, hopeful that the elder Aburames will indeed enjoy spending time with two of their grandkids. "In the case that they are busy, please tell Aori that I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it, I had already asked her a week ago if she could watch them so she was aware this was going to happen. If anything I'll have to apologize for robbing her of time with her niblings."

It must have slipped his mind in the commotion that his wife had already asked her sister in advance to take Niwa and Yasuo. He breathes an invisible sigh of relief and allows his brain to jump to the next subject. "I will call you immediately if anything goes terribly awry on my first day."

She's very aware that this is his attempt to resume teasing her and it does her heart good to see that he's still in such good spirits. "And I promise to rush right over and bail you out when the 11 year olds have you at their mercy."

Husband and wife share a little chuckle and then lean into each other for a proper kiss. Niwa makes sure to cup Tomo protectively in her hands, wary of anything t happening to disturb their precious companion animal, but says nothing in protest. She's just content to know the beloved pet is located and safe and that his enclosure will be fixed so he doesn't escape again. Shino then backs up a couple of paces, looks one more time into the mirror, and squares his shoulders. It's time to get going now and pray that he has an excellent first day as leader of the pack. Iruka Sensei is counting on him to do a great job and he refuses to let the man down. Especially when down the line he will face much greater teaching challenges and he has to be up for said challenges. It would never do to look incompetent in front of the man who taught the class full of the greatest troublemakers of recent memory.

"I know you'll do great today, this is something you're meant to do." Katsura makes sure to speak in a way that eliminates all doubt in his head.

"Yes, I believe this will go well." He echoes to her. "I will give you the full report on how it went when I am home this evening."

"And I cannot wait to hear it. Good luck, beloved."

"Thank you."

And with that he makes for the door. She watches him go and stands for several moments in silence, no particular thoughts coming to mind, before coming back down to earth and assessing her next course of action. Niwa is still in her arms and the matter of Tomo's cage situation has got to be addressed now. The blue haired woman casts her gaze over to where Yasuo still sits at the table and it seems to beckon him to her side just then. She sets the child she's carrying down gently on the floor and takes a deep breath. "Let's go see just how that crafty little critter got out now, shall we?"

Both of her children nod in tandem and take the lead to bring her into their room. As she walks, she allows herself to idly think. One day it will be her eldest son Shigeki that is going to his first day at the Academy with his father, and then it will be the twins too. She will watch her brood grow up and graduate and become everything they want to be in life, no matter if it's the path of the Shinobi or anything else they could desire. That day was yet far away but it wouldn't be far forever. Today she was bringing Shigeki to work with her but soon enough he would be going with his dad instead. Off to learn how to walk on walls and throw kunai. As she walks past his room and catches a glimpse of him watching a favorite show on the tv, she is grateful that both he and his siblings have their whole lives safely and happily ahead of them.

~~~~~~

That first year feels almost like a dream in the way it passes without a hitch. A full class of promising students and every single one makes it through their course and then through graduation effortlessly. Shino is a proud man, both in his now former students and in himself as a teacher, and carries the confidence it brings him into the next school year. His hopes remain high from when he is given the class list all the way through to when he meets the new entrants into his Academy classroom. But the first major snag in his path sets in a few weeks into the current semester and it comes in the form of one lone young man who seems to struggle intensely with all of the more "boring" technical learning: Yuino Iwabe. For the first time in his hopefully lifelong career as a Sensei at Konoha's ninja academy, Aburame Shino has no idea how to navigate these troubled waters. This cannot be what breaks him, he's determined not to break just as much as he's determined to help every student who passes through his class.

At first it had seemed like nothing was the matter. He understands that it will take some children more time to settle in and get the hang of the lessons as well as the classroom setting than others. No matter if a child was from a large and well known clan or a civilian family, he had made it clear that he wanted to make sure each and every one he took under his wing would be guided and cared for and given the chance to pursue all dreams and aspirations they held. So as he monitored the students during the adjustment period, hopes remained high as nothing out of the ordinary seemed to be taking place. Until a couple of solid weeks learning nothing but hand signs and tracking strategy out of books began to take its toll on some of the more restless individuals. Obviously not every kid learned best through reading and he sympathized with the plights of those not as suited to it as the others. But this was simply just as important to impart on them as any practical display of weapon throwing or sparring.

Slowly he manages to find ways to help his less book inclined students properly learn the material and one by one it's layers of stress that melts away. Until there is but one individual young man left that seems to be unable to find a style that works for him. And the more things Shino tries in order to make the lessons easier for Iwabe, the more the boy seems to get irritated. There comes a point where all communication from Iwabe stops and he becomes a silent, glowering presence in the middle of the classroom though thankfully the other two kids sharing the seating row with him are not scared away from their spots. He doesn't make an attempt to talk to them either, meaning bare minimum that a physical altercation is unlikely to break out, but Shino is very aware that that may not always be the case. All he can do is keep his hopes up and try to make the material digestible for his standout pupil.

At home, it is clear to his family that he's stressed out by the stalemate. The first to try and  offer forward reassurance is Shigeki. He approaches his father, not entirely up to date on the situation at hand but willing to help anyway. "Dad, can I come sit in on a class with you?"

Shino had just removed his visor for the day and hadn't even had time to slide on a pair of shades to replace them when he looks down at his son. Dark green eyes look up with conviction and all the man can do is let out a sigh. He hates telling the boy no, but this time his hands are tied. "I'm sorry, but right now that wouldn't be for the best. If I can manage to figure out a way through my current blockade then I will make a request of Iruka Sensei to allow you to join us as a spectator."

Shigeki crosses his arms and huffs indignantly. "But this is exactly why I want to go with you. Maybe I can figure out something when you can't."

"I said no, I'm sorry." Having to be that firm makes him feel like an asshole but it's necessary. "This is something I have to handle on my own. If I need assistance, I have to go see either Anko or Iruka."

"Tell me why I can't go and help. I know you say you gotta do it yourself, but i wanna know why."

The boy is stubborn and brazen and if it were any other time Shino might openly praise him for being so forward. But the way the boy seems to be attempting to grill him makes the man feel like the metaphorical floor under his feet is crumbling just a little. Explaining the details of this matter to a child was not something he was equipped for in the spur of the moment. Sure he spent all day teaching kids...but they were a little older than Shigeki and at the end of every day all of them went home to their actual families who taught them everything Shino wasn't required to. So really, the lessons he brought to the table were very situational and thus he felt like his role as a teacher of children wasn't as well rounded as it looked on paper. Fatherhood should have prepared him for this better! Or maybe it did and he was just hitting a horrible low point. Frustration and doubt welled up more and more in his chest as he thought about it and it truly was like hitting a brick wall. So much so that he, without realizing it, clammed up and became stiff like a statue. It was the concerned grab of his sleeve by his son that snapped him out of his spiral and he could not apologize deeply enough for that show of behavior.

"I just want to help. Please? You always act like you're so stressed and it's making everyone worry."

Shino takes a deep breath in and out before he opens his mouth again. He places one hand on his son's shoulder and makes sure not to sound upset with the boy. "I know you want to make it easier for me and I really appreciate that. But right now, I don't even know what I could ask for from you that would clear up what's wrong. I don't know the actual problem and not knowing is making it worse."

The defeated but benign sigh that comes from the nine year old then signals a now mutual feeling of uncertainty. "I wish I knew how to figure it out for you."

He pulls Shigeki gently to him and the boy hugs his father from the side. "I do too. I would give anything for us to be able to brainstorm a way to get through this together."

Taking the conversation to heart, he tries to go about his days from then on with the mindset that no matter what, he will find a way to solve this problem. It is not the fault of his student that the material isn't sinking in as it should. Shino could half fondly recall the days when he was just a student and one of his own classmates struggled in a similar matter. Back then, Naruto was considered the most difficult child that Iruka had ever had to instruct. But the older man simply chose not to give in or give up on the boy no matter what challenges presented themselves to him. And little by little he could see all of his efforts paying off as Naruto made more friends and eventually graduated to be placed on what would become the strongest four man squad in the history of the Leaf. All things were possible when you put all of your best effort into it. A student was not a lost cause just because they couldn't absorb what was being taught to them the same way others could. Even if it meant that Iwabe would repeat the class over again next year...Shino was not going to give up. Like his entire roster last year, now graduated into full fledged Genin, he would make sure this boy had his time too. Maybe it was a bad fit, the group he had been placed into, or maybe it was something else. He'd figure it out one way or another.

The rest of the year passed fairly uneventfully and will it came the graduation exam for all of his students. Shino kept his hopes high for every single person he had had the honor of instructing over the months though he would not fault a single one of them in the case that they were unable to make it to Genin status. And as expected, unfortunately, the only one who did not cross that line was Iwabe. The written portion of the test had stopped the boy in his tracks and saw to it that he never was able to reach the practical skills section. It was an extra heap of salt onto the wound because Shino knew damn well that Iwabe would have aced the second half of the test. He was far ahead of at least half his classmates in his abilities and showed zero fear or hesitation when he needed to use them. The kid would have made an excellent Genin and eventually more, but this was just not his year. The proud but still upset Sensei went home that evening doing his best not to let his sense of doubt overwhelm him once more.

The one who was there to greet him first was of course Shigeki. His first son knew what today was and had hopes just as high as his father to hear good news when Shino made his return. But the look on Shino's face told Shigeki all he needed to know and the two shared a deep sigh in tandem. Without another word, they both went to the table to sit where Katsura and the twins had also been waiting. She first looked at her oldest for confirmation and did not find the upbeat reaction she had been hoping for before turning to her husband and seeing much of the same. It out a bit of a frown on her own face but she did not want to let the day's defeat drag the entire household into a stormy atmosphere.

"Don't worry about the first pitfall, dear." She tries to sound as resolute as she can and hopes it will be infectious. "Not every child is going to wce every class the first time. He's not the first to be held back a year."

"What happens if it's the same next year? Or beyond that? It's hard enough to watch everyone you got to know move on without you once, I don't want to know what it will be like repeatedly. That's not fair to him."

Katsura takes a moment to think on how her love worded that last statement. Putting his students first always, not even once thinking about how it will reflect on him as their Sensei. Now wasn't the time to become even more endeared to her spouse but part of her just could not help it. Though, she managed to control that rising feeling before she spoke, not wanting him to think she's making light of his plight. "Maybe that group just wasn't the right fit. Next year is a new year with new kids and new course material. I'm confident you will make it work no matter what."

"And if I can't again?"

"Then you will figure out a better approach the third pass. Even if it gets harder each time, you never give up on kids."

This pep talk he had been given just then was able to lift his spirits just enough even if some form of doubt still lingered in the back of his mind. His beloved was right, the world wasn't ending just because there was one left behind. It was his duty and his honor as a Sensei to do right by every child who came into his classroom even if some required more unique handling than others. And this was only his second ever class. Surely there would be further instances of kids who needed more from him than the average entrant and he had to make sure he was ready for it. Being faced so early in his career with someone fitting that bill just meant his brain has to work a little harder than usual. A good way to keep sharp and not get complacent or lazy, that's what this was. Next year he would come back with fresh eyes and make sure every young person who came into his care would receive the proper training and attention they needed.

With that creeping fear finally put to bed, he turns his attention to where Niwa and Yasuo are talking between themselves. Maybe he's just a little suspicious that he cannot actually hear what they're saying. "And what did the two of you do today?"

Niwa is the first to turn to her father with a curiously interested look in her eyes. "Mom took us to see Okami today. We wanted to meet the new puppy."

"Oh I cannot believe I've forgotten about that. What is their name?"

"Akemaru. He's red and looks a lot like his dad."

Shino turns to Katsura for a moment when he hears her laugh just a bit. His eyebrow raises in an attempt to wordlessly ask her what she finds so humorous. "I just think it's amusing that the actual red dog wasn't given the prefix that means Red. Especially when father and son look so much alike save for their coat color."

"Ake means scarlet! He still has a fitting name." Shigeki pipes up, proud of himself for correcting his mother. She can't scold him if he's right, after all.

But she doesn't seem fazed in the slightest. "I know that Akamaru has his fur turn red when he's hopped up on those soldier pills, but he's usually white. And then he goes and has a pup with naturally red fur. It's just a little ironic is all."

Yasuo, not swayed by the current talk of colors and names, finally interjects with a subject of his own. "Did you know Akamaru has fleas?"

This gets Katsura to sober up immediately. "And how did you find this out, sweetie?"

The boy brings up a glass jar onto the table and sets it down with an accomplished look on his face. "I caught some of them."

Immediately, Katsura slaps a palm to her face and groans. "I leave them alone with the dogs for five minutes and somehow manage to miss my children picking parasites off Kiba's companion. Incredible." She's not mad, not by a long shot. In fact she probably would have been praising both of them for their good eyes if she had known about this hours ago. But right now, she thinks it's time for the two of them to hop in the bath to make sure they haven't brought any "friends" home that aren't in jars. "Okay, okay, we can talk about this later. I'll put these guys in your room where you can keep them safe. But right now I'm going to run some water so you can hop in it and make sure you haven't picked up any of the dog's fleas too."

Neither of them go to protest, very aware that mom's word is final and it's probably a good idea even if it's not going to be fun. Shigeki gets a quick laugh in at his siblings even though he's gotten into plenty of nonsense himself in the past. Katsura takes the jar from Yasuo and carries it gently so the glass doesn't break and the fleas aren't terribly rattled as she shepards the twins out of the kitchen and into the bathroom. Shino watches this flurry of activity without saying a word, simply impressed by the way his wife manages to get control of any situation no matter what, happy for the distraction after the stress of the day. It's then that Shigeki grabs something off the counter and sets it in front of the two of them.

"Mom made you something today after she got home. There's no fleas in it, I promise."

Shino examines the cake with a picture of a large beetle made out of frosting iced onto it. He's never been one for overly sweet things, but from time to time he will indulge just a little. Katsura's consideration for him means that the treat will not overwhelm his senses but it will still appeal to the children as well. It brings a smile to his face and before he can even make a request his son brings over a plate and silverware. Even though it's been a day, he still has his family through all of it and they have made everything feel a lot better. As he cuts into the cake and puts a piece on his plate he cannot thank them enough for being the center of his life.

~~~~~~

The form the next challenge takes is much more complicated and delicate than the last and it requires Shino Sensei to really put his brain to work in solving or at the very least redirecting it. A child from one of the newer clans to the village is placed in his class roster that year, a friendly but nervous girl named Onikuma Enko, and at first everything seems like it'll be a breeze. He's not a stranger to the various hallmarks of the village's numerous clans and he knows the Onikuma have a peculiar but very powerful family technique. It's not something he's an expert on but he had made sure to do some extra reading up on it the moment he had seen her name announced on his class list for the current year. From the available information, he was able to gather a list of what to expect from having such a student in his classroom. However...research and facing a physical reality would soon prove to be be widely different things. As much as one might think themselves prepared for anything, there's always an exception to the rule and it's just his luck that he seems to have found one. Maybe that was just his lot in life; to be handed all sorts of eccentric students who would challenge his abilities to connect effectively with them.

Half of the problem in this case proves to be that some of this year's kids seem to like to whisper amongst each other about some of their other classmates or school mates. More than once he had to break up a circle of boys saying unkind things about someone else from the next classroom over. Nipping that behavior in the bud was essential if he wanted to maintain harmony and foster bonds between the kids he and the other adults were teaching. Allowing harmful gossip about or isolation of even one child was simply unthinkable. So after that particular incident, Shino did his best to keep vigilant both visually and audibly to assure that there would be no more occasions of such meanspirited behavior. Though he was also well aware that as one human being he couldn't catch every issue ever and just had to hope nothing major would escape his notice. Besides, he tried to make it well known that any of his students could come to him at any time if they were having any sort of difficulty. What he missed hopefully they would come to him with. No plan was perfect but this was as good as possible.

What he didn't anticipate, however, was that not all of the children attending his class had a home life that was ideal for them. And he kicked himself internally for it as soon as he became aware of such an egregious oversight. The day has begun when all of his students were filing into the room that morning roughly 10 minutes before the class was to begin, another point of pride from him that they would show up early to his lessons. But he became acutely aware that something was quite amiss with Enko when he heard not one peep from her while bidding good morning to everyone. Though a little nervous, she like everyone else would always happily return his greeting and face the day's teachings with bright and curious eyes. It was as if there was a personal storm cloud hanging over her head all morning and he did not like it a single bit. Once class was done for the day, he made it a plan to gently pull her aside and see what was wrong.

Only...they did not even make it to that point. There must have been some sort of incident between her and one of the other kids in the building during intermission because what before was reservation and silence swiftly turned into anxiety and then panic the moment she walked back into his classroom. All of her classmates seemed to pick up on this and, instead of inquiring what was wrong, made a point to keep quite a distance from her. To his knowledge they did not know the depths of what her clan was known for but it wasn't impossible that they had educated themselves outside of class. Though, even with that information, they should have known damn well the girl was no threat to anyone. He'd never seen her use her innate powers to cause harm or even threaten another person. So what the hell was going on?

Shino got up from where he had been sitting, trying to calmly approach all of the kids together to address what he was seeing, but it must have been the wrong move. "Please, don't come near me." It was the first thing she had said to him all day. And as she spoke, he could see she had her fingernails dug into the wood of the seating area nearly hard enough to make her fingers bleed. Alarm bells went off in his head like never before.

"Please tell me what happened, I would like to help you no matter what it might be." He uses his most gentle tone of voice possible because he would never want her or anyone to think they're in trouble while visibly distressed.

"She flipped out on someone who said something to her in the hall. It was really freakin' weird." Another student chimes in, his tone not one Shino liked.

"I'm sure there's a very good explanation for this. That is because I know each of my students and I know none of you would lash out unless in self defense."

None of his words seem to be getting through to her, instead it may have made the situation worse. He can feel a strange pulse of chakra ripple through the girl and the switch that flips soon after is like night and day. One moment there is an average and well behaved kid in front of him and the next she's something one could only describe as feral. This has to be what the literature was talking about...how the clan had a very peculiar family jutsu, a sort of summoning that acted more like a bodily possession than a calling forth of something separate. All he knew now was that one of the most polite children he'd been assigned to instruct this year was growling at him, partially transformed into a version of herself he could not have thought possible, looking ready to attack. Whatever was up didn't look to be under her control. Before he could even utter another sound, he released a swarm of his insects from within one sleeve as a defense mechanism and directed them to form a wall between Enko and the other kids.

"What do I do now?" He mutters to himself, not wantiyto jump the gun and risk causing harm to someone not maliciously in control. Shino has had plenty of cases in the past where he had to think on his feet but never before was it something like this.

As he tries to think of a course of action, the possessed Onikuma girl leaps from where he had been in the seating area and lands a few feet in front of him. One swipe from her now unnaturally long arms (that came with some dangerous claws, to boot) nearly got him before he jumped away at the last second. More of his insects flew out from his other sleeve in an effort to put space between her and him. Being backed into a corner by an out of control 11 year old was not something he ever thought could happen. But here he was, losing ground to her because he didn't want to harm her, rattling his brain for what he could do to end this crisis. Until another voice spoke up fairly loudly from the doorway. Whoever it was, the wall of bugs obscured them from his sight and he was too preoccupied to try and place the voice so he just had to trust that they were there to help.

"Earth Style: Stone Brick!" It was the voice of a young man. He slammed the staff he was carrying on the floor of the classroom and the tiles began to rip up so that the earth below could gather around his long weapon. Once it has changed the pole into a hammer, he raised the thing above his head and brought it down even harder on th ground, shouting a follow up command. "Earth Style: Gravel!"

A cocoon of dirt and stones began to snake its way from the ground upwards towards Enko. Unable to move away in time, the material had her firmly ensnared from all sides up to her chest and upper arms. Being unable to move or get out of the rocky wrap meant that the danger was curbed and Shino now had a second to breathe and make a new plan. His visor obscured gaze traveled to the one who has come to his aid and he found last year's repeater standing there still with his temporary hammer still touching the ground. Iwabe must have noticed somehow that Shino's eyes were on him but he made no move to speak or get up. It was almost unbelievable how fearless and ready to roll the young man was in this situation. Sure he was late to returning after intermission, but that was no real crime. Especially when he hadn't even needed to be asked to jump in like this.

Without even asking to come in, another Sensei darted into the room on the heels of the crisis, most likely having heard all of the commotion and needing to check to see what all the fuss was about. Kamizuki Izumo, another long time superior to Shino just like Anko, and fellow teacher had come as backup. He seemed out of breath just a little but took no time in shouting to ask what was going on. Shino had to tell him firmly not to yell because that was only going to make it worse and no one needed to feel like they were in trouble even if he himself had been a moment ago. Izumo looked from Shino to Iwabe and finally to Enko, drinking in the visuals of what had transpired, and felt like he had just entered into a foreign land. This was not the usual setting one would find in an Academy classroom. But this *was* Konoha so he knew better than to expect predictable sights.

"What are you going to do about that?" He tilts his head towards the still growling Enko and then to the ripped up floor. "And that."

Shino takes the deepest breath of his life and tries to be a professional as well as a good guardian. "I don't know, but I'm going to figure something out. I have to."

"I saw what happened with the other kid." To their shock, the words come from Iwabe. "Some other punk was giving her hell because they saw her cower when her dad yelled at her in front of everyone this morning."

All the facts began to line up in Shino's head and he could not paint a clearer picture in his head of what domino effect lead to the current scene. Onikuma Tora was not an agreeable man. He had spoken to him but once before the school year began and found a distaste for the way he regarded everyone else around him. But not once did Shino think he could have been a horrible or even abusive father. One who sent his daughter, unprepared to handle her own skills, to the Academy like he was dumping off a problem he didn't have time for. The blood in the Aburame man's veins began to boil just at the thought of such disregard and cruelty directed at a child, let alone one's own. Izumo had to bring Shino back to reality with a hand wave because the man has gotten so wrapped up in his irritation at such behavior that he was brought out of the present for a hot minute.

"Thank you very much for your assistance, Mr. Yuino. I appreciate it more than I can express." Shino does his best to convey genuine thanks to the young man despite his anger. But, as expected, Iwabe simply huffs and says nothing back to him. Another day, then. Another day. So he turns back to the problem at hand and speaks so that Izumo can clearly hear him. "I don't want to hurt her and make it any worse. Is there a chance this will revert by itself if left alone for some time?"

"Hmm." The older man pauses. "I couldn't tell you. But it's a possibility, I guess."

"If there is no progress in 15 minutes...I will have to make some calls." Then he turns to his students. "Please clear out of the room. We need to let her calm down and relax. Go home early today, we'll pick up the rest of the lesson another time."

That's all they need to hear. Half the class says nothing, nodding quickly, before clearing out. The other half lingers a moment until Izumo gives them his most stern look and they follow their fellows out of the room. Now it is just the four of them left, Iwabe staying behind because he's always been more stubborn than his peers and Shino doesn't want to widen the rift between them even more. Besides...he owes the boy greatly for this help. Though it wrecked his classroom floor, tiles could be replaced while human lives could not. It's a small price to pay for a peaceful resolution. But Izumo knows he has to get back to his own class now and hesitantly bids farewell to Shino and his students, hopeful that all will go back to normal without more fuss. Shino watches him trot out the door the way he came and lets out a sigh.

Thankfully the best case scenario wins out and she does manage to calm down and come back to herself after some peace and quiet and reassurance is offered. He knows that this isn't over, not by a long shot, but it's a damn good start. Tora will be hearing a lot from him in the coming days as he makes it clear that no child passing through his class should be made to feel like shit at home. As a teacher but more importantly as a father, Shino is beyond livid that this could happen to a child. He hopes deeply that it will be the first and only time when something like this happens. And when Enko is back to being herself, Iwabe makes his own exit. He likes to act tough and aloof most of the time but Shino knows he's a deeply passionate and caring person. It will still take time to connect with him and help him get through the lessons but he's confident that the boy will indeed go far in life. And that whoever he considers important to him is lucky to have someone like him around.

The half destroyed floor is a problem for the Shino Sensei of tomorrow. Iruka may have a cow over it but he'll understand too once all is explained artfully. Right now Shino just wants to go home to his wife and children and let the emotional highs of the day finally flow out of his body. If he doesn't, he may just go over to the Onikuma clan compound and have a few nasty words with that bastard Tora. Katsura would surely support him but she would also rather he come home and unwind first before unleashing the fury of a thousand hornets on the most pathetic parent alive. She is, luckily for him, the first one to greet him as he tromps though he door and she can already tell he's had one hell of a day. Shigeki makes sure to scurry out of the room, dragging his siblings with him, as soon as he catches wind of the mood his father is in. Of course he'd never take it out on the kids. But the boy knows the value of personal space too. And right now, his father needs just that. Well...that and to vent to his beloved.

It turns into an all evening affair, getting the frustration out in full, but sometimes life is simply like that. Shigeki makes an appearance once more in the kitchen while his parents sit and talk in order to filch a couple of muffins his mother has baked earlier to try out a new flavor. Shino makes sure to give him a reassuring half smile when the boy sneaks past and gets one even brighter in return. Katsura watches her boys wordlessly communicate with each other and thanks the stars that neither have ever thought it appropriate to take their stresses out on each other even by accident. Their home is perfect for them and even the down times pass without further incident. Once the boy is out of the room, she presses a kiss to the side of her husband's head while she stands next to him. He, as not one to be outdone, swivels in place and gingerly pulls her down for a proper kiss. The playful smile that snakes its way onto her face while their lips are pressed against each other tells him that maybe the ending he needs right now is for their eyes only.

"Come with me, I'll show you a better place to channel all your energy right now." She's just direct enough to get his engine running.

"This is the only outlet I will ever need in my life."

The two make a beeline for their room then, a trail marked by giggles from her and the sound of feet on nice hard wood. Wood that was thankfully still very much intact. Shigeki pretends not to hear the way his parents are fawning over each other before they make it into their sanctuary, too busy enjoying his baked goods. At least whatever was plaguing his dad tonight will not haunt him into tomorrow.

~~~~~~

To say that he had been dreading this year and what it would bring wasn't quite correct, but Shino certainly did have his reservations about what chaos the newest batch of students to his classroom would bring. From the moment his wife had handed him the sheet containing the names of who would be his responsibility that year he knew it was going to be one hell of an experience. Katsura seemed to know before he did that something about this year would be special and so she was all too quick to take the paper from Iruka in order to confirm her hunch. It only took but a moment of visually scanning the contents of the page for her suspicions to gain merit. Shino felt his stomach drop just for a moment while watching his wife vet his next class roster, knowing that if she was looking it over before his eyes could even grace the page that something fishy was going on. When she finally lowered the paper from in front of her face, revealing raised brows and an implacable expression before she slid the sheet into his hands, he prepared himself for devastation. He chanced a look at the column of names and one after another the bombs hit him...until he reached the bottom and there it was. Uzumaki Boruto. The Hokage's oldest.

"Good luck my love, I will keep you in my thoughts every day." She teased, making sure to fill her voice with half-faux pity. It was all in good fun but damn the acting was convincing. So convincing that he actually considered asking for her prayers for real.

It had completely escaped his mind for a hot minute that this would *also* be the year that Shigeki would be starting, and the remembrance of such was a welcome shift for his outlook. When that fact had time to set in, giving him that much needed renewed sense of hope, it occurred to him that Iruka hadn't placed his son in his class. Meaning that another of the Senseis would be the one with the honor of teaching Aburame Shigeki the most important parts of being a Shinobi. The fact that Shino would not be his son's first Sensei didn't particularly surprise him even if it was a bit of a letdown, really he was more surprised that he dropped Shigeki's Academy entry from his mind just at the mere thought of having to wrangle Boruto on the daily. Boruto, and whoever else decided to flock to him because charisma ran in that family like horses on a track.

"And good luck to you, my little grub." Katsura turned to her son then and pulled him to her. It wouldn't be long until he was taller than her and it would be him doing the pulling in for a hug. Damn, the way time flew around here made her head want to spin.

"Dad is gonna need it far more than me." He crosses his arms in front of his chest and takes a bit of a cocky stance once his mother lets him go. "I just hope Izumo Sensei is ready for me."

"I'm sure you'll get along just fine. Try not to run laps around your classmates though, if you can. Be nice."

"No promises."

"If I get a call from his husband saying that you bullied him, I'm going to make sure Iruka gives you at least a week's worth of mandatory extra credit." She knew her boy would give everyone a run for their money but was confident he would fit in very well regardless. If it took some time to settle in, that was understandable. Time and effort were all that was needed now.

***

Watching the two of them take off in the same direction for the first time leaves her feeling just a little bit of melancholy. Of course, she still has both Niwa and Yasuo here with her for a couple more years, but before she knew it they would be making their ways too. For now she needed some time to think about about this and really process it so the first thing that popped into her head was to go out back and see how the plants were doing. The twins would understand when she told them in case they asked, they were old enough now to grasp slightly more subtle feelings. So she made sure to let them know where to find her as soon as her husband and oldest son were way out of view. Perhaps she would spend a few hours in the backyard, tending her flowers and hanging out with the local pollinator species, really just let her mind work through everything that was weighing on her. Yes that sounded very nice.

Several hours were spent in the company of the flora and the smallest fauna, watching the way the wind blew the grass and the leaves the flowers around, observing all of the insects checking out her well cared for gardens. Around the middle of the day, the twins came out to join her, bringing Tomo out with them to get some fresh air on his old body. Seeing the hardy little thing getting to enjoy the natural surroundings from which it came despite being advanced in age made her want to go out on an insect hunting expedition some time soon. Bring her entire family out and see what sorts of critters they couldn't uncover. Maybe even find another centipede to bring back with them to keep Tomo company (from a distance, in another enclosure, of course) if they were lucky. It had certainly been a while since any of them had gotten the chance to do something like that with all the preparation that has to be done for the new school year. So enticing was the thought of it that the rest of the time she had to herself had passed before she realized it. Shino and Shigeki had made their way home with plenty of things to say.

"I'm sorry, he did what now?" Her shock and awe and at the revealing of Boruto's antics was indeed great.

"Unfortunately we had to suspend him for an entire month and that means he will be responsible for catching up with the material at home. I have spoken to Hinata about it and she will make sure he doesn't slack in his studies."

"Now I'm really glad I'm not in that class. Can you imagine messing up that bad before the first day even begins?" Shigeki scoffs. He knows he's above all that type of stuff. But both of his siblings give him a *look* and it brings a very slight red tint to his cheeks out of embarrassment. "What? I'd never do anything like that. Lord Hokage should ground him. Though it does take some kind of crazy skill to not only crash a train into Hokage Mountain but land exactly on your own father's stone face."

Katsura places one hand on top of her bragging son's head. "I told you to be nice."

"It's not like he's around to hear it." He mutters.

"I know you'd never behave like that. But you can't let him hear you talk shit or it could turn into a rivalry that's more trouble than it's worth. Rein it in now lest something accidentally slip the next time you're sharing space. Trust Me on this one."

There is much left to be discussed but it can all be saved until later. She also remembers that she wants to bring up the little insect hunting excursion concept to the lot of them at some point as well. They're all going into this year with high hopes and Katsura will make sure that it turns out better than the previous two years. Yes her husband still has two students who had not managed to pass yet, as both Iwabe and Enko were repeaters this year, but she had a good feeling that this would be the year it all changed. Something (or maybe multiple somethings) would swoop in and make it all better. Shino would finally see his entire class off once again. Onto bigger and better things, a clean slate in preparation for the year after this one. And then her son, too, would make it just as far in his own studies. Being a Shinobi may not have suited her all that well but it seemed like a better path for Shigeki and it was important to support him in that decision. Both her head and her heart are full that evening, all the thoughts buzzing like busy bees in her brain and all of her pride in her family evident in every way that she spoke with them. Shino and her share a look before sending the kids off to bed that night, and he knows that she's willing this year to be different for the better. Better for everyone.

***

Better, it turned out, was very much a process. Because as soon as Naruto's troublesome son returns to class for real, the ball gets rolling in several insane directions. First Boruto gets into a scrap with none other than Yuino Iwabe and they go to duke it out in the sparring room without even letting their Sensei know about it. But the outcome of that one on one blows Shino's mind when the two come out the other side with a good understanding of each other and a brand new friendship. Boruto, of course, doesn't come into the relationship alone either. He comes flanked on one side by another boy that seemed the opposite of someone with Boruto's energy level could hang out with, Kaminarimon Denki. And then there's the case of one Nara Shikadai and one Yamanaka Inojin. They come as a package deal and are easily tacked on to the new little clique headed by the Hokage's son. So a feud between two hotheads managed to come in and begin on the process of solving the current longest running issue in the class. Who would have thought. The power of one optimistic fool was more potent than expected. But who was Shino to complain, really, because sometimes the best friendships were forged from the most unusual of circumstances.

Next up on the docket of nonsense however was a quarrel between the boys and the girls. It started, apparently, over some food and quickly spiraled into ridiculous back and forthing primarily between Boruto and Sarada. Shino should have expected his charges to have some growing pains with their status as the children of all his beloved weird friends but this was ridiculous. No matter. Being 12 was difficult and he wouldn't begrudge them that fact. He would instead solve this just like he solved everything else that came his way. When the students were busy with other matters, he so brilliantly laid a series of traps and obstacles around their wing of the building and announced to them that if they wanted to resolve their feud then he was giving them the opportunity. A free pass and on school grounds too. It seemed like a foolproof plan. Until the children did exactly what they were told and literally brought the house down in the process. Their classroom looked worse than the time Iwabe tore up the tile the year earlier. Instead of just the floor of one room, it was a sizeable chunk of the entire building. Whoops. Now classes had to be held outside until repairs could be completed.

And THEN amidst the chaos of outdoor class, a brand new transfer student was placed into his class. Mitsuki, a strange but seemingly mellow child from the Hidden Sound, here after an agreement between Naruto and none other than Orochimaru so that the boy could experience life in the Hidden Leaf. The ordeal had him going back to his own childhood Sensei, Yuuhi Kurenai, for guidance when he needed a little extra reassurance and she managed to give him a grounding pep talk that he badly needed. Though the action he took on the heels of said conversation had both his wife and oldest son laughing at his new choice in outfit. Shino was going to throw a welcome party for Mitsuki while wearing a pair of goofy shades and red jacket over his usual attire. That obviously did not go as planned but his new student did not hold it against him one bit and managed to adjust just fine. For every sign of trouble, a light at the end of the tunnel awaited. Shino counted his lucky stars that this sequence managed to keep up with him through the adjustment period. If this was the outcome of every hurdle then he'd gladly accept some gentle ribbing from his family every time he brought his eccentric solutions to the table.

Until another, far more serious predicament came to a head. Dubbed the "Ghost Incident" by Boruto and his clique, people were put in serious danger by an unknown sinister force. He himself had even become one of the victims and damn near brought serious harm to three of his students as a result. It was like a horror story when he came back to himself only to realize what has just transpired. Never in a million years did he want to hurt a single child, no matter who they were, and he'd almost killed three in one go. Katsura knew something was dreadfully wrong when he arrived home late that day and told her everything without taking enough breaths between sentences. She held him tightly and reassured him over and over that it wasn't his fault and that the kids did not blame him. Whatever this Ghost Incident really was would have to be solved as soon as possible so no more harm could come to anyone in the village. It took him a while to let it sink in properly, but he was grateful to have his beloved wife there with him through it.

Again and again there were reports of people being possessed for a short period and only brought back to reality with physical force. Eventually, the victims began to lose their chakra to whatever was possessing them and that's when Sai had to get involved. He took over looking into what was going on and Shino had to put all his faith in the man to actually find out the root cause. But that cause...turned out to be something that turned his blood to ice in his veins. If he thought the first time one of his students had trouble at home was bad, he was not ready for this revelation. Kakei Sumire. The girl everyone liked to call Class Rep. Sweet and friendly, a bit skittish but a great friend to have, turned out to be the one behind the entire Ghost Incident. And it was all because her father forced this initiative on her. If it wasn't for the intervention of Boruto when the situation reached a critical mass then it could have razed the village to a crater. Once more, the undaunted son of the Seventh Hokage had reached out to help someone who really needed it with his special way of connecting with others. And it worked. He, with help from Mitsuki, pulled Sumire back from the brink and solved the Ghost Incident in a brazen sweep. Shino was floored at the way this boy had with his friends. Whatever reservations he had before about teaching him that year has to take a backseat to the amazement.

Each and every time he came home with new incredible (often almost unbelievable) stories to tell his family, the more Shigeki envied his father's class. He rethought his position on being glad not to be placed in it and found himself wishing a transfer was possible. At this, Yasuo made sure to tease him about doubting his first stance because his older brother always tried to stick to his convictions when he made up his mind. To see Shigeki have clear doubts and jealousies over something like this was novel and Yasuo didn't want to miss it for anything. Niwa, meanwhile, sided with her oldest sibling. He should be able to change his mind whenever he wanted and not be poked fun at for it. Katsura made sure to let all three of them know that they shouldn't be squabbling about this because their father had been through hell and back in just a few short weeks of the new year beginning. She was right, of course, but Shigeki in particular simply huffed and cursed his rotten luck with placement. Dad was living life like an action packed Kagemasa movie and he was going through the motions as normal. No fair.

Shino had other things to worry about though rather than the fact that his son was jealous that he got Izumo as his Sensei instead of his own father, even if the actual jealousy was over having an eventful environment rather than who was teaching the lessons. Once Boruto and Mitsuki has managed to save Sumire from her dreadful and miserable life path imparted to her by her deceased father, the matter of what to do with her became a concern. She was clearly very shaken and afraid to hurt the rest of her class even more and there were plenty of people higher up than him that thought her a danger even though she no longer was. So her new fate hung up in the air in limbo and he knew as her teacher and as someone who had made a vow to protect all of those who needed it most, this was the time to step up and say something. All of his remaining students shared a lot of his worries about their dear friend and classmate. It did his heart such good to see, so now it was on him to see to it that they didn't lose her and that she didn't lose them. The value of bonds in times of crisis simply could not be understated.

"Do you know what you can do for her? I wish I had any ideas, but I'm lost." Katsura had expressed to him while he was deep in contemplation over it. She hated watching it eat away at her husband and it killed her to know that this has been brought down on a child who already had it hard enough.

"I'm going to go back to Sai and ask him something important. If he can help me here, then I believe we will have a workable solution." His face was stern and his words were solid. She hadn't seen him this determined to figure out a solution to a problem in a while, and it gave her confidence that he would be able to do it.

"Good luck. If you need any reinforcements, call me and I will come double down with you no matter what I'm doing."

Katsura watched him take off that morning not for his classroom but instead in the direction of where his shaken up student had been given quiet refuge while awaiting her fate. Though he said he had to speak with Sai, it seemed that he most likely wanted to keep her in the loop first. It was always like him to be so considerate of the needs of his students, this class in particular felt like an extension of his own family in a way after all, and it only made her hope harder that he would be able to steer this the way he was clearly envisioning. Unfortunately it wasn't as clear to her how long the process of stabilizing Sumire's life would take but Katsura knew her husband would waste no time or energy in the task. Everything he set out to do had a purpose and she couldn't wait till the time he came home to tell her the good news she knew could be the only possible outcome. Having faith in Shino never failed her before, and this time would be no difference.

And she has never been so proud to be right. There has been a couple days of deliberation between himself and (as it turned out) more than just Sai but it was all worth it for Shino. Especially when he was able to bring his wayward student back to class, the looks on the faces of everyone else made him internally emotional every time he thinks back on it. When she asks him for the details and he allows a smile to creep up slowly onto his face she knows that she will enjoy everything he's about to say. Details about his talks first with Sai and then Iruka, reassurances paid to several high ranking members of village security, and of course what Sumire herself had to say when he sincerely asked her if she wanted to return to class with everyone. Katsura stood in awe at the dedication and compassion her beloved spouse had shown in his efforts to ease the burdens off a child who had had it so rough until now. It fully reinforced her belief that teaching and guiding was the right path in life for him.

"I must find a proper way to thank Sai myself for agreeing to this." He begins. This part immediately made her perk up her ears. "And of course, Ino as well."

"Both of them?" She cocks her head to the side just a little in order to express curious confusion.

Shino nods just slightly before continuing. "Because of the shared link back to Danzo's cruel pet project, there is much he can offer Sumire in the way of support and healing. He's in fact the most qualified for the job. It took a little longer than expected because he had to run the idea by his wife before bringing me a final yes."

"I think I know what you're implying..."

"None of us are keen to leave the girl to fend for herself after all of this. I wish I had been made aware of things sooner because we could have made it easier on her and perhaps avoided this entire traumatic explosion. As of this week, she will be permanently staying with the Yamanaka family."

With that, Katsura reaches up with both hands and holds her husband's face. Reverently she looks upon him and feels like the most fortunate woman in the world to not only know him but love him too. There was no length he wouldn't go to in order to help a friend, a loved one, or a child who needed it. This time he had expressed his thorough methods to their fullest extent and closed an important case for good. He revels in the warm touch of his wife for only a moment longer before reaching up to remove his visor. Their eyes lock and he knows she's mesmerized by all that he is so he has to be the first one to break that hold by slowly leaning down to kiss her. She shifts her hold to around his neck as he lifts her up, making sure to support her weight fully so that she may cling to him like a koala. The two are just a little too wrapped up in each other to properly notice when the door opens and Shigeki enters. He looks his folks up and down and decides he's going to elaborate about his day regardless of what they're doing.

"Inoe had it out with this cocky little Fuuma boy today. She won, obviously. But then Izumo Sensei ruined all the fun."

The lovebirds spend just a few more moments in their lock before letting out a mutual sigh, releasing their grip on each other so that they may turn their collective attention to their storytelling son. Another time...they'd pick this back up later. Shino, knowing that if this story involved Kiba's daughter it would surely be one to pay attention to, addressed Shigeki on behalf of both himself and his amorous wife.

"And you didn't get yourself wound up in it too, did you?"

"Well..."

***

"Are you kidding me!" The gripe is loud enough to damn near echo through the entire first floor of the house. Shigeki is not happy.

"I wish it were possible for you to go too, but your father has informed me that there's an ulterior motive behind this entire decision so it's best you stay back and continue with class." Katsura knows how unfair her son thinks all of this is. She doesn't blame him one bit for his reaction. But at the end of the day, her hands were tied.

"Who cares what the reasons boil down to! I wanna go to Kiri too. I want to see everything they're going to get to see." His arms cross over his chest and he puts on his best unhappy face. It doesn't improve even when his mom puts one hand on top of his head to smooth back his hair just a little.

"I'm sure he'll bring back something good for you to treasure even if you're not allowed to go." She sighs, hopeful that she's not wrong. "Whatever business is going on behind the scenes I'm not sure...but I'm confident that you won't be forgotten in all of it."

"Why is it that my class doesn't even get half of the interesting shit happening to it but theirs seems like they're the main focus of an adventure novel?"

"I wish I could give you an answer that made sense, I really do. One day you'll get to see the Hidden Mist too. It will just have to be on a mission. And there will be plenty of those."

"I don't wanna have to wait that long."

Katsura feels for her son in this moment. He's done pretty much everything right in his studies and barely gotten in any trouble yet. Izumo Sensei isn't even to blame for not taking his own class on an extended field trip the way her husband would be guiding his students through Kiri. No, she was sure that the ones who arranged for that were above the heads of the average teachers. Shino had told her that Anko was to accompany them when they went over to Water Country and there would be more than one "meeting" with the former Lady Fifth Mizukage. All of it sounded more than a little fishy and it made her wish she could be a fly on the wall to hear what was to be said at those gatherings. If not for her own sake, than for the sake of her oldest who was missing out on seeing more of the world simply because he has been placed in the "wrong" class from the start.

"I'll make a deal with you, does that sound okay?" The idea pops into her head after she's done feeling petulant on his behalf.

"What kind of deal?" He's skeptical, both eyebrows raised to not quite meet his hairline, but willing to hear his mother out.

"After all of this travel is over and done with, I will ask your father if he would be willing to take all of us somewhere else to make it up to you." She steels herself for the next part. "And if he isn't, then I will let him know that I'll take you somewhere myself. Just the two of us. So you get to see somewhere beyond Fire Country's boundaries too."

The sparkle in the boy's eyes do not betray him. Such a vow has his immediate attention and he looks at his mother like she has superpowers. Katsura is just a little proud of herself for steering his unhappiness into better territory and finds that even just the talk of getting out excites her. With any luck she would be able to weasel their collective way into going to the border of Kusa and Taki because that was prime territory for hunting rare insects. The environment was hospitable to such creatures with its abundant plant life and warm temperatures. Now the only thing she could see as a blockade to the plan was the fact that, if it were her husband taking the lot of them, he would have to have someone fill in for him in class. Though...Anko could probably manage. Especially if she was even partly behind the ulterior motives for this Kiri trip. She owed him, that was for sure.

"I know asking you to keep this hush-hush feels like a big thing but we don't want to overload him right now because he's already stressing over this entire Mist mess."

Shigeki shakes his head so as to banish any traces of guilt she may have. "If it's for the chance to go out, I can do it. I promise."

Katsura beams brightly at her son and his tenacity. "What would I do without you."

Events feel like they pass slower than usual after that conversation but Shigeki knows he must learn patience. It's worth it to wait this out because no matter what happened he would get the chance to go somewhere he had never been before. Maybe even somewhere cooler than Kirigakure, and then he could brag about it to everyone back at the Academy when he returned. Bragging rights sure did sound like a great incentive to keep his patience in check so he made a promise to himself to act like nothing was out of the ordinary so as not to rouse suspicions from either his Sensei or his classmates. Both of his parents seemed rather impressed with his unusually put together behavior though only Katsura knew what it was for. If Shino were to ask, she too would play coy and go on with business as usual.

Not seeing her husband for between one and two weeks was the only part she truly thought was shitty. Everything would be fine at home but lacking his company was a downside she wish she did not have to take on. So distractions from his absence would absolutely be in order. From the moment she saw him off, watching him go down the same path he took every day but knowing this time he'd not be home later the same day, she willed herself to focus on other feelings aside from primarily missing him. Shigeki would at least be back later on and hopefully he would still be in a good mood. In fact, she could probably let Niwa and Yasuo in on her little plan now too since their father was out of the house and the temptation to tell him was removed. Oh that was an excellent plan. One she began looking forward to right away.

Until...her son arrived home after class was done for the day. He had a similar sparkle in his eyes that she had seen when she divulged the plan to him several days ago and it gave her the funny feeling that the plans were now in need of a serious update, if not being put off for a while altogether. He found her seated at the table looking over an unfurled scroll full of her beautiful handwriting and could barely take a seat across from her without vibrating out of his own skin. Katsura set her brush down carefully and rolled the scroll up to continue with later as it would be unfair not to give her child her full attention when he clearly had much to say.

"Uncle Torune's boyfriend stopped by today when I went to go talk to Iruka Sensei."

Immediately her right eyebrow shot up. "What did you do this time?"

"Don't worry about that we talked through it I promise it's not a big deal." He glazed over all details in order to move the plot along. "He was bringing some documents or something in for approval and I was there to hear about it!"

"We're going to talk about that first thing later but what did you hear from Fuu?"

That's when all of his energy came to a peak and he jumped out of his seat, voice raised to match his motions. "They're taking our class to Kumo!"

Katsura blinked like a Nara deer caught red-hoofed eating out of someone's garden. "Who's taking you?"

"Not my Sensei that's for sure." He scoffed. "Uncle Torune and Fuu are taking us. I don't know why yet but we're going to the Cloud next month!"

Having to process all of this new information so suddenly felt like cramming a novel's worth of words into her brain just then. It wasn't that complicated but the suddenness of it took her by enough surprise that she hadn't had enough time to adjust yet. Of course she was excited as hell that her son would finally get his chance to see another place, ecstatic even. It meant that her plans had to be put on hold but it was worth it for the sake of Shigeki's happiness. Maybe it would even work out better because now there would be more time to plan in tandem with her husband when they would go, how long they would stay, who he could get to cover his class, and what they'd be bringing to and back from their destination. Somehow this wrench tossed into her plans was shaping up to be more of a solution than a hindrance. All of her mental gears were turning beautifully in that moment.

"You're going to be good for them and not cause problems, right Shigeki?" She gives him a look and accompanies it with a smirk. This kid is too much like her and she knows he's bound to get himself up to something. "I won't have to hear a laundry list of your shenanigans from Torune when I get back?"

"Even if I could give Uncle the slip, I doubt his emotional support Yamanaka would be as careless." He's laughing, clearly having fun being caught up in the concept. "So whether I want to or not, yes I will try to behave and not start an international incident."

"Good boy, I know I can count on you."

The rest of the evening is spent in high spirits. The twins come around later after the loud commotion has died down to ask what trouble their brother was in this time only to find out that it was good news he had brought home instead. Katsura was only all too happy to watch her three beloved children talk about what was going to happen together around the table as she made what would be their dinner that evening. The idea that maybe class trips to far away places was becoming the norm had both Yasuo and Niwa intrigued about someday possibly doing the same as their big brother. Both were still two years off from entrance into the Academy but they had more patience than Shigeki ever did. And by the time they *did* get to where he was, who knew what would be in store for them. All of the joy shared between the three of them was contagious and had Katsura in a good mood all the way to bed that night. Though she still was missing her husband, it was made much easier to bear with the upbeat atmosphere at home.

***

Shino looks like he had been through two weeks of hell by the time he makes it home from the field trip. He makes sure to reassure his wife from the get go that he's okay but will need some time to come down from the constant action of the last half of his time in Kiri. Katsura is eager to hear the entire story but makes sure to give him enough time and space to decompress enough in order to properly interact with his loved ones again without feeling like a cornered animal. Shigeki opts to sit the conversation out as he doesn't want to divert much needed attention away from his father's understandable concerns with his own hype to take off in a couple more weeks. But in his place both of his siblings come to comfort and hear out their father, a gesture he appreciates very much so. Being surrounded by most of his family who he had missed dearly does wonders on his frayed nerves.

"What happened where you went? I don't think I've ever seen you this upset, dad." Niwa speaks first. She's a smart and observant girl and very much concerned about her father.

"Did you guys get attacked?" Yasuo picks up where his sister left off, hoping the answer to his question will be a resounding no.

The now less frazzled man takes a deep breath to collect his thoughts and swivels in his seat to face his children. He hadn't even bothered to don his visor so the look on his eyes was on full display, which only added to everyone's worry. "There is still an incredible amount of instability over in Water Country. We knew, going there, that it was still working on healing from everything that has gone on in the past but apparently some individuals with valid points are very good at keeping their plans under the radar until it's time to move. This is probably because giving away their tactics will have the Mizukage's security forces on top of them in a heartbeat."

"Is Chojuuro really doing that shitty of a job picking up where Lady Mei left off?" Katsura interjects. She knows little of the blue haired maan personally. Most people speak kindly of him, but she's aware that it's very possible to carry biases.

"No, he's doing the best he can as someone still new to his position." Shino very lightly shakes his head side to side. "Obviously not everything he does will sit well with every person. It's going to take several years to find the right balance like his predecessor had established for herself."

From the other room, Shigeki admittedly is listening in the best he can to the conversation going on. He shouldn't pry why he made it clear he didn't want to be present for the talk but it's impossible to resist when the talk of instability in another land is the topic at hand. Konoha all around him is doing pretty well for itself, as far as he can tell, but it seems that wasn't a universal thing everywhere. Would he arrive in the Hidden Cloud in a couple of weeks only to discover something similar...or was this a unique problem of just the Mist? All of this questioning made him truly feel like he did not have enough experience beyond the walls of the village and that wasn't a good thing. Maybe later he would talk one on one with his father and ask about the world around him that he wasn't seeing. Just to get an idea of what he was going out into after he graduates. It would never do to jump into something ill prepared and end up fucked over. Just the thought of the scope of what he didn't know made him equal parts jealous that he couldn't go on that trip...and thankful that he hadn't been there to see the raw state of things.

He got his chance just before bed, after both of his siblings were in their room and their mother was taking a nice long bath to soothe her stuff shoulders. Shino had sensed that his oldest was having some sort of troubles he was hesitant to voice and opted to make the first move. The two of them spent some time together at the kitchen table discussing exactly what had gone down in Kiri and talking about what the world at large was like outside of Konoha. It was difficult being so young and inexperienced and not having a way to safely see everything firsthand yet. While the world was moving towards true peace, it was still a time of transition and not everyone was going peacefully. There was still more safety in a three man squad (four counting the instructor) than for a solo Academy student when it came to venturing beyond the gates of the Leaf. Hopefully that would not always be the case, but for the moment it was just reality.

"What's going to happen to everyone that followed Shizuma off the deep end?"

"Right now, almost all of them are being detained in a special holding facility for further observation. Kagura is being granted leniency as he had been manipulated but the others are still of unclear fates."

"Do you think it's fair that they're behind bars for acting out for justified reasons?"

"That's a very complicated answer. While yes they were justified in being upset with how their village treated their families, their methods were too radically violent to just trust them running free. Eventually it will hopefully change for the better."

The two of them go back and forth until Shigeki is truly satisfied and caught up. He still is unsure how to really feel, be he trusts his father's words and wants to believe that the best will come of this misfortune. Shino knows it's a hard dose of reality to give to a child but he valued honesty when it was something this serious. Shigeki had asked and wanted to know so that's what Shino told him: the truth. And when the mood finally began to settle after that topic was over, the thought occurred to the younger Aburame that there was something he wanted to make his dad aware of. He was going on his own class trip to the most prominent village in Lightning Country and despite his uncertainties he was still quite excited for it. Upon hearing the news and seeing the hope written on his child's face, Shino allowed himself to finally smile and truly be happy for the boy as well. Kumogakure was a beautiful and relatively relaxed place. It would be a great experience for him. And, hopefully, one wholly unlike what he himself had just weathered in Water Country.

They spend the rest of their time together talking about what it was like in the elevated landscape of the Hidden Cloud and all the sights that were there to behold. Shino mentioned to him that he may even have the honor of meeting one of the only perfect Jinchuuriki in history, Lord Killer Bee, if the man was keen to entertain the class. Thankfully his wonderfully hammy nature would probably ensure that to be the case. And of course, the fifth Raikage would surely welcome everyone in the class warmly. Shigeki went to bed that night with renewed eagerness to explore a land he'd never seen even though just a little bit earlier he had heard than another village was still having its own struggles. Shino was simply glad that his son was able to face the unknown world with such determination rather than fear and hesitation. He, and Katsura when she came out refreshed from her bath, took the time to do their own private catching up before allowing sleep to take them. They all managed to rest easy.

***

Time seemed to fly past and before anyone knew it Shigeki had gone and returned from his trip. Both of his parents knew the moment he was home because all of the ruckus behind the front door could only have come from him. Katsura had volunteered to be the one to slide that door open to greet her son and was surprised to see that he had not returned home alone. There with the happily buzzing boy was his uncle and said uncle's partner. A happy smirk slid onto her face right away upon recognizing them and she pulled Torune in particular in for a hug. While the former Root agent was momentarily tied up in greeting his sister in law, Fuu had to grab a hold of Shigeki's shirt collar to keep the boy from darting into the house like a madman and risk tripping and falling on his face. Or worse, running into one of his siblings as they were probably both around here somewhere. He shot a look back at the copper haired Yamanaka and only received a sly smirk in return.

"No you don't."

"You're lucky I don't bite."

"Be careful what you wish for, maybe I bite back."

When Katsura pulls back from her beloved brother in law, she puts a palm to her face and laments how forward her child could be. Though...he did get it from her, so maybe it was hypocritical to chastise him for it. Either way, her son was home and they had extra company that was very much welcome so she made sure to invite the two adults in a long with Shigeki. Her husband would probably be along shortly as well so it was just a waiting game until he joined them. Sure enough, it was only 45 minutes until Shino had made his way home and he too was pleasantly surprised to see his older brother and almost-in-law in the company of his family. Torune offered a gloved hand to his younger sibling, a gesture Shino was all too happy to return, and the two shared their first familial hold on what felt like forever.

"It was amazing, dad, I can't believe how beautiful it is over there." Shigeki could not wait to start delving into his tales.

"Don't let him fool you, he got himself into plenty of trouble. Scrapped with Darui himself. I'm actually impressed with this bold little bastard."

Katsura's eyes went wide and she turned to her beaming son. "You started shit with the Raikage?"

"Just a friendly challenge. Obviously he beat me...but he gave me something to bring back home for my forwardness. Right now it's in my Academy locker but I'll show you tomorrow."

"What is it?"

"A sword." He's all too proud of himself while announcing this. "And I got to see something else really cool too!"

"He's talking about the Eight Tails. We ran into Lord Bee while touring around the village and he let out Gyuuki to see the entire class. I've never seen my nephew speechless before." Though it's subtle, everyone can see a smile on Torune's face as he speaks.

"I know you said Lord Hokage has one of those Bijuu things too...but I've never seen it before. I want to see it now."

Shigeki babbles on happily about everything he had seen and done in the 10 days he was away from home. Both his siblings are awestruck themselves at his tales and Katsura can tell that the two of them are probably hoping to have the chance to go to another village someday too during their time as students. She, too, hopes they get that chance. It had really lit up Shigeki's life and that made her overjoyed for him. All of her babies deserved the opportunity to experience unbridled joy and nuance like this. She's also happy that at the moment the three of them are locked in a hot debate about Kumo food vs Konoha food because it allows her to tune in to what her husband, brother in law, and honorary in law are currently discussing amongst themselves. And it shocks her when she finds out just what it is.

"This has really helped me decide." Torune begins.

"Decide what?" She inquires, head cocked curiously.

"I'm not ready yet to take on a team. In a couple of years I think I'll be able to. But not yet."

Now Fuu picks up the slack. "But I'm going to this year. As long as Iruka is all right with it, I am more than ready to handle some Genin."

It's just their luck that Shigeki picks that moment to inject himself into the conversation with a petulant whine. "No fair! I want to be Uncle's student!"

Torune holds his hands up halfway in apology. "I'm sorry buddy, I just need more time. Maybe when your brother and sister have graduated. I'd be happy to show you some things in your downtime, though."

This drives the spike deeper into his heart. "That's even more not fair! They might get to be your students but I don't."

Fuu picks up the slack just then. "Maybe you'll be assigned to me instead. I'd be happy to deal with you and your ways."

"If that's the case then I'm warning you right now. I won't make it easy on you." If he had been an Inuzuka or an Izuno, he surely would have bared his teeth to rile up his almost-uncle.

"Challenge accepted. Now I hope Iruka DOES assign you to my team." The two of them lock gazes across the table from each other, the competitive spirit palpable. Everyone around them is caught between shaking their heads and chuckling.

"Oh this is either going to become the most embarrassing period in his life or the most enlightening." Katsura laughs. "Either way I feel like it'll do him some good. Give him a teacher as forward as he is."

"I'm not afraid of the big bad beetle child. In fact, I think it'll be fun."

It's an exchange that ropes the whole family into a good time catching up and sharing their hopes and dreams for graduation in a few months. Of course, the exams will not be easy, but no one doubts Shigeki has what it takes to pass. And he is in fact beginning to feel very okay with the idea of answering to Fuu as his next Sensei. It's not what he wanted at first, because Uncle Torune would have been an amazing option, but he's not as sad about losing out on that as he thought he would be. Besides. Maybe, in two more years, Torune would indeed be ready to take a team and have the honor of teaching either one or both of his niblings. There was much they could pick up from their wonderfully skilled uncle and just the thought of his brother teaching his children made Shino feel fond.

When the visit comes to a close, everyone happily sees off the pair of former Foundation nin and hopes that they can reunite again soon. Especially when the current school year is over and Shino has a lot more free time on his hands. Though, if Fuu does end up getting a Sensei role, he will probably become the much busier one. No matter. They'd find a way to make a gathering or two work in between everyone's obligations. The ability to even have these get togethers was something no one would take for granted every time thoughts of what was almost lost in the war resurface. Shino holds onto everyone precious in his life tightly and thanks the forces at work that he would have them around for a very long time to come. And as Shigeki goes on about both his trip to Kumo and his hopes for graduation, his father counts every lucky star in the sky that his children will never be at risk of losing what was most important to them (nor their opportunities in life) like his own generation did. Without war being the norm, they could grow up knowing and learning from their relatives and they could go anywhere they pleased in peace.

***

Graduation day comes for Shino's class and it blows his expectations clear out of the water. The teamwork and performance of every single one of his students, including the two left behind from previous years, nearly makes him cry. Boruto had had an extremely profound motivational effect on the lot of them and it carried the entire group of 18 children through to the triumphant end. They had done it, they had beaten even the likes of Lord Sixth (no easy task) in order to earn their titles as Genin of Konoha. The moment their adorned white cloth headbands transformed into proper Hidden Leaf headbands was the moment real tears began to flow from several kids. He finally saw the passing of an entire class for the first time since his first year and it made his heart feel fuller than ever. Shino is able to hold his head high when he returns home that day to report on how proud he was of everyone he'd spent the past several months instructing and guiding.

Shigeki, after congratulating his dad on everything, then had to face down his own graduation in four days time. His nerves thankfully did not get the best of him though they had certainly made a solid attempt to do so several times. When he noticed his older brother having conflicting feelings, Yasuo invited him out to the yard to mindlessly spar in order to relieve the stress and pressure. The older child of the family was too quick to agree and easily sank into the motions as soon as the rules were laid down. He let a cloud of insects fly and spent the next hour dueling with his little brother until the two had let off enough steam to carry them through the rest of the day unbothered. This routine became their norm every day up until it was time for Shigeki to face the music.

And face the music he sure did. He even got the chance to go toe to toe with his father as Shino had been asked to help proctor the exam. Shigeki faced the challenges presented to him like a champ and did not allow his nerves to overwhelm him for a second. He and all of his own classmates made it through to the end just like Boruto's group before them. Kakashi may not have been involved with this graduation, but that was all right with the Aburame boy. All he needed was to get over that hill and earn his place as an official Genin. The feel of the headband, the weight of it around his forehead was a sensation that he simply couldn't put into words. Shino, Katsura, Niwa, and Yasuo were tremendously proud of the boy for sticking to his guns and passing with flying colors. His mother had even made him a selection of his favorite desserts afterwards to celebrate the amazing job her boy had some becoming a full fledged Shinobi.

The final hurdle came in the form of being assigned to an official team. One by one the others around him were grouped up and told to meet their Jounin in another room until his name had finally been called. With him would be Kiba's daughter Inoe and a quietly observant but usually friendly Hyuuga girl by the name of Meisu. When they arrived in the room labeled with the number 11, the sight that greeted the new trio was one Shigeki felt was inevitable. Yellow eyes and copper hair, a tall stature, and the undeniable aura of self assured strength. Yamanaka Fuu. Destiny had seen to it that his almost-uncle would be the one overseeing his progress from here on out and he could not find a single argument against it. The two shared another look, yellow locking onto green, and the mutual competitive fire was ignited. Shigeki grinned broadly and set his hopes high for everything he would do and see and experience with his teammates and their Sensei from then on out.

~~~~~~

The joy of seeing an entire class, especially one full of troublemakers you personally watched grow up, all graduate together and truly start their careers as Shinobi was something so profoundly special. It was like being on cloud nine where nothing bad could reach you. Shino's pride became his teaching and passing of the class containing the children of nearly all of his lifelong friends in addition to all of the other promising young Shinobi of the village. Though of course there had been a little discourse between the new members of Team 7 upon placement in a squad together, that too had been resolved neatly and completely over the course of assignment day. It wasn't a surprise that Boruto and Sarada had butted heads like that, if he was honest, but he was honestly impressed with how the fiasco came and went with minimal quarreling. Everyone else had slotted in beautifully with no fuss at all to their three man teams and seemed to be enthusiastic about the senseis appointed to them. That was all he could ask for. It was all anyone could as for, really.

Except the daydream met with two particular pitfalls in the months that followed graduation and the formation of permanent teams. First up had been the injury and subsequent dropping out of formation of the Jounin overseeing Team 25. It wasn't unheard of that a leader could be removed from their position in charge, both by injury/illness and other means, but it was never news anyone wanted to receive. His parting of the ways with his three Genin caused strife between the trio that carried on until the intervention by one Hatake Kakashi. Lord Sixth, donning his Sukea getup, personally meddled with their affairs to get to the bottom of their quarreling and managed to gently resolve everything. And then even better news came about when Kakashi's former fourth student Sai stepped up to take the mantle as Sensei over from his predecessor. From that moment on, the problem had been but a thing of the past. Sure the circumstances and resolution were a little eccentric (personal involvement by a former Kage was certainly not an every day event) but there were no complaints to be made with how effective Kakashi's nosiness had been. Shino thought he could breathe easy afterwards but misfortune would once again resurface just a few short weeks later.

And as it turned out...the next unfortunate souls to face hard times were none other than Team 40. This time, it had not been because the team's most volatile member had done something out of her control. No, it once more fell on the shoulders of their Jounin. *He* had been poisoned on a mission and did not receive aid in time. The substance in his system wrought a terrible havoc on him that brought with it serious illness and incapacitation. In fact, there was a damn good chance he would have to retire completely from the Shinobi way. A retired nin could not be the person taking fresh faced Genin on missions to give them the world experience they needed. At least...that was what common sense said. And Aburame Shino liked to think common sense was a generally good guide for life. He'd been wrong before, but in this case it seemed foolhardy to believe otherwise. So the only option was to begin looking around for at least a temporary solution to make sure that the infighting between Team 25's trio did not see a repeat in Team 40.

That turned out to be far harder than he was expecting. Every single team-less qualified Jounin he asked seemed to be either wrapped up in their own missions and life obligations, or just flat out uncomfortable in a Sensei role at this time. And it was impossible to seek help from anyone of a lower rank because the (very important and correct) law stated that no one under Jounin rank was to take on a permanent Genin team. As capable as many of the village's Chuunin were, especially as mission leaders, they were simply not allowed that level of responsibility. And he himself was in no position to step up as their new instructor because he still had obligations to the Academy for as long as he felt he could handle it. Taking time out of that part of his career to one on one lead a team was just not feasible even though there was a part of him that wished he could. Frustration had Shino in a chokehold and it was made worse when he couldn't magically resolve it with the skill and finesse that Lord Sixth had employed with Team 25 not but a few weeks ago.

Katsura had been observing her husband in the days following the complex tragedy and she could see him slowly feeling more and more conflicted. This was a problem in life that did not carry an easy answer and probably wouldn't be the last time her beloved had to really put his brain to work to solve something. Though she could not give him a magic wand to wave so that it would clean up nicely, what she COULD and would do was give him attention and the chance to vent his frustrations the next time they were able to be alone and calm. So she gave it a few more days in the case that he was still trying to exhaust all other obvious options before making a move. He was informed the night before that his spouse was interested in having some intimate alone time so that he could free up his schedule and focus on nothing else but her even if parts of his mind were still stuck on the matter of his former students free flying without a Jounin. Katsura knew that he could not scrub the fixation from his brain entirely and was not going to demand him to. She knew he could give her the attention she wanted while also stewing on his troubles. When it came down to it, the love of her life was good at multitasking. And that's all she could ever ask of him.

Once he made sure Shigeki was off to meet his team and the twins were both occupied, Shino made his way up to the second floor of their recently renovated home. The addition of a few spiral staircases had been something he knew his wife had badly wanted and it made her very happy when everything was done. He kept his hand firmly on the guard rail while climbing though his desire to reach out and touch the various hanging plants nearly got the better of him. Thankfully the the temptation was short lived as he got to his destination quickly enough and made his next move to seek out where he thought Katsura might be waiting for him. There wasn't any noise coming from this entire wing of the house but that wasn't particularly unusual for a Shinobi family (even if not everyone carried that label anymore) so he simply let of a few of his insects loose discreetly to check in places he himself wasn't at the moment. The surprise came when he had thoroughly searched every room of the upstairs and found no trace of his spouse. When he was about to command the same bugs to spread out and look downstairs, a voice from below caught his ears immediately.

"Come down here." Katsura made sure not to shout in a way that could be mistaken for anger. "Or actually. Just a moment."

Shino fast-walked over to where the staircase connected the floors just in time to see his wife ascending them. She was quick to cover the entire thing and before he knew it the two stood what would be nose to nose if she had not been far shorter than him. When he tilted his head to look down at her, she bore one hell of a closed mouth smile and seemed eager about something. One of her hands snaked over to take his own without him noticing and he promptly felt himself attempting to be guided in the downwards direction by Katsura. She lead the both of them back down the same spiraling steps that he had come up not long before and then the two took a turn towards the also newly renovated expansive private bathroom the kids were not allowed to use. Everything began clicking in his head piece by piece after that and a small subtle subtle finally made its way onto his face to match her earlier one.

A lovely light but still quite present smell wafted info his nose as soon as the door was unlocked and pushed open. The sight that greeted his eyes brought with it a new desire now, as he could see that she has already filled the beautiful tun of their private hammam with water and set several candles around the edges of it. The earlier smell was then identified by him when his eyes caught sight of the smokeless incense burning on a nearby counter. Next to the burner was the lighter she had used to light it and it was good to keep it close enough so that the candles could in turn also be lighted. Shino took the initiative and went over to grab the lighter and get a headstart on that process. One by one tiny flames were lit into the decorative glass candles and their glowing lights projected beautifully onto the tile of the tub beneath them. So absorbed with his careful work was he by the time that he set the lighter back down on its counter and turned around, his wife was half undressed. When she caught sight of him looking a new cheeky smirk graced her features and she basked in the one on one attention.

"Are you going to join me?" She purred, doing everything in her power to make sure this afternoon would take away some of his worries for a little while. To be honest, she needed it too. So it would be a respite for them both from the demands of life.

He begins to calmly but meaningfully work off his clothes before daring to answer. "I apologize, I must have been too caught up in the preparation of the atmosphere."

She beat him out in the process of removing all of her clothing but did not let it stop her from approaching him as the last of his was being stripped away. "That's okay, I forgive you."

With her standing there before him, bare to a world that only included him in that moment, he truly did feel a lot of his worldly cares melt away even if just enough not to burden his mind. He reached down to take one of her hands in his own to bring up to his lips so that he might place a kiss on the back of it. This gesture seemed to encourage her further and as soon as her hand was her own again she went to assist him in the removal of his final cloth barrier between the two of them. Down came his tasteful underwear and though she did not dare vocalize it, somewhere in her head a very appreciative internal version of Katsura wanted to make an appreciative whistle at the view she was receiving. However now was not the time to stand and stare. After getting back to the situation at hand, she made the first move to approach and get into the beautifully tiled bath and reveled in the feel of the water against her skin as she sank in inch by inch. Shino was no slouch in following her this time and before the two knew it they were both comfortably submerged up to their chests in the warm water she had drawn for their couples bath 10 minutes ago.

Both took a little while to adjust to the feel of the water on their skin before they made any move to interact further. But even in the quiet, he watched her nearly swim around getting the feel of it and felt nothing short of admiration for being blessed with such a sight. Katsura remained the most beautiful woman in the world to him and he could not be more grateful for this alone time with her during such a frustrating time if he tried. Once she seemed content enough to settle down, and once she noticed that his comfort level had maxed out as well, she broke the silence between them. "I know you have been hitting a wall a lot lately and I wish there was more I could do for you in all of it."

Shino takes a deep breath in and releases it through his nose. "Come closer please."

Though she seems a tad confused, she quickly complies and joins him. Her back lays against his front and both seem to enjoy the feel of direct contact. "Please, tell me if there is a way I can make any of it easier on you."

Both of his hands reach up to comb through her gorgeous dark blue hair, wet down by the water around them. She leans into his touch closer and decides immediately that she is in love with the way he knows just how to touch her. Shino keeps his voice low and even as he continues their ongoing conversation. "The problem is that we have no unoccupied Jounin that are also ready to take on the responsibility of minding a team. I also do not want the three separated and placed as extras onto other teams. This is because they have bonded as a triad and it would be cruel to break that up. Though it is technically possible, I would not feel right about it."

Her heart aches as she listens to his carefully thought out purposeful rambling. "There really is no one left to ask at all?"

He shakes his head side to side even if she cannot see it. "I've gone through all of my options. The only possibility is one that is not ready yet but may be in the near future. Waiting is risky and I'm unsure if it's wise but right now it's all I have on my radar."

"...who are you thinking?" She's cautious, unsure who exactly could be giving him such confliction."

The way he answers her next gives her quite a shock. "Morino Ibiki."

The shock reverberates through her entire system and in the end she pivots fully around to face him as if to receive confirmation. "Head of the T part of T&I Ibiki? The village sadist Ibiki?"

Shino sighs just a little. "Yes, one and the same. I spoke with him as a last ditch effort a few days ago and was told he may be willing to help after taking care of some scheduled business. He will be handing over much of his duties to the other half of the department in the event we change the leadership of Team 40 over to him."

"You have got to be kidding me." She gapes at him. "You really have to be joking right now."

"I am fully, sincerely not pulling your leg."

Katsura slowly spins back around and lays heavily against his chest once more. He takes it as a sign to pick up where he left off with washing her hair but waits to see if she has more to say on the matter. As it turns out, she does indeed. "You're sure that this is going to be a correct move for the three of them?"

"I do not know how it will play out but I have trust in him as someone with far more life experience than me. But the problem now is what to do with the squad between now and when he is ready to officially become their Jounin."

"Well." She takes a deep breath and lets it out dramatically. "Fuck."

"I am in agreement with you."

"What if..." She places one hand to her chin in contemplation. "Maybe I'm crazy, but..."

Shino cocks an eyebrow, again not visible to his wife, and presses her to continue. "What is on your mind?"

"You said it'll be a temporary downtime while you're waiting for Ibiki, correct?"

"I did indeed. Something you don't like about that?"

"No, no. Quite the opposite really.

Her keeping him in suspense has him divert all his attention onto her. Damn his impatience right now. "Please tell me what you're thinking so that I may understand."

"Shino, love of my life. I don't know how this occurred to me but maybe. If it is okay with everyone and the three of them do not mind having to take the lowest ranked missions until they get a proper leader again, do you think they would benefit if I took over as their short term temporary Sensei? That way you could rest easy knowing the last of your students are in good hands and we don't see a breakdown in their working relationship like you mentioned happened to your other squad."

The gears in his brain begin to truly turn in earnest as he processes exactly what his wife has just proposed to him. Katsura had retired from the ninja lifestyle what felt like ages ago BUT it was true that forgetting the skills one learned on that path was not so easily done. She was no Shinobi in title but he knew damn well her abilities were still sharp and she knew exactly what she was doing. Even if she personally did not take the three on frequent out-of-Konoha missions it would still be good for them to have that sense of structure and guidance that was fostered in the four man cell environment. And, as both of them had said back and forth, it would only be temporary so there was no real worry about atrophying skills in the young Genin because they were only taking local D ranks. The stars seemed to be all aligning in an ideal way and he could find no reason to oppose her proposition. He'd probably have to run it by Naruto briefly to make sure this was even possible. Though Shino could see no real reason why his friend (and current Hokage) would say no to the arrangement. As long as his students had their needs met, it should be approved just fine.

"Are you sure you would be up for such a task? I do not want you to take on more than you're comfortable with."

"I promise that I am sure." Her confidence ebbs into her words. "Like I said, they may have to cope with low rank missions but I will happily watch over the three for the time being until Ibiki is done with his business. How hard could it be?"

That last comment elicits a small chuckle out of him. "Please be careful what you wish for."

"I can handle any of it. Trust me on this."

"I trust you completely, my love."

The rest of their afternoon is spent enjoying the bath a little bit longer before getting out and getting dressed again. Shino makes sure all of the candles are blown out and the lighter is stashed away. The twins seek him out as soon as he emerges fresh from the hammam where they are not allowed and request some sparring time just between them and their father so he informs Katsura that he will be wrapped up with that for as long as they need. It doesn't bother her a bit, she decides to take that following alone time to spend in her personal creative outlet room and put a brush to paper. It'd been a while since she last sat down to write and there were enough ideas swirling in her head that day that would make for interesting tales to weave. The decision she had made earlier that day was going to affect a lot of her life for the following at least several weeks as soon as it was approved by Lord Seventh. For now, all she could do was wait and busy herself with her writing. Shigeki would probably be home soon-ish and join in going up against his father with both of his siblings. So for now, it was just her and the scroll awaiting ink unfurled before her. And she could not be happier with herself for it.

***

The weeks flew by faster than she had anticipated ever since the approval was given for her temporary leadership. It was like being given a small taste of what her husband went through in his career choice, but thankfully on a smaller crowd scale. Thankfully the three Genin now under her for-now command were some of the most well behaved in his class (he had given her that reassurance in advance and turned out to be very right) and her only "worry" was the possibility of Enko accidentally losing her grip if something were to trigger her still unstable abilities. But Katsura was no fool nor did she treat such a volatile situation lightly. Children with still developing skills, and control over said skills for that matter, needed adults in their life they could trust to guide them and handle any problems that were fielded their way. That was what she strived for every day she had with the three of them. Shino was continuously impressed with the progress he heard they were making in teamwork and abilities but he expected no less from anyone under his wife's command.

Most of the missions were exactly what she had spoken of beforehand: low rank and within the walls of the village. For a while, it was a bit of a bummer for the kids as they knew other teams forged from their same class had farther reaches and more challenges given to them as they progressed in training. But that envy slowly ebbed away when they also began to consider the lack of life threatening danger their current schedule offered. It was all well and good to escort important political figures or businessmen but not all bandits and rogues were built alike and it paid off handsomely to never have to tussle with a single one. The very few out-of-village missions they took still saw the quartet roaming close to the Leaf's boundaries and thus ensured quick back up if an emergency were to arise.

Though, if asked, Katsura had noticed that her temporary kids seemed to like helping her a lot with her gardening and baking duties so it was very possible they would choose those over several official mission options. The more she watched of them at work in those fields the more she herself pondered if maybe one day any (or all) of the team might decide the Ninja's way of life simply wasn't for them. It made her just a little wistful because it reminded her of her own choice to stray that path once she and Shino had established a stable marriage. He never once judged her for taking a route in life that she loved more even if it was still half expected for all adults her age to still be living in the Shinobi way. What made his wife most happy and excited were the things that towed the line evenly between hobbies and paying jobs. If she wasn't actively working in her family's bakery these days, he would not be surprised if she had constructed her own plant nursery and greenhouse or possibly went to work with the Yamanaka clan in their blooming flower shop.

Shino, thankful that it was still the off season for the Academy, got a front row seat often in watching his wife work her magic as a Sensei. He knew damn well the job was not something she would ever be interested in making her full time commitment but for now it was agreeing very nicely with her. He watched as the love of his life made sure that the trio of Genin in her care always had up to date survival skills for when they went on long term away missions, knew how to safely handle and store their weaponry, and were familiar with ninja companion animals of all varieties. The Aburame family may have specialized in the symbiotic use of insects (and sometimes arachnids, depending on the individual in question) but they tried to maintain a healthy level of knowledge and respect for all species options. Shino himself had grown up working alongside an Inuzuka so he had the experience of seeing how ninken were handled in real time. It was a subject he often discussed with his wife and together they kept their personal knowledge of all manner of ninja animals fresh. It certainly came in handy when Katsura now had to impart such information on the future of the village. She knew her time as their Sensei was brief. But she also knew, just as her husband knew, that everything she taught them would be things they thanked her for many times in their lives.

"I have received word back from Ibiki about when he will be prepared to take over for you." Shino began one afternoon. The two of them were enjoying the evening sun out in the yard as her "kids" watered the plants and marveled at the variety of butterflies and dragonflies flitting about.

Katsura swivels her body in her deck chair to give him her full attention, one eyebrow raised slightly in inquisition. "And what's the good word from everyone's favorite Exam proctor?"

He has to resist the urge to chuckle ever so slightly at her phrasing there. The memory, oh how he could never forget, of sitting in that room listening to the tall man give their 12 year old selves the business truly did mark simpler times. Times when their now-Hokage was just a brainless kid. "Give it five more weeks and he will be officially taking the reins. And you need not worry about his methods being too harsh because his wife has reminded him every day that these kids do not need reprimands. Compared to some he's dealt with over his lifetime these three are angels."

It's now her turn to laugh but she does not hold back. "I don't know what Eiko sees in that man but I am in awe of her. Fearless, truly fearless." And then a grin snakes onto her face. "You're right though. I'm not going to worry. Between her reminders and the fact that I'm sure these kids will have him at their beck and call in no time, I'm sure it will all work out handsomely."

She turns around and leans back in her chair, head tipped up just have the warmth of the sun bath her face in its lovely light. There's a pair of strong sunglasses covering her eyes so as to prevent sight damage. Shino, meanwhile, keeps himself pivoted just enough to allow his vision to behold his wife for a while longer. He enjoys seeing her so at ease while there's little to worry over. Aori has her niblings for the day and Shigeki will soon be back from the mission he went on with his team the day before. It was his first multi day assignment and they were both sure he would return with some interesting tales to tell. For the moment though, he was simply content to share the space with her while Team 40 tended the duties assigned to them by Katsura Sensei. And of course, they would all be allowed to stay for dinner if they pleased before being sent home that evening.

A voice begins to pick up as people round the corner and it gets Shino's full attention promptly. "You should have let me keep chasing that man. I would have caught him. And then he'd have been sorry." It's Shigeki. He knows the bragging ways of his son anywhere.

"Not on your life, kid. I'm not gonna be the one explaining to your folks while we're getting chewed out by Sakura in the ER that I allowed you to go one on one with a wanted man." Fuu is the one responding this time. He ruffles Shigeki's hair to further rile the boy up and has to pull it away just in time before the preteen in question smacks it.

"Are you guys back already? Has it already been two days?" Tsuru pipes up, turning to face Doushu. She seems to have noticed just when Shino did that they had incoming company.

Doushu responds with a shrug and a haphazard guess. "More or less. Maybe we just lost track of things."

Shigeki pulls up next to his folks after a short sprint to close the gap and whistles as he looks out at their populated backyard. "Forgot we had company tonight. You gonna make them stand guard duty here all night or something?"

"Very funny." Katsura sighs dramatically. "I'm sure the plants will still be here and fine in the morning without round the clock monitoring."

"Ya never know who might come in with a weed whacker."

"Ignore him, he's hopped up on adrenaline because we ran into a speed bump on the road home." Fuu clarifies. "I tried to tell him that's not going to be the norm everywhere but he seems to have beetles jammed permanently in his ears."

"Are you taking a shot at my time honored abilities?" The 12 year old stands up taller like he's putting on a threat display.

"I definitely am not. You are just not ready to come down off cloud nine yet and it's making you speak impulsively."

"Thank you for bringing him home, Yamanaka-san." Shino bows his head for a quick second in gratitude. "Was everything smooth and accomplished?"

"Absolutely zero problems even though your son likes to act like he's in charge half the time."

"Forgive him for that, I will make sure he minds his manners."

"Don't worry about it a bit. I like that he doesn't sit quietly and just nod at my every order. He and his teammates make everything interesting again." There is a genuine smile-smirk adorning the face of the Yamanaka man then. Shino thinks back to his past in Root and understands how positive and different this way of life is for him now in comparison. "Anyway, sorry to hang around like a gaudy pair of drapes. Had already brought Inoe and Meisu home. His stop was my last because I had plans with Torune tonight."

"Feeling a little touch starved from a couple days away from home?" Katsura teases. A very subtle red tint colors Fuu's cheeks in turn.

"Something like that. Do you know if he's here or out?"

"He's with his parents right now. I think the three went to go speak with Shikaku and Choza about something. Clan business, very clinical I'm sure."

"Crap. I can't let Kin see me looking like I just crawled out of the jungle. Gotta go home and wash off the two day filth then hunt them down."

"You may use our shower if you'd like." Shino offers. "This is because you are always welcome in our home as family and we owe you for watching over Shigeki as well."

"I promise not to streak grime on the tile or leave a towel on the floor. Thank you kindly for the offer, I will be quick about it."

Fuu gives a mock salute to the three of them, turns to wave a little at the three Genin milling about in the yard, then pivots on his heel and makes for the inside. It's no secret that he had definitely become an extension of the family by merit of being incredibly important to Torune. Even so, as the one with the honor of instructing Shigeki it felt only right to extend common kindnesses to him like this. Shino appreciated the man for his dual no-nonsense in serious situations and then very Leonine approach to interacting with loved ones personality. Someone like him, just like someone like Torune, deserved the chance to have the life they wanted following such a rocky start to their Shinobi careers. It's an honor to have them both in the inner circle Shino and Katsura keep. Shino looks to his son as he contemplates everything and sees how upbeat and excited the boy is from everything he had experienced on the mission they'd just returned from. It's a source of parental joy for him, and for his wife too, to witness their oldest son enthralled with life. Neither would change a thing even if given the option.

"So what trouble did you give Fuu Sensei this time?" Before anyone realized it, Team 40 had pulled up beside the family. They took wanted to know what Shigeki had seen and done the past 36 hours. Enko was simply the most brave this time so she posed the question.

"Only as much trouble as he gave me. I'm not going to let him win every war." Shigeki boasts. With the way he's bragging, it makes the situation sound almost intense.

"Uh huh. Sounds like you're a sore loser."

"You wouldn't be saying that if I was allowed to apprehend that criminal."

Katsura watches the exchange between her son and one of the three kids she was currently in charge of. From what Shino had told her of the day Enko lost her control in class, she was fully aware that the girl was naturally wary of having that happen more times in the future. So right now it was a soothing sight to watch the previously class repeating student fearlessly and harmlessly squabble back and forth with Shigeki. It was a benefit of being an instructor that she was their Sensei would not get tired of. All kids in  her care, and in general really, deserved space and opportunities to be kids without fear. This interaction would also do a good job of humbling her son just a little because she knew Enko could not be intimidated by big talk. And, because Doushu and Tsuru were there to backup their teammate, Shigeki would be outnumbered if he really wanted to try and come out on top anyway. Winning every war was a nice dream but just not possible and he was learning from enjoyable peer interaction that it was good to learn how to handle a loss. Eventually he gave up and allowed his opponent to be the right one in the equation and instead settled for giving a play by play of his time in the field on duty. Thankfully, his entire audience were all too happy to listen and found themselves looking forward to when that would be their lives too.

"Do you think you're ready to let them move on?" Shino asks, breaking his wife out of her reverie.

"I want to believe I am." She pauses a moment but picks up where she left off easily. "But it'll probably still be a little hard."

"They'll still come around, I'm sure of that much. Just like how we will never stop seeing a lot of Fuu. Shigeki would probably go looking for them if that wasn't the case."

It was true really. Though the four did not spend an obnoxious amount of time together, they crossed paths enough to have formed a good friendly relationship and would probably be readily maintaining it for the foreseeable future. That was a lovely thought for Katsura to keep in the back of her mind at all times. For as stubborn and mouthy as her boy could be, he was still a good kid and a good friend. Forging good bonds now and keeping them going for as long as he could would be a boon in his life just as it was for her husband. Shino, even though he'd been an awkward and quiet kid, managed to get close with those he went to school with and to this day would never dream of parting ways with them. The thought of such things flooded her chest with the warmth of affection that only receded a little when she remembered that her own time with her for-now students would be over in just a month. Yes they'd still come around, but she still had to let Ibiki step into the role of their Sensei in due time.

"I hope that they will find everything they're looking for in life. No matter how or when."

He looks at her with a little concern. "Are you sure you're okay letting go?"

"I'm very sure. Just like I'm sure that one day Shigeki, Niwa, and Yasuo will all be off on their own ways too. It'll be even harder to let go then but I will support them no matter what they pursue."

He reaches over to lace their fingers together wordlessly. Katsura considers that day one of her warmest, with the sun and the atmosphere and the support all coming together to make her soul feel like eternal spring. It helps to look back on it after Ibiki had indeed officially taken the team under his wing five weeks later and she got back to her daily life without planning their schedules along with her own. Though, when she sat down to write a couple times a week, there would often be mentions of her students (by different names, of course) in a collection of short stories she had currently been penning. Maybe there would come a time when those found their way to official publishing and she could tell them that their time as teacher and students had left that sort of lasting impact on her. Until then though, she watched her son develop into a fine Shinobi and made sure to have Shino catch her up on the exploits of Team Ibiki.

~~~~~~

What a whirlwind it had been, facing the winding road presented to those who helped raise the future Shinobi of Konoha. Every obstacle that had tried to tear him down thankfully did not manage to get the best of him even if there were some close calls. Part of his continuing to push on even when the skies were stormy and unstable was owed to the support he got from his family. Having the four of them standing with him through it all gave a sense of stability and warmth that nothing in the world could replace. Even if the best they could do at certain times was provide encouraging words, it went a long way in assuring that he would be able to confidently continue on as a guide and guardian to every student that passed through the Academy, directly in his classroom or not. Katsura in particular was enamoured with the way he conducted himself as a positive figure in the lives of the children. Of course, she might have been biased as she got to see his efforts as a father firsthand every day, but she didn't much care if one wanted to get that technical. Everything her beloved husband was doing was wonderful and it was a gift to watch him work.

So when the day came that Niwa and Yasuo would finally enroll just as their brother had two years ago, it was a sad occasion for both of their parents as they were placed under the tutelage of the newest teacher rather than Shino himself. Once again he was not to be the primary first Sensei in the lives of his children. All of his trust was in this very sweet woman, one Kaka Hana, but it was still bittersweet to know he would not have the pleasure of directly instructing the twins just as he hadn't had the chance with Shigeki. Yes they all took countless lessons from him at home on demand...but that twinge of missing out still got under his skin as much as he wishes it wouldn't. And he wasn't alone in it. Katsura, ever hopeful that this time he'd be able to take the title of "homeroom" teacher, had her bubble burst once he announced to her that Iruka had informed him otherwise. The couple shared in a mutual lament but ultimately were happy for their children. No matter who instructed them, it was just good to see they would have a chance to learn the things their older brother had.

Speaking of said older brother. Shigeki had still been nursing the pain of two failed Chuunin Exams back to back, even now. The most recent had been three months ago but the sting felt as fresh as if it had been just yesterday. All the circumstances involved in the failing of the first attempt did not fall on his head. First the Hokage's "precious" oldest smartass son decided to cheat his way through the whole thing and then there was a hostile invasion. These damn Exams, as Shino reminded his pride-wounded child, seemed to be a beacon for everyone with a vendetta against the village so that they knew exactly when to launch an assault. Thank the gods that every Kage was in attendance that time as they were the ones who put down the attackers once and for all. Still...the damage was done and the Exams were ruined. Shigeki lost out on his opportunity to rank up and spent a while moping over it. It had been Yasuo who first managed to get through to him and convince him that the world wasn't ending just because he flunked his very first foray into the Exams. That perked up him up just enough to trudge on and vow to get better. Both of his teammates, who has of course failed just like him, personally made sure to thank his little brother for getting the boy back on his feet since each of them had gotten over the loss much easier.

Then came the second opportunity to prove his worth and make a break for the Chuunin rank. Everything was lining up in his favor, he and Inoe and Meisu were clear of that first pain in the ass test, it was like a dream come true. Until the second phase fell on the three of them like harsh reality loved to do. That blue haired showoff (Shigeki thinks he heard the name Kaito thrown around, but he wasn't fully sure) swooped in and claimed the spot for himself. The eldest Aburame child and his closest allies lost their bid at advancing to the next round then and there. Waiting outside the gate to watch as others secured a position in the head to head final round made him feel bitter like there was no tomorrow. Even going out for food with Yamanaka Sensei and the girls didn't do enough to cheer him up in a lasting way. Yasuo took it upon himself again when he saw his big bro cursing his back luck but all of his efforts this time seemed in vain.

"I don't know why he won't listen to me." Yasuo confided in his sister. He sighed heavily, feeling the weight of defeat, but knew there was no point in wallowing.

"Maybe he's just upset that he lost on his own merit this time." Niwa offered. "You remember how the last time was a combination of interferences. It's not the same now."

This seemed to make a lot of sense to the boy and suddenly his pity response kicked in. "I think you're onto something there. But what can we do?"

"I don't know. And it'll have to wait anyway...Hana Sensei says we got a lot to do in class tomorrow. I wanna make sure I'm ready."

A sense of pity and guilt was shared between the twins but there was only so much they could do for Shigeki on their own. And with their Academy obligations, that range was further narrowed. So they simply offered to him their services as loved ones to vent to and spar with if that was something he was interested in. At the time he gave them each kind of a crestfallen noncommittal answer but the hope remained that he would perk up just enough to take them up on said offer in his own time. In the meantime there was indeed a lot heaped on the younger Aburame children in class thanks to the newbie Sensei still trying to find her niche as a teacher. All of the adjustment period gave the twins a lot to contend with and left them in need of their brother as a listening ear. Shigeki was still a bit down on his luck but he still stepped up for them and found that focusing on their minor problems helped him slowly ease out of his own.

Katsura watches as the two make solid attempts to get their brother into a better state of mind and decides to step in so that Shigeki doesn't end up feeling overwhelmed. They mean well, but sometimes space is just as valuable as sympathy. She and Shino create a divide and conquer plan with the aim to redirect both the crestfallen defeat Shigeki feels and the brotherly/sisterly swarming concern into destressing activities for the trio of children. Shigeki is excused from his missions and Genin duties for a few days so that he may accompany his mother to her family bakery while Shino has Anko fill in for him in class so that he may spend time catching up with the twins on everything he's missed due to conflicting schedules. The three siblings end up seeing the least of each other that they have in a long time but the tense energy that had sprung up between them notably dissipated gradually.

"We have this exchange student in our class, Kae." Niwa begins, recounting to her father. "From all the way in Bamboo Country. She's an heiress apparently."

"Are you making sure she feels welcome in both school and the village? It can be scary and intimidating to temporarily live somewhere far from home." Shino knows full well about the Kae situation. But he is all too happy to hear his children recount their growing knowledge of it to him. It shows him that they are socializing well at the Academy and making new friends.

"Doing our best, yes dad, we promise. We also have Lord Hokage's daughter as well as Kagemasa's daughter with us in class. And someone whose mom works for the big Kaminarimon company. And an officer's son, from the Fuuma clan. There's a lot of interesting kids." Yasuo picks up where his sister left off. The twins would probably always be in sync on some level, thankfully their father had no trouble maintaining such an eccentric method of conversation.

"Have you ever been to the Land of Bamboo at all?" Niwa cocks her head in tandem with her question. She's definitely thinking back to when Shigeki got to go to Kumo not long after their father took his own students to Kiri. A little bit of travel curiosity has settled in her brain.

"No, as of now I have not." He answers. "But I would love to see the land that she hails from. Is that something that might interest both of you, as well?"

"I think it would be fun to see her home and what it's like."

"I wanna know what it's like compared to the Leaf. Of all places she could have come...why here?"

"That's complicated and I am not sure I have an answer that will properly suffice right now." He feels guilty for not being able to relay every bit of information to the kids. But it's a matter of safety and security so his hand is forced. "Just know that she has a safe place here with us as long as is needed. And will always be welcomed back in the future when she eventually has to return home."

It's a difficult thing to tell almost-teenagers that someone they're bonding with will eventually have to leave. Connections forged as children have carried many Konoha residents to incredible heights in the history of the village. Lifelong friendships, sometimes even turning into more with time, are a hallmark of the Hidden Leaf Village. Shino thinks back for a moment once more about how getting to know his class so well when he was just an awkward kid really changed his entire life for the better even though it took a lot of time and trial. All he wants in life is for all three of his children to form connections that are just as important and to hold onto everything that matters to them as they chase their dreams. To see that the twins are well working on that makes him feel a deep sense of pride as a parent and as a teacher. When they someday had to say goodbye to Kae, he knew it would be on good terms and that theu would be eager to welcome her back when she was able to return to Konoha.

"I wonder if Hana Sensei will take us there like how Shigeki got to go to the Hidden Cloud. Or if not there, where else we could go." Niwa wistfully wonders aloud. Between the two of them it's clear that she's more vocally eager to venture outside the walls of the village just as her brother before her had.

"Don't you think it's more likely that we'll go somewhere like Suna or Iwa? You know, one of the Great Nations due to our big alliance. Smaller places probably don't have the accomodations like bigger ones do." Her brother responds. Shino knows he means well but this is where he has to step in for a moment.

"While it is true that villages like ours or Kirigakure are more suited to large visits for extended periods, there are many smaller villages that are more than capable as well. This is because we have carefully fostered good relations with them and made sure to share funding and additional resources that are needed in order to make sure we as a broader community prosper equally. I know that wherever you are able to go will be more than happy and equipped for the visit."

Both of the twins look at their father with a level of awe that makes Shino almost self-conscious for a minute. When he gets started like this it can be difficult to rein it back in. But neither of them are upset at all and in fact very grateful for his knowledge on the subject and refusal to keep quiet about that. The man believes firmly in being honest with not only his own brood but every child in his care, no matter if temporary or long term. He answers Katsura do not desire to hide crucial information from Shigeki, Niwa, or Yasuo as it only teaches them to distrust the adults who are there to help them and they covering things up is a good idea in the future. Both of them (and their brother) do not need to be taught such things because the domino effect will catch up with them someday and someone will end up hurt and/or confused. Sure that may be years from now, but Shino likes to plan ahead thoroughly and he cannot risk it. Good parenting is a conscious and ongoing effort. And with the way his kids are regarding his words now he has nothing to worry about in their present or their future.

While the pride of the Aburame clan and his younger two children talk, Shigeki helps his mother at work and is able to get his mind off his woes little by little. Customers who come into the bakery sometimes have knowledge about how the last set of Exams went (as friends of the family, this is to be expected) and offer their genuine heartfelt sympathy and hopes that he will be able to bounce back in no time. Yes it has been a handful of months since his last loss but he appreciates the sentiments just the same. Being able to redirect his unhappy feelings into siding his mother with her work as well as having the kind words of family friends is a far better soother for him than being forced to bottle up his troubles and stew on them until a trigger is tripped and he yells at someone by accident. Katsura watches her beloved oldest doing so much better over the course of the few days he's accompanying her and breathes the largest sigh of relief. She hopes, too, that Shino has had just as much luck with the twins.

"How sore do you think Sensei will be that I haven't been there to handle all the dirty work?" Shigeki opens, placing a tray of Mochi on the counter. These are destined to go to a certain principal later in the day.

His mother chuckles a little at the bold statement. "You don't think they can manage without you huh?"

"Nahhh." He waves it off. "They'll live. They just are missing out and probably are complaining about not having me around to help."

Her heart feels lighter as she sees the light back in her son's eyes, the fire coming back to his words. It's not a healed wound yet but the scar tissue is strong. "I'm sure they'll tell you all about the cool things you've missed while you were here with me. And you can show them your stuff again first thing next mission. But please make sure that tray isn't too close to the edge right now as we don't want to have to remake those mochi."

"Whoops." He makes sure to move the tray away from the edge. "But now I gotta wait for two more days."

"You will manage. Tomorrow is our last day together here until you need a break again."

There is a certain feeling of melancholy that settles in his chest when he mulls over his mother's words. Sure he is eager to jump back into ninja life, but it's been nice spending the downtime with his mom. When they weren't making pastries and desserts for customers they were tending her beetle colonies and making sure the plants all around their home were all well cared for. It was exactly the respite he required in order to get his confidence and fire back. Yasuo and Niwa meant well...but he could not focus on himself enough with them prying into his feelings like they were. Now though, he knew he could face them honestly and be upfront about everything going through his head regarding his Exam failure. They deserved to see the better side of him that had a clear head. And now they would get just that.

"Please make sure you label that box properly too when you store it. There's another mochi order that is going to someone else in the morning. I want to make sure Iruka gets the flavor he ordered." She reminds him gently before going back to check on the cheesecake currently baking.

"I won't let the orders get crossed." He vows. A sharpie in a cup on the next counter over is retrieved then, and Shigeki carefully writes the name of his principal on the box plain as day.

***

The passage of time seems like it flows flaster and faster with every milestone that Shino can remember reaching. Just yesterday it seemed like Yasuo and Niwa were brand new to the Academy but that simply wasn't true. He heard from them stories on the regular about the mischief the entire class got up to as a group and the growing pains that had to be weathered between certain individuals. Osuka in particular was a bit of a tough but to crack but Himawari managed to get through to her with patience. What a surprise, just like her brother, the younger Uzumaki child seemed to be gifted with the ability to connect with those around her in ways no one else really could. Both of them took after their father so much. He just wished that he had the chance to teach her class personally because, for all his anxiety over dealing with her brother at first, it turned into a year with the finest memories he had made as a Sensei. But he was sure that group of kids was in good hands despite Hana being a newbie in comparison. She was a sweet woman, though a little clumsy at times, and wanted the best for the kids in her class. Even going so far as to organize a school play to honor the contributions of the Three Sannin to the history of the village.

Everything seemed on track to flow well up until graduation...until the worst erupted. Hana, who was the picture of the ideal instructor for Academy students, was revealed to be behind a horrific plot to inflict serious harm on the class' exchange student. All of it was a plot to create chaos and mutiny back home in Bamboo Country and the only ones with the reach at the time to prevent total disaster were her students. Which included the Aburame children. Both were put in serious danger all because of political upheaval in a far off land that had gone under the radar. The part that feels the most horrid is in learning that this sweet and well meaning Kunoichi they had put in charge of a whole class of young future Shinobi had been, all along, an implanted assassin from the very same land as Kae. Such an ugly conflict was dragged cross country and sucked in a class full of kids without any way of them being able to get help from anyone else.

It was a nightmare. Her children were on that island, stuck with a dedicated killer, where neither she nor her husband could be of any help. And the knowledge of any of this had not come until after it was settled. Her babies and their classmates had gotten the problem under control but hearing about it from them damn near gave her a heart attack. It was just their luck that they managed to have excellent teamwork and the Hokage's kids in the group with them. They had even spared the life of the woman who was revealed to be the center of the danger because further revelations exposed the winding spiral of deception within. Hana had another side to her, one that cropped up from her meek personality not being suited to the horrible lifestyle she was forced into, and it took charge in this crucial hour of violent political strife. That wasn't something she ever could have dreamed of happening to any children in the village much less her own. It drove her mad, thinking about the layers of ill intent involved, and how close her kids had gotten to death. But through it they and their classmates had pulled off a solution and exercised mercy because they knew that more violence was not the answer to an already tumultuous situation.

Shigeki, after he had been informed, could not stop staring an owl with those big eyes. He could not believe his siblings has gone through something that significant and that dangerous. And the most surprising part was how unshaken they came through it in the end. He liked to talk a big game but he knew if he had been in their shoes he would have felt overwhelmed. What do you do when your enemy is your Sensei? It didn't compute properly in his brain because his "homeroom" teacher had always been so boring and his Sensei refused to go into detail about the days he spent in Root as a child. Yasuo did his best to inform his brother about how everything went down in order to assure him it was all takem care of for good. Still, through the myriad of conversations had about all of it, Shigeki felt himself unable to believe that this was able to happen without the Anbu at least catching wind of it. He had to talk to his father about his doubts following all of it.

"Aren't the Black Ops supposed to be able to sniff out this sort of trouble? And if this is happening...does that mean we're going to go back to what it was like when you were my age?"

"I cannot tell you why our Anbu had no clue about the details of this incident." He spoke with an even tone so as not to make Shigeki feel belittled. "But I can assure you that we will not allow our progress to regress like that. I give you my word that you and your sister and brother will never see war like I did."

The questions swirl in his head like buzzing bees for days after that conversation. When it gets the better of him, he looks for his siblings and asks them to spend their next day off with him so that they may clear the air together even though he knows they are moving on better than him despite him not being directly involved in the slightest. Niwa knows her older brother tends to react stronger than her or Yasuo and vows that the two of them will be there for him for the day until he feels assured again. Shigeki is so much like their mom, it takes a lot of talking and a lot of time for things to sink in, but they refuse to just abandon him when they know he needs them. This time it IS them he needs, both their parents, and it's the perfect opportunity to strengthen their bond as siblings. He tells them that he worries about this becoming a more frequent scenario on their modern world despite their father assuring him it would not be allowed to happen. He expresses uncertainty over many things, and they admit that they are just as unsure as him. But it is not good to dwell on what ifs that are so negative. He's a Genin with a bright future. Soon they will be too, and he will rank up to Chuunin. They'll be okay even if it's a bumpy road. And whenever there are scary situations they will all have each other, their parents, their teachers, and their friends to fall back on. It's not a cure all but it does help him relax his stuff shoulders just enough to breathe deeply again. Yes. Even in the worst of times, there will always be a way out.

***

Perhaps the most surprised when the younger Aburame kids graduate is their older brother. Shigeki is beginning to share his father's disbelief with the way time flows when he realizes the twins, two years his junior, are now technically the same rank as him. But the worst part of all is how they get the Sensei he himself had once wanted so badly. Torune has not been ready then to take on a team of Genin but this year with the graduation of his niece and nephew he had stepped up. Fuu, still proudly leading Shigeki and Inoe and Meisu, found it just a little funny that his hothead headed stubborn student was envious of his own siblings even though he had long since gotten comfortable with the hand he had been dealt. The two of them were placed in a unit with the cat cloaked girl Kura, a friend they had grown close with during their Academy lessons, and together they knew they would be able to reach heights just as great as their brother before them. Still. The oldest sibling had to be just a little petty and stuck his tongue out at the twins when the news of their teacher assignment had been given. Because he wanted to have at least that last word in.

Shino himself felt pride in his children and in his brother for finally reaching this point in their lives. Though he has not been their teacher, that job has remained in the hands of Hana at the behest of her class, he still oversaw their journey from newbies to Genin from a safe distance. And now all three of his kids were on their way to becoming the next group of protectors of the Hidden Leaf. Just as his brother, and future brother in law, had the current honor of guiding the children there as their Senseis. The kids were in the best possible hands. Now all he and his wife had to do was sit back and watch, and offer any help that was asked of them, as their brood climbed their ways to the top of whatever peaks they were aiming for as Shinobi. Though at the moment they both knew Shigeki and his teammates had vowed to put off the Chuunin for a little while so they could train properly and be fully prepared to take the plunge all the way to passing. It was an odd decision, from the perspective of Fuu, but he applauded them for having a sense of temperance rather than impulsivity when it came to such an important milestone. He knew Shigeki would not sit by forever and watch his siblings rank up first. He also knew, of course, that the stubborn boy had at least learned his lesson from his past failures and would not make the same mistake thrice.

"Do you think they'll all pass together at the same time?" Katsura poses to Fuu. She's in a good mood, though a little devious as well.

"We'd like to hope so but who knows." Fuu shrugs. "I know Meisu is ready. Always trust a Hyuuga to clean up in a competition. Inoe I'm truly on the fence about, but I think Shigeki will get by on the skin of his teeth the next time theye try. It'll be a hell of a spectacle."

"You're probably right. We'll have to cheer extra loud for him when he's hand to hand fighting whoever they put him up against in round three. Maybe it'll help."

"You should definitely embarrass him then."

"Oh I plan to, trust me." The two share a hearty but benign laugh together at that notion. Katsura would never go out of her way to make her son feel too seen in such a crucial moment in his life.  She also knew, of course, that his beloved Sensei would never dream of throwing a wrench into his bid for Chuunin. Not in a million years.

And when the day actually came that the 15 year old stood proud as a brand new Chuunin of Konoha, his family and teachers could not be more proud of him. He and his teammates pushed each other extra hard to pass as a squad and managed to pull off the feat with little room to spare. As expected, Inoe had to be nearly dragged across that line, her Inuzuka father practically howling at her not to pass out in her fight, but she made it all the same. And that made their celebration afterwards all the sweeter. What they began as a team they finished as a team. Katsura did her best not to shed any tears in public while watching her son receive his green vest but in private she was the visage of a deeply proud mother. She could not let up once while privately talking with her husband at how impressed she was at the display of skills Shigeki had shown in every round. It was a testament to the combined efforts of everyone in his life that had thrown their hat in the ring of guiding and teaching and helping him. That high she rode in the wake of his victory gave her hope beyond hope that, in a few years time, she would again celebrate the graduation of Niwa and Yasuo. Time would certainly tell but Katsura chose optimism because she knew her children would never have the limits she or Shino did in an era when there was a good chance you would not live to see a Jounin promotion.

""How does it feel to not be their keeper anymore?"

"You should ask them instead what it's like to be responsible for themselves fully now. They know they can get any help they need from me still, no matter what it's with."

"Do you think it'll be this hard for Torune someday?"

"Yeah." Fuu pauses a moment. "But he knows that it is necessary. You can't keep em leashed forever, it's not right."

"Thank you for doing so much for them."

"I could say the same to all of them, for being a constant reminder that it'll never be that way again."

Shino watches as his wife and practically brother in law talk amongst themselves about life after you watch your kids leave the nest. He is not ready yet, fully, to see his brood off. But there will come a day when they will indeed be on their own. Though it will be a joyous day too as he is confident they'll be prepared for anything and he owes it to his brother and to Fuu for seeing to it. Shigeki. Niwa. Yasuo. Just teenagers now, a Chuunin and two Genin, but that would not be the case for long. He knows he will practically blink and be faced with the sight of a trio of Jounin before too long and that means they all might even become team leaders if that path suited them. Whatever they wanted to chase he was sure they would be able to succeed in. Even if that meant, ultimately, letting his kids out into the world fully on their own. Katsura caught his eyes from across the yard and a smirk found its way to her face. She, too, would have to be ready for that day.

~~~~~~

The first time Shino saw his oldest in that Chuunin vest, he could barely believe it. It took three attempts for Shigeki to pass those exams but the third and final time really was the lucky number. All of the celebrations that took place following his promotion were extremely well deserved. So when the day came years later that Shigeki was recommended to take the test to once again rank up...neither of his parents nor his siblings, themselves new Chuunin at the time, could believe it. Not because the young man wasn't skilled enough, oh no. More so it just felt like time has flown by way too fast and in the space of a blink he went from fresh Academy entrant to Konoha's next soon to be Jounin. Both of his teammates were also up for the test and as a team they would working to rank up together. Kiba, even more vocally excited for his daughter than expected, had invited Shino and Katsura out for a double date with him and Okami the night before the exam was to take place. It was a wonderful reunion between old teammates and friends and a perfect chance to pay homage to the growth both of their children had undergone in life.

"Hopefully they're able to ace this exam the first time through. I know that Shigeki was crestfallen for months after his second failure to try to become a Chuunin." Okami recounts. She's just a little bit tipsy, but thankfully still coherent.

"Even worse was how Niwa and Yasuo passed on their first try. He wouldn't look at either of them for a couple days after that success." Katsura added. She did feel bad for her son but he was simply prone to taking news like that hard by default.

"The look on his face must have really been something."

"You know how they made up afterwards?" She offers, dangling the unknown like a juicy carrot in front of a hungry rabbit. "They pulled him outside and showed him a new Summoning that Niwa had managed to acquire in the Forest of Death."

"Oh I don't know if I like where this is headed."

"Oh trust me, it gets worse. Well...worse for you. Sorry about that. Anyway. Poof of smoke goes up and there's this fuckoff huge centipede my daughter is standing on. Shigeki looks like he'd seen a ghost."

"Good gods, I can't imagine how she managed to pull that one off."

"Said she made a contract with it while doing her exam. Named it Big Tomo in honor of their pet when they were younger." At this she gets just a little sappy. "I've never been prouder of her or her brother than in that moment."

Okami has a shiver visibly shake through her whole body. She leans heavily against her husband who wraps an arm around her in order to remind her that no large creepy crawlies are going to get her here. When she has her bearings again, she pounds back another shot of sake and cuddles into Kiba further. This gives Katsura a good chuckle because tonight the alcohol is making the white haired woman extra cuddly and it's damn cute. She turns to look at Shino, the only one not indulging, and wonders what's on his mind. Tonight is their night to celebrate as adults do in honor of everything their children have achieved. Tomorrow there will be hangovers to nurse and an exam to get to. He wonders if Kurenai had this enjoyable of a night the evening before he and Kiba both took their shit at Jounin placement. As the enjoyer of fine alcohol she was, he was fairly confident that that was a likely happening.

"I can't fuckin' believe it though. Next thing you know the twins will be in the same position. That'll really make you feel old." Kiba, the most lost in the sauce but still stable enough so far, comments. He must be projecting just a bit.

"We're not only 40 right now." Shino fixes his glasses with two fingers. "I will not allow myself to succumb to the fear of aging and empty nest syndrome so soon."

"Never say never. Give it time and you'll be feeling the sting."

"Booooo. Terrible pun." Katsura jeers. It's all on good fun, no malice intended.

"I wasn't aware that you guys had become Kamizuru overnight." It's Kiba who's laughing now, head thrown back in disbelief.

"I don't need to be a bee to sting you." She prods his chest with one finger. Okami laughs at the interaction, knowing her husband has this coming. "But I don't think you want me to show you what I mean."

Both of his eyebrows shoot up, followed by a cursed smirk that exposes his prominent canines from behind his upper lip. The two of them last only a moment before laughing once more. The alcohol in their systems have made the world comfortably fuzzy and relaxed. Kiba is also grateful to have his wife sidled up against him because he absolutely will get clingy after enough booze has entered the equation. Shino may not be partaking but he is grateful that his loved ones are all having an excellent time. Tomorrow is a big day and it helps his nerves stay sane by taking this evening to revel with two people close with him and his wife. It's even more fitting that their kids share a team. In fact, it was particularly hilarious to Kiba because he took one look at that assignment with the addition of a Hyuuga and felt like they were looking into a mirror. Time moves on but patterns pop up in life like that that made one have to appreciate irony.

"Are you ready to welcome the next trio of Jounin to the village ranks tomorrow?" It's Okami who opens again.

"I am ready to watch the look on my son's face go from disbelief to euphoria, oh yes I am. Much better than seeing him bitter after his first Chuunin attempt was ruined by Naruto's dumbass son."

"I'm glad Inoe took that much easier than he did. I heard even Meisu was bummed for weeks."

"That is because they lost their chance to the age old tradition of people seeing these Exams as time to start trouble in Konoha. Just like when we were having our first go at it." Shino interjects. He will never forget how that time we t down. Two dead Kage and a huge mess. Horrible times those were.

"Won't happen again though. Nope." Katsura declares. She's had another glass of sake herself and is redder in the cheeks then before. "I'm willing this to be the normal time. No bullshit, not even bad weather."

That's some wishful thinking but Shino is hopeful this time that it will be the good luck charm that comes through. It would not due to have such an important event throttled by errant nonsense. Their kids had their futures on the line here and seeing them successful was all he could hope for. As he watched his wife, best friend, and Okami continue back and forth with their reveling he could not help but hope one day that, if his children chose a path like theirs for themselves, they too would have this much fun building the hype. To see your precious children soar like birds of prey on the breeze high above the world that could not ground them was surreal, incredible, and by far the most important emotion he had ever experienced in his life. There was a look shared then, between him and his wife, and he allowed his mouth to turn up into a smile at the corners.

"What's got you going, huh?" Her eyebrow cocks and she leans closer to figure out the answer.

"Something far more sentimental than I have any right to talk about right now."

She kisses his nose. "I'm sure it's not that bad. Go on, tell me. Please?"

"I am just proud of them is all. They have everything ahead of them and I cannot believe how fast that has come up on us."

"Believe it." Kiba chuckles. He's clearly being a clown again, and it's endearing.

"Does Lord Seventh know you stole his cheesy childhood catchphrase?"

"Just like he stole my hat and job."

For the millionth time that night, the two erupt in laughter. But unlike before, Shino joins them shortly after Okami does. The corny nature of their nostalgia may be obvious but it brings them all the joy in the world. And that is everything they want for their each other, their other loved ones, and their children for as long as humanly possible. Tonight, the depth of gratitude Shino has for his lot in life is fathomless.

[crushed-like-an-ant]

how to calm down an angry billionaire

Step 1. Deflect.

Peter was good at deflection. Always had been. It was a skill he'd picked up after people constantly tried to ask him about his feelings after his parents died, then again when Ben died. Any questions he didn't want to answer quickly turned into an animated conversation about whatever his mind thought of first (there had been that awkward time he'd asked a fellow orphan how their parents were), an apology and fast excuse to get the hell out of there (mostly worked except when he was panicking and the best he could come up with was a cheese making competition, that had caused a lot of questions Peter would rather never deal with again), or just flat out running away (sometimes he ran into poles or walls which was always a bit embarrassing given he was literally Spider-man). Sometimes Peter had to use all three options. So Peter knew when Tony finally decided to have the dreaded conversation about the whole not-my-first-time-holding-up-a-building thing, he would be able to deflect it. Or so he thought. Turns out, Peter had drastically underestimated the sheer stubbornness of Tony Stark.

It was a lab day, around three weeks after the incident where Peter and Tony had been stuck under a building and Peter stupidly let slip that he’d held up a building before. Peter had thought Tony had forgotten about his words. He was comfortable, tentatively confident and optimistic that it wouldn't be brought up again. He had no idea how wrong he was.

"Hey kid?" Tony said, cutting the comfortable silence between them as they worked, tone slightly hesitant. Peter should've picked up on it. He should've realised. But he'd grown complacent. So Peter ignored the dread pooling in his stomach and lifted his head from the mess of wires in front of him to look at Tony.

"Mr Stark?" he replied with a smile that Tony didn't return. Nor did he try to tell Peter to call him Tony. And that was how Peter knew something was wrong. Nerves skittered down his spine, clod fingers of dread snaking around his neck as nervous energy filled him and he began to tap on the desk. Anything to distract himself from the sorrow and worry shining in his mentor's brown eyes.

"Look kid, uh, I," Tony fumbled for words. Shit. This was bad. If Tony Stark was struggling to say something, you knew it was serious. Peter just stared at him in silence,unsure of what to say, anxiety coursing through his veins at the grimace that clouded Tony's features. What could possibly have gotten him into this mood? Had Peter done something wrong? Was he gonna, oh god, was he gonna take the suit? "Pete, I need to know what you meant when we were under the building," Tony finally managed to say, Peter relaxing. Oh. That was all?

"I just meant that I'd lifted a lot of heavy things," Peter half-lied, looking Tony straight in the eyes and lying to his face, mindful to make sure his tells were carefully under control. Training with Daredevil - despite Tony's misgivings about Double D - had been one of the best decisions Peter had ever made. He felt a twinge of guilt as he lied to Tony but it's not like he could tell the truth. And he wasn't really lying. Just withholding the entire truth. He shrugged nonchalantly, "Anyways, you reckon you can help me with this? I'm stuck. My mind kinda decided to go and die on me." Peter chuckled quietly. Tony wasn't laughing.

"I want to believe you, kid," Tony told him, "I really do. But I can't. You had a panic attack under there. What aren't you telling me Peter? Whatever it is, I'm here for you. You can tell me anything. And I don't want to pressure you into telling me anything until you're ready but I-I just-I need to know what happened. I need to know what you meant." Peter's resolve almost broke as Tony's voice broke. No. He couldn't tell Tony. Not only would Tony think he was weak, but Peter knew that Mr Stark would blame himself because he took the suit. Peter couldn't let him do that. Option one had failed him, so it was onto option 2. Make a quick exit without raising any suspicions. Yeah, he didn't think that was gonna work. Worth a shot though.

"Hey, Mr Stark," Peter said after checking his watch and pretending to look shocked at the time, "I'm really sorry but I have to go. I promised Ned we'd work on our Bio project tonight and I'm already seven minutes late." Mr Stark raised an eyebrow and pulled up a picture of Ned on his holiday in California.

"Nice try kid," Tony replied drily. Peter sighed, shoulders slumping. Time for option three then.

"I-I don't really know how to tell you, uh," Peter deliberately stuttered, guilt eating him up inside as he put on an act for Tony. For option three to work, Peter had to catch Tony off guard otherwise he'd react too quickly and lock the tower down. His act work, Tony's features softening and body relaxing.

"It's okay, bambino, take your time." And if that didn't make him feel like a horrible person, nothing would. Peter stood and padded over to some machinery near the exit, pretending to be trying to busy himself as he worked himself up to answering Tony when he was actually getting closer to the door.

"I, uh," Peter stumbled. Tony was now far away enough that Peter could easily run without being grabbed and stopped. The door was right there. Peter took his opportunity. He ran. Out the door, down the hallway, flying to the elevator. Pressing the button frantically, Peter groaned when nothing happened. Great. Tony had stopped the elevators. Sighing, Peter pulled the mask from his pocket and pulled it over his head, sprinting at the window. Peter burst through the window in a shower of glass, activating his web shooters as he fell, quickly shooting a web and catching himself. And he was swinging, swinging, swinging. Allowing himself to smile at his escape, Peter was unprepared when he was grabbed from behind by two cold metal hands. Thanks for nothing spidey sense. Tony flew a sulking Peter back through the broken window and into one of the meeting rooms, setting him down firmly in a seat. Peter crossed his arms, pouting as he pulled off his mask, Tony's Iron Man suit unfolding around him and the man stepping out, an unimpressed look painted across his features.

"You done deflecting yet?" Tony asked, a single eyebrow raised. Damn. Peter wished he could do that. Alas, no amount of practising in front of a mirror had ever given him the talent to lift one eyebrow and not look like a demented monkey. Time for a different strategy. Deflection had failed him. But Peter would not go down easy.

~~~

Step 2. Deny.

The unfortunate thing about this step was that Peter would always over-deny. He would deny everything or nothing. There was no in between. For example, he was once denying eating the last bit of chocolate and ended up accidentally telling May his name wasn't Peter and that he was an alien from outer space with a severe lettuce allergy. Don't ask. Peter really didn't want to relive that trauma. So although Peter always tried his best with denial, it never really worked out in his favour. Honestly, it was through sheer dumb luck that he managed to keep Spider-Man a secret from his friends and family for so long. It was probably some good karma that had been waiting for the perfect moment to help him out. It was a little late but hey, better late than never right?

"No," Peter blurted in a panic. Shock splashed across Tony's face as he folded his arms.

"Kid, you know you can tell me anything, right?" Tony told him gently.

"No," Peter exclaimed again, hurt painting the billionaire's face. "I mean, yes." Shitshitshitshitshit. Peter was an idiot. He had to deny everything - but not everything, Peter, remember the lettuce incident - so Mr Stark wouldn't find out. But Peter had always been shit at denial.

"Look, I know this is probably hard for you to talk about," Tony continued on, oblivious to Peter's internal panic, "but I won't judge you. I love you, bambino. You know that right? And I'll support you no matter what but I can't help you if you don't let me."

"No," Peter said. It was the only word he knew. Any more and he would have another lettuce incident or he'd end up rambling the truth. He couldn't do that. So his current vocabulary was limited to 'no', 'no', 'no' with a side of 'no'. Which wasn't suspicious at all. Totally.

"What the hell, kid?" Tony asked, mostly confused, slight irritation colouring his tone. Peter was hyper-aware of the thundering beat his heart was drumming to, the way Tony's slightly picked up when he said 'no', the sweat covering his body like a second skin. Tony's sigh sounded like a bomb to his sensitive ears, the sharp intake of breath before he spoke like a blaring alarm. "What did you mean when you said it wasn't your first time?"

"I didn't," Peter responded, brain not quite computing, "nothing happened." Tony's gaze narrowed. Shit. Was Tony going to take the suit if he didn't tell him? But Peter just couldn't tell him. He couldn't.

"Fucking hell Peter, just tell me dammit!" Tony exclaimed, running a hand through his messy brown hair in frustration. Peter knew - with the certainty that he knew his own name or the colour of his eyes - that denial had failed him. Time for Peter's next strategy.

~~~

Step 3. Stretch the truth.

When Peter's other strategies failed him, he turned to stretching the truth. It was simple really, just take the truth and dial it down from boiling hot to freezing cold and give it to the person on a silver platter with a charmingly innocent - and only slightly nervous - smile. Half-truths were easy to fool people with. Someone had said that the best lies were the ones based on truth. Peter couldn't remember who exactly had said that. He had never been very good with that sort of stuff, unlike MJ. So although stretching the truth was Peter's third option, he'd always been surprisingly good at it. People seemed to believe he was too innocent to be able to lie. Which was absurd because he'd spent ten years living with his Aunt and her terrible cooking and she still didn't know he hated her walnut date loaf.

"Okay," Peter conceded quietly and the rage slowly left Tony as he deflated like a balloon, looking smaller without all the fury. Peter sat down in front of Tony. "It was back in the fight with The Vulture and he threw a wall at me. I caught it and threw it back at him but he dodged it with his super awesome flying skills." Tony looked him straight in the eyes for a few seconds, Peter holding his gaze before Tony leaned forward.

"Cut the bullshit," Tony whispered, dangerously quiet, tightly compressed anger stemming from worry swimming in his brown eyes. "A wall wouldn't stay together if it was thrown, caught and thrown back. Even then, you wouldn't say it wasn't your first time while holding a building up unless you'd held up a fucking building already. And you wouldn't have a panic attack from holding up a building about something thrown at you. So stop lying to me, Peter Benjamin Parker." Damn. The full name. Peter released a heavy exhale, knowing he was beaten. He had to tell Mr Stark the truth.

"It actually was in the fight with the Vulture," Peter began, "so I wasn't lying about that. And I did have to catch a few walls." Tony raised his eyebrows at Peter's weak attempts at defending himself. "I went to his warehouse and he sent his flying suit at me. It wasn't particularly good at attacking 'cause it hadn't even touched me. I said that and Toomes told me it wasn't trying to." Tony inhaled sharply, clasping his hands together to stop them from shaking, Peter trying not to listen to how Tony's hands still hit each other gently. Enhanced hearing sucked sometimes. "He had directed the suit to take out all the supports in the building." Tony gasped, expression contorted into one of such extreme guilt and sorrow that Peter wanted to shelter Tony from the world for the rest of his days because goddammit he's seen too much and been through enough and couldn't the world just give him a fucking break for once? No one deserved one more than Mr Stark did.

"I took the suit," Tony whispered, voice thick with emotion, "I took the suit. It was your only protection, damn it, and I took the fucking suit!" Tony was yelling now, self-hatred and rage dancing in his wild brown eyes.

"It wasn't your fault, Mr Stark," Peter tried to tell him.

"How?" Tony scoffed, laughing bitterly, "How was this not my fault. I took the suit and you got hurt because of my mistake."

"It's okay, Mr Stark, you didn't know," Peter said.

"But I should've," Tony replied, "I should've known." Peter's features hardened, spine turning to steel. He wouldn't let Mr Stark blame himself for this. The blame was on Toomes and only on Toomes.

"Did you pilot the Vulture suit?" Peter asked firmly.

"What?"

"Did. You. Pilot. The. Vulture. Suit." Peter repeated, staring defiantly at Tony.

"No, of course not," Tony replied, slight confusion clinging to his features.

"And did you cause the building to fall?" he continued.

"No."

"Then it's not your fault," Peter told him simply.

"Kid, I shouldn't have taken the suit," Tony began, dropping his head into his hands. He opened his mouth to continue but Peter cut him off before he could say anything equally self-deprecating.

"Maybe," Peter allowed, "but then I wouldn't found out I was strong enough to get back up again. 'If you're nothing without the suit then you shouldn't have it'. You told me that. I thought the suit made Spider-man and I lost sight of what Spider-man really meant. God, I started out in a fricking onesie. That's what Spider-man represents. Not a hero with a multi-million dollar suit, but someone with nothing but their will to save others. Without you taking the suit, I never would've remembered everything Spider-man stood for.; With great power comes great responsibility. You gave me that tough love moment and I needed it. Now it's my turn to dish out some tough love for you." Peter took a deep breath. "You, Tony Stark, are being a fucking idiot. The blame of what happened in the past lies with Adrian Toomes, and Adrian Toomes alone. So stop this self-deprecating bullshit and use your fucking brain for once in your life. It. Was. Not. Your. Fault." Tony looked up at him, the self-hatred drained from his features, a slight smile adorning his lips which Peter returned.

"You're right, kid," Tony said, "when did you get this wise?"

"I've always been this wise, Mr Stark, I just wanted you to feel better about your lack of common sense," Peter joked, Tony chuckling.

"It wasn't my fault," Tony repeated. Peter tilted his head, confused at the strange undertone in Tony's voice only to see a fire lit in his caramel eyes. "I'm going to kill that son of a bitch."

And it was then that he knew he fucked up.

~~~

Step 4. Try some breathing exercises.

Peter had always been shit at breathing exercise. He just didn't have the patience for them. While he was breathing, someone could be getting raped in an alley, a shop could be getting robbed, or a kid could be getting beat up. So - despite the constant reminders to just try the damn breathing exercises for the love of god - Peter had never done anything of the sort. How could he? With his enhanced senses, it was impossible to relax. Would you be able to sit there and breathe while screams rang in your ears and sobbing pounded in your mind? Naturally, this meant that Peter wasn't the most experienced when it came to said breathing exercises. Maybe he should've practised. Life always had a funny way of throwing Peter in the deep end headfirst and tied to a ten ton weight and expecting him to swim. However, he had once read in a self-help book that breathing exercises were good for calming people down, so he decided to hit fuck it for the sixth time in the last 48 hours and try it out. I mean, it was that or release an angry billionaire in a metal suit decked out with the most advanced weapons in the world (except for maybe what HYDRA had because honestly Peter knew better than to underestimate them and he mildly respected their cockroach-like survival skills) who was hell-bent on revenge and gave zero fucks into the world. The second option was beginning to sound quite tempting, Peter would be honest.

"Mr Stark, you need to calm down," Peter told the man gently, placing a hand on Tony's shoulder. Tony tilted his head up to look at Peter - rage splashed across his face, tension lining his body - before he shrugged off Peter's hand and jerked into a standing position. And the room was suffocating, suffocating, suffocating, because damn had Tony always been that scary. A cloud of darkness surrounded Tony, filling the lab up and winding itself slowly around Peter's neck, stealing the breath from his lungs. Tony stormed through the lab, footsteps like thunder, anger crackling like lightning. Desperately, Peter followed the billionaire. "Mr Stark, Mr Stark, please calm down," Peter pleaded with him.

"No," Tony spoke, voice cold and flat, tone totally devoid of emotion, so totally opposite to the fury painting his entire body like a second skin. "No I will not calm down, Peter. He dropped a fucking building on you. He deserves to die."

"But you don't deserve to live with the guilt of killing him," Peter begged, tugging at Tony's sleeve in a desperate attempt to stop the man from his warpath. Peter knew he could easily overpower Tony. But he was hoping it wouldn't come to that. "Trust me, I know how it feels to want revenge, I really do, but you have to let it go. Please, Mr Stark."

"Dammit Peter, he hurt you!" Tony shouted, whirling around to face Peter, features twisted and manically furious. "He hurt you a-and I wasn't there and you had to deal with being crushed by a fucking building and then you got up and kept fighting because of that sick son of a bitch so I swear to fucking god I will murder him." Tony's eyes held a frenzied wildness in them, chest heaving up and down, Peter could hear his heart racing.

"Mr Stark, try some breathing," Peter said out of desperation, completely and utterly out of ideas. "Just breath. In and out, in and out." Tony's momentary surprise shocked him out of his anger, confusion flickering across his face momentarily before the anger was back, stronger than ever. Tony pivoted on his heel and walked away from Peter, heading towards where he kept his suits and leaving a heavy sense of dread pooling in Peter's stomach and twisting his insides in knots. So breathing hadn't worked. Thanks for nothing self-help books.

~~~

Step 5. Hack the most advanced AI in the world.

When in doubt, do something potentially illegal. A mugger had once told Peter that after Peter caught her trying to rob a young man. That lady had been fucking badass. It was honestly a shame she's gone to prison but a criminal is a criminal. Turns out the lady had been responsible for a string of high-end bank and jewellery robberies. Peter wondered how she was doing. Probably not well, considering how shit the American jail system is. Peter always tried to find alternative ways to stop criminals, only really sending in the pedophiles, rapists, murderers and the more professional robbers. Sometimes people had no choice in the shitty hand life had dealt them and goddamn if Peter didn't get that. People were just pushed and pushed until they were left with nothing but desperation. Maybe if the government or any of the fucking American systems were better or did their jobs properly then people wouldn't have to steal just to keep themselves and their families from starvation. Maybe Toomes wouldn't have started his alien tech business and then none of this would have even happened. Peter wouldn't be in this situation right now. And Peter was now out of options. He had an angry billionaire on his hands and absolutely no idea what to do. So, he took the lady's advice and decided to do something potentially illegal. He hacked the most advance AI in the world. (What, like it's hard?)

"Hey FRI?" Peter called with a wince.

"Yes, Peter," the AI replied.

"I'm really sorry," Peter told her before bringing up FRIDAY's code. (A/N - I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT COMPUTERS SO THIS IS GONNA BE SOME VAGUE, QUESTIONABLE AF HACKING) Fingers flying across the keys of the laptop, Peter bit his lip in concentration, brows furrowed. He had to hurry and shut down Mr Stark's suits before he reached them and left to murder Toomes. Adrenaline coursed through his body, brain whirring to life like the computer before him as he deleted lines of code, rewriting and altering the code that created FRIDAY as he tore down the firewalls Mr Stark had built. Peter vaguely registered that this was probably illegal and that Mr Stark would most definitely be mad about this later but he quickly waved the thoughts away. He didn't have time for them, he didn't have time, he didn't have time. Barely registering what he was doing, Peter submerged himself into the world of numbers, immersing himself completely in the ocean of lines of code, fingers instinctively knowing what t do as though he'd been born to hack. Again, probably not a great thing that this was so easy. But computers had always made sense to Peter. After what felt like hours but was really only a few minutes, Peter was into FRIDAY's system. And with a few taps, Peter shut down the suits. Quickly exiting the browser, Peter dropped his head into his hands. He'd done it. With a long exhale, Peter relaxed, leaning back into his chair and running his shaking hands through his hair. An enraged roar broke the peaceful quiet surrounding Peter and he squeezed his eyes shut. Maybe if he ignored it, Mr Stark's anger would go away. He couldn't deal with this shit. Peter was too young to die.

"Peter Benjamin Parker I swear to fucking god-"

"You probably shouldn't fuck god, Mr Stark," Peter couldn't resist remarking with a shit-eating grin. "People might get a bit mad. And who knows, you may even end up pregnant which I can't imagine will be very fun."

"What the fuck?" Tony whispered into the silence that followed Peter's statement. "I don't even want to know what goes on in your brain." Peter hummed in agreement. To be honest, he had no idea what was going on up there half the time. He was just along for the ride. And hey, if it distracted Mr Stark from his anger then it was a win win situation right? (How Peter won in this scenario he didn't know but he didn't question it).

"It's the trauma," Peter replied flippantly, as casual as one would be if they were discussing the weather.

"The-" Tony broke off into angry, confused gibberish that Peter didn't even try to decipher. Crisis averted. Now to deal with the aftermath.

~~~

Step 6. Watch a movie.

Peter Parker wasn't good with emotions. Being a socially awkward sixteen-year-old genius had that effect on a person. Not to mention the fact that he had a crime-fighting, sarcastic alter ego. Yeah, he wasn't great with feelings. Especially not his own. And now he was attempting to help Mr Stark clam down after the whole Toomes-dropping-a-building-on-him-reveal thing. And the only way an emotionally stunted teenage genius superhero knew how to help an emotionally stunted adult genius superhero was something most people would not class as a healthy coping mechanism. Distraction. Preferably with a movie.

"Hey Mr Stark, wanna watch Empire Strikes Back?" Peter asked. Tony fell into a confused silence which Peter took as an agreement. "Yes? Perfect, let's go." Grabbing Tony's arm, Peter tugged him out of the lab and into the elevator, confusion splashed across Tony's features as they entered the movie room. Peter dropped onto the expensive yet incredibly comfortable couch in the centre of the room, pulling Tony down beside him. "Hey FRI? Can you please play The Empire Strikes Back."

"Certainly, Peter," FRIDAY replied, a hint of warmth in her robotic voice. The Star Wars theme filled the room, Peter lips kicking up into a smile at the familiar sound. And as the movie played, Peter reciting every single line with the characters, he felt the rage and tension slowly drain out of his mentor as he relaxed.

"Hey, kid," Tony whispered, interrupting Luke and Darth Vader's showdown. "I sorry for getting angry. I just... I just didn't know what to do. Instead of asking if you were okay I blamed myself and wanted to frigging murder a guy who's already suffering in prison."

"It's okay, Mr Stark," Peter responded with a smile, sincerity gracing his tone. "I get it. After Ben died, I found his murderer. I almost killed the guy," Peter chuckled without humour, Tony watching him with sad eyes, the movie forgotten. "Point is, I know how it feels to want revenge. Don't apologise for being human."

"You really are the best of us all, kid," Tony remarked, a smile adoring his face, features relaxed as he looked at Peter.

"I learned from the best," Peter replied with a shrug.

"Thanks, kid," Tony said, throat tight with emotion.

"I meant May," Peter joked lightly, the heavy emotion clouding the room vanishing as Tony laughed.

"Are you okay, kid?" Tony asked, seriousness settling over them again.

"Honestly?" Peter responded, "no. But that's alright. Because I will be." Peter held Tony's gaze, warmth blossoming in his chest at his mentor's caring eyes, as Darth Vader's voice filled the room.

"No, I am your father," Darth Vader spoke. Peter turned back to the movie, watching as Luke jumped and fell.

"You're gonna be okay, kid," Tony whispered, "we're both gonna be okay."

Because Peter would be okay. So Tony was okay too.

And if Pepper walked in three hours later to find them curled up against each other, fast asleep she never said anything. (She got FRIDAY to take a photo and saved it to Irondad and Spiderson - an unsurprisingly large file. She should probably get Peter to do a DNA test. They did look rather similar)

[lostinthewiind]

Sorry for already requesting again, I’m just slightly obsessed with your writing. Could I request another Poly!Matchablossom where they take care of the reader when they are on their period and in pain? If you want to keep the reader more neutral, I totally understand and would change the request to the reader just generally not feeling well. Thank you in advance!

Polyamorous Relationship w/ Joe & Cherry: Period Pains

A/N: okay so I love this request because I'm single AF and every time I get horrendous cramps during my period I wish I had someone to take care of me, but alas, I just have to curl up in my heated blanket alone :( Anyway, I shall now live vicariously through this fic. If anyone would like a gender neutral fic with the reader just being sick or something, let me know!

Rating: PG13

Warnings: mentions menstrual cramps and general period problems that some of us unfortunate souls have to endure once a goddamn month, mentions nudity, tiny bit spicy 

All things considered, it was shaping up to be a good day. The sun was shining bright, the warm rays peeking through the curtains of the apartment you shared with your boyfriends. Birds were chirping happily outside, waking the city with their beautiful song, and it was the weekend, so you didn’t have to go to work. 

It was going to be a great day . . . well, it would have been a great day if you weren’t currently experiencing some of the worst period cramps of your life. Because of this painful monthly inconvenience, all the things that would normally make you smile were thoroughly pissing you off. 

The sun shining through the crack in the curtains and the chirping birds acted as a taunting reminder that it was morning and that you hadn’t gotten nearly enough sleep that night thanks to your uncomfortable cramps and aching body. Sometime during the night, you had been forced to sneak your way out of the bedroom and set up camp on the couch for fear of waking your boyfriends with your constant tossing and turning.

This, however, wasn’t nearly enough to sooth you to sleep. If anything, it only made things worse because you never slept well without Joe and Cherry by your side. So, after popping a couple painkillers and downing a glass of cold water, you resigned yourself to lying awake on the couch for almost the entire night, staring up at the ceiling and trying not to break out into sobs due to pain, frustration, and exhaustion. 

Hearing the bedroom door open, you tilted your head slightly and watched as your boyfriends emerged from the bedroom dawning housecoats on their bodies and happy, sleepy smiles on their faces. At least they were enjoying everything this wonderful Saturday had to offer.

“Good morning,” Cherry greeted you with a quick peck on the forehead as he passed you on the way to the kitchen to start the coffee maker. “You’re up early.”

You winced and squinted as Joe threw the curtains open, flooding the room with blinding light. “That assumes I went to sleep at all,” you scoffed, your eyes slowly adjusting to the sun rays shining directly in your eyes. 

“You haven’t slept?” Joe walked over to the couch, squatted down in front of you, and placed the back of his hand to your forehead. “Are you feeling okay?”

You grimaced and swatted his hand away, knowing deep down that he was only trying to be nice but being bothered nonetheless. “No, my body is trying to rip me apart from the inside out!” You grabbed a throw pillow from the couch, pressed it firmly over your face, and groaned loudly. “I’m in pain!”

Joe and Cherry, who were familiar with how intense your periods could be by now, shared a knowing look from across the apartment. As much as you tried not to, you tended to lash out a little when the cramping kept you from sleeping or doing any of the daily activities you were used to. 

“Cramps?” Joe inquired despite already knowing the answer. When you nodded from underneath the pillow, moving the pillow along with your head movements, Joe placed his large hand on your lower abdomen and pressed down firmly. Then, without hesitation, he began to massage the internal muscles that were causing you such distress. “How’s this?” he checked to see if his actions were helping or hurting.

You sighed, your entire body relaxing into his touch as he massaged away some of the discomfort. “Feels good,” you mumbled, finally lifting the pillow from your face and setting it to the side. “I took medication but it didn’t help at all. It’s really bad this month.”

“Do you want any coffee?” Cherry called softly from the kitchen, pausing after he opened the cabinet until he knew if he needed two or three mugs. 

At the thought of drinking anything that wasn’t water, your stomach turned. “No, thank you.” You shook your head. 

After setting the mugs atop the counter, Cherry shuffled over to the back of the couch and leaned over it to caress your cheek lovingly. “Nauseous?” he asked.

You nodded. “And I have a headache,” you added, “but that could be from lack of sleep or because I haven’t eaten anything in a while . . . or simply because the universe hates me.”

“The universe doesn’t hate you,” Joe assured you as he moved your legs a little so he could sit on the couch with you before laying your legs across his lap and continuing his massaging. “But even if it does, we love you so it doesn’t matter.”

You chuckled slightly as Cherry returned to the kitchen. “Thanks.” You tried your best to sound sincere but due to your exhaustion-induced monotone voice, you sounded more annoyed than anything. 

“So you spent most of the night out here?” Joe questioned, his rough hands shooing the pain away one skilled movement after another. 

“Yeah,” you answered. “I couldn’t get comfortable and didn’t want to wake you guys. No sense in all three of us not getting any sleep just because I was born with an organ that is infused with the wrath of Satan himself.”

Joe laughed under his breath. “You really do reach new levels of anger during this time of the month,” he commented. “Good thing you don’t take it out on us . . . most of the time.”

“I’m sorry,” you shot him a sheepish look, apologizing for all the times you had treated him and Cherry rudely because of your mood swings and pain. “I don’t mean it.”

Joe noticed the guilty look on your face and immediately felt bad. “I was just kidding, love.” He pulled your close to his body and pressed a soft kiss to your temple. “We know you don’t mean it.”

“Good.” You tucked your face into the crook of his neck. 

Removing his hands from your stomach, Joe ran his fingers through your hair and kissed you again. “Do you feel any better?”

“A little,” you forced a small smile. “Thank you.”

Just then, Cherry appeared before the two of you with two mugs of coffee in his hands. After handing one to Joe, he looked down at you with a sympathetic look on his face. “You should eat something, darling,” he told you. 

“I know,” you agreed. “I’m just not hungry.”

Taking a sip of his coffee, Cherry lost himself in thought for a few moments while he tried to brainstorm a way to get you feeling good enough to be able to put some food in your body. Then, without saying anything, he turned on his heel, walked away, and disappeared inside the bathroom.

Seconds later, you could hear water running and could smell the faint scent of your favourite bubble bath wafting into the living room. “A warm bath sounds wonderful,” Joe whispered in your ear, catching onto what Cherry’s plan was. “Take a relaxing bath with Kaoru to ease your muscles and by the time you’re done I’ll have breakfast ready. How does that sound?”

“Perfect.” The thought of soaking in hot water was nearly enough to put you to sleep right then and there. “The only way it could be better was if we had a bathtub big enough for the three of us.”

“I agree.” Joe kissed the shell of your ear. “I’ll join you next time.”

“Okay.”

Minutes later, the sound of running water ceased and Cherry emerged from the bathroom. “Come now, beautiful.” He lifted you out of Joe’s arms and into his own, years of skating at S gifting him with muscles that hid beneath his slender frame. “Better get to cooking, Kojiro.” He eyed the other man.

“Okay, damn.” Joe held up his hands in defense as you and Cherry headed for the bathroom. “Let a man take a few sips of coffee first.”

You chuckled lightly, seeing through Cherry’s remark and knowing he did it just to coax a laugh out of you like you did whenever the two bickered about nonsense, which he had achieved. 

“There’s that beautiful laugh,” Cherry commented, smiling at the sight of your amusement. “I wish I could do more to ease your pain but I hope this helps even a little.”

“Of course it will help,” you told him as he set you down and closed the bathroom door behind the two of you to keep the heat inside the room. 

After stripping and setting your clothes to the side, you stepped into the warm bath and let out a relieved sigh like you had when Joe had massaged you. As you sank down into the water and the beautifully scented bubbles surrounded your body, you felt your muscles begin to relax. Letting your eyes flutter shut, you basked in the euphoric feeling of being comfortable for the first time in hours.

“You look content.” Cherry’s voice was soft and quiet, careful not to startle you out of your happy daze. “Can I do anything else?”

“You can join me.” You extended your hand toward him. “Will you? Please?”

Cherry smiled as he too began undressing. “You don’t have to ask me twice,” he assured you, and as you slid forward to make room for him, he sank down behind you and the water sloshed against the sides of the tub as the two of you maneuvered into a comfortable position. 

As Cherry wrapped his arms around you from behind, you leaned back into his chest and smiled happily when he rested his chin on top of your head. The two of you stayed like that in complete silence for a while, just enjoying the time you had to spend with each other.

 “We should do this more often.” Cherry spoke after a while, sounding like he was enjoying the bath even more than you were. “I could almost fall asleep like this.”

“Don’t tempt me,” you warned. “I’m so tired.”

“You just close your eyes and relax.” He held you tighter. “I wont let you drown.”

“Promise?” you joked.

Cherry scoffed and rolled his eyes at you. “Yes, I promise.” He dipped his head down and began peppering your cheek, jaw, and neck with kisses, nips, and kitten licks. “I’m here for you. Whatever you want . . . I just want you to feel good.”

“That definitely feels good.” A small moan escaped your lips as you tilted your head to the side to allow your boyfriend easier access to your neck. “Very good.”

Once Cherry’s mouth reached your shoulder, he slid his tongue along your skin as he moved back up to your ear so he could work his way down again. “You know what else would feel good?” You felt him smirk against your flesh, but before he could elaborate, the bathroom door opened and Joe strode in with a spoon of something in his hand. 

Stopping halfway between the door and the tub, Joe narrowed his eyes at the two of you. “You know, I’m feeling very left out right now.”

“It’s not always about you.” Cherry scowled, clearly upset about being interrupted. “Ever heard of knocking?“

“I’ve seen you both naked before. Many times. I don’t need to knock.” Joe brushed off Cherry’s concern and approached with the spoon held out toward you. “Does this taste good?”

Now that your nausea had subsided and you were actually beginning to feel hungry, you happily opened your mouth and tasted whatever it was that Joe had created in the kitchen. You didn’t know what it was, but it was some sort of sauce and it was sweet. 

“It’s very good,” you assured him. “But everything you make is good.”

Joe’s face lit up at the compliment. “Not too sweet?”

“No.”

“Good.”

“Ahem,” Cherry cleared his throat. “I’m here too, you know. Do I get a taste?”

“It’s not always about you.” Joe threw his own words back at him before smiling sweetly at you. “Breakfast will be ready soon. I’ll call you.”

“Okay.” You couldn’t help but return the smile, feeling much better than you had earlier. 

Before Joe left, he pressed a kiss to your lips and a peck to Cherry’s head as a peace offering to make up for the two’s nattering at one another before. Then, he was gone and the sound of him working in the kitchen filled the apartment.

“What did he feed you?” Cherry questioned, running the tips of his slender fingers up your arm and leaving goosebumps in their wake.

You shrugged. “I have no idea, but it was delicious.”

“Mmm,” Cherry hummed, his mouth quickly finding its way back to your skin and sucking on your shoulder. “You know what else is delicious?”

You giggled when he grazed his teeth across a ticklish spot on your neck. “Breakfast is soon. You aren’t allowed to eat me.”

“But you taste so good, I just want to-”

“Kaoru, could you come help me?” Joe called from the kitchen, almost as if he knew what the two of you were up to and was interrupting again on purpose. 

Cherry’s head fell back and he huffed. “Oh, my God. Is five minutes alone too much to ask?”

Dropping your head back onto Cherry’s shoulder, you pressed an open-mouthed kiss to the nape of his neck. “Don’t go. Pretend you didn’t hear him.”

Cherry squinted down at you quizzically. “What’s gotten into you? You’re usually the one encouraging me to be nicer to him.”

“I know . . . but just this once, please?” You batted your eyelashes at him. “If he thinks we didn’t hear him, he’ll come to get you and then we can convince him to let us stay in the bath a little longer. It’s just so warm . . . I don’t want to get out yet.”

“But the food will get cold.”

Your eyes grew as wide as dinner plates at your sudden idea. “Do you think we can eat breakfast in the bath?”

Cherry laughed heartily at that. “Well if you ask Kojiro with the same wondrous expression you just gave me, I don’t think there is any way he could say no. He might even feed you if you say please and kiss that spot behind his ear that he really likes.”

“I hope so.” You felt like you were in heaven with the thought of being fed delicious food in a warm bubble bath. “It’s worth a try, at least.”

“Indeed it is.” Cherry kissed the top of your head, truly happy with how much your mood had lifted in such a short amount of time and proud of himself that he had helped make that happen. 

With your eyes glued to the door, waiting for your other boyfriend to walk back into the bathroom, you exhaled contently. Maybe today was shaping up to be a good day after all. 

[09kags]

Happy Haikyuu Day! 

Sorry for the bad quality first off T^T I keep having to resize these so that they’re smaller for Tumblr and it ruins the quality. But more importantly, happy Haikyuu day! (at least it is Japan already!) This edit embodies some of my favorite moments within the series and below, I’ve written some of the thoughts that went into this piece/my feelings on these moments! Manga spoilers ahead (I'm pretty sure I’ve kept them to a minimum but just to be sure, please proceed with caution!), and I hope you enjoy this edit! (Overlays: accio-glow, aulia-chan on dA; PSDs: hurtears, hallyumi, yangyanggg on dA) 1. “Today might finally be the day we get the chance to let our talents bloom… it could be tomorrow. Or maybe next year. Or maybe it’ll finally come when we’re 30. I’m not sure if physique has anything to do with it but I do know for sure that if you don’t believe that day will come, it never will.” This quote is a testament to Oikawa’s growth and is a symbolic representation of Oikawa freeing himself from the shackles of “geniuses” and “prodigies.” So what if your opponent is a genius? So what if they possess more innate talent? As his mentor and inspiration Jose Blanco states, “Are you saying you know what the limits of your abilities are already? Even though you aren’t yet finished growing physically or mentally? Even though you haven’t mastered all the skills you can master? If you’re going to complain that someone with more talent than you will always be better than you… no matter how hard you work, how many tricks you learn and how many great teammates you have… do that only after you’ve given everything the very best effort you have.” There will always be someone better in the world. But to claim that you cannot hope to compare to the likes of them is to resign yourself to a predetermined defeat as well as dismiss both your own efforts and theirs.    There’s no guarantee when your efforts will pay off. As Oikawa declares, it may be today, tomorrow, or even when we’re 30.  But if you don’t believe in yourself first, if you don’t believe that you will bloom in your own time, “that day will never come.”  The flower in the background is the iris. It is known to represent trust, faith, and hope amongst many other ideals. I chose this particular flower because of the manga cap used in this panel. I cannot emphasize how much I love the bond between Oikawa and Iwaizumi, especially this particular moment when Oikawa points at Iwaizumi with such authority and determination as if saying, “This ball, this moment, is meant for you.” Not to mention the pairing with the iconic “Talent is something you make bloom, instinct is something you hone” quote. An absolutely masterful sequence of scenes that always gets my blood rushing. 

2. “Don’t look down! Volleyball is a sport where you’re always looking up!” This moment gives me chills every time. It’s something so fundamental and simple and yet, when Ukai yells this,  it instills that feeling of “You can do it.” It makes my heart flutter and I feel so excited because it’s such a beautiful way of saying “Don’t give up, it’s not over yet.” And even if the ball has dropped for the last time or you have lost this match, there’s always tomorrow. There’s always the next match where you’ll have to look up. This quote gives me the same feeling as when Takeda-sensei says, “For the rest of your lives, you can do anything you set your mind to!” You only truly lose when you stop trying or you give up.  3. “It hurts. I’m tired. This is painful. I don’t want this to ever end.” / “The ball hasn’t dropped yet!” Whenever Haikyuu characters say “Just one more!” or “The ball hasn’t dropped yet!”, the tension and desperation is almost palpable. It’s so incredibly moving to see them strive to save that ball just one more time, to focus purely on what is in front of them. Even if they don’t all pursue volleyball as a professional career, the passion they all have for the sport is real. That sort of passion is beautiful to watch and admire, and I wish I could have that kind of passion for something in my life.  4. “The underhand only uses two hands. The overhand uses 10 fingers. That’s all the more to support your spikers with, which is what it means to be a setter.” / “To cut through the wall that looms before your spikers, that is the purpose of a setter.”  This particular panel depicts the two ideologies of Atsumu and Kageyama respectively, two of my favorite setters and characters in general. Atsumu “may be pretty cocky at times, and overwhelm his teammates with his thirst for victory, but he treats his spikers with more sincerity and selflessness than anyone else.” He may be overbearing and an asshole at times, but his love for the sport and the art of being a setter is second to none. On the other hand, there’s Kageyama who’s so damn cool with his one-liners. Kageyama’s passion and drive to win may blind him to his surroundings and teammates but he truly believes that the setter is the one who clears the path for their spikers. When their spikers feel cornered and the walls are closing in, it is the setter who “cuts through the wall that looms” ahead. The old Kageyama who was a prisoner to speed is no longer, and his growth as a player brings me to tears every time.  5. “Someone once asked me, ‘Do you ever feel bitter over the fact that you’re not a regular on the team, and amongst your juniors there’s a genius to boot?’ I never understood the exact definition of what it was to be a genius to begin with, but upon hearing the question, I understood the general gist of what they were getting at.  Every so often there will be someone who thinks that ‘people like Atsumu’ were ‘good’ from the get-go. But the thing is, if I practiced something from 1-10 every day, then people like Atsumu would have done it from 1-20. Or, they would have done the same 10 but in a more efficient or concentrated manner. They might also ask ‘Instead of doing it 1-10, how about I tried it from A-Z, what would happen then? Now doesn’t that sound interesting?’  They’re the kind of people who think about stuff like that. Even if they fail, even if they are hated and get ostracised by others, no matter whether they’re right or they’re wrong, even if they subvert something the rest of us hold in high regard, they’re the kind of people who can’t sit still without giving it a go. Even if they start coughing up blood from their lungs, they’re the kind of people who want to keep on running, no matter what.  There’s going to be a lot of people in this world who make you go ‘Wow, I’ll never be able to defeat them,’ and it’s only natural that you think they’re amazing people. I think that to be able to keep charging ahead is a talent in and of itself. You can call people like them whatever you like, the term ‘genius’ isn’t exactly an insult. That said, to think they were ‘good from the get go’ is to condemn yourself to a predetermined defeat without even playing a match against them, and I also think it’s very rude.”  This quote, hands down, is one of my favorite quotes of all time. It is not genius or natural talent that makes individuals truly great, but it is grit. Without a doubt, people are not born equal. There will always be someone with more innate talent or latent capabilities. We all begin at different starting lines. But those who truly stand out are those who go the extra mile, like those dubbed to be the Monster Generation (Kageyama, Atsumu, Hinata, Bokuto, Ushijima, Oikawa, etc.). To others they may seem like natural prodigies but behind their flawless technique and precise ball control lies countless hours of training. They trained harder than anyone else, sacrificed in order to hone their abilities, and ran farther than the rest of the pack. They’re the type to fixate on what lies before them without much regard to anything else.They eat, sleep, breathe, and live volleyball with every waking second. They’re always trying new things (Atsumu pulling off the freak duo quick in the middle of the Inarizaki match) and continually looking for ways to improve (“But the thing is, if I practiced something from 1-10 every day, then people like Atsumu would have done it from 1-20. Or, they would have done the same 10 but in a more efficient or concentrated manner. They might also ask ‘Instead of doing it 1-10, how about I tried it from A-Z, what would happen then? Now doesn’t that sound interesting?’ They’re the kind of people who think about stuff like that”; Kageyama keeping a volleyball journal). It is not what they were born with that makes them great; it is their overwhelming desire to win.  6. “‘Yesterday’ has already disappeared behind us. Many, many yesterdays have become a part of our muscles. What shall we do, today?” This quote, chills. There’s no point ruminating about the past or what has already passed; you can’t change it. (In retrospect, I wish I included another quote from Inarizaki in this panel: “One time is enough. We rise to the challenges of today.”) You learn from the mistakes of yesterday and use them as stepping stones for tomorrow. I wish I could eloquently phrase how much I love this quote or my interpretation of it but alas, my writing is fancy Garbage.  7. “But if… just if… that moment comes for you, that will be the moment you really get hooked on volleyball.” If you didn’t get chills when Tsukishima blocks Ushijima, I have no words for you. Tsukishima-it’s-just-a-club Kei, Tsukishima-I’m-the-normal-guy Kei — Tsukishima Kei, who always underestimates his own capabilities and relies on what he can see in front of him, blocking the Ushijima Wakatoshi, one of the top three high school aces nationally. The character development from someone who did the bare minimum (as noted by other players/coaches at one of the training camps) to someone who finally had their moment to get hooked on volleyball is one of my favorite progressions of all time. Seeing him fall in love with volleyball gradually and then all at once is truly heartwarming and beautiful to witness.  8. “No matter what other people may say, we are the protagonists of the world.” This quote is incredibly empowering to me. Even if your days consist of mundane activities, you are the protagonist of your own story every day. You may not be the main character in a shounen manga or an adolescent seeking to usurp the government in a dystopian novel, but this is your story. No one can tell it like you do and no one can replicate your story. It is yours and yours only.  And that concludes my Haikyuu word vomit! I really do wish I could have properly conveyed my pure adoration and love for this series better. I truly do love Haikyuu so very, very much. It will always have a special place in my heart and I will never forget the memories and lessons it has taught me! Thank you, Furudate-sensei, for such a beautiful story. And thank you Haikyuu, for everything. For all the losses and victories we shared. For all the smiles and laughter, and for all the tears we shed. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. 

[jaegckerman]

Notes in Constellations

~ This fic was inspired by the song of the same name by Chiodos ~ Description: Eren wasn't as oblivious as everyone thought - Mikasa's feelings for him were perfectly clear to him. However, it seemed that everyone around him was very oblivious to how he felt about his best friend... even if he could never let her know. Set in canonverse, leading to a slightly different way more smutty version of Chapter 123, but don't expect a happy ending. Tagging: @kirsteiiins because she's awesome. Rating: Explicit Word Count: 7.6K CW: : Smut, I guess?; Angst; Mentions of death and violence; Manga spoilers! Link to AO3

I see her smile in her sleep I know that she's a dreamer I follow every move she makes

If you asked anyone in the Survey Corps, and even before that in the Scouts Regiment, everyone would have told you that Mikasa Ackerman was hopelessly in love with Eren Jaeger… which was too bad, since the boy seemed to have nothing but killing titans on his mind. He was constantly barking at her, taking her kindness for Mikasa simply being annoyingly overbearing, and didn’t shy away from snapping at her for it. Eventually, Armin tentatively came up to him one night and suggested he have a conversation with the girl to let her know that her affections were misplaced. Gently, Armin emphasized, knowing how much it would hurt her and how tactless his best friend tended to be. It made Eren blush furiously; he did run hotter than a normal human being due to his Titan powers, but he could have sworn his whole head was on fire. He was just glad that it was dark outside and his best friend’s keen eye couldn’t make out the color of his cheeks as Eren just hummed noncommittally during Armin’s speech, then scoffed at his words. He stammered something about how Mikasa only saw him as a brother, and changed the subject, with no intention of adhering to the blonde’s advice in any way, shape or form. Neither of them was sure who he was trying to convince.

I know that this is the last thing on your mind, Eren, but what you’re doing is unkind to her and Mikasa deserves better, Eren recalled Armin’s voice as he watched the girl in question, holding back a smile. Levi’s squad was traveling from Trost to the port, and with the railway still a few months away from being completed, they had to go by horse and camp out for the night in a cabin that belonged to Flegel Reeves. They were currently setting the table for dinner, and she was humming absentmindedly before she abruptly stopped and scurried off to the other side of the room… only to return with a bundle of flowers she had picked off the side of the forest path they had traversed early that morning – she was probably the only human on Earth who wasn’t scared of angering Levi; she just hopped off her horse, crouched down, and started plucking flowers from the ground while he snarked at her to stop “farting around” and get going, and Eren had to suppress a chuckle at the scene. He had almost forgotten about his own task of hunting down enough plates and mugs for the entire squad until she looked up at him, probably because she felt him staring. He hurriedly averted his eyes and turned his body back towards the stupidly high cabinet to hide his blush, stretching as he felt around the wooden boards and grabbing what felt like ceramic. With a triumphant little “hah!”, he pulled down a stack of plates and turned around only to find Mikasa watching him; he wondered for a second if he should maybe listen to Armin after all. She quickly shifted her own gaze, her usual stoic mask on, but he had still caught the look on her face just before that, and it was nothing short of… Adoring didn’t do it justice, but his vocabulary was limited when it came to matters of the heart. He suddenly realized just how domestic the scene was, and what that must be doing to her. While she may be as skilled as a hundred soldiers, and damn good at pretty much anything she did, he knew this was a piece of the kind of life she craved the most. Maybe he really was being a selfish, unkind monster in more ways than one.

Because as observant as they were when it came to Mikasa’s feelings for him, what Levi’s Squad never seemed to notice was the way his own heartbeat would pick up whenever she entered the room. They never noticed how his face flushed when her hands brushed his whenever she took pails of water or wooden boards or whatever else he carried from him to alleviate his burden in any way she could. They had no idea that he snapped at her, not because he was annoyed or still jealous of her abilities, but out of concern, since she was always so busy taking care of him and everyone else, she never took proper care of herself. None of them ever seemed to catch his longing stares and, thankfully, no one ever caught him in the dead of night, when his mind was consumed with the fantasies the sight of Mikasa provoked, and he convinced himself it was her hand or her tongue stroking his aching length.

Eren had taken over watch duties with Armin while she fell asleep next to the fire they had built, her need to be close to him overwhelming even her desire for a comfortable resting place. When she didn’t follow Sasha to the cabin and instead shut her eyes right where she was sitting, she had said she wanted to stay because she was cold and didn’t want to leave the heat of the flames. Of course, she never said it was because she wanted to stay with him, because she knew that he would inevitably argue with her, but Eren knew and decided to stay silent. He was so painfully aware that he would not have many more opportunities to see her look peaceful as he snuck glances at her sleeping form while Armin babbled on about something Onyankopon had told him about his home country’s landscape – he didn’t register a word his best friend was saying, and he felt bad, because he was sure it was as interesting and smart as anything Armin has ever said. However, all he could think about was how Mikasa’s sleeping position looked uncomfortable, so he bundled up his coat and made a makeshift bed on the ground for her. She squirmed and her eyes fluttered open for a second when he tried to lay her down gently, but she quickly fell back asleep, with a small smile on her face.

And no one knew just how much his heart ached at the sight, wishing he could give her everything she had always dreamed of, could always give her comfort, and peace and stability and, most importantly, all the love that was threatening to make his heart burst out of his chest. No one knew that he never openly and decisively rejected her, not because he really didn’t believe that she loved him like that, as he always argued when confronted, but because he could not bear the thought of her looking at another man the way she looked at him. He could not, for the life of him, reconcile with the idea that Mikasa, his Mikasa, would shed the mask and be soft and loving and devoted to someone else.

Well, when he turned to look back at Armin, his best friend gave him a smug smile, and maybe one person did know. But still, Armin had no idea how right he had been about Eren being unkind and undeserving… and yet, he couldn’t find it within himself to forgo his selfish desires completely. Not yet.

It's been a long, long night Say you're mine, say you're mine Can I keep you tonight?

He had no idea what had gotten into him. He had never planned on doing this – well, to be fair, he had definitely thought about it, or more like fantasized about how she would tell him that she wanted him, how he would crash his lips against hers, what they would taste like, what she would feel like in his arms, pressed against him…

But he had never planned on the words actually leaving his lips, hoping for an answer that would allow him to cross that line and leave everything behind once and for all. He was so, so tired already, and the fight hadn’t even started yet. And then Mikasa had come to him with her ice cream cone, her eyes shining like they used to when they would play-pretend being Armin’s mom and dad when they were children, and he had tasted the sweet treat that had just been in her mouth, and she had looked so lovely and soft and relaxed for once and… he knew, he could not leave her behind without exploring the possibility, without making completely sure whether his fantasies could actually become reality or not. If he didn’t, he wasn’t sure he would have the resolve to do what needed to be done with no regrets.

So when she came to find him, crying at the knowledge of what he had to do as he stared at the low light emitting from the refugee camp, knowledge that had been plaguing him for three years, feeling weak and exhausted beyond words, he couldn’t stop the awkward question from tumbling from his lips.

“What am I to you?”

As she blushed and her grey eyes started to shimmer despite the lack of light, he wondered if his own betrayed how much he wanted her to say he was… her everything, her most beloved, wanted her to ask him to follow her to the ends of the world, just the two of them. That she was his, and his alone. And in turn, he would take her hand and lead her away, away from all the war and death and show her that he had always been hers.

We dance around just like constellations You keep my body warm And we dance around just like constellations You're keeping me awake at night You make my body warm

Eren had known earlier that, had they not been interrupted, Mikasa might have elaborated on her answer. She might even have corrected herself, retracted the dreaded f-word that had left her lips, might have told him what he wanted to hear. Maybe she would have added that by “family”, she meant the type of family that husbands and wives made up. Or maybe he would have found the guts and the selfishness to fess up in spite of her answer. But alas, it wasn’t meant to be, and it seemed the path he was on was truly the only one available to him.

He would take what he could get before he began the hardest and last journey of his life, though. He indulged in one last night of fun with his friends and the refugees… The kindest strangers he had ever met, willingly sharing their limited supplies with them, and he knew he would crush them under his feet in just a few months. Thankfully, the liquor they were served helped a great deal in repressing that knowledge, at least for tonight.

And when his teal eyes blinked open sluggishly as he awoke from his drunken slumber, he indulged in the warm feeling of Mikasa pressed close to him. Her alcohol-addled breath came out in hot and steady puffs as it fanned across his cheek. When he turned his face to look at her, her lips were so close to his, and he had to close his eyes and swallow hard at the pain that the sight instilled in his racing heart. He clenched his fists against the tears pooling in the corners of his eyes once again, and an unbidden hiccup spilled from his lips, startling the black-haired beauty beside him awake. Silently, he cursed the lightness of her sleep before he twisted his head away from her.

“Eren…?” she murmured, her hand leaving his lapel to rub at her sleep-crusted eyes. “Are you okay?”

“It’s the middle of the night. Go back to sleep, Mikasa…” he murmured, surprised and perturbed at how hoarse his voice sounded.

“We should go back to our beds. This isn’t good for your back.”

Her warmth from beside him disappeared as she gracefully stood up. He took a deep breath, willing the tears away, and took her outstretched hand to help him to his feet. The moment their hands touched, he felt something like an electric current pass through him, and by the quiet gasp she emitted, he was sure she must have felt it too. He looked down at her face, his eyes boring into hers, feeling and conveying an intensity of emotions he hadn’t allowed himself to indulge in since that fateful medal ceremony. Mikasa simply stared back, the silence between them growing heavier, until he broke it with a soft, “c’mon, then,” and led her outside, never letting go of her hand.

And I fall for her, like snow from the sky Gracefully I land in her arms

They arrived in front of the room Kiyomi had organized for Mikasa. They all had plush, comfortable beds, but when she opened the door and turned on the electric lights, he saw the woman had decided to splurge on Mikasa specifically. Her bed was twice as big as his, and the décor looked both cozy and pricey, not almost bare like his room.

“Eren… would you come in for a second?” She looked down at the floor when she asked the question, shuffling her feet nervously. They still hadn’t let go of each other. Ignoring his, once again, racing heartbeat, he nodded and pulled her inside with him. They both sat on the bed and finally disentangled their hands.

“Eren, I’ve noticed, uhm…” She was nervous, and Eren really couldn’t blame her. He had never been the most pleasant person to have serious conversations with, and judging by her behavior, this was definitely going to be a serious conversation. He mentally steeled himself for all the lies he would probably have to tell her.

“What, Mikasa?” His tone was supposed to be harsh, but it came out soft, almost alluring, and seemed to encourage her to continue.

“I’ve noticed how… depressed you’ve been all day. And then, you asked me those questions and… are you sure you’re okay?”

Inhale slowly. Exhale even more slowly. Dig your nails into your palms until you bleed. Hurt yourself, just don’t hurt her, he reminded himself, because really, all he wanted to do was curl up in her lap and cry about how much he just wanted to stop existing, to find a way to escape all the pressure. He wanted to wail and scream about how unfair everything was. Instead, what he said was, “Of course I’m okay, Mikasa.”

He had never been good at repressing his emotions, but over the last three years, he had learned a lot.

“Why did you ask me those questions, though? It was so… unlike you.” She had started fiddling with her fingers, and he could see her cheeks had turned red again. He didn’t answer as he studied her delicate features, because he had no good one; he thought – hoped, really – the interruption would have been it, and she would pretend it never happened.

Suddenly, she turned her head to look him straight in the eyes, and despite the blush still staining her face, determination shone in those onyx irises. “Were you hoping for a different answer? Because I think you know –“

He hushed her with his lips before she could say anything else. He had no idea what came over him, but with the electric current running down his spine once more, with the gasp she emitted, the way she grasped at his shoulders and with how his hands automatically found the sides of her face, tilting to the side to deepen the kiss, taste her sweetness even more intensely, he couldn’t regret it or overthink it.

Just one more piece of heaven before he had to throw himself into hell. Was that too much to ask?

Mikasa suddenly pulled away, her lips swollen and eyes glazed over. “Eren, what – why – I…”

He put a finger to her mouth. “Just for tonight… can’t we just… be?” His eyes were the clearest green, with specks of blue intermingling, a glimmer of hope he thought he had lost forever reflected in them. Mikasa herself studied him with that special look reserved just for him, making his chest swell, and nodded.

So when he leaned in to kiss her once more, they silently decided talking could wait for the next day. Her hands wandered to his hair, longer than she had ever seen it, and pulled a little. A gasp escaped Eren’s lips and she took the opportunity to slide their tongues together, both of them moaning at the sensation. His fingers flew down to her waist to pull her closer as heat began to pool in his abdomen.

Their tongues danced as they fought for dominance, Mikasa’s intoxicating taste overwhelming Eren’s senses. Her hands wandered down from where they were still entangled in his hair to grapple at the buttons of his jacket, pulling it off his shoulders and throwing it… somewhere, neither of them cared. She caressed up and down his back, feeling the muscle ripple below the fabric of his thin shirt. Eren pulled Mikasa’s bottom lip between his teeth and sucked on it lightly, and when a moan wandered from her mouth into his, another spark ran down his spine. He felt himself growing stiffer by the second, and without even thinking about it, he started playing with the buttons on Mikasa’s soft pink shirt, slowly working his way up as he opened them to reveal more of her skin.

“Eren…” she whispered against his mouth, causing him to pull back. Please don’t reject me now, he prayed silently, I need you so much, although what came out of his mouth was, “sorry, I never – is this okay? We can stop anytime…”

Her grey eyes were hooded, and she was almost on top of him, with how much closer he had pulled her, and she was a beautiful sight to behold, her upper body only clad in the pink shirt that had caught at her elbows and her bra, her chest heaving and her skin already flushed. She shook her head. “No, I…”

Suddenly, she was straddling his waist and pushed him down on the bed, shrugging out of her shirt and letting it fall to the floor behind them. “I’ve been wanting this for so long…” She took his hand, which he only now noticed was trembling, and ran it up her defined abs to her covered breast. Her voice was breathy, but her tone determined, when she continued. “Take me.”

Something inside of Eren snapped. With a growl, he pulled her down on top of him and, arms wrapped tightly around her, flipped them over so he was pressing her into the mattress with his entire weight. Their mouths clashed together, all initial insecurity replaced with hunger as they bit and sucked at each other’s lips, licked into each other’s mouths, exploring every millimeter they could reach. Eren’s clothed hips rutted against hers, and the only coherent thought in his mind was more, he needed more.His lips traveled to her neck, and he bit down experimentally, relishing in the moan Mikasa gifted him with.

“Do that again,” she whined, and he was happy to oblige, suckling and biting and eliciting the same response a few more times. He was painfully hard by now, and he moved on instinct when he made his way down her torso, continuing his ministrations. He pulled one of her breasts out of the confines of her bra, and licked over the pebbled, pink nipple.

“Fuck!” she cried out, her back lifting at the new sensation.

“Oh, you like that?” Eren grinned against her sternum as he made his way over to the other side, but her hand against his head stopped him.

“Wait-“ She forced him back on his knees as she sat up and reached behind her back. Eren was confused for a moment, until she pulled her arms free of the bra straps and let the garment join her shirt and his jacket. He was so busy staring at her beautiful chest, wondering if he should resist or succumb to the urge to bury his face in it, he barely registered when she murmured, “You too,” copying his movements from earlier as she unbuttoned his shirt, although she was doing it considerably faster than him. She stared at his newly exposed skin just as unabashedly as he had been looking at her, an expression of pure want etched onto her face.

The sight made Eren unfreeze from his position, pushing Mikasa to lay back down and letting his fingers graze over the soft mounds, not wasting a lot of time before he let his mouth join in. He squeezed and licked and sucked, alternating between each tit and catching the hard nubs between his teeth. He did his best to ignore the way his cock was throbbing, to ignore how badly he just wanted to bury and lose himself inside the gorgeous woman beneath him, how much he wanted to know which sounds of pleasure he could coax from her beautiful, moaning mouth when she was filled with him. Because more than that, he wanted her to enjoy herself. He couldn’t help feeling that, if he could just watch and listen to her come undone, he wouldn’t mind if he never found his own release.

With that thought, he trekked further south, the tip of his tongue tracing the dip in her abs until he reached the waistband of her skirt. He looked up at her for any sign she was uncomfortable after all, but all she did was smile and nod once more. “I said take me, and I meant it,” she panted, and without further ado, Eren pulled down both her skirt and underwear in one swift motion. He kept his eyes on her face, lest he lose all composure, as he rid himself of his own pants and boxers so there would be no more interruptions, no more barriers to overcome. Only then did he allow his eyes to wander.

The sight of strong, collected Mikasa laid bare in front of him did something to him. It wasn’t even just the way she took in his own naked body with so much desire, pupils dilating when they reached his throbbing length like she was starving for him – the knowledge that he was the only one who had ever seen her this vulnerable, the only one she trusted so much she would give herself over to him without a second thought, made him feel like he was on top of the world. It made his eyes sting, and his own appetite reached new heights. He found himself salivating as he pulled her legs over his shoulders and his head dived down to bury his face in the crease of her inner thigh. He peppered kisses up and down and back up before he became overwhelmed with holding back and let the flat of his tongue run up her slit. Her thighs tensed and she cried out, hands flying into his hair much like earlier, and that was all the encouragement he needed to keep going. He licked back down, to where she was dripping, and hardened the tip of his tongue to thrust it inside, pushing and licking in and out of her, relishing in her taste. Mikasa pulled on his hair as another whine left her lips, and he couldn’t hold back the groan escaping his own throat. His cock was literally aching for some friction, but he was sure he wouldn’t last once he was inside her if he touched himself now, so he ignored the urge to stroke himself. Instead, he moved his lips and tongue up a little to lick and suck on the little bundle of nerves above her entrance and let his fingers join in, circling her before he pushed one in slowly. It slipped in easily, her wet heat wrapped around the digit, and his length twitched between his legs, begging to replace it.

“Eren…!” she gasped, her hips starting to move in time with his finger and tongue. “More, please…”

“Greedy, aren’t you?” he teased breathlessly and added another finger, thrusting them in and out of her while he continued to lick and periodically suck on her clit. Her sweet smell and taste and the way she moaned and dug her nails into his shoulders, her legs clenching around him, was slowly chipping away at any semblance of self-control he was hoping to maintain.

“I’m – ah – not – Eren! Oh my God, Eren, I –“ She cried out, her hips lifting and her grip on his shoulders and around his fingers tightening as all the muscles in her body tensed. Eren continued to lick and finger her through her release, until she slumped back down, and her breathing started to slow. He pulled his fingers out of her and locked eyes with her as he lapped them clean off her juices, watching her flush deepen at the lewd action. He moved his body back up, caging her between his elbows and trapping her beneath him once more, and pushed his tongue into her mouth, letting her taste herself.

“I assume that was good?” he asked in between kisses.

“Unbelievable, but… I still want more,” she confessed, so quietly he almost didn’t catch it. Her calloused hand reached down between them and found his cock, giving it a couple of experimental pumps.

“Don’t,” Eren gasped into her mouth. “I won’t last…”

“That’s okay…” Mikasa started, but Eren didn’t let her finish, ripping her hand off himself and slamming it into the mattress beside her head. He did the same thing with her other hand that sought to replace the touch, and held them there, interlacing their fingers.

“No, it’s not,” he gritted out between clenched teeth. He pressed his forehead against hers, and, with a softer voice, continued, “I want this to be perfect for you.” Their lips locked once again as he rubbed his length over her folds until it caught on her entrance, and he finally pushed inside of her. Green eyes clenched shut at the feeling of Mikasa’s silky warmth enveloping the head of his cock, and her fingers squeezed his hands at the intrusion. She broke their kiss with a drawn-out moan of Eren’s name.

With every ounce of self-restraint that he had left, Eren forced himself to slow down instead of just sinking into her completely in one hard motion, like he so desperately wanted to. He felt the way she sucked him in, inch by inch, to his bones, making him shudder and bury his face in her neck to muffle the pathetic whine he couldn’t hold back. His hips stilled when he finally bottomed out.

“Feels so good,” he choked out. “God, Mika, you’re so tight…”

Mikasa placed a kiss behind his ear and wrapped her legs around his waist. Next thing he knew, she thrust her hips up, making his cock move in her, and making Eren gasp again.

“Fuck me,” she breathed against the shell. “Don’t you dare hold back.”

Something feral awakened in Eren at her words, and much like earlier, he found himself growling as he pulled almost all the way out and thrust himself back in hard. Mikasa cried out and Eren felt her head turn away from him to the other side. “Like that?” he hissed, repeating the motion again and again and pushing her hands and forearms harder into the mattress. He pulled his head up to look at her and their eyes met, hers almost black with desire.

“Yes – yes – make me yours,” she sobbed. He swooped down to catch her lips in a kiss and began fucking into her fast and hard, letting his animalistic side take over. Her soft breasts were crushed against his chest, and he felt her hardened nipples brush against his as he moved inside her wet, silky heat, her walls embracing him like she never wanted to let him go. With every push inside, Mikasa cried out against his open, panting mouth, and he used the sounds he ripped from her throat as fuel to hold on just a little longer, to keep that coil in his abdomen from bursting, knowing that after tonight, he might never get the chance to bring her pleasure ever again. If there had ever been a time to show he had perseverance, he thought, it was now.

Her legs fell from his waist, and Eren took the opportunity to take a hold of the left one and hook it over his shoulder. He wasn’t sure what compelled him, but when he was suddenly even deeper inside Mikasa and the woman positively screamed beneath him at the new angle, he knew it had been a good idea. He hooked her other leg over his other shoulder and let his strokes become long and deep, putting as much force behind them as he could.

“Oh God, Eren, yes! Right there, just like that, yes!”

Mikasa was writhing under him, eyes screwed shut and throwing her head from side to side as a string of her sobs and screams tumbled from her lips, echoing through the room. Her breasts were jiggling with every one of Eren’s thrusts, and her hands flew to his chest, nails digging in and scratching down his torso. Tears started to leak from the corners of her eyes as she forced them open to lock with his. Eren was bathed in sweat by this point, both from the exertion of the act and holding back. Just a tiny bit longer, he told himself, even as the heat in his lower body threatened to burn him up from the inside. He let go of one of her legs and let his thumb rub over the bundle of nerves, slick with the same desire that was coating his length.

“Oh, fuck… Eren – Eren!” Mikasa chanted and suddenly, she became even tighter, her walls clenching around him as she wailed his name over and over, sucking him in even deeper, and the dam inside him burst. He shuddered and his skin broke out in goosebumps. Letting his body fall on top of hers, his hips twitched once, twice as he released himself and painted her insides white with his cum, her name like a prayer on his lips.

Mikasa reached up with a trembling hand to stroke his hair. He turned to face her fully and caught her lips with his own. When they broke apart for air, a smile blossomed on her beautiful face. The brightness of it put the rays of sunshine beginning to permeate through the curtains to shame, and he couldn’t help but return it with his own.

They didn’t exchange any words as they reveled in the aftermath of their lovemaking, nor when they got up to get cleaned up. They remained silent, afraid to break the spell, as they climbed back into bed, Eren wrapping Mikasa up in his arms and drawing random patterns into whatever part of her skin he could reach. Eventually, her breathing slowed down, and Eren thought she had succumbed to the exhaustion, until he heard her whisper “I love you” into his skin so quietly, he wasn’t sure he was supposed to hear. And as much as he ached to return the sentiment…

It was easier to pretend he hadn’t.

But I melted away like snow into the ground I told her I've gotta go, I've gotta go

Eren had no idea how he would find the strength to go through with leaving Mikasa behind after last night. She had fallen into a peaceful slumber after their… activities, a flush still on her face and continuing down all the way to her cleavage. Eren, on the other hand, remained restless. He went over everything again in his head – how she had blinked at him lazily, a blissful smile he had never seen from her before curving her mouth upwards, the same mouth that had been singing him praises in the shape of sweet sighs and wanton moans just minutes before, the same mouth from which his name had spilled over and over again in soft cries and literal screams as she came undone beneath him. He pulled her closer, his chest against her back, and buried his face in her hair, inhaling deeply, trying to commit her scent and the feel of her skin against his to his jumbled memory, just in case, but… He couldn’t go.

So now, Eren was hoping against hope that the conference today would go differently from what he had seen. He would not steal away after what Mikasa and he had just shared; how was he supposed to break her heart like that? How would he find the strength to deny both her and himself? How could he accept that he would never have her like this again? Not just her body, but her heart and soul laid bare for him? How could he leave and accept that one day, she might show the same vulnerability to another man? Might gift her heart to someone else? As he stroked over her bare arm, Eren was aware his thoughts were in the very least unfair and selfish, bordering on possessive, and in some ways even sexist, and he would never voice them out loud, but he couldn’t help feeling this way in his weak moments, when his guard was down. Armin was like a brother to him, and he could not stomach the thought of losing him. It was Armin’s dream that inspired him to venture outside the walls in the first place. But Mikasa – no matter what life threw at him, he knew that as long as she was with him, he could survive anything. She was the reason he continued to move forward.

If you want to save Mikasa, and Armin… and everyone else… you have to complete your mission.

The words rang clearly in his ears, like Kruger had just said them to him instead of his father decades ago. It was an unpleasant reminder, and Eren had to restrain himself from yelling back at no one, why me? I just want to be with her. Let me be with her!

Mikasa stirred in his grip and groaned quietly. She jumped slightly at the sight of a tan arm wrapped around her waist, but quickly regained her composure when she remembered what happened last night, and another one of those blissful smiles stretched her cheeks as she turned around in Eren’s strong hold and looked up at him lovingly.

“Good morning,” she whispered and pecked the corner of his mouth. Eren couldn’t hold back the grin blooming on his own face.

“A very good morning indeed.” His hand reached up to stroke over the scar on her cheek, like he could remove the mark if he poured enough love into his touch. I don’t want to hurt her anymore.

“Do you think the others are back yet?” Her fingers traced random patterns against his chest and abdomen. Eren couldn’t suppress the shiver her touch elicited.

“It’s still early, and they were really drunk…” He pushed her on her back and rolled on top of her. Her legs wrapped around his waist as if on autopilot, and her eyes were heavy-lidded not with sleep, but lust. For him, and only him. The thought went both to his head and his hardening length, and he grinded against her. His mouth found her neck, tracing soft kisses up the sensitive area until it reached her ear. “We have time…” he murmured. One of his hands wandered down the expanse of her torso, stopping shortly to squeeze her soft breast and rub at the hardened nub before continuing his trek down south. This time, it was him who coaxed a shiver and a moan from her.

“Eren… Please…” she whined, and the sound sent a pang to his gut. Eren’s long, slender fingers found her folds, already slick with her desire, and he groaned.

“So wet already… Is that what I do to you, princess?” His voice was deep and gravelly. Two of his fingers easily slipped into her, looking for the spot from last night while he rubbed against the swollen nub above her entrance with his palm. Mikasa gasped and started moving her hips in rhythm with his movements. He took in the expression on her face, her furrowed brow, her luscious pink lips slightly open as she panted softly; her cute nose, and the blush spreading over her milky skin; her beautiful eyes, silver with unshed tears…

“More, please…” She begged. “Want you inside me again, please…” Eren’s quip about how he was technically inside her died on his tongue at the desperate look in those glittering irises. It was almost like she knew, he thought as he pulled his fingers out. He felt the same desperation take a hold of him, a different kind of desperation than the hunger they’d already succumbed to. This was about making every second they could steal together count. Just in case, his mind repeated, just in case this was the last time.

His mouth captured hers and he licked at the seam of her lips, begging for entrance, morning breath be damned. Mikasa seemed to think the same thing, tangling her tongue with his in a passionate dance and rutting her hips up against his pelvis in an attempt to get some friction. Never breaking their embrace, she rolled them to their sides, her legs still wrapped around him. Her hand took a hold of his cock and, bringing her hips closer to his, she guided it to her entrance and thrust down until he was fully sheathed inside of her.

They moaned against each other’s mouths, breaking the kiss. Their lips remained touching as they opened their eyes. Eren’s emerald irises locked with Mikasa’s silver ones, and he began to move, thrusting languidly and watching even the tiniest twitch in her facial muscles as a symphony of her moans broke through the silence of the room, accompanied by his own heavy breathing.

Remembering the effect from last night, Eren moved his hand down to the leg he could reach, and hiked it up a little. It seemed to do the trick as Mikasa’s lids screwed shut and she threw her head back with a cry. He took in the way her long, thick eyelashes rested against her cheeks, and his arm wrapped around her back to bring her even closer, crushing her against him. He could feel the goosebumps on her skin, every knob on her spine as he caressed it, her wetness spreading over his pelvis as she rubbed against it with every push. Despite the desperation they both felt, they were unhurried, taking their time to savor each touch. And he committed all to his memory, certain that even after he died, the memories and the feeling of it wouldn’t.

When she came in his arms, it wasn’t with the same screams as last night – this time, she cried out his name softly, her face buried in his neck as she tensed up, her walls milking his own release from him once again, making him groan and shudder in turn before they gradually relaxed in each other’s hold. She leaned in for a short, sweet kiss before they continued to just stare at each other, drinking each other in. His hand came up to stroke her cheek, and she nuzzled into it, giving it a peck, eliciting an adoring smile from the green-eyed man.

Suddenly, they heard voices pass by Mikasa’s room and a knock on her door.

“Mikasa? Are you in there?” It was Hange. Eren hid his face in Mikasa’s neck and groaned quietly, this time out of frustration. Then, he had an idea, and with a smirk, he began to give the skin little kitten licks, making the girl squirm and giggle.

“Yes, Hange,” she called back, trying to sound normal, “but please don’t come in right now, I just got out of the shower and I’m not decent.”

The doorhandle was halfway down already, the door almost creaking open, but at Mikasa’s request, Hange let go and left it closed.

“Alright, just… meet us in the kitchen in 15 minutes, okay?”

“Okay!” Mikasa called back.

“You too, Eren!” With that, they heard Hange’s footsteps retreat.

The pair looked at each other with wide eyes. Maybe 15 minutes would have been enough to enjoy each other’s closeness some more, maybe even go for another round, but with the knowledge that Hange somehow knew, they scrambled up to clean themselves up and get dressed as quickly as possible. Mikasa left a couple of minutes ahead of Eren, so as not to make anyone else suspicious, and when Eren joined the squad a few minutes later, no one seemed to give them any strange looks or made any comments. It seemed like, thankfully, Hange hadn’t told anyone, and they made sure to keep some distance between them so as not to rouse any suspicions. Mikasa sat next to a groaning Sasha for breakfast, who was grabbing her head but still shoving copious amounts food into her mouth, and he sat with Levi and Armin as they went over his security for today’s outing.

When they arrived at the lecture hall later, they still left a couple of spaces between them. As Eren listened to a man’s impassioned speech about Eldian rights, which explicitly excluded him and his “island devil” friends, he was both glad for the distance and felt hollow at the same time.

But somehow, he had always known that the kind of life he wanted for Mikasa and himself, the life she had been dreaming about since they were naïve children, was never meant to be. Maybe that was why he had been dragging his feet and had never confessed to her how he felt. Maybe he wasn’t even supposed to have last night or this morning. But he could use it to strengthen his resolve – because, his strongest and perhaps most selfish desire, was for Mikasa to live a long and happy life, regardless of what role he got to play in it.

And so, he fought the magnetic pull begging him to stay by her side, and quietly left to fulfill the mission he had been given long before he was even born.

It's been a long, long night You said you were mine I felt so bad but I had to go No she never wanted me to leave her behind No she never wanted me to leave her

“I want to share your burden.”

Mikasa’s voice echoed in his head. Even after telling her she was a slave and that he had hated her forever, beating up Armin, not to mention the people he killed in Liberio, Sasha… And now, he was literally trying to kill every living being in the world besides the residents of Paradise.

He thought that maybe, at least that night they had shared, and his subsequent disappearance, might have stirred up some resentment in her. The war wasn’t personal, so he could see how she might be able to justify his actions, but that… had been deeply personal. He had basically taken her heart and stomped on it until it was dust, just like the titans under his control were flattening the earth. He tried to make her believe he had only used her body, and that the only passion he had for her was anger and disgust, his own heart threatening to pound out of its cage with how loudly it was screaming at him for the obvious lie. But her devotion to him… her love for him knew no bounds. It transcended time and space and circumstance. It was the only constant he had left, the only thing that still made sense to his muddled mind. It was as certain as the rise of the moon and the sun and the stars, as the ebb and flow of the sea.

Just as certain as his untimely demise.

Here she was, still offering her unwavering support. She acknowledged all the worst parts of him, all the cruelty and the stench of death, and still loved him. After everything, still, still, all she dreamed of was a quiet, peaceful life by his side, and if she couldn’t get the quiet and peaceful part, she would settle for him simply being there. And although every fiber of his being was screaming at him that he wanted the same, it was too late, and he had to let her go. He had to make her let him go.

But would it be so bad to make her happy one last time before he did? This was literally his last chance to be honest with her. And was it so bad that he wanted to defy his cruel fate and feel happy, be free at least one more time, before he succumbed to it?

Eren looked to the side at the small blonde girl, and she nodded, allowing him to use her powers to give into his selfishness before his final moments.

Suddenly, he was transported back to that night, to their conversation in the dim lights of the refugee camp, and he let them live in the reality of what might have been had her answer been slightly different, had there been no interruptions, had he finally taken her hand and just given in and followed her into her dream.

So long, so long, And we dance around just like constellations We dance around just like constellations We dance around, we dance around, You make my body warm, You make my body warm.

[acciofanfics]

Initiation (Sirius Black x Reader)

Request: Can you do an old!siriusxreader. The topic could about anything, I just want something that NO ONE dies. Thank you.

Pairing: Sirius Black x Reader

Warnings: Implications of smut? Younger (but legal) reader? A bit of language

Word Count: 799

A/N: I didn’t mean for this to be so... almost porn without plot. But it’s Sirius Black so I feel like it’s not my fault 😂 I did however stop myself from turning it into full smut so I’m somewhat proud - S

——————————————————————

The Order of The Phoenix had undeniably shrunk since the first Wizarding War that was a fact, no matter how disheartening of one it may have been. So there was always a use for more trustworthy bodies willing to fight for their cause, and Remus had the perfect one! He’d taught her in her 7th year during his brief time at Hogwarts. Her parents had fought with them apparently the first go around, although Sirius couldn’t place the names. And by god it held absolutely no relevance to her skill or ability what so ever, but she was damn sure easy on the eyes.

Sirius was usually skeptical. It made sense, he’d spent 12 years in Azkaban for the murder of his best friend.... his brother really, because he’d been set up by their sell-out of a friend. However, Remus he did trust, and if Remus said she was trustworthy he wouldn’t argue.

“There’s no weird initiation right?” (Y/N) joked nervously... the reality was that what she was doing was pretty serious. She wasn’t oblivious to what was going on in the world, and it was scary. But she knew what was right, and this was it.

“Remus didn’t tell you about the troll then?” When her eyes widened, Sirius let out a chuckle and he swore that he might’ve heard Remus snicker too, “I’m joking.”

“It won’t be official until the others meet you, but there’s a meeting tonight and Sirius is the hardest sell so relax. There will be way more pressing things to worry about soon enough.” It wasn’t much of a pep talk honestly, but it was honest. And Remus’ words seemed to calm her a bit. Remus excused himself and (Y/N) felt a bit awkward standing there.

“Umm... well is there anything I can do until then? I kind of freed my schedule, so I’m all yours.”

Sirius shuddered a bit at the words. He wished. He supposed he should’ve been a bit swayed by her age. Though she was an adult, she was much younger than him. In fact she was closer to his god son’s age than she was his own, but honestly it didn’t bother him that much. Maybe it was the fact he’d been locked up for over a decade and since then had to maintain quite a low profile, but he could find himself able to summon the will to find any reason to keep himself away from her. “I have a few ideas.”

Surely she must’ve been dreaming... Was THE Sirius Black coming on to her? Up until recently she’d thought him to be a mass murderer, but now that she knew the truth and she stood in front of him all of her previous thoughts disappeared. He looked way less mad than the posters made him out to be. He looked way less mad indeed and quite handsome actually.

Normally, (Y/N) wasn’t particularly shy, but she wasn’t always the most outgoing either. A situation like this was uncharted territory really. She found herself a bit in shock of the words that fell from her mouth, “Like I said. All yours.”

He didn’t need to be told twice. His right arm quickly circled her waist and he pulled her flush against him in a matter of moments. Sirius bent down and kissed her with a hungrily, and by god after 12 years years his appetite seemed insatiable. She tried her best to keep up, but truthfully she had never felt something so intense and it made her a bit dizzy. She felt her knees buckle, but his grip was tight enough she didn’t fall (at least physically).

Sirius practically growled against her skin when he felt her hands tangle in his hair, he felt so hypersensitive to her touch in the best way. His lips traveled from hers to her neck and shoulder and her cleavage and really any bit of skin not protected by the shirt she was wearing seemed to be fair game. The noises she made and the way she arched into him pulling her body closer just encouraged him and it was almost painful to pull away, but alas the necessity of air was just as great as his desire for her.

He took a moment to take in the sight. She was flushed, lips swollen and red marks peppering her skin that he hadn’t even thought about leaving... she looked so needy and he’d be happy to oblige any and every desire she held. He would’ve taken her right then and there on the living room floor if it hadn’t been for Remus’ annoying voice.

“I’m sure it’s unnecessary for me to tell you how inappropriate this is, but for the sake of clarity, Sirius, tell me, do you need to be told?”

[vipetriol]

[Send 🎤 to drag my muse into a karaoke duet.]

“Mr. Jamil!” Azul’s voice is a shrill tone against the loud reverberations of classical pop music. Still, it slices among the commotion like a finely sharpened blade— Or, in this instance, a guillotine. 

There’s little time for the Scarabia vice-housewarden to give a reaction before Azul has him by the wrist, grip considerably tight for a person of his elegant demeanor. “I have just shared a word with one of your house members, and they’ve informed me of how desperately they wished to share a duet!” 

In the distance, microphone in hand, stands a Scarabia student. He looks meek, as if he had been unceremoniously pulled into Azul’s antics as well. “Truthfully, he was hoping to share one with the housewarden, but it appears that Mr. Kalim seems quite busy.” Well, truthfully, missing, but alas. “As the vice-housewarden, you should at least be the one to entertain him, yes?” There’s no room to argue, A microphone is already shoved into Jamil’s hand, “Come on— Sing!” 

All at once, he's halfway across the room, holding a microphone and staring into the pitiful expression of a fellow luckless scarabian. The situation sinks in, and Jamil feels his blood pressure skyrocket. 

Damn you, Azul. 

He doesn’t have to do this, not if he doesn’t want to. Anyone with half a brain knows better than to play into Azul’s absurd games, and Jamil doesn’t stand to gain anything by humouring him and rising to his challenge. 

However, the student before him stares at the floor fixedly, appearing like he’s about to crumble, and Jamil arrives at a sudden epiphany.

« Fine. » Though curt, the look he gives Azul seems to say, something like this can’t phase me. « Follow my lead, » he instructs his underclassman. Scarabia is leaderless at present, providing the perfect opportunity for Jamil to play the understanding, reliable, painstaking vice-housewarden. 

Tightening his grip on the microphone and taking a deep breath, Jamil begins to sing.   

Corny love ballads are possibly among the least appropriate picks at a so-called hootenanny. But, as with everything Jamil does, this too was chosen strategically. 

The inherently soft tune is all but drowned out within the party’s otherwise strident music. That, coupled with the fact that his duet partner can’t help but awkwardly stutter through the words makes for a less than stellar performance. It is mediocre to the point of being lacking even as ironic entertainment. 

Should anyone be perceptive enough to actually stop and listen, they might notice that, yes, even when subdued, Jamil is quite the adept singer. 

Moreover, by picking a ballad, he can set his payback in motion. 

Jamil continues to hit every note comfortably, voice clear and unperturbed. This, at least, seems to comfort and encourage the trembling freshman. Enough so that he gains enough confidence to finally, finally, raise his head and meet Jamil’s eye midsong.  

And, as soon as he does…

Snake Whisper. 

The boy, of timid disposition and average magic skills, falls seamlessly under his grasp.

The tune melody to a close, and Jamil sets both microphones aside. Still, cautious not to raise any suspicions, he picks his following words with care. 

« I’m thankful to have run into Azul when I did. This was fun, » he begins. « Make sure to thank him with proper Scarabian hospitality. » A small pause. « He’s rather modest, but please insist. Don’t take a no for an answer. »

A grin grazes his lips as he adds, « you know Kalim’s motto— you’ve sung, now dance! »

[singing-till-the-end]

lonely nights

pairing: childe x lumine (chilumi)(genshin impact)

word count: 1319

in which lumine spends the lantern rite alone and childe comes to join her

It was a lonely night.

The city below her was filled with jubilant laughter and endless celebration, yet —

It was a lonely night.

It had been months, months, since Lumine had started her travels in Teyvat (in addition to the god-knows how long she spent in slumber), and still she was no closer than before in finding her brother. What if he was alone? What if he was in danger? What if...he’s dead?

She quickly shook her head, cursing her head for coming up with such absurd thoughts. Thinking like this wouldn’t help her; time wondering about what-ifs was time wasted.

But she couldn’t help but worry. Aether was all she had; it had always been just the two of them, jumping from world to world. Sometimes she allowed herself the fantasy of having parents who were out there somewhere, desperately awaiting for their return. But it was just that: a fantasy. And reality spent no effort humoring her.

She didn’t know what she would do if she never found him. Sure, Lumine always put up a confident front, but when she was alone, these awful thoughts always came back to plague her mind. Before, whenever there was ever some sort of trouble, she had always confided in Aether. Paimon was a more-than-competent traveling companion, but she wasn’t Aether; no one was Aether.

Looking up at the sky, its inky blackness glittering with bright stars, Lumine was reminded yet again of how they had once flown across those very stars. What she wouldn’t give in order to go back to those simpler times, where the only worries they had were finding a pleasant world to settle down in.

Under the darkness of the night, the traveler allowed herself a moment of vulnerability. Just a few minutes with a few tears, then she would be back to the festival. That’s what she had in mind, at least; she should have realized at this point that not everything went according to her plans. Actually, most things didn’t.

What was supposed to be a few drops of tears soon turned into a cascade of emotions. She buried her face in her knees and wept, wept for Aether and herself and the unfairness of this all. She hated this, resented this so much. She was so sick and tired of feeling powerless every night when the nightmares came to haunt her, of being forced to relive her brother’s horror-struck face and that outstretched hand, desperately grasping for something, yet meeting nothing but air.

Sometimes, she would wonder to herself if she could even save Aether even if she found him. If the two of them combined hadn’t been enough to defeat the Unknown God with the entirety of their powers, then how would she alone take down this damned deity?

It’s a never-ending loop of despair and regret, one which Lumine can’t ever seem to find the exit. Yet there’s still hope, buried somewhere deep inside, that drives her forward. It’s the promise that everything will be okay after this was all over.

Hope, she bitterly chuckled, is a dangerous thing.

The still silence surrounding her was effectively ended with the arrival of sudden footsteps that were most definitely heading toward her. Lumine instantly tensed, slowly turning around, readying her hand to summon her sword at a moment’s notice.

The enemy would have the cover of the dark while she was exposed in the open, but she would defeat it, like she did for all her other challenges. For all she had was herself, because no one would be there, defending her, not anymore; if she couldn’t even fend for herself —

She paused. Standing in front of her was none other than Childe, gazing at her with an uncharacteristically soft look in his otherwise dull eyes.

Lumine whirled around, suddenly aware of the tears still staining her face.

Yes, she and Childe were...friends, but he was a Harbinger first and foremost, someone who could and would betray her in a heartbeat if need be, just like what happened at the Golden House. In the end, he would only be an enemy, an obstacle in her path, and Lumine wasn’t exactly keen to show a foe how vulnerable and weak she really was.

Anything and everything could be used against me, she reminded herself, wiping away the tears.

Her walls were ready to emerge again, both protecting and isolating herself from the world. As much as it was painful, she knew better than anyone else just how necessary they were.

But in that moment, when Childe sets his coat upon her shoulders and lightly scolds her for being out here when it’s so cold, her walls crumble away to nothing but dust. It’s a little funny, really, how easily they manage to collapse compared to how desperate Lumine has been to keep them up. She was the one to blame, of course; it was her heart that fluttered and it was she who secretly welcomed the sensation.

Taking a seat on the ground beside her, Childe asked, “What are you doing here, ojou-chan? They’re releasing the Mingxiao Lantern tonight down in the harbor, you know.”

“I could say the same for you,” she replied, grimacing briefly when her voice cracked. Maybe he noticed, maybe he didn’t, but she was grateful all the same when he didn’t mention anything about it.

He smiled. “Couldn’t let my favorite traveler spend the night out here all by herself, now could I?”

Lumine found herself staring a little. Childe’s smiles were usually wide and mirthful yet painfully empty, just cheerful enough to fool the next person, but not Lumine; she doesn’t know when it started, but she found herself being able to differentiate between his fake and genuine smiles with relative ease. Even with all the time she’s been spending with the man lately, a genuine smile was incredibly rare. It was the type of smile that exuded warmth, one where his eyes shone with a light that made him look alive. The type of smile that she silently vowed to protect. It was breathtakingly beautiful.

“Ojou-chan, if you keep staring at me like that, I might be convinced you’ve fallen for me,” Childe lightly teased.

As a blush slowly crept onto her cheeks, Lumine hastily turned away, clearing her throat. Attempting to change the subject, she said, “Did you release a Xiao Lantern yet?”

It worked, thankfully. “No, not yet.”

“Why not?”

“Well, for one, I don’t know how to make the lanterns, and I don’t think anyone down in the harbor would be exactly thrilled to teach me, seeing I did almost destroy their entire city.” He laughed it off, nonchalant about the whole situation. The traveler just rolled her eyes, feeling exasperated, yet fond all the same.

When had she become so relaxed around Childe? She tried to remind herself to stay more wary, but as she laughed and joked around with him, the warnings inside her head disappeared without a trace. It was stupid, so awfully stupid, to want to trust someone who, in the end, would only end up hurting her, yet with Childe, all sense of reason was thrown away in the wind.

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ:⠀ *⋆.*:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: .⋆

Perhaps she was a little greedy, Lumine thought, cradling her lantern delicately, but it was fine.

Beside her, Childe held his own lantern, messily built but still viable. “What did you write?”

“Something a little ambitious. The gods out there probably won’t be able to grant it, but then again, even if they could, where’s the fun in that?” She smiled. “I’ll just make it happen myself.”

He laughed. A genuine laugh.

“Sounds just like you, ojou-chan. I’ll be looking forward to it.”

They released the lanterns together, watching as they slowly rose, illuminating the night.

Perhaps it wasn’t so lonely, after all.

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ:⠀ *⋆.*:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: .⋆

I wish to find my brother.

I wish to stay with Childe.

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ:⠀ *⋆.*:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: .⋆

Plot? We have no plot.

Sort of just wrote this on a whim. Would have loved to publish it on the last day of the Lantern Rite in-game, but alas, my writing skills said no <3

yeah I also sort of gave up near the end

[cerastes]

Drimo, what IS the Centipede VTuber lore? Reveal it... Reveal it!

I was waiting to have an overlay and a few other things ready before dropping it, but you know what, Centipede VTuber lore, here it is.

--

The first step is posture.

The second step, strong eye contact.

And the third? You guessed it: A signature move that can annihilate them in a split second.

If you ask anybody, it is clear as morning dew that these are the building blocks to make a good first impression at a job interview. But see, a good and lasting first impression is not essential only to land that job or snatch that internship, it is fundamental for a variety of things, like marriage, seminars, and dungeon keeping.

And it is that solitary shining element in a bucket of otherwise drab boring everythings that matters here. But, ah, let us not get ahead of ourselves, yes? In media res is delightful, but today, this humble narrator wishes to relinquish unto you, without mirrors and smoke but definitely with bells and whistles, The Story of the Centipede of Want.

Once upon a time, within the ruined walls of a famously affluent cathedral’s brick and silver walls, there lived the Centipede, as he was known back then. As attentive ace detectives among readers might be able to discern, the Centipede was a centipede, long and eerie, body of man and beast alike everywhere it mattered, famished for as much sustenance as his forcipules could catch first, and as many things that he could get his numerous hands on a very close second. Warm in winter and cool in summer, the ruined cathedral was a comfortable place to live in, where a spring feast on autumn was common occurrence for the Centipede. Insects, such as scavengers and looters, from hereon morsels, habitually wandered in, looking for the old relics of silver and amethyst ripe for plundering in the ruins of the withered house of worship, becoming sustenance for its longest-lived predator, the four-armed, hundred-legged menace that prowled its once decadent halls, filled with the stagnant air of the hunt. Truth be told, the cathedral had long been looted for most of its relics and arcane implements, its silver goblets and amethyst utensils of all sizes and shapes, so the only ones that wandered in were fools and lesser beasts looking for refuge. It was a peaceful, easy life for the Centipede.

But at the same time, something like throbbing roots thrashed in the back of the Centipede’s head, something that tasted of cyan and grey and had no name, as far as the menace knew. Initially, it was merely a light jostle, but as time passed, the thrashing intensified like a landslide, eating away at his every thought, crunching harder and louder than his mandibles did the carapaces and cheap iron armor of the unfortunate interlopers caught in his granite and silver hunting grounds:

Complacence.

Cyan and grey and rancid and bitter. The Centipede’s mind was impregnated by throbbing unease, its quaking manic, its incisors sharp, its vice grip tight. During the day, it was common for the Centipede to mock the bishop and the priests of the once opulent church, begging day after day for tithe and tribute, only to feast behind closed doors of oak and silver. And yet, he himself was much the same: Preying on weak interlopers during the day, pretending to be a grandiose warlord among what little silver and amethyst decadence was left in the ruins during the night, devoid of any real strength and riches he could call his own.

In his ideal world, for each leg he had, he’d wear a different, uniquely etched and engraved silver band. In three hands, he’d hold silver goblets filled with the world’s finest wine, mead, and rum, aged in mahogany casks, with touches of juniper berries, and on his last hand, he’d hold an oversized goat leg, from which he’d munch on in between rounds of ambrosia. Ah, to be the Centipede! Or rather, the powerful entity in his wildest dreams!

Realization is the sharpest blade of them all. No matter how much you temper your carapace, that which is crafted from denial can’t ever hope to stop such a spearhead. Thus, the Centipede came upon an epiphany: He simply had to get that which he desired with his own hands, and that cyan and grey pulsating cluster of fangs would be gone! And so, he got to work: He’d go to one of the silver mines the town was famous for and become its biggest, meanest threat! The head honcho of harm! The throbbing titan of threat! The punishing pimple of pain! The alliterative administrator of annihilation! Oh, with mandible and might, he’d deliver the most poignant of Rectal Ragnaroks and Colon Crucifixions to any who’d dare wander into his domain!

He’d be the most feared Boss Fight of all!

The Centipede rushed out of the church, his two rows of endless legs clacking a demented tarantella as he headed right towards the hill, his putrid eyes fixed on the silver mine. It was time to begin his reign of rambunctious terror!

Or so was the plan. The plan that was supposed to work. Do you think the plan worked?

It didn’t. It really, really didn’t.

To say the Centipede feasted upon manure would be an understatement. Here’s some statements from adventurers that fought him:

“There’s definitely the intimidating factor of something with more legs than a ballroom, but his moveset was predictable. Kinda easy experience and silver, not gonna lie.” -- Anonymous Rogue, Adept Adventurer.

“Well, how to say this... His boss music could use some work, and only two life bars? I just got done fighting something with four phases, so this was... Well, anyways, at least he dropped a nice skill book.” -- Anonymous Mage, Adept Adventurer.

“I cheesed the dumbass with 100% physical damage resistance because he doesn’t have any elemental damage, lmao get bopped idiot, I kept using my overhead helmsplitter and he kept crouching and blocking in panic, you love to see it.” -- Anonymous Samurai, Adept Adventurer.

“He’s kind of a Stage 3 boss, nothing special, he’ll never make it big.” -- Anonymous White Mage, Adept Adventurer.

“mfer wont drop the damn skill book whats the drop rate on that shit i bet the skill sucks anyways, ive kicked his ass like 14 times now orz” -- Anonymous Warrior, Novice Adventurer.

Alas, it turns out that outside his domain of brick and silver, the Centipede wasn’t so big and mean, after all.

And that’s where most stories end: The monster gets conquered by adventurers, and everyone learns how to cheese it. A nice The End in fancy font then drops in front of you and you go to bed.

But you’re not going to bed today, shitlips.

Because this story is not over.

No.

He wasn’t going to take it.

He didn’t have to take it.

The Centipede rose back to its many feet and decided that he’d start from square one: He’d learn what makes a good boss fight no matter what! Then and there, the Centipede vowed to accrue a staggering amount of health bars, to have as many phases as he had legs, to have a moveset so diverse and foul that adventurers would get acid reflux merely by hearing about the shocking amount of tricky delays and annoying status effects his attacks entailed, to have the single most facemelting ultrabanger of a boss theme, and to never, ever again crouch against an overhead.

That day, the Centipede became The Centipede of Want, and what is it that he want? To be the biggest, meanest Final Boss ever!

...But that requires training! A lot of it! How did he decide to go at it? Why, by streaming a veritable variety of video games, of course! By learning from the boss fights of a deluge of games, he’d be able to craft new strategies most rancid and concoct novel attacks most putrid. Plus, what a better way to learn of the adventurers’ way of fighting than by being the adventurers in games? Not to mention that he could naturally engage with humans in conversation and have them unwittingly reveal their weaknesses to him! It was genius! The Centipede of Want headed to the cathedral’s ruins one last time, grabbed every last piece of silver and amethyst not yet plundered in there, and traded it for a streaming set-up in town. Using the last of the silver, he fashioned a mask for himself to signify that he was done being the complacent bully that roamed the walls of that decadent cathedral.

It was time to begin training.

He’d feast on weaklings no more.

He’d eat gods from now on. He’d seek adversity. He’d seek strength.

And the rest would naturally follow.

[chrysalispen]

upon pale dawns, prologue: “ardent for some desperate glory” (PREVIEW)

A brief peek at what I’ve been drafting for my next longfic, set during ARR. 

More under the cut.

========

Castrum Abania, 9th Sun, Second Astral Moon, Year 5 of the Seventh Umbral Era

 The room was cold and the silence sterile, broken only by the sounds of a dry ticking from the digital wall chronometer and the soft and regular sighs of a sleeping man.

The quiet itself was no surprise. Research and development floors were always kept clear of unnecessary chatter in favor of the sound and rhythm of industry, small gears turning amidst the well-oiled machine of imperial conquest. Standard procedure, that- particularly when the work that took place away from prying eyes was exacting and often hazardous. But the relative dark and the ambient cycling of the console's processor had for several bells now been interspersed only with the low rumble of the central air unit and the rhythmic rattle of footsteps without the corridors, and Nero tol Scaeva had at this point been awake for most of the past thirty hours.

Thus when the chiming began, it went unheeded at first. 

He had finally fallen asleep waiting for one of his processes to run and lay half-sprawled over the metal surface of the table: limbs immobile and lashes fluttering against cheekbones as he drowsed at the empty work station he’d appropriated upon his arrival in the lower levels. The small timer long ago affixed to his personal aetherometer had been set in this instance to ring without cessation, to ensure he would waken. 

After a few minutes had lapsed the sound began to send him off-course from his dreaming state by ilms, a rudderless ship caught in deep currents. His transition from sleeping to wakefulness felt incredibly reluctant: heavy and sluggish. 

Nero blinked slowly, once, then twice, attempting to reorient himself.

The noise was aggravating an incipient headache. He righted his posture and smacked the damned thing until the room was silent once again before reaching for the cold mug he had left on a borrowed coaster. Sipping at its contents with a distasteful grimace - whoever had brewed the coffee, they had added too much water and the result was something weak and listless and far too bitter - he turned his attention towards the old Allagan testing module and its compiling readout. It appeared to be reaching the end of its cycle. 

So he thought, until the activity scrolling across the screen flickered in place, pulsing like a heartbeat. Nero swore under his breath when a brief error message superimposed itself over the readout in black-bordered white- one he’d seen with far too many of these devices recently. 

[Unable to read file. The current application will be terminated.]

His annoyed sigh escaped in a hiss between his teeth.

Brow wrinkled in thought, he stared at the screen and its bland error message for a few beats. Although Ultima’s original hardware was in surprisingly reasonable working order, several of the tomestones they had found in the same space had not proven to be nearly as resistant to the vagaries of time. Thus far only a handful had relinquished their secrets without issue. Not unexpected, given their age and the conditions in which they’d been found, but unfortunate all the same. 

The tribunus laticlavius of the XIVth Imperial Legion was given to rather more direct methods of approach by nature. His patience, as a man of thirty-four winters with a good fifteen of them spent in the service of the imperial army, was very much a learned skill: one developed through years of trial and error and the innate understanding of those traits his chosen craft required.

Magitek was not ineffable. It was parts and pieces that fit together neatly like a puzzle in the absence of human error, mathematics and sequencing and carefully collected data. To guide and to create with these tools required a methodical mind and observant eye and a certain degree of acceptance that on occasion, one simply could not rush the desired results. 

This was one such occasion. The end result, of course, would be worth the tedium- or so one could fondly hope. 

He leaned forward and compressed the small button until the module had powered down and all that was left was the rumble of the air unit. 

A gentle tug freed the small tomestone from its moorings and he held it aloft to study the detailing, periwinkle-blue eyes squinting and straining against the red-tinged light from the fluorescents. The small grooves caught the ambient lighting from the walls with each idle spin between his fingers; they seemed to mock him with each little shimmer, ancient secrets so painfully close to discovery that they lay mere ilms from his grasp. 

Secrets which promised a long and tedious process if he wished to claim them.

...Well. He’d do it, of course he would. 

This was but the least method at his disposal. He'd have to look into a few other options, something that might extract the data into some readable format that he could put to use. While the old datalogs were fascinating, he wasn't spending his time reading them for a history lesson. No, what he sought was a bulwark of preliminary information, a bare framework upon which he planned to build. Ideally, he'd end up with a dossier of sorts which he could use to catalogue the Weapon’s original abilities, and enough code to piece together a system that was more or less analogous to that of Allag. One powered by ceruleum, rather than aether. 

What the solution perforce lacked in elegance, it should compensate with efficiency. Tangible results.

A functional Weapon.

If he could just- 

A much lower-pitched sound than his desk alarum - this one a harsh, flat buzz - cut through the quiet of the lab. His first inclination was to ignore it in favor of his study, but a second followed quickly on its heels, and a third. 

That, unfortunately, was a sound he could not ignore. With a barely suppressed yawn he toggled the small red switch next to the wall’s built-in communications device.

“Scaeva. Engineering," he said, keeping his tone clipped and curt- the voice of a man who would brook no trivial disturbances. "State your business.”

The response he received was a very audible swallow followed with a hoarsely uttered, “Lord tol Scaeva?” 

“Speaking."

"My lord?"

He managed, only just, to suppress his impatience. "Speaking. As in 'with whom do I have the pleasure.' Name and rank." 

“Oh. Terribly sorry, my lord. I, erm, Quintus pyr Blasio. Lord, uh. Tribunus. Sir.”

Seven hells. Not a name Nero recalled, though he rarely had reason to trouble himself over memorizing the personnel that manned every garrison between Ala Mhigo and the Velodyna fringes. Some poor bastard who had likely been the first man flagged down for runner duty by his direct report, no doubt. 

Some poor bastard who was also either too dazzled or too shit-scared of speaking to the legion's top brass to string three words together. Just what he needed.  

“...Go on,” he prompted when the man said nothing further. 

“Lord Sc-”

“I daresay we’ve both established our identities at this juncture," impatience and lingering drowsiness rendered his response a sardonic drawl, for all its erstwhile civility. "The message, if you please.”

“Message, my lord?”

“Yes. The message. That is why you’ve called to interrupt my current litany of scheduled tasks, or so I would assume?”

“Ah... y-yes. Yes, my lord.” The speaker at the other end of the connection paused, and on its heels came the sound of a clearing throat. “Ah, Lord van Baelsar asked that I, er, that is, he requests your presence to discuss-”

“He wants me to attend a meeting,” Nero cut in. “When and where?”

“Half four, my lord. Ah- in Sector VI. The administrative complex south of the new hangar.”

Half four- it was five minutes past now. With the identification checks and elevators that gave him about ten minutes' leeway. A bit tight, but doable.

For a moment the only sound he heard was nervous, ragged breathing and the flat drumming of his right hand’s fingertips upon the metal surface while he mentally rearranged the next hour he’d dedicated to other tasks. It was an annoyance but the summons still amounted to an order, and hardly one he could countermand, secret project or not. “Understood," he said. "Inform the legatus that I will be along presently."

"I will, Lord tol Scaeva. I-"

"In future, do make some bare attempt at brevity when delivering messages, tessarius- for your own sake.”

Another gulp. “Of course, my lord. I’ll pass alo--”

Before the man could waste more time stammering out another response, the tribunus laticlavius flipped the switch and cut the connection. The line went dead with a static click.

[navigatrixnarrations]

Sometimes Always Part 3: Thieves Like Us

Part 1

Part 2

The third chapter of a canon divergent kind-of fix-it set after Season 3. In which the past does not stay silent. You may recognize part of it from a Six-Sentence Sunday.

Warnings: brawling, mentions of hanging and gunshots

Word Count: 2231

The two fighters circle each other in their makeshift ring on the docks, stripped to the waist despite the chill night air. In the smoky torchlight, the scene could almost be a pirate camp. Margaret has woven her way to the front of the gathered crowd of bettors. She’s put coin on Vane, partly out of loyalty, partly because she remembers what a magnificent brawler he was. The other fighter is the clear local favorite; unlike Vane, he’s well-known in the area. He’s half a head taller than Vane and outweighs him as well, and he’s fast and strong, but Vane fights with a savage intensity, feral glee in his eyes at the challenge and the rush of it. And his technique and tactics are far better. Vane dodges the lighting-fast combination of punches thrown at him, getting in close to land blows of his own. It isn’t long before Vane’s ferocious onslaught has the other fighter down for the count. Yes, Vane is still magnificent, standing victorious in the center of the ring, sweat gleaming on his broad chest, long hair barely mussed, breath steaming in the cold. His piercing blue stare meets hers, and Margaret feels her pulse quicken. How does the bloody man manage to swagger while standing still?

Beside her, the merchant who’d been trying to chat her up during the fight notices the heavy look she and Vane are exchanging. He mumbles an excuse about how he “didn’t realize you were here to watch your man”, and hurries away as Vane approaches.

My man, Margaret thinks sourly. No, her man had brown eyes and a broad, easy grin. Her man never let anyone or anything come between them. Her man is at the bottom of the sea.

After Sully died, would-be suitors circled her like sharks. Most simply wanted an in with her father. Some were other pirates. Some were so-called respectable men, with their soft hands and their willingness to let others do their dirty work. She chased them all off with sharp words, and on at least one occasion, at the point of a pistol.

“Your friend didn’t want to meet me?” Vane’s raspy growl brings her back to the present.

“Alas, he wasn’t the sociable type.”

“Pity.” Vane’s right arm tremors ever so slightly as he puts on his shirt, and Margaret finds herself grateful that he’s left-handed. She assists him into his coat, briskly, before he can object. Back in Nassau, it took her too long to get a clear shot as Vane’s face turned purple and his body convulsed at the end of the rope. She prays to a god she is not entirely sure she believes in, for reasons she is entirely unwilling to name, that the delay didn’t cause him permanent injury.

They collect their respective winnings and make their way to a nearby tavern, less rowdy than some and known for its food and its anonymity. Margaret forces herself not to react when her leg brushes against his under the table.

“Do you think it’s wise, drawing attention to yourself like you did prize-fighting?”

“Hiding in plain sight.” The corner of Vane’s mouth quirks upward. “And you wagered on me.”

Margaret gives him an extravagant shrug. “Of course I did. I’m a chancer.”

“Ever the proper pirate.” There is nothing mocking in his tone or his face.

“These past couple of years, smuggling is where most of the work has been.”

“You mean after Sully…”

She cuts him off. “Yes.” She wants to snarl at him to keep Sully’s name out of his mouth, but there was a time when Vane and Sully called each other brother and meant it. She can’t begrudge him any grief he might be feeling, nor curiosity.

He raises his mug of ale to hers. “To Sully. And to thieves like us.” They both drink deep.

Their food arrives. Vane examines the bread that came with their oyster stew. “They’ve picked off all the weevils.”

Margaret smiles slightly, in spite of herself. “I’ll fetch you some, if you like.” An old joke. It’s all too easy to fall into old jokes. Margaret had extra duty once again for mouthing off at her father, and she was missing her meal because of it. She sat on the fighting top watching for sails, too proud to admit hunger or apologize, and Charles climbed up to bring her water ration, some dried meat, and some hard tack, though he’d have gotten in trouble himself if the captain caught him. She picked up a piece of the hard tack and examined it. “You picked off all the weevils.”

He gave her a cheeky grin. “I’ll fetch you some, if you like.” She started to laugh, but forced herself to be silent lest the sound draw attention to them, to the fact that he’d bent the rules for her. That bastard of a quartermaster, Israel Hands, already had it out for the both of them. She wasn’t going to make it easy for him to have another go at Charles.

She tells herself there’s no harm in reminiscing about the boy he was, with his rough voice and his rough demeanor and his tender heart that he tried so hard to hide.

That rough voice is quiet, even confessional. “All my life, there were consequences for wanting things. The taskmasters would take anything they thought we wanted, just to show us that they could. The bigger slaves would take from the smaller, and I was the youngest and smallest of all. So I learned it was safer not to tell, not to show, if I was to have any chance of keeping anything I wanted.” Vane almost sounds as though he’s thinking aloud, but he’s watching her face intently as though willing her to understand something he can’t quite bring himself to say. “Then she did more of the same, taking away anything she even thought I might want, just to prove she could.” There is no doubt as to who she is. Is Vane expressing regret? Trying to explain?

“There are also consequences for not asking for what you want.” She meant to sound arch, but it comes out harsh.

He looks down for a moment then fixes Margaret with a grave stare from beneath his brow. “So I’ve learned.”

The silence hangs thick as a fog bank. Margaret focuses on finishing her meal; it’s easier than focusing on the man across from her.

“I’m sailing for Nassau. Come with me.”

Margaret looked askance at her father. “Why would you ever want to return to that shithole? It’s nothing but backstabbers and cowards.”

“To get Charles out of there. They put a price on his head” he replied.

“He made his choices. He can live with them. Or die with them.” Margaret wanted to sound cold, wanted to be cold, but the ice in her voice sounded unconvincing, even to her ears. Why should the very thought of Charles still have the power to wound her like this, a decade later? What had ever been between them other than a few kisses, some confidences shared?

“I could use your skills, Margaret.”

“Yes, you could. But you’ll have to do without.”

He looks up from the brace of pistols he’s loading. “You think admitting you still care for him would be disloyal to Sully.” When she didn’t answer he continued. “Margaret, when your mother died I was ill-equipped to raise a daughter. You were so young and so angry, and her loss annihilated us both. All those wives, I was trying to replace what couldn’t be replaced. What I had with her.”

“All those wives were because you wanted a son.” This time he didn’t respond. “I’m glad you don’t further insult me by denying it,” she said grimly.

His nostrils flared but his voice stayed calm. Overly calm. “I loved your mother. I still love your mother. I’ve loved some of my other wives, each in different ways.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Because it’s possible for you to still love Sully and for that to be irreplaceable, and for you to love Charles as well.” He paused. “I must say I was surprised you didn’t choose him back then.”

“It wasn’t up to me,” she snapped. Damnation, he got her to admit it. If Charles had asked her to be with him, she would have said yes, without hesitation and without regret. But he didn’t, and Sully did. It was a good marriage, a happy one, right until the moment his brain ran out on the deck beside her.

“Will you be here when I return?”

“I’ll be here. But I don’t want to see him.” She turned to leave.

From behind her, her father's voice is uncharacteristically soft. “I wish you’d reconsider, for your own sake.” She left. The notorious Blackbeard, suddenly worried about her loneliness? This must be what going mad feels like.

“And people say I’m terse.” Vane’s teasing purr interrupts her thoughts. He’s trying to lift the pall that’s fallen between them.

Margaret risks a glance at his face. “I’ve been alone for a few years now. I’ve grown accustomed to it.” She drains the rest of her ale and slaps the mug down on the table.

“Surely you’ve no shortage of contenders.” His voice is still as light as the gravel in it allows, but his eyes remain serious.

“Perhaps.” A few days ago, she’d have said not a chance. Damn him. She sees him grit his teeth, the muscle flexing in his jaw. She stands. “There’s something I want to show you.”

He puts coins on the table and follows her. Outside, the clouds hang low and there is a sharp bite in the air. Snow is on the way.

She leads him to the back of the town, where the docks are even rougher and the respectable trades do well to avoid. To call the place a shipyard would be to flatter it, but it’s a yard and series of wharves where vessels of various types and in various states of repair are moored. She takes him to a sleek eight-gun sloop, built for speed and maneuverability, sitting in what might generously be termed dry dock. Recognition dawns on his face. “I haven’t seen a sloop like her since the last time I was on Ocracoke. Is that --”

Margaret completes his sentence. “The Adventure, yes. The old girl took a beating, but she’ll be seaworthy again soon enough.” At his look of consternation, she adds “Yes, I was on Ocracoke.”

He furrows his brows. “I didn’t know you were there.”

“I didn’t want you to know.”

“Take him, and get the fuck off my beach,” her father snarled. Turning to Margaret, who had witnessed the entire duel while hidden in the crowd, had started pushing her way to the front and was readying herself to throw her body between them before Charles threw down his sword, “Go after him, girl. Keep him alive.” At her dubious expression, he leaned in to add “Promise me you’ll try!” She nodded. By day’s end, she was sailing for Nassau. The Adventure was fast, but she arrived too late to prevent Charles’s capture…

“When she’s repaired,” he starts, then stops, his face a question.

“When she’s repaired, I intend to leave on her. No idea where the fuck I’ll go.” She looks away from him, studying the currents, weighing something in her mind, then turns to face him head-on. “Come with me?”

Vane’s thin lips part in surprise, and Margaret braces for the impact of his answer. He regains a grip on his composure, and smirks. “How am I expected to deny such a request.”

Margaret cocks one hip out, puts a hand on it, raises an eyebrow. “You’re not.”

They grin at each other as the first flakes begin to fall. Side by side, they make their way back to the garret.

Vane stands with one arm braced against the window frame, still in his coat, watching the snow dance and swirl beyond the panes. Maragaret finds herself touched by his expression of wonder. He’s always been gruff, his default expression becoming even stonier in the years since she’d last seen him. Seeing him wide-eyed and earnest soothes something in her. He’s still there, the Charles she was once so close with.

He stretches out an arm to enfold her in the coat as well, pulling her close. She leans into him, if only to savor his warmth. She still fits as though she belongs there, tucked beneath his arm.

“I’ve never seen snow before,” he admits. So many firsts with her. First taste of freedom. First time over the side. First kiss, clumsy and nervous and sweet as could be. And now, snow.

His hand comes to rest at the spot where the musket ball ripped through her side all those years ago. “Margaret, I…” he breaks off.

Her voice is soft. Matter-of fact, but soft. “I’d do it again if I had to. Even now, after everything, I’d do it again.” She extricates herself from under his arm, then pauses to press her lips to his temple. “Good night, Charles.”

Her door shuts. He takes a deep, unsteady breath and wills his heart to slow its breakneck pace. On the other side of the door, she does the same.

[ramblings-of-a-mad-cat]

A morbid thought hit me just now, how many romance sidequests do actually hold up? Like thinking on it I only love two of the six, and kinda like one. Over half of the romance sidequests have been duds! O__O

I don’t quite agree that they were all duds, but some of them were pretty bad, and others didn’t quite live up to expectations. Let me take a look-through: 

The Celestial Ball is probably my favorite overall, even to this day. It just holds up really well, and it doesn’t really have any problems that the other quests don’t have as well. (The recycled dialogue, for example.) I think the success of this one comes from the focus on the event, preparing and enjoying it with our friends. This one is the best TLSQ out of all of the others overall, but it’s not necessarily the best Dating TLSQ, if that makes any sense. Because it plays things more ambiguously. It stars Penny, but her inclusion makes sense for the character and the rest of the cast does get adequate screen-time. The only thing is that, once you’re at the Ball, you wind up spending most of the night with Penny except for one scene with your Love Interest. So it winds up feeling like you’re on a Date with Penny regardless of who you pick, but again, the lack of overt romantic themes make that easier to swallow. Andre being the Style Wizard is introduced here, and he comes up with three boss outfits. Not to mention, Rowan gets a bigger role, and their relationship with Ben comes into play. Bill x Rowan gets teasing, too! How could I not love this one?

The First Date TLSQ is much more steeped in romance. Not just in the sweet and wholesome moments, but also in the high school drama, alas. It was the quest to introduce cutting characters and it removed three of them, while only adding one in return. So it’s got that working against it. The whole premise of MC writing the note is just so damn silly. I can laugh at it, but it really doesn’t make sense, especially since half of the options aren’t even in their Potions class. Tonks and Charlie, for as much as I love them, really need to work on their social skills because guys, guys, guys. What were you thinking? Characters expressing sadness that you didn’t choose them is an interesting concept, I’m both relieved and a little disappointed that they never explored this more. The scene in the courtyard at night was nice enough to make everything else worth it, but the whole idea that MC’s love interest might not like them anymore is a bit hard to go along with. One final plus though, is that this quest has the best outfits to choose from, period. I know it’s subjective but damn, Andre really outdid himself this time.

Valentines Day I...oh boy. The culmination of so much I don’t like. This quest started the tradition of having all of the love interests needlessly confess to MC, taking up valuable time for a reveal that doesn’t matter if you don’t choose the character and makes things awkward...and also doesn’t matter if you do choose them because it removes all tension and  honestly? If the character is available, I already know they’re going to say yes. Penny acts like she’s drunk during the entire quest, and not in a charming way either. It really gets to the point of being out of character. And Gilderoy. Fucking. Lockhart. He is so annoying. Jam City got so caught up in featuring any canon character they could, that they never stopped to realize no one wanted to see this guy and watch him consume most of the screen time. He gets away with stealing MC’s story at the end, as well? Like, what? How? The Greenhouse scene is one of the most beautiful to be depicted thus far. It honestly makes the entire quest worth it...but it doesn’t save the quest, and I maintain that it comes out of nowhere. It’s a brilliant standalone scene...but it doesn’t make up for the final sin: Tulip is omitted for absolutely no given reason and as a major fan of hers, I am not happy about this. 

The Festival TLSQ: Better than First Date and Valentines I, but not as good as the Celestial Ball. The story is more fun, especially with the added feature of outside classes. I like the overall carnival feel of the event, but I kind of wish this game didn’t constantly centralize MC, Penny, and Merula. Especially in the dating quests, with the whole concept of the election. Why is MC on the ballot if they didn’t run? Why can they only vote for two of the potential love interests? I know it’s a personal thing and it really kind of started in Valentines, but Andre’s outfits appeal to me less and less as time goes on, and he’s making fewer of them. That being said, I much, much prefer the concept of a “Secret Admirer” to just having everyone confess to MC, and “I think about you gobs” still makes me laugh every time I hear it. Lockhart does show up again and his sequence absolutely frustrates me. Like, he doesn’t stay as long as he did the first time and we do get to kick his ass...but why would he even dare show his face again after the botched memory charm? Why is anyone even listening to him or letting him hog the spotlight? Why is he here? Damn it, just let me and my date play around with painting our faces! I whine, it’s true, but this one is still miles better than it’s predecessor. It adds new characters, quite a few of them, and it also stars Andre. He normally doesn’t get the spotlight, so these things really work to the quest’s favor. 

Valentines Day II: This one is far from being the best TLSQ we’ve ever had, but I actually do think that on the whole? It is the best Dating TLSQ we’ve had. It really captures the theme of falling in love, and the feeling of being a Valentines Day episode. The whole storyline about Pince and Filch? I really like that! The fairytale, storybook motif? It kinda really works! We once again have everyone outright confessing to MC, but I’m just gonna ignore it. The outfits look pretty damn good actually, but I am heartbroken that Luca can’t wear that skirt. Ah well, at least gals can wear the suit. The characters just work together well in this quest, there’s a sense of comradery in putting together the event and melting Pince’s frozen heart, right down to putting Filch in that hilarious outfit and dying Mrs. Norris pink. The whole plot being a reference to a rumor from the books is great. And yeah, MC’s date would have had absolutely no time to set up that whole set-piece in the library but what do I care? It was a really sweet moment. That’s just what works so well about this quest - it’s sweet. Between MC and their Date, between Filch and Pince...it was just a fun story to watch unfold, and at the end of it all, you get to celebrate with your love interest. 

Enchanted Kiss: This one had such a promising start. I love the whole concept of MC auditioning for a play, actually putting on a production, and being cast alongside their love interest to be the romantic leads. It’s not even a “dating” TLSQ technically since you don’t go on a date with your chosen character. But you get to choose them early on and ignore all of that confessing nonsense. You get to work toward putting on a play. You get to work toward saving it...but unfortunately, that’s when it all goes wrong. I’ve said my piece about why it was a terrible idea to make everything about MC, and that kind of infected the rest of the quest. There are no outfits for any of the dating options, nor does MC even get to choose between outfits this time. Little details like that combined with how quickly this one came out after the last one lead me to believe they were perhaps rushing to get it out and I don’t know why. They went to the trouble of coming up with that adorable animation for the enchanted kiss...and they couldn’t have put a lip kiss in it, at the very end? Come on Jam City, you know that’s what everyone really wants! It’s the same as how they tease the idea of MC and their Date saying “I love you” for the first time, but this doesn’t happen either. It just started so well and became very disappointing, but it was still fun overall. 

[hideyholejournal]

Journal entry #1

August 8 2021

I haven’t written in my journal for months now, mostly because I filled my pretty purple journal and I now don’t have the spare money to buy a new one. It doesn’t help that I’m really picky about what it looks like. A large motivator for me to suffer cramp wrist was how pretty the damn thing was so I’ve decided to start an online journal. That way I won’t have to hand write and the clacks of my keyboard will be my new, and much less pricey, motivator. 

A lot has happened since I’ve last written anything so this first one will be pretty long. I’ll go by chronological event instead of important news first so that it will be easier for me to look back on my memories. Assuming this hell site is still running by then, of course.

To start, my sister finally married her fiancé after nearly four years of engagement. Apparently the main hold up was the family = The mothers, mostly = insisting that they not elope in Vegas like they wished to do. I kind of wish they had just defied everyone but alas, the wedding was on. 

It wasn’t a large wedding, just a backyard shindig with immediate family and a few childhood friends. Still, the party afterward was very fun. It was really hot that day so everyone drank more than they meant to, including me. It marked the third time that I have ever gotten drunk and only reconfirmed that, while I don’t mind being a tiny bit tipsy, getting drunk is not my idea of fun. Every time I’ve been drunk has been a near tears experiences. I just don’t like the feeling At All. 

Thankfully, everyone was generally friendly and there was no fighting between the Jones Girls (Fake Name For Privacy). There was a bit of a close call with this boy my sister was trying to set me up with. I swear Jennifer (FNFP) thinks I’m the female version of some angry know-it-all R/Smart dude because those are the type of people she says I’m like or that I’ll get along with. 

Side rant: Why is it that my mother and sister spent Years complaining that I hated them because I never really talked to them or shared my opinion but as soon as I start to speak up I became a political raging machine in their eyes. It does not matter how nicely I try to speak or how much I control my tone they will always act as if me demanding basic human decency is too much for them to handle. 

Anyway, the dude seemed nice enough at first, plus he was my type of attractive which was extra nice, but as the night wore on little things started annoying me more and more. For example: My niece started talking about how “They” found aliens. She believed this due to a UFO citing she’d heard about. Unfortunately, Augustus or whatever his name was, got high and mighty and started lecturing a Ten Year Old about what UFO meant and how if aliens were ever found the world would lose their collective minds. 

Newsflash dude, no ones gonna think you’re cool because you crushed a little girls fun because you had to be the smartest person at the children's table. (Us Kind Of But Not Adults got put on Babysitting Duty)  Like sure, educate the children on what UFO means but don’t draw some doomsday picture for an audience of ten and under. Children want to explore and imagine new worlds where everything is possible. In fact, this is a part of their development. Don’t crush any hint of imagination because it doesn’t fit your cynical idea of the world. 

After that incident I had no interest in seeing him after the wedding but my options for interaction during were limited so I continued being friendly. The music was turned on a little after food and while I am very much Not a dancer I still enjoy doing it. Unfortunately, I only knew half of the people at the wedding and only two others were in my age range. As a result I had to go around begging people to dance with me. Augustus was staunch in his stand to never dance at weddings and I stopped asking after the first few times (At first I thought he was just shy about his skill level but then he seemed to get annoyed and I left it alone.) But his brother, despite not really wanting to dance overly much, was kind enough to join me. 

In-between dancing I would migrate back to the two brother and ask them random questions to pass the time. I’m not the most social person but in the last few years I’ve been trying to push myself to put myself out there more, asking odd questions has become a fallback in social settings. My favourite to ask is “If you could change the colour of the sky what would it be and why?.” Both brothers said blue because that’s just what the colour is but of course Augustus had to explain why the sky was blue to me. Ugh.

Eventually, we got onto the topic of religion and I informed Augustus that I was a Hellenistic Pagan. Augustus took this as an opportunity to rant about how all religions are just money grabbing schemes, and continued with this after I explained that there isn’t really a church or temple or anything for Hellenistic Pagan’s so there really wasn’t anyone I was giving my money to. Soon after this he said that he just wanted to “Vibe” with the music and not play my questions game. So I left.

I tried not to be offended that we really didn’t connect but the entire situation brought old feelings of inadequacy. I just always feel like I’m too much or not enough in most situations, like I either feel everything all at once or I’m numb all day and I either talk a mile a minute or I can barely force words past my lips. It sucks. 

It didn’t help that when my uncle came over to asked why I wasn’t with Augustus he said that I couldn’t ask weird question's about the sky because it “Makes you look like some deranged girl”.  

The night got better after I moped for a bit but I didn’t talk to Augustus again. On the bright side, my uncle's girlfriend taught me how to two-step and I had a lot of fun white girl dancing to the fast songs. My only dance move is to swing my hips and bounce around. I think I might see about taking some dance classes to work on my coordination. 

I think I’ll end this entry here. There’s a lot more to write but I’ll leave it for later

Bye  

[jadelotusflower]

November Roundup

Some writing success this month - I finished and posted a new chapter for Against the Dying of the Light, and made progress on The Lady of the Lake and Turn Your Face to the Sun. I didn’t work much on my novel, but I did do some editing on the first third so that’s progress.

Words written this month: 6647

Total this year: 67,514

November books

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo - joint winner of the 2019 Booker Prize (with The Testaments by Margaret Atwood) this was an engrossing and interesting read. Stylistically unusual formatting and scant use of punctuation that is a bit jarring at first, but you quickly adapt as you read. There’s no plot as such - instead the story is formed by vignettes of twelve black women and their disparate yet interconnected lives. We have mothers and daughters, close friends, teachers and students, although the connections aren’t always obvious at first - we can be exposed to a character briefly in the story of another with no idea that she will be a focus later on. It’s very skillfully done, to the point whereupon finishing I wanted immediately to re-read (but alas, it was already overdue back to the library). There is so much ground covered that we are really only given a glimpse into the characters lives, but there is a diversity of intergenerational perspectives of the African diaspora in the UK, and I highly recommend.

The Evening and the Morning by Ken Follett - after finishing The Pillars of the Earth I had intended to read the sequel, but this was available on the library shelf and I had to place a hold on World Without End, so the prequel came first. Set sixty years before the Conquest (150 before Pillars) it primarily addresses the growth of the hamlet of Dreng’s Ferry into the town of Kingsbridge, through the lives of a monk with a strong moral code, a clever and beautiful noblewoman, and a skilled builder, working against the machinations of an evil bishop. Sound familiar? This is Follet’s most recent work, and I do wonder if he’s running out of ideas as this covers very similar thematic ground.

Ragna is a compelling female character, but once again the romance-that-cannot-be with Edgar is tepid, Aldred is a very watered down version of Prior Philip, and there’s no grand framing device such as building the cathedral to really tie to all together (although things do Get Built, and it’s interesting but not on the level of Pillars). This is the tail end of the Dark Ages and it shows - Viking raids, slavery, infanticide - and while it seems Follett’s style is to put his characters through much tragedy and tribulation before their happy ending, I wish writers would stop going to the rape well so readily. But at least the sexual violence isn’t as...lasciviously written as in Pillars? Scant praise, I know. But Follett’s strength in drawing the reader into the world and time period is on display, made even more interesting in this era about which we know very little.

Women and Leadership by Julia Gillard and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala - I have a great deal of respect for Julia Gillard, Australia’s first female Prime Minister who was treated utterly shamefully during her tenure and never got the credit she deserved, perhaps excepting the reaction to her iconic “misogny speech” whichyou can enjoy in full here:

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was the first woman to be Minister of Finance and Foreign Affairs in Nigeria, was also the former Managing Director of the World Bank, and currently a candidate for Director-General of the WTO.

This is an interesting examination of women in leadership roles, comparing and contrasting the lives and experiences of a select few including (those I found the most interesting) Ellen Sirleaf, the first female President of Liberia, Joyce Banda, the first female President of Malawi, New Zealand’s current Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, and of course, Gillard and Okonjo-Iweala themselves.

November shows/movies

The Vow and Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult - I’ve been following the NXIVM case for a while now, when the news broke in 2017 I was surprised and intrigued that it involved actresses from some of my fandom interests - Alison Mack (Smallville), Grace Park and Nikki Clyne (Battlestar Galactica), and Bonnie Piasse (Star Wars). Uncovered: Escaping NXIVM is an excellent podcast from that point in time that’s well worth a listen. There’s been a lot of discussion comparing these two documentaries and which one is better, but I feel they’re both worthwhile.

The Vow gives a primer of NXIVM as a predatory “self improvement” pyramid scheme/cult run by human garbage Keith Reniere, from the perspective of former members turned whistleblowers Bonnie Piasse, who first suspected things were wrong, her husband Mark Vicente who was high up in the organisation, and Sarah Edmondson who was a member of DOS, the secret group within NXIVM that involved branding and sex trafficking. Seduced gives more insight into the depravity and criminality of DOS from the pov of India Oxenburg, just 19 when she joined the group and who became Alison Mack’s “slave” in DOS - she was required to give monthly “collateral” in the form of explicit photographs or incriminating information about herself or her family, had to ask Mack’s permission before eating anything (only 500 calories allowed per day), was ordered to have sex with Reniere, and other horrific treatment - Mack herself was slave to Reniere (as was Nikki Clyne) and there were even more horrific crimes including rape and imprisonments of underage girls.

Of course each show has an interest in portraying its subjects as less culpable than perhaps they were (there were people above and below them all in the pyramid after all) - Vicente and Edmondson in The Vow and Oxenburg in Seduced, but what I did appreciate about Seduced was the multiple experts to explain how and why people were indoctrinated into this cult, and why it was so difficult to break free from it. This is a story of victims who were also victimisers and all the complications that come along with that, although I’m not sure any of these people are in the place yet to really reckon with what happened and all need a lot of therapy.

Focusing on individual journeys also narrows the scope - there are other NXIVM members interviewed I would have liked to have heard a lot more from. There is also a lot of jumping back and forth in time in both docos so the timeline is never quite clear unless you do further research. I would actually like to see another documentary one day a bit further removed from events dealing with the whole thing from start to finish from a neutral perspective. The good news is that Reniere was recently sentenced to 120 years in prison so he can rot.

I saw value in both, but you’re only going to watch one of these, I would say go for Seduced - if you’re interested in as much information as possible, watch The Vow first to get a primer on all the main players and then Seduced for the full(er) story.

The Crown (season 4) - While I love absolutely everything Olivia Coleman does, I thought it took a while for her to settle in as the Queen last season and it’s almost sad that she really nailed it this season, just in time for the next cast changeover (but I also love everything Imelda Staunton does so...) This may be an unpopular opinion, but I wasn’t completely sold on Gillian Anderson as Thatcher - yes I know she sounded somewhat Like That, but for me the performance was a little too...affected? (and someone get her a cough drop, please!) 

It is also an almost sympathetic portrayal of Thatcher - even though it does demonstrate her classism and internalised misogyny, it doesn’t really explore the full impact of Thatcherism, why she was such a polarising figure to the extent that some would react like this to her death:

But I suppose it’s called The Crown, not The PM.

Emma Corrin is wonderful as Diana, and boy do they take no prisoners with Charles (or the other male spawn). I was actually surprised at how terrible they made Charles seem rather than both sidesing it as I had expected (but perhaps that’s being saved for season 5). It does hammer home just how young Diana was when they were married (19 to Charles’ 32), how incompatible they were and the toxicity of their marriage (standard disclaimer yes it’s all fictionalised blah blah). The performances are exceptional across the board - Tobias Menzies and Josh O’Conner were also standouts and it’s a shame to see them go.

I was however disappointed to see that the episode covering Charles and Di’s tour of Australia was not only called “Terra Nullius” but the term was used as a very tone deaf metephor that modern Australia was no longer “nobody’s land/country”. For those who aren’t aware, terra nullius was the disgraceful legal justification for British invasion/colonisation of Australia despite the fact that the Indigenous people had inhabited the continent for 50,000 years or more. While the tour was pre-Mabo (the decision that overturned the doctrine of terra nullius and acknowledged native title), there was no need to use this to make the point, especially when there was no mention at all of the true meaning/implication of the term.

The Spanish Princess (season 2, episodes 4-8)- Sigh. I guess I’m more annoyed at the squandered potential of this show, since the purpose ostensibly was to focus on the time before The Great Matter and give Katherine “her due” - and instead they went and made her the most unsympathetic, unlikeable character in the whole damn show. (Spoilers) She literally rips Bessie Blount’s baby from her body and, heedless to a mother’s pleas to hold her child, runs off to Henry so she can present him with “a son”. I mean, what the actual fuck?

I’m not a stickler for historical accuracy so long as it’s accurate to the spirit of history (The Tudors had its flaws, but it threaded this needle most of the time), but this Katherine isn’t even a shadow of her historical figure - she’s not a troubled heroine, she’s cruel and vindictive, Margaret Pole is a sanctimonious prig, and Margaret Tudor does little but sneer and shout - the only one who comes out unscathed is Mary Tudor (the elder), and it’s only because she’s barely in it at all. It’s a shame because I like all of these actresses (especially Georgie Henley and Laura Carmichael) but they are just given dreck to work with.

This is not an issue with flawed characters, it’s the bizarre presentation of these characters that seems to want to be girl power rah rah, and yet at the same time feels utterly misogynistic by pitting the women against each other or making them spiteful, stupid, or crazy for The Drama. I realise this is based on Gregory so par for the course, but it feels particularly egregious here. (Spoilers) At one point Margaret Pole is banished from court by Henry, and because Katherine won’t help her (because she cant!) she decides to spill the beans about Katherine’s non-virginity. Yes, her revenge against the hated Tudors is...to give Henry exactly what he wants? Even though it will result in young Mary, who she loves and cares for, being disinherited? Girlboss!

This season also missed the opportunity to build on its predecessors The White Queen/Princess and show why it was so important to Henry to have a male heir - the Tudor reign wasn’t built on the firmest foundations and so needed uncontested transfer of power, at the time there was historic precedent that passing the throne to a daughter led to Anarchy, and wars of succession were very recent in everyone’s memory. At least no one was bleating about The Curse this time, which is actually kind of surprising, because the point of the stupid curse is the Tudor dynasty drama.

But it’s not all terrible. Lina and Oviedo are the best part of the show, and (spoilers) thankfully make it out alive. Both are a delight to watch and I wish the show had been just about them.

Oh well. One day maybe we’ll get the Katherine of Aragon show we deserve - at least I can say that the costumes were pretty, small consolation though it is.

[baekhyyun]

Accused Love | KNJ

» pairing: kim namjoon x reader (ft. lim jaebeom and byun baekhyun)

» genre: angst(???), cause it ain’t fluff children rn, sfw, mystery, stranger to semi-lovers

» rating: PG13

» word count: 3.3k

» Warnings: strong language, the lack of namjoon's name being used, jaebeom and baekhyun got more screen time than the damn main character i’m sorry

a / n: THIS IS ACTUALLY A NAMJOON FIC JGSKVSDS , even tho i mention his name like 5 times (ITS NOW 8) throughout the whole this fic (!!!!!) , this is also my first full fic so bare with my shitty writing and it's debuting after 5000 years. This beauty is apart of the Luv Library Project under the mystery category! There will be more than one part !!!! I wanted to post something before we got to the good part jfksnkvjdfkj. Thank you to everyone who has helped me and encouraged me with this fic!

Special thanks to @jungtaeyoongles for being there with me from the beginning, bouncing ideas off with, helping me plan this whole story and beta reading as well! Thank you to @meowxyoong for bouncing ideas with me too! Thank you to @thinksshesawolf and @ dee-ehn for beta reading this mess and clowning me in the process. We know who the real main character is in this fic.

The night sky was pitch-black, making the stars shine bright like diamonds against the darkness. Being located in the heart of Seoul, the stars shined brighter than the lights hopping off all of the tall buildings in the quiet, busy city. Jaebeom, one of the many infamous mafia leaders in South Korea, found himself waiting in the night for his next crime. Being the head meant sending someone under him to do the crime itself without getting his hands dirty. Yet with bad timing, he was out of luck for the night. All of his men found themselves in different missions committing different sins to bring in the money that the head wanted.

 After becoming the head boss, he stopped going out and living life to protect his own, his hands never touching anything besides the gun strapped to his chest hidden from the public eye or the money that was earned by his henchmen. He felt like he was on top of the world again after being away from the scene for so long. Jaebeom, believing his skills were rusty, turned to money laundering to build up his skillset again. Oh, was he wrong.

 He was on a hot streak and subsequently oozed cockiness from each movement he made. Every step Jaebeom took felt like pure muscle memory. He was a greedy man that wanted money. Money made the world go round. You could buy anything and anyone with a couple of hundred-dollar bills. The man had an insatiable desire for money. $100,000 was not enough to sustain his need for money.  He wanted more. He wanted $500,000. It felt right to him. Not bothering to double-check his work, he just went for it as his life depended on it.

 Never in a million years, would he have thought that he would be wiring money from a gaming company. Tencent, one of the largest Asian companies and known worldwide, did not scare him. He felt that this job was easy. Getting access to this place was a piece of cake, he thought. His charming personality is what got him the keys to the records room, housing every transaction that the company has ever made.

 Jaebeom thought everything was going smoothly, but he could not be more wrong. After being here for three hours wiring this money, he realized that he made a rookie mistake. How could he use his ID card to get access to the files? Why did he not use his boss's card to open up the files? All these questions went through his head at lightning speed that caused his heart to start racing, he felt like his ears were going to burst from the sound of his own heart. The world around him was crashing down at a fast pace that he had to think of something fast.

 "Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Jaebeom hissed to himself. How could I be so reckless? I can't let myself get caught over this shit. I gotta get out of here!"

 His senses went haywire where he couldn't think straight. Getting caught in this building around this time was the least of his worries. He needed out and that's what he was trying to do with his mind racing.

 As the clock ticked, Jaebeom rushed out the building to his car that was parked 5 blocks down the road. His only thought was to find a solution to this shit show that he had created the minute he walked in that building. His luck ran out.

 "Fuck me, man!" he continued to tell himself while running as fast as he could.

 "T-this is the o-one that f-fucks me o-over, and it's the simplest-t s-shit that gets me," he stuttered trying to control his breathing.

 Relief washed over him as he spotted his car hidden behind a dumpster. He still wasn't out of the clear. Slowing his pace down, a new thought popped in his head: should he have called someone to help him out? He thought it was best, but he didn't want to feel embarrassed at the thought of his underlings catching a whiff of the mess he created doing a simple job. He was the mafia boss for crying out loud. Making a mistake was out of the question, getting help was out as well. The more he thought of calling someone the more he got frustrated with the idea.

 The car roared to life, one hand reached the gear shift and set the car in reverse then back to drive. Hitting the gas pedal, he drove off with nothing but a dust cloud left behind. For being a mafia boss, he sure is fucking stupid, never once did he think that he would be making a mistake like that.

 Reaching a red light at an intersection, he noticed that the city was waking up to begin their day. He only had a couple of hours to come up with a solid cover story until he was supposed to show up at work again. Looking out the window he noticed the cars pass by; one car caught his attention. He thought this was his chance that he couldn't miss. It was a perfect idea from his point of view. Framing someone else was a bit of a bitch move but if he got out the clear, fuck, he would do it a thousand times over.

 He thought that using his rival would get rid of him for good so that he could be number one and rule Seoul from behind the scenes. Having everyone shirk in fear brought such joy to Jaebeom that he needs to go through with this plan. Becoming power-hungry made him crazy. He was thirsty for it and was going to do anything to get it. 

 Realizing that the light turned green, he makes his way back to the company for damage control. Who knew that bringing an end to his rival would make a man smile like a mad-man, but he thought it was so worth it to do so.

 The ride back was fairly quick for Jaebeom. As he got closer to Tencent, the police were there parked in the front of the building. He had to find a way into the building without being spotted. Circling Tencent, he decided to go through the backway. He still had his ID card on him, so if the police caught him right there he for sure would kiss the $500,000 goodbye.

 Parking his car in the alleyway behind the company, Jaebeom made his way to the back door cautiously. The perks of being named leader, it showed that you can handle any situation no matter the outcome, finding a solution to the mess he created was ironic.

 Slowly making his way up the stairs, he avoided any main hallways, not wanting to draw unwanted attention. Climbing twenty flights of stairs was not something Jaebeom planned for. He felt more guilty with each step he took for messing up a simple thing. He wished he had powers to reverse time and start over from the very beginning, but alas, he was never going to get that wish.

 Reaching the eighteenth floor, Jaebeom noticed no one near the entrance to the stairwell. He silently thanked the gods above to have come all the way up without getting caught. Twisting the knob to the door he slowly opened it and peaked his head to see if the coast was clear and surprisingly it was. Closing the door again, he stayed put in the stairwell. He found it strange that no one was guarding this floor, the floor where Jaebeom was located a couple of hours ago.

 Jaebeom's suspicions grew more as he stayed put, thinking of all the possible outcomes of this situation. None of his answers made any sense, the dots were not connecting at all. This pissed him off more than it should have.

 Deciding to give up, he moved on to the top floor where the CEO's office was, along with his own. Jaebeom's job title wasn't much, but that charming personality of his got him that spot on the top floor alongside the CEO. Everyone hated that Jaebeom got special treatment because he came here with no experience. He created enemies, did he care? No. It made him mad with power. He enjoyed that idea of people hating what he had and what they couldn't get.

 There was a scream that pulled Jaebeom out of his thoughts. "Where is he?! What do you mean you can't find him?!" one of the cops said into his phone.

 This is where it became challenging for Jaebeom, finding a clear path into the hallway without getting spotted by anyone. Peeking through the crack of the door, he noticed a tall man with a tan trenchcoat dressed up in an expensive suit. The realization hits him when he notices who the man was. It was none other than Kim Namjoon, a leader in the underground business and upper business, but to Jaebeom he was just a rival.

 He wondered why Namjoon was here, he had no business being here. Yet here he was waltzing into the company like he owns the place. The confidence that Namjoon gave off made Jaebeom sick to his stomach. How could someone just act confident all the time?

 "God, he's so infuriating, like can't this man even act normal," Jaebeom muttered to himself. "I just want to punch that stupid smirk off of his face."

 The wheels were turning in Jaebeom's head that after everything, he was getting some luck after the morning he had today. Reopening the door, he noticed Namjoon walking away from the coat closet. This was his opportunity to get rid of his ID card.

 He couldn't go out into the main hallway, he would get spotted quick. He needed to find a way to get himself into that coat closet. He had to think of something fast, there wasn't much time to waste. Looking back to where the officer was, Jaebeom couldn't find him.

 "Where did he go? He was just there," he told himself. Another voice caught his attention and it was from the CEO, Baekhyun. He was talking to the officer that Jaebeom was looking for. He felt so blessed to have him occupied. Looking left and right, he noticed that the coast was clear and booked it straight to the coat closet.

 Closing the door behind him, he was met with darkness, looking for the light switch with his hands. As he found the switch, the small closed space lit up. "Now where is that trenchcoat of yours," he whispered. "Ah, I found you, my dear sweet savior. Oh, how you are saving me from so much work."

Grabbing his ID from his coat pocket, he quickly placed it in Namjoon's trenchcoat and turned back around. Opening the door, he made sure the coast was clear once again and stepped out. Jaebeom made his way to the CEO's office and knocked on the door. Baekyhun and the officer turned their heads, noticing that it was Jaebeom.

 "There he is! Get him," Baekyhun loudly spoke.

 The officer was charged towards Jaebeom and before he could utter a word his hands were behind his back and his body slammed against the door. Groaning out loud from the impact Jaebeom asked, "What's going on, why am I getting slammed on a damn door by an officer?!"

 "Quit playing coy, Lim, what did you do with the money you stole from the company?" Baekhyun asked.

 Facing the man who asked the question, "I don't know what is going on, I just got here," Jaebeom's voice dropped a few octaves deeper.

 Baekhyun darted towards Jaebeom pushing the officer out of the way and turning Jaebeom around to face him. "Lim, I won't ask you again. Where is the money?!" he yelled, stressing each word as he spoke.

 "And I'm going to tell you again that I don't know what you are talking about!" Jaebeom rebutted back to the CEO.

 Baekyhun was just fuming with anger from Jaebeom's answer. Baekyhun swore that he was just bluffing and acting dumb, but the confusion on his face made his story more believable. Letting go of Jaebeom, Baekyhun walked towards the window of his office that gave him the best view of the busy city below. He was at a crossroads, not knowing what to do. He wanted to believe Jaebeom but the evidence was right there.

 Jaebeom silently watched his boss freak out, trying to understand the words that he spoke. His boss was at war with himself. Jaebeom thought he could use this as an advantage; to confuse the man more than he was.

 "Baekhyun, you know that I would never do anything to harm this company or to betray your trust," he spoke out loud.

 Baekhyun just stared at the man, his expression unreadable. Jaebeom couldn't figure out what he was thinking. Was Baekhyun figuring out that everything he's said was a lie? Jaebeom couldn't go down like this, this was not going to be the end.

 "Baekhyun, please I don't know what is going on, but I can tell you that I haven't seen my ID since yesterday. If that can help my case in any way," he hopelessly said.

 Jaebeom silently pleaded with Baekhyun to give him a chance to hear him out, which reluctantly he did. Baekyhun gave a hand signal to the police officer to leave the room and give the men privacy. "You have five minutes to tell me your side of the story or I'll ask the cops to take you away from here," he insisted.

 "As I said before, I haven't seen my ID since yesterday. The last time I saw the thing it was on my desk in my office. After that, I couldn't find it," Jaebeom lied through his teeth.

 "You lost your ID and didn't bother telling anyone about this?" Baekhyun questioned him.

 "Listen, I didn't think much of it when I couldn't find it after I left work. I thought I could find it when I got here today, but here we are." Jaebeom briefly paused.

 "I was planning on telling you today if I ended up not finding it!" he continued, "I can show you where I left it in my office and you can let the officer search too."

 Baekhyun was hesitant on taking Jaebeom's offer on searching his office, he was stressed and he was doubting everything that was said by this man. His trust in him was dropping rapidly, but did he have another choice? He had to go for it even if he ended up looking like a fool.

 Rising from his seat, Baekhyun walked around his desk and stood in front of Jaebeom and just stared him down. "If I found out that you are just fucking around and we find that ID of yours, you are out of here and out of my sight," leaving Jaebeom in his seat, Baekhyun walked towards the door and looked back, "Hurry up, we don't have all day. I have to do damage control because of you."

 Jaebeom quickly got up from his seat and followed his boss from behind, making their way to his office. The officer trailing along asked where they both were heading, Baekhyun quickly answering, "To his office, we are going to search for that ID card of his that supposedly was lost."

 "But sir, we don't have a search warrant to partake in this. We will not be able to assist you," the officer explained.

 Baekhyun continued to make his way to Jaebeom's office, telling anyone that walked past him to follow. Not a word was uttered when he spoke to anyone. The workers just simply followed like mindless slaves, not questioning his orders.

 Walking into the office, Baekhyun strolled quickly to the desk in the middle of the office and began to rummage through the files that laid on top neatly. Everyone that followed along began to do the same, going to different parts of the room and not leaving a corner unturned. Jaebeom just stood by the door not knowing what to do with himself besides watching the disaster unfold.

 Looking up to face the man that caused all the distress, Baekhyun spoke out loud, "Lim, it is best if you stepped outside and just stood by with the officer. You are truly not needed here."

 Jaebeom was offended by the words that the man spoke to him. It never crossed his mind that he would be pushed out of something that involved him. "To be fair Baekhyun, I don't think that is a good idea. What if one of the workers here is the culprit and trying to frame me over what happened? I'm sorry but I am not leaving this room until you all leave with me." His voice roared across the room.

 Baekhuyn rolled his eyes at his subordinate's stubbornness, it made him feel sick to his stomach that he did not want to walk. This was something that Jaebeom took very seriously. Never once did this man raise his voice at anyone during the job. He took everything that was handed to him without a single complaint. It scared Baekhyun that Jaebeom stood his ground and didn't budge one bit.

 "If you won't leave then stand by the door and don't get into anyone's way, Lim," he spoke with venom in his voice.

 Pleased with the response from his boss, he walked back to the door and just watched. No one knew what was to come at the end of this search. It was entertaining to watch everyone look through his belongings. They were never going to find anything and it made him ecstatic to have this type of knowledge over people.

 "Sir, we couldn't find anything in the cabinets,"

 "Sir, the bookshelf is clean,"

 One by one each person that Baekhyun brought with him ended up not finding anything. This made his blood boil, that not only could they not find anything, he as well couldn't come up with anything. His whole office was clean. Countless thoughts came to mind that gave him a migraine. Where could that ID of his be? Who took it? All these questions came to mind and none of the answers that he came up with seemed logical.

 With a huge sigh, Baekhyun told everyone to go back to work, this was a huge blow for his ego. Being proven wrong was his least favorite thing in the world. Being right about everything made his day, the power he felt was his drug. It was intoxicating to him. He needed this. Slamming the folders that laid on the desk, Baekhyun paced towards Jaebeom with anger in his eyes, he was not pleased when everyone came up short in their findings.

 "I don't know where you hid that ID of yours but if it's not found in the next twenty-four hours, you are on your own." he spat.

 Jaebeom wasn't shocked that his boss was worked up over not finding the missing ID. It actually made his day. Playing coy was his strongest suit; he enjoyed playing clueless. This was a win for him, the sight of his boss losing hope little by little. Everything was falling into place on how he imagined it, sweet victory was close. All he needed was the last piece to fall into place.

 Baekhyun sighed out loud, finally releasing Jaebeom from his grip and walked out of the ruined office. Jaebeom looked around and just smirked like a mad man and decided it was time to wrap things up. Shouts could be heard from his office, which made Jaebeom run out to where the commotion was. All he saw was three cops surrounding Namjoon, who was confused with everything trying to explain.

 One of the officers quickly grabbed hold of Namjoon and roughly pushed him against the nearest wall, "Kim Namjoon, you're under arrest!"

 Copyright © 2020 franklytae. All rights reserved. Please do not repost on any platform or translate without permission.