#finished this��… :] for my design class. a little rough around the edges. but i think it’s pretty nice

[eggwishing]

sans looking at ice or something

[mikuyuuss]

I been busy these days because not only did I had a trip with my friends that week, but the fashion school I enrolled in has just started classes and I just finished my first project: a Cutesy Coquette bag. It's still a little rough around the edges, but I'm using it right now and It works pretty well.

I used my own Kny designs as an inspiration for this project, with the keychains and cutesy motifs adding personality to the bag. It kind of ended up having a slightly vintage feel to it.

I used a blue lace since I felt that that color is so Akari but I also liked how there are heart patterns to it

Other than that I went for a cream color bc its easy to match with my outfits and accents of pink and blue bc those are my fav colors. I even tried matching it with some of my outfits.

I wore it to school and other occasions. I think it matches well with my pastel outfits but even with darker clothes, it works too, I think it gives off a nice contrast. (also yes I also repeated some of the outfits too lol)

[ashintheairlikesnow]

For Vampire Chris! What if he and Jake went to a museum and came across some of Tooley's paintings? And Chris has a panic attack! We would finally get some Jake comfort. And maybe Chris would reveal more horrible things that Tooley had done to him.

CW: Discussion of death, blood, vampire whumpee, caretaker and whumpee

The sun sets early in the winter, and it's the only reason they can make this work.

Chris is barely awake even so, sipping from a coffee cup Jake filled with the contents of one of his blood packs, hoping he doesn't trip and spill and lead to Jake having some very awkward, panicked explanations to make to anyone nearby.

He'd slept in the truck Jake borrowed from Nat most of the way over here, curled in the passenger seat. He looks for all the world like any high schooler who stayed up too late the night before, dragged out by his family, forced to go learn when all he wants is rest.

Chris is draped in a hooded sweatshirt pulled on over his head, hair mussed from sleeping in the closet in the little nest-bed he made for himself in there. It sticks out like stray from beneath the hood he's pulled up, coppery strands occasionally covering his eyes and making him shove them out of the way with a snort that has no right to be as adorable as it is, considering the monster who makes the sound.

Not a monster, no. Not really.

Or his monster, anyway, the same way his mother is his mother. Jake is starting to understand the little vampire - more than three times his own age - has chosen him for family now.

The sweater he wears is kind of a joke, actually. Jake bought it weeks ago from a website that puts the covers of books on clothes, and it's an old cover image from Dracula.

Jake thought it was funny, anyway. Nat was less amused. Chris only smiled and said something about being happy the hairy palms thing isn't true.

The air is chilly, and Jake shivers a little as they head in from the parking lot across a small sidewalk next to a park and toward the museum itself, but of course Chris doesn't even notice. He seems to be enjoying it, the way it blows around his hair as they make their way slowly up the steps and past the row of Grecian-style columns that mark the entrance.

Jake has to visit for one of his classes, an extra-credit something-or-other, and Chris had asked to go along with him.

Jake had been hesitant, but seeing the way the vampire's green eyes sparkle as he moves around in public like any other person, well... he feels like he made the right choice to bring him along now.

"Finish up your drink, you can't take anything in once we pay and get past the lobby," Jake says, and Chris nods, gulping the last of the blood as fast as he can as they push through wide double-doors. Jake tries not to imagine how it must feel, swallowing thick congealing cooled blood. Someone's life, someone's heartbeat, down your throat...

Really, is he that much different? Jake has eaten a dozen cows' worth of beef in his life.

Does Chris see them all as just livestock? He doesn't act like it, but then, there are people who treat pigs or cows like pets and not like food...

His stomach flips a little and he forces himself to look around, up at the chandelier at the high ceiling, the heavy wooden desk they have to walk to off to the side to get their tickets. To stop trying to understand if Chris is a sort of stray they've adopted, or if he's a higher-level predator living with prey.

Once Chris drops the cup into a trash can, Jake throwing a couple wadded-up tissues on top so no one can accidentally see the smear of red around the edge of the lid, they buy their tickets, and wind their way through and past the little velvet ropes that mark off the entrance.

The museum opens before them into a grand hall, with paintings the size of two-story buildings on either side, permanent installations in the museum. Commissioned for its opening, sometime back in the 70's.

Jake picks up a brochure so they know which way to go - LGBTQ+ Art in Pre-War America is the temporary exhibit he's here to see, traveling work that is usually housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

"Oh, nice, it's on the first floor. Looks like you go through a couple of 'specialty' rooms, just showing off stuff from the in-house collection. Sounds cool, right?"

Chris, looking from side to side at the gigantic paintings that hang on the walls in the opening hall, hums softly, a tuneless constant sound. He doesn't answer Jake's question. He hums often, and Jake barely notices any longer, but there's something edged to it, now. As if just being around the paintings is making him nervous.

"Okay, little man, let's go over here." He touches Chris's arm, lightly, through the thick fabric of his sweater. The vampire looks over at him, smiling with his lips pressed together to hide his teeth from any potential prying eyes.

He follows easily, but he sticks closer to Jake than he normally does, and his eyes are constantly roving. They move through an exhibit of Pre-Colombian pottery first, on their way to the room in the back where the temporary showcase is.

Jake watches Chris's fingers twitch with the urge to touch, to learn by feeling the bumps and ridges in the ancient clay, and how he holds back as best he can. His urge to lift the clear protective plastic boxes right off the pottery so he can get at it is nearly physically painful.

Jake pretends not to see it when Chris's fingers trail along a column, settling for the white-painted rectangle the pottery is balanced on, taking in the rough texture smoothed by the matte paint.

"Did you ever meet anyone like you that was old enough to have made stuff like this?" Jake asks, stopping in front of a water jug in the shape of a man playing a flute with a dog at his feet. The dog wears a carved smile marked with disturbingly human-looking teeth. The paint it must have been covered in is worn by time, leaving the reddish-brown of the clay behind, with the faintest streaks of white still in the crevices.

"No," Chris replies, tilting his head, making direct eye contact with the statue in a way he never quite can do with any real person. Not comfortably, anyway. Jake has seen him force it and shudder afterwards, overwhelmed. When he'd asked about it, Chris had said he never liked looking at anyone's eyes, even before, when he was alive. It's too much, was all he would say. It's always too much. "None, um, none of us live that long."

"Why not?" They're alone in the room. It's the only reason Jake feels safe asking.

Chris's tongue runs over the sharpening bumps of his growing-in fangs, pressing against them, easing the itch and the ache of their return. After a second, he pulls a plastic bat on a cord from inside his sweater and puts the bat into his mouth, chewing on it idly, jaw working. "I, I, I don't know. That's just what what what my, my, my pack told me."

"I thought vampires lived in covens."

"No." Chris doesn't elaborate on this one. He can be weirdly secretive about how he lived before he came to Nat's, before he was pulled out of a basement, a living drug for a wealthy asshole.

Secretive, or just forgetting whatever wasn't essential.

He moves away to another pedestal, a shard broken off of a larger vessel, marked with a deep white and intense black angular design. He hums again, and Jake takes the hint and leaves him alone.

They spend several more minutes looking over the pottery before they head through a second room full of what must just be the favorite pieces of museum employees, as there doesn't seem to be much rhyme or reason, and each little card with the name of the piece and its maker has a paper next to it with a note on why each employee loves this piece in particular. Chris lingers around older things, a woven tapestry from medieval England, landscapes from the 19th century. He stares for a while at a painting called The Country Path by Joseph Poole Addy, a pale watercolor of winter trees with bare branches breaking the line of sky and a woman bundled in a coat carrying a basket down an equally colorless road.

Chris's humming getting louder, and he rocks a little, forward and back, his eyes moving again and again through the lines of the painting.

Jake wonders what it is about this one specifically that catches Chris like that, and when the vampire finally moves on he checks the employee's statement. Joseph Poole Addy, Irish painter in the 19th and 20th centuries, blah blah, something something countryside... Jake frowns, and glances over at Chris, who isn't looking back. He's moved on to something else.

Jake decides to ask him later.

They make it to the exhibit they're here to see, and Jake whistles under his breath as he enters. There are vibrant, saturated paintings lining the walls, a couple of large sculptures on the floor that still are taller than he is, a few smaller ones on pedestals. The work is mostly figurative, although there's some early abstraction there, a hint of the contemporary push to take even figurative work out of simply being an echo of a real life thing.

Chris looks at a sculpture, his head cocked so far to the side it looks almost birdlike, not quite human. Jake thinks his own neck would ache for days if he tried to do that. "Must've been, um, later," He mumbles to himself.

Jake files that away in his mental list of things to talk to Chris about later.

He walks slowly along the line of paintings. The whole point of being here is that he's supposed to pick a specific piece and write a short essay about it and the artist who made it, prove he saw it in person.

The class itself is about how to encourage better outcomes for healthcare in marginalized populations - but if she's giving out extra-credit for looking at queer art, well, Jake is happy to spend an hour in a museum.

After his dismal performance on the last test, he could use whatever credit he can get. Besides, the exhibit is actually kind of cool with that in mind. Every one of these artists was in some way outside of the sort of het ideal, and Jake smiles a little as he catches the heaviness of a look between two men seated across a table from one another, looks over the clasped hands of women, sitting with everything from shoulder to hip touching, who are listed as 'friends visiting the riverbank'.

Art that celebrates, hidden in plain sight. Art that rebels by sliding details in under the surface where only those looking for them will find them.

Each piece has another little paper, although this just has details about the artist and their work, what they were known for. He can use it as a jumping-off point for his paper, anyway.

"You, you, you finished her," Chris whispers, standing in front of a sculpture of a woman with her head thrown back as if in uproarious laughter, a woman with curls expertly carved so that her hair seems to have been there before the stone it's made of somehow. "I wonder if she, um, if if if she saw it."

"What'd you say, Chris?" Jake blinks, pulled out of his own internal reverie.

"Nothing," Chris responds, and walks slowly around the statue. The woman's smile is a shining light in the room. No one could carve like that without being at least a little in love with the subject.

Jake wanders away and then comes to an abrupt stop before a large painting, probably taller than Chris is. The background is near-total darkness with only a suggestion of stone, a single beam of light shining down to illuminate the central figure.

A naked boy clothed only in scraps of torn cloth that only emphasize his nakedness everywhere else is crouched in terror. His knees are bent and his feet are on the floor, one hand holding his weight with fingers slightly curled, his spine bent and arched as if he is caught in the midst of turning to look up to find the direction of the light. His other hand is thrown out, as if trying to ward off an attack.

He bleeds from a dozen or more places, the blood curving perfectly around his form, giving it extra weight and heft that makes it seem like he'll step out of the canvas, grab Jake, and shake him.

Jake's heart starts to race as he stares.

There are bones littering the ground around the thin, wasted boy, not bleached but sort of yellowed, marked with little notches as if cut with a knife. There might still be bits of skin attached to some of them, a hint of muscle. The detail makes Jake sick, but his panic, that comes from something else entirely. Just behind the panicked boy there is a body, as if just fallen, the eyes still open in the final terrified throes of death. The body's fingers are still dug into the dirt floor as if the dead man had been trying to pull himself somewhere, to escape.

A skull watches with eerie cheer from one corner of the painting, a few teeth missing and knocked out from its garish grin.

Barely visible, a thin wash of grayish-white, there is a pale, gnarled hand near the bottom reaching out from the background as if to grab the boy's ankle and drag him into the darkness.

Count Ugolino's Last Son, oils, 1932, reads the little plaque beside the painting. Its faint brassy shine glints in the carefully calibrated light. Edward Tooley, 1907 - 1936.

Jake swallows, but the lump in his throat doesn't budge, and he swallows again. And again. He can't take his eyes off the boy's painted hair, a dirtied copper, strawberry-blond badly in need of a wash. The wide green eyes with their terror writ large and clear, painted with lovingly perfect detail.

The boy in the painting is the perfect identical twin of the vampire who is still staring at the sculpture on the other side of the room. The fear in his face is so expertly done as to seem more photographic than painted in oil. The blood that drips to the ground follows his anatomy with absolute perfection. The bones are not bleached by they so often are in paintings, no, these...

These...

Jake holds his phone up and takes a photo, and then another of the little plaque.

"Chris." His voice cracks and Jake clears his throat. His heart is still pounding. "Chris, come look at this."

"Yes, Jake," Chris answers, sounding a little faint, and then he seems to simply appear at Jake's elbow, the teenage boy who has seen two world wars and a half-dozen smaller, stupider ones.

He goes still at Jake's side when he looks up. Jake looks over, just slightly, glancing sidelong to see a look of something like... wistfulness on the vampire boy's face.

"Tooley," He breathes. His hand goes up, and out, and he would have touched the canvas if Jake hadn't reached out and grabbed on to stop him. Chris jumps a little and turns to meet Jake's gaze. His eyes are pink-tinged in the whites, as if he's holding back tears. "Is, is, is he famous?"

"I guess. He's... he's here, isn't he?"

"He always wanted to, um, to to to to be famous." Chris's eyes move over the details, but it's not with surprise, it's with easy familiarity. He's seen this painting before.

He's been this painting before.

"That's you, isn't it?" Jake asks in a hushed voice. "Like, that was really you."

Chris looks away again, a faint flush in his cheeks. He's full enough of blood for it to happen, and you'd never know he isn't alive if you didn't already. "Yes," He whispers, and wipes at the corner of his eye with one hand. "That, that, that's me."

"Were you his model?" Jake blinks, looking back over the painted twin of the vampire beside him. The fear in the boy's face, woven in with a kind of awful resignation. It's all so perfectly rendered.

"Yes. Sort, um. Sort of. He, he, he kept me in a room." Chris exhales, slowly, and his eyes shift over to the paper with the little bit of biographical information on it. Edward Tooley's early works focused on landscapes or retreads of common historical subjects, only to find greater excellence and focus when he began to paint, again and again, the same figure - a representation of the darkness of the human soul - he stated appeared to him and demanded to be portrayed... art historians believe Tooley was driven by the demons of the Great War that had taken his family from him one by one to seek out uncomfortable subjects that force viewers to see the damage humans do to one another...

Chris's nose wrinkles as he reads, his lips moving slightly with the words as he takes them in. "I never did that. Never, um, wanted to be painted. Also, um this, um. He was... wasn't... he wasn't... wasn't like the paper says."

Jake looks over, reads it himself. Gregarious, sociable, popular with the libertine art crowd... he frowns. "What part is wrong?"

"This." Chris points, this at least he can safely make contact with, and presses the pad of his finger under a sentence that reads took inspiration from the ugly side of the city hidden under its shining lights. "He, he, he he didn't care about anyone in the city. He thought everyone who, who who who who-who wasn't him was, um, was stupid."

"What did he care about?" Jake imagines telling his professor that instead of an essay, he's going to bring in a vampire who literally knew one of the artists in person. How she might react.

Probably call the cops and report an unsecured vampire loose on the streets. But maybe she'd listen to what Chris had to say first.

"Blood," Chris says, softly. His voice is getting lower and lower, until it's barely more than a whisper. "Pain. Fear. Being... being the the the the last person who, who saw someone. He, he, he, he liked to lay them out and paint them, liked me to, to, to... arrange them for him."

Jake's eyes go unwillingly back to the dead body behind the scared boy in the painting. The grasping fingers, the open eyes that look sightless, lifeless, at nothing at all. When he looks, he can see - more suggestion than made clear - that the body's throat is torn open, as if by an animal's teeth.

Now, only now that he's looking for it, does he realize there is the slightest hint of red tears on the cheeks of the painted boy, a sheen of pink on his teeth where he begs for mercy from the grasping singular hand coming out of the dark.

His stomach flips again. "Chris, are you saying-"

"His, his, his name was Ben." Chris nods at the dead body in the painting. "I asked. Before..." He gestures, a little vaguely. "That."

Jake feels a sudden, wild urge to look up missing persons cases from New York City in 1932. See if there's anyone named Ben on there. He knows without having to do so that there definitely will be.

"What happened to him... after?"

"I don't know. I, I, I was never let out when Tooley was gone. I... wonder how, how, how many of me there are." Chris looks up at the echo of his own face, his head tilting again. His lips tremble, just a little, and then part to show the hint of white teeth wet with pinkish saliva. "On walls, in houses, in... in places like, um. Like this. How many there are... is, is, is, is that what I still look like?"

Jake clears his throat again, looks down at his feet. This feels, suddenly, like he's walked in on someone looking down at his own dead body in a funeral home. Interrupting a moment so immensely private it shouldn't even exist.

"Yeah," he says, a little gruffly. "Yeah, that's it. More or less. Except I hope I scare you less than that. Also you wear a lot more clothes with us."

Chris laughs - it's a huff of sound, barely-there. Then he turns away from himself. "We, we, we can't see ourselves, in mirrors," He says, and he's got the little plastic bat back in his hand, rubbing his thumb over the carved silicone. "But I have mirrors everywhere. On these walls."

He goes suddenly terribly still. He isn't breathing.

He doesn't have to, but the realization that he isn't even pretending is a jolt of awareness of exactly how dead Chris is. He leaves the exhibit, and Jake is left to scramble after him, struggling to catch up to someone he should be able to easily outrun.

He breaks into a flat run when they get outside the double-doors, jumps the steps three at a time with grace, and runs across the grass and towards the stand of trees halfway across the park. Even Jake, who works out four days a week, is breathing hard and has a hitch in his rib by the time he catches up.

He finds Chris curled up under a tree in the evening dark, the stars starting to twinkle overhead as the sun finally allows them a clear night sky to shine in.

Jake drops to his knees, ignoring the damp that seeps into his jeans from soil that still hasn't dried since yesterday's rains, and he leans over, putting a warm hand to either side of the vampire's face.

Chris looks up, his eyes glinting like a cat's briefly in the dark, and there are trails down his cheeks, his lips pulled back from his teeth in a snarl that is anything but angry.

No, this is grief.

This is loss.

Jake knows the feeling.

"Talk to me," Jake says softly. "Tell me what it was like, what it's been like for you. Tell me about the life you've lived before I knew you."

"It, it, it hurt," Chris whispers, and his own hands cover Jake's. They're the same temperature as the air around them, and Jake shivers a little. It's almost a chill. "Every time. I, I, I try not to kill, Jake, I try so hard, but but but he would keep me so hungry and I couldn't-... stop..."

Jake thinks about the robbers Chris killed - for him, to save him from them - and how he'd locked himself in the closet afterward. Had he cried like this, over taking lives even when in defense?

"The museum thing said this guy Tooley died in 1936. He was only, what, twenty-nine? Did... did you-"

"Yes." Chris's voice is thick but it's not quite with regret. "I was hungry. He, he he he he didn't bring food. I was so hungry... then I was, um, was alone for a while... then, then, then, then then then I was taken for, for, for the, um, the trade, for my v-venom, and..."

"Got it. I got it, Chris. It's okay," Jake says, softly. "It's going to be okay. You're with us, now. And we'll never, ever make you hurt someone that way. We'll never make you go hungry. We'll never hurt you or use you."

Chris ducks his head, rocking forward until it knocks into Jake's shoulder, and Jake slides his arms around the vampire's shoulders, listening to his soft, muffled sobs, wondering how red his shirt will be stained by the time the vampire's tears have been cried out.

The same mouth that tore out the throat of a dead body that lays in a painting on the wall is so close to his neck it would take less than an inch for him to bite down. Even without fangs, he could lock his jaw and break the skin.

The same dangerous monster that has killed likely dozens to stay alive, the same stalking predator that has been the last sight of far too many, cries in his arms. Just a teenage boy who has been lonely, and terrified, and hurt for too long.

A teenager... and a monster that hunts prey after dark. Jake tightens his arms around Chris, holds him tighter.

It doesn't matter.

It doesn't matter how long he's been alive, not really.

He's just Chris.

That matters more.

-

@mylifeisonthebookshelf @insaneinthepaingame @keeper-of-all-the-random-things @burtlederp @finder-of-rings @newandfiguringitout @astrobly @endless-whump @pretty-face-breaker @gonna-feel-that-tomorrow @doveotions @boxboysandotherwhump @oops-its-whump @cubeswhump @whump-tr0pes @downriver914 @whumptywhumpdump @whumpiary @orchidscript @nonsensical-whump @outofangband @what-a-whump

[redgillan]

Under Pastel Skies - 1

Sugar daddy!Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary: Modern!AU Bucky doesn’t need anyone, especially not a sugar baby. He isn’t that desperate… but she smiles so sweetly and she’s endearingly awkward, and he’s so lonely. She’s an artist, a painter, the type of person who always puts others before herself. Throwing caution to the wind Bucky offers her a place to live, a place where she can finally paint whatever her heart desires. He doesn’t need much in return; a friend, a muse.

Word Count: 2,183

Warnings: none

A/N: This is brand new and probably one of the softest series I’ve ever written. I hope you enjoy it, these two are going to fall in love so hard!

“I don’t feel good.”

You started rocking back and forth, your breathing coming too fast and too shallow. A drop of sweat rolled down from your armpit, making you hyperaware of the fact that you were looking like a mess. You pressed the back of your hand to your forehead and groaned; your hairline was wet.

Looking at your dress, you felt bile rise up in your throat.

You should have worn the blue dress. Blue was a nice colour, everyone loved blue. Blue made people calm and at ease. No, instead, you had taken Natasha’s advice and put on the tight orange-red dress that clung to your body and made your breasts look incredible.

But now the dress stuck uncomfortably to your body, the space between your breasts was wet and glistening. You couldn’t breathe, you couldn’t think. Red was the colour of passion, of anger and danger, and you just had to deal with your poor life decision.

Although deep down, you knew it wasn’t about the dress, or its colour.

“Relax,” Natasha said, sipping her lemonade. “I’m here, it’s going to be fine.”

“I am not fucking relaxed, Nat,” you repeated with a scoff. “I’m at a bar, about to meet a potential sugar daddy; that’s not what normal people do on a Friday night.”

“You’d be surprised,” she sassed. You gave her an unimpressed look. “Look, you can live with me for as long as you like, and you can work odd shifts at the hotel for the rest of your life if that’s what you want. But I know you, you’re an artist, and artists need freedom and benefactors. Sam is the reason I finished paying my tuition. You can call him my sugar daddy, but I prefer the word scholarship.”

Yeah, it was only a matter of perspective –and vocabulary. Some may call this whole thing brilliant, others stupid. You weren’t quite sure what to think yet.

“And this guy’s legit?” you asked for the nth time.

“Yes, Sam says he’s a great guy; sweet, handsome, thoughtful. He’s the whole package.”

“Mmmh.”

You eyed the pair of napkins the waiter had placed on the table along with your drinks, and wondered if it would be appropriate to stick them under your armpits to sop up the sweat trickling down your sides.

“Oh, fuck it,” you grumbled, reaching for the napkins.

You patted your armpits dry while you anxiously scanned the growing crowd. It was a high end bar, definitely not your usual hang out spot. The patrons were dressed in designer clothes and wore jewellery that cost more than your three years of art classes at the School of Visual Arts.

“Do we really have to stay sober?”

Natasha cocked a brow at you. “You don’t drink.”

You only groaned in response.

“I know how you’re feeling, I’ve been there, too,” she replied. “It’ll be like a normal first date. You’ll get to know each other, see if you guys hit it off, and if everything goes well you’ll talk about the arrangement. You can’t give consent if you’re under the influence of alcohol, so drink your lemonade and stop fussing, yeah?”

Like an obedient child, you brought the bent straw to your lips and took a quick sip of the icy refreshment. You toyed with the straw and watched the ice cubes slowly shrink. It was strangely soothing.

“They’re here.”

And just like that, your panic returned full force. You snapped your head up and tried to smile when you saw Sam approaching your table. You set your drink down on the coffee table and wiped your clammy hands on your dress.

Natasha stood up and gave Sam a kiss. While she wiped off a smudge of lipstick she had left on his upper lip, you glanced at the man behind Sam.

He was tall, muscular, and had a mysterious air about him. He was dressed casually, in black jeans and white t-shirt with a maroon bomber jacket that suited his pale complexion. The left sleeve of his jacket was tucked inside, empty.

Even without being an expert in behaviour analysis, you could tell he felt uncomfortable. He bowed his head to hide his face and kept looking around as if someone was going to attack him or as if he wanted to know where the nearest exit was.

Sam whispered something in the man’s ear and clapped him on the back before he turned to you.

“Okay, we’ll let you guys get to know each other.” Natasha looped her arm through Sam’s, and gave you an encouraging smile. You heard Sam whispering to his friend again. “Buck, seriously, you look like someone shoved a broomstick up your ass. Relax, man.”

“We’ll be over at the bar if you need anything.”

She gave you a thumbs-up as Sam led her across the crowd, toward the bar. With an authoritative look, Sam pointed to the seat across from yours and mouthed ‘sit’ at his friend who rolled his eyes and ground his teeth in response.

“Hi,” you started, trying to sound cheerful but the slight tremble in your voice gave you away.

“Hey, I’m sorry,” he cut you off, “you seem like a nice girl but I’m not looking for anyone, least of all a sugar baby. I told Sam it was a stupid idea, but he never listens. This has nothing to do with you, I’m sure you’re great. I’m really sorry, I hope you’re not disappointed.”

He had barely made eye contact with you during his long-winded speech but you did notice that they were blue. Now that you knew this wasn’t going anywhere, your shoulders lowered and you felt yourself smiling.

“Of course, I understand. I wasn’t particularly thrilled, too. No offense.”

He bent his head and ran a hand through his hair, his lips curved up in a soft smile. “Is your friend as meddling as mine?”

You let out a loud laugh, your eyes widening. “More! If meddling were an Olympic sport, Nat would have more medals than Michael Phelps.”

His shoulders shook in a soundless chuckle but he still wasn’t looking at you. “So why’d you agree?”

You took your glass of lemonade and played with the straw while you searched for an answer that wouldn’t sound too desperate or dramatic. You majestically failed.

“I guess I felt like I had nothing to lose.” You shrugged. “It’s like when you’re standing on the edge of a cliff and you only have two options; jumping off the cliff or getting eaten by a pack of wolves,” you said, checking them off on your fingers as you enumerated them. “You have to choose the lesser of two evils.”

He frowned, a curious glint in his eyes and a hint of a smile curved his lips. Your eyes widened when you realized you might have offended him.

“Not that I think you’re evil,” you rushed to add. “What I meant to say is that sometimes you don’t really have a choice. And when you have no other option but to jump, well... your chances are infinite. Anything can happen.”

He slowly raised his eyes to meet yours, a form of understanding in the depth of his icy blue eyes. He was truly handsome; a little older than the men you usually went out with, but he had kind eyes and very, very nice lips. You looked away, feeling a little foolish.

“Wow, I’m fun at parties, uh? Guess you dodged a bullet,” you laughed, cringing a little as you said it.

He returned a tight smile, loaded with something sad. He looked at you a moment longer and you held your breath, suddenly hoping he would stay and chat. A solemn expression crossed his face and he seemed to go through some kind of inner struggle before he reached a decision.

“It was nice meeting you,” he said, shaking your hand before wishing you goodnight. You watched him leave the bar, his shoulders hunched forward, looking as tense as he did when he entered.

That tiny flicker of hope left with him.

“Hey!” Sam called out, a deep frown on his face as he approached you. “Where is he going?”

“It didn’t work out,” you answered with a shrug.

Sam deflated. “I bet he didn’t even try.”

“Does it really matter?” you replied, shrugging into your coat, something way too thin for the changing weather. “He’s not ready, and honestly, you can’t blame him. This sugar daddy-baby thing isn’t for everyone.”

“I know that,” Sam argued, blowing out a frustrated breath. He turned to Natasha, silently pleading with her to understand, but she was as clueless as you were.

There were lots of reasons Sam wanted Bucky to meet you, and none of them included sex. It was difficult to explain his motivations without betraying his friend’s trust; without telling you too much about Bucky.

“I’m not trying to find him a girlfriend,” Sam continued. “He needs more friends, and he has connections to help you in the art world. I thought you two could help each other out.”

You wrapped your scarf around your neck and grabbed the backpack you had shoved under your seat. It contained your work uniform, clean underwear, toiletries, a bottle of water, your wallet, and a couple of granola bars. Your whole life was in that backpack.

“I’m sorry, Sam,” you said, adjusting the trap of your bag. “I guess it wasn’t meant to be.” You turned to Nat. “I’m going to stay at the hotel tonight, my shift starts at 6 so you’ll have the apartment to yourself.”

Without waiting for an answer, you disappeared into the crowd and headed for the door. Outside the wind was blowing, the cold air biting at your face and bare legs. You took a deep breath, watching as the cold air turned your breath into white smoke.

People were milling about, taking pictures of the skyscrapers, walking hand-in-hand and marvelling at pretty much anything. New York was full of contradictions; kind and hard, smooth and rough, poor and rich. It was exciting to live here, it was exciting to see how people lived together despite their differences. For an artist such as yourself, it was a gold mine of infinite inspiration.

In front of you, a taxi drove closer to the curb, then slowed as a man stepped onto the street and opened the door. He looked over his shoulder and saw you standing there. Sam’s friend smiled at you.

He noticed your light coat, your backpack and your scuffed ankle boots. It was hard to believe that under your coat, you were wearing a sexy little number. He imagined that this was more your style, and he liked it. It was fresh, laidback, casual. He could even see a few drops of paint on the toe of your boots, a smattering of orange and blue.

“Hi, again,” he said. “Wanna share a cab?”

You nodded eagerly, your face half buried in your scarf. You were positively freezing, you didn’t even think twice about following him. He let you climb in first and jumped in after you, angling his body to hide his missing arm.

You gave the driver the address of a Holiday Inn in the Flatiron District and sank into the seat. It dawned on you that you didn’t even know his name. Sam had called him Buck, but you were pretty sure it was one of those nicknames only long-time friends are allowed to use.

“Bucky,” he said with a genuine smile after you told him your name. “I’m sorry I ruined your evening. How long are you going to stay in town?”

“No worries, you didn’t ruin anything. And I live in New York. I live with Natasha.”

“Aren’t we going to a hotel?” Bucky asked, looking out the window with a frown.

“Yup, I work there. Breakfast attendant. I figured Sam and Nat would like some privacy and sometimes my co-worker at the front desk let me borrow a room for the night.”

The car pulled to a stop at the curb and you reached into the front pocket of your backpack to retrieve your wallet. Bucky stopped you.

“Please, let me pay,” he said. “As a sorry for dragging you to a bar and leaving without even telling you my name.”

“Ouch, yes, when you put it like that it wasn’t a great night,” you said with a crooked smile. He responded with an exaggerated cringe. It made you laugh. “Hey, it wasn’t you who dragged me to a bar, it was Sam. You can always tell him to pay you back.”

His eyes brightened. “I definitely will.”

“Goodnight, Bucky,” you giggled, closing the door behind you. You walked up to the big automatic doors and waved goodbye one last time.

“’Night, angel.”

Bucky asked the driver to wait until you were safe inside before driving away. As he watched you, he thought back to what you had said earlier.

Your chances are infinite. Anything can happen.

This time, it made him smile.

part 2

[razorblade180]

Twin Snowflakes 27:Hill climbing preparations

Part 26 here!<-

Rehearsals were going well. With Darren out of mind and no further incidents, students had gotten back into a steady blow of progress. The band was a little shaky at first but Summer had learned that Nick had a point about her being a bit strict in the beginning. With that hurdle jumped, Summer felt comfortable enough to take a short break. Her feet swung from over the stage's edge like a kid on a swing while she took a moment to call Oscar. It had been a few days since their last check in date. The fact that he didn’t blow her fun up meant his own hands were full. Fortunately, two rings was all it took before his face popped up on her screen, covered in what was hopefully seawater.

“Hi Oscar! Ummm sea life treating you will? You look a little…”

“Wet? Sigh, I can’t believe I’m saying this but I miss the cold of the tundra. All the storms and aquatic grimm yanking me off the boat is getting annoying. Anyways, Penny told me you had a little scare recently? Everything okay?”

“Yes, I think.” Summer rubbed her face. “Well…as okay as things usually get. I do feel better than usual. I’ve gotten to perform quite a bit the last couple days.”

“Really? Did you take my advice by any chance?”

A guilty smile found its way on Summer’s face. She couldn’t help but chuckle. “Nah. I’ve just been singing a couple of covers and a few originals that anyone with a radio has heard. The lyrics in the journal are just that, in the journal. I actually wanted to talk to you about a trick Nick got me to try. You’ve actually mentioned it once before early on.”

“Is that so- woah!” Oscar yelped, nearly falling from the rock of the ship crashing through a wave. “Hehe. Sorry about that!”

“Everything okay over there? I can call later?”

“No it’s fine; just rough seas. That’s good though. Challenging waves and other harsh weather factors have been swelling for quite some time. You’re too young to remember this but Atlas was actually a bit warmer. Hot places were cooler and sailing wasn’t as wild.”

“I’ve heard about that in class. Don’t scientists think it might have something to do with magic being back?”

“Or the gods roaming through Remnant.” He smirked, confident about the latter theory. “Harsh conditions mean it’s difficult to press forward. As if the world itself is trying to keep things away. With a little luck, passing these hurdles are all the answers we need.”

Answers. Summer couldn’t begin to imagine having those. It was more terrifying than reliving if she had to be honest. She wouldn’t know what to do if the gods themselves didn’t know what to do. The only thing worse is them saying she couldn’t do anything.

“Let’s cross our fingers you aren’t on a boat for nothing. Speaking of Shiva, Nick talked me into entering my headspace willingly. I was even able to manifest a shovel in it!”

“A shovel?” Oscar quirked his head.

“Yeah it wasn’t the usual blue empty space. It waslake; the lake as a matter of fact. I chucked a shovel at Shiva and told her to start digging her grave.”

“Nick told you to do that!?”

“Weeeeeeell… he only told me to confront her with unwavering resolve in a way Veronica would. I’m pretty sure that meant being cut throat but I may have defaulted to cock intimidation. Pretty sure I stoked the flames of war. But it felt good!”

The cheerfulness in her tone was genuine. While manifesting and confrontation was something Oscar had tried to get her to do early on, there are ways to go about it. Headspace or not, poking at a beast was always risky. “I’m glad you’re feeling good, but exercise caution. I wouldn’t try that alone. There’s a lot we don’t know about that space. I doubt you can actually die there but if that really is your mind you're traversing then serious backlash might happen if things go wrong. Remember, Shiva has an edge. Don’t let her play you in your own head.”

“Believe me, that’s the last thing I want. I’ll be careful Oscar. Thanks for worrying about me. Couldn’t ask for a better therapist”

“I wouldn’t go that far. Ruby and your dad give some pretty solid motivational speeches.”

Hehe, don’t sell yourself short. I should probably get going. Good luck! Watch the gods tell you to perform an exorcism or drown me in sacred water.”

Oh if only it was that easy. “If she had any signs of a soul I would’ve tried that already. Take care Summer. Call me when you need me”

“You know I will.” She hung up and looked over at Nick. A few of the girls had taken the opportunity to strike up a conversation with him. In typical fashion, Nick just let them fawn in vain. “Geez, take a hint ladies.” She mumbled.

“Oh my gods! I wasn’t aware you could sing!”

“So talented!”

“Can you sing for my birthday!?”

All the back chatter and compliments made it hard to focus on one person. Nick did his best to calm them all, giving a faux laugh and smile. “Hehe, thanks. I can hold a note, I’m not as good as my sister, and I’m way too sheepish to sing at a birthday. Now we should probably get back to working maybe? Practice is almost-” his eyes caught the door entrance before he finished. Valerie had walked in.

As if by will, her head automatically turned to meet his eyes. Valerie couldn’t help but give some kind of disarming smile, giving a small wave that was quickly rejected when Nick went back talking to the people around him. Not even Valerie could deny that burn. She put her hand down before she felt anymore like an edit, walking over to Eliza to get what she had to do over with.

“Hey soldier.”

“Huh? Well look who finally decided to show! I expect more from a representative of this school.”

“Oh brother…” Val couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “I’m not even gonna pretend that I’m sorry like I usually do. Look, at least I did what was asked of me. Boiler is fixed for now and there should be no problem getting hot water when the big day arrives.”

“Keep a keen eye on it just in case. I don’t have any time to deal with tiny problems during the tournament.”

“Yeah you and everyone else in this room. Now if you excuse me.” Valerie pointed both thumbs back and tried backing up slowly.

“Hold on…”

“Uuugh. Yes? I got plenty of practice to work on. Make this quick.”

Eliza narrowed her eyes. “Wow, someone is more aggressive than usual. If that’s how you’re going to be then I’ll spare you the lecture. Just know you better be careful or I might pull the rug out from under you this year.”

“Hmph, bold words. You gotta make it to the top of the hill before challenging the ruler. Though you’re more than welcome to kick Nick around and take his spot for all I care. See ya. Just text me the meeting information. Got things to do.” Valerie turned around and headed off. On the way out she saw Summer staring at her with a raised eyebrow from afar. To make matters worse, the cheerleaders moved by the exit. Veronica being among them. Valerie was ready for some kind of sly comment but to her surprise Veronica briefly acknowledged her, nodded, and then went back to what she was doing.

Eliza looked at the time and figured everyone made enough progress for one day. “Alright everyone! You can all start wrapping things up. I’m sure all of you have things to-” the sound of everyone packing their belongings overpowered her voice. “Do.” She finished. At least she could trust everyone to clean up on time. “Nicholas, get your butt in gear.”

“Oh thank goodness!” Nick wasted no time squeezing his way through the girls that lingered around him. “Sorry! The VP calls! Let’s go Summer!”

“Right behind you.” She turned towards the band. “It would be a good idea for you all to practice a little longer. Not because you may or may not need it but because I’ll finally give you room to experiment. Just no funny ideas about adding drum solos.” Summer hopped off stage and headed off, quickly catching up to Nick, Eliza, and Veronica. “Well aren’t we an interesting looking bunch?”

“An idol, witch, heir, and fashion designer. This is the beginning of a bad joke I’d say.”

“Bold of you to call someone a witch when they’ve agreed to help you train.”

“Would you prefer magical girl, or maybe sorceress?” Nick nudged her.

“I prefer my name. However…sorceress is endearing, I suppose.”

“I could call you that while you teach me?”

“Don’t be ridiculous!” She said in a shrill voice. “I’m already regretting this.”

“Well while you two train to death, I’m finally going to get some real shut eye. I can hear my bed calling my name already.”

“Not so fast.” Veronica interjected. “Since we ended up being free at the same time and I have to work a little more diligently…”

Summer didn’t like where this was headed. “Veronica, my hot headed designer, I’m well aware of what it’s like to be a perfectionist. However, please don’t rope me into this.”

All three of them looked at her at once. “It’s your dress!”

“I know that! No need to remind me! I am tired though. It’s Monday, the weekend was crazy, and I just put in a full day of school with extra curricular activities. Allow me two hours at least!?”

“Ugh, ever the whiner. Fine but I don’t want to hear any complaints about design. Most would be thrilled to be heavily involved with their clothing.”

“Well consider this a show of good faith towards your skills.”

The four of them continued to talk all the way to the manor. Eliza tried to stay on important topics while Nick did his best to keep things casual. It never really worked out considering Summer's insistence to not help her dear brother and Veronica’s curiosity about events to come. It was only when the girl’s feline ears twitched by the gate did she begin to quiet down.

“Hmmm?” She stopped immediately.

“Huh? What’s wrong Vee-”

“ACHOO!!!” The girl yelled. The sneeze was so strong Veronica lifted off the ground slightly. “Phew…sorry about that.” She sniffled her loss and continued walking like nothing happened, leaving everyone confused. Veronica was the first to enter with everyone lagging a bit behind. Her eyes looked around until they spotted her mother, Blake, coming down the stairs in casual clothes and wet hair.

“Hey everyone! Finally home I see? And with a friend?”

“Uh classmate. I wouldn’t exac…ummm that’s not important. Hehe, I’m Eliza Marigold.” She stammered. It didn’t really dawn on her that she’d be meeting Mrs. Belladonna herself today. “You look lovely. Though…you look a little red? Are you sick?”

“Oh it’s nothing! Just umm got out of the shower is all.”

Veronica’s eyes narrowed. “Where’s ma?”

“Out back with Jaune.”

“Really?”

“One hundred perfect!” Blake said, unusually preppy. “Well I don’t keep you kids held up. I’ll be in the living room. Nick, Summer, I think your mother is in the garden.”

“Cool. She must be setting up the candle test already. Follow me Eliza.” Nick took her hand and guided her.

“Think I’ll get lost or something?”

“No, I just don’t need you judging every inch of this place until you find something to criticize.”

“……It’s too bright in here.” She heard Nick snicker at her attempt. “You suck.”

With those two out of the way it was time for Summer to mosey to her room. “Finally, nap time!”

“Don’t you wanna practice too?”

“What they’re doing is something I already know. Besides, Nick and I do most of our practices separate. He’ll get me when he needs me. Wake me up if you need anything.”

Veronica waited for the girl to get out of sight before giving her mom a look meant to inspire shame and embarrassment. “Really? We’ve been out all day ya know? You had plenty of time.”

Blake put her hand over Veronica’s face. “Shush your face. It happens sometimes. Thank you for the heads up.”

“Y’all are gross but that’s nothing new. I won’t mention it again if you could bring dinner up to my room. I’m gonna be spending quite some time in there.”

“Even across the world I guess some habits don’t change. Deal.”

xxxxx

In the garden, Weiss stood on the balcony with a cup of coffee. The sound of footsteps behind her caught her ear. She was more than a little surprised to learn that they belonged to not just Nick. “Eliza?”

“Mrs. Schnee. Thank you for allowing me in your home.” Eliza gave a curtsy.

“How’s your father?”

“Oh you know him, always up to something.”

Weiss wasn’t sure if that was good or bad considering his track record. “I see. Well make yourself comfortable. Nick, everything is already set up. Never would’ve thought this is how you’d try to get this done. Don’t push yourself.”

“Heh, push myself? Me?”

Weiss playfully rolled her eyes and left the balcony, ruffling Nick’s hair on the way out. Nick looked at Eliza confused. “You know you don’t have to be so formal around her, right?”

“Let’s not focus on my speech and pay attention to why we’re here. Anyways, how does this training work exactly?”

Nick walked to the railing to point at the fifteen candles spread throughout the garden. “The goal is to light all the candles at once without burning anything. It’s harder than it looks. It requires timing, speed, accuracy, and control above all.”

“Never took you for one who cares much for traditional methods of fighting. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you use your glyphs to manipulate the elements.”

“Yeah, because I suck. Summer on the other hand…” He hunched over in defeat. “Not so much.”

Eliza couldn’t help but scan the area multiple times. This couldn’t be all there was to it. Could it? The five candles in the actual hedge maze looked a little challenging, but Nick was…Nick! Despite her reservations about his attitude, he was smart and knew how to work.

“Do you increase the candle amount as you go?”

He nodded. “That’s the natural progression. Summer can do thirty without thinking much about it.”

“Meanwhile you can’t even do half that amount. You sure you’re the older twin?”

“I don’t see how that’s relevant.” He pouted. Nick grabbed his sword and got into his low stance.

“So I’m just supposed to observe you?”

“No. I’m going to need help with the fires too.”

That’s not something she wanted to hear. “Tsk, alright. But first, let me see if I’m able to do it. Wouldn’t be that good of a teacher if I couldn’t.”

She climbed on top of the railing to get a better look. She raised her right hand to the sky and took a breath. Five flames ignited her fingertips as she thought of the best approach. Moments later, Eliza launched all five with a downward swing, another five swing left, then the final five to the right. Each flame danced on the winds below them before finding their targets.

Amazed, Nick’s jaw dropped for a second before saying anything. “First try!?”

“Not exactly. You did say all at once so that may have been cheating. Let me try again.” She wrapped both arms around herself then swung them out, causing a gust of wind that blew out the candles.

Nick watched closely. Breathing, posture, line of sight; anything he could to gain knowledge. Eliza cuffed her hands together. A small flame flickered into existence and grew slowly until it was the size of a baseball. Eliza threw it over the garden underhanded. The moment it reached max height she pushed her hands downwards like if she closed a lid. This made the flame split apart into embers that fell quick enough to reach each candle. Nick couldn’t believe she was two for two.

“Seems I got the hang of it.” Eliza blew the candles out and hopped off the railing. “I’d do it while off the railing but I’m positive we know the results.”

“Yeah no kidding. While I’m lucky I picked the right person to help me, doing that so easily kinda stings. Not gonna lie. You really are a sorceress.”

“Tsk, flattery gets you nowhere. Assume your stance.” She ordered. Eliza kept a close eye on Nick. He opted to square his feet with his shoulders, a sturdy stance for sure. “So far so good.” His blade pointed up and outwards. A red glyph began to form at its tip, conjuring a ball of intense flame that was as big as a softball. Eliza’s eyes narrowed. She could not believe what she was watching. “You’ll miss.”

“Huh?” Nick said, trying to focus.

“If you shoot the fireball then you are going to miss.” Eliza channeled a silver orb in her palm that bursted into shimmering light. Nick’s glyph suddenly vanished and took the fireball along with it.

“Hey! Don’t just negate my semblance out of the blue! I didn’t even shoot it yet!”

Eliza wasn’t sure what she had expected from this training. It was clear now why a talented person like Nick was fumbling. Frankly, it was annoying. Down right inexcusable. Eliza folded both her arms. “You’re so idiotic in the strangest ways possible, you know that right? To think you’re stronger than me?”

Nick huffed. This wasn’t constructive at all. “You gonna actually help, or continue to insult me? If I knew how to do this on my own then I wouldn’t ask for help.”

Nick ran his hand through his tangled hair and let out a sigh. Eliza could tell he genuinely had no idea what was wrong. It kinda got to her. “Sorry, I shouldn’t be picking on you like that. You weren’t wrong to ask for help.”

“Normally I have an inkling of how to progress but I’m hitting a wall. All of this is just…”

“Too much?” Eliza leaned over and thumped his head. “Because it is. That’s exactly your problem. You are doing far too much at once. Why are you trying to do so many steps at the exact same time?”

“What do you mean at the exact same time? All I did was make a fireball.”

Eliza could feel her eye try to twitch. “Okay. I should’ve expected that from you. Guess I’ll teach by showing.” She stood beside Nick and made a flame. “See? Now this is as basic as it gets, just straight up fire. A fireball requires controlling the shape of the flame;maintaining its heat as well.” The flame swirled around itself to make just that.

“Okay? I’m following you so far.”

“If a fireball was all you were making then no big deal. However, I just saw you attempt to make a fireball that has to keep its shape, burn hot enough, long enough, and must be aimed at multiple targets at once. No mind can do all that on a dime. It’s simply too much.”

Nick watched Eliza move behind him, putting her arms right on top of his, guiding his movements as if she was holding his blade. Her chin rested on his shoulder to get a clear line of sight. Nick was no stranger to being led through an attack, but man was it weird to have Eliza this close!

“Ummm…”

“Bear with it and focus.” She uttered, trying not to yell in his ear. “Make a flame. Just a flame. Let it heat swell and dissipate in sync with my breathing.”

“Shouldn’t it be with my own?”

“Not when your heart is beating like a drum. To think Nicholas Schnee would lose composure from a girl touching him?”

“Can’t hear you, focusing.” He was trying anyway. Eventually he managed to slow his heartbeat. He could tell Eliza was taking deep breaths on purpose to help. In sync, he made another fire glyph as she ordered.

“Good, now make it as hot as you want, then make it into a ball.” The flame shaped into the size of a baseball this time. Eliza smiled. “See how easy it is to control the size after you’ve completed the previous steps? You’ll save dust this way.”

“What’s next?”

“Aiming. You already know where your targets are but you also aren’t in a rush. If you need time to make a shot then all you have to do is make the time.” Eliza raised Nick’s sword higher in the air. “Launch it into the air, confirm where you need the fire to hit, then guide the flames to it.”

Nick took a deep breath and launched the fireball ball in an arch over the garden. He waited for it to reach the middle and fall briefly before making it burst into smaller flames that hit the candles. Eliza finally let go so he could pump his fist into the air.

“Woohoo!”

“Don’t celebrate yet, but good job. A moving target would be harder but not impossible. Repetition will allow you to eventually group certain steps together without having to think about it. You’ll get used to making fireballs that are a certain size and speed as long as you allow yourself to process each step as you are now. I noticed you let the fireball fall. Why?”

“I always end up not lighting them all because the fire dies too quickly. I realized the flame wasn’t hot enough the moment I shot it, so I let it get closer to the candles before having to split it up. Good thing you told me to aim higher or I may not have noticed.

“He can process things like that but not realize breaking the steps up will make things easier? How does his brain work!?”

Another gust of wind blew the candles out. “I’m willing to help you further but I think it’s time you held up your end of this bargain.”

“Antsy, aren’t we? Fair enough.” Nick put his sword down and sat on the railing. “What I’m about to tell you is going to make your tournament life a hundred times simpler. This is your second King of The Hill. Remember the rules?”

“Of course I do.” She followed his lead and sat down as well. “All previous tournament and combat skills leading up to the tournament are calculated so they can rank you compared to the other contestants. In order to progress higher you must defeat the person directly above you in the rank to switch places. Those who win are rewarded a reprieve from being challenged immediately to decrease rematches, but the loser can be challenged by whoever is directly below them. Conversely, if you challenge a person and lose, then you have to wait a set period before trying again while defending your current spot. The entire tournament is on a time limit that tests endurance, strategy, and the skills you’ve used all year. The winner is whoever is ranked number one by the end; the king of the hill.”

“Correct! It’s pure chaos. However, you forgot an important thing. You’ve participated once and managed to get third, so that’s automatically where you start.”

Eliza’s eyes lit up. “That’s a rule!?”

“Yep. As long as you still participated in prior tournaments this year, which you have. Congratulations on skipping the taxing part. Now you’re in the grueling section. The only way you go up is through me and Valerie. A slip up could cause you to waste too much energy and that could drag you out of third if you lose or even win against me immediately, because if I get challenged and win, then I can challenge you again before you challenge Valerie or after you hypothetically lose to her. Let that sink in for a moment.”

Eliza could feel her heart drop to her stomach. If she were to beat Nick and lose to Valerie then at best she’s at a third of her strength for a rematch she doesn’t want. Beating Nick was a goal but she didn’t need to do it twice in a day! The worst part is she is at his mercy in this scenario; getting a reprieve only if he needs one. He could very well best her and then she’s even more tired defending third place.

“Is it sinking in? Third place is its own special hell. Let’s knock Valerie into it.” He smiled.

“And how do we manage that exactly?”

“By knocking me into it! I want to take a dive in our match. A good one. The two of us will put on a spectacle to show our might that ends with me losing. This will throw everyone off into thinking you are exceptionally strong and-”

“Are you saying I’m not!” She folded her arms.

Nick chuckled nervously. “Let me finish before you get upset. Yes, you're strong, but will think you’re stronger than me by a decent margin. This is where the mind games kick in because the two of us haven’t actually used that much energy, but the other contestants don’t know that.”

Eliza rubbed her chin. “You…want them to fight you?”

“Exactly. No one's gonna pass up the opportunity to get a leg up on me. You know that better than anyone. Unfortunately for them, I’ll actually be trying against them and I fully intend to go end them quickly. This does multiple things. It makes the gap between the top three look bigger, allows me to stir the lower ranks rotation, keeps you rested, and makes Valerie anxious because you will not immediately challenge her. We are going to burn time until it gets to a point that once she’s knocked out of first, getting back up will be nearly impossible.”

“I fail to see how that’s possible. If she’s rested-”

“That’s just it, she won’t be. You can challenge her freely and not worry about me for most of the tournament. Use the time to learn how to fight her then I’ll challenge you again and win, then immediately go fight her. You’ll briefly be back in third place but fourth place holders will be exhausted and think twice about challenging you, Eliza Marigold; the person who beat Nicholas Schnee.”

“You made a safety net for third”

“I made a safety net for you! I will beat Valerie so she’ll fall to second place and that’s where you jump in to knock her to third. By that point she’ll have to wait and losing twice in a row is gonna give people ideas. Even if she beats them it’ll be a race against the clock and you can challenge me to avoid fighting her if it comes down to that. Boom, guaranteed second place for you with a potential at first place.”

The plan was insane, daring, and yet clearly thought of. “This is…a lot. Not to mention not full proof. What if I actually don’t need you to weaken Valerie and can take first place for myself?”

“Then by all means take it. I’ll knock Valerie to third myself and then fight you. Careful though. If I win you’re stuck with her and plenty of time you have to stall.”

She didn’t like the sound of that. “What if I refuse this off altogether?”

“That’s fine. We’ll just all have to do our best.”

“Your entire plan hinges on you beating Valerie. What if-”

“I’ll win.” He deadpanned. “I can take her this year. No questions about it.”

He started giving that same exact look he did a few days ago. “Not that I’m not interested but this feels a little unlike you.”

“Is that bad? People are always saying I’m too soft around Valerie. This is a tournament and there’s no rules against teamwork. You in?”

He hopped down and extended his hand. Nick did his best to seem casual about all of this but it was clear to Eliza he was pretty frustrated at Valerie. It wasn’t her place to pry. If he was willing to go this far then she might as well keep an eye on the entire thing. A chance to progress, and a good event. As long as those two things happened without incident then she had no reason to object. Then there was the other problem. She already helped him train…Eliza shook his hand.

“Glad to do business with you. I guess it’s only fair now that I give you the choice to stop training me. Wouldn’t want this to feel like I’ve gained so much tangible progress while yours relies on-”

Eliza tossed him his sword. “Quit with the chivalrous act. If I don’t train you to my standards then I’m positive your plan is bound to fall apart. Helping you here can only benefit me, or did you already forget I could teach you a thousand ways to improve your glyphs and still even the playing field?” She made another silver orb.

Nick gulped. He actually did forget how big of a pain in the ass it was gonna be fighting her. Semblance training doesn’t mean much if you can’t use it. “Have I ever told you that you can be terrifying and comforting at the same time?”

“Nobility should be just that. It’s why people like your face so much whenever you look like you beat the crap out of somebody.”

“People like my face because I’m handsome!!!”

“Less chitchat. More candle lighting.”

Nick hunched over in defeat. Marigolds, what can you do with them?

[vgckwb]

ML: Isolation Chapter 23: Like Clockwork

It was Friday, the day of the charity auction. While Adrien was hoping for a surprise this evening, something happened after school that took the entire class by storm. “Um Mylene?” Ivan asked. Mylene looked up. “Um, before we head to the shelter today, I...oh boy, I need to say something.”

Mylene grabbed Ivan’s hand. “What is it Ivan?”

Ivan’s face grew beat red. “Um, well, uh….” He took a breath. “I know I’m a bit rough around the edges, and sometimes I find it hard to say what I mean, and I can be intimidating, but I’ve felt like this for a while now and spending time together only amplified everything. So um, what I’m saying is, um, Mylene, would you...be my girlfriend?”

Mylene was now blushing. The entire class was looking at her. She gazed upon Ivan. His size was imposing, but she knew him well enough to know that this wasn’t to be intimidating. She looked at his bashful smile and found her answer. Mylene hugged Ivan. “Oh Ivan,” she began, “of course I will.”

Ivan was surprised, but smiled, and hugged her back. The entire class started cheering. As they cheered, Ivan and Mylene stopped hugging fully, looked into each other’s eyes, and gave each other a kiss. They leaned on each other and headed out.

Adrien smiled as they left. What a lovely couple. Hopefully, things will go just as smoothly with Marinette. Of course, I have to wait. Tonight… He turned to see Lila. She waved. He waved back. Tonight I have to handle her. Let’s hope it goes well.

While that was happening, Lila was thinking. Hmm, I guess Ivan was braver than I thought. No matter. They can be a couple. After all… Lila noticed Adrien’s eyes were on her. She waved seductively. Adrien waved back. I’ve got my eyes on a bigger prize. Adrien and I would make a great power couple. I just gotta make him see that. Still, I’m sure he’ll see things my way soon enough. Especially after tonight. Soon after, the entire class disbursed.

Everyone was getting ready for the big night. Adrien had just finished putting on his formal wear. There was a knock at the door. “Come in, I’m proper!” he said. Nathalie walked in. “Oh, hi Nathalie,” he said, “ are you attending as well?”

“Yes Adrien” Nathalie said.

“Good” Adrien responded.

“Although I am wondering why you decided to come along” Nathalie interjected. “When this was first brought up, you seemed hesitant.”

Adrien froze. Right… I forgot to tell Nathlaie about all of this. After being taken aback, he just said the first thing that popped into his mind. “So um do you want the truth?”

Nathalie facepalmed. “Adrien… Please tell me you’re not doing a Cat Noir thing.”

“Well, I’m not” Adrien said, “but Kagami is.” Nathalie sighed. “I’m just there to suss out information.”

Nathalie looked up from her palm. She glared at Adrien, then walked to the door to lock it. She walked back. “We have half an hour before your parents are ready to leave, so start talking.”

Adrien was nervous, but he had total faith in Nathalie. He sighed, calmed down, and explained the entirety of the plan. After Adrien explained the ins and outs of what tonight would entail, Nathalie looked at him. She sighed. “Honestly, sometimes it seems like this is more trouble than it’s worth.”

“Trust me Nathalie” Adrien said, full of confidence, “it’s worth as much trouble as it takes.”

“What makes you so sure?” Nathalie said.

“Because…” Adrien began. “I know what it’s like to be truly and wholly alone. And I don’t want anyone to feel like that. So, I’ll do whatever it takes to help Marinette out of this.”

Nathalie smiled. She nodded. “Very well. I just wish you would have told me so I could help you more.”

“Sorry” Adrien said. “I’ve been a bit distracted with a few things. We would have liked your help tonight.”

“Oh, I’ll still help,” Nathalie said. Adrien was surprised. “I’m not your father’s assistant for nothing.” She walked to the door, unlocked it, and opened it. Before she left fully, she asked “Are you coming?” Adrien was befuddled, but upon hearing the question nodded and hurried out the door as well.

Meanwhile, as Tom and Sabine were packing up to deliver their treats, Marinette approached them in her going out look, carrying a duffle bag filled with Kagami’s costume, as well as the sign. This took them by surprise. “Sweetie…” Sabine said.

“Hey…” Marinette replied. She stopped.

After a few seconds, Sabine asked “What’s going on?”

Marinette hesitated a little, but then said “So, um, I guess I haven’t told you yet…”

“Told us what?” Tom asked.

“Well…” Marinette began. She then proceeded to stumble through an explanation of what was going on. “So, yeah… That’s, um, that’s been happening…”

Tom and Sabine were shocked. Marinette was a little ashamed and embarrassed. However, her parents gave her a hug. “We’re so proud of you,” Sabine said.

“I’m glad you’re starting to experience the world again,” Tom added.

Marinette felt immensely relieved. She gave her parents a hug back. “Thank you. For always being there for me.”

They broke the hug. “And don’t worry,” Tom said. “I’ll make sure that that Adrien boy likes you back.”

“DAAAAAAAD” Marinette said, embarrassed.

Sabine giggled. “Well, I think it’s time we get going. Are you ready?” Marinette nodded. Tom and Sabine finished loading their desserts up, while Marinette snuck into the car.  Just by chance, she checked her phone.

Adrien: Hey, uh, Nathalie is in on this as well now.

Chloe: Your dad’s secretary?!

Chloe: How?

Marinete: She’s known about this for a little bit.

Chloe: Oh…

Kagami: What does that mean?

Adrien: I’m not 100% sure myself…

Adrien: BUT she did say she would help somehow tonight.

Kagami: Well that’s...good I guess.

Marinette: I like it.

Marinette: I like having another layer to this.

Marinette: That way if anything goes wrong, we’ll have more protection.

Chloe: Well, when you put it like that…

Kagami: It never hurts to be a little more prepared.

Adrien: True.

Adrien: Well, best of luck everyone.

Kagami: Thank you.

Marinette: Thanks.

Chloe: Thanks.

They put away their phones, as they set off to fulfill their mission.

Marinette’s parents were unloading their sweets, while Marinette herself snuck into the Louvre. She was careful enough to not get noticed by any of the staff, as they were preoccupied with many other things.

However, just as she was almost to the ladies’ room, she heard a voice from behind her. “Ladybug?” they called out. Marinette turned around. It was Ondine, Kim’s girlfriend, dressed to the nines in an elegant dress. “Is that actually you?”

Marinette panicked for a moment. “Umm, yeah” she answered. Why did I say anything? She’ll figure me out for sure!

“What are you doing here?” Ondine asked.

Marinette was confused. Oh, right, Ondine doesn’t really know who I am… “Well, uh, I’m helping Cat Noir” she answered nervously.

“Cat Noir? He’s here?” Ondine inquired.

“Well, he’s going to be,” Marinette responded. “I’m going to be laying in wait until the perfect moment presents itself.” Why am I saying all of this? I mean, it seems to be working, but still…

“Cool” Ondine said. “Um, why is Cat Noir coming here?”

“Well, that’s kind of complicated,” Marinette explained. “Basically, something happened a while ago where something went missing, and Cat Noir is investigating to see if he can find it.”

“I see…” Ondine responded. “Why not investigate during normal hours of operation?”

“Well, that’s also a little complicated…” Marinette stumbled. “But, I guess the best way to put it without ruining the surprise would be that the opportunity presented itself.”

“Woah,” Ondine said. She got energized. “This sounds amazing!”

“Well I’m a bit nervous about the whole thing” Marinette unloaded. “We’re not sure if we’ll be able to find anything, but we’re giving it a try.”

“Well, good luck,” Ondine said. Marinette nodded. As she was about to head into the bathroom, Ondine asked “Is there something I can do to help?”

Well, she’s already this far in. Might as well bring it on home. “Actually yes. Follow me.” Marinette led Ondine into the restroom. They approached one of the stalls. Marinette rummaged through her back and pulled out the Out of Order sign and some tape. “Here.Once I’m inside, could you tape this to the door?”

Ondine nodded. “Sure thing Ladybug! But, um, what’s this for?”

“Oh, well, this is going to be my hiding place,” Marinette explained. “Cat Noir is going to meet with me here once everything is set.”

Ondine seemed confused. “I mean, I can’t say I don’t understand the logic. No one would expect Cat Noir in the women’s restroom, but um, isn’t this a bit too bold?”

“Well, this whole plan is bold, so we figured ‘let’s go the whole nine yards’, you know?” Marinette rationalized.

Ondine smiled. “I get it.” Marinette smiled and nodded. She entered the stall and Ondine placed the sign on the door. “There.”  She slid the tape under the tall. Marinette picked it up.

Ondine got a little embarrassed. “You know, I have to thank you.” Marinette was intrigued. Ondine smiled. She started fidgeting. “For a while, people have only seen me as being, well, sporty. And I agree that that’s a part of me, but I never really felt...cute. I always thought that since I wasn’t like the typical cute girl, I thought I couldn’t be.

But then I saw one of your designs. I was amazed. I tried it on, and for the first time ever, I felt adorable. I felt like I could be the person who I always wanted to be. Sporty, yes, but also cute and adorable, and well, girly at times too. It was such an eye opener. And even this dress I’m wearing now is a Ladybug original, and I feel like I couldn’t look cuter if I tried.

And that confidence instilled in me gave me the courage to say yes when Kim finally asked me out. I’ve been pining for him forever, but until I tried on your designs, I thought it was a dream that could never be. So, thank you. For everything.”

Marinette’s eyes were welling up. She sniffed. “Thank you,” she said.

Ondine was a little surprised, but quickly understood that that kind of compliment was something Ladybug needed to her. She smiled and said “You’re welcome Ladybug.” She started walking out. “And good luck on this endeavor with Cat Noir.” She left.

Marinette sniffed again. “Yeah.”

As the charity auction began, more guests started appearing. Soon, the Agrestes arrived. Adrien looked at the Louvre with a smile on his face, and determination in his heart. His father noticed. “Well, this is certainly a surprise.”

“Indeed” his mother added. “I haven’t seen you smiling at an event like this unless you were trying to run away from it.”

“Tell me son,” Gabriel asked, “what about this event makes you feel like this?”

“Well, uh” Adrien began, not knowing how to answer.

Nathalie placed her hand on his shoulder. “It’s not necessarily the event itself” she answered for Adrien. “As good a cause as this is, this is also Adrien’s first high society outing since you let him attend school publicly. Adrien has a new found energy he can bring to events like this.”

Gabriel and Emilie were stunned. “Oh. I see” said Gabriel.

“Well, if Adrien’s this excited, I think we made the right choice” Emilie added.

Gabriel smiled. “I should have figured. Remember how fed up you were with events like this until we had Adrien?”

“Gabriel” Emilie whined. Gabriel laughed.

“You didn’t like these kinds of events either?” Adrien said.

Emilie turned to her son. “Well, maybe a little. But I never did any of the shenanigans you used to pull.”

“The closest she got to anything like you did was drag me into a closet” Gabriel mocked.

“Gabriel!” Emilie whined more sternly.

Gabriel laughed slightly. “I’m sorry.”

Emilie smiled. She kissed Gabriel on the cheek. “I forgive you.” She moved in closer and whispered “You know, I’m not opposed to the closet idea tonight either.” Gabriel chuckled, delighted, and pulled Emilie in for a tight embrace. Adrien was confused, but decided to leave it be. The family continued walking in.

Soon, the evening was in full swing. People were socializing left and right. People were enjoying the provided food, and in particular, people were starting to realize just how much they missed the desserts from the Dupain-Cheng bakery.

Meanwhile, Adrien was wandering around. “Adrien!” Lila called out. Adrien turned around, saw Lila, and proceeded to walk over to her. “I’m so glad I found you. I can’t wait to show you around.” She reached out, then stopped. “Um, may I grab your arm?”

Adrien smiled. “By all means, lead the way.”

Lila smiled, grabbed onto Adrien’s arm, and said “Great! Let’s go!” Lila started walking, and Adrien followed in step.

Alright Adrien. This is all to figure out where she may have hidden the piece. Just endure it like you have before. Besides, he thought about Marinette, he looked at Lila, they say it’s always darkest before the dawn. Tonight is about facing this darkness, so I can face the beautiful dawn of tomorrow. The two kept walking.

As this was happening, Chloe was walking around as well. She was comparing the guard’s positions to her notes. She noticed nothing out of the ordinary and was relieved. “Chloe?” Sabrina said, sneaking up on her.

“Ah, Sabrina!” Chloe yelped, turning to face her. “Eh heh.”

Sabrina smiled. “Are you working on that thing you told me about?”

Chloe smiled nervously. “Ha ha, yeah.”

“I hope it goes well” Sabirna said sweetly with a smile. Chole was surprised and started blushing. “Where is Cat Noir anyway?” Sabrina had a look of realization. “Oops. I wasn’t supposed to say his name, was I?”

Chloe relaxed and smiled. “You’re fine. I don’t think anyone heard you.” She looked at Sabrina. She thought about Lila’s threat. She was scared for a second, but then thought No, it’s OK. I’m working with other people to make sure that doesn’t happen. … “Other people” huh…

Chloe reflected on this. The only other person that would even think of helping her before all of this was right in front of her. But now? She has the support of a small circle of friends. And they had hers as well. I guess I really am growing.

“Chloe?” Sabrina asked. “Is everything alright? You seem kind of worried.

Chloe shook herself back to reality for a bit. “Ah, yes, well, this mission is kind of stressful.There’s a lot to it, you know.”

Sabrina simply smiled and said “It’s OK.” She picked up Chloe’s hand. “I believe in you.”

Chloe was stunned. She relaxed a little, and then said “Thanks.” I can’t. Not now anyways. She looked back at Sabrina. But soon.

As the night progressed, the auction started. Meanwhile, Lila led Adrien around to some places around the Louvre, describing things she enjoyed. While Adrien was smiling on the outside, inside he was dying. Ugh! This is awful. Lila is just plain miserable. She’s describing everything here as if she were the authority on it, but has as much knowledge of history and art as a Capuchin monkey. Maybe less.

He glanced at Lila as she was explaining something, smiled, and let out a chuckle. Lila let out one in return. I know misery likes company, but I don’t think company likes misery back.

Despite his best efforts to pay attention, nothing Lila pointed out seemed like she had an affinity to it. It was just stuff she liked. Maybe this was a dud. Ugh. While Lila was explaining something, Adrien interrupted. “Ahem.” Lila turned her attention towards him. “Maybe we should head back.” He checked his phone. “The auction’s been going for a bit. Our parents might be worried if we’re not back before it’s all done.”

Lila smiled. “You’re right. Thanks for keeping me in check.” They started walking. “I just love art and history so much, I can’t help but get lost in it.

I wish! Adrien thought to himself.

“Still, we should come again sometime. I haven’t even shown you my favorite piece.”

Adrien was alerted. “Favorite piece”? That’s something. “What is it?”

“Well, I don’t wanna ruin the surprise…” Lila said. “Oh, what the heck. My favorite piece is the portrait of Napoleon in his regalia.”

“Why is that?” Adrien said.

“Well, I feel like it just has this energy to it, you know?” Lila answered. “Like, he is the thing he embodies in that image. The power, the prestige. It’s just amazing. Just looking at it, I find something new every time. It has many secrets, you know?”

And that was enough for Adrien to feel confident enough to pursue this lead. He smiled. “I think I do.”

Lila giggled. “I’m glad. Let’s keep going.” Lila started walking. Adrien got out his phone and started walking as well, while messaging everyone.

Adrien: I think I have something.

Adrien: The portrait of Napoleon in regalia.

Chloe: Ugh, finally. Took you long enough.

Adrien: Normally I’d shrug that off, but I’m not in the mood right now.

Adrien: You don’t know what I had to do to get this.

Kagami: That bad, huh?

Adrien: It was awful.

Chloe: ...Sorry

Adiren: It’s fine.

Adrien: Kagami, do you know where to go?

Kagami: Roger!

Adrien: Great. I leave the rest to you and Chloe.

Marinette: And ME!

Marinette: Don’t forget about me.

Adrien paused for a moment.

Adrien: Right. Sorry.

Marinette: Thanks.

Adrien put his phone down and continued walking back. Once he got to his table, he noticed it was only Nathalie there. “Where are my parents?” he asked.

“They followed through on their earlier plans” Nathalie explained. Adrien seemed confused. “Don’t worry about it.”

Meanwhile, Kagami broke off from her table. “I’m going to use the restroom,” she told her mother. “Is that alright?” Tomoe nodded. “Thanks.” She proceeded to leave. She made her way to the specific restroom Marinette was hiding in. Once inside, she found the stall and knocked on it. “Marinette, it’s me.”

Marinette opened the door. Kagami slipped in and closed the door. She started undressing. Once her dress was off, she looked at Marinette. Marinette was blocking her view with the bag. “Marinette, it’s fine. Besides, I need you to see so you can hand me my disguise.”

Marinette lowered the bag. She was blushing. “Oh, uh, OK.” She unzipped the bag and started handing Kagami her costume piece by piece.

“Thank you” said a still half-naked Kagami. She handed Marinette her dress. “Here. Be careful with that.”

“Of course,” Marinette said. “What kind of a fashion designer would I be to ruin something like this?” Kagami nodded. She got changed into her Cat Noir outfit. She grunted in confidence and headed out.

While making her way to the painting, Kagami messaged Chloe.

Kagami: I’m en route. Anything I should look out for?

Chloe: At the moment, not really. There are a few guards, but you should be able to avoid them just fine.

Kagami: Thanks.

Kagami kept moving. She encountered one or two guards, but was able to sneak past them with ease. She made it to the picture Adrien had mentioned. She looked at it for a second. Of course it wouldn’t be in plain sight. She began to feel around the frame. As she lifted it, something fell to the ground with a light ting. Kagami let go of the picture and looked down. She picked up the piece, and recognized it as part of a pocket watch. Bingo!

“Hey! Who’s there?!” A guard yelled. Kagami looked at where the voice was coming from, and then headed the opposite way.

Meanwhile, the auction was going off, and Gabriel and Emilie had returned looking a bit messy. Alix’s dad was heading the auction, while Alix and her brother sat at his side. “Alright everyone, it’s time for our final piece of the night.” Some handlers brought it out. “This is an 18th century grandfather clock, adorned with gold. It was commissioned by a count, and it still works. Let’s start the bidding at 75,000 Euros.” The bids started going up. Once it reached its apex, Mr. Kubdel said “Going once...going twice…”

Before he could bang his gavel, Kagami came rushing in. One by one, everyone was glancing at the figure running through the Louvre. Behind her, a pair of guards were chasing her. Kagami grinned. Almost there. She dramatically leapt onto the stage where the Kubdels were. She dashed over to Alix.

Alix looked up. “Cat Noir?” Kagami took the piece out of her pocket and showed Alix. Alix was in awe. She grabbed the piece. “Where did you find this?”

Kagami smiled. With her voice modulator on, she said “I found it behind a ruler.” Alix was slightly confused, but didn’t have time to process it before Kagami left the stage and started running again.

“What is it?” Alix’s dad asked her.

Alix was still in shock, so it took her a few seconds to answer. “It’s the missing piece,” she said. “Cat Noir found it.”

Mr. Kubdel was shocked. “You mean, from the watch?” Alix nodded. “HA! I don’t believe it!”

“Neither do I” Alix said. She looked at it and smiled. “But it’s right here.”

“Well this is splendid!” Mr. Kubdel said. Just as the guards were continuing to follow Kagami, Mr. Kubdel stopped them. “Halt!” The guards looked at him. “Where did that person come from?”

“Ehe?” the guard answered. “Um, we found them messing with one of the Napoleon portraits.”

“I see” Mr. Kubdel said. “Remember that incident from a year ago?” They nodded. “Well, it seems the missing piece has been found by that mysterious Cat Noir.”

“Oh!” said the guard.

“Although we don’t know how it ended up there” Mr. Kubdel said. “Please, investigate this as soon as possible.”

“But sir. Wasn’t it the young girl who broke it?” the guard asked.

“No” Alix said, surprising the people around her. “Our focus was on her the entire time. She had no time to hide it.” Alix looked a little frustrated.

“...I guess that’s true” the guard responded.

“Now then, we should look into what really happened” Mr. Kubdel said.

“Roger sir!’ the guard said. They headed off.

Mr. Kubdel turned his attention back to the audience. “Well, pardon the interruption everyone, but I think we can agree that that was worth it. Or at least better than last time.” The audience chuckled. “Now then, where were we?”

Kagami was rushing to the restroom. At this point, no guard was following her, but she was feeling it. She made it back and again, slipped into the stall Marinette was in. “How’d it go?”

“Perfect” Kagami siad, as she started to change out of her Cat Noir costume and back into her dress. “I’ll come pick up the costume at a later date.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Marinette said. Kagami left.

Just as Marinette was about to leave, she got a text from Nathalie. “Marinette. Don’t leave just yet.”

Marinette texted back “OK”.

After the auction was over, everyone started leaving. Alix was still staring at the piece. “Isn’t it just great that Cat Noir found it?” Mr. Kubdel asked.

“Huh?” Alix said, caught off guard. “Oh. Yeah. Of course.”

“Here” Mr. Kubdel said, holding his hand out. “I’ll fix it up right away.” Alix smiled and gave the piece to her father.

At the Agreste family table, Nathalie got up. “I’m heading to the bathroom before we go” she said. She left abruptly.

Adrien smiled. “Adrien!” Lila said. Adrien turned around. Lila rushed up to him. “I had a wonderful evening. I can’t wait to do something like this again.”

Adrien smiled. He could tell Lila was throw off a little bit. I’m not sure if she’s suspicious of me, so maybe I should just add a little more charm to throw her off the scent for a bit. “Neither can I” he said. He grabbed Lila’s hand, and gave it a kiss.

Lila blushed. “Oh my.”

“Farewell” Adrien said. Lila walked off to meet up with her mother.

Meanwhile, Gabreil turned to Emilie and said “They seem cute together, don’t they?” Emilie giggled.

In the restroom, Marinette heard a knock. “It’s me,” Nathalie said.

Marinette opened the door. “What are you doing here?”

“Move” Nathalie said. Marinette did. Nathalie revealed a hidden wrench she had on her. She got down and toyed around with the toilet. “There.”

“Um, why did you do that?” Marinette asked.

“To throw people off further,” Nathalie said. “We can leave the sign up, and the people who saw this sign will think it’s for that instead of nothing, should anyone b suspicious after what happened tonight.”

“Oh I see,” Marinette said.

“Anyways, people are leaving now,” Nathalie said. “It’ll be the perfect time to get away.”

Marinette nodded. “Thank you Nathalie.” Marinette ran off. Nathalie left soon after.

As soon as Adrien got home he rushed to his room. His parents were a little slower going to their room, as they were gearing up to continue what they were doing in the closet. Nathalie stayed downstairs to work on a few things.

Once Adrien got to his bedroom, he headed to his bathroom, found a bottle of mouthwash, and started gulping it down. After five or six gulps, he had to breathe. “Blagh! I can’t believe I kissed Lila’s hand like that.” He downed some more mouthwash. He breathed again. “No matter. Tomorrow, I’m meeting with Marinette.” He smiled. “Let’s hope it goes better than tonight.” He changed into his pajamas and went to bed.

[prongsisabadger]

The Wolf Pack Chapter 7

The gathering had only been the beginning. We still had to assemble our lightsabers on our own, granted with the help of professor Huyang. It was quite shocking for us younglings to have a droid for a teacher and not a Jedi master. The temple employed droids for maintenance only, so having one serving as a professor was a little disorienting. But professor Huyang was professional, knowledgeable and patient. He explained things clearly and reformulated concepts if one of us hadn't understood something. He had taught thousands of generations, he'd said, and we would be no different.

A lightsaber was part of who a Jedi was, so personal design was often encouraged. Most Jedi chose something familiar to them, oftentimes reminiscent of their own cultures. I decided I wanted to pay homage to the Tuskens. Rough around the edges, practical, ruthless, but honest, and humble and honorable. Most metals used in weaponry in the outer rim was second hand or recycled at best, scavenging was a full-time job in Tatooine, and it was the biggest provider of raw materials. So I did what no one expected, but I knew was right: I asked huyang to give me all the pieces no one wanted, those that had been in storage the longest. He did seem quite surprised but didn't question my decision, and neither did Master Yoda.

Once we had been given everything we needed, it was time to get to work. Each youngling had their own working space, and in the middle of the room there was a hologram with the plans to lightsaber building. We were told to use the force to build it, and so we did.

I didn't start building right away, instead, I studied the plans closely, took notes and tried to figure out where the best place to start was. It wasn't easy, Jedi were no engineers unless they'd had training before being taken into the order or studying to become one after being knighted. So I had to use every ounce of logic and common sense I had. I might not have been brilliant, but I knew how to read instructions and think for myself.

There were at least two failed attempts in the other workstations. If built wrong, lightsabers would explode and leave you with nothing but your crystal. One of those explosions was Nahdar's, but I didn't dare tease him or I'd lose my concentration. It was tricky, it was complicated and it was also a very long process, but once I figured out the best way to assemble the weapon that would be with me the rest of my life, I got to work.

I closed my eyes and reset my breathing pattern. The pieces lifted up in the air before me and aligned as I had pictured them in my mind's eye. Slowly, patiently, I put them together, one by one. Piece by piece, fuse, cable crystal and switch. They all came together as if they'd been meant to be there, the final step was to put all of it within the outer casing: a cylinder made out of a matte gray metal that resembled an upcycled exhaust pipe. The outer casing was not just that, it had been modified to be as ergonomic as possible, so the grip was non-slip and there was a metal hook in the end to attach it to a belt.

When I opened my eyes, my lightsaber was finished and spinning lazily in front of me.

"Oh, good. That looks very good, Kriari," Said Huyang beside me. "May I see it?"

I smiled lightly and grabbed the lightsaber from where it was floating and handed it over.

Huyang turned the saber on and the green light of my saber illuminated the dimly lit room. I was mesmerized to say the least. It was beautiful, harmonic and powerful. But it also had the potential to be dangerous. It was a weapon that inspired both awe and respect, and I loved it.

"A job well done, that is, young Foreas. Yes." Said Master Yoda when he saw me staring at my new companion. "Care for it you shall, and care for you it will. Hmmm"

"Yes, Master Yoda." I said before turning it off and hooking it to my belt.

…

The graduation trial was simply put, a lightsaber competition. For us to have made it to the top ten of our class, we already had to have excelled in every other discipline and class, so the only thing left to test was our skill in combat. There was no point system, we were not graded, but that didn't make lightsaber dueling more important than the other disciplines. Masters looking for a Padawan were given a report on each of us, which detailed how we had done in each of our classes and any thing of note our instructors believed to be important. But that did not mean the lightsaber competition wasn't the main event. It was. They took place in the Temple's Arena, and most members of the order attended: Masters, Knights, Younglings, and even Members of the council. It was stressful, nerve wracking and there was nothing for me to do other than my best.

We would duel each other at random until only one was left. The duels were not to death, of course, but the aim was either disarm the opponent or incapacitate them. All while blindfolded. Being blindfolded was not something that concerned me, in fact it gave me a little comfort to know I wouldn't be able to see all the people around me. It had become a habit of mine after all these years, to close my eyes and feel for the Force when I was stressed or trying to concentrate.

And then the trials started. One by one we got called into the ring and given our blindfolds. One by one we gave all we had to try and secure our place as a padawan. When my turn came, I had a strange sense of peace. I should have been nervous, I should have been afraid of what would happen if I failed. It was what I would have done in any other circumstance. But not that day. That day I decided to meditate before going in, and the Force took all my fear, all my anxiety, all my worry and spirited it away. When I stepped into the ring, I bowed before my opponent, a girl from Naboo two years my senior. We were given our blindfolds and were told to start on the master's mark. The lights went out and I couldn't see, but that was okay. The arena went silent, and then I heard her left foot shift. Being unable to see was not a hindrance, in fact it was a blessing in it's own way. I had been forced to concentrate, to feel around me through the Force, to hear my opponent move and act accordingly. I didn't give her time to go on the offensive. I struck first. Blow after blow I struck once, twice. Reversed my grip, turned my saber left then right then right again. I sweeped it under her feet and pushed and pushed against her defences. I was at peace, I was concentrating and I was being ruthless and merciless, but there was no malice behind it. She was just my opponent for the day, she just happened to be there. Finally, I managed to disarm her, and once her saber hit the floor, I powered mine off.

I was sweating and a little out of breath, but that was all. My opponent on the other hand, was not. The resentment and hatred in her eyes when she took her blindfold off shocked me. I hadn't meant it as a personal attack on her person. I had just been doing what I had to. She didn't stay to bow before leaving the ring. She simply called her saber to her with the force and left. And that was the end of my first duel.

The rest of my duels were nothing like the first. We were all evenly matched, and I only came out in third place because Nahdar had managed to find a pattern in my fighting style.

"You rely too much on your physical strength and tire yourself out," He explained as we left the ring. "You should try to incorporate the Force and increase your stamina."

He was right, of course so I took his advice and continued to talk about the trials. Nahdar came out on top, followed by a Twi'lek boy and finally me in third place. Now, all there was left was to wait for a Master to choose us as their Padawan. It didn't take long, Master Kit Fisto chose Nahdar as his Padawan that very day, and the Twi'lek boy got selected by a master I didn't know. No one came for me that day, but that was okay, I was in no rush.

I spent the rest of the day talking to Ahsoka. We discussed the trials, the new Padawan, what she hoped to accomplish when her time came. Ahsoka had always been ambitious, and I'd always supported her because there had never been malicious intentions behind that ambition. I simply wanted to become a Jedi Knight and help keep the peace. We balanced eachother out, always had.

We were outside laying in the afternoon Coruscant sun when a master finally approached me. It was Master Plo Koon. Ahsoka greeted him with a smile before leaving us and winked at me before rounding the corner.

"I believe you know why I'm here, young one." He said before sitting on one of the benches.

"I do, Master." I answered.

"Have you decided if you want to embark on this journey with me? The road ahead will be treacherous, many trials await you."

"I know, master. But I believe there is no one that could guide me like you. It was you who found me, it is only fitting that you are the one to guide me the rest of the way."

"Then so be it, we will depart for Dorin in the morning."

"Yes Master."

[tyongf-nct]

accidental fate - jung jaehyun (2.3k)

The rain was pouring down in buckets as you walked quickly on the streets of the city, leaving the warmth and dryness of the coffee shop. You attempted to balance your school bag with the now steaming cup of caffeine and umbrella in each hand, probably looking like a hot mess but not caring too much anyway. The map on your phone directed you two more blocks until you found the bookstore, complete with a lounge and plenty of tables and chairs for students in the city to use while they shopped. According to their website, this bookstore had exactly the material you needed for your World Geography class that the library did not, and you had planned out several hours in today’s schedule to get all of the information you needed.

The bell on the door jingled as you walked in, tripping over the mat that was placed right in front of the door. A few customers watched you stumble, averting their attention as you smiled sheepishly and continued on. You placed the wet umbrella in a designated holder, shrugging off your coat in the relaxing temperature of the store. The ambiance was beautiful, it looked like one of those old-fashioned libraries. Rows upon rows of books covered the walls, the shelves stocked at full capacity with thousands of books. Dark wood tables and cushioned chairs were filled with university students clicking away on keyboards and heads buried in their books. You smiled to yourself, satisfied with finding the right environment to work on your project, and made you way over to the maze of shelves to find what you were here for.

After a few frustrating minutes of searching, you gave up and asked one of the employees to help you find your reading material. He directed you to the right section and you selected a few options on the history of England’s land during the medieval era to buy. You sat down at one of the long wooden tables, admiring the smooth, dark surface before placing all of your supplies out in front of you. With your laptop on and paper up and loaded, you got to work on your research, underlining and highlighting the information you felt would make your paper stronger. You reached over absentmindedly to grab your coffee, knocking it over in the process.

You cursed under your breath as your coffee spilled over the entire table, soaking not only your notes and edges of your books, but the front of your white top as well. You scramble to move everything off the table, trying to peel back your now see-through shirt from your chest as the hot brown liquid destroys everything in its path, wrecking all of your hard work and the color of your shirt.

“Need some help with that?” A smooth voice from behind chirped in. 

You turned to look at its owner and stopped in your tracks, one hand pinching the hem of your shirt and the other holding a sopping piece of paper. The coffee dripped to the floor as you stared at the bookstore employee, a ridiculously cute boy that looked to be around your age. A few space-themed pins were attached to his work apron, toned muscles straining against a long-sleeve shirt. He grinned mischievously at you, dimples popping out on such smooth skin it looked almost blurred.

“Do you plan on just letting that continue to stain the table? Because, if so, that’s totally fine, but just let me know so I can clean it up before I get fired,” he smiles, cocking his head to the side. His hair does a sort of floppy thing, looking tussled in such a natural way you think there’s no way someone’s hair is that perfect.

You snap out of your daze and open your mouth, stuttering a few times before finally getting out your apology.

“Sorry. I am so sorry, I’ll clean this up right away.”

The boy’s grin was lopsided, the mix of his amused expression and messy hair making him look a little goofy. He reached over and started to help you clean up the mess you’d made, whipping out a towel from seemingly nowhere. You watched him with rapt attention, butterflies swarming in your stomach as the very attractive employee swiftly cleaned up the mess and placed your books back in your hands.

“I’m really sorry…” you mumbled, averting your eyes from his intense stare. The smile he gave you softened his features, the dimples making an appearance once again.

“Don’t worry about it, accidents happen.” He swipes the towel across the table one last time, effectively cleaning the mess you’d made, and turns to focus his attention on you. His eyes dart down at your torso just momentarily, as if he wanted to look at your bra that was definitely peeking through right now but didn’t want to be rude.

“Um, I have an extra jacket in the back if you want to borrow it?” He clears his throat, eyes flitting around nervously. You feel your face heat and laugh awkwardly, grabbing your coat that was hanging on the back of the chair and hugging it tightly.

“That’s alright, I have my own. Thank you though, seriously, I’m really sorry. I can be a little clumsy, apparently,” you say, and he meets your eyes again, grinning.

“Apparently.”

Unsure how to respond, or what to do next, you shift uncomfortably and try not to stare at his face. 

“Well, I-I’m just going to go now, before I ruin anything else,” you laugh, voice cracking slightly. You start to turn around but stop abruptly when he speaks up again.

“Hey, do you like graphic novels?” He asks suddenly. You raise an eyebrow, confused at the randomness of his question, and look down at his name tag for the first time. Jaehyun.

“Huh?”

“Do you like graphic novels?” He offers no further explanation, only staring back at you as you stand frozen and damp.

“Uhm, I guess not? To be honest I’ve never read one,” you admit, biting your lip uncertainly. He grins widely at that, perking up with excitement. You’re about to ask why he’s wondering when he dashes off into the rows of shelves. Your mouth hangs open, the words still sitting on the tip of your tongue when Jaehyun suddenly appears again, with a stack of what must be comic books in one hand.

“This series is really good, the fifth installment just came out but we don’t have it yet,” he frowns, shoving the books into your hands. You struggle to balance all of your things, trying not to get the comics stained with coffee as well. Your face is stuck in an expression of confusion as you stand there unmoving, unsure if you should thank him or not.

“Oh! I didn’t explain,” he laughs to himself, “I just noticed you seemed to be having a rough time, what with your tripping as you walked in and now the coffee situation. I figured maybe reading these could cheer you up. They’re very addictive,” he adds. You stare back at him, cracking a smile at the thought of him, a complete stranger, doing something--though strange--so considerate. Also, the fact that he watched you make a mess of yourself not once but twice was embarrassing but cute, and you wondered how long he was watching until he came up to you at the table.

“Thank you, Jaehyun,” you say. He looks bewildered at your mentioning of his name and you point at his nametag, realization crossing his beautiful features.

“Oh,” he laughs, “Right. Well, don’t mention it,” he smiles his award-winning smile again, shiny white teeth peeking through full pink lips. “When you finish those you have to report back to me, okay? A discussion will need to be made.” His serious choice of words make a nervous giggle bubble up inside of you, escaping as you eye him uncertainly. 

“Yes, sir,” you mock-solute, the smile dropping from your face when you realize your poor choice of wording. Jaehyun only laughs in response, nodding as if satisfied with where he carried the conversation.

“I didn’t catch your name,” he says, shoving his hands into his jean pockets.

“Oh, it’s y/n, sorry. I’ll, um, see you later, I guess? You know, to return the comics,” you start to back away, cautious of your footing this time.

“Graphic novels,” he reminds you, and you nod, hand on the door.

“Right! Graphic novels!” You hurry out of the door, bumping into a few pedestrians as you make your way back to the university. Your face is hot and your stomach is jumping around inside of you, not sure what just happened.

________________________________________________________________

One week later, you found your way back to the bookstore, wandering the aisles as you tried to look for Jaehyun casually. Stupidly, you hadn’t bothered to get his number, and you had been regretting that the entire week. It turns out, The Adventures of Actaeon and His Arduous Adversaries was quite a captivating read. You weren’t even sure whether to read them in the first place, but the memory of Jaehyun grinning fondly at you had convinced you.

After some time, you stumbled across Jaehyun and the both of you were seated at one of the long tables now, huddled in a corner.

“Look, I’m not saying you have to agree with me, but Lord Astrid definitely had some good points!” You argued, slapping a hand on the table. The patrons in the bookstore looked at you in various degrees of curiosity and annoyance, and you lowered your head before turning back to Jaehyun.

He scoffed, rolling his eyes and tossing back his head, soft hair flopping in various directions.

“You’re just saying that because you’re a new reader. Just wait until you get to the fifth installment, everything changes in that one! I can’t believe you would side with a dictator,” he mumbles, narrowing his eyes at you. You giggled, the offended look on his face reminding you of just how geeky you sounded right now. Never did you think you’d be debating the morals of an evil space lizard with a boy in a random bookstore, but here you were. Jaehyun cracked a smile, shaking his head and leaning back in the chair.

“Well, I’m ready to read it. You were the one who didn’t have it ready for me today,” you pointed out, shrugging and crossing your arms. While the thought of reading a comic book series about intergalactic space lizards have never been appealing before, you were embarrassed to admit that you had binged the first four in just one week, running back to Jaehyun’s stupid cocky face to grudgingly ask for the next one.

“I told you, the shipment is just late. I chose express shipping, but I guess the company is backed up on orders or something,” he frowned, full lips pouting in such a cute way it made your heart flutter in your chest. The fact that he was considerate enough to specially order it for you made your face flush, a sheepish grin taking over. Jaehyun looked at you questioningly, but you just shook your head in response, wanting to change the subject before you blurted out something even more embarrassing. Despite this being only your second interaction with him, you felt like you had known him forever. He was kind, funny, and definitely a giant nerd. It turned out, he had a huge love for all things space, rambling on and on about planets and galaxies and how there was going to be a meteor shower soon, “The first one in such a long time, y/n!”

“Okay, okay,” you ceded, leaning back in the chair to copy his pose. He glanced at his watch, sighing before standing. Your heart dropped, not wanting him to leave.

“Ugh, my lunch break is over. I don’t have to work tomorrow, though, do you want to study together or something?” Jaehyun asked. You smiled again, excited at the idea of spending more time with him.

“Yes! I mean, th-that would be nice,” you cough. He grins at your enthusiasm, slipping you a piece of paper before dashing off into the shelves.

You look at the paper, a smiley face drawn on it next to a phone number. His phone number. You pump the fist with your air silently and save him as a contact into your phone, sending him a simple “It’s y/n” so he can have yours as well. He responds almost immediately with another smiley face, and you melt internally. 

You stare at your phone that evening, praying that he’ll text you first with details about tomorrow’s study date. Well, it wasn’t exactly a date, but you hoped he thought of it that way secretly. After hours of no text, you start to feel deflated. Maybe he forgot? Or maybe he just doesn’t want to see you outside of his work hours. Your shoulders are sagging when your phone buzzes, and you leap off your bed to go grab it from the desk.

Jaehyun: Are you still down for a study session tomorrow? I have some work I need to get done. Also, Actaeon is waiting for you in the store ;)

You squeal, hopping up and down excitedly before taking a deep breath, reminding yourself that you’re just getting to know him.

Y/n: Yes, sounds great! And I can’t wait :)

You flop down on the sheets, kicking your legs in victory a few times before sighing happily. You fell asleep with a smile on your face, ready to use the excuse of homework and graphic novels to spend more time with this strange but adorable boy.

[hey-hamlet]

Quarentine Recs

What with everyone munching through media like my dog munching on anything that could be considered edible, I thought I’d throw some general recomendations into the ring! Everything here is hopefully something you can start right away without needing to leave your house, if you’re ok with some quasi-legal pirating.

To watch: 

Ore Monogatari / My Love Story Romance / Comedy One Season Fluff to the max, Gouda Takeo is a massive first year highschool student of exeptional size and strength. While hes popular with the boys, most girls think he’s strange. When he saves Yamoto Rinko from a creep on the train its love at first sight, but she’s convinced she’d into his hot friend. Comdey follows.

Somali to Mori no Kamisama / Somali and the Forest Spirit Drama / Fantasy / Good Dad Golem  12 Epsiode Season In a world where humans have been hunted right to the edge of extinction, one golem and his human charge journey in search of the remaining few to reuninte Somali with her kind. Golems live very long lives, but finite ones, and Somali’s guardian is reaching the end of his. I’m two episodes away from finishing it but its really sweet, great dad content featuring multiple guest dads and their children. Somali is so sweet she’ll give you a toothache

Isekai Shokudou / Restaurant to Another World Slice of Life / Fantasy / Is food a genre? Because food Every Saturday this restaurant closes it’s doors to the public and recives visitors from another world. There isn’t much plot here but it will make you very hungry and strangely greatful for processed flour, canola oil and freezers. I’m pretty sure the chef is voiced by Aizawa’s Japanese VA and its amazing.

Gravity Falls Mystery / Drama / Comedy Two Seasons A Classic - A set of twins, Dipper and Mabel Pines wind up spending their summer holiday with their sketchy grat uncle Stan. But, as they soon find out, the town is not what it seems.

Features loads of action, fun mystery and loads of twists set up so well you’ll kick yourself! Good family relationships with rounded characters and fun villains. This series has a special place in my heart as something I grew up watching when I was twelve, and it finished in my second last year of highschool, its just a great story. The comedy is really only big in the first season and dies down fast when things get serious. Be prepared to hate a tiny 10-ish year old boy.

Steven Universe / Steven Universe Future  Comedy / Drama / Slow Burn / Action Six Seasons Considering it just finished, now is a great time to start. Steven Universe is a bubbly young boy who lives with the Crystal Gems, a strange set of gem creatures who knew his mother. Steven is half gem himself and the show features him growing up and helping the people around him grow as well. 

The show is slow and starts a little rough but its very sweet and ernest. Steven Universe Future is far darker than the original show (but, a minor spoiler, does have a happy ending) so be careful!

Over the Garden Wall Mystery / Drama / Supernatural 10 Episode Miniseries  Two half brothers, Wirt and Greg, find themselves in a part of the forest they don’t recognise with no clue how they got there. The deeper they go, the stranger it gets and the less certain their escape may be. And whats all this talk of a beast? 

This show has Wirt learning how to be a good big brother along with some delightful autumnal scenery and American gothic fantasy elements. I recomend you sit down with some tea and baked goods and watch it like a movie.

To play: 

Animal Crossing: New Horizons Nintendo Switch Brand new and very popular, you play a human on an island with delightful animal neighbours. Make friends, customise your island and live your life to the fullest! Features local and online mutliplayer with up to 8 people. Also feel free to play it with me because its taking over my life!

Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles PC / Play Station 4 / Nintendo Switch / X Box One A sweet open world indie adventure and exploration game with farming and fantasy elements. You find yourself shipwrecked on a strange island with only your magic compass that I can’t remember the name of to guide you. This game is mostly about expolaration and discovery and the enviroment is pretty enough that it works well.

Niche PC A boardgame like turnbased strategy that has you controlling a small group of creatures and tinkering with their genetics and breeding to try and survive the harsh world around you. Cute creatures, fun game.

Temtem PC A pokemon-like MMO that sees you capturing creatures call Temtem to fight for you. The game is still in early access so keep that in mind, but it’s pretty fun and the creatures are very well designed. 

Guild Wars 2 PC FREE TO PLAY VERSION AVALIBLE The only MMORPG I’ve ever played but boy it’s spoilt me. A one time purchase lets you experience the world of Tyria where you can play as one of 5 races or one of 9 classes. The personal story is great (unless you’re me and have played the sylvari stories so many times you can quote half of the lines) and the post game story gets real fast. Asside from that, its a really pretty game thats super fun with one of the nicer communities I’ve ever experienced. Co-operation is encouraged and the dynamic event system will have you playing with puppies one minute and murdering a giant undead behemoth the next. I have sunk so many hours in this game.

[xxpadfootxx]

Request: IzuOcha, Izuku listening to Ochako's heartbeat

A/N: Thank you so much for requesting! This request was so adorable, I squealed when I saw it. I’m sorry it took me a bit to write, I’ve been busy with my classes so I had to write it in fragments 😂. Anyway, here you go! I hope you enjoy!

~~~

🐾 Drumming Song 🐾

Ochako turned at the sound of her front door being opened, her face breaking into a smile at the thought of her husband finally getting home from work. That is, until she saw his face. Ochako immediately grew concerned at the sight of Izuku Midoriya, her best friend and husband, swaying slightly on his feet, his eyes downcast and his head down, his hair falling into his face. Ochako allowed her gaze to scan over the rest of his body, taking in the drying blood and torn fabric of his hero costume, her alarm increasing the longer she looked.

“Izuku!” Ochako cried, abandoning the dinner she was making for the both of them at the island and rushing over to him, her eyes wide and her hands frantic as she ran them all over him, checking for injuries. “What happened!?”

Ochako and Izuku worked at different hero agencies. Usually, the famous power couple was still able to work together, often coordinating their schedules so they could patrol and fight villains together, protecting one another as well as they possibly could under the circumstances. But sometimes their schedules couldn’t be matched up, something that had occurred this time. Ochako had been given a rare day off by her boss, Gunhead, who was giving her a reward for working so hard, claiming she needed some well-deserved rest. Unfortunately, Izuku was not given the same luxury, a fact that resulted in Izuku leaving for work without Ochako for the first time in several months.

“Rough day,” Izuku mumbled in response to Ochako’s question, not moving as she ran her hands all over him. Her touch was gentle and almost reverent as she glided her fingertips over his chest and arms, eventually sliding down to her knees to check his legs.

Gods he was so tired. He wanted to be able to talk and laugh with his wife like usual, eating a delicious dinner as they talked about arbitrary things. He wanted to cuddle up with her while they watched a movie together, either laughing at the cheesiness of it or clutching each other in fear, wrapped up in blankets while they watched a horror film. He wanted to make her feel good, joke around with her like he always did and show her how much he cared, after all she did for him, it was the least he could do as her adoring husband. But he was so goddamn exhausted. His body felt drained, his shoulders heavy with the weight of the day’s events.

It was supposed to be a normal day, easy patrols, light paperwork, just simple things to keep the heroes sharp and remind the villains that they were prepared to keep this city safe at all costs. Izuku had even planned to surprise Ochako by coming home early, finishing up all of his reports quicker than usual before going on one last patrol through the city.

Everything had gone to hell in the blink of an eye. Izuku hadn’t even known where the villain had come from, the mad woman flying out in front of him before he could even process she was there. Buildings had been blown apart, traffic had come to a screeching halt, the screaming had begun. It was all so shocking and overwhelming. Izuku had tried to keep up with the chaos but it had been so hard, working on his own to detain the villain and protect the people around him for several minutes while he waited for the other pro heroes to arrive.

The villain had been absolutely insane, her quirk something of god-like proportions as she terrorized the main square, tearing apart the sides of buildings as if they were nothing but paper, the wild gleam in her eyes making Izuku’s blood run cold as she tore through the city. They had eventually been successful in capturing the villain when the other pros had shown up, locking her away in a specially designed carrier to take her to a holding cell far away from the main city.

Izuku was relieved the villain had been caught, but the fight had been so draining, so destructive, to the point where Izuku had felt like collapsing afterwards. If that wasn’t bad enough, Izuku found out that eight citizens lost their lives in the attack, each one of their deaths feeling like another stab wound to his heart. He lived for protecting people, it was his job. Buildings could be rebuilt, cars could be reissued, objects could be replaced, but human lives could not be brought back. Izuku felt so hopeless, so fucking useless, he wanted to cry.

Izuku was brought back to reality when Ochako stood back up from where she had been examining his legs for injury, her face glowing with love and concern for him. His heart clenched. Even after all of these years, he still felt so undeserving of her love, of that look on her face directed at him, but she had refused to listen when he told her those things, claiming he more than earned his place in her heart. As he thought back to the fight, those negative thoughts came flooding back, filling his brain until he could think of nothing else, his heart filled with loathing for himself.

Izuku met Ochako’s gaze when her hand gently lifted his chin to look him in the eye, and he knew that even though he tried to shutter the emotions raging in his heart, she could read him like an open book. Her eyes were swimming with remorse as she read his face, her own heart reaching out to him.

Ochako knew Izuku was struggling. She had no idea what had happened while he was at work, she hadn’t had time to keep track on the TV like she usually did, too busy cleaning the house and doing some reports from home to pay attention to the news, but she knew her husband well enough to know that he was really struggling. Sighing, Ochako leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into her chest as she gently ran her fingertips down his spine, her nails lightly scraping him through his shirt.

“I’ve got you.”

Izuku shuddered, both at the feeling of her wrapped around him and her words, her sweet whisper tickling his ear. Tears sprang up in his eyes, a few sliding down his cheeks and landing on her neck as he nuzzled her throat, trying to thank her wordlessly since his throat was too closed up to speak properly.

They remained locked together, gently swaying in the kitchen for a long moment, until Ochako pulled back, her hand finding his as she maintained eye contact with him, making sure he didn’t fall down into the pit of self loathing again.

“Come on,” Ochako murmured, tugging him along.

Izuku didn’t have the strength to resist even if he wanted to, his feet shuffling as he followed dutifully behind her, his fingers still linked with hers. Ochako led them to their bedroom, pulling Izuku with her until she reached the edge of their bed, before leaning down and gently stripping him of his filthy hero costume until he was in nothing but his boxers. He groaned a little at the feeling of the disgusting material being peeled from his body, his eyes following her movements as she tossed the costume to the side to be dealt with later. Ochako then gently pushed him onto the bed, laying him down against the pillows. Dinner completely forgotten, Ochako moved around to lay down beside him, her arms reaching around to embrace him once more.

Izuku didn’t hesitate to cuddle into her warmth, burying his face in her chest, nuzzling her until he got comfortable and settled down, his ear pressed against her sternum.

Lub-dub... Lub-dub... Lub-dub…

Izuku took a shuddering breath at the sound of her loud heart, beating just for him, clear and healthy against his ear. He closed his eyes as he felt her fingers begin to card through his hair, a soft groan slipping from between his lips at the feeling.

Lub-dub... Lub-dub... Lub-dub…

Her heart played like a drum for him, filling him with relief and joy despite his difficult day, a clear, joyful reminder that his beloved was alive and right beside him, ready to comfort him just as he did for her when her days got hard. Gods, he loved this woman. He couldn’t get enough of her as he pressed even harder into her chest, his breathing starting to slow down, her heartbeat the best kind of lullaby to lull him to sleep.

Lub-dub... Lub-dub... Lub-dub…

“Ochako?”

“Yes, ‘Zuku?”

“Never leave me, please.”

Lub-dub... Lub-dub... Lub-dub…

Ochako smiled sadly down at her husband, leaning down to press a kiss to the top of his head.

“Never.”

Izuku’s arms slithered around her form and squeezed her tight as he listened to her heartbeat. He heard it speed up slightly at his touch, making him smirk a little, and causing his own heart to flutter. He would never get tired of knowing how much she was affected by him, that she wanted and loved him as much as he wanted and loved her. She was just so perfect.

Lub-dub... Lub-dub... Lub-dub…

More tears slid down his cheeks but for entirely different reasons as the beating drum in her chest vibrated throughout his whole being, healing his own heart and soothing his troubled mind. Ochako sighed softly when Izuku pressed a kiss to her chest, just below her collarbone, his eyes opening groggily to meet her gaze, watching her as he pressed another kiss, just above where he knew her heart was, the steady thumping picking up the pace once more.

“Thank you,” Izuku said softly, holding her somehow closer and resting his head back on her chest, sighing in bliss as his body finally relaxed, his muscles unwinding as he breathed in her unique scent.

“Always, Izuku,” Ochako said quietly, her eyes closing as she relaxed against the pillows, his warm breath fanning out across her neck and and the comfortable weight of his body pressing against hers lulling her to sleep.

“I love you, you’re too good to me,” Izuku mumbled against her.

Ochako let out a tired chuckle.

“Ditto, Izuku. I love you so much. Now, sleep.”

Izuku sighed and immediately felt his body respond to her words, his consciousness slipping from his grasp like water running through his fingers. But even as the world went black and he lost all sense of the things around him, Izuku could still hear, still feel Ochako’s heart, thumping steadily against him, playing him his favorite song to soothe him from the horrors of the day.

Lub-dub... Lub-dub... Lub-dub…

Ochako was his, and Izuku was hers, his heart pounding just as loudly to match hers, chanting her name and beating for her just as hers did, answering her own calls to him. She was his salvation, and his thumping heart, fueled by his love for her, was a testament to that.

Ochako fell asleep shortly after her husband did, both of their bodies completely relaxed and curled around each other as they sought solace from each other, their hearts beating as one.

[chemicalmagecraft]

Foresight is 20/20 Chapter 14

Hinata's palm struck me in the jaw, making me grunt. "Kick his ass, Hina-chan!" Kurama cheered from the sidelines. It was nice seeing how well those two were getting along, even if it meant him encouraging her to beat me up. The two of them actually helped each other a lot. Hinata warmed Kurama up to humankind and got him to be slightly less angry, while Kurama made sure to rub some of his "I'm better than you lousy humans" pride off on her, causing her to be a bit more confident. Plus he liked imparting little bits of arcane knowledge upon his favorite human, meaning...

I just barely noticed with my chakra sense that Hinata was leaking a small amount of chakra out of her fingertips, so I jumped back. Unfortunately, I'd determined with my eyes that expressing too much interest in obtaining the Byakugan with my chakra assimilation would only cause most of the clan to grow wary of me, so I didn't have the ability to actually see her jutsu, but at least I knew to stay away.

I made a few seals, but had to stop when the barely-there chakra rushed me. Even though I moved my arms the chakra swerved faster than I thought it would, causing my left arm to go completely numb. "Ow," I said despite the fact that the problem was that I couldn't feel any pain in my arm. "You're getting faster with that, aren't you?"

"Yeah," Hina-chan said. "Kurama-chan helped me figure it out."

I tried to move my arm, but couldn't. Eight Trigrams Heavenly Will as it was called by most of the family, or much less pretentiously Tenketsu Puppetry Jutsu by Hinata, was a jutsu Hinata invented by combining the basics of Juken that she was learning with the chakra threads I'd showed her how to make and then some sort of advice from Kurama. In addition to acting like a ranged, though technically much less potent, version of Juken, the threads stayed inside the tenketsu of the victim meaning that not only was any recovery from the attack blocked until they were removed but she could also, as her name for it suggested, puppeteer my arm.

"Impressive, sis, but you know that that doesn't exactly work on me." I raised my right pointer finger, causing a single link of yellow chain to form on it. With a bit of concentration, I changed the yellow Adamantine Sealing Chain to a shadowy purple permutation, Adamantine Destruction Chain. I swiped at roughly where I felt the chakra threads with it, managing to snap all of them and suck the foreign chakra from my body.

I'd figured out that my assimilation could also adapt powers that were compatible enough together. I was already working under the assumption that I couldn't just make new elements by combining people's affinities because that would be broken, but I did alchemize Ai's Adamantine Sealing Chain together with the Kikaichu's Parasitic Destruction to make chains that could drain chakra as well as disrupt it for some extra chakra cost. Plus, the disruption and absorption effects synergized, enhancing each other's performance. And there was also the || combination, Parasitic Sealing, which allowed me to cover my body in an aura that disrupts and absorbs chakra. Though it was harder to do than Adamantine Destruction and wasn't perfect...

But I digress. I pointed the chain link at Hinata, shooting an entire chain at her. The general consensus of just about anyone who I used my special chains on was that if I got a grab in the fight was over. Sure, I could still only have more than a few links out for a few seconds without any boost before I got super tired, but between the draining and the throw I could easily pull off with the chains I only needed one good grab to wear down even adults. At least enough to jump in with a few cheap hits to finish them off. Hinata obviously knew this by now, so she ducked under my chain, then rolled out of the way when I tried to pin her to the ground.

I was expecting her to do that, though, and had already prepped my next jutsu. Metal marbles, designed so I could hurt but not kill with my magnet release, scored hits on her side. I charged, and she blocked my foot with her hand. I winced, realizing my mistake when my leg turned numb from the near-instantaneous point-blank Heavenly Will. I used my demon gem-based flight to try to kick her with my other foot, but she got it before I could.

"Full body takeover, eh?" I asked as the rest of my body below my neck was wrested from my control. Really, having a relatively non-draining jutsu that might as well be an automatic win to anyone in melee distance is even more broken than I am...

"Sorry, but can I practice this for a bit?"

I tried to shrug, but remembered the futility. "Go ahead. I still have control over my demon gems, so I can catch myself if you slip up." Hinata spent the rest of the sparring session finding stupid dances to make me do, egged on by Kurama. I did get her to work on her proxy chakra control a bit, though. She could almost make me do Juken by the end. And I could almost do Juken by the end.

kukukuku~

Tenten said something, probably about how much it stank that we had to go to school, as we walked ourselves to school. Well, they walked and I floated because I actually may or may not have a bit of trouble matching other people's walking paces, especially if I'm not paying too much attention... I didn't know what she was saying, though. I was thinking. I mumbled something in response and pulled out my sealing notebook and note-taking pencil, which I used to write down the formula I thought of. I tuned out their conversation even more as I sketched the complex seal down as best I could.

"You messed up a little there," Tenten said as I was finishing off the last strokes.

"Hm?" I asked.

She pointed to one of the runes and oh my that was very wrong. "I'm not sure, but I think it'll just tear a hole in the fabric of space if you don't fix that stabilizing rune." I thanked her and hurriedly fixed it.

"I feel like maybe you should not write down a seal that could potentially tear a hole in the fabric of space itself until you're absolutely sure it won't do that?" Neji said with more than a little concern.

To be honest, I didn't blame him, but... "Graphite's pretty much the worst for making seals," I explained, "which means that it's really good for practicing making the more dangerous seals because it's almost impossible to activate it accidentally. Unless you're a jinchuriki, maybe, but even then you'd probably have to be pretty distracted."

"Well why didn't you have me use a pencil when you were trying to teach me seals, then?"

Finished, I stowed the notebook. "Okay in my defense I wasn't expecting you to screw up the easiest seal in the book when given detailed instructions, much less screw it up enough to accidentally make an incredibly simplified explosive seal. And with the last seal I had you do, I think we both know that you should always assume that there will be an explosion when making a paper bomb."

I tried to teach Neji fuinjutsu once. Turns out he's literally the worst at it. He somehow managed to turn a basic light seal into a thankfully tiny bomb with only a big enough blast radius to burn itself off of whatever it's written on with a noise like a firecracker, which apparently was a theme with him. No matter what, he would always make bombs out of whatever seal I gave him. And then, when I tried to have him purposefully make a bomb, hoping that maybe he was just some sort of bomb savant, he somehow managed to make a seal tag that teleported itself and whatever it was touching to a random place within a fifty meter radius. Which, okay, free spacetime ninjutsu, but how? "I'm still scratching my head on how you managed to make a short-range teleport out of a bomb. Speaking of, what's your mom make of it, Tenten?"

She snorted. "She's still on that high from the wedding, so she's been more concentrated with being all lovey-dovey with Mommy than looking over the seal, but she did say to never let Neji near a seal again when I told her it was supposed to be a paper bomb."

"It wasn't really that bad, was it?" Neji asked.

Tenten laughed and shook her head. "Not at all, Neji..."

"...It's much worse," I finished her sentence with a slight grin. We high-fived. "When I looked at the seal you were making with my eyes, I saw a lot of different possibilities. Random teleportation was one of the better ones. You don't want to know what the worse ones were."

"Right." He didn't believe me. To be fair, I did tend to mess with him... And was messing with him. "So what's the seal you were working on supposed to do? I'm assuming it's somehow related to spacetime."

"Yeah, normally when people screw up seals that have nothing to do with spacetime, the result doesn't do anything to the fabric of reality," Tenten said, elbowing Neji.

"Shut it."

I shrugged. "You're right, though. It was most certainly a spacetime seal."

"Yeah, it looked a bit like an object summoning seal, but a little different," Tenten said. "Was it meant to swap objects between two paired seals?"

"Close. My hope is that it'll form a portal between two locations when chakra's input on both ends, and that it's compatible with demon sage chakra. It's still a little rough around the edges, though."

"Let me guess, secret base," Tenten said.

I brushed my hand through my hair. I was combing it less now, so it was a bit curlier and fluffier. And it was getting so long that my bangs started falling over my left eye more. I loved the way it looked, though. "Obviously. In fact, I have an agent working on finding the location right now. Haven't found anything good yet, though."

"How do you have an agent?" Neji asked me.

"Magic." I noticed a certain building and pointed at it. "Hey, isn't that the school? That looks like a school."

"Yup, that's the school," Tenten said. "Mommy took me here a lot. Mama's job is a little less kid-friendly, plus the teachers looked after me when I didn't want to sit through Mommy's classes."

"Oh right," I said. "Your mom's a teacher."

"Yeah, I said that earlier, weren't you paying attention?"

Something about that sentence felt a little doomy, though I couldn't tell why. "No, I was thinking about how to breach through spacetime to reach another location without accidentally summoning Mega Neo Beqthulhuzillaon, Destroyer of Souls and Eater of Worlds."

"Is that an actual concern?" Neji asked. "Are you messing with us or could you have actually summoned some sort of eldritch horror monster?"

I smirked. "You should know the answer to that question by now. I'm assuming you know the way, Tenten?"

"Duh."

kukukuku~

I tried very hard not to groan. "My name is Uzumaki Tenko," our teacher for the next few years said, writing it on the chalkboard. God I hate chalkboards. If I were Hokage I'd make chalkboards illegal. Which is probably one of the reasons I should not be Hokage, actually... "I look forward to teaching you." I slumped in my seat. It's not that I didn't like her. Tenko was really nice. No, the problem was that she knew I was a literal genius relative to my age level, and with that comes... expectations...

Before, my plan was to just rest on my near-complete high school-level education to put the bare minimum amount of work into the actual academic parts of ninja school, which considering what grades I got with how little effort I put into school before would've made me best in class or thereabouts already. But Tenko already saw me put actual effort into something, meaning she might have been able to tell when I didn't put in the work. So if I didn't want to hear about it from her and Tenten both I'd have to at least half-ass it. Ugh...

I sound like Shikamaru, don't I?

"Didn't I tell you she was going to be our teacher earlier?" Tenten muttered to me. I guess that was what I missed... "And why are you so annoyed Mommy's your teacher?"

"Because she'll actually care if I don't put any effort into my work," I whispered back.

"How terrible," Neji snarked. I flicked him with natural energy. Using natural energy without sage mode may have been a lot weaker, but I could at least flick someone sitting right next to me hard enough to feel. He flicked me back, though. My Neji may have been completely seal-illiterate, but he was just as much of a ninjutsu genius as in canon, and figured out how to feel and manipulate natural energy just by watching me do it, though he hadn't quite managed sage mode yet. We proceeded to engage in invisible and incredibly petty warfare that Tenko would probably have stopped if she were a sensor. Luckily, Tenten was too amused to turn us in. She almost gave us away with her giggling, though.

"Now, why don't you introduce yourselves?" I'm not saying that I completely tuned everyone's introductions out, but I am saying that the only names that I retained aside from Hyuga Neji, Uzumaki Tenten, and Rock Lee was someone from the Yamanaka family whose given name was Kaede. Kaede is a pretty awesome name. Why couldn't I have been a Kaede?

"Hello. My name is Hyuga Kouki," I said when it was my turn. "The reason why I don't look like Neji despite us having the same family name is because he's adopted."

"What!?" Neji spluttered. "No! You're the adopted one!"

"It's nice to meet you," I halfheartedly finished, pretending Neji said nothing. He flicked me for my troubles when I sat down. I flicked back, and as if someone assassinated a duke or something, Flick War II began.

kukukuku~

"Just remember that these are friendly matches," Tenko said when we were all sitting on the ground by the sparring ring. "If I feel like someone is being hurt too badly, I'll stop it there. And once more, it's taijutsu only."

"Why'd you look at me when you said that?" I asked. Her glare turned a little more accusatory. I pouted. "I wasn't gonna do it anyway..."

"Right," she said, turning away from me. "You may now look at the slips of paper I gave you. Who has one?" Tenten and a boy I should probably have known the name of raised their hands. "You two are first. And Tenten, try not to rough him up too badly, okay, sweetie?"

The unnamed kid grinned maliciously. "I hope teach doesn't get too angry after I beat up her precious daughter." Neji and I exchanged a look and snickered. Right, like that kid stood a chance. When they were told to start, the kid jumped in for a punch. Tenten dodged easily and shoved him to the side. He stumbled and fell.

"Get him with your Uzumaki strength, Tenten," I cheered dully.

She scowled at me. "For the last time!" Tenten shouted, then picked up the nearest object. Namely the unnamed kid. "I'm not!" She hoisted her hapless victim above her head. "Freakishly strong!" She threw Hapless Victim at me. Without even blinking, I deployed the demon gems hanging from my earlobes. One formed a springy barrier in front of me that safely absorbed the impact of the collision without too much damage to Hapless, while the other formed a barrier under him to cushion his fall.

"I have no idea why I would think that," I said as I recalled my gems. "Truly, your ability to lift over your body weight in small child despite being yourself a small child is totally unremarkable." She blushed and growled at me.

"Kouki, please stop antagonizing Tenten," Tenko said. "The match is over, Tenten wins."

"How did you do that?" another small child I probably should've known the name of asked me.

"Magic."

Hapless (I was now trying to commit his face and chakra signature to memory so I could keep calling him that) groaned and sat up. "I thought we weren't allowed to use jutsu!" he complained.

"You weren't," I said. "The Uzumaki bloodline manifests itself passively in the form of enhanced vitality and strength, something that Tenten definitely has even if she doesn't quite have the traditional looks."

"HEY!"

"So really, you didn't stand a chance."

Hapless stomped off to his seat and the rounds began again. After a few, it was my turn, as well as, "coincidentally" enough, a young Rock Lee.

"Remember, no jutsu," Tenko reminded me.

"Yeah, yeah," I said, then got into my fighting stan- "Ah, crud," I muttered, realizing that I had not been doing regular old sparring enough. I couldn't even remember the last time I'd actually practiced fighting someone without ninjutsu or genjutsu.

"Start."

I dodged a really shoddy punch. To be honest, it was pretty weird seeing Lee suck at taijutsu. Very lucky for me, but weird. I leaned away from another punch, then caught his arm. "Stop," I commanded. I uncurled his fist, removed his thumb from his palm, and then forced his hand into a proper fist. "It's a common mistake," I assured him. "If you punch someone with your fingers around your thumb, you'll probably break it. Oh, and hit me with those two big knuckles, not the entire fist." When I released him, he cautiously punched me. "Good," I said after catching his hand with mine. "However, I'm afraid that now I have to..." I twisted around and slung his arm over my shoulder in an attempt to suplex him or something. "Finish you!" Key word being attempt... I may or may not have only lifted him onto my back...

"I don't think you did what you were attempting to do..." he said.

"Stupid physics. I always hated that subject..." I shrugged and just dropped backwards in what I hoped looked like a planned move. I really needed to work on my taijutsu...

"Okay, that was not at all what I was expecting..." Tenko sighed. "Kouki wins, I guess..."

"You okay?" I asked as I got off Lee.

He sighed. "I am fine..."

The third noteworthy match was Neji versus Yamanaka Kaede, a hotblooded girl with orange hair like that one Fu guy and red eyes. While Neji was technically a pseudo jinchuriki by now from my experiments, his powers were weird and technically even his "passive" strength would be considered an active jutsu, especially because he could turn it off. The Yamanaka, on the other hand, was surprisingly strong for a Yamanaka. Maybe she was part Uzumaki? She did have red hair. At any rate, while Neji was almost overpowered at one point, he beat her. He was a genius after all.

kukukuku~

"Hey," I said, then sat down on the floor next to Lee. Okay, I actually floated just a bit off the ground, but the sentiment was there... "Sorry about beating you so bad."

He sighed. "No, it's okay... I already knew I would not do well here. I cannot use ninjutsu or genjutsu, and you saw how my taijutsu is..."

"Can you channel chakra into things?" I asked. I really wanted to know what would happen if I started him off early.

"I can, but no matter how hard I try, I will not be able to use a jutsu. The doctor said that there is a problem with my chakra coils, so I am incapable of molding my chakra into jutsu..."

I shrugged. "Not exactly a dealbreaker, if you're willing to work extra hard."

"What do you mean?"

I summoned my crystal ball. Yeah, I know it's kind of a stereotype, but I'd made the jutsu from that crystal ball jutsu Sarutobi used to see Naruto in the first episode, plus it did kinda look cool. "Watch this." I waved my hands over the floating crystal ball, casting the jutsu. Despite not activating my Shoraigan, the crystal ball changed to show another location. By using a physical medium, I could show my vision to others and didn't have the same backlash, though with the downside that it wasn't private and I didn't get nearly as much information.

"See that man?" I said, pointing to Gai training. "He used to be about where you are, but now he's one of the most dangerous shinobi in Konoha through taijutsu alone. Do you want to know how?" I put away the ball and looked at Lee. His eyes said yes. "An insane amount of practice, training, and diligence, combined with challenging himself to do something even more difficult whenever he fails a training exercise. You should probably take time to rest every once in a while, especially at first to keep from permanently damaging your body, but I see a fire in you. There's no reason why you couldn't become as good as or perhaps even better than him one day."

There were stars in his eyes, and he was almost crying. "Do you think so?"

I gave him a small grin. "I know so. Also..." I pulled out the other thing I had for him. "This is a bit of a beginner's fuinjutsu kit, at least my version of it. Try and see if you have some aptitude for it. You may not be able to inscribe seals with chakra alone, but if you pick up enough you might be able to work wonders with seals." Imagine Rock Lee with the ability to make and use seals. To be honest I have no clue what would happen but I do know it would be amazing.

He stood up, energized, and gave me a deep bow. "Thank you very much! I will make sure to become a splendid ninja!"

My grin was genuine. "I'm sure you will."

kukukuku~

Usagi

I lurched along the dirt path. My new body of stone and earth was not suitable for travel in the slightest, but I had no other alternatives. It seemed that compatibility with myself was not quite as common outside of Konoha as I assumed it was at first, and the rabbit was either a stroke of luck on my part or perhaps somehow related to how Kurama was present in End Valley at one point. Perhaps his chakra acted as a primer. Still, I did sense a few scattered people in small villages who had compatibility, though I couldn't in good conscience simply abduct and kill an innocent person. I needed to find a bandit with compatibility.

"Well well well, what do we have here?" a source of malicious intent jeered as two men appeared from behind trees. Speak of the devil... The two bandits, however, were nowhere near compatible.

"There's a toll to use this road," the other bandit said, brandishing his sickle. They had yet to realize my anomalous existence on account of the cloak, gloves, and mask I had fashioned for myself.

"Oh," I said. "I do apologize. I was not made aware of the toll. You really should put up a sign."

"You gettin' smart with us?" the first bandit asked. "We'll rough you up!" I probably didn't look like much of a threat either. The body I'd formed for myself was rather on the short side, to save energy. It was still definitely in the adult range, but not by much.

"You two are bandits, aren't you?" I asked. I already knew the answer, of course.

"Of course we're bandits, now give us all your loot!" The sickle-wielding bandit rushed me. That was a mistake. My body became fluid, the eyeholes of my mask gained two red lights where my eyes should have been, and I dodged effortlessly. I removed one of my gloves and placed my hand on his face, my hand like a lunging viper.

"Do you take chakra instead?" I asked, then infused his body with demon sage chakra. He dropped his weapon as his brain itself was altered in such a way that, while he didn't technically die, he certainly couldn't have been said to have been truly alive anymore. I removed my hand, revealing red markings across his face.

"What the hell!?" the other bandit shrieked. Without turning to him, I sent a signal to my new thrall. The bandit that I had just "killed" snarled like a beast and rushed at him. The... I suppose the best word for it would have been "zombie" bit the man on his arm with partially crystallized teeth. The man shrieked, throwing the zombie away and running in terror. I nodded to myself and split my attention in two, one half of my mind focusing on breaking the zombie down into more demon gems and the other tending to the bandit.

When my zombie bit him it infected him with my chakra, causing the cells in his arm to start to transform into the demon gem-like material that I'd used to zombify his partner. I altered the rate at which the infection spread, causing it to slow near the surface while speeding up within his blood and bones. My hope was that he'd notice the infection, cut his arm off and assume he got it all, then hurry back to his leader while carrying the infection. That would be fun. When I was done with the carrier, I turned my full attention to the zombie, which was almost prepared. With a final command, the corpse disintegrated into red powder. Some of it scattered to the wind, where it would be carried elsewhere. The rest came to me. About half of it went behind my mask, where it bolstered my existing gem. The other half I formed into another gem that I hid within my cloak.

With that done, I placed all of his belongings into a bag I had tied to my makeshift body under the cloak. I wasn't to know fuinjutsu, after all. I continued down the lonely road, ever-so-slightly quicker than I had before.

[perspective-series]

Thomas Perspective (6/19)

By: @arc852 and @hiddendreamer67

Warnings: Fear, and cages

(Check the reblog for the links to any future chapters)

——————————————————————————————————–

“Virgil?” Roman knocked on his best friend’s door, waiting for a response. “Virgil if you don’t answer I suppose I’ll be forced to steal your Tim Burton posters as payment for your lack of hospitality.”

Of course, Roman was well aware that Virgil was currently in class. He just said that so he would have a reason to ‘borrow’ more of Virgil’s iconic Disney merch for the week as he let himself into Virgil’s apartment.

This was not an unexpected event, though it slipped Virgil’s mind this morning. Often Roman would come over unannounced. So often, in fact, that Roman had his own apartment key. 

“Well, I suppose I just have to take them now.” Roman sighed dramatically to the empty apartment, gleefully heading into Virgil’s bedroom. 

 Thomas suddenly stiffened at the sound of a familiar voice calling out into the apartment. But not the familiar voice he was okay with, oh no. This was the human who lived on the fifth floor. Roman. 

 Thomas jumped to his feet, looking for somewhere to hide but quickly realized there wasn’t any. He was trapped inside the cage and the cage was open and empty for all to see. Well, empty save for himself of course.

 He could hear Roman coming towards the bedroom and so Thomas thought fast. He curled himself up into a tiny ball in the far corner and just prayed Roman would look over him. It was the only thing he could do.

Roman entered Virgil’s room, humming a tune to himself as he gathered the posters from the closet. As Roman was just about to leave, however, he spotted something out of the ordinary.

“Helloooooo, what’s this?” Roman came over to inspect the cage further. Had Virgil gotten another hamster and not told him? But...why was a blanket stuffed inside? Roman frowned, trying to peer through the bars for any source of life. Upon the first glance, Roman didn’t spot anything, but on the second glance...Roman gasped, posters falling out of his arms in surprise.

 No, no, no, no, no, no, not again! He didn’t move from his ball, but he could hear from the gasp that Roman had realized he was in there. 

 ...This wasn’t going to be fun.

Roman quickly took the roof off the structure, removing it so he could get a better look. Noticing the creature was still curled up in a ball, Roman wasted no time in scooping it out into his palms.

 “Ah!” Thomas yelped, as he was scooped up. He was unfurled from his tight ball and now lying down on Roman’s hand. Thomas tentatively looked up at the human, a look of fear on his face.

“Woah.” Roman gazed in awe down at the tiny...thing. Tiny person? Why on Earth was Virgil keeping a tiny person locked up in a cage inside his bedroom? “Who are you?” 

 Thomas gulped. Now he had another choice to make, essentially the same choice as before. Should he speak to this human? He already had a deal going on with Virgil, so his best bet would be to stay with him...unless Roman was willing to let him go. But Thomas had the sneaky suspicion that would not be the case.

 “I'm...Thomas.” He decided to answer. 

“Thomas, it’s...certainly interesting to meet your acquaintance.” Roman paused, looking at the setup before him. “My name is Roman. Now would you kindly explain...why exactly I find you locked in a...hamster cage in my best friend’s apartment?”

 Thomas bit his lip. “Um...he...thinks he’s helping me?” Thomas answered. “He said it was temporary, though I’m not sure what the alternatives are,” Thomas admitted. Obviously, Virgil would want to keep him trapped still. So whatever Thomas decided would just be some glorified cage.

“Hmm.” Roman raised an eyebrow. “Well, he certainly seems to be doing a poor job of it.” Roman began walking away from the desk, posters forgotten.

 “I’ll say,” Thomas muttered, agreeing with Roman completely. He wobbled a little as he realized Roman was moving. “Uh…?”

“Clearly someone else would be far more suited to assisting you,” Roman said, eyes practically shining as he clearly has designated himself for that role. “I, of course, would be more than up to the task!” Roman all but dashed out of Virgil’s apartment, heading up to his own room on the 5th floor.

 Thomas yelped as Roman basically took off running out of Virgil’s apartment. Oh no, this wasn’t good at all. “A-Actually, you would help me a lot by um...letting me go?” Thomas asked, deciding to give that a chance.

“Yes, of course, just a moment.” Roman barely paid him attention, coming into his own apartment. “Ah, home sweet home.” With a blissful sigh, Roman headed into the bedroom.

“Aaaaand...there!” Roman let Thomas go onto the bed.

 Thomas looked around at his new surroundings, now on top of Roman’s bed. With Roman looming over him. He shivered. “Uh, thanks, but I actually meant, like, letting me go, go. As in, back to my own home and...yeah.” Thomas fidgeted with his sleeves. He hated not knowing how Roman was going to react. At least with Virgil, he could guess how he would react to some things.

“Oh, come on.” Roman sat down on the ground, leaning forwards on his bed to get a good look at Thomas. “Surely you don’t want to go back to Virgil so soon. The guy can be an absolute bore.” Roman made a fake yawning motion to demonstrate.

 “Uh, no actually, I meant my-I meant my real home. In-In um…” He debated for a hot second if he should reveal that or not, before deciding it might help him more if he did. “In the walls.”

“In the walls?” Roman reeled back as if repelled by the notion. “How ghastly! Why, even Cinderella’s mice were not fully confined to such a fate.”

 Thomas winced. “It’s uh...really not that bad.” He defended.

“Oh, how modest of you.” Roman rustled Thomas’ hair. Truly if Thomas were bigger he would pinch his cheek. “But Thomas, worry no longer. I am certain I can construct a suitable abode fit for a prince of your stature.”

 Thomas flinched away from the touch, gasping in fright. He had not been expecting the human to do that. “B-But…”

“Oh, I’m sure I have some spare materials lying about in my workspace.” Roman scooped Thomas up once more, heading over to his desk that was a mess of half-finished ideas and various crafting scraps.

 Thomas yelped as he was taken by surprise yet again by Roman scooping him up. He was much more grabby than Virgil that was for sure. At least Virgil offered his hand to him near the end there.

 Okay, so Roman wasn’t going to let him go. Which meant his best bet was to still get back to Virgil somehow. “Uh...W-Won’t Virgil be mad once he notices I’m not there?” 

Roman ignored the question for a moment in favor of placing Thomas on the desk near his own arm. Roman cleared off a space in front of himself, pulling out a clean sheet of paper and some pens. 

“What Virgil doesn’t know won’t hurt him,” Roman answered finally. “Besides, he’s not meant to be back until 3. That leaves me plenty of time. He said he was looking for a new cage, and you’re clearly in need of a more ideal living space. It’s a win-win!”

 This was literally the last thing he wanted, being discovered by another human. At least Roman was planning on giving him back to Virgil...he hoped. Either way, Thomas was gonna be on the lookout for a chance to escape. Since he was no longer confined it would definitely be easier to. Especially if Roman became too focused on whatever he was doing. So Thomas stood there and waited.

“Now, where should we start?” Roman asked, turning to Thomas.

 “Um,” Thomas had no idea. He wasn’t really looking forward to planning out his own prison. But he had to think of something if he wanted to distract Roman enough to try and get away. “We can start with...shape?” Thomas shrugged.

“...shape,” Roman repeated, one eyebrow raised.

 Thomas bit his lip. Was that the wrong thing to say? “Uh...yeah? Like the-like the shape of the cage you’re designing?”

“It’s not a cage.” Roman insisted, finishing his initial sketch to turn it around and show Thomas. “It’s a castle.” He grinned down at the little guy, clearly eager for his response.

 Thomas’ eyes widened. “Whoa.” The design Roman had created was extravagant, to say the least. And he had done so in such little time, Thomas couldn’t even think to escape. But the design was very much like out of a fairytale castle.

“Now, this is only a rough sketch, of course.” Roman turned his drawing back towards himself, frowning down at it. “And we’ll have to find the necessary materials, though I have some supplies here and I’m sure I could get more from the prop room. I’m just not sure what it’s missing...obviously bedroom, dining room, drawbridge, tower….”

 Thomas hummed, watching as Roman continued to mutter to himself as he looked down at the page. Biting his lip, he wondered if now would be a good time to try and leave. Was Roman distracted enough? He took a few steps back to start off, watching Roman warily.

“Is one zipline enough?” Roman asked aloud, not looking up from his page.

 Thomas blinked. “Uh, yeah.” What the heck was Roman designing? He couldn’t seriously think he would be able to build all of that. Thomas had to admit it would be a nice place to live in but that wouldn’t make him any less trapped. Despite what Roman said, it was still a cage.

 Roman seemed distracted enough though, so Thomas decided to take his chance. He didn’t immediately run but started walking towards the edge. Thankfully, Roman had a lamp on his desk as well, which he could use the cord to get down with.

“Oh, but two would look so perfect…” Roman sighed, putting his chin in his hand as he pondered it. “I’m gonna put two,” Roman said decidedly, adding to his sketch.

 As Thomas made it to the cord, he couldn’t believe it. He might actually make it out of there. With a smile, Thomas gripped the cord and quickly started to shimmy down it.

“Ooh, but I could do four!” Roman gasped. “One for each of the corners! Thomas, what do you think?” Roman turned to look at the tiny, only now to realize he wasn’t there. Roman blinked. “...Thomas?”

[klynn-stormz]

Legally Swan

Chapter 5

Look at me posting two weeks in a row! And I even have a bunch of chapter 6 written, I am on a roll! Anyway, here is the next chapter of Legally Swan, let me know what you think :)

AO3: 1 I 2 I 3 I 4 I 5

She wasn’t sure where she was running too until she was inside the salon. It was roughly 10 minutes from campus, a smaller stand-alone building on the street, the outside showed age, but in a cozy homey way. It had a red brick front, cracked and washed from time, a cursive open sign with a smiley face hung on the inside of the door. Walking inside, the smell of nail polish, hair color, and rubbing alcohol immediately calmed her. The salon seemed frozen in time. Stuck in the unfortunate year of 1976, blue and white checkered tiles lay across the walls, the floor the same retro blue as the tile with a swirly design that, if stared at for too long, could make one throw up or faint. The ceiling was normal, save for the harsh florescent lights and one large globe light (it was a few shiny mirrors away from a disco ball). Emma loved all of it. No one came over to greet her, so she took it upon herself to find an available technician and sit down, hands out.

“A manicure please.” She sniffed, her heart was still hurting from the encounter with Neal and his fiancé.

“Rough day?” The technician quietly asked. Her black hair was cut into a cute pixie cut that complemented her jaw line. She had pale skin, nearly milk white, and rosy lips. Emma noticed how kind her chocolate brown eyes seemed as she began to soak Emma’s nails.

“You have no idea.” Emma sighed.

“Manicures are for getting all the bad out and keeping the good in. If you want to rant to me you can, it’ll make you feel better.” Her smile was shy and soft, warming Emma, who was in desperate need for a confidant and friend.

“Well get ready for an insanely stupid story. I’ll tell you as long as you promise to give me an honest answer on how stupid I am.” After the technician nodded, Emma began her story.

---

After about an hour or so, with her nails looking fantastic, Emma was finished speaking, now waiting for the technician to say something. The woman studied Emma’s nails, finishing up the hand massage and making sure there were no flaws.

“So, in conclusion, you followed your ex, who broke up with you because he thought you were to pretty and dumb to be with him, to Harvard. You wanted to prove to him you are pretty AND smart, and maybe he would take you back. But, instead, you find that you love the classes, met a super-hot smart British, lawyer in training, found your ex was a tool who cheated on you because you didn’t count, and has a bitchy fiance who looks like a goddess, dresses like she’s at a funeral, and has a vendetta against you for being here.”

Emma blinked. That was the perfect summary of everything that had happened.

“Um, yeah pretty much. Sound horrible hearing it from someone else.” She felt another pang of humiliation.

“Not horrible.” The woman smiled kindly, “You wanted to feel seen and loved.”

“How did you know that?” Emma asked, stunned. What was it with the random strangers she met here reading her so easily?

“I know a little bit about that. Had someone I thought I loved, he decided he didn’t love me and kicked me out. That wasn’t the worst part though! I could handle him making me leave, but he kept my dog.” She turned her sad gaze to a picture frame on the counter, it was a picture of a little golden retriever puppy.

“That’s horrible.” Emma glanced down at Henry, who was curled up in her purse, content to watch the goings on and his person. “I can’t imagine what I would do without Henry.”

The technician smiled softly, wistfully and agreed. “It’s been nine months and it still hurts to think about my poor pup with him. I hope he’s being treated right.”

“I’m so sorry, that is the worst. I’m Emma, by the way.” Emma introduced herself. Realizing she still didn’t know this woman’s name.

“It’s nice to meet you Emma, I’m Mary Margaret.”

---

They talked for a while, Mary Margaret decided to give him a full spa treatment—besides the manicure she was getting a facial and pedicure—so they could talk more. Emma felt like she had found a close friend in Mary Margaret, someone she could confide in and laugh with. It was in the middle of them talking about Emma’s encounter with Killian that a UPS delivery man walked in the door. The change in Mary Margaret was immediate. She stiffened and tried to hide behind her hair, seemingly forgetting her pixie cut. She must have had long hair at one point, and Emma made a note to ask her that story later. When she realized that hiding wasn’t working, she turned her back to face him and made herself busy sorting through her workstation, much to Emma’s bemusement.

In the meantime, she studied Mary Margaret’s reaction, she was definitely trying to hide from the delivery man. The man was glancing around the salon as he waited for signatures. When he saw Mary Margaret, he straitened up and a hopeful look came into his eyes. With a quick look at the receptionist, who was lagging on the signature, too busy on her phone to do much, he walked towards them. Emma was fascinated by the scene unfolding in front of her, she felt like she was watching a movie, on the edge of her seat to see what happened next.

“Mary Margaret!” The man greeted happily. “It’s been a long time, over a year, right?”

“David.” Mary Margaret greeted quietly, nervously moving to tuck her hair behind her ear, and blushing when she realized it was too short to do so. “How are you?”

“I’m great! Picking up extra shifts at the animal shelter still, and delivering packages in the meantime. How are you? Your hair is shorter than last time I saw you.” He paused, slight worry crossing his face. “Not that it doesn’t look good, I mean really you look amazing, not that you don’t always look amazing. I mean to say it’s a good look on you, not there there’s a look that’s bad on you, and I see that you’re still doing nails and hair. Oh, that’s not a bad think though! You were always fantastic at it, I just thought I’d see how you’re doing and say that it’s really good to see you, and now that I know you’re here maybe we could catch up sometime.” Emma could see all the nerves fluttering around him as he stumbled over his words.

“That would be um, yeah maybe sometime soon.”  Mary Margaret blushed again and looked at her work station. The receptionist called for David, finally having signed for the packages, and he somewhat reluctantly said his goodbyes and left.

Emma and Mary Margaret were silent for a moment. Then Emma broke it. “Soooo, what’s the story there?”

“No story!” Mary Margaret blurted out. “I mean I’ve known David since I was in eighth grade and we were friends for a little bit. Why? Did it look like there was a story?”

Emma chuckled at the nerves Mary Margaret was showing. “It definitely looks like there’s a story. He totally likes you, and you obviously like him. What’s holding you back?”

“It’s a really long story.” Mary Margaret started to brush it off, until she saw Emma’s skeptical expression and raised eyebrow. “Fine, we still have ten minutes left on your facial.”

It turned out to be a great story. Mary Margaret had met David when she was in eighth grade, right after he had moved to the area, and they had taken to each other quickly; though not before Mary Margaret had punched him in the face for making fun of her. They had started dating in tenth grade, when they both finally admitted how in love they were with the other. Unfortunately, David had an overbearing father that loved to control all aspects of his life, so, their senior year, he had forced David to breakup with Mary Margaret to date someone from a respectable background. David and Kathryn had dated for a few years, then gotten engaged. Mary Margaret had been devastated, naively thinking that David would jump ship at 18 to go back to her. When she heard the news, she had cried, gotten drunk and ended up sleeping with a good friend of David’s. She still couldn’t look Victor in the eyes after that.

David and Kathryn had been married for about five years before the gossip mill started turning about them not having kids and never being in public together. However, it wasn’t until their seventh year of marriage (nine years of being together), that they officially separated and divorced. Mary Margaret had always held out hope that true love, as she put it, would prevail. But it never did. Now whenever they saw each other there was this stilted awkward conversation, both desperately in love with the other yet so afraid to say it. The latter was an observation on Emma’s part, Mary Margaret convinced that David had no feelings for her anymore. She had met Lance three years before, not long after accepting that nothing would ever happen with David, and tried to move on with her life. When she saw David in town, she did everything she could to hide from him, hence him not having seen her for a year. Turned out that Mary Margaret was very stealthy.

Lance was everything she thought she deserved, and that wasn’t a good thing. Mary Margaret had grown up with a harsh step mother that belittled her and tried to control her. After the heartbreak that was David, a lot of her hold out confidence had vanished, she had found Lance, a man that played on her insecurities, verbally abused her on a daily basis, isolated her from friends and family, and when he got bored, threw her out of their house. So, there she was, without love, without family, without many friends, and without her precious dog.

Emma listened to all of this (the story well over 10 minutes by the end) with an abject sorrow and fascination. If she was being honest with herself (something that only seemed to happened when it wasn’t about herself) she found it much like the soap operas she would watch with her mother. So many interconnecting stories, all very dramatic, but in this case, no less real. She felt empathy for Mary Margaret, and felt a kindred bond. Both of them had gone through a lot, and now were trying to make themselves better. When Mary Margaret mentioned that she wished Lance would take her back, if only so she wouldn’t be so lonely at times, Emma spoke up.

“Don’t sell yourself short Mary Margaret, you deserve more than that kind of life. You deserve happiness with someone who loves you for you.” She wasn’t sure if that helped as Mary Margaret immediately teared up.

“Thank you, and don’t forget Emma.” She paused to compose herself. “You deserve the same. There’s always hope for a better future.”

---

Emma was thinking about that later that week. It was Friday night and she had gone through all of her classes with nerves and piles of homework to show for it. Her desk was currently piled high with her textbooks and books borrowed from the school library to study more. ‘You deserve the same’, Mary Margaret’s voice echoed as she reflected on her week. She knew deep down that she was right, and maybe that meant letting Neal go, but she still had to try right? She owed it to herself to keep going and to keep trying to be the best she could be.

Her phone rang on her nightstand. The cell itself was a standard phone, but the case was something else. Ana had given her the case for her birthday, saying Emma’s phone needed more personality. It was pink, fuzzy and sparkly. Honestly, Emma wasn’t quite sure where Ana had gotten it, but it must have cost a lot, but it made her smile when she saw it. The name on the screen made her smile even more, it was Rapunzel.

“Hey! I’ve missed you guys this week!” Emma said after she answered.

“Emma!!!” She heard at least three different voices screaming her name.

“Guess where we are?” Ana cried; her excitement almost visible through face-time. Emma couldn’t tell where they were, besides it being a clothing store.

“Where? Shopping?”

“I’m getting MARRIED!” Rapunzel screeched, coming into view on the phone in a white gown. She was jumping up and down so much that she ended up falling off the pedestal with a loud thump.

“What?” Emma asked, surprised. “To whom?”

“Oh my gosh, his name is Eugene and he is the most adorable guy ever. Emma you will love him!” Rapunzel was getting up off the floor, with some difficulty due to the tight mermaid style dress. “I met him like a month ago and he was this ‘bad boy’ going by Flynn, but he is the biggest sweetheart!”

“Wow, that’s crazy.” Emma wasn’t sure what to say, she didn’t even know who this guy was and Rapunzel had only known him for a little bit. Worry for her friend temporarily replaced her own issues.

“Don’t worry.” Ana whispered into the phone after Rapunzel went to try on a new dress. “I totally had one of my friends to a background check on him, Kristoff knows this guy who knows a cop. He came up clean, Eugene did that is. Kristoff did too, but well this isn’t about him. And I put him through my tests. You know the ones where I make R like an hour late to a date or call with and emergency to see how he would react. He passed! He even let R and I drag him shopping, he sat in the mall for like 3 hours for her. I had to have a talk with R because there was no way I was going to let her marry a man she just met, not after my Hans debacle, and of course you remember me telling you about my sister and how mad she was! Yikes. But I promise he’s good! Besides, if he’s not we know how to get rid of him and you can be my lawyer! Won’t that be fun?” By the end of Ana’s monologue Emma was laughing. She had missed her friends fiercely and hearing them made everything better.

She talked to both of them for a while longer, helping critique the wedding dressed and catching up on their lives. When she hung up, she laid on her bed a stared at the ceiling. Not for the first time, loneliness swelled in her heart. She was thousands of miles away from her mother, from her friends, from her life. She tried not to cry while thinking about her family, she had had to fight for it, but somehow, she got one. What was she doing so far away from it? Then she thought about the past week and how much she was enjoying her classes, sure she met a few bumps in the road, but what was that compared to doing something she knew in her soul would be a part of her life. While trying to dispel the melancholy she heard a soft knock came on her door.

Emma curiously moved to the door and opened it. On the other side stood a young woman in muted colors. Her hair was blonde and pin straight, she had kind blue eyes that gave away the nerves she was feeling, she wore a gray Harvard sweatshirt and simple black leggings. Shifting her hips, she opened and closed her mouth a few times before going for it.

“Hi, are you um, are you Emma Swan?” She asked shyly, her eyes moved to a point out of Emma’s vision, before returning to hers.

“Yeah, that’s me.” Emma responded.

“Hi, yeah, I’m um Ashley.”

“Hi.” Emma was confused as to why she was at her door. She had met a few of the girls in the dorm but they were all busy with classes, so there wasn’t much of a chance to socialize with them.

“So, with it being the new semester and all, a few of us wanted to get together and have a party. You know, one more before the year gets crazy.” She laughed, but it was a high pitch nervous laughter that set Emma on edge, especially when her eyes once again moved to a point out of Emma’s field of vision.

“A party? That sounds fun.” Emma said slowly, wondering what was going on.

“Yeah, it’s going to be very fun. And well I wanted to invite you. I know it’s your first year and I wanted to make you feel welcome.” Ashley stumbled over her words a bit, her eyes darting between Emma and the unknown point. “It’s going to be tomorrow and well, here’s the address.” She shoved a piece of paper into Emma’s hand.

“Um, yeah that sounds fun. I’ll definitely be there.” She was still wary about the whole thing, but a party might help her get a little bit of the homesickness gone.

“Oh!” Ashely paused and gulped. “I almost forgot one thing.”

“Yeah?” Emma’s lie detector was flashing red in her mind.

“It’s a costume party!” Ashley tried for excitement but her voice squeaked out, breaking. “You know, something to really help everyone let loose before the whole semester.”

“A costume party?” Emma echoed.

“Yup, so have fun with a costume, I’ll see you tomorrow night.” Ashley practically ran away as soon as the sentence finished.

Emma took a moment to take in what just happened. She leaned casually on her door frame and moved her head minutely to see what Ashley had been glancing at, or in this case, who. Tamara stood at the end of the hall, smirking towards Emma, a trembling Ashely next to her. Emma pretended to look at the address on the slip of paper while her mind raced. Then all at once everything calmed and a grim determination settled in her. She wasn’t going to be put off by this, she was going to show them she didn’t care what they thought of her

[luci-in-trenchcoats]

A Place To Call Home: Vacation

Summary: The Ackles and Padaleckis are heading to the beach for a two week long family vacation. The reader invites TJ along and is surprised to learn someone else may have beat her to the punch…

Masterlist

Pairing: Jensen x foster daughter!reader (with TJ)

Word Count: 10,300ish (whoops)

Warnings: language, little implied smut

A/N: Takes place approximately 2 years after the end of A Place To Call Home and after the reader has finished college...

“Hey guys,” asked your dad quietly, skirting back from first class squatting down in the aisle, looking at both you and TJ. “How’s it going back here?”

“Arrow stole my window seat and Zeppelin insisted TJ watch Transformers with him so...lovely,” you said, shaking your head at TJ who was sandwiched between Zepp and Shep across the aisle.

“Mom and I and the other guys really appreciate you two watching the little guys on the flights for us,” said Jensen, giving you a smile. “So much so we figure before you two go insane back here, we’d let you know that the villa we’re staying in has a separate cottage. We thought maybe you and TJ would want to maybe take that for-”

“Yup,” you said nodding your head. “This is the best flight ever. We’ll even watch ‘em on the way home, won’t we TJ?”

“Yes. A million times yes,” he said with a fast nod, your dad chuckling.

“Didn’t think you two would mind a little privacy,” he said, giving you a smile and raising an eyebrow at TJ. “Appropriate privacy.”

“Of course,” he said. You shook your head, scratching the back of it when your dad looked back to you. He rolled his eyes and smiled as he stood up.

“Alright, we’ll see you guys in a few hours,” he said. “Have fun sibling sitting.”

“Do we have all of ‘em?” asked Jared, yawning as your parents grabbed the rental cars at the airport. “How many kids are there? I forget.”

“Six small, two large,” said Gen. “So, eight total.”

“We’re graduated from college and we still fall in the kids category?” you asked, waving you to you and TJ.

“I think one of the large children is acting up again,” teased Jared.

“I put Jared and Jensen in the large children category, hun,” said Gen, giving Jared a smirk. “Still debating on TJ at the moment although he’s more mature than those two put together.”

“Come to the dark side, TJ. It’s fun here,” said Jared with a nod, watching you scowl at him.

“Yeah but Jensen…you know...” said TJ.

“Fair point,” said Jared, corralling Odette when she started to wander off. “Everyone under 6’ 5” must stay in a ten foot vicinity at all times at the airport, Ms. Odette.”

“Dad, it’s pretty outside,” she grumbled, waving her arms around. “I wanna play. Please?”

“As soon as Uncle Jensen and Aunt De get the cars, we are going to the resort and we can play,” he said. “Promise.”

“So, right now,” said your dad, handing a set of keys to Jared and one to TJ. “Small kids with your parents, luggage goes with the big kids.”

You saw Tom and JJ look at one another, Jensen rolling his eyes.

“Over twenty is a big kid today, kiddos,” he said.

“But I’m ten and Tom’s eleven,” said JJ. “Double digits.”

“It’s cool if they ride with us,” said TJ. “Really.”

“Alright, alright. Let’s just get there so we can relax for minute,” he said.

“Awesome,” you said, TJ smirking the whole time as you put your luggage into the back of the open top jeep, JJ and Tom practically bouncing out of their seats.

“Alright, buckle up and we will be there in about half an hour,” said TJ.

“You two good back there?” you asked. You got hums and a pair of thumbs up, TJ laughing as he pulled your sunglasses down over your face. “Well let’s get going. I am so driving this next time we go out by the way.”

“Might have to fight me for it,” teased TJ. It didn’t take long to get away from the airport and start to smell the ocean in the air and feel the sun on your skin. It hadn’t been hard for your dad to convince you to take this year’s big vacation to the caribbean after last year’s fiasco. It had been his choice to try camping and after one night of roughing it with three bouts of stomach bugs later, you packed up and checked into a hotel not too far down the road and spent the rest of the two weeks relaxing with a nice room to come back to at the end of the day.

Unfortunately TJ hadn’t been able to get the time off with his internship to come with you but now he was working at the firm under the guy that had ironically designed your parents house, and they were very flexible with time off.

“I’m so glad my parents said yes that you could come this year,” you said, glancing over at him as he drove, his left arm hanging on the edge of doorsill, a warm breeze in the air carrying a pretty scent through it.

“I’m glad they invited me,” he said with a smile.

“They invited you?” you asked. “I invited you.”

“Oh. I remember your dad asking me if I wanted to come like a week before you did. I was away for spring break at my parents and he called me up,” he said. “I figured you were excited and wanted to talk about it in person was all.”

“I talked to them about it after...they invited you...now I’m suspicious,” you said, peering over your shoulder at the SUV behind you your dad was driving.

“I’m sure they just wanted to know for planning rooms and stuff,” he said.

“Or he could like...be planning to murder you in foreign country,” you said.

“Seriously?” said TJ. “Your little sister and like cousin are in the car.”

“We watch lifetime movies when Y/N babysits,” said Tom.

“She’s got a point, TJ. The perfect crime,” said JJ.

“These children are going to be vandals when they grow up thanks to you,” said TJ, shaking his head with a smile. “What else does Y/N have you guys watch?”

“I let ‘em watch Supernatural sometimes,” you said, TJ’s jaw dropping. “So what if the rule was like thirteen? They can watch some stuff. Like bloody mary. Ain’t that right JJ? You loved that one.”

You spun around with a smirk, JJ shaking her head, Tom rolling his eyes.

“Or like hookman,” you said, his head dropping back. You laughed and TJ started to giggle.

“Vandals and traumatizing them. Best big sister ever there,” he teased.

“Dude, that stuff’s in the handbook,” you said, reaching back and ruffling both their heads. “They know I love ‘em. It’s our little secret.”

“What about like...the stuff that’s a little more...grown up?” asked TJ.

“No. No. That’s why you watch the show ahead of me now. I can not have another Jared and Gen season 4 couch incident,” you said, shaking yourself out. “Seeing dad was bad enough but that was full on…”

“What?” asked Tom.

“It’s an episode you’ll never see and for good reason,” you said. “You’ll thank me someday.”

“Hey, you know what? You guys are pretty lucky to have Y/N. I’m an only kid. I would have loved having a big brother or sister around. It can get pretty lonely,” said TJ.

“But now you got us!” said JJ. TJ laughed and agreed with her but you only bit your bottom lip. You didn’t realize you were still smiling when you got to the resort, your dad grinning at you when he saw your face.

“Somebody looks like they’re in love,” he said, Arrow taking off with your mom ahead of him.

“Yeah,” you said, grabbing you bag from the back, helping JJ with hers before you gave her a hug. “Pretty awesome little sis right here.”

He was quick to take a picture of you two, nudging you to hold back once everyone started heading inside.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Yeah. We were just talking in the car and TJ was talking about siblings and how the kids are lucky to have them and she made a comment like TJ’s part of our family so he’s got ‘em too. I don’t know. I’m…” you said. “Why’d you invite him on vacation?”

“It was a family vacation,” he said. “He’s part of the family.”

“Really?” you asked, your dad nodding with a smile.

“You’ve been best friends with the guy for four years, you’ve been dating for two and he comes over for dinner like six days a week. I think it’s okay if we call him part of the family at this point,” he said. You smiled, getting one in return. “I assumed you wanted him to come.”

“Oh, I did,” you said. “S’nice that you invited him is all.”

“I know. I’m also not going to murder him because yes, I watched that lifetime movie too,” he said.

“Well good cause then it’d be a whole thing to deal with..” you said, getting a chuckle from him.

“It’s why we act and make beer in this family. Whole lot easier,” he teased, tilting his head at you. “Speaking of making beer, mom says she’s creating a new position at the brewery. Full time, Monday to Friday. Someone to help with the business and design side of things, run social media. It comes with benefits, pretty kick ass salary, very flexible time off…”

“I told mom I’m taking it,” you said. “A big part of my duties will also be designing the farmhouse for the new restaurant and getting that up to code. I get to use that degree for something after all looks like.”

“You’re going to be a boss, not just a beer server anymore. You want that?” he asked. “You’ll be making decisions with all the owners.”

“It’s sort of called The Family Business so it makes sense that family runs it,” you said. “I want this.”

“Oh my...it only took you like five years to get that the plan was for the kids to run it someday,” he said with a laugh. “Whew. We were getting nervous for a minute there.”

“You guys were waiting for me to ask about a job?” you said. He shrugged, giving you a smirk.

“There’s always been a job there for you. Duh. Of course we were waiting for you to ask,” he said.

“You two are partially evil you know,” you said.

“But we’re nice evil, kiddo,” he said, giving you a hug, getting a strange look from a guy walking by. “Come on, let’s go be weird inside.”

“I don’t know if it’s possible for you to not be weird that long. You might actually combust from restraining yourself,” you said, smiling at him.

“I learned it from watching you, tall munchkin,” he said. You rolled your eyes and headed inside, handing over your bags to someone before everyone was being led off to your own private corner of the resort.

You parents and the Padaleckis thanked the people that brought your bags, you and TJ watching the kids take off to explore the villa.

“Guys, guys,” said your mom, Gen whistling before they got too far. “You three boys are sharing a room on the right. You three girls are right next door to them. Tom, JJ, us adults will be upstairs, Pads on the left, Ackles on the right. Any problems, come get any one of us, okay?”

“Where are TJ and Y/N going to sleep?” asked Arrow.

“Backyard,” said your dad. The kids scrunched up their faces, Jared nodding. “I know, sucks for them. But they’ll just be sleeping out there so during the day, those guys are still in charge too. Okay now take off you scoundrels. And no going near the pool or the beach without an adult out there.”

All six pairs of heads nodded before they were gone to their rooms and you were tugging TJ outside. You hummed as you both spotted the short path to the cottage off to the side.

“It looks beautiful,” you said, both of you wide eyed as you entered. There was a small kitchen and sitting room in the front of the house, and a huge bathroom and  bedroom with a perfect oceanfront view in the back, your bags already inside. “Wow.”

You stepped outside onto the small deck out there, looking around and seeing nothing but beach.

“This is so private. Isn’t it gorgeous?” you asked, looking back over your shoulder.

“It is,” he said, a hint of pink on his cheeks.

“Are you blushing TJ?” you teased.

“You should see how beautiful you are,” he said, smirking as he stepped out beside you. “That’s a very pretty sundress for a girl that doesn’t like dresses.”

“It’s the caribbean,” you shrugged, TJ humming as he wrapped his arms around you, resting his head on your shoulder as you both stared out. “Want to go swimming?”

“Mmm, for sure,” he said, kissing your cheek before he pulled back. You went inside, digging through your bags for your swim gear, TJ with swim trunks in hand when there was a knock at the door. “Come in.”

“Hey,” said your dad, raising an eyebrow when he walked inside to the bedroom. “Wow, this place is nice. Just wanted to let you guys know we were thinking be ready to go for dinner at six? Little formal, not too formal. You probably need a dress shirt or polo TJ, a dress or nice shirt for you, honey.”

“Sounds good. We were going to go for a quick swim,” you said.

“Alright. Be safe. I think that’s the plan for us too. Oh and try not to spend all your time tucked away in here,” he teased, glancing at you and then your open suitcase. You kicked it shut, turning and looking at a picture on the wall when you saw him realize what he’d seen.

“Isn’t that a great picture?” you said. “That’s a great-”

“It’s a box of condoms. Guess what? You’re not the only one to pack some,” he said. You closed your eyes and shook your head, a loud laughing echoing from him. “Well I know where to come if I run out.”

“Sorry, I think...nope I definitely hear mom calling me right now,” you said, grabbing your phone. “I should totally take this and get away from here asap.”

“Oh so you don’t want to hear that you guys can order whatever you want for room service from here? Like we're paying for everything?” he teased.

“...Continue,” you said.

“Don’t blow our retirement fund but you guys want some wine, late night dinner, go for it. You’re both responsible,” he said. “Okay? Have fun on your swim guys.”

“Alright,” you said, your dad pausing on his way out, turning to TJ before he shook his head, biting back his comment.

“I need a beer,” he sighed. “Six sharp for dinner you two.”

“Gotcha,” you said, groaning when he left. “Oh my god. Never answer the door again.”

“I’m okay with that,” he said, peeling off of his short sleeve henley and shorts, shimmying out of his boxer briefs as he started to pull on his swim trunks.

“Remember the first time we were naked in front of each other?” you asked, leaning against the wall as he pulled up the shorts.

“Yes. I remember a whole lot of avoided eye contact and awkwardness and then I actually looked at you and thought, fuck she is smokin’ hot and beautiful? How’d I land this girl?” he said, walking over, peeling the straps off your dress until it slid off your body.

“You were always hot...then you got all muscly,” you said, patting his arm with a smirk as you grabbed your bikini and started to change.

“Well you do have a thing for big arms apparently,” he teased.

“True. I got a thing for sweet boys too,” you said, spinning around and showing your back to him. “Tie me up?”

“Y/N, you scoundrel,” he fake scoffed as you smacked his chest. He tied the strings together across your back and behind your neck, brushing your hair behind your ear when you spun around. “I love you, dork.”

“I love you, dork,” you said, giving him a peck on the nose.

“No nightmares last night?” he asked. You shook your head, TJ smiling wide. “S’been awhile since you had one. Must be a new record.”

“It is,” you said, resting your head on his chest. “Been feeling pretty good since that meltdown at finals week. I feel...safe.”

“I wouldn’t let anyone hurt you,” he said. You giggled and looked up at him. “S’why I got big and strong you know.”

You raised an eyebrow, TJ shrugging.

“Seriously? I thought you were trying to impress my dad or something which you totally don’t have to. He loves you,” you said.

“I like knowing I make you feel safe,” he said. “I like knowing I can keep you safe if I have to and are you blushing Y/N Ackles?”

“Shut up,” you laughed, grabbing his hand. “Come on, let’s go check out that pool.”

“Honey?” asked your mom from her chair by the pool, TJ showing Zepp how to flip into the water along with your dad at the other end. “Did TJ start working out more recently?”

“Your boyfriend’s like hot, Y/N,” said Gen, your mom whacking her arm. “What? He is! I remember him being smaller.”

“He joined crossfit about six months ago,” you said. “I tease him about being a jock now.”

“I guess we’ll have to see if JJ follows in tradition of choosing a man that goes smaller to strong,” joked Gen. “Always sweet though.”

“She probably will,” said your mom. “I think we got a few more years before boys come into the picture. Let ‘em enjoy being kids.”

Gen hummed and stood up with a stretch.

“True. So glad I got a while before Odette’s dealing with that. It’s getting late. We better get ready,” she said.

“Why don’t you wear that white dress with the little bowtie front?” asked your mom as she stood up. “That’s plenty pretty for the restaurant. I think TJ will like it.”

“He likes everything I wear,” you said. “Like everything.”

“They normally do,” she said. “We’ll meet you out front, okay?”

“Okay. We’ll be there.”

You gave TJ a smile at the table, looking him up and down in his white dress shirt and khaki shorts. You were vaguely listening to the conversation your parents were having, the kids seemingly passed out for the most part after the day of travel.

“I don’t think they’re listening to us,” you heard, your head whipping around, TJ’s doing the same. You saw four pairs of smiles as they were standing up. “We’re going to head back to the house guys.”

“Alright,” you said, some of the kids getting treated to rides back on the walk, Arrow walking over to TJ with a smile.

“You want a ride, pipsqueak?” he asked, bending down and scooping her up. “Did you like dinner?”

“Yeah,” she yawned. “You smell good.”

“It’s cologne,” he said.

“Daddy wears that sometimes,” she said, resting her head on his shoulder as you took his other hand and started the walk back. “TJ?”

“Mhm?”

“Can we build a sandcastle tomorrow?” she asked.

“Sure,” he said. She nodded and started to snore after a minute, TJ chuckling quietly.

“It seems you have a way with the Ackles women,” you said.

“Oh yes. You all fall asleep on me,” he said. “It was a long day for a seven year old.”

“Thanks for carrying her,” you said.

“S’no problem.”

“Thanks guys,” said your dad after you dropped off Arrow in her room. “We were going to have a drink by the pool if you want to join us.”

“Sure,” you said when TJ nodded. “I want to put on something warmer first.”

“No rush,” he said.

The second you sat down on the bed to take off your sandals though, you groaned, TJ doing the same.

“Sleep?” you asked.

“Sleep,” he said.

You grabbed your phone and texted your dad, tucking yourself into TJ’s side before he could even respond.

“Morning,” hummed TJ when you stirred awake. You stretched out, sighing into the sheets. “This bed is amazing.”

“I know,” you said, rolling over to catch the clock. “It’s already ten. We should probably get up.”

“Tomorrow we should get breakfast in bed,” he said.

“I like that plan,” you said. “Let’s go grab something from the resort and then we can head down to the beach.”

“Alright, alright,” said your dad, bending over and putting his hands on his knees. “Dad needs a break.”

“What are you, old, Ackles?” teased Jared, kicking around the soccer ball more with you and JJ.

“Yes and I’m not twisting my ankle two days into this thing,” he said with a huff. “Beer break.”

“I’ll take one of those,” you said.

“Beer, beer, lemonade,” said Jared, pointing at JJ, getting a nod. “Hey, Gen, De! What do you guys want for drinks?”

“We’re a delivery service now?” said your dad.

“Can I get a mojito?” asked your mom.

“I’ll have one too!” said Gen, Odette asking for grape juice.

“Let’s go find a waiter,” asked your dad. You headed more towards the resort area and eventually found one, getting everyone’s orders in as they said they’d send them over for you. You and your dad took a break at the resort bar in the air conditioning, glad to be out of the sun for a minute.

“JJ’s getting good at her dribbling, better than me now,” you said.

“I know. I could handle when you were better but the ten year old kicking my ass makes me question the old man comments,” he said.

“You’re barely 46, dad,” you said.

“Hot 46,” said a pair of women that walked past, giving him a wave.

“I think I threw up in my mouth a little,” you said.

“Hey, I’m hot 46,” he said with a smirk, puffing his chest out.

“You’re something alright,” you said, laughing when the fruitiest and brightest pink drink you’d ever seen was sat down in front of your dad.

“Courtesy Mr. Hanover,” said a waiter appearing from nowhere, a double of whiskey set down in front of you. The waiter questioned himself but you took the whiskey, smiling at your dad as the waiter left.

“Careful. I think TJ might like you,” you teased.

“Hey, mine came with a little umbrella,” he said, plucking it out and sticking it in your hair. “You guys crashed before us last night.”

“We were tired. Mom mentioned bonfire tonight?” you asked.

“Mhm,” he hummed, sucking on the straw until you saw half of it gone in ten seconds. You grabbed it away and asked for some water for him. “Hey, I’m thirsty.”

“What are you? Freshman on her first spring break? That thing has so much alcohol in it,” you said.

“Tastes like kool aid to me,” he said, taking a sip of the water, reaching for his drink again when you pulled it away.

“Do I have to have the talk with you?” you asked. “Pace yourself?”

“To use your words from that conversation, I won’t let the boys take advantage of me,” he deadpanned, cocking his head as wiped the sweat off your face. “So how’s Mr. TJ enjoying himself?”

“He’s good. I think he’s a little awestruck. He forgets we…” you shrugged.

“Have money? Well that’s because we don’t give you guys everything you want,” he said. “And you hate shopping thank god.”

“You gave me what I wanted,” you said, taking a sip of the pink drink, catching the soft smile on his face.

“We could live in a cardboard box and you’d be happy kiddo. You got different wants than most well off twenty somethings,” he said.

“I know,” you said, swinging your feet off the end of the bar stool, one of your flip flops falling off.

“Proud of you,” he said with a smile.

“What’d I do?”

“Just proud of you is all,” he said with a shrug. “You’re getting all grown up.”

“Yeah. Still feel like JJ’s older than me sometimes,” you said, his head cocking. “She doesn’t hesitate. She goes for stuff and I still overthink things so much.”

“Well...first off she’s ten so her problems consist of who sat next to who at lunch and the fact she can’t braid her hair,” he said. “You had slightly different priorities at ten. You missed that phase.”

“I can’t even braid my own hair good,” you mumbled.

“Y/N,” he grumbled.

“I know,” you said.

“Honey. Why do you think we go on big family vacations? We want you to get to have those chances to be a kid. We’re all just big kids. Case and point, you know what we get up to when the little kids aren’t around and someday they’ll get in on the secret too,” he said.

“Just feels funny sometimes,” you said. “I feel like a fake grown up, you know?”

“Yup. One hundred percent yup,” he said, taking his pink drink back. “Fake it til you make it.”

“Okay, I think we get you back to the beach before I have to divulge this new beverage of choice information to Uncle Jared,” you said.

“I will disown you,” he said

“No you won’t,” you said with a smirk, grabbing the drink and chugging the rest of it down.

“Got me there,” he said. “This time, you’re on my team.”

“Hey, Y/N?” asked JJ while you walked up to the house from the fire you were having on the beach that night.

“Mhm,” you hummed, holding open the door for her before she took off to the bathroom. You headed to the kitchen and started to grab some snacks and drinks to bring back down. You were nearly packed up when she came back.

“Can I ask a question about being brave?” she asked. You spun around, giving her a smile.

“Being brave? Isn’t that more dad’s department?” you teased. “Yeah, shoot. Everything okay?”

“Um...well...I didn’t want to come up to the house by myself,” she said. You tilted your head as you headed out the backdoor, JJ a little close as you walked across the deck area. “I don’t like the dark.”

“I don’t like the dark either,” you said. “But I do like nighttime.”

“Isn’t that kind of funny?” she asked.

“A little,” you said, slowing your walk back, stopping when you were halfway between the house and the beach, taking a seat on the step. She sat next to you, lifting her head up when you looked up. “S’quiet at night. Peaceful.”

“Stars are pretty,” she said.

“Yeah, they are,” you said, buming her shoulder. “You know, it’s okay to be scared of the dark, especially places you don’t know. This place is safe though. You don’t have to be scared here.”

“I know. I keep waiting to get older so I’m not scared of stuff, like how mom and dad let you do stuff by yourself and you don’t have to ask permission to sleepover TJ’s,” she said.

“I’m a lot older, JJ,” you said. “It’s part of growing up...and part of that is learning you don’t ever stop being completely scared of stuff. You learn more though so it doesn’t seem so bad.”

“Yeah but how are you brave?” she asked.

“Only time you can be brave is when you’re afraid,” you said. “It’s like how dad used to be afraid of public speaking.”

“No he didn’t,” she scoffed.

“Yeah, he did. But he did it, even though he was scared, and now he has so much fun at conventions. Sometimes it’s just something that takes time, like not being afraid of the dark,” you said, looking around. “Like how it’s pretty dark right now but you don’t seem scared.”

“I guess...I’m not,” she said, looking around, giving you a smile when she turned back.

“See? Nighttime ain’t so bad,” you said.

“Yeah, it’s pretty,” she said with a nod, staring at you, that same look she’d been giving you more and more lately.

“JJ, if you want to ask a question, go ahead,” you said softly.

“If something ever happened to mom and dad...would me and Ro and Zepp go to a foster home like you did?” she asked. You smiled and shook your head, glancing down at the beach.

“No. No. Mom and dad...they have it all squared away so grandma and grandpa would take care of you guys and I would be a guardian along with them,” you said.

“A guardian?” she asked.

“Yeah. It means I’m an adult, not your parent, but I’ll take care of you like a parent would. Before I was adopted, mom and dad were like guardians for me,” you said. “You’d stay at home, same school, all that.”

“You’d take care of us?” she asked.

“I’m your big sister. I’d do anything for you guys,” you said, giving her a hug.

“Why’d your mom and dad not do that for you so you didn’t have to go to foster care?” she asked.

“I didn’t have much for blood relatives. My parents were only kids and my other grandparents were all gone before I was born. But they had a plan, some of their friends said sure if something ever happened to them they would take care of me,” you said.

“They lied?”

“No, I don’t think they lied,” you said, leaning back against the step behind you, propping your elbows up. “They just...weren’t prepared to take care of a kid.”

“So you went to a foster home?” she asked.

“After I got out of the hospital, yeah,” you said with a nod.

“Was it scary?” she asked quietly. “The car crash?”

“I don’t really remember a lot from that night. I hit my head in the accident so stuff is fuzzy. But I remember glimpses from inside the car and yeah, it was scary. It was really scary,” you said.

“Who took care of you?” she asked.

“There was this police officer. Dougie. He was probably Uncle Jared’s age. Big strong guy but super friendly. I crawled out of the car around the time he got there. It was pitch black and raining and I was crying and everything hurt...and he just picked me up, sat me down in the backseat of his car with him and he was just quiet. He put a blanket around me and sat there and held my hand and he never left my side until we got to the hospital and the doctor’s had to look at me. He even came to visit me the next day,” you said. “Other people were there and stitched me up but Dougie took care of me that night. I can remember Dougie.”

“What happened when you got better?” she asked.

“Well I met with some people when I was in the hospital, including Cole,” you said. “They went over some stuff with me. Cole went out of his way to help with all my parents stuff and arrangements and all that. A week after the accident, he took me to my first foster home. There were about eight other kids there,” you said. “I had to share a room with three other girls. All I wanted to do was cry so that’s what I did.”

“But then you got happier?”

“No,” you said, shaking your head. “I didn’t get happier until I came to our house. I didn’t want to admit it but that first day, I knew mom and dad were different and they were good, all you guys were.”

“I remember when I got in trouble that time, when I told you to go away around Christmas?” she said. “Dad said you had mean mom and dads before.”

“You know he wasn’t talking about no hugs and kisses, now, huh,” you said. She nodded, looking over at you. “Someday I’ll tell you more but you’re too young right now for that.”

“I won’t tell anyone,” she said. “Promise.”

“No, kiddo. I get that. I want you to-”

“Mom and dad are good so I’m not afraid,” she said, blinking at you a few times. “Just a little. Please?”

“...I used to be very afraid of touch, from guys, like dad. My first birthday party, when I’d been here a week, he held my hand to try and walk with me to the kitchen and I ripped right out of it because I was afraid...because that’s what I learned in foster care. Not all of them were like that and I do not want you to have the wrong impression. It helps a lot of kids. It helped me with finding mom and dad. But some places are bad and someday you can learn why I ended up in those ones but-”

“If you were in bad ones, why’d you come to us?” she asked.

“Because Cole helped me and when they tried to make me leave, stuff happened and I got to stay home,” you said.

“You were afraid of dad?”

“That was a long, long time ago,” you said, smiling as you heard a whistle from the beach. “But he was slow and gentle when I’d forgotten that’s how you’re supposed to be treated. We have really amazing parents, JJ. Even you helped me way back then.”

“Me? What’d I do?”

“Honestly, I have no idea. Just know I love you, squirt,” you said, giving the top of her head a kiss. “You want a piggyback ride?”

She hopped on your back and you nearly stumbled forward, picking up the basket and carrying it down to the beach with a grunt.

“I forgot how heavy she is now,” you breathed out when she climbed off and took a seat. You handed out the drinks, your mom grabbing you when you walked past.

“Everything okay?” she whispered.

“Mhm. Just a little bonding time,” you said. “We’re all good.”

“Never have I ever?” asked Jared, your mom shaking her head. “Oh, they know you guys get up to stuff. We all heard about the couch make out session. Oh, I got it...first time you snuck out and got caught.”

You’d heard both your parents stories before as they told them, Gen patting herself on the shoulder for technically only getting caught by the family dog.

“What about the youngin’s? TJ?” asked Jared.

“Oh come on. It’s TJ. He probably never even snuck out,” said your dad.

“Junior year of high school. Went to the end of year party. Asked out Hallie Knicks. I got completely rejected but I did manage to get drunk and walk home straight through the front door. My parents thought I was playing a prank on ‘em,” said TJ.

“Wait you snuck out, came home drunk, admitted it yourself and got off scot free?” asked Jared.

“Yup,” said TJ.

“Shit. I want your parents,” said Jared. TJ chuckled, everyone turning to you, your parents wearing big smirks. “Out with it, kiddo. When’d you ditch these dorks?”

“No, the game is first time you snuck out and got caught,” said your dad, raising an eyebrow. “Which we never did…”

“I never snuck out at their house,” you said with a shrug. “First time I was ten.”

“Ten? Whoa, don’t be telling JJ that,” said your dad.

“What’d you do? Go to a friends house?” asked Jared.

“Tried to runaway. Didn’t get far. Cop brought me back twenty minutes later,” you said, digging your feet into the sand, letting it fall through your toes. “Not a good night.”

You glanced up, the conversation dying out, your dad squeezing his beer bottle as he narrowed his eyes at the fire.

“Hey mom? How’d you fall in love with dad?” you asked.

“Jensen stole her from the mental ward,” teased Jared.

“At least mine’s not a demon,” he said.

“Demons have more fun,” said Gen.

“Yeah, yeah,” said your dad, your mom rolling he eyes with a smile. “So dad and I got a job on the same movie…”

“Wha?” you mumbled, lifting your head off TJ’s shoulder.

“Come here,” he said quietly, lifting you out of the beach chair, your arms going around the back of his neck. The fire was still going, your dad and Jared sitting there, laughing about something. “Let’s put you to bed.”

“Night, Jared,” you mumbled.

“Night, Y/N.”

“Night, dad,” you breathed into TJ’s neck, half asleep already. “Breakfast.”

“I remember. Breakfast in bed tomorrow,” said TJ. “Let’s get you put away, sweetie.”

He carried you all the way back to the cottage, helping you wash off the sand from your feet before he plucked off your clothes, threw one of his tees on you and threw the covers over you.

“You’re not coming to bed?” you said when he headed back for the door.

“In a little while. I was going to stay up a little more if that’s okay,” he said.

“Mhm. Love you.”

“Love you too, Y/N.”

The next two weeks flew by and you were seriously considering begging that you come back the next year.

“Sucks that we have to fly home tomorrow,” you said, moving slowly to some sweet music after dinner, TJ a far better dancer than he gave himself credit for.

“Yeah,” he said. “This has been nice. More than nice.”

“Want to cross something off the bucket list tonight?” you asked.

“Last time you said that, I was swimming in the ocean butt naked in the middle of the night when a piece of seaweed about gave me a heart attack,” he teased.

“Ah but we have the memory of you squealing like a little girl forever now,” you said, biting your bottom lip to hide your smile.

“What do you got in mind troublemaker?”

“Firewalking? Are you insane?” asked TJ.

“You’ve met my family so it’s quite possible,” you said, pulling him over with you. “It’ll be fun.”

“You are insane, woman,” he said, waving you to go first. You stepped up and put down your foot, feeling the heat but you walked across normally and hopped off into the sand, TJ blinking slowly at you.

“Your turn babe,” you said with a wink.

“Okay, okay, okay,” said TJ, walking a little faster, a bit more of a wince on his face but he made it through, a big huff of air escaping him. “The things you do for love.”

“Loser.”

“Loser,” he said, throwing his arm over your shoulders. “I had a dance to finish with you if I recall correctly.”

“Mind if I cut in?” you heard from behind you an hour later, TJ smiling as he stepped away and headed for your mom across the way. “Having fun tonight?”

“Yes, dad,” you said, moving a bit slower with him. “Guess what?”

“What?”

“I haven’t had a nightmare in over two months,” you said, a big smile on his face. “Well...one of those ones. I keep having this weird cat one though...”

“We’ll take it,” he said, spinning you around. “I’m glad to hear it. You seem happy lately.”

“After that epic meltdown I had finals week a few months ago, I tried to think about what you said and...I’m happy. Maybe not everyday and I know I’m just in this nice sweet spot right now but I’m not so scared of the rest of my life I guess. I got a pretty good one, you know?” you said.

“Yeah. Nice to hear you say it though,” he said as he moved around. “Mom’s already making plans to come back.”

“Oh we are so coming back,” you said.

“Figured you wouldn’t have a problem with that,” he said, looking across the way. “Think TJ will want to come with?”

“Yeah,” you said. “He seems less nervous around you. You guys talk or something?”

“Just guy stuff,” he said. He looked up at the dark sky above you, humming to himself. “I told mom I’m taking the rest of the year off.”

“Really? You’ve been busy since the show ended,” you said.

“I did 15 seasons of the show and then been busy with movies...I think I deserve a little time off,” he said with a smile. “Maybe mom and I’ll take a little time just for us if you wouldn’t mind watching the kids for a little while?”

“Never,” you said.

“Thanks, kiddo,” he said, kissing the top of your head before he broke off. “Go dance with your boyfriend. This is one of those moments you remember when you’re my age.”

“You’re not old dad,” you said.

“Yes! She finally said it!” he said with a fist pump.

“TJ? There’s a senile old man over here I need to get away from,” you said.

“I’ll take him,” said your mom, skirting over to your dad.

“Of course you will,” you said, grabbing TJ’s hand. “Want to head back to the cottage?’

“Yes please.”

“Alright,” said your dad, plopping down on the couch back in Austin the next night. “Kids are finally down.”

“TJ, where’s your sweatshirt?” you asked, rubbing your arms in the ice cold house. “Someone left the AC on.”

“I left it on the couch,” he said, munching on some pizza from the kitchen. The flight home had been long and it was late, everyone in bed and you were secretly just waiting for TJ to get his butt in bed so you could go to sleep too.

You grabbed the sweatshirt and tossed it on, shoving your hands in the pockets to get warm. You felt something odd though and pulled it out, holding up the square object for a few seconds before it clicked what it was.

You spun wide eyed towards the kitchen but TJ was already in front of you, snatching it out of your hands.

“Is that…” you said, swallowing as you looked up at him. He smiled and nodded, starting to bend down when you jumped up and threw your arms around him.

“Not even gonna let me ask, huh?” he teased.

“Sorry,” you said, peeling away for a moment as he got down.

“So...I was totally going to do this down there…” he said, glancing at your sweatshirt. “But I forgot my sweatshirt here.”

“You dork,” you said, smiling hard.

“Your dork for as long as you’ll have me. Would you marry me?” he asked.

“Yes,” you said, TJ standing up and opening the box, slipping on the ring. “Did that really just happen?”

“I think so,” he said. You gave him a big kiss, his hands cupping your cheeks before you were laughing too hard and had to pull back. “Hey now, no take backs.”

“No. Never,” you said, grabbing his hands. “Never.”

“Good,” he said, kissing you again. “Love you.”

“Love you,” you said, biting your bottom lip, getting another hug before you realized your dad was poking his head around the stairs to the TV room, whipping it back around when he saw you. “You can stop hiding dad.”

“Just giving you two your moment,” he said, giving you a smile when he came back in. He smiled and nodded at you both, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’ll uh...well I’ll see you two in the morning, hm?”

He hummed as he walked past, his smile turning to a smirk as he glanced around the corner back at you.

“He knew, didn’t he,” you said, looking to TJ.

“I asked,” said TJ. “He’s known about two weeks.”

“I’m going to guess it was a yes?” you asked.

“Well-” started TJ, your dad shaking his head. “Just guy stuff really.”

“Yup. Night, kids. We’ll go out to breakfast or something,” said your dad, looking you up and down and then at TJ. “I think you’re in good hands now.”

“Yeah. I am,” you said, grinning back at TJ. “Night dad.”

“Night kiddo.”

Jensen’s POV

“The kids finally going to bed?” asked De when I walked in our room. I hummed and sat on the edge of the mattress, crawling under the covers and hitting off the light. She rolled over and pulled my arm around her shoulders, nuzzling into my right side. She was warm and soft and there was still that little flutter there. “Jensen?”

“Yeah. Everyone’s heading to bed,” I said, giving her a light squeeze. “I love you.”

“I love you, hun,” she said, nestling her head on the pillow, taking a few deep breaths. “He finally did it, didn’t he. You got that look.”

“Yup. We got a son-in-law on the way,” I said, smiling at her.

“What was her reaction? You see it?” she asked.

“I think some of that weight she carries just went away for good. Not all of it but...she was happy. She’s happy,” I said, closing my eyes. “She’s happy.”

“You can cry, Jens,” she said gently.

“I’m happy too,” I said.

“Not every day your oldest girl gets engaged,” she said. “To one of the arguably sweetest men on Earth.”

“He’ll take care of her,” I said. “He already takes care of her.”

“We did good. You did good,” she said. “Set an example of what she deserves.”

“I guess we did, huh? Not too bad for two people who had no idea what they were doing,” I said.

“Eh, we figured it out eventually,” she said. “Let’s sleep. I have to wake up early and make some celebration cupcakes or something now before breakfast burritos.”

“You excited? You got a wedding to plan,” I said.

“Yeah,” she said. “Just wish we got her sooner.”

“You always say that,” I said.

“Still true,” she yawned. “Night. Wake me up if any other life changing developments happen.”

“Eh...maybe,” I teased, earning a playful whack on the chest. “You know I do that on purpose right?”

“Tease me? No. I haven’t figure it out yet,” she deadpanned, leaning up for a moment.

“Night, De,” I said, pecking her lips. She smiled and slid back into bed. Her breath evened out quickly and I started to drift, running over the conversation that’d been playing over and over for weeks now.

“Hey,” I said when TJ came back down to the beach after carrying Y/N to the cottage. “Someone forget a phone?”

“No, wanted to stay and hang out a while longer if that’s cool,” he said. I hummed, Jared looking back and forth between us.

“I’ll uh, give you guys some privacy,” said Jared, patting my shoulder. I almost stopped him but he smirked. “I got some of my own fun to be had.”

“Don’t whine too much for Gen,” I shot back, Jared giving a light punch to my arm as he stood up. TJ stood up and took a seat closer, grabbing another beer and cracking it open, drinking down about half of it before he peeled his eyes away from the fire. “Something wrong?”

“No,” he said, shaking his head. “No. I’ve been having this conversation in my head for...a year and I still don’t know how to start.”

Oh.

Oh.

He…

“You want to marry her, don’t you?” I asked.

“Yeah,” he said, nodding and giving me a smile. “Yeah, I do. I really fucking do.”

“Well...get to the asking permission part. Worst that could happen is I say no,” I said. He looked like he forgot how to blink.

“If you say no?” he asked.

“Why don’t you ask and find out?” I said. I knew I sounded like an ass but this was important. I knew he didn’t want to screw it up but-

“I’m not asking permission to marry, Y/N, Jensen,” he said. I raised an eyebrow, leaning forward in my seat.

“Well what are you asking?” I said, tilting my head at him.

“Am I good enough for her?” he asked. I scrunched up my face, closing my eyes before I held up a hand. “Am I? I know she can do better but do you think I’m good enough? She would say yes to me?”

“TJ,” I said, sitting back in my seat, running my hand over my mouth. “You know her. I mean really know her. You have her trust and unconditional love. She doesn’t give those out to just anybody. She doesn’t tell just anyone about everything she’s been through. You’re in a very elite club.”

“I don’t...I am asking you, her dad, on this but am I a good enough man for her?” he asked. “Please. Yes or no. That’s all I want.”

“I don’t think you’re good enough,” I said, his gaze dropping to the sand. “I think you’re better. You’re pretty close to perfect for her, probably the most perfect for her if it exists.”

He lifted his eyes up, a little wide, a little hesitant but he quickly gave a short nod.

“TJ...I know I mess with you sometimes. It’s one of the joys of being a father to girls. But...if you wanted to marry Y/N, I’d be pretty happy with that,” I said.

“Okay,” he said quietly, leaning back in his chair. “Okay.”

“Okay,” I said, taking a sip of my beer. “I guess that just happened.”

He let out a quiet laugh, glancing over almost shy like now.

“What?” I asked.

“You know you set a pretty high standard,” he said. “When it comes to Y/N.”

“Ready to keep it up the rest of her life?” I asked.

“If she let’s me,” he said, sitting back in his chair.

“You’re gonna get the hang of this real easy,” I said with a chuckle.

“Jensen,” he said.

“Yeah, kid?”

“Is it normal to fall in love fast?” he asked.

“How fast?”

“Second week of freshman year,” he said. “She wore this yellow tank top and faded shorts and her hair was in this pretty side braid and she was going on about making a study group for Biology and I just thought, fuck me. I love this girl. What the hell are you doing, TJ?”

“Still feel that way?” I asked.

“Oh yeah,” he said.

“It don’t go away either,” I said. He smiled and nodded, looking up at the stars for a few minutes. “Ask all your burning questions. Secrets safe with me.”

“Why’d you adopt her?” he asked.

“Cause we loved her,” I said.

“Yeah but...I don’t know,” he said.

“A piece of paper doesn’t make someone family,” I said. “I think you know that.”

“Then why?” he asked.

“A couple reasons. It makes things easier legal wise. It helps for medical reasons, if De and I were ever in an accident, if Y/N was, stuff like that. But we knew what it meant to her and to us,” I said.

“What’s it mean to you? I know her side,” he said.

“She told me for her it meant she couldn’t be thrown away. For me, it meant she couldn’t be taken away,” I said.

“I don’t follow,” said TJ.

“Say you had a kid, a daughter. Best day ever, right? She comes home and you spend the next seven months or so watching her grow, loving her, being a dad to her. That’s your baby girl. You’d do anything for her. I know you know what I mean because of Y/N but kids...kids are even more special. So you got this girl you’d give the world for and she loves you even if she can’t quite say it yet. But she does and you know she does. How do you think you would you feel if someone came to your front door and said they were taking away your baby girl and there was nothing you could do to stop it?”

“I’d say that’s my kid and I’m calling the cops,” he said.

“What if a cop was one of the people there to take her?” I said.

“But it’s my kid and I didn’t do anything wrong. Isn’t that kidnapping?” he asked.

“Felt like it. I never felt more helpless in my life than the day we almost lost her. I was pissed. More than pissed. But technically, they could take her and I had no right to make her stay,” I said.

“That was the stuff with the chick at the office,” he said.

“I hope you never have to know what that feels like, TJ. For a split second, it was even worse because for one little second-“

“She thought you asked them to take her back. I know. She feels guilty about thinking that sometimes,” he said. I gave him a long look, shaking my head when he shrugged. “You know how she is.”

“Yeah,” I said.

“So you adopted her so no one could take her away again?” he asked.

“It shouldn’t have been on her to be the smart one and figure out what had been going on. I got lucky she’s smart and the fact she was ready to get some closure on the accident. If she hadn’t saved her own ass, we wouldn’t be talking right now,” I said.

“Maybe it wasn’t. But she’s not a damsel in distress either,” said TJ.

“No. She’s certainly not one of those,” I said with a smirk. “Still though. I’m her dad. It doesn’t matter how old you get. Your parents still want to protect you.”

“I get that. I get the whole adopting so she’s yours thing too. But I just feel like, say Y/N didn’t know that stuff and she did get taken away...I have a feeling you still would have wound up as her dad,” he said.

“I guess I’m not following now,” I said.

“You’re joking, right?” he asked.

“Nope,” I said.

“Alright. Say your kid gets taken away and you can’t do anything about it. Say you wait until that kid turns eighteen and becomes an adult, you know, has more rights about who they want to speak to and hang out with. You’re telling me that you, super dad over here, wouldn’t try to get in touch with her again?”

“I think I would have fought for her to stay. But even if I lost, doesn’t mean I’m not her dad,” I said. “All that matters is what she thinks and she wanted me so she’s got me. Again, I don’t need a piece of paper to tell me that. All it did was make things a little easier for me. For her, it eased some worries so she can have it.”

“I know there’s this big packet in her closet in this duffel bag she keeps in there. Only thing in it. You gave that to her on her adoption day. Adopting her means more to you than you’re saying,” he said.

“TJ. I love her to death. She’s my daughter and you’re gonna be my son in law so I know you love her to death too. What are you trying to get at?” I asked.

“I don’t know. Just...I guess I wanted to hear that you adopted her not just for her but for you too,” he said.

“Why is that important to you?” I asked.

“Isn’t the point of having kids because you want them? Isn’t that like the selfish part of it?”

“TJ. If we had wanted another kid, there was a far easier and cheaper way to go about it. Being a foster parent and adopting her? Yeah, that’s one of the most selfish things I’ve ever done. I did it for her but I did it for me and our family too,” I said.

“Good,” he said, taking a drink.

“Oh, well glad I got your permission on it,” I laughed. “I got a question for you, Mr. TJ. You gonna take a year to ask her?”

“Shut up,” he said, biting down a smile. “No. I wanted to ask her while we were here. Packed the ring up in my sweatshirt and had it all ready to go cause I was going to put that in my carry on, not risk losing that. Guess who remembered he left his sweatshirt on the back of the couch at your place when we were on the runway?” he said.

“Wow. I bet you had it all planned out, super romantic down here,” I said.

“Yup,” he said, shaking his head. “So there goes that plan.”

“Word of advice. If she loves you, I mean really loves you, it doesn’t really matter how you do it. Try to put in a little effort you know but this is Y/N we’re talking about,” I said.

“I want it to be special. She deserves that,” he said.

“It will be, no matter how it happens. TJ. Since we’re having a moment and all that, can I ask why you went after a girl like Y/N?” I asked.

“She’s my best friend,” he said.

“I mean once you knew about stuff, why didn’t you ever treat her differently?” I asked.

“Because it didn’t matter, it doesn’t,” he said.

“You’re gonna do just fine,” I said, giving him a smile.

“Fine?”

“She asks stuff like that sometimes. Normally at three in the morning but just to be aware,” I said.

“I know. When she stays over-“

“Don’t need to know,” I said.

“Sometimes we talk or just sit in bed and don’t say anything,” he said.

“Good. PG rated cuddling is awesome,” I said with a nod. “Anything else?”

“No. Just can’t wait to ask her,” said TJ. “You tip her off though and you’re dead to me.”

“Hurt her and they’ll never find your body,” I said with a smile.

“That goes for you too,” you said.

“I can agree to that,” I said as I stood up, giving him a smile. “Grab that cooler for me when you head up.”

“I ought to head to bed actually. I got a date in the morning,” he said.

“Well enjoy it,” I said, patting him on the back when he got up. “Night, kiddo.”

“Jensen?” he asked. I hummed, TJ looking down for a moment. “Thanks. For you know...I’ll be good to her, if she lets me.”

“You already are,” I said, giving you a smile. “Goodnight, TJ.”

“We did good,” I said, closing my eyes, rolling over to face Danneel. “We did real good.”

A/N: Check out The Video & The House timestamp here!

[yeoobiii]

A New Home | Neighbour AU | Prologue

Prompt: “Hey, I locked myself out, can stay at your place until my roommate comes home?”

Pairing: Harrison Osterfield x Fem!Reader, Tom Holland x Fem!Reader

Summary: Y/N’s life couldn’t have been more ordinary. She lived together in an apartment with her sister, while being a student at the nearby college. The small flat next to hers stood empty for a while now, until one day two young men moved in. What at the beginning seemed like a simple new encounter, tured out to turn her world upside down.

Warnings: swearing (future warnings will be added to each chapter as the story progresses)

Word count: 3.1k

A/N: I’ve finally got some time to write again. Imma be honest with you, I don’t know how far I’m gonna be able to take this story. I’m going to write it as long as I have ideas and have fun doing it. It also depends on the feedback this is getting, if no body wants to read it, i’ll probably not continue writing it. Anyways, I used the prologue to kind of explain the readers situation and to get to know her surroundings. I hope you enjoy!

Prologue Chapter 1

—

Your day was not really eventful, but still at the end of it you found yourself exhausted on the couch in the living room, glad that you made it through another day of work and college. You were lying there already changed into your PJ’s, a plate of noodles placed in your lap, watching the new season modern family on Netflix.

At the moment, you should actually be doing your homework but you figured that if you’d get up earlier the next day, you could still do your homework in the morning right before class. You hated that you were the kind of person who had to procrastinate everything and get it done at the very last minute. Even though at the end, you always had your assignments due on time, you had to give yourself credit for that. You just hated that you put yourself through all this extra pressure due to lack of time. But maybe that’s exactly what you needed. Otherwise, you wouldn’t get anything done, ever.

You had finished your dish, put it in the dishwasher and allowed yourself to have a drink. So, you took a glass and a wine bottle with you on your way back to your comfortable couch. After pouring yourself a glass, you were just about to press start on the third episode of the season as your front door opened.

Your head shot up in a quick movement and you were greeted by the figure of your sister and roommate, who apparently just went grocery-shopping then she was carrying three grocery bags and was currently struggling to get the door open.

“A little help?” she yelped, one bag slowly slipping out of her grip.

So, you got up and held the door open while taking a bag from her. As the bags were all put on the kitchen counter, she mumbled a quick “thanks” and went to take her shoes off. The two of you started to put the groceries away.

“How was your day?” you asked her while putting the butter and the cheese into the fridge.

“Bruh, don’t even ask.” she started, still kind of on edge, “After I dropped Frankie off at our parents’ house, my car suddenly broke down so, I was late to work on a day I was specifically told not to be late. And after that my whole day basically just went to shit. And the worst part of it all, at the store they were out of my favourite ice cream.”

Frankie was your dog. The cutest little corgi someone could ever imagine. Sometimes you had to give her to your parents, though. Every time you knew the both of you were going to have some rough days or even weeks and with that probably not enough time to properly take care of a dog, you decided to give her to your parents. Also, your parents loved her. They would never admit that because they were always against you two having a dog in your own apartment, but after meeting Frankie for the first time, they instantly fell head over heel in love with her. So, they didn’t mind watching her from time to time. And with your finals coming up and your sister being especially busy the next few weeks at work due to a project she soon needed to present, there was sadly not enough time for a dog at the moment.

You didn’t like giving Frankie away. Not because you didn’t trust your parents with her. You knew they were going to take good care of her. Much rather because you always felt bad. To you it always felt like someone could think you didn’t want to take time out of your day for her, to pet her or play with her, which was definitely not the case. You just simply couldn’t. Also, you hated not having her around. She was your favourite part about coming home. She always lightened up your mood and you loved playing with her or simply just cuddling with her in bed after a stressful day. But you knew it was the best for her to give her away for a few days, because you knew you couldn’t take care of her, the way you wanted to.

Your sister was working in a graphic office and was on her way to become a concept artist. She started there as an assistant. Like, the kind to bring you your coffee and your lunch. She didn’t really do much artsy stuff. But as time went by, she started to really proof herself to her boss and everybody else at the office. So, after two years of working there, she was involved in little design projects here and there and often was asked for her opinion. A few months back she got the chance to develop a project all on her own. She always told you it was nothing big, but you knew this was really nerve wracking for her. She started to work more and come home late. So, at evenings you were often alone. At the start you felt kind of lonely, because you were used to your sister coming home and eat dinner with you for your whole life. But as soon as you realized how much this actually meant to her, you found a way of dealing with it. At the end, you always still had Frankie.

“What about you? Did you finally talk to that cute guy from work you’ve been talking about for days?” she teased, the smirk on her face growing. She knew she would get on your nerves with that one.

“No, I didn’t. Well, I kinda did because I have to work with him. And I’m not talking about him often, shut up. I don’t even know him!”, You flinched back at her.

“Maybe you should change that.” she started. You wanted to interrupt her, but she just kept talking, “Y/N all you ever do is come home and be in your room, studying or lay on our couch all day. You barely go out anymore. And it has been over three years since you introduced me to someone you really like.”

You rolled your eyes at your sister. She knew that meeting new people and especially dating wasn’t as easy for you as it was for her. Since she was sixteen, you’ve never witnessed her being single for more than three months.

“You sound like Mom.”

“I’m just worried about you.” she assured you and slightly stroke your hair.

“Well, don’t be. I’m doing great on my own, thanks.”

The bags that only ten minutes ago were filled with groceries are now empty and its content safety stored in your cupboards and fridge. You decided it was time to end this argument and go back to your series.

“Anyways” your sister changed the subject, which you were very thankful for, as she was following you to the couch in the living room, “I wanted to tell you that the new neighbours are gonna move in on Monday”

You groaned and threw your head back, new neighbours, great. You knew it was silly and not going to happen, but you hoped that the apartment right next to yours would stay empty forever. Or at least for as long as you lived in this apartment building. Your last neighbours weren’t quite the match. Also, on Monday started your two weeks off. You got a whole two weeks off of college to study for your finals. So, you were actually hoping for it to be a rather quiet day.

“I know, I know. But I heard it’s going to be two guys, around our age. Maybe they are cool.” your sister explained a little bit too optimistic for your liking.

“I thought maybe we could, I don’t know, bake them a cake or something” she suggested.

“A what? Why would we do that?” your head shot up and you looked at your sister in confusion.

Meanwhile, she spotted the wine bottle on the coffee table in front of you and made her move to pour herself a glass.

“Because maybe it will set us of for a good start. And who knows, maybe they are cute.” she pointed out, shrugging her shoulders while a small smirk was forming on her face.

“Lu, you have a boyfriend!” you exclaimed, throwing your hands in the air.

“I meant for you! For fucks sake.”

There we fucking go again. You couldn’t help but roll your eyes at this comment. Your sister wasn’t wrong, though. Maybe a kind gesture like that could set the foundation to get along well in the future, because you really didn’t want history to repeat itself. And maybe who knows, you were going to have a somewhat decent relationship with your new neighbours.

“Fine, lets bake them a cake, whatever.” you agreed.

“Great!” your sister smiled “you’ll have to make it though.”

“What? Why?” you hissed at her, getting up from your comfortable lying position, sitting up straight to be eye to eye with her.

That was typical for your sister. She suggested something and at the end you had to do all the work to make it actually happen. You loved your sister, but that was a character property that really got on your nerves.

“I have to work on Saturday and on Sunday I’m at Matt’s.” she casually explained, taking a sip wine from the glass you originally put there for yourself.

“I really can’t believe you”, you took the whine glass out of her hand and emptied it, “Fine, I’ll do it.”

Matt was your sister’s boyfriend. They were dating for almost a year now and you could tell that your sister really liked him. You liked him too. He was always nice when he was around and he was good for your sister.

Shortly after your little argument, the two of you just continued watching Netflix where you left of. At around eleven o’clock your sister decided it was time for her to get ready for bed. So, she got up and wished you a good night, putting a kiss on the top of your head.

“Good night, love you.” you retorted, watching her on her way to the bathroom.

“Love you too.” she closed the door behind her.

At around twelve you also got up to call it quits for today. You cleaned up the living room and soon after went to the bathroom to brush your teeth. Ten minutes later you were found in the warm comfort of your bed sheets, fast asleep.

Saturday afternoon you were standing in front of an empty bowl in your kitchen, the flower and milk standing right next to it. Fuck it. You went to get your car keys from your nightstand, put on some shoes and were off to the supermarket where you ended up buying a cake which you could easily make look like you did it yourself.

You’ve barely seen your sister all weekend which meant you had the whole apartment for yourself, which you usually liked. But after quite some time it can get kind of lonely. You took the time to prepare your studying for the next two weeks, though. Which for you meant, making sure there were enough snacks around.

On Monday, your sister still hasn’t shown up. You were up at around 9 am. You made yourself breakfast and ate it while continuing watching modern family. At ten o’clock you decided it was finally time to get some work done. Studying went great for the first half of the day. The new neighbours were always at the back of your mind, though. You were wondering when they were arriving and what they would be like.

At around two in the afternoon, you first heard some people talk outside in the hallway. You instantly assumed the new neighbours arrived. So, you got up from the kitchen table and went to prepare the cake. For you their arrival came at the perfect time, because you really needed a break from starring down at your books. If you were honest, they could have shown up at any time of the day and you would have been glad to have a reason to not study.

The cake was done quickly. You just melted some chocolate and used it as cake glaze and after you also put some sprinkles over it. Even though you barely did anything, you were proud of how “your” cake looked. You also continued to hear people walking and talking in the hallway, right next to your apartment, which assured you that the new neighbours were actually here.

So, now you had to plan out how you were going to do this. Was it easier to wait until they are finished getting everything in the apartment? They don’t need some random girl trying to put something in their hands while they are busy carrying boxes. On the other hand, they’re maybe glad about a snack as strengthening.

That’s also a point you very much disliked about yourself. You overthought everything. Even such a silly and innocent thing as bringing your neighbours a cake. At this point, your sister was usually taking over. She was way better at talking to strangers and new people in general. She just had way more charisma than you. Bad thing for you was just, your sister was no where to be seen. So, you could either wait until she got home, even though you had no idea when she would show up again, neither did you want to listen to another of her speeches about how you have to handle stuff like this on your own and just talk to people. “It’s not that difficult, you just talk to them.” Yeah, no shit Luna. Never would have come up with that idea…

As you were thinking about the scenario in your head you ultimately decided to just bring the cake over like right now. Just to prove your sister wrong. Within thirty seconds you were standing in the hallway carefully carrying the cake on a plate. As you turned your head to the right, you saw multiple packing boxes pilled up in front of the front door of the apartment next to yours. As you spotted them, you instantly regretted the decision you just made about a minute ago. You were about to turn on your heel and walk straight back into your apartment, but as you were about to turn, a young man around your age, carrying yet another box to the entrance of their flat, turned the corner and with that irrevocable appeared in your sight. The boy, much to your dislike, spotted you instantly and you froze in your tracks.

“Oh, hey” he started and placed the box he was currently carrying on the ground and made his way over to you. “I’m Harrison. You must be our neighbour. Nice to meet you.”

He held his hand out for you to take it.

You had to agree on with your sister on one thing: This boy right in front of you was quite the eye-catcher. You’d never say that out loud, though. He had somewhat short, ash blond hair and was not extraordinary tall, neither was he small. You could also get to the conclusion that he was doing sport when you looked his figure up and down. But the feature that most stood out about him, were his ice blue eyes. You had never seen eyes like this before.

You were struggling to shake his hand with the cake still in your hand. He must have noticed that, so he just went in for a short one-armed hug. Ah, A hugger, you thought.

“Yeah, hi. I’m Y/N.” was everything that you said before your mind went blank. That’s what always happened. You already pictured yourself standing here in an awkward silence for another five minutes until you began to slowly moving backwards into your apartment while he dedicated his attention back to his boxes.

But to your relief, Harrison was quite the talker.

“So, for how long have you been living here” he asked, seemingly still excited about the new encounter.

“About two years now.” you somewhat stuttered, your mouth speaking before you could even think about the question.

“You think we made the right choice with the apartment then?” he wondered, pointing at his open apartment door.

“Yeah- yeah, sure. The apartments are great. And it’s also pretty quiet around here as well.” you somehow managed to answer and at the same time hoping this wasn’t about to change with their arrival.

“Sounds great” Harrison retorted, an excited smile forming on his face.

It was quiet for a few second as Harrison’s eyes spotted the cake you were carrying in your hands once again. As you realized what he was looking at, the purpose of this whole thing came back to your mind.

“This- This is for you by the way” you held the cake right into his face.

“Really? Thank you so much!”

Just as he was about to the cake out of your hand his friend appeared behind him, also who would have guessed it, carrying boxes.

“Hey Harry, we got like the best neighbour ever” he looked over his shoulder at his curly haired friend which speared no time to make his way over to the both of you, “She made us a cake!”

“It’s from me and my sister, to welcome you in the apartment building and as our new neighbours” you explained, your hands now behind your back since you didn’t know what else to do with them.

“Awesome, thank you. You gonna regret that, though” the curly haired boy said and smirked slightly as he went back to carry the boxes into their shared flat.

“He’s just joking” Harrison clarified, making a note in his head to slap his friend at the back of his head later.

“Would you stop flirting and help me with our stuff, dickhead?” you two head harry shout form inside the flat. Oh, this boy is definitely going in for it, Harrison thought.

If your eyes did not completely betray you, you could see a slight blush forming on Harrison’s face, which you unintentionally mimicked.

“I gotta go, sorry. But thanks again for the cake”, Harrison thanked you a last time.

“Yeah, totally. I also gotta get some stuff done. And it’s no problem.”, you slowly started to take little steps backwards in the direction of your apartment door.

He waved at you and soon disappeared through the door frame into his apartment, “For fucks sake, what was that for?”, you could hear him slightly hiss, before you yourself closed the door to your apartment.

So, you know officially met your new neighbours. But not even in your wildest dreams you could have imagined what was about to come.

[lovemxnot]

Summer shenanigans

Length: 4.3k (wasn't supposed to be this long)

Warnings: none I would think.

Genre: Crack honestly, Fluff, bit of angst?, friends to lovers

A/N: This has been in my drafts for more than a month and I'm sick of staring at it so, here ya go.

“Y/N come on!!”

Hyunjin yelled at you from the large wooden entrance door of the vacation house. With his luggage in hand, trying to fit his three giant suitcases through the door Simultaneously. You swore to god that boy probably only has a few functional brain cells, you have no idea how he’s so good at his studies when he was so stupid in real life.

Well, you guess it was only fair, he can't have both the beauty and the brains.

Spring break finally graced itself upon you poor university students, and Changbin ever so kindly offered you and the guys a stay at his family’s vacation house for the remainder of the break. The Seo’s are filthy rich, none of you were going to miss such a luxurious chance. It totally has nothing with you wanting to spend even more time with Changbin.

You got one foot out of the car before freezing solid in your place at what you witnessed. It wasn’t the gorgeous two stories, polished house that looks like it came out of a magazine that had you stunned, you have been friends with Changbin long enough to be used to such lavish things. Instead, it was the view that had you mum of words, The exquisite display of the variety of flowers, trees, and bushes, wind playing gently with your loose hair strands, and the sound of birds flocking away above your head, all of that combined made it look like it was one of those scenes featured on national geographic. Mother Nature at its purists form. 

The whole vibe of the house was serene and nostalgic. It oddly made you feel more at home than your own home. Probably because Changbin and anything related to him makes you more at peace than anything and anywhere else.

Naturally, the first thing you did was take out your phone and start taking pictures with it.

“Alright! I just need to document this.” You replied to Hyunjin.

“What are you? A fucking reporter?” He retorted.

“Hey, don’t be mean to Y/N!!” Changbin came from behind Hyunjin and delivered a blow to his head. A sulky, pouty Hyunjin retreated to the house with an amused Minho at his side, trying to comfort him.

Well if you count rubbing the injured persons back while laughing at their agony comforting.

You’ve met hyunjin in one of your general classes in uni, and he just so turns out to be one of Changbins many friends. Your relationship with hyunjin was hard to describe, he was as annoying as a strand of hair sticking to your lip gloss on a hot sunny day, but at the same time so annoyingly adorable and sassy that you can’t really hate him. That said, Changbin has always been your favorite.

Well, you might be a bit biased, you have been friends the longest, ever since the day he stopped those boys back in elementary from pulling on your pink bow-ribboned pigtails. You stuck to him like glue from that day on.

The rest of the boys you met as time went on, some in high school and the others in uni. Nonetheless you were close with all of them. But none had the same rapport you and changbin shared.

Well, all of that plus your ever long-lasting crush on changbin doesn't help your favoritism at all.

But really, how can you not fall for Seo Changbin? With his perfect chiseled jaw and cheekbones, Witty sense of humor, charming personality and his utmost feeling of need to take care of you, some would also mention his wealth, but that didn’t really matter to you. Honestly, anyone, your place would have fallen for him too.

Nobody knows about your little crush, or at least you hoped you were not being that transparent with your feelings. If they did know they haven't done anything to let you on.

You tucked your phone back into your shorts pocket and turned to get your luggage out of the back end of the car. Unlike a certain someone cough*Hyunjin*cough, you brought one bag only as there was only one week left of spring break.

“Let me take that” The all too familiar smell of sandalwood and ylang cologne swarmed around you before you felt a presence behind you reach a hand and take the handle of your bag from your hand. briefly trapping you between their arms and body in the process.

You didn’t have to look back to know that it was Changbin. You could tell him a mile away just by his strut. You had every single detail about him memorized, you two spent a lot of time with each other so it was only natural for you to notice how he walked when he was excited and skipped towards you to tell you all about the successful date he had the night before, or how he drops his shoulders really low when he's feeling blue after he broke up with his ex-girlfriend, or how he didn't blink when he was too invested in his game, how his chest would stop moving for a couple of seconds when a suspenseful moment appears on the movie you guys watch together. How he would eat with his eyes closed and barely able to shut his jaw to chew in the mornings, his face puffed and still lingering with sleep, how he still hasn't gotten rid of his bad habit of sleeply sneaking into your bed to snuggle with you. It was fair to say that you dedicated a lot of time studying him more than anything else. He always had his way with charming whoever he meets. It's true that he’s quiet, but that doesn't mean he doesn't speak up when he deems it needed or appropriate.

“I-i have arms of my own you know” You replied, quickly ridding the waver from your voice, Finally braving a look behind your shoulder.

“Yeah, I know.”He gave you that quirky little smile you like before heading towards the entrance.

What? What does that even mean? He really should not be able to make your heart skip a beat with just a smile....that really is unfair.

“It’s hot outside, come on!”

As soon as everyone was gathered in the main sitting area, a war of Rock Paper Scissors initiated to decide who sleeps where. You got the guest bedroom upstairs that was right across Changbin’s. Great, more chances of running into each other.

You were settling into your new temporary bedroom when a shirtless, running jisung skipped past your open bedroom door, on his way downstairs yelling, “ last one to jump into the pool cooks us dinner.” Following a loud splash noise coming from your open balcony window, then another, and another, and another... oh shit.

Changbin heard the communication and came out of the room, shirtless, exposing to you what you already knew was there. That boy went to the gym, so his ripped biceps and visible six pack line were no surprise to you, but it didn't make it any easier not to look. “ Come On Y/N, don’t want to be the sore loser” and started running downstairs

You ran back to your balcony peered over the pool, seeing all of them already in it, sitting around in floaties or swimming “ YOU ALL PLANED THIS YOU FUCKERS.” 

Your confirmation was in the form of snickers coming from the half-naked chlorine-soaked boys.

It was nearing sunset, a great time to spend it in the pool, where the water wasn't as hot as the weather around you. But since you were the designated loser, you didn’t wear your swimwear as you weren't planning on entering the pool seeing that it would delay you from making the dinner later on. Plus the boys were really rough in the pool, you were not ready for another repeat of last time.

Apparently, the boys had another idea. You stepped out on the veranda in the backyard and looked over to them, and your eyes immediately went over to one figure you knew too well, seeing as he was standing in front of you a few minutes ago.

He had his back to you, sitting on the edge of the pool, feet dipped in the water, with water dripping from the tips of his wet hair, sliding down his muscled back, Down..down..down...down-

“Y/N! are you not going to jump in?” Said figure was looking at you now. When did he even turn around?

Caught red-handed, you just retucked your lose strand of hair under your Sunhat again and replied to Changbin ”Its either I cook your dinner, or I chill in the pool. One or the other, can't be both.”

 You bearly finished your sentence when a war cry was heard from behind you. Immediately a flashback took you back to the last time you went to the pool with the guys. Standing near the edge of the cold water but not yet getting in, testing to see if it was too cold until you heard a shout, the same exact one you are hearing now, push you into the pool.

But not this time, like hell were you going to fall for that again. Once you snapped back to reality and realized the shouting was dangerously close to you, you stepped back as if you saw a trope of fire ants crawling on your feet, and looked at poor Changbin as he took the fall instead of you. A hyena-like howl was heard from Jisung lying where poor Changbin was a few seconds ago.

Mastering all the strength you have, you push an unaware jisung right next to his victim, giving him a little taste of his own medicine. Triumphantly you tell him once his head’s above the surface “ Next time you try to sneak attack me, you might not want to stat that you are, the war cry gives it away.”

“Our Lil’ baby is all grown up now, she won’t even fall for our pranks anymore” he fake cried to an equally-annoyed-as-you Changbin.

“Hey, she fell for the first one,” Hyunjin yelled from the other end of the pool, seeming to have been following your conversation.

“And you bet your ass I’m only cooking tonight to make sure that both of your meals are burnt to crisps.” You laughed internally at the horror that played on their faces, didn’t think that far ahead now have they?, ” don’t know, might add something a little extra too if I’m feeling like it.”

Changbin snorted at the two idiots that were now slowly making their way to you to beg for mercy. You ignored the two imbeciles and instead reached your hand out to help Changbin out of the pool.

He held onto your hand and pulled himself out of the pool, you slightly staggered towards him with how much strength he used to heave his drenched body out, making you sway a couple more feet closer than needed to a very wet, Topless Changbin.

Your first mistake was looking up at him. From this close, you could see everything.

“Thanks,” he muttered to you as he brushed his hair out of his eyes and face, flexing right where you can clearly see him in the hazy apricot and mauve glow of the setting sun.

A wet Changbin looking at you like that was seriously making you think some unholy, unbiblical things.

“That would have been me, so I guess I should be the one thanking.” You reluctantly, howbeit hurriedly, looked away from him and bee-lined to the barbecue grill set that was some way from the pool to get the fire started.

You were being really distant to him today and you hoped he wouldn't notice it. But honestly it was your fault, you knew there was going to be a pool, hence seeing half naked changbin, but you thought you'd be able to control yourself more than this, you really didn't want to ruin your relationship with him, you wanted to keep him by your side, even if it meant only being his friend. you can't imagine a life without him in it.

Behind the safety of the grill, you put your hand over your fast-paced beating heart, trying to calm it down. You were just friend and you have to keep reminding yourself that. he only looks at you as a young sister and that all. 

At least that's what you both thought.

The mouth-watering smell of the assorted type of meats being cooked swept over the place and slowly but surely, the boys one by one came towards you to try and steal a bite before dinner. Seungmin was the only decent one around here who was next to you helping grill the food. 

Hyunjin, for the nth time, jumped out of the pool and ran towards you, probably trying to get a bite that you just won't seem to give him.

looking at you with his best puppy dog eyes and a pout, he whined “Y/n ahhh~ You're not still angry, are you?”

You looked at him, hit his head with your tongs then continued flipping the meat,” I'm seriously going to burn the meat if you keep talking to me” you said ignoring his little yelp of pain.

He made his way around the grill and clung to your arm to stop you from accomplishing anything and pay attention to his whiny little ass “Y/N~ we were just kidding.”

Nothing, no reaction. You kept ignoring him in favor to put the new raw pieces of meat on the grill, setting the freshly cooked one on the plate beside you.

You were planning to cook dinner anyway so their stunt didn't really upset you, and being pushed into the pool wasn't new to you but it was fun messing with hyunjin even though he could get a little too whiny or clingy. It was really worth it to see his little pout every time one of the boys would come to steal a piece of meat in front of you and you would allow them, but as soon as he reached you slapped his hand away.

He was being adorable you'll give him that, but it was going to take much more from him to break your facade.

"Y/N~~ You know you love me" he pushed his face right in your line of vision, in front of the hazardous flame. “You could never hate this ” and proceeded to point at the whole 5′10 glory that he was. 

You pushed him away"Hyunjin you're going to get burnt."

"If that's what it takes to get you to forgive me" and pretended to reach his hands to the fire. You slapped out of fear of him seriously throwing his hands the fire- because everyone knows how dramatic he can be- only for it to ACTUALLY hit the edge of the hot grill and burn his hand.

He cried out in pain and you quickly, but diligently, held his hand and took him to the outdoor sink behind you "You fool!! I told you you're going to burn yourself"

he gave you the softest little pout "I'm hungry and you were being a meanie.."

"Oh now IM the bad guy?" you rubbed his scalded skin softly under the chilly water, trying to sooth it, unbeknown to you the glare that changbin was sending towards your linked hands, and Hyunjins little coy smile.

“You've always been bad, baby.”

“Ew, now any shred of guilt I had has flown away” You let go of his hands and turned towards to continue your grilling.

“Y/N ~“ he continued his whining” You ignore me, refuse to accept my apology,  starve me, throw my hands into a burning fire pit, and won't take any responsibility for my aching hands, can't you at least-”

Brimming with guilt, you stop him from rambling anymore by sticking a piece of meat into his fly trap.”There, Happy?”

Nodding his head with a look of complete mirth on his face, having finally gotten what he wanted, he waddled away. 

if it wasn't for his reddened, puffy skin you would have thought he faked his injury only so you would feed him.

Shaking your head, you focused on your task, letting a little smile slip on your face at how ridiculous that boy was. Changbin was confused at why he was fuming at how gleeful you looked thinking about a boy that wasn't him.

Bellies sticking out and any sign of a six pack now completely perished, the boys have vacuumed the table clean. not a single bite of food left, or a full bottle of alcohol in sight. Seungmin was nowhere insight (Probably passed out in his room),hyunjin and the other boys were passed out drunk on the table, they wanted to play a game of hide-and-seek but couldn't choose a person to count so they all closed their eyes to count but ended up knocking out. Jisung was drunk singing to himself sad love songs, while you and changbin were the only still sane ones in the group.  Drunk yet still aware of your surroundings.

Changbin was acting very weird throughout the whole feast. Hyunjin, who sat beside you, kept whining into your ear about how he couldn’t eat with the crucifying pain his hand was in. You already felt guilty for burning him, but seeing him hiss every time he tries to pick up his food only for it to drop out of his hold was what made you feed him. You would every so often shove some food in his mouth to shush him, and he would gladly quite down. Changbin was not amused. He didn’t spare you a look, he ate quietly and kept to himself, then jumped into the pool once he was done.

The sound of water gently swooshing, making way for changbin’s body to come through was really calming.

You sat with your legs in the pool and looked at the fluorescent lights glowing under the water, making the idea of jumping in even more appealing. Your stomach was full, mind hazy, yet whenever you sneaked a glance at changbin, you always felt a pang of emptiness in your heart.

Sure he is always there beside you, you always see him, you can hug him, touch him, hold his hand, but it pains you that it is only platonic, You have no idea when your crush on him began, probably from day one, but the idea of him going out with someone other than you was really painful to the point where it would cause you to ignore him for a couple of days before you realize that your wasting precious time where you could hang out with him instead of weeping over the unknown future. 

It was stupid. 

Really it was. 

One guy shows you kindness and you fall head over heels for him.

but then again, feelings and emotions have always been obscure.

“Y/N...?” carefully, changbin called out your name once he was close to you, snapping you out of your thoughts. Shit, you once again were caught staring at him all longingly.

“Hmm?” you try playing it off again, you were really not on top of your game today.

“Come join me“ he prodded your leg, gently giving a pull.

“I'm too lazy to go change“ Bullshit, you were making excuses and he saw right through it. being close to someone for a long time had its pros, changbin has always been good at reading you, it was a surprise it took him this long to come and talk to you about, it.

“Then just jump in“

“Nah” You already were caught staring at him twice today, you couldn't risk a third.

Having none of that, he this time pulls your legs with a sturdy grip, making you land inside the pool with a splash, his body dangerously close to you.

You would have scolded him if it wasn't for the way he was staring at you right now. His gaze held so many emotions behind it that it was hard to decipher all of them.

“Stop looking at me“ you shied away from him. Or tried at least but he realized what you were going to do and slid his hand that was leaning on the sky-blue ceramics to your side, locking you in place and sending your mind into a frenzy.

“What if I said I liked staring at you?“

Where was this coming from? he was never like this with you, where was this new surge of confidence coming from? You might have misjudged how sober Changbin was.

At this point your heart was beating so fast it could outrace Usain Bolt.

“S-Stop...Don't look at me like that..“you blushed.

“Like what?“ he’s even closer now, noses bumping each other. his hair tickling your forehead.

“Like...Like- That” You lamely ended. Not trusting yourself at this vulnerable state. his stare is piercing, peering deep into your eyes and compelling you to move closer. His gaze held a knowing glint as if he knows every dirty little secret you kept from him, but there was still hesitation dancing in the back of his iris.

you felt his other hand creep onto your hip. Making you hold your breath.

“Stop me if I’m wrong.” You had no time to think what that meant before you felt his cold, wet lips touch yours.

You fantasized this moment a lot, but never would you have thought it would actually come true. Him holding onto you real tight, a hand cupping one of your cheeks to tilt your head for better access.

It took you a moment to truly believe this was actually happing before you pushed Changbin away. Changbin didn’t like you, he was just drunk. Was what you told yourself.

“Binnie your drunk,” you couldn’t stare him in the eyes. You wished for forever for this to happen, you’ve imagined a thousand times how his lips would feel on yours. But this was breaking your heart, he just did that because he’s drunk.

He quickly shook his head, “ I didn’t drink that much.”

“Then where is this coming from? You’ve never shown any sign that you liked me.”

“I didn’t think I had feelings for you but seeing hyunjin touching really... it’s just..” he choked, “ I think I've liked you for a while now Y/N”

It’s crazy how one sentence could set a festival in your body, your hands and legs tingly, your ears ringing, and your stomach fluttering. “W-What?”

“ yeah it’s true, haven’t you seen the way he looks at you?” A voice said from above your head. Turns out Minho wasn’t as drunk as you thought he was and has been watching you two.

“Way to ruin the mood asshole” Changbin tsked.

“Hey you were the one that took a century to figure out he actually likes the only girl he gives a shit about,” it was Minho’s turn to tsk and sass back at Changbin” the whole campus already thinks you're a couple, ‘bout time both of you actually did.”

With that, he took his bottle of alcohol and made his way to his room, saluting you” enjoy the night you love birds.”

“Where was I ?” Changbin caught your attention again once Minho was nowhere in sight.

“Confessing your undying love for her ?” This time it wasn’t Minho. You both forgot that jisung was still kinda aware of his surroundings.

“Oh for fuck's sake!!” Changbin looked pissed off now, and it made you crack a smile.” Y/N come on, let’s continue this somewhere else.”

He jumped out of the pool and helped you out before dragging you inside the house, passing a snickering hyunjin and jisung at the table.

“ DONT FORGET TO COVER IT” you heard jisung yell after you.

“Oh god,” you groaned, great now they will never stop teasing the both of you with dirty comments and innuendos.

Once you reached the couch, Changbin loosened his hold and turned to you,” Now, where was I ?”

“Confessing your undying love for me?” You teased him now that you fully grasped the situation.

“Right,” he smiled.

You didn’t know if the queasiness was from his smile or the alcohol, but it made you feel good.

He held your hand, looked you straight in the eyes, and earnestly said “I really like you Y/N.” you blushed even more at his straightforwardness. but you still had doubts. you did see him drink quite a bit.

“Are you sure you're not drunk?  you're not going to regret this in the morning?”

“Oh for Jesus Christ's sake- Y/N” you jumped at the sudden frustrated voice when you noticed it didn't come from changbin, but rather from the boy that was passed out on the couch behind the pillows, completely shielding him from view. He stuck his head out from behind one pillow, his hair a mess and said “ He's been complaining to me about how perfect you are all week, Y/N this, Y/N that, just date each other already or else I'm-”

what seungmin was going to say next will forever be a mystery for changbin had smothered him with a pillow murmuring “ Go back to sleep.”

“So... it's true?”

“YES,” hyunjin, jisung, and seungmin yelled in unison. you weren't aware that dumb and dumber could still hear you both talking.

“Y/N I'm so sorry, this wasn't how it was supposed to go-” you took him by surprise with a kiss.

“I like you too Binnie,” he melted at the old nickname you used to call him.

you might have longed and suffered a lot for him, but the smile that graced his face upon your words was worth every second of the wait.