#i love how these drawings show all of the flavors of exasperation mai feels for her friends

[flamboyantly-incompetent]

Neuron, Ch.5

Bucky x Named (Mutant) Reader

Warnings: nothing too bad, some bad jokes, some violence

Masterlist

Word count: 2659

Note: I love Bucky gifs, and Sebastian Stan gifs, so I’m going to keep using random ones as page breaks.  They won’t have anything to do with the story, and aren’t mine.  But they’re beautiful.  There will be repeats, I’m sorry. (no I am not, okay on with the story)

“So,” Vision started, hands clasped by his mouth, “This fortune teller gave you a real prophecy?”

“I don’t know about that,” you said hesitantly.

Wanda scoffed, “You obviously believe it.”

“What I believe isn’t the point.  It can’t happen.  I can’t…” you trailed off, nauseous again.

Vision nodded, “You are right.  It would be disaster.”

You nodded vigorously.  “That’s the favor.  If I go down this road, you two are the only ones who could stop me.  You have to stop me,” you pleaded, nerve wearing off fast.

Wanda met your gaze with a surprising touch of kindness, “Okay.”

A sigh of relief escaped you as a grin spread across your face.

“On one condition.”  Of course.  “You have to tell Bucky.”

“Tell Bucky what?”  You jumped, the very man materializing behind you, eyebrow quirked.

“I, well, I just, and um, I,” you sputtered, sharp dread coiling around the more logical bits of your brain, squeezing like a python.  This was not how you’d imagined this conversation would go.  At all.  You’d expected some resistance from Wanda, absolutely.  This, though, you didn’t anticipate, and hadn’t prepared for.

“You tell him, or I will.”

You shot a sideways glare at Wanda, as indignation replaced your fear.  “Fine,” you snarled.  You nodded towards an unoccupied corner of the jet before you stomped away from the Scarlet Witch, Bucky following you.

“Everything okay?” he asked, amusement playing on his face.  You grumbled into your hands.  Bucky waited politely for you to look at him to say, “Denna, you gonna tell me what’s going on?” and then, teasing, “Are you sure you’re not just nervous?”

Laughing mirthlessly, you retorted, “Nervous?  Are you sure it’s not time for bingo?”

“Oh, burn.  You’ve, you’ve cut me so deep with the old man jokes.  Wow.”  Your smile faded, and a new flavor of concern met you in his expression.  “Spit it out.”

“I don’t even know how to phrase this.”

“Well, try and we’ll go from there.”

Sam hollered back into the cabin, “Landing in twenty.”  You figured it was now or never and pushed the words out before you had the chance to swallow them.

“A few years ago, I met a fortune teller in Milan, she read my tarot, you know, standard stuff.  But she said,” you paused, “She said I’d bring the world to its knees.  That I would be a tyrant because of this.”  You raised your hands, bitterness in your voice.  “I asked Wanda and Vision to stop me if I… Telling you was the condition.”

“And if it hadn’t been, would you have told me?” he asked quietly, brow furrowed.

“I-I didn’t think you’d believe me.”

“That wasn’t the question.”

“I’d like to think I would have.”  He chewed on his lower lip, thinking.

“Just how many secrets do you have, Denna Reese?”

You thought for a moment, “Aside from the estranged, rich uncle?  That’s it.  I think.”  He shook his head, silently chuckling.

“You’re gonna give me an aneurysm.  Mm, no.  I know that face.  No old man joke.”

The jet touched down before you got the chance to play Mario Kart with Peter.  He told you he could kick your butt on the way back just as well.

You took one look around you when your feet touched the ground and said, “I take it we’re walking to the airport?”

Tony laughed, then laughed again but more boisterously.  He revealed a suitcase, seemingly from nowhere.

“If this is another car…” Wanda started.  She sighed when, in fact, it was.  “You have a serious problem, my friend.”

“You know, I like to think of it as preplanning.”

Tony’s suitcase was a seven-passenger SUV.  Sam stayed with the jet because he “wouldn’t trust Bug-boy with my bicycle,” to which Peter corrected, “Arachnid!”  Once again you found yourself smushed next to Bucky in the very back.

You grumbled, “What’s a girl gotta do to earn a window seat around here?” in between Peter and Bucky.

They all responded with things like, “Stop an alien invasion,” and “Diffuse a bomb,” and, your personal favorite, “Be a kiss ass.”

“Okay, who said that?” Tony exclaimed, “I will pull this suitcase over.”

“You really are horrible at bluffing,” Vision said, grinning.  Steve laughed in agreement.

With exaggerated exasperation, Tony sighed and said, “FRIDAY, can I get an update on General Andre Marino’s location?”

“It appears he’s still in Linate Airport, Mr. Stark.  Security cameras show him entering a shop on the second floor.”

“Mr. Stark, I have to ask,” you began, “Does everything you own have Bluetooth?”

He thought seriously about the question for a bit before saying, flatly, “Yes.”

“Where did Peter go this time?” you asked Bucky, who never took his eyes off the crowd when he shrugged.  The three of you were supposed to be sweeping the second floor for Marino, but one moment Peter was behind you and the next… Well.  Teenagers, what’s there to do?  You spotted a gigantic Lego man outside a shop.  That had to be it.  You touched Bucky’s arm ever so lightly.  “Come on, I’ve got a hunch.”

He followed you obediently into the store and you fanned out as best two people can.  A cornucopia of gadgets lined the shelves, right up Peter’s alley.  You wanted to find him before any development in the task at hand.

At last you found him playing a demo X-Box with a child that looked about ten years old.  You and Bucky converged on him with near-comedic synchrony.

“Peter, what the heck?” you said, hands on your hips.

“We are in a foreign country, you can’t just wander off!” Bucky exclaimed, arms crossed.

Peter’s gaze flicked to the two of you sheepishly.  “Just give me one second…” he trailed off, concentrating again on the game.

His opponent scoffed, “Your parents here to save you from an ass whooping?”

“Excuse me?” you said, appalled.

Bucky let himself steam a little before saying to Peter quietly, “May I remind you that we are here on business?”

“May I remind you, that we’re supposed to blend in?  I can keep an eye on this whole wing from here.”

Bucky surrendered, growling, “At least tell me where you’re going next time, kid.”

A voice from the watch Tony had lent you said, “Denna, anything?”

“Nothing on the North side, Steve.”  Steve was presumably finished with speaking to building security, and Wanda and Vision had taken stairwell duty.  Tony was drawing the attention of other shoppers by, well, being himself.

“Let’s go, I think he’s got this covered,” you said with a pivot, heading for the entrance.  In a few feet though, you felt him stop.  You turned to find him looking thoughtfully at a new drone model.

“Thinking about spying on your neighbors?”

He sighed and smiled, turning to you.  “I’ve been myself in this century for years, but every time I think I’ve grasped the technology of the age… There’s always one more thing I can’t wrap my head around.”

“You should talk to Stark about this stuff.  Once he gets going, he doesn’t stop until somebody’s passed out.”

Bucky’s expression grew troubled.  “He doesn’t like me much.”

“What makes you say that?”

“I killed his parents.”  Well, that you didn’t know what to do with.  Though, it did seem to explain why you’d never seen them talk directly to each other.

“Ah,” you said, frowning, “That would do it.”

“Guys,” came a different voice from your watch, “Café across the floor, North side.  Visual on Marino.”  You turned your head slowly, trying to be casual.  General Marino was in fact directly across the floor.  A short blond greeted him with a chilly smile.  Tiffany Strucker, you presumed. 

You let your gaze linger a heartbeat too long before you realized she too was sweeping the crowd.  Your attention snapped back to the drones.  When you glanced back in her direction, she was looking right at you, smirking.  She said something you couldn’t discern to Marino, who followed her eyeline to you.  Shit.

“She saw me,” you muttered into your watch, letting Bucky pull you deeper into the store.  The two of you ducked behind a display of remote control boats, creeping slowly along the wall to the back corner.

“My, my.  The picture in your file really does not do you justice.”  Tiffany Strucker stood in front of you.  As you looked up, you saw black pumps covering small feet, conservative flesh-colored hose and a skirt suit on a dainty frame, and a greedy smirk below a high ponytail.  “Oh, get up,” she said, suddenly annoyed.

Your fists clenched, but you obeyed.

Her smile was brilliantly white as she continued, “And Sergeant Barnes, good to meet you.  How is our mutual friend, Winty?”

“Dead,” he replied, tone cold with hatred.

“Is he now?  Interesting.”

“What do you want?” you interjected.

She giggled, waving Marino over.  “Isn’t it obvious?”

At the edge of your vision, you saw the flash of a familiar color.

Tiffany groaned, “I had really hoped it wouldn’t come to this.”

“Now would be a great time for Model 20 C!” Tony yelled at you in between firing blasts out of his suit at the Hydra foot soldiers that seemed to flood in from everywhere.

Steve had General Andre Marino in handcuffs and marched him down the stairs.  Vision and Tony spoke to building security.  Wanda had been roped into a conversation with a tourist and their small daughter, who looked at her in awe.  Peter was back in the toy store.

Bucky looked around for you wildly.  He had just seen you playing with one of Stark’s ridiculous suits.  Okay, it wasn’t ridiculous.  It’d certainly shielded you from a few hits, which he was grateful for.  But now he couldn’t find you, and it was freaking him out.  He didn’t know where that tiny Hydra psychopath had gone either, and he had a sinking feeling that those two things were related.

“Did you see where Strucker went?”

Bucky whirled around.

You stood in front of him, hands on your hips.  The look in his eyes took you off guard; it was an odd combination of frustration, relief and lingering concern.  He held your gaze and shook his head.

“She must’ve gotten out in the struggle.  Eh, at least we got him.”  You gestured at Marino.

Tony waved at you, “Back to the jet before we all get arrested.  Where’s Peter?”

“I’ll get him,” Bucky grumbled and ducked back into the store, returning soon with Peter in tow, still wearing his suit.

As you followed the rest of them down the stairs, you noticed the people looking at you through their phones’ cameras, glad Model 20 C had a helmet that covered your face.

“This is absurd, you can’t extradite me.  I am a United States General, who authorized this?”  General Marino was indignant.  The handcuffs were not helping.

Tony scoffed, “Maybe you forgot, but the Sokovia Accords were dissolved two years ago after all that nasty business in Wakanda.  We,” he made a helicopter motion with a finger, “aren’t under the government.”

“General, we just want to know what you know,” Steve stepped in, the picture of composure.

“Ah, yes.  Captain America.  Good to see you following foreign policy.”

“General, Hydra sent some odd thirty men to capture two of my friends, twice, and you just had lunch with a high-level operative.  You’ll have to forgive my lack of diplomacy.”

The General turned his attention to you and Bucky, the both of you glowering in the corner.  The singular difference between your expressions was Bucky’s pulsating right temple.  Marino suppressed a gulp, which would have made you laugh, if you hadn’t wanted so badly to hit him.  He was an imposing man, but, come on, Bucky had a metal arm and one hell of a glower.

“What, is he your enforcer or something?”

“You’re changing the subject General.”  Vision approached the General slowly.  “Let’s start with Hydra.  What’s the end game?”

“Don’t know.”

“Why is Hydra after Denna?”

“Don’t know”

“How about Tiffany Strucker.  Where is she?”

“Listen, pal, we can go around in circles all day.  Or.  We can cut to the chase.”

Vision mumbled, “I thought that was cutting to the chase.”

“Yes,” said Bucky, stalking up close to an uncomfortably short distance, “Let’s cut to the chase.  You can go down for attempted kidnapping, or Strucker can.”

“Nothing you have would be admissible in a court of law,” the General scoffed, uncertain.

“No, no, think bigger.  What happens when your friends learn you’re not just a communist, but a Nazi?  Or when your family learns you sent two dozen armed men after a mutant girl?  Or when your superiors learn that you were part of an armed assault of a public place on foreign soil?”  Bucky shrugged and rejoined you in the corner, satisfied with his intimidation.

“I-I never.”  The General cleared his throat.  “You have to understand, that was all Strucker.”

Steve demanded, “Then tell us where she is.”

“Last we talked about it, she was taking a train to Florence, direct connection.  If you leave now, you might be able to catch her.  Milan Central’s about twenty minutes from here.”

Bucky nodded, accepting a fist-bump from you.  “I know it.”

“Now, um.  Can I get out of these?”  The General raised his hands and wiggled his wrists a bit.

Tony clapped him on the shoulder, forcing him to sit down.  “I wouldn’t count on it.”  The rest of you gathered closer together, speaking quietly.

Steve began, “Alright, we have our marching orders.  Let’s go.”  He paused and pointed at Tony, “You should stay here.  One person sees you and we’re all blown.  And you two,” he looked at you and Bucky, who threw his head back in a groan, “You’re sitting this out too.”

“Would you save it?” Bucky growled, “I’m done hiding.”

Steve looked at you expectantly, “Denna?  Should I expect a protest from you too?”

“No.  I’m good, today was headache enough.  But, you definitely want Jim along if he knows the area.”  Bucky gestured at you in a “there you go” sort of way and Steve caved, much like he usually did.

“Fine, fine.  But keep an eye on Marino, will you?’  You nodded and felt an inexplicable pang as you watched them leave the jet without you.  Sam hopped along giddily, talking about taking ass and kicking names in a sing-song voice.

Bucky was the last one out, and at the last moment he turned back to you to say, “This will be over soon.”  Th hatch closed with a heavy whoosh and you exhaled, suddenly very tired.

“So.”  Tony sidled up to you conspiratorially.  “You and Barnes gonna be a thing now?”

“What? No,” you said, nerves gathering themselves in the pit of your stomach and a strange burning sensation sparking close to your eyes.  Of course, you’d noticed how time-stopping his beauty was when you’d met him.  But, given your circumstances, you didn’t know if you could ever be with anyone, and had put it out of your head.  At least, you tried.  Changing the subject, you slipped off Tony’s watch and handed it back to him.  “Thank you for this.  Really.”  He smirked in his genuine smirky way and nodded, slipping the device back into his suit pocket.

“You look terrible.  I can keep an eye on this meathead if you want a nap.  We may be here for a while.” 

A yawn surprised you just as you were about to decline.  Instead, you thanked him and curled up in a corner using your arm as a pillow.

“Trap… Bucky… just like the last time… the train… he’s… on our way back… need to regroup…” 

A hodgepodge of words over a comm broke through your slumber.  But three consecutive words managed to reach you.  And they seized your gut with an icy vengeance.

“Strucker has Bucky.”

[xseedgames]

Zwei: The Ilvard Insurrection - Localization Blog #2

“Rally-ho, true believers!” I shout, swinging into the grand hall on a chandelier, interrupting the fancy party. Everything stops as eyes are focused solely on me – on my roguish good looks, my brand-name tabard, my elk leather highboots. I somersault to the floor, landing on my feet with a flourish and a bow. “I know you must have thought this high society gathering dreadfully dull without me here to tell you about the intricacies of composing prose for novel electronic amusements, so I’ve come to enlighten and entertain thee. Also, did you know all the food here is free? My pockets are full of cocktail wieners right now.”

Indeed, it’s an honor to see you again, dear readers. I hope you enjoyed my previous blog about the upcoming PC release of Zwei: The Ilvard Insurrection. As a small refresher, it served as something of an introduction to Zwei: II as a game – what it’s all about, its two main characters, the setup of the story, and its battle and leveling system. You can think of it as a sampler platter to give you a taste of why this game’s cool.

Do a barrel roll

Today, in my second Zwei: II blog, I’d like to go into more detail on the process of writing and editing for the game, and some of the things I dealt with and thought about as I localized it. I’ve done an entry like this for each of my prior projects, and I always enjoy it because it gives me a chance to briefly pull back the curtain and share with you some of the minutiae of localization, and the truism that every project is its own beast.

One interesting thing of note about this project is that it’s the first project on which I served as the sole editor. When I started working at XSEED, most of my prior localization experience had been as part of a team working on large single projects, while most of XSEED’s workflow at that time had been to keep a single editor on a project as much as possible. Each method has its own benefits, as you’d expect. When I work with a partner or team, I enjoy being able to bounce ideas off them or ask for hot takes any time I want, like, “Okay, which of these five potential quest names sounds the best to you?” or “Here’s what I have so far for this scene, but I want this girl to sound more disinterested. How would you do it?” We solicit general impressions from the office fairly regularly, but having other editors acquainted with the specifics and setting of the project you’re working on gives you access to an informed, expanded scope beyond your own intuition and experience. That’s important, because every editor is naturally going to have some characters or scenes they click with more readily than others.

On the other hand, flying solo can also be nice because it represents a purer distillation of editorial voice. With single-editor projects, you know that all the text in the game was overseen by the same person, making thoughtful choices with full knowledge of where everything fits in the greater scheme of the story. I think that’s what XSEED values about this methodology, but with the arrival of mammoth-sized scripts like those for the Story of Seasons and Trails of Cold Steel games, it became a matter of practicality to learn to work well as small teams on projects – a challenge I think our editors have risen to meet in admirable fashion. Of course, that’s not to say I didn’t have a lifeline or two working on Zwei: II. Junpei and Tom were an ever-present source of support whenever I had a question about something in the Japanese – and there were many, many of those over the duration of the project. Even when you’re working alone, you’re never truly alone when you’ve got the office familia backin’ you up.

Getting to work on a project by myself has also helped me better understand my own work process. One nice thing is that everything I mentally bring to a project – the stories I’ve consumed and experiences I’ve had that color how I interpret characters and scenes – remains consistent throughout. This is especially pertinent when writing for comedic scenes, as no two editors will have the exact same sense of humor, and Zwei has more than its share of wisecracks and comedy. The scary thing about being the sole face of a game, though, is that anything that’s weird or wrong, any jokes that totally fall flat, emotional connections that don’t get made – that’s all on me. In a way, it’s a test of myself as a writer and editor, with you all as the judges. With the original Story of Seasons, Tom and Ryan lent me a hand, and I had the dashing Young Kris as my partner for the first Trails of Cold Steel, but here, you get pure Nick, for better or worse (hopefully for better).

I mentioned briefly in my previous blog that Zwei: II felt like it was deeply informed by ’90s anime and manga, and I’d like to unpack that a little more for you here, in case your curiosity was piqued at the notion. After all, a lot of the games we work on here at XSEED are pretty anime-flavored, right? What’s one more on the list?

Here’s my take. Over time, the general vibe of anime has undergone change, as all thriving arts tend to. One major difference – the one most relevant to our discussion – is the observation that protagonists in many modern series tend to be passive, disaffected, reticent, or otherwise hesitant to engage the world and situations around them. They’re the reactive sort. Sometimes it’s because they’re exceptionally socially aware. Sometimes it may be because they’re awkward youths. Sometimes it’s because you get the impression that the writer really wants you to think this person is cool or above it all. Anime from the ’90s, on the other hand, is much more associated with protagonists who leap into situations without thinking, do things without considering the ramifications of their actions, and adhere to a personal code or philosophy that the character consciously or unconsciously holds. Both approaches, in the hands of a good storyteller, can and have made for some great entertainment, but from a writing perspective, the “’90s anime” types are definitely easier for me to work with. They’re more expressive, more willing to engage, and their very being tends to create conflicts that help drive the story and the growth of both themselves and other characters.

During the time I was working on Zwei: II, I actually ended up rewatching a season of Ranma ½ (those blu-rays are preeeeetty sweet) and seeing the Tenchi Muyo TV series for the first time (on loan from Tom). Seeing those really made this whole point click with me, like, “...That’s it! That’s the kind of comedic stylings Zwei is trying to channel!” Not in the sense of specific plot points or characters from any particular series, but the sort of atmosphere that was about creating opportunities for amusing things to happen. Ranma, for instance, tends to nettle many of the characters in his series not on purpose, but just by being who he is. And not just that – doing it on purpose also comes very easily to him (just watch how he loves to bait Ryoga or Kuno with his taunting). Ragna is less purposefully ornery, but his decisive personality draws the admiration of some and the exasperation of others. Plus, later on in the game, you run across a genuine hot spring, and we all know what a staple of the era that is. ;)

You’ve probably heard the saying, “Tragedy is easy, comedy is hard,” and there’s truth in it. Most of us love a good comedy, but do any two of us love all the same comedies or laugh at all the same things? Humor is deceptively difficult because it’s so mercurial, influenced by the times, by moods, by delivery, and more. A bit that might leave you stone-faced Monday night could have you busting a gut Thursday night. Understanding why something that makes you laugh does so is the study of a lifetime. There’s really no shortcutting it – you have to get the mileage, experiencing things that make you laugh, thinking about why, and chasing the next thing you think might give you another shot of mirth. I can only hope that I’ve imbibed enough of the spirit of humor to properly convey the charm of what is perhaps Falcom’s most levity-laden title.

Yeah...just hangin' in there, y'know...

Beyond my approach to the game itself, we have its characters – the heart and soul of the action. Quite often, early on in the process of localizing a game, I’ll get an impression of a character as, “Oh...I guess he’s a lot like X from [other source],” and as I make a couple of those anchoring connections and begin considering the characters in the game from those perspectives, they begin to show their multiple facets. Lest you think this sounds too close to, “Oh no, he’s just taking an existing character and foisting that persona on this carefully crafted, unique game character!”, take a measure of comfort in my assurance that I, too, would be dissatisfied with an approach that oversimplified. Think of it more as a basic framework – scaffolding that lets me clamber around the object d’art to get at the fine detailing.

With Ragna, for instance, his characterization is very front-loaded in the game. Right away, you know he’s a freewheeling pilot, sort of a hotshot, and likes to do things his own way. The image he creates is very “early 20th-century flyboy,” and I sort of conceptualized him as a guy who wouldn’t feel out of place if you stuck him in among the cast of “The Rocketeer.” Speech-wise, his alternating between laid back and fired up reminded me of Gundam Wing's Duo Maxwell, and like that character, Ragna likes to chime in with some tongue-in-cheek commentary if something patently ludicrous or weird happens in the game. Finding characters who are reasonably like the one you’re writing for helps, as does understanding the milieu in which a character exists – what they were doing just before the story began, and what the world around them that shaped them is like.

There are actually a couple characters who have what I termed “Ragna-variant” speaking styles. Ragna’s main vocal tic is that he sometimes truncates words ending in “-ing” (so “nothing” would become “nothin’,” and “fighting” would be “fightin’,” though I tried to generally keep it to one per text box – it’s a spice, not a marinade), so among the expanded cast, you get some people who speak that way because they have similar lifestyles. Odessa, as a rough-and-tumble Treasure Hunter who specializes in capturing bounties, is very colloquial in her faux old-west style. Gashler, who runs the garage out by the airstrip, is a full-bearded, goggled mechanic that sort of reminded me of Cid from Final Fantasy IV, and his speaking style is pretty thick – one of the most affected in the game, though I tried to make it still pretty easy to comprehend. One also has to consider that people who have special styles of speech have certain occasions where that’s either suppressed somewhat, or is expressed with even greater emphasis than normal. Even old man Gashler might speak (mostly) standard English if you dragged him to a black-tie event, but on the other hand, if someone said his workmanship is rubbish, I have no doubt that he’d be cussin’ up a storm, blastin’ furnace-fire, and lettin’ loose with the sort of strange, idiomatic expressions that only grease-stained mechanics know.

Ragna being an unusually “American-feeling” character made him pretty easy to write for right from the start. Alwen took a little more finesse and more time to find her ground – but not because she was difficult in a conventional sense. The trick with Alwen was that she definitely inhabits a certain archetype, at least partially, but I needed to figure out how much of that I needed to accurately represent her, and when to let her individual characteristics shine.

Alwen, as the daughter of an esteemed Trueblood vampire house, can be very prideful, bordering sometimes on haughty. She learns fairly quickly that the world beyond her castle has more complexities than she gave it credit for, but her distance from the world of humans actually gives her some surprising insights. Now, the most common way you see characters like Alwen played are that they step out into the greater world, eventually realize how much they don’t know, and depend on their friends to teach them what it means to really live along the way. Alwen...has some of that, but it’s the way she interfaces with the world that makes her an interesting and fun character. For example, she doesn’t technically NEED to eat food, but likes eating a ton of it (on Ragna’s dime, of course) just because it’s tasty. She’s not afraid to walk right into town and make small talk with the people. Alwen may be a vampire, but she’s refreshingly (and oddly) free of so many of the preconceived expectations people have about what vampires are like. She even calls Ragna out on this early on in the game when he’s shocked that she walks around just fine in the bright morning sunlight. A great deal of Zwei: II’s story is really her story, especially when it comes to getting the ball rolling, and it helps the story greatly to have a character who both entices with a bit of the familiar but also stands out due to individual quirks.

I also did with Alwen a variant of what I did for Laura in Trails of Cold Steel, where I shifted her from talking with a “proper,” antiquated style of speech to a more natural speaking style that still retains the idea that she’s highborn. Coming at this from a lore perspective, Alwen hasn’t been out of her castle in the last 100 years or so and has learned what she knows of the world from her estate’s extensive library, so it would be very feasible for her speaking style to sound older than that of Ragna or the people of Artte. In practice, though, Ragna having a casual style of speech and Alwen’s speech being fairly rigid made it difficult for the comedy to land, and to really connect with Alwen as a character. Can you imagine what Star Wars would’ve been like if Princess Leia spoke like a medieval fantasy princess while trying to banter with Han Solo? That’s the kind of disparity I’m talking about. It might’ve been funny, but for reasons entirely unintended. So after thinking on it a while, I decided to adjust Alwen’s speaking style, dialing it back. My priority was to keep her sounding articulate and well spoken, but casual up the language so that the banter between her and Ragna has the requisite snap it ought to. In my opinion, the net gain from that was well worth the adjustment, which you’ll be able to see for yourself when you play.  

Sort of tangentially related to that, in the Japanese version, Ragna goes through basically the whole game calling Alwen “Princess” (“hime-san”). The best reasoning I could figure is that maybe, having taken on some power from their blood contract, Ragna feels he should acknowledge her as his liege, but...that explanation totally flies in the face of Ragna’s personality. Ragna is a guy for whom there is ONLY a first-name basis (or a nickname if he finds one for you he likes). The most likely explanation is that it’s just the difference between politeness levels in Japanese personal address versus Western personal address, but the title put a certain amount of “distance” between them that I didn’t want to remain there for the duration of the game. The alteration I made to compensate for this was to have Ragna refer to Alwen as “princess” a bit at the very outset of the game, but quickly fall into using her first name, which feels much more natural for the character. To draw the analogy with Star Wars again, think of it as Han Solo going from calling Leia “princess” or “your worship” in a sort of snarky context when he doesn’t really know her to simply calling her “Leia” once he’s spent time with her and knows her as an individual. Plus, with as big a deal as Ragna makes over wanting to work together with Alwen as “equal partners” at the start of the game, it would be weird for him to then go on to refer to her by her royal title for the rest of the game.

This discussion isn’t meant to be a comprehensive retrospective of Zwei: II’s localization, of course; just a list of some of the noteworthy things I grappled with working on the game. Editorial work does have its pressures and difficulties – when the buck basically stops with you, how do you know you’re making the right call? – but ultimately, these kinds of challenges are what keep the job fresh and interesting. The point of all the character personality profiling, the speech styles, the fine-tuning, is for players to be able to sit down and experience a fun story and memorable characters that “just work,” no speculative  microscope examinations of the translation required. I think my obsessive tweaking and spit-polishing will make for a better game experience...but you don’t have to take MY word for it. Give Zwei: The Ilvard Insurrection a try when it comes out and see for yourself!

[coffee-and-kpop]

140. Spies

“You giant oaf! Are you kidding me right now?!” you yelled, completely furious. The whole entire room had gone red under the change on lighting, an alarm blaring loudly in your ears. “You killed us!”

“Y/L/N! Kim! You’re both dead! What the hell kind of objective was that?” You heard your instructor shout as the red lights were turned off and the view of the simulator room went back to normal. Mingyu was rubbing his neck sheepishly as the built in door in one of the walls was thrown open and your instructor walked in.

“Honestly, Y/N, you’re one of our most promising spies. What in the world was that shit show I just witnessed?” your instructor was a tiny women with a fierce gaze and a sharp tongue: someone you were terribly frightened of displeasing.

“I can’t work with him! He literally trips over his own feet!” you gasped, exasperated. And that was exactly what happened on yours and Mingyu’s training simulation: Mingyu, in all his tall and lanky awkwardness, had tripped over a simple floor trigger: a trap the two of you learned about the first week you’d begun training. It was one of the most basic types of traps, completely easy to spot and avoid.

“Take a break, both of you. I want you back here in an hour running simulations until you can actually work together as partners. That is, after you give me three miles, of course.” You groaned inwardly, never liking to run and especially hating to do it as a punishment. You could have punched Mingyu in the face; this was all his fault. 

Once you were dismissed, you stormed away from Mingyu, trying to put as much distance between the two of you as possible. You always, throughout your whole training, wanted to do your best, giving yourself stricter training regulations and studying longer hours than any of the other trainees. You wanted this, needed this. Becoming a spy was something you’d been striving for your whole life, and you weren’t going to let some eight foot tall asshole who couldn’t see his own feet take that away from you.

Your hour break was cut short by your determination; you decided to head to the track early and start on your three miles before you were supposed to.

And there he was, sprinting his way along the large circle: Mingyu. He had his shoulders set back straight; gone was the sheepish stature he had in the training simulator when you two were getting in trouble. Now, his normal calm and cool personality was back; he was a womanizer, or so you’d heard. The only way you viewed him was awkward. 

You began running, keeping your distance as far away from Mingyu as absolutely possible. He had much longer legs then you, though, and no matter how hard you tried to push yourself, by the last stretch of your first mile, the distance between the two of you was becoming nonexistent.

“Hey,” he said casually, as if he hadn’t been running two miles already. You completely ignored him, still pissed he’d gotten you killed on your simulation. “How’s your run going so far?”

“Go away, Mingyu,” you growled, gasping for breath between your words. Mingyu was barely breathing hard, slowly his pace down so that he was jogging right beside you.

“Listen, I know you’re mad at me, but I just-“ you stopped abruptly. You were so abrupt Mingyu passed you and had to jog back to you after a few feet. You crossed your arms across your chest and glared up at him.

“You know what I’m mad about, Kim? I mad that you’re screwing up everything that I’ve worked so hard for. Everything! And I am not going to let you stand in the way of my success.”

“Oh, I’m standing in your way? Maybe if you didn’t have such a stick up your ass all the time and just loosened up you’d see that training to be a spy isn’t everything,” you growled, taking you aback. You didn’t expect him to retaliate so harshly, but you could feel the blood beginning to boil under your skin from his words.

“It means everything to me!” you yelled, getting as close to his face as you could. “And maybe if you weren’t such a damn idiot and took something seriously for once, you’d be able to actually focus and not get me killed!”

“Well maybe if I wasn’t so in love with you I could actually concentrate on the mission!” Mingyu screamed down at you, shocking you into silence. You could see the dawning realization come to his face, realizing what he’d said. You’re eyes widened, your mouth hanging open with unspoken words.

“I…you… you’re in love with me?”

“Just finish your miles,” Mingyu snapped harshly, turning on his ankle and sprinting down the track.

“I hope you two are better equipped to handle the course now,” your instructor said as you walked in to the simulator room and stood next to Mingyu.

“We’re great,” he replied, his tone dripping venom. You knew the vileness in his body language and words was directed at you, and you tried to make it seem as if the blow didn’t sting.

“Great. You may begin.” The lights were turned off, your instructor turned the lights off, and soon you and Mingyu were making your way down the mock building hallways.

“Mingyu, can we-” you started, but Mingyu cut you off.

“Keep moving, Y/N,” he snapped over his shoulder, the faux gun he carried for the simulations drawn.

“Mingyu, wait!” you snapped, grabbing onto his shoulder and forcing him to whirl around. You looked up at him, into his glaring, handsome face, and before you knew what you were doing, you’d pushed him against the wall and pulled his lips down to meet yours.

He kissed you as harshly as his current mood was, smashing his lips against yours roughly. He cupped your cheeks in his big hands, tugging the ends of your hair as you slipped your tongue past his lips, tasting the sweet flavor of him.

He pulled away just as quickly as you’d brought him to you, his chest heaving and a stunned look over taking his features. He tried to open his mouth, a guttural stuttering coming out instead of words.

“Keep moving, Kim,” you laughed, squeezing his hand and drawing your own faux weapon. You could hear him snort behind you, but you continued moving, hoping he wouldn’t get you killed this time.

- Admin PeachJin 🍑

[raendown]

Chapter 71

Today’s chapter for the Soulmate Collection is for @miramise (who tumblr refuses to allow me to tag...)

Ah well. I love MinatoKakashi and this pairing needs more wholesome stories!

Under the cut or on AO3!

Pairing: MinatoKakashi Soulmate au: the one where when one person eats something their soulmate can taste it if they lick their lips

Kakashi was aware that many people were under the impression that he did not like sweet things, and also that it was mostly his fault for telling them as much. The truth of the matter was that he very rarely craved sweet things because he got his fill of them so often from his soulmate. The bond they shared was constantly flooding his mouth with the taste of chocolate or dumplings or strawberry Pocky. Kakashi got to enjoy all the flavor and none of the calories and he kind of enjoyed the way it worked out. His metabolism wasn’t half as active as most people thought it to be just by looking at how skinny he always was.

At the moment Kakashi was lying on his back with his arms tucked up behind his head, licking his lips under the mask that hid them to enjoy the flavor of the candy his soulmate was currently tucking in to. He was supposed to be watching over Naruto as the eleven year old played by the river and if asked he would protest that he was. He just wasn’t paying as close attention as he could have been. Naruto had learned how to water-walk from his father three years ago and if he fell in the river at this point then Kakashi thought it was more likely to be on purpose than by accident.

“Kakashi-nii! Look what I found!”

He looked away from the clouds to see his young charge running up the hill towards him, something in his hand glinting in the sunlight. Naruto stumbled to a halt in front of him and grinned his overwide Uzumaki grin, the one that always reminded Kakashi of the boy’s mother. Then he held out his treasure with a hint of pride.

“I found it in the weeds!”

“Ah, one of your dad’s kunai! Good find, Naru-chan.” Kakashi’s eyes turned up in a smile as he ruffled the young boy’s hair. “Let’s go show him!”

Naruto let out a whoop and dashed off towards the Hokage tower. Kakashi hauled himself upright and followed at a more sedate pace. Sometimes he tried to imagine what his life would have been like if he hadn’t had Minato and Naruto. It was likely that he would have fallen in to the darkest pits of personal hell, swimming in self-hatred over the things he had done. He thanked kami every day that Minato had not decided to sacrifice himself to save the village the night his wife had died.

The nine-tails had escaped in the moment of her death and Minato had admitted a long time ago that he gave some serious thought to sealing half of the demon fox’s chakra within himself using the Reaper Death Seal. Kakashi would forever be grateful (and feel slightly guilty for it) that he had instead sealed the entirety of the beast within his newborn son.

He wasn’t entirely certain what his life would have been like without the two sunshine blonds in it but he was certain that he didn’t want to ever find out. Many people in the village had started calling him Naruto’s second father because of how much time he spent with the Namikaze family. Kakashi pretended he didn’t hear them – pretended that it didn’t make him preen every time they said it. He loved Naruto like the boy really was his own son. And he loved Minato more than he had ever found the courage to say. Still, that didn’t mean he was going to force himself in to their lives in a role he had no business filling.

His charge beat him to the Tower, unsurprisingly, and had already crawled over the desk to fling himself in to the Hokage’s lap by the time Kakashi walked in to the office. Kakashi licked the taste of chocolate off of his lips and grinned, wondering how fast his friend had had to move to hide away the treats he wasn’t supposed to have at his desk.

“Dad! Guess what we found!” Naruto shoved the rusted, muddy kunai under his father’s nose. Minato leaned back and crossed his eyes trying to see it. Then he grinned.

“Ah.” He chuckled. “Picking up your old man’s trash, eh Naruto?” His son laughed and Kakashi shook his head.

“Would you like to join us for lunch? You seem hungry.” He smiled calmly under Minato’s suspicious look.

“I don’t know how you do that,” the older man grumbled, “but yes, of course. I would never pass up an opportunity to have lunch with my two favorite guys!” He waited for Naruto to hop off his lap before standing and shrugging out of his haori.

Kakashi tilted his head curiously. “You don’t know how I do what?”

“I don’t know how you always know when I’m hungry,” his friend said. Kakashi lifted one eyebrow.

“Because you start snacking on sweets when you get hungry.” His statement received a half-hearted attempt at an affronted look.

“Wha-! Who said I was snacking on sweets?”

“You were just eating chocolate…”

Minato gaped at him, then whined, “How did you know that? Can you smell it?” In return, Kakashi gave him a look that questioned whether or not all of his faculties were still working.

“Smell it? I don’t need to smell it when I can taste it!”

“You what!?”

The haori fell from his fingers two inches too early, missing its hangar and slumping in to a pile on the ground. Minato didn’t seem to notice or care. He stared at Kakashi with his eyes bugging out of his head while the younger man looked back at him in utter confusion.

“What are you getting so upset about?” he asked. Minato twitched.

“What do you mean you can taste it? Kakashi that would make you my soulmate!”

“Well…yes. Probably because we are soulmates. Always have been?”

“We, uh, we what now?”

Kakashi rocked back on his heels, ignoring the way Naruto’s head back bounced back and forth between them like he was watching a tennis match. “You didn’t know that?”

“You did!?” Minato countered. Kakashi huffed.

“Of course I did! I can see what you’re eating! We’re together all the time! Do you mean to tell me that you never put two and two together?” He’d known since he was a child, for kami’s sake! How could this man not know that his soulmate had been right there in front of him this entire time when Kakashi had figured it out almost two full decades ago?

Minato flailed wordlessly for a few moments, too overwhelmed to make the words go. Then he gave vent to a strange wordless shriek. “No! I didn’t know! How could you have known this entire time and not said anything?”

“I thought you knew, obviously!” Kakashi’s exasperation was punctuated by Naruto’s snort, drawing both of their attentions to the boy.

“Dad’s pretty loud. If he knew, wouldn’t he have said something? He’d be talking about it all the time.” It said something that Naruto, of all people, would call his father loud. Kakashi hummed and crossed his arms contemplatively.

“I suppose you’re right,” he admitted. “I guess I just thought that it was one of those things you just don’t talk about, you know?”

“Why wouldn’t dad want you to talk about it?”

“Well, I mean, he loved your mom, right?” Kakashi shrugged. “He doesn’t love me. At least, not like that. Which means that even though we’re soulmates our relationship is platonic. So really we’re just very close friends. I figured he was avoiding the subject to spare my feelings or something like that.”

The Hokage’s jaw seemed to drop lower and lower with each sentence he spoke until all of the shock building up in his expression began to leak out as disconnected half sentences. “I don’t-? You’re my-? We’re just-? You think-? But you-? Guh.” Finally he deflated with a large exhalation of breath. “Can we just go to lunch?” he asked faintly.

Kakashi shrugged and led them out, feeling uncomfortable. He’d had no idea that Minato had no idea. That the older man was just realizing their situation now left them both in an uncomfortable position, especially since Kakashi may have given him just a little bit too much information on his side of the equation.

The three of them were painfully quiet all through their meal at the ramen stand. Kakashi kept his head down and refrained from looking at the man he had long since considered his best friend. There might be ten years between them but neither spent half as much time with anyone else as they did with each other. Kakashi spent so much time at the Namikaze household that Minato had joked more than once that he should just move in and have done with it.

And there had been times when Kakashi had seriously considered the offer. It would be nice, after all, not to go home to an empty apartment. There was always only one thing holding him back: that was the house where Minato had loved Kushina, the house in which he still loved Kushina. Her memory lingered in the very walls and Kakashi knew that he did not belong there. Not when his heart longed to take his place at the other man’s side – not when Minato did not want the same.

He felt more out of place than ever as the three of them headed back there after lunch, Minato sending a clone back to the office to continue chipping away at the never ending mountains of paperwork still waiting for him. Naruto headed straight to his bedroom at a look from his father, leaving them alone in the living room. Kakashi stood next to the couch with his hands deep in his pockets and his shoulders up around his ears like he was trying to tuck in to himself and be as small as possible. He hadn’t felt unwelcome in this home since Rin and Obito’s deaths, when he was young and scared and hurting, wondering if his sensei would blame him for things he had no control over. Now he hesitated to sit, feeling like he should ask for permission to make sure it was allowed.

“So…” Minato stood with his weight on one foot, his face still covered in the bewildered expression he had worn since they left the Hokage Tower. “I’m having trouble wrapping my head around a couple things here. We’re soulmates.”

“Mhm.” Kakashi nodded, trying to shove his hands even deeper in to his pockets.

“And you’ve known about this for how long, did you say?”

“I figured it out a couple of years after you were assigned as my sensei. We usually ate the same thing when we had meals together so it took a while.” He shrugged and looked at the wall as he spoke. “Then when Obito and Rin were put on the team we started going on missions and I could see you eating while I was on watch. Every time you ate I could taste whatever was in your hand. It wasn’t a hard leap.”

“I never even considered…” Minato ran a hand through his hair. “I would apologize for being so dumb this entire time except you mentioned you thought that I had known?”

With a small nod, Kakashi said, “Yes, I did.”

“And you thought that I just didn’t want to talk about it?”

“Yes.” He held his breath, praying the older man would spare him the indignity of a confession. His hopes were dashed by the pink rising in Minato’s cheeks.

“Because you thought I was trying to spare your, ah, feelings.” The blond cleared his throat, looking as awkward as he always did when trying to talk about emotions. “What exactly are you feelings?”

Kakashi looked down at his feet and shrugged, saying nothing.

“That’s not an answer.”

“Well I don’t want to answer.”

“Kakashi do you…I don’t know how to ask this…”

“Yes.”

Minato blinked, pausing with his hand half raised. “What?”

Kakashi sighed and turned his head to one side. “What you were trying to ask? Yes.” Minato stared at him, utterly still, until he seemed to flutter with his entire body, dancing back and forth between the balls of his feet.

“Oh my god you’re in love with me.”

“Okay, yeah, let’s just say it out loud then! That’ll make me feel better!” Kakashi glared at the spot of floor his eyes were trained on, annoyed but unwilling to look up.

“Since when!?”

“Does it matter?”

“Of course it matters!”

“A long time. It doesn’t matter.”

“It does!”

“Doesn’t!”

“Okay stop!” Minato held his hands up, palm out, and closed his eyes for a moment. “This isn’t getting us anywhere. Just…Kakashi, you’re really in love with me? You’ve really had feelings for me and not said anything because you thought I…you thought I would just prefer to sweep it all under the rug?”

Kakashi looked up at last, only to cringe and look away again, unable to stand the sight of those big blue eyes. “You loved Kushina very much,” he said quietly. “I would never dishonor her memory like that and I would never push myself on you like that. I understand that you don’t see me the same way. I thought you knew how I felt but never addressed it because it was kinder. We could both pretend it wasn’t there; you would never have to outright reject me.” He twitched when Minato took a few steps closer, instinctually trying to back away only to find an armchair blocking his way.

“Oh Kakashi,” Minato said, reaching out to take gentle hold of the younger man’s elbow. “I did love Kushina. But that doesn’t mean I have no room in my heart for anyone else. I’m allowed to fall in love again. And your feelings in no way dishonor her memory.”

“Do you have some sort of medical condition that forces you to be kind about everything?” His companion might be awkward about dealing with emotions but Kakashi was prickly. He’s first reaction was usually to snark and snap until people backed off. It was a defense mechanism that usually ended up with him being alone. Luckily the Hokage had many years of practice dealing with him.

“Did you really think I would want you to suffer in silence?”

“Quit being so dramatic.”

“Kakashi,” Minato quieted him with only his name spoken in a firm tone. Kakashi looked up and, this time, managed to hold that heavy gaze. He held still as a tan hand took hold of his chin. “Many people go their entire lives without ever finding their soulmates. I can’t believe I’ve had mine sitting right under my nose for almost half my life and didn’t even know it.”

The younger man continued to say nothing. He wasn’t sure there was anything for him to say anyway. This entire conversation was mortifying and he wished he could just go. He didn’t expect anything good to come of it. Surely their relationship would be strained after this and he wondered if it would take a long time before things went back to a semblance of normal.

When Minato shuffled a little closer again Kakashi tried once more to step back. His ankle thudded against the armchair behind him and he stumbled. His backward momentum was halted when Minato used the grip on his elbow to pull him forward, straight in to a solid chest and holding him there as the hand on his chin raised his face a little higher. He made a low noise of protest but Minato only smiled softly and shook his head, refusing to let him go.

“Silly man.”

Kakashi opened his mouth to say something and then choked the words back because suddenly they were kissing, lips pressed together in a slow, sweet embrace that stole the breath from his lungs. He groaned in surprise, body melting forwards and eyes falling shut. Minato caught him, the hand at his elbow winding around his waist and holding him tightly while the other tangled in his hair. The kiss was chaste, barely more than chapped lips pressed against each other with slow, almost hesitant motions, but it burned through him like wildfire, purifying, reducing him to cinders and leaving him newborn in the ashes.

He was left too stunned to move when Minato finally pulled away, separating them by a mere couple of inches. The older man smiled at him and leaned forward again until their foreheads rested brow to brow.

“Wha-” Kakashi started to ask, cutting himself off with a blush when his voice cracked. He cleared his throat and tried again, “What was that?”

“It’s like I said,” Minato chuckled, “I have room in my heart for more than one person. You are my best friend, Kakashi. And my soulmate. What reason could I possibly have to turn you away?”

“But you don’t…you…” Kakashi floundered, trying to make his stuttering brain work. “But why did you kiss me? You don’t feel that way.”

“Oh? And how do you know that?” Minato asked with a grin, his eyes bright and warm.

Kakashi huffed. “You certainly didn’t seem very receptive earlier,” he said. His half-hearted annoyance went ignored and Minato cooed and pressed a second kiss to the corner of his mouth.

“Well pardon me for being in shock Mister Keeps-It-All-Inside.” One more kiss to the opposite corner of Kakashi’s mouth, then he straightened with a slightly more serious smile. “I want this. I want us. I’m so sorry you had to wait this long for me to get a clue but I promise to do whatever I can to make it up to you.”

“Can you check my neck for me? I think I have whiplash.”

“You can’t just let me have this one nice moment?” Minato slumped, rolling his eyes yet unable to entirely hide the fondness in his expression. “You don’t have a single romantic bone in your body.”

His exaggerated despair and Kakashi’s answering smile were both cut off by a loud victory cry from the doorway and the small orange blur that suddenly bolted in to the room. Naruto plowed in to them from the side, latching one arm around either waist while his head fell back to let out another crow of triumph.

“That means Kakashi-nii really will be my other dad!” the boy shouted. “That’s so cool, ‘ttebayo!”

Minato laughed, his cheeks turning pink again. “Who called Kakashi your other dad?”

“Uh, everyone?” his son replied. “Where have you been?”

“Oh. I...well that’s…oh.” Minato’s blush deepened but he looked pleased and Kakashi had to turn his head to hide his own darkening cheeks.

“So now we can be a family for real, right?” Naruto asked, his eyes wide and shining, his smile bright. Minato chuckled and pulled both his son and his soulmate in for a tight group hug.

“Of course,” he murmured. “Of course we’re a family.”

With his face tucked in to the older man’s neck, Kakashi smiled. He had spent a long time being so close and yet so far from where he really wanted to be. Now he had been handed everything he could ever possibly have wanted and he couldn’t describe the feelings - the sensations - in his chest. All he could think was that happiness tasted sweeter than any of the candies that Minato so loved to eat.

[lovehotelreservation]

Sweet and Easy

Summary: There was something so irresistible about Gintoki, a simple man of simple pleasures who never refrained from going all out when it comes to pleasuring you.

Rating: NC-17

Pairing: Reader/Gintoki

Hello everyone! Here comes a bit more spam from he who prefers sweet over savory~ Thank you to darling @hotdiodick for this request as I had a DELIGHTFUL time working on this prompt, especially once I found further inspiration from “Sweet and Easy” by Wonder Girls, which this one-shot is titled after!

I hope you enjoy!

**Warning: I know this seems silly (but oddly fitting) since this is a Gintama fic, but this one-shots contains spoilers for Persona 5!

—————

“…This is your treat, right?”

Suspicion in his eyes, Gintoki’s gaze flickered from your face back to the vast array of desserts currently situated on the table. They all looked so decadent, even if there were some so elaborate that he almost felt reluctant to eat any of them.

“This is my treat!”

You giggled, all while your admired his expression. Though his eyes were narrowed in scrutiny, you could see him trying to hide back his pure, utter glee to see all the sweets presented right before him.

“This isn’t a ruse, or anything…right?”

His finger hovered over one of the cupcakes, wondering whether he should swipe his finger at the frosting to taste, or remain cautious.

“It’s totally not a ruse!”

You reassured him, shaking your head. While Gintoki’s behavior was humorous to watch, you just wished he would indulge in the treats as you wanted him to do. As you spent the day dogsitting Sadaharu while he, Shinpachi, and Kagura were out fulfilling a request–a successful endeavor that was nothing short of a miracle–all you wished was to do was to indulge and splurge on sweets with your boyfriend.

His eyes snapped back up to meet yours, a stare that dared not to waver in its intensity.

“This isn’t some trap for you to take some long-harbored vendetta against me, correct? You’re not disguising yourself as a dear companion to me in order to seek revenge on your father, who looks like a bald Gendo Ikari, yeah? You don’t possess any Stand ripoffs like Hobin Rood or Kilo, right? I am in no mood to ever to dress like a stupid kitsune–I’m not into that sort of thing, for I am a man of simple desires like creampies, facials, spanking, humiliation, and ana–”

Gintoki was interrupted, his mouth muffled and suddenly full of a green tea-flavored bun.

Though your expression was affectionate, the grip of your hand on the dessert was not–how could you when he was listing kinks in the middle of one of Edo’s most lavish dessert shop, all while a wealthy-looking mother and child were passing by as they headed to their table, of which you motioned towards with your head. In response, you admonished him with a huff, “Gintoki, it’s just a date! What, I can’t treat my own boyfriend every now and then?”

Your boyfriend breathed against the bun, his eyes furrowed as he tried to work his mouth around the soft, slightly flaky texture so he may bite into it. Once he was able to get a decently-sized chew, he drew his head back, his eyes narrowed towards you as he spoke, even with food in his mouth. “Oi, you know I’m into that sort of thing, but in reverse. If anyone’s getting a mouthful of sausage bun, it’s going to be you.” He pointed his index finger towards you for emphasis, though seeing your lips curl into a grin and your eyes twinkle at the thought only made him gulp–bun included–and feel a rush of excitement.

Still, not to give in to you so easily, he continued, “Usually when people are nice to me, they have something they want–like money or revenge.”

“Well in my case–” Your expression softened, becoming tender as you slowly pointed at yourself, your lips becoming full and pouty. “–I just want your love, Gintoki. Is that too much to ask for?”

Gintoki’s hands flew up to his clothes as he let out a tremendous roar while leaping to a stand, his face immediately feeling and looking fiery hot. He noticed that your innocent expression remained, but with years of being your lover, he could see beneath that mask was a contortion of smug triumph. In the same regard from your end, you knew how there was nothing that he wished to protect more than the sweet smile on your face.

Or whatever relevant metaphor he would mention with utter seriousness while squaring off against the main villain of the current arc.

Which, honestly, you were truly the most formidable opponent he had ever had to deal with.

One who knew all his weaknesses, how to extort his vices, when he was at his most vulnerable state.

Truly this was why there was no one more perfect for him than you.

Teeth gritting together in a scowl, he hissed, “H-How dare you use such underhanded sweetness against me?!”

“Sir! Is everything alright?!”

His head shifted to the side, realizing that a flustered waitress was standing close by, with other nearby tables looked utterly startled by his outburst. From the corner of his eye, he could see your head turn—which, knowing you–meant you were about to utter out some excuse for his behavior. But as your mouth opened, he cleared his throat while reaching over to take the green tea bun from your hands.

“Ahh my apologies. I was just taken aback by the deliciousness of the restaurant’s cusine,” he droned as he plopped back down onto his seat, right before he took another bite while waving the waitress off with his other hand. “I’m a well-known Yip reviewer, so I was practicing my overdramatic write-up for later. Don’t worry, I promise to give as many thumbs ups to this place as possible. In fact, I’ll even ram it in, because I have a fondness for ana–”

“Angelic Parfaits!” You chirped suddenly, your voice tight and your tone high. Smiling a bit too cheerily at the waitress, you continued, “That’s the specialty of this place, right? Those really big ones that’s supposed to reach the heavens, or something like that? We’ll take the azuki one please!” Your expression becoming sheepish, you gestured towards your boyfriend with your hand. “He’s been looking forward to trying one for a while, so he’s just a little excited.”

As if it wasn’t clear from days spent together beforehand, at this moment, forever with you was something he greatly looked forward to.

Though the waitress still looked unnerved, she slowly nodded while taking out her notepad, scribbling your order. “V-Very well then.” She turned to leave, much like how the other restaurant patrons curiously stared a moment longer at the two of you before returning to minding themselves.

Gintoki immediately faced your direction. “I love you.”

Even with the playful exasperated sigh you released, your heart fluttered with joy, matched by the laugh you let out. “I love you too, Gintoki.”

His ‘suspicions’ of your intent cleared up, he held no restraint to feasting the tabletop-full of fancy, expensive desserts and sweets. There was no metaphor for this. He truly was an overgrown kid at a candy store. You couldn’t help but 'aww’ and coo over him practically weeping when the Angelic Parfait was brought out, sniffling how the two of you should elope because he doesn’t have the money for a wedding reception, hell let alone the ceremony itself. This man–however flawed and perverse he was–deserved so much, and nothing brought you as much fulfillment as seeing him smile.

Still, as nice as it was to watch Gintoki partake in his treats, you happily delved into your array of sweets, like the long strawberry and cream bun you just took a bite out of.

“Aah, this one’s so good!” You moaned, savoring the sweet taste of the berries and cool, fluffy texture of the cream. The pastry was artfully crafted, and truly it was a shame to have to ruin its delicious display. But with a flavor like this, there was no way you would ever be able to resist for long. Happily, you licked your lips from any excess cream that remained from your first bite of your bun.

…whereas the cream from Gintoki’s was shot out and landed right on a few other treats due to him suddenly squeezing it with intense force.

“Gintoki, so messy~” You let out a giggle, genuinely unaware of what your innocent actions just caused.

While your lover wanted to make a rebuttal, he just thanked Steel Ball Run Jesus that he didn’t make a mess elsewhere on his personage.

Needless to say, once the two of you finished your date, Gintoki was walking rather…stiffly on the way back to Otose’s Snack House.

Times like these made him thankful that his yukata draped loosely, especially around his crotch. Though, it was difficult to not remain hard while he thought back to you licking your lips, or how you enjoyed his playful threat of fucking your mouth. He wanted to laugh at himself. As he himself admitted, he was a man of simple pleasures after all–and there was absolutely nothing else in the world that could satisfy him as much as you.

But honestly, even with a night spent tasting and trying out the finest of desserts that Edo had to offer, it quickly dawned on him that there was something he had yet to have his fill of.

“I’m hungry.”

He blurted out those words while the two of you were standing in the middle of the Yorozuya’s main living area. The whole office was quiet–no muffled idol music, no snores that could echo endlessly throughout time–and Kagura’s and Shinpachi’s shoes weren’t to be found at the genkan, meaning the two of you were alone.

You immediately faced him, eyes wide and lips parted slightly in genuine astonishment, the latter of which all that he could focus on and long for. “You’re still hungry? Even with all the buns you were stuffing your face with?”

Gintoki didn’t say anything in response, but rather, showed it by seizing your hips and drawing you towards him. While you were first met by the familiar outline of his erect cock pressing against your front, you felt him then immediately grab your ass, his firm squeezes eliciting startled gasps out of you.

His head leaned forward, lips dropping by your ear as he huffed, his voice husky, “Why wouldn’t I be when you’ve been holding out on the best buns from me?”

Under different circumstances, you would’ve smacked him for such a cheesy line, but you were instead left weak in the knees as your boyfriend continued to grope you relentlessly, feeling his lecherous desire for you with every touch. His lips sought out yours, kissing you hungrily. You could feel the heat of his tongue probe into your mouth while he ground his erection against your front. He kept you in place, refusing to let you go until he had his fill, which, by that time, you were left in a daze, panting and flushed in the cheeks.

Before you could say anything in response to what just occurred, you were instead scooped up into his arms. Looking at his face, you could see the sultry smirk plastered on his lips as he chuckled lowly.

“Now it’s my turn to treat you~”

And then he carried you to the bedroom.

If your date was anything to go by, he surely was hungry by the way he tore and ripped your clothes apart like they were the fancy cupcake wrappers and ornate pastry liners from earlier. Though he had no shame with stuffing his face with all the sweets, he still maintained his manners–save for talking with his mouth full.

However, such composure was out of the question once he had his face planted between your thighs.

You were left to writhe and squeal while lying upon the futon, your fingers woven through his already messy perm as his tongue caressed your core in long yet quick strokes. His hands gripped your thighs securely, keeping you from moving around too much, therefore interrupting his meal. Pleasurable as this all was, it was when he would lift his half-lidded gaze to meet yours that made you want to tug on his hair even more.

His stare arrogant sultry, he had the tip of his tongue circling delicately around your clit, keeping this up until you were whimpering and begging for more.

Of course, when asked so nicely, he was eager to oblige, licking and kissing until your back arched and your lips cried out breathlessly. He never understood why some considered him to be a sadist.

This night was yours after all. Hence why he was preparing to spoil you further as he situated himself between your legs with his hard, aching cock in hand.

He admired the scarlet blush on your cheeks, a sense of pride coursing through him knowing that such a sight was caused by him, that you felt so good to be looking this way.

“Gintoki, you…glutton,” you teased amidst your shallow breaths, your lips fixed in a grin. “How can you just…keep going?”

Feigning ignorance, he shrugged, despite the smirk on his face, “I don’t know–how do you keep tempting me so easily?“

"Didn’t you call yourself a man of simple pleasure earlier?” You queried just as you took in an anticipatory breath. The head of his cock was nudged against the entrance of your slick core.

Eager for the warmth that would soon envelope him, Gintoki chuckled, even as he could feel his mouth water from feeling your wetness. “Heh, true. I guess I’m just overwhelmed, knowing that I’m treated to luxury every single day…!” His cock sheathed inside you fully with one thrust, his name uttered from your lips in one moan.

Heaven.

Positioned above you, covering–no, caging you with his body, his mouth sought out and captured your lips for a kiss. Feeling your legs slink around his bare waist, he grinned, taking that as invitation to grab onto your hips and start pounding away at your core. His cock pushing in and out smoothly yet with the ferociousness of his desire for you, your heat squeezing around him while serving as the perfect fit for his girth.

Could there truly be anything better than this?

Then again, feeling your fingers weave through his hair again, hearing you moan against his mouth, the sound muffled by his kiss–so delicate, so pure–it made him want to fuck you over and over, to do whatever it took to have you remain his.

His bedroom was full of noise, amidst the sigh and groans of names and him relentlessly hammering his cock inside you, in addition to the obscene slapping noise of his sweat-slicked hips meeting yours, his balls right against your ass. If Kagura or Shinpachi were to come home, what was transpiring between you both would be blatant.

Though this would be a good, relevant time to use the excuse of spontaneous mochi pounding in the bedroom.

A silly metaphor, but one that made him grin wickedly, urging and coaxing him to ravage you even further.

One could never be too lenient when a decadent dessert called for vigorous preparation, after all.

By now however, the two of you were far beyond the beginning step, soon reduced to clinging to one another tightly, bodies quivering, hips bucking and rolling against each other. Your names were uttered to one another through a kiss. In return to the heat that your slickness offered him, he–in return–poured the warmth of his seed in thick, messy spurts.

At last, Gintoki rolled off of you, landing by your side with a heave of a breath, his arm resting over his head. He glanced over at you, watching your chest rise and fall while waiting for your heart rate to settle.

Smiling affectionately, he moved to his side, leaning forward to kiss your cheek, your name spoked in a hum. “Thanks for the treat.”

Breathless as you were, the loving look in your eyes reflected his identically. Just as content, you giggled, “Anytime, Gintoki. I’d love to go back there with you again, really.”

He let out a noise of amusement, propping his arm up on his elbow, his head resting on his palm. “Oh, I didn’t mean that.”

You always looked so cute when you were confused. “Hm? Then–”

Gintoki’s grin was nothing short of perversion. “I meant the creampie. Give me another serving, would ya?”

You grabbed the pillow from beneath and prepared to smack his face. He only blocked your attempt with ease, tossing it away before he kissed you longingly once more. Even with your taste on his tongue, he knew that he would always be craving for you.

[nerdytooru]

How It’s Done

Tendou Satori/Sugawara Koushi

(read on Ao3)

“This was a mistake,” Kuroo groaned dramatically. “I shouldn’t have come here.”

Suga took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Why is that, Kuroo?” he asked against his better judgement. He knew Kuroo would just sigh obnoxiously until someone asked him what was wrong.

“He’s wearing gym shorts, Suga. Gym shorts.”

Suga was very familiar with the sight of Daichi in gym shorts, so he had a little bit of sympathy for Kuroo. But only a little bit.

“You are a grown-ass man, Kuroo Tetsurou. If it’s driving you that crazy why don’t you go over there and ask him out?”

Oikawa scoffed audibly.

“What?” Suga asked.

“You say that like it’s easy,” Oikawa said.

“Maybe it would be easy if you guys just got over yourselves for two seconds and asked!”

“It’s not the asking,” Kuroo said. “It’s the part that comes after. It’s fucking terrifying, dude. It is so not easy. Besides, you can’t just up and ask someone. You have to do it right.”

“Is that so?” Suga asked, an idea forming in his mind. It was maybe, possibly, very probably a bad idea. But he was really sick of his friends being moping, lovesick idiots.

“Yeah,” Bokuto said, jumping in to agree with Kuroo. “You have to approach it right. Be romantic and shit.”

Suga raised a challenging eyebrow at the complete losers he called his friends. He took a deep breath, giving himself one last chance to reconsider what he was about to do.

“HEY. TENDOU,” Suga shouted across the room.

“WHAT?”

“I THINK YOU’RE CUTE. WILL YOU GO OUT WITH ME?”

“ALRIGHT.”

“GREAT!” Suga called back, and then turned to Kuroo, Bokuto, and Oikawa. “And that, my pathetic, lovelorn friends, is how it’s done.”

“Oh, fuck off,” Kuroo said.

“It’s totally different. You guys have been doing your weird mating dance for ages now,” Oikawa protested.  

“Still, my point stands,” Suga said. “Hey, so when are you free?” he called over to Tendou again.

“Free right now,” Tendou replied with a crooked smirk.

“Right now it is,” Suga said. “Bye losers,” he added, giving a mock salute as he grabbed his bag and turned to follow Tendou out. He could hear Oikawa spluttering indignantly behind him.

“Wait, Kuroo, you don’t really think that could work, do you?”

“If what you’re asking is if you should ask Akaashi out by yelling at him from across the room, the answer is no.”

“Damn.”

---

“Hey, so,” Tendou started a bit hesitantly as they walked down the hall toward the elevators, “we don’t really have to go out or anything. Like, I get it if you were just doing that to make a point. I’ll tell everyone you showed me a great time and all.”

Suga stopped abruptly, grabbing Tendou’s wrist and yanking him down to look up into his eyes, which widened comically at the expression on Suga’s face. Not breaking eye contact, Suga slowly raised a hand and flicked Tendou in the middle of the forehead. Tendou blinked twice, his brow crinkling in confusion.

“Don’t be stupid,” Suga said. “You’re too cute to be stupid.”

Tendou nodded sharply. “Yes, sir,” he said, cocky grin sliding back onto his face.

“So, where do you want to go?” Suga asked, sliding his hand down Tendou’s bony wrist to weave their fingers together as they resumed walking.

“What is this? Pretty boy doesn’t have a plan?” Tendou said, feigning shock.

“Well believe it or not, that wasn’t actually how I was planning on asking you out,” Suga replied with an exasperated huff, reaching out to press the elevator button. A moment later the doors opened with a ding and they stepped in.

“So you were planning on it, then?”

“Well, yeah. I like you, you dummy,” Suga said, scratching the back of his neck and suddenly feeling like he’d been spending a bit too much time around Asahi.

“That’s super gay, Sugawara.”

“Yes, I am.”

Tendou chuckled and the sound did things to Suga. He’d managed to keep his cool, collected appearance in front of their friends but now that he was alone with Tendou he felt like a blushing mess.

“You didn’t answer my question, by the way,” Suga said as they left the building.

“Huh?”

“Where are we going?”

“Oh, right,” Tendou said. “Hmmm…” he pondered aloud, tapping his chin with one (absurdly long) finger. “Ice cream,” he declared. “I require ice cream.”

“Ice cream it is! Do you have a place you like?”

“Do I… do I have an ice cream place I like? What kind of question is that?”

“A… pretty reasonable one, I thought?”

“Suga. Suga. I have sampled every ice cream shop and cart within a five mile radius. I have ranked them based on the following,” he announced, holding up a hand to count off on his (absurdly long) fingers, “creaminess, variety of flavors, quality of cones, availability of toppings, and, most importantly, chocolatiness of their chocolate ice cream. And you ask me if I have an ice cream place I like. Of course I do.”

“O-okay then. Um, lead the way.”

Tendou grinned and took off, dragging Suga along by their still joined hands. After a few blocks his pace slowed, and Suga spotted a sign shaped like an ice cream cone. Tendou led them inside the ice cream shop; it was tiny, and the walls were violently purple. Suga had to blink several times to adjust to the color.

“So what flavor do you want? My treat.”

Tendou blinked at him. “What flavor?! Chocolate, you heathen.”

“Oh, right. Chocolatiness,” he said, recalling Tendou’s impassioned spiel about ice cream shops.

“Can I get an extra large one?” Tendou asked tentatively.

“Yeah, of course,” Suga said, grinning. Tendou gave him an uncharacteristically shy smile in return. Something in Suga’s chest squeezed uncomfortably, and part of him wanted to forget the ice cream and just pull Tendou into a tight hug and never let go.

“One extra large chocolate cone, and a regular matcha please,” Suga said when the lady at the counter prompted him for their order. Tendou muttered ‘wrong’ under his breath as soon as the word matcha passed Suga’s lips. Suga couldn’t help but giggle. They both got their ice creams and elected to carry them outside to eat them.

“There’s, uh, there’s a park nearby. If you wanted to, y’know. Walk,” Tendou said.

“That sounds great,” Suga replied.

“Cool. It’s this way.”

They walked in relative silence, focused on eating their ice cream before it melted. Tendou’s methodical ranking of ice cream shops had apparently paid off, Suga thought, because this ice cream really was good. He wasn’t usually much of an ice cream person, but it did hit the spot on a warm day like this one.

“Thanks for the ice cream,” Tendou said.

“Yeah, anytime.”

Tendou cackled. “Oh, Suga. Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”

“Okay, as often as my wallet can handle, then.”

“It’s a deal.” Tendou grinned, popping the rest of his cone into his mouth and proceeding to suck the melted ice cream off his fingers. Suga very quickly averted his gaze so Tendou wouldn’t notice his blush--though judging by his soft chuckle, Tendou definitely did notice.

“You’re blushing,” Tendou said.

Dammit. Of course he couldn’t just let that one escape.

“Does pretty boy like my fingers?”

“Are you gonna keep calling me that?” Suga asked, hiding his embarrassment behind feigned irritation.

“Well…” Tendou said, drawing out the sound, “you are a boy, and you are pretty. So, yes. I think I will.”

“Alright, just don’t go taking your nickname too literally, heartbreaker. Hm, maybe I should think of a new one for you, come to think of it.”

“I wouldn’t,” Tendou said. “The taking it literally, I mean. I wouldn’t do that.”

Suga looked up at him, and was kind of glad to see that Tendou was as red in the cheeks as he was now. The effect was a tiny bit comical with Tendou’s flaming red hair, though.

“Good,” Suga said, grabbing Tendou’s hand again and giving it a squeeze.

“Such a sap, Suga,” Tendou teased.

“You started it.”

“I recall no such thing,” Tendou said, putting on an exaggeratedly innocent expression.

“You say that, but I know the truth now.”

“Yes, but no one will ever believe you,” Tendou said with a slightly evil grin.

“I don’t need them to. Knowing is enough. Tendou Satori is a closet sap.”

Tendou blushed again, and it was unfair how adorable it was. Everything about him was unfair, honestly. Looking back, Suga honestly had no idea how he’d gotten here, on a date with Tendou Satori of all people. He couldn’t even say when he’d fallen for Tendou, because it was like his brain had forgotten what it was like not to be harboring a huge crush on him that may or may not be slowly encroaching on ‘love’ territory.

“The answer is yes, by the way,” Suga said.

“Hm?”

“I do like your fingers.”

“Ohoho!” Tendou crowed. “I knew it! What exactly is it you want to do to my fingers, hmm?”

“Why don’t you buy me dinner first?”

“Okay,” Tendou agreed quickly, and dammit, Suga was blushing again.

“Oh. Okay. It’s a date,” he said, though his voice lifted at the end, half turning it into a question.

“That it is, pretty boy.”

“Hey, Tendou?”

“Yes?” Tendou replied, drawing out the vowel.

“I’m going to kiss you now. If that’s okay.”

Tendou just nodded, staring wide-eyed at him. Suga slipped a hand around Tendou’s neck, leaning up and at the same time pulling him down until their lips met. It was--it was soft. Suga wasn’t sure what he expected kissing Tendou to be like, but he kissed gently, almost hesitantly, like he still wasn’t sure it was really happening. Suga leaned up into the kiss, adding more pressure as their lips slowly moved against each other. After a moment he pulled back, looking up into Tendou’s eyes as he traced soft patterns against his neck with his thumb. He grinned when Tendou shivered lightly at the touch.

“You know what?” Tendou said quietly, a grin slowly spreading across his face--a grin that told Suga he had an idea.

“What?”

“You asked me out in front of everyone to show them how it’s done,” Tendou said, “but they might not be really motivated to do something about it if they don’t properly see the benefits of getting their shit together and asking out the objects of their affection.”

“Are you suggesting we go back and engage in a gross show of PDA in front of all our friends?” Suga asked.

“That’s exactly what I’m suggesting.”

“I like the way you think, Tendou Satori.”

[8bit-arc-reactor-blog]

The Secret Admirer (Spock X Reader) (High school AU)

Word count:2891 Part 2 of ? 

The next day came rapidly bringing you another day closer to Prom. You stood in front of the mirror holding your dress up against your chest. You were proud of your choice and you couldn’t wait to show it to the girls on Friday night when they came to stay over. You also held the matching masquerade mask against you face. With a confident smirk you bowed to your pretend partner. “Why of course I would love to share this dance with you Spock” You said softly, a blush rising to your cheeks as you began to twirl around the room.

“(Y/N) hurry up or else you’ll be late for the bus!” Your mother called bringing you out of your pretend dance session and almost making you fall over your stool that sat in front of your vanity. You stumbled and fell back on your bed with a thump. “Are you alright in there?” You mother added a few minutes later after she heard the thump.

You scrambled to your feet and quickly put your dress and mask back to where they had once been so you wouldn’t die of embarrassment. “Y-yeah mom I’m fine. I’ll be down in a moment” You called to your mother and then grabbed the necklace that you had gotten yesterday. After doing extensive research of the planets that you had taken notes of before, you had found that the necklace was made of Vokaya. A gem only found in the core of Vulcan itself and a very rare gem. You knew now that your ‘secret admirer’ was either one of two Vulcans that you knew. Spock or Ston. You clasped the necklace around your neck and then grabbed your backpack.

You stood outside in the warm San Francisco air waiting for your bus to arrive. Sitting on the wooden bench with Carol Marcus, one of your friends, you talked about your current language class that you were taking together. Vulcan. You were trying to explain the northern and southern dialects the way Spock had taught you a while back when you felt a soft vibration against your leg. Someone texted you and they kept spamming you. “Sorry Car I have got to answer this because whoever it is won’t leave me alone” You said with an exasperated sigh as you unlocked your phone. You saw all the messages were from Reba making you roll your eyes and then read the messages. You finally asked her what she had wanted and then turned back to Carol. The two of you stood up as the bus arrived. You knew you were gonna deal with Reba’s excitement when you got on the bus.

You and Carol searched for seats on the usually crowded bus. Lucky for you, Reba had saved a seat for you next to her, her smile was absolutely one to rival Loki the god of mischief. “You’ll never guess wha’ happened ta me yesterday” Reba nearly shouted drawing the nosy stares of a few other students.

You clamped you hand over her mouth to shut her up only to feel her lick your palm. “Ew!  Damn it Reba why would you do that for? You psycho!” You groaned and pulled your hand away from her so you could wipe her slobber off of your hand on the leather seat.

“Damn right I’mma psycho! Don’ cha forget it either! Now I wanna tell ya ‘bout who asked me ta prom yesterday durin’ psychology” Reba laughed and stuck her tongue out at you as you both settled back in the seat and watched the other people on the bus slowly turn around.

“Fine tell me then psycho” You huffed and stared at her expectantly. You already knew the answer inside your head because you knew that Leonard was going to ask her. He really liked her which then you said to him “God bless your soul boy” because Reba was not only hyper most of the time, but she was also rough around the edges.

“Leonard McCoy! Oh my god he’s so cute and he told me that he really liked me! I was really hoping he would ask me” Reba chirped laying her head down on your lap. You looked down at her and tried your best not to laugh because of the over dramatically dreamy look in her bright blue eyes.

“That’s awesome Reba, I’m happy for you. At least three of us will have dates to the prom this year. You’ll be with Leonard, Carol will be with Jim and Nyota will be with Scotty” You said with a sad sigh and then stared out the window at the passing houses.

You felt Reba sit up and then she turned you to look at him. “Spock’ll come round hon, don’t worry huh? Where’d ya get that beauty?” Reba asked pointing at the Vokaya necklace that rested on your neck.

“I got this from one of my Vulcan English classmates. I don’t know which one, but if you want I’ll show you the letter that came with it” You said and handed Reba the letter.

“Oh he’s a clever one isn’t he? Ha this is gonna be fun (Y/N) don’t worry you’ll have a Vulcan prince to dance the night away with after all” Reba chuckled as she read the letter and patted you on the shoulder comfortingly. You glared at her because like Nyota, she wasn’t telling you something. She knew something that you didn’t, it seemed like everyone knew something that you didn’t and it was slowly driving you crazy.

STAR TREK

When you went to your locker this morning you found a medium sized package wrapped in a beautiful, old fashioned, new paper style wrapping paper. On the locker there was a note in a dark blue envelope just like the one you had seen the day before on your desk. Your heart was hammering as you knelt down and gently picked up the package. Sure enough it had your name on it scrawled in a fancy cursive handwriting.

Carefully you took the letter out of the door of the locker and then you delicately opened the new paper covering. You found a book. A real hard back book with paper pages, a rarity these days. You then looked at the cover and gently brushed your hand over the golden lettering. The Grimm Fairytales. You raised your eyebrow in confusion for a moment and then carefully you opened the second note and it read:

Hello again. I know that you may be a bit confused about the copy of the book that you hold in your hands. I was able find a perfect copy of it from an old friend of my mother’s. I know that you love books in their original form and not on PADDS so I figured that you may enjoy this.

My Dearest (Y/N). Your second clue.

The book you hold in your hand represents a time when we were children. It was the first time we met remember? We were in a place where books like this used to thrive and it was the only place you could find old text like this. We touched hands the first time we met. Both of us reaching for this book and in the end we sat down at a table together and read it. We were always more peaceful than other kids. After we read one or two of the stories we would play together. I was the knight and you were the princess, my pet would always be the dragon. I do miss those simple times, but even children have to grow up. Can you make a conclusion?

-Your Secret Admirer

 After reading the note you heard the bell ring signaling that it was time for class. You quickly and carefully placed the book in an extra pocket of your backpack and then tucked the note into your jacket pocket. Making sure you had all of your school books you ran down the hallway hoping to make it to Algebra on time.

In Algebra you couldn’t pay attention because you were trying to figure out what the second clue had meant. You had forgotten where you had met Ston, but from the way he and T’pring, a female Vulcan classmate, had been passing notes back and forth you were almost sure it wasn’t him. A voice inside your head told you to be happy that it wasn’t Ston because he was the captain of the football team and he could be a real douche sometimes.

Sadly you also realized that even though Ston and Spock were the only two male Vulcans that you shared classes with there were plenty of other male Vulcan exchange students there. Then again none of them would know about the stories of the Grimm fairytales. Vulcans don’t know how to play knights and dragons or save the princess. One Vulcan did and he was your best friend. He was half human so of course he would remember such an emotional memory from days past.

STAR TREK

It was Friday night and you were excited because your friends were all coming over to spend the night. The next day you would all go and get your nails and hair done before coming back and getting into your dresses. During the week the presents that you had been getting had made your suspicions turn into a sure feeling. It had to be Spock. It couldn’t be anyone else.

Day three you had received your favorite flavored cupcake at lunch by ‘Your secret admirer’ and the reminder of the birthday that you only spent with Spock, his mother Amanda, Your mom and your older sister Stella.

Day four came with a beautiful Vulcan rose attached to a special piece of parchment that had a quote reading:

What’s in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet

Only Spock would know that you loved Shakespeare because his love for it was almost as high. You recalled a day when he had gotten up in front of the entire English class to prove a point by reciting the complete Macbeth and Hamlet Soliloquies. No one ever again question his sheer knowledge on the subject because no one could’ve done it without flinching like he could.

Finally today you had received a CD. Jim had delivered it to you and as soon as you had gotten home you had popped into your computer to find a playlist of all your favorite songs. The first reminding you of Spock right away, ‘Stereo Hearts’ by Adam Levine and the Gym class heroes.

You knew in your heart that it had to be Spock. There wasn’t a doubt in your mind now. Spock was from the planet Vulcan, You had met him in the library where you both had wanted ‘Grimm Fairytales, only he knew that you loved red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting, both of you were absolutely obsessed with Shakespeare and the many soliloquies he wrote, and the playlist of songs were songs that you knew so well. Songs that described your friendship ever since you were both young.

Two Hours later…

Soon there was a knock at your front door. You smiled as you quickly ran down the stairs. Looking out the little peephole in the door. There on the front porch was Nyota, Carol, Reba, Hira who was Sulu’s little sister. You smirked and quickly threw open the door. “Well, Well, Well it took you long enough” You said sarcastically though you friends knew you were being playful.

Reba rolled her eyes as she entered through the threshold. “Like you ain’t been a little late before darlin’ We’re sorry for makin’ ya wait” Reba retorted as she lead the group up the stairs. “Hey miss (Y/L/N)” She said with a soft smile as she saw your mom. Your mom smiled back and waved in reply.

You shook your head and laughed as you followed behind your friends. “See ya in a little bit mom” You said happily and gave her a small wave. You mom chuckled and waved back as you disappeared up the steps.

“Soooo… did you find out who lover boy was (Y/N)?” Nyota asked as she sat on the bean bag that you had by the window. Hira sat down gently on the bench in front of your vanity while you and Reba took residence on the bed.

“I have a feeling about him yes…” You replied pulling out the little blue envelopes that you had gotten through the week. You looked up to see four sets of eyes staring at you expectantly. “What?” You asked glaring back at them and earning giggles.

“Well who is he?” Carol asked with a smirk on her lips. You blushed and closed your eyes and then you composed yourself again. You were afraid inside because you didn’t know if your guess was right, but you had so much evidence that it was indeed the Vulcan of your dreams.

“I think it’s…uh…Spock” You said meekly and suddenly the room was filled with a chorus of loud screeches. It was almost like a banshee had been spotted in your house. You cleared your throat and slammed your hand on the wall beside you. “Order in the court girls!” You snapped causing them to stop and stare at you again. “I said that I ‘think’ it’s Spock. I won’t be sure until tomorrow night” You said finally after a minute of silence.

“Ok so what is your evidence that it is the Vulcan dreamboat?” Hira asked pointing to the envelopes that you held in your hands rather tightly. “Are those love letters?” she asked.

“No actually they are clues. Each clue gave me more and more of a reason to believe that it was him. The first clue was the Vokaya stone necklace that he gave me. Vokaya is a gem only found on Vulcan as it is part of the core itself” You explained showing the girls the necklace that you hadn’t taken off your neck ever since you had placed it there.

“Ok, but what if it was Ston or another Vulcan?” Carol asked raising the next question among the group of friends.

“Oh I thought the same thing at first Carol except there are two things that disproved that it was another Vulcan. 1) If it was Ston he wouldn’t have been flirting extremely with T’pring. 2) No other Vulcan or Vulcan hybrid knew about Grimm’s fairytales” You said showing them the book that was left in front of your locker. Nyota and Reba looked astonished at the old fashioned book and you could tell what they were wondering. “Spock and I met in the public library when we were five. We both wanted this book and we touched hands on accident. That was when he became my best friend… well Male wise” You said earning an approving nod from Reba for the addition to your statement.

“And what other evidence do you have that would support this claim?” Carol asked playfully. You knew she was milking it like Sherlock would by now. You rolled your eyes and just passed her the envelopes. She scanned each one until she got to the final one and read one word. The one word that had gotten you to turn as red as a beet earlier. Thy’la. For Vulcans it usually had many meanings, but the context that was used gave the word any other meaning than sister or friend. In this context it meant my beloved. “Well it has to be him. There isn’t any other Vulcan we know in that school that would even bother with a human partner. I guess there’s only one way to find out right?” Carol asked looking around at all of you.

“Yea. You’re right Car, the only way to know is to go to prom tomorrow night. He did say that he would find me” You said and blushed as you thought about how it might go. “So do you guys want to see my dress and mask?” You asked earning eager nods from the four other girls in the room.

The rest of the night consisted of the normal things that you girls would do together on the weekends that you would spend the night. Playing games, watching movies, eating snacks, and of course gossiping.

When everyone else had fallen asleep you stared out at the starry night. The moon was full and a vision of Spock’s tall form danced under your sleepy gaze. “Spock if it is you then I hope that you mean it. I love you more than you’ll ever know” You whispered to yourself and then within minutes you allowed sleep to take you into its calm embrace.