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makeste · 6 years ago

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BnHA Chapter 209: Proud Dads, Determined Rivals, and a Prison Interlude

Previously on BnHA: Team BakuJirouSatouSero scored a flawless 4-0 victory against Team TokaBondoAwaKama. Here’s how it went down: (1) Bakugou protected Jirou and everyone watching was like “holy shit did Bakugou just protect Jirou??” and his classmates were like “YES THAT JUST HAPPENED”; (2) Awase welded Bakugou to some columns with his quirk; (3) Satou used his own quirk to smash Bakugou free; (4) Jirou stunned Awase with her quirk and Sero tied him up; (5) Bakugou blasted Bondo and Satou restrained him afterward; (6) everyone watching was like “SO BAKUGOU DOES TEAMWORK NOW?!” and again his classmates were like “YES”; (7) Bakugou flung Kamakiri into a wall, which looked like it hurt, sorry Kamakiri; (8) we learned that Bakugou had given some extra grenades to his teammates and they’d used them to blow up a bunch of Tokage’s amputated body parts, forcing her to regenerate and use up her stamina; and finally, (9) the depleted Tokage flew right into Bakugou and he took her out with a (Point-Blank) Stun Grenade attack. Basically it was just Bakugou is Awesome: The Chapter. If I didn’t know any better I’d think I had fantasized this whole fucking thing you guys. THAT’S MY BOYYYY.

Today on BnHA: Aizawa gives his team a thumbs up and Kaminari is all “WOW KACCHAN YOU REALLY CAN BE NOT-A-JERK IF YOU TRY HUH” and All Might is all “chills, Young Bakugou. LITERAL CHILLS” and that last bit makes Bakugou get all shy and embarrassed and it’s super fucking cute. Then he bumps into Deku and Deku is all “wow that was awesome” and Bakugou is all “you can’t beat me” and Deku is all “nah I can” and it goes on like this for a page and then Bakugou leaves and then All Might is all “I ship it.” Over on class B’s side, Monoma and his team begin to strategize for their upcoming battle. Everyone agrees that their first priority should be to take out Deku because You Just Don’t Fuck With Deku. The 5th set begins, and it’s honestly too many names to squish together, I’m gonna be real with y’all, but anyway so Deku’s side also has Mina, Ochako, and Mineta though. And their plan is to have Deku be a decoy and draw out Team B’s most troublesome members (i.e. Shinsou). As things get started, All Might gets a call from Gran Torino. We then cut to Tartarus of all places, where Prisoner #1541, better known as All for One, is squirming around and making the guards nervous. Turns out AFO is excited because apparently he can “hear his little brother’s voice.” Um. Okay.

(As always, all comments not marked with an ETA are my mostly-unspoiled reactions from my first readthrough of this chapter. I’m caught up with the manga now at chapter 224, so any ETAs will reflect that.)

haHA!

THAT’S HOW WE DOOOOOOOOOO

oh man. that was such a rush. how could anyone possibly not enjoy that. I think even Aizawa was probably pumping his fist a couple of times and then trying to play it off like he didn’t care lol

poor Vlad King

I wonder how this will change people’s strategies going up against Bakugou in the future. the kid whose own classmates once worried that he wouldn’t accept being rescued even when his life was literally on the line just pulled off some of the smoothest fucking teamwork I’ve ever seen. I mean that shit was seamless. and “cooperation” was this kid’s one and only weak stat before; moving forward it’s getting harder and harder to imagine how anyone could possibly beat him

and lest I not give the others the credit they deserve, they were outstanding as well. Satou with the clutch save and then later helping to apprehend Bondo! Sero who made expert use of his quirk to get the others in position and to capture Awase! and then being the one to figure out Tokage’s weakness and exploit it! and last but most definitely not least my girl Jirou, who kept the others advised of class B’s movements throughout and was the one to actually KO Awase before Sero tied him up!

basically they all did so gooood. even Aizawa can’t possibly find anything to chew them out for can he? lol I’m so proud of my babies

HAHA!!

HE GAVE THEM A THUMBS UP! HE’S ALMOST SMILING! OH MY GOD THAT MEANS THEY DID AMAZING. AND HE EVEN FOUND A WAY TO WORK IN SOME EXTRA COMPLIMENTS FOR PROBLEM CHILD #2 OVER THERE. AWW

meanwhile poor Vlad can’t find much to say either because let’s be real there’s no way his kids were ever gonna win that one

“based on past data” wow you guys I wonder if I’m ever going to stop being over the moon about this lol

but I mean, that’s exactly why I’m so psyched! it’s that slow burn character development! this was done so, so painstakingly, and little by little all the groundwork was put in until we finally reached the payoff. and that’s why it’s so satisfying. it’s because this is the side of Bakugou that I’ve been waiting for from the very start. this is him finally achieving the potential he has always had. it took so much patience and it was so, so worth it. so yeah. fuck it. I’m gonna keep being giddy about it

poor Tokage is apologizing to her teammates and she looks really worn out and I feel bad :( poor girl

but Awase is all “if someone with moves like his turns into a ‘goody two-shoes’, they have no holes to exploit” and oh my god lol. that’s what I’m saying, though. lol everyone is so fucked now :DDDD “well fuck us, if Bakugou’s not even going to be an asshole anymore then we might as well roll over and die now”

OH MY GOD

NEW FAVORITE PANEL ALERT

LET’S ANALYZE EVERYTHING!!! LET’S FUCKING DO IT!!

“KACCHAN” IS ALIVE AND WELL, I SEE!

BUT RIGHT AWAY HE COMPLIMENTS JIROU AS WELL BECAUSE KAMINARI IS HERE DOING HIS PART IN THIS THE YEAR TWENTY BI-TEEN

WELL DUH, SHE’S A HERO KAMINARI!!!

“A DELINQUENT PICKING UP A BUNCH OF STRAY CATS” SDFLAKSDFKJL WHAT AN AMAZING SIMILE. SERO YOU CAN COME SIT BY ME

and last but not least, there isn’t so much as a blink in regards to the “Kacchan.” this seriously is going to be his new hero name. this has gone from “I sure would love it if...” to “I’m actually starting to become increasingly sure of this” to “I would put solid money on it and would be amazed at this point if it doesn’t end up happening.” honestly I just want it to happen already lol

(ETA: yeah I might lose that bet lol. I still would love this because Parallels, but those Ground Zero feels from 223 have me rethinking my entire life ngl. btw that turned out to be “ground zero” spelled out in katakana though, not 爆心地/bakushinchi, so who knows. still kinda up in the air here.)

-- oh my fucking god you guys!!

ahhhhhhhhhhhhh ;______;

let’s analyze everything again omgggggg

look at Kacchan’s face. look at how he’s ignoring the others behind him entirely. his focus is entirely on All Might here. just waiting for his response. trying his best not to show how important it actually is to him

and All Might’s exceedingly proud face, and that praise. “CHILLS, YOUNG BAKUGOU. YOU GAVE ME FUCKING CHILLS” lmaoooo

AND THEN KACCHAN’S ULTIMATE TSUNDERE RESPONSE!!!

HE HAD TO TURN AWAY IMMEDIATELY SO THAT ALL MIGHT WOULDN’T SEE IF HE BLEW IT AND FUCKING BLUSHED OR SOMETHING

THE LEFT HAND MOVING UP TO HIS EAR! you’re telling me this kid, Bakugou fucking Katsuki, THE COCKIEST BOY WHO EVER LIVED, actually felt self-conscious to the point where he had to turn away and was all “whatever it’s not a big deal” and rubbing at his ear and avoiding eye contact with fucking everyone because he was so fucking happy that he made All Might proud, and no one can ever know!!!! QUICK, SAY SOMETHING COOL! “...YOU PROBABLY JUST CAUGHT A COLD OR SOMETHING.” NAILED IT!! SO SMOOTH KACCHAN

oh my god you guys this moment is seriously everything to me though. I’m so fucking happy for him. and he is so fucking cute jesus christ I want to pinch his adorable embarrassed cheeks ffff

OH HELLO

“REFLEX” I LOVE THAT THEY HAD TO CLARIFY IT. BECAUSE HE’S NOT THAT MEAN ANYMORE AND WE JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE PEOPLE KNOW

but he was so wrapped up in the praise he just got from his hero that when Deku startled him he got so flustered and he just automatically slipped back into what he knows. “nuuu leave me aloneeee.” HE’S NOT EVEN IN YOUR WAY THOUGH

SDFLKASHLDKFJ

PEOPLE OF THE WORLD, BNHA FUCKING DARES YOU NOT TO SHIP THESE IDIOTS. YEAH GO ON. JUST TRY IT

DSKAFDSHLFKHAWOIFHWOKFHSLK

lol unlike with All Might, Kacchan knows exactly how to respond to Deku’s praise by this point

but they’ve seriously come such a long way as well. look at how Katsuki’s response acknowledges Deku’s strength even as he keeps the rivalry alive and well. “you’ll never be able to catch up.” acknowledging Deku as the threat he is, the one who pushes him to keep improving

and then Deku’s confident response, slipping right into a rapport with him. no stammering or hesitation. just his own cocky little grin. he’s fucking living for this. being rivals with Kacchan! don’t mind him it’s just everything he ever wanted that’s all

lol so now Katsuki’s telling him to shut up and that he’ll never be able to surpass him!

and Deku’s all

I stan two (2) idiot rivalboys who are just starting to heal their relationship after so long and let me tell you guys it is an absolute and utter pleasure to see it go down and I am here for it and will be here for it as it continues to progress and as Katsuki continues to learn how to be Less Of A Jerk and make amends for his Past Bullshit and the two of them continue to establish this rivalry and then start to take their next steps toward the final stage, the endgame if you will, which is being partners who actually trust one another. oh my god. and I can’t fucking believe we’re finally within sight of that now though and oh my fucking god you guys

what are you thinking All Miiiiiiiight. I just explained to you all of my ten zillion thoughts on this so now you give me one of yours!

asldfkjalsfdjoi

OH SO YOU WERE SHIPPING THEM TOO HUH

ffffffff I’m telling you, every time he looks at the two of them together he sees their future selves, working together and trusting one another and relying on one another and together being the greatest heroes the world has ever known. All Might is the original BakuDeku shipper. he loves them so much and he’s so proud of them

and look at the word he uses there. friend. once again seeing through all of their fronting and other nonsense to the core of what they really are. and “friend” is not a word you could use to describe what Katsuki is to Izuku until very recently, but he’s absolutely right. we saw that earlier today when Katsuki saw them talking and came over and asked if anything had happened with OFA and then listened and reassured Izuku. that wasn’t rivalry, there -- that was care and concern (very brusquely offered but still). we are officially entering a whole new stage of this thing you guys, and fucking bring it on

also Deku’s face though. like, he was trying to keep that Rival Smirk in place, but look at the Actual Grin fighting to work its way out and him being so excited because it’s Kacchan and it’s what he’s wanted for so long ffff

ANYWAY. so we’re finally going to move on from the BakuDeku part of this chapter now though so say farewell

(ETA: oh my god this one section of this recap analyzing three fucking pages was longer than some of my other recaps in their entirety. sorry, guys; I see a pair of rivals and I lose all self control.)

All Might is adding “other than that potty mouth of his” which is Classic All Might, and meanwhile Shinsou is watching the two of them (All Might and Deku) with an indecipherable expression, oh my

anyway so now we turn to our other resident cocky blond

“not half bad” from Monoma in reference to Katsuki is like a fucking Michelin star holy shit

now Tokage is coming up to him dejected and apologizing and saying that it’s mathematically impossible for class B to win now

well that is true but they can still tie though. honestly I have no idea how this last fight will go now

wow Monoma

that accelerated from insightful to pompous so quickly I don’t think anyone even had time to strap themselves in

“everyone is a supporting character in someone else’s life, and the main character in their own” fucking what lmao

I mean, he’s not wrong though. unless you’re Deku. then you’re just The Main Character. surprise! a good way to tell if you’re actually the main character in everyone’s lives and not just your own is if you get attacked by villains in every single arc btw

so Kakashi Girl is asking what is Monoma’s plan anyway

did they not come up with one yet?? they had all that time! the most time out of anyone!

Shouda says they should adapt a strategy similar to Tokage’s team

sure, if you also want to get beat 4-0 in a record five minutes

so he says they should stick together and keep themselves concealed and that there are no merits in challenging the other team to hand-to-hand combat

whatever you say. I only know two of you guys’ quirks here. I personally would be looking to take advantage of the Monoma-borrows-Shinsou’s-quirk strategy to take them by surprise, which is only going to work once but damned if it won’t be really fun to watch though

absolutely. he’s the Bakugou of their team, for sure. but if you thought Kacchan’s team had good teamwork, you ain’t seen nothing yet though

and also don’t forget that my girl Uraraka “gon’ fuck your shit UP” Ochako is also on this team! anyone wants to underestimate her, it’s at their own risk

apparently class B has been doing their research and keeping up with the times, because they’re aware that Deku’s style has come a long long way from the days of the sports festival. they even know about his new long-distance attacks! wow

also they describe him as “Bakugou’s equal or maybe even greater” in terms of both mobility and power, which is excellent. this series keeps giving me what I want

so Shinsou agrees that they need to take out Deku first “no matter the cost.” but he’s bringing up the fact that Deku is able to escape from his brainwashing

oooooh

ehhhh but I kinda feel like that’s a waste of the potential that Monoma-with-Shinsou’s-quirk has, and I don’t get how doubling down would do anything other than just make things more complicated. and also, won’t Deku’s team be on the lookout for Shinsou’s quirk now? idk just seems like a lot of things that could go wrong here. this fight is going to be so interesting

Monoma looks thoughtful and says that it’s possible “things won’t go as planned for me either”

but he says that either way they need to stop Deku from roaming free or they have no chance. “I’m counting on you, Shinsou”

so now the teachers are gathered and saying that this is the last round, which we already know. “I wonder how Shinsou will fare?”

I know Aizawa is actually way more invested in this than he’s letting on, so I’m officially rooting for class B here despite my best boy and best girl Izuku and Ochako being on the class A team. sorry guys. but I just want your new brother to do well so he can be accepted into your class and get to be your brother full time!

I highly doubt that they will! so now we’ll see whether or not he can adapt!

oh shit I forgot Mineta was on this team. hey team B I’m giving you guys a freebie. you can just come pick him up now

anyway so on their side they are of course worried the most about Shinsou. though Ochako’s reminding them that they should be worried about everyone!

lol that started out as what seemed to be a pep talk, but then turned into more of a “there’s actually way more ways we could lose than just that!” type of thing lmao

and what is this now

did you guys spend all your time practicing this instead of coming up with some actual strategies. we fucking know what you can do you boobs

lmaoooooo

what are you talking about!? honestly you could probably combine your quirks and still pull out a win even without Deku if you tried. Mina what happened to all that creativity you were overflowing with during the Band AU arc??

(ETA: thankfully she’s still got it! lol watch your back Mineta)

and anyway, since you do have Deku though, this team is basically Bakugou’s Team 2.0. the possibilities are endless! you guys are so fucking versatile! stop getting down on yourselves! where is the leadership?? the last group only just showed everyone how much of a difference that shit makes. Deku where are you

oh there you are

would that really work? I know if it was me on team B and I saw Deku off on his own I’d be like “okay great, let’s stay as far the fuck away from him as possible and go after the others while they’re undefended”

oh apparently he told them all about his weird quirk mishap earlier because Mina’s asking him how he’s doing now

but he says he’s feeling fine, same as always

and he thinks that after watching the 4th set, they’ll be on their guard against him though. yeah exactly

Mineta’s asking if he’s going to be all right because they’re relying on him

oh y’all know I’m living for this calm heroic confidence

this right here. is exactly the type of hero I want Deku to be. oh my god I’m so fucking proud of my boys in this arc, though

SHUT UP MINETA

STEADFAST DEKU IS THE BEST DEKU. GO GET YOURSELF CAPTURED BY SHINSOU ALREADY IF YOU’RE GONNA BE LIKE THAT

so now Deku’s flexing his hand and he says nothing feels off

sdlfkhalsdkflj

“after he lit a fire under me like that” oh my god. and this is why their rivalry is my favorite fucking part of the series. just look at how they push each other. Kacchan just gave the performance of a lifetime after reluctantly learning the true meaning of Christmas from the boy he formerly thought of as a pebble in his shoe. and now Deku is here calmly telling everyone they’re definitely going to win, and thinking determined thoughts after getting all fired up after that talk with his best friend. CAN I CALL THEM THAT YET? NO? I’M BEING TOLD I JUMPED THE GUN EXTREMELY BY A WHOLE LOT? ARE YOU SURE? OKAY SORRY I JUST GOT EXCITED MY BAD. BUT GIVE IT A LITTLE MORE TIME THOUGH?

anyways so Vlad is all “BEGIN!” and there are two big panels of the teams getting all set to go!

oh shit and now All Might’s phone is ringing unexpectedly

lol @ Midnight telling him to shut that thing off. All Might that’s so rude

oh shit it’s Gran! that was fast. oh my god now they can talk about Deku’s weird quirk bullshit yessssssssss

AHHHHHHHHHHHHH

ISN’T THIS TARTARUS?!?!

ASDFKLHLKJL

jesus christ. if you have upwards of 1500 extremely dangerous high security prisoners, then maybe just maybe you might want to go ahead and refer to them by their fucking names just for simplicity’s sake. “which one is 1541 again?” like is it good or bad that he moved? these are circumstances where even a split second of having to go through your mental filing system to recall who’s who might end up being disastrous if things go wrong

anyways don’t mind me, just nitpicking really stupid things instead of getting on with the story. okay so who is that. is it AFO??

so the guard is mumbling that it would be nice if they could hurry up with “the decision and execution” of 1541’s sentence. “at this rate we won’t be able to last”

wow. so it must be AFO, right? if they’re just letting him move around all the time, they really are screwed. what, were those gun turrets just for show? he’ll be out of there in a blink of an eye once he finally feels like it

and now we’re cutting to the cells and I’m preeeeetty sure this is AFO talking with Stain here

Chaplin sounds like some redpill prick if you ask me

also I’m not quite sure but did they just confirm that Chaplin is Gigantomachia’s true identity?

I just went and checked JBox’s translation and they made it seem like Giganto is Chaplin’s subordinate. which can’t be right because we know he’s AFO’s. serves me right for trying to verify something with JBox. I’ll just check Caleb Cook’s twitter after this and see what his thoughts are

-- wait hold up. now it looks like the guards talking. maybe JBox was right after all

(ETA: okay I wasn’t able to check Viz’s version to verify, but I think this is actually the guards talking and the correct translation should be “he’s his direct subordinate,” with him being All for One. the original Japanese line was “直系の部下だ” which basically means “he is [their] direct subordinate” without actually clarifying whose subordinate they are, so it’s a bit confusing when you don’t know who’s talking. anyways!!)

anyway so they’re saying that AFO has tons of other followers still in hiding and that it’s not just the league. and that they have to be careful not to provoke them

eh, I’d say it’s worth the risk. these other villains ain’t shit compared to AFO and we all know it. but if you leave him alive, and he gets out and regains his strength and retakes his place at the head of them all, then we’re talking about an all-out war potentially

which is actually where I’m thinking the series might be headed though. at least for the final arc. so I guess we’ll see

um whoa

seriously?? you too?? oh shit what the hell is even going on

anyways so that’s the end. oh my god. the series is getting so good again. it’s actually been really good since the Endeavorhawks arc honestly. like we’re almost back at full steam again. big things are coming, we’re heading toward another huge arc, I can feel it, and I can’t wait

#bnha #boku no hero academia #bakugou katsuki #all might #midoriya izuku #monoma neito #shinsou hitoshi #uraraka ochako #ashido mina #all for one #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #makeste reads bnha #posting this a bit early since I'm heading off to a game of thrones viewing party #part one of april's two-part double whammy of screwing with all my emotions and killing off all the characters I love #part two will of course be avengers: endgame at the end of the month #bnha you had better not go killing anyone off anytime soon bc right now you're the only thing I can rely on now #winter is here kids #gonna be a wild ride

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lindseyluvsdrag · 8 years ago

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Letters From My Glass Jar Ch. 7

Warning: Writing is not fundamental. Ignore the typos.

Ch. 1

Ch. 2

Ch. 3

Ch. 4

Ch. 5

Ch. 6

“Have a drink with me, grandson,” the man said as draped his arm over Oliver's shoulder. He led the boy to the kitchen and pulled out the Bourbon. “So, where'd you meet this girl and how is the sex?”

The boy nearly choked on dry air.

“You know those are the two most important things in a woman. Meeting her at a decent place and wanting to keep her because she performs well. You can always buy food but good sex is priceless.”

The boy groaned and quickly suppressed the horrific combination of his 'grandfather’ and 'good sex’ in the same sentence. “We met at school. Our friend introduced us.”

“Sounds good,” the elderly man said as he grabbed two shot glasses. He opened the top and filled the crystal to the brim before handing one to Oliver. “And the sex?”

The boy quickly downed his shot and groaned at the burning in his chest. “We don't have sex, Grandpa.”

“What?! Here's another.” The man filled the glass once more. “Is she not putting out or is this your doing?”

“I'm not ready for that yet. I still have two surgeries to go.”

“Does she know?”

“Of course she does. She knew before we started dating.”

“Ahh, so she accepts you for everything even if you sometimes don't accept yourself.”

Oliver smiled. He was always amazed at how easily his family saw through him. “Yeah, she's amazing.”

The man handed him the second shot. “To amazing women.”

“To amazing women,” the boy repeated before downing the Bourbon.

---

The elderly woman pulled Ronis into her bedroom and towards her closet. “The cut of your dress is very mod but the plain red just doesn't work. Mod is about bright colors and fun geometric shapes.”

“Well, the red was for Christmas.”

“Ugh, conforming to think a color is designated for a specific date is just stupid.”

“Um...okay. I respect your opinion.”

“It's not an opinion, it's a fact.” The woman then began to pull box after box from the top shelf of her closet.

“Do you need help?”

“Duh! I'm sixty-eight years old!”

The girl quickly rushed to the woman's aid and was immediately choked up by the layer of dust that had settled on the top of the cardboard. “What is all of this?” she wheezed.

“Fashion! Not that you'd know anything about that,” she said as she popped the first box open. The woman pulled out the canary yellow boat neck midi dress with short black and white striped sleeves causing Ronis’ jaw dropped.

“That's stunning.”

“I wore this to the Princess Margaret luncheon in 1966 a week after giving birth to David.”

“You were this tiny a week after?!”

“Of course! I didn't eat with a shovel while pregnant. David ruined my flower, he wasn't about to ruin swimsuit season too.”

Ronis laughed, slightly uncomfortable but she'd never let the woman see it.

“And this,” she said as she pulled out a short and sheer dress composed completely out of red, black and white poker chips, “was worn when I met Tina Turner. She said she liked it and I said 'your legs are nice and all but there's no way you can pull this off’. I got kicked out of the club shortly thereafter because Tina's a jealous bitch.”

“You met Tina Turner?!”

“I threw a drink on Tina Turner.”

“Oh my God. That's bonkers.”

“I caught her as she was exiting the club, threw the drink and ran before her security could catch me. I mean, I think Ike had the right idea because that bitch is evil.”

“Well, domestic violence is never okay,” the girl defended.

“Bullshit! Some people just need to be hit and other people crave being hit. Early in our relationship, my husband and I dabbled in the drug scene. We'd get high, fight over any little thing that'd escalate to goddamn boxing match, have the best sex ever, smoke a cigarette, go to bed and then do it all over again the next day. That’s the best kind of violence, but we’ve calmed down. No more cocaine and punches, just weed and a few spanks.”

The girl pursed her lips and thought about kittens to block the imagery from her mind.

“Alright, you. Open that box, let's see what we got.”

Ronis simply shock her head as she opened the box and gasped when she saw the fuschia and green checkerboard trench coat with fur lined cuffs. “This is so perfect! I love fuschia and green together if you couldn't tell,” she said as she batted her eyelashes to show off her creative makeup.

“Yeah, saw it. Hate it. Mod is black liner and or white liner, maybe a little pearlized white shadow with bold lashes. Other than that, the face was clean and free of all that extra nonsense.”

“Well, Mrs. Riddle, with all do respect, this is my style. I take inspiration from the sixties and the nineties and make it my own. I'm not trying to live in the past.”

“Well living in the past would do you some good because what you're doing now isn't working.”

“Well,” Ronis emphasized, “what works for me typically doesn't work for everyone. I can admit that my style is unique-”

“Unique is a delicate way to put it.”

“It is a very delicate way to put it and it's the only way I'll put it because I'd never conform to a set era or style. Maybe I feel like wearing all neon one day and maybe I feel like wearing a cat snuggie next. Style is subjective but a bad attitude is just toxic,” the girl ranted, doing her best to keep her tone at a respectful level.

“Ughh,” the woman groaned. “So political.”

“I was raised to stand up for what I believe in. And I don't think you have to tear other people down to validate your style.”

“My style doesn't need validation!”

“It doesn't, but you clearly do!” the girl exploded before covering her mouth, regret instantly washing over her.

“How dare you disrespect me in my own home?!”

“I'm truly sorry. Because you're Oliver's grandmother, the last thing I wanted to do was disrespect you but you've insulted me since I walked through those doors and I gritted my teeth but you're just a bit much.”

“Pfft, I know that!” The woman folded her arms. “Well nobody has ever said it to me but I know it.”

The woman's husband rushed into the room. “Is everything okay, honey?”

“Yeah, just getting put in my place by this bitch,” she sighed. “All of the other ones just kinda cried to the boys after meeting with me. But this one is feisty, I'm not sure I can handle that.”

“Well, if you want me to leave or whatever, I will,” Ronis offered.

“No, no. If you leave now you'll lose the respect that you've just earned.”

The girl grinned.

“Wipe that smirk off of your face because you only get a little respect. I'll never fully respect f that makeup.”

“And I can respect that as long as it's delivered as constructive criticism and not attacks.”

“Don't tell me not to attack! You...you...ah fuck it, where's the blunt?”

Her husband quickly lit a fresh blunt and handed it to her just as an anxious Oliver appeared in the doorway. “Is everything okay?”

“Where did you find this girl?” the woman asked. “I’m trying to give her my vintage shit and she's busting my chops in here.”

“Really?!” the girl squealed. “I'd love some of your vintage pieces! Literally nothing would make me happier, oh my Godddd-”

“Alright, alright, calm the fuck down. You're killing my buzz.” The woman took a deep inhale of the blunt. “After dinner or whatever the fuck we're doing, you can go through the boxes and take what you want. It's all too small for me and I'd rather it be in the hands of someone who'd wear it terribly than collecting dust.”

“Thank you so much, Mrs. Riddle,” the girl said excitedly.

“What are you a cop? Call me Pam.”

“Grand, your name is Mary,” Oliver said, slightly concerned.

“Well, I like the name Pam!”

“Okay, fine.”

“Let's go open these motherfucking presents.”

Ronis practically jumped into her boyfriend's arms. “Did you miss me?”

“Every second that we're apart.”

“Aww.” The couple shared a kiss before their fingers were interlocked as they made their way back into the living room. As soon as they turned the corner, the boy was ambushed by three small children.

“Oli! Oli! Oli! Oli!” they chanted as they clung to his back and legs, nearly tipping him over.

“Whoa, be careful,” Ronis got out as she nervously watched the boy secure his hold around Oliver's neck with one hand and pull at his nose with the other.

“Ow, Juju that hurts!”

“Give me some candy and I'll leave you aloneeee.”

“I don't have any candy! Go ask Uncle Duke!”

“Liar!” the girl wrapped around his right leg accused. “Uncle Duke said he gave all his candy to you!”

The third child reached into his pockets and pulled out a handful of chocolates. “Found it!”

“Hey, get off of me jerks!”

Ronis quickly retrieved the remaining candy from her boyfriend's pocket and placed it in her purse. “You now have your share. This is Oliver's and I will hold onto it for him.”

“Who is this arsehole?” the youngest child demanded.

“Oh my God, do you kiss your mother with that mouth?”

“Ew, no! I kiss my girlfriend!”

The girl laughed in disbelief. “Well you put me in my place.”

“Ronis, little cousins. Little cousins, this is my girlfriend.”

“Ewwwww!” they said in unison. “Who would date you? You pee in the bed!”

“I do not! That was twelve years ago and you guys weren't even born.”

“My sister told me!” said Juju.

“My brother that if we kicked you in the bollocks that it wouldn't hurt cause you don't have any,” the girl added.

A pained expression crossed Oliver's face and Ronis fought the urge to rip the children off the boy.

“Where are your parents?” she demanded. “Would they like to know how you speak to people?”

“It's okay,” Oliver mumbled. “Guys, I'm gonna go to the bathroom really quick. Do you mind getting off?”

“Bryan said you have to sit to peeeee.”

“No I don't,” the teen practically whimpered.

“Then let us see!”

Ronis had reached her limit and pried Juju off of her boyfriend's neck.

“Stranger danger! Don't touch me!”

“Oh, you've yet to see dangerous,” she assured. “You two, get off of his legs.”

They blew raspberries at her.

“I'll give you each a chocolate ball.”

The kids quickly obliged and let go as she reached into her purse. She grabbed the sweetz and tossed them across the room causing all three of them to chase after the treats.

“Good riddance,” Ronis said with a scowl as she turned to her boyfriend. He was clearly defeated as he stared down at his shoes but she simply smoothed his hair. “Look at me.”

Oliver slowly met her eyes.

“You are perfect.”

The corners of his mouth curled but it wasn't the smile that she wanted.

“Let's play a game,” she said as she grabbed a third piece of chocolate from her bag. The girl unwrapped the foil and placed the candy in her mouth. “Want it? Come and get it.”

The boy couldn't help but grin as he pulled her into a tender kiss.

“Tossing the candy across the room was genius,” a female voice said from behind Ronis causing her to break the kiss. “I may try that sometime.”

Oliver groaned. “Go away, Alice,” he warned the sixteen year old. Before Ronis could question it, her boyfriend led her into the living room, only to freeze at the sight of the group of teenagers and young adults sprawled across the sofa.

“Well if it isn't little Oli!” Bryan shouted as he placed the blunt to his lips. “Got a dick yet?”

Ronis’ jaw dropped and before she could say anything, the boy did. “Got rid of your STDs yet?” he retorted.

The twenty year old quickly quickly pushed himself off of the couch. “Is it illegal to hit a lady?”

“Is it illegal to spray you in the eyes with Mace?” Ronis growled.

Bryan chuckled before giving her the once over. “You're pretty cute. How about I show you what a full length Riddle looks like?” he asked, tone and every inch of his body smug.

Oliver saw nothing but red as he shoved the boy back onto the couch and before Bryan could retaliate with a punch, Pam entered the room carrying an armful of presents.

“The fuck is going on in here?”

“Oliver pushed Bryan,” said Alice.

“Oliver, keep your filthy claws to yourself!”

“He said something inappropriate to Ronis!”

“Who the fuck do you think you're shouting at?”

The boy instantly composed himself. “Sorry, Grand.”

“Now if Bryan said something, this girl can handle herself. I don't need my grandkids pushing each other like sissys. You should've just punched him, I would've respected you more.”

“Yes ma'am,” he said quietly.

“Who's punching who?” David asked as he entered the room with a full turkey leg in hand.

“None of your fucking business,” his mother groaned. “Get your brothers so we can open this expensive shit that I still have the receipts for.”

David turned around and shouted back into the house. “Little bitches! Mummy wants you!”

His three younger brothers rushed into the room.

“Who are you calling a bitch, bitch?” Dylan retorted.

“You who takes it up the ass, bitch.”

“You smell like ass, bitch!” Duke randomly added to whoever would fight him for the statement. Daniel quickly pulled him into a headlock while David twisted Dylan's arm behind his back just because.

“Hey, you little shits! Stop it now!” Pam said in a tone they'd feared since childhood. They immediately obeyed. “You're killing my goddamn buzz!” Her husband handed her the blunt from earlier and she took a deep puff. “Each of you, go sit by your motherfucking spawns so it can make this gift giving easier. Although none of you motherfuckers deserve anything. Goddamn pussy mouth motherfuckers.”

Ronis covered her mouth to suppress the laughter at the way her new militant friend ran her household.

David wrapped his arm around Oliver and kissed the top of the boy's head. “How are you?”

“I'm fine.”

The man froze. “Who did it?”

The boy tried to pull away but the man's hold was unbreakable. “Did what?” he groaned.

“If anyone's fucking with you, you need to let me know because I'll drop any of these motherfuckers. Except Grand, she terrifies me.”

“Nobody is bothering me, Dad,” he sighed in exasperation.

“Except someone who needs to learn that what's in someone else's pants isn't any of their business,” Ronis grumbled. Oliver nudged her side.

“What was that?” David pressed.

“Nothing,” Oliver rushed. “And no, Ronis didn't do anything either.”

The man gave the girl a look before turning his attention to his brothers who tried to squeeze onto the couch with their children. While Dylan stood in the corner with his new lover sharing a blunt as they blew smoke into each other's mouths.

“There he is blowing shit again,” David joked to which he simply got a middle finger.

Daniel squished himself between two of Oliver's older cousins, Alice and one of the boy's Ronis had gotten rid of earlier while Duke was buried in Juju and his three other young children while his older sets of teens and young adults stood brooding in the background.

“How many fucking grandkids do we have?” Pam asked her husband.

The man quickly did the math. “Fourteen and they're all here besides Jackie.”

“Well, did you call her?”

“Yes! She said she'd come a bit later.”

“You guys invited Jackie without telling me?” David asked.

“Duh! She's my granddaughter and just because you don't get along with her doesn't mean I don't.”

“I get along with her but ugh, Mum, it's just complicated. She's a bigot.”

“Bigot or not, she's your daughter and you'll deal with it!”

“Not when she's being cold to my son!”

The woman responded by slapping her son across the face. “Don't you dare raise your voice at me!”

“Yes Ma'am.”

“Now my grandchild was invited to my house and when she gets here, you and Oliver will be nice to her.”

David gritted his teeth but didn't protest any further.

The woman placed the blunt between her lips. “Okay I got whore dolls for the girls and bebe guns for the boys. If you're under twelve, come and get it.”

The small group of children charged the woman as she handed out the sloppily wrapped gift boxes.

“Grand, why don't we have a tree?” JuJu asked.

“Because I smoked them all, sweetheart. Next! I have wine flavoured blunt wrappers and tequila samples for everyone between twelve and eighteen.”

“She can't be serious,” Ronis whispered in her boyfriend's ear.

Clearly embarrassed, the boy nodded. “She is.”

“Which one of you wanted the Xanax?!” Pam hollered.

“Me,” Bryan said before the woman tossed him the pills. “Thanks, Grand.”

“You're welcome, you little shit. Um, who needed spray paint?” Another of them raised their hand and quickly accepted the can. “Don't use it in my house and don't be huffing that shit.”

Oliver and Ronis were handed blunt wrappers and three small bottles of tequila.

“I really can't accept thi-” the girl got out before her boyfriend frantically pressed their lips together to silence her.

“Excuse me?” Pam asked, glaring down her nose at the couple.

“Nothing, Grand,” Oliver assured.

“Alright you little shits, start exchanging gifts.”

“Did you get your kids anything?” Duke asked.

“Yeah, I gave you the gift of life, motherfucker. Be grateful.”

Moments later, the room grew louder as the family began to exchange gifts that Oliver practically had to shout so that his girlfriend could hear him. “Telling her that you didn't want the gifts would've opened up an entire new can of worms.”

“But Oli I can't pretend to like something that I don't. Whatever it results in, I'm honest.”

“I know, babe, I know. But I want you guys to like each other. I'm stuck with her and I'm obsessed with you so I really need to make this work.”

The girl grinned as she kissed him. “So I have your first gift with me, but you have to promise not to be upset with me.”

He raised an eyebrow. “It depends.” She frowned and handed him the gift bag. The boy reached inside and pulled out the card first and began to read aloud. “To my boyfriend who likes handing out candy like he's the goddamn Easter Bunny. Love Ronis.” Oliver made a face as he retrieved the bunny ears and pale pink bucket.

“I'm sorryyyy,” Ronis offered. “I was still really pissed at you when I bought it. Your other gift is at the dorm.”

The boy chuckled before placing the ears on his head. “You could've at least gotten me candy or carrots or something.”

The girl giggled.

“And the only person I'll be giving my candy to is you.”

“Promise?”

Oliver extended his pinky and Ronis grinned as she wrapped her finger around his. “Oh!” he gasped as if he'd remembered something. The boy pulled a few loose papers from his coat pocket and handed them to the girl. “Merry Christmas.”

The girl scanned over the information, lists of names and phone numbers but she couldn't make sense of it. “What's this?”

“I took it upon myself to call Jaylen and get the name, address and phone number of every stadium he plays at and every club in the area. I called one and told them that we're an awesome, London based band and the guy said the next time we're in America, he'd love to meet with us.”

“Oh my God, really?! Babe, that's amazing!” Ronis squealed in excitement as she threw her arms around his neck.

“Roli is gonna be so real.”

“Roli is already real! They'll write fanfiction about us one day.”

The boy chuckled and kissed the girl, only to freeze when his grandmother shouted across the room. “Hey, Jackie!”

“Hi, Grand!”

“Hi, Grand!” three little voices clamored.

“Ah, damn, honey why didn't you remind me that we had three great-grandshits?!”

Oliver's blood turned to ice. “Oh God.”

“What's wrong?”

“I haven't seen Jackie in person in nearly three years...and I've never met her kids,” he whispered in a blind panic. “Oh God, I can't breathe.”

“Babe, it's okay,” Ronis cooed. “Let's go to the terrace.” As the girl led the boy towards the back of the flat she glanced over her shoulder, catching a glimpse of the hazel eyed brunette whose beauty nearly took her breath away.

Making it onto the balcony, Oliver snatched off his bunny ears as he continued to gasp for air and David was seconds behind him.

“Oli, Oli, it's okay buddy,” the man rushed as he pulled an inhaler from his pocket and handed it to the boy. Oliver placed the pump to his lips, taking two deep inhales as he pumped.

“Better?” David asked.

The boy nodded as he returned the inhaler.

“If you don't wanna see Jackie, you don't have to.”

“Dad, it's not me that doesn't back out of plans or rushes off of the phone when we speak,” he wheezed.

“I know, I know. She's a bitch. So just stay out here and take a Xanax or something. I'll be right back. Ronis, take care of my boy.”

“I will,” she promised.

David smiled, the sincere most sincere gesture she'd ever seen on the man since they met, before returning into the flat. Oliver covered his face into his hands and without a word his girlfriend wrapped his arms around him and pressed her cheek against the warmth that emanated from his chest.

“Your heart is pounding,” Ronis sighed before kissing his neck, allowing her to finally hear the sobbing that he was doing his best to conceal.

“Babe, it’ll be okay,” Ronis cooed but was taken aback when the boy snatched away from her.

“Stop saying it'll be okay because it won't! It hasn't been okay for fourteen years, what makes you think it'll all of a sudden, magically, be okay?!”

The girl had never seen the boy so upset but his shouting made her defensive. “I don't know, Oliver! Maybe a fucking Christmas miracle! I'm only trying to help make you feel better!”

“Nothing's going to make me feel better, Ronis! It fucking sucks! It sucks to have memories of your sister being nice to you and then her hating your guts all of a sudden! I haven't even met my nieces and nephew! I'm not a murderer or a child molester but I can't be around them. I see all this shit on social media and they're so beautiful and I can't even be around them,” he choked out before breaking down again; sobbing into his hands.

“Babyyy,” Ronis said helplessly as she wrapped her arms around the boy. The girl didn't know what to say so she remained silent as she figured the best thing she could do for him is to just be there.

Despite the icy frost searing his tears to face and his girlfriend's comforting hugs, Oliver continued to weep uncontrollably and it brought up all the vulnerability that he hated. The boy felt sick to his stomach and lightheaded. “I c-c-can't br-breathe.”

“Oh my God, babe no, please calm down.” When the boy continued to wheeze the girl did her best not to panic as his face grew paler. “Oli! Where's that inhaler thing?”

“Da-Da-”

The girl quickly rushed back into the flat in search of the boy's father.

---

After leaving his son in Ronis’ care, David made his way through the flat to the living room. When he made eye contact with Jackie, he smiled without showing his teeth. Before either could speak, the man was ambushed by his grandchildren.

“Grandpa! Grandpa!” they squealed.

“Hey, guys! And what did I tell you about calling me Grandpa? It's Big Daddy D to you.”

“Mum said that we can't call you that,” the boy informed.

David exaggerated a gasp. “Why not?”

The smallest of the children urged him to lean down so that she could whisper in his ear. “Because it sounds in-sa-ppropriate.”

The man gasped even louder. “Oh no! Not in-sa-ppropriate!”

“It's pronounced, 'inappropriate’. Josie just has a speech impediment,” the oldest retorted.

“Hey, there's nothing wrong with speech impediment, Jaz. I've been known to slur my S’sss,” he said in an over lisp that made the kids giggle. “So I guess you can call me Super Dragon Emperor of the World. Is that appropriate?”

“Yes!” they cheered in unison.

“Awesome! How about you guys see what your cousins are doing? I heard that Great Uncle Duke gave them candy.”

“Candy!” The kids all rushed off in different directions.

“Hi, Dad,” Jackie sighed.

“Hi,” David replied as he wrapped his arms around his daughter. Whenever the man got the chance to hug her, he was taken back to a time to when she was still his little girl. “How are you?”

“Besides Grand’s threats for me to come, I'm good. And yourself?”

“I'd be better if I could celebrate Christmas with both of my children.”

“Well, isn't J-”

“His name is Oliver,” he aggressively corrected.

The woman took a deep breath. “Well, isn't...Oliver...here?”

“He's on the terrace.”

“Then there you have it. Both your children are here.”

“Jackie, I'm not going to play these games with you. You know exactly what I mean.”

“I don't know what you want from me, Dad.”

“I want you to talk to your brother!”

“I don't have a brother!”

David quickly pursed his lips to prevent himself from saying something that he knew he'd regret. “Jackie,” he said quietly. “I-”

“David!” Ronis panted as she sprinted towards the man. “Oli needs that inhaler! He can't breathe and he's pale in the face and-”

Before she could get another word out, David was practically knocking the girl over to get to the terrace. Ronis turned on her heel to follow him but was stopped by Jackie's inquiry.

“Um, excuse me?” she politely began. “What's going on with...Oliver?”

“He's having a panic attack. He's upset that no matter how hard he tries, some people just won't accept him. Even people who should love him unconditionally,” Ronis said underhandedly.

Jackie raised an eyebrow. “And how do you know J- Oliver?”

“I'm his girlfriend,” she chirped proudly.

The woman immediately wrinkled her nose in disgust. “You do know that 'he’ was born a she, right?”

“Oh, I'm well aware of what Oli is. And more importantly, I'm aware of who Oli is. And that's the most amazing person that I've ever met in my entire life. You don't even deserve to have the same blood in your veins as he does because you're simply despicable. I don't know how you live with yourself, with all that goddamn venom swirling about inside of you and I literally hope and pray that none of your children have to go through what my boyfriend's going through right now because of you. Ugh,” Ronis groaned. Sick of looking at the woman, she turned on her heel ignoring Jackie's shouting behind her.

“Who do you think you are?! Don't you dare mention my children ever again, bitch! Jaz, Onyx, Josie let's go!”

“Aww, Mum! We're playing with our cousins!”

“And we just got here! Why do we have to leave?”

“Who's leaving?!” Pam demanded as she rushed back into the living room. “Not before we eat and shit or whatever’s left!”

“Grand, that stupid bitch, that lesbian!” she screeched in hopes that Ronis would hear, “practically called me a terrible mother! She doesn't know me and I won't tolerate this sort of disrespect!”

The elderly woman kept a calm tone as she spoke. “Jackie...you have two seconds to compose yourself and stop yelling in my goddamn face. You're killing my fucking buzz.”

Her husband rushed to her side and placed the blunt between his wife's lips. She took a deep inhale, held it in her lungs for ten seconds before blowing the smoke into her husband's mouth.

“I love you,” he slurred before rushing away just as quickly as he'd appeared.

The woman exhaled loudly. “Sorry, Grand

But she's a goddamn stranger and has no busy speaking on my children.”

“When was the last time that you called or stopped by to see me?”

“What?”

“You have no place calling someone a stranger when I don't think I've seen you since the little one was in shitty diapers.”

“Grand, I'm busy.”

“Busy doing what? Sitting on dicks that aren't attached to your husband?”

“Whoa, no, I-”

“You have three children by two different men and you're on your second husband who's such a fucking loser who can't see right through your bullshit.”

“Grand, I don't have bullshit.”

“Oh, shut the fuck up. I know a whore when I see one. And there's nothing wrong with that, you're my granddaughter and I love you. I just wished you'd visit more often.”

“As I said earlier, I'm busy and if you think I'm such a whore then why would I wanna be in your home?”

“Because no matter who or what you are, you're still my goddamn family! Just like your brother. He's my family and I'd never turn my back on him! Do you not understand that concept?!”

Jackie pursed her lips as she stared down at her leather boots.

“You know what, if you wanna leave, go ahead. I don't want that shit in my house. I'm happy. I just got off probation, I have an amazing buzz and all of my family that wants to be here is here, but I don't need that bigot shit in my house. I went to Woodstock for a reason. You get that nasty shit from your mother and I never liked that fucking bitch. So gather up your little shits and get the fuck out.” Pam turned and made her way towards the kitchen. “I'm gonna cut the ham and shit, anyone who's hungry follow me! Happy birthday little baby Jesus!”

“Kids get over here, now!” Jackie shouted, ignoring their overlapping protests. “Hush.”

“Mum, why can't we stay? We love our cousins and we never get to see them,” Jaz whined.

“Because they're crazy. And bound to be unhappy,” she ranted as she tightened the scarves around their necks.

“Everyone here is having so much fun,” her son retorted.

“We're the only ones who are unhappy,” Josie sniffled.

Jackie paused. “Really?”

“Yes!” the three of them said in unison.

“We have Peter and Julie, but do you know how weird it is to have an aunt and uncle in your age group?” Jaz asked.

“Yeah, they try and boss us around,” the boy added.

“Well-”

“And since they're always out of town, we hardly see them either. The only kids we're around are the ones at school, but nothing compares to family.”

“Where are the glasses?” Jackie heard Ronis ask from the kitchen. “Oli needs water.”

Jackie sighed. “Um...hang your coats. We aren't leaving yet.”

“Yayyy!” the three of them squealed as they tossed their jackets to the floor before taking off.

“Hey, I said hang, ugh, nevermind...have fun.” The woman hesitantly hung her own coat on an available hook by the door before slowly making her way through the place.

“Niece!” Duke shouted as he pulled her into a tight bear hug. “I'm either super fucked up or you're actually here.”

“No... I'm...here,” she gasped. “You're...squeezing... too...tight.”

“Sorry, sweetheart,” he said as he released her. “How long has it been?”

“Oh, I don't know, Uncle Duke. A few years? But you Skype me all the time!”

“I shouldn't have to Skype you when we live in the same city,” he said as he finished off his fifth beer.

“Yeah... I guess you're right.”

“So what's up? Did you just come to pick up your presents and leave?”

Jackie frowned. “The fact you think that about me is pretty upsetting.”

“You've yet to show otherwise.”

“Well, this year is different. It's about family.”

“All of your family or the family that fits into what you think is socially acceptable?”

“All of my family.”

The man smiled. “Good to hear. Wanna do a line with me?”

“Um...no thanks,” she said before making her way further into the flat.

“Whatttt? I thought Christmas was about family!”

Jackie chuckled as she shook her head. When she arrived at the patio door, she hesitated, took a deep breath and even contemplated running before she stood her ground and knocked.

---

Oliver clung to the icy metal railing of the terrace as he did his best to breath when his father rushed out to his side.

“Buddy, sit down,” David ordered as he helped the boy into the frost covered patio furniture. The man handed his son the emergency inhaler and the boy took the usual two puffs but it wasn't enough so he took a second and a third. “Damn, Oli I may have to get you more than an emergency one. You aren't even asthmatic but this shit happening more often. That panic shit is no joke.”

After a fifth puff, the boy was finally able to accept oxygen into his lungs. He took an appreciative deep breath.

“Are you okay?”

The boy nodded.

“Let's go inside.”

“I don't want to.”

“You're gonna die of frostbite.”

“Seems fitting,” he sighed.

“Please don't say shit like that son. I know this is tough, but at the end of the day, you gotta stay tough.”

The boy's insides felt like they'd burst into flames as he suppressed his tears. He hated crying in front of his father more than anything in the world. Dad’s given you everything, why are you bitching like it isn't enough? he thought. And just before a tear could spill onto his already frost whipped cheeks, to his extreme relief, his girlfriend returned. He was instantly comforted by her presence.

“Ugh, what a bitch,” she grumbled.

“What's wrong?” Oliver asked in attempt to distract himself.

“Nothing, baby. Are you okay? Do you need water or something?”

The boy nodded and the girl rushed back into the flat to return moments later with a glass. She handed it to him and Oliver took a sip before placing it on the table.

“Better?” she asked as she knelt by the boy's chair.

“Yeah, I'm okay.” He grabbed the girl's hand and guided her into his lap.

Ronis affectionately wiped the boy's cheeks to free him from his tear stains before running her fingers through his hair. “I love you.”

“I love you,” he replied before risking his life to rustle the girl's hair.

“Babeeee,” she groaned unleashing a barrage of pinches onto his arms and belly.

“Ow! Owww!” the boy giggled. “Okay, okay you win!”

“Of course I win! Don't touch my hair, jerk!”

“I won't,” he said mischievously.

“I'm going to slaughter you,” she warned.

Oliver grinned before kissing her twice.

“I hate to admit it but you guys really do look great together,” David said with a light chuckle.

“Oh my God, Dad,” the boy gasped in complete embarrassment. “I totally forgot that you were out here.”

“So did I,” Ronis sheepishly admitted. “Sometimes when I see him it's like everyone else around us disappears.”

“I appreciate it,” the boy's father said. “I have to get used to the idea that someone may love my son just as much as I do.”

The girl's cheeks turned a rosy hue.

“Oh, you have a lot of work to do, woman. That position comes with tons of responsibilities. You have to do his laundry, take care of him when he's sick, blow on his soup if it's too hot-”

“Dad,” the boy protested.

“No, no, I fully accept the 'loving Oliver’ package and everything that comes with it,” Ronis assured.

“You have to make a blood oath! I have a scalpel in my car and-”

“Dad!”

“I'm just sayinggg. It's gonna be hard relinquishing control.”

“You have plenty of time to adjust. I'll be around for awhile,” she promised. “And I make really good chicken parmesan.”

David smiled. “I will hold you to that.”

The girl turned to her boyfriend and winked. Oliver wrapped his arms around her, laying his head on her chest.

Ronis laughed. “Such a cozy spot right?”

“Mhm. You're warm.”

“Thanks, babe.”

“Oh! I have to get your gifts.”

“Aww, David you didn't have to get me anything.”

“Ugh, I know,” he groaned, “but Oli insisted.”

“What?” the boy interjected. “No I didn't.”

“I'm jokingggggg,” the man cackled just as a knock sounded at the patio door. “Who the fuck knocks to come outside? Who is it?!”

“Jackie,” the woman replied.

Oliver became stiff in his seat as he glanced over his shoulder at the edge of the balcony; the only exit.

David and Ronis scowled. “What do you want?” the man asked.

“I’d like to talk to Oliver... if that's okay.”

The man turned to his son who was visibly uncomfortable. “You don't have to speak to her if you don't want to, Buddy.”

“Um... I-I-I-” the boy stammered.

“Whatever you decide, I'll be by your side. I'd never leave you alone with her,” he practically snarled.

Oliver gulped and nodded. “Okay.”

“Come on out, Jackie.”

The boy's heart pounded against his chest as he anxiously watched the doorknob turn.

Ronis kissed the top of his head, reminding the boy of her presence and he quickly took advantage of it by grabbing her hand. “Do I look okay?” he whispered.

“Is that a serious question? You're way too perfect for that word,” she said, repeating what he'd told her earlier.

Oliver smiled and stole a kiss before his stomach went into a frenzy at the sight of his sister.

“Hi, everyone...hi Oliver,” she said quietly.

“H-H-Hi, Ja-Jackie,” he stammered as he peaked around his girlfriend's chest like a small timid child. Ronis gave his hand a firm squeeze.

“Can I have a hug?”

“Jackie, let's not push it,” David growled.

“It's okay, Dad,” the boy exhaled as he eased the girl out of his lap. After standing, Oliver quickly smoothed the wrinkles out of his slacks.

“Oh my God, you're so tall now!”

Oliver instantly turned bright crimson. “Yeah,” he said bashfully. “I get my height from Dad.”

“Six foot two baby,” David said proudly.

Jackie extended her arms. “Get over here.”

He slowly approached the woman and she met the boy halfway. After she wrapped her arms around her brother, Jackie immediately began to cry. “You're so handsome, Oliver. You have a mustache and a goatee. My husband doesn't even have hair on his chin.”

The boy chuckled. “Thank you.”

Jackie broke the hug and wiped her eyes only to break down again. “I missed you.”

If Oliver was being honest with himself, the spectacle made him uncomfortable and confused. “Really?”

She nodded. “I've been thinking a lot and I just really have so much to get off of my chest.”

“Um, okay,” he said nervously, wiping his hands on the sides of his trousers to keep the sweat at bay.

“And I was wondering if we could speak alone.”

“No fucking way,” David protested. “That's not going to happen.”

“Dad, I'm not going to do anything,” Jackie said defensively. “I won't hurt your precious baby.”

“Nothing has stopped you before,” he retorted.

“Dad, it's okay,” Oliver said quietly, barely believing the statement himself.

“Are you sure?”

The boy hesitated but nodded.

David went to protest but quickly obliged, making his son suspicious. “I'll be...right inside...if you need me,” he said before entering the flat and immediately pressing his ear against the door.

Oliver turned to his girlfriend. “Do you wanna go inside too?”

Ronis folded her arms. “No.”

“Babe-”

“No, I'm just not buying this shit. A minute ago she was calling me a lesbian and now all of a sudden she wants to be all in your face like she's sincere.”

“This is a family matter and it doesn't concern you,” Jackie growled.

“Ronis has been more family to me than you've ever been,” Oliver defended and a pained expression instantly took over his sister's face.

“I'm sorry,” she sniffled. “I'm embarrassed enough as it is and I'd like to tell you how I feel without additional judgement from a third party.”

The boy looked at Ronis.

“Please,” Jackie pleaded.

“Two minutes,” Oliver said sternly.

“Okay.”

Ronis sighed before they shared an extra tender kiss. “I love you.”

“Love you too.”

The girl then made her way towards the flat, shooting Jackie a scowl as she passed the woman. When she opened the door, David was conveniently tying his shoe. Ronis chuckled to herself as she entered and closed the door behind her.

“Hey, that's my spot!” Oliver heard his father say.

“Well, scoot over,” Ronis groaned.

“Diana Ross, your hair is in my way. Tame that shit!”

“Never.”

David gagged. “Oh God, a piece just went in my mouth.”

“Maybe if you'd stop talking it wouldn't! And ew, I totally have to bleach my hair now.”

“Sssh, they'll hear you!”

“Pfft, you're the loud mouth,” Ronis retorted.

“True.”

Oliver suppressed his laughter. “That's as alone as we'll get.”

“I guess I'll have to take it.”

“Do you want to sit?”

Jackie shook her head. “I'm sure standing is way warmer than sitting on a frost chair,” she said through chattering teeth.

The boy frowned. “Where's your coat?”

“Hanging up at the front.”

“Take mine,” the boy offered as he removed his jacket.

“Oh...are you sure?”

“Yeah, I insist.”

Jackie pursed her lips as she accepted the coat and slid it on. “Thank you, Oliver.”

“You're welcome. I have to admit that you calling me Oliver is kinda strange.”

“Yeah?”

He nodded. “Versus 'kid’ or 'hey you’. Definitely.”

“And I'm really sorry about that. I just...there isn't a really good excuse but growing up, it was just Mum and I.”

Oliver cringed at how easily she could refer to the woman.

“As a young doctor, Dad was always working and for years I'd only see him for like ten minutes a day. So Mum and I-”

“Could you please not call her that?”

“Sorry...um, Jennifer and I developed such a strong bond. Just like the one you and Dad have. So when they started to argue more and more over you and inevitably the divorce came about, it was like I was forced to choose between them. And I had to side with the person who was always there for me, ya know?”

“I guess,” he sighed.

“And at the time I was like 'no, this child can't even read, how is she gonna demand that we accept an entire new identity?’ We figured that it was a phase, you know kids put on an Elsa costume and suddenly they have ice powers for a few days. But when a few days turned into weeks then months, Jennifer started to get annoyed. She wanted her little girl back but Dad would practically tell her 'our child is transgender. Deal with it.’ And Jen's just like, ‘no, this child isn't going to tell me what to do. I'm the parent’ and Dad would come back with 'we want him to be happy’ and then the 'she’s four! Tons of things make her happy! She got excited over finding a lego the other day!’ And it got worse and worse and they'd just blow up on each other all the time. It was tough.”

“I'm sorry,” Oliver said quietly.

“Oh, please don't apologize. It wasn't your fault.”

The boy wanted to object to the statement but he remained silent.

“When the divorce happened, Dad essentially said that if I didn't accept you as my brother then he wanted nothing to do with my bigotry and that really hurt me. Just because I didn't accept or hell, even understand this trans thing, doesn't mean I didn't love you. Oliver, I love you,” she sniffled. “I've always loved you. Over the years I did make attempts to see you in person when I wasn't busy with school but did you know that each time I tried, Dad would pull that overly protective shit and tell me that I didn't deserve to see you and would hover over me as I played with you? On top of that Jen would say 'oh, you wanna be over there with him? Fine.’ And even she'd stop talking to me for weeks on end. So it just really sucked. And as you got older and lost interest in toys, I grew more uncomfortable with just trying to talk to you while Dad was scowling at me. So I gradually decreased it to just phone calls and even then I could hear him in the background scoffing. He's just not the easiest to deal with sometimes.”

“Trust me, I know. And Jackie, I had no idea that it was like that for you...but I have a question.”

“I'll answer any questions you have.”

“How come you never let me meet the kids?” he asked, trying to mask his trembling voice.

“To be honest, I didn't want them to be confused. I still don't understand the trans thing myself and how would I explain to them your baby photos to you being their uncle now, ya know? I showed them our pictures from when we were younger and the next time they saw Jen they asked about you and she was like 'yeah, I had another daughter once.’ and then whenever Dad comes around and he talks about you alllll the time and I really don't think they'd get that you're the same person... I don't know what they're little minds are capable of. They actually just told me off before I came out here so,” she chuckled. “I think it's time that you met them… if you want.”

The boy froze. “Um, I-I-I don't know. Wh-What if they get confused and th-their little heads start to hurt? I-I-I don't think they'd li-like me-, um-”

“Well, if they get confused, we'll do our best to explain to them what's going on. It's about time we all become more educated on this.

Although I never thought of you as my brother, I always loved you as my little sibling. I'm really sorry for that. You deserve an identity.”

“It's okay, Jackie. I'm really glad we could have this conversation.”

“Me too,” she said with a smile so genuine that for the first time the boy was comfortable around her. Oliver extended his arms and without a word or awkwardness, the siblings shared a hug. “Come on. I want you to meet the kids.”

The boy took a deep breath and allowed the girl to lead him to the door. As soon as she opened it, Ronis and David spilled out onto the terrace but to their surprise, the man was gagged with a Christmas stocking and practically hog-tied as Ronis restrained him further by sitting on his legs.

“What the-”

“He tried to interrupt your beautiful moment! I mean, I still don't like you for being a bitch to me but it was only fair that Oli got to hear your side of things and every time you said something remotely negative about this one, he was ready to break down the door,” she panted.

“Babe, you can take my dad?” Oliver asked, clearly impressed.

“Yeah,” she said bashfully. “Krav Maga, the official self-defense system of the Israeli army. Maybe I'll show you sometime...if you think you can handle it.”

The boy gulped. “Sure.”

“Crazy thing is, so many people walked by as I was sitting on him and they didn't say a thing. Pam even laughed,” she said as she finally released the man and helped him up.

David spat the stocking at her. “You goddamn lunatic! I'll with you later,” he turned to Jackie, “but you! How dare you tell my son all these lies about me?!”

“Cut the bullshit, Dad! You practically cut Mum and I out of Oliver's life after we wouldn't accept the trans thing! We tried to still be there but you literally wouldn't answer the door!”

“Why would I want you bigots to be around my child?!”

“Dad, I'm not a bigot! No, I don't understand this stuff but it doesn't mean I'm not willing to learn! You just told us 'his name is Oliver and he's a boy’ without any explanations, how else were we supposed to take that?!”

“Just accept it!” David exploded, vein in his neck ready to self destruct.

“Dad,” Oliver intervened. “Calm down.”

The man looked at his son with rage filled eyes before punching the patio door, missing Ronis by a few inches and effectively putting a massive dent in the lumber.

“Oh my God,” the girl gasped as she made her way out of the path of any future blows.

The boy quickly grabbed his father by the lapels of his coat and slammed him against the stone walling of the side of the flat. “You almost hit her!” he growled.

The duo had never put their hands on each other before and David did his best to suppress his demolished feelings. “You're gonna attack me

.. over some girl?”

“She's not just some girl! And if you would've hit her, I would've never forgiven you!”

“Oh, but she can hog-tie me?! Fuck that bullshit, Oliver!” David wanted to leave, but couldn't bring himself to push the boy away.

“You seriously need to calm down! Why are you so defensive?! Because what Jackie said is true, isn't it?”

“Yeah, it's true that I protected you from people who wanted to force you to be something that you're not!”

“But Dad, they probably would've understood it more over time if you would've given them the chance! You can't just cut people out of their family's lives because of a misunderstanding! My mum wanted to see me and you wouldn't let her!”

“At the end of the day, she still abandoned you, Oliver! Do you not understand that?! Someone could lock me in a cage and I'd saw off my own fucking limbs if that's what I had to do to escape to see you again!”

“But-”

“But she doesn't give a damn about you! They had ample opportunities to see you over the years and they didn't. I've been there since day one and now this bigot comes outta nowhere and you wanna just take her side! That fucking hurts, Oli!”

“Dad, I...I don't know.”

“Clearly!”

Without another word, the boy released his father and grabbed his girlfriend's hand before storming into the flat.

David instantly regretted the entire altercation and quickly chased after the boy. “Oli, wait.”

Oliver stared at the floor as he spoke through gritted teeth in hopes that his tears wouldn't spill over. “Dad, I really think that things are a little tense right now, um,” he got out before his voice got caught on the lump in his throat. “We've never

...fought before…and I-I-” The boy shook his head before tightening his hold on his girlfriend's hand as he rushed towards the flat's exit.

“Whoa, where are you going?!” Pam shouted. “Why are you cryin- hey don't walk away when I'm talking to you!”

The boy would deal with his grandmother's wrath at another time but he couldn't get out of that house fast enough.

Ronis wanted to say some comforting words, but based on the Oliver's expression, she decided to remain quiet as he led her through the parking lot to the curb. When the combination of tears and the icy winds that made them freeze-dry to his cheeks became too much, the boy sank to the curb.

“Babe, get up, it's cold and don't have your coat. I don't want you to get sick.” Bordering on hysterical, the boy didn't care what happened to him but he didn't protest when Ronis grabbed his arm and used all her weight to pull him to his feet. “Let's go to my dorm. I'll make you cocoa stuffed with marshmallows.”

---

“David!” Pam shouted. “What's wrong with Oliver?!”

“We got into a misunderstanding,” he grumbled.

“Misunderstanding?” Jackie scoffed. “More like Oliver found out that Dad's been portraying me and Mum as the face of evil when really we've been trying to be in that kid's life since the beginning.”

“What?!” the woman shouting before slapping her son. “Why the fuck would you do that?!”

“I was only trying to protect him!”

Pam slapped the boy again. “Watch your motherfucking tone!” David accepted the blows allowing the physical pain to match the way he felt on the inside. “You motherfuckers are killing my buzz. Go find him and make it right!”

“Yes ma'am,” he mumbled weakly before making his way towards the exit.

The man made it to his car and immediately called his fiancee. When it went to voicemail, he called again. Then again.

Hi, you've reached Lisa, I'm sorry I missed your call. Feel free to leave me a message and I'll get back to you as soon as possible!

“Babe, please call me back,” David sniffled. “I just got into a fight with Oli and I just-” his voice hung on the lump in his throat. “I just really need your voice telling me it'll be okay right now. I love you,” he got out before breaking down completely.

---

“Sonique is spending the night at her parents house for Christmas so we have the place to ourselves,” Ronis said as she led her boyfriend into her dorm room. “Hell, I think the entire campus is empty right now but we'd never get away with cuddling at my house,” the girl giggled as she removed her coat. She turned to her boyfriend who had pressed his back against the door. The tears were long gone, but the boy hadn't uttered a single word since they'd left his grandparents home. Ronis sighed as she dug through her drawer to find her favorite pug mug before heating water and making a mix of hot chocolate. She stuffed it to the brim with tiny marshmallows and walked it over to the boy. He accepted it but didn't take a sip. “You don't want it?”

“Um, yeah,” he said quietly. “Thanks.”

Hearing the boy's voice made her smile. “Sit, sit so that I can give you your gifts.”

Oliver took a deep breath and made his way to the girl's bed. He sat on the edge and took a miniscule sip before Ronis handed him a small box.

“For me?” he asked dryly.

“Yeah I think you'll like it.”

The boy popped the lid of the box open to what he thought was a stapler.

“It's a pick punch,” Ronis chirped. “Like a hole punch but for things like old credit cards and stuff to make picks for your guitar.”

Oliver smiled without showing his teeth. “Thanks, babe. I love it.”

“Yayyy.”

He kissed the girl before she reached underneath the bed. “I have something else for you.” Ronis pulled the wrapped box from its hiding place and handed it to Oliver. “Open that and I'll be right back,” she said, doing her best to contain her excitement. The girl pushed herself off of the bed, grabbed a bag from the closet and quickly rushed into the bathroom.

The boy sighed and slowly ripped into the winter wonderland themed gift wrap to reveal a plain white box. Oliver undid the flap at one end of the box only to find it stuffed with a gift bag.

“What the hell,” he mumbled to himself. The boy pulled the red gift bag out of the box before yanking the white tissue paper off of the top, revealing the even smaller gift bag underneath. Oliver smiled as he shook his head and dumped the contents of the second bag onto the bed; a small wrapped box. “You're killing me!” he chuckled loud enough for the girl to hear.

“It's the build up to something amazinggggg,” Ronis replied.

“What are you up to, woman?”

“You'll see in a secondddd. Are you feeling any better?”

“Yeah... I just don't wanna think about it.”

“Well, I hope that this gift offers enough of a distraction,” she practically purred.

“I'm sure it will,” he said as he tore into the small wrapped box. It was a small plain white box. Oliver quickly snatched open one end only to find yet another wrapped package. “Ronis!”

“Whatttt?” she asked innocently.

“What is this?”

“Did you open it yet?”

“I'm trying but you have a million packages, boxes and bags!”

“Patience is virtue, my love.”

Oliver took a deep breath. When he ripped into the wrapping he'd lost count of and saw the plastic, the boy grinned. “Finally!” He tossed the paper over his shoulder before turning his attention to the casing in his hand, raising an eyebrow at the small pink device inside. “What the-” the boy said as he read the label. “Frisky Fingers Vibrating Sleeve…”

At that moment, his girlfriend emerged from the bathroom.

“Babe, what the hell is-” The boy's eyebrows shot up when he saw Ronis leaning against the door frame dressed in nothing but a sheer red negligee trimmed in white fur and cinched under the bust with a thin strap that resembled Santa Claus’s classic black belt. Her wild curls framed her face had been washed of all her holiday makeup, allowing the natural glow of her mocha skin to shine through.

“Ho, ho, ho,” she said seductively.

“Whoa,” was all Oliver could manage to say, eliciting a giggle from the girl as she sauntered towards him.

“You like it?”

“Like is a fucking understatement,” the boy exhaled. “But what the hell is this?” he asked as he held up the sex toy.

Ronis settled onto the spot next to him. “It's a vibrating finger cozy.”

“And you want me to...use this on you?”

“That was the plan,” she bashfully admitted.

“So this was literally just a gift for yourself,” Oliver said teasingly.

“No, I bought it for you...to use on me. I mean, it's not like you'd let me use it on you.”

The boy quickly changed the subject. “I really liked my pick punch. It'll come in handy if I ever lose a pick or if I wanna make a collection of picks made out of random materials. I really think a pick made out of titanium would be really cool, although-”

Ronis silenced him with her lips. “I'm sorry,” she whispered. “I didn't mean to make uncomfortable. I just want to make you feel as good as you make me feel.”

“Seeing you feel good makes me happy. That's all I need.”

The girl smiled as she slid onto the boy's lap, straddling him before she wrapped her arms around his neck. Oliver gently cradled her ass in his hands as their lips connected.

“Grab it harder,” she demanded, prompting the boy to give her cheeks a firm squeeze as they continued to make out.

Oliver's hands eventually moved to girl's chest and he let out a low groan. “Your boobs are softer than Clair de Lune and Moonlight Sonata’s first movement put together.”

Ronis cackled. “I love it when you speak music to me.”

The boy laughed before he kissing her and rolling her onto her back against the cool teal satin sheets of her small bed.

“I don't want a lot for Christmasss,” Ronis sang in a low, sensual voice. “There's just one thing I needdd.”

Oliver smiled. “You're giving me goosebumps.”

“That's not all I'm gonna give you,” she growled as she pulled the boy down into a kiss.

“Herpes?” he mumbled against her lips.

“Fuck all the way off!” she laughed, giving his chest a shift shove while he laughed at his own joke.

“I'm kidding.”

“I don't forgive you.”

The boy raised an eyebrow. “Oh, really?” he asked, taking the statement as a personal challenge.

“Nope.”

Oliver kissed the spot on the girl's neck that he knew drove her crazy. “Do you forgive me now?”

“No,” she exhaled.

The boy moved to her chest, gently kissing each of her boobs. “What about now?”

“Nuh uh.”

He raised an eyebrow before he kissed her jawline while his left hand traveled to smooth, sheer red fabric of her panties. The boy allowed his fingers to slowly dance around her sensitive spot and he smiled as the girl wriggled beneath beneath him. “Do you forgive me now?”

“Yesss. Just fuck me,” she pleaded.

“Not so fastttt,” her boyfriend teased. “You stepped your game up tonight and I'll try to do the same.” Oliver walked his fingers up from between the girl's legs to the fur bow that was holding the negligee closed across the girl's chest. He slowly tugged at one end of the bow and each half of the fabric to fall to girl's sides, exposing her perfect supple breasts.

The boy placed his hands over each boob and gave them a gentle massage.

“Mmm, that feels nice,” she exhaled.

Oliver kissed each soft mound before kissing her lips, then jaw, then neck; moving further and further down, leaving a trail of kisses until he reached the top of her underwear. He hooked his fingers into the sides of the thong and waited for the girl to lift her hips, allowing him to pull the small piece of fabric down her smooth legs and off completely. The boy pretended to tuck them into his pocket.

“What the- oh my God you're such a dork,” his girlfriend giggled. “That's your real Christmas present.”

“The best gift ever,” he growled before kissing her ankles, then calves, then inner thighs as he made his way up to the tender spot between the girl's legs, stopping a few centimeters shy of her bundle of nerves.

Ronis let out a feeble groan as the yearning to be touched grew stronger and stronger.

“You okay?” the boy teasingly asked, knowing exactly what the source of her strain was.

“You're driving me insaneee.”

“Am I?” he asked innocently as he moved agonizingly slow, gently tracing the perimeter of her box with his fingertips.

“Fuck me, babe. Pleaseeee.”

Oliver flashed a devilish smirk and continued to tease the girl.

“You know what-” Ronis growled as she sat up and snatched the boy's vest off. She tossed it to the floor then swiftly ripped into his red dress shirt, sending buttons flying about the room in every direction.

“Hey, this is Egyptian cotton! “I'll buy you another,” she panted as she stripped him of the fabric, throwing it over her head prior to grabbing the boy's belt buckle. Ronis managed to undo the latch before Oliver grabbed her wrists and pinned her back onto the bed. Surprisingly, the boy didn't find himself upset that she'd attempted to get into his trousers, but more so that she was impatient and hijacked control of the situation. He frowned as he held her into place. “I'm only going to say this once,” he said in a low, commanding voice. “Patience is a motherfucking virtue, my love. Don't leave this bed again.” “Yes, sir,” she said innocently. “I've been a very naughty girl and I deserve to be punished.” “You do,” Oliver said as he bit his lip and daringly rustled the girl's hair with both hands. “Ugh!” Ronis snarled as she pounced on her boyfriend but he quickly overpowered her and pinned her again. “Something wrong?” the boy teased. “I'm gonna kick your ass.” “Ooo, so violent. That's kinda sexy though.” “Babeeee,” she whined as she wiggled against her restraints. “Whatttt?” “I'm horny as fuck and you're driving me crazy in the wrong way!” Oliver released one of her wrists and moved his grande to her boob, giving her nipple a small pinch. “The wrong way?” Stubborn as ever, the girl bit her lip as she nodded encouraging Oliver to take the other sensitive nub between his fingers; giving them gentle twists and pulls. “Mm, oh fuckkk.” “The wrong way?” the boy asked again. “No, that feels really gooddd.” Oliver's grin was smug as he kissed her. “But I need moreee.” He chuckled as he pushed himself off of the bed. “Where are you goingggg?” “Stop whining,” he ordered. Ronis pouted. “I touched your hair so I have to wash my hands before I proceed with anything else.” “Are you trying to say that my hair is nasty?” “Yes, Ronis,” he said sarcastically. “Your hair is a dirt motel with germs and lice living there.” She scowled. “Oh, you can fuck all the way off for that.” “You don't mean that.” “Yes, I do. You're an arsehole.” Oliver raised the sex toy that the girl had gifted him and displayed it with a cheesy smile as if he was in an infomercial. “Okay, okay,” she whimpered. “I didn't mean it.” “That's what I thought. Besides we came in from outside and got right to business, I needed to wash my hands anyway.” He entered the bathroom and opened the device before washing his hands. “Plus your hair smells like weed.” “Oh my God, ew! That’s not attractive! Why didn't you say something?” “It's oddly comforting,” he laughed as he emerged from the bathroom. “Okay, let's figure this thing out. It's not gonna chop my finger off or anything, right?” Ronis giggled. “No, you just slide it on your index finger and turn it on.” “Is this for the outside...or inside?” he asked barely above a whisper. “Both I suppose. But you've never penetrated me befo-” “Okay, okay,” the boy rushed to avoid the embarrassment. “Babe, we should be able to talk about our bodies to each other. Especially since you've seen every inch of mine.” His cheeks flushed bright crimson. “True.” “Would you prefer to say penetrate or finger?” “Oh, God,” he sighed. “Um, finger. No, penetrate- ugh-” “Let’s put it this way, bear Oli hasn't entered the Ronis cave yet.” The boy's skin could've been comparable to a barrel of hot coals. “That works…” “And I'm not opposed to bear Oli exploring said cave today.” “Will it hurt?” “Maybe. But we won't know unless we try.” The boy frowned. “Please, Oli. Just try.” He nodded and she quickly pulled him into a kiss. The couple made out for several minutes before Oliver moved to her neck then breasts gently kissing each one to show his appreciation. The boy then took his time making his way down the girl's stomach until he reached her waistline, he gave Ronis a smug look that made her giggle. “I love you,” she said softly. The boy replied by kissing her inner thigh, causing a shiver to trickle down her spine before gently touching the girl's love button. Ronis gasped at the contact and prepared herself to get used to the feeling of his fingers when the boy wrapped his mouth around her sensitive lady parts. “Oh my God,” the girl moaned as she arched her back. Oliver pressed his forearm over the her hips to hold the girl in place as he began to build up a rhythm as he worked his tongue on and around her love button. “Holy shit, babe, that feels amazinggggg. Ah!” she squealed when he started to do something new that she couldn't pinpoint. “Fuckkk, oh my God.” The boy pulled away. “Told you I'd try and step my game up,” he chuckled before returning his mouth to her aching mound. Ronis tangled her fingers into the boy's brown tresses as she continued to moan and before long she could feel the tingling brewing from the pit of her stomach. “Oli, I'm gonna come.” Oliver began to work with new vigor and soon after, his mouth was flooded with the sweet and tangy taste of his girlfriend's cum. The boy lapped up every drop before grinning. “Still just as good as candy.” “Dork,” she panted, still too lost in the ecstasy to respond further.

The boy grinned but soon his heart began to race. “Um, I guess I can try the...cave thing now.” “Okay,” Ronis said excitedly. Oliver gulped and gently pressed his index finger at the girl's small opening. He paused. “It's okay,” she assured. The boy slowly pushed his finger inside the girl and made a face at the hot, wet flesh that surrounded it. “What?” Ronis asked, quickly growing self conscious. “It feels like warm mush or lumpy pudding.” The girl gasped. “Thanks,” was her dry response. “Well not in a bad way! You know that slime putty that kids play with to make fart noises? It's like that but warm.” “That description makes me feel real sexy,” Ronis said, sarcasm evident. He frowned. “Why are you upset?” “Because your descriptions suck!” “Well, have you felt it? It's kinda hard to pinpoint exactly what it feels like. Help me out here.” “I want my vagina to be described as crushed velvet, not lumpy pudding.” “Crushed velvet works! But ya know...moist.” Ronis rolled her eyes. “No matter how you describe it babe, it still feels awesome.” She sighed in exasperation. “Thank you, Oliver.”

“You're welcome,” he chirped before turning his attention back to the matter at hand by slowing pulling his finger out of the girl then gently pushing back in. He did this several more times prior to picking up the pace. Ronis exhaled. “That feels kinda nice.” “Just kinda?” “Yeah...like I feel the movement but it's not necessarily bringing me pleasure.” “So what should I do?” “Try curving your finger up, maybe you can find my G-spot.” “Your what?” “Oh my God, how are you so innocent?” she practically cooed. The boy blushed. “I have my finger in your vagina. I'm not innocent.” “If you say so, babe. But a G-spot is just like a sensitive bundle of nerves at the roof of the vagina I think. And if it's stimulated, the orgasms are said to be amazing.” “Okay,” the boy said simply as he processed the information. He curled his finger upward while he continued to slowly move it and out. Ronis' reaction was nearly instantaneous. “Ohhh,” she moaned lightly. Oliver sighed in relief and picked up the pace. “No, no. Go slowwww.” “Okay,” he said, slightly embarrassed. “It's like a deep tissue massage...you don't wanna rush that.” The boy cracked a smile. “Good to know.” He kept his strokes slow and sensual, growing more smug as he sat up and watched the girl's face as she deprived so much pleasure from his touch. When Ronis felt eyes on her, her lids flew open. “Whatttt?” she bashfully asked. “Nothingggg. My face is usually between your thighs. I just never get to see you from this angle.” The girl covered her face with her hands. “Stoppp, you're so beautiful.” “Then take a picture,” she joked. “Seriously?” he gasped as he clawed for his phone. Ronis cackled. “Nooo! Just imagine if that got in the wrong hands.” “Like mine,” he chuckled. “Knowing something like that is on my phone...I wouldn't be able to focus on anything else.” “You're silly.” “I'm in love.” A rosy hue took over her cheeks as Oliver leaned down to kiss her. The new angle of his hand allowed more pressure to be applied to the girl's sweet spot. “Oh my God,” she moaned out, wrapping her arms around his neck as she stared into his bright hazel eyes. It was the most intimate they'd ever been and Ronis felt like this was true love making. To avoid crying, she kissed him but it didn't stop her from tearing up. “I'm gonna come,” she whimpered against his lips. There was something in the girl's tone that tugged at Oliver's heart strings and as the muscles of her sugar walls tightened around his finger, he knew that this Christmas had been a milestone in their relationship and he wanted to do something special for her. “Fuck,” she panted weakly. “It doesn't look like it, but that was probably the most intense orgasm I've ever had.” “Really?” The girl nodded. “It was like a ray of heated unicorn sparkles brewed in the pit of my stomach and slowly spread throughout my either body.” “Wow, that sounds magically.” “It was,” Ronis exhaled before tenderly kissing him. “Do you want me to use frisky fingers now?” She shook her head. “Maybe next time. I just want you to hold me.” “Okay...um, do you think I can take a quick shower first?” “You don't have any clothes here.” “I know…” Ronis raised an eyebrow. “Of course…don’t take too long.” He pressed his lips against hers before pushing himself off of the bed and into the bathroom, locking the door as his heart raced at the thought of what he was about to do.

Despite the snowy winter weather, Oliver turned the shower nozzle to cold. The boy quickly disrobed and stepped into the path of the icy spray. He shivered at the initial contact but swiftly welcomed the chilly fall as it calmed his senses. “It’ll be okay,” he mumbled to himself. “Ronis loves you.” Oliver splashed his face one last time, turned off the water and exited the shower. After patting himself dry with a towel, he wrapped the fluffy cotton around his waist. The boy glanced at his pale reflection in the mirror and before the chagrin could set in, he made his way to the door. With a shaking hand, Oliver slowly turned the knob and exited the bathroom. His heart pounded against his chest as Ronis watched him through heavily lidded eyes. “Hi,” she said softly. The girl must've gotten cold while her boyfriend was away because she had pulled on his red dress shirt. Two sizes too big, the fabric draped over her breasts and thighs in that perfect way that guys liked when girls wore their clothing. Oliver swore that he'd go into cardiac arrest at any moment. “H-Hi,” he stammered. The girl seductively beckoned him over with her index finger. “Okay...but um, first. I have something to say.” Ronis sat up on her forearms. Oliver cleared his throat. “Um, since you always tease me about my songwriting skills, I wanted to say something really poetic but I'm just drawing a blank. So I'll just...do it,” he practically whimpered as his nerves began to overwhelm him. But the boy bravely dropped the towel, subjecting himself to the most vulnerable position he'd ever been in since informing the girl that he was transgender. Ronis’s eyes were wide and curious as she took in every inch of her lover's body. Although only a few seconds had gone by, it felt like an eternity to the boy. He fixed his mouth to say something but Ronis bet him to the punch. “You're perfect, Oliver David.” The words seemingly lifted the weight of the world off of the boy's shoulder as he relaxed for the first time since entering the bathroom. “Can I see your bum?” Ronis asked with sheer excitement underlining her tone. Oliver blushed. “I don't have one of those,” he sighed as he turned around. Although on the flat side of the spectrum, the boy's cheeks were still firm and desirable enough for any butf lover to grab on frisky nights.

“Babe, you have a great ass!”

Made even more bashfully by the compliments, the boy grabbed the towel and returned it to his waist. “Thank you,” he said quietly.

“Get your sexy self over here.”

The boy smiled as he made his way over to the bed. He climbed in next to the girl and wrapped his arms around her.

She kissed the back of his hand. “You know, there's an invention that's been out for a few centuries called a razor. I'm not sure if you've heard of it buttt,” she teased before the boy laughed.

“I'm only hairy on my face, pits and lower body, jerk.”

“I knowww. It's so hot…although, I'm going to convince you to shave your legs one day.”

The boy gasped. “Why?”

“Because I wanna see what it'd look likeeee.”

“How about you shave your head then? I wanna see what it'd look like.”

Ronis quickly pushed the boy away. “That's not even the same thing! Your leg hair would grow back in a week!”

“Probably,” the boy said with a shrug.

“So why would you even say something like that? The fact that you even uttered the words ‘shave my head’ is so asinine, just-”

The boy silenced her with a kiss and then she exploded in giggles when he boldly licked her cheek.

“Eww!”

“You want me to do it again?” he threatened.

“No!”

“Then calm your ass down.”

“Yes, Sir,” the girl said as she returned his arm around her. “Just tread lightly when you talk about my hair.”

“Pfft, don't tell me how to tread.”

Ronis found herself being turned on all over again as the boy continued to assert himself. “Yes, Sir...but ugh, don't lick my cheek again, pig.”

“Fine.”

The girl frowned. “You're not gonna...chastise me?”

“Nah. You've put up with enough tonight. I'm... I'm just happy that seeing me naked didn't make things like...uncomfortable between us.”

Ronis sat up. ��Why would it make things uncomfortable?”

“You know…”

“No, I don't know. But if you're thinking what I think you're thinking, then you need to snap out of it. Nothing physical about you could never deter me. You could get acne, you could turn green, you could grow a third eye...wait no, not-”

“Nope! You said it, you can't take it back,” he said be with a playful chuckle.

“Fineee. I'll even love you with a third eye.”

“Thank you, baby.” The boy pulled the girl into a kiss.

“You are such physical perfection...that if you'd let me... I'd fuck the shit out of you right now,” she whispered against his lips.

Oliver gulped as the blood began to flow throughout his entire body, warming particularly in his groin. “I-I-I-I need to shower.”

Ronis kept her hold on the boy's arms tight. “Babe, it's okay,” she cooed. “It's okay to feel things. I know it's strange but it's natural.”

“I’m not ready,” he whimpered.

“Oliver, I'm not pressing you to do anything, I just don't want you to ever feel disgusted in your own skin. Never. Okay?”

He nodded.

Ronis comforted him with a tender, loving kiss. “Alright, booger. Go have your shower.”

The boy quickly pushed himself off of the bed and entered the bathroom, pressing his back against the door as soon as it was closed. After turning on the shower, the boy took a deep breath and opened the door. “Um...do you wa-wanna j-join me?”

“Absofuckinglutely! But are you sure?”

“Do you really want to give me time to change my mind?” he chuckled.

“No!” Ronis squealed as she jumped off of the bed and into the boy's arms. “As long as I get to touch your ass while we're in there.”

“Sure...as long as it doesn't get weird.”

“I promise it won't. I'll just play them like bongos.”

The boy laughed. “We'll take this thing day by day.”

“Day by day,” she repeated before Oliver blindly walked them backwards into the bathroom while Ronis kicked the door shut, leaving them in the privacy of the steamy room to enjoy the remainder of their Christmas.

---

Jason sighed as he climbed into the back of the limo. “So where is this house?” he asked Lucian.

“Upstate.”

“Okay.”

“Yeah, the owner wants to meet you before he lets you rent it.”

“Ugh, why?”

“Maybe because he doesn't want some teenagers destroying his mansion.”

“It's not ‘some teenagers’. It'll just be Matt and I for two nights.”

“How romantic,” the man said dryly. “So what do you have planned anyway?”

He scoffed. “What do you think?”

Lucian rolled his eyes and stayed silent for the remainder of the ride.

“Oh my God, this looks like a fucking castle,” the brunette gasped as they pulled up the winding driveway to the massive estate.

“It kinda is. It has fifty bedrooms and seventy-two bathrooms.”

“What the fuck! That's insane.”

“Yeah, I'll let the owner tell you the rest if the details.”

“What? Why? I thought this was just a 'hi, nice to meet you. I won't destroy your house’ type of meeting?”

“Just come on,” the man groaned in exasperation as he climbed out of the limo. “And fix your hair.”

Jason rolled his eyes and followed Lucian’s lead, quickly hopping out of the vehicle to rush through the frigid air.

“Come on in,” a vaguely familiar voice offered.

The brunette looked up and met the brown eyes of Mark Diller. Stunned, confused and speechless, the boy had no idea what to think.

“Hi, Jason! You seem a little shocked.”

“Um…yeah. I didn't realize that this was your home.”

“Oh, yes, this is one of my childhood homes actually. So take really good care of it,” he said light heartedly.

“Well, I'm not really sure if I'd be comfortable staying here…”

Mark frowned. “How come?”

“You proposed to me,” he reminded. “And I'm looking for a house to celebrate my anniversary...a little awkward, ain't it?”

Lucian quickly intervened. “What he means is that he can't fully make a decision until he sees the entire estate.”

“Um, no,” the boy hissed. “I meant what I said.”

“And so did I,” Mark replied. “My offer still stands. But in the meantime, if you like the house then I can definitely be professional.” The man extended his arm. “May you do me the honor?”

Jason thought for a minute before sighing. “Well, it is an exquisite home...and pretty much exactly what I'm looking for.” He reluctantly wrapped his arm around the man's before Mark began to lead him through the foyer and down a long corridor. When they passed a large Versailles style mirror, Jason regretted not fixing his hair when his manager had told him to. He self consciously smoothed the wild waves.

Mark smiled. “So, the house, or chateau if you will, was built in 1919 and it was originally a hotel exclusively for the rich and famous. But my great great grandfather bought it and turned it into a single family home. Summers here were always amazing and I hope you and Matt have just as much fun as I did.”

Jason paused. “I'm sorry, I just can't do it. This is way too weird. Besides your house is probably way out of my budget.”

“Lucian didn't tell you?”

“Tell me what?”

“I'm letting you stay here for free, of course.”

“But... I- why?”

“I could never make you pay for anything, let only what my family typically charges to rent this place out.”

“Oh...um-”

“I mean, you could still say no and find some place that's the same price and half the size with owners not even half as friendly or cute as me,” he chuckled.

“That's true,” he sighed.

Mark grinned.

“I meant the pricing and size thing, not the cute and friendly thing. Well, no, it's not that you aren't friendly- I, ugh.”

The man laughed. “Well, the house is yours if you want it.”

Jason pursed his lips as he weighed his options.

“There's a theater, four pools: two inside, two outside. There's a race track, stables and a helicopter pad with a pilot on speed dial to take you on tours of the cityyy.”

The corners of the brunette's mouth curled upwards but he fought it.

“Staff will wait on you hand in foottttt,” Mark added.

“Mark, I-”

“There's also the music room.”

“Music room?” he asked, curiosity obviously peaked.

“Allow me to show you.”

Jason obliged as he followed the man to the nearest elevator. He sequestered himself in one corner of the lift while Mark occupied the other. To avoid the awkwardness, the man spoke.

“So how have the fan interactions been on your tour thus far?”

“Pretty interesting. Although, nothing has topped a marriage proposal,” he chuckled.

Mark laughed. “So how did Matt take that? I hope you didn't get into trouble.”

“He doesn't know.”

“Whatttttt, I thought-”

“Well, it wasn't something I thought was a big deal.”

“Hmm I was the most interesting fan interaction and yet you didn't tell him?”

The brunette scowled. “What I do and don't do with my boyfriend is none of your business.”

“Fair enough,” he chuckled.

Jason huffed out a stiff exhale.

“I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you.”

“I'm not upset,” he snapped back before sighing. “I just don't like being grilled about stuff, ya know? Especially when it pertains to Matt who does have his issues, but I deal with it because I love him.”

Mark pursed his lips.

“What?”

“Nothing,” he chirped just as the elevator doors slid open.

Jason rolled his eyes and followed him down another corridor, admiring each ornate detail carved into the crown molding and wainscoting along with every expensive piece of art.

“The music room is this door coming up on the right. I'll let you do the honors.”

The brunette excitedly opened turned the knob and his eyes honed right in on the massive piano in the corner. “Oh my God,” he gasped as he rushed over. “This is a Steinway & Sons Rococo Model D Victorian Grand! What year? 1880?”

“1871,” Mark informed as he approached. “With carved Brazilian rosewood.”

“She's beautiful. I never thought I'd ever seen one in person,” the boy exhaled, hands hovering over keys. “May I?”

“It may be out of tune. But I'd be honored to have Jason Dardo play the piano in my house.”

The boy eagerly sat at the leather stool before his fingers danced across the antique keys producing a rich yet hollow sound. “Yeah, she could definitely use a tuning but, ugh, you almost want to leave it like that because she's seen so much and you just have to respect it.”

Mark smiled admiringly. “The way you speak about the piano, like it's a person, is so eloquent.”

He blushed. “I just love this instrument so much.”

“May I?” he asked as he gestured towards the spot next to the boy.

“Sure.” Mark sat down and moved his fingers across the piano in a lighting fast flourish that made Jason's jaw dropped. “I didn't know you could play. And really well at that.”

“Of course not. You don't know me,” he said as he slowed the melody down to a soft sensuous number. “And you didn't never called to get to know me.”

“No I didn't,” Jason admitted. “But your Wikipedia said that your hobbies included 'attempting’ to play the piano.”

Mark grinned. “You looked up my Wiki?”

“No, no,” he said defensively. “Lucian did.”

“Hmm,” the man hummed before singing one of boy's hit singles in a pitch perfect voice that shocked Jason even more. “If I could turn back the hands of time, oh you ,my darling, would've always been mine,” he sang, tweaking the words to match how he felt. “You'd never have to be scared or cryyy. You'd never have to scream or wonder why, if I could turn back the hands of time.”

Jason was immensely moved by the rendition that he barely noticed when the man began to lean in. And when he realized, the mesmerized boy closed his eyes as he felt Mark's slow breathing against his lips.

“Strictly professional,” the man whispered before quickly pushing himself off of the stool. “Like I said earlier, if you want the house for the weekend, it's your. I just...I just can't do this,” he rushed with a lump in his throat before exiting the room.

Extremely embarrassed, Jason took a deep breath and shook off the tense interaction before pushing him off of the stool and out of exit. He retraced his steps down the corridor and up the elevator until he found Lucian in the living room. “Yo, what the fuck did you do to Mark?”

“Nothing,” he said, questioning in his tone. “Wh-What did he, um, what did he say?”

“He gave me the keys and said that he was going to catch a flight to Barcelona because it's warm there. But he looked a little upset so I asked him what was wrong and he said that he didn't want to be the source of your regrets.”

“Oh,” Jason said quietly.

“What does that meannn?” Lucian pressed.

“Nothing,” he snapped. “Let's get this house ready for tomorrow. I need a ride arranged for Matt, chocolate covered strawberries, alcohol free champagne and like ten thousand roses. Go to every florist in New York if you have to.”

“News flash, I manage your career. I'm not your assistant.”

“Then hire me an assistant and get this shit done!”

Lucian smirked. “Aww, poor baby. Are you sexually frustrated? Displacing your tension with Mark onto me. Classic.”

The boy scowled. “I don't have tension with Mark.”

“Well after he turned down my advances, I truly began to see the undeniable chemistry between you two. It's kinda hot to watch.”

“You're disgusting,” the boy said as he stormed out of the house.

“I know that!” Lucian chuckled. “I'll get right on making this place a sex dungeon for you!”

---

Despite being the disaster that happened the last time she'd seen her son, Lisa was extremely excited to see Matt that Christmas for dinner. The duo was joined by Josh, Lace and even one year old Anais.

“Her being here doesn't make you uncomfortable, does it, Mom?” Josh asked. “As I was leaving Dad's, she didn't want me to put her down so I just brought her along.”

“Oh, no it's fine,” Lisa assured. “She's a innocent little angel.”

“Angel,” the toddler repeated.

“Yes! You areee,” Matt cooed as he fed his sister more peas.

“So, I wanted to talk to you guys about something,” the matriarch began. “David and I being engaged.”

Matt acted like he didn't hear the statement as he continued to coddle and feed the girl.

“What about it, Mom?” Josh asked.

“What do you think? Am I rushing-”

“Yes,” her younger son quietly interjected. “You got divorced two seconds ago and now you want to subject yourself to all of that vulnerability again? I just don't get it.”

“But David and I have a connection. If you know you want to be with someone for the rest of your life, why wait? Especially at my age.”

“Especially at your age, you should know better,” he retorted.

The woman frowned.

“All I'm saying is think about it,” the boy said, tone uncharacteristically understanding. “You wouldn't be asking us if we think it's too soon if you didn't have concerns of your own.”

Lisa's expression slowly morphed into defeat. “Yeah... I do.”

“Like what, Mom?” Josh asked.

“A few things. I have no idea where we'll live, he has his practice in London and I have my office here and we haven't discussed it, but I'm not sure if either of us is ready to move across the world.”

“But can't you open a office in London or vice versa?” her son continued. “I just think that if you don't have small kids in the house and you're so in love, distance isn't a problem.” His wife gave him a gentle nudge in the side and they shared a kiss.

“But she hasn't even known this guy that long,” Matt retorted. “What if you move and discover that you hate it there? Or his family is crazy as fuck.”

“Matty, don't say fuck at the table.”

“Sorry, but it's true.”

“But if that's what Mom wants to do, even if it all fails, we'll be there for her because we're her kids Matt,” Josh said. “We don't agree with some things you do but we support you because we love you.”

“I guess,” the boy mumbled.

“Although, I'd prefer if you got David to move here. I don't think I can live without your beef wellington Wednesdays.”

“I've gotten all of his favorite meals mastered except for that one!” Lace exclaimed. “It's so difficult. You just have to to share your secret with me.”

Lisa giggled. “Well according to Josh, if I tell you my secret, I won't be useful anymore.”

“Mom, that's not true. We'll need you for a lot of things.”

“Like?” the woman pressed.

“Cooking...telling us how great we are...um,-”

“We'd really miss you,” Lace added.

“Thank you, Lace,” the woman said, clearly unconvinced.

“How about we open presents?” Josh asked in attempt to ease the awkwardness.

“Yes!” Matt cheered as he grabbed his little sister. “I got the coolest stuff for you Anais.”

He rushed to the living room followed by the other three adults.

“Did you miss being on the Christmas card this year?” Josh asked his mother.

“The Christmas card thing is a Lent tradition. I'm no longer a Lent, therefore, no. Besides, I think it's such a lame thing to do. 'Oh let's all put on goofy sweaters to take pictures to send to everyone, meh’,” she mocked.

Matt cackled. “That's amazing.”

“Yeah we just weren't feeling it without you being included,” Josh admitted.

“Well that's sweet of you but because I'm no longer associated, doesn't mean you need to cut that side of your family out.”

“We won't,” he assured.

The group quickly went through the gifts underneath the tree, sharing 'thank yous’ and hugs until Josh grabbed the last box from underneath the tree and handed it to Lisa.

“Aw, what's this?”

“Just open ittttt.”

The woman obliged, lifted the lid and began to read the card inside. “Thank you for always being there for us, we'll always support each other. We need your help now more than ever because you're about to be a grandmother!” she read, barely getting through the last line without bursting into tears. “A grandmother!” the woman wept as she threw her arms around the couple.

“Yeahhhh, I totally almost ruined the surprise at the table,” the man chuckled. “We'll need your help with everything.”

“I don't know how to change a diaper,” Lace whimpered in embarrassment.

“Oh, sweetheart, you'll learn! I'll teach you everything I know. Oh my God, I'm going to be a grandmother!”

“I'm going to be an uncle,” Matt pondered. “Cool.”

“How far along are you? Do we know the gender yet? Can I be in the room when you deliver? Oh! The nursery! What color scheme-”

“Mom, mom, you have to give us time to answer the question before you ask another,” Josh chuckled.

“Sorry, sweetheart! I'm just sooooo excited.”

“I’m 13 weeks. We don't know the gender yet but we'll find out soon. I'm not sure if you'd want to be in the room when I deliver, my bum isn't the prettiest sight and the nursery, well, I was hoping that you'd help me fix it up. I know nothing about interior design.”

Lisa squealed. “Yes! Do you want to wait before or after you find out the gender? You know, we can always go gender neutral.”

“I'd like that,” Lace sighed.

“Babe, sit d-”

“Yes, Lace sit down and rest,” Lisa rushed as she lead the girl to the couch. “There's no such thing as too much rest for a pregnant woman.”

Lace shot her husband a wide eyed look but Josh smiled, assuring her that it was okay.

“Mom, your phone's ringing,” Matt announced.

“Oh, it's probably just David. I'll call him back later,” she said dismissively as she sat next to her daughter-in-law. “So have you thought of any names? What hospital will you be delivering at?”

Matt shook his head as he approached his brother. “Are you really going to let her hijack your wife's womb?”

Josh laughed. “I think all grandmothers do.”

“I guess. Congrats, bro.” They shared a hug before Matt checked his watch. “Jason should be here any minute.”

“Oh, yeah. Have fun. Happy anniversary.”

No less than five minutes later, there was a loud horn that sounded from outside.

“So is Jason too big of a star to come in and say hello now?”

“Mom, just stop,” Matt sighed as he opened the door. Instead of his boyfriend's Honda, there was a sleek white Rolls Royce waiting in the driveway. A massive grin spread across the boy's face until a stranger climbed out of driver's side.

“You Matt?”

“Yeah.”

“I was sent to take you…” he checked his script, “‘on a night of magical events that you'll never forget’,” he recited dryly before opening the door to the back seat.

The boy cleared his throat and made his way to the vehicle, thanking the man as he climbed inside.

Matt rubbed the smooth leather seats that he would've appreciated much more had Jason been there with him. “So where are we going?”

The man checked his script. “'To a magical place...far...far...away’.”

“Nice…” the boy sighed as he pulled out his phone to send his boyfriend a message.

Matt: What are you up to?

Jason: I can't wait to see you ;)

Matt: Babeee

Jason: ❤

Matt tucked his phone into his pocket and subjected his attention out of the window. Watching the snow covered evergreens pass by over the next twenty minutes as his medicine kicked in made the boy drowsy. After they pulled up the winding driveway of the Diller mansion, the man opened Matt's door, offer him a helping hand so that he could exit with ease.

“Holy fucking shit,” Matt drawled as he approached the house, leaving the driver to mumble about how he was cheap for not tipping. The man quickly sped off before he had to recite another cheesy line from the script Jason had prepared for him.

Matt rang the doorbell to the estate and he was greeted by Jason's voice. “Come on in, daddy. And follow the rose petals,” he said seductively.

The boy turned the antique doorknob, entered the mansion and was instantly greeted by the aroma of fresh rose petals emanating from the bright red path that led as far as his eyes could see. The petals were lined with gold candelabras varying in heights that offered a soft, luminous glow which reflected off of any glass or metallic surface, turning the luxurious mansion into a palace of romance. Matt did as Jason was told, following the petals until he reached the foot of the large curving staircase where he saw the sparkling blue gift box with his name on the tag. He picked it up and opened it.

“Wow, a rolex.” The boy immediately slid the expensive accessory onto his wrist before continuing his journey up the stairs when he came across yet another present. Yawning as he opened it, Matt chuckled when he saw the riding crop, ball gag and handcuffs. He entered the corridor and had to admit that the large, empty mansion was slightly eerie but he made his way atop the petals until they ended at a door towards the end of the hall.

Matt opened the door and the sight of his nude boyfriend covered in rose petals and illuminated by soft candlelight was heavenly.

“Happy anniversary,” Jason said softly.

“Happy anniversary,” the boy chuckled in disbelief. “This is incredible.”

“I'm glad you like it because it's all for you.”

Matt grinned.

“Get over here.”

The boy approached, placed his stuff on the nightstand and after kicking off his shoes, climbed into bed with the brunette. “So whose house is this? I know you wouldn't buy anything like this without telling me.”

“That's not important,” Jason said as he straddled him. “The important thing is making this a magical night to remember.”

“I swear if I hear the word 'magical’ again, I'll die,” he chuckled.

Jason's face fell a little. “Well, I just want everything to be special.”

“It is, babe. You look incredible.”

“Thank you, baby,” the brunette said before kissing him so passionately that he became even more turned on by the smooth texture of his Matt's mouth. “I have something for you,” he whispered against his lips.

“Jason, I don't need anything else. This Rolex is just incredible.”

“You like it? It has black diamonds.”

“It's fucking amazing. And speaking of bling,” he said as he dug into his pocket and pulled out the gold band with three small diamonds set into it. “Give me your hand.”

“Matt..” Jason sighed, slightly uncomfortable with the situation.

“You don't want it?”

“Of course I do. It's beautiful...but I'm just not ready for what comes with it.”

“Well, it's a promise ring. I just want you to let you know that I'm doing my best to stay good and I want us to continue working on us. I love you and I wanna be with you. Forever.”

“Forever is definitely a goal I can work towards,” he giggled.

“Then give me your hand, dork.”

Jason held out his right hand and Matt slid the gold onto the boy's ring finger.

“It's so beautiful.”

“Yeah? I did good?”

“You did amazing, baby. I love it.”

“Good,” he said, stifling a yawn. “It'll only cost me ninety-nine bucks per month until it's paid off.”

“Aww, babe, how much is it?”

“None of your business.”

“But I don't want you wasting your money that could be going to your school stuff for on a ring for me.”

Matt shrugged. “That's my choice.”

“Babe, how much? Let's just pay it off now.”

“I don't have the money to pay it off now and I refuse to let you pay for your own gift. That's ridiculous.”

Jason sighed. “I'll get the information eventually and-”

“Babe, I really don't have the energy for this,” he yawned as he slid the boy off of his lap.

“No, no, no please,” the brunette whimpered, wrapping his arms around the boy's neck. “I'm sorry.”

Matt cracked a soft smile.

“I love you so much,” Jason said before pulling him into a steamy make out, unbuttoning the boy's shirt while his tongue fought for dominance. “You've been a very naughty boy this year. But inside of a lump of coal, I have something else for you.” He popped the remainder of the buttons open and went right to the boy's trousers, quickly undoing the belt and tugging at the hem. Matt lifted his hips to make for a seamless removal.

Jason bit his bottom lip in anticipation only to have his face fall when the usually ready boy was still soft. He sighed, gently took the member into his hand and began to stroke.

Matt closed his eyes as his head fell back onto the pillow. With the brunette's touch, the boy became hard within seconds.

Jason grinned. “So you just needed a jumpstart,” he whispered before kissing the tip of his boyfriend's dick. Matt shuddered at the pleasure and relaxed into the bed as his boyfriend worked his mouth along him.

“That feels amazing, baby,” he mumbled.

The brunette pulled out all of his best tricks, taking the cock completely into his mouth and getting as much as he could pass the threshold of his throat before adding a hand to massage the base while his teeth gently grazed the shaft which added an entirely new sensation. This was usually a surefire way to get Matt moaning and groaning, but when the boy remained silent, Jason continued to stroke him as he pulled his mouth away. “Babe?” When Matt responded with a light snore, Jason scowled. “Matt!”

“Hmm?”

“I'm giving you a fucking amazing blowjob and you fall asleep?!”

“I'm not asleep,” the boy slurred. “I was just resting my eyes. It feels so good, baby,” he exhaled before snoring again.

“Matttttt,” the boy whined as he shook him.

“What?” he snapped.

“Wake up!”

“I'm up!”

“No you aren'tttt. It's our anniversary and I wanna fuck.”

Matt groaned as he stretched and kissed the boy before pulling the boy on top of him. Jason quickly grabbed the condom and chocolate flavored lube that he'd tucked underneath the pillow, ripped it open and slid it onto his boyfriend's dick. The brunette cracked half a smile as he placed his hands on Jason's waist, helping the boy balance as he slathered his cock with the sweet lube before lowering himself.

Jason's breathing was labored and he winced as he adjusted to the invasion.

“Told you I was up,” Matt chuckled weakly.

“You weren't at first, asshole,” the brunette groaned as he began to rock his hips.

“I wassss,” he sighed as his eyes rolled back in pleasure.

Jason lifted himself up and then back down, repeating the motion as he worked up a rhythm. “Fuck,” he moaned. The boy was able to get about five minutes of pleasure before Matt's hands fell from his waist to the bed and the familiar snore sounded. “Matt!”

“Hm?”

“Wake up!”

The boy nodded but didn't open his eyes, forcing Jason to think of the ethical code that came along with fucking someone in their sleep. Matt would've wanted me to get off, he thought as he picked up the pace. But it's not as fun without him enjoying it too. Well, it's only fair. I put all this shit together for him. The boy didn't have to debate much longer as he felt Matt's cock soften inside of him.

“Ughhhh,” the brunette whimpered. He slapped the boy across the chest.

“The fuck,” Matt groaned.

“I hate you,” Jason sniffled as he dismounted the boy.

He mumbled something unintelligible as he turned on his side. Self confidence virtually demolished, Jason wiped his eyes from their brewing tears and grabbed his robe from the floor. He snatched the promise ring from his finger and threw it across the room before exiting the chamber of romance altogether.

The boy made his way back down the corridor and blew out all the candles just as the estate's phone began to ring. Unsure if he should answer, he cleared his throat and did so anyway.

“Hello?” he answered, voice more shaky than he anticipated.

“Jason? It's Mark. I'm not sure if they told you, but you don't have to worry about any of the alarms. I have my guys at the north and south security gates so just lock the front door and you'll be fine. If you need them just dial nine on any of the phones.”

“Okay..thank you.”

“Are you okay?”

“Um, yeah. Just, um, a little tired.”

“Oh, shit I'm so sorry for interrupting. Merry Christmas,” he rushed before hanging up.

“No wait- ugh,” the boy sighed as he returned the phone to the receiver.

Jason made his way to the first bedroom that he found, a sophisticated cream and mahogany themed room that offered the calming effect he so desperately needed. He flopped onto the bed and immediately melted into the cloud like mattress. Still semi hard, the boy exhaled as he removed his robe and wrapped his hand around cock. Filling his mind with what he had hoped his anniversary night would've been like, Jason began to stroke himself as he imagined his boyfriend's mouth around him; clear blue eyes looking up into his.

“Matt,” he panted softly before picking up the pace. The boy's strokes matched the timing of the dick he pictured slamming in and out of his ass. “Fuckkk,” Jason moaned right before coming, sending his hot cum onto his stomach and down his hand. He revelled in the orgasmic feeling for a few minutes prior to entering the ensuite to shower.

Afterwards he returned to his bed and began to scroll through Instagram. He liked a few of Oliver's music quotes and a picture of the boy dressed as the Easter bunny on Ronis’s page.

@roniselizabeth You guys are so dumb lol, he commented before intense curiosity suddenly struck him. The boy scrolled to the search bar and typed: Mark Diller.

Jason clicked on the man's account and as he swiped through, he quickly came across a picture of himself with the caption: Can't wait to meet this amazing artist! @jasondardo

“He tagged me?” the boy asked himself before remembering that his notifications were turned off due to the high volume of likes and comments he received. Jason liked the photo and continued to scroll through the man's page. Despite being a billionaire, there was nothing overly flashy about his current home, the clothes he wore or the cars he drove. The thing that did catch the brunette’s eye was the fact that the man was a thrill seeker who traveled to the far corners of the world in search of crazy and unique things to do. A photo posted just days earlier depicted the man bungee jumping at the Grand Canyon. “Oh God, I'd neverrrr.” And when he came across the man's underwater selfie with a shark. The boy was quick to comment: @markdiller you're insane!

The man's reply was swift. @jasondardo you call it insane, I call it living life to the fullest

@markdiller well at the way you put your life at risk, I'd hope so

@jasondardo yeah. I think the most dangerous stunt I've ever pulled was proposing to someone who I knew would say no

The brunette sighed in exasperation.

@markdiller foolish, yes. Dangerous? No.

Jason anxiously waited for a response but when the small notification popped up, he clicked on it on to realize that it was Ronis replying to him.

@jasondardo takes a dummy to know one :P

The boy did his best to convince himself that he wasn't disappointed as he returned to Mark's page. He noticed that the man had posted something new only minutes ago; a photo of the empty space on the bed next to him captioned: I wish you were here so that I could tell you how I really feel

Jason had no idea what to think but he was extremely grateful when he saw Ronis’s number flash across his screen.

“Hello?” he answered.

“Hi, my love! Merry Christmas/Anniversaryyyy!”

“Thank you, Ro Roooo. Merry Christmas to you too.”

“I debated calling because I knew you'd be like knee deep in ass,” she giggled.

“Oh my God, I wish! Matt fell asleep and I had to jerk off just to stay sane,” he admitted to his best friend without embarrassment.

“Oh nooo.”

“Yeah, I had this house all set up with candles and roses and then he comes in, gives me a promise ring, I go down on him and he falls asleep. And he's like 'what?! Nooo I'm just resting my eyesss’,” Jason mocked in a lazy drawl.

Ronis cackled. “He did not!”

“He did! So I'm like fuck it, I need to get off before he falls asleep again. I start riding him and he starts snoring again and believe it or not, I kept going.”

The girl gasped. “How does that even work?”

“Well it didn't for long because he went soft after a few minutes. I was so pissed that I threw that stupid promise ring across the room and just left him there.”

“Aww, come on JJ don't be like that. Matt loves you.”

“If he loves me so much then why am I having to masterbate on my anniversary? Ugh, I wanted to slap him.”

The girl laughed.

“You're so evillll. It's not funny,” he said, chuckling himself. “Probably because you already got some tonight.”

“I did,” Ronis admitted, trying not to sound braggy.

“How was it?”

“Jason!” the girl gasped. “It's so unlike you to want to talk about sex.”

“I couldn't give two shits right now. I'm so horny!”

“I love it! Okay so Oli’s in the shower so I have to make it quick because he's too bashful to talk about sex but I saw him naked for the first time today and O-M-G his body is amazing. He has a perfect ass and I probably shouldn't even be telling you about my man while you're horny but I'll let it slide this time because he's just so perfect.”

“Okay, okay. Speaking of guys with nice bodies, you know how I told you about that billionaire guy?”

“Yes! How could I forget?!”

“I know right. But yeah, I go to rent out this house and he's the owner!”

“Oh my God, crazyyy. That's a sign, JJ.”

“A sign of what?”

“A sign of something that needs to chill the fuck out because I ship you and Matt.”

The boy laughed. “Fair enough. But he's really nice and he knows music!”

“Oh God,” Ronis groaned. “That's the fastest way into your panties.”

“Is not! Well…”

“JJ,” she said sternly. “What did you do?”

“I didn't do anythingggg but I may or may not have leaned in for a kiss as he played the piano.”

“Did you kiss?!’

“Nooo. Like you could tell he wanted to but I guess he has amazing self control and left quickly thereafter.”

“Good!”

“Well yeah. It would've been a mistake but, like I said, he's really nice and is staying here for free.”

“Okay, the house is free but what do you think he'll want in return? Ass?”

“Honestly, if he wanted ass he could have it right now.”

“Oh my God, shut upppp. You don't mean that.”

“My mouth doesn't but my hole does.”

Ronis cackled. “You're terrible! No, but you're just really cranky cause I know how much tonight meant to you and how much planning went into it. So it's okay to be pissed but don't do anything that you'll regret, okay?”

The boy sighed. “I won't. I'll probably just watch some teacher student porn and call it a night.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

“Alright. I love youuuu.”

“I love you more, JJ.”

“Not even,” he chuckled. “Bye.”

Just to tease, the boy went to Mark's page, took a screenshot of one of the man's shirtless photos and sent it to Ronis.

Ronis: Noooo! Well... I mean...maybe- No! Just no!

Jason cackled and then sighed. He watched the first porn video he could find and went for rounds two and three before passing out.

---

The next morning, Matt awoke with an extremely dry mouth, something that he'd gotten used to as a side effect of his medicine. The boy stretched and winced at the long scrape on his chest that was tugged when he moved. “How did that get there?” he rasped before simply shrugging. He sat up to retrieve his trousers. “Jason?” the boy called as he pulled on his pants. When there was no answer, Matt walked towards the exit of the room. On his way out, a glint of something shiny caught his attention. The boy knelt down to pick it up and discovered his promise ring was now missing one of its diamonds. “What the fuck,” he gasped.

Matt clutched the gold band in his hand and quickly stormed out of the room. “Jason!” he shouted, retracing his steps down the path of roses to the living area and then kitchen where he smelled bacon emanating from it. He found the boy seated at a breakfast nook, eating fresh fruit as he scrolled through his phone while a man dressed in full chef attire worked diligently at the stove. “Good morning,” Matt said to the man.

“Bonjour,” he chirped.

The boy made his way next to Jason and without a word placed the promise ring on the table. Before either could say anything, the chef handed Matt a menu.

“Oh, um, mercy.”

“It's merci,” Jason corrected under his breath.

“No, it's why did I find this ring on the floor and missing a diamond?” he asked through gritted teeth, doing his best not to raise his voice.

The brunette looked up from his phone. “I didn't know that a diamond popped out.”

“Popped out? What the hell did you do to it?”

“I threw it across the room,” he calmly admitted.

Matt felt as if someone had spat in his face. “Why?”

“Because I was pissed. I set up this either nice scenery and you fell asleep during sex. Like, I really felt like shit, Matt.”

“Well, I'll admit to being fucking exhausted but I can't help it. My meds make me drowsy.”

At that moment it all clicked for the brunette. He hadn't been around a steadily medicated Matt and the drug's effects were completely unknown to him.

“I mean, I'm trying my best here,” the boy continued. “I mean I could ask my doctor for a lesser dose b-”

He was silenced by Jason's lips against his. “I'm sorry. I totally forgot about your meds and the libido thing... I've unknowingly been an bratty asshole and I'm really sorry.”

“It's okay, babe. So...you destroy things when you don't get sex?” he asked, suppressing his chuckle.

Jason turned bright red. “Well, I get upsetttt. I mean it's becoming a grave need of mine. Almost like an addiction. And if I don't get it, I get hostile,” he bashfully admitted.

“That's so fucking hot.”

The brunette turned even more crimson before Matt kissed him. “Don't worry... I'll make every...thrust... up to you,” he whispered against his lips.

“Promise?” Jason exhaled.

The boy nodded.

He bit his bottom lip in anticipation. “And I promise to get my ring fixed. I'll go crawl on my hands and knees around that room to find the missing diamond.”

“Crawl on your hands and knees and you'll definitely find more than a diamond,” the boy joked.

“Show and tell?” the brunette giggled.

The couple shared a kiss before the chef approached. “Avez-vous choisi?” he asked as he gestured towards the menu.

“Umm,” Matt hummed as he quickly flipped through the booklet. “Strawberry crepes.”

“Crepes?”

“Sí.”

“Babe, it's ‘oui’,” Jason giggled. “'Sí’ is Spanish.”

“My badddd. What'd you order?”

“An omelette. Although I didn't see the crepessss.”

“We can share.”

The brunette raised an eyebrow. “So, what's yours is mine?”

“Mhm and what's yours is also yours.”

“Pfft, you know if I make it, you make it, babe. If you ever need or want anything, it's yours.”

“Nah, I'm fine. Working at the bookstore is enough for me.But I do love seeing how far you've come and I'm so proud of your success. From eating in the back of the lunchroom together to eating crepes in a goddamn mansion.”

“From being chased by bullies with fists to being chased by bullies with cameras,” he giggled.

“Right! This past year has really been something...and you deserve every minute of it the love and success.”

“Thank you, baby.”

They kissed and soon after, they received their food. As they ate and shared samples, Matt finally noticed how often the boy's phone was buzzing. “Is that work?”

“Um, no, it's the owner of the house.”

“Is everything okay?”

“Yeah. He's just checking in and making sure the staff is okay and stuff.”

“And it takes more than like two messages to accomplish that? Do you know them.”

“I do actually. We met at one of my fan meet and greets and um, he was really nice,” he informed, omitting the fact that the man was open about his crush on him and his distaste for Matt. “And Lucian told me later on that his name was Mark Diller.”

“The CEO guy?”

Jason raised an eyebrow. “How'd you know?”

“We talked about his grandfather a little in marketing. How he came to America with like eighty dollars and a dream that he turned into a multi billion dollar company. I googled a little and saw their wikis awhile back. It's crazy that you know him, they're beyond loaded.”

The boy chuckled. “That's one way to put it. He actually let us stay at this place free of charge.”

“Holy shit, that was generous.”

“Yeah, he said that he just couldn't make Jason Dardo pay.”

“Aw, look at you being influential.”

“Mhm. So, he's just a rich guy who's a big fan so I'm trying to be nice.”

“Nothing wrong with that. You have to be nice to the fans. I mean, as long as they don't cross any lines, I'm cool. That guy who changed his name to Matt was fucking crazy though. If I ever see him out and about, I'm going to beat the shit out of him.”

“Matt,” the brunette went to protest but he grabbed the boy's wrist and began to examine the fading, yellow remains of the bruise the man had left.

“Too far. You are not to be touched. Your security really fucked up. The second he started to act weird, they should've gotten him out of there.”

“Well it was the first time, baby. We learned a lot since.”

“I think they all need to be fired. I could do their goddamn job myself.”

Jason smiled at the boy's protective rant. “You probably could but I'd rather you not be in harm's way like that.”

Matt scoffed. “But it's okay for you to be?”

“Yes because this is the career path I've chosen and I knew it'd be a little crazy.”

The boy groaned. “I knew I'd have to share you with the world eventually, but can I cover you in bubble wrap first?”

Jason giggled and kissed the boy just as his phone went off again. When he saw the message, his face instantly lit up.

“Is that guy still talking about the house because the way you're smiling, like someone told you that you just won the lottery, is-”

“This is Ronis,” the boy said defensively.

“Oh... sorry.”

The brunette rolled his eyes.

“Don't roll your eyes at me.”

“What are you gonna do about it?” he challenged.

Without another word, Matt grabbed the boy's hand and pulled him along to the first room that he saw, the same room the brunette had christened the night before. He pushed Jason onto the bed and the boy landed in a seductive pose. “I had to resort to fucking myself in here last night.” Matt straddled the boy and kissed his neck. “I'm sorry, baby. For what it's worth, I dreamt about you all night.” “It's not worth much if you can prove your love in reality.” “Ooo, you got a smart ass mouth,” Matt growled as he gripped the boy's jaw in his hand. He kissed him. “A pretty mouth.” “I know that.” Matt tightened his gripped on his boyfriend's jaw. “Did I tell you to speak?” “No.” “You'll speak when spoken to and you'll obey my orders.” “Yes, sir.” “Take that fucking robe off.” Jason immediately obliged and untied the fluffy material and let the robe slide off of his shoulders. “You're so fucking beautiful. But you're a slut aren't you?” “Yes,” the boy panted, growing more and more turned on by the second. He didn't know if Matt's dilated eyes were from the medicine or the intense enjoyment he was receiving from dominating him, but as long as he continued without issue, the brunette didn't mind. Matt shoved Jason's torso onto the bed before wrapping his arms around his thighs, aggressively pulling him to the edge of the bed. “You're mine. Don't you ever forget that shit.” “Yes, sir. Show me how much you own this ass.” The boy quickly gripped Jason's fragile throat. “Did I tell you to speak?!” “No,” he rasped. “Then why are you talking, let alone telling me what to do?!” “Cause I'm tired of waiting. Fuck me!” Matt applied more pressure to his grip. “You disobedient little shit! I'm-” “Yamaha,” Jason faintly gasped as he grabbed his boyfriend's wrist to pull it away. He quickly dropped his hand. “Baby, I'm so sorry. Are you okay?” The brunette sat up and rubbed his neck as he nodded. “It just started to hurt and I couldn't breath for a second. I'm fine though.” Matt shook his head. “The last thing I ever want to do is hurt you...but I'm always fucking up,” he mumbled. “Jason, I'm so sorry.” “Shit happens. That's why we have a safe word. Now, come on little bitch,” he said in attempt to antagonize the boy, “fuck me.” Matt placed a gentle kiss on his boyfriend's lips as he returned the robe to his shoulders. “What are you doing?” “I hurt you... I just-” “Nooo, Matt please don't do this. I'm fine!” “No, Jason you aren't fine! It'll probably bruise and people will ask questions and take pictures and it'll be on the tabloids and it'll be this big issue for you and it's all my fault and-” he took a deep breath. “I'm gonna take my other pill.” Matt turned and exited the room, leaving Jason to weep into his pillow. >>>

#letters fic #pearlet fanfiction

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