#i got one of bestie for secret santa and he loved my present and he kept reading the book I got him and just UGH

[lilworms]

i love this little life or whatever

[youremyheaven]

Omg I saw your moon dominance post and I have to share something 😭

I have a friend whom I went to the same school as, we still talk sometimes but not as much.

She has always been quite a charismatic person, and is a relatively small built, conventionally attractive blonde white girl. Needless to say she is considered quite “soft and feminine” - I only mention race because racism would naturally prevent her being perceived that way.

I like her, she’s very diplomatic and intelligent but MY GOD the manipulative tendencies she had growing up😭😭😭

It’s been a couple years since I was regularly in close proximity to her so I can’t remember that many examples of her lying (also because it was a such a common occurance), however I remember it getting to the point where she herself would awkwardly joke about it.

What I *do* however remember quite distinctly the way she’d occasionally have these “tantrums” after I gave her any mild criticism.

For example, one time we were all having lunch together as a group and she made a mean spirited comment on someone else who was nearby. I pointed out that is was a pretty mean thing to say, not in a particularly accusatory tone, and she quite literally started shouting at me saying “WELL THATS QUITE BIG OF YOU TO SAY BC YOU TOLD ME [insert minor joke about manipulative Snapchat fboys that therefore was nothing to do with her] AND IT REALLY UPSET ME [insert sob story about having a disabled brother] etc etc”

She also had a similar public outrage at me after I asked her if she brought her present in for the Secret Santa, and she responded by kicking me in the shins and going on a tangent about how her life is really stressful and how I only worry about “school and sleep” 💀

However the interesting part that I vaguely covered at the beginning is that she had mastered the whole sweet innocent teenage facade. She had people, primarily older men in authority, entirely wrapped around her finger. She developed this oddly close relationship relationship with one of our teachers, which never got inappropriate, but he would direct like 80% of his energy to helping her over other students (who were equally if not more needing of help). Similarly her therapist literally UNRETIRED to help her personally 😭 I can think of so many examples of authority figures literally bending over backwards to be of service to her.

(She also attracted a kind of unreal level of male attention that was way above the average)

To finally conclude:

She is a hasta sun, moon and ketu with PBP ascendant. Her birthtime isn’t exact but I feel as though PBP is more likely than UBP.

There was also an incident of her sleeping with a teacher in his 20s when she was 17 😬 obviously it’s on him, but it’s interesting to consider that she has Jupiter in the 9H in Chitra (mars) - aswell as a mercury chitra which sits in her 4 planet 8H stellium.

Sorry for this extremely lengthy ask😭 it’s more of an info dump than an ask but I hope it served as an interesting example of moon dominance (+ a little bit of mars influence) in women

bestie never apologise for spilling tea 😂i love reading what ya'll have to say, otherwise i feel like im talking to a wall. and i feel you about this moon bestie of yours, im glad you're out of that toxic friendship!!

a few years ago i had a toxic moon dominant bestie who like you said lied so much and manipulated things so much, its hard for me to even make a list of the shit she did lol, yk how a lot of poc parents will whip their kids or yell at them or something and afterwards act extra nice bc they feel guilty?? I've noticed that Moon dominant people are like that to some extent. my "friend" would say the nastiest most vile derogatory things about me TO ME and then when i responded with radio silence she'd be all 🥺🥺im so worried about you, have you eaten? have you done all the assignments?? here's mine, you can refer to it🥺🥺,, like i was always sooo confused by her but then i started seeing thru her bullshit, how she's only being nice cause she feels guilty lol,, she had a tendency to criticize other people A LOT like your friend and honestly its tiring to listen to that shit, so i think i started saying nice things in return like "oh but xyz is so sweet, she's always so thoughtful" and then she'd say some shit "its so crazy you'd say that because i felt like xyz and abc always hated you" like classic manipulation lmao, like she hates those ppl and if i say one nice thing about them, then she'll try to convince me that those people hate me so that i can be on her side in bitching about them lmfao.

Moon dominant people are soooo insecure its sad,, they feel the need to be so rude and nasty af to others to mask their own insecurities. Obviously I'm only talking about unhealthy Moon influence, im sure there are nice ppl out there as well.

u guys pls feel free to dump any gossip/tea u have in my inbox, i love reading this stuff!!

[twstnettle]

HOHOHO TIS I! YOUR SECRET SANTA 🎅

Cometh here and tell me all about your OCs Lenny and Sabine!

This Santa would also appreciate it if Santa was told about these... A-yous? A-yoo? AUs??? you speak of.

Feel free to go off on a very detailed tanget about any of them as your Santa here needs to fufill the Santa duty of giving presents out to good people! And you, Nettles, have been a wonderful person this year!

Ooooh!!! What a fun message. Thank you Secret Santa :,) you are very silly and sweet. I’ve been granted permission to go on a detailed tangent about my babies? [exciting jingling] let the clownery begin

Cater and Lenny - Friends -> best friends -> roommates -> lovers

♦️ Cater wishes for a best friend at starsending and Lenny shows up the next year/she wished for the same thing on a shooting star at home. When they meet, they hit it off right away

♦️She won Beans Day by using the shrinking potion to get to the size of a bean and then Cater launched her from the bean gun straight at the harp. After that, they’ve been best friends and he started calling her Lentil as a joke, then eventually just Lenny and the nickname stuck. (I LOVE beans day, probably one of my favorite events)

♦️ Cater's arc is learning vulnerability and being honest about himself and what he wants/doing things because they make him genuinely happy, not because of a persona he's trying to create.

♦️Lenny is someone who makes herself at home everywhere she goes, comfortably eating snacks on a bus or buying a plant for an apartment she'll only live in for a few months. And that's something Cater admires, since he's always had one foot out the door.

♦️When they are together he leans into her way of doing things: getting comfortable, being in the present, and enjoying life regardless of how it will look to an outside observer. She is just looking to be understood, and finds comfort in Cater who embraces her for who she is, even tho he has a hard time doing that for himself

♦️After NRC, they get an apartment together, where Cater realizes it’s not so bad to open up to someone and want them to be there for the rest of your life. And eventually he’s ready to admit how he really feels about his best friend.

NUTCRACKER AU:

I absolutely love the nutcracker and Cater’s new playful land outfit is SO nutcracker coded. There’s not a lot of substance to this one, just the joy of the ballet aesthetics + cater’s cute little outfit and the two of them dancing together

(Gorgeous stunning jaw dropping Comm by Blueastrum on the right)

(Another Gorgeous stunning jaw dropping Comm by Blueastrum on the right)

Leona and Sabine - Bickering labmates -> study partners -> dating -> she returns to homeworld to not be a burden (and becomes a lawyer 🔥) -> Leona has to team up with malleus to visit her and tell her she's worth it and if she wants to come back, she has a home with him (in the "if she says no I'll be happy just to see her one last time" way) -> she returns to twst

---

🔸Sabine and Leona are lab partners and they do NOT get along at first, she’s always demanding more from him. She is everywhere he looks, the botanic garden as a volunteer, Spelldrive practice where she brings Grim every morning, and all over the halls. Even though he complains, Leona finds himself looking forward to seeing her more and more and starts showing up to class just to see her.

🔸Was a pre-law student in college getting ready to take the LSAT when she got isekai’d. She’s an activist and willing to break rules if she believes it’s for the greater good

🔸Besties with Malleus who tries his best to get Sabine and Leona together, but Leona is always ready to fight Malleus so Sabine has to be their mediator

🔸Sabine's arc is that she's hyper-independent and doesn't want to be a burden but Leona encourages her to lean on others, including himself.

🔸Sabine realizes she has POTS which causes her fainting spells and days where she doesn't feel great. Leona uses his lazy reputation to get her to rest more, under the guise of skipping class for his benefit

🔸Leona wants power partly because he likes to be a leader and partly because he believes it is intrinsically tied to his worth as a person Vs. Sabine is someone who wants power to help other people and wants to make the world better. She makes Leona realize his self worth outside of being a prince/lion/etc. and also makes him believe he *can* change his world for the better and he has a lot of respect for her

🔸Leona would traverse universes for Sabine and he'll make it everyone else's problem. (He'll make Ruggie carry his extra jacket around all day if he think Sabine might get cold and need it later, etc.)

PIRATE AU:

🔸Leona in his pirate fit, Sabine in the Elizabeth Swann red dress. Pirate captain Leona can’t stop bickering with Ms. Sabine Yuusef, the only one on his ship smart enough to match his wit and brave enough to call him out. Eventually, he leans on her for help outwitting the giant sea witch Azul and they start hitting it off. When Sabine gets lured away by two sirens (Floyd and Jade), Leona will go to the ends of the earth to get her back.

🔸He IS ultimately successful and the two go on to co-captain his feared pirate ship, sailing and being in love and all that

FALLEN ANGEL AU:

🔸 The second son of the kingdom of heaven, sent back to earth for re-education. He is assigned a human to guard, but he really plans to use the human as cover while he carries out his true plan to overthrow the kingdom and usurp his brother for the throne.

🔸 He’s been assigned the aspiring lawyer and activist Ms. Sabine, someone too good for this world—in Leona’s opinion. He finagles his way into her life, sleeping in her apartment and eating her food, under the guise of guarding her and she falls for his ruse—especially on account of her fainting spells. He makes the mistake of falling for his assigned human, when he finds out that she’d be denied entry to he kingdom of heaven for crimes she committed, even if they were ultimately for the greater good of humanity. And Leona decides he’d rather tear down the walls of heaven to get her in than live in that world without her, so he risks everything for her.

🔸 Every time he breaks a rule of heaven, he accumulates more blot, so he starts with lightly blackened wings and eventually his wings are pitch black and heavy and unusable. And he succeeds in getting her through the golden gates—at the cost of his own return—letting her live a life of paradise that he won’t be able to return to.

As a request, I LOVE when Cater and Leona have alternative hairstyles: ponytail, hair down, that sort of thing. Also I just love Cater/Lenny and Sabine/Leona so for the secret santa, any part of either of their stories would probably make me combust /pos

Thanks for reaching out! Ily!

There’s a lot of examples in the tags for both of my babies <3 And if I missed something or you could use more info (or, to my shock, want to hear more!?) this askbox is always open!

[crashcitycentral]

ListEn y’all, my best friend got me into this ship so I blame @piedpipersupremacy for this.

WE ARE SLEEPING ON HARTLEY x SNART

Hartley is canonically Gay and Snart is canonically Bi.

In this house, we live laugh love Hartley, but if y’all know his character from like the 90s to now, him dating a cop really just doesn’t make sense?? Like we KNOW he supports ACAB and defund the police campaigns. This mans is a socialist justice protester and he’s not afraid to get his hands dirty to fight for civil rights. HE ATTEMPTED ASSASSINATING A POLITICAL CAMPAIGNER BECAUSE OF HIS FUCKED POLICIES I MEAN COME ON!!

He’s as morally grey as they come, and he doesn’t really play into the good/bad stereotypes. He picks whatever side will help his goals meet, whatever the cost. Even at risk of his own sanity in some cases. His best friends are Wally West, Linda West, and James Jesse. Even though his bestie is a Flash, he STILL joined the rogues and to this day he uses his powers and technology to help whatever cause he deems worthy of helping.

He sends his rats out to find missing persons. He steals money from corporations stealing the livelihood of lower class working people. He advocates for homeless, LGBTQ+, POC, pro choice, renewable energy, etc etc. He is a good person that sometimes does bad things for good reasons.

So yeah, him and David? Not a great match.

ON THE OTHER HAND!!

Leonard freaking Snart. Where to begin with this. Leader of the rogues and devout older brother. His little sister comes first, always, Just like Hartley’s little sister does for him.

Even though he starts a whole gang just to send a huge middle finger to the justice system that failed him time and time again, he sets up these rules that all of the rogues must follow or there will be severe punishment.

No killing supers or flashes. No killing women or children (generally all civilians are off limits). Don’t betray your fellow rogue.

He hand picked not only a highly skilled team of super criminals, but he also created a family.

Snart’s best friend, Mick Rory, for all the arsonist tendencies and gruff exterior he exudes, still has a soft touch. Later on in the comics, he’s even seen turning a new leaf and going on the good side, helping Hartley and James keep their friends from making a huge ass mistake. If that doesn’t tell you their judge of character, I don’t know what will.

Not only that, but Snart spends holidays DELIVERING PRESENTS TO ORPHANAGES DRESSED AS SANTA! Tell me he’s “cold hearted” after that. You can’t.

He truly does care for his community, and by having the most well respected and feared gang, he simultaneously keeps the streets clean of normal gang activity you might see because they claimed most of the terf on Central City and no one wants to mess with the crazy super powered team.

Sometimes it feels like they rob someplace just for the kick of it, or to keep up appearances. They don’t really need any more money, they’ve stolen A LOT of it and we don’t necessarily see em use it much besides when Hartley is donating it anonymously to charity.

Despite Hartley’s “betrayal” to the rogues, Snart and him still seem relatively friendly with each other. Here is a panel where Hartley is helping Wally clean up some of the chaos in the city the Rogues and instigating, and Snart even calls him “old friend” despite him working with the supposed enemy.

And, despite Hartley leaving his rogue legacy behind and he and James leave for good, there are moments where Hartley shows a bit of regret for leaving them like that and implies that he even misses them.

Snart sought out Piper because he was the first person to break out of Iron Heights, unaided. The original escapee. Both of them are wicked smart and clever, use dry humour and sarcasm, create their own weapons and keep their secrets close to their chest with hearts of bleeding gold. They do what’s right by their own accounts, even if they have to do something wrong to make ends meet.

[blxetsi]

armin arlert, mikasa ackerman, and eren jaeger polyamorous headcanons (modern au)

armin arlert x gn!reader, mikasa ackerman x gn!reader, eren jaeger x gn!reader, mikasa x armin x eren x gn!reader

warnings: uhh fluff, this is very long, reader has a gf b4 getting w ema,

this is like my first post since feb that isnt a request 😍😍😍 how did i pull this out of my ass

- obv eren, mikasa, and armin have been besties since childhood so its no wonder they all got together first 🤩🙏

- and theyre all hot so why wouldnt they wanna date each other

- i think armin and eren wouldve gotten together first, and then invited mikasa into their relationship

- the three of them have been officially going steady for like over a year now, and its going really well

- they didnt really expect you to drop into their lives tho

- youre an old friend of historia's and you two reconnected after you moved to the city, securing yourself a decent paying job working as a writer for the city paper

- you usually get the boring stuff, never able to get a good story to write about, focusing your time on heartwarming stories in the community or the sports column

- its boring but it pays the bills

- you were thankful when historia called you during your lunch and asked if you wanted to get drinks at a bar with her and a couple of other friends

- of course you said yes

- so historia and her girlfriend ymir picked you up after work, having dinner with them after a long week was the best, but you were a bit nervous to meet all of their friends

- thats how you met eren, mikasa and armin

- at first you were sure that mikasa and eren were dating, seeing as mikasa had her head on the taller man's shoulder, while his arm was wrapped around her

- but when armin leaned down to give mikasa a kiss before heading off to the bar you werent so sure

- ymir pulled you away to get more drinks and explained to you what the situation was, while commenting on the way you gawked at the three of them before

- you were embarassed to say the least but they didnt bring it up that night so you hoped the throuple didnt notice (they did)

- you really hit it off with all of them though, especially sasha and jean, and were constantly talked about among the friend group

- because of your demanding job dealing with writers block and deadlines you couldnt really meet up with all of them often, usually just having sleepovers at ymir and historia's apartment, the three of you drinking while you wrote on your laptop

- after a couple months of casual hangouts with historia and ymir and their friends, you kinda became one of them too which was nice

- you were added to the groupchat, you all followed each other on social media, and a certain brunet had taken a liking to you

- eren didnt know why exactly he was so attracted to you but he was, maybe it was your hair, or how pretty your skin looked even when oily or with breakouts, maybe it was your smile or your body or your sense of humor or you kindness or maybe it was all of it

- eren jaeger would always stay faithful to his boyfriend and girlfriend, but maybe they could add another person into the mix, more to love right ?

- he had only known you for a couple of months though, he didnt want to jump the gun and bring this up with his partners so soon, especially if they didnt feel the same way he did

- and it would be a bummer if you turned out to be a bad person or smth

- so summer rolls around with lots of memories being made with your new friends, as well as friends from work, and you get a girlfriend ??

- shes not really your girlfriend you two have only been out on a couple of dates and she kisses you a lot but, you havent talked about labels

- one night you, along with your friends are back at the same bar where you first met them

"so, tell us about the girl youre seeing." ymir says, smirking over her beer.

eren's ears perked up at the mention of you seeing someone. "girl ?"

historia nodded. "mhm ! y/n's been talking to someone recently, they've gone on dates and kissed and stuff."

"and stuff, jesus tori you make it sound like we've had sex." you sighed.

the blonde just laughed, leaning her body onto her freckled companion.

"well ? what about her ?" eren asks. armin slapped him on the arm, already having suspicions about eren's interest in you.

your shoulders sagged. "well, she's great and everything, truly..."

"but ? is there a but in this ?" connie asked. sasha started laughing at connie's use of the word but, while jean slapped the girl on the arm because of her reaction.

you shrugged, swirling what was left of your fruity cocktail in your glass. "well, i'm not sure. she's very lively, and sweet. but i don't know, i just don't see myself being able to be in a steady relationship with her."

"so you're gonna end it ?" eren asked. you thought he seemed a bit too eager about your failure in the love department.

"why do you care so much ? you like the thought of me being lonely ?" you shot back, before downing the rest of your drink.

"no i just-"

"i think what eren means is," mikasa intervened, her smooth voice calming you as she looked at you with a smile on her face. "is that there's no point in staying with her if you can't see yourself with her. don't lead her on."

you nodded. "you're exactly right my friend. which is the plan for tonight because i," you quickly checked the time on your phone. 8:17. "have a date with miss molly at nine, so i will be taking my leave."

the group engaged in a chorus of boos for leaving so early, while you chuckled and took the lighthearted insults thrown at you by sasha and connie with ease. grabbing all of your things you put down two twenties onto the table. "i'll see you guys later, have a goodnight." as you walked off you heard jean yell "have a good time you heartbreaker !" making you shake your head

- the date with molly went less then well. she yelled, and cried, and even tried hitting you at one point. your walk back from the park was spent blocking her on every form of social media you followed her on, and when you got back to your apartment you spent the night in a hot bath before retiring to bed

- meanwhile, armin and mikasa were trying to pry the truth out of eren, who was constantly denying his attraction to you

- finally mikasa took one for the team "eren, you aren't alone with the way you feel, i do too." this made eren more willing to open up to his partners

- armin doesnt say anything about you, only saying how youre kind. he doesnt feel the way that his girlfriend and boyfriend do, but he knows that may change

- soon enough, more time flies and christmas rolls around, with you all deciding to have a secret santa get together.

- historia invites everyone to her home on christmas eve, with ymir begrudgingly allowing it

- bertholdt and annie come too, reiner not being able to make it due to going home for christmas, while everyone else decided to stay in the city

- you picked out your secret santas at the beginning of november so you would all have enough time to find something for each other, you hoped whoever picked your name gave you something good

- after hours of games and karaoke and drinking you all decided it was time to open the presents

- ymir got socks from bertholdt, connie got an ugly beanie from ymir, historia got new pens from mikasa, mikasa got knitting needles from annie, annie got a dumbell from eren, jean got a not so appropriate t shirt from connie, jean gave sasha more comic books, armin gave new stationary paper to bertholdt, sasha gifted you that new biography you've been wanting to read and you gave armin your old copy of frankenstein by mary shelley

- he was surprised but very thankful, "how did you know i needed a new copy ?" "well i remember you said eren spilt water on your old one, and the pages just stuck together so i thought you might as well have mine"

- it warmed armin's heart that you remembered something so insignificant, and opened him up to the thought of being with you

- the rest of the night was spent with hugs and thankfulness, cheering when the clock struck 12 and it became christmas day

- after getting things cleaned up everyone decided it was time to leave, with armin, eren and mikasa offering to give you a ride home

- a ride where armin straight up kissed you in the backseat

- you stopped him of course, thinking that it was weird he would cheat on his partners right in front of them, while they were shocked all on their own for different reasons, armin who didnt have feelings for you KISSED you

- and surprisingly armin took the lead in explaining how he felt, why he kissed you, an apology for doing so, and an offer to start dating all three of them

- your heart was pounding in your ears and your entire face felt hot, it was probably the alcohol, or the way his lips felt so soft when they touched yours, so you said yes.

- its not smooth sailing from there

- youre kind of awkward

- this is your first relationship where you really feel like you could love these guys (you already do) but its also your first relationship with multiple people

- the trio start inviting you over more often, soon for sleepovers, and start inviting themselves over at your own place, mainly eren

- he just comes at random times, sometimes when youre not even there and waits for you, or stays and cleans up a bit before leaving

- armin and you share a deep love of literature, and you often find yourselves in hot debates about whatever youve read (mikasa and eren have to pry you two away before things get physical)

- mikasa likes to cook with you, she shares recipes that her mom taught her, and her and armin love to cook dinner together whereas eren is the breakfast maker of the household

- the first time you slept in the same bed as them you were so nervous your whole body thumped to the tune of your heartbeat, you were convinced armin could even hear it as he was laying beside you, but eren wrapped an arm around your waist, pulling you into his large chest before whispering "youre as stiff as a board, relax honey"

- eren snores, mikasa drools, armin has those dreams where you fall and then violently wake up before you hit the ground

- slowly but surely you stop thinking about your relationship as the trio and you, but as all of you together, and that really helps you come out of your shell a bit

- you may still be in the honeymoon phase, and there may be bumps along the way, but you like being with armin, eren, and mikasa. they make you so happy, it feels like the happiest youve been in a long time

- you like watching eren and armin dance in the living room while you and mikasa cuddle on the couch, before the boys pull you two up as well

- you like when armin reads to you, his soft voice reciting the words of the great gatsby

- you like it when eren can just tell youve had a rough day, and pulls you into a hug like hes protecting you from all the bad things in the world

- you love being with them. you love them. and you think that theyre it for you

i rushed the ending bc im fucking tired but i kinda wanna do a poly!series with like sasha, connie and jean, or annie, bertholdt and reiner, or any other poly ships u guys may request !

so yeah pls give me feedback it rlly helps me figure out whether you want a polyamorous series (or just like what i write in general), and it would be my first series ever which would be super cool anyways

yeah requests open for poly!ships anyways

[koffeekoko]

Hii! Can I still join your Christmas event? I want to request for the secret santa event 🎁

I'm gonna give Kakucho a turtleneck top and a self-made embroidery handkerchief as Christmas present. I wrapped it in a simple card box and cover it with a blue paper. I also put a small stars and red ribbon as decoration. I hope he likes it cause I don't know if it's too much for him >_< I'm gonna give it to himself because we're gonna meet outside. His home isn't the one for party lol.

I personally doesn't really enjoy Christmas. 5/10 maybe. I don't celebrate it, but I'd love to spend times with my family or besties because it's a holiday season and they get a week off.

Thank you for accepting this request! Merry Christmas 🎄

hey sweet nonnie, of course you can! thank you for joining, hope you like it, and merry christmas! 🎄🎄

oh no, if you think your gift is too much for him, you're wrong. he absolutely adores it.

he thought the wrapping was cute, he could see your effort in making it look the best. firstly, i can see him as someone who likes wearing turtlenecks, so he loved the one you got for him. second, a personalized handkerchief with embroidery made by you? kaku thinks it's the best thing he's ever received. something about you putting so much effort and dedication into something specially made for him makes his heart warm thinking about it.

"i'm going to keep it close. thank you so much, y/n" he says while admiring the embroidery design.

he keeps it in the inside pocket of his work coat so it's with him at all times.

your secret santa is... [HAKKAI SHIBA!!]

hakkai got you a sweater coat in a nice manila bag with blue satin ribbons! it was cotton material, really comfy, and great for cold days. not to mention, it matched with a lot of your winter clothes.

hakkai made an attempt at giving it to you in person, but when he saw you, every bit of bravery left him. you waved at him and he short-circuited. he pushed the present into your hands and ran off.

the bag had a tag attached to it:

merry christmas, y/n. thank you for everything, i hope to be able to talk to you more next year

hakkai :)

event here

[eyedancer7a]

Happy Valentine's Day to the DAXTON fandom!❤❤❤ Hope you like the next chapter of my fan fic! I've had a great time writing this story. Crossing my fingers that we get an "I love you!" In season 3. 🥰🥰🥰

I'd like to dedicate this chapter to my Sweetheart. He loves me even though I have this crazy obsession with “Never Have I Ever” especially with Daxton. Doesn't everybody think about them all the time. My Love has supported me through this difficult past year and he believes that I can write my first fan fic.

Wishing all my BESTIES happiness, blessings and love today!!!!

Presents, Snow and Mistletoe by eyedancer7a

Chapter 3: A Christmas Party with Bells, Bows, Gifts, Trees

Summary:

Devi wanted to host a small soiree` to celebrate their spectacular project. A mini-intimate Christmas party so to speak. She told her mother that the gang would just hang and chill at their house. Devi promised her that there wouldn’t be any funny business going on.

Or the gang heads on over to Devi's house for a party.

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

Nalini was so impressed that the group got an amazing grade for their project. Why wouldn’t they get a good grade since Devi, Fabiola and Eleanor were the smart ones in the group, she thought. Devi’s mom had a tough time believing that Paxton contributed to this grade, but she had to give him a break. She would never let him know she would even consider it. Mr. Cheekbones could get any girl to do anything for him with just that smile. Paxton worked hard and Nalini did see him buckle down when he came over to study with Devi.

Devi wanted to host a small soiree` to celebrate their spectacular project. A mini-intimate Christmas party so to speak. She told her mother that the gang would just hang and chill at their house. Devi promised her that there wouldn’t be any funny business going on.

They could eat, drink, dance, and play video games. Nalini liked seeing her daughter happy since she remembered seeing Devi moping around a few weeks ago. She knew Devi was thinking about her dad. She too missed Mohan during the holidays. Nalini tried her hardest to be happy and strong for the family even though she was quite sad herself.

Nalini allowed the kids to celebrate at the house, but Devi had to do her bidding to call for this event. “Please mom! I will do anything without any lip if I can have my friends over for this party!” Devi begged.

Her mom asked Devi “Are sure you want to have a party? You have to do four loads of laundry, iron, clean your room, wash the base boards around the house and clean your bathroom if you want to see your friends in a non-school setting.”

While doing her chores, Devi remembered the playlist that her Secret Santa sent her. Devi downloaded “Presents, Snow and Mistletoe” on to her phone. There were so many songs to listen to! The playlist had some of her favorite artists singing old and new songs about Christmas. 

Some of the tunes were fast and some were slow. Devi wondered if whoever had made the playlist knew the slower songs they picked would touch her heart. These songs spoke of secret longing and the need for someone to be part of their life. It was romantic love that every teenager dreamed of.

Devi had wanted this too! She always wanted a boyfriend. Am I ready to be someone’s girlfriend? She had spent the past few months trying to become a better person as a daughter and as a friend. She was getting better slowly. It made her heart sing to think this was possible. All she could do was hope that one day someone would acknowledge and profess their love for her. How wonderful would it be if Paxton thought about me in that way.

**********

The doorbell rang and Devi came out of the daze that she was in. She rushed downstairs with lightning speed to catch who was at the door. She opened the door to find that handsome face of Paxton Hall-Yoshida.

"Welcome! Please come in!” she exclaimed. Devi blushed at the sight of him. Paxton flashed that beautiful smile that always gave Devi goosebumps when she saw him. He could always make her feel so excited and nervous all at the same time.

He was still riding on the high he felt from getting such an excellent grade in AP History. Paxton was bouncing off the walls now!

She ushered him into her home while they shared a high five like best bros. “I decided to see if you needed any help setting up” Paxton said. “I finished swim practice early and I didn’t have anything else to do so I came straight here”.

Devi was thrilled that he wanted to help her. He followed her to the kitchen to grab the refreshments for the gang.

**********

The rowdy bunch began to show up at the door and Paxton welcomed everybody in. They gathered around the living room sharing hugs and hellos. Everyone was still excited about how they did such an awesome job on their project, and they were ready to celebrate their accomplishment.

They all felt comfortable hanging out with one another since they had spent so much time together for school. Devi turned on the music and everyone began singing and dancing. Paxton and Trent grabbed Devi and Eleanor and spun them around making the girls so dizzy that they collapsed in a messy heap on the floor howling.

Devi decided to play “Bells, Bows, Gifts, Trees” from the Secret Santa Playlist to really get the party going. Eleanor exclaimed “Let's do a runway battle!”  Devi ran upstairs to her bedroom and grabbed multiple scarves and her blinged out jacket to use for the battle.

Trent took his turn wearing Devi’s red and silver sequined denim jacket. He posed on different sides of the living room while doing old school dance moves. Who knew Trent could bust out doing the running man! He twerked his way towards Eleanor and her face began to turn beet red. “Beat that!” he boasted to Paxton as he finished.

It was Paxton’s turn to take the “stage.” He acted shy and nervous, but his competitive nature took a hold of him. He decided to use El’s teal, purple, and blue cape for his performance. He had something spectacular up his sleeve for his turn!

With his back towards the audience, Paxton began to sway his skirt covered hips to the music. All the girls started hooting and hollering! Paxton grabbed a hold of the garment and began spinning in a circle and transferred the cape from his waist to his shoulders.

While strutting across the living room Paxton started voguing. To seal the win, he began lip syncing to the song! “OMG!” screamed all the girls! Trent bowed down to his knees a shouted “I’m not worthy!” to Paxton.

Paxton won the challenge! “’Is there anything you can’t do,” shouted Devi.

Fabiola asked, “How did you know how to work the runway like that?” “Who would have thought watching all those episodes of Project Runway and RuPaul’s Drag Race with my sister would come in handy one of these days,” he said proudly.

In between dining on chips, dips, veggies, bagel bites and mini subs, the gang began playing video games. “Who’s ready for some dessert?” Eleanor passed around delicious candies and desserts.

“Did you make these rice krispie treats Eleanor? These are the bomb!” raved Trent. He couldn’t help flash a smile and a wink at Eleanor.

Eve whispered to Fabiola and Devi “have you noticed that Trent has been paying a lot more attention to El lately.”  “She lives for the attention of a boy, and you know she will flirt back if given a chance,” giggled Devi.

**********

While playing video games, Trent found an old school version of ping pong. He thought it was an interesting game even if the graphics were sub-par. Devi suddenly remembered that they could hang out  outside. “We should have a mini tournament since there’s a ping pong table in the garage. At the same time, we can burn off all the extra calories we’ve been consuming with our eating and drinking.”

They moved the party to the garage and the boys helped Devi set up the ping pong table. This was a great activity to do! They divided into teams and the ping pong battles began. As usual, Devi and Paxton had that competitive spirit coursing through their veins. They both picked off each of their friends during their matches.

The final round of this tournament pitted Paxton and Devi against each other. Paxton was so excited and was ready to beat Devi in this last game. Memories of her matches with her dad came to mind. She began to remember some of the unique skills and tricks he used while trying to beat her. Devi was a totally different person as she played. She kept the ball in play so long that it began to tire out Paxton.

Devi scored the final point of the game and she screamed “In your face!” just like her father did when he would beat her. Devi had the biggest smile on her face because she knew her Dad would have been proud of her.

All the girls began cheering and screaming for Devi. Paxton jokingly demanded a rematch but offered his hand in congratulations to Devi instead.

**********

It was getting late so Eve and Fabiola had to leave. Even Trent offered Eleanor a ride home. Paxton decided to stay to help Devi clean up the mess they left in the living room. He didn’t want Devi getting in trouble with her mother.

Paxton asked, “By the way how did we get the house all to ourselves?” Devi answered, “my mom was finishing up at work and she said she would be out shopping for Christmas presents. Kamala is stuck at Caltech working on her dissertation. Which left us an empty house to enjoy!”

Paxton complimented Devi on her ping pong game. “Where did you learn to play like that?” asked Paxton. “That was amazing!” he added. Devi began to tell him about her playing ping pong with her father on Sunday afternoons.

She shared more memories about her father that day with Paxton. He saw the sadness in her eyes, but he could hear the happiness in Devi’s voice when she spoke of all the great father-daughter activities that they had growing up.

Devi spoke with so much admiration and love for her father. Paxton knew she missed him and that being without him this Christmas was getting to her. But Devi had to be strong since her father always reminded her to think positive.

Devi shared her feelings and stories with Paxton so easily. She was becoming more comfortable being around him. She knew they could be great friends.

Little did she know that Paxton already enjoyed having her as a great friend. Paxton wanted to be more for Devi, and he had to find a way to show her that he really liked her. He wanted Devi to be part of his life all the time.

Notes:

It only happens once a year

Let's spread that Christmas cheer

That's all I wanna do

I wanna be roastin' by the fire

Sugar cookies get me higher

Dance 'cause Santa's comin' soon

Let’s have a Christmas party

“Christmas Party” By Meghan Trainor

Girl, what did that girl just say, girl?

Ooh girl, I don't dance, I prance (prance)

I don't sled, I slay (slay)

I don't stop, I shop, shop, shop 'til Christmas Day (okay)……

So I might let you see (what you gonna let them see) My bells, bows, gifts, trees

“Bells, Bows, Gifts, Trees” by Todrick Hall

Thank you so much for the support and love you have given me and my story! The fan fic is coming along! Chapter 4 is being edited as we speak.😉😊🙂

[enchantedchocolatebars]

I Found Love On Christmas Eve❤️🎄❄️💋🦇🕷️🕸️💕: A cute, fluffy Stangel holiday fic for @princessrainbowpastel / @stelladelano!

I honestly should have posted this in December, but I got hella distracted by stuff, mainly Tumblr, school, roleplay, and "other things" lol. But here ya go bestie! Enjoy!💋

I had so much fun writing this (I wrote it awhile ago and saved it in the my notepad app), and I would love to thank @ren-c-leyn for double checking and enjoying reading this!🙂 I'm proud of how self-indulegent this is lol!💕 Warning: this is VERY long lol!😁😁😁)

Stella was in her dressing room getting herself ready for her next strip show! Being that it was December, the club she worked at made its female workers all wear sexy santa girl costumes.

As she got ready, the bat couldn't help but think of Mystery Fan (as she liked to call them) and all the wonderful gifts they have been sending her for months. She let out a happy sigh as the thought of them always made her day. Whoever this mysterious admirer was, they had to be the sweetest, kindest, most heartfelt demon in all of Hell. She had to admit - with every gift and letter they had sent, she was falling for them more and more. Stella felt like a school girl finding and receiving gifts and love letters from a shy, secret admirer in her locker.

'The day I meet this person,' Stella thought, putting the finishing touches to her Christmas themed makeup, 'Will be the happiest day of my life!' Little did the scarlet haired cutie know that that day was today.

When the show came to an end, Stella heads back to her dressing room, changes into her regular attire, and begins to pack up. A Christmas party was being thrown at the hotel today and she didn't want to miss it or be late. Once she was packed and ready, Stella heads to her car and starts to drive back to the hotel.

As she drives, she spots happy demon couples on the sidewalk, handing and receiving gifts and letters to and from one another. Their reactions to the items were all the same - cheery and content. Seeing such a sight makes Stella frown slightly as she let out a soft sigh. She really wishes she could receive something from the passionate person who's been on her mind for months now: Mystery Fan. Just the thought of hearing their romantic words being said to her up close and in person made the redhead's heart race.

When Stella arrives at the Hazbin Hotel, she parks her car and steps out of it. The bat saw the exterior of the place and was astound by how it looked. The building was covered head to toe with Christmas decorations and lights!

"Wow, Charlie really went all out this year..." said Stella, amazed and impressed by her friend's work. The bubbly blonde really gave the place the right design for the holidays.

As she enters the hotel, Stella let's out a surprised gasp. The inside looked absolutely gorgeous! Like the exterior, the interior of the place was also nicely covered in Christmas decorations. It was like walking into a Christmas wonderland! In the background, holiday music could be heard playing from the intercom.

At the party, all of Stella's friends were there, having fun and celebrating while wearing ugly Christmas sweaters. Well, almost all her friends. The only person who seemed to be missing was Angel Dust.

Niffty was happily collecting candy canes from the Christmas tree and placing them inside her stocking, Charlie and Vaggie were having a lively conversation together on the lobby sofa as they held cups of hot cocoa in their hands, and at the hotel mini bar, Alastor was seen hanging out at the counter speaking to Husk as he cleaned shot glasses. The grouchy bartender couldn't help but groan and roll his eyes each time the radio demon spoke to him.

While talking to Vaggie, Charlie spots Stella from the corner of her eye. "Stella! You're here!" the Hell-born princess gasped, thrilled to see the other female as she gestures for her to come over.

When she does so, Charlie gives Stella a pure, genuine grin. Now the party could really get started!

A montage of cute Christmas photos begins as "My Secret Santa" plays. The first photo is of Charlie, Vaggie, and Stella with mics in their hands, singing Christmas karaoke songs together. Alastor, Husk, and Niffty are there as well, watching the three girls. Niffty cheers for them, Alastor looks amused by the whole thing, and Husk doesn't seem to care.

The second one is of Charlie and Stella smiling and hugging each other while wearing reindeer antler headbands and light up Rudolph noses.

The third photo is of Stella and Vaggie wearing Christmas tree glasses. In the photo, Stella is grinning while holding up bunny ears with her hand above Vaggie's head, and Vaggie has a cute, calm smile on her face while holding up a peace sign with her hand.

The fourth photo is of Stella and Niffty enjoying candy canes together.

The fifth one is of Stella, Husk, and Alastor. In the photo, Stella has a mischievous and flirty look on her face as she holds up a mistletoe plant for the two males to see. Husk, of course, wants nothing to do with kissing of any kind with her as he has an irritated expression on his face, while Alastor, with a large grin of his face, slightly pushes Husk towards her as if saying "Please, take him, not me." And the sixth and last photo is of Stella and the others taking a group Christmas photo together.

After the montage comes to an end, the gang all decide to play a fun little game of pin the tail on the reindeer! Vaggie was the blindfolded pinner and Alastor, being a deer demon, was decided by everyone to be the reindeer. The moth had a devilish grin on her face, her hair bow reacting the same as it formed onto itself a wicked grin with razor, sharp triangular teeth. She saw this as the perfect opportunity to get back at Alastor for constantly pestering her and getting under her skin. The radio demon saw the look on the hotel manager's face and didn't like where this was going as a nervous sweat droplet appeared on his forehead. Before Stella could record this amazing, hilarious moment on her phone, her stomach slightly growled. She decided that the best thing to do now is to take a quick cake break and come back to the action later. Hopefully, she'd be able to capture at least some of it on her device.

Once she steps inside the kitchen, she sees the delicious looking Gingerbread Cheesecake sitting on the countertop, making her mouth water. She happily cuts herself a piece, sits down at the table, and partakes in the rich, sweet dessert. As she was eating, she began to think about Angel Dust. She hoped that the spider was doing okay (especially around this time of year).

In her mind, she wondered why he didn't show up at the party yet. Was he just really busy at the studio and couldn't arrive, or was the arachnid secretly upset with her about something and was trying to avoid her to the best of his abilities? As all these thoughts about where her best friend could be and why he wasn't at the party yet clouded her mind, Stella's stomach began to feel weird and somehow, to her, the cake that she was eating began to taste less and less sweet. She slowly stopped eating, puts her fork down, and utters out a small, tired sigh as she sadly rests her head on the table.

Charlie, entering the kitchen, sees a glum Stella at the table with her head down. Being the kind friend she is, the princess instantly becomes concerned over the bat's well being as she quickly heads over to take a seat next to her.

"What's wrong, Stel? Is everything alright?" Charlie asked, putting a comforting hand on Stella's shoulder. Stella slightly lifts her head up to look at Charlie before sighing. "Oh, it's nothing." she replied before putting her head back down. Now, Charlie obviously knew that that wasn't the case, but, before she could say anything, she suddenly remembered why she came into the kitchen in the first place.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot!" She pulls out a small present and shows it off to Stella. "Someone wanted me to give this to you." she smiled. "Huh?" This got Stella's attention as she raises her head up to look at Charlie and the gift.

"The person decided that it would be best to stay anonymous...for now..." Charlie continued, handing the unknown gift to Stella as she gave her a small wink. What did Charlie mean by that? Stella's scarlet colored eyes slowly examined the present box that was in her hands. She saw that it was beautifully wrapped and had a cute bow on top that was tied perfectly. The bat brought the box close to her ear and shook it slightly to figure out what was inside. Whatever it was, it didn't weigh much. She takes a look at the tag and reads it. "To Stella from..." Stella lets out a surprised gasp as she got to the last word "#1 fan!" She couldn't believe it! So not only was this mystery demon a common patron at the strip club she worked at, but they also knew where she lived and was in cahoots with Charlie.

"Wait, Charlie, you know about my #1 fan and who they are?!" Stella asked, hoping to get some sort of explanation. Charlie let out a hum. "You could say that..." she giggled, not spilling the beans. "Well, who are they!? They've been sending me stuff for months now, and i've been dying to know who they are!" Stella at this point craved any answer.

The princess, letting out another girlish giggle, replies with, "Well, they didn't want me telling you who they were buuut," She gave Stella a sincere smile. "Let's just say they're someone who cares and...I'm really proud of them for doing this." Charlie gives Stella another wink before leaving. She soon comes to the realization that Mystery Fan is someone in the hotel.

Alone in the kitchen, Stella began to carefully unwrap her present. As she tears off the the last remaining piece of wrapping paper, she sees that the gift inside is a teddy bear, wearing a Santa hat and has an envelope with a heart stamp taped to its right hand. Stella removes the envelope from the stuffed teddy's hand and opens it.

The bat sees a letter inside and starts reading. When she got to the last sentence, the redhead smiled softly as her cheeks change to a light pink color. She felt a warmness like no other in her heart. It was official; Stella Taylor Delano was in love with Mystery Fan.

Out of all the cards and letters they had send her, this one had to be most heartfelt.

The letter read:

“Stella Taylor Delano,

You truly are the only woman who can make me happy. Simply seeing your smile makes me realize that life in this literal Hell hole is worth living. My love grows for you each and everyday. I guess you could say that i'm addicted to you, and you are the only drug that keeps me functioning. When I look into your eyes, I see the real me, a person that lives for a goal and a purpose now...and that's being with you. This will be my last and final letter as I want to come out of my shell and reveal who I am. Meet me on the hotel rooftop at 10. See you soon~

Love, Your #1 Fan xoxo”

Stella was feeling extremely excited, as well as anxious, but still remained touched by the love letter written to her. She was finally going to meet Mystery Fan face to face! But who could they be, she wondered. Looks like she'll find out at 10. The bat makes a mental note to get herself ready at around 9:30 and head up to the roof at 9:55. Once she does, she leaves the kitchen and makes her way back to the others.

Stella hopes that they're still playing pin the tail on the reindeer so that she could record a bit of funny footage on her phone of a terrified Alastor running away from a vengeance seeking Vaggie with a pin.

Once the party came to an end, everyone decided to hit the hay for tonight. Well, almost everyone. Stella had to get ready for her meet up "date" with Mystery Fan.

Being that she was meeting this unknown, romantic stranger for the first time, she wanted to look her absolute best with the right outfit. The only problem is, Stella had so many good outfits in her closet. Which one would be perfect for Mystery Fan? This calls for a fashion montage.

In her room, Stella sets down on her bed a variety of her favorite winter sweaters and skirts to try on. She first tries on a pink sweater that had little, mini red hearts on them that she found to be cute, but the sweater wasn't the right cut unfortunately.

The next thing she puts on is a sweater / skirt combo that she thought made her look smoking hot, but at the same time she felt it wasn't quite right.

The red and white sweater? Too fluffy. The black skirt with stockings? No way. The yellow bikini she wore to the beach last year? Wait, how did THAT even get in her pile?! Doesn't matter, it was too much anyways and wasn't right for the weather, so she tosses the swimwear aside.

The bat was pickier than normal, tossing away beloved outfits in her hunt for perfection. Finally, after casting away so many outfit choices, Stella let's out a small, surprised gasp as the last outfit remaining on her bed was one to her liking.

It was a white sweater; long, dark gray sweatshirt; light plaid scarf; black knit gloves; a whitish, light pink knit beanie; black sheer tights; dark gray, and knee-high, suede boots. She found it to be absolutely adorable as she tried it on and modeled in it in front of her mirror. Yup, this outfit was the one!

After adding a bit of makeup to her features, Stella was set and ready to go! At around 9:55, almost 9:56, Stella double checks herself in the mirror to ensure that she looked good for her little "date".

After doing so, Stella hurries out of her room and heads to the rooftop stairs. When she arrives on the roof, Stella's scarlet eyes widden in shock as the bat was beyond surprised by the demon she's met with. It was Alastor!

The deer demon was at ease as he fed the large, demon birds who were with him bloody chopped up demon parts from a small, brown sack that was dripping in blood. When he notices a figure near of the corner of his eye, he turns to see a perplexed Stella gazing at him.

Alastor is the first to break the silence. "Surprised to see you here, my dear," he said, giving the red head one of his typical dark and brooding grins. "I knew it~" Stella gave the radio host a flirty smirk. "So all that pretending not to be interested was all an act, huh? Heh. It's always the ones you least expect. I had a feeling you couldn't resist all this~" she purred, signaling at her curves.

"I really liked those letters and gifts you've been sending me for the past few months. Who knew a powerful Overlord such as yourself had such a big heart~" She gave him a playful smile and wink. Hearing these words caused Alastor to blink for a bit before tilting his head slightly in confusion. "Pardon me?" he asked, wondering what Stella could be talking about.

Stella was a bit thrown off by Alastor's reaction. "That letter you wrote to me; it said that you wanted the two of us to meet here tonight at 10 because you were my #Fan 1, and...you also told me...that...you loved me..." Just thinking about all the stuff written from that recent letter caused Stella to flush, smiling at herself.

Alastor, now processing Stella's words, merely chuckled. "Me? A fan of yours? Not only that, but ME...love...YOU? Hahaha! My dear, don't be ridiculous. That's absolute nonsense! I'm only here because feeding these filthy, disgusting scavengers just so happens to be a favorite past time of mine." He smiled, being extremely uncompromisingly forthright with his rather rude remark.

"O-Oh..." Stella looked down as her shoulders slumped and her cheeks reddened in embarrassment, trying her best to blink back any tears. Alastor tossed the last remaining body part from the sack to the birds who fought and squawked over it. Devouring it quickly, the birds look to Alastor for more. "Sorry, but it looks like i'm all out," he told them as he threw down the empty sack to prove it.

The birds, seeing that there was nothing left, soon depart to the skies. Alastor waves a small good bye to them as looks to a heartbroken Stella who continued to look down. "Well, it's rather late, so I think i'll be heading inside. I'll be seeing you. Hopefully, whoever you're suppose to meet here shows up. Though, with how behind time they seem to be, I don't think they will." And with that, Alastor was gone. Stella sadly sighed to herself as she took out her phone to look at the time. It was 10:15. Mystery Fan, whoever and wherever they were, was late.

A sad, heavy sigh escaped Angel's lips as he was in is dressing room, sitting in front of his vanity mirror, getting himself ready for his next shoot. He felt absolutely awful about everything. He had wrote to Stella a confessional letter about his true feelings for her and how much the scarlet haired beauty meant to him. He remembered that in said letter he had mentioned that he would meet her at the Happy Hotel rooftop at 10, and right now it was 10:20.

His original plan was to leave work at around 9:45 to get to her, but he knew that Val would practically lose his shit again if he found out his favorite star skipped work.

Angel sighed for a second time. He really hoped that Stella would still be at the roof by the time he got to her. As Angel thought about what to do, the spider soon came to a realization that Stella, the girl who he loved with all his heart, was much more important than the feelings of his abuse boss, no matter how much he feared him. He had to find a way to sneek out without Valentino noticing. But how, he thought.

As the arachnid looked around the room in search of something that could help him in his escape plan, his eyes came to the body pillow of himself dressed in a school girl uniform that was laying up in the corner. This gave him an idea.

An irritated Valentino was seen at the studio's indoor film set, sitting in his director's chair as he waited for Angel to be in the next scene for his latest flick.

As the mothman waits, he taps on the side of his chair repeatedly with his index finger, clearly angry. Eventually, his patients wears thin as the fury that was bottled up inside him explodes as he storms out in search for his favorite money maker.

When he arrives at Angel's dressing room door, he bursts it open with all his might, nearly breaking it. He sees "Angel" sitting there in front of his mirror and marches on over to him.

"Angelcakes, you seem to be taking your sweet time in here. Don't you know I have a business to run and money to make?" he growled, now behind the spider. "Angel" said nothing as he continued to sit still in his chair. Valentino took this as his employee ignoring him, which he found extremely disrespectful and a huge insult to his ego. The pimp pulled out his pistol and pointed it behind "Angel's" head as he formed a wicked smirk.

"The silent treatment, huh? Well, let's see how silent you are when I blow your--" Suddenly, "Angel" fell to the ground. This reveals that "Angel" was really just Angel's body pillow dressed in his clothing and wearing one on his drag wigs.

Val was a bit stunned by this, but once the hamster on a wheel in his brian began to run and he slowly puts the pieces together, he figures out that the actual Angel Dust had skipped work...AGAIN. This caused an already vexed Val to turn red with rage. "ANGEL!!!" he angrily yelled at the top of his lungs, loud enough that his shouting echoed across the large building. As the real Angel Dust was running down a hall with a panic-stricken look on his face, he heard his boss's echo, which made him pick up the pace and run faster.

The speedy spider hightailed it out of the studio door as he made a run for it down the streets. He would have the deal with the consequences of leaving work later, but right now, he had to get to Stella, and fast.

Millie and Moxxie were happily walking home together down the downtown streets on a chilly, Christmas Eve night hand in hand after their little trip from the store, where they bought a Christmas themed cake for tommorrow.

"You excited for tomorrow, Mill?" Moxxie asked his wife sweetly. Millie smiles as she cuddles closer to her husband.

"I sure am, sweetie," she replies. Their peaceful walk is soon interrupted when they hear the sound of running footsteps coming towards them. Moxxie rasies a suspicious eyebrow at this, and Millie, concerned, hugs her hubby's arm tightly. The running demon is revealed to be Angel Dust, who's practically speeding towards them in a hurry.

"Outta the way! I'm late!" he shouts at the couple. When Angel sprints past Moxxie and Millie, his speed causes the two of them to spin around uncontrollably.

The cake flies out of Moxxie's hand and into the air. When the couple stop spinning, they both fall down bottom first to the ground, completely dizzy.

Moxxie, first to regain a bit of his balance, gets up as he shakes his head. He soon helps Millie up.

"Are you okay?" he asks, worried that she might have gotten hurt. "I'm fine, hun, don't worry." Millie gives him a reassuring smile.

The female imp quickly notices that something is missing and looks left and right for it. "Where's the cake?!" The minute Millie asks this, the cake, now out of its plastic container, comes falling to the ground in a splat.

"Oh no!" she gasps, holding a hand over her mouth in shock. Moxxie, angry beyond belief at this, waves a fist at Angel Dust who was long gone.

"Hey buddy, maybe watch where you're going next time!!!" He takes a few deep breaths to calm himself down before turning to Millie and the cake. "Great," he sighed, slightly vexed.

"Look what that guy made us do. Where are we going to get another cake at this time of night, hun? I'm sure the supermarket is closed by now, and tommorrow's Christmas. You know how packed supermarkets can get on that day."

Millie put a reassuring hand on Moxxie's shoulder as she gave the male imp a peck on the cheek "Aw, sweetie, don't worry. I think we have some cake ingredients at home. We'll just have to make our own cake this year. How does that sound?" Moxxie, now at ease thanks to his wife, smiles warmly at her. "Sounds fine to me."

Blitzo was walking down the street with a huge grin of his face. In his arms was a glass jar that was filled to the brim with marbles. "Loonie's gonna love her present this year! A bunch of marbles! I mean, who doesn't love marbles? I know I d--" The jar nearly slips out of his hand, causing the imp boss to stop mid-sentence.

He let's out a relieved sigh when it doesn't. "Ha, you know, more a minute there I thought--"

Just then, Angel runs past Blitzo, bumping into him slighty as he loses hold of the jar and drops it. When it hits the ground, marbles and shattered glass pieces go everywhere. "Oh shit!" he cried out. "I lost my marbles...literally!"

As Millie and Moxxie continue their little stroll home, they hear the sound of someone crying up ahead. The voice sounds quite familiar to them. When they got closer, they see that the weeping belonged to none other than their boss, who was on his knees with dramatic tears in his eyes.

"Oh cry! Oh sob! Oh weep! Oh other noises that show complete and utter sadness!" Blitzo cried, putting a hand over his face and slightly peeking out to see if anyone would feel sympathy for his unfortunate predicament.

"Oh no," Millie quietly gasped, putting both hands over her mouth. Seeing her boss in such a state instantly brought her bubbly mood down.

Meanwhile, Moxxie just rolled his eyes. "Oh please," he huffed, not buying his boss's "sorrowful" behavior at all. "Come on, Moxx. Let's go see what's wrong with Blitzo." she grabbed her husband's hand and dragged him over with her to their boss. Moxxie let out a groan, not wanting to deal with Blitzo on the day before Christmas.

"Blitzo, what's wrong? Is everything alright?" Millie asked as she and Moxxie arrived to him, a mix of concern and worry in her voice.

The red imp brought his hand down from his face when he heard Millie, and looked to see his two workers. The minute he saw them, the waterworks really came on. Blitzo gives to Millie an overdramatic hug, as he cried in her arms.

"NO, MILLS! EVERYTHING IS NOT ALRIGHT! I'VE LOST THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TONIGHT...MY MARBLES!" he then proceeds to cry more as Millie gives him reassuring head rubs.

"Shh! Shh! Shh! It's okay, sir. We all do sometimes." "At least he's finally admitted it," Moxxie whispers in his wife's ear, a slight chuckle in his voice. "Moxx!" Millie whispers back, lightly scolding him. "He's our boss. We've got to help him. Plus, it's near the holidays. No would deserves to feel sad during this time."

She then puts her on focus back on Blitzo. "Sir, I know the perfect activity that'll help regain your marbles! How about we all watch Christmas movies and--" "How the hell is watching Christmas movies going to help me get my marbles back? They're on the ground, Millie."

Blitzo shakes his head and rolls his eyes. He swears, Mills could be such an airhead sometimes. "Huh?" Millie and Moxxie both look on the ground to see that Blitzo was right. A small number marbles were on the ground as well as a few pieces of glass.

"I had them all in a jar, but I dropped the stupid thing and it broke. Hell, some of them even rolled away," Blitzo explains, teary-eyed.

As Millie thinks on what to do to help her boss, she gets an idea, a light bulb quickly appearing above her head. "I know! Me and Moxxie can help you pick the marbles up! Sure, we won't be able to get every one, but it's better than getting nothing!" she said, beaming brightly.

Hearing this somehow made Blitzo feel instantly better, his "sad" demeanor quickly fading away as he stood tall. "You're right, Millie! Wow, what an excellent idea I came up with! You two are the best employees a guy could ask for! I'm definitely giving you both a raise for this!"

Moxxie's jaw nearly dropped hearing this. "A-A-A raise?! Wait, you really mean it sir?!" Blitzo gives Moxxie a hearty smile. "Of course not! Now come on! Let's get to marble pickin'!" This made Millie smile while Moxxie glared at his boss, mumbling something about him under his breath.

Angel, now speeding up the hotel rooftop stairs like a madman, nearly breaks the door down when he bursts it open. "Stella I--!!" the spider stopped mid sentence when he sees that no one, expect for him, was there, causing his heart to sink.

"Oh no..." He takes out his phone from his suit pocket to see what time it was. 11:15. He breaths out a sigh of defeat as he put his device away and goes over to the end of the roof to look at the city.

Feeling beyond disappointed in himself and the situation, Angel uses his hands to cover his face. If only he'd have arrived on time, Stella would still be there. He honestly doesn't blame her for leaving. Suddenly, he hears someone call his name. "Angel?" Surprised by the voice, he turns around and sees Stella at the door.

"What are you doing up here?" she asks, concern laced in her voice due to how late it was. "Heh. I should be askin' you the same thing," Angel chuckles, a soft smile planted on his face at Stella.

God, she was absolutely beautiful to him. Stella bubbles out a giggle at the spider's playful demeanor.

"Well, I came here for my glove. I noticed that it wasn't in my pocket and figured i'd must have dropped it when I left. I was up here before. I was waiting for someone to show but..." Stella stops when she hears her voice slighty crack at "but" and quickly pulls herself together, not wanting to let out any tears like before.

"Well...let's just say...they didn't show up. They've been constantly sending me letters, telling me how much they cared, but...I guess they don't. Which is fine, haha! I'll be fine! I'll be...fine." The bat clearly wasn't fine with the heartbroken look on her face, and honestly just wanted today to be over.

Before she left again, Angel decided that now would be a good time to speak up.

"Stel, wait!" he called out to her. The minute she heard her name, the redhead turned back around to Angel, giving the spider her full attention. "Yes?" Angel clears his voice and nervously scratches the back of his head while looking down at the ground, cheeks flushed. He's usually the cocky, confident type, so seeing himself in such a state confused even him.

Shyly looking up to Stella, a blush still apparent on his face as his fingers started to fidget, Angel began to speak. "W-Well, about those, um, letters you've been getting...I, uh, you see, um, I wanted to say..." The spider stopped talking after "say", his nervousness not allowing him to get his full words out.

Stella's eyes soften at him, having a feeling that she knew exactly what Angel was going to say. "Yeah?" The spider took a deep breath, stopped his fidgeting, looked Stella in the eyes and gave the bat the most sincere smile.

"I wanted to say, Stel, that I met every word in all of them. Ever since the day we meant, I started gaining these feelings fer ya, and I thought that sooner or later the feelings would just, ya know, just go away. But...they haven't. In fact, they've gotten stronger. I started fallin' fer ya more and more each time we hung out. I couldn't get ya out of my head. You and I are best friends, so it all felt weird." He let's out a sigh. "Stella Taylor Delano, I know this might sound crazy, maybe even insane for me to say but...I love you. I didn't think I would ever have to say those words to a girl before, but it's true. You mean the world to me and make life in the afterlife more fun and worth living. Stel, I love you, and it would mean the absolute world to mean if ya loved me back." The spider awaited for the red head's response.

Stella's grey cheeks blushed crimson as touched tears began to course down her cheeks. She wiped her face a bit with her coat sleeve, but the salty liquid continued to fall as she walked towards him.

"A-Angel," she began, a sniffling mess. "Y-You really mean it?" The spider gave her a playful, but caring grin. "You know it, toots~!"

"A-Angel?"

"Yeah? What is it, babe?"

Once Stella was in front of him, she softly cupped his face and smiled in his direction. "I have something that I wanna confess that might sound crazy too."

"Y-You do?" he stuttered, his face turning as red as Stella's. "Well, what is it?"

As Stella started to talk to him, her smile still stayed on her face. "Angel Dust...I feel the same way. I love you too."

"Really?" he asked, his face getting close to her. "Really," she replied, her face getting close as well.

Their faces were now inches away from each other. They could feel each other's hot breath on their lips as the two's hearts were beating like drums. With just one movement, Stella and Angel locked lips.

As they shared their sweet kiss, flakes of snow began to fall from the sky as "I Found Love" started to play in the background.

"Oh, Moxxie! Just look at it! It looks absolutely gorgeous!" gasped Millie. The female imp and her hubby were in their kitchen putting the finishing touches to the Christmas cake that they baked together.

"It just needs one more thing..." Moxxie said as he looked on the counter for any decorations that would complete the cake.

"Ah ha!" he picked up the Christmas star cake decoration and placed it on top. "A star!" he smiled as he put his hand on his wife's waist and brought her close to him for a cheek kiss.

A giggle emerged from her lips as she smiled back at him. "Oh Moxx, this has to be the best Christmas ever," Millie sighed contently as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Oh, Loonie~!" Blitzo cooed as he arrived to Loona who was waiting for him at the end of the snowy sidewalk. The imp was carrying with him a plastic baggie that was barely filled with marbles as he shows them off for her to see.

"Gotcha a little Christmas Eve gift~ I had a jar for these, but it broke. Wasn't my fault though, some asshole ran into me. So, what do you think?"

Loona facepalms herself as she groans in annoyance at her dad's boss's lame ass "gift".

Back on the rooftop, we see our main couple still sweetly smooching. At the roof door, Niffty suddenly pops her head out and spots the two making out and giggles madly in fangirl victory, pulling out a notepad and pencil and doodling the cinematic masterpiece she's witnessing.

"MY OTP IS CANON, MY OTP IS CANON, MY OTP IS FREAKIN' CANON!" she quietly streaks, not wanting the lovebirds to hear or see her.

"Perfect!" she says as she takes a look at her finished work.

The drawling is a cute animu like doodle of Stella and Angel kissing. She then takes out her cellphone, turns off her camera flash, and quickly snaps a photo of the two before giggling to herself again and silently slipping away. Boy, her Stangel fanfiction is gonna be awesome with all this official content she's gotten!

Once Stella and Angel slowly pull away, they both hold each other's gaze as their eyes sparkle in wonderment. The kiss felt like something straight out of a fairytale. The two soon realize that they've been staring at one another for too long as they both apologize in unison and quickly look away, blushing like crazy.

While they continue their lack of eye contact, Stella feels a snowflake land on her nose as she looks up to see that it's snowing. As the snow continues to fall, bits of it gets in Stella's hair. Angel looks back to her and notices this.

A soft, genuine look appears on his features as he brushes some of the snow off of her head and lifts her hoodie up.

"There," he smiled warmly to the bat.

Stella returns the warm look and smiles back. "Thanks," she says, her heart melting.

"Soooo, uh," Angel cleared his throat as he started to blush, shyly looking away yet again as he scratches the back of his head.

"Does this mean we're, like, a thing now?" he asked, a bit worried about Stella's reply. The red head giggled at his shy state as she hummed out, "It seems so," she gently grabbed his upper hand, squeezing it a bit.

The spider chuckled as he grinned at Stella. "Good. I'm glad." The now official couple held hands as they walked back inside. This was definitely the start of a cute, beautiful relationship.

[thewritingstar]

Like Fallen Snow

ahhh im super excited because I was @empress-of-mischief secret Santa for the Powerpuff secret Santa! I hope that this fic fills you will joy my dear. I rarely write for the blues and wanted to give it my best. I hope you had a wonderful xmas too. 

Pairing: Boomubbles

Fandom: PPG

---

Christmas was an exciting time of the year. Even Boomer who would rather be alone in his room blasting rock music in his headphones could be found sitting in the living room with his brothers early in the morning. It would start with them racing out of their bedrooms at an ungodly hour and putting on a pot of coffee for their monkey of a father before summoning their demon dad for gifts.

Having super villains for dads had some perks like giant lasers, rocket ships and enough weapons to destroy entire cities as if they forgot that the boys themselves were better than any military grade weapon. So when it came time to open gifts, even Boomer could give enough to smile as he unwrapped a taser gun that he automatically shot at Butch and blue fuzzy socks that matched the red and green ones.

Making sure the superpowered boys were happy on the holiday was something that Mojo and Him had decided was the best, not to keep them entertained but also to keep the running feud of who the best father was. Even though Boomer was happy to accept anything wrapped up with a bow, he had always felt something missing. He had to give Him and Mojo credit because as they got older, the gifts actually became personal.

They were now in their junior year of high school. The boys ‘bad-boy’ vibe wasn’t really cutting it with them and giant machinery wasn’t going to be the hot ticket for the year. Instead Brick ended up with a ton of books and gourment coffee, Butch calling him a big ass nerd of course, which was to prove his point that he was smarter than all of them and may or may not have been to either aggravate or impress a certain puff. For Butch his collection of vinyl recorders, skateboard parts and sport equipment was enough to keep him satisfied and have enough to spark envy with Buttercup. Boomer appreciated the brand new wall of guitars that he had been begging for, drums and a flute that he didn’t remember knowing how to play but hey, how hard could it be?

“Boomer, my dear boy, you keep looking at your phone. Is there somewhere else you’d rather be?” Him asked as he narrowed his eyes in a way that made Boomer snap his phone off.

Embarrassment crawled through him as all eyes were on him and even Mojo who was in the kitchen making pancakes but more or less listening in.

“Oh um, it was just I had a present for a couple friends and was wondering if I could give it to them before it gets dark.” Boomer responded.

“It's eight in the morning, dumbass. It's not close to being dark yet.” Butch said as he threw a football at the blondes head and let out a scream when the rubber turned to dust from the blue laser beams.

“You can say Bubbles.” Brick snorted and Boomer shot him a glare. That was a secret!

“Oh? She is quite the cutie.” Him smirked and Butch barked out a laugh as he smacked Boomers side with a wag of the eyebrows.

“Forget it, you all are weird. I’ll see you for breakfast, I’ll be quick.” Boomer huffed and went up to his room to change before flying out the window.

“Tell your little girlfriend hi for us!” He heard Butch shout and he knew damn well the whole neighbor hood could probably hear him.

“Not my girlfriend.” He mumbled to himself as he found his way to the park.

--

Since the beginning of his life it had always been the ruffs vs the puffs. Destined by his fathers orders and demands, Boomer always followed in that direction no matter what. He didn’t waver from the line drawn in the sand. Even though his brothers began to tip toe around it when they got older, stupid hormones, and yet he never strayed.

He could maybe understand their reasoning. It would make sense to be drawn to the enemy in a way he rarely understood, but still his blood flowed with destruction and determination to rule the world and some girl with pigtails wasn’t going to change that. Or so he thought.

He would consider himself an introvert to his counterpart’s over the top bubbly personality, her name truly suited her. Unlike their siblings, they seemed to rival the most in the sharing of traits.

And yet they had become friends first. It was a bonding experience over milkshakes and a painstaking talk about how they don’t live up to their siblings' powers, how they felt like they were the weak ones. He thought about how Brick and Butch had more muscle power but to hear Bubbles have her own doubts made his stomach turn and for some reason, their friendship bloomed.

Boomer could say that she was his best friend. Not too many people had gained the title of being his friend compared to her, who had most of the school fawning over her charm even if she didn’t notice. But that's what he liked about her. She was like him and while he was confined to her and shared his fears, she could do the same because at the end of the day, they were counterparts. One half of the same coin that would understand the other without any words.

So maybe that's why he was extremely nervous right now. They had been besties, as she called it, for a while and even though gift giving wasn’t out of the ordinary, he wondered what it would be like to be more.

Tell your little girlfriend hi for us!

Much more.

His thoughts were interrupted when the blue puff landed at the foot of the gazebo and sat on the bench next to him.

“Hey Boomie.” She smiled brightly and at first the nickname bothered him but now it was stuck like honey. It was weird when she didn’t say it.

“Hey Bubs.” He returned the smile. “How was your morning?”

“The usual. Blossom with her books and magazines, Buttercup and her weights and well I now have a new spring wardrobe. How about you?”

“Exactly that but I got a new guitar to tune.”

“Oooo you’ll have to play for me sometime.” She gushed and he felt the heat rise to his cheeks. It was the cold's fault, not the pretty blonde, he swears! “Now it's time for the present!” She clapped and put a tin that smelled that vanilla and cinnamon on his lap.

He already knew what they were as he had been bugging her to make her signature holiday cookies for months. Worth the wait.

“So I made you all some cookies, without my sister's help of course and then this is for you.” She handed him a box. The box was black with a navy blue bow. It was so perfect that it was almost comical. Opening the box, he removed the sparkly blue tissue paper.

“Oh wow, guitar picks.” He smiled as he took one out. It was wooden and had a small B with a heart engraved on it. “It's almost like you knew.”

“I had a feeling. You had been talking non stop about wanting one and whether I’d admit it or not, Him makes sure his dear baby boy gets a good present.” She giggled as she poked his cheek.

He rubbed his thumb over it, examining it and thinking about how nice it's going to feel while strumming. “These are really nice quality.”

“I made one from each adventure we went on. That’s made from a pine tree from our first camping trip with our friends. And this one is from the beach last summer.” She held up a slightly white one and at a closer look he realized that it was probably made from sea glass.

“You made these?” He asked in disbelief. “Is this made of bamboo?” He gasped. “When we raced to China?”

“Yep! I know it’s kinda lame but those places meant a lot for us, as friends.” She stumbled over the last part.

“I don’t think it’s lame at all. Pretty cool.” And he meant it. It was probably the most thoughtful gift he had ever received because it took him back to those happy days they had spent together.

“Cooler than a rocket?” She giggled.

“Even cooler than a rocket. Thank you.” He said and fished out her present from his pocket. “Mines not homemade but, ya know.” He scratched the back of his neck and handed her the small poorly wrapped box. “Don’t even comment on the wrapping.”

She held in a laugh. “I’m not.” Liar.

Carefully she tore off the paper and opened the box. “Boomer.”

“I hope it's the right one.”

She stared at the silver chain that had a silver pendant of the moon. When they walked through the mall, it had caught her eye and she spent the next hour talking about astrology and the phases of the moon. The minute that she went into another store, he ran back to purchase it. In the middle of August mind you.

“It's beautiful.” He could hear the sincerity in her voice as she turned her back to him and he helped her with the clasp. “Thank you, I love it so much.”

They sat in a comfortable silence for a couple minutes, taking a few bites of the cookies. The peaceful morning in the park with no one around was perfect, he wasn’t a fan of crowds and maybe that's why she chose this spot because she knew they would be the only ones here.

“Oh look, it's snowing.” Bubbles gasped as she held out her hand to catch the small flakes coming in. “Isn’t it beautiful?” She asked and when he said yes, his eyes hadn’t come off of her.

She stood and walked a few feet out to twirl in the new snow and he shoved his hands in his pocket to keep them warm as he watched her with a smile. If she would have asked him to join her a couple years ago, he would have probably said no and told her to shove off, and now, he would have gone anywhere if she just asked.

Staring at her made him realize that he wanted something more with her. There had been a few occasions where the air around them shifted and for a single second, it was like she thought the same thing, but they would get interrupted and that moment would die and he would sit there and remember that he is her best friend, nothing more, nothing less. But what if he was?

He got to his fit and joined her, kicking around some snow with his shoe as his mind kept racing about every single possibility. Does he just tell her? Just ask? What if he read the signs wrong? What if he messes everything up?

“Isn’t it romantic?” His thoughts were ripped away as he turned towards her. She was looking up at the sky. “Like a Christmas movie. The first snow of the season is said to bring promise to a new love, funny huh?”

Boomers eyes widened suddenly. Was...was she wanting this to turn romantic? This entire time had he been pining from a far when she was ready to take the leap? No. they had talked about relationships before, well hers at least. She was probably just saying it because she was a hopeless romantic.

But then again, Bubbles had always been the bold type. Always telling him that she had been dropping hints for some guy and now come to think of it...had she been talking about him?

“Yeah, romantic.” He decided to finally respond.

He watched as her smile turned down slightly as she looked at him with a gaze he didn't recognize. “Well, I should probably be heading back home now.” She said somewhat sadly.

“Oh yeah, before the snow sets. Thank you by the way.” He held up the boxes and she gave him a better smile.

“Of course. And thank you for this.” She tugged on her necklace. “I’ll see you soon.” She said as she turned around and began to walk.

Something within him was yelling. An eternal battle now raging in his mind. What if he? No, he shouldn’t. But, imagine the positives.

He was hoping for a Christmas miracle.

Boomer ran up behind her, matching her speed as he grabbed her hand and turned her towards him before dropping it and rubbing his arm.

“Hey Bubbles?” Boomer asked nervously. His cheeks had decided to betray him and turn a pretty pink shade as Bubbles tilted her head.

“Yes?”

He sent his boxes down as her eyes remained on him. His hand shook nervously at his sides while her baby blue eyes looked at him. Butterflies were doing cartwheels in his stomach now but he was already here so...

“I have one last present but-” He gulped. “Y-you have to close your eyes.” He said as he took a step forward.

“Close my eyes?” She said with a small smile as he came even closer to her. His hands took hers softly as his thumb rubbed a slight circle on her hand.

“Yeah but if you don’t like it, you can return it.”

“Is that so?” She giggled as she stared into his eyes almost knowingly. “Well, I shouldn’t keep waiting then.” She said as her eyes closed and he felt like the world had disappeared around them, leaving them in the snowy park.

Boomer calmed his breathing as he stared at her. The soft pink of her cheeks from the bitter cold and how the smallest bit of snow landed on her lashes. Never before had his heart pounded as heavily as it did now as he closed the gap and kissed her with the gentleness of the first fallen snow.

He felt the sudden push against his lips. It was a beautiful sensation that he never thought would happen as she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him further. It was an answer to a question he had been asking for months, hell, maybe even years. Wondering if he could step over this line in the sand and it would be okay. That their friendship, trust and loyalty wouldn’t be corrupted but instead, stronger. It was clear that the line had been stepped over, no, completely erased without a second thought.

Their lips pulled apart and he couldn’t tell if the redness up her neck was from the cold nipping at their skin or the intense blushing from what just happened. All he knew was that she was smiling at him, just like she always had before.

“Boomer?” Her voice was just loud enough for his ears.

“Yeah?” He said almost out of breath.

“I don’t need a gift receipt.”

That fluttering in his chest began again as his face broke out into the brightest smile she had ever seen.

“That's great news.” Boomer smirked as he spun her around and dipped her by the waist like he saw in all those cheesy romance movies. “Because the return date had just expired.” He said just as he kissed her again.

---

His hand was warm from the take out cup of hot chocolate while his other hand was laced with hers and it felt more natural than breathing. She took her own cup to her lips, tasting the sweet chocolate as it helped to heat up the rest of her body and he wasn’t sure if he was dreaming or not because he was still in disbelief that he was here with her.

Bubbles caught him staring and instead of a playful scold, she inched closer to him and placed a quick peck on his cheek.

“Merry Christmas Bubbles.”

“Merry Christmas.”

---

I hope you liked it <3 

[shaechans]

a shaechans fic: unexpected company

to: somni ( @insomni-writing​ ) a merry christmas to you somni!!! anddddd i’ve been your secret santa all this time ahhh i hope you’re surprised. maybe a little???? anyway, apologies in advance cause this is not that good and quite rushed (you may see a few edits after i’ve published ahhh but please pay no mind thanks<3) but i hope you like this. i wrote about a uh uh surprise trope and i know you like horror but i’m not good at those:(( so i wrote this. i also posted a moodboard for this (and one for you special;)) on my other account @a5ahiboyz so check it out!! small note at the end as well yee i talk too much

pairing: lee haechan x somni

genre: strangers! au, fluff, a little angst towards the end and in the middle, kinda boring:((

word count: 3.2k it was supposed to be 2.5k ahhhhhhh

warnings: like one swear word

the evening wasn’t going well for somni. ironic seeing how she was always one to get things done her way or it wasn’t considered an accomplishment to her. but today was...different. it was the day she had met a fellow, claimed master criminal lee haechan.

lee haechan, or by birth, donghyuck—something somni would prefer calling him just to see him clench fists—would be your definition of next door boy. friendly, the type to reach out for cookies with a mischievous grin kinda tune. he carries a lovely, bubbly energy every time he shows his face and is the neighborhood's pride and, at this point, only hope! and he was happy to be so. 

except for the fact that he was an evil genius.

thursday, 24th december  21:11pm

flipping through the fiction section of the bookstore, somni let out a sigh seeing the stock of last ones left alive, a book she had been aching to get her hands on, diminishing each day she’d visit the store. she was running out of motivation to actually get a job, like she had considered a few days, and/or steal anything seeing how she wouldn’t be able to afford it anyway.

sighing yet again, she got herself ready to walk back to her ‘house’. rubbing her palms and blowing hot air into them she prepared for the cold and harsh wind to hit her out of her senses again. as she thought of a hot chocolate to warm her system, a certain book caught her eye from the new release section. turning back around, somni rushed over to read through the summary at the back.

all too focused on the book, she missed to hear the last call for the last of customers at the store. and when she did get back to her senses, she heard the last of the keys jingling as the owner locked the store. somni’s head whipped in the direction of the main door, as she made a run for the door, eyes widening to saucers in realization.

after a minute or so of banging and yanking at the door knob, somni let go, sliding down the door before regretting as the cold wind from the loose end of the door nipped at her skin. she sighed loudly at the thought of spending the night in this cold nightmare of a store. alone. until she heard a voice on the other, back end of the store. picking up a book near her as defense, somni carefully walked over, curiosity getting the best of her.

“um hello-AHHAHHHHHHHHKASJAKJHSSJ” the figure keyboard smashed as somni ran over, in an attack stance before smacking the shadow across the head. the mysterious person was now unconscious on the floor as somni panicked over her actions. the person would come to be the very famous, lee haechan!

somni was born to loving parents and got everything she ever wanted. except she could never be satisfied with whatever it was she did receive. don’t get the girl wrong, what she demanded would be given at her feet, but unfortunate for her parents, as easily satisfied she was, twice the dissatisfaction she would spit. it wasn’t until her father snapped at her and abandoned her by the family cottage just 2 miles away from home. but then again, it wasn’t like somni planned on going back home anyway.

and that’s when the idea of theft inspired somni for the “better”.

thursday, 24th december  21:23pm

it had been a little over fifteen minutes to haechan’s passing out, when somni had managed to find water from the storeroom of the bookstore. cradling water—ice cold water, to which she flinched first but then overcame the numbness—from the now tilted bottle on her left hand into her right, as she straight up splashed water on his face. and when he didn’t respond to that, panicking, tilted the bottle upside down, the water drenching his face and shirt.

at that, the boy gasped sharply, shooting up straight like, similar to his widened from when he experienced literal ice cubes fall on his skin. the two stared at each other for a minute, haechan in utter shock and somni in relief/concern from recovering from the fact that she didn’t murder.

somni was first to turn away, exhaling breath she didn’t she had held. “thank GOD you aren’t dead! i couldn’t be with another one” “whAT?” “NOTHING!” somni yelled, turning around and standing up to get away quickly from the wet and cold scene. haechan needed a few extra minutes to process the situation before getting to his feet too and following her to the main door.

“what are you doing?” jumping slightly and holding onto her heart, somni rolled her eyes as she took note of his presence and choosing to ignore his question, she continued to try her luck unscrewing the door with a hard covered book. that went on for five minutes before she gave up and clicked her tongue, and went on a search to find another tool.

haechan could only watch her move around, hands behind his back as his eyes rested onto the tops of the dusty bookshelves. “do they seriously not clean those? christ!” he exclaimed, pulling out a tissue from his jean pocket and climbing to reach the top part of the shelf.

a loud thud and hard covered books falling was what brought somni out of her trance from staring at the toolbox, in a dilemma with what to choose, her indecisiveness kicking in at a wrong time. running out to see a haechan piled under heavy looking books, somni stifled a laugh before trying to steady her voice “are you okay??”

to see how true of an evil genius haechan would reveal later to be what somni would come to realization a little late. to somni, haechan was a comforting sign that destruction would still present itself in the oblivious way and it made her feel a little less lonely than she would on the daily. so much comfort that it was almost like he was following her. following her enough to know that she needed a reassurance of the other evil present in the world.

somni would start low, with convenience stores and slowly then work her way up to malls and finally, her one and only love: the bookstore round the corner. the smell of newly fresh printed pages—which she would walk by simply to get motivated with her next convenience store raid—is what somni would call motivation. which is why she was currently trapped in a bookstore, past their closing time (as she knew), with her new bestie<33, the one and the only, lee haechan.

thursday, 24th december  21:57pm

“so what exactly were you doing doing here?” somni let the question hang onto the dry silence that was meant to be broken anyway. the pair moved over to the floor after somni helped and laughed and cleaned the books off him and out of the way. somni having given up on finding a way out at this point, the surroundings being too cold for her to stand solo.

at this haechan pondered for a bit, before answering “i was on the look for this one book, a series of them actually. my aunt asked, to which i’ve already forgotten the title” he paused to roll his eyes and look through his previous messages, presumably from said aunt.

“percy jackson and the olympians” shrugging as he announced, he clicked his phone ‘off’ before looking to somni, who managed to resist a sequel as he confirmed the title. that being understandable as it was her favouritest book of all time! haechan eyed her, eyebrow raising when she covered her mouth, trying her best to hide the grin etching onto her face.

“what’s with your reaction?” “oh it’s just i-” somni started before thinking; why on earth do i have to let him know. he’s just a stranger after all. she didn’t even know his name.

she didn’t even know his name.

“uh what did you say your name was again??” somni raised her brow at the boy, watching his eyes slowly widened a bit realising they hadn’t introduced themselves. he stuck out his hand, a boxy grin present as he introduced himself “i’m lee donghyuck! but everyone calls me haechan because donghyuck’s too….formal for me.” somni nodded once, before reaching out to shake his hand “i’m somni! it’s nice meeting you donghyuck” she winked at him as he groaned, causing her to stick out her tongue playfully at him.

donghyuck grew up in a family of four sisters and one twin brother. the seven of them lived contently with their father’s pay as police commissioner and mother as a lawyer—training currently for magistrate judge. however, their parents were quite conservative with family traditions and obedience. so when one of donghyucks’ older sisters came out to them as pansexual, she was banished from entering the house. this quick and stern change startling the rest and so they started to fulfill and satisfy with whatever their parents wished for them today.

all except donghyuck.

of course he was scared out of wits even at the thought of running away but after his twin convinced him to do it with him, donghyuck trusted him. and so one night, six year old donghyuck ran away. alone. his twin having ditched out of last minute thoughts. finding shelter in a nearby house down the street, turning to the first house he could. the couple thinking he was in trouble decided to take him in. before he knows, he’s staying with them for years and suddenly he’s eighteen and he goes off to his first day of university. 

and then he meets his father.

thursday, 24th december  22:17pm

“why do you even like that book?” haechan asked, a disgusted look taking over his features as somni reached out to smack his leg slightly. “it’s not just a book!! it’s a journey” “jOuRneY” they said in unison, haechan mockingly as he rolled his eyes, chuckling slightly at somni’s offended expression.

since they had no other work to do, the two decided to at least clean the store while haechan was on the lookout for the percy jackson book series his aunt had requested for. somni had let the boy know that she had seen it earlier and was ecstatic to lead the way to them. while she did so, she also rambled on and on about how exciting the books are and how he should give them a try, to which haechan could only ignore.

silence took over after somni had finished summarizing the basic structure of the series when haechan asked the question somni had been dreading to hear “isn’t your family gonna be worried?” minutes of cold emptiness went by before haechan interrupted “uh...hello? are you okay??” he asked, and as somni could see from the corner of eye, worriedly. after taking in her wordless response—and a visible gulp—haechan dropped the question.

“i know mine won’t worry,” he said after a few seconds. “it’s not like they ever did” he muttered looking away. at that, he managed to get somni’s attention and continuing on “my birth parents were quite stern in their ways and so i ran away” somni gawked at this, staring at the nonchalant boy in front of her. “you ran a-away?” haechan nodded.

“when i was six” “wheN YOU WERE SIX?!!?!?” haechan’s heart sped up at her sudden increase in her volume, but nodding nonetheless. “hmm me and my twin decided to just leave. but when the time came, he ditched me so i just left by myself” he paused to search the top shelves for the books. “and obviously they didn’t come after me”.

at that, somni unintentionally reached to touch his arm as a sign of comfort. but soon removed it when haechan looked between her and her hand. sighing, somni internally debated with whether she should tell haechan of her situation or was he still yet to gain her trust. eventually she thought ‘fuck it’ and decided to tell him. what could he possibly do with the information?

somni didn’t exactly have much of a school life seeing how despite her parents paying for her fees three more years after her moving out, she was never one to mingle with people. she’d often keep to herself and just go on with whatever life threw at her. which is why she moved to theft in the first place. in order to provide for herself.

but then she was offered a job. a job at the convenience store she would raid.

having been working there long enough (two ½ years) made stealing easier for her. this way she earned her share of finance and everyday necessities. her boss was a snooze, who’d never glance over at any of the items for more that second, to realise things were missing. and in addition, somni would convince her that it was just selling well, increasing her spirits and faith in the girl. therefore not spare a thought to check cctv rolls.

thursday, 24th december  22:42pm

“i got sent away.” haechan hummed in question, heading slowly turning in her direction as they sat on the carpeted floor of the bookstore. sighing and placing her book page down, somni continued with more confidence “my parents threw my out of the house. and they were right! they had every reason to! but i” her words choked slightly, haechan looking at her with sympathy “i just miss them” she sighed finally looking up at him and after her constant eye contact with the floor, haechan was illuminating from the moon reflecting on him through the small front window.

“i’ve been an absolute brat my entire life and i can only imagine how fed up my parents were of me to actually send me away” her ramble coming to a stop when she couldn’t find words to say. the feeling of emptiness only increasing by the second within her. somni felt her tears fall when she registered haechan’s hand patting her back in reassurance.

she paid him a smile back after inhaling and exhaling to catch her senses back. he smiled back as okay before going back to reading. the precious silence lasted for a while before haechan closed his book and turned to face somni completely. “so how do you live? by yourself?? what do you do for a living? god i just need to know!!” somni raised her brow at the boy in front of her, not choosing to flinch, accustomed to his startling nature.

“well i do live by myself, i still go to school cause my parents pay for it and for a living, i steal”

and then the power tripped.

donghyuck’s new life with his parents was much easier than what he had experienced with his birth family. at first he would still be unfazed with his change in surroundings, asking permission to even go to the bathroom and bowing when the pair would confusingly agree. they would sit him down one day to explain that he needn't ask their permission to tug at their clothes to call them—to which donghyuck would look at the pair astonished at this new world.

and from then on, donghyuk was constantly loved and pampered by the old couple and it was everything he could ask for. he lived a normal life, going to school everyday and then even offering to repay his parents by working shifts at a restaurant after he would turn seventeen.

every once in a while he would run into his siblings around town but he would just walk away. it wasn’t like they were gonna recognize him anyway.

thursday, 24th december  23:24pm

somni froze. haechan had been clinging on to her arm, eyes closed shut and body trembling. his small fit went on for a while, somni being patient and even patting his back awkwardly. “i-i’m a little, tiny bit TERRIFIED of the dark” somni chuckled softly, firmly placing a hand on his back, running it up and down in comfort.

they sat there until somni tapped his hand and reached her own out for him to take “c’mon just take my hand and we’ll go find the power switch okay” haechan nodded, eyes still closed. after successfully standing up, somni walked with dragged haechan to the main switch on the other side of the store. after messing with switches carefully, somni managed to get the light back on.

she clapped her hands excitedly and turned to haechan, who was still hugging her waist. haechan looked up at her and they were close enough to have their noses touching. they stared at each other, either too frozen in place to move. somni faked a cough and cleared her throat, haechan taking the signal and moving away, standing up straight with hot pink cheeks.

friday, 25th december  00:04pm

bored out of their minds, the pair of them moved to lay on the floor, eyes boring holes into the wooden roof of the bookstore. random thoughts running wild at nothing to concentrate on. haechan was first to break the silence, gasping and sitting straight up and looking around at the clock. “it’s christmas!!!” somni soon got up too, beaming at the clock and then at haechan.

“merry christmas donghyuck” she laughed, leaning forward to hug the now sulky boy. “haha merry christmas to you somni.” the hug was soon interrupted by sirens fading into the scene. the two pulled away fast, heads whipping in the direction of the sound.

“we’ve gotta run!” “grab the books you need!” haechan stared at somni in confusion as she stood up to get her desired book. “wait wait. GRAB the books? are you gonna steal them?” somni paused to give him a look of an obvious nod. “you can’t just fucking stea-” “PUT YOUR HANDS UP WHERE I CAN SEE THEM!”

dropping the books in astonishment, the both of them throwing their hands up immediately. they were then assisted outside, shivering when coming in sudden contact with the snowy environment. somni rubbed her arms up and down as a way to provide warmth. looking around for haechan, she saw him handshaking the officer??

“ms. somni, you are under arrest for theft!” somni could not move, feet as frozen as her lips. she called out for haechan who replied with a smirk before walking over to her. “what’s up love?” “whaT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?” “arresting you on the basis of theft?” he said like it was blatantly obvious.

somni gritted her teeth as he winked back at her before turning to walk away. “just wait till i get out lee donghyuk” stopping in his tracks, he turned his head slightly back, “it’s officer haechan to you”

from: nes!! wellllll hi lmao. firstly, this fucking sucks ASS. i didn’t even know what i was writing half way through and i honestly didn’t have the energy to proofread so i apologize for all the grammar mistakes:( wanna lowkey make a part two to this but let me know if this was even liable for a sequel ahhhh. anyway, have a merry christmas and i guess we’re mutuals now;)

[pointy-hat-witch]

My gift for @smol-fatale for the @fyeahbnha secret santa event!! I had lots of fun writing it! Hope you enjoy it! I never wrote a ShinKami fic so I hope I did them justice! :)

Title: Hot Stuff Fandom: Boku no Hero Academia Word count: 7233 words Summary:  In which Shinsou’s Christmas Miracle happens in form of a broken stove and an electrician.

You can also read it on AO3! :)

Shinsou was, generally speaking, a loner by choice, mind you. He enjoyed his own company, living at his own pace. So, when Midoriya slowly but steadily made himself a presence in his life, he initially didn’t notice. And by the time he did, it was already too late.

Together with Uraraka, Midoriya’s almost-sorta-girlfriend(?), they moved into a three bed-room-apartment rather close to their uni. Every now and then, Shinsou asked himself how it ended up like that but whenever he thought about it, he reached to the conclusion that he didn’t really mind, after all. He found these friends, or rather they found him and now they’re his family.

Well, until moments like these.

Shinsou came home from one of his late lectures, and it was already dark outside which was no surprise for mid-december anyway. Because he was hungry, the lecture dragged on as it was and his last meal had been some time ago, he just wanted to fix himself a fast meal and watch a movie before passing out.

So, when he came home he first noticed the silence, the eerie silence. After around a year and half living with friends, he was fluent in reading the atmosphere, that was why he knew something was up. He was certain that Midoriya and Uraraka should be home already and that they hadn’t anything planned for tonight.

“Hello?” He patiently half-shouted into their apartment from their entry hall as he slipped out of his shoes. There was a shuffle in the kitchen and some muffled voices. Something was definitely amiss. Shinsou sighed.

Preparing himself mentally, he left his bag where it was, put on his slippers and slowly made his way toward the kitchen. He didn’t sneak up or anything but when he appeared in the door, both Uraraka and Midoriya jumped up as if he was Satan himself. They pressed their shoulders together, standing as rigid as humanly possible and their faces, hh god, Shinsou would have cracked at least a smile if his gut didn’t say something was awfully wrong.

“W-w-w-what’s up, Shinsou? Home already, huh? Kinda thought you would have come a little later, like you know, you could have gotten a coffee because it’s so late and you would have taken a bus later or even walked, so we didn’t really thought you would be-“ Midoriya continued babbling but Shinsou already zoned out, staring neutrally over to Uraraka.

And, oh, Uraraka. “Why on earth don’t you breathe?” Shinsou interrupted Midoriya as he slowly squinted at her round cheeks, her eyes almost bulging out.

“Baaaah!“ Uraraka pushed out all of her breath she held in and then took a deep breath afterward.

“Sorry, ahhh,” she whined, fanning herself, “I was getting so nauseous and just had to.”

“Why did you feel nauseous?” Shinsou’s voice cut through the air that was as thick as butter.

“Uhhhh,” Midoriya and Uraraka looked at each other in panic but after a couple of silent seconds exhaled defeatedly. Whatever it was, they couldn’t keep him in the dark forever. They each took a step to the side, moving away from each other to show him the disaster.

“What am I looking at, guys?” Shinsou asked, fully aware of what he was looking at. But he needed them to say it.

“We, uh,” Uraraka gesticulated wildly without saying anything, looking at every possible thing in the room except Shinsou and that. Shinsou’s gaze wandered over to Midoriya who’s shoulders were perched up, elbows close to his body while mumbling inconceivable into one of his hands.

“Guys.” Shinsou sighed. “Just, what happened?”

“We wanted to make dinner,” Uraraka whined, “for you, you know? Mondays are bad as they are and you have a full day of classes so we thought we could, uh, make you dinner.”

Midoriya nodded, his hair bobbing with the motion. “And we just got started, like prepping and we needed flour for the batter and it-“

“It just,” Uraraka threw her arms in the air, “the glass container just slipped through my fingers.”

“And fell on the stove.”

“And fell on the stove.”

“And fell on the stove.” Shinsou mumbled, nodding solemnly. Yeah, this was his chosen family. Smashing their ceramic stove plate with a glass of flour. He stared at the abomination. The cupboard right next to the stove was a little higher than usual, so Uraraka had probably stood on her toes to reach the glass and it must have bounced off her arm right in the middle of the stove plate, smashing it into pieces. Everywhere black shards. Leaving the stove irreparable.

“Did you get hurt?” Shinsou asked as he kneeled down to pick up some of the bigger pieces.

“No!” They both shook their heads.

“Then that’s all that matters.” Complaining about spilled milk wouldn’t do neither of them any good. He knew it was an accident, shit happens.

“We’re sorry, Shinsou.”

Shinsou blinked and looked up. Both Uraraka and Midoriya looked at the floor, Uraraka fighting off tears and Midoriya balling his hands into fists.

Yeah, those were his family. If he would have been still with his blood relatives they- no. Shinsou didn’t think about that anymore.

Shinsou shook his head, almost smiling fondly. “Don’t worry about it. You didn’t get hurt, so it doesn’t matter. We can just order food.”

Averting another disaster, as Uraraka and Midoriya looked like they wanted to jump on him to smother him with their affection, Shinsou got them to help him clean up the kitchen, before they ordered food, which his friends paid for, and watched a movie until he passed out.

He woke up the next morning with his blanket thrown over him and he indulged himself for another five minutes, snuggling into the heavy blanket. But, alas, even though he only had two classes in the afternoon, he had some homework from the day before, so he had to get up eventually. And the earlier the better.

When he got up, he noticed a small piece of paper on the couch table with his name neatly written on.

Curious, he picked it up and unfolded it.

 “Dear Shinsou,

we hope you slept well. You looked like you were dead at least.. Sorry again for the stove. Please call the landlord about it. He likes you.

Love,

Your besties!!”

 Shinsou couldn’t decide whom of them he wanted to strangle first. Letting out a silent groan, Shinsou let himself fall back onto the couch, staring up at the ceiling. Today was an even more low energy day than usual, so the thought about calling someone was already taking a toll on him.

They all knew, Aizawa wouldn’t yell at them or anything. He was the best landlord you could get, honestly. Not they often, say, smash their stove plate but if they needed anything done in their apartment he would get it done in a few days. Sometimes, he even just came over to talk and check in if they’re alright, studying and working and all that.

And Shinsou and he may or may not clicked right from the start. They both were low-tension, didn’t talk around the bush and didn’t need to tiptoe around each other. If he could choose, Shinsou kind of wanted to have him as a dad. But that was something he would ever say out loud.

Still, why he needed to call him was beyond him. 

He searched around for his phone blindly, not bothering looking away from the ceiling. When he finally found it, his finger scrolled through his contacts, their landlord a commonly called number. Shinsou sighed. He dialed.

“What did they do now?” Aizawa’s voice was gruff, probably only just gotten out of bed himself, for what Shinsou felt a little guilty. They both didn’t like talking on the phone, but both his roommates and his spouse were notorious in getting them to do it.

“They broke the stove plate.” He cut right to the chase.

“They did what now?”

“Dropped a glass on it. Smashed it.”

“They smashed the-,” Aizawa mumbled in disbelief to himself.

“Do you have an electrician or a company you use for stuff like that? I can call them. And we pay, of course. Our fault.”

“Their fault,” Aizawa pointed out, “but yeah. I know someone. I’ll give them a call.”

They agreed that the electrician either comes until 1 pm or the next day in the evening and their call ended. As short as it was and for some may sound a little standoff-ish, Shinsou liked those calls the most. They weren’t as dreadful as those where he had to make small talk and offend the other person by not being the friendliest customer or something.

When he finally was done with that, he fixed himself a bowl of cereal and then sat down on his desk to get some work done before heading off to uni.

When the doorbell rang, Shinsou almost flinched, hunched over his notes about commonly known phobias. Geez. He rubbed his face as he stumbled over to the door, not thinking twice about making himself any more presentable. He, first of all, didn’t give a flying fuck about what an electrician would think about him, and secondly, it was a apartment with three students, what could anyone expect?

What he didn’t expect, was to look into the bright face of someone his age, grinning around a lollipop.

“Yo!” He almost shouted, as he pushed up his cap a little, grinning around his lollipop even wider.

“Hi.” Shinsou answered in the most monotonous voice he could muster but it didn’t deter the other to smile any less.

“I heard you have a broken stove.”

“Yeah.” He stepped aside, letting the guy inside. “First door to the right.”

“Gotcha!” He nodded, pulling his feet out of his shoes. “Oh, I’m Kaminari, by the way.”

“Uh-huh.” Shinsou wasn’t sure how to handle this ball of energy. Literally. When the electrician took his cap off, clipping it to his belt, his yellow hair showed a black streak in his fringe which resembled a flash of lighting. His steps had a little spring to them, his fingers kept tapping to some rhythm, his eyes darting around. And Shinsou only knew this guy for about ten seconds.

“Oh.” Kaminari said as he entered the kitchen. “Well, yeah, that is fucked. In my professional opinion, of course.” He threw his head back and laughed. He fucking laughed at his own joke. “How in god’s name did you do that, man?” Kaminari walked up to the smashed stove plate, without the glass shards mind you, looking at it in fascination.

“My roommates dropped a glass on it.” Shinsou crossed his arms lazily, leaning against the kitchen door frame. “What can you do about it?”

“That sounds like your roommates are a blast!” He laughed again, pushing his lollipop around in his mouth. “Well, I am great at my job but that,” he pointed at the broken ceramic plate, “even I can’t fix that. Got to get you a new one.”

“Figured as much.” Shinsou groaned. “How long will that take?”

“Not that long,” Kaminari mused, pulling out a folding rule. “Oh, did you take out the fuse?”

“Huh?”

Kaminari laughed, again. “That answers it, hehe. Where is your fuse box?” Though Kaminari laughed again and again and kept a lazy smile on his lips, Shinsou never felt that he laughed at him, he just was … amused. And it kinda made it easier to talk to him.

“Over there,” Shinsou pointed back to the entrance hall, next to the small coat rack.

“Gotcha!” Kaminari hopped over to it, with one look flipped one of the like fifty switches, which Shinsou had only a very, very general idea for what they were, and danced back into the kitchen.

“Didn’t plan on getting fried by a smashed stove today!” He winked at Shinsou as he laid down his folding rule to measure the plate.

Shinsou was frozen on the spot. Did he just wink at him? Was he … no. He was just like that, that wasn’t anything weird, was it?

“Alrighty,” Kaminari mumbled around his lollipop, writing some numbers on his notepad that he pushed back into one of his numerous pockets. “It’s a standard stove plate, so nothing hard to get by. I would say tomorrow, the day after tomorrow the latest I can install the new one. Does one of the days work better for you?”

Shinsou blinked himself out of his own stupor, mentally going through his schedule. “I could do tomorrow evening or the evening after that.”

“Tomorrow it is then!” Kaminari smiled around his now almost vanished lollipop. “Uh, can I have your phone number? Just in case, it doesn’t work out for whatever reason, you know?”

“Sure.” Shinsou nodded, rattling off his number. Kaminari typed at his phone, throwing Shinsou a quick glance, clearing his throat.

“And, uh, I didn’t catch your name?”

There was a beat silence, before Shinsou answered slowly.

“Shinsou Hitoshi. Got it.” Kaminari smiled. His fingers fished out another lollipop, unwrapping it so fast Shinsou has never seen anyone do it before and popping it into his mouth. The other stick wandered into a small container with at least five other empty sticks. Uh, okay.

“Well then, Shinsou,” Kaminari said in his usual loud voice, Shinsou just figured out, “see you tomorrow!”

“Yeah, see you tomorrow.” Shinsou nodded as Kaminari slipped back into his shoes and then was out the door after a short wave.

Shinsou didn’t know how long he stood in the entrance hall after Kaminari left. It was kinda like a storm passing by and Shinsou had to process what just happened. Like, nothing bad happened, Kaminari did his job, was friendly, professional. But… but why did it feel like there so much more that happened?

Shinsou shook his head. It was just their wavelengths that were way off and it just was too much all of the sudden, Shinsou figured. Though, if Kaminari felt like so high tension and brimming with energy, why didn’t Shinsou feel drained in the least?

---

Since he only had morning classes, Shinsou spent the afternoon with his roommates. They brought some takeout with them on their way home, so they had some warm food at least. Shinsou was appreciative of them buying all the food, college students being notoriously broke as they were, though it didn’t come up yet, Shinsou planned to chip in with the repair costs, of course. They’re his closest friends after all.

Of course they did speak about the short visit of the electrician and in hindsight, Shinsou ought to know better, but he brought up the topic just to inform them. But he must have slipped in something of the sort that he felt weirdly calm around this energetic guy, because they both brought up sudden plans right after.

So, when 7 p.m. rolled around, he was all alone in the apartment again. And his heart was weirdly pounding in his chest. That was why he literally flinched when his phone rang on full blast. He forgot to put his volume back down after watching a cat video because who the fuck did call anybody these days?

The number was unknown and everything in him screamed to just not pick up. But then his finger was already sliding the “accept” button to the side.

“Shinsou speaking.” He pinched his nose, already berating himself for getting on the phone with a stranger.

“Ah! Hey, Shinsou! It’s Kaminari! The electrician? From yesterday. Because of the stove?” Kaminari’s voice was even louder through the phone, practically screaming in his ear and Shinsou had to hold his phone away before turning down the output volume.

“Yeah, Kaminari. I remember. What’s up?” Shinsou licked his lips, his mouth gone dry all of the sudden.

“I just wanted to check in, if I can come in around half an hour?” There was some traffic noise in the background, he probably just finished up his last customer.

“Yeah, half an hour. I’m here.”

“Perfect! Then I’m just gonna pick up your wonderful new stove plate and come right over!”

“Great.”

Kaminari chuckled and Shinsou’s skin prickled. It even sounded like he had yet another lollipop between his lips, clacking occasionally against his teeth.

“See you soon, Shinsou!” Kaminari hung up before Shinsou could even say anything. He let his phone fall out of his hand on the couch, pressing his hands against his face as he leaned back. What was going on with him? He … was looking forward to seeing Kaminari again? What in the ever loving fuck?

The next half hour went by agonizingly slowly since Shinsou looked at his phone every other minute, both to check the time but also, and he would never admit to it, maybe getting another call from the electrician.

When it (finally) rang at the door, Shinsou had to force himself not to run to the door. Purposefully slowly he opened the door to Kaminari leaning against the stove plate, properly secured in Styrofoam.

“Hey,” he grinned around his lollipop, “I chose the best stove for you!”

“Tha-“

“Out of a range of options!” Kaminari proceeded to put his hands up, motioning finger guns, while winking at Shinsou. And then snorted with laughter himself.

Shinsou didn’t know what did it for him. The absolute absurdity of the situation, the worst pun he ever heard, or Kaminari laughing at his own joke. Maybe all together. But he had to turn his head to the side and snort behind his hand.

“I saw that!” Kaminari yowled, high fiving himself. “Still got it!”

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Shinsou asked in the least serious way possible.

“Come on! That was funny!” Kaminari grinned, pulling off his shoes as he more or less invited himself in. Well, Shinsou did step aside to let him in anyway.

“It wasn’t really.” He shook his head, hands pushed inside his pockets as he didn’t know what to do with them.

“But you laughed!” Kaminari exclaimed, carrying the stove plate that looked like it weighted nothing in his arms over to the kitchen.

“I laughed because it was stupid.”

“Whatever the reason, I made you laugh!” Kaminari threw a quick glance over his shoulder at him, before putting the stove plate down right in front of the destroyed one.

“You didn’t turn on the fuse again, did you?”

Shinsou shook his head. “Why would we? I think you were the first one to ever touch that box in this household to begin with.”

That made Kaminari throw his head back with laughter. Why, Shinsou didn’t know but it made him feel warm that something he said made Kaminari laugh so earnestly.

“Are your roommates ever home?” Kaminari opened the cupboard underneath the broken stove plate, getting his flashlight to look at the high-tension socket. “Or just to break your stuff?”

Shinsou could see Kaminari’s shoulders tremble as he suppressed his laughter. Taking a deep breath and exhaling silently through his mouth, Shinsou leaned against the doorframe.

“They had some plans. Suddenly,” he added under his breath, shaking his head. “We do lots of stove together, don’t worry. They’re great friends.”

Kaminari’s whole body shook, giggling silently. He pulled out a small screwdriver and undid the lid of the outlet.  There were a couple of silent seconds as Kaminari carefully pulled out the few wires, before coming up again.

“Wanna give me a hand?” He grinned, setting the flashlight to the side, still kneeling on the ground.

“And doing your job without getting paid?” Shinsou answered but stepped up next to the other regardless.

“Ha, you wish!” Kaminari pushed his lollipop around in his mouth, grinning widely. “Okay, just lift the plate when I push it up.”

“And I won’t get electrocuted for sure?”

“Alas, I’m too good at my job for this to happen. An unfortunate circumstance of being gorgeous and talented.” Kaminari shrugged, shaking his head with a mock devastated expression. Shinsou snorted against his better judgment and didn’t acknowledge the knowing grin from Kaminari.

The plate lifted up a few centimeters as Kaminari pushed it from below and Shinsou grabbed it around the edges, raising it up a little higher. It was, indeed, lighter than he thought.

“Great, thanks.” Kaminari stood up and took it off Shinsou’s hands, standing so close to him he could smell the strawberry scented lollipop through his lips. Kaminari put the broken plate flat on the ground, so as to not let any loose shards fall off. Shinsou stepped back to the side when Kaminari lifted up the other stove plate, put it into its designated place and was back on his knees within seconds. Talk about efficiency.

Another few hand movements and the wires were back in place, the lid was screwed back on the socket and Kaminari stood back up.

“Done and done. Just a last check.” He jogged out of the kitchen and Shinsou was surprised that he still knew where the fuse box was. He heard the switch being flipped and then Kaminari was jogging back in.

“Moment of truth.”

Kaminari turned one of the four knobs on the stove plate and with a silent electric vibration one of the four panels slowly turned red. Kaminari grinned self-satisfied and turned it off again.

“Perfect. Everything as it should be?”

“Yeah, uh, thanks.” Shinsou nodded, a little impressed. That wasn’t complicated in the least and didn’t take as much time as he thought. Probably a lot more expensive than expected, though.

“Great, then I just need you to,” Kaminari fumbled through his pockets to pull out some piece of paper, “sign these papers off. To accept the repair and that stuff.” Kaminari tapped on some boxes Shinsou had to tick and the line he had to sign on.

“Yeah, sure.” Shinsou accepted the pen Kaminari pulled out of another pocket. For a second Shinsou skimmed over the paper, just to be totally sure he wasn’t in some kind of high caliber scam or something but everything seemed to be in order, so he signed it.

“Then we’re done here.” Kaminari folded the paper back into his pocket and saluted Shinsou lazily. “My pleasure.”

“Uh, sure.” Shinsou’s thoughts came to a screeching stop as he realized that Kaminari was about to leave. Like, for good. And somehow it made him anxious. He didn’t want him to leave, instead he wants to hear more bad puns and his contagious laughter.

“Have a nice holiday!” Kaminari crunched the last bit of his lollipop and waved.

“Uh, yeah, thanks. You, too. Don’t get electrocuted by another smashed stove. Or something.” Shinsou pulled at one strand of his hair, unsure where to look.

“I’ll be careful!” Kaminari laughed, popping in another lollipop. “Well, then. See you, hot stove,” Kaminari winked and was out of the door. Leaving Shinsou staring at the closed door.

What the fuck?

---

It didn’t help at all, that Uraraka was literally rolling on the carpet in the living room and Midoriya’s shoulders shook while making a face as to no burst out laughing, when Shinsou told them about his second encounter with the electrician. He never regretted moving in with them more than in that moment.

“Wait, wait, wait,” Midoriya held a finger up before covering his mouth, mumbling something Shinsou didn’t quite get. Uraraka sat up, wiping away the tears that kept on rolling over her cheeks.

“So, what if,” Midoriya looked between them back and forth, “the lollipop was a metaphor all along?”

Uraraka shrieked and fell back down, holding her stomach from laughing so hard. And Shinsou stared outside the window, wishing he was somewhere else but here.

“But jokes aside,” Uraraka said from the floor, spread like a starfish, “you gonna text him or something? Like, you both pretty much find each other … likeable.” They both burst into a small fit of laughter.

Shinsou shook his head. “Why would I?” he sighed. “Sure, mayyyybe,” he fixed them both with a glare and they pressed their lips together, “we kinda sort of found each other tolerable, but,” he leaned back against the couch, crossing his arms, “he just did his job and maybe that’s just his way to talk to customers.”

“Whatever you say, hot stove,” Midoriya snorted.

And if Shinsou threw them both out with a hearty kick in the ass, he would pledge self-defense for his mentality.

---

It wasn’t that Shinsou not thought about maybe texting Kaminari after all since he had his number after he called him. But it didn’t feel right to text him on his work phone just because he felt like his social anxiety wasn’t as bad with his electrician than with everybody else. What kind of reason is that? And then he got flooded with assignments for almost all of his classes due before the Christmas holidays and it kind of slipped his mind.

On the morning of Christmas Eve, Shinsou said goodbye to Uraraka and Midoriya who both had promised their respective families to celebrate with them. They were home almost never already, that’s why they had these fixed days they just had to come home. And Shinsou felt warmed to the core, when they tried to get out of it to spend Christmas with him.

It was no secret that Shinsou would spend Christmas alone and he honestly didn’t mind. Christmas wasn’t a holiday he celebrated in the first place but just knowing everyone spent it with people they love sometimes can be pretty lonely. And spending these days with his blood rela- no, he didn’t even finish that thought. He rather felt like the loneliest person on earth than to spend Christmas with them.

So, he had to give his friends a crushing hug, reassuring them that he really didn’t mind, and he would text them as soon as something came up. It still didn’t make them stop crying, even when they were out the door and he waved at them until they were around the corner of the hallway.

His friends were the best.

The plan was to write a little bit on his paper about the impact of forced interaction because of holidays with family members and then watch a movie and order take out. Even if the stove was working again, it didn’t mean he had to use it.

When the doorbell rang at around noon, Shinsou looked up in confusion. He didn’t order anything yet, did he? He stumbled a few meters as his legs had fallen asleep sitting cross-legged for the past hours on the ground in front of the coffee table.

When he opened the door, it was his landlord Aizawa standing in front of him.

“Uh, hi?” Shinsou blinked, mentally going through anything that could have prompted his landlord to show up. They always paid in time, he wasn’t even remotely too loud to bother his neighbors, there was nothing leaking in the apartment…

“For you,” Aizawa held up a plastic bag, a food container shimmering through the almost transparent fabric. “Hizashi cooked a little too much. And we didn’t want it to get to waste.”

Shinsou looked at the bag and back at Aizawa’s tired face. He didn’t meet his eyes, staring at the floor.

“But your husb-,” Shinsou started but shut himself up. Aizawa’s eyebrow twitched up, but didn’t say anything as Shinsou took the plastic bag.

“Thank you, Aizawa.” Shinsou took a quick glance inside, but couldn’t make out anything specific.

“Merry Christmas, Shinsou,” Aizawa pulled up his scarf and nodded. “If you need anything, just give me a call.”

“Thanks, I will. And merry Christmas to you and Yamada, too.” Shinsou answered, raising his hand in a small wave. He looked after Aizawa’s back until he reached the staircase, where his landlord raised his hand one last time without looking back.

Shinsou went back inside and closed the door before leaning against it. He rubbed at his eye with the ball of his hand, squinting against the tear ducts that threaten to open up. Damn. he didn’t need to be around people to know he was loved so dearly.

But he for sure sent Uraraka and Midoriya a text message for snitching to their landlord that he’ll be home alone. But he also thanked them. And then send them a picture with the food container to make them jealous because they all knew what a great cook Aizawa’s husband was.

Taking a deep breath, willing his eyes to stay dry, Shinsou decided it was time for a break anyway. In the kitchen Shinsou turned on the rice cooker and then took a look at the food container. It was still a little warm and just smelled heavenly. Shinsou seemed to be in luck to get a taste of Yamada’s curry to which his growling stomach agreed.

He put the curry into a pot to reheat it, turned the stove on low heat and walked back to the living room to make some room to eat. It didn’t even take him five minutes when walked back into the kitchen, not even being able to wait twenty minutes, he tried to reason with himself if he even needed rice or could eat it crunchy and call it fried rice for a split second, as he stirred the curry.

Though … it didn’t smell any different, like it didn’t unfold its whole flavor when getting heated up. Shinsou dipped his finger into the curry to feel that it had cooled down even more. Blinking, he pushed the pot aside, hovering his hand over the stove plate to feel no heat at all. He turned the knob to the highest number, but the panel didn’t turn red at all, let alone get warm.

This just couldn’t be happening. Shinsou counted to ten inside his head, before turning the stove and the rice cooker off for good. His next action was to look up the landline of the company that had sent him the electrician that was “alas, too good at his job” and hoped they were still open.

Luck was on his side for that matter at least, since the call connected. The free-line signal went on for an alarming long time until someone picked up. A gruff voice answered, sounding like they had their fair share of annoying customers on Christmas Eve already. After getting through the greetings, Shinsou went right to the point. He didn’t brag about being the perfect customer, he was polite, for sure, but he didn’t suck up to them.

“The stove plate one of your electricians installed last week doesn’t work anymore.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” he didn’t sound genuine at all, but Shinsou didn’t care. He just needed someone to fix it. “We have someone for emergencies on duty today. As soon as he is done with his current assignment, I’ll send him over. That okay?”

“Yeah. Thanks.”

“Great. Bye.” And he hung up.

Shinsou exhaled hard, nibbling at his lower lip. What now? Kicking his heels for between half an hour to five hours for someone to come? Working on his paper some more? Order some food already, maybe ruining his appetite?

After an hour he spent playing random games on his phone, upside down on the couch, the doorbell rang yet again this day. It didn’t make Shinsou any less anxious answering the door, though, even if he knew who it would be.

Kaminari stood at the door, cheeks slightly red, his chest rising and falling heavy, almost as if he hurried over here. Shinsou decided to ignore that for his own good.

“Yo!” Kaminari grinned, this time pulling out the lollipop and bowed slightly with his cap pulled off. “I’m terribly sorry about that mistake.”

“Uh,” Shinsou blinked. He didn’t expect such a sincere apology. “Don’t worry about it. I just wanna get something to eat, you know?”

“Yeah, totally!” Kaminari was back grinning at him and walked in as if it was already his own home. And Shinsou honestly didn’t mind. He even opened the fuse box to flip the switch for the high-tension outlet on his way as if it was the most natural thing to do.

“Your friends coming home for dinner, then?” Kaminari asked as he entered the kitchen, Shinsou slowly following him.

“Nah,” he tilted his head, one hand on his neck. “They spend Christmas with their family.”

“Huh?” Kaminari was already kneeling in front of the counter, looking over his shoulder like a lost puppy. “What about you? Does your family not meet up on Christmas Eve?”

Shinsou clenched his jaw, scratching his neck. “No.”

Even if he found Kaminari sympathetic and maybe even liked him a little bit, he still was a stranger and he didn’t need to tell him about any potential tragic backstory. And fortunately, Kaminari seemed to get the hint.

“Gotcha.” Kaminari pulled out his flashlight, leaning inside the cupboard. “I’m gonna spend Christmas Eve alone, too, you know? Though, some friends come over tomorrow evening.”

Shinsou blinked. “Uh-huh. So… what are you gonna do tonight?”

Kaminari had the audacity to lean back on his heels, looking over his shoulder with a smug grin. “What? You gonna ask me out on Christmas after meeting like three times? Shinsou,” he shook his head, “I’m on the clock, you know?”

Shinsou was speechless. Before he could even say anything, Kaminari leaned back under and this time opened up a small panel on the downside of the stove plate.

“Cat got your tongue?” Kaminari asked from inside, not sounding any less smug than before.

“Does your small talk always end up in something romantically and/or sexually implied?”

Kaminari looked, once again over his shoulder, pulling out his lollipop while smacking his lips lewdly. “I don’t know, does it?”

“Goddamnit.” Shinsou mumbled under his breath. Both done and frustratingly smitten with Kaminari. The offending electrician giggled before closing the panel and coming back to his feet again.

“The wire was a little loose, no big deal.” He said, back to his usual voice. “Should be no problems from here on out.”

“That’s what you said the last time.”

“Oh, did I?” Kaminari squinted at the ceiling as if to underline how hard he was thinking back to it. “Can’t remember.” He finally said, shaking his head.

“But now you really don’t have to worry about anything at all anymore.” He pushed his flashlight and screwdriver back into his pockets, unclipping his cap and putting it back on his head.

Shinsou nodded, scrunching up his face in annoyance or disappointed, he didn’t know either.

“Hey, Shinsou?” Kaminari asked around his lollipop as he put on his shoes.

“What?”

“My shift ends at around eight. Give or take half an hour depending on my last assignment.”

“And?” Shinsou raised both his eyebrows, playing nervously with the small hair at his neck.

“Well,” Kaminari chuckled but it was dry, not with its usual lightness, “I just… fuck.” He whispered to himself.

“What, Kaminari?” Shinsou pushed, his voice steadier than he would have thought with his heart pounding wildly in his chest.

“I just thought, you’re alone on Christmas Eve, I’m alone on Christmas Eve,” Kaminari rattled on, not looking back at him, “and I just, you know, I just thought it would be nice to spend it with someone. Who was funny. Or something. You know?”

Shinsou stepped a little closer, seeing that Kaminari’s neck turned bright red and Shinsou had to swallow hard around the lump in his throat. Fuck, indeed.

“You like Chinese food?”

“Huh?” Kaminari turned around half way this time, his cheeks still a little red.

“When you come over, bring Chinese Food. Or Indian. I’m not picky.” Shinsou mumbled, suddenly unsure of what to do or say, kicking at nothing. But he didn’t miss Kaminari’s eyes light up like a Christmas tree.

“Chinese sounds awesome!” Kaminari stood up, suddenly in a hurry. “I’m gonna call you when I’m on the way! See you later, Shinsou!” He shouted as he ran out the apartment, not even bothering to close the door.

The next few hours Shinsou tried to concentrate on writing his paper, failing miserably. He ate some of the curry from Yamada and Aizawa and it was as good as expected but Shinsou found himself looking more forward to the Chinese Takeout. Or the company with it. So, he only ate half of it and put the other half in the fridge for tomorrow.

He ended up looking at his phone every other minute, writing a sentence, then looking at it again. It goes without saying, but he didn’t get any real work done and he knew he had to revise everything he wrote on the last page.

The doorbell rang for the third time this day but Shinsou’s gut didn’t do its usual gymnastic exercises and before he knew, he was already in the entrance hall, opening up. Kaminari changed out of his work jumpsuit into his casual clothes. A thick coat with a dark purple scarf and hat buried him almost completely. His nose was a little red from the cold as he was overall dusted in light snow. But his smile was wide and seemed to melt the snow and cold away.

“Delivery!” It was almost unsettling that there was no lollipop in his mouth this time and Shinsou could actually see the wide grin, showing off immaculate white teeth.

“Come in.” Shinsou tried to sound as nonchalant as possible, only being betrayed by his trembling hands.

Kaminari stepped in, slipping out of his shoes without untying them, threw his coat with his scarf and hat over the wardrobe and just walked up to the living room. Shinsou followed close by, clenching and unclenching his hands to keep them from shaking.

“Wait a sec,” Shinsou pulled his laptop and books to the side, putting them under the coffee table for now. Kaminari put down the plastic bag with various containers.

“I hope I chose right,” he chuckled as he unpacked everything.

“I think you don’t have to worry about that.” Shinsou hummed as he stared at the various containers, kind of a little bit of everything. Fried rice, fried noodles, chicken, duck, wontons, fried vegetables, to name the usual suspects.

“I just wasn’t sure, you know, what you preferred,” Kaminari sounded genuinely worried, scratching his cheek as his eyes hopped from container to container. And that’s when Shinsou noticed how Kaminari’s hands were fidgeting around, pulling at a loose thread on his shirt, his foot tapping silently on the carpet, shifting his weight from one side to the other.

“Sit down,” Shinsou motioned on the ground. “Be right back.” Coming back from the kitchen, Shinsou put down two glasses and a bottle of soda on the table, before sitting down next to Kaminari, who put down his phone as he came back.

Shinsou turned around to pull down his weighted blanket, holding it up to Kaminari. “You want some?”

“Oh!” Kaminari’s face lit up. “Is that one of those weighted ones?!” Before Shinsou could even nod, Kaminari grabbed at it and weighted it with his hands.

“This feels so strange!” He giggled. Shinsou shook his head almost fondly, taking the blanket back from Kaminari’s hands and putting it over their shoulders.

“Sorry, it’s a little small so we need to-“ – “No problem.” Kaminari interrupted him as he scooted closer, grinning from ear to ear. Shinsou swallowed. The blanket had a nice weight to it on his shoulders, grounding him a little and steading his pulse almost instantly. With a glance to the side, Shinsou saw Kaminari sitting with his eyes closed, slowly breathing through his nose.

“I really need to get one of those for myself,” he hummed, smiling up to Shinsou with his eyes only half open.

“It’s Christmas, after all,” Shinsou said lamely, looking away since Kaminari’s relaxed face did things to his heart he didn’t know was possible, “you just wish for it.”

“Mhm, from you?”  

“You wish.”

“Yeah, that’s the point.”

Shinsou snorted, shaking his head once again. He just couldn’t keep up with Kaminari.

They started to eat, trying everything before settling on some things just one of them liked and sharing other stuff. It was rather silent at first until Kaminari just started to talk about some of his customers, how just absolutely horrible some people can be. And some just unbelievable stupid. At one point he talked about a job where he had to replace a smashed stove for what Shinsou shoved him in the face.

Somehow over the course of their dinner, they scooted even closer, their arms almost touching constantly and Shinsou only ever realized that when Kaminari laughed at one of his anecdotes about Midoriya (he cracked a bowl with milk and cereal already inside and slurping it as fast as possible, so it didn’t spill) and he buried his face in Shinsou’s shoulder, his whole body shaking.  

He had to turn his face away, feeling the heat rising to his cheeks. When Kaminari lifted his face up again and didn’t say anything, Shinsou could practically feel his eyes on him, looking through him.

“Hey.” Kaminari’s voice was quiet in contrast to before.

“What.” Shinsou mumbled, not trusting his face to be a normal color again.

“What if I tell you,” he heard Kaminari swallow, “that your stove stopping to work wasn’t a mistake?”

Shinsou felt all his reservation leaving him with a heavy sigh. He turned back toward Kaminari who looked at him with wide eyes, an unsure smile on his lips.

“You win, Kaminari.” Shinsou watched as Kaminari’s eyes squinted at him, thinking about what he meant. So, Shinsou made it a little easier for him.

He raised both his hands to Kaminari’s face, cupping his cheeks and caressing them with his thumbs. Feeling the skin under his hands turn hot and red, and seeing Kaminari’s lips part in surprise, Shinsou was this close to just getting up and leaving his own apartment. This was taking years off of his life.

“I’m going to kiss you now. Any objections?” Shinsou half-whispered, not trusting his own voice.

Kaminari shook his head in between his hands and that was all he needed to know. Shinsou leaned in, guiding their lips together. Both their lips were greasy from the food, tasting like the last dish the other ate, and so unbelievably warm.

Kaminari let out a quiet sigh, leaning closer and Shinsou felt his hands starting to tremble again. But then Kaminari’s hands were on top of his own, squeezing them reassuringly to calm him down. And it helped. Shinsou let out his breath he didn’t realize he was holding in through his nose, holding the kiss for a couple of seconds longer before slowly breaking apart.

“I think I just short-circuited.” Kaminari mumbled, snorting at his own joke.

“You say that as if you don’t have any wires loose anyway.”

“Wow, that was bad,” he snorted again.

“But you laughed.”

“Because it was so bad!”

“Just shut up.”

“Make me.” Kaminari wiggled his eyebrows, trying to hold back a grin.

“And that wasn’t bad?”

“Shinsouuuu,” Kaminari whined mockingly, so naturally Shinsou let him suffer for a couple of seconds longer before he leaned back in again himself.

[angelic-jeonghan1004]

[Anonymous] Start Of Snow || Serim

Hello my Lovelys !!! I hope you have been enjoying this series🥺 I know not many people have read it and even if only 1 person reads it as long as you enjoy I'll be happy since I'm happy making it :') 💞it might be finished more so early January I'm sorry I got busy with catching up on stuff!! I'll get a lot of the updates for this done soon though I promise you💓 also merry Christmas Eve to those who celebrate! I may be a jewish turned atheist but I love the warm energy of the holiday season. Sorry this update is a little short also my synopsis is a bit confusing and I'm bending the plot more so then how I originally was going to make it but if you just read the story and not focus on the mini synopsis it'll all make sense. I'm dropping the part Panic tomorrow!!

Synopsis: When you get the boy you've had a crush on for who knows how long as your secret snowflake/santa. Deciding to be bold you add in a love letter since it's anonymous of course, wait we have to say who it's from?

Pairing: Friends to lovers non idol au! Serim x Female reader, confusion Allen x reader

Genre: Angst if you squint, Fluff

Warnings: There will be a bit of vulgar language !!

Serim, a gift for Serim. Well you have a lot of ideas, you keep in mind the things he notes on wanting.

An anonymous gift would be fun to go big on it since the curiosity would linger and you'd be the only one to know. Having a few things in mind you write them down in a notebook along with other gift ideas for the others; you planned on getting Minhee a new video game, Allen has talked about wanting matching stuff to show you two are "besties" so you already ordered the matching neckless ahead of time, Woobin you've been trying to fish out a favorite group or song to buy him an album or two but it seems he can see right through you and doesn't want you to spend too much. Deciding to make it a little hard for Serim to find out if he did try to pinpoint who his secret Santa is you bought him one gift to give as you give everyone else and then the big one with a lot of stuff he'll open with everyone as they do their secret Santa.

Each gift for them all will be special in there own way, including a hand written note. As you ordered each gift or set up times to pick them up you started to write each note, you wrote one letter for Serim for the non secret Santa gift, as doing so it turned a bit more love letter esche then wanted but I mean it could be a good time for a confession? Maybe? Deciding in the letter to be more bold in flirtatious but still with an underlining of friendlyness you finally finished it. As you put each letter in each bag unamed, realizing you'll probably panic later about this but it will be okay.

☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ♡ ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ ♡ ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ ♡ ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ♡

Once you had collected each gift for Serim, and all your gifts for everyone you put them in the rightful bags. Picking up the one for Secret Santa you texted Wonjin and brought it to his place. Each thing was looking bright. Your butterflies where a bit strong about what lead to when each person opened presents.

Deciding since you're already out you texted Allen if you could come over which he happily agreed. Once getting to Allens you started talking about secret Santa.

"My gifts going to be so good you're not ready." You said to Allen being the only person who knows your secret santa

"Well when he finds out he'll be very happy." Allen said giving you confusion

"Wait he'll find out?"

"Yeah, you give the gift then say who it's from." Allen said.

To say you where shocked is an understatement, you bought him many things including a ring that has matching half's (he could give the half to whoever or keep both), a teddy bear holding a heart with then other gifts he'd quite enjoy but those ones you'd feel slight embarrassment from him finding out.

Panic went through you as you then remembered the letters and immediately your mind went into action, you just wrote him a practical love letter and your gifts will make it so easy to tell you liked him. Your wall of romantic emotion you've kept at Bay will seep through and will stick out with a a sore thumb so think. What will get you out of that situation. Leaving abruptly you confused Allen in which quickly a text of concern came to view on your screen.

☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ♡ ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ ♡ ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ ♡ ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ♡

Start Of Snow Masterlist

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[ohemaa-warrior]

So my dream this morning. Taking on corrupt people in France and does running the french Revolution. But we knew we were black so the police would react double time so we needed to be quick.

The plan was grab all the corrupt politicians, lawyers and other public figures, including influencers and stick/nail them to one place. But it happened to be a shrinking boat that we could conceal. Now i say we because it was me and a bunch of other Tumblr users and our mothers. Because as much as we're all on a wanted list our mum's would cover for us.

So how we got there is me and my bestie went to a cooperation they work for and we're doing secret Santa of sorts. We were snorting this substance like cocaine but required way less. We were gathering information tho and that helped, we also found out our bosses husband was cheating on her and most men in the company were.

But our secret santa was a magnetic knife so it floated so by the time we got deeper in the present it would swing out and kill us. We used it on the bartender who was cheating on his wife, just to scare him.

So we arrive in Paris by boat but Paris sorta looks like venice in a water road way. And we're grabbing the corrupt statesmen and sticking them on the outside. Corrupt influcers got to stay on thr inside. I felt bad for them and didn't hurt them as much.

Eventually the police are catching up with us and one Tumblr mutual was like "we need to split now! I'll take the info, you go towards the safe house. we'll shrink the boat you have to set the boat down before it grows again. Get changed and act normal." We say our goodbyes and I leg it as we're being chased

Now would be a good time to mention we've completely dressed up as unrecognisable people so when we change no one will know its us. Like movie sfx level, voice change the works.

So i follow the plan and set the boat down on a pier. It starts to grow as the fishermen watch in amazement as a leg it some more. The safehouse was at the back of a afro-carribbean supermarket and I greeted the watchman as if i didn't know him.

So i get to the safehouse and it's laid out as if we've all been hanging out for hours, emergency alibi material. BUT i think im dating the watchman and his ex, a girl i know, comes back to fight him on this. But he entertains the fight. But i need to change quickly so she doesn't see my disguise. But it was nice hearing that man saying he loves me despite whatever while we do some direct action.

[thdorkmagnet]

Merry Stump Day, Marco Diaz!

Hey everyone, Happy Holidays, I bring you all a new story of mine to enjoy! This takes place in my Light of the Sun and Stars AU, with Marco celebrating his first Stump Day ever. I know my story on here is running a bit behind so I’m hoping nothing is confusing but I wanted to go ahead and post this one here as my gift to you all! Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: Star vs and all its characters are owned by Daron Nefcy and Disney. All rights go to them.

 The snow was falling softly onto the peaceful dimension of Mewni, bathing the world below in a blanket of white, making the landscape look like something out of a fairytale. A peaceful atmosphere and festive spirit seemed to have settled over Mewni, no soul left feeling sad or downtrodden on that of the most joyous day of the year: Stump Day. And it came as no surprise at all that Butterfly Kingdom had gone all out in their celebration, since it was no secret that their rulers adored the holiday. Many Mewmans and even a few Monsters wandered the frost covered streets chatting and enjoying the decorations that seemed to hang from every lamppost and home, everything covered in glowing lights and luminescent crystals, creating a beautiful display of colors and cheer. And at the very center of all the festivities stood Butterfly Castle, the residents inside enjoying the most extravagant party in the dimension as the royal family and their friends were all gathered together in the Great Hall for drinks and stories.

And it just so happened that Marco Diaz was currently listening to one of those very stories being told to him by Star's dad, the stump-shaped cup of hot cocoa in his hands all but forgotten as he listened intensely to the story of the very first Stump Day. His eyes were shimmering with intrigue and his sun cheek marks spun away in excitement, while next to him, Star sat with her head resting against her hands looking equally as engrossed in the story as her boyfriend and best friend was. She had even dressed for the occasion, wearing overtop her usual casual attire of a sea green dress, she was now wearing a red fleece jacket that went down to just below her hips and buttoned with three identical black buttons in the middle. Her leggings were now pure white and instead of purple boots she had swapped them out with black ones that had a reindeer face painted on the front of them. She still wore the horns Marco had given her but her hair had been braided back with red string and tied into a festive looking bow at the end of her hair. Marco kept finding himself staring at his bestie, adoring her colorful attire and he silently wished he had dressed up for the occasion as well. But for right now, his attention and focus was entirely on King River as he began his tale.

“Back long ago when Mewni was still young and the people inexperienced, back before anyone knew of dimensional travel and magic and even basic hygiene, lived the original Mewmans,” the king began, his tone light and cheerful but carrying a weight of importance that seemed to suck you in and left you hanging on his every word and Marco found himself impressed by this ability. Star's dad truly had a talent for storytelling. “Back then, everybody only looked out for themselves, only forming small groups and tribes, while everyone else was there enemy!” As River slammed his hand down on the table Marco jumped, his eyes incapable of growing any larger as he learned more about his heritage. “Fights broke out all the time back then, both Mewmans and Monsters constantly at war with themselves and each other as they tried to gain dominance. Until one day, magic was discovered by the Mewmans and with this power came a battle unlike anything the world has ever seen! The greedy and selfish Mewmans began trying to destroy their brethren, hoping to conquer Mewni for themselves! But as the battle continued, it seemed they were all doomed to wipe each other into extinction instead.”

“What about the Monsters?” Marco spoke up and River looked over at the boy with slight annoyance at the interruption.

“Monsters were smart,” Buff Frog answered from his table, where he and the rest of Marco's Monster family sat listening to the story, Star somehow able to convince her parents to let them be there for the celebration, knowing how important it was to Marco to have all his loved ones around on his first real Stump Day. “They know better than mess with magic.”

River cleared his throat, trying to pull the attention back onto him as he muttered, “Yes well, excluding the Monsters who have nothing really to do with this story...” He took a deep breath before continuing in his usual jovial manner, “Anyways, as the fighting grew worse and worse, a blizzard struck out of nowhere, quickly ending the battle as they were all forced to instead seek comfort from the dangerous cold. But all that fighting had devastated the land and what little was left was blown away by the swift and deadly storm. There was nowhere safe for them to go.” River paused for dramatic effect, looking over the watching crowd. Marco was on the edge of his seat at this point, his eyes filled with fear as he began anxiously biting his fingernails, while his girlfriend just smiled over at his cuteness.

“Until,” River finally continued, causing Marco to let out a loud sigh of relief. “Oh good, there's more,” he muttered and Star had to bite her lip to keep from cooing over how adorable her Marco could be sometimes. “They eventually came across a giant tree that seemed to be at the very heart of Mewni, its wooden frame too strong to be blown apart by the wind and its branches big enough to keep all of them safe and dry. The early Mewmans, although still full of hate, had no choice but to gather together around the tree to stay alive. And after a while, as they stayed huddled together, trying to find warmth, they eventually began to let go of their harsh feelings, forgetting about their differences and hatred as a warmth within them started to grow and fill their hearts with peace instead of sensless violence. Eventually, the storm passed but the time the Mewmans had spent together underneath that tree had left a lasting impression.

“They ended the war that day and from there the Mewmans began spreading out across Mewni, creating an alliance of kingdoms that stood with each other rather than against each other. And at the center of all the other kingdoms, stood the most powerful of them all, the Butterfly Kingdom, set up in the very place the fighting and violence had once taken place, now a symbol of peace across the land. In fact, the very tree that kept everyone alive was cut down and used as wood to make the very castle we sit in today.

“But its the stump that was left afterwards that we honor and celebrate every year on this day for bringing us all together and for reminding us that deep down we are all Mewmans!” River finished his speech, before raising his cup high and declaring, “To the stump!”

“To the stump!” came the replied shout from the crowd, Marco shouting the phrase at the very top of his lungs, before gulping down the soothing hot chocolate along with the everyone else. The minute he was done chugging the drink, he let out a deep sigh, leaning back against the table as he said wistfully, “Wow, that was an incredible story.”

“Yeah but King River always leaves out the rest of it,” Jackie commented and Marco gave her a wonder-filled look.

“There's more?” he asked hopefully and Jackie couldn't help but giggle at the sight.

“Yeah dude, in fact Stump Day is completely different now then it was back in the day thanks to Earth.”

“Wait, really!” Marco gasped in intrigue.

“See, on Earth we have a similar holiday called Christmas and after we became allies with Mewni, the Mewmans started adopting some of our traditions, like giving gifts to show your love and appreciation of each other, rather than just spending the whole holiday celebrating the Stump.”

“Which the Stump wasn't too happy about,” Janna pointed out.

“Yeah but it worked out. Eventually even the Stump had to submit to the power of Christmas spirit,” Jackie replied, clenching a fist dramatically. “It's said that the stump's heart was melted after our guy, Santa Claus, showed him the true meaning of Christmas and he even teamed up with him one year to help bring presents to not just the good kids of Earth... but Mewni too.”

“Wow, Jackie how do you know so much about all this?” Marco asked, looking quite impressed with his friend's knowledge.

Jackie gave him a sheepish grin before admitting, “I learned about it mostly from this old cartoon special my parents and I used to watch back on Earth every year. 'How the Stump Saved Christmas', it was pretty cheesy but it was my favorite as a kid.”

Marco let all this sink in, before exclaiming,“Wow, I can't believe I went all these years without knowing anything about Christmas or Stump Day!”

“I can't  believe it either,” Star agreed giving him a sad look. “This is my favorite time of year. I can't imagine not celebrating Stump Day. Did you and the Monsters ever do anything for the holiday?”

Marco shook his head. “No, all Toffee ever did was lay a couple of stumps around the castle and that was it.” He let out a long sigh. “I have so much to catch up on.”

“Well your in luck, Marco,” Star told him, inching a bit closer so her side was touching his, as she put an arm around him. “Because here at Butterfly Castle we go all out for Stump Day. We bring you the works!”

“Yeah!” Marco cheered, pumping his fists into the air. But he turned to her with a confused look as he asked, “What are the works?”

“Well first up is carols and stories, which we just did,” Star explained. “Then we got hot cocoa...” She held up her empty stump cup to show him. “Decorations and loved ones...” She gestured to the room around them, Marco smiling brightly at the familiar faces and colorful decorations that surrounded them. “... the stump of course. And last but not least is-”

“Presents!” Star's dad shouted at the top of lungs.

Moon shot her husband a look, before saying politely to the crowd, “Yes, will everyone please move single file into the throne room so gift unwrapping can commence.”

“Ha ha come on slowpokes, I bet I'll be the first to open a present!” River shouted, rushing for the doors at top speed, yelling an annoying battle cry, the others following suit, though at a much slower pace.  All the while, Moon buried her face in her hands at her husband's childish and embarrassing antics, muttering under her breath, “Oh River.” Why did he have to be like this every single year?

…

“Oh wow Jackie, thank you so much!” Marco cried as he ripped the last of the wrapping paper, holding the gift close to his chest while his eyes twinkled in delight. “I love it!”

Jackie smiled at him and said, “Glad to hear it, dude.” She held back a giggle as she reminded him for probably the tenth time, “But you have to open the box to see what you got, remember?”

Marco nodded, a sheepish grin on his face as he said, “Right, right, I knew that.” He had done that so far on every single gift he had been given, just as impressed by the packaging as the actual present inside. Not that anyone minded, it was adorable to see the boy so giddy and joyful at the simple act of receiving a gift from his friends and family that they all couldn't help but stop and watch his reactions all the way through. Marco opened up the box and gasped at what he saw inside, his eyes shimmering with gleeful gratitude as he shouted, “Thanks, Jackie! I love it!” He reached inside and pulled out the blue helmet decorated in cute designs, giving the girl a quick hug from the side. “I'll treasure it always!”

Jackie smiled. “I thought you might,” she said. “I figured this way you had your own helmet to wear whenever you want to go skateboarding with me.”

“Wow that's so awesome of you, thanks!” Marco said gleefully. He paused to set it beside him with his other presents before looking around the room in fascination again. It was hard not to, the big room one Marco had never seen before, a giant stump taking up quite a bit of the space there, which according to King River was the original one brought there by the Butterflys who built the castle. Its long roots looped and branched out across the massive space, creating nice places for everyone to sit as they opened presents, usually sitting in groups of three or four. Marco himself was currently squeezed between Star and Jackie, his pile of presents slowly diminishing until only one remained.

The boy frowned for a moment, suddenly feeling his stomach churning with guilt. Star picking up on the change in her boyfriend's demeanor asked, “What's wrong, Marco?”

“I guess I just feel bad that all of you got me gifts but I didn't get anything for any of you,” he admitted.

Star gently put a hand over his, telling him softly, “Hey, it's okay. Nobody expects anything from you, Marco. We're all just happy you're here with us. Everyone just wants your first Stump Day to be special.”

Jackie giggled slightly as she looked over her shoulder at the large pile of opened gifts and added, “Yeah, hence why everyone went overboard when they heard this was your first time celebrating.”

“Maybe just a little,” Star admitted as her and Marco followed their skater friend's gaze.

The hooded teen let out a deep breath, nodding his head in agreement. “Yeah, you're right, guys. I should just enjoy it,” he said, before flashing them a confident grin and declaring loudly, “And next year I'll be sure to give everyone here the best Stump Day gifts they've ever seen!”

“That's the spirit!” Jackie exclaimed, giving him a quick hug.

“But for now,” Star said with a hinting tone, slowly reaching behind her. “You can... open this present I got for you!” The blond gave her boyfriend the brightest grin imaginable as she held up a bright red present with a pretty green bow around it.

Marco gasped with joy the moment he saw his gift, taking it eagerly out of her hands. “Oh wow, Star. This is so great! You didn't have to do this!”

“What and not get my boyfriend a present on his first official Stump Day?” Star teased, giving him a quick wink, which caused him to blush.

“Thanks, Star,” he said shyly.

“So, what are you waiting for? Open it up,” Star said, quickly losing her patience as she tried to guess what his reaction would be to her extra special gift. Her blue eyes sparkled as she watched him rip off the wrapping paper, not taking any time or care to preserve it, which was fine with her, just discarding it onto the floor without a second thought. He looked the box the bright red box over, his eyes incapable of growing any larger as he turned it around in his hands, observing every inch of the cubed surface. He hadn't even known boxes could come in different colors. “Wow, thank you Star, this is so awesome!”

Star laughed, putting her arms around him in a make-shift hug and giving him a quick peck on the cheek. “If I had known you'd like the boxes this much I would have saved you up some.”

Marco grinned goofily at his girlfriend's show of affection, saying brightly, “I guess I'm still pretty much in shock over getting any gifts at all.”

Star and Jackie smiled at him, the skater saying, “Well you deserve every single one, dude.”

“Yeah,” she agreed. But her impatience finally won out as she gave him a tight squeeze and said, “Now hurry up and open it! You're going to love it!”

Marco laughed, saying, “Okay, okay.” he threw the lid off, staring inside at his present, before his smile vanished, his jaw hitting the floor as he gave the object inside a disbelieving look. He was mesmerized, his sun cheek marks spinning a mile a minute as he processed what he was seeing. He looked over at Star with a questioning look, silently asking her if this was really for him and she nodded, her palms pressed together in front of her mouth as she gauged his reaction. The boy quickly looked back at his present before his breath hitched, tears flooding his vision. He reached inside and pulled out the bright red hoodie from within, holding it close to his chest as the box hit the floor with a muted and forgotten thunk.

The material was the exact same as the one he was wearing, soft to the touch, in fact it seemed like almost an exact replica to his favorite choice of clothing. But unlike the identical dozen hanging in his closet this one had festive designs stitched all over it. A stump occupied the center, of course, and below it Star and Marco were holding hands. A set of pretty yellow stars had been stitched in different sections of the hoodie, which he noticed all looked like the ones he had seen topping some of the trees around Mewni. Each sleeve had a green snowflake pattern on it, right at the elbows, and the inside of his hood was lined green as well. “Star, I-I don't know what to say,” the boy whispered under his breath, still struggling to keep his tears at bay. “How did you find this?”

Star held him close to her as she explained, “I had it made for you. I managed to locate the company that made your old hoodies and I asked them to make a specialty one for you. This way, you'll always be able to look back and remember your first Stump Day with me.”

“Oh wow, thank you, Star!” Marco cried, the tears now finally breaking free as they rolled down his cheeks. He hugged her close to him, laying his head on her shoulder as he repeated over and over again, “Thank you, thank you, thank you! I love it so much!”

The joy on Star's face was indescribable as she made her Marco happy beyond belief. She loved spoiling him already, adoring the cute little face he would make whenever she surprised him with something. But this accomplishment might have been better than all the others, because she knew she had just made his day and she hoped this would be enough to convince him to agree with her on this being the greatest time of the year. And considering how tightly he was hugging, it would seem she had done just that, the blond royal silently congratulated herself on knowing her bestie well enough to get him exactly what he wanted.

The moment they pulled away, Jackie suggested, “Why don't you try it on, Marco?” The boy didn't even hesitate as he ripped off his old hoodie, Star grabbing it out of the air before watching as he slipped on the new one. He was too excited to even take the time to unzip it, just slipping it over his head and letting it slide down his body before stuffing his arms through. Marco squealed with delight, softly feeling of the fabric with his fingertips and standing up so he could admire himself from every angle. “It fits me perfect!” he shouted, not even realizing the sleeves were just a bit too long and kept falling over his hands. Star would have complained that the makers had gotten the specific dimensions she had given them wrong, but honestly he looked too adorable with sleeves that completely covered his hands. Plus Marco was pleased with it, Star figured she should be too.

Marco sat back down, rolling his sleeves up enough that he had use of his hands, proclaiming to the two girls, “This has been the best Stump Day I've ever had!”

“This is the only Stump Day you've ever had,” Jackie playfully pointed out.

“Yeah but I don't think anything is going to top this,” Marco said.

Star kissed his forehead, making him blush, as she said with a mischievous grin, “Challenge accepted.”

Marco just smiled and laughed, but before he could retort, there was a call across the room. “Star!”

The three looked over to see Moon waving at her, trying to desperately get her attention as River was currently wrestling with one of his Johansen cousins, Rider, to get the mislabeled gift that both thought was addressed to them. Star cringed, before shouting, “Coming mom!” She turned to Marco, giving him an apologetic grin as she sheepishly muttered, “Sorry, duty calls! Be right back, okay?”

“Sure thing,” Marco said, smiling to let her know it was fine. But as he noticed his hood still tucked under her arm, he quickly added, “Oh here let me take that back.”

He reached out a hand to grab it, but to his surprise Star pulled away, frantically shouting, “No, no it's fine. I'll keep a hold of it a little longer. So I can, uh... give it to Sir Lavabo.”

“But Sir Lavabo is off for the day,” Jackie pointed out.

“Well I could at least send it to be washed,” Star quickly countered, her cheeks now coated in a bright blush. “Okay well, I better get going!” she quickly excused herself, running over to her parents.

Marco and Jackie shared a look. “What was that about?” the boy wondered aloud.

“No idea,” Jackie responded, looking equally as confused. But after that, the two let the subject drop, the two settling into a comfortable silence, just watching the others, who were all equally in the festive spirit.

Tom and Janna sat side by side on one of the stumps, the beanie-wearing teen watching as the demon boy opened his gift with a cheerful smile. But it vanished in an instant as he held up the tiny mistletoe in his hands, giving her a questioning look. “Come on, Janna. Mistletoe, really? I thought you would be a bit more clever than that,” he said with a scoff, rolling his eyes. At this point, Tom had been around Janna enough to learn her ways and was almost unfazed by most of her flirtatious charms. Which is why, now she had taken that as a personal challenge, constantly going out of her way with more and more insane schemes to make him blush and lose his cool. But this did not seem to be one of them as she pulled off the oldest trick in the book.

Janna, didn't seem troubled or ashamed though, as she just smirked at him, saying lazily, “Oh Tom, ye of little faith. What is in your hand right now, isn't just mistletoe.”

Tom gave her a stunned expression, asking hesitantly, “Then... what is it?”

“It's a magically infused patch of mistletoe, which makes anyone who touches it have a sudden and uncontrollable urge to kiss whoever is nearest them.” Janna scooted just an inch closer, her elbows resting on her knees as she said flirtatiously, “So Lucitor, where's my Stump Day present?”

Make directed his attention next over to his Monster family who all sat clumped together around their leader, Buff Frog, who waved as he noticed Marco's attention on him. The boy waved back, before pointing to his hoodie and his dad gave him a proud shake of his head and thumbs up. But his attention was quickly drawn back to his rowdy friends, Beard Deer currently getting annoyed with Lobster Claws, who had spent the last minute and a half shaking his present, trying to guess the contents within. The crustacean had a thoughtful expression as he rotated the gift in his oversized claws before giving it another shake, making Beard Deer growl in frustration. “Just open it already, idiot!” the deer Monster shouted.

“Hang on, I like to take my time,” Lobster Claws responded.

“Well at this rate, Stump Day will be over before you get done!”

“Okay, okay, fine,” the crustacean finally snapped, before slowly beginning to peel away the paper, inch by tortuous inch, Beard Deer letting out an infuriated groan, his whole body shaking with mirth.

Marco smiled at his families antics before turning his attention to Higgs, trying not to laugh out loud at what he saw, knowing the consequences for doing such a thing. The redheaded knight and her dad were currently wearing matching green sweaters, Dex grinning goofily while his daughter had her arms crossed in front of her chest, a sour expression on her face. “Isn't this fun, Higgs!” her dad asked with a cheerful demeanor.

“Not really,” the girl grumpily mumbled under her breath.

“What was that, sweetie?” Dex asked, not quite hearing her.

Higgs groaned. “I said this is embarrassing, dad! All the other knights are gonna be making fun of me! I'll be the laughingstock of the castle for weeks!”

“Well I think I you look good, Higgs,” Jak helpfully pitched in.

“I don't need your pity, Jak!” Higgs barked at him.

Dex sniffed, tears filling his vision as he quietly whispered to himself, “Just like her mother.”

“Vioooollet!” a small voice shrieked, gaining Marco's attention as he quickly checked to make sure the twins were okay, but sighed in relief as he saw that Daisy and Violet were still just playing with their new toys together on the floor. The cutesy twin had a set of 'My Little Unicorn's' that her mom had gotten her, while Violet was playing with her new pose-able Monster action figure (a gift from Star apparently). Daisy was pouting as she crossed her arms bitterly in front of her chest. “Stop knocking over my unicorns! They are trying to graze!”

“Yeah well they can't now because a Monster is attacking them!” Violet screamed, before roaring and making her toy stamp around, knocking over several of Daisy's unicorn collection. “Silly unicorns, me smash them with super strong feet!” the girl said in the deepest voice she could, clearly speaking for her action figure.

“That's not fair! You're breaking the rules, Violet,” Daisy whined, pointing an accusing finger her way.

Violet laughed, still speaking in her Monster voice, “Ha ha ha, me Monster, me no care about rules! Now to destroy pitiful horses with my laser vision!” She starting making shooting sounds with her mouth, while her sister just groaned in annoyance.

“Monsters don't even have laser vision,” Daisy pointed out.

“Yeah, well this one does,” Violet told her, breaking character for a moment.

“Fine, than my unicorns use magic to slay the Monster,” the cutesy girl declared, picking up two of her toys and aiming it at Violet's action figure.

“Not if he gobbles them up first!” the creepy kid exclaimed.

“Ha, yeah right, everyone knows unicorns taste bad,” Daisy matter-of-factly stated.

Marco smiled, glad to see the two playing and getting along... sorta. His eyes continued scanning the area looking for their mom, not surprised when he found her surrounded by a large group of guys all craving her attention, which she seemed to be loving every second of. She gasped as she opened up the tiny present in her hands saying in a sugary-sweet tone, “For me? Oh Manfred you shouldn't have” The Mewman in question was smiling ear to ear, a bright blush on his face, while the others were shooting him death glares.

Marco smiled at the older royal, wondering how she managed to capture so many people's attention at once. Everyone always seemed to love her and that was a trait Marco wished he could know more about, since his insecure side still surfaced and caused him trouble every now and then.

The boy let out a deep sigh, letting everything sink in as he just enjoyed the moment. Everything was so wonderful and new and fantastic and he didn't even think he had a word to describe how happy he was to be a part of it. It made him feel special, made him feel like he belonged, like this was where he was always meant to be. He couldn't believe how many Stump Day's had been robbed from him, how many memories he had missed out on due to Toffee's selfishness. But at least he was here now and that was really all that mattered, he realized.

Marco turned to look back at his presents, thinking of how wonderful and incredible his family was, when something occurred to him. Star hadn't opened a single gift. He couldn't believe he hadn't noticed, too entranced in his unwrapping frenzy to realize his girlfriend had just been watching him the whole time. He quickly looked around for any signs of Star's presents around the branch they were sitting on, before his eyes scanned the rest of the room, hoping maybe they had all just been misplaced or something. But everyone else was done with their wrapping and he couldn't see a single, unopened box left anywhere in the massive room.

The boy frowned, before turning back to Jackie asking in concern, “How come Star didn't get a present?” He couldn't believe it, if anyone deserved something special on Stump Day, it was Star. She was incredible and she deserved a billion gifts to show her just how amazing she was. How could nobody get her anything?!

“Oh Star usually waits to open up her presents the day after, y'know during her birthday party,” Jackie nonchalantly explained.

Marco felt his heart stop as he screamed in shock, “What?! It's her birthday tomorrow!”

“No, it's today, but she always celebrates the day after,” Jackie replied with a questioning look, taking in the look of surprise on her friend's face. “You really didn't know that?”

The boy shook his head, feeling the color draining from his face. How didn't he know that? Star was his girlfriend and his bestie, if anyone should have known when her birthday was it was him. “Marco,” Jackie's voice softly called, incapable of reaching him as he lost himself more and more to his distressed thoughts. But not only didn't he know it was her birthday, but that also meant he hadn't gotten her anything either. He hadn't gotten his own girlfriend a present on her birthday... which also happened to be on her favorite day of the year! “Marco?” What was wrong with him? He had to fix this!  He had to do something for her!”Marco?!” He had to show her just how special and important she was to him! He needed to-

“Marco!” Jackie shouted for the forth time, this time finally managing to gain his attention as he finally met her gaze. The boy noticed the concern in her eyes and the fact he was suddenly feeling light-headed and realized he had most likely just been hyperventilating. The skater gave him a comforting smile, telling him, “Look it's okay you didn't know.”

“No it isn't!” Marco argued, his voice cracking against his will. “I'm her boyfriend, Jackie! How could I not get her anything on her birthday?!”

“Well look, you can just do it next year like we talked about,” Jackie helpfully suggested, but Marco shook his head vigorously.

“No way, this is different,” the hooded teen argued. “I can't be the only one who didn't get her a birthday present. I'd feel awful.”

“Star would understand,” Jackie reassured him.

Marco sighed. “But that's not the point. She shouldn't have to. She is the most amazing person I've ever met, she deserves better.”  Marco bit his lip as he tried to wrack his brain for an idea, as he muttered to himself, “There has to be something nice I can do for her.”

Jackie watched her friend closely, judging his thoughtful expression as she realized that the hooded teen wasn't going to give up on this idea. His determination was something nobody could match and once he made his mind up, there was no stopping him. So wanting to cheer up her friend, she helpfully suggested, “Tell you what, how about later we go over to Quest Buy and find something for her. Would that make you feel better?”

Marco's face immediately broke out into a wide grin and he surprised her with a tight hug. “Yes that would be awesome Jackie! Thank you so, so much!”

Jackie giggled and gave him a gentle squeeze back, her heart leaping for being able to brighten the innocent teen's spirits. “No problem, Marco. You know I'm always here for you.”

“Hey guys.” The two pulled out of the hug to see Star standing over them (the hoodie still bundled up in her arms) looking tired but happy and she smiled over to them saying, “Sorry about that. So what do you want to do next?”

Before Jackie could say a word, Marco had grabbed a hold of her arm and loudly exclaimed, “Well actually, me and Jackie just realized that we needed to go do something, so we have to go.”

Star seemed surprised by this, asking, “Now? But the party isn't over yet.”

“Yeah but we really gotta go,” Marco responded immediately, the skater not even having a chance to protest as the boy stood and began heading for the door. He shouted over his shoulder on the way out, “Great party! Had a great time, thanks everyone, bye!”

Star gave Jackie a quizzical look as she was dragged out of the room, but the white-haired teen merely shrugged in reply and gave her a sheepish smile, before following along after the boy, knowing it was pointless to argue with him at this point. Marco's mind was made up, he was getting a gift for Star.

…

Marco and Jackie casually strolled down the bustling streets of Mewni village, dodging joyful peasants that passed by them, all of them in a hurry to get somewhere it seemed. Marco did, however, receive several compliments for his festive hoodie which he just smiled and thanked them for. The streets were crowded with a million things to see and do that day, sellers giving out Stump Day merchandise, decorations and lights that covered every corner of town, and carolers singing traditional Stump Day carols with donations boxes set up to help those in need. Normally Marco would have stopped to enjoy and gawk at all the new sights and sounds, but today the hooded teen barely noticed any of it, he was on a mission and he couldn't afford to get distracted. And so with every step his pace increased more and more until he was almost jogging down the sidewalks, leaving his friend behind in a trail of dust. After a few moments, Jackie called after him with a giggle, "Slow down, dude, you're gonna get run over." "I know, I know," Marco said, himself down enough that he was side by side with Jackie, but the effort left him bouncing up and down with energy and impatience. "But we're so close. I just can't wait to get Star a birthday present. She's always doing so much for me, I really want to return the favor." "And liberating her entire world and then becoming one of her most valued and hardworking members of her commission isn't enough?" Jackie asked in a teasing tone, raising a knowing eyebrow at her friend. "You know what I mean," Marco argued, a grin lighting up his face at her playful demeanor. "This is different from all that. She's my girlfriend, isn't getting her a present on her birthday like one of the requirements of being a good boyfriend?" "You got me there," Jackie replied, shooting him a wink. The two turned to face forward and Marco gasped, his eyes shimmering as the Quest Buy shop finally came into view. "There it is! Come on Jackie, let's hurry!" Marco raced forward, Jackie doing her best to keep up with him, dodging smoothly around carts and passerbys giving them startled looks as they went by. The boy reached the store entrance, Jackie right on his heels, and he slammed the door open loudly shouting, "I'm here to buy the perfect gift!" But he froze as he noticed that the store was completely empty and not just of customers... everything was gone, the shelves empty and the bins picked clean. The only one currently there was a very tired looking sloth, slowly sweeping the floor. "Wh-What happened? Where is everything?" Marco asked looking around the store with a frown. "Uh yeah, we sold out for the day after our Stump Day 99 percent off sale," the sloth explained in an unenthusiastic voice. "Sold out!" Marco whined, putting a hand to his head. "But now how am I gonna buy Star a birthday present?" he asked worriedly. The sloth shrugged. "I don't know. Not my problem." Jackie however was deep in thought, finally saying enthusiastically, "Luckily, I may know a way."

…

Marco stood open-mouthed, staring in wonder at the giant store before him the second he stepped through the portal. Jackie appeared right behind him, before sealing the dimensional tear back up with her pair of scissors. Marco, meanwhile, had yet to blink, afraid he would miss a single fantastical sight from the new world before him."Wwwwhhhoooaaa!" The boy whispered in amazement. The building looked more like a labyrinth than a store, endless rows filled with every item known across the multiverse which seemed to stretch outward into infinity. Marco could see several sloth workers restocking shelves or answering customer questions. He also spotted a large map, or he thought it was a map, it looked more like an ancient code that he wasn't even sure was decipherable, but he was grateful to see it all the same. A giant sign hung above the whole store, reading 'Quest Buy.' "Pretty cool, huh?" Jackie asked, seeing the joy and astonishment written all over the boy's face. "This is the original Quest Buy, everything from our store and then some is here, which means we shouldn't have any trouble finding Star a present." "I'll bet!" Marco exclaimed. “It's so huge! I-I can't believe a place like this even exists." "Well its real, all right," Jackie replied with a chuckle. She gave her hooded friend an eager grin as she added, "So how about we start looking for that present?" "Yeah!" Marco cried, pumping both fists into the air in excitement. He gasped as something caught his eye and quickly latched onto Jackie's arm, shouting, "Ooohh what's that? Let's start over there!" Jackie held back her laughter as the boy dragged her around the store, freaking out over something every couple of seconds. After about half an hour of exploring the store, Marco started to get serious and doubled down on his gift getting mission. That was when Jackie discovered that the hooded teen was a very picky shopper, at least where Star was concerned. Nothing seemed to be to the boy's liking, developing a very critical eye toward the wondrous items from across the multiverse. At some point, Jackie started pitching him suggestions, which didn't seem to help all that much.

"What about this?" Jackie suggested, holding up a pair of star earrings. "I bet Star would like these." Marco gave them a frown, before shaking his head. "Mmm, nope. I can do better for her than that." Jackie nodded and set them back. "Fair enough." The two continued on a few feet, before the skater suggested, "How about a wand charger, she can always use one of those?" She pointed down the aisle where a large selection of charging devices were. "Too formal," the boy replied. "Oookkkayy," Jackie said thoughtfully. "How about this?" The girl gestured to the device. "Its a device that can braid your hair in ten seconds or less guaranteed!" "So can Star's wand," Marco pointed out. "Hadn't thought of that," the skater replied.

“Well what about this?”

“No.”

“Or this?”

“Nope.”

“This?”

“Um, is that box supposed to be buzzing?”

Jackie screamed and quickly threw the box of insta-kill bees back up on the shelf. “Why do they even have that here?” the skater asked, wiping her hands on her pant leg.

Both teens looked around at the massive store filled with a billion items, none of which seemed just right for Star, and they sighed. This was a lot harder than they were expecting.

“Are you in need of assistance?” a mechanical sounding voice said behind them and the two screamed and turned to see a large creature, its body made out of electricity with a large green eye that seemed to make up its entire face. The eyeball blinked red every couple of seconds as it stared at them with a dead look, making both of teens skin crawl.

“Um, who are you?” the boy asked, resisting the urge to hide behind his skater friend. He didn't like the way this thing was looking at him.

“I am Quest Buy's first customer service bot,” the thing explained. “My function is to help our customers find a purchase that is to their satisfaction. Now then, are you in need of assistance?”

The two shared a look, before quickly shaking their heads, Jackie saying, “No, no that's okay. We're good.”

“Yeah, you can go help someone else,” the boy added, hoping he didn't sound too desperate to make the thing leave.

“I'm afraid I cannot do that, my systems have picked up unhappiness from you two and I am unable to leave until you are satisfied with your purchase.”

“Great,” Jackie muttered under her breath. “So now we got a tin can following us around and monitoring our every move.”

“I am not made of tin, I am made of ionized plutonic energy cells which are located in my core processing center, which is stored in my retina chip,” the service bot explained.

Marco gave the thing a long lost look before asking in confusion, “Um, what?”

“Her eyeball powers her face,” Jackie translated.

“Ooohhh,” the boy said, sorta understanding what all that mumbo-jumbo she had been going on about was.

“Yes, that is a more simplified way of putting it,” the service bot agreed. “Now then, is there anything I can do to make your shopping experience easier, I could perhaps give you directions to a section of our store, or read you off some deals we have going, or I could get you set up with our membership program-”

As the bot continued to list off more and more options, Marco and Jackie tuned her out, turning to each other as they began whispering amongst each other. “Well looks like we're gonna be stuck here a while, dude,” Jackie pointed out.

“Yeah I know,” the boy sighed. “Man, why is this so hard? I know Star better than anyone, finding her a gift should be no problem.”

“Well, what do you think she would want?”

The boy shook his head. “I'm not sure, there's just too many options in here, I can't think straight.”

“There has to be something in here she would like?”

“Yeah, but I don't want it to be just any old gift, I want it to be perfect.”

The service bot's voice instantly stopped and the two turned to the machine, giving it quizzical looks. Its eyeball was wildly blinking red and before either could question what it was doing, it simply stated, “Request acknowledged.”

There was a bright flash of light, as it shot a beam directly at Marco and Jackie, who screamed and held onto each other, fearing for their lives, clenching their eyes closed. The hooded boy's life flashed before his eyes and he wondered if this was really the end for him and his friend. But after a few seconds without blinding pain, the boy decided to risk peaking open an eye. The two were now in a giant empty room, their ragged breath echoing off the walls of the open space. Hovering over them was the service bot, who gave them the same empty look as before, though now the blinking red light was gone at least. “Hey, um, Jackie I think we're alive,” Marco told the girl and her eyes flew open as she looked around the room in confusion.

“Where are we?” she asked.

The service bot was quick to answer, saying, “The Wishing Room. A coming attraction to the Quest Buy store opening up to the public sometime next year.”

“Wishing Room?” Jackie repeated skeptically at the same time Marco nervously questioned, “Are we even allowed in here?”

“Yes, I have granted you both temporary access in response to your request,” the bot answered.

“My request?” the boy asked, raising a confused eyebrow.

Suddenly, the bots eye lit up red again, this time Marco hearing his own words and voice being repeated back to him, 'I don't want it to be just any old gift, I want it to be perfect.'

“Okay, that's creepy,” Jackie said, shuddering as a chill went up her spine.

Marco was inclined to agree, but he pushed this frightening moment aside for the more pressing concern he had. “So this room... it can help me get the perfect gift for Star?”

“Yes,” the service bot replied simply. “The Wishing Room can create anything it is you desire.”

The boy smiled and eagerly asked, “Okay great, how does it work?!”

“Whatever you think of will appear here,” the service bot explained.

“Wow, that seems so simple,” Marco gasped in shock. He had thought it would be much more complicated process that that.

“We are designing it to be user friendly, once we work the last of the bugs out.”

“What was that last bit?” Jackie questioned skeptically.

“Nothing to concern yourselves over, the safety of our shoppers at Quest Buy are our top priority,” the bot recited, her monotone voice sounding almost as if she was reading off of a script.

“Okay then,” Jackie said, slowly raising an eyebrow before turning to the hooded teen. “Go ahead and give it a shot, dude.”

“Right,” Marco said with a confident nod. He took a step forward, closing his eyes so he could concentrate on what he was doing, before saying loudly, “Okay room, please give me what Star wants most!”

The boy heard a poof sound and he smiled opening his eyes, expecting to see something amazing in front of him, but he could only gasp and stare open-mouthed at what had been created. Standing before him was a replica of him, except for his mole being on the wrong side, his cheek marks were dull and faded, and wearing a blue hoodie instead of his typical red. “Wh-Who are you?!” Marco asked in shock.

The boy smiled and stated plainly, “Oh I'm Marco Fresh, the new cooler version of you, who is gonna sweep Star off her feet-”

“Nope!” Jackie shouted, waving her hands in front of her and making the fake Marco vanish from sight. “That is not what we wanted!”

Marco just continued to stare blankly ahead, his eyes wide and full of confusion, “D-Did I just make another me?”

Jackie sighed, before telling him, “That must have just been one of the glitches, try again Marco.”

The boy nodded, still looking slightly startled, before he took a deep breath and tried again, trying to concentrate on something Star would like. The blond liked a lot of thing, rainbows, narwhals, that old band Love Sentence she and he had listened to a couple of songs from. Let's see what else? Puppies, sunsets, her home and family, making people smile which always seemed to just make her whole face light up in the cutest way... okay, focus Marco. What was the thing she loved the most in the world?

He heard another poof sound and his eyes snapped open only to see nothing before him. He frowned and looked around a bit, till he eventually found his newest creation sitting at his feet. It was a miniature version of him, wearing only a diaper, with its mole and cheek marks looking the same as the last fake him. Only this time, it had red wheels on its feet. It smiled up at him, before saying, “I'm Baby Marco and I have wheels for hands, Whhhheeeee!” It skidded away, leaving a dust cloud behind it as the two teens could only gap in disbelief at what had just occurred. The two shared a quick look before Marco suggested, “Never speak of this again?”

“Agreed,” the skater said instantly.

“Okay this clearly isn't working,” the hooded boy said with a disappointed look. “Maybe we should just go back to searching the store.”

“Yeah, I think this room is either broken or buggy,” Jackie concluded, her hands going to her hips as she looked around the large space skeptically.

“The Wishing Room is fully operational and had encountered zero glitches in-24- days,” the service bot replied, pausing as her voice changed when stating the number of days.

“Then why isn't it working?” Marco asked, growing quickly frustrated. “Why can't it just do what I asked and make the one thing Star cares about most?!”

The boy looked away from the machine sadly, his gaze connecting with a mirror that had suddenly appeared next to him. He stared at his dejected looking reflection for a few moments before he sighed, squeezing his eyes shut as he asked softly, “Why don't I know what Star wants?”

Jackie the whole time was giving him a thoughtful expression, when suddenly the answer clicked in her mind and a smile lit up her face. She walked over to him, putting a hand on his shoulder as she gave him a cheerful look with her pair of bright eyes, “Maybe you do.”

Marco gave her a perplexed look. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, maybe the answer is right in front of you,” Jackie explained, gesturing over to his reflected image.

The hooded boy followed her gaze, before cocking his head quizzically to the side, as he asked, “A mirror? But she already has one of those.”

“No, not the mirror,” Jackie replied, with a slight giggle at the boy's cute naivety. “You.”

“Ohhh,” Marco said, finally nodding in understanding. He looked back over at his reflected image, a smile lighting up his face, asking softly, “You really think it's me?”

“Well yeah, I mean what does Star care about more than you,” the skater replied.

“Awwww,” Marco said, his cheeks lighting up with a blush and his eyes shimmering with affection. “That is so sweet!”

Next to them, though, the service bot was starting to act weird, its body twitching and its eye flashing bright red, along with the rest of its electrical body. The two noticed this and Marco asked his friend in concern, “Um, what's it doing?”

“Uhhhh-” was all Jackie got out before it interrupted her.

“Error, error, error!” it began screeching, making the two cover their ears at the loud, obnoxious noise. “Item not found in Quest Buy's inventory! Request unable to be complete!” All the while, its body began shuddering more and more, until it was simply repeating the same phrase over and over, “Item not found! Item not found! Item not found!”

Finally, much to the two's surprise and dismay the machine exploded into a ball of flashing lights and electric currents, the two shielding their eyes from the bright burst of heat. After a couple seconds, the two slowly moved their hands and opened their eyes, seeing a singed and broken patch of ground where nothing remained save for a green card with an eyeball on it. The two just stared at it for a few moments, completely speechless after what had just occurred, until finally Marco asked, “Sooo, are we gonna have to pay for that?”

…

The two were giving the sloth worker sheepish smiles and shrugs as they watched him clean up the last of the mess that the destroyed bot had left behind, shooting them very unhappy glares as he did so. Lucky for them, Quest Buy wasn't making them cover the costs on their one of a kind robot, after they had explained the story to them, since it seemed more due to bad programming then their fault directly. Still, that didn't stop the two from feeling guilty for breaking it but there was little they could do about it now, no sense dwelling on it.

Besides there was still the task at hand and now that that fiasco was over, the two's mind drifted back to their mission as they followed the sloth out of the back room. They watched him as he grumpily stormed away, before Jackie turned to her friend and asked, “So Marco have you figured out what to get Star?”

The boy shrugged, saying, “Not really. I mean it's cool that I'm so important to her but it's not like I can exactly wrap myself up to give to her.”

“True, but on the bright side whatever you get her she's sure to love because it came from you,” Jackie pointed out, elbowing him once in the shoulder.

Marco contemplated that for a few moments, biting the inside of his cheek in thought. He knew that was true that it didn't matter what he got her she would be sure to enjoy, but he still didn't want it to be just any gift, he wanted it to be special... like the hoodie she made for him. It was amazing not just because it had come from Star but that she had put so much care and thought into getting him exactly what she knew he would love. So the big question was, what could he give her that could compare to her amazing present?

That was when it hit him, the answer that had been right in front of him the whole time. How had he not thought of it sooner? It was perfect and he was sure it was exactly what she would want. A smiled brightened up his face as he slowly turned to Jackie, who gave him a curious look seeing the excitement written all over his face. “What? Did you figure out what to get her?” she asked, pretty sure she already knew the answer (if his cheek marks which had turned into flashing light bulbs were any indication than the answer was definitely yes).

The boy nodded, confirming Jackie's suspicions, as he proudly declared, “Yeah, I think I know what she wants.”

“Great to hear, Marco,” the skater said with an encouraging grin. “But we better hurry and get whatever it is though. Quest Buy closes soon.”

The girl started to run ahead, but came to an immediate stop the second she heard her friend say, “Actually...” She turned back to him with surprise. “...it's not in Quest Buy.”

Jackie raised an eyebrow at him, waiting for further explanation, before he added mysteriously, “In fact, we've already got everything we need.” He put his hands on his hips, the knowing smile on his lips never wavering as he just stared ahead with a confident look gleaming in his eyes, until finally his friend asked, “Sooo are you tell me what it is or-” The boy gave her a sheepish look, saying quickly, “Oh yeah right, sorry.”

…

Night set on Mewni, bringing Stump Day ever closer to an end for the year and for most in Butterfly Castle, they spent that night in blissful sleep, unaware of the world turning. It was silent and peaceful in the castle not a creature stirring not even a gobblemouse, which could be quite the pest this time of year. It seemed nothing could disturb the calm silence of the quiet evening as a gentle snowfall continued into the late hours of the night, not even a gust of wind had blown through to disturb the dream-like state that had fallen over the kingdom.

Star was asleep in her bed, enjoying the quiet as visions of sugar plums danced through her head. The girl let out a deep sigh and licked her lips, muttering groggily, “Mmmm, delicious.” She pulled her arms a little closer to herself, bringing the bright red hoodie right up to her nose and she subconsciously took a long sniff, feeling calmed by the smell of her Marco, a smile appearing on her face as she fell into an even deeper state of slumber.

The door to her room slowly creaked open, Marco cringing as he feared the loud noise would wake her up but Star made no movement from her bed and the hooded teen breathed a sigh of relief. He carefully tiptoed his way over to her bed, making sure to avoid tripping over anything in the dark and, once he made it to her bed, he simply watched her sleeping form for a moment, mesmerized by the rise and fall of her chest as she snored softly. He noticed his hoodie held tightly in her grip and he felt his cheeks flush, causing his cheek marks to spin, and a grin light up his face. It looked like the same one she had at the party and he couldn't help but wonder if she had carried it around with her all day. He imagined she had, she seemed quite attached to it in sleep.

“Star,” he softly whispered, trying to keep his voice low, despite the eagerness and impatience he felt building up inside his chest. He put a hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle shake, saying, “Wake up.”

The girl groaned, mumbling incoherent things in her sleep while she scrunched up her face, making her resemble and a cute, little rabbit Marco observed. Finally, after a bit more prompting from the boy, Star raised a hand up to her face and lifted her sleeping mask up enough so that she could peek open an eye and see who was disturbing her slumber. “Marco?” she groggily murmured, sitting up some, before letting out a loud yawn. But as she did she realized the hoodie was currently laying against her chest and she quickly tucked it underneath her pillow, her cheeks turning a bright shade of pink, hoping he hadn't noticed it. “W-What are you doing here?” she asked, sounding a bit more awake than before, even though her face told him she was still half-asleep.

“Well it's midnight, so I just wanted to be the first to tell you...” the boy began slowly, before exclaiming loudly, “Happy Birthday!” He surprised her as he threw his arms around her in a tight hug making the blond giggle and beam ear to ear as her favorite person in the universe held her in a close embrace.

“Awww, Marco,” Star cooed, finding him just as adorable and enduring as ever. “You're the greatest!” The girl adjusted her position enough so she would give him a quick kiss on the cheek, reveling in the happy laughter that followed from her sweet Marco.

After another minute of just holding her close, the hooded teen finally pulled out of the hug, saying, “So, did you like my surprise?”

The girl nodded, giving him a loving grin. “Yeah I did.” She sighed, starting to lay her head back when Marco suddenly exclaimed, “Great, because that isn't the only one!”

“Oh really,” the blond royal said, raising a playful eyebrow.

“Nope, which is why I need you to come with me so I can show it to you,” he said, grabbing her arm trying to drag her out of bed.

Star paused, having a sneaking suspicion that he was going to lead her to a waiting surprise party and she debated for a moment on asking him to wait till morning. She could use the sleep... but seeing the look of excitement on Marco's face as he practically bounced around her bed, his body incapable of holding still making him look like an adorable little kid, she didn't have it in her to say no. So she just smiled and threw her covers off, revealing her pink bunny onesie she had gone to sleep in (a gift from her mom), before rising up out of bed. Marco waited patiently as Star took a quick second to stretch before following after him, though he never once released his hold on her arm as she did.

The boy did his best not to completely drag Star as they descended the steps to the bottom floor of the castle, wanting so badly to run the rest of the way, but he fought the urge back, continuing on at what felt to him like an agonizingly slow pace. The moment they reached the bottom steps, Marco released her hand maneuvering himself so he was behind Star, putting his hands over her eyes. “Marco, what are you doing?” she asked with a playful edge to her tone.

“I don't want to spoil the surprise,” the boy replied, trying to keep the excitement out of his voice. He couldn't wait to see Star's reaction.

Star just laughed and said, “Okay then, lead the way Marco.” The hooded boy obeyed guiding the blinded girl down the hall and into the throne room, where the gathered crowd quickly held their breaths waiting for their cue from Marco. The teen brought his blond bestie to a stop, keeping his hands in place as he said in a sing-song voice, “We're heeerree.”

“So then can I open my eyes now?” the girl asked, all this anticipation and build up causing her own excitement to grow despite already knowing what was coming, recognizing the path they had taken by heart and picking up the hushed breathing around her. It was pretty obvious her original suspicion was correct, but that still didn't mean she wasn't looking forward to it. Besides, it was hard not to want to join in when your bouncy, innocent boyfriend is helping hype you up with his own one-of-a-kind enthusiasm.

The boy instantly removed his hands, his eyes remaining implanted on Star as he shouted, “Okay, open 'em Star!” The blond did just that, blinking her eyes open at the same moment a chorus of cheers rang out around the room, all simultaneously shouting, “Happy Birthday, Star!” The girl gasped, a hand flying to her mouth, as she took in the scene before her.The throne room was now covered head to toe in decorations the time and care put into hanging each and every balloon and streamer apparent just from looking at it, even though most of it seemed to be recycled from the Stump Day party. A pile of presents was stacked neatly in the corner and a massive rainbow colored cake the size of the Star sat a short ways away from it on a table with a fancy white tablecloth. It was beautiful and delicious, just looking at it making Star's mouth water and she recognized it instantly as Kelly's work, especially as the green-haired girl only stood a short ways away, admiring it.

But none of this was what really had left her awed and speechless. That honor went to the group gathered there to greet her, consisting of not just the set of her close friends like Jackie, Janna, Tom, Pony, and so on that were to be expected... but also the smiling faces of every single orphan who had ever lived in the castle before, who she considered to be just as much family as her own flesh and blood.

“Oh my gosh, what are you all doing here?!” she asked in disbelief, looking around at the large crowd before her, misty-eyed.

“Me and Jackie invited them,” Janna explained her arm leaning on the skater's shoulder, who shared the same pleased smile at invoking the reaction they got from their friend. “It was Jack's idea actually.”

“Yeah, we figured you'd want everyone here to celebrate,” Jackie said, her eyes shining with bright enthusiasm. “Just consider it my birthday gift to you.”

“Our birthday gift to you,” Janna blurted out, raising a finger in the air.

Star let out a long breath, fighting back tears as she choked out, “I-I can't believe you all made it!”

“Of course we did, you really think we'd miss out on our favorite person in the world's birthday?” Oscar spoke up, giving her a pleasant grin that made her heart fill with warmth.

“Thank you all so much,” she said, her voice cracking a bit and the others all let out a collective aww, before racing over to envelop her in hugs, Starfan13 beating all of them to the punch.

All the while, Marco was just watching his girlfriend's every move with glee, overjoyed to see her so happy and carefree over her surprise as she hugged each and every one of the orphans, laughing with contentment. He couldn't help but feel his heart soar, the extra thumping in his chest filling him with pride for helping put such a beautiful smile on his Star's face. And he hadn't even gotten to the best part yet. Once Star had given out the last of her hugs to the others, Marco turned his attention over to Jackie, who gave him a nods and an encouraging thumbs up to tell him it was time. The hooded teen nodded before sucking in a deep breath, pulling the small, neatly wrapped gift from his pocket as he made his way over to Star.

“I can't believe you all did this for me!” Star shouted, her eyes shimmering with joy and affection for her little family, a hand over her heart. “This is just so... incredible!”

“So then, I'm taking it you liked the surprise?” Oscar asked, jokingly.

Star laughed. “Yes I did.”

“So then, think you feel like getting one more?” Marco asked, offering her his present with one of his cute, signature smiles.

The girl stared down in shock at the gift in the boy's hands for a second, taking in the perfectly folded pink wrapping paper and dark pink bow, before her eyes caught Marco's and Star felt her cheek marks beat once against her will as she felt her face heat up with a familiar blush. Finally she regained control of her senses, saying sweetly, “Oh Marco you shouldn't have,” before taking the present from him.

“Well I wanted mine to be the first one you opened, since I think you're really gonna like it,” Marco said, practically squealing with joy.

“I'm sure I will,” Star said, giving him an affectionate look, while her hands fiddled with the bow, trying to find the best way to open it without making too big a mess. The while time, Marco seemed to be getting more and more eager and impatient for her to open the gift, his eyes darting back and forth wildly and his body beginning to shake with anticipation.

“You should really hurry up and open it, Star,” Janna spoke up. “I don't think Marco can wait a minute longer.” The girl followed her gaze and held back a laugh at her boyfriend's adorable jitteriness, his face turning slightly pale as he held his breath, looking like he might explode if she didn't see what was inside soon. So, not wanting to waste another moment, she ditched the delicate approach as she yanked the ribbon free and then preceded to tear through the wrapping paper in the span of a couple seconds.

The moment she got a good look at her gift she froze, staring at the small strip of cloth speechless. It was a piece of Marco's hoodie, no bigger than her hand, the soft, red material unmistakable from anything else, she had become quite familiar with it over the months she had been with Marco after all. It had been cut off into a circular shape, before being stitched along the sides to hide the jagged edges and Star didn't have a clue who had enough experience there to do such a thing. But even more impressive than that was the pink outline of an octopus, an exact replica to the one on the front of her favorite dress. “Wha- Bu- How?” was all she managed to gasp out, running a finger along the soft cloth as the scent of Marco drifted up to her nose.

“Well I noticed you seemed pretty attached to my hoodie back at the party,” the boy began, making Star blush, but he didn't even notice too busy glowing with pride and joy for his good guesswork. “So I figured you must really like it like me, so I cut out a piece of one of my hoodies for you. The sewing was the hardest part but I-” The boy stopped himself looking over at his friend Higgs, who had been the one to show him how to sew it under the condition that he didn't tell anyone about one of her hobbies, and he quickly corrected himself before he accidentally gave it away. “-figured it out. Its small enough that it can fit inside your purse,” the boy continued. “So that way, you'll always have something to remind you of me, even when we're apart.”

The girl stared at him for a long time in silence, her eyes jumping back and forth from her boyfriend's smiling face to her gift, her throat closed up making it impossible for her to speak at the moment. “Do you like it?” he asked, his patience growing thin as he waited for Star's answer.

The girl nodded, swallowing down the lump in her throat, before squeaking out, “I love it! Thank you so much, Marco!” Then, unsurprisingly, she pulled him into a hug, squeezing him tight as she whispered into his ear, “I can't believe you really destroyed one of your hoodies, just for me.”

“Well of course I did, your amazing Star and I wanted to give you the perfect gift,” the hooded boy clarified, not sounding at all upset or worried that one of his favorite possessions was ruined. “Besides, I do still have twelve others and you did just get me a new one, so it's not like I really sacrificed anything...” the boy sheepishly added.

Star shook her head, still never breaking her hold from her Marco. “Doesn't matter. It was still very sweet of you. I couldn't have asked for a better present from my amazing bestie,” she softly cooed, finally pulling out of the hug to stare deep into his eyes.

“Soooo, what your saying is my gift was... perfect?” the teen slowly asked, looking excited for the answer.

Star nodded, trying to hold back her laughter at her boyfriend's naive cuteness. “Yes, it was perfect,” she agreed, before leaning closer and giving him the gentlest kiss on the lips. Marco reveled in the kiss, before deepening it himself, moving his lips softly against hers, one of the very few times he had taken the initiative where their kisses were concerned. Meanwhile, the others were just watching them in silence, all of them having to hold back their want to gush over the adorable couple, most of the orphans there never getting to actually to see them acting lovey-dovey around each other, since their last time around the two had been before they had started dating. All of them had known that Star and Marco had feeling for each other, but it was another thing to see them actually expressing this in such a way and not a one of them could hide their joy over seeing both teens truly happy.

Finally the young couple's lips parted, staring breathlessly at each other as their eyes just shined with love and affection, brown and blue meeting in a beautiful dance of shimmering pupils. Star looked slowly back over at her crowd of friends watching her every move and felt a small blush light up her cheeks. She had forgotten they had an audience. But she swallowed her embarrassment, saying, “Well then, I guess all that's left to do is get this party started.” The others all let out a cheer of delight, before Star and Marco shared another smile, looking so happy and content just being in the other's arms.

Pony, as soon as she heard her bestie's declaration, she suddenly blurted out, “Okay but first, could someone please turn on some heat, it's freezing in here?” Her teeth were chattering and her whole body was shivering to show just how miserable she was.

Jackie noticed this and quickly nodded, reassuring her with a simple, “I'm on it,” before going over to the fireplace. As she did, Tom gave his friend a skeptical look, saying, “I don't know what your talking about, P. I feel just fine and I literally live in fire.”

Pony just rolled her eyes in annoyance. “Well yeah you think that, you can also light yourself on fire,” she snapped.

“Then maybe all we need is Tom to stay warm,” Janna suggested, wrapping her arms around her crushes neck, the boy giving her an odd look.

“What are you-” Before he could even finish his sentence, Janna had leaned over and given him a kiss on the cheek, causing his hair to erupt into flames, while he himself froze in place with a goofy, surprised smile.

“See, told you. He's the best heat source there is,” the girl smugly said, her arms never breaking hold of his neck.

Jackie, meanwhile, was busy examining the fireplace with a frown. It had somehow gone out during the night and the girl didn't understand how or why such a thing could happen, especially when they were using Phoenix Embers which were supposed to burn for twice as long as wood or coal. And yet, the half-burnt chunks of charred rock were proof that they had once been lit but somehow gone out, no sign of how such a thing could have come to pass. Maybe one of the others had put it out, Jackie thought. But that was unlikely. She leaned down, to try and restart the fire, when she felt a few specks of dust land in her hair and she looked up the dark chimney in surprise. She gasped, her eyes widening in shock,  as she quickly stood back up, calling over to her friends, “Uhhh, hey, Star, Marco! You might want to come over here!”

The two gave her an odd look before obeying, running over to join her at the fireplace. “What's up?” Star asked.

“Well you might not believe this but there are a bunch of presents stuffed up the chimney,” the skater said.

The two blinked in disbelief, before Marco asked, “Huh?”

“You know what, think it's better if I show you,” Jackie said before going over to the fireplace and slamming a hand into the brickwork as hard as she could. Instantly, a pile of presents came tumbling down, falling into a pile on the floor, making Star and Marco just gap open-mouthed. It also attracted the others attention, all of them staring over at the three in confusion.

“Whhhoooaaa,” Marco softly whispered. “Who are all these presents for?”

“No idea,” Star said, before walking slowly over to the gifts, examining them closely. “But there has to be like, at least thirty gifts here!”

“The bigger question is, how did they get here?” Jackie asked, before her and Star locked gaze, the two girls both coming to the same realization. “You don't think-” Jackie started.

Star nodded, her hands to her hips. “How else do you explain all of these presents just showing up in our chimney?”

“Good point,” Jackie agreed.

“Hey guys look, a note,” Marco gasped, picking up the small slip of paper lying on one of the gift boxes. The two girls moved so they could look over his shoulder at the light red parchment, while the others leaned forward hoping to satisfy their own curiosity over the mysterious letter. Star asked her boyfriend, “What's it say, Marco?”

The boy frowned in concentration as he slowly read off the poem written in delicate cursive on the page. “For the boy who helped spread the message of equality and peace, with his joyful enthusiasm that never does cease. With his kind acts of bravery and heart filled with light, he ended the violence and ceased the big fight. And although growing up he wasn't taught of this day, the spirit was in him in its own special way. And since none deserve better and his good deeds have shown, a lifetime of presents for every year he has grown.

Merry Stump Day, Marco Diaz.

Signed, SC and S”

An audible gasp and soft murmuring came from the others the second the boy was done reading, while Marco just let the paper in his hands go, numbly watching it flutter to the floor, before looking over at the presents in shock. After a moment of just silent contemplation, he turned to Star and Jackie, who both just stood there completely speechless. “Who's SC and S?” he asked them in confusion.

“That would be Santa Claus and the Stump,” Star explained, still looking amazed by this fact. “I mean, if you think about, it all adds up.” She gestured over to the pile of unopened presents.

“Huh, well how about that, dude,” Jackie said, giving Marco an encouraging grin. “Looks like you just brought the Stump and Santa together.”

Marco gasped, his eyes filling with joy, as he whispered in pure delight and wonderment, “Like in your cheesy Christmas specials?”

“Yep, exactly like that,” Jackie agreed with a chuckle.

“It's a Stump Day miracle!” Starfan13 suddenly shouted out and the others all released a loud cheer.

Tom, however, could only stare wide-eyed, before he blurted out, “Wait, so you're saying their actually real! I always thought they were just kids stories!”

“Of course they're real,” Star firmly stated, crossing her arms and shooting him a glare for ever doubting the Stump. Didn't he know how dangerous that could be?

“Besides you can literally light yourself on fire,” Janna pointed out. “That's honestly one of the least crazy things that's happened to us this year.”

Tom opened his mouth, looking like he was on the verge of arguing but seemed to think better of it, shrugging and saying, “Good point.”

“Soooo,” Marco's voice cut in, bringing all the attention back to him as he looked down at the gifts longingly. “Does that mean these are all for me?”

Star put an arm around the boy, telling him in a sweet voice, “Yep, apparently Santa and the Stump recognized just how special and amazing you are! Just like the rest of us all know.”

The boy blushed, before asking delightedly, “So I get to open all of these?”

Star giggled, before kissing his cheek, “Yep, go ahead. You earned it, Marco.”

“Yeah and you better get started, you've apparently got fourteen years worth to get through,” Jackie added playfully.

“Okay!” the boy yelled, before joyfully diving for the nearest present, not wasting a second as he ripped it open. He gasped, before shouting in pure elation, “Oh my gosh, it's a box!”

The others just watched as the adorable teen opened present after present, oohing, awwing and showing off each and every gift, re-experiencing the joy of Stump Day all over again. Star just smiled and laughed at her boyfriend's joyous reactions, grateful with each new thing he received no matter what it was. She was so enchanted by the hooded teen in fact, that she didn't even realize Janna had snuck up behind her until she was speaking from right next to her, causing the blond to jump slightly. “You know it doesn't seem fair,” the beanie-wearing teen observed and Star gave her a questioning look.

“What doesn't?” Star asked, an eyebrow slowly raising.

“That they didn't get you anything,” Janna said simply, her hands sliding into her pockets. “I mean sure, I get what they were going for, giving Marco enough presents to make up for never getting to celebrate Stump Day before. But what about you? You helped bring peace to Mewni, too. They couldn't have sent you a card or something. Geez, how cruel is that.”

Star considered this for a moment, as her hands began fiddling with the small patch of Marco's hoodie. She couldn't help but grin down at it, still touched by her bestie's thoughtfulness. She couldn't have asked for a better gift for him, the idea of carrying a piece of Marco around with her everywhere filled her with so much joy she wasn't sure their were words to describe such a feeling. And as she slowly looked back up at Marco, seeing the joy and happiness spread all over his gaze, she felt her heart swelling in a way that only her Marco could cause, her crystal eyes shimmering like a thousand diamonds.

Star's face softened into a loving glow as she watched her pure, sweet Marco enjoying his very first Stump Day, every ounce of unparallelled delight and merriment on his face making Star's heart leap. Just getting to see him smile like that, easily made this the best birthday she had ever had, as her boyfriend was rightfully spoiled yet again. Which was why the girl couldn't help but chuckle softly to herself, her eyes never once leaving Marco as she told her friend in a tender, whispered tone, “It's not cruel. They knew exactly what to get me.”

[globerjk]

The Designer, Her Model and Her Hero (1)

For the ML Secret Santa @mlsecretsanta exchange. This is my gift to @chelseaapproved

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3

“For the millionth time Plagg, Marinette it’s just a very good friend” Adrien said exasperated. His Kuami was convinced that the boy had feelings for his classmate and was taking the opportunity to tease him once they got to the bathroom before leaving school to go to Marinette´s place for the afternoon.

According to what the little cat kept saying over and over again for the past few months, his chosen -more often than not- showed a softer side for the pigtailed girl who sat behind him at school and now that the boy had agreed, or rather offered himself as the model for her latest fashion competition, Plagg didn’t seemed able to shut up about it.

The assignment was to present a model, male or female, wearing a business casual outfit with a twitch.  The aspiring designer´s first choice had been Alya, but once he overheard them talking about it at their free period he got strangely annoyed and jump at the opportunity to volunteer as a replacement once Marinette´s bestie confirmed that she would most likely be on a trip with her family the same weekend of the event.

Marinette got a little nervous and mumble something about measurements, closeness and fittings that Adrien didn’t quite understand but with the help of an exited Alya and an amused Nino they manage to get her on board.

Marinette tried to at least convince her other friends to join her an Adrien for the first session but Alya had plans to hang out at the zoo with Nino even though he didn’t seem to have any idea about it.

“Plans for the zoo, you say?” Marinette asked.

“Yes! Important plans!” Alya answer with confidence.

“Plans your boyfriend had no idea beforehand” skepticism written all over beautiful blue bell eyes.

“What are you suggesting Marinette?” Alya said smugly “That I´m making up excuses to ditch you alone with your new model? Now why would I do that?” then turned her attention to the boys “Any guesses, Adrien?”

Adrien was taken aback and asked Marinette instead “Want me to try to come up with an answer?

“No!” Shouted Marinette

“Yes!” Said Alya at the same time so the boy turned to Nino whispering “Should I get involve?”

His friend just laugh and place a hand to his shoulder moving him from where the girls were arguing again.

“Dude, time has taught me that when they get like it’s better to just move far, far away and not get any of those girl’s attention when they argue. Believe me when I tell you that you never, ever, want to get in the middle of that and that nothing, and I mean nothing, you say is going to be the right thing to let out of your mouth”

After a hiss from Marinette and an apology from Alya they took off, each couple on a different direction. The walk to the bakery was quiet and Adrien felt like maybe he was imposing on his designer friend with this contest thing.

“I can help you look for another model if you prefer” he said once they were about to enter her building and Marinette was still as nervous as she´s been the entire walk.

“Why? You don´t want to do it anymore?” She asked with big sad eyes.

“No! It´s not that at all, I´m the one who offered, remember? It’s just that you weren’t really sure and we pressure you. Then the argument at the school steps with Alya before leaving… and you´re awfully silent since we left those two.”

She seem genuinely disappointed that he even suggested another person to help with the contest. -Does she want me or not- He thought -she is definitely giving me mixed signals-

“I´m sorry. I was just… umm... Just... Distracted” She hurried to reassure him

“Distracted?”

“Yeah… thinking about… umm… alterations! Alterations to the design because I have cero time to start from scratch so I´m keeping the original design I had for Alya that I loved. Now I have to make it a good fit for your masculine I mean male body” She said it all in one go and got a little fluster at the end.  They entered the front door to the bakery, said a quick hello to her parents and went upstairs to start working.

Once she began adapting her concepts for a boy´s body and showing him her ideas something occurred to him.  It could be distracting for the judges if they knew he was a professional, not to mention what the other contestants may assume given that he was also the heir to a fashion empire, so they agreed that in order to make this all about the design and not the famous guy wearing it, the twitch in the project should be a fashionable mask.  Marinette´s first suggestion was to make it Chat Noir´s stile, but sensing Adrien´s discomfort she rapidly discarded the sketch, or rather saved it for another occasion.  It was a great design after all and she was very fond of the Cat super hero.

“I´m sure you can come up with something different, Marinette. You are really talented… I mean, look at this sketches and it’s only been a week since you started working on them for Alya” Adrien said to a blushing Marinette while admiring the first drafts for the alterations.

“T-thanks Adrien, I guess is better to go with something completely original for the mask as well.  Something that doesn’t make you look like someone else but rather something inspired by you” Marinette answer trying to minimize her stutter and then added in a low voice “and you are plenty inspiring”

“What?” Adrien turned to look at her.

“What?!” she panicked

“I´m sure I heard you say something else”

“No you didn´t” She said with a high pitch voice.

“Okay, I must be imagining things” He dismissed, smiling and returning his attention to her design book.

Marinette let out a sigh and resume her search for types of masks on her tablet.  She didn’t remember to change her computer home screen so turning that device on was in no case an option near this particular visitor.

She actually unplugged it just to be sure it wouldn’t activate by accident.

The rest of the afternoon was relatively calm, as where the other days they got together to resume her work.  Marinette found it easier to be around Adrien when focused on her project, so even the day when she had to actually touch him for measurements, they survived with minimal blushing and stuttering from both.

The mask she ended up making covered almost all of his face, leaving just his right eye on display which, according to the judges, was one of the most interesting parts of the garment.  She also gained extra points for originality since most of the other contestants went with different mixes of denim and formal fabric (denim shirt and black slacks or denim pants with suit jackets).  Marinette opted for a look more on edge, having a trending journalist as her first inspiration and a young hot model as her second.

The attire was what could be described as simple but chick and could easily be worn every day.  Adrien did the catwalk that day in a white form fitting white polo shirt with black skinny trousers and a simple but elegant leather jacket at hand that he put on at the end of the road.

She won the first place. 

---

“You know kid… at this point I’m going to need some proof” The black cat resumed the teasing while eating what felt like the must smelly cheese known to men.

“You keep saying that she’s just your friend, but I could sense the love in the air since you gave her your umbrella. And that was like three whole years ago”

“It was pouring outside and we happened to have a ride home, she didn’t” Adrien defended while cleaning the excess of makeup he used to disguise the one eye he had on display for the contest.

“She lives across the street from school, but whatever” Plagg continued unimpressed “Anyway… you ditched Kagamy on your first date to help Marinette up when she felt on the ice and then went running after her, followed her to the bathroom, even though she had her own date there”

“I... I ran after a friend upset. That’s how friendship works, you should try it sometime” The boy turned to poke on the cats little belly

“Again, I will need some prove. You kept trying to date fencing girl and somehow always got back to your soft looks directed to the baker.  After today? Nothing you say will make me change my mind” Plagg insisted

“She won, I was next to her as her model! Would you have want me to ignore her and not congratulate her? I was right there and just…”

“And just have to get so overly excited?” Adrien was interrupted “You carry her and turned in circles with her on your arms… her feet didn’t touch the floor for at least half a minute there” The smirk in Plagg´s expression could be even overheard.

“It was a big contest! This can open all kinds of doors for Marinette, so what if I was happy for her… Of course I care about Mari, she is my friend”

“If you call her your friend one more time I’m going to scream” The Kwami said “Just for my sanity and I believe for your happiness, go and try to prove me wrong”

“Okay! I’ll go and prove it to you. Plagg transform me” Adrien roared already in his transformation pose.

“I didn’t mean right now….” Plagg snarled as he was suctioned to the ring.

[tune-party-fever-blog]

tagged by @treehug​ (I have to answer like, 85 personal questions wow that’s a lot and.. tag 20 people? That sounds hard, I think I’ll pass >.> But I am honored that someone wants to know more about me. I wasn’t sure whether to answer this on my personal account or not but hey, I was tagged here and there’s less peer pressure because nobody reads what goes on here. My answers will be under the cut)

the last … 1. drink: Pink lemonade! 2. phone call: Answering a call from my mom I think? Or was it my dad? 3. text message: Me telling my dad to pick me up 4. song you listened to: *checks youtube history* Mizu Kagami apparently? 5. time you cried: I think I sweat my eyes a bit from Persona 2. 6. dated someone twice: Date....? Isn’t that a fruit? 7. kissed someone and regretted it: I once kissed the fridge as per friend’s request and then got scared I consumed mold or something since this fridge has never been washed. 8. been cheated on: I never played a video game with someone who used cheat codes. Thank goodness. 9. lost someone special: A couple of close friends.. None of my friendships have ever lasted long so I always this paranoia whenever I make friends. 10. been depressed: Somewhere during school. Don’t know when. 11. gotten drunk and thrown up: I just barely turned 18 smh I would never drink either.

favorite colors 12. to wear - I.. never really focused on what the color was. As long as it looked presentable. Maybe white? I dunno what the questions for 13 and 14 are.

in the last year have you… 15. made new friends: I think so.. we’re friends right? 16. fallen out of love: Still in love with my laptop 17. laughed until you cried: I’m sure I have with my school friends. 18. found out someone was talking about you: No one talks about me, I’m too boring smh 19. met someone who changed you: Have I? Hm. 20. found out who your friends are: Psh, I already know my bestie is my bestie. 21. kissed someone on your facebook list: Face..book? Can you eat it?

general 22. how many of your facebook friends do you know in real life: There’s that “facebook” thing again. Is it a Persona reference? 23. do you have any pets: I used to have a pet hamster as a little kid but I thought of him as a toy rather than a living being so... his life went as well as you’d expect. A few years ago I did take care of a stray cat but my parents didn’t want him so they sent him to my cousin’s house.  24. do you want to change your name: Considering I get embarrassed telling people it, it might not be a bad idea. 25. what did you do for your last birthday: Same routine as usual really. 26. what time did you wake up: At 6 o’clock in the morning. 27. what were you doing at midnight last night: Sleeping. I am infamous among my social circles for actually having a sleep schedule. 28. name something you can’t wait for: THE NEW KIRBY GAME FOR THE SWITCH 29. when was the last time you saw your mom: A few seconds go.  31. what are you listening to right now: The fan. So hooot. 32. have you ever talked to a person named tom: I have talked to a Thomas but not a Tom. 33. something that is getting on your nerves: ...Rude people. 34. most visited website: A combination of Youtube, tumblr, reddit, and deviantart.  35. hair colour: Black 36. long or short hair: It would be medium-length if it wasn’t curly. It’s just bunched up like a bush my head.. People call it a fro but I’m not sure if I like that. 37. do you have a crush on someone: Not really.. 38. what do you like about yourself: !!!... Umm, it’s kind of embarrassing to answer that. Part of my psyche tells me I am nicer than most but.. 39. piercings: Sounds painful. 40. blood type: I never had that checked, 41. nickname: I have many but I’ll say Ichigo for now.  42. relationship status: Best friends with my bestie! 43. zodiac: Gemini, I have a Megaman character based on my sign bitches! 44. pronouns: Use whatever, because I like being secretive about these things. 45. favourite tv show: *shrugs* Not really a TV person. 46. tattoos: No, I did think it would be fun to have a tattoo based on a rune from Suikoden. 47. right or left handed: Right hand. 48. surgery: I hope I never have one! So many of my phobias in one! 49. piercing: Didn’t we already have this question? 50. sport: Running away from my problems ᕕ-ᐛ-ᕗ 51. vacation: I don’t know if I’m on one actually. I finished a school year so I guess it’s summer vacation but I graduated high school so?? Am I on summer vacation? It’s more like the interval between high school and whatever I do from now on. Being a homeless person. 52. pair of trainers: As in Pokemon trainers?? I dunno.

more general 53. eating: The air 54. drinking: Saliva? Okay that’s gross. 55. i’m about to: I DON’T KNOW SO MANY THINGS COMING AT ME AT ONCE AFTER I’M DON WITH THIS 56. waiting for: Truth to be told, I don’t know. 57. want: FOR ALL MY PROBLEMS TO GO AWAY 58. get married: Oh gosh, it is not a good idea to live with me. I am emotionally unstable and have extremely weird habits like jumping around and flapping my arms and sometimes creepily repeating and giggling anything amusing I read.  59. career: I might be a Japanese translator! I thought of so many other things like artist or story writer but if you ask me about how to draw or write a story, I don’t know what the heck I’m talking about! If you ask me about Japanese language then yes, I do know what I’m talking about. If I’m good at it and willing to get better, I should get a job out of it.  60. hugs or kisses: Hugs because I don’t want someone else’s tongue going into my mouth. 61. lips or eyes: What? I need both? I guess lips because I wouldn’t be able to talk or eat without them.  62. shorter or taller: It would be kind of nice to be shorter.. 63. older or younger: I’m a kid in an adult’s body. My dad said so. Younger. 64. nice arms or nice stomach: What? I don’t know. Arms could lift things up? 65. hook up or relationship: ...Relationship? 66. troublemaker or hesitant: Hesitant! No doubt about it! 67. kissed a stranger: I can’t even kiss someone I know, let alone a stranger. 68. drank hard liquor: Nope, never will. 69. lost glasses/contact lenses: I don’t know actually. I had glasses but I never used them. I tried putting them on again but they didn’t improve my vision so maybe they were the wrong pair and I lost mine? 70. turned someone down: Yeah, in elementary school we had like this Pokemon roleplay going on and some kid asked to join but I was an elitist fan back then and said no because only those who know all 493 Pokemon can join in.  71. sex on the first date: I can’t even have sex in any circumstance. Unless maybe I get a prize like a copy of Kirby Switch. 72. broken someone’s heart: I hope not.. 73. had your heart broken: Yeah, everytime a video game doesn’t let me do something I wanna do. 74. been arrested:  No, but it’s only a matter of time. (I’m kidding) 75. cried when someone died: For fictional deaths >.> 76. fallen for a friend: No, but a friend fell for me. We were so surprised when she fell down because we didn’t know if it was on purpose to go along with what I was saying or if she actually fell.

do you believe in … 77. yourself: I believe in my ability to make things worse. You could ask me to grab something for you only to find out it would have been 200x times faster if you went up and grabbed it yourself. 78. miracles: ‘Cause I still believe in miracles I swear I’ve seen a few! And the time will surely come when you can see my point of view! I believe in second chances and that’s why I believe in you! 79. love at first sight: No, attraction at first sight. Love is when you get to know someone and accept everything about them and care for them. 80. santa claus: I believe in the Santa Claus in the mall. 81. kiss on the first date: Sure why not. 82. angels: I believe in Michel, he can do his best.

other 83. current best friend’s name: She is a bit afraid of revealing personal info on the internet so I shall not say it. 84. eye colour: I think it’s brown...? 85. favourite movie: I am so ignorant about movies my friends hate me for it.