#i had to pass on the insanity to y'all too I'm so sorry

[mirensiart]

I just kinda assumed Wars smacked Wind's bottle away and gave him a Look, but now Miry over here making me worry at midnight omfg the fic potential if that doesn't pan out

I KNOW it's almost 4am here and I'm spiraling over this kfbfkfnf

[jaylver]

4 TIMES JAY ALMOST PROPOSED + 1 TIME HE ACTUALLY DID

SYNOPSIS: Failed proposals and a determined mind challenges Park Jong Seong as he manages through tumbling ups and downs in order to successfully propose to the love of his life.

PAIRINGS: non-idol!jay x afab!reader

GENRE: established relationship au, romance, fluff

WARNING(S): profanities, snake (?)

WC: 2671

AUTHOR NOTES: hope y'all will enjoy this one! rushed it a bit so i'm sorry if there's anything lacking! please give some feedbacks, it'll be greatly appreciated <3

masterlist | © jaylver 2023 all rights reserved

i.

It has been almost six years since you and Jay have gotten together. 

From being friends to going on casual dates to moving in together, you knew this was it. You were very sure Jay was the man for you. It was a no-brainer that Jay felt the same too. He always knew all along and you didn't need any reaffirming from him either.

Marriage was a topic you and Jay had discussed each year and the opinion seemed to have never changed, you two were fine with the idea of marriage and were open to it. It wasn't the matter of yes or no, it was when it would happen. As years passed, the thought of a serious future together was an unspoken confirmation between you two. It was also a theme frequently asked during family dinners or friend gatherings and you would just wave it off, though secretly wishing and looking forward to it actually happening.

What you didn't know was that Jay happened to be already one step ahead, like how he always was. Now, the problem was struggling to propose and not knowing when to do so. He's got the perfect ring, the best words he picked out to say, the faint  idea of where he wanted to propose, but he just didn't know when. Could you believe that?

His three best friends were there to give him a pep talk, helping him plan the proposal and in the meantime, he made sure to go all the way to your parents to ask for their permission, to which they said ‘yes’ to almost immediately, absolutely elated and welcoming Jay to the family before he even officially popped the question, that was how much they loved Jay and no one could blame them for it.

With the help of your’s and Jay’s parents and his best friends, they planned a special private dinner by a restaurant on the beach you loved going to and having the proposal on the sandy beach with lighted candles. It was a simple idea but he knew you wouldn’t mind it from the countless proposal ideas you’ve once shared. Not to mention, it was the place where you and Jay shared your first kiss, making it much more memorable. He had a feeling this would be the perfect spot for a proposal.

Your boyfriend’s nervousness and anxiety were only getting gradually higher as the date got closer. He wondered how it managed to go such under the radar, playing it off as a normal Saturday date night and you were totally oblivious to it, gushing about returning back to the spot where you two shared your first kiss.

The small box which had your engagement ring inside was tucked into a compartment of Jay’s expensive suit, his hand occasionally flying to the spot and patting it to make sure it didn’t magically disappear. He swore he was going insane, and you noticing his jitters wasn’t making him feel better either.

Over dinner, you were there cracking jokes and laughing at the ridiculous puns he made, but all he could was focus on you, the crinkles of your eyes whenever you smiled, your smile, your laugh, the way your hair swept past your shoulders, lord he was whipped and he just needed to put a ring on your finger quick! Fast forwarding to after dinner where his anxiety reached its height and his foot tapped anxiously on the floor, he was waiting for the bill to arrive and it was a challenge to not burst out screaming.

“Here’s your bill, sir—” finally! “—it’s raining outside, would you like an umbrella?”

It’s WHAT?

“R–raining? O–outside, on the beach?” Jay croaked out, there was no way this was happening.

“Yes, sir,” the waiter nodded, slightly confused at Jay’s sudden surprise.

You tilted your head, peering over at your boyfriend with a questioning expression. “Is there something wrong? We could go to the beach another day, honey, we always do anyway,”

“Right,” Jay breathed out, nodding slowly and trying his best to not blow his own cover. “We’d like to borrow the umbrella please.” he said to the waiter, tucking the bill into the compartment inside his jacket, and with one last pat of the box tucked snuggly in another compartment, he let out a sigh and held onto your hand waiting for the umbrella. 

Almost.

But almost was never enough.

ii. 

Ironic it was that you and Jay happened to be at a wedding.

Upon hearing the failed proposal, everyone was disappointed but still remained resilient, racking their brains to think of a fresh idea. But now, you had wedding duties to attend to and your lovely boyfriend was dragged along. It was your friend’s wedding and you spent the day going around congratulating the pair, drinking here and there and dancing with Jay, basically having the time of your life.

“If weddings are usually this fun, I really want one too,” you sighed to Jay, leaning onto his shoulder. 

If only you knew.

He hummed in response, wrapping an arm around your shoulder as you two watched the stars of the event have their first dance together. In Jay’s eyes, he was wishing it was you and him instead.

Towards the end of the wedding, the bride announced for a bouquet toss enthusiastically, and all the unmarried women in the room formed a cluster behind the bride as she got onto a short stool. You were among the bunch, joining in for the fun without taking it seriously. That was until the bouquet had shot into the air, flying towards you and your hand reached out in a natural instinct, catching it instantly.

You caught the bouquet. This meant that the catcher was getting married next. Were you? The ladies all cheered and clapped, but your eyes wandered off to Jay, where people around him gave him claps on the back or handshakes, his gaze landed on you as well, a big grin wide on his face. You broke into a smile, waving the bouquet excitedly.

Once the wedding had officially ended and you were walking hand-in-hand to the parking lot, swinging the bouquet in your other hand, your mind filled with some questions. “Do you think this is a sign?”

“What sign, darling?”

“You know how people say when you catch the bouquet you get married next?”

Jay had red alarms blaring in his head. “Really?”

“Yup,” 

Jay wished he was able to get on one knee in this random parking lot at that moment, a place where it was empty and quiet, no one to bother you two, though severely unromantic but Jay’s patience was wearing thin. He knew it wouldn’t change anything between you two if he proposed now or later, but he wanted to call you his fiancee already. 

“Y/N—”

Will you marry me? 

“Hm?”

“I love you,”

You poked his side, raising an eyebrow at him. “Out of the blue?”

“Can’t I express my love for my girlfriend?”

“Of course you can, idiot, I love you too.”

Oh, how he longed for you to not be his girlfriend anymore but instead his fiancee.

iii. 

A few weeks rolled by and Jay was feverishly looking for an empty slot at all your favourite restaurants. Thanks to it being Valentine's week, all of them had none. Zero.

Jay wanted to give in and propose to you right there and then, whenever you were in bed or even on the couch, he didn’t care. He knew you didn’t care much about a proposal’s fanciness, just hoping it wasn’t a public one, but he couldn’t help to go all out to make sure you liked it. That was the length Jay would go for you. 

It wasn’t a surprise Jay was getting increasingly frustrated that the proposal was dragged later and later. But all he could in front of you was play it off as not getting seats for valentines.

“We don’t need to do anything big for valentines, Jay,” you reassured, rubbing his back softly. Of course you didn’t, he loved your simpleness. 

“I know, my love,” Jay smiled at your efforts of calming him, you were the one who knew him best.

The romance movie you had playing in the background was showing a proposal scene, the female lead gasping in shock as the male lead got onto one knee, the typical thing. You laid your head on Jay’s shoulder, snuggling closer to his side with his arms around you, eyes trained on the screen, but your boyfriend’s head was swarmed with more internal screaming at the sight. Luck was needed on his head.

“This is so cute,” you referred to the scene, deep down wishing for the same. 

“You think so?” Jay said quietly, rubbing the side of your arms. 

“Very much so,”

“What if I proposed …one day,” he quickly added the last part, being as careful as he could.

“What do you think I’ll say to that?” you patted his jaw, seeing a small smile form on his face.

“I hope it’s a ‘yes’,”

“Of course it’ll be one, I’d be such a big idiot if I said otherwise,” you squeezed his cheek, a grin tugged on your lips. “But that’s never happening,”

“Yeah?”

‘Marry me?’ Was what rang through Jay’s mind endlessly and he wished he could run into the bedroom to grab the engagement ring hidden in his bedside table.

“Yeah. Obviously.”

He knew it was forever and always.

iv. 

Jay had many stupid ideas in his life and this was one of them. He blamed that one TikTok video. 

In that video, the man and his girlfriend went on a hike, his friend on an undercover mission at the top of the cliff filming the reaction. It was cute and the reactions had Jay almost in tears, which gave him the idea of planning a hike, one where a ring was involved.

Out of you two, Jay was the more adventurous and active person, constantly bringing you to hikes and runs, so this wasn’t your first rodeo and it definitely didn’t surprise you at all. 

Jay knew he had this in the bag, with you oblivious and his plans turning out well, his stress was decreasing, thank heavens. Just like the video, Jay had Heeseung arriving at the top of the cliff minutes before you two did, hiding behind a bush with a camera already recording. 

So, on a Sunday morning, you and Jay hiked up a usual track on the cliff that you were familiar with. There were little to none people, and you got to roam freely, talk and joke loudly as if it was only you and him in the world.

“I’m tired,” you complained, taking your final steps and reaching the top, thankful that you were able to rest and catch your breath for a while before having to head back down. 

“The view is great,” Jay pointed towards the sky, and he was right. The clouds were painted in different shades of pink, orange and red, the sun was up and the morning sunlight provided warmth.

“It is,” you turned your back towards him, and that was when Jay realised it was time. He spotted Heeseung and gave him a thumbs up, he got the box from the back pocket, ready to get on one knee but—

“What the fuck?” Jay jumped, literally. His whole body basically jumped and backed away, there was a snake. A snake managed to ruin his proposal this time. First it was the rain, and now a snake? Was nature ever going to leave him alone?

“What?” you were obviously startled, rushing to your boyfriend’s side and huddled behind him. 

“There was a snake,” his voice wavered, though it was now gone, there was no way he could just propose like everything was normal. The rush was gone and his confidence was poof, gone.

“What?” you shrieked, tugging onto Jay’s sleeve. “I think we should leave,”

“Yeah,” Jay, evidently shaken, could only nod and keep the ring back into his pocket. He made sure that Heeseung got the memo and left, a heart broken and an ego continually punched.

Another time’s the charm!

+i. 

Despite the many unforgettable failed attempts of a proposal, Jay never backed down. This was going to be the last time, and it was going to be a successful one. 

As per Jay’s promise to bring you back to the beach, you were now having a candlelit picnic by the shore under the night sky, some slow music playing distantly in the background. Everything reminded you of that night during the start of your relationship, and you found yourself reminiscing, amazed at how far you two had come. 

“I can’t believe we’re here tonight,”

“Really?” Jay asked, you two had been here countlessly, the sudden sentiment had taken him off guard. 

“This was where it all began, wasn’t it?” you gazed at him, love and affection in your eyes. “This place is special, I don’t know how to describe it,”

“I get it,” Jay assured, laughing a little.

“You always do,” you smiled, reaching over to squeeze his hand lightly. “Wanna dance?”

Jay couldn’t resist and nodded, slyly taking the box from under the picnic blanket and slipping it into his pants pocket. You were too busy switching the music to notice, and once you had your favourite song playing, you rushed towards your boyfriend, practically crashing into his arms.

“Hello, pretty lady,” he said softly, his arm around your waist and your hand on his shoulder, rocking side to side. “‘Can’t take my eyes off of you’ huh?”

“It’s one of our songs, I can’t help it,” you laid your head on his shoulder, biting back a chuckle. 

This was peace. In the middle of a quiet beach, it was just you and him, bare and transparent, listening to him humming to the song, the cool night air engulfing you and him both. There was nothing you wished for more than this. 

“You’re just too good to be true…” Jay sang along, and you removed your head from his shoulder, giggling as you locked eyes with him. “Can’t take my eyes off of … you,” 

It happened too quickly. Jay had gotten onto one knee, his hand never left your hold. “Ever since I’ve met you, it really didn’t take me long to realise that you are the one for me,” one hand reached for the box in his pocket. “I want to spend the rest of my life with you, I want to stand by you no matter what,” he opened the box, the ring shone bright in the night and you gasped. 

“Will you marry me, Y/N?”

Jay couldn’t believe he was uttering those words. You were in disbelief this was happening.

“Yes! Of fucking course, yes, yes, yes!” you caught his face with both hands, pressing a long kiss on his lips, feeling him smiling against yours. The moment you pulled away, he slipped the ring onto your finger and you were starting to tear up.

You were marrying your forever best friend. The love of your life.

“I love you,” you pressed another kiss on the corner of his lips, pulling him close.

“I love you more,” he kissed you on the lips in return, knowing you would rebut and say you loved him more instead. “You have no idea how happy I am,” he wiped the tears away from your cheeks.

“I’m the happiest woman too, I’m so lucky to have you,”

“Obviously,” Jay joked, and you scoffed, punching him softly. “Joking. I’m a lucky man too,”

“I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you.”

“You’re going to have to put up with me for life now, my love.”

Safe to say the wrongs finally turned right for Jay in the end. Married life was going to be new, but before that, wedding planning was about to take him out first.

[highhhfiveee]

smoke break

here ye here ye i'm having satoru gojo thots o_0

pairing: line!cook satoru gojo x blackfem!reader summary: workplace relations were always a no, yet, that doesn’t stop satoru gojo from falling for the new waitress.  wc: 2k tags: fluff [nothing suggestive, no smut, just pure CUTENESS]! non-curse au, line cook!satoru gojo, BOH shift lead!ryomen sukuna [LMAO], f!reader. cigarette smoking occurs. also i've seen the bear but all of my kitchen knowledge comes from my own work in kitchens and restaurants. this is slightly [highly] self-in[dulgent]sert lmao. a/n: y'all, okay. i’ve been writing part five of safety net but i CANNOT get this fucking thought out of my head cause i’ve been watching jujutsu kaisen and i am obsessed 😭 not only with the show, but the world, characters and everything [the big three is my family fr i don’t play ab them]. IN SAYING THAT, i was at work one day and boop! in my head pops a non-curse au of line cook!gojo. when i told my roommate this, they looked at me like i was certifiably insane because “there is nothing attractive about line cooks” [see exhibit A] but please please PLEASE Y’ALL HEAR ME OUT! Y’ALL ARE THE ONLY ONES WHO WILL UNDERSTAND!

like imagine being the new girl at your job, a diner-style restaurant parked dead center in a high traffic plaza on the outskirts of the city, and even though you swore you’d never work in food service again after leaving your previous hellhole of employment, of course you find yourself walking up to the employee entrance rehearsing your script.

“hi! my name is y/n, i’ll be your server today….hi! my name is y/n, i’ll be taking care of you today…howdy, i’m y/n…ugh, really? fucking howdy?”

you’re so caught up in your perfect waitress greetings, staring down at your non-slippable feet when you crash into someone [a tree] wearing all black exiting the bathroom corridor.

he’s so tall that only his torso knocks into your shoulders, jolting your step and causing you to lose your footing.

you’re squealing out a million things; gibberish because you’re falling, “i’m so sorry!” for not paying attention, and…”thank you,” rather quietly as you feel a strong arm keeping you from crumbling onto yourself.

the movement is quick, so light that you’re not sure if he actually helped you up or if you’d just levitated back to your feet; either way, you’re silent as he stares down at you with the brightest blue eyes you’d ever seen, a glint in them that matches the small smirk pulling on the corner of his mouth.

“careful now,” he playfully chastises, running a hand through his platinum blonde hair as he walks away from your frozen frame, his stride as confident as ever as he turns the corner to the kitchen.

you shake your head softly, knowing that you shouldn't think too much into the interaction. it was short, one, and two, if your years of work in this industry taught you anything, it was not to get involved with anyone that worked in the kitchen. front of house and back of house didn't mix, not that way.

you're grateful that you're not even able to think about it after you clock in, your brain unable to process your racing thoughts of gojo’s touch and the millions of tables that you’ve had to take; order after order after order stacks up against the feeling of his arm around your waist and a few hours into your shift, it becomes a passing memory.

while you’re not able to see gojo with the amount of back and forth you’re doing, he’s able to take you in in all your beautiful glory.

you’re wearing the usual all black: a button down that shows off a mole on your collarbone and well-fitting black slacks. your hair is thrown back into a slick ponytail, your black and white scrunchie nearly concealed by the sheer amount of dark brown curls it contained. little flyway ringlets frame your eyes, wide, brown pools that gojo knows will be impossible not to melt into; though he’s observed you for most of his shift, top to bottom, your lips captivate him the most.

full, bow-shaped and painted powdery red, he nearly burns himself on the grill watching you take someone’s order, a tinge jealous of the warm, genuine smile you give them.

“yo, ‘jo. focus! we got, like, eight cheesesteaks all day and you’re over there gawkin’ like a dumbass. look, the meats’ burnt!” he remembers where he is and what he's doing, senses prickling at the calls of "corner!" and "hot!" and the sound and smell of food cooking all around him.

“shut the fuck up, ryo….and it’s not burnt!” gojo sharply retaliates, looking down to the profoundly browned shaved steak. he grabs for his spatula, ignoring ryomen’s dickish chuckles behind him. “shit.”

he manages to focus somewhat, knocking out a few more hours of his shift without letting his eyes wander over to your slim frame as you shimmy between tables, or his ears catch the soft lilt of your voice as you ask someone what they'd like their side to be.

he tucks you into the back of his mind, keeping your presence within as small as he possibly can.

you’re still in residence up there when he takes his first [third] smoke break, stepping out back. he can still hear the plain muzak from inside reverberating against the insulation, the open and closing of car doors all over the plaza, and the rattle of the wind through the chain link fence that keeps him separated from the world 10 hours a day.

all he can do is sigh at the monotony of it all, leaning against the bricks while he fishes his cigarette carton from his back pocket.

deep down, he knows he should quit. he could count the number of people that have asked him to quit on both hands, but always waved off their concerns. there was nothing better to calm his nerves, or help relieve the agitation he felt from working with ryomen, friend or not.

he’d always said that a cigarette or four a day wouldn’t kill him, though he wasn’t sure why he always chose to tell such a boldfaced lie.

he snakes a cig between his lips, grabbing for his lighter and closing his eyes before that crackle he knows all too well fills the void around him.

not seeing the end of the cigarette flame red is another lie on gojo’s part; if he can’t see the chemical reaction working to activate the toxic substances, there’s no damage he can do to himself.

it’s illogical, once again, though it’s his own logic, and to him, it makes sense.

“my dad used to do the same thing,” gojo’s eyes fly open, his breath catching in his throat as he glances at you, your hand pressed against the cracked door. you give him a little smile before fully stepping out into the breezy summer air, taking a deep breath. “you light the cigarette with your eyes closed so you can fool yourself into thinking that you’re not actually harming yourself.”

gojo exhales smoke, watching with careful eyes as you pace before him. you catch his stare, blinking slowly before saying, “he lived by that until he didn’t.”

if he didn't know any better, he would've thought you were a completely different girl from the one he'd bumped into this morning; then, you'd seemed so reserved, so meek, but now, he realizes that he'd like to get to know the real you. he was sure you didn’t even know his name, but here you were, condemning his MO like it was your place.

he hated anyone telling him off, even slightly, but he found himself more than willing to hear you out; more than willing to let you do it again and again and again.

“you come out here jus' to scold me?”

“no,” you answer plainly, coming to a stop just a few inches from him. “i came to smoke too, but my pack was empty. i asked someone in the kitchen for one….who was it…oh! ryo said he didn’t have any, and that i should come out here and ask satoru."

gojo’s heart skips a small beat at you using his first name instead of his last; he forbade anyone he didn’t know from using it, ryomen knew that, but of course he’d play these juvenile games. gojo could see the shit-eating grin plastered over his face now, his full laugh radiating throughout the kitchen at his scheme.

“i assume you're satoru, unless he was just messing with me.”

"don't mind him. he's a dickhead," gojo swears, deliberating on how he's gonna make ryo pay for this as he begins to reach for his pack again. he's not expecting you to stop him with a gentle touch to the wrist, though.

“oh no, i don’t need a full one….is it okay if we share yours?”

gojo nods, silent and alert as your fingers glide against his in order to slip the cigarette to your grasp. he nearly closes his hand around yours, embarrassingly.

you take your first drag with a hum, your eyelashes fluttering as you turn to the sunset and exhale with no effort, no cough.

“i don’t usually smoke whole cigarettes. i go through maybe…two in a day? a couple hits here and there is usually enough to get me through."

“this must be your first food service job then.”

“try sixth,” you respond jadedly. you take another hit, and another, and another, and gojo doesn’t even mind that you’ve seemingly forgotten to pass the cigarette back to him. he can tell that you're lost in the tale you're telling, and he wants to keep you there with him. “i’ve been through my chain smoking days, trust me. seeing what happened to my dad definitely made me assess whether a pack a day was really worth it.”

with the mention of your nicotine journey, he begins to hear the scratch in your voice, noticeable more when you’re talking in this low, casual tone. as unfortunate as it is, its method of fruition, gojo can’t help but think about how sexy you sound and how he'd listen to you talk about anything if it always came out like that.

“why not quit then?”

you giggle, throwing gojo a pointed look that makes him want to swallow you whole. you purse your lips, ready to challenge him with your response.

“we all have our vices, don’t we?”

gojo returns your laugh, standing to his full height. he crosses his arms across his chest as he stares down at you staring up at him. your height difference is almost laughable, with your head barely even reaching his shoulders.

his mind begins to wander to X-rated places as you take your spot on the wall beside him, allowing the wind to graze your skin and create a conversation between the two of you that requires no words.

“shit!” you snap after a while, looking to the now small cigarette between your index and middle finger. “i’m so sorry. i didn’t mean to smoke so much of it.”

“’s all good. maybe...you’ve convinced me to smoke in moderation.”

you give him that smile, warm and genuine, and his heart flips again as you slip the remnant of his cig back into his palm, letting your fingertips linger for just a moment longer than you should.

“maybe…i’ll have to hold you to that, satoru.” you dust your hands off on your pants before poising yourself to return to the hustle and bustle of the dinner rush. “i’m y/n, by the way. it’s nice to meet you. thanks for the smoke, andcatching me earlier, as embarrassing as that was."

“i’ve seen worse,” he reassures, but while he'd seen much, much worse, he was positive that he had never witnessed anything better than you. even in the small, nearly six hour window that he’d known you, he's unwaveringly sure that you’re his heaven personified.

“i’d hate to know what’s worse, but then again…if that means i get to talk to you, maybe i don’t.” you give him a wink, an actual good one, and he nearly drops to his knees, uncharacteristically ready to wholly give himself over to you.

you give him one more smile and a wave before leaving him alone, his brain alternating between reeling and shutting down.

he looks down to the filter in his palm, chuckling at the negligible amount of tobacco you left for him. he’s about to toss it into the stack of other disregarded butts as routine calls for when he notices the red marks smeared all over it.

he holds it a bit closer to his face, examining the soft, messy lipstick stains you’ve left behind. it’s art, something he thinks should be showcased in the MoMA or The Louvre, titled how satoru gojo fell in love.

while he wouldn't be able to get it to either of those places anytime soon, he decides that behind his ear works as a close third, and finishes the rest of his shift with that reminder of you close to him.

LIKE ISNT THIS SO CUTE????? I HAVE SO MANY IDEAS, PLEASE OMG! I PLAN TO CONTINUE THIS AU BUT PLEASE SEND ME YOUR JJK REQS! 

faire's seedlings ✿

@leahdhopkins4321-@pyr0-kai-@angstywhore-@sunazroo-@nyxthoughtss-@mirophobic-@fayethor-@marixsimps-@regretfulme-@ithinkitszeph-@707xn-@cattt777-@violetta-ximena-@amnesia33-@topnerd03-@fastnights-@laprvphette-@savage-aespa-@mfdxz-@0-tatiana-0-@dusstory-@delwrites-@mikeschmidtgf-@jun1p3rlol-@xyzstar-@aquamarine001-@atrociouslybear-@ickleronniekinsemotionalrange

*exhibit A

i love you all 🫶

[sandiavolo]

*Important Update*

Warning: long rants ahead.

Contents Ahead (skip ahead if you want, pls):

Apologies

Thank You's

Avatar 3 News

As the Ash Cloud Passes Over Update

Greetings and salutations all! I would like to start out by saying I am so so so sorry for disappearing for awhile. To put it quite simply, I have no excuses to make nor reasons to claim behind my lack in progress. I have had so much time these last two months to write, and I somehow fell into a constant cycle of procrastination and forgetfulness where I was completely aware of what I was doing. It's not that I even fell off the Avatar fandom or was busy, I'm just a terrible writer (it's natural for me to be overtly honest with myself, I swear it's not worrisome at all!) BUT I am so happy to let y'all know I've gotten back in the groove! Inspiration has hit me hard, and I feel the need to type like there's no tomorrow. Again, I am so sorry for anyone who's ask I may have missed/comment I may not have replied to/or question I left unanswered 🙏

First off, lemme just say this. @anka-partizanka-from-pandora is the SINGLE GREATEST ARTIST AND PERSON I HAVE EVER HAD THE PLEASURE OF WORKING WITH! Truthfully, they deserve your love, you guys! I do not care if it gets tiring or old to hear, b/c I mean it with my entire heart when I say Anka has been holding me up in times of writers block and troubles with writing. They are my partner, friend, & inspiration. I love ya, Anka 💙

I recently saw the videos and images for Avatar 3 and I just gotta say...LET'S. FREAKING. GOOOOOOOOOO!!!! The Ash Clan is sheer horror and I am already in love! The flying creatures are insanely awesome, especially the Medusa floating ship, LIKE WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON?! I DON'T KNOW BUT I LOVE IT! And lastly, I'm just gonna put this out there, VARANG HAS LITERALLY STOLEN MY HEART! Sharp claws, frilled headress, a cloak of severed kurus (possibly)?! SLAY QUEEN! I genuinely don't think I will be able to root agasint her, but we'll see. And I do think I will be trying to change up a few things to include what little info we have gotten so far. It's just too good to pass up on!

I am proud to announce that As the Ash Cloud Passes Over Ch. 14 will be published very, very soon. I mean within the next few days 😁 It has been so long, so I plan to send this one off with a bang. I'm talking angst, lore, action, a sick splash of Ash Na'vi Spider, the whole she-bang! And tomorrow, there will even be a special sneak peak!

That is all I wish to say! Now, I must welcome the glorious hug of unconsciousness that is my slumber. I want to go out by saying (to whoever reads this): thank you so much 🙏 This is still a pleasure in my life, and seeing my story grow even without me means everything. But, in all facuality, you guys are my everything. I know we have had our break-ups and silent treatments, but I'll always love you guys 💙💙💙 Have a great day, grab an ice cold tea, and enjoy life y'all!

[dwaynes-leather-jacket]

Ch. 2 Misty Boardwalks And Vampires, Oh My!

Dwayne x fem!reader

Masterlist

[A/N]: Sorry it's taken so long to update, but man has life really hit me and wrecked me. I'm starting to get the creative juices going again, so here y'all go and now the story will begin to pick up! I actually forgot I had this sitting in my drafts and forgot to cue it!

Word Count: 1k

I shielded my face in his shoulder from the chilly breeze that whizzed passed us while we drove down the road. For the first time in a good while, I felt at peace.

It seemed like all my stress and fears were melting away, and it was then I realized that maybe I needed a little freedom and room to unwind rather than allowing my life to revolve around being a full-time babysitter and staying inside all the time out of fear.

I couldn’t let fear control me either, and being able to set my fears aside and just live a little made me realize that, though I was still scared to leave the house and nothing will ever change that.

Occasionally, I shouted directions at Dwayne, though he seemed to know the area quite well.

I couldn’t help but feel a sense of familiarity in him though, as if I’ve known him before but I’m not quite sure how. At this point, I was afraid to ask. I have a feeling in the pit of my stomach telling me that I’m not quite ready for the answer yet.

When we arrived in front of my home, I hopped off the bike and readjusted my bag. When I looked back at him, he was leaning forward with a smirk.

"What? No goodnight kiss?" He teased with a chuckle.

I rolled my eyes and raised an eyebrow. "I hardly know you."

"Relax, I was kidding. I don't kiss on first dates, sweets." He winked playfully.

"Huh? I- That wasn't a date." I replied in confusion. I had only taken the night as a friendly gesture, not exactly as something serious.

“Well let’s make it official then, hm? How about I take you out Saturday night? There’s supposed to be a festival in town for the weekend. It could be fun.” Dwayne suggested, his voice sounding somewhere between teasing and sickly sweet.

It wasn’t exactly an offer I’d say no to, and it was awfully tempting though my mind was screaming at me continuously over being cautious with the new stranger, and repeatedly reminding me about the insane crime rates here.

Looking into his eyes, he seemed lonely despite being with his friends each time I’ve seen him.

I bit my lip, debating an answer until I saw the light to my parents’ bedroom flicker on. I quickly turned to Dwayne, giving him a quick hug and ran towards the side door. “Pick me up at 10! I’ll come up with something!” I half whisper yelled while making my way.

Dwayne grinned and got on his bike again, taking the lights as a sign to leave. Once he was sure I was in safely, he sped off.

As soon as I made it inside, I shut and locked the door as quietly as I could without making too much noise and made my way to my room.

I closed the door to my room carefully, wincing when I heard it creak slightly then plopped down on my bed, heaving a sigh of relief that I made it back without any trouble.

I glanced at my clock, seeing it was 2:46 now, and I put my pajamas on then laid in bed as I felt the adrenaline wear off and slowly the sleep was kicking in, along with what just happened.

I sat up in bed realizing I had spent practically half the night with Dwayne, and I actually enjoyed it. Not only that, but I even got my hands on a good copy of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. As soon as I remembered it, I opened my bag that I left by my bedside and reached in to grab the book, only to pull out a comic book that I don’t remember getting.

“Vampires Everywhere?” I mumble to myself and turn on my lamp to get a better look at it.

It was obviously some cheesy vampire comic, but curiosity got the best of me yet again and I opened it to read it.

I read it a little while and felt my eyes growing heavy, deciding to go to bed. I set the book aside and turned off my light, drifting off into sleep.

However, I wouldn’t be sleeping tonight.

I dreamt I was walking around the fairgrounds looking for Silas, and thinking I saw him, I walked towards a darker side of the grounds where a shadow hid amongst the trees.

I couldn’t see who the figure was, but it sent a chill running down my spine and caused the hairs on the back of my neck to stand at attention.

“Silas?” I called out, thinking maybe it was Silas afterall.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Silas run passed me and deeper into the darkness. “Silas wait!” I cried out and followed him. I desperately didn’t want him getting lost or hurt so late at night.

In the distance, I could hear the sounds of laughter and screaming from the fair, which only grew softer and softer once the lights dimmed, being obscured by the trees and their leaves.

I gulped as it grew darker the further I walked until I was suddenly pinned by a tree, a pair of glowing eyes boring into my own. I had never felt any sense of terror this bad in my entire life and let out a mortified scream, only to be cut off by a sharp pain in my neck near my jugular.

I bolted upright in bed as I awoke, my chest heaving and tears pouring from my eyes while I tried to remind myself it was only a dream.

I shakily went downstairs for a glass of water and turned to go back up the stairs, freezing when I saw the same pair of eyes from my dream, the glass slipping from my hand and shattering on the floor by my feet.

I couldn’t move, nor could I speak. I felt the lump in my throat from wanting to scream, but it just wouldn’t come out.

In the same speed from which I’d seen the figure, it disappeared when I glanced at the mess and back up at it. Thankfully, whatever it was, it was outside, though I feared for how long now that it knew where I lived.

~~

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[sir--crow]

Will of the Heart

Chapter 2

Word Count: 8.7k

Content: Gender neutral Reader, Angst, Injury, Memory loss, swearing, canon-typical violence, trauma, anxiety

Note: Hi!!! I'm sorry that this took me so long! I got writer's block:( but it's here now!:D This is pretty long, just to warn y'all. Maybe grab a snack or something. Also, I promise that it's gonna get really fluffy here soon, okay? Just hang in there, we gotta get through the angst to get to the fluff>:) I'm so excited to write Chapter 3! I hope you all enjoy though, thanks for waiting! -Nico

After over 20 years of misery and torment, you had the idea that fate wasn’t too kind to you. That you weren’t lucky. 

But surprisingly, that changed. 

As life did.

You let out a sigh, head craned up to look at the motionless blue sky. Rocks and boulders surrounded you as a still heat brushed your skin. Something buzzed ahead of you. 

Your heart raced as a nervous bead of sweat trailed down your neck. You gripped the cane in your hand tighter, feeling the comforting presence of your zanpakuto within. 

Everything was different now. You could laugh, a smile of disbelief twisting your lips. 

After everything that happened for the past 20 years, you now had the audacity to think that you were pretty lucky. 

Insanely lucky, in fact. 

Maybe the universe decided to give you a break. 

You welcomed it. 

Since, a few months ago when you woke up after escaping Hueco Mundo, you weren’t left to face the World of the Living by yourself. After passing out, you thought that you would wake up starved and by yourself. Maybe Aizen would find you and bring you back. Maybe you wouldn’t wake up at all. 

But instead you found yourself in a bed, with two old friends sitting ahead of you. 

They saved you.

Urahara Kisuke and Shihoin Yoruichi.

You couldn’t believe it, but even so they continued to help you without question. 

They couldn’t believe it either, they told you many times. 

So instead of the neverending solitude you thought you were confined to, you were broken free. 

Your physical health was still abysmal, but your spirits were turning around for the better. Connecting with Kisuke and Yoruichi was a dream.

And meeting an unlikely friend.

He was only a human soul– a young one.

Yet he wasn’t immune to the Soul Society’s grasp. 

Just a day after you woke up in Kisuke’s home, Kisuke and Yoruichi left suddenly– only to bring back Kurosaki Ichigo. He was injured from battle, and you learned the overall situation pretty quickly after Tessai brought you up to speed. 

Tessai was also a great surprise to see again. 

He told you about Kuchiki Rukia and how Ichigo became a Substitute Soul Reaper. An odd situation for sure. 

But what caught you by surprise was the fact that the Soul Society brought a Captain and Lieutenant to take care of the human boy. 

It was overkill, barbaric– and smelled of Aizen. 

You didn’t tell Ichigo that though. 

And you could tell that Kisuke and Yoruichi thought the same, but they too, didn’t say anything. Ichigo wouldn’t get it. 

Kurosaki Ichigo did get you though. When Kisuke was training him, you tried to stay out of the way, watching from afar. But you couldn’t help but feel inspired and intrigued by him. So you did something that surprised even yourself. You helped train him with Kisuke.

For the first time in 20 years, fighting was… fun again. It reminded you of why you were a Soul Reaper in the first place. Your Zanpakuto burned in your grasp, a fire sparked again. 

You could live again. You could fight again. 

Even though you and Ichigo didn’t talk too much, you didn’t have to. Training was enough. Sure, he would talk to you about his family and friends during the breaks, but you didn’t talk too much. 

He did teach you about the modern world though.

You snickered at a fond memory.

“That’s an apple? How the hell are you supposed to eat that?” You cocked an eyebrow, leaning down to see the odd device in his hands. 

Ichigo looked taken aback, “What… this is an iphone, an “apple” product. Have you never seen a phone before?” 

You blinked, “I gotta say kid, half of that flew right over my head.” But you hummed as the word “phone” brought back a dusty memory, “The phones I remember are big, have those curly wires, and… well they aren’t that tiny.”

“When was the last time you saw a phone?”

“The 1970s.”

“Well that explains a lot.”

After that, Ichigo showed you the wonders of technology. Who knew that a tiny little brick could hold so much? It wasn’t at all the phones you remembered. Sure, they could still place calls, but there was music too. 

Even now, you stood with headphones around your neck and a wire connecting to a phone in your backpocket. You were exploring the different genres. Everything was amazing. 

The World of the Living changed for the better. 

The music brought a sense of calm into you… but a bittersweet taste in your mouth. 

Your head fell, glaring at the rocky ground as your mind ran amok. 

What music did Shinji listen to now? Maybe you were listening to music constantly just to… feel connected to him. 

You could barely bring yourself to listen to jazz, all it did was bring tears down your face. It brought you back to the nights where you and Shinji would sit on a random rooftop with the sound of jazz below. He always thought that some of the best jazz shows were best experienced above, on the roof, so that you could watch the stars  (and not pay the money to get in, since the Vizards were broke for awhile)

He would sit close, his shoulder brushing yours. His shorter hair fell to his shoulders, but his bangs still hung above his eyes. He was always pretty, but you didn’t say that. 

“We otta’ dance.” He would break the silence, smiling over his shoulder as he stood up. 

“I don’t feel like breaking my neck tonight by falling off the roof, Shinji.” You said, teasing.

“Oh please,” He rolled his eyes, suddenly grabbing your hand and tugging you up against his chest. Your eyes widened as you met his gaze. His eyes softened against yours, “You know I’d catch ya.”

You closed your eyes, shutting off the memory as your heart twisted. Your knuckles turned white as you lifted your head, staring at two adjacent pillars ahead. For the past months, you were building yourself back up so that you could see Shinji again. 

A month ago Yoruichi approached you, and asked if you wanted to see them. She wasn’t one to hold her tongue, and that day you flinched at her question. You wanted to see them all, the Vizards, but at that moment you couldn’t. 

You were still a mess back then, healing and trying to learn how to live again. So you shook your head, not wanting to know anything, because you knew that the moment you knew their location, you would take off in a heartbeat. 

But now? You breathed in the warm air and shook off any nerves. You stood strong as someone flashed nearby. Kisuke stood atop one of the pillars. 

“Thanks for waiting,” He mumbled, “Got everything ready, how about you?” His eyes peered at you below his hat, “You sure you’re ready for this? To see them all again?”

You met his gaze and nodded, no hesitation. You didn’t have the time for that anymore. You were ready for what laid ahead, and you were ready to move forward.

“I am.”

He smiled, and turned his focus to the pillars. Kisuke brought his hands together and spoke the incantation needed, and seconds later the buzzing ahead of you sparked as a portal cut through the sky in Kisuke’s basement. 

“Good luck.”

You nodded once more before flashing into the portal.

You were taking life by the reins now. 

You would bring the change that needed to come.

The Soul Society was just as bright as always, you thought as you pulled your hood up to shield your eyes.

It was also really big too, and you were still getting lost after centuries of your life being spent there.

But your skin prickled as waves of spiritual pressure crashed through the air. Different souls were fighting all over the Gotei 13, and many were familiar. 

A few almost choked you up as the familiarity was almost too much. 

Even so, you flashed up onto the next roof, running atop the many walls within the maze that is the Gotei 13. Soon you were under the shadow of Sokyoku Hill. The air twisted as the battle ahead brought dozens of powerful souls into one place.

The Sokyoku.

You grinned, truly you were going in head first back into the fray. 

But maybe that was for the best. 

Giving your legs a quick stretch as you squatted down, you closed your eyes, focusing on where you wanted to go. Picturing the Sokyoku, you suddenly flashed up leaving a cloud of dust whirling around you. The air ripped around you as the pressure grew tighter. You shot out of the shadow and looked at the situation ahead of you. 

Menos Grande clouded the skies above as they sent down three beacons of light, which surrounded Aizen, Gin, and Tosen. They were nearly at the Garganta above. 

“Goodbye, Soul Reapers.” Aizen said, looking at Ichigo, who laid on the ground, “And goodbye, Ryoka Boy. For a human, you were quite amusing.” Just as the Garganta began to close, his eyes fell on you. His gaze darkened with a venomous glare, and not a second later, the Garganta closed.

You glared up at the now blue sky, feeling chills rake across your skin. Memories ran through your mind at the sight of Aizen. Memories of when… when you considered the man your friend. Memories of when he betrayed you. Memories of when he tortured you. 

But you smiled. He had no power over you now. Previously you thought that seeing him again would break you, and yet, here you were. 

Aizen was the least of your concerns now. You had a reason to be here, a reason to reunite with those who once abandoned you, and a reason to help your new allies. 

You averted your gaze and found Ichigo. He was still laying on the ground. Only seconds had passed since Aizen left, and Ichigo looked to be a mess, so you flashed over to him and gave him a smile.

“Ichigo, long time no see.” A presence flashed next to you as you stopped walking. A captain charged her hand at you, a pointed claw aiming for your heart. You caught it in time, cocking your eyebrow.

“Soi Fon!” Yoruichi shouted, “Stop!”

With your free hand, you took your hood off, “Sad to think that I’m an intruder here now.”

You gripped her hand tightly and shoved her back, her eyes widening. You looked back towards Ichigo and shoved your hands in your pockets. “I see that you attained Bankai, Ichigo. You just keep surprising me, kid.”

He stared up at you, but smiled, “I should say the same thing to you… you did just shove a Captain.” 

“Not my first time,” You shrugged, looking back to see the other Captains looking at you. You could feel the questions burning on your tongue. Some were new, but many were familiar. “Listen kid, you did a good job. I gotta deal with some things now, but I just wanted to check in.” You looked over to Orihime, who seemed to be okay, “You’re in good hands.”

You turned around and started to walk towards Head Captain Yamamoto, Captain Jushiro, and Captain Kyoraku. Your skin burned as Kyoraku stared you down as if he’d seen a ghost. It was hard to keep your cool during that moment, since Kyoraku was a dear friend and mentor to you in the past. But that had to wait. The air stilled as you stood ahead of them, their hands on the hilts of their zanpakutos’. You mirrored them, expression guarded. 

The Head Captain cut to the chase, “Are you an enemy as well?”

An almost cynical smile lifted your lips as you cocked an eyebrow, “I guess I have to paint everything out to you all. It’s why I came here though.” You sighed, your smile bleeding away, “After the betrayal of Aizen, Gin, and Tosen, you all should be thinking about the reports they’ve made, the missions they’ve gone on and interactions they’ve had with Central 46. Think about whether or not their work is now legitimate. That’s including the work that all three of them did over 100 years ago when they declared that myself and my friends were traitors to the Soul Society— as we’ve just seen, it’s quite the opposite. Unlike those traitors, I’m here to help Ichigo who just saved the Soul Society, and if you accept this, then I can help you too.” 

The Head Captain never broke your gaze, but you saw as his hand fell from his hilt. He nodded. “I see. There’s still much explaining that needs to be done.” His voice raised as he suddenly addressed those around, “All available Captains that aren’t injured or aiding with the injured, report to a Captain’s Meeting in 10 minutes.” 

Your eyes widened, but you remained composed. The beating in your chest almost made you dizzy, but this was good. Looking back, Yoruichi gave you a nod before flash stepping away. You joined her and the others until you all stood at Squad 1. 

The large doors were already open, and the Head Captain was already walking towards his chair. Yoruichi leaned against a far wall, her glare pinning down the other Captains present. 

Captain Kyoraku, Ukitake, and the one named Soifon were there. It was quite empty. 

But it was enough. 

Yoruichi’s presence seemed to calm you as your shoulders relaxed. You walked towards the center of the line and crossed your arms. After everything, the Captain’s Meetings that used to be intimidating, were now a piece of cake. 

So you whistled, “Looks like those Ryoka did a number on y’all.” You couldn't help it. 

“Get on with it.” The Head Captain said.

So you did.

You explained everything. You started at the beginning and explained the night from over 100 years ago. How Aizen experimented with Hollowfication and made Kisuke take the downfall for it, even though it was Kisuke who saved you all that night.

However, you spared them the details of the past 100 years. You didn’t explain what the Head Captain didn’t need to hear. So you skipped ahead to the important information: Aizen’s army. 

Weeks ago you decided to return to the Soul Society for this exact reason, to give the Soul Reapers the strongest weapon that could help them win this war: information. Knowledge is power. So you told them everything about Aizen’s Army in Los Noches. They needed to know about the Arrancars, their rankings, and the extent of their powers. However you didn’t specify the individual Espada’s and their numbers, since their rankings change often. It was guaranteed that the Espada you remembered from a year ago were quite different now. So in order to lessen future confusion, you only warned the Captains about the Espada. 

“Don’t even bother sending an Officer to deal with an Espada, or even a Numeros. Anyone less than a Captain, Lieutenant, or a highly ranked Seated Officer will die.” 

The meeting went on for over an hour as the Captains asked you questions about the Kingdom, Los Noches, and Aizen himself. You were able to answer most of them, you were even able to give them an accurate layout of Los Noches. 

But there was one question that made you fall silent.

“How do you know all of this?” It was Soifon. She looked confused, and you understood. You were waiting for this question. 

You opened your mouth, trying to figure out how to explain. How could you? Your eyes flickered over to Yoruichi. She raised her chin, her face impenetrable. But it sparked a fire in you. She remained strong, so would you. 

“I’ll keep it short, but I do owe you all an explanation, since I understand that me knowing this might look suspicious.” Looking at the Head Captain you explained, “Aizen kidnapped me from the others over 20 years ago, wiped me of my memories, and kept me in his Kingdom. It’s why I know so much. I was there, among their ranks, walking in the corridors. At least it’s paying off now because I can give this information to you all. So don’t waste it. Use it. Going into this war on strength alone will get you all killed, and Aizen will succeed. Knowledge will be your greatest weapon.” The Head Captain nodded, but looking at the other Captains, you could see the questions behind their eyes, so you added quickly, “A year ago I regained my memories and escaped. I’m here now to help. Not even for a second was I ever on his side. Never.” A reaping glare painted your face as venom pooled in your mouth, “I promise I’m going to do whatever it takes to stop him.”

The meeting ended shortly thereafter, and the Captains all went their own ways. Dealing with the aftermath after the battle in the Soul Society was their current priority, so you let them be. Even Yoruichi had to leave to take care of her own matters. 

You served your purpose though.

Now it was up to them, but that was for the near future. Now, walking around the many corridors of the Gotei-13, everything was a mess. Rubble littered the streets, and buildings crumbled on the ground. You grinned. 

The human kids kept surprising you. 

There was one place, however, that wasn’t touched, and it didn’t surprise you. Afterall, Aizen plans for everything.

With the sun sinking below the horizon, your face was painted in a golden light as you stared at the Squad 5 barracks. Your heart twisted. After walking with no place in mind for over an hour, you ended up taking the same route you always used to take back home. The same route from over 100 years ago, it was muscle memory. So it shouldn’t come as a shock that you now walked along the Squad 5 corridors. The walls, the floors, everything brought you back to the endless chasm of your memories. 

You shoved your hands in your pockets, looking around at the place with a frown. Even though it wasn’t harmed from the battle, it still looked different. Aizen. It always came back to him. Knowing him, he probably planned the whole battle ahead of time, and made sure that his Squad would be spared. Afterall, he was already so busy with his plans of deception that he had no time to deal with a Ryoka. You bit your cheek, trying to remove him from your mind. 

It was hard to though, because everywhere you looked you saw him. You saw the way he changed the Squad 5 barracks. How he removed the art from the walls, and changed the management. Your eyes followed the young Soul Reapers who ran with their Seated Officer. They were thin, each carrying a book of Kido on their belts. 

Passing by the training grounds, your stomach dropped as you saw the lines of targets and dummies spread about the stage. It was different. You could already see why. 

Back when Aizen was a Lieutenant, you remembered how he spoke to Shinji about changing the Training grounds to focus on Kido instead of sparring sessions. You disagreed. You thought that there should be a good balance between Kido skills and physical strength. When you were a 5th Seat, you trained your squad in physical spars, focusing on hand-to-hand combat and swordsmanship. Sure, Kido was also something you found important and excelled at too. But if an opponent could easily evade and slip by your Kido, then you needed to be able to protect yourself. So you focused on both. It was something you and Aizen would bicker about for hours on end. Shinji never cared for Aizen’s opinion though, so nothing happened. 

At least, not until Aizen betrayed you both. 

You let out a breath, trying to calm down. A repeated thump echoed in your ears as you heard your heart race. Your footsteps grew quicker as you walked down the hallway, trying to get away from the memory. 

Yet you walked right into another one. 

A deeply painful one. 

Your eyes widened as your heart nearly stopped as you walked in front of the Captain’s Barracks. 

The old one, you should say. 

Shinji’s old Barracks. 

Your hand clenched your chest as you stared at the large white doors, now closed off with a tiny sign on it that said “Storage”. 

Of course Aizen made Shinji’s old room Storage, the ungrateful prick. 

Slowly walking forward, you sucked in a breath when you realized the old railing was gone. The deck was open, facing the green yard that looked the same as before. Your eyes burned. 

You came to a stop, letting out a long breath. Closing your eyes, you calmed yourself. Walking forward, you slowly let yourself sit down, legs dangling off the deck. Your head fell. 

It was this spot, you thought, this exact spot that you and Shinji would sit at. He would sometimes sit atop the railing, his long hair draping down. Sometimes you would join him. 

Most times you two would sit on the deck, legs poking out the railing as your heads leaned against the bars. His hair would pool on the floor, and you would laugh whenever someone got close to walking on it. He would yelp as you cried with laughter. He was a mess. 

He truly was. 

It was why, for the first 70 years of you being his 5th Seat, that you didn’t get along. 

Not at all. 

But that all changed when you were sent on a mission. 

Your hands balled into fists at the thought of it. That mission… 

“Thought I would find you here.” You jumped as someone sat down beside you, your head twisting to your left only to find Kyoraku Shunsui smiling at you. “Long time no see.” 

You smiled, “I know, an hour is quite a while.”

“You know what I mean.” He laughed, but his smile fell as his eyes grew serious, “110 years.” He shook his head, your name falling from his lips, “I couldn’t believe it, still can’t.”

Your lips tightened into a straight line, your chest aching, “I know.” A palpable silence fell between you two. You both looked forward to the grass, the sky above now dark. Clouds blanketed the sky. Yet you felt warm with his eyes on your face. 

“Nanao, my Lieutenant, won’t be happy with me, but I had to find you. I couldn’t just see you leave again without saying anything.” Your eyes widened. 

“How did you know I’m leaving again?”

He smiled, “I know you. It’s why I knew to come here, you’re going back to him, right?” 

Your eyes fell to your lap, “I have to find him first.”

Kyoraku raised an eyebrow, “What do you mean? I thought you would’ve stuck together.” 

You looked at him, frowning, “We did. For decades we stuck together, learning how to control our hollows together, but 20 years ago was the last time I saw them.”

“When Aizen…” 

“Yeah.”

“Then,” Kyoraku mumbled, “Why isn’t Kisuke with them?”

Your eyes screwed up in thought, “I don’t know. Kisuke would sometimes go off somewhere else during our travels, since we could never stay at one place for too long. But this time is different.” Since it was just the two of you, you let your guard down and explained more, “When I got back into the World of the Living a few months ago, Kisuke and Yoruichi found me. It was just them, and Tessai-”

“-Tessai! I hope he’s doing okay.” 

You smiled, “He is! But the others weren’t there. Yoruichi offered to tell me where they were, so it seems like they’re still in contact, but I declined.”

“Why?”

You stayed silent for a moment, trying to find the right words, “I wasn’t ready. When I didn’t have my memories, it was like… I was a different person. Getting them back, I had to acquaint myself with… myself? Combining those two individuals, those two worlds, it took time.” You looked at the palm of your hand, stretching your fingers, “I was angry, confused, and… lost. Meeting Ichigo and his friends honestly helped a lot. Seeing someone outside of that darkness helped me see the light again. He reminded me of myself, and finally I feel like me again. And I feel ready to see the others.”

Kyoraku was silent, his gaze falling to the grass. His eyes darkened with a glare, “For years I couldn’t accept the fact that you were a part of that incident. That you and my Lieutenant, and my friends, were experimenting with hollowfication. I couldn’t.” He closed his eyes and sucked in a breath, “And I can’t believe that the one responsible for all of this was Aizen this whole time. That bastard.” 

You hummed with a nod, “Yeah, we couldn’t either.”

Kyoraku shook his head, “To think that he had you trapped for 20 years too… I’m glad you’re back now. Even if it’s just for a little while.”

You gave him a smile, “I’m not going away forever. I’m not even going away for a century again. I’m fighting alongside you guys in this battle, so you’re not getting rid of me anytime soon.” 

He smiled, “Good, I know we’ll need your strength. I’m sure you’re 10 times as strong as you were when I first found you… how long ago was that now?”

You let out a sigh, thinking back with a smile, “I think over 300 years ago? I can’t believe it. You know, I’m so happy that I met you all those years ago. When I was lost in Hueco Mundo, before Aizen took me, I thought a lot about what I would say to everyone. Including you.” You swallowed a lump in your throat as you said, “If I hadn’t met you, I never would’ve become a Soul Reaper. I never would’ve met all of the amazing people in my life right now. I never would’ve… I never would’ve met Shinji– and the others.” You smiled, “I learned so much from you, and I’m so happy that you were my first Captain. Thank you for sticking with me, Kyoraku.”

Looking over to him, your eyes widened when you saw his eyes glossed over. Your mouth opened as you were about to apologize, but only a gasp left your throat as he pulled you into a big hug. His arms wrapped tightly around you. 

He mumbled, “Makin’ me cry, you’re something else.” 

You were shocked, so you did what you usually do when you were shocked or nervous, you joked, “I’m amazing, that’s what.” 

He laughed, pulling back from the hug with a smile, “You know, all of those years ago when I sent you over to Squad 5, I was nervous, but I shouldn’t have been. I’m happy you and Shinji became close, you even sound like him.” 

Your face grew warm, but you couldn’t help but ask, “What were you nervous about?”

He cocked an eyebrow, looking at you as if you were dumb, “You two hated each other! For years! Decades! I thought I screwed up, but then that changed and boy I was relieved. In fact, you two got started to get along so well that… well I’m shocked that you haven’t found him already.” 

“I…” You were left speechless. Your face flushed over as you stumbled over your words. “I never hated him. He was just– frustrating.”

Kyoraku must’ve decided to punish you more, because he pushed your shoulder lightly as he teased, “I mean, you two at the Soul Ball? Come on.”

“Ah!” You glared at him, “You come on!” You felt on fire as you turned away, biting your cheek. “We’re best friends.” You said, but for whatever reason, you felt pretty stupid. Your heart raced as you thought of him, and you knew deep down that what you had just said was a lie. 

Shinji was so much more than that. 

Your smile fell. He was so much more, and yet you haven't seen him in over 20 years. You forgot him. You couldn’t say what his life was like right now, you couldn’t say what his feelings were, and you had no right assuming things would be like they were decades ago. 

Time had passed. 

So you ignored the burning ache in your heart and said, “We’re best friends, and I’m going to find him and the others again.”

Kyoraku sighed, but still smiled, “I know you will. Just remember to pay me a visit, okay?” 

“Okay.” You smiled back. 

Once again, you were standing before two grand pillars, waiting for the door ahead of you to be opened. Your mind was running amok as usual. You were thinking about Kyoraku and the conversation you just had just a few hours ago. He had walked you over to the Senkaimon before saying goodbye. The sky was pitch black with the darkened clouds, but you knew that morning was just around the corner. The others would be waking up soon, and would realize you left early. Ichigo wouldn’t be happy, but you couldn’t wait around. 

Especially after that talk. 

All you could think about was how Kyoraku thought you hated Shinji in the beginning. 

You didn’t. 

He was frustrating. 

That’s what you thought almost 200 years ago when you first joined his Squad. 

When you first met him, Shinji had long hair that fell well below his shoulders. He had a constant frown that showed his large teeth, yet a face that was almost unreadable. Maybe that’s what irked you in the first place, the fact that you couldn’t predict him. 

Everything that you thought he would do, he would do the opposite. With a smile he’d say something so rude that you were rendered speechless, yet in the same day, he would frown and look away, looking like he wanted to kill someone, but instead you would be left speechless again as he’d say the nicest words. 

You couldn’t read him. 

And that really bothered you, especially during one of your first missions with him. 

Shinji, Aizen, and several others in your Squad were sent on a mission to escort an important figure to their home after a meeting in the Gotei-13. It was supposed to be a simple mission, one that you were used to, especially since you used to be a guard before a Soul Reaper. 

However, you should’ve expected the opposite. 

A large hollow appeared, strong enough to take out several officers. Immediately you jumped into action. Flash stepping forward, you unsheathed your Zanpakuto and aimed it towards the Hollow’s mask. Yet the air was ripped out of your lungs as an arm wrapped around your waist, tugging you back. You gasped, looking back only to see blonde hair falling around you. You were met with Shinji’s frown, his arm letting go of you. 

“Arentcha’ a fast one? Nearly sliced my hair tryin’ t’catch ya.” He brought his hair back behind his shoulders, “Don’t ya worry about that. Sosuke will handle it. You just look over your Officers, my fast 5th Seat.” He grinned at you before walking back towards Aizen, jutting his thumb back towards the Hollow. That next second, Aizen killed it. 

You didn’t understand. 

Maybe it was your previous Squad, or maybe it was before that from when you were a guard. But you were always under the idea that those of a higher rank let their subordinates do the work. That you would handle everything before they so much as touch their sword. 

When you became Lisa’s assistant in Squad 8, you always did everything. She didn’t care too much about it, but she never said otherwise. 

But this? 

This was different. 

The thought of it all unfolding in front of you, and you just standing there– watching. Your mouth curled into a frown. You didn’t like it. You felt useless. Why didn’t he tell you beforehand? Questions ran through your head, and that night you found yourself in his barracks, ready to voice your concerns. 

“Captain, I was more than capable of handling the situation, you didn’t have to send Lieutenant Aizen.” 

Shinji looked up at you from his paperwork, frowning. He stood up with a sigh, looking as if he could hardly care about anything. It pissed you off. 

“I haven’t seen ya’ fight yet, I don’t know that.” He was blunt. Your heart dropped to your stomach as you glared at him. 

“I can promise you that I’m strong enough to defeat a hollow like that. If you don’t believe in me, then why did you accept me as your 5th Seat?” You said, your heart hammering in your chest as he looked at you, indifferent. He tilted his head slightly, a long strand of his hair falling from his shoulder and swaying against his chest. 

“Because I believe in Captain Kyoraku.” He stepped closer to you, placing his hand on his desk right beside you, “And let’s say thatcha’ do fight that Hollow. Ya’ have your officers t’look after, can’t have ya all tired after a fight. Aizen just has himself to look after. It would’ve been more of a burden on ya to defeat that thing, so I let Aizen handle it. That’s all.”

Your mouth opened as you tried to find something to say. Anything. Your chest burned with anger as his eyes looked down into yours. It was unnerving. He was looking after you? What the hell. 

You didn’t understand him. 

“It would’ve been a burden? I would’ve been fine. You don’t have to worry about that.” You said, furrowing your eyebrows in frustration. 

Shinji sighed again and leaned down closer, “I’m your Captain. I’ll decide who I worry about. Got that?” 

You left that night confused and angry. It was like that for years, but it slowly bled into annoyance rather than anger. Shinji mirrored you. There were missions where you would go out of your way to help your team, and Shinji would get on your case. Your Officers even joked about how there was never a moment where the two of you weren’t at odds. 

“I told ya to let Squad 10 handle it!” Shinji once snapped, throwing his report of the mission on his desk as he stood up, “Look at ya!” You glared at him, sitting in the desk across his desk, bandaged with your arm in a cast. 

“I’m fine!” You tried to get up to prove your point but cringed in pain and fell back into the chair with a huff. “Just ignore that!”

Shinji glared at you, “Ya really aren’t making this easy, arentcha’?” 

You scoffed, “As if you are.”

That was just one incident. There were many. Many arguments. Many weeks when the two of you wouldn’t talk. Times where Shinji would call you into his office begrudgingly only for the two of you to bicker the whole time. 

“Enough.” Aizen once interrupted, “Captain, this is getting old.”

“Like him.” You snickered. 

Shinji glared at you, “We’re the same age, idiot.”

“Oh please.” You scoffed, looking at Aizen, “See what I have to deal with? I’m sure you get it”

“I’m right here.”

“He can be testy.” Aizen nodded, “But we’re here to talk about the report.”

“Testy?!” 

“I put it on your desk yesterday.” You said.

“Oh!” Aizen brightened up, “Thank you Officer.” Shinji was sitting at his desk across from you, still grumbling to himself about being testy, when Aizen kicked his chair. Shinji looked at Aizen before letting out a sigh. 

“Thank you.” 

“Oh wow!” You clapped your hands together, “Did I hear that right? Was that a thank you?” 

“Don’tcha get used to it. You're dismissed.” Shinji waved you away while you laughed, nearly skipping out of the room. 

Most of your fights were harmless though. There was just always… something. A tension whenever you walked into the room. For many decades, he was just your pesky Captain. That was it. 

But around 70 years in, the two of you had your first full blown fight that left the both in a fit of anger. True anger. Not just annoyance. 

It was all because of that mission. 

The mission that you, Shinji, Captain of Squad 12 Urahara Kisuke, and Lieutenant of Squad 12 Sarugaki Hiyori, were assigned to. 

But it was that fight that changed everything. 

Because you nearly died right after it. 

The Senkaimon was opened as you dwelled in your own thoughts, and just as soon as it opened, you shot forward and walked towards the World of the Living. Kyoraku’s words were stuck in your head. They made you think about the past, and how so much changed.

How you and Shinji became best friends. 

How the two of you became Vizards together. 

How you were separated before you could say anything about your new feelings. 

And how you now needed to find him.

So you shot forward until you saw a bright light. You felt a warm air brush your face as you fell down, the city lights dotting your vision. They grew closer as you let yourself fall into Karakuta town. Landing on top of a building, you centered yourself and looked ahead. 

Flash stepping immediately, you headed towards Kisuke’s candy shack. In your agreement to go to the Soul Society, you told him that you would come back early, so that he would know everything that happened before everyone came back. 

But he probably already knew, since he was just like Aizen. Always guessing everything beforehand. 

Kisuke wasn’t shocked when you told him everything that happened. The two of you sat in his room, sipping some tea as Tessai leaned against the wall listening. 

Kisuke was actually pleased. Though he did look worried when you told him about Aizen and Ichigo. How Aizen got the Hogyoku and how he told Ichigo about Kisuke. You were a bit ticked off about that too, honestly, but you always gave Kisuke a chance to explain himself. Because for his crazy actions, he usually had a good reason behind them. 

You were used to his antics. 

He explained himself, but you didn’t want him to explain himself to you– no, he needed to explain that to Rukia. You knew that he would though. 

Ichigo told him the same thing. Days had passed, and once Ichigo finally returned, he told Kisuke the same thing when Kisuke tried to apologize. You smiled. You had a few hundred years under your belt, but the kid only had 15 and yet was a wise dude. 

You were happy to support him in the upcoming war, because he truly didn’t need to fight in it, yet he was roped in like the rest of you. 

You felt bad. He was just a kid. He didn’t deserve to have his whole life uprooted because of Aizen and the Soul Society. He was alive. He deserved to live and be a kid. Along with his friends. They all deserved that. 

But life was taking Ichigo down a different path. One that concerned you. 

Just a few days after Ichigo’s arrival, and just a few days into your search for Shinji and the others, you dropped everything once you felt a new change in Ichigo’s spiritual pressure. 

Ichigo’s hollow. 

It struck you in the heart like poison. You felt it across town, its strength. Its anger. Chills raked down your spine as you immediately flash stepped in his direction. You felt it before, way before Ichigo even went to the Soul Society. You could feel something deep down, something sinister. It reminded you of your own hollow. 

But now?

You knew this feeling. It was out of control. 

So in the middle of the night in Karakuta, you ran along the streets towards Ichigo. Something akin to fear gripped your soul as the feeling brought you back to your hollowfication. The loss of control. The overwhelming thoughts. The pain. 

He was just a kid. 

You swallowed your fear and ran closer, feeling his energy buzzing through the air. Looking around, you felt it swell as something else clashed with him. 

You were in a dark neighborhood, and Ichigo wasn’t in your sight. Not until you looked up. 

You looked up and saw him. 

Your heart froze. Your mouth fell open as your heart twisted, tears burning in your eyes. Trembling, you cupped your mouth as your knees buckled. 

Ichigo was there, but across from him was someone you didn’t expect nor sense. 

Hirako Shinji.

You were frozen in time. The moon shined against his now short blonde hair. He was smiling. 

That smile. 

Tears flowed down your cheeks as you begged your legs to move. You tried to summon your strength to get up. Just get up! 

But you couldn’t. 

The weight of everything chained you to the ground. You saw as they spoke, his sword sparkling under the moonlight. They were arguing. 

Your ears rang. 

He was thinner. His eyes were darker… Shinji he was– you hadn’t seen him since–

You bit your lip, body trembling as you fell into a memory you tried so hard to repress.

You were on a street like this, in a suburban town in the World of the Living. It was at the height of the day, the summer sun beaming down on your skin. Sweat pooled on your forehead as you smiled. Lisa laughed beside you as the other Vizards walked ahead. 

“I think I might go for it, it couldn’t hurt to get some more money for us.” She scratched her neck, her braid swaying behind her. You nodded along. 

“I think you just wanna shove your nose in magazines without us shouting at you, and get paid for it.” You snickered. 

“Hey!” She pointed a finger at you, “Magazines are really becoming popular right now. Selling them will be a breeze! I won’t be reading… that much.” 

“No judgment here.” You raised your hands in defense, “Those women are pretty, I get it.” You didn’t have a preference when it comes to people, though you found that at that moment you preferred blonde dudes. 

Specifically the blonde up ahead who leaned his head back and smiled at you, “Lisa, dontcha’ go ropin’ them into your addiction.” 

“Shinji! You!--” Lisa was cut off when a massive spiritual pressure appeared. You all froze, skin trembling as something roared in the distance. With no hesitation, most of the Vizards shot towards it. Usually you all ignored hollows because there was always a Soul Reaper nearby– but this was different. You were right behind them, until you felt another pressure. 

It was smaller, but looking back, you saw that it was near the park you all walked by just a few minutes ago. 

A park that had the ghost of a small girl playing in it. 

You spun around and shot towards that pressure, leaving the other hollow to them. You swallowed a tiny pill, and shot out of your Gigai. Grabbing your Zanpakuto, you flashed into the park. Surrounded by trees now, you saw the girl trembling in the center as a skinnier hollow with a bug-like mask and wings towered over her. It had claws like a praying mantis, and one was coming down for the girl’s head. You dashed forward, and blocked it with your Zanpakuto right before it hit her. She screamed. 

“Get back! Run! You’ll be okay!” You panted, shoving the hollow back. It roared in pain as a cut appeared on its arm. But something turned in your gut– something was wrong. Its glowing red eyes burned in hatred at you. 

Opening its mouth, a red beam started to form. Your eyes opened in shock. 

 A cero? At this range? 

Hollows couldn’t produce ceros! Only Menos could! 

You braced yourself in front of the girl as the red beam shot towards you. Closing your eyes, you sucked in a breath. 

Nothing came. 

Your eyes opened, but you were only met with a green robe. Kisuke stood ahead of you, his Zanpakuto released and a red barrier protecting you. 

“Kisuke! How– that doesn’t matter, thank you!” You smiled. 

“Where are the others?” 

“They went towards the other hollow!” You explained, guarding yourself as the hollow roared again. “Why is this hollow able to use a cero?”

“I don’t know.” Kisuke muttered, glaring at the hollow, “It looks like it's been strengthened. That would need outside interference though, from a Soul Reaper.” 

Your stomach dropped at the connotation. You had no time to think about it though, because the hollow flew forward, buzzing with its powerful spiritual pressure. Kisuke blocked its attack as you dashed forward, but suddenly two more arms came from its back and sliced your arm. You gritted your teeth as it flew back. Kisuke rushed forward and cut one of its arms off, you tore your shirt and wrapped your arm before joining in again. You ran forward, Zanpakuto screeching as you were ready to cut off its head. But just as you were, the Hollow opened its mouth and its tongue shot out. It wrapped around Kisuke, moving Kisuke in front of it. Its eyes glimmered, almost pleased. 

You heard Kisuke’s statement from before echoing in your head. Outside interference. Soul Reaper interference. 

Your stomach lurched as you clenched your teeth. You shot forward and slashed the tongue from around Kisuke within a second. Kisuke’s eyes widened as you kicked him out of the way. You didn’t know what was happening, but you knew that this hollow was dangerous. 

And you couldn’t lose Kisuke. 

If what you thought was true, if Aizen was involved, then it would make sense that he would target Kisuke. 

The Vizards couldn’t lose Kisuke. Kisuke had his research and his brilliance. You couldn’t let anything happen to him. 

So you stabbed the hollow in the chest, glaring at it. Its eyes flickered in panic. 

Your eyes widened when something crashed around you, dust whirling in the air. Looking up, you saw a yellow film surrounding you. Your heart froze as you saw a black hole torn in the sky above you. 

It was a Negacion. 

You learned about it in the academy. It was a rare method that Gillians use to retrieve their own and send them to Hueco Mundo. 

It’s impossible to break. 

Your mouth trembled as you slowly looked back down at the hollow, glaring at you. Your body quivered as the realization dawned– you were captured. 

They wanted Kisuke, but got you. 

You heard your name screamed from behind you. Clenching your teeth, you sliced the hollow in half with a frustrated yell. Whipping your head back, you saw Kisuke stare at you, his eyes widened. The ground below you started to rumble as it was pulled from the ground. It was hard to breathe. You looked around the small space, desperate for anything. It was hard to breathe. Your trembling hand came up to your aching chest as the ground started to float up. 

It was hard to breathe. 

“Kisuke!” You screamed in a panic. You heard him muttering something below until suddenly he yelled out a Hado. A brilliant light crashed against the Negacion. Your eyes closed as you braced yourself again, your arms covering your face.

But nothing came again. 

Opening your glossed over eyes, you still saw the yellow film. You felt your throat close as you looked over and saw the ground retreating below you. Kisuke looked up, his eyes widened in a panic as well. 

Tears began to pool in your eyes, until you felt a presence. Many. 

The vizards suddenly flashed around Kisuke, staring up at you. You felt your heart freeze as your eyes met Shinji’s. 

Your hand pressed against the yellow film as you fell to your knees. It burned against your hand, but it didn’t compare at all to the pain of seeing his face. 

Dread. Panic. Fear. 

Horror. 

Shinji screamed your name as he shot up towards you. The Negacion sparked as Shinji tried slashing it. Nothing happened. He banged his fist on it, but he only yelled out in pain. When he finally made it up to you, tears flowed down your face. He was breathing heavily, his eyes darting around as he mumbled your name. You knew that he was trying to figure out how to get you out. 

You knew Shinji. You knew that he would do anything. You learned that a long time ago. That was Shinji. 

He would put himself in front of his Squad as a Captain, and it drove you insane for years since you were so used to the opposite being done. He would do anything for those he cared for. 

And you would do the same thing. 

“Shinji.” You said, trying to calm your breathing, “Look at me.” Shinji was in a daze, still flying up with you as he tried to figure something out. Your heart twisted in a panic, “Look at me!” You yelled. 

Shinji snapped out of it, his eyes finally finding yours. 

“There you are.” You gave him a quivering smile, “Listen to me, I’ll be okay. I’ll find my way back to you all, okay? Just promise me that you’ll stay here. Stay here and stay safe, okay?”

His mouth opened as his eyes glossed over. Your heart twisted painfully as you saw him break, his lip quivering. 

“Shinji, I need to hear you. Please.” You choked out. 

He blinked, a tear rolling down his cheek as he brought a hand up. He placed it against the Negacion, where your hand was. “I promise.” He whispered. 

The Negacion sparked between your hands, and a blast sent Shinji flying back. 

“Shinji!” You screamed. He fell back, to where the others were, but got back up right away to look up at you. You saw the others also looking up. Their faces were hardly recognizable now as you flew into the sky. You didn’t look up. You didn’t know how much time you had. Heart racing, you yelled out, “I promise I’ll find you all again!”

Then it all went dark. 

Now you kneeled in the darkness of the night, a flickering lamp post bringing you back to your senses. You were panting, sweat dripping down your face. You felt like you were going to be sick. 

You swallowed your emotions and looked up again to see Shinji alone now, talking on his phone. He looked different from 20 years ago, his hair was shorter, and he was leaner. 

But he was still– he was still Shinji. He was beautiful against the moonlight, and his smile captured your soul again. 

You could only stare, frozen against time, as Shinji started to move away from you once again. Just like before, you couldn’t do anything but watch his retreating figure. 

You wanted to move, to run after him, to do anything! 

“Pathetic.” You heard a familiar voice murmur in your ear. Your hollow glared down at you, “Chaining yourself again?”

You bit your lip, glaring back up at them, “Fuck off.” 

Yet another voice entered your mind, a deeper one from years ago. Your Zanpakuto. They repeated something they once said to you, “Can you become strong enough to break the chains binding you?”

This question rang in your mind as you glared at your hollow. You bit your cheek, the taste of iron pooling in your mouth, as you stood up. Your hollow’s smile fell as it faded away. 

“Fine then.” It muttered before retreating back into your mind. You were left alone again, on the street with nobody in sight. 

Shinji was gone. 

But you smiled. 

With the moon shining against your face you walked forward. Shinji was alive. You saw him, and that was enough to light that fire in you again. 

Because you knew that come tomorrow, you would face him with nothing holding you back. 

You have a promise to keep afterall. 

Author's note: I know I know! lots of angst! and i've possibly added in some enemies to friends to lovers>:) also sorry if the later part of the chapter is a bit off or something, i'm pretty tired so I'll look at it in the morning to see if I missed any mistakes:) thanks for reading! <333

[batsandbugs]

Bruce Wayne's Headache Classification System Chapter 4

IKEA Verse

AN: I'm so sorry for disappearing for months again, things have been very hectic for me, but I finally got this done so at least I'm starting off the new year strong. No promises as to when the next one comes out. I hope y'all enjoyed this fun little look at the girls. I wish I included them in the first story, but I wasn't thinking at the time. I choose Steph for the POV because I felt her internal snide commentary could help balance Cass's more quiet reserve. There was an alternative ending for this that had Marinette using her powers more, but I decided to go with something softer and mushy. It felt in line with where Marinette would be comfortable showing the depths of her powers and continuing to drive the Batfam insane by not finding out how her powers work.

Chapter 4: Interlude - The Stalking of Daminette, a Treatise by Steph and Cass

Slate grey skies hang heavy over Gotham promising rain. The city isn’t any less busy for it, especially not during the day when most sane people agree, on average, it’s safer to conduct one’s business. Steph thinks that’s boring of them, but eh, she parkours over rooftops and punches goons as a night job, so maybe she’s the crazy one.

Wait. Weather. Grey Skies. Rain on the horizon and all that jazz.

Not the best of circumstances for a stakeout, but they’ve survived worse.

The rooftop they posted themselves on is comfy at least. No bird’s nests, piles of beer bottles, or scattered needles. Not too high they can’t observe the streets below. But not too low to the ground for people to notice they’re hanging out up here. Which is, strictly speaking, not exactly legal.

Also, they don’t want Damian to spot them.

Steph sighs, peering down at the coffee shop she knows Damian is sitting at, but she can’t see. She pops an M&M in her mouth and nudges Cass. “Pass me the binoculars?”

Cass lowers the equipment with a blank face stare. Well, blank face to anyone who wasn’t siblings with her. Steph is familiar with her pseudo-adopted sister’s micro-expressions. This one read clear as day, ‘why didn’t you bring your own?’ 

Steph blows out a frustrated pout, “I forgot, okay? Damian slipped out of the manor all wily and suspiciously and we followed him on a whim. I didn’t think to grab them. Couldn’t figure we’d pull a stakeout on our own little brother.” 

Cass signs, “I had mine with me.”

“Yeah, well we don’t all hide stakeout equipment on us at all times like over-paranoid busybodies!”

“You had snacks on you.”

Without a trace of guilt, Steph grabs another M&M and places it in her mouth. “Snacks are not surveillance equipment. They’re a normal thing to keep in your bag.”

“Your bag also contains mace, a taser, and smoke pellets too.”

“It’s Gotham, sis. That’s just best practice.”   

Cass rolls her eyes, but hands over the binoculars. 

“Yay! Thanks.” Steph places them to her eyes. It takes a second to adjust before she focuses on the cafe down the street. Damian sits at an outdoor table, alone, sipping a drink out of one of those tiny white teacups.

Pshh, what a pretentious little twerp.

“Wonder who he’s meeting?”

“IKEA girl?” Cass says aloud softly since Steph’s looking down the street and can’t read her hands.

Steph grins wildly, searching blindly for another M&M with one hand, holding the binoculars steady with the other. “Oh, I hope so. Timmy’s frantic rambling over her is the most entertained I’ve been all year. And Jay’s spittin’ steam over her little trick on him.” 

“Dick’s worried.” 

Steph waves a hand clutching three pieces of candy with a careless air. “Dick’s always worried, Cass. He’s a serial worrier. He doesn’t know how to do anything but worry.” 

Steph pops the chocolate into her mouth, watching Damian peer up from his phone and scan the street with keen eyes. She’s, like, seventy-two percent sure he doesn’t know they’re watching him. After all, they’re halfway down the street, fifteen stories up, lying belly down on the roof of an office building. But it is Damian. The League and Bruce trained him. Steph’s still convinced the little brat has the psychic power to know when he’s followed. 

“No info.” 

Steph sighs at the short-remark reminder of her family’s tendencies to stick their noses fucking everywhere. “Yeah, well maybe she has decent cyber security for her life. More people need to do it these days.”

Silence. 

Groaning, Steph grabs another few M&Ms out of pure stress. “You went looking too, didn’t you?” 

“Little brother.” 

Good lord, this family. They’re lucky she loves them so much.

“Yeah, yeah, I care about the brat too, doesn’t mean he needs his hand held constantly. He can make his own choices. Including hanging out with people, regardless of if his extremely invasive family managed to compile a dossier on her entire life.” 

“You said we follow.” 

Steph scoffs through a mouth of chocolate, “Yeah, ‘cause he was actin’ sus, just because I think we should leave her alone doesn’t mean I don’t think we should annoy him by stalking his date.” She focuses back on Damian. “Plus,” she mutters. “I don’t want to deal with Bruce bitchin’ about that car chase we pulled with the Volkov Family gang members, so this seemed like the better option.”

It wasn’t their fault the stupid goons running point from the pet shop’s back room decided to run on them.

“We helped,” says Cass resolutely.

“I don’t think B will see it that way.” Steph readjusts the binoculars and notices Damian’s attention sharpening. He looks out onto the sidewalk, eyes focusing on a person drawing closer. “Oh, oh, oh I think she’s here!”

There, approaching the café, in the cutest little yellow dress, a woman approaches and pauses by Damian’s table. Thanks to the high-tech binoculars she can view every emotion flickering across Damian’s face as his newest acquaintance greets him. He places down his cup and vacates his seat, pulling out the opposite chair and allowing the young woman to sit, before retaking his own.

Steph whistles lowly.

“Hmm…” prompts Cass.

“I- I don’t think the others are joking. He- he just pulled out her chair for her.” They are all capable of manners. Alfred made sure of that. Even for those in the family who’d joined later. (The disparity between the manners the Drakes’ taught Tim and the actual behavior expected of a Wayne was night and day and not in a good way. Meanwhile, people like Cass or Damian needed teaching ground up how to interact with people without pulling weapons on them. Quite frankly so did the rest of them, but Alfred was unafraid and whipped them all (metaphorically) into shape.)

So, yeah, manners.

Something they all could do.

But not necessarily likely to be performed by all.

Especially Damian.

Damian is like a feral raccoon who wields a bowie knife when it comes to Untested People. Short. Prickly. Rude in the way where you know you’re getting insulted, but the conversation already turned the corner and you stand there, shell-shocked, that this kid verbally bested you six ways to Sunday.

Of course, Damian isn’t much of a kid nowadays.

Standing as tall as Bruce and starting to shake off the lankiness of his teen years, Damian was growing into, as a posher person might say, 'a fine young man’. Steph still remembers him as that little feral kid, who only smiled when besting others or petting furry creatures. But no, now he’s smiling at other things. Adult things. Things that happened to include pretty French girls.

“She’s dangerous,” says Cass.

Steph pulls down her binoculars to find Cass peering at the seated couple with her phone, camera mode engaged, and zoomed in to see their interactions.

“Why didn’t you use that in the first place?!” Steph asks, annoyed. Reaching towards the candy wrapper her fingers find empty plastic. Damn it.  

 Cass narrows her eyes at her screen, ignoring the question. Steph huffs. Rude.

“What do you mean dangerous?” Replacing the binoculars, she focuses back on the couple. If she didn’t know who Damian was, her eyes would slip over them as another pair of lovebirds, eking out a final moment of good weather before Gotham’s stormy ways crushed the vibe. “She’s a little slip of nothing.”

“So am I.”

Steph rolls her eyes. “Yeah, but you were trained to fight since birth. She looks like the human embodiment of sunshine.” And the woman does. From this angle, she sees both their faces while they talk. The girl, Marinette, has sleek black hair possessing a blueish shine. Striking bright blue eyes and a smile that lit her face like the summer sun contribute to the overall impression this was a very normal, very friendly person.

“Looks are deceiving.”

“Of course, they can, and I’m not sayin’ she’s not sus, but…” she gestures down. “Look at them! This is the most normal I remember Damian acting in his life. Would he do that, could he really do that if he thought she was dangerous?”

“Hmm.”

“Don’t ‘hmm’ me! I’m serious! Sure, she might have powers, so what? Lots of people are magical and metas these days. Doesn’t mean she’s inherently dangerous.”

“No info.”

“Good security.”

“Something to hide.”

“A healthy sense of caution.”

Cass snorts. “She moved to Gotham.”

Steph pauses. And yeah, when you consider where the girl came from (Paris! Freaking Paris) and what she was studying… Moving to Gotham for a fashion degree sounds like moving to Las Vegas to join a nunnery.

“Yeah, okay that’s weird, I fully admit that. But maybe she has, like, I dunno? A danger kink or somethin’?” Steph shrugs. “Which, you know, is kinda good 'cause I think the demon brat has one too, so they’re like a match made for each other.”

Cass shoots her a highly unimpressed look.

“What!? At least I’m trying to think of somethin’ plausible, instead of jumpin’ to the doomsday scenario like the rest of you paranoid weirdos.” She turns back to her binoculars and her long-distance observing. “Listen, doin’ the whole overbearing intrusive family routine maybe isn’t the best way to act the first time Damian has, voluntarily, shown interest in a person more than complimentin’ their fightin’ skills.”

She places the binoculars back up to her eyes and watches Damian and Marinette chat. Damian’s smile hasn’t disappeared yet. In fact, it’s grown even larger. Marinette says something, her accent strong enough to throw Steph off on the exact words, and Damian throws back his head in laughter.

It’s a normal human reaction, laughing with such abandon. But it’s so not for Damian, that Steph’s mouth drops open in shock.

“Please tell me you took a picture of that?” she asks. Dick is so bound to freak the fuck out when he sees this.

“Mh hmm,” Cass hums in agreement.

They probably spend another thirty minutes watching the young couple. Cass takes pictures, and Steph makes commentary whenever Damian or Marinette looks sickeningly sweet. Cass sends the photos over to Steph’s phone, and in turn, she sends them to Dick. Most people would probably find it mind-numbingly boring, but both of them spend hours casing joints and running point of stakeouts before, so less than an hour is easy. But as the top of the hour approaches, the grey skies grow darker, and rumbling thunder appears.

Steph watches Damian blink as if shocked the weather suddenly turned bad.

Shit. Bruce would so kill him for that lack of awareness. “He’s in so deep,” she mutters.

“No covering. Will get wet,” Cass warns about their own situation.

Steph sighs, placing down her binoculars. “Shit, yeah, you’re right. Damn it, I wanted to keep watching them.”

Cass tucks the phone into her pocket with a sly smile and signs, “I took plenty of photos. We should go and find cover. Can’t head home yet because we took the bikes.”

“Yeah,” Steph mutters. Quickly though, she grabs the binoculars again and looks back at Damian and Marinette. The couple grabs their umbrellas – smart of them, too bad Steph didn’t think of those when she impulsively decided to follow Damian – and head off down the street. Together.

The date, apparently, isn’t over yet.

“Do we wanna trail them?” she asks Cass. “Any chance you stored umbrellas in that bag of yours?” Half joking, half serious. What? You never know.

Cass shakes her head though. “No, but I do have ponchos. Do you want to follow them? They’ll be heading inside. Damian will surely spot us.”

Steph snorts, highly doubting it. “He’s so damn distracted at the moment, I’m pretty sure an alien invasion could happen down the street and he wouldn’t notice unless little-miss-sunshine started screamin’.” She grins, wide and mischievous. “Pass me a poncho sis. We’re not giving up this hunt yet.”

Despite the high-quality ponchos, they still end up quite soaked. That’s the tradeoff for having an unnoticed trail high above their intended targets. Sharp stabs of water bite at their faces, as they race across the rooftops. Steph’s shirt clings stuck to her body, damp and humid between the poncho and her chest. Damn, a shower is gonna feel soooo good later.

For any normal person, the weather would make it impossible to follow the young couple. Not to mention the distance from the ground. But Steph and Cass were trained by the best hunters in the world, following their prey was simple – if very wet and uncomfortable – matter.

Rain pours from the sky even faster, thunderous noise drowning out all other sounds, and quickly empties the streets below. The typically numb Gotham populace seeking shelter from the crappy weather. Eventually, Marinette and Damian duck into an older building, the overhead awning buckled in from the rain collecting on top. The windows are dimly lit, and a cracked and faded sign flickers reading:

MAGNUS ANTIQUES ~ EST. 1902

Cass and Steph cross over the street with a quick grapple line. Both wouldn’t dare under normal circumstances; it’s the middle of the day and they aren’t even in domino masks. The slip in procedure would hardly endanger them with nobody around, heavy clouds turning the early afternoon dark as dusk, and the rain pouring thick sheets, obscuring even the highest tech cameras. They land on a building next door, and carefully climb down the siding, landing in the alleyway, behind the antique store.

A young man, in his mid-twenties, slouches against the brick wall a few feet down the alley huddled under another old and tattered awning that barely keeps him dry as he vapes. The shop’s back door sits propped open with a crate, and it takes all of a second while the man leans against the old brick façade with his eyes closed enjoying his few minutes of damp peace for Steph and Cass to slip quietly inside through the back door.

Score!

An old, musty smell hits them as they creep through the back entrance. Piles of boxes line the walls, old antiques half-boxed, or laid on shelves. The store is dark and stale. All of old Gotham oozes an aura of grime and darkness to it, like no matter how hard you scrub the walls and floors will never be clean, the shadows grow thicker in corners, and the cold lingers even in the depths of summer. But that might just be the fault of an old store with even older objects inside. Steph’s never put much stock on that old fairy tale of Gotham being cursed and all.

Under a worktable sits a box – of what she could generously call towels but would more accurately call rags – and they wriggle out of the rain-soaked ponchos. Steph stuffs the soaked ponchos in the box and pulls out a handful of the least questionable-looking rags. Handing one to Cass, Steph does her best to sop up the worst of the water.

“I’m gonna get blisters later,” Steph whines softly, her toes wriggling in soaked-through socks.

“You always have blisters, all of us do,” signs Cass, drying the front of her shirt.

“No, we have calluses, we haven’t formed blisters since we were teeny tiny baby vigilantes who didn’t know shit and our bodies thought they had the right to strike about their living conditions.” Steph tries to wrangle the water out of her hair. “We wear waterproof suits though, so my feet don’t get regularly soaked.”

“Well, sorry for not having pocket rainboots too,” Cass signs sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

“How unprepared,” Steph shoots back, gaining another eye roll in return.

Steph pulls her hair into a ponytail and wrings out her shirt and feels slightly more human now they’re back on dry land. Cass, with her pixie cut, vigorously scrubs her hair with a towel before it flops out, mostly dry. Lucky.

Quietly, both of them creep out of the back workroom. A glistening crystal doorknob attached to an old wood door sends Steph cringing when it creaks open into the store proper. Dim lighting flickers above, a high wine pitch of electricity crackles in the old wires. Tall shelves chock full of nick-nacks and blasts-from-the-pasts cast the store in even deeper shadows. Heavy rain pounds the building’s walls, mixing with the hum of electricity. Barely any light pierces through the charcoal clouds, which traps the store in an evening aesthetic rather than the middle of the afternoon.

Steph turns to Cass, signing, “Spilt up? Or stick together?”

Cass shakes her head. “Stick together, two chances to spot us are worse than one moving target.” Steph nods in agreement.

The store is quiet, minus the rain and a faint sound of classical music drifting from the front. Steph pads softly over wooden floorboards, which look like they’ll creak if you look at them wrong, and Cass follows behind, silent as a mouse. Rows of shelves stretch from front to back, ladened down with objects, Furniture and old clothes pile up on the sides. It is a chaotic, yet organized mess. None of it’s her style, but she’s sure Tim would enjoy it in here.

Slowly, ever so slowly, they creep from aisle to aisle listening for the low drawl of Damian’s pretentious voice. The store’s chaos turns what should be a straightforward search into a winding maze, but eventually right before they turn a corner, Damian’s distinctive scoff rings through the air and stops Steph and Cass in their tracks before giving the game away.

Ducking into one of those separated booths – the kind most antique stores were made of, creating tiny stores within one big one – a genuine score, because Magnus Antiques only sported a few. Fully cluttered with racks of mothball-smelling vintage clothing, the booth made for a perfect hiding spot, while also allowing them full-view access. Steph swipes a dull scarf off the table and ties it over her head, helping to disguise her distinctive blonde hair, as she hides halfway into a rack of big, dull winter clothing. Cass, using her smaller size and an all-black outfit, gracefully climbs an antique dresser and camouflages with an elaborate black feathered bouquet.

Truly, masters of stealth.

Damian and Marinette walk into view; fully focused on the shelves before them, and completely oblivious to the stalker duo creeping in on their date.

“I can call us a car. We do not need to linger until the storm passes,” Damian says with that highly entitled vibe he always gives off, despite Steph knowing Damian’s pretentiousness is mostly a font these days.

“Oh, come on Damian,” chides Marinette, crouching low to look at the bottom shelf. Her accented lilting voice is soft but carries in the quiet store. “It’s just a little bit of bad weather. There’s no reason to call a person to drive through it, we don’t want anyone hurt in an accident. We can wait it out here.”

Damian’s face contorts, “Here?” Eyeing the shelf full of porcelain dolls with dread – which, you know, totally fair. They were creepy as fuck.

But Marinette rolls her eyes and shifts through the pile on her side. “Yes, here. It’s like a treasure hunt, you never know what you’ll  find.” She pushes a large black blanket off a cardboard box and smiles wide. “Ooh, see, a whole box full of ribbons and trim.” She fully falls to the floor and starts pulling rolls out of the box.

“Careful, we are likely to find germs.” Damian swipes a finger across the shelf and pulls it away covered in dust. He grimaces. “Or tetanus.”

Marinette giggles, like actually giggles, and not out of politeness either. She genuinely finds Damian’s offbeat, dry-as-a-bone, humor funny. Steph, safely out of sight, rolls her eyes. Oh, good lord, they’re perfectly horrible for each other.

“Says the man willing to climb into a box store air vent shaft at the drop of a hat.” Steph watches as Marinette sets aside a number of trims to buy.

Damian places a hand against his chest, offended. “That was tactical. This is stubborn desperation.”

“We were on the run, sounds a bit like desperation to me.”

“On the run? We were hunting our prey.”

Marinette’s face turns questioning, “Oh I’m sorry, did you not get chased by Jason with a nerf gun through half the store and the back areas? Was I not barely outrunning Dick before I took out the store’s electricity? We won by luck and the skin of our teeth. That does not sound like apex predators to me.”

Damian turns to the shelf he’s standing on, and, with a mutter, Steph barely makes out, says, “We could have taken them.”

“Sure, in a fight,” says Marinette without skipping a beat. And oh, isn’t that interesting. Steph knows the boys don’t tone down their personalities and skills the same way Bruce does (he doesn’t so much as tone down, as does a complete one-eighty, but it works for B, so Steph ain’t hatin’) when out of costume, but even they wouldn’t be so stupid as to act completely like their vigilante selves. It’s still, you know, not a lot, and Marinette probably saw more than most due to the game’s competitive nature. So, for her to say she could take them in a fight, with certainty, means she thinks quite highly of her own skills.

She could totally be overestimating herself.

Or… the rest of the family could be right, and Marinette is very dangerous indeed.

“… but we weren’t trying to take them in a fight, we were trying to outlast them. And anyway, it’s a moot point, we won, they lost, and now they hate me.”

Well, at least she was perceptive, Steph would give her that.

“They don’t hate you,” Damian shoots back.

Marinette rises from the floor holding an old roll of ribbon, bright emerald green, the lettering faded and worn on the cardboard spool. She lets out an inelegant snort, “Fine, Dick is suspicious, Tim is frustrated, and Jason hates me.” 

Oh, she’s very perceptive.

Damian pauses for a second, then tilts his head and smiles thinly. “Yes, it is quite likely Todd does hate you. But he should blame me, not you. I told you what to say. He’s directing his anger all wrong.”  

Steph blinks. That was… a shocking amount of self-reflection from the demon spawn. All directed towards this tiny little slip of a woman who looked like she could barely harm a fly, much less impress the likes of Damian Wayne. At this point, Steph has to believe this girl is magical because this shit is just unreal.

“Perhaps, but what I said obviously scared him-”

“That’s what we were trying to accomplish,” Damian mutters, mulishly.

“And one day I will learn the context of it, so I can properly apologize.” Steph watches Marinette’s eyes; focused and regretful. “I know I do not have their trust, and I do not have the right, but when I do, I will.”

Damian’s face flickers through emotions faster than a roulette wheel, eventually settling on a variation of soft and amazed Steph’s only seen on a besotted movie protagonist. And barely makes out his words. “I have no doubt you will earn those secrets. Your heart is big enough, and your will strong enough to melt my family’s own.”

Oh.

Oh.  

Steph's mouth falls open in complete shock. Damn… just, damn.

This isn’t just a crush.

This is full-on, head-over-heels, besotted beyond belief, in love.

Damian is implying Marinette is important enough to earn the details of Jason’s death, to know why he was so scared of his family being hurt and dying and him unable to help (yeah, Jason ranted to her about Marinette’s little speech; yeah, it was harsh, but what else could you expect from Damian, he doesn’t do shit by halves). All of that implies she’ll learn of their identities, the biggest secret their family kept under lock and key. Only a handful of Justice League members and assorted friends (and enemies) knew of their full identities.

This is a girl Damian met two and a half days ago.

Steph, nearly so lost in her own shock and incredulity, almost misses Marinette’s reaction.

Face flushed and eyes tilted down, Marinette’s smile conveys embarrassment, joy, and a hint of sadness all at once. “Has anyone ever told you, you’re very sweet?”

Sheepishness seeps into Damian’s face and body, as he raises a hand to rub the back of his neck, a move making him look exactly like Dick. “Most people say the exact opposite, or they are in the middle of cussing me out.”

He’s not wrong.

Marinette's smile grows wider, “Well, I’m-”

“Not most people.” Damian and her finish together with a look building the foundation of an inside joke.

“No, all the more I learn of you,” Damian says, tone fond. “I find you are definitely not most people.”

“I aim to impress,” Marinette says, with a sly and besotted smile, and Steph doesn’t know if she will pass out from the sweetness or vomit, and at this point, it could go fifty-fifty. The woman looks over Damian’s shoulder. “Looks like the rain stopped.” Steph vaguely sees weak rays of light coming from the store’s front. The kind indicating the Gotham sun, a rare and noteworthy presence, has burst through the clouds to shine upon rain-soaked streets. “I should probably head back to my apartment before it starts again; I have a commission project to work on.”

Damian readjusts himself, folding away the soft, besotted emotions until he looks more like himself again. “And I need to return home as well, my father’s back from his business trip and will wish to speak with me.” He winces, “He is most likely already speaking with my brothers, which means I need to run interference before they blow the entire situation out of proportion.”

Marinette smirks, unrepentant and teasing, and for the first time Steph understands why Jason kept ranting ‘she’s just as demented as he is’, “To be fair, we did set Tim on fire, and break the store multiple times.”

Damian smirks right back, and “First off you broke-”

“We, don’t forget your part with the display and tying up a security guard.”

“-second, we set fire around him, he wasn’t hurt. No one got hurt. Except for their pride.” He pauses, and amends, “Well, perhaps that unpleasant woman at the end had an aneurysm with her screaming, but that’s hardly our fault, so it shouldn’t count.”  

Both of them laugh until it fades into a contented silence. Then, Marinette places a dainty hand on Damian’s arm, and says, “This was fun. We could… do it again sometime?” For the first time, uncertainty crosses the young woman’s face.

Damian’s face, on the other hand, is as eager as Steph has ever seen it. Wow, what must his head and chest feel like with all these new intense emotions bandying about? “Uh, o-of course, yes, this was fun. We’ll… text?”

“Sounds like a good idea.” Marinette leans down and picks up the small pile of trimmings and ribbon she found in the box earlier. The spool of emerald ribbon balanced on top.

“You took the bus in? I can walk you to the stop?” Oh, kid; if he had a tail, it would be wagging.

Marinette tilts her head, “Didn’t you ride in on a motorcycle? Shouldn’t you take advantage of the break in the rain?”

Damian shrugs off the offer, “I drive in far worse than a little rain regularly..” 

“Don’t compromise your safety for my own, I can take care of myself perfectly fine,” Marinette says. 

“I’m sure you can, but I want to,” insists Damian. “I parked near the bus stop’s location, it will be no trouble.”

“Alright then, maybe on the way you can tell me more about that art store you mentioned was down my way, I’m looking for a new set of brushes; mine became damaged in the move.” They walk down the aisle and swiftly out of view and hearing range.

Steph doesn’t move, and neither does Cass until Marinette pays for her purchases, and they hear the door to the shop open and close with a creak and a chiming of bells. A second more passes by, before Steph slips out of the clothes rack, and Cass descends the dresser, and they stand in silence for a moment.

“Whelp,” Steph says, popping the p. “That was certainly something. I don’t quite have the words for it yet, cause my brain’s still rebooting. How about you Cassie?”

Cass shakes her head, then pauses, contemplation playing across her features. “I still think she’s dangerous. Her body has the grace of a fighter, with years of practical experience moving quickly and efficiently. But I don’t think she uses her magic, whatever it may be, to influence Damian.” Cass smiles, now looking like a cat holding a canary between her lips. “That’s all due to him being very, very in love.”

“Great, so I wasn’t the only one seeing literal hearts in Damian’s eyes, cool, cool, cool.” She stretches her arms high above her head, spine popping brutally, as she tries to get feeling back in her limbs after observing the two lovebirds for long. “Well, I’m not in the mood to deal with Bruce and his game of twenty questions, so what say we go eat? How ‘bout the new Italian place that opened near my apartment, worse case it starts raining again and we head back there, we covered and hid the bikes well enough.”

Cass nods and they leave the store, passing by an ancient old man seated at the front desk totally absorbed in a creaking leather tome. Summer sun barely peaking through gaps in the clouds. It hasn’t truly stopped raining yet. The sky drizzles a small smattering of rain, and fog mists up from the pavement. It’s a pleasant change from the chaotic, faint oppressive feel of the antique shop.

Steph’s brain turns over the interactions she witnessed between Damian and Marinette. It shouldn’t be such a big deal. People meet, flirt, and fall in love all the time. But it just is because it’s, well, Damian. Even as a little kid he always seemed so removed, he really wasn’t, but he was good at pretending. Steph never pictured him falling in love, not because he wasn’t capable of it, but because she always thought he’d be too prickly for anyone to break through his walls. And certainly not a civilian who had no clue about their double lives.

Steph hopes everyone comes out on the other side, lives, and emotions relatively intact, and in the meantime, she plans to wring this situation for all the blackmail material it’s worth.

[meistwentyinchheels]

HIII!!! okok I wanna know what's May's dynamics like with the main cast?

And perhaps, a smidgen of lore, whatever you can share? :0

oh god i'm being enabled i'mgoi ing to eat ro cks

SO!

ok if i'm honest i really haven't thought that hard about the dynamics so i'm coming up with most of this on the spot ehmmm, but if i try to shortly sum them up it'd be something along the lines of,,,

may playing the straight man to cam's jokes and occasionally (albeit rarely!) going along with their jokes to create chaos. she also has a bit of a tendency to jokingly flirt with cam bc she thinks it's funny

while with deja i'd say their dynamic is more along the lines of may doing shit for the plot (and also suffering the consequences) as deja pretends like she doesn't know her,,,while still subtly helping her out

as for reynah,,,okay may doesn't know her very well, but they have a perfectly amicable relationship with each other (i'm sorry i literally have nothing to add i'm gonna cry)

but as we move onto THE BOYS!!! a.k.a pje

with elioooo uhhh may quickly realized that he gets flustered if she flirts with him so she does tend to pull that stunt occasionally (as a joke), but otherwise they're chill ANDDD as they're both dancers they bond over that (they sometimes also practice together for shits n giggles)

jamie and may have like this unspoken understanding of knowing what it feels like to have people disrespect their space, but will they ever address that? probably not, but they're chill with each other albeit not as close with each other as may is with the rest (oops)

then we have percy,,,OHHH BOY where do i even begin. i'm refraining from saying too much, but initially may was slightly annoyed by his flirting (which quickly turned into amusement). i love their dynamic so much bc they bounce off each other so well,,,and she miiiiiiight have caught a teensy bit of a crush on him after the spring semester (og plan was for the crush to begin after summer, but i thought it'd be funnier this way)

i'm so sorry this is already long asf, but as for the lore,,,wait i have a list somewhere of may fun facts. YUP FOUND IT. so y'all can have some lore tidbits

first off, may has a younger sister by 4 years.

has 9 piercings (4 on her left ear, 5 on her right) and one tattoo of a group of flowers on her left arm

lowkey rich (she got that generational wealth 😔)

a bit of a procrastinator now in college, but in high school she was a whole ass academic weapon

has had 2 relationships and 1 situationship (none of which ended well actually I MEANNNN WHO SAID THAT.)

speaks two languages, korean and english. she's also semi-fluent in japanese, but she's reluctant on actually trying to speak it

might have been borderline insane back in high school as she somehow always ended up in some kind of drama and/or trouble???

also tends to cheat at card games lmfao

okay i think i'll leave it at that bc this is really long and my fingers hurt from typing for so long

now i pass away /j

[rocksanddeadflowers]

Sorry if this starts a new thread but I am thinking so hard about the crew Jonny traveled with to Europe.... On average a voyage like that would take 6-10 weeks, if the weather treated them well. (It could even take longer, in the 1600s it would've been around three months even, but travel advanced a little by the Beauty and the Beast era obviously.) I'd assume the trip took at least two months, if not more, and Jonny was probably there for most of it if, when the ship went down, he was close enough to shore to wash up. (Also, need to talk about how so not fun being washed up from a ship wreck likely is... That boy is gonna be battered and bruised and broken, broken bones and cuts are so likely considering the waves and probable shore being more rocky than sandy, and he could've easily developed hypothermia and/or pneumonia. Just to throw in more angst or hurt comfort stuff with the realism.) Point being, he probably had a chance to get close with some or all of the crew.

Idk what kind of sailors these are, to be specific. I'm kinda ruling out government officials or any type of warship or military vessel, obviously. It was probably a type of merchant ship (meant to transport goods and sometimes passengers), and Jonny just stowed away because he was terrified hated the idea of being caught after killing his dad and stuff. I do think the idea of it being a pirate ship (it was likely during or right after the golden age of piracy when this all happened) is extremely funny, mainly if the crew was very chill. Also, while a merchant ship is more likely to me, a very chill pirate crew might have less qualms about a trans masc murdering twelve year old than a typical merchant ship crew (possibly, at least. Maybe the merchant crew it very cool, maybe the pirates are genuinely assholes instead). Also, pirates probably pose as normal merchants plenty.

Thinking specifically about Jonny knowing he's a boy, but never being allowed to change or express that with his birth parents. Everyone he killed (including his father) could've easily been when he was more femme presenting, so running away, he might now have a better chance as presenting more masculine, and it's kinda helpful to have a new identity when you're on the run from the law. Also, whether it cool pirates or very anti government merchants, the idea of certain crew members knowing this and helping him pass better is just..... gonna tear my heart out. (Picturing he had long hair that he messily chopped away at with a knife, and later on a crew member offering to clean the cut up a bit.... and it does kinda grow out during the trip but Jonny doesn't mind...... idk chewing and tearing at that.)

Just thinking about Jonny developing a close relationship with some of the crew... Feel like some of the crew members might not be the greatest but Jonny gets close with a select few on board. Just thinking about that only for it to be torn away before they reach land. Idk pissing myself off over something I made up in my brain... (its entirely possible for other people to survive the wreck, too, but how likely is it that Jonny knew they survived, or that anyone else knew Jonny did, you know?)

I dunno just going insane. Tagging partners in crime er writing @blazeismyname and @unsat-and-strange for y'alls thoughts

[thepaintedlady00]

Nightshade

Chapter 19 | Chapter 21

Chapter 20: Interlude - The Saint

TW: some fluff, our idiots are reflecting on their big feelings, Lena remembers the important thing she was supposed to be doing last chapter, angst, shouting, lots of blame getting passed around and everyone's sayin shit they don't mean, cruel words, grief, flashbacks, heartwarming advice, and reassurance, big hugs and make ups. I'm SO sorry that this chapter (and next) are so late! Life just got absolutely insane and I had to restructure and rewrite a ton of this chapter so it kept getting put off. But, she's here! I'm still not 100% happy with it, but I'm not gonna let my perfectionism rob y'all of a chapter for another month! Chapter 21 should be following tomorrow or the day after if life decided to let me breathe for five minutes! Thank y'all so much for your patience! Enjoy!

Jack Harrow was a man of many talents. He could throw a punch that would send his opponent to the floor like they'd been hit by a goddamn bus. He could take a hit too, straight to the face like it was nothing. He was an artist at cutting hair and taking care of stray animals as well as stray kids. He was a decent singer with a surprisingly smooth voice - a fact you'd never know about him if you'd only heard the slew of curses he knew. And Jack was quite the cook, in his mind at least.

Jack Harrow was a man of many talents. He was a fighter, a barman, a son, a lover, a father, and then he was dead.

It didn't hurt in the end, and it was quick enough that he hadn't caused too much hassle for those around him. He'd felt it coming, that quiet cold that seemed to numb him, and so he'd watched his beautiful daughter dote on him one last time, talking at length about how his boys would be there soon with a movie for him to watch. Ghostbusters. His favorite. Jack waited until Ozzy came - he'd wanted to wait for his boy too, but deep down, he knew there wasn't time for that - so, giving the man he loved one last kiss before the cold really hit him, Jack accepted his fate.

He forced his stiff fingers to uncurl around his jacket, holding it out to his baby with a smile. "Keep an eye on this for me?" She started to protest. "Just for a bit."

She slid it on, a smile on her lips as he nodded at her. "Badasses get the jacket."

"That they do." He was going to miss that smile. "Hey, badass, mind running to the cafeteria and grabbing me some gruel?"

"Course," she answered, pressing a kiss to his head. "Be right back."

The cold had numbered his limbs by the time she'd vanished. Jack could hardly even feel Ozzy's hand in his anymore. With all that strength, he squeezed Oz's hand and looked up at him with tearful eyes and wheezing breaths. His love instantly started trying to fix it. "What do you need? I can… I… I'll call in one of the nurses."

"Ain't nothin' they can do now." Jack smiled. "I love you, Oz. I've always loved you."

The man shushed him, hands shifting from holding his to pressing the call button on his bed. "Don't. Don't you dare start talking like that."

Jack just continued. "Tell the boys… Tell them… Tell all of them I love ‘em. Keep 'em safe for me, especially our girl."

"Jack-"

He squeezed harder. "You'll tell them, won't you?"

All Ozzy could do was nod, sniffling as he fought the tears in his eyes. "Nurse! NURSE!"

Death is different for everyone. It's one of the few cosmic laws that never bends but always greets you with warmth. As Jack Harrow closed his eyes, letting the cold take him entirely, the last thing he felt was the love of his life touching him. As Jack died, the sound of the hospital machines faded, replaced by the sounds of the alley between The Ring and Ozzy's Pub. 

He could smell the old leather and the cigarettes and the booze, but more importantly, Jack could feel the warmth of Ozzy tucked beneath his arm. They sat together in their little alley - their little pocket between two opposing worlds - and they just existed. Together. Like it was always meant to be.

Jack Harrow was a man of many talents. And, in the grand scheme of things, one could say he was quite good at dying.

*

I always loved the early morning. The soft glow of the rising sun over the city made everything shine. It made everything and everyone look so clean and happy. New York City was chaotic, loud, and demanding, but somehow, those mornings always felt peaceful.

The faint smell of the food trucks by my apartment was usually what woke me each morning. It was almost always hot dogs or a bagel cart or two, but today, it was Chinese food. Today it was the distant sounds of the city - sounds that were familiar but also new - and the very abrupt lick to the underside of my foot by a scratchy cat tongue.

Fleeing the wet tongue, I curled into the solid warmth that was wrapped around me. I opened my eyes, blinking until the haze cleared from my vision, revealing the soft face and gentle ocean eyes staring down at me. Jake.

Even as my head throbbed, the memories of last night swirling through my mind and bringing me a feeling of bliss, I smiled. My eyes drifted closed again, savoring the feeling of his arms around me, his hands caressing my skin, the softness of his bed, and the light smell of his cologne. When I opened my eyes again, he was smiling too - that thin one, the tiniest hint of genuine joy that he almost never let me, or anyone, see. "Hi." 

Jake laughed, a low, still tired sound that made my heart skip a beat. "Hi." He lifted his hand, brushing a loose strand of hair behind my ear, and his smile widened, not smug, proud, or teasing… Real as he repeated the word. "Hi."

I couldn't help but giggle. The blissful feeling quickly shifted into an odd but good feeling. As I moved my hand to cup his cheek, idly tapping my fingers against his skin, I realized what it was. I was happy. I was happy with Jake. Closing my eyes again, letting myself lean into that feeling, holding onto it for as long as I could, I pressed my lips to his.

We'd shared a lot of kisses. Lustful and heated, harsh and demanding, soft and meaningful. This one was one I hadn't expected. It was a kiss that held a touch of sleep and dreams, a gentle, patient, and simple thing. This was a lover's kiss, an embrace in soft blankets, and surrounded by that sunrise glow that I loved so much. When it was over, and I was met with his adoring gaze, all I could do was whisper that simple word again. "Hi."

"How's your head feeling?" He asked, seeming to shake himself of whatever vulnerable, tired thoughts he'd been thinking. The usual flirtatious gleam returned to his eyes as he lifted his fingers to my temple, pressing lightly. "Figured you'd have one hell of a hangover."

"It's not that bad," I assured him. In this light, I could see the slight flush on his cheeks. In this light, it was very hard to remind myself that this was my friend Jake and not my lover. "Sorry about that, by the way."

He chuckled, shrugging his shoulders or trying to as best he could while lying on his side. "Don't worry about it, princess. You're a pretty fun drunk."

Rolling my eyes, I scoffed at him. "You're just saying that 'cause I basically threw myself at you."

"That did give me quite the ego boost," he admitted with a grin. "But, it was a good night."

With my cheek pressed against his pillow and the feel of his arms around me, I smiled. "It was a really good night."

I could see the way he instantly wanted to respond with something witty and smug, but Jake forced the sides of his mouth down and nodded. "So… I… What now?"

"You seem flustered." Grinning ear to ear, I sat up in exaggerated shock. With a fake gasp, I looked down at him. "Am I your first?"

Jake laughed, carefully sitting up and unintentionally - or very intentionally - pulling me into his chest. "Don't let it go to your head, princess."

"So I am your first. That's cute of you."

"I've had plenty of women spend the night," he finally replied. "I'm just not used to them staying for breakfast the next day."

Bumping our noses together, I used the swell of pride and elation to fuel my teasing. "What makes you think I'm staying for breakfast?"

His brows rose as his hands settled on my hips. "You're still here, aren't you?"

"Oh, come on, pretty boy! You gotta ask me properly."

Normally, Jake would have resisted a little, but today, he just nodded. "Lena, would you like to stay for breakfast?"

I hummed, pretending to think it over when really I just liked hearing him ask me to stay. "I'd love to."

For a second - one incredibly long and intimate second - it seemed like Jake was going to kiss me. A kiss that we both knew would unravel whatever tiny thread of self-control both of us still possessed on the ever-growing desire to lose ourselves in each other. His hands squeezed my hips, and then he carefully pushed me back and slid off his bed. "I, uh, don't know what I have that's edible."

Ignoring the slight burn of disappointment that filled my chest, I inched closer to the edge of the bed. Whisky emerged from the pile of blankets and slid into my lap, purring as I scratched his chin. "Got stuff for shitty eggs?"

"Careful, my version of shitty eggs is actually shitty."

"If I can survive Patrick's attempt at eggs, I'm sure I can survive yours," I assured him, carefully moving Whisky off my lap to stand up. Jake's gaze instantly drifted, eyes lazily rolling down my body. My heart stammered, and my face felt hot. Stupid, I told myself. He'd seen me naked before, and here I was, getting flustered by his eyes. With a soft clearing of my throat, I gestured towards the bathroom. "I'm gonna get dressed."

Jake nodded, scratching the back of his head and turning to his kitchen. "You can shower if you need to. What's mine is yours."

The words sent a shiver up my spine. What's mine is yours. It was platonic. It was him being a good friend. No matter what I told myself, the weight of what I felt… Of what I knew, he felt too, made it impossible to keep those words from meaning too much. "Thanks."

The bathroom provided me with a moment of privacy - a moment I used to stare at myself in the mirror, or rather stare at the new marks that littered my skin. I carefully touched each hickey and faded bite mark, my mind remembering how they all got there.

It had been a long time since I'd seen my neck constantly covered in love bites. One-night stands usually didn't leave any lasting marks, and Sam had always been too gentle to bite. Jake was different, though. He touched me like he was desperate… Starved. He was rough, but in a way that made me feel completely and utterly wanted. The energy Jake brought to intimate moments was electric, addictive, and attentive. I never knew what to expect with him, yet I always knew I would enjoy myself.

I always knew I was safe.

There, in Jake's bathroom, staring at myself in his mirror, I let myself fall. I wanted to be with him. Not just in some wild night of impulsive pleasure… But in everything else. I wanted to sleep in his bed with him. I wanted to eat whatever shitty breakfast he cooked up in the morning. I wanted to play with the cat. I wanted to hold his hand and kiss him without sneaking off. I wanted Jake. Every part of him.

With a deep breath, I let that fuzzy feeling consume me. I put my pants and shoes on, stuffing my shirt in Jake's dirty laundry hamper in favor of wearing his t-shirt for a little longer. Then I combed my fingers through my unruly hair and pointed at myself in that mirror. "You're gonna talk to him. You're gonna be honest, and you're gonna talk to him!"

Once I emerged from the bathroom, now filled with a determined fuzzy feeling, I made my way to the kitchen, where Jake was still shirtless, rummaging through his cupboards. Adorable, I thought with a happy smile. Now or never… My fingers tingled as the slightly nervous but still good feeling really started to take root in my chest.  Jake smiled at me before he turned and opened his fridge. "I don't think I've got any eggs. Or… Well, anything really."

"I'm sure a man of your talents can figure something out." I caught his smirk before I ducked my head back down and nervously fished my phone out of my bag, a last-ditch effort to prolong the conversation we both knew was well overdue. "We could always go out somewhere too. I'm not picky."

The first thing I noticed as I turned my phone back on was the insane amount of missed calls and messages. What the fuck? The second thing I noticed was the time and the date.

9:10. November 20th.

My heart stopped, and all the good fuzzy feelings drained from my body. All that nervous excitement about breakfast… About the conversation I'd planned to have with Jake… All of it was replaced by a deep, dark guilt. No… I tried to deny it. That can't be… it… With trembling fingers, I opened the messages.

Hey, we just got here. You and Oz running late? Peter.

Bring a think of that whisky dad liked. Patrick.

Are you on your way?

Lee, where are you?

It's been an hour. Are you and Ozzy alright?

Missed call.

Missed call.

Lena, answer your phone.

Missed call.

Lena?

Missed call.

Lena.

Lena.

Lena.

"Lena?"

"Oh god," I mumbled as my eyes stung. My hands locked around the damn phone. How the fuck did I forget? Why… Why wasn't I there?

Jake closed his fridge door, making me jump and look up at him in shock. His eyebrows furrowed, those blue eyes dancing over my face with concern. "Hey, you okay?"

And then it all came crashing down. The reason I'd forgotten about the family visit… The reason I'd forgotten to keep an eye on the time… The reason I'd forgotten the anniversary of my father's death. Jake. I'd been with Jake. I'd gotten so lost in him and that feeling of safety, warmth, and fun.

"I forgot," I whimpered. Seeing the confusion play on his face, I reached forward grabbed my bag, and turned to leave. "I… forgot."

"What?" He asked, head tilting as he moved closer. "Lena, wait!"

My feet didn't stop, not as Jake called out after me as I hurried down the stairs and out the front door, not as the harsh wave of passing bodies swept me into the crowd of people, and not when the tears started to spill down my cheeks.

Crying silently in a crowded place was a talent, one I'd mastered years ago, but it never felt any better than it did to cry loudly in silence. In both scenarios, you're alone. In both scenarios, your only choice is to keep walking forward. The tears weren't even the worst part. The guilt that now consumed my chest was smothering… Forcing my body into an old state of panicked breathlessness.

I'd forgotten about the anniversary of my dad's death… I'd forgotten about everything else. Everything except Jake and that fuzzy, warm, stupid feeling that I got whenever I was with him. Last night, a night that was supposed to be solemn and focused on the life my father led, was instead made all about me. 

It was a good night. I closed my eyes for a moment, hints of those feelings simmering inside me as I continued to walk. It was such a good night. Too good of a night. The sounds of the city faded away, replaced by the faint but steady noise of a flatlined heart.

Dad's leather jacket cocooned around me as I carried the small tray of food up from the cafeteria. The smell of his strong cologne made the sterile hospital less frightening and made me feel safe. Dad was here. Nothing bad was gonna happen.

Ozzy stood outside the door, a cold, void look on his face as he stared into the distance. I knew what that look meant… I'd looked that way before. But, there, with that leather jacket and that idiotic sense of hope, I refused to acknowledge it. Oz pulled himself out of it as I neared, moving to stop me with a gentle hand. "They ask you to wait outside?"

"Lena… He…" A sob tore through Ozzy's throat as he shook his head. "He's gone."

A forced laugh filled my lungs as I shook my head, ignoring the way I instantly knew he was telling the truth. Ignoring the way I knew in my bones, my dad was dead. "No. No, he's fine. I was just with him."

Oz's face tightened with pain. "Oh, my girl…"

"I was just with him," I repeated as my hands went numb and tears started to fill my eyes. "I…"

I brushed past him and walked forward to the door, where everything faded at the sight of my father lying on the hospital bed. His eyes were closed, chest exposed, and covered with those paddles as the doctors shouted at each other. My hands went numb, the tray falling from my grip as the sight of that flat green line forced my brain to acknowledge what had happened.

My dad was dead. "No." I bit out, desperate fear and bitter anger digging up more memories… Forcing me to relive another loss. "Dad…" I could feel phantom blood on my hands and hear echoes of the gunshot. I could see lifeless eyes looking up at me. "Get up."

Ozzy's arms wound around me as my quiet words turned into desperate and harsh sobs. "I've got you, my girl."

"Dad, please get up!" I screamed, pounding on the door the doctors had closed. "Get up!"

I still need you, I wanted to tell him. We all need you. 

There on the hospital floor, Ozzy held me tight as I fell apart. That day, I walked out of the hospital with nothing left of my dad… Just that leather jacket.

I knew my feet would carry me home. But what I didn't know was just what to expect when I got there. The Ring was closed, the lights off, and no one moved around the gym as I went to the back door and entered. It was quiet. The kind of quiet that made every part of me want to run away.

When I opened the apartment door, Patrick was the first one I noticed. He held a hammer, using it to fix one of the cabinet doors, as he glared at me. Peter stood up from his seat, his entire face draining of worry as he gave me a quick hug. "Where the hell were you? We were scared shitless thinking you were in trouble."

I swallowed the lump in my throat, dropping my bag onto the edge of the table. "I'm sorry. I… I just lost track of the time and…"

Patrick's face remained cold and hardened as he set his tools down and turned. "Where were you?"

Peter recognized that look. He recognized that feeling of static fire that filled the air between us. He'd felt it a hundred times by now… Felt it right before Patrick and I fought. "Pat…"

"No." His voice sent my hair standing on end. Every fiber of my being instantly reminded of that fucking penthouse… Of the way, Patrick was bigger than me… Stronger than me… Of the way, in moments like this, he reminded me of Tony. "Where were you, Lena?"

My heart pounded, the voice saying the words twisted. Half my brother and half him. Anger curled inside me. The ugliest… Deepest anger. "What does it fucking matter?"

Patrick's hand slammed down onto the table. "What was so goddamn important that you forgot about our dad?"

"It's none of your fucking business!"

"Like hell it isn't!" Peter was on his feet now, standing between us, eyes closed and tears pouring down his cheeks. "FUCKING TELL ME!"

"I DON'T OWE YOU A GODDAMN THING!" I screamed.

Patrick's eyes were wide. They were filled with his own traumatic past… With his own anger that was just as ugly and deep as mine. "You're so fucking selfish." Stop. "Nothing fucking matters to you." Shut up. "Not me. Not Oz. Not Pete. Not even our fucking dad."

All my anger boiled over, and my mouth opened, speaking the words I knew would strike deepest. "He isn't even your dad! You aren't even part of the family!"

Patrick didn't skip a beat in returning the sentiment. "I'm more part of this family than you are. You were hardly even here, and when you were, everyone couldn't stand you!"

Peter shoved us both back. "Stop! Both of you!"

"We all would've been better off if you'd never come back."

My heart stopped. My vision blurred as Tony's words echoed in my mind. "All you offer anyone is problems, stress… Trouble. They're all better off without you. And you know it."

Tears were shimmering in both our eyes as the reality of what we'd said dawned on us. I could see regret in Patrick's eyes… I could see that he hadn't meant the words he said… Just as he could see I hadn't meant mine. But we said nothing. Stuck in our hurt and our pride. Peter's voice was nothing but a dull background noise as I grabbed my bag and left the apartment, slamming the door behind me.

Hands trembling and my breath trapped in my chest, I walked, now unsure of where my feet would take me. I couldn't go home. I couldn't go to Jake. I was alone. And maybe I deserved to be.

I wandered the streets for what felt like hours before I finally stopped in front of the rundown hotel. Sliding through the hole in the fence and carefully maneuvered around the glass to stand at the bar. The smooth wood felt cold beneath my fingers as they sought out the neatly carved initials at the edge. J.H. Good ol Jack Harrow. The man… The father I'd forgotten about on the one day set aside to remember him properly.

Maybe it was stupid to be so distraught over one day, but the ache remained all the same. No matter what I told myself, I still felt horrible. Guilty. Selfish. Years of self-loathing and years of being told I was nothing but a selfish waste of space caught up with me. 

My dad had been the first to make me believe I was something. He was the first person that loved me, even when I was at my lowest. And I'd forgotten him. Deep down, I knew he wouldn't be mad at me for it. But that knowledge only seemed to make me feel worse.

Howard called and texted a few times as my shift start came and went, but all I could do was stare at the phone. The silence was one filled with ghosts, and I was content to sit there and wallow in the memory of them all. But, glass crunched beneath someone's shoe, forcing me to turn.

Mr. Hiragana bowed slowly, eyes taking in the damaged space for a moment before he came to stand beside me. "Apologies, I did not intend to startle you."

"It's alright," I told him. "I… What are you doing here?"

"I came with some inspectors to get a better idea of what needed to be done to turn this place into a restaurant worthy of your name." He smiled, head turning slightly to the three other people now roaming about the rubble. "I intended to call you, but it seems that is no longer necessary."

Moving to leave, I answered, "I can go if you need the place to yourself."

Mr. Hiragana chuckled and shook his head. "That is hardly necessary. Besides, it's been a long time since we've sat at a bar together and spoke."

I laughed halfheartedly. "It has been a while."

"You seem troubled," he said quietly. "Is there anything I can do?"

Shaking my head, I blinked back tears. "No. I… This is my own mistake. One I'll have to fix myself."

"Mistakes are often the stones that lead to better paths." He smiled, leaning in as if it were some secret. "That is why we must make so many in our short lives."

"What if the mistake is a really big one?"

"Then the end destination will surely be a beautiful one." He looked at the bar, eyes scanning the surrounding area with a humble nod. "This is the place your father chose, is it not?"

My fingers curled around the chain link fence as I stared between the metal at the grand building in front of me. Even with the missing windows and broken glass, I couldn't look away from the gorgeous place as it shimmered in the sunlight. "It's beautiful."

"This dump?" Dad replied, earning a swift elbow from Ozzy. "I mean… Yeah… Beautiful."

Turning, I looked up at him. "Are they gonna make it into something new?"

Dad shrugged, looking at the abandoned hotel. "They'll probably tear it down and build a parking lot."

"What?"

Oz shook his head. "He doesn't know that for sure, dear."

"Why are you so invested in some trash hotel anyway?"

Looking back, I shrugged. "I dunno. I just… Like it."

Dad bent down, scooping me up and lifting me over the fence. "Let's go check it out then!"

"Dad!"

"Jack!"

As I landed on my feet now on the opposite side of the fence, I looked up at the two older men as my dad saddled the fence, ready to join me. He extended a hand to Ozzy and winked. "Oh, come on, Oz. It'll be fun!"

Ozzy shook his head but climbed over with us. "You two are troublemakers!"

The building was full of old posters and sleeping bags from whoever had been squatting here, but all I saw was the chandelier and the crown molding. Potential. "Wow! Can you imagine what it looked like before?"

"That's boring," Dad insisted. "What do you see it as in your head?"

"A restaurant," I answered with a smile. "My restaurant."

Ozzy gave Dad a look before he bent over and asked, "Do you really enjoy that sort of thing?"

"What sort of thing?"

"The cookin' your aunt always has you doin'." Dad patted my head. "That whole restaurant she's stuffed you in."

I thought for a moment, reflecting on the conflicting feelings of Aunt Maddie's harshness and the actual cooking. "I like to cook. It's simple. I… I don't have to think about anything else."

With a nod, Dad smiled again. "A restaurant then. Yours. What you gonna call it?"

"Nishikigoi."

Ozzy laughed. "In English, dear."

"It's the word for koi fish." I scratched my head. "At least, I think it is. That's what the big fish said last time."

"Should I be worried about all this fish talk?" Dad asked, hoisting me up. "You're not gonna turn into some seabass, are ya?"

Giggling, I shook my head. "Not in this life."

Dad nodded to the elevator doors, urging Oxygen to follow us. "Come on, let's see if these work."

"Jack, no!" Ozzy hollered.

I nodded, sadly staring at the initials. "Yeah, it is."

"It is a very good place. Full of positive energy. I will take great joy in seeing you and your colleagues bring out its full potential." Mr. Hiragana bowed his head, settling a hand over my dad's initials in the wood. "He would as well."

"I miss him." Tears finally rolled down my cheeks. "I miss him so much, and yet… I find myself forgetting him. His smile. His voice. The way he laughed."

The old man frowned. "Death takes the spirit. Time takes the body. But memory is something we hold inside us through even the darkest of times." His hand took hold of mine. "A love that deep never leaves us, not even in death. It is impossible for you to have forgotten him."

"How?"

"You carry him with you. His smile is your smile. His voice is your voice. His laugh is your laugh. Your father left you with everything you would ever need to remember him by."

I wiped the tears from my eyes and cleared my throat, bowing my head to him. "Thank you, my friend."

"It is always an honor to offer you my advice, little fish."

"Well, since we're both here, why don't I show you around?"

He smiled, taking my arm and walking with me as I led him through the old hotel. Mr. Hiragana listened to all the ideas I'd saved up for what we could do with it all. For an hour, the crushing weight of the guilt and the pain lessened. With the input of the man I'd met so long ago at a bar in Tokyo, it felt like my dad was standing beside me, arm draped over my shoulder, making his usual witty remarks.

Once I'd talked his ear off and the inspectors had finished, I bowed my head and bid Mr. Hiragana farewell. Back on the other side of the fence, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and finally checked the messages that had been steadily buzzing the last hour. My heart nearly stopped at the sight of four missed calls from Peter. One from Patrick and one from Jake. It all came back in a large wave that doused all Mr. Hiragana's words of wisdom.

Please answer the phone, Lee.

You know he didn't mean it.

Just… Be safe. Call someone, please?

Peter's messages made my throat clench. Guilt and pain and that stupid bitter sting of anger still sitting in my chest.

The next message was from Jake. It was short and simple and surprisingly not dripping with frustration or anger, which only made the guilt burn hotter. Hey, I just wanted to check-in. Sorry about earlier, if I said something or… You know. Call me if you need anything.

I leaned against the chain link fence in front of the hotel, pressing my hand to my still-aching head and desperately trying not to cry. The phone buzzed in my hand.

You sick or something? Scott.

Pull yourself together, I told myself quickly, replying to the cook's message. Or something. It's been a day.

Sounds shitty. Wanna talk about it or something?

Nope. I texted back quickly. I ran into Mr. Hiragana and his inspectors, though.

How'd that go?

Good. He approved all the plans and is contacting his guys to get it started.

Before he could reply, I shoved the phone in my pocket and started walking. Among the crowds of people and their constant idle noise, I could think clearly. My feet carried me, familiar with every path and, deep down, knowing exactly where to go even when I didn't. I wanted to go home. Wanted to curl up in that old, lumpy bed and disappear. But Patrick's voice still harshly rang in the back of my mind. 

I wiped the wetness from my eyes, scolding myself for nearly crying once again, and shook my head. Home wasn't an option right now. So, I kept walking. Walking and listening and avoiding… All the things I used to be so good at.

The orange hues of the setting sun painted Nana's diner in a golden glow. The tiny little building looked almost heaven-sent as I made my way across the street and through the front door. It was busy tonight. Tables full of bodies happily conversing and enjoying their meals as the old Arabic woman looked up over the counter and sadly smiled at me.

Nana opened her arms wide and swept me up into her embrace, kissing my head and lovingly smoothing her hands over my hair. "Oh, Habibi, how are you feeling?"

"I'm okay," I answered, though I knew she'd hear the crack in my voice.

Pulling me back, she stroked my cheeks and swept me into a seat. "Sit, beautiful girl. Abdul and I will make you dinner."

As I sat in the noise of Nana's diner, I watched the people that came and went. Families, friends, lovers… There was no shortage of deep forged bonds staring back at me tonight. A great joke that made it impossible for me to forget what I'd missed and the angry words Patrick and I had exchanged. Nana served my food, setting the various plates down around me. "Have you seen Ozzy?"

She shook her head, then suddenly asked, "How was your night? I know it's a difficult day for all of you, but hopefully, your visit made it better."

I clenched my jaw, tears stinging in my eyes. Salt in the wound. I knew Nana didn't mean to remind me of my monumental fuck up. I knew she asked because she cared, but what was I supposed to say? It was amazing. I spent the whole night with Jake and completely forgot that it was the anniversary of Dad's death, so missed the family visit to his grave, and now everyone hates me. So I just shrugged. "It was okay."

Nana saw through me in an instant and gently set a hand on my head. "What is that brain of yours thinking?"

A hundred lies came to mind, each one just as likely to shift her focus as the last, but I said none of them. I was tired. So tired. "Am I a monster Nana?"

"What?" The old woman questioned, dropping to her knees in front of me. Her hand cupped my cheek as she shook her head. "You are no such thing! Not my silly, thoughtful, bright, good Lena!"

"What if all that's just a lie… A facade to hide what I really am?" Years built in my eyes as I averted my gaze. "What if no one really knows me?"

Nana's grip was gentle but firm as she forced me to look at her. "You listen to me. You are our Lena. My Lena. I have known you since you were in diapers. I have known you through your best and your worst. And I have loved you every moment." She smiled, that kind and gentle smile that warmed my heart a little. "You are no monster. No matter what that pesky brain of yours says."

All I could do was nod into her hands and sink into her warm, spiced embrace. The vicious thoughts - thoughts that Patrick's words had been true… That my mother had been right about me - quieted as Nana whispered her prayer into my hair. After a while, Abdul brought me plates of food, but I wasn't hungry. 

While I played with my food, the diner door opened, and Ozzy quietly walked inside. Nana let out a relieved breath and nodded in my direction. "You talk some sense into her, Oswald."

"Course I will." 

"Make sure she eats!"

He made his way to me, smiling sadly as he sat down. "You weren't at the grave last night."

"Rumor is you weren't either," I retorted with much more bite than intended.

He nodded, looking at his hands. "I wasn't."

After a moment of quiet between us, I asked, "Did you forget?"

His answer had the potential to ease my guilt. It didn't, though. Ozzy shook his head. "I remembered. Too much. Opened that damn box of loss and couldn't bring myself to do anything." He looked back up at me, eyes watery as he waited for my own truth to be spoken aloud.

"I forgot," I whispered. "I… I got distracted, and I…" Pressing my eyes shut as tight as I could, I scoffed at myself. "I had a good night."

Ozzy nodded, standing up and glancing over his shoulder at Nana. "I think it's time we both make amends. Take a bite of that food, or she'll be giving us both a good smack with her magazines." I did as he asked. "Good, now come on, dear."

Gathering my things, I followed him. "Where are we going?"

"To visit with the one person that can absolve us of our guilt."

The cab ride was quiet but not the kind I'd expected. I didn't feel at peace, and I didn't feel guilty. Instead, I was filled with an alarming sense of nothingness. I was filled with a dreaded sensation that had haunted me after I left the hospital. 

The graveyard was even more quiet. It was the revenant kind, though, the kind that made every step on dried leaves echo in the now chilly night air and dance among the dead. Both of us stopped in front of the worn tombstone, lined with fresh flowers and a few soggy cards. Patrick and Peter's gifts, no doubt. Ozzy sat down first, and I followed.

The ground was slightly wet, but neither of us cared as we looked at the name carved into the stone. There were so many things I wanted to say now that I was here, but it felt like each word was stuck in my throat. Ozzy didn't seem to have the same problem. He sighed, reaching out to touch the stone. "Hey, you big oaf. It's been a while." I could hear the sorrow in his voice. "Sorry I'm late. Don't worry, Patrick already gave me hell for it. Boy was downright hostile to me, and maybe I deserved it… The point is, I'm sorry. I just missed you so much that the thought of having to face the facts again was too much for me yesterday. I'm here now, though, and that's what matters."

Silence retook the graveyard. It was my turn to speak, and yet I had nothing. Ozzy's warm hand settled on my knee as I swallowed, separately trying to free the words in my throat. "He would've understood, you know."

"I know."

"Your dad loved you. More than anything. And there is nothing you could have done, now or then, to change that."

Shaking my head, I sobbed. "I forgot about him."

Ozzy's hand squeezed. "You didn't forget him, Lena. That's not possible, and we both know it."

"I-"

"You had a good night. You did things that made you happy… That made you forget about the pain and the sadness that his death stained that day with." With a chuckle, Ozzy shook his head. "You're allowed to live your life, love. He would've preferred it that way."

Looking into his misty eyes, I sniffled. "I know but… Why do I still feel so horrible?"

"Because death is hard." He closed his eyes and sighed. "It's angry and bitter and hard. Remembering or forgetting, it feels the same. So, feel it. Feel the pain and the anger. Feel the joy and the love. Feel it and then try to let it go. Try to let him go. That's all we can do while we exist in this world without him."

"Were you able to do that?" I asked. "Let him go?"

Oz shook his head. "No. I think in order to really do that, I need to find something to fill the home he left behind. And that… It's a very big hole." Turning to look at me, he smiled. "But you found something to do that. Or… Someone I should say."

Jake. "What makes you say that?"

"You let yourself let go. You let yourself feel and forget."

"I never really realized it back then, but I was really lucky," I finally said, tears still streaming down my cheeks. "Most people grow up with just one awesome dad… Sometimes, not even that. But I…" Looking up at him with a smile, I held his hand tighter. "I got two really good, really amazing dads."

He pulled me into a bone-crushing hug, and the two of us cried together. My fingers curled into his jacket as I whispered to him, "I love you, Dad."

"I love you too, my dear girl." When he finally pulled away, wiping his nose, he stood, nodding to the tombstone. "I'll give the two of you a moment."

Once the sound of his footsteps faded, I sighed, watching my breath rise in the cold air. "Hey, old man. It's been a while... Too long." I stared at his name engraved in the stone, trying to picture his face instead. "I'm sorry I didn't come yesterday, I was... Things got..." I looked down at my jeans, picking at a loose string of fabric. The same jeans I'd been wearing yesterday. "So, there's this boy. He's a complete idiot and just the biggest asshole you'd ever meet. Seriously, he gives Patrick a run for his money sometimes." I laughed to myself, imagining that look he'd give me, telling me to keep going. "But, he makes me feel a lot of things. Good things. He... He makes me feel like I'm normal. Like I'm just me and that... That's beautiful. That I'm beautiful."

My chilled fingers brushed some dirt off his headstone. "He makes me forget, too. Sometimes when I'm with him, it feels like time doesn't exist." I glanced over my shoulder at Ozzy, who stood on the path waiting. "Is that how you felt with Oz? That warm, safe, forgetting? Is it normal to be so... Captivated by someone?"

With a sigh, I settled into my seat in the damp grass. This would be the moment he told me something very profound, something only he could come up with. But, now, all that I could hear was the wind in the trees. Next would come the incessant prying. Dad would want every detail, so, like it was some cosmic secret, I whispered, "His name's Jake, and I think you would've really liked him."

Once I'd finished and pressed my hand to his grave, I felt the weight lift off me. Gone. Truly gone this time. "Bye, Dad. I love you."

Ozzy placed his arm around my shoulder and kissed my head. "Ready to go?"

My eyes cast to the opposite side of the graveyard. "Actually… Would you mind if we visited someone else?"

"Of course not, my dear," he answered, turning down the path toward the person he knew I spoke of.

Clumps of hair swirled along the floor as the door opened. Rada froze in the doorway and looked at the scene with wide eyes. "Lisus."

With blurred vision, I turned my head and looked at her. "I cut it off… oh, oh god, I cut it all off!" My fingers dug into my scalp as the weightlessness of my impulsive rebellion faded, replaced now by terror. "They love my long hair. Tony… He hates short hair! They're going to be so mad I made myself look uglier!"

The maid's lips thinned as she tossed her supplies on the counter and quickly made her way to my side. I flinched as she raised her hand to my cheek, gently attempting to wipe away some of the smudges of charcoal. "How long has it been since you slept Lyubov?"

"I can't sleep," I replied quietly. "They said I needed to finish my pieces for the gala… I'm not good enough… They-"

"None of this," she interrupted, helping me to my feet and leading me up the stairs to the washroom. "Let us get you cleaned up and fix that beautiful hair, hmm?

Rada bathed me, using a soft sponge to clean the paint and charcoal off my face and hands and washing my butchered hair. She quietly assessed the damage and helped wrap me in a warm robe. She lovingly brushed through my hair, finding a pair of scissors and carefully, meticulously cutting to even it out. After a moment, she said, "Repeat after me. Ya krasivaya."

"Ya krasivaya." My voice was shaking from the effort it took to keep my tears at bay.

Rada nodded, smiling at me through the mirror. "Good. Now, ya sil'nyy."

"Ya sil'nyy." 

"Ya lyubim."

"Ta lyubim."

"Mne uzhe dostatochno."

"Mne uzhe dostatochno."

Smiling at me, she smoothed her hands over the now even, short bob. "There, beautiful as always."

"He's going to hate it…" I swallowed a lump in my throat. "I'm so stupid…"

Clicking her tongue, she shushed me. "Do you hate it?"

I looked in the mirror, examining the short, black hair. "I… I miss the red."

She wiped the tears from my eyes and kissed my head. "Then we'll let the red grow back out. You go rest now, Lyubov."

Shaking my head, I tried to protest. "I have to-"

"I will clean up the mess," Rada interrupted, shaking her brush at me. "And then I will pick out your pieces for your show."

"Rada-"

"My Lena," she whispered, taking hold of my face. "My sweet girl… Rest. Let Rada handle everything else."

As she turned to leave, I asked, "What did the words mean?"

Shaking her head, she clicked her tongue. "You'll understand them soon."

I am beautiful.

I am strong.

I am loved.

I am already enough.

With a deep breath, I looked down at the modest stone that marked her grave.  I pressed a kiss to the tombstone. "Ya lyublyu tebya, mama."

*

Home felt far better than it ever had as I entered the gym through the alley door. I let my fingers trail along the pictures on the wall and headed upstairs to the apartment, finally ready to face Patrick and make amends to both my brothers. When I opened the apartment door, all the noise on the other side died. Patrick stood, holding the garbage can, while Peter sat at the table next to Dom. And Jake stood off to the side, half leaning against my bedroom door. 

I wondered why they were here as I dropped my bag on the ground by the door. "I-"

Patrick practically threw the garbage can back into the corner as he twisted around the table and slammed into me. His arms held me tightly to him as if it were the most important thing he could ever do. "You know I didn't mean any of it, right?" He asked, his voice nearly turning into sobs. "I didn't mean it."

I buried my head into his neck. "I know. I didn't mean it either."

Patrick held me tighter. "I know."

We didn't move for a few minutes, both of us breathing heavy sighs of relief at the unspoken but heard apologies. My big brother pulled away first, taking my head in his large hands and blinking away tears. "I love you, little sister."

With a sniffling laugh, I replied, "I love you too, big brother."

Dom made his way past us, wordlessly offering me a pat on the head. Peter hugged me, kissing my head softly. "Don't disappear like that again. Please."

"I won't."

Eventually the two of them followed Dom downstairs to lock the doors, leaving Jake and I alone in the apartment. "Hi," I mumbled, slightly afraid he'd be pissed at me.

Jake breathed a sound of relief? "Hi."

"I'm sorry about earlier…" I started, cursing my eyes as they once again filled with tears. "I shouldn't have run out on you I-"

"Stop," he said, not harshly or loudly… Definite and soft. "You…" His jaw clenched for a second, a far-off look threatening to fill his eyes. "You have nothing to apologize for."

He didn't hate me. I wanted to sob. "They told you then?"

For a moment, he looked scared, and worried as he stumbled on his words for a second. "What?"

"My brothers. I'm guessing they told you about yesterday? About it being the anniversary of our dad's death."

"That's why you were… I'm sorry. I didn't know."

I shook my head, quickly shushing him. "It's not your fault. I could have canceled."

"Why didn't you?" He asked, the vulnerability from this morning sinking into his voice.

Shrugging I smiled at him. "I wanted to be with you."

Without another word, Jake stepped forward and wrapped his arms around me. This hug felt heavier… Deeper than the others. Jake held me so tightly that for a moment, I wondered if he was trying to consume me or mold us into one being. His hands cradled my head and back so gently, like I was a freshly plucked flower. It was odd and yet comforting.

Normally, I hated deep hugs. They felt too much like sorrow and pity and everything I didn't want to feel. But Jake's hug was different. It was soft and warm. Safe. I found myself melting into his arms, curling into him - seeking out that feeling that he just radiated.

"I missed you today," I found myself admitting against his skin.

Jake chuckled. "I missed you too, princess."

I pulled my head back, staring into his eyes. "You can stay here tonight if you want to."

"It is getting late," he replied, a tiny hint of teasing.

Laughing, I nodded. "I'd hate for you to get your ass kicked trying to get home."

He smirked. "We both know how easy it is for me to get my ass kicked."

"Come on," I said, gently pulling him into my bedroom.

We undressed in comfortable silence, both our eyes lingering on the other person's body in an odd, almost reverent way. As Jake climbed into the bed, situating himself under the yellow covers, leaving plenty of room for me to join him, I tossed our clothes in my chair and quickly ran a brush through my hair. The lumpy mattress felt better than ever as I sank into Jake’s side, instantly curling into him.

His hands gently massaged my shoulders as he inhaled my hair and looked down at me. I could see something, a feeling or a question, swimming in his eyes. “What’s on your mind?”

“I just… I didn’t make you feel… obligated to stay last night, did I?”

I sat up slightly, touching his cheek and shaking my head. “No! I stayed because I wanted to stay, Jake.”

Nodding, he swallowed. “You just seemed unsure before all the fun.”

“I mean… I guess was a bit… Nervous,” I admitted sheepishly.

His mood lightened as he chuckled. "Nervous about seeing me? I'm flattered."

"Not about that, jackass. Just… I…" With a sigh, I closed my eyes and shook my head, curling into him more. "I was just nervous that you were expecting it to be different."

Jake's fingers idly combed through my hair as he hummed, throat vibrating against my forehead. "I didn't really have any expectations."

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I asked the question that could be a horrible thing to bring up. "Why did you tell Simone we were going on a date then?"

He pulled back, brows furrowed and confusion clear on his face. "I didn't tell Simone we were doing anything yesterday. Why would you think that?"

"I swung by the restaurant before meeting you. She told me I looked cute and not to be nervous because you were good at this sort of thing. Then she assured me she could keep our date a secret."

Jake's genuine confusion only grew. "I…" He paused and shook his head. "I'll talk to her about it. Sorry if that made you feel-"

Covering his mouth with my fingers, I smiled at him. "I didn't feel obligated to do anything. I wanted to. I just… I'm not very good at this."

His laugh vibrated through my fingers as he gently pulled them off his lips. "It's hard to imagine anything you're not good at."

"I assure you, I'm horrible at a lot of things."

"Name one."

"This," I answered smugly, relaxing my head back on his pillow.

Jake rolled his eyes, arms tightening around me. "You seem pretty good at it to me."

Our breaths mingled together, noses brushing ever so slightly. "Well, you're biased, so what you think doesn't count."

A soft silence filled the apartment. The hum of all that had happened… All that we both had come to feel and realize over the past few weeks slowly building. I could feel the question building up in my chest, burning… Pleading for me to let it out. It was only a matter of time before I blurted it all out. Jake just happened to beat me to it. "So… What… What is this?"

I felt all the air leave my lungs as I stared back at those eyes. This was a chance for us to both acknowledge whatever it was we were… What we wanted. It was a chance I wanted to take more than anything, but the words that stumbled out were not what I'd planned. "I thought you hated labels."

God dammit. Jake smirked and shrugged his shoulder. "Normally, I do. But, this isn't normal… Is it?"

"No, it's not."

"We don't have to have this conversation right now," he said, tiredly. "Raincheck?"

“Raincheck.”

That talk could happen tomorrow. But now, all I wanted was to get lost in the moment. Peaceful and safe and tired.  "Jake?" I quietly asked, determined to rid myself of that one last question that was still tugging lightly at the back of my mind.

"Yeah, princess?"

"If my brothers didn't tell you about dad… Why were you already here when I got back?"

He was quiet for a moment, so quiet I almost thought he’d fallen asleep already, but then his chest dipped heavily. "I was worried about you, so I showed up to ask if they'd seen you. Then you walked in."

I giggled, my heart practically doing summersaults in my chest at the soft admittance of his worry for me. "I do have amazing timing, don't I?"

Jake pressed his lips to my head, a simple, intimate act that made my eyes close and everything inside me still. “Yeah. You really do."

[raccoon-eyed-rebel]

Part 7 - Spirits, sorrow and surprise

Masterlist

Series Masterlist

Part 6 -- Part 8

Summary: The boys celebrate the beginning of their Christmas break with a drink (or several) at their regular bar.

Warnings: (Vague) mention of blowjob, consumption of alcohol, fluff, some angst? Mentions of domestic violence. Tell me if I'm missing any.

Word count: 4.2k

A/N: This one was fun to write! Lots of interactions between the boys, intro of the next girlfriend, and for anyone who's been curious; by the end of this you'll know how Sy and Dani know each other.

Timeline-wise we're in the weekend after the first 6 chapters. I'd planned for ch7 to be a Charles-chapter, but I have 5 Christmas chapters and a NYE party to write and post (not including this one) meaning I'm hopelessly behind. Please forgive me.

@peaches1958 @keanureevesisbae Sorry if I'm keeping y'all busy ;)

“Fuck me, one more quiz from Laferrier and I’m switching majors,” Charles groaned as he and Walker left the lecture hall. 

“Be glad you missed the last one, that was much worse,” August replied sourly. 

“You aced the last one.” The surprise in Charles’ voice caused August to shoot a confused look at his friend.

“I fail to see how those things are mutually exclusive,” he shrugged, his voice thick with the kind of arrogance only types like Walker or Napoleon could get away with. 

“Whatever, we’ve got two weeks of sweet freedom ahead of us,” Charles laughed. Walker happened to know Charles was hopelessly behind on nearly all assignments for all of his classes, but he couldn’t feel bad. The man couldn’t balance business and pleasure for shit, and all of this was his own fault. It wasn’t that he wasn’t smart - he always passed, and with minimal effort - he was just distracted a little too easily. And he was nothing like Mike, either, who was an idiot when it came to most things, but a borderline genius when you put him behind a computer. 

“Sounds like a cause for a celebration,” Marshall turned up next to Charles, somewhat out of the blue, followed by Sherlock, who looked far more awake and confident than his friend. 

“You look like you could use a drink,” Charles laughed, slapping Marshall on the back. He did look tired - not that that was unusual, but today it was striking. 

“Just handed in a ten page psych-paper.” Marshall yawned. From the looks of it, he’d been up for the bigger part of the night, if not all of it.

“Keppler?” Walker asked - he was careful, not sure if Marshall had forgiven him for last weekend’s little episode yet. “Liebermann,” Sherlock said. The reply was accompanied by a groan from both Marshall and Walker. The fact that she was insanely hot didn’t make up for the fact that that woman was a fucking harpy. As the four of them walked home, Walker and Marshall talked about the paper some more - Walker had taken the course as an elective the year before. Sherlock gave up on trying to convince Marshall that his assignment was absolutely fine after about six tries. 

“What’s up with you and the orchestra-girl,” Charles grinned. Making Sherlock feel awkward wasn’t the sole purpose of his question, but it was a nice bonus - and easily achieved. 

For once, Sherlock decided to forego his regular answer (‘nothing’) and tell the truth: “Her name is Elena, and we… kissed.” 

“And last week’s rehearsal went so poorly because you were imagining what her boobs look like?” Charles rolled his eyes. It’s not that he was trying to be a nosy, gossiping git, he was just curious. Inappropriately so, according to some - alright, according to most. 

“I don’t have to imagine, I know what they look like.” The words were out of his mouth before he realized he’d even opened it. Walker and Marshall each raised an eyebrow and half-listened to the conversation between Sherlock and Charles while continuing their own. 

“I’m impressed, Holmes. Mildly, but still. I was beginning to think I’d have to take her off your hands,” Charles laughed. The laughter was replaced by a sharp gasp when five fingers suddenly dug painfully into his shoulder and Sherlock appeared in front of him. Walter and August paused their conversation when they noticed what was going on. 

“You so much as look at her wrong and I swear to you, Brandon, you will not walk away in one piece, do you hear me?” Three pairs of eyebrows were raised at this outburst: It very decidedly wasn’t like Sherlock at all to react like this - emotional and rash. He had a far better handle on his temper than August or even Geralt - in fact, none of the guys had been aware that Sherlock Holmes had a temper. Turns out he did, and it was quite intimidating. 

“Sherlock,” Marshall said carefully, “I’m sure Charles was just joking.”

“I’m quite sure he wasn’t.”

Charles looked at him in disbelief. “You seriously think I’m that bad a friend?”

“I don’t think you are, but I can’t trust you aren’t.” Quite frankly, nobody could disagree with that statement. 

“Solo, you have five minutes to finish up with whoever is underneath your desk right now, we’re going out for a drink.” Leon made a face at Walker’s remark - either he was too predictable, or August knew him a little too well. 

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you didn’t know how to knock,” Leon growled through gritted teeth. Walker barging in unannounced was unwelcome at the best of times, least of all when you were halfway through getting your dick sucked. When August disappeared and slammed the door shut, Leon looked down at the pretty blonde between his knees. 

“Baby, I don’t need five minutes,” she purred, and with a devilish look in her eyes, she returned her attention to what she’d been doing. It wasn’t a lie; barely ten minutes later, Napoleon pulled the door of his room shut behind him. 

“Sorry I’m late!” Mike threw his jacket over the back of the last available chair. 

“No need, we’re grateful,” Sherlock said dryly, “had you been on time, all of us would’ve died of shock.” Everyone laughed at the joke. Nobody seemed to mind that he was the last to get there, but Mike couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty about it. 

“Ask Elena what she thinks of guys who come last.” That one earned him a smack in the head from Marshall as soon as he sat down. 

“Don’t get comfortable, you’re getting the next round,” Marshall told him. A round of drinks for the lot of them was usually an odd combination. The beers were the easy part, but the sometimes unusual whims of the guys who preferred something more decadent - usually August, Napoleon, Charles, Sherlock or, God save the poor bartender, all of the above - had on multiple occasions gotten you desperate looks from personnel. Occasionally, some of the more attractive female bartenders had even refused to sleep with Charles because of the tables consistently time consuming orders -  and Charles rarely struck out. 

“I’ll bring ‘em over, Mike, shift’s almost up, anyway!” Anjelica shouted from behind the bar, signaling you to sit back down. She’d been around long enough to know that waiting around by a bar could make Mikey annoying very quickly. He raised a hand by means of a ‘thank you’ and turned back.

“... as terrible as last week, practice somewhere else.” The group laughed at Leon’s remark, and even though Mike hadn’t heard the beginning of that sentence, he could guess that it was about Sherlock’s unusually bad rehearsal from last Saturday. 

“Yeah, what was that all about?” Sy asked. His voice sounded genuine enough, but his face told a different story. 

“Elena, of course,” Mike said - suggestive eyebrow-wiggle included - as he sat back down. Geralt scowled at both of them, annoyed at how immature they were being. Sherlock looked slightly uneasy, which wasn’t helped by the fact that Leon doubled down on the teasing by bringing up the bets that had been made about the situation between Sherlock and Elena. Right at that moment, Anjelica walked over to the table with the drinks and set them down. 

“Can I sit?” She asked. Without waiting for an answer, she sat down in August’s lap and leaned her elbows on the table, dropping her face in her hands. 

“Soooo?” 

“Anjelica, don’t be ridiculous.”

“Sherlock, my friend Isabelle is on the volleyball team with Elena’s best friend Lahela’s roommate Susanna’s boyfriend’s sister Joanne,” Anjelica said with a sickly sweet smile on her face. Reactions to that sentence were divided between the Got Its and Got It Nots - as was proved by Sy’s eloquent response: “Huh?”

Leon was the one to answer, because he saw Anjelica open her mouth and she would no doubt try to explain the whole thing: “If she wants to know, she’ll find out.” Anjelica approved the summary with a meaningful shrug and another smile. 

“Angie…” Sherlock rarely used Anjelica’s nickname. 

“For God’s sake, man, you snogged her, you didn’t murder her mother,” Charles chuckled. He often shared the more intimate details of his life a little too freely, so this was getting on his nerves.

“Charles, when were you planning on leaving for Christmas?” Geralt interjected - he was thoroughly fed up with the entire conversation. His one-on-one with Sherlock on Friday had been awkward enough - and neither had had to worry about a whole table (and the rest of a room) full of people then. Anjelica was about to protest, but August wasn’t having that. 

“Ange,” he said softly. When she turned to look at him, he just shook his head. The look in his eyes said it all. Charles also finally took the hint. 

“I’m leaving tonight, Henry’s driving me and his sister Mary back. I’ll be back on the twenty-eighth, though. Can’t miss New Year’s Eve here,” he shared a meaningful look with Leon as he said that last bit. The conversation quickly turned to sharing holiday plans with each other. Leon was leaving the next morning, and returning on the 27th, just like Marshall. 

“August?” 

“He’s coming with me,” Anjelica answered before he could say anything. August didn’t look particularly happy about the whole situation - no one dared to suggest he was terrified to meet Anjelica’s family, though they did all consider that a very valid reason to be afraid. 

“That whipped, huh?” Mike said jokingly, already preparing to duck in the event of flying glassware. It was probably a good thing that the man was on his third scotch and he was generally a pretty laid back drunk. 

“What about you, Mikey?” Anjelica asked. Mike just shrugged and told her he wasn’t going home, indicating he didn’t want to talk about it any further, and despite being incredibly curious by nature, Anjelica felt it best not to press the matter. She moved her eyes to Sherlock and nodded at him to ask the same question. 

“Staying to practice for the concert,” he said simply. Under his breath, but poorly disguised, Charles muttered some remark containing the words ‘snog’ and ‘Elena’, which earned him a swift kick in the shins from August - which in turn earned August an approving nod from Geralt. 

“Sy?” Anjelica was now genuinely curious about the last few people at the table. 

“Long as I ain’t plannin’ on apologizin’ to ma’s son of a bitch boyfriend, I ain’t welcome,” he growled. From the look on his face, everyone could tell he had no intention of apologizing. 

“Apologize for what?” Anjelica whispered to August, knowing she probably wouldn’t get much of an answer out of him. She was right: he just made a gesture that meant something along the lines of ‘ask him yourself’, so she repeated the question out loud, to Sy. 

“You ever wonder why I don’t use my first name?” He asked in return. She shook her head. 

“I don’t even think I know your first name.” 

“Nathaniel Evan Syverson,” Sy said, “Evan’s the name of my uncle, ma’s brother. He’s alright. Nathan’s ma’s boyfriend. He takes a li’l too kindly to beatin’ the shit out of her for my taste, so forgive me if I don’t exactly like the guy. She defends the piece of shit tooth ‘n nail, though. You can take that literally.”

“Shit, Sy,” Anjelica put a hand in front of her mouth. He said it so casually, as if it was the most normal thing. “What about you?” She couldn’t quite find the words to ask what she wanted to, but he understood perfectly. 

“Oh he beat on me, too. Think I ain’t got a single rib that he ain’t broken at some point.” “No one ever suspected?”

“Oh, school knew. Never did nothin’, though.” Sy chuckled grimly. “Kept beatin’ on me ‘til I grew too big for him to take. Tried to hit ‘m back once…” 

“What…” She couldn’t say anything else. 

“Ma protected him. Ended up catchin’ my fist herself. That’s when she told me I wasn’t welcome no more ‘til I said I was sorry for tryna hit Nate.” Sy had been staring at the bottle in his hands for the entire duration of his story, which meant he was surprised and a bit startled by the arms that wrapped around his shoulders all of a sudden. He patted her arm softly. 

“‘S alright, Ange, but thanks.” He was even more surprised when Anjelica pulled in a chair and sat next to him. 

“Is that why you and August…” She had no idea how to finish the sentence she started, and she didn’t have to. Sy knew exactly what she was asking about. Everyone at that table did. 

“Anjelica, what’s that?” Sy carefully grabbed her hand to get a better look at her wrist, where bluish-purple peaked from under her sleeves. She shook her hair back and smiled at him. 

“It’s nothing, Sy,” she said sweetly, “nothing to worry about.” Everything could have been alright, if Mike hadn’t come into the kitchen at that moment, which made Anjelica turn her head. Sy’s eyes went wide when he saw the four spots on the side of her neck, and he grabbed her chin to search the other side for a matching one. When he found it, he stared at her for a while, connecting the dots as he gently raised his hand to her throat and hovered his fingers over the marks. 

“Where is he?”

“Sy…”

“Where. Is. He?”

“Where is who?” Unfortunately for August, it was August who asked.

“You…” What came out of Sy’s throat was more vibration than sound; a low growl, dripping with pure, unadulterated rage. “I’m gonna kill you.” And without further warning, he lunged forward - practically through Mike - toward August, grabbing him by the shoulders and pinning him against the wall. 

“Fuck!” Mike yelled as he jumped out of the way to avoid being tackled. 

“Sy!” Anjelica was on the verge of tears, looking helplessly at Mike as she reached for Sy’s arms and tried to pull him away from August, “Sy, it’s not what you think!” 

“Sy, let him go, man,” Mike tried. From the look on his face, Anjelica could tell he was shocked. August, on the other hand, looked completely calm. 

“Please let go of me, Syverson, so I can explain.” He said it so matter-of-factly it was almost comical in this situation. 

“If you think I’m gon’ let you justify beatin’ the fuck outta ya girl, you’re fuckin’ insane!”

“Sy,” Anjelica tried again, “that’s not…” He ignored her pleading again. When Sy pulled his arm back to punch Walker, Mike grabbed his arm. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the muscle to deal with a guy of Sy’s size, especially not when he was angry like this. Fortunately, they’d been making enough noise for the whole house to check out the situation, which quickly escalated to a full-blown fight between the two. 

It had taken four guys - Geralt, Marshall, Charles and Mike - to pull the two apart, and they hadn’t managed before Sy got a couple of good blows in. Leon had taken care of Anjelica, who had curled up in a corner, scared that Sy would make good on his word to kill her boyfriend - friend, date, hookup… whatever they’d been back then. What had followed the fight was a lengthy and awkward conversation between the guys about the nature of Angie and August’s relationship, which ended with Sy stating very clearly that he neither understood nor supported the dynamic, but that he’d accept that it was their choice and none of his business. He’d never explained, though, why he’d had such a strong reaction to begin with. 

“Yeah,” Sy finally answered Anjelica’s half-asked question. She gave him another hug - letting him know that she understood now - before walking back to August, who pulled her back into his lap. 

“You knew.” It wasn’t a question: The look in his eyes was more than enough for Anjelica to figure it out. 

“I did.” 

“Why did you never tell me?” 

“Wasn’t my story to tell, Angie.” Anjelica replied to that by rolling her eyes and then turned back around. 

“Alright, where were we?” She asked cheerfully with a hint of that thing women did when they told you ‘it’s fine, do whatever you want’ when in reality, it wasn’t fine and you definitely shouldn’t do whatever you want. August knew he hadn’t heard the last of this yet, but for now, they were going to let it rest. “Geralt, your plans?”

“One moment,” he replied while holding up his phone. He answered it at the table, which Anjelica had found rude when she’d first met Geralt, but now she knew exactly what he was going to say. 

“Sol? I’m at the bar with the guys, can I call you back?” He barely waited for an answer before he hung up. 

“Sorry about that,” he said, “to answer your question: Me and my brothers don’t celebrate Christmas, so there’s no real reason for me to leave here.”

“You have brothers?” Anjelica asked, surprised that this had never come up before. According to Geralt, it was rather a long story, but she wanted to hear it nonetheless. 

The other side of the table had moved on to a different subject altogether. Over the past hour, Sy and Marshall had been looking at Mike, who checked his phone nervously every five minutes. He seemed kind of sad. 

“What’s up with you?” Marshall asked, one eyebrow raised. 

“Dani,” Mike sighed, “we’ve barely talked since last weekend, and I have no idea what could’ve happened or if I did something wrong or something…” If there was anything he wanted to add, it was put on hold by Charles asking about the next round of drinks. 

“Sucks,” Sy said dryly - a little too much, even for his doing. 

“Can’t think of anything?” Marshall half-joked. He raised his hands apologetically when Mike shot him a dirty look. 

“Alright, assuming it’s not you - ow! - I noticed she freaked out when she saw you,” he nodded in Sy’s direction, “what was that about?”

“I thought I saw something! Wasn’t sure though…” Mike said almost triumphantly. Sy looked at the beer in his hands, nervously tearing at the label. The atmosphere turned more awkward with every passing second. 

“Look, Mikey…” That didn’t sound good. In fact, it sounded so bad that Marshall’s mouth fell open when he realized what Sy was trying to tell Mike. 

“You fucked her,” Mike groaned in disbelief. Then, he fell silent for an uncharacteristically long moment before he started laughing and wondered out loud why he and Sy always went for the same girls. 

“Dunno,” Sy laughed in reply, “good taste?”

“The most we can say is that you have similar taste,” Sherlock interjected, “that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s good.”

“At least now we know that Dani has terrible taste in men,” Marshall noted, “sleeping with just one of them could have been a lapse of judgment, but both of these jerks?”

“We can’t rule out charity,” Sherlock chuckled. 

“Watch it, Holmes,” Mike said, obviously faking the threatening edge to his voice. 

“So, we alright, Mikey?” Sy asked with an apologetic smile on his face. 

“As long as it wasn’t somewhere in the past month,” Mike laughed - he clearly wasn’t mad, which made Sy sigh with relief. 

“Orientation party,” he said, “we’re good, then?”

“Yeah, no big deal!” And he meant it - Mike was easy going even on his worst days. 

The boys got louder with every new round of drinks. August, at some point, even abandoned his extreme aversion to PDA, which the others found quite amusing. 

“God, Walker, keep your hands to yourself,” Geralt sneered. It surprised the others; he was usually the last person to care about others’ inappropriate behavior - and certainly the last to ever comment on it. Anjelica, Sherlock and Marshall were the only ones to pick up on the hint of jealousy in his voice. A gust of icy wind rolled into the bar when the door opened, but other than some shivers, no one took too much notice of it. Charles, Leon and Sy, who were sitting on the side of the table that faced the door, saw and recognized the tall blonde woman who entered the room. She was quick to raise a finger to her lips to signal that they should remain quiet, and then made her way over to their table, until she was standing right behind Geralt. 

“You miss her.” Sherlock said when he heard the tinge of jealousy in the dark voice of his friend. Geralt just scoffed and nodded by means of a reply, not looking up from the glass in his hand.

“You don’t have to,” the blonde behind him said. Geralt jerked his head around so fast that any normal human would have pulled a muscle - or broken their neck. Part of it came from the sheer surprise of being snuck up on - that was a very hard thing to do to Geralt, even when he was a few drinks in - and partly because he recognized that voice immediately. He’d been dreaming of hearing that voice this close to him for weeks. Another fraction of a second later, he stood up - without much subtlety; she had to step aside to avoid taking a chair to the knee. 

“Sol?” He stared at her in disbelief. Was it really her? Was she really here? He reached one hand to the side of her face, slowly and hesitantly. Whoever looked closely enough could see that he almost trembled. It was as if he didn’t trust his own eyes. Until his fingers touched her skin. In a split second, he pulled her against his body and pressed his lips to hers. The kiss was far too passionate - and involved entirely too much tongue - to be appropriate in public, but the boys let it slide. Even Walker, who clearly fought with the desire to throw Geralt’s comment from earlier back into his face. These two hadn’t seen each other in months - they deserved this. 

“Solveig,” Sherlock answered the unasked question on Anjelica’s face, “Geralt’s girlfriend of… at least two years, they were together when I moved in.” 

“We’re indulging them because they’re long distance and he hasn’t seen her in four months,” August added. Anjelica chuckled and seemed to decide that that little fact made the entire situation endearing rather than gross.

“Five months and two weeks.” Geralt and Solveig had finally managed to tear themselves away from the other and sat down. Unlike Anjelica, Solveig grabbed a chair and sat between Geralt and Sherlock. “And we’ve been together for three years.”

“Three years, today,” Solveig added, “December twenty-second. Midwinter.” 

“A long night, indeed,” Charles joked.

“Hm.” It was Geralt’s favorite multi-purpose remark. This time, it was mostly a chuckle, while the expression on his face suggested there was at least some truth to the statement. After congratulations from everyone, and a quickly squeezed in introduction of Solveig to Anjelica and vice versa, Geralt got up to get his girl a drink.

“Are you staying with us, Sol,” Sherlock asked. 

“For the holidays, if that’s alright,” she looked around the table; nobody seemed to have any problems with it. 

“I’d have loved to see them do anything about it,” Geralt laughed. Everyone shuddered at the thought of having to deal with an angry Geralt. “You’re staying two weeks, then?”

“I’m staying until I graduate,” she answered shyly - it was clear that this hadn’t been brought up between them before, “I was offered a place to finish my master’s here.”

“You never…”

“I didn’t want you to think I did it for you,” she whispered apologetically, “I didn’t want me to think I did it for you.”

“Did you find a place here?” Geralt asked it carefully, but everyone knew he was praying to any god who would listen that she wouldn’t ask to move in with him. Not that Walker or Sherlock wouldn’t be quick to point out that the lease didn’t allow that, but still. 

“I did, I will get the keys on the second of January,” she smiled. Solveig knew exactly what the intentions behind that question had been. Talk at the table shifted to dinner - Mike and Sy were getting hungry, which meant one of them got jittery and the other cranky. Luckily, the bar served good burgers. 

“Geralt, why don’t you take Solveig home to get settled in,” Marshall said casually, “she looks beat from the flight.” Mike opened his mouth to say something but was shut up by a kick in the shins from Sherlock. 

“Don’t you need to eat,” Anjelica asked Solveig with a hint of concern in her voice. Both Napoleon and August answered, suggesting takeout and leftover pasta from the day before, respectively. 

Solveig and Geralt didn’t linger - as per everyone’s expectations. Anjelica wondered out loud whether the guys had a problem with Solveig, which resulted in laughter from her audience. 

“They haven’t seen each other for nearly six months,” Sy chuckled and, after he finished his beer, started taking orders for the next round.

“We owe it to them to give them the house for a few hours,” Napoleon added with a grin on his face. 

“We owe it to ourselves to stay away for a few hours,” Mike snickered. Everyone cracked up at that; truer words had never been spoken.

-> Part 8

[khoicesbyk]

The Royal Romance.

Love Everlasting.

A/N: I had a different name and plot for this fic over a year ago. But after being in the RP community for more than a year, I've decided to write the current Royal Life of my favorite OTP.

Rated: Mature (at times can and will be Explicit. I'll be sure to change the rating when and if that happens). | Contains sexual content and strong language. (You know? The usual. Y'all should be used to this from me by now 😁) | Bolded and/or italicized words are conversations and thoughts of the characters. | Main Characters: King Marquise Rys (LI) and Queen Shanelle Miller-Rys (MC) | All Characters and names: (except MC and original characters created by me and/or other authors [their characters have been mentioned and/or used in the story with their permission] ) are property of Pixelberry.

Current Word Count: 50K words. (may be slightly more or may be slightly less. Look, I stop counting after editing and re-editing and driving myself insane. 🤷🏾‍♀️)

If you’d like to be added to my tag list. Just reblog or dm me and I will gladly add you! 😁😘

This series is rated Mature and/or Explicit. It is NOT reading material that is safe for those under 18. Reader discretion is STRONGLY advised!

Missing a chapter or want to read a chapter again? I got you covered! Click ——> Here!

Tag List: @choicesficwriterscreations @peonierose @twinkleallnight @txemrn @shewillreadyou

Yes. We have another chapter with MULTIPLE parts to it. Sorry, I tried to keep under 10K words but I became possessed by the ancestors and didn't stop until they said I’d written enough.

Chapter 9.) Matrimony. Part 1.

Shanelle and Khari were sitting in the solarium, looking through her wedding album. 

“Ooh! There's you! There's Daddy! Look at TiTi! Uncle Dino! Everybody looks so sparkly.” Khari said as she looked through the photos. 

“Thank you, baby.” 

“Whoa! Look at the cake! It's so tall, mommy!” 

“Yup. And it's a good thing they didn't drop it when they brought it out. Otherwise, your Daddy would've had a heart attack.” 

Khari turns to the next page just as her dad walks in followed by their quartet of Corgis.

“There are my two favorite girls! What are you two up to?” Marquise asked. 

“We're taking a trip down memory lane and looking at our wedding album,” Shanelle replies.

“Yeah! You should join us, Daddy.” Khari added. 

“You know. I think I will. You got room for one more?” 

Khari nodded before scooting over.

“Oooh! There's Auntie Nina! And Uncle Lo! Auntie Bronwyn! Look! There's Grammy and Pop Pop! There's Grammy Margo and…” Khari trailed off.

Marquise noticed the look on her face.

“What is it, my love?” he asked.

“Grandpa George,” Khari replied sadly.

Marquise shared a concerned look with his wife.

“I miss him,” Khari said with a sniffle.

Marquise wrapped an arm around his daughter as Khari buried her face in her dad’s side.

“I miss Grandpa.” Khari cried. 

The one thing Marquise hated to see most in this world was his daughter in tears.

“Look at me, my love,” he spoke softly to Khari.

Khari looked up at him with tears in her eyes.

“My little one. Tears in those beautiful eyes simply will not do. I won't stand for it. So let's dry your eyes.” 

Shanelle grabbed tissues and dabbed at Khari’s eyes.

“Much better,” Shanelle said after drying Khari’s eyes.

“Grammy says I should smile because Grandpa is in a happy place but I miss him.”

Marquise kissed her forehead softly. 

“We know you do, my love. And it's okay to feel sad. We miss him too.”

“Do you think Grandpa misses us?” Khari asked.

“I'm sure he does, Peanut. You and Callie were his girls.” Shanelle replies. 

“Then why did Grandpa go away? I don't understand.” Khari cried. 

Shanelle nodded to her husband before he cradled their daughter in his arms.

“My sweet little girl. I know how you feel. I know that it hurts to lose someone you love so much.”

“You do Daddy?” Khari asked with a sniffle.

“Yes, my sweet one. I was just a wee bit older than you when my mother passed away.” Marquise replies. 

“Were you sad Daddy?”

“Yes. I was very sad. I missed her terribly. Even now I miss her.”

“Really?” Khari asked.

“Yes, my love. I miss her a lot. Especially because she never got the chance to meet you, your brothers, and your mother. She never got the chance to love all of you,” Marquise replied.

Khari laid her head on her daddy’s shoulder.

“Do you think she would've liked me?” Khari asked.

“Ellie would have loved you. Even more, than I do.” a voice called out. It was Margo.

She saw the look on Khari’s face and became concerned.

“What's wrong, my sweet? Why do you look so sad?” Margo asked Khari.

Instead of answering, Khari hopped off the couch and ran to Margo.

“I miss Grandpa.”

Margo hugged Khari tightly.

“Oh, my sweet darling. I know you do. We all miss Grandpa.”

Margo thought for a second. 

“I have an idea. Do you know what I did with your father when your grandmother passed away?” Margo asked Khari.

“What did you do, Grammy?” Khari replied.

“I took him and your Uncle Leo to a card shop in the city center. And we bought birthday cards and balloons. And when we got back to the Palace I had them write a message inside each card and tied them to a balloon, and we sent them off to heaven. Your father and I have done that every year for your grandmother's birthday. So what do you say we do that for Grandpa?” 

Khari nodded.

“Okay.”

Margo smiled.

“To make it even more special, we’ll get art supplies and make the cards ourselves. Would you like that?” Margo asked.

“Yes. And we can make them pretty for Grandpa.” Khari replied.

“Exactly. Now dry your eyes my darling. We have cards to make.” 

“Okay, Grammy.”

Margo took Khari by the hand and as she led the young princess out, she looked back to see her son mouth the words ‘thank you, mom’. 

“I will never not be thankful for her,” Shanelle said with a sigh of relief.

“You? I would've been dead without her here with me.”

“Margo was not going to leave you and Leo alone with Connie.”

“I know. That's what I love most about her. She is as protective as she is loving.”

Marquise looked down at the photo album.

“I do have a question for you my love.”

“Yes, Your Majesty?” 

“Why were you two looking through our wedding album?” Marquise asked.

“Khari was curious. And she wanted to know why she wasn't in any of the photos.” Shanelle replied. 

“She wasn't born yet.”

“That's what I told her. But she was convinced she had to be in the photo album somewhere. So I broke out the album and we started looking through it.”

Marquise chuckled softly.

“My what a day that was.”

“Yeah. We had so much fun. The wedding was everything I ever wanted. The reception was immaculate. Everyone looked beautiful.”

“The wedding night was stellar! If I do say so myself.”

Shanelle shook her head.

“You gave me the wedding of my dreams that day.”

“I know I've said this before but I'll say it again, anything for you,” he said before turning the page to their official wedding photo. 

“We were so young.”

“Yeah, we were. Look at us. You looked so good even in all that white regalia. I just knew you'd spill wine all over it.”

“And you were majestic in your wedding gown. It's amazing how we were and still are so in love,” he said before smiling at the photo.

“Indeed, my King.”

Their wedding was the talk of the town. Marquise made sure to pull out all the stops to give his bride the wedding of the century. What started in Boston ended in New York. 

Let's go back, shall we?

It was the weekend after Shanelle and Marquise officially got engaged she was just waking up and when she rolled over the bed was empty. She sat up in bed and saw the bedroom door was cracked so she knew where he was. She threw on a robe and went down to the kitchen to find her then-fiance making coffee. 

“Good morning my beautiful fiancee,” he said as he greeted her.

“Good morning, Your future Majesty,” she replied. 

“Can I offer you a fresh cup?” he asked.

“Sure,” she replied as she sat down at the kitchen island. 

He brought her a fresh hot cup of coffee with all her favorite accouterments.

“Ooh! I get the royal treatment.”

Marquise snorted. 

“Well, you are the future Queen of Cordonia, my love.”

“It doesn't feel real. I'm going to be a Queen. Me. Plain old me.” 

“First things first, don't ever call yourself plain. You are everything but plain.”

“You know what I meant.”

“I stand by my previous statement.”

Shanelle shook her head before taking a sip of her coffee.

“So what's for breakfast?” she asked.

“I was thinking of hash and eggs with Strawberry Nutella pancakes. I have some Spanish ham in the fridge that has to be used before it goes bad,” he replied.

“Works for me.”

“Coming right up.”

She watched him finish his coffee and start breakfast prep. Soon after he had a hot breakfast ready for them both.

“And voila! Breakfast is served.”

“Looks delicious.”

“Thank you, my love.”

“I take it that it won't always be like this.”

“Unfortunately no. This right now is the calm before the storm.” 

“What's the storm?” she asked.

“Formally and officially announcing our engagement, naming you a duchy, beginning the transfer of Monarchial power, coming up with a plan to bring Cordonia back to life, uniting the last remaining two Royal Families as one, on top of planning our wedding,” he replies. 

“That's a tall order.” 

“Exactly. We will be busy for the next few months.”

“How soon do we have to be married?” she asked.

“Ideally? Now. But I want you to have the wedding of your dreams.” he replies.

“Gee thanks.”

Marquise chuckled. 

“Is it wrong that I’m terrified?” she asked. 

“No. Because essentially you’d be walking in blind. You have never dealt with Cordonian politics. I deal with them in my sleep. But that's also why you will be an amazing Queen. Because you aren't native to the kingdom, you can offer an outside and fresh perspective to the kingdom. Like my mother did when she was Queen. It's why the people loved her so much.”

“I'm sad I never got to meet her.”

“She would have loved you. She would've been pissed at our fathers and your uncle because of the betrothal agreement.”

“You think so?” she asked.

“Absolutely. She abhorred arranged marriages. Her mother was forced into one in Kenya. That's why she took the job as a chambermaid in Auvernal. She wanted to get her and my mother as far away from her husband as possible.”

“What was he like?” she asked.

“From the stories my mother used to tell, he was cruel. He had multiple wives and children in their village. According to my mother, he used to beat his wives if they disobeyed him.” he replied.

“What was your grandmother’s name?” she asked.

“Esther. I have a picture of her back home. She died after my parents were married. To honor her, my mother contacted her oldest brother, my uncle Victor, and had her buried near their village in Kenya.” he replied. 

“Wow.”

“To keep me connected to her side of my family, she taught me to speak, read, and write Swahili.”

“Really?” she asked.

“Yes. She wanted me to learn so that if I ever found myself in Kenya again, I would know how to communicate with the people there. So I would never need a guide,”  he replied.

“Your mother was a badass.”

“Thank you. Where do you think I get it from?” he asked.

“You're not a badass, sir.”

“Rude!”

Shanelle snickered.

“I can't believe you know Swahili.”

“It's a beautiful language. It's also how my mother used to curse at my father.”

“Really?” she asked.

“Mmmhmmm. Whenever she got mad at him, she'd curse his name in Swahili. And he was none the wiser.”

“Again she was a badass.”

“Thank you. She tried to teach him Swahili but he was never interested.”

“Would you ever teach me?” she asked.

“Sure. I'll start with my favorite phrase,” he replied.

“What's your favorite phrase in Swahili?” she asked.

“Nakupenda, mrembo wangu. It means I love you, my beautiful one,” he replied.

“Smooth.” 

He snickered.

“So in terms of the engagement, what happens now?” she asks.

“Well first things first, I would send the news off to two people,” he replied.

“Who?”

“Duke Godfrey would be first. He's the herald of the Monarchy. He sends out official Press Releases on behalf of my father. And the second is an old friend named Donnie Brine. He's the Editor-in-Chief at the CBC.” 

“What's the CBC?” she asked.

“The Cordonian Broadcasting Company. He's covered both Royal Families for decades. Once they're alerted, we will be off to Cordonia.” he replies.

“To be married?” she asked.

“No. To begin the transfer of Monarchial power,” he replies.

“What does that entail exactly?” she asked.

“We would meet with my father and your uncle and they would sign over their kingdoms to us. Then the process would begin and it would finalize at our wedding,” he replies.

“What happens if they try to fight us?” she asks.

“They could but it would do them no good. The one smart thing your father did right was to have a special provision written into the agreement. My father and your uncle have to transfer the kingdoms over to us peacefully or else they'll be stripped of their titles, thrown into a dungeon and the two kingdoms will be turned over to you without us having to be married.” he replies.

“My dad did that?”

“Yes. He wasn't just going to turn you over without you getting a kingdom.” 

Shanelle sighed.

“So I guess he was looking out for me.”

“Indeed. Speaking of which, have you talked to him?” he asked.

Shanelle shook her head no.

“I don’t know if I’m ready to speak to him yet.”

“I understand but hopefully you'll be talking to him before we get married.”

“Hopefully. Now when will you send the news about our engagement?” she asked.

“As soon as I get back upstairs to my laptop. Why? You in a rush?” he replied.

“Am I in a rush to get my duchy? Yes.”

“And here I thought you loved me.”

“I love money, power, and access. Not you.”

Marquise placed a hand over his chest.

“I'm being used! My poor heart.” 

The two snickered.

“Are you ready, love?” he asked.

“No. But I know that you'll be there,” she replies.

He covered her trembling right hand with his. 

“Of course not. I will never leave you alone. We rule together.” 

“So let's get this show on the road.” 

Marquise smiled at her. They finished their breakfast before he headed upstairs to send the news of their engagement off to the proper channels. And while he was sending the official word, she was breaking the news to her girls. 

“Okay out with it!” Nina said.

“Yeah! What was with that cryptic text?” Robin asked.

“It better be an emergency!” Bron pouted. 

“What they said!” Aly, Dee, and Chut said in agreement.

“Are y'all done?” Shanelle asked. 

“What is it, Princess?” Nina asked.

Shanelle sighed dramatically before covering her face with her left hand showing her engagement ring. 

“Gee…what could I possibly text you tramps about that would be so damn urgent?” she asked. 

The girls stared for a few seconds trying to figure out what Shanelle was asking until Nina spoke up.

“HOLY SHIT! IS THAT AN ENGAGEMENT RING?!” Nina blurted out.

“And my favorite Keane Klown wins the door prize!”

The girls all began talking and cheering all at once. 

“Oh, My God!” Dee squealed.

“Yesssssssss!” Chut cheered.

“Congratulations Shan! I'm so happy for you!” 

“We are planning a bachelorette party!” Bron piped up.

“And the Bridal Shower!” Robin added.

Shanelle shook her head with a smile.

“Thank you, girls.”

“When did he propose?” Nina asked.

“The other night. It was a whole thing.” Shanelle replied.

“Did he do a whole romantic gesture?” Bron asked.

“He was going to do that until…” Shanelle replied.

“Until what?” Dee asked. 

Shanelle sighed deeply.

“Until Cass showed up.”

“WHAT?! The girls exclaimed.

“No. He didn't,”  Nina said out loud.

Shanelle looked at her best friend. 

“He did. It's not his fault. He was set up.”

“By who?” Chut asked.

“Marquise’s ex. She set him up.” Shanelle replies.

The girls all went off at once. None more than Nina.

“How the fuck did she do that?” Nina asked.

“Apparently when she found out about me, she also found out about Cass. And she reached out to him and fed him a bullshit lie about me being in trouble and that he had to save me from Marquise.” Shanelle replies.

“Oh hell no!” Robin growled.

“She needs her ass beat!” Nina growled. 

“Trust and believe she's getting her ass handed to her. But not by you.”

“And why not? He's my brother.” Nina asked. 

“Because I'm not about to have you arrested for a murder that you can't get away with,” Shanelle replied.

“What makes you think I can't get away with it?” Nina asked.

“Because she's Cordonian Royalty and you're not. Also, what part of ‘I'm not about to have you arrested for a murder that you can't get away with’ did you not hear?” Shanelle replied. 

Nina sucked her teeth.

“Besides, I owe the bitch an ass-whooping anyway.” 

“Uh uh! We want in!” Bron piped up.

“Fine! Y'all can record me beating her ass while yelling WorldStar!”

The girls laughed. 

“So what happened?” Dee asked.

“I was upstairs when I heard yelling and when I came downstairs, Cass had his gun drawn on Marquise,” Shanelle replies.

“He drew his weapon?” Robin asked.

“Yeah. That's not even the worst part.” Shanelle replies.

“I don’t like the sound of this.” Chut quipped. 

Shanelle sighed.

“Marquise and I were coming back from a youth football game when he got an alert on his phone. Cass tripped the silent alarm when he picked the lock on the kitchen door.” 

“He broke in?!” Aly asked.

“Yeah…” Shanelle replied.

“He had a warrant right?” Nina asked.

Shanelle went quiet. 

“Oh no! No! He wouldn't!”

Shanelle sighed deeply.

“Sadly he did. He not only broke in but he didn't have a warrant.”

The girls groaned and sighed in disappointment. 

“Please don't be mad at him. He did what he thought was right. He thought he was protecting me. If y'all are gonna be mad, be mad at the bitch. This was her fault. Not his.”

“Oh believe me. I am pissed at her. I can't believe she set my brother up.” Nina hissed. 

“I can. I'm sure she thought Cass would be able to convince me to leave Marquise. Which is kinda ironic.”

“Why?” Dee asked.

“According to Marquise, this chick is already married.”

“Marrieddddddd?!?!?!?!” Bron asked.

“Yup. She got a whole-ass husband at home but she swears that she doesn't love him. She only loves my now fiance.” Shanelle replied.

“She is fucking insane.” Chut quipped.

“She's the perfect case study for you babe.”

“Nope. Hell no! I wouldn't touch her. I'd kill her for fucking with you and my cousin.”

Shanelle snickered.

“Here come the claws!” 

The girls laughed. 

“The nerve of that floozie!” Aly seethed. 

The girls cackled.

“Not a floozie! Alyssa Lynn! You know better!” Shanelle said in feigned shock. 

“She is! She's nothing but trouble!”

“She's nothing that I can't handle.”

“We! Nobody fucks with you without getting jumped by us.” Robin said emphatically.

“Y’all are my girls for a reason.”

“This is a great day and it's about to get greater,” Bron said. 

“What do you mean?” Shanelle asked.

They watched Bronwyn bite her lip before showing off her left hand, revealing her engagement ring.

“Shut. Up!” Shanelle said out loud.

The girls cheered all over again.

“Bronwyn! Why would you wait to say something?” Shanelle asked.

“Because this was your moment. I didn't want to interrupt,” she replied.

“I'm gonna whoop you! As matter of fact, where is my shoe?!” Shanelle asked.

The girls laughed. 

“But seriously congratulations babe! Finally, someone is gonna make an honest man outta Squirt.”

“Thank you, Shanelle. I'm so excited.”

“Same here.”

“So can we start planning for these weddings?” Nina asked.

“Yeah yeah. Go crazy.” Shanelle replied.

“Go crazy about what?” Marquise asked as he came down the stairs with his laptop in his hands.

“Is that the Prince?” Bron asked.

“The one and the same. Now, what is this beautiful creature permitting you girls to do?” Marquise replied.

“Her bachelorette party and bridal shower. And Bron’s wedding too,” Dee answered.

“Well let me first say congratulations to you, Miss Davis.”

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

“And let me also add one more party to your planning. Every future Queen has to host an official tea for the ladies of the court. So how would you ladies like to plan that tea?” Marquise asked.

“Do we have a budget?” Robin asked.

“Nope,” Marquise replied.

“Oop! Okay Mr. Moneybags! I see you.”

“Does it have to be in Cordonia?” Dee asked.

“Yes. It will be at her soon-to-be duchy. But as she said, you girls get to go crazy.” Marquise replied.

“Oooh!” the girls said in response. 

“Well, ladies…have fun,” Marquise said to the girls.

“Oh, we will!” Nina said to him.

“Wonderful. Now I have to steal the future Queen if you girls don't mind.” 

Shanelle shook her head.

“I'll talk to you girls soon,” Shanelle said to her friends before they all signed off. 

“Are they excited?” he asked.

“Very. For us and Bron. Also, they're the bridesmaids. That's non-negotiable.” she replies.

“Fair enough. Now I have to show you your duchy so they can help you plan and host your first tea.”

“I get to pick my duchy?” she asked.

“No, I've already picked it out,” he said as he opened his laptop.

“If it's my duchy why do you get to choose it?” she asked.

“Future King,” he replies.

Shanelle pouted. 

“Now let me show you your duchy. This is Valtoria. It's one of the oldest duchies in Cordonia.” 

“It's beautiful.”

“And it's all yours.” 

Shanelle scrolled through the pictures on his laptop. She loved all the open fields, the quaint towns, the lakes, ponds, the two rivers, as well as the massive estate with the waterfall behind it. 

“All of that is mine?” she asked.

“Yes. Or it will be once we go to Cordonia,” he replies.

“But what am I supposed to do with it?” she asked.

“The people of Valtoria are pretty self-sufficient. To be honest, outside of visiting the orphanage, the hospital, and hosting the Lantern Festival every June, they don't require much from you,” he replies.

“So why Valtoria?” she asked.

“The duchies in Cordonia belong to a noble family; some families are more well known than others and each is passed down through the generations to the oldest heir. The Valtoria family was one of the first noble families in Cordonia. Well, the former Duchess of Valtoria had no heirs or siblings to pass the duchy on to when she died 5 years ago. It's sat vacant since her death. And now it belongs to you.” he replies.

“I still can't believe it. When we go to Cordonia will I be able to see it?” she asked.

“Of course. We’ll take a tour once we're there,” he replies.

“It's a beautiful duchy. It's just…” she trailed off.

“Just what?” he asked.

“I don't like the name all that much. Sounds old,” she replied.

“Okay so change it.”

“Wait, I can do that?” she asked.

“Yes. It's your duchy, my love,” he replied.

Shanelle took a moment to think. 

“You're gonna laugh at me.”

“Why would I do that?”

“Because of the name I have in mind.”

“What name do you have in mind?” he asked.

“There was an old children’s book that my dad got me when I was 5. I got the name from that book,” she replied.

“What was the name of the book?” he asked.

Shanelle bit her lip.

“Princess…”

“The Legends of the Volterias Dragon. I used to love that book so much,” she replied.

“I remember that book. It was one of Leo’s favorites.” 

“Yeah. I used to read it all the time. Zamyra was my hero.”

“Very well. I will file the paperwork to have the name officially changed from Valtoria to Volterias.”

“So I have one last question for you.”

“Yes, my love?” he asked.

“When do we leave?” she replies. 

“We leave Monday morning. So get upstairs and get packed.”

Shanelle couldn't run up the back stairs and get packed fast enough. Although flying 10 ½ hours from Boston to Cordonia made her squeamish, she knew he would be there every step of the way. Early that following Monday morning, it was off to the airport. As they rode to Logan Airport with Ozzie in a carrier, she had a range of emotions running through her and he noticed. 

“Are you alright, love?” he asked as he placed his hand on her left knee. 

“Yeah. I'm just all over the place,” she replied.

“What are you feeling?” he asked.

“Everything. I'm excited, terrified, anxious, ready to hit the ground running, overwhelmed, and everything else in between,” she replied.

“I understand. This is brand new territory for you. But I promise you'll never be alone. Whatever you need help with, I'll be there to help and guide you.”

“Thank you. I know I have you to rely on.”

He brought her left hand to his lips for a soft kiss.

“And you always will.”

She smiled at him. When they boarded the plane and took their seats, her anxiety began to creep up but when she felt him squeeze her hand, she started to calm down.

“It's okay love. I'm here. And Ozzie is too.”

Shanelle shook her head with a smile.

“What would I do without you two?” she asked.

The flight went a lot smoother for her the second time. She wasn't as much of a nervous wreck as before. The sun had started to go down as they got ready to land in Cordonia. 

“Still so beautiful.” 

“Yes, you are. And so is Cordonia.” 

“Kiss ass.”

“Don't tempt me Shanelle.”

Shanelle snickered as they taxied on the tarmac. She slipped her left hand into his right hand just as they got ready to disembark. 

“Are you ready my love?” Marquise asked her.

“As I'll ever be,” she replied.

He smiled at her before looking at Ozzie.

“Ready to go boy?” he asked Ozzie.

Ozzie’s only response was a bark. 

“Well Sir Ozzie, lead off.” 

With Ozzie’s leash in his left hand, the two stepped off the jet and right into camera flashes and clamoring paparazzi. 

“They're everywhere,” Shanelle whispered to him over the shouting voices.

“Yes, they are. So let's give them a show,” he replied as he led her to a raised podium. 

Marquise raised a hand to quiet the crowd.

“Good evening everyone. Thank you for joining us. It's good to be home.” Marquise said as he greeted the crowd of reporters. “Now I’m sure you’re all here to hear the news, so I'll get right to it.”

He turned to Shanelle with a warm smile that she returned. 

“This beautiful, incredible, amazing woman right here, Princess Shanelle Miller, Crown Heir to the throne of South Cordonia has accepted my proposal. We are to be married,” he said as he showed off her engagement ring. 

The press started shouting at them all at once again. 

“Now now. I'm sure many of you have questions for us. So we'll take a few questions.” 

At that statement, Donnie Brine spoke up.

“Your Highness! On behalf of the CBC let me say congratulations to you and Her Highness on your engagement. Ever since the news broke last Friday, many have wondered what this means for the kingdom.” 

“Thank you, Donnie. This is an exciting time for us and Cordonia. With our marriage, Cordonia will finally be united as one for the first time in more than a century. The days of two divided kingdoms will soon come to an end.”

“That's amazing. Now I have a question for the Princess.” 

Shanelle stepped up to the podium.

“Hello, Your Highness. Welcome to Cordonia. And congratulations to you.” Donnie said to her.

“Thank you, Donnie. It's good to be back in Cordonia.” 

“You're quite welcome. How are you feeling?” Donnie asked her.

“Everything. I'm excited and nervous and hopeful,” she replied.

“That's understandable. What are you hoping to accomplish as the next Queen of Cordonia?” Donnie asked her.

The question caught Shanelle off guard.

“I am much like my mother and my maternal grandmother. My mother is a schoolteacher and is the teacher’s union President for NYCPS. I have watched her spend most of her life fighting for education. She believes that teachers and educators are severely underpaid, overworked, and often not appreciated enough. She has also poured her soul into teaching each of her students. She is always available to them. Always open to tutoring. Always there to help in any way she can. She is my inspiration for quality education for all Cordonian children. Likewise, my maternal grandmother was a nurse. She believed in healing. Both professionally and holistically. Keeping her drive to always make sure her patients were healed is my inspiration. Fair, accessible, and quality Healthcare was her whole life. I want Cordonia to have that. I want no one to wonder whether or not they have enough money to afford a doctor's appointment or a prescription. A Cordonia that is healthy and thriving is a Cordonia for all.” 

Many in the crowd cheered for her.

“Thank you, Princess. I can see why His Highness is excited about your upcoming wedding.” Donnie said to her. She smiled at him. 

Marquiss stepped up to the podium.

“Now while we enjoy having you all here, we are due at the palace. We will see you all very soon.”

They stepped off the dais with Ozzie in tow and headed for their waiting car. Once inside Shanelle took a deep breath. 

“Oh, my God! That was a lot scarier than I thought,” she said to Marquise.

He kissed the knuckles of her left hand.

“You did quite well my love. It was your first time in front of the press. It's perfectly normal to be nervous.”

“You give me too much credit.”

He kissed the side of her forehead.

“No. I don't give you enough credit. But thankfully for me, I'll have a lifetime to give you all the credit you deserve.”

She laid her head on his shoulder as they rode to the palace. When they pulled up to the residence, they were greeted by Marquise’s lead guard Alex and Bastien.

“Good evening Your Highnesses. Welcome back to the palace. I want to personally congratulate you both on your engagement.” Bastien said to them both. 

Marquise placed a hand over his chest.

“Was that…genuine sincerity? You’re losing your edge Bastien old man.” Marquise replied. 

“Yes, my congratulations to you and Her Highness are sincere.”

Marquise scoffed. 

“Oh please. They weren't sincere, they were self-serving. You and I both know you’re not here to greet the Princess and I nor are you here to offer your heartfelt congratulations. You’re here to find out whether or not you'll still have a job once the new Monarchy is formed.” 

Bastien exhaled slowly.

“That is part of the reason, yes, but I do want you to know that I am genuinely happy for you, Your Highness. The Princess is a great young woman and I do wish you both the best.” 

Marquise shook his head.

“Still self-serving as ever I see. Well if you must know Bastien, as much as I can't stand you, I would be an idiot to overlook your years of diligent and loyal service to the King’s Guard. So you have my word, your position will be safe.”

Marquise watched Bastien visibly relax.

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

“Don't thank me. Because if it were up to me you'd be exiled. But I know how hard and extremely rare it is to find people who are as genuinely loyal to the Family, The King’s Guard, and the kingdom as you are. As long as you remain that way, you'll have a job. Besides, I owe it to Jackson to keep you around. He trained you to be the best in the Guard. He would haunt me if I fired you.” 

Bastien nodded.

“I understand my Prince. It will be my honor to serve you and Her Highness.”

Marquiss rolled his eyes. 

“Right. Now if you'll excuse us, we just got off a 10 ½-hour flight. My fiancee needs her rest and I need mine.” 

“My Prince, there is a pressing matter that needs your attention,” Bastien said to Marquise.

“What?” Marquise asked.

“Your father wishes to speak with you,” Bastien replied.

“He can wait until the morning.”

“But it's important, my Prince.”

“What part of ‘we just got off a 10 ½ hour flight’ did you not comprehend Bastien?” 

“Marquise, I don't think it's wise for you to ignore your father.” 

Marquise bristled at the mention of his name.

“What have I told you about using my first name Bastien?” Marquise asked.

“I apologize, my Prince. But it is an important matter.” Bastien replied.

“If it involves Constantine Rys, then it's not an important matter. It's a personal one. You know this. And for the record, I'm not in the mood to deal with him or his bullshit right now.” Marquise said to Bastien before turning to Alex and giving him an order. “Let's go.”

Alex merely nodded before escorting Marquise and Shanelle into the palace. After dropping Ozzie off at the Royal Kennels they went to his wing in the palace. When they got to his suite, Shanelle plopped down on his bed. 

“Ugh! My feet! Why didn't you warn me that the walk would be that long?” she asked him.

“Because if I had told you, you wouldn't have worn heels,” he replies.

Shanelle rolled her eyes with a smirk.

“Just for that, you’re giving me a foot massage.”

A slow grin bloomed across his face. 

“As my Queen commands.” 

He knelt in front of her and slipped her heels off before slowly massaging her aching feet. He loved seeing the ecstasy on her face. 

“Better my love?” he asked.

“Much. I'm going to enjoy making you do this every time I have to wear heels,” she replied with her eyes closed.

“I welcome the opportunity to serve you.”

Just as the massage was getting good, there was an insistent knock at the door.

“Nooo!” Shanelle pouted. 

“Now now. I have more where that came from.” 

“But!” she protested. 

He kisses her slowly.

“I'm sure this won't take long.”

He got up and went to the door and when he opened it he was greeted by a very happy older black man.

“Hah! Hah! My boy, you've done it!” the older man triumphantly said as he wrapped Marquise in a very enthusiastic bear hug. 

“It's good to see you too, Papa.”

“When your mother told me the good news I couldn't wait to rub it in Constantine’s smug face.”

Marquise chuckled. 

“Maybe wait until I have the official title first.”

The old man waved him off.

“Even if he fired me for it, you would just hire me back. Because that's the man I raised you to be.”

Marquise shook his head with a smile.

“Are you going to let me in or do I have to stand here all night?” the older man asked.

Marquise stepped aside to let him in.

“Come in Papa.” 

“Thank you, my boy. Now, where is that beautiful young Princess of yours?” 

Marquise shook his head just as Shanelle cleared her throat. Catching their attention.

“There she is! And my! She's even more beautiful than I thought.”

“Papa! You are married!” Marquise fussed.

“Married. Not blind! Just because I’m on a diet doesn't mean I can't look at the dessert case.”

The elder man turned his attention to Shanelle with a bright smile.

“Bonsoir Votre Altesse.” the elder said with a bow. “My name is George Geaneaux. I am His Majesty’s lead attendant. I'm sure you've met my wife Margo.”

“Hello, Mr. Geaneaux. It's good to meet you.” Shanelle replied.

“Please call me George. And let me apologize to you. I'm sorry that I didn't get to meet you, your first time here. I was…indisposed at that moment.”

“It's okay. You’re here now.”

“Indeed I am. And much like His Highness, I am at your service, milady.”

Marquise rolled his eyes good-naturedly.

“Charming as ever Papa.”

“Of course I am, my boy. It's a part of my job.”

“How is Maman? Is she feeling any better?” Marquiss asked George.

“Yes, my boy. Your mother is doing fine. It was just a dizzy spell. She wanted to come to greet you both when you arrived, but I thought it was best that she get her rest.” George replies.

“Oh no! What happened?” Shanelle asked.

George cleared his throat before taking a deep breath.

“You must understand, Princess, dealing with Their Majesties…can be physically and emotionally taxing. Especially on the senior staff such as myself and my wife. Margo had forgotten to eat all day and her blood sugar dropped.” George replied.

Marquise closed his eyes and clenched his fists.

“I try not to worry Marquise about his mother but he is as insistent on knowing the status of her health and is as protective of her now as he was as a child.”

“Please give her my regards. I do hope that I'll see her while I’m here.”

“I will do just that, Princess. And I thank you for your concern for her.”

George turned back to Marquise who had a look on his face.

“Do not worry my boy.”

“Too late Papa.”

“Margo is fine. You know she would never go down without a fight. She's a lot tougher than you and I give her credit for.”

“I know Papa. I'm just…I wasn't here to protect her. She at least would've eaten if I was here.” 

“Far be it from me to ever defend your father, but it wasn't him who ran her ragged.”��

“Oh for the love of God!” Marquise hissed.

“Do you mean Queen Regina?” Shanelle asked.

“Yes, Your Highness. Her Majesty doesn't like any of the staff here. And she detests me and my wife the most.”

“But why?” Shanelle asked.

“Because they refuse to be bullied by her. That's why.” Marquise replied.

George shook his head. 

“You have always been overprotective of her and me.”

“I will always be Papa.”

“That's my boy. Now I should let you both get your rest. I will return to attend to both of your needs in the morning.”

Marquise nodded. 

“Merci papa. Dis à maman que je la verrai bientôt.”

“De rien, mon fils. Maintenant, reposez-vous. Je te verrai demain matin.”

George turned to Shanelle and bowed.

“I bid you farewell, Princess. I shall see you soon.”

“Good night George. I hope you rest well.”

George smiled before leaving the room. Leaving Marquise and Shanelle alone.

“It was good to meet George,” Shanelle said but Marquise never replied. 

“Hey, are you okay?” she asked him.

“To be honest with you, no. I'm worried about mom,” he replied.

“She's gonna be okay. You heard him.”

Marquise shook his head.

“Do you know they're the ones who convinced me to give up my dream of being Prime Minister to be King? They are why I am doing this. They and so many others like them are my motivation. My father has gone completely mad. He cares nothing for the people. He's even more selfish, self-centered, and self-serving than ever. I have to save my home. I have to save my people.”

Shanelle placed her hands in his. 

“And we will. We will save this kingdom and the people. I am just as invested in the future of Cordonia as you are.”

He kissed her forehead softly.

“Thank you. I didn't mean to dump all of this on you, my love.”

“It's alright. That's why I’m here. We are a team. We are Cordonia. You and me. Well, me more than you because everyone will eventually wind up loving me more.” 

Marquise snorted. 

“And I’m okay with that. Now let's get some food because I’m hungry then we'll get some rest. We have a full week ahead of us.” 

Shanelle nodded. 

“Works for me.”

Marquise ordered room service and before long the two were enjoying dinner on his balcony under the stars. 

“Oh. My. God! This seafood pasta is too fucking die for!” Shanelle said in between bites.

“I'm glad you like it, my love. I will have the kitchen staff add it to their menu rotation for you.” 

“You can do that?” she asked.

“Mmmhmm. When you’re nice to the staff here they don't mind doing things for you. It's quite a novel concept.”

“True. I hope Ozzie is okay though.”

“He'll be fine. Knowing him, he'll have the staff eating out his hand…I mean his paw in no time.”

Shanelle chuckled.

“How long have the kennels been here?” she asked.

“Longer than I've been alive. They were built for the hounds used in the Grand Hunt,” he replied.

“The Grand Hunt? What's that?” she asked.

“An annual event where all the nobles hop their happy usually drunk asses onto horses and go hunting. The one with the most kills would be named Master Of The Hunt,” he replied. 

“What would usually be hunted?” she asked.

“Wascally Wabbits,” he replied.

“Fuck you Elmer Fudd.” 

Marquise snickered. 

“Has a woman ever won?” she asked.

“Yup. As a matter of fact, Queen Genevieve has won the title twice. And your uncle never lets anyone forget it.” 

Shanelle rolled her eyes.

“There's also the annual Cordonian Derby.”

“I know about that. It's one of my dad’s favorite Cordonian pastimes. It's similar to the Kentucky Derby. Just without the racist southern undertones and Mint Juleps.” 

“I love the Kentucky Derby. I went to race my junior year of college.”

“I didn't know that.”

“Yup. Me, Tommy, a few guys we knew, and my brother all hopped on a jet to Louisville. I even won a little money.”

“You bet on the horses?” she asked.

“Yes. I always bet on horses. That and poker.”

Shanelle raised an eyebrow.

“You're good at poker?” she asked.

“Nope. I'm just better than you,” he replied with a wink.

“Looks like I’m gonna have to test that.”

“Be my guest, my love. I do love a good game of strip poker.”

Shanelle rolled her eyes with a smirk. 

“And now that dinner is done, how about we have a little dessert?” he asked.

“Sure. What did you get?” she replied.

He took the lid off a covered dish to reveal eclairs.

“These eclairs were made by George and Margo’s daughter Jenna. She's a pastry chef here.”

Shanelle took one bite and was in love.

“Forget you! I'm about to marry her! These are delicious!”

Marquise snickered. 

“I'll be sure to give my sister your compliments.”

“You really see them as family.”

“Yes, I do. When my father decided that he couldn't be troubled or bothered with the responsibility of raising his children, Margo and George stepped in. They took us in and gave us love that I will never be able to repay either of them for. They know how important family is, especially Margo.”

“She told me that she and her brothers grew up in an orphanage.”

“They did. Margo, Jean-Pierre, and uncle Abhi are originally from France. Their father died when Abhi was a baby. And their mother…she met a man who was very well off. He owned a textile company. And their mother fell head over heels in love with him. But he wouldn't marry her because she had children. So he made her choose between him and her children.”

“No! She didn't!”

“She did. She put Margo and her brothers on a train to Cordonia and never looked back. They were supposed to come live with a cousin here but that fell through and they wound up at the orphanage.”

“My God! How old were they?” Shanelle asked.

“Jean-Pierre was 8, Margo was 6, and Abhi was 2. Their mother went on to marry the man and have kids with him. And when he died, he left everything to her. And when she died, she left it all to Margo and her brothers.” 

“If Margo has money like that, why is she still working here?” Shanelle asked.

“Because Margo didn't want the money, she just wanted her mother,” he replies.

“I can understand that. So what happened with their siblings? The bigger question: how many siblings do they have?” she asked.

“Margo and her brothers have 3 other siblings. I remember Leo and I going with Margo and Jean-Pierre to their mother’s funeral. Their siblings were not happy to see us. And when the will was read, they were devastated. Their mother knew they would squander the money and the company so she left everything to the children she forgot. As a compromise, they gave most of the money to their siblings. Margo bought a house here for her family and Jean-Pierre fixed up the butcher shop. And uncle Abhi took over the business. He makes all my suits.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah. That's just one of the many reasons why I love her. Margo’s heart is so big that she welcomed two children who weren't hers into her family and never let us go.”

“She's a special one to put up with you.”

Marquise stuck his tongue out at her just before she tried and failed to hide a yawn.

“Somebody’s sleepy.”

“Yup. A full belly makes me sleepy.”

“Then let's turn in. We have a full day tomorrow and I want you to be in tip-top shape.”

Shanelle nodded before they walked back into his bedroom and went to sleep in his arms. The next morning they were up bright and early after having breakfast, meeting with the many councils, guilds, commissions, and committees. By lunchtime, she was exhausted.

“Sheesh! I have never had to introduce myself to so many people.” 

“Welcome to life as the next reigning Monarch, my love.”

“Will it always be this way?” she asked.

“For the most part, yes. But we will have time for our own private moments,” he replied as he led her into a side courtyard where lunch was waiting.

“Ugh! Thank you! I'm starving. And we had a big breakfast this morning.”

“Are you starving my love or do you just like to eat?” he asked.

“Both,” she replied before digging into her salad. “Oh, my God! Why is the food here so damn good?”

“Because you don't have an entire Michelin Starred kitchen staff at your disposal.” 

“This is literally the best Chicken Caesar Salad I've ever had. The chicken is tender, the greens are fresh, the Parmesan cheese is real and not the stuff in the container although I have no problems with the cheese in the green container, and this Caesar dressing is the freshest I've ever had…I think I’m in love. I never thought I could love food like this.”

Marquise snorted. 

“It's just a salad love.”

“No no! It is a life-changing salad! This is a product of the Salad Gods!” 

“Well now that you've been blessed by the Gods of salad, how are you feeling about everything we've done today so far?” he asked. 

“It's a lot to take in but I’m feeling good. It was good to meet the actual people behind the councils as well as the leaders. They all seem eager and ready to hit the ground running like we are. And as you said, this is just one part of the kingdom. We still have to visit South Cordonia.” she replies.

“And we will. I know you’re eager to see it. Believe me, my love, I would never just throw you into the deep end if I didn't think you could swim.”

“How are you feeling?” she asked.

“I'm hopeful. I think the kingdom is starting to really come around to the idea that the new Monarchy is about the people. And not just the nobility. I think that they're hoping to have a Cordonia for all and not just one side. And I think they're looking to us to achieve that.” he replies.

“That was always your goal and now it'll be our reality.”

He rubbed the knuckles of her left hand with his thumb.

“I don’t think I will ever have enough words to tell you how thankful I am for you. I swear to you this marriage isn't just about Cordonia. First and foremost, it is about my undying love and devotion to and for you. It will never be a prison sentence. You will always have your freedom, your autonomy, and your agency to do whatever you please. I would never stand in your way.”

“Save that for your marriage vows.”

“Can't. My vows are way too damn long already.”

“You wrote your vows already?” she asked.

“I had them written the day I met you,” he replied.

Shanelle shook her head with a smile. 

“You are hopelessly romantic.”

He brought her left hand to his lips for a soft kiss.

“I always have been and I always will be.”

“I hope you stay that way.”

“I want you to know something very important.”

“What?” she asked.

“I love you, Shanelle.”

Shanelle smiled at him.

“I love you too, Marquise.”

Just when he thought this moment couldn't get any better a voice called out. 

“There you two are! I've been looking all over this palace for you.”

It was Margo.

Marquise immediately stood up and embraced Margo.

“Hello, my son. I've missed you too.”

“Are you feeling better mama?” he asked.

Margo kissed his cheek.

“Yes, my darling. I'm fine. You shouldn't worry so much. I can take care of myself.” she replies. 

“I know. But as long as they breathe you, George and the rest of the staff are not safe. And I would die if something were to happen to you.”

“You are your mother’s child. Always looking out for me, George, and the staff the way she always used to. Ellie would be so proud of you son.”

“Thank you, mama.”

Margo smiled at him before looking at Shanelle with a warm smile.

“Hello, Your Highness! Congratulations on being engaged to this lovable oaf.”

“Hey!” Marquiss pouted. 

Shanelle snickered. 

“Thank you, Margo. You did a good job with this one.”

Margo chuckled.

“I tried. He has so much of Ellie in him. I just try to bring it out.”

Shanelle smiled.

“Now I'm sure I've taken up enough of yours and his time. But again, congratulations my dear. He's a lucky man to have you.”

“I'm the lucky one, Margo.”

Margo smiled before looking at Marquise.

“I will be fine, son. I don't want you to worry.”

“Mama…”

“None of that. You are the next King. I want you to be strong.”

“She's right.” Shanelle agreed.

“Listen to your future Queen, son.” 

Marquise shook his head with a smile.

“They're ganging up on me.” 

“With good reason, son.”

Marquise placed a soft kiss on her forehead.

“Thank you, mama. I'll see you soon.”

Margo smiled at them both before leaving them alone.

“She seems very happy for us,” Shanelle said to him.

“She is. I've known her my whole life. She has always been happy for me. She has always wanted the best for me.”

“I'm happy that you have her and George.”

“So am I.”

Marquise checked his watch.

“Well now that we've had a very filling lunch, are you ready to get back to it?” he asked. 

“I guess. Just if you see me start to doze, gently nudge me awake,” she replied.

“Deal.”

He offered her his arm as they walked back into the palace. The couple spent the rest of the afternoon and part of the evening meeting the rest of the councils. When they got back to his room, Shanelle was ready to crash.

“Ugh! Too…much…talking…brain…is…fried.” she groaned into a pillow.

She felt his arms wrap around her.

“Poor Princess. She's all tuckered out.” he teased. 

“Go to hell.” she hissed. 

He turned her over so that she was facing him. 

“If I do that I won't be able to do this.”

He kissed her slowly. Savoring the taste of her lips on his.

“You're insufferable.”

“And yet. You love me, my love.”

“Yes, I do.”

She laid her head on his chest. He was becoming her safe space from the world. They laid on his bed in companionable silence with her listening to the beat of his heart.

“I like this.”

“What?” he asked.

“I like having this time alone with you.”

He kissed her forehead softly. 

“Good. I'm glad you do. I always want you to know that you will always be loved, respected, heard, appreciated, protected, and defended by me. I am your knight, your husband, your partner before I am anything else.”

“I just worry that it won't always be like this.”

He tilted her chin up so that she was looking at him directly.

“That is one thing you will never have to question or worry about. I will always be available to and for you.”

“You promise?” she asked.

“I swear it on my life, and my mother’s great name and legacy,” he replied. 

Shanelle smiled at him.

“I'm hungry but I also need to take a shower.”

“Okay well, go hop in the shower and I'll order us some dinner.”

“Sounds like a plan. Too bad you won't be in there when I get in.”

“Well yeah. That's because I will be waiting for you when you get out,” he said with a wink.

He watched her walk into his ensuite and after several minutes of hearing her fawning over the bathroom, he heard the water turn on and that's when he ordered them dinner. While waiting for their food and for her to get out of the shower, Marquise pulled his laptop out and got a few emails and requests sent off. As he was typing one last email, there was a knock at the door. And when he opened the door there stood Naya on the other side.

“Get the hell away from me!” he hissed at her.

“Marquise, please. I'm so sorry.” 

“What the hell do you want?” he sneered at her.

“I just want to talk. That's all.” Naya replied.

“After the stunt you pulled, I don't have shit to say to you.” Marquise hissed. 

“I know and again I'm sorry. I was desperate and I didn't know what else to do. Please, you have to believe me.”

“Do you know her ex not only broke into my home but he pulled a gun on me because of you?” he asked.

“No, I had no idea,” Naya replied. 

“Well, now you do. Congratulations.”

“You were never supposed to get hurt, I swear. He was only supposed to get her to leave you, that's all.”

“I could've been shot because of you! Hell, I could've been killed! And far be it from me to ever defend her ex, but you could have sent an innocent man to prison! Not to mention that if he had gone to jail, his daughter would be without her father. On top of the war that could've started once again, all because of you.” Marquise snapped at her.

“It got out of hand. I realize that. I shouldn't have called him, I know that now.”

“So what are you expecting? Me to just forgive and forget?” he asked Naya.

“Yes. I'm sorry Marquise. I really am. I never meant for things to go as far as they did.” she replied.

“Not going to happen. I have moved on. And it's time that you do the same, Naya.”

“Marquise, please! Just give me a chance.”

“Go home Naya. Go back to your husband and stay there.”

“I said I was sorry! You don't have to dismiss me like I mean nothing to you.”

“You heard him. It's time for you to go back to your husband.”

When Naya and Marquise looked over Shanelle was standing in the bathroom doorway. 

“Who the fuck are you to talk to me like that?” Naya sneered at Shanelle.

“Well for starters, I'm his fiancee. And second, I'm your future Queen. Whether you like it or not I am not going anywhere. Oh and one last thing, I am the woman he loves and will be marrying. Not you.” Shanelle answered. 

“You idiotic twit! Who the fuck do you think you are?!” Naya sneered.

“Goodbye Naya,” Marquise said to his ex.

“Are you really standing here and choosing this American mutt over me?!” Naya asked Marquise. 

Rather than answer, Marquise slammed the door in Naya’s face. Marquise pinched the bridge of his nose while exhaling slowly.

“How much of that did you hear?” he asked.

“Almost all of it,” she replied. 

Marquise let out an explosive breath. 

“I shouldn't have opened the door.”

“Did you know she would be on the other side?” Shanelle asked.

“No. I honestly thought she was one of the kitchen staff bringing dinner,” he replies. 

“Then it's not your fault. It was fun to watch you slam the door in her face.”

Marquise took a deep breath.

“Naya is testing my patience.”

“Don't let her. Don't let her ruin your mood. And thank you for defending Cass. He never would've been there if it wasn't for her.”

“I don't like him but I would never want an innocent man going to prison because of her.” 

“I know. But I’m thankful nonetheless. Now enough about her. Let's focus on you helping me with my lotion.”

A slow smile bloomed across his face. 

“Gladly!” he said before picking her up and carrying her to the bed. 

They spent the rest of the night enjoying dinner and each other. Later that night while Shanelle was asleep, Marquise was trying to figure out how Naya got past security. He called Alex to find out. 

“Alex, I specifically told you not to let Naya anywhere near Shanelle, so explain to me how in the hell did she get past you?” Marquise asked.

“She was given clearance, Marquise. I couldn't stop her.” Alex replies.

Marquise rolled his eyes.

“Fucking Bastien.” Marquise hissed. 

“It wasn't Bastien. She went directly to your father.”

“What?!” Marquise asked.

“From what I found out, she requested an audience with him and asked him for clearance to speak with you. And when she presented me and the team with the signed order from His Majesty, there wasn't anything we could do. We can't go against him.” Alex replied.

“For now…if she comes back, you are to stop her immediately. I don’t care what decree my father has signed. I don't want her anywhere near Shanelle. Understood?” 

“Yes, Your Highness.” 

“Good. Now go get your rest.”

With a curt nod, Alex was gone and Marquise went to bed. The rest of their week was filled with more meetings, introductions, lunch breaks, and courtly lessons squeezed in between them all. By that Thursday, Shanelle was ready to throw in the towel.

“Can I go home now?” she whined while laying in his arms. “I don't like this anymore!” 

He snorted. 

“To whom much is given, much is required, my love.” 

Shanelle groaned. 

“Smartass! If I wanted to hear chapter and verse I’d open a Bible.” 

“If you went home now you'd miss touring your duchy tomorrow.”

“We're going to see my duchy tomorrow?” she asked.

“Yes, my love. It's important you meet the people that you'll represent,” he replied. 

“Finally! What time do we leave?” she asked.

“In the morning my love. You'll even get to meet a few friends of mine,” he replies.

“Friends of yours huh? They wouldn't happen to be the two chaos agents you sent in to disrupt my life would they?” she asked.

“Yes. Those two friends,” he replies.

“So I get to meet Liam and Drake? Interesting.”

“Maxwell and Drake actually. And in their defense, they only did what I told them to do.”

“Okay. I still want to hear from them. And I want an apology!”

“Very well, my love. Let us get some rest and tomorrow we are off to your duchy and South Cordonia.” 

The next morning couldn't come fast enough for Shanelle. She was up and ready to go see her duchy. She proved this by practically dragging Marquise out of the palace. 

[pain-suffering-even]

them :)

Thomas set up the Scavenger Guild on the west coast and continued to stay there because his mom lives in California still, and he wants to stay close to her, even if that means he has to put up with the aftermath of Kamish being visible around him all the time

Laura makes a lot of good smoothies, coffee recipes, etc because she used to work at Starbucks for about three years while in community college

Christoper really likes the ocean, and was nearly a marine biologist. He loves looking in tide pools

Zhigang had a part time job at a bakery and makes really good bread rolls. This is why they sometimes go to China to celebrate Thanksgiving

Whenever people bring up the fact that Laura is technically not qualified for her position because she only has an associates degree Thomas just gives them his most menacing smile until they either shut up for mysteriously disappear the next day

(Laura doesn't care what people say - she knows she's qualified, and as long as Thomas avoids showing up on the news, she doesn't mind what he does)

When Christopher left the Scavenger Guild, he moved back up to Oregon, where he used to live. He also owns a house along the east coast in Virginia, where he spends most of his time (because its as far away from the west coast as possible, so he doesn't have to remember Kamish)

Lennart isn't allowed to drive whenever he visits the US since he's too used to driving on the left and has caused Thomas and Christopher too many heart attacks

Zhigang isn't allowed to drive anywhere, no matter where they are

Their road rage is so severe that their mana spikes can cause people to pass out, and it definitely scares Christopher and Lennart and just makes Thomas want to fight

Laura and Adam White became friends after she finally got Thomas to stop teasing him and causing him to worry if he pissed off the World's Strongest Hunter

Thomas got to decide where to host the Annual Guild Conference and of course chose Las Vegas. Even though everyone loved it, he was never allowed to choose where to host it ever again

Most commonly, the Annual Guild Conference is in Washington DC and lasts about two or three days, but most Hunters are in town for a week to attend other business in the States, whether it deals with Christopher, Thomas, or Kamish

Usually, Christopher sits out Guild Conferences, since Thomas goes to represent the United States most times. But, sometimes, if he's feeling petty, he goes just to irritate Thomas and steal the spotlight a bit, especially if its after one of their arguments. Christopher tends to always leave early anyways, because he only ever went to cause drama

Thomas has a side business growing and selling weed as well as custom bongs (he does glassblowing, since his body transformation gives him immunity to fire). The business is doing surprisingly well and Laura lets him get away with it since he's not doing it under the Scavenger Guild's name

The name of his little store? Sleepy Dragon - a little nod towards Kamish. It irritates Christopher so much, but Zhigang found it so funny they broke a table

Christopher has a huge fish tank in his house, with real coral growing as well. He's always getting more fish or sea creatures, it's becoming a bit of a problem. The size of his basement just keeps growing... Lennart is always impressed by the sheer size of it

He may or may not have caught some of the octopuses and other sea creatures by hand - Christopher gets bored in retirement, ok?

Thomas always donates to animal charities during Christmas time, since Laura would always bring home stray cats when they were kids

alright. that's all i can come up with for now. i do love this little band of insanely strong people just being humans and having strange little quirks and moments lmao.

also sorry for being on hiatus for so long - i'm not entirely back but i decided to at least clear out my drafts a little to give y'all something :')

various headcanons that i forgot aren't actually canon pt. 2

the americans (thomas, christopher, and laura), plus china (zhigang) and germany (lennart)

Thomas, Christopher, and Laura are childhood/middle school friends

Laura would always bring home stray cats and dogs

Lennart and Thomas become friends when Lennart asks for help with an S rank gate that spawned in Germany

Lennart isn't super close with Christopher, since him and Thomas tend to swing between being best friends or mortal enemies every week, but Lennart thinks he's nice

Christopher visits Europe a lot, since he's partially retired, so they get closer then as Lennart shows him around

Zhigang is usually too busy to hangout with Thomas or Christopher, but whenever the Annual Guild Conference is around, they tend to dedicate that week to hanging out

Christopher hates any mention of Kamish. Thomas doesn't care and thinks Christopher needs to get over himself. Hence their strained relationship

Zhigang is most definitely traumatized but works too hard to notice

Lennart wasn't part of Kamish, but did participate in the cleanup team. That's where he first met Zhigang and Christopher. Thomas was too busy recovering, so he never got to meet him

Hwang Dongsu gets on Laura's nerves, but Thomas usually steps in if he's eyeing her a little too creepily that day

After becoming friends, the group decided to attend the Annual Guild Conference dressed up with a theme. They've done pink (Barbie-esque), Aloha Shirts (wonder who came up with that one), emo/punk/goth, and the latest, Disney Princesses (Lennart loves Disney movies). There isn't much anyone can do to stop them. Even Laura participates

Thomas disregards a lot of his guild leader duties to steal Christopher and Laura and go on roadtrips. Sometimes, they go visit Europe to see Lennart

Zhigang basically never leaves China, being a hardcore workaholic, so they always have to plan to go see them on their birthday and for the holidays, etc

Thomas has a custom aloha shirt, except it's made to withstand S rank attacks. He used the Scavenger Guild budget money on it. As a tax write off. Laura wishes she could be mad but she's impressed he thought of such a thing

Christopher is scarred from Kamish due to seeing Thomas almost die from tanking attack after attack for him. He almost died. It sparks an argument, where Christopher leaves the Scavenger Guild, and their frenemies relationship begins

Once, Thomas sneaks up on Christopher and scares the ever loving shit out of him. Christopher accidentally sets the room on fire and sets off the fire alarm and emergency sprinklers. The entire building has to be evacuated

Thomas does the same thing (sneaking up on someone) to Lennart and his screech is priceless

They joke about putting a bell on Thomas, like they do with cats, just to be aware of where they are in the room. Laura is really, seriously considering it, because despite Thomas being 10 feet tall and built like a fridge, he can be quiet when he wants to be

Lennart casually mentions he has four sisters, and his first job was being a hairdresser in his village in Germany. This leads to him finally dealing with the mess that is Thomas' curly and knotted up hair

Zhigang got into university on a baseball scholarship, before all the awakenings happened. This is why they tend to swing their sword... like a baseball bat. And instinctively swing whenever they see an object flying at them. Thomas has recreated the game fruit ninja in real life using this information

Lennart started learning Chinese, because despite him knowing about three other languages, Chinese isn't one of them. This leads to the two of them having conversations that Thomas can't listen to, and it drives him insane (it's usually Lennart complimenting Zhigang, and then Zhigang compliments Lennart, etc etc)

Laura threatens to retire early whenever Thomas gets on her nerves a little too much and it always worries the entire Scavenger Guild, because she's kind of the only reason they're functioning. Thomas would solo too many gates on his own if it weren't for her

Lennart is one of the most put-together and polite hunters out there, but even he struggles not decking Dongsu in the face when he drops casual comments about his and Laura's physique in front of his face

Thomas has a lot of other S rankers in his guild from various other countries. He isn't very well liked, since he's "stolen" so many of them, like with Dongsu, but he doesn't mind (the trend started after Christopher left, when he no longer had a vice, or a sparring partner that could withstand his attacks. He's looking for a replacement, in a way, but it never feels right)

[thejustmaiden]

So out of nowhere I was tagged and quoted by a SR shipper for a blog of mine posted in August of last year. Talk about throwback but, hey, gotta appreciate that level of snooping. 😉

Back in the day I actually used to encourage discourse amongst Inuyasha fans- both shippers and antis alike- but I've since realized that it's a lost cause. But for you, @feministmetalgreymon , I'll grant this exception. Just 'cause it's been a while so why the hell not. haha

I want to assure you, however, that nothing you say will ever convince me that Sesshomaru and Rin are meant to be together romantically or that the story intended it so. Nor will you find any validation here. You can ship them for all I care, but please for all that is good and holy while I have your attention try- I mean really try- to understand why it is so many of us Inuyasha fans are so against this pairing in the first place (newsflash: it's not about ship wars), and why we believe a romance between the two of them is completely and utterly out of character.

For those of you interested in reading this, the blog of mine in question that the above shipper mentions in their counter-argument is here for reference. It's titled "Jaken = Rin's Dad?" I'm going to try and keep this short, but I'm also making no such promises. After all, I'm not exactly known for my brevity. haha Now let's get crackin'!

Like you, feministmetalgreymon, did for your recent blog here where you took screenshots of mine to address certain parts, I will be doing the same and dissecting yours accordingly.

[Snippet 1]

I worked with kids for many years as a teacher, and many people in my family have too or still do. Two of them happen to be just over 5 feet which is quite short for the average adult woman living here. I've also worked alongside many a women of short stature, and never did I hear any of them complaining of issues with their students having difficulty differentiating them from their own peers just because they were short as well. I'm sorry but that's just ridiculous. Kids are quite smart and pick up on a lot more than you seem to give them credit for. Height is not the only characteristic they look at to determine who's an adult and who's not, and it's foolish to suggest otherwise. So unless you're a babysitter who's still in their teens and/or who has very childlike features or behavior then I'm afraid what you're getting at is total hogwash. This is just another example of how you shippers offer nothing of real substance to your reasoning, it's only ever cherry-picking or strawmanning from you guys. Stop deflecting from the real issues please, because this certainly isn't one and only winds up being a complete waste of time for all parties involved.

[Snippet 2]

Okay, calm down now. I wasn't insinuating that relationships between parents and children can't change over time in terms of how they get along. Of course that's possible, as all families experience their fair share of estrangement and abuse. What I was speaking about was in reference to the overall dynamic between the two. Because a bad mother or father can still be viewed as a parental figure to their child even if say they're not in said child's life anymore. Since Sesshomaru and Rin share a healthy bond- and just a friendly reminder that in my blog I even said that he doesn't have to necessarily be labeled her father but that a romantic relationship later would still be inappropriate- I didn't deem it necessary to address what you brought up. Plus, it kinda, umm, misses the point?? Please, let's stay on topic. And it's not captured in the screenshot, but stop acting like there isn't a small part of them that idolizes their parents at some point during childhood. Just like you mention later on how it's normal for kids to have innocent crushes on adults that they eventually grow out of? Well, guess what, the same concept applies here. Kids eventually learn that their parents are far from perfect and make mistakes too. Rin is so damn young in the OG series though that we never even get to see her reach that maturity level.

[Snippet 3]

LOL! Alright, okay, so the "unbreakable bond" bit you're mentioning was actually me quoting you sessrinners. Did you not catch that? I literally spelled it out. *sigh* The whole point I was making is that shippers like yourself make hypocritical and contradictory statements all.the.goddamn.time. One moment you guys claim that Sesshomaru and Rin were essentially strangers and meant very little to each other, only to say in the same breath a few seconds later that they were destined to be together and their bond is like no other. I agree, their bond is special, but why must that mean they're going to fall in love?

That is the root of the matter here. Too many animes/mangas have romanticized this older adult man & young girl growing up falling in love trope that it's become way too normalized and widely accepted across the world- and yes, in some cultures more than others. Sadly, you lack the awareness to recognize how this all works. You know how we know that? When we see that you shippers are so desensitized to sexualized images of girls in the media that you share posts like this one below which *subtly* imply a future romance although one half of that pairing is still just a child in the pic and then try and pass it off as cute. That's like super fucking problematic and it scares me that you can't see that (or deny you do). 🤢

After all that's said and done, Sesshomaru leaving Rin in the village with Kaede is to me the strongest indicator more than pretty much anything else he's done for Rin that proves he is her adoptive father. It's so funny to me how you somehow see the exact opposite though. 🤔 What I think is happening is that you got yourself on some squeaky clean ass shipper goggles fresh out of your little echo chamber. Because I hate to tell you, but what you're fantasizing is what you want to see and not what's actually there on screen or was written into the story. I'm strictly talking about Inuyasha and the manga of course. [For the TL; DR version skip to the last paragraph.]

Parents looking after their kids is what parents are supposed to do. A good parent will do anything to keep their child safe and ensure they are cared for, so what he did for her by leaving her there was in her best interests clearly. Besides, as a babysitter, you more than most people should understand that parents aren't always able to be there for their kids so sometimes others gotta step in to help. Haven't you heard of the saying, "it takes a village to raise a child?" Which in Rin's case is literally true! 😂 Sometimes kids are even sent off to stay with grandparents and that's who raises them instead. Or maybe they have to temporarily live with an aunt or uncle because their single parent's job requires they work out of town 4-5 days of the week so they're hardly home. But that doesn't mean that the parents care or love their kids any less, and it's foolish to assume that Sesshomaru must have thought very little of Rin simply due to the fact that he made the decision to leave her in the village. Come on, y'all are acting like he abandoned her there!!

It's just given the circumstances Sesshomaru finally came to learn that Rin traveling with him was no longer safe. I also like to think it's because he wished for her to live a more normal life and to learn how to fully trust humans again. Plus, continuing to travel with him as young as she was would have proven dangerous and unwise. Now for you to know all this and still manage to turn his past actions towards her while she was just a child into a romantic gesture is what boggles my mind. Regardless of how you look at it, from my perspective or your own, Sesshomaru is in the wrong. Either he's a father figure who impregnates his daughter at the young age of approximately 14. OR he's this man she used to travel with who maybe isn't a father to her but who nonetheless basically rapes her since kids her age can't consent to sex with an adult. Idk about you but it sounds to me like nobody here wins with either scenario we're given. In other words, you should be just as mad as we are. If only one side didn't choose to forsake their morals they know we both have in common for the sake of a ship. Welp. 🤷‍♀️

I agree, incest is disgusting but that's not the only problem we have with this pairing. A romantic bond forming between Sesshomaru and Rin would also constitute as grooming.

You realize that over the years he visited her in the village that he brought her gifts too and essentially watched her grow up right before his very eyes, right? I mean, I know you do, but I really shouldn't have to explain further why pursuing a romantic/sexual relationship with each other is plain and simple wrong. And before you say it's not because he didn't have any malintent, please understand that considering their history and power dynamic up to then that yes this is still considered grooming even if Rin supposedly "wanted it" or "made the first move." Whether you consider him her father or not, as the adult who took on a role resembling that of a caretaker in her early life- a critical developmental time for a child- Sesshomaru is obligated to turn down any advances by Rin and most definitely should not initiate any himself. As the first close adult figure she's had in her life since her parents died, it's unfathomable to imagine how Sesshomaru could go through with taking advantage of this young girl who was under his care and supervision since they met. To think he could be capable of betraying that trust sickens me to the core.

This. Now THIS is how a parent/guardian or a similar adult caretaker (babysitter, teacher, etc.) talks to a child. And, in turn, this is how some young children talk to adults. You'd be insane and delusional to deny it! We see it in our everyday lives, do we not? From where else do you think our stories draw most of their inspiration? Yes, obviously these fictional universes have aspects of fantasy that don't exist in the real world, but so how then do you suppose we're able to relate to them? The reason for that being is because these stories are written by people for people, so naturally there are going to be real life aspects embedded throughout. Sure, a little escapism doesn't hurt as we don't need to take everything so seriously, but ultimately we all need to recognize that the messages in the stories we tell matter. Most stories possess a combination of both light and dark themes, but when it specifically comes to the latter we gotta be careful with how we tackle this in children's media since kids are far more impressionable.

So if at the center of a story we have two of the main protagonists whose mom is basically their same age and to top it off she knew their dad when she was just a girl and who just so happened to help raise her, wouldn't you say that's beyond fucked up or at the very least so fucking weird? Like why would we think it's even remotely okay for our children to watch this garbage?? Really think about it. Try and be objective for once and think about how it would sound explaining this storyline to an outsider who's never watched IY or HNY. Well, antis have tried this before many times and we always get the same reaction: Ewww!

Like I said earlier, if you wanna ship it then fine, but 1) please stop seeking our approval or trying to change our minds - your ship wish came true didn't it, so why do you need us to validate it? 2) even though it's not canon, respect that we don't support this sequel portraying pedophilia in a positive light. It's harmful af to not only allow but glorify the continuation of sexualized images of young girls everywhere. And I shouldn't have to say this, but just because this trope is popular as you say does not make it right. Lolicon themes in the media have been an issue forever and it needs to stop. Yes, even some people in Japan or "the East" would agree. Shocker!

We're pissed off and rightfully so because Yashahime's TV rating is 14, not to mention it airs at the prime time kids in Japan watch TV after getting home from school. That's Towa and Setsuna's age, true, but if Rin being the mom when she's like only a year older than them (please don't argue w/ me about the math- antis have so far been right every time with it) is straight-up disgusting and not something we should be supporting or endorsing. Rin's a whole ass child!! Please don't start with the "but times were different then so her having kids at 15 is acceptable" argument either, because we've already debunked that and every other single excuse you guys throw at us. Besides, how or why would you expect young viewers to know these historical "facts" anyway, especially if as you suggest fiction doesn't affect reality so what does it matter? Yet here we are, arguing over a fictional show in real life almost a year and a half into the "Sesshomaru fucks?" sequel being announced. My ass, your ass, hell all our asses fiction doesn't affect reality!

Look, I do apologize if the tone of this blog came off as snippy or condescending at times. I do not wish you any ill will, it's just I'm not really sure what you expected to get out of all this besides maybe getting on my nerves perhaps. haha A lot of you shippers have been desperately scrambling to interact with us, lurking in our tags, jumping onto our posts screaming canon and getting so defensive even though you sought us out first. We've been sticking to our tags, so how about you stay in your lane too. By the way since we're on the topic, have you seen Twitter or Reddit?! SR shippers there are the actual worst and many Inuyasha fans (not just antis) have complained of not feeling welcomed to engage in fandom spaces anymore. Shippers swarm them and scare them off simply because fans don't like your ship and refuse to accept it. It's pathetic, really. No one should ever be bullied or harassed just because they don't like something you might. We're all fans of Inuyasha, aren't we? So let's act like it. Yashahime on the other hand, you guys are welcome to that pungent heap of trash. Fans have a right to criticize it too, but if you like it then good for you, so keep on liking it and don't mind us.

I'm almost done, but real quick back to Jaken! Let's not forget about how the official Yashahime website- which came out after my blog, mind you- described Jaken. This translation isn't the best one available but it's the only version a fellow anti friend could track down. They do recall a better one done by a native Japanese speaker who was also an anti, and that member confirmed that Jaken is indeed called Rin's babysitter. So you see, I was right in my interpretation. In the original post I did compare Jaken to a brother, but after talking to others (some comments can be found under said post) I did acknowledge that he's more of a reluctant babysitter who's not related. And if he's not at least a brother to Rin, then he's definitely not her father.

At the end of the day, the creator Rumiko Takahashi has the final word. Which is guess what? Hogosha. 💖 Probably should've just started out with that and saved us all the trouble, huh? Good day/night to you.

Papamaru bids you adieu now. 🤞

[lovee-infected]

Macaroon anon I love you and how can I resist writing for such a great idea? I really wanted this piece to take place as Ciel was stuck in twst in my previous au but since I mentioned dorm leaders there it couldn't be really done...Rip

A twisted path ✨

~ Black butler x twisted wonderland ~

Feat : Mey-Rin , Bard & Finnian

Poor trio stay away in shock of not only his unexpectedly loud shout but also...eh...his appearance .  Are they wrong or does this guy really look similar to master Ciel...?

Coming conscious still with his eyes closed , he hears some sounds around him:" He dead ?-""No I don't think he is, his chest is still moving" "Anyway what's this body doing hear at Phantomhive's mansion? If he's been stabbed or something it's going to be troublesome," "Na I guess this dude's just been really drunk y'all. Also...what's with the clothes ? Could it be that he's somewhat of an actor from nearby theaters ?" "Aye? Since when are the designs this messed up...- I guess we'd better get rid of it before mister Sebastian returns, maybe burry hi-"

Riddle freaks out as he hears this idiots wanting to burry him alive and immediately wakes up screaming at them to stay away.

Riddle on the other hand gazes upon what he just faced: a red haired haired maiden wearing a pair of glasses, a yellow haired boy with green pupils and a rather buff man with a toothpick in his mouth staring at him. " Ah- He a'live ! Man ya gotcha be more careful with drinking," the buff man chuckles. Riddle suddenly feels highly unsafe: Who are these people? And where am I? He's read NRC's maps enough to know that such a building is surely not a part of it , come along it's weird people. Was he kidnapped while asleep...?He pulls up his staff and starts threatening them with it , wanting them to immediately introduce themselves and explain what he was doing here- wherever it was-

Finnian tries to calm him down with a soft smile and a friendly attitude, but Riddle is strong at his point: He wants answers.

When he sees them all trying to calm him down with no explanations he gets mad : "OFF WITH YOUR HEADS!"

...What ? Wait-maybe try again:"Off with your-Heads!" ...Why isn't it working? Riddle stays still, the magic collars have to be around their neck but- they are not...?? There must've been a mistake: " Off with your heads - Off with your HEADS - OFF WITH YOUR HEADS DAMN IT-"

Mey-Rin, Finnian and Bard stare at their angry guest shouting nonsense and getting as red as a tomato, what is wrong with this guy..?

Riddle is furious and confused , what's the matter ? Is his magic blocked the same as that time Beans day?  He doesn't know , and he doesn't like it

Riddle starts shouting at them asking what they've done to his magic and the poor guys just go...Huh ? Riddle keeps on getting redder and redder as if he's about to explode . He starts threatening them from reporting them to the head master to giving them to the official policies for kidnapping and neglecting his picture 

Finnian then decides that maybe it's better to leave him to mister Sebastian and so : Picking up a huge branch and a striking it to his head , savage

Riddle passes out immediately whoops- maybe Finnian should have been softer-

They stay there gazing upon their... masterpiece . Finnian might have even broken his skull - Good god , what should they do now ? They must wait until mister Sebastian arrives ; But where is he now ?

Feat : Suma & Agni

"Pssssssst- Agniii...I guess he finally woke u-" " M- my prince , y-you sure that it was a good idea too bring a total stranger out of nowhere to our home ? I'd greatly appreciate it if you be more ca-"

Argh...what is with all noises around him ? He's told Ruggie a million times not to let anyone in his room whole he's taking a nap even if it's gonna be the grim reaper ; what are these brats doing here?

Leona rambles under lips and with a push he's awake : " Oi , you'd better know that I don't like having my naps ruined,"

Suma gasps at the sight of him being finally awake and tries to offer his unwanted guest a welcome hug which Leona rejects- Poor Suma

Leona isn't yet realizing what actually is going on , from not knowing that this isn't his room to the fact that he's now at more than 100 years ago in a whole different world ; ironic

Leona orders them to take this annoying conversation out of his room just to face Agni's locked expression : "Your room...?"

Taking a better look , Leona finally gets that this probably isn't his room and these people surely aren't from NRC

Sounds get echoed through his brain and he feels a small ache inside it . He rubs his head ...why does everything feel so strange ? Something is different ... could it be that he's still sleepy or..? Wait a second - Why can't he shake his tail ?

He immediately looks back to see if he's sit on his own tail but faces a terrifying scene : There is no tail . Is it cut off ????

and a newer fact flashes his brain : There are no ears either . But then how can he still here the sounds ? "P-please don't be", he begs . His hands shake as he brings them up to touch both sides of his head ; wishing not to find what he is looking for . And they are ! Human ears !A mild shiver is sent down his neck and he rushes to the mirror on the other side of the room just to face this nightmare with his own two eyes

He stares at the mirror with his eyes wide open and mouth as if he is going to shout . No...

Oh...nevermind . He has to calm down ; it's nothing but another fancy dream . He'll soon wake up and these will be all gone . Leona tries closing his eyes and cursing , wanting to wake up to sanity when he opens them again

Surprise : Nothing's changes . Two crappy brats still staring at him . Agni is now a bit suspicious but Suma on the other hand is really motivated : " Ahh~! Sorry if it's strange to sleep in the streets and wake up in bed- I just saw you laying there in a death like slumber and couldn't help but to bring you along ! Also , haven't we met before ? I'm pretty sure that I've seen your face somewhere before... Don't you happen to be from India ? "

Agni is really stressed out and keeps warning the young boy : " My prince ! He's now all conscious and fine , then I'd lead him out of he-"

"Prince , huh ?" Leona wasn't ever really interested in visiting ally kingdoms back at his home town so he barely got to meet any other princes , hm but to think that this cherishing child is actually a prince...man , the world has really changed

But he has no time for such games now , he has to find Ruggie or anyone else who may lead him out this insanity and return him his ears and tail

He asks for where he is - else than Suma's mansion - and the answer doesn't really do any help either . Where on the bloody hell is London ? And if these people found him laying in the streets when the heck did he even get here ? Well , doesn't really matter now , but where is NRC ?

Suma and Agni probably don't know where NRC is and Dire Crowley ? Suma wonders if this guy was the one who fooled him to buy a sick elephant which died a week after in india , but Agni is sure that neither him nor his prince have ever met a single soul named this

Leona is getting more and more pissed off wasting time chatting with these idiots so he takes his way out , ignoring Suma's begs for him to stay for lunch at least

He freezes just at the second he opens the exit doors and gazes upon the streets : Horses? carriages ? 19th century's clothing ? How long have these people been stuck in this lack of technology?

He feels like he now really needs to make a phone call but searching his pockets he finds both of them empty...those brats stole my-

He was close to getting hit by a carriage when someone shouts at him with a : " OUT OF WAY YOU SON OF A-"

He is now ready to get in a fight but a sound cuts him off : " LEONAAAA HELLP-!!!!!!" , this extremely annoying sound...what the heck is he doing here and : WHAT IN THE BLOODY HELL HAS HE DONE NOW !!!????

Feat : Lau & Ran-Mao

Business tip nu 1 : Always keep calm , even if you end up losing all your magic powers in the surface without the possibility of returning to your original form or knowing where in the damn world you are : K-e-e-p-c-a-l-m

Thankfully , Azul's dope nature avoids him from going crazy during his stay in this...non-Twisted wonderland world

He had heard of theories explaining the possibility of other world's existence ; countless ones indeed . But to end up in one of them without any preparations ? He wasn't planning on that

Well nevermind , that cannot be helped now . let's look for a better way

Lack of facility , cultural deprivation and severe corruption ; is this how humans are ? No wonder the sea witch called them Poor unfortunate souls...

Enough with these people , he must now ignore all other disadvantages and take a look into beneficial sides of it...If he has ended up here , in this world and into this spot of the city there must be something linked to magic nearby ; even if he's surrounded by all these foolish people who haven't ever even seen real magic by their own eyes

Just as he's looking around , something catches his attention : a strange smell . Thanks to his family he's pretty good at following smells to their source and knowing what exactly they are : it's the pungent smell of Opium

He follows the smoke to its source and arrives to a bunch of stares going underground . A board is place next to the stares with something written on it :  Opium Den

Azul isn't one to believe in superstitions but he is sometimes interested to take ambitious  steps ; life sometimes brings you worthy surprises

Entering the shop , someone slightly grabs his arm . He turns his head to face a young, beautiful lady pulling his sleeve softly , eyes empty of any emotions . Without saying a word , Ran-Mao grabs his hat and coat and Azul thanks her , seems like he took the right path

His vision got a bit blurred as must of the air is filled with smoke , not that he isn't used to such atmospheres

" Why welcome to my place , sir . How may we service you today~ ? " a sound says from other side of the room . Azul turns back to face the source of all these smoke holding that young lady from before close , could she be her right arm woman or something ? She seems pretty obedient for one , which is nice

Azul introduces himself and takes a seat . He isn't going to get to his main point at the very first seconds ; he needs to make sure that he's come to the right person . He introduces himself as a businessman from a far away city , came to explore more of business tactics here in London . He offers Lau a small chat toward that , wanting him to give him more information on business if possible and return , he'd be given similar information about Azul's home town

While being considerably great at it , Lau isn't really interested in wasting time talking about business , all he ever cares in some sort of entertainment in whatever he does . Still , he agrees of playing this fake role for a short time . Although he knows that Azul isn't here for this either...

A few minutes pass and they both know that Azul doesn't really care to know how much a pork costs and either is Lau , so takes a serious step himself : " I see you're a man of business , Mr . Azul . I wonder what I you may be able to offer me in return ," Azul clarifies that he would get interesting information if he gives Azul good ones ; everything is clear and equal . "Then , I'm afraid that I've got not much to offer ," Lau sighs , but a small smirks appears of his lips : "But what would you say about some tea ? And maybe a small talk ? "

Lau isn't like others out there and that's pretty recognizable to Azul , but it doesn't make him the right person to trust either . He is continuing this conversation in hope of Lau leading him to the right person he is looking for , someone worthy of a greater contract . Lau lets out a sad sigh feeling sorry that he can't do much help , but he knows that who may do : A well-known friend , serving years working as a right arm man . Talented , well cultured , big on all issues including business : "I'm sure that you'll like him ,"

Well perhaps this thing's starting to work out for him : " Then by all means , lead me to this mister you speak of , Mr. Lau~" "With all pleasure . Bring him his coat and hat , sister " , Lau orders . Pleasure is always his first priority , but nothing would ever break rules of a contract ; He gives , he receives . Even taking him to Sebastian is counted but , he's already thought of that . This young man seems quite entertaining and when he first stepped into his shop Lau was expecting him , a spacial guest

Lau doesn't really care about superstitions , but still enjoys his ambitious steps  . This guy had came to him just as expected and now , something about him tells Lau that getting him to Sebastian will bring him as well newer faces to meet...what an entertaining day it would be

Feat : Tanaka

Jamil is... about to lose his mind . Caught in a whole other world without a meaningful explanation of how he ended up here or why . Magic doesn't work and there is no certain way to scape this situation and make a return to NRC . But the worst thing about it remained certain : He is caught with Kalim

Why in the bloody hell does he always have to be hooked up with Kalim ? Parents forced him into it at childhood , headmaster orders to it at school and now , the world suddenly decides to abandon him together with Kalim ? If it's joke , that's a pretty lame one . Why does he have to live in the shadows of Kalim being the unworthy dorm leader ?

Now lost in the streets , not knowing where to go or who to contact , what a wonderful way to start a day

Kalim isn't liking it at all : dirty streets , loud and short tempered people , street fight and drunk men everywhere , the smell of death filling the air , this is horrible . Kalim is well aware of poverty and deprivation lasting for so long and even remaining until the very present day , but traveling back in time and space to face one of the most terrifying levels of it just isn't his thing . He feels sorry and odd at the same time : Is this how life behind of the walls of his royal castle looked like ? He wishes he could help it . He probably could if he was any linked to NRC right now

He keeps on telling Jamil how poor they look and wonder if there is a way to help...The world Kalim knows has elegant and colorful nights and days but this world...was all caught in a dead gray mist

Jamil doesn't say a word because he doesn't want to listen , Kalim can keep on daydreaming but he has to find a way back a.s.a.p . They can't leave Scarabia just on their own and everyone (including Kalim's Dad) must be really stressed out by now . He continues to look , but there isn't really anything helpful around them . People yelling at each other and smoking the shit out of themselves . Young ladies flirting as young men offer them a carriage ride and tourists staring at each and every building like they hadn't ever seen a place to live inside as if they've been living in a cave so far , huh

Jamil can no longer take it next to Kalim and eventually goes feral : " WOULD YOU JUST SHUT UP !!?" He has no control over his words now , he's nervous , furious and freaked out . If he were to compare his mood to something similar he'd say the time he overblotted , just that he had his magic back then

Now Kalim as well gets into a fight with him . What the hell does this have to do with him ? Jamil has to calm down and be realistic unless they'll never find a way out ! Jamil states that if he grew up just enough to realize how terrible their current situation is , he would've had something better to do than showing mercy over some bunches of street rats

The two of them keep on arguing until someone cuts them of : " Hohoho young men ! What's with all these loud sounds ?"

They stop and turn back to face the source of this old , chill voice . Facing a tall , old man dressed in all black clothes which high-leveled servants would wear and a monocle , giving them a soft , calm smile

" Aa- nevermind grandps ! It wasn't like it seemed we were just talking ! Right Jamily ? " he says , putting a hand on Jamil's shoulder and giving a big , wide smile . "H-hey... don't call me that..." , Jamil doesn't like Kalim acting this chill ; but it is embarrassing to see that they actually called attention

"Hoho , better . Now tell me young men , could it be that you have a trouble ? You look awfully down ," Tanaka asks ; sounding just like a grandfather guiding his grandchildren

Kalim takes a look at Jamil , wondering if it's right to do what he's thinking of and Jamil in return , nods as a yes " Well sir , there you see we actually don't belong here yet to another-" Jamil cuts him off before he could mess the whole thing up : " -Another state , indeed ! We came here for some sort of a business trip and were supposed to be on our way back home by now but sadly , ran into thieves . Our families must be really worried for now and I doubt them being sure of us being hooked up here . We lost everything and have no way to contact anyone we know... only if someone nice enough could be found to help us with it right now ," Jamil dropped his head , trying to act as natural as possible . Kalim wants to remind him that this isn't right to lie someone who is trying to help them yet he wonders if he should let Jamil take care of this now , after all he was much of a worthier leader than him to be honest...

" That's so sad to hear dear boy , I'm sure that young master as well would've been really frustrated if he were here ," Tanaka replies . Oh ? Young master ?  Jamil is now interested . Wherever this man came from , it can't be somewhere cheap , Jamil could tell . Leading them to a mightier source would be a better thing than just laying in the streets waiting for some miracle to save them right ? " Young master , you say ? " Kalim asks . " On the second thought , how about me introducing you to my master ? You're not much older than him I suppose , he as well needs to have more friends like you good men  ," Tanaka says with a sweet smile . " That'll be so nice of you um , Mr...? " Jamil asks " Tanaka is fine young boys . And you? "  " Jamil Viper ," " Kalim al Asim ! Glad to meet you Tanaka sir ! " Kalim says , bringing his hand for Tanaka to shake . Tanaka shakes hands with both of them and Jamil decides to make the process a bit faster : " I look forward to meeting this young master you say , Mr. Tanaka . It's always great to meet more men of culture ," Jamil sneakers . " Then by all means , follow me young men ," Tanaka says . With a sound of pop and some smoke , the tall man shrinks into a chibi version : " Ho , ho , ho ," " What the-!!!" Kalim panicks , no magic and yet this dude can shrink all of a sudden huh ?

" Ho ho," chibi Tanaka says before turning back and going to another direction . " I guess we should follow him," Jamil says . Kalim agrees and then , they're both following the chibi old man to the Phantomhive's mansion . Unaware of the two eyes watching them all this time : " Hihihi ~ they're quite interesting ,"

Feat : Grell Sutcliff & Ronald Knox

"Come oooon Ronald~ Shake your lazy ass and bring her along already..." " Oi senpai , that's mean ! This one's quite heavy-" "JUST SHUT UP AND DO THAT ! Don't you know it's rude to question ladies too much ? " " F-fine then , but at least give me a hand ! Have you even checked if she's dead !? " Heavy ? Dead ? She...? Vil isn't born to be disrespected like this . AND NOT A SINGLE SOUL GETS TO PULL HIM BY LEG WHEN HE'S ASLEEP

Vil immediately starts shouting at the Blondie , threating him that he'll regret it if he doesn't let go of him now . Ronald and Grell almost have a heart attack at Vil's chicken like screech which makes them jump

Vil snads up and glares at the two shinigamis : A really ugly female like one all dressed in red and a small blondie brat which looks like...eh..Azul ? Well nevermind ; doesn't matter now

What should he begin with ? Where he is ? Who these potatoes are and how they didn't recognize him being the leader of Pomefiore ? How perky they were to move him while asleep like this and ruin fabric of his overly expensive unforms ? Too many things to do

" Ah you're too loud ! My ears...Such an unexpected shout to hear from a man this hot I'd say..." Grell giggles . Vil's eyes widen , well of course he is beautiful but to be praised like that ? Ew , this is more of a insult ...

Vil decides to ignore Grell and get to the main point : Who they were and what they wanted . Grell smirks before preparing to give a 5 hour long opera show of shinigamis' romance but Ronald locks him on that point : They are shinigamis , they collect souls of the death , they had grabbed Vil because he looked a bit like the woman they were just going to collect yet didn't pay enough of attention to notice that they made a mistake , so they can all leave since they've got nothing to do with each other

Just before Ronald could get away Vil grabs him by collar , asking where they've brought him to . Grell clears that they just moved him by 30-40 meters from where they found him so it can't be really counted as bringing him to somewhere . Vil refuses to believe , wherever he is , it's way further than Pomefiore dorm or even NRC's accessable area ; that can't be . Vil threatens them one more time : " You refuse to tell , you'll end up dealing with the headmaster ," Grell and Ronald probably don't know who the headmaster is but Grell tries to take advantage : "Aaa? Is he one into punishing type ?" Vil is slowly getting annoyed by how weird this red one sounds to him ; To be honest he acts like an impatient porn star or something...

That's it , he's calling Crowley but uh , where is his phone ? Did he lose it ? Impossible . He'll never forget such an important thing to bring along ... Did these brats dare to steal his pockets....!? Vil asks them to give his phone and wallet back : now " Sir , you may like to know that human money brings no good for us and also , I'm afraid that I don't really know what you may mean by phone? " Ronald mumbles (Remember that phone isn't yet invited at their time ). Why don't this guy just let them go take care of their business ?

Vil hates it when people dare opposing him and doesn't ever take that lightly...who do these two think they are ? " Where is Night Raven College , answer or you'll face unpleasant consequences..." Is Vil challenging Grell ? Then Grell's more than ready to see what this human may have up his slave to speak to a shinigami like this : " And what may the consequences be...?" Vil gets tired , a small spell and this red ass bitch would be nothing but a toad , " I tried to warn you , you should've listened..."

Ahem , hello ? Magic ? Why isn't it working ? " Pffffffftttt- Lmao are you high or something man ? You just woke up !You'll be a great actor though I swear- You can drown in all that nonsense ," Grell laughs . " Well then hottie , I'm afraid we've got to go , see you when it's your time ~ " Grell turns to leave but Vil grabs him by collar . No one is leaving until they explain what the actual heck is going on : this place , the magic , everything

Grell on the other hand enjoyed flirting , but can't take being acted to like this . He pushes Vil back and gives him a psychotic smile , bringing up his chainsaw : " Wouldn't it be amazing if I cut those rushy tongue of yours at once ? fewer words , more of a male charm ," "Oh ?" magic may not work here , but they're not all Vil has got , he can still give this bitch guy a lesson without them : " Oi you two , this isn't really gonna workout-" Ronald mumbles but it's too late now -

Feat : Undertaker

At least he wakes up to a more suitable scene , or it seems so - His body couldn't move freely inside of this cage-like space . Is this a cuffin...? He has experience with them from his freshman year but to end up in one of them again ? Could it be that Crowley is planning on another fancy event like their first time ? Boy , he didn't like it anyway . He knocks the door trying to open it but if seems too heavy to be moved . Damnit- , he hears footsteps from the outside : " Someone there ? Why can't I open this ??" A sudden screech from out and the door slides open : " Ah thank yoUWAHAAAA- !!" Idia screams at the sight of the creepy stranger's smile at him ; he wasn't expecting this . Also , this place doesn't look like the mirror hall ? Who is this guy and where is this place ??

" Hihihi you weren't that dead I see , why waking up so soon though~ ?" , Undertaker giggles in his playful tone . Idia needs too many things to be explained to him but he just doesn't have the time , Crewel will burn him in acid if he gets any late for his class again and he doesn't care how weird his current situation is , he has to go

He gets out of the coffin and rushes to the door but Undertaker stops him there telling him not to show up out there so carelessly , which clearly confuses Idia . " Your hair...It is quite fascinating that curses remain strong even as magic gets blocked..." Undertaker adds . Idia is used to people judging him for his family misfortune but this one seemed quite...odd . He decides to ignore it and leave

" ~ Okies then I warned you , but you'll end up needing a real cuffin in a few minutes pwahahaaa-" , Undertaker burts into laughter and Idia leaves

" creepy ass old ma-" , Idia nags slowly before freezing as someone screams really-loudly right into his ears " HAIR ON FIRE , HIS HAIR IS ON FIRE !!" Before Idia can notice what is going on he's gained tens of gazes to himself , why are these guys all dressed so strangely...

" M-mummy is that a monster ? I'm scared..." " Stay away from our children you hellish creature ! " Idia freezes , critiques coming one after one : Demon , monster , Satan , Death . One option left : Run

Idia now has to run for his life , this world just isn't his thing : not at all . Even if it weren't because of being chased by a group of angry humans , do you think that he could last for even one day in this old fashioned zone ? No technology , no phones , no robots , no gummy bears , no wifi- He'd read about how different the world was before the invention of media and couldn't explain how thankful he was to never have to handle a second in the past world because he wouldn't last there for more than an hour- well he wasn't right about never ending up there but , he was 100% right about not lasting for more than an hour

Now there , he is running like he never has , begging his feet to help him this time out of any other time . Angry people screaming and bringing fire and weapons to destroy the evil

He tries to contact any possible source for help but : No magic - no internet . RIP Idia

Meanwhile Undertaker is chilling at his shop , his mind running over the cursed boy and now listening to the sound of the frightened people because of him , how pathetic , If only he had agreed to hide his hair through a safer way...sigh he should have listened to advises coming from someone who has been living within humans for years by hiding his identity as a shinigami as as his eyes... " My my , humans aren't the only fragile creatures I see..." creation can seem disturbing to him sometimes , and that's the best part with it

Back to Idia , he is slowly running out of breath . Well maybe this is the point where he has to give up ? He has long lived as a loser , bastard , procrastinator and wasted almost each and every second of his life ; well perhaps except Ortho , that was a nice work of him . Wish he was here too say goodbye .  He isn't sure if his prayers would be accepted or not but it won't hurt trying : " Good gods who're told to be somewhere up there , I know that I wasn't best that I could be and I won't try to excuse my sins ; just please let it end fast, Ame- " he forgets his prayers as his guardian angel is standing just a few meters away from him ; oh have gods sent an identical twin - human version of Leona for him to be saved ? Well whatever now , he has no time if he's the original furry or not : "LEONAAAA HELLP-!!!!!!"

And yes , he is the original one ! He curses as he sees the population after Idia , what the hell is wrong with this world ? Idia hides behind his back and Leona tries to take control before they end up burning the two of them together : " You people , chill ," " Why you defending that creature ? He a a misfortune ! A demon !" others shout at this words in agreement . Leona laughs it off . He says that Idia is way too dumb for a demon and even if he is one , he's the type to scream his ass off when someone says "hi" . Idia doesn't know if Leona's defending him or not but he doesn't dare saying a word . Leona seems too busy dealing with the crowd and slowly , the argument topic switches from Idia to Leona ; who isn't afraid of punching some faces . The argument slowly takes over and no one (even Leona) realizes Idia sneaking into an alley saving his life . He feels a bit guilty for leaving Leona on his own but he'll be fine , hopefully

Thankfully the alley is deserted and he finally lays down to catch his breath , still panting heavily . He almost got killed today and can't get over it , but things were getting a bit comforting : "Meow~" several cats show up from the corners and Idia puts on a small smile . A white kittens comes closer and allows Idia to touch and comfort him . Idia wonders , how does their lives as a cat here feels ? do they as well get as scared as he was just now?  . A few minutes later when Idia -and his cats- were chilling someone steps closer to them  . Before Idia gets to run away , a tall , black and familiar face shows up and gives him a pretty calm smirk : " My my , I see you as well adore cats, could it be some part of our hellish natures ?"

"...J-Jade...?"

Feat : Ciel Phantomhive & Sebastian Michaelis

Let us be honest , it isn't going to be that bad for him , is it ? His current lifestyle at Valley of the thorns is nothing less than London's late 19th century , just maybe it had more of a natural theme . Well , no technology can be good news since he never really get used to it after all . London's atmosphere as well seem to be just his thing : Sometimes savage but calm , filled with tea parties and great ceremonies , an interesting back ground toward the royal family and in summary , Malleus's ideal theme

Well maybe except some things : 1) HORNS-ARE-GONE . His family treasure , the great heritage that proved him coming from the all great and respected Draconia family , now is gone 2) No need to mention that there is no sight of his fairy ears either- 3) Having his magic lost in this unknown world , he is now nothing different from a fragile human being , just as weak , just as empty , just as disgusting . Oh but our prince isn't totally left on his own here...

Unexpectedly , Phantomhive's mansion is serving a mysterious guest today , even though Ciel was against letting strangers inside the house . Sebastian insisted on being aware of the importance of hospitality as the Queen's watch dog , specially with special guests

Everything seems odd to Malleus , this world , this time , this people and...this master and butler . He is no fool , not even the foolishest of these humans would treat and cater strangers without wanting something in return , therefore he needs to keep his guard up . They shouldn't be aware of his actual identity even if they look deprived of any magic

Ciel is feeling awfully uncomfortable , who is this man ? And what the heck about him might have caught Sebastian's eyes ? This greedy demon wouldn't easily be impressed , so what could it be ?

Sebastian insists that it's how he should learn to treat everyone else if he's willing to be well remembered after death ; he pronounces the last word in a pretty deep , dark tone . Making it clear that how he'll finally die in a sarcastic way which teased Ciel

He decides not to have any argues with Sebastian on that point since he can act pretty cocky with stuff he gets stubborn over , so let's see what he's hiding up in sleeve this time . Though Ciel is suspicious of other stuff as well , this Mr... -whatever he is since he doesn't give them a name- looks like a pale - greenish version of Sebastian . Could he be another demon..?

Malleus refuses to give them a name due to possible risks , yet he has to admit that he's being taken care of properly . The room he's given isn't as big as the one in his castle , but is still considerable for something a stranger would be given . Other than that , anyone else he's met here so far seemed to be pretty chill , oh except this tiny child with a blindfold and he gets to be called young master ? He has to admit that he's impressed . To be in control of all this property when you aren't yet even tall enough to pick your favorite book from the shelf on your own

And there is another guy who is really...how to explain , is it some feeling of deja Vu or he really does look like Silver ? The guy is always talking to the snakes just as Silver talks to the birds and animals . If it weren't because of difference in eye color , perhaps Malleus wouldn't believe that he wasn't Sliver himself . " Your stay won't last much longer master , your friends are on their way here , says Donne ," Snake tells him . Malleus doesn't really know how to feel about him but his words comfort him for some reason...

Ciel says that he needs to check on the trio since they've been calling him all day so he heads to the front yard , leaving Sebastian and Malleus alone

Sebastian offers him some tea and Malleus of course sees no reason to refuse . Sebastian doesn't sit beside him because it's arrogant of servants to sit beside the guests , so he remains stood up . He doesn't bother starting a conversation with Malleus and he does know how to get him to speak . Malleus doesn't mind answering to...some of his questions . How he likes it here in London , if he needs anything else during his stay , but the last question made his eyes widen : Does he do feel any uncomfortable under the terms of not being able to use his powers ?

Malleus doesn't answer , he pretends that he didn't hear him and stares at the window . He is hoping it to help him ignore Sebastian , but what he sees isn't any better :  Isn't that... Rosehearts laying there...??

Malleus has to go , not only because of getting rid of Sebastian at this point but to also check on his ally if he's alright or not :  Did the butler know he too was here all the time ?

Sebastian just knows what was going on in his mind and wants  better answers . Malleus stands up to leave but Sebastian takes grabs his arm before he could do anything : " No need to rush . We still have a lot to talk about , Mr. Draconia ,"

♦♥♠♣

Note for Idia's part : I was actually planning on Idea having his hair as well gone because , well , no magic no hair ? But that seemed too unfair for him lol

[chanderylix]

How he asked you to be his girlfriend (WayV)

Ｍａｓｔｅｒｌｉｓｔ

Hello there! This is my 2nd post. Hope you like it! And sorry for my broken English~

Reminder : THIS IS REALLY CRINGE I'M SOWWY

Kun

He asked you to go to his studio

You thought you will accompany him as usual

But that was a different day

He would ask you to listen to his new song and asked you about it

"Y/n, this is my new song. I want to ask your opinion before I release it"

Of course you were happy cause you were the first one who listen to it

The song's lyrics were really deep and you really liked it

"When I saw your face, I fell in love. I fall for you and I hope you too"

You almost cry at the song cause it really tell about your life

Yes, you fell in love with Kun since the first time you met him

After that, you turned your chair cause you wanted to tell Kun about the song

But all you could see was Kun hold a bouquet of flowers. It was so beautiful until you couldn't say anything

"I hope you like the song because I made this song just for you. I really fall in love with you, Y/n. Do you want to be the love of my life?"

You nodded and you hugged him

He kissed your forehead after that

Ten

You went to karaoke with Ten

He really loves to sing. You like to sing too so once in a week you went to karaoke with him

"4 hours please"

You got surprise cause usually you only ordered maximum 2 hours

"You want to sing for 4 hours??!!"

He nodded excitedly and held your wrist, leading you to the karaoke room

As usual, you and Ten sang together. Not only sing, but dancing to the song too

Then he chose the song "Wannabe" by Spice Girls

Ten sang it loud while jumping on the sofa and dancing to the song

You couldn't sing cause you laugh to Ten who was so extra that day

The song finished and then suddenly he shouted on the microphone with full volume

"Y/N, I LOVE YOU. DO YOU LOVE ME??!"

You shocked. What was that??

"WAIT?? ARE YOU CONFESSING??" you shouted on the microphone too

"YES I WAS CONFESSING, DUMBASS. YOU LOVE ME OR NOT??! IF YOU DON'T LOVE ME THEN BYE BYE" he still shouted on the microphone

You laughed and nodded

"YOU'RE MY GIRLFRIEND NOW!" he was still shouting on the microphone and then hugged you

Winwin

Winwin asked you to go on a fancy dinner with him

He said "I got vouchers for two people, maybe you wanna come?"

Of course you say yes because it was rarely for you to eat at a fancy fine dining restaurant

He picked you up at your house

You and Winwin arrived at the restaurant. "Welcome Mr. Dong. Let me take you to your table" the waiter said

Wait, Winwin already reserved a table for two? Cause it was set really beautiful, with a rose flower and candles on the table.

He pulled the chair for you to sit. You had a chit chat with him until the food is coming. Start from the appetizer, the main course, and finally the dessert

After you guys ate, he suddenly held your hands.

"Hmm, how to say it. Actually.. I have a crush on you, Y/n"

You suprised with his sudden confession

"I prepared this for two of us. I said I got a voucher so you wanna come with me"

You smiled at him, and you held his hand above yours

His hand was so cold. He also surprised that you held his hand too. He got shy and smiled a little.

"I.. I have a crush on you too, Sicheng"

He got so excited and couldn't believe that you have the same feeling

"Soooo, will you be my girlfriend?"

Lucas

You went for a night walk with Lucas after he practicing

You and him walked pass a basketball field. It was empty but there's one basketball in the center of the field

So he decided to go 1 on 1 basketball with you

He was not tired even though he had been practicing for probably 8 hours

"C'mon Y/n!"

"I can't even take the ball from you! You're so tall! It's cheating!"

He laughed at your respond and gived you the ball

"Go, shoot 1 score"

You finally got 1 point.

"Good job!" he patted your head softly

You got shy and happy

"Okay, last game. If I can shoot the ball once, I got one point. But if can shoot the ball twice in a row, you have to granted my wish! Deal?"

You dealed with him even though you didn't know what he wish for

He did it. "Yes! I got one point. One more and you have to make my wish come true"

You were really nervous. What if he wish some weird things?

He scored. He smiled and then look at you and shouted :

"MY WISH IS : I WANT YOU TO BE MY GIRLFRIEND!"

"WAIT WHAT??!!"

He then chuckled and piggyback you and then he run

"yA HUANG XUXI STOOOPPP"

"THIS PERSON ON MY BACK IS MY GIRLFRIEND Y'ALL" he shouted to the other pedestrians and saw you two like a crazy persons

Xiaojun

You and the rest of WayV members are really close, especially with Xiaojun

So sometimes when you have a free time, you visited WayV's dorm

Xiaojun asked you to come to his dorm cause the rest of members are having a dinner outside

Xiaojun didn't want to come cause he said that he's too tired. But actually, he wanted to be with you

"Welcome, Y/n! This way please"

You followed him and Bella barked happily. Bella likes you a lot because you always playing with her

"Hmm, what will we do?"

Xiaojun smirked and took his guitar

"Let's sing together!"

You smiled and let him sing

He started to sing Bruno Mars' "Just The Way You Are"

You sang along with him

The song finished. He put his guitar and held your hand

"I think I'm in love with you, Y/n.."

You got shocked and he put his hand in front of his lips

"I MEAN-"

You kissed his cheek and smiled. While he hold his cheek where you kiss him

He took his guitar and started to play "Boyfriend" by Justin Bieber

Which made you laugh, but still enjoyed it

"I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M Y/N'S BOYFRIEND" he said while hugging you, his guitar, and of course : Bella

Hendery

You and Hendery liked to play pc games together

Every night at 12 am, he always contacted you to join with him

But that day was different

It's already 1 am and he still didn't contact you

You then called him. "Hello? Hendery where are you??!"

"Oh sorry y/n! Uh- I am at cafe right now. But Lucas is drunk so Xiaojun took him home with my car. And now I'm alone hehe"

"HoW COULD YOU GET DRUNK IN A CAFE THO??!!"

"I know! Lucas is kinda insane lol!! Pls y/n pick me up I'm scared"

You grabbed your car keys to pick him up

You arrived but the cafe is closed? Plus it's really dark

Then you opened the door and saw Hendery brought a candle

"Hey stupid what are you doing"

He smiled and then turned on the lamp

"Surprised!!" There's Lucas and Xiaojun aka your game friend with Hendery, holding a paper that said "will you be my girlfriend"

"WAIT. BOTH OF YOU WANT TO BE MY BOYFRIENDS??!"

Hendery then hit your head playfully. "No, silly. It's me Huang Guanheng. So? What's your answer" he said it confidently

Lucas and Xiaojun laughed so hard while you just blushing like crazy

"Even though your playing sucks, but nevermind! I will! " you then hugged him tight

"Uh, guess we should get back. Dejun, let's go!" Lucas said why dragged Xiaojun out from the cafe

Yangyang

You just watched a German movie and it made you want to study German

Your best friend, Yangyang can speak German so you asked him to teach you

"Nah, I'm busy"

"Pleaseeee Yangyang. I bought you mc donalds?"

He then smirked. "Okay!"

You learned basic German with him

Until 12 am

"C'mon Yang! It's really hard omg my brain will explode!"

He laughed. "Well you have to practice it everyday so you can remember!"

You pouted your lips. "Haha, time to rest!" he pat your head

"Byee! Thank you Yang!"

You couldn't sleep so you decided to open your notebook that written about your German course with Yangyang

Until you open the last page that said :

"Ich liebe dich so sehr, seit du mein bester Freund geworden bist. Möchtest du meine Freundin sein? Ich werde dir jeden Tag Deutsch beibringen~"

"Wtf?? I just learned German today and he already give this kind of sentence!"

You then open your g*ogle translate and you were really surprised

"I love you so much since you became my best friend. Do you want to be my girlfriend? I will teach you German every day"

Suddenly your phone ringing and Yangyang's name appeared

"So, would you?"