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is0gild · 4 years ago

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Ice Cream and Fire Oven Pizza - Chapter 12

Pairing: Elsa x Lea/Axel || Side Pairing: Riku x OC

Summary: Modern AU. She's an introvert ball of nerves who works at Ice Palace, a mall food court ice cream shop. He's the outgoing, sassy goofball who works at the Pizza Planet across the way. Hilarity, snark, and fluffy romcom hijinks ensue.

Word Count: 10,649

FIRST CHAPTER || PREVIOUS CHAPTER || NEXT CHAPTER

Credit for super friggin’ cute and super friggin’ amazing cover art goes to the super friggin’ talented ky-jane here on tumblr!

There was no way.

No. Friggin'. Possible. Way.

Rayne was bonkers. Off her rocker. Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs. A couple screws short of a toolbox, a few cards shy of a full deck, and several fries scant of a Happy Meal.

She was just… wrong. She had to be. The very idea was outrageous. Laughable, even. There was just without a doubt and quite simply no way.

No way that Lea had a crush on me, that is.

I mean, come on! All I'd ever done was make a complete bumbling idiot out of myself in front of the guy! I'd kissed him before uttering so much as my very first 'hello' to him, chucked a phone at a wall in front of him for no apparent reason after spouting off nonsensical gibberish, sat on him without even the slightest bit of a heads up or forewarning - which to be fair wasn't really my fault, but still! I could go on and on with this list, but I'd rather not as it was just depressing me at this point.

Had a crush on me? Please, he probably just saw me as a total trainwreck of a human being by now and was merely half curious, half terrified to see what would next be pulled out of the bag of crazy that was me. So no, he absolutely did not have any sort of feelings even remotely resembling… that. Not at all. Not towards me.

...so then why did I now find myself hovering outside the mall, trapped in a heated staring contest with my pale reflection in the glass door as arriving and leaving customers gave me weird looks, the very idea of so much as taking one more single, solitary step over that threshold and into the food court seeming utterly impossible to me?

It'd been a couple days since the now infamous (or so it was in my head, at least) Friday night out. A couple of days which I'd thankfully had off from work, giving me some much needed time to recuperate from all that stressful social activity. By the grace of some benevolent deity up above, not to mention my magnanimous, boundless mercy, Anna still lived. But she hadn't got off without a long, stern, and particularly mind-numbing lecture from me, as well as a promise from her to keep me stocked in a lifetime supply of Triple Chocolate Mallowpuffs by way of recompense. She wasn't completely off the hook yet, but it was a start.

During my downtime, I had given little to no thought to Rayne's musings - aka unhinged ravings of a madwoman. Oh sure, the stray ghost of her words might have flitted across the back of my mind once or twice. But whenever they had, I'd simply banished the silly notion with a soft chuckle and a shake of my head.

Which is why I wasn't quite sure what the big deal was now, out of the blue, here, at the entrance to Dusk Town Center, right before my first shift back since the night at the bar. Why in my brain, her words had cranked up from a barely audible whisper to a full blasting, thundering roar played on loop. Why the idea of facing Lea now just all of a sudden seemed so…

...intimidating.

...ugh, this was stupid.

I was being stupid.

It wasn't like I was some third grader in the schoolyard afraid of catching cooties from a boy. I was an adult, damn it! An adult in the adult world with an adult job leading an adult life! So I could handle any such feelings, or more specifically lack thereof, like a goddamn adult!

He did not have a crush on me.

He did not.

With that, a newfound determination filled me. Eyes hardening, chest puffing up, and shoulders squaring, I grabbed the door handle, yanked it open with more force than necessary and marched into the food court with my head held high.

...followed immediately by flipping a one-eighty, dashing back outside and around a corner to hide, pressing my back against the wall with one hand over my hammering heart.

Well done, champ. A for effort. Did a real bang up job there, eh?

I took a few seconds to regain my composure and fortify my resolve. Then I inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly, straightening up to my full height once more. Alright, take two. Giving myself a firm, reassuring nod, I walked back inside again.

It was there, seated at a food court table roughly halfway between Pizza Planet and Ice Palace, that the reason for my initial retreat could be spotted. Lea was hunched over what looked to be a textbook of some sort, with papers covered in messy scrawl strewn about every inch of the round dining surface. He was gnawing a pencil between his teeth and agitatedly ruffling his hair as flipped to the next page. I don't know why I had given into my knee-jerk reaction to run from him the second I'd seen him. He was so engrossed in whatever he was working on, I highly doubted he'd even noticed me walk in. And I was strongly suspecting he'd probably continue to fail to notice me if I just strolled straight on past him to the Ice Palace to prepare for the start of my shift.

Which is exactly what I was going to do.

Or at least, that'd been the plan anyway.

But something stopped me. A sort of… stubbornness that abruptly flared up within me. I wanted to settle this right here, right now. Prove once and for all without a doubt that Rayne was in fact a total loon and that he definitely did not see me as anything more than just a friend. I still had a few more minutes before I had to clock in, so now was a good a time as any.

Seizing the opportunity before I could overthink things and lose my nerve, I made a detour and headed straight towards where Lea sat. Arriving at his table, I pulled out the chair across from him and sat down heavily, burdened with great purpose.

Alright. Phase One of the Mission Not A Crush complete. On to Phase Two.

Which was…?

Good question. Was actually... still kind of, sort of trying to figure that one out.

Potentially a greeting of some sort would be a good place to start.

As Lea glanced up and became aware of my presence at last, I began, "H-"

He leapt out of his seat and bolted, knocking several loose papers off the table in his wake.

I blinked.

...see? Not a crush.

Not if he was running away in fear at the very sight of me.

As well he should. I was a very fearsome vision to behold, after all. My mere visage redefined the very essence of horror, did it not? Look upon me and tremble, puny mortals, for I-

"Ow! Hey, quit it already!" a voice that sounded suspiciously like Xion's pulled me from my thoughts.

Turning my head towards where it'd come from, sure enough, there Lea was with the girl in tow. Literally. He was dragging Xion over to the table by one of her ears pinched between his fingers. The two of them pulled up to a stop in front of me, Lea scowling as he released her and she stumbled a few steps forward. With a tiny hiss of pain as she rubbed the abused lobe, she glanced back at him. He simply crossed his arms and started tapping his foot, clearly waiting for something.

Xion looked at me now with a guilty frown, folding her hands together just below her waist and bowing her head. "Please forgive me, Elsa, I am so very, very sorry. Sorry for tricking you-"

Lea cleared his throat.

She hastily tacked on, "-and for conspiring with Anna-"

He did it again, louder this time.

"-and, uh… for manhandling you into my car-"

A third time.

"-and…" she pursed her lips to one side, squinting up in thought, "...and for not driving with the comfort and safety of my passengers in mind-"

Once more, with feeling.

"-and for, ah… providing… less than optimal seating arrangements to you throughout the whole experience?" Xion ventured, glancing back at Lea. He rolled his eyes but gave a shrug, which she seemed to take more or less as a sign of his grudging acceptance. Her eyes then fixed on me once more, "I meant no offense, but sincerely apologize if I embarrassed you or made you feel uncomfortable in any way."

...this… I had not been expecting.

I just stared blankly at her for a second. Then I realized she was patiently awaiting my response. "Oh! Um," I gave a tiny awkward laugh, "that's okay. We're fine. Totally good. Don't, uh… don't even worry about it."

Her face immediately lit up with a relieved smile. "Thanks, you're the sweetest!" Then she gave Lea a dull look. "Satisfied? Can I get back to my job now?"

His eyelids drooped, but he sighed and waved her off. She ran past him, blowing a raspberry in his direction as she went. He plopped back down into his chair at the table, pinching the bridge of his nose as he grumbled, "Kids these days, I swear."

"Thanks," I smiled at him, "that was really very thoughtful, but you didn't have to make her do that. It wasn't necessary."

"Somebody's gotta teach the lil twerp good manners and respect," he leaned back in his chair slightly, scratching a spot behind his ear. "Her parents certainly never did."

Humming a soft, noncommittal noise, I then looked down at the clutter littered across the table. "So what are you up to? What is all this?"

"Decided to take my lunch break to try and unravel the enigma that is," he held the textbook up, showing me the cover, "Intro to Calculus. It's being a real pain in the ass though. Honestly, who needs to know all this crap? Evil math genius super villains, that's who! Shit, I'm just looking to run a lil shanty of an ice cream parlor by the sea, not trying to calculate how to blow up the sun or anything," he tossed his pencil down against the open pages of the book.

I rubbed a knuckle along my lips as I felt them tug up at one corner. "Not math's biggest fan, I take it?"

"Not my strong point, no, but usually I can get by. Unfortunately, I caught some kinda bug a couple weeks back and had to miss a few days of lectures. Asked the teach what I missed, but he's a royal asshole. Just brushed me off, telling me to talk to his TA instead."

"And the TA?"

"Mini asshole in the making," he scoffed, snatching up a small stack of sheets from the table to wave about. "Just handed me his photocopied notes for the days I was out sick and told me to figure it out. They're useless though. I can't read his chicken scratch. A big test is coming up on all of this too that's s'posed to be a huge chunk of our grade, so I really need to wrap my head around this junk."

"Maybe I can help. Let me see." I moved closer, shifting over to the seat beside him. My shoulder brushed against his as I leaned in, spotting a piece of paper sticking out from beneath the textbook on which it looked like he'd been trying to (unsuccessfully) work through some of the chapter's exercise problems. "Derivatives, huh?" I murmured, picking it up to take a closer look. Then I pointed to the first equation, "This one is almost right, you just forgot to conjugate the binomial. It's an easy mistake, anyone could've made it."

"I, uh…" he trailed off. I glanced over at him, realization just now smacking me like a ton of bricks at how close our faces were. Boundaries, Elsa, boundaries! Dropping the paper, I quickly pulled away, spine banging firmly against the back of my seat. Clearing his throat, Lea picked up the sheet and glared down at it, "Damn, I thought I did that!" After a couple seconds of scrutiny, he grabbed his pencil and started furiously erasing his work before jotting in new numbers, his knee jiggling restlessly beneath the table. The scratching of the graphite stilled almost immediately however as he looked over at me, quirking an eyebrow. "...weren't you an Art History major?"

Reaching for my ponytail to self-consciously pluck at a tendril, I said, "Well, yeah, but I'm pretty good with numbers too. You're in luck, Calculus was just about where I called it when it came to college math courses. I mean, I took the class a couple years ago, but a lot of it's still pretty fresh in my brain. I'd be happy to work through more of it with you, but..." I frowned up at the giant clock hanging over the food court entrance. "My shift's about to start."

His eyes followed my gaze and he grimaced. "Crap, I need to punch back in myself." He rose to his feet, slamming the book shut and swiftly gathering all his stuff into one big, crumpled heap. His gaze shifted to glance at me out of his peripheral. "...you working tomorrow?"

I stood as well, tipping my head to one side. "No, but then I'm back on the schedule for the next three days after it. Why?"

"Good, I have it off too." Things more or less together now, he picked the sloppy stack up and tucked it under one arm as he slid the pencil behind one ear. "You think maybe you could help me cram for my exam? Say…" he looked away, rubbing the nape of his neck, "...my place around noon tomorrow?"

My eyes widened a fraction. "Oh! Uh… yes. Sure. Of course! I don't already have plans, so I'd be glad to. What are friends for, after all?"

Note the keyword here: friends. Cuz that's what we were. Period.

The huge smile that broke out across his face now all but blinded me. "Thanks, El, you rock! I owe you big time for this! I'll treat you to an absolute mountain of your favorite ice cream, which is…" he paused, narrowing his eyes for a second before snapping his fingers and pointing at me. "...Goofy Parfait? No, too basic… Double Crunch? Nah, that's not it either. Eh, I'll figure it out sooner or later! I'm closing in, I can feel it!" He started jogging backwards towards the Pizza Planet. "Anyway, you can get my address from Raindrop! S-" He bumped into a plastic chair, stumbled for a bit before catching himself as another paper flew loose. "Heh… meant to do that. See ya tomorrow!" He waved then turned and sprinted off to avoid clocking in late.

I raised my hand, my fingers curling in a tentative wave back, "Yeah… tomorrow…"

So that, apparently, was Phase Two of Mission Not A Crush.

Go to his home and prove it there.

Perfect.

What could possibly go wrong?

A lot.

That was the answer you were looking for.

A lot could go wrong.

Starting with-

"Ahhhhh!" Rayne squealed yet again as she turned the steering wheel, making the car take a right down a side road. "I can't believe my baby's going on her first date! It really is true, they grow up so fast!" she gave a mock sniffle as she reached over to pinch my cheek.

My left eye twitched and I swatted her hand away. It was a mistake telling her. But Lea had told me to get his address from her. And of course the second I'd asked, she had insisted on driving me there. Should have seen that one coming a mile away. I sighed, "I've had dates before. It's kind of hard to wind up engaged without going on a few dates first. Not impossible, mind you, but hard. And it's not a date, I'm just helping him study for a test."

"Mmmhmmm, sure," she gave me a knowing smirk, "and I'll bet you get all dolled up in a new dress like this for all your other not-a-dates."

"Please, I bought this secondhand in a thrift shop for ten dollars, I hardly call that getting dolled up," I rolled my eyes before looking down at myself.

As it turns out, yesterday had been payday. Meaning my first check, hallelujah! I think this officially made me a bonafide adult. And seeing as how my wardrobe was limited to my work clothes, a couple of hand-me-downs from Rayne that she no longer wore, and that one outfit I had, er… shall we say "borrowed" during my whirlwind escape on my wedding day, I had felt some clothes shopping had been in order after I got off shift yesterday. But working at an ice cream shop in the local mall doesn't exactly have you rolling in the big bucks, as one might imagine, so I'd quickly discovered that a used clothing store was a dirt poor girl's best friend.

I'll admit that I had lucked out a bit with the sundress I now wore, given that it'd come from the bargain bin and had even miraculously fit like a glove. It was a pastel blue with tiny, faded white polka dots, its gently billowing skirt falling to just below my knees. Triple spaghetti straps held it up at the shoulders and it had a sweetheart neckline with embroidered, white lace trim. It was high waisted, with ribbon weaving up the front of the bodice segment and a loose bow tied at the small of my back. Paired with my usual ankle boots of course, because really, who had the munny for more than one pair of shoes? Not me, that's for sure! But the best part? Stockings. Blessed, blessed stockings! My legs could die happy now.

So was it a new dress? Yes, but that was more so to do with my distinct lack of other options than anything else. And, okay sure, the thought had crossed my mind that this was the first time Lea would be seeing me not in Ice Palace attire, so of course I'd wanted to look at the very least, erm… presentable? Yes, that was the word. Presentable. Was that a crime now? I think not!

"Well I think you look cute enough to eat!" she declared before waggling her eyebrows at me. "I'm sure that's what Lea will be thinking too."

"Oh my god, Rayne!" I huffed, hiding my face in my hands and slouching down into the car seat.

I don't know a lot about having friends, but I wonder if they're exchangeable. Like, if you can return them to Ye Olde Friend Shoppe and get store credit that can go towards the purchase of a new gal pal, one that's not delusional and won't take sadistic pleasure in teasing you mercilessly. Yeah, that'd be super-duper nice right about now.

"We hath arrived!" I heard her gleefully announce, feeling the vehicle come to a full stop.

I peeked out between my fingers to see we were now parked at the curb beside a long, colorful row of what looked to be duplex apartments. As I lowered my hands completely, Rayne suddenly seized my chin and jerked my face towards her, studying me with eyes squinted. My brow furrowed, "...what are you doing?"

"Hold still." My jaw still trapped within her iron grasp, she reached for her bag in the backseat, hand noisily rummaging inside for a few seconds before pulling out a light brown makeup pencil. "I wanna make those adorable freckles of yours hella pop so that boy really goes all weak in the knees."

"Ugh!" I yanked my chin free and snatched the pencil away from her, rolling down my window and chucking it outside the car.

"Hey! Those aren't free, you know!"

"Tack it onto what I owe for rent," I grumbled as I closed the window again.

"Whatever," she huffed before she started taking off her jacket. "Take this, will you? It's chilly out, I don't want you to get cold."

Unbuckling my seatbelt, I gently pushed the proffered garment away, "I'll be fine. The cold never bothered me anyway, you know that."

She shrugged, tossing it into the back. "Suit yourself, but don't come crying to me when you catch your death out there." I reached for the door handle, but stopped as she said, "Hold it, c'mere." Oi, what now? I slowly turned my head to cock an eyebrow at her. She licked the pad of her thumb and wiped it across my cheek, "You got a lil schmutz."

I couldn't get out of the car fast enough, staggering onto the sidewalk and whipping around to slam the door shut behind me, nostrils flaring as I narrowed my eyes down at her.

She lowered the passenger window again, gracing me with a sly grin. "Have fun on your study date, sweetpea!"

"It's not a-" The engine roared and she cackled as she sped off. I stamped my foot and crossed my arms, lips twisting sourly. "...date."

It wasn't! That was in fact what I'd come here to prove, after all. That there was no crush and this was not a date. She'd see. I'd show her. Then we'd see who got the last laugh. Ha!

As I turned to face the line of apartments, I realized I had no clue which one was supposed to be Lea's. Rayne had never given me a unit number, just told me she knew exactly where it was and would take me there. I would hope that this one coated in a dingy cherry paint that she'd dropped me off directly in front of would be it, but with that girl's sanity track record lately, I couldn't be sure that was a totally safe bet. Still, I had to knock on one of these doors, so this one was as good as any to try first.

Running my hands down my dress to smooth out the nonexistent wrinkles and sweeping my braid forward over one shoulder, I puffed out a slow breath and put one foot forward. Then, after a pause, the other. Then the other. Eventually, I was climbing the three steps that led up to the door and coming to a stop in front of it.

Then I hesitated, gnawing on my lower lip.

Smoothed my dress again.

Fidgeted with my braid some more.

...I was running out of ways to stall.

Inhaling and exhaling once more, I brought my fist up to the door, preparing to initiate Phase Two of Not A Crush. And came to an abrupt halt, my knuckles a hairbreadth's away from the wood.

Because now we came to the second thing to go wrong.

That being me realizing I had absolutely zero idea of how to accomplish Phase Two.

In fact, what the heck was I even doing here? I struggled with regular one-on-one social interactions on any given normal day, even when I didn't have an ulterior motive to worry about on the side. How on earth had I fooled myself into believing I could handle it, this, here, now, while juggling a stupidly self imposed secret mission as well? This was a terrible plan! What the actual frick had I been thinking?! Did I know myself but at all?!

...you know what? I'm leaving. This was already too much and I hadn't even gotten past the friggin' front door yet. Sorry to bail, Lea, but you're a smart lad with a good head on your shoulders. I have the utmost faith in your ability to navigate yourself through the trials and tribulations of Calculus all on our own. Peace, I'm out!

Spinning on my heel, I rushed back down the steps and beelined for the sidewalk. The walk home wouldn't be short. And I hadn't been paying attention on the drive over, so I wasn't even sure which way I should go. But psssh, minor detail. I'd just pick a direction and if it was meant to be, I'd find myself on my own doorstep sooner or later, right? Right. Now this was a plan I could get on board with. This, I could-

"El?"

I froze mid-step with a wince, gritting my teeth.

Fudge.

...should I just make a run for it?

Probably not. Pretty sure he was way faster than me with those freakishly long legs of his.

Putting on a shaky smile, I stiffly turned back around to see that front door now open with Lea standing on the threshold, giving me a quizzical look.

And it was just hitting me now as I looked at him that this wasn't only going to be the first time he was seeing me out of work clothes, but the first time I was seeing him out of his too. He was wearing a long, untucked button up that was a deep purple plaid and sleeveless, with a black tee on underneath and a black, loose hoodie vest that hung open over it. His legs were clad in dark, dark red skinny jeans, accompanied by tall black boots on his feet. His hair had been pulled back into a stylishly messy ponytail with a few spiky bangs poking free and of course he was sporting his usual guyliner. Though was it just my imagination or was there a bit of an extra swoosh to those wings at the corner of his eyes today? Probably just my imagination.

He… cleaned up pretty good.

...I mean, not that I pay attention to stuff like that or anything. Ahem, anyway!

"Where ya going?" He moved one step down the small set of cement stairs, grinning slightly. "You know that's the wrong direction, right? Living room's this way."

"...it is?"

First thing to blurt out of my mouth and we're off to a simply superb start here.

"Oh! Y-yes! Of course it is! I… I knew that! But, ah…" I took a teeny step backwards. "...I forgot something at… at home!"

Yeah, my backbone.

"That's it!" I laughed weakly and there was another shift back of my feet. "So I was just going to, you know…" I jerked both thumbs to the right, "go get it! Then… come straight back. Here. To your place, uh... o-of course!"

He frowned, looking down the street before glancing back at me. "You were gonna walk? Isn't that kinda far? Tell ya what, let me go grab my car keys and I can swing you back by your place real quick."

"No!" I threw up my hands, rapidly shaking my head. Drat. Thwarted. "N-no, that's… that's fine. And you know what? It's... not actually all that important. Really! Turns out I, um… I don't need it after all."

Looks like it was just time for me to grow a spine instead.

"Oh. Okay then, if you're sure," he shrugged before heading back up the steps and walking inside, holding the door open wide for me and smiling big. "Come on in. Mi casa es su casa!"

"Th...thanks," I managed to squeak past the anxiety squeezing my throat, making it hard to get words out. Taking a deep breath, I clenched and unclenched my clammy hands before clasping them together in front of me just below my waist. Then I rallied, if only just barely, and got myself up those stairs and inside, hearing him shut the door behind me.

The room I'd stepped into was open and rather spacious. To the right seemed to be the living room, in the middle of which stood a long coffee table, a couple of armchairs, a well-worn plush blue sofa covered in far too many pillows (all of them mismatched) and a large rug checkered in various shades of red. A giant dark wood entertainment center took up one wall with a large flat screen in the middle. The shelves surrounding it were mostly filled with books and DVDs, but there were a few odds and ends to decorate it as well, such as a couple of red frisbees sporting sinister-faced fireball decals in one cubbie, while in another sat a framed chart of what looked to be the lunar cycle.

To my left was a dinette space with its table already buried underneath a textbook and a mound of papers, and further to the left beyond that lay the kitchen. The two rooms were separated by an island counter wedged between a pair of thick square columns, the one furthest forward having a skinny door in it that was currently closed. Behind the dinner table and further back in the apartment was an open arch leading into a small corridor - more of an alcove, really - with two doors on the back wall and two more at either end of the hall.

"So..." I began as I glanced around, fingers already fiddling with the tip of my braid, "this is your casa?"

"Yup! Let me give you the grand tour." He all but bounced into the sitting area, arms dramatically flourishing in his best Vanna White impersonation. "The living room! Top of the line and comes with all the deluxe amenities you could ever dream of, including a couch as ugly as sin and a rug old enough to be your father!"

I snorted into my fist, biting back a tiny grin as I felt some of my tenseness beginning to fade, if only by a smidge. "Fancy."

"You like that? Well then prepare to have your mind blown." He darted over to the left side of the apartment now, presenting it with another theatrical sweep of his hands. "Dining room! And get this, you're never gonna guess… a kitchen!"

"Wow, dining room and kitchen? Amazing, you really do live in the lap of luxury here. My my, how the other half lives."

"I try not to let it go to my head. And check it out," he moved to the column bearing the small, inset door and pushed it open, revealing cramped shelves full of foodstuffs, "comes complete with itty-bitty pantry space!" It really was tiny. Could Lea even fit in there? Leaving the door open a crack, he then moved into the hallway, smacking a hand to the back door on the left. "My room." He pointed to the door at the right end of the hall, "Bathroom." Then the one at the left end, "Closet."

Nodding, I looked to the only remaining door directly to the right of Lea's bedroom. "And that one?"

He shook his head and waggled an index finger, "Oh-ho no, you don't wanna know what horrors lay beyond that door."

I quirked an eyebrow at that, one corner of my lips twitching upward. "Is that where you hide all the bodies then?"

"How'd you know?" He'd said it with such dead seriousness that for a second there, I started to get nervous. Then he snerked and chuckled, folding his arms beneath his chest as he leaned a shoulder against the inside of the archway. "You really are too easy, ya know that? Nah, that's just where I keep my household Saïx."

My head tilted. "...what's a Saïx?"

"Two for one deal, roomie-brother combo."

"You live with your brother? That sounds nice... not a lot of people do that after highschool."

One of his shoulders bobbed in a half-shrug, "Half-brother if ya wanna get technical, but yeah. We grew up in the foster system and had to put up with a lotta crap. Learned fast the best way to survive was for us to stick together. I guess old habits die hard. But I don't see him all that much anymore actually."

"Oh?" I frowned at that. "Why not?"

"I'm a creature of the sun, he's a child of the moon. Total night owl. His job keeps him up all hours and he sleeps all day. Nowadays I really only see him during breakfast which is his dinner and vice versa."

My eyebrows knit together. "What's he do for a living?"

Another bounce of the shoulder. "Hell if I know. He works remotely, so basically just locks himself up in his room all night glued to his laptop. Rox and Xion sometimes do take a late night though and caffeine up before dropping by to drag his ass outta his hidey-hole n' make sure he gets some fresh air every once in a while. The kiddos are convinced he's a vampire at this point, swear up and down that they've even seen him hiss at sunlight. But I know that's just silly. Totally ridiculous." Here he paused with a smirk. "Cuz he's obviously a werewolf."

A smile tugged at my lips. "Obviously?"

"Yup! All the clues are there." He struck up a finger. "Crazy obsessed with the moon." Up went a second one. "Likes his steak so rare, it's still mooing. Classic sign of lycanthropy." A third digit joined the other two. "And here's the real kicker: dogs? Love him."

"Wow," I laughed softly. "Well then, with such irrefutable proof, hard to argue that logic."

"Thank you," Lea bowed his head. Then he pushed himself off the wall and walked over to the dining table, pulling out a chair for me. "On that note, shall we?"

I nodded, taking the offered seat and reaching for one of the pages of notes. "Sounds good. Let's get to it."

"Bueno Volcano?"

I glanced up from the open textbook before me, blinking once at Lea before my eyelids drooped. "No, I do not believe the derivative of F evaluated at X as H approaches zero is… Bueno Volcano."

Another one of our flavors of ice cream, as you might've already guessed.

He was staring at me with a completely straight face while wearing his pencil like a moustache. Removing it with a gentle harrumph, he leaned his chair back onto its hind legs, "C'mon, El, we've been at this for hours now. I need a study break."

I sighed through my nose, inserting a worksheet into the book to save the spot before shutting it. "Fine." I was kind of getting stiff from sitting still for so long. Stretching one arm over my head and arching my back to work some of the kinks out of my muscles, I asked, "So, Bueno Volcano… final answer?"

Lea's seat wobbled precariously and he had to grab the table to keep from falling over. Ruffling his hair with a sheepish laugh, he then visibly mulled for a second before shaking his head, "Nah. Spicy veggie ice cream is just weird. No one's into that junk."

"You'd be surprised," I hummed a chuckle, planting an elbow on a small stack of papers and resting my cheek in my palm. "You're running out of options. You sure you haven't guessed it already?"

"Positive. I'm getting warmer though. It's on the tip of my tongue now, I can practically taste it!"

I raised a brow at him. "So what's it taste like?"

He slapped a hand down to the table with a smile, declaring, "Victory!"

"...I'm sorry, I'm not familiar with that flavor," I deadpanned.

"Bah, don't get cute, you know what I meant," he bopped my forehead with his pencil and I flicked it away. Then he tapped it to his chin as he eyed me thoughtfully. "...so why Art History?"

Um…? Where had that come from? Besides out of left field, that is. "What do you mean?"

He shrugged, twirling the pencil between his fingers now. "Just something I've been curious about… why pick that as your major? Why stick with it until you graduated if you weren't feeling it? Why even start it in the first place?"

"I, uh…" I averted my gaze, hands rushing up to toy with my braid. Answering those questions would involve bringing up my parents. And that was a whole other can of worms that I wasn't sure I was particularly ready to pop open just yet.

"Ooo, I'm sensing another secret." Grinning, he scooched his chair over closer to me now, bumping his knee into mine. "Don't worry, I know information isn't free. So how 'bout another trade? Tit for tat. Quid pro quo. One o' mine for one o' yours. I'll start." Then he was lifting up his shirts.

And I, in turn, was turning beet red and slapping a hand over my eyes.

Jeez, this guy did not know how to keep his top on!

"I've had stitches!"

...oh.

My fingers tentatively parted and I saw that he'd only raised the layers of fabric by a few inches, revealing a jagged scar wrapped around his side just above his right hip, big and gnarly, but also old and long since healed. I was kind of amazed I hadn't noticed it the first time he was shirtless in front of me. Then again, he had been drenched in ice cream at the time which had most likely covered it, and I had been a little preoccupied with spazzing out and using my hat as a makeshift censor bar.

"What happened?" I breathed, lowering my hand.

"Saïx happened." I gaped up at him and he released the hems, letting them fall back into place as he batted a hand, "It was an accident. We were only kids at the time. But turns out a chainsaw? Not a toy."

I spluttered, "A ch-chainsaw?!"

"Pssh, it's no big deal, was only a lil one. It'd have to be for an eight year old to be able to lift it after all," he brushed off with a snerk.

Fixing him with a flat look, I muttered, "You and I have two very different definitions of 'no big deal.'"

"Trust me, it looks a lot worse than it actually was. Poor Saïx though, he thought he'd killed me and the little dweeb couldn't stop bawling his eyes out at the hospital. I think he cried more than I did that day, which is funny cuz I was always the bigger crybaby of the two of us." Lea smiled as he relaxed back into his chair a bit, interlocking his fingers behind his head, "Yeah, we were one screwed up pair o' brats. It's no wonder no family ever wanted to keep us monsters, we were a handful to say the least." Then he nudged my shoe with the toe of his boot, "Alright, your turn now."

I glanced away, pursing my lips to one side. Then I locked my gaze back on his with a tiny smirk. "I've shoplifted."

His eyes widened and his head rocked back a bit as he blinked at me a couple times. Then he was narrowing his gaze, "Okay, one, no fair, you know what info I wanted."

I let my shoulders rise and fall, "You just said a secret for a secret. Never specified I had to answer your earlier question."

The rolling of his eyes was his only retort to that before moving on, "Two... you? Shoplift?" He gave a snort. "Does not compute. What was it even, a stick of gum? Some change from the Take-A-Munny-Leave-A-Munny tray?"

I lifted my chin a hair and inspected my nails, feeling a bit too pleased with myself. He'd thought he'd had me pegged. Well, I'd shown him. There's more to me than meets the eye, bucko. "Some clothes. These shoes," I slightly lifted one of my feet, presenting the left ankle boot. Then I paused for dramatic effect. "...a phonebook."

"A…?" he gave me a blank look for half a second. Then he burst out laughing, throwing up his hands, "Look out, we got ourselves a badass here! Behind that sweet, innocent face lurks the sinister mind a hardened criminal and cunning master thief! Best be careful or she'll come for your sticky notes and wall-hanging calendars next. Pfffft, a phonebook. Why? Just… why?"

Crossing my arms, I gave a derisive sniff. "I had my reasons."

Now he cocked his head to to the left, a sly curl twisting his lips. His interest had been piqued. He looked down, studying my shoes with a low hum. "...those still look kinda new. So your lil foray into the world of the five-finger discount had to of been pretty recent. I'd say… maybe a month ago, two tops."

I stiffened.

Oh no, I'd said too much.

I hastily pulled my feet back under my seat, as if to hide any further evidence he might gleen from them. "Speculate all you want, you're not getting anything else out of me."

"Oh, I see how it is. Tough nut to crack, eh?" His eyes crinkled as he leaned in closer to me, propping his elbows on his knees and tucking one arm behind the other. "Am I gonna have to go all good cop, bad cop on you now?"

...okay, cheeks, what's the deal here? I know you're still on red alert from the false alarm with the shirt earlier, but come on, this was nothing to be stoking the coals over! I cleared my throat, turning my head to one side, "No, it's just… that's a whole other secret, is all."

Lea straightened up in his seat, both eyebrows reaching for his hairline. "You mean you want another one outta me?" He shook his head with a grin, rising to his feet now. "Damn, El, you drive a hard bargain. I need to rack my brain to come up with something else good for ya. I'm gonna grab a soda while I'm at it." He winced as he made his way over to the kitchen, "...and I'm just now realizing I've been a totally crap host this whole time. Did you want anything to drink?"

"Just a water, please?" I asked, soon hearing him clinking cups around followed by the sound of a running faucet. I looked down at my lap, tucking in my lower lip as my fingers tangled into the tuft of my braid. I don't know why I was still thinking about it. I'd successfully sidestepped the question and he'd let me off the hook without me giving any sort of explanation for now. And yet, it still lingered at the back of my brain… prickling, needling, until-

"It's because I was a coward." The words were out before I'd even realized it.

He looked up, blinking at me from across the island counter. "Pardon?"

"...why Art History," I clarified softly, my hands going to my lap now to clench slightly at the fabric of my dress. "Because I was a coward, too afraid to go against my parents' wishes. They… said it would be necessary in order to make me more refined and cultured for my eventual role as… as a wife to any potential future husband I may have had. And I just… It seemed… easier just to go along with what they wanted."

"Woah," I heard him approaching again and watched out of the corner of my eye as a glass of water was set down at the table beside me. He retook his seat, a can of Kupo-Kola now in hand, "Remind me again, what era we living in? Coulda sworn we'd left the Dark Ages behind a few centuries ago." My gaze rose to meet his, a wilted attempt at a smile tugging my lips. He cracked the can open with a satisfying fizz��before taking a sip. "So then, what did you want?"

I frowned. "What did I…?"

"Say you'd flipped your folks the bird and done your own thing. What would you have majored in instead? If you'd even major in anything at all. Just… what did you want?"

My brow furrowed as I processed for a few heartbeats. "...I'm not sure, actually. Guess I never really thought about it." Then again, no one had ever really asked before. Not even me to myself.

He huffed out a laugh through his nose. "Sure ya have. Everyone has interests, dreams... and hey, you were a kid once. What did you wanna be when you grew up?"

"I…" Trailing off, I squinted towards the ceiling as if I'd somehow find what I was seeking somewhere up there. Unfortunately, no magical, clear-cut ceiling answers divining the secrets to my soul revealed themselves unto me. Drat.

What were my dreams and interests? Did I ever even have any? How pathetic was it that I had to ask myself that? That said however, my mind did strangely keep circling back around to that conversation I'd had with Rayne a few nights ago. I began slowly, "When I was younger, I… did like taking part in musicals. Nothing huge, mind you, just for school and summer camp, things like that."

"That's still something though!" he nodded, face lighting up as he took another swig before putting the soda down. "And didn't I tell ya you should get into singing?"

Eyelids drooping, I gave a tiny scoff. "It's nothing, just a stupid, childish fantasy. My parents were quick to squash any such silly notions as I grew older, saying no daughter of theirs was going to be a failed singer or two-bit actor who never made it. It's not a job that's suitable for-"

"But whoever said anything about turning it into a job?" he cut me off, tipping his head to one side. "I mean yeah, that's one option, but it could also just be a hobby. You know, for fun. You could take a class or something, just to check it out... they offer drama courses at my university. Oh, and I know a couple people from the local community theater, I could check with them for you! Why not give it a shot?"

I grimaced, one hand shifting to rub my elbow. "I don't know…" Being on a stage again, performing in front of an audience, just... all those people… the mere thought already had me feeling the chill of anxiety clawing its way up into my chest.

"Look, I'll talk to those theatre friends of mine and also get you a catalog for next semester's courses. No pressure, but just so you have the information, ya know, in case you get curious," he smiled.

...I guess it wouldn't hurt... And I had to admit, a teeny part of me was drawn to the idea. However, a much bigger part of me shriveled up in dread and made my stomach churn and knot up. "...thanks, but I don't think that's really-"

The loud, groaning creak of a door opening suddenly pierced the air. Lea paled as his head snapped over to the left towards the hallway, his eyes going round. Then he facepalmed and hissed out through grit teeth, "Fucking hell, not today!"

Puzzled at his reaction, I started to follow his gaze, "What are you-?"

His hand abruptly grabbed mine, immediately drawing my attention back to him as he whispered urgently, "Don't move. Don't even breathe."

What the…?

Despite my rising confusion, I did as I was told. I heard a slow thud, thud, thud of footsteps approaching, felt movement behind me as something brushed passed and kept lumbering along. Was that… Saïx? If so, why then did it feel like we were reenacting a scene from a Jurassic Park movie with him the T-Rex and we the scared humans trying to hide in plain sight by going stock-still? I heard the steady footfall muffle now, presumably by the living room rug which is where it'd sounded like he'd been heading. Lea relaxed a little and I took it as a sign for me to do the same, now tentatively turning in my seat to glance over my shoulder.

Across the room stood a man with his back to us. He was tall, but I think Lea still may have had him beat by an inch or two. Long blue hair fell down well past his shoulder blades, bangs a chaotic mess on top - most likely bedhead if, like Lea suggested, the guy had been sleeping all day. A black tank top hugged his torso with grey camo sweatpants beneath it and feet bare. He'd come to a stop directly in front of the far wall and was now just… staring at it.

Knitting my eyebrows together, I whispered, "What's he doing?"

Still keeping his voice down as well, Lea said, "Sleepwalking. Something he's done all his life, but it's been months since the last episode, so I was hoping we'd be in the clear today."

"Oh." I cocked my head. "...shouldn't we wake him?"

"No," he said quickly and with as much emphasis as he could muster in his hushed tone. "He goes totally berserk if you do. Believe me, it is not pretty. Best just to stay out of his way and let him do his thing. He usually only wanders about for a few minutes before he heads back to his bed. Just-"

He hastily cut himself off as Saïx chose that second to whip around and face us. His eyes were closed and between them, a faded scar in the shape of an X slashed across the bridge of his nose. Lea's hand still on mine, I felt his grip tighten as Saïx started ambling in our direction. "Don't do it, don't do it, don't do it," I barely heard Lea chanting under his breath, watching Saïx like a hawk as he drew ever nearer.

He came to a lurching halt once more, this time next to the dining chair across the table from us. Lea scowled at him, muttering, "You're gonna do it, aren't you, you slumbering jackass? You're gonna play musical goddamn chairs." As if on cue, Saïx pulled out the seat and sat down. Watching him, it was almost eerie the way he seemed to look directly at us even though his eyes remained shut the whole time. A second later, he was rising again and moving counterclockwise towards the next chair closer to me. As he plopped down once more, Lea growled, "Damn it, of course. Of. Fucking. Course you are, you big, dumb, sleep deprived- shit, move!"

Lea leapt to his feet, yanking me up and out of my chair with him just as Saïx was about to yet again take a seat, this time on top of me. Lea backed up a few steps towards the kitchen island, me still in tow and our fingers now interlaced, his other hand miming pulling a zipper over his lips to me while his unblinking gaze never left his brother. A few seconds ticked by before Saïx was up and on the move again, his knee banging into Lea's chair, making the redhead cringe slightly. However, this only seemed to give Saïx pause for a beat before it too was sat upon.

I felt a tug on my arm and Lea started pulling me along, gingerly sidling over to circle the table in an attempt to put it between us and Saïx as we watched him stand back up and move onto the next seat. Then the next. And the next. He did this a few more times, with us all the while continuing to sneak around so as to stay opposite of him. At last, he seemed to lose interest in the dining area, turning his back to it and making his way into the kitchen.

Lea's eyes darted over to his bedroom door. Then to where Saïx had disappeared behind a column. Then back and forth a few more times. Then he murmured, "C'mon. My room. He always stays outta there."

I reached for the textbook with my free hand, "Just give me a sec to-"

"No time, leave it!" he hissed, making a run for it, giving me little choice but to stumble after him or be dragged. We were almost there, his door was just a few more feet away, but then-

"Motherfu-" Lea quietly choked out as Saïx reemerged from the kitchen directly into our path. Immediately putting on the brakes, his feet scrabbled and skidded until he had shifted into reverse and backed up against the square column at the end of the kitchen island, yanking me backwards with him. He flattened himself against the surface and I did the same as Saïx shambled by hardly centimeters in front of us. Saïx then came to a stop once more, this time taking up post in the small corridor right smack dab in front of Lea's room.

Lea released a barely audible sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. Then, still maintaining a whisper, "Bad Saïx! Bad!" He flicked his hand in his roomie's direction a couple times, "Shoo! Shoo!"

Saïx, seemingly unperturbed, didn't budge.

...this had to be… without a doubt, hands down… the weirdest social visit I'd ever been to.

Another minute passed of Lea unsuccessfully trying to persuade Saïx to get lost. Finally however, he did decide to move… straight towards us.

"Crap." Still leading me by the hand, Lea bolted around the corner and back into the dinette. The table, the chairs, the island, everything blurred past us. It was all happening so fast and before I knew it, Lea was jerking me into a hiding spot with him. And where, one might wonder, might that be?

Do the words 'itty bitty pantry space' ring any bells?

This, at least, solved one mystery. Lea could, in fact, fit in here. Not only that, there was even enough space left over for one (1) awkward Elsa to go in there with him. It was however, hrm... a rather tight squeeze, to say the least.

"This door opening in is really shit design," Lea grumbled, back pressed against said door and unable to close it as there was, quite simply, not enough room to do so. Not with us in the way anyhow.

He'd released my hand by now and I currently stood opposite him, my own spine uncomfortably pressing into the shelves of canned goods behind me. The gap between us was virtually non-existent to the point where every breath I took had my chest brushing up against his. Of course, that cinnamon scent of his that I was becoming oh so familiar with at this point was present and accounted for, invading my senses. And was it just me or was it getting a bit on the warm side in here? Poor ventilation. That had to be it. Yup.

I had no idea where to look. His face? Out of the question! Not in here, not this up close and personal, nope, nu-uh! I'd just have to settle for what was right in front of my nose.

Why good day, Mr Man Boob! We really have to stop meeting like this. Still looking as stately as ever, I see… wait! Oh gosh! What am I doing? I can't be staring at his frigging man boobs! That's just… just so unseemly! ...or is it? Is it technically okay for me to get an eyeful of man boob? If so, well that's a bit of a double standard now, isn't it? Better to be on the safe side and shift over to your charming neighbor here.

Hello there, Mr Bicep! Looking real good, real fit… have you been working out? Well whatever it is, it's doing wonders because let me tell you, you look nice enough to-

...ahem, readjusting focus once again, now landing on, um... Mr Collarbone! Yeah, Mr Collarbone here seemed innocent and harmless enough.

I think.

Clearing my throat, I asked, "So… he doesn't ever come in here during one of his episodes, right?"

"Never." I heard some shifting that I think was his head turning to look out the door, where there had yet to be any further movement. "...almost never."

"...how reassuring."

And silence reigned once again. This was so uncomfortable. I was dying. Come on, Elsa, say something else! Anything to break the stifling awkwardness! Say something… something nice! Yeah, like a compliment! Tell him… what a lovely home he has! No, too generic. Comment on the… smallness of his food closet! No no, jeez, that wasn't even a compliment. Point out the… stateliness of his man boobs! …oh dear god, no! Dang it, Elsa, why are you so bad at this?!

"So, uh... what's a nice girl like you doing in a pantry like this?"

I blinked. Then, somehow, I finally found the courage to look up at him. He said nothing else, just gave me a tiny half-grin and a wink. And just like that, all that tension inside me cracked, shattered, and started to melt. Slowly but surely, a smile stretched at my lips and I gave a soft snort.

How did he do it? How did Lea always seem to know just what to say to put me at ease?

Shaking my head, I murmured, "I bet you use that line on all the ladies."

He hummed a low chuckle and made no other reply, just continued to stare down the few inches that separated us. Gosh, his eyes really were just the most beautiful shade of green, weren't they? Out of the corner of my peripheral, I saw his hand slowly rising until it hovered just beside my cheek. There he paused… hesitated… and then-

Clunk!

A sudden noise from outside and his hand had seized my shoulder tightly while his other shot up, pressing an index finger to his lips. I nodded and we both peered out into the dining room, waiting. We heard Saïx before we saw him, that very distinctive thud, thud, thud of his footsteps drawing nearer. Then he plodded into view, pulling to a stop right outside the doorway and just stood there. Neither of us moved a muscle, remaining frozen like statues and holding our breaths as we watched and silently prayed.

After what felt like an eternity but in reality was probably only ten seconds, he started walking again, lumbering off out of our line of sight. We both exhaled and slumped, listening to his footfall fade. Then there was the blessed sound of a door creaking open followed by it clicking shut.

"Is that it?" I asked hopefully, voice still a whisper.

"Should be." He cautiously poked his head out to look around. "I mean, sometimes he gets crafty for a sleeping dude and will just open and close doors without going through them, but it's rare."

Good enough for me! I slipped out of the pantry and crossed the dinette, coming to a halt next to the sofa where I started to stretch a bit. Ahh, taste that sweet, sweet air of freedom! Whew, I had been starting to get a bit claustrophobic in-

"Look out!"

At Lea's warning, I spun around. Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the apartment, there Saïx was again, heading straight for me!

And I, being the total dummy that I am, decided to pick the absolute worst time (aka now) to have a total deer in the headlights moment. My body was just not responding. Hello, legs? Anyone home? Now would be a really great time to jump out of the way! ...huh. No reply. Feet? Come in, feet, old buddies old pals! Saïx's getting real close here so if you could just, ya know, get a move on, that'd be swell! ...radio silence from that corner too. Well shoot, I thought as I squeezed my eyes shut, I guess this was it. The end of the road. The final curtains. Goodbye, cruel world. So long, and thanks for all the-

An abrupt force suddenly barreled into me from the side, pushing me out of Saïx's path at the last second and sending me tumbling over the arm of the couch where my back hit the seat cushions, decorative pillows flying everywhere. As my brain scrambled to catch up, I gradually became aware of the fact that there was a large weight on top of me, pinning me down. Warily, I peeked one eye open. Then the other. Then I blinked once. Twice. Then my face erupted into an inferno.

Because that weight on top of me? I'd figured out what it was. Or rather, who it was.

Lea.

He must have thrown himself at me, knocking us both out of the way of danger and onto the sofa. And thus why he could now be found hovering over me, his hands on my wrists, holding them down to either side of my head as he propped himself up, his hips resting between my legs. His head was currently turned to the left as he watched over the backrest of the couch, probably tracking Saïx's movements. So engrossed was he in this that I don't think he was aware of the rather compromising position we were in right now.

Unlike me, who was very, very aware.

I just stared up at him, unable to move, unable to think. My face grew hotter and hotter by the minute as my heart thundered in my ears. My breath hitched and my mouth grew dry. But the weird part? I… wasn't panicking. Oh sure, all the classic signs of panic were there, but that wasn't it. That wasn't what I was feeling. What was it then? This strange, alien emotion I felt invading my chest as I gazed up at him, making me feel all…

...kind of, sort of warm and fuzzy?

...wait.

This wasn't-

I wasn't-

Dear lord, it couldn't be I-

"There!" Lea puffed out a sigh, his shoulders sagging in relief. "I actually saw him go back into his room just now, so we should be safe for real this time. Sorry 'bout all th-" The words died in his throat as now, at long last, he looked down at me. And you could all but hear the click in his brain. He froze, eyes wide. There was a long stretch where neither of us said or did anything. Then abruptly, "Shit, s-sorry!" He quickly released my wrists, shooting up onto his knees and hastily crossing his arms, jamming his hands into his armpits. "I didn't mean to- That is, I- This was just- This isn't how it-"

In his rush to stand, he slipped and fell off the couch, banging his head against the coffee table. I gasped, sitting up and reaching for him, "Are you okay?"

In a flash he was back on his feet, rubbing the fresh sore spot and blurting out, "Yup, no, I'm good! Just dandy! Just a small concussion, no biggie, nothing a bandaid or-" once again, the coffee table got the better of him and he stumbled backwards over it. He managed to catch himself however and chuckled weakly, "Heh… who put that stupid thing there? Anyway, I'll just go, uh, get myself patched up... in the bathroom! Yeah, be right back!" And with that, he practically blurred across the apartment and straight into the restroom, slamming the door shut behind him.

...well then.

I think that answered that.

Mission Not A Crush.

Because I think we can all agree now that Lea clearly and quite obviously…

...did not have a crush on me.

I mean, come on, did you see the guy? He couldn't get away from me fast enough! All but tripping over himself to put as much distance between the two of us as he could. Probably desperate not to give me the wrong idea. Well message received, loud and clear.

However, this did complicate things a bit now though.

Because even though he didn't have a crush on me…

...I was now pretty sure I had a crush on him.

Author's Notes: Ahhh, this chapter… in which it's probably never been made more clear how really bad Elsa is at reading social cues from others xD Also, always love me a good ol' "hey, look, we're trapped in a tiny cramped space together" scene, that's my crack yo :3 But on another note, now Elsa's gone and done it… she caught feelings, the lil fool! Something she's never had to deal with before, so this should be fun xD Minor Fun Fact: Saïx's middle name in this is Isa, just like how Lea is technically our redhead's middle name as well. But unlike Lea, Saïx actually likes his first name so that's what he goes by. And we'll have a real appearance from Saïx in later chapters, not just sleepwalking zombie Saïx xP Another Minor Fun Fact: the stuff about the chainsaw was supposed to be a reference to Saïx's claymore from the video games - chainsaw is just the closest thing I could come up with xD And for those unfamiliar with this bit from the manga, there's a point where Saïx attacks Axel with his claymore and leaves him wounded right where Lea's scar is in this chapter, so another teeny lil reference, weeeee! Another ANOTHER Minor Fun Fact: Lea's outfit, if you didn't recognize it, was based on his outfit at the end of KH3! Elsa's outfit… was not based on anything, it just sounded like something I thought she'd look cute in xD Also this chapter marks the start of me regretting a little bit making this story only Elsa's POV. I mean, how fun would it be to write all the things going through Lea's head right about now? xD Alas, I'll just have to leave that up to your imaginations, dear readers!

Next chapter, what will Elsa do with these new fledgling emotions of hers? Is it really a crush? Or is she simply confused in all the whirlwind of excitement that just happened? Will Lea ever pass his exam? COULD the derivative of F evaluated at X as H approaches zero actually BE Bueno Volcano? Stay tuned!

Thanks for reading, I super duper appreciate it! And an extra BIG thank you to those of you who’ve liked, reblogged, and followed so far, seeing those lil notifications always brings the biggest, goofiest smile to my face!

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inuykago · 5 years ago

Text

lady friends?

inuyasha pride month 2020 ::

day 2 - lesbian + day 10 - kagome

thinkin of kagome and sango together makes my heart flutter. please accept this one shot I wrote for pride month ヽ(^◇^*)/

inspired by dailyau prompt:

I thought I just didn’t like relationships but turns out I’m actually super gay AU

for reference! kagome inspo. sango inspo.

{kagsan. modern college au. 3,050 words. ff.net / ao3.}

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I hate college.

The classes are dragging, professors don’t care about study guides or reviews (do they want me to fail?), and, to top it all off, I’m alone.

Not that I can’t be by myself, but there’s friend groups here, friend groups there, a couple right next to me, and all of them look at me like, “Poor freshman, why doesn’t she have anybody?”

Well, everybody, I do have people! There’s Ayumi, Eri, and Yuka … but, I chose a different college than them…

Yeah, they all stuck together… B-But we still talk every day in our “Gal Pals 💕” group chat. Well, they do understand each other more than I do… since I’m out here by myself… but it’s fine.

I’m fine.

“Ms. Higurashi!” I snapped out of my thoughts, releasing my pen from my bite. Uh oh, did he notice I wasn’t paying attention?

“Y-Yes professor?”

The man crossed his arms as he gripped the smartboard marker, “Since it looks like you’re thinking so hard-” I really wasn’t “-can you name me some baroque-style paintings?”

“Of course,” I had to act confident. “Well, there’s the one painted by…” Shit, did we even learn a baroque painter? “Uh…”

Riiiinnnnggg!

“Hmm, saved by the bell,” he said.

Thank God.

I rushed to close my pink laptop and carelessly dropped it into my yellow bookbag. I refused to give my professor a chance to pull me aside after class because (1) I know I’m not a bad student (so please don’t talk to me like I’m one) and (2) I may have a heart attack if he tries to say otherwise.

As I got up, something knocked me in the head.

“?????” is basically what I said to myself as I bent down to pick up the crumbled piece of paper. “Are we in middle school?” I rolled my eyes and straightened it out.

PARTY AT INUYASHA’S DORM-

“Oi!” a guy shouted as he and another ran up beside me. “S-Sorry, that wasn’t…. Uh…. meant for you.”

Of course it wasn’t.

“No worries,” I smiled, handing back the middle-school note. Honestly, me? Party? Yeah right.

“Say, this invitation doesn’t have to go to waste,” said the guy from behind. His short ponytail, bangs, and gold earrings distracted me for a second. “Hmm…,” he looked at me from head to toe. “Well, you’re just as pretty as the girl we were trying to give it to,” he gave me a smirk that made me uncomfortable. “See you there,” he threw his arm around me and squeezed me.

Should I elbow or kick him?

Well, he’s gone already. Perv.

Finally getting out of that classroom, I minded my business walking through the crowded hallway. I guess let me take another look at this oh-so wonderful invitation:

PARTY AT INUYASHA’S DORM

10 P.M., BRONISLAW HALL

PLEASE BRING LADY FRIENDS 😉

Yeah, I was right. He’s probably a perv.

The next day…

“How is it already 7 p.m.?” I rubbed my eyes, waking up from a long-needed nap.

Those two tests today really killed me, I guess. I’m just not cut out for history nor business marketing.

I sat up from my bed and looked at the empty other side of the room. My roommate never moved in. I don’t know if I should be happy or feel even more lonely??

“Ah well,” I shrugged.

I could see the sharpie-written note “PARTY AT INUYASHA’S” on my cluttered desk. “PLEASE BRING LADY FRIENDS” was ringing in my ear for whatever reason.

“Should I even go?” I asked myself. Well, when in doubt, turn to the Girls.

[ Groupchat: Gal Pals 💕 ]:

Ladies!!! I need help 😩

Ayumi 💛

Anything for my kags!!

Eri 💓

Spill!!

Yuka 💜

👀👀

Sooo I was kind of (???) invited

to this party on campus. Was told to bring lady friends.

Can any of my lady friends plsssss join me??

Eri 💓

Any cute boys?

Ayumi 💛

^^^^^^

Yuka 💜

^^^^^^^^^^^^

Ehhhhhh, i don’t know. Probably??

Yuka 💜

I wish you told us sooner kags :/ … we’re going

to a party tonight too

Aahhh, no worries! It cant be helped.

Have fun gals, pls be safe 🥺 and

someone please keep an eye on eri…

you know how she is drunk 🙄

Ayumi 💛

You got it mom

Eri 💓

*rolling eyes gif*

😘😘

Well, there’s my answer to that, I guess.

(THE LAST FOUR HOURS BEFORE THE PARTY:1

7:37 P.M.

-- Kagome binging Maid Sama on Netflix, wrapped in a blanket, eating popcorn --

Yeah… I’m not going.

8:37 P.M.

-- Kagome watching The Notebook, crying, on her couch --

I [sniffle] just want [sigh] love.

9:37 P.M.

-- Kagome lip syncing to “I’ll Kill You” by Summer Walker ft. Jhene Aiko, wearing her rose gold beats --

🎶 Dooon’t, have me lookin’ foolish, dooon’t, have me lookin’ stuupid 🎶

10:37 P.M.

-- Kagome, bored, scrolling on Instagram --

Eh. Whatever, I’ll go.

END:1 )

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ah, the smell of booze and desperate boys. So this is college life.

Inuyasha’s place was a four-man dorm. There had to be like 40 to 50 people here already, and I’ve never seen any of them before. Yay, Kagome.

The music was pounding and all I could see were guys on girls, girls on guys, and, the occasional, girl on girl action. I shoved my way through the sea of people, eventually getting some breathable room near the small table in the corner that had Hennessy, Tequila, and Bacardi Rum.

Well, if I’m choosing my poison, tequila and sprite it is.

“Keh, Tequila and sprite?” I turned around because who the hell was talking to me? “I like your taste.”

His fluff white, silver hair was one of the few things that stood out in the near-complete darkness. He sipped his (henny and coke?) drink and leaned on the table, eying me up and down. Is that all boys do?

"I’m Inuyasha,” he smirked, taking another sip and fixing his backwards red dad hat. “If you didn’t know that already.”

Why did I decide to come again?

“Thanks for the housewarming,” I mouthed sarcastically. “But the bathroom is calling my name so-” I nodded my head to the side and shuffled to anywhere but there. But before I could even move --

“Oi, you don’t wanna talk a bit? Get to know each other?” he put his hand on my wrist. Why do they keep thinking they can touch me?!

I ripped out of his light hold, “Sorry, not interested.”

“W-Why you--”

“Inuyasha!” great, reinforcements. “There you are, have you seen all these ladies?! I’m so h-” oh even better, it’s the Perv No. 1. “Ah! You came,” he nudged Perv No. 2. “I knew you wanted to see me again.”

“As if,” I rolled my eyes. “Now, unless you want me to urinate on your floor,” I raised my glass and gave a sarcastic smile. Jeez, I really wasn’t wrong about the desperate boys.

The two bozos stepped in my way again as if I wasn’t cornered already (think: lap dances to my right; twerking to my left; beer pong behind me). And this is why I prefer my books and Netflix.

“If you think I find this flattering,” I raised my brow, sipping my drink. “I don’t.”

“Feisty,” Inuyasha nodded his head and Perv No. 1 did that weird smile again.

Should I kick them? I should kick them.

Before I could Inuyasha began to lean in, “Yeah alright, woman, suuure you will.”

“LEAVE MY GIRLFRIEND ALONE, YOU DICKS”

Eh?

“Ah, shit, Sango,” Inuyasha awkwardly scratched his neck. “You got a girlfriend already? Jeez woman.”

Perv No. 1’s mouth practically dropped to the floor, “W-What??? This goddess has a girlfriend??” he hung his head in disappointment. God bless this “Sango” chick. “Inuyasha, why didn’t you tell me?? SHE was the one I was trying to invite but then--” he eyed me in disappoint “--well we got her.”

“Excuse me?” Men.

“I got it, sweetie,” she winked and rubbed my cheek. God, why is my heart pounding? “I see either of you talk to her again and I’m ripping lil’ tweedledee and tweedledum off of you, ‘kay?”

She held my hand. Is my palm sweaty? A-Am I doing this right??

Inuyasha rolled his eyes, snatched his drink, and dragged Perv No. 1 away, whose mouth was still on the ground, “Whatever. C’mon, Miroku, the night ain’t over yet.”

“T-Thanks for saving me,” wow, she’s kinda cute.

She smiled and squeezed my hand. I didn’t mind this at all… but why is that?

“Of course, us girls gotta look out for each other, right?”

I felt myself get warm, and frankly I wasn’t sure if it was the tequila or because I was blushing. For the first time ever, I didn’t know what to say. Like, I was afraid of saying something weird and creeping her out… why is that?

“I hate guys,” she tightened her thick ponytail. “They think they’re so big and tough.”

“R-Right?!” we both laughed, and I could feel myself getting giggly. Was it the alcohol? Yeah, Kagome, of course it is.

She made herself a drink: rum and coke. She took a sip and I found myself staring at her, jeez I have to say something before I creep her out--

“So, where’s your friends?”

I snapped out of my thoughts, “Oh, they couldn’t make it… Kinda chose to come here last minute.”

She shifted her weight onto one leg, whew I really like her outfit. “Came to a back-to-school college party by yourself?” she nodded in approval. “I was wrong, you do have guts,” she sipped her drink, her lip gloss staining the red cup. “I like that.”

Uh oh, there goes my heart again. Think, Kagome, say something, be cute. Be cute. “I’m Kagome by the way.” Really, that’s it?

“Sango,” she held out her cup and I met it with mine. We both laughed again.

When our giggles died down it looked like a light bulb turned on inside her head. “Let’s go have fun!” she threw down her drink and interlocked her hand with one of mine.

?!?!??!?!??!!?! is what I yelled in my head and, sweet Jesus, there goes my heart. I shouldn’t have watched The Notebook earlier.

Sango dragged me and I couldn’t stop the fuzzy feeling. We were inside of the makeshift dance floor -- how can anyone enjoy this body heat?! -- and she just started going.

“La Romana” by Bad Bunny made the house speakers -- and just about everyone, including Sango -- jump. Her body was moving to the beats as she shouted the lyrics into the air.

I was trying to let my body loose like her, but sheesh I couldn’t keep up!

🎶 PASAME LA HOOKAH, EH! 🎶

She chugged the rest of her drink and so did I. I think I need more liquid confidence.

Four drinks later…

“Are you having fun?!” Sango yelled in my ear, laying her hand on my back, trying to bring me closer. I may be a bit drunk at this point, but I know I can feel my heart pounding again.

“Yes!!” I giggled into her ear, moving my hips to the fast beat. I don’t even know what song is playing, but my body is going with it.

🎶 IF THEM BITCHES ‘ROUND YOU, BETTER BE BLOOOD

IF AIN’T ME OR YOUR MAMA, SHOULDN’T BE SHOWIN’ YOU LOVEE

PLEASE FORGIVE ME, I KNOOOW THAT I’M STINGY 🎶

“IS THIS?!-” my eyes widened in excitement, the song still in the background.

“SUMMER WALKER?!” Sango pushed her face near mine. If I wasn’t so excited about the song I’d probably be fainting right now.

“AND JHENE AIKO??” we exclaimed in unison.

We both immediately closed our eyes and put our hands to our chests, literally singing our hearts out to “I’ll Kill You,” aka my favorite song.

For the first time at the party, I felt like myself. My hopeless-romantic-who-couldn’t-sing-but-adores-r&b self. I don’t know if it’s the fifth cup of tequila and sprite, the Goddess Summer Walker, or Sango looking so dang attractive that’s making me feel bubbly, but I just… let loose.

🗣I BEEN WAITING SO LONG FOR A LOOOOVE LIKE THIS

I BEEN WAITING SO LONG FOR A LOOOOOVE LIKE THIS

“Ka-go-me!” Sango shouted as she smiled at me, nodding her head in approval.

I want to serenade her… Yes, Kagome, let’s serenade her.

🗣FUCK THAT MY BABY YOU ALLL MINE

GREATEST OF ALL TIME

YOU BETTER TELL THEM HOES, “FALL IN LINE”

I DO NOT PLAY ABOUT MINE

My voice is as angelic as Jhene right now. My arms -- with my near-empty sixth drink -- are wrapped around Sango’s neck and she’s smiling so big; I don’t know how my arms ended up here, but I… don’t want to let go.

I should keep going. Yes, keep going.

🎶I WANT YOU FOR LIIIFFFEEEE

DOOONTT, HAVE ME LOOKIN’ FOOLISH

DOOOONTT, HAVE ME FEELIN’ STUPID

Sango ran her fingers through my hair and just kept on giggling. “Okay, Ms. Jhene, let’s get out of here.”

“W-What?!” I let go of my grip. “W-Why are we l-leaving?” my words felt like it wasn’t coming fast enough out of my mouth. “T-The party j-justed start-ted!” I went for a last sip but she grabbed it so fast from my hand.

“H-Hey!” I tried to snatch it back but she was too damn fast. She’s lucky she’s cute.

Sango put down the cup on the corner table. She moved a piece of hair out of my face, “You’re suuuuuper drunk.” She laughed at me, making me even more flustered.

“I-I am n-not!”

“Do you realize how slurred your words are right now?” They are not. “Come on,” she lightly grabbed my hand. “Time for bed, princess.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I don’t know how I ended up back in my dorm room, but I did. And I don’t remember even falling asleep, but I did.

I slowly opened my eyes and just felt the room spinning. Jeez, I’m such a lightweight.

I held my head as I rose up; it was still dark outside and my wall lights were still shining a bright pink. Water… I need water.

“Woah, woah!” Sango said as she rushed to the ride of my bed with a glass of water. She has to be heaven-sent.

“Wow, it’s like you read my mind,” I laughed, taking the cup from her hand. “Thank you.”

She smiled as she pulled out my desk chair beside the bed, “Of course.” But then she looked at me and started laughing.

“What’s so funny?!” I nervously asked. What did I do? I hope I wasn’t too drunk because then I start… singing…

“You don’t remember what happened an hour ago?” I looked at her blankly. “At Inuyasha’s?”

“Ehhh,” I put my finger to my chin, thinking rather hard. “You saved me from the two Pervs, didn’t you?”

She giggled with her eyes closed, revealing her pink eyeshadow. I love that.

“Let me refresh your memory,” I don’t like where this was going.

🗣FUCK THAT MY BABY YOU ALLL MINE

GREATEST OF ALL TIME

YOU BETTER TELL THEM HOES, “FALL IN LINE”

I DO NOT PLAY ABOUT MINE

“No…”

“Yes.”

“...N-No…”

“Yes!” she chuckled, holding her stomach while I covered my face.

“I-I’m soooo sorry!” Jesus, she definitely thinks I’m weird now. “When I’m drunk I think I sound like Jhene Aiko… she’s just too powerful...”

“Yeah, I see that,” she pretended to wipe tears from her eyes. “But oh please, don’t apologize. It was so cute.”

“C-Cute?!” I accidentally yelled out loud. I immediately covered my mouth.

“Yeah, you’re so adorable,” Sango smiled. “When I saw you at the party today, I knew I wanted to talk to you. So I just went up to you and then I saw douchebag Inuyasha and his little henchman… It was only natural for me to chase them away,” she shrugged.

She knows she got it. I like that.

“Thank God you stepped in. I was really about to kick those guys in the hoohas.”

“The hoohas?” She just kept on laughing. I loved seeing her smile, whew. “You’re so cute.”

We both continued giggling because, let’s face it, I have no idea what I’m doing, saying, or hell, what I’m feeling.

“So, no friends with you tonight,” I shook my head. “How about your boyfriend?”

I shyly smiled, “Nope, don’t have one of those either… Never did.”

“Really?” Sango’s eyebrow propped upwards. “Same here.”

“What? No way!” I tried calling her out.

Sango giggled, “How can I when girls like you are so pretty?” Oh God, did my heart just stop working? “Ah, wait, that was weird,” she scratched her neck, chuckling nervously. “Now I feel like a Perv like Inuyasha and Miroku.”

“No,” I protested. “Not at all.”

Sango looked like she felt she crossed a line. She really didn’t. In fact, she helped me realize something.

“It looks like you’re sobering up now,” she smirked. “I’ll get out of your hair. Thanks for partying with me tonight,” she blew me a flirty-but-i’m-trying-to-not-be-an-obvious-flirt kiss as she got up.

“Wait!” I didn’t want her to go. “Can you actually… stay with me? I’m here by myself, and I really like being with you.”

Sango looked at me relieved, “Of course.”

I moved more towards the wall to motion her to lay next to me. She kept looking at me and I knew my cheeks were already red, so I tried to look away. Her weight slightly pressed the bed down, but we fit. Perfectly.

I began to think back to my past “relationships” with Hojo, Koga, and Bankotsu. None of them ever worked out for me because I hated it. I hated relationships. I hate cuddling, the affection, the over-protection. But now I know, it was because I wasn’t with the right person.

“Sango?” I turned my body towards her.

“Yes, princess?” she smiled sarcastically.

I giggled, I couldn’t let this opportunity fly by me. I’m going to go for it.

I leaned in 100% for the kiss. Her lips were so soft that I realized her lip gloss was already all gone. I felt her kiss me back and honestly? fireworks. I never felt like this before.

She smiled mid-smooch, “So you do have guts.”

#aaagshhshhsh #aj writes fics #im sorry its horrible ??@?!?#I just love them #girl power 4ever #inuyashapride2020 #kagsan #kagome x sango #inuyasha fanfic #inuyasha fanfiction #kagsan fanfic

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kidblink-182 · 6 years ago

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the lightning thief tour

i saw the lightning thief last night and hOLY SHIT! JUST HOLY SHIT! click the read more for my notes n stagedoor experience n shit. obvi SPOILERS

ACT ONE

-so the show starts off with a quite literal BANG i’m talking bright white light and thunder noises so chirren b careful if you go to see it -i almost screamed when james went onstage and THATS when i knew this was real -hooray for grungy dancing our parents suck -they tore down the lightning bolt curtains and chris slid out and i lost my mind -“their father kronos-” “KRONOOOOOSSSSSS” -“please see me by the sphynx” (glass display turns around from pyramid to sphynx) -“i was on this field trip, and the x-rated art they had there? crazy.” -percy is literally so flamboyant and so sarcastic i was cracking up the whole two hours -james as gabe oh so help me gods -he sounded so desperate/afraid the whole time -“BEAN. DIP.” on the literal verge of tears -i loved sally so much. she can riff like it’s nobody’s business, and i can never get enough of it. i love carrie but jalynn... oh, jalynn. -“oh look. a goat in a trash can.” -classic “you’re a furry” joke. classic 10/10 -“i’m half goat!” “i’m sorry, this is just a lot to take in right now, okay?” -they did sally’s “death” in slow motion, which made it even more hard to watch. -also BIG FUCKING SEIZURE WARNING FOR THE MINOTAUR SCENE THAT SHIT IS INTENSE -i.... don’t know how to feel about poseidon. ryan literally goes to the bottom of his vocal range for poseidon and it’s the funniest shit (my mom loved it), and he’s like... he’s like a demon surfer. lowkey like jonathan raviv’s poseidon a lil better but ryan? oh gods he’s incredible. he’s the only man who can pull off hawaiian shirts. -annabeth comes in one of those wheel cart things you use to haul heavy shit -“another terrible day” in E minor? oddly needed and very refreshing. -chiron’s “reveal” scene was... interesting to say the least. -their sign :( my fave song of the show. so emotional. chiron puts his hand on percy’s shoulder at one point, percy shows so much emotion, and ryan can sing like an ANGEL i love his vibrato -when luke came on stage i literally whooped so loudly -oh gods there was this one scene luke: welcome to the dysfunctional family! oh, there’s someone who wants to see you grover: percy, i’m so sorry. satyrs are supposed to be protectors. i’m the worst satyr in the world. percy: grover, i’m so glad you’re here right now. then they hug and i sob -“it’s not a lightsaber” -oh btw jorrel is SO DAMN CUTE -clarisse’s battlecry is my energy -RYAN IS IN DRAG THIS ISN’T A DRILL RYAN IS IN DRAG AND IT’S SO EASY TO RECOGNIZE HIM BUT IT’S THE BEST THING TO WATCH -HE LITERALLY “HITS” HIS CROTCH WITH HIS AXE BY ACCIDENT -percy wheels himself in on the toilet. QT. -“she could’ve killed me!” “the plan would have worked either way.” -grover did a cute lil tap dance in “i’m the child of pan” -while crying you just hear grover go I DON’T LIKE THIS SONG ANYMORE then just keeps fucking dancing -“as long as you are here with me puts arm around percy” -“mr d wants to kill you- i mean, talk to you” -“it’s not just some silly lightning bolt on a traveling musical tour!” -“look at the boy! he’s hardly a thief!” “oh, i suppose, unless you’re a good actor, and OHOHOHOHO, i’m the god of drama, and i can say HE’S NOT.” -mr d’s obsession with dolphins is my will to live -the oracle is actually really fucking silly bc of everyone hiding under her dress -“AND YOU SHALL FAIL” “spirit fingers FAIIILLLLLLLLLL” -oh god good kid was making me feel things. the emotion, the lighting, the fog, the music, i was on the verge of tears. chris is so talented. -“if you’re the son of poseidon and you wanna be alone, don’t go to the lake. it’s the first place they look. don’t worry, i won’t tell chiron you’re here.” -“and i’ll be the second first! :D” -annabeth does a riff on her high note of QUEST and we don’t talk about it enough

ACT TWO

-RYAN AS AUNTIE EM IS THE REASON I GET OUT OF BED IN THE MORNING. -“i had a boyfriend... deep voice ONCE.” -he kept moving his hips and dropping into a deep voice and moving his hips and i was sure i was gonna die -“nemesis... nemesees.... nemisisises... WE DON’T LIKE EACH OTHER.” -perc+grov literally pulled a dirty dancing so percy could chop off her head. -“but it wasn’t your fault.” “you’re right, it’s yours.” -kristen’s vocals were stellar as usual and they used this badass lighting to make it look like sunlight was pokin out through windows as lil disco lights. -oh btw i was blinded like 3214732148904722 times but idgaf -“i know a way to get our parents to notice us HELP ME BOX THIS HEAD” -“care of: ~perseus jackson~ and ANNABETH C H A S E.” -was ares wearing a tracksuit? what the literal- -HKJFDSALK grover pulled his hair up during the slomo part and it stuck upright -percy’s like “i swallowed a bug” -“i’m gonna pass out... pass out... p a s s o u t.” -KRONOS MADE ME ALMOST PISS MYSELF IT’S SO CREEPY WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK -grover shakes him awake like “you really do drool in your sleep,,,,” -in tree on the hill jorrel was actually sobbing and chris got up at one point to go to him and it was so touching -the scene above them made my heart ache too, especially the freezeframe during “maybe if i’d been a little bit braver” where thalia’s collapsed and luke and annabeth are holding each other i just... a h -charon as the elevator woman is GREAT -her riffs made me want to get up and start boogie-ing -“like? the fish sauce?” -ARGUABLY THE BEST PART OF THE SHOW WAS HADES -HE’S FUCKING GAY -LIKE FLAMINGLY FLAMBOYANT. I’M NOT EVEN KIND OF JOKING. LISP AND EVERYTHING. THERE WERE T E A R S. -ares wears a tank top in son of poseidon and i died -sally and poseidon flirted like hell and POSEIDON SHOT FINGER GUNS AND POOR PERCY WAS SO AWKAWRDHFALHFJDASFJHK -in last day of summer percy tried reaching out for luke early but luke just walked away b4 mr d came on stage -luke grabs percy by the shirt when he says “good!” and shoves him back -gods i can’t get over james’ vocals. so good. SO GOOD. -luke took the banner w him when he stabbed percy and ran -bring on the monsters was actually a huge bop and i didn’t cry like i thought i would :0 -all in all i re-lost my voice screaming over this shit and i’m so grateful i got to see it

STAGEDOOR

-so the stagedoor was super vague @ first bc i heard they weren’t doing it from a parent, but not even the staff were sure -so mom let me hang out by the stagedoor to see if ppl came out -chris came out first & i didn’t even recognize him til he was right in front of me (dramatic ass all bundled up like an eskimo) and he felt bad bc he couldn’t stay long and didn’t have a pen to sign anything but i couldn’ stop saying oH MY GOD OH MY GOD -then jorrel came out and was like “i can’t sign anything either but pics would be much quicker if you wanted them” and igOT TWO PICS WITH JORREL GUYS THIS IS NOT A DRILL -he was like “it’s so cold (findlay ohio) how do y’all live here?” and i was like “we don’t know” his dramatic southern californian ASS i loved him -i got a signature from sarah, and she was super sweet (she took the pic for me bc my fingers were numb from the cold. NEGATIVE WINDCHILL GUYS. WELCOME TO OHIO. -i asked jalynn to adopt me and shes like YALL ARE TOO SWEET and i got her signature too -i ALSO met kristen and got her signature+picture as well, idk how i wasn’t panicking but i was so flustered -someone told kristen they’d take a bullet for her and she went DON’T DO THAT -everyone else walked past and couldn’t bc of the cold but we cheered for them anyway -so yeah by the time i got in the car my fingers were literally burning and i couldn’t feel my legs but I GOT SIGNATURES AND PICTURES AND THAT’S WHAT MATTERS -i also got a t-shirt -who’s hardcore? me. i’m hardcore.

hope you guys enjoyed these notes lol

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paepsi · 6 years ago

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EXO as dumb shit I’ve done, EXPLAINED:

Suho:

See this picture here? This is me before the moving team. I was so fucking proud of myself for strapping the base of the chair to my roof (it wouldn’t fit through the trunk of me smol hatchback). I thought it was funny that it kinda looked like a kip-pah and asked my friend to take a pic for me here (see my lil peace sign next to my face? im v happy of my jew car). Little did I know that after driving to my new apartment with the whole moving team from IKEA unloading shit from the truck, I would be stuck in the fucking car. I didn't have a knife or scissors to cut the strings and I didn't want to make my dumb assery to be noticed; so instead of asking for help... I climbed out the front window and almost fell flat on my ass. When I stood up and turned around, the whole moving team was just standing there looking at me. The assholes knew I was stuck and let me suffer.

Kris & Kai:

so these moments both happened in the same night. I went to a house warming party for my friend and I didn't know what to bring as a gift, so I just bought two big bags of Hawaiian bread. Now throughout the night, the more I drink, the more impulsive I get.

I started putting the bread on people's shoulders, slowly piling them up until they noticed. Everyone was pretty wasted so there was no surprise when I had a stack of 4 1/2 buns (I ate half) on my friends shoulder. Anyways- fast forward into the night, I'm craving sweets, so I walk into my friends kitchen and find a jar of cookies. At the time I thought it was a brilliant idea to just put the Hawaiian bread in there so the kitchen looked full; a fair exchange, if you will. At least that's what I thought... I found pictures from the party and it turns out I just ended up putting in a half eaten bun sjzjsj

Fast forward into the morning of the next day, I’m hungover and I wake up wearing mismatching socks (one is mine, the other I have no idea).

I needed to get home because I had work later that day, so I hop into my car and start driving home. The whole time there was this annoying beeping sound that I couldn’t figure out where it was coming from. I had such a bad headache that I pulled over to see what the fuck was wrong. I got out of my car, checked the wheels, checked the under the hood, then hopped back inside. I was so frustrated that I banged my head on the steering wheel and just rested my eyes for a sec. When I opened them to look straight ahead at my dashboard, the brake light was glowing bright red. I cried.

Chanyeol:

One summer evening, I was hanging with my sister and her friends around a campfire. We were roasting marshmallows, drinking, having a good time etc. Eventually later into the night we started getting bored and one of my sister’s friends suggested playing hot potato with the coals from the fire. We’re all game like FUCK YEAH LETS DO THIS. Then we start tossing it around and realize that it’s way too fucking hot, so instead of tossing it’s just everyone spiking the coal to the next person. FYI, I have terrible hand eye coordination and I wasn’t wearing my glasses that night. Every single time the coal was spiked my way it would miss my hand and fly straight into my hair. The next day I woke up, looked in the mirror, skipped breakfast and headed straight to the salon. still looked cute or w/e so I ain’t mad

Kyungsoo:

Ahhhh, this one is actually pretty personal and happened not too long ago! My mom finally left this dirt bag she’d been married to for the past 16 years. When I say dirt bag, I mean a manipulative, abusive piece of shit. My mom was so tired during her session with the mediator for when they were deciding who was getting what; she took 30-45 minutes to talk alone with them and he took 3 fucking hours putting on this sick sob story. The mediator was so done with him too that they just let him do whatever he wanted. That meant he had the “right” to pick and choose what belonged to him in our apartment. The fucker took EVERYTHING. He took the furniture, the bedroom sets, all the electronics, the spices- HE DOESN’T EVEN COOK. However, a week before then, I bought a huge bottle of vanilla. I needed it to make edible cookie dough, which I was doing everyday out of stress. The day before he finally moved out, I came home from work to see everything wrapped/packed up. I started to get worked up and went to the kitchen to make my cookie dough. When I opened the cabinet to get my vanilla and saw it completely empty, I lost it. I literally screamed and started tearing up all the boxes, finding more shit that belonged to me and stopped when I finally found my vanilla. I went back to the kitchen, happily made my cookie dough and kicked back on "his” couch with my dirty shoes on. Later that night, the asshole came home and screamed at me. I shut him up tho when I told him I’d suffocate him with a pillow in his sleep if he dared to touch me or any of my things ever again. He didn’t stay in the apartment that night lol

Baekhyun:

I think this one might be my favorite story. It all started when a package from my mom in the mail never showed up even though the UPS tracking said it had already arrived on my doorstep. I assumed in meant the package was stolen and got really bummed about it since it had some essential items in there. My roommates felt bad and decided to cheer me up by throwing a house party (woohoo! cue the alcohol!). It started at like 3pm and went on all the way until 4 am the next day. Somewhere within that time frame while it was still light outside, slightly tipsy, I found a ladder on the side of the house and had a strong urge to follow it up to the top; and who am I to deny every desire that comes across my pea sized brain. I was half-way up to the roof when one of my roommates spotted me (let’s call him Big Ned; there were two guys named Ned in our house so we just called them Big Ned and Little Ned; Big Ned is like 6′3″ and Little Ned is like 5′4″). Big Ned started yelling at me to get down and I told him I couldn’t because it was my destiny to reach the top. He decided that there was no use arguing with me and ended up following me to the roof (even though he’s afraid of heights; bless his BFG heart). He’s kinda hard to miss, so when he started making his way up to the roof with me, it grabbed a lot of attention. Some joined us. Meanwhile, I decided to walk around and look into my neighbors yards. I saw a mess of papers in one of the alleys between our houses and joked “lmao that’d be funny if that was my package”. We laughed for a bit then looked a little closer until we realized oh fuck that’s my package. My body moved on it’s own and just kinda scrambled across the roof trying to figure out the fastest and least painful way to get off the roof. Thank the stars for Big Ben holding me back by the collar of my shirt and preventing me from jumping down onto the neighbors fence. Little Ben ended up running over and jumping the fence to get it for me. We still don’t know how it got there.

Tao:

In middle school, I had to go on this field trip to some ranch out in the countryside of Texas. I remember we were all huddled into a barn with a big stage in the back. The teachers grabbed a mic and got on stage to talk about who knows what. Idk I wasn’t paying attention, talking to my friend, in my own world. When the mics go off, everyone starts chattering. At that moment in time, I was extremely preoccupied with my shoelaces when I got a tap on my shoulder from my homeroom teacher. I think she was mad at me for not listening and told me to head up to the stage along with a few other students making their way over. Being in front of others makes me nervous, but when the teachers put a bib around my neck before I got on stage, I was too confused to think of anything else. When another teacher started handing out baby bottles filled with Gatorade to each student on stage, I had to stop them to ask what was going on. And what do ya know, I’m in a baby bottle drinking contest. Before I had time to ask any more questions, they were already counting down to start. Now listen, I’m not the type of person to back down from a challenge so ofc you know I’m gonna suck the soul out of this bich. The reason I can say this confidently is because up until I was 11 years old, I always drank out of baby bottles when I got home from school. I just really liked the feeling?? For me, nothing beat chilling on the couch, watching Teen Titans and drinking fresh cold orange juice from a baby bottle on a hot summer day. Idk but I guess it came in handy since I finished a 24oz bottle under 35 seconds. The rest of the kids weren’t even close to half way through. There’s a picture of me at the back of my school year book holding up the baby bottle like a trophy.

Sehun:

Remember my sisters friends from the campfire? Well I spent a good long summer hanging with her friend group and ended up getting kinda close to this one of the guys (let’s call him Jake). I have a really broad range of music taste and I guess he digged that so we talked a lot about music together. By the end of the summer, Jake threw a party at his house and invited me over. Ngl I wanted some dick so ofc I’m gonna go all out and break out my hot leather Madonna outfit. I head out with my sis and the house is packed by the time we get there. The whole time we’re pretty much just hanging out, drinking and dancing the night away. Some time passed 1 am (I think), I’m sorta outside making out with Jake on the side of his house. It’s getting really hot and heavy. When we finally broke apart for air, he told me he though he was in love with me. I’m screaming internally, panicking and I don’t know what to do. I could tell from way before that he really liked me, but I didn’t think it was to that extent. It doesn’t help exactly that I don’t feel the same way for him. Don’t get me wrong! He was really hot and sweet, but I just couldn’t see myself with him. So what did I tell him? Nothing. My dumb ass was in such a panic that all I could think of was that I needed to run. I did. I ran back into the house, out the front porch, spotted his skateboard and took off. I didn’t really know where I was or where I was going but somehow I ended up at the train station and eventually found my way back home.

Xiumin:

On my 21st birthday, my roommates took me out to a really nice, 5 star restaurant in the city we lived. They're buying me all the drinks I want cause heck I'm finally legal! Now, I think y'all can see a pattern of what happens when I drink. So when Big Ned got a glass of scotch and I had just finished off my last sip of wine, I wanted some too. I asked him to share, using "it's my birthday" to get my way. Ever the gentleman, Big Ben pours half his glass into my wine glass and keeps his raised for a cheers. The whole group joins in and with a shout of Mozeltov, I slam the wine glass down on the table and toss it back. It wasn't until I finished the last drop and tried to set my glass back on the table that I realized I snapped the stem in half. No one spoke, except for Little Ned, softly, "did you... did that really just happen?" Yeah. Yeah it did. Thankfully the restaurant agreed to keep the broken glass off the bill as long as I left the restaurant immediately.

Chen:

On a Saturday night, I met up with a good friend of mine that I hadn’t seen in months. We bought some snacks and drinks then drove to a marina near my apartment (new place in California). The whole night we spent catching up and throwing rocks in the water. I was still a little tipsy when it was time to go home and my friend ended up driving me back. On the way back, I opened a bag and snacked on some pizza flavored goldfish. I was about a fourth of the way through the bag when I decided I didn’t like it anymore and started tossing them out the window. We pull up to a stop light and my friend is trying to make me stop by rolling up the window, but I stick my leg out before he could close it. Next he tries to compromise and said if I wasn’t going to eat the goldfish, I should just put the bag down and remove my leg from the window. My tipsy ass told him no, I was handing out free food. I turned to look at the car next to me, asked (yelled) if they wanted any goldfish and held out the bag to them. I guess the dude thought it was funny and was just like “yeah sure why not, lifes too short to not eat goldfish from a stranger at a stoplight” alksdjflskdj

Lay:

When I was about 6 years old, I lived out in the suburbs of Fulshear, Texas. The community is really tiny and everyone knew each other. One time, I was playing hide and seek with my siblings, and decided to hide under my moms bed. While I was waiting for my brother to come find me, I fell asleep. A couple hours later I wake up and it’s dark out. The house is empty. I’m calling out to see if anyone is home, checking all the rooms. I thought maybe everyone decided to tag me “it” since I passed out. After a while of not finding anyone, the phone rings and I pick up. It’s my mom sounding out of breath calling to see if anyone found me and took me back to my house. Turns out I had actually been knocked out for 6 hours. Not being able to find me during hide and seek for 2 hrs, my siblings went to get my mom who also started looking for me. After another hour and no luck, she called our neighbors across the street to see if I went over to play with their kids. Ofc they said no and said they would call some other people in the neighborhood to find out if they'd seen me. A few hours later, the whole neighborhood was out looking for me. Meanwhile I'm at home chilling on the couch watching Teletubbies and eating goldfish (the original babey).

Luhan:

My dad took me and my siblings to the beach almost every summer in elementary school. We would always stay at this Holiday Inn right across the street from the sands. At night, we would go “hunting” for crabs with a flashlight and a fishnet. But on some nights when my dad was too tired to go out, my siblings and I would hang in the kids room at the hotel. We were fooling around and just being kids. Then we found a big case filled with tubes of paint. I was excited to do some finger painting but before I could reach for a tube, my brother stopped me to say he had an idea. He dared us lay down our sheets of paper and paint them by jumping on the tubes. Being the youngest of four, I thought this was a brilliant idea and immediately got to work. Set my paper down and lined up the colors I wanted to use. I jumped.... Only a spec of paint made it onto the paper... The rest beautifully decorated the off-white walls of the kids room. We all just froze because oh my stars we’re gonna be in so much trouble. Turning to each other, we made a very strong pinky promise to not tell a soul what happened. The next day when we returned to the kids room, the case was gone, faded splotches of green and purple remained on the walls, and a big paper taped above reading “NO PAINTING ALLOWED”.

Fun fact: my eldest sister used to write about my adventures for her creative essay homework’s in middle school.

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ask-haleinski · 8 years ago

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Stiles dropped the book onto the table and opened it. The spine of it cracked. Some of the pages fell out and fluttered to the floor.

“Oh come on,” Stiles whined, “I just bought this one.”

The baby made an inquisitive cooing sound and reached for the book.

“No, Jellybean,” he said patiently, as he gently pried her pudgy hands away from it.

A half laugh, half choked sort of noise from across the table made Stiles lift his head. Derek was staring at him, eyebrows raised in question.

“I don’t want to give her a name, we’ll get attached. So that’s my nickname for her.” Stiles said, slowly.

Derek’s eyebrows seemed to crawl higher (which Stiles hadn’t thought possible until just then), “Yes, but, Jellybean?”

“It’s cute.”

Derek just huffed out another laugh and turned his attention back to the laptop.

“Not hard to find stuff about the fae, at least.” Stiles mused, “Although a lot of the lore seems to agree they’re nothing like Tinkerbell.” He held up the book to show Derek an illustration of a rather vicious-looking pixie, and bared his teeth in a poor imitation of it.

This seemed to delight Jellybean, as she let out a high-pitched squeal and waved her hands towards him. Stiles turned his attention to her and tickled her belly, and she dissolved into giggles. When Stiles looked up, Derek looked a little dazed. Stiles grinned at him.

“What?”

Derek cleared his throat and turned his attention back to the bestiary, “It might be easy to find information about fae, but, everything about their babies comes back to changelings.”

“So she’s a changeling.”

“I don’t actually think so. That involves a trade, and…” Derek’s eyebrows lowered in a frown.

“We don’t have an existing baby, right.” Stiles supplied. He turned his attention to Jellybean, who was tugging on his sleeve. “Hm?”

She pulled harder, until she was able to get some of the flannel into her mouth. Stiles found himself smiling as she gummed his sleeve.

“I think she’s seven months old,” Derek said.

“I think that faeries probably age differently,” Stiles said.

“Developmentally, according to human terms, she looks like she’s seven months old.”

“You’ve been studying up on that, have you?” Stiles tore his gaze from the baby to grin at Derek, whose ears were flushing a deep red.

“Maybe,”

“You’re such a dork,” Stiles said. Jellybean cooed into his shirt sleeve, “See? Even lil’ Bean agrees with me.”

Derek growled at both of them, but it was playful. Jellybean squealed, Stiles blew him a kiss.

Stiles walked into the bathroom with a baby outfit in each hand.

“Which one, d’you think? Lydia said she bought this one,” he held up the light blue onesie, “for her because the color suits her best. But I dunno, I’m really loving this one with the bear ears.”

“Whichever,” Derek said.

“Bear it is,” Stiles looked up and fought a laugh, “You having fun?”

Derek huffed at him; he was knelt beside the bathtub, shirt soaked through. Even his hair was wet, as strands of it clung together and dripped onto his forehead.

Jellybean was slapping her hands against the water and periodically using some of her magic to create puddles on the floor. From the sounds of it, she was delighted.

Stiles set the clothes down and approached the bathtub, “Need some help?”

“It’s okay, I’ve managed,” Derek smiled wearily, “Washed her hair already.”

Stiles gestured to his shirt, “I’m guessing that’s when this disaster occurred.”

“Yeah,” Derek turned his attention to Jellybean, who was babbling at him. He nodded, as if he were listening intently to what she had to say, “Really? That’s fascinating, baby girl.”

Jellybean smiled wide and laughed.

Stiles’ heart did a little lurch.

They didn’t have a crib. A makeshift nest on their bed was the best they could do for her, made up of one too many pillows and the softest blankets they could find. She lay in between them and slept soundly, made little soft sighing noises every so often.

Stiles gently grabbed her left foot, which she kept kicking out.

“How do babies get even cuter when they’re sleeping?” he whispered.

Derek made a soft noise in agreement. He was watching Jellybean sleep, too, as if he was afraid to take his eyes off of her. Stiles had a feeling Derek was almost too paranoid regarding the baby; he was probably worried she’d roll off the bed, or worse.

It made Stiles feel things.

“Hey,” Stiles murmured, and Derek looked up. “You’re going to be a great father one day, you know.”

Derek’s gaze went impossibly softer. Stiles wondered, for a split second, if he was going to melt.

“You, too,” Derek said. His voice was suspiciously hoarse.

Stiles looked away a little too fast and cleared his throat. Jellybean let out what sounded like a sleepy giggle; Stiles assumed she was having nice dreams.

A thought hit Stiles like a ton of bricks, a minute later.

“Der...you don’t think she’s a gift, do you?” He directed his question to the ceiling. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to handle the look on Derek’s face.

“I-I don’t know,” Derek sounded so vulnerable. Stiles squeezed his eyes shut. “I don’t know why we’d- what have we done to deserve a gift?”

Stiles shrugged helplessly, “I can’t think of what else it could be.”

“Do you...want to keep her?”

And there it was.

Stiles shot up from the bed. His heart was pounding, a heavy, insistent rhythm that crawled up his throat and crowded his head. “I’m going to go shower,” Stiles muttered.

“Stiles-”

“Relax. I just,” Stiles swallowed, “I just need to think.” Need to calm down and breathe, he added silently.

Warm water, and silence, and his own thoughts. That was what he needed.

Stiles headed back to the bedroom, toweling his hair. Derek was sitting on the edge of the bed, hands clasped against his knees.

Stiles stopped in the doorway. Derek looked up.

“I’d love to keep her, just so you know,” Stiles said, on an exhale.

The tension in Derek’s shoulders started to dissolve.

“But,” Stiles went on, as he approached the bed, “I just- I can’t explain it, but I have this feeling that she’s got her own parents, somewhere, that want her back. Y’know?”

Derek nodded and settled his hands on Stiles’ hips when he was close enough, “I know.”

Stiles ran his hands through Derek’s hair, “Der…”

“I know,” Derek repeated. “We’ll keep looking, it’s just- I wanted…” he winced, “I thought--”

“Me too,” Stiles admitted.

Derek went quiet.

“You know...I’m still in college and we’ve only just gotten engaged and…” he slid one hand down to Derek’s cheek. “I want us to have our own children, one day, when we’re married and we’re settled in the house. Whether it’s through adoption or some kind of-- uh.” Stiles felt his ears warm at the thought, “You know. Whatever magical loophole we find. Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Derek murmured, the corners of his mouth turning up just slightly. He hesitated, “So...what do you think we should do?”

“Lyds mentioned something about faery summoning spells. We’ll take a look at those tomorrow,” Stiles said, “For now, I think we should get some sleep.”

“Good id--” Derek was interrupted by Jellybean, who woke up with a mewling cry.

Stiles let out a stunted laugh of disbelief as Derek immediately moved to comfort her.

“The timing.”

“It’s been a week,” Stiles said.

They’d fallen into a routine. Jellybean woke up the same time every morning, went to bed the same time every night. She woke them up at least once every night with her crying. Derek and Stiles took turns when that happened.

She liked the pumpkin flavored baby food. She loved to bath, but only if there were bubbles. She hated her yellow sundress- refused to wear it. She liked to have long conversations with Derek, conversations about nothing with no actual words, and he loved to listen.

She loved napping on Stiles’ chest in the afternoons.

“I know it’s been a week,” Lydia muttered to the pages of her book, “I’m getting there.”

Stiles shrugged and said, “Take your time.” he meant it.

Jellybean let out a little cough. Stiles looked up from his breakfast.

“Yeah?”

She stared at him and coughed again. Nothing was really wrong, she just seemed to want his attention.

“You’re a little actress, huh,” Stiles yawned around his toast.

Derek took the seat next to Jellybean’s highchair with a cup of coffee warming his hands.

“Good morning, Beany.” he said, and Jellybean’s wings fluttered happily.

Stiles loved seeing the resultant smile on Derek’s face. In fact, he was pretty sure he ended up staring, dazed, because Derek looked at him and the smile wavered into an abashed grin.

A bang from Lydia’s side of the table startled them both. She’d dropped the book against the table.

“I’ve got it!” she said, “The summoning spell- I’ve figured it out.”

Stiles’ mouth felt dry.

“That’s great.”

The setup was eerily similar to that of a demon summoning spell. Stiles didn’t like it.

“Did we really have to wait for a quarter of the moon to align with Uranus, or whatever?” Jackson squinted at the night sky, “Seems like bullshit to me.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, did you want to do this?” Stiles got up from where he was knelt on the ground, closing the circle. He wiped his hands against his jeans; they were covered in the mixture Lydia had made, which included althaea and frankincense oil and Stiles had no idea what else.

“Why are you even here, Jackson?”

“Lydia obviously made me come, idiot.” Jackson narrowed his eyes at him, “Besides, you’ll need help if this goes sideways, right? So don’t complain.”

“He also wanted to say goodbye to Jellybean,” Lydia said, as she approached the circle to admire Stiles’ handiwork.

“Oh, you’re sweet,” Stiles cooed at Jackson, who went red and hissed at him to shut up.

“Nicely done,” Lydia said, with a nod towards the whole summoning set-up.

“What, you doubted me?” Stiles asked, mock-affronted.

“You do have this tendency to mess things up,” Jackson said dryly.

“Jackson,” Derek let out a warning growl. He’d just joined them in the garden, Jellybean on his hip. She was wearing a pink coat and a beanie with rabbit ears on them.

Jackson, sensing the horrible mood Derek was in, immediately took a step back.

“Is it ready.” Derek asked- or, well, demanded.

“Question marks, babe. They’re your friend.” Stiles squeezed Derek’s shoulder, as if he could leech the tension from him. Derek just growled, again.

Great. Stiles knew it was bad when Derek went all pre-verbal.

“Could we have some privacy?” he asked Jackson and Lydia. “Just for a minute.”

Lydia took Jackson by the arm and lead him back into the house. Jackson didn’t protest.

“Are you ok- nope, okay, not going to finish that question,” Stiles faltered when Derek glared at him.

They stood together in silence, for a minute, until Jellybean made a questioning noise and reached forward to pat Stiles’ cheek.

“Ohhhh,” Stiles pressed the heels of his hands to his eyes, which were burning “Jesus, I don’t know if I can do this.”

“It’s the right thing to do,” Derek said, roughly. Stiles groaned, but ended up nodding in agreement.

“I know.” He lowered his hands and took a deep, shuddering breath.

“Let’s do this thing.”

The fae appeared in a whirlwind of forest flowers and a breeze that smelled like Spring. It was all overly theatrical, in Stiles’ opinion.

Jellybean made an excited squealing noise as soon as she saw the fae and wriggled in Derek’s arms, reaching for them. Derek held her closer to his chest, unwilling to let go.

“Hi,” Stiles said, feeling too overwhelmed to say much else. The faery’s gaze was sharp and assessing; he was tall and intimidating and Stiles kind of wanted to run indoors and hide.

“I take it you are not pleased with your gift,” the fae said. His voice was raspy, like he smoked a pack a day or gargled stones for a living.

“With all due respect,” Derek said, “what did we do to warrant a gift?”

“I thought that would be obvious, Hale,” the faery looked down on him as if he were spectacularly stupid, “You and your pack have been protecting these lands for years now. My people and I owe you.”

“But...why a baby?” Stiles spoke up, and the faery whirled to face him. His wings twitched in agitation.

“Isn’t it obvious? We gave your mate what he wished for most. A family.”

Stiles exhaled on a soundless “oh.” Derek looked pained.

Jellybean whined and reached for the fae again, insistent.

“Is she yours?” Derek asked.

The fae’s jaw twitched irritably, “Well we can’t very well make a baby out of nothing.”

“You want her back,” it wasn’t a question.

The faery said nothing. The look in his eyes, however, said more than enough.

“You can--”

“We cannot just revoke your gift,” the fae said, clearly frustrated, “That’s not how it works.”

“Look, dude, this doesn’t feel right,” Stiles said, spreading his hands in a placating gesture, “We love Jellybean, and all, but- but she’s yours. So maybe just bring her to visit once a year, I don’t know, because that’ll be gift enough and--”

“No,” the fae interrupted. He sounded pained, now. “I wish, but...no.”

Stiles inhaled deeply, and chose his next words carefully.

“The only way I got you here was by offering you something, right?” Stiles said, “Well, here’s my offer.

“Take your daughter home. You won’t be revoking our ‘gift’, or whatever. Think of it, like...we looked after her for a little while. And, hey, we’ll be happy to babysit her whenever you want. And you can give us a gift when we need it,” Stiles shrugged, “Like a spell, or something. It’s always good to have a favour in the bank.”

The fae frowned, “But…”

“Dude, just accept the offer, okay.” Stiles said, on a sigh.

The fight seemed to leave the faery, all at once.

“You...you named her Jellybean?” he asked, smiling weakly.

“It’s a nickname,” Derek stated. He was staring at the ground, now, refusing to look at the fae. Jellybean was resting her cheek on his shoulder and cooing soft things, almost like she was trying to comfort him.

“Oh. That’s a cute...nickname.” The fae nodded and stepped forward, seeming hesitant, and reached for his baby girl. “May I…?”

Slowly, reluctantly, Derek handed Jellybean over.

Jellybean made a content sound and gripped the fae’s pointed ears. The fae smiled, murmured gentle things to her in a language Stiles and Derek didn’t understand. He kissed her on the nose, and she giggled.

The fae looked back to them, eyes shining, “Thank you. I cannot even begin to describe my gratitude-”

“No biggie,” Stiles waved a hand, but he had to blink rapidly to fight his own tears. “Just...promise you’ll bring her to visit, okay?”

“I will.” The fae nodded, “You have my word. Would you...like to say goodbye?”

“We would,” he cleared his throat in an attempt to keep his voice from betraying his emotions too much. The fae shifted Jellybean so that she was eye-level with the two of them.

“Bye, baby girl.” Stiles said, and leaned forward to press a kiss to her forehead. “We’ll see you soon.”

She stared at him with wide eyes.

“Be good, okay?” Stiles stepped back. He nudged Derek a little closer to her.

Jellybean reached forward, pulled at Derek’s ear and babbled something at him that sounded like it could be serious. Derek gave her a watery smile and whispered,

“I’ll miss you too.”

The fae and Jellybean were gone before Stiles could even blink.

“That was fast,” he murmured. Derek said nothing. His cheeks were wet with tears.

Stiles slid his fingers between Derek’s and squeezed.

“I know,” he said, simply, because he did.

2 years later

Stiles weaved through the crowd until he spotted them. He practically tripped over his own feet in his excitement to reach them, and proudly brandished the scroll of paper when he did.

“I have a degree!” Stiles grinned, “I’m an adult.”

“I’m so proud of you, Stiles.” Derek said.

“So am I,” John agreed, “But they really like to drag these things out, huh? Thought I was gonna fall asleep at one point.”

“Totally. But, hey, it was worth it, right?”

“I really am so proud of you, son,” his dad beamed and pulled him into a hug.

“Pfft, college was nothing.” Stiles grinned at Derek over his dad’s shoulder, who rolled his eyes affectionately. The toddler in his arms threw a handful of glitter into the air.

“Congaduashuns S’iles!” She squealed. Derek spluttered as the glitter settled in his beard.

“We really need to work on your pronunciation, Lil’ Bean.” Stiles laughed, “How long were you holding onto that glitter?”

“Had in my hand, here,” Jellybean said, brandishing her sparkling hand towards Stiles for him to see, “Derbear, more glitter!” she demanded.

“God no, you’ve had enough glitter for today,” Derek shook some of the shimmering powder from his hair, as if to emphasize his point. John chuckled and let go of Stiles.

“Did you enjoy the graduation ceremony?” Stiles asked Jellybean, as he scooped her into his arms.

“Yes,” she said. She was giggling, though, so Stiles couldn’t be too sure.

“Hmm,” he said, narrowing his eyes at her playfully. She patted him on the cheek and left a glittery handprint behind. Derek grinned, “That’s a good look for you.”

“For you, too,” Stiles smirked at him. He leaned forward to give him a light kiss, “The glitter-beard is something I can get behind.”

“So, are we going to get out of here and celebrate?” John asked, “Or do you have to get Jellybean home?”

“Home?” Jellybean repeated, tilting her head, “Which one, S’iles?”

“We gotta get you back to your parents before sunset.” Stiles told her, “But, hey, before that- how about we get some curly fries? That sound good?”

She bounced in his arms and exclaimed, “We love curly fwies!”

“We sure do, buddy.” Stiles smiled, “What else do we love?”

“Derbear!” Jellybean said and waved her arm towards Derek, who smiled sheepishly.

“That’s right!” Stiles said, with a wink. Jellybean attempted a wink, too; it was quite possibly the cutest thing Stiles had seen all day.

“You know what today feels like?” he asked Derek, as they got into the Jeep together.

Derek shook his head, checking Jellybean’s carseat straps one last time, “What?”

“It feels like the actual start of our future together,” Stiles said, twisting in the driver’s seat to face his fiance. “And it feels good.”

Derek smiled to himself and nodded, made an agreeable humming noise.

“You wanna finally get married this year?” Stiles asked. The words left him in a whoosh of breath.

Derek gave him what could only be described as a dopey grin.

“I thought you’d never ask.”

((big thank you to @nogitsunelichen for helping me with this one. ily bro!))

#eternalsterek #stiles stilinski #derek hale #sterek fic #sterek #answered #fic #baby #end of baby arc #anonymous #main story

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sh-lan · 7 years ago

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OMFG LAST QUARTER EVER + some spring break stuff???

Took a weekend off of life Retail therapy at its finest today Even though new jeans were overdue

It’s crazy how it still came I guess it’s a force of nature But omg it’s gonna be here on the concert T^T

This nerd would have mitsuha’s theme on his playlist smh #nochu

April 2nd, 2017 BTS Wings Tour I still can’t believe it happened I’ve been awake since 8am lol and it’s like 1:54am and i’m still trying to process and remember everything that happened today It felt like a dream! I can’t believe I saw them in real life. ohmygod Hands down, easily one of the best day of this week - if not this entire year so far holy shit will continue this tomorrow as i reminisce ok but one thing i noticed is that jungkook’s thighs are actually so real like wtf? shookt EDIT: lol i never finished this but oh well

oop i just bought more rings goodbye money

my charger broke gg time to get another one

I have a newfound appreciation for the color pink or more like my appreciation for pink is coming back

When you get anxious because bts hasnt posted on twitter for 3 days but then you also know they’re resting and that they deserve this break

SPRING QUARTER LEGGO tu/th schedule let’s hope this all works well keke

week 1 recap tuesday - sees everybody in freaking AB LOL sees harry after walking out of my tdpw sees alana and dylan outside my global health class which alana is also taking, and becca and tanya lOL goes to cogs 122 to find chen screaming my name - also vania and stella <3 last class is normal - with nobody in management BUT LOL LEIGHTON ADDED THE CLASS ON THURSDAY HAHA there’s also this girl in my tdpw class who looks like lindsay lohan and her name is also lindsey but with an e cause i saw it on the email lol not a stalker

Decided to gel nails it out friday of week 1 whut whut

First attempt at 양념치킨~

been using the soundtrack of your name this past week to get over pcd it’s been a week and i still haven’t recovered T^T

went to kbbq with harry! lol week 1 sunday started at manna….having an adventure in between at manna keke “started here and ending it here?” LOL

currently craving anything strawberry

don’t understand why i need to have my email as a send&receive in order to sms to work on my laptop bb why are you being stubborn when you’ve been working fine all this time

under yuri’s recommendation, i microwaved my coffee because it was lukewarm and she called me extra LOL

i’m getting nervous about a presentation when i shouldn’t be because ?? my AB service leader self is like completely gone i wanna crawl into a hole

i just finished season 2 and 3 of htgawm in less than a week… how they gonna do season 4 i wonder

Week 2 thursday I was actually really looking forward to class today Also my rings came! Though were they worth the $50….not so sure Were they cute? Yes But not as cute as the other one T^T So i mustnt give in to temptations nowww

I found out what matcha powder mom uses to make their matcha latte Cappuccine frappe mix But it’s sadly not on amazon ):

This new tumblr function is really inconvenient cause i cant tell how many thing i have on queue brcause i have to keep switching blogs -_-

Han came to visit! Friday Papa johns Saturday Snooze brunch Infinitea Abeh hangout In n out Sunday Aquarium! Koon thai Ramen yamadaya Boba bar and then i drove him to irvine where we got coco curry! and then i drove back and he bought me milk tea with pudding

Had an epiphany It’s not anenome It’s anemone

Omg but like why dont people call spoiler alerts “spoilerts”

Started 13 reasons why with Han Finished it, tuesday week 3 Hmmm How to feel

finished strong woman park hyung sik is so…adorable? IT’S SO WEIRD. HIS AEGYO LEVEL IS INSANE

When you realize that 둘! 셋! is probably the title of the fan song because that’s what BTS always say when they introduce themselves And that BTS + ARMY forever ㅠㅠㅠㅠ I’m not crying r u crying ;___;

어떻게

Omg when you wake up for reorientation and jungkook does lives <3

highkey need to crawl into a hole tbh

You know what i want to do? Go to an olive garden Even though i know it’ll taste bad lol

Not really sure what i want… But i dont want my 4 years to be a waste ):

i….skipped out on an interview today was it the right choice i may never know

most recent ep of snk got me fucked up SOMEONE TELL ME WHAT YMIR AND CHRISTA’S RELATIONSHIP IS WHO IS CHRISTA

Lol i hella bombed my quiz GOODBYE GONNA P/NP HAHA

Week 4 weekend Fuck me in the ass i twisted my ankle and i am in irvine had to pop an advil and cruise control all the way back thank god there weren’t many cars lol 0/10 do not recommend

Slept on the couch the past two days to elevate my ankle Glad to be back in bed But i think i might be a little…sick? Fuck Need to grocery shop

Dammit i got called for jury duty

Ok but i twisted my ankle and two recruiters emailed me back the next day so was it really a loss

Week 5 i’m sick…

just watched 5 centimeters per second a little sadder than i was an hour ago

fuck i forgot that my jeans are new and i washed it and my pink shirt is ruined fml triggered

thursday after rolling over ma ankle i can finally see that it is a lil swollen and there is bruising LOL also saw an owl at school today and a bunny while leaving to go to meeting

week 5 tuesday saw two bunnies on my way out to school

I just saw two hummingbirds! 😍

I cant believe yuri and i finished twenty SMH

ABCD today Some qualitee photos were taken Im tired now

Really debating the 4th term

third day of back pain flexibility dying wow what is happening???

…..army 4th term is $75 cries EDIT: it’s $66 because i forgot exchange rate but still cri EDIT EDIT: it’s $45 if i ship it to taiwan - seriously really highkey considering that now oh dear

bro i think i just experienced katawaredoki whut

i keep thinking that my ankle is ok but i always end up doing something that ends up hurting it like hella im

Week 6 thursday last leadership meeting one of my favorite meetings because whoa INFORMATION!? it was nice wanted to discuss and add in my two cents but i honestly just wasn’t able to wrap my head around everything loool then…we decided to go to PB LOL chen, jeong, yuri, justin and his friends (including nicole, nicole, sandy) and then more people. we also met leslie, brett, dexter, allison, kenny, peter, abby, ben…and more? at pb lolol and also we saw miguel and anthony - it was like a freshman year flashback tbh lOL went to vallartas after and then came home to shower and finally sleep at 3:30am wot is life NEXT DAY ADVENTURES - leighton and i finally pulled out the weeds and now we’re tired

salty that i wasnt invited to the birthday celebration, not that i would really make the trip per say but wtf gurl

I just had this really sad thought that i’m probably never gonna ever get to know bts like friends y i do dis to meself

Wait so like i got sick while at clew’s and it didnt happen until week 5 and so i was sick from week 5 through week 6 and at this one point i couldnt taste my food it was terribad

May 12th I bought the membership LOL Hopefully it mails it correctly back to Taiwan ☺️

im dumb i didn’t save the color i wanted for my hair

omg the song vania recommended to me a few days ago was recommended by jungkook like a year or so ago on twitter lOOOOL

Just tryna level up here :<

Struggles when places are in the east coast and phone calls are early in the fckin morning

Note to self: Ridge cut potato chips with sea salt is good for stuff with dip Ridge cut salt and pepper is good for regular eating, but gets salty at the bottom LOL EDIT: per vania’s suggestion, i salted and peppered my chips

watching jungkook’s vlive AND HE JUST HARMONIZED WITH HIMSELF IM DED

Just woke up from a dream where someone hurt my brother/nade him fall and i was so angry? Was about to go ape shit on that person im ded lol who is rhis angry me

Rewatched and finished reply 1997 Wow what is life when yoon jae is life But also what is life when your idols are life Daily reminder to not be as obsessed as shiwon LOLOL

i can’t go to giraffage and elephante anymore im on the otherhand i get to go to virginia???

lol but like i haven’t been writing drafts because i often write in my notebook now but here are some updates - my nails are constantly chipping - forgot about grad photos that clashed with the weekend han is coming - im ded because i probs won’t have a weekend to myself until week 10 - struggles to figure out graduation things - paid my $54 to walk #mostexpensivewalkever

LAST LEADERSHIP MEETING (turnover) what am i going to do with my thursday nights now? it’s been a good run

Jealous of the staff that holds and records the camera during vlives? LOL who am i

When you forget that jeon jungkook did taekwondo before Hnnnngh

i just reaffirmed? or discovered? that i don’t like fruity pebbles o_o

Trying to think of a thing to put on my grad cap Tis hard Let’s make a list: 花樣年華 Strong power thank you You never walk alone Ireumeun deborah LOL Lol omg but why is yoongi’s “cheater never win but i just graduated” quote so appropriate for grad EXTRA + ORDINARY* Lost my way/found my way* Click clack to the bang Smile with me, cry with me, fly with me (you make me begin, you made me again) Ctrl+c, ctrl+v do you know “____” (hci? annyeonghasaeyo) To lose your path, Is the way to find that path* 꽃길만 걷자* Let’s fly with our beautiful wings in 2017 EDIT: i’m too lazy, i didn’t do anything to my cap lOL

Im shookt cause namjoon doesnt say 이제 feelin the vibe. HE SAYS IF YOU FEELIN THE VIBE. I feel…betrayed

Non whitewashed bangtan gives me life

May 21st My first haircut since… Since i got it cut over the summer?????

Bought me stole and tassel today Smh that i cant grab my muir tickets?? Cause i ordered all commencwment tickets SMH

Lowkey afraid of not passing mgt LOL

Omfg i knew we were going to have a pop quiz. It really happened

nicole and evelyn commented that they liked my hair and audrey and malia agreed i gotta say i’m so glad people remember me in my tdpw class LOOL

Cant get the seventeen song outta my head Shookt by the choreography

Y'all im so fckin shookt First the chainsmokers post on twitter like “see you in the summer” Then they win the BBMAs like a boss Then you see them on halsey + steve aoki’s snapchat Next things you know steve aoki is postin shit like “BTS x AOKI COMING SOON” Im SCREAMING

Yo my lyft driver dropped some knowledge again and told me his life story lmao he was a police officer in chicago and he was forced to retired and then ?? after chasing down a rapist and getting into a fight, he was seriously injured. but his dad (a judge or someone powerful idk) forced him out of retirement by telling everyone to not give him his benefits and shit and i was like. whoa bro. slow down? “embrace the unknown”

I finally tried the coconut black tie at peet’s 10/10 a mistake

Okay but can we talk about how on point everybody looked in the comeback Esp wonwoo and dk But also vernon 👌🏼

First time in virginia/ being so close to washington dc! Whoa Also gonna pass by texas too :O Knocking some states off my list

I WITNESSED MY FIRST CIRCLE RAINBOW THINGY ON THE PLANE FROM VIRGINIA TO DALLAS TODAY HOLY IT WAS V COOL

i don’t know why i never realized this about myself before but i need to be/live by a body of water at all times or i won’t feel comfortable this is weird

i told han i joined the fanclub and he like died for like 2 seconds lOL

ok but like i bought a carton of eggs and 6 or 7 of them were double yolks and i have 2 more eggs left im starting to think i’m eating some weird hybrid chickens EDIT: those last two eggs were both double yolks. this was a wild adventure

omg i knew that the TA MOST LIKELY RYAN WOULDNT UNDERSTAND OUR IDEA JUST LIKE HOW HE ALWAYS MISINTERPRETS THEM??? like what kind of constructive feedback is that if he doesn’t understand what we’re trying to do im… sigh

Already excited about the festa But like omfg they released the schedule today And just WE DONT TALK ANYMORE PT 2?? SO FAR AWAY FEATURING JIN AND JUNGKOOK? Im IM SCREAMING also sad but the radio show is right before my finals gotta prioritize, no bts fo me ;__;

after waiting two weeks, my application to get leveled up was rejected *cries* time to try again! *^*

okay but really feeling seventeen’s song as well as suran’s song like hIGHKEY

i finally got my commencement tickets the third time that i went to the bookstore third time’s the charm right? also whytf is the parking pass for all campus commencement so huge -_-

hnngh omg that feel when you have hella shit to do TPDW1 final play due week 9 friday because we won’t have class at all on week 10 then there’s the presentation (elevator pitch) that happened today week 9 thursday but also just hauling ass on things for A5 tbh what is this what is everything wot is the meaning of life when vania and i stay up till 3:30am lol… and then there’s me. tired af but didn’t sleep til 4:30 anyways cause i’m a dumbass l e l let’s not be a potato this last week k?

burger king in pc has its own free wifi called WhopperWifi and it’s so much faster than school wifi this is revolutionary

week 9 weekend to irvine irritated on the way over irritated on the way back lol wot is life i should’ve just turned around to go back home

NO TDPW1 WEEK 10 WOOT wow that means i won’t have class until 2pm whoa

“why are you reading math formulas” - yuri i was actually reading bts profiles lOLOL she just dissed their handwritings

Just spent the past hour or so looking at kakao friends merchandise And discovering that apeach is a genetically modified peach lol

that moment when you ask for a png file but get a jpg

dyed my hurr twice today for a darker shade still not what i was going for but this will do for now

Omfg i slept through my alarm until 1pm Goodbye study time?? Also omg i like it pt 2 video SHIT SHIT SHIT THEY KNOW WE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS. HAD IT SINCE BAEPSAE DAYS. BUT DIDNT RELEASE IT. Freakin bighit

My request to level up on the fancafe has once again been rejected ); EDIT: oMFG IT’S BECAUSE I DIDN’T CHANGE THE SETTING TO SOMETHING im screaming, what a first world problem THIRD TIME’S THE CHARM AMIRITE

Doesnt feel like it… But thursday was my last time going to class…pretty much like ever unless i go to more school Holy shit

Oh man I didnt think i’d have THAT much shit. But…i think i have A LOT of shit….

saw bts MBIT and i was like omfg! knew that i was INFJ but took the test again yesterday and ended up INFP….but just barely P so i think i’ll stick with INFJ lol EDIT: i took the test again today because vania and yuri were talking about it again and i am still INFP…and more P this time. SO LOST. WHO AM I

put my things up for sale i forgot that i might need my light el oh el crying on the inside cause i want to keep my desk but then i’m selling it off because i don’t think i’ll have space for it and i just CRYING ON THE INSIDE BECAUSE IT’S BEEN WITH ME FOR SO LONG T^T

ON ANOTHER NOTE. THIRD TIME IS THE CHARM LEVELED UP ON JUNE 12TH AT ONE SOMETHING AM

JUNE 12TH FINISHED MY FIRST AND LAST FINAL I AM OFFICIALLY DONE WITH MY UNDERGRADUATE CAREER??? also lmao i spent 45 min on the final wot

i dyed my hair darker but now it’s become lighter? wait wtf wait no go back EDIT: wait no it went back to being dark? is this a thing? when i get exposed to the sun it gets lighter and when i sleep it gets darker??? smh at light for fckin with me

so i set an alarm to watch the bts home party last night for like 3:57am and i didn’t hear it but i guess i kinda did cause i woke up at 4:05am and was like ??? i decided to watch a bit of it but ended up streaming the whole thing until 5:45am looooool also watched the numbers grow from the 500,000 all the way to 2,000,000 and then 3,000,000? it was nuts

omfg all these years of rereading chapters and only now do i realize that i could save bookmarks on mangahere *slaps forehead*

Moment of silence cause i sold my desk that’s accompanied me for almost 10 years It even has battlescars (aka X marks by Jacky, 3 of them) LOL memories ;___; Oh and i guess my chair too

lol was gonna sell that yamaha guitar for $45 but it’s going for like $190 on ebay?? so ima just bring it home

finals week hangout list: tuesday: fud with kimberly, peyton, harry wednesday: more fud with stephanie and ellius thursday: KBBQ FOR LUNCH with jeong, justin, yuri, harry LOOOOL

and so...that’s the end of the quarter. my last quarter of school ever (unless i decide to go to more school...which seems unlikely as of right now) it feels weird.................................. but! onto graduation~ looking forward to being reunited with family and whatever’s gonna hit me in the face LOL

and with that goodbye undergrad, hello world ㅇㅅㅇ

#mumble mumble #last #spring quarter mumbles #debs in college #homg #it is over

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