#i went to a bakery after school w my friends and studied a few days ago

[loversrkive]

hey dear! was thinking of you. how are you doing? <3

leo hi hi!! ur so so sweet <3 i’m doing okay; lots of studying and tea recently jskskdfhsiai

how are you doing? i hope you’re doing well! lots of lots of love 🫂

[purrincess-chat]

Marinette Dupain-Cheng’s Spite Playlist: Remix CH8

You guys have made it! Starting next chapter this story is going to look much different. This chapter also includes a couple never-read-before scenes, and the end of this one changes the course of this story quite a bit. I hope you’re all ...ready for it?

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Previous   First   Next     AO3

Chapter 8: Say Amen (Saturday Night)

“I’m impressed, Adrikins.” Chloe crossed one leg over the other. “It’s not like you to go on the offensive.”

“I don’t like seeing my friends get hurt,” he said while Jean Luke poured their tea. “Lila has gone too far.”

“I’m so glad you’re seeing things my way. With you on my side, I think we can have her running back to Italy in tears by next Tuesday,” Chloe said with a crooked grin.

“Well,” Adrien drawled in his token wishy-washy tone that Chloe hated. “I want to stop her, but I don’t want to humiliate or hurt her.”

She should have known.

“Adrikins, we have got to do something about that moral compass of yours.” Chloe rolled her eyes and took a sip of her tea.

“Just because she’s mean and selfish doesn’t mean she deserves to be completely mortified. There has to be another way.” Adrien chided.

“What if we send her a fake letter saying she won an all-expense-paid trip to Jamaica for two years?” Chloe suggested. “Then we have our pilot strand her in the middle of the jungle.”

Adrien gave her a disapproving frown.

“What? I’m just brainstorming,” she said. “All I’m saying is that I will spare no expense to make her disappear.”

“No harm, Chloe.”

“I liked you better when you were spineless,” she grumbled. “Where has all this new-found courage come from anyway?”

“I just thought about what you said.” He reached for a madeleine. “…And Lila confronted me.”

“I suppose I give you an A for effort.” She applauded him slowly. “If you could convince that bakery brat to join us, then we might get somewhere.” Chloe’s eyes narrowed when Adrien averted his gaze. “I can smell your guilt from here.”

“I don’t want Marinette to know about this,” he said. “I want her to continue to move on and be happy.”

“Why do you care so much about Dupain-Cheng? I’ve known you two were friends, but I didn’t think you were that close.” Chloe eyed him.

“Lila has caused her enough grief, and she’s my friend.” He shrugged. “She’s important to me.”

His newfound protectiveness didn’t sit well with Chloe. She turned her back for a few days, and now Dupain-Cheng had Adrien eating out of her hands. She would have to keep an eye on them.

“So, that’s why you want to do something about Lila now? To help Dupain-Cheng?” She asked, doing her best not to sound offended. “And here I’d thought you couldn’t stand to see me being unjustly ignored.”

“You’ve known Marinette longer than I have. Do you think she deserved to be treated that way by her friends?” Adrien asked.

Chloe shifted her gaze to her cup, taking a long, thoughtful sip. “No,” she said, “as much as I hate her, she didn’t deserve that.”

Adrien’s eyebrows raised in surprise, but a smile curled on his lips. “You’ve changed.”

“Don’t think for a second that I care about her,” she scoffed. Her cheeks burned when Adrien leaned against his fist with a smug grin.

“I like it. It suits you,” he said. She puffed her cheeks out stubbornly, prompting a laugh from Adrien.

“Well, if you’re not going to let me do things my way, and you don’t want Dupain-Cheng to know about this, then I’m going to need some time to think and pull resources together,” she said, getting back to the matter at hand.

“Thanks, Chlo.” He leaned back and took a deep breath. “Although…”

“Don’t ‘although.’” Chloe groaned.

“I just feel kind of bad for yelling at her like that,” Adrien said.

“Why? She deserved it.” She snatched a bonbon from the tray and popped it into her mouth.

“I know, but…” He clasped his hands together between his knees. “It still feels mean.”

“Your passion was short-lived, Adrikins.” Chloe rolled her eyes.

Adrien pursed his lips, clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth. “I’ll talk to her again tomorrow and give her one last chance.” When Chloe shook her head, he added, “If she says no, then we can figure something out. Something safe and not needlessly cruel.”

“You’re such a goody-two-shoes. Always thinking everyone can change and be nice.” She stuck her tongue out with a gag.

“Well, I never gave up on you, and now you’re a superhero,” he said pointedly.

Chloe flipped her ponytail over one shoulder to hide her smile. “Fine. Do whatever you want, but I’m still going to think up plans for revenge for when you inevitably fail.” She waved him away.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” He crossed the room to kiss her cheeks in farewell before taking his leave.

Chloe clapped for her butler the moment the door shut behind him. “Jean Rousseau, how quickly can we have a case of live lobsters delivered?”

♪♫♪ Kaleidoscope Eyes ♪♫♪

“Wait, what happened?” Adrien asked that night over video chat. His Chinese notecards were scattered across his desk, abandoned the moment Marinette’s picture flashed on his screen.

“Clara Nightingale wants me to design for her! She came by in person and everything,” Marinette said. She laid prone on her chaise, legs kicking as she chewed her nails. “I’m so nervous, but she thinks I’ve got what it takes.”

“Of course, you do. You’re awesome.” Adrien assured her.

“Thanks.” She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “So, how was school for you today? Anything exciting happen?”

“Uh, just same old, same old. Lila being Lila.” He averted his gaze. “Nothing noteworthy to report.”

“That’s good, I guess,” Marinette said. “I take it Chloe hasn’t made a move?”

“Nope.”

“Give her time.” Marinette rolled her eyes. “By the way, my new friends still want to meet you.”

“I’d be happy to,” he said, thankful for the change in subject.

“Macy invited me to hang out at her house on Friday. Maybe you could come along if you aren’t busy,” she suggested.

“I’ll beg my father.”

“Awesome!” Her blue eyes sparkled when she smiled. She seemed so relaxed and carefree. Just as she should be.

He tapped his fingers on his desk, his conscience loud in his ears. “You know I’d do anything to help you, right?”

“What? I, uh, yeah I mean, we’re friends, so I’d do anything to help you too,” she stammered, cheeks pink. “Why?”

“No reason, just if you need anyone to bounce ideas off of for Clara, that’s all…” He cleared his throat. “Anyway, I should get back to studying.”

“Right, I’m sorry for calling and distracting you!” She scrambled to sit up.

“It’s fine. I’m glad you did,” he said. “Talk to you soon.”

“I’ll let you know how designing goes,” she said. “Good night, Adrien.”

“Yeah, good night…”

♪♫♪ Dancing With a Wolf ♪♫♪

“Did you finish filing those papers Mme. Mendeleiev asked you to do?” Alya asked after school the next day.

Lila suppressed an eye roll, cupping her hands to her cheeks. “Oh no, I didn’t, and I totally forgot that my mom set up a meeting for me with some ambassadors about a new idea I have to help special needs kids in third world countries!” She clasped her hands together. “I know you’re busy, but would you mind finishing that up for me? I will totally make it up to you!”

“No worries, girl,” Alya said. “Go save the world.”

Lila smiled triumphantly as she sauntered toward the locker room, looking forward to her afternoon off. The students here were so gullible. She’d never had such an easy time pushing her work off on others, and now that Marinette was gone, she could do whatever she wanted. Rounding the corner, she found Adrien standing by her locker with a solemn expression.

“Hey, Lila,” he said. “Can we talk?”

“Are you going to apologize for how you spoke to me yesterday?” She crossed her arms over her chest with a humph.

“I am.” He nodded.

“Well, go on then,” she said.

“I’m sorry for yelling at you,” he said.

Her shoulders relaxed, and the smug grin returned to her lips. “Apology accepted. I’m so happy that you see things my w-”

“I’m not finished.” He cut her off. “I’m sorry for yelling at you, but I’m not sorry for what I said.” Her eyes narrowed, so he continued, “If you continue lying to everyone and using them, you’re only going to hurt yourself in the end. People are going to figure it out eventually, and they’re going to be angry with you.”

“These people are blind. I’ll get away with it for as long as I want.” She brushed past him to open her locker.

“I know you think that, but you’re wrong,” he said, and Lila could see where this speech was going. “I’m going to give you one last chance, Lila. Tell everyone the truth.”

She rolled her eyes as she shifted her books. “Or what, Adrien?” She turned to him and cocked a brow. “What are you going to do? Tell everyone that I’m lying? Good luck. You see how well that went for Marinette.”

Her name sparked something in his eyes, and Lila smirked when his jaw clenched.

“I’m not going to expose you.” Adrien shook his head. “You’re going to expose yourself, and I won’t help you when you face the consequences.”

“We’ll see about that.” She reapplied her lip gloss before shutting her locker. “Sooner or later, you’ll see things my way, and when you do, I’ll be waiting.” She strutted past him with a wink, hips swaying.

“Is that your choice?”

She turned over her shoulder with an amused grin. “Oh, Adrien. One day you’re going to learn that not everyone in the world wants to be nice,” she cooed.

He nodded thoughtfully. “Suit yourself.”

At that she rolled her eyes and paced from the locker room. Adrien didn’t scare her because he was all talk and no bite—just one thing that she loved about him. Boys like him were easy to manipulate, and it was only a matter of time before she had him under her spell just like everyone else. All she had to do was wait.

♪♫♪ Cinderblock Garden ♪♫♪

Come to my garden.

When Marinette received the invite from Adrien, she swore she was dreaming, but the gates opening before her were the pinch in the side she needed. This wasn’t a dream. Adrien really invited her to his house! She should have changed schools ages ago.

“Marinette! This way,” Adrien called from the front door, a bright smile warming his face.

“This is the first time I’ve been invited to your house. I’m a little nervous…” Marinette admitted as Adrien’s bodyguard shut the door behind them.

“I had to beg Nathalie, but I think I have something that can help you with your designs for Clara.”

Adrien led the way through the large house, and Marinette soaked in as much of it as possible. It was the first opportunity she had to peek into Adrien’s life, and she wasn’t going to waste it.

Colorless walls and floors were sparsely decorated with lavish couches, untouched from the moment they were placed. Towering portraits spanned the walls, watching over each room with their solemn expressions. Goosebumps trailed up Marinette’s arms. Every object was meticulously placed, and each room resembled a museum display more than a home. She half expected an alarm to go off if she touched anything.

They passed enough tall doors to make anyone dizzy, though all of them were closed, barring Marinette off from what lied beyond. The Agreste mansion hid many secrets, some that even Adrien probably didn’t know. Adrien’s house felt more like a fortress than a home, designed not only to keep the rest of the world out, but to keep the family locked in. It was hard to tell from the outside, but moving through one gray room after another, Marinette started to see the house for what it was: a cozy prison built for a boy. No wonder Adrien was always eager to leave—it was easy to feel alone in a house like this.

She’d never considered what other barriers stood between her and Adrien. How many doors were between them? She liked to think she’d made it through a few, but the tall walls of the mansion with its many locked doors reminded her just how little she knew the boy in front of her. Would those doors ever open for her? And was Adrien even capable of opening them? She didn’t know.

“Your house is very…” Marinette searched for a word.

“Depressing?” He turned to her over his shoulder.

“I wouldn’t say that-”

“It’s okay,” he said. “It’s true. My father is a brilliant designer… of clothes, but his interior décor makes funeral homes seem cheerful.”

“Lonely,” she said. “I was going to say I can see now how you get lonely.”

“It’s not all bad,” he said as Gorilla opened the brown double doors, and they stepped out into the backyard.

The dreary aura of the house gave way to warm sunlight, and Marinette welcomed the change, taking a deep breath of fresh air. Rose bushes lined the yard, vines trailing up the house in knotted tendrils while dozens of butterflies fluttered between the flowers. Despite the ever-present roar of the city beyond the walls, the garden was a tranquil place.

“It’s beautiful,” she murmured, dumbstruck.

“My mother loved to spend time out here, and somedays I catch my father sitting on the steps with his tablet. I thought that maybe it could inspire you too.” Adrien rubbed the back of his neck, and when Marinette turned to him with a smile, he gestured to the stairs. “Come on. It’s even better down there.”

Adrien beckoned for her to follow, and she trailed her hand along the smooth stone railing, head leaned back to take in all of the greenery. Sunlight trickled through the trees, casting speckled, glowing patterns on the ground. Birds chirped in the bushes, the occasional tiny head peeking out between the branches. Everything was so lively here, living in perfect harmony—a direct contrast from the dissonance inside the house.

They came to stop in front of the statue at the center—Adrien’s mother immortalized in stone. Much like the rest of the portraits in the house, it was beautiful, but also sad. Marinette couldn’t imagine losing her mom the way Adrien lost his. He put on a cheery face, but Marinette knew that he was still mourning deep down.

“My dad loves having images of my mom around. It’s like she’s still here with us,” he said. “It probably sounds silly, but I like to sit out here and talk to her sometimes. It’s comforting.”

“I don’t think that’s silly.” Marinette shook her head. “You really miss her.”

“Yeah,” he said softly. “But I know she’d want me to be happy, so I try to keep my head up every day.”

Marinette hesitated, her fingers twitching toward his. It wouldn’t be out of line to take his hand. She just wanted to comfort him…as a friend. Despite convincing herself it was an innocent gesture, her heart still skipped when she finally mustered the courage to slip her hand into his. He welcomed it, giving her hand a tight squeeze.

“Thank you for bringing me here,” she said, “and for sticking by me through everything.”

Adrien turned to her, the sunniness returning to his smile as he shot her a wink. “I’ve got your back, Marinette. You’re one of my best friends, and I’ll always be here for you.”

Her cheeks warmed, and she turned back to the statue. It was strange. Normally hearing Adrien say such things would have sent her straight to cloud 9, and she would have spent hours replaying those words in her head. But her heart couldn’t seem to get off the ground. The light fluttery feeling was weighed by a heavy darkness as if it were still trapped in the house, unable to escape into the peace of the garden.

Then I guess we shouldn’t consider ourselves bffs if there’s so much we don’t know about each other.

Maybe we shouldn’t.

“Marinette?”

She blinked, and something hot slid down her cheek. Adrien stepped closer as she batted at it with a shaking hand, a wet sheen glistening on her fingers.

“It’s okay.” He pulled her into his arms.

She clung to him as more tears spilled over, burying her face in his shoulder. She hadn’t intended to make a habit of crying in the arms of the boy she loved, but given the circumstances, she couldn’t help it. Her tears came when they wanted and refused to surrender once they started. Luckily, Adrien was so perfect and understanding that he always held her close, whispering soft encouragement until her sobs quieted.

Marinette loved him with all of her heart.

“How can anyone live with themselves when they inflict this kind of pain on others?” Adrien murmured into her hair. “Lila Rossi really is evil.”

♪♫♪ …Ready for It? ♪♫♪

Chloe wasn’t surprised to see him that evening—she didn’t even pause her yoga when he entered. It should have bothered him more that she predicted he would cave, but Chloe had known him a long time. She knew better than anyone what his limits were.

“Have you thought about my request?” she asked, shifting into downward facing dog.

Adrien chewed his cheek, Marinette’s tears now dried on his shirt, and steeled his resolve. “If you and I were to plot revenge against Lila…what do you have in mind?”

[dalamjisung]

messing with my head ❀ im jaebeom

word count: 6515

genre: hospital!au, fluff

pairing: neurosurgeon!jaebeom x baker!reader

description: he always care for everyone, but no once cares for him. until you show up. 

It’s a condition in which there is an over-accumulation of fluid in the brain… surgery for a shunt… potential brain damage… some complications can occur… if not, he’ll live a normal, happy life… timely surgery… fatal. 

                                                                ————————

The day your little brother was born was the happiest day of your life. Eight years ago, little Taehyung gave you a sense of purpose. You were now a big sister– you had someone to love and protect. You had someone to teach, and someone to learn from. As a daughter, you might not have been the best; you rebelled and partied for a while; insisted on bad decision; hung out with the wrong people. But that all changed once you turned 16, and Taehyung turned one. You still remember the moment that the change happened. It was his birthday, and he looked as tiny as ever in his little overalls and fuzzy socks. Just as you were about to blow out the candles for him, he giggles and points his chubby finger at you.

“Y/N!” He screeches, laughter following. “Y/N! Y/N!”

Your mother looks at you, eyes wide and tearful. “That’s right, Taehyung-ie, that’s your noona, Y/N.”

“Y/N!” He screams again and wiggles out of your father’s grasp, crawling to you. 

You pick him up, hugging your little brother close. Tears fall on his head and you let out a gurgled laugh, allowing your parents to hug their children. After that day– the day that Taehyung’s first word was you,– you promised to be better. For your parents, for Taehyung, for yourself. It was time for improvement. You started looking for part-time jobs, stopped hanging out with those bad people, and only attended parties every once in a while. You were lucky your grades never slipped, so you kept up with your studies easily. 

One day, after school, you were walking back home with a friend when you passed by a small, white bakery. No name, no advertisement, nothing but a small we sell delicious baked goods! on the window.

“You go ahead,” You tell your friend as you walk to the bakery. “I’m gonna check this out.”

“I’ll go with you,” Hyejin says, smiling. “Moral support and all.”

Out of all your friends, Hyejin is the only one you knew to be real– she was unforgivingly herself, and you admired that a lot. She’s always been by your side, supporting you and calling you out on your shit. Her friendship is one you’ll never give up on. 

You two walk in, arm in arm, and initially you see no one, but then you hear a pained grunting from behind the counter and you lean over, looking at an elderly woman trying to carry a box that was visibly too have for her. 

“Let me help you, ma’am,” You smile, walking around the counter and easily picking the box up. “Where shall I put this?”

“Ah, thank you so much,” She says smiling, and once you notice how her eyes almost disappear under such bright and wide smile, you feel something inside of you telling that you belong in that place. “I’m getting too old for this…”

“Not at all,” You joke. “I just eat a lot, so I’m freakishly strong.”

She laughs at that and you already feel oddly fond of that woman. 

“You remind me a lot of my grandson, young lady,” She says and start moving around, grabbing things; first a plate, then a cup. “Sit over there, sweetie, I’ll get you and your friend something to eat.”

“Oh, you don’t have to,” Hyejin says, smiling kindly. 

“Please, let me do at least that,” She says, and you two sit down, keeping an eye in case she needed any more help. She brings you two pieces of cake and iced tea, and you are sure you saw stars when you took the first bite, humming in appreciation. “Ah, I’m going to miss this– the look on your faces just made my day…”

“Are you leaving, ma’am?” You ask frowning in disappointment. You had just found out about this place…

“Unfortunately, I might have to close the bakery,” She sighs, looking down at her feet. “I’ve been running this place for almost forty years, with some help here and there, but now I’m old, and I can’t do the things as fast and efficiently as I used to.”

“Have you been working here by yourself, ma’am?” Hyejin frowns.

“My grandson used to help me when he was in high school,” She smiles proudly. “I had to practically kick him out of here so that he’d go to college… but ever since, it’s been just me.” “Let me work here.”

The request comes out fast and strong and you think that’s what makes the owner consider, looking you up and down.

“And why would a young, beautiful girl like you want to work with an old woman like me?” She laughs, dusting her hands in her dress. “You should be enjoying your youth, little girl.”

“Done that already,” You smile, following after her with your used plates and cups. “I want to help my parents. I want to be a good daughter. And I want to be happy while doing so. Let me work here… please.”

“What makes you think you’ll be happy here? Look around you, sweetheart; this place is run down. Customers barely come, anymore, and all I have left are my recipes and good memories. I can’t pay you much, and it’s a very time consuming job, I don’t thi–”

“I don’t care about the pay,” You smile, leaning over the counter. “Ma’am, this place is incredible. My mother’s been backing ever since I was born, so I know a thing or two. I see how happy she is when she’s baking and I see how happy you look in here… I’m sorry if I sound crazy, but please. Let me work here. I can come everyday after school, and even before if you need help prepping ingredients and–”

She raises her hand, silencing you in the process. She has a stern face, observing you. Your smile falters.

“I’m sorry,” You mumble, suddenly embarrassed. “I didn’t mean to press you or disrespect you.”

“Crazy,” She says, squinting. “Might just be what I need… can you start tomorrow?”

And that’s how it all begun. 

                                                               ————————

Seven years after that, you now manage Sweet Dreams alongside Ms. Im. At first, your parents were a little unsure about you working at the bakery, afraid that you’d not handle the weight of school and work very well, but you proved them wrong with each day that passed, improving not only your grades, but also helping out at the house. They refuse to let you help with expanses and told you to put all your paychecks in a saving account, so that you could go to college comfortably. You are now 23 and although you have plans for college one day, you just can’t seem to leave Ms. Im and the bakery behind. The amount of work you put into the place made it your home; you named it, painted it, fixed some of it. Ms. Im has been your mentor ever since you were sixteen and leaving her behind would be like leaving family– and you’d never leave your family. 

Especially not right now.

“How’s the little guy?” Ms. Im asks as you arrive, the sky outside still dark. You had to start prepping the ingredients and baked goods early in the morning, waking up before the sun and observing as it rises along with your cakes. 

“Sleeping a lot still,” You mumble, sounding as worried as you feel. “He complains about headaches all the time and he’s always sick… I’m really worried about him.”

“Are your parents working today?” Ms. Im asks just as you are about to put your apron on. 

“Yeah,” You sigh, suddenly getting a headache yourself. “He’s with grandpa right now, and we think that Advil has been helping, but we can’t keep pushing it much further… it’s been four days already.”

“Take that apron off,” Ms. Im demands and you do it without questioning. “We’re not opening the shop today.”

“What?” You shriek. “But Friday is one of our busiest days!”

“And one of the mellow days at the hospital,” She winks. “Let’s go, I’m driving you.”

“Ms. Im,” You follow her outside, shivering as you haven’t had the time to even put your jacket on. “I can take Taehyung myself, you don’t have to bother, really!”

“You walked into my shop seven years ago begging for a job,” Ms. Im says as she starts driving to your house. “Not only I gained a reliable worker, but I gained a daughter. Now stop complaining; Taehyung can’t see his sister freaking out like that.”

“Thank you,” You smile, wiping a few stray tears away. “Thank you so much.”

“No problem, dear,” She chuckles. “I promise it will be quick– if I’m not wrong, he’s still at the hospital doing an early shift.”

“Who?” You ask.

“My grandson.”

In seven years of working for Ms. Im, you are pretty sure you’ve heard about her grandson at least twice a day. She is incredibly proud of him; he went from a trouble maker to a very successful doctor, it’s all you remember. You are not sure what he does exactly, but you always noticed the tinge of sadness in her voice when she talked about him. In seven year, you heard about him everyday; but in seven years, you’ve never seen him at the shop. 

“Go get the kid,” Ms. Im says pulling up to your house. “I’ll wait here.”

You manage to not wake up you grandfather in the process, but you make sure to leave a note in the fridge telling him that you’re taking your brother to the hospital. 

“Where are we going?” Taehyung asks, groaning as you pick him up from his bed.

“Where going to the hospital, baby,” You say soothingly. “Remember how I went to see a nice doctor when I was in pain and then I felt good? I’m going to take you to see a nice doctor, too.”

“Okay,” Taehyung says and lays his head on your shoulder, drifting back to sleep. 

You text your parents from the car and you promise to keep them updated in case they have to go to the hospital too. Ms. Im parks the car and guides you through the maze that is the hospital, walking as if she owned the place. Some doctors stopped to say hello but she’d keep walking, marching with a purpose, almost. 

“Ms. Im,” You plead, looking around nervously. “We have to get in line, or maybe talk to a nurse, I don’t think we–“

“Ya!” She shouts, waving her small arms above her head and getting everyone’s attention. “Yugyeom!”

If you could hide, you would; but at the same time, you’d never been more thankful towards her, who’s done so much for you as it is. A tall doctor looks around, looking for the source of the ruckus, and he smiles widely when he sees her, jogging his way over. 

“Halmoni!” He shouts and hugs her tightly.

So this is him?, you think to yourself, holding Taehyung tightly against yourself. Is this the famous grandson?

“Y/N,” Ms. Im calls. “This is Yugyeom. Or Dr. Kim, as he is known around here. He is one of the best pediatricians in the city, so I am sure he can help. He’s friends with my boy.”

“Hello, it’s nice to meet you,” He smiles gently. “Who’s that little guy?”

“Oh!” As if you have just awaken from a trance, you bow to him as best as you can while holding your brother. “It’s nice to meet you too; I’m sorry for the sudden visit, Doctor, but–“

“Will the nice doctor help me?” Taehyung asks, looking at the tall man. 

“Yes, I will,” Yugyeom smiles. “What’s your name?”

“Taehyung,” He yawns, and then raises both his hands, putting down both his thumbs. “And I’m eight.”

“Ah, you’re a big guy already,” Dr. Kim says. “Follow me, please. We can talk better in my office.”

While Taehyung played with an alien stuffed doll, you explained the situation to Dr. Kim Yugyeom; your brother has been sleeping a lot these days, and complaining of headaches and dizziness. He’s been sick and crying and you are desperate. 

“Ah,” Dr. Kim’s face changes and he looks almost in pain. His brows are furrowed and he looks at Taehyung with worry. “Would you mind if I called a colleague here? I want a second opinion on something and he might have a better understanding of it than me…”

“Oh, yes, of course,” You mumble, hands fidgeting. 

Ms. Im stands by your side, and she puts a hand on top of yours, silently promising support. She’s been there for your first heartbreak; she’s been by your side through arguments, and fights, and birthdays, and celebrations. The fact that she is with you in that moment made things less hard; it made you believe that everything would be okay. 

“Excuse me,” Someone calls from the door. “Hello, I’m Dr. I–“

“Ya, Im Jaebeom, you ungrateful child!” Ms. Im shouts and you jump from your seat a little, surprised with the outburst. “Do I have to come all the way over here and bother your friends to finally see you?”

Ah, you think, holding a chuckle back. This is him. 

The man blinks, lost and confused, before smiling wide. That was the confirmation you needed– the way his eyes disappear under his wide smile was exactly the same as Ms. Im.

“Grandma!” He hugs her tight. “I’m sorry, halmoni, things have been crazy here in the hospital…”

“You could’ve called,” She pouts and hugs him back. “But we’ll talk about that another time. Dr. Kim called you here for another reason.”

“Is everything okay?” He asks, looking at his grandmother. “Are you eating properly? Do you have any joint pain? Backache?”

“I’m strong as a bull, child,” She laughs. “It’s Y/N that needs your help.”

You respectfully bow to him. “Nice to meet you, Dr. Im. I’m Y/N, and this is Taehyung.”

He looks at you and bows back. Dr. Im Jaebeom looks a little taken aback and you move uncomfortably under his gaze, bringing your brother closer. 

“So you are the crazy girl that my grandmother talks so much about,” He says, and there is a certain something in his voice that you just can’t seem to grasp– an edge that made you shiver. “What can I help you with?”

“It’s the boy,” Dr. Kim says in a soft voice. “He’s only eight and he’s been experiencing strong headaches. He sleeps a lot and is always dizzy and sick… all symptoms seem to add to hydrocephalus, but I wanted to consult with you before diagnosing him. Can you take a look?”

“Of course,” Dr. Im moves quickly and efficiently, crouching in front of Taehyung. “Hi there, buddy– would you mind if I touched your head really quick?”

The consultation goes by quick and you don’t understand any of it; they talk in medical terms and when they finally take the time to talk to you, your brother is already being admitted to the hospital. You numbly sign all the necessary paperwork and when you come back to your senses, you are standing outside of Taehyung’s room, and Dr. Im is moving his lips, but you can’t hear a thing.

“I’m sorry,” You sigh, frustrated. “Can you repeat that? I don’t know what happened, I just– I don’t know. I’m sorry.”

He frowns and you feel like hiding again. His gaze is burning on your skin and can only wonder how dumb he must think you are.

“Sure,” He clears hi throat. “Taehyung-ie has a condition called hydrocephalus, in which the over-accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid inside the skull causes pressure on the brain. This is why he is having headaches and dizziness. When did this start?”

“Around four days ago,” You choke on your words. “Is it dangerous? Can you treat him?”

“All conditions have potential to be dangerous, but you did good in bringing him here as early as you could,” Dr. Im says, nodding to himself. “Unfortunately, this is not something that just goes away with time, nor something that can be medicated. The only solution is surgery.”

“Surgery?” You whimper, letting your shoulders fall in defeat. “What is the success rates of this surgery, Doctor?”

“The shunt surgery has a higher success rate for children,” He explain carefully. “But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have risks. Because we will insert a shunt inside of him to help with the circulation of the fluid accumulated in his head, things like shunt failure or infection can happen, but that’s why we’ll keep him in the hospital for an observation period.”

You nod, processing everything he’s telling you. 

“Alright,” You whisper. “Okay. What are the next steps?”

“You’ll have to go to the Financial office to talk about the expenses,” As he talked, you could only fixate your eyes on the embroidery of his coat. Im Jaebeom. “We’ll schedule the surgery for tomorrow. The sooner we do this, the better. We only need his mother to sign the consent form.”

He extends some papers and a pen towards you and you look back at him, suddenly at a loss of words. 

“I… uh, I-I’m not his mother,” You smile tightly. “I’m him older sister.”

“Oh, I apologize, I assumed that–“

“Haven’t I raised you right, Im Jaebeom?” Ms. Im asks, coming with two cups of coffee in hand, and you frown alongside her grandson. “Never assume… tsk, for a doctor he is really stupid, isn’t he, Y/N?”

You chuckle. “You must think we’re all idiots here if you intend on drinking that coffee, Ms. Im. You know it’s not good for you!”

She laughs. “This is for you two,” She gives one to Jaebeom and the other to you. “To keep up the energy.”

“When my parents arrive I’ll ask my mother to sign the papers,” You turn to the doctor, still too intimidated to look him in the eyes. “They should be here soon, so you can schedule the surgery for tomorrow.”

You don’t even see him leaving, allowing your body to fall on a waiting chair. You are not sure if you fell asleep or simply gave up, but when you open your eyes again, you are on the couch inside your brother’s room.

                                                               ————————

Taehyung was prepped for surgery and you couldn’t even look. You held his tiny hand, but your eyes were fixated on Dr. Im Jaebeom’s. He looked at you as intensely as you looked at him, and although you had a weird feeling that this man hated you, his piercing eyes on yours were the only thing holding you together. You couldn’t cry in front of Taehyung, and you couldn’t cry in front of Dr. Im. Simple as that. 

“We’ll take him now,” One of the nurses tell you and you nod, walking behind them and behind Ms. Im and her grandson. You feel alone at that moment, with your parents supporting each other, with the Im’s chatting together, and with your little man going into surgery. He’s the one that walks with you, and you feel as if you failed him. 

Dr. Im turns around and looks at you. “The surgery will last from about an hour to two hours. If it takes a bit longer, don’t worry, it just means that we’re doing our best to make everything right. I prefer to take my time and have a successful surgery than to rush things. A nurse will keep you updated so that you are aware of everything that’s happening in there.”

“Take care of him,” You say, voice strong, surprising everyone. “Or I will kill you.”

And for the first time, you’ve seen Im Jaebeom smile at you. You mother slaps your shoulder, but you ignore the sting, maintaining eye contact.

“We’ll do our best,” He says chuckling. “That is all I can promise you.”

“That’s all I need,” You say and nod at him. “Thank you, Doctor.”

You are not sure what happens in between, but Dr. Im comes out through the doors and in your head only thirty minutes passed; instantly you are washed with dread. You try to stand up but your legs give out and you’d be on the floor if not for his reflexes.

“My brother,” You breath out, frantically looking into his eyes as he tries to talk to you. “Taehyung-ie– is he okay? That was too fast, it was too quick– what happened? Dr. Im–“

“The surgery took two hours and he’s perfectly fine,” Dr. Im says, frowning deeply. Is he always frowning?, you wonder as he drags you to the nearest chair. “Taehyung is doing fine; he’s still asleep because of the anesthesia, but he’s under observation and he’s safe.”

“Thank you,” You whisper, starting to cry. You slouch your shoulders forward and burry your face on your hands. “Thank you so much, oh my god, thank you Dr. Im.”

“Y/N,” He calls, pulling your face up. He looks at your eyes, puts a hand on your forehead, and frowns even more. “Are you feeling okay? You look like you’ve been in and out of reality for the past two days… you feel warm.”

“I’m good,” You smile. “Just haven’t eaten in a while. I’ll do it as soon as I see my brother.”

“No, stay here for a second,” He says and leaves with long strides.

He’s okay, you think to yourself, trying to stop the tears. Taehyung is okay. Pull yourself together, Y/N.

“Drink this,” Dr. Im puts a cup on your hand and gives you an energy bar. “And eat this.”

“What about you?” 

His eyes widened. “I-I’ll eat something later…”

Is he embarrassed?

“You have to eat, too, Doctor, you look worn out,” You smile. “You care about everyone, but yourself, huh?”

“Yah,” He laughs, and you chuckle with him, suddenly feeling your energy coming back although you didn’t eat yet. “You sound just like my grandmother.”

“Well, she did mentor me for seven years,” You shrug your shoulders, with a fond look on your face. “Your grandmother means a lot to me…”

“The fact that you took care of her all these years means a lot to me,” He admits, looking slightly guilty. “After I left to go to medical school, I couldn’t come back and check on her as often as I wanted. Then one day she called me, and she told me about this crazy, beautiful girl, who begged her for a job in her run down bakery and… well, I worried for a while, because she did say the girl was crazy, but then she tells me how good this girl is, how kind, and I know I can stop worrying all the time. I know she’s not alone… I might have been jealous, sometimes, I’ll admit, but thank you, Y/N. For everything you’ve done for my halmoni.”

You are at a loss of words. For someone who looks so cold and collected to sound so emotional and true was a shock. 

“I am the one that should be thanking you,” You chuckle incredulously. “You saved my brother’s live.”

“But that’s my job,” He smiles, looking to the floor and then looking back at you. It is almost as if all the air in your lungs disappeared, and you suddenly don’t know how to breath. “Taking care of my grandmother is not your job.”

Before you can say something his phone beeps and he gets up.

“Taehyung is awake,” He smiles and did he always have those moles under his eyebrow? “Let’s go.”

You let him guide you through the halls and you wonder if anyone cares for this doctor that cares for everyone else but him. 

                                                               ————————

“You should go home,” Dr. Im says. It’s been two days since the surgery and you were the only one that hasn’t left the hospital yet. One of the nurses was kind enough to let you shower in their bathroom, but had to admit, just showering wasn’t doing much. You’ve been wearing the same clothes and even your parents went home to sleep, but you refused to leave once they got back to the hospital. 

“I don’t want to leave without him,” You mumble, caressing Taehyung’s hand as he sleeps. “I promised I wouldn’t.”

He nods. “Follow me, then,” And leaves.

You have to jog a bit to catch up to him, but soon enough you are in his office, and from behind his desk, he produces a duffle bag. Grabbing a few things, he gives them to you and tells you to go take a long, relaxing shower. Doing as he says, you take your time, asking a few nurses if it’s okay to take a shower since they are only starting their shifts and won’t need the shower for a while. You’ve become acquainted with a few of them and they all give you the okay. The sweatpants and t-shirt he gave you are obviously too large for you, but you like the way it looks anyways. Smiling at yourself, and at how stupid you must look, you stop by the vending machine to get a snack. You get two energy bars, knowing that Dr. Im will be with Taehyung when you get back. Said and done; Jaebeom is laughing at something that your brother is doing and you wonder if one day you’ll get to call him Jaebeom out loud. 

“Hello there,” You say lightly, blushing a little at the way Jaebeom looks at you in his clothes. “Thank you for the clothes, doctor.”

“No problem, Y/N,” He smiles, and you don’t fail to notice the redness in his cheeks. 

“I got you this,” You say giving him one of the energy bars, and putting the other in his pocket. “You need to eat to take care of other people.”

He laughs and one of his hands fly to push his hair back and grab at the back of his neck, a habit you notice he does whenever he’s embarrassed. “Thank you.”

“Eat it,” You squint at him playfully. “Right now.”

“I have to check on a patient,” He says taking a huge bite, finishing it almost in one go. “I’ll be back to check on you, okay?”

“Alright,” You smile, and you don’t call attention to the fact that he said he’d be checking on you. You like it. “See you later."

You don’t– see him later, that is. You are not sure what happens but Dr. Im doesn’t come around anymore; another day goes by and even Taehyung notices the change, asking for his doctor to the nurses. She all just say he’s busy taking care of other people, but there’s something off about them, too. One of them, Nurse Lee, asks you to follow her to the counter where you can sign the discharge papers so that you can finally take your brother home, and you hear a couple of other doctors talking.

“…yeah, they died,” A shiver runs through your spine with those words and you take a deep breath and focus on reading the papers in your hand. “Jaebeom did his best, but not everyone can be saved.”

“You know how he is though,” The other doctor sighs. “Is he alright?”

“No,” They shake their heads. “Definitely not.”

Signing everything, you tell the nurses you’ll be right back, and you run to the office you’ve gotten to know so well. During your brother’s recovery, Dr. Im has been you friend, you dare to say. You’ve silently eaten with him in his office as he did some work and you read a book; you’ve talked to him about his grandmother; you’ve taken snacks to his office late at night. It was your way to repay him, after everything he’s done for you and your family. You went from thinking he hated you, to understanding how hard his job is on him. And right now, it was exactly one of those moments, in which the harshness of his reality is laid upon him, and you can’t do anything but knock on his door and pray that he’ll open. 

“Yes?” 

His voice sounds harsh and used out. His eyes find yours instantly and they turn back into those scrutinizing eyes you first met.

“Hi,” You say, suddenly uncomfortable. “You didn’t come by yesterday and today and I–“

“I am too busy to attend just to you and your brother,” He snaps. “I have a whole lot of people needing me, too, you know?”

The coldness from his voice reminds you of the first time you met him, when you stood under his scrutinizing gaze. 

“Or do you think I have nothing better to do than to have to waste all of my time–“

“With me?” You interrupt him. “Just so you know, you didn’t have to spend your time with me, but I guess I should thank you, since you did, right?”

“Wha-“

“You don’t have to worry anymore, doctor,” You sneer. “We leave tonight. Here, this is a small thank you gift for wasting time with me.”

You give him the plastic bag with all snacks from the vending machine– literally all of them. It wasn’t much, but it would last him a few shifts, at least. All you wanted was for him to get better too; you weren’t dumb, you could easily see the suffering in his eyes, even at that moment– specially at that moment,– but you couldn’t just let him walk all over you like that. You had to stand your ground, like you did ever since you met him. 

“Whatever happened,” You say through gritted teeth. “It’s not your fault. Nor mine. Remember that.”

You leave him and you go back to Taehyung. 

Fuck Dr. Im, you think, furiously wiping a tear. It seems as if all you do is cry, and you are tired of it. I have Taehyung, alive and well. That should be enough.

                                                               ————————

Your days are back to normal– you wake up, check on Taehyung, and go to work, where you’ll spend hours and hours until you don’t have to spend any more time in there but you do still, baking a fresh batch of a different good every night, before calling the delivery man to take it away. 

Today, you make chocolate scones, using Ms. Im’s recipe just how she taught you years ago.

“Still baking?” She asks. “Is something wrong?”

“Not at all,” You smile, and put a scone in a take away box. “Here, for the trip.”

“Thank you, dear,” She smiles. “These used to be Jaebeom’s favorite.”

You smile and wave her goodbye, promising to close the store and go home soon. You do whatever task you have to keep you busy– cleaning the tables, wiping the floor, washing the dishes, freezing the dough. Anything to keep you from thinking about him. But it’s impossible. You think about him even more now, having a face to the name. Im Jaebeom. Ms. Im still talks about him every day and there’s nothing you can say or do that would justify the reason you want her to stop. 

He saved my brother’s life, and in the process he saved mine, too. He is kind and selfless and honest, but he is also tired and confused and overwhelmed. I want to care for him like he cared for me. Is this love?

No, you couldn’t say that to her. Much less to him.

“Excuse me, are you still open? I heard you guys had chocolate scones and I just had to come get one.” 

You freeze, body already stiff from work now barely being able to move.

“We’re closed,” You mumble, not looking at him. “But I can get you some scones to go.”

“If I take them to go,” He asks and you can see his feet, clad in black sneakers and tapping nervously on the floor. “Will you come with me?”

“Is this a pick up line?” You scoff.

“No, I just want to have these with you,” He chuckles and you can’t help yourself, you look at him, craving to see his eyes disappear when he smiles. “A thank you for all the food you’ve been sending to the hospital every night…”

“I’m glad,” You smile tightly, taking the apron off and hanging it on the wall. You push the cardboard box towards him. “Here you go. Have a goodnight.”

His smile is gone in a second. “Y/N…”

“You were very clear, Jaebeom,” You say sternly. “I’ll call you Jaebeom now, since we’re not in the hospital– you were very clear, Jaebeom. You are wasting your time with me; patients are waiting for you, families, friends. I’m just the girl that works with your grandmother… You have nothing to worry about, I won’t tell her anything, but it’s best if we stop this here.”

“Stop?” He asks, eyes wide. “I don’t think it’s that easy, Y/N. I missed you– did you know that? Of course you didn’t, but I’m here telling you: I missed you, goddammit. I’m a doctor, and I’m always frustrated about something, and stressed, and tired, but for the week you spent there, I felt completely okay, because I knew that in the end of the day, I’d have a constant thing in my life; Taehyung-ie and you, waiting for me with snacks. Asking me about my day. Asking me if I’m okay. People don’t do that, in the hospital– they have their own problems, and every day is a different surprise, but it felt good to have a constant, even for a little while.”

You say nothing, taking your time to process everything he’s saying.

“I’m sorry for being an asshole,” He chuckle. “I had just lost a patient; there were complications with his condition before surgery but we couldn’t wait and I lost him… But you were right, it’s not my fault, and it’s not yours. You shouldn’t have to put up with my anger, but I really, really hope you chose to put up with me despite my anger. I won’t lie, this happens a lot– the angry part. It comes with the job, even though we try our hardest to hide, but I promise to try my best to never let it all out on you ever again… please forgive me.”

You sigh, walking to him. He was wearing casual clothes and he finally looked his age, the gray hoodie and blue jeans bringing out the youth in him.

“You haven’t been eating regularly, have you?” You frown, hands holding his face. Your thumb brushes his cheekbones and his eyes are shining with something unknown to you– want, maybe. “I send you freshly baked goods everyday and you still look like you’ve lost weight…”

“What are you doing to me?” He mumbles, nuzzling his face in your hand and pulling you closer by the waist, resting his forehead on yours. “You’re messing with my head, Y/N…”

“Nah,” You chuckle, kissing his nose. “That’s your job.”

“That is possibly the lamest joke someone ever made about my job,” He laughs, and ah! there it is– cute little slits. The reason you love that so much is that it makes you all warm inside to know you can make him smile so hard that his eyes disappear. “But I love it anyways.”

“Does that mean I can make more of those?” You ask animatedly, pulling away slightly. “Cause I have a bunch of neurosurgery jokes I can ma–“

He shuts you up with a kiss and you instantly know he ate your scones before coming over, tasting the sugar and the chocolate in his mouth. It lasts long, and you prefer it that way– you want to take your timing discovering everything about Jaebeom. From the way his mouth drags over yours, chapped lips kissing you softly, to the way his hands find their way to your hair, your jawline, your waist. He pulls you closer, hugging you to him, and just as he is pressing you against the counter, you feel a vibration coming from his pocket. 

“Please tell me that your phone,” You snort a little, trying to hold your laughter in.

“Hilarious,” He says, rolling his eyes but smiling nonetheless.

“Do you have to go back?”

He nods. “Yeah, one of the patients needs surgery sooner than we thought… I’m sorry.”

“Don’t ever apologize for saving lives,” You frown, pecking his lips. “Text me when you get home?”

“Absolutely,” He kisses you deeply. “I’ll see you soon.”

He sees you sooner than he thought he would. The next day, when he texts you his shift is over in thirty, you go over to the hospital, with croissants and tea. When he sees you waiting by the main entrance, he can’t help but laugh out loud.

“You said that having a constant was nice,” You shrug as he kisses your face allover. “I’ll be your constant from now on.”

“I’d love that,” He says. “Love you.”

“Love you, too,” You smile. “I think.”

“You think?” He shrieks, pulling you to his car by the hand. 

“Yeah… can you take a look inside and find out for me?” You say tapping your head. 

He just looks at you, no emotion.

“If I ever get a song stuck in my mind,” You say, buckling up when Jaebeom starts the car. “Can you get it out for me?”

“Oh my god,” He lets his head fall on the wheel. “Is this what I signed up for?”

“Absolutely,” You giggle, and he turns to look at you. “Regret it yet?”

“No, but I’m sure you’ll get me there by the end of the night.”

“Yah!”

“I told you,” He grabs your hand, laughing. “You mess with my head. Crazy girl… tsk, gonna me crazy too.”

“By the way,” You start. “How will we break it to your grandmother?”

“What do you mean,” Jaebeom laughs. “She knows. She’s known for about seven years, now.”

“What?” You shout, head turning to look at him. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know about you,” He shrugs. “But she’d talk about you a lot. Good things only– such a pretty girl, so kind, so nice. Ah, Jaebeom-ah, you remind me of Y/N… you two would get along so well. I’m pretty sure I fell in love with you before even knowing you.”

“Oh my god,” You gasp. “Ms. Im is a love genius.”

“I had to take after someone, you know?” Jaebeom brags.

For the rest of the night, you two bicker, laughing and kissing in between, and even though you promised to be his constant, barely did he know he’d be yours. 

---------------------

hello lovelies! I decided that I will now post a new part of the General Hospital series every weekend, so here it is Jaebeom’s story! He is my ult bias and I love him so much so i really hope you all enjoy it ❤️ please leave a comment and share it if you like the story! It really means the world for us writers when we get feedback :P Love you all and thank you for your endless support💕

[sincerelymarinette]

A Recorded Life (50/50) - Miraculous Ladybug

Words: 1839 Chapter Summary: After defeating Hawkmoth, there are still a few things Team Miraculous has to round up. A month later, everyone is still coping, but there are things to look forward to. Author's Note: oh my gosh...the last chapter of this story! I've been writing this for over a year and I love it so much. Thank you so much for sticking around and reading, I appreciate it more than you know! Make sure to check back in a few weeks for the mini sequel!!

Prev / Mini Sequel part 1 / Masterlist

Epilogue

---

One Month Later

"Don't be bemused, it's just the news," Nadja Chamack's voice rang through the TV, much less energetic than usual.

The five heroes sat on Marinette's couch, dressed in black, and emotionally exhausted. Everyone had tear-stained faces, and no one was saying anything, just sitting and coping.

"Just two hours after Emilie Agreste's proper burial, Gabriel Agreste has been found guilty for multiple counts of public endangerment, and multiple counts of kidnapping. We have reporters on the field seeing him being taken away," She reported, and the video turned to an overhead view of Gabriel Agreste in handcuffs, leaving the courthouse in the back of a police car. Adrien shut his eyes for a few seconds until the screen changed again.

Nadja continued. "His assistant, Nathalie Sancoeur, has also been charged with multiple counts of complicity but could be released early because she claims she was forced to help him. That is currently being investigated. We want to send a heartfelt message to our heroes to say thank you for keeping Paris safe and continuing to do so. The public will always support you, and we hope to see you at the statue ceremony in a few days."

Marinette squeezed Adrien's hand to remind him that she's there for him, and they would get through this together. All five of them were a mess, and just glad it was all over.

"This broadcast is dedicated to Emilie Agreste, may she finally rest in peace," Nadja said, and the TV went to commercial.

Adrien started crying again, not sure how much more he could cry before he ran out of tears. They all looked down, and Marinette shut the TV off, still holding Adrien.

---

Marinette focused her camera on her friends and pressed record, then took her seat. They definitely weren't ready to be on camera all the time, but they knew this video had to be made.

"Hi, I'm Marinette," She began the video, less energetic than her videos were used to. "And I've got my team with me. Today we're doing a final Q&A about being superheroes," Marinette said. "Like before, we will choose the questions to answer, as we still have to protect some things. But most questions will come from Twitter and YouTube," She clarified.

The team was still going through a lot, emotionally and psychically. Initially, they weren't going to make any videos until they were back to normal, or as normal as they could be, but once they all agreed to take a step back, a final Miraculous video needed to be made.

"There are still some sensitive topics," Alya piped up. "So Marinette and I have already chosen the ones we will be answering, and not all of us may answer every question," She explained, hoping it would keep people from commenting anything rude.

"Are we all ready to begin?" Marinette asked the group with a soft smile, and with a round of yes, she asked the first question. "Thank you guys so much. How are you doing? We care about you and value you more than you know," She read. "I'll start. I think it's safe to say we're still kind of a mess, but we're getting better every day. It feels like one weight is off my shoulders, for now, at least," Marinette said.

There were a few nods around her, agreeing. "My head is still a mess from everything. But we've been working through it together," Alya added. "It helps that we're all together, definitely."

Adrien cleared his throat. "Marinette said it straight. I'm a mess, and I can't be any more clear than that. But having a new schedule and helping around The Bakery keeps my mind busy, but there is a new stress of starting school," He said, forcing a chuckle at the end.

"Very true!" Chloé echoed. "At least then we'll all be focusing on something to keep us busy!" She said.

Nino didn't answer as most of the emotions were covered. "Speaking of school," Alya said. "Our next question asks what's next for you guys now that the Akuma threat is gone?" Alya asked.

"I guess this is as good a time as any to announce some updates for all of us!" Marinette said and took a deep breath. I'm sure you've all noticed my lack of uploads, for obvious reasons, and they will not be going back to how they used to be. That's because I will be busy studying at my top school for design!" She said, excitedly. "I do want to get back into uploading more fashion videos, and I hope I'll be able to incorporate stuff from school into them, so keep an eye out," She winked.

Marinette looked to Adrien to let him talk about his plans. "I am going to school to study business, so I can fully take over Agreste Fashion in a few years. Right now, it is being run by the CFO, and I will be working with him and his team to help me prepare for that responsibility. In a few years, the Agreste Fashion, you know now, will be completely different, and I hope the best designer out there will be willing to tag along," Adrien nudged Marinette with a smile.

She brushed it off with an eye roll and looked to Alya next. "The Ladyblog really took off with everything going on, and I have taken a job as a full-time reporter as well as going to school for writing!" Alya said. "It will be a change of pace, but I'm really excited. Chloé?" She directed.

"Plain and simple, I'm going to study politics," She said, not elaborating anymore.

"And possibly our most exciting one...Nino?" Marinette smiled wide and turned to him.

Nino jumped when he heard his name. "Oh yeah!" He said. "I'm going to be taking a year off because I'm going on tour with Jagged Stone!" Nino said and put his fist in the air in excitement.

Jagged Stone made the offer to Nino only a few days before, and everyone was excited for him, though sad he was going to be gone for so long. The questions continued on, asking about favorite things to do as heroes, what changes they would make to their costumes, if they could switch their Miraculous for another which one would it be, and some that weren't related to superheroes at all.

They talked about how their relationships with each other have changed, and also what they wish they could have done in high school.

"Now for what I'm sure you've all been wondering, why is this the last Miraculous superhero-related video?" Marinette said, and everyone's mood changed from having fun to being somber. "We, as a group, have decided to take a step back. At least for a little bit," She said. "Hawkmoth and the Akumas are over, and crime rates are very low. Plus, it gives us a chance to focus on something different," Marinette explained.

"We love being superheroes, but it's time," Adrien added, followed with nods form the team.

Marinette took a deep breath. "But! We do have an exciting announcement. This Saturday, we will be doing a stream with Jagged Stone to finally listen to his album and talk about all the work!" Marinette said, and everyone else murmured things about it. "Check the information below to be sure to listen with us!" She said. "But I think that's it for today. Thank you all so much for watching, and I hope you'll check out our social media," Marinette took a deep breath. "Bug out."

Marinette had the video out as fast as she could, and the comments flew in.

oh man, catch me crying right now i love you guys so much

i know this is an important step for them but im still sad that its the end of an era

BUG OUT BUG OUT BUG OUT

she said BUG OUT this cant be the end of ladybug and chat noir

I hope you guys know how much we love and value you! I hope you guys are feeling better and keep getting better. Excited for everything in the future!!

OMG CONGRATS GUYS on all your achievements! Can't wait to see what you all do! ESPECIALLY YOU mari and i cant wait to see what adrien does with Agreste Fashion!!

ugh i love you guys SO MUCH

i love that mari would choose to be chat like,,, can i see that please?

I'm so buying tickets to Jagged mostly for Nino !!

thank you guys so much <3

To say they were pleasantly surprised with the comments was an understatement.

---

Right after the video was uploaded and the team read through the comments, they sat in Marinette's home, waiting for their visitor. There were mixed feelings, and no one knew what to say. When there was a knock on the door, the air in the room grew thick.

"Hello, Master," Marinette said as she welcomed Master Fu into the home. The Kwamis floated behind their holders, clearly sad to be leaving, and not saying anything.

"Are you all ready?" He asked.

No one spoke, just looked at each other. "Well, that's good, because I would like to say something," Master Fu said. "You five are the best Miraculous holders. I am very proud of all of you for what you've accomplished while also having the stress of life," He said, and grabbed the Miracle Box out of his bag. "Which is why I want to pass this onto you, Marinette."

All five gasped, and Marinette was shocked. "W-what?" She asked, her jaw on the floor.

“My time as guardian of the Miraculous is up. I have been guarding these since I was just a boy, and Marinette and Adrien, you two were easily the best Ladybug and Black Cat there has ever been. You work well together and are true leaders. All five of you have the best teamwork I could have ever imagined, and after all you have been through with Hawkmoth, it is clear that it is time for a change," Master Fu said and handed the Miracle Box to Marinette, which she hesitantly grabbed. "Marinette, you were made to be Ladybug. You were made to be a Guardian."

Her friends began celebrating with wide smiles, clearly excited for Marinette. The Kwamis were exchanging confused looks as to what this meant, and Pollen was the one to speak up.

“Does this mean we can stay with our owners?” Pollen asked.

Marinette turned around, holding onto the Miracle Box tight. She took a deep breath and formed a smile. “You know, it’s probably a better idea to not have them all in one place. Who knows, maybe the world will need us again," She said, and everyone joined in a group hug. After all this stress, emotional and physical pain, it was time for them to live their lives, with their best friends (humans and Kwamis alike) by their side.

THE END

edit: (except now there’s a sequel)

---

@lady-of-the-roses-and-lilies @bookishserendipity03 @avatheexceed @gkz10 @coccinellegirl @kat-thatoneweirdo @strawberryblondish @snow-swordswoman @lilgaga98 @evufries  @toodaloo-kangaroo 

[call-me-nerdy]

Felix doesn't have "Vacations"

Felinette November Day 4; Vacation

It's late, sorry.

So I had a vague idea of what to do, but it went off the rails real quick. I'm not proud of the ending, but I'll live.

I couldn't finish this yesterday because of well, school. So I'll probably do a double update one of these days to catch up on schedule.

-----

Felix Agreste is endearing.

Semestral break crept up on Felix like a fox stalking an unsuspecting prey; slow and steady before pouncing on him with a hectic onslaught of extracurricular activities on his schedule.

Felix would say he was merely inconvenienced by the numerous 'hobbies' his mother had requested him to partake in, but that didn't mean he wasn't overwhelmed by her overeager plans.

The timetable was light in his hands, though it honestly seemed to weigh him down with every task that was printed on the pristine, white paper. Felix scanned the letters in disdain, a faint throbbing started to grow at the back of his head.

A modeling gig on Monday, followed by a violin recital on Tuesday. Wednesday entails a whole day rehearsal with the local Chamber Orchestra, and we are set to perform on Friday at night. I have to assist with the fencing classes on Thursday, and another modeling event on Friday afternoon before the performance. Add my daily study sessions and the projects I have to finish into the mix, and I'm positive that this is impossible to achieve.

Felix bit back a groan. He knew how awfully ambitious his mother could get, but even he had to admit that this was edging on to overkill at this point. The thought of Monday alone l was enough to drown his mind with poisonous dread– draining Felix of the motivation that he tried desperately to keep. It didn't help that these kinds of events were already preplanned appointments, locking Felix out of any opportunity to just *ditch* them in favor of laying on his bed with an absurd amount of sweets. Felix pinched the bridge of his nose, muttering words of frustration under his breath.

"Grumpy today, aren't we. What's on your mind?" The familiar voice rang clear, the scent of freshly baked bread tickled his nose. Felix looked up to meet cheeky, bluebell eyes staring back. Marinette smiled at him, a tray of freshly baked croissants in her hands.

Felix inhaled the aroma, savoring the phantom taste of croissants on his tongue. He sighed, reaching out for a croissant. "Keen-eyed as ever, Dupain-Cheng." Felix quickly retracted his arm when Marinette slapped it away.

"Not until you tell me why you're grumbling over there." She set the tray on the table, and with a swift movement, plopped down on the seat in front of Felix.

"My mother gave me my schedule for the week today. And because it's semestral break, she took extra care to make my vacation, and I quote, productive." Felix emphasized his point with air quotes, handing the paper to Marinette. "And as much as it is a nuisance, her overeager involvement in my extracurricular activities is barely an uncommon occurence."

Marinette winced, "Wow. This is overkill. Is this even a vacation anymore?"

"It's an eyesore." Felix grumbled, taking a croissant from the tray. The pastry broke easily in his mouth. Flaky and crisp, it melted into raw happiness on his tongue.

Marinette giggled, "Well, best of luck to you. I bet you can't even survive 'til next week without me." she challenged.

Felix clicked his tongue, "Oh, please. I may have a hectic schedule, but it's still a vacation from seeing you tripping on air every five minutes." he rolled his eyes, taking another bite of his croissant.

Marinette stuck out her tongue, "Maybe so. But admit it, you can't live without me for a whole week." she said as she took a croissant for herself

"Keep on dreaming, Dupain-Cheng. I can survive very well without your cheeky comments." Felix scoffed, only to recieve Marinette's smug smirk in return.

"We'll see, Agreste." She giggled, "We'll see."

-----

Marinette didn't like liars. In fact, she openly despised them.

Perhaps her hatred for untruths stemmed from her strong sense of justice; a trait that, although it was already prominent in her life before Ladybug, was carefully nurtured and encouraged by Tikki to the point that it was nearly a fault. Marinette wouldn't have it any other way.

Yes, she may lie on a semi-regular basis, but it was only always when she needed to get away to transform into Paris' superhero, Ladybug. Marinette hated lying almost as she hated liars themselves. And so when she came to the conclusion that she loved teasing Felix Agreste, who was she to deny the truth? Denying it would've made her as bad as Lila Rossi, and Marinette absolutely refused to be likened to that witch.

She couldn't help herself. Felix was the stereotypical 'Ice King' at surface level: cold, reserved, and refused to show any weakness at all costs. So seeing his pale cheeks rapidly color a shade of pink, and him trying so desperately and failing to fight the flush everytime that she jested and poked fun at his little quirks, – It was not only hilarious, but outright endearing.

Felix Agreste is endearing.

Last week was no different.

Felix arrived earlier than usual at the bakery. Hell, she had only woken up about thirty minutes prior to her Papa announcing that a friend was asking for her downstairs. Marinette scrambled to make herself presentable, and went downstairs rather chaotically with a few fresh bruises on her ankles. Armed with a tray of freshly baked croissants, she scurried to their usual table only to see Felix looking awfully grumpy in his seat — well, grumpier than he usually was. Marinette may be a sometimes most of the time, tripping over her feet and bumping into random objects. But make no mistake, that despite all her shortcomings, she was observant. Observant enough to notice the frustration that shaped Felix's frown and his troubled countenance as he bit down on his lip. She had noticed his narrowed eyes, scrunched up nose and the way his fists tightly clenched the paper he glared at so furiously.

And so she greeted him heartily, hiding her concern when she asked why he looked so glum.

Apparently, his mother had filled his whole week with events. A photoshoot here, a rehearsal there, it all seemed so taxing. Felix had claimed that his mother was merely 'overeager', and that he had survived such schedules multiple times in his past. Marinette would've voiced her opinion of his mother expecting too much from him, but she ultimately decided to bite back her assumptions until after she had actually met Ms. Agreste. Instead, she did the best she could to lift his spirits with a few innocent jokes.

When he left, she made sure to give him a bag full of sweet pastries to lighten his mood. She knew how that boy loved sugar.

She continued to send some pastries to him everyday, with little cheeky notes sneakily attached to the inside of the paper bags. Macarons, pain au chocolats, croissants, cookies and even straight up chocolate arrived to his doorstep every morning. Yes, every morning. Marinette had forced herself to wake up every Seven AM just to make the poor boy some sweets. Tikki teased her about it for hours.

Maman and Papa are rubbing off on her.

Nevertheless, she just wished that Felix wouldn't get hospitalized over exhaustion. Actually, Marinette prayed that he would be alive on their next Sunday Afternoon meetup.

Which was today.

Felix entered the bakery with a subtle skip in his step, gray eyes frantically scanning the whole room in search of something.

Of someone.

When Felix finally met her gaze, Marinette could've sworn that *relief* flickered in his eyes.

The boy walked hastily to their table, sitting across Marinette,

"A bit enthusiastic today, are you?Welcome back." Marinette handed him a cup of hot chocolate.

He took the cup, and nodded. Now that was strange, Marinette thought. She was so used to him having witty comebacks for her every bite. Why was Felix acting so bashful?

"Thank you for the pastries." He finally said, his voice was slow and uncertain.

"You're welcome! It's no problem at all!"

"..."

He was silent again.

"Hey, Fé. Is something wrong?" Marinette asked him gently. Her worry grew every second that Felix maintained his averted gaze.

She frowned. Did he have a fever? If he did, then he shouldn't have come here! Marinette reached over the table to put her hand on Felix's forehead.

Felix drew back in surprise, pink started to appear on the skin of his neck up to his cheeks.

"Do you have a fever, Fé?

Felix forced a scoff, "I... am perfectly fine, Dupain-Cheng."

She deadpanned, "It doesn't look like it."

"W-well, I am." Did Felix just stutter?

"Then why weren't you answering me?" Marinette frowned. Felix being unsure of himself was strange.

A guilty look flashed on Felix's expression, "... My apologies, Marinette. I was simply... panicked because of our previous conversation."

Marinette's eyes widened, "Oh my God."

"Yes, I– what?"

"You actually used my name!" She squealed, a grin stretching across her lips.

"I..." He trailed off, the pink on his skin grew a few shades darker.

Marinette gaped. Felix Agreste; Resident Salt King, honor student, overachiever, sharp-tongued, cool and collected Felix Agreste, was right in front of her with no witty comeback, as red as a tomato, avoiding her eyes and pouting? In what world?!

Then it hit her.

Felix was pouting.

She cackled. Uncontrollably cackled.

Oh my gosh, that's adorable.

"Pfft, Ahaha! Y-you should see your f-face!" Marinette wheezed, clutching her stomach in laughter.

Felix sat in front of her, his face was all red.

She gasped for breath, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Marinette wiped a tear. She cleared her throat, "Why were you worried?"

Felix took a deep breath, "Through a number of contemplations, as well as evidence of a few peculiar moments in the week, I have deducted that you were correct in your prediction." Felix sped through his sentence.

"Uhm, what?" Marinette could barely understand his overly convoluted words; he was more verbose than usual, an air of uncharacteristic awkwardness surrounded him.

"AllthroughouttheweekIfeltthattherewasalwayssomethinglackinginmyeverydaylifeIhadnoonetotalktoandgivemewittyremarksandthiscausedmetobescoldedsomanytimesbecauseIkeptspacingoutand—" Marinette's eyes widened.

"Felix, slow down!"

"Idon'tknowwhatI'mfeelingbecauseI'vebeverreallyhadarelationshipwithanyoneaboveacquaintancesandIdon'tevenknowifyouconsidermeafriendand–"

Marinette stood up and pinched his cheek.

"Felix! Calm. Down!" She cried. Felix snapped out of his wordy breakdown.

"Apologies." Felix cleared his throat.

He was worried about a previous conversation they had? She was correct in her predictions? What in the world–

Oh. Marinette thought back on their last meetup.

Ohhh.

"Wait. Are you saying that you missed me?" Marinette couldn't stop the glee that bubbled frantically in her chest.

Felix looked at his hands, "I... If that is the term, t-then I suppose so."

Marinette almost squealed.

"Oh my Kw- that was adorable." She gushed, pinching Felix's cheeks once more.

"Hmmpf–" His face glowed scarlet at this point, Felix his flustered expression behind cupped hands.

Felix Agreste is endearing, and Marinette couldn't understand why anyone would think otherwise.

[ft-stories-lgbt]

Hi love! We need to start talking more, I miiiss you ;w;. Could I request some headcanons? [Headcanons] Team Natsu + Spring, Summer, Autumn & Winter. - Thank you, you amazing person!

Hi love ! I'm sorry I took a little time to give you an answer, I've been busy and I wanted to do something really complete for this one, so I hope you'll like it! Like I mention it to you earlier, it's an OT4, and also an AU!

I don't deserve these compliments come on... 🙈

*

Spring : Lucy

"I grab your hand and then we run to the car

Singing in the street and playing air guitar

Stuck between my teeth just like a candy bar

And I wonder if it goes too far to say

I've never recognized a purer face

You stopped me in my tracks and put me right in my place

Used to think that loving meant a painful chase

But you're right here now and I think you'll stay"

Beautiful stranger- Halsey

-

• Spring is the season that Lucy loves the most, mostly because it means flowers are out again and that summer is almost here. 

• But the main reason is, it was during spring that she met Erza, Natsu and Gray, and that she fell in love with them.

• She met Natsu first, they shared a class at university as she was in her last year of studies. She was new in town, just tranferred to the college, and Natsu was the first one to come and talk to her. He was all smile and loud voice and it didn't take long for her to catch feelings for him. They had great chemistry; always sitting next to each other, close and touchy. It was rare to see them apart on the campus. They were two months in this friendship when Natsu said he wanted her to meet his partners: Erza and Gray. 

• She didn't know what to make of this very sentence at first, because despite Natsu being so open with her, he never let anything along the lines slip from his lips before; never mentioned anything. She thought maybe he chose the wrong terms instead of using "Friends". 

• Natsu invited her to his place just after one of their late class, and she realised that after two months, this was the first time she was going to his house. 

• She remembers being surprised to find out that when Natsu opened the door, two people were already in there; but what really stunned her was the way Natsu had a fond smile on his lips as he made his way toward them, landing a kiss on each cheek. She stayed by the door for a few seconds before they introduced themselves warmly, a gentle smile on their faces. 

• Erza immediately made her comfortable. Lucy couldn't take her eyes off her, as she realised how beautiful the girl was. Her long red hair was shining with the artificial light and her face glowed with a certain happiness which Lucy always thought only Natsu was capable of. 

• Gray was a real mystery for her at first though. While he smiled gently and talked to her very politely, Lucy didn't miss the way he had an eye on her during all evening, as if he was judging whether she was good enough to be around them, but around Natsu. He made sure to stay between Natsu and her during dinner, making himself like a barrier.

• During this evening she recalls seeing how gentle brush of hands was made among the three of them. Natsu often kept a hand on Gray’s over the table, or he didn't hesitate to fix a strand of hair behind Erza's ear. Gray even got rid of something in the corner of Natsu's mouth with his thumb and Erza laid a kiss on their temples each time she got a chance. 

• Before she left that night, Gray softly grabbed her wrist to tell her "I like you, I hope I'll see you more often".

• She didn't really want to make assumptions about their relationship at first but after finding out the three of them were living together and shared a room and two other months of them being physical and surprised at seeing at least one of them making out with one of the other two, she concluded that they were together, and that when Natsu said "partners" he didn't mean it as friends. 

• Since she had feelings for Natsu, she thought she would be jealous but it turns out she just felt happy for them and somehow she finds herself wishing for them to include her in their relation. 

• Which they did, little by little. At first, Natsu invited her, alone, to go see a movie. They kept holding hands during the movie but she didn't allow herself to hope.

• Then Erza took her to a bakery where she spent an hour being spoon-fed by her, with various pieces of cake. 

• And finally Gray told her to come over once, the two of them were alone and they enjoyed dinner. The apartment was arranged nicely, with candles and flowers everywhere. 

• And they all did this a couple of dozens more time but it took until the following year for her to do something about it as she realised her feelings for Natsu were now expanded to Erza and Gray.

• They were on the couch, watching a movie. She was sitting next to Gray, who had an arm around her shoulders, while Erza slid her fingers between Gray's free hand. Natsu was lying on her other side, his head resting on her lap. She didn't really pay attention to the movie, her eyes only meeting the people around her and after what felt like hours she said, "I love you all, more than I love spring."

• For a few seconds, no one said anything back, but soon enough she could feel the way Gray tightened his grip around her shoulders while Erza and Natsu took each of her hands. "We love you too," they said back.

• After that night, she never left their side.

*

Summer : Natsu

"Tastes like strawberries on a summer evenin'

And it sounds just like a song

I want more berries and that summer feelin'

It's so wonderful and warm"

Watermelon Sugar - Harry Styles.

-

• For as long as Natsu can remember, Gray, Erza, and he always knew each other even if the other two were 2 years older than him. They grew up in the same street, houses only a few feet apart.

• There's not a day in his mind where Erza and Gray are not there. For him, it always felt like they were together all the time. He has always known them as if they are a part of him.

• It's only natural that he was the one to start all of this relationship thing.

• He never felt scared, since Gray and Erza were the only constants in his life. He had other friends of course, but he realised quickly that the thing they had between the three of them was something specific to only them.

• When Natsu first brought the subject up, he was 13 and Erza and Gray were 15. They were at the park, feeding the birds when Natsu said, "When we'll be older, I want to live with both of you. I love you." Natsu never used unnecessary words, always going straight to the point, so the other two knew he wasn't joking and knew about the meaning behind it as well. Gray only said, "I'll wait for it then."

• They shared their first kiss when Natsu was 16. It was during summer vacation, and Gray and Erza were preparing their stuff to leave for college. And while they knew that they could still see each other almost every day, Natsu felt like it was a big change for all of them since they will be busy with other things. He was sad about it and when he voiced it, Gray called him an idiot before giving him a kiss on his lips. He didn't even have the chance to fully comprehend the situation before Erza did the same.

• And from then, their relationship slowly started to shift into something more intimate.

• Gray and Erza began to live together first, and when Natsu finally finished high school, he officially joined them.

• In the beginning, it was a real mess. They may have spent their life together but they never really experienced the all "living together"; it took them nearly four months to finally have some understanding between them.

• A few years passed, and Natsu was in his last year at the university when he met Lucy. It felt surreal for him since he spent his life making his entire world around Gray and Erza, and when he started having feelings toward Lucy, he decided it was a good thing if he talked about it to the other two.

• Erza and Gray were wary at first, after all, they never talked about the possibility of one of them finding someone else, or wanting to add someone else.

• But once they met Lucy, it was like it was meant to be, and Natsu couldn't be happier about it.

• They spent long nights talking about the possibility of her joining them. And when a year later they found themselves being together, the four of them laying on the bed, Natsu couldn't be gladder that for once, he allowed himself to see more than the world that he created around Gray and Erza.

*

Autumn : Erza

"Cause you're safe like spring time

Short days, long nights, boy

Tell me all the ways to love you

Cause you taste like Lucky Strikes

You drag, I light, boy

Tell me all the ways to love you"

Lucky Strike - Troye Sivan

-

• It took Erza a long time to admit her own feelings toward the boys first. Mainly because her family never approved of her always being with them, even when they were young. Her parents were overprotective and very strict about their education since she was a girl. But Erza never quite fit in the picture.

• She can't remember how many time she went out through her window, running toward the park just to join Natsu and Gray. She always got into trouble after that but it was worth it in the end.

• When they finally got together, Erza decided to tell her parents about it. And as she expected the news didn't sit well with them.

• She was a few weeks into college when she told them. It ended up in a fight and she left the house in a hurry to end up in the park where she used to meet Gray and Natsu.

• She remembers laying in the ground, the brown leaves cracking under her weight. Autumn was there for almost two weeks then, and despite the situation, she found a little peace in the quiet environment. She doesn't know for how long she stayed there, but at some point, two figures were standing above her and a gentle voice rang in her ears:

"This season suits you dearly, darling. It does a good thing to the colour of your hair.” It was silly, but Natsu’s words managed to bring the smile back on her lips.

"How did you know I was here?" She only asked back.

"Well, you didn't answer your phone and we called at least ten times," Gray said gently. "So we decided to come and check here first. You always come here when something is wrong."

She said nothing more but soon enough there were two bodies laying on each of her sides.

• After this episode, Erza barely kept contact with her parents, but somehow it didn't really bother her. She always felt trapped with them, and she could now taste a little freedom with only her two boyfriends by her side. And the fact that their family were nice and supportive probably helped too.

• And until Lucy, she was perfectly fine with this small circle of people around her. She never imagined someone else being part of their relationship.

• But just like it felt normal for her to be with Natsu and Gray, it also felt natural for her that Lucy joined them and shared their love.

• Since the first time she met the blonde, Gray and Natsu never stop teasing her about how soft she is towards the girl. If she can be harsh towards the boys, with Lucy it's always different. She talks softly and gently to the girl, and she can barely say no to her.

• The boys used that particular bond between the two to get the things they want and knew that if they were the one asking, she would say no. Erza didn't take long to notice it but never said anything, finding amusing the way Lucy would come to her, cheeks flushed and a timid look on her face, to ask for something silly that the boys would have convinced her to do.

*

Winter: Gray

"Walk in your rainbow paradise

Strawberry lipstick state of mind

I get so lost inside your eyes

Would you believe it?"

Adore you - Harry Styles

-

• Gray never really was someone who liked to meet new people and make new friends, even when he was young. Therefore, it came as a surprise to his parents when he introduced them to Natsu and Erza in the park during winter. Gray's parents noticed quite early that the relationship between the three was special and something only meant for them. And they did nothing against it, too happy that their son finally let someone in.

• At some point, the Fullbuster's house was at least twice a week filled with two boys and a girl for dinner.

• And when they left to live together, they made a point to keep coming every Sunday for lunch.

• His parents were always a big support for the three of them, even when Natsu lost his parents at the end of his last year of high school. They managed to keep him with them for the last few weeks of the school year and until this day, Gray knows that Natsu is really thankful for them being part of his life.

• Much like the other two, Gray didn't really think of having someone else to love, even if his father liked to joke about them to find more people: "So we could play soccer in the backyard! Come on brat, you need to find at least 6 other people!"

• When Lucy joined the picture, his parents were thrilled and welcomed her as a part of their family easily.

• Gray remembers the first time she officially met them, a few months after they got together. It was snowing and they were at the door of Gray's parents when she stopped Erza from knocking on it.

"I don't think this is a good idea. They are going to hate me. They always knew the three of you together, and now here I am, breaking that perfect picture. This is a terrible idea. A really bad one. Worse than that one time when Natsu convinced us to go swimming naked in a nearly frozen lake. I don't..."

Gray didn't let her finish her monologue and only kissed her on her lips, while his hands cupped her cheeks gently. He didn't say anything when they parted away, their eyes only locked in one another. He was silently saying, "It's okay. There's no need for you to be afraid. You are a part of us too now."

*

And a Big Big Big thank you to my little fairy 🧚 @watcher-ofthe-sky for taking the time to beta this for me and also for giving me some advice ! You're a real sweetheart!

[nxnoire]

Desiderium

Leave Me Alone

Fandom: Miraculous Ladybug

Part Two Part Three Part Five

my fourth prompt for @badthingshappenbingo

———

The lunch bell echoed throughout the classroom, a sound Adrien didn’t want to hear. Lunch only meant others had the freedom to come over to him and bombard with questions he wasn’t ready to answer. He knew they had good intentions, but all he needed was to be left alone. Marinette was the only one he felt comfortable sharing his story with.

He looked across the table to see Marinette and Alya engaged in a lively conversation. Below him, Nino had his headphones on, trying to figure out which song to listen to. Everyone seemed to be doing better things than save him from the stares he felt on every inch of his body. He slumped down in his seat and prayed Marinette or Nino would hurry up.

“So...ready to tell me about this morning?” Alya asked, leaning in towards her friend.

“I told you, it’s not up to me.” She glanced over at Adrien briefly. “Whenever Adrien’s ready I’ll let him explain. Until then, leave me and him alone.”

“Awww, c’mon, girl! This is big news!”

“I’ll tell you this: we’re not dating.” She crossed her arms.

“Are you sure about that?”

“I told you, it’s not romantic.” She turned to face Adrien. “Adrien lets go.”

Adrien’s face lit up a bit, happy to finally be able to leave that suffocating classroom. He stood up and walked down the stairs. Before he was able to reach the bottom, Chloe jumped in front of him.

“Adrikins!” She exclaimed. Her arms shot up to wrap themselves around his neck, but he grabbed them before they could even touch him.

“Go away,” he ordered, staring her straight in the eye.

She pulled her arms away and pouted. “But—”

“Come on Chloe, leave him alone,” Marinette chimed in, coming to save Adrien. She walked over and stood next to him, hoping to get that horrid leech off of him. “You’re the last person he needs to be talking to.”

Chloe scoffed and put her hands on her hips. “I don’t know what makes you think you can just swoop in and help Adrien all of a sudden. Just because you think he’s hot doesn’t mean you have the right to manipulate his mind. Right, Adrikins?”

He shot her a cold death glare. Her nonsense was so unbearable that it hurt. All of his patience had evaporated with the joy he once had. There was so much cluttering his mind. Chloe did not need to be added to the mix.

Not moving his glare off of Chloe, he grabbed Marinette’s wrist and pulled her away from the angry blonde. He heard Chloe yelling at them but happily chose to ignore her. Once they left her sight, he let go of her. “Thanks for standing up for me back there.”

“Oh, uh, you’re w-welcome!” She smiled, happy to have helped him even if it was just a little bit. It wasn’t only helping him, though. Putting Chloe in her place benefited everyone. Recently, she had become unbearable, making everyone’s lives even more miserable. It felt nice to be able to talk back to her for once.

The teens walked outside, both caught up in their thoughts. A news crew ran for them, not even letting them get a nice breath of fresh air.

“As our suspicions confirmed, Adrien Agreste has been spotted at his school.” The reporter shoved the microphone in Adrien’s face. “Adrien, your father is worried sick about you.”

“Great,” he said coldly, backing away from the microphone.

“Shouldn’t you return home? Your father says—”

“I don’t give a damn about what that man says. He deserves to rot in hell.” He turned and began walking away, Marinette following.

The reporter was taken aback by his strong language. “We have your bodyguard and—”

“Leave him alone,” Marinette demanded. “He’s going through a lot right now, can’t you see? How would you feel if you were emotional and someone came rushing at you with a camera asking you questions?”

“Ma’am, are you the one sheltering him while he’s on the run?”

“It’s none of your business.” She continued to walk away with Adrien. Whatever good mood she had was crushed by the crazed reporter. Anger and annoyance bubbled inside her like magma getting ready to spew out of a volcano. She tried her hardest to calm herself down, trying to avoid potential akumatization. Taking a deep, calming breath, she leaned in towards Adrien. “Are you okay?”

He stopped walking, the crosswalk displaying a stop sign. “Yeah, I’m used to the paparazzi. They get on my nerves, though. Especially ones like her.”

Marinette hummed in thought, being unable to relate well. The only time she had a bad experience with cameras was when Jagged Stone came to her bakery to film a TV show. She couldn’t imagine feeling like she did back then all the time. The light turned green, so she stepped onto the street. “Let’s eat lunch at my house today. We need some peace and quiet after all that.”

“Okay,” Adrien said, void of emotion. He didn’t care where they went, as long as he wasn’t going to be bothered about the entire runaway situation. He’d be fine following the current for a while. Whatever happened, he didn’t care, so long as it didn’t evoke negative emotions. His mind was racing so fast he had no mental energy to deal with anything else but his internal struggles.

They walked into the apartment, its quietness hugging Adrien’s ears. It was what he needed: a private, quiet space where he wouldn’t be bothered by anyone, excluding Marinette, of course. She never annoyed him. In fact, she was the only person who seemed to actually care about him. She never pressed him for information, instead of respecting his sensitivity.

He watched her walk into the small kitchen and open the refrigerator. A small light flickered on inside his heart, destroying some of the dark and twisty negativity taking hold of him. For the first time, he felt something different towards her.

It was probably just him being happy that she was helping, he figured. He took a seat at the dining room table. As he thought, his eyes studied the wood patterns on the tabletop. Marinette was just a really good friend trying to help out a friend. He was feeling joy. That’s what it was. It was impossible for him to be in love with her. There was no way. He’d know if he was, right?

The thoughts came to a halt when a pale hand set a plate down in front of him. He blinked and shook his head lightly to break his thoughts. Marinette took a seat next to him, setting her own plate down in front of her. A soft smile curled on his lips. She truly cared about him. She was perhaps the only person who did. Happy to have chosen the right person to confide in, he took a bite out of his food.

Marinette also began eating her food. As she chewed, she felt anxious snakes slithering up her body. She knew she was forgetting something, she just couldn’t remember what it was. All of her homework was done. There weren’t any projects due that day. Deep in thought, trying to figure out what she had forgotten, she took another bite. Then, it came back to her: she had a lunchtime patrol that day. What was she supposed to do? She couldn’t just leave Adrien alone. What would she say, anyway? “Hey I’m Paris’s superhero and I’ve gotta go make sure your father isn’t terrorizing our city!” Something told her it wouldn’t sit too well with him.

“I’m gonna try to go back to my house and get a few things,” Adrien announced, pulling her out of her wild thoughts.

She looked at him with wide eyes and swallowed her food. “How are you gonna get there unnoticed?”

“I have a way of sneaking into my room without being seen by the security cameras.”

“I should go with you, just to be safe.”

“No, it’s fine. I shouldn’t be too long, anyway.”

“Okay...” she sighed. They were in no condition to argue, especially Adrien. “Don’t do anything stupid. I promised I’d protect you with my life. I intend to keep that promise.”

He smiled, happy she remembered what she said last night. “Okay. I shouldn’t take too long.” Slowly, he stood up, stretching on the way. He waved goodbye and left the apartment, his heart beating abnormally quickly.

Marinette sighed in relief. Well, that makes things easier. I could even watch over him as Ladybug to make sure he’s safe!

She bounced up and grabbed both plates. Tikki flew out of her bag as Marinette danced over to the sink, humming happily.

“You seem really happy,” Tikki pointed out.

“Why wouldn’t I be? Adrien is basically living with me! This is the closest I’ve been with him...ever!” She turned on the warm water and grabbed the sponge lying next to the faucet.

“Well, I’m happy that you’re happy!” Tikki smiled. “But...don’t forget why he’s here in the first place.”

Marinette looked up at her kwami as she scrubbed the plates. “I know...it’s not safe anymore. We have to be on our toes 24/7.” She looked back down to set the clean plate on the drying rack. “If it means helping Adrien, I’d put my life on the line.” She placed the other clean plate next to the one already sitting in the drying rack. “Anyway, it’s time for our patrol. Tikki spots on!”

With a bright flash of light, she turned into Ladybug. She walked up to her rooftop balcony, ready for another boring patrol. Looking out over Paris, she searched for any nearby danger, none to be seen. Satisfied, she hooked her yo-yo on a rooftop far away and flew across the rooftops, looking for Adrien.

Adrien walked closer to his house. His heart pounded faster and faster with each step. He had to look around constantly to make sure nobody was following him. It wasn’t great, but it was a small price to pay for satisfaction. The mansion appeared in eyesight once he switched streets. It felt like bad karma being there. His senses were on ultra-sensitivity mode, every single change in atmosphere, every sound, every smell setting off alarms.

An akuma appeared in his vision as it flew over the gate protecting the large house. It sent his emergency systems haywire. He froze, watching it dance closer to him. Shaking his head, he ran back around the corner and let Plagg fly out of his pocket.

“Plagg claws out!” He said with almost no emotion. Once he was Chat Noir, he felt his body disconnect from Adrien’s problems ever so slightly. It was enough to make him feel more like himself.

He pulled out his staff and opened the phone. Quickly, he called Ladybug, hoping she’d pick up soon. Relief flooded his body when he heard her pick up. “What’s up, kitty?”

“Just spotted an akuma near the Agreste Mansion.”

She gasped. “Adrien...” she whispered.

“What about him?” Just as he said that it all clicked in his head. The akuma was out for him. His father was looking for him, and he had foolishly fallen into his trap. “M’Lady, come quickly,” he ordered just as the akuma entered the staff.

An extremely powerful evil entered his mind, enhancing all of his negative emotions. He stumbled, trying his hardest to resist the mind control.

“Chat Blanc,” Hawkmoth began, his voice appearing in his mind, “I am Hawkmoth, although I’m sure you know that already. I’m giving you the power to destroy everything that brings you pain. In return, you will get me Ladybug’s Miraculous and bring me yours along with it.”

Chat Noir shook his head. “No...I won’t listen to you,” he muttered, trying his hardest to stay sane. His back hit the wall behind him. The world turned dark, Hawkmoth’s face appearing in the void. It was the last face he wanted to see. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to get rid of his disgusting face, but it was there, too.

“If you successfully get me Ladybug’s Miraculous, I will let you destroy me too.”

“No...please...I don’t...want to hurt anyone...” He tried letting go of the staff, but it wouldn’t work. It was as if his hand was super-glued to it. Something in him was holding him back from dropping it. An emotion deep down that was subconsciously telling him there was no hope.

“Oh, you don’t have to hurt anyone. All you have to do is erase the things that remind you of all the pain you so desperately need to let go. Once you let go of all your pain, you won’t have to feel so horrible anymore.”

His eyes widened, the mind control finally taking hold of the last bits of sanity he had left. All of his sanity screamed as it was overtaken by the heavy influence of the akuma. “Yes, Hawkmoth,” he muttered mindlessly, Chat Noir no longer present.

Ladybug dropped her yo-yo, having heard every single word of Chat Noir’s struggle and Hawkmoth’s successful attempt to bring him to the dark side. The one person she entrusted her life with, the person she felt closest with, had been akumatized. He had been in pain and she hadn’t known about it. Hawkmoth knew and he happily took advantage of that. She cursed herself for not knowing his pain earlier.

She looked over at the Agreste Mansion, watching a white figure jump on its rooftop.

“Chat...” she muttered sadly, the reality of her newest enemy washing over her.

[inkskinned]

literally just a dumb unorganized list of school tips

source: im a grad student. i’ve had a lot of school. also i’m adhd & mentally ill and require +8 organization. this is mostly directed @ college students, but maybe high school students can use it too, fuck, idk, it’s been forever since i was stuck in that hell hole

just say “professor” either ur using the correct title for a person (will make them feel good) or you’re giving them a bigger title on the assumption they deserve it (which will make them feel good) and also prevents having to ever i mean ever use their names

talk at least 1 time a week in each class, aim for 1 time a day. even lecture classes. i fucking hate talking in front of more than 5 people, so what i would do is prepare a question about the hw/etc (even if i didn’t need it answered) to ask the professor after class so they saw me and got used to me and saw i was invested in their class. about 89% of teachers - if they see you try, they will pass you. i mean it’s literally that easy. i know people who went from like a c- but because they legit tried, their grade got bumped up to a b-. 

if u have to bring a laptop, pre-download the required material/screenshot it, and then turn off your wifi. it’s too easy to not listen.

physical writing will always give you more information recall over typing.

nobody cares about stupid shit anymore trust me they don’t remember that you were accidentally locked in a towel out of your room bc they have their own dumb shit that happened.... in college all the “cringe culture” turns into “god i wish that were me” culture ... wear ur onesie to a party trust me you make +800 friends and 799 of them will be girls telling you you’re adorable and they’d die for you

about locking urself out.... if ur like me and can breeze past post-it notes placed in obvious areas, don’t be a dumb bitch and rely on post-it-notes. while most schools offer 1 free lockout, dont rely on it - it once took 2 hours before someone could get to me. i was in a towel, which meant no phone. so like. anyway, what i do now is i put something on the handle of the door i have to open/unlock. i can’t just open the door w/out the thing falling down and making a loud “you dumb bitch unlock the door before u shower” sound. 

this works for all important don’t-forget it things. other obstacles i’ve used to remind myself to do something include: putting a chair with my wholeass posterboard in front of the door, an entire printer with a single piece of paper that just read “for the love of god check to be sure you have that essay”, and a recycling bin i kept forgetting to empty. guess what bitch finally emptied the bin once it was between me and a swift exit!

no offense and like the whole “it’s the best years of your life!” thing is great but in reality everything goes better scholastically when you treat it as “i came here to win, not to make friends.” i still did make friends, went to parties every weekend, was popular enough i’d be invited to several on one night - but i came there to win. when i put my scholastic life and my mental health first, i went from a 2.0 to a 3.98. yes you can, bitch.

you’re spending the money. don’t squander it. trust me when i say i know plenty of people who breeze through, bc you often can. but like. don’t. challenge yourself bc like. talk about an investment.

if you hate your major, change it. don’t make your life something you can’t stand. on that note, do NOT agree 100% to a track until you have at least some experience in the field. i cannot tell u how many ppl i know who got their whole masters/phd program done, walked into their new profession, and were like, Oh Fuck, I Can’t Live Like This.

college literally offers so many free things and if you’re not taking advantage of them whenever possible i get it but like. try to take advantage of them. this is everything from your gym (which probably has free classes dude) to clubs to like. sober events. these sober events are so ... fuckin good dude i’ve made mason jars with little plants in em... bee aviaries... candles.... go to the free stuff

oh ps on free stuff i wanna say about 4 of 5 days there’s free food on campus just look for things like job fairs, presentations, or discussion groups. also while you’re there at the job fair like. u know, go to the job fair in earnest

i took off 2 years to work and also to just. recover from my bullshit. and it took me 6 years and 3 schools to get my bachelor’s. it wasn’t easy but bitch i lived. there’s no such thing as “too long” to graduate if that’s truly what you want to do.

if on the meal plan, eat as clean as you can the first week. then introduce each part of the cafeteria’s possibly-food-poisoning-creating foods one at a time. give @ least 2 days between each experiment so you know for sure if you get sick what caused it. i literally never eat meat at school but you can still get sick off of unwashed lettuce/salad dressing that hasn’t been refrigerated properly/weirdass things you won’t even think of. this prevents like. dying in a public bathroom.

white loaf bread can be gross & boring. discount bakery section for your slightly chewy artisianal bread needs. if overstale, either toast it or dunk it into water and microwave it (unless u got an oven. use the oven if u can)

steal as many apples from the dining hall/events/etc as physically possible just do it they keep FOREVER and @ some point you’ll be like. fUCK i need a nutrition. ps if you’re keeping them in ur backpack (i wouldn’t keep more than 2) make sure to wrap w/a few paper towels so if you drop your bag you don’t get apple mush

write it all down bitch. “i’ll remember it” no you won’t. unless you are capable of remembering every idea on this list and in order, you won’t remember it. in general, if you write something 3 times, you will recall it correctly at least 80% of the time. i also read it out loud to myself, bc, you know, auditory recall

DO NOT just put your assignment at the top of your notes, unless you’re 100% sure that will work for you. in most cases, it’s much better to have a planner/agenda/place you expect to look for assignments. +7 points if you lie to yourself about deadlines and move them all up.

like not to sound too much like a DARE ad but like. if you don’t like it/don’t want it, don’t fuckin do it. the idea that “there’s nothing to do if you don’t party” is such bullshit. like i promise if you’re like “i am a grouch and want to stay in and binge netflix” about 45 ppl will show up in pjs like “bitch fullscreen it, im a grouch too.” there’s also like. the chance to just.... not overindulge. on wednesdays i have “wine wednesdays” where we sit around and drink a glass of wine while we do our hw. it’s chill and friendly instead of like. drink until u vomit. don’t feel like you either gotta slam the breaks or the gas pedal, is what i mean.

PLEASE know the signs of alcohol poisoning/overdose. most schools have a “Safety Always Matters Most” policy, which means that you can call for help w/out getting into trouble. if you think someone is in danger, act. this also goes for making sure ppl get home safe even if they’re just incapacitated, not poisoned. step in, dudes.

also just. notice when ur starting to rely on stuff too much. i’m super easily addicted to things, so i keep a healthy distance from liquor. i don’t let myself “drink to feel better” bc that’s a scary, scary thing to link to feeling better. if you or somebody u know starts drinking all the time/gets anxious if they don’t drink/drinks in the daytime .... get help. schools have counselling services for a reason.

you’re gonna get a cold/flu of some sort in the first 2 months just brace for it. in the meantime, drink vitamin c, try not to touch too many handles, and when people say “there’s something going around” believe them.

watch kaplan nike just do it 

if you can teach it, you know the material. a super good way of knowing if you studied the right way is to try and teach the material to a stuffed animal/imaginary class.

“i don’t know how to study” bitch me too the fuck. this is usually bc we’ve been taught that studying is just sitting down and staring @ ur notes. it’s not. it’s different for everyone, and you need to understand it’s 99% preventative care. if you don’t go to the class or do the homework, studying is going to fucking suck, bc you’re learning the material all at once for the first time. the place you should consider “studying” is “i’m confident in 70-90% of the material, but need to review.” do not let yourself fall behind .... just go to office hours and ask questions if ur not getting something. studying should feel like you’re remembering what you already knew but kinda forgot, not like you’ve been blindsided.

the whole “writing it down in ur own words” while u have been told this 700 times it really helps bc it means u gotta translate it through your own understanding. if you can’t, and it’s not bc the material seems too obvious to you to state in another way - ask yourself if you don’t understand the material. chances are u are missing a bit of info.

i know it’s like A Thing that Some People do but i never had the mental health points for it but i know some people just take 15 minutes after every class to review their notes. since i’m 100% early to every class ever, obnoxiously so, i try to do it before class. having the last class’s notes up in my head super helps. like. put down the phone i know you’re socially anxious me too but review those notes. chances are if u start flipping through pages other ppl will too. this is also fun bc as soon as you start this whole thing, at least one person will be like “is there a test?” no bitch there’s no test but im gonna be ready when there is!

literally so much of success is fucking posturing i could link about 800 peer-edited studies that show that when a student is expected to do well (and knows they are), they do well. like i literally didn’t change my appearance at all, never bothered to look nice (once winter hits i wear 67 layers all the time), but when i showed up after my 2 years off from school, i presented myself with the whole “i came here to win” vibe and people... really respected me? i mean in hs i remember ppl saying shit like “yeah, well, you aren’t gonna have the homework”. by the time i was in college i had an honest-to-god conversation which included someone being like “so tell me what you’re overachieving at right now” like they just expected it from me. wild.

i live by “bite off more than you can chew, and then CHEW IT” but it’s probably unhealthy. the truth is that i have a lot of energy all the time (lmao adhd!!!) and i used to get told i was “trying too hard” and for a long time (still???) i didn’t (i don’t?) know what that was, you know, bc i had a D average, clearly i wasn’t trying. it turns out i was just. putting all my energy into stuff that wasn’t making me happy like toxic friendships etc. when i decided “nope, all this energy is for me and my schoolwork”..... uhhhhh suddenly i was a golden child and everyone praised my try-hardness ... it’s a fuckt up system tbh

take at least 1 class just for fun. i try to do that every semester. it helps break up all the requirements. if you’re like an engineer and got no time or credits left to spend, try to audit your fun course.

make ur advisor love you i don’t care what it takes make them cupcakes show up to thank them i dONT CARE just do it 

the library isn’t always the best place. if i start getting anxious bc i pavlovian train myself that library=work, i find a new place to go to do hw. try to go outside if you can!!! not like where i live bc like it’s snow all the time but try. a little green really really really helps depression. 

if you’ve been in the same “Studying” place for 1 hour and haven’t done anything the chances are Something Isn’t Right. first, look @ ur body. are you not focusing bc of some pressing physical need? sometimes just taking a shower and coming back helps. are you uncomfy? are you too comfy and going to sleep? if body okay, look @ the material. do you not understand it? do you just need to switch to a new topic for a little bit? can you find a youtube video that will help you better understand it? make notes on what you don’t get so you can ask in the next class. if it’s not the material, it’s not ur bod, check the Actual Space. sometimes just getting up, going for a short walk to a new place, and trying it there actually? really works? if none of this is working.... try ur brain next. hardest to reset bc like, what, turn it on and off again? i use things like caffeine, a short workout, a nap, or a podcast all to just... give me a little boost. 

don’t be afraid to leave. i mean this about class, friend groups, and the college ur at. just get up on outta there if ur not feelin it. i cannot recommend “drop the class” enough. even if it’s a required course see if u can switch the times if u hate the professor day 3 it’s not gonna get better just get the fuCK out

don’t nap in the same position u go to sleep in, nap upside down w/ur head away from ur pillow. don’t ask me why but it works to 1. fall asleep faster 2. make sure u sleep okay at night and 3. wake up less annoyed 

on that note don’t ever do anything in ur bed in a sleeping position unless it’s genuinely sleeping in it. body will get confused. just sit up, lazybones.

when/if the library has those therapy dogs during finals week.... just go pet them make the time for it

ask before hugging people, but don’t expect a “yes”

get a backpack that fits and doesn’t hurt ur back u fuckin hippie idc how cool it is to wear ur backpack super low just don’t do it it’s not worth it

the tutoring center is a fucking goldmine.... free essay edits my dudes

bring a fan dorms are always hotter than u expect

switch dorms if u can if u realize ur in the wrong room/wrong roomate like just don’t bother with nonsense

when in doubt, follow preschool rules. tell ppl when they did something cool, just ask when u need help, and be confident even in your mistakes, because at least u tried

[sorenmarie87]

In The Middle Of The Ride characters

I forgot I had this but if you want to get to know some of my original babies - Here you go. 

Name: Ryuichi A. Madison Age: 18 Height: 5’1’’ Parents: Mom (Elizabeth)- DJ Dad (Jack)- Animator Eye Color: Light Green Hair Color: D. Brown (Dyes it red)

Background: Before Ryuichi was born her mother (Elizabeth) was in college to become a prize-winning pianist but followed Jack to England. (She changed her major to become a DJ), overseas she became famous while Jack worked at his animation.  Before having Ryuichi, Jack and Elizabeth were married on September 7th 1986.  On July 31st 1987, Ryuichi was born and she meets Will for the time when he’s in the hospital visiting his father.  When she was 3, they moved back to America (Jack had been offered a job working on his newest cartoon and they had requests for Elizabeth in nightclubs).

Name: Madeline (Maddie) Parker Age:  18 Height: 5’6’’ Parents: Mom- Chef   Dad- Teacher (Geometry teacher) Eye Color: Hazel Hair Color:  Red Loves: Writing, singing and dancing

Background: Moved from Louisiana and meet Cordy and Ryu in the 4th grade.  She was born on a floating boat casino on May 8th, 1987.  Maddie loves to write music and singing occasionally. She has an older sister named Isabelle and an older brother named Martin (Marty) She also has a younger sister, Leora, and another younger brother named Daniel.

Name: Cordelia (Cordy) Turner Age: 18 Height: 5’8’’ Parents: Lives w/ mom- College professor Eye Color: blue Hair Color: black hair Born on August 3rd, 1987

Background:  Her parents separated when she was four years old and no one has seen her father since then.  Cordy’s mom teaches at the elementary school for the fourth grade.  Her, Maddie and Ryuichi have tried starting a band (hasn’t performed yet).  Maddie writes, Ryuichi plays the guitar and Cordelia sings (although she tries very hard to get Ryuichi to sing)

Name: Lucille (Lucy) Taylor Age:  18 Height: 5’10’’ Parents: Mom (Leilani)- lawyer Dad (Luke)- Animator   Eye Color: D. Brown Hair Color:  D. Brown

Born on April 1st, 1986

Lucy is the type of person who acts and talks tough, but is really a great person to be around.  Lucy is very protective of her family (Lucas and Ryuichi def.)  Lucas and Lucy are only a few hours apart, but Lucas is the older sibling.  (Fraternal twins) Has some anger issues, and when her dad finds out she's dating someone named Lindsey, he assumes that his daughter is a lesbian... but she isn't.

Name: Alice Wonderly Age:  17 Height: 5’3’’ Parents:  Mom- Nurse Eye Color:  Blue Hair Color:  Blonde Born on October 13th, 1988

Background: Alice was born in the country.  She was born on Oct. 13, 1988.  Was friends with Ryuichi and Erin when they were in elementary/middle school.

(She's the kind of person that if there's someone her friend doesn't like, she doesn't like that person either.  Goes with the crowd basically.  Although she considers Ryuichi a very good friend.)

Very kind and considerate, she is very protective of her friends & family.  Alice is an only child and lives at home with her mom.  Others consider her bad luck, but she is very lucky actually.

Very quiet

Name: Erin Ophelia Mackenzie Age: 17 Height: 5’5’’ Parents: Mom - Lawyer Dad - Doctor Eye Color:  amber with flecks of honey Hair Color: red (short) Born on September 15th, 1987

Background: Erin was actually Ryuichi's first best friend.  They met for the first time in the 2nd grade.  Her birthday is on Sept. 15, 1987.  Over time, she drifted from her friends and became very interested in other things (I.E. sports and whatever else) She stopped talking to Ryuichi because a major argument they had.  To get back at Ryu (because Erin always has to get her way) she has to bully her in some way.

-Interested in Will only because she finds Ryuichi's reaction amusing

Name: Hilda Roberts "Quatre" Age: 23 Height: 5’6’’ Eye color: Aqua blue Hair color: Blonde

Background:  Lindsey’s older sister who married the owner of a clothing shop.  She met her husband Wolfram in college while she was studying theatrics; she’s good at improv, which explains the toaster.  She was working with the fashion students on a production her class was putting on; they were introduced and instantly were attracted.  Anita and Pilot like Hilda, mainly because they feared their son was gay, but are happy with his choice.

Name: Charlie White Age: 22 Height: 5'7'' Parents: mom- works at a library, dad- works at an advertising agency Hair Color: Brown w/ red highlights eye color: Blue

Background: Charlie was born on Dec. 31, 1985 in a small town.  She has one younger sister named Remy who is 12.  Her parents are married, and she hopes for the same kind of relationship.  Met and started dating Dominic in his freshman year (her junior year) So she has gotten used to him dressing in girl's clothes from time to time.

Works at a coffee shop on her college campus and still lives in town.  Is unsure if she should go see Dominic or not.  (Her feelings for him never changed.) Working on a degree in early childhood.

Name: Will Sparrow Age: 18 Height: 6’2’’ Parents: lives with grandparents Eye Color:  Blue Hair Color: Black -Born on February 12th, 1986

Background: Will was born on Feb. 12, 1986 in a small province of England.  He is the middle child out of three younger sisters (Yasmin-3, Aiden-11, Rhiannon-15) and two older brothers (Caden-21, Benjamin-28)  When he was three years old his father was in the hospital for an extended amount of time.  The night he met Ryuichi's mom, he was on his way home from visiting his dad.  His grandparents offered to take care of him until his dad got better.  He used to play and visit with Ryuichi until the day she moved to America (He never forgot the promise they made when they were little...)  His grandparents moved to America a few months later, and Will's mom sent him to live with them.  He was home tutored until 15, then he was sent to a high school near them and for his junior year, they moved him to LHS.  His other siblings still live in London with his parents.

Name: Jamie Starr Age: 18 Height: 5’11’’ Parents: None. Lives with older sister and her husband. Eye Color:  Brown Hair Color:  Brown

Background: He was born March 30th 1988 in New York City. His parents died in a car accident three years ago. Jamie's sister took him in after the accident. They just recently moved to the area where Jamie met Ryuichi and her friends. Jamie's sister and her husband own a popular coffee shop/bakery in town. Jamie loves to write. He also loves sweets.

Name: Mark Renart Age: 24 Height: 6’2 Eye Color: Green Hair Color:  Blonde

Background: He is the newest addition to Lasiter High School. He teaches honors and AP English for the juniors and seniors. He lives in an apartment near the school. Mark usually isn't into dating anyone younger, but clearly he makes an exception for one of the students...

Name: Lindsey Houst Age: 18 Height: 6’4’’ Parents: Mom & Dad own a restaurant Eye Color: Brown Hair Color: Sandy Blonde -Born on November 29th, 1986

-Moved from Australia when he was 10 and his parents own a restaurant called “Sheila's”

Name: Lucas Taylor Age:  18 Height: 6’1’’ Parents: Lives at home occasionally stays with Elizabeth & Jack Eye Color: D. Brown Hair Color:  D. Brown -Born on April 1st, 1986 -He is Ryuichi’s cousin and Lucy’s brother.

Name: Gavin Smith Age: 18 Height:  5’11’ Parents: Mom - writer Dad-owns his own business Eye Color:  Hazel Hair Color: Brown

Background: Born on March 11th, 1986 but no one actually knows how his eyes got to be orange, but a lot of people don’t believe he wears contacts.  Gavin’s family moved from place to place before settling into his home in the city.  His older sister is named Samira, his younger brothers are Samuel, Brody, and Tommy, and his younger sister is Joanne.  He went to middle school with Cordy, Maddie, and Ryuichi.

Name: Dominic Hayden Howard Age: 18 Height: 6’0’’ Parents: Lives with his sister (Penny) and her girlfriend (Cassidy) -parents are in Ireland Ashton- Penny's son Eye Color: Green Hair Color:  Red -Born on January 3rd, 1986

Background: Dominic’s parents first met when they were on a trip to Ireland and moved to the U.S. after Penny was born.  He was born on Jan. 3, 1986.   Transferred from different schools due to bullying and harassment issues from other students, and has only been in an all-boys school once. The last school he was in was where he met Charlie.  After 2 yrs of dating, Charlie broke up with him and he moved again.  He spent a year trying to make other friends but it didn't succeed.   On his first day of school at Lasiter High, many people were shocked to find he was a boy, and not a girl. Lives with his sister Penny, her girlfriend Cassidy and their son Ashton.  They take vacations with their mom and dad but this year he declined.  

Name: Sebestyen Erikson Age: 28 Height: 6’ Parents: both therapists Eye color: Left- blue, right- green Hair color: faded Green

Background:  With both of his parents being therapists, Sebestyen’s childhood was very messed up.  His family originated from Germany where his parents met at school.  They moved from various areas of Europe before moving to America.  Although he was teased in school, he refused to go to any psychiatrists or therapist, so he resorted to storytelling so he could tell half-truths to everyone around him.  Knows Hilda, Penny and Cassidy from middle school but hasn’t seen them in forever.  Works at the high school as a janitor and as a greeter for stores when it’s Christmas time.  Sebestyen is easy to get along with; he just needs some getting used to.

Name: Wolfram Roberts Age: 29 Height: 6’2” Parents: Anita and Pilot Roberts Eye color: Unknown, he where’s contacts with a different color every day. (NOTE: Not even Quatre knows!) Hair color: Platinum Blonde

Background:  He is married to Hilda, Lindsey’s sister.  He owns a clothing shop and sells his own clothing from his own line of clothes rightfully called “Ambiguous”.  The gang frequently refers to him as Lindsey’s “Ambiguously gay brother in-law”.  His parents Anita and Pilot are rich business owners, along with Wolfram’s brother Zeb and his sisters Manon and Mem, or otherwise considered by Wolfram seeing as he is the youngest, “The Triplets”.  It is thought that the multitude of tea parties and dress up games Manon and Mem forced him into caused the resulted Ambiguously gay Wolfram.

[joo-heo-n]

Flour Boy

Genre: Fluff

Member: Minhyuk

Word Count: 2,298

a/n: It’s done!!!!!

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 

You were jealous, of course, how could you not be when Minhyuk was talking and smiling with his sweetly glazed smile to a girl who seemed to be enchanted by him. I mean, it was hard not to stare at his soft milky skin, cocoa hair and doughy eyes, but still. Were you being too much in assuming he’d only offer that signature smile to you?

You had watched far too long at this point, sipping occasionally on the straw for your drink that Minhyuk had practically forced you to drink. You stared one last time before going back to your task at hand, finishing the homework before you. You wondered if you looked exactly the same as her whenever others saw you with him. You sighed and got busy for the following minutes. Forgetting about Minhyuk’s new friend momentarily.

“Hey I’m done with my shift” Minhyuk said, startling you and making you look at the time on your phone. “Yeah, you worked for two hours, I didn’t think you were so good at studying” he added jokingly, sitting across from you. You met his gaze and scoffed, “Well now you know” you said, a bit too bland at that. Minhyuk leaned back in his chair and smiled, “Let’s get something to eat- oh wait, there was something I wanted you to try” he blurted, standing up suddenly and heading for the showcase.

You let out a sigh and watched him grab a pastry, nearly skipping all the way back as he sat across from you again and took your hand, placing the pastry there. “Try it, I’ll put your things away” he said, taking your backpack and fixing everything inside it carefully as you took a bite of the food. You moaned at the taste, “What do you put in these things they’re so good!” you stated, still chewing and taking another bite. Minhyuk raised his eyebrows, “Right? Let’s go” he said, getting up and throwing your backpack over his shoulder, watching you stand and follow after him. You finished up the pastry and realized, maybe you weren’t as upset about earlier events since he was now carrying your backpack and taking you to eat.

“Where are we going?” you asked, licking your lips as you glanced at Minhyuk who suddenly looked slightly more stiff at your side. He let out an awkward chuckle and met your gaze, “I-I don’t know, where do you want to eat?” he asked, beginning to go on about the places the two of you had already been to and the ones you hadn’t. You stared at him in amusement, suddenly his easy going demeanor had disappeared for a second and you could see right through him, he was nervous and you had no clue as for the reason. You simply agreed to one of the places he suggested and dismissed the miniscule vulnerability you were able to see.

Before you could let that thought sink any further, he was leading you to the restaurant and chatted up about the day and his concerns, firing up new thoughts in your head. “You seemed like you were having a blast today what do you mean?” you blurted, only realizing the harshness in your tone a beat too late while Minhyuk held the door of the restaurant open for you. “Wow that sounded too mean” you then added, trying to cover up your embarrassment with a stifled chuckle. Minhyuk smiled warmly and shrugged, “You’re half honest” he said, making you elbow him playfully, his arm tentatively extending as he set it on your shoulders momentarily, his hand tapping at your shoulder before he was then letting it all return to his side. He cleared his throat and grinned, “W-What do you want?” he asked, but you couldn’t help and feel internally perplexed. Had he just attempted to hug you?

“Y/N?” he said, and you turned to him, flustered and bringing your hands to clasp tightly behind your back, “Um, order for me, I like anything” you replied, your smile wavering as your stomach jumped repeatedly inside you. Minhyuk went ahead and suggested a few things for you to try and you, without much of a fight, agreed on whatever sounded the most tasty. The two of you went ahead and sat at a table for two as you waited for your order, and you wanted to ask many things to him but only one question kept making it’s way to the front. Just as you were about ready to ask, he beat you to it and left you staring at him like a deer caught by headlights. “Do you like me?” he asked, and your brain instantly went blank.

“What?” you asked after a long pause of silence, earning a stifled laugh from his end. “I just think sometimes you hang out with me because you feel bad or are too nice to turn me down” he stated, and you felt the temperature in your body drop at the relief. “O-Oh, no, you’re fun, I like hanging out with you a lot” you confessed, waving your hands in front of you and adjusting your posture, trying to appear much more nonchalant than how you actually felt. Minhyuk nodded and smiled, “That’s good, then we’re on the same page” he said, making you grin, “You’re so random” you commented, looking away and feeling your fingers fidget in your lap.

Soon after your order was served and the two of you began to dig in, doing small talk and little jokes every so often. The food had finished too soon and the night had crept upon you before you had realized as the two of you finally headed out of the restaurant. You joked with Minhyuk for a moment but felt him become much more serious, as if something in his mind were to be keeping him from fully paying attention to you. You refrained from being playful and settled for a small smile and content stomach until the two of you reached your car outside of the bakery.

You turned to him with a sigh and smiled widely, “I’ll see you tomorrow?” you chirped, but instantly felt a very heavy weight land on your shoulders as Minhyuk met your gaze with a somber expression. “You okay? You haven’t really… talked since we left” you said timidly, feeling like maybe you were pushing too far with your concern. Minhyuk instantly shook his head and giggled, “No- I mean yes, I’m okay, but I just have… a lot in my head” he said, making you nod slowly as you pressed your lips into a thin line. He seemed to have something more to say to you but it never came your way so you simply sighed and chuckled, “I’ll see you” you said to which Minhyuk chuckled loudly to, throwing his head back and whining. You stared at him and laughed a little to yourself, “Just say it!” you said, as he looked back at you once more with a grin, “No, I’ll tell you tomorrow” he stated and you narrowed your eyes at him in suspicion.

“Go!” he said loudly, laughing and opening the door to your car for you. You grinned and stepped inside as he watched you turn on the engine and drive away.

It had been nearly two hours of texting and calling Minhyuk but you got nothing from his end. You wondered if he had suddenly gotten busy or if he had to make it to school for something, but no matter how much you called and texted to ask, it was like he was not even alive. You let out a long breath and groaned, “Why are you like this?” you said, staring at your cellphone screen. You wouldn’t have minded any other time, except you had gotten ready to meet up with him and there had been nothing to tell you hey, change of plans, or hey don’t get ready anymore. “Screw it” you then said, getting up from your bed and taking your things, heading for the door.

You drove to the bakery, peeking inside from outside, squinting in hopes of finding chocolate hair and colgate smile somewhere behind the showcase, but to your unfortunate luck, nothing like it appeared. You made your way inside and Minhyuk’s coworkers greeted you, “You’re looking for Minhyuk?” he asked from behind the register. You nodded and approached slowly, feeling slightly embarrassed because had you spent that much time together that even the workers knew you were here to see him?

“He’ll be here in a few minutes, he said he was running late and to tell you to just wait for him at one of the tables” he instructed and you thanked him, looking for a table for two to sit at. You felt like the minutes dragged out and five turned into ten and ten turned into fifteen. You were beginning to feel lethargic and very, oh so very hungry. You stared at your cellphone and at the messages you had sent Minhyuk, not sure as to why you looked at the screen so hard because he probably would not answer if he was rushing on his way to work like he always did.

Just then you heard the door open and Minhyuk stepped inside, hair disheveled and cheeks flushed as he panted, searching for you and smiling as soon as he spotted you. “I’m so sorry I’m late something came up last minute, let’s go?” he asked, taking your hand in his and already guiding you out of the bakery. You were trying hard not to be upset at how much you had waited, and your hunger wasn’t helping, but feeling Minhyuk’s fingers laced with yours, made any negative thoughts subside. “Where are we going?” you asked and Minhyuk took you to one of the small tables on the outside of the bakery and sat you down, “Wait here” he then said, not giving you a chance to protest as he went back inside the bakery.

You waited a few seconds before he was coming back out with a plate decorated with a few of what you knew was the bakery’s specialties. He sat before you and placed the plate between the two of you. However, there was a small flag at the top of one of the cupcakes, but as you were about to turn the plate to read what was on it, Minhyuk pulled the plate closer to him and smiled, “Wait not yet” he said.

You chuckled, “Can I at least snack on one of these things?” you asked and he nodded, “Just not that one yet” he said, referring to the cupcake with the small flag. You ate at the goodies and questioned him, “What are we celebrating?” you asked and Minhyuk sighed, playing with the edge of the plate. “Nothing, but I just had something to talk to you about” he said, keeping his eyes trained on the goods as you watched him in suspicion. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed or not but we’ve been hanging out for around a month or two by now” he stated and you nodded slowly, still staring at him skeptically as he smiled sheepishly. He hummed and let out a nervous chuckle before meeting your gaze momentarily, making both of you laugh at his odd behavior and your suspicions of it.

“So what? Keep going” you said, motioning with your hand for him to continue. He grinned and cringed slightly, making you snicker at him. “Honestly- okay, I feel like I’ve been obvious but maybe you’re, I don’t know…” he said but then mumbled the sentence following that and you were as confused as ever. “What? I don’t get what you’re saying” you stated, giggling as you continued to eat.

Minhyuk let out a loud sigh and ran his hands through his face, then gave the cupcake with the flag one last look before meeting your gaze. “Y/N, I like you, a lot” he confessed and you felt your heart skip not one, but several beats as it suddenly hammered inside your chest. You felt yourself grow hot and you knew you had automatically stopped chewing because maybe your body knew you’d choke if you continued.

Minhyuk chuckled lightly and finally turned the cupcake to face you. The words on the flag standing out to you. You had your hand over your mouth without realizing until you read the flag and looked back at Minhyuk who seemed nervous as ever.

‘Baked with intention for you, topped with the icing to your heart.’

You hadn’t noticed how wide your eyes and mouth were as you stared at Minhyuk, stunned. “I tried being sweet but it’s just… Cheesy” he said with a giggle and you shook your head, unable to do much of anything else. “I like you a lot, and I was hoping you’d feel the same for me” he said and you nodded making him sigh with relief, “Do you want to be my girlfriend?” he then asked, his eyes searching yours desperately as you gasped and let out an awkward laugh, trying to swallow what was in your mouth carefully. Your lungs were making it fairly hard for you to breathe as your heart continued to beat at an unusual rate. You finally finished up and smiled, “Yes” you said softly and you swore you saw Minhyuk give you the brightest smile you had ever seen. Doughy eyes forming crescents and chocolate hair falling atop of them as he took your hand in his and both of you reveled in the sweet things that had brought both of you together.

You swore you had never thanked marble bites so much in your life.

[fleurfest2017-blog]

The Second Bakery Attack

by Haruki Murakami

I'm still not sure I made the right choice when I told my wife about the bakery attack. But then, it might not have been a question of right and wrong. Which is to say that wrong choices can produce right results, and vice versa. I myself have adopted the position that, in fact, we never choose anything at all. Things happen. Or not.

If you look at it this way, it just so happens that I told my wife about the bakery attack. I hadn't been planning to bring it up--I had forgotten all about it--but it wasn't one of those now-that-you-mention-it kind of things, either.

What reminded me of the bakery attack was an unbearable hunger. It hit just before two o'clock in the morning. We had eaten a light supper at six, crawled into bed at nine-thirty, and gone to sleep. For some reason, we woke up at exactly the same moment. A few minutes later, the pangs struck with the force of the tornado in The Wizard of Oz. These were tremendous, overpowering hunger pangs.

Our refrigerator contained not a single item that could be technically categorized as food. We had a bottle of French dressing, six cans of beer, two shriveled onions, a stick of butter, and a box of refrigerator deodorizer. With only two weeks of married life behind us, we had yet to establish a precise conjugal understanding with regard to the rules of dietary behavior. Let alone anything else.

I had a job in a law firm at the time, and she was doing secretarial work at a design school. I was either twenty-eight or twenty-nine--why can't I remember the exact year we married?--and she was two years and eight months younger. Groceries were the last things on our minds.

We both felt too hungry to go back to sleep, but it hurt just to lie there. On the other hand, we were also too hungry to do anything useful. We got out of bed an ddrifted into the kitchen, ending up across the table from each other. What could have caused such violent hunger pangs?

We took turns opening the refrigerator door and hoping, but no matter how many times we looked inside, the contents never changed. Beer and onions and butter and dressing and deodorizer. It might have been possible to sauté the onions in the butter, but there was no chance those two shriveled onions could fill our empty stomachs. Onions are meant to be eaten with other things. They are not the kind of food you use to satisfy an appetite.

"Would madame care for some French dressing sautéed in deodorizer?"

I expected her to ignore my attempt at humor, and she did. "Let's get in the car and look for an all-night restaurant," I said. "There must be one on the highway."

She rejected that suggestion. "We can't. You're not supposed to go out to eat after midnight." She was old-fashioned that way.

I breathed once and said, "I guess not."

Whenever my wife expressed such an opinion (or thesis) back then, it reverberated in my ears with the authority of a revelation. Maybe that's what happens with newlyweds, I don't know. But when she said this to me, I began to think that this was a special hunger, not one that could be satisfied through the mere expedient of taking it to an all-night restaurant on the highway.

A special kind of hunger. And what might that be?

I can present it here in the form of a cinematic image.

One, I am in a little boat, floating on a quiet sea. Two, I look down, and in the water I see the peak of a volcano thrusting up from the ocean floor. Three, the peak seems pretty close to the water's surface, but just how close I cannot tell. Four, this is because the hypertransparency of the water interferes with the perception of distance.

This is a fairly accurate description of the image that arose in my mind during the two or three seconds between the time my wife said she refused to go to an all-night restaurant and I agreed with my "I guess not." Not being Sigmund Freud, I was, of course, unable to analyze with any precision what this image signified, but I knew intuitively that it was a revelation. Which is why--the almost grotesque intensity of my hunger notwithstanding--I all but automatically agreed with her thesis (or declaration).

We did the only thing we could do: opened the beer. It was a lot better than eating those onions. She didn't like beer much, so we divided the cans, two for her, four for me. While I was drinking the first one, she searched the kitchen shelves like a squirrel in November. Eventually, she turned up a package that had four butter cookies in the bottom. They were leftovers, soft and soggy, but we each ate two, savoring every crumb.

It was no use. Upon this hunger of ours, as vast and boundless as the Sinai Peninsula, the butter cookies and beer left not a trace.

Time oozed through the dark like a lead weight in a fish's gut. I read the print on the aluminum beer cans. I stared at my watch. I looked at the refrigerator door. I turned the pages of yesterday's paper. I used the edge of a postcard to scrape together the cookie crumbs on the tabletop.

"I've never been this hungry in my whole life," she said. "I wonder if it has anything to do with being married."

"Maybe," I said. "Or maybe not."

While she hunted for more fragments of food, I leaned over the edge of my boat and looked down at the peak of the underwater volcano. The clarity of the ocean water all around the boat gave me an unsettled feeling, as if a hollow had opened somewhere behind my solar plexus--a hermetically sealed cavern that had neither entrance nor exit. Something about this weird sense of absence--this sense of the existential reality of non-existence--resembled the paralyzing fear you might feel when you climb to the very top of a high steeple. This connection between hunger and acrophobia was a new discovery for me.

Which is when it occurred to me that I had once before had this same kind of experience. My stomach had been just as empty then....When?...Oh, sure, that was--

"The time of the bakery attack," I heard myself saying.

"The bakery attack? What are you talking about?"

And so it started.

"I once attached a bakery. Long time ago. Not a big bakery. Not famous. The bread was nothing special. Not bad, either. One of those ordinary little neighborhood bakeries right in the middle of a block of shops. Some old guy ran it who did everything himself. Baked in the morning, and when he sold out, he closed up for the day."

"If you were going to attack a bakery, why that one?"

"Well, there was no point in attacking a big bakery. All we wanted was bread, not money. We were attackers, not robbers."

"We? Who's we?"

"My best friend back then. Ten years ago. We were so broke we couldn't buy toothpaste. Never had enough food. We did some pretty awful things to get our hands on food. The bakery attack was one."

"I don't get it." She looked hard at me. Her eyes could have been searching for a faded star in the morning sky. "Why didn't you get a job? You could have worked after school. That would have been easier than attacking bakeries."

"We didn't want to work. We were absolutely clear on that."

"Well, you're working now, aren't you?"

I nodded and sucked some more beer. Then I rubbed my eyes. A kind of beery mud had oozed into my brain and was struggling with my hunger pangs.

"Times change. People change," I said. "Let's go back to bed. We've got to get up early."

"I'm not sleepy. I want you to tell me about the bakery attack."

"There's nothing to tell. No action. No excitement."

"Was it a success?"

I gave up on sleep and ripped open another beer. Once she gets interested in a story, she has to hear it all the way through. That's just the way she is.

"Well, it was kind of a success. And kind of not. We got what we wanted. But as a holdup, it didn't work. The baker gave us the bread before we could take it from him."

"Free?"

"Not exactly, no. That's the hard part." I shook my head. "The baker was a classical-music freak, and when we got there, he was listening to an album of Wagner overtures. So he made us a deal. If we would listen to the record all the way through, we could take as much bread as we liked. I talked it over with my buddy and we figured, Okay. It wouldn't be work in the purest sense of the word, and it wouldn't hurt anybody. So we put our knives back in our bag, pulled up a couple of chairs, and listened to the overtures to Tannhäuser and The Flying Dutchman."

"And after that, you got your bread?"

"Right. Most of what he had in the shop. Stuffed it in our bag and took it home. Kept us fed for maybe four or five days." I took another sip. Like soundless waves from an undersea earthquake, my sleepiness gave my boat a long, slow rocking.

"Of course, we accomplished our mission. We got the bread. But you couldn't say we had committed a crime. It was more of an exchange. We listened to Wagner with him, and in return, we got our bread. Legally speaking, it was more like a commercial transaction."

"But listening to Wagner is not work," she said.

"Oh, no, absolutely not. If the baker had insisted that we wash his dishes or clean his windows or something, we would have turned him down. But he didn't. All he wanted from us was to listen to his Wagner LP from beginning to end. Nobody could have anticipated that. I mean--Wagner? It was like the baker put a curse on us. Now that I think of it, we should have refused. We should have threatened him with our knives and taken the damn bread. Then there wouldn't have been any problem."

"You had a problem?"

I rubbed my eyes again.

"Sort of. Nothing you could put your finger on. But things started to change after that. It was kind of a turning point. Like, I went back to the university, and I graduated, and I started working for the firm and studying for the bar exam, and I met you and got married. I never did anything like that again. No more bakery attacks."

"That's it?"

"Yup, that's all there was to it." I drank the last of the beer. Now all six cans were gone. Six pull-tabs lay in the ashtray like scales from a mermaid.

Of course, it wasn't true that nothing had happened as a result of the bakery attack. There were plenty of things that you could easily have put your finger on, but I didn't want to talk about them with her.

"So, this friend of yours, what's he doing now?"

"I have no idea. Something happened, some nothing kind of thing, and we stopped hanging around together. I haven't seen him since. I don't know what he's doing."

For a while, she didn't speak. She probably sensed that I wasn't telling her the whole story. But she wasn't ready to press me on it.

"Still," she said, "that's why you two broke up, isn't it? The bakery attack was the direct cause."

"Maybe so. I guess it was more intense than either of us realized. We talked about the relationship of bread to Wagner for days after that. We kept asking ourselves if we had made the right choice. We couldn't decide. Of course, if you look at it sensibly, we did make the right choice. Nobody got hurt. Everybody got what he wanted. The baker--I still can't figure out why he did what he did--but anyway, he succeeded with his Wagner propaganda. And we succeeded in stuffing our faces with bread.

"But even so, we had this feeling that we had made a terrible mistake. And somehow, this mistake has just stayed there, unresolved, casting a dark shadow on our lives. That's why I used the word 'curse.' It's true. It was like a curse."

"Do you think you still have it?"

I took the six pull-tabs from the ashtray and arranged them into an aluminum ring the size of a bracelet.

"Who knows? I don't know. I bet the world is full of curses. It's hard to tell which curse makes any one thing go wrong."

"That's not true." She looked right at me. "You can tell, if you think about it. And unless you, yourself, personally break the curse, it'll stick with you like a toothache. It'll torture you till you die. And not just you. Me, too."

"You?"

"Well, I'm your best friend now, aren't I? Why do you think we're both so hungry? I never, ever, once in my life felt a hunger like this until I married you. Don't you think it's abnormal? Your curse is working on me, too."

I nodded. Then I broke up the ring of pull-tabs and put them back in the ashtray. I didn't know if she was right, but I did feel she was onto something.

The feeling of starvation was back, stronger than ever, and it was giving me a deep headache. Every twinge of my stomach was being transmitted to the core of my head by a clutch cable, as if my insides were equipped with all kinds of complicated machinery.

I took another look at my undersea volcano. The water was even clearer than before--much clearer. Unless you looked closely, you might not even notice it was there. It felt as though the boat were floating in midair, with absolutely nothing to support it. I could see every little pebble on the bottom. All I had to do was reach out and touch them.

"We've only been living together for two weeks," she said, "but all this time I've been feeling some kind of weird presence." She looked directly into my eyes and brought her hands together on the tabletop, her fingers interlocking. "Of course, I didn't know it was a curse until now. This explains everything. You're under a curse."

"What kind of presence?"

"Like there's this heavy, dusty curtain that hasn't been washed for years, hanging down from the ceiling."

"Maybe it's not a curse. Maybe it's just me," I said, and smiled.

She did not smile.

"No, it's not you," she said.

"Okay, suppose you're right. Suppose it is a curse. What can I do about it?"

"Attack another bakery. Right away. Now. It's the only way."

"Now?"

"Yes. Now. While you're still hungry. You have to finish what you left unfinished."

"But it's the middle of the night. Would a bakery be open now?"

"We'll find one. Tokyo's a big city. There must be at least one all-night bakery."

We got into my old Corolla and started drifting around the streets of Tokyo at 2:30 a.m., looking for a bakery. There we were, me clutching the steering wheel, she in the navigator's seat, the two of us scanning the street like hungry eagles in search of prey. Stretched out on the backseat, long and stiff as a dead fish, was a Remington automatic shotgun. Its shells rustled dryly in the pocket of my wife's windbreaker. We had two black ski masks in the glove compartment. Why my wife owned a shotgun, I had no idea. Or ski masks. Neither of us had ever skied. But she didn't explain and I didn't ask. Married life is weird, I felt.

Impeccably equipped, we were nevertheless unable to find an all-night bakery. I drove through the empty streets, from Yoyogi to Shinjuku, on to Yotsuya and Akasaka, Aoyama, Hiroo, Roppongi, Daikanyama, and Shibuya. Late-night Tokyo had all kinds of people and shops, but no bakeries.

Twice we encountered patrol cars. One was huddled at the side of the road, trying to look inconspicuous. The other slowly overtook us and crept past, finally moving off into the distance. Both times I grew damp under the arms, but my wife's concentration never faltered. She was looking for that bakery. Every time she shifted the angle of her body, the shotgun shells in her pocket rustled like buckwheat husks in an old-fashioned pillow.

"Let's forget it," I said. "There aren't any bakeries open at this time of night. You've got to plan for this kind of thing or else--"

"Stop the car!"

I slammed on the brakes.

"This is the place," she said.

The shops along the street had their shutters rolled down, forming dark, silent walls on either side. A barbershop sign hung in the dark like a twisted, chilling glass eye. There was a bright McDonald's hamburger sign some two hundred yards ahead, but nothing else.

"I don't see any bakery," I said.

Without a word, she opened the glove compartment and pulled out a roll of cloth-backed tape. Holding this, she stepped out of the car. I got out my side. Kneeling at the front end, she tore off a length of tape and coverered the numbers on the license plate. Then she went around to the back and did the same. There was a practiced efficiency to her movements. I stood on the curb staring at her.

"We're going to take that McDonald's," she said, as coolly as if she were announcing what we would have for dinner.

"McDonald's is not a bakery," I pointed out to her.

"It's like a bakery," she said. "Sometimes you have to compromise. Let's go."

I drove to the McDonald's and parked in the lot. She handed me the blanket-wrapped shotgun.

"I've never fired a gun in my life," I protested.

"You don't have to fire it. Just hold it. Okay? Do as I say. We walk right in, and as soon as they say 'Welcome to McDonald's,' we slip on our masks. Got that?"

"Sure, but--"

"Then you shove the gun in their faces and make all the workers and customers get together. Fast. I'll do the rest."

"But--"

"How many hamburgers do you think we'll need? Thirty?"

"I guess so." With a sigh, I took the shotgun and rolled back the blanket a little. The thing was as heavy as a sandbag and as black as a dark night.

"Do we really have to do this?" I asked, half to her and half to myself.

"Of course we do."

Wearing a McDonald's hat, the girl behind the counter flashed me a McDonald's smile and said, "Welcome to McDonald's." I hadn't thought that girls would work at McDonald's late at night, so the sight of her confused me for a second. But only for a second. I caught myself and pulled on the mask. Confronted with this suddenly masked duo, the girl gaped at us.

Obviously, the McDonald's hospitality manual said nothing about how to deal with a situation like this. She had been starting to form the phrase that comes after "Welcome to McDonald's," but her mouth seemed to stiffen and the words wouldn't come out. Even so, like a crescent moon in the dawn sky, the hint of a professional smile lingered at the edges of her lips.

As quickly as I could manage, I unwrapped the shotgun and aimed it in the direction of the tables, but the only customers there were a young couple--students, probably--and they were facedown on the plastic table, sound asleep. Their two heads and two strawberry-milk-shake cups were aligned on the table like an avant-garde sculpture. They slept the sleep of the dead. They didn't look likely to obstruct our operation, so I swung my shotgun back toward the counter.

All together, there were three McDonald's workers. The girl at the counter, the manager--a guy with a pale, egg-shaped face, probably in his late twenties--and a student type in the kitchen--a thin shadow of a guy with nothing on his face that you could read as an expression. They stood together behind the register, staring into the muzzle of my shotgun like tourists peering down an Incan well. No one screamed, and no one made a threatening move. The gun was so heavy I had to rest the barrel on top of the cash register, my finger on the trigger.

"I'll give you the money," said the manager, his voice hoarse. "They collected it at eleven, so we don't have too much, but you can have everything. We're insured."

"Lower the front shutter and turn off the sign," said my wife.

"Wait a minute," said the manager. "I can't do that. I'll be held responsible if I close up without permission."

My wife repeated her order, slowly. He seemed torn.

"You'd better do what she says," I warned him.

He looked at the muzzle of the gun stop the register, then at my wife, and then back at the gun. He finally resigned himself to the inevitable. He turned off the sign and hit a switch on an electrical panel that lowered the shutter. I kept my eye on him, worried that he might hit a burglar alarm, but apparently McDonald's don't have burglar alarms. Maybe it had never occurred to anybody to attack one.

The front shutter made a huge racket when it closed, like an empty bucket being smashed with a baseball bat, but the couple sleeping at their table was still out cold. Talk about a sound sleep: I hadn't seen anything like that in years.

"Thirty Big Macs. For takeout," said my wife.

"Let me just give you the money," pleaded the manager. "I'll give you more than you need. You can go buy food somewhere else. This is going to mess up my accounts and--"

"You'd better do what she says," I said again.

The three of them went into the kitchen area together and started making the thirty Big Macs. The student grilled the burgers, the manager put them in buns, and the girl wrapped them up. Nobody said a word.

I leaned against a big refrigerator, aiming the gun toward the griddle. The meat patties were lined up on the griddle like brown polka dots, sizzling. The sweat smell of grilling meat burrowed into every pore of my body like a swarm of microscopic bugs, dissolving into my blood and circulating to the farthest corners, then massing together inside my hermetically sealed hunger cavern, clinging to its pink walls.

A pile of white-wrapped burgers was growing nearby. I wanted to grab and tear into them, but I could not be certain that such an act would be consistent with our objective. I had to wait. In the hot kitchen area, I started sweating under my ski mask.

The McDonald's people sneaked glances at the muzzle of the shotgun. I scratched my ears with the little finger of my left hand. My ears always get itchy when I'm nervous. Jabbing my finger into an ear through the wool, I was making the gun barrel wobble up and down, which seemed to bother them. It couldn't have gone off accidentally, because I had the safety on, but they didn't know that and I wasn't about to tell them.

My wife counted the finished hamburgers and put them into two shopping bags, fifteen burgers to a bag.

"Why do you have to do this?" the girl asked me. "Why don't you just take the money and buy something you like? What's the good of eating thirty Big Macs?"

I shook my head.

My wife explained, "We're sorry, really. But there weren't any bakeries open. If there had been, we would have attacked a bakery."

That seemed to satisfy them. At least they didn't ask any more questions. Then my wife ordered two large Cokes from the girl and paid for them.

"We're stealing bread, nothing else," she said. The girl responded with a complicated head movement, sort of like nodding and sort of like shaking. She was probably trying to do both at the same time. I thought I had some idea how she felt.

My wife then pulled a ball of twine from her pocket--she came equipped--and tied the three to a post as expertly as if she were sewing on buttons. She asked if the cord hurt, or if anyone wanted to go to the toilet, but no one said a word. I wrapped the gun in the blanket, she picked up the shopping bags, and out we went. The customers at the table were still asleep, like a couple of deep-sea fish. What would it have taken to rouse them from a sleep so deep?

We drove for a half hour, found an empty parking lot by a building, and pulled in. There we ate hamburgers and drank our Cokes. I sent six Big Macs down to the cavern of my stomach, and she ate four. That left twenty Big Macs in the back seat. Our hunger--that hunger that had felt as if it could go on forever--vanished as the dawn was breaking. The first light of the sun dyed the building's filthy walls purple and made a giant SONY BETA ad tower glow with painful intensity. Soon the whine of highway truck tires was joined by the chirping of birds. The American Armed Forces radio was playing cowboy music. We shared a cigarette. Afterward, she rested her head on my shoulder.

"Still, was it really necessary for us to do this?" I asked.

"Of course it was!" With one deep sigh, she fell asleep against me. She felt as soft and as light as a kitten.

Alone now, I leaned over the edge of my boat and looked down to the bottom of the sea. The volcano was gone. The water's calm surface reflected the blue of the sky. Little waves--like silk pajamas fluttering in a breeze--lapped against the side of the boat. There was nothing else.

I stretched out in the bottom of the boat and closed my eyes, waiting for the rising tide to carry me where I belonged.