#i'll have whole other words soup after i eat my dinner

[agendratum]

so okay about those dragon age thoughts that kept me up from sleeping, i really need to write this down otherwise it will keep boiling inside my head (it will anyway)

i've been thinking what backstory i could do for rook. yes, there is not possibly enough information about them, it makes sense, the game isn't out yet. which means that i don't feel too comfortable making any final decisions, not really knowing how their character will play out, how the whole faction thing will work, etc. so i'm trying not to set anything in stone thinking about it. that being said, i got a little bit hang up on this idea of making rook to be my warden's, ruth', daughter. a little bit i say. i haven't stopped being able to think about it. i just love it a lot okay

and here's how i think it could work. first of all, the timeline allows for it to work, right? if say, ruth happened to make (another) child somewhere right after the events of origins, in the first year, two maybe, after the blight ended, then by the time of veilguard that child would be around 20 years old.

next part is a bit more tricky. so what i'm guessing is that this time the pc's backstory will depend on those factions. and a bunch of them are pretty tightly connected to a specific territory. tevinter, to be precise (and nevarra). and the thing is, i would want for it to be possible, with all the travels and what not, for ruth to be able to be present in this kid's life. at least somewhat. considering she has whole other child she can't see at all. and that limits my options i think.

of course, i don't *have* to worry too much about it, because, relocation is possible. say, ruth and this partner she has briefly find out they are going to become parents. and even tho the blight is technically over, there is still the aftermath, which means danger. people, if possible, probably wouldn't want to raise children in such conditions. so i think ruth could help them move somewhere else. but i do find it unrealistic that tevinter would be a desirable destination for such move

anyway, that's why my main bets for now are as follows

grey wardens. a seemingly obvious one. her mother is a grey warden, the grey warden some might say, so she's following in her steps. tho i do think that ruth wouldn't be super excited about her kid becoming one, you know, with how many people she knew died because of being grey wardens or being in a close to them (and darkspawn) proximity. and also she's still looking for that cure, so. she wouldn't be able to stop her, but she wouldn't want it. but that would make things easy for me personally

lords of fortune. this one is a type of "i've connected the dots (you didn't connect shit) i've connected them". ruth wants to help her partner and their kid to escape to a safer place. ruth's best buddy that she travels with is zevran. zevran's good friend is isabela. isabela is a pirate ship captain and is from rivain. lords of fortune are based out of rivain. it all makes total sense to me. yes. anyway, they ask isabela for help, she smuggles them out to rivain. the kid grows up with a lot of influence not only from her moms, but from zevran and isabela (getting to be the grey warden's kid's aunt and making the warden owe her) as well. which would affect her character in a way that i would like (yes i'm looking forward to those purple responses).

and also after i thought all of this up, i remembered that i guess for each faction we have one companion representing that faction. idk how this will affect the story, but maybe that would mean rook shows up in the city with the person representing the faction? possibly. lords of fortune are represented by taash, and i simply love the image of this little funny elf girl i made up showing up with this big badass lady, like i don't know them yet, but in my head they're the cutest duo. (not even in a romancing sense, idk who i will romance, but like in a general sense). then of course, her being a grey warden would make them besties with davrin and his pet griffon which is also amazing

oooooooooooooooooof this is it for now i think

one more thought, would it be fucked up or what, if when the game finally comes out and i get my hands on a character editor, i'll start by making ruth first, how i think she would look with veilguard's graphics, and then i'll work from there to make changes and create her daughter, resembling her but different. fun thought

andd another thought, i'm also trying to come up with this mysterious other mom of hers. and i just think she could be like a city elf bard. they wouldn't be in love with each other with ruth, but they would find each other's company pleasant. nice. not worrying too much about obligations. other than, you know, a child happening. unexpectedly, but neither of them would against it. this is it for now for real this time

[actually-safer-to-kiss]

Dinner Time

Summary: Reader makes Spencer his first homemade dinner after getting out of prison, and they both realize he's got some adjusting to do.

Couple: Spencer Reid/Fem!Reader

Category: Hurt/Comfort

Content warnings: Eating, mentions of weight loss, hurt Spencer, ambiguous ending

Word count: 1k

Spencer sat at the small table in your kitchen. You set it up with funky-patterned napkins, an extra big spoon, and a used candle lit in the middle; the whole shebang. You prepared his serving of your vegetable soup, the meal he requested to celebrate his arrival home. “Are you comfortable?” You ask as you hover over the stove.

He nods and picks up his napkin, observing the pattern and weight. “Where did you get these?”

“Your mom found them when we were shopping. She said they reminded her of your socks. Isn’t that sweet?”

He blew air through his nose before saying “Wow.” He rubbed his thumb along it, following the vivid stripes. You didn’t want to tell him how she teared up when she spotted them. How she held the set close to her chest made you feel sorry that she remembered without help.

“She took it as a sign you were coming home.” Half true. More like you convinced her it was. She asked you to buy them for that reason, to celebrate. “And now here we are.” You beamed as you say the words.

“That’s wonderful.” He looked up at you and smiled. You saw it in your peripheral as you opened a pack of oyster crackers. You knew he wanted to thank you for making time for her. He wanted to, but you insisted the thank yous were enough after he said it the fifth time in 24 hours. You flashed him a brief grin as a muted response, and he appreciated it.

“Alright,” You held the bowl carefully, mistakenly filling it to the brim. Due to the sheer joy of having him home, safe, and innocent (in the eyes of the law), you almost didn’t notice he had lost weight. The first time you saw his spine after getting out of the shower, you didn't even think it was possible for him. “Extra potatoes, per your request, mon amour.” You emphasize your terrible French accent which makes him chuckle.

“Merci, mon amour.” His flawless accent almost ruined the joke.

“Okay, show off, so happy you're home.” You sneered, and his smile was even wider. You grab your own bowl and sit by his side. His elbows somehow naturally find their way to the table, boxing in his soup like he was cornering prey. Spoon in hand, he dipped in the hefty bowl. Then he shoveled in some of those extra potato chunks with some tomato-y broth. Hungry, you thought, as he leaned over the bowl, steam gliding over his rough stubble. He took a second and third bite, despite his mouth being nearly stuffed.

You didn’t say anything at first. You didn’t want to imagine the food he had to eat or meals he might have skipped because of poor quality (or other reasons). As he chewed hastily, for a moment, it gave you hope he'd gain weight quickly.

But then he reached out for his water to drink like he needed to soothe something too spicy.

Or something too hot.

“Honey?”

Bite four, five, and six. He chewed.

“Spencer.”

“Hm?” Bite seven, eight —

You put a hand on his arm and Spencer’s head immediately turned to you. It made you pull back, not touch him. His face was red and his mouth hung open, similar to a dog sticking its tongue out to cool off. “Spencer. You can let it cool.”

He swallowed, not chewing enough, and it pained him. “I can’t. I want to finish before bed.” His tongue barely touched the roof of his mouth as he spoke.

“Are you that tired?”

“No.” His eyebrows furrowed at the question, looking just as confused as you. “We only have 30 minutes for dinn—” And somehow his face of realization was even more upsetting to witness. There's a silence, brief but heavy as his whole face fell and he covered his eyes with one hand. “I’m sorry.” He sniffles.

“It’s not your fault.”

"I'll… take my time." He leans on his elbow and looks down at his meal, staring, waiting for the steam to stop. It was seconds later that his eyes were lined with tears again.

You were afraid to ask the question. “How’s your mouth?”

“It hurts.” He bites his lip as tears trickle.

You drop your spoon and scoot your chair closer to his. You ask him to sit up straight and drink water. Once he’s done that, drinking as much (or as little) as he can tolerate, you gently press his face into your shoulder. Tears collect on your skin, but you keep him close and encourage him to let it out.

And he does. His chest caves with every sob he's locked away for two months. His arms wrap around your waist, the first time he's touched you since he’s been home, apart from the delightfully suffocating hug you trapped each other in when he was released. And for a moment, you’re hit with the reality that the Spencer you’re holding has changed. His survival instincts are still active, you're just now noticing it.

You still hold him as he heaves. You rub his back to let him know you’re still here, but you stare at the blank wall in front of you. Your head is spinning, running through therapists to call and books to read that could help you. To help Spencer. Because that’s what he needs.

Spencer pulls away for a minute to look over his soup.

“It’s still there.” You say, and wipe his tears with your thumbs. “No one’s taking it, I promise.”

“It’s going to get cold.”

“I’ll heat it up again, don’t worry.”

Spencer looks down at you as you hold his face. The dark circles around his reddened eyes were prominent, and you brushed the mess of curls off his forehead. Tiredness isn’t enough. He’s scared. From what he’s seen or become, you don’t know. But his stubble pokes your skin and you realize that you don’t know what to do. As you look at the man you love, you wonder how much you can do to help. You hope you can help.

[cyberpersonstranger]

𝑲𝑨𝑻𝑺𝑼𝑲𝑰 𝑩𝑨𝑲𝑼𝑮𝑶

𝑯𝑬𝑨𝑫𝑪𝑨𝑵𝑶𝑵𝑺 !💥! 𝑮.𝑵 𝑹𝑬𝑨𝑫𝑬𝑹

𝑷𝑳𝑨𝑻𝑶𝑵𝑰𝑪/𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐋. 𝑹𝑶𝑴𝑨𝑵𝑻𝑰𝑪. 𝑵𝑺𝑭𝑾

𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐎𝐍𝐈𝐂/𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐋↴

I think this whole fandom agrees Katsuki is a damn good cook. His specialty foods are omurice and karaage, but he makes amazing soups too. If you ever ask for any of his recipes he'll deny you all the way, but if you ask him to MAKE you something he'll agree after a bit of convincing.

"Tch. Fine dumbass, you're cleaning the mess though."

Constantly cracking his knuckles and neck. He doesn't care who it's in front of or who likes it and who doesn't. He'd prefer doing it in front of people who dislike it though, he enjoys making them annoyed or pissed off. If you ask him about it he'll respond as if everyone cracks their knuckles and neck as much as he does.

"What, do you not crack your fucking knuckles like a normal person?"

Definitely the type of person to fight over who plays aux whilst being in the car. Unless someone has similar music taste to him if anyone dares to even touch the aux he'll start yelling, maybe even making small explosions. I can see him listening to 90s-early 2000s nu metal or rock, most likely I.C.P or Limp Bizkit, possibly Slipknot.

"Start playing Limp Bizkit or else I'll explode you all the way to hell."

If you and Katsuki share the same costume design company (meaning you'll share with Uraraka too) he'll most likely try to boast to you about how much better his costume is. His equipment? Oh so much better, so much more helpful compared to yours. The design? Cooler too, much more awesome than yours.

"Pff my gauntlets are more badass than whatever the hell you have going on."

If you purposely try to get his attention by touching him he'll swat at you. If you even TAP his shoulder prepare for a nice hit on your wrist before you can even take your finger off him. Touching his back to let him know your presence will earn you a hit too, most likely a harsher hit.

"Don't touch me. Idiot."

𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐂 ↴

If you read the platonic hcs, once you start dating Katsuki you quickly learn why he doesn't like being touched, even if it's subtle. He's embarrassed about how much his body sweats because of his quirk and trust me, he'd never ever admit it. You begin picking up on this when you learn he showers multiple times a day. and when he's constantly wiping his hands off with an ashamed look on his face. Even while in a relationship he isn't too keen about being a touched.

"Yeah I shower 3 times a day, so what."

He's the biggest show off you'll ever date. He just got done stretching? He's crossing his arms in that black tank-top, flexing his biceps to you. He's training with you and Midoriya? He's quick to show off his quirk abilities and even quicker sending Midoriya to Recovery Girl. He's prideful about it too, he'll definitely say something if you just stare at him while he's showing off.

"You like my biceps eh? You're eyeing them like you're gonna fucking eat me."

Katsuki is far from being the best at words, and with him not easing in to touch until later in the relationship it's difficult for him to show he appreciates and loves you. He tries to show his appreciation by gift giving. His parents are both loaded, I mean have you seen the Bakugo home? If you mention something expensive you've been wanting he's fast to make sure it's in your hands by the end of the week. If you say you like his yummy food he's suddenly cooking you dinners a few times a week.

"I uh.. made you some miso soup. Here moron."

He actually tries to be nicer to you compared to how he treats Kirishima and the others. Nothing too sappy, maybe a "you look.. nice?" here and there. If you end up smiling from his attempts he's quick to get both defensive and possibly even flustered.

"Why're you smiling at me like that!? That was barely a compliment!"

Sometimes you'll catch him staring at you. While staring, he wonders how you deal with his temper, how snarky he is, how unaffectionate he can be. Once you notice his stare he quickly looks away. If you ask about his glare he'll deny it through and through.

"No I wasn't staring at you, idiot. You're going crazy."

𝐍𝐒𝐅𝐖 ↴

𝐓𝐖𝐬: nsfw obviously, CHARACTER AGED UP, praise kink

Despite his tough ass demeanor I feel like Katsuki's a rather caring lover during intimacy. He's always making sure you like what he's doing and makes sure you're okay. Even if you're a babbling wreck he still wants to make sure he doesn't make you uncomfortable.

"This okay with you?" (He's says as he's just pressing gentle kisses against your neck.)

He's not very vocal whatsoever. Going down on his pretty cock? He's biting back moans and only allowing very quiet whimpers to come out of his lips. Taking it so well as he pounds into you? He's stopping himself from groaning by kissing you with such desire. If you tell him it's okay and you want him to be vocal he'll shake his head and deny you.

"No screw that! Moaning is for weaklings I don't need to be loud as hell just to fuck you. "

Katsuki loves praise while in bed. He want's to know he's doing good, he wants to know and that nobody else can make you feel the way he makes you. If you praise him enough he'll roughen up his pace just a bit. Okay, maybe a lot. Praise really gets him going.

"Tell me I'm fucking you nicely, just tell me I'm good god dammit!"

I apologize for the NSFW section, I'm not the best writer for that subject. I hope you guys enjoy this because I'm debating on doing Amajiki or Kaminari next lmao.

[abiatackerman]

Red Date

Warnings: Description of sexual arousal (NSFW)

The atmosphere in your office is so calm and peaceful as you work. The day's temperature is comforting also it seems the bugs have also decided not to disturb you today. You keep working as you hum in a peaceful mind until you hear someone calling you by your name.

"Y/N!"

You look up from your paperwork as you hear Levi's stern voice. You were so consumed in your work that you didn't even notice him entering.

"Hey Levi! Sorry, didn't notice you. Need anything?"

You speak, smiling sweetly as always.

"I want to take you out tonight"

Levi says with a straight up blunt tone making you look up at him with shock. His face shows no emotion on it. He stares at you waiting for your answer. Though, on the inside, the nerves and butterflies were going crazy.

"Take out? Where?"

You ask him with shock, confusion and curiosity.

"Dinner. Somewhere with no people. Somewhere nice"

Levi says as he shifts the weight between both his legs. A sign of nervousness.

He is nervous. He has never dated anyone. Hell, he has barely been around women. Yet you are the exception. You're the one he wants to keep, being around and spend time with and never let go.

You smile at his slightly nervous expression.

"Well, I'm free tonight. Also it's boring just to eat the regular bread and soup of the regiment... So why not?"

Levi's eyes brighten when he hears your answer. Yes! You said yes! Yet the excitement is hidden behind a stoic poker face.

"Meet me behind HQ an hour after the sunset."

His words are straight to the point as usual.

"Why behind the hq?"

You ask with confusion.

"That's for me to know and for you to find out"

Levi speaks bluntly as he answers your question simply. You just chuckle.

"Since you saved my life twice... I guess I'll trust you."

Levi nods his head to your answer. His face is still expressionless. Though inside he's happy as hell after knowing that you trust him.

"Now…keep preparing your papers. And don't be late."

Levi says before he turns and leaves the infirmary.

An hour after sunset, as promised, Levi is behind HQ, waiting on you. His usual expression on his face, and his hands shoved into his pockets. A slight look of boredom in his eyes as he waited for you to show up.

Something red catches his eyes and he looks at the gate. His eyes widened slightly seeing you in your red dress. You're wearing a simple round necked wine red dress which reaches upto your knee. As always no makeup on your face without that damn red lipstick of yours. Your hair is tied up in a loose bun, revealing your soft addictive neck.

On the other side, your eyes are widened too. The wholes place is nicely decorated by candles and in the middle there's a red blanket on the green grass which has a table on the corner of it. The table is decorated nicely too. With dinner set and by the smell you can tell it's spaghetti hidden under those legent utensils.

"Levi?"

You look around and gasp again.

"You look beautiful Y/N. Now come, sit."

Levi speaks as he gestured for you to come over to the blanket. His eyes taking you all in.

"Ahhh thank you."

You gasp in shock again as he compliments you. This is the first time you're hearing him calling someone beautiful. You walk towards the blanket and sit down on the chair Levi pulls out for you.

"You know, I thought you wanted no one to know that we're going out. That's why you told me to come here... But I never even imagined these arrangements! How many people helped you?"

Levi shrugs his shoulders before he sits down, across from her. He seems pleased with himself at your expression.

"Four people. Hange included."

Levi says simply and calmly. He gestures to the rose near you, then to the food and wine before them.

"Who are the three others? Erwin is one of em I'm sure... But the other two?

You ask softly, taking the rose and sniffing it.

"Miche and Eld. They're trustworthy. They'll keep their mouth shut. Now, eat. There's plenty to share, and don't even think of complaining about the food, because I won't listen."

You ignore him as you take a deep breath and gather your courage. Leaning forward,  you softly press a kiss on his cheeks, letting your lips linger on his cheek for a bit as you close your eyes and take in his scent. The small gesture is more than enough to light a fire in his lower regions. He gulps as he feels himself getting hard.

Not now, damnit!

He curses himself as his heart beats crazily.

"Now…if you would sit back, we shall eat"

Levi speaks, his mind is reeling.

"Sorry there's uh... Lipstick stains on your cheek."

You speak in an embarrassed and shy tone as your lips are pressed into a thin line and your cheeks are pink.

"It's fine… It'll wash off."

Levi says as he grabs the glass of wine and took a small sip to calm his mind down. He sets the wine down on the edge of the table. His eyes go to the food.

"I wanted to thank you. It's so romantic. I never thought you would do something for me."

You smile shyly as you speak.

"You can thank me properly later. Now eat your food and keep those gorgeous lips off of me until you finish eating. I'm not complaining either way.…"

Levi says as He takes another small sip of wine. You sigh and look up at the sky.

"These types of moments..... In a silent place, in between nature... Heaven."

Levi looks up at the sky as well at your words. It is relaxing. So quiet and pretty. He can forget there are any titans, or people in the outer world who wanted them dead.

Just him, and you.

"Yes…it's nice. To not think or have a worry in the world, even if momentarily…"

"Yeah right. Anyway who cooked them?"

You look at the delicious spaghetti as you ask.

"Eld cooked it. Miche made sure it was cooked right. And no, they didn't spit in the food before they gave it to me. I'm not that cruel for that."

"Spit in the food? That's hilarious, Levi!"

You laugh loudly.

"Shut it. Now eat up. You look like you're about to faint from no food."

He mutters before he pushes a plate full of spaghetti towards you. You roll your eyes.

"You know I don't eat much. I have a petite body. I need a little food."

You say as you take the spaghetti and start eating. Your eyes widened at it's delicious taste. Also not to mention you are hungry.

"You eat like a small bird…"

Levi says as he watches you dig into the food. You furrow your eyebrows.

"Do you want me to eat like a pig and look like a mini elephant?"

You ask as you take another spoonful of spaghetti.

"No, I'm not saying you have to eat like a pig. Just eat a normal meal every once and a while. Learn from Hange and Erwin. They eat like animals."

"Erwin's gonna love to hear that. Eat like an animal? Levi... I really love talking to you. You're funny."

"Just eat. Don't be picky. You're skinny as a stick as it is"

"No, I'm not."

You protest, still smiling. Levi smiles a little too. It is entertaining watching your sarcastic way to get back at him for insulting you. The way you insulted him was cute and bravely to him. When everyone gets scared and despise him because of his rude words, you enjoy them.

He loves it. Addicted to it.....

"You're the only woman I know who's attracted to being insulted by someone."

"You're the only man I know who is attracted to a girl like that."

You talk back, immediately.

"True. I can't imagine other men being attracted to a woman who's as small as a stick"

"I had a lot of men wanting me. You can be sure of it."

Levi raises an eyebrow at your cocky smile.

"Then go ahead. Name them"

Levi says with a pissed tone and a slight expression of jealousy in his face.

"I don't want you to beat them up."

You chuckle as you hold a spoonful of spaghetti in front of his mouth.

"You're not feeding me."

He says as he reaches forward and shoves a large portion of pasta in your mouth so that way you can't speak… Or protest. You groan and gulp the pasta and glare at him.

"It's my turn!"

You say and without any hesitation, you suddenly get on his lap with the spoon.

"What are you doing?"

He asks, as he feels himself getting slightly harder. Not to mention you are sitting right on his bulge. The softness of your ass almost made him moan.

"Feeding you. Say aaaaaa...."

You say as you hold his chin and the spoonful of spaghetti in front of his lips ignoring the large hardened cock under you.

"Aaaa"

Levi opened up his mouth and leaned forward to take the food in. You can't help but laugh loudly as he says "aaaah" sarcastically.

"I just wanted you to open your mouth, fool. Not to say aaaaa..."

You laugh louder.

"Tch, shut it."

"I have a mouth for speaking so I definitely won't stop using it."

You speak and Levi's hands holds your hips in place as he looks at you.

"How about I shut up that mouth of yours?"

Levi says before he crashes his lips against yours in a heated kiss. You smile against his lips and hug his neck and kiss him back passionately. You part your lips as soon as he licks them. His tongue slips inside of your mouth and he deepens the kiss, taking in everything about you. He has been craving this for so long.

His arousal grows and he groans slightly at the feeling of your core pressed against his hard, clothed length. He runs his tongue over every inch of your mouth before he finally breaks the kiss, needing a break for air.

"That should shut you up…"

You breathe heavily as you smile.

"Your mouth is a mess, Levi! With my lipstick... And you're hard."

You say chuckling softly as you take a paper napkin to clean his face.

"Your fault. Not mine. You're the one who straddled my lap and put your lipstick everywhere"

Levi mutters as he looks at you, staring at the way your chest rises with every breath you take.

"Pervert!"

You say shyly, smacking the napkin on his face as you catch him staring at your chest.

"You're the one who's sitting on my hardening member and you're calling me the pervert?"

Levi's breath is hot against your skin as he leans in and places a few hungry, open-mouthed kisses along your neck and shoulders. You chuckle and moan, grab his hair and pull his head backwards to make him look into your eyes.

"I didn't know you were hard when I got in your lap."

You say staring into his eyes as you take the bowl of spaghetti again and get off his lap.

"It's called the hormones of an aroused male. You're wearing red lipstick and a red dress. It's almost like you are begging me to devour you. So don't fucking blame me for getting hard you stupid ass!"

Levi speaks in a frustrated and pissed tone as you just laugh loudly.

Later, after finishing eating and talking about nothing important, you two sit on the blanket. You sit between his legs and lean your back on his chest as you yawn tiredly.

"Levi... I'm really tired. I might fall asleep here, yk..."

You say sighing as you sip your wine.

"We can stay here for a little while longer. Not too long though or else the idiots are going to snoop around"

Levi mutters as he sighs.

"Why do I feel like the brat's are already watching us while blushing and giggling?"

Levi sighs. He can almost hear the little brat's giggles. He has a few ideas of what he would do to them later but now he couldn’t focus on that. Not when the girl of his dreams is pressed up against him and holding his hands.

"Shut it. Stop reminding me that they're probably watching us"

Levi mutters, slightly glaring off to the side before wrapping his arms around her.

"Thank you, Levi. I really enjoyed tonight."

You mumble as you slowly start to doze off in his arms.

"Me too…"

Levi says softly as he stares down at you. He is slightly jealous of your ability to fall asleep so fast. He runs his fingers through your hair and gently plays with the strands.

"Rest up, Doll."

[toomuchracket]

love when we are thinking about d word. my favourite thought right now is getting coffee or lunch delivered to the office when she’s working and he’s out of town. just as a version of looking after her because she can let stuff like that slide if she’s really busy. and flowers i feel like reception would be sick of the delivery people there (just kidding everyone loves girly in my mind and they think it’s sweet)

when you and matty are getting to know each other and he's in the office, i think you definitely do coffee/lunch hangouts together every day - one day, probably mid end of financial year stuff, i think he comes over like "hey do you want to go for lunch" and you don't even look away from your computer like "i'm so sorry but i'm too busy to take a break rn. but i'll come and find you later for a tea if that's cool", and matty's like "yeah no worries darlin', i'll see you in a bit". the hours pass, and you don't leave your desk; only when everyone else is packing up their stuff to go home do you run over to matty like "god i am SO sorry i lost track of time trying to get everything done i hope i haven't upset you", and he's like "it's alright sweetheart! i didn't want to interrupt you. but i can give you a lift home and we'll get some dinner on the way, yeah? surely you're starving, you missed lunch". and you're like "ok yeah i'm a bit hungry", so you end up getting pizza and eating it in matty's car and chatting lol. the next day, at lunch, he's like "i know you're busy but i thought you should probably eat something so i got you some soup" - you look up at him, all starry-eyed and genuinely touched, like "thank you for taking care of me", and matty's like "s'ok. i like making sure you're alright". and it becomes a thing when you're really busy and matty's around, him dropping off lunch for you and refusing to let you pay him back for it (he's like "the reason you're so busy is because you're sorting our shit out, sweetheart, it's the least i could do to thank you". but you give him little gifts to even the score, regardless). it continues when you actually start seriously dating, although it often becomes matty sliding a tupperware of leftovers from the dinner he made you last night over to you before you leave for work, and he sets up a deal thing with the cafe near the office you both like and frequent so that you get lunch delivered during any really busy periods when he's not in london and able to drop you something off. and i also think matty would be like "i don't ever mean to patronise or baby you, darlin', i just wanna make sure you're healthy", because he's conscious of the potential power dynamics and imbalances but also he really does just want the best for you, bless him. and the flowers! i wrote about him getting you a bloom & wild subscription for at home while he's away, but i think he'll send a little bunch to the office every so often for your desk, too. you and the girls at reception have a laugh about it - you go in on monday mornings and they're like "another bouquet for you, babe", and you roll your eyes and do that "you're joking. not ANOTHER one?" bit from the bbc news before you're like "what's the verdict on them", and the girls will give their opinions lmao. you apologise for the constant extra deliveries addressed to you, and they're like "nah it's cute. and flowers are more fun to get than office supplies lol". you tell matty about this whole bit, and whenever he's home and he personally comes in with flowers for you, he has to stop at reception to show the girls before he takes them up to you lol - to be honest, i think he's less known to them as "matty" and more as "your boyfriend", despite the fact he's worked at/with dh longer than you lmao. v sweet <3

[kazumaple]

Hi! Thank you for replying to my husband/dad ask! I was wondering if you could write a optional male bias with his wife and their son; the story goes like when the bias is being clingy/intimate to his wife and their son got jealous and pushed his dad away from his mom? then when the son is asleep, the couple finally have their own time? idk how to describe but I hope you get what I'm trying to explain. It's basically a fluffy cute request actually 😂

privacy ♥ optional bias

here you go! sorry for the long wait, thanks for requesting :D

details: established relationship!au, married couple!au, couple has a kid, fem reader, clingy!bias, k/n = kid's name. word count: 1k (1,217)

this was requested. click here to request something. link to masterlist. link to part two!

----

"i'm home!"

you turned around, eyes casting over the figure who had entered the house. your lips tugged into a small smile at the sight of h/n and you nodded at him in greeting.

"took you long enough, k/n kept wining about he much he misses you." you chuckled.

your husband only laughed, dropping his leather briefcase onto the couch beside him and stepping forward to pull you into a hug. you released a comfortable sigh as his hands held onto your waist, throat humming that soft melody that always managed to relax you regardless of how stressed you were.

"what are you making?" h/n asked, pulling away from the embrace and peeking over your shoulders to catch sight of a huge pot of what seemed to be water.

"i'm pretty sure you already know." you said, rolling your eyes to which he released a laugh. it was soup, of course, one of your favourite things to eat for dinner.

"how long will it take? I'm kinda hungry."

you shrugged, patting your husband's stomach as a smile reluctantly met your face.

"probably 10 minutes."

upon noticing his sudden pout, you giggled.

"go to k/n, he was literally crying for you the whole day-"

before you could finish your sentence, a loud cry came from the bedroom, indicating your son has awoken.

"nooooo, i wanna spend time with my wife." h/n whined, displaying his best pout.

you shook your head, placing a hand flat on his chest and pushing him towards your son's bedroom.

"you're the one who wanted to have kids, go look after him." you retorted with a smirk.

he shot you a glare before turning around and heading to your child's bedroom, releasing a deep breath.

"daddy!" came an overjoyed cry from the room.

you turned around and grabbed a spoon, dipping it into the soup and taking a small bite. your face immediately cringed at the lack of salt which you quickly added. not even 5 minutes had passed before your husband emerged from the room, your 7 year old son riding on his back as id he was having the time of his life.

your eyes instantly widen in concern but when you notice there were no tells of discomfort on your husband's face, you let yourself relax.

"i'm hungry!" k/n called out, catching sight of you as his dad steered him towards the kitchen.

you and your husband shared a look before you stepped forward and pulled k/n off h/n's back. hoisting him up so that you were holding him, you gently patted his back and turned to face the stove again, eyes carefully watching the soup.

"food's almost done sweetie, just wait a few more minutes." you said and your son whined.

"i'm hungry too, your other parent cooks too slow." h/n added.

you shot him a dark glare.

he laughed and stepped forward, gently grabbing onto your son and pulling him off you so that your hands were free. k/n stood straight on the ground, hands on his waist as he gave you what looked like a horrible attempt at being angry.

"go to the table, i'll serve the food." you laughed and his face immediately brightened up. with a dutiful "okay." k/n ran off, leaving you and your husband alone.

"you go too, i'm actually almost done this time." you said, upon noticing h/n was still here.

he gave you a mysterious grin in response before wrapping his arms around your waist, causing you to nearly drop the serving spoon in shock.

"what are you-"

you were silenced when your husband suddenly planted his lips onto yours, making your stomach flip. your hands went limp, giving into h/n's kiss almost in seconds, something you often ended up doing.

when he finally pulled away, he gave you a smile.

"i missed you a lot today."

"i...i can tell." you stuttered, eyes wide as you tried to keep your cool.

just as your husband leaned down to give you another kiss, a small tug diverted both your attention.

"why are you trying to lick her face!" k/n yelled, a horrified expression on his face.

"what the- no, i'm not-"

your husband stumbled over his words, clearly flustered to have been caught and not knowing what to say to the young boy while you just stood there, eyebrow raised and face amused.

"look, you know how mommy kisses you goodnight when you go to bed?" h/n finally said and k/n nodded, looking suspicious.

"well, like that, i like to kiss your mom sometimes to show her how much i love her."

your husband grinned like he had just won an olympic gold medal.

you rolled your eyes.

"then why can't i kiss mommy like that?" k/n questioned, confusion visible on his small face.

"because...um...only one person in the world can kiss mommy there."

h/n nodded, satisfied with his answer.

"then why can't i be that one person?"

"you ask too many questions darling." you finally spoke up, pushing your husband to the side and reaching down to meet k/n's level.

"the lips are a special place. it's reserved only for your father." you said.

the boy pouted and you chuckled.

"don't worry, you can always kiss my cheeks."

"yayy!" k/n cheered at once.

he reached forward, pecking your cheek in the smallest way possible before running off, skipping along the way.

"finally." your husband sighed in relief, turning to face you.

but as he reached out to pull you into his arms again, you stepped away, finally giving your abandoned soup some attention.

"go to k/n or i won't give you food."

upon hearing how strict your voice was, he pouted but reluctantly turned around and left.

after a long dinner of constant glares and 'please look at me' pouts from your husband, you both were finally alone in your bedroom, k/n fast asleep like he always is after 11 pm.

"-all i wanted to do was kiss you." h/n said, ranting like he had been doing for the past 10 minutes, "maybe we should've waited a little bit before having kids."

"we had kids two years after we got married." you reasoned, rolling your eyes as you stood up from your dresser and headed to the bed. once you had settled into it, you turned to face your husband.

he looked like he was in deep thought and for a second, you actually felt guilty. maybe he really was missing the attention you used to give him.

releasing a sigh, you sat up and moved towards h/n, causing his eyes to shoot open in shock.

"what are you doing?" he asked, nearly choking over his words when you leaned towards his face. "you've been complaining about wanting to kiss me for the past 10 minutes." you said, voice low and a smirk on your lips, "you could've used to the time to actually kiss me."

your husband gulped.

reaching down, you gently kissed him, feeling his body relax under yours in seconds. you both seemed to have that affect on each other.

without wasting any more time, he immediately kissed you back, finally satisfied with the privacy.

[athena-is-a-chaotic-lil-shit]

Of Ice and Blood

Part 8

Supposedly everything I post consecutively is one part, but I always reach the 250 block limit everytime so I am forced to cut it off! It's all good though, I just hope you don't mind that.

Anyways, enjoy reading! I'll be working on my requests after I post this and the slasher fic in my works.

Edit: Holy sh*t I thought it wouldn't fit but it did! (And I meant the word count you dirty lil thing—) This will be the longest part in the series yet (since 4.3k words fit perfectly)

Pairing: Tai'chi Kashharzol (Orc) x Pearl Blackbell (Fem!Human/Reader)

Word count: 4.3k

Warnings: None :)

Contains: f l u f f (and maybe too much blushing but I have no regrets)

—

You let the student call the police as you tied up four unconscious men using their clothing. You left when you heard the distant sound of sirens and trusted her to explain what had transpired in the alley. You bid her farewell, resuming your walk to your destination. You breathed out your exhaustion, the little energy you got from a short nap earlier got spent punching people again.

"So...that was..."

"Expected." The orc supplied when you trailed off.

"Mm...Yeah."

Expected, both disappointing and frustrating. You did your best not to snap at the kid for it and only hoped she understood and learned.

The sun had already sunk long ago, but there was still a myriad of warm colors. Very subtle, but there. Each passing second transitioning it into a darker shade until little specks of light became visible. The sky...black in a matter of minutes. Street lamps lit your path as shops both closed and opened for the night with people saying hello and goodbye.

"Thank you, by the way. For uh, earlier." You got careless. Too careless than you usually are.

You shivered at the thought of what might've been the outcome.

He only nodded, along with a grunt of affirmation beside you.

"Are you mad?" you whispered. Was he angry at you being a stupid idiot and rushing straight into danger?

"No, just, "—he sighed, rubbing his forehead with his fingers—"worried." His scent was clearly not just of worry. He was also scowling.

-

Tai'chi was very worried about you, he always had ever since you met, which wasn't long but he felt a strong need to protect you, even if you could handle yourself well on your own. Oh, but he was angry, enraged within at those men who harmed the poor student, especially at the one who almost stabbed you at the back. If they were in his stronghold they would've been fed to the wargs.

No, he would've torn them apart himself.

You didn't speak again until you arrived at your place, finally. You're not rich and even if you were you have no desire to live in those luxurious and super expensive condos. You preferred to have something homey, small, as long as it had what you needed for comfort and safety, you were content.

It also saves a lot of money for future expenses and emergencies.

"So, uhm, welcome." You said as you unlocked your door after several tries on putting the key in. Tai'chi ducked considerably under it, his large frame barely making it through.

You took off your shoes, placed them on the side, and kept your socks on. He followed suit, taking off his boots, coming out barefooted.

It wasn't smelly, which was pretty surprising.

You headed to your kitchen and prepare dinner for both of you, but a hand on your shoulder stopped you in your tracks.

"I will cook." Tai'chi spoke and you immediately replied, stuttering.

"I-I should be the one cooking for you! It's not right. I'm the host and you're the guest it shouldn't be—"

"Pearl, I will cook." He asserted, his voice deep and confident, you sighed as it made you relent. You'd make a mess if you did anyway, might chop your hand off with a knife or dunk your head in the pot.

"Fine. But next time I'll do something for you instead," you groaned.

-

The orc grunted once before he stepped past you and into your kitchen while you plodded to your room.

Tai'chi paused for a moment to take in the details of your house. It was fairly small. From where he stood, his head was a foot away from touching the ceiling. To his left was an open way to what he assumed was the living room where he could make out half of a brown couch facing away from him. He also noticed a couple of framed photos hanging on a faded orange wall. Tai'chi glanced in the direction where you disappeared, he could hear the faint sound of the shower going on.

Good.

Not wanting to waste any more time, he started preparing dinner for the two of you, making use of what was present in your humble home. You had a similarly humble kitchen with a simple stovetop and double-door cupboards.

A decent-sized (a/n: everything is small to him okay) refrigerator sat in the corner where he found some meat in its freezer, quite a huge portion for such a small person like you, but then again he witnessed firsthand how much you could eat, and eat like an orc you did. Tai'chi reached inside to grab the meat but met resistance. He subconsciously yanked the frozen thing off, his eyes widened when he realized what he did, nearly topping over the whole appliance. Tai'chi sheepishly adjusted the refrigerator back in its place, before he looked for other ingredients while he carefully moved around to avoid any more mishaps.

-

You went inside your bedroom, groggy and disgusting as you pulled off your clothes and threw them in a basket just outside your bathroom. You stepped inside and took a long, hot, well-deserved shower to get that dried sweat and blood off of your body. After you rinsed down, you sunk yourself in your little tub, sighing in content as you tried your best not to fall asleep. You shuddered and trapped yourself in a daze, enjoying the hot water around your naked form, relaxing in the aromatherapy you made for yourself as you hummed a tune, letting your thoughts wander.

The precision of that throw was simply scary. But also cool...mm. Awesome.

I wonder what happened to the Silverstones...

Courting, huh...who would've thought I'd be courted by an orc. I wonder what that entails...

Wait, I'll be courting him too, right?

"..."

You got out when the wrinkling started. Your muscles were still aching but less so than before. You used a towel to dry down before wearing a black oversized shirt, you had about 6 of them in your wardrobe 'cause hey, not one to dress up fancy and flashy. Plus blood gets splattered on your clothes a lot, it would be a waste of time and money. You also slipped inside your favorite pair of dark grey joggers, the one you always wore when you were at home. They were comfy!

You let your hair fall over your shoulders and back since it was still damp. When you got out the scent of cooked food engulfed you, wafting from your right.

Oh, how mouth-watering it was.

You tiptoed to your kitchen to peek at what Tai'chi cooked up. Unfortunate when you couldn't see anything with his broad physique was blocking your line of sight on the table.

"I could smell you, you know."

You almost, almost let out a yelp. You wiped your drool with the hem of your shirt.

"I- uh-"

He chuckled, "You must be starving. I—" Words died in his throat when he turned around to look at you.

He gawked.

You surprised him for the nth time today. There you stood before him, relaxed and freshly cleaned up, a whiff of mint reached his nose, your shampoo perhaps, mixed with your scent. You didn't have your mask on, which gave him a full look at your face, your lips were a little chapped, half-lidded eyes showing your exhaustion.

"Is there something on my face?"

"N-No." He stuttered as he tried to get something out. "Ehem, no. You just look... I'm done with dinner, you— we should eat, and then we can talk." Tai'chi said as he moved to take a chair and sat across you. You let that go, in favor of sating your hunger.

His cheeks were a bit darker in shade than his skin, but that slipped away as the dinner in front of you grabbed your full attention. It looked and smelled like pork curry. Was it pork curry? It's like something straight out of a Ghibli movie.

Bite-sized chunks of meat, diced potatoes, and carrots coated with a rich syrupy brown soup together with a modest –at least to both of you– portion of rice next to it. It was simple, but the way it tempted your senses implied that there was something more than what meets the eye, and your nose.

Or it's your gluttony speaking, probably.

You picked up your spoon and wondered if it's as good as it appears to be. You gulped, audibly.

You brought a small portion into your mouth, nearly falling off of your seat as you resisted the urge to make any sound that would outright embarrass you, but lo, as you took another spoonful, you couldn't stop yourself from letting out a moan. Your eyes widened and immediately covered your face with two hands as you felt it heat up.

You chewed and swallowed before you squeaked out, "I-I-I'm so sorry! It- It's just so yummy and tasty and I— it's amazing, and uh..." You trailed off and groaned, at a loss of words in your embarrassment. You risked to part your fingers and peek at him. He met your gaze and you hid again. His cheeks were in a darker hue than before. Was he flustered like you? Oh no, you shouldn't have done that, now he will think you're being weird!

Tai'chi cleared his throat and you removed your hands but refused to make eye contact with him, your face still hot.

-

"We... We should eat." He said, stiff and trying to seem indifferent. But that sound you made would forever be engraved into his mind, it was both cute, and, well, sensual.

Okay fine, it was somehow arousing, but he has it under control, he will keep his damn urges in check, even if it means jumping out of the window just to make sure he won't scare you away. He's an orc of honor for goodness' sake, he swore an oath, he will keep it.

You ate fast but paused to savor the food, minus any embarrassing noises, thankfully. The curry was rich and a bit spicy, the pork was soft and tender as you chewed at it easily, juicy as it is, along with the potatoes and carrots, both cooked and prepared with obvious care. You almost cried from the combination of flavors you nearly forgot it was just curry you're eating.

But damn, this is the best curry you've eaten your whole life.

It was minutes later when you finished your fourth heaping plate of food. Tai'chi had five. He made a lot which was great, considering how your plates were wiped clean as if they weren't used in the first place.

Damn, you ate like you didn't eat for a week.

With some regained energy, you stood and took the dishes before Tai'chi could even stop you, putting them in the sink and washing them, quick and thorough. Once you were done with that, you went back to your seat, ducked your head, and stared at your lap.

"..."

"I... Thank you for the food. It was really delicious and great and everything! And, uhm, you made the pork curry like a pro and I never tasted anything so fulfilling, —my mother will beat me if she heard that—and it was a simple curry but I, it's just so, so—" you huffed, "mind-blowing!" You were rambling, you knew. You looked up when he didn't say anything.

H-He's grinning...

"Thank you. I pride myself in my skill in the kitchen and I'm happy what I made for you was satisfying." Tai'chi thumped his chest, showing that he was very honoured to hear your words. He's never telling you he almost broke your fridge though.

"It was great!" You exclaimed right after him, throwing your hands up. It was truly great. He grinned even wider at this, that dark shade still present in his cheeks, though you were no better as you could feel the warmth on your own.

"Then I am beyond happy and honored to hear that from you," liga lul, he stated, only saying of the last part in his head.

You smiled at each other.

-

"Is now a good time to discuss my kind's courting rituals?" Taichi asked after a minute of sitting there in silence.

"Y-Yes, please," you replied. "So, how do orcs court someone?"

He straightened up in his seat.

"We show off to the one we're interested in, basically speaking. Ranging from skills in fighting to proving that we could provide for our...mate." He paused, watching you closely.

You nodded for him to continue. Not gonna lie, that last part made your heart skip a beat. Mate, huh.

"We," he coughed, "we also chase or fight off other suitors, be it threatening them or engaging them in battle. And if they attempt to kidnap or hurt the person courted in any way, they will suffer the wrath of an orc."

"So, they'll...die?"

"Yes, or so that's what it usually was back home. Here, in this city, it's a crime to kill someone just for that reason, but it is law among us. No one would bat an eye if someone gets beheaded just because they were foolish enough to insult the person an orc is courting."

"Oh," pretty brutal but okay. "Is there an option where they don't get murdered or..." You asked, waving your hand around. Killing because of an insult is going overboard, in your opinion, but then again, anyone would be furious if their potential partner gets slandered or taken away forcefully.

"When the courted wills it. It is always up to them to decide the fate of those who tried to harm them, and the orc must take their words into action."

"Oh, good. I really don't want you getting in trouble just because someone called me a freak and all," you said. You looked at your hands, calloused and a little rough from experience. Scars were littered over your body and you hid them well from any curious eye with your long sleeves and pants. Though right now, some of the scars on your arms were visible.

You jerked when you felt his large hand grab your arm and moved along to yours, rubbing his thumb on the back of it, his brows furrowed as he looked at you.

"They are wrong to call you that."

"And everyone's a piece of shit to call you a beast, a savage, or a murderer," you followed up in an instant.

His expression softened, and you smiled, ignoring how your heart hammered in your chest as he continued to caress your hand.

Tai'chi could feel your pulse, beating so fast he was scared for your health. But he was happy to know he could make you feel this way, his own heart was thumping loudly in his chest too.

"As I said before, we would show that we could provide for our potential partners. We would bring to them our best kills from hunts, offer gifts crafted by ourselves if we have the skill, if not, we will buy them tokens and things that remind us of them or what pleases them."

"Wait," you interrupted, "when you insisted on cooking dinner, was that a part of courting?"

He gave you a small smile as he scratched his sideburns, sheepish like a little child caught stealing candy.

"Yes." He answered, rather quiet than his usual booming voice.

"Uhm, I must say, it was really amazing. Your cooking, I mean. And thank you, again."

"The pleasure's all mine," he replied. "Building houses or fixing the courted's current one is also a part of it."

"You're not gonna build me house right away, are you?" You joked, but then he didn't reply. "Wait, you're serious? But we're still studying and—"

"I am serious about building a house for, uh, the two of us," he interrupted, "but yes, I understand our current situation won't allow that to happen...yet."

"H-How long does the courting last?" You couldn't help but ask. He's talking about building you a house someday and you don't even know how old he is! No connection to what you're fumbling about but yeah, your mind is messed up. You are curious though...his age.

"It usually lasts for six months, to give time to get to know each other but also not prolong the courting stage so they could proceed to the next, but there are times when it lasts longer than that. You will have absolute control over how fast or slow we proceed in the courtship. That means it's up to you on when to end it and decide whether you'll...take me as your mate, or turn me down."

"Sounds pressuring but okay." You want to, like, combust right now.

He chuckled.

"Pressuring? No, no, please do not be pressured. Your word is law and I will face death by my family's ax if I disobey your final decision."

"Again with the death thingy!" You were appalled at how extreme orcs were.

"Us orcs are very strict and firmly tied to our traditions, but I can say we are changing. It is slow, but change nonetheless."

"I have a question," you raised your free hand out of habit.

Tai'chi nodded.

"I hope this is won't offend but how old are you?"

There, you said it. Oh fuck, you hoped it wasn't offending. Shit it was— asking his age, seriously?

"How old do you think I am?" He questioned, teasing you, a smirk on his lips catching you off guard.

"What? Noooo that's not an answer! I can't guess, you might get angry."

"I won't," he supplied right after. Why would he be? In fact, he is pretty much enjoying himself just watching you fidget with your ears slightly tinted pinkish. By the gods, he wants to touch them.

You sighed.

You stared at him, avoiding eye-contact as you tilted your head to get a good look at his features. He had a long and narrow scar you didn't spot before, in a lighter green color on the left side of his face. It wasn't noticeable if you stare at him up-front. It went down his neck and ended just above his collar bone. You wondered what caused it.

The orc was rough, his double tusks sharp and intimidating, even horrifying to another set of eyes but to you, he was attractive and rugged, his scent alluring and you only found him more fascinating each passing second. The scars he had enticed your curiosity but you weren't gonna ask about it, yet.

You always thought the standards set by society are rather absurd. You looked back at the time when someone asked you what your type was, along with showing you different pictures of men, human men, which were deemed "hot" (with quotation marks, yes) by most people. You didn't answer because; one, you don't know them; two, you couldn't tell what their personality was because you can't scent them; and three, it only annoyed you. People found you even weirder after that. Ironically deeming you senseless for not having an eye for beauty. No taste or missing out, they said.

But one's beauty wasn't found in sight alone.

You hummed to yourself. His hair was rich black, no trace of graying, so maybe he's not so old? 30s? How fast do orcs grow up? Do they even age? What do they look like when they were children?

You were brought back to the present when he gently squeezed your hand.

"Oh— uh, 35?" You blurted out, a bit panicked. As far as you know no one is as....buff as him in your age— but wait he's an orc!

"Oh no wait that's—"

You were cut off by a loud snort followed by a boisterous laugh coming out of Tai'chi, making you more embarrassed than you already are. His guffaw shook your apartment you swear your neighbors are filing a noise complaint tomorrow with how much he was laughing and you raising your voice.

"No," he said, "no actually, I'm still in my 23rd year. Do I really look that old?" He questioned as he chortled.

"23rd?! But you're— you're," you gestured at him. He's just five years older than you (which isn't long period of time you think) but he's— he's fucking huge! What the hell did they eat up North?

"Yes," he laughed again, amused by your reaction. "Believe it or not I am. Orcs begin training at age 6" he shifted the topic, "The adults would let them choose their desired weapon and craft to pursue, but also allowed them to experience all selections, from swords, battle axes, hammers, and many more, along with skills and crafts like hunting, blacksmithing, combat, construction, even basket weaving.

"I went on my first hunt when I was 12 and brought a stag back home. I tamed my first warg at 15, named him Nadul, Orcish for 'night'."

"6 year old me snuck out of the house during nap time to collect twigs in the woods while you were wielding weapons and—"

"That is correct,"

"And you had a pet warg?" You knew what wargs are, you read about them when you were in high school, along with other animals that fascinated you. They looked like large wolves with the stature of an adult grizzly bear and can carry a full-grown orc into battle.

"Have," he corrected, his fluffy buddy was still very much alive and well the last time he went back to visit his home, which was three months ago. He doubted anything could take down Nadul, not even a Frostbear, he was the one who trained him after all.

"I still can't believe you're 23. You look so..."— you were not gonna say old, no— "mature."

"At a different rate from humans, yes."

Of course they do. You got so much to learn about orcs, and him.

"And you? How old are you?"

"19."

"Oh? You look 13 with how little you are,"

You didn't expect him to be playful like this, but you went along.

"Hey! I'm only small compared to you, you giant!" True, you were a tad shorter than most girls your age but it has its perks! You'd save a lot of money from buying clothes just because you grew rather slowly. "And in fact, I'm still growing!"

"So am I." He grinned, smugness painted all over his face.

"Noooo, if you keep growing you won't fit through the doorway!" You whined, pouting at how much of a tease he was being.

He found it adorable, the way your lower lip was upturned as you looked at him. The sudden urge to pat you rose but he didn't act on it.

"Do not worry, us orcs stop growing in our 25th year," or not. "And I will make sure to feed and treat you good so you'll become taller!" he stated confidently. Tai'chi was about to laugh again, but he froze with his jaw open when you turned real red, your ears tinted and your lips quivered, unable to speak out anything.

That last part, made your face feel like fire just kissed it, twice. Panicked and having no idea what to retort, you let your head fall on the table with a thud. You gripped his hand tight and took silent breaths to calm your thumping heart down.

"Y-Yeah... I..I l-look forward to that, Tai'chi." You were able to say that at least.

He gave a soft grunt as he looked at you on the table.

You were very flustered, he scented. His comment-sort-of-declaration was clearly the reason. But oh, he had no regrets. He will make sure you're healthy and well-fed, and it's just one way of showing off with his skills.

That's only the beginning.

You were in for some Orcish surprises.

You sat in comfortable silence again for a while, just taking in each other's scents, soothing and calming your hammering heart. Tai'chi continued to caress your hand, gentle for such a big orc like him. He could snap your neck with two fingers alone, but he remained careful like he was holding a thing so delicate.

Tai'chi could feel your pulse slow down to a normal rate, your scent shifted to that of a relaxed state and something fuzzy. He can't call you his yet, you just met today but you already got him wrapped around your tiny fingers. First, he will court you and show his admiration, prove his worth. And you, yourself, turning it into love the more you spend time together, he knows it will.

And he'll surely be damned to let this chance slip. Not once did he took interest in getting a mate before, his mind too busy and filled with his responsibilities along with studies in other kind's culture, and taking care of his siblings.

But back then and there, something pulled on his heart, the way your eyes stared into his for seconds that felt longer than eternity itself. An exaggeration, but that's what he felt.

He found you.

-

You were about to doze off so you removed your head from the table and tried to blink away your sleepiness, the light hurting you a little. You should get to bed soon, your first class starts at 8 in the morning. You stared at Tai'chi, admiring that blue eyes of his, its hue similar to that of lapis lazuli, you thought.

"I should take my leave now. We need to rest, especially you." Tai'chi said when he saw how tired you appeared, you were barely keeping your eyes open. He stood up from his seat, lightly pulling you up with him. You shook your head, rubbing your eyes as you led him to your door.

"Keep safe," you bid once he was ready to go.

"You as well... I will see you tomorrow."

"Mm, g'night."

Tai'chi breathed through his nose before he placed a kiss on your forehead. It was brief, but it sent a pleasant warmth all over your body. You were too sleepy to even bother being shy now, so you only smiled at him.

"Goodnight, lak'mar lul." He gazed at you, sighing before he stepped out of your apartment.

You stood there for a moment before you checked your door and made sure it was deadlocked. You killed the lights off as you sluggishly trudged to your bed. Darkness enveloped your home, a welcome one. You crawled to the middle and tucked yourself under the dark blue cotton sheets.

You were out like a light once you settled down. Much too many things happened right after another, draining you to an exhaustingly low point. You only prayed you'd feel better in the morning.

Your last thought was about how warm the orc was, and how, for some reason, his scent, his presence, felt like a home you never had, which was saying something since you had encountered a lot of scents in your life, both good and bad. You hugged your pillow tight as you succumbed to a dreamless slumber.

—

I'm putting this off for a bit to give time for requests and other WIPs. But if a random continuation pops out I'll have to write it down and set it aside for editing later.

Thank you for reading!

[octupus-on-the-moon]

I`m the favorite

Pairing: Non, just the Wilson family and Red Wing.

Wordcount: 2689

Warning: Non

Author´s note: This little story is based on this post of this super cool blog @justsamwilson, check it out too.

The moon stood high above a lake bathed in darkness; only a soft light, that emerged of a house near the shore, reflected on the water surface. The air was pleasantly warm and humid, around the double-gallery house, whose blue color almost seemed black between the shadows. Crickets were chirping and fireflies humming, only the subdued sound of conversation and laughter, coming from the residence, disrupted the almost complete silence.

The Wilson family was having dinner. James Barnes or ‘Bucky’ as everyone called him, came over to spend the weekend. The kids where specially excited about Uncle Bucky’s visit, he was the only one with enough time to play. Sam and Sarah were also glad that he came over every once in a while, to help out with whatever he could.

Now after a long day of fishing, cleaning and packing up deliveries all were enjoying Sarah’s gumbo.

“The soup is amazing Sarah” Bucky praised her with a warm smile, she blushed looking down at her half full plate.

“Thank you. It´s a family recipe. I can write it down for you if you want” Sarah replied, tucking a strain of hair behind her ear, earning an annoyed look from Sam who was sitting across from her.

“That won´t be necessary, if I want some I just need to come here. It´s really good so I’ll be around a lot” Bucky chuckled tilting his head and taking another spoon full of gumbo. The boys whispered at each other giggling.

Sam sighted irritated “Okey enough flir…”

A loud melody coming from his phone in the pocket of his jeans interrupted Sam.

“Oh it´s Torres” He said tapping on the screen “Hi, what’s up?”

A distorted voice, only understandable for Sam, came out of the phone as he stood up. “I’m with my four-favorite people in this world having dinner” He explained, walking out on the porch into the friendly night.

The scraping of spoons continued unaffected.

“Of course, I’m his number one favorite nephew and person” Stated Cass out of the blue, blowing at his glasses that tarnished under the steam of the hot soup.

“Ha. You can´t even eat a soup right” AJ opposed, whose glasses where perfectly clear “I´m older than you, so I´m his favorite”

“At least I can take my glasses off and stop seeing your ugly face” Cass snapped back sticking out his tongue.

Sarah took a deep breath “Stop it you two” she scolded both, clapping her hand gently against Cass´s head, who was sitting right next to her.

“Well, I´m his partner in crime and I saved the world with him, so I would be his favorite number one” Bucky added, innocently starring at an interesting spot on the wall, while Sarah glared at him.

“That’s not fair. Just because he didn’t let me go with him” Cass pouted “I could have saved the world too”

AJ rolled his eyes behind his glasses. “You couldn´t even walk back then, dummy”

Sarah quickly chewed her last bite “Hey, we don´t talk like that in this house” extending her right arm over to the front side of the table to clap softly AJ´s head, as she did before with Cass. “And you are all wrong. I’m his sister. I know him longer than any of you. So obviously I am his favorite” She taunted, challengingly looking towards Bucky now.

Turning their eyes into the same direction, the brothers waited expectantly a response; causing Bucky to clear his throat and shift his torso to sit up right. “Oh really” he said still searching for a quick answer.

Then his eyes lit up “IIIIIIII spent five years with him in a weird glitch reality. That” Bucky paused dramatically “Makes me his number one”

The mention of that unfortunate time stiffened Sarah´s shoulders, but went unnoticed by the boys who high fived, twisting around on their seat, to see their mother´s reaction.

“Aha. After a month you probably bored him to death” Sarah countered with a serious tone “I can cook him all his favorite meals, ergo I´m the favorite”

The brothers quietly glanced over to Bucky, who did not appear amused either. The last words altered the atmosphere. It was chilly in the room, yet the temperature had not changed.

Bucky lifted his chin pretentiously “Pff. That´s nothing. Sam went two years on the run for me” his voice had a harsh undertone, that was not there before “I am his favorite”. Sarah stared back at him with ice cold eyes and the brothers hold their breath.

The tense moment passed as soon, as Sam’s heavy steps entered the room “What did I miss?” he asked with the always welcoming warm tone he had.

Bucky relaxed, as far as he could, picking up his spoon pocking the remains of his soup.

Sarah turned her head, letting down her shoulders, with a bright beam “Not much. How´s Torres doing?”

The dinner went on as before, polite conversation and more gumbo, but something unkind lurked in the air among the plates.

A silent dare between Sarah and Bucky settled.

Prove each other who was the favorite.

***

The weekend passed under an invisible contest between Sarah and Bucky.

The kids thought it was a fun idea persuading uncle Sam to admit who was the favorite number one, by doing extra nice things for him. The brothers gifted Sam some self-painted comics, with their cool uncle Captain America saving their day and helped him cleaning his super suite, among other little chores; But quickly let go of it, when their uncle Bucky and Mom took it to the extreme.

Bucky was constantly around Sam asking him at any given moment if he could help him or do it all himself instead of Sam. From renovating the whole cabin of the boat, to just serve him a coffee. Always being polite, letting out any teasing or offensive joking, which rapidly irritated Sam.

Unlike Bucky, Sarah, worked in the background: Serving the meals he most liked, bringing a refreshing lemonade under the hot sun of July or checking on the boats motor, so it would not die while Sam was out fishing. Smiling and being nice, without drawing to much attention on herself.

Sam did not mind being so well attended by his loved ones the first hours of that Saturday morning. After lunch he started to feel that something was off, apart from Bucky´s suspicious behavior. On his way back to the boat after a little break he realized, that the Boys were quieter than usual around their mother and that Bucky had not flirted with Sarah in more than 12 hours, which was nearly a miracle.

As almost every Saturday, Bucky and Sam, kept working on the boat.

“Hey Buck, can you pass me that screwdriver?” Sam asked looking straight at the doorless frame in front of him.

“Yes of course. Do you need something else? Can I help you with that?” Bucky passed him the screwdriver, looking interested on the hinges Sam was exchanging.

“No, it´s fine, you check on that doors paint” Sam replied, signing towards a freshly painted door leaning against the rail of the boat.

"Just" he stopped for a moment turning around to see Bucky in the eyes. "One question"

Bucky nodded enthusiastically, unusual for his serious persona "Of course, what is it?"

"What the hell is going on with you all?" Sam asked leaning against the doorway, crossing both arms over his chest.

"Us? Nothing. We're just doing what we do every weekend?" Bucky’s enthusiastic face fell apart, making place for his familiar icy expression. Without awaiting another word from Sam, he turned around to keep working on the paint of the door.

Sam sighted. He knew that face far too well and now he was more than sure that something was up. But Sam never got far pressing Bucky to tell him what he knew, felt or thought.

He will need to ask the boys what is going on.

Sam pressed a button on what at first sight could be a wristwatch. It was actually a remote for Red Wing. Sam made a second one for daily use. Red Wing is not only a weapon for him; he could be quite useful for many things.

"Red Wing locate AJ and Cass, tell them they should come to the boat" Sam quietly order into the remote. "Then I want you to fly over my position and take pictures"

The roof of the cabin was leaking since Sam had memory. Bucky wanted to climb on the cabin earlier this morning, since Sarah lent their ladder to one of the neighbors. But with the boat slight movement and the wet surface of the cabin roof, Sam did not want him to get hurt. With a few good pictures of Red Wing, they could see what needed to be repaired and do it the next time both had a free weekend.

***

Almost an hour passed, till Red Wings hum, announced the arrival of the two brothers.

Sam did not worry; both often went down to the village to play soccer with the other kids.

"Hey uncle Bucky, hey uncle Sam. What's up?" AJ questioned tiredly climbing on to the boat. The two were covered in mud and Cass was holding a brown round mass of what must be a soccer ball.

"You two had fun I see" Bucky said smiling at them.

"Only your mom will not be pleased when she sees you two like that" Sam added, smirking towards Bucky, who nodded accordingly. "Anyway, you need to clean up and I need to talk to you. Dinner must be ready soon" Sam answered AJ's question.

"Buck, I'll be back in a second. Then we can hang in the door and finish up for today" Sam's bracelet remote beeped. Red Wing had sent the pictures to his phone.

***

"What's going on uncle Sam?" Cass asked after all three had left the boat and were slowly walking to the back of the house to clean up their mess, before their mother saw them.

"That's exactly what I wanted to ask you too" Sam replied.

"Nothing. What should be going on?" AJ eluded him, nervously side eyeing Cass.

Sam specified his question "Why are your uncle and your mom acting so strange?"

"Oh, about that..." Cass and AJ responded in unison, looking at each other. Then both giggled. And Sam's confusion grew even worse.

Then a high pitched and blurred voice, from inside the house, screamed at them.

It was Sarah. She opened the window "Look at you two. Who is going to wash that? And the grass stains on that jeans AJ?"

"I was goalkeeper" AJ said, loud enough so only his brother and uncle could hear it.

"You’re not going to enter my house like that! AJ I heard that. No talking back to me, you know that. You two are going to wash your own clothes, just so we are clear" Sarah's frustrated tone changed immediately as she saw Sam "Oh, hey Sam, are you done for today? Dinner is almost ready, but you can shower before that if you want"

The boys went around the house to follow their mothers request and get rid of the mud, while their mom was distracted; Sam´s question already forgotten.

It took him a beat too long to respond, but Sarah waited patiently “Yes we´re almost done. I’ll shower before dinner, but don´t wait for me. Bucky probably wants to…”

“Oh, don´t worry we can wait. It´s not like we’re starving to death” Sarah interrupted him with an exaggerated laugh.

Sam sighted again. The day was pretty busy, the sun hot and he was tired.

But curiosity killed the cat, right?

“Sarah” Sam voice now a little sharper “What is going on between you and Buck?”

***

With a frustrated huff Sam let the cold water run down his body.

Nobody knew anything, but everyone acted strange, he thought, massaging his temples enjoying the cool wet.

Sarah did not answer. She gave a short explanation about her relationship with Bucky, completely missing the point of his question. Then she vanished from the window, leaving Sam with his doubts.

Now he was trying to figure it out himself. What exactly he needed to figure out was unclear too. “What did I miss?” he questioned out loud in to the empty bathroom.

Everything was perfectly fine till today morning. They couldn´t have discussed in the morning, because he was always the first up on his feet.

Absentmindedly he soaped and rinsed his hair and body.

Then it struck him. Torres´s call. They must have discussed during his call. That would explain why the boys were so obediently quiet afterwards.

“But what could they have discussed about?” another question floating unanswered in the steamy air of the bathroom.

Sam stepped out of the shower, at the moment his Red Wing remote beeped. He sent the little drone out to look for bee nests around the house. They were pretty common around here, but for AJ deadly due to his allergy.

He must have found one somewhere.

Sam made a mental note to call the beekeeper, to remove the nest safely. But he dismissed the idea almost immediately.

Red wing.

Red wing was laying on the sofa last night, he probably recorded the whole evening. Bucky complained afterwards that Sam leaves Red Wing everywhere after repairing or upgrading him. He must have recorded the discussion between Sarah and Buck.

Without wasting much more time in the bathroom, Sam rushed over to his room, where Red Wing was patiently waiting for new orders on his bed.

“Red Wing, replay the audio footage of last night between” Sam rapidly took his phone out “7.35 and 7.40”

***

AJ and Cass looking shiny new in their fresh clothes, were nervously waiting for uncle Sam. Their Mother and Uncle were ignoring each other sipping on their glass of wine. The kitchen smelled amazing with the different pregnant spices of the casserole hanging in the air.

From the top they could hear Sam´s distinguished steps coming down the stair. At the sound of it, Bucky´s and Sarah´s posture changed immediately to warm smiles and relaxed shoulders.

Sam came down with a big grin on his face and Red Wing in his hands.

“Finally” Cass sighted, already grabbing the spoon to serve himself, just to get his hand clapped away by Sarah.

“Don´t be so impatient Cass, let your uncle take a seat first”

“Oh, don´t worry about me. Cass serve yourself; I still have something to say” Sam intervened his grin growing even bigger. Sarah and Bucky exchanged for the first time a glance.

“Red Wing, had been quite useful today” Sam said laying the drone on a little side table near the stairs. “Yes, quite useful” Sam repeated with a chuckle seating himself on his usual spot besides Bucky, who seemed really preoccupied over his strange behavior.

“I think if I ever stranded on a lone island, I would hope to have Red Wing with me” Sam kept on talking, taking the spoon from AJ, who already was pouncing his plate. “He could alarm me from any wild animals or even hunt something for me, without complaining or competing” he added savoring the confused expressions of his family “Yes, he truly is my favorite” Sam finished, passing the spoon to Bucky.

Sarah choked on her wine, looking over to Bucky, who couldn´t compute what was going on.

The boys bursted out in to a laugh, Sam gladly joined.

“How?” Buck asked knitting his brows, still holding the serving spoon, then his eyes shifted to the little red drone on the side table “Oh”

“Yes” was the only thing Sam managed to say between tears.

Sarah and Bucky looked at each other for another moment completely embarrassed. Then both grinned joining the others laughs.

After everyone caught their breath again, Cass broke the silence “But uncle Sam who´s your real favorite?”

Sam smiled at his little nephew “Red wing is real isn´t he?”

All rights reserved.

[sylphid187]

Coming Home, Taking Flight ‐ Chapter 2: Road to Osaka

This Chapter 2 of my fic focusing on Hinata's journey home. A look into Hinata's return to Japan, his interactions with his friends, and how he makes it into the MSBY Black Jackals.

Hinata Shoyou wakes up religiously the next morning. He gets up, goes for a morning jog, gets some yoga in his routine, then makes time for morning meditation. He makes sure to do all this, before heading to the kitchen to make some breakfast for his family. 

He spent most of yesterday and last night catching up with his family and friends, who had to leave late in the night, after they realized that the sun was down and Tsukishima still had to drive Yachi and Yamaguchi home. During dinner, Shouyou had spent blissful time with his family, his mother seemingly very happy about having the returning presence of her eldest, back in their household. He is reminded again how being back in the company of his family in their own home, was so comforting. 

He walks around their kitchen and, as he waits for the rice to finish cooking, he goes into the fridge to find some salmon slices and some tofu. Shouyou smiles and figures that he probably has enough ingredients to make a healthy japanese breakfast with the salmon, and he's sure his mom has enough ingredients to make some miso soup to go with the meal. He smiles as he is reminded of how he fiddled around in hisbshared space with Pedro, and how Shouyou would usually make breakfast for his roommate, before going to wake him so they could enjoy a meal together. 

As much as Shouyou wanted to treat his family to some brazillian recipes he'd learned from Nice, he didn't have enough ingredients for it right now. So he promises himself he'd do that another day. He'd be more than happy to share the other culture that he's grown to love, with the one that he grew up with. 

Later, when Shouyou is just about finished with setting up the table and their morning meal, he hears padded footsteps make their way through their dining area, and is sure that it's Natsu that's making her way to the kitchen. He hears a gasp and looks up to find that he's guessed right, and Natsu is there staring at their table. 

"Wow Nii-chan, this looks great!" she claps her hands together in glee and continues to scan over what Shouyou has made. 

"Thanks Natsu! Hope you like it! I packed one for mom so she can take it with her to work." Shouyou smiled. His mother still worked on the weekends, and she was used to laboring hard as a single mother. She had worked hard her whole life to sustain Shouyou and Natsu. Shouyou hopes that his dreams of going pro wouldn't just be a benefit to him, but would help lighten the load on his family too. 

"It really does look good! I can't wait to dig in!" Natsu clasps her hands together again, before heading to the sink to wash them, and sitting down at her usual spot on the table. 

Shouyou then sits across from her, and they both give thanks before beginning to dig in. Natsu immediately gives out a happy squeal after a few bites, and Shouyou can't help but chuckle at his sister's antics. He's extremely pleased though that she seems to genuinely like his food. "Nii-chan! This is so good! It looked great, but it tastes even better." 

Shouyou grins. "Flattery will get you nowhere Natsu, but thank you. I'm really happy you like it." 

"It's a real shame you won't be staying longer Nii-chan. I wouldn't mind eating more of your cooking. You're leaving this afternoon right?" she asks him with a smile. 

"That's right. I'll leave by noon, sorry I won't be able to spend more time with you and mom. And I just got home too." Shouyou states, a little gloomy at the thought. 

It saddens him a bit that he can't spend more time with his family, just after he's gotten back. But Shouyou cut it really close when he chose to fly back yesterday. He couldn't book earlier flights because he also wanted to maximize spending time with Pedro, Heitor, Nice and Coach. That, and he did promise to wait after Heitor and Nice's wedding.  But, he needed to be home in time to make it to tryouts. Granted, his chosen flight really didn't give him much time for any detours. Tryouts were on Monday, and today was Saturday. The plan was to head out Saturday afternoon to Osaka via train. 

The train ride from Miyagi to Higashiosaka in Osaka was about nine hours. He had planned to leave around noon to get to Osaka by 10pm. He still had to find a place to stay, but he figured he would work it out when he got there. He could, of course, leave on a Sunday. But Shouyou wanted to have enough time to familiarize himself with the area before tryouts, and have at least a little bit of time to get in shape while waiting for the day to arrive. He didn't want to show up to Osaka not knowing where he was headed and end up missing tryouts because he got lost. With this, he'd at least have a full day to go around the area. 

"Don't apologize to us for following your dreams, Shouyou." The two look to the sound of the voice, to find their mother there with a smile on her face. "We support you, always remember that. And whenever you're having a hard day and need to come home, we'll be here to welcome you back." 

"Mama..." Shouyou smiles. He really was very lucky, and he will never tell himself otherwise. 

"That's right Nii-chan! And I can't wait to tell my friends and teammates all about you when you make the team!" Natsu says as she shoves another piece of fish in her mouth. 

"Natsu! I told you I have to make the team first. There's definitely tons of competition for a spot on the team." He contemplates on this. He's both nervous and excited for tryouts, but he will definitely be doing his best, no matter who his competition is. 

Their mother goes to the countertop and picks up the lunch Shouyou made and smiles at her son. "Oh believe me, you'll make it." 

"Mama! Not you too! I don't wanna be overconfident about it." 

"Shouyou, I'm not saying it because of any other reason, but because I truly believe that you'll make it." She goes over to him and pats his head. "It doesn't matter to me how old you and Natsu ever grow up to be. I will always be your number one fan. And you always remember one thing, I am so very proud of you." 

" Thank you." Shouyou feels like crying, but he stops himself and opts for a wide smile instead. "I'll definitely ace tryouts, you'll see. I'll make sure they notice me."

"Yes you will!" Natsu chimes in. 

"I know you will." She thanks him for the meal he's made for her before kissing both kids on the cheek and making her way to the door. "By the way Shouyou, are your things packed for later?" 

"Yep! I made sure I had everything before going to sleep last night." He says with a proud smile. "I might end up leaving a little earlier though. I want to make sure I catch the train on time." 

This makes their mother stop in her tracks, and Natsu snicker. "Shouyou, did you think you were taking the train?" 

Shouyou is confused. "Yes? I mean, how else am I supposed to get to Osaka?" he asks as he tilts his head to the side. 

"Natsu." 

Natsu grins "Don't worry about it mama. Nii-chan will find out later anyway. So everyone agreed to keep quiet about it." 

"Keep quiet about what?" Shouyou asks again as he looks between them both. "Am I missing something?"

"It's a surprise." And what a surprise it was. 

 ---

Shouyou was just grabbing his things and about to head out the door, Natsu following behind him. "Nii-chan I really think you should wait a bit." 

"Sorry Natsu, if I wait any longer I might miss my train!" He ruffled her hair affectionately and continued "Take good care of mama while I'm away, okay?" 

"Nii-chan wait!" Natsu tries to grab Shouyou as he opens the door, but misses. He slides their door open and comes face to face with none other than Kozume Kenma and Kuroo Tetsurou. 

Shouyou blinks. And then again. And again. "Kenma-nii! Kuroo-nii! You made it just in time." he hears Natsu speak from behind him. 

"Yo, chibi-chan! What's up?" Kuroo's personality hasn't changed at least, Shouyou thinks. 

"Wha...what are you guys doing here?!" Shouyou gasps, as he looks over at the newcomers. 

"Shouyou." He looks over to Kenma who is smiling at him. "I'd like to think you owe me a better greeting than that." 

"Yeah, that's kinda hurtful chibi-chan. After we came all the way here to take you to Osaka." Kuroo says with a grin as he slings his arm around Kenma's shoulder. 

" You're taking me to Osaka?!" Shouyou exclaims again in shock. 

Kenma sighs, a small smile still on his face. He dislodges himself from Kuro’s hold and goes to envelope Shouyou in a hug. It takes a moment, but Shouyou relaxes and immediately hugs back. "Welcome home Shouyou." 

Shouyou feels someone ruffling his hair and he opens his eyes to see Kuroo there with a smile. "Glad to have you back Chibi-chan" 

He feels Kenma let go, and the gamer finally stands back to take a good look at Shouyou after all this time. "You look good." 

"Thanks Kenma! You too!" He grins. 

"Should I be jealous?" Kuroo asks with a smirk as he watches them, but one look from Kenma shuts him up as he raises his hand in resignation. He chuckles and shakes his head, allowing the two to continue talking.  

"You've changed too." Kenma continues as he grins. "I can't wait to see what else you're gonna do Shouyou." 

"If you get boring, I'll drop you."  

Shouyou ends up giving out a nervous laugh as he remembers Kenma's words from back then, just when Kenma offered to become his sponsor. But deep down, he knows that Kenma has only ever done everything he could to help Shouyou, and that was said in jest...probably. The former Nekoma setter was just really fascinated with him, for some reason. 

"As much as I love the touching reunion, we have to move folks. It's a 10 hour drive to Osaka!" Kuro exclaims as he pats their backs. 

Kuro and Kenma both begin to help Shouyou and Natsu bring the former's things to the car. While they're loading up, Shouyou continues to say thanks to his friends for taking the time to bring him to  their destination. "I really appreciate it you guys, thank you. I was fine with taking the train though!" 

Kenma scrunches his face in disapproval and replies "There's no way we'd let you take the train, not when we had the time to pick you up ourselves." 

"I hope you guys didn't put off anything important." he tells them. He knows how busy Kenma has been, as he's regularly kept in touch in Brazil. 

"I can manage Shouyou, don't worry too much about it." Kenma says with a wave of his hand. 

"What Kenma means to say, is that if he had it his way, he would have been the one to pick you up from the airport too. Unfortunately, he lost at a game of rock-paper-scissors to Tsukki and had to give the airport pickup to them. And he also wants you to know that he finished all his workload early to make sure we were free when you got here. So don't you worry about it." Kuroo says as he shuts the trunk and dusts his hands. He looks over at the two with a large grin before he feels someone lightly punch his side. 

Kenma gives Kuroo a glare and then another playful shove. "Just get in the car before I decide to leave you here Kuro." 

"Awww you'd never do that kitten." Kenma stares at Kuro with a piercing gaze, and Shouyou thinks if looks could kill, that was it. "Annndd I'll be quiet now. Come on chibi-chan! let's get you to Osaka!" 

Natsu waves at them animatedly as they all get in the car. She lets out a loud "Keep safe!" as they drive away from the Hinata household and begin their 10 hour car ride. 

The ride begins similarly to that of yesterday, filled with catching up and updates on how everyone else has been doing. Shouyou has had little contact with the former Nekoma team, with the exception of Kenma and Kuroo. This wasn't for the lack of trying either, but he’s only ever occasionally spoken to Inouka and Lev, and that's during one or two video calls during a day off. It isn't a surprise to him that team Nekoma have all worked their way up the ladder as they grew up, and even through their success, continued to stay connected within their own circle. Kenma and Kuroo themselves regularly spoke to all their former teammates and told Shouyou much of how they were all doing. 

"Waaah! I've heard from Lev about his modeling career! I didn't know he'd become such a big name in Russia." he exclaims excitedly. 

"Lev is still Lev. He might look pristine and proper in the photos, but he's just as loud as ever." Kenma says with a sigh, as if just talking about Lev was tiring him out. 

Kuroo guffaws. "At least he's mellowed down some because of Yaku." 

Shouyou tits his head "Are they?" 

Kuroo looks at him from the rearview mirror and smiles. "We can neither confirm nor deny, I'm afraid. Neither of them have said anything, but Yaku's sent us photos of them together. It's pretty common at this point, ever since Yakkun's been playing for the Russian V-League." 

"We hear he plans to come back though. There's some talk that they've begun to scout for players fit for the Japanese volleyball olympic team, and Yaku wants to be here and play for Japan." Kenma states, as he begins to fiddle with what seems like a new game console. 

"Ah yeah! Bokuto's been excited about that too. But he wants the Jackals to win this season first and finally kill the Alder's winning streak." Kuro tells them with a smirk. "And you know, they might actually be able to if you make it on the team chibi-chan." 

"Ahaha...well I'll definitely make sure to make an impression during tryouts." Shouyou says. "I can't wait to see Bokuto-san on Monday! I wonder if he'll be watching tryouts?" 

"From what Bo tells me, Coach Foster is requiring them to watch this year. He wants the whole team's opinion on getting a new player." Kuro replies. 

"Shouyou, what do you mean by seeing Bokuto on Monday?" Kenma immediately asks, putting his game down and turns to look at Shouyou. 

"Eh? I mean, I won't be seeing him till tryouts." Shouyou reiterates with a tilt of his head, when else would he find the time to see Bokuto-san? 

"Wait chibi-chan, aren't you going to..." Kuro doesn't get to finish. 

"Shouyou, where in Osaka are you staying? Sorry, we forgot to ask earlier." Kenma asks him. 

"Oh! Sorry, my bad. I was wondering if you guys knew of any affordable budget hotels that you can drop me off in that's near the tryouts gym?" Shouyou asks with a smile. He sees Kenma freeze and Kuroo's eyebrows shoot up. 

"..." Kenma stays silent for a little too long, and Shouyou wonders if he's said something he shouldn't have. 

"I can look one up though! So you guys can drop me off somewhere in the area and I should be able to find one that'll let me stay two nights!" 

"Kuro." That's all he hears Kenma say, before the rooster haired man is nodding and passing his phone to Kenma. 

"Got it. Just send the text out and let them know it's you. Shouldn't be a problem." Kuroo replies. Shouyou doesn't understand what's happening.

"Um." 

Kuroo looks over at him again. "Don't worry about it chibi-chan, we know exactly where to take you." 

"Really? Where?" He asks, confused. 

"You'll see." 

He can see Kenma vigorously typing a message using Kuroo's phone, and once he's done, looks over to Shouyou again with a smile. "You're not sleeping in a random hotel, Shouyou. I'm not letting you." 

"Eh?" 

"Don't worry though, we've already found a solution." Kenma continues with a smile. 

"Eeh?" 

"Better to just go with it, there's no stopping Kenma when he's like this." Kuroo grins again. 

"But..." Shouyou begins to protest. He really hopes his friends aren't spending money on him. "K-Kenma..." 

"But you know," Kenma stares at him then, with catlike eyes that seem to be boring into his soul. "If you ever do something like this again and not let me know, I'll be really upset Shouyou." 

"Eeehhhh?" Shouyou binks. He looks between the two and can't help his confusion from growing. 

What in the world is Kenma talking about? And where in the world were they taking him?! 

CHAPTER 1 BELOW

[fangirlfitness]

Hi!!! After ages I'm back as I had another question I wanted to ask. I'm going back to college next week and I wanted for advice on eating healthy and also meal prep? Because I know I'll be busy this year but I still want to eat well and stay away from processed foods!

Thanks for coming back! :)

There’s a billionty different diets out there, because there are a billionty people who want your money, but really there are just 3 basic rules for eating clean (courtesy of Michael Pollan):

1. Eat food.

This means veggies, fruits, lean proteins, healthy fats, and whole grains. When you go food shopping, stick to the perimeter of the store - this is where they keep all the refrigerated stuff that can’t sit on shelves for 3 years… So that means it’s real food. Real food has about 1-5 ingredients, and all of them are pronouncable. Only eat stuff with ingredients you can pronounce, and avoid food that has added sugar. If you like making soups, frozen veggies are hella cheap, and easy to throw into a pot (technically frozen stuff is in the middle of the store, but as long as you buy the bags that ONLY have the vegetables (no added sugar or salt) you’re still eating clean). If you’re a lazy cook like me who buys broth instead of making it, make sure the broth has a short list of pronouncable ingredients. Instead of soda, drink sparkling water (and please read the ingredient list to make sure they’re not adding aspartame or other artificial flavors or colors). Instead of the typical chips, buy snacks that have short pronouncable ingredient lists. Or better yet, bring apple slices/cucumber slices/carrots/celery sticks with some nuts/nut butter (and yes nuts and nut butter can have junk added to them, so just read the ingredients of everything…). Greek yogurt is also a fantastic portable snack that’s high in protein, but again, be sure to read those ingredient labels (Trader Joe’s, Chobani, and Fage are all clean brands I know off-hand).

If you’ve got a little more money, I recommend the Orgain Whole Meal protein powder. It’s yummy, loaded with nutrients, free of nasty stuff, and you can throw it in a shaker with milk (either dairy or nondairy) for an easy protein shake to take with you.

If you’ve got more of a “savory-tooth”, I highly recommend these all natural delicious jerky bars - the chicken sriracha is my favorite, and having one on hand has been a lifesaver basically every day…

2. Not too much.

Use salad plates instead of dinner plates, keep your smoothies 8-12oz (basically 1 to 1 ½ cups), and stay tuned into your body during and after eating. There are portion guides you can find online, so if you find those kinds of things helpful, go for it. Personally, I like to just listen to my body, eat slowly, and stop eating when I’m full. Of course I understand that can be hard to do in between classes, so there are adorable stainless steel lunch containers that can help with portion control.

3. Mostly plants.

Plants are so freaking good for you, and naturally have real flavor. Literally the only reason we’re not all coo-coo for cucumbers or growling about how great strawberries are is marketing. There’s no money put into advertising for veggies or fruits, so we forget that they’re real food with real flavor. Most of what we “crave” and think of as having so much flavor is actually flavorless food that has had flavor added to it. For example, take pizza. The crust is flavorless flour that has had salt added to it. The sauce, if it’s real sauce, is basically veggies with seasoning (in other words, a real food). And the cheese is milk (a real food) that has been fermented and seasoned. So remove the fake food from the equation (the crust), and add veggies instead. Put some broccoli on a plate, dribble some 5-ingredient tomato sauce on there, maybe add a little diced garlic, toss on a serving or two of low-fat cheese (fat is NOT bad, but when it comes to dairy the lower-fat option is usually healthier), broil it for a bit, and you got yourself a real meal.

Instead of a sub, remove the top and seeds from a bell pepper, throw some (already cooked) seasoned beef or chicken inside with some cheese, and bake until the cheese is all melty. If you’re vegetarian, quinoa and beans can work too!

Instead of boring old cereal and milk, throw some berries into a bowl with a serving of 5-ingredient granola, a serving of greek yogurt, a spoonful of peanut butter, and a square or two of 5-ingredient dark chocolate. Way more delicious…

If you approach every meal with the mindset of adding as many colors, and therefore as many veggies and fruits, as possible then clean eating will feel very easy very quickly.

(btw I say “5-ingredient” a lot but that’s just to reiterate how important it is to buy foods that have short, pronouncable ingredient lists that are all around 5)

In terms of prep, I honestly don’t do much. I’m a ridiculously lazy cook, so everything I make only involves chopping and throwing in a blender, a pot, or a bowl. I make protein shakes with fruit, protein powder, and greek yogurt. I make veggie soups with chicken broth, toasted sesame oil (but olive oil works too), beans, and whatever veggies I have in the fridge. And I make A LOT of salads…

I regularly chop up a cornucopia of fresh veggies and fruits (mostly sturdier produce, like carrots and beets and kale, so they stay fresh even after being chopped up) in a giant bowl. Then I just throw a portion of that in my lunch container, plus some form of protein (chicken, beans, salmon, etc), and I’m good to go. I end up having to prepare 2 giant salads a week, which isn’t that bad.

If you ever need recipe ideas, Thug Kitchen’s got your back

Also, here’s my shameless plug for the recipe tag on my blog, which has the recipes for the above pictured salad and below pictured smoothie

I hope this helps!!

[winkonium]

I'll Pick You Up (4)

genre: fluff

word count: 2.1k words

masterlist

I'll Pick You Up (4)

"Are you sure you'll be okay here?" I asked Jungkook who was somehow gloomy. I was about to leave for school but I noticed he was sulking at the floor.

He nodded reluctantly. "But please let me on the desk." I bent down and offered him to step on my hand. When he stepped in, I let him down on my desk. He needs a ladder. "You can go now."I nodded then went out for school. It's been a week since Jungkook and I met. For the past days we've grown closer and closer but every time I go out for school, he gets gloomy as if he doesn't want me to leave. I wish I could bring him but where will I put him? Plus, he might not be amused at school.

As usual, I saw Ah Ri under the sycamore tree waiting for me. When I arrived, we went to our room right away since I arrived a little later than I usually do. When we entered the room, the professor was already there but that wasn't why I stopped from walking in. Seokjin was there along with Taehyung.

"What in the world.." I mumbled.

"Ah! Joo Eun!" Taehyung waved his hands at me like a little kid.

"That's Taehyung." Ah Ri told me. Duh..? "Oh, isn't that Seokjin-oppa?"

What's he doing at my Literature class? What are they doing here, exactly, sitting at the back where we usually sit?

Ah Ri and I walked towards our seats. I sat beside Taehyung who was beside Seokjin so basically it's Ah Ri, me, Taehyung and Seokjin.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, whispering.

He grinned. "Our Literature class got dissolved so we figured we'll take this class."

"Isn't there a conflict of schedule?"

He shook his head. "Everything's fine."

"Aish, really?" I muttered under my breath. I let it all slide down and prepped my things: a notebook, a pen and my phone on my desk and then I was ready to listen to the lecture.An hour and a half lecture passed and I was finally able to breathe due to dismissal. It was so hard to concentrate knowing that I'm in the same class as Seokjin's. From three classes, it turned to four classes more with Taehyung and Seokjin. Why do I keep seeing him? It makes my heart flutter to the point where I can't breathe, what the heck.

"Aren't you happy to see Jin-hyung and I? We now have four classes!" Taehyung clung himself on my shoulders.

Feeling the extra weight, I frowned at huffed. "Yeah, I am aware."

"Eh?" He let go of me. "Woke up on the wrong side of the bed, Joo Eun?"

I shook my head. "Can you drop by my dorm later?" I changed my tone from an intimidating one to a gentle one. I have a favor, you see.

"Wae?" He's now the one to frown.

"I need help with something."

"Okay." He said without any hesitation.

While walking to class, I can't help but notice how quiet Seokjin was. Is he really this quiet even when he's with Taehyung? He doesn't seem to smile as often as he did for the past week. He'll just look at everything with a straight face. Even with his other friends, he'll just give them a nod. Strange but he's still cute.

"Taehyung, do you have an extra pen? I think left mine at the registrar."

We were all taking out our notebooks when we saw Seokjin asking Taehyung for a pen.

"It's a violet one." He replied, pulling out his pen pouch and took out a violet pen.

Seokjin was hesitant but declined it eventually because honestly why violet? He looked around the room and saw that everyone was already writing something down. I think he had no choice that's why he looked at me, his last resort. "Do you have a spare pen?"

I nodded, trying to keep a poker face. I grabbed one from my bag and handed it to him.

"Thanks." He said with a blank face then flee off to his desk. He could have at least smiled but at least he said thanks.

"Stop that." I said through gritted teeth when I saw Taehyung smirking at me. I rolled my eyes for one last time and then listened to the lecture.

After class, we immediately went out of the room and out of the campus. "Are we still going to your dorm?" I nodded at Taehyung who turned to Seokjin. "Do you want to come with us?"

Here he goes again! Inviting Seokjin out of the blue even when it's not his birthday celebration nor his house. I just want to breathe why can't Tae let me be?

Surprisingly, Seokjin nodded but he was reluctant but still, he did.

I groaned internally.

We went off to my dorm, Taehyung, Seokjin and I. Ah Ri had somewhere to go, as usual. When we were in the premises of my dorm, I faked a phone call to make Jungkook know that I'm with someone.

"Yes, mom. I'm home but I'm with a couple of friends so I hope you'll be careful there."I said with hopes that Jungkook could hear it and that I wasn't that obvious.

We stepped in my living room and I excused myself to my room as they make themselves comfortable there.

"Jungkook?" I said in a whisper. I went to my desk to see a note with the smallest handwriting I have ever seen and the messiest hand writing I have ever seen. It had blotted inks on it and I wondered what he used to write on that paper.

"I went inside my mug, I'll be back before dinner." It said with small hearts at the end. I heaved a breath of relief and went to the living room along with glasses of water and gave it to my two visitors.

"What do you need help with?" Taehyung asked.

"C-can you make me a.. Ladder?" I asked nonchalantly, almost stammering at every word.The two looked at me skeptically.

"I mean.. Yeah.. A ladder that could go from the floor to the kitchen counter.." I was sure that I sound really weird for asking Taehyung to build me a ladder that could only go from the floor to the kitchen counter but Jungkook needs this!

He stared at me for a while, tilting his head, examining me as if there's something wrong with me but he eventually said "Do you have materials?"

"I have a couple of sticks there and some wood glue and such and such." I said, quickly heading to a closet full of.. Stuff. I grabbed it and showed it to him.

"Okay." He took it from my hand. He took off his jacket and started to make the ladder while Seokjin turned the TV on, watching from the TV then to Taehyung alternately.

My phone rang a couple of minutes after. Park Jimin. I quickly grabbed my phone and answered it. "Hey!" I said in a cheerful tone which Taehyung found weird.

"Are you home?" He asked me and I quickly went to the window to look outside but he's not there. I quickly went back to my seat.

"Yeah, I am. Why?" I asked with my tone suddenly going down.

"I was about to ask you for lunch but you're already home." He said. I could feel the disappointment in his voice. Maybe he could drop by..?  "I'd drop by but I have classes in thirty minutes.."

"Oh, it's no big deal." I replied. Yeah, I was somehow disappointed that he couldn't drop by today.

"Maybe I'd drop by at your department the day after tomorrow, what time are you free?"

"I have classes the whole day.."

"How about tomorrow?"

"I'm done by noon." I said with a smile and got excited when he said he'll come by.

"I'll see you then, Joo Eun?" I felt him smile just by the tone of his words.

I immediately smiled too. "See you." and then I hung up, putting the phone down the desk.

"Joo Eun-noona." Taehyung called out. Ugh. When he calls me noona, I know exactly what he'll say. "I'm hungry." Exactly just what I thought.

"I'll cook you some noodles."

"Maybe I should do it." Seokjin for the first time in forever. I was shocked at his statement. Even Taehyung was.

"No, it's okay. I can do it." I said and stood up to go to the pantry. I opened the cabinet and saw the noodles were on the top most part of the shelf. Ugh. I stepped on the kitchen counter but was having trouble because I was wearing our stupid uniform. Suddenly, a hand reached it out for me.

Seokjin.

He grabbed four packs and put it on the kitchen counter. I went down to my feet and tried gained composure. He smiled at me and it felt like a cage of butterflies were set free on my stomach.

"Th-thanks." I said with a small bow.

"I told you I'll do it." He said as he took a pot and filled it with water. He took it to the stove to heat it then leaned on the fridge with his arms crossed. I sat down on the kitchen counter. "You and Jimin got pretty close, huh?" He said with a smirk.

I gulped so hard. I'm nervous but I'm not sure if it's because he opened the topic about Jimin or if it's because he's talking to me without Taehyung's help or teasing.

"Well, y-yeah." I nodded with a small, shy smile.

He chuckled. God, that chuckle. Help me. "He's a nice guy if you're going to ask me." He walked back to the noodles, opened it and poured it to the boiling water. I didn't respond to him, though. I'm not exactly sure what to say to him. He's just so beautiful with whatever he does. Even just by standing by the fridge with crossed arms, he's so beautiful. Too bad he couldn't see me the way Jimin sees me.

"Joo Eun?" He waved his hands in front of me. I came back to my senses. "Do you have kimchi?" He asked. Maybe he asked it a few times more before when I was spaced out.

"Ah.. Yes." I nodded, stood up and went to the fridge to get a container of kimchi. "I also have cold rice, do you want me to reheat it?" He nodded and I took out a bowl of rice and set it in the microwave. When it was done, I put it on the table and prepared some bowls for us.

"Taehyungie. You can eat now." Seokjin called Tae who quickly sprinted from the living room to the dining room. The three of us sat down and shared the ramen that Seokjin made for us. I think Taehyung ate 50% of the ramen while Seokjin and I shared the remaining 50%. Uh, what happened to the 33.33333..%?

"Ah, Jin-hyung, did you make this?" Taehyung asked as he drank the last ounce of soup from his bowl.

Seokjin nodded. "I put a little bit of something there to make it more tasty." I expected him to smile, like a proud smile, but he only had a straight face.

"Thank you!" He cheered when he finished and left immediately to finish the ladders he's making for me. I sighed and stood up to gather the plates we used and took it to the sink.

"Do you need help with that?" Seokjin stood near the fridge again and leaned there, his face blank.

I shook my head. "N-No. I'm okay.""Are you sure?"

Is he insisting on helping me? As much as I want his help, I'm too shy since he's a visitor and Taehyung just dragged him along here.

I nodded.

Achoo!

Our heads jerked towards Taehyung. Did he sneeze? He looked just fine as he concentrates on the ladder.

I shrugged off the thought and just returned to washing the dishes. But then I heard it again. Or we.

Achoo!

Jungkook.

"Did you hear that?" Seokjin asked but I just ignored him and went to my room. I opened the door and saw Jungkook sitting on my desk. When he was about to sneeze, I tapped the desk, hoping it would stop the sneeze and thank god it did.

"What are you doing?" I asked in a whisper, kneeling down to level him."I'm sneezing...?" He sassed, rubbing his nose.

"I have visitors." I replied.

"Is it that Jimin guy again?" He smirked. "Or that Seokjin guy? He's the one you like r—"

"Shh. Keep it down." I hushed.

"Are you okay?" I looked behind and Seokjin was standing by the door.

[existentialstatesofmind]

Jealousy is an ugly thing

Clare: still thought it was a weird situation but she was embarrassed that she'd asked Dakota those insensitive questions in the first place. "Well at least you knew he was around." She said finally, not knowing what else to say. She just couldn't understand a father not wanting to spend time with his kids. Why had they had so many if he was too busy with his job to be bothered? Maybe Clare was a little spoiled. She was the baby of the family and if there had been anything wrong with their family all along, her parents and big sister had hidden it from her well. Now all of a sudden people at church were gossiping about her 'perfect' family falling apart. Clare had found that out because Jesus Club was praying for them and Clare hadn't even asked them to. She didn't want everyone else at school to find out so why was she telling some boy she wasn't even sure she could trust? Clare sighed. "Thanks. You're right, my dad wouldn't just abandon me. He's been acting really weird but it's fine. They probably won't even get a divorce. It's against our religion. I'm probably worrying over nothing." Of course if she really believed that, Clare's stomach wouldn't be churning over the idea of one of her parents moving out. Of having to go back and forth between two houses until that arrangement stopped working. Then she'd have to pick one of her parents over the other or more likely, they'd decide for her. Clare did know kids with divorced parents, and according to them, shared custody never worked out. "They've been married for twenty years." Clare said making it clear that her parents waited a couple of years before they'd had Darcy and they hadn't been teenagers either. Maybe her parents were secretly hypocrites, she wasn't sure yet, but not about that. At least she didn't think so. "Well maybe your sister will be able to adopt kids but being 24 probably makes the situation a lot harder to swallow." Clare listened to Dakota talk more about Emi. "Wow, is she fluent in English too?" Clare asked curiously. "Impressive." She laughed. It was actually kind of amazing that Dakota and his family were turning their lives upside down to accommodate Emi and make her feel at home. "So do they cook meat differently like chicken? Or do they mainly eat vegetarian dishes in addition to noddles and rice, and of course sushi. I like tea, it would be interesting to try some different flavors. I believe it about the grease." Clare chuckled. "Honey bread sounds good." She was puzzled when a different teacher, the one Dakota called Sensi, came in the room to talk to their teacher about seeing Dakota less than five minutes ago. Dakota had been talking to her for longer than that and Clare had been with him the whole time before they'd gone to class. Her blue eyes widened when a boy who looked a lot like Dakota was dragged into the classroom. Clare's eyes darted back and forth between the two. They were obviously brothers judging by their conversation and she could see how Emi would get confused. They were nearly identical. She smiled when Dakota said the other boy was his twin. When his twin jumped out the window and Dakota went out after him, Clare gasped and shook her head in disbelief. She turned away and looked up at the board. She'd almost forgotten she was supposed to be taking notes. Clare finished writing them down and read back over them because she really hadn't been paying much attention. She looked at Dakota when he came back and listened to him explain to the teachers that he and his brother took stunt classes. She couldn't imagine being part of a big crazy family like Dakota's. "What are you going to do with those skills, get a job as a stunt performer?" Clare asked Dakota when he sat back down. She grinned picturing seeing him in some action movie jumping out of a burning building or something.

Kota: listened to Clare talk about her family and smiled at her. "See there's that positive thinking." he rubbed her back and chuckled a bit. "Keep thinking positive and things will be ok." he assured and looked at her. "Plus if something goes bad, you're more than welcome to come over my house, though it's a bit insane." he admitted. "Kota, how are your siblings?" Monica asked. "Eh, Dom and Ash like confusing mom and unintentionally Emi. She gets frustrated when they do that, but she's been holding her own. She calls them 'things' now. Dom is Thing One and Ash is Thing Two. Even when they tell her 'I'm Thing Two not One.' she tells them she doesn't care and if they wanted her to address them with the appropriate name, they'd stop matching." he stated honestly. "I think it's been pissing her off more though." he shrugged and looked at Clare. "Well, she kind of has to be. Her mom doesn't know Japanese too well and as she grew up her dad would speak to her in Japanese while her mom would speak to her in English so it wasn't really hard for us. She still prays before dinner by saying 'itadakimasu' which is a one word prayer asking for the food to be blessed, much like when people say Grace.' he explained. "She's also teaching us the customs. She had us all get a pair of Zori shoes since she's learning how to walk in them, I fell twice. We're lucky she let us wear them in the house." he chuckled a bit. "They're wooden and look like they're on blocks. She even made us buy yukatas for a firework festival she found out about. She said I have to wear sandals with them and I hate them." he explained. "But I did buy some sneakers and my sister got a few pairs of high heels." he stated honestly and nodded when she mentioned the food. "Yea, they cook meat differently. We had Dimsum which is made with chicken and vegetables. They're rolled very much like dumplings and steamed. They have chicken nuggets like we do, but other than that all their meat is cooked differently. They don't have Turkey though, no pork-chops like we have they only have boneless, bacon is expensive there so she's never eaten it, and the chicken as well as pork is all stir fried with noodles and soy sauce or something. It's rather healthy since there's no grease. They also eat skewers a lot. There's hardly any fat on the meats that they eat." he explained. "Even when you make the pork chops which are called Yakisoba, they're boneless and buy them with the fat cut off. Emi was shocked when she first seen they had fat on them and asked what it was. Um, they have steak too." he explained and thought for a moment. "Just don't ask me about the teas. They have about 100 different flavors it seems and it's all so hard to remember." he said honestly. "They have canned tea, hot tea, coffee, soda, non carbonated sodas which I need Miso Soup." he sighed. After dealing with his twin he looked at Clare. "No we were both bullied in Middle school so we took the stunts class to get away from bullies as well as Martial Arts. I'm a black belt now so I mainly help teach it." he explained. "I don't really know what I want to do when I graduate yet and I don't know if I'll still have Emi. If I do have her when I graduate, I'm going to get a part-time job, move into our own house and just let my aunt know." he said honestly. "It's been a week and we don't have anything from her. No messages, no calls, nothing." he explained. "Luckily Emi came with instructions such as her telling me what she likes when she's sick." he added.