#im like half done unpacking because i took out all the smaller stuff

[maraschinotopped]

oooooohhh crumpled up on the floor (<- realizing how very very mentally exhausting all of that was. and still has work to do!!!!!!!!!)

[fuckapuck]

Injured

Mikko Rantanen x fem!Reader

Warnings: none. A little sad though

This is my very first fan fic! I got this idea into my head and couldnt get it out so i had to write it up! Idk if its any good i certainly hope it is! Im posting this on mobile so idk how it will look posted. Sorry! Its kinda a long one

Mikko sighed as the doctor stitched up his cheek. It had been a rough game against the preds and he ended up catching a skate balde with his face. It was a nasty gash that went from his temple and on to the corner of his lip.

It hurt and he wasn't ashamed to say he cried.

Lots of local anesthesia and a few stitches later there was just a very dull throbbing in the left side of his face. Some one had come back to tell him the 3rd period started and he desperately wished he could be out there right now. He was taken back to the locker room told to keep his bandages dry and get cleaned up and changed.

He shed a few more tears out of frustration. He knew he would have to sit out a few games to let this heal a bit before he could get back out on the ice. He grabed his phone. He didn't have any texts or missed calls from (Y/N) as he expected. You were working tonight and wouldnt get off till almost 2 am, so you wouldn't find out about his injury until your shift was done. Hopefully. You hated that job and Mikko often told you just to quit and not to worry about expenses. He would take care of anything that was needed. He washed up and changed back into regular clothes. He couldnt wait to get back to the hotel and put on soft stretchy clothes.  He sat down in his stall and stared at his phone. Should he text (Y/N)? You were working and he didn't want you to worry. There was still had 5 hours left of your shift. He let out another sigh and hung his head as he shut off his screen.

His thoughts were interupted as whoops and cheers came from outside the door. It burst open and his teammates poured in. He smiled as much as he was able and was embraced by a few guys. Gabe and Z took their time talking to him making sure he was doing fine.

"I won't really know how I feel until I'm not numb." He joked with them. His mood was brightening as his captain and friends told the story of their victory. He ignored the pain in his chest for not being there.  That he didn't get to see it. 

The night continued and interviews were completed. He declined doing one until his face felt better. He was more than happy to use his cheek as an excuse to not talk to media. Normally he didn't care, but he just really didn't want to do it tonight. As the reporters cleared and the team finished getting changed Barbs came over and smacked him on the shoulder.

"Hanging in there Rants?" He smiled at the finn.

"Oh yeah, just a little out of it." He head was a bit fuzzy still but getting clearer and more painful by the minute.

"Nice. They must have given you the good stuff!" Barbs nudged him again and mikko felt more at ease. He could do this. The playful chirping of teammates. He didn't have to think about his face. The light hearted fun continued. Until his name brought his full attention back.

"Huh?" He blinked.

"I said I would help you get back into the single life!" Barbs laughed and a few other joined him.  A sudden unease took over mikko.

"What do you mean?" He questioned. The unease growing.

"This." mark poked his own cheek and nodded at mikko. "Gonna be single by morning!"

Mikko stayed silent and just stared. He felt like he couldn't breathe. The guys seemed to see that this particular chrip hit a sensitive spot.

"Fuck barbs! Shut up." Gabe hissed. Mikko zoned out and found himself trapped in his mind. It was a horrible injury to his face. He wouldn't look the same after this. He would be scarred. His mind was reeling and he didn't remember when he got back to the hotel. Only that he made it back. He was in mild pain now the medication wearing off. He hoped he could get to sleep before he could feel all of it. He changed his clothes in a daze and climbed into bed. He stared at the ceiling trying to get to sleep but he couldn't. He just kept thinking about you.

How you would smile at him and kiss his face. How you would grab his cheeks and nuzzle into him calling him beautiful and handsome. His chest felt constricted and he threw the covers off of himself. He laid there as thoughs of you circled his mind. Your words that he so loved to hear now haunting him. You wouldn't think he was beautiful anymore. You wouldn't look fondly at him and caress his face. Would you cry when you saw him? Would you be angry at him for ruining his appearance? What would he do with out you? He heard his phone vibrate he looked over. You were calling him. He moved his eyes back to the ceiling. It stopped and a few minutes later he heard the message notification sound. He ignored it. He couldn't bring himself to see what you had to say.

An uneasey sleep came over him only an hour and a half before he was suppose to get up. He packed quietly and jumped when someone knocked on his door. He opened it to find his coach and a medic. They wanted to check on him.

He was sat down as the doctor went over how to clean and bandage it again. He handed him a bag of perscription pain killers and extra bandages. Coach had a hand on his shoulder. At the end of it he was told he would have to sit out for at least a week and then they would look at how the healing was doing and if everything was good he could go back to playing with a face cage until it was fully healed. Coach gave him some pats on the back and told him to take two or three days after they got back to rest. Take it easy.

He packed silently and watched his hands tremble. You wouldn't leave his mind. Your soft skin and gentle touch. Your laugh and your smiles. How he could always tell how you were feeling because your eyes showed everything. What would they show now? Disgust?

He loaded into the bus. Some of the guys came over to him but he pointed at his cheek and shook his head.  The bus arrived at the airport and everyone loaded into the plane. Taking their seat. He put himself buy a window toward the back. Gabe and Nikita sat by him. About 30 minutes in Nikita gently nudged him.

"What barbs said. It was joke you know. He did not mean it." He spoke softly to Mikko. Gabed turned towards them.

"He's right Mikko. You know (Y/N) would never do something like that." Gabe reassured. Mikko  closed his eyes and turned his head away from the window and looked at his two friends.

"Tell me the truth. If you were in my place, if this was your faces not mine, would your wives leave?" Mikko asked. His heart beating in his ears he needed the answer.

Nikita and Gabes eyes widened. Z looked down at his hands not saying a word. Gabe opened and closed his mouth trying to think of something to say. Mikko turned back to the window and felt tears stinging his eyes. Yes, they would. They wanted handsome pretty husbands and a scar like the one this will leave will not be pretty. The rest of the flight was silent between them.

Mikko couldn't help but think of the way (Y/N) normally greeted him when he got off the plane. She always tried her best to be there. She always would grab his face, kiss him and give him a tight warm hug. She would tell him that she loved him and promise a delicous home cooked meal. Would it be the same? Would she even be able to look at him?

The plane landed and he dragged himself off of it. They approached where the WAGS would normally wait, but he couldn't look up. He was so afraid that if he did, you wouldn't be there.

He felt a nudge and looked to Nate who nodded his head forward. Mikko looked up and there you were. You were smiling but it was different from normal.

Mikko walked up to you and almost had to hold back tears as you embraced him. It felt just as tight and warm as it always did he felt one hand so very softly touch his uninjured cheek.

"Lets go home okay?" He couldn't look you in the eye. He walked silently by your side and held your hand loosely. There was no kiss. No usual excitement. He felt his world becoming smaller. Maybe if he asked nicely you would let him hold you one last time before you left him forever.

The car ride was quite on his part. Your gentle voice talking softly about little things that had happened in his week away. He couldn't muster up the courage to say anything to you. Afraid it would be the last thing he would ever say to you.

You pulled into his spot at his apartment and attempted to help with his bags But Mikko carefully took them from your hands and carried them himself. The two of you went up to his place. He put his bags on his bed and started to unpack. You came up beside him and started to help. He wanted to object but couldn't. Time passed and soon everything was unpacked and the two of you were sitting on the couch. (Y/N)  kept a small one sided conversation going and Mikko mearly stared on.

"What would you like for dinner?" You asked, but Mikko said nothing.

"Mikko? Why won't you talk to me love?" She asked gently and her small, soft fingers gently brushed his uninjured cheek. Suddenly he couldn't help it anymore. It was too much. Why were you still being kind to him if you were going to leave him? He began to cry. He couldn't stop it. Instantly you were there. Holding him and comforting him with kind hands and words. He almost let himself relax into your warm body. But he couldn't. It was too painful.

He stood up abruptly and stared down into shocked concered eyes.

"Just do it already! Stop playing with me and do it!" He tried to sound stern but he just sounded broken.

"What are you talking about? Do what?" You asked and went to reach for him. Mikko stepped back out of your reach.

"End it. End it like you want to. I know you do. Just leave me already and stop making it hurt!" Mikko practically shouted. You stared at him with wide hurt eyes.

"Leave you? Why would I do that?" You asked your voice shaking. Mikko couldn't look at you.

"This," he pointed to his bandage, "my face will be different and ruined. I know you want to leave me. Just do it." He ended quietly and weakly.

"Do you honestly think I'm that shallow?" He could hear the pain in your voice. He just shrugged. "Mikko Rantanen you will look at me right now!" You snapped. Mikkos head shot up he eyes locking with yours. He saw pain and anger in those eyes.

"You listen to me right now. I love you. I have loved you since I met you. Not because of your face, but because of you. How you treat me and talk to me. How you make me feel like the most beautiful woman in the world when I know I'm not. I would never leave you because of an injury! For fucks sake you are a hockey player! Injuries and hockey go hand in hand!" You yelled and got closer to him. "I knew what I signed up for when I started dating you. I'm in it for the long haul and I won't be leaving just because of a scar!" You jabbed him in the chest with your finger and crossed your arms. You deflated a little the anger subsiding and hurt remained.

"Do you really think so little of me Mikko?" You barely whispered out your arms dropping to your sides. Mikko couldn't take it. Your pain and saddness. His doing. He moved suddenly and wrapped you in his arms the good side of his face against the top of your head.

"No. No I don't. I promise. I love you. You are the best woman in the world. The kindest and most wonderful and beautiful. I was just scared. The boys said - " mikko rushed out. You had relaxed against him but the quickly pushed away and look up to him with anger in your eyes.

"What did the boys say?" You ground out. Mikko explained Barbs chirp and Gabe and Z's silence on the plane. Suddenly you weren't in his arms but pacing the living room as he watched on fondly.

"Those stupid little- UGH! Let me tell you if their wives ever find out about that they will be pissed. Fuck! They will give them some scars to worry about. Those absolute idiots! And I'm going to kill barbs. Those kind of jokes aren't funny. I'm gonna kick his ass! I'm going to practice tomorrow and im gonna beat him with his hockey stick!" You ranted on furiously. Mikko just laughed and came up and wrapped his arms around you.

"Please don't kill anyone. I'm very sorry my love. I am very very sorry." You again relaxed in his arms and nuzzled into his chest." I got worried and to into my head and then you didn't kiss me and-"

"Kiss you? Mikko I didn't want to hurt you! Your mouth was injured too not just your cheek!" You laughed at him in exasperation. Mikko blinked down at you.

"Oh."

"Yeah, 'oh.'" You rolled your eyes, and leaned Into him, "I love you mikko and I won't stop." You pressed your face into his chest and his grip tightened.

"I love you too" he swore to himself not to doubt you again. And felt secure in his knowledge that you loved him.

"I am gonna get barberio back though." She warned. He chuckled and press a very soft kiss to her head.

"I know."

[flowermindpoems]

The story of my life

So this is my story it’s not a sad one but it’s not a happy one either

When my mom first met my dad years ago, when he was visiting Poland (where my mom is from) they fell in love instantly after a while my mom moved to Denmark (where my dad is from) and they got married.

But something had changed or rather someone

Everytime they where out in public my dad would be the sweetes kindest most loving person in the room, but then when they got home behind the closed doors He wasn’t so kind or loving This perfect man wasn’t so perfect

Now your all probaly thinking that he hit my mom and probaly also me and my siblings To be honest i wish he did But he didn’t He never laid a hand on us At least not of what i rememer

He didn’t hurt us fysically But he did hurt us! Mentally..

Everyday he would sream at us, yell at us, nothing we ever did was good enough

Before we where born, when it was only my mom and him, she has told me stories Stories i honstly don’t wan’t to know How everything she did was never good enough, how he scream at her for every little thing, how he threatened her and how he completly destrod her mentally

But back then she was still a guest in the contry, and a divors was out af the qoustion

When my mother was pregnent with my brother, my grandmom came to Denmark to help her out (God knows she needed it) When my brother was born all the mental abuse was sudanly moved over from my mom towards my brother Sence he was just a baby hes been called an idot, worhtless, stupid and any other name you can think off My mom tried her best to protect him, and when my sister was born he also went on her but not really.. He mocked and called her names as well but my brother was still the center of his attentoin..

Finally when she was pregnet with me She got sick Teribly sick But that didn’t matter to him In fact that was just a bother for him And he would just yell at her for being sick

When the time came of my birt The docters said the was a chance that either she wound’t make, i wound’t make it or both of us woulnd’t make it

But for some miracal reason we both made it

My mom was still a bit weak from the sickness and well giving birt But that didn’t stop my fathers torture

And weak little me wasn’t going the be left out No way I too had my fair share of the name calleing and mental abuse

Finally when i was about 2 years old they got a divores But we still had to visit him every weekend

But slowly every weekend became every other weekend wicth then became only one day every other weekend until it was only one day  a mont wicht finally stoped completly And we where all free of him

My brother was the first one to stop seeing him but he was also the one he went after the most Witch is why he stoped first

But that just meaned that i was his new center of attention, because out of me and my sister i was the weakest So i was easer to abuse

He would swict from the bigger kind too the smaller kind of abuse..

One thing i  remember is that sometimes he would porpasly ignor me and favortise my sister Becaouse he knew that made me sad and weak I have never been good at my homework esoicially math, so when i was doing homework with him and i didn’t understand the question or know the answer, he would yell and sream how stupid and worthless i am how can’t i understand such a easy qoustion, becaouse i am such a big idoit

I have always been a slow eater and i bit of a picky eater, wiche he of couse allways would comment on! Always! Why am i so slow Why am i takeing so much on my plate when we both know im not even going to eat it all how can i know that i dont like it if  i havent tried it

I think this is why i today struggle with an eating disorder

I was 15 when i stoped seeing him for good!’ And i was so happy that i would never have to se him agian But every now and then he would call me and  i would get panic attacks wicht is why i still have anxiety today Because of him I finally swicht my number and i no longer had to be afraid!

2 or 3 years pass by and i havent seen him once, wicth made me happy Sort off But then one day, im on my way back home from some grosarry shopping, and i meet him I panic I wanna just run away But he has seen me and he is on a bike If i run he would esayly cath up So i am to afraid to run Insted i just freeze He stops and says hi, says that he misses me and wish he could se me and us agian i don’t know what to say so i just smile and nod, finally he leaves It’s crazy but it felt like i was trapped Like he had trapped me Like i dind’t have any control

But i walk home, unpack the stuff, pack my bag with gym clothe and tell my mom im going to the gym

On my way to the gym, i call my best friend to tell her what happed.. I Wanna tell some one but at the same time i dont But i call her And imideatly start crying Out of fear or panic or i don’t know, everthing i tell her everything and we talk for about half and hour, when i  get to the gym i end up being the for allmost 3 hours, and when i got home i took a shower, eat a little and when straith to bed.

And I never talked about it agian!

A thing i proballt have forgotten to tell is, that for some reason i dont remember anything from my childhood eveerything from before the age 10-11 i only remember maybe 4-5 memories..

Today i am 19 in a few monts i’ll be 20 I had anxiety sence i was 10 or 12 I’ve been depressed sence i was 14 or 15 I been cutting sence i was 16 I been suicidal sence i was 17 And i had an eating disorder sence i was 18

Every night when i go to sleep i dream about how wonderful it would be if only i could slit my wrist Everytime i walk on the street i imagin how amazing it would be if i could just walk in front of a car and get run over Evertime im at a train station waiting for the train i alway stand reallt close to the edge and when the train comes  i imagin myself just talk those last to step and fall down on the rail Everytime im walking on a brigde i think how lovely it would be if i could just jump! Every single day i think about killing myself! Every single night i dream about killing myself!

It’s all i think about All the time

I been going to a shrink for about 3 years And im  not sure it’s working I hate talking about me feelings I hate tlaking about the past I hate showing emotions Thats way it’s talking me a little over a year to open up to my shrink I just reasonly told him more openly about my suicidal thoughts And we been talking about me maybe takeing some medication And to be completly honest i wanted to take medication sence i was 16 I just never dared.. I always thought that if i get some sort of medication, theres a very strong chance that i will just take them all and od! So i been to afraid to even talk about it, until now I think it’s finally about time i help myself

But i made a mistake A big mistake I told my mom that i been thinking about takeing medication And she wont allow me to take them And i know I know That she cant dicide what i do or dont but at the same time i find it very hard to go agiast her She has done so mush for me Protected me as best as she could agenst The psykopath that is my father

But i dont know what to do Couse i dont think i will get better unless i take some medicine

The thing is I have a very complex realtionship with my mother I truely love her, and i’d do anything for her Because she has done so much for me And that is why she is the reason i wont kill myself Couse i know i kill myself it will kill her.. And i cant do that But at the same time, i hate her and i cant talk or open up to her because she is the reason i cant kill myself

I love her to much wichte is why i cant kill myself but that is also why hate her And myself

I hate myself for hating her I hate my self for wanting to kill myself I hate myself for not killing my self I hate myself …

Aug 14th, 2016

[torvalvt]

Birds Of A Feather Ch. 2

A very generic move for extraordinary people

AO3 Link

Moving was the hardest thing Adrien had ever done. And this was coming from one of the saviors or Paris no less.

The first big hurdle he had was to gather what he needed from his room in his father’s mansion. At first he thought that he might only need a few things. And then Nino helped him shift through his clothes and belongings. Soon he found that there were just some things he was loathe to let go. It took some firm negotiating from Nino, but he managed to whittle down his belongings to only half a dozen boxes of things in the end.

“Don’t worry dude, all this stuff will still be here once you leave. Positive,” Nino tried to reassure him as they loaded up the moving van Adrien had rented for the day. “It’s not like your dad would just throw out all the things in your room once you are gone.” Nino continued.

Nino proved to be almost as hard to pack for. Although his room was quite a bit smaller than Adrien’s, he had managed to jam quite a bit into it over the years.

“At least we know all your stuff will fit in the new place,” Adrien said, looking around the cramped room. Nino was sorting through a giant pile of his various CD’s to bring with. They sprawled across his bed, the only free space left in the room. The rest of the room was filled with either piles of cloths or sound equipment. “Your new room is almost an upgrade, and that’s saying something.”

“Whatever man. I like having a smaller space anyways,” Nino said, brushing off his friend’s comments. “Anyways, this is a chance for a new start. Fewer material things, only what I need.”

It took three long hours of packing, unpacking, arguing, and packing again to get it all in the truck. “Remind me never to try and clean out your room again,” Adrien moaned as he got in the front seat of the truck. The other boy simply shot him a withering glare before they were off to their new apartment.

If Adrien had thought packing was difficult, he was nowhere near ready for the unpacking. The guys decided to move before the girls, so it was just them moving the various heavy boxes up the three flights of stairs to the apartment.

And then came the furniture. On the way Nino had made them stop to pick up a grey old couch that was abandoned on the side of the road. “It’s free! What more could we ask for?” Nino explained against the sounds of Adrien protesting. In the end they took it on the promise that if anything happened because of it, it was all Nino’s fault. Besides the couch they had a small card table and a few plastic chairs Nino had bought after one of his gigs. The table and chairs were a piece of cake, a simple task to carry up. But trying to maneuver the couch up three flights of stairs was torture to Adrien.

“I swear, when we leave we are just tossing this thing out the window,” Adrien grunted. His voice strained from the bottom of the sofa as he tried to lift it up the second set of stairs. “There is no way it is moving once I set this thing down. It can rot in hell for all I care.”

“You will thank me later when we have people over,” Nino replied from the top of the couch. He continued, “In the meantime let's focus on the little things. Like how we are halfway there! Yay us!”

Between Nino’s cheering and Adrien’s fair share of upper body strength they wrangled the couch into their flat. They set it up in the middle of their sparse living room. It faced the small television that Nino had brought with him, a small but cozy entertainment area. Exhausted they sank into the grey monstrosity of a couch. After a moment of silence Adrien said, “I really hope the girls do not bring anything as heavy as this. You know they would make us help them.”

Next to him Nino groaned. “Damn, I think we will. I remember Alya talking about how she had managed to get her hands on a few armchairs or something.” At the news an identical groan escaped Adrien. He just had to open his mouth about it.

The sun was setting on the other side of the building when the boys finished moving in. The only thing remaining to unpack were the boxes in the boys rooms, so they parted ways to finish up. As soon as Adrien was in his room he opened up his duffle bag and let Plagg fly out from his confines. “Phew! I was wondering when you would finish,” his kwami said as he scouted the room out.

Adrien rolled his eyes before he started unpacking his things. “Yeah yeah, it took a while. Im so sorry you had to wait so long,” he grumbled.

“Oh it was horrible!” Plagg continued melodramatically. He swished around the room looking at the sparse furniture as he continued to complain. “All I had to do was to nap for hours on end while I waited for you! You truly subject me to a miserable life.”

Instead of answering Adrien continued unpack his life. He had never quite realized how much he liked his stuff before he had to choose what he liked to most and pack it away. There were his first fencing trophies, a personal source of pride he could indulge in. He had all the books that he cherished and kept close at hand. And of course the numerous pictures he had taken with his three best friends over the last four years. He smiled to himself as he put the framed pictures on his small desk. So many miraculous memories he had with them.

“Ogling those sappy pictures again?” Plagg drawled from the top of the new dresser Adrien had bought for his room. Adrien rolled his eyes as he set the last picture down. Plagg had given Adrien grief ever since he had first started displaying the pictures in his room. No doubt he was sure to continue giving it. “I thought you would have left those behind. You are going to be seeing them every day now,” Plagg continued.

“As I keep trying to tell you, I treasure these memories,” Adrien sighed. He looked around at the things he had in various stages of unpacking, surprised at the mess he had already made. So this was what it was like to live without a maid. Even with fewer things there was not as many places to put them, and it was getting quite cluttered.

So far he had only gotten only the small novel things unpacked. In his haste to get things out of the boxes he had books, cloths and decorations for his room strewn everywhere. He looked guiltily at the pictures on his desk, so far the only thing in their place. “Okay, maybe I should have save the memories for later,” he sighed.

He was saved when he heard a light rap on his door. Perking up Adrien opened it up to see Nino standing there. His friend smiled and said, “Yo! You wanna go get a bite to eat? All this moving around leaves a dude starving.”

Adrien smiled wide and patted his friend on the should. “You have no idea how good that sounds. Let's go, I am famished.”

The walk there was quite delightful, until Nino asked, “So who is Plagg? You seemed to be having quite the conversation with them.”

It took everything Adrien had not to stop walking in shock. All his life he had lived in a large, soundproof room. Never had he thought that someone would be able to hear his conversations with his Kwami. Well, time for more lies about being a superhero. “Oh, they were a, uh, friend,” he stuttered out. “I met them at, well, a camp I guess? A year ago? Yeah, a year ago. We like to talk on the, ah, phone. Yes! The phone. I was on the phone.”

Adrien could feel his heart pounding as Nino patted him on the back. “It's all good my dude, sometimes you gotta just ring someone up and have a good old conversation. You gotta tell me more about them over dinner, I had no idea you had other friends,” he said, laughing.

Adrien made a mental note to avoid talking about Plagg as much as possible over dinner.

——————

Marinette took comfort in the fact that her parents were going to keep her old room however she left it. This meant she only needed to take the most essential things from her room. She had decided to leave most of her old experimental designs that were just taking up room. That way she could take only what she would need to wear for school. The decorations came down leaving the walls bare, then went back up. It was time for a fresh start she decided, and that meant a fresh decorating start as well. She only took the sewing supplies she needed for now. She could always come back and bring in more things if she needed them.

She wiped the sweat off of her forehead as she surveyed the boxes that she had managed to pack. Tikki flitted over and looked them over with her. “Here is my new life, packed into a few neat boxes,” Marinette said.

“It looks like you are all ready to live a slimmer lifestyle,” Tikki commented from her perch on Marinette’s shoulder. “I am surprised I did not even have you talk you out of the second sewing machine.”

Marinette rolled her eyes and sat down on her rolling chair. “Really, it was not that hard. Im ready to move on, and that means just not having as many things with me. I can build up all my things all over again! And if I need something I can come back and take it.”

They shared the bit of calm before Tikki nuzzled against Marinette affectionately. “I am proud of you for taking this next step! You are doing a great job so far Marinette.” Marinette laughed and returned the gesture by rubbing the top of Tikki’s head just how she liked.

Soon after Alya came by with the moving truck. When Marinette brought her stuff down, she was surprised to see how much stuff Alya had already in the back. “I got everything a good place need back here. Kitchen stuff, places to sit, entertainment. You name it, I got it,” Alya said when Marinette questioned her about it. “Plus,” she said with a devious grin, “we can afford to bring a bunch of stuff. The boys are going to help us.”

Marinette shot her friend a questioning look. “Really? I don’t remember either of us asking them about it.”

Her friend shot her another devious smile and replied, “I never did, but when did those two ever turn us down?”

True to her word, the boys were ready to help after the girls knocked on their door. “A little more warning would have been nice,” Adrien grumbled as he started grabbing a box from the van.

“Less complaining, more working,” Marinette instructed cheekily. In the last year she and Alya had found out that they boys would do about anything for them with enough prodding. They capitalized on it as much as possible, and took great pleasure in doing so. Marinette tried to rationalize bossing the boys around, especially Adrien. She thought of it as a way to get over the ideal pedestal she she placed him on when they first met. As for Nino, he could could learn to do some real work instead of just make music all day.

Marinette was especially glad to have the boys around when it came to the furniture. Both herself and Alya had dressers and desks to bring up. Next there was the armchairs Alya had found around town. For meals they had an old hand-me-down round table with some rickety chairs to place around it. Marinette had managed to save up and buy a small tv for the living room. The only problem was that they had run out of tables for it so it just had to sit on the floor for now.

It took the four of them less time than just the boys to move it, but it was still a strenuous process. Marinette was relieved when the last box was brought into the apartment. The four friends all breathed a great sigh of relief and plopped down into the living room furniture. “Its done, we are all here,” Adrien said with a sigh.

Nino grinned and said, “Looks like we are kinda stuck here together, huh.”

Alya laughed at the comment. “Listen, you all agreed to it. So no complaining right away. You have to wait a while to start that up.”

“You know, I have never lived with this many people before,” Adrien mused. “I wonder what it will be like? I mean, even if half of us are in a separate apartment altogether. How do you even run an apartment?”

This elicited a moan from Nino as he put his face in his hands. “Are you kidding me? I got stuck with the guy who has no clue how to live on his own?” He pointed an accusing finger at Adrien. “I was hoping you had picked some things up and I would be able to surf in your wake! Now you are telling me I have to be in front instead?”

“Oh please, like you know how to live on your own anyways,” Marinette admonished.

“And what, you do?” Nino shot back. When Marinette gave him a smug look, he became perplexed. “What? Is there some life tip you found out and did not share with the group?”

Marinette got up and rushed to her room. From the other room came the sounds of boxes opening and things moving around before she reappeared with a scrapbook in her hands. They all gathered around as she set it in the middle of their living room. In perfect lettering on the front it said “A Guide to Life.”

“I have been taking tips from my parents for the better part of the last year. I thought it might be a good idea to make a manual of sorts for myself out of them,” She exclaimed. She opened it up and riffled through the pages. “As you can see, there are all sorts of good things in here.”

From over her shoulder Adrien whistled. “Wow, that is a hundred times more prepared than I was. I think the only thing my father told me was that I should continue to eat healthy.”

“Aw, are you still going to be modeling?” Nino said with a grimace. When his friend nodded sadly Nino huffed and said, “You need to tell him that you need to start living your own life. Look at you! You are like a little over 60 kilos! You need to get some meat on your bones, and this was your chance.”

Adrien smiled softly and patted his friend on his shoulder. “Thanks for looking out for me, but its all right. I talked to him and we were able to work something more beneficial out for me. I will not be doing as many shoots, don’t worry.”

Nino returned his friend’s shoulder pat and shook his head. Both Alya and Marinette frowned at the revelation that their friend was still modeling. A year or two after they had all started being together more they had found out that Adrien did not like being a model. This had been somewhat of a blow to Marinette, who had always idolized him for being one. But it became clear that this was not a profession that made her friend happy. So the three friends had started a crusade to convince both Agrestes that Adrien should no longer model. They would try to drop hints to his dad that he was unhappy when they could. They also try to convince Adrien himself that he should force his father’s hand more to let him stop. But no matter how hard they tried, they had made little headway in the following year.

It was while they were looking through the comprehensive scrapbook that they heard it. Marinette’s stomach grumbled. It was a deep gurgle that started small and drew itself out to a great big sound. The other adults in the room all turned to give her exaggerated looks of shock and awe. She huffed and crossed her arms. “Listen, a girl can get hungry after moving things around as much as we did.”

Alya leaned over and closed the scrapbook with a thud. “It looks like I am going to have to break out the kitchen stuff already for our first ever home cooked meal,” She proclaimed.

Around her three pairs of eyes lit up. Alya had grown up around food all her life, and had hinted that she had been dabbling in the cooking arts for a while now. Their imaginations swirled at the the possible meal that could be coming. As she made her way to the small kitchen, the other three friends huddled together to whisper about what she could be making.

“She was talking about how her mom had just started teaching her soups the other day.” Marinette offered.

Adrien rubbed his chin as he thought. “I don’t know, it’s kind of warm out for soup. Maybe some salad?” he said hopefully, “I could really go for a nice light salad right now.”

Nino looked at him in confusion. “Are you kidding me? We have been moving things all day, I doubt she will make something as light as a salad. Maybe some pasta, like ravioli. I am craving a big plate of that right now.”

“If you came and helped you could find out what I am making in real time,” Alya smirked.

Just like moving, it was much quicker making dinner with so many hands. Alya had decided to go all out for their first dinner at the new place, and her friends were grateful to her for that. The small table was overflowing with pasta, bread, and salad. They even had a celebratory bottle of wine. “I am glad someone was thinking about the important things when it came to moving,” Adrien said, mouth watering.

“Well this is a special meal,” Alya said as she poured out the wine. “I want the first time eating with my friends away from home to be only the best.”

From across the table Marinette raised her glass, her friends quickly following suit. “Here’s to Alya and the wonderful meal she prepared for us,” She proposed. The boys repeated the line back with gusto.

“And here’s to living together!” Adrien offered. “To being even better friends in the future than we are now.”

“To the people I care about the most,” Nino offered with a big smile.

Next to him Alya chuckled and shook her head as she raised her glass. “Here’s to you guys, the biggest dorks I know. Would not trade you for anyone else.”

Laughter filled the room as they knocked their glasses against each other and took sips of the drink. The laughter continued through the rest of the dinner, loud, happy and full of warmth, as the four friends basked in being in each other’s company.