#instead of just buying them premade at the fucking store

[karokawwo]

this shit is ridiculous girl asked me AN HOUR AGO to make some cookies for TOMORROW ALONG WITH SANDWICHES thankfully she let me turn down the sandwiches but GIRL FUCK YOU YOU COULD'VE TOLD ME YESTERDAY?? THEN I'D BE READY????

[vriskasays]

haii!!! im rlly interested in where you got the garments and parts for your kanaya cosplay. the outfit looks rlly good and ig im just looking for clothes like that so if you could point me in the direction of a shop that sells that kind of stuff thatd be great !! :D also ur rlly pretty and i love your cosplays theyre so cool !!

lmao so funny story.

outer satin top w symbol: hand sewn beads on butchered thrift store top. beads are from a broken bracelet my gramma gave me. had to chop the back up then pin it together with the safetypin-hairtie-safetypin manuver bcs it is maybe 10 sizestoo small

translucent black flowy top/skirt-like garment: bathing suit cover, pieces thrifted separately but from same source somehow

red top underneath: thrift store, butchered neckline. had to also pin this up in the back

red cross black velvet skirt: base thrifted, butchered/burnt/painted w fabric paint. birthday gift from my brother 3-4 years ago

rosary: thrifted, broken as fuck

cross earrings: crosses found on etsy, put on hoop earrings by me

silver hoops: thrifted a whole pack of them og from claires a while back. Score!

green large shiny decora earrings: thrifted

boots: 6yo clearance mens demonias, broke in the middle of this cosplay. had these bitches since i was 16!!!! 30$

corset: some cheap crap from amazon i got a few years back ill wear until i can afford an orchardcorset or it breaks entirely. cannot stress enough how much i do not reccomend wearing cheap corsets

contacts: i thiiink ifairy cara green. uniqso. tip: colored contacts absolutely make or break a cosplay. good to splurge on

makeup: everything green via eyeshadow/lipstick made by me. slowly in the process of formulating all my makeup bcs im very allergic to everything. black eyeliner is nyx, one pencil one felt tip. used on eyebrows/lips too. dont bother w lipliners/eyebrow products they r expensive and eyeliner/eyeshadow works perfectly well.

eyelashes: top were from local beauty supply, bottom lashes were like. wet n wild crap i got from a relative that i chopped up.

gray paint: mehron paradise, get it from the OG website if u dont need it quickly and want it a lil cheaper

fangs: cheap amazon bullshit. u can find fangs in bulk anywhere there no matter the seller theyre all from the same manufacturer so u always know ur getting cheap fucking crap

wig: CHEAP lace front from some beauty store clearance bin in DC, styled to hell and back

horns: made by meeee (model magic + modge podge/plaster outrecoat bcs model magic cracks like a bitch, i only use the low tier acrylics bcs who the fuck is gonna pay 20$ for a tube of something u can just layer a few times to get opaque)

armsocks: welovecolors (spraypainted w white cos i bought the dark gray instead if light gray like a dumbass, heavily abused). i highly reccomend welovecolors seamless armsock/seamless bodysuit line im trying to get their bodysuit at some point. expensive (45$ for the socks, 90$ for the bodysuit) but worth it bcos homemade armsocks rip stupid easily and id rather break my skull than paint my hands.

nails: cheap shit from sallys, painted w my mommas 10+ year old nail polish collection

i think thats it? yeah. its all cheap crap. all i can reccomend is find a local non-chain non-christianity based thrift store and go to town man . im not out here buying premade bullshit that i aint able to make myself! i dont ever spend a fortune on my cosplays. i find scarcity is key in innovation and creativity. use lots of safety pins. cheers.

oyea her wedding ring my nanna gave me when i was like. 12? it could be real onyx/gold but it could also be costume jcpennys shit. who knows

[mcltiples]

HEADCANON ; how would my muse make your muse hot chocolate?

@countlessrealities (part two hehe)

As we know, Morty's cooking skills aren't great, but he won't settle for anything premade. Not for his counterpart. So, he'll buy one of those hot chocolate bombs. It would be a milk chocolate one, inside of it will have green and red sprinkles in the shape of snowflakes!

He would heat up some milk in one of his fancier tea pots. Serving the hot chocolate bomb into a teacup as well, then he'd pour the hot milk on top of it, watching it melt it until it becomes hot chocolate.

Though, he would make an effort to make it special by actually learning how to bake something. Which is marble pound cake, it was a bit hard and he might've messed up a little, but they might've come out decent!

Fuck reasoning for this because Rick Prime is going to use every and other excuse other than "I just felt like making it for you." He may even say it's not a big deal. However, he'll go all out with it. The biggest thing is that he'll assume that his counterpart has the same, secretive sweet tooth that he has. So he'll go with his own instincts on what he likes and just hope for the best.

It'd be a complicated recipe using several types of chocolate and melting it into a creamy consistency, as well as whipping the milk to make it a bit fluffier instead of liquid-y. Once all of it's done, he'll pour it into a glass. Serving it with a generous swirl of whipped cream on top, seasoning it with pumpkin spice. Along with drizzles of chocolate syrup and caramel syrup!

The same recipe will apply here because it's the only recipe that he likes and knows tastes well. The only difference is that he'd add more dark chocolate to give it a darker, bitter flavor rather than sweet.

He's never known for his kitten to like sweet things. At least, not from what he's seen. So, he won't dress it up too much in sugar. He'd serve it plain. Though, he may bring a plate of butter cookies along with it. If asked, he'll claim they're store bought, but he actually made them himself, but his kitten doesn't have to know that.

The only hot chocolate recipe he knows is very simple, using simple ingredients. Just two types of chocolate and milk. He would mix in some espresso within it, though, because not only it enhances the chocolate flavor, but he knows that his Master doesn't sleep well. So he'll figure the added caffeine would be beneficial for the other.

Dressing it up would be simple. A singular marshmallow, dark chocolate shavings and a cinnamon stick on the side. He would choose a heart shaped marshmallow because he thinks his Master would find amusement in that and it would also make himself appear cuter.

[cr0wc0rpse]

Looking for pumpkin roll recipes and nearly every recipe says “pumpkin pie spice” and, technically speaking, I understand what that means, store bought pumpkin pie spice, which I would assume contains the typical cinnamon + allspice + nutmeg + ginger + cloves give or take another I may be forgetting, but here’s my gripe. Why not just list those spices. Because 1. why not??? Do people who are baking Not have those around? And 2. What if different spice companies that produce Pumpkin Pie Spice have different ratios of spices in their mix? What then? Your pumpkin roll is going to have too much cinnamon or whatever and you won’t like it but someone who uses the same recipe but different brand of Pumpkin Pie Spice has a roll that tastes different. You don’t know the ratios. Why not just list the Actual fucking spices. Is it hard? Do the recipe writers assume that people don’t have them? Are they themselves not using separate spices and are using the pumpkin pie spice themselves? Why? Just list the fucking spices man. I already have them. I’m not going to buy a new fucking item I won’t ever use just because your damned recipe is stupid and doesn’t list the actual spices and instead uses a premade mix. Go to hell. Give me a recipe that isn’t stupid also.

[bisluthq]

I just saw someone on Reddit say that “bi” in “bisexual” should refer to being both “homosexual” and “heterosexual” at once, instead of being seen as being into two genders and I think my brain broke because I feel like I have seen it as both? Here for example we always talked about the Kinsey scale and that is from straight to gay so the middle would be both. But when people talk about being bisexual or pansexual they refer to genders. So now I’m confused

Let’s do a thing about labels. So personally, I think about labels this way - when you go to the supermarket and you go to the dairy aisle, there are a bunch of things there. All of them are technically dairy but some are more expensive and some are less so and some are milk and some are cheese and nowadays they stick the vegan versions in there too and like that’s all still “dairy” - okay so that’s sorta the white race aisle to me like we’re all white or off white in the dairy aisle but we’re all different. Just because we’re all in the dairy aisle, doesn’t mean we’re all the same fucking thing. We’re all different. We have different origins and different ingredients and like some of us are vegan and so other people wanna kick us out the dairy aisle. That’s… race.

(I’m not gonna do other races lol let’s skip straight through).

Sexuality belongs in the ready made food aisles. In the ready made food aisles, you’re gonna get a whole bunch of different kinds of ready made food dude and it’ll have a bunch of ingredients and some people only like the stuff with a certain label and others like any kind of frozen pizza and some people only like the microwave meals and some people deadass only want to eat like cheese and tomato sandwiches (I had a friend who only ate pre prepared sandwiches and only ever cheese and tomato because she said like the pre prepared ones were sliced more cleanly and thinner and better than she had ever seen a person do it so that’s all she bought in ready made food section but she ate tons of that shit) and some people NEVER buy ready made food because they dig cooking or it’s just not stuff they like.

So that’s labeling and preferences. How silly is it to try and apply that to humans lmao? What does it matter? If you only eat cheese and tomato premade sandwiches but then you try like a Dr Oetcker pizza and it’s nice then like what’s the harm???

If identifying yourself as someone who only likes one kind of frozen pizza makes you happy, identify as that. If identifying as someone who likes all frozen pizza but hates sandwiches cool.

You’re a person, not a product in the aisle. Even if you were a product in the aisle, there are so many different kinds????

Labels should make YOU happy. That’s all they should do. Labels don’t make me happy and never have and I never know what I want in the store either lol so idk 🤷🏻‍♀️

sorry this wasn’t informative on what each of these terms “means” but I don’t think they “mean” anything more than what you want them to mean like how dairy can include everything from butter to margarine to milk to vegan cheese and how saying “I don’t like frozen pizza” isn’t always going to be what you think lol like some brand could make something u like 🤷🏻‍♀️ And also it’s ok to NEVER like certain things!!! To not want to try them or to try them and still hate them like it’s all okay.

being a person is hard. Labels should make it easier, not harder. It’s easy for me to find the dairy aisle but I don’t know everything I like in it lol and I certainly don’t like everything I like in the ready made food sections.

[catastrophic-crow]

i think everyone should buy a roll of double-sided hook-and-loop fastener ("velcro") to cut to length for cable ties.

this stuff. it's so much better than any alternative i've found or used. wrapping cables without a tie leaves them with inconvenient kinks and bends. zip ties are wasteful and annoying. pre-made cable ties can be good, but arent always practical for very large and very small cables, plus they cost multiple times as much in relative terms. this stuff works for everything, and costs hardly anything, with only fairly low effort required. (it's, not, technically, as easy as pre-made cable ties. you do need something to cut it with, if you don't have a segment already cut. if you do; it's as low-effort as it gets. in any case i'd argue that it's close. if it's an issue, then just, like. keep it by whatever you use to cut it to length. problem solved.)

i've bought a roll that was 50 feet (~15 meters) long x ("0.78in" 🙄) 20mm wide (i know; i know—mixed units. yuck. blame the manufacturer and the seller's marketing) twice, and each time it was less than $10. that was... a couple years ago(?), so it might cost a little more—but less than $20, certainly. you probably won't even need to buy two. i didn't, and i have a lot of cables. i just bought an extra in case i ran out and couldn't find it again later.

it's nice "velcro," too. not that low density shit or on a hard plastic backing like you usually find in stores for premade cable ties. it's soft and flexible and works great even for long, thick cables like extension cords and power strips! and if you want a small strip for a very thin, very short cable, you can just cut it! shorter, and thinner! do whatever you want!

oh, uh. while you're getting used to cutting cable ties to length—err on the side of "too long" instead of "too short." it's fine to wrap a cable tie around itself an extra time or two—but you'll have to cut a whole new strip if it's too short to reach and connect up securely. (and if you do cut it too short; it's not wasted. you can probably use that for a smaller cable, or—failing that—stick it back on the roll for now and wait until you have two or more "too short" segments, and. stick them together. just overlap the segments by, like. an inch. (or 25.4mm. yes, exactly) and press firmly. those suckers will never come apart accidentally. for best results maybe wrap it a way that doesnt try to pull them apart when taking it off the cable—but honestly it doesn't matter.)

while you're at it, buy "shears" from, like a hardware store.

like this. to use instead of scissors where appropriate. they won't go dull the instant you use them for something heavier than printer paper, and they're invaluable for getting into clamshell packaging and cutting things, such as the aforementioned strips of hook-and-loop fastener. (they're also less than $20, which is. so much less expensive than a pair of scissors that cut thicker materials even half as well.)

sometimes scissors (even fancy, expensive, more sturdy scissors) just aren't the right tool for the job, and using one better suited to what you're doing removes, like. ≥90% of the frustration. plus, if you have big, fuck-off hands like i do they might be one of the first pairs of comfortable "scissors" you've ever used. might be worth it for that alone tbh.

[yoongsisbae]

XxXmas Stream with V | KTH

Stuck in Quarantine for the Holidays you decide to use this opportunity to hold a special X-Rated X-Mas cam show. You wanted to treat your friends and family to really nice Christmas presents this year, and Santa’s not paying your bills! So you’re going to have to be a little naughty. V has been a good boy (so you think) so you give him extra attention this holiday.

Yandere!Taehyung x camgirl!reader feat yandere!Yoongi

Sorry for the delay, I tried to make this a text fanfic to continue my ‘trying new writing styles’ series, but...it was a disaster :'). Holy moly I never knew how complicated making those fake group messages were?! Authors who make those kind of fanfics I have a newfound appreciation for your stories!!!

Warnings: yandere story!! Lots of Tae's POV so it gets intense and creepy fast o.O unhealthy obsession, reader manipulation, sharing nudes without consent, voyeur, masturbation, sex toys, stalking, overstimulation, multiple orgasms, dacryphilia

Word count: 2k

---

BROADCASTING: 3…

Beep. Turn off the music? Or, shit, keep it on? No.

…2…

Beep. The Christmas lights feel hot against your legs.

…1…

Beep. It won’t burn, right? Does this look stupid?

○ LIVE

You feel stupid. The Christmas lights click together as you shift into position.

[V has entered the chat room.]

“Hey V.”

---

5 HOURS UNTIL SHOWTIME

Ugh.

You gave up on decorating cookies. You take an angry bite out of the still-warm-cookie-blob, the store-bought sugary dough had transformed from cute raw cut-outs into massive cloud-like figures instead. ‘Oh well,’ you were the only person who was going to eat them anyways, you think, dipping cookie-blob-man into the accompanying premade white icing tub.

What the fuck is cheerful about being stuck inside alone during the holidays?!

Your groceries sit on your stovetop because you’re too annoyed to put them away yet.

What the hell is merry about eating a Christmas meal for one, alone, in your tiny ass apartment, away from your family and friends on Christmas day!?

At least you didn’t have to work during the holiday rush hours…mainly because your hours had been cut down to zero. Hmph.

But you didn’t care, you were making a killing, more than twice as much as you used to make before the pandemic, even after all the overtime and holiday pay, with the added bonus of not having to deal with entitled screaming customers taking out the stress of their lives on you.

Your new customers had a very different kind of entitlement now, transactional favors meant your time and body were theirs, if only for a few hours every night. But you didn’t care, you couldn’t afford to care, and now, with Christmas just around the corner, and the opportunity to be able to buy your friends and family really nice gifts this year...you know, the kind of gifts that make them go, “Wow!” Maybe shed a grateful tear, appreciate you as their daughter. Maybe return the favor next holiday... Well, you didn’t see the harm in indulging your new patrons a bit more this season.

Logging into House of Cards, you search through your mailbox, now full of new messages. Sweet offers for ‘alone time,’ donations disguised as Christmas presents, well wishes and dick pics.

‘Special xXx-Mas Stream tonight for one lucky follower!’

You type the announcement out, pinning it to the top of your message board, making sure to attach your donation link, the most important part.

---

4 HOURS UNTIL SHOWTIME

Taehyung checks the time and notices messages from Jungkook. Earlier in the day he had sent pictures, he had promised the younger man screenshots, lovely pictures of white and lace and spread legs. Looks like Jungkook was no longer preoccupied with the images.

fuck. please more

new Dahlia live, but only one viewer

who do you think will get it?

Taehyung texts back, ‘I’m going to win it don’t worry :)’

Jungkook responds in string of texts

good luck. Min is obsessed

do you think she will wear red tonight?

she hasn't answered my messages yet :(

Jin told me she has private sessions with him!!! he’ll probably win this one too!

‘Not this time,’ Taehyung thinks, and let’s Jungkook know his plan.

---

Taehyung sends the man in question a simple text: ‘pull your bid’

Fuck off?

Taehyung takes a deep breath, composing his next message: ‘Or I could just outbid you :) I have all the transaction logs pulled up’

Your point? So do I

Taehyung can't believe it; That asshole! What he is doing is totally off limits!

‘ugh Min, just let me have her for tonight’ ‘you really want to spend all day in a bidding war?’ ‘I will win’ ‘and I’ll make sure to outbid you by a dollar :)’

Taehyung's cell finally lights up with a notification.

We’ll see....

‘What if a promise to send you screenshots??’

Yeah, sure. Merry Christmas, asshole.

Taehyung knew Yoongi would fold, he just knew it! That egotistical prick thinks he has the site's top streamer wrapped around his finger, it makes him too indifferent about you. Does Yoongi even know anything about you?

Taehyung knows you, he listens to your grievances when you talk about your friends and family, he's compiled a list of descriptions every time you mention someone, getting closer and closer to seeing the full picture of your life, what goes past the boxed-in screen your pretty body fits into. Taehyung sees past your act, he studies the way you pause and look to the side right before you tell a little white lie, he knows when you wake up and when you go to sleep, tracking the times you're most active on the site.

Does Yoongi know the songs you like to hum to fill the awkward silence? Your favorite drinks, the ones you reach for when your throat is dry? Taehyung can even tell when your orgasms are fake, rewatching your streams for hours, edging his body to your soft moans. Taehyung might not be your number one donator, but he's getting there, and he wouldn't treat your precious attention so carelessly like Yoongi, never! Which makes tonight so important.

Taehyung makes a quick call to Jin.

“Hey, I need a favor.”

“You already owe me for your last favor,” Jin clears his throat, with the unspoken promise to collect.

“Oh! Did you convince Hobi to give you the CC database?”

“I'm working on it, these things take time, stop being so impatient.”

“Anyways, can you come up with some way to distract our Engineer? I made a deal with him to stay logged off tonight, but I don’t trust him.”

“Just lock his account?” he offers.

“It would be too obvious it was me” he frowns. “I just need him distracted enough not to change his mind.”

“Alright alright,” Jin smiles, “You're going to owe me big time.” Taehyung agrees with him hurriedly, blinded by his excitement, unaware of how much debt he's racking up with the eldest, who despite his aloof demeanor, expects retribution when the time comes, and will make sure he gets it.

---

3 HOURS UNTIL SHOWTIME

Floating in warm soapy water, soaking skin in calming lavender. You felt much better now. The relaxing bath had calmed you down, loosened your tense muscles, washed away your anger with cute bubbles.

It had become a nice routine of self care before streams. It helped with your nerves, allowed you to feel your best, your sexiest. It was a definite contrast to the cold showers you took afterwards, where you washed the lube and sweat off your spent body, hurriedly removing the evidence of your debauchery.

Reaching for your cell you check the website, answering new messages.

Suga: work is stressful, remembering last night is the only thing that's keeping me sane

Dahlia: last night was fun. don't want to do it again?

You noticed Suga never commented on your announcement or donated, and he always donated.

Suga: can't tonight, I am so busy

Dahlia: too busy even for me?

Suga: I always have time for you, baby. Tell me what you're doing.

You lean against the tub's edge, take a photo to send to Suga.

Suga: baby Suga: baby Suga: what are you doing to me Suga: how am I supposed to concentrate now

Falling your body back into the water, you can't help but giggle. You know you shouldn't, but you wonder what he was like in person. He clearly had a lot of money for someone who was so down to earth. Speaking of money, a ding from your phone alerts you of a sizable payment to your account.

Suga: what about a quick one right now?

You think it over. Two streams in one day, well, there's a first time for everything. And you're feeling extra naughty.

---

Propping your phone at the foot of your tub, Suga gets a screen full of tits, soapy and wet, bubbles obscuring the rest of your body as your seductive voice fills his speakers.

“I was thinking about what you said last night, about living life with no regrets.”

Suga: So will you accept my House invite? So I can finally meet you in person, I promise you won't regret it

Your coy laughter rings through as you splash around, moving your body away just enough to show your inviting lips to Suga, smiling seductively. “I’m thinking about it, is all.”

Yoongi leans back on his chair, his hands cupped under his chin and listens to the soft splashing of water, your fingers slipping over your wet skin and the perfect curves of your breasts, and he thinks about how one day it will be him touching you instead. Yoongi knows eventually you will say yes, he knows you're willing to do anything to keep your viewers happy.

He just has to push a little bit more, make you feel guilty for rejecting his offer so many times, do you not want to make him the happiest man in the world? After all he’s given you? He just has to make you think he's getting tired of you, you're no longer as desirable as you once were, if you can't keep the attention of your biggest fan, how can you keep anyone's attention? You’ll do it, Yoongi knows. You’ll do it to make him happy, to boost your ego, to silence your insecurities. Everyone goes to The House eventually, everyone. But right now, Yoongi just wants to watch you fall apart in front of his eyes, your soft wet body moaning out for him

Suga: and all I’m thinking about is you Suga: turn around, let me see more of your beautiful body

You follow his orders, you bend over when he tells you to, squeeze your tits, suck on your fingers, fuck your fingers into yourself with your legs propped up on either side of your tub, moan louder for him, swipe your thumb over your clit. You imagine it's a handsome stranger using his fingers to bring you to orgasm instead.

And when you come, pulsing around your digits, and realize the water is now cold and you're all alone, it's Suga's words that makes you feel better.

Suga: I don’t ever regret a moment with you, Sweet Dahlia. If you were here with me, I’d give you everything.

2 HOURS UNTIL SHOWTIME

Taehyung sorts through job tickets, he's come a long way as the website's webmaster. Now he has scripts for his scripts and Taehyung can do whatever he pleases while his coding does the job for him. He has so much free time now, too much free time. He devotes himself to you instead. Hyperfixates on you for hours. Two more hours to go.

And then he sees what he's been waiting for, a message from you inviting him to your xXx-mas stream.

V: I'm so happy, wow I never expected this!

Dahlia: see you tonight, V ;)

You were happy too. You liked V. He was pleasant to talk to compared to most. He was friendly and sweet, and he was very generous.

---

1 HOUR UNTIL SHOWTIME

You rushed around your apartment, dismantling your tiny Christmas tree like a real scrooge, pulling off the string lights wrapped around. This was a bit gimmicky, but you figured V would like it, he always wanted to dress you up. You didn't mind doing it (as long as he paid for it) and some of the costumes he picked out were cute even if they were sometimes a bit too frilly and lacey for your liking.

But it's almost Christmas! So, time to get into the Christmas spirit!

---

RECORDING

“Hey V.”

Taehyung licks his drying lips, your image filling the black screen on his computer. The string lights wrap around your legs and stomach like ropes, giving V all sorts of depraved ideas, his cock already painfully hard, he immediately starts stroking himself to the sight of you.

V: Hey Dahlia V: You look beautiful as always V: A present just for me tonight

“I'm all yours tonight.” Widening your legs, the lights dig into your thighs and Taehyung watches transfixed. So excited, it's easy for Taehyung to let his desires take over his mind, that when you run your tongue over the tip of your vibrator, he can almost feel the warm wetness of your tongue lick over the head of his weeping cock too.

He imagines your mouth hallowing out over his cock instead, lips stretching over and down his length, sucking him into your mouth. You would make that exact noise choking on his length, except louder. That noise, fuck he wants to hear it again and again as he rams his cock down your pretty throat.

He wants to make you so sore you can't speak for days, only so he can take care of you. Then he would fuck you as hard as he could just to hear your raspy whispers cry out every time he fucks you full-

You drag the vibrator to your core, stretching your panties to the side, letting it slip along your wet folds.

“Tell me what you want, V”

V: take your panties off, let me see all of you

Dammit, you didn't think this light thing through! The string lights hinder your movements and make it so you can't remove your undergarments. Thrown off, you look at the camera dumbly.

V: rip them off

Your core tightens. You've never done anything like that or had it done to you, and now you wish for the second time today that you weren't doing this alone. You sacrifice the lace thong at V's request, your arousal heightened.

V: open your legs wider, in the air, I want to see your legs shake V: higher, be a good girl, don't let them drop V: now, turn on the vibrator, put it to your clit

You jolt, gasping. The string lights jingle softly as your breathing escalates and body begins to shake. Biting your bottom lip, head falling back, the ding of V's messages snaps you back into your body.

V: Oh baby girl, you didn't cum already, did you? V: put it inside and cum again

Taehyung adds lotion to his hand, gripping his cock tighter, watching proudly as you convulse, a pained expression on your face in your overstimulation. If only you were here, fuck if you were riding his dick instead...

Taehyung snaps his hips up at the thought, letting his cock slip across his fingers. He imagines filling your pussy up instead, your body bouncing on his cock, his large hands squeezing your thighs so tight the string lights crack in his grip. You wail his name, tears leaving your eyes at how deep his hits up into you. He can see you, feel you, hear you, his pretty baby doll riding him-

“I'm s-so c-close,” you stutter, body tensing, your tired legs still haven't dropped. You lean back.

V: pull the vibrator out, finish yourself with your fingers.

You whimper, wishing you had the electric toy to make yourself come easier. You run your fingers back and forth across your throbbing clit, mewling at how sensitive you are now.

Taehyung pumps himself faster, moaning loudly as he watches your hole clench. He would do anything to stretch you open, fill your tight little hole with his thick cock, feel the warmth of your sex around him.

He watches as you spasm and shake, orgasming a second time. His own body about to go over the edge at the sight of your hole rapidly clenching and your whimpers.

“C-Can I put my l-legs d-down, p-please...” Your pleading voice and the way you obeyed him perfectly sends Taehyung over the edge. He drags out his orgasm, smiling and watching your body tremble and pant for relief.

Your kept your eyes shut tightly, so when you heard a familiar ding, your limbs automatically relaxed. You look up and sigh, thankful you had been right. You notice the time and smile, “Merry Christmas, V.”

---

THIS WAS SO FUCKING HARD TO WRITE HOLY FUCK I REWROTE THIS 4 TIMES OMG. So I really really really hope you like it :'D. Also, I am still organizing the next chapter of HOAL, forgive me, so I decided to release this next instead!

This story is set in C!HOC universe, if you like this drabble and want to read more, READ HERE.

[iwantutobehapppier]

Still Remains

Pairing: Bucky x Reader

Summary: You had planned a great Friday, sometimes things don’t go as planned. Perhaps your boyfriend can help salvage the day? 

Warnings: 18+ Only, smut, fluffy so very soft, fingering and cursing

Word Count: 2,969 (hehehe 69)

A/N: Hey hey! Happy Third night of Chanukah I hope you all enjoy some soft Bucky for tonight’s Chanukah present. Huge shout out to @sagechanoafterdark​ for her amazing beta skills on this one. Was def out my comfort zone.

You had a perfect day planned.

It would involve a workday where you gave minimal effort after completing a rather taxing project for upper management under the deadline. Then, go to your favorite and the best-smelling shop for a signature bath bomb, a quick stop at the upscale corner store for some wine plus a premade meal as cooking was not on the agenda tonight. All of that was to be followed by something good and dramatic on your iPad coupled with a face mask while you soaked in the bath not having a care in the world.

Your boyfriend, the ever understanding James Buchanan Barnes, knew how important your much needed me time was. Agreeing to meet with you on Saturday for lunch, leaving Friday as ‘you time’.

That was the plan.

It was a good plan. The best plan you’d had in weeks after endless work and long nights.

But that plan fell apart before you finished brewing your morning cup of coffee.

Your boss returned from his morning meeting with devastating news. The project you'd been slaving over for the last 3 weeks needed to factor in new data he'd failed to previously provide. Not only that but your deadline was moved from next week to today by 4 pm. Making the excuse about upper management leaving by then.

Coffee hastily made you care less about the creamer you spilled on the counter. Rushing to your desk to boot up and start compiling the required information. By lunchtime, you had a tension headache, a stomach ache, and your lower back was throbbing.

Catching one of your coworkers as they went to the cafeteria. You begged them to pick you up something, feeling guilty about leaving your desk for even a second while such a critical project was due in such a short amount of time. You couldn't even consider stopping for something like lunch. Hell, you barely had any water, something Bucky would certainly give you hell about tomorrow.

Speaking of the man, you checked your phone spying a sweet good morning text you had missed followed a little while later by an inquiry about how your day was. Quickly, you sent a quick reply summarizing how it was not a good day then quickly put your phone away, focusing back on the task at hand.

One good thing was you had sent the newly finished project out by 3:45.

The problem that followed?

Your boss had left early dumping their work on your desk. Groaning as your hopes for an on-time escape were dashed, you paused for a break to get some water and check your phone. Replying to some friends you saw your boyfriend’s concerned text, feeling your chest warm.

‘Do you need me to do anything? I can help you relax a little more tonight instead of hanging out with Steve.’ He was a sweet and caring man. Even though most of the world feared him, you only saw the caring, attentive, and dashing lover.

You wouldn’t take up his time tonight though, you needed a solo night in and he deserved time with his best friend for how much you normally take up his time. Sending a quick dismissal reply, ‘No honey, I’ll make it work thank you for being so amazing’ you’re back to the grindstone.

Leaving the office by 6, you thought the shop for our bath bomb closed at 7, and with it raining the past hour the chances of making it there on time were slim but you would not be bested. You had the perfect night planned and salvaging it was a must.

Reaching the doors at 7:30, locked for the night. You couldn’t help the anguished cry you gave out, stomping your feet in the puddles outside the locked doors. Allowing yourself a small pity party, you square your shoulders and make your way to the corner store. Refusing to allow another piece of your perfect plan to be dashed away.

They were out of your favorite wine.

Your bottom lip trembled as you stood in the aisle frustration sweeping over you. Shoulders dropping you drag your feet to the fresh market area, finding a lone wilted sandwich remaining. Clearly, a massive rush of people had been just as desperate for the corner store’s fresh market food as you were. Or, your melodramatic brain supplied, the world was against you today.

Shaking that unhelpful thought away you quickly sent a venting text to your boyfriend. ‘I was too late for a bath bomb and the corner market is a bust. :(’ Your mind coming up with a quick contingency plan as you typed. You knew you had some wine in the apartment that you barely liked but it would do in comparison to what the store had. If you recall correctly you think you had some papaya scented bath rocks that could be an okay substitute.

Moving on to your newly formed Plan C, you made your way home. Arriving home you were soaking wet as the rain had never let up.

Clutching your broken umbrella, because why not?

Your feet drag you through the front entrance of your apartment building. You could feel the building pressure of tears behind your eyes but you wouldn’t let them fall. Nope, not until you are at least in the safety of your home. Sighing in recognition of the terribleness that was your day you go to check the mail and just as your turn to  the bulletin board your heart drops at the sign “Water Heater Out Until Sunday”

Fuck today.

Fuck your boss.

Fuck the rain.

Fuck your stupid super, who barely kept your apartment up to code.

Fuck the people who bought your wine and food.

Fuck today.

Sucking in a deep breath you turn and start the walk up the steps when your phone rings. You answer it without a second thought, trying to keep your mental state from cracking before getting into your apartment your only goal.

“Hey doll,” your boyfriend’s deep silky voice in your ear, “I wanted to see if your night got any better.”

You tried to tell him what happened, you really did but as the words formed you plopped down onto the stairs; then, became a crying and blubbering mess. Your sweet boyfriend only able to make out blips like “water heater, fuck my boss, lazy super, I just can’t anymore.”

As you kept trying to explain what was wrong through your uncontrollable and frustrating sobs, Bucky’s voice finally broke through, “Stay on the phone with me, doll,” he instructed. Hearing rustling on the other end, “I’m on my way.”

Not even thirty minutes later Bucky found you, sitting on the steps. No longer sobbing, but tears intermittently still falling down your cheeks and emotionally wrung out.

He called your name softly and you looked up at him. Tying your best to smile, but it was hard. Without another word, he picked you up off the stairs and carried you to his car bridal style. Turning on the heater after starting the car, he begins to make his way back to his place respecting your silence.

“Bucky,” you whisper out as you both sit at a red light. He turns his head, those cerulean blue eyes shining with adoration and a bit of concern. “Thank you,” is all you can get out but god you want to say more the words stuck in your throat.

Knowing you were still decompressing his hand squeezes your thigh. “Anything for you, doll.” He winks before facing the road once more as the light turns green.

Pulling into the garage of his house, he exits the car lightly jogging to your side and opening the door. You go to grab your bags before he can get you. “Leave ‘em, I'll get them later.” Heeding his advice you let him pick you up once more leaving your stuff in the car.

Carrying you through the house into the master bath he gently set you on the edge of the tub. Holding up one finger he turns around looking under the sink before pulling out your favorite bath bomb. The exact one you threw a fantastic pity party about earlier tonight.

Your jaw goes slack before you rapidly question your boyfriend, “where did you get this? When did you get this?!"

“I stocked up last time we took a bath together,” he explained. Leaning over you Bucky swept the hair off your forehead before kissing you there. “I wanted to make sure you could be comfortable here.”

“Oh,” is all you can get out, floored by such a sweet and selfless gesture.

“Your shampoo is still in the shower,” he said, gesturing to the stand-up shower to the left of his free-standing soaking tub. “I know you like rinsing off before a bath.”

“I don’t wanna be in a soup of my own filth,” you said with a pout, justifying your pre-shower bath ritual. He chuckles at you leaning down farther before capturing your lips. Slipping his tongue into your mouth, trailing over the roof of your mouth, cupping your chin with his cool metal hand. Bucky hums into your mouth when your tongue connects with his.  

The kiss feels endless, the gentle caress of his tongue on yours exploring your mouth a much-needed comfort after this horrible day. When he pulls away your mouth remains slightly open, eyes closed a soft whine coming out at the loss.  When he caresses your cheek with the back of his knuckles you open your eyes.

“Go on,” he nods his head to the shower, “relax and enjoy your bath.”

Watching his retreating figure you lick your lips eyeing his back end. Shaking your head out of your dirty thoughts you strip down to shower.

Once sufficiently clean, you wrap your hair in one of the microfibers wraps you’d left last time. Realizing you’d actually been leaving a lot more here and Bucky seemed to by buying stuff you normally kept at your place. Eyeing the double sink counter, you notice some of your creams and cleansing products there. Fairly certain you hadn’t purchased some of them twice due to cost alone.

Smiling at all the self-care items he had clearly bought just for you, your fingers trail along the marble countertop until you reach your bath bomb. Grabbing the half pink and half purple ball,  you make your way to the giant tub. Slipping in you set the bath bomb onto the window sill beside you.

Setting the water to the perfect warm temperature, you push the stopper down and sit back, resting your head on the tub rim as the tub fills. Once it hits the right level you turn the tap off and drop the bath bomb in, enjoying the scents of Jasmine and Ylang Yalng permeate the air as the tub water begins to turn a dusky pink.

A few minutes later Bucky walks in, holding a bottle of your favorite Rose Gold Rosé, a sparkling wine glass, and a clear package of food. Setting it all on the counter he turns to you and smiles at the sight of your already relaxed body.

Looking up at him a soft smile pulls on your lips. “I noticed you bought some of my products for here,” you comment.

“Is that a problem,” he inquires, rather sure it’s not but he wants to make sure he’s not crossing a line.

“N-no,” you stutter briefly, worried you might offend him for such a kind gesture. “No, I just didn’t know you did that.”

Smiling he sinks to his knees next to you outside the tub, folding his arms over the lip, “Well, didn’t wanna make a big deal of it.”

You nod, but still curious, “Why though?”

“So you’ll stay here more often,” he admits with a shrug. Bucky felt that the tactic was purely selfish on his part, but if all your things were here why would you need to go back to your place? He’d use tonight to show you that you can have your own space even when living with him.

“You like me being here?” Bucky wants to laugh at your doubt but doesn’t, knowing your nerves are rather frazzles so any sass from him could be misconstrued.

“Of course,” he said in a matter-of-fact tone. “I always want you here.”

“Wh-what?” you gasp sitting upright in the tub so fast the water sloshing on the sides, trying to put together exactly what he is saying.

“This is a conversation later,” he cuts off with a smile. Wanting to stop your brain from the tailspin it was definitely heading towards. “I just wanna help my baby relax,” he says, cupping your cheek with his flesh hand.

You nuzzle into his hand with a contented sigh, “Oh, alright.”

His hand resting on your cheek slips down under the water, tweaking both your nipples pulling an involuntary gasp from you.

“Yeah,” his voice a whisper. Fingers trailing down your stomach to cup your heat, slipping between your slit. “You gonna let me help you relax after such a bad day?” You nod your head, mouth open in a muted moan panting with each stroke against you.

Bucky takes advantage of your open mouth, leaning in for a kiss with his tongue taking residence in your mouth. His fingers capture your clit gently squeezing before rubbing tight circles. Your eyes slipped closed at the growing pleasure.

You whimper into his mouth as he quickens his pace. Dipping your head back as he hits a good rhythm and pressure, making your toes curl but his other hand grips you by the back of your neck keeping your lips pressed tightly against his.

Two fingers dip inside you, slowly pushing in and out curling upwards, his palm rubbing against your clit in tandem with his fingers. When he hits that one special spot you try to slouch down into the water but his hand on your neck keeps you in place.

Your hands grip the lip of the tub, legs moving underneath the water and making soft waves that splash against the sides of the tub. Whimpers and moans pour from your mouth into his, eager to consume them.

Bucky tilts his head, making your teeth clash, ramping him up more. He’s moving faster now keying you quickly up but it’s not enough, he knows you need direct stimulation. Pulling his fingers back out of your heat, he rubs your clit in quick concise circles.

Your eyes pop open catching his intense stare, knowing he’d been watching you all along. Bucky was observant and always intense, picking up on every brow tick, nostril flare, and lip twitch. Almost studying you and picking you apart for his and your pleasure. It’s a goal for him, to make you feel all the emotions you make him feel, giving you the physical pleasure you bring to him.

The intensity of it all was too much.

His fingers keep their tempo, applying a little more pressure and it’s enough. Your legs shake and spasm making the water at the surface choppy and slosh in the tub. He released your mouth to hear your cry out in ecstasy, knuckles turning white as they held the edge of the tub.

“That’s my good girl,” his voice rumbles out.

Removing his hand from the dark pink water, at the same time his metal hand releases your neck. You look up at him panting, dazed in the euphoria of your orgasm as he stands. Bucky turns around, uncorking the wine with a pop and pouring you a glass. Looking around he frowns briefly, walking to the closet and returning with a brand new large bath tray, similar to the one you have at home. He sets it over the tub in front of you and places the bottle and full glass on the tray along with the cheese, crackers, and fruit pack.

He cups your chin pulling your slightly dazed eyes to him, he leans down pressing a kiss to your forehead, “Now you enjoy the wine and eat a little bit of food for me. I’ll be back to check on you later.”

“Uh-huh,” is all you can get out. Bucky smirks with pride at your ravaged state as he leaves you alone in the bathroom with one last look.

After a good two-hour soak where you ended up emptying the tub a little before refilling with warm water halfway through, you finally felt relaxed enough and left the bathroom. Wrapping yourself in a plush white towel you slowly unwrap your now almost dry hair.

Padding into Bucky’s room you smile at the blue henley he left laying on the bed for you. Lifting it up you notice something is missing.

“Bucky?” you call out in confusion, brows furrowed as you look over the bed.

“Yeah, doll,” he replied, walking towards the bedroom, turning off lights as he made his way in.

“Do you have any of my underwear here?”

He starts pulling his sweats off watching you search for the missing item, “Yeah, I have a few.” He admits from behind you. You jump and playfully swat him behind you, a soft chuckle rumbles from him when he spins you around to face him.

“Hmm,” your lips turned up in a smile. Wondering why he didn’t provide you any and just with his shirt. You wrap your arms around his neck pressing your foreheads together. “I’m going to need a pair.”

He tugs at your towel smirking when it falls to the floor. His eyes trailing down your exposed body and back up to your face.

“No,” he gives you a pointed stare pulling you tight against him, “you don’t.”

[forestryfae]

small business tiktok is so fucking annoying half of them are like GENUINELY good businesses that sell stuff like homemade clay pins or stickers, clay tableware figurines, pots, etc. homemade watercolours or yarn of other art supplies, metalware and jewelry, glass, prints and canvas art, woodworking, clothes and other fabric products, soaps, etc. most of them also, while maybe not making The Worlds Most lno waste ecofriendly products atleast try to make their their packaging as low-waste and recycleable as they can, and the ones that are independent or self made are genuinely independent or have a small team of coworkers meanwhile, the other half and the most prominent parts of small business tiktok, not to mention the most WHINY and guilt tripping, we have resin and earring tiktok. first off, the fucking audios they use!!??? “PLEASE STOP SCROLLING!!!111!!11!! im just a small business, and tiktok is shadowbanning and hiding my videos so noone can see them ever :’((((( i know im just a small businesss and most people dont care about me at all :’(((( but itd mean the world to me if you liked, shared, and commented on my video 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺 pwease? for me?? pweeeaaasseeee???? 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺” its worse than the fucking “like comment subscribe and turn on notifications” shit youtube creators are pulling. and the fucking way they talk and word it? its so fucking entitled and whiny

and its not just resin tiktok, its a very specific part of homemade jewelry tiktok ive decided to refer to as earring tiktok, because they primarily sell those. idk if they bulk buy their studs off of amazon or aliexpress or if they go to target or hobby lobby or whatever yall have in the us, but they then try to frame it like their design is an original one of a kind? i dont have a number on how many times ive seen a small business with a guilt trippy audio complain that noone wants to support or buy their items and then its like. a mini watercolor set or a rubber duck or a pair of cards from a cardstock they bought at dollar store, or some charm or premade stuff that is very obviously bulk-bought from aliexpress or some company that sells bowling alley gacha prices. like yeah theyre cool and they definitley dont sell those at H&M but its also not something id pay over 30 dollars plus shipping for, and not after that guilt trip. not that it wouldnt be hard to find another shop to buy fromt with the exact same or similar product. and then theres resin tiktok. ive seen youtube woodworkers who use resin to spice up their wooden tables, and ive heard about some people who put wedding bouquets or a late relatives ashes in resin to rpeserve them, and im onboard w that! that fuckin dope! but resin tiktok consists of resin coasters (STILL dont understand wtf coasters are good for just wash your table if you spill something), resin jewelry holders (yall ever heard of a jewery box??), resin nonfunctional guns? what???? resin combs (wooden combs? hello?) resin ashtrays and tableware which i am so mad about they need an entire post of their own, resin jewelry (which i can understand to a certain degree because i saw someone put resin on slices of fruit and make jewelry from which looked so tasty and absolutely amazing and i stll want to buy them because they were pretty and not just trendy), resin dice (acceptable as resin dice are used frequently and even if you get tired of them you can sell or give them away to other people instead of throwing them away, and there are people who collect them so theres an interest so if you get rid of them someone would want them, but there are still non-resin options as well which would be cool if people looked into too) starting off with the designs, just like w the earrings i talked abt, theres basically no originality. clear resin with some dried flowers and glitter, or witchy holographic stickers stuck into a mold, btw everyone uses the same 15 molds, i could go to any resin tikok and id find the exact same product and the only difference would be where they placed the flowers and what color it is. usually daisies. i love daisies but not like this. theres also that fucking stop scrolling🥺🥺🥺 audio, so thats fun. and a common issue between all these small businesses, and some jewelry businesses too, is the packaging. there is no need for those tiny cloth pouches. yes theyre pretty but what the hell are you supposed to use them  for after youve unpacked the stuff you bought? they last for like two weeks if you try to use them for ANYTHING else and they fray and fall apart instantly. then the pouch is put in a box or envelope with a ton of shredded paper, then the shredded paper and pouch is wrapped in a fucking silk paper sheet?? what??? thats so much! i bought vintage christmas ornaments\ off of etsy and it was wrapped in less shit than a pair of metal earrings! just put some shredded paper in an envelope, and put the jewelry in a paper envelope in that envelope. better yet, i saw a guy design a special envelope to put his stickers in. do that! anyways, my hot take of the day is basicallly i love small busniess tiktok but i could do without the guilt tripping ans SUPPORT ME!!!! and that resin is a waste. its plastic, its not biodegradeable, and im gonna make a post aout how much i hate ashtrays now

[conceptstage]

Happy Sune’s Day

AO3

Beau yawned as she shambled tiredly down the stairs of the Xorhaus, scratching at her stomach and looking through half lidded eyes to keep from crashing into anyone. She had a flash of red and pink and frowned, wincing, then forced her eyes open all the way. It took a moment for her half asleep brain to recognize what she was seeing but, as it did, her eyes widened in horror.

“Oh, shit,” she hissed.

The entire hallway was awash in pink and white and red, paper hearts and curled streamers hanging from the ceiling and walls. She glanced to the right into the living room and there were paper hearts taped to the walls in a heart shape with hearts littering the floor too. She turned to the left into the kitchen and there was a curtain of strings covered in heart beads blocking the room from her sight. She stepped through the beaded curtain and sighed in relief when she didn’t saee a single heart inside, but she did see Caleb sitting at the table and frowning at a mug of coffee, Nott sitting at his side and cutting a shape that was definitely not a heart out of red paper, Yasha leaning against the mantle of the roaring fireplace, and Fjord sitting across the table from them and giving Beau a commiserating smile.

“Caduceus put his foot down and said no decorations in here or the kitchen,” Fjord said when he saw the relief on her face. “Fire hazard.”

“What the fuck is going on?”

Fjord shrugged. “It’s Sune’s Day. I guess it’s just a Menagerie Coast thing, but it’s basically just a celebration of love and romance. Apparently, Jester’s a big fan.”

The beads behind her clattered as someone moved quickly through them and Jester grinned, lighting up the entire room. “Happy Sune’s Day!” she cheered. She stepped up beside Beau and laid a paper heart necklace over her head and it got caught on her ear. Jester leaned over and pressed her lips against Beau’s cheek. “Mwah!” She thankfully turned away from Beau before she could see the dark flush rising on her cheeks and the tips of her ears and hurried over to the fireplace to lean up on her tiptoes to lay one over Yasha’s head and press a kiss to her chin since it was all that she could reach. Yasha smiled softly and accepted the necklace and kiss gratefully. “Happy Sune’s Day!” She laid another necklace over Fjord’s head as well and kissed his cheek too. “Mwah!” She went to Caleb next and kissed his temple and then Nott and kissed the top of her head.

Beau watched her with wide eyes and then finally reached up to unhook the necklace from her ear and let it settle around her neck. “Jes, what is this exactly?”

“It’s Sune’s Day! A wholesome celebration of romantic and platonic love. And I just love you all so, so much!”

“Romantically or platonically?” Nott asked, grinning with pointed teeth.

Jester giggled and winked. “That’s for me to know.”

Caduceus stepped out of the kitchen already wearing a paper necklace and carrying a plate of pastries, all heart shaped, some with pink and red sprinkles, and some gushing raspberry jam. He sat the plate on the table and leaned down so that Jester could kiss his cheek.

Caleb looked at the pastries wearily. “H-How are we meant to celebrate?” he asked, picking up the pastry that seemed the least sweet and brushing off a dusting of sprinkles.

Jester shrugged and sat down at the table on his other side. “Like this. Kids sometimes make cards for their friends but I made these necklaces instead. And you eat heart shaped candy but I searched like all week and I couldn’t find any heart shaped anything in this city. And then for couples and stuff they go all out. They go on dates and give presents and flowers and then they go home and have lots of sex on a pile of rose petals with candles and chocolate sauce. My momma used to get all kind of presents and candy from her admirers and she would give a special Sune’s Day performance with love songs and people would throw roses at her feet.” She said happily. “I always wanted someone to be romantic with on Sune’s Day. Maybe next year.” Before anyone could respond, she jumped back up to her feet, snatched up a pastry with raspberry filling leaking out the side, and started skipping towards the beaded curtain. “Well, I’m gonna go finish decorating the War Room.”

Beau waited until she disappeared out the doorway and then turned sharply to the others. “Guys, I think we need to do something for Jester today.”

Caleb frowned curiously and tilted his head, his mouth half full of pastry. “Like what?”

“Did you see how sad she was? We need to do some of those romantic things for her.”

“Have sex with her on a pile of roses and chocolate sauce?” Nott asked.

Beau’s neck felt hot and she shook her head. “No, fucking- The other stuff. We can get her flowers and shit if it’ll make her happy.”

Fjord cleared his throat. “I actually saw something in a store the other day that I thought she might like but I didn’t buy it at the time. I can go get it.”

“There's no sun here,” Caduceus said mildly. “No sun, no flowers.”

“Fuck!” Beau hissed. “Where can we find flowers?” She pondered it for a moment, then turned to Caleb with a smirk. “How many times a day can you do that transportation circle thing?”

He blinked and then understanding dawned on his face. “What are you thinking? Zadash or Nicodranus?”

“Zadash, I think. If we went to Nicodranus we’d need to send a message ahead of us and let them know we were coming. What else, what else can we do?”

“I can play a song on my harp,” Yasha spoke up. “She likes to dance, doesn’t she?”

“I can dance with her,” Caleb offered quietly.

Caduceus looked back at the kitchen. “I have plenty of material left over, I can make a lovely heart shaped cake.”

Nott stood up in her chair. “I’ll keep her distracted while you all get ready! I’m good at keeping secrets.” She gave Beau an obvious significant look and Beau glared at her.

Fjord stood up from the table and came to stand next to Beau. “I’ll go to the store and then meet you two at the palace to walk back together?”

Beau nodded and waved Caleb over. “Let’s set up the circle in your room.” He nodded and stood up to follow her down the hall. They could hear Jester humming loudly from the War Room as they snuck by and ducked quickly into Caleb’s room. Caleb started drawing the circle and Beau leaned against the door to keep Jester from wandering in and she could hear Nott and Jester talking through the wood. “Nott’s distracting her. Let’s hurry.”

He finished the circle with a dramatic flourish that made Beau roll her eyes and it started to glow. He stepped in first and she followed close behind. They arrived at the Cobalt Soul with little fanfare and Beau, in her gray Expositor vestiges, was let through the building with ease. They blinked into the sunlight as they stepped outside, it had been a week without the sun and the heat against their skins felt refreshing as they made their way to the Pentamarket. 

The flower store seemed like the kind of place Jester would love and Beau made a mental note to bring her back here next time they were in town. It was a little brick, one story building sandwiched between two taller brownstones, looking diminutive between them with a small little garden out front and window boxes hanging in front of the picture windows. The only reason they knew it was a flower shop and not a kind witch’s urban vacation cottage was the sign on the roof that read ‘Harietta’s Flowers’ in hand painted red.

Beau and Caleb exchanged a slightly dubious glance but stepped inside, a small bell tingling over their heads as the door opened and closed. The building was bigger than it looked on the outside and it was stuffed full of flowers. One side of the aisle that lead from the front door to the counter was loose flowers, a sort of ‘Build Your Own Arrangement’ setup and the other side was premade bouquets. There was a middle aged halfling woman standing in front of the counter and she looked up at them when the bell rang, her eyes lighting up ecstatically. 

“Oh hello~! Hello, hello, I’m Harrietta, welcome! What can I do for you?”

“A friend of ours celebrates Sune’s Day and we’re looking for flowers for her.”

“Oh, how sweet. I wish every year that it was a more common celebration on this side of the mountains. Good for business. I have some arrangements that will be lovely for it,” she said, waving them forward and leading them through the rows of bouquets. She brought them to a table labeled ‘In The Doghouse’ that had a bouquet with two dozen red and pink roses and another that was a cluster of different flowers formed into the shape of a heart.

“These are apology flowers,” Beau grumbled.

Harrietta shrugged. “That’s just marketing. They’re still lovey-dovey bouquets, they don’t have to be for apologies.” She turned and hurried off back to her desk. “I’ll be waiting for your purchase!”

Beau frowned at the two options laid before her and Caleb cleared his throat, speaking to her quietly. “The roses are pretty standard. I think that Jester would enjoy those. But the heart seems a bit more like Jester, do you think?”

Beau sighed. “Yeah, I- You don’t think that hearts are too… Do you think if I gave her a big heart made out of flowers it might insinuate certain… feelings?”

“We are all doing things for her that would otherwise seem to convey romantic interest. I do not think she will think twice about it if you do not want her to. Do you want her to?”

“I- No! Of course not.” She sneered and picked up the roses. “These. I’ll get her these.”

Caleb shrugged. “It is your gift, it is your decision.”

Beau frowned down at the roses then quickly sat them back down and picked up the heart instead. “Let’s go.” She turned and hurried away before he could respond.

She purchased the heart made out of flowers and then Caleb drew the Rosohna circle out in front of the store and they stepped through quickly. As promised, Fjord was waiting for them outside the palace with a gift wrapped box held under his arm. He gave Beau a kind smile when he saw the flowers she’d picked and she scowled and hid them behind her back. “The fuck you looking at?”

He shrugged but he was still smiling. “Nothing. We heading back?”

Caleb nodded and started walking ahead. “I am sure that Nott is running out of ways to keep her busy.”

Beau brought up the rear, waiting until Caleb and Fjord were chatting quietly ahead of her to pull the flowers out from behind her back to stare down at them in her hands. She gently ran her thumb over the petal of one of the white flowers that she couldn’t name and wondered for a moment what Jester might say if Beau gave it to her romantically. If this wasn’t a group thing, if this was a them thing and she could be honest about the swirling emotions in her chest everytime Jester smiled at her. 

“Beau! Look out!”

Beau looked up and saw a horse, riderless, carriageless, running right towards her. “Fuck!” she exclaimed, throwing herself out of his path of destruction. Her galloped passed her, not even stopping and nearly barreled through a group of school aged drow children who screamed and scattered. 

A portly half orc with a bald head was gasping as he ran too slow after it. “St-” he gasped for breath but didn’t even look at her on the ground. “Stop that- gasp- horse!”

“Motherfucker!” Beau exclaimed, moving to her feet and brushing dust off her pants. Caleb was watching her with wide eyes and then he glanced down at her feet. She frowned and then followed his eyes and saw what was left of her flowers stomped into the cobblestones. She stared at it for a moment and then looked up at the sky, wondering which of the gods were fucking with her right now. “Really? Really, you pieces of shit?” she muttered, then she looked back down at the flowers.

“Beau-” Fjord started, but he cut himself off when Beau shook her head.

“I can’t- I can’t fucking go back empty handed. You guys go home, get started, do your dancing and your gifts and shit, I’ll find something for her in town and catch up.”

“Beau,” Fjord said again when she turned to walk to the shopping district. “I think that Jester would rather have you there than have whatever gift you’re gonna get for her.”

“I can’t- I can’t just do nothing for her when you guys are all doing shit. What if she thinks I didn’t care enough!”

“This is Jester, though. You know that kind of thing doesn’t matter to her. Just fist fight with her in the training room, she loves that shit.”

Caleb reached forward to catch her arm as she passed him by. “Beau… She will understand.”

Beau shook him off. “I won’t be long. Don’t wait for me though. I- Maybe I can find some perfume that smells like cotton candy or something, she’d like that, right? Go, have fun, I’ll be an hour, tops.” They were still frowning at her as she hurried away but she didn’t look back to see if they’d gone. They didn’t follow her, at least.

She got a couple weird looks in the shopping district, but at this point most people knew who she was so no one was too suspicious of the lone human smelling all the perfumes. There was nothing sweet smelling so she moved on to the next store, not really going in with a plan or a wishlist, just hoping to find something that would make Jester smile.

It was hard to tell the passage of time with no sun, but she knew that it was getting late. After it had passed the first hour her chest started to feel tight and it just got worse as the second and third and fourth hours passed her by. She felt like she’d stopped at every shop in the district by the time she was forced to give up. She didn’t have Caleb’s talent with telling the passage of time, but even she could tell that she was creeping up on the sixth hour since she’d left Caleb and Fjord alone in town.She found herself standing at the front door of her own home but she didn’t want to go inside. She shoved her hands into her pockets and started pacing in the road. Most of the windows were dark, her friends probably tired from their festivities and fast asleep, but the room that she shared with Jester still had the flickering orange light of a candle. 

She licked her lips nervously and decided that she didn’t want to set off the chime at the door and instead climbed up the wall to the balcony. She thought about going into their room, explaining herself to Jester and asking for her for forgiveness, but she chickened out and climbed all the way up to the roof, pulling herself up over the wall and meeting Caduceus’s judgemental gaze as she stood up straight and brushed her hands off on her pants.

“What?” she hissed at his frown.

“Jester missed you at the party,” he said, relaxing back on his little makeshift bed and closing his eyes. “She saved you some cake.”

“I couldn’t… I couldn’t find a gift.”

“The gift of your company is all she was asking for.”

Beau waved him off and opened the hatch to climb down silently to the second floor. Just as she was about to walk down to the first floor, her bedroom door opened suddenly and Jester stepped out in her nightgown with an empty cup. 

She blinked at Beau in the darkness and gave her a sad, forced smile. “There you are. We were worried. I… I saved you some cake.”

Beau looked at her owlishly, unsure what she could say or do to fix the emotion in Jester’s eyes. “I… I’m really sorry, Jes. A horse-”

“They told me.”

Beau sighed and turned to face her, running the tips of her fingers nervously over her undercut. “I was looking for something to replace it but… I don’t fucking know. I’m not any good at romantic shit, even pretend romantic shit, I saw some things that I thought you might like but it wasn’t… I don’t know. I’m sorry.”

“Beau, I didn’t need a present.”

“I know! The fucked part of it is that I know that! But the idea of coming back empty handed when everyone else was doing all this nice shit for you- I guess I didn’t think that me by myself was gonna be good enough or whatever.” She cleared her throat hurriedly before her voice cracked. “Did you have fun at least? Yasha said she was gonna play you a song.”

Jester smiled softly. “She did. It was really nice, maybe you can talk her into playing it for you tomorrow.”

Beau reached for the cup in her hand. “Water? I’ll get it for you.”

Jester hesitated but then handed it over to her. “I guess if you’re getting it for me it means that you’ll have to come back to the room and you can’t avoid me all night. Thank you.”

Beau just nodded and hurried down the stairs. She took the few seconds that it took to fill up the cup with cold water from the ice box to try and calm her heart as it tried to beat its way out of her chest. When she went back to the room, the door was cracked slightly and she stepped in to find Jester sitting on Beau’s bed by the window, cast alight in the soft white glow of the moon outside.

She gave Beau a smile as she walked inside and then waved her hand and cast thaumaturgy to shut the door behind her. Beau couldn’t help but laugh a little under her breath. “That’s not locked, you know,” she said, walking over to hand the cup to Jester. “I could still make a break for it.”

“You won’t.” She sounded more sure than Beau felt. She took the cup gratefully and had a small sip as Beau sat down beside her. “You by yourself is enough, Beau. You’re more than enough. I don’t need fancy things when I have you and the others. It was very nice to be treated that way for one day but I would have been just fine if we’d all hung out in the living room together all day and just talked.”

“I know. I just wanted to show you, I guess, how much I… you know... Cared about you.”

“I know already.” Jester sat the cup on Beau’s nightstand and then took one of Beau’s hands in both of hers. “But.. you know… it’s still Sune’s Day for another two hours. If you were still super determined to get me something I have an idea.”

Beau smiled a little and squeezed Jester’s hand. “Alright, shoot.”

“There’s this legend that goes along with Sune’s Day. It says that anybody who has their very first kiss on Her day would be blessed by Her and would be lucky in love for the entire rest of their lives.”

Beau sat there quietly, at first not comprehending the words that Jester was saying and then not believing her own ears. “You- You want me to give you your first kiss? What about Fjord at the- the temple?”

Jester shrugged, unbothered. “I don’t think it counts as a real kiss. And I think Sune would agree with me. Will you give me my very first kiss, Beau?”

“Yeah… I- Yeah, if that’s what you want.”

Jester grinned. “It definitely is!”

Beau cleared her throat and turned herself on the bed to face Jester head on. “How do you wanna do this?”

“Preferably with our two mouths touching,” Jester teased, grinning.

Beau felt reassured by her jovility and rolled her eyes, smiling softly. “Alright, close your eyes.”

Jester did so and puckered up her lips adorably. Beau reached up and laid her free hand against the side of Jester’s face and Jester leaned into it, her puckered lips relaxing as she was unable to suppress a smile. Beau swallowed audibly and leaned forward before she could over think it and pressed her mouth solidly against Jester’s. Her tense shoulders sagged and she held the kiss for several seconds, then started to pull away. 

Jester’s hands released Beau’s and snapped out to grab her by the shoulders. “Wait,” she mumbled against Beau’s mouth and pressed against her more fully and enthusiastically, pressing closer and closer until she was practically sitting in Beau’s lap. She finally pulled away but she didn’t go far and didn’t climb out of Beau’s space. Beau’s eyes opened to look at her face but Jester’s stayed closed for a long moment like she was thinking about something deeply. Finally, her eyes opened and searched for Beau’s, smiling softly when they met in the moonlight. “Thank you,” she said. “I don’t have a lot to compare it to but I think that was a very good kiss.”

“Yeah,” Beau said, feeling breathless. “It was pretty good.”

Jester frowned, offended. “Just pretty good? It was my first kiss, it better have been better than ‘pretty good’.”

Beau laughed. “It was fantastic, Jes. Better?”

Jester grinned and nodded, getting to her feet. “Better.” She picked up her cup and moved it over to her own nightstand. She sighed as she laid down in her bed and pulled the blanket up to her chin. “Good night, Beau. Happy Sune’s Day. I hope you have lots of love for the rest of the year.”

Beau nodded and laid down as well, staring at the ceiling so that she didn’t stare at Jester. “Happy Sune’s Day, Jes. I love you.”

“I love you too,” Jester said through a yawn.

Their room fell into silence and Beau must have gone to sleep at some point because she dreamed of being able to kiss Jester over and over whenever they wanted.

[halictus-writer]

Remus’s Trip to the Grocery Store

notes: 3,582 words. originally posted to ao3 on august 22, 2020. 

non-magical, modern au. first meetings, fluff, humor.

told in 5 parts, the first two happen at the same time but are told from different POVs, same for the next two, then part 5 happens only once.

4:26pm – 4:36pm: Remus

Remus grabbed a red grocery cart and pushed it forwards. He didn’t have a lot of items to buy today, since he was really only stopping for tonight’s dinner and tomorrow morning’s coffee, but the choice between lugging around a basket that increased in weight over time or leaning heavily on a cart that helped maintain a personal space buffer was a no-brainer.

He grabbed his list from his back pocket. Once an envelope containing unsolicited credit card advertisements, it was now a neatly folded rectangle bearing thin but neat cursive lettering, with items such as “bread,” “premade salad,” and “fucking caffeine.” In the middle of deciding which items to grab first, Remus looked up and suddenly locked eyes with a worker at the cash register, immediately forgetting the pros and cons of his most-recently proposed efficient shopping route. The worker was strikingly handsome. Remus took in his medium-length dark hair, blue-gray eyes, and prominent facial structure, before also realizing that he himself was (1) staring, (2) caught in the act of staring, as well as (3) blocking other customers from utilizing the easiest navigational pathway between the frozen foods aisle and the produce section: a triple grocery store sin.

Shaking off his stare-induced stupor, Remus returned to the task at hand: buying groceries and going home before rush hour, eating a moderately-healthy dinner, getting into bed at a reasonable hour, and then reading until 3am. As he compared the price per ounce between two different boxes of granola bars, he couldn’t help but let his eyes wander back to the worker. They look to be about the same age, he could also be a student at the local university. Remus wonders what his major might be, and if he prefers to sit in the front or the back of lecture halls, or if he ever skips classes altogether. Before he can decide if grocery-store-cashier-boy is a pen-and-pencil note-taker or a laptop note-typer, a woman’s exasperated “excuse me” comes from his side. Realizing he was blocking the cereal section with his cart, Remus made a hasty apology, before mentally cursing his lack of grocery store etiquette. Normally a champion of the unspoken grocery store rules, Remus determines that it must be the boy’s fault for distracting him. Mentally, he cursed him too.

4:26pm – 4:36pm: Sirius

Sirius flicked the switch under the counter, turning off the light above his cash register. He gave a sorry smile to the woman who had been walking towards his lane, basket in hand, before realizing he was temporarily closing the register. Sirius pointed her to his left where Dorcas was finishing a transaction with a mom and two small children. The smaller of the two kept tugging on the mom’s hand, and asking if he could dye his hair all the colors of the rainbow, like Dorcas’s undercut.

“Sure,” the mom said, laughing, “but only once you’re older.”

“I dyed mine years ago, when I turned sixteen,” Dorcas told the little family. “My parents were furious.” She handed the receipt over to the mom with a dramatic flourish, and offered the kids a conspiratorial wink.

“Hey!” Sirius stage-whispered, “stop corrupting the kids with your lesbianism!”

“It’s not like you’re a saint, with your gay-ass rainbow pin!” Dorcas laughed.

“The day I take off this pin is the day I break Effie Potter’s heart,” Sirius declared. “She was so excited to give it to me the day after Planned Parenthood tabled at her work.” Sirius’s voice trailed off at the end when he heard Dorcas return to her customer service voice, asking her next shopper if she had any trouble finding her groceries today. The rainbow pin actually meant a lot to Sirius, as it represented the acceptance and love shown by his adoptive mother, in sharp contrast to the biological mother who threw him out for his “lifestyle choices.” An additional perk of wearing it at work was that he could scan the groceries of complete strangers and not get flirted with. Except for the occasional man who was encouraged by the pin, but Sirius handled those occurrences on more of a case-by-case basis.

Sirius was clocking out for his break on the computer, when he looked up and saw a customer pushing a cart, wearing the thickest sweater he had seen in use all summer, and carrying a real-life paper shopping list. Sirius couldn’t help the small smile that formed on his face at the sight-- the whole combination was too endearing. His eyebrows shot up when the stranger lifted his head and looked right at him: he was gorgeous. In a very sweater-wearing, paper-grocery-store-list-making, probably-falls-asleep-while-reading kind of way, but still, gorgeous. The shopping boy broke eye contact first.

“Break break break break break!” James’s voice crescendoed as he hopped over towards Sirius’s register, before grabbing Sirius and squeezing just under his ribs, making Sirius jump and swat his hands away. Sirius is not ticklish, except for that one spot, which James annoyingly exploits on a daily basis.

James leaned over Sirius to use the computer to clock out as well, officially making them both free of work duties for the next twenty minutes. There was a break room in the back, but James and Sirius preferred to take their breaks at a closed register line, in the middle of the action, so they could continue to distract all of their coworkers. Sirius silently noted that their oddly-extraverted break-taking location would allow for an excellent vantage point, should the sweater-wearing boy want to make any more eye contact.

“So,” James began, drawing out the word. “Are you going to tell me who it is?”

“What are you talking about, James?”

“Who it is.” He repeated. “You keep craning your neck like a tiny little baby giraffe, looking all around the store. It’s precious. It’s endearing. Who are you looking for?”

“What? No one. Also, I’m not short.”

“Sirius. You are a very abnormally short little giraffe. Who is also looking for someone.”

“Oh my god, you are the most annoying person.”

“But I’m also three inches taller than you.”

Sirius narrowed his eyes. “Dorcas, back me up here.”

Dorcas looked up from weighing a customer’s bag of apples, looked back down to her computer, and said “No.”

James cackled unnecessarily loudly. “It’s one of three options. Number one, you’ve done something wrong and are hiding from the authorities. Number two, there’s a shopper here who you don’t want to see. Number three, there’s a shopper here who you do want to see.”

Sirius tried to keep a sufficient poker face, steeling himself to ride out James’s upcoming monologue.

“Number one is the least possible option. As is common knowledge, Sirius Black is a trouble-maker, which I commend him for. However, he is also an excellent escape-artist. In recent events, Mr. Black has been known to assign the blame to others, even his own brother,” James paused for a dramatic gasp, “in order to avoid the responsibility of his actions. If there were an authoritative body present in this fine establishment, and Mr. Black was on his government-mandated twenty minute break per four hours of hard labor, which he is, then there would be no reason for him to remain in such a visible locale.” James paused theatrically.

Sirius bit his cheek to hold in his laughter; he didn’t want to give James the satisfaction. “Are you done yet?”

“No. Possibility number one has been refuted, but possibility number two is also dethroned by the logic of scenario numero uno. If you were avoiding a customer, you would go to the break room. Therefore, ladies and gentlemen…” James made a sweeping motion with his arms, looking in turn at Sirius, Dorcas, and Dorcas’s current customer, an elderly man who appeared to be either a wizard or quite unaware that Woodstock had ended and his hair had turned gray.

“I’m still not listening,” Dorcas added, although her customer evidently was, having now turned himself fully towards James.

“Possibility number three is the only answer. Mr. Sirius Black has his eyes on a customer!” James gasped and covered his hand with his mouth. The elderly/hippie/wizard customer gasped as well, though not as loud as James.

“James, there is no customer, I was literally just looking because I thought I saw a girl from class. But I don’t think it was her.” Sirius lied. He knew that James wouldn’t mind hearing about the gorgeous sweater-clad boy, and Sirius knew he would probably tell him all about their five seconds of eye contact once they were both at home later. But, Sirius also knew that given the opportunity, James would do his best to embarrass Sirius in front of someone Sirius found attractive. It was best to keep James away during first impressions.

“Liar!” James scrambled onto the table where groceries were bagged, and grabbed the handheld barcode scanner. Now apparently conducting an interview, he spoke into the barcode scanner as if it were a microphone. “Mr. Black, do tell us, who is the unlucky victim?”

Sirius realized that he wouldn’t be able to compete with James’s energy level today, so he decided to join him instead. Speaking into the faux-microphone with a deeper-than-usual voice, Sirius answered. “Well, Mr. Potter, it was a shopper, you see, who is simply adorable, and no further questions will be taken at this time.”

“A-ha!” James announced with glee, and flung the barcode scanner down. “So there is someone!”

Returning to his normal voice, Sirius laughed and offered, “yes, you were right, you are always right, and I saw a boy, but just don’t do anything and maybe I’ll invite you to our wedding eventually.”

“Wow, wedding bells already? Must be a rather dashing young lad.” James could read Sirius like a book, they were practically brothers, and he knew when Sirius was done with a joke. Hoping that he would get to witness an interaction between Sirius and the customer today, James mercifully changed the subject to their weekend movie plans.

4:37pm – 4:42pm: Remus

Ten minutes later finds Remus’s cart holding all of the items on his list-- with the addition of two non-list items: one bar of 80% cacao dark chocolate, and one small pack of green tea mints-- and en route to the cash registers.

Remus noticed that the boy is still at his register, but that he was now joking around with another worker-- a boy with equally dark but messier hair and glasses-- who appeared to be dodging erratic jabs of an uncapped sharpie marker and laughing. Remus momentarily considered avoiding them altogether, but since (1) they are the only register without a line, (2) Remus isn’t buying any weird groceries, and (3) is capable of casual grocery store chatter with someone attractive, Remus steered his cart towards them. Glasses Boy saw him first, and momentarily frowned before his eyebrows shot up into his curls. He poked Attractive Boy, who turned towards Remus and smiled, before turning back towards Glasses Boy to smack his arm. Remus is now close enough to read his name tag, which states Sirius, and is glad to be able to stop referring to him as “Attractive Boy” in his head. He also happily noticed the rainbow pin clipped under his name. The other worker’s name is James, but Remus wasn’t looking away from Sirius for very long.

“Did you find everything you were looking for today?” Sirius asked, as he quickly types something into the computer. His words may come from the same required script he uses for every customer, but Remus noticed that his tone sounded friendly.

“I did, thanks, how about you?” Remus returned, pleased at keeping his voice calm despite talking to the most attractive person he had ever seen. A beat of silence followed before he realized what he said, and immediately blushed. “I mean, wait, sorry–”

Sirius’s laugh is warm, and it feels like he is laughing with Remus instead of at him, somehow, before he leaned in conspiratorially and offered in a slightly lower volume, “You know, I think I did find what I was looking for.” His eyes remained on Remus’s shocked expression for another moment before he returned to scanning the groceries. Meanwhile, the other worker, James, groaned loudly and took a step backwards.

Now speechless, Remus felt his face get even warmer and was certain he was now the same shade of red as the cart. Could Sirius possibly be flirting with him? Remus knew he wasn’t unattractive, but he didn’t think someone like Sirius would show interest in him.

4:37pm – 4:42pm: Sirius

Now with only ten minutes left of their break, Sirius and James have covered all of the conversational topics available to them within the workplace-- they have updated each other on the happenings of their last two hours, exchanged weird customer stories, discussed the pros and cons of “double texting” the red-haired girl James met in his Anthropology class study group-- and have moved on to entertaining themselves by play-fighting. Naturally, it escalated in volume, and as their manager would say if he was actually on the floor, “obnoxiousness.”

James brandished the barcode scanner and waved it over Sirius’s forearm-- sleeve pulled up to display his constellation tattoos-- screeched a remarkably accurate “BEEP,” and proclaimed that Sirius was worth a total of ninety-five cents. In retaliation, Sirius uncapped a black sharpie marker, and began trying to draw on James. James laughed as he dodged the swipes.

Suddenly, James froze, and looked just beyond Sirius’s shoulder with a small frown. Sensing that their mayhem had finally become noticed by a manager or shift lead, Sirius capped the sharpie and began to draft the perfect story that would get himself out of trouble and throw James under the bus. He was pulled out of his lie-crafting when James poked him in the side, now looking mischievously excited.

Sirius turned around to see the cute boy from earlier, and smiled reflexively. The boy was pushing his shopping cart towards Sirius’s register, and Sirius realized that the boy must not know that his lane is currently closed.

“Oh, yes,” James whispered with glee.

Sirius smacked him and issued a simple warning grunt.

Sirius stole another look at the boy. Now that they are closer, he took in the warm hazel eyes and the few faint scars running between his freckles. Already ignoring the anticipated tormenting he will receive from James later, Sirius quickly logs back in to the computer to be able to ring up the boy’s purchases, despite still being on break.

Now that the boy is actually standing in front of him, Sirius is surprised to find that he is a little nervous. He’s always been a successful conversationalist, and a very effortless flirter. James always pointed out that roughly fifty percent of the annual Thanksgiving food bank donations come from Sirius’s customers. Looking for something to say, he blurted out the first thing he could think of.

“Did you find everything you were looking for today?” Sirius quickly cursed himself for sounding so boring.

“I did, thanks, how about you?” The boy answered, and Sirius immediately loved his voice. He had the timbre of an audiobook narrator. “I mean, wait, sorry–”

Sirius’s laughter interrupted him. Deciding to double-down on the flirting to make up for the fact that he opened with a line about groceries, he put the charm back on and leaned forward just a bit. “You know, I think I did find what I was looking for.”

James groaned loudly and took a step backwards from the grocery bags, but Sirius knew he was still listening intently.

4:43pm – 4:50pm: both

“Is your name actually Sirius?” Remus blurted out. Sirius looked surprised, but Remus spoke again before he could respond. “No, it’s a cool name, I really like it actually, but I work in a coffee shop on campus and sometimes I steal someone else’s name tag because my name is Remus which is kind of a weird name but I just realized that I’m rambling so I am now going to stop talking.”

Sirius smiled at him. “Nice to meet you, Remus. I like your name too.” Time paused as their eye contact held, and small smiles began forming. The moment ended when James started making gagging noises, empty grocery bags in hand.

“Bye James! Your grocery bagging skills are no longer required.” Sirius said, shoo-ing him away without looking away from Remus. “Good luck with that girl who won’t text you back!”

James smiled mischievously as he began to make his way towards the previously unused break room. “Good luck with your foot fungus, Sirius! Don’t forget to apply your poultice at the top of every hour!”

Sirius shook his head before returning to Remus’s groceries. “You said you work in a coffee shop on campus? Which one?”

“Oh, it’s the UCenter Caffeine House.” Remus is pleased to have successfully said one sentence to Sirius without butchering any social or conversational norms.

“Are you a student then?”

“Yeah, I’ll be a Junior this fall. Are you also a student there?” Remus hoped his question didn’t sound too excited.

Sirius beamed. “Yeah, I’m going into Junior year as well actually!”

“Oh cool, what are you studying?” Remus asked.

“Philosophy. But I’m thinking about adding an Education minor because I’ve been thinking about becoming a teacher.”

“That’s awesome! I’m studying Psychology, but minoring in Education because I want to work in elementary schools.” Remus thought briefly of his seventh grade guidance counselor, Ms. McGee. “I hope I can help people the way that I was helped.”

Sirius paused his scanning, holding the green tea mints in the air, and looked up at Remus again. “That is really powerful to hear. I owe a lot to the psychologists that worked in my schools while I was growing up.” Remus was pleased to hear that Sirius is appreciative of his path, but also that he seems to actually value therapy and social work. “These mints are so good by the way, I just eat them like candy.”

Remus took advantage of the available lighter conversation topic. “Oh good, they reminded me of one of my favorite drinks at work! It’s a blended matcha mint tea. Although I usually add some chocolate sauce to mine.”

Sirius laughed, now scanning the dark chocolate bar, “Sounds like it matches your shopping cart items. Maybe I’ll have to come try this matcha mint drink, when do you work next?”

Now it is Remus’s turn to smile. “I work a closing shift tomorrow! So I’ll be there starting at 4pm, but the baked goods are half-off after 5.”

“Sounds like I’ll see you at 5 then, Remus. Will you be wearing your own name tag?” Sirius asked innocently.

It took Remus a half second to realize that Sirius was referring to his earlier embarrassing ramblings about his name. Not one to be out-done, even by ridiculously attractive grocery store workers, he replied with his own faux-innocence. “Yep, and if you’re coming right at five o’clock will you need to apply your foot fungus poultice at the shop? We have a bathroom inside.”

They both laugh, and Sirius can’t help but feel warmer, as if somehow this boy walked into the store and ended up talking to Sirius for a reason. They maintain a comfortable eye contact, before Sirius decides he should complete the transaction, having long ago finished ringing up Remus’s groceries.

“Did you want a plastic or a paper bag for these? My bagger seems to have returned to his break.”

Remus pulled out the compact folded reusable bag from his pocket. “Oh, I brought my own actually.”

“Perfect,” Sirius said, and they both began placing Remus’s items inside.

“Wait,” Remus interrupted, “did you say return to his break? Are you on break right now?”

Sirius sheepishly pointed up to the box above his register. Compared to the other lanes with workers, it is not illuminated. “James and I usually take our breaks out here, um, because we like being, uh, a part of the action?”

Remus’s face fell. “I feel so bad for making you work during your break; I didn’t realize your lane was closed, but, you were too nice to say anything. Although the thought of you wanting to stay on the floor during your break makes my introverted soul shudder.”  

Sirius laughed, “No, don’t worry, I would have told you I was closed if I didn’t want you here.” Remus smiles in response. “But,” Sirius said, drawing out the vowel, “my break did end while we were talking and I should probably start ringing other customers up.”

“Oh, yes, of course, let me stop distracting you.” Remus picked up his bag of groceries, and took a step towards the exit. “It was nice to meet you, Sirius, and sorry again about interrupting your break.”

Sirius looked up from his station, and despite having already turned on the “Lane Open” sign, called out again. “Wait, Remus, um, your receipt!”

“Oh, I don’t need it, but thank you–” Remus was cut off by Sirius handing it to him, their fingers brushing for just a second.

“I’ll see you tomorrow at 5!”

“Yeah, see you!” Remus smiled as he walked out of the store. His smile grew even wider when he unfolded the receipt to see a phone number scribbled in black sharpie.

[punxsutawneyfilth]

Hey there ❤ I'm following you for a while and your dnd post made me excited cause I'm gonna play for the first time with friends in two weeks 😊 the DM friend didn't really tell us much except that we should think of a character, class, race and a back story.(and I did some research on those for now), and it's gonna be four of us and two of us including me are noobs. If it's not hard, could you write a few tips of things I should know to prepare, or should I just let them teach me?

Ooh!!!!! I’m so excited for you!!!! And so glad you thought of me!!!!!!! 

My main tip is to get a copy of the Player’s Handbook as soon as you can, as long as you like the game and want to stick with it. It’s mad expensive if you buy it from a store but if you keep an eye out online you can find a used copy for cheap. I got mine for $5 and it’s like, the best thing you can do for yourself as a player to familiarize yourself with the rules. But in the meantime or if you can’t find a good deal right away the website dndbeyond.com has a lot of the info you need, and a lot of it is direct excerpts from the PHB. You should definitely read your class’s section at least twice and think ahead to how you can apply your abilities in the game and stuff. 

Some DMs are really hands on with helping you make characters and some are really hands off. Mine was really hands off so I followed this youtube series (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGyk5piGwrQ&t=504s). It seems dauntingly long but it’s not as hard as you’d think. A lot of people say you should think of a character concept first and then choose your class, background, and race around that, and there’s nothing wrong w that but I have always done it by picking class first and then everything else follows. Think about how you want to play and then pick the class which sounds most fun. But don’t worry if you don’t really know how you want to play yet… it’s hard to say without actually playing. My first/current character was a premade fighter and he just got handed to me in our first session, and it’s been really interesting cause I wouldn’t have picked him but I learned that I really liked playing fighter. So for my next character I knew I wanted to try a spellcasting class that could do a lot of damage so I went with a warlock because they’re super customizable and I built her to have as much ability to fuck shit up as possible. Then you can either pick a race based off its abilities or whatever sounds cool, then come up with a backstory and THEN choose the background which matches it closest. That’s my process at least. Anyway, if you end up trying something you really aren’t that into most of the time DMs are cool about letting you switch to a new character, especially if it’s early in the game. 

Other than that I think the biggest piece of advice is do not be afraid to ask questions, about the world of the game or about game rules or anything. Before the game you should ask about the setting and stuff to figure out how to work in your backstory, and you’ll be able to read a LOT of lore online but that can be super daunting as well and it might be stuff better explored in character so like, proceed with caution lol. AND also make sure to clear your backstory with your DM before you start playing

The part that I still find the hardest is the actual roleplaying bit but you just have to commit yourself to your character and try to speak as them as often as possible instead of like, narrating what they say. 

Ok jeez I wrote a ton more than I meant to and I don’t honestly know how helpful any of that actually is but I hope something in there is important! Ok! Have fun!! And if you have any specific questions you can message me because I’m fucking obsessed with dnd

[raendown]

Pairing: KisameSakura Word count: 1127 Summary: Their first date is an unmitigated disaster - and Sakura could not be happier.

Follow the link or read it under the cut!

Footprints In Ink

Despite being intimately familiar with the proper care for a new tattoo, it was incredibly hard not to scratch at the sore spot high on her left arm. She resisted mostly because Kisame was right there and she would catch a hell of a lecture from him if she fucked up his artwork after so many years of waffling over letting him ink it on to her.

Concentrating on the vicious words likely to be thrown her way if she gave in to her urges helped keep her calm, however, and she very desperately needed something to help her not look like an overexcited schoolgirl. Kisame had known her since she was young enough to actually be a giggling schoolgirl and he would definitely be able to spot her nervous habits a mile away if she let them show even the slightest bit.

Surely the first date with your best friend in the whole world – after having a crush on him for what felt like half your life – was allowed to be nerve wracking? If it wasn’t then Sakura was probably breaking all sorts of dumb unspoken rules because every time she stopped to think about it she felt like her stomach was going to come up out of her throat. Her only comfort was that Kisame seemed to be equally, if not more, nervous than she was – and he wasn’t even any better at hiding it, just better at distracting her when she started to rib him for being so obvious.

His nerves were blatant in more subtle ways than hers, though. Where she was prone to blushing and fumbling her words, Kisame’s nerves came out in the form of all the pains he’d taken to make this evening perfect, the careful planning he’d done so that nothing got missed. The restaurant he made reservations for was the one they’d always eaten at to celebrate every major event over the course of their long friendship, from good grades to promotions. The flowers he had ordered were her all-time favorites. Even the shirt he’d picked out to wear was one she’d told him he looked particularly nice in.

All the best laid plans had a chance to fail, however, and the evening ended up definitely not going at all how Kisame had planned for it to. When they arrived at the restaurant there was a mix-up with their reservation and the place was too busy to seat them anytime in the next hour so they’d ended up eating fast food instead. The flowers he ordered had come in the wrong color and when he complained the store employee had thrown them in his face. She’d been fired for it but that still left him with only the option of buying some premade bouquet of flowers that were not Sakura’s favorite and not the right color. To top everything off, his shirt had gotten covered in muddy water when some asshole drove through a puddle and Kisame used his body to shield Sakura and her pretty new sundress.

By the end of the evening he looked more miserable than anyone deserved to be on their first date – or any date, actually. Under any other circumstances Sakura was certain that she would have been just as miserable herself but there was one bright spot that made the entire evening worth it, mishaps and all: a disgruntled Kisame was always strangely adorable. The way he grumbled about the flowers and apologized for dripping muddy water around their table at the fast food joint tugged at her hopelessly smitten heart.

The last straw was when he insisted upon walking her to her door. It was largely unnecessary since they only lived one floor away from each other in the same apartment building but he would not be swayed from marching up that extra flight of stairs just to see her home.

“I’m supposed to, aren’t I?” he rumbled as they came to a stop outside her door. Sakura smiled at him.

“Where do you get your dating tips from?” she teased. “You didn’t look up a few articles on how to be a gentleman by any chance, did you?” Mostly she was just joking but when her best friend averted his eyes uncomfortably she knew she’d hit just a little too close to home. So cute.

Rubbing at the back of his hairline, Kisame sighed. “Well…sorry the night was ruined. Do we, uh, do we get to try this again sometime or is this, like, call it a bad job and go back to where we were?”

He had clearly put a lot of effort in to planning this night and, even if it had all gone so spectacularly wrong, Sakura found herself more charmed than ever. Probably more than she would have been even if everything had gone well. There was really only one answer for her to give him and she didn’t hesitate in the slightest to tug on the front of his sodden shirt and pull him down in to their very first kiss. As soon as their lips touched Kisame froze, his hands flailing around while his mind tried desperately to catch up, until finally they settled on her hips and pulled her even closer.

Completely uncaring that his clothing was getting her own dirty, Sakura groaned and slid her fingers up in to his hair. He was dirty and he smelled terrible and she was so in love her knees were threatening to buckle out from underneath her.

“I didn’t think the date went that well,” Kisame murmured against her lips. Sakura laughed.

“Oh trust me, it really didn’t.”

“So what did I do to earn this then, eh?”

“Well.” Tilting her head back, she took a moment to enjoy Kisame’s sharp toothed grin while his fingers traced the shape of her arms, careful to avoid the tattoo he himself had inked in only a few hours before. “Who ever said you had to earn it? I’ve loved you for years, you big loser, what makes you think one bad date is gonna change my mind?”

“Hmph.”

When his eyes darted away from hers again she felt a burst of affection in her chest at his embarrassment. Then she was laughing as he bent her over backwards, apparently having decided that distracting her was best. Really, though, she had absolutely no issue with kissing him again so Sakura let him do as he would and melted in to the embrace without a single care.

Their first date might have seemed like a disaster to anyone that didn’t know them but in her mind this evening had been a ringing success. A new tattoo, a new boyfriend, and a new beginning. What more could she want?

[rosyredlipstick]

gift wrap optional (1/1)

It's December 23rd. It's December 23rd, and Will Solace is just realizing this fact. Will hasn't done any Christmas shopping, Nico's just looking for an excuse to quit his crappy sales clerk job, and there are worst ways to meet during the holidays.

AO3 Link Here

i wrote this for tumblr user @xthis-rebelle for the @pjosecretsanta2k17, hope you enjoy your gift!! happy holidays! shoutout to my homegirl tumblr user @rinarraven for beta reading, cheerleading me through the writing process, and taking my drarry fic recs seriously i have a lot of emotions over them ok

“I need your help.” Never before had a sentence been so utterly true to Will Solace as the one he uttered then. He suspected it never would be so true ever again in his life.

The clerk at the help desk only sighed greatly, leaned forward onto the dull plastic surface of the counter, and gave Will a bored look. If the color gray could be held in someone’s voice, it would lace his next words. “Of course, sir. How can I help you?”

Will needed this retail worker - this poor, poor retail worker tasked to deal with people like Will himself two days before Christmas in an overly bright department store - to understand. Understand what was at stake at this moment in time.

His look was intense, his voice even more so, when he leaned down to better meet the workers bored gaze. This, at least, seemed to catch his attention more.

“It’s two days before Christmas,” Will stated obviously, the calendar on the wall proving this statement. “It’s the day before Christmas Eve, I have four younger sisters, and I have not bought a thing.”

He buried his head into his hands, stupidly grateful that this area of the store was mostly empty of customers for now, and let out a shaking breath. No one should see his shame.

“I need to get four awesome gifts for my four awesome sisters, and I need to do it soon. Like, yesterday soon. And I need them gift wrapped. I could honestly care less about the cost.” Will was well aware of the pathetic vibe that he was putting off. Maybe that would help his cause. His voice was weak as it rushed out of him. “Please help.”

The worker - Nico, his nametag read off in a neat font - gave him a considering look. Much more considering than Will would have thought. “Okay, I’ll help you.”

Will nearly wilted with relief. “Thank you.” He slumped against the counter, his breath rushing out of him. “I was looking at your online catalog - wait, where are you going?”

Nico, surprisingly, was pulling off his nametag and visor with a grin, dropping them both on the counter. He ignored Will’s question and turned in place only to cup his hands around his mouth.

“Tracey!” A scowling woman turned from the front counter, looking already ready to snap at him. But Nico only grinned gleefully in response to her piercing glare. “I quit!”

Will stuttered in shock, his hands coming up. “Wait - what - I - you said you were gonna -”

“I am,” Nico jumped over the counter, grabbing his arm and beginning to pull him down the long, glossy front aisle of the store. Around them, people were staring. “But you’re not going to find anything worthwhile in here, I promise.”

Will, for some unknown reason, allowed himself to be dragged out, casting a desperate look to the store around them as he was pulled through the front doors. Once outside, Nico stopped, pulling the other boy in front of him. Will cast a desperate look back towards the department store.

“We’ve got to game plan,” Nico made a motion of thinking it over. “And coffee. That shift felt like it would never end.”

Will was still sputtering along, making high pitched noises of confusion.

He just wanted to buy his sisters Christmas presents. Was that so hard?

“Starbucks,” Nico decided on, wrinkling his nose in disgust. “Overpriced and usually burnt, but it’ll work. Decent cider, if anything.”

“I -” Will’s eyes were wide and confused and settled on the stranger standing across from him. Well, at least he was cute. “There’s one the next street over.”

Nico grinned slightly, a crooked sort of thing, and was still holding onto Will’s arm - perfect, as he dragged the other boy along. “Great. Let’s go.”

“Name’s Nico di Angelo,” He shot Will a horribly lopsided, terribly handsome grin as they walked, their strides matching together nicely. “And what’s the name of the guy I just quit my job for?”

Was that Will? It had to be. Right? Yes.

But why?

“Will,” he finally choked out, still being led along by the arm. “Will Solace.”

Nico shot him a small grin over his shoulder. “Nice to meet you, Solace.”

After only a few more minutes of walking, and Will questioning his life decisions, they came across the familiar green and white logo. Nico wrinkled his nose again at the familiar coffee bean scent that was already hitting them from the streets. Nico pulled him in before, finally, releasing Will’s arm.

“Perfect,” Nico declared after a moment, jumping forward to snag an empty table. Rare, so close to the holidays. “What do you want?”

Will took a seat, blinking. “Um,” it seemed he would be needing caffeine for the day ahead of him. “White chocolate mocha, hot. Please.”

Nico nodded once, taking to the short line, leaving Will alone at the table.  

Okay. So. This changed his plans.

He was with a stranger in a Starbucks, still no closer to finishing up his gift list, two days before Christmas.

This was weird, right? Should he just… leave? Probably not after the other boy quit his job to help Will… but, like, who did that?

No one normal, right?

Nico was returning, two cardboard cups in his hands, a thoughtful look on his face. Looks like Will was staying.

He set the matching red cups on the table, taking the seat across from Will. He took his cup, mostly just to have his hands busy with something, and the other boy spoke up.

“We need to game plan,” the other boy pulled out his phone, frowning at the screen. “No major stores should have any major hour changes but the lines are going to be crazy. We need to figure out what stores we’re going to hit.”

Will’s eyebrows came together, “We were just at a store -”

“I’m never stepping into a Macy’s ever again.” Nico refused, “Anyways, there’s no such thing as a life-changing, bomb-ass present in a department store.”

Will sighed, sinking back into his chair. “I’m usually like, so good at this. Months in advance, personalized-designer-wrapping-paper good at this.”

Nico only looked mildly interested. “And? What happened?”

Will let his head hit the dark, glossy wood of the table, a satisfying thunk following. “Med school happened.”

Nico winced. “Ouch. My sister’s boyfriend is in med school right now and like, I think he died. I haven’t seen him in… weeks, probably.”

“That sounds accurate,” Will’s voice was one of a broken man. He lifted his head from the table. “I can’t believe I just...forgot.”

“At least you’re not trying to collect from the premade gift aisle,” Nico gave him a sympathetic look. Will could already tell it was a rare expression for the other boy.

“No, I just have to somehow provide four thoughtful, wonderful presents for my equally great sisters.” He groaned, “I really, really don’t know how I’m gonna do this.”

Nico took a long drink from his coffee. “Guess we’ll just have to get started then.” He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and seemingly got in the mindset.

“Alright,” Nico pulled a napkin from the stack he had thrown down in between them, followed by a pen from his jacket pocket. “Who are we shopping for?”

Will was still quickly adjusting to the ‘we’ factor of the equation but hey, he was a pretty adaptable guy.

“My sisters, four of them.” Will held his fingers, ticking them off as he listed their names. “I’m the oldest. Then it’s Hina, at twenty-one, then Kayla at seventeen, Selena at sixteen, and Marisol at eleven.” Nico was writing down the information in neater handwriting then Will would have thought.  

“What did you get them last year?” Nico paused, his pen hovering.

Will thought about it for a brief moment, “Subscription boxes, six months worth each.”

Nico considered that for a moment. “Not bad,” He finally settled on, “What kind?”

“Uh,” He squinted, thinking back to the horde of confirmation emails probably still sitting in his inbox. “Well, Hina got a music one where she got new CDs and like, music note socks or something every month. Kayla got one where they send you like, a new book every month, Selena got a make up one that she specifically asked for, and Marisol got one of those international snacks and candy ones, where you get a new country every month? It was cool.”

Nico scrawled a few more words on the napkin, nodding his head in approval. “Okay. We should be able to go off this.”

Will pursed his lips, giving the other boy a questioning look. “Seriously, like, not that I don’t appreciate it but -” Will moved to biting his lip instead. “Why are you doing this? I mean, quitting your job and helping me?”

Nico stopped writing and set his pen down, looking up to meet Will’s waiting gaze. “Wanna know something?”

Will blinked, “Uh, sure?”

Nico gave him a single nod, “I’ve had six jobs in the past year, and I’ve hated every single one.”

“What?” At that, Will’s voice was sharp and surprised. “What - I - how? How do you even like, pay bills? Survive?”

He gave Will a casual shrug, “My dad helps pay for everything I do. My sister decided to go to art school with it, but I’m not really cut out for school. So I -” He gestured to his surroundings, “work at department stores and quit on a whim to take a cute boy out for coffee.” Nico took a slow drink of his coffee, apparently not noticing Will’s rough blush. “I’m just looking for something that sticks, I guess. And it definitely wasn’t going to be fucking Macy’s. This sounded fun.” Nico gave him a look. “Can you blame me?”

Will blinked a few times, processing. “I guess not,” he finally decided. “...What else have you done this year?”

Nioc held out a hand, ticking off one with each job he named. “I’ve been a barista, waiter, assistant librarian, surf shack employee, gas station clerk, and uber driver.” His eyes lit up fo a quick second. “Hey! Seven jobs now. Got one in just before the year was up, nice.”

Will didn’t even know how to respond to that. He only shook his head, taking a long sip of his drink.

Nico seemed to take that as his que to turn back to the wrinkled napkin in front of him. He cocked his head to the side, chugging the last of his coffee, and looked back to Will in question.

“Who’s easiest to shop for?” Nico asked, absentmindedly rolling his pen between his fingers.

“Selena,” Will knew nearly instantly, because it was true. Selena would happy cry over a wilted flower if Will put enough effort into picking it.

Nico looked satisfied with that. “Selena, what does she like?”

Will chewed on his lip, “Makeup, usually. Reading - she and Kayla are always trading books - and, uh, science? She’s won her school’s science fair like, twice already.” There was a barely hidden note of pride in his voice. What? His sisters were awesome.

“Makeup, reading, and science.” Nico mused, his hand coming up to his chin and everything. He pocketed his pen and napkin. “Let’s start with the first.” He went quiet. “You know what that means, right?”

Will sighed. He did. Vividly, often through nightmare.

“There’s a Sephora in the mall,” Will set his shoulders like a man going off to war. He collected their cups and threw them towards the trash. “Let’s do this.”

Five steps in and Will Solace was truly feeling the definition of regret.

His eyes were wide, taking in the bright lights, the blinding glossy white interior, the crowded aisles, and he needed to take a deep breath.

“This is… a lot of options,” Nico stated the obvious, looking unsure for the first time during the whole experience. “Do you know what she wears?”

Will glanced around the brightly lit store, frowning, probably a little close to desperate tears. “I mean, I just, I don’t really know what she wants - she’s very particular about the ingredient lists and brand or stuff. For her birthday I just let her loose in here and let her get a handful of whatever.” He stepped hesitantly forward, some of the brand logos looking a bit familiar. “Maybe…?”

Did Selena even wear - he quickly read the label of the nearest bottle - setting mist? What even was that, and why in the world did a 4 oz plastic bottle cost thirty two dollars?

He set it down with a sigh, incredibly aware of the other boy’s waiting presence at his side.

He cast a look around the store - so close to the holidays it was near bursting. The line to the register was reaching nearly them, at the front of the store.

Will didn’t know the first thing about makeup. What the hell was he thinking?

He let out a sigh, his head hanging. “I should give them all cash or something. Admit defeat.”

Nico was clearly just as lost in the brightly lit store, but turned to the other boy with a fierce look on his face. “No,” he boldly declared, grabbing onto Will’s sleeve to pull him out of the store, something that was quickly becoming commonplace. “No.” he repeated once they were clear of the crowd, the look still on his face. “We’re only, what, an hour into shopping? We can’t give up yet!”

Will let his head hang, “I have no idea what to get her.” He gestured towards the store, “I don’t know the first thing about all that, and I’d rather let her get herself something she’d actually use rather than just play an expensive round of a guessing game.”

There was a beat of silence as Nico clearly thought that over. “Okay,” he said after a moment, “Okay, let’s give up on the makeup. You said she likes, what else, reading and science?”

Will let out a breath, nodding. “Yeah. She, uh, wants to go into chemistry and stuff.”

Nico was already nodding with thought. “Yeah, yeah.” His voice was absent-minded. After a moment, his eyes lit up. “She likes science?”

Will just said that. “I just said that,” Will agreed, a bit confused. Nico grabbed onto his wrist yet again and began pulling him along.

He let himself be guided, catching up to walk in stride with the other boy. “Where are you going?” Nico pulled him to the curb, already calling for a taxi. “Nico?”

“Trust me,” Nico shot him a quick half-grin, pulling him into the street as a taxi pulled over. To the driver, he flipped his phone to show the driver the screen, and shared a quick grin.

Despite the fact that he probably shouldn’t trust the total stranger pulling him around the streets of Chicago, Will kind-of, sort-of, did, just a little. Nico, already slid across the back seat of the car, gestured for him to get in after him. And Will, after only a quick moment of hesitation, did.

“Here,” Nico declared, leaning forward to pass the driver some folded bills. “Will, out on your side.”

Will, still staring out the window, blinked in surprise. “Here? What -”

“C’mon,” Nico pushed against his back, urging him forward. Will did as told, stupidly grateful the driver had managed to park to close to the sidewalk. They paused in front of the building, taking it in.

“The Museum of Science and Industry,” Nico announced after a moment, gesturing towards the grand building. “Here we are.”  

Will stepped back to better view the large building, apologizing as he nearly bumped into a few other people. He smiled, glancing to the other boy.

“I haven’t been here in forever,” he shot a fond look towards the building. “I always mean to come back. Their Christmas exhibit is up, isn’t it?”

Nico grabbed his wrist, just above his palm, and began pulling him up the stairs. “Every year.”

Will allowed himself a grin at the sight of the familiar building, even as the dunked through the crowded doorway. He bit his lip, thinking.

“I love this place but...why are we here?” As the words were coming out, Will realized. “Selena.”

Nico nodded in triumph, still pulling Will along. The crowd was nearly worse here then in most of the stores Will had seen. “She loves science right?”

Will was regaining the energy that Sephora had seeped out of him. “Totally! We can get her a...t-shirt?” He winced at that idea, “Or something cooler. I’m sure their gift shop has a lot of stuff.”

“Ooooor,” Nico dragged out, finally stopping in front of the ticket counter. He pointed towards the large sign that hung from the wall. “You can get her a membership. The exhibits are always coming and going, and she can come see them whenever she wants.”

Will paused. That wasn’t a...horrible idea.

Nico plucked a pamphlet from from the nearest desk, flipping through it for a moment before passing it along. The membership page, listing all the perks of each tier.

“This...might be a good idea,” he finally admitted, his hand rubbing along his chin as he thought. “She does love it here, I think she’s had like, three birthdays here. And free year round tickets would like, bind her here.”

Nico nodded in satisfaction, leading them towards the back of the line, letting Will continue to look over the paper. “If you wanna keep looking, I’m sure there’s somewhere else we can go. But this sounds good for her, at least from what you’ve said.”

“It does sound good,” Will agreed, holding the pamphlet into his pocket. “I think this is something she’ll definitely like.”

Nico shot him a grin, stepping forward as the line went up, and rolled his shoulders. “One down, three to go.”

They made some mindless small talk as they waited - Will was still basically spending his day with a stranger at this point - and learned a few things about Nico himself. He had a sister as well, younger, who’d he’d actually managed to shop for weeks ago. He added on the last bit with a grin, his eyes dancing and voice teasing, and Will only rolled his eyes goodheartendly in response.

Soon, thankfully, the line died down, and it was their turn at one of the many front desks. Will explained which membership he wanted - the dual, so she could bring along one of her nerdy friends whenever she wanted - and answered the few questions they asked as Nico stood at his side. The clerk, a tired but kind older woman, only shot the both of them a small, knowing grin as she typed into her ancient keyboard.

When the time came, he reached for his checkbook, glad he always kept a pen on his person, and filled out the accompanying paperwork quickly. It was mostly basic information, nothing too serious, and before long they were handing over a thick packet with bound papers and a rectangular membership ID with Selena’s name spelled neatly across.

He stuffed it all into the side packet of his coat, careful not to let anything spill out, and followed the other boy through the thick crowd out the front entrance. They pulled themselves to a corner without much crowd, close to a few of the neighboring buildings.

“Alright,” Nico tapped away at his phone screen for a moment, the Uber app screen flashing back at him, before turning his attention back to Will. “Who’s next?”

Will thought about it for a moment before deciding. “Kayla, she should be easy.”

Nico nodded, and Will could almost see the other boy mentally returning back to the quick list he had made in the coffeeshop. “What does she like?”

“She likes reading and exercise, mostly.” Will leaned his head back in thought, “She’s really gotten into archery this year so I was thinking maybe something related to that? I mean, she treats her bow like a literal baby so maybe not that but something with her arrows?”

Nico considered that, “That doesn’t sound bad,” he finally decided. There was a moment of silence before he spoke again. “Do you particularly know anything about archery that could help us shop for her gift?”

Will bit his lip, giving him a look that said everything.

Nico sighed, pulling his phone out, “Looks like I’m calling for help.”

Nico wandered off to side, his phone pressed to his cheek, leaving Will on his own, leaning against the side of the building. The crowd was much thinner than it had been inside the building, probably due to the harsh chill of the wind, but due to Will’s traditional layers-upon-layers for warmth, he didn’t mind much. At a bit of distance, Nico was laughing sharply into his speaker. Will huddled into himself, shielding himself for warmth.

Only a few minutes had passed before Nico returned, hitting the bright red end button on his screen, a small smile in place. Before Will could ask, Nico spoke up.

“My sister’s boyfriend,” Nico explained, pocketing his phone. He began heading in their opposite direction, purpose in his step. Will, pushing himself off the side of the building, followed.

“The one in med school?”

Nico nodded, seeming knowing the way. “He’s also pretty into archery when he’s not drowning under a flood of textbooks and essays, so I figured he might give us an idea.”

Not the worst idea. Will nodded in approval, “And?”

“And,” Nico continued, his hand finding Will’s to better pull him across the sidewalk. Will, with his hand circling loosely around the other boys, couldn’t find it in himself to pull away, or mind in the slightest. “He’s texting me some ideas which, coindeicently, will help serve as a benchmark to find his own gift. So -” he flashed a smile at Will, “win-win situation here.”

Will was still a bit thrown off from the other boy’s grin, “Yeah,” his voice wasn’t nearly as sure as he’d like. He cleared his throat, “Good idea. Where are we going now?”

Nico had paused on the side of the sidewalk, his phone back in his hand. The other one was still firmly holding onto Will’s, and Will wasn’t too sure on how to handle that. “Some sports shop Frank recommended, says its where he gets all his stuff. Our Uber should be here soon.”

Will hummed, “Where is it?”

At that, Nico paused, his free hand hovering in the air over his phone. He shot a quick look over at Will, almost like he had been hoping Will wouldn’t ask.

Will raised his eyebrows, a bit suspicious now. With a bit of regret, he pulled his hand away to cross his arms. “Nico?”

The other boy let out a large sigh. “Frank swears this place is great,” Nico’s voice took on a convincing tone, “and the prices are great.”

There was shoe Will was waiting to drop and swiftly kick him in the face. He kept his eyebrows raised. “But?”

Nico let out a breath, “But it’s...it’s in the Water Tower.”

Will’s arms dropped to his sides. “No.”

Nico grimaced, “Yeah.”

If Will was a weaker man, there would be tears in his eyes. “Nico, no.”

“Listen,” Nico was trying to keep his voice high, “I’ve worked in a Macy’s, a goddamn Macy’s, all through their holiday season. I have faced screaming soccer moms, shoplifting teens, and middle aged customers willing to do anything for a ten percent discount.” Nico took a breath, almost trying to convince himself now. “What’s that gotta have on one of the biggest malls in the city?”

“One of the biggest malls in the city, if the biggest, two days before Christmas.” Will corrected the other boy, a bit more back in himself now. “Nico, we can’t.”

“Will,” Nico’s hands were back on him, now one resting on each of Will’s shoulders. “Will Solace. Do you love your sisters?”

There was no hesitation. “Of course.”

“Okay,” Nico’s hands gripped at his shoulders. At the curb, a gray car was pulling up, an Uber sticker in its window. “You love your sisters. And because you do,” Nico glanced over his shoulder very quickly before returning his much-too-intense gaze back to Will. “Because you do, you’re going to get into that car. And we’re going to go the Water Tower Place two days before Christmas, and we’re going to get your sister the best present ever, alright?”

Will stared at the other boy with wide eyes, holding his breath, before letting it all rush out of him. His shoulders, pressed down my Nico’s gripping hands, fell. “Alright. Let’s...let’s go.”

It was worst then Will had imagined.

When he was a teen, Will’s best friend had convinced him to go Black Friday shopping in order to score some new winter clothes. They had lined up a few hours before with cups of hot cider in their hands and were both bundled in thick coats, scarves, and hats. They had made friends with a few of their fellow customers in line, even splitting a candy bar with one, and everything had been going relatively smooth and simple and calm.

But once those doors opened?

Chaos.

The end of the world will come in chaos and craze and Will was ninety percent sure it would be from the trigger of a shopping sale post-holiday.    

And this? The sight of one of the most notorious malls in the region, two days before Christmas?

This was worst.

As soon as they had entered through the doors, Nico had gripped onto Will’s hand, pulling him along. Will didn’t feel the flutter in his chest, the blush in his chest this time around at the other boy’s hand in his. No, this was for survival.

Nico led them into a department store, not Macy’s, never Macy’s with Nico at his side, that was thankfully a bit more deserted then the rest of the building. Sure, they were still bumping shoulders with strangers every few seconds, but no longer in the immediate danger of being trampled. So, like, that was an improvement.

Nico shot him a look, his chest heaving. “A breather?” It was more of beg then a question. Will only nodded, following the other boy as he found them a quiet bit of store.

Which was the women’s sock department, apparently.

They caught their breath, perusing the section out of boredom, and it wasn’t long before one of them spoke up.

“What time is it?” Nico asked a bit absentmindedly, shifting through a nearby rack of clothes. All violently covered in sequins and glitter so like, probably not for his personal style.

Will dug out his phone, squinting at his screen. “Around noon, I thin-”

“What is that.”

Will glanced up to Nico staring straight at him, his gaze intense. Will followed his eyes a bit down to his phone, cradled in his hand.

“My...phone?” Will answered as a question. He held it up for evidence.

Nico was staring at it in disbelief, “That’s not a phone. That’s a fossil. I think I’ve seen that exact phone in a museum.”

Will rolled his eyes goodheartedly, “Ha ha.” His voice was coated in sarcasm, “Very funny, Nico.”

Nico was still staring at it, squinting at it now as he examined it. “Can you even text off this thing?”

Will clicked his tongue, pocketing the piece of old tech. “Very slowly.” He finally admitted, “It takes awhile.”

The other boy looked almost fascinated, “But why?” He asked with gross fascination, “Like, you’re getting your sisters nice gifts. You’re wearing designer, and Macy’s sells the exact boots you’re wearing for like, a triple figure price. Can’t you afford a phone made before 2003?”

“I need it for work,” Will bumped his hip into the other boy’s, “It had to be able to work with my pager, or whatever.”

At that, Nico’s eyes went impossibly wider. “Your pager? My gods, Solace -”

“Aren’t we here for Christmas shopping?” Will interrupted impatiently, “Kayla, remember?”

Nico still looked lost as he processed this information. Will impatiently snapped his fingers in front of his eyes.  

Nico scowled, mostly playful. “Ignoring the travesty of your phone situation -” Will snorted, “we should be almost there. Just have to cut through this store’s escalator and Frank said it’ll be on the next level.”

Will nodded, not bothering with an answer, and let the other boy take the lead. He seemed to have more of an idea of the mall anyways, whereas Will hadn’t stepped foot in here in years. After going up the escalator and through a few more minutes through the department store, the crowd was back as they entered into the mall space. Screaming children, rushing adults, teens that were determined to travel in inflexible packs. Gods, Will hated it there.

But Nico was nearly immune to the heavy crowd, definitely in part to his job in retail, and only squared his shoulders and pushed them forward, his hand back around Will’s hand. They paused once to look over the mall map, a glowing screen pillar in the middle of the crowd, but were soon able to stop, their hands clenched again (for survival), and take a much needed breath.

“Here we go,” Nico gestured to the store, some kind of sports outlet. “Frank said the stuff we’re gonna look at will be towards the back wall.”

Nico lead them through, stopping to look over their supplies.

“What do you think she needs?” Nico asked, looking over the wall of supplies. “Maybe some arrows?”

Will shook his head already, “I don’t know her exact bow type or anything, or like if she has a preference for anything. Maybe something safe?”

Nico thought it over, still facing the wall. “Some gloves?”

Will shrugged, looking over the few pairs they had hanging. That wasn’t a bad idea, and Kayla would probably love a spare pair, but it didn’t seem enough.

Nico pointed to the wall, towards the bottom. Along the wall, they were displayed in a glass case. “What about one of those?”

Will looked up, following his gaze, and paused. Not bad. Pretty good, actually.

“Those are nice,” Will admitted, taking a step forward with the other boy.

“Does she have one?”

“A quiver?” Will turned back to the ones in the case, “I think she uses like, the beginner quiver that came with her arrows.” Will wrinkled his nose in thought, “It’s like, plastic and cheap fiber. She’s complained about it.”

Nico snapped, “That’s perfect. They’ve got some opinions here…” He turned to examine the wall better, bending down. “They’ve got some heavier duty ones, some metal or plastic ones but…” He straightened up, letting Will get a good look in. “The best looking one seems to be those leather ones.”

“They are pretty nice,” Will agreed, the more traditional ones proving most pleasing to the eye. They seemed to fit Kayla better, rather than the dull single colored cases they had on display.

“They do personalizations,” Nico nodded in approval at the small pinned sign declaring so, “You can get like, a name of symbol or whatever stitched in the leather. That would be cool.”

Will considered that, doubtful. “But can they get it done on such a short notice?”

Nico tapped the sign hanging on the wall, having already read it through. “If you put in your order before five, it says it can be ready for pick up tomorrow. It’s just a quick name stick, but I’ll look awesome.”

“But that means…” Will let out a breath, “That means I’ll have to come back.”

Nico’s face took the opposite of pity, a bit smug. “Have fun with that, then.” He pulled the stitching request form off the counter, waving one of the workers closer.

Will went through the motions, filling out the papers quickly, sliding his ID and card over to the bored looking sales teen. He ended up throwing in the gloves, she would be needing a new pair eventually, as well as some polish for her bow. A good gift, all in all, that would be ready once he was back to pick it up tomorrow afternoon.

He had to nearly suppress his sudder.

The mall. On Christmas Eve.

He would be having nightmares tonight in anticipation, he could already tell.

Will paid and grabbed his bags, pulling Nico away after the boy made his own similar purchases for his friend, and after rushing through the building and elevator at top speed, they were out again on the streets, the chilled air harsh against their faces. It had never felt so loving.

“We’re free,” they both shared a sigh of relief, collapsing on a nearby bench. Around them, the traffic was loud, and their breath curling in front of them.

“Two more,” Will let a small, victorious smile take place. He was doing better than he’d thought he’d do this morning.

They relaxed on the bench, Nico on his phone, Will’s feet aching a bit but relieved for the moment.

A bit of time had passed, long enough for Will’s leg to fall asleep, before Nico was clicking off his phone, looking up to the other boy. “Who’s next?”  

Will sat up at that, thinking it over, “I thinking Hina.”

Nico gave him a look telling him to go on, nodding a bit. Will sighed, his hands coming up.

“Hina is probably the hardest to shop for,” Will groaned, rubbing at his greasy eyelids. “Everything she wants, she just buys for herself.”

“We just have to find something she doesn’t know she wants,” Nico announced, like that was easiest thing in the world to do. “What’s she like?”

“She’s…” Will trailed off, a flicker of surprise flashing in his eyes, “She’s actually kind of like you.”

Nico raised both eyebrows, “Oh? And that is...?”

Will couldn’t suppress an eyeroll. “Attempts to be cooler than she actually is.”

Nico didn’t even bother to look annoyed, “But what does she like?”

Will shrugged, mostly to give himself a few more moments to think. “Music, mostly. She works at a radio station, and she’s obsessed with music quality or whatever. She likes cooking and poetry, and she collects gemstones.” He lifted his shoulder in a half-shrug, “But still, I have no idea what to get her.”

“Music, huh?” Nico went quiet for a moment. “I think I have an idea.”

“Are you actually going to tell me about it this time, or simply drop me off in front of it again?”  Will shot him an unimpressed look, crossing his arms.

Nico only matched Will’s bored look, “Sweetums, you already know the answer to that.”

At that, he turned, grabbed Will’s hand, and began to pull him along. At least with this, Nico couldn’t see the subtle flare of color that burst into Will’s cheeks.

The small victories, he supposed.

“I...don't think I've been here before.” Will finally admitted after a long period of silence standing in front of the small shop. Nico scoffed out a laugh.

“I didn't think so,”  His voice was amused, “but I know this place pretty well. Follow me.”

That seemed to be his task of the day, and he did so without complaint, following the other boy up the stairs and through the doorway. Nico did seem to know the aisles well enough, his pace determined as he lead them to the back of the store.

He paused as they reached the back wall, shooting an expectant look towards Will, and waited.

“A record player?” Will stated obviously, looking at the lined up boxes more closely. Distantly, a soft song from playing from the shop’s speakers, someone was popping their gum, and a group of teens were laughing as they flipped through dusty records. An odd soundtrack, but not an unpleasant one.

Nico seemed to almost take offense at his comment, “It's not just a record player. His hand came up to trace the cardboard box, the closest thing Will had seen to a loving gaze in his eyes. “It's the best record player.”

“I'll take your word on it,” Will muttered. Finally, after a few more moments of staring it down, he gave the other boy a doubtful look. “Are you sure? Do you think she'll like it?”

“I've never met your sister,” As if Nico had to clarify, “But I know any music fanatic would love this.”

Will was still looking doubtful, and Nico continued.

“It’s the only way music should be played,” At that, Nico stuck his nose in the air, angling up his chin. “No one should have to suffer through horrible music quality.”

“Gods,” Will nearly groaned out, “you two are so alike, I can’t believe it.”

Nico was unfazed by that, “Well, if we're so alike, then she'll love it. I got one for my birthday a few years ago and I haven't been able to go back.”

“Go back?”

Nico only rolled his eyes, “To horrible song quality, duh. I can hardly bear to listen to anything off my old iPod anymore.”

Will scoffed at that, but actually thought it over. “This isn't your worst idea.” He finally admitted, examining the box more carefully. It seemed to be nice quality, a dark purple color, with a leather case. He could already imagine it on Hina’s bookshelf. “This seems like something she'd actually use, at least.”

“You can thank me later,” Nico shot him a smug look.

Will, resisting the urge to roll his eyes, reached for his wallet.

His arms were weighed down by his few heavy bags - Nico had insisted on a few more additions to Hina’s record player, basically essentials the other boy had claimed, and it was nearing the late afternoon as they made their way down the street, Nico already thinking through the rest of their afternoon.

“We can drop these bags off at your place, regain our energy a bit - are you hungry? - and then we can -” Nico cut himself off almost violently with a choke, stumbling in place, and finally came to a halt. His hand came down to clench at Will’s wrist.

Will tripped back, a question on his lips, before following his line of sight. There was a moment of silence.

“No,” Will was already denying, shaking his head. “I - I can’t.”

“It would be perfect,” Nico was almost in awe of the idea, incredulous that he hadn’t realized it earlier. “Marisol - from what you said - this is perfect.”

A pained expression crossed Will’s face. People were making annoyed noise at them, paused in the middle of the sidewalk. Unwillingly, Will took a step forward if only to get them out of the way. He said nothing, Nico easily taking the step forward with him.

“She would love you forever,” Nico remarked, leaning against the side of the building, staring down into the box. He buried his hands deep in his pockets.

Will shook his head again, already too weak in the face of the idea. “No, I really can’t -”

“What did she ask for?” Nico asked innocently, despite already memorizing the small Christmas list Will had provided.

Will sighed, his head dropping. “A pony.”

Nico gave him an elaborate sweep of his arm, “A puppy comes close enough, doesn’t it? She can even name it pony, bet the poor thing won’t even care.” At that, he squatted down at the box, the cardboard ‘Free Puppies!’ sign moving in the cold wind, and let a wide smile break across his face. He gave Will a look reading hurry up already and thrust his hand down so, presumably, the pup could get a smell of him.  

A small puppy, probably the runt from the size of it, jumped up from where it had been curled into the pile of blankets at the sight of them bending down, excitement and boundless energy evident in every line of its tiny body. A chocolate colored pup, with lighter colored spots down its back and nuzzle, and dark, shiny eyes.

Marisol would adore it.

“I…can’t.” It was much, much less sure than it was moments before.

The small pup pushed its front paws on the side of the box, panting happily, its tag wagging behind it. It stared directly up at Will, despite Nico’s gentle hand rubbing up and down its back. The meaning of ‘puppy eyes’ was suddenly so intensely clear to Will.

“I can’t.”

“Thank you so much, Cecil.” Will’s voice was weary and exhausted, “I’ll bring everything over in an hour or so.”

Will flipped his phone closed, Nico not even bothering to hide his obvious distaste with the outdated piece of tech, and sighed. Nico perked up. “So?”

Will sighed, his gaze dropping down to Nico's lap. “The puppy is going to stay with my neighbor until Christmas morning, it seems.” The tiny puppy stared up at Will from under Nico’s hand, panting happily. A bead of dog drool started dripping onto Nico’s dark jeans, unknown to the boy himself. Good.

Nico gave him an amused look as he scratched behind the puppy’s ears. It was, to Will’s despair, stupidly cute. “Now?”

Will sighed, already mentally finding his way to the nearest shop. “Now, we pet shop.”

“There’s… a lot of opinions.”

Will’s eyes had fluttered close after being faced down with the vast aisles, more out of desperation. “Have you ever had a dog, Nico?”

“My dad got one after my sister and I moved out, but I’ve never had one personally. My roommate has a cat?” Nico’s voice was, at least, trying.

“They need…” Will finally opened his eyes, the aisle no less numerous than they had been before. This Petco could go on for miles, he swore. “They need a lot.”

The puppy was squirming in Nico’s hands as they both took in the sight, Nico finally just letting the pup to the glossy tile. He wouldn’t be running off it seemed, with its tiny body and smaller legs.

Will was resigned, “I’ll get a shopping cart.”

We’ll need it, he didn’t add despite the truth in the statement.

And truth did he think.

“I don’t think, like, a kid even needs this much stuff.” Nico was poking around the cart as they wheeled out of the store, as if surprised to find the amount of stuff Will had managed to collected. It was a truly remarkable mountain of stuff. He began pulling the many heavy plastic bags out, adding to Hina and Kayla’s bags already hanging around his wrists.  

“So that’s everyone,” Nico said, the pup still in his arms. “What next?”

“Next is…” Will trailed off. What was next? “Home?” He tried.

“Oh,” Nico blinked back in almost surprise at that. What had he been expecting? “So this is...over?”

Was it? What even was this?

Will bit his lip, shifting his weight in hesitation, before holding up the bags in his arms with a shrug. “Help me get these home?” The puppy in Nico’s arms squirmed around, somewhat answering the question for both of them. There was no way Will could get all the bags, and a puppy, up to his shared apartment by himself. Will was almost grateful for that.

For the first time that day it was Nico following him somewhere, as Will leaned forward to gesture for a taxi, Will relaying the address to the rushed looking man. Nico was, surprisingly, mostly quiet the entire time. Not even on his phone, just...quiet, with his hand softly petting the now sleeping pup in his nap.

Did that mean something? Or was Nico just tired, tired of leading a stranger around all day, of playing nice with him?

Will bit his lip, clenched at his plastic bags, and ignored the silence - if it even meant something, something worth ignoring - from the other boy. The driver had a radio station of soft, sad sounding Christmas music playing, so at least the silence was not the dead sort.

It was their longest drive of the day, a little over twenty minutes, before the driver was pulling to the cub in front of Will’s apartment building. He paid and tipped, getting a firm grip on all his bags, before leading Nico out down his familiar sidewalk, up the worn stone front steps. The walk was thankfully short, the elevator thankfully in order. Fourth floor, as Nico cooed softly to the whining pup in his hands. Will bit his lip.

They dropped the puppy off first, Cecil winking and grinning towards Nico in a way that told Will he’d be facing questioning later on. When they finally made it up to Will’s fourth floor apartment, they paused.

Nico set the bag he’d been carrying on the ground. Kayla’s stuff, he thinks. All the puppy stuff had been stored at Cecil’s, just to be careful about Marisol’s prying eyes, so that left them only with a few remaining bags. They went quiet.

“Thanks for…” Will just gestured to the air itself, “everything today, I guess.”

Nico gave him a crooked grin, a bit too casual. “Gave me an excuse to never return to that crap hole of a department store.” He gave Will a half-shrug. “Maybe I should be thanking you.”

There was a beat of silence. Almost awkward, surprising as it hadn’t been awkward nearly all day. Confusing, yes. Annoying, a bit. Frustrating, probably too much. Fun, completely.

But not awkward, not until now. Both boys seemed to be equally uncomfortable with this new emotion.

“I’ll....see you around?” Will bit his lip, suddenly unsure. Will wanted to say more but had no idea where to find the words. What would he even say? He’d only known the other boy a day and everything he thought of seemed...too much.

Nico began walking backwards, still facing him, with his hands deep in his pockets. “Sure, Solace.” There was a small smile on his face. He was almost to the elevator now, almost gone. Where Will was biting his lips with a hesitant look, Nico had the air of nonchalance. “See you around.”

Will held up a hand in goodbye, not a wave, just a simple goodbye in motion.

And with that, Nico turned into the silver elevator doors, and disappeared as they closed after him.

And with that, he was gone.

And that was it.

That was the end of it.

Or at least, that should have been it.

That should have been the end of it all, the crazy adventure Will had had with a stranger who dragged him all around Chicago and made for a funny, amusing Christmas story to tell his sisters around the tree and over hot chocolate.

That would have been it, as far as both boys were concerned in relation to their stupid stubbornness, their silly uncertainty. Would have been it, the end of their little story together, had Nico di Angelo not gone home and the next day been forced to explain his recent unemployment to his younger sister. Had his younger sister not been forced to watch her brother’s face glow and light up and positively radiate as he told her all about his day, a break in his usual eyerolls as he laughed and relayed funny lines the two had them had shared, the gifts they’d picked out, the places they’d gone.

Had his sister cared a bit less, impossible for a girl such as she, or had she been late to that holiday, or simply forgotten to ask about Nico’s job, maybe it would have all gone differently. Nico wouldn't have had that moment, that moment where he paused, his words still half-spilling out of him, looked up and met his sister's knowing gaze, and had known. He wouldn't have had that, remembering how Will’s eyes sparkled through laughter, the crease between his eyebrows that left when he grinned. He wouldn’t have had the moment when he realized that oh, he didn’t want that to be the end.

But he did have that moment, so this could not be the end. 

“Will, your boyfriend’s here!”

Will paused, his hands deep in soap and suds, hot water up to his wrists. Doing the dishes on Christmas morning after Hina’s chocolate pancakes was nearly a tradition at this point, a chore Will never really minded on the holiday.

Marisol yelled again from the living room, now sounding annoyed, and Will snapped back to attention. He rinsed his hands quickly, wiping them on his pajama pants, and stepped away from the kitchen sink. Calling back, he stepped over wrinkled wrapping paper in the hallway. “I don’t -”

He cut himself off as he stepped into the living room, blinking back in surprise.  

A leather jacket.

Nico was looking away from him, grinning as he bent low to more closely examine a construction paper ornament. Fifth grade, Will’s braces period. Great.

The other boy straightened up as Will paused in the doorway, still twisting his damp hands in the fabric of his shirt. There was a beat of silence as they took each other in. Will, still in his Christmas morning pajamas with messy bed head and zit cream still doting his face. Nico, however, looked as if he’d come straight off the runway, because of-fucking-course he did.

“Nice pants,” Nico was the first to break the silence, a shit-eating grin on his face.

A bright red color crawled up Will’s neck, and his words were numb with surprise. “They were a gift.”

Nico stepped forward, close enough to take a bit of the fabric and rub it between two fingers. “The Grinch. Nice. Very festive.”

“Thanks,” Will could barely speak. “How…” Will blinked a few times, “How did you know where I lived?”

Nico gave him a casual shrug, “Peeked off the address on your checks and hoped for the best.”

Will stared at him for a long moment. Nico grew just the slightest bit uneasy, before huffing out a laugh. Will broke out into a small grin, “Of course you did.” There was fondness in his tone. “And you just decided to show up Christmas day?”

It was Nico’s turn to look amused. “Well, I had to give you this.” He pulled out a perfectly squared box from his pocket. Will hadn’t even noticed it in the dark jacket. It was neatly wrapped, with ribbon spilling from the top.

“My sister wrapped it,” Nico explained, seeing the look on Will’s face. “She’s pretty good at crafts.

Will took the box with reverent fingers, peeking a look back up at the other boy. He was still in disbelief that Nico was here, in his living room, on Christmas morning.

Slowly, Will peeled back the wrapping paper, and had to stifle up the laughter crawling up his throat. He let the rest of the paper fall to the carpet, shooting the other boy a look.

“An iPhone,” Will’s voice was laughter filled despite himself. “Really.”

Nico gave him a look that matched Will’s tone. “It was fitting.” He ran a hand through his hair, glancing back before meeting Will’s eyes again. “Anyways, I have a reputation to uphold, and I can't date anyone still using a Nokia.”

An electric shock jumpkicked Will’s heart in his chest. “Date?”

Nico smiled. “Yeah, that’s what I was thinking. If you’d like?”

Will nodded slowly, his hands tightening around the phone box. “I’d like that.”

Nico’s smile became a grin, small and a bit shy. “Me too.”

They stared at each other for a long moment, just absorbing the other’s presence.

“I’m not getting rid of my flip phone,” Will finally got out, “I need it for work.”

“Guess you’ll be the weird guy at parties with two phones,” Nico smiled goodnaturedly through the entire exchange. Guess Christmas did that to you.

Nico’s face suddenly scrunched up with laughter, his eyes drifting to the ceiling “Look up.”

Will glanced up. Green leaves, bound with a bright red ribbon.

Will’s eyebrows came together. “How did that -”

Nico cut him off before he could question the decoration that had definitely not been there before but, well, Will could hardly complain.

With their lips pressed against another’s on Christmas morning, really, who would?

Will forced himself to break away from the other boy, only with a fierce reminder to himself that his sisters were most definitely still in their not-very-big-apartment and bound to wander in at any moment. He stared at the other boy, so close and smelling of winter and snow and cinnamon, and resisted the urge to lean back in.  

At that moment Pony bounced into the room, barking loudly at the sight of Nico, instantly going to jump around Nico’s feet. Will took a step back for some much needed room, and took a deep breath.

“I -” Will cut himself off, glancing away, his cheeks flared up. Just beyond the hallway, Marisol and Selena were peeking around the corner, giggles in their eyes that only made the blush on Will’s cheeks turn darker. Kayla, from the kitchen, was grinning behind her hand with Hina at her side. Hina was not even bothering to be secretive about the entire ordeal, staring straight ahead at them with a half-raised eyebrow. Will cursed his sisters and took another quick breath, glancing back.

Nico, of course, was now cradling the small puppy to his chest, smiling softly. Fuck. He looked up at Will.

Will swallowed. “Hot chocolate?” He asked, nodding his head to the side where, hopefully, Kayla and Hina weren’t waiting. “I have no idea how to work this phone anyways, I’ll need someone to show me.”

Nico only snorted at that, still running a gentle hand over Pony’s furry tummy. “Smooth, Solace.” But he followed Will into the kitchen nonetheless, smiling softly the whole time.

Will’s sisters still lingered in the kitchen, making an attempt to act like they hadn’t been eavesdropping the entire time. Marisol only beamed. “Merry Christmas!”

notes:

listen chicago is my bae and i fully understand that there is not an actual store in the water tower place that sells archery supplies/personalized arrows. i also understand this is fanfiction and nothing is real and i wanted a scene in a mall. so there's that. i! love! my! ocs!!!! pry them away from my cold, dead fingers. happy holiday season y'all!!! here's my obligatory solangelo holiday fic. it was intensely fun to write. reblog and review if you liked! i need validation to live so. feed me.

[learningtobushmechanic]

Cash is King.

Sunday 9 July 8:02pm

Today I drove through Zims countryside to Bulawayo for 70kms by mistake. It was beautiful. Dry and deserty with rocks and heaps and heaps of goats everywhere. Many donkeys too and whole dirt road shoulders for donkey carts.

When I returned back to to Beitbridge town after my detour I remembered that I needed to get more cash - having spent most of it on the border already.

I filled up with petrol and asked for an ATM. The attendant directed me to a petrol station further back- the guy there said there is no cash but to go to the shop further back. Same thing - no cash. I asked the nearby guard where else I could go and he just simply said it’s Sunday- there won’t be anywhere. He told me to try do a ‘cash-back’ from the Spar. So I went inside and the cashier tells me that I have to buy at least 20$ worth of groceries to get 20$ cash back. And I said if I wanted more - say 50$? Then I had to get 50$ worth of groceries. And I asked her if she’s serious and people in the queue were laughing at how fucked up it was but it was all true.

By the way I have ascertained that the dollar in question is Zimbabwean dollar- but new bond notes that were recently brought into circulation.

So I now cannot get cash out of an ATM. And I can get cash out of a supermarket supposing my card works when swiped- but I’d need to buy groceries. I could also offer to buy someone their groceries and receive their cash payment. I counted my cash. R500 Definitely enough for petrol to masvingo- the halfway point to Harare. And if I slept over there I might hopefully be able to get an open bank with cash in it the next day. I literally don’t know if I’ll be okay. I’ll let you know.

Ps I found four donkey carcasses along the road. Is there an epidemic? Or are they being driven over- they look well fed enough all over. Donkeys are such wonderful big soft lovely things. Seeing one of their limp bodies up close and then being devoured by maggots from the inside is raw. When driving past one you can smell it long before seeing it. With their legs stiff in the air, bellies swollen. I am disconcerted strangely by how they are not being used. They just lie there legs out. Surely then it must be disease? If people are not taking their skins or the meat? Why aren’t they being burnt then or something?

http://m.news24.com/news24/Africa/Zimbabwe/donkey-reflectors-vets-bright-bid-to-stop-zimbabwes-donkey-road-carnage-20170117

According to this article in the guardian they’re literally just run over by drivers at night

Monday 10 July Visa doesn’t work anywhere It’s two PM ive been to three banks stood in queues for hours and hours Everyone says go to Barclays. They don’t take visa either. Petrol stations let me swipe and I get declined every time.

When I came out from the bank I saw my motorcycle was leaking. It was leaking fuel from the tank. It must have been bumped over and put back on its feet by someone. By now I was feeling hot and sweaty and in a big big panic and now this. I took out my tools and tried to clamp the hole down closed. It seemed better. I decided to just put all my cash into fuel tanks and drive to Harare where my friend Liberty would help me sort out this cash crisis. I filled up with my last r200 cash in my fuel bottles. Then liberty messaged me but isn’t it dangerous. And I stopped in my tracks! Yes! Of course it’s dangerous why wasn’t I thinking about how I wanted to drive with a leaking tank that drops fuel over my hot engine- am I a crazy face?

Luckily I have a friend in Harare. I used one of my last dollar coins to buy airtime and called him.

I asked him if there isn’t a way for him to send me money. By cellphone or something. I’ve been seeing a lot of cellphone cash adverts and even saw a news headline about how sex workers accept money transfers on their phones. He thought about it for a bit and said I would have to go get myself registered for eco cash. But all I needed was a copy of my passport and I had this. A tiny smidgeon of hope grew inside me.

I went in search of an ecocash store. I was sent around quite a bit but eventually found one. I luckily had premade copies of ID and everything I needed luckily but they said the number was already registered to someone- so I needed to buy a new one. I gave them a dollar and got 50c in return. Now upon closer inspection I realize someone gave me ten Rand instead of a 2dollar note. So I have less than a dollar, ten Rand note and fifty cents left. I please called me my friend Liberty and I am now sitting on the sidewalk next to my bike reeking of petrol, waiting for him to send me cash. I am planning to head back with my bike to where I stayed last night so I can empty my tank and try plug the tank with steel putty. Hopefully this will work

6:18 pm this was at around two pm Since then my very wonderful partner Sonya had tirelessly been looking into ways of sending me money via money share and western union and all sorts of things- we almost just managed to get cash through western union but they were closing for the day. Sonya googled around and found me a hotel in masvingo that accepts visa and eft and sent me the address. I arrived here feeling half dead having had only a cup of yoghurt for breakfast this morning and this massively crazy day. It’s quite an expensive place even though there isn’t hot water in our communal bathroom. But my card worked and they are giving me supper and breakfast and what can a cashless hobo want more in life than to hold a key to a room where I can put down my things I’ve been guarding on a bike all day, take off my shoes and have kind people find me a bucket to put my fuel into(having stupidly filled my jerry cans earlier). I have sort of managed to look at the tank with my head torch an it seems like it is rusty in those corners and might actually not have been bumped but simply have said a final no-thank-you to life and let the fuel through. There is also when the paint started peeling what seems to be an old brazing weld in a copper color underneath the paintwork. It must have been fixed professionally. I am worried that simply playing with steel putty won’t work because it is such an awkward shape I won’t be able to get it in there properly even

So I think I will leave the can empty for the night and if I have more hope for plugging it tomorrow, do it-else I will attempt to find a radiator fixing place who will be able to do the job. If I cannot find a place I will probably have to plug it best I can and make my way to Harare I’m reading online about all sorts of temporary fixes like plugging it with soap. I have wifi now but could not read about any solutions earlier.

And earlier me would have liked to read this here article: http://m.news24.com/news24/Africa/Zimbabwe/travellers-beware-visa-cards-not-working-in-zimbabwe-20161223

Going to research more money transfer ways. A man who works at the hotel said that Mukuru is a really good way to get cash from South Africa. So I’m looking into it. Didn’t expect that not researching zim properly would leave me so stranded so quickly. I really really wish I knew about this before. Can someone just smack earlier me for me please? Thanks.

[allollipoppins]

BIYAAMAYD Chapter 4 - Yuuri/Villain Harem Multishipping drabbles

Chapter 4 is now available on AO3!

1) Dance – Phichit

"Give me a show to die for, Puppet Master" he whispers in his ear. "Dance with me and let's pretend the rest of the world doesn't exist, yes?"

"Will you let the hostages go if I do?"

The Ringmaster chuckles. "I'm a man of my word, Puppet Master. But I'm not so sure I'll let you escape me so easily."

They stand face to face, circling each other in tune with the rhythm and atmosphere the song conveyed. Their limbs and bodies tilt and ripple, flexing and curving in harmony and in mirrored motions. The smooth, quick steps bring them closer then further away from one another, only ever touching through the gusts of hot air curling between their movements.

Neither pays heed to their unwilling audience, both lost in a world only their momentarily entwined hands and locked eyes can reach.

"I can always stay longer," the Puppet Master suggests as they sink to the ground, hands held high and poised in a praying manner as they put their legs into the next stance, ready to start ascending into harsher, springy steps for the continuation.

He swears the Ringmaster's answering smile could blind his audience if he willed it to. "I'd love nothing more."

2) Treat – Chris

"And what can I get you, sweetheart?"

Yuuri turns distractedly from the target, if only to nod in acknowledgement at the bartender, then takes a double turn.

The Dramatic Assassin in the flesh is currently standing before him, pouring the contents of his cocktail shaker into a tall glass filled with ice cubes and lemon, which he then puts in front of Yuuri.

"There you go, love, one mojito. It's on the house."

Yuuri eyes the glass suspiciously. At first sight there's nothing wrong with its contents: black straw in place, thin slices of lemon on the rim and mingling with ice cubes at the bottom, a clear green that reminds him vaguely of his enemy's own irises. Which, come to think of it, also kind of remind him of –

He shakes his head, chasing away that ridiculous thought. The pretend bartender only chuckles at his actions.

"It's only a cocktail, promise. No roofies, no poison, just a good ol' fashioned mojito."

He leans over the bar. "You can thank me later, my shift ends at 11." The Assassin winks at him and goes back to wiping shots glasses with his towel, whistling a tune the puppeteer can't catch.

Yuuri's eyes stay on him the entire time, sipping absentmindedly his drink and licking his lips to catch the remains of the liquid that escape his mouth. He doesn't miss once the way the blond's gaze focuses on him in these instants.

3) Sand – Georgi

Yuuri takes Georgi to Hasetsu weeks after they graduate, as a graduation present. The initial plan had been to buy himself a one-way ticket to Japan and fly off to Hasetsu to never come back ever again.

That, of course, had been five years ago. Now, a degree and a best friend later, he could not think of a better way to celebrate their newfound freedom, and friendship.

As much as he hates to admit it, he's glad that Georgi wasn't looking too forward to going back in Russia. Even though he'd admitted it was temporary – enough time to stay over at his parents' place and see the whole family again – , Georgi didn't have it in him yet to tell them Anya and him had broken up. Again. Yuuri had yet to get the "Met a pretty girl in the US?" talk from his parents, but it shouldn't take too long. Besides Georgi would be sleeping in the room next to his, rather than in the clients' section of the inn. Word of the only son taking a man back with him from his years spent studying abroad would definitely reach the whole village.

Not that he particularly cares at the moment. All that he wants right now is to spend his time in the hot springs, eat his mother's infamous pork cutlet bowl and take morning walks with Vicchan on the beach. All with his best friend in the entire world.

The next day, he finds the look on Georgi's face when the waves crash into them faster than expected is worth a thousand suns.

4) Salt – Eros

"Swallow," Yuuri commands. Eros does as ordered, the taste of fried egg and pork lingering on his tongue.

In the span of the half-decade they'd spent together, Eros had come to the conclusion that Yuuri had some sort of switch that made him change from his civilian identity to his vigilante one. He revered them both as one and only person, though he'd drawn a line between the imposing figure that was the Puppet Master and the comforting, loving Yuuri.

But to say he'd never once been scared of Yuuri Katsuki in the span of the last five years would be a fucking lie.

Somehow he's managed to make his boss lose his temper only twice – both times having coincidentally (or not) and indirectly involved his mother. He still shivers when thinking back of the way Yuuri's eyes had flickered when he'd admitted he found Mama Katsuki's Katsudon "decent".

After all, who the hell would dare call Hiroko Katsuki's homemade speciality "just decent?"

A man with dysfunctional taste buds, was what. "Even Victor Nikiforov had lost his grasp of English after having a single bite" a distant voice chimes in his ear.

He goes for the next bite, relishing Yuuri's smile at the gesture. No way in hell was he losing to that Russian imbecile.

5) Clip – Minami

"You should start off by cutting your hair. No respectable villain keeps a haircut like that." The Puppet Master, as he'd introduced himself, states and juts his chin in Minami's general direction. Shame overcomes his body in a matter of seconds. Being noticed by his problematic favorite is one thing; being judged for his lack of care in the hair department of all things, is another. And Minami only endeavours to please.

Before he can stop himself from committing something very out of line, he blurts out: "Would you teach me then? How to cut my hair?"

The masked man raises an eyebrow at his question. Minami, only realizing the full implication of his question, swears. What an idiot. What shit kind of villain asked his enemy for a haircut?

He's ready to take back his words when Puppet Master cuts him off, waving a hand dismissively and sighing. "Um whatever, I guess there's no harm in that. It's not like I have anything better to do for tonight. Got any scissors?"

In answer Minami only hands him his cards, taking them all out from under his sleeves one by one until they form a uniformed stack in his open palm, sharp edges glinting under the lamplight.

The man facing him sighs again. This is going to be a long night.

6) Bread – Victor

It doesn't take a genius to realize Ruthless Gold is looking a little out of sorts tonight.

Yuuri isn't sure what gives him away the most: his skin that looks a little paler than usual, the cheekbones which stand out more than usual (sharp enough he's certain he could cut himself just from touching one of his cheeks), the way his body moves far more slowly than it should as if the silver-haired villain were in a drunken or drowsy state, or the fact that his blue eyes lack their usual shine.

Not that he spends that much time looking at Ruthless Gold or caring either, thank you very much.

"Ruthless, when was the last time you ate?"

Said man turns lazily towards him, eyes lost in a faraway daze. "I don't know, maybe two, three days ago? A week? Hard to tell."

Yuuri has half a mind to want to scold him for his obvious lack of care, or slap him for behaving like an idiot. But the statement involuntarily makes warning bells ring in his ear.

Before he knows what he's doing, he's dragging Ruthless Gold bodily to the closest 24/7 grocery store, the both of them stumbling into the premade-food section. The cashier nods in their direction, seemingly too tired to care or notice who they actually are.

"There," Yuuri shoves a salmon and cream cheese sandwich pack along with a couple of dollar bills in Ruthless Gold's chest, shaking him awake in the process. "You go pay for that and eat it. Now."

He walks up to the checkout, not noticing how the villain's gaze shifts from staring at the sandwiches to his back.

"Ah,wait!" Victor yells, almost calling Yuuri by his name in the spur of the moment and catching himself in time. He jogs up to Yuuri, who represses a groan at having him breaking into his personal space. "Why are you doing this?"

Yuuri – or rather Puppet Master – raises an eyebrow. "Well, I can't exactly have my worst enemy starve to death, can I? Do me a favor and don't die on me when I'm not on duty."

The other gasps. "I am your worst enemy?"

Before he can take back his words, Yuuri is engulfed in a hug so tight he's close to losing his breath. "Oh, Puppet," Ruthless cooes in his ear, "you're my worst enemy too!"

In spite of the cowl and makeup shielding Yuuri's face, Ruthless can tell the puppeteer's cheeks are turning various shades of red. He puts his hands on his chest, pushing him away (and lingering a little on the muscles he feels under his palms, Victor notes with satisfaction). "Ye-yeah well," the vigilante turns his head away, stuttering slightly, "it's not that hard to achieve either. S' not like you're my only enemy, anyway." He goes for the sliding doors, rushing to leave.

"That's not what it sounded like, Puppet Master!" Ruthless calls after him as he exits the store.

He could steal the sandwiches and keep the money for all Yuuri cares. As long as he quits being such a dork.

7) Fish – Otabek

The first time Yuuri goes to Otabek's place for a date, he's not sure what to expect. After all, one can only think so much when the guy they're interested in asks "Are you coming in or not?". Blunt, short and simple with a commanding edge, something that suited the Kazakh policeman very well.

When it turns out Otabek intends to cook for him on their first date instead of giving him a one-night stand, he's pleasantly surprised to find that the cop is a perfect gentleman – not that he expected any less from him.

Otabek announces that he'll make fish shashlik but politely refuses Yuuri's help, despite his assurance that he follows rules to the t and is a good cook (an understatement if he weren't so humble, but he can't always take Eros' words for granted). Hopefully he can pay back the favor on their next date – because he knows there will be a second date, and a third date, and more to come afterwards. Yuuri mentally thanks all the deities he can think of for the fact that Otabek is a deist Muslim. Makes the prospect of feeding him katsudon all the more easy.

Yuuri wishes he could explore the rest of the apartment, maybe find out more about his new coworker, but he's not comfortable doing it without Otabek by his side; otherwise he might as well be intruding. For the timebeing he enjoys the view he gets from his seat at the counter, Otabek's back facing him while he marinates the fish with spices and other condiments, one hand sometimes swatting at his cat to keep him from nipping at the raw meat.

Besides, there's something fascinating and downright hypnotic about watching the Kazakh cook for the both of them, the swiftness and gentleness of his movements when he handles the food a nice change from the rougher everyday routines his other partners follow.

Who knows? If Otabek's in the mood later, he wouldn't mind seeing what else these hands are capable of.

8) Race – Yuri

Come sleep or consciousness, Yuri Plisetsky is always running for his life.

The voices are always there, somewhere at the back of his mind, taunting him and drawing closer at every corner. Most of the time he can take pride in admitting he has them under control, and rebuke any offered help; for every provocation he bites back, cutting into people with an ease and familiarity that is almost frightening and fills him with a near-maddening impression of power. But on other days, he feels more than ever the need to scream.

Celebrity enhances the dread pulling and tugging at something in his chest – his heart? He's been told he had none, that's impossible. Opening his eyes wide or keeping them tightly shut won't make a difference. All bodies turn to shadows, any frenetic, hysterical chanting of his name becomes a slur, an open insult and order to submit to a nameless crowd ready to engulf him, swallow him whole at any second. The world is his enemy, pushing him closer to the edge of a cliff by the minute and commanding him to dance, dance, dance, until he falls into the darkness.

Arms come to embrace him, a soothing voice starts to ring in his ear.

He's been caught.

9) Poor – JJ

Yuuri doesn't understand how anyone could possibly hate JJ.

Sure, the officer can come across as a bit of a brat at first sight. And that is as nice a comment as possible, especially coming from people who'd be willing to go much further in their criticism of one of the oldest members of the force. Yuuri himself had needed some time to rub off the initial discomfort he felt when around his coworker – but to be honest, this was in greater part due to a deep-rooted fear of cops and law-enforcement officers, nothing all too personal.

Most of what comes to his mind whenever he thinks of JJ is the quintessential image of the good cop; that one guy who wolfs down donuts after donuts with black coffee on a sunny day without gaining a pound, but who still has smears of jam and powdered sugar on his lips that he's more than happy to wipe off for him; the man who boxes shirtless and lets sweat gleam on his skin and tattoos, never stopping unless he's sure he's gone through his entire workout schedule; the person who, in spite of representing the next generation of a blue-blooded family whose connection with security forces dates back to centuries, always works hard day after day to prove his worth in a system that still spits on him for not sharing a full American inheritage.

It matters most on the days Yuuri pays him visits at the shooting range or the boxing club, catching JJ adjusting his engagement ring on his finger when he knows for sure the ring isn't too tight nor too loose on the digit. On days like this he lets JJ drag him out for burgers and fries and beer at the nearest diner – a common favorite – , then drive them up to the hills to watch the stars.

He always kisses him on the cheek when they drops him off, reassuring him he's as bright as any star in the solar system.

10) Rich – Seung

For a man who sells millions of copies of his books on every possible platform and writes articles for a crime magazine on a regular basis, Seung-Gil still finds it in him to live like a college student.

If he threw in a wild guess, his fellow coworker probably hadn't changed apartments since his first year in the US. Seung-Gil has the efficiency of a man who buys the exact amount of food needed for three daily meals and a monthly supply of dog food (with added treats and toys that, when asked, are of "utmost importance).

Fame has its perks when it all comes down to that: at least Yuuri knows who to contact when he's shopping for dog toys to celebrate Vicchan's birthday, or when he just wants to spend a Sunday afternoon in peace. But otherwise he two of them never waste money or food on mutual agreement, and always cook homemade side dishes for brunch. And when it starts to get warmer they'll snuggle on the couch, with Seung-Gil working on his drafts and potential future articles while Yuuri naps, the dogs never to  far away. He supposes he could get used to it.