#it wasn’t even scary it was just like ‘um let go??? ouch???’

[skyward-floored]

I had a dream last night that a wolf bit my arm and wouldn’t let go no matter what I did.

So Twilight, if you’re out there—

[donutloverxo]

Soooo there are many fics where reader makes steve jealous and it ends in rogh possesive fcking.. but what if steve tries to make reader jealous and it totally backfires and she becomes extremely insecure?? But please with a fluffy ending because my poor heart can’t handle anything less 🥺🥺

Hey. Thanks for the request and I hope this fits. *gif is not mine* Dividers by @firefly-graphics

Please note that my stories are not to be stolen or reposted on any other site. Reblogs and welcome and much appreciated. This blog and this story is 18+. Do not read, follow or interact if you are not 18+. Please🙏🙏

"Um... yes?" You asked as you brought down the hand which was holding out a twenty dollar bill - since you thought it was the pizza you've been waiting for, for like the past half an hour, and not a blond, six feet and some inches,tall super soldier.

"Hi... doll," he smiled.

"My name's Y/N," you corrected him as you frowned, so fed up of men undermining you by calling you such 'sweet' nicknames. You knew Captain Rogers wasn't like that, but still you couldn't have him getting any ideas.

"Right," he cleared his throat as he repeated your name. "Sorry," he said with a toothy grin, which almost made your heart melt.

"How did you get my address, Captain?"

"Tony gave it to me. I would've asked you at work... but I wanted to do this the right way."

"Do what?" you quirked a brow.

"Um, I maybe people aren't as formal nowadays," he sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, "But I can't really change who I am... not so late in life anyway," he cringed as he realised he was pretty rambling then, taking a deep breath he gathered enough courage, "I wanted to ask you to come with me, as my date, to the valentines party this Sunday."

You hummed at that, considering it because damn if Rogers wasn't convincing. Even when he wasn't as authoritative and dominating as he is when he puts on the suit.

It would be nice to be courted and treated nicely, and to not have to put up with the shit most men try to pull with you, you were sure Rogers would show you the time of your life. Besides, only an idiot would say no to him.

"No." You said with a finality that left no room for debate. "Is that all?"

"Uh... I... yes..." he stammered, not exactly prepared to be turned down so bluntly. "Can I ask why?"

"I don't shit where I eat."

"What?" his eyebrows cutely scrunching up.

You just knew you must've touched a nerve with your crass language. Tony, your boss, had told you about Cap and his 'language' incident.

"I don't date people at work... it can get complicated," you explained as he nodded.

It wasn't a complete lie. You didn't want to be known as the 'easy' girl or have others gossip about you. But that would be a sacrifice you'd willing make for someone like Steve. Who'd dare make fun of the Captains girl anyway?

You had been smitten with him from the moment you saw him, learning about his bravery and sacrifice as a kid you looked upto him and respected him, but when you met him in real life... you were a complete goner. Your stomach did somersaults every time he touched you, or hell even looked your way.

You tried your best to flirt, which was basically you stuttering and trying to make small talk whenever you had a chance to talk to him. Since he was born almost a century ago he would probably be offended if you were the one to make the first move.

You continued your back and forth for weeks before he told you about her. That he'll be visiting her over the weekend. You simply nodded, having a vague idea of who Peggy Carter was but not of what she went to Steve.

After some research you found out that she was an old flame of his, someone he couldn't marry and build a life with because he was frozen for decades. Upon seeing her many qualifications, and just how freaking brilliant she was, you knew one thing.

You may not be as smart as her, but you knew that you could never measure upto a woman that incredible. Someone Steve still visits after all these years. You were already afraid that he was out of your league but now you were sure of it.

"Did I do something wrong?" he wanted to know.

"What do you mean?"

"Well," he shoved his hands in his pockets, his bottom lip jutting out in a pout, "It's just that you used to talk to me all the time... and now it seems as if you're ignoring me. Is it because of something I did? Whatever it is I never meant to hurt you," he swore.

You sighed. "It's nothing you did, really. I just realized how incompatible we are. I hope you find the one you're looking for, someone who'll make you happy and give you the world. It just won't be me."

You didn't let him say anything closing your door instantly as you kept your tears at bay.

At the valentines party

"Cap," Tony said, slapping a hand on Steve's shoulder, "I thought you'd have her on your arm tonight. What happened?"

Referring to his assistant. He wanted to play cupid this once, since it was the season of love, he wanted to see his idiot friends happy. He was sure you both would be disgustingly smooching and all cute at the party. But not only had you both shown up separately, you seemed to be actively ignoring Steve.

"She uh... rejected me," he said, looking down into his glass of whiskey. It didn't do much for him but it helped him blend in.

"Ouch," Tony winced, "I was sure she would go for you. But I guess I have been wrong before," he shrugged.

"Really?"

"Yeah. She goes all heart eyes whenever you're around. But I guess that's nothing unique since that's just how most women act around you," he scoffed. "You should read all the love letters you got today. I was going through them, you have quite a passionate fanbase of people who want to... what was it..." he pretended to think hard about it. "Yes, 'ride your bicep', I don't understand the physics of how on earth that would work, but I am intrigued."

"Tony," Steve rolled his eyes as he always does when he's around the billionaire. "I don't really care about all of them... they don't know me. I only care about her and I don't know why she said no, but there's nothing I can do about it."

"Whoa, you're accepting defeat so soon? Where's that I-can-do-this-all-day attitude?"

"This isn't a war, Tony. If she doesn't see me that way... then there isn't much I could do."

"Maybe she's just playing hard to get. There's absolutely no way to really know what goes on in womens heads, Rogers. They're so smart and sneaky... it's kinda scary actually."

"I don't think she'd play games..."

Tony had gotten distracted pretty quickly and left Steve alone to pout and only appreciate your beauty from afar. You had worn a pink dress with red hearts on it, and for some reason, you got more beautiful every time he looked at you.

"Hello."

He jerked when he heard the foreign voice, looking at the blonde woman next to him, with her hand out, he shook it just to be polite.

"I'm Crystal," she smiled, flashing her sparkly white teeth.

"I'm Steve."

"Of course I know who you are!" she laughed, "You're Captain America, everyone knows you," she playfully hot his bicep before squeezing it, "Oh my... you must work out a lot."

"Uh... yeah..." he nodded. He could never get used to how people perceived him so differently.

"There is something I need to know really bad," Crystal blinked as she looked up at him, "Do you wear underwear in those suits? They seem really tight, wouldn't it be uncomfortable?"

"Oh, um... we just sort of..."

You had never looked at yourself as a jealous person. Maybe things were different when it came to Steve... he was a pretty special guy.

When you looked at him, talking to some girl, dancing with her, laughing and having fun with her, it was as if you were on fire from simmering rage, at the same time you could feel your heart breaking in a million pieces.

You knew it was wrong. You had no claim to him, he can do whatever he wants. If you said no to him then it makes perfect sense that he seeked out someone else.

You just had to get away for some fresh air, so you wouldn't abandon all class and pull the girls hair and drag her away from your Steve.

You yelped when you heard him call out your name.

Looking over your shoulder you saw him staring at you, his brows scrunched up, he looked so worried. But why?

"What're you doing here? You'll catch a cold, doll," he takes off his blazer, putting it over your shoulders and then groaning when he realised his slip up.

"Right, sorry, old habits die hard. I won't call you that again, I promise," he said, crossing his finger over his heart.

"No... I think it's kinda sweet. No ones ever had such an endearing petname for me. I do like it."

"Oh," he frowned, "it's just that you said you didn't."

Tony, of all the people in the whole universe, was right. There was no understanding women.

"I guess I lied..."

"Why?"

"Um..." You were at a loss of words and nervous. Steve wouldn't tolerate lies, and you didn't want him to hate you. "It was easier to do that then tell you the truth."

"What's the truth?"

"I do like you... a lot. But I don't want to live in someone else's shadow. And I just think the whole thing would end in a disaster..."

"What're you talking about, Y/N?"

"Peggy. Your first and only love. I can't measure upto her, not in my wildest dreams, there's no use trying."

"Why would you have to measure upto Peggy?"

You opened your mouth to answer, but couldn't really come up with an answer. "Why wouldn't I?"

"I did have feelings for her, but that was a long time ago. I'm happy she lived her life, it just wasn't meant to be."

"So, you're not still in love with her?"

"No," he shook his head, "I wouldn't have asked you out if I was."

"Well, what about Crystal? You were practically glued to her the entire evening!" you huffed as you stomped your foot. Mad at your own stupidity. You could've simply told him the truth and asked for a straight answer. "I have to warn you, she had was pretty crazy in the last season."

"Last season?"

"Mm-hm, the last season of her reality show, I've seen all eight seasons. Maybe they just amp up the drama, maybe she isn't actually crazy, I wouldn't know," you shrugged.

"Doll," he smirked, circling a hand around your waist and pulling you into him, "are you jealous?"

"I am not!" you gasped, looking away from his eyes as you felt your cheeks heat up.

"I don't want anyone but you. Why would I? You're goddamn perfect. And... I want you to be my girl."

"I guess I don't really have a reason to say no now..." you murmured, your face still flustered as you played with the buttons on his shirt before he tilted your chin up to make you look at him, placing his lips over yours in the most tender of kisses.

"Got the job done, Tones... I'm pretty sure I saw him go after her, I have to say though, you look at Captain America, and you really don't expect him to be that awkward..." Crystal said as she sipped on her gin and tonic. "You owe me."

Tony only hummed, not too happy about being indebted to someone, but you both needed a necessary push in the right direction.

[obeymefictionwriting]

Could you do hc's for the brothers where Mc is on a call and they overhear the convo that's like

Mc: Him and I-

Friend: Are getting married?

Mc: What? No, that-

Friend: Shhh, no I have this entire thing planned out

Then the friend just starts going off about different themes and color schemes while Mc is like ????

Loved the idea! Hope you enjoy my hc!

“Go and get MC right now, it’s not acceptable to be late for dinner like that”, Lucifer frowned at Mammon and the second-born quickly jumped on his feet.

“What am I, a delivery boy?” He murmured but deep in his heart, he was happy Lucifer asked him to do so. After all, he is MC’s FIRST, so this is his and only his responsibility to…

He stopped because he heard something… something like laughter? Giggles? Intrigued, he pressed his ear to the door.

“So, what I wanted to say…” He recognized MC’s tender and lovely voice and he also recognized that the voice was a bit nervous. Huh? Why would that be?

“JUST SAY IT!” The second voice was far more demanding and impatient. Wasn’t it MC’s best friend that they mentioned all the time? Ah, right. It’s evening in the human world too, and usually, around this time humans tend to call each other and talk…

“So um… Him and I…”

“Are getting married?!?!” The second voice burst happily.

Mammon could not believe his ears. Did… did MC really just say that? Did they probably… Wanted The Great Mammon as their husband?

“Hey scumbag, what takes you…”

“Shhhh you IDIOT!” Mammon whispered, grabbing Levi by his hoodie and pulling him close. “Listen to this!”

“What? No, I…” MC sounded frustrated.

“Ohhh let me guess! It is the hot tanned boy? The one with white hair? He looks so cool on the photos!”

Mammon melted inside. So he is cool huh? Take that, Lucifer!

In his arms, Levi chuckled silently. “LMAO, what a piece of crap” he whispered and suddenly gasped. “Satan? What the hell are you doing here?”

“Lucifer sent me to check you two. What are…”

“Shhh!!”

Meanwhile, the second voice was going on and on. “If it’s him, then it would be gold and black! Royal colors, you know! What is he like? What does he like? You know he looks a bit crazy so I think we can include some activities at the wedding, right? Like a gambling area! What do you say?”

MC paused for a moment and said “Oh, Mammon would love that. But… but I wasn’t talking about him…”

“How unfortunate” Satan grinned in the darkness of the corridor. “Ouch, Asmo, stop grabbing me from behind like that! What are you even doing here?”

“And what are you all hiding from me? Secrets? Exciting!” Asmo got really delighted and pressed his ear to the door too. “Hmhm, so what is our lovely MC talking about? Me, of course, but I had to ask out of politeness!”

The second voice said “Oh, it’s not him? So did you mean the blond guy? The one who loves cats and books? To be honest, I always believed you fell for him. Like, who wouldn’t? Still water runs deep! Ohhh, wedding in emerald colors! Emerald but make it kawaii! Maybe deserts shaped like cat paws? And omg we can gift everyone with books as a souvenir from you too!”

In Satan’s head, a puzzle clicked and got completed. His favorite human, his favorite color, and his favorite animal - everything was just perfect. And did… did they say MC always loved him? For real?

“Hey don’t get too carried away!” Mammon pushed him but gasped upon finding Belphie standing on his foot. “Da hell?!”

“What’s going on…” Lucifer was about to scold them but several hands from different directions sealed his mouth shut. Lucifer was in shock and was about to turn them all into ash when he heard…

‘Uhhh don’t make me guess! Maybe it’s the nerd guy? The one who made you that lovely yukata? Do you know how popular geek weddings are? Like, you can put the rings in a styled wooden box, and you can put gaming figurines on top of the cake, and you can also make so many quests for the guests!”

“No no, I didn’t mean”... MC sounded helpless but her friend was not ready to give up just yet.

“Oh I know! The angelic-looking one? Who dresses better than both of us together? Uhh that would be tough! I’m not sure he’d approve of my ideas because I bet his sense of style is much better… Oh, it’s not him? MC, I hate you! Okay, whom do we have left? Noooooo!”

The second voice sounded so excited that all brothers froze.

“This huge and incredibly hot redhead? Oh man I totally get you - like, look at that body, right?”

Beel got red when hearing that. At the same time, he had this weird tingling sensation deep in his chest - did MC also consider him hot? Did they really like the way he looks so much?

“Beel is not only muscles - he is amazing!” MC jumped to Beel’s defense, offended that her friend noticed his body first. Beel melted again while Mammon whined, “Ah man, unfair!” to Belphie. Belphie yawned.

“So no wonder you chose… wait, not him? Huh? His twin brother? The one with messy hair and a mischievous look in his eyes? He is a hottie too, though he also looks like a troublemaker… Though his palette is pretty obvious so it won’t be too difficult. Just leave enough pillows here and there for the guests.”

“I’m telling you, it’s not…” MC tried to say something but her friend just wouldn’t have it.

“I KNEW IT” the second voice sounded so content and loud that everyone, including Lucifer, stood in surprise and shock. “You took the number one prize, MC, you chose the eldest brother!”

Lucifer felt blood rushing to his cheeks. His brothers were piercing him with their eyes and Asmo said in a sweet voice “Lucifer, my dear brother, would you mind explaining a few things to us?”

But before Lucifer could open his mouth, they heard the second voice again: excited and happy:

“An incredibly stylish, black wedding! Gothic, mysterious, unique! Red wine for the guests, classic music, probably happening in a castle or something. Oh my, I am getting goosebumps just thinking of it!”

“Odette!” MC finally managed to interrupt. “What I wanted to say is…”

Everyone held their breath. Satan was holding a hand on Mammon’s mouth, just to make sure. Asmo grabbed Beel’s arm tightly as if grabbing a safety belt. Lucifer did not frown but all his face expressed anticipation.

“What I wanted to say is that he and I are very good friends! Luke and I are friends! Luke is a boy from my class but he lives in a different dorm. He is a bit younger but is just adorable”.

“Oh”, Odette sounded disappointed. “But what about the brothers?”

“About the brothers?” MC”s eyes lit with a scary light. “Why don’t you ask them?”

Before anyone could move, MC leaped to the door and swiftly opened it. Mammon could not hold his balance and fell right on the floor, dragging Levi behind. Satan tripped over Levi and accidentally knocked down Asmo. Lucifer sighed.

“NOW I see why you can’t make your mind”, MC’s friend sounded both excited and amazed. “Well, I’ll leave you for now. But remember - everything is planned! Just let me know which palette you wanna go with”.

And with a chuckle, the screen went black.

[kiirokero]

Seashell (KNJ)

Pairing: Merman!Namjoon x MarineBiologist!Reader

Genre: Fluff, Angst, Merman!Au, Strangers to friends to lovers

Word Count: 4,393 

Summary: Working as a marine biologist was a dream. You loved the ocean and its creatures, and one of those creatures loves you back. What happens when things go sideways and you have nowhere else to go besides to the one person who felt like home?

Warnings: Slight allusion to animal mistreatment.

Note: This took way too long...

   You breathed in the fresh salty air of the beach; it stung your nostrils pleasantly as you sighed, content laced in the action. The sunset on the horizon was beautiful, decorating the soft sand and calm waters delicately. Every day after work, you would walk down from your house that was up the hill, towards the soothing beach you saw every day. You could clearly see your small beachside house from the shore, making the rarely visited beach that much more intimate.

     Just like always, you played along the shore like a little kid. Drawing things in the sand, splashing around in the shallow waters, collecting seashells. It was just the thing you needed after a long shift at work. The sand between your toes and the salty air in your hair calmed the tension you had from the hours before. Being a marine biologist wasn't easy, especially when you were constantly getting into arguments with your boss over the health and safety of the local coral reef. He always said it wasn't a huge priority, but in imminent danger or not, you felt it needed to be protected more.

    "Why can't he understand that it's better to protect it now rather than later?" You grumbled, taking a seat on a rock that breached the barrier between shore and ocean. A cliff stretching overtop half-way, giving the area a cave-like feeling. You walked to the edge and put your feet in the cool water, smiling as the familiar tide of the salty water caressed your skin. You splashed the water around, watching the deep blue swirl in a smooth dance, the deep orange light of the lowering sunset blushing the surface with blinding sparkles. It mesmerized you. So much so, that when you felt something brush up against your feet, it gave you a heart attack.

     You shot your feet out of the water and slid away from the edge of the rock. Breathing unevenly as you looked down at your feet for any abnormalities. After you calmed down, you chuckled at yourself for overreacting, "Gosh, it was probably just seaweed... Scardy cat." You moved back towards the edge, peering into the deep blue, tumbling backward when a sudden splash caught you off guard. You shrieked, falling on your back, groaning at the sudden, sharp pain it caused.

    "Oh no! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to startle you!" You heard a deep voice say, you sat up and looked at the source of the mysterious speaking. Eyes landing on a muscular man with honey tan skin. Deep, sparkling brown eyes. Wet dark blue hair saturated with water. But what caught you off guard the most was the fin-like appendages protruding from the man's forearms, resembling those of a fish, the shape familiar to you as you saw the same appendages on the little creatures you interacted with on a day-to-day basis.

     You didn't even realize you weren't moving or speaking until he spoke up again. "Um... Hello? Are you okay?" You blinked before nodding a 'yes', not trusting your words flow out of your mouth. He gave you a smile, and you didn't miss the beautiful dimples that adorned his equally beautiful face. He placed his hands on the edge of the rock and pushed himself out of the water, landing on the edge with a thud. You gawked at his toned body and strength. If only you knew what to expect when you looked down.

     Your eyes almost fell out of your head when you saw that instead of legs, the man had a beautiful blue tail. Scales shining in the light as they effortlessly flowed down the limb. Scales also dotted around his abdomen, creating a satisfying transition from human to sea creature. The man noticed you staring and chuckled, the sound deep as it vibrated against your ears.

"Never seen a merman before?" He teased.

"M-merman?" You echoed.

"Yeah, you know, half fish half man."

"You guys are real?!" You shrieked.

"Ouch, yes, of course we're real."

    You realized your harsh words and quickly apologized, "I was just surprised is all... This isn't a prank... right?" You cautioned. He shook his head and motioned you to come closer, which you did. Something was telling you the man should unsettle you, that you should scamper back to your house, locking the door, far away from the mystery man. But another part of you trusted him. Maybe it was the fact he resembled a human, or maybe it was the curiosity of the marine biologist in you, you weren't sure.

    The man gently took your hand and placed it on his tail. You let out a quiet gasp as the familiar feeling of fish scales met your fingertips. No doubt it was entirely fishlike, the way it felt semi slimy but smooth. He took your hand again and put it on the fin that was attached to his forearm, and yet again, it felt just like a fish, down to the T.

"Believe me now?" He asked.

"Y-yeah," You nodded, "I'm Y/N by the way..."

"Namjoon."

"Nice to meet you, Namjoon."

      You didn’t go back to the beach for a couple days, scared to face the reality that you thought was just a dream. But it wasn’t, the pain in your back told you otherwise. Merman. The word ran through your head over and over. Merman. The creature that originally made you curious about the ocean was real. It breathed, swam, talked. 

      How was this even biologically possible? You always thought that if Merfolk were real, they’d be bald for less traction in the water, have more scales than skin, no nose even. But Namjoon was handsome. Like a siren. His skin had this beautiful honey glow and he seemed to be sculpted by Poseidon. He had the looks of a god, yet when he smiled he turned into a cutie. 

      You sat on your back porch thinking about him, the setting sun a familiar memory. Why are you thinking about him? You wanted to say it’s because you're a scientist and he interests you biologically, but deep down, you know that’s not the truth. He interests you as a person. How could someone so good looking be so shy and clumsy?

      You sighed, opting to go see if he was there at the rock. It wasn’t a long walk; you got there in no time, but the place seemed to be vacant. Nothing but you and the waves brushing up against the rocks. It was quite calm today, calmer than normal, which made you want to stay here for a bit. The sight was familiar, the setting sun, orange rays, sparkling ocean. You took a deep breath, humming at the distinct smell of sand and salt. It was always so lovely.

“You’re back.” 

     Surprisingly, you didn’t jump six feet in the air when you heard his voice, you just calmly turned your head to the side. There he was in all his tan glory, the setting sun making him look ethereal. “Yeah... I am.” You sighed. “I thought I scared you away...” Namjoon said gloomily, swimming over to where you dipped your legs in the water. You didn’t say anything back, what could you say? ‘Hey, you’re literally defying everything I learned in college and I don’t know what’s true anymore’? That was one reason, but the most damning one was, ‘You interest me as a person, and nobody interests me. It’s scary how we seem to click.’ How do you say that?

      “I... don’t scare you, do I?” Namjoon asked, making sure to keep some distance between the two of you. “You don’t have to be scared, I’m not dangerous.” You giggled at his words. No, you didn’t think he was dangerous, if he wanted to kill you he would’ve done it earlier. What was dangerous is the way you want to be around him. You wanted to make him smile, you wanted to get to know him. You never felt that with anyone else. It was dangerous how much you wanted to have him as a friend. “I know that, but finding out that Mermen exist was a shock.” You partially admitted. “I guess it would be for anybody.” He chuckled. “But you came back.” He pointed out. 

      “Yeah, I did.” He swam closer, testing if you were going to push him away. “Why?” He whispered. You bit the inside of your cheek, you were never good at lying, and he’s asking the question you desperately wanted to answer with a lie. But you couldn’t. Not when he was looking at you like you weren’t a selfish human. “I’d like to say it’s because the scientist in me is curious about mermen.. But the truth is, you just interest me as a person.” Namjoon was silent for a bit, contemplation clear on his face. 

      “You’re a scientist?” He finally said. “Marine Biologist.” You clarified. His eyes lit up, and in his excitement, jumped up on the rock and cupped your face in his soft hands. “So you like the ocean?” He gasped and you swore you could see stars in his eyes. “Yes, I love the ocean and everything about it.” You chuckled. “Then we’d be great friends!” His smile was huge and you couldn’t help the urge to poke one of his dimples. 

Friends... Could you be friends?

   "Not fair, fish boy!" You yelled. "Oh, it's totally fair!" Namjoon retorted, splashing you with water once again, using his massive tail to his advantage. It felt like getting hit by a tidal wave. "You play so dirty!" You complained, sending a splash towards him, weak compared to his tsunami. It had been two years since your first encounter with Namjoon. The day you went back to the beach again, the two of you talked and got to know each other. At first, you planned to go home and finally forget about him, but after a lot of begging, Namjoon convinced you to come back, and then it became a habit.

     Namjoon swam up to you and pulled you close into his arms. He usually did this when he saw you were tiring from keeping yourself afloat. "You're not fair." You huffed as you rested your head on his chest. You heard him laugh, deep and smooth, causing you to smile. Namjoon became your only friend since you could never connect with the people you interacted with daily. He would bring you shells, pearls, flora, and much more. Your house looked like a beach itself.

     "I'm so lucky I found you, Y/N." Namjoon sighed, you looked up at him and smiled, "What makes you say that?" You tilted your head to the side, awaiting a response. "You're just so.. awesome. You teach me things about humans and you've always been there for me. My brothers have heard so much about you that your name is a regular topic in our house." He admitted. He had mentioned his brothers before, all 6 of them. You always laughed at the funny stories that Namjoon would tell you about the energetic Jungkook or the grumpy Yoongi. Confining in you whenever he had a fight with his older brothers, mostly Seokjin, and you sat there as he complained about his younger brother's shenanigans.

     "Your sure they're fine with you hanging around with a human?" You questioned jokingly. Namjoon threw his head back and groaned, knowing the question all too well. You used to ask seriously, honestly worried about him, but after the eighth time, it just became a joke to annoy the merman. "I'm not answering that." He grumbled. You couldn't hold back your laugher and Namjoon begrudgingly joined you, laughing along.

     You couldn't help but admire Namjoon. His pretty eyes, cute dimples, plump lips, everything about him screamed perfection. His muscular arms and toned body always seemed to make your legs weak, his smile made your heart thud, and his personality mirrored a charming prince. You always admired him, and it scared you. 

     "Y/N, you're staring~" Namjoon's sultry voice caught you off guard, you quickly looked away, hiding your red face in embarrassment. "You're adorable!" He mused as he poked your cheeks, causing you to whine and swat his hands away, "Stoopp," You complained. He chuckled and pulled you close, stroking your hair, making you look up at him.

      The look in his eye was comforting, homely. It made your heart soft, wanting to melt into the warmth of his tan chest, to fall asleep to the melody of his breathing. You missed feeling warm. You missed hugs. You were touch starved and this god of a merman was giving you what you needed. Even if the two of you said nothing, the only noise filling your ears that of the ocean's wave, it wasn’t awkward. It was never awkward with Namjoon. 

"Can I kiss you?" He asked.

Until now.

"W-what?"

"Can I kiss you? Do humans not kiss?" He tilted his head like a lost puppy.

"Y-yes humans kiss, but why do you want to kiss me?" You blushed.

"I like you. I really like you." He admitted.

"Don't play jokes, Joon..."

     "But it's not a joke, I really do! I love your hair, your voice, your eyes, the way you scrunch your nose at the mention of sea kelp ramen." You scrunched your nose, and he giggled, "Yeah, like that, so, can I seal my confession with a kiss?" He asked, a silent plead hiding in his eyes. 

      Your brain was frying, thrown for a loop. Yes, you found Namjoon majorly attractive, not just in looks, but in personality. How he could go on and on about the botanical world of the ocean. How sometimes he was clumsy with the huge blue appendage that he’s dealt with for years, yet still fumbling over it from time to time. How he spoke so lovingly of his brothers. 

     However, you were a human; he was a merman. You had two legs; he had a tail. How was it supposed to work? How could you give him everything he needs? You couldn’t hold him at night, you couldn’t go on dates, you couldn’t even see each other unless it was here. 

      But you were selfish. You were selfish and wanted to be with him, despite all the reasons why you shouldn’t. Why you should back up and tell Namjoon that it could never work, that you couldn’t be the one for him. But you were selfish, and you nodded your head, pushing down the bubbling guilt you felt in your chest when you saw him smile. It was blinding.

       He leaned in and you felt his plump lips meet yours, fitting together like a puzzle piece. It was soft at first, gentle as if your lips were glass, easily broken. He wrapped his other arm around your waist, pulling you closer to him as you wrapped your arms around his neck. He tilted his head to kiss you deeper, pressing his warm lips against yours eagerly, desperately wanting to imprint the shape of your lips in his mind, remember the curve of your cupids bow and the warmth that made his heart beat faster.

      If you were standing, your sure your knees would’ve wobbled with the way his soft touch sent your heart soaring. You couldn’t focus on anything but him, the merman in front of you. His slightly calloused fingers rubbing circles on the small of your back, his tail wrapping its way around your legs, his wet hair dripping salt water down your face. 

      His arms flexed as he gripped your waist tighter, waiting to keep you there, flush against his body forever. Nothing but the two of you and the ocean, lovingly caressing you with its calm waves. The thoughts of the long-term nothing but ghostly whispers, lingering in the back of your mind. You wanted to stay here forever, in his muscular arms, wrapped up in his beautiful tail.

     Unfortunately, you had to breathe, so you pulled away, huffing to make up for the lost oxygen. You looked up at Namjoon, eyes half lidded. "Wow," Namjoon sighed, "I want to kiss you forever," You giggled and buried your head in his chest. "Can we... be a thing?" He asked, hesitance laced in his voice. It was a question you secretly dreaded, because you knew you couldn’t refuse him."As long as your brothers are fine with you dating a human." You teased. Attempting to swallow your guilt.

"Y/N I swear to god."

      Today was a rough day, and that’s putting it lightly. You woke up feeling amazing, the memories of your fun with Namjoon still fresh, even if it was yesterday. However, when you stepped into work, things turned sour. 

      You never had a terrible relationship with your co-workers per se... But you weren’t a people person either. You found it hard to have a conversation with someone who you just didn’t click with, unlike Namjoon. Though, you weren’t expecting this. 

      It was no secret the company you were working for was going under. They just never seemed to make the right decisions, always favoring money over their actual job. Protecting and researching sea life. It ended up being there downfall after a lawsuit ended up on their way too shiny desks. You don’t know exactly what happened, but pieces of information made its way through the grapevine.

      Apparently, they made another greedy decision. The local sea otter population was dwindling slowly. Sadly, you’d see less and less of the little guys. It was the company's job to humanely capture and help the otters, eventually releasing them when scientists, like you, found out why they were dying. Humanely was the key word. A key word they didn’t pay attention to when a cheaper, crueler way of capturing the otters arose. 

      You already felt shitty. If only you’d known, you could’ve done something about it sooner. However, you were at the bottom of the food chain. Your job was to utilize those years of college to research these animals. Everyone knew you were always extra caring towards these creatures. How could you not be? They had no idea what was happening, you at least wanted to ease their anxiety in the form of positive reenforcement. 

     Little bits of fish here and there, pets for the animals that you could touch, giving the water bound creature the extra large tanks. It was the least you could do. You always wanted the animals to feel okay, because they shouldn’t be away from home in the first place. But your ways of comfort caused time, and money.

      Which was the perfect reason for your boss to lay you off. Of course it was a coverup, they needed to let employees go, to keep their money, you understood that. But they couldn't do it without a sound reason, So, when you found out all of your co-workers threw you under the bus to save their own asses from getting fired, it infuriated you. 

      How could they? What did you do to them? Nothing. It was a dog eats dog world here, and you knew it from the beginning. It was obvious most of the people here were in it for the hearty amount of money being a marine biologist could get them, not for the animals. 

      You didn’t know what to do, the closest place that would hire you was 30 miles away, meaning you’d have to move. You’d have to leave without Namjoon, and that broke your heart. The thought of not seeing his dorky face every day after work tore your heart apart. This is what you get for being selfish. The universe was turning on you, making you feel the pain of heartbreak and the hopelessness of your world crumbling before you. 

      Soon, you find yourself sitting on the rock that is full of memories. Some good, some bad. Like the time the two of you had your first argument, idiotically about who knows more on sea life. Or the memory where Namjoon gifted you a seashell necklace that you still wear till this day, you never take it off. The sudden sound of splashing water tore you out of your thoughts. 

      “Darling!” Namjoon’s warm voice flowed through the air, blessing your ears with some sort of comfort. He smiled at you, his cute dimples showing, giving you the urge to poke them. However, his smile faltered when he saw the tear stains tainting your cheeks.

      “Seashell, what’s wrong?” He called, heaving himself up on the rock. Seashell, the nickname made you smile. You never thought it could be a pet name, but Namjoon seemed to make it work, insisting he’d use it since they were your favorite thing to collect and the ones he gave you sat proudly on a designated shelf.

      “It’s been... A bad day.” Your voice came out rough and shaky. Namjoon reached out to you, pulling you into his arms. He was wet, and the water saturated through your nice work clothes, but you didn’t care. You wanted to be selfish again and have Namjoon hold you before you told him the news. News that would not only shatter you, but Namjoon too. 

      Tears flowed out of your eyes as sobs wracked through your body. You wrapped your arms around Namjoon’s semi-scaly waist and held him closer, desperately wanting to burn the feeling of his warmth into your mind. Namjoon let you cry before trying to calm down your frantic breaths. “Hey... Y/n. Breath darling. Calm down.” Namjoon whispered to you, resting his forehead against yours.

      “Breathe with me.” He ran you through a basic breathing exercise. In through your nose, out through your mouth. After you calmed down, you felt the pressure building up behind your eyes and you dreaded the headache that was to come tomorrow. 

      “There you go.” Namjoon smiled, pulling you into a chaste kiss. “Now, talk to me, seashell.” You weakly smiled, gathering the remnants of your courage that laid in pieces around you. “I...” You took a deep breath, “I got fired today...” You choked out, almost breaking down again. Namjoon cupped your face and rubbed his thumb over your cheekbone. “Oh, darling...” He pulled you closer to him once again, holding you tight. “But... That’s not all...” You murmured into his chest.

      Namjoon pulled you away, giving you a look that said ‘Carry on.’ “T-The closest place that can hire me is 30 miles away...” The tears started coming back. “And... And that means I would have t-to leave but... Joonie, I don’t want to leave...” You choked down a sob and buried your face back into Namjoon's chest. He said nothing as he held you closer, silently comforting you the best he can. 

      You can tell by his slumped body language that he was feeling hurt, lost, heart broken. Your selfish actions have led to somebody’s despair and it made you sob harder. Guilt wracked its way through your body, and you collapsed in his hold. “Come with me...” Namjoon whispered, petting your hair. 

      You shot your head up, looking Namjoon right in the eye. “W-What? I can’t Joonie. I’m not like you...” He held your hands and started scooting towards the edge of the rock. “Yoongi hyung! He can help!” He exclaimed with a newfound hope. “How?” You chuckled somberly at the excitement in Namjoon’s eyes. “He’s what we call a sea witch. Remember when we talked about them one day?” You nodded, remembering how you glowed like a child when you found out about Merfolk magic. “Yoongi hyung might know a spell... To help us.” He lowered himself into the water, placing his hands on your knees. 

      “What are you saying Joon?” You pressed. “I-I don’t want to lose you... So... I want to be selfish and take you with me.” He sighed, eyes a mix of intangible emotions. You froze, Namjoon? Selfish? Never. He was the most selfless person you’ve met. Always willing to help you, hold you, gift you things, make time for you. If you’d ask him to pull a scale and give it to you, he’d do it in a heartbeat to make you happy.

      You were the selfish one, knowing that one day you’d have to part ways. Falling in love with someone who felt like the home you lost long ago. You were the selfish one for giving in, for desperately wanting happiness, even if you knew it would hurt everyone in the end, Life throws wrenches in your road all the time, but you still let him fall in love with you. You let him kiss you, hug you, hold you, all for your selfish desire to be loved. “Your not selfish, Joon...” You sighed, and he gave you a soft smile.

      “Yoongi knows this transformation spell. He showed it to me a month ago... I thought maybe it could help us... Be together.” Namjoon was desperately dancing around the subject, but the hints he gave you were enough. “He can turn me into a mermaid?” You gasped, Namjoon nodded, taking both of your hands in his, kissing each one. 

      “I-If you want to...” He stuttered, nervous. If you wanted to... Did you want to? What did you have to lose? You don’t have a job, or friends... What about family? You're a single child to deceased parents, the only connection you had with your family was the New Year's postcards you got from your second cousin who seemed adamant about keeping it peachy with everyone who has your family's blood. 

      So what did you truly have to lose? If you went off the grid, who would look for you? Would they care enough to look for you? Your cousins are all married with their own lives, and your aunts and uncles only seemed to acknowledge you when they disagreed on your political opinions. The only person who ever made you feel loved in a way you lost when your parents passed was the merman, who looked on the brink of tears, floating in front of you. 

If you went with him, you had nothing to lose, so why refuse?

“Go get the grumpy old man. I’ll be here.” 

“Really? You’ll come with me?” Namjoon gasped.

“Yes.” You smiled.

“I love you so much, Seashell.”

“I love you too, Joonie.” 

[sunset-curve-fantom]

You could do one where the reader is a mean and scary girl who scares everyone and she is friends with the boys and likes Reggie. Until one day the boys go through her things and discover that she likes someone, but does not say who. They repent anyway because the reader finds out and gets angry making the boys afraid of her. Reggie, with a bit of courage, asks the reader who she likes and she confesses that she likes him and Reggie confesses back?

Warnings: None

A/N: I HOPE YOU ENJOY, I HOPE I DID THIS JUSTICE FOR YOU.

You had always been the girl everyone was terrified of, everywhere you went something terrible happened. Eventually, your friends began dropping out of your life, afraid of something happening to them for being in the same room as you.

So, you ended up being the freak, the person everyone was terrified of. You had lost so many people in your life; it seems everyone else was trying to avoid getting hurt as well. So, they just walked away when you needed people the most. 

The only person who had enough courage to approach you was Julie Molina, bless her whole heart. She just lost her mom and she was going to confront the most mean and scary girl in her school.

“Excuse me?”

You turned around, hair swinging over your shoulder as you looked her up and down. Too busy to even care about her standing there. You turned back to your friends, “Excuse me” You heard again, but slightly more forceful.

“What” The anger was dripping from your words, everyone was terrified of you. Why wasn’t this girl? She just didn’t know when to walk away from a dangerous situation, meaning you.

“I just- can we have a moment skank’s?” She said, looking at your group of friends. This only make you laugh as you nodded at them.

“Well isn’t little Molina confident today, how can I help you?” She cowered back a little, almost afraid if she got too close something was going to happen. You had never actually hurt anyone, but lots of people close to you had died. Sets a bad precedent, I guess.

“Uh yeah- uh-uh-uh…”

“Spit it out, Molina” At this rate, she wasn’t going to tell you what she needed till Christmas.

“Uh- I was just thinking… I know you don’t have many close friends. And I know you lost your mom- so I was wondering if you wanted to come over after school? Just for a bit?” Julie said, almost scared of your reaction. No one has ever wanted to be your friend; let alone this girl you barely knew.

Your expression softened; it was not something you ever expected from her. She was the epitome of happiness and light, while you were so dark and full of sadness. It was an odd mix.

“Can I think about it? If that’s okay, Julie…” You said in a low voice, she nodded. Handing you a piece of paper with her phone number on it. To just let her know before the day was over.

This idea of a new friend, it brightened the anger you held in your soul. The mean and scary just became a way of deflecting the pain and suffering. It made you stronger and that was what was important, especially after such loss.

By third period, you had come to one conclusion. You were going to try your hardest to be friends with Julie Molina… and that was the first goal you had in many years.

You met Julie at the end of the day, walking back to her house. Deciding to spend your afternoon in the garage, you were surprised by the three boys sitting on the couch and chatting.

“Uh hi- I didn’t know you invited others?” You said, confusion clearly coating your features. While Julie was just stunned, clearly startled that you saw them.

“You can see them?”

You blinked rapidly and they were still there, “Uh yeah? Am I supposed to pretend they don’t exist or something?” You just chuckled under your breath, you found yourself quite funny.

The boys looked just as confused as Julie, “What?” You said again.

“They-they-uh they are ghosts…” Julie said, clearly waiting for your reaction. Instead of freaking out, you just sat your bag down before reaching out to the boy closest to you.

But your hand didn’t go through his shoulder, it just landed softly. As if he was really sitting in front of you. You whipped your head towards Julie, this girl you barely knew. You both were absolutely confused.

“Why-um I can touch him?” You said, swallowed the thick lump in your throat. Did you die and go to heaven or something? The boy you were touching finally spoke up,

“Well that’s a new occurrence because Julie goes right through us… And hi, I’m Reggie.” He said, clearly uncomfortable with his new reality. You could touch him, and it seems you are the only one who could.

“Well hi, uh I am Y/N. I just became friends with Julie today and this is totally weird but yet cool.” You said, the scary and mean behavior that everyone was used to, sliding off. Revealing the hurt, and scared girl underneath, who was trying so hard to hold herself together throughout the day.

You were in your own world before Julie spoke up, “And that’s Alex, and of course Luke. Ignore him, he flirts too much” You just laughed at her remark.

Instead of making one friend, you made four in one day. That is a whole new record.

The next few months were filled with some of the happiest times before you were faced with something new. A crush, a crush on a ghost. Like how do you even approach something like that? There is no book for it...

“Julie, what do I do? I have a crush on a ghost, he’s not living and technically I am a freak of nature and shouldn’t be able to see him” You huffed before landing on her bed. She just laughed at your reaction.

“You a crush? I thought you were all mean and scary and didn’t need anyone? Besides whom is-” Throwing a pillow at her before she could finish her statement, she laughed at your horrified reaction.

‘Seriously Jules… you don’t need to ask who it is; you already know just think about it” You said, handing her your journal. It was filled with lyrics and journal entries. It never mentioned a name, but it was clear that it was Reggie. He had opened a door into your world, that you never ever wanted to close.

She sat across from you, squealing at each entry. It was everything you didn’t know how to say, you had never been good with words. Especially after your mom died, it was hard to open up to anyone and be able to hold real relationships. That’s were the mean and scary persona comes in, when you hide your feelings. No one wants to be your friends, which means you didn’t have to open up. But that changed with Julie and the guys.

Julie was too busy squealing to herself, that she missed the boy’s poof in. She only noticed they had company when Alex spoke up, “Whatcha reading?”

He carefully made his way over to where Julie was sat, when you ripped the journal out of her hands, “It is none of your business, okay? You need to be rehearsing anyways” You said, placing the journal back into your bag. You and Julie made your way to the garage, but little did you know the guys stayed behind to read said journal.

In their eyes it was clear you had a crush, and it was bad. You were falling hard… They knew something had changed, as you didn’t come across so harsh anymore and you genuinely seemed happy, more often than not.

They put the journal back, and poofed into the garage before you and Julie got there, but the moment you saw them, you knew. You knew they had done something, but you couldn’t put your finger on what. That was until Luke started to sing YOUR song lyrics under his breath,

Life is a risk, but I will take it

Close my eyes and jump

Together, I think that we can make it

C'mon let's run

And rise through the night, you and I

We will fight to shine together, bright forever

You quickly turned around, glaring in Luke’s direction. The minute he caught your gaze, he knew he was in deep trouble, not only with you but with Julie.

You charged at him; every ounce of happiness drained from your face. “YOU?!? Do not tell me you did what I think you did…”

If he had blood running through his veins, he would be as pale as a literal ghost. He carefully backed away from you, hiding behind Alex

“We just wanted to know… Who is the guy? Cause you have been a lot happier recently” Luke said, you pushed Alex out of the way before making a beeline for Luke. You swiftly picked up a book from the piano and chucked it at his head. Of course, it hit him instead of going through.

“OUCH… I may have forgot you can do that. But we just wanted to know. You don’t have the scary façade anymore; you seem more genuine which is something we love to see. I didn’t even notice it at first, Reggie did.” Luke said, rubbing the back of his head. You whipped around again, this time looking at Reggie. He looked like he was going to shit his pants any moment.

“And what do you have to say? Cause it better be good” You said, stepping closer to him.

“I just- You seem more yourself, and I love to see that. I only wanted to know who this lucky guy was because you are one in a million. That’s all, I just wanted to know who he was and if he would take care of you the way you deserve” Reggie said honestly, it felt good to get it off his chest.

Alex just Aww’d in the background until you gave him a deathly glare.

“Reggie all you had to do was ask, you didn’t have to read my journal. It doesn’t really tell you anything.” You said, as Reg laughed under his breath. You were so caught up in him, you missed Julie escorting the boys out, in their words “at the best part”

You took a deep breath before finishing your statement, you could feel the tears beginning to pool in your eyes.

“Reg I have always the girl everyone was terrified of. I was scary and mean, and I had no one. Everyone, and I mean everyone hated me, and no one wanted to be my friend... I met Julie and that helped some, but you came into my life and you opened a door into my dark world. You fill everything with light, and I have fallen for you so hard. I have been so scared to even say something, I know my behavior has changed but that it because of you. You bring a happiness into my world that I never want to be without. It is you, Reg. I love you.” You said, hot tears pouring down your face.

He stepped towards you as he watched you fall apart. Reaching out he placed a warm hand to your cheek. His calloused thumb rubbing away tears. He wanted nothing more than to take away the pain from your past. He wanted nothing more than to fill your life everyday with happiness until he was unable to anymore.

“You, my love have no idea how much I have fallen for you. You aren’t scary or mean... you are perfect. That is all I see in you.” He said, placing a swift kiss to your forehead.

For the first time in your life, someone was deciding to stay instead of running away. You weren’t scary, you just needed to find the right person to bring a light into your life that you were missing.

Reggie was that light.

Taglist:

@notasofti @julies-molina @parkeret @calamitykaty @kcd15 @crybabyddl

@all-in-fangirl @gia-kerks @morganayennefertyrell

[prettyboyjackhughes]

-It’ll all be worth it in the end- |M. Marner| [Part 1]

Thanks to @workhorsefromwhitehorse24​ for all her help on this! I’m super proud of this and can’t wait for you guys to read it! Thank you for all the love and support!!

Carter wasn’t dumb. He knew how much I loved to push his buttons. I mean, it was kinda my job as his little sister. He’d been ridiculously protective over me since we were little. That may have been due to the fact that I was only 16 months younger than him, or just that I was his little sister, but either way, he took his job as my one and only big brother very seriously. It had always been just the two of us, growing up. We got into more than our fair share of trouble, destroying things in the process most of the time. Our mom always called us the twin terrors, even though we weren’t actually twins. But we did everything together. Nine times out of ten, if you found one of us, you found both of us. And that was how it was supposed to be tonight, the first game of the playoffs. Carter and I had a tradition that before every game, no matter what, we did a little handshake that he had claimed as his good luck charm. So before every game, I was in the locker room with Carter.

"Well I'm definitely in the wrong place." I said, glancing around at all the Leafs equipment around the hall way. I knew my way around Wells Fargo Center, but since this was an away game and we were the away team, we were playing at Scotiabank Arena which was an arena I wasn’t familiar with. When Carter had told me to meet him outside the locker room before the game, I had figured I’d be able to find my way there. But now, standing outside of what I figured out to be the Leafs’ locker room, made me realize I had no idea how to find my brother. As I glanced around, I caught sight of a guy walking away from me. As I jogged to catch up with him, I collided with a tall, brown-haired boy.

“Ouch!” I shouted, falling to the ground.

“Oh god, sorry!” The boy said, getting his balance and looking down at me as he reached down to help me up. He glances between my face and the Flyers logo on my t-shirt, finally settling on my face.

“You okay?” He asks, his eyes coming to rest on my face. I nod, pushing my hair back out of my face.

“Uh…anything I can do to make up for the fact that I took you out?” He asks, rubbing the back of his neck and smiling nervously at me. I look him up and down, having to look up a little to see the top of his head.

“You could tell me your name.” I say, smiling at him. His face looked familiar, but then again, most of the guys Carter played against in the NHL looked familiar to me But he was cute. He had dark brown hair, a kinda goofy smile, and blue eyes that pulled me in.

“Oh yeah sure. I’m Mitch. And you are…?” He said, sticking his hand out for me to shake. I shake it, nodding as I do.

“I’m Sawyer. Let me guess, you play for the Leafs?” I say, crossing my arms and pointing at the Leafs logo and the number 16 spread across the sweatshirt he was wearing. He glanced down and looked back up at me with a smile.

“Guilty. Flyers fan?” He asked, leaning against the wall.

“Well sorta. My older brother is the starting goalie for tonight. So I’m a fan because of him.” I say, turning around to show him the 79 and Hart on my back. As I turned back around, more of his teammates started to make their way out into the hallway and my phone started to vibrate.

“Oh shoot, I probably need to go find my brother. Um, it was nice meeting you, Mitch.” I said, secretly wishing I didn’t have to go. I tugged my phone out of my pocket, seeing Grace’s name on the screen. I wave goodbye to Mitch who looks like he wants to say something as I press my phone to my ear and hurry back down the hallway.

“Hey, sorry I got lost. Tell Carter I’m on my way!” I said, glancing around to figure out where I need to be going.

“You’d better hurry up. Hartsy is starting to do his freak out older brother thing.” Grace says. I roll my eyes and end the call. Grace is Carter’s girlfriend, has been since they were 18. They’ll probably get married, if Carter has anything to do with it. Grace is also one of the trainers for the Flyers so they spend practically every waking minute together. The 3 of us share an apartment, which makes things interesting. We’ve managed to find a good balance for the 3 of us though. Most of the time, Carter and Grace spend pretty much the whole day at the rink while I have classes at UPenn. Then in the evenings, on the rare occasion we’re all home at the same time, we each take turns cooking dinner. Carter is the worst cook out of the 3 of us so usually it’s Grace or I cooking. When there’s an away game, Grace travels with the team sometimes but usually she’s home with me. It’s a lot of fun living with Grace and Carter. But it’s usually not just us at the apartment. Lately, Nolan Patrick, who has claimed boy best friend for me, and a few of Carter’s other team mates have been hanging out at the apartment.

I finally find all the signs for the Flyers locker room but run into a problem. Security. I glance down and realize I forgot the pass that Grace and I had both been given before the game. I groan and walk towards the man standing by the locker room door. He glances at me, then puts his hand out to stop me.

“Sorry young lady, you can’t go in there.” I start to plead my case then see a familiar head of shaggy hair walking towards me.

“It’s okay, she’s training staff.” Nolan says, grabbing my arm and pulling me inside the locker room with him.

“Alright, sorry about that, sir.” I muffle a laugh as the man calls Nolan sir. He rolls his eyes and drags me along with him to where Grace, Carter and a few other guys are standing. Nolan is my best friend. We got really close when I first moved here, at the beginning of last year. He’s claimed me as his “Baby Cat”, which is a weird nickname that Kevin Hayes gave him, but I’ll never admit to Nolan that I actually really love the nickname. Even though he seems all dark and kinda scary sometimes, I can tell I’m a little bit of a soft spot for him. Grace leans against the wall, watching Carter and looking very amused. A few of his team mates are watching from the doorway, also looking amused. He’s doing the whole pacing, running his hand through his hair a thousand times thing he does when he’s worried about me.

“Chillax Hartsy. I’m here and I made it mostly in one piece.” He turns around, glaring at me.

“You were supposed to be here 15 minutes ago! Where were you?” I roll my eyes and reach out my hand. He points his finger at me, glaring still but softens as I nudge his finger away with my hand.

“Do the damn handshake Hartsy!” One of his team mates yells as they start to gather in the hallway to get ready to head out onto the ice for warmups. The longer he’s been in the NHL and playing for the Flyers, the more his team mates have started to pick up on how important the handshake we do is to him. They had also started to say it’s a part of their pregame routine, claiming it’s the reason they win.

“We’ll talk about this later, you’re not home free, Sawyer Mae.” He says we do our little handshake. He claims that it helps him but I think he’s just a little superstitious. I nudge Nolan as he walks past me and heads for the door. He and the boys head out onto the ice and Grace drags me with her back to where my parents are sitting.

“You should’ve seen your brother.” She says, laughing as we walk back out to our box. Usually, Grace and I would just sit in normal seats, if she wasn’t working. But since Mom and Dad were coming to the game, Carter got box tickets for all of us.

“He always freaks out before games. And always assumes I’m gonna forget to come down and meet him. This one is even worse cause it’s the freakin playoffs baby!” I say, hopping around a little and making Grace laugh. In the 3 years that Carter and Grace have been together, Grace has become the big sister I’ve always wanted. When I was younger, I loved having Carter as my big brother but I always secretly wanted a big sister. And now, I had Grace. She and I get along so well and she’s the perfect big sister. She and I would gang up on Carter, teasing him about everything when we were at home. We would watch the Bachelor and cry over sappy romance movies together. My favorite thing to do with Grace was get a little drunk, sometimes just tipsy, and sing karaoke with her when we went out. She had been there when I first moved to Philly a little over a year, helping me get to know the city and working through all my homesickness with me. She was easily my best friend.

“Earth to Sawyer, come in Sawyer.” Grace says, nudging my shoulder. I blink, bringing myself back to reality. I look down to the ice where both teams are skating around the ice, going through warmups, when a certain number 16 catches my eye. He’s skating around, weaving in and out of his teammates. He seems to talk to everybody, laughing and joking throughout all of warmups. I can hear Grace talking to my parents and the rest of my family in the box with us. She calls my name but all I can focus on or think about is the brown haired boy who I ran into today.

“Who are you watching?” Mom asks, sliding up next to me as I stand at the railing.

“Oh no one. Just Nolan.” I say, panicking and taking my eyes off of Mitch. She smiles and nudges me.

“Have you ever considered going on a date with Nolan? He’s a nice boy.” I turn to look at my mother and it takes every ounce of will in my 21 year old body not to gag.

“No Mom. Nolan and I are just friends. He’s not my type.” Mom shakes her head and walks away, leaving me at the railing by myself. I can hear Grace’s laugh before she’s even beside me.

“Shut up Grace.” I say, rolling my eyes and coughing back a laugh.

“Oh but Sawyer, Nolan is such a nice boy.” She says, still dying. This time, I actually do gag, laughing along with Grace. I let myself drift back to my imaginary land, thinking of my next way to drive Carter insane. As I watch Mitch skate around the ice after an icing, I feel like a lightbulb goes off in my head. Carter has always taught me that hockey boys were bad news, no matter who they were or what they were. He said there were no good ones, no matter who they were. I always rolled my eyes, ignored him, and have definitely dated my share of hockey boys growing up. But the one thing I will never admit to him is that most of them were just as bad as he had warned me. But do I learn from my mistakes? Nope. As a plan starts to form in my head, Grace glances at me.

“Oh no I know that look. What are you planning?” She asks, leaning over and resting her arms on my armrest.

“Nothing...Just my next way to drive Carter crazy.” She laughs and rolls her eyes.

“You’d better be careful, Sawyer. You know how on edge he’s been lately.” I nod, my eyes still on Mitch.

“Trust me, it’ll all be worth it in the end.” I said, looking over at Grace. The second the words left my mouth, I knew what I was going to do.

[muddyhippy]

A Tangled Problem 

Adorable artwork by the ever-lovely @smolghostings

Updated on AO3 here

Lily padded into the common room still quite sleepy but with a single goal in mind. She’d got up out of Jonny’s bunk whilst he was still fast asleep, carefully extracting herself from his cuddling arm determined to get washed, dressed and make a nice breakfast for everyone.

 She’d had another bad nightmare and Jonny had stayed up late with her telling stories and singing. He made her feel safe and cared for enough that the nightmares stopped being horrible and scary in her head for the rest of the night so she wanted to let him sleep and make a tasty breakfast. Her plan was going quite well when she washed and dressed but was too excited and distracted by recipe ideas when tackling her locks and then quickly got stuck, literally, when it came to brush her hair.

 Lily’s hair was a thick mass of candyfloss-soft silvery tangles at the best of times but last night’s upset had obviously made it ten times worse.

 Her brush got stuck and no matter what she did it wouldn’t come free.

 It hurt when she tugged and pulled and struggled. Enough to make tears prick her eyes.

 So she headed to find the one person who’d be probably best to help.

Without ceremony she headed directly to the person she wanted who was sat on the sofa where they usually were this time of a morning, making use of the quiet, completely absorbed in their music to the point they didn’t notice her approach until she climbed into their lap.

 Tim physically startled to suddenly have a lapful of Lily appear between his chest and his guitar and stare intensely at him.

 “Um hello Sweetness?” he began, thoroughly on the back foot.

 “Tim! Help!” She pleaded by way of greeting, tears already spiking.  

 He tensed, fully poised to unquestioningly murder the shit out of whatever that had prompted this response.

 She pointed.

 Tim’s eyes alighted on her very tangled-in-hair brush caught up in her tresses. His eyes ran a quick diagnostic that helpfully returned the report ‘Ouch’.

 “Oh.” He considered why she was showing him this and came up with nothing, “Um why—?”

 “Because Jonny’s asleep,” She explained simply, “and you’ve got the prettiest hair, you tangle it all up in your goggles but it always ends up nice and untangled again so you’ve got to be good at hair-brushing.”

 That, that was an impressive leap of logic he had to give her that.

 “But Raphaella…?” He began weakly.

 “She has really pretty hair too and it’s even longer than yours but it’s never tangled! Yours does so you’ve got more practice at fixing it. Please?” She sniffed, “I’ve tried and tried and it only hurts more.”

 Tim took pity on her, that snarl up did look painful and it was obvious everything she’d tried had made it worse.

 Plus, she was doing the look that Jonny warned him about, the whole ‘her-eyes-take-up-half-her-face-look’ that made his insides get twisty and him want to fix whatever the matter was every time she pulled it.

 He suddenly understood why Jonny was willing to do as much stuff as he did. Lily was bloody hard to say no to when she looked like a particularly sad octokitten.

 “Um, alright then.” He carefully put down his guitar to give the small, miserable child his full attention.

 It really was a disaster. Tim considered his approach whilst ignoring the growing warmth in his chest at the idea that the little girl who’d joined them not that long ago apparently trusted him enough to ask for help with something personal that had left her vulnerable. He couldn’t remember the last time that had happened. Probably Bertie. Best not think about that then.

 “Okay Sweetness, can you turn around for me so I can get to the brush please?”

 She sniffed again, “Okay, thank you Tim,” she pressed a heartfelt kiss to his bearded cheek before turning around obviously utterly convinced that he’d got this and she trusted him implicitly that he’d make this better.

 Fuck, he hated Jonny for not being awake.

 Tim, not for the first time since Lily joined them, regretted being an only child with absolutely no sibling experience to deal with situations like this.

 Ah fuck it, he’d do his best.

 Using his enhanced vision, the patience he used when cleaning and repairing his weapons and the comb he kept in his coat pocket but would never admit to, he very carefully, painstakingly, detangled her hair.

 After half an hour he managed to free the brush from her head then proceeded to comb all her locks clear so she would be tangle free for the next five minutes at least. Maybe he’d have to ask Ashes to show Lily how to plait properly since he’d seen Ashes wear some excellent styles over the years and their hair length was closer to Lily’s than Raph’s was.

 He’d never bothered to learn, he liked having long hair, it was something that was his own rebellion after strictness at school and whilst he was completing his mechanical engineering apprenticeship. It was easy to tuck it up under a cap after all.

 He’d tried not to show how heartbroken he’d been when he’d been conscripted and shorn short again. Bertie had known of course and told him he was still just as handsome. During the time in the tunnels his hair had grown out again since no one was really paying attention to uniform rules in the depths of the war.

 He’d kept it long ever since. He wasn’t sure if it was out of defiance or as tribute to Bertie who’d never been able to keep his fingers out of it when they were alone together.

 Tim mentally shook himself, now was definitely not the time to start down that track. That route led to months locked in the armoury, building non-stop. Or murdering Jonny repeatedly for being a dick (or just being present). Neither of which were viable responses right now.

 “Right then, I think we’re done, turn around for me Lily.”

 The little girl shuffled around on his lap to face him, she shook her head slightly, smile immediately blossoming across her face. “It feels so nice! Thank you!”

 Little arms engulfed him in a grateful hug, enveloping him like the octokitten she masqueraded as half the time.

 The master-at-arms was unspeakably relieved he’d not fucked this up, “You’re very welcome Sweetness, now, let’s show you how to brush your hair without it getting all tangled up. Sound good?”

 “Yes please! Jonny helps me a lot but he doesn’t know as many tricks.”

 “Jonny doesn’t have as much patience, he’s had longer hair a few times but mostly because he couldn’t be bothered to cut it.”

 “Did he have hair as long as yours?”

 “No. Just to his shoulders.”

 “Oh.” She considered, “Mine’s already nearly that long.”

 “I had noticed.” He couldn’t help grinning, as she tried assess the length of her hair first by tipping her head forwards to see, realising that wasn’t working then using her hand to feel the end of her lengths whilst trying to look out of the corner of her eyes. Her little tongue poked out of the corner of her mouth in solidarity and concentration.

 “I want to grow mine more.”

 “Oh yes?”

 “Yes! So I can be as pretty as Raphaella and you!”

 Tim felt both the blush and lump rise.

 “That’s, that’s kind of you to say Sweetness, but you’re lovely just as you are. You don’t have to look like anyone else to be better in some way.”

 Lily paused and thought about it.

 “Well, I won’t be exactly like you and Raphaella,” she conceded, “my hair’s a different colour.”

 He couldn’t argue with the statement, she was a lot lighter than even Raphaella, “That’s very true.”

 “But I still want it long. I think it’ll be even nicer long.”

 Tim couldn’t help but smiling at that very familiar conviction, “Then I best show you how to look after it then shouldn’t I?”

 Lily beamed, lighting up the way she did whenever any of them took time to show her something. It was why they all, without exception, took time to demonstrate things to her. They might be immoral, immortal space pirates but none of them were above wanting to feel like a hero for teaching a kid to tie her shoe laces, flip pancakes or make belt holes. “Yes please!”

 Which is why Brian walked in twenty minutes later looking for his fellow chef to find Lily and Tim in the middle of a hair brushing lesson, The child sat on the master-at-arms lap facing him, little tongue was back poking out in concentration, a long hank of Tim’s glossy tresses held reverentially in Lily’s tiny hand, her other carefully brushing it through as Tim talked her through the method of working in stages, his hands guiding hers, starting at the bottom and slowly working up to the roots.

 Brian cleared his throat

 Mechanised eyes zeroed in on the pilot, “This isn’t what it looks like—” Began Tim, colour rising dramatically in his face.  

 Brian raised an eyebrow.

 “Tim’s teaching me to brush hair properly so my brush doesn’t get all tangled up in my hair again because that hurts!”

 Tim sighed, utterly defeated.

 “You know,” commented Brian, attempting to sound innocuous, “that looks exactly like what’s happening.”

 Lily looked puzzled, “That’s because it is.”

 “Quite right too,” Agreed the pilot, “looks like you’re doing a good job.” Brian took closer notice of their youngest crewmember, her usually wild mass of waves looked decidedly neat with that glossy sheen that only came with extensive grooming. “Did Tim do yours earlier?”

 “Yes! He’s really good! I got my brush stuck in my hair and he got it out and brushed it really nicely! I asked him because he has really pretty hair and is good at getting tangles out of it after he wears his goggles. He’s really gentle and clever at it!”

 Brian was amused to watch battle of emotions war over Tim’s face pride, pleasure, embarrassment and fury all crossed his face, clearly annoyed that this moment of softness with Lily was being witnessed.

 Brian found he didn’t care all that much for Tim’s comfort, this was more important. Tim and Lily were bonding over something other than guns, completely unprompted. This was good progress. The fact that Tim was obviously trusted enough by Lily for her to ask his help and that he’d clearly given it freely said a lot about how comfortable they were becoming together which wasn’t bad for barely three weeks on board for Lily. Then again, last week her nightmare-stricken visit to Tim’s room that night she couldn’t find Jonny had probably cemented him as a ‘safe’ adult she could go to when the first mate wasn’t available.

 Brian hoped the rest of them would become as easy to approach eventually.

 It was nice to be reminded that deep under everything, he and his crew, at a push, could remember how to be kind.

 “Right well, I’ll leave you to finish. Would you like me to start breakfast Lily?”

 The child paused, looking conflicted.

 “I am more than happy to.” Brian clarified.

 Relief flooded her little face, “Oh um, yes please.”

 “Did you have a plan?”

 “Scrambled eggs and bacon and pancakes.” She recited her intended feast immediately. Jonny liked pancakes, said his mummy made them for him sometimes when she had the time and they were still his favourite if he had to choose.

 Bacon had been a completely new food for Lily, but she loved how the saltiness of the slices complimented the sweetness of the pancakes, she wanted to learn how to make the syrup Ashes liked to go with it too. Eggs were very special because they were a treat on her ship, they had a few sealed cartons that they opened for very special events. On Aurora she could have eggs for every meal if she wanted AND they were fresh! In shells!

 Brian had explained gently that eggs were more of a breakfast food and it was better to have them in one meal a day rather than more because she might get bored of them. (Also he was worried how much more omelette/poached eggs/boiled eggs/scrambled eggs/frittata/fried egg combinations the crew could endure with a smile and he really didn’t want to put off their newest member from the job she liked. Thankfully Lily took instruction and hints with equal grace).

 “Sounds good to me!” Approved Tim, feeling that she shouldn’t feel all that bad about not cooking one meal.

 Brian smile widened, pleased she was deciding to spend more time with Tim, “Me too, right then, I’ll get started, you can join me when you and Tim are done. See you later.” He left the scene as the two continued their lesson.

 “Right then, reckon you can do the rest before Brian finishes?”

 “Yeah!”

 Tim arrived to breakfast on the table, Lily holding his hand, the two looking decidedly neater than normal.

 As the others began to gently tease and pass the pancakes Brian looked over the group, his family, and couldn’t help but smile.

[fizzingwizard]

Episode 32 arrives! It’s, I gotta say, quite an improvement on what we’ve had lately. Quite an improvement. Even so, it’s nothing that’s gonna rock the world... but hey, I was so desperate for something different to happen that y’know what, I’ll take it.

Pic of the week:

A Digimon who just wants to roll around in the grass. Go’way, baddies.

More below!

So as you probably gather... we start with Takeru this week! Haha! Good riddance Taichi! I luv ya but I’ve had enough of ya! Take a break!

jk I totally missed him the whole thirty seconds he wasn’t on screen

Takeru and Patamon are running for their lives, of course! Patamon makes a valiant effort to evolve to protect Takeru but...

... Poor baby. He gave it the ol’ college try but he just ain’t as young as he used to be.

Things look grim until Komondomon shows up with a creepy disembodied hand sticking out of his fur!

Phew, it’s just Sora. Her brilliant plan to rescue Takeru is to grab his arm and drag him along with them... I mean... sure... Whiplash has been proven Not A Thing in this universe so...

After getting rid of their pursuer, the group checks in with the others. I’m reminded of how silly separations feel when you can just communicate with each other by walkie-talkie. Yamato’s been riding Garurumon for a long time now lol. At least we got to see him...

He sweetly encourages Takeru and tells him the best thing he can do to help Patamon with his evolution issues is be there to support him. Then he tells Taichi “I leave Takeru in your case.” Ok sure, like Sora’s not right there...

Taichi: In my care? Should I point out that I already lost one little sibling to the dark side? Nah...

Seriously, though... that’s the current situation. Taichi is actively going over SkullKnightmon to get Hikari back. If Takeru stays with him that just means Takeru gets to go into danger again too. Of course, it seems that the dark side is suddenly uninterested in Takeru and Patamon so... I guess it’s okay 9_9

We then check in with Mimi! Who is being her awesome Mimi-tastic self. Ugh I love her.

Wondered what happened to Golemon. Turns out there was nothing much to worry about because no one loves a macho boxing match like Tachikawa Mimi. If there’s ever a season where these kids grow up, I hope Mimi is like, a big fan of sumo or something.

Taichi: O... kay... well... Mimi sure is... an intersting person...

Agumon: Hey you should make her your girlfriend!

Taichi: what nOOO BAD IDEA ABORT ABORT

Meanwhile, the situation with Jou is, um, questionable to say the least...

(how is keeping that towel on)

Jou: HEEEEELP!!!

Taichi: ... you didn’t hear anything, did you? Me neither. *closes link*

Finally we check in with Koushirou. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you what he says. -__-;

At least we see him get bombed a bit. He’s okay though.

Meanwhile unconscious Patamon gets a visitor from baby angel Lopmon, who tells him about hist lost memories.

He adds that the other legendary warriors have lost their power and it’s up to Patamon and his bond with Takeru to save the world more or less.

He encourages Patamon to find his hope.

Patamon: Who am I? What am I? All before me is dark. I know not what path to take.

The others, having nothing better to do, peep on Patamon’s crisis of faith.

Takeru relates a story about learning to swim and being scared of the water, but Yamato stayed with him so eventually he was able to learn to do it. Aww. Not quite comparable to Hikari’s “I wet the bed and Taichi changed the sheets and then told our parents that he was the one that did it” from the 99 series but still pretty good.

The sweet moment is interrupted by a flash of light! Then dark! Then light! Then dark!

It’s another scary Digimon! Oh dear. It’s Kerberomon. A three-headed Cerberus as I’m sure you figured out. Once again, this show does not how to convey what the stakes are. After everything we’ve been through, it’s hard to take random nobody Digimon as serious as each episode wants us to take them... but it’s obvious from the build up here that Kerberomon’s going to be tough to beat for Reasons.

Greymon gets hit and says, “I let down my guard!” MAYBE DON’T DO THAT THEN

Also it is very windy.

Le ouch. This is the Digimon from earlier whose name I forgot to take down. He’s come back with his friend...

... Scarier-in-the-dark-mon.

They’re surrounded~ Oh noes and whatnot.

Taichi is a bit cool here, clinging to Komondomon’s helmet and directing the battle like a war general. Mostly he’s telling them how to avoid getting hit by Kerberomon’s powerful attacks but I like that we get to see him using his head like this.

What I think is happening here is, Komondomon isn’t as fast as the kids could be if they were on their own, so their speed is hampered and that plus the number of assailants makes this battle tough. I am sure we’re supposed to assume that the reason WarGreymon doesn’t appear is because it takes a lot of energy to bring him out, even though last time he appeared twice in the same episode -.-;

Sora decides to be useful and goes to help Takeru get to safety.

... She is immediately struck by an attack and collapses, badly hurt somehow. This is so dumb. First of all, they don’t even animate her getting hit. There’s a flash and then she’s down. She should at least get to throw herself over Takeru protectively or something. Geez. 90s anime did it so much better. She’s just standing there and gets hit. What, did she forget there was a battle raging around her?

Second, WE ALREADY HAD DAMSEL IN DISTRESS SORA. It was Jou’s motivation to be cool way back when this show was rather more interesting than it has been of late. Why do the boys need Sora to get SERIOUSLY INJURED to be able to fight?? WHY?? Like, Taichi gets caught in the line of fire ALL THE TIME, but he never gets injured to the point where he can’t continue on. (Except for that one time with Devimon but those were exceptional circumstances!)

Like, why are we making Sora so weak?? This is so unnecessary.

I guess Yamato was right by entrusting Takeru to Taichi instead of Sora though...

... Uhhh.... never mind X’D

Taichi: Whew... m-maybe no one saw that...

Our be-bibbed god reappears to offer sage advice.

Patamon recalls his final moments as Seraphimon... being enveloped into darkness.

This is cool - we see his angelic wings turn to demon ones briefly before he slides back to lower levels. Not sure if it means anything but we have been theorizing that Patamon could still be infected by the evil that wounded him in the past.

Patamon then recalls things that happened after he was reborn and I’m reminded for the billionth time how much harder the emotions around Angemon’s death hit in the 99 show...

Suddenly Patamon realizes - his hope is Takeru, and he is Takeru’s hope.

The boys put on their game faces. This is what I mean by Sora really didn’t need to get hurt here. I get that it gives Takeru a reason to be protective, but the thing that evolves Patamon is Patamon’s feelings, the same way Agumon’s feelings were what rescued them from Devimon etc. That’s an interesting thing about this show - the Digimon’s feelings seem as important to evolution as, if not more than, the kids’.

Patamon evolves!! Very creepily! But... not to Angemon!

He becomes Pegasusmon! Who... looks a lot bigger than I remember, even considering Takeru is very small... xD

So this is pretty cool! I’ve been wondering how on earth the show was gonna keep introducing evolutions after already using up so many key players, especially for Taichi. But it looks like Armor Digimon can appear, and that makes me think that we could see all kinds of evolutions for the entire team that we’ve never seen before. I like that idea, but I don’t really know if this show has time for it. Maybe it will just be Pegasusmon and Nefertimon who are available to Takeru and Hikari so the writers can preserve the angels for the most epic moments only. That seems the most likely way things will go here, and the only qualm I have with it is, they’ve played all of Taichi’s cards already, and he’s the main character. He has to have something else in the future...

He attac!!!!

Kerberomon doesn’t last long, although why is wholly inexplicable. What about Pegasusmon gives him the edge when MetalGreymon and Garudamon couldn’t handle it? Is it because he’s an Armor Digimon? That may be it but the show doesn’t bother to explain.

Another thing I’d love to see, if there are gonna be more than just one evolutionary tree for the partners, is the kids actually strategizing when they decide which evolution to use. One of the cool parts of Tamers was the kids actively supporting their partner with skill as well as heart. I don’t think that’s gonna happen in this season, but you know, a girl can dream.

Takeru: Hurray for murder!

The three Digimon work together to put the lid on Kerberomon. Garudamon has the coolest moment. Squash.

Taichi checks on Sora who seems fine now. Grrrrrrrrrrrr.

Aw, but these two really are adorable.

What a sweet ending card T_T I want more of these.

Okay so yeah, this episode was a much needed upper after the stream of “watch Taichi fight random forgettable monsters” episodes we’ve had lately. I’m glad we got it. I still, just, like, why can’t they get the emotional build up right?? I wouldn’t say 99 Adventure did anything insanely unusual in how it treated the various crises the kids faced, but it def did a better job than this show. In 99, they understood the importance of moments of reflection, of talking about things, of showing expressions and how other characters react... And I still feel like this reboot DID do that, at least somewhat better, in the beginning. Like what went down between Yamato and Taichi after Ogremon was killed. That was pretty good.

They’ve totally lost what makes Digimon great. I hope this episode is a sign that they’re gonna take it back, but, my heart just hearts y’all.

Next episode... I’m rather surprised since we are REALLY overdue some face time with Yamato, not to mention Mimi and Jou, but apparently we’re sticking with Taichi. At least it looks lke we’ll get some new plot stuff related to Hikari.

If this all leads up to something that makes sense, I will retract all my complaints, I swear. Except about the gratuitous nonstop fighting. But the rest, I will take back.

Taichi’s determined!! This is Digimon Adventure! Let’s go on a freaking adventure!!

[knight-queen]

𝐃𝐢𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐤 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐘𝐮𝐦𝐚 𝐌𝐮𝐤𝐚𝐦𝐢 𝐋𝐮𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐞 – (𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝟭)

[Chapter O2]  [Chapter O3]  [Chapter O4]  [Final]

Main CG used in this Route -

—

Yui: (I must have to get back my heart….!) 

Place:  山中 / Mountain / Yamanaka

Yui: (I must have to get back my heart….!)

Yuma: From now on, we gotta solve this problem, huh?

Yui: Sorry...Yuma kun.

Yuma: Haa? Why are ya’ saying that? The person called Earl or whatever, it’s all his fault, right!?

Don’t make such a annoyin’ face! C’mmon! La-u-gh?

*Yuma gets closer*

Yui: Ouch...I-it hurts…!

(I think he puts all his strength into stressing my face.)

Yuma: Hee? That face was also good...ha-haha!

Yui: Laughing like this….it’s not fair!

*Yuma backs off*

Yui: (By the way, what should we do from now on)

(I think I saw something in the dream...Maybe I can figure out something if I think about that.)

Yuma: ……..*Sighs*

Yui: (Why is he looking at me putting on such a scary face…?)

Yuma: Making such a stupid face for a while, I am saying that everything’s gonna be fine! HUH?

Yui: You are wrong...It’s not something like that…

Yuma: I am saying it, which means I am correct!

Yuma: Haa...Looks like I have to make you understand it thoroughly….haa!!

*Yuma hugs Yui*

Yui: Kyaa!

(He’s hugging me out of nowhere…!?)

Yuma: Don’t be so dumb. It doesn’t matter where we go so, hold onto me tightly!

Yui: Eh?! Gh! Kyaaaa!!

*They are flying*

*Sound of Wind*

*Screen black / Yui closes her eyes*

Yui: (This feeling...Could it be that we are…!)

*Opens her eyes / screen comes back*

Yui: (Flying…?)

(We’re just going up and up! At this rate, it looks like we will reach the Moon...!)

Yuma: Kuku! Make sure that you hold me tightly!

Yui: You have suddenly started to fly! I was scared, y’know?

Yuma: Even if I wouldn’t fly suddenly, you would be scared to fly anyway.

Yui: That’s true though…

Yuma: So? Can’t you think of anything other than scaring?

Yui: Eh?

Yuma: For example, shooting stars or the lights of the parade venue. What about those?

Yui: Yes, they are beautiful…

(I am seeing colorful lights far below...ah, there is an amusement park over there. That wagon is selling something, I think?)

(That was the parade venue from the earlier, right? It’s very lively and pretty.)

Yuma: No-w, where shall we get started? What ‘bout starting from attractive places all the way through?

Yui: Eh?

Yuma: Ruki said it, right? Earl Walter can be anywhere that we don’t even know.

If that’s so, that we should use our feet for searching without thinking about anything!

I think it’s best to ask people here about this world. There may be other information out there ‘bout being stolen of your heart.

((A quick reminder that Yuma is extremely rude, and I am trying my best to translate in his type language. But he is always RUDE! He is not formal at all))

Yui: (Definitely…)

Yuma: That’s why, let’s play & have fun while collecting the information!!

Ah! That amusement park will be a perfect place! We are gonna’ ride every single one!

Yui: Y-yeah…

(Looks like his main intention is to have fun rather than searching for information.)

(I also want us to have fun together, but…)

Ne~ Yuma Kun.

Yuma: Aah?

Yui: If I don’t get back my heart...I will end up dying, right.

It would also work if I don’t have this body...but that’s…

(It’s difficult to have fun while holding these feelings.)

Yuma: Oi, haven’t you noticed anything. I am not planning to have fun around by throwing out your main problems.

Yui: Eh?

Yuma: Tch! You are very poor at guessing!

I haven’t gotten any other choice but to yield, I guess?

It’s obvious to get depressed at the same time, but even if we don’t have fun, you’re gonn’ be anxious anyway.

That’s why I’m sayin’ that I am gonna make your face unconcerned just like I have!

Yui: (Yuma Kun is...thinking about me.) *Blushing*

(Yet, I was just concerned about me.)

I am really sorry...I wasn’t planning to doubt you or something…

I was just feeling washed away...I didn’t even watch my own words...as a result I ended up being teased by you

Yuma: Exactly.

Yui: (I was so depressed lately. I haven't fixed it. First of all, let’s keep in mind that I have to make myself cheerful.)

(Alright, beware of your smile...)

Yui: Yuma Kun! Can I company you?

Yuma: ….!?...

Yui: Yuma Kun?

Yuma: You, making such a face….damn! Don’t say cute things! *Blushing*

Yui: Eh? Ah…!

*Yuma undresses Yui*

Yui: (He embraced me, he’s digging fangs in my neck….!)

Yuma: Don’t think that I’ll stop if you say ‘sorry.’ Give me a thank you using your feelings. 

If I bite ‘ere, then those vampires won’t bother me.

Yui: (Could it be that, he was planning to fly for this….from the beginning…!)

Yuma: At first, I’ll do it from here….nh…*Licks*

Yui: Don’t…! *Blushing*

Yuma: Your makin’ such a face before I even dig my fangs. Don’t you still have some hope…!! (( He has used 期待 -> means hope or expectation.))

Yui: Please...don’t…!

*Sound of shooting magic*

Yuma: Hm? I have heard somethin’...HAAA!?

Yui: Eh?

(A black object is approaching this way!)

*Another sound*

Yui: (What a speed...we are going to collide!)

Yuma: A meteorite!? Why is coming straight towards us! Tch, as this rate —

*Another sound*

Yui: (We’ll get hit…!)

Yuma: Can y’ easily bum ito us...Aaaa!!

*Yuma aparts from Yui*

Yui: Ah!

(I am separated from Yuma Kun…!?)

Yuma: Yui!!

Yui: Kyaaa!

*Sounds of wind*

Yuma: *Unclear Voice*  Ugh! Extend your hand!

Yui: …!

(Can’t, my hand can’t reach him…!)

Yuma: Guh!...Damn! You’ll…!

Yui: (I will?...Die...I thought it’s gonna be positive with me….but)

*Screen black / closes her eyes*

(I am sorry Yuma Kun)

Yui: …..nh?

(—What...This touch...it is very soft….and sweet smell.)

Yuma: No good, I can’t control this speed!!!

UWAAAAAAA— —!!!!!!??

Yui: Nh!? Yuma kun!

Yuma: Ugh...what’s this...it’s hurting and...ugh…

Oi, can you move?

Yui: It’s… kinda impossible….

Yuma: Haa? What should I do then?

So, where’re we? I’know it's a parade venue, but...I can’t see anything like that.

Yui: You are right….

(It's a very noticeable place…)

Clown D: Haa...I was going to finish up today’s work. Are you guys substituting my candles or what?

Yui: Candles? Umm...what you mean —

Clown D: Oh my, oh my. You guys are festiving too much in the name of parade~

Yuma: Isn't it weird to hear something like this from a clown?

Clown D: It’s not weird~good grief! You are really a hopeless couple. Here, I will help you, gimme your hand.

Yuma: Yea, counting on ya’.

Yui: Thank you so much…

Place: サントノレパーク通り /  Saint Honoré Park Street

Yuma: Ha— we had face somethin’ awful!

Yui: (I am glad that everything was okay, but...)

(No way, it’s more likely to break a giant cake of the parade celebration.)

We are really really sorry.

Clown D: A—….It’s okay, it’s okay! I’d like to say...nope, I give up~

I will make it over again. Even though I’ve made the cake with great efforts, y’know~!

Yuma: Haa? It was you who cooked, huh? You have a great taste!

Clown D: Eh, Really!! Even though it’s not true, that makes me so happy!! But, A—aah~

Yui: (He’s feeling so down. I am sure that he was preparing that taking a long time…)

(A lot of people will be gathering here. If we don’t cooperate, he may not be able to finish making such a big cake….)

Umm…

Clown D: Hm? What is it?

Yui: I don’t know whether you’ll be able to make a gorgeous cake or not, but, we will compensate for you!

Yuma: Haaa—?

Yui: Because, it was all our fault after all. We must have to do something.

Yuma: I’know what you mean... but how can we compensate somethin’ like this?

Yui: That’s—…

(There should be a way…)

...Sorry, I can’t think of it right away.

Yuma: Anyway, my whole body is sticky and sticky for the cream, it’s unpleasant.

Sorry but I'm someone who’ll get tension for this, right?

Since it’s a parade, I am looking like a display object or something like that….Let’s go for the bath right away.

Clown D: Saying this means you’re planning NOT to come back, right~?

Yuma: Well, if I would be the only then I wouldn’t come back. But, if I do so, this good-person won’t forgive me.

Yui: Listen...Of course we will come back! We will absolutely pay back your debt, so please trust us!!

Clown D: Let’s see...— Um...I don’t have faith in this big brother, but I can trust this big sister!

Yuma: Aaa—? Tch!

Yui: Thanks a lot! By the way, would you mind telling us where we can have a shower….?

Clown D: I’ll lead you to a familiar hotel. If you like then, I may give you the tickets!

Yui: Eh, is that okay…?

Yuma: Is that ‘cuz there’s an acquaintance there and you keep an eye on us so that we won’t run away?

Clown D: Listen—…!

Yui: (But that way, we also can proof that we keep our promise, right?)

Yui: I got your point. Of Course we’ll come back. We were really sorry.

Clown D: Well—That wasn’t my intention. First, I will say that, don’t be slow~

Yuma: Got it. Let’s go then.

Yui: Yeah.

Place: ホテル・モーントシュタイン  バスルーム / Bathroom of Mortstein Hotel

*Without dress*

Yui: (Phew….)

(Nevertheless, we completely spoiled the cake…)

(I did something like this in a dream when I was a kid. I think I wasn’t happy at all for doing that...)

(Anyway, it’s Yuma Kun’s turn now)

*Turns off the shower*

*Puts on dresses*

Yui: (Okay, all I have to do is to just fix my fair. Shall I call him out?)

Yuma Kun, thank you for waiting. I am coming out, just a little, okay?

*Yuma opens the door*

Yui: Wah?

Yuma: I’m tired of waiting — Haa! How annoyin’. These clothes’re stuck with me.

gh...ugh...—I still can’t take these off...guh… *trying to take off*

*He takes off his clothes*

Yui: —! Kyaa!

Yuma: Aa? Shut up, why screaming, huh?

Yui: *Blushing* Wa-wait! Let me move backwards!!

Yuma: Why are y’ being damn noisy. Y’can move anywhere so be quiet!

*Yuma turns on the shower*

Yui: Uuh— I wiped my hair perfectly... I must get out…!

Yuma: ...Nh...What the hell is this, such a sticky! ...—Oi!

I can’t remove dirt from my hair, you gotta help me!

Yui: Eeh! But…

Yuma: I wrap a towel ‘cuz you’re such a noise! Hurry up and help!

Yui: (If it’s so...then I may lay him a hand.) *Blushing*

(To tell the truth, he had fallen down in the cake to protect me, right?)

*Turns into CG*

Yuma: —Ah...by the way, wash more gently there, and also the right side…

Yui: *Nod*

(Uu—It’s embarrassing….I must not look at him….)

Yuma: ...—What it could be that was hittin’ us during flyin’ in the sky.

Is that a meteorite?

Yui: May be...A—

Yuma: Uwa—Oi! Are you blind or what? Watch carefully!

Yui: Ah! Sorry!

Yuma: Whatta pain! Are you embarrassed for that! Usually, you used to be more close to me, right!

Just—like this!

*CG turns where Yuma’s sucking*

Yui: Kyaa!!

Yuma: It reminds me that I couldn’t suck during flying...kuku~ I’m gonn’ get it back!

….—Nh…..hn…*sucking*

Yui: Ah…

(His fangs are digged deeper….!)

Yuma: Kuku...Such a good face. Lemme taste it more.

Nh—...ha...nh…

Yui: (No...I am losing my strength…)

Yuma: Like always….your are having a sloppy face….hah….lean on me.

Yui: Ah...—Yuma kun,....I can’t—

(Even though I was done with bathing….I am feeling dizzy.)

Yuma: What now? Do you want me to suck from here? I’ll do it.

Haha, dropping tears...all I see is that you just want me to continue.

Raise your face…

Yui: Uh—…

(If he still continues….I will lose consciousness…)

Yuma: Nh…*Kiss*

Yui: (Lips...he didn’t...bite?...)

nh...Yuma Kun…?

Yuma: I am glad that you didn’t die…

Yui: Eh…?

Yuma: It’s nothing. C’mmon give me more. These blood’re just coming out. I won’t waste it.

Until I am satisfied...I won’t let y’ go...nh...nh...mn..

Yui: (Enough already...at this rate…!)

Stop...we have to go back to the plaza. We promised to Clown San…!

Yuma: Aaa?

Yui: (If he still continues sucking, we can’t keep our promise. I can’t allow something like that...!)

*Yui moved back*

Yuma: Aah? Wait!

Place: ホテル・モーントシュタイン  客室 / Guest Room of Mortstein Hotel

Yui: (I’m sorry for Yuma Kun, but it’s good that I managed to escape somehow. I must go back to that place, as soon as I can!)

Yuma: ….Oi! What’re you actually planning to do somethn’ for that big cake?

Yui: It’s obvious! It was your fault....If you wouldn’t fly then, we won’t have deal with something like this.)

Yuma: Aaa? It was those meteorites’ fault! You were expecting my fangs, didn’t you?

Yui: I didn’t! By the way, let’s go back to that place.

Yuma: Even if you say that. You’ve almost forgotten your most important work.

Yui: Eh?

Yuma: To remake such a big cake, how can you buy such an amount of time?

If you do it, then we may lose your heart!

Yui: Ah…

Yuma: Your face’s telling that you’ve completely forgotten...hah, as I thought, you should just lie ‘bout it.

Yui: *Nod* I can’t. When I imagine people’s sad faces out there, I just can’t do something like that.

(If we escape away, then I am sure that we’ll regret it later. More than that, I don’t want others to be disappointed.)

Yuma: Well, it’s true that I also did something horrible.

Yui: Please Yuma Kun, let’s go there together?

Yuma: It can't be helped. Then hurry up and finish making that cake.

Yui: Really?

Yuma: I can’t hear if you’re sayin’ something. ….That kind of attitude of you still hasn’t washed away, this stubbornness.

Yui: Not really. It’s very normal. 

Yuma: No, you are not normal. Hehe, you easily get swept away by the things that make you feel good.

Yui: —No, you are wrong!

Yuma: Hehe, you are red all the way to the neck.

Yui: (—! There are many things to say, but...it’s good that he accepted my favour.)

Place: サントノレパーク通り / Saint Honoré Park Street

Yui: (There’s a lot of traffic. People walking in the road also disguised themselves to have fun.)

Yuma: Oi...Don’t get lost from me.

Yui: Yes, Ne~ Yuma Kun. Did you remember about the carnival that we visited before?

Yuma: Huh? Very strange situation. It also remembered that. ...However, the situation right now is completely different from that.

Yui: Eh?

Yuma: At that time, it was a problem when those vampires got addicted to your blood, right?

Yui: If it’s so, then it’s completely different now.

(A human like me....no one is noticing me, even if I walk around them...It was a little mystery…)

Yuma: Perhaps….since your heartś replaced with a stone.

Yui: (I see...Earl has replaced my heart with a gem. For this, they are thinking that I am not a human, may be itś the reason for that…)

Ne, did the taste of my blood change?

Yuma: Haa...you’re looking so serious. Are you worrying ´bout it?

Yui: Huh?

Yuma: You said that you won´t feel comfortable like in the past, kukuh! Are you disappointed?

Yui: Itś not something like that…!

Yuma: Aah? It’s a bull’s eye y’know? But, don´t be worried. I don’t care ´bout taste or something like that.

For me, to make you feel better is more important than suking your blood after all, kukuh

Yui: Enough-...!

*Blushing* (Saying something like that...may me that’s a part of his kindness…)

(As I thought, I have to get back the heart as soon as possible.)

*After a while*

Yui: Ah, Clown San!

Clown D: Oh, you two huh~ Good to see that you come back after all~

Yuma: That was obvious. So? Did you make that cake?

Clown D: No way! I am just a clown out here, so I can´t make something like that~

Yui: You made it then?

Clown D: It’s a sweet shop-keeper~!

Yuma: What about getting that guy to make the cake over again?

Yui: Yuma Kun, it’s not fair to say something like this.

Yuma: Aah? But it's impossible to make it for an ordinary person, right?

Yui: That’s true, but…

Clown D: At first, go there and tell that ¨ I am sorry.¨ Spoiling such a huge cake, I can´t say something from my position, yḱnow~

Yui: Okay, we are going to apologize.

Yuma: Letś make it.

Clown D: I don't know whether it goes that easily, but good luck~!

Place: ザフィーア 菓子店 / The fear confectionery shop

Yui: (Waah! The sweets are lined up! How cute…!

(There’s also something called eat-in.)

Yuma: Oi! We haven't come here to eat sweets or something!

Yui: Umm...excuse me. I have heard that hereś the person who had made a giant cake in the plaza.

‘The fear’ store’s manager: Aah! That was my self-confidence work! That was a very splendid cake, right?

Yui: Aah...yes…

(Uuh, itś hard to cut out this topic…)

Yuma: Yup, that was tasty. The sweetness level was perfect.

‘The fear’ store’s manager: Aah, I am so glad to hear that! Come to think of it, who are you? How do you know the taste of that cake?

Yuma: Haa? By eating, ofcourse.

‘The fear’ store’s manager: Eeeeh!!??

Yui: That’s...many things happened and as a result, we broke that cake. We are really sorry!

‘The fear’ store’s manager:  Wawawa - What did you just say!? You broke that cake! That cake was specially made for the parade!

Do-do-do...Do you even know how much materials and time I had to spenk for that!!!! I won´t easily...forgive you!!

Yuma: Shouting like this, itś useless now to get angry for that.

‘The fear’ store’s manager:   What’s up with that attitude! You have broken my masterpiece cake...how terrible...uuuh!!

*The manager collapsed*

The fear confectionary assistant: Manager! Please hold on!!

Yui: Manager!?

The fear confectionary assistant:  Haah...first of all, I will listen to your conversation. Please continue if from the very first.

Place: ザフィーア 菓子店   厨房 / The fear confectionery shop, kitchen 

Yui: (Waah! The smell is very sweet. Thereŕe a lot of designers here! Everyone looks so busy…)

The fear confectionary assistant: Until recently, every members were just focusing on making a huge cake.

fear confectionery assistant: It has such a big size, so itś very didfficult to to arrange the materials, to bake and even to decorate…

This is why...when the cake was done, we were so happy that we held our hands in hands together.

Yui: Is that so...umm...we are really sorry.

Yuma: ….But, the paradeś is still continuing, right? That open place won look good if thereś no cake out there.

The fear confectionary assistant: We are getting so much advertisement from our customers...I want to do something.

Yuma: So, let’s start making the cake. Looks like a lot of workers are here. I am somehow excited.

Yui: Um..we will also help you out since we will pay your debt!

The fear confectionary assistant: Before the manager gives us the permission, I can make sure that we will be able to gather necessary ingredients.

Yuma: Haa? Are y'all gonn´ use rare ingredients or something? 

The fear confectionary assistant: It’s not like that. We are in the middle of the parade, so sugars won´t be available everywhere, and it will be harder to get.

When the sugar of our shop was out of stock, we were about to close the shop…

Yui: That’s…

The fear confectionary assistant: Did you notice that there are so many street halls, itś very unusual. There are so many…

Yuma: Well, I don´t get it well, but there's no other problem if you get the sugars, right?

The fear confectionary assistant: Yes...Flour, eggs and raw cream are still affordable.

Yui: (Sugar...I have no idea how much sugar we should get, but...we can´t give up.

We will manage the sugar but please make that big cake one more time!

Yuma: Haaa….

Yui: Please!

The fear confectionary assistant: Understood...I will pass your words to the manager. I am also requesting you to get the sugar.

Yui: Yes!!

Place: グリンマーストリート  表通り/ Glimmer Street, Main street

Yui: (Even though she told me the amount of sugar I have to get...but I didn’t imagine that they’re gonna need such a huge amount…)

Yuma: *Sighs* … … …

Yui: (He is being irritated for searching. Of Course the necessary amount of sugar is something to be shocked.)

Yuma: You! Y’re a completely stupid! Lastly ending up asking the necessary amount of sugar...what have you done, haa!?

Yui: Anyway, I want us to try out searchi individually  where sugar is available

Yuma: Haa? If we search individually, then the parade is gonn’ be over! Let’s steal those  from somewhere!

Yui: We can’t steal! We have to explain our situation and ask others!

Yuma: Damn! Y’ come up with such a lame idea!

Yui: I am sorry...

Yuma: We gotta finish up dealing with this. So? Where should we get started?

Yui: (Where should I say...)

SELECTION ー

Sugar House (Correct +)

Sugar making factory

Yui: What about Sugar House? Since it’s right over there, I am pretty much sure that there’s a lot of sugar stocked.

Yuma: Hehe, it sounds like a simple step.

But, those are very rare...don’t you think it will be a waste to ask them mashed sugars as they put such an effort?

Yui: You are right...maybe we should try going there...they will probably gonna distribute the unmashed sugars…

Yuma: Well, there may be restricted sugar which’s specially produced for parade.  ‘Kay, let’s go!

Yui: Mhm

Place: グリンマーストリート 表通りワゴン前 / Glimmer Main Street Wagon Street

Yui: (Phew...they didn’t understand our excuses pretty well, but they distributed sugars to us one by one.)

(People of this demon world are unexpectedly nice with me...may be because my heart is now a gem.)

(More importantly, Yuma Kun also helped me out...I also gotta do my best!)

Yuma: What’ are ya’ barging about, Sow? Watching me sweating while pulling the rear car, it’s funny to see, haa?

Yui: Y-you are wrong! I was about to thank you…

Looks like we are about to gather our target amount of sugar. Umm...next up isー

*Something sounds like wheel blusted*

Yui: (Hm? What’s this sound…)

Cotton Candy Shopkeeper: Aaah, that’s weird. I heard that it will get fixed by hitting, but I am not sure it will end up working or not…

Yui: “Cotton Candy”...I didn’t assume that there are such stores in the parade.

Yuma: This trouble...looks like I’m not the only one who’s experienced it.

Yui: Mhm…

Cotton Candy Shopkeeper: Oh, customers? I am really sorry for this...I am going to repair it right now.

Yui: Not really...Are you fine with it. We can help if you would like to.

Cotton Candy Shopkeeper: Oh, really? Thank you!

I heard how to fix it when I got this machine...but it’s making me scared now…

Yuma: Ah….As I thought, I know how to fix that.

Cotton Candy Shopkeeper: Eh!? Is that so? Can you help me out, brother?

Yuma: Kuku~ Leave it to me ….Haah!! 

*Yuma hitted the Machine*

*A huge sound of being damaged*

Yui: (This sound...could it be…!)

(Oh no...cotton candies just bounced and popped out from there…!)

Yuma: Ugh...Oi! Pick those up before more of those come out!

Yui: On it!

(He got such strength....anyway, let’s pick these up as much as possible!)

*After a they are done with picking candies*

*Repairing sound*

Yui: ….Hah..ha...Yuma Kun...I have reached my limit…!

Yuma: Tch! Get fixed already!!

*Yuma hitted machine more time*

Yui: Ah...looks like we did….

Cotton Candy Shopkeeper: Oh, looks like we’re done with repairing...Thank you so much!

Yuma: Np, I just hitted, that was all. Is that ‘kay?

Cotton Candy Shopkeeper: Fufu~ It was a great help. Take my cotton candies as a gift.

Yuma: That’s fine though, but if possible, we would like to have sugars.

Yui: For many reasons, we must have to gather some sugars...Please, can you accept this request?

Cotton Candy Shopkeeper: But...due to this circumstance, if I finish up using my extra sugars, then it will get tough to recover the crisis...

Yuma: Oi! Who do you think you get rescued from this circumstance? If you’re grateful, then give those!!

Yui: Yuma Kun, dont! We are so sorry for being rude.

Yuma: You!

Yui: I didn’t really intend to help for getting thanks or something. It was just about hitting afterall.

Cotton Candy Shopkeeper: I’m really sorry…

Yuma: ...ugh...Let’s go.

Yui: (It’s good that I convinced him. Now, let’s regain our mind, and go for the next step.)

Place: ザフィーア 菓子店   厨房 / The fear confectionery shop, kitchen 

Yui: (After all...we couldn’t gather the perfect amount..)

(But, we must do something...I should try out by requesting them)

‘The fear’ shop’s manager: I refuse!! I won’t make the cake unless I get the necessary amount of sugar, I told you, didn’t I?!!

Yuma: THIS - IS- WHY Make something using these, even though a small one!

The fear shop’s manager: No-no-n-n-n-o-! Stop speaking cocky despite being a lay, ‘cuz it’s just… The things can’t be done, means can’t be done!

Yui: Calm down Yuma Kun...But we still managed some sugars, right? Can’t you even barely make one?

The fear confectionary assistant: I know your feelings, but it’s still not quite yet.

Yui: But somehow…

*Someone Opens the Door*

‘The fear’ shop’s manager: Who’s there? Getting into the kitchen without my permission? What does that mean!

???: Oh, I thought there's a crisis of sugar in this shop...I get some sugar for you. Aah! It’s you guys.

Yui: Eh!? Why are you here…

Cotton Candy Shopkeeper: That’s to you that, my shop improved a lot! You were really a great help.

I announced to all the stallholders in the acquaintance for sugar and fortunately, I managed to get some...Here you go.

Yuma: Haa? This is too much! You can use it for cotton candy or yourself!

Cotton Candy Shopkeeper: I also thought about that for a while...Somehow I remembered that you guys were working so hard.

Yui: Really, thank you! How can I thank you? I don’t think I will be able to do anything for you…

Cotton Candy Shopkeeper: It’s fine! You said earlier, right? “ We’re not helping to receive thanks.” Those feelings of you made me happy.

Yui: (Ah…!)

Cotton Candy Shopkeeper: Fufu~ Seeing this kind woman to smile...I am so glad to see it. 

*Yui blushes*

Yuma: ...Earlier...That was my bad.

Cotton Candy Shopkeeper: Nope. By this, your problem has been solved, right?

‘The fear’ shop’s manager: Since, the perfect amount of sugar is collected, then we got no other choices but to make one.

Yui: This means…!

The fear confectionary assistant: Fufu~ Looks like we'll be busy for a while. Now, it’s time for the workers to get started. You guys, feel free to have some rest.

Place: ホテル・モーントシュタイン  客室 / Guest Room of Mortstein Hotel

Yui: (While waiting, they already prepared the cake…!)

*Sound of spoon*

Yui: This tart (French dish cake) is delicious! Ne, Yuma Kun, what ‘bout having a bite?

Yuma: No…

Yui: Eh? Kyaa!?

*He gets closer*

Yuma: You’re...really cool.

Yui: *Bushing* For any reason...?

Yuma: It was impossible. But...you made it possible at the end. Wonderful...As expected from my woman.

Yui: Embarrassing…!

Yuma: Then, I’ll make it more embarrassing...Nh..*KISS*

Yui: *Kisses back* Nh...nh… 

Yuma: ...kuku~....*kiss*...kiss*...I knew...you’re a perfect woman…*kiss*

Yui: (I am already embarrassed...But for now...I will be like this…)

Yuma: Gimme the tart. I want to eat it.

Yui: Here it is…

Yuma: Umm...tasty! Today, we have eaten only sweet stuffs *eats*

Yui: Yes…

Yuma: It’s fine in a while. Gimme one more.

Yui: (Today I was so exhausted but...I am so happy to have met with many kind people…)

— 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗡𝗗 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗢𝟭—

[scaryscarecrows]

Will Trade Soup for Intel

Potential Gotham Knights ‘verse. For those who did not see the trailer: Bruce is dead (pfft, suuuuure he is), Jim Gordon is dead (Jim, no!), the Court of Owls appears (this is gonna be bad), Batgirl and Robins 1-3 have guardianship of Gotham. For this piece: Penguin is also dead. Dove has his operation. And the flu. :p

***

Tim’s not sure where he thought Jason was going to take him. Honestly, because it’s Jason, he was sort of thinking, ‘seedy hole in the wall where retired hitmen go’. Or something. Or maybe an orphanage, or an under-the-bridge camp; the Alley Kids don’t throw bottles and needles at him, unlike the others. They demand rides.

(Yeah, it’s funny but also scary to see the Red Hood, known for his duffle bag of heads, giving a little girl a piggyback ride.)

This is not one of those places. This is some apartment building in midtown with a doorman and everything. And, y’know, it’s daytime, which...they don’t operate in the daytime that much unless they’re undercover, and they don’t appear to be. Jason told Tim to dress like a real boy and stick his domino on in the elevator, but he’s wearing what he always does; jeans, hoodie, heavy boots. And he’s carrying a brown bag that smells like soup. No helmet in sight, and Tim knows he won’t wear a domino now. They bug the scar*, he says.

“Where are we?”

“To see an old friend. I’m out of other ideas.”

“What, are they a conspiracy professor or something?”

“No.”

The doorman waves them through and they wait for an empty elevator. Jason presses the third-floor button and settles in, adjusting the bag in his arms. For all the crap they give...gave...Bruce about theatrics, Jason’s no better. He lives for building the suspense. Tim had nearly murdered him again for that stupid monk joke. Asshole. Ten minutes from his life, and for that? Humph.

A cotton face mask whaps him in the chest while he’s adjusting his domino and he frowns.

“What.”

“You’re fragile, and she’s got the flu, which is why we’re here in the daytime. I’m basically immune after my, um, upgrade points got cashed in, but you are a Victorian maiden who'll probably turn it into tuberculosis and die and I can’t deal with Dick after that.”

Huh.

…

Whatever. You lose one spleen…

He puts the mask on, too, making sure Jason sees his glower, just as the elevator dings to a halt.

Tim starts to suspect they’re not invited, exactly, when Jason shoves the bag at him and drops down to pick the lock. Though he does knock and call, “Don’t get up!”, so.

“There. Give me that before you spill something...hey, Miss Marquis! I brought soup!”

…

Jason couldn’t have just told him this, why?

There’s furious coughing in the other room, followed by movement, and a minute later Dove shuffles out, wrapped in a blanket and wearing what appear to be bunny slippers. She looks terrible.

“For the tenth time, I don’t care how immune you think you are, you’re going to get sick and I can take care of myself.”

“Haven’t gotten sick yet,” Jason says cheerfully. “‘Sides, it’s, like, partly a bribe.”

Dove doesn’t look convinced. Tim’s not convinced, either. Jason, when left to his own devices, can and will out-mother-hen Dick. He’s just usually scarier when he does it. More like Alfred.

Before any further argument can happen, Dove starts coughing again and winds up clutching the doorframe with one hand and holding the other up to keep Jason at bay.

“Thought you were gonna take Theraflu,” Jason says sulkily. Dove reaches up to pinch the bridge of her nose.

“I will take it if I need it, Hood.” Tim sympathizes. Theraflu tastes like sadness. At least Robitussin is nice. “I promise this isn’t my first flu, I am fine. ” This is not a battle she’ll win. Tim knows. Tim has tried and failed. Jason had loomed at him and told him, oh-so-nicely, that he would take the Theraflu or that it would breach his defenses. “What do you want.”

Jason holds up the bag.

“Fridge or bowl?”

“Fridge, please.”

“Tea?”

“If I say yes, will you settle down?”

“For now.”

She sighs and totters over to an armchair.

“Fine.”

“What kind.”

“I’ve got some sort of zinger tea in there, that would be very nice.”

Jason vanishes into the kitchen. Dove sinks into her chair, pulling her blanket tighter around her shoulders, and waves at the couch.

“Siddown, Robin.”

“Sorry we broke in,” he says, because Jason won’t. Dove just shakes her head.

“This isn’t the first time or the last time,” she says. “At least you used the door...if you need a drink or somethin’, help yourself.”

Jason comes back, steaming mug in his hands.

“I’ll get it,” he says. “Bird boy here shouldn’t touch the kitchen.”

Slander.

“Nightwing’s worse.”

“Still. Here y’go.”

“Thanks, honey.” Dove leans up to take it before shooing him back. “Now. Why are you here.”

Jason settles onto the couch next to Tim and leans forward, worrying at his lower lip.

“This is going to sound crazy.”

“Well, that’s interesting.”

“Do you know anything about the Court of Owls?”

Dove snorts, coughs, and takes a sip of her tea.

“What?”

“You know…beware the court of owls that watches all the time, ruling Gotham from a shadowed perch behind granite and lime. They watch you at your hearth, they watch you in your bed. Speak not a whispered word of them--”

“Or they’ll send the Talon for your head, I know the rhyme.” She takes another sip. “It’s a scary story to keep kids in line, you know that.”

“We thought so, but.” He shrugs. “”Had a run-in with...something...last night that, um. Looked a little dead. But not dead like me, dead like...I don’t know. It was like it wasn’t human anymore. Or ever. I don’t know.”

Well, that’s a surprise. Tim wonders if Jason just straight-up admitted what happened or if Dove got it out of him or from some other source.

“Croc’s not human, either, kid.”

“No. This thing...I didn’t...I broke its neck and it fucking twisted it back into place.”

Dove frowns.

“You’re sure?”

“Uh-huh. And before that I emptied literally twelve bullets into this thing and it didn’t even flinch. I’m telling you, something wasn’t right and it was wearing an owl mask.”

Tim nods.

“There have been four murders committed with daggers that have owl insignias on them,” he says. “We think these two things are related.”

“Owl daggers?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Can I see one?”

“I brought a picture. The daggers are police evidence.”

“Like you boys didn’t borrow one,” she says, but sits up when Jason comes over with the phone. “I’ve seen something like this before.”

Well, that was unexpected.

“When?”

“Years ago, now. Penguin had one that he got from who-knows-where. It went missing one night-we chalked it up to Catwoman and let it go-but we did have people offer to buy it a few times. Generous offers, too.”

“He wouldn’t sell?” Odd. Penguin loved money almost as much as his pet birds. “Can you remember who offered?”

“Rich men, you know the type. They like...oddities.”

Tim does know the type. During Dick’s stint as Batman, he’d stumbled upon an auction house that specialized in some nasty things, including a very particular crowbar.

(Jason, as far as Tim knows, has no idea about this.)

“Did he say anything about it?”

“No. He put it in his office, in a little case, and honestly, I sort of figured someone had tried to kill him with it. He was funny about things like that.”

That’s an understatement. Penguin had been very proud of the bottle in his eye, among other things.

Dove starts coughing again and ends up setting her tea on the end table. Jason’s halfway over there when the coughs turn to sputters and she manages to wheeze out a, “Fine. M’fine.”

“This is why you should take Theraflu.”

“Honey…”

“I can make--”

“Hon.” He shuts up. “I’m okay. It’s just the flu, give me another week and I’ll be back to normal.” She takes a shuddery breath and picks up her tea again. “I promise. Now. I don’t.” Another shuddery breath, but no coughing this time. “I don’t know anything else off the top of my head, but. Little fuzzy.” She tugs at her blanket until it’s closed around her neck, just under her chin. “If anything comes up, I’ll let you know-ow- shit --”

The coughs don’t stop this time and she winds up bent nearly double, arms curled up to, presumably, brace her ribs. Ouch. When they finally wane, she’s red-faced and wheezing and looking fairly well miserable. Tim’s just about to nudge Jason when she stands up, clutching her mug in white, shaky fingers, and says, “I am going back to bed. Lock up behind yourselves.”

“Can we do anything?”

“No, hon. But thanks. You boys.” A finger goes up and she sort of... hics ...but nothing happens. “You boys stay safe. Don’t do anything. Anything reckless.”

Reckless? Humph. They’re not reckless. Adventurous, is Tim’s preferred term. So one time he leapt off a building knowing his grappler wasn’t working. Dick caught him, like he knew he would. It was leap or be eaten, and being eaten was by far the uglier choice.

“Reckless? Us?” Jason mock-gasps. “Thanks. Soup’s in the fridge. Want me to make you a Thera--”

“ No. Thank you.”

THE END

*I’m debating on whether or not that scar is Joker-related (could be an aborted Glasgow?) OR Batarang-caused: maybe Bruce hit his face rather than his throat in this version of UtRH. Either way, ow.

[walpurga-nacht-academy]

Djinn’s Bride! ~A Celebration of Love~

Part 6

[Walpurga Nacht Academy]

[Djinn’s Lamp]

Rosa/Marcia: THIS IS THE WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORST-

Rosa: OUCH!

Marcia: OOF!

Cass: EEK!

June: SHIT!

Blanche: UGH!

Diana: …

Vita: My~ That was quite a fall, was it not, my dear Agatha?

Agatha: Hehehehe… It… was… scary… but… Big… Sis… always… lands… on… her… feet…

Vita: Certainly~ It would not do otherwise~

Blanche: Di-Dies-senpai?

Vita: Hm~ What it be little hare?

Blanche: Could you and Agatha please get off. We’re all squished undern-

June: HEY, SHITHEAD, GET OFF!

Rosa: OUCHOUCHOUCHOUCHOUCH- THIS HURTS! YOU’RE ALL TOO HEAVY!

Diana: …

Marcia: Aaaah, this is where we meet our end… Goodbye my wonderful future full of riches…

Rosa: THAT’S WAY TOO DEPRESSING! MARCIA STOP SAYING THAT!

June: SHUT YET TRAPS!

Blanche: Ugh!

Vita: My, my, what strength~

Agatha: … Ugh… stupid… big… chowder… sat… up… all… of… a … sudden… and… we… all… feel… off… No… grace…

June: HAAA? YA WANT YER HEAD OFF OR SOMETHING?!

Cass: Uuuummmm…

June: Ya ok ‘here, Cass?

Cass: E-Eh? Ye-Yes! Though for a mo-moment the wind was knocked o-out of me…

Rosa: I thought for sure we were going to die…

Marcia: Haaaa, that would have been better…

Rosa: It really wouldn’t have!! Maybe you’re fine with dying young, but I’m not!! I still have a ton of stuff to do, you know?! Dying like this would be way too inconvenient!

Marcia: Haaaaa…

Rosa: Grrrr! What’s with this attitude anyways?! After making so much trouble for the rest of us by getting that djinn out of the lamp, you decide to stick your head in the sand too?!

June: Tsk. That’s ‘hat happens when yer so fuckin’ greedy.

Marcia: Hm? Why are you looking at me when you’re saying that? I really don’t get it.

Rosa: Weren’t you the one who brought the lamp to the meeting?! Why do you think we’re blaming you?!

Marcia: Now wait just a sec! Yeah, I’m the one who brought the lamp in, but it was senpai who released the djinn inside! If anyone’s to blame, it’s her!

Blanche: That’s a foregone conclusion.

Marcia: Eh? Wh-What’s that supposed to mean?

June: Ya should have expected the shitty ghoul to pull shit like ‘his.

Rosa: That’s right! That’s right! Dies-senpai is a heartless person who only likes to amuse herself by making others miserable! You should have known beforehand she’d take advantage of the situation to make a mess like this! Seriously, Marcia! What were you thinking?!

June: Yeah, ya fuckin’ moron.

Marcia: HAAAAAAAAAAA?! You’re blaming me?! You’re seriously blaming me?! After all that was said?! Your heads seriously are screwed on wrong!

Rosa: Grrr!

June: YA WANNA PICK A FIGHT?!

Marcia: I’LL PICK ONE ALRIGHT! I’m not gonna stand here and let you dump on me like that when there’s only one person at fault!

Vita: Hm~?

Agatha: Don’t… point… your… stupid… finger… at… Big… Sis…

Marcia: Shut it! I’m serious right now! Even if you bite it off I won’t care, you brat!

Agatha: GRRRRRRRRRRR.

Marcia: Senpai!!

Vita: My~ Your furious face certainly adds a certain allure to your visage~ It sends shivers down my spine~

Marcia: Yo-You’re not gonna distract me with your weirdness now! I’m too worked up to think through what you’ve just said! Senpai!! Please explain yourself!

Vita: Oh? Explain myself? Whatever could you mean?

Marcia: You know perfectly well what I’m talking about!! Why did you let the djinn out?!

Vita: Ah. That.

Marcia: Yes! That! You knew there was a magical presence in the lamp and you set him loose on all of us! Please explain your reasoning behind that!

Vita: Hm~? ‘Tis not obvious?

Marcia: Not at all!! I can’t wrap my head around your thinking process at all! It’s like trying to navigate a maze with no exit!

Vita: My~ The compliments are pouring out of your mouth today, are they not?

Marcia: Senpai!!

Vita: Fufu~ But very well. Sweet nothings should be rewarded after all. ‘Tis always been my policy. If an answer you seek, then cease your wandering, my dear~

Marcia: … Wh-What’s that supposed to mean? I don’t get it at all!

Diana: Curiosity is man’s downfall.

Marcia: Eh? Curiosity? Downfall?! What are you talking about now, Diana?!

Blanche: … I’m afraid I understand what she’s talking about.

Rosa: You do?! Just from that?! You’re amazing, Blanche!

Blanche: … Th-That’s… Ahem. I advise you to restrain your enthusiasm, Rosalia. I’m doubtful you’ll be happy with what I’m about to say…

Rosa: I-Is it that scary?!

Blanche: Scary… Perhaps we could look at it that way too… But more importantly, I would say the right word for it is-

Vita: Gratitude~

Blanche: …

Rosa: Gra-Gratitude? For what exactly…

Agatha: The… stupid… amoeba’s… brain… is… so… small… eheheheheheheheh…

Rosa: GRRR!

Vita: Now, now, my darling Agatha~ We must always show patience, remember? ‘Tis not her fault for her deficiency~

Rosa: … I didn’t get that but it was an insult, wasn’t it?! I can tell, you know!

Vita: How perspicacious of you, little rose~

Rosa: Another one! That was another one, wasn’t it?! Is this really the time for that though?! Don’t we have bigger problems?!

Marcia: Give it up, Rosalia.

Rosa: Eh? Marcia?

Marcia: There’s no way you’re going to get through to senpai. Her mind is too warped. Like this issue of gratitude… I think I’ve got a grasp on it…

Vita: Hm~?

Marcia: That gratitude you’re speaking about… is it that you wanted to thank me for bringing such a fun ‘toy’ for you to play around with?

Vita: Correct~

Marcia: AAAAAAAAAH! I WAS AFRAID YOU WERE GOING TO SAY THAT! JUST DOING EVERYTHING AT YOUR OWN PACE WITHOUT CARING ABOUT ANYBODY ELSE. THAT’S RIGHT! THAT’S RIGHT! THAT’S THE WAY OF THE MAD FREE PEOPLE, ISN’T IT?!

Rosa: Ma-Marcia! Calm down! You’re having a breakdown!

Marcia: Right.

Rosa: .... Eh? Th-That was a quick turnaround…

Marcia: After some meditation-

Rosa: Meditation?! What meditation?!

Marcia: I’ve come to a conclusion. SENPAI!

Vita: Hm?

Marcia: I’m returning the lamp to you~

Vita: No need, my dear. Consider it part of your dowry~

Marcia: Eh~? No way~ I couldn’t possibly steal this magnificent item from its rightful owner~

Vita: My~

Marcia: And since you’re the rightful owner~ Because you are~ You should stay here and marry this guy instead~

Vita: Oh~? I simply could not~

Marcia: Are you thinking about my feelings~? How kind~! But you really shouldn’t~ I’m giving you my full support~ So don’t hold back~ Don’t hold back at all~

Rosa: … She’s really trying to skirt her duties.

Marcia: I heard that!!

Rosa: !!!

Marcia: If you think I’m taking the fall for senpai’s blunder, then you’re dreaming!! I’m washing my hands clean of this whole thing!! Ya hear me?!

Rosa: … Just a second before you begged her to give you the lamp.

Marcia: That was when I thought I could make a quick madol with little to no consequences!! Things are different now!! The consequences have come back to bite me in the ass!!

Blanche: She’s so frustrated everything is spilling out.

Diana: Mm.

Marcia: So, senpai!!

Vita: Hm~?

Marcia: Step up and do the right thing!! Take this creepy guy and marry him so we can go back!!

Vita: I refuse~ I despise men with such bland features~

Marcia: WHO CARES ABOUT THAT?! You think I want to marry a guy with such a lame sense of humour?!

Vita: Hm, that would be rather unfortunate~ But his overly excitable attitude is simply revolting. I will concede to you.

Marcia: I DON’T WANT HIM! HE’S REALLY OFF-PUTTING! YOU TAKE THE CREEP!

Vita: No~

Rosa: They’re really annoyingly stubborn!! Seriously, I know that marrying such a weirdo is not the best outcome, but aren’t they going too far? Don’t you think so, Blanche?

Blanche: … Rosalia.

Rosa: Eh? Blanche! But- Huh?! Wait! If you’re on my right, then who’s the one-

Djinn: …

Rosa: AAAAH! SO YOU’VE BEEN HERE ALL ALONG?!

Djinn: ...

Marcia: YOU TAKE HIM! I’D RATHER DIE THAN MARRY HIM!

Vita: ‘Tis a mutual feeling~

Djinn: …

Rosa: YOU MONSTERS! STOP TALKING! THIS SORT OF ABUSE WILL BREAK ANYBODY’S SPIRIT! JUST BECAUSE HE’S UGLY AND LAME DOESN’T MEAN THAT HE SHOULD BE FORCED TO ENDURE THIS!

June: … Yer one to talk.

Djinn: ...ugh..

Rosa: Eh? What was that?

Djinn: ...ough…

Blanche: ?

Djinn: ENOUGH!!

Blanche: !!!

Rosa: MY EARS!!

June: NOT ‘HIS SHIT AG’IN!

Djinn: ‘Monster’ is too light a word for you people!! Even ogres have more compassion! You devils! Don’t you know a young man’s heart is really fragile?!

Rosa: I-It kinda hurts how right he is...

Djinn: That’s it. I’ve decided.

Rosa: Eh? You decided?! What did you decide?!

Djinn: I really wanted a cute wife to come live with me and cheer me up when I am down and share my joys and sorrows! But you girls are much too troublesome and unpleasant!

Rosa: Eeeh?! But I didn’t even do anything?!

Blanche: That’s obviously a lie.

Djinn: So you’re all evicted from here-

Marcia: YAHOO!

Djinn: -except for my master!

Marcia: …

Vita: Fufu~

Marcia: DON’T YOU DARE LAUGH! And you!!

Djinn: Ah, don’t shout like that. I have delicate hearing, you know?

Marcia: Like I care!! More importantly, didn’t you just say you couldn’t stand any of us earlier?! What’s with this sudden switch, huh?!

Djinn: … Well.

Marcia: WELL WHAT?

Djinn: I guess spending eternity with you is still better than being alone.

Marcia: …

Diana: … He must dislike loneliness.

Rosa: Haaaa?! Aren’t you too casual about this?! The way he just spoke was super insulting, actually!!

Blanche: Indeed. But that aside…

Agatha: It… still… means… one… will… have… to… stay… behind… We… should… make… the… stupid… amoeba… do… that… hehehehehehehe…

Rosa: NOOOO! ANYTHING BUT THAT! DON’T LEAVE ME BEHIND! I DON’T WANNA! IT’S MARCIA’S FAULT SO SHE SHOULD STAY!

Marcia: IF ANYONE SHOULD STAY IT’S DIES-SENPAI!

Vita: Fufu, are we to cast votes? Then I believe that the world ought to be spared of violent brutes with barely a sliver of intelligence~

June: …

Cass: Mi-Mi-Miss Himalia?

June: … I... ‘nough…

Cass: Um…

June: I HAD ‘NOUGH OF ‘HIS SHIIIIIIIIIIIIT!

Djinn: !!! E-EH?!

back | next

[idnek83]

Aid - Chapter 4/13

Rating: Explicit

Pairing: Soda Kazuichi/Tanaka Gundham

Tags: Alternate Universe - Island Mode, No Game Spoilers, Masturbation,  Hand Jobs, Blow Jobs, Semi-Public Sex, Grinding, Wet Dreams, Anal Fingering,  Friends With Benefits,  Getting Together, Internalized Homophobia, Anal Sex

Summary: Everyone is hot and half naked because of their beach vacation. Soda is horny and tries to do something about it. Gundham tries to help and does. It all gets a little out of hand.

Chapter: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13

Read on Ao3

This Chapter: Soda is slowly realizing his relationships might be changing. Soda has some feelings, Gundham has a secret, and both of them blow off some steam.

_____________________

Once he was out of Nagito’s sight, Soda stopped and looked around. Gundham had gone to the beach? He said he didn’t like the ocean or whatever, but now he was apparently going to the beach on his own? Had he just made an excuse earlier cus he didn’t want to hang out with everyone?

Had Gundham just not wanted to hang out with him?

Soda hesitated. Gundham might just get even more annoyed with him if he showed up and crashed his secret beach time. Maybe he really should just take the food back to his own room, eat way too much, maybe cry a little, then pass out for the night. That sounded like an alright plan…

But his dumbass already had told everyone he was taking food to Gundham, meaning Gundham would definitely find out that Soda had purposely not looked for him and get even more pissed. God damnit. He really couldn’t deal with it if Gundham hated him.

He started walking towards the beach. If Gundham got mad he could just play dumb and say he was going for a swim, he was still in his swimsuit after all.

It wasn’t a great plan but, hey, it was a plan.

He wasn’t really sure what he’d find; Gundham swimming, or exercising, or taming animals, or like, trying to summon a demon. But when he got to there, Gundham was simply standing still, dressed once again in his swim shorts and scarf, staring out at the ocean with a troubled look on his face.

Something about it made Soda feel like he was seeing something private. Like Gundham really wouldn’t want him there.

Before he could even think about leaving, Gundham turned his head and caught sight of him. He looked surprised and… embarrassed?

“My… Kazuichi, for what purpose have you disturbed my dark meditation?” He didn’t look mad, but Soda could tell he wasn’t happy to see him. Ouch. Fair, but still ouch.

“Uh, Teruteru made food for everyone so… I thought maybe you’d want to eat some too?” He awkwardly shifted the bowl in his hands.

“Ah, if you are simply here to deliver sustenance, you may do so and leave.” Gundham gestured dismissively to a spot on the ground where he had laid out a towel.

Oh shit, he was actually super mad wasn’t he, Gundham must be one of those guys who just never yells when he’s actually pissed, just gets quiet and scary. Shit. Fuck. At least he was used to being yelled at, he didn’t know how to deal with quiet angry people. He really needed to apologize.

“Look Gundham, I’m really fuckin’ sorry, I shouldn’t have-“

“You are sorry?” Gundham looked surprised. God, he must think Soda is a real piece of shit to be surprised that he’d try to apologize. Soda’s chest felt tight. He was actually gonna cry. Gundham definitely already hated him.

“Y-yeah, I- look it was stupid and I’m stupid and I really didn’t mean to be so god d-damn shitty to you, I was just…” A stupid selfish asshole? An idiot chasing tail? The same useless fuck-up he had always been? God he wasn’t even worth the time Gundham was giving him to apologize. And now he was crying like some kind of pussy.

Gundham was standing in front of him now, Soda looked at the ground. Gundham didn’t need to see how ugly his face was when he was crying like a little bitch, and Soda didn’t want to see the look Gundham’s face when he realised just how truly pathetic he was.

“I just so- so fucking stupid and useless and-” He felt a hand on his naked shoulder.

“My sweet companion, I do not know what it is you are trying to apologize for,” Gundham pulled him close to his bare chest and began to gently stroke his hair “but I am certain it is not worth shedding your precious tears over.”

Soda sniffed, grossly, against Gundham’s shoulder “I t-totally ditched you today. I invited you out and the I just f-fucking left you.” His arms were just hanging at his sides while Gundham tried to comfort him. He had dropped Teru’s food. He felt incredibly stupid. He was incredibly stupid.

“I believe it was I who deigned not to accompany you.” Gundham moved his hand from Soda’s hair to his cheek, gently shifting his head so he was able to look into Soda’s eyes. “You have inverted the situation, dearest friend, I fear it is I who must ask forgiveness of you.” Gundham smiled in that soft way that made Soda’s chest hurt.

“I- huh? B-but I should have-“ He averted his eyes from Gundham’s face, he didn’t deserve Gundham’s kindness.

“Then I forgive you, if that is what you wish to hear. I forgive you for all that you believe you have done wrong, and I only ask that you to grant me the pleasure of your smile in return.” The hand on Soda’s cheek slid under his chin and lifted. Soda had stopped crying, but he didn’t smile. “Do not make me call upon my Deva’s, Kazuichi, you will not be able to withstand their wrath.”

Soda laughed weakly, turning his head to rest it against Gundham’s shoulder. “You didn’t a-actually bring them to the beach right?” He sniffled a little, feeling his tears drying on his cheeks “Isn’t it dangerous for them out here in the dark?”

“Ah, you once again prove to be wise beyond my perception. The Deva’s remain safely in their lairs.” Gundham’s hand was back in his hair, stroking.  “You’ve bested my deception with your dark insight, well done.” Gundham stepped back so he could look at Soda again. “Shall we partake in the rations you have fetched? Perhaps it would be best to converse after sating our hunger.”

Soda looked down at the food he had dropped, it looked like the lid had stayed on at least.

“Okay, y-yeah, that sounds like a good idea.”

They sat on Gundham’s towel and ate in silence, as Soda’s shaky breathing slowly returned to normal. He always felt so unsteady after crying, it was embarrassing. At least Gundham wasn’t making fun of him for it.

“Hey, um… Sorry about all that.” He said, staring at his feet. “I swear I’m not usually such a pussy, I just… had a weird day, I guess. Shit just kinda piled up and, well… I dunno, I guess I was worried you like, hated me or something?”

“I am… quite far from hating you.” Soda looked up, but Gundham turned away from him. “Why would you think I held such a feeling for you?”

“Cus of how I ditched you earlier! Like a complete asshole! What kinda friend does that?”

“So, the guilt you felt, believing you had abandoned me, that was what caused your emotions to spill out so violently?”

“I guess, kinda… yeah?”

“Ah, then I truly do own you my most sincere of apologies.”

“What? No man, it’s fine, really.”

“But it is my weakness which caused you such sorrow.”

“Your weakness?”

Gundham stood and turned towards the ocean. “As I said, it was I who chose not to accompany you. I… wished to partake in the ritual which our comrades suggested, however, I would not have been able to.”

Not able? Didn’t Gundham just hate the ocean or something?

“It is shameful but… I am unable to traverse Poseidon’s realm.” Gundham hid the lower half of his face in his scarf as he spoke.

‘Unable to traverse’? Wait, did he mean-

“You can’t swim?” Soda was sure he was misunderstanding.

What little Soda could see of Gundham’s face turned red.

“As I said, it is quite shameful. That is why I ventured here this dark night; I wish to overcome my weakness, so that I may partake when next I am bade to an aquatic ritual.” Gundham sighed “However, it is proving quite difficult.”

So he was trying to teach himself to swim? So that he could hang out with everyone next time they wanted to play in the ocean? That was… pretty cute.

“I could teach you.” Soda had spent some time checking out a busty swim instructor at a pool one summer, he figured he probably picked something up.

“You would aid me in this?”

Soda’s heart skipped a beat when Gundham spoke that word, and he knew he was blushing. He told his dick to shut up for a minute so he could help his friend.

“Course, I don’t mind. I missed you at the beach today anyways, so it’d be cool if you came next time.” Soda scratched his face and tried not to think too much about Gundham coming. “You wanna do this now or?”

“It was my intention to begin my training tonight. Does this suit you?”

“Sure, I could go for another swim.” He smiled at Gundham. Gundham smiled at him.

“Thank you, my dearest-”

A loud laugh could be heard coming from the direction of their cabins. Apparently their friends were returning from the other island. Soda saw the embarrassed look on Gundham’s face and realised he probably didn’t want the others to know about his ‘weakness’.

“C’mon, grab your stuff and let’s find somewhere else to do this.” Soda picked up the empty bowl they had been eating from and headed towards the rocky outcrop a little further down the shore. He could hear Gundham just behind him.

The “beach” on the other side of the hill wasn’t nearly as nice. It was essentially just a small patch of sand, surrounded by the rocky outcrop so you couldn’t enjoy the cool sea breeze during the day. But that also meant it was relatively isolated from the rest of the island and they wouldn’t have to worry about the others catching them here.

Swimming, they wouldn’t have to worry about the others catching them swimming here.

Gundham spread out his towel again and Soda bent over to set the bowl down next to it. When he straightened out, Gundham was behind him, staring. There was a moment of awkwardness between them.

“Uh, I guess we should get started then?” Soda laughed awkwardly and gestured towards the water, what was with this atmosphere?

“Yes, you are right.” Gundham removed his scarf, turned, and walked towards the ocean. Was Soda imagining it or did Gundham look a little… disappointed?

Weird.

Soda followed him into the water. The sun had set like an hour ago, but it was still plenty warm out and the coolness of the water was nice. Soda waded out until the water was at his waist, before diving forwards and enjoyed being submerged in the refreshing feeling for a moment. When he resurfaced he found Gundham staring at him with a worried expression.

“Don’t worry dude, it’s not even that deep here. If you think you’re gonna go under all ya gotta do is stand up.” Soda reached out and gave him a reassuring pat on the arm. Wow, he always forgot that Gundham was actually kinda jacked. His biceps were-

A topic for another time when he wasn’t trying to help his friend learn how to swim.

“Ok so uh, I guess we should just start with floating? Or do you know how to do that already?”

Gundham looked apprehensively at the water and shook his head.

“No worries man, just like, lay back and let the water catch you.” Soda demonstrated, then righted himself. “See? Easy. Your turn.”

Gundham slowly laid back, then promptly sunk below the water. Oops. Not easy apparently.

Gundham re-emerged, blushing and gasping. He turned his gaze to the shore.

“Perhaps-”

“Don’t worry about it dude, that was my bad.” He wasn’t going to let Gundham give up that easily. “Try it again, I’ll help you stay up this time.” Soda moved next to Gundham and put his hands out to catch him. “Just lay back again, I won’t let you go under, trust me.”

Gundham took a deep breath before laying back again. Once he was on his back Soda could tell his hands were the only thing keeping Gundham above water.

“Ok, so now you gotta just, kinda, spread your arms and legs.” He though back to the swim instructor, “Like a starfish.” Gundham complied and Soda felt the weight on his palms lessen. Almost there.

“K’ now you just gotta relax.” Gundham gave him an uneasy look. “C’mon, just like, take some deep breaths and close your eyes. I’m here dude, it’ll be fine.”

With a heavy sigh Gundham closed his eyes. He began taking deep breaths and Soda could feel the tension slowly leaving his body.

Soda felt kind of proud of him. This was probably pretty tough for Gundham, opening up and trusting another person like this. Soda wasn’t sure if he’d be able to do the same thing in his place.

Looking down at Gundham, Soda felt his heart beat a little faster. His face looked almost peaceful and his hair was a little messy. Apparently whatever product Gundham used to style his hair wasn’t waterproof. Soda let his gaze wander to the rise and fall of Gundham’s chest. He swallowed. Gundham had really nice pecs. And great abs. And thighs. And from what he remembered-

No, bad dick, helping Gundham comes first.

But maybe Gundham wouldn’t mind some help from his dick too?

“Is my form off?”

“W-what.” Gundham had opened his eyes at some point.

“I feel as though I am properly ‘floating’ now, but you seem to be examining my form quite closely. Am I doing something incorrectly?”

“Oh, no. You’re doing great. I was just…” Thinking about your dick. “Uh, anyways, why don’t we try a front float now?”

Soda waited until Gundham was standing and demonstrated floating on his stomach.

“So same deal as before, I’ll hold you up, so just focus on letting your body relax.”

Gundham lay forward, with much less apprehension than before, and Soda placed a hand on his stomach to support him.

God, Gundham’s abs. Soda couldn’t help but rub his hand over them a little, pretending he was adjusting his grip. Yeah, he was trying to focus on helping Gundham, but it was okay to be a little turned on right? Staring at Gundham’s back muscles wasn’t really helping the situation either. Why was Gundham in such good shape? Was training animals really that much work?

Focus Soda.

“You alright Gundham? Ready to try actually moving a bit?”

He felt Gundham tense up a bit, but he nodded anyways.

“Ok, I’ll keep holding you up for now so don’t worry. Just try kicking your legs a bit.”

–

Soda wasn’t sure how long they had been out there. He just knew Gundham was now able to do a passable breast stroke and that he had lost track of how many times he had blanked out just staring at Gundham’s body. He did know he had been caught more than once though. And that he had caught Gundham doing the same thing at least twice.

Gundham definitely didn’t need Soda to hold him up while he floated anymore, but he asked to do it again anyways, saying he wanted to focus on his form. Soda obliged, and Gundham didn’t ask why he placed one hand under his thigh this time, didn’t ask when Soda began to lightly squeeze and rub. Soda didn’t mention the quiet moan that escaped Gundham’s lips when he moved his hand to his ass, didn’t mention the growing bulge in Gundham’s trunks, just moved closer so Gundham could feel the one in his. Gundham didn’t stop him, instead he just stood, slowly, and pulled Soda in by his hips.

“Aid me.” Gundham pressed his cock into Soda’s hip, and breathed against his ear. “Please.”

Soda didn’t even have time to think about the way that word had gone straight to his dick. He grabbed Gundham’ hand and headed for shore.

He sat on Gundham’s towel, only to be pushed onto his back a second later. Gundham kneeled between his thighs and cradled his cheek.

“My sweet companion.” He whispered before ducking his head and kissing down Soda’s neck. Soda bucked his hips a little and slid a hand into Gundham’s hair.

“Fuuck, Gundham.” He moaned his name and bucked his hips again, the angle wasn’t right, he wasn’t getting the friction he wanted. He let out a frustrated groan.

Gundham must have understood what he wanted though. He slid his hands down Soda’s body and grabbed him by the hips, lifting them and pulling them flush with his own. Gundham lightly bit down on his shoulder and began thrusting against him. It wasn’t perfect, their cocks weren’t quite lined up right, but the friction caused by their swim shorts rubbing against each other as Gundham moved was still maddening.

“A-ah… my dearest… I- hah.” Gundham was moving quickly, nipping and licking at Soda’s neck and shoulders as he drove his hips forward. He was quietly moaning, his grip on Soda’s hips began to tighten, and his thrusts were growing stronger as he pulled Soda against him. He looked like he was already about to cum.

Gundham must have already been pretty turned on if he was getting close that fast. As hot as that was, Soda wasn’t ready for this to be over so quickly. He remembered he still needed to make Gundham scream.

“Gundham- ah- wait.” He ran a hand down Gundham’s back and squeezed his ass. Gundham slowed his thrusts. “What’s the rush? Lets slow things down a little.”

Gundham swallowed and stopped moving his hips. “Ah, my dark consort, I apologize. I was-” Gundham slid a hand back up to Soda’s cheek “Overcome.”

Soda shivered at the word. He didn’t think he had ever heard that tone in Gundham’s voice before. And ‘dark consort’ was new too, wasn’t it?

He wasn’t here to analyze Gundham’s speech though.

Soda squeezed Gundham’s ass again and moved his hands up to his chest, shoving slightly. Gundham got the hint and leaned back, only for Soda to follow him up. He placed his hands on Gundham’s shoulders and pushed him back until he was sitting so Soda could straddle his hips. Soda had planned to take the initiative, but Gundham didn’t give him time to.

Gundham’s hand found Soda’s hip, rubbing slightly before slipping onto his ass and kneading. He ran his other hand up Soda’s chest, teasing a nipple with his thumb before replacing it with his mouth. Soda gasped and tightened his grip on Gundham’s shoulders. He had though about sucking on girls’ tits before, but he never realised it would feel so good to have someone do it to him.

“Shit, Gundham.” He ground his hips down into Gundham’s. Gundham hummed in response, his deep voice resonating through Soda’s chest as he switched his attention to his other nipple.

Soda started grinding in earnest, enjoying the way he could feel Gundham’s breath catch against his skin. He reached down to free his cock from his shorts, then moved to do the same for Gundham. He couldn’t really see with Gundham still mouthing at his chest, so he did a bit of feeling around first instead. He traced Gundham’s abs with his fingers and used them as a guide down to Gundham’s cock. God, he forgot how big it was. He rubbed it through his shorts before finally freeing it. He couldn’t help it, he pushed Gundham back a bit so he could see his cock properly.

No fucking wonder he had sucked Gundham off in the beach house. His cock was just so… appetizing. He could literally feel himself salivating at the sight of it. He remembered how thick and warm and heavy it had been in his mouth last time. He wanted that again. He wanted it and he wondered if it would feel just as good in his ass.

His dick twitched but his mind froze. He probably wasn’t ready for that.

Yet.

Gundham was watching him. Waiting.

“What do you desire my consort?” There was that hand on his cheek again. He looked from Gundham’s cock to his face, his beautiful, flushed face. Gundham licked his lips. Soda followed the movement of his tongue with his eyes, and found himself focusing on Gundham’s mouth.

Fuck, he kind of wanted to kiss him.

Was that allowed? They had never really laid down any ground rules for their… relationship? No. Pact. That’s what Gundham had called it, and it was probably safest to just keep calling it that. Nice and vague. Obviously getting each other off was the main thing with their ‘pact’, they were just two bros helping each other relieve some tension, right? Did that make them fuck-buddies? Did people kiss their fuck-buddies? He’s pretty sure they did in movies, but then they always ended up falling in love, and he didn’t want that.

Right?

“Dearest consort?” Oops, guess he had been spacing out.

“Sorry, it’s just-” Probably best to just ask if they could kiss right? “I was um, t-thinking about your tongue? And like, uh y-your lips? Um- sorry.” or not. He had sucked this mans dick but somehow thinking about kissing him was turning him into a stuttering mess.

“Mmm, fret not, my consort, I understand.” Gundham gave him one of those soft smiles that did things to his heart and slid a hand down Soda’s neck, the back up, resting it on the back of his head.

Oh shit, okay. Here goes nothing then.

Gundham brought his other hand up to Soda’s chest and pushed him backwards. They ended up in the same position they had started in, only now with their cocks out and Soda’s legs spread wide. He wasn’t sure why they had to be in this position to kiss, but he wasn’t about to complain. He was all to aware how easy it would be for Gundham to fuck him in this position, and he was too distracted by how turned on that thought made him to notice Gundham was currently moving away from his lips.

Gundham was kissing his chest again, pausing to lick one of his nipples and give it a light suck before moving his head lower.

Oh.

No kissing then.

Soda felt… complicated. And complicated could wait.

The lips on his stomach reminded him he was about to get blown, and the hand wrapping around his dick reminded him that he was horny as hell.

Yeah, complicated could definitely wait.

Gundham was just barely pumping Soda’s dick. Teasing, Soda realised, getting him extra excited for the main event. Gundham kissed just below his belly button, then pulled away, making Soda whine. Gundham smiled and shushed him, pulling Soda’s swim trunks all the way off and moving back to where he had been, punctuating his action with another kiss below Soda’s belly button and a squeeze of his dick.

Gundham resumed his downward path, planting more kisses on Soda’s abdomen, each one getting just a little bit closer to his cock. Then, right when Soda thought there wasn’t anywhere else for Gundham to kiss, he lifted one of Soda’s legs and began to kiss along his thigh instead.

More teasing?

Soda couldn’t stand it.

He loved it.

He let out a frustrated moan. Gundham laughed and hummed into his thigh, then bit down gently. Soda couldn’t stop his hips from bucking a little, up into the barely moving hand Gundham still had on his dick. The friction felt good, so he did it again. Gundham used the hand he had lifted Soda’s leg with to hold his hip still and switched his attention to his other thigh. Soda couldn’t take it anymore.

“Gundham please! Stop teasing!”

“Were you not the one who said we should ‘slow things down’?” Gundham laughed against the spot where his thigh met his groin. Soda loved it and hated it.

“Y-yeah but c’mon, isn’t this a little too slow?”

“Mmm, then if that is your desire” Gundham finally put his mouth on Soda’s cock.

He kissed the tip gently before running his lips down the side and licking his way back up. Then he opened his mouth and sucked.

“Ah Gundham.” Soda couldn’t believe how good it felt. Gundham took more of his cock into his mouth and began to bob his head. Soda’s head shot back, and he felt like he was going to die from pleasure.

Gundham’s mouth was wet and warm and tight around his cock, and his tongue kept working along his shaft, making him feel things he could hardly describe. Soda knew he was moaning Gundham’s name, over and over, but he couldn’t stop. Every time Gundham pulled back he sucked hard on Soda’s cock and the only thing stopping Soda from thrusting up into Gundham’s mouth was that strong hand on his hip. He didn’t know where the hand on his thigh had gone, he couldn’t focus long enough to find it. He reached for the one on his hip and covered it with his own. Gundham moaned around his cock and laced his fingers through Soda’s, shifting so he could use his forearm to keep Soda’s hips pinned in place.

He was going to cum. He squeezed Gundham’s hand and looked down at him, trying to get his attention, trying to warn him in case he didn’t want Soda cumming in his mouth.

But the second he saw Gundham’s face, lips wrapped around his cock, eyes locked with his, and flushed the same way it had been when Soda had been sucking his cock, it was over. His hips were bucking against Gundham’s arm and he was cumming down his throat, his name on his lips. He could feel more than hear Gundham moaning around his cock, and the vibrations kept him at in ecstasy for just a little longer, before becoming to be to much for his sensitive cock.

“Gundham, please, it’s too much.” Gundham moaned again and pulled off his cock. He went back to Soda’s thighs, no longer gently kissing and teasing, but sucking and biting. Soda was vaguely aware of Gundham’s shoulder shifting rapidly.

“S-soda!” He squeezed Soda’s hand and buried his face into the crook of his thigh. He was so taken aback by Gundham actually calling him ‘Soda’ that it took him a moment to realise Gundham was cumming.

Oh, so that’s where that hand went.

Gundham kept his face pressed into Soda’s thigh for a moment, panting, before kissing it for a final time and crawling back up Soda’s body, releasing his hand only long enough to unhook his arm from around Soda’s leg before intertwining their fingers once again.

“You know I could have, uh, done that for you.” Wasn’t the whole idea of the pact thing to get each other off anyway?

“I’m sorry, my dear companion.” Gundham raised their clasped hands to his lips and kissed Soda’s fingers. “I simply could not resist. Between how beautiful you appeared in your ecstasy and sweetly you were calling my name-” Gundham sighed and smiled, looking into Soda’s eyes “I was bewitched.” He twisted their hands to kiss Soda’s knuckles without looking away.

It made Soda blush harder than anything else they had done.

That complicated feeling was coming back.

He never asked if it was alright to kiss him. He still hadn’t made Gundham scream.

Next Chapter

[chocafe]

under the mistletoe — bang chan

summary: “you know how my family keeps on setting me up on horrible blind dates? well, to make them stop, i told them that i was in a relationship and now they all want to meet this mystery person so… can you pretend that you’re dating me and come to my family’s christmas party?” genre: fluff, bulletpoints, friends to lovers, fake dating au

[txt] chan: guess what

[txt] you: what????

[txt] chan: you know how my family keeps on setting me up on horrible blind dates? well, to make them stop, i told them that i was in a relationship and now they all want to meet this mystery person so… can you pretend that you’re dating me and come to my family’s christmas party?

[txt] you: okay

[txt] you: WAIT CHAN WHAT

“you should be glad that i’m your best friend.” you sigh aloud as the two of you discreetly stood right in front of chan’s relative’s house. “not everyone would easily do something like this.”

in response, chan clicks his tongue against the roof of his mouth and states, “why are you lying? i know you’re here just for the free food.”

“i’m also here for the free desserts.” you mumble underneath your breath, agreeing with his truthful statement

as you were about to knock on the door, chan swiftly grabs a hold of your hand with a concerned look appearing upon his face. “wait! let’s rehearse everything one more time.”

“ah!” you pull your hand away from the wooden door. “we’ve been dating for─”

“five months.” chan abruptly interrupts

“yes, five months. the reason why i’ve never met your family is because─ um. it’s because i’ve been just so busy with life and our schedules never match up with one another?” a hint of confusion lingered at the end of your sentence.

a deep breath escapes chan’s lips. “try to say that with confidence if anyone asks you during the party.”

knock knock knock

the moment the door opens up

the two of you are straightaway greeted by chan’s aunts and uncles who were more than excited to meet you!

perhaps, they were more thrilled to see you than to see chan . . .

“how did you two meet?”

“how long have you guys been going out for?”

“what made you fall for our little boy, chan?”

“is chan a good boyfriend? come on, you can be honest with us!”

questions after questions after questions after questions

you were absolutely glad that you had chan besides you

because you were not prepared for any of these questions ! ! !

“everyone, chill out! you all might scare y/n by asking so many questions.” chan chuckles to himself, wrapping an arm around your shoulder (you know, to make everything look like that you both were in an real relationship)

just by chan’s small comment, the two of you were able to dash away from all of the endless questions that you two were unable to answer

because let's remember

the two of you aren’t even dating to begin with

“y/n, meet my cousins!” a wide grin stretches across chan’s face. “the one on the right is jisung and the emo looking one on the left is chang─ OUCH!”

“the name is changbin. i’m definitely not the emo one here.” changbin introduces himself, disregarding the fact that he had just punched chan in the stomach

“you guys, don’t be afraid to befriend one another.” chan adds in, still in an endearing amount of pain. “y/n, i’m going to leave you with them for a short moment, is that alright with you? i just need to quickly say hi to some of my other relatives that i haven’t saw yet.”

“that’s more than fine, my darling!” you exclaim in a tone filled with dripping honey and sweets

cringe

cringe

cringe

is what chan, jisung and changbin all simultaneously thought to themselves

maybe changbin wants to punch you too just by hearing those words slip out of your mouth

within a minute, chan disperses into the party and you’re left with his fellow cousins

“so…” you’ve never felt more awkward in your life than you did within their presence. “what do you two do for fun?”

“we talk shit about chan for fun.” jisung jokes while squealing through his set of laughers

“wow, i guess the three of us have something in common.” you utter to yourself

“what?”

“NOTHING I DIDNT SAY A SINGLE THING.”

“i can’t believe you’re dating a loser like chan.” changbin’s voice sounds harsh, which slightly confused you to the core

did he truly believe that chan was a loser?

or was he just joking around in an odd manner?

you had no clue, but saying you were triggered by his words would be an understatement

“loser? i mean, sure, he says some pretty weird things sometimes, but i truly think he’s far from a loser.” the tone of your voice quickly shifts alongside with the mood of the situation. “chan is such a responsible person and i personally really enjoy spending my time with him. he makes me happy, it’s as simple as that.”

“uh, y/n, we were just joking around.” the two boys respond back in slight shock. “there’s no need to be serious!”

you’re over here like oh shit i didn’t notice how serious i was getting

“GUYS I WAS JUST KIDDING TOO CHAN IS SUCH AN IDIOT!”

“i’m an idiot?” a mysterious voice questions you as their breath hits the roof of your earlobes

sometimes, things are too good to be true

and you felt that quote hit you right at that moment

“am i supposed to be flattered that i’m being called an idiot?” chan asks once more, but in no way was he serious

“out of all times, you just had to come right at this very moment?”

every party tends to get chaotic after a few hours in

the two of you fully acknowledge that after this hectic christmas party filled with infinite questions

it felt as if the whole party revolved around you two

“i didn’t know you had this many family members. let alone, i didn’t know that every family member of yours had a question pre-planned for us.”

the both secretly hid in the empty hallways, filled with no one, except the bodies of you two

“i’m sorry.” chan wants to tell you that everything will become easier from there on, but that surely will be a flat out lie. “i didn’t know that everyone would put you right in the spotlight. if i knew this, i would’ve taken more time to plan everything out, but i didn’t. once again, i’m sorry for putting you through this situation.”

chan’s head falls down, almost resembling a pitiful child

“hey, don’t worry about it!” you lightly hit his arm in a playful manner. “we’re friends, so i don’t mind doing things like this for you. even though it’s hectic, i do find this sort of fun.”

just by your encouraging words, the ends of chan’s lips slightly move upwards in relief

“well, if you think that way then i’ll thank you for everything instead of apologizing.” he reaches for you hand, interlocking them together, as he pulls you down the hallways. “let’s get back to the party. if we’re gone for too long, everyone will start to question us.”

on a winter day, there was no need for you to crank up the heater

because chan’s hands were possibly warm enough to heat up your entire body

“before we leave, i just want to tell you something.” you pause, pulling chan back into the hallways. “i don’t think you’re an idiot! i’m sorry abut before. i was just joking around with your cousins and─”

you suddenly stop mid-sentence as you felt chan ruffle his hands throughout the top of your hair

“y/n, i didn’t take any of that serious. however, i do appreciate the fact that you’re apologizing for such a small thing.”

by the time you two walk back into the party

the loud voices of chan’s relatives infiltrate your guys ears

“stop right there!” jeongin yells in demand

confusion i am CONFUSION

“look what we have here!” minho says in excitement as he circles you two like a predator. “we have a couple walking underneath the mistletoe!”

mistletoe….?

your head shoots up and your eyes lay upon only one thing in the whole entire room

which was the mistletoe you and chan were currently standing underneath

shit

you’ve never kissed your best friend before and you had no idea that today was going to be the day that you overcome that mission

“you guys can’t enter the party unless the two of you kiss.” 

jeongin is scary for a small little teenager, you think to yourself

“oh my god! i’m so excited, i seriously thought chan was going to be single for his entire life.” minho, on the other hand, is more thrilled than you could ever be

and you’re the one who’s supposed to be kissing chan

“don’t be scared.” chan whispers, only wanting you to hear his voice

he was right

there was no need for you to be scared

BUT KISSING WAS NOT ON UR GUYS CONTRACT?????

and before you knew it

you and chan were kissing underneath the mistletoe

chan’s kiss wasn’t the same as those movie stars you see in those international netflix films you binge watch

instead, his kiss surprisingly felt like home

and everything around you (including chan) just felt absolutely right in that very moment

you’re not sure if your heart was racing because of the kiss you shared with chan or because you ate waaaay too many sweets at the dessert table

“AAAAAHHHH I ATE SO MUCH!” you gushed out, resting a hand on your stomach

“man, you really weren’t lying when you said that you were coming just for the food.” chan nonchalantly comments. “oh yeah, i forgot about the reason why i brought you outside”

chan’s hand vaguely searches throughout his pocket for a tiny box that only he was aware of

“here’s a little present for you.” he places a box within the palm of your hands. “merry christmas, y/n!”

you’re almost shot dead by chan’s warm smile (that happens to be much more brighter than the sun)

but you won’t let him know that

“chan, i can’t accept this!” you attempt to give the gift back, but chan wasn’t taking no as an answer. “i thought we agreed that we weren’t going to get each others presents this year?”

“well, i lied.” chan laughs to himself as if it was nothing. “listen, i’m thankful to have you in my life, so can you please accept this gift?”

in response, you nod your head in agreement

however, this isn’t going to stop you from buying a gift for chan in return

within the box was a necklace made exactly to fit your peculiar taste

it was more than you can ever imagine

“chan, i love it!” you immediately wrap your arms around him, pulling him into a tight hug. “can you put it on for me?”

“w─ why do you want to wear it so quickly?” he stammers over his words due to the sudden embrace

“because i like the gift, idiot.”

and i think i might also like you too, idiot

chan hesitates to lock the necklace around your neck

if you were to tell him to do this exact action a week ago

he wouldn’t hesitate

nor would he even bat an eye

however, this time felt so different compared to the other memories you two shared

somehow, he manages to wrap the necklace around the nape of your neck

did you always look this lovely? chan ponders to himself as he watches you admire your new gift as the cold winter breeze brushes by

“um, l─let’s head b─back inside!” chan speedily grabs onto your hand, pulling you inside the lively house

without a single thought, you noticed how chan constantly kept on fumbling over his words

instead of questioning it, you come to the conclusion that maybe the wind was causing him to do such a thing with his speech pattern

in reality, it was all because of you

“look!” the sound of your voice instantly catches chan’s attention as the two of you continue to hold hands. “it’s another mistletoe right above the entrance.”

chan releases a deep sigh. “my family is filled up with a bunch of hopeless romantics. why do you think i had to lie and say that i was in a relationship?”

“well,” you pause for a second before proceeding on. “do you want to walk underneath it?”

chan’s mind: JDOIJFPW292-?F900RI?/!<39/?????????

“you can say no. chan, i don’t mind.”

“wait, don’t think that way!” shades of pink begin to fill up chan’s cheeks. “i would actually love to walk underneath it once more with you.”

once again, the two of you found yourselves standing underneath the mistletoe

but this time

no one was chanting for the two of you to kiss

instead, the two of you voluntarily kissed

finally accepting your guys true feelings for one another

[hellcaster901]

The Wedding Pt 6

Summary: Y/N is getting married in a few months, and its something that she’s been looking forward to for a while. But she runs into an old coworker, one that she just can’t help feel a connection to. Not only is her best friend not helping, but she’s trying to figure out now what she really wants.

Warnings: None, but there will be more soon!

Author’s Note: I hope you guys are staying safe and staying healthy in this crazy time! Hopefully reading makes things seem a bit less scary for us.

This is a bit of a shorter chapter, but the next one will be worth it.

Masterlist

~~~

We dressed in silence, taking sly looks at one another, a satisfied smirk on our faces as we dressed. I reached for my phone, not surprised that I didn’t get a message from Adam yet, no calls or anything, but I did get a call from Mary, and a small text that says ‘you owe me’. I rolled my eyes, looking back at Negan. He stood there, a shit eating grin on his face as he stared at me.

“I should be going.” I smiled, looking at the time, knowing if I didn’t leave now I would stay here all day. He nodded, looking over me. “I’m gonna…” I pointed at his room, stepping away from him. I turned quickly, jogging up the stairs and grabbing my pants. I pulled his sweats off of me, tugging the jeans up and letting his shirt fall softly on my waist. I bit the inside of my cheek, wondering if I should sneak this shirt out or just leave it and regret it later. 

“You can keep it.” I jumped, turning and seeing Negan leaning against the door frame, arms crossed, staring at me with an amused smirk. “I don’t wear it, keep it on. It looks better on you than it did me, that's for sure.” He smirked, I blushed, grabbing my own top and folding it. 

“I guess I’ll take it.” I chuckled. Negan followed me as I grabbed my shoes, watching me as I moved around him home, gathering my things, almost making sure there wasn’t a trace of me when I left. I tugged my shoes on, shoving my shirt in my bag, my engagement ring scraping against my hand from the side pocket. I froze, reminding myself what I was going back to. I tugged the ring from the pocket, staring down at the rock. I twisted it in my fingers, the ring slipping through my fingers, landing on the floor and rolling towards Negan. “Shit.” I cursed, ready to reach for it as Negan bent down and grabbed the giant rock.

“Damn, he must really love you with the size of this thing.” He joked, inspecting it under his gaze. I scoffed, rolling my eyes.

“It’s so bulky, I was never one for a giant rock on my finger.” I chuckled, thinking back when he proposed. We were with his family, a family vacation and he popped the question on the first day. I remember panicking, saying yes to not embarrass us t in front of his parents, thinking that’s what my answer was. Negan held the ring out to me, the ring looking like a doll's toy in his massive hands. I held my palm out, but he quickly grabbed it with his other hand, turning my hand over. I stopped breathing as he looked down at my small hand, his thumb brushing against my knuckles. It was as if time had stopped as he lifted the engagement ring, slipping it over my ring finger, the band leaving a trail of fire as it made its way down my finger, finding its home as Negan let go. If I were to drop dead now, I’d be happy.

I looked up at him, my mouth gaped, the ring and his hand burning as skin, our eyes locking as he looked up at me. I could see he was surprised with what he did, not thinking of what he was going to do, but just did it. And with how much I didn’t want to feel, but my heart swelled, the thought of Negan proposing to me left me hot, left me happy, left me… excited. More than what I felt when Adam proposed. That scared me. 

I tugged my hand from his, hurriedly fixing my hair, a blush rising on my cheeks, making some excuse that I had to water my plants. Without a glance back at him I left his house, frantically unlocking my car and making a fast exit. 

I hardly remembered the drive as I pulled into my apartment parking lot. Cutting the engine and sitting there, speechless at what happened, speechless at what I felt. I searched for my phone in my bag, grabbing the machine and dialling Mary’s number. I put it on speaker, setting it on my dashboard, staring out the window with wide eyes. I must’ve looked crazy. 

“What happened?? Tell me everything!” She rushed into the phone, her excited voice filling my small car.

“Mary, it was… perfect.” I sighed, dropping my head to the steering wheel, the harsh rubber hitting my forehead. “The sex? Perfect.” I hummed, thinking back to all of it.

“God damn.” She sighed with me, hearing me talking about it all. 

“And we fell asleep together on the couch.” A smile rising on my lips.

“How did that happen?” Mary questions, the need to know was in her voice. 

“We sat there.” I explained, “And just talked, and it was perfect. It was like everything just felt right and I must’ve fallen asleep before him and he didn’t even want to move me for him to be comfortable.” Mary gave a wanted sigh, I’m sure imagining what it was like to sleep in his arms. 

“Girl, you have him wrapped around your finger.” She giggled. I shook my head.

“I think he has me wrapped around his finger.” I weakly fought back, “Adam didn’t even text me or call me once after I talked to him last night.” I mumbled, switching the topic. “I don’t even know if he’s home or not.” 

“He didn’t even check up on you?” Mary scoffed, “What an ass.”

“Stop it.” I rolled my eyes, lifting my head from the steering wheel and grabbing my stuff. “I’m sure he was just busy, I get being busy with the guys happens.” I brushed off, locking the car as I made my way to my apartment. 

“Um that doesn’t matter when you have a fiance.” Mary bit back. 

“Look, how about I call you once I settle, okay?” I huffed, climbing the flights of stairs to the apartment, just realizing how sore everything was on my body. “If Adam isn’t here, do you want to come over?”

“Already showering.” Mary laughed. “Bye!” She yelled. I rolled my eyes as she hung up, shoved the phone in my back pocket and grabbed my keys. I unlocked the door, none of the lights or anything were on as I stepped in. A sigh of relief left me as I dropped my stuff, dragging my body towards the shower.

I groaned with delight as I sprawled out on my bed, clean and in new clothes, checking my phone once again to see if there was anything from Adam, and again, nothing. I sighed, typing out a quick message.

‘Back home. Hope you had fun last night. Love you.’

I waited a few seconds, wondering if the bubbles were going to pop up, or anything, but nothing happened as I laid there. 

---

I groaned loudly, shoving my head into the ocean of pillows Mary kept on her bed. I didn’t know what to say or even how to start the conversation. “Why am I doing this!?” The pillows absorbing my muffled scream, “Why did I fuck him in that disgusting bathroom?” 

It had been a week since I had my sleep over of passion with Negan. A week since I’ve talked to him. Not that I was freaking out about it.

“From what you told me, you enjoyed that dirty bathroom.” Mary teased, I shifted my head, giving her a death glare from behind my hair, she only chuckled. “Look, you don’t have to say anything to him, or even see him. Just ghost him.” I scoffed, “But,” She added, flicking my arm, I mouthed an ‘ouch’ as I sat back up, pushing my hair down. “If you feel like you need to talk to him, just text him and tell him that things need to end.” The phone felt strangely heavy in my hands, the on going fact that I was going to send a fucking ‘break up’ text to man I’m not even dating, “Do you really want to end it with this man?” Mary emphasized, “You look pretty heart broken over the fact that you have to do this.” I shook my head.

“He’s just something fun.” I mumbled, convincing both of us as I tapped on the messages, the keyboard popping up on the screen. “Mary, he was married before, and it didn’t work for him. I don’t even think he’d want a relationship.” I explained, my thumbs hovering over the keyboard. A relationship was something I was already in.  It was ridiculous to act this way, to freak out from not talking to him for almost over a week, but maybe that’s just my insecurities talking. Maybe some part of me actually thought this was more than just a hook up… and if that’s the case I needed to end this now before it got too serious.

“Have you guys even talked about this becoming more?”

“No.” I laughed, shaking my head, thinking back to when we agreed it was just for fun. “Am I overreacting? I feel like I’m overreacting.”

“Maybe a little bit?” Mary whispered.

“I feel like this is becoming more to me.” I mumbled, dropping my phone. Mary’s eyes widened, both of us surprised that I admitted something like that.

“What do you mean more to you?” She questioned. I shrugged, staring up at her, maybe admitting to myself that this was something more to me than a hookup.  

“What if I’m getting into my own head? Thinking this is more than what it really is.” It was embarrassing to admit that maybe this is something more to me. Especially to someone like Mary who wanted me to end things with Adam the second we started dating.

“How do you feel about Negan?” She sincerely asked. I shrugged again, almost feeling like a teen talking about their feelings. Maybe I was one, confused and hormonal. 

“He’s just… Negan.” I explained, trying to find the right words to explain a man like him. “He’s charming, and he makes me feel amazing.” I smiled, thinking back to those very exciting times with him.

“It’s obvious you got something there for him.” Mary smiled. But i shook my head, sitting up straighter.

“Look, me and Adam already spent so much money on this wedding and I can’t just leave him after a few good fucks.” I rushed, grabbing my phone. Before I knew it my thumbs were typing out a message, basically saying whatever me and Negan had was over and there’s no need to message me again. I almost finished the message before the phone was yanked from my hands. “Hey!”

 “Look, how about we go get some food, maybe sit down, get some food in you and then you think about it a bit more, does that sound good?” I hated when Mary talked to me like a child, but right now, that’s all I really needed. “Maybe let you think about what you really want.” I nodded, a small pout on my face. “Lets go dummy.”

--

I sat there patiently waiting for Mary as she used the bathroom, taking small sips from my drink, looking around the small Qdoba we sat in. I couldn’t even play on my phone since she took it from me, slipping it in her back pocket and didn’t plan on giving it back to me once we finished eating. I was stuck here looking around at the place. 

I knew I was making rash decisions, but the fact was that I’m in over my head. I’m an engaged woman, messing around with a man who was basically twice my age. A man who knew what he was doing and making me feel satisfied at each chance he got. But besides the sexual part, I don’t think this was anything other than that for him. For me… I’m not sure. I’d be stupid to not look at the connection I had with the man, to not see that there was something more than the physical attraction. But maybe that was just in my head, and all there was was physical attraction. With Adam, I’ve been with him for almost 3 years, I loved him enough to say yes to a proposal. Loved him enough to start spending money on a wedding. I couldn’t stop now and end it all while we’re so close. 

“Hey.” Mary smiled, sliding into the booth. I smiled at her, taking another sip from my cup. “Whatcha thinking about?”

I rolled my eyes. “You know what I’m thinking about.” I huffed, biting down on the straw.

“Duh.” She rolled her eyes with me, “But what are you thinking is the right choice for you.” I shrugged again, leaning back against the booth.

“I think I need to-” I glanced at the door, my eyes widened at who I saw. “What the fuck?” I gasped, watching as Negan opened the door, smiling at a young girl, who looked 18, as she stepped into the building. “Mary.” I whispered harshly, ducking my head down, moving my hand up to cover my face. Mary looked at me with confusion, turning to see what I flipped on but I quickly kicked her shin.

“What the hell?” She groaned, pulling her feet away from me. 

“Don’t be so obvious.” I hissed, glancing back at Negan and the girl. “But look who just came in.” I whispered. I watched as she awkwardly looked at me, awkwardly turning her body like she was going to pop her back. I watched as she glanced over at Negan, a gasp leaving her lips. She twisted back to me, her eyes wide.

“She looks 16.” She hissed at me, “Who is that?”

“I don’t know.” I hissed back. My eyes still glanced over at the two of them. There wasn’t any affection from what I could see. But I could tell from her body language she was flirting. The way she pushed her chest out, making eye-contact with him, touching him at any chance she got. “That can’t be his sister, or any cousins.” I tried to think of every excuse this man could give to who this girl was. 

“She looks like a baby!” I nodded, watching as they waited in line, Negan not bothering to look around the shop. I watched as he smiled down at her, talking with her. Whatever he was saying, was funny enough for her to laugh, lightly slapping his chest. Our food that sat before us was forgotten as we watched Negan and this girl. “Seriously, she looks like she's 16.”

“I think she might be.” I frowned, winching at the thought of Negan being with a minor. I tried to suppress the thought, chills running up at back at the possibility.

“No.” Mary scoffed, shaking her head. “I don’t think he’s that much of an idiot to be doing something like that.” I watched as he smiled, a laugh leaving his lips, my heart sinking, my own mind telling me to smash my head against the table as I over thought everything.

“You gotta be kidding me.” I groaned loudly, dropping my head to the table. It was like the universe was wanting to fuck me over today, make sure my life was a living hell. 

“We’re leaving.” She whispered, standing up and going to the condiments bar. I tried not to look back at them, avoiding the two of them as Mary came back with lids for our bowls. I quickly shoved the top on it, grabbing my drink and turning around. I glanced back at Negan and the girl, Negan smiling down at her, laughing at something she said. I watched the way she lightly touched his arm, her hand lingering. “Let’s go.” Mary whispered, tugging me along. I glanced back at Negan and the ‘teen’, the air leaving my lungs as we made eye contact, confusion written on his face before his eyes widened slightly at my confused expression.

I felt like my lungs were ready to collapse. Of course, we weren’t together, yes I was engaged, but I thought there was something there. 

“What the hell was that?” Mary scoffed, still dragging me by the arm towards her car, my mind blank, nothing coming out of my mouth as I tried to process what was going on. “I can’t believe him.” The rant Mary went on was through one ear and out the other as she rambled on, angry for me, and angry that she thought he was a good guy.

“It could’ve been nothing.” I shrugged, still letting Mary drag me to her car.

“Y/N!” Negan’s voice rang through my ears, Mary tugging me harder to her like I was some child.

“Don’t bother, Y/N.” She shook her head, letting go of my wrist as she grabbed her keys. I barely said a word as I climbed into her car, setting my lunch on my lap, buckling myself up without a word. I didn’t even bother looking at Negan as Mary pulled out, driving off without giving Negan a second look.

Through the car ride Mary rambled, angry that she let me get caught up in Negan, angry that she pushed me to get caught up. Angry that she thought this was good for me.

“Look, we don’t know if anything is going on between them.” I shrugged, trying to come up with some excuse, hoping this girl wasn’t a minor. 

“You kidding me?” Mary hit the wheel, shaking her head. “Maybe this is his kink, he likes to fuck with younger woman, probably the only thing that gets him off.” She protested. My heart only cracked more at the thought of the possibility of that. Was he only with me because of my age? Is that really what this all was? And moved on to the next young piece of ass? I shook my head, trying to chase away the thoughts Mary was shoving in my head. 

“Look, maybe this is for the best.” I sighed, running a hand through my hair. “Maybe this is a sign that my fun is over and I just need to focus on the wedding.” Mary slammed on the breaks as she found a spot in my apartment complex, turning to me with a deranged look in her eyes.

“Do you want to be with Adam?” I scoffed, almost offended with the tone she used with me.

“Of course I do.” I shrugged, cracking the lid off my bowl. With a huff, Mary grabbed the bowl, setting it on the dashboard. 

“Y/N.” She snapped, a hum of protest leaving me as I watched her move the bowl closer to her. “Look at me.” Again, I felt like a child, but I did as I was told. “Do you really want to be with Adam, or is being with him the safe option so you don’t go hurting his feelings and not throw away the almost 3 years you have with him?”

I stayed silent, choosing not to answer. When she put it like that… I wasn’t sure. I sighed, dropping my head onto the head rest, all these emotions and feelings going through me, and I wasn’t sure what to do.

“Look,” I started, staring out the window, knowing if I looked at Mary as I said this, I’d only start crying. “Ever since I saw Negan again, he’s all I can think about.” I confessed, my chest tightening as I even thought of his smile. “Being with him has only made things a bit more confusing about what I want. But now…” I sighed again, thinking of the girl he was with. Maybe I was overreacting and the girl was a niece or something, but I don’t remember him mentioning he had siblings, or anything like that. And maybe I was being overly sensitive about it all, since we really weren’t together, what was going on was just for fun. “I don’t know. I just feel like I got broken up with.” I explained. Mary sighed next to me. I saw her move out of the corner of my eye, and then a small weight was placed on my lap. I looked down, my Qdoba bowl resting on my thighs. I chuckled looking up at her.

“Lets eat before this shit gets gross.” She laughed.

---

We sat in the kitchen, sipping on beers as Mary let me think things over, trying to decide what I really was going to do.

“Okay, so on one hand you break things off with Negan, marry Adam and have a loveless marriage.”

“Mary.” I warned, she held her hands up, rolling her eyes with a wink at the end.

“But on the other hand, you break things off with Negan AND Adam and you become single again where we can go back out again and find someone else for the both of us?” She grinned, wiggling her eyebrows. “One is looking like the better option here, and I think we both know which one it is.” I only shook my head as I took a sip. My phone vibrated against the counter, the name ‘Negan’ popping up. I froze in my spot, looking up at Mary. She stared wide eyed at the phone, looking back at me. “When’s Adam gonna be home?” She questioned. I glanced at the clock on the oven, 5:30.

“In about 30 minutes.” I mumbled, the buzzing stopping. I stared at Mary, a simple shrug was all I got from her. She went to open her mouth before my phone started buzzing again. Negan’s name back on the screen. I watched as her face scrunched up. “I’m not going to answer.” I huffed, setting down my beer, crossing my arms. Mary nodded, leaning back in her chair as we watched the phone buzz until it finally stopped. I tried to think of the reasons why he would call me, especially twice in a row. Was it to apologize with what happened today? Explain what was actually going on? It’s not like he should, we weren’t together and there was no need to for him to apologize, but I felt like I needed one. 

“Anyway, I think you need to be single again where we can go back out and mess around.” Mary went on, talking about how I can move in with her when I broke up with Adam, we can go back out drinking every night like we used to and go crazy again. 

“Mary, I didn’t say I was going to break up with him.” I huffed, rolling my eyes. “I still need to figure things out.” I waved a hand. “It’s not like I can just break up with him and not be stuck with cancelling everything we already have for the wedding.” I explained. I tried to think about what I really wanted, whether it be with Adam and make things work, or be it by myself with Mary in her apartment. I took a deep breath, staring down at my phone, the screening lighting up with a text.

“Is that Negan?” Mary mumbled against the rim of the beer, tilting it back and downing the rest. I nodded, grabbing the phone and swiping on the message.

“‘Can we talk?’” I read outloud. The small text bubble came back up, the three dots blinking at me as he typed. My jaw dropped at the next text that popped up, Mary sitting up straighter at my expression. “‘I know you saw us, I want to explain.’” I looked up at her, jaw still dropped as she tried to think of something, anything to say. “What do I say?” I panicked, looking back at the messages. “Do I leave him on read? Or do I end it now.” Mary didn’t say a word as she grabbed the phone from me, her thumbs working quickly. I sat there, wondering what she was saying, as she typed, deleted some, typed again, and repeated her whole process until she stopped, reading over what she typed. “What does it say?” I asked, she handed me the phone, as I carefully grabbed it, making sure I didn’t touch the screen and accidentally sent the message.

‘There’s no need to explain. If there was someone else, you should’ve told me. Hope it works out for you two.’

“Really?” My nose scrunched at the text, it sounded very passive aggressive.

“You don’t want him thinking that he can walk all over you, right?” She defended the text. “If he thinks you’re okay with him seeing someone else while you guys mess around, then he’ll keep walking over you.” She smiled.

“Mary,” I sighed, setting the phone down, “I’m literally engaged and I’m messing around with him. I’d be a hypocrite to tell him he should only see me.” I grabbed the phone again, deleting the message before typing my own out. “How does, ‘I get it. You don’t have to explain yourself.’ sound?” Mary shrugged, shaking her head. 

“What do you want him to say? Like do you want it to be that he was messing around with some younger girl or do you want it where he wasn’t?” 

“What kind of question is that?” I huffed, slamming my phone on the table, a little harder than I would’ve liked.

“Look,” She started, elbows on the table, “If he says it was nothing and there’s nothing going on, then you go right back to him.” I nodded, listening to her reasoning. “But if he tells you that there was something going on, then that means you walk away and you have your answer.” I thought for a moment, looking down at the unsent message. I quickly deleted the message, swiping and setting his messages on ‘do not disturb’. 

“I need to focus on what I have with Adam.” I confidently said, looking up at Mary. She gave me a sad look, I knew she was hoping I’d break things off with both of them, but I knew I couldn’t do that. “This is what I want.” I stated.

But I couldn’t ignore the voice in the back of my head telling me this was the wrong choice.

~~~~~

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[jadedragoness]

Review: Peace Talks

First Read Through Reaction

Now staring off, knowing that the book was essentially part one of two did mean that I went in expecting that there would be plot lines that wouldn’t be resolved. I did NOT expect that nearly zero of the plot lines would be resolved, at all. Yikes. Now, I’m not saying I didn’t enjoy it. I did. But it felt like there were 50 to 60 pages missing that should have been in the story to at least wrap up minor plot lines before heading into ‘Battle Ground’.

Warning: Full of Spoilers

Such the arrival of the Outsiders those Cornerhounds. Um… Outsiders and at no point that Harry wonder why in the hell they were called to Chicago? Or why they were targeting him and Ebenezer. Seriously, unless the author totally forgot we know that Outsiders can only be called by mortals. So human wizards brought them. So was it someone in the ‘Black Council’ or was it the Formor, since we know from previous stories that they grab humans and mind-whammy them and also modify them. And we know that they’ve been pretty focused on grabbing minor practioners for a couple of years now.

Hell, even just knowing why Thomas attacked the svartalf King would have been good to know in the book even if we don’t find out who it was yet.

That being said lets start of with things I didn’t like.

Thing Which I Wasn’t All that Pleased About:

1. Butters in that threesome relationship.

Now, let me explain, it’s not because its a poly relationship. I don’t even twitch over how Justine and Thomas include others in the sexual part of their relationship. It’s because I kept wondering if Marci was even into dudes. As far as I knew she was only into girls. And now she’s suddenly bi?

What the hell?

I think my reaction has a lot to do with how skewed the sexual orientation gradient in shown among Named characters. You have straight men. Straight women. Bi women who are shown to be blatantly into men and women…and that’s it, now.

No lesbian women with zero interest in men. No bi men. No gay men. No asexual characters. No trans characters. No gender fluid people.

I know that this due to the author’s eye and while it hasn’t irritated me much in the past as we keep getting more and more books with more newly introduced characters the lack is becoming more and more glaring to me. Especially, as I have drifted into reading other series that manage to be way more inclusive about this sort of thing in great and amazing ways *sighs happily over Rivers of London series*. And I don’t just mean in passing with random nameless scenery people that never talk which have popped up in the Dresden Files but with actual characters that have names, dialogue and contribute to the series.

So it really, really annoys me that Marci went from being the only lesbian who is a named character to joining the horde of bi women in the DF verse.

Okay, so its not really a Butters issue to much as a grumble about the spectrum of gender and sexually needing better representation.

*grumbles* Step up your game, Butcher.

I will add that I’m head-canoning that actually the relationship here is Butters with Andi, Andi with Butter and Marci, and Marci with Andi. That pretty much with Butters running around being the new Knight Andi didn’t like how her boyfriend wasn’t paying attention and gave Butters the ultimatum of letting Marci in as Andi’s girlfriend or they broke up.

… yeah, I’m totally liking that spin way, way better.

2. That Marcone took forever to show up! ARGH! I love him ok.

Considering how early he was name dropped in the story the amount of time it took him to show up… Jim Butcher is a damn Marcone-tease. *glares hotly in author’s direction*

3. I don’t like it that Murphy is so hurt. I don’t hate it. I think I’m just uneasy about the future implications.

Having reread the entire series before reading ‘Peace Talks’ I fully expected some lingering injury but not to that level. I’m actually worried about her chances of surviving any upcoming battle, and not just in Battle Ground. There’s even more danger coming down the pipeline in future books and she won’t let herself stay ‘safe’ when she could be watching Harry’s back… so its a worrying problem.

Now if she died I have no doubt that her being recruited to be a Valkerie is an option. But then I remembered how those warrior women go out into the world with ‘clients’ and of the two we’ve seen they’ve been attached to ‘monsters’ aka Lara and Marcone.

Unless, the payment isn’t cash and she can be attached to Harry. *hums in thought*

But then I have to wonder how much Murphy would accept that role. She’s also a pretty devout Catholic as this book reminded us so that is also something that would make her say no to the offer.

4. That the younger Wardens who had so looked up to Harry being so damned suspicious… ow. That hurt. I may have teared up and sniffled into a tissue thinking about it. And then sobbed because so much of it came from Carlos… Carlos! The man went into the Deeps with Harry! Ouch.

5. Rudolph… that roach.

Ugh, I’ve had the disturbing thought that now that magic and the supernatural on the path to being exposed to all of humanity, scared humanity too, that will end up with a resurgence of a new Inquisition and the killing of anything eldritch. And you know that Rudolph would definitely be in it. *shudders in disgust* Creep.

BTW I totally don’t believe that Rudolph answers to Marcone. It doesn’t make sense as to why he was so pushy go get Harry during ‘Changes’. I had thought he was answering to the Red Court but with them being taken out of the picture… now I wonder if he isn’t answerable to the Black Council.

Things I Did Not Expect:

1. Damn… when Ebenezer sent that spell through Harry and ‘killing’ I was so shocked even though I was pretty sure there was a twist coming. Mostly because of what it says about Ebenezer.

Ebenezer actions killed Harry.

Sure it was a fake body that brought no harm to the real Harry. But if Harry hadn’t thought ahead? If he hadn’t used his brain to ask Molly to create a fake? Eb would have killed his own grandson.

Sure it was an accident but it could so easy have resulted in a dead Harry. I was crying so hard I wondered if my eyeballs were loosening in their sockets. Argh.

2. Bonea…. Harry your naming skills are simply weird. I’m so glad that Susan named Maggie.

Although Bonnie is a pretty great nickname.

Thinks I Found Utterly Hilarious

1. The line about the best offense being a T-Rex? Gold. Pure gold.

2. When Harry figured out there are angels in the hilt of the Swords of the Cross and Butter’s immediate reaction of horror because he’d accidentally laundered the hilt, giving it a ride in a washing machine.

OMG! I had the instant image of a miniature angel screaming and growing dizzy when going through the spin cycle.

I know that makes no sense but that’s where my mind went, okay.

3. The conjuritis. Omg, it’s so gross with all the ectoplasm leaking from Harry’s nose but it’s sooooo funny. Also the way he kept getting the ‘aren’t you too old for this’ from Ebenezer and then Lara made me giggle even harder.

Then I thought: dude, it’s like chicken pox, something you got as a kid but if you never had it you get it when exposed later in life. So one of his kids has it. Probably Maggie too.

4. When Sanya pretended to have his hand lopped off. I straightened up and was so worried Sanya had lost a hand. Then when I realized he was pretending to freak out Butters and Harry I admit to laughing way too hard. Got me too.’

Also there’s no way that Sanya was actually defeated there. He’s younger and better trained then Butters, I don’t care how light (Heh) the new sword is. He definitely threw that fight to test his hunch.

5. Murphy’s inability to handle being flirted on with a red-headed warrior woman. Sooooo funny. I mean, Murphy could have said a number of things such as ‘I’m exclusive.’ or ‘I’m not interested in women.’ But she just floundered. Heh heh.

6. I continue to find it completely hilarious that Lara, a couple of centuries old vampire, seems to keep learning a lot of power moves from Marcone.

Such as: having trained fighters that are NOT food, well… mostly. Having those mines installed in the walls. And now hiring a Valkerie of her very own.

I keep thinking, yeah, there’s no way she’d win in a fight against Marcone because there’ s no way that Marcone has let slip all of his tricks.

Things I Really, Really Liked:

1. Marcone. Everything Marcone. *heart-eyes*

And then he proves why he’s so damned scary by standing up to the Titan. Then to the ghouls. Then after proving his bad-ass quotient if off the charts he gets everyone organized to fight.

Yeeessss… It proves to me that when it comes to protecting Chicago he is actually the best person after Harry. Hell, in some ways he’s better than Harry. Now, I’m not saying he’s a white knight or anything like that. Just that he has the intelligence, the ruthlessness, the will, the power and the men to provide the most protection to the city’s mortal denizens. At least when there’s a war raging with multiple enemies who will be attacking at various points.

And oh, I can’t wait to see how he’s going to get revenge for the death of his people. Omg, he’s going to kill the Formor so hard. *goes starry eyed thinking about more Marcone*

But why did he have to appear so late in the book?! *wails in a heart-rending fashion*

There better be a ton more Marcone in the next book! *makes desperate gimme gimme hands*

No, I don’t have a Marcone addiction… I can stop anytime I want to. *sneaks off to mainline some “Even Hand” straight into the brain*

2. The return of Goodman Grey! Oh, I hope he’s around a lot! I’ve really grown to like him.

<b>Things Which Blew My Mind or Were Just Freaking Awesome: </b>

1. Dad!Harry is actually the most amazing Harry. Forget the magic flinging and the fire storms… this is the best Harry.

Just the way he takes care of his kids…. *turns to mush like ectoplasm*

2. Murphy and Harry are finally together! Yay! Yay! Hip hip hooray!

Now, I’m a rather shameless Marcone/Dresden fic writer, but as I never ever expect this to be canon I’m content to write it as fanfic for my own sense of delight. However when it comes to canon I’m full on board with the Karrin and Harry relationship. Be it friendship or romantic, I think its great.

3. Marcone… that is all.

Random Speculation

1. I find myself wondering about Ebenezer’s rage against vampires. And my brain muttered this theory: Maybe Harry’s grandmother was killed by White Court vampires.

Whoa.

It would explain the vitrolic rage.

And if Lara was involved it would also explain her flash of shame.

We don’t know anything about Harry’s grandmother, not even her name. So… that’s a thought.

2. River Shoulders teaching Harry.

Oh man, oh man, I hope Harry learns shape-shifting.

And thinking about it I had to wonder if the animal-shifting had anything to do with knowing the animal in question which of course made me think…

Harry should learn to shape-shift into a T-Rex.

He already knows how one is put together and the mind of one. And he knows that it’s possible to add extra mass to a shift from the Nevernever in the form of ectoplasm… so

Harrysarous Rex, baby…. I may have to write a fic with this premise.

3. Oh, if it’s possible to make a ectoplasmic body can Harry learn to make one for Bonea? After all Maggie would probably really enjoy getting to play with her little sister that way. Even if Harry can’t do it all the time and it wouldn’t last longer than a day. That would be delightful.

4. Okay, not this is more head-canon than speculation but… considering how hard Harry has been made to be analogous to Merlin I can’t help but wonder if Marcone is suppose to be Arthur’s analogue. So wielding Amorrachius *coughs*Excalibur*coughs* would make sense.

…it’s not just my Marcone-love talking dammit.

Speaking of Merlin, I’m convinced that he’s behind this whole ‘starborn’ thing. Seriously, otherwise its way too convenient that a wizard with that power is born every 666 years. It smacks of a spell.

And if that’s the case it also feeds into my pet theory that the whole reason we have Outsides at the Gates is because Merlin was the schmuck who drew them to our reality in the first place. And everything surrounding the war with the Outsiders are his attempts to try to fix what he broke.

*lost in pondering thoughts*

Things I Have Questions About

1. Did Harry forget he has The Ways Map from his mother? I would have thought he would have figured out a way (heh) to get to the island somehow. He was on it for so long I thought for sure he’d spend time exploring it. Also we knew from ‘Skin Game’ that even tiny factors can change where the Way goes in the Nevernever. I doubt the ENTIRE island has Ways that lead to a bad place. Especially for Harry now that he’s the Warden.

2. Also why didn’t Harry get Lea to help him? After all unless she’s moved it since ‘Changes’ her garden is still on the other side of the sub-basement.

3. What did Lara use that first favor from Mab on? *eyes her suspiciously*

4. Where are the Za Lord’s Guard? *wondering about what been happening with Lacuna and Toot-toot*

5. If Harry gets kicked out of the White Council (good riddance, since they haven’t exactly been all that helpful lately) can he get enough signatures to be added as a member of the Accords in his own right? After all being Warden of Demonreach has got to mean a lot to the older members.

Then he wouldn’t be reliant on Mab’s protection.

I can’t help but hope this proves to be the case, especially if in ‘Battle Ground’ Harry ends up taking down that Titan. Because he needs as much protection and influence he can gather if he’s no longer White Council to protect himself, his people and his kids. Especially if he eventually gets rid of that Winter Knight mantle like I hope he does.

6. How in the hell (pardon the pun) did evil demon Sasquatch survive being turned to mush by Hade’s Ice Gate? Or the shades that were part of the security system that almost got Harry?

*frowns* The only reason I can think of would be the coin of Ursiel being the factor. I doubt a Fallen Angel is allowed to stick around in the Greek realm of the afterlife.

7. WHERE IS BOB?! Seriously, if Butters doesn’t give him back...

[muddyhippy]

A Tangled Problem

So today is my birthday and I am still working on Night Terrors chapter 6 which fighting me rather impressively but I had this little scene pop into my head and demanded to be written. 

Please enjoy this little bit of fluff from the Lily ‘verse! 

Lily padded into the common room still quite sleepy but with a single goal in mind. She’d got up out of Jonny’s bunk whilst he was still fast asleep determined to wash and get dressed and make a nice breakfast for everyone. She’d had another bad nightmare and Jonny had stayed up late with her telling stories and singing. He made her feel safe and cared enough that the nightmares stopped being horrible and scary in her head for the rest of the night so she wanted to let him sleep and make a tasty breakfast. Her plan was going quite well when she washed and dressed but got stuck, literally, when it came to brush her hair.

 Lily’s hair was a thick mass of candyfloss-soft silvery tangles at the best of times but last night’s upset had obviously made it ten times worse.

 Her brush got stuck and no matter what she did it wouldn’t come free.

 It hurt when she tugged and pulled and struggled. Enough to make tears prick her eyes.

 So she headed to find the one person who’d probably be best to help.

Without ceremony she headed directly to the person sat on the sofa completely absorbed in their music to the point they didn’t notice her approach until she climbed into their lap.

 Tim physically startled to suddenly have a lapful of Lily appear between his chest and his guitar and stare intensely at him.

 “Um hello Sweetness?”

 “Tim! Help!” She pleaded.  

 He tensed, fully poised to murder the shit out of whatever that had prompted this response.

 She pointed.

 Tim’s eyes alighted on her very tangled-in-hair brush caught up in her tresses. His eyes ran a quick diagnostic that helpfully returned the report ‘Ouch’.

 “Oh.” He considered why she was showing him this and came up with nothing, “Um why—?”

 “Because Jonny’s asleep,” She explained simply, “and you’ve got the prettiest hair, you tangle it all up in your goggles but it always ends up nice and untangled again so you’ve got to be good at hair-brushing.”

 That, that was an impressive leap of logic he had to give her that.

 “But Raphaella…?” He began weakly

 “She has really pretty hair too and it’s even longer than yours but it’s never tangled! Yours does so you’ve got more practice at fixing it. Please?” She sniffed, “I’ve tried and tried and it only hurts more.”

 Tim took pity on her, that snarl up did look painful and it was obvious everything she’d tried had made it worse.

 Plus, she was doing the look that Jonny warned him about, the whole ‘her-eyes-take-up-half-her-face-look’ that made his insides get twisty and him want to fix whatever the matter was.

 He suddenly understood why Jonny was willing to do as much stuff as he did. Lily was bloody hard to say no to when she looked like a particularly sad octokitten.

 “Um, alright then.” He carefully put down the guitar to give the small sad child his full attention.

 It really was a disaster. Tim considered his approach whilst ignoring the growing warmth in his chest at the idea that the little who’d joined them not that long ago apparently trusted him enough to ask for help with something personal and left her vulnerable. He couldn’t remember the last time that had happened. Probably Bertie. Best not think about that then.

 “Okay Sweetness, can you turn around for me so I can get to the brush please?”

 “Ok, thank you Tim,” she pressed a heartfelt kiss to his bearded cheek before turning around obviously utterly convinced that he’d got this and she trusted him implicitly that he’d make this better.

 Fuck he hated Jonny for not being awake.

 Tim, not for the first time since Lily joined them, regretted being an only child with absolutely no sibling experience to deal with situations like this.

 Ah fuck it, he’d do his best.

 Using his enhanced vision, the patience he used when cleaning and repairing his weapons and the comb he kept in his coat pocket but would never admit to, he very carefully, painstakingly, detangled her hair.

 After half an hour he managed to free the brush from her head then proceeded to comb all her locks clear so she would be tangle free for the next five minutes at least. Maybe he’d have to ask Ashes to show Lily how to plait properly since he’d seen Ashes wear some excellent styles over the years.

 He’d never bothered to learn, he liked having long hair, it was something that was his own rebellion after school and whilst he was completing his mechanical engineering apprenticeship. It was easy to tuck it up under a cap after all.

 He’d tried not to show how heartbroken he’d been when he’d been constripted and shorn short again. Bertie had known of course and told him he was still just as handsome. During the time in the tunnels his hair had grown out again since no one was really paying attention to uniform rules in the depths of the war.

 He’d kept it long ever since. He wasn’t sure if it was out of defiance or as tribute to Bertie who’d never been able to keep his fingers out of it when they were alone together.

 Tim mentally shook himself, now was definitely not the time to start down that track. That route led to months locks in the armoury building non-stop. Or murdering Jonny repeatedly. Neither of which were viable responses right now.

 “Right then, I think we’re done, turn around for me Lily.”

 The little girl shuffled around on his lap to face him, she shook her head slightly. “It feels so nice! Thank you!”

 Little arms engulfed him in a grateful hug, enveloping him like the octokitten she masqueraded as half the time.

 “You’re very welcome Sweetness, now, let’s show you how to brush your hair without it getting all tangled up. Sound good?”

 “Yes please! Jonny helps me a lot but he doesn’t know as many tricks.”

 “Jonny doesn’t have as much patience, he’s had longer hair a few times but mostly because he couldn’t be bothered to cut it.”

 “Did he have hair as long as yours?”

 “No. Just to his shoulders.”

 “Oh.” She considered, “Mine’s already nearly that long.”

 “I had noticed.” He couldn’t help grinning.

 “I want to grow mine more.”

 “Oh yes?”

 “Yes! So I can be as pretty as Raphaella and you!”

 Tim felt both the blush and lump rise.

 “That’s, that’s kind of you to say Sweetness, but you’re lovely just as you are. You don’t have to look like anyone else to be better in some way.”

 Lily paused and thought about it.

 “Well, I won’t be exactly like you and Raphaella, my hair’s a different colour.”

 He couldn’t argue with the statement, she was a lot lighter than even Raphaella, “That’s very true.”

 “But I still want it long. I think it’ll be even nicer long.”

 Tim couldn’t help but smiling at that very familiar conviction, “Then I best show you how to look after it then shouldn’t I?”

 Lily beamed, lighting up the way she did whenever any of them took time to show her something. It was why they all, without exception, took time to show her things. They might be immoral, immortal space pirates but none of them were above wanting to feel like a hero for teaching a kid to tie her shoe laces, flip pancakes or make belt holes. “Yes please!”

 Which is why Brian walked in twenty minutes later looking for his fellow chef to find Lily and Tim in the middle of a hair brushing lesson, The child sat on the master-at-arms lap facing him, little tongue poking out in concentration, a long hank of Tim’s glossy tresses held reverentially in Lily’s tiny hand, her other carefully brushing it through as Tim talked her through the method of working in stages, his hands guiding hers, starting at the bottom and slowly working up to the roots.

 “This isn’t what it looks like—” Began Tim, colour rising dramatically in his face.  

 Brian raised an eyebrow.

 “Tim’s teaching me to brush hair properly so my brush doesn’t get all tangled up in my hair again because that hurts!”

 Tim sighed.

 “You know,” commented Brian, attempting to sound innocuous, “that looks exactly like what’s happening.”

 Lily looked puzzled, “That’s because it is.”

 “Quite right too,” Agreed the pilot, “looks like you’re doing a good job.” Brian took closer notice of their youngest crewmember, her usually wild mass of waves looked decidedly neat with that glossy sheen that only came with extensive grooming. “Did Tim do yours earlier?”

 “Yes! He’s really good! I got my brush stuck in my hair and he got it out and brushed it really nicely! I asked him because he has really pretty hair and is good at getting tangles out of it after he wears his goggles. He’s really gentle and clever at it!”

 Brian was amused to watch battle of emotions war over Tim’s face pride, pleasure, embarrassment and fury all crossed his face, clearly annoyed that this moment of softness with Lily was being witnessed.

 Brian found he didn’t care all that much for Tim’s comfort, this was more important. They were bonding over something other than guns, completely unprompted. This was good progress. The fact that Tim was obviously trusted enough by Lily for her to ask his help and that he’d clearly given it freely said at lot how comfortable they were becoming together which wasn’t bad for barely three weeks on board for Lily. Then again, last week her nightmare-stricken visit to his room that night she couldn’t find Jonny had probably cemented him as a ‘safe’ adult she could go to when the first mate wasn’t available.

 Brian hoped the rest of them would become as easy to approach eventually.

 It was nice to be reminded that deep under everything, he and his crew, at a push could remember how to be kind.

 “Right well, I’ll leave you to finish. Would you like me to start breakfast Lily?”

 The child paused looking conflicted.

 “I am more than happy to.” Brian clarified.

 “Oh um, yes please.”

 “Did you have a plan?”

 “Scrambled eggs and bacon and pancakes.”

 “Sounds good to me!” Approved Tim, feeling that she shouldn’t feel all that bad about not cooking one meal.

 Brian smile widened, pleased she was deciding to spend more time with Tim, “Me too, right then, I’ll get started, you can join me when you and Tim are done. See you later.” He left the scene as the two continued their lesson.

 “Right then, reckon you can do the rest before Brian finishes?”

 “Yeah!”

 Tim arrived to breakfast on the table, Lily holding his hand, the two looking decidedly neater than normal.

 As the others began to gently tease and pass the pancakes Brian overlooked the group, his family and couldn’t help but beam.