#it’s called being smart u get to try two things off the menu

[saetoru]

i don’t like men who don’t share food w their gfs

[hqhunybuns]

hiiii can u plz do a kuroo first time blowjob?? thanks i love your blog!!!!!

hi sorry i was too busy playing animal crossing but im back

First Time Head with Kuroo

It was a bad idea that popped into your head, a terribly devilish thought that you were sure would get you in trouble-- but it was worth a shot, wasn't it? 

You were the Nekoma volleyball team manager, and also the captain's girlfriend. What a wonderful world you live in; the team adored you, your boyfriend thought you were as sweet as sugar. The truth be told, you and Tetsurou had only gotten to first base the entirety of your eight month relationship. You were shy when it came to physical affection, and you had a bad habit of getting too nervous when your boyfriend's hands started wandering further than your shoulders. He was always the perfect gentleman when you had to stop due to your erratic heartbeat, and while you profusely apologized every time, he took it in stride and never pressured you to do anything you weren't comfortable with.

It wasn't that you didn't think he was attractive, it was quite the opposite. He was Adonis-- tall, lean muscle, abs, strong jaw line, hair that you wanted to run your hands through. He was too perfect and it intimidated you. Other than the physical limitations you had set, it was a great relationship. The two of you could talk for hours, joking and laughing. His personality fit yours, he didn't get upset at your sarcastic quips, he actually enjoyed then and retorted back with just as much sass.

"Y/n, what's the problem? Why do you look so nervous?" your friend Aimee asked once class had been released for lunch.

"Yeah, and you look really sweaty..." your other friend Sayori mentioned, motioning to your red face.

Fanning your face with your hands, you admitted, "I'm going to do the deed today, that's why I look like a hot mess."

The two girls grinned and squealed, gaining the attention of the few stragglers in the classroom. You hushed then quickly, hiding your head in your arms. "Guys, please! This is already a stressful day! I don't need you all screaming and making a big deal of it." you mumbled into your arms.

Someone patted your head and ruffled your hair. "You really must be nervous if you're scolding us instead of screaming too."

"You may be right, Sayori-chan, normally Y/n is the first one of us to scream about something exciting."

You lifted your head and glared at your friends while trying to hide your growing smile. Aimee grabbed your cheeks and squished them together while Sayori hoped with excitement, "You're finally growing up! You put on your big girl thong today!"

"Oh my God, please don't ever say that again!" you groaned, trying to push the brown haired girls hands away from your hurting cheeks.

Sayori stopped her jumping and put her hands on small hips. "But it's true, you're going to be be the first one of us to actually put one of those things in your mouth."

Aimee stopped her assault on your poor face and rebutted, "Hey! I almost did!"

"Yeah, but then you woke up from your dream and realized Morisuke wasn't actually there." you teased light heartily.

The three of you laughed and you finally stood from your desk, stepping out of the classroom with your two best friends. Your trio hiked up the steps to the roof, opening the door and scoping it out, making sure no one had claimed your lunch spot for themselves. The warn sun caressed your face and the breeze carried the scent of the freshly bloomed flowers with it, pollen included. It was a gorgeous day, barely any clouds in the sky and birds happily perched on the edge of the roof, singing songs in hopes of finding a mate.

Plopping down on one of the benches, you confessed, "I've never seen his... you know what in person, what if I hurt him?"

Sayori tied her red hair in a messy bun before responding. "I've given a hand job before, they're surprisingly durable; you're only going to hurt him if you bite him or something like that."

Before you could respond with a smart ass comment, the devil named Tetsurou texted you.

 Volleybitch (4) unread messages

Hey doll face (Ф∀Ф)

im bored Kenma wont stop playing fire emblem to talk to me

he keeps talking about defeating the death knight but idk who that is

we still on for tonight? you get to pick the movie as long as its good

 You rolled your eyes as you responded.

tell him to recruit lysithea and he can one shot him with her lol

yeah we're still on!! the fams gone for the weekend so we can actually use the big tv in the living room

 just promise to take a shower before we leave bc i dont want u sweating up my couch you stink

literally all the time

nasty sweaty man

Putting your phone away, you focused on your friends who were still more excited about your nights rendezvous than you were. It was true that you didn't want your boyfriend making your house smelling like a gym, but you didn't want to put your mouth on him when he was just running around getting sweaty. You had standards, and smelling and tasting sweat was not apart of those standards

"You ready to ditch this popsicle stand?" Kuroo asked, tossing his water bottle in his gym bag. His hair was slightly damp from the quick shower he had just had.

You rolled your eyes and replied sardonically, "With you? Never."

 "You're right, look at that eligible bachelor over there waiting to watch a shitty movie with you tonight." He walked over to you and flipped you, pointing at volleyball pole that was being put away. "That handsome man wants to take you to dinner, but he can only afford McDonalds. So sad, Y/n, you can only get something off of the dollar menu."

 You raised your eyebrows in fake consideration. "Perhaps, but he doesn't have any muscles, so it's a hard pass. Sorry, mister pole, but you're still single." 

Your tall boyfriend laughed and guided you towards the gym doors, his hand on your back. You bit back a blush when he rubbed your back slightly. You're about to give this man a blowjob and you wanna blush when he touches your back? You were hopeless.

Your tall boyfriend laughed and guided you towards the gym doors, his hand on your back. You bit back a blush when he rubbed your back slightly. You're about to give this man a blowjob and you wanna blush when he touches your back? You were hopeless.

"So what movie have you decided on? It better not be anything related to Minions or Legos, or I promise you I will cry." Tetsurou deadpanned.

Humming, you grinned. "It's a surprise."

The ten minute walk to your house felt like an hour. You and Kuroo talked about the tournament coming up, but all you think of was the fact that you were going to suck this hot man's cock. The thought made you blush and salivate. Ideally his shirt would be off, letting you see how his work out regime gave him a delicious torso. You wondered how big he was, how thick it would be; would he taste good, would he be shaved? What if he didn't want you to suck him off? Would he find it repulsive?

"Y/n? Hey, dollface, we're at your house, stop walking or you're going to end up at your neighbors front door," Tetsurou's voice brought you back from your daze.

"Oh, sorry, I was just thinking of a strategy for the team and I guess I got lost in thought." you chuckled nervously, forcing your blush to evade.

Unlocking the door and stepping inside, your heart officially started to race. How was this going to start? 

Right, start a movie! 

"I'll start a movie if you wanna go get us something to drink from the kitchen," you suggested as you made your way towards the living room.

You shut the blinds in fear your neighbors would end up looking into them and seeing your lewd actions and quickly double checked to see if you locked the front door. Call yourself paranoid, but you didn't need anything interrupting. 

Tetsurou returned with two glasses of water and a smirk. Once he placed the two glasses on the coffee table, he sink into the couch and gazed at the TV. "So, I see the decision is The Breakfast Club. Again."

"You know it's one of my favorite movies!" you argued, sitting beside him.

The movie started, and twenty minutes into the movie, it was time to start your plan. 

You took a deep breath, exhaling through your nose. With a shaky hand, you ran it down Tetsurou's arm idly, gaining his attention. You could see his eyebrows raise in question as he gazed at your fingers brushing against his bicep. You wet your lips and kissed his cheek, traveling to his mouth. 

This caught him completely off guard.

He didn't complain, though, shifting his body to make it more comfortable for the both of you. Feeling confident in yourself, your tongue brushed against his lips, asking permission to enter. He happily obliged, opening his mouth and letting your tongue graze his. His hands wandered to your shoulders, rubbing them as your tongues battled for dominance-- in the end, Tetsurou was victorious. 

Your lower stomach was getting hot, you could feel your panties begin to dampen with arousal. His hands trailed down your shoulders to your arms, rubbing them softly. Your hands went to his hair, running your fingers through the tresses. The black haired boy groaned in your mouth, making you clamp your thighs shut. Feeling a burst of confidence, you broke the kiss and climbed into his lap, shocking him.

His eyes were dark with lust as he panted, "This is a nice surprise."

"Hush, or I'll stop." you murmured, going back to his lips with newly found gusto.

You've never been this aroused, your panties were soaked and threatening to spill onto your inner thighs. You knew your face was flushed brightly, but kissing Kuroo and feeling him harden beneath you was making your brain numb. It buzzed with lust and you could only focus on how his hands moved to your sides and how they felt like hot fire, his finger tips leaving warmth.

Experimenting was never something you thought you'd do, but you swiveled your hips in his lap, earning a heartfelt groan from the man beneath you. Breaking the kiss once more, you gazed at him with glossy eyes. Remembering your research, you stepped off of his lap and kneeled in front of his sitting form, peering at him through your lashes.

You'd never seen Kuroo blush, but seeing you on your knees, flustered, hair tousled, and lips plump from kissing, you'd think he'd passed out. 

The tent in his shorts were impressive, no matter how baggy the shorts were. Licking your lips once more, your shaking hands tentatively rubbed up his thighs, nearing his growing cock. He stuttered and swallowed harshly. "What do you think you're doing, doll face?"

"I'm going to suck you off, Tetsurou," You swore you heard him groan. "Unless you have a problem with that?"

He shook his head. "Not at all."

Swallowing the sudden nerves, you helped him pull his shorts and underwear down, releasing his cock. Your eyes widened once you saw how impressive it was. Would that fit in your mouth? Licking your lips, you stuck your tongue out and grazed the head of his swollen member, enticing a hiss from your boyfriend.

"Fuck, Y/n..." he muttered, bringing one of his clenched fists to his mouth, biting it.

Gaining the confidence back you had originally, you popped the head into your mouth, sucking it lightly. Tetsurou stuttered out a moan, whispering your name. You went down his shaft a bit further, gripping one of his thighs for leverage. Kuroo was very vocal, giving you praises and groaning every time you sucked your cheeks in. Your other hand went to grip the rest of his cock that you couldn't fit into your sore mouth. He was girthy, your jaw was beginning to hurt from the unusual strain. You bobbed your head with more speed, glancing up at Tetsurou who had his head thrown back in pure bliss. Your neglected, throbbing sex was growing more aroused with slick, this boy was going to be the death of you. 

His hips started thrusting shallowly to meet your mouth, one of his hands going to your hair. His moans were becoming louder and the grip in your hair was growing tighter.

"That's it, Y/n, don't stop. God, who knew you had such a good mouth," he praised. 

Kuroo Tetsurou was coming undone before you and it was sexiest thing you've ever seen.

All because of you.

[sebastianshaw]

Meme from "Broad City" quotes

“You said if you were ever going to do same sex experimentation, it was going to be with me.”

"Who would you rather go down on you? Michael Bublé or Janet Jackson?”

“Can Janet Jackson go down on me while Michael Bublé narrates it in song?”

“What’s an Arch de Triumph?”

“It’s when two dudes go down on us, is how I picture it, and they’re butt to butt and then you and I do Oprah hands.”

“I really don’t feel like going into work today.”

"Great, I’ll see you in 30 days then. . . biiiiitch.”

“Maybe your dad should have pulled out.”

“I need someone for the amazing race because my mom just pulled out.”

“I also have business with the bank. I’d like to cash these nickels, and I’ll have them in quarters, please. Thank you so much.”

“I’m a sexual X-Man. I’m Wolverine. I’m Vulvarine!”

"Oh my Lady God, thank you!"

“The vagina is nature’s pocket. It’s natural and responsible.”

“I would take you on my shoulders – like I’d strap you up and be like, ‘Let’s go through helllll.’”

“I’m not sexually aroused, I’m fiscally aroused.”

“That’s literally a one stop pussy shop. I love it!”

“I finally figured out my eyebrows, They’re sisters, not twins.”

“Four R’s, my friend-- Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rihanna.”

“Statistically we’re headed toward an age where everybody’s going to be, like, caramel and queer.”

“I’m an adult and I’m responsible. Let’s go get some candy.”

“I finally masturbated above the covers without my eyes being closed.”

“I just want to get home and watch my shows.”

"You just pulled a bag of pot out of your vagina."

"Do you ever get hair from your head stuck in your buttcrack in the shower?"

"I'm still not over Amy Winehouse."

"I can't really imagine what it's like for people with blue eyes."

"This isn't a sugar daddy thing. This is just an old established guy paying for his younger friend who he also has sex with kind of thing."

"You're like 12, right?"

"I love me some dumplings. It's like a squirrel clutch with a meatball in it."

"I was so worried I baked a whole cake and then I ate a whole cake."

"In da clerb, we all fam."

"I know you from your ass better than I know your face."

"I respect you respecting me."

"You know what's cool about this party? We're the sexiest girls here."

"I'll pick up your poop. You're worth it."

"This is what living on the edge looks like."

"You got beauty. You got brains. You're a fucking genius. Do you wanna kiss?"

"You look sexy and vivacious and artsy and, like, young-wife material but, like, taut and teasy still. It's a perfect combo."

“Witches aren’t monsters, they’re just women! They’re fucking women who cum and giggle and play in the night. And that’s why everybody wants to set them on fire ‘cause they’re so fucking jealous."

"YAS KWEEN!"

“I AM NOT A MOM!”

"You never know if you never try and if you never try you never know."

“I’m only 27, what am I? A child bride?”

"You have been busting my balls all day over a sahaaaandwich shahooppe?!"

"I don’t watch anything but solo porn because regular porn is like, “Shut up, little girl! Wash my feet!” And she’s like "uhhh don’t tell my dad ok? Because I’m just barely legal. I love shaved pubes and tanned, crispy bellies and taints.” It’s like ugh!"

"I don’t have any money. I’m a wittle baby."

“Buckle up, buttercup”

"Money is a mind control technique that used to quantify the progress of the patriarchy!"

"Nose, vagina, butthole. If God didn’t want us to put our fingers up then then why did She make them perfectly finger sized ?"

"I’ll see you when u wake up, and if you don’t wake up I’ll still see you cause I’m gonna kill myself and meet you in heaven or whatever.”

"If you train your eyes, you can see their religion”

“I know it’s like “pwease Mr. Cwusty old white man, can I pwease keep my ovaries?” Alright bitch you better vote, text me when you do”

“I mean we had been together how long, and I still never saw nipples?”

“OOPS I guess I don’t know my own strength”

“Pillows are nature’s packing peanuts!”

“The student has become the teacher!”

"This is some high class shit."

"It's 2014. Anal is on the menu."

"Where ISN'T the bathroom?"

"I was cyberbullied within an INCH of my life last night"

“I saw your tweets and I wanted to check you out but I also wanted to respect your space”

"I am going to respect your dick later."

“You’re my lil cupcake”

“I once ate a corn on the cob. Including the cob”

"Ugh, who YELLS?"

"GET OFF THE BALLS AND GO!"

"Wanna get, like, a bunch of hot dogs?"

"Did you draw that painting?"

“You have to swipe yaas, you can’t swipe naas.”

“I fucked you in the ASS the first night we did ANYTHING. I think that’s pretty fuckin mature."

"Well aren't you a hot diggity dog and a scalawag to boot?"

"In the club, we are all family. Are you racist?"

“Welcome to Florida, America’s droopy dick”

"This is the men's room. Uh DOIIII!"

“You’re so full of shit I need a plunger."

“Thank you SO much for calling me a star”

"I'm an adult. I should be buying my own pot."

"Coat racks AREN'T for babies!"

"My biggest weakness is that I lose my purse a lot. But my biggest strength is that I always get it back."

"I like to call it jazz becomes it comes out of my horn, and you never know where it's gunna go."

"White people do that dog thing. Black people don't make out with dogs."

"Next thing you know you're pregnant with his sperm and he's sanding down your headboard shirtless."

"We are garbage people living on garbage island!"

"I didn't know you had a veneer and I'm in that mouth on a regular basis."

"I'm not putting weed up inside of me because I'm an adult and I'm responsible."

"I really think you should put your weed in your front hole."

“We’re technically homeless right now.”

"Your ass looks incredible."

"Your ass looks incredible. Your head and body too. But we all know who’s the star of the show here.”

“Who am I? Honey, I have a cyst on my uterus and I need to get fucked until it pops.”

“You want me to FaceTime from the bathroom?”

“Dude, I would follow you into hell, brother!”

“Well, you are funny.”

"Animated movies are where it's at. They're like visual crack."

"All Hollywood media is porn, and all porn is kiddie porn. We live in a rape culture. We just do."

"Who would leave weed in a wall? A weed genius. And she'd leave it there indefinitely in case of emergency."

"Isn't it nuts that pickles were cucumbers? They're the trans people of the vegetable community."

"We are an incredible team and I love you."

"Smart and sexy. She is unreal, this girl."

"I've been overeating this week."

"How DARE you LIE to your WIFE?!"

"Do I or do I not have herpes?"

"Follow your third eye--your clit."

"It's my birthday, I'M KING OF THE WORLD!"

"I mean, the female form---God's hottest creation."

"You have to respect the sanctity of the RSVP."

"Okay, something seems very locked up inside of you."

"You have a way of tainting everything I love."

"I'm gonna be like a successful artist any day now."

"Yeah, I don't wanna rise and grind anymore. I wanna rise and then like lay back down."

"It's like we knew it would happen but we didn't do anything about it."

"ADRENALINE!"

"To be honest, I'm really happy with the way I look."

"WANNA FOOK?"

"Never have I ever read a newspaper."

"This is what living on the edge looks like."

[bubblyani]

Holding in Green

(Adam Sackler x Reader)

An Adam Sackler One Shot

Genre: Fluff

Warning: Swearing

Request: i don’t know if u are taking requests but, if u are, could u do a Adam S. being jealous? xx @hidingp​

Author’s Note: Yes this is a jealous Adam Sackler fic but full of so much fluff I was floating in it. Just wanna love the man so freakin much. Hope y’all enjoy!

“You wanna talk about what happened tonight?” You asked, giving a knowing look to Adam.The french fry remained in between your fingers a lot longer than it should.

“What do you mean?”

He may have sounded nonchalant, but his eyes knew exactly what you meant.

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

(A few hours ago)

The rhythmic beat of the hiphop track echoed in the background while the group of dancers waited in the wings off stage. Your eyes followed each of them, enter the stage one by one. They moved in sync, and you made sure they did. When it finally was your queue, you made your entrance with a bang.

That was when you saw him.

In the audience drowning in darkness, Adam Sackler was visible to you more than anyone else. When your eyes met, he smiled brightly, giving a small yet silly wave. A wave only the two of you would enjoy. Unable to contain your joy, you blew your friend a kiss, incorporating it to your act with professionalism as you proceeded to dance with motivation. Your friendship with Adam Sackler was quite the interesting one. 

The first time you met him, it was during a rehearsal for a play he was in. Simple choreography was a necessity and your friend who was assigned to it had an emergency. Offering your helping hand as the substitute, all you wanted to do was be helpful. Adam understood your clear intentions, and though he was professional, he could not help but engage in conversations with you throughout the entire session. It was inevitable for the two of you to click. When you weren’t given the chance to sub anymore, Fate was kind to both of you with having the both of you run into each other in various instances. The friendship blossomed and their petals were strong enough to last. You respected him enough to offer him space without getting involved in his personal life if not disclosed with you. Having been burnt enough, you did not crave for unnecessary drama. Adam Sackler was a great friend to have. You both appreciated similar things and losing a great friendship was the last thing you hoped to do. 

He was eccentric, he was wild and dramatic, yet he was also sensitive. You could not help but adore him in a way which could not be defined. You adored his undying support to you and your dreams. Whichever performance you did, wherever and whenever, you would find him there, by chance or by invitation. He’d never miss it. Even this time, when you everyone else was too busy to even care, he showed up.

No wonder you couldn’t contain your inner joy. If anyone ever paid too much attention, they’d probably call this boyfriend behavior. But that mere notion was ludicrous in itself.

But anyways, back to the dance.

You felt your body set itself on fire as you led the group behind you. The choreography was packed and intense, with very little time to stop and even breath. You felt powerful, you felt sexy.

The choreography grew heated as one of the male dancers took you by the hand, guiding you to his arms. Bodies pressed against one another, they rolled to rhythm. The onstage chemistry was off the charts. You heard the audience scream in ecstasy. It was successful. Your eyes swiftly moved to see Adam’s approval. Was he impressed?

Instead you merely found him siting there, giving the coldest look you’ve ever seen. You would have delved into concern but there was simply no time as the group moved together once again, finally coming to a perfect finish.

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

“There you are!”

You squealed as the backstage doors burst open, and he swooped in first, welcoming you with a growl and a hug. You were touched in an overdose. You lingered in his arms with happiness. Seeing him to be the first to get up and applaud with enthusiasm, made you happier to even begin with.

“Awww...I’m so glad you came” you said, glancing at him up and down. Donning a smart suit, he even dressed up for the occasion, looking more handsome than ever. The crowds may have mixed in, but for the two of you it seemed irrelevant.

“Oh my god...” Adam began, “you were just fucking in-”

“Y/N!!”

A group of your older choreographer mentors surrounded the two of you. As they gushed out their sea of compliments, you noticed Adam beam with pride for you. He was appropriate in every way.  He was polite to them, introducing himself promptly and being the perfect guest. You could say you were equally feeling prideful.

 “And there he is...our other star!” One of them cried out as your dance partner from earlier joined in. Tanned and muscular, he flashed you a bright smile.

“We did it Y/N!” He said excitedly, moving into give you a hug.

“So what’s everyone saying?” you asked him

“Oh man...Our dance...” he said with such passion,”they are so digging the chemistry...” “I don’t know, I mean...was there any chemistry though?”

You both turned to Adam’s nonchalant yet snide remark. Towering before you both, he looked unwelcoming with his hands folded. A sheer contrast from earlier.

“Ah...where are my manners? Dave, I want you to meet my friend Adam” you said, “He’s an actor”  adding with pride. With a genuine smile, Dave extended his hand to Adam, “Hey man”

“Hey!”

Feigning enthusiasm, Adam shook his hand, giving it with a squeeze. And by Dave’s uncomfortable expression, you could tell he was squeezing it too tight.

“And Adam...this is Dave, one of the most promising dancers around” “Oh Y/N stop..” Dave shook his head with a chuckle, “...that’s not true”

“Yeah Y/N...I’ve seen better dancers” Adam certainly came in strong with these snarky remarks.

The atmosphere was getting tense and awkward. You were surprised to the fullest.

“Oookay...” Dave began, “...anyways, you coming to the after party?” He asked.

“Yes!”

“No!”

With raised eyebrows, you looked at Adam. “You don’t wanna come?” You asked him, to which he just shook his head. “Nah...Not in the mood”

The enthusiastically polite man from earlier had suddenly transformed into a child. Concerned, you knew you won’t have any peace of mind if you just let this go.

“I uh...I think I’m gonna take a rain check this time, Dave”

“Aww man, everyone’s gonna miss you though”  Dave said with disappointment, “...but all good babe”

He moved in for one more hug, only to be interrupted by Adam, who pulled you towards him to make room for a random stranger, who in the end, did not walk their way. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

“Fuck!”

Shivering, Adam jumped up and down. “It’s so chilly tonight” he sniggered as they walked along on the pavement.

“Hmmm”

Your reply was flat. Staring into the distance, you walked alongside him. Adam looked at you with concern.

“You cold?”He asked, even proceeding to take his jacket off to offer you.

“Hmmm”

You answered, haven’t yet noticed it as you kept walking. It was just strange. The moment they exited the theatre, there he was being his usual self. Trying to figure it all out, you found yourself to be very quiet.

Until you felt his hand on your arm.

“You okay?”

He stepped in front of you, waking you from your thoughts to reality. Suddenly you felt the extra chill in the wind, his jacket over your shoulders , and a rumble in your stomach.

“Actually...I’m kinda hungry”You admitted, automatically giving him his jacket back. Chuckling, you pressed your lips, “I just realized I didn’t eat anything” you said, your hands digging in the pocket of your hoodie, “...and they promised some food at the after party so-”

“Shit!” Adam cried out loud, holding his head. You watched the giant figure slouch with guilt.

“I’m sorry Y/N”

“No! it’s okay”

“Nope! Not acceptable. Come on!” 

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

(Present)

It was on him tonight, he said. Order anything, he said as he confidentially handed you the diner menu. So you ordered the two things you couldn’t live without: French fries and a milkshake.

“How are the fries?”

He asked, watching you stuff yourself. You nodded.

“Good. I was really hungry” you replied with a full mouth. Finally swallowing them, you smiled warmly, “Thank you”. 

A coy smile was incited as you both shared silence. 

“You were amazing tonight, you know.” Adam began, making you cover your face shyly, “You’re lying” you said.

“No really, I’m serious” sitting forward, he kept his elbows on the table, “No one...no one else was upto your level”

You were sipping in your milkshake , yet warmth spread over your body as it always did whenever he complimented you. His company was soothing in a way you couldn’t comprehend. Therefore, you couldn’t figure out the disturbance in the atmosphere tonight.

“You wanna talk about what happened tonight?” You asked, giving a knowing look to Adam.The french fry remained in between your fingers a lot longer than it should.

“What do you mean?”

He may have sounded nonchalant, but when his glance caught yours, you could tell his eyes knew exactly what you meant.

Exhaling deeply, you ate the french fry.  You licked off the salt off your fingers before you began to speak.

“Adam, do you know what I love about our friendship?”

His nose twitched upon hearing the word “friendship”. Uncomfortably , he answered with a mere shake of his head.

“Communication...” you said, “talking to you was always something I loved doing. I swear...” chuckling, you continued, “I can talk to you for...hours” you said, watching a smile form in the corner of his lips, “and I know, whatever problem we have...we could always figure it all out that way”

Nodding, Adam kept staring at your plate of half finished fries. Noticing it, you pushed your plate towards him.

“What happened with you and Dave?”

You asked with genuine curiosity, “I mean...before you were so nice and normal. And suddenly...just-”

“I don’t like him, that’s it” Adam snapped as he interrupted you.

“But why?”

“Y/N....” addressing you sternly, he continued, “You don’t need reasons to dislike certain people, you told me that once”

“Yeah...but why him? I mean...that weird guy down at the bodega..I can understand, but-”

Pausing, suddenly realization came over you. The way he turned cold watching you and Dave onstage. His snappy behavior around him. His deliberate attempt to avoid him hugging you. You gasped.

“Unless...” you muttered, “you’re jealous?”

It came out of you so softly, for you couldn’t believe it for one second. Running his hand through his hair, Adam growled.

“The moment that motherfucker put his hands on you” he said through gritted teeth, “...the way you guys were onstage. It just-“ You scoffed for you still could not fathom it.

“But I’ve danced with so many people onstage.Why now-”

“IT’S CAUSE I HAVE FUCKING FEELINGS FOR YOU, OKAY??”

Adam cried out, making you drop your jaw in shock.

Realizing his outburst, he looked down in embarrassment, “Fucking shit” He muttered.

A loud shush of disapproval was targeted towards your booth by an older waitress passing by. With an inaudible apology at her, you looked back at Adam.

This was definitely unexpected. But in a way, was it something you longed for in your heart all along?

“Wow...” You muttered softly, “I...I did not know that” “I’m...” pausing, Adam’s voice broke with vulnerability “I’m in Awe of you Y/N” He said, as his eyes twinkled upon looking at you, “And to even hear you calling me your friend or what we have a friendship is just...” clicking his tongue, he sighed, “...it’s sickening! It’s fucking hard”

Seeing him like this was nowhere familiar. And it broke your heart. You didn’t know of the effect you had in him. You never thought he’d think of you this way. And thus, you never considered feeling the same for him in return.

Until now.

Slowly getting up, you caught his full attention as you walked towards his side of the booth. Sitting next to him, you moved close enough, daring yourself as you slid over to his lap. His response was natural. The way his hand slithered over to your waist and the way he welcomed your weight on top of him.

Though it felt comfortable, you suddenly felt your heartbeat increase. Wrapping one arm around his neck, you lovingly gazed into his eyes with such intensity. You stroked his cheek, hoping to drive away the suffering caused cause of you.

Only one way to know, you thought.

Only one way to feed this aching curiosity.

Leaning in, your lips felt like magnets as they glued in to his in a tender kiss.

Tenderness turned into new found passion as he kissed you back. And man, it felt so perfect. So perfect that you found yourself getting addicted to a brand new kind of high. Breaking away, your foreheads touched to recover. “Always wanted to do that” you breathed against his lips. “No shit” he replied. Holding his face with both hands, you looked at with seriousness.

“All that you said, I get it. Really... I do. And it’s just so fucked up. It’s totally fair cause you had no clue what I was thinking. But...I want you to know...you don’t need to feel that anymore”

“Yeah?” He asked with desperation.

“Yeah...” you nodded, running your fingers through his dark raven locks, “There’s no need to hold in that green monster anymore, Adam” you whispered,

“Cause I’m yours”

A joyous smile filled his face before he kissed you passionately once again. You swore you forgotten your place until you heard the same waitress clear her throat with annoyance, forcing you both to pull away with frustration.

“Do you uh...” you began, twirling his hair around your finger, “...maybe wanna stay over tonight?“ Speechless, Adam merely nodded frantically, allowing his lips to reunite with yours, further sealing in the newly blossomed romance that had replaced the friendship that stood strong before. ——————————————————

Check My MASTERLIST for More :)

[weshallc]

This is so exciting, can’t wait to see what happens next! (No, I honestly do forget)

Berns Night (Revisited) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Call the Midwife AU (Crown Jewels, everyone but Paddy and Bernie at Mount Busby)

Chapter Three: OF MICE AND MEN

“The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men. Gang aft agley. An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain. For promis’d joy!”  To A Mouse by Robert Burns 1785.

“Liars and Lovers Combine Tonight, We’re Gonna Make A Scene.” The Captain by Biffy Clyro 2009.

The largest reception room at Mount Busby Farm would have once been very grand, with Queen Anne furniture and Regency coffee tables. The only thing that remained unchanged was that the original fireplace still gave up warmth and light provided by nature, and the windows let in the light from the same star constellations and the same moon.

The Two Loves preferred antique furniture of a later period and in their 80s comfort was paramount. The room was stocked with love seats, chesterfields, recliners. bean bags, generous cushions, and a rather charming gold settee that suspiciously looked pre-war. Just no one was sure which war. Everyone mocked it, but everyone fought to sit on it as it was very comfy. Patsy often talked about replacing it, but Delia wouldn’t hear of it. “You don’t throw your memories out with the rubbish and there are more memories than just ours hidden within these cushions, Cariad.” That was always the end of it.

The most current occupants of that particular settee to be making memories were Tim Turner and Lucille Anderson. Phyllis looked over at the awkward teen, who was no longer as awkward as he had once been. He sat comfortably chatting to his companion, both of them laughing at intervals. Lucille often finishing Tim’s sentences or him proclaiming, yep that’s it or knew you’d get it when they appeared to reach a level of understanding.  Of course, when she asked the student nurse about her new friendship, she would just reply, brushing the older nurse off. “Oh, he is a dear boy; He makes me laugh.”

He was certainly doing that from where Matron Crane was sitting on a leather tan Whitworth dining chair, probably by Frank Hudson.  Years of heavy lifting before the introduction of patient hoists and transfer boards had taken their toll on the matron’s back. It was why she had found herself in a more managerial role much earlier than she would have planned. She looked at Student Nurse Anderson and thought maybe the NHS was in more tender capable hands than the shitstirrers would have them believe.

“I am wondering if we should start,” youth minister Tom Hereward was on his feet. “I am not sure how long baby will sleep in a strange house.”

“I have been called many things in my time, but not sure strange is one of them,” laughed Delia.

“Oh, I have Deals, it’s fine,” reassured Patsy.

Tom turned pink. Trixie leaned over to him, “They are joking,” and sat back onto the giant purple pouffe she was sharing with Valerie. “I know, I live here. I have to put up with it all the time.”

“So. Erm who is in charge, who has the most authority here.” Tom was still trying to create some sense of order.

“Well, Julia is the vicar,” chirped in Bobby, trying to offer her husband some support.

“But this is not the church,” Rev Julia responded with a warm smile.

“Another shock there then, it’s all coming out tonight, Patsy.” Delia couldn’t help herself when she had an audience and a bottle of Prosecco was being passed round.

“Matron Crane is on the council,” Lucille reminded everyone.

“No, I don’t think that matters lass, it’s not a council matter.” Phyllis shook her head.

“Well, someone needs to take the lead,” Tom said with a hint of irritation.

“I will!  On the authority that I am a young woman on her only night off of the week,” struck up Val, “but I have agreed to come here and discuss plans for Bernie’s birthday instead of having two for one sex on the beach.”

“It’s a cocktail, and its happy hour in the Fourteen Teacups on a Tuesday,” Trixie interpreted for everyone.

“That’s ambitious having a happy hour in the Teacups, isn’t it?”  said Fred, who had managed to wedge himself into a deep red Chesterfield.

“Yeah, apparently Ursula gives you the right change, that’s why they call it happy hour,” Tim smirked.

“As I am representing the Crown. I will continue,” said Val and she did, “we want to put on a Burns Night for Bernie’s birthday like in the old days. Now Tim has told us Paddy is half Scottish.”

“Why isn’t he here?” asked Bobby.

“Well, he said it would look suspicious if he left Bernie on her tod behind the bar on a Tuesday night,” Vi explained sitting on a scarlet love seat next to Fred.

“Yep, in case our two Tuesday night regulars rush the bar at once,” snorted Val.

“I think it’s more that it would look suspicious if he actually just left Bernie alone for five minutes,” Trixie corrected.

Lucille felt Tim squirm in the seat beside her. She knew he thought the world of Bernie, but didn’t like to hear her relationship with his father discussed in public. This was inevitable being a small village with one pub, one church and two of the village's most popular inhabitants linked to both. She tried to ease his tension.

“I think it’s lovely, just shows as my grandma used to say there may be snow on the roof, but there is still fire in the grate.”

As everyone surrendered to laughter, Matron shared a smile with the vicar, both of them confirming Lucille might be familiar with the saying, but maybe not its meaning.

Delia was the first to keep a straight face, “But they are only bairns, wait until they are mine and Pats age then the fire may need a little bit of stoking.”

“Yes, Deals, but remember we have never required the use of a poker.”

Val swiftly continued, “Paddy doesn’t wish to be involved.”

“Why?” Reggie asked, perched on his wooden stool.

Val motioned towards Tim, who was still recovering from the last topic of conversation.

“Because it would look ridiculous, his words not mine.” Tim continued, “and I quote, Wilf had the works, I would look like I was trying to pull a stunt to impress Bernie by looking like I was dressing in drag and taking the piss.”

Tim looked at his knees, and Lucille gave one a quick squeeze. She knew this wasn’t easy for him.

Everyone else also looked at their knees. The mood was solemn.

“We can all understand Paddy’s reasons.” There were a couple of nods and sighs in response. “But we aren’t putting up with any of that nonsense,” Val added with a grin.

This was met with a very large and unanimous cheer.

“Well, I’ve already looked up the Turner tartan,” Trixie handed an iPad over to Patsy via Val.

“That’s very smart,” approved the artist.

“Sorry I hate to throw a spanner in the works, but how are we going to afford all this?” butt in a pensive Vi.

“We’ve already thought of that,” grinned Delia, ”Mount Busby will cover the cost of the costume.”

“That’s very generous,” sniffed Evie, who had nearly dozed off in a leather recliner.

“Not really,” explained Patsy. “I have a friend that works for Kilts 4 U and they are very interested in looking into the possibility of making an alpaca lined sporran.”

This was news to Reggie who followed anything relating to his charges with great interest, “What’s a sporran?”

“It’s where he keeps his spare change,” Fred enlightened, or at least tried to.

“It’s the little purse that men wear at the front of the kilt, Reggie,” Violet elaborated. He seemed reassured by this.

“So anyway, in return for a few samples,” Patsy continued, “my friend will be happy to hire out the full regalia for the evening.”

“It’s not long now until Burns Night have you got some sort of prototype ready?” quizzed Evie.

“Lady K is working on them as we speak. She loves nothing better than fiddling with a bit of alpaca wool,” Delia replied gleefully.

“Lady K?” Phyllis queried.

“Yes, she is very creative,” reassured Trixie.

“I don’t doubt it, Trixie, but she is one of Bernie’s clients. What if the lass sees what she is up too”

“Don’t fret Phyllis,” Patsy interjected, “I find that Antonia is much less forgetful when she has an occupation to challenge her and I am certain she won’t let the cat out of its proverbial bag.”

Jack sat on the floor accidently banged his head against the fire surround he was leaning against, “Can’t imagine Berns thinking; oh look Lady K is sticking bits of alpaca wool to a man’s bag he hangs in front of his todger. That must be something to do with Paddy and my birthday”

Vi was quick to admonish Jack, but when even Tom started to laugh, she decided to let it go.

“What about the little knifey thing they keep in their sock that he stabs the Haggis with?” Fred was beginning to get excited.

“Sgian dubh,” corrected Vi.

“All part of the traditional dress,” Patsy added a tone to her voice to reassure everyone that she had thought of everything.

“So that’s the gear sorted. Me and Reggie are in charge of the beer. What else?” Fred’s eyes were wide, thinking they actually might be able to pull this off.

“Well, myself and Evie have created a menu, pretty much on the lines of what we used to do in Wilf’s day.” Violet opened a small notebook and put on her reading glasses.

Clearing her throat she read, “Cock-a-leekie soup, Scottish salmon and tattie scones or scotch egg for starters.”

“Cock a what?” shouted up Jack.

“Chicken and vegetable soup to you, young man. There will be a just vegetable option too.” Violet’s voice began to take on the air it adopted when addressing an audience. “Then we have the Haggis or vegan Haggis, neeps and tatties and a whisky sauce.”

“What about those that might not wish to partake in the Haggis?” Tom asked nervously, as he might.

Evie spoke up before Vi could respond. “There is always the Fourteen Teacups for the likes of those that don’t wish to have Haggis. It’s a Burns Night. If you don’t want Haggis, then stay at home and order in a pizza.”

“What’s for pudding?” Bobby struck up, squeezing her husband’s hand.

“Cranachan which is raspberries, cream, oats and whisky, or Clootie pudding with whisky sauce or whisky ice cream or a Scottish cheese board with oatcakes.”

Murmurs of approval were aimed in Violet’s direction.

“That’s a lot of whisky?” Lucille remarked.

Violet agreed, “Yes, we need just a house whisky for everyone for the toasts Val, I will leave that to you, but you need to pay the piper with a good quality malt.”

Silence broke out in the previously buzzing, over occupied living room.

“Piper!” Several people groaned at once.  

Fred, who was not going to let anything get in the way of this Burn’s Night declared, “Look, we will just have to bung on a recording.” Turning to Tim and Jack, he said, “You lads look up the Red Hot Chilli Pipers on your phones.”

Tim reached for his phone, swiping the picture of Lucille and him with Alpaca Colin. But Lucille touched his hand, making him hesitate.

“I don’t think that would be very suitable, Mr Buckle going to all this trouble with such a delicious menu and Mr Turner all dressed up in the finest regalia and then having some squeaky din coming out of an iPhone.”

“Your right lass, it just won’t do,” supported Phyllis.

“Well, does anyone know a piper?” Fred replied wearily.

“Surely we can find a professional one online?” contributed Julia

“A professional piper that’s free on Burn’s Night at this late notice,” chided Phyllis.

“I know a piper.”

The voice came from the back of the room. Everyone turned to look at the slight dark-haired woman sat on a dining chair. “Well, I think we all do.”

“Do we, Jane?” Julia asked.

“Yes, the busker that stands outside the town hall in Appleby Thornton.”

Everyone started talking at once;

“I only go into town every second Tuesday to get my hair done.”

“Same here I only go through if I have a doctor’s appointment.”

“Well, it’s the cost of the parking isn’t it, it’s free at Tweaven Retail Park and more shops.”

“You can get it on t’internet delivered to your door.”

“I haven’t been since Marks and Spencers closed.”

“Debenhams is closing next week such a shame, that shops older than me, always been a department store in Appleby Thornton.”

“It was one of the first in the country to have a lift, you know.”

Jane cleared her throat. “There are a lot of good things about Appleby Thornton that are not always obvious.”

“Here, here!” chimed in Val, “there is still a Primark.”

“Oh well, let’s be grateful for small mercies,” stung back Trixie.

Much to Delia’s disappointment, Val bit her lip. The ex-nurse and market gardener loved a full house. She cherished her quiet times with Patsy too, but she was the more sociable of the pair. The farm was large enough for Patsy to have her office and art studio and not be disturbed while Delia fussed the alpacas with Reggie. Trixie moving in had been Patsy’s scheme, but Delia was the one who had benefited most from their new project, even if she would never let their new employee know she was a project.

Delia enjoyed listening to Trixie’s anecdotes and gossip. She felt reconnected with a world that was moving so fast. The Two Loves were business women and technology hadn’t passed them by.  It was the music, the celebrities, the trashy telly that Patsy despised and Delia loved that made having Trixie and her friends around delight Delia.

Delia’s carer probably wasn’t as up-to-date with pop culture as Trixie and her friend. Val was now a frequent visitor to Mount Busby, as she and their new lodger had struck up quite a friendship. Nurse Bernie always looked a bit behind the door when the other two were in full flow about some reality TV show.

But since Trixie had moved in, Nurse made Delia’s blood pressure check the last visit on her rounds and she drank tea, sitting and chatting with Trixie. Bernie didn’t need to watch Love Island. She had her own romantic paradise in Poplar-on-Tweaven and Delia couldn’t be more happy for her.

Val had bitten her lip, her new friend was still a bit of an enigma to her. She did know Trixie might talk as if she had been born with a silver spoon in her mouth, but in the last few months she had gleaned enough to know that spoon had been tarnished sometime ago. So in spite of all her bravado, Trixie was as familiar with Poundland as she was with Prada.

It was Julia who cut through the chatter. “I believe I am familiar with the young man you are referring to. He has a small dog with him if I am right?”

“Yes, Reverend.” Jane was beginning to believe she had dreamt the piper and maybe also Appleby Thornton.

“He’s rather good, as I remember.”

Jane was beaming as she nodded.

“So problem solved,” Fred rubbed his hands together with glee, “tot of whisky, a bowl of water for the pooch, bob’s your uncle, sorted”

“No, it certainly is not.” Trixie’s tone caused everyone to alter their gaze, “this man is a professional musician surely, if he has a regular spot he has a license. I am sure Chummy is well acquainted with the gentleman and his story. We can ask her.”

Inspector Noakes had been unable to attend the meeting because of work commitments, and Peter’s Tuesday evenings were spent running a youth football team that Jack and Timothy had both enjoyed being a part of. Alas, Tim had become too rangy and prone to injury, and Jack had become too lazy and prone to chips.

Trixie continued, “He deserves an appropriate wage for his efforts.” She turned to Val. “I believe the Crown has an entertainments licence.”

Val nodded and smiled reassuringly at her friend, “Paddy does, leave it with me and I will also make sure he and the mut are fed and provided with transport both ways.”

Trixie relaxed and shared a smile with the aromatherapist sitting at the back of the room. “Do you know his name?”

“Kevin.”

Fred let out a huge sigh. “So we are all sorted then?”

“It would appear so,” replied Lucille, grimacing at Tim.

“Apart from Dad.” groaned Tim.

Followed by an echo of sighs.

“Leave your dad to me, Chick.” winked Val.

[the-phantom-nagisa]

Valentines day short fic! With karma, nagisa, hazama and terasaka! Oh boy!

Have this non-beta read piece that I mostly wrote while in the train this week. Credit to @handy-dandy-headcanons for the gay comment in the middle of this work.

Terasaka isn't a homophobe, he just doesn't like Karma.

I'm so sorry for the shitty formatting I can't work with Tumblr and just wanted to post this.

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

It had been an incredibly stupid idea, Nagisa knew that now. Sure he loved his boyfriend to death and was glad they were spending the entirety of valentine's day together but he also wanted to use the day to help his friend Hazama with her first official date with Terasaka. She was nervous for it, he'd noticed, which is why he suggested the solution in the first place. He should have realised, however, that Karma and Terasaka were not a good combination. A double date was destined to fail miserably.

Dinner. It was just a dinner. He and Hazama agreed neither of their boyfriends would behave properly in a fancy restaurant so some midway compromise between a fast food place and a fancy restaurant was found. A decent place, really. 3 courses, proper seating and a relatively big menu. A big enough menu for Karma to find absolutely nothing he could NOT criticize.

"I'm just saying, i can probably make it better- actually, no. I KNOW i can make it better than this place can." He was pointing at some stew he saw on he menu, basically shoving it in Nagisa's face who just smiled at him in reaction.

Hazama rolled her eyes, wondering how Nagisa loved the cocky idiot so much. She did have to admit her hypocrisy, seeing as her boyfriend was another type of idiot. Not that she minded being the smart one in their relationship.

Terasaka sighed and slumped down even further than anyone at the table thought was possible to do in the restaurant's mildly comfortable booths. "Can you do better in shutting the hell up?" He grumbled.

Karma was about to bring some sarcastic comeback, Nagisa just knew it. Preventing the moment from escalating into something ridiculous he took ahold of Karma's arm and looked him in the eye.

"I'm not that big of an eater, can we share the first course?" He asked his boyfriend. Said boyfriend completely forgot about Terasaka's existence for a moment, completely taken away by Nagisa's gaze. Nagisa was very familiar with Karma's thoughts about him. The red head was a firm believer of freedom of speech when that meant he'd get to call Nagisa pretty. Nagisa really did not need another session of Karma advocating for his beauty, as if he was giving a speech and Nagisa was the subject.

Everyone ordered their food and the date continued. Karma and Terasaka couldn't help but bicker through most of it, however. Karma clearly didn't have a filter and Terasaka had no impulse control to prevent him from immediately arguing with the red head. 

"As a future government worker, I believe it should be legal for me to commit tax fraud" Karma argued as he and Nagisa had the most random discussion on teaching high schoolers how to pay their taxes. 

Terasaka held a tight grip on his fork. It wasn't hard for Nagisa to imagine that that grip could actually kill a human being. He tried to throw thoughts off murder out of his head as he figured the fork would probably be fine. "That ks the stupidest thing I've ever heard, you're not above the law, Akabane." Terasaka said. 

"Is it still tax fraud if you legally don't have to pay?" Nagisa couldn't help but wonder out loud. Hazama shrugged in reaction and Karma smirked a little. Terasaka ignored the thought and remained on edge. 

"Look, Terasaka, don't meddle with what the smart people are handling." Karma held the same cocky look on his face. "Your brain is too incompetent to comprehend what we're doing anyways" 

Rage emitted from Terasaka, Nagisa noted. It was also obvious enough for anyone without Nagisa's skill to notice. He knew Hazama noticed because she carefully took Terasaka's knife and put it beside her plate where her boyfriend couldn't easily grab it. 

"Oh I'm sorry, was that rude? I didn't think your brain could figure out what i was say-OOF" Karma was interrupted by Nagisa elbowing him in the side. "That wasn't necessary." He complained. 

"Yes it was." Nagisa sighed, giving a pleading look at Hazama. 

She got the hint and put her arm around Terasaka. "Hey big boy, perhaps pay more attention to your girlfriend at your date." She told him. 

Luckily Terasaka took a note of her and turned to her, letting out an annoyed sigh. Within minutes he was completely cooled down and he and Hazama were having a lovely conversation about…Occult stuff. Whatever pleases them. Nagisa was more than happy to discuss Karma's favourite movie with him. 

Just when Nagisa thought things were going well again the two started bickering again. Nagisa barely had the energy to figure out what their discussion was this time but it didn't matter. The argument turned more into both guys listing what they disliked about the other and defending their own honour. Nagisa thought what they were doing had quite the opposite effect, he really didn't think highly of either of them at that point. 

He and Hazama were exchanging knowing look with each other. A second double date would not be scheduled. Both only properly returned their attention to the conversation when Terasaka used a new completely done tone in Karma's direction. 

Now, Karma and Nagisa's relationship was relatively new. Most people were surprised to find out the boys had started dating, mostly because neither of them ever discussed their sexuality. Neither Karma or Nagisa really cared what others thought about homosexuality but it was still considered rude to say something about it. 

"Didn't even know you were gay, Akabane" Terasaka said. 

For a few seconds Karma didn't say anything. His expression was empty and didn't say a lot. Then he turned to Hazama. 

"Didn't know you dated ignorant idiots, Hazama" 

For some reason THAT was all that was needed for the date to escalate into hell. Both guys were furious and ignoring their dates trying to calm them down. 

"I will punch you so hard you'll feel the thing you call a brain bounce all throughout your head." Karma stood up fast and incidentally knocked his plate off the table and made the flower vase topple. 

"Not if I break your arm first" Terasaka screamed as he also got up. 

Everyone was looking at their table. Nagisa noted Hazama trying her best to pick up all the food the guys had spilled. All Nagisa could do was try and hide in shame. 

Just when they thought things couldn't get worse, they reached over the table and grabbed each other. Nagisa knew in advance that the date wouldn't go great but he wasn't prepared for his boyfriend getting physical. 

"U-uhm, excuse me" Their table went silent as they noticed the waitress that carefully approached their table. "I'm going to- going to have to ask you to leave, p-please"

It wasn't long before Karma broke the uncomfortable silence. "Look what you've done now!" He complained as he looked at Terasaka. 

The two started bickering again and Hazama dragged her boyfriend along with her. The only reason it went successful is because he respected her enough to deny her force. Nagisa tried doing the same with Karma but he was his usual self. 

"Sir, someone will have to pay…"The waitress said, tapping Nagisa's shoulder. She probably noticed very easily he was the most sensible person to talk to, what with the two fightinf guys and the girl who was threatening to curse both of them at this point. All he could do was sigh and do so, noticing his unusual forceful manner of putting in his pin code. It was almost as if he treated the card machine as his enemy. 'Better to treat the machine like this than your boyfriend' was all he could think.

---

Standing outside of the restaurant no one in their company was happy. The most positive thing of it all was the now calm Terasaka with Hazama's arm around him. 

"Well I think we're just going to spend the rest of the day with us two." Hazama said, mostly talking to Nagisa. "Thanks for trying though" 

Nagisa waved her off with a light smile. The moment she was out of view he swiftly turned around to scowl at his boyfriend. "Really?" He didn't need to say more. 

Judging by the look on his face, Karma did in fact feel a bit of guilt. "We'll probably have more fun when it's just the two of us anyways" He defended himself. 

At first Nagisa didn't react. His face didn't change and he didn't say anything. Sure, he was calming himself down, that was part of the reason. In all honesty, however, he also just wanted to say something that kept the evening going in perhaps a more romantic direction while also making clear to Karma that what he'd done was not okay. Eventually he realised how futile his effort would be. He could help Karma but never in his life could he hope to change him. Not like Nagisa wanted him to change at all. 

He took a hold of Karma's hands, face still unchanged, catching Karma off guard. He took advantage of this and pulled Karma down lightly so his boyfriend was at eye level with him. He wasn't ignorant to the surprised look on Karma's face that perhaps also showed a little fear. 

"You better pay me back for this dinner" 

And with that Nagisa pecked a kiss on Karma's lip before releasing his hold on him. He portrayed a small smile on his face. As bad as the dinner was he knew Hazama would force an apology out of Terasaka the next time they saw each other. Nagisa would make sure he did the same. 

Karma came back to his senses as he mumbled a soft apology. Nagisa figured he could see how he ruined his boyfriends night, which was even worse considering it was their first Valentine's together. 

"I think I can make it up to you." He said as he put his arm around Nagisa's shoulders. "Let's go to my place, we're more of a movie night couple anyways" 

With that Nagisa couldn't disagree. He leaned in on Karma's embrace with a smile. "I think I'd like that"

[pocmuzings]

💘 + hana & suraj 😌

wipes sweaty shaking hands . .. . .

where they first met and how : at school ! not entirely sure on grade . . but definitely like . .  middle school . . fresh high school ? hana had just moved , and she saw suraj was in her class and o wow she was smitten she thought he was BEAUTIFUL

how long their ‘flirting’ phase was before feelings got involved : their actual FLIRTING flirting stage was mainly just hana shamelessly hitting on him and staring at his ass . . so what . i think that lasted.. like a year and a half ? before she chilled out a little , and stopped just idolising him and began actually TALKING to him . and then it was still a lil flirty but it was actually like ‘ oh . . oh this guy has thoughts and is smart and thoughtful and sweet and not just a Hottie with a Body . . ‘ 

who fell for who first ( if applicable ): i think hana fell hard initially but it was legit just infatuation and her thinking he was hot . . i think from there . . they both kinda fell for each other ? once they started getting to know each other and working on school projects together . hana figured by then that he was way out of her league , so she’d kinda just given up and was happy just be Friends ? so she never even CONSIDERED suraj might like her too . 

where their first date was and what it was like : oH THIS ??? IM NOT ?? IM NOT SURE ? i feel like when suraj first got his license he probably picked her up and took her out somewhere , and brought her flowers he’d nervously ripped out of his neighbours yard . . and like . he tried to take her to a nice dinner but maybe his car stalled ? she spilled something on her nice skirt ?? it was a disaster lowkey , and ended with them in a carpark of a 7 / 11 sharing a bag of skittles and holding hands probably and it was . . an amazing date . hana didn’t even care that everything ‘ technically ‘ went wrong . 

who asks who out and how ( with a sign? spelled out on a cake? just a simple ‘will you go out with me’? ): AHHH THIS IS HARD TO ANSWER ?? because there was a lot of dancing around it . a lot of uncertainty and jealousy and saying ‘ ha ha we’re just friends ‘ . i truly  don’t know who would have . . made the Move finally and asked out who and how ? i feel like it could have been suraj , but hana misunderstood and thought it was a Friendship thing , too . 

who proposes first: OH IT WAS SURAJ AND WE ALL KNOW IT  . i feel like hana maybe murmured it one night , them half asleep , her face smushed into his neck , like ‘ i wanna marry you ‘ , but it was suraj who literally had the Plan and the idea and the whole set up and he asked her and hana was both surprised and not surprised and SO HAPPY

if they keep / kept their relationship secret or let everyone know right away : they didn’t really , in fact if anything they kept their relationship secret to EACH OTHER . like everyone else kinda knew they were into each other but they were both like . . ha ha . . nah . 

where the proposal happens and how ( kiss cam at a baseball game? on a hillside surrounded by ducks? at a disney park? ) : god u guys are really testing me today . . umm i feel like it was on new years and it was a little cliche , and hana and suraj were hosting a lil drinks together and had dinner with her parents beforehand and yeah . . ok . . suraj definitely did the thing with the Ring in the Glass , and him on his knee just as the fireworks went off . hana probably was laughing and crying and pulled out a ring SHE had for SURAJ in her purse and they’re both dumb idiots in love !

if they adopt any pets together : hana would adopt 2000958489 pets if she could , and suraj rlly has to put his foot down or he’ll come home to so many . luckily , most of their lives they’ve lived in apartments so having pets hasnt been a super high possibility . also . . hana is quite careless and has k*lled many , many of their goldfish . . 

who’s more dominant : hana is more outwardly dominant but only because she’s SO loud and outspoken and talk talk talk talk TALKS . but suraj is quietly dominant ? like he’s the one who’ll put his hand out and immediately Everyone Respects and Listens and Shuts The Hell Up . he can command a room very easily if he wanted to . as for s*XUALLY . . hana LOVES when suraj gets a lil . . u know . . commanding in the bedroom . but she is usually the one who initiates it , and then he will hesitate but get iNTO IT. 

where their first kiss was and what it was like: their first kiss was prom ! they both came with other dates and were acting like they weren’t jealous . hana’s date was a dick the whole night so she bailed , suraj’s date left early to go to some party . . it was them two in a carpark lowkey bickering and then . . oh the kiss just Happened !

if they have any matching couples stuff ( mugs? sweaters? pillowcases? ): OH HANA GETS THEM EVERYTHING . they have mr & mrs everything . she got them his & her towels . . ‘ HANAS BOYFRIEND ‘ as a mug to suraj ( for him to take to work so no Woman talks to him dfkjnfnk ) . they also definitely have 3000 matching halloween costumes , and ugly christmas sweaters . 

how into pda they are : neither of them are actually super super pda-y besides a kiss goodbye / hello , and a hand hold . if they’re a little drunk or tipsy , hana definitely snuggles on in and just Holds him the entire night and presses kisses to his neck because she’s Addicted to him . 

who holds the umbrella when it rains : SURAJ LOOK AT HOW TALL HE IS . and he just does it silently . . he takes it and holds it , and ensures hana doesn’t stumble into her 3000th puddle , or accidentally hit someone with the umbrella ( when she holds the umbrella , she always smacks suraj in the face and doesnt even notice dkjnjnfkfn ) 

where their usual ‘date spot’ is ( if applicable ) : i don’t know if they have one atm ? it was their rooftop for a while probably , in their old apartment complex ? thatd be date night usually . currently ..  they’re pretty happy just having dinner together every night in their house in general ? 

who’s more protective: hana is definitely protective because she doesn’t like the way suraj’s family treats him , mainly . like he’s not a PUSHOVER per se , but he isn’t very confrontational and ppl sometimes take advantage of that , and around his family she KNOWS they hurt his feelings and she really really doesn’t like that  

how long it is before they sleep together ( can be as in ‘had sex’ or as in ‘shared a bed’ ): platonically , they share a bed a bunch of times before they become ‘ them ‘ . hana’s parents let suraj stay over literally whenever , and they have a Knowing look in their eyes and would tease them about ‘ leaving the door open ‘ ( and hana would groan very loudly whilst suraj would stammer out a ‘ no - i - never . . ) . the first time they had sex was also in hana’s bed lets be honest . it was careful and gentle and both of them laughing nervously and moving slowly and taking Care of each other . 

if they argue about anything : they don’t really argue with each other until they moved to mystic and things got Strained slightly . hana started acting quite obviously distant and it started stressing suraj out . other than that . . they argued maybe once or twice about surajs brother ? it was never anything TOO serious but it was a little bickering about how hana didn’t trust him and wished suraj didn’t hold out hope for him , and suraj defending himself and his brother . it’s never been anything too ugly ?? 

who leaves more marks ( lipstick, hickeys, scratchmarks etc. ) : hana . she leaves hickies on suraj any damn day . she also definitely comes to his office and will put on a fresh coat of lipstick and kiss him stupid ( and hand him her panties before stepping out ) because she just LIKES seeing him all flustered . plus she . . maybe likes that people KNOW that its HER with suraj . 

who steals whose clothes and how often : oh we know hana wears his clothes constantly . she loves them . they smell like him . she wears them as pyjamas , or sometimes as a lazy sunday brunch look . he’ll be like ‘ babe did you see my ralph lauren button up - oh “  and there she is on the kitchen bench swinging her legs , grinning at him . 

how they cuddle ( spooning? facing each other? ) : they definitely swap ‘ big spoon / little spoon ‘ positions a lot . or they sleep holding hands , on different sides of the bed , but always touching in some way . 

what their favourite nonsexual activity is  : honestly . . just being around each other dfjkfnfn i know thats so cheesy but its true they love each other so much. their ABSOLUTE favourite thing to do is literally just talk about their days ? or like . cook for each other in the kitchen , or share music together , i feel ? just smth where they can be in their Space but not necessarily have to fill it with anything

how long they stay mad at each other : NOT LONG AT ALL !! barely anytime at all ! except . .One Time in the future when they have a huge blow out and theyre both utterly miserable , but all other small indifferences and ‘ arguments ‘ literally last an hour max . hana just can’t be mad at suraj bc he’s SO sweet and lovely and understanding she just . . always crawls back and knows shes the one being unreasonable 9  / 10 times . 

what their usual coffee / tea orders are : hana always gets a ridiculously bright, overly sugary, coloured drink , or always tries something new ( trying to make her way through the menu ) . i feel like suraj is either more of a long black , or cappuccino guy , or a tea drinker ? 

if they ever have any children together : oh ho ho . .   THIS . .  .woweee . . no, they do not ! not yet . . i want to say ? ?  mayhaps . . 

if they have any special pet names for each other : ‘  babe ‘ ‘ baby ‘ ‘ sweetie ‘ . hana calls suraj ‘ su ‘ sometimes ? 

if they ever split up and / or get back together : they . . split up exactly ONCE . and they get back together because they literally can’t live without each other. the split up isn’t anybodys fault per se , either . its that hana has suddenly a lot of trauma and memories resurface and she doesnt know how to deal with it , and suraj tries to help and it TERRIFIES her and causes this distance and rift between them and then she just thinks maybe he’d be better off without her , so she gives him back the ring and cue them both being utterly MISERABLE . they find their way back together though . they always do . 

what their shared living space is like ( messy? clean? what kind of decor? ) : despite hana being very messy and all over the place , their living space is quite minimalist and clean . hana’s work space is an explosion of materials and colour swatches and scrapbooks , but the house as a whole is neat and tidy and i feel we mainly have suraj to thank for that 

what their first christmas / hanukkah / etc as a couple was like : they spent half the day at hana’s parents , and half the day at suraj’s , then spent the evening / night together . they mainly enjoyed coming back home to each other tbh ? suraj’s family is . . Difficult , and hana tries not to stay around them for too long bc she sees them Drain suraj . 

what their names are in each other’s phones: hana’s name for suraj is probably  ‘ BABY 💕🥰💕🥰💕🥰💕🥰💕 ‘ she probably renamed herself in suraj’s phone too , to like . . ‘ LOVE OF MY LIFE ‘ and he never changed it back dfkjfnkfn 

if they have any ‘couple traditions’ ( buying a new mug for their collection every year? baking every friday evening? ) : their tradition is usually having dinner together every night ? no matter who cooks or what they buy . or even if hana is working late on wedding stuff , suraj will come sit with her and bring her her dinner still . they also send each other Silly Goofy selfies every now and then , just randomly throughout the day 

who falls asleep first and who wakes up first : it really depends on the day ! during the week i think suraj usually falls asleep first ? and hana just rakes her fingers through his hair , because she usually works late and stuff , and tbh she loves when suraj is asleep bc hes a big golden retriever cuddled up to her . but everytime they watch a movie together , hana definitely falls asleep first and misses EVERYTHING  . as for waking up first , i feel like this must be suraj ? because hana loves sleep and also she doesnt sleep very WELL and sometimes has nightmares . 

who’s the big spoon / little spoon : they honestly take turns ok , there i said it . 

who hogs the bathroom : hana literally for every event . she loves makeup so much . she’ll be doing it for two hours , suraj sitting on the bed fully dressed being like ‘  baby i’m not pressuring u but uh . . we’re half an hour late to our own wedding dinner rehearsal ‘ dfkjndfnjk

who kills the spiders / takes them outside : THEY’RE BOTH DECENT AT THIS ? they both take the spiders outside . if its a particularly big one or scary one . . it goes to suraj though . hana PREFERS if suraj does it , but if he’s not around she’ll try her Best . 

[ddaengyoonmin]

Chapter 2

Pairing: Jungkook x reader, eventual Ot7 x reader in later chapters

Genre: fluff, angst, uhh maybe smut eventually??

Theme: Based kinda on sword art online a lot of similar ideas and themes kinda combining the idea of them trapped in the game, but the world is closer to ALFheim online

Word Count: 1.8k

Warnings: Swearing?..I swear a lot it can’t be contained.

Next --> Chapter 3

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

-“But this isn’t the real world...this is my world” He pulled away, a smirk on his face. Your eyes widened.  What were you getting yourself into…-

“What the hell does that mean” You laughed trying to hide the nervousness flooding over your body at his closeness.

He shrugged and laughed, returning to his previous demeanor quickly.

“I just mean to say that...I think you’ll find I’m quite... skilled, when it comes to this kind of thing”

‘He’s such a flirt’ you thought.

You couldn’t deny to yourself that you were most definitely falling for it though.  The last man you’d felt this type of attraction toward was years ago in your freshman year of college, it was brief and fleeting, and this felt stronger.  

You’d never had a boyfriend, you didn’t see the point. Getting straight A’s in high school kept you busy and then College, and now your job.  You thought you were completely content with that being your life.

So this feeling was new, and baffling to you.  You’d barely just met this man and you already felt like you have to get to know more about him.

“So...Kookie? I call you that right?” You said pointing to the screen to his left.

He nodded and pointed to yours, “Velvet Tiger huh??”

“It’s actually a combination of my cats names” you admitted and blushed.

He nodded slowly with a look you couldn’t quite read. Something close to amusement possibly? He must think you’re a dork, or worse, already assumes you are a crazy cat lady just like your family does.

“So, why didn’t you use a spell to fight off the bees? Wouldn’t that have been better than running like a dog with its tail between its legs? You are in a game with magic you know” he states.

“Spell?”

He groaned and rolled his eyes, “Jesus christ, did you read the manual on this game? Or ever look up anything about it before diving in?”

You shook your head looking down at your feet.

He sighed, “So we are really starting from square one here huh?”

He ran his fingers through his hair again.  It seemed to be a habit of his, and you were becoming quite fond of it.

“So...basics of spells is probably a good place to start” he said and moved close to your side so he was standing facing your holographic screen.  He pointed to the menu button.  “Touch your finger to that”

You did as he said, a new page opened up ‘Spells, Items, Skills, Spell Store, Achievements, Settings, Log out’ were all listed on the screen.

“Everyone starts out with a couple basic spells depending on the fairy race they selected.  Shadow fairies like me get ‘Shadow ball’ for a fighting spell and ‘Quiet feet’ as an illusion spell, my race specializes in sneak skills, illusion magic and night vision”

He motions for you to click your finger to the word ‘spells’ on your screen.

Again you are taken to a new page with two spells listed, ‘Squirt Gun’ and ‘Novice Healing’.

“If you select one of the two of those it’ll be your default spell”

He continued on, showing you different tips and tricks, for how to use your spells and how to level up different skills by using them frequently.

He taught you about the five races of fairies when you admitted you had only just skimmed over the info on them and just tried to pick the one you thought looked the coolest.  That earned a laugh and some teasing from him.  

There were ‘fire fairies’ who specialized in (obviously) fire magic, and they were the strongest but also the slowest.  

Next were ‘hybrid fairies’ with either the ears and tail of a wolf, cat, rabbit, or fox depending on what the game auto picked for you in the character room.

(You now slightly remembered seeing fox ears on yourself on one of your options you had scrolled through…) They specialized in animal taming and controlling spells, and had excellent long distance eye sight.

 Lastly there were the Sylph fairies, who were skilled at wind spells, and music spells that could enchant, stun, or temporarily confuse and disorient opponents. They were also the fastest.

Most of the info he continued to spill out went right over your head, but he was so cute talking about it so you couldn’t bear to admit you only were taking in about 90% of this info.  You could tell that he was a huge gaming fanatic.

 You would’ve never seen yourself being attracted to someone with such an impractical hobby, but here you were, in the game with him, grinning widely and nodding along as he talked about this fantasy world you were both sitting in.

Finally, after much explaining he excitedly grabbed your hand dragging you to the treeline that you were previously headed to in your frantic escape from killer bees.

You take note of how soft his hand feels holding yours, then remind yourself that this is just a game.  Who knows what his hands feel like in real life...or if you’d ever even meet in real life.  That thought made your heart sink a bit, but, you were going to do your best enjoy your time with him in this world (‘his world’ as he said) as much as you could.

“Time to take everything I explained and put it into action” He grinned as he continued to pull you into the forest.

You spent the next few hours fighting various in-game creatures. The freakiest being a four foot tall rabbit with giant fangs you nearly fainted upon seeing.

You conquered some fears and slightly got the hang of how to use the Squirt gun spell to shoot water from your fingertips to cause damage.

By the end of all of your “beginners lessons” as Kookie called it, you had leveled up from level 1 to level 4 and Kookie had leveled up from his previous level 10 to 12, explaining that it was easier to level up at the beginning and gets harder as you go on.  

You also were surprised to see after each defeated beast a small amount of ‘coin’ showed up in the corner of your screen.  

‘Dammit’ you thought as you shook your head ‘mom was right, I’m having fun, and I made a friend’ you contemplated downplaying your fantastic adventure you had today when she called you late tonight (as she said she would)  just so you didn’t have to hear her smug “I told you so”

Kookie laid out on the ground, relaxed and propped up on his elbows, one leg slightly crossing over the other.  He smiled as he stared at his screen scrolling with one finger through the new items he’d acquired from defeating creatures with you on his first day, looking very proud of himself.  Realizing you were staring he turned his head to you “Good day huh?” he grinned ear to ear.

You took a seat next to your new friend cross legged, “Honestly? Yeah, and I really didn’t expect to, thank you...really” You can’t remember the last time you spent this much time with another person, let alone a cute guy that (you assumed?) was near your age.  

He looked quite pleased with himself upon hearing your appreciation of him, “Anytime sweetheart.” he paused “Actually... Will you be here tomorrow? We could meet up again, I still haven't taught you about in game flying!”

“Sure!” You said with more enthusiasm than you planned.

“It’s a date then” He said, bringing his hands behind his head as he relaxed staring straight up into the sky.

You blushed, ‘Date…’

You joined in and looked up too, it was the most beautiful sunset you’d ever seen in your life.  All the shades of pinks and oranges painting the sky in a way you could only have dreamed about before.

Wait...sunset?

“Holy shit, what time is it” You said in a slight panic

He chuckled “uhhh 7:00 or so I think” he sat up and double checked on his screen and then nodded.

“Yikes, I’m probably hungry as fuck...weird that I can’t feel it here, that's probably not too smart for the game makers to have ignored that”

You also had some thoughts about how salty Velvet was going to be when you got home. You half expected her to have been curled up on your lap the whole time pawing at you curiously trying to demand pets and attention from your unmoving body in the chair.  Tiger on the other hand was much like you and probably didn’t notice your absence.

Kookie shrugged, “yeah, I suppose that might cause some problems, you kinda lose track of time here, especially with good company” he smirked poking your shoulder, causing you to blush again and hold the spot he had just touched shyly.

“ I had logged out and had a big meal right before I found you, but I’m probably pretty hungry too”  he continued, and put a hand to his face in a thinking gesture,

“I’m craving….pizza!” he exclaimed pointing a finger to the air, making you giggle at his goofiness.

“See you tomorrow then!” You beamed at him “Enjoy your pizza!”

You clicked the menu button on your screen to log out, in the corner of your eye you saw Kookie was doing the same.  

“That’s weird…” you heard him say “The logout button is...gone?”

You looked to your screen, “Oh shit, mine is too!”

“Probably just first day glitches, that blows…” He shook his head “I’m sure we aren’t the first ones to notice, I bet it's been reported and they are working on it as we speak”

“Shouldn’t we report it too though? Just in case?” you looked to him “you know how to do that right?”

He nodded in agreement and went to the settings menu on his screen “For real?” He sounded irritated “The button to contact support is gone too?”

You’ve now started to worry a bit.  “Wha...what do we do?”

Just as you said that a loud sound like an alarm blared out all around you and Kookie, causing you to jump and startling some birds in a nearby bush making them flutter away to the now darkening sky.

Your screen flashed red along with Kookie’s screen.

“ALL PLAYERS REPORT TO FLOOR ONE’S MAIN TOWN SQUARE” it read in bold, urgent looking letters.

“Okay...that's probably good right? They know there's something up and they are going to gather us all together to explain” you stutter out

Kookie nodded but didn’t say anything, he didn’t feel right about this. He finally stood up and offered you his hand, you took it and got on your feet as well.

“I’ll show you the way” he said with a grin.  But something seemed off about that grin, there was some worry hidden behind it.  You didn't like this at all...

[trickandmxgic]

RULES:  List at least five tropes applicable to your character, then tag others to do the same.(Tropes Wiki)  REPOST! DO NOT REBLOG.

Tagged by: MYSELF i mean ive done it on all my other blogs so Tagging: u sure y not

Magnificent Bastard: If there was ever a character that deserved to be called “Magnificent”, that character is the Magnificent Bastard. The Magnificent Bastard is what happens when you combine The Chessmaster, The Trickster, and the Manipulative Bastard: bold, charismatic, independent, audacious and genius. Capturing the audience with their charisma, incredible intellect, mastery of manipulation, and boldness of action, this character is a show-stealer, demanding your reverence at every turn.  While usually an antagonist, especially if they’re the Big Bad, the Magnificent Bastard can be aligned on either side of a conflict. Hell, they’re so amazing they tend to forgo the idea of good and evil altogether, instead following their own agenda, choosing to help whichever side will further their goals. However, it’s true that their penchant for manipulation at the expense of others means it’s common for them to be a Villain, Villain Protagonist, or at least an Anti-Hero, but purely heroic examples exist. Either way, they’re usually in charge of whatever organization they’re involved with, or might as well be.

“ Outsmarts everyone and looks stylish while doing it. “

The Strategist: A character whose primary job is to think up intricate and ingenious ways to defeat the enemy. The Strategist is often in a supporting role, but may be the hero as well. In a supporting role, the Strategist is basically The Smart Guy on turbo, although he or she will—as a general rule—be less likely to physically partake in any of the plans they think up. The Strategist might come across as an unmitigated disaster, should the heroes come to rely on his or her advice too much. The Strategist may also take center stage. As a hero, The Strategist’s clever tactical tricks drive the story. A main character Strategist will face overwhelming odds, again and again. The enemy may have difficulty believing The Strategist can possibly win, but by bending the rules a little, dusting off their knowledge of military history, and maybe pulling a few dirty tricks, The Strategist comes out on top, or at least alive.

“It is only one who is thoroughly acquainted with the evils of war that can thoroughly understand the profitable way of carrying it on.”

Reality Warper: Ever heard of the Superpower Lottery? Well, kid, you just won the grand prize. You know those pesky laws of physics? Or that annoying thing called causality? Einstein's theory of relativity? Quantum physics? You can laugh and say, "screw you" to them now. Reality is officially out to lunch, and you've picked the restaurant and menu it gets to "choose". This means you can create things out of nothing, change already existing things, erase things from existence, and generally force reality to obey your will just by thinking about it. The key issue here is how far one can take this, and in Guo Jia’s case, he can take it far, but not too crazily far. With his transfiguration magic, his mastery over it, Guo Jia can bend matter and energy pretty much to his will-- he can take hold of the matter around him in it’s various forms, turn it into energy, and then turn that energy into  just about anything he wants, assuming the object or item he has in mind is something he’s seen in person at least once. This can allow Guo Jia to do some pretty wild things, but he is unfortunately (or maybe fortunately for everyone else) limited by his illness, meaning that his magic will take too far a toll on him and kill him before he’s able to do anything truly crazy like tearing the time-space continuum apart or something on that scale. Using any of his magic too much stands a chance of making him seriously ill or killing him, actually, but his transfiguration magic especially. So sure he’s dangerous, very dangerous, but not on any crazy cosmic level, not on his own.

"Can change the way the world is put together.“

The Hedonist: This character is strongly motivated by a desire to be happy and experience various kinds of pleasure. They seldom consider or care for the long term effects their actions may have on them, let alone the short term effects they may bring upon others. Guo Jia’s lack of consideration for his long term well being and the effects his actions have on others when it comes to seeking his various pleasures (flirting, drinking, partying, warfare, etc) come from the knowledge that he will probably die young, and therefore the ‘here and now’ is all that is important. He has to enjoy every day like it could be his last, because it very well could be.

“ Someone motivated by desires for sensual pleasures.”

Number Two: Throughout all his timelines, Guo Jia inevitably ends up as the right hand man to whoever it is he is working for or serves, simply by way of how useful he is, how effective his advice and strategies can be, and how unflinchingly loyal he can be. Guo Jia’s dynamic with Cao Cao in his original timeline is a good example of this, where Cao Cao came to consult Guo Jia first on everything, and as a result, ended up conquering northern China against odd’s that would have otherwise seemed impossible. Cao Cao had many, many talented individuals in their employ of course, some who excelled past Guo Jia in certain areas, but even so Guo Jia literally became the most instrumental person Cao Cao had in his ranks. (if he’s serving a more boss Guo Jia probably becomes more akin to The Dragon, but same thing just about just different alignments lmao).

“ The Leader's right-hand man or second-in-command. ”

Incurable Cough of Death: A cough that is usually accompanied by nasty amounts of blood from the mouth, that may also involve collapsing. The character afflicted with this ailment will probably try to hide it and will usually succeed until they actually pass out and/or die. Thematically, the unnamed disease tends to act like pneumonia or tuberculosis, even in futuristic settings where those real diseases might be cured. Other times it’s a hyped up version of unfortunately very real symptoms of chronically overworked people. For Guo Jia, its not an actual sickness as much as it is an incompatibility between his soul and body, but it functions like an illness and he, and just about everyone else, believes it to be one. It causes him to get very sick, cough up blood, etc-- illness-like enough for this trope.

“Who coughs, dies.”

Honorable mentions:  Alchemy Is Magic, Awesomeness by Analysis, The Alcoholic, Heroic Sacrifice, Improbable Weapon User, Divine Parentage, Anti Magic, Sadistic Choice, Glass Cannon, Meaningful Name, Undying Loyalty, Necessarily Evil

[the--blackdahlia]

Too Young to Fall in Love Chapter 1 (Dirt!Nikki x Reader)

Title: Too Young to Fall in Love Chapter 1

Summary: Nikki Sixx was a hard partying musician on the strip. He never expected to fall in love with anyone, until a girl knocked on his dressing room door looking for a ride home and took his breath away. Just like everything else Nikki did; the drugs, the money, the music; Nikki went hard with love. (Y/n) Bass never expected the bassist of Motley Crue to be the one to shake her calm and calculated life up. She had a plan. Graduate school, become an epic producer, and watch from behind the scenes as her brother’s band rose to fame. Nikki and (Y/n) were perfect for each other, too bad her brother, Tommy, didn’t think so.

Series warnings: Smut (18+ Please), drug use, language, referenced miscarriage, drug overdose, mentioned attempted suicide, out of character moments for everyone in the band, the timeline might be a little screwy but it’s fanfiction!

AN: I couldn’t have done this without the help of @flamencodiva​! Go check out chapters 1, 2, and 3 on my Patreon now! I really hope you guys like this. A lot of hard work has been put into it!

“Dudes, this crowd is fucking wild!” Tommy said happily as they got ready to go out and perform. Nikki chuckled some. No matter what, Tommy still got excited looking out at the crowd. He also still hurled too. This time though, he had missed any of their shoes, which was nice. “I think my sisters and their friends might have came out tonight. Not sure.”

“Dear god, there’s more of you?” Mick asked, shaking his head.

“Yeah dudes. Athena and (Y/n). (Y/n) we’re pretty sure was an oops baby, but she’s amazing!” Tommy laughed. Mick leaned over towards Vince.

“Are we sure he’s not the oops baby?” Mick asked, making Vince laugh.

“Okay guys, we ready?” Nikki asked. The boys got ready to head out on stage. They did a couple last minute checks to make sure their hair and make up was perfect before they headed out, the crowd erupting into screams and they started playing one of their newest songs, “Shout at the Devil”.

****

Tommy had found Athena after the show and she had convinced him to go out for food with him. She had thought (Y/n) had headed back home for the evening, so they left the venue. Nikki was in the dressing room, taking off his makeup when there was a knock at the door.

“Yeah?” He asked, making his way to the door and opening it, and freezing for a second.

“Uh, hi,” She said, looking around. “I’m trying to find my friends. My sister cut out on me and I don’t have a way home.”

“Yeah, sorry. I’m here by myself.” He said. “The rest of the band already headed out.” He looked at her, seeing the defeated slump in her shoulders. “Hey, I’m about to head out myself. I could drop you off somewhere?”

“I...are you sure? Big rock star like you probably doesn’t want someone like me cramping your style.” She laughed. Nikki found himself staring at her. Those beautiful (e/c) eyes and the way her lips twisted into a smile when she laughed.

“It’s no problem. Really.” He laughed a little. “Probably should get your name though.”

“Oh, I’m (Y/n) Bass.” She said, offering her hand for him to shake. He laughed and took her hand, kissing the top of it.

“Nikki Sixx.” He told her. She smiled brightly.

“Yeah, I know all about you.” She smiled. “Just saw the concert. It’s amazing!”

“We’re ok,” NIkki shrugged playing it cool as he packed his bass. “I mean so far a lot of labels heads are being dicks,” he chuckled. “We might just start our own and distribute what we record and just try to find someone to manage us.”

“Well, maybe I’ll get done with school fast enough and can help that.” (Y/n) smiled at him. “That’s what I’m going to school for. Audio production, music management, things like that. I started earlier than everyone else and I’m the first person in my family to actually go to college, so they call me a geek.” She waited for him to get done taking off his makeup and get ready to leave. She was rambling and felt really nervous.

“That’s fucking sweet!” he chuckled and smiled. “I have to say… you would make one very sexy music producer.” He grabbed his things and walked up to her giving her a small smirk. “Wanna eat before I drop you off? I’m sure you’re hungry and I’m hungry… two hungry people....” he trailed off.  

“That’d be great.” She smiled. “I’m sure my par...roommate is probably asleep and probably wouldn’t appreciate me cooking this late…” She rocked on her heels.

“That’s cool, I mean one of my roommates is a human garbage disposal,” NIkki gave a short snort and looked in to her (e/c) eyes. He could feel his heart skip a beat as he closed his trunk and led her to the passenger side door. “So… any preferences as to what you want to eat?”

“Dude, diner food is some of the best,” She laughed. “So, like a burger or something?” She shrugged, blushing a little.

NIkki placed his hand over his heart feigning a sense of hurt, “A woman after my own heart.” he offered her a wink before carefully closing the door and making his way to the drivers side. “Hold on to something, I don’t do slow.”

With a devilish smirk he peeled out of the parking lot and down the road towards the diner.

“Still a better driver than my brother.” (Y/n) laughed some. “This is the first concert I’ve been too that I didn’t have to sneak into the strip for.”

“Well aren’t you a bit of a devil,” he teased as he helped her out of the car and led her inside.

They quickly sat at a booth and smiled at one another. This was weird, Nikki had never seen himself with a girl this beautiful, and he had never felt his palm get this sweaty over a chick before.

“Hey Nikki.” Doris said. “Jack and Coke?”

“You know me Doris,” he sent the sweet elderly waitress a wink. “What do you want (Y/n)?”

“Just a Coke, no Jack.” She said shyly. “I’m not a big drinker. Kinda a lightweight.” She laughed nervously.

Nikki shrugged, “I’m ok with that.” he looked to Doris and titled his head. “Change my order to just a regular coke Doris would you please?”

“You’re turning down booze? You feelin’ okay Sixx?” She went to go get their cokes. (Y/n) looked up at him.

“You didn’t have to do that.” She said softly.

“Wouldn’t be fair,” Nikki said. “Besides, I want to remember our conversation.” (Y/n) laughed and searched the menu, biting her lip as she did. She could feel Nikki’s eyes on her.

“I...am I being weird?” She asked, glancing up at him. “My siblings say I’m weird and people are gonna stare. But they like to be assholes to me because I’m the baby.”

“Huh?!” Nikki shook out of his trance. “No, you aren’t weird at all! I just.. I…” Nikki fumbled for the right words to say. (Y/n) smiled at him.

“I think I want the bacon cheeseburger.” She told him, putting her menu down. “Can’t go wrong with that and some fries.”

“No you can’t go wrong with that,” Nikki smiled. “I’m going to have the same.”

They sat there, not sure what to say to each other. (Y/n) was surprised that someone like THE Nikki Sixx wanted to talk to her, and Nikki was surprised that someone as cute as (Y/n) wanted to give him the time of day.

“First Saturday I’ve had where I haven’t had a huge test on Monday.” (Y/n) said, finally forcing the conversation. “Gets kinda annoying sometimes.”

“Huh, I was never really book smart, I was surprise I actually made it as far as I did, considering my background...” NIkki gave her a sad smile. “But it’s nice that you’re doing what you’re doing. Do you like it?”

“I love it,” She smiled. “Well, I love doing the stuff actually meant for my degree, not all that well rounded person crap.”

NIkki laughed, “What are they making you take math that you won’t use?”

“Dude, I hate numbers. They haunt me in my sleep.” (Y/n) groaned. “Why do I need to calculate the surface area of a sphere when I’m going to be working for Elektra records or something?”

“Maybe they are going to make records into spheres to fit more songs?” Nikki joked. (Y/n) laughed.

“You’re probably right. Some of the people at school said vinyl and cassettes are on the way out.” She smiled. Doris brought them their food then. “God, this smells so fucking good.”

“It is heaven,” Nikkis said but looked over at (Y/n). “You smell better though.” (Y/n) blushed and laughed.

They ate in silence. (Y/n) was starving and devoured her burger. As she ate, she noticed Nikki staring.

“I...sorry.” She said, putting her burger down. “Not being very lady like, am I?”

“Actually, I’m impressed.” Nikki took a bite of his burger. “You are probably the first girl I’ve eaten with that acts human.”

“Well, I learned to eat fast. If not, my brother tries to eat the food off my plate. Asshole.” She said, eating some of her fries. “So, any good songs in the works? I bought Too Fast For Love few weeks ago. Have it in my Walkman and I listen to it at work.”

“We got a few songs in the works for a killer album,” Nikki smiled. “Might scare some parents.”

“Oh, dangerous. I like it.” She smiled. “My best friend has been all about pop bands. I thought she was going to die when I bought your album and a Kiss album.”

Nikki gave a soft chuckle as he stuck a fry in his mouth, “I would have loved to see the look on her face.” Nikki raised his eyebrow at her. “Are you a good girl (Y/n)? Or a bad girl disguised as a good girl? Or both?” (Y/n) coughed on her drink and looked up at him.

“Take me on a few more dates and you’ll see?” She suggested. She had never been this smooth in her life.

Nikki coughed on his fry and smiled at her, “really?” usually a girl would throw themselves at him and it was ‘wham bam thank you ma’am’ but (Y/n) seemed different.  

“I mean, if you want to…” She said. “I really probably should be going.” She pushed her empty plate away from her.

“I can drop you off at your place,” Nikki said as he put a twenty dollar bill on the table and smiled at her. “Come one, we can talk about our next date on the way.” he held out his hand to her after standing up. She smiled and took his hand, walking with him out to the car.

“Do you have another show coming up?” (Y/n) asked. “I wouldn’t mind coming to see you play again?”

“Yeah, can I have your number? I’ll give you mine…” Nikki trailed of as he gently caressed her cheek. He looked away bashfully. “Sorry, I just… I want to see you again.”

“I’d love to see you again,” (Y/n) said. She took a pen from her purse and wrote her number on his palm. “Here.” She drew a heart around it. “Call me and just leave your number on my machine.” she gave him a smile and a wink.

“Ok,” Nikki leaned in, their noses grazed each other as Nikki stared into her eyes. “Would I get slapped if I kissed you?”

“Not by me you wouldn’t.” She told him. Their lips were close.

Nikki gently let his thumb graze her soft skin before leaning in closing the gap. His lips found hers in a chaste kiss at first. His heart pounding in his chest as he pulled away slowly only to feel her hand snack along the back of his neck pulling him in for another kiss. He dared himself to graze his tongue along the bottom of her lip. He was relieved when she opened her mouth letting him explore it with his tongue as her own met his. She slid closer towards him the kiss becoming heated and passionate. When they broke away, their eyes fluttered open at the same time.

“Wow,” Nikki rasped. “Keep kissing me like that and you’ll have me seeing the universe.”

“You and me both Sixx.” She said. “I’ve never been kissed that good before.” Nikki couldn’t stop the smile that spread on his face. Why was she so damn cute?

"We keep seeing each other and you might get more where that came from," Nikki groaned inwardly. He knew he sounded cheesy. But something about her made him all mushy. (Y/n) giggled a little.

“Sounds like a plan.” She smiled at him. She didn’t figure him to be a softy. Hell, she didn’t figure herself to be a flirter. With two older siblings at home who liked to scare off anyone who got within ten feet of their sister, it was hard to be flirtatious. Or have a boyfriend. Or well do anything.

"Call you later sweet girl," Nikki whispered before kissing her again.

She gave him the directions and he pulled up outside the dorms. (Y/n) got out and smiled at him. What she didn’t tell him was she was just staying the night there with her best friend from high school. In reality, she lived a few blocks over, with her parents.

“I had a fun night.” She said. “I’ll talk to you later Nikki.”

As she made her way towards the dorm, her heart was beating a mile a minute. She had never met anyone like him before. He was so sweet and charming. She wasn’t sure if it was a ploy to get in her pants, or if he was really that way. As she used her friend’s key to get in, something came to mind then that made her heart crash.

When Tommy found out, he was going to kill them both.

Forever Tags:  @anathewierdo @dekahg @marvel-af-imagines @feelmyroarrrr @nanie5 @imboredsueme @gemini0410 @aiaranradnay @babypink224221 @mogaruke @xxwarhawk @sandlee44 @shatteredabby @caswinchester2000 @supernaturalwincestsblog @lauravic @mrsambroserollinsacklesmgk

Motley Crue Tags: @niksixx

[noreasonjustbored]

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Jealous

Part 3:

This dinner is a disaster thought Henry as he subtlety moved closer to Charlotte for what felt like the two millionth time in the last forty minutes.

They were sitting in a circular booth with all of the Game Shakers. Charlotte was on the end of one side while Henry was to her left and Babe was to his left. Every time he moved to the right to get near Charlotte (and further from Babe) it seemed like she mimicked his actions to be closer to him.

It was getting on his nerves that she was constantly touching him and giggling at things he knew for a fact weren’t funny. However, he didn’t know how to tell her to back off without hurting her feelings. He wasn’t the most tactful when it came to things like this. Also, it wasn’t typical that a girl hit on him when he didn’t reciprocate the sentiment.

And he truly did not return her affections. She was a nice girl but she was a little too naive and too hyper for him. Plus, the most amazing woman he had ever met was already his girlfriend. He needn’t look anywhere else because Charlotte provided everything he never even knew he wanted or needed in a mate.

Charlotte was truly his partner in every way. She was beautiful and smart and talented. She was confident and witty and compassionate. She was a goddess and he was lucky she even wanted to date a peasant like him. He 100 percent knew this to be true.

He also knew that Charlotte was starting to get agitated by Babe’s behavior as well. At first he didn’t really understand what was happening because Charlotte is always composed. But as the long night wore on he started to notice the cracks in her facade.

It started when they first showed up outside the restaurant. Henry was helping Charlotte out of the cab when he heard his name being called in a high pitched tone.

“Henry! Hey!” Babe waves enthusiastically.

She is surrounded by Trip, Hudson and Kenzie who all greet he and Charlotte with smiles and waves as they approach.

“So guys, this food is delicious and I can’t wait until you try it.” Babe says while linking her arm in the crook of Henry’s elbow and pulling him inside. At this action Charlotte raises one eyebrow but says nothing as she follows the group through the door.

When seated the waiter asks for drink orders and Babe proceeds to tell them that she wants a fruit punch and that Henry will take a lemonade because he loves lemonade sooooo much.

“Right Hen?” she asked while batting her eyelashes flirtatiously.

In the corner of his eye he sees Charlotte roll her eyes at the statement. Hen? Who told her she could call him that? 

“Right.” Henry coughed out awkwardly before the rest of the table gave their beverage choices as well.

After ordering their food the group chatted amicably while waiting for dinner to arrive. The dinner seemed to be going along fine when it suddenly all took a turn for the worst.

Henry was turned towards Char giving her some hints about a few of the events they would experience on their vacation when Babe interrupted their conversation.

“Ooh what’s this?” Babe inquires while picking up Henry’s hand and cradling it in both of hers. She was referring to the invisibility ring that Henry was wearing. She then decides to twist off the jewelry and place it on her own hand. She puts it on her left ring finger and then sticks the hand out for the table to admire.

“Looks good, doesn’t it?” she inquires.

Her friends murmur their agreement but Charlotte just scoffs lightly, gives her the side eye and sips her iced tea with lemon.

“That’s actually an invention from Schwoz, I’ll take that back now.” Henry says after letting her admire it for a few more moments.

He places his hand out patiently for the ring but Babe refuses to relinquish it. “Actually, I think I like it and I’ll wear it for the rest of dinner.”

Before Henry could reply Charlotte quickly butted in and said, “Actually, I think it’s Henry’s and you’ll give it back now.”

Charlotte then smoothly turned back to Kenzie who she was sitting across from and asked her another question about the game they were previously discussing.

Babe gave the ring back without further protest.

After they had finished their dinner, they were looking at the desert menu to decide which treat they each wanted. Henry was leaning towards the sundae or a piece of cheesecake. While he was deliberating, Babe turned to Henry and asked if he wanted to share a sundae with her. Henry politely declined, he definitely wanted his own dessert.

After deciding on a slice of cheesecake he asked everyone what they were getting. Trip and Hudson both decided on fried Oreos. Kenzie chose the chocolate cake and Babe chose the Brownie with a scoop of ice cream. Charlotte got the sundae.

After ordering their last course the waiter walked away and Babe turned to Henry for the countless time. She reached her arm up and touched the front of his hair.

To his benefit, Henry quickly pulled away and asked in an incredulous tone, “Uh...What are you doing?”

“Your hair just looked so soft, I just wanted to see for myself if that was true.” Babe replied.

“You could have just asked him” Hudson responds nonchalantly.

“Yeah instead of invading his personal space.” Char says lowly under her breath.

“Well is it soft?” Trip asks curiously.

“How did it feel?” Kenzie inquired simultaneously, drowning out Charlotte’s annoyed grumbling.

“Amazing” she sighs out with a small smile in Henry’s direction.

“Thanks? I guess?” came his weirded out response.

“You’re welcome.” She said happily.

Putting her hand on Henry’s shoulder, she leans up to whisper in his ear “But speaking of thanks, how are you going to repay me for my help Kid Danger?”

Lightly pushing her away, Henry asked if she needed anything in particular.

“Well I was thinking that maybe we could go out on the town, just the two of us.”

Clearing his throat awkwardly Henry started to reply, “Actually, Char and I are d-“

“Okay guys! I have the best part of the meal for you” the waiter says while bringing out everyone’s sweets.

At this point Charlotte has had enough. She has been understanding and accommodating all night. She has tried her hardest not to make a scene about this little girl’s relentless flirting but she was done.

When Char’s sundae is in front of her she takes a bite to calm her nerves and then turns her head to the left.

“Babe?” Charlotte asks coyly.

“Yes?” Both Henry and Babe reply.

Charlotte smirks. That’s the exact reaction she was hoping to garner.

“Do you want a bite of my ice cream?” She says while holding her spoon to Henry’s face.

Henry immediately takes the spoonful of ice cream without hesitation.

Charlotte then wipes some ice cream off the corner of his mouth and licks it off her finger.

Henry stares at her lustfully the entire time.

“Mm. Delicious.” She says while returning his heated gaze. Then she reaches for his hair.

“You know what Babe, Hen really does have soft hair.” Charlotte says while running her fingers through his blond locks.

“I almost forgot since I hadn’t touched it in a while.” Henry groans as Char lightly scratches his scalp and he leans into her hand, craving more contact.

Kenzie clears her throat, breaking Henry out of his reverie.

The table goes back to their eating their desserts eagerly after that. All except Babe, who is pouting and looks as if someone has kicked her puppy.

After quickly devouring his cheesecake Henry turned to Charlotte to ask for more of her sundae.

Charlotte complied with his request by spooning another bite and holding it to his lips again. They continued alternating spoonfuls until her dessert was finished.

Since his hands were free, Char took her left hand in his right. Henry interlaced their fingers on instinct. He rubbed her palm with his thumb unconsciously. Deciding to take it a step further, Charlotte unlocked their hands and played with his slim fingers. She slowly traced each of his digits up and then back down to the center of his palm before connecting their hands again.

Babe watched this intimate action with envious eyes. Hudson was still working on his Oreos obliviously. Kenzie looked on with a dumbfounded expression while Trip nodded his head, silently praising Henry for landing a gorgeous girl like Charlotte.

When the waiter came back to clear plates and ask how everyone was paying Babe responded that everyone was separate. Henry quickly cut in that he and Charlotte were actually on a bill together.

Gathering her purse, Charlotte gave Henry a lingering kiss on the cheek and told him that she was going to the bathroom really quick.

When she left, Hudson’s eyes widened in discovery. “Wait, are you guys dating?”

Henry rolled his eyes in response.

After Charlotte finished, she washed and dried her hands and was looking down into her purse for her lipstick when she heard the restroom door open.

Glancing up, she saw Babe approaching cautiously like a frightened deer. She ignored the girl and leaned closer to the mirror to reapply the fading burgundy.

“Heeeeeyyyy.” Babe said nervously.

“Hi.” Charlotte replied while taking a paper towel and blotting the corners of her lips.

“About that... whole thing. I’m sorry.”

“I’m not the one you need to apologize to” she responds while throwing away the paper towel.

“U-ummm h-huh?” was Babe’s stammered response.

Zipping up her purse, Charlotte sighed before turning towards the brunette.

“I’m not the one you’ve hit on constantly since we arrived in New York. I’m not the one whose personal space you’ve disregarded and whose boundaries you neglected. I’m not the one who you threw yourself at wholeheartedly even though you received no reciprocation.” Char replies in a calm but commanding tone.

“I-I... But I- uhhhh... I wasn’t trying to- umm”

“But you did. You’ve made Henry very uncomfortable since we’ve been here and that’s not okay. Even if he didn’t have a girlfriend, you have got to learn how to pick up a hint. He just wasn’t into you.”

Looking down at the floor Babe said in a small voice, “I didn’t realize.”

Lifting up her head by the chin Charlotte looked into the younger girls eyes. “I know, that’s why I’m telling you. If a guy that you Didn’t like had done what you did today, how would you feel?”

Babe took a moment to think about the question seriously. “Creeped out. Violated. Disrespected.”

“Exactly. Why do you think it’s any different with Henry?” Charlotte replied before grabbing her purse and leaving the bathroom.

When she returned to the table everyone was signing their receipts and leaving their tips. Henry stood up and placed his hands on her hips. “Everything okay Char?”

“Everything is fine” Charlotte replied before briefly pecking his lips.

When Babe came out of the bathroom she noticed their simple kiss and then saw Henry helping Charlotte into her coat.

Babe couldn’t help but let out a large sigh in disappointment. I should have known that she was his girlfriend. He kept asking if I thought she would like certain events and saying that this needed to be the best trip ever for her. I’m so dumb. No one that hot is single.

As they all exited the restaurant and journeyed back into the chilly night air Babe asked if she could talk to Henry for a moment.

Stepping aside, Babe apologized to Henry for her behavior. She said that just because he was ‘Handsome Henry’ didn’t mean she needed to be ‘Basic Babe’. She also told him that he and Charlotte made a cute couple.

He chuckled and thanked her for the compliment then let her know that there were no hard feelings. After saying goodbye he walked over to Charlotte who was wrapping up her conversation with Trip, Kenzie and Hudson. Henry bid them goodbye as well.

As they walked in the opposite direction from the group, Henry slung his arm around Charlotte’s shoulder and asked, “What did you say to her? You give her one of your famous Char Chats?”

“Maybe. What did she say to you?” Charlotte inquires while reaching up to intertwine their fingers and wrap her other arm around Henry’s waist.

“She told me that she didn’t mean to infringe upon my personal space and was sorry that she made me feel uneasy.”

“Good for her” was Charlotte’s simple reply.

“Uh Huh. So you had nothing to do with that?”

“I may have given her a quick lesson on human decency. Possibly.”

“Well I know you definitely gave her a lesson on not messing with your man.”

“I have no clue what you are talking about.”

“You were jealous. It took me a while to notice. I wasn’t sure that you could even feel that emotion, if I’m being honest.” Henry laughed.

“Still not sure what you’re referring to.” Charlotte replied.

“Don’t worry, I thought that territorial display during dessert was super sexy babe.” Henry whispered to her before gently kissing the shell of her ear.

Charlotte bit her lower lip and looked up at Henry through her eyelashes.

“Don’t get used to it” she deadpanned.

[ships4you]

03. the walk home

[Chapter 1]: NEW GIRL [Chapter 2]: LUNCH BREAK [Chapter 3]: THE WALK HOME

By the time I got back to the school the warning bell had already rung. I was so relieved when I walked into my fifth period to find Peter sitting at the table in the chemistry lab and MJ behind him waving me over to sit next to her. There was another boy I didn’t recognize next to Peter, but I quickly became acquainted with him. “Hey Nova,” Peter said as I sat down next to MJ, “This is Ned, Kal just moved here.” The boy, Ned shined his teeth towards me with a welcoming smile, “Sweet, yo if you ever need help on homework ask me. These two are complete dunces.” he said shaking my hand and adding a friendly wink. “Oh okay Ned, you keep telling yourself that.” MJ remarked from beside me causing me to laugh at their bickering.

The teacher quickly went over the syllabus and handed out papers for science donations. Once he was done he put a list up of silly questions on the board and assigned us to discuss them with our lab partners in order to ‘bond’. Five minutes in Peter and Ned had their seats turned towards MJ and I. The four of us talked about everything from Game of Thrones to what element on the periodic table is the most badass. They even invited me to join something called the Academic Decathlon Team. I had completely forgotten about by fight with Jade until she texted me.

Jade

Hey, can we talk? I hate fighting with you...

I can give you a ride home if you want. -j

A sigh escaped my lips, a little louder than I intended. Suddenly the groups attention focused onto me. “Woah, damn are you sick of us already?” MJ joked. I smiled tucking my phone away, “No I just got in a fight with Jade and she wants to talk.” A look of concern washed over Peter’s face, “Wait you guys seemed fine this morning, I thought she was taking you to lunch?” The three of them stared at me expectantly ready to hear the beef. Smiling I answered, “It’s really nothing, she was just trying to push her friends on me and when I told her I didn’t like her friends she told me I was committing social suicide. Then I may have said something about her friends being fake...” MJ scoffed, “Well you’re not wrong there.” Ned leaned over to our desk; resting his elbows on the table, “Yeah her friends can be mean sometimes, but maybe Jade just feels bad that you had to move in with them and wants to make sure you can make a life here ya know?” Strumming my nails against my phone case I said “Yea I know she has good intentions, but I feel like sometimes she forgets how much of a geek I am. I mean sure I get along with her and love her like a sister, but it’s a different dynamic when she isn’t with Mary Jane and Gwen. I’d rather hang out with you guys.”

*Ding*

I looked down at my phone to find another text from Jade.

Jade

If you don’t respond I’m gonna pick u up anyways. -j

“Shit.” I murmured. I did want to talk to her but not yet. “Is she texting you still?” Peter asked. “Yea, she’s asking if I want a ride home from school but I don’t feel like talking quite yet. And if I say no she’ll probably just show up anyways.” I explained. “Just tell her I offered to walk you home...” Hugging my backpack in my lap I said, “Are you sure Peter?” Peter shrugged “Y-yea,” He said with a slight crack in his voice. “We’re neighbors so I’d be going the same way anyways. Plus decathlon practice doesn’t start for another week.”

“That’d be awesome, thank you Peter.”

As the conversation moved back to decathlon practice I glanced back down at my phone to text Jade back.

hey, I want to talk too. peter and I already made plans to walk home together so I don’t need a ride but I promise we’ll talk when I get home -k

The period ended with an online assignment of a pre-lab due next week. Just before the teacher could explain the system used at the school the bell rang and the herd of wild junior high school students pushed their way out of class. Once out of the classroom Peter and I said out goodbyes to Ned and Michelle as they made their way towards the bus.

Conversation with Peter was comfortable. He could be awkward at times, but he was good with keeping the conversation flowing. Hey, better awkward than forced right. While talking about his friendship with Ned your stomach decided to rudely interrupt by proudly showing off its whale noise demonstration. The talking immediately screeched to a halt before both of us erupted into a fit of laughter.

“Sorry I might be a little hungry, by the time I had walked back from that pizza place lunch was already over.”

Peter’s laughter died down, “Well do you wanna get some food, I know a good place nearby. Best sandwiches in Queens.” he said with a raised eyebrow. “Well how could refuse that,” I said dramatically placing a hand over my chest “Lead the way good sir.” He grinned and nodded his head to the side insinuating to follow him.

“So what has you so interested in science?” He questioned. I smiled towards the uneven concrete littered with gum. “Well my mom is a chemist. So I kind of grew up with her constantly sharing facts about the world. At first I couldn’t stand it, but after a while I found myself intrigued by what she was telling me. Not to mention how convenient it was to already understand things like the conservation of matter when other students were left dazed and confused by the teachers sucky explanation.” Peter hooked his thumbs under the straps of his backpack and said, “So do ya think you’ll go into that field in college?” I looked up at Peter, “Um...” I paused thinking of how to answer, “Well, I really like learning about all that stuff and it’s not like my grades are horrible or anything its just...Once things start to get complicated I start to fall behind. And seeing these brilliant scientists like my mom and Tony Stark.” Peter held the door to the small deli as I continued my thoughts, “I don’t know if I’m smart enough to get into that field.” Peter opened his mouth as if he were going to respond, but before he had the chance the man behind the counter beat him to the punch.

“Mr. Parker! Welcome back," He yelled as we walked towards the counter, “Ah and lady friend, welcome-” The man extended his hand. “Kal.” I said kindly returning the handshake. “Well Miss Kal that’s quite the shake you got there. I assume the usual for you Mr. Parker?” Peter slapped two bags of sour gummies on the counter and responded, “Yea that’d be great Mr. Delmar. How about you Kal?” Confused by the menu I shrugged, “I’ll get whatever you're having.” Mr. Delmar punched something into the old cash register and the worker behind him asked over his shoulder, “Ya want pickles on that?”

“Yes please!” I answered. Peter looked at me in disgust, “Ew, pickles really? I feel like I don’t know you anymore.” Giggling I nudged his side and said “Oh shut it.”

“Alright that’ll be $10″ Mr. Delmar said. Peter and I quickly exchanged glances before racing for our wallets simultaneously. We were quick to tie in our little race as he held out a crisp $10 bill and I extended my debit card towards the man. Mr. Delmar smirked at me as he took Peter’s cash, “Sorry boss, we only take cash here. No cards.”

“Ha!” Peter said grabbing the wrapped up sandwiches from the counter teasingly jogging away with both sandwiches out of the deli. “Hey!” I yelled running after him, quickly catching up and grabbing the sandwich from him. swinging the bag the sandwich was in I asked, “So where does one go to eat the best sandwich in Queens?” He scratched the back of his neck looking up towards the buildings. “Well, it involves a bit of climbing. But we can go somewhere else if you don’t feel like doing that sort of thing.” He said as his voice raised an octave higher with each word. I scoffed, “Oh Peter you seriously underestimate me and my sense of adventure.” He smiled widely, “Okay.” he said grabbing my hand and leading me down an alleyway between two apartment buildings.

“You want me to what?!”

He ended up leading me up a narrow fire escape at least 6 floors up (it really felt like 20) and was now instructing me how to get on top of the building from the roof.

“Just trust me. Climb up onto the railing and reach for my hands and I’ll pull you up. Promise.” 

     “No offense Pete, but I don’t know if you’ll be able to pull me up.”

“I’m stronger than it seems, c’mon I thought you had a sense of adventure.”

     “Hey I do have a sense of adventure”

“Okay prove it then.”

     “Shit” I murmured under my breath placing one foot on the rail before standing up and using the brick wall to steady myself. Looking up at Peter I reached one hand out that ended up being inches away from his. “Jump.” He said calmly. “WHAT?” my eyes widened at his suggestion. He simply smiled at my reaction and said, “Trust me. Just keep looking at me. I’ll catch you, promise.”

“That just makes me trust you less.” I said. He didn’t respond he just held his hands out waiting to catch you. Pressing my tongue between my teeth and against my lips I took one last breath and pressed off the fire escape. For a brief moment it felt as if I were going to plummet to my death. The moment passed quickly when I felt Peter’s hand tightly grabbing mine as he swung me up to the rooftop. Once my feet safely reached the floor i delivered a quick punch to his chest. “Ow, what no ‘Thank you for catching me Peter I’m eternally grateful’“ he said mockingly. Laughing at what just happened I could feel the adrenaline pumping through my system, “Oh my god, you do that every time?” I said sitting on a nearby ledge. Peter sat down next to me, unwrapping his sandwich “No actually I’ve never been on this building before, It’s pretty awesome though right?” he said cheekily taking a bit into his sandwich. Shaking my head I stared at the boy in shock, “Peter Parker... Who knew.” He smiled cheesily with his cheeks full of sandwich. Silence overcame over both of us as I unwrapped the sandwich and chewed on my first bit.

“Hey, about what you said earlier in the deli. About not feeling smart enough...” He said breaking the silence. I hummed in response taking another bite. “I think you should know that just because those harder concepts don’t come as easy to you doesn’t mean you’re not smart. If anything that makes you even smarter cause you have to really work hard to be in all those crazy classes you’re taking this year. I think you should seriously consider a science major for college. And if you ever get stuck on anything we could get MJ and Ned together and have a study session. Or if you have any questions you can always tap on my window or text me.” I couldn’t help the smile from spreading over my lips as I said, “Thank you.” He nodded sheepishly looking down towards his lap.

“Gummy?”

He asked offering the bag of candy towards me. Which I gracefully accepted. We spent the rest of the time eating our food discussing the French Revolution for no reason whatsoever.

By the time I made it home it was close to 4:30. Both Mom and Wes were at work meaning Jade was the only one home. “Jay?” I called out into the empty apartment. “In our room!” she yelled back. Placing my backpack on the kitchen chair I made my way back to the room to find her sitting crossed-legged on her bed typing on her computer. I walked over to my bed and sat on the edge, “Whatcha writing?” I asked. “Lyrics for music class. It’s not due or anything, but if I wanna sing something of my own at the winter concert I have to get it approved by Mr. Bell ASAP.” she explained.

“...”

“...”

“I’m sorry”

“No, I’m sorry Kal. I shouldn’t have tried to force my friends on you. I just think you’re so great I wanted them to like you and you to like them...”

“No Jay, I shouldn’t have said they’re fake. I just feel intimidated by them and I really like hanging out with MJ, Ned, and Peter.”

She grinned, “I know, I should’ve realized they’d be good for you. And Michelle is sweet... Just don’t get on her bad side ‘kay?” I chuckled a quick okay. She pushed her laptop off to the side and turned to lay on her stomach faced towards me, “So how was your first day, anything exciting?” she asked.

“Oh god, you would not believe it...” I said as I began to explain the adventuring with Peter.

[writesaboutbangtan17]

fifteen minutes

seungcheol x reader smut

6,760 words

a/n: i had to write this to expel all of the longing n pain over seungcheol that i’ve developed over the past couple of months, so this is basically just my ruminations on what a great boyfriend and ass man i think he’d be. so...if butt stuff isn’t your cup of tea there’s just a lil bit of it in here, nothing wild. enjoy.

~ in which it’s impossible to get a minute alone and there's not much time to spare, but you and seungcheol make it work

[1:27 A.M.] cheol 👑💕: hey babe are you still up? [1:27 A.M.] cheol 👑💕: we just got home frm practice [1:29 A.M.] cheol 👑💕: babe??? pls be awake [1:33 A.M.] cheol 👑💕: I knowww it's late but 😔 I miss u 😔 [1:36 A.M.] cheol 👑💕: YOU NEVER GO TO SLEEP THIS EARLY [1:36 A.M.] cheol 👑💕: ok. ok it's fine. ur probably cuddled up in bed fast asleep right now. I know u worked late. [1:37 A.M.] cheol 👑💕: it's fine love u I'll just talk to u tomorrow then [1:39 A.M.] cheol 👑💕: but wait ✋ I have a real problem bby!!! I know u would want to help me out. [1:39 A.M.] cheol 👑💕: I'm really doing this for u so u don't feel guilty 😇 [1:40 A.M.] cheol 👑💕: I'm calling you

 You knew there was no such thing as the "perfect boyfriend"—that was just something pre-teen girls whispered about at slumber parties. But once upon a time you had been that pre-teen girl, and while Sojung and Jiyeon cut out bits of male celebrities from teen magazines to create an absolute monstrosity (with Zac Efron's abs and Ryan Gosling's eyes and Chris Evans' hair), you had drafted the complete list of every personality trait, hobby, and talent your dream man had to have.

 These qualifications included but were not limited to: eight-pack abs, the ability to cook a meal so delicious it would make your own mother weep out of jealousy, thoughtfulness so much so that he'd bring you little gifts home just because he was thinking of you, the ability to make you laugh so hard that you cried, he had to be able to play the piano and the guitar and the drums, loyalty to you and only you, passion, ambition but not enough so that he'd put his own goals over your needs, he had to have the emotional maturity to be able to cry during The Notebook, and most importantly, he had to be good at math (because you definitely were not). Preferably, he'd also like all the same things you did and want to get a corgi when you got married.

 12-year-old You had it all figured out, but 22-year-old You knew that perfect man simply did not exist...still, Seungcheol came pretty close.

 So when your phone started playing "I'm Too Sexy" for the third time in the past five minutes from your bedside table, you couldn't ignore him any longer. It was just as you'd managed to fully rouse yourself that the ringing stopped, but you picked up the offending item anyway and checked the eight text messages that he'd sent since you laid down to sleep less than an hour ago. 

 You tried to remind yourself that you loved your boyfriend, you really did. Seungcheol was talented, kind, funny, smart, and handsome, to boot. Even though he was always busy with practice and promotions and raising twelve kids in between, he never failed to make time for you---and when he did, he didn't need or want to brag about the idol he'd met at their last music show or complain about how hard their choreographer was working them. No, he desperately wanted to know if that asshole Jungsoo came through with his third of the work for the big project in your developmental psychology class or hear about how your coworker called out sick and you had to work overtime during inventory or have you walk him through every step you'd taken and every single thing you'd done since he saw you last.

 It had only been nine months, but a part of you was certain that Seungcheol was the one. He made you feel wanted and important, not because he loved you, but with the repeated insistence that your worth was based entirely off of your own accomplishments and talents. Yes, Seungcheol was Good, so you decided he deserved a call back against your better judgement.

 "Y/N!" Seungcheol picked up in the middle of the first ring, but he was dragging your name through molasses. He was exhausted, that much was obvious, but still excited to hear from you. 

 "Hi, Cheol," you said softly, sitting up against your headboard, "what's up?"

 There was a moment of silence, but you heard him hmm as he thought of the words he wanted to say, and you waited patiently. Seungcheol was not the most eloquent man, but he chose his words carefully, and he never said anything he didn't mean. He was the perfect boyfriend in his own ways.

 "I just...I missed you," he admitted. You missed him, too. Although you'd gone a whole month without seeing each other before, the longer you were together and the more you fell in love with him, the more difficult it was to be apart. It had been over a week since you last saw Seungcheol, since he was in the middle of promotions for Seventeen's latest single and practicing for their upcoming world tour. "Sorry I woke you up," he continued.

 "Don't be. Missed you too." You flicked on your bedside light to clear more of the dark drowsiness from your head. Again, there was silence from Seungcheol's end, but it was comfortable. You were glad just to know he was on the other side of the line, keeping you company. Not only had it been over a week since you last physically saw him, but every day there was only a few texts and occasionally a quick good night call between the two of you. Your schedules didn't allow for all the communication you would have liked.

 "What was 'the problem'?" You dared to ask, and Seungcheol's giggle immediately filtered through the speaker and into your ear. A groan of defeat rose up your throat as you realized what you were in for.

 "I know it's late, baby, but...can you come over?" Between the fact that he didn't often have the chance to sneak out of the dorm and over to your apartment, and that at the dorm there were twelve pairs of eyes on the two of you almost constantly, you and Seungcheol's sex life had suffered recently. Three weeks since he'd last buried his dick in you were three weeks too long.

 All there'd been since then was one close call in a maintenance closet at the Pledis building: you were on your knees sucking him dry as you heard Chan, Seungkwan, and Seokmin jogging down the hall calling Seungcheol's name. There had been a rattling of the doorknob and for one frozen, Earth-shattering moment, you couldn't remember if you'd locked it or not.

 Luckily you had, but a new rule was born: no inappropriate behavior at the workplace. And the Pledis building was unfortunately the only place you'd been able to see your boyfriend besides that last time at your apartment, when he fucked you long and hard in your bed until the sun came up. God, you could barely even remember the feeling of his hands on your skin, in your hair; his teeth nipping at your neck, lips wrapped around your nipple; rock hard thighs holding up your own as he gave it to you good.

 "Earth to Y/N," Seungcheol laughed, but it was airy and broken, "answer me, baby. You just moaned out loud."

 Work had been the usual grind that day, and you had to close the store a half hour later than usual because of an old lady who couldn't find the perfect pair of socks that she desperately needed at 10 P.M. Dinner had been cold leftover spaghetti because your microwave was broken and you didn't have the patience to heat it up on the stove, and you'd word vomited a few thousand words for a paper that you knew was going to be garbage until all the letters on the screen had swirled into one blurry mass that you couldn't bear to look at any longer. You were so tired.

 All that being said, you were leaning over to get your feet into your slippers, grabbing your keys from the drawer, and humming "On my way." If anything could re-energize you it was the boy whose warmth you could feel through the phone, all the way from the other side of town---and his dick. Seungcheol was beaming, you could hear it in his voice as he told you how excited he was to see you and told you to be safe, but to hurry. Then he said he had to take a quick shower and promised he'd meet you at their door.

 The twenty minute drive to the dorm felt longer than ever. You weren't sure if that was because you'd been awake for eighteen hours or because the ghost of Seungcheol's touch, his scent, and his panting damp against your neck was sitting in the car with you, haunting you.

 He didn't meet you at the door. It was a good thing you didn't jump into his arms and attach your lips to his the moment it swung open after you knocked, since it was Hansol who greeted you with a toothy grin and flour swiped across his cheeks. "We're making cookies," he informed you, but then he was pushed out of the way by Minghao, stomping out before Mingyu and Seokmin.

 "They're fucking cookies up is what they're doing," Minghao grumbled from underneath his Gucci bucket hat, "we're going for ice cream." Mingyu shrugged as a half-ass apology for Minghao's attitude, and Seokmin just shot you a thousand-watt smile before they disappeared down the stairs and into the night. You looked back at Hansol, whose grin had faltered for just a second, and reached up to ruffle his hair.

 "It smells good," you lied, "who's 'we'?" His mouth spread wide to respond, but the lilting Sunday morning rain is falling from the kitchen was all the answer you needed. The idea of Joshua and Hansol trying to bake sparked the tiniest light of fear in your heart, but you stomped it out. There were more important things to worry about right now, like your boyfriend's hot body and all the amazing ways he knew how to use it. "Teach him a new Maroon 5 song while you're at it," and Hansol was back to full brightness.

 You followed him inside so he could shut the door behind you, then through the living room where Jeonghan and Jun were curled up fast asleep on the couch while the menu for The Human Centipede 2 DVD looped on the TV screen. As he disappeared back into the kitchen, you grabbed the remote to turn the television off and took the blanket thrown over the back of the couch to lay it across their bodies. No big deal, but your heart grew three sizes that day as you watched Jun grab the ends of the blanket and snuggle his nose into it contentedly, settling deeper into the cushions.

 "Where are the others?" Hansol was already back to mixing things when you cautiously set foot into the kitchen, and Joshua was pulling a tray of what you presumed to be burnt snickerdoodles from the oven. Already cooled and grotesquely misshapen chocolate chip cookies filled up a plate on the counter, which Hansol eagerly tipped his head towards when you met his eye. You reluctantly picked up one of the cookies and took a generous bite, hoping you'd get points for this carried over into the next life. As far as you could tell, no sugar had been added to the batter and they'd used about three times too much flour; a whole clump of it got stuck in your throat.

 "Hoshi hyung kept Wonwoo hyung and Seungkwanie back at the practice room," Hansol finally answered when you grimaced through a thumbs-up at him, "Woozi hyung is at his studio, aaand...I haven't seen Channie or Coups hyung in a while, actually." The little shit wiggled his eyebrows as he said your boyfriend's name. Six months ago you would have blushed, but today you just swatted the side of his head on your way out of the kitchen.

 "Well I'm going to his room," you announced with a pointed look that the pair read loud and clear: stay away. Their snickers followed you down the hallway all the way to the last door on the left, cracked open just a sliver. "Babe?" You called out as you pushed it open, taking special care to fix a sultry look on your face---hooded eyes, bottom lip tucked between your teeth.

 And there on his bed was Chan, looking innocently up at you from where his head was settled onto Seungcheol's pillow, holding his phone up above him with Girl's Generation blasting from its speakers. "Noona?" He sounded almost scared. You grabbed your jacket to pull it tighter around your chest, suddenly aware of how exposed your chest was by your camisole, and tried to screw your eyes and lips around into an expression vaguely comforting.

 If you had asked Chan, your idea of "vaguely comforting" looked a lot more like you were in pain---but you didn't ask Chan, and instead of telling you so, he continued to stare at you in confusion. "I didn't know you were coming over," he said as he sat up slowly, "hyung is in the shower, I'm waiting for him to come out so I can finally get in."

 You weren't sure what to do---if you should just turn around and wait in the kitchen with Hansol and Joshua or if that'd be weirder than walking in and sitting on the bed to wait with Chan. No, wait, sitting on the bed with this child who was essentially your son in this dark room waiting for your boyfriend to come in so you could have sex with him would be a lot weirder than you making a hasty retreat while trying to forget that Chan was sitting on the bed that you would be getting fucked on not long from now

 "Ok, well, I'm gonna...go? Out. There. To the kitchen," you sputtered as though you'd never spoken human words before, but when you spun around to leave you immediately collided with something warm, firm, a little damp. Seungcheol's hands wrapped around your upper arms to steady you against his chest, and you could feel his laugh vibrate from inside of him.

 "Where are you running off to, baby?" He had a towel draped over his head, and nothing else on but some loose basketball shorts slung low on his hips. You struggled not to start drooling right then and there. The towel framed his face such that his eyes were shaded from Chan's view, so he couldn't have seen the roaring fire in them as Seungcheol's gaze ran laps around your body.

 You hoped you painted a pretty decent picture between your chest threatening to burst out of your tight top and your thighs barely covered by your little shorts and the fuzzy slippers on your feet. If the way Seungcheol's chest started heaving and the low growl from his throat meant only for you to hear was any indication, you did. He didn't let go of you as you took a half-step back from him, running his hands soothingly up and down your arms.

 "Shower's all yours, Channie," Seungcheol said over your shoulder, but he didn't look away from you for even a second. From behind, you could hear the bed shifting as Chan got to his feet and sensed him coming closer until he was shuffling around the two of you in the doorway, awkwardly bowing before he disappeared. You made a mental note to treat him to lunch one of these days---he wasn't stupid, he knew what you and Seungcheol were up to, but he was the only one of the kids who didn't tease you about it even though he was the one most often inadvertently exposed.

 Your boyfriend dropped his hands to cup your elbows and guided you backwards until he could kick the door shut behind him, then let go of you to lock it and throw his towel into the corner somewhere. "Sorry I didn't meet you at the door," he said to which you just shrugged, and let your coat drop off of your shoulders to the floor.

 "How long do we have?" You asked, sitting down at the end of Seungcheol's bed as he picked up your coat and hung it on the back of the only chair in the room. The furniture was lacking---all they could fit around the two enormous bunk beds was a rickety old desk, a hand-me-down dining chair for said desk, and one dresser stuffed with all four boys' things.

 "Once he gets in the shower...it won’t be long until he's in here bugging me about food or something? We'll have to be quick," fortunately the two of you had become experts at quick, "turn and lean over the edge. We have fifteen minutes.”

 Nothing could have given you any greater pleasure than doing just as he said, bracing your knees against the edge of the mattress and presenting yourself to Seungcheol. He came up behind you, grabbing the waistband of your shorts and tugging them down over your hips, past your thighs to sit around your knees. Then, for a moment, he was still.

 "Cheoool, what are you doing?" You whined, wiggling your ass for him, wondering why he hadn't pulled off your underwear and gotten to it yet. Instead of answering, he lowered to the floor, leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on one of your round cheeks.

 "These are cute," he whispered against the fabric of your panties, and it all came rushing back to you---this morning when you realized you'd forgotten to do your laundry again and the only pair you could find were these raggedy old ones with kittens on them. You vaguely remembered an aunt buying them for you one Christmas at the end of or right after high school, and for reasons you couldn't properly explain, you'd moved them around with you that long. Maybe this exact moment was why.

 "Fuck you," you mumbled, and he laughed, "I'm getting to that." Then he did as you wanted, pulling your underwear down around your knees. Of all the most pleasant sounds in the world, none were quite as sweet to your ear as that of Seungcheol's sigh of absolute bliss when he took two heaps of your ass into each of his big hands and squeezed tight. He was definitely a butt man, that you'd known since before you started dating, but you never could have known then how deep his obsession with your ass would go.

 You looked over your shoulder to observe Seungcheol's slack jaw and hooded eyes while he spread your cheeks apart and admired the part of your body that he loved the most. "You're such a perv," you teased him, "just get on with it already." His gaze immediately shot up to meet your eyes, sharp beneath his lashes. With one challenging raise of your brow, Seungcheol lifted a hand and brought it down swiftly.

 "Ow, fuck!" He smoothed his palm over the soft flesh, massaging circles into the spot he'd just hit, and it caught you off guard again when his other hand delivered a quick smack to the other side. Although you winced, you didn't shy away from the spanks---you pushed your ass out further, eager for more. Seungcheol didn't let you down. The pops got harder every time, but you never asked him to stop, not even when there were tears building up and threatening to spill down your cheeks. It hurt, yes, but you were crying because it felt so good.

 But Seungcheol always knew when you were reaching your limits. The very instant you had leaned to one side to brace yourself against the oncoming blow, he stopped. The pink tint that your ass had taken on was more than enough to please him, but not too much that he'd left handprints in his wake. You hadn't been most of Seungcheol's firsts, but you had been his first time spanking somebody. That first time you hadn't used your safe word at any point, hadn't needed to, but Seungcheol still almost cried when he saw the bruises he'd left on his favorite part of your body. Ever since then, his spankings had been on the gentler side.

 "That was for being mouthy and impatient," he explained, "although I don't think you're really learning a lesson when you're enjoying it so much." He had you there, and you hummed through a guilty grin back at him.

 At least five minutes if not more had already had to have passed by now, so as you laid your head back down on the mattress you thought Seungcheol would finally ease himself into you---but in the heat of the moment, you'd forgotten how thoughtful your boyfriend was, and it surprised you when you felt his hot tongue lick a stripe up your slit.

 The shriek you let out was far from sexy, but with his lips wrapped around your clit and the tip of his nose nudging against your hole, he couldn't complain. You moved up onto your forearms so you could look back at the ridiculous sight of nothing but Seungcheol's wet hair visible over your ass.

 "I thought we had to be quick," you gasped, "oral isn't quick," why were you saying this as if he should stop? "...not that I'm complaining." He laughed against you, and the vibrations made you shake and collapse face first into his sheets. Later, if he complained about the drool you got on them, you'd be sure to remind him that it was all his fault for needing to have a taste of you.

 Both of his hands were framing your waist until one of them was leaving its place so that he could venture a couple of fingers knuckle deep into your core. You hissed at the sudden intrusion, reaching back blindly to grab and pull your boyfriend's hair. "Give a girl a little warning," you said.

 "Just needed to feel how hot and wet you were for me," he sighed, detaching his lips from your clit. His other hand wrapped around your waist to rub circles there as he added his middle finger to those pumping inside of you. "It feels good, though, doesn't it?"

 "Ssooo goood," you slurred the words, but you weren't even embarrassed by a reaction like that anymore. You knew Seungcheol loved to see and hear and feel the overwhelming effect that he had on you. On the one occasion that he'd made a point of forcing a third orgasm out of you in one round and you blacked out, he had never felt more proud of himself. Of course, that was after he coaxed you back to consciousness, cleaned you up, and asked you about fifty times if you were sure that you were okay (you were more than okay).

 You hated that you could already feel the swell of imminent release brewing in your tummy, tendrils of arousal reaching out to all the dark and dusty corners. It really had been so long since Seungcheol had gotten his hands on you like this. But then they were gone, he stepped away and you could feel the slick dripping down your thighs from the way that the cold air from the AC nipped at the skin. Your hole clenched, desperate to be filled back up by him, and you didn't even recognize the sound of anguish that you made---something between a sob and a scream and a fucking hex on this terrible, horrible man who loved to make you suffer.

 "I'm right here, baby, I'm here," he smoothed his palm over the small of your back to reassure you of his presence, "but you're right, I can't take my time with you the way I'd like to. Get the lube out of the drawer." You stretched your torso across the bed and violently pulled open the top drawer of the nightstand Seungcheol and Mingyu shared. Just like you remembered, it was filled with books you'd given him that he didn't have the time to read, a dozen half-empty bottles of hand sanitizer you'd left there, a thousand coins, tissues, earrings, and tons of fan letters. One of them had little hearts drawn on the front that couldn't have been drawn by anyone older than thirteen, and it was beneath this one that you found the little bottle Seungcheol had asked for.

    You felt dirty.

 "Thank you, baby," Seungcheol said as he took it, and you watched him squeeze a generous helping into his left hand before snapping the lid closed and throwing the bottle over onto Jihoon's bed. He used his free hand to yank his boxers down, letting his erection pop up and gravitate towards you, then reached beneath your thigh to pull your legs wide apart and settle himself in between them. You closed your eyes again, and heard the most delightful slippery sound of the lube being rubbed between Seungcheol's palms.

 He'd let you pick the lube out yourself when he ordered it, warming and vanilla caramel flavored, but it had hardly been used since then. It had come in handy only on a few occasions---ones during which you had agreed to try anal play with him. Today it was needed because there just wasn't the time for Seungcheol to get you as soaking for him as he'd have liked.

 His hands returned to their favorite place, spreading the lube liberally over your ass and your hips. Any other time you'd have welcomed the massage, asked him to rub the kinks out of your neck and shoulders, but then Seungcheol was leaning forward and nestling his cock between your cheeks.

 "God, you look so fucking hot all oiled for me like this," he hissed, squeezing either side of your ass together as he rocked himself in between them. His grunts of pleasure were music to your ears, but not to your vagina, and you couldn't help the dread that spiked through you as his cock head brushed over your puckered hole.

 You angled your arm behind your back to place a hand over Seungcheol's, squeezing his fingers to get his attention. "No anal, today, buddy," you said, trying to let him down gently. His pout deserved to be kissed away, but it wasn't easy getting yourself up straight in this position to reach his lips.

 "I know, I know," he sighed, trying to hide his disappointment, "just, wow. This ass. It's a good ass." You bit back your laugh and nodded in understanding. Seungcheol reluctantly dragged his hands down until they reached the apex of your thighs, and the feeling of his two fingers slipping effortlessly back into you made your entire body tremble.

 "Want my cock now, baby?" He asked, "I dunno if you're ready for me yet," as he curled his fingers and rubbed the rough tips of them against your walls. You rocked back against him, needing more more more and Seungcheol only laughed. "Can you take a third finger baby girl?" You tried to say yes, God yes, but he didn't need your answer before the third eased in. He loved to spread you wide open before getting himself inside of you.

 A moan came from Seungcheol’s lips, wrapping tight around your form, encouraging you to peek back at him again. It was an obscene sight: him impaling you on three fingers from one hand while the other was rubbing lube over his leaking, swollen cock. Anticipation surged through every inch of your body, you waiting with bated breath as he finally slipped his fingers out to mix your sticky sweet wetness into the coating on his erection.

 You knew it was coming, but you still screamed when your boyfriend shoved himself ball deep into you. Slapping a hand over your mouth to muffle the tail end of the sound was the best you could do, and you scrambled to grab one of his pillows from the head of the bed to bite down onto. Seungcheol’s pace was unforgiving, but he didn’t need to be soft with you—between the lube and your own slick and the way you’d opened yourself up considerably to his fingers, you were more than ready for the pounding.

 And it was a pounding, Seungcheol’s hips slamming against your ass. It would’ve hurt if it wasn’t a feeling you were so used to already. As always, he couldn’t keep himself from grunting nasty things at you about how well you took him in. “This body was made for me,” he said, “made for my cock. Look at the way your ass bounces while I fuck you, god, I love it.” His grip on your hips was tight so he could force you back against him, and then one of his hands moved on to more familiar territory, squeezing an ass cheek with all of his strength. He just couldn’t help himself.

 “Next time you’ll let me in your ass, right, baby?” He cooed, a barely there sound but you heard him loud and clear. You’d only had anal sex once and you were almost ashamed of how much you’d loved it, weren’t sure if it was because it actually felt good for you or because it had turned Seungcheol into an absolute beast with no control. “Don’t be scared,” he added, “we’ll work you open with my fingers and your toys. We’ll do it at your place so no one can interrupt us, I’ll spend hours opening you up for me. Okay?”

 Between the grunts and the way his voice caught with each thrust, it took him a good minute to get it all out but he wouldn’t stop until he’d completed the thought. Even with his cock sheathed in your pussy, getting into your ass was a priority for him. “Okay, Cheol,” you groaned into the pillow, “whatever you want, baby. Juuust f-fuck me harder, p-pleeease.” There was drool all over the material shoved into your mouth, leaking to the rest of the cushion but you couldn’t bring yourself to care.

 It was a strange sensation when you felt tugging, and a delayed realization that Seungcheol had tangled his fingers in your hair and was pulling your head up, pulling at your whole upper body. The sting in your scalp had you up on your hands to ease the pain, and Seungcheol took the opportunity to reach beneath you and wrap his forearm around your midsection. He tugged you upright to paste his front to your back, and the new angle had the tip of his cock digging into that special spot that set your entire body aflame.

 “Oh God, Seungcheol!” You moaned, throwing your head back over his shoulder and exposing your neck and collar to him. He dove in, feasting on the flesh, intent on leaving a mark that would last until he could have you next. The feeling of his teeth scraping at your jugular and his cock sinking over and over into you was so much, but it didn’t become too much until he reached down to smooth a fingertip over your clit.

 He felt you tighten around him, noticed your chest rising rapidly when your already uneven breathing became erratic and labored. You had put your hands on his arm wrapped around your stomach and when your nails dug mercilessly into his skin, Seungcheol knew you were just at the edge of fucking rapture. “Look at me,” he demanded in a voice entirely too composed for your liking, “don’t you dare come until you look at me.”

 You managed to tilt your head in his direction, forcing your eyelids to peel apart so you could look into his once bright brown eyes now endless inky depths of arousal. The look in them said nothing less than he wanted to eat you whole, and you wanted to let him. Upon eye contact, Seungcheol leaned forward to attach your lips to his. Later, you’d realize that was the first time he’d kissed you since this all started.

 It was hard kissing in this position, and your heads bounced with the force of each thrust but you still tried. Your saliva mixed with his and was spread all around your mouth and your chin but God, you just didn’t care, as long as his cock was inside of you and his fingers were still rubbing circles into your clit and those plush but always chapped lips that you loved were on yours.

 Always one step ahead of you, keenly aware of the most minuscule ways your body moved and reacted that even you would never know of, Seungcheol knew exactly when to move away so that he could slap a hand over your mouth. You screamed into his palm and ground yourself back, squeezing your eyes shut as all the colors in the rainbow burst behind them and danced in your vision. The eruption was all over your body, extending from the pit of your stomach to your fingers to your toes and into your head.

 The feeling of your body undulating against him and your pussy convulsing around his cock threw Seungcheol into his own orgasm, shooting hot streams of cum deep into your womb. It was a feeling you loved, ached for. He bucked his hips a few more times into you, letting you milk him, wringing out of every last drop of his release.

 You sighed dreamily and collapsed back into Seungcheol’s arms, spent. Losing strength quickly, Seungcheol unsheathed himself from inside of you so that he could spin you around and gently lay you down on his mattress, then let himself fall down at your side, wrapped all around you. He was trying hard to catch his breath just so that he could say, “Wow, we’re so good at that.”

 “Quickies? Fuck yeah, we are. Nobody has fifteen minute sex like us,” You agreed with him whole-heartedly. Reigning King and Queen of Quickies.

 Seungcheol giggled, and it was a sound so out of place as his cum swirled around inside of you and his sweaty naked body kept itself stuck to yours, but it made you grin and giggle with him. Soon the both of you were a giggling mess, and you weren’t even sure what you were giggling about. The fact that Chan knew you’d just fucked in here? That you could smell the burning oatmeal raisin cookies from the kitchen? Or, fuck, that you had to work tomorrow after all of this?

 Or the fact that someone was pounding on the door, screaming to be let in or else he would break all of Seungcheol’s bones? It was Jihoon’s voice shooting off threats left and right, and your boyfriend’s giggles immediately died out to be replaced by a gasp and a frightened, wide-eyed glance up at you.

 You had no help to offer up. You didn’t want to die.

 “I’m tired, what the fuck are you doing! We’ve been up since 5 A.M.!” You glanced at the clock on the wall and gawked at the short hand just past the number three. Seungcheol had been up for nearly twenty four hours, but he’d still just fucked you with all the energy in the world. He was superhuman.

 Superhuman and yet scared to death of the 5-foot-nothing boy separated from the two of you only by a big slab of wood. To be fair, he could probably burn it down with his laser vision if he got angry enough, and he was just about there. “Get under the covers! Pretend to be asleep!” Seungcheol was whisper-shouting, helping you pull your underwear and your shorts back on before he threw his comforter on top of you and made a step towards the door.

 You grabbed his wrist at the last second, and ignored the sheer panic on his face to reach up and pat his sex hair down, wipe your drool off his chin, and fix the waistband of his shorts that sat skewed on his hips. “Put a shirt on while you’re at it,” you advised him, and he looked at at you like you’d just solved the mystery of life itself before he grabbed any random shirt on the ground to tug on. You hastily crawled back under the comforter, shoved your face back into the pillow you’d been biting down on,, and made to act like you’d been asleep for hours now.

 Before he opened the door, Seungcheol looked back at you one last time to make sure everything was in place. You shot him a little thumbs-up of support, and could practically hear his heart beating for you from all the way on the other side of the room. What a fucking loser.

    “—the smell of your burning flesh will—” was what Jihoon was in the middle of saying as the door swung open, and stopped saying at the sight of Seungcheol in front of him at last, “I’m actually going to murder you. I don’t make empty threats.”

 “Jihoonie, keep your voice down,” Seungcheol spit out, “Y/N’s sleeping. I was just trying to get out from under her without waking her up.” He sounded scarily convincing, painting this thick layer of grogginess over his voice that hadn’t been there a moment ago. You strained your ears to place exactly where in the room they were as Jihoon shoved his way inside and quietly tiptoed to his bunk.

 If you knew Jihoon, you knew he was suspiciously surveying the scene. But you and Seungcheol had previously agreed on not using condoms, so there was no incriminating foil packet on the floor, and the vanilla scent of your lube drifting through the air could easily be any air freshener. There was the creaking of Jihoon’s old mattress as he dumped himself down onto it, and his grumbled, “Whatever, I’m going to sleep,” then silence. You and Seungcheol had pulled off the perfect crime.

 Speaking of Seungcheol, you felt him slipping under the covers from behind you, wrapping his arms around your waist and settling his face against your hair, breathing in deep. “I know I said this earlier,” he whispered, “but I really missed you. And I love you.”

 You finally turned back around, nuzzling into Seungcheol’s pillow and feeling the tug of drowsiness luring you into dreamland. Surely, you’d dream of nothing but chapped lips and chocolate chip cookies and gross-out-horror-movie-nights, and Girl’s Generation would be the soundtrack to it all. “I missed you, too. And I love you.”

 At the last minute, you were jolted out of near-slumber by the feeling of something hard smacking against your waist, and ricocheting to hit Seungcheol right in the face. He sat up, one hand rubbing the little red mark on his forehead, the other grabbing the weapon that had fallen to the comforter and sheets scrunched up around his waist.

 Holding it up to the light of the moon coming through the window, you and Seungcheol looked on in terror at the bottle of lube before both of your heads turned slowly to the neighboring bunk. Jihoon had his back turned, but one of his hands was held up with the middle finger pointed up right at you.

 “Either you move out and into Y/N’s place or I’m gone,” he barked over his shoulder, “God, I’m so tired of this. You two are disgusting.”

 You tried to stop the laugh tumbling out from your chest, you really did…but one look at Seungcheol and the two of you had dissolved into giggles yet again. Jihoon huffed and pulled his pillow over his head, singing loudly to himself to drown you out.

 “I don’t have a schedule tomorrow,” Seungcheol suddenly said through his laughter, “and I’m…not really tired anymore.”

 You definitely got the hint. “Yeah, well…I’m feeling really gross…you could probably use another shower, too…and we should give Jihoonie some peace and quiet, don’t you think?” Seungcheol promptly scooped you up into his arms, hopping off the bed and kicking the door open and carrying you down the hall to the bathroom.

 Scarring even more of his members sounded like the perfect way to keep the night alive—who cared about having to go to work in the morning? Who cared that Jihoon might actually change the locks? Spending as much time with Seungcheol like this as you could was worth it.

[weshallc]

BERNS NIGHT: CHAPTER THREE.

So much love to the most patient person in the world @lovetheturners and all you folks who are willing to take on another chapter.

A Call the Midwife AU in the Crown Jewels Series.

Chapter Three: OF MICE AND MEN

“The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men. Gang aft agley. An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain. For promis’d joy!”  Robert Burns, To A Mouse 1785.

The largest reception room at Mount Busby Farm would have once been very grand, with Queen Anne furniture and Regency coffee tables. The only thing that remained unchanged was that the original fireplace still gave up warmth and light provided by nature and the windows let in the light from the same star constellations and the same moon.

The Two Loves preferred antique furniture of a later period and in their 80s comfort was paramount. The room was stocked with love seats, chesterfields, recliners. bean bags, generous cushions and a rather charming gold settee that suspiciously looked pre-war. Just no one was sure which war. Everyone mocked it, but everyone fought to sit on it as it was very comfy. Patsy often talked about replacing it, but Delia wouldn’t hear of it. You don’t throw your memories out with the rubbish and there are more memories than just ours hidden within these cushions, Cariad. That was always the end of it.

The most current occupants of that particular settee to be making memories were Tim Turner and Lucille Anderson. Phyllis looked over at the awkward teen who was no longer as awkward as he had once been. He sat comfortably chatting to his companion, both of them laughing at intervals. Lucille often finishing Tim’s sentences or him proclaiming, yep that’s it or knew you’d get it when they appeared to reach a level of understanding.  Of course, when she asked the student nurse about her new friendship she would just reply, brushing the older nurse off. Oh, he is a dear boy; He makes me laugh.

He was certainly doing that from where Matron Crane was sitting on a leather tan Whitworth dining chair probably by Frank Hudson.  Years of heavy lifting before the introduction of patient hoists and transfer boards had taken their toll on the matron’s back. It was why she had found herself in a more management role much earlier than she would truly have preferred. She looked at Student Nurse Anderson and thought maybe the NHS was in more tender capable hands than the shitstirrers would have them believe.

“I am wondering if we should start,” youth minister Tom Hereward was on his feet. “I am not sure how long baby will sleep in a strange house.”

“I have been called many things in my time, but not sure strange is one of them,” laughed Delia.

“Oh, I have Deals, it’s fine,” reassured Patsy.

Tom turned pink. Trixie leaned over to him, “They are joking,” and sat back onto the giant purple pouffe she was sharing with Valerie. “I know, I live here. I have to put up with it all the time.”

“So. Erm who is in charge, who has the most authority here.” Tom was still trying to create some sense of order.

“Well, Julia is the vicar,” chirped in Bobby trying to offer her husband some support.

“But this is not the church,” Rev Julia responded with a warm smile.

“Another shock there then, it’s all coming out tonight, Patsy.” Delia couldn’t help herself when she had an audience and a bottle of Prosecco was being passed round.

“Matron Crane is on the council,” Lucille reminded everyone.

“No, I don't think that matters lass, it’s not a council matter.” Phyllis shook her head.

“Well, someone needs to take the lead,” Tom said with a hint of irritation.

“I will!  On the authority that I am a young woman on her only night off of the week,” struck up Val, “ but I have agreed to come here and discuss plans for Bernie’s birthday instead of having two for one sex on the beach.”

“It’s a cocktail, and its happy hour in the Fourteen Teacups on a Tuesday,” Trixie interpreted for everyone.

“That’s ambitious having a happy hour in the Teacups, isn't it?”  said Fred, who had managed to wedge himself into a deep red Chesterfield.

“Yeah, apparently Ursula gives you the right change, that's why they call it happy hour,” Tim smirked.

“As I am representing the Crown. I will continue,” said Val and she did, “we want to put on a Burns Night for Bernie’s birthday like in the old days. Now Tim has told us Paddy is half Scottish.”

“Why isn’t he here?” asked Bobby.

“Well, he said it would look suspicious if he left Bernie on her tod behind the bar on a Tuesday night,” Vi explained sitting on a scarlet love seat next to Fred.

“Yep, in case our two Tuesday night regulars rush the bar at once,” snorted Val.

“I think it’s more that it would look suspicious if he actually just left Bernie alone for five minutes,” Trixie corrected.

Lucille felt Tim squirm in the seat beside her. She knew he thought the world of Bernie, but didn’t like to hear her relationship with his father discussed in public. This was inevitable being a small village with one pub, one church and two of the villages most popular inhabitants linked to both. She tried to ease his tension.

“I think it’s lovely, just shows as my grandma used to say there may be snow on the roof, but there is still fire in the grate.”

As everyone surrendered to laughter, Matron shared a smile with the vicar, both of them confirming Lucille might be familiar with the saying but maybe not it’s meaning.

Delia was the first to keep a straight face, “But they are only bairns, wait until they are mine and Pats age then the fire may need a little bit of stoking.”

“Yes, Deals, but remember we have never required the use of a poker.”

Val swiftly continued, “Paddy doesn’t wish to be involved.”

“Why?” Reggie asked perched on his wooden stool.

Val motioned towards Tim, who was still recovering from the last topic of conversation.

“Because it would look ridiculous, his words not mine.” Tim continued, “and I quote, Wilf had the works, I would look like I was trying to pull a stunt to impress Bernie by looking like I was dressing in drag and taking the piss.”

Tim looked at his knees and Lucille gave one a quick squeeze. She knew this wasn’t easy for him.

Everyone else also looked at their knees, the mood was solemn.

“We can all understand Paddy’s reasons.” There were a couple of nods and sighs in response. “But we aren’t putting up with any of that nonsense,” Val added with a grin.

This was met with a very large and unanimous cheer.

“Well, I’ve already looked up the Turner tartan,” Trixie handed an iPad over to Patsy via Val.

“That’s very smart,” approved the artist.

“Sorry I hate to throw a spanner in the works, but how are we going to afford all this?” butt in a pensive Vi.

“We've already thought of that,” grinned Delia, ”Mount Busby will cover the cost of the costume.”

“That’s very generous,” sniffed Evie, who had nearly dozed off in a leather recliner.

“Not really,” explained Patsy. “I have a friend that works for Kilts 4 U and they are very interested in looking into the possibility of making an alpaca lined sporran.”

This was news to Reggie who followed anything relating to his charges with great interest, “What’s a sporran?”

“It’s where he keeps his spare change,” Fred enlightened or at least tried to.

“It’s the little purse that men wear at the front of the kilt, Reggie,” Violet elaborated. He seemed reassured by this.

“So anyway in return for a few samples,” Patsy continued, “my friend will be happy to hire out the full regalia for the evening.”

“It’s not long now until Burns Night have you got some sort of prototype ready?” quizzed Evie.

“Lady K is working on them as we speak. She loves nothing better than fiddling with a bit of alpaca wool,” Delia replied gleefully.

“Lady K?” Phyllis queried.

“Yes, she is very creative,” reassured Trixie.

“I don’t doubt it, Trixie, but she is one of Bernie’s clients. What if the lass sees what she is up too”

“Don’t fret Phyllis,” Patsy interjected, “I find that Antonia is much less forgetful when she has an occupation to challenge her and I am certain she won’t let the cat out of its proverbial bag.”

Jack sat on the floor banged his head against the fire surround he was leaning against, “Can’t imagine Berns thinking, oh look Lady K is sticking bits of alpaca wool to a man’s bag he hangs in front of his todger, that must be something to do with Paddy and my birthday”

Vi was quick to admonish Jack, but when even Tom started to laugh, she decided to let it go.

“What about the little knifey thing they keep in their sock that he stabs the Haggis with?” Fred was beginning to get excited.

“Sgian dubh,” corrected Vi.

“All part of the traditional dress,” Patsy added a tone to her voice to reassure everyone that she had thought of everything.

“So that's the gear sorted. Me and Reggie are in charge of the beer. What else?” Fred’s eyes were wide thinking they actually might be able to pull this off.

“Well, myself and Evie have created a menu, pretty much on the lines of what we used to do in Wilf’s day.” Violet opened a small notebook and put on her reading glasses.

Clearing her throat she read, “Cock-a-leekie soup, Scottish salmon and tattie scones or scotch egg for starters.”

“Cock a what?” shouted up Jack.

“Chicken and vegetable soup to you, young man. There will be a just vegetable option too.” Violet’s voice began to take on the air it adopted when addressing an audience. “Then we have the Haggis or vegan Haggis, neeps and tatties and a whisky sauce.”

“What about those that might not wish to partake in the Haggis?” Tom asked nervously, as he might.

Evie spoke up, before Vi could respond. “There is always the Fourteen Teacups for the likes of those that don’t wish to have Haggis. It’s a Burns Night. If you don’t want Haggis, then stay at home and order in a pizza.”

“What's for pudding?” Bobby struck up, squeezing her husband's hand.

“Cranachan which is raspberries, cream, oats and whisky, or Clootie pudding with whisky sauce or whisky ice cream or a Scottish cheese board with oatcakes.”

Murmurs of approval were aimed in Violet’s direction.

“That's a lot of whisky?” Lucille remarked.

Violet agreed, “Yes, we need just a house whisky for everyone for the toasts Val, I will leave that to you, but you need to pay the piper with a good quality malt.”

Silence broke out in the previously buzzing over occupied living room.

“Piper!” Several people groaned at once.  

Fred, who was not going to let anything get in the way of this Burn’s Night declared, “Look we will just have to bung on a recording.” Turning to Tim and Jack, he said, “You lads look up the Red Hot Chilli Pipers on your phones.”

Tim reached for his phone swiping the picture of Lucille and him with Alpaca Colin. But Lucille touched his hand, making him hesitate.

“I don’t think that would be very suitable Mr Buckle, going to all this trouble with such a delicious menu and Mr Turner all dressed up in the finest regalia and then having some squeaky din coming out of an iPhone.”

“Your right lass, it just won't do,” supported Phyllis.

“Well, does anyone know a piper?” Fred replied wearily.

“Surely we can find a professional one online?” contributed Julia

“A professional piper that’s free on Burn’s Night at this late notice,” chided Phyllis.

“I know a piper.”

The voice came from the back of the room everyone turned to look at the slight dark-haired woman sat on a dining chair. “Well, I think we all do.”

“Do we, Jane?” Julia asked.

“Yes, the busker that stands outside the town hall in Appleby Thornton.”

Everyone started talking at once;

“I only go into town every second Tuesday to get my hair done.”

“Same here I only go through if I have a doctor's appointment.”

“Well, it’s the cost of the parking isn't it, it’s free at Tweaven Retail Park and more shops.”

“You can get it on t’internet delivered to your door.”

“I haven’t been since Marks and Spencers closed.”

“Debenhams is closing next week such a shame, that shops older than me, always been a department store in Appleby Thornton.”

“It was one of the first in the country to have a lift, you know.”

Jane cleared her throat. “There are a lot of good things about Appleby Thornton that are not always obvious.”

“Here, here!” chimed in Val, “there is still a Primark.”

“Oh well, let's be grateful for small mercies,” stung back Trixie.

Much to Delia’s disappointment, Val bit her lip. The ex nurse and market gardener loved a full house. She cherished her quiet times with Patsy too, but she was the more sociable of the pair. The farm was large enough for Patsy to have her office and art studio and not be disturbed while Delia fussed the alpacas with Reggie. Trixie moving in had been Patsy’s scheme, but Delia was the one who had benefited most from their new project, even if she would never let their new employee know she was a project.

Delia enjoyed listening to Trixie’s anecdotes and gossip, she felt reconnected with a world that was moving so fast. The Two Loves were business women and technology hadn’t passed them by.  It was the music, the celebrities, the trashy telly that Patsy despised and Delia loved that made having Trixie and her friends around delight Delia.

Delia’s carer probably wasn’t as up-to-date with pop culture as Trixie and her friend. Val was now a frequent visitor to Mount Busby as she and their new lodger had struck up quite a friendship. Nurse Bernie always looked a bit behind the door when the other two were in full flow about some reality TV show.

But since Trixie had moved in, Nurse made Delia’s blood pressure check the last visit on her rounds and she drank tea sitting and chatting with Trixie. Bernie didn’t need to watch Love Island. She had her own romantic paradise in Poplar-on-Tweaven and Delia couldn’t be more happy for her.

Val had bitten her lip because even though her new friend was still a bit of an enigma to her. She did know Trixie might talk as if she had been born with a silver spoon in her mouth, but in the last few months she had gleaned enough to know that spoon had been tarnished sometime ago. So in spite of all her bravado, Trixie was as familiar with Poundland as she was Prada.

It was Julia who cut through the chatter. “I believe I am familiar with the young man you are referring to. He has a small dog with him if I am right?”

“Yes, Reverend.” Jane was beginning to believe she had dreamt the piper and maybe also Appleby Thornton.

“He’s rather good, as I remember.”

Jane was beaming as she nodded.

“So problem solved,” Fred rubbed his hands together with glee, “tot of whisky, a bowl of water for the pooch, bob's your uncle, sorted”

“No, it certainly is not.” Trixie's tone caused everyone to alter their gaze, “this man is a professional musician surely, if he has a regular spot he has a license. I am sure Chummy is well acquainted with the gentleman and his story, we can ask her.”

Inspector Noakes had been unable to attend the meeting because of work commitments and Peter’s Tuesday evenings were spent running a youth football team that Jack and Timothy had both enjoyed being a part of. Alas Tim had become too rangy and prone to injury and Jack had become too lazy and prone to chips.

Trixie continued, “He deserves an appropriate wage for his efforts.” She turned to Val. “I believe the Crown has an entertainments licence.”

Val nodded and smiled reassuringly at her friend, “Paddy does, leave it with me and I will also make sure he and the mut are fed and provided with transport both ways.”

Trixie relaxed and shared a smile with the aromatherapist sitting at the back of the room. “Do you know his name?”

“Kevin.”

Fred let out a huge sigh. “So we are all sorted then?”

“It would appear so,” replied Lucille grimacing at Tim.

“Apart from Dad.” groaned Tim.

Followed by an echo of sighs.

“Leave your Dad to me, Chick.” winked Val.

[sagara-megumi]

Matsuoka Gou Appreciation Week: Day 2 - Gou for the Gold || [Fanfic] Not a Date

Sorry this comes so late, it was half written and I had to finish it when I came back from work ^^U Also, it’s unrevised but it’s very late here and I have to get up early tomorrow. I’ll edit it when I have some free time, but if you see any big mistakes, please tell me :)

Title: Not a  Date

Characters: Matsuoka Gou, Matsuoka Rin, Nanase Haruka, Tachibana Makoto, Hazuki Nagisa, Ryuugazaki Rei

Rating: G/K

Words: 2273

Notes: Set after the Regionals in Season 1, before or after Iwatobi’s joint practice with Samezuka, as you prefer. I hope you enjoy it ^^

.

NOT A DATE

The ringtone he had set for the four Iwatobi boys was heard in the silence of the bedroom and Rin opened an eye, glaring at his mobile phone from his lying position on the bed. He heard Nitori groan coming from the bed above him and with great effort, he got up, crossed the room to his desk and picked it up.

“Good morning, Rin-chan!”

Nagisa's enthusiastic voice was like a drill piercing his brain and he took the device off his ear for a moment as an annoyed expression appeared on his features.

“Why are you so energetic this early? It's only nine.”

“Really? You were sleeping? What a slacker...”

One of his eyebrows trembled slightly, showing his irritation. If Nagisa had got to bed as late as he had, he would sleep in too for sure. In the background, he could hear Rei ushering the blond boy to get to the point, and he pressed his lips in a thin line.

“And?”

“Oh, yes, the point... We're only calling to tell you that we're taking Gou-chan on a date today. Mako-chan insisted that we had to do it. He said something about being polite...”

Everything went blank for a split second in Rin's mind as he tried to process what he thought Nagisa had told him. In the background, he could hear Makoto and Rei's protesting voices at how Nagisa had worded what it really was an innocent outing.

“Now Rin-san will misunderstand everything, Nagisa-kun!��

“That is not a date, Nagisa!”

“Ha?!” Rin's voice was filled with raw indignation. “Are you kidding me?”

But he was ignored. He could hear Nagisa's amused laughter and Rei's scolding. Makoto was asking his best friend to say something but Haru replied something about the risk of burning the mackarel if he went and he heard the captain of the Iwatobi team groan, all in a mess of boisterous annoying voices.

“Oi!” Rin shouted too. “I hope what you said was just a bad joke.”

There was a pause and then some noise, as if something brushed against the receiver.

“It's not that!” it seemed that Makoto had taken control of the phone. “We only want to take her out to thank her for all she's done for us. She's an important part of our team and... we realised that we haven't told her that.”

Rin's brow relaxed just a bit. It seemed like a believable reason, and it was nice that they wanted to do that. He inhaled, feeling his anger ease up a little. Maybe he could trust Makoto. He was the only one who was an older brother and had a sister, and probably the only one he could truly rely on taking care of his sister.

“I thought we should let you know in advance and Nagisa... well, he went ahead. I'm sorry he gave you a fright.”

“He didn't” he was not willing to admit to any of his friends that he felt fiercely protective of her sister regarding the opposite sex. “But next time, please, ban him from being near a phone when giving news...” the captain of the Iwatobi team made an affirmative sound, reassuring him. “And you didn't have to ask me. Gou is old enough to do what she pleases.”

Makoto giggle silently as he remembered how displeased Rin had been with his own captain's advances on his sister.

“I thought you'd like to know it.”

“What's the matter” Nitori's drowsy voice reached him from behind when he hung up and Rin turned to see him looking at him with half closed eyes and messy hair.

“I don't really know... but whatever it is, I don't like it...” .

Makoto had called her early in the morning, just as she was about to go downstairs to have breakfast, to ask her if she had plans for that day. Then, he had suggested going with the rest of the team to spend the day in Tottori, and not having anything better to do, she had accepted.

She had not seen them since the “disaster” that had not been such disaster at the Regionals. Rin had spent a few days at home with them and they had enjoyed some family time, going everywhere together but two days before, he had gone with his team to Kyoto to cheer for the members of the team who had advanced to the Nationals. They had come back to Samezuka late in the evening the day before and he had spent the night there. He had called to say he would be back home in the afternoon and she had supposed he was meeting the Iwatobi boys in the morning.

After having breakfast and a relaxed chat with her mother, she had gone upstairs to change her clothes, since the team was picking her up at eleven. She had decided to put on a white sundress with red flowers that she had bought at the beginning of the holidays and she had not had time to wear for the first time, and matching sandals. She tied her hair in a side braid and applied some perfume and, looking at the clock on her bedside table, she went down the stairs, receiving her mother's compliments and teasing about being fortunate that Rin was not at home that day.

When she opened the door, she was greeted by the sight of the four young men waiting for her in front of the door, looking as if they had been taken out from a men's fashion magazine. She was so used now to see them walk around half naked and check the state of their muscles that the sight of them in their informal clothes was a novelty. Each having their own fashion sense, from Rei's smart style to Nagisa's fresh one, Makoto's preference for warm colours and Haruka's surprisingly good taste -she would have swore that he only knew how to choose swimming trunks- they made a sight few girls could resist.

They bowed politely when they saw Miyako behind her, exchanging a few pleasantries.

“We'll bring her in the evening, I hope that's fine” Makoto said with a soft smile.

It seemed that he had extended his condition of captain of the team outside of the pool too, though she could see out of the corner of her eye that Rei and Haru were, in some way, trying to control Nagisa from saying something that could be misunderstood, and vaguely, Gou wondered why.

“Of course” Miyako smiled softly and then, ushered her outside the house, scolding her softly for making them wait. “Well, have fun” her mother's smile was somewhat  and Gou was sure that there was a hidden meaning behind it.

.

Everything was being too strange. First, they had invited her to the cinema, and now, they were eating at a very nice family restaurant and they were not letting her pay for her food. However, she was enjoying whatever that was immensely. They had gone to places together before, but it had always been related to swimming or the club. Seeing them out of that environment was something new for her. She had seen a glimpse of it when they had met at the Squid Festival weeks before, at that time she had been with Chigusa and it had been long since the last time they had had time to spend time together that she had not even thought about joining them that night. Now, she was participating in their jokes and conversations about different topics. She was a witness of their interactions outside the swimming pool, seeing that the bond that tied them went beyond water and sport. And she discovered herself delighted at being part of that side of them that she had not known until then.

However, some minutes later, that atmosphere seemed to change when they exchanged glances that did not share with her.

“I suppose...”Makoto started, looking straight at her. “... that you're wondering why we took you out today...”

“Well, at the beginning I thought it was a bit weird the suddenness of all this, but then I decided that maybe you had been talking about getting new equipment for yourselves and wanted me to go with you, as the other times.”

“Well, maybe another day we could-”

“Haru” Makoto interrupted him. “Don't stray from the topic.”

“We realised that, even though you're beside us everyday, maybe we haven't appreciate your efforts enough” Rei said with a smile.

A sudden blush covered Gou's cheeks and she looked at them with slightly wide eyes.

“But you don't need to-”

“Yes, we do. In fact, we have many things to thank you for” Makoto continued. “First, you joined the club when we needed a fourth member to start it.”

“You've taken care of us and prepared training menus so we could overcome our weaknesses and be better.”

“And you signed us up for the relay” Haruka continued. “That made possible we could swim with Rin again...”

She felt her eyes dampen at their heartfelt words. She would have never imagine they thought so highly of her. At the beginning, she had seen them as her brother's childhood teammates and the way to bring her brother back to who he had been before but her fondness for them had grown with each passing day and now they were her precious friends, ones she hoped to have in her life forever.

“That's why” Nagisa beamed at her “we wanted to take you on a dat- Ouch!” a well placed nudge in the ribs courtesy of Rei stopped him from saying what they had agreed was a forbidden word, and after he had whispered something to him, the shorter boy continued. “Yes, yes, to the point...” he took something from his shoulder bag and gave it to her. “We wanted to let you know how important you're to us.”

If they wanted to make her cry, they were about to achieve it. To conceal her tears, she took the present, a thin rectangle wrapped in bright silver paper with flowers and a ribbon and she started to open it.

She uncovered a beautiful photograph which had been taken during a break in one of the last training sessions before the Regionals, decorated in scrapbooking style. In it, Rei was chasing Nagisa, who had stolen his cold drink, Haruka was floating in one of the lines with his eyes closed and a small smile playing on his lips and she was watching them sitting down by the pool with her tracksuit pants rolled up above her knees and her legs in the water. Makoto was beside her, as they had been talking about a change in the menu since the teachers had given them permission to stay practising a bit longer. She remembered that that day had been unusually hot and that Nagisa had been specially mischievous. She had lost her patience with him two or three times, and even their captain had admonished him.

“Who took this?” she asked, looking at them in awe.

“Ama-chan!” Nagisa beamed at her. “She showed it to us a few days ago. She said she had felt like taking it when she saw us so relaxed and carefree. But, come on, Gou-chan! Unwrap it completely!”

She did it and what she saw brought tears to her eyes. One of them, probably Nagisa, had decorated the photo with stickers of animals and in the sky above them, the words “For the Team” had been written in beautiful handwriting.

“And why am I a shark?” she scowled at Nagisa, pointing at the pink holographic cutout that was beside her.

“Because you're Rin-chan's sister” he said with a laugh and she sighed, feigning annoyance.

She could never be truly angry with them. They sometimes got on her nerves and were a bit irresponsible and too carefree. But they were reliable and worked hard to achieve their objectives. And most of all, they were true to their word.

“We couldn't reward your efforts since we ended up disqualified,” Makoto spoke again, tilting his head a bit and watching her tenderly. “So we hoped this would show our appreciation for your work and your help, and also for your friendship.”

She shook her head.

“You brought my brother's smile back” she looked warmly at them. “There's no greater prize for me than that.”

“Next year, we'll do our best to reach the Nationals” Rei added with a proud, confident expression and shining eyes.

“It's a promise!” Nagisa continued as Haru nodded, regarding his team with a soft gaze.

“And I'll do my best to support you as a manager and as a friend.”

.

Watching her sister laugh brought a smile to Rin's face. Hidden behind a lamppost, he felt a bit stupid for suspecting ulterior motives for the Iwatobi team's outing with her sister. He sighed and rubbed the back of his head. He would have to trust them more in the future, especially since they were going to spend a whole new school year with her.

“Oi, Ai” he said, putting his hands in the pockets of his jeans and turning to his teammate and friend, who had wanted to accompany him in his quest, and who looked up from his mobile phone and . “Since we're already here, do you want to grab something to eat?”

THE END

[djgamek1ng]

Log Horizon: To Fade Away (OC story) - Chapter 1

Damon found himself regaining consciousness. When he opened his eyes though he saw something strange. A world so alien, yet so familiar. A world he had been exploring for the last year or so. A world… that wasn’t his room. He was in Theldesia.

“What in the blue blazes?”, he said while looking around. He looked towards his own body to examine it. First thing he noticed, he was considerably closer to the ground than he used to be, and his arms looked a lot stronger. He felt his chin and there was facial hair. Not that he didn’t have any before, but this was a lot more robust and went all the way around his mouth. “What the hell is going on”, he said as he was still looking around. When he let go of his chin, he suddenly saw an interface pop up, Elder Tale’s interface. “…Oh”, was his only reaction. He started going through the menus after trying to touch it and realizing that they are indeed menus, while he sat down on the ground.

“Ah, the log out button! Let’s do- of course it doesn’t work. What did I expect?”, he thought. He looked at the top right of the menus and saw his status screen. He looked at the picture and the name. He just let out a big sigh, since he realized what it meant. “I’ve become my Elder Tale character, huh? Welp, time to get used to being called Duran”, he thought. He navigated the menus further and eventually found his skills, which were the same as he last checked them out before the expansion launched, and he found his friends list. Gaia – Online, StarrySky – Online, Osburn – Offline. “Erin and Faye are here too? And Ren isn’t. It might’ve been only people that were online when the expansion dropped then, since I remember that Ren wasn’t and the other two were. Well, let’s get in touch with them”, he said as he clicked on Gaia.

Voice call started to try and grab a hold of her. Few seconds later: “D-Damon? Damon is that you?”, Gaia said. “Yeah, it is me. Hey”, he said back. “What… what is going on? Why are we in Akihabara? Why am I my Elder Tale character?”, she said with panic in her voice. “I don’t know. I’ve been trying to figure stuff out and more than ‘we are inside Elder Tale’ hasn’t been figured out”, he said trying to cheer her up a bit. It worked; she sounded a lot less panicked. “Where are you Damon? I’m just kind of walking around”, she asked. “I’m on top of a building. It actually isn’t too far from the building we took the screenshot”, he added. “Oh, I’ll go to that building then! I’ll see you in a bit”, she replied. “See you. I’ll contact Faye in the meantime”, he said as he hung up.

He clicked on StarrySky. Voice call started to try and reach her. She picked up and immediately: “WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING DAMON?!”, she yelled. “Ow, my ears”, he said. “I’m sorry, but I’m kind of FREAKING THE HELL OUT. What is happening?!”, she said back. “I don’t know. Wish I could tell you the answer, but I can’t. Anyway, Erin is also here in Akihabara”, he said. “She is? Is she okay?”, she asked. “She seems fine from as far I could tell over voice calls, but I won’t exactly know until I see her”, he replied. “Right, right. Got a place in mind to meet up?”, she asked him. “Yeah. Remember where we took the screenshot? We’ll meet up there. I told Erin to come there too”, he said. “Good, I’ll come right to there”, she said, and she hung up immediately. “Right, let’s get moving”, he said as he started walking towards the meet up place.

Immediately as he tried walking, the first issue for Duran reared its head. He fell on his face after walking a couple steps. “What the?”, he thought. “Why did that...? Oh… oh no”, he thought as he stood back up. “I’m much shorter than I used to be since I’m a Dwarf now. Dammit! Well, let me take this slowly but surely I guess…”, he thought as he continued walking towards the meet up place. He fell quite a few more times on the way there because he was not used to this body with a much shorter stature.

He had arrived by the place as the last of the three. He had quite the scratches on him, but nothing that wouldn’t heal by itself. “He- O-oh”, Faye said. “Hey there, you two”, he said back. “Right… gotta get used to your new look”, Faye said. “You are so cute Damon!”, Erin said while kneeling a bit to look closer at him. “Don’t… don’t call me cute”, he said. “But you are so cute, it is unfair! I have to be in these revealing clothes, and you get to be cute?!”, Erin responded. It was then when he truly noticed her outfit. It was unusual for Erin to be in such clothing. “R-right. Anyway, let’s talk. We need to come up with some sort of plan… or at least we have to think about what we want to do”, he said. They took place in front of the building, sitting on the ground.

D: So… well then, we are in Elder Tale it seems. E&F: You are being way too calm about this. D: Huh? F: Seriously, you accept that we are stuck inside a video game that easily?! E: Yeah… it is kind of weird and you aren’t freaking out at all? D: Well, no. F: WHY?! D: Because what is the point? E&F: Huh? D: Let’s be real here, whatever or whoever put us in here isn’t going to magically let us leave. While yeah, it is real strange that we are here, it is best to remain calm and not lose yourself over all this. F: I guess you do have a point there. E: But… but what about where we came from? You know, the real world? Aren’t you worried about there? D: Of course I am. I wanna go home just as much, but like I said just now, we aren’t going to get out of here that easily. If someone or something wants us here, we will keep being here for however long they want to keep us here. E: Hmm… F: Can’t say I can argue with that? D: Say… did either of you make your characters much different than your real-life bodies? F: No, not really. Different hair style, different hair color, different eye color, but aside from that I kept it fairly close to myself. Why? D: Well, with me being a Dwarf and all… I’ve obviously gotten shorter by quite a bit compared to my real-life self. F: Ooooh, right! D: Yeah, and so moving isn’t the easiest yet. I have to still get adjusted to the much shorter body of a Dwarf. Complete with me tripping a bunch. E: Yeah, I’ve noticed it too. F: Huh? E: I’m a bit taller in real-life and there are a bunch of smaller differences as well, so it is a bit weird getting adjusted to this body. D: What are those smaller differences? E: W-well… I’m a bit skinnier in here than in-real life and… u-uh… D: Hm? E: I-it’s a girl thing, don’t worry about it. F: Y-yeah, no, I totally get what you mean. Don’t worry about it, Damon, it isn’t that important. D: Fair enough. Though that gets me to another point: names. E: W-what do you mean? D: We are now in the game, right? No doubt you would’ve already seen the user interface at this point. F: Yeah, what about it? D: Well, on the user interface it doesn’t display our real names. It displays the names of our characters. Maybe it might be handier to call each other by that? E: Hmm… I can agree there. Though, hold on. (Grabs her notebook, a bottle of ink and a quill) D: What’s that for? E: I want both of you to write your real names in here, along with me, so we won’t forget that part of ourselves if we are stuck in here for a long time. F: Oooooh, that is smart Er- I mean, Gaia! D: Yeah, that’s a good idea! Good thinking! E: Hehe, thanks!

As they all wrote their names in the book, they started thinking about what next. “We probably wanna avoid combat for today”, Gaia brought up. Duran nodded in agreement. “Wait, why?”, Sky asked. “Well, you are the only one out of us three that can currently fight without any trouble, and that is assuming combat doesn’t work like how it did when this was a game”, Gaia said. “The two of us aren’t used to these bodies yet, so we could be killed because we could trip for example”, she added to that. “Right, you have a point there. But what then? What are we gonna do with the rest of today? You two probably noticed that the rest of the town is in complete disarray”, Sky responded. This left both Duran and Gaia thinking. “You’ve got a point there. Hmm… Actually, I wanna try something”, Duran said. “What is that?”, Gaia asked. Duran reached behind his back and pulled his sword out and held it in an aggressive stance towards Sky. “W-w-what the hell are you doing?!”, both Gaia and StarrySky asked. All Duran said was “Like I thought” when he saw a portal open in the sky. Out of the portal came a Royal Guard, ready to stop the aggression. Duran put his sword back in its sheath and just as quickly as he appeared, the Royal Guard disappeared. “That is what I wanted to try out. They are still here”, Duran said with a slight grin on his face.

“WHAT THE F**K IS WRONG WITH YOU?!”, Sky yelled as she slapped him quite hard. In fact, the slap was so hard that it actually knocked Duran off his feet and knocked him a few feet further. He lost 37 HP from it as well. “O-ouch…”, he said as he stood back up. He looked up in the sky to see if that triggered the Royal Guard again. Nothing. “Interesting”, he thought. He walked back. “What is wrong with me? I wanted to know if the Royal Guard still existed and on what would make them trigger to come here”, he said when he had walked back. “You could’ve just said so instead of just drawing your sword and pointing it to me!”, Sky yelled back. “Y-yeah, that was really uncalled for Dam- I mean, Duran!”, Gaia added in. “I could’ve and I probably should’ve, but regardless I wasn’t going to harm you. If anything, had we needed more testing, I was going to harm – or at least, got close to harming – myself. Your point stands though, I’m sorry”, he said. “Well, now we know. They activate when they think people are being aggressive”, Sky said. “Not entirely. It is specifically about aggression with whatever weapon you have. Magic also counts I’m assuming. When you slapped me just now, no Royal Guard”, Duran said. Both Gaia and Sky were shocked, but they realized he was right. “Huh, that’s true. Did you lose any HP from that by the way?”, Sky asked. “Yeah, around 30 or so. Nothing too bad”, he replied. “Oh! We can try out healing magic and buffing magic actually! Those won’t trigger the Guard!”, Gaia spoke up. “That’s very true actually”, Duran replied.

“Let me try!”, Gaia said as she stood up and looked through her magic spells. She had found the spell and grabbed her staff. “Healing Light!”, she shouted as she casted the spell. It healed Duran’s 37 HP back and it looked nice. The skill was mostly a white light around Gaia’s hand and the same color light around Duran’s body. It removed any visibly wounded spots and made it so that they didn’t hurt anymore. “You had to go through the menu, huh?”, Sky asked. Gaia nodded. “Seems… impractical”, Sky added. “Yeah, that wouldn’t be practical at all for combat. Hmmm… Let me try a skill”, Duran said. He grabbed his sword, making sure he was turned away from his friends. He scrolled through the skill menu as well. He clicked on the skill. “Aura of Hate!”, he shouted as he used the skill. He had his sword in front of him as he said that. The skill made a blue aura appeared around Duran and it radiated blue light in an area around him. Then both of those faded. “Huh, so that’s how it feels”, he said as he sheathed his sword. “Yeah, kind of a rush huh?”, Gaia asked. “Well, less that – though you are right – and more that in skills that used to have a longer animation when this was a game, you actually can’t move in the middle of them”, he replied. “Wait, so you couldn’t move your muscles when preforming that skill just now?”, Sky chimed in. “Yeah, it felt like the game took control over my body for a bit… strange”, he replied. “I wanna try something then”, Sky said. Duran stepped aside, standing over where Gaia was. Sky took out her two swords. However, unlike the other two, she didn’t go to the menu. She shouted, “Quick Step!”, and with a blur of motion she moved a couple meters forward.

“It is like I thought then”, Sky said when she was done with the skill. “What is?”, Gaia asked. “Duran mentioned that he wasn’t able to move when using the skill, right? Like the game was making him move?”, Sky asked. “Yeah, I did say that”, Duran said. “Well… to put it simply, you don’t wanna be using the menu for your skills. You can activate them without it by just doing the motion of the skill”, she said. Duran looked confused for a bit. He knew what he heard and what those words meant; he just wasn’t sure about the logistics behind it. “Hmmm… Let me try”, Gaia said. She raised her hand and a similar light appeared on her hand, though this time it was pale blue. She shouted out, “Cure!”, and the light surrounded Sky. The spell was finished casting. “That felt a lot better… wow”, Gaia remarked. Duran stood up and unsheathed his sword once more. Now he at least understood what Sky meant. “Do the motion and the skill will come out”, he mumbled at himself. He had his sword in front of him, pointing upward, then in a swift motion turned it and stabbed it into the ground as he said, “Hallowed Ground!” The ground around him lit up with white light and he felt that while in it, his body felt sturdier. “Now that… that is really cool!”, he said. “Told ya so!”, Sky shouted. He started laughing. “Now, come on! Pick up your sword and let’s go eat something! I’m starving honestly”, Sky said. He hadn’t realized that he hadn’t even picked up his sword yet. “Oh, right. Hold on, I’ll be right there”, he said. He picked up his sword, put it back in its sheath and walked over to the girls.

“So, apparently doing skills yourself doesn’t put you into animation lock”, Duran said. “Wait, really?”, Gaia asked. “Yeah. In the animation of Hallowed Ground when this was still a game, the character would put their weapon against the ground – in a sword’s case, literally stab it in – and then take the weapon and go back into their battle stance. That was at least if you let the whole animation play out. I, however, was able to leave my sword in the ground and move, right?”, he said. “Yeah, I even called out for you to grab your sword”, Sky said. “You did and that’s why I realized it. I didn’t automatically do it like the game’s animation would have made me”, he replied.

“Interesting. Anyway, let’s eat something!”, Sky said, very happily pulling out a peanut butter sandwich and a bottle of apple juice out of her magic bag. “Yeah, let’s!”, Gaia said, pulling out a ham and lettuce sandwich and a bottle of chocolate milk out of her own magic bag. Duran sat down next to them (they were sitting in a small circle) and pulled out a bottle of orange juice and a grilled cheese sandwich. “Enjoy your meal!”, the three of them said in unison and they each took a bite. The whole party looked at each other, making sure that they weren’t the only ones experiencing this. Duran was the first to swallow it down. “This… this is Hell”, he said as threw away the sandwich and started groveling. The other two had swallowed their food. Gaia continued eating, though she wasn’t enjoying her sandwich. “C’mon… it isn’t that bad”, Sky said to Duran. “Oh, but it is. A world where food is without taste might as well be Hell. What did I do to deserve this?! I’ve been as good as I can be, I’ve helped others when needed, I’ve been respectful to people!”, he said as he lamented this fate. Sky rolled her eyes and took another bite. Despite the taste not changing, this hit her harder. Duran stopped groveling and took a sip of his orange juice. No flavor there either. It was just water. This was significantly less disappointing than the food not having flavor, but it still felt weird. Gaia took a sip of her chocolate milk. She looked up, staring forward with completely zero emotion on her face. “A-are you okay, Gaia?”, Duran asked. “You are right. This place is Hell”, she responded. “Wait, what? You are agreeing with that nonsense?!”, Sky said. “This world makes it so chocolate milk doesn’t have flavor… Yes, I’m agreeing with Duran because what sick monster would do such a thing?!”, Gaia replied. “You two are acting so childish! This isn’t Hell. We will get through this, together. We will find a way to make food taste like it should and we will make a way to make chocolate milk taste like chocolate milk again!”, Sky said in the hopes of rallying the other two’s spirits. The other two were both groveling. “Come on you guys!”, Sky shouted. The rest of the day had passed. The trio decided to go to one of the inns for the night. The bar that inn had was about half full. They approached the innkeeper. “Hey there, what can I do for ya?”, he said. “H-hi, we would like three rooms please!”, Gaia responded. The innkeeper said, “That can be arranged. One room per person I assume?”. “Yup, you got that right”, Sky chimed in. Duran nodded. Gaia tilted her head slightly, looking at the innkeeper a bit confused. The innkeeper grabbed three keys and gave one to each. “Anything else I can do for ya?”, the innkeeper asked. “I think we’re good. Thanks a lot man”, Duran replied. “It’s no problem. Have a good night”, the innkeeper replied. “Y-you too, sir”, Gaia said. “Thank you kindly, miss”, the innkeeper said as they walked to their rooms. Gaia started thinking. “What’s on your mind?”, Sky asked. “It’s nothing, it’s nothing. Don’t worry about it”, Gaia said with a smile. Sky figured that Gaia wasn’t telling the truth, but she decided not to ask further for now. Duran was absentmindedly walking towards his room. When they got to their rooms, which were right beside each other, they each said good night and walked in. Duran sat on his bed and took his sword off his back. He also took out his graver that he used for his Sigilmancer subclass and started practicing. He first practiced a bunch of runes on different weapons and armor. A lot succeeded, but some failed. Notably the higher-level runes were tricky to put on lower leveled equipment, especially since it could destroy the original item. The problem with that stood in that higher-leveled runes were so much better than their lower-leveled counterparts. He grabbed his sword and scrolled through the menu to see what runes he could engrave on it. “Life steal rune, MP drain rune, Shield rune… While the effects are nice, rather would wait for a higher leveled version of any of the runes since the improvement is very high”, he mumbled to himself. He put his sword away and started trying to fall asleep.

Sleep didn’t come easy, as a sense of uneasiness filled him. He couldn’t get his mind off his sister. He wondered what she was doing and if she even would’ve noticed that he wasn’t home. He felt bad. He mostly wasted his days locked up in his room, playing video games. It was his favorite way to spend his free time, but that also meant he didn’t spend much time with her. “I really hope she is alright and if… no, when I’m able to get out of here, I’m going to go spend more time with her”, he again mumbled to himself. It was then he heard some voices. Specifically, the voices came from his right side which was Gaia’s room. “What the?”, he thought. He heard Sky and Gaia talking and giggling. He continued listening while half dozing off. He had fallen asleep until he heard a yelp. It was Gaia. He was about ready to get up and take a look, but then he heard them talk again. Shortly after, the door opened, and someone walked out of the room. Not too long after, the door opened again and like a second later, Duran heard knocking at his door. He stood up and at his door was Gaia, confirming in his mind that it was Sky who walked out first. Gaia looked embarrassed, something Duran hadn’t seen from her in a long time. “H-hey, can we talk for a bit Damon?”, she said. “Yeah, sure. Come on in”, he replied. She stepped in and he closed the door behind her, locking it.

She sat on his bed and he sat beside her. “So… what’s up? Did something happen?”, he said. Gaia was looking really embarrassed and barely knew where to look. Duran had noticed this. “Hey, are you okay? You look really bothered by something”, he said. “U-uh… y-yeah, I guess you could s-say that”, she replied. “So… what is going on? What has you this bothered?”, Duran said. “W-well… y-you see… uh… Promise to just listen for a bit a-and not judge?”, Gaia said. He nodded. “Okay, w-well… here goes nothing. So… uh… Faye and I have been friends for as long as we’ve known each other. We have been by each other’s side for forever. Of course, this obviously wasn’t the case when I had moved to Japan. We stayed in contact though, as you know. W-well… I might have sort of been developing something akin to a… c-crush on her. I… it seems that t-those feelings might be returned. Y-you would’ve probably heard it a bit, since the walls s-seem kind of thin. Well, she came to my room to talk for a bit. Just to catch up and stuff like that a-and eventually s-she ended up kissing me on the cheek. I-I was surprised and got embarrassed. She seemed to get embarrassed too and q-quickly left. Then I-I came to here and uh… y-yeah”, she said.

“W…wow. Alright then. Uh… Where to begin with that? Well, let’s start here: you think you have a crush on her? Just asking because you didn’t really sound sure about it”, he said. “I… y-yeah. I’m not a 100% s-sure, but t-this is the first time I felt so strongly about someone”, Gaia replied. “Alright. Well, can’t say I’m too shocked to hear that honestly. Anyway, I assume the yelp I heard was you then?”, he asked. She became more embarrassed and nodded her head. “Figures as much. Well, if you want my opinion… just talk to her”, he said. “Eh?!”, she let out. “Not like right now but talk to her about it. It’s obvious that you aren’t entirely… comfortable, for lack of a better word, with what happened. You are uncertain if those feelings are actually returned. Actually, you don’t even know if you have feelings for her to begin with. Give yourself some time to figure those feelings out as well. It’s been really long since you guys have seen each other face-to-face. Or, well, as close as this is face-to-face. Don’t rush things, especially since we are now in a semi-unknown world and I’m sure that isn’t helping to think things through calmly”, he said. “O-okay. Thank you, Damon. For both listening and your advice. I’ll head to my own room now”, she said as she stood up. “Not a problem. Have a good night Erin!”, Damon said as he also stood up and gave her a hug. She hugged him back, walked out of his room and into her own.

He laid back onto his bed. “Well, at least things will not be uninteresting for as long as we’re here. I wonder what tomorrow is gonna bring?”, he thought as he slowly fell asleep.