#legal marketing coffee talk

[kaitsawamura]

🪞 🔮 🍅 🧺 🍯 🌱 The Farmer & The Wizard

PART 1: IN WHICH YOU UNEXPECTEDLY GET THE DEED TO A FARM

❦ STATS ❦ | all other information on this fic including additional warnings can be found on the masterlist

chapter rating: e for everyone, complete fic has an 18+ MDNI rating

chapter warnings: mention of the death of an estranged grandparent (no details)

chapter tags: semi-canon divergent, red thread of fate

chapter word count: 3.2K

This chapter and the rest of this fic are part of this blog's contribution to Fics for Gaza.

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My Dear Little Bug,

If you’re reading this, you must be in dire need of a change.

The same thing happened to me long ago. I’d lost sight of what mattered most in life… real connections with other people and nature. So I dropped everything and moved to the place I truly belong.

I’ve enclosed the deed to that place… my pride and joy: Fox Hollow Farm. It’s located in Stardew Valley, on the southern coast. It’s the perfect place to start your new life.

This was my most precious gift of all, and now it’s yours. I know you’ll honor the family name, Little Bug. Good luck.

Love, Grandpa

Honor the family name? What a load of bullshit. There was no family left to honor. You were an only child and your parents had stopped talking to your grandpa on your dad’s side so long ago, you didn’t have any memories of him. Except for a blurry one, so void of detail it was as if it was a dream or a dream of a dream. In that memory, you could recall the thrill of seeing autumn leaves blustering in a flurry across a gravel drive, the creak of an old door, the smell of dirt, coffee, and aftershave. A pair of strong warm arms. That’s about it.

Now, your parents were divorced and the three of you were estranged. You were a singular island floating in a lonely, tumultuous sea. Things had been stressful at work and in your personal life. That must be why you even considered checking your Grandpa’s place out. The southern coast… that was practically out in the boonies. Scratch that, it was in the middle of nowhere. Zuzu City was the closest big town and even that would be small by your adult standards. You didn’t know if you had the gumption to do what it would take to fix the place up.

Still, although you had no idea why your grandfather had chosen you to take over the place most important to him, it would be a welcome distraction. The words in his letter… you were, in fact, in dire need of a change. How this all came to be at the time you needed it most was beyond your understanding. It was better to leave some things to the unknown, even if you did feel a strange pull to this place you’d been to once as a very young child.

You read the letter a final time before glancing at the attached legal papers. Suddenly it seemed as if the space you’d so meticulously curated to be yours was a touch too sterile. The apartment on the expensive side of town. The new, reliable car. The dinner parties, the expensive alcohol. The shiny executive position to go with it. You’d worked hard for it but also had privilege that so many didn’t. You were grateful for it. Even so, you couldn’t ignore that something was missing.

Perhaps long days and even longer nights, clean air, and more sky than infrastructure were the puzzle pieces you hadn’t found yet.

❦ 2 WEEKS LATER ❦

Your apartment was turnkey on the market and already had three solid offers.

In the end, you decided on saving the expense of a rental car, but doing so meant the closest you could get to Stardew Valley was Zuzu City and from there, you had to take a bus. The whole thing felt spectacularly contrived, much to your chagrin. It was spring and while the city was filled with smog, the moment you hit the long highway out of Zuzu towards your new home it was as if the heavens parted to shine a light on your way. Not a single cloud remained in the sky. Well, maybe one little puff that looked way too much like a pastry waaaay out in the distance.

It was a two hour drive on a four lane highway that somehow turned into a two lane without you noticing. For a long while there was nothing but the music playing in your headphones and stretches of field so green and wide open, you could easily get lost in daydreaming. Rolling hills, green grass, and sometimes a fence. Clair de Lune played in your ears and with the surprisingly comfortable position you’d found leaning your head on the window, it didn’t take much for you to drift off.

The bus jolting to a stop is what wakes you on a sharp, snorting breath as your eyes snap open. For a moment, you’re disoriented, unaware of where you are or if you are, in fact, a real person. A headache has begun throbbing at the base of your neck and your mouth is dry. Late afternoon sun streams in the bus window and the driver, a little graying man in a smart blue uniform is standing over you.

“There you are, I was beginning to think I couldn’t wake you. We’ve reached the end of the line. I’ll give you a moment while I open the cargo hold. I have a schedule I have to keep to though!” He says it brightly, smiling as big as can be, the expression crinkling his eyes shut above his rosy cheeks. You nod as he turns and spryly makes his way down the middle of the bus and out the doors.

You do take a moment, but only a small one, to stare out the window. It’s a small bus station, barely even a station at all really. There’s a small awning under a tree that houses an automatic ticket printer. It seems both too modern and too ancient, a monolith, to be here in Stardew Valley. There’s a wooden bench and a cobbled pathway that looks as if at one time there was a lot of foot traffic that has since dwindled. In the distance a wooden fence, fallen into disrepair.

Still, you take a breath and even within the confines of the vehicle, you can taste the crisp freshness in the air. On top of that, there’s green everywhere. In the trees, in the grass, in the wildflowers. In the button-up shirt on the other little old man standing expectantly outside the bus looking in. He’s wearing a brown newsboy cap and overalls, with a golden yellow tie. That must be the mayor. Mayor… Lee? Lemony? Lewis? That’s it, Mayor Lewis.

The mayor had been good friends with your grandfather. He had said as much over the phone when he called to confirm you had gotten the letter and legal papers in the mail. Mail didn’t get lost in Stardew Valley, it was too small but he didn’t known how things worked in the big modern city. He had told you he would meet you to take you to your grandfather’s, well, your farm when you got into town. That was two weeks ago and if you were being completely honest with yourself, you had forgotten that little detail. It was just as well because your fancy cellphone with “unparalleled” service had one little tiny bar; no pulling up Maps here.

Uncertainty roiled in your gut, truly the first bit of apprehension you’d felt since you’d started this process. Maybe this was literally the most foolish thing you’d done in your life, more foolish than breaking into the public pool after hours with your friends your senior year of high school and getting caught by the cops. That had been your last hurrah the summer before you all went to college. Perhaps this was a last hurrah as well. Except, there was no scholarship money waiting in the mail for you this time around. This would be all on you and while you were comfortable with what you had access to for the ball to get rolling, it was different spending your own money than money given to you. Money given to you didn’t count, it wasn’t real.

There was no time like the present. You grabbed your carry on, the one you’d had since high school with the fraying handles and the faded One Direction key chain, and stepped out into the later afternoon. Lewis, who was rocking on his heels with his arms clasped behind him, loosed a beaming smile in your direction. You smiled back, determined to make the most of this first impression.

“Mayor Lewis?” You made it a question even though you were certain it was unnecessary. He nodded enthusiastically and you shook hands. The driver had unloaded your singular suitcase from the hold and gave a mock salute to the two of you as he stepped back in the bus. The doors closed with a wheeze and a loud click before the idling engine was idle no longer and the wheels began rolling the bus back out of town. The mayor broke the amicable silence first.

“You must be exhausted so I’ll walk you straight to the farm and leave you to get settled in! Can I help ya with any of your bags?” You were inclined to let him assist so you handed him your carry on and grabbed your rolling suitcase; a fine film of pollen already collected over its surface. Thank god you’d brought antihistamines. You had an annoying feeling that your allergies would be acting up.

“Uh, Mayor—” he held up a hand.

“Please, call me Lewis. Your grandpa and I were much too close for you to be calling me by a title instead of my Yoba-given name.” Yoba. You hadn’t heard or thought of that name in a very long time. So the mayor was at least somewhat religious, you decided to assume.

“Oh, yes, all right. Lewis it is then. Can I clarify, did you say walk?” Another huge smile broke out across his face, bringing crows feet and laugh lines prominently to the surface. It was humanizing in such a way that you already felt a pang of endearing familiarity towards him. He did remind you vaguely of your grandpa, or what you could remember of him.

“Yes! It’s really not far, just down this dirt road here. I took the liberty of assuming that you would want to stretch your legs a little after that long drive. Your grandpa rode his horse until the very end but I’m sure we could fix ya up with somebody’s old truck if you’d rather use that for transportation from now on.” Your eyebrows shot up your forehead. The mayor must have seen the look of confusion because he rambled on, “Magpie’s a sturdy little gelding, but if he’s too much for you to keep, I’m sure I could help you find him a good home.”

There was so much to consider. You had told Lewis that you planned on fixing the place up but you still hadn’t answered the question that lingered heavily on your mind about what came after that. Did you really plan on uprooting your whole life permanently? Crickets chirped in the hedges lining the pathway. The sun sparkled through the trees as it set in the west. The air smelled heavily of daffodils and lilac. Even without seeing the farm, you already felt a strange pull behind your ribcage, like a string was tied around your heart and was tugging. In what direction, you couldn’t quite tell.

It really didn’t take any time to reach the farm at all. You’d been so wrapped up in further conversation with Lewis that you hadn’t noticed it was a twenty minute walk and sure enough your stiff hips and back welcomed the light exercise. He reminded you that there were a couple chickens that had already been locked up in their coop for the day but as sunny weather was predicted, you’d want to let them out in their run the following morning. The main living structure, a small cabin with a single room and kitchenette, still had utilities running. There was a little toilet room inside as well and a small bathhouse out back for any of your bathing needs. If the pipes groaned when you turned the water on, well, it really wasn’t a problem but if any issues arose from it, he could recommend a handy man to you.

You passed the mailbox and took a mental note that it was one of the first things you’d be fixing; it was leaning so precariously on a rotten wooden post you were surprised it was still standing. When the little cabin came into view as the two of you opened and shut the entrance gate behind you, you felt a tightness begin to unravel in your body. There was an apricot tree hanging over the tiny covered patio. Frogs chirped in the distance from the creek that ran around the far edges of the property. The chicken coop sat close to a bend of that creek next to another west facing entrance. You could also see the overgrown mini forest of trees you had as well as an overabundance of grass and weeds and stone that would need to be cleared.

“Well, here it is, Fox Hollow Farm! I don’t want to overstay my welcome so you let me know if there’s anything you need but otherwise, I’ll let you get settled in for the night.” You assured him as long as there was hot water in that bathhouse and a made bed to collapse into, you think you’d make it through the night. “Good. Robin and I’ll check back in on ya tomorrow morning!” You couldn’t remember exactly who he’d said Robin was but if they were as welcoming as Lewis, it didn’t really matter.

After Lewis had unlocked the cabin and handed you the key, it was very apparent that you weren’t even in the mood for a shower. You waved at him as he left, exhaustion settling deep in your bones. The place smelled dusty already, even though it had only been vacant for three weeks. The wooden floor groaned beneath your feet, but only slightly, as you dropped your duffle bag to the ground and rolled your suitcase just inside the door. You walked to the sink, wiping a hand over the dirty window to look out back. There was a wooden structure with floor to ceiling glass windows making up its four walls. That must be the bathhouse. There was an old coffee maker on the bit of counter space and a singular wooden mug. It was expertly carved and worn down from years of use. You wondered absently if someone local had crafted it.

There was a little basket on the table that was pushed up along the southern wall of the house. You sighed in relief when you realized there was a bag of fresh ground coffee, a loaf of bread wrapped in a cloth, a few clean carrots, a block of hard cheese wrapped in beeswax, a stick of butter in the same fabric, an aged roll of salami, six chicken eggs, and a glass mason jar labeled “Fig Jam” in looping cursive. When you opened the fridge there was an even bigger jar full of milk. You had a sandwich on the drive but you couldn’t resist digging straight into the loaf of bread, cracking it open with your fingers and tearing a hunk off to stuff in your mouth.

The outer layer was perfectly crusty while the inside was fluffy and practically melted in your mouth. You couldn’t wait to eat some of it with the butter and jam and cheese and eggs for breakfast.

After a bit more exploring from which you discovered adequate cleaning supplies under the kitchen sink and a perfectly made bed with an old soft patchwork quilt, you slipped off your shoes and unpacked pajamas from your suitcase. Sliding into bed here somehow felt a thousand times better than it had in your apartment for months. You fluffed the pillows behind you and pulled out your laptop, choosing not to solve the bed conundrum the first night here. Unsurprisingly there was no internet and your phone was definitely not going to be a good hotspot whatsoever. It was apparent you weren’t going to get any work done.

It was so peculiar; you knew you had been here once but… you really had no memory of the place. You didn’t didn’t think you should feel a kinship to it like you were. There was a small wooden nightstand next to the bed and on it there was an old dog eared copy of The Wizard of Oz. Your own books wouldn’t be here until tomorrow or the day after so you decided to crack it open.

For Jack: We always did love this book, even when we were kids. I saw it the other day on a shelf in a little book store on my trip a few towns over. Hope you like it.

The note scribbled in the inside cover was signed “Lew”. As in Lewis? Your grandpa and Lewis really were old friends then. He must be taking this harder than you would have guessed. You would make sure to invite him over for coffee and offer your condolences. Yes, Jack was your grandfather but you didn’t really know him. The light on the nightstand didn’t provide much light but you flipped to the first page of the book and read:

"Dorothy lived in the midst of the great Kansas prairies, with Uncle Henry, who was a farmer, and Aunt Em, who was the farmer's wife."

No sooner had you read two pages than your eyes fluttered shut. You tried to keep them open but to no avail so you flipped the light back out and snuggled into the sheets, completely forgetting to turn the white noise on your phone. It had been a necessary portion of your sleep routine for years and years and years.

But tonight, you fell asleep without it, the song of the night filtering in the window you’d left open next to the bed.

Gojo Satoru woke from a deep slumber, sat upright, and squinted his eyes to look about his room. There was nothing out of place. His tower window was open; it always had to be when he slept, except for some days in autumn and for most of the winter season.

He strained to listen, thinking a nocturnal animal must have disturbed his sleep. Again, nothing amiss. He could hear the crickets and the frogs, and in the very far distance, the notes of a mockingbird’s song trilled to him over the cool spring air.

He laid back down, the moonlight shining in the window spilling over his bare chest and illuminating his white hair. If he just breathed slow enough to also slow the sudden rapid beating of his heart, he could go back to sleep. Meditation was something he did often so it didn’t take much. But he couldn’t stop the tugging sensation somewhere behind his ribcage. Strange.

Something had changed in Stardew Valley and he was going to find out what.

This work and its digital elements (credit for pixel art to ConcernedApe) are © Kait of @kaitsawamura 2020-PRESENT. I do not own any rights to Stardew Valley and any subsequent settings/characters, but this work is heavily inspired by that amazing game. Please do not alter or copy this work. Please do not repost this work to other platforms without my express permission.

[honey-minded-hivemind]

Reboot/ Cocoa Reader: *bringing some new donations down to the Marvel section in the middle of their shift*

Reader: *sees Scott standing in their section, who a little surprised they were finally able to get to Reader and is having a small mental breakdown because they're here and they've gotten so big and-*

Reader: *assuming he's a customer* Cool cosplay man. Remember, all superhero t-shirts are 50% today, so I'd take advantage of that.

Scott: Um, yeah... um... I'm kinda new here... could you please show me around?

Reader: Sure, new guy. Cool shades by the way. I wear glasses sometimes too

Scott: O-oh, really? Um, that's nice to know! So, um... this section? What is it? What building are we in?

Reader: ... did you not see the name out front? It's kinda hard to miss...

Scott: Um, bad vision! I, um, can't see well in the daytime! (It's nighttime or late evening)

Reader, shrugging it off: Okay, that makes sense; now, this is the Marvel section, you have all kinds of hero and villain stuff, plenty of comics, figures, shirts, cards, etc., ranging from Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy to Fantastic Four and the different Spidermen/women/persons, and also X-Men-

Scott: ! Yes, let's talk about that last one! Um, for starters, what all do you know about that? In full detail? And what country are we in? And how legal is it to have a, um, disability?

Reader: ...

Reader: I think we need to check your head...

Reader: Sit down, let me call my co-workers, maybe we can set up a job for you or a place to sleep; oh dear, this is bad... can you remember your name? How many fingers am I holding up? Do you feel lightheaded or nauseous?

Scott: Um, that, that won't be necessary-

Reader: Nonsense! We'll sort this out, 'kay? You're gonna be fine

Scott, tearing up because this reminds him of the old Reader: Y-yeah, everything's gonna be fine

Scott isn't able to stay for very long, at most maybe half a day. He has to go back to the X-Men, where he can rest and feel better, while also telling them where Reader has been kept, what they look like now, and what all they remember. Scott becomes a part-time employee/co-worker of the Bay Antique and Flea Market, he starts wearing a shirt with the Xavier Institure/X-Men symbol on it, and follows Reader around and asking questions like an almost six foot tall puppy.

(He doesn't give much of a name for Reader to use, but Reader calls him Scotty, and they share their cold coffee stash with him) (He sometimes watches thr show with them, but sometimes has to duck out and go back because the others need him, or he starts feeling unwell...)

[yutahoes]

Caramel

(Part Twelve)

characters: ex-stripper! Yuta x female! ex-wealthy! Y/N genre: chaptered, smut, angst, fluff word count: 2.5k words summary: Y/N has everything in her bitter life, not until she meets a sweet-looking stripper. warnings: matured theme, ex-stripper au!, third person POV, mentions of embezzlement, prison, and mild stroke taglist: @cherrymotodude @tenjyucat @justsomekpopstuff @ilhoonseyeballs @whyme11 @a-bts-world @amazinggraxia

Part Eleven

A lot has changed. 

The only constant thing in life indeed is no other than change. Yet, smelling the rich aroma of coffee in her hands and feeling its warmth against her fingertips made Y/N feel comfortable. 

A lot has changed but coffee still makes her sane. Dark coffee with caramel in particular. How could one forced and informal sales pitch change coffee for her? Truly, the wonders of marketing. A passion she dreamed of and the only thing she wanted to do in her life. 

The reason why she was seated in this small coffee shop with one of the most successful chairmen in town. “I can’t believe you’ll leave me like this,” Jaehyun claimed, shaking his head. He then sipped his espresso which made the girl chuckle—such a fitting choice of coffee, perfect for a hard worker like him. 

Jaehyun had achieved a large feat in his career in just almost five years. After inheriting the position from his father, he led the Jung Tradings to new heights locally and globally. He’s now the youngest most successful businessman probably in the whole world. “I can’t run the company without you, Y/N.” 

The girl had to roll her eyes at that. He’s so dramatic. “I didn’t do anything. It was all you.” 

He pursed his lips at that, “Is there any way for me to scout you back in my company? I can pay you double your salary from your new job.” 

Y/N shook her head. It’s her final decision. She needed to move on. From Jaehyun. From the company. From the Kims. “Your dad has been asking if I have some news about you. And Junyoung wants to see you again.” 

She can’t. 

Not when she ruined their family. 

Ever since she returned from Canada, she had never once seen anyone from the Kims. Even meeting up with Jaehyun to discuss some things from the company had been a huge secret. 

Just months after the supposed wedding, news of her mom embezzling billions from the Kim Company shocked the nation. It was a huge loss to the company that the Jungs had to buy the remaining stocks, taking away everything from the Kims. All their hard-earned work is just gone because of a vile woman. 

And it was all because of her. If Mr. Kim hadn't met Y/N, he wouldn’t have met her mom. Junyoung wouldn’t happen. 

If she only became an obedient daughter to her mom, the older woman wouldn’t dare do this. 

Her mom was sent to prison for her crimes. The Kim patriarch had a mild stroke, disabling him from helping build the company once again. He had been living with Doyoung in New York where the eldest Kim sibling kept doing his musical on Broadway. Jungwoo stayed in Paris to be a fashion designer and model. Leaving Junyoung in the country where Jaehyun, the closest in terms of family, becomes his legal guardian.

When Jaehyun contacted her after a year to ask for her help, she promised that she’d just help him earn back the billions her mom stole. She had to work as Jaehyun’s shadow without anyone knowing. “Y/N, you can still have your president position back. I’d rather have you working on the company than imagine you being a secretary to a starting company.” The girl giggled at that. She shouldn’t have shared a lot of things with Jaehyun. But the Suzaki group isn’t bad. It’s a starting tech company and the president was so amazed at her past work that he practically begged her to help their company. “Did you know that Mr. Suzaki used to be a yakuza?” 

Oh. Y/N remembered how he had a very distinct way of talking. But a yakuza entering the world of business? He might really need some help. This could be her chance to prove something to herself without any help from anyone. 

“Rumor has it that Mr. Suzaki is a womanizer.” 

“I didn’t know you like to listen to rumors, Jae.” She teased making the guy hiss. “He seems fine. Besides, I’m not working with him.” Jaehyun had a confused look on his face. “I’m the second secretary of the vice president, his son.” 

The guy gave a hearty laugh. “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, Y/N.” 

“Do you know him?” The guy shook his head, mentioning that he had never assumed that the president had a son who worked in the same company. “The president said he’s just coming back from studying abroad.” 

“Must be young.” The girl nodded, finishing her coffee. “Maybe the president is setting you up with him.” 

A chuckle escaped her lips while shaking her head. What is Jaehyun even thinking? “The president knew I have a son.” 

Jaehyun smiled, dimple poking out of his cheek. “How is Ken?” 

The girl smiled at the mention of the name. “Very talkative,” she started, making the guy laugh wholeheartedly. “He’s been asking a lot of questions about his dad lately.” 

“I told you that you can introduce me as Ken’s dad.” But the girl only glared at him. “He’s growing up. He needs a father figure in his life, Y/N.” 

“He has Mark.” 

“He treats Mark like an older brother,” he chimed. Y/N had to look at him dead in the eyes for him to stop. “Seriously, Y/N, are you still waiting for him to come back?” 

If there is one person in this world that Y/N could talk to with this stuff, it would be Jaehyun. He knew how she searched for that certain man for years. But it’s like looking for something that didn’t exist in the first place. 

A lot of times she had thought that maybe Yuta was just a figment of her imagination. A person she only imagined. Come to think of it, he came like a strong breeze - shaking her up. Then when she needed him the most, he just disappeared with no trace. 

But then she would look at her son, five-year-old Kenshin, and would see him in his eyes and smile. If she didn’t give birth to the child, she would wonder if her son was truly hers. He’s a spitting image of his father.   

How could he forget about him when the person she currently loves in the whole world looks very much like him? Isn’t that foul? In the end, Yuta still makes her crazy. 

Y/N shook her head. “I don’t. Five years was already too long to wait for him.” Jaehyun just gave her a judging look. 

She can’t even fool Jaehyun with that simple lie. How could she fool herself? 

—--

“Hyung is great but he’s such a workaholic.” Lee Haechan, the first secretary, complained. “He always gets into fights with the president so he keeps on working.” From what she garnered, it was the son who started the growing tech company but because he had no experience, he decided to study abroad by loaning money from his father. It was a weird family dynamic. But then, every family is.  

Haechan was a ball of sunshine, the only light in the gloomy office. Obviously, their boss doesn’t entertain female employees. The younger guy was even surprised that she was hired as the second secretary. “Does the vice president hate girls?” 

The younger would only laugh then shake his head, “The last female secretary he had became pregnant.” Oh. “The president got her pregnant and hyung was furious.” The rumors might be true then. 

But that doesn’t answer her question. Maybe the vice president, her new boss, hates girls in his office because of that reason. But she surely wouldn’t be like that. The president knew about her son. And if he tries to do something, there’s Jaehyun who could easily pretend for her. “But hyung has a strong dislike for girls.” Haechan supplied that surprised Y/N. This is already a bad start. “His first love got married, leaving him heartbroken.” Isn’t that too much information already? “That’s why he started the company. A form of revenge.” 

Y/N smiled. Why does she like that reason? Maybe because, the same as his, this is also her revenge. She’ll show Jaehyun that she can do this on her own and help this company grow bigger than the Jungs. 

But first, she needed to impress her new boss. 

It had been a week since she started her work but she had never met him. Haechan reasoned that he attended a convention out of the country and would be back in the weekend. What’s weird is that Y/N has no idea what he looked like. Is he young? Old? Is he nice? Strict? She doesn’t even have any idea what his name was. All she knows is that he’s Japanese, the son of the president, and older than Haechan. 

They’re new money rich so she probably hasn’t seen him in social gatherings back then. Maybe Jaehyun had encountered him once but he would just say that he had never met someone with a Suzaki surname other than the president. But Haechan would shower him with compliments and great praises so she had an ounce of hope that he wasn’t that evil of a boss. 

Monday has been too eventful for her. It was Ken’s first day in preschool. The young kid was as excited as she was. Who could imagine that years ago she was just holding that kid in her arms? Now, he’s walking away from her, waving his arms as he steps into his new world. A great milestone in Kenshin’s life. 

And she wished that like her, Yuta was here to witness it. 

The day was so eventful that she was running to the office building when she came in. She did inform Haechan that she’ll be late but this is the first day that she will be seeing her boss. She needed to make at least a great impression by being on time. 

A relieved sigh escaped her lips when she came to the office door with just a minute to spare. She isn’t late just yet but a loud voice can be heard shouting from inside the vice president’s room, “She has the experience you need.” Y/N had to stare at Haechan in question. “You can’t be mad that I hired an experienced female in your team.” Are they talking about her? 

The younger guy handed Y/N a clear file, “Noona, can you hand this to the HR Department?” They are indeed talking about her. 

Maybe he really does hate girls, Y/N thought. Haechan did share that his first love got married, he’s probably hurt by that. If that happened to her, if her first love gets married to someone else, she’ll probably just hate the male population for a long time. She stopped in her tracks. Is that why she hasn’t found him? Is he already married to someone else? 

When she returned to their office, Haechan was greeting him with a wide smile. “Hyung just went out to smoke.” That was a piece of new information. “I’ll introduce you to him when he comes back.” 

It was the longest smoking break Y/N had ever experienced and she had never slipped a stick of cigarette between her lips before. She was so nervous, her insides tingling in suspense that she almost wanted to vomit. What the hell is this anticipation? Maybe her hands were shaking that she accidentally dropped the papers she just photocopied just as the elevator doors opened. 

From her position on the floor, she could see a pair of leather shoes coming out of the elevator. The smell of something nostalgically sweet entered her nose. What was that perfume? She had been looking for the same exact scent for years. “Hyung, this is Y/N noona, the second secretary.” She didn’t dare to look up. This is an awkward first impression. 

“Noona, this is Yuta hyung.” 

Y/N felt dizzy when she looked up. A lot of times she had imagined what would happen if she came face to face with the man she had been searching for years once again. And this wasn’t the scenario she had in her mind.   

There was surprise in his eyes which turned to coldness in an instant. “Haechan, bring the files inside my office.” He said coldly before walking past her as if he didn’t even see her. The other secretary even looked startled and confused. When the door closed, she felt her knees weakened that she leaned on the nearby table. 

Maybe this is a dream. Maybe she was getting crazy because she had been thinking about him since this morning. That can’t possibly be Yuta. 

Yuta is a Nakamoto, not a Suzaki. Maybe they just have the same name. And the same face. And even the same scent. He can’t be the Yuta she knows, right? That’s impossible. 

When the door of his office slightly opened with Haechan coming out, she lightly caught a glimpse of him looking her way. Y/N clutched her chest. If it isn’t Yuta, why is her heart beating this crazy fast?   

Maybe it was better for her that she didn’t have any idea who her boss was. It’s hard to concentrate on work knowing that she’s working in the same building, the same office as the man she had been searching for years. Does the president know about her and Yuta? Is that why she was hired here in the first place? But why? How? 

Haechan was still inside the room discussing something with the vice president when someone from the reception handed Y/N an invitation that she needed to hand over to her boss. Her hand was still shaking when she knocked on the door. Haechan was the one who opened it and she handed him the invitation. The girl closed the door before catching a glimpse of Yuta seated on his chair reading a file. Yet before she could return to her chair, Haechan called for her to come inside the room. 

Yuta removed his eyeglasses and then stared at her before handing the gold invitation. “RSVP for this party. The three of us are coming.” Y/N glanced at the name of the host and then sighed. Haechan claimed that it was his job but the older one shook his head, “Y/N can take care of it. She knows that person more than we do.” 

The youngest had a confused look on his face before she nodded, “I’ll call Mr. Jung.”  

The vice president put back his eyeglasses before discussing something with Haechan once again. Y/N gently closed the door then sighed in frustration. What the hell? Why is he so cold towards her? She took out her phone to call Jaehyun’s number. She could still take her childhood friend’s offer to work in his company, right? 

“So your company got my invitation?” She knew it was too good to be true. “I really wanted to meet your new boss.” 

“Jae,” she called, tears choking her throat. She didn’t know she’d get emotional at that moment. “You’ll never guess who my new boss is.” The tears fell down without her knowing. 

A lot truly has changed.  

Y/N didn’t know that even her feelings would change. 

Part Thirteen

[octuscle]

Another kind of gentrification

For years, this had been a quiet street. With his grocery store, Alfred had supplied the neighborhood with delicacies. And at lunchtime, his guests could sit in the sun on the street. But the peace and quiet was over now. A shisha bar had opened across the street. And that was the end of the peacefulness. The guests drove up in their high-powered luxury cars, accelerated again briefly to 60 km/h, braked with squealing tires, let the engines roar. From 11:00. Until 03:00. And each time Alfred wondered how a young lad in his mid-20s could afford a car for 200,000 euros.

His guests remained loyal to Alfred to a large extent. However, the lunchtime business was slackening more and more. The cheese store down the street had already disappeared. One of the lads had opened a store there selling protein products. And the hairdresser's store had become a Turkish barber's store. When Alfred sat at the window of his apartment above the store in the evening and watched the shisha bar full of hatred, he could see more than clearly that business was being conducted at the tables that was undoubtedly not legal. Alfred had already sent the police once, and they had come. Nothing had happened. But since then, the only policemen patrolling the street were obviously of Arab origin. And they were good customers for protein powder. More and more men with enormous muscles could be seen in the street.

At some point, Alfred had begun to adjust to the circumstances. He sold only beef and no more meat. The young men loved expensive, high-quality beef. Nevertheless, one evening Alfred's mind was blown. It was a hot summer evening. Alfred tried to sleep with the window open. But in the bar, the terrace was crowded. All the windows were open. The music was playing at maximum volume. Alfred put on something and entered the bar, full of rage. Two absurdly muscular policemen were standing at the bar, drinking coffee and talking to the no less muscular bartender, who, however, was wearing only a very skimpy tank top instead of a uniform. Alfred yelled at the policemen whether they were not planning to do anything about this disturbance of the peace. While one of the policemen explained to him that one should have understanding for the young people on such a summer evening, the other one waved the manager over. The manager smiled, invited Alfred to a separee and offered him a cup of tea and a shisha. In life, Alfred would not have smoked a shisha. But a tea was a good idea. And after a sip of tea, he somehow also felt like having a shisha. And then his eyes went black.

Fuck, he had overdone it again with the weights. Ahmad must have fainted for a moment. He took a sip of water and looked at his watch. Almost 04:00. Time to finish the workout. He had to go to the wholesale market, he definitely wanted to be back home before the sunrise prayer. He dried his sweat, put on his work overalls and headed for his van. And as he did so, he ran through his shopping list again in his head. He definitely needed pita bread, sucuk and ayran. Fruits and vegetables and so on. Apple tea, too, probably. And somewhere there was also the order from his boss for the shisha bar opposite his Turkish supermarket.

[welldonebeca]

Strawberry Jam

Summary: Bucky comforts you after you have a rough day at work. Pairing: Bucky x F!Reader WC: 3.1k words Warnings: Smut. Fluff. Emotional Hurt/Comfort. Vaginal fingering. Dirty talk. Vaginal sex. Unprotected sex. Wife kink. Marriage Kink. Overstimulation. Multiple orgasms. Passionate sex.

Writing is my only source of Income in this pandemic. If you like my work, consider buying me a coffee or subscribing to my Patreon. It’s just $2 a month and helps a lot while I go through these hard times.

Bucky mixed the gooey hot red am with the wooden spoon, breathing in deep to get the sweet smell, ready to pot them up.

He was doing this especially for you - you loved homemade jam with all your heart, and ate it almost every day. The jar you had at home was now empty, however, and he was trying his best to make a version of it.

Bucky had just come back from the farmer’s market, where he had gone to buy more fruits and veggies for just the third week in a row. They didn’t have your beloved strawberry jam there, but the seller was nice enough to give him the basic recipe to make it at home.

Your new house routine was something he was just starting to get used to. The two of you had moved in together recently, a little over a month ago. Bucky had left the compound, retired at last, and now his days were filled with being whatever version of a non-married househusband he could be while just your boyfriend. His retirement pension was enough for him to live on his own forever, and your job wasn’t bad either.

So right now, you two had a lot of plants, a dog and a moody cat, and no couch yet, and were planning to get married in the next couple of years - he was looking for a ring, actually.

And speaking of your dog, Phoebe was watching him with a lot of curiosity and pleading eyes, always the hungry girl, and Bucky scoffed, leaving the jar and picking up a strawberry from the counter, taking off the green part before tossing it to her, moving right back to putting the jam in the jar, realising quickly he needed a second one when half of the jam was still in the pan.

Once he finished, he was very proud of what he saw.

It looked good, it smelled good, and he was sure it tasted good too.

Maybe he should bake something to eat with that jam. Maybe biscuits?

Or bread.

He really liked baking home bread. His favourite was sourdough.

Bucky was pulled away from his thoughts when he heard the sound of the door opening and Phoebe’s paws on the floor as she ran to greet you, overexcited as always.

He waited to hear you come over and say hi, but the house kept silence aside from a few mumbles as you said hi to Phoebe and Alpine, probably with some kisses.

Finally, you walked to the kitchen and leaned onto the door frame, looking at him with a sad and weak smile.

“Hey,” you spoke softly.

His shoulders fell in a when he realised the sadness behind your voice.

“Hi," Bucky cleaned his hand, moving to you.

He pressed a little kiss to your lips, worried, and you sighed a little.

You were a lawyer, which was a very tasking job, and sometimes mined your whole energy, or took a little more of your heart than you were initially willing to give.

Recently, you’d been working on the case of a kid who had had to go through a second amputation surgery after an accident in a restaurant months after his first imputation, both on the same leg. The family was suing for the legal and medical expenses, which included his therapy, and monetary compensation that would be used for the boy’s tuition once he decided to go to college.

“What happened?” he asked gently, raising his hand to caress your hair.

“They want to test the ramp of the restaurant,” you told him. “To see if it was possible for him to fall.”

“Okay,” Bucky nodded slowly.

“But they renovated the whole place!” you pointed you, growing angry. “And put a handle that wasn’t there that day. Mr Green’s sister took pictures while the ambulance was called! It looks completely different!”

He reached for your face, caressing your cheek gently.

“And what did the judge say?”

“He wants to analyse the photos before saying anything,” you sighed. “And a second medical opinion. They want this kid to go through a whole medical evaluation again!”

He reached for you, caressing your cheek.

“I’m sure they’ll be reasonable and careful,” he assured you. “The doctors know it is a complicated moment for him. And his dads are going to be there.”

You sighed, pinching your nose.

“They are also insinuating his dads were neglectful with him and that was why he fell,” you added. “I swear to God, that restaurant…”

You hid your face in his chest and groaned.

“I hate them,” you whined.

“I know,” he caressed your hair.

There was a moment of silence, and you moved your head up slowly, resting your mouth on his shoulder and looking behind him, into the kitchen.

“Is that homemade jam?” you asked, mumbling against his shirt.

Bucky threw a look at the counter.

“Yes,” he confirmed, looking back at you, a little excited for his effort being noticed. “I just made it.”

You groaned once again, though softer, against his skin.

“Did you make it yourself?” you asked.

“I did,” he told you, grinning. “Do you want to try it once it is cooler?”

You nodded, and he kissed your temple.

“Do you want me to prepare you a bath?” he offered. “And we can leave work to work?”

You sighed.

“Yes,” you mumbled. “Please.”

Bucky kissed your forehead again, slowly moving down to kiss your nose and then your lips.

He took your hand and walked with you into your bedroom, leaving you behind to set up your bath, filling up the tub and adding the bubbles and the rose oil to the slowly growing water.

He heard the sounds of your steps behind him, and raised his head to find you watching him from the door, fully naked, lips curled in a little teasing smile.

“Hey,” you rested your head on the door frame. “Still dressed?”

It didn’t matter how long you were together, Bucky was proud to never get used to seeing you naked. Seeing you never ceased to fully enchant him.

Bucky looked at himself, a little surprised at the question.

“I wasn’t planning to get inside, actually,” he looked at your face.

You feigned outrage.

“Me?” you asked, exaggerated. “On my own? In this big tub?”

Bucky scowled, and you pouted.

“It’s going to be so lonely!” you remarked. “And cold.”

He chuckled.

“In this warm water?” he asked.

“But so vast,” you teased him. “Without my husband with me.”

Bucky’s cock awoke with the little word.

Your husband.

Oh, how he loved being called your husband.

The two of you were planning to be married in the near future and were practically engaged now, but the title was still something he wanted to conquer, and loved hearing from your lips.

You reached down for him, pulling him to stand up, and Bucky held you closer as you threw your hands on his shoulders, squeezing him.

“Don’t you want to come inside with me?” you bit his lower lip. “Keep me company?”

He hummed, chuckling, and knew he couldn’t just say no to you.

“Of course, wife,” he gave your lips a peck.

You giggled, and stepped away, leaning on the counter and watching him as he took off his clothes, kicking off his shoes, pants and underwear all in one go, earning a little chuckle from you.

“Impatient?” you asked, grinning.

He just chuckled along with you.

“Always,” he shot you a playful wink.

Bucky leant to you again, holding your hips and caressing your skin with his fingers.

“Come on, wife,” he nudged you in the right direction. “Let’s get you in your bath.”

He stepped away from you, and let you take his hand as you stepped into the full tub and knelt, waiting for him to come and sit, and Bucky entered right after, relaxing at the feeling of the warm water against his skin right before you leant to rest against him, sighing.

“What do you think?” he kissed your temple. “Good?”

You nodded and he put his hand over your stomach, pulling you a little closer, and kissed your shoulder.

“You are a great lawyer,” he squeezed you. “And I’m very proud of you and of what you do.”

You whined, putting your hand over his, sounding both boomed and embarrassed.

“Bucky!” you rolled your eyes.

“I mean it!” he exclaimed.

You just shook your head.

“I don’t think so,” you breathed out. “I feel like I could do more for them.”

“Like what?” he caressed your skin gently with the hand he had on your stomach.

Bucky waited for an answer, but you grimaced, apparently not finding anything you hadn’t already done for the family you were representing.

“You have done a lot,” he kissed your temple. “Now it’s not in your hands anymore.”

You sighed and rested your head on his shoulder, and Bucky slowly moved the fingers he had on your stomach to your breast, running them on the flesh and plump bottom of it.

“You should relax,” he whispered into your ear. “Let your husband help you relax, wife.”

You squirmed, cheeks flushing in a blush.

“Bucky,” you threw your head back a little bit.

He caressed your breast slowly, massaging it and reaching for your nipple, pulling on it slowly and making you whimper.

“My pretty wife,” he touched your other breast, doing the same to it, teasing and playing with your sensitive peaks. “Such a hard-working woman, the one I found for myself.”

You arched your chest to his hands, exhaling in a very soft sound.

“You work so hard,” he played with your nipples, watching your body squirming and shivering, reacting to his touches.

He trailed one of his hands down to your hips, and felt you spreading your legs under the water.

“My pretty wife,” he kissed your neck. “A big shot lawyer…”

You giggled, and he spread your inner lips and folds, already finding them slicky and wet.

“So sensitive for her husband,” he touched your entrance.

You arched your hips, whimpering a little, and he kissed your shoulder.

“Always making me so proud…” he tapped your clit softly. “But never relaxing.”

“Bucky…” you whined.

You pouted, squirming and moaning, and he hummed along with you, kissing the sweet spots of your neck.

He could feel the difference between the actual water and your wetness, even underwater. Your pussy was slick, warm and welcoming, and practically hugged his finger tightly when he pushed it into your cunt, and you whimpered when he took his finger up to your clit again, rolling it slowly.

“Such a lovely cunt,” he cooed into your ear, fingers picking up their pace. “I can feel it drooling for me even with the water, my pretty wife. You’re always so responsive to me.”

You moaned, arching your body to him, and he squeezed your tit in his hand, reaching for your stiff nipple and pulling on it, twisting it, grinning as he watched your face twisting and heard the mix of a gasp and a moan coming from your lips.

“Such perfect tits,” he kissed the curve of your neck. “And a perfect cunt, so hungry and so receptive.”

You continued to moan and squirm, with his name falling from your lips along with your little sounds, as his fingers never stopped to play and tease your clit and tit.

He knew he was going to be gladly buried in there tonight, licking and sucking your folds, taking orgasm after orgasm from you until you were a wreck, foggy eyed and only able to say his name.

But right now, you were having a relaxing bath, and he was never going to stop his perfect wife from relaxing.

So he played you like you were his favourite instrument - which you were - as he whispered sweet dirty words into your ears and felt your body moving and heard your moans growing, and held you down when your hips started thrusting against his hand.

“You’re gonna cum, my pretty wife?” he kissed your shoulder. “Gonna cum for your husband?”

“Yes,” you cried. “Yes, Bucky, please.”

He picked up on his pace, holding you down as you came, quivering and shaking, crying out loud.

You were still quivering when he stood up, picking you up and walking back to your bedroom, and threw you on the bed.

“Bucky!” you squeaked, giggling.

James climbed on top of you, not caring about how your bodies were getting everything wet, and kissed your lips hungrily.

“My pretty wife,” he kissed your neck, moving down and kissing your chest before he grabbed your knee, pushing it up.

You pushed your fingers into his hair, pulling him right back and kissing him, and he angled his cock, pushing it into your cunt and resting his forehead on his when you gasped. He’d been hard since you sat between his legs in the tub.

Fuck, you were so wet, so warm.

“Bucky,” you closed your eyes.

“My wife,” he grunted against your lips, thrusting into you. “Always so wet for me.”

You arched your hips, meeting his strokes, already sensitive from your previous orgasm, as your cunt squeezed his cock, hungry and slicky. It was so easy for him to make you cum. Bucky loved taking and taking them from you, making you scream for him.

So he took his fingers to your cunt, and played with your clit, devouring your lips and your moans as he worked on making you feel good, and pulled back to look at your face when you inhaled deeply.

It was an image he truly adored, the way cheeks flushed, and your eyes closed, and your lips parted as you found your way over the edge.

The walls of your cunt fluttered around his cock, and he had to hold himself from cumming for a split of a moment, completely taken by you.

And then you pulled him back, kissing him with even more hunger than before, moving your body to get closer to him, and pouted when he pulled away from you.

“Husband,” you whined.

Bucky grunted at the name, throbbing inside you, and took his lips down to your neck, sucking on it before pushing his lips to your chest. The position you two were before didn’t make it easy for him to access them, but now they were right in front of him.

He bit the flesh of your tits for a moment, and then your nipple, and bit down on it gently before sucking on your flesh.

He loved sucking marks on your skin, marking you, to make everyone know you were his. It was sad that he needed to keep his bruises a little hidden because of your job.

As long as you knew it and they reminded you of how you were his, it was enough.

“Bucky,” you arched your chest.

“Want to make you feel good,” he rolled your clit in his finger, earning a whimper from you.

He pinched your clit a little and chuckled when you squeaked, cunt fluttering around his cock again, and your sounds made it even more obvious how you were already near the edge.

“James!” you gasped, arching your body to him. “Oh, fuck.”

“You’re gonna cum again?” he asked, smiling at you. “Already, baby?”

You pouted.

“Want to cum together,” you affirmed, moving your fingers on his back and running your nails over his skin. “Please, husband.”

He looked back at your face and rubbed his nose on yours.

“Please,” you panted. “I want to make you feel good.”

Your cunt squeezed his cock, getting wetter and warmer.

“Y/N,” he grunted.

He was holding himself back for quite a bit of time. Bucky wanted to ravish you, to make you come apart.

Still, you pulled him up, and kissed him.

“Please,” you moaned. “Together.”

How could he say no?

Bucky angled himself, resting his forehead on yours and moaning when your walls squeezed him, joining you in your soft wanton cries.

“Cum with me,” you pleaded. “Please, husband. Fill me up.”

He grunted, squeezing you close as he thrust into you, letting his eyes close and his body take him.

“With me,” he grunted, playing faster with your clit. “Cum with me. Milk my cock.”

You pulled him up to kiss him, moaning into his lips as your cunt started squeezing around him, triggering his orgasm along with yours, and he rode it fucking you, faster and faster, and slowly down little by little.

Bucky had his eyes closed when you kissed him, first his nose and then his jaw, and then his lips again, brushing his hair with your fingers.

He pulled himself from inside you and laid by your side, pulling you to his chest and kissing your temple, moving his fingers up and down your back.

“Rest a little,” he instructed. “I still want to devour your cunt.”

You laughed into his neck, amused, but Bucky scowled, reaching down and pinching your ass.

“I mean it!” he insisted.

You raised your head to look at him, pressing your lips to his and giving him a hungry kiss.

“I can’t wait,” you assured him.

You lied back, but pulled back with a surprised face when you seemed to realise something.

“Bucky, I almost forgot!” you exclaimed. “The Greens invited me to Joshua’s birthday and said I could take my partner with me.”

He raised his eyebrows, a little surprised, and you moved your hand to metal hand, interlacing your fingers with his.

“I want to go,” you told him, firmly. “But you don’t have to come if you didn’t want to. I know you don’t like parties.”

Parties were noisy, and he wasn’t that big of a fan of noise. But the invitation had been extended not just to you, but to him too.

He was about to answer when an idea sparked in his mind.

“Would they mind if I brought one of the guys?” he asked. “Do you think the boy would like to meet one of the Avengers?”

It was your turn to look a little surprised. It wasn’t like you made your relationship with Bucky public. The few pictures you had with him in your office had a remarkable lack of his face and arm in them, to keep his privacy intact. He doubted anyone ever made such a connection.

“I can ask them,” you told him. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah,” he confirmed. “I’m sure Tony will be happy to send a fun gift, and either Sam or Steve are happy to show up. Or Clint, too.”

You nodded, laying back down.

“Okay, I’ll ask them about it.”

Bucky kissed your cheek again, and squeezed you close with his right arm.

“Come on,” he bit your lower lip, chuckling a little with the joke in his own mind. “Let’s get you something to eat before it’s my turn to eat you.”

. . .

"Strawberry Jam" was posted on my Patreon back in July! To Have early access to all of my fic, consider subscribing! It's just $2 a month!

. . .

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[jeminy3]

AA/Narumitsu Love Potion AU Outline

Wanted to finish this ages ago, was gonna be a fic, friendships fell apart, I forgot, no one cares anyway, yadda yadda.

AA/Narumitsu Love Potion AU Outline

Very loosely based on the movie Strange Magic

-Opens with Mia and Maya as children being told a fairy tale about Love Potions by their mother.

OR: Maya recounting this fairy tale to Phoenix sometime during AA1, either out of boredom or because of an episode of Steel Samurai she was watching that mentioned some kind of magical Love-themed item. Phoenix is strangely prickly about it, as he usually is when the subject of Love Potions is brought up. Maya thinks he’s just being a stick in the mud with no romantic imagination.

This fairy tale summarizes the events of the film Strange Magic and justifies the existence of Primrose petals in the real world, and how they can be brewed into Love Potions. They are usually found in remote, less developed areas, like the Fey village and Eagle Mountain.

+ Love Potions are semi-magical concoctions that recreate intense feelings of infatuation for hours at a time with regular dosage. There is no known cure besides waiting for the effects to wear off – or, according to Maya, “real love – if you fall in love for real, they won’t work at all.”

Legally, they are recognized as an illegal form of psychoactive, nonlethal poison. Love Potions and Primrose petals are implied to be coveted black market items.

–

- A summary of the events of AA1, introducing Phoenix, Miles, Maya, and their relationships with each other. Puts focus on the complicated relationship between Phoenix and Miles, especially during Turnabout Goodbyes and Rise from the Ashes.

- They seemed to be on the verge of reviving their childhood friendship, despite the years of separation and trauma. But by the end of these stressful cases, a rift forms between them again, leading to Miles’ sudden departure.

+ Maybe: this part features the first mention of Love Potions being used to manipulate people during Rise from the Ashes.

As Phoenix and Ema look into how and why Gant is keeping Lana under his thumb, Phoenix has a strange thought, and searches their desks for bottled fluids of some kind. He finds nothing of the sort, and he lets out a frustrated sigh. Ema asks him what he was looking for, but Phoenix blows her off, saying it was nothing. He tries to shake off the cold, sick feeling in his gut that had formed as he thought of this theory.

–

- Summary of AA2’s events, focusing on Miles’ departure and the devastating effect it had on Phoenix. Phoenix tries not to dwell on his feelings and focus on helping his clients, but it’s hard on him.

- Gumshoe and Franziska mentioning Miles are sore spots for Phoenix, but he is dodgy about it, as usual.

- Leads into Goodbye My Turnabout and the sudden return of Miles. Phoenix is justifiably angry with him, and Miles is slightly bewildered, then ashamed at this reaction. They eventually set aside their personal feelings to work on the case at hand and rescue Maya.

–

- A summary of the Engarde case so far, leading into Phoenix and Miles now investigating Adrien’s office/quarters for evidence that will help indict Engarde. Phoenix finds a cup of coffee left behind on her desk and notices something strange about it. Giving into impulse, he takes it and smells it, sensing something familiar enough to send a chill down his spine, and a sick feeling into his stomach.

He states his surprise out loud, getting Miles’ attention. When Miles asks, Phoenix says he might have a crazy theory right now. He thinks Adrien is being poisoned – specifically with Love Potion.

Miles is momentarily shocked – Phoenix explains his theory by talking about her strangely obsessive, dependent behavior about Engarde and how she defends/defended him. Engarde might be keeping her in his thrall with more than just his manipulative charms. Phoenix knows this is a wild theory, but he can’t explain how or why he knows about this right now and just asks for Miles’ trust on this. They need to hand the coffee to Gumshoe and the police for lab testing.

Miles processes this, and to Phoenix’s surprise, he not only accepts this theory, but takes the coffee for himself, stating there is no need for police involvement, Miles can test this theory here and now. Then, to Phoenix’s utter shock, he sips the coffee.

After tasting it, Miles scowls and confirms that yes, there is Love Potion in Adrien’s coffee. At Phoenix’s shocked expression, Miles tells him to relax – Miles says he is immune to Love Potions. Phoenix is only further confused by this, so Miles shakes his head and mimics what Phoenix said earlier – there’s no time to explain how or why, he only needs Phoenix to trust him right now.

Phoenix processes this, then nods and agrees. They can both talk about this later – rescuing Maya and getting Engarde in jail is the highest priority right now. They set off to take the coffee to Gumshoe.

+ Aside: as they continue this investigation, Miles feels strangely flustered and concerned around Phoenix for a while after this event, but he ignores this, blaming it on a random bout of sickness probably brought on from his immunity/aversion to Love Potion. (In reality this is an effect of the Potion he drank from the coffee, slightly amplifying his existing feelings for Phoenix).

–

- Summary of the ending of Goodbye My Turnabout, with Maya safe and reunited with Pearl, and Phoenix and Miles reconciling.

After reconciling with Franziska and seeing her off at the airport, Miles returns to Phoenix’s office, surprising him. Maya and Pearl have already retired to bed for the evening, so Phoenix meets him alone, correctly guessing that Miles is here for that “talk” they owe each other. Miles confirms this.

The two settle in and awkwardly begin talking about how and why they both know about Love Potions.

Phoenix says that unfortunately, he was a lot like Adrien, once upon a time. Which includes being poisoned with doses of Love Potion, specifically via his cold medication by his murderous college girlfriend, “Dollie”. He avoids specifics because this is a painful subject for him.

He talks in broad strokes about how “Dollie” used Love Potion to make him head over heels in love with her, manipulating him into unknowingly holding important evidence for her, then take the fall when he was framed for a murder she committed. It was only through Mia’s dogged determination to defend his innocence and uncover the truth that he was shown the extent that he had been manipulated. (He pointedly casts a sad, but proud glance at Mia’s former office around them). It’s clear it was a very difficult and traumatizing time in Phoenix’s life, and to this day there are still a lot of unanswered questions surrounding it.

Miles is appropriately shocked and disgusted by this, and gives his sympathies. He can’t imagine the pain Phoenix went through, though he supposed he can at least empathize with being betrayed by someone you once trusted.

Phoenix carefully guesses he is talking about Manfred von Karma. Miles nods solemnly, his brows furrowed. He speaks broadly about his time as Manfred’s ward, how much he had respected and trusted the man without realizing that most of the time, Miles was nothing more than a target of abuse and twisted revenge for Manfred.

And when Phoenix asks, yes, it seems Manfred treated his own daughter Franziska similarly poorly. Miles is visibly tense about it, after seeing the results of that pain in her crying face just earlier that day.

But, Miles continues, at least there were some times when Manfred seemed to make an effort to be a decent guardian, however feeble the efforts were. During Miles’ youth, when he was still studying to become a prosecutor, Manfred sometimes brought him to social gatherings within the world of law to encourage him to socialize with his peers – especially those of the opposite sex.

...Mostly those of the opposite sex. (Miles looks visibly uncomfortable about this, and even Phoenix cringes a little). Yes, unfortunately, Manfred and his equally-conservative colleagues attempted to set up Miles with their daughters / female wards in arranged dates, hoping they would strike up a relationship. These only resulted in forced meetings that were mostly boring, awkward and in Miles’ eyes, a complete waste of time.

But, Miles adds, looking even more uncomfortable by the second, there was more to it than that. Painfully, he recounts an evening where Manfred took him aside just before the start of one of these arranged dates and discreetly gave him a bottle filled with a strange liquid, and instructed him to add its contents to his own drinks. He claimed it would make him more… ‘agreeable’ to the lady, more comfortable.

Phoenix, after a moment, guesses if that was a Love Potion. Miles nods somberly. Manfred was apparently so ashamed of Miles’ lack of romantic interest in these young women, and so desperate to save face with his colleagues, that he had (illegally) procured a bottle of the stuff to give to Miles and instruct him to, essentially, poison himself to make him fall in love with one of these young women.

“...But you’re immune, you said,” Phoenix says, and Miles confirms with a grave nod. He painfully recounts that no matter how many times he dosed himself, or how much he poured into his drinks, he didn’t feel any kind of heightened affection or fondness for any of the women, not even enough to fake it. At most the only kind of reaction he got out of the stuff was dizziness in his head and a sick feeling in his stomach, likely side effects from the large doses.

Needless to say, even Manfred had to give up on these efforts. Eventually he quietly stopped inviting Miles to these dates, or to any social gatherings at all, instructing him to focus solely on his studies, since it seemed like the only thing he would be useful at.

When Manfred did attend gatherings after that, he only brought Franziska with him, telling Miles to watch over the manor in their absence and keep it tidy. Manfred had a maid in his employ. Miles wasn’t needed for something like that.

Miles sighs deeply as he finishes his story, and Phoenix stews over this silently, eventually extending his sympathies. Though he still finds it a bit strange that someone could just be completely immune to a Love Potion.

Miles shrugs sadly, saying that he’s figured he is simply incapable of falling in love at all. Phoenix is sad about this, but attempts to comfort Miles, saying that there’s nothing wrong or broken about him even if he can’t feel love. Aromantics exist, after all. And they have just as fulfilling relationship with friends – at least, Phoenix still considers Miles a good friend.

Miles is touched by this, that Phoenix still considers him a good friend even after the hurt he caused with his sudden sabbatical. Phoenix flusters, saying yeah, guess he just can’t stay mad at him. He still treasures their friendship, especially after all they’ve been through.

Miles is the one to start flustering now, and he coughs and pointedly changes the subject. The point is, it seems they’ve both had bad experiences with Love Potions, manipulated and heartbroken in different ways, and it’s likely that many other people have been hurt in similar ways by their existence. They’re already an illegal substance, but they should take greater pains to crack down on criminals who keep getting their hands on them.

Phoenix, eagerly following the change of subject to escape the awkwardness, agrees wholeheartedly. Love is a silly thing in general anyway, especially if it can be so easily manipulated by weird magical drugs. They mutually agree to work harder to be more wary of Love Potions and one day, stamp them out of the world altogether. Miles concurs, and they shake on it, ending the night on a good note.

- Miles decides to go back home shortly after this, but not before Phoenix awkwardly asks him if he’ll be very busy now that he’s back. He wanted to properly catch up with Miles in a more casual setting sometime. Miles awkwardly says he’s still figuring things out, and has even been considering traveling again, since he found it quite agreeable on his sabbatical and could learn a lot from international legal systems… But for now, yes, he could arrange to join Phoenix for a casual outing or two. He owes it to him, after all.

Phoenix flusters again, but is happy and grateful, and they exchange phone numbers to stay in contact. They share warm goodbyes and goodnights, and Miles steps out the door and into the night.

+ Despite all their cynicism, Phoenix and Miles, ironically, are unaware of the feelings developing between them.

–

- AA3’s events are summarized, with more focus put on the offscreen relationship between Phoenix and Miles during this time. They’ve spent several months keeping in contact through calls and text, occasionally joining each other for lunches/dinners to talk and catch up. Shortly before the start of AA3’s first case (in the present timeline), Miles left the country to study international legal systems like he hinted at before. Phoenix is okay with this and happy for Miles as he takes control of the direction of his life, and it’s implied that he’s still staying in contact with him via texting.

- Somewhere in case 3-2 or 3-3, Love Potions come up again, either used in a minor way or simply mentioned in passing. Phoenix is set on edge even more than usual, between Godot’s seemingly-baseless hatred for him and the uncomfortable themes of lovers, betrayal and poison that keep coming up in these cases. Phoenix thinks of Miles and holds fast to the promise they made about stamping out all Love Potions.

- Case 3-5 begins

- Hospital scene. Phoenix is moved by Miles visiting him so suddenly. He gives Miles his badge and has him defend Iris.

- After Phoenix recovers, they investigate together. Primroses grow on the mountain. Nick hates the sight of them and Miles does too. They wonder if love potions are being used to influence the case.

Eventually – Dahlia, via possessing Iris/Maya, reveals she has been trying to poison everyone with Love Potion, but for some reason it hasn’t had any effects on Phoenix or Miles.

+Hasn't worked on Godot either because his love, Mia, is dead and Godot is too careful about his coffee to be poisoned again.

- Dahlia is defeated, Iris is saved, and both she and Godot go to jail.

Later, they wonder about the poisonings. Maya says the only way to be immune to love potion is to fall in love for real. So Phoenix and Miles have fallen in love already with someone. But who?

They are deeply confused until they look at each other and begin to wonder. Phoenix feels absolute trust in miles, and Miles feels the same for Phoenix. They fluster and dodge the issue

- Later, before Miles goes back to Europe, he meets with Phoenix privately. Miles says he is leaving again but would not be opposed to dinner together before he goes. Phoenix agrees, it’d be nice to unwind and rekindle their childhood friendship. Internally he wonders if they’ll explore something more between them as well, after remembering the Love Potion incidents.

Both silently think that maybe love isn’t so bad after all.

END

[imdowndownbutdefinetlynotout]

"Britney Spears knows what it's like to feel trapped: First by poverty, then by fame, then by her family.

She has been subject to scrutiny and ridicule throughout her life. As a teenager, journalists repeatedly asked her questions about her breasts and her sex life. As an adult, she was imprisoned under a conservatorship that stripped her of some of the most basic human rights.

For 13 years, she could not see her two sons without approval. Her driving licence was confiscated. She could not choose her meals, and was forbidden from drinking tea or coffee. When she wanted to have a contraceptive intrauterine device (IUD) removed, her request was denied.

That court-imposed order, overseen by her father, was lifted two years ago, when a judge ruled Spears could make her own decisions again.

But her new memoir, The Woman In Me, reveals that was no happy ending...

Those events cast a shadow over Spears' life story. Along the way, every betrayal and public indignity feels like a step along the path to her eventual incarceration.

It began as soon as she exploded onto the pop charts in 1998. She was an overnight sensation, but the press refused to believe she had any agency. Her songs were written for her, they noted, while suggesting that her public image was created by creepy, salivating older men.

The more she was perceived as a product and a pawn of the music industry, the easier it became to erode her autonomy.

In one of the book's most chilling moments, Spears recalls her father telling her he's assumed legal control of her personal and professional affairs.

His words: "I am Britney Spears now."

The early chapters of the book stress how much people underestimated her.

Spears may not have written her music - but when she was given ...Baby One More Time, she stayed up all night to make sure her voice was "fried, and "gravelly", enhancing the song's yearning maturity.

And when it came to shooting the video, the 16-year-old rejected the original pitch - in which she'd have been "a futuristic astronaut " - and insisted on a high school setting with dancing in the corridors, just like Grease.

Both decisions were crucial to the song's success - but no-one was willing to accept a blonde teenager from a Louisiana trailer park could outsmart the collective brilliance of the music industry.

"No-one could seem to think of me as both sexy and capable," she writes. "If I was hot, I couldn't possibly be talented."

Although she exercised creative control behind the scenes, Spears' publicists infantilised her.

She was marketed as a chaste, God-fearing country girl - even though, she writes, she had been a regular smoker since the age of 14 and lost her virginity around the same time.

At first, however, she toed the PR line...

Eventually, however, Spears' innocent image set her up for a downfall.

In one of the book's most harrowing sequences, she talks about having a medical abortion during her relationship with Justin Timberlake. The pills she had been prescribed left her in agony but the couple were too scared to visit a hospital in case the news leaked. For hours, Spears was curled up, "sobbing and screaming" in pain on the bathroom floor.

"Still, they didn't take me to hospital," she says. Instead Timberlake, "thought music would help, so he got his guitar and lay there with me, strumming it."...

After their separation, she was vilified in the press, with Timberlake strongly hinting she had cheated on him (she says it was the other way round, with "one of the girls from All Saints").

Timberlake has yet to respond to his depiction in the book.

The couple's break-up only increased the appetite for gossip about Spears' personal life. The tabloids hounded her. She recalls a photographer from People magazine demanding she empty her handbag, so they could check whether she was carrying drugs or cigarettes.

Eventually, the pressure became too much. In 2007, reeling from the death of her aunt Sandra and suffering from post-partum depression, Spears marched into a hair salon, picked up some clippers and cut off her hair.

"Shaving my head was a way of saying to the world: [Expletive] you," she writes.

"I'd been the good girl for years. I'd smiled politely while TV show hosts leered at my breasts, while American parents said I was destroying their children by wearing a crop top. And I was tired of it."

We all know what happened next. Instead of being seen as an act of strength or rebellion, Spears' buzz-cut was used as evidence of instability.

Within a year, she had been placed under the conservatorship.

Spears is a straightforward writer. She doesn't embellish or decorate her prose. That matter-of-fact style amplifies the horror of those years.

She talks about being pinned down on hospital stretchers and forced to take medication against her will. At home, she isn't allowed to take a bath in private. Boyfriends are vetted and informed of her sexual history before they can go on a date.

At first, she tries to appease her parents and the doctors. "If I play along, surely they'll see how good I am and they will let me go," she says.

When she considers rebelling, access to her two young sons is used as a bargaining chip.

"My freedom in exchange for naps with my children... was a trade I was willing to make," she admits.

But even while she was supposedly incapable of looking after herself, Spears was sent out on tour, hired as a judge on X Factor and booked for a four-year Las Vegas residency.

The singer, who used to collect receipts in a glass bowl in order to keep track of her taxes, carefully documents the millions everyone else made from those engagements, while she was given a strict allowance of $2,000 (£1,635) per week.

Losing all sense of self, she almost gave up.

"The fire inside me burned out," she recalls. "The light went out of my eyes." ...

It's impossible to read The Woman In Me and not feel sad and outraged on Spears' behalf.

One tiny detail of her new life, in particular, emphasises how grey her world had become. "Now," she writes, "I get to eat chocolate again".

Spears' story is told with the same approachable warmth that made her a star. And, outside the defining events of the last 15 years, she spins a good yarn - whether describing her pregnancy cravings (food and sex, apparently); or reliving her terror at dancing with a snake at the 2001 MTV Awards.

Her family aside, there are no real villains or scandals to be uncovered. But nor are there any great revelations about Spears' music or inner life.

What we are left with, not for the first time, is a cautionary tale about fame and the corrupting influence of money. And, just maybe, a glimmer of hope for a woman whose adult life has been dictated by others.

"It's time for me not to be someone who other people want," she writes. "It's time to actually find myself."

[mooshymello]

nothing at all

･:･.☽˚｡･✧:･

*Warning for spice and dangerous amounts of domestic g/t fluff ;)*

Word count: 3.5k

It wasn’t fair. The universe must have been feeling especially cruel when it decided to drop Ezran into Tova’s life, because there was no way anyone should have this much power over her. 

And yet here she was, absolutely bowled over by something stupid as him handing her a pen.

Well, she’d give herself credit, it was a little more than the pen. 

It was late. Tova was sitting on the tiny table that folded out from the giant table Ezran sat on, looking over a mess of paperwork for different properties. Nothing could go unaccounted for. After all, this was it, the dream she’d clutched to her chest like a life preserver, the life she’d fought tooth and nail for. This was her flower shop. 

It had to be perfect. Tova wanted it too long for it not to be.

Truthfully, the flower shop was only half of the business. The other half was the magic plants shop. She bought a mirrorstone, an enchanted stone that would create a duplicate of the building she could place in any magic city. Many magic markets had empty lots between buildings, as if someone had cut a slice from the block, ready to be refilled with a new business. All Tova had to do was pay rent for the lot and place the mirrorstone in a doorway of the flower shop, creating a  portal to its magic twin. She had a few lots in Ogendale in mind. 

Everything was going smoothly except for one tiny, itty bitty thing: deciphering property laws was actually fucking impossible. 

So much fine print and conditions…If this were a magic building, she could challenge the owner to a duel and win it, but according to Ezran’s dad, dueling wasn’t “a legal way” to acquire property. 

“How’s it going?” Ezran asked.

“Meh?” She shoved a clump of documents toward him. “We can afford the one by the bowling alley, but who goes by the bowling alley for flowers?” She held up another equally disastrous cluster of pages. “The one on main street would be a great spot, it already has a cooler and everything, but it's pricey. I mean, I could ask my parents for a loan, but-”

“Nope.”

Tova barked out a laugh. “Woah, I didn’t know you liked them so much.”

“I’m sorry, I just don’t like the idea of them controlling any part of your dream. They spent your whole life crushing it.”

“I know. I agree.”

“And I know they changed or whatever, but they’re still so judgy. I can’t ask them for directions without them staring into my soul. Like I’m a bug or something. You know, like-” He squinted and pursed his lips at her.

“I haven’t the faintest idea what you’re talking about, dear. It’s not like I spent my entire childhood being terrified of The Look”, Tova said, dropping her expression  into a perfect replica of said Look (It was more of an unimpressed glare down the nose than a squint, with the upper lip curled up a little to the left). 

Ezran shivered.  “How do you do that?” 

“TaChauer family magic, baby. Don’t give me a reason to use it on you.” She wiggled her fingers at him, cackling evilly. 

He rolled his eyes, smiling slightly. 

“But okay, no parents. They’re my last last resort, after giving a fae my firstborn. Hm. I wonder if Jamie was serious about that offer..”

“Jamie wants nothing to do with kids, you’d have to pay him to take it. And you are not trading our firstborn.”

“Boo, you’re boring.”

“And you’re crazy.”

Ezran sighed and leaned across the big table, closing 20  feet of distance between them in seconds, to peck her on the forehead. No matter how long they’d been together, her mind always went blank the second he kissed her. Her thoughts just sort of melted when the all-encompassing  warmth of his lips.

He picked up her coffee cup on the way to the kitchen. She marveled at how tiny it was between his fingers. He stood, her heart skipping as he loomed dozens of feet above her, impossibly big and never terrifying, his footfalls shaking through her as he disappeared around the corner. Funny as it was, she forgot he was a giant sometimes, until his tiniest movements gave her that particular thrill. 

The faucet hissed to life. Tova would never understand why he didn’t just use magic to do the dishes. Old habits from his normal life, she supposed. At the sound, her familiar Lil Dacey emerged from under the table, trotting after Ezran into the kitchen. She’d grown to the size of a small dragon, probably because Ez wouldn’t stop feeding her. 

As if to prove Tova’s point, she shoved her snout into the back of his knee, almost knocking him over, and gave him puppy eyes, whimpering pathetically. Ezran reached for the jar of treats on the counter, stopping to meet Tova’s eyes and pout.

“Look at her. She’s starving, Tova.”

Tova eyed the familiar’s pudgy belly and arched a brow. But now both of them were giving her puppy eyes. So Tova huffed and shook her head, but turned the other way as Dacey gobbled up the treat from his fingers. Spoiled little thing. 

She turned back to the table, where the paperwork waited. She chewed on her cheek, tapping her wand on the side of the table while she read. Paper stars started popping from her wand, a tick she’d never been able to shake since graduating, until eventually, the paper stars blanketed the paperwork, making it impossible to see anything. 

Tova groaned, hiding her face in her hands and sliding down onto the table. She could hear her brain grinding in her skull.

“I can’t even read this. I feel like a stupid,” Tova groaned. 

“Maybe you feel like a stupid because it's 3 AM and your brain is mush. You can’t figure stuff out with mush brains.”

Tova puckered her lips, hiding her face behind a papers. 

“Tovanni.”

“Ezran.” She sat up, wagging her pen at him accusingly. “Actually, don’t you have an early shift at the facility tomorrow? You shouldn’t be up either,”

“Yeah, but I have this girlfriend who’s, like, insanely stubborn. And I’d feel like a jerk if I let her stay up alone.” 

Her playfulness deflated into guilt. Sacrificing her sleep wasn’t supposed to come at the cost of his. Working at the creature care facility, as much as he loved it,  tired him out. He really didn’t need to start the day tired. 

Tova made grabby hands at him. Ezran sighed. He turned the sink off and dragged a chair from the other side of the big table, bringing it behind her. He folded his arms around her and gave her a sleepy smile when she kissed his cheek.

“Ten more minutes,” she promised. 

“Mmhm.” He laid his head down. “Ten more minutes. And if you don’t come with me after that, I’ll just have to kidnap you.”

Tova chuckled and leaned back on his cheek while she worked. Ezran would chime in every so often, small tips from watching his dad run the facility, but he didn’t understand the business side too well either. It made her feel better that she wasn’t the only confused one.

Then it happened. 

Tova let herself nod off for a second, lulled by the steady rhythm of his fingers stroking her hair, and her grip loosened on her pen. It landed with a clatter that made both of them flinch awake. 

She rubbed the crust from her eyes. Tova reached down to grab the pen only to realize it had rolled off both her smaller table and the big table, now dozens of feet below. A retrieval spell would do the trick, but Tova’s brain was so foggy she was afraid she’d mess up the spell and turn the floor into pens. Again. 

“Can you get that please?” 

“But you dropped it,” he yawned. 

“Only because you’re too comfortable and I fell asleep. So technically it’s your fault.”

Ezran shook his head but obliged her. He tried reaching for the pen too, but it had rolled under the table, so he got up. Tova didn’t notice how warm he was until he swept all the heat away. 

She hugged her arms and refocused on the papers. Her extra ten minutes hadn’t done much good. Her brain only managed to blurt out a few gibberish notes on a coffee-stained napkin. Tova brushed the paper stars away and started organizing the documents for tomorrow.

In the middle of sorting, one paper slipped out. She absentmindedly slipped it on top of the pile, doing a double take. This one was a picture.  It was a concept for the flower shop, a very simple square building with vines on the walls, shelves of flowers in front of a glass storefront. Ezran titled it “Tova’s Plants and Things” on the bottom, and Tova had replicated it in the cursive sign hanging above the door. They’d drawn the picture when she first decided to open the shop.

Simple as it was, the drawing was enough to set her imagination alight, like flowers bursting out from between endless black rows of legal text. 

She could see it now. Sandwiched between plain storefronts, a spot of color like a jewel catching rainbows in the sun. Caroline jessamines and blue morning glories climbing the walls, an arch of jasmine at the door-no, white wisteria. 

Ezran would help her set up the trellises, the wood enchanted to prevent the flowers from becoming overgrown, and she’d probably spend the whole day ranting about all her ideas. He wouldn’t tell her to shut up because he never did. He always just nodded and gave her the sweetest look, like she was an angel, like she was the most precious thing in the universe, and sometimes that was enough to make her shut up anyway.

It was the same look he gave her when he returned with her pen, albeit dulled by exhaustion. He didn’t fully stand, staying on his knee and offering it to her. “Are you ready?”

It was such a stupid thing to get worked up about. A pen. 

But it wasn’t the pen. 

It was the fact that she used that pen to draw the concept with him, to draw the climbing vines that were going to be yellow and blue because they reminded her of his favorite scarf. It was the pen that cemented the name “Tova’s Plants and Things” for her shop because he hand-crafted her a sign for their first Christmas together. It was remembering being awake with him at 3AM 100 years ago, whispering about the things they’d do after graduation, when Tova was sure the shop would stay a dream and Ezran was sure he’d come buy her flowers every week, and it was being awake with him again at 3AM, just because he didn’t want her to do it alone.

It was the realization that he’d become so deeply entwined with her life that she could pick any aspect of it and find him there.

So Tova laughed. To herself, because he would never understand how impossible that was to her. This was their flower shop. His, and hers, and theirs. The thought sent warmth surging through her, until she felt like she’d burst into stardust. All she wanted was to wrap him up in that feeling, make him feel as breathless and adored as he made her feel.

Actually, she probably could. Or at least something close to it. 

An idea popped into her head and Tova smirked, plucking the pen from his fingers. She scribbled “hey can I kiss you :)” on the back of the concept drawing. She put it on the big table and slid it toward him with her foot, keeping it far from the edge of the table. 

He squinted at the note(she wrote it extra small so he’d have to get closer)and gave it a bemused smile. “Uh, sure…?”

By then, Tova had already taken the opportunity to take her wand out and run her hand over his. Tova whispered a shrinking spell and tapped her wand on his nose. There was a distortion, the way heat wavers in the air. She felt magic simmer in her blood, seeping through her hand and crackled over Ezran’s skin like static electricity. 

One second, Ezran was peering down at her with wide-eyed confusion, the next, a glittery cloud poofed around them and he was leaning on her human-sized table, swaying unsteadily. Tova slipped her hand into his and waited for him to regain his balance with a giddy smile. 

“What was-” He closed his eyes and swallowed thickly. “What was that?”

“That was you saying I could kiss you.” Tova ran her fingers up his arm and curled them around his face, rolling onto her toes to whisper in his ear. “So I’m kissing you. Is that okay?”

“Okay.” He let out a breathy laugh, melting into her touch. His hands snaked around her waist and he touched his forehead to hers. “Weirdo.”

Tova giggled. She tilted his head down and pressed her lips to his. Her eyes fluttered shut.  His lips were impossibly soft as they captured hers. They tasted sweet and warm, like hot cocoa, because he refused to drink coffee past 3 PM. She was torn between wanting to cherish them or absolutely ruin them.

His hands found their way into her hair, pulling her closer. His touch set fizzling poppers off in her belly, made her blood all sparkly and tingly as it rushed to her face. God, she was addicted to him. The moment he kissed her she couldn’t think straight.

Which was probably why she forgot the shrinking spell left him woozy and made the mistake of leaning into him. He wobbled backwards, futilely trying to regain his balance, but by the time Tova pulled away he was already falling. Seeing as he was tangled in her hair, that meant he took Tova down with him. She broke the kiss off with a yelp, narrowly avoiding smashing their teeth together by ducking her face into his chest as they crashed onto the ground.

Ezran hissed, rubbing the back of his head. “Ow.” 

“Sorry, sorry sorry,” she blurted. 

She recited a quick healing spell and brought her wand to his temples. Their eyes met. Tova was suddenly aware of their position, going red and looking away. So much for being romantic. 

He tried to choke back laughter, followed by Tova giggling into his collarbone, ending with both of them bursting into laughter. They stayed there for a minute, simply enjoying being a mess on the table.

Not one to miss an opportunity, Tova propped herself up on his chest, tracing the scar on his face. “Wow Ez. I can’t believe you’re still falling for me after all these years.”

“You’re gross.”

“You love it.”

He rolled his eyes again, but didn’t disagree. He hugged her close, kissing her forehead and burying his face in her hair. “You’re extra mushy today. What’s up?” 

She turned her face into the crook of his neck. “Nothing. I just missed you.”

“Missed me? I’ve been here the whole time.”

“Exactly, and I haven’t paid any attention to you at all.” 

A devilish smile bloomed across her face. Tova skimmed her hands over his chest and up his arms, linking both his hands in hers. She knew it drove him crazy when they held hands at this size. But she could do one better. In one smooth motion, she shifted her knees to straddle him, positioning herself above him. She hooked her thumb under the scarf on his wrist, taking both his hands and pinning them above his head. 

She trailed a line of slow kisses up the side of his neck. He shivered. Any time he tried to kiss her back, she pushed him back down, teasing her teeth along his delicate skin. She smiled at the little noises he made when she laid gentle kisses on the marks, the way his pulse sped beneath her lips and his hands tightened in hers. Pulling back, she surveyed her work with a satisfied hum. 

Ezran was going to have to actually use his scarf after this. 

“T-Tova?”

She lowered herself so their chests were touching, her hair curtaining his flushed face.  “Don’t you think you deserve a little attention, baby?”

“Um…” His wide eyes flickered to her mouth. He bit his lip and turned his burning face away. “...fuck.” 

Tova puffed a breath through her nose, amused. She ran her thumb along his jawline and made him look at her as she ghosted his lips, tilting her head and parting hers just a bit. Tempting him. With a butterfly’s  touch, she ran her hands down his sides, reveling in the shivers that followed her fingertips, and she snuck the tip of her thumb under his waistband. 

Just to be cruel, she slid her hips down, the heat of him pressing on her inner thigh. The intoxicating heat of his moan bloomed across her lips. 

“Needy, needy, needy~” She laughed, an equally breathless sound. “But stars, I want you so bad.”

She waited. Her heart was thudding in her chest. Her stomach was somersaulting. The only sound between them was heavy, expectant breathing. Right when he started to shift impatiently, inching closer, she reeled back, planting a chaste kiss on his nose. 

“Okay,” she said. 

“Okay?”

Tova let go of his hands and lifted herself up on her knees so she wasn’t touching him. Almost immediately, the air wavered, and glittery clouds burst around them. When she opened her eyes she was kneeling on his stomach, and he was his normal size, splayed on his back across the big table.

He stared at the ceiling, taking a moment to readjust to his new perspective. Once he did, he peered down at her, bewilderment swirling in his eyes. 

“...what?” 

“I said I wanted to kiss you. You have been kissed.” She flopped onto her side and folded her hands under her head. “Bedtime!”

Ezran looked at her like he was waiting for the punchline. She refused to look at him. Tova was fighting to hold back laughter. 

“You asshat,” he said when he realized she wasn’t taking it back. 

The walls of his hands rushed into her peripherals. He scooped her off his stomach, scooting off the table. He turned off the lights and marched towards the bedroom, keeping her close to his chest. She could hear his heart thundering against her back. 

“This is a really aggressive way to go to bed. I thought we were supposed to sleep now,” she said, feigning innocence. 

“We were before you jumped me like that.” 

Ezran gently put her down on the pillow. He set his arms on either side of her, brushing her hair from her face and running his thumb along her jaw. The intensity of his eyes made her stomach flip. 

“You’re crazy if you think I’m letting you get away with that, Tovanni.” 

“Maybe I’m-”

He immediately cut her off with a kiss. She sucked in a breath, her back arching in surprise. He slid a finger behind her, pressing her closer to his lips. She hummed, feeling her whole body turn to mush in his hands. Her hands made a beeline for his face. 

And then he stopped. He pulled his hand away and folded his arms in front of her, watching her pant.

“What was-”

He kissed her again, this time pressing her into the pillow. She was literally breathless. He had her lightheaded, seeing stars. The second Tova reached to hold his face, he cut it off. 

Tova gave him a questioning look. “What are you do-”

Another kiss, his hands cupped behind her and entwined in her hair. She moaned and tried leaning into it only for him to pull his hand back, dropping her back onto the pillow. 

Tova narrowed her eyes at him. She knew what he was doing. Either she stopped being sassy and got no kisses, or kept being sassy and got half a kiss, which was worse because as much as Tova liked teasing, she hated getting teased. This was payback.

The worst thing was that it was working. Tova tried holding out, too. She tried not to think about how perfect his lips were, and how they were right there. Instead, she crossed her arms and stared at him. Right in the eye. Right in his big, beautiful bitter coffee eyes, all softened with affection for her, even though she was a mess, and bright with smug amusement because she could see herself cracking in their reflection. Those eyes.

He leaned forward, his curls tumbling onto her shoulders, lips brushing her reddened face. “Tovaaa~”

No. She refused. Because there was no way she was that fucking clingy. 

Except she absolutely was and he knew it and it absolutely was not fair.  

“Ez,” she finally whined, exasperated. 

He grinned, cupping her in his hands. He peppered her face with kisses, like he was trying to connect a constellation on her freckles, until Tova was breathless and flushed, and both of them were laughing their asses off.

The exhaustion hit them not too long after and they settled down. Tova slid off the pillow, crawling over to his hands. They curled around her, bringing her to his chest.

“Tova?”

Tova hummed, grabbing fistfuls of his shirt.

He curled up, bundling her closer. His voice was thick with sleep, rolling through her like an ocean wave. “I love you.”

Tova doubted he could see the way she looked at him in the dark. Ezran was the first person to ever say he loved her. She’d never told him that. She thought about it every time he said it. It was more pathetic than it sounded, she'd had people who cared, but none who were so open about it. She never doubted it with him.

Maybe that was the part that made her tear up.

She wiped her eyes, smiling into his shirt. “I love you too, dork.”

[scham-wcan]

Cinder, coming back to their apartment: Hmm, that’s not a great sign

Ruby, behind her, carrying everything from a shopping trip: W-what?? And could you help-?

Cinder: No, you’re strong. And there’s an empty coffee pot surrounded by energy drink cans

Ruby, dropping everything as best she can safely: Well, who’s fault is that?

Winter, at her desk, drinking ‘the concoction’: …and I am telling you this is the only way this can be done which doesn’t involve going through legal which is the last thing on my mind-

Weiss, sharing the other side of the desk, also drinking ‘the concoction’: But if we go through advertising and marketing we subvert any claims which would make us go to legal and then we can avoid accounting altogether

Ruby, hiding: I have never seen them talk that fast

Cinder: I don’t think they’ve even noticed the lights are off

[monsta-x-jagi]

Legal Affairs - Chapter 1

Synopsis: A rookie lawyer helps Wonho while he is being investigated for involvement in black market dealings.

Word count: 2.8k

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You walked through the revolving doors to Useungja Law Firm whose name meant “winner.” One of the best law firms in Seoul, it was known for having a high proportion of successful cases, and specialising in commercial law, civil suits and similar matters. Which is why you were surprised at the new case given to you. 

“I thought we didn’t do criminal cases?” You asked your CEO.

“We don’t, but this was a special request, from my friend at the TV station. He wants to make sure his station isn’t caught up in these charges, so he discussed it with the idol’s agency and asked me to look into it.” The CEO replied and gave you the file to flick through. He knew you wouldn’t refuse the case, but he could tell you were feeling nervous.

After a long pause, you asked, “So why me? This feels like an important case.”

“I heard you had something of an interest in dark seedy black market crimes. Plus, you took criminal law classes last semester and I haven’t touched that stuff in over a decade.” 

“Wow samcheon (uncle), you really had to make it sound like I have personal experience with the black market huh?” You laughed. “But sure, I will take the case.” You even saluted the CEO for good measure.

He laughed, before his face turned serious again. “Alright, but just one more thing sweetheart. Your mum said you missed out on all the other internships, but working at your old uncle’s firm isn’t pity, okay? I know you’re good, so get out there and prove it, because you’re still a skilled lawyer.”

Your client was a Lee Hoseok, represented by Starship Entertainment. He was part of a large number of idols being investigated for involvement with various black market entities, though nobody had been charged yet. You were simply there as a preventative measure to support him throughout the investigation. Following a party with several guests that included dubious and suspicious people, Le Hoseok and several others had been named as persons of interest.

The door to the meeting room opened soon after you sat down, and two men walked in, with one clearly being Hoseok. His hoodie did a pathetic job of hiding his figure which was clearly the result of many dedicated hours at the gym. You reached over to your drink bottle, telling yourself it’s because you are thirsty after seeing the iced coffee he had in his hand, and not for any other reason. The men sat across from you, and you introduced yourself and the plan for the meeting today. 

“Hello. My name is y/n and I will be handling your case. Today, I just want to ask some questions based on what’s in the file. But you can keep talking even outside of those questions. I really just want to hear anything that will help your case, that’s all.”

Hoseok’s manager tapped his arm. He had been zoning out all morning since the manager mentioned his schedule for the day. He studied the lawyer in front of him. You seemed very young, probably younger than him, and he felt a small sense of dread that a rookie was handling his case.

“I didn’t do anything. I swear, I never stole anything, took drugs or hurt someone. I didn’t even do it for someone else.” He blurted out.

He didn’t intend to sound desperate, but he had been so lost in his thoughts earlier that he didn’t even hear your question.

Poor boy. He seemed very out of it. “It’s okay, this is a preventative measure for the investigation. We know nothing happened.” He appeared a little calmer once you said that, so you began listing your plan of action.

“I’m going to request surveillance footage from the TV station where this party supposedly happened. If you keep an inventory of what’s usually in your bags, I'd like to see that too, as well as a list of staff members or guests who were present.”

Hoseok simply nodded and his manager who agreed to provide anything you needed.

Then there was one more thing. You apologetically turned to the manager. “Client-attorney privilege only applies between me and Mr Lee. So for our conversations to be protected, we do technically need to have our consults alone. I hope you understand.”

The manager nodded, and with no hostility, left the room after squeezing Hoseok’s shoulder. 

You waited for the manager to leave before continuing your interview with Hoseok. You decided to forego your desire to run your gaze appreciatively all over his body by simply looking down at your notes. You asked your first question. “Do you have any exes I should be concerned about?”

Hoseok almost sputtered his coffee when he heard that, and looked at you questioningly.

“Sorry, I wasn’t hitting on you.” This was a bad habit you needed to fix before heading to a courtroom. You often worded things without necessary context. “What I meant was can you think of anyone that would want to hurt you? I won’t tell your manager about these people if you don’t want to me, by the way,” you added, hoping it made him feel safe.

Hoseok didn’t seem to show much emotion when he answered. His voice was monotone and he didn’t even seem to be in the present. “I’ve had some entanglements, but there aren’t any that I think would want to hurt me.”

You tried not to let the initial lack of rapport with your client bother you as you continued you questions. “Can you tell me how much you drank last night?”

Hoseok looked sheepish. “I don’t remember anything from last night, if I am being honest.”

“That’s okay.” You made a small note in the file and continued. “Did you take any drinks given to you by another person? Like something they mixed, not something that came in a can or bottle?”

Hoseok was silent, thinking. “Probably.”

Your first little theory had formed. If the man didn’t remember anything, maybe he was drugged, possibly by one of those suspicious person, and if he was drugged, he may have been unaware of anything he may have done, including at someone else’s orders or under duress. But you needed more evidence for this theory, so you simply said, “I want you to take a drug test, today if possible. I’ll schedule one.”

Hoseok’s eyes widened in shock. Maybe some frustration too, since he had already told you he was innocent, but he nodded. His agency had ordered him to cooperate, though he would’ve done so even without the order.

The last part of your meeting was introducing Hoseok to the CEO. When your questions were done, Hoseok got up and followed you out of the meeting room and into the elevator.

“Mr Lee, if you have any questions at all, you know you can ask, right? I promise I’m not as scary as I look,” you said, laughing a little awkwardly.

You knew you couldn’t possibly look scary to a man that had the strength to crush your bones into a fine dust, but the atmosphere in the elevator wasn’t exactly bright. You could feel Hoseok looking at you, and you hoped he wasn’t stressing too much about the investigation.

Unknown to you, Hoseok was actually admiring your outfit. You were wearing a light blue floral dress that flared out at your hips pared with a very smart-looking white blazer. It was like you couldn’t decide whether to be at the office or at a picnic, and Hoseok thought it was adorable. 

After another bout of silence, you spoke. “Mr Lee, could you enter your number and email address please? I am adding your email to a shared calendar for us. That way, we can keep track of things like important appointments, interviews, etc.” 

Hoseok obliged, typing his details into your phone, and you silently congratulated yourself on not making it sound like you were hitting on your client when you asked for his number.

Inside the CEO’s office, your uncle introduced himself to Hoseok with a firm handshake. “Hello Hoseok. I am y/CEO/n. Y/n is well versed in black market cases, and I will also be around to support you, so there is nothing to worry about.” 

Hoseok felt a small sense of relief hearing that. Surely if you were known to the CEO, you must be good at your job. The CEO then took his phone from his pocket and turned to you, with an amused smile on his face. Hoseok watched the interaction curiously.

“Y/n, I think your plan for the day is great,” the CEO said to you. “However, there’s something I need you to be careful about."

“Yeah? What?” You asked, with far too little honourifics for a CEO. 

Hoseok tensed, expecting an outburst from the man, but was pleasantly surprised when the CEO handed his unlocked phone to you. You stifled a laugh with your hand as you checked the CEO’s phone. Hoseok tried to hide his confused expression at this remarkably affectionate relationship between a rookie and the CEO, but he wasn’t quick enough. 

Noticing his quizzical expression, you began explaining. “The CEO has been a mentor to me since high school. We’re very close, so he teases me about every single silly mistake I make.”

You turned the CEO’s phone to face Hoseok. On the screen was a text message saying ‘Hi Mr Lee, it’s y/n. I’m excited to work with you and promise to do my best. I look forward to getting to know you more.’ 

There was nothing wrong with the message, except that you had texted it to the CEO, and not Hoseok. Seeing that, Hoseok cracked his first genuine smile of the day.

After your idol client left, you went to the Starship Entertainment office. The staff had already been informed to collect footage and any other necessary materials for your investigation. Starship Entertainment also forwarded you the schedules of each Monsta X member for you to conduct interviews with should you need to. When you went to Starship’s office, the list of schedules told you that Yoo Kihyun would be available for an interview.

Kihyun stopped by in between practice and his gym session. He smiled pleasantly and bowed before sitting across from you in a conference room at Starship. “Good afternoon y/n.” 

“Great to meet you, Kihyun.” It slipped your mind to call him Mr Yoo. “Let’s start by talking about what Hoseok was doing during the party. Who he talked to, what he ate or drank, just really anything at all that you remember.” You fiddled with you phone to find the recorder app and showed it to Kihyun. “You don’t mind right?”

“Well, usually I record in a studio, but for you I’ll make an exception,” Kihyun said and laughed. He seemed sweet.

Hoseok had arrived at the party together with his members, but spent most of his time with Hyungwon, sitting on the couch and chatting with a few people. Kihyun couldn’t remember who, but there was no animosity there. As for what Hoseok drank, he did get offered drinks by a few people there, but he stuck to his own drink. Hoseok didn’t even leave his drink unattended as far as Kihyun remembers. As for Hoseok’s behaviour before the party, during the show, Kihyun couldn’t recall anything out of the ordinary, except that Hoseok left one of his bags behind in their van, and they had to ask a staff member to go grab it sometime after arriving at the dressing room. Unfortunately, Kihyun wasn’t sure who that staff member might have been.

“Well thank you for your time, Kihyun. Is it okay if I contact you again if I have questions?” You asked as you finished scribbling some notes. 

“No worries, let me know if you need anything. I really want to help,” Kihyun said earnestly.

As Kihyun reached the door, you suddenly remembered something. “Is there a hair salon at Starship?"

Kihyun blinked confusedly before answering. “Uh yeah, did you need to go there?"

“I saw Hoseok’s schedule said he’s getting his hair done at 4pm, but I need some of his hair for a drug test. I was hoping the hairdresser could cut some for me without making it obvious.” 

Kihyun understood your unasked request. “I can definitely take you to the salon. But there’s one small problem.” You raised your eyebrows at him, waiting for him to finish “Hoseok is planning to bleach his hair, so if you want his hair for a drug test, you gotta be quick."

Your mouth dropped open. “Oh shi- I mean godda-,” you tried not to swear. That drug test would prove your client to at least didn’t consume any drugs, and you were not missing that chance. Kihyun laughed at your crude language, before leading you to the salon.

The hairdresser had draped him and trimmed his hair and was somewhere preparing the bleach and colour. Hoseok’s phone buzzed with a message from Kihyun: DONTT FUICKING BLEACH UR HAIRRR

Was this some prank? Shouldn’t you be working out, little munchkin? Hoseok replied smiling to himself. 

No I mean it, its for ur lawyer, Kihyun responded.

Hoseok was confused, but as he motioned for his hairdresser to hold off on the bleaching, the doors to the salon swung open. Behind it was Kihyun, with your slightly puffed out face appearing behind him. At the sight of Hoseok’s still unbleached hair, you breathed a sigh of relief. Kihyun moved aside to let you through, and much to Hoseok’s surprise, you made a beeline for him, or more specifically, his hair. 

Your fingers first delicately touched it, before stroking their way through it. Then a second and third time. “Oh, Hoseok, thank god,” you murmured. “It’s safe.” 

Hoseok met your gaze in the mirror, raising his eyebrows at you. “You okay there y/n? You uh… don’t get off on people’s hair do you?” 

You didn’t register the joke. “No, no, I just got worried we wouldn’t be able to do the drug test. I need your unbleached hair.”

“How much? I’ll get the stylist to cut it for you,” Hoseok said, motioning for the hairdresser to come closer.

You ran your fingers through his hair a few times before holding up your desired sample for the drug test. “Don’t stress, you’ll still look handsome on stage Mr Lee.” 

Hoseok looked at your through the mirror, smiling. “Why do you call me Mr Lee?” 

“Hm sorry?” Your attention snapped to Hoseok’s face in the mirror. For the first time, you noticed his eyes exuded a sense of kindness you hadn’t seen before.

Hoseok repeated himself. “Why do you call me Mr Lee?”

“Do I have to explain that? You’re my client,” you said.

“True, but you called me Hoseok when you first walked in.”

Your face went blank and Hoseok smirked. Unknowingly, your fingers remained wrapped around a strand of his hair, and your elbow rested on his shoulder. 

Hoseok reached out his hand from under the hairdresser’s drape to touch your arm. “You walked in and did this.” His hand mimicked the way you touched his hair when you first walked in on your forearm. “Oh thank god Hoseok is what you said.”

You flinched at his touch, equal parts shocked and embarrassed. He wasn’t sure whether to be hurt or amused when you took a small step away from him. 

“In my defence, I was addressing myself, not you,” you said, twisting you lips to side in annoyance.

“Last I checked, your name wasn’t Hoseok, so I don’t know why you would address yourself as that,” Hoseok smirked. 

You started chewing your lip then sighed. “Fuck, I didn’t exactly leave the best impression as your lawyer there did I?” You laughed as you spoke, but then suddenly covered your mouth with your hands. “Why did I even do that…”

Hoseok couldn’t help but laugh out loud. You had been so perfectly polite and proper all morning, and that demeanour dissolving was absolutely hilarious. “I never knew my lawyer would have such a crude mouth. Hope it comes in handy in the future.”

You stopped laughing and narrowed your eyes. You returned his smirk. “That is a new version of ‘what that mouth do.’ Good job.” You knew this exchange had lost all sense of professionalism now. 

Hoseok laughed along with you but then became serious. He asked, “Surely nobody says things like that to you. You’re a lawyer, you probably date other educated men.”

You shook your head. “Mr Lee, educated or uneducated, any man is capable of being an asshole.”

“Just Hoseok is fine, Miss y/n.”

“Just y/first/name, is fine, Hoseok,” you parroted back. Having grown a little more comfortable, you stepped in a little closer to the seat again. “So, Hoseok, can your hairdresser cut some hair for me?”

10 minutes later, you were out the door with Hoseok’s hair in a little ziplock bag. You didn’t know it, but you felt a small buzz as you thought about how you finally established some rapport with your client. Or as ordinary people would call it, chemistry.

[thevelria]

A diary from 1920 (SFW/husband!gangster!Gojo x fem!reader)

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Let me present the surprise shot which I wrote to my lovely followers. It's a lovely, sweet story about an undying love!

Warnings: mentions of war and scars.

Wordcount: 1580

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Fighting back her tears, Claire tried to organize your belongings in the attic. In the midst of dusty boxes, cobwebs and insane mess she tried to stay strong. You passed away only a few months ago. As she tried to lift an old box it suddenly burst open. After a loud thud she noticed several books wrapped into black lace cloths. 

They were your diaries. Claire seemed really surprised because you never told her of ever writing a diary. The past always appeared to be vague, even mysterious. Every single time she tried to get answers you waved and smiled at her “Dear, it’s been so long since I don’t even remember.” Which was a lie of course. You did remember every single minute you spent with your husband. The way you built your family and your empire in the underground. But you two made an oath the second all the business became legal. The past needs to stay hidden.  

Your granddaughter was more than eager to finally be able to dig into every secret she yearned to learn about for so long. 

“The weather was freezing cold today in the market. I was afraid I would lose some of my fingers. Winters have been truly cruel in the past few years. Even if I rubbed my hands from time to time and wore my thick, fluffy gloves it didn’t help at all. I was busy warming my catty hands when a man walked up to my stand. His husky voice snapped me back to reality and suddenly I didn’t know how to react. Then I looked at him. Oh my God those eyes! Those marvelous eyes that glow in ocean blue! He asked for some veggies, nothing more. Graciously he thanked me for the service and also left me a generous tip which made me a bit suspicious. I didn’t understand how a rich man like him handles his own shopping.

London,22.11.1920.”

“In the last two weeks Saturo came to my stand every single day. He bought something I bet he didn’t even need. We chatter more and more. I find him adorable and I might even like him. Two days ago he invited me out for coffee and I accepted it without hesitation. He talked about the time he had spent in the army in WWI. During the war he served in France and lost many of his comrades. To this day he is plagued by nightmares, so he can’t sleep too much. He preferred to be buried in work. However, he didn’t reveal much about it. It’s as mysterious as if you want to keep quiet about something. He said there was a bar downtown that he owned. On the weekend he will take me there to have some fun.”

Claire read the lines at such a pace that it was hardly possible to follow what was happening. You began dating Satoru, her grandpa. And even if you were spending more and more time together you still didn’t know what your lovely man was doing. Years later, the source of the money was still shrouded in mystery, even if you were married. Those days were different. Today it is almost impossible to imagine a marriage like this. Not knowing what your husband does for a living? But back then…it was just different. You followed the rules of the society and kept your thoughts to yourself. After reading the umpteenth worn diary, the ice finally broke. 

“One evening some of Satoru’s friends, or rather business associates, came over to our home. When he has guests I’m never allowed near his office room. He says he doesn’t want me to be burdened with the unpleasant troubles of business. But that day I couldn’t help my unceasing curiosity. I sneaked around and started eavesdropping. At first I thought I misheard something. They talked about gambling, weapons and late shipments. I stood there as if my body had been frozen to stone. Even if I wanted to leave I couldn’t move. Then I heard the creaking of chair legs, I knew they were about to leave the room. So I took a deep breath and walked hurriedly to our bedroom. That night I laid sleepless next to him. The next morning I gathered my courage and asked him what I had heard. I just learned that my husband was an influential man in the underground. A gangster. Satoru committed so many crimes that he could face hundreds of years in prison. Or they would just hang him. I felt sick as he kept revealing different stories about the business. After letting him finish he seemed relieved, because he finally felt free. He claimed he wanted to tell me the truth a long time ago but he was afraid I would leave him. I’d be lying if I said it hadn’t crossed my mind. In the end however, I stayed. Why? Because I love him! And nothing can separate us! Nothing!

17.10.1926”

Claire put down the diary for a second, blinking fast and trying to process what she just read. “Grandpa was a gangster? Holy shit! That’s dope.” she thought before grabbing the next book. 

“Sakura was born a few weeks ago. She’s so sweet and tiny, such a lovely little princess. Satoru is already in love with his daughter. I can see the sparks in his eyes every time he lifts her up. When he hugs her or plays with her. At that time he’s not a criminal, a villain, no. Then he’s just a father who adores his child. And it’s not a lie that he’s the best husband in the world. Attentive, kind, caring and passionate. He never lets me feel like there’s something more important than Sakura or me.”

“It’s been years since he passed away and I didn’t even want to write a diary anymore. But we lived a decent life together and I want our love to get an ending. So for the last time I will write down my thoughts.

That night Satoru promised to take me to our favorite restaurant for dinner. Just the two of us. We needed some quality time together. The meal was delicious and we had so much fun. Even after all these years I was still in love with my husband. I loved all his silly jokes he told me and I laughed at them just as if I'd heard them for the first time. He seemed so proud when he made me laugh and I found him adorable. 

On the way home we walked hand in hand. We chatted about sweet nothings when he took a deep breath and said he changed his mind about his job. He assured me that everything would soon be legal. He just needed some time to sort it out. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt so happy. Everything seemed perfect!

Then, out of the blue, we heard the sound of a deafening siren. Everyone started to panic on the street. We didn’t know then what we know today. For us, that was the moment World War II began…

Things really got out of hand and in a few days Satoru was saying goodbye. “Everything will be fine. I’ll be back soon.” he said. I can still hear his voice as I think about this. He tried to appear strong and calm. But he was terrified, because he knew what awaited him, since he had already survived a war. He gave me a kiss, hugged Sakura and walked out the door. 

Years have passed without hearing anything from him. But I didn’t lose hope, he promised me he was coming back to me. We heard rumors that the war finally came to an end, but Satoru still didn’t appear. I was worried and desperate. I wanted my husband more than anything. One day, I remember that day clearly, someone knocked on the door in the middle of the night. And there he was, my sweet and beautiful man. He dropped all of his stuff and hugged me so tight I thought he was going to break my bones. We both cried without saying a single word. After he came in and we walked to the living room I noticed his face was covered with scars. Later I found out his whole body was covered with them. Satoru told me what happened to him, but I don’t want to write it down. I don’t want to remember the feeling his story caused me. I felt like my heart was ripped out of my chest. My husband went through hell. 

With the end of the war things were getting settled down and we started to rebuild the empire. I was a partner in everything and I never asked any questions. I think it was around the birth of the twins when we finally were able to turn every business legal. From that point both of our lives changed. Happy, calm life…that’s what we had. For me Satoru was and will ever be the only one. And even if I miss him terribly I know he’s waiting for me and one day we’ll meet again. Because even death cannot tear us apart.”

Claire got to the end of the diary. There were no more notes, no more stories. She closed the book with teary eyes and placed it among the others. “I will keep your secret, grandma.” she whispered. 

[canyouhearthelight]

Nihilus Rex, Ch. 32: Sisters and Secrets

This post is dedicated to something that I am more than obsessed with in anything I write: realistic sibling relationships. Yes, siblings can be the bane of your existence during childhood and may still be so when you're an adult.

But it's equally likely that your sibling will be your partner in crime. So if you see shades of Sophia and Tyche in this, know that's because of my own relationship with my youngest sibling.

As always, co-written with the incredible @baelpenrose. Extra shoutout to @lavcircuts who may not realize it but reminded me today is Friday and that means I need to post!

I really hope you get it

And don’t live to regret it…

I hope you’re happy in the end.

I hope you’re happy, my friend” - Wicked, Glinda and Elphaba, “Defying Gravity”

Lash

Once Baba and Mama were asleep for a while, I took advantage and asked Mori to walk to the store with me.  While we were both aware that she had filled the freezer as much as possible with meals, there was an oppressive sort of silence that filled the apartment now that Lucas and the boys were back in Puyallup.  She gladly took up my offer, left notes with our parents, and practically shoved me out into the setting sunlight.

“This way,” I reminded her once we hit the bottom of the stairs. Years of habit told our feet to turn towards Uncle’s shop, but… “There is a market this way with Turkish coffee.”

Forcing herself to be cheerful, she clucked her tongue. “Not as good, but better than American.” 

Her imitation of Baba’s frequent words made a hard stone in my chest.  I reminded myself that Baba was still with us and blinked the tingling from my eyes. “I bet you can’t wait to get home,” I teased, gently bumping her shoulder with mine.

She shoved back with her hips. “I had to beg Lucas to take away the computer when I was looking at properties nearby,” she confessed.  When I gaped at her, she tugged my hair with a grin. “Who is going to cook until Mama is well?”

“Clearly you are,” I announced, thinking on all the food she had made ahead.  “And I know Fatima is waiting until you are home to come visit.  She told me so when I went to check on the girls last wee - Wait.” I stopped in my tracks and pulled Mori’s hand. “You are sending Fatima to check on us??”

Mori smoothed my hair and patted my hand, the way Mama did sometimes. “Fatima needs someone to fuss over, and Mama and Baba need fussing.  Mama won’t hurt for having little girls in the house after my boys, either.”

I groaned in mock-agony. “Again, you outmaneuver me!”  Coming to my senses, I squeezed her hand seriously, stroking her arm. “Thank you. I don’t think I could take care of them both without help, and you always know what to do.”

She tugged me to keep walking, well aware that we didn’t need to go to the store and were just getting out of the house for a talk. “So. Tell me about Nils.  Not what you told me at the hospital, I want the truth.”

There was a small bubble of hesitation, but it was immediately pushed down by a thousand memories of Mori and I chattering away into the night about things Mama and Baba would never understand. “I met him after a funeral,” I told her. “His best friend.  He picked a fight with some people he shouldn’t have, and thought I was going to jump from my bridge.”

Mori clucked again. “You and that bridge. Mama always hated it, but Baba talked her down.”

I grinned, letting a stray breeze hit my face. “Brayden had just screwed me over again, and this time he’d taken the money with him - “

“I never liked Brayden.” She’s never even met Brayden.

I pushed on. “Nils has a way with computers, and he got my money back - “

“And Brayden’s…”

“Am I telling this story, or are you?” I scolded. “Anyway, we decided to work together on some… less than legal things that would help people who had been screwed over.” I bit my lip, hesitant to be more specific.  “Beyond that, he lives on his own in a not-yet-gentrified apartment block, helps the homeless by letting them stay in a building I think he owns, and goes to college. Great relationship with his mom, but - you met his dad.”

“You never did let unfair laws stop you from doing the right thing,” Mori sighed. “And yeah, I would be telling you to run for the hills if he had a good relationship with Doctor Iceblock Godcomplex. I am going to assume the ‘less than legal things’ have to do with Baba’s car suddenly being paid off, and beg you not to confirm that. I already had one interview with the FBI, and I…”  She stopped in her tracks and trailed off, staring in the distance.  I let her sit in silence for a couple minutes until she slowly turned her head toward me and grabbed both my forearms. “Lash,” she hissed. “That wasn’t about the fire at all, was it?”

“I don’t think so,” I answered, slowly but truthfully. “Nils and I had nothing to do with the fire other than being there when it happened,” I swore. “I would never put anyone who was there at risk. Me, yes. Nils, if he was willing - which he probably would be. But our parents? Uncle? Imran?” I scowled and shook my head.  “We really were there to get coffee after a date.”

My sister pressed her fingertips between her eyebrows until the nail beds turned white. “Baba’s car, that was you and Nils?”

“Yes.”

“The men who were shot at the bank?”

“Were volunteers, and we did not ask, tell, or imply that they should pull guns on the police.”

Her fingertips migrated to massage her forehead. “Are Mama and Baba in danger?”

“Not if I can help it, no. I didn’t even want them at the cafe, although it had nothing to do with the rest.”

“Nosy, nosy aunties,” she exhaled, opening her eyes. “I swear, they should be studied as a force of the universe. Quantum mechanics probably hinges on nosy aunties.” Mori dragged me by my arm again, walking briskly for several minutes until we found a bench. Rather than sitting, she had us cross the street. “So the attack, that was real and you didn’t cause it.”

I swore viciously until she pulled me to a stop and levelled a glare that told me to wrap it up. “No, that was something separate that has been escalating despite several police reports,” I promised.

“So, I haven’t lied to a fed, that is nice,” she answered breezily. “Is Nils your boyfriend, or is that a cover?”  My face flushed with heat, and she started laughing. “Ooooo, more than a boyfriend, I see!  So you haven’t been crashing on someone’s couch all those nights you didn’t come home!”

“I will have you know, I did sleep on a couch,” I argued, indignant. “His bed is rock hard, Mori! It’s the worst!”

Her peals of laughter let me know that all was accepted and forgiven. “And the couch is better?”

“Like a marshmallow,” I shook my head. “It’s amazing.”

We walked for another block, elbowing each other in silence and erupting into giggles.  It was when we had stopped in front of a chocolate shop that Mori leaned over to ask the hard question. “How much trouble?”

‘Are you in’ went unsaid. I shrugged and carefully chose my words - for the people walking past, not for my sister. “The FBI haven’t asked directly about anything but the fire, and I didn’t lie to the agent,” I answered truthfully. “But we’re pretty sure that she’s here for more than just a fire.  I had nothing to do with the deaths of those guys connected to the fire.” Slight fib, but technically true from a legal standpoint. “Nils and I are… trying to make things better for people who have been getting the shit end of it all.  I don’t know how far that is going to go, yet, but I needed to make sure that if something happens, someone can tell Mama and Baba.”

My ear stung like fire when she flicked it with one long nail. “You are asking me to tell our parents if you are dead,” she hissed. “That isn’t fair.”

“I’m asking you to tell them if I’m arrested,” I clarified, managing to get my hand up in time that the next thump hit a knuckle. “I know it isn’t fair, but it’s even less fair to let them think I am a missing person if someone is able to let them know I am arrested or dead.”

“And why can your Nils not tell them?”

I raised an eyebrow and glared at her in my best ‘don’t be stupid’ glare.

She relented and held up her hands. “Okay, yeah, even I can tell he would be right there in it with you.  That’s at least somewhat fair.”  She placed one hand on my upper arm and rubbed it briskly. “Just… try to make it as long as possible before I have to make good on that promise?”

“Without a doubt,” I answered, shaking my head.  “Although…” She glared at me and I gave up the joke. “I met Nils’ parents the other night, and his mom wants to do a ladies’ day before you head home. You, Mama, me, and Ms. Katherine Andover.”

“Yay….” Mori cheered with zero enthusiasm. “Rich white lady day…”

I laughed and shook my head. “Oh, oh no. We pick the restaurant, and she’ll pay. I only ask that it isn’t the Ethiopian place, because apparently she eats there often.”

“Are you serious? She’ll pay?”

I nodded. “I can confirm, she is very adventurous with new foods, and the only thing that kept her from eating with her hands was that she didn’t know it was not just permitted but encouraged.”

“Crap,” Mori swore. “Now I don’t know if I want to try an expensive place, or if I want to watch the rich lady eat cheap ethnic food…”

I squeezed Mori’s arm with laughter. “Oh my god, I know, right?”

[wraithsoutlaws]

[ SUBJECT INTERVIEW: ASHLEY "ZEPHYR" ZAIDE ]

NAME? This isn’t an interrogation, right? Y’know legally you have to tell me if you’re with the NCPD… NICKNAME? Well, Zephyr usually. I always liked it more. My aunt was the first one to call me that and it felt like sliding into a pair of old shoes that already fit real well and you don’t gotta break in again, you know what I mean?  GENDER? He/him baby. See this cool pin I got?  STAR SIGN? I guess I’m a cancer, but Misty knows more about that than I do. She knows everything about that stuff. She made a whole fucking chart about it once, tracked every second of my life based on stars alone. And it was fucking right, too. Spooky as hell if you ask me but I do like listening to her talk about it. She gets this crinkly little smile.  HEIGHT? I’m 5’7’’ which isn’t far off from the average height for men, by the way. If you care.  ORIENTATION? Truth be told, I’m not real picky.  FAVORITE FRUIT? I gotta go with cherry. I don’t really eat ‘em a lot, but fuck me, it’s one of the best flavors out there, isn’t it? I got this cherry flavored–you know what? Nevermind…hey, if you like fruit I know where to get the best ‘ganic plums you’ve ever tasted. All above board, of course. Legal like. Just let me know.  FAVORITE SEASON? I like the Summer…reminds me of being a kid. Before things went to shit… FAVORITE FLOWER? I dunno, I like those little weeds that come up through the cracks in the sidewalk. Little fucking guys. I try not to step on ‘em. FAVORITE SCENT? I got this incense from Misty’s Esoterica and I couldn’t tell you a single fucking thing about it, it’s not really my jam but…every time I light it it’s like she’s standing right next to me. Makes my place feel better. COFFEE OR TEA? Misty keeps pushing this special tea blend on me. Says its holy or, er…holistic. It tastes like fucking socks if you ask me, though I’m not really big on coffee either. Give me a few lines of synth-coke y’know, don’t be a pussy. I mean, not that I do that sort of thing. AVERAGE HOURS OF SLEEP? Kinda depends, I guess. Some nights I sleep like a baby. Others feel like they’ll never end…more of those than not these days, I guess. DOG OR CAT PERSON? I don’t really trust dogs. Been chased a couple times and bit in the ass more than I can count. Come to think of it, I don’t really trust cats either. They can see shit, you know. Right through you. I mean whatever happened to hamsters? But whatever man. If you’re in the market for some exotics, I got you covered. DREAM TRIP? Oh, I’m just counting the days and the eddies ‘til I can hightail it outta this city and settle down on a beach in Belize or the Bahamas away from all this shit. Sip a fuckin’ mai tai on a clean beach and watch the waves every morning.  FAVORITE FICTIONAL CHARACTER? Who’s that fucking dog…he does this little dance. I dunno, always makes me laugh though.  NUMBER OF BLANKETS YOU SLEEP WITH? You’re assuming I make it to the bed…I mean, of course I do. Couple nights in the elevator don’t mean anything…just because I know the feeling of my bathroom floor better than my own mattress–hey, maybe I should leave the blankets in there? Shit. I’m kidding, obviously. I’m a normal guy. What–what was the question again? RANDOM FACT? I got a junk shop in Japantown, got anything you need or I can find it fast, and that’s a guarantee. Just don’t ask anymore questions, alright?

was tagged by @therealnightcity and wanted to complete the trifecta of my boys!! once again, won't be tagging anyone but as always feel free to tag me, i would love to read more!

[demetriandelibinaryboyfriends]

@allvalley100

Prompt: Snake Oil

Pairing: Hawkmetri

Inspired by this shitpost I made forever ago XD You really can have SO much fun with the mlm abbreviation.

This is a 5-parter--500 words total!

***

“Uh…Demetri?”

Demetri pauses frantic texting. His coworker’s leaning on his cubicle wall, frowning.

“I’m on lunch, Gary.”

“I know.” Gary chuckles. “And you’ve spent it glued to your phone instead of devouring your shawarma.”

“Right, uh. Trying to get an old friend out of this MLM…situation.”

“Oh?” Gary’s frown returns.

“We haven’t talked in forever, but…I worry about him. Don’t want him mixed up in that sort of…depraved lifestyle.”

“I see.”

Gary now seems more concerned. Demetri laughs awkwardly, trying to ease the tension. “Pyramid schemes, am I right?”

“Oh, multi-level marketing!” Finally, Gary relaxes. “Thought you were being homophobic.”

*

“He’s always been impressionable. Got brainwashed by this karate cult when we were teenagers, cut me off because I said they were sketchy.”

“He what now?” Gary’s eyes widen.

“Don’t worry about it. Point is, he gets really into questionable stuff, and…he hasn’t listened to me in years.”

A pause.

“Some mean girl from junior high messaged my wife, selling Speed-Gro hair enhancer shampoo,” Gary muses. “Lady sounded pitiful. My wife vowed to free her…even if she did steal her boyfriend in 8th grade.”

Demetri brightens. “Did it work?”

“Probably not a catch-all, but…show me the conversation. We can try.”

*

5:20 p.m. Hawk: Don’t ever speak to me again, or I’ll END you. Go rot in your basement playing nerd bullshit, bitch.

7:47 p.m. Demetri: Fine. Goodbye, Eli. ✔✔ Seen 9:53 p.m., September 24, 2018 ✔✔

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

March 17, 2030

7:26 a.m. Hawk: Hey man!! Selling Kickass Karate™️ equipment—gloves, pads, nunchucks…anything!!! INCREDIBLE prices. New discounts, too!

9:41 a.m. Demetri: Hawk! It’s been too long! Why not discuss these awesome deals further over coffee? I’ll pay. You’re giving me your time AND a great opportunity!

9:50 a.m. Hawk: …like a date?

10:02 a.m. Demetri: No, no, strictly business :) Pick you up tomorrow?

*

Eli’s surprisingly pleasant on their da—er, business outing. 0 mentions of Cobra Kai.

Instead, he waxes poetic about working for Kickass Karate™️, and how they’re “totally hiring right now!” He barely notices them parking at Demetri’s apartment because Demetri “forgot his gift card.”

~~~

“The fuck? I’m not getting free coffee?!”

Traces of “Hawk” emerge when Eli finds himself locked in. Demetri accounted for this.

He thrusts a macchiato at Eli as the lights dim. “Ordered them earlier. Hope that’s still your favorite.”

A PowerPoint opener illuminates the TV.

“Demetri’s incredibly badass guide: Besting the dumb pussies scamming you.”

*

“You’ve looked better.” On Wednesday morning, Gary does a double take. “What were you doing with that PTO?!”

Demetri grins meekly, dabbing antiseptic across assorted cuts and bruises. “Eli finally listened about the pyramid scheme thing. He wanted to deal with it immediately.”

“You two…” Gary’s eyes widen. “You fought the guys scamming him? Is that even legal?!”

“Probably not.” Demetri shrugs. “But neither’s most MLM stuff, so…”

“Not true.” Gary smirks. “Not since Obergefell v. Hodges.”

“…fair point.”

“Is that why you have this Eli character openly saved in your phone as ‘Babygirl?’”

Demetri’s cheeks burn. “That’s not important!”

[octuscle]

For years, this had been a quiet street. With his grocery store, Alfred had supplied the neighborhood with delicacies. And at lunchtime, his guests could sit in the sun on the street. But the peace and quiet was over now. A shisha bar had opened across the street. And that was the end of the peacefulness. The guests drove up in their high-powered luxury cars, accelerated again briefly to 60 km/h, braked with squealing tires, let the engines roar. From 11:00. Until 03:00. And each time Alfred wondered how a young lad in his mid-20s could afford a car for 200,000 euros.

His guests remained loyal to Alfred to a large extent. However, the lunchtime business was slackening more and more. The cheese store down the street had already disappeared. One of the lads had opened a store there selling protein products. And the hairdresser's store had become a Turkish barber's store. When Alfred sat at the window of his apartment above the store in the evening and watched the shisha bar full of hatred, he could see more than clearly that business was being conducted at the tables that was undoubtedly not legal. Alfred had already sent the police once, and they had come. Nothing had happened. But since then, the only policemen patrolling the street were obviously of Arab origin. And they were good customers for protein powder. More and more men with enormous muscles could be seen in the street.

At some point, Alfred had begun to adjust to the circumstances. He sold only beef and no more meat. The young men loved expensive, high-quality beef. Nevertheless, one evening Alfred's mind was blown. It was a hot summer evening. Alfred tried to sleep with the window open. But in the bar, the terrace was crowded. All the windows were open. The music was playing at maximum volume. Alfred put on something and entered the bar, full of rage. Two absurdly muscular policemen were standing at the bar, drinking coffee and talking to the no less muscular bartender, who, however, was wearing only a very skimpy tank top instead of a uniform. Alfred yelled at the policemen whether they were not planning to do anything about this disturbance of the peace. While one of the policemen explained to him that one should have understanding for the young people on such a summer evening, the other one waved the manager over. The manager smiled, invited Alfred to a separee and offered him a cup of tea and a shisha. In life, Alfred would not have smoked a shisha. But a tea was a good idea. And after a sip of tea, he somehow also felt like having a shisha. And then his eyes went black.

Fuck, he had overdone it again with the weights. Ahmad must have fainted for a moment. He took a sip of water and looked at his watch. Almost 04:00. Time to finish the workout. He had to go to the wholesale market, he definitely wanted to be back home before the sunrise prayer. He dried his sweat, put on his work overalls and headed for his van. And as he did so, he ran through his shopping list again in his head. He definitely needed pita bread, sucuk and ayran. Fruits and vegetables and so on. Apple tea, too, probably. And somewhere there was also the order from his boss for the shisha bar opposite his Turkish supermarket.

[typically-untypical]

Another Day in Paradise

AU: Coffee Shop AU

CW: None that I can think of

WC: 1,886

Date: 12/18/2023

"Janus, can you get the muffins out of the oven?" Patton called, hands currently occupied with the latte he was making for a customer. He was surprised how busy it was for an afternoon on a Tuesday. He didn't mind though, busy meant the days always went by faster.

"Of course darling," Janus called back, slipping toward the backroom to take care of muffins. Normally Janus would be the one taking care of making the drinks but he had been refilling some of the things they had started to run low on. It was hard, but with all of them, Patton knew they could take care of it.

Logan wrote on another cup and passed it toward him. "We haven't been this busy in a while, I guess Virgil's marketing campaign really worked out didn't it."

The smile on Patton's face was dazzling as he nodded his head, grabbing the cup from Logan and putting it on the queue to be made. Virgil had taken over their social media a few months back because he had had an idea and quickly the four of them realized that he was amazing at that kind of thing, of drawing people in.

"Gilbert, I have your Large Latte ready. Thanks a Latte for choosing us today!" Patton watched as Logan rolled his eyes with a fond smile and returned to working on the customer orders, ringing them up and gathering what was needed. When Patton had suggested to his boyfriends he wanted to open a coffee shop he hadn't expected them to go all in with him. Patton had only told them because he wanted to warn all of them that things in their dynamics would change a bit. However, each of them had jumped at the chance to help him. Now, after a few years, the coffee shop was rather successful and it was more perfect than anything he could ever imagine. Janus handled legal stuff, Logan handled finance, Virgil handled marketing, and Patton handled recipes. They all worked together in the shop, supporting each other, caring for each other and Patton wondered almost every day if he was dreaming. Other days, he worried about the dream ending.

Each of them had left something behind to be by his side. Janus had a law degree, Logan was trained in finance, and Virgil had been studying musical composition. Sometimes, Patton felt like he was stealing that all away from them. 

"Cookie, go take a break," Janus whispered in his ear causing Patton to almost jump. He must have really been in his own thoughts if he hadn't even noticed Jay behind him. Then again, Janus had always been sneaky.

"I'm okay." Patton shook his head, trying to banish the last of his thoughts before looking up at Janus who was staring at him with a very accusatory smirk, one Patton knew far too well. "Okay, okay," he whispered. "But tell me if you need me."

"I always will," Janus gave Patton a quick peck on the check before ushering him away, basically shooing Patton off. With a little sigh and a pout, Patton walked to the back, going over to the office and knocking on the door frame. Virgil jumped, closing a tab on the computer before turning to him.

"Hey P, what's up?" That was another thing that was making Patton feel off and probably what had brought up all of these insecurities. Virgil was acting strange. He had been discussing something with Janus and every time Patton walked into the room the two would shift the topic, Janus normally more gracefully than Virgil. He would distract Patton and pull him into topics he knew would make him smile and forget about the awkwardness, and it did, for a time. However, Janus wasn't the only one Virgil was conspiring with, he had also been talking to Logan about finances, Patton hadn't overheard nearly enough because he didn't want to ease drop but it really made his stomach twist. Still, when Virgil gave him that soft smile, held out his hand to pull Patton in closer, it was hard for his fears to survive. 

"Janus chased me out of the front because I was spacing out." He walked over to Virgil, taking his hand and slowly sitting on his boyfriend's lap.

"That's not like you, everything okay?"

He could bring it up now, he could cry into Virgil's shoulder about how he worried about asking Virgil what was wrong, but Patton didn't want to push, but he also couldn't keep doing this. "You would tell me if something was wrong, right kiddo?" He asked, using their little nickname for Virgil. He was after all the youngest even if it wasn't by much.

Virgil wrapped his arms around the small of Patton's back, pulling him closer. "Yeah, of course, I trust you. I mean it might take me a bit because I'm anxious and all that shit, but I trust you."

Patton nodded slowly, trying to even out his breath.

"Hey, cookie, what's gotten into you?" He pulled back, just enough to see the tears forming in Patton's eyes.

"Something's wrong, I can feel it. Behaviors are off and I... if you need to tell me you want to leave the bakery it's okay. I understand. It was a lot to ask." Patton was trying to smile but he had been so stressed out about this for so long. He didn't know if he could keep up the worried knot that had formed in his stomach.

"Whoa, whoa whoa whoa, what do you mean leave the bakery?" Virgil asked, his arms tightening around Patton. "I have no intention of leaving. I love that we all get to work together, that we go home together, that every day I get to see your smile."

"It's just, you've been talking to Logan and Janus lately and I know they handle emotional things better then I do, and also the logistics."

Virgil tilted his head for a minute, the confusion obvious on his face until his eyes lit up with understanding. "Oh Patton, no, I didn't realize I was being so obvious. No. I don't want to leave the bakery. I do have a surprise for you, and I should have warned you. I guess I was just a bit nervous about it and didn't want you finding out too early."

Patton collapsed into Virgil, relief escaping him in a hiccupping sob. He took in a stuttered breath. "Okay, okay. I'll wait. It's not bad, right?"

"No, I promise it's not bad. In fact it's pretty good, at least I hope it will be," Virgil sighed, his own anxiety beginning to show a bit. "Fuck, Logan is so much better at keeping surprises than I am. Can you hold out until tonight?" His hands threaded into Patton's hair. "I was going to tell you after we shut down the cafe anyway. I can tell you all about it and there won't be anymore surprises for a while.

"Yeah, yeah I can wait." Getting confirmation that it wasn't bad helped him calm his heart a bit, and knowing that Virgil wasn't trying to leave the cafe helped settle the feeling of unrest in his chest. It didn't ease everything, but it eased enough that he could take in a slow stuttered breath. "Can I also stay here for a bit longer? At least until I need to start the next batch of muffin mix?"

"Duh, it's not like I was going to let you leave anyway." Virgil held him closer. "You're mine."

Patton giggled and took in a sharp breath before letting it out slowly. It was heavier than he expected but once again, he felt lighter. "Yes I am." He curled into Virgil's arms and closed his eyes. For a while, he would be just Virgil's, just holding him here away from the stress of reality.

That night, after the doors were closed, the chairs were put away, and Patton was almost done mopping the floor, Logan walked up to him, wrapping his arms around Patton's waist. "You built a brilliant place for the four of us to exist." Logan held him close. His hugs were sturdy, measured and oh so warm. Patton couldn't help but look up into Logan's eyes marveling in the shy soft smile only he and the other two ever got to see. He wasn't sure what the occasion was for this hug, but he was so happy to be in one of his lover's arms. Logan swayed him back and forth as if there were music playing, reaching for Patton's hands and releasing the mop, allowing it to rest against the container of water. He then took Patton's hands, kissing one then the other before he spun Patton around. Logan looked at Patton with an adoration that had no words, a warmth that was all consuming. 

Logan didn't dance much, but when he did it felt fantastical, like the rest of the world was fading away. They stepped and they twisted, staying on the dry ground. Logan led him into a spin and when Patton was in Logan's arms again, they kissed. He wasn't expecting Logan to be this romantic, but it was so very needed after a stressful day. Both the stress of worry and the stress of customers. When they pulled apart, Logan looked at him for a lingering moment, twirling one of Patton's curls on his finger before spinning Patton around and pushing him forward. 

Right into Janus' waiting arms. "You think so much about others, about how you can help, how you can care, it's a trait I find both exhilarating and exhausting," Janus teased, kissing Patton on each of his cheeks. "Although I can often predict your choices, it is sometimes hard to understand why you are willing to show so much kindness. That's a puzzle I'm willing to spend the rest of my life trying to figure out." He nuzzled his nose against Patton's. "Stay with me?"

Patton giggled, nuzzling him back, holding tight to Janus' hands. "Always." That was a promise he was willing to make. He was willing to stay by Janus' side, by all of their sides for the rest of forever. As long as he had breath, he would love them.

Janus smiled, kissing Patton with a hungry burning passion, then twisted him around before he could get the air back into his lungs. Thankfully, what Patton saw made him gasp, hands going up to his mouth as his eyes welled with tears.

"I was talking to Janus about the legality of a multi person marriage, I was talking to Logan about the finances for a ring," Virgil whispered, on one knee with a box. "Patton, I would never want to leave this bakery. Actually, I kinda want to stay here for ever with all of you by my side." He opened the box, revealing a simple wedding band Patton would still be able to wear while making food, but also a thin gold chain just in case. 

"Patton, will you marry me?"

His voice came out strained from the joyful tears falling down his face. "Yes." He didn't need to think about it, didn't need to question or guess if this would be right. 

"Yes, I will."

@tsspromptmonth @simplestoryteller @fantasticfangirl21 @joylessnightsky @glacierruler