#loses his best friend and his mom all in one fell swoop

[andiwriteordie]

hi idiot

hey loser/devil on my shoulder/worst person ever/partner in atla crime. ❤️

i decided i wanted to ruin your day so i'm presenting a concept to you: this fandom talks a lot about a mike death scare, but can you imagine a joyce death scare?

[blushweddinggowns]

"Hey there. I'm Eddie."

If Chrissy had known back then that those four words would change her life forever, she probably would have taken the coward’s route out like her friends did. She would have turned up her nose, ignored him, and would have stayed in the safe lane of her normal life. And that would have been the end of it. 

But no, instead she had to smile at him, her eyes finally leaving the adorable girl screaming over her boyfriend losing at the claw game so she could introduce herself, "Chrissy."

It’s not like it was shocking to see him, not with Steve Harrington in the building. It was a little weirder to see him crashing a date with his obvious new girlfriend, but then again it was Eddie Munson. Weirdness kind of just came with the territory. 

Eddie grinned back at her, firmly shaking her hand before jerking his head in the direction of the claw machine, "Let's walk and talk."

Chrissy could feel her friend's eyes boring into her back. This was the moment where she was supposed to politely rebuff, maybe make it clear that she had a boyfriend. A boyfriend who was off at some summer basketball camp, but a boyfriend nonetheless. But for some reason, she didn't. 

She didn’t even look back at them, she was just too damn curious to see what he wanted. Because people like Eddie Munson didn’t talk to people like Chrissy Cunningham. Even if she always wished they would. There was just something about the guy that she always liked, a thought that she never dared to say out loud. Not unless she wanted to piss Jason, her mom, and all of her friends off in one fell swoop. 

But she couldn’t help but find him kind of charming, with his lunch table rants and no craps-given attitude. Not to mention how high school labels obviously meant nothing to him, not when he had Steve Harrington for a best friend. She admired it. Probably admired it too much. Maybe even a creepy amount, considering how often she would sneak glances at the two of them during shared classes and lunch. It was just… nice. To see two people having fun together without a care in the world. 

So she followed him, heart beating a little faster when she realized they were walking towards the silly pretty girl. 

"So, I couldn't help but notice you were looking at my friend over there," Eddie said as they went, jerking his head in their direction, “And I just figured I could help you out with that.”

"You mean Steve?" Chrissy asked, brow furrowed. It made sense that's who Eddie thought she was looking at. Everyone looked at Steve, despite the fact that he had already graduated, he was still pretty high on the list of cute guys that her friends never stopped talking about. 

But Chrissy went with it anyway, happy to take the convenient route that had been set up for her, "Um yeah. He's pretty good at the game isn't he?"

She had absolutely no idea if he was good or not. She had been too busy watching his girlfriend being adorable to really notice. 

But Eddie shook his head at her answer, frowning like she had said something disappointing, "I was actually talking about Robin."

Robin. 

So that's what her name was. Chrissy couldn’t help but think it suited her, especially when she was happy. She had seen her around school before, but never like this. All loud and smiley. She was used to seeing her with her eyes down and lips pursed in the school hallways. Always looking like she’d rather be anywhere but here.

Chrissy had always wanted to introduce herself, maybe become the reason that she smiled for once. But she never had the courage to actually go through with it. Besides, it wasn’t… smart for her to get close to girls like that anyway. 

Her thoughts must have shown on her face because the next thing she knew Eddie was softening. He was looking at her in a weird way, one that made her feel a little too exposed before kindly asking, "Want me to introduce you two?"

That was a bad idea. A very bad idea if the way her heart was racing was anything to go by.  

Chrissy could tell just from looking at her that this was not the kind of girl she could be friends with. Not with the way her treacherous mind worked. She only hung around girls that she didn’t particularly like for a reason. It made things simpler and made the fantasies a lot easier to swallow without the emotional connection. 

A polite No, thank you, was just on the edge of escaping when it happened. Steve had finally, actually managed to win something. And it had Robin cheering like a little kid, jumping up and down like getting a cheap stuffed elephant was the highlight of her year. 

And she looked so freaking happy and pretty and Chrissy was betraying herself before she could think better of it, "Sure."

It had been a mistake on her part. A huge freaking mistake that she was partially blaming Eddie for, but a mistake nonetheless. Because meeting Robin Buckely became an immediate problem. A massive issue that took up most of her headspace in an embarrassing amount of time.

Chrissy had basically been obsessed with her since the first, shy little Hi, she let out when Eddie introduced the two of them. And it just kept getting worse. 

Because Robin was… wonderful. Completely unlike anyone she’d ever met, girls and guys alike. She was smart, like spoke four freaking languages smart, but not intimidatingly so. No, she was too busy being sweet and funny to make Chrissy feel bad for her own lack of brains. And Robin was criminally funny. She was at her best when she was with Steve, the two of them bouncing hilarious jabs back and forth, almost always in complete sync.

It had been the shock of her life when Eddie told her they had only met that same summer. Which meant they had probably been dating for even less time. But the two of them clicked in a way that she couldn’t help but envy. And that envy was turning into some pretty venomous jealousy intensely fast. Because Steve was around all the time. It turned out that getting to know Robin didn't just mean getting to know Robin. It meant getting to know Steve. And by extension, Eddie. And oddly enough, Nancy Wheeler. Plus a strange array of nerdy soon-to-be freshmen. 

And she liked that, how close they all were. She did, despite how sick seeing Robin and Steve together made her. Because all of her friends were just as equally amazing as she was. Especially Eddie, who was a close second in terms of her favorites from the insanely welcoming group. 

Eddie, who for some crazy reason thought that Chrissy was good enough to be their friend. She wasn’t. She figured that out quick enough after realizing that she was suddenly surrounded by insanely talented people. Robin was basically perfection in a human being. Eddie had his music, Nancy had her insane brain, one that seemed to have been passed off to her brother and all of his little friends. Even Steve was unique enough in his own right, with his crazy charm and magnetic personality. But Chrissy was just… Chrissy. She was boring and she knew it. All she was good for were her looks, and even those were fading fast according to her mom. 

But the thing was, they never made her feel like she was boring. No, Robin was always interested in hearing her talk about her lame interests. Like her gardening and flower-arranging hobbies were so interesting. And Eddie actually liked the annoying way she would talk over movies. Liked it enough for them to end up having full-blown conversations that would get popcorn thrown at them, but still.

They were all so… kind. Not nice, no. Steve was way too much of a bitch for that group to ever be considered nice, but… they were loving. And they cared about each other in a real way. A real way that Chrissy wasn’t used to, but she knew she didn’t belong in it. No matter how much she loved it. 

This whole soiree of spending time with people she actually liked had a time limit. She would have to get back to her old life eventually, probably with some groveling added to make up for completely ignoring her friend group to hang around the resident freaks. Jason would be back for the first day of school soon enough, and she knew without a doubt that he would be pissed if he ever heard about what she had been up to during the month he was gone. 

And she couldn’t even blame him. Who wouldn’t? No boy would like having some other dude all over their girlfriend, even if it wasn’t like that. And Eddie had undoubtedly been the sole reason she ever even had access to these people. Just because she had been blessed with catching his eye. She had thought that something would have happened with him by now, whether that be flirting or a failed kiss attempt. Because why else would Eddie hang around someone like her if not to try and get into her pants? 

But it wasn’t like that. It just… wasn’t it? He never made a move on her. He never even did anything that was close to trying, and neither did the spoken for Steve. They just treated her like… her. Not something to be won, just their friend. If anything, Eddie was like a brother to her, in a startlingly small amount of time. 

And she was really, really going to miss that. But she couldn’t keep this up forever. She was already struggling to keep her mom from knowing about them, with varying levels of success. The one time she had actually met Eddie was enough to make Chrissy want to die of mortification. She had treated him so… terribly. It made her feel ill remembering it. And that was with her mom being disinterested in her life. Summer had always been a welcome break from her mom’s iron thumb. She just had a harder time caring about Chrissy when there were no events for her to be at, no titles to be won, and no outside people to impress.

But now with school going back into session, she was going to be extra vigilant to be sure that her daughter was at her best and prettiest. And that included monitoring who she was friends with. Her mom was back on the ball, spending the last few days before the start of the school year constantly reminding Chrissy of the rules:

Never weigh more than 110 pounds. Weigh yourself daily to keep up with body changes.

Write down everything you eat. No expectations. Calories should stay within 1200, no ifs, ands, or buts.

Never leave the house without make-up, or better yet, never leave without your make-up being checked. 

If you end up overeating, fix it quietly. No one wants to hear the head cheerleader making unseemingly noises. 

Chrissy had spent the last two years following them to a T. She really didn’t need the reminders. But she got them nonetheless. And at least there was one positive of her new friendships effectively ending, she wouldn’t have to deal with the foodstuff anymore. Because as much as she loved Eddie she couldn’t get past the fact that he liked to cook. And then share what he made with all of his friends. All the time. And he was good at it, too good, and Chrissy didn’t need a scale to know she gained weight since the short time of meeting him. 

And she couldn’t do what she needed to do with them all around. She didn’t want them to know. She couldn’t let them know. Especially not Robin. She didn’t… she didn’t want her to know how gross she really was. How she didn’t even have the self-control needed to keep her figure, she had to cheat instead. Especially since Robin was so stupidly attractive. All without even trying. She was… naturally beautiful. In some dumb fae-creature kind of way that Chrissy couldn’t stop thinking about. 

Maybe that would be another benefit of not talking to them anymore. Maybe then Chrissy could go a night without thinking about her. Without thinking… bad things about her. Shameful things that she didn’t have the self-control to not think about it, or worse, actually act on. But there she was, being dirty and thinking of her new friend while she had a hand between her legs, thoughts full of Robin’s long fingers and the pretty shape of her lips.

Yeah. Some distance would probably be a good thing. But that didn’t stop Chrissy from wanting to cry when the first day of school came. An urge that just got worse and worse as the day went on.

But she held it together. She did everything she was supposed to. Her mom checked her face and outfit before she left, with a passing grade. Though not without comment that her foundation shade was the slightest bit off. Then Jason picked her up, they kissed, she acted excited that he was back, then felt immediately guilty that she wasn’t. But she didn’t let any of it show on her face, she was better at that by now.

And part of her did miss him. Jason was a sweet guy. The sweetest of the ones her mom approved of. And he was cute and respectful, never trying to push Chrissy past her limits. And making out with him wasn’t… terrible. It was better than her last boyfriend at least. She didn’t hate it, so that was a plus. And yeah, maybe he was a little bland but so was Chrissy. 

She didn’t exactly have room to talk. Plus, he loved her, for some reason. And she really wanted to love him back. And if she just kept working on it, she knew that one day she would. Right?

She really hoped so.

from the newest chapter of this fic

[shrinkthisviolet]

For Talk Shop Tuesday - I love Amelia Parker so I'm going to ask first, how did this OC come about? And secondly, what made you decide who she'd be friends with and who she'd be adopted by during the Snap?

Oooh great question! Honestly, this OC came about after I watched NWH. Not necessarily in relation to it at first, but...I wondered, “what if there was a Parker sibling who wasn’t Snapped/Blipped?”A little sister who had to lose her brother and aunt in one fell swoop. I wanted some post-Blip meta, and this seemed like a good place to start:

Imagine a little Parker girl who was swept into CPS pretty much right away, who probably cycled through a couple families that didn't click for whatever reason until the Octaviuses—that part was NWH-based, because I thought about the poignancy of Amelia meeting another version of her adoptive father, one who lost his Rosie long ago, and feeling pity for him, and believing in his goodness. Because how could any version of Otto Octavius be evil, when he was so very kind to a standoffish, sullen teen who had given up on being adopted before meeting him and Rosie? (I love the Raimi Octavius family so, so much, so ofc Amelia gets to be adopted and loved by their variants!)

Gwen being her best friend was because of how prominent she is in the Spidey mythos—I figured it would be a neat way to introduce her! Amelia's best friend, who then becomes agemates with the FOS trio and the others in their grade who Blipped. Gwen is romantically connected to Peter in the Spidey mythos, and here, she's platonically connected to Amelia. Even when they're separated during the Snap (Gwen’s mom moves them away after her dad Blips), Amelia misses her best friend fiercely.

As for why Norman...admittedly, I did think about just making him Harry Osborn. But when Raimi Norman dropped that line about Oscorp and Harry not existing in the MCU...it sparked an idea. What if Harry “doesn't exist”...because he was Blipped? More to the point, what if he was MCU Norman's twin brother, and he was Blipped, while Norman wasn't? He then had to go on knowing that he was a twin bereft of his other half, and that his father had lost his favorite son.

Amelia meets Norman in school (because ofc, through all of this, she is still going to school), and they commiserate, become friends. And then, when Norman meets Raimi Norman in NWH...it's a moment of “oh my god, this is me in another universe? I'm a villain? I'm evil?”

But Amelia refuses to believe that's his destiny. Norman's her best friend, who she may or may not have feelings for (she does), she can't believe he would ever be evil. It's why she's tricked by Raimi Norman and almost killed as a result...but it's also why she refuses to assign that same fate to her Norman.

Another reason for creating Amelia is because of the wonderful tension she and Peter could have. She is, ofc, the last one looped in regarding Peter being Spidey…and she finds out via the Mysterio video! Needless to say, she’s pretty pissed. That lasts throughout most of NWH…they do get their act together, but…we know how NWH ends :(

Amelia and Gwen reconnect in FFH when Gwen is visiting colleges nearby (she wants to move back so she and Amelia can live in the same city again), so by NWH, the two of them and Norman are a trio. And Gwen is waiting for the day these idiots get over themselves and confess (and she agrees with Amelia—their Norman could never be evil).

And this is how I picture our dear trio:

talk shop tuesday!

[revvethasmythh]

7 and 21 for the day ask game!

7. if they had to choose one person most important to them, who would that be?

Warden: For better (and worse!), it's Alistair. Worryingly enmeshed individuals, if we're being honest. But then again, losing your entire life and being thrown into a world-ending scenario with exactly one other co-worker would rarely prompt a normal, healthy relationship, would it?

Hawke: Bethany. Only remaining family member, Bethany is truly a load-bearing pillar of Hawke's mental stability.

Inquisitor: Honestly? Her mom. I like to imagine sometimes when she's out on a mission, she and Harding just sit around camp writing letters to their moms together

21. what is their biggest regret?

Warden: Still, to this day, not being able to talk Tamlen out of investigating the ancient ruin with the eluvian. Regardless of the fact that she knows she couldn't have changed it, and if she had the Blight might not have ended, I think she'll never forgive herself for not being able to save her best friend.

Hawke: Helping Anders collect ingredients that he would later use as a bomb. Now let's pause real quick to discuss why, because it truly has very little to do with the political reality of what he was doing, and has 1000% more to do with what he did to Hawke personally. And by that I mean, my Hawke was very in her lane. Her only goals in life were to have a nice place to live and enough money to live well and hopefully be able to take care of whatever family she had left. When Anders did what he did, it quite literally blew up Hawke's entire life. She was clinging to her hinges for all of act 3 trying to have an actual life, and in one fell swoop it was completely gone. She worked for nearly a decade to make Kirkwall her home and now the city is in physical shambles, Anders directly put Bethany's life at risk thereby effectively forcing Hawke to personally intervene, and subsequently she became the Chantry's #1 Most Wanted all because Anders asked for a personal favor. I don't think she thinks about what Anders did in a political way, or even really thinks about if Bethany is going to have a better life in the future because of Anders' actions than she would have otherwise (she probably will, actually!). I think she sees it as "Kirkwall being my home was the last thing I had, and Anders ripped it all part. And I helped him do it." And in that, there is a lot of regret

Inquisitor: Wait, i have a funny story about this one. The answer is "Adamant Fortress." Just literally, the entirety of Adamant. But the story here is that I did actually know in advance that I was going to have to choose Alistair or Hawke, okay? Based on my world state, I knew that would happen. I thought about it for a long time and made my decision in advance. So before going, I talked to Alistair and unlocked that "Contact the Hero of Fereldan" war table mission, right? That war table mission takes 18 goddamn real world hours to complete. I did it late at night, shut off my game and was like it's fine I'll get the results from the mission and then go do the quest tomorrow.

Well, turns out 18 hours is actually a VERY long time and I am impatient as hell, so when I opened up the game the next day and it still wasn't complete I said fuck it and did Adamant anyway. I left Alistair in the Fade (for a variety of reasons I honestly thought about for far too long). The SECOND I got back to Skyhold, the war table mission finally completed. IMAGINE my face when I opened up that letter and read the words, "Please take care of [Alistair]. Like me, he was instrumental in ending the last Blight. I trust his compassion and his strength above any other's, and I would not go though such effort to overcome our Callings only to lose him to your Inquisition" immediately after leaving his ass in the Fade. It was such upsetting timing that I could NOT stop laughing about it.

I think that letter haunts my Inquisitor more than anything else. I think it gives her chronic insomnia and she just reads it again and again in the dead of night torturing herself over that decision. She's such a bleeding heart of a character, I just know it'll weigh so heavily on her for rest of her life.

ask me about my canon DA world state!

[setitallaflame]

Lucan just raised an eyebrow at Marcos, who was enjoying this way too much. Because ‘hero’ would be one of the last words used to describe him, the kid just didn’t know any better - the very fact that he was clinging to him proved that. “You know way too much about a fictional guy that dresses up like a bat. And who the...” Once again, he omitted the expletive. “...Who is Robin?” As for Marcos’ reaction to his own confusion in regards to him needing to understand children better, it only confused him more. Because it seemed to make the other man... He looked sad. “...You know me better than anyone else. I���ve told you more about my background than anyone else. You’re my friend.” Or, at least, despite the situation, he thought he still was. “Which means you, more than anyone else, should also know that I would make a horrible parent. And that the Underground isn’t just a job, it’s my life.”

Lucan liked dealing with facts. Feelings just got in the way of everything. Even when he saved Lorna and her unborn child, he tried to tell himself it was the logical thing to do. That even if a huge part of it involved wanting to save his friend from the heartache their deaths would bring, it also made the most sense. Lorna and Marcos were station heads. They were needed here. And Marcos would be lost without her and the baby, meaning they would be losing two of their best in one fell swoop. So the most logical thing was to sacrifice himself. But seeing this kid calling for his mom... He’d been that kid. That confused kid who didn’t understand why his mom had never been there. Whose father was so lost to his powers and his addiction that he was essentially on his own. And all he’d wanted was an explanation. For someone to help him comprehend it all and take the weight off of his shoulders. So as the kid continued to cry out, in spite of Marcos’ words, Lucan moved him over to a counter to put him on his level even as he clung to him with one hand and asked, “What do you remember?” The boy recounted things in bits and pieces, again a lot of it unintelligible, but he remembered that his parents got hurt, too.

Then he asked Lucan if he could go back and ‘fix’ them like he fixed him.

Okay, now that the fighting was over--for now, anyway--and they got the immediate troubles slotted away, he was starting to have fun. Maybe the fun was mostly at Lucan's expense, but fun was fun, and in this life, one learned to take it where you could get it. That, and it was funny. "You're a hero," he explained once the kid was busy taking cookies, giving Marcos a moment to speak. "And don't say you're not, because your brooding thing only makes you more like him. But you saved his life, right? Batman's as good as a myth around these parts, but you actually saved him. You did what Batman does, at least to him. Which makes you Batman." He paused, smiling. "And I guess that makes me Robin." As to the confusion, he looked at him for a beat before exhaling softly. "That's kinda what I thought you'd say." It wasn't judging, but, if anything, it was sad. Not because he felt Lucan needed a family to be happy, but because he didn't think his friend was ever going to be happy. This was his life, and it would be until he got a bullet to the head. Marcos fought for the same cause, of course, and he was just as much of a soldier, but...he wanted more. Lucan, though...there wasn't anything more.

Marcos had been rather sure that the cookies were a good idea. It wasn't like the poor kid was going to be getting anything resembling a treat again any time soon, and maybe it would help calm him down, so why not? Except 'why not' was becoming clear quickly as he kept grabbing more, and as he started screaming when Lucan tried to take them away. Then he started crying for his mom, and though Marcos was rather sure that they would be here if any part of his family had survived, meeting Lucan's gaze and seeing the shake of his head confirmed it anyway. Okay. This was bad. What was he supposed to say? Obviously he wasn't going to break the news to him right now, but what would suffice? Alternatively, what would distract him enough? Another cookie? Probably, but he didn't want that to cause any issues. "Your mom's not here right now. But--she wants you to be brave, okay? So do I. Can you do that for us?"

[starlitangels]

Pulling Away

@zozo-01 and I have a long-running conversation about Milo and Darlin’ being best friends and I thought of something angsty XD 1.7k words

—

Tanker: Hey Milo. You wanna go for a run? Your partner can come too, if they want

Milo: Thanks for the offer, Tank, really. But I don’t think you wanna get stuck with me and my partner. We’d probably be too mushy for you XD

Tanker: Ok Tanker: See you at the next pack meeting, then

Milo: C ya then

—

Tanker: IDK if this would be too weird, but I’m thinking about trying to make your mom’s pasta tonight. Would you and your sweetheart care to join?

Milo: I wish we could. We’re going to their family’s place for dinner tonight.

Tanker: Ok Tanker: Maybe next time then

—

Tanker: Busy tonight?

Milo: Date night

Tanker: Ok

—

Milo: Hey Tank! Been a bit since I heard from you. U good?

Tanker: Fine Tanker: Just been busy. Didn’t want to bug you and your mate too

Milo: You’re not bugging us

Tanker: I know Tanker: I gtg. Work. See ya

—

One year. Three-hundred-and-sixty-five days. Fifty-two weeks. Twelve months. I tried for a full year. I clung to the last vestiges I had of connections to the closest people I had to family for a year. Losing my grip the entire time as they pulled away from me.

Milo was my best friend. Always had been since I moved to Dahlia as a teenager.

A year ago, he’d met a Stealth after they broke into his apartment to ask some questions about the E&E Games that we’d been working. He’d texted me a lot, afterward, about it. Saying the Stealth was hot and he was surprised at how into them he was and that he didn’t know what to do—more for the sake of getting it off his chest. Both of us knew that I had no f^&*ing clue what to tell him.

A year ago, I saw the signs on the horizon. I saw the way he got moony-eyed whenever he talked about that Stealth. The second time they broke into his apartment. Their third encounter that involved him getting half-torn up by a shade and them patching him up afterward.

A year ago, I knew what was going to happen.

A year ago, I’d been desperate not to lose my best friend. My partner-in-crime (sometimes literally).

A year ago, I started to reach out more often. Texting him every couple days. Asking if he wanted to hang out, bring his partner with him. Asking if he’d watched any cool new TV shows to recommend to me. Asking if he’d send me his mom’s recipe for this, that, or the other thing.

He’d reply to my texts for the recipe or the TV shows, but my requests to get together were always turned down. Usually with the implication of, “I don’t want you to be the awkward third wheel, Tanker.” Which was well-intentioned. Milo wasn’t a malicious guy. He didn’t want to hurt me by making me hang out with him and his partner.

Milo didn’t know that he was hurting me worse by turning that into “not hanging out at all.”

A year ago, I’d known this was going to happen.

Milo was pulling away from me. Drifting. He’d found someone else to spend his time with.

A year ago, I tried not to lose him.

The year went by. I started to reach out less. Every few days turned into once a week. Once-a-week became once-every-two-weeks. That turned into once a month.

And then never.

A wolf could only be turned down by their favorite packmate so many times before giving up. I hadn’t wanted to give up, but effort with no reward was exhausting.

Milo didn’t even notice when I stopped reaching out. He and his partner became he and his mate—and I wasn’t surprised when our friendship fell by the wayside. I only ever saw him at pack meetings. And if his mate came with him, we barely exchanged ten words. Enough for a greeting and a goodbye. I got a little more interaction at the meetings his mate didn’t join him for—but then Ash would swoop in and demand to hear all the gossip of what Milo and his sweetheart had been up to.

Pushing me aside again.

I’d tried.

But I was Tanker—the sledgehammer who was good at fighting and trash at making friends. The only shifter ever born who apparently couldn’t connect to people. Who didn’t thrive in a pack setting. Even David—who was reserved and not terribly social—did better than I did.

The rest of the pack was scared of me on some level. Every single member. Except David, Milo, and possibly Asher. The others knew that there was something about me that didn’t fit. I didn’t gel with them—mesh. Whatever.

Milo was the only thing keeping me tethered to the pack. The only reason I ever turned up to a security gig with a smile—mischievous though it may have been—or even attended pack meetings at all.

Him pulling away from me in favor of spending time with his mate meant the rest of the pack was going to leave me where he left me. Far away from them.

I didn’t bother to close that distance. What would have been the point? If the one person I’d ever really connected to in this pack could leave me behind so easily despite my efforts to keep up, why bother extending a hand to the ones who’d always shrunk away from me? I never sat in the ring of chairs for a pack meeting. I was always in one of the extras pressed against the wall. Milo used to have to drag me up into the circle by my ear, sounding just like his mother when he lectured me about the importance of being close enough to hear.

If Milo could leave me that easily, everyone else would too. They already had, to some degree.

I looked at my phone, sitting idly on the counter. Screen-up. Screen off. The screen never lit up on its own. Not with any notification that mattered, anyway. Occasional texts to the pack group chat of David announcing the next pack meeting. That was it. Everyone else in the pack—besides Milo—was muted.

I stalked out onto my tiny balcony where the standing punching bag sat. I slammed my fists into it a few times, elbow jabs and kicks joining. The Dahlia summer burned on the back of my neck, but I stayed out on my excuse of a balcony until I was dripping sweat and too exhausted to be angry anymore. I spent so much of my life being angry that sometimes I just had to work it off to get a moment of peace in my own damn head.

When the sweltering afternoon heat became too overwhelming to bear, I finally ducked inside. I went to the bathroom and took a long, somewhat cold shower to cool down and wash the sweat off.

Once I was done, I made a snap decision. I didn’t go to clubs or bars often. I was a solitary person by nature—gathering places and social spaces were usually the last place to find me. But I needed to be around strangers in a space where I couldn’t be violent. I needed to get out of my head.

I threw on my least-tattered outfit and stormed out my front door.

—

The empowered club was hopping. The sheer amount of magic in the air was damn near tangible.

“Your alpha know you’re out here, little wolf?” a voice purred from beside me where I was leaning against the bar. I scoffed and rolled my eyes, turning toward the voice.

The man standing there was a vampire. The silver, red-flecked eyes gave it away immediately, if the tiniest hint of his fangs didn’t. “My alpha doesn’t know jack sh—” The music cut off my words as the base dropped and everyone cheered. “—about me.” That wasn’t entirely true. David probably knew me better than anyone in the pack but Milo, but he didn’t know me well enough to look for me here—if anyone even realized they hadn’t heard from me in days or weeks. Months. And I wasn’t answering my phone.

The vampire smiled, fangs glinting properly in the flashing colorful lights. He stuck a hand out. “Quinn.”

I gave him a firm handshake. “Tanker.”

He narrowed his eyes playfully at me. “That your real name, little pup?” He tilted his head to the side, giving me a wry smile.

I snorted. “No. But no one knows me as anything else. I’ve gone by Tank for so long I doubt half my pack even remembers my real name.”

“Thought not.” He dropped his voice to a whisper, but it cut so perfectly through the noise that I heard him crystal clear. “What is your real name?”

I folded my arms over my chest. “Does it matter?”

He trailed the back of one finger down my jawbone. Neither of us breaking eye contact with the other. He was challenging me—testing me—and I wasn’t going to lose. “Mm. S’pose not,” he crooned. “So, what’s a pretty little shifter like you doing here without a single member of your pack?”

I laughed, throwing my head back. “Oh man—if I had a week I couldn’t explain the whole thing,” I replied. “Suffice it to say, I have a pack, but I’ve always been a bit of a loner. Tonight just happens to be me wallowing in the misery of losing my best friend to his mate. They’ve been dating for a year and as time went on, I saw less and less of him. Tonight is my night to mourn.” I scoffed.

He pinched my chin and tilted my head down to face him. “Then... how about I distract you, darling?”

I held his gaze. “I dare you to try.”

He smiled, fangs lengthening in his mouth. “I never could turn down a dare,” he purred.

[highqueenofelfhame]

rowaelin month day ten

rowaelin month day ten -- single parents. masterlist // buy me a ko-fi // redbubble  

The morning truly couldn’t have been going worse. Aelin had woken up to the nanny telling her she’d come down with the stomach flu. Aelin wasn’t cruel enough to tell the poor girl she had to work through it; instead encouraging her to drink as much water as she could and get some much-needed rest. Evangeline had apologized profusely, but Aelin was having none of it. She reassured her that she could figure it out.

It turned out she couldn’t. Her mother and father both worked sixty hours a week. Aelin knew that her mother would take a day if Aelin called, but she couldn’t bring herself to make the call and disrupt her week. Evie’s father had died in a car crash before she was even born. Everyone who was a viable option worked full-time jobs, leaving her three-year-old in her hands. She could call out, but she had a mountain of a workload that she’d left last night, reassuring herself she would get it done today. Everything she needed was at her office, so working from home was out of the question. All signs were pointing to an impromptu “bring your child to work” day. 

The CEO of the company was a good friend of hers, and Aelin knew that Dorian wouldn’t mind seeing his goddaughter toddling around the office. In fact, she knew that he would eventually steal her away for a snack time at some point so Aelin could get some work done. It would likely be a snack that wasn’t mommy approved, but she would give him a free pass today.

It would be okay, she reassured herself as she struggled to get Evie to cooperate with getting her tiny arms through her yellow long-sleeved shirt. She was mumbling in an indecipherable language as Aelin nodded along, chiming in here and there like she understood every word. The reality was that she only understood a handful of words. One of them was juice, so Aelin made a mental note to make her a full cup of juice for the car ride to the office to keep her happy. 

It didn’t take long to brush her hair into the tiniest pigtails to exist, with two little orange bows holding them in place. By the time she was fully dressed in her fall garb, complete with a tiny gray vest so cute that Aelin wanted to cry, she looked like a baby Gap model. Without a doubt, everyone at the office would be cooing over how precious she looked the second they walked through the door. 

“Where going?” Evie inquired, her little head tilting to the side as Aelin packed her go-bag full of snacks and an outfit change just in case. 

“Momma’s gotta go to work today, baby. You get to come, too. Do you want to see Uncle Dorian?” At the mention of Dorian, Evie’s eyes lit up as a broad smile pushed her chubby cheeks up until her eyes squinted closed. Aelin grinned and kissed her cheeks until she giggled wildly. Thank the gods that Evie was in a good mood today. Some mornings she woke up on the wrong side of the bed, fussy as all get out while Aelin tried to push along their morning. Thankfully today, she was full of smiles and giggles. It would make everything much easier if she cooperated.

After grabbing a sippy cup full of apple juice and shoving the bottle in her bag, making yet another note to put it in the fridge in the break room when she arrived at the office, she swooped Evie into her arms, and they were on their way. 

Upon arriving at the office, Aelin was right. The two receptionists immediately fell in love with Evie’s tiny pigtails and her outfit. They cooed over her bright eyes, twins to Aelin’s own. It took longer than usual to make it to the elevator, where even several men commented on how adorable she was. It brought a smile to her face, but it dropped when she thought of her office neighbor. 

Rowan Whitethorn was the hardass of the office. She was pretty positive that he hated her, and there was nothing she could do to change his mind. They spent their days arguing back and forth about anything and everything. Some days she was sure that he only did it to get a rise out of her. 

Aelin had never seen him smile-- he only scowled. His assistant was constantly rushing around, losing his damn mind trying to meet all of Rowan’s demands in a day. More than once, she’d caught tidbits of his conversations with Aelin’s own assistant, the poor boy begging to swap just for a single day. Aelin could only imagine what Rowan would say about Evie being such a workplace distraction. She was positive there would be complaints about her squeals and giggles that he would hear through the wall. 

There was truly nothing she could do, though. Too much needed to be done at work to take a personal day, and Evie was typically well behaved enough to be occupied until her mom got off work and could pick her up. 

As she made her way down the hall, everyone oohed and ahhed over Evie. Aelin thanked everyone for their compliments, her heart spilling over with joy. Until she saw Rowan in the kitchen while she put away the juice. He was making coffee and, upon noticing Evie in her arms, an emotion she couldn’t quite place flickered over his face. 

“I didn’t know you had a daughter,” he said, eyes going from her pigtails down to the boots on her tiny feet. 

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me.” She closed the fridge door and left the kitchen, gone as quickly as she had come. When she arrived in her office, she shut the door and put Evie down, watching as she ran straight for the couch and flopped over the side with a giggle bubbling out of her lips. 

The single mother took a few minutes to take Evie’s toys out of her bag, even laying a few puffy snacks out on the table for her to snack on while she played. She went straight for them as quickly as Aelin sprinkled them out of the container. Aelin chuckled as she watched her for a moment, hands on her hips while she decided she was okay to sit at her desk and begin her work. 

Evie was surprisingly self-sufficient while Aelin started her daily tasks. She played with the toys her mother provided and munched on her treats. Aelin heard a lot of babbling and a slew of giggles, a loud squeal pulling her from her work as her door opened. 

Dorian leaned in the doorway, giving her a running start until he followed, darting across the room to scoop Evie into his arms. He spun her in circles with her legs flying behind her. She was laughing in a way that she only did with Dorian. Aelin seldom got that sound to come out of her daughter, but somehow, she wouldn’t change it for anything.

“I heard tales of a little princess fighting dragons in my office,” he said to no one in particular, but Evie seemed to understand that she was the princess. If there was anything that she liked in this world, it was being called a princess. She understood that word more than anything because Aelin read her fairy tales of princesses every night. Tangled was constantly on their TV, only to be replaced by Beauty and the Beast. They utterly enchanted her, and everyone in her life was constantly calling her a princess. She loved it. 

The giggling continued while he tickled her sides and blew raspberries on her belly until the shrieking got so intense he made a face at Aelin and merely brought her into a tight hug as he said, “Sorry. Nanny out today?”

“She’s got a stomach bug. I had no other options; I’m really sorry.”

“You don’t need to apologize. You know I love any chance I get to see her. I’m not going to penalize you for being a mother, Aelin.” Evie was chomping her teeth near Dorian’s face, causing her best friend to laugh and hold her at arm’s length. “I’ll even take her across the hall for a bit so you can get more done.”

“You’re a lifesaver,” she replied, sighing and leaning back in her seat. Aelin really did have so much to do, to the point that she couldn’t even bring herself to tell him he didn’t have to do that. She would take whatever help she could get.

Her door was left open as he took Evie out into the hall, Aelin noticing that they weren’t going in the direction of his office but rather toward the kitchen. Her eyes rolled as she swiveled in her chair to face her computer and really dive into her work, leaning forward and exhaling a deep breath, willing herself to focus. 

Quite a bit of time passed, and she was able to get a considerable amount of work completed. All of her emails had been caught up when Dorian edged into her office and cleared his throat. Aelin looked up, half expecting Evie’s outfit to be ruined by chocolate, but her little ray of sunshine was nowhere to be seen.

“Where is she?” 

“I… may have taken a phone call and looked away for two minutes, and she vanished.”

“What?” Aelin was on her feet in an instant, rushing across her office and out into the hall. “What the fuck do you mean? How long has it been?” 

“Since I lost her and started looking for her? Half an hour. I was scared to tell you.” 

“My daughter has been missing for half an hour, and you’re only just now telling me? What the fuck, Dorian?” She hit his chest rather abrasively as she shoved past him, eyes scanning every room while she ran down the hall. How she was able to do it without toppling over in her heels, she wasn’t sure. All she could feel was the panic from her heart pounding in her chest to the shaking of her hands. The roaring in her ears made everything else sound muffled and distant, like she was standing at the edge of white water rapids. Even with her hands in fists so tight she could feel them shake, nausea building up in her chest. 

“Evie?” She called out, a tremor rising in her throat that caused her voice to sound shaky and weak. Tears were pricking in her ears as she turned to run back to her office. She would call down to security to see if they could scan the cameras, and call reception to see if anyone had carried her out. From there, she would--

Her heart stopped beating when she glanced into Rowan’s office. It was the office directly next to hers, and behind his desk, Rowan held a snoozing Evie. Her little fist was gripping the lapels of his suit jacket, and he seemed relaxed while he flipped through papers with one hand. 

“What are you doing with my daughter?” Aelin asked, stepping into the door. A few tears of relief slipped down her cheeks, and she was quick to wipe them, lest he make an asshole comment about it.

“I told that little shit to let you know I had her,” he murmured, barely glancing up from his papers. “I think that’s the final straw. He genuinely can’t do the most basic of tasks, I--” 

Rowan paused when he looked up from his work. Something soft flashed in his eyes for a split second before he continued, “She was laying on the couch by the kitchen when I found her. She babbled something about Dorian, I think, and when I looked in his office, he was on the phone arguing with someone. You looked busy, and I know you have a lot to do, and when I picked her up, she let out the biggest yawn I’ve ever seen. By the time I’d walked back to my office, she was asleep. I told my assistant to let you know. I’m sorry that he didn’t, and I’m sorry that I didn’t follow up with an e-mail or a phone call. You just seem like you could use the help so you could get work done. I’m sorry.” 

Not only was it the most that Rowan had ever said to her in a single conversation, but it was the kindest she’d seen him be to anyone. He wasn’t complaining about the little bit of drool coming out of the side of Evie’s mouth and soaking into his jacket. He was just holding her like he was so at ease with the situation and truly didn’t mind. 

“You don’t wear a ring, and I’ve never heard you mention a significant other. Divorced?”

“Widowed,” she replied, sitting in one of the leather chairs in front of his desk. Again, his face softened as he looked down at Evie. 

“She looks just like you. She’s beautiful.” Ignoring the implications of that comment, Aelin smiled softly.

“Thank you. She is… everything to me.”

“I… I have a daughter, too. Briar. My wife died two years after we were married. Briar is six now, but Evie is… so much less temperamental than B was.” Aelin tried not to let the shock show on her face. Shock that Rowan Whitethorn was a father and shock that they shared a sad history. The curiosity to ask how she had died was strong, but she wouldn’t ask. Sometimes she hated it when people asked how Sam died. It was like opening a wound all over again. 

“Oh, she has her days. Don’t let this fool you,” she laughed, dragging her fingers through her hair. “I didn’t know you had a daughter, either.”

Rowan flipped his computer screen so she could see it, and she was welcomed by a smiling little girl with stunning green eyes and brown ringlet curls. Her heart squeezed at the image, Rowan holding her in his lap and grinning so wide he had dimples. Rowan Whitethorn had dimples. 

“She’s absolutely adorable.”

“She is.” Aelin smiled again, looking down at her hands and twisting the ring on her left finger that her parents had given her when Evie was born. It was her birthstone. 

“You can keep working if you want to. I’ve got her.”

“She’s not bothering you?” There was hesitation evident in her voice as Rowan looked down at the sleeping girl in his arms. He smiled, brushing a few wild strands of hair back against her head.

“Nope,” he said firmly, looking back at Aelin. “Really. You must have a lot to do if you didn’t just call in a personal day. She’s sleeping. It’s okay. I’ll bring her back when she wakes up.”

“I-- okay. If you’re sure.”

“I’m positive.” Aelin chewed on her fingernail for a moment before she nodded and stood, walking across his office and toward her own. Aelin paused in the door, looking over her shoulder at the man with such a harsh reputation around the workplace. This man seemed entirely different, a man that was brushing his thumb against her daughter's side while she slept with his shirt in her tiny fist. He seemed so utterly relaxed while he adjusted their position in his chair to keep working. It was almost out of character, his offer. But she wasn’t going to complain. 

Rowan Whitethorn may have been the hardass of the office, but maybe he had a soft spot after all. @rowaelinscourt​

[bookishofalder]

Rainy Days

Spencer x Reader

Request: @starwithoutdarkness - Hey! I heard you were looking for requests! Maybe Spencer Reid x reader fake dating fluff? Combined with Request: @paulaern  - Hello!  What about Spencer Reid x reader when they realizes they love each other? Like reader makes something for Spencer and he thinks like "I can't deny anymore, I'm completely and hopeless in love with her" or something like that  (G!neutral if you want)

A/N: Thank you so much for sending in requests! Hope this makes you smile!

Warnings: Swearing, moderate BAU violence, creepy men, fluffiest fluff, intense headache description. Set randomly post prison Reid but Hotch is still there because he should have been! WC-2,488

Spencer was staring at the geo-profile he had been working on all day, very glad to be inside. The weather in Seattle had stayed consistently rainy for the two days the BAU team had been in town assisting in catching a killer, who had been committing serial robberies/murders with no apparent rhyme or reason. And while Spencer didn’t mind the rain, he did mind loud, busy cities. Combined, they usually led to a headache that would take a day or two to recover.

The door to the conference room he was working alone in burst open and slammed shut so suddenly he nearly jumped out of his skin, turning to see-

You.

Spencer hated it when you appeared without warning, catching him entirely off guard and presenting the risk that you would notice the visible effort it took for him to compose himself around you.

While he’d noticed how beautiful and hilarious and empathetic you were the moment you joined the team, he’d fallen in love with you when you had your first case with them. Spencer had begun to ramble about the specifics of casinos, and how ‘beating the house’ was nearly impossible, when the rest of the team had tuned out. A temporary member, Agent Seaver, had sneered ‘I’m sorry I asked.” Effectively shutting him up. But then you had turned in your seat next to him and, after shooting Seaver a look had asked him to continue. And though he didn’t have that much more to say, and it wasn’t all that interesting, you listened to every single word and thanked him.

It had been years since that had happened, your friendship had blossomed into best friends, something Spencer cherished immensely. This was partly why he shoved his feelings down. The relationship did not need to change for Spencer to remain happy; as long as he got to spend time with you at work, or watch movies and make tent forts in his living room. And visit his mom (who adored you and always gave you book recommendations that you would be sure to read the moment you could), or go to comic conventions and museums...yes, as long as he could always do those things with you, he was happy.

No need to risk changing a perfect thing.

Now though, you were shutting the door and giving him your most panicked look, wide-eyed, with your hair damp from the rain you no doubt had run through to get inside, accounting for your breathlessness. If it weren’t for the worry that had sprung up inside of him upon seeing your expression, he would have fixated on how beautiful you looked at that moment.

“Spencer, you’re my boyfriend.” You whisper yelled at him, quickly stepping closer and setting your bag down on the conference table.

“Wha-“ He began, but you cut him off frantically.

“I’ll explain-just, oh fuck-“

Spencer stood frozen to the spot as the door reopened and one of the senior detectives sauntered in, a friendly smile somewhat overshadowed by the almost predatorial glint in his eyes. You awkwardly stepped closer to Spencer, raising a hand in hello.

“Agent (Y/L/N), great to see you’re back, I was hoping to catch you before the end of the day!” He said merrily, placing two hands on the back of the nearest chair. Something about the way his hands gripped the chair made Spencer feel...on edge.

You gave the fakest little giggle Spencer had ever heard from you, “Oh, nice to see you too Detective! Just had to catch up with Agent Reid here...”

When his eyes moved from you to assess Spencer briefly, he felt a protective force rear up, instincts entirely at alert. Without hesitating, he casually draped an arm over your shoulder, brushing some hair back as he did, and replied, “And you promised we could get some coffee from the Starbucks down the road, hon.”

He enjoyed the way your cheeks flushed and noticed the pulse in your neck pick up. You glanced up at him, trying to look coy but he knew you too well and could see you were partly surprised, and also trying not to laugh.

“Um, of course, I nearly forgot, babe, let’s go in about 5-unless, did you need something specific, Detective?” She broke off to glance back at the now scowling man, who gave an annoyed jerk of his head before stomping back out of the room.

Once the door banged closed behind him, you let out the biggest sigh of relief, raising a hand to your face in dismay.

Spencer hadn’t removed his arm yet, “I’m assuming I just helped you avoid being asked out, but why-?”

“Uhg, Spencer, I’ve already turned him down TWICE since we’ve arrived! He’s literally the kind of dude who doesn’t take no for an answer unless another man has some fucking misogynistic claim over the woman!” You exclaimed, before moving to stand right in front of Spencer and lean just your head to his chest, staring down at the floor, “I hate everything.”

Spencer laughed, patting your back softly, but internally making note that he wouldn’t be letting you go anywhere alone for the rest of this case-that detective gave him the creeps. And while you were beyond capable of protecting yourself, he just knew he wouldn’t be able to focus on anything if he thought you could be hurt.

“Well, just so we’re clear I would never want to be called ‘babe’ in a relationship.” He joked and the desired effect was his immediate reward when you lifted your head and giggled-your genuine, beautiful little giggle-and then grinned.

“Spencer, you called me ‘hon’ like we were 70.”

Spencer considered a moment, “We could be, you’ll be Gladys and I’ll be-“

“Winston!” You supplied eagerly, and he frowned at you, trying not to laugh.

“Winston?”

“It’s really very dignified, the kind of name where people call you ‘sir’.” You replied cheekily, and while Spencer grinned, a part of him felt a swoop of pleasure when your lips formed the word ‘sir’.

He decided very quickly that he liked the idea of you calling him that. And then, just as swiftly dismissed that train of thought and chastised himself.

As you both stood together and laughed, the door swung open and Hotch and the team followed him in, all in various stages of the results of exposure to the rain, looking equally grim. Spencer and you abruptly stopped when you saw their expressions and launched back into work mode seamlessly.

———

Two days later, the team was closing in on the unsub and everyone was on high alert. Taking the profile and applying it to the geo-profile he had been working on, Spencer had narrowed down this grubby old apartment that sat above a nightclub as the most likely spot the unsub was staying at. Of course, they were arriving at night which meant the club was busy and loud, people lined up out the doors waiting for their chance to enter, pay too much for a drink and grind their bodies against strangers.

Spencer’s headache from the unforgiving rain was thrumming now with the music that seemed entirely unencumbered by the walls of the stairwell, the team slowly climbing. It was bad enough that his eyes narrowed somewhat, but he didn’t lose focus.

You were behind him, watching his six as Hotch and Morgan approached the door ahead and prepared to breach. Spencer slipped a hand behind his back and, on cue, you’re pinky wrapped with his. A brief promise to each other, ‘I’ve got you.’.

They had anticipated violence and heavy arms, so when their announcement was met with silence and the door was kicked open, the tactical response was to secure positions and carefully proceed. Agents and SWAT members lined the building and were, at that moment, securing the club below to ensure the unsub couldn’t flee into a room full of potential hostages.

Spencer and you were the third pair to enter, quickly moving ahead of the others to secure more rooms, eyes peeled for movement. The floor was covered in litter and random spots of dirt and dried substances. It smelled like body odour and axe body spray-which immediately went to Spencer’s headache and caused it to throb in protest.

“Freeze!”

You had shouted right as Spencer noticed the movement from a back room down the hall, as the unsub leaned out and, not abiding by the command, opened fire. Spencer grabbed you and swung you both behind the wall of the kitchen, out of the line of fire while he shouted the unsubs location.

You recovered quickly, dropping to the ground and leaning out to return fire as Hotch and Morgan ran across to the living room to join the battle. It only took a few moments after that before Morgan managed to get a shot to the suspect's shoulder and he fell with a cry of anguish.

You popped up from the ground, watching as Prentiss and Rossi moved forward to secure the man, and barked into your radio for medics to come in.

Spencer, meanwhile, was reeling. When the shots in the room had all joined together in a cacophony, sound and noise piercing his skull, it had converted to pain and panic in his skull, overwhelming him. He had used his own body to shield yours when he pulled you with him into the wall, and the caution he took with you meant he hadn’t caught himself carefully enough, his head bouncing lightly off of the stone wall.

Which, on a normal day would have simply been annoying. But today, with a headache so severe he was beginning to get spots in his vision, it was detrimental. The scene was secure, so he allowed his eyes to shut, a meagre reprieve but at least it was something, at least he didn’t have to see the beams from the flashlights or the pulsing of the neon signs outside of the windows...

“Winston, take my hand.” Your voice was so, so soft. Spencer let his mouth open slightly, a small rush of air all he managed, trying to say ‘I can’t-it hurts, make it stop’ but you grasped his hand tightly and pulled and he followed, his other hand reaching and grabbing that back of your vest, he let you lead him.

He knew from the reduced foot traffic of agents and crime scene workers that you were taking the rear exit, a stairwell that was narrower than the main. He peeked through his lashes to take the stairs, and then suddenly, the cool night air hit him and the door was closing behind you both.

You kept walking with purpose, leading Spencer further away from the loud building. The rain spattered his face but with each step the noise reduced and after a short walk it became relatively quiet.

“Sit.” You murmured, halting. Spencer opened his eyes and saw that you had led him to the farthest spot in the parking lot from the building, where trees lined the lot along a community park that was probably utilized by vagrants and drug dealers more than families. But there was a bench, and you were waiting for him to take a seat. You had pulled out a compact, expandable emergency rain shield from one of the pockets on your FBI utility belt and tossed it on the bench, protecting you both from soaking your underwear.

Spencer sat, setting his elbows on his legs and leaning forward with his hands pressed to his face. He took deep, steadying breaths as you joined him, your hand on the back of his neck. At first, he thought you were just resting it there because his FBI vest would have prevented him from feeling your hand on his back, however, a moment later it was joined by your other hand and a very cold object.

Resisting the urge to pull away, he gasped at the contact, “What-?”

“On-the-go cold compress, Doctor.” You explained, leaving it in place and then rummaging again. Spencer wanted to look but the compress, combined with the quiet, was already doing wonders. He continued to take deep breaths.

“When you’re ready, try this.” You said softly, pressing something to his hand. Opening his eyes, he saw a mini flask that had his name written on the side.

He turned his head slowly so as not to move the compress and met your eyes, which were assessing him with concern. “(Y/N), when did we start drinking on the job?”

You giggled quietly, “It’s just water mixed with this like, vitamin powder that’s supposed to be good for rehydrating you quickly. I did some research on how to help headaches like yours on the go, just in case, and I made this ‘Spencer’ care bag.” You rambled a little when he didn’t reply.

Spencer looked back at the flask and opened it, quickly downing the contents. It tasted pretty fruity and he realized he was thirsty, this taking the edge off.

“Is it okay?” You asked. Spencer raised his head and met your eyes, searching them.

He was overwhelmed, the headache already fading, in its place an intensely warm feeling building inside of him as he considered the time and effort you had taken to care for him. He hadn’t asked you, or hinted, you had just taken it on to find a way to help him and you were right there when he needed you the most.

You had always been there when he needed you. When he had been shot protecting Blake, when he struggled to care for his mother, when he had gone to prison, when he was freed, you were there.

The words tumbled out, unable to be contained a second longer.

“I am hopelessly in love with you.”

Your mouth opened and closed in surprise, taken entirely off guard. Though he worried what you would say, he couldn’t deny the relief he felt having finally said it out loud. He watched patiently as your mind processed his confession, holding his breath.

“I-Spencer,” And then suddenly your lips were pressing into his and the pain from his headache ceased entirely. Spencer was consumed by the feel of you against him, of your hands holding his face and the hum of content you gave when he returned your passion, dropping his flask and sliding his hands up your neck, gripping tenderly.

After what could have been hours, weeks, or years, you both broke apart, pulling back just enough to make eye contact without your eyes crossing. Neither of you let go, your breath puffing out in wisps in the cold night air.

“I love you too,” You breathed, “I could grow old with you, Winston.”

Spencer laughed, relief and happiness swooping through him at your words, “Gladys, I couldn’t imagine anything more perfect.”

Did you enjoy this story? Please consider reblogging or commenting to ease my inner turmoil as a writer. Likes are basically just a bookmark!

You grinned back at Spencer, and then he kissed you again.

[auspicious-lilana]

Two Cats, One Heart (Chat Noir x Reader)

Summary: Y/n Ross and Adrian Agreste are childhood best friends, they’ve been through thick and thin, including losing their mom, and dad. Since then Y/n's mom made her live with Adrian at his mansion and forever leaving her life. Watch as their lives Change as they become the new heroes of Paris alongside Ladybug and see how Romance sprouts between the two models. 

Part 1 |  Part 2 |  Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7  | Part 8 | Part 9

Very sorry for the long wait! Read below the cut. If you’d like to be continuously tagged for my updates on the story. Make sure to let me know! 

{Third POV}

"Ladybug, Lady Wolf and Chat Noir have saved Paris yet again."  Nadia reported on the news playing on Marinette's computer as Ladybug swooped down from her ceiling door, changing back as she lazily hit her wheel chair to continue working on her box.

"And yet again, Marinette hopes she'll finally have enough time to complete her ."  Marinette grumbled.

"What's the magic box for, Marinette?"  Tikki asked, floating around to look at the box as Marinette screwed in the last bolt.  "To lock up my diary, and all my secrets."

"Every little secret? You're telling me that you write everything down in that thing?"

"Uh... yeah, something wrong?"  Marinette proceeded to close and open the box to see if it works.

"Well, for one, what if someone finds out you're Ladybug? And two, what if someone finds out you're Ladybug?!"  Tikki sat on top of the open box with a panicked look.

"Not gonna happen. Try it, Tikki."  Tikki went in the box and tried to lift the diary up before getting locked in.

"Hey!" Tikki's muffled voice exclaimed.

"And....it works!"  Marinette freed Tikki, using her key to unlock the box.

"Yesterday, Mr. Bourgeois was re-elected as mayor of Paris for the fourth consecutive term."  Nadia said on the news, catching Marinette' s attention. "Here we see Mr. Bourgeois with his daughter."

"Ugh! Look at Chloé, acting as if she were the mayor of Paris!"  Marinette annoyingly huffed. "Oh! Which reminds me, Class Representative Elections are tomorrow!"

"What's so bad about that?"

"Chloé is running for class rep. The one person who cares the least about the students, and the most about herself."

"Well then, maybe you should run!"

"I totally would, but, don't you think I got enough to do with my duties as Ladybug and all my school work? Besides."  Marinette sighed, looking at the posters of Adrian she tore down from her walls. "Y/n would be better off running,"  

"Are you still upset?"

"I mean of course! Someone I always was insecure about just ended up dating my biggest crush EVER! Who wouldn't be sad that their plans of marrying the could-be the love of their life and having kids and pets and a amazing honeymoon was ruined just like that? But, I can't bring myself to hate her."

"And why is that?"

"She already left over 20 missed calls and even more texts since I ran off the other day."  Marinette looked at her phone notifications. "She seems worried."

"I think you should talk to her."  Tikki said, sitting on Marinette's phone. "You can't avoid her forever, and you know you can't risk getting akumatized either."

"You're right, My goal for today will to try and talk to her."

"That's the spirit!"

"Armand D'Argencourt, one of Bourgeois's opponents, and fencing instructors of Françoise Dupont High School, was pummeled in the polls. In fact, D'Argencourt acquired the least number of votes in Paris History."  Marinette's eyes fell over the clock on the computer before falling over her chair.

"I'm going to be late for school!"  Marinette panicked getting her backpack, racing out. . "Again!"  

*** {Y/n POV} ***

I sighed, bored as I listened to Miss Bustier talk about the class student elections before I noticed a note slip onto my desk, Maya tapping my foot with hers.

I looked at the note confused before I saw her signal at me to Adrian. I leaned back on my chair to see him wink as I scoffed, blushing a bit. I opened the note before holding in a giggle.

A midnight stroll with your beloved kitty?

Yes or Yes?

I shook my head, circling both yeses, writing a quick reply before handing it to Maya who managed to slide the note over to Adrian with her foot. Maya scribbled on the corner of her notebook, before discreetly showing me.

Offended I wasn't the first to know your little scandal with Mr. Agreste, what happened to no secrets?

She gave me a huff as I sighed, writing my reply.

It wasn't a secret, technically. Just was not brought up

She looked pondering before writing back.

Well, you owe me lunch, homemade tomorrow then I'll forget everyone else found out before I did....deal?

Deal!

She held her pinky out under the desk as I nodded, locking my pinky with hers.

Now I expect full details tonight...did you kiss yet?!

I blushed as she held in a gasp, furiously writing back.

You DID kiss, didn't you!!! You and I have a LOT to talk about tonight

I remembered our plans tonight before grimacing

Sorry Mai, I already made plans with Adrian tonight? Ahehe?

Then can you sleepover next weekend?  My parents will be out by then.

I think?

I'll have to see if I'm allowed to first

I swear you were born lucky to live in the same house as your own boyfriend, it's like you married early!

I blushed at her comment.

Don't say that! We're too young for marriage...

She was about to write back before Marinette practically broke through the door.

Hi! I'm sorry! I-uh, I-uh, the bus,"  Marinette stammered before coughing.  "Dry throat."  The teacher sighed, dismissing her to her seat.

"Alright, I'll give all of you till the end of lunch to decide if you like to be a candidate."  Ms.Bustier announced as the lunch bell rang.

***

"He confessed to you at Valentines day with a Chat Noir plushie?!"  Maya squealed at my white lie. Truth:  He confessed on Valentines Day and it was mostly about his identity as Chat Noir but she can't say that. "But last I known, you've had a major thing for Chat Noir, what changed your mind?"

"ah, well."  I nervously chuckled. "Well, I guess I realized I only admired Chat Noir. Besides I ship him with Lady Wolf now. They're really cute together."

"A wolf and a cat, such a cute image. I've been watching the two closely, and lately hasn't it seemed like they've been closer? I almost think they're a thing."

"Maybe."  I soon overheard Chloé telling students not to run for class rep with some dirty secret or threat.

"Why you look at that, little miss princess is scaring people off with her scheming blackmail."  Maya chortled.

"Why are you so bugged? Are you planning to run for class rep?"

"Not, I'm already busy as it is with my Wolf blog plus the fact I gotta help my mom with our antique store."  Maya sighed. "Besides, I'd prefer if you ran for class rep. You're efficient, friendly, and so very reliable. Not to mention you got a good face."

"Oh I can't run."  I bashfully chuckled. "I already have extra classes and my kendo. Not to mention modelling. I'm already busy as it is." Especially with my Lady Wolf identity.

"I didn't even know they did kendo in France."

"France has many foreigners too you know? and I enjoy learning how to use a sword, It's a calming pastime." And a nice advantage to helping me with Akuma fights.

"I heard you even went to New York for a bit to for a kendo tournament."

"It was just for two weeks. Not long."  The two finished off their lunches before hearing the bell.

"Well, time to hear how Chloé is guaranteed Class rep."  Maya sighed, packing her lunch box as they got up to head to class.

"I don't know Maya, maybe someone will run this time."

"Yeah, they'll have to be someone with free time and without any secrets, Chloé could exploit."

***

"So, any new candidates who would like to run against Chloé and Sabrina?"  Ms.Bustier asked, looking around as I noticed a lot of them cower from her gaze before she sighed, seeing nobody is willing to. "Given that Chloé and Sabrina are the only candidates, there's no point in voting. So, Chloé and Sabrina-"

"I'll run!"  Marinette exclaimed, raising her hand as Maya seemed shocked as I nudged her.

" Wonderful! You'll need to develop your campaign and have a speech ready by tomorrow. We'll have the vote then."  Ms.Bustier smiled, dismissing the class.

"See."  I said. "Told you someone might run this time."

"She never seemed like the type to do this stuff."  Maya shrugged. "But she sure got my vote already, and I'm assuming yours too?"

"Nope."  I smiled.

"You've got to be insane to vote for Chloé!"

"I'm planning to be unbiased. See who wins me over first."

"Sometimes I can't seem to understand how your brain works."  Maya deadpanned.

"Wanna get some ice cream? I'm yearning for some icy treats!"

"I'm not paying."

"Aww,"

"Oh hush, not like you're tight on money."

"But I like being paid for, makes me feel special."

"You're special either way Ms.Super Model."

***

I was watching Adrain fence his teacher, waiting for him to be done.

"Fencing and kendo are different customs, yet the same sort of grace,"  I muttered, watching the two before Mr.D'Argencourt used some different tactic to trip Adrain off his feet before pointing his point at him.

"Wow, Mr. D'Argencourt, never seen you on fire like this! That was some attack!" Adrain praised, lifting his mask as Mr.D'Argencourt lend them a hand to heave him up.

"It ought be. This particular maneuver hither was developed by my ancestor, Darkblade." Mr. D'Argencourt proudly said.

"Darkblade?"

" In the days of yore, Darkblade conquered Paris and ruled over it with an iron fist. Until he was overthrown vence by a wealthy Frenchman who used his dirty gold to buy the loyalties of the common people. To think that not so long ago, my ancestor's flag was waving above Paris..." I soon noticed Nadja and the news camera sneak up behind Mr.D'Argencourt as I gripped my purse, having a bad feeling.

" Is that what you ran in the election, Mr. D'Argencourt? To seek revenge on your ancestors behalf?" She questioned all of a sudden, starling Mr.D'Argencourt.

"Part le fer! Who dost we have hither?" He angerily asked.

"Nadja Chamack. Don't be bemused, it's just the news!" She exclaimed to the camera before pointing her mic to the man. "Do you have anything to say about your quote un-quote landslide defeat?"

"Hey, you! Excuse me! How did you get in the school?" The janitor came running.

"I think it's time to get back to the studio!" They ran off with the Janitor on their tail.

"I smell a akuma in the air." Alpha whispered, peeking out from my purse as I quietly shoved him down.

"Shh, We don't want Adrain's teacher to catch glimpse of you,"

"I don't know, I find the idea of people finding you crazy talking to a purse very amusing." I annoyingly shoved him deeper in my purse as he snickered.

"When I asked for a change, They should've gotten me a nicer kawami too." I mockingly mumbled.

"I'm a great kawami, be lucky. Many wishes they had me instead."

"How many were a mirror?"

"We don't speak about that."

"Speak of what?" I looked up to see Adrain, already out of his fencing suit, standing above me.

"He thinks he's nice." I scoffed.

"Compared to Plagg, he might as well be."

"Hey!" The black cat exclaimed from his jacket as we both laughed, intertwining our hands as we headed outside before hearing a loud slash.

"We shall take City Hall by storm and reclaim the throne from Bourgeois the usurper!" the Akuma who looked like Darkblade, with two knight minions ran off as the two stared agape.

"Whoa, that's some medieval madness!" Plagg watched.

"No kidding," Alpha retorted, the two ran back into the school.

"Time to transform!" Adrian exclaimed. "Plagg claws out!" He transformed as I watched with an amusing look. He soon looked at me, smirking. "Enjoying the view?"

"You can say that," I said, turning around.

"Admit it." Alpha scoffed. "You-"

"Alpha tails out!" I cut him off with the transformation words as he got pulled into my bracelet.  I soon as I finished, I noticed Chat looking at me with his eyes glued.

"Enjoying the view?" I retorted back with a smirk.

"You can say that." We both looked at each other, before laughing as he walked up to the door opening it before bowing down. "M'lady?"

"Why thank you, kind gentle-kitty." Before I knew it, Chat swooped me off my feet, carrying me in his arms. "You do know I'm fully capable of keeping up with you?"

"Yes, 100%. But where's the fun in that?" I rolled my eyes playfully as he jumped up using his staff to get onto a rooftop, letting me down as we stopped to see Darkblade turning our driver into a knight.

"Let us to battle, knights! Part le fer!" Darkblade proclaimed, the citizens chanting 'Part le fer!'

"The people had their say and they chose Bourgeois over you, D'Argencourt!" Chat interrupted, jumping down to block their path.

"Cha-" I groaned, jumping down next to him.

"Thy peoples matter not to me. D'Argencourt was defeated, not Darkblade! En grade!"

"People do matter! They're what makes Paris, Paris!" I exclaimed before Chat used his staff to spar with Darkblade as I took on the knights with mine.  

They started crowding me, getting overwhelmed as I knocked one down only to quickly be cornered by another two.

"Uhhh, Mon amour?" Chat called, being backed up into the bridge edge.

"Little ergh! Busy!" I called back.

"Think we should retreat and find Ladybug!" I got my staff knocked, flying off the bridge.

"Good idea." I dodged the knights as I grabbed Chat's hand as we fell back, before using our claws to cling to the backside surface of the bridge.

"Nary a minute to be wasted! City Hall awaits us!"  We heard Darkblade, soon hearing their thumping footsteps fade away.

"City hall huh." Chat grinned.

"Guess now we know their main objective, let's go."

*** {Third POV} ***

Marinette anxiously watched as Chat and Lady Wolf fight off as many knights as they could from the window.

"Chat...Lady Wolf...Hurry." Marinette quietly urged.

"Part le fer!" Darkblade shouted, fencing with Chat Noir as Lady Wolf tried to help before getting caught up with the crowd of Knights, getting tossed onto the wall.

"Oww." Lady Wolf groaned, "That's gonna leave a bruise." Before she knew it, Chat and she was backed up on the wall, a very similar yo-yo sting appeared right in front of them as Chat Noir grinned, grabbing the string, his free hand around Lady Wolf's waist as she teasingly taunted the knights before Ladybug reeled the two inside. Chat Noir, unfortunately, slammed against the wall, falling upside, Lady Wolf let go and landed on her feet beside him.

"Sorry, Guys." Ladybug apologized. "I was doing damage control inside."

"We were managing just fine on our own, but it's always to have a third helping hand." Chat grinned, getting up.

Soon enough, they three worked together to try to keep the knights from reaching the inside of the tower as they attempted to stack on top of each other's shoulders.

"Strike!" Chat exclaimed, watching them fall back down like pinballs as he pulled the two girls back inside.

"Cursèd, colorful acrobats!" Darkblade angrily shouted before going up to two cars, tapping both sides of them with his sword to change them into a catapult. The knights used the catapults to try and fling themselves up across the building.

"Why are they going to the roof?" Chat questioned before one slammed to the wall next to their window with a loud 'oof!'.  "Well, at least some of them."

"The flag!" Ladybug realized.

"Tally ho!" Darkblade continued to order, the knights launching him onto the roof. " Ha haha! Once these stripes are supplanted by mine coat of arms, I shalt reign supreme!" He explained, cutting off the national flag from its place.

"The Akuma, it must be in his sword." Lady Wolf observed as they jumped up to the rooftop. "It's the only thing he's been using this whole time."

"How are we gonna get a hold of it?" Chat asked.

"By getting me close to him!" Ladybug declared, pulling out her yoyo to latch onto his arm, climbing up to the peak of the building before Darkblade pushed her to the side with his sword. "Chat Noir! Lady Wolf! Don't let him get his banner!" The two nodded going to attempt knocking down the tower of knights before the one with the flag could reach Darkblade, but soon failed as they had already climbed the rest pinning themselves onto the teens to keep them from stopping the process.

"Villains! Thou impress me not. By the blade of darkness, I hereby declare all peoples of this kingdom are henceforth mine!" Darkblade's voice roared as he placed his banner where the previous flag was, causing the sky above them to turn black. "Bow to King Darkblade!" A black void of energy appears and begins closing in on City Hall, causing civilians to become knights. "Soon thou shalt join my army, you venomous insect!"

Chat soon managed to get the Knights off his back as he glanced at Lady Wolf who nodded at him.

"Don't worry, I can handle a few of them on my own!" Chat nodded.

"Not so fast!" He exclaimed towards Darkblade, bringing his staff out extended to fight him. "En garde!" They seemed to have begun fencing as Ladybug looked around, spinning her yoyo to defend herself. "We're about to wind up as knights too." Chat nervously shouted, noticing the black void slowly coming towards them, close enough to turn the students into Knights.

"Lucky Charm!" Ladybug activated her powers, a toy ladybug falling onto her hands. "Uh, okay..." She then uses her thinking vision which highlights part of the City Hall's roof, some edging, and Darkblade's underarm. "let's hope Darkblade's ticklish." While they are fighting, Ladybug winds up the toy and goes to where Darkblade is, and throws the toy ladybug at him. He then starts feeling ticklish and laughs, causing him to throw the sword at Chat who quickly flings it over to Ladybug who didn't waste time to slam the sword onto the ground right before the void could knightify Lady Wolf.

The sky's void fades away as the Akuma gets out of the sword.

"No more evil-doing for you, Little Akuma!" Ladybug does her thing, catching the akuma with her yoyo and purifies it. Darkblade turns back into Armand.

"Pound it!" The three cheered, fist-bumping before Chat looks at his ring.

"Uh err, gotta take off!" He quickly says. "See yah!" He leaped off as Lady Wolf soon noticed the time as well.

"I'll get going too now," She waves at Ladybug, quickly leaving the scene.

Ladybug jumps down, entering through a window inside an empty room as she changed back.

"Great job, Marinette!" Tikki congratulated. " You proved that you can be Ladybug and a student leader at the same time."

"Wasn't easy, but I'm glad I tried." Marinette smiled. "Cause if I hadn't, I never would've known I could do it."

Marinette walks down the stairs to be greeted by Chloé 's scorns as everyone else was getting the posters and chairs from the door to let fresh air in.

" So where were you? Safely hiding under a rock?"  Chloé scoffed.

"Very funny, Chloé. I got transformed... into a knight" Marinette rolled her eyes, covering up the truth.

"So did I!" Adrian exclaimed, dragging Y/n as they sprinted down the stairs. "What  knight-mare!"

"You had to add the pun?" Y/n cringed as he continued dragging her off.

"Now that this is all over, I want my personal items back!" Marinette ordered, getting Chloé nervous as everyone gasped, their attention now on them.

" I really have no idea what you're talking about! I-"  Before Chloé could retort, Sabrina shoved past her, holding her hand out which seemed to be clammed onto a box to Marinette.

"Oh, yes! Please take it off!" Sabrina pleaded. Marinette took out her key, unlocking the box from her hand as she finally sighed with relief. "Thank you."

"Got an explanation, Chloé?" Alya asked, recording her.

" I told you, I never took her diary! And I'm offended that you're accusing me." Chloé continued to try and defend herself.

"Then how did you even know my diary was in here?" Marinette raised her eyebrow, the students gasping once more.

"Oh, well, uh... " Chloé stammered before pointing at Sabrina. "Sabrina told me. It was all her idea!"

"So uncool." Nino shook his head.

" At least now we know nobody voted for Chloé. You're gonna be our new representative!"  Alya grinned.

"Uh... Not so fast, Alya." Marinette cut in.

"Ha ha ha! See? She's undependable!" Chloé suddenly started mocking. "She's already throwing in the towel!"

"No, I'm not!" Marinette quickly defended. " I just wanna be voted in fairly, not because you don't wanna vote for Chloé, but because you believe in me! I'm not gonna make promises that I can't keep, and I'm not gonna be able to get you everything that you want. But I am resourceful and I know how to prioritize. I'm a good listener and a great multi-tasker. Representing you all is something I truly believe in. And most importantly, I believe in myself. So... Vote for Marinette, for class representative!"

"She got your vote now?" Maya nudged Y/n.

"Most definitely." Y/n chuckled. "Who would've thought Chloé would snoop through her private things just to win."

"Sometimes I wonder how you still see the good in her." Maya deadpanned.

"I rather trust and regret than doubt and regret."

*** {Y/n's POV} ***

I was walking out of the classroom as Adrian left early, claiming he had to go and set something up first before I saw Marinette waiting for me.

"Marinette." I smiled. "Congratulations on becoming class rep!"

"Can we talk somewhere private?" Marinette asked.

"Yes, please. I could not ask for more." It's been weeks since she was able to talk to me. I kept wondering what I did to upset her. She led me to an empty closet, making sure to lock the door. "If I did anything to upset you in any way, I really am sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you on whatever I did-"

"You didn't do anything wrong." Marinette cut off. "It was me." I got confused, waiting for her to continue. "You didn't know about the huge crush I had on...on....." She began fumbling looking around as I tried to think. Who would she had a crush on that would upset-... Adrian.

"On Adrian?"  I asked.

".....yes. And I got so jealous I couldn't stand watching you two and I just ran off and ignored you. I let my feelings get in the way, and that's my fault."

"I'm-"

"Don't apologize when all you did was be my friend. you couldn't have known, I can't believe I even held a grudge against you for it. But I thought it over, and I guess me and Adrian were never meant to be."  

"You're one of my dearest friends, Marinette." I said, smiling. "I wouldn't want to lose you for something as small as this."

"You're right, us girls got to stick together after all." Marinette sadly chuckled. "Can't let a little crush come between that."

"So, How about we hang out a bit more, to make up for this misunderstanding?"

"You can sleepover at my place!" Marinette offered. "Maybe even bake together and stuff, you know. if you're able to that is."

"I think I might be, It sounds fun!"

"You really are too nice."

"Am I?" I sheepishly laughed. "Everyone's been saying that lately."

"Well, I'm glad we were able to talk again."

"Me too, next time. Try not to ignore me for weeks. You had me insanely anxious."

"I'll keep that in mind." We laughed as we walked out, continuing our sleepover planning.

***

Soon enough, it was night as I noticed it was nearly midnight and Adrian- or Chat would be waiting for my arrival by now. I brought out my phone to send a text to see if he'd let me go now. Seeing how strict he was with the timing.

you

does my dear blondilocks give me the permission to go out?

Kitty  ♡

why yes

you may , mon amour 😉

you

see you in a few seconds  !!  (≧∇≦)

"Alpha!" I exclaimed, watching his little head poke out from his hiding hole, mouth filled with brownies.

"Yesh?"

"Time to go."

"Mphf?  Wai-"

"Alpha, Tails out!"

I opened my window, making sure to close it after I got out before making my way up to the building next to the Eiffel tower to see Chat waiting for me with a single rose in his hand.

"M'lady?" He held out the rose, as I giggled taking it.

"Why thank you. You shouldn't have." He took my hand, leading me to a small romantic set up. There were rows of gently lit candles with petals decorating the area. and in the middle, a table for two was set up. A romantic atmosphere complete with a beautiful view of Paris. "I didn't know you were such a charmer."

"I try only for you," I blushed as he helped me sit down, pushing in my chair.

"Did you make these yourself?" I asked, opening the dishes to see some of my favorite food and drinks.

"Had a little bit of help."

"You went too much for me."

"There's no too much when it comes to my purrfect amour."

"You sure got a lot to say." I laughed a bit, as I took a bite out of my f/d. (Favorite Dish)

"What can I say?  You bring the romance out of me,"

"How do I put it back?" I teased.

"Ahaha." Soon after we ate and talked a bit, Chat stood up as he did something I couldn't see before the music began to play. "A dance?"  He offered his hand, bowing down slightly.

"You're pulling out all the cards on the first date?" I said, astonished.

"I refuse to give you any less than you deserve." I blushed, taking his hand as he pulled me up, wrapping one arm on my waist, while still holding my hand as I placed my hand on his shoulder as we softly swayed to the music. He occasionally twirled me, sending me in fits of giggles.

"What are we going to do if we get caught here?"

"Do this of course." He then dipped me, going in to kiss me as I blushed from the suddenness. "Leave them a show to enjoy." He deeply said, before pulling me up to another kiss.

"What am I going to do with you," I mumbled.

"Kiss me again."

[thisnoodlewritesao3]

The One Where You Fall In Love (And Then You Don’t) | Sawamura Daichi/Reader

Characters: Sawamura Daichi, Reader (Moonlight), Sugawara Koushi, Azumane Asahi (mentioned), Miya Osamu, Other!Reader (Angel), Other!Reader (Sunshine)

Pairings: Sawamura Daichi/Reader

Warnings: Angst, mentions of cheating, mild swearing

Word Count:  4406

Summary: You loved Daichi - you swear you did - for so long, and for so hard. You loved him, but you weren't quite sure when you stopped liking him.

A/N: And we are back to my regularly schedule antics as promised. I want to give a big thank you to @satan-ruler-of-hells for helping me by Beta-reading (and to my mom for reading it too). This is also one part of what will eventually be a much larger series including some of the girls that you meet along the way. So, follow me and keep an eye out for them

Series Masterlist | Next

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You loved Daichi.

You had ever since you met him - well, that was a strong sentiment - but it had always felt that way, so you couldn’t fault your own emotions. Of course, you’d heard about him before, he was on the volleyball team after all; you’d just never met him until your third year. Somehow, by some miracle, you were put into the same class, seated right next to each other. He was sitting by the window - something that made you jealous because you wanted the window seat - you opted for just staring in that direction instead.

Maybe he took your staring the wrong way because he apologised to you after class. Obviously, you were confused, because he hadn’t done anything wrong. His friend snickered, “already scaring the ladies on the first day?” Earning himself a swift elbow in the ribs. You snorted at the noise he made.

“It’s just… you were glaring at me the whole class.” He said sheepishly, completely different from five seconds ago; it was endearing, his sudden nervousness.

Now that you couldn’t figure out, had you really been glaring at him? Your friends had always said that when you get lost in thought you tend to look more pissed off, but you never took them seriously. Not until now, that is. “Oh. Oh! Oh God no!” You cry out, waving your hands, “I was just staring out the window!” You explained, now feeling the heat rise to your cheeks.

“Oh.” He says, looking more relieved with each passing second. “Had me worried for a minute, thought I’d done something wrong.” He chuckled - God, that chuckle was gorgeous.

“The only one who did something wrong was the teacher,” you scrunch up your nose and smile, “putting someone so gorgeous next to the window, how am I meant to stay focused now?” You froze, realising what you said. Come on, Y/N, you can’t just go around flirting with people. You silently kick yourself when he doesn’t say anything, just lets his jaw drop open. Of course, it doesn’t take him long to recover, flashing you a winning smile.

“Maybe you should sit by the window, although I think I’d find it hard to focus.” He gave you a lazy wink, his silver haired friend hollering at him for such smooth moves; now it’s your turn to recover, only you don’t do it with half as much grace as him, stuttering and fumbling around.

“I think you broke her,” his friend laughs, smacking him on the back, clutching his stomach like this is the best thing he’s ever witnessed.

An arm wraps around your waist and it snaps you back to reality, your friend smiling up at Daichi sickeningly sweetly. “Look at you, picking up the hot guys on the first day. And two of them!” She calls out, eyes darting to the silver haired boy.

“Picking up-” You ponder what she meant before gasping, “stop it!” You push her off of you as she starts her own fit of giggles. “I was just apologising for my resting bitch face.” That sets her off again, because of course your resting bitch face had managed to attract two guys.

“You always have a bitch face.” She quips, whisking you away. You wave over your shoulder, taking note of the soft smile on his face.

----

You loved Daichi.

Despite his confidence yesterday, it’s actually his silver haired friend that talks to you first - his name is Sugawara Koushi - you don’t know it yet, but he will grow to be the person you confide in the most. Even before Daichi.

“What’s up, bitch face.” Suga sits on your desk, and for a second you contemplate kicking him.

“What’s up, Suga tits.” You lean back in your chair. Daichi snorts at the nickname, making your heart swell with pride - wow, that has never happened before. Suga breaks out into a big grin, pointing his thumb at you.

“Oh, you should totally keep this one,” he says.

“This one? Is Sawamura here a player? Do I need to protect my precious little heart?” You gently place your hand over your heart, gasping lightly and making sure to pull the most adorably-shocked face that you can. The playful tone doesn’t go unnoticed by either of the boys.

“The only thing he plays is volleyball.” Suga says at the same time that Daichi says, “maybe you do.” With another lazy wink.

You can’t help but snort again, causing the three of you to break out into a fit of laughter.

It surprised you how close the three of you became and how quickly; for you, it felt like everything finally fell into place. Suga was rather chaotic - you remember the time he basically used Asahi as a human battering ram - but he had his moments of kindness. Daichi was effortlessly smooth, sometimes a little intimidating, and he had this aura of authority that you couldn’t help but smile at.

When they introduced you to their volleyball team, you made sure to stick closer to Daichi’s side. One of them asked if you were his girlfriend, neither of you fought off the notion - maybe you were crazy, but you swore Daichi was blushing.

You aren’t surprised when he asks you to go on a date with him - in fact, you’re elated - this is the moment you’d been waiting for; Suga was the first to hear the news and congratulated you.

Your happiness with the silver haired boy was quickly silenced when he brought a packet of condoms to class the next day and not-so-subtly shoved them in your direction. Had you ever wanted to punch someone? Not until you met Sugawara Koushi.

Everything gets worse when Daichi sees them on your desk, eyeing you curiously before you haphazardly shove them in your bag. No one else seemed to see the box, but that didn’t stop your embarrassment.

You made a note to kill Sugawara one day.

----

You loved Daichi.

That one date had turned into two, then three, and next thing you know, you’re seeing each other multiple times a week. He even asks you to be his girlfriend, which you all but scream yes at.

Maybe the first sign that things weren’t going to be perfect was how much time his volleyball club needed from him - but you weren’t upset about that, not at first, at least.

Because Daichi still never failed to make you feel special, like you were the most important thing in the entire world. He’d whisk you off your feet every single time you came to see him at practise. The amount of times he’s put a bouquet of flowers on your desk made your heart swoon. He showers you with kisses and hugs, love and affection for days; you swear, if he could have you stay with him all the time, he would.

You never put that box of condoms to use - not yet - but it sits inside your bedroom drawer behind an old packet of cute pens you never wanted to use, a new set of nail polishes, and a book you’d been meaning to move to the shelf.

“Do you know how much I love you?” He mused one evening, running his fingers through your hair while you watched a film. You hum, a little confused by his question, so you turn to face him.

“I’m going to assume that it’s a lot,” you giggle when he swats at your arm.

“A lot does not begin to cover it,” next thing you knew, he was kissing you, pulling you so close like he was afraid to lose you.

----

You loved Daichi.

So much that you’d watch his volleyball games and cheer him on, even if you really had no idea what was happening - he’d tried to explain it to you, but it didn’t help that much. The thing was that you didn't need to understand the passion in his eyes, you just needed to be there for him.

You wouldn’t have felt so bad about not learning about volleyball if he didn’t pay so much attention to all your hobbies - though you didn’t think it was that difficult to figure out the plot of Ouran HighSchool Host Club.

It became so easy to lose yourself in him. Soon, it was no longer just Y/N - the girl who makes friends a little too easily, and Daichi - the boy who is so blissfully unaware of the eyes on him - now you are Y/N and Daichi - the couple who are ignorant to their own worries. Because who needs to worry when everything is just perfect?

The way his hand fits into yours makes your heart swell; the hunger in his eyes when he’s playing volleyball makes your breath pick up; when he brushes your hair behind your ear and swoops in for a kiss.

Everything he did was just so effortlessly perfect. Did he even realise it? The way he drove you completely crazy? Before him, you were sure you’d never feel this way - especially not with how your mom talks about your dad. You were sure that true love was a myth told by hopeful housewives.

You thought this until you met Daichi. Until you fell for him so hard, so quickly that you weren’t really sure what had happened. The fire of your love burned so bright and hot, with such anger, spreading around to everyone - whether for the better or the worse, you wouldn’t know. Not yet.

----

You loved Daichi.

That was why, when things were just a little too difficult, you’d rather call Sugawara. You didn’t want to bother your boyfriend with your problems - even when he said that it’s fine and that’s what I’m here for. But you knew what would happen. You’d seen it happen in front of your eyes.

“What if I’m not good enough?” You sigh, pulling at the grass beneath you as Suga stares at you sadly. “What if he leaves me because I can’t figure out volleyball? It means so much to him, and yet I just...” There’s obvious panic in your voice.

The setter sighs heavily, running his hand through his hair. You were difficult to figure out. Your confidence always seemed unwavering. But beneath the surface you were riddled with insecurities; it was like a maze in your mind. One wrong word and you’re met with a dead end with no memory of how to turn around. He could only imagine that a scared little girl lay in the centre, wrapped up in a little fantasy world with dolls - a world where mommies and daddies got along, and she could act like a girl again.

“You know Daichi would never do that to you. He’s just happy that you watch the games.” Suga said, confident that that was the right choice. He couldn’t tell, not as you slowly looked up to the sky, face lacking the emotion your eyes yearned to show.

“I guess you're right.” He barely heard you, but maybe he hadn’t made such a mistake afterall.

He wondered how Daichi managed to deal with you; then he remembered that he didn’t. For Daichi, you were a constant ball of sunshine and happiness. Even when Suga could see the pain in how you moved, when he could hear your frustrated phone calls to your mother, the way you almost fell asleep in class so many times.

He watched you on the few days they’d come back to yours as you acted more like a housewife than a teenage girl. He’d joked with Daichi that you’d make the perfect wife one day - he didn’t miss the way you glared before lifting your baby sister up and planting her softly on your hip, feeding one of your brothers as he wailed.

Sometimes Suga wondered whether Daichi saw these things too. If he did, he never said anything.

----

You loved Daichi.

But when he asked you what you were planning to do after school, you didn't really know how to respond other than saying, “I have to watch the kids…” you said it like it should have been obvious, there wasn’t much else you could do. You’d never put much thought into college, not that you had the time to. You were happy with how things were now, why did they have to change?

“What about after that?” He asked, pausing the episode of Attack on Titan you were watching, turning to face you fully, clearly intent on continuing this conversation.

After what? After your siblings grow up enough to not rely on you? But that wouldn’t be for such a long time. The twins were still only two, not even taking in account your sister, who can now hold her head up herself.

“Do you not want a job?” His brow twitched in slight anger and you knew why; he wanted to know what future you had together. But you didn’t know. You’d never had a chance to daydream about the future, you couldn’t even glance back to the past, you were glued into the present without room to move.

“I do,” you shrugged, laughing nervously, “but it isn’t that big of a deal. Besides, I’ve got you. So what more do I need right now?” You tentatively reached out and rested your hand on his, squeezing it lightly. He squeezed back, letting you know he wasn’t really upset.

“Yeah, we have each other,” he smiled softly, pulling you into a big hug. You ran your hands through his hair, trying not to think about how he’ll be going off to college soon, trying your best to bask in this moment.

Things were never going to be easy, you see that clearly now.

----

You loved Daichi.

You just wished he hadn’t chosen somewhere an hour away from home. You wanted to be able to see him, to hold him close and never let him go, but he seemed hellbent on leaving. Of course, you never told him this, you just stayed by his side, talking idly about what he plans on doing.

He plans on being a police officer. You tell him he’d be good at that. He says thank you. There is an awkward tension in the air, but neither of you bring it up.

You want to tell him how you wished he would have chosen somewhere closer because he knows you can’t just leave the house whenever you want, but he’d just tell you that that was ridiculous. That you were an adult and you could do what you wanted (it was a fight you’d had too many times this month alone). He would never understand, so you told yourself you were okay with that.

That night you’d fallen asleep in his jacket, his scent barely lingering on the fabric now - you considered asking him if he would make it smell like him, but he’d be leaving soon, so he’d probably accidentally take it with him.

----

You loved Daichi.

Even when his nightly calls slowly turned into every few days, and then once a week. Nowadays, you felt lucky to hear his voice once a month. Of course he’d visit, but even those visits were so sparse that you didn’t really know how to feel. Empty. If you had to put a name to the feeling, that would be it.

You brushed off your feelings, because Daichi was still so happy, so maybe you were just missing something. Because on the days when he did call you, you were able to smile so wide.

Because you did love him.

That was why you decided to surprise him, take his advice from many months ago, to finally live life how you wanted to - even if it was only for a day. You left your siblings in the caring hands of Suga, who almost looked sad as you left, but he waved you off proudly nonetheless.

Maybe you should have felt sad when he didn’t get worried that you didn’t respond to his text, but it was normal, what’s the point of getting sad at something that happens every day? There wasn’t one. Not a single one.

You can’t help the feeling of something - though you aren’t sure what - weighing down your chest. Each step closer to his dorm feels like an eternity and before you know it, you’re too busy thinking about whether or not you’d made a mistake. The hallway suddenly feels hot, air slowly suffocating you. Had it always been so hot in these halls? You'd be sure to ask Daichi; maybe he could explain the aching in your chest, the weight of your lungs, the mild headache from the stress around you.

But when you knock, and when he opens, you aren’t greeted with the normal show of being whisked off of your feet. In fact, you aren’t greeted with Daichi at all. In his place stands a young woman, so radiant and ethereal you might think her an actual angel. But she wasn’t. No, the sinister reasons for her being here are all too obvious. You note the marks down her neck - the ones he’d refused to give you, lest you ruin your innocence before marriage - the way her cheeks are flushed, sweat shining her forehead. The way his shirt - you knew it, because it had been one you’d bought him - taunted you by daring to fall so perfectly on her body.

You can’t speak. The wind knocked from your lungs. Have you ever been hurt so quickly? Maybe, but that was only in front of Sugawara. You slowly raised a shaking hand to your mouth, trying to decide whether or not to give into the nausea that hit you so violently.

What had you done to deserve this? You couldn’t think of anything - not right now, at least. Of course you weren’t perfect, but who was? Daichi was. To you he was.

All around you, the world seemed to crumble, you couldn’t speak or move. For a second, it seemed like she recognised the look in your eyes - so obviously wounded by the sight of her. Her eyes flitter into the dorm. His voice calling out, “who is it, angel?” You have to press your hand to your heart, and check it, it felt like you’d been stabbed. You might have been happier with that.

When he pulls himself into frame you don’t even have the energy to cry, mind wracked trying to figure out where you’d gone wrong.

His chest is littered with bites, and marks, and scratches.

His face falls when his eyes meet yours, something breaking deep inside of him as you shake, feigning the softest smile. “Surprise…” you try and cheer, trying to pretend like you hadn’t seen him this way. Trying to cover the image of him in front of you with the Daichi you knew. The man with an aura of authority, the man too kind and blissfully unaware of the eyes on him.

----

You loved Daichi.

No, you love Daichi.

Maybe that was your personal imperfection.

As you sat in his dorm, listening to his excuses, you could only smile, tracing your finger around the edge of the mug. If you were honest, none of this hurt as much as you thought it would - of course it hurt, but the pain was lessened so deeply by something inside of you.

“I didn’t mean for you to find out like this. I-I… I thought maybe if we kept trying, then maybe we could-” you cut him off by gently placing the mug onto the coffee table, noting the little pieces of her that littered the apartment.

“I think what you mean,” you straighten your back and turn to face him - he’s still shirtless, that girl is still in his shirt - she sits next to him, the space between them seems like such a cavern now. She looks so much like she wants to escape, but you can’t ever escape something you’d walked into so effortlessly, “is that you didn’t mean for me to find out.” He opens his mouth, trying to find the words before he grunted. You let out a breath, clapping your hands together, “well, when you told me to go out and live my life, I never thought this is what it would be like.” You look around the room slowly.

“It isn’t like you ever needed me,” now he was desperate, trying to find something to use against you, “you always had Suga clinging to your side.” He sneered. Was that something he was proud of? That he might have hurt you with your own friendship. “You never even trusted me anyway.” He was hurt, you knew that much.

You bite back at your lip, wanting to yell I think everyone can clearly see why, but no. Because this is the first time he’s ever done something like this. “Maybe that’s true, but if you really think that, then you never really knew me at all.”

There’s guilt in his eyes because he knows that you know he just tried to hurt you, tried to make you run away from him. But you don’t need to run.

“I spent a lot of time thinking,” you continue, rubbing your hands on your sides to try and ease some of your personal tension, “that when you slowly stopped calling, that you were really busy; you were out here doing what I should have. You were living your life.” You glance at the girl - she stinks of shame, tugging at the hem of the shirt. “And I can see that I was right.” There aren’t any more words needed. You can’t even think of anything else to say.

You stand up to leave, but he grabs your wrist, “we can still try, I- I want you to still love me. And I will love you, because I do love you.” He reeks of desperation now. It makes you feel sick. It hurts. You just want to leave. You don’t want to be here anymore. You can’t stand to see him. Not like this. Not when you’re about to crumble. You were fine holding yourself up a moment ago, but now, seeing the tears prickle into his eyes, you don’t know if you can do it.

It takes everything in you to smile sweetly down at him, “I never said I didn’t love you,” you chime, gently unwrapping his fingers from around your wrist. What’s left behind isn’t warmth, no, it feels more like a burn, “but I don’t think I like you anymore, Daichi.”

Maybe that is your last hurrah as you slink out of the dorm. 

----

You still love Daichi

As tears dribble down your cheeks, you call the one person you can think, hoping he can give you the strength to keep walking and not crumble right here.

Just as he answers, someone taps on your shoulder. The girl - she’d introduced herself, but you didn’t hear her - a buzzing in your ears reminds you of the blinding anger. You can’t even focus on what she’s saying. Something about how she didn’t know, or that he’s a great man. You don’t have a response. Not until she opens her eyes and notices the tears, “you really loved him, didn’t you?” Her voice is soft. Maybe she finally realises the calamity of what she’s done.

Did you love him? Well, that was definitely a yes. You couldn’t deny it, not even to her. You doubted you could ever fall out of love with him. “I’ll call you back,” you mumble to Suga, hanging up and taking a seat at the nearest bench, beckoning her to join you. “I do- I did. Did he ever tell you how we met?” She shakes her head slowly, so you decide to tell her a tale as old as time. Of a boy in a class, and a girl with a love for windows. Of how he blocked your light, and had kept doing so until right now. She listens so intently, because she must know the pain you feel.

You tell her about his unwillingness to give up and his aura of authority - she agrees, because who wouldn’t - you tell her about the passion in his eyes, how he could bring the first years to their knees. She laughs and you can see why he chose her. There were stars in her eyes for a thousand light years.

You can’t help but think that maybe love doesn’t exist, just as your mother had warned you for so long.

----

For too long, five years to be exact, you spend endless nights trying to forget Daichi. The memory of him sticks to the walls. So as soon as you can, you move to Hyogo - a place that even Daichi hadn’t managed to touch. You hesitated when you said goodbye to Suga, but he had met a girl that radiated the sun, and you just knew that he was going to be fine.

You opted to go to online university, some shame in the fact you’d never had a chance to go before, but that was a worry for another day. Your biggest concern was work. How were you to find a job with no work experience? A place to stay would be nice, too, but you could easily take it one day at a time.

On your hopeless search, you practically stumble into a restaurant by the name of Onigiri Miya. Of course, Daichi somehow lingers here when you are met with two - or one - vaguely familiar faces. You dig into the depths of your mind, trying to think of where you remember them from.

You brush it off, sitting down at the counter and aimlessly searching through the menu. Maybe you sat there for too long, staring with such tension, because a plate of onigiri is placed in front of you. “From my idiot brother, but made by me,” he sighs, taking a quick note of the way your eyes light up.

“I can pay!” You call out, sifting through your bag for your wallet. Except they both refuse to take your money and you huff.

When the chef - Miya Osamu - smiles lazily down at your pouting face, something in your heart fizzles awake.

For the first time in five years, you think that maybe love can still exist.

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

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[hotpinkhoshi]

kiss it better | four

pairing: mark tuan x reader

genre: angst, smut, brother’s best friend au (sort of)

warnings: age gap (nine years), cursing, explicit sex, slow burn

word count: 4k

summary: you were off limits for more reasons than mark could count. but everything changed for him the day you walked into his tattoo shop with those big innocent eyes and a laugh like his favorite song. he couldn’t. he wouldn’t. and yet…

a/n: hellloooooo my loves! thanks for your patience with this update! please let me know what you think about the update :) 

✩ index here ✩

The last time you went bowling, you were eight years old. 

It was your birthday, and you’d declared that the one thing you’d wanted was for the whole family to spend the day together. Lately, Taehyung had been focused on graduating and you’d barely seen him around the house. Your dad was always working, and your mom offered little to no comfort. 

So it had been your birthday wish to have just one day that you could be a family. 

For the first time in your life, you’d had a perfect day. Even Taehyung had put his responsibilities aside and come along, which had been the best part. 

You didn’t win, of course. You had little to no hand-eye coordination - but you’d had more fun than you could ever remember having with your family. The one time you bowled a strike, Taehyung grabbed you and put you on his shoulders, doing laps up and down the lane while you giggled until your cheeks hurt. 

When you entered the bowling alley, you tried not to remember that day. It would only bring you sadness and make you long for something you could never have again.

Instead, you honed in on a different feeling in your bones. You were meeting Mark’s friends for the first time, and it had been a long time since you’d been in such a large group. You couldn’t help but feel nervous. It made you want to steal the leather jacket Mark was wearing and let yourself be swallowed up by the heavy material. 

College had been a learning experience, to say the least, and one of the most prominent lessons had been that it was easy to lose yourself in situations like these. When drinks were flowing, music was blasting, and people were laughing - you didn’t have a great track record. 

Nonetheless, you let Mark lead you back to his friends after grabbing the right shoes, anxiously shoving your hands into the pockets of your shorts. 

“Look who showed up!” Dahyun exclaimed once you joined their group, standing up from the cushioned seats in front of the alley. 

She brushed right past Mark to embrace you in a tight hug, squeezing your shoulders and briefly rocking you back and forth. 

“Damn, hello to you too,” Mark murmured. He shook his head and greeted the rest of his friends, exchanging one of those dude handshakes with a tall, lean guy with shaggy black hair. 

When Dahyun let you go, she linked her arm through yours and brought you over to the group. “Everybody, this is Y/N.” 

“Hi,” you responded with a shy wave. 

The tall guy reached out his hand. “Hi, I’m Yugyeom.” 

He had a face that made you feel like you could trust him, a smile that seemed more innocent than anything else. You couldn’t help but to return his smile and grasp his hand. 

“Hi,” you said again, before Dahyun was pointing to the next person. 

“This is Jackson,” she said, gesturing to a guy leaning coolly against the booth, chestnut brown hair swooped away from his face to reveal his sparkling smile. 

You recognized him as the male you’d seen on that first day, the one that asked Dahyun for napkins. He was wearing a muscle shirt again, revealing the sleeves of swirling lines on both of his toned arms. 

After shaking his hand, Dahyun led you to the next person. Instead of pointing at her, Dahyun wrapped her arms around the short haired blonde and slapped a kiss on her cheek. 

“This is my other half, my bae, my lady. Or, you may call her Chaeyoung.” 

Chaeyoung crinkled her nose and wriggled out of her girlfriend’s grasp with a giggle, reaching forward to shake your hand. “Hi, nice to meet you.” 

Although they were all older than you, you didn’t quite feel the age gap as you thought you would. Yugyeom had a young soul and you felt comfortable as he helped you choose a bowling ball with the right weight. 

Jackson was friendly, too, claiming you for his team before anyone else could get the chance. He said he got a good feeling from you, that you’d be his lucky charm. All you could do was blush and send Mark a shrug. 

While Mark typed in everybody’s name into the machine, transferring them up onto the screen above your heads to show the scores, you accepted the cider that Dahyun slipped into your hands. If anything, perhaps it would loosen you up. 

-- -- --

“If looks could kill,” Dahyun said as she slid into the booth next to Mark. 

Mark brought his beer bottle to his lips, sending a side glance to his friend. “Huh?” 

Dahyun just laughed, tipping her own beer back as she followed Mark’s line of sight. There was Jackson, dancing with you to the techno song playing over the speakers. You were laughing so hard your cheeks were pink. 

“If looks could kill, Jackson would be six feet under,” she finished, nudging his shoulder. “You got a thing for Y/N?” 

Mark scoffed, a bit too quick, and shook his head. “No. No, she’s my friend’s sister.” 

Dahyun snorted. “Okay, and? Chaeyoung was my coworker. Are we just stating facts?”

She didn’t get it. Mark didn’t blame her - she didn’t know the full story. When he was younger, your parents and Tae were the closest things he’d had to family. It would have been downright betrayal to look at you as anything more than a friend. 

But he couldn’t help staring, narrowing his eyes as he watched Jackson adjust your shoulders and hips before you bowled your first shot. He was sure that whatever he was feeling, it wasn’t jealousy. Something curled in his gut, though, when he watched Jackson’s fingers brush against the flower on your shoulder blade, the tattoo Mark had given you himself. 

And for fuck’s sake, did you have to be wearing shorts? It was hot outside, sure, but… 

He shook the thoughts out of his head, realizing that he was the one staring at your legs, not Jackson. Dahyun must have noticed as well, because she nudged him once again and giggled. 

“You’re screwed, dude.”

I’m aware, Mark wanted to say. Instead, he knocked back the rest of his beer. He couldn’t bring himself to look away from you, half out of protectiveness, the other half was something else entirely, something he couldn’t identify. 

-- -- --

“Oh my god!” you exclaimed, watching as your bright pink bowling ball knocked down six pins. It was the most you’d gotten in one turn in the whole duration of the game. You were really bad at this, somehow even worse than you had been when you were eight. 

“You did it!” Jackson yelled happily, pulling you into his arms and lifting you off your feet. You’d had a couple of ciders already, making you feel light and happy as the older man spun you around. 

Jackson was cute. More than just cute - he was handsome enough to be a Disney prince. And he was funny, too. You could tell he was kind. He made you feel special when he laughed at your little quirks during the game, but you knew it was dangerous. 

It wouldn’t be the first time you fell for a hot guy with a charming smile and kind eyes, and you’d told yourself you never would again. So even though he made you laugh and you liked the way he placed his hand on the small of your back, you were cautious. 

Mark was quiet. When it wasn’t his turn, he was mostly brooding in the corner nursing a beer or chatting quietly with Dahyun. You wondered why he wasn’t talking to you, or even looking at you. 

For a moment, you wondered if he was angry with you. He hadn’t spoken to you much, not that he was a man of many words, but you had been getting along so well lately. And he’d wanted you to come, right? 

It occurred to you that maybe he hadn’t, really, and he’d just invited you to be polite. The thought made an unpleasant feeling coil in your gut. 

“Last turn, you know what that means!” 

A female voice called from behind you and you turned to see Chaeyoung carrying a tray of shots - at least a dozen, probably more - to your table. Your eyes widened. This wasn’t for one person, was it?!

“Yes!” Dahyun pumped her fist into the air and skipped over to her girlfriend, helping her set the tray down on the table. 

“Shit, we’re still doing that?” Mark asked, his voice full of annoyance. 

The girls ignored him and Dahyun turned to you. “The rule is, on your last turn, however many pins you leave standing - you take that many shots. It’s a tradition.” 

You blinked a few times, staring down at the tiny shot glasses which were full of a caramelly brown liquid - probably whiskey or bourbon. Not that you had experience with either, but your old roommates always had half empty bottles laying around. 

“You don’t have to,” Mark said low in your ear. You jumped, not knowing he was next to you. When you turned to him, he was giving you a dark look, like he was trying to tell you not to do it. 

Suddenly, you were reminded of your brother. Taehyung was still texting you every day, telling you to go home to your parents, to grow up. He meant well, deep down, but you hated the way he thought he had a right to give you orders. 

Instead of giving in, being the obedient naive girl your brother wanted you to be, you turned from Mark to Dahyun. 

“Oh, no. I’m definitely doing it.” 

-- -- --

“Ohhh, look at your grumpy face. You look like an old man,” you said, poking your fingertip into Mark’s cheek. “Silly.” 

He should have stopped you. Mark had watched as you took five shots, one after the other. In all honesty, you’d knocked them back like a champ with hardly a grimace. But it was a quick downward spiral from there. 

After tearing you away from Chaeyoung and Dahyun, who you were claiming to be your new sisters, Mark led you out of the bowling alley. With your arm around his neck and his arm stabilizing your waist, he felt like he was dragging a dead body with how helpful you were being. 

Now that you were in the backseat of the Uber, you seemed to be gaining a second wind. You were leaning towards him, batting your eyelashes at him with the most infuriating, adorable smile he’d ever seen. 

“Are you mad at me?” you asked, grin dropping into a pout. 

Mark sighed. He was used to being the one to take care of his drunk friends - Jackson wasn’t always as good at holding his liquor as he was now. Not to mention all the trouble he and Taehyung used to get into in their teen years. 

“I’m not mad.” 

You blinked a few times, scrutinizing his features. “It feels like you’re mad.” 

“I’m not,” he insisted, licking his lips. “I just feel like I should have been more responsible.” 

You furrowed your brow and huffed, deflating back against the seat. “I’m not your responsibility, Mark. You don’t have to take care of me.”

“Yes, I do,” Mark replied. “Someone has to.” 

It appeared you didn’t like his answer. You crossed your arms over your chest, tearing your eyes away from him to stare out the window. 

“I’m not a kid,” you said, almost a mutter under your breath, but Mark heard you. He chewed at his lip, staring at you for a moment before he exhaled. 

“I know,” Mark admitted, voice low. “I know. Look, I’m sorry, I know you’re an adult. I just…” 

How could he put it into words? Something about you made him want to protect you, and it wasn’t just that you were younger, that you’d been so sheltered growing up and deserved to have someone shield you from the scary world. There was something else pulling him, and he couldn’t put his finger on it just yet. 

“We’re friends, Y/N. So I wanna make sure you’re safe, okay? And I should have been looking out for you tonight, and I feel like I wasn’t,” he said. 

Mark had been so broody, sitting beside himself while he watched you drink cider after cider that was handed to you, his eyes following every move you made. Until, of course, you looked at him, and he made sure to appear as uninterested as possible. 

He watched you swallow and consider his words before you turned back to him. Thick silence hung between the two of you and he wasn’t sure if it was because he’d said you were friends or because he’d admitted that he had been a dick. 

“I wanna live,” you said, and Mark almost thought you were sobering up, but your eyes still appeared glassy and unfocused. “I moved here to live. And… and I felt like I could, tonight, because you were there.” 

Mark ignored the way he felt his heart pound in his chest, hard against his ribs. 

Luckily, he didn’t need to form a response because the driver had pulled up to the apartment building. Mark thanked him and helped you out of the car, noticing the way you shivered once the cool night air hit your bare skin.

“Here,” Mark said, shrugging his leather jacket off of his shoulders and draping it over yours. “You have goosebumps.” 

“Thank you,” you said. Your cheeks turned pink, radiating all the way up to your ears. 

With a steadying breath, Mark led you back into the building, his hand placed on the small of your back the whole way. 

Once you finally made it into the apartment, you’d seemed to regain some of your wits. Though you stumbled once or twice on thin air, your intoxication at least seemed to be at a steady level.

With Milo on his heels, Mark grabbed a bottle of water for you, handing it to you with strict instructions to sip it slowly, but to finish the whole thing before you went to bed. You pouted and saluted him sarcastically before giving Milo a goodnight kiss and heading off to your room. 

Mark watched as you disappeared down the hallway, each step careful as if you were trying not to appear drunk. You’d had five shots and god only knows how many ciders, you were definitely still drunk. But he admired your effort, at least. 

“What am I gonna do with her,” Mark said to Milo, shaking his head and picking the tiny dog up. Milo offered no wisdom in return, just kissed his face until Mark had to cut him off and set him down. 

Despite Mark’s worries, he attempted to go about his night just as he normally would. He heard you opening and closing dresser drawers, probably a bit louder than you intended, signaling to him that you were at least capable of getting yourself changed for bed on your own. Thank god for that. 

Mark himself changed into his usual sleepwear, a pair of basketball shorts and a muscle shirt, then proceeded to wash his face and brush his teeth. He felt like his ears were perked, waiting for any sign of trouble so that he could come to your rescue. It was a strange, pathetic feeling. 

He glimpsed your figure out of the corner of his eye while he was mid-brush, purple toothbrush sticking out of his mouth. You had your toiletry bag in your arms, your previous outfit swapped out for a pair of leggings and an oversized college shirt. 

“Can I?” you asked, nodding with your chin to the empty space at the sink. 

“Mm,” he murmured in response, holding up one finger to signal you to wait a moment. He quickly finished brushing his teeth and rinsed his mouth, then took a sidestep to make room for you at the sink. 

He tried not to stare at you and instead pretended like he was checking the shelf above the toilet for something, though he paid attention to the way you sat your bag down and unzipped it, sifting through it until you pulled out a bottle of clear liquid and a cotton pad. 

You seemed a bit unsteady, wobbling a on your feet just standing still. You were holding the cotton pad and makeup remover in each hand, biting hard onto your lip. 

“Y/N?” Mark asked. “You good?” 

With a sigh, you shook your head. “Don’t feel good.” 

“Well, that might have something to do with the liter of alcohol you drank,” he remarked with a smirk. 

You whined and turned to Mark, surprising him by holding the items in your hands out to him. “Help. If I have to stare at myself in the mirror, I’m going to throw up.” 

All he could do for a moment was stare down at your hands, the objects that were basically foreign to him. He’d never touched a bottle of makeup remover in his life, and the only time he used cotton swabs were for sterilization at the shop.

“I… what?” he stuttered. 

“Just pour this on this, then wipe my makeup away. It’s easy.” 

Mark blinked a few times, torn between telling you to do it yourself or just walking away. But the way you were gazing up at him with glassy eyes and the most pathetic frown was what made him reach for the cotton pad and makeup remover. 

“Okay, just, close your eyes. And you can’t be mad at me if I do it wrong.” 

You smiled, then, turning your body to lean back against the sink. Mark stood in front of you, popping open the cap of liquid and pouring some onto the cotton round. You gave him a nod of approval at the amount he used, then closed your eyes. 

He slid the cotton pad over your eyes, overly gentle at first to a point where nothing was removed. So he went over again, until he was sure that he got the hang of it. He watched as all your mascara and eyeliner was wiped away, not that you’d had very heavy makeup on to start with. 

“Mark,” you whispered, after he’d gotten your eye makeup off. You opened your eyes and Mark realized just how close to you he was standing, but he didn’t make any effort to move away. 

“Yeah?” he replied, just as quietly. 

“Why haven’t you asked why I’m not talking to my parents?” 

Mark swallowed, his hand dropping from your face. “I figured you would tell me when you felt comfortable.”

You nodded. “I feel like I should tell you.”

“You don’t have to,” he replied, shaking his head. “Not if you’re not ready.”

Your bodies were so close together, he could smell the lingering perfume on your skin and he tried so hard not to inhale too deep, not to notice how good you smelled. 

“I dropped out of school,” you blurted out. “When I told my parents, they…” you blew out an exhale, your eyes staring out over Mark’s shoulder as if you were remembering how it all happened. “They told me I could go back to school or get out of their house. They didn’t ask why I dropped out, or if I was okay, they just wanted me gone.”

Mark didn’t respond, although he had a thousand questions begging to be answered. But he wanted to give you the time, the space to share more if you wanted. 

“I hated school. My grades were fine, they were excellent really, but I was miserable. I ended up… doing something really stupid, and it was the last straw.”

When you didn’t continue, instead locking eyes with Mark again, he swallowed and chose his words carefully. 

“I’m sorry. No matter how I feel about your parents, that’s… it’s messed up. You deserve to have their support,” he said quietly, slowly bringing his hand back up to your face. 

He swiped the cotton pad across your cheek, taking your makeup and a stray tear with it. You nodded and sniffed once. 

“It’s okay. But that’s why I’m here,” you told him, voice quiet. “They forced me out. And I wanted to have a life, so I came to the city.”

“And?” Mark asked, trying to lighten the mood. “Is it everything you ever dreamed of?” 

You laughed, soft and breathy. “It’s not so bad. I’ve got good company.” 

When your eyes met, Mark felt that grip on his heart again. The way you looked at him made his mind foggy, like he had been the one to take five shots of whiskey. He hadn’t been looked at like this in a long time, maybe ever. 

“Close your eyes,” Mark said. His voice came out deeper, more gravelly than he intended. 

After you obeyed, he slid the cotton pad over your other eye to remove the makeup there, at least grateful to be free of your overwhelming gaze. 

“Why don’t you have a girlfriend?” you whispered, catching him off guard. 

Mark was used to this question. At the age of thirty, he was expected to be in a serious relationship, if not already married. So when people found out he’d been single for years, they were shocked. 

“Uh, well-” Mark stuttered, his fingers pausing as they brushed against your cheek. “I… I don’t go out a lot. And I guess I like being alone. I’m comfortable like this.”

“What about me?”

There it was again, that thumping in his chest. 

“You’re different,” he whispered. He didn’t even notice he had dropped the cotton pad, leaving nothing between the soft skin of your cheek and his hand. 

Your eyes fluttered open - clear, and so, so close. It stirred something in him, a feeling that had remained dormant for what felt like his entire life. 

Then your lips were against his. It happened so fast, he didn’t even know who leaned in first. He was pretty sure you’d kissed him, but he had felt so drawn to you in that moment that he couldn’t be sure. 

It only lasted a few seconds, but it was enough. Enough for you to tilt your head, slip your tongue past his lips. God, it’d been so long… 

Mark surged back a step, his shins colliding with the tub behind him. He inhaled sharply, his lips tingling from your kiss. 

“Oh, god,” you said, your eyes flying open. “Oh my god. Mark, I…” Your hand came up to cover your mouth as you stared at him. 

“Shit,” Mark muttered, running his fingers through his hair. “Shit. It’s okay.”

He couldn’t look at you. He was looking anywhere but at your face as he rubbed his neck, trying to process the last ten seconds. 

“I’m sorry,” you said. You turned from him, grabbing your bag from the sink and scurrying out of the room. 

Mark watched you leave, listening for the sound of your bedroom door shutting behind you. He groaned quietly to himself, leaning his palms onto the sink. 

“Fuck. Shit. You’re so fucking stupid,” he told himself in the mirror. 

He closed his eyes and counted to ten. Once, twice, three times. He had no explanation, no excuse for what had just happened. You’d been the one to initiate the kiss, but he’d kissed you back. 

He knew better. Despite the circumstances, he knew better than to look at you like that, as anything other than a friend. A little sister, even. 

With one deep inhale and a long exhale, Mark made up his mind. He would do the right thing, no matter how hard it was or how much you’d hate him for it. 

He grabbed his phone off of the sink, browsing his contacts until he found the name he’d been looking for. It was his new number, but he hoped he would answer. 

Holding the phone up to his ear, Mark listened as the phone rang three times. He almost hung up, deciding that maybe it wasn’t worth it. Tomorrow, he could tell you to call him yourself. 

The ringing stopped. “Hello?”

He cleared his throat. “Taehyung? Hey, man. It’s Mark.”

“Mark? Shit, it’s been a while. What’s up?”

Mark kept his eyes on the mirror, making sure he got a good look at himself as he flipped your world upside down. 

“Look, this is probably unexpected, but… I need to talk to you. It’s about your sister.” 

[woulddieforsamwilson]

Paper Rings

It wasn’t like he didn’t know who James Barnes was, he just had no reason to become friends with the boy. He didn’t think they’d be very good friends anyway; James was always with the stronger kids, the ones that would beat Steve up at the end of the day, and that’s where he belonged. James was strong and sturdy, both reasons that half the girls in their class swooned over the boy. But despite all this, James never picked on Steve for being as thin as a stick or beat him up for fun. And Steve swears that one time, during art class when Steve was being praised for his work, James smiled at him.

It was probably nothing.

It wasn’t nothing.

The moon is high

Like your friends were the night that we first met

Went home and tried to stalk you on the internet

Now I've read all of the books beside your bed

Steve didn’t know what happened, one second he was walking home so he could clean before his ma got home, the next he was pulled into a familiar ‘ally.

“Hey there Rogers” Robert, a boy a few years older than Steve who looked 10 years older, “how’s old dad?” Steve glared and squared his shoulders, Robert laughed, “‘think if I were married to your ma with you as a kid, I would want to die too” Steve growled and clenched his fists, ready to hit the boy in front of him, but before he could try, James-fucking-Barnes strolled into the ally.

James was smiling brightly like the best thing in the world just happened to him, which, from what Steve could tell, was probably true, “hey Rob what-” James’ face fell as he saw the scene before him, “what are you doing?” Robert turned and looked at James, “just talking to Rogers. I think we’re gonna be best friends!” Robert and his goons laughed loudly, but James didn’t.

“Right well… why don’t we go get some pie down at Anne’s, hear she’s got a new apple pie out” Robert smiled, “sure James, but first, wanna ‘talk’ too little Stevie here?” 

“No, now can we go?” Robert rolled his eyes, “fine, let me just finish up our chat, then we can go,” Robert kicked Steve in the leg, sending him toppling to the ground, Steve groaned as his head hit the trash can behind him, but he always got up. 

Steve opened his eyes and pushed himself into a crouching position and looked up just in time to see James punch Robert in the face.

“What the hell!” Robert yelled as blood poured from his nose, “pick on someone your own size!” James yelled, crossing his arms and standing protectively in front of Steve, “you’re crazy Barnes!” Robert said, turning away and running back to whatever hellhole he came from, his goons followed.

When they were all gone, James turned to look at Steve, his gaze was piercing and comforting, like the look, his Ma gave him when he came home with bruises. “Are you okay?” Steve glared and pushed himself fully up, “I’m fine,” James looked instantly relieved, but Steve continued, “but you don’t have to stand up for me, I can take care of my self” James scrunched his eyebrows like this was the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard, “you call getting your ass kicked ‘taking care of it’?” Steve rolled his eyes, “yes, because if you would’ve given me a few more minutes I would’ve had them right where I wanted them” James laughed-and for a moment Steve’s heart stopped-but then it was over and he was talking, “right, see ya later Stevie” Steve sputtered in protest, because the only person who could call him Stevie was his Ma, but James was already gone, possibly taking Steves heart with him.

That night Steve made it his life goal to become friends with James Barnes.

The wine is cold

Like the shoulder that I gave you in the street

Cat and mouse for a month or two or three

Now I wake up in the night and watch you breathe

Bucky was an idiot. He’d been working up the courage to talk to Steve Rogers since he first saw him, but he could never muster the strength. But of course, his stupid brain chooses to introduce himself to Steve at the worst possible time.

And now, he lost half his friends.

Was it worth it? Probably. His ‘friends’ shouldn’t have picked on Steve. Steve who weighed less than his book bag, who was always sick and bruised, who only had a mom, Steve who was perfect in every way.

The next day, a Saturday, Robert and his goons showed up at his door. “Barnes. Can we talk” Bucky nodded and stepped out of his house, closing the door behind him slightly. 

“Is this about yesterday? Cause if you think I’m gonna apologize-” Robert rolled his eyes “yeah we figured you wouldn’t apologize. But we still want to be friends” Bucky smiled, these guys weren’t as bad as he thought, “but we don’t want you to talk to Rogers anymore” Bucky’s smiled faltered, he didn’t want to stop talking to Steve after he just got up the nerve to speak to him, but he also didn’t want to lose all his friends in one swoop. He could go back to just admiring from afar, like before, “alright, but only if you stop picking on other kids, especially Steve” Robert nodded and held out his hand, ignoring the rock at the bottom of his stomach, Bucky took Roberts hand and they shook. 

Bucky was the worst person ever. After he defended Steve, the younger boy had tried to approach him several times, always nervous-and as time went on-expecting the worst. Bucky wanted to be friends with Steve, but Robert was somehow always around, and so Bucky always shut poor Steve down. 

Eventually, Steve stopped asking. 

Bucky was walking home again, he could already smell the dinner his Mama was making back home, and his stomach growled in anticipation. “Wow your little crush on Barnes must be huge, no other reason you would keep talking to him even when you know what we’re gonna do to you” Bucky stopped dead in his tracks, Robert had promised, he wasn’t going to hurt Steve-or anyone else, but baby steps-Robert may be many things but a promise-breaker wasn’t- ”I can do this all day!” He heard Steve’s voice call out, surprisingly confident considering his situation.

“Hey!” Bucky yelled, stepping into the now-familiar ally behind the movie theater, “thought we promised?” Robert sighed, clearly exasperated, “c’mon James, have you not seen how this fairy has acted around you? He’s in love with you! Wouldn’t you beat him up if he was in love with us?” Bucky glared, “no” and then he punched Robert for the second time.

It was the start of a beautiful friendship.

Kiss me once 'cause I know you had a long night

(Oh!) Kiss you twice 'cause it's gonna be alright

Three times 'cause you waited your whole life

(One, two, one two three four!)

Years later they had graduated high school. Bucky was working at the docs and Steve was taking art classes. 

One night Bucky came home completely exhausted. He sloppily untied his shoes and undid his shirt buttons. Once he was done he wobbly walked over to the couch where Steve was sitting, a drawing pad on his lap and a pencil in hand. 

Steve looked up at Bucky’s disheveled self and blushed, but didn’t comment. Bucky flopped down on the old couch and sighed at the comfort that enveloped him. 

“Buck?” Bucky hummed, acknowledging he heard Steve but not opening his eyes, “could I kiss you?” Bucky’s eyes shot open, staring up into Steve’s own eyes, which were full of fear, before his mind could even process what his body was doing, he was nodding excitedly. 

And then, for the briefest of seconds, Steve’s lips were on Buckys, and then they were gone. 

But Bucky wasn’t done. He sat up quickly and looked at Steve, “Steve?” the younger boy nodded, “could I kiss you?” he nodded again, and that night was filled with small kisses and happy feelings. 

I like shiny things, but I’d marry you with paper rings

Uh-huh, that’s right

Darling, you’re the one I want and

I hate accidents except when we went from friends to this

Uh-huh, that’s right

Darling, you’re the one I want and

Paper rings and picture frames and dirty dreams

Oh, you’re the one I want

“Marry me?”

It was a question both had thought about before, but neither brought up, too afraid to scare the other. 

But on a particularly rainy afternoon, it was blurted in the middle of the kitchen.

“What?” Steve asked half in shock. 

“Marry me” Bucky stared at Steve, love, and devotion clear in his eyes. 

“We-I” Steve took a second to control his thoughts, “we can’t get rings,” he said simply. “Steven Grant Rogers I would marry you with paper rings,” Steve’s heart melted, but quickly broke when he thought of all the terrible things getting married would do.

“Steve? It’s okay love we don’t have to I was just thinking…” Steve looked up at Bucky with tears in his eyes, “I can’t do that to you! You have your entire life ahead of you, I could die any second! You deserve someone better, someone, who could take care of you and love you till you grow old! I can’t do that Buck!” Steve cried out, all his insecurities leaking out.

It was silent for a full minute before Bucky stood up and walked toward Steve, for a second he thought Bucky would slap him, but instead, Bucky grabbed his face and kissed him harshly.

“Stevie, you’re the one I want. No one else, just you” Steve looked at Bucky’s face and knew it was true, “yes.”

Bucky froze, “what?” Steve took a deep breath, “yes, I’ll marry you” Bucky’s face broke out into a beautiful grin as he laughed, Bucky picked Steve up and spun him around, making the blond laugh giddily. 

A day later, in their small apartment, they were married.

I want to drive away with you

I want your complications too

I want your dreary Mondays

Wrap your arms around me, baby boy

The Grand Canyon was going to be their honeymoon. They had been saving up all year to go anyway, but since their wedding, they had decided to make it an unofficial honeymoon. 

A week before they were going to leave, Bucky received a letter telling him he was drafted.

[theotherackerman]

Birthdays

COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER: Any recognizable elements belong either to  Attack on Titan.

NOTES:  I just wrote this last night when I couldn’t sleep. 

I’m aware it’s a day late but here it is anyway.

The first birthday without Eren is the worst.

Mikasa found a small house to stay in.

She pretended to know nothing of the Survey Corps or the Battle of Heaven and Earth.

Besides, those who had fought against Eren had all been dead or found by Marley after the war. 

So Mikasa blended in. 

She played stupid. 

She found a house on the edge of town, near the tree Eren liked to nap. 

Where he was buried. 

She had screamed. 

She had cried. 

She had pulled at her hair. 

She hated it.

Why did the world have to be so cruel to her? 

She got three years with Eren in Paths.

Three years in that cabin.

She could see him, insisting they celebrate every birthday, every holiday. 

He had attempted to make her a cake which just resulted in a mess but she had laughed. 

She could see it all so clearly.

Her heart ached.

Three years wasn't enough. 

It would never be enough. 

Something hit the already broken window.

What was that? 

She opened the window and looked out. In the snow, there was a rock. She frowned. 

It was a strange rock. 

It hadn't been there earlier. 

She closed the window and walked to the door leading to the outside. 

Mikasa picked the stone up and examined it. It was almost clear, the color a pink that almost matched her sweater she always wore. 

She looked around to see where it had come from. There was no one around. There were no footprints. 

It was almost as if this strange rock fell from the sky. 

Mikasa didn't know why but she took the rock inside. She placed it on the mantel. 

------

"Eren, you don't have to do this every year," she had insisted as he wrapped his arms around her waist. 

"I do. It's your birthday. I only…." He cut himself off. "I have to make up for that cake disaster last year."

Mikasa laughed, "Carla would be disappointed."

"She would! She'd never let me live it down. Neither would Levi."

They both froze for a moment. 

They didn't talk about it. 

They didn't think about it.

They'd abandoned their friends.

They'd left them behind for a chance of happiness. 

They deserved it. 

They sacrificed so much. 

How much more would they lose?

"I made you something better this year. I promise."

"I've told you before my birthday isn't…"

Her words were cut off by his lips on hers. She sighed.

It was strange. They had been once so afraid to kiss one another and now Eren had the courage to kiss her freely. Any time he wanted. 

The way their lips moved together like they had been made for one another. She couldn't imagine doing this with anyone else. 

Eren pulled away. "Wait here," he told her before he went into their small bedroom. 

He came back out with two felt dolls. One of him and one of him in his titan form. 

Mikasa smiled. 

"I know how you told me you and your mom used to make dolls so I tried. The stitching isn't the best."

"It's perfect."

-----

The 2nd birthday without Eren brought pain just as the last. Yet there was no random rock. No felt dolls from the cabin. 

Nothing. 

Well, not nothing. 

A kid had stumbled upon the house as Mikasa gone out to get wood out of the wood shed. 

"WITCH!" The child screamed before running back to the village. 

Mikasa sighed. 

She didn't know how the rumor had got started that she was some sort of witch living in the woods. Frankly, she didn't care. It kept people away. 

A bird screamed outside her window.

Mikasa stared. 

It screamed again before flying off. 

That was strange. 

-----

"There's all these birds! And if you get too close, they attack you!" A child yelled to his friends as he stood near Mikasa's house. 

A flock of crows swooped down, scaring the children.

It was the third birthday without Eren.

Well, not really without him. 

"You're going to have to stop doing that," she said to the white and grey bird. 

The bird cooked his head to the side. 

"Are you in paths? Are you in the cabin? Am I there? Is our….."

Eren was the only person who knew her mother had been pregnant with her brother when she was murdered.

Eren had given Mikasa a son in those years in the cabin. 

A son.

Mikasa watched the bird turn his head again. 

"Are you actually this bird?"

The bird stepped back before making a noise, as if to say, no stupid. 

"Are you happy there?" 

The same look. 

"How do I…? What do I do, Eren? I have to live. If I don't, you die all over again. I just can't….I don't know if I can feel that way again."

The bird just stared her. 

-----

Mikasa ended up adopting a boy from the Orphanage. His parents had died in a tragic accident. Something about his eyes reminded her of Eren.

Her birthdays were never celebrated. She put all of her focus on her son. Her perfect son with gray green eyes. 

She told him about how there was a boy who saved her life too many times to count. 

She told him how much she loved Eren. She taught him how make felt dolls. She taught him not to fear the birds. 

He grew. He fell in love. 

He gave her grandchildren. 

Mikasa passed peacefully in her sleep, before she reached her 90th birthday.

----

Eren had been waiting for her. 

They were both nineteen again. 

She had sobbed. 

She had thrown her arms around him and wept. 

"I've been waiting for you. You've made me so proud," he whispered as he buried his face in her hair. 

So they spent their days together with their friends, all of them. With Carla. With her mom and dad. 

Mikasa's 90th birthday came. 

"I'm too old for this," she had said. 

Eren had ignored her. 

"Don't worry, I helped him make the cake," Carla said before she kissed Eren on the cheek. 

"Mom! Come on, not in front of my in-laws," Eren had whined.

Mikasa's mom and dad laughed. 

"Are we late?" Zeke asked as he arrived with gifts and Dina.

"No, come on in."

Birthdays were just for family.

Well, family included their friends and their family. 

It was strange.

Mikasa didn't like being the center of attention. 

Yet she couldn't frown as she looked around at all of her loved ones.

Eren placed a cake in front of her, "make a wish."

She knew what to wish for. 

I want all of us to get another chance. I just want another change for all of us to be together. A happy ending.

-----

Mikasa fixed her black lipstick in her locker mirror. 

Eren stood behind her, grinning. 

"What?" She asked him.

He handed her a small white box. Mikasa opened it to see a necklace with a pink, clear stone dangling from the chain.

"The guy at the new age store said rose quartz is for love and I...I know you don't like pink but I…"

Mikasa kissed him on the cheek, leaving an imprint of lipstick. "I love it."

Eren grinned even more before taking the necklace out of the box and putting it around her neck. 

"The guy said it was from Paradis. I know you like that show Armin watches too. So I thought it was perfect."

Mikasa smiled again, "It is. Thank you, Eren."

"Don't forget you're coming over after school."

Mikasa nodded, "how would I forget my own birthday dinner? Besides, you know what's going to happen.  Your mom, Dina, and my mom will spend the whole time trying to embrace us."

"And I won't have it any other way."

[willykappymarnsmatts]

Angels Like You (Can’t Fly Down Here With Me)(A.Matthews/M.Marner)(Chapter 1)

Auston and Mitch are as close as best friends can be. In fact, if their teammates didn’t know any better, they would probably think they were together. But Mitch has a girlfriend. And Auston is straight.

As far as they know.

Of course, Auston has been in the closet since his third year of high school, and nobody except his sisters and his mom know that he actually is gay. Not even Mitch. And nobody in the world knows he has a crush on a guy.

Nobody knows he’s had a crush on this guy since his first year in the NHL with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Not even his best friend. 

Because it is his best friend.

It’s a heart wrenching, I-think-my-chest-might-explode-because-I’m-so-in-love-with-you type of love, and it’s been slowly killing Auston since he was 19 years old. Nothing he does, nobody he meets, is able to staunch the bleeding of his poor, hopeless heart. When he looks at Mitch, it feels like his heart is both swelling with adoration and being stabbed with about a million knives at once. Because he loves him, he adores him, but he’s not allowed to have him. He's so far out of reach it's almost funny just how much Auston really loves him. Almost.

And lately it's been killing him more than usual because he just knows he would treat him so much better than his toxic girlfriend does. She treats him like garbage every single day, ruins Mitch's self esteem and happiness, and still somehow makes Mitch believe he deserves it. She's manipulative and mean and dishonest and terrible for Mitch. Auston wants so badly to swoop in and take Mitch away from her, to show him just what he really deserves, but he can’t, because despite the pain in his eyes, every single day he is adamant that he’s “endlessly happy with Monica.” Yeah, right.

Then one day, Will catches up to Auston after practice with a look on his face so mixed with different emotions it's unreadable. “We have to do something,” Will pants, out of breath from running to catch Auston before he was able to get into his car and drive away. 

“What are you talking about?” Auston doesn’t know whether he should be concerned or whether he should laugh at the mess Will is at the moment.

“About Mitch, you idiot. We have to get him to break up with her. Just now, after you left the room, that bitch came in and told Mitch he can’t be friends with you anymore.”

That hits Auston like a bullet in his chest. He feels the shock in the throbbing of his head, in the clenching of his muscles, and in his hands balling into fists. He shuts his eyes tight and takes a breath to gain composure, then opens his eyes and nods at his friend. “What did he say?” His voice comes out almost like a whisper, as if he’s afraid to even ask the question, terrified of what the answer might be.

“He didn't know what to say, man. You know he loves you, but Monica has him tied around her little finger.” Will stares at Auston with so much sympathy in his eyes it takes all Auston’s will not to break down right there. This year, Will has glued himself to Auston’s hip in an effort to remain somewhat grounded while the Leafs ripped his best friend, Kasperi, away from him. They’ve always been close, but now Auston sees him about as much as he sees Mitch, if not more in the past few weeks. “Then he just nodded. The whole room went silent and I put my shit on and ran out to catch you before you left. I knew you’d want to know, since-”

 “I’m in love with him.” The words are out of Auston’s mouth before he can stop them.

Will is silent for a beat, and Auston almost regrets not catching the words before they fell out of his mouth. Almost, since the relief he feels after finally voicing his feelings might just make him collapse.

“What are you talking about?” Will laughs under his breath and adjusts his hockey bag on his shoulder. He quickly realizes Auston isn't kidding, and his face goes slack. “You’re in love with Mitch? I didn't even know you swing that way.” Auston has to make a conscious effort to keep the smile off his face that’s threatening to show Will just how ridiculous his incredibly intelligent vocabulary sounds, but manages when he thinks about the fact that he might be losing his best friend and there’s nothing he can do about it.

“Nobody does, I wasn't even going to tell you.”

Will puts on a show of being mock-hurt, but then immediately wraps his arms around his best friend in Toronto. “Hey, that's cool. That's totally cool. And I totally see why. I mean, Mitch is cute!”

Auston shakes his head as Will pulls away, but he's smiling. It’s the first real smile that’s crossed his face that day, and he silently thanks whatever God there is for bringing Will into his life. “Yeah, um, what do you think we should do, then?” 

“I have no idea, I was hoping you had a plan, but I guess not.”

“Do you think we could convince him that she’s not worth it?” Auston asks, but he knows that would never work.

“I guess we have to break them up somehow. Maybe you show him how much it hurts you that he would even consider leaving you for her.”

“Or maybe I let him make his own decision and he’ll figure out whether he really needs me or not.” As the words leave his mouth, his heart shatters, but he knows it's the right thing to do. Not just because he loves Mitch and he doesn't want to ruin whatever happiness he has with his girlfriend, but also because if it's what Mitch really wants, nothings going to stop him from doing it. Not even Auston. And that's part of the reason he loves him so much.

Will nods, and the slam of a car door makes the two of them jump and turn towards the direction of the noise. They go in search of the sound and find a distraught Mitch, fumbling with his keys, trying to unlock his car door. “Mitch what-” Auston starts, but he gets cut off with the sound of a heartbreaking sob leaving Mitch’s lips.

“Monica and I broke up. She said she didn’t want me to be friends with you anymore, and you’re my best friend, so I could never let that happen. At first I said yes, and I’m sorry I said yes Auston, I’m so sorry, but then I realized what the fuck I was doing and I knew I couldn’t and she’s gone.”

Mitch continues to ramble on, and Auston and Will exchange a worried glance. Mitch drops his keys and looks at the ceiling, the underground garage lights reflecting off his glassy, tear-filled eyes, before starting to lean down to grab them, but before he has the chance Auston drops his hockey bag and lunges forward to wrap Mitch in his arms. Sobs rack his body, and Auston holds on tight. Mitch’s head is nestled in the crook of Auston’s neck and he feels his hoodie start to soak with tears, but he doesn't care. He doesn’t give a single thought to anything else in the world other than the boy in his arms. Mitch bunches up Auston’s hoodie in his hands in an effort to ground himself, and Auston’s heart breaks and swells in the same moment. It’s a type of pain he’s never felt before. Auston has no idea how long the two of them stand there, but by the time Mitch releases his grip on him, Willy is long gone. Mitch stares up at Auston, his red, glassy eyes flitting back and forth over Auston’s. He’s so close Auston can feel his breath on his lips, and he wants nothing more than to close the small space between them and kiss him, to make him forget about everything that’s wrong in the world just for a second. But he stops himself, and the moment passes just as quickly as it came. Mitch shakes his head slightly and forces a sad smile up at his friend, then grabs his keys from the ground. 

“Goodnight, Aus,” is all Mitch says before getting in his car and driving away without looking back. 

“Goodnight,” Auston replies into the now almost empty parking garage as he watches Mitch drive off. And the thought passes through his head that maybe Mitch wanted him to kiss him, too. But it can’t be possible. He’s making things up to make himself feel better, to try to tape up the cracks in his heart that formed as soon as he saw Mitch in shambles. It’s not going to work, though, so he wipes the stray tear that’s begun to fall down his cheek and lifts the strap of his bag up over his shoulder. He runs his hands through his hair and takes a deep breath. Mitch doesn’t love him. The idea that he ever would is stupid and only exists inside his head, because why the hell would he. It’s the cold, hard truth, and Auston has to learn to accept it.

But for one more night, he’ll let himself hurt over it.

[rookie-ramsey]

Baby Blues, Finale (Bryce X MC)

Description: Bryce and MC can handle just about anything. Hopefully, pregnancy and parenting fall into the “just about anything” category.

Preview: The officiant nodded. “By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now-” 

Bryce didn’t let him finish. He looped his arms around Emily’s waist and kissed her with an intensity that sent her heart soaring. She flung her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss as his arms tightened around her, lifting her feet from the floor.

(Note: It’s here... the LAST chapter. It’s a long one, so buckle in!)

Previous Chapter

“Come on, say Dada!”

From her high chair, Ava stared at her parents. She pursed her lips together and squealed, digging her tiny hand into her bowl of mashed potatoes.

Emily shook her head. “No, don’t listen to him. Say Mama.”

“No. Dada.” Bryce leaned closer to their daughter, who gurgled in amusement at the pleading in his voice. “Dada…. Da… da…”

“Bryce, you sound like a baby now.” Emily rolled her eyes and ate a bite of her dinner.

“She needs to say Dada first or I owe Elijah and Jackie twenty bucks!”

“You made bets about her first word, too? Because I’m gonna owe Sienna and Kyra if she doesn’t say Mama first!”

Bryce laughed. “This might be a problem.”

“Let’s spice it up a bit. Whoever loses has to do diaper duty exclusively for two days”

“That’s gonna be a stinky weekend for you.” Bryce grinned. “You’re on.”

He returned his attention to Ava, who was finishing her potatoes, getting more of them on her clothes than in her mouth. The infant pursed her lips and blew a raspberry, seemingly taunting him.

“Hey, that’s not nice. Say Dada. Please? I’ll pay you money.”

Keiki rolled her eyes. “Yeah, because a ten month old will do anything for a few bucks.”

Pleased with the amount of attention on her, Ava squealed and threw her arms out, sending her plastic dishes flying across the kitchen. Bryce left his seat to pick up the mess, sending Ava into a fit of giggles.

“Yeah, yeah, it’s so funny seeing Dada clean up stuff you throw, isn’t it?”

Ava kicked her feet and squirmed in the high chair, laughing as if watching her father pick up her dishes was the highest form of comedy she’d ever seen.

“Ava, since Dada’s busy cleaning up after you, why don’t you say Mama?” Emily urged.

Her daughter clapped her hands and babbled, clearly amused by her parents’ desperation.

“This kid cracks me up.” Keiki smirked and freed her niece from the restraints of her high chair. “Do you want Aunt Keiki to show you new ways to bug Bryce?”

The baby squealed, kicking her bare feet and squirming. “Keiki!”

Bryce’s jaw dropped. He gaped for several seconds as his sister and daughter stared at him with similar expressions of mischief and surprise. “Did she just…?”

Emily stifled a snicker. “I think she just did, babe. We both lost.”

“But how? I’ve been begging her for days and she refused. Keiki says her own name once and Ava just repeats it without any problem?” Bewildered, Bryce shook his head. Despite himself, he couldn’t resist an amused grin.

Emily watched as Ava crawled around the kitchen. “Just think. She’ll be walking by the wedding.”

“I know.” At the mention of the wedding, Bryce’s smile widened. “Three months. Can’t we just reschedule the wedding to tomorrow?”

“I don’t think the guests would appreciate that last minute change.”

“So?”

Emily laughed and leaned up, kissing his cheek. “Patience.”

XXXXXX

Despite Bryce’s impatience, the remaining weeks of wedding planning soared past them. Before they knew it, it was February morning and they found themselves at the wedding venue, with minutes ticking down until they would say their vows.

In the dressing room, Emily fidgeted in front of the mirror as Sienna helped her fasten the back of her dress. “I can’t believe it’s finally here…. Just a few minutes!”

Sienna finished tying the sash and stepped back. “Are you nervous?”

“Maybe a little.” Emily adjusted her veil and combed her fingers through her hair. Ava toddled around the room in her shoes and diaper, trying to escape Emily’s mother and the dress she was trying to dress her in.

Finally Allison caught Ava and managed to slip the lavender dress over her head. “Do you think your flower girl is ready?”

“She did okay at rehearsal once we showed her how to go down the aisle.” Emily fastened a little bow in Ava’s hair, to the infant’s distaste.

“Let me look at you.” Allison gripped Emily’s shoulders and looked her up and down, her face softening. “This reminds me of when you were little and you would wear your bed sheets to play wedding.”

Emily’s cheeks flushed as her friends giggled. “Mom!”

“I’m just teasing you. You look beautiful, sweetie.” Her mom hugged her for a long moment. Emily hugged her back and looked up when there was a knock on the door. Emily called out permission to walk in, and a moment later her dad stepped into the room.

“Ready, Em?”

“I think so.” Emily nodded and took a deep breath, taking her father’s arm and following her wedding party out of the room.

At the altar, Bryce’s heart raced with a nervousness he’d never felt before. The pianist started playing a soft, sweet tune, indicating the start of the ceremony.

A wide grin formed on his face when he saw Ava standing at the end of the aisle, her little hands clutching a basket of flower petals. Sienna gave the baby a gentle nudge. Ava toddled forward, throwing fistfuls of flower petals all around her as she approached the aisle.

She stumbled in her tiny dress shoes, spilling the flower petals. Unbothered, she uprighted herself and made her way down the aisle. When she reached the end, she toddled to Bryce and held her arms up.

“Dada!”

The audience laughed. Chuckling, Bryce leaned over and picked up his daughter, hugging her and giving her a kiss on the forehead. He settled her on his hip as the bridesmaids and groomsmen made their way down the aisle.

Bryce didn’t think it was possible for his heart to beat faster, but it nearly jumped from his chest when the music changed and Emily appeared at the archway. His breath hitched in his throat as he took her in, his smile growing a little with each step she took closer to the altar.

“Mama!” Ava squealed.

“Mama looks beautiful, doesn’t she?” he whispered, gently hugging her.

He passed Ava to Emily’s mom and wiped his suddenly sweaty palms against his pants. By the time Emily and her father reached the altar, Bryce was almost certain his face would split in two if he smiled any wider.

Emily slipped her hands into Bryce’s, her eyes glistening as she gazed up at him. It took everything in Bryce not to swoop in and kiss her right then, and he may very well have had the officiant not started.

The officiant began reading, bringing their audience to a silence. “Welcome, family and friends. We gather here today to celebrate the wedding of Emily Harmon and Bryce Lahela. You have come here to offer your love and support to this union so that they may start their married life together surrounded by the people most important to them.”

Bryce’s grip tightened on Emily’s hands as the officiant finished the introduction, then turned his attention to Bryce.

“Do you, Bryce Lahela, take this woman to be your wedded wife?”

The words rolled off his tongue immediately. “I do!”

Everyone tried not to laugh at the urgency in his tone, but several giggles escaped. Once quiet fell again, the officiant turned to Emily.

“And do you, Emily Harmon, take this man to be your wedded husband?”

“I do.” She laced her fingers through Bryce’s, never taking her eyes off of him.

“You may now recite your vows. May I have the rings?”

Rafael and Sienna passed the rings to Bryce and Emily. Bryce held the ring tightly and slipped it onto Emily’s finger, nestling it against her engagement ring. He spoke up, his voice strong as he recited the vows he’d spent weeks memorizing.

“I give you this ring as a promise to always love you as much as I have since we first met. I know love at first sight is a cliche, but it’s true. I promise to always love you, respect you, and be the best husband and father I can be. I also promise to always support you, be there for you, and still find silly, healthy ways to compete with you. Always.”

Emily laughed softly at the last part, her eyes misting as she began reciting her own vows. She slipped the ring onto Bryce’s finger and started reciting. “With this ring, I promise to always love and cherish you. I’ll never forget the love and support you’ve given me since the day we met. I’ll always be there, at the best and worst of times. I love you and have always known you’re who I want to spend the rest of my life with.”

The officiant nodded. “By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now-”

Bryce didn’t let him finish. He looped his arms around Emily’s waist and kissed her with an intensity that sent her heart soaring. She flung her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss as his arms tightened around her, lifting her feet from the floor.

After several seconds, Elijah’s voice called out, “Keep it PG!”

“Yeah, save something for the honeymoon!” Jackie chimed in.

Grinning, Emily pulled back, her face inches from his. “To be continued?”

“Hell yeah.” Bryce squeezed her hand as they turned to face the audience. Hand in hand, they retreated down the aisle.

Their audience cheered at them, and several minutes later they sat with their wedding party as they enjoyed thick slices of cake and heaping piles of food. When the announcement for the first dance caught their attention, Emily wiped frosting from her lips and smiled.

“Ready?”

“To dance with you? Aren’t I always?” Bryce took her hand and led her onto the dance floor. As the opening notes of the song began playing, he rested his other hand on the small of her back. They began swaying gently, surrounded by an audience of their friends.

For all those times you stood by me

For all the truth that you made me see

For all the joy you brought to my life

For all the wrong that you made right

For every dream you made come true

For all the love I found in you

Emily leaned up and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. “How does it feel being actually married?”

“Best feeling ever, tied with the day Ava was born.” Bryce returned her kiss and touched his forehead to hers for a long moment as they continued dancing slowly to “Because You Loved Me.”

I'll be forever thankful, baby

You're the one who held me up

Never let me fall

You're the one who saw me through through it all

You were my strength when I was weak

You were my voice when I couldn't speak

You were my eyes when I couldn't see

You saw the best there was in me

Lifted me up when I couldn't reach

You gave me faith 'cause you believed

I'm everything I am

Because you loved me

The song faded out, transitioning to the next one and inviting other people to join them on the dance floor. Sienna released Ava, who barreled across the floor and launched herself at her parents.

Bryce scooped her up and tickled her stomach. “Does someone want a daddy daughter dance?”

“Dada!”

“Well, you’re lucky Mama wants more cake, so you get Dada all to yourself for this dance.” Emily kissed their daughter’s head, then slipped away from the dance floor to finish her cake. She sat down and watched, her heart swelling as Bryce swayed back and forth with Ava.

Sienna sat next to her and grinned. “Well? How do you feel?”

“Amazing. I know things won’t change much since we’ve been living together for so long now, but… things do feel different, and I love it.”

Several songs later, guests began slowly filing out of the wedding chapel.

Once everyone had left aside from a few people who stayed to help clean, Emily and Bryce changed out of their wedding clothes, dressing in casual clothes that would be more comfortable for their flight to California.

“Thank you guys so much for babysitting. Keiki is staying with some friends for the weekend, and we really appreciate you keeping Ava.”

“We don’t mind at all!” Ines grinned at the infant, who watched from Emily’s arms as Bryce put some things in the trunk of Zaid’s car.

“She shouldn’t be too much trouble. If you put her to bed around nine, she’ll sleep until six with no problems. She’s going through a phase where she likes to put stuff in the toilet, though, so you may need to weigh the lid down with something.”

Zaid sighed. “How lovely.”

Emily’s phone buzzed, reminding her of the time. “We have to leave for our flight now. Thanks again!”

She and Bryce both hugged and kissed their daughter before Emily deposited her without warning into Zaid’s arms. They said goodbye one more time before they left, setting course for the airport.

In the backseat of the cab, Emily snuggled into Bryce’s side. “Ready for our honeymoon, husband?”

Bryce’s mouth curled into the widest of smiles. “I’m ready, wife.”

XXXXX

“Wake up!”

A figure darted through their room and pounced onto the bed, effectively waking them up. Yawning, Bryce reached out and wrapped his arms around Ava, snuggling her close to him. “Let’s sleep another hour.”

“No, Daddy! I gotta go to school!”

“Says who?”

“The law!” Ava squirmed, freeing herself from his arms and scrambling out of bed.

“Yeah, Daddy. The law says she has to go to school.” Emily yawned and kissed her husband. She rolled out of bed and followed their wide-awake daughter into the kitchen.

Ava climbed into her seat, kneeling so she could reach the table. “Can I have coffee?”

“No way. What do you want instead?”

Sighing, Ava pursed her lips in thought. “A banana and toast.”

“I think we can manage that.” Emily sliced a banana and stuck a piece of bread in the toaster. She poured a cup of milk and set Ava’s breakfast in front of her. The little girl dug in, chewing fast with impatience.

“Slow down, squirt. The school building isn’t even open yet.” Bryce tousled Ava’s hair as he shuffled sleepily into the kitchen. He started a pot of coffee and poured a bowl of cereal for himself.

“I know, but I can’t be late.” Ava shook her head and sipped her milk, leaving a mustache on her lips. “I gotta pick out my shoes. I can’t decide what ones to wear.”

“Hey, it’s kindergarten. Proper footwear is important.” Bryce sat down, watching as Ava practically devoured her breakfast. When she was done, she flounced out of the room to get dressed.

“Someone’s excited.” Emily poured a cup of coffee and sat next to her husband. She stifled a yawn and leaned her head against his shoulder.

“Too excited. Why is this happening?”

“Because she’s five and has to start school sooner or later.” Emily kissed his cheek, glancing up when Ava started yelling from the bathroom.

“Mommy! I need you! Quick! Hair!”

“Sounds like a hair emergency. I’ll be back.” She stood up and followed the sound of Ava’s pleas. She found her in the bathroom, trying to untangle her messy bed hair. Taking the brush from her, Emily worked through the tangles until Ava’s hair fell into place.

“Thank you!” Ava exclaimed through a mouthful of toothpaste. She finished getting ready and paced the floor impatiently while her parents got ready. When they emerged from their room, Ava grabbed her backpack and lunchbox.

“Ava, we’re not going to be late,” Emily assured her. She glanced down, arching a brow at the sight of a purple Croc on Ava’s left foot and a blue Converse on the right. “Are you wearing two different shoes?”

“I couldn’t decide!”

“Well… I guess that’s efficient.” Emily followed Bryce and Ava to the car. Ava buckled herself into her booster seat. She chattered excitedly as Bryce drove to the elementary school they’d enrolled her in. He had no sooner put the car in park when Ava unbuckled and reached for the door handle.

“Daddy, unlock it!”

Groaning, Bryce unlocked it. He and Emily each took one of Ava’s hands as they crossed the parking lot. When they reached the front door, he knelt down. “You sure you wanna start kindergarten today? We can just say we’ll homeschool you and let you go to work with Daddy every day.”

Ava shook her head. “I can go to work after school, Daddy.”

“It was worth a try.”

He held his arms out. Ava threw herself into them and hugged him tight. She released him and hugged Emily, then stared up her parents for a second. “Can I go in now?”

“Yeah, baby. Go in. We’ll see you this evening,” Emily assured her.

Bryce felt a lump form in his throat as he watched as Ava skipped into the building and out of sight. He swallowed hard and let out a sigh.“Is that really the same kid I potty trained and rocked to sleep?”

“Yes, Bryce.” Emily took his hand and steered him toward the parking lot. “It’s kindergarten. I’m worried you’ll have a heart attack the day she goes off to college.”

“Don’t even mention that.” Bryce shook his head. “She’s growing up way too fast and I want it to stop.”

Emily smiled in amusement as they got in the car. The school wasn’t far from Edenbrook, so they were at work in a matter of minutes. She and Bryce kissed and parted ways in the atrium. As she made her way upstairs to her office, she walked with a little pep in her step.

Dr. Emily Harmon-Lahela, Internal Medicine.

She’d never get tired of seeing that plaque on her door. Emily unlocked her office and shut the door behind her. Now that she was alone, she couldn’t stop grinning as she reached into her desk. She found the hidden box and opened it, then stepped into the bathroom.

Memories from almost six years ago flooded back to her as she relieved herself of the two glasses of orange juice she had chugged. She urinated on the stick and cleaned up, then paced impatiently as she waited for the results to show up.

When the result showed up, Emily stopped in her tracks and smiled.

Pregnant.

Note: I was SO soft writing this. This story ended up being so much longer than I expected, but I loved every bit of it! It’s a little sad to say goodbye to, but...

wait for it..

I AM WRITING A SEQUEL! The sequel will definitely be shorter, and it won’t be posted until probably December or January because I refuse to write a new series until I finish another current one, but it WILL happen! Keep an eye out!

Tags:

@elephant9998​ / @mvalentine​ / @fortunatelywaywardsandwich​ / @whatchique​ / @achalantspitfire​ / @lahellacute​ / @virtuallytakenby​ / @oofchoices​ / @dang-lahela​ / @misswhit12​ / @drakeismyweakness / @sitsoncornflake​ / @a-tragical-tale​ / @bitchloveskcbaseball​ / @laceandlula​ / @paulfwesley​ / @bloomingsivan​ / @anotherbeingsworld​ / @vamped99​ / @malvolari-take-my-soul​ / @doctorsurferbro​ / @loveellamae​ / @drethanfreakingramsey​ / @trappedinfandoms​ / @elladines / @macy-ray85​ / @mrsdrlahela​ / @lucy-268​ / @swimmingauthordreamerbonk​ / @drakewalker04​ / @crystalchrysalis19​ / @ajs-wife​ 

[queen-of-my-goofball-army]

"Let Me Patch You Up" A MatchaBlossom Kid Fic

Hi everyone! So this is one of my favorite newer things that I have gotten interested in. I love writing as most of you know and one of my newer favorite fandoms is Sk8 The Infinity! MatchaBlossom is one of my favorite ships in the last few months, they're such a good and unique ship. I got super into the show and eventually made my own fan-kids for the ship. I love making OCs and they make me really happy. So welcome to my newest fic, with Sakura and Haru. I have art of them as well if anybody wants to see what they look like! (By the way, they are twins, both are biologically female and Haru became trans. Kaoru and Kojiro had them through a surgate.)

“Sakura, get up. Your brother is gone, we don’t know where he is.” I jolted upright at the sound of my mom’s strict take no for an answer tone and the sudden brightness in my bedroom from him turning on the lights.

“Sorry flower, I tried to stop him I really did.” My dad quickly followed behind him and I rubbed the tiredness from my reddish brown eyes.

“Do you know where Haru went sweetheart?” He asked me sitting at the foot of my pastel bed taking one of my pillows and handing it to my mom so that he could have something to calm him down with.

“I have really no idea where he could have gone. He told me that he was practicing tonight but that he’d be back before curfew so I haven’t texted him. I’m sorry…” I apologized and my mom just sighed a little bit at me.

“No it is not your fault Sakura you shouldn’t have been left home alone today. He’s still transitioning so I’m even more paranoid about what could happen to him.” My dad put his strong arm around my mom’s shoulders and I watched the familiar tension sort of melt away at the love and affection.

“Do you know where he could have gone flower?” My dad tried his damndest to keep my mom calm and collected but even I could tell that he was just as stressed out as my mom was.

“I mean I thought that it was a joke…” I thought back to earlier that day when I had thought he had jokingly challenged Ichigo to a beef. Ichigo was one of the techies for the drama department that had been talking to me that I really liked who was a fellow skateboarder.

“What was a joke Sakura?” I sighed a little bit crossing my ankles together and playing with the ends of my long pink hair.

“I thought that it was a joke when he challenged Ichi to a beef for a date with me…” My mom took a deep inhale of breath and I could tell that he was visibly holding back the yell of rage.

“What?” His voice took on the deep and ominous tone that I had only heard a handful of times in my life when I had done something that was absolutely unseemly. It used to terrify me to my core when I was little kid and even now it still sent a shiver down my spine and made me fear for my own life.

“Hasn’t that boy asked you out on his own yet?” I shook my head a little bit plucking at the ends of my sheets sighing a little bit.

“No he hasn’t. I think that he’s waiting for me to ask him and make the first move. I was getting really close to doing it too. I really thought that there was no way they would actually agree to a beef. It just seemed ridiculous. Sometimes I wish I knew what in the world went through his head when he joked about it.” My dad put his arm around my shoulders bringing me closer to him and drawing a comforting circle there somehow calming both me and my mom down in one fell swoop.

“Well I think that if he doesn’t get murdered by your mother by the end of this then it’ll be worth it to go out on a date with that boy. I happen to like him. It reminds me a lot of how your mom and I were at your age.” My mom rolled his golden eyes with a small smile. I yawned a little bit rubbing the water from my eyes. I had only gotten to sleep a few hours ago having been doing homework for most of the night before.

“I know that you had just barely went to sleep Sakura. I’m really sorry but I had a mother panic attack when I went to go and make sure that Haru fell asleep.” I smiled softly at him since he had always been the doting parent it didn’t surprise me that he still regularly checked on my brother to make sure that he was getting enough sleep.

“It’s fine mom. I understand why you did come and get me instantly. I probably would have done the same thing in your case. Let me just try and text him or try and track his cell phone.” I went onto the find my family app clicking on my brother and it led me directly down the hall to his bedroom.

“Oh my god that stupid, idiotic, dumbass, moronic, he forgot his phone!” I ranted and my mom sighed muttering a string of curses underneath his breath.

“Of course he did, he’s the son of an idiotic gorilla. I am not at all surprised that he left his phone at home. Then again if he did go to a beef it was actually a smart decision for a kid who worships his phone it could have gotten broken. He should be lucky he forgot his phone. It’ll take longer for me to find and lecture him.” I laughed a little bit at his nearly stunned stupidity. I wasn’t at all surprised that my brother would leave the house without his phone. He was the forgetful type, one of the few things that he hadn’t picked up from mom was his sharp analysis and he usually followed our dad’s himbo logic of just GO.

“I’m going to try Ai and see if he has seen him at all…” I turned on my own phone sending out a rapid text to my brother’s best friend. He was basically our cousin as the son of Reki and Langa so we had grown up together. If anybody were to be at a beef that my brother was skating at it was Ai.

Me: AI, is my brother wherever you are?! My mom woke me up, he’s not at home and I have no idea what is going on. I thought that he was joking about the beef earlier with Ichi! My phone instantly pinged with a text from Ai of my brother doing a rail slide with Ichigo right behind him.

“Oh he is so dead when I get my hands on him…” My mom threatened and I already saw the marks of injuries.

“Idiot, he hasn’t practiced enough professionally recently, not since he started doing basketball.” I muttered and my dad leaned into my space to see what Ai had said.

“He bailed pretty early on and got some bad scrapes but he’s been giving Ichigo a run for his money. The beef is that if Ichigo wins he has to finally ask you on a date and if Haru wins then Ichigo has to give up on you. That’ll be bad if he loses. That’s not a fair bet too you can’t bet things like that. It’s usually for little things, the date thing is fine but he has no right to tell Ichigo that he has to give up on you.” I scowled feeling the burning rage inside of me building into an inferno.

“Mom if you don’t kill him can I and turn him into a dessert?” My dad laughed a little bit at me putting his arm around my shoulders.

“Sorry my loves neither of you can kill Haru. Both of you are going to have to just lecture him and Kaoru you can ground him.” My mom sighed before resigning himself to his fate that if he couldn’t kill his son he could at the very least ground him until the end of time.

“Sakura, I hope that you know that this is not your fault. You did not know that your brother would go for the beef and thus his injuries are not yours to blame.” My mom reminded me and I sighed heavily going back to that picture and feeling my eyes well up with tears.

“But I should have done something, I could have stopped them if I didn’t know that they were being totally serious…” My dad lightly shushed me bringing me into a tight and warm hug. My dad always gave the best hugs in the entire world, they were warm and everything good. I felt my mom being pulled into the hug as well and felt the small smile on his face rub against my hairline.

“Whelp, we might as well go and rescue our kid. Grab your boards people!!” My dad encouraged me and I went to go and grab the longboard that Reki had made specifically for me when I was eight so that I could learn to skate.

“The first person to find where he is on the course will get to pick the movie tomorrow.” My mom told me and I was already internally plotting how to get them to watch another Disney movie.

“That is so not fair Cherry you already know that she is going to do everything that she can to beat us in finding her brother so she can pick some kiddie movie.” I heard the whine of my dad and my mom just smirked a little bit.

“That’s why I made that bargain so that she would consider it an incentive to find her brother. Which one are you thinking about princess?” I hummed in thought spinning my wheels on my board in my hands, looking at the beautiful enchanted rose that Reki had carefully painted on the bottom of it.

“Well gee I fucking wonder what she’s going to pick.” I heard the soft oof that meant mom had once against elbowed him too hard in the ribs.

“Watch your language you worthless gorilla. I am trying to raise our daughter to not be a potty mouth.” I heard the muttered this coming from the cursing king.

“He has a good point mom, I think I heard words I’m not even familiar with when you stubbed your toe last week on the dinner table when you got up too fast.” I taunted lightly and he ran a hand through his long but slowly graying pink hair.

“You got me there Sakura, alright to the car.” He put his arm around my shoulders and I snuggled a little bit farther into his arms. I held back the yawn that was threatening to erupt from my mouth.

“You can just stay in the car sweetie in case that you fall asleep on your board.” I shook my head with a small smile on my face. I had not skated for fun in a few weeks and I had missed the feeling of the wind in my hair as I went zooming by on my board.

“Not going to happen dad, I’ve got my eyes on the prize. That being another shot at torturing you and Haru. I’m thinking maybe Beauty And The Beast.” I heard the groan that I knew was coming but saw my dad’s loving smile on his face.

“I would expect nothing less from my little girl. Are you sure that you want to go in your pajamas though?” He snarked lightly and I blushed a bright pink hearing the lecturing Kojiro followed by my dad’s argument, somebody had to tell her. I grabbed my sunset graphic tee and a pair of black skinny jeans tying a pair of converse around my feet. I grabbed my bright pink hoodie and carefully zipped it pulling my hair into a loose bun on the bottom of my head.

“That’s better sweetheart, now I can’t lose you with that hoodie on either.” I lightly stuck my tongue out at my dad and went down the stairs to the restaurant seeing the scary lack of people on the streets.

“It’s kinda creepy out there at night…” My thoughts drifted and my mom put an arm around my shoulders comfortingly.

“This will be a quick grab your idiot brother and get out situation most likely. Then we patch him up, keep from school tomorrow, and yell at him once I get done with this big project.” I laughed a little bit at my mom and his thoughts on the matter.

“Here kiddo, I got these too just incase it’s loud where we go.” My dad handed me my over the ear headphones that I had to use sometimes when I went on school trips.

“Thanks dad… I swear Haru better appreciate this. I am dragging him back to the car by his freaking ear if I catch him first.” I threatened and they knew that I meant business too. My mom just lightly kissed my forehead pushing the hair out of my eyes.

“There’s my beautiful girl.” I preened a little bit at the praise but looked out the window at the pitch blackness of night.

“Ai texted again, he sent me the coordinates to where the beef is being held.” I plugged the information into my phone and handed it off to my dad who was whirling his car keys around.

“Don’t drop them gorilla.” My mom taunted lightly and I couldn’t help but smile at their familiar bickering. That was their love language and it was something so uniquely them even if it did sometimes cause me to get dragged into the harder debates.

“I might be stupid but I’m not that stupid.” I smiled softly shaking my head at the two of them tapping my shoes on the ground.

“Doesn’t your brother have a crush on your costar for Hairspray?” I nodded my head with a small sigh rolling my eyes.

“Yes he does so he doesn’t have a leg to stand on right now. I wish that I could tell you what he was thinking but I don’t know. Usually he’s a pretty easy person for me to read and get a handle on but not today.” My dad just lightly ruffled up my hair and I pouted at him. I clutched my longboard to my chest and felt the cold of the outside go through my bones. Haru had better be grateful by the time that all of this is over he’s going to owe me big time.

“You two are growing up, your not little kids anymore where you would be able to finish each others sentences. Part of me misses that as a parent since I never got to be around during the day very often to see that.” I squeezed my mom’s hand since I knew that he had a lot of regrets about how often he worked. I never really minded that much, it just made the moments when he could be around all the more special.

“Mom I know that you feel like this is your fault too. It’s not anybody’s fault. I feel like that Haru would have done this anyways. He’s always trying to prove himself to anybody. He probably challenged Ichigo to a beef to try and prove that he could protect me or something along those lines.” I sighed a little bit buckling my seatbelt and my mom sat in the back of the car with me.

“I want to be next to my little girl right now Kojiro.” He told my dad and I saw the small pout but knew that my dad wouldn’t fight him on this.

“I guess I’ll just have to sit up here all by my lonesome then.” My mom muttered just drive you stupid primate and I couldn’t help but chuckle a little bit at the two of them.

“I’ve missed you lately anyways mom, it seems that you’ve been more busy than normal.” He sighed a little bit nodding his head.

“More and more orders have been coming in, I envy your brother for wanting to work on tattoos instead of going my route. Have you ever thought about getting ink done?” I nodded my head with a small smile on my face.

“I already told him that once he gets his own shop together that I would be his first customer. I’ll always support him no matter what he wants to do. It’s what siblings do even though sometimes we fight about trivial things.” I shrugged my shoulders and my mom chuckled softly at me as I leaned my head against his side tiredly.

“Did you have a lot of homework?” I nodded my head through my yawn. That was always my problem was that I had too much homework and it took me forever if I wanted to get things done the right way. It left me with minimal free time with my brother or just to myself at all.

“I’ll talk to your principal tomorrow this is getting ridiculous Sakura. You can’t be pulling these all nights. Your still just 15 and this is not what you should be doing as a young teenager. You should be out having fun with your friends, spending time with your brother, working with the drama club instead of worrying about the test tomorrow.” My mom tied his hair up into a tighter ponytail so that it wouldn’t get in his face once he was on his board.

“Mom you don’t have to call anybody it’s fine really. Everybody else has to do the same amount of work. It’s my fault for being so slow at getting things done. Haru doesn’t need to stay up this late in order to get his work done. I’m just stupid…” He squeezed my hand lightly running his thumb along the knuckle of my hands.

“You are not stupid Sakura. You are extremely smart it just takes time for you to learn how to do things the right way and that is not your fault that the teachers aren’t doing their job properly. Don’t think that I haven’t heard the videos that you watch in your room that explain the concepts to you.” I blushed a bright pink now feeling even more stupid than I did a few minutes ago.

“Needing help in school, it’s not a bad thing flower. You don’t have to be perfect at every little thing in fact I prefer you when you aren’t. You’re my little girl and you can bake me out of my own restaurant. So what if it takes you longer to do homework than everybody else? That doesn’t make you dumb or anything, it just means that you put in more effort instead of just wiping it out for the sake of doing something else.” My dad reasoned as he pulled out of the restaurant’s driveway. All the lights in the homes being off and people’s establishments being closed in this neighborhood that usually was lit up felt almost unnatural to me.

“I am calling the school because this can’t go on any longer. It’s bad enough that you have to do late rehearsals but staying up until three in the morning to do homework right it’s ridiculous. You’re just a kid you shouldn’t have bags underneath your eyes.” Something about my mom’s tone told me that I had already lost this argument.

“Okay mom just go easy on them. I don’t need my teachers suddenly getting more on my case because I have a demanding parent.” I tried to joke but his gold eyes told me that I had just talked myself into an even deeper hole than I had originally started off with.

“Do they give you extra work because of us?” I sputtered because the notion of that just seemed so utterly ridiculous.

“Mom no they aren’t homophobic everybody is really nice at my high school. I mean they accept Haru just fine so everybody is great just trust me. I love my friends and my drama club mates there. It’s just that I have a lot of homework that has nothing to do with either of you. My teachers warned me that they would give out several hours of homework per class when I started high school.” I reminded him and my mom just sighed running a hand through his fringe.

“It just doesn’t seem right that your brother gets done with his homework in no time at all while you seem to take all day and night. I haven’t seen much of you lately because of all the homework that your getting. I like seeing my little girl’s smiling face when I come home and not seeing her buried in homework.” I sighed a little bit. Now I felt guilty for always having to do my schoolwork and pushing out family time. I hadn’t meant to withdraw since it wasn’t my choice in general. I wished that I didn’t have so much homework so that I could spend more time with my parents.

“If you’re trying to get your mom to back down trust me it won’t work sweetheart. He never backs down from anything believe me I know. I haven’t been able to get him off my ass since we were seven years old.” My mom kicked my dad’s backseat muttering insatiable gorilla under his breath that caused me to laugh at the two of them.

“I know I give up, you can call the school. You’ll probably need to for Haru anyways. He’ll be out for a little while if the injuries in the picture that Ai sent me are anything to go by. He’s going to hate not being able to play basketball. Of course, it’s his own fault for being such an idiot.” My dad just laughed at the two of us interacting off each other.

“He’ll be lucky to be a benchwarmer for the rest of the season if I have anything to say about it. Consider it his ultimate punishment. I won’t ground him for too long but I still want him to learn his lesson about how his actions have consequences.” I could see the look of cold dead seriousness in his eyes and I knew that my mom meant business. There was no way in anything that Haruki was getting out of this scot-free.

“Am I in trouble too? If I had just asked Ichi out in the first place then we wouldn’t be here…” He stopped his tirade making a gentle shushing sound putting his arm around my shoulders.

“Never, this is not your fault Sakura okay? You didn’t want to ruin your friendship that you have with that boy and this is not your fault for being scared. I remember I was terrified to my core about asking your dad out on our first date.” My dad smiled at me through his mirror at the front of the car. I hugged my mom tightly and he just thumbed at my cheeks.

“It was not your fault. This would have happened at some point anyways because your brother is competitive. He gets it from your dad.” My dad laughed brightly and I felt a big hand ruffle my hair lightly.

“Hands on the wheel you stupid primate, you do not want to get on my bad side right now.” My mom threatened and I laughed a little bit at how fast my dad pulled his hand away from my hair. I sighed at the messed up hair that he had given me as I retied it this time slightly tighter than the last so it wouldn’t come undone as easily.

“Sorry Kao just trying to give her some affection. I don’t blame you either flower you’re just doing your best Saki and quite frankly I’m proud of you for getting such good grades even if it’s been taking a lot of your free time away from the things that are really important. Your mom just wants to spend more time with you and I don’t blame him. You’ve been working crazy hard and we’ve all missed you.” I sighed a little bit. In trying to not let everybody down I had done just the opposite and let them down in a different way.

“I’m sorry that I haven’t been as attentive as I could be. I learned my lesson though and I know better for next time. Hard work is important but so is spending time with the people that you love more than anything.” My mom put his arm comfortingly around my shoulders pulling me closer into his side while avoiding me getting pulled out of my seatbelt.

“It’s a lesson that I am still struggling to learn and I’m an adult. You get your lack of knowing when to actually quit working from me as well as your stubbornness.” I heard my dad mutter at least he finally admits it as my mom once again kicked his backseat.

“I don’t believe that I asked the opinions of an oafish meathead. I’m trying to be sincere.” I laughed at the two of them mentally logging oafish meathead for my next argument with Haru.

“I know you were mom and thank you for that. I needed to hear that. I’m going to stop working so hard, besides it seems like the harder I work the more tired I am to actually focus during classes. I could probably start doing a little bit of the work at lunch…” My mom shook his head at my getting out his phone.

“Carla, leave a note for me.” He told his AI and I looked at the machine as I always did in sheer awe. Haru was always better at science then me so this kind of thing always amazed me.

“What note would you like for me leave master?” I saw my dad lightly mutter he could have just told me and I just mimed a lip zip. I didn’t want to get him even angrier because the angrier my mom got the more likely one or both of us would get caught in the crossfire.

“Don’t make me hurt you up there you primate. I want you to remind me once Sakura’s rehearsal starts tomorrow to call her school and lecture her principal. I also want to see if I can organize a meeting with her teachers.” I felt my eyes well up with tears at the fact that he really was serious about taking this all the way to the top.

“Done master, it is in your calendar. Do you need anything else for me at this time?” My mom sighed resting his cheek against my head.

“Can you also see if there is an opening with Haru’s doctor tomorrow?” I saw the buffering signals and saw three options appear in front of my mom.

“There are three openings for Dr. Fujiwara tomorrow, would you like for me to pick the earliest one master?” My mom hummed in thought before picking the second option and a checkmark appeared in front of him.

“The first one was too early wasn’t it beautiful? It’s already late, should we just call both of our kids in sick tomorrow? I can have my help run the restaurant tomorrow if you want me to go with you to the doctor.” My heart warmed at the typical sweetness that my dad exuded. Even though they fought and bickered more often than not there was always these sweet soft moments that reminded me they loved each other more than anything.

“If you can do that I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you. I love you.” I saw the smile that my dad had and it outshined even the sun on it’s brightest days.

“Love you too baby. How are you hanging in there flower? You doing okay? You can sleep in tomorrow. I’ll make pancakes.” He promised and I cheered lightly for my dad’s breakfasts. It was rare that we had breakfast as a family on the weekends. Dinner time was designated family time when we all had to hang out together even I had been avoiding that for the last little while.

“I’m alright dad, thanks for checking in. I’m a little bit more tired then I would like but I’ll probably have an adrenaline rush once I get to skating and then be up all morning.” My mom sighed a little bit looking out the window.

“I’d like for you to get some sleep as soon as we get your brother in the car. I would also like for you take it easy if you stay home from school tomorrow like I want for you to. No doing anything strenuous. You never take downtime for yourself.” My mom mentioned to me and I nodded my head. I knew that I would have to follow his orders because once he got like this his word was law and needed to be followed.

“I agree with your mom flower. I won’t be there all day to make sure that your not doing anything too crazy so I’m just going to have to trust you. Can you take one day and just do nothing? Please? For me?” I nodded my head resigning myself to my fate. My fate of sitting on the couch and watching cartoons with my brother tomorrow. It didn’t sound like too bad of a day. Plus, tomorrow was Friday so getting a three day weekend was just what the doctor ordered.

“But then can I go out with Ichi this weekend?” My mom playfully hummed in thought and I heard the screech of the car as my dad came to a stop too fast.

“Kojiro.” The low hiss of his voice just screamed that bad things were to come if he did that again. I partially blamed myself for the bad driving.

“Sorry dad! It was a legitimate question, I didn’t know that you were going to go and do that.” I waved my hand and my mom sighed a little bit getting back to his original position.

“I don’t see why not Sakura, you will not interrogate the poor boy Koji. He probably has to go through enough with Haru at school constantly telling him that our daughter deserves better.” I sighed not forgetting about that. I would have to sit my brother down and have a nice long talk with him.

“Flower, I know that you’re growing up. I did everything that I could to stop you from getting a boyfriend but I guess I didn’t try hard enough at scaring them all off. Either that or Ichigo is just super persistent. I think it’s both because from what I’ve seen of him he worships the ground you walk on anyway. I won’t interrogate the kid just yet, I’ll wait until he’s your official boyfriend.” My dad waited for the light to turn green again and I felt my eyes well up with tears. It was far too early to have nearly cried this many times and I tried to suck back the tears.

“She’s growing up Koji, we always knew that we’d have to let her date at some point and I think you’ve pushed it out long enough. I remember when you used to chase the neighborhood boys out of the restaurant for just wanting to spend time with her.” I laughed a little bit at the memory of my dad chasing after six year olds with ladles yelling at them to not ever come back.

“Hey I’ll have you know that all of those kids were punks and they didn’t deserve my angel of a daughter hanging out with them.” I tentatively raised my hand from the backseat wanting to interject into this conversation.

“Umm dad, one time you did that with Ai and another time with Klaus…” I reminded him not wanting to turn this into a heated debate. My mom just laughed at the memory.

“I still remember the look on their faces! It was so funny, they have been terrified of coming into the restaurant ever since then.” My dad rolled his eyes at his husband’s over dramatic nature but even I knew that he was making a good point. My dad had the tendency to take the term overprotective and make it into a whole new thing.

“Okay maybe I have gone a little bit overkill in the past. I think that you should at least go on one date with the boy and see if he’s everything that you’ve been building towards in your head.” I smiled softly at the encouragement from both of my parents. I could always count on them to bring their own unique personalities that so often clashed with each other to each problem that I had.

“I have a feeling that boy would treat you right otherwise I wouldn’t be encouraging this at all. I spent a long time looking at the two of you together whenever he would come home from school with you. I know that he makes you really truly happy and that’s all I’ve wanted for either of my kids.” My mom gently kissed my forehead and I found myself in this warm bubble of happiness.

“So the beef looks like it’s on the other side of town, near the caves.” My dad mentioned as he began to head in that direction and I yawned a little bit too obviously.

“Do you want to get some sleep Sakura?” I shook my head animatedly. If I fell asleep I would miss this time that I spent with both of my parents together and those were rare occurrences.

“How are rehearsals going flower? Your mom and I are really excited for the show that you put on!!” I smiled softly at my dad. Both of my parents had been encouraging of my hobbies to the point where they had started going to every show, even the awful ones back in elementary school when I was bit by the theater bug.

“The rehearsals are going really well! Everything is starting to come together, I was fitted for my final costume for Penny today so I’m really excited to start performing. I’m kind of glad that I didn’t get Tracy since that would be even more work for me, plus I don’t really have her physique.” I smiled at the idea of my friend Kanade who was going to absolutely own the role once our shows actually started. At first when I got the role I had been a little bit angry that I got such a simple character but I had grown to love Penny.

“I’m just glad that you are happy with how everything turned out. I know that you were frustrated with your casted role but I’m proud of you for making something unique out of it.” My mom reminded me of how hard he knew I was working to get everything perfect for opening night.

“Our flower working so hard to make the best product possible. It’s when she’s rehearsing that she reminds me the most of you Ru. She’s always so into her roles and it reminds me of watching you do calligraphy.” I saw my mom blush a light pink before I heard one of my favorite sounds, his laugh, come from him.

“Alright you idiot I forgive you for that earlier screeching stop. You don’t have to woo me with false flattery.” I heard my dad protest to the fact that it was entirely true as I slipped my headphones around my neck.

“He’s right mom he was being entirely genuine right there as sickeningly sweet as it was. Props to you though dad that was really cute. Is that true?” I rarely ever acted like my mom. Most of the time I was a carbon copy of my dad’s passions and his general personality and Haru acted like mom.

“It is true, trust me I’ve watched Ru do his work for years and you look the exact same whenever you get really into a character.” I smiled softly at my mom waiting for his approval as well. He just smiled at me nuzzling his nose against mine.

“I never thought that I actually looked like that but people other than the oaf like gorilla have told me that I do get a certain sparkle in my eye when I’m working. I mostly see it in you when you’re performing or when your brother shoots a three point basket during a game.” He talked about how he thought that I looked and I smiled softly through my laugh.

“I’ve definitely seen the look on Haru’s face before! I love when he gets happy like that. It’s something that I usually see when he makes a hard basket or a dunk. I really hope one day he decides that he wants to go pro with it but I don’t know if that will happen.” I sighed a little bit. I knew that was secretly Haru’s dream, more than opening his own tattoo parlor but that being trans would be a major problem for him.

“I think that if anybody will find a way to do the impossible it would be our Haru. The first trans national basketball player has a nice ring to it.” My dad smiled a little bit and I could tell that he would do whatever it took to support him in his endeavors.

“Haru will find a way to achieve whatever dreams he so desires. It is not our place to tell him what he should or should not do oaf. I would support my son no matter what he wanted to do.” My mom blew his hair out of his face and I could tell in his golden eyes that he loved both of us equally no matter how often his work forced him to be away from us.

“We’ll have a family day tomorrow flower, it’ll be fun!! You deserve it you’ve been working really hard. I’ll let you make all the snacks.” My dad promised and I felt my eyes light up at the idea of cooking. I had resigned myself to being the future owner of my dad’s restaurant once he decided to retire and it was something that I was actually really looking forward to. I loved cooking about as much as I loved musical theater.

“I’ll make the freshly made popcorn, that’s how you’ve got to do it. I’ll also make the hot chocolate recipe for Haru. Something tells me the poor thing is going to need it.” I sighed a little bit wondering what in the world my idiot brother had been thinking.

“From now on I want you to keep an extra eye on your brother whenever you can. When you can’t send Ai to look out for him. Just in case. I know I’m probably just being overly protective and you can tell me if I am Koji.” My dad smiled softly at his husband squeezing his hand lightly with a small smile on his face.

“I wouldn’t consider that overprotective baby you care about your kids and the way that our son is acting right now I’d say that somebody needs to look out for him.” My dad tried to joke but I just smiled softly at him gazing out the window at the world around us.

“I’ll try my best but I won’t promise that he’ll actually listen to me.” I joked humming under my breath as I saw the entrance to the beef or what looked like it.

“Your both stubborn but I’m proud of you sweetheart. Just go out there and find him. Please.” I gave my mom a thumbs up and grabbed my board.

“We’ll be right behind you flower!!” My dad told me and I looked around the audience seeing Ai. I quickly walked over to him.

“How far ahead is he?” I asked my old friend and he just sighed a little bit showing me another picture with even more injuries.

“It’s obvious that he hasn’t been skating professionally very often. He’s a long ways ahead by now, the way that he’s going he might actually beat Ichigo if you don’t get to him first. This is his exact location.” He told me showing me on the map and I nodded my head virtually filing that information away as I set up my longboard. I plugged in my headphones to my phone and went speeding down the hill hoping that I would find my brother. I went around the corner with practiced ease. I really hoped that my brother wouldn’t be too banged up by the time that I got to him. It had been so long that I skated for something that was fun. Usually it was just a mode of transportation to get me to and from school when my parents were too busy to drive me. As I rounded another corner and went up a ramp I found myself going up it and doing a familiar rail slide. I looked ahead of me seeing that I still had a long way to go. I saw a familiar head of black hair that told me Ichigo wasn’t too far ahead of me.

“Hey Ichi!” I called out to him and watched his sea green eyes turn around worriedly as if trying to placate me and tell me that this wasn’t what it looked like.

“It wasn’t my idea I swear, he challenged me after school. He told me that I needed to prove that I was worthy of your heart and if I didn’t do it then I was a coward.” I sighed pinching the bridge of my nose tightly.

“Can you direct me in the general direction of my local idiot?” He laughed at me directing his board just ever so slightly in front of me.

“Will you go out on a date with me on Saturday?” I blurted not able to keep these feelings to myself anymore and heard the shocked laugh from my friend.

“Only if I get to plan the next one kay? I can’t believe that you actually beat me to the punch. I guess it took us long enough. I’m sorry that I made you wait so long that apparently your own brother had to challenge me to a beef in order to get this far ahead.” I rolled my eyes at the mention of my moronic younger brother.

“I wouldn’t pay much attention to him. He sometimes says things without thinking. Not that he has many brain cells to begin with.” I heard Ichigo’s laugh as he led me down the pathway and I turned my longboard around the corner.

“I’m catching up to you flower!!” I cursed under my breath at the sound of my dad’s voice since he was only a few feet behind me.

“Is that your dad?” Ichigo asked me whipping his head around clearly terrified. Not that I could blame him, my dad basically put the fear of God into all of my male friends which most of them were.

“My mom is here too, he’s the one who woke me up a while back. I am so tired but I just want to make sure that my brother is okay. I might bicker and insult him a lot but I can’t help it. It’s the environment that we grew up in. My parents lovingly bicker almost 24/7 so I guess that just passed onto me and Haru.” My friend just smiled softly as I talked about my parents. Ichigo rounded the corner doing a flip on his board and I saw the bright laugh that left him. I couldn’t help but think that he was the most attractive and amazing person that I had ever seen. He was constantly surprising me with what he could do on his board since I couldn’t do a whole lot of tricks on my longboard other than a rail slide.

“Haru!” I yelled out to my brother seeing a familiar mop of green curly hair that was sticking out awkwardly outside of his helmet.

“Sakura, what are you doing here?!” He asked me exasperatedly and I jerked a thumb back at our parents who were lovingly bickering.

“Mom woke me up because he went into your bedroom and saw that you were gone. He promptly freaked out and woke me up panicking because he thought that you were kidnapped or something. You know how he gets. So anyways, he woke me up and now I’m here to talk some sense into your stupid head.” I caught up to him gasping at the wounds that he had that were staring me in the face. I would have to patch him up once we got back home. After mom had finished yelling at him for being reckless.

“Come on moron, let’s go home. I already asked Ichigo out on a date this weekend anyways so you challenging him to a beef was virtually pointless.” I told him stopping his board and grabbing his arms to stop him from falling.

“Why can’t I ever just do one thing for myself? It seems that you get all the free will and I’m left with jackshit. I always get busted.” He kicked a rock sitting down on his board. I looked at my brother with wide eyes.

“Is that really what you think babe? Because that’s not true, I have just as much freewill as you do. Which is to say not a lot with mom around and dad scaring off every guy that’s ever come into contact with me. I just dealt with it because that’s the hand that was given to me. I love mom and dad more than anything in the entire world even if their bickering is exhausting. They love us too otherwise they wouldn’t have worried about you so much. I get busted sometimes too incase you’ve forgotten.” I kicked his foot lightly with mine putting my arm carefully around his shoulders.

“Let’s just go home yeah? We can talk about what you were thinking tomorrow after I patch you up and you go the doctor for any mandatory stitches.” I told him and he rested his cheek against my shoulder. Even though it was bloody and getting blood on my hoodie I couldn’t care less. My brother was physically okay and to me that was everything that really mattered. Even if he got on my nerves more often then not he was still my younger brother.

“I’m sorry that you had to be woken up for my stupid ass shit…” He told me and I couldn’t help but laugh at him.

“Let me go out with Ichigo and we’ll call it even okay? Not that you could ever physically stop me from doing something that I wanted to do. I don’t need your permission to do anything. I’m not happy that you made that decision for me ass.” I yanked on his piercing that was in his ear harshly and he winced in pain. I could see the remorse in his usually bright and sparkling yellow eyes.

“I was just trying to do something right by you for once. I thought that it would make you happy. We fight so much that I just wanted to see you smile…” I lightly nudged my brother’s side with a small sad smile on my face.

“I fight with you because I worry about you and the life decisions that you make sometimes. It’s hard for me to see your side of things and I promise that I’m not that mad at you.” I reminded him that I could always be more angry with him and I had been in the past over things that were way stupider than this.

“I know I owe you big time for this one. I really messed this up and mom is probably so pissed at me right now.” I laughed a little bit at my brother’s thoughts because yeah, that was the understatement of the century.

“You’ve got that right Haru. I am very angry with you for sneaking out.” I could hear the cold tone of my mom’s voice and I just patted Haru’s back in good luck. I did not want to be around when this ice storm started. I grabbed my board and my dad just put his arm around my shoulders.

“I’m proud of you kiddo. You didn’t get mad at your brother when you easily could have. That alone means that your growing and I’m proud of you for that flower.” He encouraged me and I smiled softly at my dad.

“I asked Ichigo out for a date on Saturday. He said yes but that he gets to ask me out on the next one.” I couldn’t help the happy skip in my step at the idea that I had something to look forward to this weekend.

“I’m glad sweetheart, not that he would’ve ever said no. I’ve seen the way that boy has always looked at you.” I blushed a light pink at the idea with a small laugh of not being able to hide anything from my dad. Ichigo had been one of those people that I had grown up with since a young age because our parents knew one another despite the fact that Miya was so much younger. It had taken him a while apparently to settle down with somebody and have Ichigo.

“He’s the only guy that you haven’t managed to have running for the hills so far dad. I hope that for your sake it stays that way because I don’t think I’m ever going to find another guy quite like him. I know that I’m young and everything but he’s special to me.” My dad just softly nuzzled his cheek against mine wincing when he felt the wet squish of blood.

“Sorry! That’s Haru’s he was leaning against that side, I have to patch him up when we get back home.” I slipped my headphones around my neck and my dad just sighed a little bit. “

This has been quite the eventful evening and not at all was expecting when I eventually went to bed this morning.” I laughed at my dad totally understanding where he was coming from. I bounced on the heels of my shoes with a small smile on my face.

“I’m just glad that Haru is okay. I know that mom probably has the lecture of the century planned out for him but in reality just the fact that he isn’t gravely injured is enough for me.” I reminded him looking back at my brother who looked absolutely terrified of our mom.

“He could have been hurt a lot worse if we hadn’t gotten here so quickly. They were barely even halfway down the course. How did Ichigo look?” I blushed a bright pink remembering the moves that he could do on his skateboard.

“He wasn’t injured at all. Then again, he still boards professionally for the most part. He only took the techie job so that he could look after me. For some reason he took that job upon himself.” I looked at my dad with a raised eyebrow.

“Well gee, I wonder who put that idea into his head. It certainly wasn’t me I can tell you that right now.” My dad was never the type that could lie or look conspicuous easily. My mom always lightly teased him that he couldn’t lie to save his own ass.

“You look stupid dad, I know it was you so you don’t need to cover it up like that. Why did you say something like that to him?” My dad sighed a little bit keeping his arm around my shoulders supportively. For as much as he knew that I could handle myself sometimes I wondered if he didn’t trust me at all.

“I just want to make sure that your properly looked after. I’ve always liked Ichigo. Ever since you two were kids and he first came into your brother and yours lives. He makes you happy. That’s all I’ve ever wanted for you was to be able to be happy. Also to not have to pine for decades after one person because you were too stubborn. I knew that he was going to be different from the other boys that hung around you when you were younger. He was the persistent type. So I told him to look after you as much as he could. That’s why he became a tech crew member.” I looked over at Ichigo who was in his own little world with his headphones on. I could already tell what he was listening to just by his feet movements. For as much as he prided himself on being a badass skater boi he was deep down a huge nerd.

“I am happy dad, even if I didn’t have Ichi I would still be happy. I have a great family, an amazing brother, and I get to do musical theater for fun something that I’ve always wanted to do.” I shrugged it off and my dad just smiled softly at me.

“I know your happy flower but you’ve always been happier when your with that boy doing your own thing. Besides, without him you wouldn’t be nearly as confident as you are right now and I’m happy for that.” I laughed a little bit at my dad shaking my head. I knew that there was no way that I was going to win this argument and I was far too bone deep exhausted to carry on with it.

“Twenty thousand yen says that you can’t guess what he’s listening to.” He told me and I couldn’t help but laugh because this was the easiest bet that I would ever win.

“Lost In Paradise. He does the foot movements for the ending song all the time whenever he listens to it. I’d recognize it anywhere. Want me to go and fact check for you?” My dad laughed openly at me and let go of my shoulder.

“Go work your magic kiddo. I’ll handle your mom when he eventually catches up to me.” I smiled softly at my dad catching up with my best friend and lightly tapping him on the shoulder. I saw his startled jump and him clutch at his hoodie.

“Were you listening to Lost In Paradise?” I asked him and he just smiled a little bit sheepishly at me showing me his phone and that I was one hundred percent right.

“I was right dad!” I smirked a little bit when he sighed. Ichigo just laughed at the familiar bickering with my dad and me.

“You just know me way too well. Are you-umm are you sure that you want to go on a date with me?” He played with his index fingers and I nodded my head.

“My brother doesn’t make decisions for me. I do. I’ve liked you for a really, really long time. Probably about four years now Ichi. I was just too worried about ruining our friendship to say anything.” I took his hand with a small smile on my face.

“You could’ve just told me that you liked me. I knew that you were hiding something from me because you suck at lying it’s one of the few things that makes you like your dad. If you had just told me then we could have started dating in middle school. I’ve pretty much had a massive crush on you since I met you Sakura. I mean how could I not?” I blushed a bright pink cursing my stupid anxiety for getting me this far ahead.

“Well I’m just me there isn’t really anything that special about me. Unless you like your girls with a temper.” I tried to joke even though it sort of fell flat due to how tired I was right now. Ichigo just blinked at me.

“I don’t think that you have a temper it just means that you care about people. I don’t know many people that would get up at three in the morning after only getting two hours of sleep to rescue their younger brother with her parents. You love your family, it’s something that I’ve always known. Even though you pick fights with them it’s so clear that you care about who they are as people. You love your mom and your dad even though they exhaust you. I don’t think that anybody else could put up with all the bickering the way that you do.” I sighed a little bit with a small smile on my face picking up a rock on the ground and thumbing the edge of it.

“They do exhaust me but at the same time I wouldn’t want them any other way. They’re loud, crazy, bicker constantly, most of their nicknames are low key insults, but they’re my parents. They’ve done everything within their power to make sure that I’m okay at school and at home. Even if that meant that my dad scared off every guy other than you from his restaurant. And you only came back because you were persistent.” Ichigo just laughed a little bit at the memory of him being smaller and my dad towering over him.

“I thought that your dad was super admirable because of how often he was there for you. Everyone knows that mine was off and on not that I have any room to complain. He taught me everything that I know about skating and I still am trying to get on his level.” I smiled softly at my best friend walking up the slope next to him.

“You’ll get there one of these days. If anything, I get your feeling. The idea of taking over dad’s restaurant terrifies me. There are all sorts of what if’s that run through my head on a daily basis. Mainly the idea that I’ll let him down. That bugs me constantly.” I didn’t usually mention the amount of pressure that I felt dealing with the looming dread of inheriting one of the most popular restaurants in all of Okinawa.

“Your dad gave you the restaurant because he knows that you can handle it Sakura. It’s a lot of pressure but you don’t need to do everything by yourself. I doubt that he did too. He had your mom on his side even if it was with leering sarcasm a lot of the time.” I laughed a little bit wondering if he would do the same for me, even if this didn’t work out in the long run.

“I know I don’t but asking for help is easier said than done. I say that I can handle it myself but even he can’t do that and has people that help him out. I love cooking and baking. I always will even if it’s a lot of pressure for me to be perfect consistently.” Ichigo leaned against my side causing me to flush a bright pink. It was a miracle that he hadn’t figured out my feelings so much earlier than he actually did because he was a super tactical type.

“I’ll be there to support you, no matter what happens got that? You were my best friend first for our entire lives pretty much so even if dating doesn’t work I’ll always be in your corner. You will run yourself into the ground if you keep going like this though. Is your mom going to do something about all the extra homework that you get?” I gulped a little bit hearing the familiar footsteps coming up behind me. I knew that this wasn’t going to end well.

“Extra. Homework. Ichigo. Explanation. Now.” My mom said, his voice an ominous dark thing that had me cowering behind my best friend.

“Well they always give her extra homework because she isn’t the best in a lot of subjects. She manages to get straight B’s but to her that’s not good enough. So she begs them for extra homework to maintain her straight A track record.” Thanks Ichigo, you know what I take everything that I just said back. I hate you. You suck.

“Sakura, is this true?” I nodded my head faintly and the hug that I got I wasn’t really expecting. My mom had never been much for affection in public preferring to be doting in private.

“You do not need to be perfect all the time. I know that this is something that you’ve struggled with for longer than you would like to admit. This is not okay though. We will work on your self worth. You are worth so much more than you know my darling. It is not worth all this staying up all night just so that you can feel more accomplished. It’s exhausting you and that is not something that I will put up with willingly.” My mom reprimanded lightly and I sighed a little bit into the hug that I was receiving. Ichigo just smiled softly at me.

“There was that so hard? I told you to just talk about what you were going through but as usual you never listen to me.” Ichigo mocked slightly and I glared half heartedly at my best friend for throwing me underneath the metaphorical bus.

“I just wanted you to be proud of me mom. That’s all I’ve ever wanted. I know it probably sounds selfish but I thought that if I worked hard enough I would be smart like Haru…” My mom cradled my face in his hands resting his forehead against mine.

“Both your brother and you have different strengths and weaknesses. I have never known you to be the academic type, you’ve always been more practical. Your head is full of recipes rather than algebra, your dad was the same way when we were in school. It’s not about who gets the best grades at the end of the day. It’s about how hard you work. I know that you work hard and you do your best. That’s all I’ve ever wanted from you my darling. You didn’t need to beg for extra homework just to maintain the same grade point average that your brother does.” He comforted me lightly even though I could tell that what I had said bothered him.

“I will always be proud of you Sakura. You work hard. That alone amounts to how amazing you can be. You baked your first cake all by yourself for your dad’s birthday when you were five. That is not something that the average person can do. For that I will always be so proud of you. You and your brother are naturally different people, much like your dad and I. I wouldn’t trade you for anything in the world my darling. I know how hard you worked even before all this extra homework and I was always proud of you.” He doted on me putting his arm comfortingly around me in a tight hug. I clung to my mom trying to rein in my tears.

“It’s okay to cry Sakura, it’s perfectly natural. I’m sorry that you had to hear it from me Kaoru. I think that it was about time that you knew about the true meaning behind the extra homework.” Ichigo rubbed the back of his neck his dark hair sticking up at odd angels.

“Thank you for telling me Ichigo. It appears that both of my children have forgotten what it is like to be a member of this family.” I felt the sweat drip down my neck and pool at the base of my spine knowing that this conversation was far from over.

“I will proceed with this talk on Sunday. Be prepared for it.” He warned me and I nodded my head stoically grateful that he was giving me at least two days to myself.

“At least he’s letting you off easy right now? Before he would’ve demanded that you talk about it right now. I guess he was really worried about Haru?” I nodded my head with a small sigh. I actually felt a lot better getting that off my chest. I knew that my mom had been worried about me for a long time coming but actually admiring to the reasoning behind all the excess homework made my chest feel a whole lot lighter.

“Are you skipping school tomorrow?” I nodded my head rubbing at my eyes with a big yawn almost tripping.

“Here, lean against me Sakura.” Ichigo told me putting his arm around my shoulders to make sure that I wouldn’t trip and fall flat on my face.

“Sorry that you have to do this for me…” I apologized but my best friend just laughed a little bit at me resting his cheek against my pink hair.

“It’s no big deal really, you’ve had a really emotional night and I know that you haven’t had the easiest time right now. I’m glad that you feel better after talking to your mom and telling her the truth.” I smiled softly at the never ending love and support from my childhood friend.

“I’m actually not dreading the lecture coming because I know that I’ll feel better once I get it done. Though his angry voice just now did terrify me.” I laughed a little bit at my friend as I felt him shutter against me.

“Nothing is scarier than your dad’s interrogations if I’m being entirely honest. It used to scare the absolute crap out of me when I was little. The only reason that I kept coming back was because you were there and you made me happy. I got to teach you skateboarding and we got to have fun together.” I smiled softly since he was the one that got me my first longboard and taught me the basics. I just happened to pick it up super fast and finally had the ability to say that I could ride a skateboard. True, it was a longboard but I finally felt like I fit in amongst my family.

“We did have a lot of fun together as kids. I’m grateful that you were one of the few that stuck around Ichi. I know that he couldn’t have made it easy. He promised me that he wouldn’t interrogate you again unless you became my boyfriend.” I saw the colors flush across my best friend’s cheeks at the idea of him dating me. It was a pretty amazing thought, it wasn’t like he needed to work that hard to make me fall for him when I was already in love with him.

“Then I’ll just have to prepare a thick set of armer for when that happens. For I shall not let milady fight alone.” He joked. I laughed a little bit with a bright pink blush on my cheeks. When I was younger Haru, Ichigo, Ai, and Klaus had been my himbo knights of the round table and we had acted out different stories that we made up as we went along. Even as a young kid I still had the same best friends that I did now. They were the greatest things that had ever happened to me.

“I love you Ichi…” I told him tiredly and he flushed a bright pink with a small stumble but I could tell that he was still happy, ridiculously happy.

“I love you too, I’ll tell you so much that you’ll get sick of it.” He promised me and my heart melted at the sheer idea of having somebody that loved me. True, I had my parents but part of me felt that they were contractually obligated to love me. Ichigo loved me by choice.

“Me too. I can’t promise that my sharp tongue will be tamed or that I won’t bicker with you because it’s basically in my blood at this point. It’s how I show love thanks mom.” I mocked jokingly and my best friend? Boyfriend? Just laughed at at me all the same.

“I wouldn’t trade your sharp tongue for anything in the world. It’s just another thing that I loved about you from a young age. You were the only person that could shut down any jerks on the playground and I just followed you around like a lost puppy dog.” I smiled fondly at the memory. I missed those days when I felt like I could be queen of the playground and tell off bullies instead of being too scared to do it like I was now. As a kid, I didn’t fear anything. I just said whatever was on my mind no matter how rude or unseemly it was.

“I’ll cover you for you in theater tomorrow. God knows that you need a break. I don’t want you doing anything strenuous tomorrow. Not if you can help it.” He advised me and my heart warmed at the idea that he was trying to protect me.

“Don’t worry, my whole family is taking a vacation day and we’re all relaxing. Nobody is doing a damn thing other than taking Haru to the doctor. To which I’ll probably still be asleep. I have a lot of sleep that I want to catch up on.” Ichigo leaned his head against mine with a small loving smile on his face. I couldn’t help but smile along with him, it was such an adorable boyish smile.

“It’s been a while since you’ve had a family day. Seems like it to me anyways, I used to hate them when I was younger because I would be super bored. Hanging out with Ai and Klaus without you just wasn’t the same.” I smiled softly poking his pink cheek with a small laugh. I couldn’t help but do all the things that I had always wanted to do flustered Ichigo. A big part of it was sleep deprivation I needed to get more sleep at night.

“Aww Ichi, I didn’t know that you cared about younger me so much.” I teased lightly and he just rolled his sea green eyes at me.

“You totally knew you can’t lie to me Sakura. You had to have known that I was smitten with you all these years. My dad pretty much never let it go telling me how gross it was thinking about how basically his parents would one day be his future in-laws.” I blushed hotly at the idea of my uncle being the way that he was. Some things would never change and Miya was the youngest out of all the group that came before us. He retained a lot of that childish love of pranks and messing with other people.

“I know that I’m a rotten liar. It’s amazing that I was able to lie to my mom for this long about the extra homework. I’ll just be grateful when I don’t have to beg for it anymore.” I sighed heavily the idea of all that work finally going away not fully sunken in yet.

“I don’t think that your rotten at it really. It’s just that your too pure to be lying to people like that. You were always way more open than most of the other people that we hung around with growing up. I miss that.” I smiled softly at my best friend seeing my family’s car in front of me thankfully done with that walk back up the hill.

“Hey Sakura!” I heard Ai call to me from his spot where he was seated on the ground next to the television screen that was hooked up.

“I see that you found your wayward brother, your mom did not look happy when he got here. Did something happen on his way back up the hill?” I sighed a little bit running my hand through my fringe at the ends of my pink hair.

“He might have found out the reasoning behind all the extra homework and needless to say I am not his favorite person right now. I probably won’t be for quite sometime. But it’s okay, I know that he loves me no matter what. It’s just that I wouldn’t be happy with me right now either.” I told Ai and he just laughed a little bit at me.

“Well better you then me I’d say, is he at least giving you some time before he reins hell upon you?” I nodded my head taking off my helmet and setting down my skateboard.

“I should really get going home, do either of you want a ride back?” I asked my two best friends and they both shook their heads.

“We’ll ride our boards back. My dad already knew that I was going out tonight he told me to do my best to win your heart.” I blushed a bright pink hearing Ai’s laughter at the antics of our favorite crazy uncle. I had no idea how long that my uncle had been shipping us but I had a feeling that it was a long time.

“Flower, time to go!!” I heard my dad call from where he had parked the car and I smiled softly at my family.

“I’ll text you both, preferably when I’ve had a bit more sleep than I’ve been getting.” I waved to my two best friend’s as I walked through the crowds to get to the car. I got into the passenger side since my mom already had my brother cuddled up next to him.

“Did your friends want a ride home?” I shook my head buckling up my seatbelt carefully and put my skateboard onto the floor of car.

“They said that they would both ride their boards home and that Miya already knew that Ichigo had gone out tonight.” I smiled softly feeling my eyes droop a little bit. Everything had turned out alright in the end just as it always did. In this family of chaos where something was always happening it was sometimes hard to catch my breath.

“Sweetheart, get some sleep. I’ll wake you back up again when we arrive back at home.” I melted into into the seat and felt my eyes finally fall shut. I hadn’t even realized that I was so exhausted before I had sat down officially in the car. My dad kissed my forehead with a small smile on his face. He put one arm around my shoulder ignoring my mom’s protest and pulled me into his side.

“Just let me have this Ru, she’s tired and she’s been working so much lately.” I melted into the warmth and drifted off into a small catnap on the way back home.

“Flower, we’re back home.” My dad lightly shook me and I rubbed my eyes yawning openly. I looked back and saw my brother snuggled against my mom.

“I do need to patch him up as best I can before his meeting with the doctor tomorrow.” I told my mom and he just smiled softly at his son.

“Haru, Haru get up darling…” I smiled softly at my brother as he rubbed at his golden eyes. I thumbed my dad’s knuckle and I stretched my hands over my head.

“Come on idiot, I need to fix you up as best I can.” I reminded him and he glared lightly at me for calling him an idiot.

“Don’t call me an idiot…” He whined a little bit and I laughed at him and I got out of the car putting my arm around his shoulders.

“I love you Haru, I’m sorry that I’m teasing you I just want you to take better care of yourself.” I reminded him lightly and he leaned his head against my shoulder.

“I love you too Sakura, I’m sorry that you had to get up so early to come after my stupid ass.” I laughed a little bit at my best friend as he clung to my shoulder. I opened the door to the restaurant and he hobbled a little bit up the stairs.

“Did you twist your uncle you moron?” I asked him and he shook his head a little bit against my shoulder. I looped my arm around his waist and helped carry my best friend back up the stairs.

“No I’m just tired. I did something really stupid and I know that mom is really pissed at me.” I sighed a little bit turning my brother around. I led him through the bathroom and he hopped up onto the counter as I got out the first aid kit so that I could heal him.

“This is going to hurt at first as you already know. I’ll be as gentle as I can. I want to make sure that you’re okay.” He hissed a little bit as I dabbed the antiseptic over his varying wounds to her my brother. I carefully bandaged up all his different injuries.

“Okay that was the last one sweetheart. I know that you’ve been going through a lot right now. Do you want to stay by yourself or with me?” He shook his head at the first question and I helped him off of the countertop with a small smile.

“With you if you don’t think that’s weird. I know we used to do it a lot as children but we haven’t done it in a. Really long time.” I smiled softly at my brother putting my arm around his shoulders and laughing a little bit.

“I can’t judge you sweetheart, come on. You can change into your pajamas! I need to get back into mine as well.” I put my clothes back on and my brother crawled in next to me. My mom came in checking on me and making sure that I had done a good job patching up my brother. My brother snuggled next to me and my mom kissed our foreheads.

“Good night my darlings…” He turned the lights off and left the two of us alone so that we could relax and just get some sleep. I was super sleepy and it looked like my brother was at this point too as he snuggled against me. The next day would bring him lots of chaos and new fun things to do with my family.