#napping in Sols apartment

[laurzvahll]

the ittiest of bittiest solkara based off this post

[syrena-del-mar]

Navigating the Conflict in My Stand In: Surrender and Softening in Love

(Disclaimer: Ming/Joe is an incredibly toxic relationship; I fully realize and acknowledge that, but Poom makes a critical distinction in Joe's reasoning, and I think it's interesting to dissect. Also, this is fiction.)

It's been some time since I've written any meta, but I can't stop thinking about the video @poomphuripan shared of Poom making the distinction that Joe isn't giving in to Ming, but rather, his heart is melting for him.

It makes so much sense that Joe would melt at the littlest semblance of 'love.' He was so alone for so long. His parents have been dead for longer than he had them, he has no siblings, and his extended relatives don't care about him. I forget if it's mentioned in the show, but in the novel, Joe had a pretty big crush on Sol, and Sol rejected him quite brutally. Even without meaning to be, Joe is always alone at the end of the day.

Yes, Joe has friends, and yes, Joe made his own found family. But at the end of the day, Joe would return to an unlit, empty home. Everyone else would return to their wives or families, while Joe could only return to the pictures of his parents. Meanwhile, for all of Ming's bs and frightening behavior, he was the only one that made his dream come true.

For the first time, with Ming around, Joe would come home and be greeted by the warmth of another living, breathing person. Joe craved to have a human bond, and Ming was the one who was willing (albeit for his own interest) to give it to him. And he cooked for him. He took up space in his home! He remembered the very things Joe had told him he longed for. They had a lot of good times, a lot of good memories, and a pretty set routine that really integrated Ming into Joe's life. But then they fight, his blissful reality breaks, and Joe dies.

But Joe wakes up from what feels like a day's nap when, in actuality, two years have passed. And what does he find? Ming has cared for his apartment since his death and is unwilling to change anything just in case Joe returns. Ming continues to fulfill Joe's dream of returning to a warm home. So he turns on the lights, and he cooks the same dinner that they used to share for two years. And even in his rightful anger of wanting Ming to leave him alone, he's still seeing that. In the two years since his disappearance, someone still thought about him and hadn't fully grieved him. Ming's brother only confirms that.

Giving in would mean that Joe wanted to end the fight with Ming, when no feelings had changed. It'd be him emotionally surrendering himself, compromising his feelings of being just a double for Tong, and fully conceding himself when he still thought that Ming only saw him as a replacement. While Joe might have given Ming access to his body to pay his new mom's debts, he was still blocking Ming out as much as he could. But that's not why Joe forgives Ming; it's not for a superficial reason to stop the feud. There's a visible shift in how he perceives Ming, the guy who waited two years for him, who protected and filled his home with warmth, just in case he wasn't really gone. His motivation was rooted in the slivers of positive feelings he had for Ming, which allowed him to move past the anger that he held for him.

A quote that I've seen floating around the internet for years comes to mind. "And when nobody wakes you up in the morning and when nobody waits for you at night and when you do whatever you want. What do you call it? Freedom or loneliness?" Joe has had that freedom for the majority of his whole life. It's no longer freedom for him. But even his found family isn't fully aware of the loneliness that would wash over him when he would return to an empty home.

After all is said and done, he sees that only one person knows him intimately enough to understand and learn even the most mundane of his desires. Ming, even with all the toxic shit he has pulled, stood by his word of not letting Joe return to an empty home. For Joe, that was enough. It changes how he sees and understands Ming.

It's also why Sol and Joe would have never worked out.

As Poom said, ultimately, it's not that he gives in to Ming but rather he lets his heart melt when he sees exactly what Ming has done for him in his absence.

Even after everything, Joe still loves him.

[aestariiwilderness]

Vernestra & Padawan | Acolyte (Spoilers)

Okay apropos of nothing but I think Qimir/The Stranger's (wow, really, ominous name dude. not edgelord at all) backstory is most easily and hilariously explained by his being Vernestra's Padawan. I am about 98.9% certain Edgelord here just got really, really tired of being elaborately framed for the sake of the Jedi Order. :D I mean, this does seem to be Vernestra's go-to/only move. For example: Tuesday. Someone stole a cookie. It reflects badly on the Jedi Order. Vernestra's eyes slide sideways to the nearest scruffy-looking padawan. "Qimir..." Wednesday. A senator tripped on his own cloak. This reflects badly on the Jedi Order. Vernestra's eyes slide sideways. Qimir, who is still out of breath from being hunted down by Jedi hounds last night and only narrowly proved his innocence by not owning any cloaks at all, does not move away fast enough. "Qimir..." Saturday. There has been a minor case of tax fraud (it was Vernestra). This reflects badly on the Jedi Order and will eventually lead to the downfall of civilization (and also she will have to pay a fine). Vernestra's eyes slide sideways. Qimir also moves sideways, but not fast enough. "Qimir..." Monday. Qimir has taken an extended leave of absence in the medical bay after being grazed by the firing squad that a young Plo Koon managed to avert at the very last second by proving his innocence ("wait! Qimir is a dependent and does not pay taxes yet! He cannot have committed this fraud! It is... *clears throat, does not look at Vernestra holding the blaster* a mystery who has done so! May we direct your investigation to the nearest available Jedi corpse for leads? Thank you"). A Jedi has "accidentally" wiped out a family and kidnapped their force-sensitive child for the temple, for the sixth time this quarter. This could reflect badly on the Jedi Order. Vernestra's eyes slide sideways over the corpse of the Jedi Knight responsible -- and the child, whoops -- and over to the medbay window where she knows her padawan is in a mini-coma. "Qimir..." Sunday. A Jedi Knight is having a dalliance with a Night Sister (again) and was stupid enough to get photographed from behind at her apartment. If you disregard the blue skin and gills just visible at his wrists, it otherwise COULD be Qimir. Vernestra's eyes slide sideways. "Qimir..." Day: ?? Qimir is being hunted down by Jedi Shadows, for reasons he isn't clear on anymore. It is the fourth time this week; they interrupted him during meditation. His master has just messaged him to ask if he would mind being "temporarily" excommunicated and court-martialed by the Senate, "for the good of the Order". She does not specify why or what his extraction plan would be, only that it "probably won't hurt (for long)". Day 1 as a Sith: Qimir takes a long, long nap in a cave far, far away from people. It's the best night's rest he's had since the creche. He leaves Vernestra's pings tearfully demanding why he could have done such a thing to her on "read". Day 264 as a Sith: Annnnnnnd she's back. Vernestra's eyes slide sideways over Master Sol's corpse. Qimir has, per usual, done absolutely nothing here besides stand around and look pretty, but he's wise to her tells now and slides sideways faster. Now, if he can only get Osha out of here...

[misc-obeyme]

okay okay I'm back with more self indulgent poly coffee au. Last time I said Lucifer fixed up the piano, and there's definitely another scene idea there, but I'm so excited about the Horror night one that I'm skipping the piano scene aksjdj. I even re-read the horror movie night devilgrams for research. Yeahhh, research,,,,(that one line from Mammon where he comments on MC's scared face lives rent free in my head). But I learned Mammon would have nightmares, and Solomon gets really into the plot.

okay so I think it'd be nice if the three of us meet on Wednesdays before I head to the record shop. Solomon brings his homework, but never gets much done, too happy to talk to us instead. Wednesday is the only day I wake up super early, all because I'm looking forward to hanging out for longer with the two of them. It gets me out of bed, but I have shown up looking groggy as hell some days. Record shop is open 11-7:30 Monday through Friday? And 11-9 on Saturday, but closed Sunday. The only reason it closes early is because I take the bus, and that's not something that's fun taking at night. Saturday night I stay at the shop (thinking of a mini storage/break room upstairs where I've set up a sleeping bag). Coffee shop I think is also closed Sunday, but Mon-Friday it's 7-3:30, with Saturday being 7-12 so he can get errands done. And then Sol has classes Mon/Tues/Thurs/Fri.

OKAY ANYWAY, WORLD BUILDING ASIDE, the three of us meeting on our usual Wednesday, and Solomon mentions this movie he wants to see. He says he has extra tickets because the people he planned on asking can't make it, it's a midnight showing on Friday. Says he understands if we can't since we both need to get up early the next day, but wanted to ask. I agree because I think it'd be nice to hang out outside of the coffee shop, and Mammon says he's not one to turn down a free outing. He can run on little sleep anyway, he's got espresso to help.

The three of us trying to figure out the logistics, Solomon saying he'll even pay for rides there and back home if needed. Mammon blurts out "Why don't y'all sleep over after?" and we both turn to look at him. He freezes and turns red, but he's already said it, he can't turn back now. "What? I-I got a car, I'll pick the two of you up, and y'all can stay at my place. T-That way, it's not too far from your shop, and your apartment, right?" "I could walk home from here, I wouldn't want to intrude-" "Yeah, I don't mind taking an uber-" "Walking at night can be dangerous, don't you know!? And you! Getting into a strangers car so late is even worse! I'll drive you both home if that's what ya want, but I don't mind having you two over." Solomon is fighting the urge to make a comment about it being like a date. I'm just happy to not have to wake up as early.

"Yo, why'd you want to go to the midnight showing anyway? Are ya that excited to see it?" "Haha, that's not the main reason. It's a horror movie! A midnight showing would be the most immersive." Cue me and Mammon freezing, giving each other terrified looks. Oh man.

Leading up to the outing date, Mammon and I are researching like crazy, only to find out it's the premiere. So there's no spoilers or ways to prepare. We're going in blind. I'm not one to watch many horror movies, the closest things being Saw, Final Destination (both of which I love), and I think a movie series called Paranormal Activity or something. But I always looked away during scary scenes during that. Yet I'm too stubborn to turn it off because I need to know the ending.

Friday comes, Mammon closes up and tries to take a nap to calm his nerves after stress cleaning to get everything neat for the sleepover. And no one planned it, but everyone has dressed up a little nicer than usual. Mammon's got a lucky watch that was gifted from Lucifer, and an open button up with the sleeves rolled up.

He gets in his car to go pick up Solomon, his heart hammering in his chest because Solomon is wearing a nice button up and maybe a sweater? And wearing cologne?? Please help Mammon, he is panicking, trying to reign it in as Solomon puts his overnight bag in the trunk. His voice cracks as he greets Solomon, and immediately begins driving to pick me up, turning up the music as a distraction.

Not sure what I'd wear, but I've got extra jewelry on because it makes me feel cool. Maybe a mesh shirt and a cardigan?? But I wear perfume, and I'm nervous without any clue why. I've got my wallet and my duffel bag, and snort when Solomon jumps out and opens the passenger door like a gentleman before climbing into the backseat. The drive is slightly tense, all of us nervous until I spot a car with a difference state plate. My friend introduced me to this game, and I instinctively bump Mammon's arm and call out the state, which breaks the tense atmosphere. The three of us fall into comfortable conversation until we reach the movie theater.

okay there's a really funny idea I have for the next part that happens during the actual movie. Solomon is going to be living his best life very soon OKAY BYEEE

- ✨ anon

AHHHH I wanna know about Solomon living his best life!! Lemme guess, he's sitting between you two and something especially scary happens so you're both clinging to him out of fear?!? LOL!

Oh man, both of you guys not liking horror is so cute! I totally get it, I'm not a horror fan at all. I can't watch horror movies because I get so freaked out, I can't sleep for months. Books seem to be no problem, but movies for some reason I can't handle lol.

ANYWAY I also love how Mammon is coming up with reasons why you should both sleep over, that is so sweet - of course he's getting all overprotective! Walking at night! Getting into a stranger's car!! You're gonna give him a conniption!

And ohh Solomon being the gentleman and opening the door for you, that's adorable, too!!

As always, I will be pleased to know what happens next, but of course no pressure & no rush! I'm just enjoying this cute lil love story~

[seokiloquy]

Shift Pt 3 - Kozume Kenma

Au: Regular (timeskip)

Tags/Warnings: Dual POV, use of a pseudonym (username: ForestFire) instead of (Y/N) in most cases, swearing.

Word Count:2.3k

Pt 1 | Pt 2 | Pt 3 | Pt 4

“No way.”

Uvo groaned at Kodzuken’s response. “You don’t have to stay long if you don’t want to, Kenma. But, It would be great if you came. Solarii doesn’t get to celebrate her birthday often.”

“Doesn’t sound like my cup of tea.”

“But talking with strangers online is?”

Kenma sat silently, but the clicking of his keyboard could be heard through the phone.

“Okay, look. There’s going to be maybe 12 people there, max. And only a bit of it will be filled. You can avoid the camera if you’d prefer. We just want you there.”

Kenma remained silent, thinking over the possibilities of what could happen. Likely, he ends up tucked away in the corner, trying to call for Solarii’s dog to keep him company or play video games on his phone. The latter of which seemed a bit more enjoyable.

“We’ll be playing Mario Kart and other stuff!” Uvo sang in a final attempt to sway Kenma’s mind.

“Who’s gonna be there?”

“Uh, well, Solarii, of course, me, Forest—”

“I’m in. Send me the details.”

“Aweso—”

Kenma hung up, going back to his game.

As Uvo gathered everyone and everything for Solarii’s birthday, you were tasked with distracting her for the morning until you got the okay text to bring her back to her apartment. After a full day of streaming, so she could take the day off, she was desperate just to go home and relax.

You tugged at her wrist, dragging her behind you while she slouched, long black hair hanging like curtains in front of her face. “I’ll buy you a dress, candy, cute cat ears or something, please! Just spend an hour with me!”

She let out a tired laugh, standing straight so that she could rest her forehead on your shoulder. “Can we just sit down and eat fries or something?”

“Fine,” you sighed. “I’ll get you all the fries you could dream of!”

“It's so early. How are you so loud?”

“It’s mid-day.”

“Early,” she groaned, letting you drag her to the mall’s dining hall, where she sat, head flat against a table with her eyes closed while you got the fries.

With the moment to yourself, you checked your phone.

<Tawny and Dust are here, Ken is on his way, and the rest are getting food.>

You huffed, heat blooming in your lungs as if you could breathe fire. Uvo and, by association, Solarii were great socialisers. Making friends and lasting connections everywhere they went. Including Kenma.

<How long do you think it'll be? Sol wants to go home.>

<Give us 30 minutes>

You weaved through the crowds of people to return to the table where Solarii looked like she was napping, but at the sound of your chair, she perked up. Immediately jumping on the bag you placed on the table.

She practically moaned the moment she got a bite.

"You're in public, Sol."

"You brought me here. Deal with it."

Your phone buzzed in your pocket, leading you to quickly pull it out and check out the text from Uvo.

<Ken's here!>

"What's that?" Solarii tried to peek over the top of your phone.

You scramble, forcing your phone back into your pocket. "Nothing!"

"Can't fool me. What was it?"

"Nothing! I promise!"

"Liar, you're lying to me!" She lifts herself up, trying to reach over the table to get in your pocket will her greased fingers.

"Fine! Fine, stop it!" Your mind races for something to fill the lie. "It's just a stream notification."

She glances you up and down with a sparse eyebrow raised. "For who?"

"Kodzuken."

While they knew each other, you were confident Sol didn't keep track of Ken's streaming schedule.

"You still have his notifications on? Wow, you must really like him."

You groaned internally, wishing you had watched anybody else in college. It had truthfully been months since you last managed to attend one of his live streams, since before you blew up on the platform in your own right. And between streaming and voice acting, there just wasn't the time to catch up with anything that wasn't just short videos.

"I find him calming." You squeezed out.

"Really." She smirked, "is that all?"

"Please, don't do this to me."

"Do what?"

"Try and get out every little embarrassing detail of my… infatuation with Kodzuken."

"So you admit it!"

"No!"

"You just said 'infatuation'. You like him!"

"Who doesn't?" 

"A sane person."

"What does that mean‽"

While you had managed to get Solarii both awake and distracted. The consequences left your temperature running higher than normal. Every word from her lips seemed to be delicately created just to torment you.

"Look. I don't have a crush on Ken, I hardly know him! His videos and streams were a great comfort to me in school, so I appreciate him."

"I'm still stuck on the comfort thing. He's kind of a gremlin."

You were happy to leave the mall when Uvo finally texted and eagerly gathered Sol's languid body to your car.

Kenma had already found himself playing with Solarii’s dog before the party even started. While everybody either put food in bowls and plates or hooked up the tv for them to play games, Uvo intermittently filmed the progress until sending a text.

You weren't there, though, apparently keeping Sol busy. 

Kenmas hands pushed through the small dog's fur, scratching the creature the same way he did cats, which she seemed to tolerate, while occasionally barking at X when he walked by.

With two people not currently in the room, Kenma already felt cramped, content with letting the little fur ball keep him company until he felt the need to move.

"They're here!" Uvo shouted from the kitchen, grabbing the cake to bring to the apartment's entryway. Tawny followed with candles and a lighter.

Picking the dog up, Kenma walked over, standing at the back of the crowd as everyone waited to surprise Sol. Everyone screamed as the door unlocked. But Kenma's attention immediately caught your startled face over Sol's shoulder.

The chanting around him seemed to disappear as if the crowd had vanished, leaving him in the middle of the room. His vision tunnelled, vignetting around your face. Everything seemed to stop as if he were there to greet you when you came home. 

You let out a loud laugh, shaking Sol's shoulders to encourage her while she blew out the candles, which led the dog in his arms to bark. Kenma glared, the loud sound being sharp in his ears. The crowd moved to the kitchen, leaving Kenma with the small canine to stew.

He glanced away from you toward the TV, nodding to himself.

You eagerly ate the collection of cake, chips, and candy that was laid out on the kitchen counter before your eyes caught sight of Ken crouched in front of the TV, Fuwafuwa wagging her little tail by his feat. Maybe he was like a gremlin in a cute, unkempt and endearing way. His grown-out hair, which he had bleached in high school, had been trimmed but still had some blond ends that brushed against his shoulders. Wore a plain baggy shirt with his ever-recognisable high school track pants, which had holes in the knees and tattered threads along the bottom from petting and getting scratched by cats. His casual, almost lazy attire made you feel overdressed when you weren’t.

It was hard not to admire him in person, finally being in his presence instead of watching him on a 2D screen image.

Something hit your shoulder. Sol’s wrist, a plate of cake in hand, as she nodded for you to approach the quiet gamer. You pinched your brows, shaking your head fervently, but Sol dropped the plate with a slice of cake and a fork in your hand and pushed you before turning around to talk to Uvo, who had his camera in hand. Sighing, you greeted Fuwafuwa as she ran around your ankles while you approached and crouched next to Kenma.

“Hey, Ken.”

He gave you a sideways glance before crouching lower and searching through the collection of games on the tv stand’s shelf.

“Here’s your slice of cake,” you continue holding it out for him. He takes it and sets it on the coffee table behind him. 

“Thanks.”

“What game are you looking for?”

“Mario Kart.”

Oh. “Hold on.” You step over Fuwafuwa and reach for the plastic box that’s tucked against the wall. Opening it up, Mario Kart is at the top, placed half haphazardly amongst the neatly stacked collection. “It goes in the box; otherwise, they won’t stop playing it.”

Kenma hummed, lips pinched together as he took the game from your hand. The tips of his fingers hit your knuckles, and he shuffles back, quickly slotting the game into the console.

At the sound of the game booting up, everyone gathers on the couch, leaving you and Kenma to sit on the floor. He grumbles, snatching a pair of pillows, and handing one to you.

“Thanks.”

“No problem. Let's just grab the controllers before they steal that too.” As he settled onto the pillow, Fuwfuwa jumped into his lap.

“She likes you.”

“I think she just doesn’t like how loud everyone else is.” They’re all yelling at each other while picking and choosing their karts and characters.

Reaching over, you give the dog a scratch around her ears.

“They’re competitive.”

Kenma hums and sets his kart up. Immediately earning a groan from X behind you.

“What’s up?” glance over your shoulder. 

X drags a hand up his forehead and back against his buzzed hair. Before leaning forward, one hand squeezing your shoulder as his head appears between you and Kenma.

“Oh, dear Forest.” He emphasised his words by shaking your shoulder and pulling you close, so your cheeks shooshed against his. He whispered. “Kodzu here has a signature setup for Mario Kart. It’s not even considered the best set-up, but when he uses it, we’re all bound to lose.”

“Uh.” You glance at the screen, then Kenma, who leaned forward to glare at both you and X. “Truthfully, I don’t know much about Mario Kart.”

“Oh,” X sighed dramatically. “Well, your set-up happens to be nearly the complete opposite from his and since you don’t know how to play. Well,” X pushes his cheeks in closer to yours, nearly giving you an eccentric smooch. He sang, “Good luck,” before being dragged back by the collar of his shirt that Solarii had taken hold of.

Kenma shoots a glare at the buzzed-cut PvP gamer before turning back around.

The game starts.

Before you can realise what’s happening, you’re shifting your body with your character on the screen as if it’ll make it turn sharper and prevent you from falling off course. You lurch again, shoulder crashing into Kenma’s and you lose balance, staying there, and yet, your character falls off the map. Startled, Fuwafuwa runs off.

“How do you guys do this?” your head sags.

“By getting good, Little Sprout.” You huff at X’s response but he’s immediately knocked off the course. “Who just Blue Shelled me!”

Next to you, Ken chuckles, making you realise that you were still leaning against him and he had to notify X of the culprit.

“Oh, watch your back Ken! I’m getting my revenge!” you lean back as X trashes forward.

Every round, Kenma seemed to win, and X seemed to lose, only seconded to you, who kept falling off the Rainbow Road track.

“This is going to haunt me forever.”

Kenma gave you another glance from the corner of his eye, but you paid it no mind, instead choosing to get to your feet and grab something to eat from the kitchen.

You watched the rounds continue from a stool in the kitchen, munching on chips while everyone began to yell at each other.

“They’re loud.” Ken sighs, sitting on the stool next to you and lifting his knees up.

“It would probably be more fun for you if you had more of a challenge. You just kept beating everyone.”

“I didn’t beat you.” He hugged his knees to his chest.

“I came consistently in last place! You beat me every round!”

“That’s just because you don’t know the game. I never made you lose. I made X lose plenty.”

It didn’t really matter. You still lost every round, sabotaged or not. “Think that might actually be worse, I lost on my own merit instead of getting hit with anything… I’m just that bad.”

“You have other talents, I’m sure.”

You huffed, cheeks burning as you turned away to hide them.

There was a loud cheer, and finally, X had won a round. Kenma grumbles and gets to his feet.

“Where are you going?” you ask, chest aching at the sight of him walking away.

“To take X down a notch. He’s loud.”

Two days later, Kenma is still feeling the sting of your shoulder against his. It wouldn’t leave his mind, burnt into his skin and memory. He wanted to scrub it all off, but it wouldn’t leave. In the moment, at first, he was ready to win each game. Until he realised, you didn’t even know how to play. X, however, made it easy for him to be a target. But still the winning didn’t stick around in his mind like you did.

He glared at his phone screen, just scrolling through until he saw an image of a familiar scene. The footage of Solarii’s birthday had been posted, and people had already started posting about it. Including a screenshot of him and you in the background.

<They’re so cute together!!!> The caption said.

He tossed his phone aside and dragged his hands down his face. Hoping he could wake up with a clearer head.

Guess whos super tired? Me. I took a 3-hour nap while writing this…..nearly deleted everything on accident. -Bacon

Posted: 06/06/2023

[solmarchese]

Joy

You were joy

You were sound You were energy You were passion You were freedom You were life

You were my love

You were everything one could ask for You were my world and I’ve lost you

U used to sleep on top of me

U used to jump on me licking me just to wake me up

U used to beg for human food in the most unbearable yet cutest way possible U used to welcome me at home like I was your world

U used to eat whatever fell on the floor while I was cooking

We used to watch films every time we could

We used to play a lot

We used to ride the car to go somewhere

Now all I do is ... missing you

Not being able to hug you kills me

Not being able to kiss you destroys me

Not being able to tell you wonderful things tears my heart apart

Knowing I will never share a moment, a film, a nap, a hug, a meal ... makes my body aches so hard I cannot breath

There’s something I feel good about

I always told you how much I loved you

I always hugged you

I always kissed you

I always gave you human food

I always lived our moments like there was no tomorrow... full of love and passion I never left you alone

I never regretted having you even when you broke down everything you could

Even my heart

And it wasn’t your fault

But it’s not a heart anymore

There are just pieces of what is left of it.

For my beloved Franca.

Sol Marchese ✍🏼

[intcritus]

‘ my specialty: the accidental 12 hour nap in broad daylight ’ //Osakwe

using the collar of his sleeveless, workout shirt, sol peers down at osakwe with mirth brewing in his gaze. having been out for a gym run, it's nice to know that one of them had gotten in their daily nap, but it's too cold to try to find a sun spot outside. the grass was too cold and wet for that now. ❝ ━ daylight, nightime, doesn't matter really. the fact that you didn't wait for me is gonna make me pout, y'know ? ❞ chuckling, he reaches down, ruffling his fellow cub's hair, ❝ ━ get up and freshen up, i'll make us some lunch. ❞ he talks as he moves into the kitchen, the rush of water filling the quiet apartment, ❝ ━ mm, did you finish that essay yet ? i know you were struggling with it before i left. ❞

[lyricc0900]

Chapter 3

Sol POV

Landing on the hard floor, I groan in pain; my body feels like it's falling apart. Sitting up slowly, I look up at Natasha nervously as she gets ready to continue our lesson. Since my magic isn't very skilled, Furry decided this so I could have a backup.

So far, I suck at this; I find it difficult to pick up on her teaching and fail to show any skill under physical combat. I was never really active; I was more focused on school, so I never made it a priority after a while.

It obviously shows as I stand slowly in pain before getting in position. Natasha directs me, "Part your feet and widen your stance."

Doing so, I feel my cheeks heat at the simple mistake. Besides the obvious lack of skill, I find it hard to focus; the whispers are back. I haven't told anyone, nervous about what they would do if I told them. It was clear, they didn't trust me, and I wasn't going to push them to do so.

The whispers are so loud that they would drown out her voice, leaving me to focus on her moments or read her lips. Seeing how tired I am, Natasha stands up straight, "That's enough training for today."

Nodding, I leave the room slowly, returning to my own room to take a well-deserved nap and shower. Entering, I strip my clothes and make my way to the bathroom. Taking a hot shower, I brush my wet hair, detangling it, and letting it soak in the warm liquid. Drying off, I put some lotion on my skin and oil on my hair before braiding my long thick curls. Slipping on my undergarments, a tank top, and some sweatpants, I slip into the covers.

Feeling myself relax slowly, I drift off to sleep.

Dream

"My sweet child, this world holds so much hate for us. We may part but just remember you're never alone."

The voice grows distant; opening my eyes, I find myself on a clear field of grass. Looking around, I find nothing, but looking up, I can't help but gasp. The sky is filled with stars that lit up the field.

"My sweet child."

Hearing the same motherly voice, I turn to find nothing.

"This world holds so much hate for us."

The stars begin to move, circulating at a fast pace; staring in awe, I feel a warmth engulf me.

"We may part, but just remember you're never alone."

Whispers engulf my ears; looking forward, I find many creatures surrounding me. They speak softly, whispering, but I can't understand them. Feeling a light shine behind me, I turn to see a man and woman standing before me. Shielding my eyes from the light, I feel the whispers grow louder, falling to my knees.

The warm voice grows louder and louder, "You're never alone, You're never alone."

Dream Over

Opening my eyes, I gasp, looking up at the ceiling; I look around the room slowly. Hearing nothing but silence, I start to calm down. Sitting up slowly, I sit still, thinking back on the dream that didn't seem to fade. I don't recall having dreams when I was younger, but I can't help but feel a sense of familiarity when I heard the warm voice.

Feeling my belly rumble, I quickly realize that I haven't eaten today. Checking the time, I see it's 1 in the morning. Getting out of bed, I stretch my sore limbs and make my way to the kitchen. Opening up the cabinet, I take out the bread; laying a paper towel on the countertop, I lay two pieces of bread before putting the bag away. Opening the fridge, I take out some honey mustard, turkey, cheese, and lettuce. Spreading the sauce on the bread, I lay the cheese, turkey, and lettuce before placing the other slice of bread on top. Putting everything away, I take a bite of my sandwich.

Satisfied, I lean against the countertop board out of my mind. Taking my sandwich on the go, I walk around the tower floor. Seeing a lab, my interest peaks; walking into the large room, I look around.

Looking at all the tech and items that scatter around the room, I can't help but smile. Stumbling on some parts, I get excited. Finishing my sandwich, I pull the stool over to me.

Plopping down, I start to put the scattered pieces together. Smiling, I find myself relaxed and at peace. I love building things; I fell in love with engineering at a young age and pursued it as I grew older. Now that I'm training, I doubt I have much time to enjoy my last month of school.

Losing track of time, I finish the once incomplete tech and smile at my handy work. Stretching, I head back to the kitchen and pick up a bottle of water. Heading to the training area, I take a couple of sips of water before setting it beside the punching bag.

Getting in the proper stance, I punch the bag; the bag barely moves. I mumble to myself, "Dammit. That sucked."

Trying to fix my stance, I start to hear the whispers again. Growing frustrated and annoyed by the voices, I groan.

"Allow me to help."

Hearing a rough feminine voice, I turn around to see a faded, tall woman. She had dark red skin, four golden eyes, and long black hair. Wearing golden armor, with an oddly shaped spear in hand, she looks down at me.

I back away a bit, shocked, "Who are you?"

She smiles a bit, "My name is Vetirus; I am the Goddess of Strength and Military. I watch over the planet Gornious."

My eyes widen at her words, wondering if I'm dreaming; she answers smoothly as if she read my mind.

"This is not a dream Young One; now allow me to help you."

Nodding slowly, I turn back to the punching back; following her directions, I grow nervous, afraid to take the punch.

"Remember, you are strong; you hold more power than you think, so never doubt yourself."

Taking a breath, I relax a bit, trusting her words.

"If you wish you can lift the mightiest mountain, all you have to do is hone your skill. Now strike."

Following her instructions, I feel a surge of confidence as I punch the bag resulting in it pushing back. Keeping up my momentum, she continues to instruct me, telling me to stop I smile at the sight of the worn down and abused bag.

Looking back at her, I smile, she returns it, "You're a fast learner, now the next lesson."

Instructing me, she teaches me different stances of combat and how to counter attacks. While she phased through me, that didn't stop her from demonstrating and me from following along. Hours passed as the sun comes up, drenched in sweat, and swore I smile at her.

"Thank you, Vetirus; I'll make sure to keep practicing so I can get better."

"You're welcome, Young One, until we meet again."

Fading away, I smile a bit; hearing the door open, I turn to see Natasha. She seems surprised, "Good Morning Sol, how long have you been here?"

I think for a moment, "A couple of hours, I was practicing."

"Ready to start training?"

I nod, taking a large gulp of water, standing in front of her, I get in position. She seemed a bit surprised but brushes it off. Coming towards me, I hold my own, remembering the Vetirus's words. I felt my scenes flare; everything feels like it's going in slow motion as I watch Natasha's movements. Picking up my speed, I feel light as a feather as I grab Natasha with ease and toss her across the room and into the wall.

Looking up, my eyes widen; I walk over to help her up and apologize profusely. She refuses; feeling my cheeks heat up in embarrassment, hearing the door open, I notice the others flood in. Shocked by the sight, I walk past them and make my way to my room.

Closing and locking the door behind me, I hop in the shower, hoping to relax my thoughts. I guess I went a bit overboard, but I didn't mean to! Placing my forehead on the shower wall, I mumble to myself, "I have a long way to go."

No POV

This morning was a weird morning for the Avengers, with Natasha in the medic room resting. The others wonder just how powerful Sol is. Spending some time with Pepper the night before, Tony steps into his workspace to continue modifying the blaster he left the evening before.

He is taken aback at the sight of the said blaster being put together. Confused, he tests it out to see the modification. Impressed and greatly satisfied with its weight and range, he wonders who finished it.

He knew only one person who could be smart enough to put it together; taking a long shot, he goes on the hunt for Bruce. Finding the scientist, he walks up to him, "Did you do this?"

Bruce looks at him confused, "Um, no."

He looks at Tony as if he's crazy before continuing his task. Confused, Tony return to his office, "Jarvis, pull up the security camera from last night."

"Yes, Mr. Stark."

Pulling up the footage, he watches as the video speeds up, "Slow it down."

Following his instructions, he watches with great interest as Sol finishes her sandwich and puts his blaster together. Shocked, as she walks away, he exits the video and looks through her file once more. Seeing her history with engineering, processing this, he sees that she's more than meets the eye.

Chapter 2 | Chapter 4

[laurzvahll]

soft abt them tonight sry

[slippinmickeys]

The Mesas of Deuteronilus Mensae (19/?)

When Mulder woke, he felt a distinct sense of something missing, like a twinge on a phantom limb. He half-rolled over on his cot and pressed his nose into the side of his pillow which still carried the scent of Scully. He huffed deeply and felt a surge of dopamine hit his bloodstream.

With a quick glance at his clock, he saw that it was morning, but still fairly early, and remembered that all of the shield crew didn’t have to leave their racks until almost midday, but he rolled over and sat up anyway, wiping a hand across tired eyes. He would rather be tired and spend time with Scully than sleep – an odd sensation for a guy who could nap with the best of them.

He’d always known how it would go, when and if he and Scully got together — he was under no misapprehension. Like an itch that was under the skin, they wouldn’t be able to get enough of each other, they wouldn’t want to be apart. The thing about being one of the first Mars colonists though – they would have to be. For various missions and even just day-to-day tasks, they would be separated by rooms, miles, even sols. It was going to hurt. But the coming back together: meals grabbed in the mess, the occasional duty they were both assigned, and, he now knew from experience – stolen nights together in one or the other’s quarters – would be sweeter than a gulp of mountain air after a fresh rain. And being that they’d been breathing nothing but canned and scrubbed air for the better part of the last year – Mulder knew from sweet.

He took a quick shower in the lav and hustled to the medical bay, trying to appear as though he weren’t rushing when every cell of his body was telling him to go faster. When she met his eyes from the doorway with the brightest of smiles, he could have floated to her side on pure exhilaration.

“Morning,” he said, smiling back, feeling ever-so-slightly shy and dopey.

“Hey,” she said, and looked down at the floor briefly, clearly feeling the same way. She was hunched over shipping kits made of plastic and metal. Mulder noticed that there were five or six similar containers on the exam table, which she glanced at briefly as she rose to stand. “Didn’t think I’d see you for at least a few more hours.”

“I didn’t come at a bad time, did I?” he asked, suddenly just a tiny bit unsure.

“No!” she said quickly, and then blushed. Another surge of dopamine hit Mulder’s bloodstream. “No,” she said again, regaining a little composure. “I just know the commander didn’t put a wake-up order on you guys this morning and I thought you might sleep in.”

“I’d rather be here,” he said, taking a step into the room.

She was wearing a white jumpsuit today, which made her look particularly trim and highlighted the bright shade of her hair. She seemed to get more beautiful by the sol. By the hour. By the minute.

“I’m going to put you to work,” she said, friendly but haughty, thrusting her chin out. “We have to go over all the base medications – which is going to feel like your worst class in graduate school, I might point out – and I still haven’t put away the supplies that got tossed when Robo-2 failed.”

Mulder raised his brows. “Will I be working closely with you while engaged in all this sadistic labor?” he asked.

“Yep.”

“Then don’t threaten me with a good time, Scully.”

She smiled.

They began by going over the meds, which was just as tedious and awful as she warned him it would be. He ended up having to get a pad of paper and take notes while Scully gave him a comprehensive run-down of everything they had on base. Considering NASA had tried to cover just about every medical eventuality, it took quite a bit of time.

“The computer will help you with diagnoses if you need to run something quickly,” she said, “and the Flight Surgeon at Mission Control can handle anything that’s not acute.” He knew all of this, of course, and had studied it all while en route on board the Larunda, but it was good to see where it all was being stored, and to get a better feel for the medical bay.

Scully stood. “That’s it on compulsory duty,” she said. “Feel free to head back and try to get a little more sleep, Mulder. I know you must be exhausted.”

He fought the urge to yawn, but stood and stretched.

“I was adequately put through my paces last night, I admit,” he said, even though he knew she was talking about the fatigue he was experiencing due to the rigors of the magnetic shield mission. He stepped into her space, forcing her to look up at him, which she did with a sly smile.

“ Adequately ?” she intoned, teasing him.

“More than adequate,” he said. “Scully,” his voice dropped to a whisper and he leaned down even more, until their noses were almost touching. “Last night was… out of this world.”

She threw back her head and let rip an undignified guffaw which energized him more than any sleep ever could.

“Come on,” he said, still smiling and moving over to the payload cases that she’d stacked on the exam table, the edges on some stained a rusty orange from where they’d sat in the powdery regolith. “Let me help you with these.”

She grinned and moved over with him, and they began to check the structure of each container before opening it and cataloguing what was inside, after which they unpacked each one, filling the medical bay with the rest of its complement of supplies. When they were on the second to last kit, Mulder turned it from where it sat on the metal gurney.

“Structure seems fine,” he reported to Scully, who had a laptop open on the other end of the tabletop with the inventory list open. “But one of the latches is damaged,” he said, fingering the loose metal clasp.

“Is the other latch intact?” she asked, looking up from her computer.

“Seems to be,” he said.

Scully pursed her lips. “Let’s check for regolith particles on the interior. See if the seal was compromised.”

Mulder nodded and opened the other latch, swinging open the container, which was shaped like an oversized briefcase. Scully handed him a magnifying glass, which she seemed to have conjured out of thin air. From where he stood, there didn’t appear to be any Martian dust on or near the edge closest to the compromised latch, which he reported to Scully before taking a closer look with the magnifying glass.

“Seal does not appear to have been compromised,” he said, straightening back up and handing the tool back to Scully.

She nodded, made a note on her laptop and turned to him.

“Contents?” she said.

He picked up the small bottles one at a time and read off the contents. “Pills, looks like,” he said. “We’ve got uh… ibuprofen,” he set that bottle aside and picked up the next one. “And…” he squinted at the printing on the bottle. Though they’d gone over nearly all the medications in the clinic, this wasn’t one he was familiar with. “I don’t know this one. Dimeth…” he started.

Scully looked up from her computer with a grin, as though she was trying not to laugh. “Dimethandrolone undecanoate?” she asked.

“Yes,” he replied, relieved not to have had to wrap his tongue around that particular mouthful. “What’s so funny?”

“Don’t you look at the bottles that you have to open every morning and take with breakfast?” she asked him.

“This is a vitamin?” he asked, squinting once again at the bottle. There were a whole host of supplements they needed to take because they weren’t ingesting or exposed to them on this alien planet, as well as other compounds that the doctors wanted them to take to fight the effects of low or no gravity – substances to help preserve bone strength, eye function, muscle repair and growth. Each morning as they sat down to eat, they ingested a veritable candy dish worth of pharmaceuticals. He glanced up to find her smiling at him.

“It’s your birth control, Mulder,” she said with a smirk.

He gave her a look and she leaned over and picked up another bottle. “And mine,” she went on. “I think this contains the whole reproductive health suite.”

“Well,” said Mulder, hoping to regain some of his dignity, and perhaps the conversational upper hand, “I hope to put it to good and frequent use.”

“Count on it, flyboy,” she said.

[chasingpj]

𝐜𝐨𝐳𝐲

pairing: percy jackson x gn reader

requested?: yes

warnings: implied sex, and uh, that's it

category: headcanons, fluff, established relationship

one thing that’s never changed between you and percy is that no matter how old you get, you’ll always be the playful 13-year-olds when you first met at heart

some nights felt like you’re just unsupervised children causing havoc in your shared apartment in new rome

there’s this running inside joke between the two of you that you guys can never sit through an entire movie without getting distracted

sometimes you're interrupted by the restlessness of wanting to do something else and other times, you get distracted doing, ehm, wink wink other things

either way, you guys have never gotten through more than 40 minutes of a movie in one sitting

one night, you thought you were going to change that for good

you had set the goal to watch mulan in its entirety without stopping

but then you became a factor in your own demise

you watched through, maybe, the first ten minutes of the movie before you said, “you know what would make this better? a blanket fort.”

percy raised an eyebrow at you, taking in the small living room before turning toward you

“you, y/n, are a person full of great ideas.”

his finger booped your nose softly, and he gave you a boyish smile that made your heart skip a beat

as you jumped up from the couch, you began listing all the things you needed: snacks, the fairy lights in your bedroom, dining room chairs, pillows, and every stuffed animal you have in your place

“yes, sir/ma’am!” percy said before running off to help you collect the materials

it doesn’t take long to put everything together after you established the blankets over the dining chairs and the back of the couch

you laid down blankets on the floor, fluffed the pillows, lined your space with stuffed animals, and decorated everything with fairy lights

by the time you peered into the fort, percy was already covered in blankets and cuddling with a squishmellow

“i’m a little jealous of puff the penguin right now,” you joked as you crawled in, joining him under the blankets

percy gave you a dopey smile, tossing the squishmellow to the side before pulling you into his arms

he pressed a soft kiss on your forehead. “you’ll always be my favorite squishmellow.”

you snorted, finding what he said to be super corny

you don’t tease him though and instead, you pull him into a slow, almost feather-light kiss

the sweetness of the kiss made your cheeks radiate with heat and the husky hum that vibrates from his throat sends your stomach into a frenzy of butterflies

somehow, through the haze of the intimacy, you remembered what you were supposed to be doing,

and that is watching mulan

you wiggled in his arms, reluctantly pulling away as much as his hold allowed

“the movie,” you reminded him

percy looked at you through the dark lashes of his half-lidded eyes, “oh... right.”

he gazed over at the opening of your cozy fort as if he was about to move

then he just waves his hand, plopping his head right back onto his pillow.

“eh, we can watch it later. i’m more interested in you.”

“but... don’t you want to find out if mulan brings her family honor?” you joked

“of course she will. when does a disney movie ever have a sad ending?”

you were ready to prove him wrong, but you couldn’t come up with an example at the moment, “fine, i guess you’re right.”

percy’s lips that rest against your forehead curl up into a smile, and he gives you another groggy hum, “so, let’s just stay here.”

his thumb caresses your cheek before it slid down, taking your chin in its hold to gently tilt your head back

percy is quick to connect your lips once again, not giving you much time to study the fondness in his expression in the white hue of the fairy lights

the kiss you share increasingly becomes lazier, the heat and comfort of one another making the both of you sleepy

percy eventually pulls away to yawn and you smiled, amused as he mumbles a suggestion to take a nap

it hadn’t been your intention to nap here but after reflecting on the long week of late nights studying for the midterms that just passed, you figured you and perce could use a nap

with your face nuzzled against his neck and percy’s strong arms around your body, it doesn’t take long for you to drift off to sleep

… so much for watching a movie

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if your username is bolded that means i can’t tag you ! you probably have your visibility settings on!

[strawbearisamu]

promises [summer collection: vol 3]

❀ timeskip! matsukawa issei x gn! reader | wc: 1.2k

summary: snapshots of the promises he made you, 8 years at a time from when you were 8 to 16 and finally a proposal at 24.

note: volumes are not connected this is a standalone story.

"hey! you can trust me," he smirked.

"oh yeah? do you remember the first promise you made?" you grinned.

❀ eight — accidents

in the sweltering heat of the sun, slippers warm from the heat, slapping against the tarmac in your little cul-de-sac, you chased him. the humidity of summer enveloping you, you wipe the sheen of sweat off your forehead, panting to catch your breath, "i give up, you win issei!"

he beamed in response, so obnoxious yet so pure, you couldn't help the little smile that graced your lips too.

"that means you have to try it! ride the bike side to side, it'll go faster!"

"side to side?" you asked, a little unsure of what he meant, getting on your little bicycle.

"yeah! it'll work, trust me," he boasted, "i saw it on tv!"

"promise?" you asked, fingers gripping a little tighter on the worn rubber handles of your bike.

"promise!" eight-year-old issei said in excitement before riding off ahead of you.

"side to side," you mumble under your breath, before pedaling up the slope, fast, your younger self blissfully ignorant of the burn in your calves and thighs, you steer your bike towards the left, then the right, then the left, and again and again. somehow convincing yourself that it was working, you gave him a thumbs-up as he looked back towards you, "catch up slowpoke!"

"i will!" you huffed at him, provoked, speeding up, as the gears of the bike started whirring louder, the wind whistling in your ear. you reach a hard corner and issei is still way ahead of you, one harsh turn tips the scales in the equilibrium of gravity as you crash and collide onto the ground.

"yn!" issei shouts, turning back and pedaling towards you.

you sniffled a little, rubbing the bloody gash on your knees, hands now a little grimy and stained from the tarmac, the rough road scraping your arms and knees, blood running along your elbows.

"you promised it would work!" you frown at him, as he leaned towards you, poking your bruise in curiosity, "OW!"

"i'm sorry y/n! they said it on tv!" he said panicked, scratching his head, before pushing you back to his house as you sat on his bike. his mom horrified at the wound, patching you up and forcing her son to apologise to you again.

"okay that's a little unfair, i was 8!" he crossed his arms.

"okay fine. ah! what about that one time!" your eyes lit up as you recalled the memory.

❀ sixteen — sneaking out

"issei," you squeezed his forearm, "we'll be fine right?"

"relax, i've done this before, we'll be fine." he assured, a playful glint in his eye. "i promise, don’t you trust me?" he inched down towards you as you nodded.

and so the both of you snuck past the napping guard, the small rusty back gate creaking as he gently pried it open, grabbing onto your wrist and dragging you along behind him, navigating the overgrown path.

giggling, you clutched onto your bags and each other as you ran, in the sports shoes you changed into just for this, in the humid summer heat, uniforms clinging onto the layer of sweat on your skin, palms sweaty against each others, a burning ache in your calves and thighs as you tried to keep up with him.

tapping your cards hastily, and hopping onto the first train. settling onto the seats of the semi-packed train. with the cool air of the air conditioning blowing in your face, and issei by your side, you still yourself in the moment, admiring him, his face, memorising the texture his curls, the slant in his lids, the curve of his lips, the scenery beyond the windows, imprinting it all in your mind, hoping you would never forget, only smiling when he raised a brow at you.

four stops later, you guys arrive at your destination. all the elaborate stealth just to eat at your favourite little ramen shop tucked away at the fourth stop. the both of you bursting into adrenaline-fuelled giggles as soon as you stepped onto the platform.

—

you slurped the last of your ramen, letting out a satisfying sigh. "we actually did it!" you grinned, proud. you and issei occupying two of the eight limited counter seats in the cramped little shop.

"we sure did," he smiled at you, resting a palm on your head before wiping away the layer of sweat on his forehead as you stared. "something on my face?" he teased, eyes finally meeting yours as your gazes lingered on one another, allowing yourselves the privilege to indulge. his deep-set eyes boring into yours with an emotion so raw and indescribable that even in the years you would spend apart, you would never forget them.

"aha! another broken promise, we were called into office the next day issei, and i distinctly remember you saying we would never get caught," you snickered.

"hey none of that matters now, only the promise i'll make you today," he defended, reaching across the candle-lit table for your hand.

❀ twenty-four — proposals

"yn," he reached into the pocket of his blazer with his free hand, pulling out a red, velvet box, popping it open to reveal a ring.

you let out a soft gasp, your bottom lip quivering slightly as you blink back the tears welling in your eyes.

"yn, i may have broken a lot of our promises, and i will admit i’ve been a bit of an asshole. but this time, i promise you, i will do everything in my power to be a damn near perfect partner for you, to make you the happiest spouse, to love you through thick and thin, through the good and the bad, through everything. as long as i’m with you.”

"issei…” a tear rolling down your cheek, “you promise?" you whispered.

"i promise." he nodded, thumb gently caressing your cheeks, wiping away the tear. the same grey eyes from 8 years ago boring into yours once again.

"that's what you said all those times too," you laugh.

"i guess you'll just have to trust me again, will you marry me?" he smiled.

"issei, i’ve never said no to all your dumb ideas, not when we were eight, not when we were sixteen," you paused, gaze falling to the ring in his hand then back at him as you soaked in the moment. the soft candle light illuminating his face, his eyes sparkling a little as they reflected the light, curls falling softly, the expectant look on his face as he fiddled the ring between his fingers.

"so are you marrying me or not?" he pouted a little in frustration.

"and i certainly am not saying no at twenty-four, yes, of course i'll marry you issei." the smile on his lips widen impossibly, impatiently sliding the ring onto your ring finger, as though he couldn't wait another moment longer.

"i can't believe you said yes, now you're stuck with me forever," a goofy smile playing on his lips, issei gets up, moving towards you, pulling your sitting form into a hug. "i love you so much," his leans his forehead against yours before guiding the back of your head into his chest, an arm wrapped around your shoulder.

"we still have to do a ceremony dumbass and you better not break your promise again," you warned, voice muffed into his top as he kissed the top of your head, "i won't babe."

sol’s comments ❀: wahaha self indulgence again :> that whole bicycle thing is based on a true story and im positive he meant sway side to side instead of steer side to side now that ive watched yowamushi pedal (aka now that im a pro cyclist). also me and my bff used to sneak out a lot during free sessions so the 2nd part was inspired by that hehe.

m.list ·˚ ༘ ꒱ | each and every reblop is appreciated ☻ (+ free hugs)

[59writes]

SEVENTEEN- REACTION: THEIR S/O GETS INJURED (PART 2)

(PART ONE)

part two of @honeyylin ‘s request!!! sorry it took so long honey ㅠㅠ

also check out honey’s acc!!! they’ve recently started writing fic so give em a visit!! <3

today’s photo theme is green green green green green green green green green green

(I didn’t proofread this I will when it’s not 5 am lol)

tw: food, injury

SEOKMIN

• *insert terrified screaming*

• yikes. this man. this poor fellow.

• he’s so worried about you!!!

• like. you’re fine. it’s not a big deal you just won’t be able to walk without crutches for a while

• but this man PHYSICALLY refuses to go to work

• Jihoon even comes to your apartment to beat Seokmin’s ass gently request he come to work cuz they kind of need him

• but no, because “y/n needs me more!!”

• please you’re fine. you can walk and you work from home already. you’ll live. You’ve been injured before.

• this goes in one ear and out the other!

• he will stay home and baby you and peek in your room every ten minutes like “hey are you ok???? do you need anything???”

• it’s kind of endearing

• the calls you keep getting from Seungcheol and Jihoon are not though because SOMEONE keeps forgetting to “call in sick” to work!!

• it’s just part of the whole shebang. he calms down eventually and gets over the anxiety of you getting even more hurt or struggling and goes back to the others

• but you bet your ass when he comes home at night you’re not going anywhere and he’s gonna baby you until he deems you all better

• also he definitely just likes babying you because he doesn’t declare you better until a week after the doctor does, “just to be safe!!!”

• he loves you very much and if anything we’re to happen to the love of his life he’d like. Evaporate on the spot

• 10/10 man right here

MINGYU

• ok so we know how clumsy this man is

• he technically knows how to take care of injuries

• also the injury was sort of maybe his fault ):

• he tripped over a damn rock and made you stumble too, falling and scraping up your leg

• and this poor man is apologizing faster than he raps

• you’re not badly hurt, and when the pain wears off you’re laughing

• and Mingyu’s all pouty lol

• and though you assure him that you’re ok and everyone trips up sometimes, he just wants to make it up to you

• he is also one of the other mfs who would make soup. him and Josh r gonna open a soup kitchen s2g

• but he’s also super cheesy and you wake up from a nap and see that Mingyu’s gone out and gotten flowers and made some nice food and made a little mini date in ur apartment

• and he just feels so bad !!!! please help this man

• once you joke that maybe you should get injured more often so you guys have more dates like this he finally really calms down

• but like I said, he’d know how to treat any injury

• maybe not well, and I’m sure this man’s instinctive response is “I will put a bandaid on it and move on with my life” but how focused he is when he is just wiping off dirt from your arm or leg or whatever and making you sit still while he gauzes it up is just really sweet he cares so much

MINGHAO

• this man does not know anything.

• I mean don’t get me wrong he’s incredibly smart and emotionally intelligent but also. there’s nothing in this man’s brain except for dastardly ideas

• and you nearly breaking your arm is not exactly a dastardly idea

• so he kinda just shuts down

• he wants to help !!! So bad !!!! but he can’t do anything !!!

• like he’s genuinely such a kind dude and always willing to help even if he teases about it and just always there

• and this is the one thing he can’t help with!!!

• so frustrated ):

• so he spends his time with you by lurking with a pout, ready for any request you had

• he definitely looks like a lost puppy ㅠㅠ

• maybe you act a little more helpless than usual so he can feel better about himself. just maybe

• seeing him brighten when you ask him to get the pasta from the top shelf or help with the laundry is completely worth getting hurt for!!

• eventually he cheers up and goes back to his normal and teasing ways

• and once you heal up he’s so glad he can hug you super tight again (:<

SEUNGKWAN

• Ah, Seungkwan.

• be prepared for lots of passive-aggressive scolding

• I mean when it first happens you can see the panic in this poor man’s eyes

• ok well technically you texted him about it but his reply was violently misspelled and he showed up at your house within 15 minutes

• tbh you should be scolding him because he definitely was speeding to get home that fast

• but he was scolding you!!!

• like wtf you’re already feeling shitty and then Seungkwan comes over and is acting like your mom

• but this man is emotionally mature!!!

• he notices how frustrated and snippy your replies get and calms down, hugging you tightly where you sit on the bathroom counter as he cleans you up

• complains about getting blood on his shirt tho the bastard

• but he definitely hangs out with you for the rest of the day and you catch up and eat ice cream while you lie around on the floor and it’s just. aju nice. (lol)

• he does his best to keep your mind off of any pain or struggling, and we all know this man is a master of distraction so it goes very well

• he’s a very home-y person and you always feel safe with him (:

VERNON

• his literal response is “well that’s not good”

• you fuckin call him like “hey sol I’m in urgent care kinda like. broke my arm” and he’s just like “Yeah that’s a problem”

• thank you Hansol “Sherlock” Chwe

• he is just. out of his element please this man will just stare at your cast or whatever with wide eyes like “yo you broke your arm” yes Vernon

• he’s kinda just fascinated ngl

• he lets you tell your story with wide eyes, beaming proudly when you said you didn’t cry

• he’s like “yeah that’s my partner (:< so cool and badass”

• he’s just very silly about it and doesn’t treat you any differently

• which is nice because you kinda hate people bringing attention to it cuz it’s annoying as shit already ):<

• and he’s already so helpful and willing to do chores or whatever so you don’t have to worry about carrying things or washing dishes or whatever cuz Vernon’s got it!!!

• plus it’s adorable how literally every night he’s just like “it’s so cool how you have a cast” like it’s the dumbest thing ever but he finds it so entertaining. like not even the fact you got hurt just like “holy shit like. it’s cement they basically cement your arm in place you have cement on your arm y/n you could knock someone out with that”

• he’s a cutie lol

CHAN

• ok contrary to popular belief I think he would handle it very well!!

• don’t get me wrong this man is PANICKING under the surface but like. he’s so calm about it on the outside??? hello????

• you call him during practice like “hey so I kinda got hurt I’m ok tho, at the doctor rn” and he’s just like “yes ok are you ok?!”

• little dude lol

• and even though you are, in fact, completely fine, he’s gotta worry smh it’s his job!!

• he comes home and listens to the story as he helps you change the bandages with the most gentle hands ))))):

• and being near you definitely helps calm him down

• he’s back to teasing and being goofy in no time

• this man also definitely knows some medical shit idk what makes me think that but he knows how to like. deal with an injury.

• he definitely is very medically aware idk man I feel like he listens to doctor speak cuz it’s cool and is like “oh yeah go ice that you don’t want it cramping up” whenever one of the other guys complains about something minor lol

• he’s very caring ): I love he sm (:

• he can be a little rat but he knows when to stop and be an ally and what an excellent ally he is!!!!!!!!!

I’m so sorry I’ve never done an after note like this before but seeing all the green and plants makes me think of this damn tweet and I can’t stop laughinh

“he has pollen allergy” I’m sobbing please

[saturnsummer]

sweet love

They say drunk words are your sober thoughts. Joon Hwi clearly had too many thoughts.

prompted by an anon from this question here! thanks anon!!

notes: hello! back with another fic, this time when joonhwi gets too drunk and spills more than he expects. stay till the end though, i added a little bonus as usual. editing, grammar and other mistakes will be taken responsible by me! thank you all for your love and support as always! i’ll see you for more next time!

original prompt: I love your fic 🥰 this is so far from canon but a drunk joonhwi being clingy towards sol a is one of my dream scenarios 😚 or the squad catching solhwi being clingy with each other because they were hiding their relationship

words: 3414 words

Joon Hwi was beyond excited everyday when he woke up for school. No, he wasn't excited to get the top grade, neither was he excited to get his essays and reports done. Though he loves the law, he’s sane enough to not love it that much.

Of course, he’s just excited about meeting his girlfriend, Kang Sol.

He never knew how they got together. It was a natural thing, after all. After the whole fiasco with Assemblyman Ko, their relationship suddenly felt a lot closer. They were close to begin with, with their daily studying and lunches and dinners. But something was different after the middle of their second year.

It started out as dinners every night, with or without the study group. Then Sol would be in study group sessions wearing his sweater or hoodies. When Yeseul or Yebeom teased, Sol would always argue to say that it was cold in their copy room and Joon Hwi was just being nice. Joon Hwi would just pretend that ‘sharing sweaters were normal’.

Then one day, as Joon Hwi sent Sol back home to take care of Byeol, they sat side by side in silence. Sol was desperately in need of catching up on her sleep, so the forty minute bus ride served as a quick nap for her. She turned her head to lean on Joon Hwi’s shoulder, resting her head there for her nap. To make things more comfortable, he placed his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer.

When they were nearing their stop, Joon Hwi instinctively shook a sleepy Sol up and held her hand as he dragged her out so she wouldn’t miss the stop. Sol doesn’t let go, and neither does Joon Hwi. Only when they reach the start of the alley do they let go of their hands. (Sol insists it’s because she doesn’t want Byeol to know. Joon Hwi thinks it’s because she’s shy.)

When Joon Hwi is at her front door with Sol, they shyly look at each other, the feelings mutual and conveyed with just their eyes. Of course, they are soulmates. They don't need the words to deliver their entire hearts or feelings.

It was always made known from the start to Joon Hwi that Sol was special to him. He has never met someone so persistent, so passionate and so damm beautiful. He had a couple of flings, being the popular smart boy in school, but none of the girls made his heart beat the same way Sol did. None of them made his world stop.

It has been a year since. And things weren’t easy when you tried to hide it. Sol, a student on a scholarship, had better luck being chosen to attend this school than the number of times the couple almost got caught.

In school, they acted normally as classmates and friends. Their study group sensed something different, but they would just deny and pretend. They put on a pretty good act, if they were to say so themselves, having Bokgi convinced that they needed to find Sol a blind date. (Joon Hwi would have spat his water at him like how Professor Yang did at Prosecutor Jin, but he held it in. Five months of hiding couldn’t be wasted now.)

They wanted to tell their friends, they really did. But they wanted to do it after their bar exams. After the weight of the bar has been lifted off will they share their good news. But while hiding a relationship is hard, making time for one was harder. (Arguably, Joon Hwi finds this harder than any exam he took.)

They absolutely found every minute they could to be together. Every hidden staircase was a spot they tried to spend a few minutes to themselves, but even that was difficult. Joon Hwi would remember how Sol would lead him to a hidden staircase far from their hideout, so as to not get walked in by either the professors or their friends. Even in the midst of Joon Hwi pressing Sol against the wall, as they devoured each other’s lips after a whole day of being unable to kiss, they would be interrupted by the sudden doors of the staircase upstairs opening, causing them to fly apart and run out.

The gossip the school carried was insane, and the last thing they wanted was gossip to reach their friends.

They could spend longer moments in the study room in the middle of the nights where they would be alone, as they worked on their cases and work. Occasionally, they shared bunggeoppangs and hotteoks, where they had long kisses tasting of sweet red bean and honey. But too many times Sol found herself shifting from her seat next to Joon Hwi to climbing on top of his lap in a make-out session, as Joon Hwi reached up to remove the highlighter holding her hair. Just as they wanted more, a sudden noise would bring them to attention and frantically, Sol would fall back onto her chair, both of their faces flushed red.

It was just four more months till the graduation ceremony came.

Till the world knows Sol was Joon Hwi’s.

-----

The bar exam went smoothly, as everyone received their results of passing. As a celebration, the boys decided to drink and have a meal apart from their usual delivery. No, it was time for the real deal of barbecues, meat and stews. They decided to even give a call to Seungjae, who graciously accepted their offer despite being so busy with his new son in his life. The study group has met his kid a couple of times, and even babysat a few hours together.

The boys met at a relatively near barbecue place in the heart of Dongdaemun, a location that the boys could easily return back to the dorms and not too far away. They were at an all-you-could-eat place, suitable for their budget so that they didn’t burn a hole in their pockets. Seungjae offered to treat his dongsaengs. After all, passing the bar was no easy feat. But they declined. His presence with them was enough of a gift from him to them.

But what was a dinner without the star, soju?

Joon Hwi prided himself on holding his liquor well. He could easily have a bottle without feeling the buzz. He could have a second without difficulty as well. Surely, he won’t be drunk, right?

Oh, but how wrong he was.

The bottles of soju and beers kept coming, never ending, as BokGi and Yebeom pushed shot after shot to him and themselves. They were surely prepared to get hammered tomorrow and show up to their 10am lecture spinning. Seungjae, having driven, only watched and smiled as he looked at his dongsaengs drink, sipping on his cola.

“Hyung, you sure you don’t have anything on with Sol-A noona? You know, we catch you with her all the time.” Bokgi asks, his face slightly flushed and words a little slurred. Yebeom nods his head, nodding his head in agreement. Joon Hwi only lets himself smile, not saying anything as he shoots back an additional shot of soju.

“Wah, hyung! So you admit it?” Yebeom says, setting down his chopsticks. Jiho stops chewing on his ssam, and looks next to him at Joon Hwi, who just shrugs, a mysterious smile on his face. Seungjae only places more meat on Joon Hwi’s plate.

With a short glance, Yebeom, Jiho and Bokgi’s eyes met. It was long enough for them to get what they were trying to say, but yet short enough for Joon Hwi to not notice the silence.

They weren’t blind to Joon Hwi’s actions. They noticed how Joon Hwi would look at Sol when she’s practicing for a mock trial, and his gentle voice when he would point out things she missed. Jiho, for one, noticed how Joon Hwi would return to the dorm later or look at his phone, smiling like an idiot. When asked, Joon Hwi would either use the excuse that he went out to the city or he was looking at cat videos, which bore Jiho.

But tonight, they were not leaving this place until he spilled his secret.

“Excuse me! Can we get three more portions of samgyeopsal, one more moksal, one dwangjang jjigae, and three more bottles of soju please?” Bokgi politely shouted to the store helper, who readily nodded.

“One more rice, please!” Yebeom added.

And so, with every portion of food, they shot back shot after shot as they feasted on their fresh juicy grilled pork and stew. They were glad that Joon Hwi was slowly slurring his words, because they themselves were barely hanging on.

“Hyung, you can be honest, you know. We won’t say anything about your private life with noona.” Yebeom says, fighting off the buzz and taking a big gulp of water. Joon Hwi, now face flushed bright red, only let out another smile as he laid back on his chair.

“Ah, Sol...” He murmured out loud.

“You know, she’s really touchy when she’s drunk? She likes to cling on to people when she’s drunk. When she’s angry, she pushes people away instead.” The words come tumbling out of his mouth before he can stop himself. No, this wasn’t Joon Hwi. This was drunk Joon Hwi. The other three immediately perked up hearing this.

“A-Ah, really? How do you know that?” Yebeom prompted, determined to draw out more information.

“Remember the time we were late to Dean Oh’s lecture? We drank that night with Yeseul and Bokgi. She couldn’t stop clinging onto my hoodie after both of them went back. And the other time when she pushed me away after her first year results were out.” Joon Hwi says, the stupid smile still on his face.

“How cute.” He quietly says, eyes closed.

There wasn't a need to know further that their hyung, Han Joon Hwi, had feelings for Kang Sol, the feisty noona.

“Hyung, then why not date her?” Bokgi says, the news keeping him at the end of his seat. Jiho merely sits, ears wide open and ready for any information.

“Date?” Joon Hwi says and lets out a light unmistakable giggle. Oh, he really was drunk now.

“We already are.”

The trio exchange knowing eyes, knowing how their objectives for the night have been accomplished. Seungjae, from the end of the table, merely shakes his head with a smile.

“Hyung, did you know?” Jiho asks. Seungjae nodded.

“They told me. After all, I am no longer a student.” This earned groans from the trio, calling it unfair.

“I miss Sol...” Joon Hwi murmurs, as his drunken state reaches for another shot of soju. Instinctively, Jiho reaches it first and shoves a glass of water in his hand instead. If anything, he was sleeping with this man in the same room. And he was not having his drunken state continue further. After all, they completed their mission for the night.

All that mattered was remembering it the next day.

-----

Sol was in the midst of folding her clothes before her phone rang, distracting her from her music that she had on with her ear pieces. Irritated, she picked up her phone, not bothering to look at the caller ID.

“Hello?”

“Sol-A? It’s oppa.”

“Seungjae-oppa? Why are you calling so late? Is anything the matter?” She asks, alerted by the sudden call. It was almost midnight, and it was rare for Seungjae to call.

“Ah, no. Nothing is wrong. I’m just at the lobby of the school at the Lady Justice statue with a very drunk Joon Hwi and the rest of the boys. I can’t bring them up myself, especially since I can’t enter the dorms anymore.” Seungjae explains. In the back, Sol can hear a noisy Bokgi and Jiho telling him to shut up.

“Give me five minutes.” She says and hangs up. The urgency in Sol’s voice drew the attention of Sol B, who was ready to get to bed. Sol B only looks at Sol for a moment and Sol just gives a sympathetic smile.

“Could... Could you come with me?” Sol asks nervously. Sol B looks at Sol for a moment before she throws a hoodie on and throws another hoodie to Sol. The last thing they needed was them to be recognised. Seungjae was where he said he would be, with indeed, four grown men, sprawled on the couches. Bokgi, Yebeom and Jiho were at least conscious enough to greet both Sols, but Joon Hwi just had his eyes shut, murmuring incorrigible things.

“Sorry you had to deal with them, oppa. They really owe you a big apology.” Sol apologises for the sake of her boyfriend, and his friends. Seungjae only shakes his head.

“They should enjoy this before they step into the workforce and can’t experience it anymore.” He gives a smile. “Joon Hwi got a little carried away. He might have spilled your relationship.” Sol B was not standing far as she forced Bokgi and the rest upright, but she could clearly hear it.

“I’ll settle it. You should go home now, don’t keep Juyoung-unnie waiting. I’ll get them to their rooms.” She said before making her quick goodbye to Seungjae.

Together, both Sols pushed Bokgi and Yebeom up to their room, half guiding and half carrying the heavy boys to their door. When they were back downstairs, Sol B instinctively grabbed Jiho by his arm and pulled him up.

“Sol B, about what-” Sol was cut off by her roommate.

“I know. Don’t tell anyone yet. But, you know you suck at hiding and lying, don't you?” She says, her head turned back, before turning back to help Jiho back to his room. Sol does all she can to suppress her smile. Even though her roommate is harsh, she could feel the love. Turning around, she faces her drunk boyfriend.

“Joon. Joon Hwi.” Sol shakes gently. Joon Hwi’s lips curl up slightly, as his arms reach up to wrap them around the familiar body he missed. Sol was clingy when she was drunk, but it was the pot calling the kettle black for Joon Hwi. If possible, he was even clingier.

“You need to go up to your room.” She says as she fights away his loose grip and half supports his drunk body to his room.

“I missed you, Sol...” He murmurs, a face turning into a pout. “You know I kept telling them how good a girlfriend you are? How you always got me coffees and made extra ramyeons.”

“And you also told them we are dating?”

“Of course! I want the whole world to know I love you!” Joon Hwi says a little loudly, and she clamps his mouth shut. Oh, he was definitely more than drunk. Joon Hwi’s arms clung onto her waist as she reached his door.

“Go. You can face the mess you made in the morning.” She says. Joon Hwi clings onto her, giving her a sad pout.

“No more goodnight kisses?” He asked, a voice like a child. His eyes were big and round, his mouth downturned slightly like a pout.

Sol couldn’t deny him one, especially when he looked so adorable. Looking around, she made sure the coast was clear before she reached up to let her lips meet his soft ones. He tasted like lingering alcohol and she could taste it, but she couldn’t help but want more of his intoxicating lips on hers. But not today.

Pulling away, he let out a slight whine. But Sol gave him a quick peck.

“You’ll get more, when you get up.” And Sol pushes him into the room, leaving back to her own dorm, knowing that she’ll be faced with a big headache the next morning.

-----

When Joon Hwi is up the next morning, he’s greeted with a Jiho who rubs his eyes and holds his head in his hand. Joon Hwi isn’t sure if he’s spinning or the room is. Or if it is spinning in the first place. Jiho notices he’s up and grunts a good morning, before getting up to get ready.

The memories of last night come back to Joon Hwi in waves as the pieces start slowly fixing themselves together throughout the morning. By the time he’s at his first lecture, his memories have more or less come back.

He’s certain that Sol would be mad. He makes a mental note to send Seungjae an apology and thank you message. Then, he starts making plans to bribe the trio. He knows about Yebeom’s love for candy, so he starts with that. He just needs to think of what brand of sneakers to get for Bokgi. Heck, would bribes even work against them?

But throughout the morning, the boys do nothing to mention anything about last night. They chat about their hangover, how Seungjae is doing well with his new job and the amount of food they ate. No one mentions anything about Joon Hwi, or his words.

Joon Hwi counts himself safe. They must have forgotten, he thinks. He figures it was the best they did. It definitely would save him an earful from Sol and a large headache. During lunch, as they finished their simple meal at the cafeteria of soup, rice and bulgogi, Bokgi is about to clear his tray before he turns to Joon Hwi.

“Oh, hyung.”

“Hm?”

“We remember everything. From the start, to the end.” He says, a teasing grin on his face as he quickly scurries away, not wanting to die before he graduates. Joon Hwi rolls his eyes back and groans.

Well, shit.

-----

bonus:

“Sol B, did you know our roommates are dating?” Jiho asks, his voice slightly slurred as Sol B drags him up the stairs. She gives a nod. Sol B was no idiot to fall for her roommate’s excuses, when her face gave it all away. It was fascinating how the others haven’t noticed. 

“It would be an insult to our careers if we didn't notice the way they looked at their phones.” She sarcastically says. Jiho manages to scoff. Sol B is about to tap Jiho’s key card of their door, but his hand stops hers, as she feels his body right behind his. 

“Well, they haven’t found out about us yet.” Jiho says softly to her, his face nuzzled into her neck, lips brushing her neck as he slowly moves his lips up to her jaw. Sol brings a gentle hand to his cheek, before turning around to face Jiho.

“We’re better actors.” She whispers so soft. Jiho can't tell if it’s the alcohol or him, but all he knows is that Sol B looks so damm perfect with her doe-like eyes, soft pink lips and the way she teases him drives him insane. He wants her, and he wants her now. 

He crashes his lips on hers, wanting to so desperately taste her. It’s been a long day, and he’s never felt so in need. Sol B tastes the lingering alcohol on his lips, but she couldn’t care. She needs him the same way he wants her. Her hands reach up to grab his hair as Jiho’s hands slip under her hoodie, feeling the smooth skin of her waist against his fingers. They know that they are in the middle of the hallway, but, god, it felt so good.

“God, I missed this.” Jiho mumbled, almost growling, against her lips, earning a slight smirk from the younger girl that he could feel. He sucks on her lower lip, earning a soft gasp from the girl as she only kisses him harder. Biting lovingly on her swollen lips, he shifts his attention to her jaw, leaving butterfly kisses and earning a sigh of pleasure from her. 

But it was short lived, as she pulled away. They knew they had to stop, before their secret was revealed, too. Jiho wishes he could bring her into the dorm and continue this session with her. Sol B looks at him lovingly, biting her lip in an attempt to tease. 

“We’ll continue this tomorrow.” Sol B says, giving him another loving kiss as she leaves for her room and Jiho returns to his, buzzed from the alcohol and the adrenaline rush from his make out session. He inwardly groans, hating how his girlfriend teases him, but also smirks, knowing how to get back at her the next day.

Let’s hope he remembers this.

[eddieheart]

APARTMENT

Fandom: law and order: SVU

Pairings: Rafael Barba x Sonny Carisi

Words: 457

Prompt: I think you forget that your clothes are more expensive than my tiny apartment

Sonny got home late for the third time that week. Rafael knows how much this job means to Sonny, he just wished it didn't affect both of their lives this much.

The house was quiet as the large wooden door creaked open. The shrill scream rang through the whole of their apartment, letting Rafael know his sunshine is home.

He awoke from his nap and made his way to the door, still groggy. Rafael wrapped his arms around the other man’s waist and leaned his head against his chest.

Sonny laughed at him and wrapped his arms around short man in return. He leaned down to kiss the top of Rafael’s head before letting go and slipping into the kitchen.

Rafael watched him walk away until Sonny turned the corner, he followed him to see what the younger man was up to.

Rafael leaned against the kitchen wall watching Sonny as he fixed himself a plate of left overs.

He scooped out some arroz con pollo from an old Tupperware and placed it into a small bowl. It was one of the only things Rafael could actually cook and the younger man seemed to enjoy it immensely. 

“You know if you came home on time it’d be warm.” Rafael said sassily.

Sonny scoffed, smiled and tilted his head in Rafael’s direction.

“I think you forget that your clothes are more expensive than my tiny apartment. I need the overtime plus it’s not all bad if I get to work with such a handsome ADA.” Sonny smirked as Rafael walked forward.

He wrapped his arms around Sonny’s waist again and leaned back to look into his eyes.

“A handsome ADA, should I be jealous Detective Carisi?” He asked with a smirk.

“I don’t know you have stiff competition Rafi, ADA Barba might just give you a run for your money.” Rafael laughed and teasingly slapped his arm before walking away.

“Eat your dinner Sonny, Vice is on. I know how much you love it.” Sonny smiled at him.

He grabbed his plate and walked over to the couch before plopping down beside Rafael. He leaned into the other man curling up into his side and smiling up at him.

Rafael looked down at him and chuckled before wrapping an arm around Sonny as he ate.

“Mi Soledo?” Sonny looked up at Rafael.

“Yeah?”

“My apartment is bigger than yours.” Sonny rolled his eyes and chuckled.

“Thanks captain obvious, any other observations?” Rafael looked down at him with a smirk.

“If you lived with me you’d only have to pay half the rent.” The younger man jerked up to look at Rafael.

“Are you asking me to move in with you?” Sonny asked timidly. Rafael smirked and chuckled.

“Yes mi sol, I’m asking you to move in with me.” Sonny smiled and nodded cheerfully.

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Okay, I’ll move in with you.” Rafael smiled and hugged him closer, giving him a kiss on the top if his head.

Thanks again to my amazing Beta-Reader @buggylad

[soupercatte]

FFXIV Writing Prompt #8: Tepid

“You’re joking, right?”

Teka’a scowled at his father as they stood on the side of a small dirt road, the chocobo carriage they had been riding in pulling away as the birds kweh!-ed happily in the scorching La Noscean sun. Seemingly undeterred, Kelas’ra smiled broadly at the tween, his fading silvery hair nearly blinding in the sun. 

“I would never jest about such a thing! Hurry hurry, before you burn to a crisp out here!”

More like a child than an adult man he gathered their things in his arms, excitedly bouncing down the path towards the beach. With a heavy sigh well beyond his years, Teka’a began the descent himself, hissing and grumbling as the dirt gave way to sand, burning his toes in the sandals they had purchased merely a few hours prior.

He’d never been to Costa del Sol before and rightly he had never really wanted to, having grown accustomed to the chill of Ishgard and the temperate forests of Gridania where he had been born. The air here was thick and muggy and the sun’s rays so strong he thought he might combust on the spot, turning into a smoking splotch upon the sand. It had been torture enough to suffer the ride here from Limsa Lominsa, traveling via cart instead of taking the ship like any sane person would, Kelas’ra instead insisting on the so called “scenic route”.

Teka’a struggled to walk across the sand, pushing past the fronds of a large tropical plant that had begun to grow in the way and blinked wearily, scanning the paths ahead to see Kelas’ra waving at him, pointing down a path to the left.

“Here!” The man called, his voice carrying over the cries of the birds that circled overhead, “We’re down here!”

The boy huffed once more and picked up the pace to close the distance between them, finding himself thankful for the small sticks and twigs that soon began to line the path, making it easier for him to  cross the sand dunes. Before long he caught up to Kelas’ra, joining him by his side as they passed by small huts built along the foliage line, spread several yalms apart so that each one was perfectly hidden from the other.

“You’re really excited about this, huh?” Teka’a murmured as they paused to let a flock of Apkallu waddle by, squawking up a storm. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so…”

He glanced up at his father, noting the excited glimmer in his eyes as they pressed on. “...so chipper.”

“Am I truly so obvious?” Kelas’ra laughed, his honeyed voice playful and warm. “I will admit, it has been quite a while since I’ve taken a vacation. I had expected to just nap at home for a few days, but when the others mentioned this, well…I couldn’t help myself. In the wintertime, nonetheless!”

They stopped in front of a hut at the very end, offset from the sandy path and guarded by massive tropical bushes and trees with the cliffside a few yalms in the back. Distantly he heard the roar of a waterfall, wondering if they would have access to it or not.

“This is us.” Kelas’ra purred, his ears and tail flicking madly in the air as he gleefully cheered and turned to the boy. “Aren’t you excited? It’s a beach vacation!”

Teka’a scanned the hut, noting the rickety fiber walls and the thatched roof before he slouched, clutching his bag to his chest.

“Absolutely ecstatic.” The child grumbled. “Simply beside myself. Tears of joy I could weep but alas it’s too hot and I’m too thirsty.”

Instead of concern Kelas’ra burst into a ringing laugh, nudging his shoulder before he continued onward towards the hut. “Oh come now, what’s with that pitiful, tepid response? This is all for you, you know!”

“Somehow I doubt that.”

They entered the hut and Teka’a glanced about, taking stock of the wide bed made of woven palm leaves and bamboo. That was the main draw of the hut, it seemed, a small fire pit and cookpot in the center of the room and a single chest of drawers shoved against the back wall, the drawers offset and sideways if there were even drawers at all. At least there’s a desk. He sighed to himself, setting his bag on the bed before testing the reeds with his hand. They didn’t give way so he carefully sat down, wincing at the loud creaking of the bamboo holding up his weight.

“Tis true.” Kelas’ra mused as he unpacked their belongings, pulling his curly silver hair free from the bun he typically wore, letting it poof out in all directions from the humidity. He rather looked like a Cloud Mallow, as skinny as he was and how vibrant his hair had turned, causing Teka’a to snort to himself.

When he’d first met his adopted father roughly four years past Kelas’ra had had a mop of black hair with a few silvery white strands near his face. Surprisingly, over the years as they had lived together Teka’a had watched on in curiosity as the man’s hair had continued to lighten from the tips to the roots instead of the other way around, almost as if the color was being sapped away. If it bothered him Kelas’ra said nothing, pretending as if nothing had changed but he did on occasion dye it back to its natural color.

He stretched with a loud groan, flexing his shoulders as he reassembled his bun, turning with a bright smile, his bi-colored eyes wide and practically glowing. “So, My Heart, what would you like to do first? Shall we explore the beaches or perhaps trek the jungles nearby? Or mahyap a trip to cool off under the waterfalls?”

“I’d like to go home.” Teka’a murmured before he could stop himself, internally wincing as Kelas’ra’s smile faltered, his ears drooping downwards. 

“Oh…” He said softly. “Well…soon, then. The Respite sent us off for the week, so we might as well enjoy it while we can.”

The two sat in an awkward silence as Teka’a chewed on his lip, glancing to his bag on the bed. It contained the tome he had been reading, though he was nearly finished. He had been on a kick recently learning about astrology and the histories behind it, which was primarily the reason he was so frustrated about leaving Ishgard. Having befriended some of the astrologians at the Athenaeum Astrologicum he’d been enraptured listening to them speak, picking their brains about theories and various questions. They had been enamored with the strange Miqo’te boy with the insatiable thirst for knowledge and humored him, treating him like a student himself or perhaps more like page, occasionally sending him out on errands across the city in exchange for more secretive lessons. He loved it and was eager to continue but right in the middle of his studies Kelas’ra had whisked him away without so much as a warning.

He watched his father continue to deflate before him, pouting. It was pitiful, really, though it did fill him with a pang of guilt. After all, Kelas’ra worked nonstop; from the commissions and workload he still took on from the carpentry guild in Gridania to his status as foreman of several worksites across Ishgard to cooking for not only the Respite nearly every day but also bringing spare meals to the orphanages and those living in the Brume, it was any wonder how in the world he stayed on his feet. If anybody needed a vacation it would certainly be him.

And Teka’a was ruining it.

Not everything is about you, you idiot. The boy chided himself, pulling off his tunic and replacing it with a thin linen top with the sleeves cut off. Doing the same with his thick trouser and replacing them with a lighter linen pair of shorts he crossed the room to where Kelas’ra tinkered with some bottles in his travel bag, the clicking of the glass sharp and loud in the silent hut.

“Maybe…” He began, causing Kelas’ra to turn. “...we can go to the beach? I’ve never really seen it in person, you know.”

The Corvosi man’s face lit up, grinning excitedly. “A great choice! Let us go before we lose the best sunlight!”

----

The longer they stayed out there, Teka’a hated to admit it but the locale was growing on him. He had been lukewarm on the idea of lingering at the beach for a full week but the more they ran around and explored the more fun he had begun to have. 

Kelas’ra was surprisingly knowledgeable about how to live off the land, teaching Teka’a how to set traps and helped him practice with his bow, adjusting his stance and wincing when he would get hit with string-slap. He would tell him stories of Corvos and of the time he lived on the road, traveling to the technicolor wonder that was Radz-at-Han before coming to Eorzea, stories that danced in Teka’a’s eyes much like the flames of their fires at night, huddled together in the hut or along the beach while Kelas’ra expertly cooked the fish and other things they had caught during the day.

As they grew closer and closer Teka’a had come to realize there was a lot he didn’t know about his adopted father and felt a bit sheepish that he had never asked the man about all of this before. He learned that he loved birds of all kinds, Hamsa of course being his favourite and the flock they had raised when he was a boy himself. He learned that Kelas’ra had gotten the scar across his jaw from a drunken barfight as a teenager whereas the large scar over his blue eye was a mystery, something he didn’t remember receiving. He learned that he was the youngest of his family and the shortest by a far margin and that his red eye had been a source of contempt and fear for him growing up. All manners of things, Teka’a listened in rapt attention, always curious, always asking just one more question.

They climbed all over the cliffs in their time at Costa del Sol, exploring caves and grottos and valleys long untouched. They climbed the waterfall and slid down the rockface, holding onto each other while screaming and laughing as they careened over the edge and into the ice cold water pools below. If there was a way to reach it, they explored it, staying out till the sun fell beneath the waves and then they danced along the beaches, Kelas’ra singing traditional Corvosi songs, his gentle honeyed voice rising and crashing with the waves around them.

In short: it truly was paradise and despite the fact he hadn’t wanted to enjoy his time here, Teka’a soon found himself dreading the day they needed to leave.

He sat on the beach the final night, huddled in a tight ball near the fire they had built with dry tinder and sticks. The waves were calm, lapping softly at the shore as he rubbed his sunburnt arms, feeling the heat rising from his skin.

“One for you!” Kelas’ra’s singsong voice wafted on the breeze as he reached out and took the skewer covered in various tropical fruits that had been slathered with a palm sugar syrup before thrust into the fire, charring them and causing the syrup to solidify and crack. “And one for me.” The man sat at his side with a grunt, biting into a chunk of pineapple with a pleased moan, eyes closed in bliss. Teka’a nibbled his own skewer, enjoying the sweet yet smoky flavors.

“So, was it as bad as you thought it would be?” His father asked slyly, bumping his shoulder against the boy’s. “For one who was so doom and gloom at the start you seemed to have enjoyed yourself. Even if it was just to make me feel better.”

“Yeah yeah…” The tween smirked, bumping him back. “Sorry I was such a jerk to you earlier. I was so caught up in my studies I didn’t realize you needed a break. It won’t happen again.”

“No need to apologize.” Kelas’ra sat back with a whimsical look, eyes distant as he stared out across the water, stars reflecting down below. “I know you enjoy learning about magick, though I don’t quite understand it myself, what with my err…aether sickness and all.”

He rummaged around for a moment before procuring a small wrapped object, rectangular but rather heavy, setting it in Teka’a’s lap. The boy stared at it before peering up at him with a confused expression.

“Well, go on.” Kelas’ra waved with a laugh. “Open it up! I’ve kept it hidden this whole time.”

Teka’a ran his hands over the object, pulling at the silk cloth that wrapped it, a Hannish design painted into the fibers. As the cloth fell away he remained dumbstruck as the light caught the metal clasps of the massive tome in his hands. It was a gorgeous thing, made of heavy archaeornis leather and rose gold filigree, a metal clasp keeping the golden gilded pages bound tightly.

“I’ve been working on this for a while now.” Kelas’ra beamed, his ears flicking happily, moonsilver hair swirling on the breeze. “I’m quite proud of it, actually. It’s a grimoire for your studies with notes and encouragement from those who have taught you. The scholars at the Astrologicum, the Inquisitors, even those conjurers in Gridania that you pester when we go home. I traveled around and asked them if they would be willing and each said yes.”

Teka’a was stunned silent, lifting the clasp and flipping through the tome to see various messages and even schematics from his teachers and acquaintances. He explored the pages until he returned to the beginning of the book where a simple message had been scrawled in small yet elegant handwriting, the language unknown to him.

“What’s this?” He pointed to it, confused. “What does this say?”

Smiling warmly Kelas’ra took his finger and ran it over the text. “This is my message to you.” He said softly, turning to the boy. “It’s in Corvosi as I still haven’t quite mastered literacy in Eorzean. I’ll translate it for you.”

Teka’a followed his hand as he spoke, heart thumping in his ears. 

“Congratulations on your thirteenth name day, My Heart. You are my guiding star, my blinding sun, my shining moon. You are the driving force that keeps me striving to be a better me, even when you make me want to pull my hair out. I know we have only known each other for a handful of years but you are more precious to me than any treasure or jewel or gem. I hope this book will bring you joy throughout the years and never stop being who you are. I love you.  --Papa.”

It was his Name Day, he’d completely forgotten. 

Feeling his shoulders trembling he peered up at his father, Kelas’ra’s grin still wide and gentle. “Happy Name Day, My Heart.” He repeated, pulling him close. “I hope this was memorable. And I hope we are to have many many more together.”

“Right back at you.” Sniffling, he clutched the book tight and leaned into the one armed hug, the both of them silently watching the waves crashing along the shore, the stars shimmering like spun glass in the cloudless sky. “Next time though, I get to choose where we go.”

“That’s fair.” Kelas’ra laughed once more. “Next time, then. Next time.”