#oc: sundae young

[nazali]

roster of my detectives from @seraphinitegames' wayhaven chronicles!

template cred.

[tip-top-cloud-surfer]

The Benjamin Effect - Rooster

Pairing: Rooster / Fem!OC (Kate Benjamin-Mitchell)

Length: 3.2k

Warnings: (Childhood) Enemies to Lovers; Mentions of Goose and Carole; Angst; Feelings of Abandonment; Tension; Strained Relationships; Daddy Issues; Questionable Decisions; Age-Gap (about eight years), but Everyone is Very Much Adult; Female OC with Physical Description

This work, all of my other works, and my entire blog are 18+ Only.

Summary: With Maverick and Penny's wedding drawing closer, Rooster is called upon to convince Maverick and Penny's first daughter, Kate, to come around to the idea. Of course, Rooster and Kate have their own history to work through and Kate is definitely not going to make it easy for him.

Note: Amelia is Maverick's biological daughter in this too. Kate is about eight years younger than Rooster, but is very much an adult. She's in her late 20s and Rooster is in his mid/late 30s.

Part 2

Master List

Rooster should have known that Maverick had an ulterior motive for taking him out to dinner.

If Maverick wanted to just hang out and catch up without any additional bullshit, he would have simply set up the grill and they would have shared a few beers outside on the back porch. But buying him dinner at a restaurant was a move that Maverick played when Bradley was young and easily swayed by the promise of French fries and ice cream sundaes. And, apparently, now too.

“You want me to do what?” Rooster asked his godfather, staring over at Maverick incredulously.

“I need your help in getting Kate to talk to me again,” Maverick explained casually.

“Kate? Your daughter Kate?”

Kate, who went by Katie as a kid, was Maverick and Penny’s daughter from one of their previous will-they-won’t-they situations. She was a surprise addition to the family and a near-death sentence for Maverick when Admiral Benjamin, Penny’s dad, found out about her. But by the time that Kate was born, Penny and Maverick were both completely dedicated to co-parenting.

So, why did Maverick need his help with getting Kate to talk to him again? And why did Maverick think that Bradley of all people would be a good candidate for that job?

Bradley and Kate were never close.

There was several years difference between them—probably eight or so, if Bradley did the math right. And Bradley thought that she was a whiny brat whenever their paths crossed as kids. She was always upset whenever Maverick and Bradley did something together without her and she complained until she got her way, which Maverick always gave her in the end.

The last time that Bradley saw Kate, it was at his mom’s funeral. And he hadn’t heard from her since the paper pulling incident. That was eighteen, nearly nineteen, years ago now. For fuck’s sake, he just found out that she went by Kate now instead of Katie.

“Yeah, you remember her, right?” Maverick asked, folding his arms underneath him.

“I mean, yeah, but why do you need my help?” Rooster inquired, raising an eyebrow.

“She doesn’t . . .” Maverick started to explain but then he trailed off. Maverick sighed, rubbing his face tiredly, before turning back to Rooster. “I wasn’t the best dad for her. I wasn’t around and I didn’t make the right efforts when I needed to because I got caught up in my own demons and fears. And she—and I understand why—hasn’t forgiven me for any of it.”

“I’m still missing the part where I fit into this whole scheme,” Rooster replied honestly.

“I’m hoping that since the two of us started to reconcile and address what happened in the past with our relationship, that you could help me do the same with Kate. To at least help me show her that I’ve changed and I’m taking my personal relationships seriously.”

“So, you want me to help you steal an F-14 to patch things up with your daughter?” Rooster asked sarcastically, earning a sigh from Maverick.

“No, I just . . . maybe just talk with her about what we worked through. I’m prepared to do all of the talking and amending on my own, but I need help convincing her to talk to me in the first place,” Maverick explained softly to Rooster. “She just shuts down every time that I try to make amends or bring up the past.” 

“So, that’s why you took me out here?” Rooster asked, glancing down at his plate. “To try and bribe me to help your daughter talk to you again?”

“You love the French fries here,” Maverick pointed out, earning an incredulous look from Rooster.

“I did when I was nine,” Rooster corrected Maverick.

“Bradley,” Maverick stated, trying to get the conversation back on track, “will you help me? Or at least just try? If she doesn’t come around to you, then she doesn’t come around to you, and that’s fine. I just . . . I want to try to make things right with her. Before Penny and I get married.”

Rooster could hear the sincerity dripping from every word that Maverick spoke. And he recognized the borderline desperation in Maverick’s eyes. And as Maverick’s best man, this seemed to fit into his promise to help Maverick with wedding preparations.

And maybe Rooster did really like the fries here and the special sauce that they always came with.

“I feel like I’m going to regret this,” Rooster groaned, lowering his head for a moment. “But, sure. I’ll try and help you. I’ll be your wingman with this.”

“Thank you, Bradley,” Maverick stated sincerely, smiling softly. “It means the world to me, really. And Penny too.”

“Can it count as your wedding present then?”

~~~~~

Kate Benjamin wasn’t exactly the warmest or friendliest person by her own admission.

She took after her grandfather, retired Admiral John “Pike” Benjamin, more than her mom in that regard. Penny could talk and comfort any person off the street. And Penny gave people the benefit of the doubt, believing that people changed and second chances were only fair.

Kate did not share her mother’s forgiving disposition.

People could change. People did change. But that didn’t mean that Kate was willing to forgive, forget, and sing kumbaya with them afterwards. Second chances were earned, not given. And Pete Mitchell was on his seventh or so chance in Kate Benjamin’s book.

“I just don’t understand why he’s so suddenly interested in settling down,” Kate complained over the phone to Amelia as she sat in rush hour traffic.

“He’s retired now,” Amelia pointed out, sitting up in her bedroom.

“So, he’s bored? That’s why he wants to marry Mom?” Kate huffed, drumming her fingers on the steering wheel. “Bullshit, is what I say.”

“He seems really sincere this time,” Amelia replied calmly, shrugging her shoulders.

“I’ll be the judge of that.”

Amelia didn’t respond for a moment and Kate could hear a background conversation between Amelia and their mom. Kate waited patiently, staring at the same blue Honda that she’d been stuck behind for what felt like hours when Amelia returned to the call.

“Mom wants to know how far you are from home.”

“Around forty-five minutes. Give or take. Are Grammie and Pop there?”

“Yeah, they flew in this morning. And Maverick and Rooster are joining us for dinner.”

“Rooster?” Kate repeated, clearly confused. “Who the hell is Rooster?”

“Bradley,” Amelia translated for her sister.  

“So, they’re talking again?” Kate muttered gruffly.

Kate remembered Bradley. She remembered how he called her a brat. And she remembered telling him that his name was stupid in retaliation. And Kate stood by that sentiment. ‘Bradley Bradshaw’ was one of the most ridiculous names that she had ever heard in her life. It wasn’t quite Philip Philips, but it was damn close.

“How in the hell did he get . . . never mind, because I don’t care,” Kate cut herself off.

“Mom also told me to tell you to be on your best behavior.”

“I’m always on my best behavior, Ames,” Kate insisted innocently, though her smirk betrayed her words. “Tell Mom that everything’s going to be fine.”

“I will. See you soon, Kate.”

“Bye, Ames.”

Amelia hung up the phone and Kate switched back to the radio while she inched through traffic.

So much for a quiet family dinner with her mom, sister, and grandparents after a long week of work. But she knew that she was going to have to get used to Maverick —if he wanted the title ‘Dad,’ he was going to have to earn it—and Rooster too.

~~~~~

Rooster sat in Penny’s backyard with Amelia, Grammie Joan, and Pike, which is what everyone except for his immediate family called him, while Maverick and Penny went to pick up dinner.

“You’re a Lieutenant Commander?” Pike asked Rooster, leaning back in his chair.

“Yes, sir. Got promoted after that mission with Mav.”

“A well-earned one then,” Pike mused grimly, glancing over at the Kawasaki. “Maverick told me what he could about the mission. You’re either really smart, or have a lot of dumb luck, kid.”

“Or both.”

“Or both,” Pike echoed, nodding along. “And you just transferred back to North Island then?”

“Yeah, I was stationed out at Oceana most recently, but after the mission, I thought that it was finally time to return to the West Coast, so I put in the request and it was approved. And now I’m working as an instructor out here.”

“How many years are left on your contract?”

“Two and a half,” Rooster replied, doing the math in his head.

“And do you think that you’ll stay on after that’s up?”

“Don’t know,” Rooster answered honestly. “I’ll have to see what life looks like then.”

“Smart. Focus on what’s right in front of you,” Pike agreed, nodding curtly.

“Kate’s home!” Amelia exclaimed when she spotted Kate’s car pull into the driveway.

Without another word, Amelia stood up from the table and hurried around the gate. Grammie Joan smiled when she heard the two sisters reunite from the other side of the fence and shuffled down to Rooster and Pike’s side of the table.

“Have you met our Kate?” Grammie Joan asked Rooster, sitting beside her husband.

“Back when we were both kids, but not for a long time,” Rooster answered honestly.

“She’s grown into quite the firecracker,” Pike chuckled, waiting patiently for his two granddaughters to return. “Her mother says that she takes after me. Maverick seemed to agree with Penny, though he didn’t say it to my face.”

“I think that he still gets flashbacks about the ass chewings you gave him in the eighties and nineties,” Rooster joked, taking a sip of his beer.

“Which time?” Pike asked, seemingly amused.

“Oh, be nice, John. You know that if Kate sees you giving Maverick a hard time, she’s going to give him an even worse time,” Grammie Joan replied knowingly, shooting her husband a look. “And I’m not sure that Maverick can survive the two of you at the same time.”

“Well, if he’s going to finally marry into this family, he’s going to have to learn,” Pike pointed out gruffly.

“Don’t hold onto the past, John. That flyover business was so long ago,” Joan dismissed with a wave of her hand. “It was before the girls were born. Let it go.”

“Rooster?” Pike asked, out to prove a point.

“Yes, sir?”

“Have you ever done a high-speed pass over an air traffic control tower?”

“Never as the pilot, no.”

“What about a high-speed pass over an admiral’s daughter? You’ve ever done that, Rooster?”

“No, sir.”

“See?” Pike told his wife, who shook her head at him again. “Not normal conduct.”

“Oh, get over it, John.”

The back door opened, cutting off Pike and Joan’s back and forth. Amelia trotted down the stairs first with Kate Benjamin—or Katie Mitchell, which is what she went by the last time that Bradley was around her—close behind.

But the woman that stepped out of the house was not anything like Rooster expected.

Kate seemed to be a perfect mix of her parents. Her hair was dark, like Maverick’s, but wavy, like Penny’s. Her smile was far too mischievous to come from Penny, but Kate walked with Penny’s seemingly flawless grace. And when they locked eyes, Rooster realized that Kate seemed to have inherited her mom’s captivating gaze.

He subconsciously straightened his back a bit as Kate walked past him.

Kate greeted her grandmother first with a hug and a kiss on the cheek before greeting her grandfather in the same fashion. And when she straightened up, the breeze blew the scent of her shampoo—which was something sweet and flowery—in his direction and let the subtle natural highlights in her hair to catch the sunlight.

A sharp pinch in Rooster’s side caused him to whirl around to spot an annoyed Amelia.

“Stop staring at my sister like that,” Amelia stated quietly, looking disgusted. “We eat out here.” 

“I wasn’t staring.”

“Yes, you were.”

“No, I wasn’t.”

“You’re a horrible liar,” Amelia replied, ending the argument.

“How was the drive?” Pike asked Kate, who missed all of Rooster and Amelia’s conversation.

“Not too bad. Traffic, but what else did I expect?” Kate joked, moving to take the seat across from Amelia. “How was your flight in?”

“Not too bad.”

“Maverick was a gentleman and picked us up from the airport,” Joan replied with a kind smile.

Joan was clearly trying to put in a good word for Maverick with Kate, probably under the direction of Penny. Rooster, however, didn’t miss the grimace on Kate’s face at the mention of Maverick. Joan simply smiled wider and gestured over to Rooster.

“And you remember Bradley, right, Kate?”

“Yes,” Kate replied, reluctantly turning to Bradley. “Though I hear that you go by Rooster now.”

“I do,” Rooster agreed, nodding along. “And I hear that you go by Kate now.”

“I do,” Kate returned, looking bored with him.

“You heading home to your apartment tonight?” Pike questioned his granddaughter, ending Kate and Rooster’s staring contest.

“No, I’ll stay the night. We’re supposed to do some errands tomorrow morning for the wedding.”

“Have you met any nice men recently, Kate?” Grammie Joan asked her eldest granddaughter.

Kate immediately grimaced at her grandmother’s question. Amelia snuck a giggle until Kate kicked her shin under the table.

“No, Grammie.”

“Don’t pressure her, Joan,” Pike grunted, leaning back in his chair. “Better that she’s single and working hard at a good paying job than wasting her time with some no-good dumbass freeloader.”

“Yes, but this wedding planning has me thinking about the girls’ weddings,” Joan replied wistfully.

“Here we go,” Amelia murmured under her breath.

“One wedding at a time, Grammie,” Kate reminded Joan gently. “How is the wedding planning going around here anyways?"

"It's not,” Amelia answered, sharing an amused look with Rooster. “Mom’s mostly busy with the bar and Maverick doesn’t want to make any decisions without her approval. And he’s still trying to move all of his stuff over here.”

“He’s living here now?” Kate asked, immediately on the defensive. “At the house?”

“No, he’s rooming with Rooster for now.”

“Oh.” Kate’s gaze flickered over to Rooster, causing him to subconsciously straighten up again. She seemed to study him for a moment before asking, “How’s that going then?”

“It’s going well,” Rooster replied, trying to keep Maverick in a good light.

“So, he’s living in Miramar full time then?” Kate asked, still analytical.

“Mostly. He has the hangar out in Nevada, but he’s here more.”

“Lovely,” Kate replied dryly.

“Speaking of Maverick, I believe that’s them,” Pike stated, glancing down the driveway.

Kate got up and headed inside and Amelia followed after her sister. Penny and Maverick stepped inside and Kate hurried into her mom’s waiting arms. Penny squeezed Kate to her chest while Maverick stood behind them, smiling at their interaction.

“Oh, I’m so happy that you’re back home,” Penny breathed out.

“I’m not that far away, Mom,” Kate reminded Penny softly. “But it’s nice to be home.”

“How was the drive?” Penny asked Kate, letting go of her eldest daughter.

“Not too bad.”

“Good.” Penny turned to Maverick, who was clearly waiting for some kind of acknowledgement from his daughter. “Aren’t you going to greet your dad, Kate?”

“Maverick,” Kate greeted him stiffly, unwilling to call him ‘Dad.’

“It’s good to see you, Kate,” Maverick returned quietly, clearly subdued.

“Likewise.”

“Help him with the food, please, Kate,” Penny told her eldest daughter.

Kate took one of the bags from Maverick and quickly moved to put distance between them. Penny and Maverick shared a look before following Kate out into the backyard again. Amelia carried out some plates and utensils while Kate pulled out the takeout boxes.

“Amelia, can you grab the wooden spoons for the salad?” Penny questioned, glancing over the table.

“I’ll do it,” Rooster offered immediately, standing up. “You need anything else?”

“No, I think we’re all set. Thank you, Rooster,” Penny replied with a smile.

Rooster nodded, glanced over at Kate, before he headed inside. Maverick was in the kitchen, putting away some extra plates and pulling a few drinks out of the fridge.

“How did it go with Kate?” Rooster asked, opening drawers to look for wooden spoons. Maverick sighed, causing Rooster to pick his head up. “That bad, huh?”

“Could have been better,” Maverick sighed, grabbing some beers from the fridge. “But I suppose that it could have been much worse too.”

“That’s the spirit.”

Rooster glanced out the window, watching as Kate talked with her sister and her mom. Catching himself staring at her again, Rooster turned back to Maverick, who seemed to be unaware of Rooster’s sudden staring problem.

And that was good. For Rooster’s personal safety.

“Did she at least acknowledge your existence?”

“Only when prompted.” Maverick shook his head at himself. “I guess I’ll have to just keep trying to make things right with her.”

“I don’t think that she’ll make it easy for you.”

“No, she won’t. But I’m not going to let that stop me.” Maverick turned around and squeezed Rooster’s shoulder, smiling up at him. “Thanks again for trying to help me out. With making amends with her. I really do appreciate it.”

“Yeah, of course, Mav,” Rooster replied quietly.

They walked outside together to join the Benjamin family for dinner. Rooster ended up seated next to Kate somehow but they didn’t really acknowledge each other. It wasn’t until the wedding got brought up by Joan that they even looked at each other.

Well, that Kate looked over at Rooster. He still seemed to have a bit of a staring problem.

“So, you’re Maverick’s best man then, Rooster?” Joan asked kindly, causing Rooster to nod.

“Yeah, I am.”

“And Kate and Amelia are both the maid of honor?”

“Yeah, we’re sharing the position,” Kate agreed, sharing a glance with her sister.

“Yeah, but I don’t know how much I’m going to be able to do to help because of school and everything,” Amelia replied, shrugging her shoulders.

“I can handle most of it,” Kate insisted, looking down at her plate. “The only big thing that I should need your physical presence for is the maid of honor dresses.”

“Either way, it seems that the five of you will be spending a lot of time together over the next few months,” Joan stated with a kind smile.

“I’m looking forward to it,” Rooster spoke up, earning a sharp, curious look from Kate. “And to getting to know you guys more.”

Kate tilted her chin up a bit, challenging as she met Rooster’s gaze again. Amelia glanced between the two of them and stuck her tongue out. Penny and Maverick also shared a look, but Maverick signaled to Penny that it would be fine.

“Yeah, it’s going to be a lot of fun,” Kate replied dryly.

Part 2

[ferniforest]

Midnight and Hunt for Sergei, Wound and Secret for Pax, Skin and Pain for Oren, and Mask and Nightmare for Sundae :D

OHOHO buckle in because you happened to pick some freakily perfect questions for each character (like actually freaky lol how did you know??)

TW: mentions of war, death, injury and just overall angst

🩹Sergei:

Midnight- Sergei still lives with flashbacks and nightmares about the battlefield. Both of them adapted to be very light sleepers, so the small sounds in the night often wake them. Sometimes Lysander will wake up to find Sergei re-reading the last letter from his mom. (She's alive but there's no way to safely contact his family anymore)

Hunt- After being captured, Sergeius and Lysander couldn't go back to their own country because they'd be seen as traitors or tried unfairly for espionage. So they were sent away to another country overseas. They're dealing with alot of guilt and very concerned about their country's government tracking them somehow, so they try their best to keep a low profile. It's near impossible for either to truly let their guard down, even when they're entirely alone.

🧣Pax:

Wound- Pax lives in a Dnd type world so she's usually able to use a healing spell if physically wounded. (Though she's not the biggest fan of magic anymore) Mentally however... that's the worst wound she's ever gotten and doesn't know if she'll ever heal from.

Secret- Pax Violetfield unintentionally k!lled her younger brother while trying to protect him from an unknown magical monster. In her eyes, the blood is entirely on her hands and she constantly lives with the guilt of the accident.

🪶Oren:

Skin- Despite how he may act, Oren doesn't think very highly of himself. It is extremely hard for him to have such a messed up wing because his entire life, showing weakness was only taken advantage of. A bird that can't fly won't survive long. He is in complete denial, has refused to see a doctor for years (a combination of trust issues and fear) and is still trying to tough it out. This has only led to reinjuring his bad wing again and again.

Pain- The first time his wing was broken was probably the worst pain he'd ever experienced since nothing like it had happened before. As the years went on dealing with it so often, he developed a pretty high pain tolerance.

And now the turtle you've all been waiting for! 🔅Sundae:

Mask- Sundae has her physical mask, which she made to match her brother's (especially the star sticker :3 )but she also has the cheerful and optimistic one which she uses to cover up her struggles.

As a young kid Sundae's opinions and concerns were never listened to, so she learned not to bother anyone with what she's was dealing with. But as time went on and she grew closer to her brothers, she was able to open up and see that her opinions have value. Sundae still struggles with seeing herself as an equal.

More than anyone else, Astro sees right past her sunny mask. This is one of the reasons he felt VERY guilty when her Hanakanjō secret came out.

Nightmare- People leaving her, suffocating silence, not being useful, endless gardens trapping her– thaat kind of stuff! Luckily Sundae isn't afraid to go to her older brothers when she has bad dreams, though the content of her nightmares is often left unspoken.

Thank you so much for ensuing some oc lore chaos May! :D This was a ton of fun and hopefully somewhat interesting to read?

[randomestfandoms-ocs]

🌻 + Devin Calloway <3

Favourite ice cream flavour: hot fudge sundaes

Would they rather be too hot or too cold: too hot

First movie they remember watching: The Wizard Of Oz

Dream summer vacation: any real vacation that's not travelling for competitions, also a cross country road trip

Favourite summer food/drink: aperol spritz & margaritas, lobster boil

Pool, beach, or lake: beach

Did they go to summer camp: tennis camp as a young child

Their personal song of the summer: Sober, Lorde

Favourite summer activity: swimming

Send me 🌻+ an oc and I’ll tell you

[cassieuncaged]

Grave Bound Redux: Book 1 - Chapter 1

Elias Grodin x Maggie Wilson (my OC)

Summary: A young, pacifist man chooses to serve in the Vietnam war instead of going to prison on drug charges.

TW: war, blood, death, brutality, language, etc.

WC: 1.7K

A/N: The first chapter is finally here, with the next three chapters slated.

Taglist: @roofgeese, @poisonedtruth, @confidentandgood, @emotionalcadaver, @chadillacboseman@enightshade89, @imwithyoutiltheendofthelinebucky, @illiana-mystery, @unpetitoiseau, @spacestephh

Book 1: The Folly of War

Ooh, a storm is threatening my very life today.

If I don’t get some shelter, I’m gonna fade away.

Gimme Shelter – The Rolling Stones

Chapter 1

July 1965

A large hand assessed the crew cut, fingers running across buzzed stubble. His hair hadn’t been that short since high school, something his strict father had insisted upon. Elias never thought he’d be sheared again. Then again, he didn’t think he’d be shipped to Fort Campbell after basic either.

It had been the cherry on the shit sundae after being served his divorce papers from Jeannie a day before. His wife’s penchant for psychedelics and coke was what got him into this mess to begin with. Then the generals saw ‘potential’ in him. Enough to send him to Kentucky to train with 101st Airborne Division.

Reconnaissance in the demilitarized zone.

That seemed a sure way to be sent home in a pine box faster than the rest of the unlucky bastards. Suddenly seven years in the clink seemed like a better choice. The general barked at the young men hunched over the bleachers, preparing them for their brutal orders. The worries of modern life would soon melt away as they fumbled through Laotian jungles to reclaim the DMZ. He’d have no time to dwell on his divorce or drug charges. Not if he wanted to stay alive.

Dog tags jangled in unison when the men were dismissed to their barracks before training began. Most of the young soldiers fell into step while Elias refused; his gait was one of the last things he had that was his. Stripped down to the very bone of his being, he couldn’t just let military craft him into a killing machine. He was so much more. They all were. Even the kids that were ready to tote their M16’s and gun down the enemy.

Training in Kentucky didn’t last long until they were sent out on a chinook to the base outside of Củ Chi. Where Elias had expected to see lush greenery was nothing but scorched earth, dust swirling around his boots as the cherries all bandied from the chopper.

The few battalions that were sent to base camp were to ship out with their team leaders in the morning, being dropped on the Cambodian border of the demilitarized zone in an attempt to scout and pick off anyone that got in their way.

Sporting a fresh uniform, Elias had attempted to rebel the best he could. In small, rational doses. The cheap polyester button up beneath his fatigues were unbuttoned and exposing half of a lean chest. Dog tags were tangled around a wooden crucifix and a beaded necklace Jeannie had gifted him in high school.

An Airborne headband was wrapped tightly around his skull, declaring he was different than the majority of the men there. Hell, he was already the assistant team leader of his unit, despite being only a private. But he proved himself to be a fast learner, a man that would surely rise up the ranks quickly.

Keeping blue eyes glued to the ground, the jeers of men boarding the chinook were ignored as they jested and joked with one another.

“You heading back to New Jersey?” one man asked. The other snorted happily as their voices slowly faded.

“Hell, yeah. Gonna be knee deep in some pussy.” A raucous bout of laughter rang out as a few more men bellowed in agreement. Elias snuffled at the foreign smell of napalm mingled with rotting flesh.

A cart of bodies was pushed by, the pile covered by a singular tarp. His gut churned at the thought of being there himself, expiring in this hell. Knitting his brows in an attempt to steel himself, Elias followed the rest of the fresh meat as they meandered towards their own premature deaths.

“You alright, Elias?” Doyle, another mousy private, asked nervously. The kid was no older than nineteen but showed a lot of promise during training in Kentucky. “Kinda quiet.”

“Just a quiet kind of guy, private.” He grinned crookedly before slipping a pack of reds from his pocket. “You smoke?”

“Guess I do now.” Doyle pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. Shakily accepting a cigarette, he struggled to look as leisurely as the older man. Instead, the filtered tip awkwardly jutted from his lips as dusty boots fell into step. “You excited about going out into the bush?”

“Excited isn’t the word I would use.” He grunted, rucksack digging into his shoulder as Doyle nearly tripped over his own feet.

“What word would you use?” the kid wiped sweat off his brow, squinting at the man as they held up the rear of the new recruits.

Unsure. Uneasy. Scared.

The words came to mind in a barrage. Ones he was sure would frighten the kid if he were honest. Instead, he only shrugged before trudging forward.

They’d been out in the bush for three days, trying to manage the terrain in a torrential downpour. Humping several miles on foot, rain continued to slide down bare arms. Bringing up the rear, a sharp branch snagged Elias’ poncho as he kept an eye on the underlings. In spite of being a PFC, the sergeant leading their team had a lot of faith in the man.

It was his third mission on recon and their hike through the jungle had been quiet. Other than Doyle practically falling from a bluff when rappelling downwards, none of them had been badly injured.

Wiping rainwater from his brow, he attempted to ignore how the mud attempted to swallow his boots whole. Sergeant Mackenzie stopped their squad suddenly, sending the small man reeling into Doyle’s rucksack. The sarge turned around, pushing a finger up to his lips before nodding towards two dark shadows practically obscured by the downpour.

Bullets cut through sheets of rain, practically invisible as they downed the sergeant in a fell swoop. Two soldiers were sprayed in blood as they were quick to take cover in the thick jungle foliage. Doyle bit back a whimper, clutching his bloody arm. Elias pushed him into the brush, before covering the man with his own body. The RTO was quick to radio for back-up as the others wielded their M16’s, attempting to keep the cheap weapons from jamming.

“Keep Doyle quiet,” Elias barked at the two men, eliciting looks of confusion as he slid the hood of his poncho down. Forest green, the perfect shade for camouflage. “I’m gonna get rid of these guys.”

“Are you insane?” one of the soldiers shouted, voice practically obscured by the rain and gunfire. “There could be loads of them up there.”

“Maybe a ways up the trail.” He reasoned, ducking behind a tree before reloading his weapon, “But we’ve only got two right here. Just keep firing.”

Pushing himself halfway up, Elias crouched as he treaded swiftly into a thicket of teakwood trees. Bullets rattled more clearly the closer he got to the two stragglers. The thicket of trees formed a canopy, filtering the intense rain and giving the men an advantage.

The rest of his team wouldn’t last if the NVA soldiers got any closer. Those AK’s would destroy them. Back pushed against the thick trunk of a tree, one boot brought pressure down on a branch. Snapping it in half loudly got the men’s attention.

One urged the other to investigate while the leader continued to gain on the Americans. The private relied on his ears, attempting to hear the thud of rubber soles against the bed of leaves and twigs. Shaking fingers unsheathed a bowie knife, as the man grew closer.

He wouldn’t leave this mortal coil without a fight.

Snaking slowly around the circumference of the trunk, Elias could peripherally see the man come closer. All he had to do was wait until his location was nearly revealed and then attack. He and the soldier were practically shoulder to shoulder as he swallowed down a shaky breath.

Now was his last chance.

Then the soldier paused, giving Elias the opportunity to pounce. Gun hanging from his bicep, he swiftly slid around the trunk to behind the poor bastard. Before the man could react, he clamped a large hand across an open mouth. Screams were muffled by the storm as his other hand slid his knife against delicate skin, blood hotly spraying outwards.

That was his first victim, the same one he’d gently laid on the ground before prying the AK-47 free. The North Vietnamese army was better equipped than the American’s who were already at the disadvantage. They could use any help they could get. Then Elias was sprinting towards the other, smoothly shooting off a round from the AK before taking another weapon for his stash. Searching the man’s uniform found a few grenades that were eagerly taken.

Only then did he realize he was no longer innocent.

The tropical storm had begun to let up by the time they’d been toted back to base with their sergeant’s splattered body and an injured Doyle. A rubber tourniquet had been applied to the young man’s arm until he was being hauled off for surgery with the MASH unit. Hopefully it could be fixed onsite instead of sending out another soldier to the 95th Evacuation.

Soaked to his bones, Elias was treated like a hero by the rest of the division in spite of immersion foot. A few men clapped him on the shoulder, excitedly murmuring about the newly received weaponry. But all the man could think of was the way the NVA soldier limply collapsed in his arms, lifeless.

Because of him.

What was that man doing other than trying to evacuate a common enemy as much as the men that surrounded him. Trying to make it from one day to the next, defending his way of life the best he could. Elias felt his guts knot again, for what felt like the hundredth time. Nothing mattered now.

He was a killer. And that couldn’t be absolved.

[sunnyrealist]

Chapter 22: Symphonies and Swells

The Sun, the Moon, and All Our Stars

Summary and Details…

Chapter Background and Summary: Sebastian and Kate are on a date in Hogsmeade on the last Saturday night of the Hogwarts school year. It's traditionally a rowdy evening celebration involving the students and everyone in town. They had dinner, then shared an ice cream sundae from Honeyduke's. Kate asked about Sebastian's old friends from his Hogwarts days. Sebastian revealed that he never reached out to Ominis or Ruby (HL MC) when he broke out of Azkaban - not even when he cut a deal with the Ministry and it would have been safe to contact them. Though he hopes they are well and still cares about them, he truly believes that they're better off without him because he caused them so much pain and trouble. Kate tries to convince him to at least write to them - otherwise he'll never know. In this chapter, they wander around Hogsmeade looking for the traveling band that visits annually.

Pairing: Aged-up, post-Azkaban Sebastian Sallow x female OC (Kate Mayflower)

Content warnings: In general, this story is rated 18+, so MNDI! There are no specific warnings for this chapter.

The full chapter is available below the cut; it can also be found on AO3 (link is posted below). Any kind of constructive feedback would be greatly appreciated. A comment, like, or Kudos would make my day!

Chapter 22: Symphonies and Swells

Fingers interwoven tightly, Sebastian and Kate wander around Hogsmeade, trying to determine where most of the young crowd is headed that evening. There is so much laughter and general merriment that it’s actually a little difficult to determine the location of the band. They both hear music playing from a distance, but where it is coming from is still a bit of a mystery. In years prior, there always had been dancing in the town center, but it clearly isn’t the venue now.

Making the most of the evening, the two do some window-shopping. 

“Sebastian!” Kate exclaims. “I want to show you something.” 

She smiles widely, pulling him towards a furniture store. The shop has closed early - certainly the shopkeeper didn’t see it as a night of big sales with Hogwarts students overtaking the village. When they are in front of the window, Kate points inside. It’s a little difficult to see, with only a small light visible inside. 

“Do you see the piano in there?” she asks.

Sebastian squints, trying to make out a piano, and soon, his eyes find their quarry. It’s an upright wooden piano, painted green with floral accents. He nods. “I see it. That’s… wow. It’s a beautiful instrument.”

“I know! I’ve been saving for so long to get some new furniture. You know I plan to make that empty room into a study, but I also want that piano so badly.” Kate sighs. “Every time I pass by here, I spend a minute just admiring it.” She sighs, and then, as if to convince herself, she muses, “One day. One day it will be mine.”

His eyes are trained on it. “I am assuming that you know how to play, yes? Or want to learn?”

“I took lessons throughout my childhood,” Kate replies, smiling. “I miss it - getting lost in the music, playing what matches my mood. When I was a student at Hogwarts, I would go to the music room frequently to play.” She inhales. “I still do, even today. When I need a break from the library…” She scrunches up her nose as emphasis for her next words. “...or a break from Agnes… I check if the room is empty, and if it is, I play.” Sebastian’s expression seems mystified. Kate can’t quite figure out why, but she continues. “I just wish I could play at home. I’ve gotten rusty and make a lot of mistakes because I don’t consistently practice. I think having a piano would give me some purpose - help me fill the hours I spend alone.”

“Well,” Sebastian begins, wrapping his arm around her waist, “You don’t have to be alone anymore, my sun. You’ll always have me.” He smiles and leans in to kiss her, his lips lingering. 

The volume of the music seems to increase as they reach a gate into the gardens of Hogsmeade. Huge groups of people mill about near the enchanted garden dragon, and just above it, at the top of the stairs, is where the band is playing and couples are dancing. Kate looks excitedly at Sebastian as the energetic music swells. They hold hands in an attempt to stay together as they weave through swaths of people to get to the stone steps. 

The band is playing on a slightly elevated platform, their instruments clearly enchanted to play louder than the musicians could physically muster on their own. Long skirts and dresses twirl as couples move to the music. 

Kissing Kate’s hand, Sebastian asks, “May I have this dance, Miss Mayflower?”

She chuckles in response as he leads her further into the crowd. Kate smiles happily as they get into position and assimilate into the crowd. The song is lively, and Sebastian turns them around and around.

“Tell me more about playing piano, Kate,” Sebastian requests with a grin as they dance.

“I started playing when I was five. My mamma insisted that my sister and I learn piano, as it befitted ‘ladies of our station,’ as she would say. I understood the instrument rather quickly. I had a wonderful teacher, Madam Sutton, who would come to our home twice a week.” She giggles as Sebastian twirls her. “When I started at Hogwarts, I didn’t want to quit piano like my sister did. My instructor would give me a songbook to master each term, and then we worked together again each summer. As I got older, Madam Sutton would let me have more and more of a say in the works I studied. I find now that I like more current music - composers like Chopin and Debussy. Are you familiar with either?”

“Yes!” Sebastian responds eagerly. “I particularly enjoy Frederic Chopin. Claude Debussy - also fantastic.”

“Merlin’s beard! You really do know them!” Kate exclaims in disbelief.

Sebastian flashes a knowing smile, as though he’s holding something back. She can’t quite put her finger on it and considers asking more, but the song wraps up and everyone begins to clap in appreciation.

The musicians begin playing again - another song with a fast tempo. All of the couples practically gallop around to this one. Soon, Kate is flushed, and they’re both laughing in delight. 

“Tell me more about your family. What should I know about them? How do I charm them?” Sebastian asks, practically yelling. The band is loud.

Charm them? Kate thinks. I don’t know if he will ever be able to charm his way out of their disapproval over his past… She doesn’t want to make Sebastian uncomfortable or tip him off to the idea that her family won’t accept him, so she decides to push the thought away for another time. She’ll need to brainstorm, come up with a plan.

“Well, my papa is the kindest man you’ll ever meet. His favorite thing in the world is gardening. He has a huge greenhouse filled with exotic plants. He made a living out of it - quite a living. He runs a successful business that, essentially, involves tending to rich people’s gardens and grounds. His clients are truly some of the wealthiest wizarding families in the country. My papa didn’t grow up rich, and what I love about him is that becoming affluent never got to his head. He still has the biggest heart and always wants to help those in need. He’s… really the best,” Kate tells him with a smile. “You’ll like him.”

Sebastian nods. “Well, hopefully he’ll like me. I’m glad to hear he is kind - that’s reassuring. Now, tell me about your mother.”

Kate chews her lip for a moment. This is who Sebastian will undoubtedly have the most trouble with. “My mamma… She’s… interesting. Unlike my papa, she never really had to work. Her side of the family, the Becketts, are old money. Mamma grew up expecting to be a wife and that she would marry into even more money. But then she fell in love with my father, who didn’t have money. Anyway, in the end, it all worked out. My mamma is… hmmm… well, she is as Slytherin as they come. She’s ambitious and wants to be held in high esteem in society. She hosts many grand events, some of which are for charity, but most are simply social in nature. She’s the one who wants me to marry so badly.” Kate looks away, frowning momentarily, but recovers quickly. “She’s smart as a whip. Somewhat judgmental. Incredibly cunning. She knows how to get people to do what she wants.” She pauses. “To me, she’s always been a good mother. She had a lot of time to spend with my sister and me as we grew up. She had a keen interest in our education and wanted us to grow up to be high-society ladies, just like her.”

“I see,” Sebastian responds, considering the information. “And you’ve mentioned she and your father were not happy about your move to Hogsmeade.”

“Not at all. They wanted me to live at home until I was ready to marry.” As this song seems to be coming to a close, Kate speaks more quietly. “I just want you to know, Sebastian… I don’t always listen to my parents. They have good intentions, but I don’t think they’re always right about things. They’re overprotective and want me to live just like they do. Of course I want to have a comfortable life, but I have no interest in following in my mum’s footsteps.”

“What about your sister? Are they more approving of her?”

The next song begins, a much slower, romantic one. Sebastian pulls Kate closer as they sway.

“Yes,” Kate replies. “They fully approve of her lifestyle. Irene is basically a copy of my mother, but she works as a healer at St. Mungo’s. At least for now. I predict when she and Niles decide to have children, she’ll quit her job. Oh - Niles is her fiance. He’s also a healer - they met at St. Mungo’s. They just bought a huge home together in London… on Rose Street.” Kate gives him a look, hoping he understands her meaning. Sebastian’s eyebrows raise in acknowledgement. Rose Street is the wealthiest part of wizarding London. “Irene has always wanted the best of the best for herself, and she’s certainly achieved it. She’s incredibly intelligent. She had high marks in almost everything when she was at Hogwarts. Slytherin’s finest.” Kate rolls her eyes. “Truthfully, Irene and I are very different people, personality-wise, but we are still close. We aren’t competitive with each other. We just have our own unique goals in life, and we cheer each other on towards those things. I trust her with my life. You’ll like her, I hope.”

An idea suddenly pops in her head. “Oh! I didn’t think of this before. You’ll probably meet my entire extended family at their wedding in August!”

In August. Sebastian can’t help but smile widely, his heart beating with this revelation, giving him newfound confidence. Kate’s thinking we’ll be together still in August and that I should meet her family. 

Sebastian leans down, slowly closing the distance and pressing his lips to hers. It’s the kind of kiss that makes one absolutely melt like muggle ice cream on a summer afternoon. When Kate considers what might have prompted it, she realizes that she basically has told him she sees their relationship as long-term. For her, it was easy to think so now. Everything between them felt natural, as if they hadn’t just met so recently but knew each other for months and years and perhaps even lifetimes. But Sebastian needed to hear her say it outside of the bedroom to really believe.

For him, this is it. Kate’s the only one for him for the rest of his days. He isn’t afraid to admit it to himself. In this moment, he realized he couldn’t be more serious about his future with her, and he wanted to be sure Kate knew how strongly he felt. It would only be right to do something to seal that commitment. Not an engagement, of course - that was far too early, but what exactly, and how to do that, was something he needed to explore further.

“I love you,” Sebastian whispers, breaking the kiss. “I mean it, Kate. I love you so much. I would love nothing more than to be your date to your sister’s wedding. And for any other event you may have. I… I am completely yours.”

Kate gazes into his eyes. Her tone is sincere when she replies, “I’m so glad we found each other. I needed you. I love you, Sebastian.”

Finally coming out of the haze of romance, they both realize they’ve been standing still, becoming an obstacle while others dance around them. 

“Perhaps we could take a break,” Kate requests. “I’m warm.”

“Yes, you’re flushed,” Sebastian agrees. “Let’s get out of the crowd and find somewhere to sit. We can still listen to the music, love.”

They begin to move towards the stairs, Kate following behind Sebastian as there is very little room to maneuver out of the crowd. As they approach the stairs, they have a perfect view of the people mingling in the garden.

“Wait a second… could that be…?!” Kate suddenly squeals. “Sebastian, wait here. I think I saw one of my very old friends! I’ll hurry back, I promise!”

Kate scampers down the stairs, making a beeline. Sebastian watches her, completely drunk in love. But when Kate taps on the shoulder of a tall, handsome young man, who turns around and looks thrilled to see her, wrapping her up in a hug and lifting her off her feet, Sebastian’s mood completely changes. He tenses up, feeling off about this encounter. It only gets worse as he observes them chatting excitedly, Kate practically jumping on her tiptoes in exhilaration at something this man says. Their conversation continues for several minutes. Eventually, he whispers something in her ear, smirking, and she appears flustered, saying her farewells rather quickly after that. They embrace, and her “friend” kisses her on her cheek. 

Sebastian seethes but tries to calm himself. Kate wouldn’t play with his feelings like that or give false hope to this friend. She’s not like that. And this man couldn’t steal her from him. Impossible. Not after how hard he had worked to win her heart and all they had been through.

Kate weaves through groups of people back to Sebastian, smiling as she sees his face illuminated by the light of the moon. “That was my friend, Henry Finch! We’ve known each other from the beginning of our Hogwarts days. I can’t believe it - he’s been asked to take on the role of an interim Beasts professor! I can’t believe Henry is finally willing to settle down. That’s what kept us apart in the first place.”

Sebastian nods, barely smiling. “What do you mean, kept you apart?” His heart is sinking.

“Oh, erm… Henry and I… Well, we dated in our last couple of years at Hogwarts, but after graduation, he immediately took a job with the Ministry that involved extensive travel around the world. We decided to part ways. Actually… I decided to part ways. I didn’t want to always sit around waiting for him to return,” she explains. “Henry is friends with all of my friends, but I never got to see him much over the last few years because he was never in the country. But next year, I’ll get to see him all the time!”

“Great,” Sebastian mutters. “So… uh… what does that mean for us?”

Kate is visibly confused but quickly catches on. “Oh, Sebastian! Nothing at all. Henry is my friend. That’s all. It changes nothing, except that I might have someone to take luncheon with now!”

Sebastian shifts on his feet. “I mean… you see Henry as a friend, but what about him?

Does he see you as a friend?”

Kate didn’t respond for a moment, looking away. “I don’t know, Sebastian… I mean, we broke up when we were 18. That was six years ago. We were kids then.” 

“I… I’m sorry,” Sebastian murmured after a long silence. “I… I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I just… I feel like I’ve just found you, and I can’t stand the thought of you being taken from me. I’m… gods, I’m so in love with you, Kate. I trust you. I swear I do. I just… I guess I’m a little nervous thinking about you with other men and how they might interact with you.”

Gazing seriously into his eyes, Kate replied, “I love you, Sebastian. I choose you. I’m honestly bloody terrified of how much I feel for you. There is no need to worry about me and how I feel about you.” She brings her hand to Sebastian’s cheek. “I am yours. As long as you’ll have me.”

He leans into her hand, relishing in her gentle caress. “Gods, Kate. I don’t… I don’t think I could go back to a life without you.” 

They share a long kiss.

“Would you like to go home?” Kate quietly asks.

“Yes. Yes, I would,” Sebastian answers easily, and a few moments later, they apparate into the living room of her cottage.

[sellbotfactory]

oh my god... i found old screenshots of Brownie from TTO (circa 2012) . this is incredible i need to preserve these incase i ever lose them

[marshmallow-biscuit-blog]

Oc short stats for my main ocs

Full name: Rooty Beera Float Age: 9 (when she meets bros and games events) Species: Sundae Glass (rootbeer float) Gender: Female Sexuality: Pan Race (human counterpart): Irish/African American Height: 4'6 (9-14 probably) 6'0 (15-adult) Likes: Detective Sketch, Mugman, Cuphead, Kettle, Tea, Joe, punching shit, Flower (best friend), little kids, beating up actual bullies, Chalice (sometimes) her biological father (yes she still likes and loves him) Dislikes: Being tall for her age, large bodies of water (as far as aquaphobia), not knowing what's going on, letting people see her cry, admitting she's susceptible to feelings, alcohol, Puff, Chalice (sometimes) Voice Claim: Bridget Fitzimmons --- Full name: Flower Gal Locera Age: 8 (when she meets bros) 10 (events of game) Species: Oleander Gender: Female Sexuality: Demisexual Demiromantic Race (human counterpart): anything white southern US

Height: 3'3 (13) 5'0 (18 onward) Likes: Betty Locera, Cuphead, Mugman, Rooty, Elder Kettle, Tea and Joe, Cagney (sometimes), gardening, pleasing Ma Dislikes: people being jerks, Cuphead/Mugman/Rooty not thinking before doing things, Ma's nagging, Puff (she has some sympathy for Huff), the dark Voice Claim: Faline (I did the sequel because she doesn't talk much as a fawn in the first movie, mainly giggles and squeals lol) --- Full name: Tea Kettler Java Age: 35 (game events) Species: Teacup Gender: Female Sexuality: Willing to learn about herself Race (human counterpart): African American + Native American Height: 4'10 Likes: Her father, Joe, her babies, Bean, Babs (the goat), cooking, baking, being bossy, dancing, singing, Rooty, Flower, Betty, Puff (she's a bad influence to Chalice but she's nice to Chalice and no longer messes with the boys so she lets it slide) Dice, Lucile, Pyra, Jr. Dislikes: People bossing her around, Cinnamon, Devil, Ludwig (She LOATHES him lol), Cinnamon, she also hates Cinnamon, did I mention- Voice claim: Charlotte La Bouff

--- Full name: Joe Java Age: 37 (game events) Species: Mug Gender: Male Sexuality: Bi (bro doesn't realize-) Race (human counterpart): Cowboy. I mean this in the most non-offensive way. Caucasian cowboy from southern California- Height: 5'8 Likes: His mother, Tea, Kettle, his boys and girls, Pyra, Jr., Luci, Rooty, Flower, Betty, Dice, Sketch, building, falling off of shit while building apparently, taste testing Tea's food, telling stupid dad jokes, making things, his building crew (they're like family), good moments he and Cinnamon have together. Dislikes: Devil, Cinnamon (he still loves him ofc), Puff (not in a hate way, just in a that's a bad kid way), dogs (he's scared), Babs (the goat, she annoys him) Voice Claim: John Marston --- Full name: Clarissa Dice Illy Age: 51 (game events) Gender: Female Sexuality: "The hell is a sexuality I do whatever the fuck I want" Race (human counterpart): African American Height: 5'0 Likes: Dice, Luci, Kettle, "The Hairy Flapper", Tea, Joe, Cuphead, Mugman, Chalice, Siphi, meh Flower and Rooty are okay, Dislikes: Phobus, young ladies showing too much (more of a fear things for them rather than against them), over controlling people, being outside her home, not seeing Kingsly for awhile Voice Claim: Beatrice Horseman --- Full name: Cinnamon Java Age: 40 (game events) Gender: Male Sexuality: Um *opens notes and previous conversations* He does what he wants like Clarissa-- he might fluctuate in this sense, who knows. Race (human counterpart): Whatever tf Joe is south western US guy who is white Height: 6'10 Likes: His damn moose he named Bellow because he never shuts up, Scarlet, Nessy, Pyra, Jr, animals, his mom. Despite Tea hating him, he feels the need to make sure Joe's stupidity hasn't killed her yet, so he likes her at least a little. His nephews and nieces. Dislikes: People coming to the mountains unannounced (aka his home/animal sanctuary he lives on. It's rarely poachers and 90% Joe being a dick or his nephews being 'can we feed Bellow?") Terrified of Flower, doesn't understand how she's that nice, afraid she's going to slip one of her leaves into his drink. Voice Claim: Arthur Morgan

[coughdontfeelwellcough]

The Diner

Sicktember 2022

Promt “I might be a tiny tiny bit sick, but it’s fine” 

Fandom: My ocs, Adam and Millie 

Words: 2594

Summery: Millie is a waitress at a diner and on boring night she meets Adam, a young college student in need of some help. 

Author’s comments: It’s been forever since I’ve written anything! Well since I’ve finished anything anyway, so apologies if it’s not my best work I am a little rusty. I hope you enjoy! 

It was a dully dreary evening, the usual customers came in at the usual time and ordered the same meal they always did. Millie was surprised how little things changed in the diner, they served the same food every night and still the same people came in to eat it. She could almost set a clock by it, the old gentleman how came in every Monday night for a grilled cheese and a coffee, the family of four on a Tuesday who liked burgers, one with extra cheese one, two with extra onions; and there was the couple of a Thursday who without fail ordered an ice cream sundae to share. 

Millie had just taken their order, the same as ever when he came in. A boy, about her age wearing a hoodie from the local college. He was cute, blonde, fluffy haired, he was something new. He took a table in the back corner, laying out his books. Millie had never been great at talking to boys, she’d gone to both her school dances with friends and had only ever kissed one on the playground when she was nine. She’d always found there were more important things than boys, when all her friends were obsessing over who kissed who Millie was up a mountain on her bike, always up to something. Her family had nicknamed her Moving Millie as she never could stand still. 

She finished putting in her sundae order, giving him a few extra minutes to glance at the menu before taking a deep breath and going over to him. 

“Hi darling, what can I get for you today?” 

He was even cuter up close, blonde hair curling over his forehead and big brown eyes. He sniffled, rubbing at his nose with his knuckle.

“Oh umm,” he obviously hadn’t heard her approach. It looked like he was studying something complex, lots of notes and graphs were spread out over the table. 

“Sorry, did you need a minute?” she asked. 

“No..” he turned a stifled two sneezes into his shoulder. “ItchsShew ItchsShew”

“Bless you!” The sneeze obviously caught him by surprise. He sniffled, wiping his sleeve under his nose. 

“Thanks, and I’ll have a chocolate malt and a hot dog, I guess,” 

He sounded unsure like he’s forgotten he was in a diner and there was a little rasp to voice like he’s been yelling. 

“Chocolate malt and a hot dog coming right up, anything else I can get you?” She asked. 

“No, thank you,” he smiled at her, giving her a little glimpse of a dimple in his cheek. 

Millie hoped her blush wasn’t as obvious as it felt as she walked away, he was a real sweetie.

Millie took the order to the kitchen and went back to her other tables, serving them drinks and clearing up after a kid who thought it was hilarious to throw food everywhere. She tried not to keep looking over her shoulder at the boy in the corner, he never looked up occasionally she’d see him continue to rub at his nose and sniffle. 

When his meal was ready, she did her best to ignore the feeling of butterflies in her stomach, putting on her best smile before going over to him..

“Here you go darling, one chocolate malt and a hot dog. Is there anything else I can get..” 

She was stopped mid sentence as he turned away from her and stifled two sneezes into his fist. 

“ItchsShew, ItchsShew!” 

“Oh bless you! Are you okay sweetie?” She asked. 

“I’m okay, thank you.” The rasp in his voice was a little more prominent. 

“Can I get you anything else? Some sauce or extra fries?” She asked. 

“Could I have some ketchup please?” He looked up at her and she couldn’t help notice his nose had turned a little pink and there was a tiredness about his eyes. 

“Sure, I’ll be right back.” 

She could hear him clear his throat, coughing a little. The poor thing did sound a little under the weather. 

“One bottle of ketchup, is that everything?” Millie asked. 

He nodded “Thank you,” 

“Give me a shout if you need anything.” 

He gave her a little dimpled smile again and rubbed at his nose with a sniffle.

Millie couldn’t stop sneaking glances at him, even as it got busier and she was rushing between a family of seven whose kids just loved to throw food everywhere and an elderly couple who kept asking for coffee refills. It was obvious the boy wasn’t feeling well, every time she looked at him he was sniffing or coughing and it was after one particular rough sounding coughing fit she had an idea. 

Once the tea was ready she took it over to him along with a pack of tissues she’d found under the counter.

“I thought you sounded like you could do with a hot drink,” Millie said, placing the steaming cup beside him. 

“Tha…” his breath hitched and he turned away to stifle two sneezes into his shoulder.

“ItchsShew, ItchsShew”

“Bless you!,” she said, passing him the tissues.

“Thanks,” he gave a weak smile and even Millie could see he looked worse, tired and run down. He was still working on some sort of essay, she could see where his hand writing had started to get messier as he went on. 

“That looks complicated,” Millie said, nodding at his work. 

“Not really,” he sniffed. “It’s just about the various building techniques used in the building of the pyramids.” 

“So, history buff then?” 

“Ye…” He began to cough harshly, she could hear the weeze in his breathing as he struggled to regain control. 

“That cough sounds rough, are you sure you’re okay?” Millie asked. 

“Just a cold, I’ll live,” he replied, taking a sip of tea, his hands shaking.

“You’re at ULC then?” she asked, nodding at his sweatshirt. It was the local college, it was quite a good one mostly known for its hockey players. 

He nodded, clearing his throat. “History major… In case you hadn’t guessed.” 

“That’s awesome, usually all we get through here are the sports majors and they’re all so loud and messy.” 

He chuckled, coughing a little. 

“Millie! Table seven needs clearing and table four’s mains are ready!” 

“Coming!” she called back, not that she wanted to. He was cute and surprisingly easy to talk to and so clearly under the weather. 

“Thanks for the tea Millie,” he said. 

“You’re welcome…”

“Adam.” 

“You’re welcome Adam…” 

“MIllie!” Her dad yelled from the kitchen, making her wince. She loved working in her parents diner, she did but it had its problems, like not being able to say no. She hadn’t even supposed to work today, but they’d had another waitress call out so here she was. Sometimes it felt like she never left, after she’d finished school she’d started working full time and there were times Millie wondered if it was what she really wanted to be part of the diner forever. 

As the dinner rush picked up Millie didn’t get a chance to back over to Adam, she could still hear his occasional coughs and sneezes over the din of the restaurant. She’d sneak glances at him but he always had his head in his book, he never once looked up. Normally if a customer tried to stay too long after finishing their meal Millie would go over and offer them the check, to try and hurry them along but not with Adam. She let him sit there, studying away even after his tea was long gone. Luckily her dad was busy in the kitchen or he would have demanded Millie go and say something. Instead after one particularly harsh sounding coughing fit she makes him another cup of tea, this time with extra honey. 

“Again?” he asked, as she placed the cup beside him. 

“No offence, but you sound terrible and I don’t want you dying in my diner. It would look really bad.” 

He laughed, it quickly turned to a coughing fit. They sounded painful, like he was trying to eject his lungs out of his chest. 

“Jeez, you really are in rough shape,” Millie said. She’d wanted to pat him on the back but held off, she didn’t want to over step. They were strangers after all. 

“I’ve been better,” he said, taking a sip of his tea. “Is there honey in this?” 

Millie nodded. “I thought your throat could do with it, is it okay?” 

“Yes.. Thank you, that’s kind of you.” 

Up close she could see he was worse, when he came in he only looked a little run down and now he looked down right ill. He was pale, nose pink and cheeks flushed with obvious fever. 

“You’re welcome, but seriously you should be in bed. I still can’t have people dying in my diner.” 

He gave a weak smile, rubbing his temples, no doubt he had a killer headache and Mille wondered if grabbing the pain killers from her bag would be too much. 

“I promise not to die, I’ve just got to finish this paper,” he said. 

“Must be a pretty important paper,” Millie replied. 

Adam opened his mouth to speak but stopped.. hhh…hhhhH’GkZSSHmff! hah’IEGHihSSHU”

“Bless you!” Even his sneezes sounded worse, harsh and congested. 

“Thanks,” he sniffed, bringing a ratty tissue to his nose. “I’m sorry for germing up the place, I understand if you want me to leave.” 

“No, no, it’s not that at all. It’s just that you sound miserable and should absolutely be in bed,” Millie said, her chest ached a little at the thought of him leaving and she tried to ignore the butterfly feeling building in her stomach.

“I wish that was an option.. This paper is a huge part of my grade and I need… hH’GkZSSHmff! hah’IEGHihSSHU” 

“Bless you again, but surely your health has got to come first, right?” Millie asked. 

Adam shook his head, coughing softly into his fist. “I wish.” 

“Millie!” her dad was yelling again, something about table six waiting for their deserts. Millie sighed, stuffing her hands in her apron pockets. “I’ll be back.” 

“I’ll be here,” Adam replied, giving a little thumbs up. Millie smiled, her mother always used to say she was a sucker for hopeless cases, she was the kid who wanted to rescue every animal and save every scrap of paper, just in case. 

Finally the dinner rush ended and the diner emptied, leaving only Adam and a couple who were doing more kissing than eating and a lady with a laptop, typing something at a furious pace. Mille yelled at her dad that she was going for a break and promptly made another cup of tea, heavy with honey and lemon before returning to Adam. 

“How’s it going?” she asked, putting the cup beside the empty ones. 

“Okay I think, though I think my brain is becoming mush,” he said, his voice was heavy with congestion and nearly gone. No doubt all the coughing had been hell on his throat judging by the way he winced as he swallowed.

“Maybe it’s finally time to stop and get some rest?” 

“I can’t…”

“I know, it’s an important paper but you’ll give yourself pneumonia,” Millie said. 

Adam coughed roughly into his fist as if to prove her point, it sounded like he was trying to drag up all the gunk in his lungs. 

“Ow..” he gave a stuffy moan, resting his head in his hands. 

“Remember what I said about not dying, you promised,” Millie teased, she put her hand on his arm and was pleased he didn’t pull away. 

“I just… I can’t fail, I can’t afford to.” 

There was a crack in his voice and Millie hoped he wasn’t about to cry, she wasn’t sure she could handle that. Instead she took the seat opposite him, putting her hand over his.

“I know we don’t know each other but my mother will come back from the dead and beat me if I don't tell you that dying for a paper is not the way to go,” she tried to tease. Adam looked up, his eyes red rimmed and for a moment she thought she’d gone too far but instead he smiled. 

“Dead mum too huh?” he asked. 

“Yeah… Cancer when I was eleven, you?” 

“Depression, I was five.” 

“Sucks doesn’t it?” 

Adam nodded, coughing into his fist. “Sure does, I miss her.” 

Millie’s heart sank, she knew how hard things could be without a parent, especially a mother and something like being ill could make it all much worse. 

“I’m sorry.” 

Adam gave a weak smile, sniffling miserably. He looked so sad and ill, he needed someone to tuck him into bed and force him to rest. 

“That’s actually why I need to do this,” Adam said, gesturing at his work. “Dad wanted me to take over his garage and I couldn’t… It wasn’t what I wanted so I left to do this and he said..hhh… hh.. hH’GkZSSHmff! hah’IEGHihSSHU… Ugh… H..he never wanted to speak to me again. So now if I fail this course then I’ll have to go back and…hH’GkZSSHmff..” 

“Bless.. I’m sorry Adam, that’s terrible and no wonder you’re working so hard but you need to stop and rest, okay?” 

He looked up at her and for a moment she thought he would be angry, they didn’t know each other and here they were spilling their darkest secrets. It was true that his fever was probably playing a part in his vulnerability, and maybe Millie’s budding feelings weren’t helping or maybe they were both just glad of someone who understood. 

“I think I should probably go, I think I need to lie down…” 

“You’re trembling,” Millie said, she shuffled a little closer and raised her hand. “May I?” 

He nodded, letting her place her wrist against his forehead. 

“You’re burning up, you’ve got a serious fever.” 

Adam sighed, coughing softly. “I really don’t feel well.” 

“Can you get home okay? Do you need to call someone?” 

“No, I’ll be alright. It’s not far and my roommate will be in.” 

“Okay, if you’re sure.” 

Adam nodded and started gathering up his things, stuffing papers back into his back only stopping only to sniffle and blow his nose. 

“Millie!” 

Her dad was yelling again, something about sweeping up but she wasn’t listening. Her break may technically have been over ten minutes ago but she wasn’t doing anything until she’d gotten Adam safely out of the building. 

“Oh shit I need to pay you, I totally forgot..” He started rummaging around in his pockets for his wallet before having to stop due a particularly nasty coughing fit that left him wheezing. 

“It’s on the house, call it a get well soon present,” Millie replied. 

“No.. You don’t need to..” he coughed again and Mille patted him on the back, she could feel the heat of his fever through his jacket. 

“No, but I’m going to, just promise to come back when you’re feeling better.” 

“I promise,” he smiled and Millie got to see his gorgeous dimples again and she smiled in return. Mille watched him leave, disappearing into the night and finally started the sweeping her dad had been yelling about. As the diner started to dwindle down for the night Mille started to think about her mother and how maybe she’d been right and that Millie’s life was made for things outside of the diner and that she truly was made for caring for people, especially people like Adam who were maybe just as lost.  

[barbasbodaciousbeard]

Bring your Daughter to Court Day and Dad Friends

Summary: Rafael tries to multitask, miscommunicating the date he direly needs a sitter to Lucia, which means Catalina has to accompany him to court last minute. He manages to maintain his serious demeanor as well as he can, rewarding the well behaved little one with ice cream and a trip to the park. Suddenly, Rafael realizes he doesn’t have dad friends, and the opportunity arises to gain one. 

Pairings: Rafael Barba x OC

First Part - Second Part -Third Part - Fourth Part - Fifth Part - Sixth Part

A/N: This installation also partially based off of @teamsladsandgents​ ask a couple weeks ago that Down A Sitter was based on.

How had his mother forgotten she was supposed to babysit? Apparently, it was because Rafael Barba sent March 18 instead of 8, probably while he was making Catalina’s lunch and thinking that was the time for an email. Now, his mother was in Florida with Enrique, and he was without a sitter because Rebecca, Al, and Rodney were on the trip together. He could probably take her to Olivia’s, have Lucy watch her, but there wasn’t time to do that and make it to the courthouse. Lucia lived too far away. That left him with one option, and it was one he wasn’t sure he liked.

It was another defense case, a pillar of the community who killed his daughter’s abuser. It was all heat of the moment; the bastard had shown up on his step looking for Brendon’s daughter, the one he’d raped and left nearly dead. The other women? The ones he hadn’t dated? They hadn’t been lucky enough for the nearly. In minutes, he’d shot him, calling the police on himself. Olivia had convinced him to take it. And now it looked like he’d have company.

“Mija, how good can you be if papi brings you to work?” Her eyes lit up as she looked up at him.

“I can be so good, papi! I’ll help.”

“I’d just need you to be very, very quiet. That’ll be the best.”

“But I want to help.”

“You have to protect papi’s briefcase,” he fibbed, thankful selective defense work meant he just needed the file within it.

“I can,” she nodded seriously. He fastened her into her car seat, kissing her forehead and getting to the courthouse. He was grateful he could transition the necessities to a less full suitcase, leaving behind spare pens and pads of paper and only taking the file, a couple of pens, snacks, a bottle, the ipad, and her coloring book and box of crayons. Consolidating made him feel less messy. Most people at the courthouse didn’t know the dad side of him, and even as he relaxed, he hadn’t quite shaken the reputation he earned as a prosecutor. Now, he was clad in one of his dark three piece suits with a bright tie and suspenders, just like everyone was used to, the same briefcase in his hand. What they weren’t used to was the little girl with his eyes settled on his hip, clad in bright pink leggings and a white sweater with her arms wrapped tight around her father’s shoulders.

“Can I help you with something?” he asked, brow raised as he shifted Catalina to walk through the metal detector. Her blanket was clutched in her hand from the car still, and she held it from the floor, carefully walking through.

“Cute kid,” the guard asked. This was one who’d been here forever, and he seemed surprised. 

“Thank you.” He picked Catalina up again, briefcase by his side. He’d developed more muscle definition in his arms than he’d ever had since Rebecca went back to work. Catalina refused to walk, and he enjoyed fatherhood too much to make her. 

“If you’re good until we leave, we’ll get the biggest sundae you’ve ever had, mija,” he reminded her during an empty stretch of hallway. Catalina nodded seriously up at him, and he smiled more fondly than he intended, nodding to his client. He’d sent a text of warning, but the older man just gave him a grin.

“Taylor was a daddy’s girl too. Thank you, Mr. Barba. I know you could have tried to continue this.”

“I don’t want to draw this out for you anymore, I assure you. If it means unorthodox company, so be it. We may be waiting for a while.” 

He settled the coloring book on his briefcase, and Catalina sat on the bench beside it, using it like a makeshift desk. He entrusted Brandon to watch her while he stepped to the clerk.

“How long is the wait running for The People vs Aerie?” he asked, and he remembered why he didn’t like this one.

“Who’s the cutie?” she asked, popping her gum as she slowly looked at the docket.

“I asked a question,” he said impatiently. He didn’t want this day to be about his child. He wasn’t even sure he liked sharing her with work. The divide, save the friendships he’d made, was too deep. Fin, Amanda, Liv, and Carisi were one thing. Everyone else? He was fine without them. 

“Geeze, I’m just wondering if she’s your niece or somethin’. It’s hot seeing a man with a kid.”

“She’s my daughter. Her mother is out of town and there was miscommunication with the sitter.”

“I didn’t know you were married, counsellor.”

“Please just give me an estimate.”

“Couple hours. I’ll bump you as far up as I can.”

“Thank you.”

He turned to see Catalina chatting happily to Brandon, and he thought it might be a blessing she was here. Brandon hadn’t been handling things well. Sure, he was handling things better than Rafael had; he let his wife and daughter be there for him. But he was also treating himself as less worthy now, grappling with the reality that he’d ended a life even if he didn’t regret doing it. He’d confided in Rafael as they prepped that he worried he was never going to be good again. That’s when Rafael did something that confirmed the change in him: he was vulnerable with him. They talked about something not many people had in common. Ending a life changes you, and though they did it for different reasons, both felt they’d done what they needed. 

“She’s smart as hell,” Brandon chuckled, watching Catalina color. “And looks exactly like you.”

“I’m very fortunate. Her, not so much,” he joked, hand resting on her back as he sat back down so she was between the pair of them. 

“Cute co-counsel,” Carisi said, stopping by. 

“Mr. Sonny!” Catalina grinned, and Rafael almost grinned. Carisi, while Rafael would always give him hell, attended their church, was overall a good guy and attorney, and had become one of Catalina’s chosen few during playdates with Jessie and Billie Rollins. He’d even been babysitter one Saturday night to give Rebecca and Rafael a night off, so he was developing soft spot for the young ADA. 

“Cat!” he grinned, leaning down and hugging her. Catalina didn’t let go, and Sonny put his briefcase down to hold her for a minute. “What are you doing here?”

“Protecting papi’s briefcase!” Catalina spoke well for her age, but he was going to miss the staccato of her toddler chatter. Carisi and the abuelitas and the squad could all understand her easily. They all had enough experience with kids. There had always been a delay between her words and his replies at first. Words would break up or run together, and he’d have to process things. Now it didn’t matter how she strung the noises together; he got it as easily as Rebecca.

“Wow, big responsibilities, kiddo. I gotta go to court. I’ll see you soon, okay?” he grinned, ruffling Catalina’s hair before she climbed back to the bench and leaned against Rafael. He was proud that his daughter hurried to his side when she wanted protection from the strange place and people around them. It made him feel like he was doing something right. The clerk, as annoying as she was, did get them moved up, and Rafael carried Catalina in, setting her on the bench directly behind his seat. After a few moments, she got nervous, standing and leaning against the bannister as everyone got settled. Rafael quietly urged her to sit as everyone settled in, looking over the file before him. She didn’t, looking around at the busy courtroom, and he set his mouth in a line, picking her up and fighting the urge to smile as her arms wrapped around his shoulders and her head came to rest on his shoulder.

“Do you need a continuance, Mr. Barba?” the judge asked. He’d been in front of this judge before. Last time, it was as a prosecutor in the Martha Hobbs case. He supposed that was why there was a tone of amusement in his voice. There goes whatever reputation he had left, but it didn’t bother him like he expected. 

“Not at all,” he said breezily. Suddenly, he realized he’d perfected that parental stance. The one where fingers laced around the toddler on his hip, but he could still take back a hand to turn pages and write notes. He’d always thought it was some kind of magic when Liv did it with Noah. “Shall we move ahead with Mr. Aerie’s arraignment?”

“Of course. Nothing unusual here.” Rafael fought the urge to roll his eyes, cutting his eyes to the ADA for this case covering a laugh. He was just glad it wasn’t Carisi this time.

“He’s weird,” Catalina whispered, well aware of how to keep her voice quiet enough only her father could hear her. He squeezed her gently, the corner of his mouth tugging up. Soon enough, Brandon was being escorted to pay bail, and Catalina had commented on the whole affair. She’d done much better than he’d expected, so he knew he’d be taking her for ice cream. His biggest worry had been the courtroom with it’s crowded benches, but she’d settled in just fine on his hip. 

It was still strange to him the way he could be a source of comfort for her, and he felt the weight of responsibility in the best way. She trusted him implicitly, looked for him when she needed comfort. Sure, she’d leave his side for a friend, but she’d always want to come back and climb onto his lap. It struck him again how unimaginable his father’s behavior was. In fact, he’d thought about it a lot as he took care of Catalina, especially the past few days with Rebecca gone. His first instinct with her was never anger. Occasional frustration with a tantrum, but she was learning to understand the world and needed him to make some part of it safe and consistent, not scary and volatile.

“Bye Mr. Aerie,” she said softly as they parted ways, Brandon’s wife ecstatic to get him home. Taylor was still in the hospital, and they’d be spending the night by her side. This case made him wish he could keep Catalina with him forever, safe from the kind of people he’d seen in his tenure at SVU. She wrapped around his knees on the steps of the courthouse as he answered questions. Media moved on, and they didn’t want to examine him anymore. They just wanted the statement and to follow Brandon into the waiting car. He would’ve held his daughter close, but he didn’t want her face plastered on the news. Rafael didn’t leave the Aeries until the SUV’s door closed, Catalina’s hand held in his. Once they were gone, he scooped her up and started towards the ice cream parlor he knew was only a couple of blocks away.

“You were very good today, mija,” he smiled gently, kissing the top of her head. “I think we ought to go for a walk and get you some ice cream.”

“Really?” she asked, and her smile was wide enough he could not say no if he wanted.

“Really,” he nodded, laughing as she pressed a kiss to his cheek.

“Gracias, papi!”

A long time ago, he would have tried to maintain the composure and seriousness from inside the courthouse until he was far from where anyone could see him this relaxed. Now he was adjusting his briefcase, as his daughter told him all about what she wanted on her ice cream. She wouldn’t take a nap that afternoon after the amount of sugar he was about to give her, but he had a feeling the grin he’d get, her face covered in melted chocolate and ice cream, would be worth it.

“Ms. Olivia!” Catalina’s voice made him follow her gaze, seeing Liv making her way to the courthouse. 

“So that’s how you got Brandon moved up the docket.”

“I added a one to the date when I texted mami to babysit while Becs is gone,” he said, mouth set in a line again. He didn’t like the fact this story was both unavoidable and going to be told forever.

“So Cat got to come to court?”

“Al and Rodney are with Becs. Mami is in Florida.”

“I was so good,” Catalina said proudly. “And Mr. Brandon got bailed.”

“Recognizance didn’t work?” she asked.

“He has the means to flee. But the bail is minimal. We’re going to get ice cream.”

“Because I was so good,” Catalina added, face serious as she nodded.

“You were, mija. Say bye to Oliva.” 

Soon, they were sitting at a table in the ice cream shop, and there was far more ice cream in front of Catalina than Rebecca would ever approve of. He’d originally said one scoop, any toppings, but then she asked with wide eyes if she could get three flavors. Normally, he’d try to say no, but not today. She’d been good at the courthouse, plus he was the one she inherited her sweet tooth from. They’d gotten four scoops and every topping she wanted with an agreement she’d share with papi. He’d almost teared up when she said I always share with papi. Almost. But now he was taking a picture of them together, trying to decide how much he hated that he took selfies now. But, he only took selfies like this, of him sitting in a low booth with Catalina beside him and the massive sundae between them. Surely, that didn’t count? He sent it to Rebecca anyway.

Guess who was an angel in court. We miss you, mami.

Certainly not the hot one. Proud of her. I miss you both terribly.

What time do you get home tonight?

Eleven. The boys are dropping me off. And I’m guessing that sugar means you’ll both be up.

I’ll be up either way. Te amo, hermosa. I hope the trip has been good to you.

I love you, handsome. It has been, but I miss my family.

“Should we video call mami when we get home?” he asked when sticky hands had been cleaned as they walked back to the car. He saw familiar faces passing them by, giving nods as they approached the courthouse they’d parked near. 

“Yeah!” she nodded eagerly, and Rafael could see the energy hitting her. 

“Or maybe we call her from the park? Then you can play! Run around and swing and slide.” He was humming each activity, pressing kisses to the top of her head. He hadn’t taken her to Central Park yet, and he’d been to the Billy Johnson Playground on the east side with Olivia and Noah when she’d needed a friend. It looked like an old part of the nature around it, making him think of the stories Catalina was so fond of. She liked gnomes and cottages in the woods lately, and the little park fit right in. Plus, the focus was more on what she could run on and climb, but still with the swing he could push her on when she got tired. When she did get tired, he could rest with her at the little gazebo and feel secluded and out of the city.

Maybe they needed a vacation.

“Yes!” she giggled, hugging his neck. He smiled, stopping at the car to order an Uber. To and from court was all the driving he intended to do. He traded his briefcase for the diaper bag, leaving his vest and blazer now that the day had warmed up and tucked one of the blankets Rebecca insisted was in case of emergency in the diaper bag. 

“We’re going to a really special park.”

“Why’s it special?”

“You know the pretty one the zoo is at?”

“Yeah?”

“Papi knows a cool playground there. It looks like gnomes live there.”

“That is cool,” she said, her excitement apparent. He loaded them into the car, ever grateful to not have to drive, and tipped generously when the driver was kind enough to drop them off away from the zoo. As soon as they were in the park, Catalina wanted down, her hand in his as they walked along the path.  When they got to the little gazebo, he stopped, and Catalina looked up at him quizzically.

“Want to call mami from here?” She lit up, pulling herself to stand on the bench he sat on. Rebecca was packing up, he knew, so he wasn’t surprised when she answered quickly, blowing her hair from her face. When she fully registered it was them, she grinned. 

“Mama!” 

“Catalina!”

“Becs!”

“Raf!”

Rebecca was relieved to see the day really must be going well. Catalina was giddy, blue from what Rebecca guessed was cotton candy ice cream staining the cuff of her sweater as she pushed her hair back. Rafael was smiling, the one that showed his teeth and crinkled his eyes. They still hadn’t been home, but the image of Rafael in the dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up, his tie and suspenders featuring the same shade of pink as their daughters pants was perfection. She wasn’t sure he realized how often he did it, but she didn’t want him to stop matching their daughter so she’d never tell. 

“You guys seem like you’re having fun! Maybe it’s good papi can’t type.” This time Rafael laughed because he was kind of thankful for his snafu. This weekend was only his third or fourth time out and about with Catalina for more than a trip to the park or run to the grocery store. This weekend, they’d gone to a museum and church on their own, and now they were having another daddy daughter day. He liked it. 

“Papi and I had...lunch....that wasn’t ice cream. And now we’re at a special playground!”

“The Billy Johnson Playground at Central Park. I’ll take pictures for you, mami.”

“You two will have fun. You’ll have to show it to me one day.”

“Secret park!” Catalina said seriously and his smile grew broader, arm around her middle. 

“Maybe we can show mami this part before?”

“Deal.” They said their goodbyes soon enough, Rebecca heading to the airport. He watched as Catalina walked just a couple of steps ahead, looking back over her shoulder to be sure he was there. Her eyes lit up when she saw the park, and Rafael was glad to see there were other kids her age there. They hadn’t quite found her a group of friends her own age; Fin’s grandson, Jaden, was one of only a couple, and Rafael didn’t know the other two well. He stayed close to her as she hurried to the climbing set, taking pictures and sending them on to Rebecca. Mostly, moms and nannies were there, and he felt slightly out of place. When he was in groups of parents, he always found himself wondering who knew. Shifting awkwardly, he nodded towards them and went back to watching his daughter with a fond smile.

She’d found two sisters, one her age and one who looked to be about five. The older girl was helping the younger two navigate the playset, leading them to slides and climbing nets easily. Each time Catalina looked unsteady on her feet, which was often given her age, he wanted to scoop her up, but apparently it was important to let her take a tumble or two. Rafael didn’t like that idea or the fact that they had to keep bandages in the diaper bag. Luckily, the time she did fall, landing on her rear with her legs out, the older of her new friends laughed and helped her up. 

“I’m guessing white sweater is yours?” a man asked, and he chuckled. 

“Yeah.”

“Her new friends are mine. Flower pants and leopard dress.”

“They made friends fast.”

“Is she into princesses and fairy tales?”

“Yeah. Especially gnomes right now?”

“Sarah is my eldest. She’s obsessed with Fairies.”

“Makes sense. Catalina like fairies too.”

“She and Megan look the same age?”

“Two and a half?”

“Right on,” he chuckled. “I’m Hank.”

“Rafael. I think we’re the only dads here today.”

“Yeah. It’s normally just me during the day when we’re here. I’m a writer, so I can stay home while my wife’s at work. You’re all dressed up though. I’m guessing this isn’t your normal day?”

“I’m an attorney, but I work from home.”

“How does that work?” 

“I work with the Innocence Project. Meetings with defendants are Mondays. I can do the paperwork and brief writing from home. Then court when needed. I take defense work on occasion, like today. Sitter fell through so Cat had to come. My girlfriend is a teacher, and she snuck off with her friends for a long weekend.”

“My wife’s a school librarian. We picked those educators, huh?”

“Apparently.” It felt so normal to be talking to him, and Rafael thought to himself maybe he could have a dad friend now. His friends from Harvard and the DA’s office and SVU had kids, but they’d always have been work colleagues first. There was no erasing what they’d seen together, the tension over cases, the Householder case. Hank seemed nice enough, and they had similar lives. At least they could team up on park trips since it turned out their usual stomping grounds overlapped. 

God, Hank looked like a writer though. He had on a thick flannel over a t-shirt, and tattoos peaked out of the rolled up sleeves. Slim fit jeans and black sneakers, the cool kind not the functional kind, just rounded it out. He was tall and lanky and younger than him, and Rafael suddenly felt he could be Catalina, Megan and Sarah’s grandfather. Hell, he technically could. Still, he was new to this, and he supposed most men in their fifties weren’t settling down with a partner for the first time and raising their first child. Besides, Hank was probably still a little older than Rebecca.

“Megan scraped her knee,” Sarah said, running over to the two men, followed by Catalina holding the hand of teary Megan. 

“Shit-”

“Dad, that’s a bad word.”

“Shoot,” Hank corrected. “I forgot the bag.”

“I’ve got bandages. Princess ones,” Rafael said, digging the box from the diaper bag. “There’s neosporin in there too.”

“Thanks.” 

Catalina climbed on Rafael’s lap, and he could tell by how she laid back against him that he had succeeded; she was tired out. Rafael didn’t want to go yet, able to hear Hank saying they’d head home once Megan was patched up. Was making friends as an adult always so much like asking for a girl’s number was when he was younger? He hadn’t been a dad for long, only a few months. Maybe having someone other than Rebecca he could call during tantrums and long days would be good?

“Hey, before everyone heads out, maybe we can all meet at the park again sometime? The girls seemed to really get along.”

“Yeah, that sounds good,” Hank said, digging out his phone and handing it to Rafael. “Put your number in. I haven’t made many dad friends who aren’t also writers or don’t have traditional office jobs. We’re both basically house husbands.”

“Yeah. And it’s hard.”

“Easier than it was two years ago though, right? Five’s even easier.”

“I actually only found out I was a dad in December. It’s a long story. But it’s easier now than in January.”

“We’ll delve into that at the park later this week?”

“Perfect. Do you take insurance?”

“As long as you’ve hit your deductible. Send me the pictures of the girls, okay?”

“Will do,” he nodded as they walked towards the sidewalk. He’d ordered an Uber to take he and Catalina back to his car. Soon enough, he was cooking her dinner, watching her dance around the kitchen to the soft jazz he was playing, and Rafael was grateful for the break from Disney. Not having Rebecca’s return each evening made him appreciate even more how much she’d had to do to keep their daughter happy and healthy and safe for the last two years. He needed the time he’d had to heal, but he often wished he could go back and be here to help sooner. It was his own fault. Instead of pressing the guilt down like he used to, he let himself acknowledge it, tucking it to the side instead as he settled a bowl of macaroni in front of Catalina. Once she was tucked in, he put his feet on the coffee table, working on his laptop and only pausing to send Hank the pictures he’d snapped of the girls playing. He heard Rebecca at the door at eleven, just like she’d estimated, and he hurried to meet her. 

“Heya, handsome,” she grinned, and Rafael could feel the stupid grin split his face.

“Welcome home, hermosa,” he beamed, pulling her in and kissing her deeply. 

“Missed me?” she teased as she smoothed his hair.

“Terribly,” he nodded. “I’ve been spoiled to see you every day.”

“It seems like you and Cat had a good time though?”

“Yeah. We went to the Children’s Museum Saturday. Then Sunday was mass and lazy movies. Today was hectic, but good.”

“Yeah? You two seemed happy at the park. And ice cream for lunch.”

“We had a lot of fun at the park. She made friends with two girls, Sarah and Megan. They have a playdate Thursday.”

“Oh yeah?” she chuckled. “You finally click with the playground moms?”

“Hank. He’s a writer, and his wife is a school librarian. His girls are two and five. He’s home with them most of the time.” Rebecca couldn’t help but grin at how he tried to pretend it was just convenient. 

“That’s cool. I bet it could be nice talking to non-police or court affiliated people, hm? Maybe you two could grab a beer sometime.”

“We’ll see. He’s surprisingly nice to talk to. Sarah and Megan have the same tantrums.”

[nazali]

wayhaven chronicles ocs since i actually have proper ones now ✌️

      miguel ramos (he/they)  ➜  adam route. charming, impulsive, sarcastic, friendly, easygoing. heart, optimist, team player. deduction/knowledge-focused, working on research. joined wayhaven pd to put his mind to use. bright apartment. murphy escaped but avoided bite, bobby path, let tina find out the truth.       kash taylor (she/her)  ➜  ava & nat love triangle route. intimidating, impulsive, sarcastic, stoic, stubborn. heart, pessimist, independent. physical-focused, working on combat. joined wayhaven pd as an alternative to the military. basic apartment. captured murphy without being bitten, douglas path, let verda find out the truth.       freyja nilsson (she/her)  ➜  nat route. intimidating, cautious, genuine, stoic, stubborn. mind, pessimist, team player. physical-focused, working on combat. joined wayhaven pd for its structure and rules. minimalist apartment. captured murphy without being bitten, bobby path, neither tina nor verda found out the truth.       sundae young (she/her)  ➜  farah route. charming, cautious, genuine, friendly, easygoing. heart, optimist, team player. people-focused, working on research. joined wayhaven pd to help people. vintage apartment. captured murphy but was bitten, douglas path, let tina find out the truth.       james “jamie” evans (he/him)  ➜  mason route. intimidating, cautious, sarcastic, stoic, stubborn. mind, pessimist, independent. science-focused, working on research. joined wayhaven pd to avoid jail. high-tech apartment. murphy escaped after biting him, bobby path, let verda find out the truth.

[heresathreebee]

Garrote part 2

[Starz Power Diego Jimenez X Jazmine Mann (Black!OC)]

Word Count: 1591 words

Warning(s): Rated teen (until like chapter 6?). Language, more mentions of human trafficking. Previous Masterlist Next

AN: I got excited and I couldn’t wait to post this tomorrow. The OC finally appears here. (Diego looks like he’s trying to incite a three way and/or sexy shenanigans in this photo)

@1zashreena1 @nicke0115 @mental-bycatch

Diego didn't like Agent Healy. He didn't like anything about this scenario or the way the man just knew about the baby or where to find them. Alicia and Diego were some of the biggest criminals in North America and nobody was supposed to know they were even on this side of the border. There was no doubt in Diego’s mind that Alicia blamed him for it. But regardless of fault, Healy did know, and for that, the man had Alicia's confidence (if even by a frayed thread) and his instructions were easy to follow. 

Healy hadn't given him a name nor a description, so Diego, with nothing but an address and a time, walked into a convenience store at 6 in the afternoon. She'll know you, was Healy's only explanation. Diego deeply regretted this already. 

The bell on the door rang twice and as his eyes swept across the floor, it was mostly empty. The employee behind the counter barely looked up at him. There was an old drunk woman leaning over the beers and a younger woman in deep contemplation over which trail mix she wanted. 

Feeling out of his element, he wandered through the snack section, glancing over to the young woman again. She was kind of cute. Straight hair pulled into a high ponytail and glasses perched at the end of her nose. He was going to say something (he didn't know what) when she looked up angrily and tossed the bags in her hands back onto the rack. 

"When are you going to get vegan options in this store," she yelled at the employee. 

The employee's exhausted eyes lifted from inspecting her fingernails and she pointed lazily, "next to the beer. It's only drinks, sorry." 

The young woman looked nervously at the swaying drunk woman standing guard of the path, then caught Diego's staring and disappeared as quickly as possible. The sour gummy worms Diego had in his hand returned swiftly to the shelf in a calmer imitation of the fit the other customer had thrown not seconds before. He grabbed a case of beer and twizzlers before heading for the counter. He felt foolish– he didn't know what to do or who he was meeting or even what the next step would be. The employee looked over him seeming to sense his disgruntlement. 

"Just this?," she asked. He nodded, watching her try to scan the items, fail, sigh in annoyance, and then manually enter their item codes to the register. He took a second to admire the radius of her curls. The black hair turned a caramel color at the ends and he imagined her hair tie holding on for dear life to contain the thick mass. Should it snap, the poof would be magnificent. 

"OK, $7.23." 

"That's it?" He gave her his card and ID but looking over his items, he decided to take it back. He was overpaying for this garbage. He noticed her stiffen as she spotted the name on his card. 

"You're Diego Jimenez?" 

He raised an eyebrow. "Yes…?" 

He didn't like the way her shoulders slumped suddenly. Women didn't react like that– scratch that– no one reacted that way to him. Fear or arousal, but never… resignation? She looked like she was mourning something. Finishing the sale, she gave him back his cards and grasped his wrist to keep him from leaving. This shocked him– nobody was stupid enough to lay hands on a guy like him. 

"I'm Jazmine." As if he couldn't read the name on her tag, but then she continued, "I'm your new girlfriend." 

"What?" 

"Just"- the bell of the door chimed behind him– "play along," she whispered. 

"Bella!" An overly joyful white man walked over to the counter with a bright, familiar smile. "Mi primadonna. So lovely to see you again." 

Jazmine chuckled in that 'I get paid to do this' sort of way. "Well, you know I'm always working!" 

"Of course, of course," he replied, fishing for his wallet. He wore a suit– not expensive enough to be tailored but it wasn't overly unfitting– and his hair was beginning to thin at the top. Jazmine reappeared from the store's office with a bag of prepared items in it seemingly just for this guy. Upon noticing her, he gasped in surprise and pouted his lip like a young girl reacting to getting a present from her first boyfriend. "You hold the key to heart, and every time I see your face it makes my day just a little brighter." 

Jazmine bowed her head to hide behind her bangs (were they bangs? They were textured and fell over her forehead short of her eyes). "No need to thank me, I always enjoy your visits." 

If Diego wasn't so confused, he might have noticed her lying through her teeth. At the present, he was distracted when this cheery, overly doting man looked down to find Jazmine's hand touching the wrist of this stranger. Something dark flashed in his eyes. 

"Who's this?" 

Jazmine hopped over the counter, planting herself directly in Diego's personal space, and caressed his arm. "This is my boyfriend Diego. Diego, say hi." Diego looked between him and her. "This is Jeremy. Jeremy Haagen– the guy I've been telling you about." 

"Oh," Diego managed. Go with it. "Hi. Nice to finally meet you." 

Jeremy Haagen's jaw ticked but he reclaimed his smile, albeit with a chip on the shoulder. He spoke to Jazmine, not Diego. "It's nice to know I am on your mind even when I'm not around. I think I'll be going– I've got an early day tomorrow. Goodnight, Miss. Mann. And, uh, it was nice to meet you as well, Di-e-go." 

He disappeared quickly into the rapidly growing cover of night. Jazmine was practically giddy. She lay backward across the counter top like a happy cat and stretched so a sliver of her belly showed. "I've never had him leave so quickly. I should have thought of this months ago!" 

Diego hummed resisting the urge to reach out and touch her. To satisfy his lust or his annoyance, he couldn't say which. He watched her roll back into a sitting position and meet his eyes, now a little sheepish. 

"I guess I've probably got some explaining to do… I can't do it right here, right now, it's probably best if we wait til we're somewhere less public..." 

~

His phone showed it was 9:45 pm in bold font, indicating it had been hours since the strange incident. Jazmine Mann was indeed the woman he was supposed to work with– a specimen he never expected to tangle with. The good news was that she knew a little of Healy's scheme– and the better news was that she wasn't overly fond of the man either. 

The terrible, terrible, awful news was that her shift didn't end for fifteen more minutes, and her replacement was always late to their shift. Jazmine watched over the store, stocked shelves that looked virtually OCD with how untouched and organized they were, and finally she escorted the drunken Chinese woman out the back door and across the street, then returned and immediately went back to cleaning. Diego was beyond bored. His soul had left his body and was back at his penthouse suite getting sucked off by that vegan yoga instructor from earlier. He was nearly asleep when his head hit the window and woke him up with a growl. 

"Can we fucking go?," he snapped. "Fuck your job. Nobody's been in here for hours." 

Jazmine sighed, unperturbed by his lack of etiquette. Her hand drummed on her thigh until she shrugged. "OK. I have to lock up first, then we can go over to my place and talk about things." 

Diego grunted and pushed off of the counter opting for a smoke to calm him. He made it a point not to watch her work because watching her was like watching molasses on a hot summer sundae. It didn't mean he didn't notice whenever her shadow passed by, or when the lights behind him finally went out. He was lighting a second cigarette when at last, she locked the front door. She had traded the dull red work vest for a jean jacket, allowing the music band logo of her shirt to show proudly. They walked seven goddamn blocks through city streets to get to her apartment and even with his gun tucked into his pants he had never felt more unsafe. 

"So what did Healy tell you?" She secured every lock on her door and sat down without offering anything to drink. So she didn't get many visitors-- alright then, he wouldn't put out his third cigarette. 

Diego cleared her coffee table none too gently and sat facing her. "A whole lot of bullshit. Said he's trying to dismantle and trafficking ring and that you were going to need some help getting the job set up." 

Jazmine bobbed her head. "OK. Healy let me be in charge of the details, but since the set up was already in affect, he's just taking advantage of an opportunity." She said the word opportunity while making air quote gestures with her hands. "That guy you met– he's the target. He's been coming into my store for the better part of a season and making unsutble passes at me almost every day. Healy says he runs most of the human trafficking around these parts– specifically the underage scene... and he left it at that so as not to compromise the integrity of my 'character.'

"I guess you and I are going to be a team." Jazmine leaned so she had his full attention. "I need you to pretend to be my boyfriend while I draw him out so Healy can snag him. Understand?" 

"Not really." 

"Good, we're on the same page then," she joked with a note of sincerity.

[messier-jin]

The Other Side

Song fic. 

Characters: Ava Iwao (OC), Azul Ashengrotto, Jade Leech, Floyd Leech. 

Words: 1569

Notes: This idea came up while listening to this cover of The Other Side. Ava is basically my version of our dear main character Yuu. This story is taking place little before the Scarabia Episode. Bonus information, Ava is bad at taking decision, so she always orders two drinks because it avoids her the dilemma of choosing.

Please also note that English is not my first language, sorry for any grammatical mistakes.

Ever since Ava sang that day, Azul wanted to get her to sing for Monstro Lounge. That day, after the overblot disaster that happened to him, she went to the piano and sang heavenly to prove him wrong with his "you don't even a beautiful voice" comment when he lured her to sign a contract with him. And she did prove him wrong… Belting, high notes, playing the piano…

She dared to prove him wrong in front of the whole Lounge, sitting at the piano which was usually used as a mere decoration. And what he did not miss was people's reaction: Ace and Deuce were smiling proudly, Grim was already cheering, Jack's ears were standing straight in attention, Jade seemed mesmerized, Floyd had a huge smile and even asked for more… And the clients of the Lounge kept their eyes on her, captivated, and applauded once she ended her performance. A real siren, even if she was only human. And Ava looked so happy, as if playing the piano and singing on the happy beat was what made her the happiest in this world. As if this place was where she was meant to be.

This was when Azul decided he had to make her sing for Monstro Lounge. She would attract more customers for sure, and she would be just were she belonged and was the happiest. A big win-win situation, right?

So why was she refusing each time he made the proposal to her? Was it because of the whole contract incident that made she could not trust him? Sadly, he could not give her wrong for being cautious, after what he did to her. Yet, he was not planning on giving up.

Today again, Ava came to have a drink - or rather two - at Monstro Lounge. It became her way to take a break from Grim's mess. She let him at the Heartslabyul Dorm (with Riddle's permission, of course) with Ace and Deuce, and she came here and ordered something.

"A milk latte and a chocolate sundae, I suppose," Jade said when he saw Ava sitting down at the counter. This is another habit she took, to sit there so she could talk with the twins. "Yes, please," the brunette smiled, before looking around her. "Is it me or is it less busy than usual?"

"It is," Jade replied while preparing her usual drinks. Ava was about to talk again, but she was cut short by a sudden weight on her back. She laughed a little, knowing perfectly where – or rather from who – this weight was coming from.

"Hello, Floyd," she noted, looking up towards the hyper eel, before feeling arms wrapped themselves around her small shape. "Little Shrimpy is back ~" he sang as a reply. He let himself fall on the chair next to Ava and kept his arms around her while Jade settled the two drinks in front of her.

"Thanks, Jade," Ava smiled. She shuffled a little to free her arms from Floyd's iron grip. She got strangely used to it, enough to know how to free herself from it… Somehow. The girl grabbed her milk latte, breathed in its sweet aroma and finally drank a few sips.

"Floyd, we are within working hours."

This voice… That was Azul suddenly coming up to the counter. Ava sighed, knowing perfectly why he was leaving his VIP room to come here. When they come across each other at school, she always smiles at him and is even down for a little chat, to talk about anything. But at Monstro Lounge, it was another story, because she knew what he wanted.

"But I want to hang out with Shrimpy," Floyd pouted. He tightened his grip around the brown girl, gaining a little squeak out of her. There he was, going into his 'not in the mood' mode. The teal haired balanced his legs back and forth, like a child, not moving from his spot. Azul sighed before looking over Jade, this glance alone enough to make him know what he wanted.

Jade managed to undo his brother’s iron grip on Ava and took a grumbling Floyd away in the kitchen. Ava looked away from Azul who sat down where her eel friend was seconds ago. “I know what you want, and the answer is still ‘no��,” she said before he could ask anything.

“The twins seem quite fond of you, I’m sure they would love to have you working here,” he commented. “You won’t have me by using them,” she cut him, “plus, pretty sure they’re fonder of the fun my clumsiness can bring them.” Ava went back to drinking her milk latte, avoiding any kind of eye contact. His eyes with his talk were a deadly combo. After all, this was how he won so many contracts in the past. The brunette knew better to look into his eyes when he was asking for anything.

From the corner of her eyes, she saw Azul take her chocolate sundae to drink a few sips out of it. “Hey!” This was enough to make her finally look his way. “You sure love sweet drinks,” he commented, putting ‘his’ glass back on the table.

It was already too late when she realized her mistake. ‘Can’t believe I fell for this,’ she thought.

Azul kept his eyes on brunette, patiently waiting. Feeling nervous under his gaze, Ava let out a long sigh. “Look, Azul, I know how you told me you were going to tone down with the contracts and shady business, but it doesn’t change the fact I don’t want to work under you,” she explained, “being part of a mafia isn’t really my thing.” Even if she said this last part with a joking tone, she was still half-serious with it.

“Dear, I’m not going to chase you down eternally,” Azul added, “but I do think this offer would benefit us both.”

“First, it feels like I’m being chase down, and second, sorry, but I’m good, busy enough already with trying to survive in this school,” the girl noted in a nervous laugh. Ever since she arrived, she went through three overblot incidents, dealing with a monster cat who refuses to cooperate, dealing with Master Raven not being of any help with returning her home, thinking her head would be literally chomped at some point, being punched by an angry overblot Dorm Leader, having a Magical Shift’s disk smashed into her head, being chased away from her own dorm and around in the sea… So ‘survive’ really was the word.

“Talking about that, we could help you with the surviving part.”

“I’m not searching for bodyguards…”

“I am sure people would come just to listen to your voice and would recognize your talent.”

“I don’t seek recognition either.”

“But you would have fun singing.”

“I can already do that anywhere.”

“And some free food and drinks from the Lounge.”

“You won’t buy me with food, as much as I love it.”

“Financial independence from the headmaster.”

Ava stopped. She had nothing to reply to this point, mainly because this was what she wanted: independence from the headmaster. He always cried about how generous he was to help her, but at the same time used this ‘help’ to make her do anything he wanted. Actually, she thought before about taking a part-time job at Sam’s shop to be a little more independent.

The young lady looked away before looking at Azul again. That smirk on his face… He knew he just found the right string to pull. Sure, he had a beautiful smile, but his smirk made her want to punch him right in the face. 

“This is what you seek, am I right?” The silver haired asked. The lack of reply from Ava was saying everything. “If you accept to perform a few songs to attract more customers, I will make sure to pay you for your work, I promise.”

…

“Being freer does sound nice, isn’t it?” He continued. “I see only winning points for you. Money, freedom, fun, being yourself… I think it is a deal worth making, but as I said, I’m not going to chase you down any longer. So, I will leave it up to you.”

A confident smile on his face, Azul extended his hand to the perplexed girl who just stared at it, trying to take a decision without falling in a trap. And at last, a sigh…

“I’m not signing anything with you.”

“It was not my attention.”

“And I’m not going to help you with anything illegal or deal-related things.”

“I was not asking you to.”

“And I have a troublesome cat to take care of, so I won’t work every day.”

“How does only the weekends at first sound like?”

“Will my pay be real money, though?”

“I would not dare to lie.”

“Can’t you give me a straight answer to this?” Ava sighed. She could not believe she was really doing this. But she finally took Azul’s hand to shake it. This was the cost of being financially independent from the Raven Headmaster. She felt Azul’s fingers wrap themselves back around her hand. Why did she feel like she fell back into a trap?

“You do know it is illegal to work without contracts, don’t you?”

“Oh my god, Azul!”

And so started Ava’s part-time job as a singer for Monstro Lounge.

[is0gild]

Ice Cream and Fire Oven Pizza - Chapter 16

Pairing: Elsa x Lea/Axel || Side Pairing: Riku x OC

Summary: Modern AU. She's an introvert ball of nerves who works at Ice Palace, a mall food court ice cream shop. He's the outgoing, sassy goofball who works at the Pizza Planet across the way. Hilarity, snark, and fluffy romcom hijinks ensue.

Word Count: 6,227

FIRST CHAPTER || PREVIOUS CHAPTER || NEXT CHAPTER

Credit for super friggin’ cute and super friggin’ amazing cover art goes to the super friggin’ talented ky-jane here on tumblr!

"No joke, you can for real get us the stuff?"

Rayne grinned over at Anna as the three of us walked side by side. "For real. I got a girl on the inside who can hook us up."

Her gaze narrowed dubiously, "Don't play me. I've been friggin' jonesing for a fix since March."

"You know I'm good for it, sweetpea," she slung an arm around her shoulders. "Trust me. My word is my bond, ya dig?"

Pinching the bridge of my nose, I puffed out a heavy sigh and grumbled, "You two are ridiculous."

A scoff from Rayne, "You'll be singing a different tune once that sweet, sweet ambrosia is warming your belly."

Rolling my eyes, I took another quick glance around the food court as we crossed it.

Still no Lea.

Boy couldn't get here fast enough.

Also, boy better hurry, seeing as how there was less than an hour left before my shift started.

My thumb absently rubbed the spot where his phone number still branded my palm as we finished crossing the sea of plastic tables and chairs, coming to a stop in front of the Lucky Cat. Working behind the register today was someone I hadn't seen before. A boy with a bandaid on one cheek and short, choppy brown hair sticking out from beneath the baseball cap he was wearing backwards.

Wait…

I squinted.

…or maybe he was actually a she. Hard to say. They were really quite androgynous, whoever they were.

Rayne smiled at us and held up a finger, indicating for us to just watch and wait. Then she stepped forward, approaching the counter. "Sup, Miharu! We're here to see…" she paused, looking around to make sure there were no eyes on her that shouldn't be, then she hunched forward and lowered her voice to a whisper, "...Spellweaver."

The coffee purveyor of indeterminate gender said nothing for several seconds, just fixed her with a dull stare. "...she's in the back, just a sec," they at last huffed before turning and disappearing through the door behind them.

"Spellweaver…?" Anna arched an eyebrow at Rayne.

She nodded solemnly, "The street name she goes by for all of her shady backdoor dealings."

"Oh good grief," I massaged one temple with my fingertips.

Deciding to steer this conversation towards something a little less silly while we waited for… ugh, Spellweaver to show up, I asked Anna, "So you really have no clue what Mother and Father are planning for this whole weekend family outing thing they're inviting us to?"

"Zip," she popped the P as she shrugged. But then she was crinkling her nose with a frown, "Weaseltown's gonna be there though."

I hugged myself, shuddering. "Thanks, that does not reassure me."

"Relax! Dad's probably just gonna be all, " she gave a lofty sniff, raised her pinkie and deepened her tone in what I had to admit was a pretty good impression of our father, "let's just put this nasty bit of business behind us, bygones and whatnot, chip chip cheerio."

"You are aware he's not British, right?" my eyelids drooped at her. I couldn't resist a tiny grin though and exhaled slowly, "...you really think he'll be that forgiving?"

"Of course! Well... that or he'll be all," up that pinkie went again as she scowled, "how dare you throw your life away like this, young lady, disgracing the family name thusly! I will not stand for it, pish posh!"

"...not helping."

Rayne shushed us as the back door behind the counter swung open again and that Miharu person returned. "Your weirdo friends are here to feed their disgusting habit," they deadpanned, speaking to their coworker that'd also come striding out behind them, presumably none other than the infamous Spellweaver.

Aka Aqua.

I should have guessed.

Gaze darting about again to ensure the coast was still clear, Rayne rapped her knuckles against the countertop, tapping out the beginning of "shave and a haircut." Aqua gave a good natured snort before responding with two knocks herself, delivering the punchline to the tune.

Seriously? What was that supposed to be, some sort of code? This was just getting more absurd by the second.

"What're you ladies in the market for today?" Aqua asked, propping an elbow onto the counter.

"We're here for… the Spice," Rayne put heavy emphasis on the word, giving her a wink that was the very antithesis of subtle. "You still got your super special secret stash?"

"Maybe," she inspected her fingernails, casually bouncing one shoulder. "You know I only stock the primo kind too. But stuff's not easy to come by this time of year. If I did have it, supplies would be getting pretty low. It'll cost ya. You got the munny?"

Anna suddenly pushed forward, grabbing Aqua by the front of her apron and yanking her down to her eye level, "Yeah yeah, you got the goods or what, bitch?!"

"Anna!" I snapped, horrified.

"What?! I was just playing along with the bit!" she defended, immediately releasing her grip.

Aqua gingerly smoothed the wrinkles out of her apron and fixed her crooked visor, "Normally just the munny and a please would suffice."

"Was your sister seriously just about to straight up shank Aqua over some coffee?" a low, amused voice said right next to my ear, making me jump. I spun around, discovering Lea snerking behind me as he straightened back up. Xion and Roxas were with him too, looking dressed to be on the clock shortly.

There was a tiny harrumph from Anna, "Everyone knows you don't get between a white girl and her pumpkin spice latte!"

That's right.

That's what this whole foolishness had been over.

Pumpkin frigging spice.

"Three please," Rayne asked sheepishly, handing Aqua the munny and shoving a hefty tip into the jar for good measure. Then she sighed at Anna, "We can't take you anywhere."

"It was a friggin' bit!"

"Hey, so," Roxas piped up, drawing my attention to him as he smirked. Xion bounced on the balls of her feet beside him, looking positively ready to burst with giddiness as Roxas leaned forward, "...are you like our new mommy?"

I blinked, "Wha-?" Then yelped as Xion, apparently no longer able to contain her excitement, threw herself at me with a squeal and squeezed me in a bone crushing hug.

"I'm so happy for you two!" Her death grip tightened and I wheezed, looking to Lea for help. He just grinned wider at me and shrugged. The useless punk. Thankfully, Xion pulled back, seizing me by the shoulders instead. "Tell me everything! How did it happen? When did it happen? Was it love at first sight? Gah, I still can't believe you two kept it a secret for so long and even guilt tripped me over that harmless lil car prank, you jerk!" she punched Lea in the arm, forcing him to hiss out a pained "ow."

Served him right.

The abrupt sound of someone noisily clearing their throat cut through the air. We turned to find a lanky guy with wavy, ash blonde hair down to his shoulders standing nearby, his lavender eyes giving us a pointed look. "Pardon me, if you would…?"

Apparently we were blocking his path to the Lucky Cat register where Miharu was currently stationed at.

"Oh!" realization struck Xion and she hurried out of the way, dragging me with her.

"Thank you," he bowed his head to us before sauntering up to the cash register with a sly grin, "Well well, don't you look absolutely ravishing today, my fiesty little barista of love."

"Bite me, Joshua," Miharu ground out flatly.

"Only if you insist," he purred.

I was distracted from that exchange by a steaming to-go cup suddenly popping up barely an inch in front of my nose, making me stagger back a step. "Here ya go, sweetie!" Rayne chirped from behind the latte she was offering me.

"Thanks," I mumbled as I took it, giving her a tiny and somewhat dazed smile as I struggled to keep up with the whirlwind of activity going on around me. Too many different things were going on at once and it was all just a lot, okay?

"Ah!" Anna sighed loudly and happily after taking a long, deep swig from her pumpkin spiced beverage. "Pure heaven!"

"Amen, sister!" Rayne cried, chugging some of her own. Then she gasped, snagging Anna's arm and gesturing towards the Ice Palace. "Look! Kristoff's on shift! Think you can work your feminine wiles and score us some free sundaes?"

"Ray-Ray, please. You worked your magic, now watch me work mine. Hold my drink." She handed her cup to my roomie, cracked her knuckles and skipped off, singsonging, "Yoohoo, Kristoff!"

That poor boy was about to get played like a fiddle.

Rayne spared a look my way, grinned and elbowed my arm before casting a significant glance towards Lea. "Have fun," she half whispered, half giggled to me before running off after Anna.

"We should probably get going too, Xion. Gotta punch in," Roxas said as he eyed the massive overhead clock on the other end of the food court.

"Aw man," she whined, looking from him to me. "Fine. But you and me? We're gonna talk more later, got it?" she brightened, giving my arm a squeeze before joining Roxas who waved goodbye to us as the two of them walked off towards Pizza Planet.

Lea shook his head with a soft chuckle as he watched them go, saying to me, "Ignore them. The kiddos are just super happy for us lovebirds."

"Oh." I looked down at my to-go cup, fingers fidgeting with the lid. "So you got a chance to talk to them about it."

"Didn't really have to. I think that bit of theatrics between Anna and your crazy uncle the other day spoke for itself. Whole food court's been abuzz." He flashed me a big smile, shrugging, "Face it, El. We're the new hot topic."

"R-really?" I stammered, doing my best to stop the blush I felt creeping up my neck dead in its tracks. I'd nearly forgotten about that whole embarrassing scene. I think I'd been subconsciously trying to block it out, pretend it'd all been a bad dream.

"Don't worry. It'll become old news pretty quick and chatter'll die down."

"I hope so," I frowned, taking a careful sip of my warm latte. I hated being the center of attention and having people talk about me.

"So…" his eyes crinkled as he took a step closer to me now, plucking the cup from my grasp and depositing it onto a nearby table so he could take both my hands in his. Tracing his thumbs in light circles along my knuckles, he murmured, "Hi."

That blush I'd been keeping at bay? Just called in reinforcements and broke through the bloody barricades. "...hi."

His eyes briefly flicked to our right, discreetly calling attention to the fact that Aqua was grinning at us as she prepared a mocha order. Ah, message received. We had an audience. And an audience demanded a show, one which Lea seemed only too glad to put on as he now brought my hands to his lips, placing a gentle kiss on the back of each one. "Didja miss me?"

My stomach flip-flopped. No, scratch that, it was doing goddamn somersaults like a gold medal gymnast on a set of uneven bars at the Olympics. Panicking a little, I hastily looked away and blurted out, "Miss you? Please, I just saw you yesterday. It hasn't even been twenty-four hours yet, I haven't had time to miss you."

What? I didn't know how to do the whole lovey-dovey thing, real, pretend or otherwise! Honestly, I was beginning to think it just wasn't genetically coded into my DNA.

He tsked. "That's not what you were supposed to say."

I gave him some side-eye. "What was I supposed to say?"

"Hm, I dunno… something like," he transferred his grip to my wrists, pulling my hands up to cup his cheeks, "how much you longed to see this gorgeous face again and how you cried yourself to sleep just counting the seconds until you could look upon its beauty once more."

"...I am not saying that."

"Huh," he smirked down at me. "Funny how ya didn't deny it though. Don't worry, we can work our way up to it."

I snorted. "Don't count on it."

A tiny laugh came from the Lucky Cat. With him still holding my hands to his face, we both looked over to see Aqua hiding a smile behind her fingers. She shook her head, "Sorry, pretend I'm not here. You two are just very cute."

I jerked my wrists free of his grasp and opened my mouth to say we most certainly were not. However, Lea was faster with a chipper, "We know!" With that, he picked up my drink once more, slipping his free hand into mine and cooed, "Let's go, shnookums," before walking off with me in tow.

Stumbling a few steps before matching his stride, I glanced back to make sure we were out of earshot. Then I looked at him. "No."

He cocked an eyebrow. "No what?"

My nose scrunched up. "Shnookums."

"Yes, sugarplum?"

I blanched. "No, that's not- I wasn't calling you-" I sighed, recomposing myself. "I was saying no to that pet name. Sugarplum's out too."

Lea pouted, "Aw, but they're classics. You sure you want to keep vetoing all of these? Pretty soon I'll have to start thinking outside the box."

"I'll take my chances."

"Suit yourself, don't say I didn't warn ya though." He then nodded to my cup, lifting it up slightly, "May I?"

"Uh…" I blinked. "...sure, go for it."

He took a sip then abruptly stopped us in the middle of the food court tables. "Shit, that's actually pumpkin spice. I thought your sister was only joking. October is still months away, how'd you guys manage to get your hands on this?"

My mouth pursed to one side. I can't believe I was about to say this. "...I know a gal who knows a gal."

A snerk huffed out through his nostrils. "Aren't you legally required to be wearing a trench coat and in a dark alley to say something like that?"

One corner of my lips twitched up despite myself as I took the latte back from him, "Was fresh out of trench coats."

"Well then, guess we'll just have to settle for this instead," he gripped the bill of my Ice Palace cap, twisting it sideways.

"Hey!" I swatted his hand away and spun my hat forward again. "I've got connections, I'm not a rapper. There's a difference."

"I know. I just really wanted to do that." His hand snaked up again, tweaking my cap to the left now. "Boyfriend privileges. Sorry, I don't make the rules."

Sighing, I straightened it again. "I've given you too much power. You're having way too much fun with this."

"No such thing." He went for the hat yet again but I caught his hand this time, narrowing my eyes at him. He grinned, shifting the hold so our fingers interlocked together instead, causing my heart to give a little flitter.

Then he used his other hand to turn the cap to sit sideways once more.

I drooped my eyelids at him. "I'm going to throw this drink in your face."

"And waste perfectly good pumpkin spice? For shame!" he chided playfully, thankfully having the common decency now to correct my hat back to the way it was supposed to be.

Ugh, this guy. Of all the people Anna could have shoved me into the arms of in front of the Duke on that fateful day, why'd it have to be him? I'm sure she'd only picked the nearest testosterone toting individual who just so happened to be strolling by in that exact moment but jeez, why couldn't it have been, oh I don't even know… Kristoff perhaps? Kristoff would have taken this more seriously. Kristoff I didn't have a maybe sorta crush on. Kristoff wouldn't have had my face toasting every ten stupid seconds. Seriously, I swear Lea had made me blush more in the past several weeks that I'd known him than I'd ever done in the rest of my entire life combined. I'm not sure who that said more about - Lea or my ex.

Shaking my head at him, I prompted, "So you said something yesterday about coming here to do some couple-watching?"

"Oh, right. Almost forgot." Lea glanced about at the shoppers enjoying their meals all around us. "Lessee here, who do we got…?"

"Why not Riku and Rayne? I mean, I live with them and they're in on the secret, I'm sure they'd be happy to coach us or whatever." I began to lift my drink towards my mouth but stopped it a few inches short, staring down at it with a tiny frown.

"Nah, they're not just a couple, they're married. Married is a whole different animal from dating. Trust me, what we're looking for is a cutesy-wootsy boyfriend-girlfriend dynamic duo." He took a break from scanning the area to focus on me once more, noticing the look I was now giving my cup. He quirked an eyebrow, "Problem?"

My eyes flicked to his lips, then returned to my latte. Then back and forth once, twice more.

...oh grow up! It's not like the boy had cooties!

"Not at all," I muttered, hiding my small scowl behind the cup as I finally took a sip, telling myself that the slight warmth I felt in my cheeks was only due to the heat of the beverage, nothing more. "What about them?" I asked hastily, gesturing back towards the Lucky Cat where... Joshua, was it? Was still talking to Miharu. "They're a couple." He was leaning across the countertop with a devilish little smirk, bringing their faces really close. Miharu, on the other hand, looked about ready to grab the nearest banana walnut muffin from their display case and shove it up his nose. I furrowed my brow, "...aren't they?"

He followed my gaze. "Who, them? Those two are… complicated. What they got going on seems to work for them, but it's not exactly the type of Hallmark romance we want to be emulating in front of your folks. No, we want too adorable and precious for this world. We want pure, unadulterated wholesome on a stick. We want cavity-inducing sweetness. We want…" once more, his eyes were darting from one table of mall-goers to the next until at last his face lit up and he pointed, "...them! Perfect!" And off he went again, dragging me with him.

We wove our way past several tables before coming to a halt at one in particular, seated at which was-

"Kairi? Sora?" I blinked at them and they both looked up at the sound of their names.

"Oh, hey guys!" Sora hit us with the full force of that blinding smile of his.

"Hiya!" Lea chirped, pulling out a chair for me. "Mind if we join you two?"

"Please," Kairi nodded enthusiastically, twisting her chopsticks into her chow mein that looked to be from Mushu's Kingdom. "Be our guest!"

I'm sorry, but couple-watching and couple-interacting were two completely different things. This is not what I'd signed up for. Still, I took the seat with only the barest hint of hesitation, feeling Lea push it in behind me before he grabbed the one next to me, spinning it one-eighty on one leg so he could plop down into it backwards.

Eyes dancing, Kairi spoke up again, "So, to what do we owe the pleasure of being joined by the Dusk Town Center's newest It Couple?"

"...It Couple?" I echoed, arching an eyebrow as I put my drink down in front of me, fingers fidgeting with the coffee sleeve.

"Told ya, El!" Lea chuckled, folding his arms atop the table, his elbow coming to rest against mine. "Everyone's talking about us. Can you blame them though? We did have a rather dramatic debut."

"Oh gosh," I smothered my face in my hands.

"Nothing to be embarrassed over, you're fine!" Kairi giggled, then glanced smugly over at Sora. "Plus, I got to tell this loser here that I'd told him so!"

He rolled his eyes, grin never wavering. "Lucky guess. You had no way of knowing they were already dating."

"Woman's intuition," she razzed her tongue at him, tapping her chopsticks to her temple. "It's never wrong."

Welp. It was wrong this time. Lucky for her, Lea and I had a cover to maintain. Good thing too, I don't know if I'd have had the heart to tell her otherwise and burst her bubble.

"Besides," she tacked on, slurping up a noodle, "it's always been plain as day for anyone to see on Lea's face. He has that whole lost puppy look going on whenever she's around."

"I don't have a lost puppy look," Lea scratched the back of his head with a sheepish laugh before glancing my way and insisting, "I don't."

Sora sniggered, "Yeah, Kai, I think that's just the way his dopey face always loo- ow!" That last part was in response to Lea reaching across the table to flick him in the forehead.

Ignoring the boys, Kairi sighed dreamily, "It's all just so sweet! Like some sort of modern day, food court, Shakespearian romance! One from House Pizza, the other from House Ice Cream, two star-crossed lovers defying all odds to be together!"

...okay, why were we here again?

"It's not like we're from two warring families locked in a blood feud." Lea snorted and muttered, "House Ice Cream and House Pizza… what even?"

"Shush, I was being poetic!" Kairi harrumphed before lightly slapping Sora's hand away as he tried to steal some of her chow mein.

Rubbing his sore knuckles, he whined, "Aw c'mon, Kai, all this food talk is making me hungry!"

"You've already eaten twice your weight in orange chicken, you big goob!" she shot back. But when he gave her the saddest pout in the history of all mankind - nay, the history of all existence - her shoulders slumped and she relented, stabbing her chopsticks into the noodles and twirling them, "Fine, open up, doofus."

He immediately perked up and parted his lips wide. Having wrapped a sizable portion around her sticks now, she gently eased it into his awaiting mouth. For all the care she took though, some sauce still managed to get on the corner of his lips as he started to chew. Kairi gave a soft tch and told him, "Hold still." Then she took his chin between her fingers, bent forward and kissed the smudged side of his mouth, leaving it clean by the time she'd pulled back, licking her lips with a tiny smirk.

Sora swallowed his food. "Thanks, bae!" he beamed, bowing his head towards hers and nuzzling the tips of their noses together, eliciting a titter from her.

Oh. Right. That's why we were here.

These two were cavity-inducing alright. I think I was already feeling my teeth begin to rot just by being within a five foot radius of them. Dear lord, I don't think I could ever be like that, especially not where people could see us.

...was Lea suggesting I act this way?

I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye, watching as he stretched a hand across the table towards Kairi's tray and dipped a finger into some of the excess chow mein sauce on one side of her plate. Lea then proceeded to dab the goo onto his nose, plant his elbow on the table, prop his chin in his palm and lean towards me with a cheshire grin, eyes hooded and eyebrows bouncing.

Apparently, yes. That's exactly what he was suggesting.

I stared blankly at him.

Yeah, no. Not happening, pal.

"Worth a shot," Lea snerked as he reached for a napkin to scrub the smear off with.

Kairi bit back a smile, "D'aww, she's shy! That's adorable!"

"That's my baby! Wouldn't have her any other way!" he tweaked my nose with a wink.

"Oh! I just had a great idea!" Kairi clapped her hands together. "Tomorrow night, Sora and I were gonna go out with Riku and Ray. Nothing fancy, just dinner and a movie. But what if you two joined us as well and turned our double date into a triple? How fun would that be?"

I don't know… dinner and a movie? She was asking a lot of little ol' hermit me. Maybe too much.

Lea looked to me, pressing his shoulder into mine. "How 'bout it, El?"

...well… I guess… for the sake of practice…

I gave the couple across from us a shy smile. "What time were you thinking?"

Taking that as a yes, Kairi cried out in delight. "Awesome! We're all meeting up at six. You can get the deets from your roomies!" She then picked up her phone to check the time. "Crap," she hissed, jumping up to her feet, "gotta run! Selphie's gonna murder me for taking too long on my lunch break!"

"Wait up, I'll walk you back," Sora called, taking the opportunity to snatch up the chopsticks she'd dropped and shovel what was left of the chow mein down his throat faster than should have been humanly possible. Then he grabbed the tray and hopped up as well, cheeks bulging with food as he muffled out, "See ya guys tomorrow!" before taking off after his girlfriend.

"So…?" Lea asked, one side of his mouth turning up as he stole another sip from my pumpkin spice latte.

I gave a small, incredulous laugh, "No. Also? No. No, no, no. No. Did I mention no? Because just in case I didn't… no. And just for good measure: no. So in conclusion? No."

"Pfft," he rubbed a hand over his lips. "Well I understand if they may seem a bit… advanced to you…"

"Advanced?" I scoffed. "Try critical mode. I had no idea such couples existed outside of children's storybooks starring princesses and prince charmings. Do they even know they're in the real world and not some fairytale?"

Lea's head tipped to one side. "...you do realize that was some pretty basic boyfriend-girlfriend stuff… right?"

A crease formed between my eyebrows. "You mean that was normal?"

"Well," he averted his gaze, scratching his cheek, "...all couples vary and do things differently. But I wouldn't say Kairi and Sora are abnormal. There's a lotta couples out there that are just as disgustingly cute as they are, if not more so."

I bit down on my lower lip and hunched forward onto my elbows, clasping my hands in front of my face just beneath my nose. How was it I'd been in a relationship for five years and was just now figuring out that I didn't have the first clue when it came to dating? "...my ex and I were never anything like that. Not even close."

"And that," he struck up a finger, "works out in our favor. After all, you dumped his sorry ass, one, cuz you weren't in love with him and two, to be with yours truly," his fingers splayed across his chest as he grinned, "a hunky dreamboat you are in love with, or so the story goes. Now it shouldn't be too hard to sell that to your folks, given your former beau has set the bar so pathetically low for us."

"But I don't know if I have it in me to…" I trailed off, my hands clenching to each other more tightly. "...if I'm even wired to be such an absolute… googly-eyed, twitterpated… mess like those two were." My insides squirmed at the very idea.

"No problemo!" Lea jabbed a thumb into his collarbone, "I can be enough of a googly-eyed, twitterpated mess for the both of us!" He stiffened, then coughed into his fist, "That is, I mean… ya know, for the sake of appearances. If that'd be okay with you, of course."

He was talking about him being, erm… how had he put it the other day? Ah yes… touchy-feely. My eyes darted to the right. "I suppose… for appearances… as long as I have time to get used to it all and there are no more surprises."

"Speaking of, we never really did get around to going over those PDA guidelines for what gets a green light and what's a big fat no-no."

I stared down at the cup, my finger idly circling the rim of the lid. "...what did you have in mind?"

"Maybe we should start by knocking out the most obvious one." I glanced up at him now, waiting for him to elaborate. His grin faltered almost imperceptibly, "You know, the big K?" I merely quirked an eyebrow at him. Eyes shifting about, Lea cleared his throat, "...kissing?"

"Not on the lips." The words sprung from my mouth faster than I could think them, causing me to clamp a hand over it in embarrassment.

But come on now, my brain had had a full system hard crash when the guy had planted an innocent little peck on just my forehead yesterday! I couldn't even begin to fathom what a real, honest-to-god kiss on the lips might do to me. Let's not forget how poorly I'd handled the Kissident and I hadn't even known the guy yet, much less potentially had feelings for him!

He blinked, then snorted and shook his head at me. "Nah, I'd already figured that would be a total no-go. Which is no biggie, lotsa couples out there aren't comfortable sucking face in front of prying eyes. But uh…" he rubbed at the nape of his neck, "What I have been doing… back of the hand, forehead… pretty much any other exposed bit of skin, that all fair game?"

Gosh, this was a weird conversation to be part of. Not to mention awkward. I could already feel my blush from earlier waiting backstage, eager to make an encore performance. Looking away, I said, "That, uh… y-yeah, okay."

It should be fine.

If I allowed myself to get used to it, of course.

Though that was kind of a big if.

"Okay…" A slow smile was breaking out across his face and he repeated, "Okay, good. Onto the next item of business then: hugs. Yea or nay?"

Jeez, this suddenly felt so official. And yet, slightly silly at the same time somehow. I ventured, "...y-yea?"

"You sure?" his finger tapped the tip of my nose. "You don't sound too confident there."

"No, it'll be fine," I said quickly. With proper mental and emotional fortifying, I hopefully could and would survive this. Hopefully.

"Alright," his eyes crinkled as he studied me for a beat. Then, "What about this?" He reached a hand for where mine lay palm down against the table, his touch grazing along my knuckles before softly tracing down the lengths of my fingers. "...kinda like hand holding, but a lil fancier," he murmured, lifting my hand up so he could brush his fingertips to mine for a few seconds before gently flattening our palms together, lazily weaving and unweaving our fingers. "Something for idle hands to be doing when we're just hanging out. That okay?" he asked, still lightly toying with my fingers.

This had no right to be spiking my heart rate the way it was. Not trusting myself to talk as it would probably come out more of a squeak right now, I settled on a tiny nod.

He smirked as he eased my hand back down to rest atop the table once more. "...and this?" Lea gripped one of my chair legs, pulling me closer to him. Then his arm stretched out past my cheek, reaching behind my head so he could sweep my ponytail forward over my shoulder. There, he wasted no time twisting the end of a lock around one finger, playing with the pale strands of hair. "...yea or nay?" he prompted again somewhat distractedly, green eyes locked on his hand as it slowly ensnared itself further.

Was there less oxygen in the room? I swear there had to be less oxygen. Why else was it getting so hard to breathe all of a sudden? Must be all that damn deforestation going on out in the world. Curse all those big evil corporations and their blatant disregard for the environment!

Licking my dry lips, I nodded again, hesitantly at first, then putting more force behind it. "Mm… mm-hm! T-that should be… sh-shouldn't be a problem." I withdrew my hands into my lap, folding and unfolding them only to fold them again. "After all, we ah… must maintain appearances, of course."

"Of course," his grin twitched wider. "So then, what about this?" Carefully disentangling his fingers, he lifted his hand to tuck my bangs behind my ear as he started to lean forward, his face closing in towards mine.

Conceal, don't feel!

Remember, this? This was just… just an act. We were in the middle of a very busy food court. He was merely putting on a show for the masses. Just playing the role that had been given to him.

...but honestly, did he have to be playing it so goddamn friggin' well?!

I swear I could feel every last drop of blood in my body dogpiling up into my face as he closed the distance. The tip of his nose brushed mine and he shifted over to the right at the last second, positioning his mouth next to my ear. My heart hammered wildly, threatening to punch a hole through my ribcage as he inhaled, preparing to whisper something, his lips grazing against my earlobe and-

"Fwunkle-munkle."

My eyebrows twitched and I blinked.

"Splubbet. Squippo."

...were my eardrums broken?

"Flerple. Mubble-whoomp."

I spluttered and snorted. "What are you even doing?"

Lea pulled back just enough to look me in the eye with a cheeky grin. "What's it look like I'm doing? Whispering sweet nothings into your ear, duh!"

My fingers went to my mouth and I choked back a laugh, "More like sweet nonsense."

"Eh, same diff. Now if you'll excuse me, I wasn't quite finished." He bent towards my ear once more, his voice low and breathy as he continued, "Yuppet. Smoorple."

"Stop, that tickles," I was cracking up now, putting a hand to his chest so I could push him away.

He didn't budge, just moved his own hand to cover mine. "Fleegget-smeegget. Kronkle. Pixie Petal."

That last one caught my notice. "As in the ice cream flavor?"

"Mm-hm!" he straightened up now, exiting my personal bubble and crossing his arms atop the back of his reversed chair. His eyes squinted at me and he pursed his lips in thought. "...but no, that's not your fave either. It's all sparkle, no substance. You need quality. Nothing but the best for you."

Fighting a grin, I shook my head at him, "You think you know me so well."

His face softened a little as he looked at me. "...I think I'm starting to."

My breath hitched.

Oh dear. Remember that maybe sorta crush I had? I think we could now safely drop the "maybe sorta" part of it.

It was official. I'd gone and caught feelings.

For a man who was totally unavailable at the moment. A man who'd made it clear he was only doing this favor for me as a friend.

This was a dangerous game I was playing. And with someone who was much better at the game than I was, especially when you considered that he didn't even know he was playing it.

My eyes shifted about, alighting on everything and anything that wasn't him before finally landing on the food court clock. "Oh!" I took note of the time and shot up to my feet, the chair scraping along the tiled floor as it pushed out. "My shift's starting soon, I need to get going. Tomorrow then? Yeah, I'll text you once I get the specifics from Rayne. Right. So… until then."

I turned to book it but hadn't gotten more than a step before I felt his hand close around my wrist. I glanced back at him to see him standing now as well, a crooked curve to his lips. "Leaving without a proper goodbye? I don't think so."

He then pulled me back towards him, taking hold of my other wrist as well and bringing both my hands up to cup behind his neck. There he left them, moving his arms down to snake around my waist, hugging me tightly against him as he once more bowed his head down next to my ear. His breath was warm, making me shiver slightly as he whispered, "Wear my jacket for our big date tomorrow. For appearances."

Then he tipped my hat up and smooched my forehead before releasing me, shooting me a wink and walking away with a whistle.

Leaving me a blushing mess leaning against a chair for support, feeling just about ready to go supernova and obliterate all buildings within a ten block radius of me.

Oh yeah. I'd caught feelings all right.

And I didn't like it.

How the hell do I get rid of them?!

Author's Note: The whispering sweet nothings bit I wrote is one of my most favorite things ever. And at the same time, I hate it. It's so stupid. And yet, I love it so much xD Also, here, have some silliness with Aqua aka Spellweaver aka Command Style or Best Street Name For Shady Backdoor Deals Ever? You decide! And if you didn't recognize where the name came from that I used for the ice cream flavor this chapter, it's the name of a keyblade - the one you get from clearing Neverland in BBS, to be exact! That's right, I've resorted to keyblade names. I think I picked a few good ones too in the chapters ahead! That's all I use for the ice cream flavors from here on out in the story except for ONE of them, and there's a reason behind that one… which I'll only be too happy to explain when we get to it xD Anyhoo, if you were looking at the ice cream menu board, the description for Pixie Petal would probably go something like: "This lime soft serve in a green cone, garnished with white chocolate wings and gold edible glitter is sure to get you thinking happy thoughts!" Annnnnd side note: in case you're wondering, no, Miharu is not a character that appears in any of the KH games that you may have forgotten about - she's another OC belonging to my beloved bestie who I'm borrowing Rayne from xD She ships Miharu hard with Joshua from KH:DDD (or more specifically, TWEWY) so I just wanted to throw in a brief nod this chapter to that endearingly oddball lil ship!

Next chapter, how will this lil date night go? Will Elsa learn a thing or two about how to act like a sickeningly sweet couple? Now that she for sure knows she is in fact crushing on our dear fire boi, will she be able to keep her cool in front of him? Will Anna be checked into rehab for her unhealthy addiction to white girl pumpkin spice lattes? Stay tuned!

Thanks for reading, I super duper appreciate it! And an extra BIG thank you to those of you who’ve liked, reblogged, and followed so far, seeing those lil notifications always brings the biggest, goofiest smile to my face!

FIRST CHAPTER || PREVIOUS CHAPTER || NEXT CHAPTER

[jezmmart]

Chamomile Comic Trivia #15

#72 Paperwork

Was fun to start designing a little more of The Cubby in this comic. I always enjoy pokey little twisty interior design so I wanted it to be snug without being TOO cosy, it’s still just a back-of-house area after all. We get a little insight into Brianna’s inner-workings here. She’s the type to bottle stuff up, and then when the bottle is full... get a bigger bottle.

No hidden easter eggs in the office or the store-room - the text on the blurry foreground boxes just mark them as containing napkins and salt sachets.

#73 Anxiety

So... Brianna’s a character who I created before Chamomile, and was originally considering forming a new original story with her based on the idea of “write what you know”. For me, that’s crippling nostalgia. I decided not to abandon these story ideas even when I decided to use her design for Cammie’s best friend, demoting her from main character of her own work.  (By the way, I planted that seed as early as this pin-up just for my own amusement, which predates the comic by a few months - see the picture frames on the shelf in the background (ignore the really small ones, they were just scribbles lol).

Anyway, like Brianna, I get a bit obsessive over trying to retain all my childhood “things” in a bubble seperate from adult life whenever I can - for example, I was bothered when Shrek 4 jokingly used an Enya song that is of great sentimental value to me in a parody vacation commercial thing, like, how dare they.  I’ll sometimes save particularly nostalgic media viewings for weeks where I’m off work, and have muted all my work-related whatsapp groups etc so I’m not getting “adult-life” buzzing in my pocket etc. Thankfully, none of this is to any kind of clinical level where I’d have a nervous breakdown or anything over it, it just really bugs me.  Anyway... in the “what personal issues shall I give to which OC”, Brianna drew the short straw on that one.  Cammie’s advice to Brianna here is basically what I desperately try to tell myself and act upon (and usually fail or end up disappointed that I allowed myself to not indulge my obsessiveness lol).

While I didn’t mention it for the commentary on that comic, this is also what drives Brianna’s issue in #26 - the one where they go to the pumpkin patch.

On a lighter note!  I’ve never been anywhere that offers a “French Fry Sundae” but I’m pretty sure they must exist.  I imagine this as an intentional, luxury version of the blissful act of dipping hot, salty McDonalds French Fries into cold, creamy McDonalds Sundaes, an indulgence introduced to me by my RL friend Julie (who I now owe a life debt to but, worth it etc).

#74 Gone

As oppose to trying to keep a handle on making Brianna’s pokey-back-of-house design TOO quaint, I allowed myself to design the exterior of Milky’s, this perfect nostalgic place, to be fittingly unusual and fun with it’s tiny, perfectly-kid-sized bench on the left and adorable little miniature garden complete with picket fence, grass, bushes and a pond on the right. The mascot and name of the place wasn’t overtly inspired by anything, just the first thing I imagined. I definitely wanted those elements to not be too cool, the kind of thing that once upon a time would’ve been appealing to a kid but looking at it now, is embarrassingly dated and clearly designed as an uncreative adult’s idea of what kids would like (like... let’s put a face on a milkshake cup and have it saying “Hey kids!”, c’mon).

To credit some more blatant inspiration, the mini-joke halfway through of Cammie reading about Uncle Milky’s death mid-sentence was definitely my own spin on a classic gag that was a favourite of mine in both The Simpsons (“Then I get into a skydiving accident and have to be rushed to the... GRAVEYARD!?”) and Gilmore Girls (“Four hours later, Sniffy was dead...  Sniffy was DEAD!?”).

Final comment is that that particular kind of chipboard used to board up windows sometimes is one of those mundane things I never imagined I’d have to figure out how to draw.

#75 Gone

We dip a little more into Brianna’s history of having divorced parents here - while my own parents are divorced, Brianna being so overtly affected isn’t based off my own experience, I was young enough to kind of just accept everything going on in my own life.  Beyond that, the goal of this comic was to just be as sickly cute as possible, lookit babby Cammie and Bri!!!

#76 Better

Again, here Brianna chastises her obsession with nostalgia in a manner that I really always try to act upon myself but am frequently unable to lol.  Their teacher “Mrs. Banfield” is a shoutout to my own Year 5 teacher Mr. Banfield, who was one of my favourites growing up, I hope life treated him well and he’s as nice a person as my child-self’s view of him was lol.

#77 Friends

Annnnd a nice heartwarming end to this little arc, again with some good advice from Cammie that I came up with and yet am unable to follow lol.

The final gag is of course a throwback to the comic where Cammie got stuck on the slide all night.  I kept going back and forth on whether to spell it out more (with Cammie’s response potentially being “no... all those countless hours were contained within a single night actually”) but I felt the gag was funnier if it was simple and snappy, with the audience had to work for it a little bit.  Apologies if anyone out there didn’t make the connection!

If I ever get round to making a printed version, an idea I had for a back cover was the whole cast sitting in sillouhette on swings in reference to this pleasant little scene... seagull included, lol.

[More Chamomile Comic Trivia] (Above link may not work correctly on tumblr app)

[ice-cream-nekogirl]

Dusk Till Dawn (Shinsou Hitoshi X Reader) PART 6

https://ice-cream-kitsunegirl.tumblr.com/post/186591939314/dusk-till-dawn-shinsou-hitoshi-x-reader-part-5

Taglist: @estherosoro

Summary: The cold gradually gets worse for you and Shinsou as Koru’s goons continue to hunt you both down, but by staying together you and him find it easier to keep going.

I made these villains, they’re all OC’s made specifically for this series but they may or may not show up in other fanfics if I’m feeling particularly uncreative hehe…

Warnings: Some graphic violence, gore and sexual situations.

Featuring: Our Purple Son!! <3 

Chapter 6: Hunted

1 HOUR LATER

The snow didn’t let up as Shinsou carried you at least 3 miles in with the wind picking up and constantly hitting you both, and you started to wonder if Koru had actually joined in the manhunt for you both. You really hoped he didn’t because then you would probably definitely freeze out here if he lowered the temperature any further.

You couldn’t even tell what time it was after those shitheads destroyed yours and his phone, and you couldn’t use your quirk out here either. Shinsou knew his quirk was useless at the moment, and all he could do was keep carrying you and walking you both through this damn place.

At least until he needed to stop for a moment because of his sore arms and back. It had nothing to do with your weight, but he couldn’t carry you forever, especially with the wind making it difficult for him to see clearly. He gently put you down as you lowered down to sit on the snowy ground. It was actually soft, a bit firm but soft for your butt to sit on.

“We need to stop for a bit…”

You couldn’t agree more, you knew he had to take a breather after carrying you for so long, “T-Thank you for that…” Why did you sound so shy all of a sudden like earlier? Shinsou was just doing something nice for you, what’s there to be shy about?

“It’s no problem.” He replied to you casually, and he took a moment to see that there were mostly snow-covered trees surrounding you both, and the mountain further away, which was a good thing for you both. It would take them a while to find you out here he had hoped due to the heavy snow, even if Koru could clear it up the place was isolated with all these trees serving as a cover for you and him.

You sighed as you looked up to see the sky, unable to tell if the sun was going to start setting anytime soon since it was still bright blue with the sun shining brightly in the center and kinda burning your eyes as snow kept falling. “Put some snow on your ankle (L/N).” Shinsou suddenly spoke though as you perked up and looked at him, humming in confusion.

“Ice is good to use for swelling, especially for a sprained ankle.” He advised as you looked at your ankle, wincing slightly as you nearly squealed at how cold the snow felt on your good hand, you didn’t dare use your bad hand to pick up snow. The second you opened it, another drop, no two drops of blood seeped down into the snow, making your eyes widen a bit as you moved to hide it from Shinsou. And you used your good hand to ball up some snow and reluctantly, you pushed it onto your swollen ankle with a loud, high-pitched gasp as you squealed this time at the coldness.

“OH MY GOD IT’S COLD…” You exclaimed through gritted teeth as you whimpered and wiggled your legs involuntarily in response to the frigidness. However, you couldn’t deny that it kinda took away some of the ache of the sprain. But you knew it wouldn’t last forever because you can only put a minimal amount of snow on your ankle in this cold weather as you shivered. And you saw Shinsou shivering too with his arms crossed in an attempt to make it seem like this weather wasn’t getting to him.

He was only human though, and this weather wasn’t good for you or him at all. Not only that, but it was only a matter of time before the sun sets and makes it even colder for you. And then there was the fucking villains…

That was the cherry on top of this absolutely perfect sundae.

“I couldn’t tell…” He kind of snarked at you, but there was nothing mean behind it, you were just being Captain Obvious right now as he sighed, “Don’t keep it on too long, you can’t risk getting frost-bite and in these temperatures, it can happen…” Shinsou said somewhat reluctantly as he moved a bit away from you.

“Y-Yeah… yeah I know… I practically feel frost-bitten already, but I can still feel everything so… that’s a good sign right?” You asked him nervously, neglecting to inform him about your hand and you were almost thankful that his back was turned at the moment.

“Yes. If you can still feel everything in your upper and lower extremities and if you’re still shivering, then that’s a good thing. Not good per se, but it means you haven’t gotten frost-bite or hypothermia.” He explained to you calmly, approaching a tree and fumbling with his pants and zipper, making your (E/C) eyes widen with slight horror.

“What are you doing?!” You almost exclaimed with a mortified look as your face started burning.

“They made us drink a lot of water, so naturally, I’m taking a piss, what’s it look like?” Shinsou stated it rather casually despite the embarrassment settling in as he turned to face you with a pink blush on his cheeks when he saw you staring with your mouth agape and blushing bright red in secondhand embarrassment, “Well look away.” He curtly demanded as you groaned in slight disgust and gladly turned away with your good hand to the side of your face to avoid catching any glimpses as you blushed even more.

“Ugh… gross…” You muttered a little bit when you heard Shinsou’s sigh of relief and the splashing sounds of liquid pattering that was surely yellowing the snow. Gross…

“Ngh... T-This is fun f-for me too just so you know.” He muttered sarcastically as he shivered while he tried to ignore how cold it was to keep peeing.

And you were just trying to ignore what you could hear. What you would do for your headphones right now, but then you remembered, some psychotic bastard destroyed them and now you couldn’t even have that to focus on other than what was going on behind you.

You sighed, still tuning out the noises as you paid attention to your surroundings, so much white and some green from the trees, and the mountains beneath the light blue sky. The wind turned gentle for a little bit, softly blowing through your (H/C) hair and you couldn’t help but close your eyes to relax for a moment. This place was actually quite beautiful to look at, very peaceful and the fact that you couldn’t take a picture of this was INSANE.

It was a photographer’s dream and the perfect setting for a music video even, all you needed was a beautiful song by Sia or Imagine Dragons…

Maybe you could have relaxed on any other given day, because the scenery around you might actually have been really nice if a bunch of psychos weren’t chasing you and if you had thicker clothes so you weren’t freezing your ass off, and it’d be even BETTER if your stupid hand and ankle weren’t messed up.

Shinsou sighed again when he was finished as he went back over to you, “Come on, we have to keep going.” He said as he brought his hand out for you to take, and you just tried to ignore where that hand had just been as you sighed and took it, letting him help you stand back up. Making sure you didn’t put that much weight around your sprained ankle.

���Let’s walk together… it hurts but… not as bad as earlier.” You tried to downplay your injury a bit, the swelling didn’t go away, but it didn’t hurt as horribly as it did when you first hurt it. Of course, it still really hurt, but you didn’t want to exhaust Shinsou by having him carry you around the entire time. “Are you sure about that?” Naturally, he was skeptical about your claims, but you nodded.

“Yes I’m sure. Come on, we’re burning daylight if we keep arguing about it.” You said a little firmly, earning a shrug from him as he mumbled and ‘All right then’ as he put his arm around you, and you made sure to put your arm around him to let him support you as you started to slowly walk with him through the trees.

Keeping your eyes open, you looked around for any fauna that might be predatorial, since that was the last thing you needed right now or possible traps. And you also looked around for sticks and branches to possibly use for walking, and for a potential weapon in case those bastards show up.

You just prayed that they wouldn’t show up anytime soon…

MEANWHILE…

Bozo was snarling as he and Mad Dog had safely made it to the bottom of the mountain and prepared the manhunt for you and Shinsou as they walked through the snow. They were dressed up for the elements, but extremely pissed off that their prisoners had gotten out.

Koru was especially furious and more or less put Bozo’s head on the line if they let you both escape. He got what he needed, the locations of where young heroes Midoriya, Bakugou and Todoroki were at, but he still needed Shinsou’s quirk to control them, and he would need your quirk to find other young heroes to traffic.

He wanted those three, he needed those three.

In anger he clenched a fist and growled as the snow outside his window flurried and blustered loudly in response to his quavering fury. The storm inside of him raging as the room grew colder and made ice shards start to form and freeze the windows in front of him.

“Well? Raise the winds!” He suddenly shouted to a silent Tornado as the man stoically went over to the windows. Raising his hand outwards and spinning it around and around, swirling and whirling the whooshing winds as they became louder, more forceful. Wherever you and Shinsou were, the winds would certainly slow you both down and Tornado made sure of that as he pushed the winds in your direction.

He was going to murder his men if they didn’t bring you and Shinsou back…

Bozo was aware of this too as Mad Dog trekked alongside him, taking the form of a giant, disheveled and hulking dog with rough, dark grey fur as he growled lowly, smelling the snow to try and get yours’ and Shinsou’s scent.

“I’m gonna break that purple-haired brat’s legs…” Bozo muttered as he looked over at Mad Dog impatiently, but he paused when he saw the dog sniffing around a part of the snow. 

Urging Bozo to walk over as his narrow eyes slightly widened when he saw some little crimson dots in the snow.

Red Snow...

A small smirk tugging at his lips when he realized that the blood could only belong to either you or Shinsou. He only hoped that the wound would slow you both down and make this easier for him.

He then looked up to see Mad Dog trekking along a little bit closer to the trees, sniffing one of them and then the dog suddenly shook his nose at the other thing he found.

Yellow Snow…

“Ugh!” The bulky man quickly transformed back into his human form as he looked over at Bozo, “It’s goddamn piss!” He exclaimed in disgust wiping his nose vigorously to try and get the bits of the piss-stained snow off his nose. 

“AHAHAHAHAHAHA!! Blood…  blood and piss…” Bozo burst into raucous laughter at his ally’s expense, shaking his head at the implications as he grinned and moved a little bit closer, “So they stopped for a bit… and one of em’s injured if they’re bleedin’ like this…”

“And they’re going in that direction.” Mad Dog confirmed since he got both yours and Shinsou’s scent now, and he knew exactly where you were both heading as he pointed in the clear path you and Shinsou had been walking. “They aren’t far. And based on the blood… I’d say they won’t get far…” The half-man snickered and showed his teeth as he morphed slowly back into his giant dog form and started to walk ahead down the path as Bozo lowly chuckled to himself.

They were coming for you…

And you and Shinsou didn’t even know how close they were...

2 MORE HOURS LATER…

‘Wow… this place must have really sucked…’

You chuckled a little bit, thinking to yourself when you had found a pair of ski poles that had been left behind by a skier, most likely when this place was still open you assumed. And you made sure to give one to Shinsou for him to use as a makeshift weapon, while you used yours to help you walk so you didn’t lug Shinsou around with your weight. You felt kind of like an old woman at this point, but you needed it because you were still hurting, and you didn’t want to drag Shinsou down.

The two of you stopped in your tracks when a harsh gust of bitter winds suddenly surged through you both, making you both cringe and wrap your arms around your bodies as you and Shinsou shivered rather terribly. It felt as if the winds had gotten stronger in so little time, which was bad…

You hoped that it wasn’t one of the psychos’ doing…

“W-We can’t s-stop…” Shinsou’s teeth chattered a bit as he spoke, his body trembling as you moved closer in some attempt to warm him up, and yourself as you couldn’t stop shivering. “I-I… k-k-know…” You managed to say, the two of you feeling relieved when the wind settled down for a moment.

“I-I… forgot to… t-tell you I… Koru he… made me search for my friends…” You then said once you remembered that, wanting to bring a little more hope to your friend since the winds were serving to make your situation more difficult.

“And that’s a good thing?” He asked you skeptically with his arms around himself, “I managed to get into contact with them… m-my quirk… it lets me find people… telepathically… I go into this place… like a void… and I was able to distort their phones so they could see me… I told them where we’re at, and who was holding us hostage… so… I think that… help IS on the way but… w-we still have to keep going… if we’re lucky… maybe a pro-hero will be on their way and on the search… hell I think maybe some of the pro-heroes HERE can help when Izuku, Iida or Mr. Aizawa alert them.” You explained with a shaky smile and laughed a bit, wanting to just clutch onto that hope that you help was on the way and that maybe this nightmare will be over sooner than you thought.

Shinsou looked at you with slightly wide eyes, but there was still concern and his expression was somewhat dubious. He hoped that was true, he believed you, he just really hoped that help would show up, “Smart move…” He complimented you with a little smile as you giggled and blushed a little bit, “I do my best…”

You smiled and sighed a little bit, “I just hope Izuku and Katsuki are okay… they were the first ones I contacted… I have no doubts they already told someone…” As you expressed your hopes and mentioned your two closest friends, you didn’t see Shinsou roll his eyes.

“Those two.” It was obvious that he didn’t think too highly of neither Izuku or Bakugou, and you knew why. He saw Izuku as a rival, and viewed Bakugou as a pompous jerk with a brilliant quirk. He thought Izuku’s quirk was ‘awesome’ as well, but that still made him envy him.

“What? Okay… I know Izuku beat you at the Sports Fest but… he’s a good guy, it was just the game… and Katsuki…” You trailed off a bit, having to think about how to explain your explosive friend’s faults.

“Midoriya is the least terrible of them. Bakugou… that guy’s just an ass.” He muttered a little bit, aware of your friendship with the two, but had no idea how and why you were friends with Bakugou though.

“Okay… I know Bakugou can be really mean and a huge asshole but-“ Shinsou cut you off though, “Then why are you friends with him? I’ve seen the way he talks to you. I know it’s none of my business, but I wouldn’t call someone who talks like that to someone a friend.” His words were blunt and somewhat condescending because while he didn’t think you and him were very close, it didn’t mean he cared for the way Bakugou treated you. You were a General Course student, and while you and Bakugou had slowly been drifting apart, you still cared about the guy and viewed him as a friend, whether he felt the same way or not.

“You’re right.” You softly spoke, giving him a somewhat offended look, “It is none of your business.” Shoving your walking stick into the snow, you started to walk ahead of him, hearing a quiet sigh from the brainwasher.  

“And for the record, Katsuki might be a jerk, but he’s not horrible… I mean he CAN be horrible, but he takes heroics to heart, he’s a good person underneath it all.” You defended your friend, but you looked a bit more irked when you saw Shinsou roll his eyes.

“Yeah, he’s a real nice guy. Born lucky with such a great quirk… and yet he has that attitude.” He replied to you curtly, as much as he respected Bakugou’s strength, he still didn’t like his attitude. “Oh like you’re Little Mr. Sunshine…” Defensively, you snarked at him with an annoyed look on your face. “You’re already Mr. Aizawa’s protégé, you might be in a smaller place than the rest of 1-A but you’re still there dude… I’m not even close, I’m going to be stuck in the goddamn General Course for the rest of my life…”

However, you started to rant now about how unlucky you felt with your non-combative quirk that just let you find people, at least Shinsou learned how to use his in battle. “I’ve got no real skills… my quirk just lets me look for people… it sucks…” You said somewhat bitterly, before you stopped to look at Shinsou, “You’re not Izuku, and you’re not Katsuki… but that’s fine… you’re going to be just as good as they are, maybe better… because you always had the drive, ever since we met on the first day of school. From that moment I knew you were going to be an awesome hero Shinsou… I believe in you, more than I believe in myself… so… don’t forget that… all right?” You didn’t want to fight with him, so you told him how you felt about him and how you saw him from the moment you two met.

Shinsou amazed you, he might have acted like Mr. Gloom and Doom, and yet he still had his own hopes and dreams. You wished you could say the same, but you didn’t feel like your hopes and dreams were strong enough or good enough, you didn’t think you could actually be a hero, but you knew he would. He was already proving that by helping you the entire time, while you were just useless…

When you said all of that, Shinsou stared at you with a slightly shocked expression, his eyes focused on you as you averted your (E/C) eyes and started blushing a little bit. He’s never had anyone say anything like that to him before. Aizawa had seen his potential, and the students from 1-B even cheered him on even after losing to Izuku. You were his friend, and you had faith in him, he just never knew that it was real. All this time he thought you were just telling him things to be nice, but hearing you say all of that right now, in this situation, it had to have been sincere. He knew you wouldn’t lie while you were both on the run from villains.

He didn’t realize he was blushing, or how awkwardly quiet things had gotten after you were done talking. “Let’s keep going…” So Shinsou made sure that you both kept moving since as touching as your words were, it wasn’t the time to stop and chit-chat. Even if that was the most he has talked in a while, since he wasn’t much of a talker.

Funny how being in a life-or-death situation brings out different sides you didn’t know you had…

So the two of you kept walking, the snow was coming down even more and Shinsou knew that the sun was going to come down soon since it had to have been at least 5 hours since you both escaped that damn lair. But it was definitely getting colder as the winds roared in the distance and kept hitting you and Shinsou, there was nothing the two of you could do as you shivered with every forceful gust that felt like it would freeze you both.

And you were getting tired from walking so much, your ankle was throbbing in protest for you to stop but you refused and forced your weakening muscles to keep going. You had to keep going…

Wobbling, your knees gave out as you fell to the cold snowy ground, using your hands to support yourself. “(L/N).” Shinsou kneeled down to your level, putting his arm around you to try and help you up, but then he finally noticed the blood in the snow.

“You’re bleeding.” His voice was calm but there was a hint of alarm too as he picked up your bloody hand, his purple eyes slightly widening at how bad it looked. “It’s not that bad.” You shook your head with a low groan, trying to pull it away from his fingers as you grunted with effort to make yourself stand up.

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” He would have scolded you, but he didn’t want to sound like that Iida guy, even if your wound looked really bad and it was possible that you probably got an infection already, or frostbite. “It’s fine Shinsou I promise…”

“No it’s not. Let me see it.” Shinsou took your hand back, your palm and fingers having reddened and blistered as you winced at the uncomfortably itching feeling in your hand. “We need to find a place fast…” Shinsou didn’t want to tell you that you were in an early stage of frostbite, even though secretly you were starting to fear that it was indeed, frostbite so you nodded, closing your palm as the two of you went back to walking despite how tired you were both getting.

God you were so tired…

You had to stop again, you just had to as you leaned against one of the trees, panting heavily and shaking your head. “S-Shinsou… I’m… I’m sorry I just… I need to stop…”

He was worried that the infection was tiring you out, and ignored whatever warm feeling he was starting to feel in his own trembling fingers and feet. “Okay… we’ll stop for a minute, but we have to keep going afterwards okay?” Shinsou wasn’t known for being gentle, but he didn’t want you to panic or anything so he tried to speak as softly to you as possible.

As you lowered yourself down to the snow, you inhaled and exhaled deeply to catch your breath, and Shinsou sat down beside you, trying to share some of his remaining body heat with you and even taking your bloody hand in his. “S-Stop that…” You whined a little bit, your cheeks warming up even though this was the third time you both held hands. “You can’t risk the infection getting worse. My body heat should rewarm your skin at least a little bit so it doesn’t get worse.”

Shinsou pointed out the logic behind his actions, even though holding your hand like this did fluster him a little bit and it didn’t help that you gave a little laugh. “Yeah right… your hands are cold too… and you know what they say… cold hands, warm heart~.” You said playfully, trying to lighten the situation again as Shinsou shook his head and hated how he started to blush a little bit.

“That saying is inaccurate and there’s no logic behind that…” He mumbled a little bit as you giggled and smiled, actually putting your head in his shoulder and you couldn’t tell if he was shivering because he was cold or because he was nervous. “Mmm… sometimes you can’t rely on logic for everything… some things you just know based on what you feel…” Your voice almost sounded dreamy as Shinsou looked at you with slight bewilderment.

“And you can’t rely on your feelings for everything. Intuition isn’t always the best thing to follow, especially in situations like this. The heart might keep you alive, but the brain is what allows us to survive, because it’s the core of human logic. It enables us to make the right decisions if used right, that’s why you and I are still alive.” Shinsou replied, his expression more stoic as you stuck your lip out, pouting a little bit.

“Geez… you sound like Mr. Aizawa… well lemme tell you something dude… that’s true… but does the brain help you love? That’s what the heart does… the heart lets you take chances, and the heart inspires love… the heart does keep you alive, but only because it’s core of our humanity. To be human, is to love, and that’s what the heart is for.” You then argued and shared what you believed to a surprised looking Shinsou at how oddly smart that sounded. Not that you were dumb, but this was the first time you and him every had oddly philosophical discussions like this.

Logic vs Passion. The never-ending battle.

Although, you couldn’t help but wonder about something. Shinsou was correct when he said that logic aided in human survival, but you wanted to believe that your emotions and drive to keep on living helped you both stay alive too. As well as your feelings for Shinsou, not that you HAD feelings for Shinsou… or at least, you were sure you didn’t…

Yet, it was because of how you felt about him, that you wanted to keep going so the two of you could get out of this together alive. Shinsou wouldn’t admit it, but your presence acted as a drive for him, he took initiative so you could live, and so that you could be safe. He was going to get you home, that’s all he knew. You were both going to get home.

It was quiet again, so you decided to break the silence as you looked up at Shinsou with the puppy-dog eyes, “Carry me again?” You asked somewhat childishly, which just served to annoy him as he rolled his eyes, but didn’t say no to you.

“Sure.” He might have been tired, but he had enough strength in his arms to pick you up and carry you again as he let you climb on his back and he hooked his arms under your legs while you carried the poles for him when he started walking again.

Neither of you spoke for quite a while, which was getting awkward for you, but then you felt Shinsou stop in his tracks for a bit. “What is it Shinsou?” You blinked your half-lidded eyes, widening them when you saw what he was looking at. He swore he saw some kind of cabin of sorts hidden among a row of trees.

The only catch was, there was a huge empty space of icy snow that separated you and him from the only indoor building for miles. Shinsou didn’t trust it, and he didn’t want to risk walking past that in case it wasn’t what it seemed. “We’ll have to walk around this.”

“Why?” You didn’t understand though, because you couldn’t see it clearly enough. “Come on… we gotta go inside, I’m so cold Shinsou, you’re so cold… we have to get in and warm up somehow…” Desperately, you pleaded with him to hurry inside so you could get out of this cold for just a second.

“(L/N) calm down…” He tried to calm you down though when he thought you were getting agitated. “I… I-I’m just s-so cold…” You whispered tiredly with your head in his shoulder…

Suddenly…

Bozo and Mad Dog came charging straight for you both as they appeared from the blank whiteness with their hands outstretched. The men roared and screamed angrily with deranged and wild eyes as you and Shinsou sharply turned to see them, both of you unable to help but scream in horror as fear etched over your faces.

His first instinct was to run as he held onto you tightly and headed for the right, but then he froze as soon as he saw a giant dog suddenly jump right in front of him, snarling and baring it’s fangs at you both as you gasped fearfully.

You clutched the poles as hard as you could, but you let out a shout when two strong hands suddenly yanked you away from Shinsou.

“AHHHHH!” Your back hit the snowy ground as you saw Bozo growling at your corned friend. “(L/N)!” Shinsou wanted to go over to you, but he was stopped by the larger man as he grabbed him by the neck of his clothes.

“Where do ya think yer goin’?!” Bozo roared as he rammed the teenager into a tree as Shinsou let out a loud shout of pain. “Nobody makes a fool out of Bozo!”

“Shinsou!” You screamed for him when you saw Bozo already punching him repeatedly in the face and the stomach. Shinsou fought back though, stopping one of his punches as he kicked him and punched him in his sides, but the man was much larger and he kept him pinned to the tree.

“No! Stop it!” Forgetting about your ankle, you let out a groan when you put your weight on it and gasped when Mad Dog ran right towards you, barking threateningly and growling so you didn’t try anything.

Your eyes went wide as you resisted the urge to run, but then you looked at the corner of your eye to see the ski poles that you dropped. (E/C) eyes darting back and forth to the giant dog and the poles as your gut told you to just move. Swiftly, you ran for the poles and Mad Dog immediately followed you, charging at you and barking as you grabbed a pole and whacked the giant dog across the face with a shout.

The dog let out a yelp as you ran towards Shinsou and Bozo, “Hey asshole!” Raising the pole you used all your might to strike him right in the back as the man shouted in pain, letting go of Shinsou as you noticed blood running down his mouth and nose.

“Why you little bitch!” Incensed, Bozo changed his attention to you and grabbed you by the throat, “I’ll break your neck!” He threatened as you dropped your pole and shut your eyes, bracing for his raised fist but then he suddenly screamed when he felt Shinsou’s foot go up his groin.

Taking the pole, Shinsou sharply stuck the pointy end of the pole into the man’s back and again in his sides as he screamed even louder in pain. With Bozo stunned and in agony, Shinsou was given time as he grabbed your hand and took you away from the dazed brute.

“(L/N) go to the cabin, right now!” He exclaimed, alarmed and looking almost scared and even pushed you so you could run, “I’m not leaving you!”

“Just go!” Before you could protest, Shinsou tossed you one of the poles and kept another for himself as he prepared to fight back against the feral Mad Dog and an approaching, furious Bozo who was clutching his bleeding wound as the scarlet liquid reddened the snow beneath him. 

“No… really… I’m gonna gouge your eyes out and split your skull open kid…”

“Are you though?”

Shinsou gave him a tiny smirk as the impulsive man snarled angrily, “I’LL KILL YA!!!” The raging man lunged towards him along with the giant dog as Shinsou took that cue to make the man pause as Bozo’s eyes went blank. Mad Dog barked at him angrily, but when he saw that Bozo wasn’t responding it urged him to charge right after the teenager.

Alarmed, Shinsou backed away and held up the pole, threatening to stab the large dog as he took more steps back. And he gasped when he heard small cracks with every step…

Mad Dog’s instincts kicked in and he backed away from the ground, recognizing that it was ice as he whimpered and moved back to the solid ground. 

Shinsou stared downwards, seeing the crackling ice at his feet, his heartbeat suddenly racing fast as he looked in horror when he watched the shattering pieces cave in. In seconds everything appeared in a flash through his eyes, and all he could hear was the loud sounds of crystalline breaking as he felt himself sinking into the frozen darkness as he faded from the surface.

You stopped dead in your tracks as soon as you heard the ice give weight, barely paying attention to Bozo and Mad Dog. Your whole world stopped as your (E/C) eyes welling with tears when you watched your friend fall into the freezing water as you choked on a terrified sob.

“HITOSHI!”