#oh boi i planned to start preparing birthday countdowns

[schnaf]

well done 🥰💥

[kurikive]

MINECRAFT — 23. 1 MILLY LIVESTREAM SHOW!!!

The countdown got closer and closer. 3… 2… 1…

Most of Y/N’s viewers were probably expecting to see the owner of the channel herself. For some, what they were met with was much better. For Anton, much worse.

The screen faded from black to Anton in green clothes, green cardboard cutouts of cat ears on his head, and a full face of green face paint.

Behind the scenes, Y/N gave a thumbs up, indicating the voice changer filter was turned on, and it was his time to speak.

“Hello, viewers. I’m Widdung, Y/N’s alien companion. I’ve come to Earth to celebrate the milestone of 1 million people being subscribed to “isatellite”. “ Anton does his best to sound enthusiastic, and tries to stop his face from cringing.

“Widdung! Oh my gosh!” Hyewon enters the scene, “How did you get here?” She’s having too much fun with her acting lines, revoking the seriousness from everything that’s happened before the countdown ended.

The voice filter turns on again, “My spaceship brought me here, but it crashed right outs-”

The focus moves to a limping Jiwoo with fake blood on the side of her head and a fresh scratch on her cheek (done by Hyewon), “You!” She points at the bright green Anton.

The boy puts his green hands in the air and Jiwoo angrily speaks, “Your UFO crashed into my lawn!”

“Woah! Woah!” Y/N finally enters the screen with a colorful birthday hat on her head, tilted slightly to the right. “It’s not the fight to time, guys!” The other three try their best to stay on character and not laugh.

“...Time to fight.” Y/N corrects herself in a mumble. “Anyways! It’s time to celebrate!”

“Celebrate what?” Jiwoo asks.

“Hitting one million subscribers!” Y/N turns to the camera while her friends take out party poppers from behind them. The sounds of party poppers cracking and party horns fill out the audio of the livestream.

After the group finishes making noise and cheering, the screen is supposed to fade to black before the actual stream starts, but there’s no one behind the camera, so they’re left awkwardly looking at each other, then back at the camera.

“I’ll go.” Anton says, now without the voice filter. His green self quickly steps out of frame to control the stream. The screen fades to black, and a short video of the behind the scenes of the teaser photoshoot plays while the kids prepare for the next scene.

“Y/N, don’t go in there!” The sounds of the video camera tittering play before the actual footage plays. Y/N and Sooyoung, who’s filming, stand in the grass of an empty field close to the city.

When the younger starts walking towards the enormous puddle hidden in the grass, the shutter of a phone camera sounds shortly. The viewers can’t see, but it’s evident Sooyoung just took a picture of Y/N.

“Y/N your pants are gonna get-” Sooyoung is cut off by a raspy, cracking screech, “-wet…”

“Unnie!” The girl whines. The camera zooms into the wet seams of Y/N’s jeans, then pans to her pained expression. “I told you not to!” Sooyoung says from behind the screen.

The video is suddenly interrupted by gray static and noise, like the one of a shut down channel.

The screen fades back to the background of the first scene, zoomed in where you could only see the top of the couch and a fraction of the wall behind.

The camera slowly zooms out and Y/N appears in the center of the couch, birthday hat still on her head. Her cheeks had 1 and M written on each side. She looks directly at the camera with a sheepish smile on her face.

“Hey guys…” Y/N says in a cheeky tone. “Welcome to my party.”

Jiwoo snorts behind the camera, and Y/N sends her a quick piercing look.

“So… did you guys like my surprise?” The girl rubs on her thigh nervously with her palm, “I planned this whole thing in like three days.”

Y/N reads the comments from the phone sitting on the table in front of her. The chat was going way too fast for her to read, so she picks it up and chooses a random comment to read.

“You’re crazy and insa- okay. Well. Thanks!” A sarcastic smile shows up on Y/N’s face before she goes back to read another comment.

“Since when are you friends with Yves? Um…” Y/N looks up to remember the date her and Sooyoung started talking, “Well, we met, like, about three or four weeks ago. But we started talking like, four days ago?”

An awkward laugh escapes the young girls lips, “She’s a very trustworthy person. Anyways!”

Y/N claps her hands together and they make a loud noise. “We’re not at the Q&A section yet. That’s later.” 

There’s a few mumbles but they’re inaudible due to not being picked up by the microphone. “Is he done?” Y/N mutters, then nods.

“So! A party isn’t a party without what?”

“Cake!” Y/N’s friends yell behind the camera.

“Anton, what’s on the menu?” Y/N puts her hand behind her ear and waits for the boy’s response.

“This pussy!”

Her smile drops at the unexpected answer, but anything she was about to say gets disrupted by the lights turning off. A very low budget rendition of the happy birthday song sung by the three of Y/N’s friends plays in the background. The lyrics are changed from 생일 축하 합니다 (Happy birthday) to 백만 축하 합니다 (Happy one million)

The flames atop the candles burn and light up Y/N’s eyes, a childish shimmer accompanied by her shy smile. This wasn’t discussed in the call, but she won’t complain about it.

The song finishes, and Hyewon exclaims “Make a wish, Y/N!”

I wish to be this happy for the rest of my life.

She blows out the flames and the screen goes pitch black, but the claps and cheers let the viewers know the room is far from empty.

The lights turn back on and after a few seconds Jiwoo returns to the frame with the others. “Happy one million, Y/Nie!” She says as she sits down next to Anton.

“Thanks so much guys.” Y/N looks around to convey her emotions to her friends with her eyes, she’s not very good with words anyway.

Her eyes land on Anton. Small remains of green body paint are left on his face and hands, but it’s not enough for it to bother him. She giggles at the sight. 

“I feel like- this feels like my birthday.” The others giggle with her. “Let’s we dig in?”

The girl immediately frowns at her own words, “What the hell did I say?” She and her friends burst into laughter, as well as the viewers in the chat. She hopes they don’t notice her embarrassment rising to her cheeks.

“Let’s eat.” She says, now calmed down. The cheers from the other three fill her ears. They had no plates, only spoons, a dream and a very excited audience.

“Dude, why are the comments going so fast? Oh my god.” Y/N said with a mouthful of cake. “I’ve never streamed before so I don’t know how it usually is.”

Anton deadpans at the girl, “Please remember you literally just hit one million a few hours ago.”

“...Right.”

“Dude this cake is so good.” Hyewon says, also with her mouth stuffed with cake.

The four have been eating cake for what seemed like hours, just talking amongst themselves. Y/N’s sure some clips would surface on her Twitter feed that same night.

“Guys, I don’t know about you, but I’m kinda sick of cake.” Y/N leans back on the couch, pushing her belly out with a groan.

“I don’t even like cake. I'm not sure why I kept eating it.” Jiwoo mentions, mirroring Y/N’s actions.

“You know what I think?” Hyewon puts her spoon down on the table and stands up suddenly.

“You think?” Anton teased, earning him a deadly look from the girl as she walked out of frame.

“I think it’s time for Q&A!” Hyewon exclaims loud enough from behind the camera so that the mic could pick up her voice clearly.

The screen fades to black, elevator music plays for around 7 minutes.

When the screen returns to its normal state, Y/N sits alone on the couch, phone in her hand. She wears the green kitty ears Anton was wearing at the start of the stream.

“Welcome to the Q&A section. We have compiled a few questions from the live chat as well as questions I get asked a lot.” The music gets lower when she starts talking and Y/N adjusts her cat ear headband before it falls from her head.

“Let’s shall start we?” Before anyone laughs again Y/N threatens, “If any of you laugh the live ends right here and now.” 

The girl clears her throat and gets back to reading the questions from her phone. “Ahem! Let’s start.”

Why is your name satellite?

“Ah… the OG question. I’ve gotten this one for years and never answered it for this exact moment.”

“We don’t even know!” Jiwoo says from the back and Y/N giggles.

“So basically, you know how my last name is Koo? So that means nine. And if you write the English word nine in Hangul it’s Na-in. And the Korean word for I is na and satellite is Ingongwiseong.”

It’s quiet for 10 seconds. If it weren’t for Y/N’s blinking and her goofy smile turning into an awkward one, you’d think the livestream froze.

“Y/N that barely makes sense.” Anton reasons. He’s kinda right.

“KOO? NINE! NA? I! INGONGWISEONG? SATELLITE! It’s simple!” Y/N doesn’t know if she’s yelling at Anton or her viewers, but they seem to have similar opinions about the channel name.

“I thought you just liked space a lot…” Hyewon says loud enough for everyone to hear and the chatroom and Jiwoo burst out laughing. 

“Let’s move on before you make fun of me more. I’ve had enough.” A cheeky pout invades

The Q&A goes smoothly for the most part. The majority of the questions have to do with the behind the scenes of Y/N’s gameplays or about the friend group’s dynamics.

At one point, the other three join the scene just like before. They talk and joke around while answering the questions directed at them. How does it feel to be a nepo baby? Have you successfully hexed someone? Are you actually a bottom? Jiwoo got really heated at the last one.

They finished answering the questions they had gathered beforehand, so they decided to read some questions in the live chatroom.

“How was filming with NewJeans?” Hyewon reads from her own phone. Her and Jiwoo’s heads turn to Y/N, but Anton’s response is faster.

“Great!” Y/N pushes him away in annoyance and the four of them laugh. 

“You’re such an idiot.” She lightly slaps the boy on the leg and he lets out a fake whine. “But it was really great. All the girls are so kind and funny and pretty. And surprisingly good at Minecraft.”

“Minji literally beat you, what are you talking about?” Jiwoo teases the girl, “And don’t say you let her because you know damn well you didn’t.”

Y/N sighs in defeat, her eyes landing on the leftover cake that got put away behind the camera. She gets the urge to slam her face into it and say nothing for the rest of the day. “Let’s move on!”

This was the last section of the show before some behind the scenes content played in the end, and Y/N was understandably getting quite tired.

Her energy decreased rapidly and she was getting dizzy from the comments moving too fast. Her phone was turned off and she just listened to the conversations her friends had, chiming in only when there was something to add or someone to tease.

Y/N’s notably surprised when her phone vibrates in her hand, so she turns it on to see- it’s Minji.

Y/N tries her best to respond to Minji’s text sneakily so that the viewers don’t notice. Hyewon does, however, and gives the girl a questioning look when she turns her phone and straightens herself up on the couch awkwardly.

Y/N looks at her and only a timid smile could be sent the other girl's way before she looks away and slowly takes the green kitty ears off of her head.

She knows Minji wouldn’t have stopped watching the stream even though she told her to, so she sticks her tongue out and tries to sneak a middle finger with it too. Hyewon laughs beside her.

“How long have we been up for?” Jiwoo asks all of a sudden. It’s 3 A.M, they started the live show at 12 A.M, Y/N hit one million at 7 P.M. Y/N didn’t sleep so she’s probably been up for-

“More than a day, I think. At least I have.”

“WHAT?!” The three of her friends yell at the same time. “Are you insane?!” Jiwoo yells the hardest.

“Wh- Well, I didn’t know Min-” Y/N cuts herself off when she realizes the public doesn’t know about her and Minji’s friendship. “I didn’t know I was gonna hit one million today.”

“We’ve been talking for like an hour, guys. I think it’s time to go.” Anton waves at the camera, the comments vary from shock to sadness.

“Oh my god, can I finish the cake?” Hyewon stands up when Jiwoo and Anton do, leaving a frozen Y/N on the couch.

“So, I guess it’s time for us to go. Thanks for being here, guys. I’m so grateful for all of you and how much love you’ve given not only me but the four of us. Thanks for one million. I’ll have another cake when it’s two.”

Y/N stands up from the couch and the camera follows her, “I’ll leave you with some behind the scenes footage. To show my love. Bye guys! I love you.”

The scene fades and after a few seconds, the footage starts playing.

Behind the camera, Jiwoo and Anton scold Y/N for not sleeping. Hyewon seems more interested in the computer.

“Dude. You have 30 thousand fucking viewers,”

“Tell me you’re joking.” Y/N rushes to Hyewon’s side.

“Is that good or bad?” Anton asks, confused at the sudden panic, “Don’t your videos usually get 500k views?”

“Yeah, but this is live viewers, Anton.” Hyewon answers, “This is what top tier streamers get on a normal day.”

“It’s probably because it’s my first one, right?” Y/N’s voice wavers slightly, still in shock at the amount of popularity that she’d gathered in such a short amount of time.

“Girl...” Jiwoo joins them, “You fucking made it…”

masterlist | next

taglist # @yumtooki @saysirhc @modanisgf @yerimbrit @sixflame438 @miinatozakiii @hotluvlet @mym1na @keiji-jin @wintersgff @wonyoungssi @kimminjiissosjdirbidnsjje @shozeu @nwjnsloona @kaypanaq @pandafuriosa60 @linnnsworld @hwabyul4wheesun @artrizzler19 @brocoliisscared @jeindall777 @haerinkisser

[x-jackalnope-x]

Responsibility

Chapter Two of No More Running, A Mouthwashing retelling.

Synopsis: After consulting Anya, Tulpar’s medic, Curly makes a decision that might alter the life he finds unfulfilling. Abandoning the job and turning the Tulpar Freighter’s destination back to Earth. In a desperate attempt to right his wrongs, the Captain is caught in the act. Curly must protect his crew at all costs against the monster on board, Jimmy.

Author's Note: Thank you all for taking time to read chapter one! It really is the push I needed to post more! I hope you enjoy my positive retelling!

Warnings: SA, mentions of SA, pregnancy by SA, MDNI, heavy topics covered.

Chapter Masterlist:

No More Running

Curly had hitched his breath when he heard the voice fill the voided space around him. His golden hair obstructed his view as he turned his head, ready to defend the controls. His eyes held a dark fury to the intruder. Swansea read that deranged look, he knew this well.

“You *never* work more than you are supposed to… Don’t you think stomping off like that is a cry for help?” 

Swansea might not have captain experience under his belt, but his life experience spoke in moments like this. Curly brows furrowed, daring Swansea to step into the pit- which he had. The automatic door hissing itself shut.

“Making more plans *without* telling us, Captain?” his eyes, tired with that life experience, read the screens. Curly exhaled deeply,”Swansea, I can explain.”

“Oh? I bet you can. What Pony Express can’t even afford us to finish the job? Send you some secret message telling you to turn home?” He was understandably still upset about the party. The thoughtful and kind gesture Curly’s crew had prepared… The moment their captain thought appropriate to tell them they’d all be losing their jobs.

Even if it was issued by protocol to host one collective birthday party… This year had been him. 

“Swans-” Curly had tried to start.

“What do you think this tells the boy?” Swansea had defied, his hand gesturing to the screen, a countdown leading down to the arrival of home- to safety. The comment confused Curly, dumbfounded before Swansea explained.

“Daisuke! Life gets hard, so you turn on home! You leave a job unfinished? You work so damn hard in your life just to be tossed–”

“Swans!” Curly had finally interrupted him. Standing slowly from the piloting seat. A finger to his lips,”We have a threat on the ship…” his voice carried softly, his tone just slightly above a whisper. These words caused their mechanic to look Curly. Wary of the next words,”The foam’ll-”

“This isn’t a foam problem, Swans… We have a live wire among the crew”, the captain ran a hand along the temples of his forehead. Speaking about it with someone else, someone new- it made Curly sound crazy. After the strong release of the air he held in, Curly’s hands rested on hips, shrugging out the energy.

“It’s been sparking for too long… Already caused some damage… Ones I think I’ve been seeing but-”

“So now you choose to be a fucking man, huh?” Swansea drilled him,”You brought that useless cargo on this ship- and I am not talking about what we were carrying for Pony Express. I’m talking about the baggage YOU brought and carried with you.” His girthy index out as he stepped closer, closing the space between himself and his ‘captain’.

“We have a fucking kid on this ship-”

“We have a woman too, Swansea! I am well aware of what-” Curly held up his hand then the other joined. Swansea saw this was an attempt to wave a white flag. The elder saw this, scoffing, shaking his head at someone he would still consider a ‘young buck’. Curly still had a lot to learn…

“Why now? Are you just now seeing what kind of man your ‘friend’ is, Captain? You think this will fix whatever he already broke?”

Curly locked with Swansea’s peering gaze, they gray had dulled. 

“I don’t think I can ever fix what I have allowed for so long, Swansea.” 

The older man took Curly in, those dull hues had rivaled looks he had seen in men before. 

A face of revelation, Swansea had been through this. After seeing the bottom of too many bottles, there were things people did when they lost control. How they sobered up and atoned for them is what defines them from the Jimmy’s of the world. Swansea had probably been a ‘Jimmy’ before he hit his own enlightenment.

“You aren’t talking to me as a captain right now, are you, Curly?”

That intense eyelock softened, finally some understanding between them.  

“No, I’m not… I guess I am not,Swansea.” Curly chuffed, shaking his head and looked to the metal locker. Where the code reader and the…

His sight looked down the barrel of the gun. 

“Is the kid going to be alright?” Swansea broke his reverie, thinking back to the dream. In the back of his mind, he felt the panic of that gun pointed at him. Beckoning him to get rid of it, out of reach.

“I asked if-”

“What? Yeah, Swansea… Do you still have that axe I lent you? From when Daisuke got stuck?” Curly interrupted, going to the locker and grabbing the kit and the code reader.

“Do you think we’ll need all that…”

“Answer my question, Swansea.” Curly had to be proactive, it was the lack of awareness that had landed them all in this mess. Stopping to do intake, scanning the locker for the nylon rope. One Jimmy had crudely bet his credits on the chance of it ‘not being used’.

God, how many signs were there to Jimmy that he missed? How long had he been using Curly’s ignorance and wishful thinking against him? Had he used that thinking to trap Anya in such a powerless position? That pooling guilt now wanted him to vomit at the idea. The idea that Jimmy had used their friendship against people Curly had to protect.

“Don’t lose it now, Captain… How about you tell me this plan you have? If you are thinkin’ that freak would use a gun… shouldn’t we send a distress call?”

Curly had said aid might be needed, but now with another opinion. Swansea was right, it caused the younger man to chuckle and shake his head.

“Maybe I should’ve started listening to you sooner, Swans…” he admitted, grabbing the supplies from the locker and placing it on Jimmy's usual seat. 

“I need you to be ready with that axe, I don’t know that I can trust Jimmy won’t do anything stupid when confronted…”

“You planning to confront him? Are you really thinking that’s a good idea? What about Daisuke and Anya? I don’t move as fast with an axe… still got years on me-”

“I’m asking you to defend the cockpit, Swansea. I’m hiding the gun… you never know. Any other threats you know on this freighter?” Curly was sitting now, tapping the keys away to earth. 

‘Treason on board, need immediate rescue. Tulpar Freighter, SOS.’

He sent it, he prayed it was delivered. They were already wasting so much time in the cockpit. Jimmy could be around the corner- the way he thought of him was more like the boogeyman. 

“Get that axe, you keep an eye on this room.”

“I want you to promise me something, Captain Curly.” Swansea had interrupted, causing Curly to pause as he recollected the discarded items on the vacant station next to him. The throne of a pest.

“Nothing happens to the kid, Daisuke. You need to promise me that. He has so much left to live.”

“Swansea, we all have so much left to live. We’re going to figure this out together… If this goes well.. I pray we’ll have Jimmy freeze dried before anything like that happens..” The two men took in each other then. Curly straightened up with the instruments they’d need to pull this off. He slid the loop of the rope over his arm and rested it on his shoulder. 

“You’re co-captain now, and if Jimmy comes knocking, that’s what you tell him, understand?… I need his attention. Redirect him to me…”

“I’ve been seeing the way he looks at you, Curly. I must admit, I look at you the same way sometimes. Pathetic man, aimless ambitions, that kinda thinkin’ gets people hurt- and has.” Swansea watched the color of Curly’s face. Facing the reality of the crew had painted long before his revelation. 

“I think everyone wants to escape themselves” Swansea continued,”You aren’t a bad man for wanting to escape. Everyone does, vices just change depending on who you are.”

Closing the gap between them, the large hand took Curly’s shoulder giving it a proud and firm grip.

“It’s time like this that defines us as who we are when we stop running. It's your turn now, like it was mine when I stopped drinking, I reckon Daisuke will have to learn that running might put you ahead… but don’t make the destination any closer, does it?”

“Does it ever get closer?” it sounded like a plea, leaving Curly’s lips. 

“I think you’re starting to see the finish line…” Swansea replied, retreating his hand off the captain’s shoulder. 

“Now, I got orders, Don’t think we have much time now before the freak wakes up…”

“No, we don’t. I need to get to Anya..” Curly turned to the controls. Engaging a captain’s lock to prevent intervention from anyone other than the captain. 

People have to be worth their titles.

Now, Jimmy was stripped of his. 

There was a dangerous criminal on board the Tulpar freighter cargo ship. 

The two men shared a glance. Standing near the door,”Axe. This door. After I speak to Anya- I’ll check on…him.”

“What are you going to do to him, Curly?” Swansea asked before Curly could activate the door to leave. The blonde had turned to his elder, flashing a smile,”Making him take responsibility, Swansea.”

Quickly, he lifted the code reader to the open locker, seeing the number illuminate within the confined space. Looking to Swansea one last time, a knowing nod happened between the men by sharing the numbers with him. Taking a moment to memorize the code, before dropping his arm to his side once more.

Not wanting to waste anymore time, Curly checked the door. Seeing no one in sight just yet, he looked back to Swansea sharing a nod to him.

They were all treading in unfamiliar water now.

There were no titles, or what made someone worthy to have them…

In the oceanic void of space, everyone is prey.

That’s how Jimmy saw it.

[blue-bird-kny]

Belated Birthday Special!🥳

Only I would be late to my own birthday special lol, BUT my birthday was yesterday and I planned to post this self-indulgent gift with some of my fav characters for both myself and you all so here it is! Please enjoy this little birthday gift (Even if your birthday is far away)!~Amanda

Warning: This one had a bit of everything; Slight NSFW, tons fluff, and a dash of Angst.

(2.2K+ words)

Muichiro:

Your eyes fluttered open, mind still groggy with sleep while the sun's rays peaked passed the horizon outside. Absentmindedly, your fingers crawled to the opposite side of the bed looking for the warmth of your boyfriend. “What the hell..?” the bed was empty on the other side, the sheets already cold. Your brows furrowed as your bleary eyes scanned the room, there was zero trace of your boyfriend. “Muichiro is never up before me…” you muttered before noticing a small piece of parchment paper torn on his bedside table.

‘I’ll be back later’

A dry laugh escaped your lips, “What else was I expecting?” you groaned  “Today will be just like last year” you pushed yourself out of bed dreading the rest of the day.

The day dragged on without a word from your boyfriend. Every once in a while you’d receive a merry “Happy Birthday” from your friends. You appreciated it, but every time you heard those two words your chest tightened a bit more. “He’s forgotten every year so get over it!” you reminded yourself. Three birthdays have passed since you started dating Muichiro and each year was the same. Every year you grew more hopeful, sure that that was going to be the year things would change, but to know avail.

“I’m home” you called as you kicked off your shoes. Off in another room, you could hear the sound of someone frantically moving objects. “Muichiro?” you warily called, inching closer to the noise while gripping the hilt of your blade. Your breath hitched and your eyes welled with tears, “Oh Muichrio”

Muichiro stood awkwardly with his long tresses tied back in a loose bun (a look you adored), clutching a bouquet of daffodils. “Here” he thrust the flowers into your trembling fingers. Suddenly, you wrapped him in a tight embrace. You spent some time tucked into each other, Muichiro rubbing soothing circles into your back. “I thought you forgot” you cried pulling away, you couldn’t help but play with the strands of hair that weren’t pulled back. He smiled guiltily, “I didn’t say anything since I wanted it to be a surprise”

Truthfully, Muichiro felt awful about always forgetting your special day. Once the seasons changed, he reminded himself everyday of your birthday, a constant countdown he never allowed himself to ignore or forget. He was scared; he didn’t want you to give  up on him, but it wasn’t fair that you always had to be the one waiting to see if he remembered something important.

“This is also for you” Muichiro looked away bashfully, handing over a gold box. Carefully, you opened the lid “It’s gorgeous” you marveled, delicately tracing the unique pattern of the sapphire stones. “I’m sorry if I ruined our day by ignoring you, I wanted to make sure I had everything to make things perfect” he faced the floor while he spoke. You brought his face towards your, hovering just by his lips. “Muichiro you could never ruin today, you only make things better” you passionately kissed his smooth lips, ingraining this moment to memory. 

Muichiro isn’t perfect, but there isn’t a single other person you’d want to spend the rest of your life with.

Rengoku:

You sprung out of bed before the sun even breathed its first breath of the day, beaming as you stretched the grogginess away. The snores of your spirited boyfriend rumbled beside you, his slumped form invading the space you once occupied. It took everything in your power to not laugh at Rengoku’s overgrown form sprawled out, his limbs bent in directions that could not possibly be comfortable.

You spent the early hours quietly finishing the house chores; Rengoku had been so busy lately that you’d feel awful waking him up even if it was your birthday. All you wanted was to spend the day alone with your beloved, making up for all the conversations, hugs, and kisses you two had missed with his busy schedule. Just as you finished washing last night's dishes, a pair of muscular arms coiled around your waist, his face buried into the crook of your neck. “Princess why are you up so early?” god his morning voice would be the death of you, “Figured I’d let you sleep a little” you whispered.

Rengoku hummed, the vibration of his voice shaking you to your core. His unruly bedhead tickled your skin as he trailed his nose along the length of your neck, his plush lips ghosting over your skin “Rengoku we haven't even had breakfast” your voice was unsteady, warmth already spreading throughout your body at his small ministrations. “I can think of something I wanna eat” he teased, nipping at your earlobe with just enough pressure to have you holding your breath.

Your body was flipped against the counter, Rengoku wasted no time spreading your legs to nuzzle his thick thigh between them. His eyes were wild, fully aware of the effect he was having on you, it only fueled his lust. “Princess it's your day, let me show you how much I love you” he ground your clothed mound against his thigh, just brushing that special spot inside you. You mewled lightly, your body tensing at the sensation. “Bed or couch?” you asked breathlessly. His chuckled deep, a devilish smirk matching the glint in his eyes as he reached for the hem of your shirt

“Why not both? Beside, I thought we could  start right here”

Inosuke: 

“Why is Y/n out with that tall freak again?” Inosuke grumbled for the third time, pouting childishly on the floor with his arms crossed. “It’s Y/n’s birthday and we are throwing a surprise party” Tanjiro reminded, carrying the cake he had learned to bake from his mother, “Don’t be rude to Uzui-san either, we had to beg him to take Y/n with him on his mission so that we could do all this”.

You’d been gone since yesterday morning and the idea that you’d spent the night near another man made Inosuke’s skin crawl. Clingy wasn’t exactly what you’d call Inosuke, but possessive? When that switch was flipped he became full of jealousy. “Maybe Y/n-chan spent the night wrapped in his huge arms, I’m sure she’d like that for her birthday” Zenistu taunted Inosuke as he put up decorations. “Shut it, Achoo!” Inosuke pelted a rock, hitting the poor boy square in the forehead. “That's not even close to my name” Zenitsu cried, rubbing the sore spot on his face that was sure to swell.

Truthfully Inosuke didn’t know how to handle your birthday; he’s never celebrated one of his own so he was super misinformed on the whole situation. Tanjiro had to explain it to him and still he didn’t know what gift to get you or how to act.

Night had already fallen when you returned home, you stood outside thanking the Hashira, still unaware of the party waiting inside, “Thank you Uzui-san for asking me to come with you, I learned a lot”. Uzui grinned while picking you up high off the ground in a bone crushing hug, “Don’t worry about it Y/n! Your a dear to have around, I’d have to ask you to come along again soon” “I’d be more than welcome to it”

Inosuke, who had refused to go inside with the others for your ‘protection’, jumped at the familiar sound of your voice-- he’d never say it aloud but he missed you. He froze when he spotted you being held by Uzui, fury bubbling up from his stomach. He marched over with his fist clenched, “Oi!” he shouted. You didn’t even notice Inosuke’s hostility as you detach yourself from the big man, jumping straight into Inosuke. Uzui held a knowing smirk, “Don’t worry little piggy, I return her safe and sound” Inosuke narrowed his eyes as he held you to his side. Uzui turned to leave waving his hand as a farewell, “Happy Birthday Y/n!” “Thanks?” you never mentioned it was your birthday.

“Come on Inosuke, let's go inside!” you pulled the stubborn boy along, throwing the door open only to be met with a rowdy group yelling “Surprise!”

The party was phenomenal, the room was filled with so much joy and laugher, something you all desperately needed. Your smile refused to fall from your cheeks, even as you lay in bed “Today was really great” you reminisced, talking to the back that was facing away from you. Inosuke couldn’t shake the image of you with Uzui, damn Zenitsu for opening his stupid mouth. Inosuke turned to face you finally, your eyes drooping from sleep already. Inosuke made a rash decision as he stared at your adorable face, gathering you in his bare arms. “Oh!” you yelped in surprise, Inosuke wasn’t really one to initiate cuddles but you weren’t complaining.

“You’re really comfortable” you breathed into his chest, his natural scent filling your senses. “My arms are a hell of a lot better than those giants” you paused, finally understanding what was going on. “Uzui is a great friend and mentor, but I don’t love anyone more than you. I never could” Inosuke clung onto every whisper of a word, holding you tighter as the seconds passed. You sat up and placed a small peck on the tip on his nose, scooching right back into his warm hold. “Good night Inosuke” you cooed, closing your eyes.

“Happy birthday Y/n”

Shinobu: (Ugh she needs more love)

Believe it or not, Shinobu was big on birthdays, especially yours. She remembers how she loved to celebrate with her sister and the other girls at the Estate, so she wanted the day to go as smoothly as possible. She planned a wonderful picnic in the garden and had even prepared the food for the special occasion.

“I’m ready!” you called gleefully, showing off your gorgeous new lavender sundress Shinobu had gifted you. “I knew purple was your color” Shinobu complimented, admiring the way the dress showed off your curves. “Let’s get going, I’d hate for the day to be a waste. I cleared my schedule just for you, you know” She teased, her hand caressing your flushed cheeks--Oh how she loved that look.

You walked hand in hand, Shinobu carrying the basket of goods while you excitedly rambled on about whatever came to mind. You two barely made it past the Estate gates when a group of medics holding stretchers of wounded soldiers came rushing toward you. Your smile faded as Shinobu’s hand left yours, already giving order to the medics, following them inside. “Shinobu?” you called quietly, “They need my help but I promise this won't be long” she smiled apologetically.

It couldn’t be helped; they needed her more than your silly lunch date did, but who had you forsaken that it had to happen on your birthday of all days. Shoulders slouched, you carried the abandoned basket off the ground, “I’ll just wait in her office, she promised” you wishfully thought.

You bitterly stabbed the fruit in your bowl, the fruit that was meant for your date, and shoved into your mouth. The sun was beginning to set and you still hadn't seen your girlfriend, you’d passed the time by eating the snacks one by one; alone. The commotion of working medics hasn't ceased for hours and slowly you’d lost complete hope of a more exciting day. Your back was beginning to ach from the stiff chair, yet you still waited patiently. Shinobu’s office was filled with piles of paper and books, so there was nothing left to do but stare out the window and eat.

The sound of the door sliding open pulled you from your thoughts, “Awww you didn’t leave me any food?” Shinobu greeted jokingly, sensing your frustration a mile away. You stabbed another piece of fruit, aggressively eating away at the sweet food. “I know you're upset, but I really didn’t mean for this to happen” she defended, feeling miserable about the whole ordeal. You softened, it really wasn’t Shinobu’s fault. “Sorry” you mumbled, staring at the roof. You didn’t bother looking down at the sound of her feet shuffling towards you.

You weren’t expecting to feel Shinobu’s full weight on your lap as she straddled your hips, her hand grasping your chin, pulling you down to face her. “I’m sorry I ruined your birthday, Beautiful,” she soothed, one hand combing through you hair while the other played with your bottom lip, “Please let me make it up to you” her sultry voice rung through your ears, her pink lips making their way across your jawline and down to that spot Shinobu lives to exploit. “Mmmmm” you whined loudly as she started sucking and lapping, working the tender skin till a reddish bruise formed.

The hand embedded in your hair pulled slightly, making sure to run her long nails against your scalp at each tug, eliciting another loud moan from your parted lips. “Shhhh Beautiful, if you're too loud I’ll make you wait till we get to the room later. I can only be so giving”. You knew better than that-then to believe that this would end once you two walked out of those office doors. As if reading your thoughts, Shinobu slid herself down your thighs and onto the floor, never ceasing to make eye contact, “I’ll work you for all you’ve got while we’re here” you bit your lip impatiently as you watched her pull your legs apart by your knees.

Shinobu definitely kept this promise, and gifted you with even more once you two made it the room.

Masterlist

Shinobu may have been a tad OOC but idc, she deserves all the love she wants and I’m willing to give it to her. I hope you all enjoyed it, thank you and stay safe~Amanda

[desteez]

Rollercoaster ~ ATEEZ Yunho

summary: it’s yunho’s birthday and to celebrate, he brings everyone to the amusement park. little do you know that he’s got a plan of his own.

words: 1.8k

note: hiii!! this is the first fic i’ve written like ever. if you read it, i’d really appreciate any feedback or criticism or even a “it was good/bad” cause i have no idea what my writing is like. if this flops…i’ll just assume it was bad 🙈 enjoy!!

**********************************

With one eye on your phone, and another on any flies that wandered too close, you sighed as you sat in the shade under the big blue umbrella. You hated amusement parks; the little kids running everywhere, the noisy yelling and screaming of teenagers, the hordes of people swarming here and there — and if that wasn’t enough to make you hate it here, the hair-raising thought of roller coasters and stomach dropping heights sure did. The last time you’d been to an amusement park was years ago. In fact, the only reason you were here today was because it was Yunho’s birthday and he’d wanted to celebrate it here with everyone and knowing how much you hated amusement parks, had practically begged you on his knees in front of everyone until you told him that you’d go. Which was why, you now sat alone at a bench with enough fries, pizzas, hot dogs, fried chicken, chips, lava cakes, and colas to feed a football team in front of you.

As you stuck another ketchup slathered fry in your mouth, you heard Wooyoung’s high piercing voice cut through the crowds of people before you saw him emerge with your other friends.

“Oh My God San, I can’t believe you actually did that??!?”

“Oh come on, I was just thirsty!” San exclaims as you see him flash his signature wink and dimpled smile at Wooyoung before coming to join you at the bench.

Wooyoung takes the seat next to you as he tells you with wide eyes, “Y/N! You won’t believe what San did when we were on the MX! He— “

“He pulled out his water bottle and was drinking water on a rollercoaster,” Yeosang cut in as he pushed Wooyoung over on the bench to sit in the seat in-between the two of you, aka the closest spot on the bench to the fried chicken.

“Ughh you make it sound as if it’s nothing.” Wooyoung rolls his eyes as he deftly snags the chicken leg Yeosang was reaching out for.

“Compared to other things he’s done. I’m surprised that you still get surprised every time he does something out of the ordinary!” Yunho playfully claps Wooyoung on the shoulder, laughing, before sitting down with Hongjoong, Seonghwa, Mingi, and Jongho.

“YesYes, our Sanie is a special one isn’t he,” you coo in San’s direction and get a smile and a vigorous nod back.

You sip on your cola and smile around your straw as you watch your friends laugh and tease each other. You’d known them for less than a year yet it seemed like forever ago when you first met them and they welcomed you into their large group. Your eyes wander across each of their faces feeling a warm smile spreading across your own until your eyes come to rest on Yunho. Yunho was staring off blankly into the distance and hadn’t eaten a bite of the food laid before him.

“Aren’t you hungry birthday boy?” You get no response and the others slowly quiet down to look over at Yunho.

“Yunho?” Hongjoong nudges Yunho’s shoulder with his own breaking the spell.

“Hu— Huh?” Yunho’s eyes flash back to the group and looks around. “Ah sorry, my mind was wandering.” He flashes a sheepish smile and meets your eyes. “Hey Y/N, don’t you want to at least try going on a roller coaster today?”

The onion ring that you were about to eat stopped an inch away as your mouth hung open, “I— I, not really?”

“Oh come on Y/N, it’s really fun and thrilling and not scary at all!” San says.

Yeosang laughs in the midst of eating his fifth chicken. “I don’t think you even know what _scary _means San.”

Yunho gets up and walks around the bench to stand behind you and grasps your arm. “Think of it as your birthday present to me! Let’s try the MX, even Mingi doesn’t think that one’s that bad.”

You look over at Mingi who chokes on his hot dog but gives you a weak smile and a thumbs up.

Looking at Yunho’s wide and inviting eyes, you just couldn’t say no. Sighing you get up from your seat and say, “Let’s get this over with”. The boys all cheer and shout drawing the eyes of passerby’s as you follow Yunho to the MX.

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

“Is it really necessary that I try a roller coaster ride today?” You question as you and Yunho stand in line.

“Hmmm… Yes!” Yunho answers and you groan and crouch down. “Y/N, look we’re almost at the front and leaving now would be a pity since we’ve waited for so long.”

Truthfully, you did kind of want to try the rollercoaster and Yunho was right. Looking at how long the line was behind you, you didn’t bake in the sun standing in line for the last 7 minutes for nothing. And looking at the actual rollercoaster, it wasn’t that bad — it really didn’t look that high and you’d only counted 5 steep hills. Yunho helpfully hauls you up by the arm as the line starts moving again.

The two of you finally get to the front of the line and Yunho drags you to the very first cart.

“Ladies first,” he says and you enter first with a roll of your eyes as he takes the seat next to you.

As the voice over the speakers recites it’s safety guidelines Yunho reaches forward and pulls the bar towards the two of you, trapping you to your seat.

“Wa-wAiT,” you stutter, “tHAT’s aLL ThEre iS?” “Isn’t there supposed to be like something that goes over your head like a life vest so you don’t like…FLY OFF?”

Yunho laughs at the worried look on your face. “That’s all there is for this one! It’s part of the thrill of the MX, that there’s really almost nothing keeping you to your seat. Mingi had the exact same reaction you did!”

“Holy there’s no way this is safe! I can’t believe Ming-AHGHH,” you scream as the cart suddenly springs forward. You bring a hand to your mouth in embarrassment when the people behind you snicker. Yunho giggles too and takes your hand away from your mouth and places it on the bar as the cart begins it’s long upward climb.

“It’s really not that bad Y/N! I promise!” Yunho shoots you a smile and you don’t know if it’s the butterflies fluttering in your stomach or the adrenaline coursing through your veins or the fact that Yunho’s hand still warmly grasped yours where it was gripping the safety bar but the sound of your heart beating was too evident in your ears as you stared at Yunho’s smiling side profile.

When you thought about it now, the way you felt about Yunho was different then how you felt about the others. Sometimes you’d catch yourself following his every move with your eyes and he was the only one that could truly make your cheeks turn pink when he teased you. There’d always been … something more. Something that you never dared to think about cause the possibility of the unsaid “if” was dangerous.

Sighing you drag your eyes away from his face to look around only to do a double take at how high you guys were climbing. Your leg starts to bounce up and down in anxiousness as you spot the tiny little dot of the blue umbrella that you were sitting at only 10 minutes ago. Beside you, you hear Yunho take in a shaky and deep breath. “Ah, who’s the scaredy cat now?” You joke in an attempt to shake off the apprehension you were feeling as the cart was almost to the top. Yunho squirms in his seat but flashes you a quick smile. You smile a little to yourself thinking that even goofballs and thrill seekers like Yunho could get butterflies on roller coasters.

The cart stopped as the top was reached and because you were in the first cart, you hung a bit on the other side of the slope, giving you a perfect view of the almost 90 degrees drop to the ground.

Oh my god oh my god you start muttering to yourself as your hands clench around the safety bars. Yunho had moved his hand away and it now sat a few inches away. Would it be okay to grab his hand? you wondered. Why did the roller coaster feel so much higher up than it looked? It’d be over in no time wouldn’t it? The actual possibility of flying off the roller coaster had to be near impossible right? They wouldn’t have designed it this way if it weren’t safe …right?

Over the speakers the countdown to the drop begins and you start chanting oh my god oh my god louder.

5!…You were in no way physically or mentally prepared for the drop that was too come

4!…When you got off, you’d give Yunho his birthday punches right then and there

3!…He deserved that much and more for dragging you here

2!…Holy was there no way to stop this thing??

1!… You couldn’t believe you’d let someone like Yunho persuade you with his puppy-like ey—

“I LOVE YOU Y/N! WILL YOU BE MY GIRLFRIEND”

“WHAIT WHAA-ASFAFNAGFAISUFHAFHO”

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

As the cart returned back to its starting point you stare straight ahead till it comes to a stop. When the safety bar lifted, you immediately get out on shaky legs and start walking without waiting for Yunho. You couldn’t even remember what it felt like when the roller coaster finally sped down the incline and if you screamed or not. There was only one thing on your mind yet that too seemed a bit fuzzy.

There was no way you heard what you heard. You knew for sure he yelled something at the top before the drop. Gahh knowing him he’d probably proclaimed his love for all golden retrievers around the world. There was no way and no reason for him to have said what you thought he’d said, your ears were playing tricks on you and making you hear what you wanted to hear and you hated yourself for hoping that it wasn’t just your imagination.

You walk back to the blue umbrella with Yunho following closely behind. The others, oblivious to the war you were fighting in your head, were still loudly laughing and teasing each other but became quiet as the two of you approach. You sit down in your seat and casually reach for a fry as everyone looks back and forth between the two of you. Yunho slowly takes his seat too and you can feel his eyes burning into you, questioning why you walked off without him, but you can’t look at his face, you just can’t meet his gaze. Seonghwa lightly clears his throat and you can hear the gears in his mind overworking, trying to find something to say.

It’s Wooyoung who finally breaks the silence and pipes up looking straight at you.

“So, did you say yes??”

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

… and then they lived happily ever after …

// by @esdblu | @desteez

{Masterlist All}

[stellar-imagines]

SCENARIO REQUEST: ❝present us your smile!❞

[ Fandom: Boku no Hero Academia ] [ Characters: No pairing featured ]

「You were stone-faced and usually emotionless, no one had seen you smile before. However as your long time childhood friend, Kirishima goes on and on about how he has seen your smile. This results in Class 1-A getting curious over how you look when you smile.」

It was something no one had seen before. Their stoic, stone-face classmate who was always studying diligently and training regularly had gotten them curious. You were well aware of your own behavior. You rarely smiled and laughed but at it didn't bother any of our classmates. Todoroki was the same also, stoic and aloof. But as the days go by, he found himself getting more comfortable with his friends and began to smile from time to time. On the other hand, you were different, always stoic and devoid of emotions. As your childhood friend, Kirishima was interrogated a few times about your behavior.

Today, the students or Class 1-A were having dinner in the common area. Some were seated on the dining table while the rest were seated in the common area. Ashido who was sitting with Kirishima, Kaminari, Hagakure, Jirou and Sero sudden brought up something that she had been wondering about which was about their stone-faced classmate. She had said it when you were in your room cleaning up before dinner.

"I told you that [First Name] has smiled before!" the red head mumbled as he shoved another slice of ham into his mouth.

"Lies! We've been together for almost three years and I have never seen her smile!" Ashido exclaimed. Kirishima and her had gone to the same Middle School as you did so they knew more about you. However, it didn't change the fact that Kirishima was your childhood friend, already friends with you since Elementary School.

“Kirishima keeps on saying that but we’ve never seen [First Name] smile before. As we thought, its probably like some sort of super rare thing that happens once in a lifetime.” Jirou muttered whilst poking on a piece of potato that was hidden under the curry they were eating.

"Maybe it was when she was a little bit younger.....I can't remember exactly when or why she was smiling but I’ve seen it with my two eyes!" Kirishima rubbed his chin, eyes shut close as he tried recalling the events of the past.

“Well, Kirishima-kun is [First Name]-chan’s childhood friend so he knows her the best.” Uraraka pointed out as she walked into the kitchen to wash her plates. The brown haired female was followed by Asui, Midoriya and Iida who were done with their meals.

“But still, I have never seen [Last Name]-san smile or laugh before.....” Midoriya muttered out loud.

“I think she’s much more emotionless than Todoroki-chan. In a way, they’re similar.” Asui said out loud. The aforementioned male suddenly made his appearance, pointing at himself with a tilt of his head when he heard his name being mentioned.

“Me?” he questioned.

“Todoroki-san just seemed distant and aloof at first but he has become much more sociable and he occasionally smiles.” Yaoyorozu stepped into the conversation with a small smile as she handed the plates over to Uraraka who was washing everyone else’s plates.

“That is true! As for [Last Name]-kun, she’s friendly but she just doesn’t express herself that often! So Todoroki-kun and [Last Name]-kun are two very different individuals!” Iida explained, waving his hands around.

“But all that aside, I’m kind of curious of how she looks like when she smiles.....aren’t you guys the same?” Sero asked his classmates who were now standing in the kitchen and dining room.

“Maybe we’ll just have to make her smile somehow.” Kaminari pointed out while scooping some rice which had a generous amount of curry atop before eating.

"Oh! Sounds great! Maybe surprise her or something?” Hagakure wondered out loud, folding her arms.

“Then I’ll be in charge of doing that―” Mineta rubbed his hands together with a perverted grin on his face. Jirou used her quirk and jabbed the shorter male, causing him to shriek in pain.

“No, I don’t trust whatever surprise you have planned for her.” Jirou glared at the class pervert.

“This is stupid.” came Bakugou’s opinion as he helped himself to another serving of curry.

“But aren’t ya curious too, Bakugou?” Kirishima asked. The ash blonde scoffed in response, closing the rice cooker before taking a seat next to the red head and setting down his plate. He had been listening to everyone’s bullshit while he was eating and he couldn’t believe that they were fussing over something so trivial. But he couldn’t say it out loud―he was also curious.

“Oh, what is everyone talking about?” you questioned.

Your classmates stopped talking to face you. Dressed in your normal casual clothes and wearing your usual slipper, you stepped into the kitchen and helped yourself with the curry that had been prepared.

“Hey, [First Name]! What do you call a fake noodle?”

“Eh?”

“An impasta!”

Silence.

“Oh.....okay.” you muttered in response, giving the blonde a nod before you ate your portion of curry. Jirou smacked Kaminari and pointed out that the joke was just horrible.

And that was the start of Class 1-A’s mission to make you smile. They did everything they could. The girls had decided to buy you something but only received a ‘Thank you, I’ll treasure this.’ as a response. Everyone else did whatever they could just for the sake of seeing your lips quirk upwards a little but none of their efforts showed them satisfying results. Midoriya and Todoroki had complemented you while Kaminari and Sero cracked stupid jokes and puns. Their methods were different but none of them did any good.

On the other hand, you were starting to get a little confused by their behavior. Sure you were surprised the girls had gave you something but it wasn’t your birthday. Kaminari and Sero always cracked jokes but it made you curious as to why they were trying extra hard these days. As you filled your basket with items that the dorm needed, you thought about why your friends were acting weirdly around you recently. Even after the long queue and paying for your items, you still thought of nothing.

On the way back to the dorms, you walked pass the usual intersection and spotted a kitten at the side, slowly making its way to the street. That was when you noticed that the light was still red although the countdown was really close to zero. The loud engine from a truck caught your attention and when you shifted your attention from the kitten, you saw that it was speeding towards the kitten who was still unaware. You quickly stepped forward and raised your hand to stop the vehicle.

You picked up the oblivious kitten and walked to the other side.

“That’s close.....you almost died.....” you mumbled, setting down the kitten down the street, watching as it licked its paw and mewl at you cutely. You felt your heart swell at the cute gesture before walking away.

“Oh.....Neko-chan......” you mumbled, noting that the kitten you had saved from getting run over earlier had followed you all the way down the road. You glanced around to see if there was anyone around you.

As it was raining, you moved closer towards the kitten and moved your umbrella over the feline who mewed and rubbed itself against your leg. When you finally reached the dorms, you stopped to see that the kitten had followed you all the way up the stairs and in front of the door. You picked up the kitten and entered the dorms, cradling the creature with care. The first person you ran into was Bakugou who appeared to have came back from his run as he was dressed in a rain coat with a t-shirt underneath.

“Oh, Bakugou-kun. I’m home.” you bowed curtly.

“Stop with the damn formalities already. Anyway, what’s that?” he asked, pointing at the kitten.

“This? It was following me and it was raining.....so I thought that I should bring it in.” you mumbled, walking alongside the ash blonde with the kitten in one hand and the groceries in the other.

“[First Name], you’re back! Did you get those groceries we needed? Oh, a kitten!” Hagakure exclaimed, noting the feline you were carrying in your arms. You gave the invisible girl a nod as she slowly approached you, cooing at the cute little animal.

Everyone began to crowd around you who had brought home a kitten. Sitting on the floor, you let the kitten drink from the small bowl of water you had brought out. It seemed to have grown attached to you, staying crawled up on your lap as the girls cooed and gave it their full attention. Some of the boys couldn’t help but to coo at the feline, watching as you toy with the tip of its ears.

“I wonder if I can keep it.....I hope Aizawa-sensei doesn’t mind.” you said, glancing at your friends.

“Well, Aizawa-sensei likes cats too, so hopefully he decides that keeping this kitten will be fine.” Hagakure pointed out.

“Oh! Why don’t you give it a name, [First Name]? You’ve never had a pet before right? Your parents always thought that you could never handle one.” Kirishima hummed as you nodded. You gently stroked the kitten’s gray fur.

“How about, Haiiro?” you mumbled, cradling the cat close to your chest. The kitten meowed cutely, pawing at your chest as if to voice their approval. You found yourself unconsciously smiling.

“You like it that much, huh?” you smiled softly.

Everyone saw it. Your soft smile, the movement of your lips tugged upwards and forming that specific curve. The bonus was that you were holding such a cute white-gray furred Ragamuffin in your hands. You let out a small chuckle when the cat struggled in your arms and continued to paw at you. The boys could’ve sworn that they felt something tug their heart strings. Even Bakugou found himself flustered, covering the expanse of his face as he looked away from you.

The first time you had smiled in front of them was not a result of their efforts but it felt so damn good. They burned this sight into their minds, noting the dimples that appeared when you smiled. It was just so refreshing and cute.

“THAT’S CUTE!” some of your classmates cooed.

“Eh? What? Do you want to hold Haiiro-chan?” you questioned, holding up the kitten who began to rub itself against your cheek. Everyone was stunned, the boys were still recovering from witnessing such an innocent act from you while the girls were smiling at you. They didn’t say anything and you glanced around until your eyes laid on Midoriya.

“Do you want to hold it, Midoriya-kun?” you asked.

“Eh? Ah, um! Well! About that! I can’t! Yes! I can’t!” he fumbled over his words, cheeks bright red as you tilted your head. You turned towards Todoroki who stood beside him and stuck out the kitten, hoping that your bicolor haired classmate would take it from you.

“Here, Todoroki-kun.”

“Huh?”

“You looked like you wanted to hold Haiiro-chan.”

“N-No....I’m fine.” he muttered. You frowned at his response before glancing at everyone, wondering what was wrong with them. One moment, they were cooing at Haiiro and the other, they were speechless and flustered.

“What’s wrong with everyone?” you wondered out loud.

“N-Nothing! It’s just that.....it was kind of cute.....” Uraraka mumbled in embarrassment as she averted her gaze away from you.

“.....Kittens are cute, aren’t they?” you mumbled, smiling again.

You’re the one who’s too cute! were everyone’s unsaid thoughts.

“Bakugou-kun, your face is red, are you fine?” you asked in concern after leaving the kitten on the ground. The rest of your classmates began to play with it, making weird faces and talking with one another about how they have another member in their family.

“Hah!? What are you talking about!?” Bakugou exclaimed, turning to snap at you.

“Do you like cats? You think they’re cute too? It’s nothing to be ashamed of.” you mumbled. Then you turned around to join your classmates, leaving the ash blonde to stand alone. Midway, you stopped and looked over your shoulder.

“I’ll let you play with Haiiro-chan if you’re embarrassed to do it now.” you said.

“That girl is so damn clueless! Not knowing that everyone was fawning over her cute ass smile....” Bakugou grumbled, shoving his hands into his pockets.

Total: 2033 words Published: 05.04.2019

Thank you for requesting! (ㅅ•᎑•) Ohhh! This was a hard one for me because I naturally just smile at people.... .....because I’ve been told that it brings me good luck so..... But I did my best! And with Natsuki’s help, this scenario was a success. Poor Kaminari, no laughs earned from his joke;; ― author Lou

Thank you for requesting! Super relatable because I’m normally emotionless when I first meet people. Couldn’t think of reasons to smile except for when you pet cats and dogs..... There’s a lot but this was the first thing that came into mind.― author Natsuki

We opened up an ask meme [?] If you’re interested please have a look here

Please do not mind the grammar mistakes and typos.

[crimson-mage-02]

Mysterious Voice Modern Au Chapter 9: Festive Memories

A/N: I am so sorry that i haven't really posted a new chapter on Mysterious Voice. It has been a very long time and i really did want to post it but then S8 came. I was crushed. So i tried healing my broken heart by finishing this up. Unfortunately this is the last chapter and i hope you enjoyed. @kalluralove

Tonight was the festival. The students in the school were preparing the stalls around the school yard, having lanterns hanging up as Lance had planned. Hunk and his classmates cooked food and Keith was helping his other friends with the Game Booths to set up then he has to pick up, Allura, Pidge and Shay at her house.

He drove to her house, ringing the bell as Allura opened the door whole fixing her hearing aids. "Oh, hi Keith! The girls are just getting ready!" Allura signed as Keoth nodded. "You need help?" Keith signed, asking her.

Allura nodded as she fixed her hearing aid. Shay and Katie came down in their dresses and ran to Keith's car. "They are excited." Keith comments.

"Yes, they are. But they just want to see their precious boyfriends." Allura giggled as she got her handbag. "Ready?" Keith nodded as she locked the door.

They have arrived at their school's festival and there were lots of people looking over the stalls and saw some people at football field getting on rides.

Shay went up to Hunk and helped him with the food. Katie ran up to Lance as he lefted her up and kisses her. Keith and Allira smiled as they went to explore the stalls. Keith won her a blue lion soft toy. Then Allura won him a hippo soft toy to which he blushed lightly.

Hunk and Shay along with Lance and Pidge came to them as they went to a photobooth to take photos.

"Ohh, this is cute!" Allura squealed at a picture of Hunk kissing Shay on the cheek. The girls giggled as the boys looked at their girlfriends.

Lance glanced at the entrance and saw the bike group that Keith used to be in. "Keith, behind you." Lance says as he gestured him to the entrance seeing Acxa with her other friends.

He glared at her and looked away as they all moved on to another place to hang out. The festival was almost over as they all started the firework countdown.

Keith gave Allura his jacket after seeing her shivering. "Thank you, Keith." Allura thanked him.

"So, tomorrow." Keith said. Allura nodded sadly. "But do not worry. We can always call each other."

Keith smiled at her and cups her cheek as he leaned to kiss her while the fireworks had started. Allura moaned into the kiss as she wrapped her arms around his neck and Keith held her tightly.

After they broke the kiss, Keith and Allura met up with the others at a food stall with Hunk being their waiter.

Their time together was well spent even it's Allura's last day with her boyfriend and friends.

The next day, Allura was putting the boxes in the car with her father. She was sad she had to leave her friends behind.

All of them met her in the airport. They all already had tears in their eyes as Lance gave her a bear crushing hug along with Hunk. "We all will miss you!! Call us anytime, Lura." Hunk sniffed, wiping his tears away. "Yeah call us anytime to keep you company." Lance smiled. Katie and Shay hugged her tightly as their tears rolled down their drenched cheeks. "Going to miss you a lot." Katie cried as Shay rubbed her back. "Thanks for everything guys. I will miss you all." Allura said while signing.

Keith was the last one to saying goodbye to her. She walked to him, signing. "Keith, thank you for being there for me. Thank for being my best friend. Thank you for being my boyfriend. I'll always be with you and i will never ever stop loving you." Allura signed as Keith hugged her tightly and he kissed her head as everyone watched.

"Allura, i want to thank for being my best friend and my girlfriend. You'll always be in my heart. You are my only mysterious voice and love. Always and forever. I love you, Butterfly." Keith says as they leaned in for a kiss as Allura wrapped her arms around his neck and Keith holding her closely to him. They broke apart as her plane was about to leave.

"Come along now Allura." Alfor said as Allura nodded and looked her boyfriend and get friends. She smiled at them ad she kissed Keith again and went to her father to get on board in the plane.

Keith smiled as they waved goodbye to her. They saw her plane flying away from their sight in the air.

Keith will never forget his love for Allura. Never. Months would go on and they still kept in touch by video calling and sending each others gifts on Birthdays, Valinetines Day and Christmas. They still love each other even they are separated. Their memories they cherished are still with them. They are each others Mysterious voices.

A/N: that's it!!! Please send some feedback! Please do. I hope you enjoyed this little AU for Kallura.

[ktrsss1fics]

Passionfruit.

There is a saying that says, “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.”

In order for something to happen in Vegas, Georgina Ferguson needed to get to Las Vegas. She should have been getting ready for brunch with the girls but she wasn’t. She was currently stuck in a window seat on an overcrowded Delta plane at LAX. They had been stuck at the gate for the past forty-five minutes. She was on her way to meet her friends to celebrate Mags’ birthday and to watch Niall perform at the iHeartRadio festival.

At that very moment, she regretted her decision to book the flight. Her original plan was to drive out after work Friday night. She could have slept on the floor in Brittany’s room and enjoyed an extra night out with her friends. The universe had other plans for her. Georgina didn’t get out of the office until half past eight. By the time she finished packing, she’d be driving through the desert in the dead of the night. Too many dangerous hypotheticals had filled her brain so she decided against it.

Since arriving back from Aruba, she tried to be more of an active participant in her social life. She tried to not let work consume her. She spent a few nights a week bouncing between the homes of her friends. Most of those nights were filled with food and laughter. On the nights she wasn’t trying to change her friends’ perception of her, Georgina was sat in a theater room with a bottle of wine and a curious puppy.

Niall’s adoption of Scout had been beneficial to the entire group. They had something to occupy their time while he was gone. Scout took day trips with Britt and Dave, stayed the weekends with Mags and Jamie, and spent the rest of her time at Georgina’s flat. The little chocolate lab was a constant reminder of their Irish best friend. Everyone tried to spend as much time with her as possible.

When the plane finally was up in the air, Georgina used her time to mentally prepare for the weekend. Her itinerary included a little bit of gambling, some fun by the pool, and a good amount of alcohol. She had no issues with those plans. She had actually been looking forward to them all week.

There was one thing that she was worried about.

It was going to be the first time she’s seen Niall since he left.

They texted every day and FaceTimed when he could but things were different. She’d get to see him in the flesh for the first time in a month and she was nervous about it.

She was nervous that things were going to be different. She was nervous that him being away would change where things were headed. She was nervous that he had found someone new.

She knew it was her insecurities poisoning her mind. She hadn’t been in this phase of a relationship in a very long time. The last time she had a serious crush on someone was when she was thirteen. The last time she wanted to get to know someone better she still had posters of Take That on her walls. She felt like the rusted Tin Man in the forest and Dorothy hadn’t found her yet.

By the time she came out of her thoughts, the plane was ready to make its final descent. She hadn’t realized how quick the flight had been. She made a mental checklist of what she needed to do as soon as she got off the plane. When she headed to baggage claim, she turned her cell phone back on. A flurry of notifications flew across the screen. There were a few messages from work and a voicemail from her mother. The rest of the notifications were from her friends giving her a hard time for being late. She watched a series of videos on Snapchat of Niall and the boys giving her a lecture. Hearing his laugh, seeing his face, and realizing in a short few hours she’d be able to be in his presence made her nerves start to fade.

Her luggage came around the conveyor belt quicker than she anticipated. She was in the middle of setting up a ride on Lyft when the llama luggage tag her brother gifted her last Christmas caught her eye. As she went to grab her bag, a text message came in. Apparently, there was a car waiting to pick her up. She was so surprised by the gesture that she didn’t pick her bag up in time. She took a deep breath as she waited for it to come around again. She needed to get it together.

With her luggage in hand, she made her way towards the exit. A dark haired man, waiting by a black town car, held a sign with her name on it. Niall always thought of everything. The man was from Texas and reminded of her father’s brother. He made a few jokes as they fought through airport traffic. She sent the girls a message letting them know she was on her way.

Jenna’s aunt had helped the group get a block of rooms at a discounted rate at the Cosmopolitan. From the pictures that were sent, the rooms were nicer than all of their homes combined. It was going to be a good time.

As the car turned onto Tropicana, a wave of electricity shot through her body.

She made it.

She was in Las Vegas and she was ready for whatever the weekend had in store.

As soon as she got to the hotel, Georgina checked in and headed straight to her room. She wanted to change out of her flight clothes and into something more comfortable before she saw her friends. She pulled out two birthday cards from her carry-on bag. The one for Mags was filled out within a few seconds. She gushed about their friendship and how much she appreciated the older sister influence Mags brought to her life. The second card was left blank.

She didn’t know what she wanted to say -- not yet at least.

She grabbed one of the wrapped gifts from her luggage and her purse before leaving the room. Almost instantly, her phone vibrated in her pocket. She had put a ban on all work business for the weekend. When Debra’s name appeared on the screen, she knew that ban was a good idea. She hit ignore as someone catcalled her from down the hall. She looked up to find Jamie standing with a smug look his face and a bucket of ice in his hand.

“Does your lady know you’re catcalling other women?” Georgina asked with an eyebrow raised.

“Ehh, she won’t mind it.” He smiled as he waited for her to catch up.

Georgina picked up her pace until she met him. They shared a brief embrace before falling in stride with one another.

“You fly the plane here yourself, Ferguson?” He teased as they stopped in front of a room.

“Feels like it.” She sighed.

“You just missed Ni.” Jamie said trying to get his room key out of his wallet. “He had to go do soundcheck or an interview or something official.”

Georgina took the ice bucket trying to help, “Oh. How was brunch?”

“Bit overpriced if you ask me.” He shrugged. “But it was nice. Right now we are trying to make a plan. The um girls were thinking about going to the pool. The lads and I were going to start drinking. You are welcome to join either group.”

“Good to know.” She smiled. “How’s she doing?”

“Countdown to thirty has already started.” He said shaking his head.

“Is she mad I missed brunch?” Georgina asked slightly worried.

Jamie looked surprised. “No way. She totally understands. She had a meltdown Wednesday night because she didn’t think she’d get everything done on Thursday. Work comes first.”

“I feel so guilty.” She sighed. “I’ve been doing good lately. I just don’t want you guys to go back to disliking me because I work all the time.”

“Fergie, you need to cut yourself some slack. You’re doing your best and it shows. No one hates you.” He said stroking her back gently. “No one ever has.”

“But in Aruba…” She started to say but stopped when he turned to open the door.

“That was Keith being a twat.” Jamie shook his head. “We might give you shit but it’s because we love ya.”

Georgina faked a smile stepping inside the room, “If you say so James.”

“Who’s there?” Brittany’s distinct voice called out as she leaned towards the door. “Hey babe!”

“Fergie!” Mags squealed as she stepped out of the bathroom.

The two women pulled each other into a tight embrace.

“I’m so sorry I missed it.” She whispered in the older girl’s ear.

“Hush! You’re alright love.” Mags squeezed her a little tighter. “Didn’t miss much.”

“First rounds on me tonight, yeah?” Georgina said as she pulled away.

“Not gonna argue with that.” Mags winked before motioning towards the bar. “Help yourself.”

“Thanks.” She smiled before handing over the gift. “Happy Birthday!”

While Mags read her card, Georgina walked around the room greeting the rest of her friends. Brittany had gotten up to refill her drink. She filled up an extra flute of champagne and handed it to her best friend. Georgina placed a kiss on her as a sign of gratitude.

“Flight from hell?” Brittany asked with a laugh.

“You have no idea.” Georgina said taking a small sip from her glass.

“Did ya have a fucking layover in Wolvo or what?” Dave teased bringing over a container of orange juice for the blonde to add to her drink.

She put out her glass for him to fill. “It feels like it.”

“What took so long?” He asked topping it off.

Georgina tapped her glass against his as a thank you.

“Apparently, planes need fuel to fly.” She said dryly.

“You don’t say.” He replied in a faux posh accent.

“Shocking, I know.” She replied mimicking his tone.

“Ferguson, I love you!” Mags called from the room caressing a bottle of sherry.

“Love you too, Sister Mary Margaret.” Georgina teased making everyone in the room laugh.

“Who wants Bristol Cream?” Mags called out opening the bottle.

Brittany got up and headed across the room to fill up another cup.

Georgina felt Dave move closer to her. He raised his drink to cover his mouth but she couldn't understand what he was trying to say. He scanned the room. No one would notice if they slipped out onto the balcony.

Dave nodded towards the door and made his way outside. Georgina followed behind him. Once outside, she sat down on the chair in the corner. Her eyes trailed off to the sun soaked Strip as he sat down beside her.

Dave sipped on his beer slowly. Georgina took her eyes off the road and focused on him.

“What's up?” She asked nudging his leg.

“He's nervous.” He said keeping his eyes on the street.

It took a moment for Georgina to realize who he was referring to. Once she did, she didn't know how to respond.

“He's like really nervous.” He repeated.

“I would be too.” She stated deciding to play it cool. “I mean two performances in one day and all those people to sing too.”

“No babe. He's not nervous about that.” Dave said turning his attention to her. “He's done all that before. He’s used to playing massive crowds. He's nervous because he's going to be performing for you.”

She tried her best to fight off the blush that wanted so badly to form. “What?”

“You haven't seen him solo yet. He's worried he's not going to impress you.” Dave smiled.

“How do you know that?” She asked shyly.

“Told me during our cuddle this morning.” Dave said placing a hand on her leg.

Georgina’s face lit up. “Your what?”

“Britt went to Jenna’s room to help her with her hair so we just had a little cuddle and talked about the day.” Dave explained. “He just mentioned he was a bit worried that you wouldn't like it. You're the last one of the group to see him perform.”

She couldn't help but smile. Niall Horan was probably the sweetest boy she'd ever met. He always wanted to please his friends. He was such a perfectionist. If one of them wasn't pleased with something, he would try his best to fix it. He wanted them to like his music and so far he had succeeded.

Dave squeezed her leg, “Are you two together?”

She shook her head finishing off her glass. His straightforward approach took her by surprise.

“Really? He's more smitten than usual.” Dave said surprised. “I figured maybe you came to your senses.”

“We’re just friends.” She said glancing up at him.

Dave nodded. “Oh.”

“But like not like before. Like actual friends.” Georgina admitted softly.

“So you aren't being a dick to him anymore, that's good to know.” He teased making her blush. “That's probably why he's a lot happier.”

“He uh cares a lot. I couldn't do that to him.” She admitted. “I mean he's Marcus but he's not Marcus, ya know?”

Dave looked confused before it hit him. “Fuck. He's Marcus.”

She nodded slowly. “That's why I hated him.”

“But he's like top shelf Marcus,” Dave replied. “Like top shelf top class non-cheating Marcus.”

“So basically he’s not Marcus. He’s Niall.” She laughed making him smile.

“Yeah. Niall’s Niall.” Dave said.

“The reason I was looking for him that day was because I felt bad for being mean to him.”  She explained. “Our last dinner in Aruba made me realize everyone thinks I'm a bitch so I've been trying to fix it.”

Dave rolled his eyes. “Fuck Keith. His opinion doesn't matter.”

“Yeah well it put things into perspective.” She sighed. “So when I couldn't find him, I thought he left for Ireland already and I had been mean to him so I wanted to fix things.”

“And you fixed them. Kid still thinks you shit rainbows and butterflies.” Dave teased.

Georgina shoved him playfully. “Fuck off.”

He leaned in close and lowered his voice. “I didn't tell Britt and I won't tell her about this either.”

“Why not?” She asked watching him finish off his drink.

He shrugged. “Like keeping secrets with you.”

“Just like primary school.” Georgina said patting his leg. “Never did tell Britt you had a crush on her.”

“No but fucking Sophie did.” He grumbled.

“Can't say anything around the women in that family unless you want everyone to know it.” Georgina said as the balcony door opened.

“You convince her to make out with Ni, yet?” Mags asked with a smirk.

Dave’s eyes lit up as he scanned between the two women. “What?”

“Nothing!” They sang in unison.

He narrowed his eyes at them. “Don’t believe ya. I’ll be keepin’ my eyes on you two today.”

Mags rolled her eyes dramatically. “Wastin’ your time love.”

“It’s girl talk.” Georgina said patting his leg. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Fergie Ferg, we are going shopping at Caesars.” Mags said. “Wanna come?”

“Sure.” She smiled as she stood up.

“Georgina, if you want to make out with him, he’d let you.” Dave said patting her leg as she walked past him.

Mags and the rest of the girls started laughing loudly. Heat rushed to Georgina’s cheeks.

“Oh fuck off, all of ya.” She rolled her eyes as she headed inside.

The best thing about Las Vegas is the mentality that rules don't matter. What happens there, stays there. The possibilities are endless. A person can openly drink a cocktail, smoke a cigarette and gamble all while waiting for their morning breakfast. Naked women are sprawled across the streets of the Strip while men from Australia strip for bachelorette parties full of intoxicated women. Buffets of surf, turf, and everything in between are accessible twenty-four hours a day. Alcohol is served in bowls, pyramids, and even the Eiffel Tower. It's every wild child’s paradise.

Georgina was trying her best to live up to that wild child persona. So far she had won fifty dollars playing roulette, bought a Celine Dion shirt for her mother, and watched Mags spend too much money on a pair of shoes. She even splurged on some Taco Bell on the way to the arena where the concert was being held. She was already enjoying this trip a lot more than the last time she was in Sin City -- and she hadn't even seen Niall yet.

She felt good and that in itself felt good.

She currently stood beside Jenna in an overcrowded line at a concession stand. Britt and Mags were right behind them. The boys had sent them on a beer run. They were only a few songs away from when Niall was due on stage and the boys wanted to do a celebratory toast in his honor.

Georgina couldn't deny that she was a bit nervous. The fear of the unknown was always something she struggled with. Being that this was the first time she'd get to see Niall by himself, she didn't know what to expect. She knew he was a great performer. But he wasn't going to have those four moving parts around him and that was a scary thought. The rest of their friends had already seen him perform on more than one occasion. They made it to Wango Tango, they caravanned down to see him in San Diego, they made the trip out to be at Summertime Ball, and they scheduled their life around the LA date of his current tour.

She couldn't do that. Her job wouldn't allow it.

She fit a tinge of guilt when she thought about watching him sing. It had nearly been a year since he released his first solo single and she hadn't taken the time to see him sing it live. She knew that he understood. Her work schedule was hard to plan around. But there was something inside her that made her feel like a terrible friend for waiting so long.

That's part of the reason why she needed to get her hand on a pint before he came on stage. She needed something to calm her nerves.

By the time the girls got back to their seats, Ryan Seacrest took the stage to amp up the crowd before announcing who the next act was. As soon as Ireland left his lips, it was pretty obvious who it was going to be.

A boisterous chant began as the lights went out. High pitched squeals and mind-numbing screams filled the air. The lights went out. A drum beat started to play as Georgina held her breath.

This was it. The moment she was waiting for.

By the time the rest of the band kicked in, a spotlight shone brightly on center stage. A charismatic boy from the midlands of Ireland stood with a guitar and a beaming smile on his face. As soon as the first note left his lips, Georgina and the group of women standing in front of her were done for. They had perfect reason to be. His voice sounded even better in person.

Two songs in, Georgina almost couldn’t believe her eyes. Niall Horan was the ultimate performer. The way he moved around the stage and interacted with the audience was electric. His dedication to his craft was admirable. Everyone in the stadium could tell that he genuinely loved what he was doing. He had grown so much since she’d seen him last. He wasn’t just the fourth member of a boy band. He was a confident (and incredibly sexy) independent artist with a story to tell. She watched the group of women in front of her melt over the boy who was so drunk at Jamie’s 30th that he sang a potted plant to sleep.

His set was short but the songs he chose were memorable.With one song left, Niall rested an arm on his mic stand while taking a sip from a bottle of water. The cameraman focused in on his face. A mischievous glint shone in his eye. That look was infamous amongst the group -- especially was booze was involved. Georgina didn’t know what was about to happen but she knew it was going to be good.

Niall grabbed the mic off the stand and put the bottle on the floor. “Oi Vegas!”

The crowd cheered in response.

“Mr. Cameraman, can you put the camera on the spot that we discussed earlier?” He asked with a smile.

Georgina watched as the camera scanned the crowd. It wasn’t long until her face was being projected across the jumbo screen. Brittany and Dave erupted into laughter.

“Oh look it’s Fergie! Hey Ferg.” Niall cheered into the mic.

Her eyes went wide as all eyes focused on her. She raised her pint in front of her face trying to hide but it didn’t work. Niall’s infamous laugh erupted loudly through the sound system. Georgina shook her head. She could feel her entire body getting warm from the attention.

“Why ya – why ya shakin’ your head at me? Is it the attention? Am I embarassin’ ya?” He asked with a  cheeky grin. “If any of you want to know any facts about flowers, Fergie’s your girl.”

Georgina casually flipped him off making the rest of her friends laugh. The group of women in front of her were quick to shoot dirty looks in her direction but she didn’t care. Niall was proving that things were going to be fine between them.

The smile on Niall’s face grew even bigger. “Fat Tuesday later?”

Wolf whistles escaped the lips of Jamie and Dave causing Georgina’s skin to grow pink.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” He winked. He cleared his throat. “Anyways, we have to go over one more person. Op! There were go. Ladies and gentlemen, this is my friend Mags.”

Maggie dramatically took a bow making him laugh.

“Today is her twenty-ninth birthday.” He said making the crowd scream.

“You see the handsome devil on her left? That’s her fella Jamie.” Niall explained. “When the last song I’m gonna play tonight first came out, he was obsessed with it.”

“What is he doing?” Mags asked not knowing what was going on.

“Sang it in the shower, at the gym, on his way to work.” Niall laughed looking directly at his friend. “He sang it so much that little Miss Mags banned him from singin’ it.”

He jutted out his hip and started to mimic Mags’ accent. “If you aren’t Niall, you aren’t singin’ it.”

His entire group of friends keeled over in laughter. His impression was spot on.

“Anyways, if it’s alright with Miss Margaret, the last song of the night will be a little tune called ‘This Town’.” Niall said with a smile. “Is that alright with the Birthday Girl?”

The small brunette sent a double thumbs up towards the stage. The crowd cheered happily.

With a nod of his head, Niall placed the mic back on his stand as his drummer counted him in. The folky song about falling in love in a small town engrossed the audience. Brittany linked her arm around Georgina’s as a soft sing-along took form.

Jamie started off the song in perfect sync with Niall. By the time chorus came around for a second time, his singing stopped. No one really noticed though. No one saw him pull a box out of his pocket and get down on one knee. Mags gave him a confused look as he tugged on her hand. He started to speak but the sounds of the crowd made it hard to hear.

He realized his plan wasn’t working so he put a new one into place. This caught the eye of everyone around them. Tears formed in the eyes of Georgina and Brittany as they saw what was happening. Jamie opened the box to reveal a large diamond ring.

Without a second thought, Mags agreed. Jamie stood up and pulled her into his arms. A sweet embrace was shared between the newly engaged couple as the song came to an end. Niall peered into the crowd looking for his friends. Before thanking everyone for watching his play, he called out Jamie’s name hoping for good news. The cameraman panned the crowd until their group appeared once. Mags held up her hand showing off the ring that had just been put on. With a large smile on his face, Niall let out a small cheer before hopping off stage.

The lights went out and everyone prepared for the next performer to come on stage. Jenna worked her way over to the other girls. She pulled them into a group hug. Congratulatory kisses were placed across Mags’ face as her ring was inspected. They couldn’t believe what just happened. Their friends were engaged and the entire world got to see it.

Before the next performer went on, Georgina and the gang headed back to the hotel. They grabbed a few boxed meals from Taco Bell and a couple bottles of alcohol on their way up to Jamie and Mags’ room. A feast fit for a frat house commenced as they waited for Niall to join.

“Jim Jam, you take a loan out for that rock?” Georgina asked taking a sip of her mixed drink.

“I know Daddy Warbucks.” Jenna joked patting his back.

“Very funny.” Jamie rolled his eyes. “It was six months of overtime actually.”

“It’s stunning.” Brittany said grabbing Mags’ hand. “Absolutely stunning.”

“Way to put the pressure on mate.” Dave said. “We’ve got to compete with an entire planet.”

“Size shouldn’t matter.” Georgina said.

“We’ll uh let Ni know you think that.” Mags winked making the other girls laugh.

Heat rushed to Georgina’s cheeks as the boys started to join in on the teasing.

“I mean we aren’t sayin’ that’s an issue with him but uh it’s nice to know, right?” Keith said.

“Why do you guys always get naked together?” Brittany rolled her eyes.

Dave shook his head. “What we do by ourselves is none of your business.”

“You are all idiots.” Georgina said as a knock came to the door.

“Yeah yeah but you love us.” Jamie said as he left to answer it.

Standing with two magnum bottles of champagne and an excited look on his face was the group’s favorite Irishman.

“Nialler!” Brittany and Jenna cheered as he stepped inside.

Mags made her way towards him. “You are a little shit Niall Horan.”

“You loved every second of it..” Niall said with arms wide open.

“You’re right.” She whispered pulling him in for a hug. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”

“Congratulations babe.” He said placing a kiss on her cheek.

“Let’s get those bottles opened.” Keith said getting plastic cups ready.

Niall handed the bottles over before going around the room saying hello and thanking his friends for coming to see him play. With a half eaten taco in her hand, Georgina watched Niall joke around with Dave. He looked happy -- like genuinely happy --  and that made her happy.

He casually slipped away from Dave and made his way towards her. She put down her food and stood up from her spot on the couch. The light in his baby blue eyes grew a little brighter as he saw the smile on her face. He opened his mouth to thank her for coming but she stopped him.

“You’re a little shit Horan.” Georgina said shaking her head.

Niall just laughed before pulling her into his arms. She sighed as he held her close.

He whispered in her ear, “Have I fucking missed you…”

“Can’t say the same.” She said as he tightened his grip on her.

Niall pulled his head away from her confused. “Why?”

Georgina stood back and hit him in the arm. “Four fucking people asked me for flower facts before we left!”

Niall giggled trying to defend himself from her. “Fergie! I’m sorry. I thought I was bein’ funny.”

“You do know a lot about flowers, G.” Brittany said eavesdropping.

“Yeah well that doesn’t mean the whole world needs to know.” She said shyly.

“Ferg, you bring those black heels for me?” Jenna asked from across the room.

Georgina turned her attention towards her friend. “Yeah have ‘em in me room.”

“I need them before we leave.” She said taking a sip of her champagne.

“What are we gonna do?” Jamie asked. “Like what’s the game plan?”

“First we are going to toast to the happy couple.” Dave said raising his cup in the air.

“Oi oi!” Niall said slinging an arm around Georgina’s shoulder.

“Out of all of us, we knew it’d be you two first. Congratulations to Jamie and Mags.” Brittany said as the rest of the group finished their drinks.

“Now that that’s taken care of, we need to get fucked up.” Dave said casually. “Only logical.”

“Why don’t the ladies get ready while us men head downstairs and pillage the tables?” Jamie suggested.

“Sounds good to me.” Mags nodded. “Ferg, did you bring your big curling iron?”

“Yeah in me room.” She said. “And Britt, I brought the lipstick you asked for.”

“Girls trip to Ferg’s room.” Jenna said heading for the door. “Bye boys.”

Georgina turned towards Niall. “I’ll see you in a bit.”

“Ni, you gonna come with us?” Dave asked as the rest of the girls made their way to the door.

“I need to get a quick shower in first. Kinda sweaty and need to calm down after all that.” Niall said. “But I’ll meet you down there when I’m done.”

“Sounds good. We’ll see ya there mate.” Jamie said. “You two change your shit and let’s go.”

The group headed their separate ways. The boys got dressed and headed down to have a few cigars at the bar. The girls made their way to Georgina’s room in search of things they needed to get ready. When she opened the door, a surprise was waiting for her.

Sitting on the dresser near the television was a gorgeous floral arrangement.

The group of women couldn’t believe it. These weren’t the run of the mill arrangements bought at the farmer’s market. These were top-dollar boutique flowers. Georgina had a feeling about who they came from but she didn’t want to get her hopes up.

“What the fuck?” Mags whispered. “Georgina! Who are they from?”

“There’s no note.” Georgina said smelling them.

“You’ve got a secret admirer, G.” Brittany nudged her.

“I wonder who they’re from.” Jenna said touching a few of the petals.

Georgina turned to look at her friends. “You guys did this. Didn’t you?”

Jenna, Mags, and Brittany looked at her confused.

“If this is you three sending these pretending to be Niall so I will make out with him, I swear to God I’m going to lose my shit.” Georgina said with a sigh.

Mags cackled loudly, “That would be fuckin’ brilliant.”

“If we were pretending to be The Baby, we’d leave a note.” Jenna said crossing her arms over her chest.

“And we wouldn’t spend this much money on ya.” Brittany winked.

Georgina rolled her eyes. “You three are such bitches sometimes.”

“We are only jokin’ babe. Bit of banter.” Mags said softly. “We love ya too much to be that cruel.”

Georgina’s cheeks grew a little warm. Maybe there were from Niall after all.

“Maybe there were for Mags and they got delivered to the wrong room.” Jenna suggested.

“Or it could be that new guy at work. What’s his name Ferg? Nasty Nate?” Brittany asked.

“Nathaniel?” Georgina said running a hand over the top of the arrangement. “I hope not.”

“What if it was Marcus?” Brittany teased.

“You can fuck right off Brittany Anne.” Georgina glared.

“I'm only joking. He wouldn't be able to afford anything this nice.” Brittany said heading towards Georgina’s luggage.

“Whoever sent it has good taste.” Jenna sighed.

“Why ya sighin?” Georgina asked stroking Jenna’s back lovingly.

“Just bein’ a jealous sad sap.” Jenna shrugged. “I think I need to get drunk.”

“That's our cue to get this show on the road.” Mags said linking her fingers with Jenna’s.

Brittany grabbed everything Georgina had brought for her friends. “Thanks for this babe.”

“Yeah no worries. Are we meeting back at Mags?” She asked heading for her bag.

Mags nodded. “Whenever you're ready.”

“Brilliant. See you then.” Georgina said as her friends headed back to their own rooms.

She barely got a shower in when a knock came to her door. With a toothbrush in her mouth and a towel on her head, she answered it. Standing in a button up shirt and a nice pair of nice jeans was a very tired looking Niall Horan. His hair was freshly tousled and his cologne was doing its best to reel her in.

“Sorry, your kind isn't allowed round these parts.” She said dryly.

“Why's that?” He asked shoving his hands in his pockets.

Georgina shrugged. “Don't really like your face.”

Niall rolled his eyes and walked past her. She headed back into the bathroom to finish brushing her teeth.

“Why aren't you going down with the boys?” She asked before splashing water on her face.

“Just wanted a few minutes to myself.” He called back from the other room.

“But you aren't --” She mumbled into the towel she was using to dry herself.

“You know what I mean Ferg.” He sighed.

“You spent too much time with them already.” She called back as she plugged in her hair dryer.

“Kinda. Just needed some time to regroup after all the chaos of today.” He explained.

“Understandable.” She said throwing her wet towel on the floor. “Not gonna be able to hear you for a bit so don't say anything important.”

“Won’t profess me undying love for you, don't worry.” He mumbled dryly.

Georgina rolled her eyes as she ran a comb through her hair.

He was such a little shit.

As he waited to spend some time with the one girl he’d been missing the most, Niall laid down on her bed and closed his eyes. It wasn’t even ten o'clock yet and the pop star wanted nothing more than to go to sleep. The past week was finally catching up to him -- the anticipation of seeing his friends, the excitement of performing in front of that large of a crowd, the travel, the night of drinking the night before. It was all too much for the twenty-four year old.

He needed a recharge but he knew it wasn’t going to happen any time soon.

They were in Vegas after all.

They were in Vegas. He really couldn’t believe it. He had been waiting for this day since he left for tour. They were finally reunited, even if it was for a night. Just knowing Fergie was going to be in the same vicinity as him boosted morale.

Georgina had unfortunately missed his show in LA. He knew she tried her best to be there but as usual her job got in the way. He was disappointed but there was a small part of him that was relieved. The amount of pressure he had put on himself to be perfect was ridiculous. The amount of pressure he put on himself to be perfect for Georgina was even worse.

He wanted her to like him. He wanted her to like his performance, his songs, his stage persona. She had always been a tough critic. Unlike their friends, she’d tell him the truth no matter how much it hurt. In the industry he was in, he needed those type of people in his life.

When he heard the dryer turn off, he knew he had two options. He could get up and be proactive about finding out her opinion or he could wait for her to come to him. He chose the latter.

“Ni?” Georgina called from the bathroom. “Do you know what clubs we are going to?”

“Omnia, I think.” He said trying to remember if the girls had said something earlier. “Maybe XS.”

“Hopefully not Hakkasan.” She said quietly.

The corners up his lips turned up into a smile. “Why not?”

“Niall Horan, you know the answer to that!” She exclaimed.

“Fergie, everyone’s forgot about that.” He laughed. “No one even saw you fall.”

“Clearly, that’s a lie!” She said stepping out of the bathroom.

“I know it is.” He laughed.”But I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

“Alright Mr. Life of the Party.” Georgina teased. She smiled at the sight she saw. He was curled up in a ball ready to fall asleep.

“You like the flowers? I did some research and did you know that striped carnations--” He started to say.

Georgina quickly interjected. “Mean I miss you.”

“Of course you knew that.” He mumbled shyly.

“Thanks for not including a card.” She said sitting beside him on the bed. “Sherlock, Watson, and Agatha were havin’ a field day trying to figure out who they were from.”

A deep belly laugh escaped his lips as he opened his eyes, “Really?”

Georgina nodded. “I tried to make them feel bad by saying they sent them as a  way to convince me to make out with you.”

“Why is the thought of us making out such a horrible idea?” He asked softly.

She shook her head before laying down beside him. His arm immediately pulled her closer.

“Us making out isn’t the issue.” She whispered. “It’s doing it in front of them.”

“We’d get shit for days.” He sighed kissing her forehead. “I know baby girl, I know.”

Georgina sighed nuzzing into his neck. “Let’s take a nap.”

“You’re supposed to be the disciplined one.” He whined.

“We can take twenty minutes.” She yawned. “Then you need to leave and go be a lad.”

“I want to be the old man of the group.” Niall yawned in return closing his eyes.

“You can’t. You’re the baby.” She said. “Speaking of, I got you a gift. You want it now?”

“There isn’t enough time for a nap and a blow job, love.” He deadpanned.

“Fine.” She grumbled in mock annoyance.

He peered out of one eye, “Wait, are you being serious?”

“You rejected my offer so the world will never know.” She smirked.

Niall leaned forward and placed his lips to hers, “You’re a brat Ferguson.”

She didn’t say anything. She just leaned in a little closer and kissed him.

This was the kiss that they had been waiting for. The kiss that had been building since the day that he left. The kiss that savored good morning snaps and good night texts. The kiss that had been on his mind all morning. The kiss that she had been wanting to give the moment she saw his face.The kiss that sent a shock through his entire body and woke him up.

He snaked his hand through her hair holding onto the back of her neck. The slow and intimate kiss turned into a few quick pecks as his lower lip got caught between her teeth. He took this as a sign. In one fell swoop, Georgina was on her back and his body was rested on top of hers.

The sexual frustration that had built up was finally being released. His hand made its way down to her hip. He held on tight. He was going to appreciate every inch of her body while he got the chance. As his lips worked against hers, she arched her back pressing herself against him.

It happened quickly. Flesh was bitten, a few moans escaped, and as soon as she felt his hardened member press against her, she knew it was on. Her hands slid down his midsection heading for his belt. It wasn’t until she got it undone that he pulled away.

“Ferg.” He panted. “We-we can’t.”

Georgina sighed. “I know.”

Niall nudged her nose with his own. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” She mumbled into his lips. “Was fun while it lasted.”

He peeled himself off of her and rolled onto his back. A deep rooted sigh left his lips.

She patted his stomach gently. “Night’s still young kid.”

“Yeah but Jamie is going to want to get obliterated.” He said as she rested her head on his chest. “And that means it’ll be a no-go.”

“Just ‘cause they are doesn’t mean you have to.” She said looking up at him.

“Right.” He said sarcastically. “Like that’ll work.”

“Well I’m not going to drink that much.” She declared.

“Like that’s going to work, love.” He tickled her playfully.

“Stop.” She giggled. “Niall! Stop.”

He interlocked her fingers with his.

“I’m just gonna blame it on work.” Niall decided. “Which isn’t lying. I can’t drink that much.”

“Don't forget you owe me a drink from Fat Tuesday.” Georgina whispered.

“I know.” He kissed her forehead. “Maybe two.”

“Ooh, someone’s doin’ well for ‘imself.” She quipped in a posh accent.

He blushed. “Fuck off Georgina.”

“Niall Horan, I will deny this if you ever bring it up in front of anyone but I’ve missed this.” She admitted looking up at him. “A lot.”

“Missed what?” He asked.

“This.” She motioned towards the two of them. “The banter. Hangin’ with ya. Us.”

“So really you just missed making fun of me? That’s real great Ferg.” He rolled his eyes.

Georgina nuzzled into his neck. “Can you please say that again in your whiny voice?”

Niall squeezed her hand gently. “I think I hear Davey callin’ me.”

“Hey! Don't go.” Georgina pouted. “I was only joking.”

“Stop being so cute. It’s gonna make leaving even worse.” He sighed.

“No.” She said fiddling with one of his fingers. “Not allowed to talk about that yet.”

“Well what do you want to talk about then?” He yawned.

“The fact that you’re a bloody magician.” She said softly.

“How so?” He asked confused.

“You can go from Mr. Chill Irish Man Child who’s all about golf and Guinness and making your friends drive all the way to your house because you don’t want to ever leave it...” She said dryly.

He just laughed at her backhanded compliment.

“...to Mr. Charismatic Musician on stage. It’s quite impressive.” Georgina admitted.

“Trust me it’s taken years of practice.” Niall said.

“Well it shows.” She said running her fingers around one of the buttons.

The room got quiet. Niall ran through different ways of asking the same question. He didn’t know how to approach it. Lucky for him, Georgina already had the answer he was looking for.

“So you know that I liked when you were in the band. Those guys were great -- especially Louis.” Georgina paused. “But I like you by yourself so much better.”

His skin grew warm. “Really?”

“Yeah, it just... fits you so much more.” She explained. “It’s so you.”

“Ye-yeah?” He stuttered before clearing his throat. “You think so?”

“You were worried for nothing. I was thoroughly impressed.” She whispered making his cheeks turn pink. “The song from Aruba is even better live, in case you were wondering.”

“Thank you.” He smiled. “That means a lot.”

The room grew quiet. Niall revelled in the fact that she actually enjoyed the show he put on. She liked his show. She liked his music. She liked him. That made all the pressure he had put on himself to be perfect worth it.

“So um what are you gonna do with those rugs when tours over?” She asked trying to be as casual as possible.

“Nice try, weirdo.” Niall laughed knowing where she was going.

“What the fuck? First it’s the chair in Aruba and now the rugs, why can’t you let me have nice things?” She whined playfully.

“If I let you have those things, then how will I get you to come over to my place? I know the chair is a prime selling point for all friend functions at my house.” He said softly.

“Hmm...you do have a point.” She said in a teasing tone.

“That's just plain rude.” Niall flicked her shoulder.

“You've got Scout and I've grown accustom to watching Project Runway in that theater of yours.” She said with a smile. “So I think you can give up the chair already.”

“Speaking of Scout, how's the ol’ girl?” Niall asked interested.

“She’s fabulous. She's spending the night at Keith’s. His roommate Phil is watching her.” Georgina explained. “She's really loving puppy school. Bit of a class clown -- just like Dad.”

“How are my other children?” He asked nervously.

“Everything but the bougainvillea is dead.” She said with a voice full of sorrow.

Niall wasn't buying it. He let got of her hand quickly, “You are shit at lying.”

“Fine.” She sighed. “They are all alive and accounted for.”

“Your mum was right about you.” He mumbled as he took a strand of her hair between his fingers.

“What was she right about?” She asked glaring at him.

“You're a major pain in the arse.” Niall explained.

“I don't like the fact that you hung out with my mum in London.” She said embarrassed. “It's not very fair -- you two ganging up on me ‘n that.”

“S’been four years of absolute shit from you. I needed to bring in reinforcements.” Niall said.

“She thinks you two are proper mates.” She looked up at him. “Every conversation after the London show has ended with ‘our boy Niall.’ She always has remind me to remind you to take your vitamins and get your rest. You might be young but sleep is important.”

“I love Mama Ferguson.” Niall smiled.

“She really appreciated you inviting her. As cringey as this might be, Slow Hands is her favorite song now.” She said shyly.

“A lot of the older ones like that song.” Niall blushed.

“Fit young boy singing about sex...hmm I wonder why they would like it.” She said dryly.

“Didn't ask for that sass, Ferg.” He mumbled.

Georgina sat up slowly, “My deepest apologies.”

His phone started to ring in his pocket. Georgina knew what it meant. She got up off the bed and headed for her bag. Niall answered the call and quietly talked to Dave about where to meet.

“I'll be down in five.” He said as he watched her walk towards him with a gift in her hand.

“Don’t read the card while I’m in the room. I was a little bit buzzed while I wrote it so I’m sorry if it doesn’t make any sense.” She blushed handing him his present.

“You know you didn’t have to get me anything.” Niall said holding onto the bag.

Georgina just rolled her eyes and motioned with her hand to open it.

His eyes lit up as he pulled out a massive book. It was an encyclopedia of every plant species in existence. He skimmed through it and couldn’t believe his eyes. Color photographs and paragraphs of information of plants from all around the globe covered the pages.

“It’s the latest version. I figured it’d be something fun to read on the road.” She said shyly.

“This is amazing Fergie.” He said glancing up at her.

“I saw it and thought of you.” She said tucking some hair behind her ear.

“I absolutely love it.” Niall said standing up. He kissed her. “I really, really do.”

“Good.” She smiled. “What’d Davey say?”

“They are going to go play a game of poker and they want me to join.” He sighed.

Georgina nodded. “I need to get ready anyways.”

“Want me to open this now?” He asked reaching for the card.

“Up to you.” She said before nodding towards the bathroom. “I’ll be in there.”

Niall sat back down on the bed as she walked into the bathroom. He slowly opened the orange envelope and pulled out a card. A birthday pun covered the front. As he read what she wrote on the inside, his eyes got a bit glassy. The words that she wrote were the words he needed to hear.

Niall always felt bad when he had to leave his friends for tour. But this time around was the first time he actually felt guilty for it. The day he left Los Angeles was probably one of the worst days he has ever had. The look on her face as he left her flat was etched in his memory. It always found a way to make an appearance on the nights he felt the most alone.

He felt so bad for leaving her. She was just discovering her feelings for him. She was finally allowing herself to open up and be vulnerable. She was finally letting him in and he just left. Niall didn’t want her to resent him for leaving. He didn’t need Fergie regretting her decision.

The words that she wrote made everything okay. He didn’t need to hold her hand through this. She was doing fine on her own.

He read the paragraph once more trying to soak up everything she had said. He deserved to be happy. He deserved to be touring the world doing something he loved. He didn’t need to worry because she was going to be there for him when he got home. This small sign of reassurance had refilled his tank and he knew the next couple months were going to be just fine.

He got off the bed and walked into the bathroom. She had a curling iron attached to her hair. Noticing his presence, she let the strand of hair fall. Turning towards him, she noticed his baby blue eyes were a bit shiny. Before she could ask what was wrong, the young man engulfed her in a hug. He didn’t say a single word. He just held her tight.

This was the hug she had needed since the day he left. The hug that told her everything was going to be alright. The hug that was more important than sex or making out or holding hands. The hug that meant they were going to make it through the next few months unscathed. The hug that showed how he really felt. The hug that was going to hold them together until they were reunited again.

“I know if this goes further, it’s not going to be easy.” He whispered in her ear. “My job, your job, our friends, the public… but just trust me when I say this... it’s going to be worth it.”

“I know.” She whispered back. “I’m ready for it.”

[robininthelabyrinth]

Unexpected Development - Chapter 8

Fic: Unexpected Development - Chapter 8 (AO3 Link)

Fandom: Flash Pairing: Mick/Len/Barry, Mick/Len (associated Mick/Barry, Barry/Len) Chapter 8 for Unexpected Development (Len)

Summary: “Sorry, kid,” Len says, sounding – and likely even being, knowing Len – sincere. “We gotta run, and it looks like you’re coming with us for a bit.”

“Oh crap,” the kid (Barry Allen, he said his name was) says.

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

“Can you disarm the bombs in this area?” Len asks Charlie, nimbly evading the way Charlie keeps reaching out for his arm like he wants to link hands together. Like they’re on some sort of date.

Which – maybe in Charlie’s dreams. No way.

“I can do that for you, Len,” Charlie says, eyes shining.

“Good,” Len says. “I’ll go disarm the rest of ‘em in this area, tell the boys I’m double-checking them or something, and then I’ll –” ditch the hell out of you “– see what to do next.”

Charlie pouts. “I worry about you sometimes, Len,” he says. “You work too hard. Too much stress.”

“I thought you were supposed to stress meat,” Len says, because he can’t help himself sometimes.

“Only after it’s been prepared,” Charlie says indulgently. “See, this is why I like you so much – maybe we can discuss it at length later –”

Yeah, no.

Len makes his excuses to Charlie and then double-times it through his set of bombs – it takes barely any time at all, the bombs being almost pathetically easy to defuse – then head westward. He’s certain that Mick can keep an eye on Allen and Allen had definitely seemed smart enough to handle a few bombs; between the two of them, he can trust that that section will be handled, and Charlie – well, he doesn’t have to like Charlie to admit that, cannibalistic instincts aside, Charlie’s not totally incompetent. He’s certainly capable of handling the bombs, and he has no reason to double-cross Len.

Besides, Charlie knows how Len deals with people who double-cross him. He wouldn’t dare.

At any rate, the bombs are even more stupidly made than he’d hoped they might be. It has to be a Flash trap: even if the Flash wasn’t particularly expert with bomb defusing techniques, a voice in his ear could walk him through the basics - sure, there's a whole lot of them, but he could disable them all if he ran at top speed, or maybe a little faster, which fits in with Len's theory about it being about getting the Flash to go faster.

Len wonders for a moment how Mr. Banana knows that the Flash would have access to someone with the right expertise. Well, they probably went up against each other and Flash talked to his earpiece the way he had the first time Len had fought him, but bomb-defusing experience seems like a specialization that you wouldn’t think a hero would necessarily think to have on his team. As quick as the Flash is, Mr. Banana’s left him a hell of a short time frame to find an expert if he didn’t already have one.

Something to think about.

Now, however, is not the time to consider such questions. Len’s got a city to keep intact.

After all, this is his city.

The good part about the tunnels on the west side of the highway is that they extend out from where the raised central portion of the highway, under the mostly deserted slum buildings just adjacent to it. The tunnels go up until they’re basically nearly at surface level, under the highway and next to the buildings, so a bombing here would be bad but not catastrophic – far fewer structural supports to knock down.

Still, he’ll be damned if a single squatter loses his life to some stupid hero-obsessed villain. Not while Len’s around, no sir.

He makes it to the tunnels, which are already deserted – the people assigned to come here have already planted their bombs and gotten the hell out of dodge, which is fair – and he’s listening to the countdown clock in his head that tells him he has plenty of time, but he barely takes two steps into the main space when there’s a gigantic boom like thunder and he’s suddenly thrown back against the wall.

Ouch.

Okay, when did he end up lying on the floor? He doesn’t even remember that happening.

Len’s head hurts, and there’s dust everywhere. He’s a bit dazed, but not nauseous, which at least means he’s not concussed.

What just happened?

That couldn’t have been a bomb going off already: there was no heat. He's been Mick's partner long enough to know that much about explosions.

And also…

“I tawt I saw a puddy cat,” he says, blinking concrete dust out of his eyes and absolutely mangling the impression. “Or at least I think I saw Tweety Bird.”

He pushes himself up on his elbows painfully and sits up.

Len’s not in the tunnels anymore; or rather, one of the tunnels is now open to the sky, but not because of the dead bombs that lie scattered on the ground. And they are quite certainly dead, he can see that; these bombs have been ripped apart and their pieces scattered everywhere. They’re never going to grow up to be nice big explosions, and won’t Mick be sad about that? But they definitely aren’t the reason that there was now a big hole in the wall under the highway, letting the evening light – half fading sunlight, half glowing streetlights – shine in.

There’s another cause for that.

Len’s never actually seen Mr. Banana before, but there’s no doubt that the man standing before him, vibrating so fast that the air around him shivers like an optical illusion, is the one.

“Holy crap –” Len says.

Mr. Banana raises his head proudly and smirks.

“– that is the ugliest shade of yellow I’ve ever seen,” Len concludes.

Mr. Banana looks taken aback.

But seriously, damn. Tweety Bird would be ashamed to be associated with that color. Big Bird would teach the audience a very special lesson about embarrassment just to cover it. The Teletubbies would think it a step too far.

Len’s still a bit iffy on the whole ‘Mr. Banana’ name, but he’s got to admit that he can see the basis. He’d shoot him with the cold gun just on principle, except that it’s lying halfway across the street.

Len twitches a foot.

Looks like he's somehow got no other guns, either: not the spare he’d tucked in the small of his back or the secondary one strapped onto his ankle. Mr. Banana must have grabbed them when he’d rammed himself thought the tunnel wall like a human-sized super-fast sledgehammer and then threw Len across the room.

Probably doesn’t want Len interrupting him in the middle of his carefully planned out solo number. Len gets that.

Doesn’t mean he has to like it when it’s being done to him, but, well, he gets it.

Evil Overlord rules, you know.

(If Mick didn't want him to quote them, he shouldn't have given Len a copy for his birthday this year.)

“Well, well, Mr. Snart,” Mr. Banana says. His voice reverberates strangely. Vibrating his vocal cords, the way the Flash tried to do early on and then just sort of gave up on. Kind of adorable, actually. This guy clearly has more practice. “You have been an admirable enemy –”

“Have we even met?” Len asks, reaching for his pocket.

Mr. Banana smirks. “You don’t know me,” he says. “But I know you. I’ve seen the work you’ve been doing so far, and you've become quite an impressive adversary for the Flash despite not having any powers of your own."

Gee, thanks. Always nice to meet a fan.

"Unfortunately," Mr. Banana continues, lengthening his syllables into a disdainful drawl which is clearly ripped off from Len, "there’s a risk that you’ll interfere with my plans with the Flash, and that’s – what are you doing?”

“Texting,” Len says, typing on the phone he’s just pulled out. “Obviously.”

“What?!”

“I know, I know, I’m a bit old to be a millennial, right?”

“Put that away and listen to me!”

“Sure, mom,” Len says, clicking send.

There’s a burst of lightning.

Len blinks at the space where his phone was. His poor phone is currently being crushed to death in Mr. Banana’s hands. Mr. Banana’s mask is doing a poor job of hiding his irritation.

Len shrugs and pulls out another one.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Mr. Banana says with disgust.

Len holds up the phone and sets it to record. “Wait, lemme get a pic before you destroy this one,” he says. “Don’t worry, feel free to monologue; I swear I’m listening.”

Mr. Banana seems to be contemplating destroying Len's phone again, and possibly adding some pain for Len into the mix in the process; he crosses his arms and glares death at Len as he considers how bad the pain's going to be.

“Lemme guess,” Len drawls, intimately familiar with how to distract people in that sort of mood. “‘Put that phone away this instant, young man, or I’ll kill you even more dead than I was already planning to?’”

Mr. Banana struggles with rage for a moment – his eyes do this thing where they glow even more red and start crackling with sparks of lightning a bit, very Sith-lord – before he manages to rein it and smirk.

“I suppose you have a point,” he says agreeably, in the way rich people do when they think they have the upper hand and decide that they’re going to be all generous about it, just to rub it in.

If he survives, Len is going to find this asshole’s house and rob it, just out of spite.

It can’t be that hard to find. Look at this guy’s preferred color scheme! Definitely one in a million – his house has got to be the most garish collection of no-taste rich-guy stuff imaginable.

Len bets he has a chandelier.

Len's totally going to Phantom of the Opera the shit out of it.

“So, what’ve I been doing that’s been pissing you off so much?” Len asks. “Sorry, I wasn’t actually listening earlier.”

That gets an actual eye-twitch.

He didn’t even know that was a thing real people did.

“Captain Cold,” Mr. Banana says. “Your exploits against the Flash are impressive –”

“What time?” Len inquires, quite seriously. “The time I let his friends scare me off with a vacuum cleaner or the time he kicked my ass up and down the street? Really, I want to know; I’m keeping a ranking list on my wall and I can’t seem to decide which one should be number one.”

Mr. Banana probably thinks he’s joking, but Len really does have a list.

“They will be,” Mr. Banana says impatiently. “But I have decided that your interference in the Flash’s timeline is an unacceptable risk to my plans. As is such, regardless of my respect for you, I’ve decided to end your life. Are you listening now?”

Len’s brain processes the words that just got spoken, but he ends up with nothing but question marks and blue screens of death and gibberish. Nothing that just came out of Mr. Banana’s mouth makes any sense, but it also doesn’t seem particularly useful for the time being either, and therefore he’s going to put his questions aside for contemplation at a time when his life isn’t imminently in danger.

“You do realize I’m stalling for time, right?” Len asks instead.

He’s not too sure. Maybe Mr. Banana is like Charlie and thinks they’re having an actual conversation or something.

Mr. Banana smirks. “Your little friend won’t be able to help you –” he starts.

Len’s jaw drops.

Mr. Banana checks behind him. It’s a barely noticeable motion, but it’s there.

Ah, glorious paranoia.

Very useful – to the person trying to fuck with you.

“No, no,” Len says soothingly. “No ambush yet, relax. I’m just – that’s the first time anyone’s called Mick my ‘little’ friend. Have you met him?”

He gestures a bit with his free hand, a vague outline of ‘very large and intimidating man who is hardly little in any respect’. He adds in a 'if you know what I mean' gesture because really, Mick deserves it, and also it makes Mr. Banana look vaguely like he's bitten into a lemon.

Mr. Banana looks like he's going to say something - Len's really hoping for it to be a lecture on having some more class as a supervillain, he's always wanted to hear one of those - but speak of the devil and he appears.

Mick bursts through the tunnel entrance, heat gun at ready, but he’s still too far away to help if Mr. Banana decides to skewer Len. Allen’s at his heels, eyes wide in horror.

“No!” Allen shouts, even as Mick’s eyes narrow and take in the scene.

Len feels vaguely bad about that, actually. Poor, pretty little hostage – bad enough that the mission went south, but he shouldn’t have to see people who flirted with him die.

Assuming Len does die, of course. Len’s not quite willing to concede on that yet.

Mr. Banana’s face stretches into a smirk, like he was waiting for the audience to arrive for the grand finale.

There’s something’s ticking in Len’s brain.

Something he’s missed, though he’s not sure what.

Mick’d probably know in a minute; he’s always been better with people than Len, even if Len is better at plans and strategies and such.

Hell, Mick probably does already know – he’s been smirking it up like crazy the last few hours.

What is it?

“I do apologize, Mr. Snart –” Mr. Banana says, and Len’s been in enough fights – and watched enough bad movies – to know that Mr. Banana is gearing up for the final murder sequence, and all Len’s got is a bunch of bruises and no guns.

Oh, and his camera phone, still recording.

“–but I’m afraid our time – that is, your time – is up at last,” Mr. Banana says, eyes bright and his tone gloating. He holds up his hand and starts vibrating it as fast as a circular saw, which is a hell of a murder method if Len’s ever seen one, and he steps forward and –

His face when a lacey red bra smacks him right in the face is priceless.

And that would be the other ambush Len had planned via a little community chatting.

Len grins at his phone.

God bless the Internet.

[alifurt]

Something About Pregnancy...

There is clearly something about pregnancy that makes me want to write. A lot has gone on in the last couple of months. Lots of great things along with a very unexpected and tragic loss of my cousin Kela which lead to Vivian and I flying back to Michigan to drive 12 hours down to North Carolina with my parents and brother for Kela’s funeral. I ended up planning much of the funeral and helping my Aunt and Uncle as much as I could while they tried to navigate the unthinkable. I’ve been thinking of them daily as I know how hard it is when family all leaves and you are left with your own thoughts while the world goes on around you somehow. It has been a roller coaster of emotions for sure especially as school came to a close for the year and we had so many things to look forward to this summer, but now with the sinking feeling knowing someone is missing even though it still doesn’t seem real, it is a little confusing. It takes me back to losing Zachary when I felt happy for the first time, a month after he passed, and I felt guilty for smiling. If my aunt, uncle and cousin happen to read this, know you can smile and don’t feel guilty. It’s hard to come to terms with that.

Anyway, besides thinking of my cousin and family a lot lately, no, I am not pregnant but I have outsourced and am letting Tippy, our almost 4 year old Labradoodle (her birthday is at the end of the month), satisfy the baby bug for many around us. We will be adding to our family by keeping one of the puppies and we are so very excited! We have finally entered the one week countdown to Tippy’s due date.

Since before we even got Tippy, we knew we wanted to breed a dog. I grew up showing and breeding dogs and I really wanted my kids to experience the joy and challenges of raising puppies (and hopefully getting to see them be born)! We had to wait for quite a few things to line up perfectly and last year we started the search for the perfect stud (aka daddy dog) knowing that my cousin Jen was getting married in September and we likely wouldn’t go home for the usual Fourth of July family reunion. Basically the whole family was going to all be meeting up in September for Jen’s wedding so that left the perfect opportunity to finally breed Tippy and stay home with pups who would be ready for home placement perfectly before we would plan to leave for the wedding at the end of September! Stars were aligning! Little did we know, we’d be with all of our family for almost the Fourth of July for a funeral. In fact, I spent Claire’s third birthday driving back to Michigan from North Carolina to then fly back home early in the morning and pretend the next day was actually Claire’s birthday so Vivian and I didn’t have to miss it.

Ok, so back to Tippy’s story. She is a first generation CKC registered Labradoodle which means she is exactly 50/50 Black Labrador Retriever and Standard Poodle (her mom was black and white parti color). She has wiry hair as many first generation Labradoodles do and still sheds but definitely a lot less than a Lab and many other shedding dogs. I never wanted a shedding dog but Tippy was such a sweet dog right from the get go that I knew I wanted her because temperament was much more important than shedding. Not long after getting Tippy, we got Dusty - our Roomba - and that was the best decision ever to go along with Tippy girl.

Anyway, I digress! We bred Tippy with an AKC registered Standard Poodle with phantom/tri-coloring. Don’t let this picture fool you, Georgie was a big boy and I’d imagine when full grown, their pups will be a good 65 pounds of love and patience because both have amazing temperaments.

After a while of searching, I finally got serious last fall and found Pacific Doodles. It was important that I find a well tempered dog and that he have colors other than solid... oh an a pair of balls (you wouldn’t believe how many parti color poodles I stalked over the years at the dog park... most neutered of course). So I started talking with his owner, Carolyn, in the fall and they sounded like a perfect fit for us - well maintained family operated and oriented breeders - and not too far away (about 1.5 hour drive up to Mt. Vernon). When Tippy’s season rolled around in early May, I got in touch with Carolyn and we made plans. Two days after Mother’s Day Tippy, Claire and I (Viv and Conner were in school) made the first trek up to have a “Puppy Playdate” to let Tippy meet Georgie.

It was an immediate love connection - thank Goodness as that would have been a long drive for disappointment. We had timed it just right. We went back two days later per all standard breeding resource suggestions. Then we waited.

Dog gestation periods are only 58-68 days with the average being 63 days. You don’t even know a dog is pregnant for sure until they are half through their pregnancy!! We had lots of hope and thought she was pregnant but of course couldn’t confirm until we heard heartbeats. Puppy prenatal care is entirely different from a humans as it is basically nonexistent. We could have opted to do an X-ray the week before her due date but that would only be to get an idea of how many puppies to expect and I’ve heard they can be very misleading and actually cause more issue when you only expect 6 and start cleaning up but SURPRISE there was another little body hiding behind someone else who now went totally ignored. So, we are opting for the guessing game.

Today marks the end of day 57 from her first mating so the official watch begins with my expectation actually being pups born sometime next week. 

I started taking her temperature to help determine labor as she will have a decrease in temp when labor is imminent (give or take 24 hours) and she definitely has slowed down. She has been introduced to her whelping box, which she completely ignores, and I shaved her belly to help when puppies are born and need to nurse. Hopefully that will help keep her clean and make it easier for the pups to nurse successfully without a tangly furry mess of hair. It definitely made her look a lot more pregnant!!

The kids are excited and ready for puppies. Each day we feel Tippy’s belly and the puppies inside. We know there are at least three as we have heard three distinct heartbeats with the doppler and have felt puppies in various places at the same time. It has been an interesting learning opportunity and talking about how babies are born. They were surprised to hear we would not be cutting babies out of Tippy like they were all born. Lots of learning going on.

So we are all prepared with birthing supplies and we just wait... and hope she has the pups while we are home to help her stay calm and also have them in the whelping box instead of on my bed or in her crate (although I have prepared it in case that is the case).

Who wants in on the puppy pool? Winner gets lots of bragging rights!

[gordonwilliamsweb]

‘Huge progress’

At a round table in a small treatment room, Tony Diehm sits between his twin sons, Ian and Isaac, 5, and coaches them through their noon meal.

“Good start, good start! Good job, Ian. Swallow. Now do the next one,” he said.

“I want to see you chewing.”

Using sturdy plastic spoons, the brothers scoop bites of mac-and-cheese and pureed peaches, though it’s clear they’d rather chatter about Hot Wheels cars or dinosaurs than take a bite.

To keep them focused on eating and drinking—and reward their cooperation—Tony shows the boys bits of a monster truck video on his iPad.

When it’s time for the next bite, he lays the tablet facedown.

“Keep drinking, keep going,” he said. “Your brother’s almost done.”

Before their 20-minute countdown timer beeps, both boys have finished their lunch.

Success. High-fives all around.

Developing skills

Isaac and Ian, bright boys with playful grins, are alumni of the Spectrum Health Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital Intensive Feeding Program.

They completed the specialized program in June 2018, but they still return to the clinic four times a year for a progress evaluation.

For members of the feeding therapy team, observing a meal lets them assess the brothers’ eating behaviors and recommend steps that their parents, Tony and Erin, can take to advance their feeding skills and diet.

Today’s recommendations: Add more calories to the boys’ pureed foods, expand the variety of flavors they encounter and add a second table food to each meal—things with chewable textures like cheese chunks or soft fruit.

These changes will keep the boys moving toward the goals of steady weight gain, better self-feeding skills and more natural family mealtimes.

The Diehms are making steady progress toward these targets, said Lynn Fagerman, PNP, the program’s nurse practitioner.

“Considering where they were when they started—you’re about a year and a half out of the program—I think they’re really coming along as we would expect,” she told Erin and Tony, residents of Big Rapids, Michigan.

“That’s huge progress.”

Rough start in life

The Diehm twins were born in July 2014 at only 26 weeks, when Erin went into preterm labor.

She gave birth at Spectrum Health Big Rapids Hospital, with the boys—each weighing just over 2 pounds—soon transferred to the NICU in the Gerber Foundation Neonatal Center at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital.

They ended up staying five months.

Like most preemies, these two had their share of challenges.

Isaac had a congenital blockage in his small intestine that required multiple surgeries to repair. For half of his first year, he lived with an ostomy pouch and received nourishment intravenously via a method known as total parenteral nutrition.

When the pediatric surgery team restored Isaac’s intestine and closed his stoma site, he switched to tube feeding—first with a GJ-tube and later a G-tube.

Ian’s issues had to do with breathing. Because he had trouble weaning off a breathing tube, he went home with a trach tube and needed multiple surgeries in his first two years to have his airway rebuilt.

Though he learned to eat orally, he later developed severe reflux and went back on a G-tube after his first birthday.

“We’ve had about every version of a feeding tube for a pediatric case,” Erin said.

When the boys turned 2, it came time to begin shifting away from tube feedings. Their parents enrolled them in outpatient feeding therapy programs in both Grand Rapids and Big Rapids.

The point wasn’t necessarily to get them eating but to simply introduce the smells, flavors and sensations that come with taking food by mouth.

“It was more about desensitizing them. We were working with different textures and stickiness, having them touch pudding or having it on their lips without gagging,” Erin said. “Initial steps.”

The process laid a good foundation, but after a year or so, the boys’ progress stalled. The family needed a new way to overcome Ian and Isaac’s oral aversions.

That’s when the neurodevelopmental pediatrics team at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital referred them to the Intensive Feeding Program for evaluation.

Progress from Day 1

In April 2018, just before the twins’ fourth birthday, they entered the day treatment program—eight weeks, 40 hours a week, with a parent or other caregiver participating each day with each child.

It’s a big commitment for any family and twice the effort for a family with twins. Coordinating with a handful of helpers, the Diehms made the schedule work, 55-mile commute and all.

Kids in the day treatment program work one-on-one with a feeding therapist while a parent observes from behind a one-way mirror.

“We want parents to learn how to do the feedings the same way we do them, so they can then go home and implement the treatment plan,” said Karie Ingersoll, MSW, a social worker for the program.

Eating is a learned behavior, she said, and the program teaches it by leading kids through the developmental steps they have missed.

“These boys, having depended on a gastrostomy tube for most of their life, didn’t develop the way that a typical child would,” Ingersoll said.

They missed the chance to develop oral motor skills like chewing and swallowing “because they were fighting to stay alive.”

The team—which also includes therapists, a dietitian, a nurse practitioner and a psychologist—created an individualized feeding protocol for each boy.

Observing their feeding sessions on the first day blew Tony away.

“I was skeptical, but it was like the first sessions they were eating and drinking,” he said. “I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I can’t believe they’re able to get them to eat like that.”

There were struggles.

“But, I mean, it was progress for each of them from Day 1,” he said.

The secret, as the parents described it, is to stick to the protocol, be patient and firm, ignore bad behaviors and reward any progress—with bubbles, toys, books and praise.

By the end of the eight weeks, the boys had been weaned off tube feedings and were taking everything by mouth—a diet of pureed table foods plus a thickened nutritional beverage with each meal. Staff taught Erin and Tony how to prepare meals with the right consistency and the proper amounts.

In the last week, the therapists brought the boys together in a treatment room and taught them and their parents how to complete a meal with one adult in charge.

Now they were ready to take the program home.

‘Really blessed’

Since graduating, the boys have added new textures to their diet and have become better at ignoring distractions and finishing a meal.

At school they eat with an aide who’s trained to help them.

They now eat enough table foods that they can order from some restaurant menus.

“The boys like to go to Applebee’s now, because we can get macaroni and cheese, we can get yogurt, we can get French fries,” Erin said. “We’re making progress. We can go out and have a family meal and do some of those things, which is pretty awesome for us.”

That doesn’t mean it’s always easy, she said.

The boys still rely on purees for a large portion of their nutrition, they’re still learning how to chew naturally and they don’t feel drawn to food.

“Growing up, we had all of our meals together as a family. That’s what I want for our family, too, and for (them) to be worked up about not wanting to have a meal, that’s hard,” she said.

“It’s something we continue to work on, (but) I think we’ll get there and that’ll be a big thing to celebrate when we do.”

In September, the family participated in the Intensive Feeding Program’s biennial reunion—a day for families to reconnect with program staff and play at a park.

“It was a day of fun so we could get away and say hi, and out of the norm,” Erin said. “We were there to see the therapists and show them that we’re progressing.”

The Diehms see the Intensive Feeding Program as a key part of “the village” that continues to support their boys as they fight back from their rough start in life.

“We’re really blessed to have a program like this so close,” Tony said. “If we’d have been anywhere else, we would have been much worse off.”

‘Huge progress’ published first on https://nootropicspowdersupplier.tumblr.com/

[michellelinkous]

‘Huge progress’

At a round table in a small treatment room, Tony Diehm sits between his twin sons, Ian and Isaac, 5, and coaches them through their noon meal.

“Good start, good start! Good job, Ian. Swallow. Now do the next one,” he said.

“I want to see you chewing.”

Using sturdy plastic spoons, the brothers scoop bites of mac-and-cheese and pureed peaches, though it’s clear they’d rather chatter about Hot Wheels cars or dinosaurs than take a bite.

To keep them focused on eating and drinking—and reward their cooperation—Tony shows the boys bits of a monster truck video on his iPad.

When it’s time for the next bite, he lays the tablet facedown.

“Keep drinking, keep going,” he said. “Your brother’s almost done.”

Before their 20-minute countdown timer beeps, both boys have finished their lunch.

Success. High-fives all around.

Developing skills

Isaac and Ian, bright boys with playful grins, are alumni of the Spectrum Health Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital Intensive Feeding Program.

They completed the specialized program in June 2018, but they still return to the clinic four times a year for a progress evaluation.

For members of the feeding therapy team, observing a meal lets them assess the brothers’ eating behaviors and recommend steps that their parents, Tony and Erin, can take to advance their feeding skills and diet.

Today’s recommendations: Add more calories to the boys’ pureed foods, expand the variety of flavors they encounter and add a second table food to each meal—things with chewable textures like cheese chunks or soft fruit.

These changes will keep the boys moving toward the goals of steady weight gain, better self-feeding skills and more natural family mealtimes.

The Diehms are making steady progress toward these targets, said Lynn Fagerman, PNP, the program’s nurse practitioner.

“Considering where they were when they started—you’re about a year and a half out of the program—I think they’re really coming along as we would expect,” she told Erin and Tony, residents of Big Rapids, Michigan.

“That’s huge progress.”

Rough start in life

The Diehm twins were born in July 2014 at only 26 weeks, when Erin went into preterm labor.

She gave birth at Spectrum Health Big Rapids Hospital, with the boys—each weighing just over 2 pounds—soon transferred to the NICU in the Gerber Foundation Neonatal Center at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital.

They ended up staying five months.

Like most preemies, these two had their share of challenges.

Isaac had a congenital blockage in his small intestine that required multiple surgeries to repair. For half of his first year, he lived with an ostomy pouch and received nourishment intravenously via a method known as total parenteral nutrition.

When the pediatric surgery team restored Isaac’s intestine and closed his stoma site, he switched to tube feeding—first with a GJ-tube and later a G-tube.

Ian’s issues had to do with breathing. Because he had trouble weaning off a breathing tube, he went home with a trach tube and needed multiple surgeries in his first two years to have his airway rebuilt.

Though he learned to eat orally, he later developed severe reflux and went back on a G-tube after his first birthday.

“We’ve had about every version of a feeding tube for a pediatric case,” Erin said.

When the boys turned 2, it came time to begin shifting away from tube feedings. Their parents enrolled them in outpatient feeding therapy programs in both Grand Rapids and Big Rapids.

The point wasn’t necessarily to get them eating but to simply introduce the smells, flavors and sensations that come with taking food by mouth.

“It was more about desensitizing them. We were working with different textures and stickiness, having them touch pudding or having it on their lips without gagging,” Erin said. “Initial steps.”

The process laid a good foundation, but after a year or so, the boys’ progress stalled. The family needed a new way to overcome Ian and Isaac’s oral aversions.

That’s when the neurodevelopmental pediatrics team at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital referred them to the Intensive Feeding Program for evaluation.

Progress from Day 1

In April 2018, just before the twins’ fourth birthday, they entered the day treatment program—eight weeks, 40 hours a week, with a parent or other caregiver participating each day with each child.

It’s a big commitment for any family and twice the effort for a family with twins. Coordinating with a handful of helpers, the Diehms made the schedule work, 55-mile commute and all.

Kids in the day treatment program work one-on-one with a feeding therapist while a parent observes from behind a one-way mirror.

“We want parents to learn how to do the feedings the same way we do them, so they can then go home and implement the treatment plan,” said Karie Ingersoll, MSW, a social worker for the program.

Eating is a learned behavior, she said, and the program teaches it by leading kids through the developmental steps they have missed.

“These boys, having depended on a gastrostomy tube for most of their life, didn’t develop the way that a typical child would,” Ingersoll said.

They missed the chance to develop oral motor skills like chewing and swallowing “because they were fighting to stay alive.”

The team—which also includes therapists, a dietitian, a nurse practitioner and a psychologist—created an individualized feeding protocol for each boy.

Observing their feeding sessions on the first day blew Tony away.

“I was skeptical, but it was like the first sessions they were eating and drinking,” he said. “I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I can’t believe they’re able to get them to eat like that.”

There were struggles.

“But, I mean, it was progress for each of them from Day 1,” he said.

The secret, as the parents described it, is to stick to the protocol, be patient and firm, ignore bad behaviors and reward any progress—with bubbles, toys, books and praise.

By the end of the eight weeks, the boys had been weaned off tube feedings and were taking everything by mouth—a diet of pureed table foods plus a thickened nutritional beverage with each meal. Staff taught Erin and Tony how to prepare meals with the right consistency and the proper amounts.

In the last week, the therapists brought the boys together in a treatment room and taught them and their parents how to complete a meal with one adult in charge.

Now they were ready to take the program home.

‘Really blessed’

Since graduating, the boys have added new textures to their diet and have become better at ignoring distractions and finishing a meal.

At school they eat with an aide who’s trained to help them.

They now eat enough table foods that they can order from some restaurant menus.

“The boys like to go to Applebee’s now, because we can get macaroni and cheese, we can get yogurt, we can get French fries,” Erin said. “We’re making progress. We can go out and have a family meal and do some of those things, which is pretty awesome for us.”

That doesn’t mean it’s always easy, she said.

The boys still rely on purees for a large portion of their nutrition, they’re still learning how to chew naturally and they don’t feel drawn to food.

“Growing up, we had all of our meals together as a family. That’s what I want for our family, too, and for (them) to be worked up about not wanting to have a meal, that’s hard,” she said.

“It’s something we continue to work on, (but) I think we’ll get there and that’ll be a big thing to celebrate when we do.”

In September, the family participated in the Intensive Feeding Program’s biennial reunion—a day for families to reconnect with program staff and play at a park.

“It was a day of fun so we could get away and say hi, and out of the norm,” Erin said. “We were there to see the therapists and show them that we’re progressing.”

The Diehms see the Intensive Feeding Program as a key part of “the village” that continues to support their boys as they fight back from their rough start in life.

“We’re really blessed to have a program like this so close,” Tony said. “If we’d have been anywhere else, we would have been much worse off.”

‘Huge progress’ published first on https://smartdrinkingweb.tumblr.com/