#private smiles but Not private at all why r u guys loudly in love

[girldriveroscar]

silent communication comp :,)

[saffronwritings]

C L U M S Y | S H I N S O U PT.3

S H I N S O U | P A R T  T H R E E (Final)

I let you down I've been clumsy with your heart again

C L U M Y  M A S T E R L I S T

Word Count: 3.7k

A/N: This started off shorter and then I redid one of the segments and welp here we are at 4.3k words. Oops! It’s not favoritism I promise. This is the “final” part to Shinsou’s CLUMSY series! I really hope you all enjoy! I’ll make a post asking what you all want to see next! :) 

Denki couldn’t remember what time Shinsou told him to meet up with him after his training with Aizawa-sensei, so he figured he was going to just sit outside of the gym until he saw his purple haired friend exit the locker rooms. It had become almost routine for the two to have after school hangouts, mainly so Shinsou could relax after a long day. Kaminari helped fill the void that he felt without being able to see you. Though, Shinsou was guilty that it had distracted him from talking to you on occasion. While Kaminari was sporadic and chaotic, it helped ease the stress that Shinsou was constantly under.

 However, Kaminari was surprised when he noticed the gym door was left wide open. Usually when he had ventured over to this part of UA, he would notice that the doors were closed. A privacy thing so that the students didn’t feel pressured or on-lookers wouldn’t intimate the said student. Had Aizawa-sensei cancelled his practice with Shinsou for the day? He was acting very strange the entire course of the day. He was extra grumpy and even before coming to check in on his friend, he had particularly felt bad for Shinsou having to deal with his sensei’s foul mood.  

 Curiosity got the better of the blonde boy, Denki decided to peek inside the small private gym, the ones teachers used to mentor students in, only to see Shinsou standing against a wall with his face pale and expression shocked. Shinsou had looked like he had either seen a ghost or had been told someone close to him had died. This immediately made the blonde worry for his new friend.  He had looked around cautiously to see if Aizawa was still in the room. When it showed that it was only the two boys just sitting in absolute silence, that is when Kaminari decided to speak up to figure out what was going on.  “Oi Shinsou, is everything-” The blonde started to say before Shinsou let out a scream of frustration. It reverberated a chill down Kami’s spine, making him flinch back.  

Suddenly gym equipment started to fly across the room in haphazardly ways. His screams and shouts continued while he was heaving equipment left and right. “I’VE WORKED SO HARD.” Shinsou shouted in his fit of rage. “I HAVE WATCHED UNWORTHY STUDENTS SIT IN LUXURY.” Kaminari sat in a state of shock, watching his new friend seemingly lose his mind. He wanted to go and comfort his friend, but he was afraid he was going to lash out on him as well. He opted to just let him get all of his emotions out, even if it wasn’t in a healthy manner. “I PUSHED SO MANY PEOPLE AWAY FOR A SLIVER OF A CHANCE TO PROVE MYSELF.” He spewed again, not noticing the tears starting to stream down his face. He had thrown everything within a few feet radius as hard as he could across the smaller gym room. 

He had looked over to Kaminari who was just standing there awkwardly, watching him, judging him. However, Shinsou was so out of breath he wasn’t sure if he even had any energy left to yell at the blonde for looking at him with such pity in his eyes. “I don’t know what’s going on, dude, but maybe you should take a breather before you hurt yourself.” Kaminari spoke cautiously, trying to not provoke Shinsou further. “You don’t get to tell me when to calm down! You don’t understand, you’ve had the privilege to just BE in the hero course!” Shinsou shouted at him, his eyes filled with both tears and rage. “But, you’re doing so well with your training! You were just talking to the support class to design your new gear!” Kaminari still tried to direct the conversation in a positive manner. 

The two had just discussed how he was getting one of the girls in the support class to design a vocal chord changing mask. Kaminari was super blown away with the idea of being able to change voices in order to trick their opponents. While Shinsou might have lacked the psychical strength, he was always good at diverting and making a plan for success. “It doesn’t even matter now! Don’t you get it deadbolt!? I not only lost my shot at joining the hero course but I also lost the girl I loved by pushing her away for this opportunity” Shinsou’s voice strained out, it being raspy from screaming and shouting. 

The blonde’s eyes widened in shock, realizing the situation at hand in front of him. He was watching Shinsou have a breakdown because for some reason, he had lost his mentor-ship with Aizawa. “What? What happened? You were doing great with your training!” Denki had pointed out making Shinsou flinch in embarrassment from those words. “Don’t you think I know that?!” The purple haired boy cried, clutching his chest in desperate attempts to not let his heart fail him now. Kaminari had also picked up on his specific wording, the girl he loved. Had he gotten into a fight with you the night before? As far as he was concerned, the two of you were fine. You guys had plans to meet up after practice the prior day. 

“Can’t you just fix all of this then?” Kaminari’s comment made Shinsou turn very angrily towards him. “If I could, do you think I would make this big of a mess and yell so loudly? Do you think I would have gone into a fit of rage, destroying the gym if i could just FIX it? I can’t, you dumbass! I screwed up big time!” Shinsou cried out more, finally admitting his defeat. His knees crashed to the ground and he fell over onto his hands. He couldn’t stop himself from breaking down completely in front of Kaminari. 

Kaminari knelt down next to him, placing a gentle hand onto the boy's back. Shinsou wouldn’t have noticed though, his entire body felt numb. He felt like he was plunging into a sea of darkness, swarmed with all his insecurities and doubts that he was ever good enough in the first place for such opportunities. With each gasp of air he took, he could feel himself drowning further into the waters that flowed over him like a flooding hurricane. Everything he worked for, everything he was aiming for was now just stripped from him.

You always kept him afloat with positive words that always helped him breach the waters that tempted to drown him. Like a ripping current he was being dragged under so quickly it was hard to breath. Kaminari was full of panic himself, watching Shinsou progress in his panic attack without fully knowing what to do. He wasn’t like Kirishima who could easily bring comfort to those in states like this. The blonde was tempted to go get help from one of his other friends but he was afraid of leaving Shinsou alone. 

What had he done that had gotten him kicked from the mentoring program and had made him lose you?

…

“Stop right there, Shota.” Hizashi’s voice rang from down the hallway of the teacher’s lounge. Aizawa was still steaming with fury that he hadn’t noticed how far away from the training gyms he was. He came to a halt to see the older blonde glaring at him. “You took that way too far. I don’t know the extent of what your daughter said on the phone, but hurting Shinsou that badly wasn’t justified.” He started spewing, getting angrier through his sentence. Aizawa narrowed his eyes at his friend. “He broke her heart.” The tired teacher said through gritted teeth. “You didn’t hear how upset she was over the phone. I’ve heard her get like that once and that was after the USJ incident with the league of villains.”

“Teenagers go through breakups and fights all the time.” Hizashi tried to reason with him. “You don’t have a daughter, Hizashi.” Aizawa quickly countered. “You wouldn’t know what it’s like to hear your son or daughter call to you for help, sounding like they barely slept the night before.” Shota knew he was going way over the top, but if there was anything he would do, it was for the sake of his daughter.

His daughter wasn’t a planned idea, but there was nothing on the planet that Aizawa could love more. There was a reason he had made living arrangements and let little know about his daughter. The last thing he needed was for the league of villains to find out about you and to attempt to take you away from him. “No, but I know that you just crushed every hope that kid had for joining the hero course. Instead of punishing the poor kid who hasn’t been given a chance since he got here, why not help him out?” Hizashi started to try and reason with him.

“Help him out? After he hurt my daughter?” Aizawa growled through his gritted teeth. He could feel the headache forming in his temples from the day. He spent it so angrily, so filled to the brim with frustration. It was like he was getting hit multiple times in the chest with blow after blow. “You don’t even know what happened between the two! For all you know it could have been a misunderstanding. The last thing you want is for there to be no hope for your daughter to be able to make things up with the boy because you scarred him.” 

For once, Hizashi had a really good point. As much as it pained him to agree with the obnoxious blonde, he knew he was right. “I’m sure your daughter would appreciate the effort set forth by you.” He continued to push, making a groan leave Aizawa’s throat. “Fine, fine. If it will get you off my back, and if you really think this is a good idea, then I’ll go make things right. If not, I will not hesitate to hang you over a pool of sharks.” Aizawa threatened, making Hizashi smile widely at him. 

Hizashi treaded lightly behind Aizawa to make sure he would stay true to his word. The last thing he needed was for the man to slump over and fall asleep before missing his chance to fix things with Shinsou. He didn’t want to tell Aizawa, because he knew it would make him feel even worse about the situation, but he knew Shinsou had a soft spot for Eraserhead. The way the kid watched in admiration whenever he would explain something to the student said volumes. 

Aizawa was not happy about having to be the one to confront the boy who broke his daughter’s heart. Damn that loud mouthed Hizashi for bringing his daughter into the mix. He knew he was right but that didn’t make him any less happy about the situation. In no time flat he made it back to the gym only to notice that things were strewn about. Weights were all over the place, the sparring matt was upright against a wall instead of on the ground. He noticed Kaminari next to Shinsou, kneeled over and rubbed circles into Hitoshi’s back. He almost felt bad when he heard the soft sobbing that came from the hunched over boy. Until he took into account what he had done to his daughter.

Aizawa crossed the room and pointed for Denki to leave. The electric blonde did not hesitate to question his teacher’s instruction and left the gym quickly. Aizawa squatted down to Shinsou’s level and put a hand on his back. “Get up, kid.” He said in a husky voice, before standing up. Shinsou’s eyes shot open and his head shot up to look at him. Surprise and confusion flooded his face as he wasn’t sure why the teacher of class 1-A had come back to him. 

“Kaminari, if you don’t scram from eavesdropping from around the corner I will not hesitate to flunk you on your next upcoming exam.” Aizawa shouted loud enough so that his lingering student could hear. Both Aizawa and Shinsou heard shoes scuttling away from the door and down the hallway. He was about to tell Hizashi the same thing, but Shinsou had interrupted his thought process by saying, “Why did you come back?” Shota had noted his tone was defeated, and almost filled with hopelessness. 

“I was too harsh, I was overcome with my own emotions of protecting my daughter and lashed it out on you. You are a bright student and one that deserves a second shot.” Aizawa started to explain, rubbing the back of his neck. “Why didn’t you tell me Y/N was your daughter? I had been dating her for well over a year. You had to know what you were signing up for when taking me on as my mentor.” Shinsou questioned quickly, obviously still very confused from the situation. 

“I wanted to make you a hero good enough to protect her.” Aizawa admitted, shaking his head at his own thoughts. “I don’t know what you said to her to make her so upset she called me crying, but you need to fix it. However, being my daughter, she’s a stubborn headed mess. If I personally don’t help you, you may not have a shot of fixing it.” Shinsou’s eyes lit up with just a tad bit of hope. “You’re helping me?” Shinsou’s voice came out in a whisper. “In this regard, yes. If you think I’m going to be cleaning your mess here, you are sorely mistaken.” Aizawa said, however, Shinsou could hear a bit of playfulness in his tone.

…

You had been tempted to try and communicate with Shinsou after the blow-up the two of you had. However, judging on the last text you sent him, he had your number blocked. Even if he had unblocked your number, wouldn’t he have tried to reach out and make things better? This wasn’t the first quarrel the two of you had, obviously not to this degree. It had never gone on this long. The realization dawned on you the night before you were supposed to get together with your father, that maybe Shinsou was serious about not wanting you around while he went through his training. 

It didn’t help lessen the blow in the slightest bit. It felt like someone was stepping on your chest and every time you felt like maybe you had some semblance of a grasp on your own emotions, the foot would step down harder. You felt crippled without Shinsou in your life. Your phone felt like it had less purpose, even if you had texted a few of your other friends to attempt to try and fill in the void that Shinsou had left. You had missed the late night texts, staying up video calling with him and seeing the sleep slip further from his eyes during his studies. Your grades this past week alone had slipped quite quickly as you were unable to focus on a single word a teacher was saying. 

Your zombielike state had concerned not only your teachers, your classmates, but also your mother. While you tried to let it seem like it wasn’t bothering you that you had lost your best friend, you knew that your mother knew you better than that. What was worse was that she was probably keeping your father up to date on the current situation. You hadn’t informed either of your parents the details of your breakup with Hitoshi, and you hadn’t planned on it. The last thing you or your family needed was your father in jail for attempting to murder a minor. 

When the weekend came around, you were half-tempted to cancel on your plans with your father. You wanted nothing more than to accept the warm embrace your bed was giving you. While it was dragging you further into your pit of despair it was at least comforting. When your phone buzzed on your nightstand you weighed the options of just going back to sleep, you knew your father was persistent and would call over and over until you woke up. For a man who was tired all the time, he didn’t understand why teenagers sleep so much over weekend breaks. Groaning, you gathered all your strength to sit up in your bed and reach over to answer your phone. 

“We are still on for the movies today, right kiddo?”  Your father’s voice chimed not even a second after you had picked up the phone. “I was actually thinking of maybe a rain check?” You tried to push, but you could already feel him rolling his eyes on the other side of the phone. “I know you being a teenager and you probably aren’t even out of bed yet, but as far as I’m concerned, it’s not raining.” Sarcasm dripped from his lips and you wanted nothing more than to hang up and turn your phone off. You were in no mood for his antics for the day. 

“I’m just not feeling up to going today, papa.” You whispered after there was silence between the two. “I figured you would feel that way. Your mother has mentioned how you have been practically among the living dead this last week.” He recounted, making you curse under your breath for knowing your mother all too well. You had hoped that maybe, just this once she was going to keep things to herself. You should have known better. “I already bought the tickets ahead of time, and I’m not taking Hizashi or your mother.” Your father warned.

“Fine, I’ll get ready. I’ll meet you at the train station?” You sighed in defeat, knowing you would not win this battle. “Sounds good to me.” He said, before both of you hung up your phones. 

…

You stood at the entrance of the train station, checking your phone a few times to make sure that your dad hadn’t texted you that he was running late. You had attempted to call him twice already and he hadn’t picked up on either attempt. A sigh escaped your lips, wishing that you had just stood your ground on staying home and sleeping the weekend away. “Y/N?” If you hadn’t been frozen in place before, the voice you had memorized locked your feet into place. Suddenly your heart was racing immensely too fast and the wind felt like it was knocked clean out of your lungs. 

It wasn’t even fair, the way fate had played out for you this day. Not only did you dress in just leggings and a baggy hoodie, you had chosen a hoodie that you only now registered had belonged to Shinsou. Cursing your father for following through with your request for father daughter time, you finally looked up at the purple haired boy who seemed almost sheepish. He was wearing that cursed bomber jacket that you always loved on him, a simple t shirt and a pair of baggy jeans. In other words, he at least looked a million times more decent than you had. Not to mention your hair was thrown haphazardly into a messy bun and god knows you had dark circles developing under your eyes with your lack of sleep you had gotten last week. 

“You know out of the two of us for once I think you win in the department of needing some extra weekend sleep.” Shinsou tried to ease himself into conversation with you. The tension in the air was so thick that you were sure that you were suffocating on it. You had so many questions and so many emotions flooding you at once. Your mind was swirling like you were stuck on a teacup ride that you were trapped on. When Shinsou noticed your lack of response to his statement, he returned back to his awkward state of trying to figure out how to make things go back to normal. 

Anything would be better than this killer silence. He hated that it looked like you hadn’t slept in over a week and hated it even more than he was the one that caused you to be like this. His guilt was suffocating him for ever causing you this much pain for being so selfish. He wanted nothing more than to pull you into his arms and to soothe your pains away. If it hadn’t been for Aizawa he wouldn’t have even been here. He would still be in his dorm, beating himself up for ever letting this distance drift you two so far apart. 

“If we don’t hurry, we are going to miss our movie.” Shinsou settled on saying, before turning to walk towards the direction of the movie theater. You whipped your head up so fast in confusion, trying to stammer out a sentence that made any sense. “Wha- I mean I’m here to meet with my dad.” You finally uttered, grabbing on his jacket sleeve to get him to stop walking. Immediately, Shinsou had reverted back to his nervous nature around you like he had once done when the two of you first started dating. 

“Your father gave me the tickets and wanted me to take you out as a way to apologize for my irrational behavior. I should have never snapped at you like I did or acted as immature as I did. I can’t even begin to imagine how it was for you to just be waiting for any kind of affection on my end. I blew you off after an entire month of not seeing you. I probably made it seem like I wasn’t as excited to see you, but I was too focused on my own stupidity to realize what was right in front of me.” He blurted out quickly, stepping closer into your own proximity. “I don’t deserve any kind of forgiveness, but if I didn’t try, I’m pretty sure Aizawa-sensei would personally either kick my ass or expel me.”

You were listening intently until Shinsou had mentioned your father’s last name. “Aizawa-sensei?” You reiterated, raising a shocked eyebrow at him. “Yeah, I was surprised too when I found out. I almost lost my entire chance at getting into the hero course all together because of how pissed he was at me for hurting you.” Shinsou murmured quietly. If your jaw wasn’t open in shock before, it surely was now. Had Shinsou not been standing right in front of you currently you probably would have called your father and chewed him out for his brash behavior. 

However, your heart swelled when thinking about how your father had stepped in to try and fix things between you and Shinsou. It must have been why he was so insistent on you coming to meet with him today. You had to remember to shoot him a text later calling him out on his conniving ways. “I know it’s probably embarrassing, your father stepped in on the situation, but honestly if it wasn’t for him I would have never had the courage to do this.” He said, grabbing your hand to hold in his own without hesitation. His hands were ice cold like they always had been, sending a chill up your spine. 

“I wanted to be a hero that you could be proud of but instead I turned into a selfish loser-” He continued, that is until you grabbed the collar of his jacket and pulled his lips into your own. The chaste kiss made the nervousness melt away from both you and Shinsou. He relaxed into your touch, snaking his arms around your waist. You kissed him like you were afraid you would never get to kiss him again. When you were laying in your bed days after your fight you wanted nothing more than to be in the purple haired boys embrace. You had feared the last time you had seen him, the month before, was the last happy memory of being together. The time he had finally told you he loved you and the last time you two brushed your lips against one another's. 

Tears flowed down your cheeks when the two of you had pulled away, gasping for breaths. You felt dizzy from all the overwhelming emotions you were thrown through but you wouldn’t give anything up for this moment right here. For the boy you loved more than yourself to be in front of you. He cupped your face and wiped the tears that were escaping your eyes with his calloused fingers. “I’m here, and I am not going anywhere this time. I will fight everyday to be the hero you need me to be. I love you more than anything and I hate that I had to destroy something so beautiful to realize it.” Shinsou stated, pressing his forehead against your own. You nodded while sniffling, desperately grasping your hands onto his shirt. 

You threw your arms around his neck and pulled him into your embrace and he welcomed this touch. He ran his hand over your head and rubbed circles into your back. You couldn’t see but Shinsou had also started silently into your hoodie, getting intoxicated by your scent. 

Aizawa smiled to himself to see the two of you entangled in each other’s embrace at the entrance of the train station. People were walking by without having the slightest of a clue as to what was going on between the two. Aizawa took out his phone and snapped a picture of the two of you in your loving embrace. You’d probably scold him for it later, but he knew you would appreciate it later in years. He would chew out Shinsou once again on Monday, before following it up with the news of participating in Class 1-A and Class 1-B’s field training. Then warning him if he ever hurt you again he wouldn’t get off so easy. However, for now, he headed back to Heights Alliance to give you two the space you desperately needed. 

To be continued...? 👀

[Part One] [Part Two]

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@uwu-iwanttodie​

[what-the--curtains]

Braving the Elements

Chapter 20: Another Party

Part 1/2

Tw: Swearing, sex in pt2

Authors note: TWO IDIOTS IN LOVE, yes this was inspired by moulin rouge dont @ me. love u all❤️❤️

Both versions r so good they both get included!

“He really thinks he’s James Bond doesn’t he?” Wanda laughs

“He sure does, much better ass though.” you respond the other two nodding in agreement as you head into the board room for the briefing. Everyone gathers in and Tony pulls up an infographic on the main targets, who they were, how they may be contributing, and the best way to get information out of them.

“So, Nat and Sam, we want you to engage with those I’ve identified as “salespeople”, act as if you, as non-mutants, are interested in obtaining temporary powers. I’ll be with the investors, acting as though I’m hoping to get in on the ground floor. Wanda if you wouldn’t mind, pretend like you’re interested in the genetic side, say you would be willing to donate some DNA but you need to know how it’s being used and processed first. Y/N you’ll help Wanda but see if you can get to the seedier parts of their operation. Based on your dubious past and ties to Roman they may be more inclined to share any less than legal aspects with you. Everyone else you’re there to keep up appearances, don’t interfere, play along. The most important thing is that we do not reveal what we know already. Everyone needs to pick a target and latch on for the night”

“ (y/n) you get the hot one!” Wanda exclaims

“Why?” you ask, forgetting that people didn’t know about you and Bucky.

“Cause you're single and hot so it should be easy for you to seduce him.” Tony says.

“Well put Tony thanks for the objectification” you say, rolling your eyes. The guy was hot and rich, and probably full of himself, used to getting what he wanted. Getting information out of him would be a breeze.

“Fine i'll use my womanly wiles” you say making some spooky hand gestures.

You quickly look to Bucky to see if he’s appreciated your joke, but he’s avoiding your gaze. You notice his jaw is clenched and his body seems tense, you wonder what’s got him in such a mood. You go to ask him but he’s gone by the time you stand up. Shrugging you follow Wanda into Nat’s room to get ready. Sitting down on her bed you feel something poke you in the butt. Reaching under the sheet you pull out a whip.

“Oh my god do you use this on Steve?” you ask throwing it at Wanda

“Wait what??” Wanda exclaims, tossing it onto the ground in disgust and surprise.

“Shit sorry Nat!” You exclaim.

“How long!” Wanda asks. Nat goes on to explain about that night you all went out together and then again in Russia and how they’ve talked about dating but didn’t want to have it fully out in the open yet because of the press and all the paperwork that would go into it, but they were very much exclusive.

“How long have people known?”

“Well Y/N and Barnes saw us in the kitchen and he told Sam immediately. Literally the second he could, and I was going to tell Wanda and Vision tonight but” she gestures to you.

“Sorry! So what, you going steady now?” You ask giggling

“Ya, how does it feel to date someone who can get a senior discount?” Wanda riffs off of you. Nat jumps on the bed hitting you two with pillows, instigating an all-out war only calling a parlay when you realize you were all going to be late if you didn’t get dressed. Unlike last time you actually had a dress procured for you, one of the benefits of being a hero, people sent you free stuff now. Your dress was a deep forest green. The off the shoulder top was decorated in overlying fabric leaves lined with gold beading. It cinched at the waist and gently flowed out with a slit going up the right side. You wear your hair down in waves and you finish it off with a headpiece. It’s a crown made of gold branches twisted together with a few gold leaves and flowers scattered throughout.

“You look like a goddess.” Nat says, looking at you as she puts in a diamond earring. She’s in a scoop back mermaid black dress with a high neck, simple, elegant and gorgeous.

“Well you’ll fit Sam’s need for a bond girl!” you say, linking your arm in hers and heading out to meet Wanda and Vision in the lobby. Wanda’s in a satin hi-lo plum colored dress that matches Vision tie, it has a halter top, and her hair’s twisted up. Vision escorts Wanda into the venue and you and Nat go in behind them. Nat nods her head towards the bar, she’s spotted your target. You let go of her arm, straighten your dress and pull your hair forward. You make your way over to the bar, stopping next to him and pushing your hair to the side to expose your neck leaning over in an attempt to get the bartender's attention. You can feel your target staring at you.

“Hey aren’t you that mutant girl,?” he asks, you turn to look back at him, biting your lip as you do so.

“How often does that line work out for ya?” you laugh

“Rarely, but for someone as pretty as you I figured it was worth the risk.” he smirks

“Well flattery will get you everywhere, Y/N.” you say extending your hand

“Pleased to meet you, Max Van Der Bilt, what are you drinking?” he asks, kissing it.

“Whatever you’re having” you say smiling at him. He beckons to the bartender and orders two double vodka sodas. Bucky’s standing near the bar, trying to get an optimal vantage point on you. You looked beautiful, statuesque, he'd never seen anything like it. You looked like something out of a Greek tale. He wanted to tell you that, he wanted everyone to know that you had chosen him, but instead he’s stuck watching you flirt with another man. He feels his heart ache. He tried to calm himself and stop the feelings he was having, but he can’t fight against them. He reminds himself that it was all just an act, but he can’t help but fear for the worst. Why had you agreed to go for the only attractive target. Why did he suddenly feel like he was being deceived by you? Everything you did when you were alone with him, you were doing with this other guy, was this just some big game to you? He’s pulled out of his thoughts by Nat elbowing him in the ribs lightly.

“I said, god what’s got your panties in a knot?”

“Nothing.” He grunts out. Following his eyeline Nat notices he’s burning a hole in the back of your head.

“Fuck Barnes relax she’ll be fine she can handle herself. Besides what’s he gonna do to charm her to death?”

“Where’s Steve?” He asks, downing another drink.

“Oh somewhere playing his part.” She says, handing him her drink saying he looked like he needed it more.

“How are things with you two?”

“Good. It’s actually really nice to have someone amongst all the chaos, someone who gets it, ya know. Also doesn’t hurt that he’s a snack with an ass that won’t quit and superhuman stamina.” She responds.

“Alright didn’t need to hear that.” He cringes.

Nat laughs “C’mon Barnes there’s plenty of hot girls here go after one maybe you’ll finally relax.”

“Go after one? When have I ever needed to do that?” he says smiling.

“There’s the lady killer I’ve heard so much about.” She says, patting his arm and heading off towards the bar. Well, if he was supposed to keep up appearances he shouldn’t be standing alone in a corner should he. He makes his way over to a nearby group of women who had tried to approach him earlier. Apologizing for his abruptness he begins conversing with them, hoping to get a rise out of you. You’ve moved into a booth and Max is droning on about genetics, which are super interesting but not when they’re being condescendingly explained to you. I mean seriously you were a literal mutant, you’ve known the basics of genetics since middle school thanks to Charles. You tilt your head trying to get a look out into the rest of the party. You see Bucky with a group of women laughing letting them feel his metal arm up, amongst other things. You feel hurt, no let down. Why was he doing this? Did he always act this way when you weren’t around? Have you been played for a fool?

“It’s a shame you know,” Max says loudly, catching your attention once again.

“Pardon.” you respond, turning the charm back on.

“That all mutants aren’t beautiful like you then society wouldn’t be so afraid.”

You’ve never wanted to punch anyone more, but you don’t have the information you need yet so you force a laugh and gently touch his arm.

“So this genetic coding, how do you extract the gene?”

“It’s a simple process using DNA from hair, nails, teeth or bone. We don't need much, just one strand of hair is enough to create an entire dose.” He touches your hair moving it behind your shoulder.

“And where do you get your samples from?” you ask allowing your leg to cross slightly over his.

“That is classified information, but you may just get it out of me” he laughs, placing his hand on your thigh, rubbing it gently. You know you’re close to getting what you need.

“I think I may know a few ways to do that.” you smile

“Let’s dance” he says “They say private conversations are best had on the dance floor.”

[suffering-and-happy-about-it]

WhatsApp?, Part 17. (Steve Rogers x reader)

Description: You’ve never been lucky with guys. You just wanted to catch someone’s eye, to be loved. One day, that’s about to turn completely - with one fake, completely imagined number a guy gave you.

A/N: We will be wrapping up soon, folks. Let's have two last chapters and were done!

Warnings: Reader being a paranoid silly dummydumdum and angst and angst and fluffiness. I have u guys, alright?

Word count: 3.1 K

Tagging: @missdictatorme, @songforhema, @mikariell95, @jaqui-has-a-conspiracy-theory

Read the rest here: Part One  Part Two  Part three  Part four  Part five  Part Six Part seven  Part eight  Part nine  Part ten  Part eleven  Part twelve  Part thirteen  Part fourteen  Part fifteen  Part sixteen

If you like to have your readings in order :):  H E R E  

Four months after the last chapter:

You sat on the toilette for what seemed like forever, in a complete shock, gasping for your dear breath. You felt as you were crying, sobbing, being a hot pile of mess. Pete was sitting next to your small cabin on the ground, hugging his knees, listening to your heartbreaking sobs.

You and Steve were together just for a few months, four and a half to be exact and you couldn't think of anything more perfect. When he was at home, he was literally the sweetest guy around.

He knew his way around with cooking and preparing just the best baths, nobody was able to make the bed like him. Every time he cleaned up the place, you couldn't recognize it. And you didn't know if he used some forties tricks when it was his turn doing the laundry, but it smelled so good every damn time he hung the clothes.

It was more than fair to say that Steve Rogers was living at your place basically. He moved his clothes there, so you could basically wear them as yours, he was buying the groceries and taking care of the flat.

Your relationship grew stronger and stronger, but with that, you needed to count on the paparazzi sniffing around your private life. They exposed you and Steve many times and you only giggled when you read the articles out loud to Steve when he was in the shower. Sometimes you were reading it with Peter when Steve was out of touch.

You were making fun of that, but Steve got fed up after a while. He was under the public microscope for a long time at that moment when your relationship started, so he talked with Tony (IT WAS TONY STARK HIMSELF, YOU LITERALLY FREAKED OUT WHEN STEVE SAID THAT IT'S JUST 'TONY') and Tony made some steps to keep the newest Avenger lovebirds out of the public eye.

Everything was awesome... Until that one evening.

How to put it right? Let's just say it how it was - you both absolutely loved sex, let's be honest here. Steve adored and loved your soul, but your body was just gorgeous for him. He was a boy from the eighties who didn't have a proper lovemaking session for seventy years, maybe even never.

So, naturally, when Steve got home after three weeks lasting mission, you took a day off at work, just to be with him at home all day, basically not leaving bed all day. That was maybe the day you just got... Pregnant.

Yep. That's right. A baby was inside growing inside of you and your heart was beating loudly at that moment. What the hell should you do? What were your options? Your brain couldn't exactly think when you were a crying mess sitting on the toilette.

Steve told you one time that the family man who lived in the forties died inside of him when he got out of the ice.

So you were worried that Steve will not take it too happily, even though you knew that you were seriously paranoid.

"Is everything ok out there? You're freaking me the hell out." - Pete knocked on your cab lightly, which actually reminded you of his presence. You weakly pulled yourself together, dried your cheeks and stood up. When you opened the cab, he almost jumped right into your face. - "You're not pregnant, right? That's why you're crying."

You didn't answer, just gave him the test and leaned your hands to the sink to watch your face in the mirror.

A mom. You'll be a mom. Was that even real? Were you even ready for that? You had a small bean inside of you. Your mind was splitting into two different people - one of them was optimistic and the second one was depressed like hell.

A strange warm feeling surrounded your heart and you smiled at yourself. Hormones were making you a bit crazy, like riding on a rollercoaster. The fear of telling him was sitting on the back of your head all the time, but for a moment you focused on happiness.

"You'll be a mom." - Peter whispered. He was in shock, but you could feel that happiness is written down in his voice. - "That's great! I will be his or her uncle and we will be best pals... Y/N, what's wrong?" - Peter asked worriedly and hugged you, nursing you slowly. His lips kissed your temple gently and his fingers smoothed your hair.

"I'm just so fucking afraid, Peter. What if he tells me that he doesn't want it anymore? He's at least a hundred years old. He doesn't have a much stable life, his job is dangerous and... I don't know." - You cried out to his shoulder and hugged him even tighter. You had a grip of a tiger or a bear that surprised Peter.

"Are you even listening to what you're saying, you weirdo?" - Peter took your face to his palms and smiled at you. A fifteen-year-old boy was nursing you because you were afraid of a baby. Your own baby. You were going to be a mom. You were acting like Ana in Fifty shades said, you had a little bean somewhere out there.

"Steve will be out of his mind when he's gonna find out. That man was designed by God to be a dad. Whether it will be a boy or a girl, you will be great parents. And May and I will be the best uncle and aunt duo." - He kissed your temple again, but someone interrupted you. It was Deena. She screamed, put her hand on her heart and closed the door with a loud bang. Then she opened the door again, looking at you, crying your eyes out and Peter, with his arms, circling around your shoulders. You both watched her, Peter with a big smile and you with your eyes hurting a bit.

"Okay, you two. I know you have a strangely friendly relationship, but this is fucking wild. What the fuck is going on?" - She just strode there, putting her hands on her hips, frowning at you and Pete. She had a primadonna attitude until Pete turned towards her with a pregnancy test in his palms.

"Oh my fucking God. You cheated on Steve with... Don't you fucking tell me." - She tried to tell a joke, but a small smile appeared on her lips. Her face was gentle all of a sudden as she watched the positive stick in her hands. You would never say that Deena could be a family type, but that situation totally wrecked her family-cold facade. She looked at you with a graceful smile, and ten hugged you. Then, she put her palm on your belly, slowly caressing you with his fingers.

"Hey, little baby. We know about you, honey. Oh my god, Y/N." - Deena looked into your face with a loving gaze. - "I think I'm gonna cry. Jesus fucking Christ, what have you done to me?" - She smiled and winked at you to get the tears away. - "Steve will be so happy. And Buck will probably cry. He's a sensitive pussy these days."

"But how the fuck am I supposed to tell him?" - You stared to the side, leaning your ass to the sink, watching both of them. - "I'm so afraid now."

"What are you thinking about, dummy?" - Deena looked at you with an ironic face, laughing. - "Just tell him. He's an honest man and he will most probably explode with euphoria. You know what? I have an idea." - Her palms held your shoulders, so she couldn't look away from her.

"You'll try it on Bucky, the whole telling thingy. Hell. He'll order you his fucking plum diet. Just be cool, you'll tell him, test it out. Buck will not tell Steve a single word if you ask him to. And now, get the fuck out. Both of you. I need to pee." - She smiled and kissed your cheek in a motherly mode. You could feel that she's so proud at that moment, so proud she couldn't even express it.

"Hey. Heads up. You'll do great. Wow. A baby. That's wonderful. In a few months, you'll be so big. Like, I mean, a big tummy, there will be a baby and I can chat with them." - Peter was so excited that it made you smile. Yeah. You'll be big. You'll be huge. Like a balloon. And you'll fart a lot. But that will be alright. Cause there will be a baby inside of you. - "You can't even guess how proud and happy I am."

"Yeah. Stop grinning so much, dummy. The whole office doesn't need to know that I'm pregnant the first day I found out that. So shush." - You shoved the little stick into the back pocket of your jeans and went there with a big smile.

Bucky was already in the office, leaning next to Val's shoulder and watched some video. Suzie watched you with her silent stare, feeling that something's off about you. But she just nodded and didn't ask. You loved that Suzie was the silent friend. She didn't ask unnecessary questions at all. But just as Suzie knew instantly that something happened, May could feel it in the air.

"Okay, you moron. Don't furrow at me like that and just tell me. What's wrong?" - May leaned her ass into your desk and looked at you with her motherly state. She had warm eyes and a kind smile, soothing the back of your head. But you just wiggled your head and decided on not telling her, not just now.

"You're like another child to me, baby. Just as protesting as Peter at the start of his puberty." - She leaned down and kissed your forehead. - "Remember that whatever happened, it's going to be good. When you feel like telling me, you'll. I larb you so, so much." - And then she left. You looked at Peter with a surprised face and he shrugged his shoulders. You were so glad that you may don't turn her NCIA attitude on just left it be. But then you saw Deena, looking like a little devil, leading Bucky to you. He looked really scared and surprised.

"Okay. She told me that you have something to tell me. And I'm not going to lie, I am a bit afraid what the hell is going on because she was deadly serious." - Buck said in a guessing tone. Deena frowned at him.

"Who the hell is some 'she', Mr. Burnes?" - She put her arms on her chest. Deena was just joking, but her face was deadly serious.

"She is my lovely girlfriend who is the best in the whole world, miss Green." - Bucky smiled, leaned onto her body, kissing her from her cheeks down to her collar bones, making her laugh. - "But let's talk, miss Y/L/N, soon to be Mrs. Rogers." - Bucky told you and take you away from the rest of your coworkers.

"That's not too far fetched." - You whispered back and Buck opened up his mouth with a surprise before turning his expression to a big smile.

"So that little jackass wants to marry you? I know that he's really in love with you, but this is a pleasant surprise." - He leaned into one of the windows, watching you nervously biting his lower lip.

"No! No! We're not having a wedding, Jesus. We're only for not even five months, Buck. You're crazy. I need to tell you something different." - You leaned next to him and put your head on Buck's shoulder.

"Okay. What's it, baby girl? You can tell me anything. I'm your and Steve's friend. I'm curious about what has happened." - Buck hugged your shoulder with his arms, bringing you closer to him. He was just the greatest friend, he made you feel safe and fooled to tell him almost everything. So you felt as you relaxed when the little, quiet sentence just got out of your lips.

"We're going to have a baby." - You whispered and looked at Buck with an innocent look.

"Doll, are you serious?" - He asked silently and his face leaned down to look at you.

"Yeah, my magical assistant Peter helped me to do three to four tests this morning. All of them were positive." - You smiled at Buck. His reaction nicely surprised you and made you feel sure about having a baby with Steve. Your emotions and hormones told you that it's going to be all right. Buck was a bit tougher Steve from what you could tell. And his reaction was like someone has lit up a fire inside of him, his smile felt warmer and lighter, his eyes shined with excitement. - "But I'm a bit worried about Steve's reaction. Like... He told he ain't that family man anymore. So..."

"Okay. So I'm an experiment. You think he's going to freak out, or that he'll be rude or he's going to pack his things and leave?" - Buck asked you honestly, he exhaled out loud, ending it with a giggle in the end. - "My pal would never. He'll be out of his mind, I swear in the name of God. It will make him love you even more. Hey. Let me tell the thing like this: every man, especially the two of us, want to have some small princess or a tough small pirate. It's a dream we think we can't reach. But you're the example of fulfilling that dream."

"What dream are you two talking about? Can I join the discussion?" - Steve's voice freaked the living hell out of you. Bucky felt how your body began to tremble, so he smoothed your back calmly. Steve took you to his arms and hugged you, kissing you tenderly on your lips, making you smile. - "You've been crying, sweetheart. Something's wrong?" He held you in his hug and you hugged him even tighter. Steve could sense that something's up, he could tell every time you cried or felt down. It was just like his sixth sense.

"I brought you some tea for your sickness, I heard that it helps a lot. Also, I have some food from the restaurant you like, some tomato soup and some lasagna." - He showed you a travel teacup and a bag in his hand, smiling excitedly. - "You told me that you will not have enough time today, so I took you something good to eat, doll. I will not let my girl starve, will I?" - Steve played with your hair and kissed the back of your head. Bucky disappeared in the meantime, leaving you two in a loving bliss moment.

"What would I do without my big guy, right?" - You tiptoed and kissed his lips. But then sickness took hold on your belly as you began to realize that you should tell him before you'll lose your courage completely. He wasn't blind, so he could do the math when the time came, seeing your growing belly and tired attitude. - "We, like you and me, have to talk. Right now and right here otherwise I would not tell you." - You left his side and left the bag on the floor under the window.

"Doll. Before you'll tell me anything else, just let me tell you that I love you and if you want to leave me..." - Steve played with your fingers and he looked like he's about to cry. You immediately took his face to your palm, shushing him with a passionate kiss.

"Shut up for a minute, you dummy. This is stressing me the hell out and I really want you to know." - You smoothed his wide shoulders with your nails and you still held him close. - "Especially when you and I need to go through all of this together."

"Is something wrong? Are you sick? What happened?" - Steve was smoothing your face with his thumbs gently and lovingly and his face was really looking like a lovesick puppy. Before he could guess any other option, you burst out.

"I'm pregnant. I'm... Pregnant." - You said twice, slowly and more scared for the second time. You couldn't even believe what you were telling him. Your face was pale and scared, you looked tired and sick. Steve just froze in one place, his mouth shut and his gaze was piercing through you, his arms around your shoulder.

"And are you... Sure? Like deadly sure? Seriously?" - Steve asked in a low, emotionless voice. You trembled in his arms, beginning to cry and your lower lip curled. You slowly nodded and first tear left your eye, falling down on your face.

"So... A baby. Wow." - Steve said with his expression slowly lighting up. - "We are going to have a baby." - All of a sudden, why you still cried, he was crying too with a sweet smile on his lips. He took you, carefully, at your waist, hugged you and carefully twirled you around. - "Y/N, I'm doing to be a dad." - He exclaimed with the happiness of a little boy.

"So you're not angry with me?" - You beeped quietly and looked at your boyfriend crying and you started to cry even more after that. You both stood there and cried like little children, hugging each other.

"Are you serious? Y/N, this is most probably the best day of my whole life." - Steve dropped on his knees, put his palms on your tummy and kissed it with a loving expression. Your fingers ran through his hair as he spoke directly to the baby. The tone of his voice was sweet and loving, he was mumbling and he held your waist in his hands.

How could you be so terrified? Why were you so paranoid? Steve took it the best way he actually could, he really was out of his mind completely, shining like a star. You loved to see him like that. A proud daddy-to-be. You could feel that he's happy, happier than ever before.

"Isn't it a bit too soon for you?" - You whispered after a long, sweet make our session. Steve was passionate and he was showing you all the love he had inside.

"It could happen a bit later, that's true. I'm amazed and surprised because this is a serious miracle. But I know you, you're my best girl, my loving and supporting girlfriend no matter what I decide to do. So we have two things on our list now, what do you say?" - He hummed in a pleased tone, being all-loving and caring for you.

"Two things?" - You opened your mouth, being surprised.

"First things first, we will prepare our home for this little angel." - He whispered and stole another kiss from you. - "But we can't bring him to a world where their parents aren't married. And I'm serious about that."

[emeraldwaves]

Title: A Dragon’s Magic Epilogue (FINAL CHAPTER) Pairing:  Kacchako Rating: M   Word Count:  2,673 Summary: Uraraka Ochako has always believed in dragons, though she was constantly told they were long since extinct. Now an adult and professional mage, she’s ready to help her parents as a healer for their village. The last thing she expects is for her beliefs to become a reality, but when a dragon attacks her village, she learns there’s more to magic than she ever could’ve realized. Read on AO3 Thanks to @its-love-u-asshole and @amaisenshi for reading this ahead of time. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO SUPPORTED AND READ THIS FIC! I APPRECIATE IT <3

"You look absolutely beautiful, Ochako," her mother said, cupping her cheeks.

"It really does suit you! I can't believe you're going through with this," Mitsuki sighed. "My idiot son better know how lucky he is."

Ochako turned to look at herself in the mirror. Her stomach was completely exposed, her upper half covered by traditional dragon garb. The edge of the wrap was covered with fur and the long skirt she wore was also lined with fur. A necklace made of dragon scales sat around her neck and her boots were covered in scales as well.

Somehow, the traditional wedding garb of the dragons oddly did suit her.

"My perfect girl... I never thought I would see you again, and here you are about to get married!" Her mother pulled her into a hug, holding her close.

It was strange, a few months ago, her mother had hugged her before sending her off to take her magic proficiency test and now they were practically reliving the moment. Only, Ochako's life was going in a very different direction.

"I'm so happy you came, Mom," Ochako whispered, wrapping her arms around the woman.

Even after only a few months, so much had changed. Magic had mostly returned to the dragons, their current flowing like normal, and Ochako and Bakugou were finally getting married.

"Sweetheart, you know your father and I wouldn't miss this for the world," she said.

After returning the magic, one of the first things Bakugou and Ochako had done was go visit her parents. Though she wasn’t supposed to return to her village, her parents were on the outskirts enough they could hide for a short period of time.

"Thank goodness you’re okay," her mother had said, wrapping her arms tightly around her daughter. "Though I am surprised to see you still with the dragon who almost destroyed our village."

"I know it’s strange," Ochako had admitted, "but I promise, he’s not a bad person… er… dragon..."  

"I fucking love your daughter," Bakugou had blurted out after that. Leaving both of her parents dumbfounded at the outburst.

It was strange, Ochako had expected her parents to be angry she was choosing to marry the person who had almost destroyed their village, but upon more conversation, they were mostly happy.

Her father was a little concerned, frowning at Bakugou through the majority of the conversation. But while Ochako told them of all her adventures, his face grew warmer.

She had explained the bond to them… how she had helped dragons find their magic again. It was so different from anything her parents had ever done, the two of them had been completely enthralled by the tales of her adventure.

"I guess I can’t complain if you’re taking good care of her," her father said.

"I already told you, I fuckin’ love her!" Bakugou snapped, folding his hands over his chest while Ochako wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Don’t worry I think they know that," she giggled.

The two had agreed to travel with them to dragon island to watch the marriage ceremony; Ochako’s mother was more than thrilled and had jumped into celebration planning with Mitsuki. Her mother was of course, going to make the cake.

Currently, her mother was trying to convince her father to move to the dragon village so they could be close all the time. Talk of babies had come up, and though Ochako wasn’t against the idea… it did seem a little soon. There were more adventures to discover.

As excited as her parents were, Iida and Deku, had been a little more difficult to convince. They were her two best friends though, and Ochako wanted them to be there.

"He's the dragon who almost destroyed our village!" Iida had proclaimed loudly.

"Y-You're going to marry him!?" Deku had looked pale.

Of course, Bakugou didn't do much to help his case when he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and got a little possessive despite Ochako mentioning multiple times Deku and Iida were simply childhood friends. "Hell yes she's going to marry me, nerd!" he had snapped.

"O-Of course! R-Right!" Deku flailed, obviously not wanting to get into a fight with a dragon.

Regardless of their slight reservations, Ochako was happy Deku and Iida had come to watch the ceremony. She had missed them and was happy to share this occasion with them.

The door to the room creaked open, bringing Ochako back from her thoughts. "Knock knock!" Mina's cheerful voice called out, and her, Momo, and Kyouka peeked their heads in.

"Girls!" Ochako smiled. "I didn't expect you to come back here."

"Well, we're not the groom so it's allowed!" Mina said, stepping inside. Her pink robes were wrapped tightly around her swollen belly. Her and Kirishima were expecting their first child in the next few months, but Mina was still so full of energy. Kirishima seemed stressed she wouldn't calm down a little.

"Actually we didn't bring any of the boys," Kyouka chuckled. "I wasn’t going to let Denki in here even if I have been watching his every move." It was true. Ever since they’d returned, Kyouka had barely let Denki out of her sight. He had been forgiven when he had profusely apologized, especially since the magic was slowly returning. Still, he was doing everything in his power to not piss anyone else off, and Kyouka was making sure he stayed in check. She rarely left her mate’s side.

"Shouto wanted to come but I figured we shouldn't let any of them see you just in case," Momo said. Ochako was happy to hear she was finally calling him by his first name, especially since they were going to be completing the magic ritual in a few short weeks. "We were going to sit down first, but we wanted to come tell you how excited we are!" Momo continued.

"And maybe sneak a peek at how cute you looked!" Mina cheered excitedly, rushing to her to squeeze her hands.

The four girls had grown extremely close over the past few months and Ochako was grateful they had been so welcoming despite her being a human. Especially now their magic was back and no one was trapped in dragon form or forced to show their scales, everyone was in a much better mood.

Things on the dragon island had mostly returned to normal.

Which was why Mitsuki insisted Katsuki go through the traditional marriage ceremony. They did however compromise about reading aloud long vows, since the two of them had already done so privately during their magic ritual. Admittedly, Ochako wouldn't have cared if she had to say them again, but Katsuki much preferred to be private and Ochako was happy to oblige.

"You girls are too good to me," she giggled. She really was grateful to all of them for being so loving and welcoming.

"The outfit suits you so much!" Momo said, her eyes scanning her.

"Really? You guys don't think I look silly?"

"Well, normally we have our scales out a bit more, tail... or wings..." Mina hummed, "but since you don't have those things, there's no reason to feel silly."

"Okay..." she mumbled, knowing that was impossible for her anyway.

There was another knock at the door and Masaru peered in. "Hello?" he said, a smile pulled across his face. "Katsuki is ready for you! Just thought I'd come over and let you know." Masaru was a kind man, one Ochako had enjoyed getting to know since he had returned to his human form. She could understand why Katsuki would fight so hard for him. She was happy to see he was doing well.

"Ready?" Ochako squeaked. "He's always so fast!"

"Mhm..." he nodded. "Don't worry, if you need more time he can wait."

"Damn right he can wait! Ochako is too good for him," Mitsuki repeated, snarling as she stepped towards the door.

"Oh my gosh! We gotta go sit down!" Mina giggled. "You look perfect Ocha!" she said, waving her hand through the door as she and the other girls headed back out to the main hall.

"Good luck!" Kyouka teased.

"It'll be so beautiful," Momo sighed.

The room was oddly quiet, leaving Ochako with her mother alone. She chose to have both her mother and father to accompany her down the aisle, but for now, she didn't mind being alone with her mother.

"You seem... so much happier here, Ochako," she said, taking her hands.

"I really am," she whispered. "I never expected to... meet dragons and help them find their magic and... fall in love."

"You know the day you finished your magical test... feels so long ago," her mother sighed. "You had a look on your face, after everything was all said and done... and I knew," she said, gently stroking through the small side pieces of her hair, so not to ruin the small crown Mitsuki placed atop her head.

"You knew?" Ochako asked, tilting her head.

"Mhm. I knew you were going to find an adventure... something bigger than our small village. I was very right."

"You were," she giggled. "I blame Grandma."

Her mother let out a soft sigh, cupping Ochako's cheeks again. "She would be so proud. So excited to see you marrying a dragon."

"I wish I could tell her she was right... After all these years, she knew."

"I'm sure she knows she was right. I think she always knew."

"Me too," Ochako nodded.

Well... are you ready?"

"Mhm," she nodded. "Let's get Dad."

The two stepped outside of the room, her father was waiting by the exit. "There's my girl," he smiled. "You look stunning."

"Thanks," she said, blushing as she linked arms with both of her parents. "Are you sure you're both okay with this?" she asked, looking at both of them.

"I don't care who you marry as long as you're happy," her father said, gently tapping at her hand.

"I am. I'm so happy," she giggled, and she took the first step forward, opening the door.

"I think we can see that," her father chuckled.

Music began to play as she proceeded down the aisle with both of her parents. Deku and Iida both waved, smiling at her. Mirio, Tamaki and Nejire had even decided to join, despite Tamaki being terrified to interact with other dragons. The girls were bouncing with excitement. Todoroki was sat next to Momo and he nodded when Ochako walked by, a small smile on his face as well. She knew there was a part of him that, like her, still couldn’t believe this was real. However, he seemed much happier here as well.

Having all of her friends there made her want to cry. This was her life now, and she'd never felt more lucky.

Her gaze then fell upon Bakugou Katsuki and where he stood at the end of the aisle. His pants were heavy, and his boots were thick, lined with fur. His shirt was tight fitted and of course, his cape was draped over his shoulders, fur lining the hood. His wings stood proudly behind him and she could see the golden scales glistening on his cheeks. He looked similar to how he had when she first met him and it made her heart skip a beat.

He was looking at her too, his red eyes following her every move. It made her heart throb, and her stomach wiggle. She was excited and he was too, their bond deeper than ever before. She could even tell Katsuki was in the mood just from looking at her. It filled her heart with a little extra pride.

When they made it to the end of the aisle, Ochako turned to kiss her mother and then her father on the cheek, smiling as she let go of them to stand in front of Katsuki.

He smirked when she stepped in front of him. "Lookin' good, Cheeks," he muttered.

"Thanks," she giggled softly, her hand reaching out to touch his cheek. "I missed these."

"It's.. just tradition or whatever," he scoffed.

"They look nice," she said.

"'Course you think that," he teased.

"Hey-"

"Morning Ladies and Gentleman!" the head dragon began. He spoke loudly, interrupting Bakugou and Ochako's conversation. Not that she minded, she couldn't keep bantering with him, as much as she enjoyed it.

She took her hands, wrapping them around Bakugou's and his fingers squeezed hers. She glanced at him, her brown eyes wide and full of excitement. His red eyes stared at her with an intensity she knew well. She could feel how much he loved her.

"We’re gathered here today to officially proclaim Bakugou Katsuki and Uraraka Ochako to be mates. Though this woman is a human, she has agreed to share in our customs and our rituals and the magical bond these two already share is nothing to scoff at.”

Ochako’s chest felt warm, buzzing with excitement and it was a mixture of his joy and love and her own. She glanced down at his chest, wondering if he felt it just as much as she did.

It was strange, even knowing she wasn’t a dragon… this moment felt perfect, comfortable. Like she was meant to be here. Fate had finally led her in the proper direction.

The dragon head turned to both of them. "I suppose this whole thing might feel a little strange, since you two have already mated and bonded but… let’s do this the proper way shall we?"

Ochako nodded quickly. There was nothing she wanted more, and though Bakugou rolled his eyes, Ochako could see the red on his cheeks dusting over his scales. He was always so damn stubborn.

"Do you, Bakugou Katsuki, choose Uraraka Ochako to be your mate? Do you promise to protect her and care for her and never break this sacred bond you two will soon share?" The lead dragon spoke, turning to Bakugou first.

With a long huff, Bakugou nodded. "I swear I will," he stated, his eyes burning bright. "I love her."

Her chest felt warmer.

"Do you, Uraraka Ochako, choose Bakugou Katsuki to be your mate, despite being human? Do you promise to care for him and never break the sacred bond you two will soon share?"

"We already share a sacred bond," she whispered. This only made it better. "I promise. I love him with all my heart."

The leader smiled. "Perfect. Please seal your bond with a kiss, the final ritual will take place in private amongst you two, but let it be known to your friends and family you two are now mates, the strongest connection dragons can share, and no one can break the bond tying you two together for eternity."

Katsuki stepped forward and wrapped his hands around her cheeks, pulling their lips together. He kissed her gently, sucking softly on her lower lip. She let out a quiet hum, excited for later when they could have the private time the leader spoke of.

The entire crowd cheered and Katsuki pulled back, resting his forehead against hers. "I love you, Cheeks," he muttered, soft enough that only she could hear, private words just for her.

"I love you too, Katsuki," she said, knowing she meant every word. A smile pulled across her lips. "Should we go... celebrate?"

He took her hand in his own. "Hell yes!"

They were mates now. Officially together forever, though regardless of the ceremony, Ochako knew Katsuki would never leave her side, just as she never wanted to leave his.

As they ran down the aisle, hand in hand, Ochako just knew there were going to be many more adventures for them in the future. She had no idea where they would go or what they would do, but she had a feeling she was going to love them all almost as much as she loved Bakugou Katsuki.

Together, they would always be by each other's side; connected by their hearts and their magic.

[thefeministkoala]

IRIDESCENT | episode 1

Word Count : 1.653

Warnings: A lot of angst! Some swearing

-

Spinning. It was the only word that came up to your mind. You looked around to see something, anything at all, but it was a waste of time. Smoke around you twisted in its artistic ways, forming curls in the gloom, illuminated by the old, red dim bar lights. With giggles, swear words slowly making their way to your ears, each drink offered seemed like a better and better idea. At this point you were already too dizzy, your legs were too shaky to hold you but your heart was still aching. You really hoped with every drink you get it would get better, at least you would forget, but appearently it was impossible.

“It’s enough.. This shit is useless…” you said to yourself, thinking about the time and hoping that he’d worry about you. You were trying to get up and go home when you found yourself on the floor, giggling like a lunatic, looking at your bruised, bleeding legs. Seeing blood always made you nauseus but that night, you had much more important stuff to suffer.

“Suffering, suffer. S U F F E R I N G. What a weird word,” you mumbled, giggling. The things you felt when you got the engagement party invitation was more than just suffering. It was a combination of shattered bones, burning flesh, cracked skulls.. It was pure pain. Agony. Misery. You slowly leaned on the wall, pulling your legs to yourself, closing your eyes, hoping it would make your dizziness go away. You realized you were crying when you felt a tear dropped on your bleeding knee.

That’s when you saw your phone was buzzing, you took the phone from the floor and looked at the screen to see who was calling. Joonie. You smiled despite the fact you’re hurting, despite the fact he’s the reason of it all, you couldn’t help yourself. He was the the misery, he was the pain. He was the poison, he was the antidote. He was the darkness, and he was the light.

You shut your eyes closed, your cheeks wet from the tears that ran down, your nose all red, your lips craving the touch of the man you loved. Love? You didn’t know.

You were about to drift off when you felt a touch in between your thighs. You opened your eyes immediately to face a slender man, with a narrow face, a smirk on his mouth, his brown eyes are crossed from all the cheap alcohol he’s been drinking. “Come on babe, let’s go to my place,” he said, with a guttural, low voice.

You immediately hit his hands and tried to get away from him. It could’ve worked if the world wasn’t spinning around you as fast as it could. You tried to hold onto the crooked, metal bar stool while he grabbed your waist from behind and pulled you closer to him. A chin rested on your shoulder, you felt a breath onto your shoulder, filled with alcohol. He slid his bony fingers inside your jeans, you wanted to scream but he had his other hand on your mouth. You felt like there’s no escape but you kept struggling, trying to keep your mind away from the thought of this stranger’s hand in your panties.

When you were almost out of the hope of escaping, you noticed the weight behind you were gone and you could breathe again. You held onto the bar frantically, knocking over couple of shot glasses and a bottle of vodka. You turned around slowly, trying to understand how you escaped, trying to figure out what was going on, and that’s when you saw him.

A tall, wide shouldered, messy black haired stranger, standing in front of you, asking if you were okay. Since you were too shaken to speak, you only nodded your head. Yes. When he got your approval, he turned to the bastard who assaulted you, which he was on the dirty, mahogany hardwood floor holding his bleeding nose, and he kicked him in the gut.

“Fuck. Off,” he said, with a husky, and dauntingly calm voice. “If I ever see you next to her, I’ll shove your head up to your ass.” And that was the last thing you needed to hear before you throw up.

Your stomach was full with alcohol and you’ve seen so much blood for the night so it just happened. You bended over next to the bar, and started throwing up, hoping with all the bad things that coming out of your body, your pain and misery would go away too. You’ve heard footsteps coming to your direction, then someone holding your hair, speaking softly.

“Hey, it’s alright, it’s fine, you’re going to be alright.” It was him. Your saviour. The guy with black hair and broad shoulders. He slowly moved one of his hands back to your neck and your shoulders, massaging it slowly. Weirdly his voice calmed you down, you noticed your shoulders relaxing under his kind touch. When you were done puking, he helped you get up, holding you from your waist tightly. “Are you done?”

You were too weak to speak, to weak to shake your head, so you just closed your eyes firmly, letting him know you were done.

“Alright, good. I’m gonna take you to the bathroom, okay? You have to wash your face.” You weren’t sure you trusted him enough to go somewhere private, but you were too weak to stand, too cold to be alone, and his chest was really warm, you slowly rested your head on his shoulder, and let out a sigh, thank God he took it as a yes because you didn’t have any power to do something physically, and he started walking with you in a gloomy blue lighted corridor with some ripped rock band posters on the black wall.

“Why the fuck did you drink this much?” You’ve heard him mumble, while opening the dark brown old door with a loud creaking sound that make you squint your eyes and let out a loud groan. He smirked at the sound that came out of your mouth, making you sit on the top of the toilet. “You sure you can stay still?”

You really wanted to say yes but deep down you knew you couldn’t stand at all, so you just looked at him, hoping he’d get the hint.

“Fuck. Of course you can’t. Okay, how are we going to do this?” You held your breath, and tried really hard not to giggle. While he was trying to find a way to both wash your face, and make sure you won’t fall, you got a good chance to examine his face.

Was he handsome? Hell yes. He had a square face, a jawline that could literally stab someone, big dark brown eyes, and thin but beautiful lips. When he pouted you saw a dimple. No. Fucking no. Not another dimple. Fuck fuck fuck, you thought and reality hit you hard. He had a dimple. You were immediately back from your little getaway.

You shook your head, trying to get rid of the thoughts of Namjoon’s engagement. You felt your eyes getting filled with tears again, hoping he wouldn’t see them. “I found it, okay, I need you to sit on my lap that’s the only way.”

On his lap?! Hell no! Just when you were about to object, he sat in front of the sink and made you sit on his lap. You closed your eyes, hoping it was the man you loved, imagining him instead of this stranger. You weren’t going to lie, it felt pretty great. When you leaned on his chest, you’ve heard his breathing got a little irregular and he got tense, which made you smile a bit, just the effect you were expecting. You nuzzled your face on his neck and when his perfume hit your nose you woke up from your dream.

It wasn’t Namjoon. It was never going to be him. He had his precious Rose. The pain was back. You took a deep breath, trying to let go of the pain while you exhale.

“Fuck, stay still! I’m going to wash your face now,” he said, pulling you and making you sit up, a hand holding your hair up, the other hand splashing cold water to your face.

“I must admit.. This does feel good..” you said with closed eyes. He held a glass filled with water to your mouth.

“Drink. You are dehydrated.” You didn’t need him to say twice, you drank all of it, craving more. “Do you want more?” You shook your head, and he filled the glass again and helped you drink. “Alright, where is your phone? I am going to call someone to pick you up.”

You thought about it for a couple seconds. “I think I left it in front of the bar…” He sighed loudly. You knew what he was thinking, it was probably gone. Stolen.

“Okay so, do you know anyone’s number? You can’t go home like this.” You only knew one person’s number. It wasn’t your brothers, wasn’t your dad’s and wasn’t your best friends. It was embarrassing.

You took a deep breath and got up from his lap. “Can I borrow your phone, please?” He got up and took his phone from his black, skinny jeans pocket, handing it to you.

“I’ll give you some privacy. I’ll be in the front door if you need me,” he was already started walking to the door when you held his hand. He turned to you with a question in his eyes.

“Don’t go. Please.” He looked at your fingers, and back to your face, you slowly let go of his hand and he leaned on the wall, watching every move you make. You opened the phone, your fingers automaticly pressing the screen without even thinking.

Ringing. Ringing. Ring-

“Yes?” You gulped. “Joonie, hey… it’s me…”

[starwarstrashy88]

Fluff alphabet with Reylo x reader

A\N: This in modern time

A= Affection (How affectionate are they? Are they publicly affectionate or more privately affectionate?)

Rey is probably the most affectionate person you will ever meet. She loves giving you kisses and hugs in public or private. Now Kylo may look like he doesn't like affection, but he actually craves it desperately. He loves to be cuddled and kissed. But he's not big on PDA. He's got a reputation to keep. But once you three get home, he absolutely melts in your's and Rey's hands.

B= Best memory (What is their best memory?)

Rey's best memory was meeting you and Kylo. She's very grateful to have you both in her life and she openly says it nearly every day.

"You guys know how much I'm lucky to have you two? "

"Yes we know Rey. "

"We're not going anywhere"

Kylo's best memory is when he kissed you and Rey for the first time. It was the first time he realized just how much he loved you two. He swore from that day on he would never do anything to hurt you two.

C= Cat or dog person

Rey loves all animals, but she prefers dogs to match her energetic personality. Kylo likes dogs, but he doesn't like the tiny yappy dogs. He much prefers cats.

D= Dreams (What do they want to do with their lives?)

Rey wants to just get married one day and have a big family. Since she never knew her family, she wants to make a big happy family with you and Kylo. Kylo just wants to be happy with himself. In the past, there have been times where he's hated himself and thought that he was a failure. But all he wants is to finally think that he's a good person.

E= Evenings (How do they spend their evenings?)

After you all have finished eating dinner, you all either watch TV while cuddling on the couch, or go upstairs to cuddle in your bedroom. Either way it always ends in cuddles.

F= First date (What was it like?)

Well, since you were all pretty new to this whole polyam thing, you all went on seperate first dates and then went on one big date. Rey was first. She took you to a amusement park for the whole day and won you a bunch a prizes. She even kissed your cheek on top of the Farris wheel. Kylo took you out to a fancy restaurant for dinner and then the two of you went to the park just to talk about life ad stuff.

"It's just, we are just tiny specks compared to the vastness of the universe around us. But we're like one of a kind. There is no one like us out there. We are one in a billion. "

"That was actually really awesome Kylo. "

Kylo and Rey then went on a date to a art museum. Kylo made little comments on each art piece while Rey held his hand the entire time. For the big date, you all went to the beach and had a picnic on the sand. You all ate and talked about your separate dates. You and Rey then started to play in the waves while Kylo hung back on the blanket just smiling and thinking how lucky he was to have you two.

G= Giggle (What is their laugh like? What makes them laugh?)

Rey has a really contagious squeaky laugh. Once she gets going there's no stopping her. It's so contagious, it's almost impossible not to laugh along with her. Really cheesy jokes or puns just make her bust out in laughter. If she laughs long enough she starts to wheeze. Kylo doesn't laugh much but when he does, it's absolutely precious. He has this really sweet giggle that makes anyone smile. Not very many things make him laugh, but he is pretty ticklish. The first time you heard him laugh was when Rey tripped up the stairs.

H= Hugs (Do they like hugs? How do they hug?)

Rey loves hugs. As she always says.

"Ten hugs a day keeps the sads away."

She loves to give and receive hugs. Some days she holds you or Kylo tightly and other days she straight up tackles you two to the ground in a tight embrace. Kylo loves hugs as much as the next guy. The feeling of his lovers so close to him is the best feeling in the world. He loves to give big bear hugs. Squishing you and Rey to his chest always puts a smile on his face.

I= Instrument (Do they play any instruments?)

Rey knows how to play the ukulele and piano. Kylo used to play a metal guitar in high school. You often ask them both to play for you and they oblige.

J= Joy (What brings them joy in life?)

Being together. Both Rey and Kylo are perfectly happy and content being with you. Without you, they feel like a third of their hearts are missing.

K= Kisses (What kind of kissers are they?)

Rey's are sweet and never fail to make you smile. Whenever you're having a bad day, Rey just comes to you and kisses the pain away. Kylo's are gentle. He's afraid that if he's too rough he'll break you. That's the last thing he ever wants. So he kisses you really soft because you are just so precious to him.

L= Love (How do they act when they have a crush?)

Rey was immediately drawn to you and Kylo when she realized she had crushes on you two. She would spend so much time with you two and always check up on you both. When Kylo realized he was crushing on you and Rey, his whole world was turned upside down. He became ten times more protective of you two. He always made sure you two made it home safely and was there for you two when you needed a shoulder to cry on.

M= Memory (What is their favorite memory?)

Rey's favorite memory was spending the night for the first time with you and Kylo. Cuddling up in bed and just talking into the night was the best thing ever. Kylo's favorite memory was watching you and Rey dancing together in the kitchen while you two cooked dinner. He couldn't keep the ear to ear grin off his face.

"How did I get so lucky to have these two dorks? "

N= No (What is their pet peeve?)

Rey can't stand wet food in the kitchen sink. Every time she washes dishes and accidentally touches food, she starts to gag and immediately wash her hands as quickly as possible. Kylo despises backseat drivers. Every time he drives and someone tries to tell him how to drive, he has to use all his strength to not turn around and strangle the person.

O= Occupation (Dream job?)

Rey wants to be a preschool or kindergarten teacher. She absolutely adores children and wants to spend so much time teaching them and playing with them. Kylo actually wants to be a author. He loves creating works of fiction and sharing it with those he loves.

P= Parents (What kind of parents would they be?)

As said before, Rey loves children so she would be the fun mom who would spoil the shit out her kids.

"Daddy said you couldn't have donuts after dinner? Here's three. "

Kylo may seem like he's really awkward with kids but he has a soft spot for them. He would love his kids unconditionally. He would always make them smile if they were ever sad. He would be the best dad.

Q= Questions (Do they believe in the supernatural?)

Rey swears the house you all live in is haunted. She could hear footsteps when no one else was home and doors would shut by themselves. Kylo doesn't believe her until he hears someone walking around their home at four in the morning.

R= Romantic (Are they very romantic?)

Rey is a very cheesy romantic. She loves special made love songs and flowers. Kylo is a more a traditional romantic. He loves candle lit baths and fancy dinners together.

S= Smile (What makes them smile without fail?)

Rey and Kylo just love seeing you happy. It puts a smile on their faces and they are immediately in a good mood for the whole day.

T= Together (How clingy are they?)

Rey is very clingy. Especially when she's in a cuddly mood. Once she's in the mood, she latches on to the nearest person and it's almost impossible to pry her off. Kylo is only clingy when he's tired. Whether it's late at night or early in the morning, he will pull you and Rey close to himself and will not let go for at least another hour.

U= Unbearable (What habit do they have that you can't stand?)

Rey pops her joints all the time and the sound just drives you up the wall everytime you hear the noise. Kylo isn't the cleanest person. He leaves messes everywhere and doesn't pick up after himself.

"Why don't you pick up after yourself Kylo?"

"I'm a very busy man, I don't have time to pick up things."

"All you do is sit on the couch and eat corn chips while watching cartoons."

V= Videos (Do they take a lot of pictures or videos of your relationship?)

Rey actually has a YouTube account where she posts cute videos of her, Kylo and yourself. She pulls out her camera whenever something cute happens with you three. Kylo loves taking candid photos of you and Rey. Sneaking photos of you two asleep is his favorite thing in the world.

W= Wedding (What was the wedding like?)

Kylo cried a lot. He couldn't get through his vows to you and Rey without becoming a sobbing mess. Eventually you started crying and Rey had to comfort you both in front of everyone. You all eventually made it through the ceremony and had a wonderful after party.

X= eXtra (Interesting facts?)

Rey is a really good dancer. She took lessons in school and was top of her class. Kylo secretly loves to use coloring books. It helps him settle his mind when he wants to just focus on one thing for a while.

Y= Yuck (What do they hate?)

Rey hates hair in the shower drain with a passion. Every time she has to clean out the clogged drain, she has to try very hard to try not to throw up. Kylo actually has a deathly fear of seaweed. When he was little and went swimming in a lake for the first time and felt seaweed touch his foot and he screamed. He refuses to swim in any lake unless it has no seaweed.

Z= Zzz (What kind of sleeper are they? Heavy or light?)

Rey and Kylo are both heavy sleepers. Once their heads hit the pillows, they are out. Rey snores really loudly and it's almost impossible to fall asleep when she snores. But the one thing is that they can't sleep unless you're with them. Once your snuggled between them, sleep comes easy.

[dimensiontripperhibiki]

Threading My Path to You (5/?)

Thanks for the messages and reblogs etc guys. Hope you enjoy the chapter.  Warning(s): Angst, cheating (HonoEli), violence. 

“Maki-chan, wait!” Nozomi sighed as the redhead sprinted off to the hospital entrance without so much as closing the door behind her. The car had barely even stopped before Maki had leapt from it. “I’ll meet you in there, Elichi. I have to go after her.” She didn’t give Eli a chance to reply before she scrambled out of the car and took after Maki. She barged through the doors into the hospital and found Maki at the reception desk, glaring down a scared looking receptionist. “If you don’t tell me where the hell she is, I’ll…” “Maki-chan!” Nozomi placed her hand firmly on Maki’s shoulder and gave a light squeeze. “R-Room 204.” The receptionist said, her brown eyes wide with nervousness. “Critical condition, Sensei.”

“Right.” Maki nodded and turned to rush toward the room only for Nozomi to quickly grab her hand, dragging her back. “Maki-chan, you can’t go in there.” Nozomi hissed, tugging Maki a few steps away from the reception desk. “You know the rule about family.” “I’m not…” “You practically are!” Nozomi exclaimed loudly. She sighed, watching tears form in Maki’s eyes. “You need to wait, okay? She’s going to be okay but we...we just have to wait.” “Nozomi-chan, Maki-chan!” Both Nozomi and Maki turned at the sound of their names being called in time to see Honoka rushing toward them. For the first time they noticed she had been sitting with Umi, whose shirt was covered in blood. Hanayo was there too, along with Raven and Itsuki. Nozomi vaguely noticed that Nico was there too, her head resting on the shoulder of a redhead she didn’t recognized. The girl’s arm was around Nico in turn though and seemed to be intently staring at Hanayo, Raven and itsuki. Nozomi gasped as Honoka collided with her, throwing her arms around her. Making sure to keep her hand closed around Maki’s wrist she lifted her free arm, hugging Honoka gently as the girl sobbed into her shoulder. “They won’t let us in o-or tell us anything!” Honoka exclaimed, her voice thick with emotion and frustration. “They keep saying that i-it’s family only a-and they…” “Well they’re going to tell me!” Maki tried to tug her hand away from Nozomi but growled when her friend only tightened her grip. “Damn it. Let me go. I’m her fiance, damn it!” Silence echoed around the room before Eli who had appeared behind Nozomi let out an annoyed groan. “Damn this idiot.” Nico muttered, shaking her head. Hisa raised an eyebrow, glancing between Maki and Nico. “You really weren’t kidding, huh?” “Oh my god so she is a rezu!” Maki glanced over Nozomi’s shoulder at the sound of a new voice only to find Yukari and Seiko standing near the reception desk, sniggering to themselves. She recognized the person who had spoken as Yukari. She gritted her teeth in annoyance. “Damn them…” “Everyone just...calm down.” Nozomi finally said, struggling to wrap her mind around what Maki had just said. “Maki-chan, you’re not going in there and that’s final. Just sit down and wait for the doctor.” “I AM A DOCTOR!” “You’re an intern.” Nozomi let go of Honoka and tugged Maki over to a chair in the waiting room, gently pushing her down into it. “So you’ll sit and wait.” Fumiko blushed at how authoritative Nozomi could be. “Looks like Fumiko still has her crush.” Seiko sniggered as she watched Fumiko staring at Nozomi. Eli glared over at the two other interns but they weren’t even looking at her. Just as she opened her mouth to speak someone cleared their throat. “Did...Did you say Kotori is with a woman?” Yume who already looked pale and shaken stepped forward shakily. “What happened to...to Toshiro?” Nozomi cursed under her breath. “Maki-chan just really wants to see Kotori-chan, that’s all.” She glanced at Umi for help. Usually she could rely on Umi to be the most level headed but Umi was sitting completely still, staring ahead. Tears had dried on her cheeks and Nozomi could see that she was trembling. Honoka sniffled, wiping tears from her eyes. “While we were waiting for the ambulance, K-Kotori was in her arms. U-Umi-chan was trying to stop the bleeding a-and…” Nozomi sighed and placed a gentle hand on Umi’s shoulder. “Come on, Umi-chan. Let’s go to an oncall room. We can talk in private, okay?” Umi faintly shook her head. “I...I couldn’t…” “Shh, I know. Come on.” Nozomi gently took Umi’s hands and drew her to her feet. It’s okay, Umi-chan. Honoka-chan, keep an eye on Maki-chan. Don’t let her near that room.” Honoka nodded and Nozomi left with Umi. Maki growled under her breath as she watched Nozomi leave. She didn’t see why she couldn’t just go and find Kotori like she wanted to. She glanced around, catching the gaze of Itsuki who was sitting a few seats from her. She quickly looked away, focusing instead on Kotori’s mom who was speaking with a receptionist. Or rather, arguing it seemed. Noticing movement she focused on Honoka who had moved into Eli’s arms. She watched as she seemed to sink into the blonde, her arms going loosely around Eli’s waist like they’d done that a thousand times. “Are you okay?” Honoka whispered so softly that Maki barely heard her. Eli’s lips turned up slightly at the question and she gave Honoka a gentle squeeze. “Shouldn’t I be the one asking you that?” Honoka shook her head slightly in response. She couldn’t get a grasp on how she felt. She was scared, she knew that much. And horrified at the thought of losing Kotori. “Can we just stay like this for a while?” “Of course.” Eli murmured back, gently running her hand over Honoka’s hair. “You’re not hurt though, are you?” “I’m fine.” Honoka said quietly. “I’m fine. Better than Umi-chan and Minami-san...a-and Maki-chan.” “She really is an idiot sometimes.” Eli muttered, glancing at Maki who was still watching them intently. “She’s crazy in love. I can relate to that.” Honoka took a deep breath and slowly pulled away, dashing at the tears that lingered in her eyes. She sniffled, flashing Eli a watery smile. “Kotori-chan is going to be okay. Right?” “Right.” Eli moved to sit down next to Maki, tugging Honoka to sit down next to her. She flinched slightly as Honoka pressed close to her side, resting her head against her shoulder. “Honoka…” “Come on, it’s just my head.” Honoka muttered, her eyes flitting closed. She hadn’t slept yet, she realized. And it was the middle of the night. “We’ve done worse before.” Eli blushed, casting a sidelong glance at Maki who seemed to be listening intently, a puzzled look on her face. “Not a word, Maki.” “While you were with Nozomi?” Maki asked, frowning slightly. Eli shook her head. “We weren’t together yet. It was just before Umi got kicked out of her house and Nozomi was in medical school.” “You were with Nozomi before you graduated though?” Maki asked in confusion. “Eli-senpai and Nozomi-chan were on a break.” Honoka said, tiredly opening her eyes. “And Umi-chan was inheriting her father's estate and she had...marriage meetings. We were only...together for a few months.” “If you call a year a few months.” Eli mumbled under her breath. Honoka straightened up. “Um...Nico-chan, can you keep an eye on Maki-chan? I need to talk to uh...Eli-senpai.” Eli raised an eyebrow. “Not that!” Honoka exclaimed, blushing. “Serious talk. Just come on.” She got up and grabbed Eli’s hand, not waiting for her to answer before she tugged her toward the doors leading outside. Once they were out of the building she led them a little away from the entrance to where it was a little darker. Nobody was around anyway, given the time. “Honoka…” “I was being discreet!” Honoka said, pouting as she turned to face Eli. “Now Maki-chan’s going to think it was serious between us.” “Well it was…” Honoka grimly looked away. “Umi-chan needs me.” “Nozomi needs me too. I think. But she’s been so…” Eli sighed and shook her head, struggling to think of the right words. “Exhausting to live with?” “She’s a WORKAHOLIC!” Eli groaned, running a hand through her hair. “And it’s not just that, I feel like...she puts everyone else before me. I mean last week she cancelled our date to spend the night with Maki. Some nights she doesn’t come home until late, I just...I know it’s selfish but I want to feel like I’m the most important to her again. Like I did with her before. Like I did with...you. You always made me feel like you loved me.” “Eli…” Honoka pressed her forehead to Eli’s, sighing softly. “Nozomi-chan loves you too. I know she does. She’s just distracted right now. You should talk to her about it.” “Yeah.” Eli muttered, closing her eyes. She swallowed against the lump in her throat. “I’m sorry. I love Nozomi. But...sometimes I really miss you.” Honoka hugged Eli tightly, her eyes prickling with tears. She took a shuddering breath as she felt Eli bury her face in her neck. She would need to talk to Nozomi about what was going on. It wasn’t right for Eli to be so unhappy. ------ Kotori woke to a blinding light that hurt her eyes but it was nothing compared to the pain that wracked the rest of her body. Her brow furrowed and she whimpered softly. “Kotori?” Kotori heard a familiar voice and forced her eyes to open wider than they had been. “M-Mom?” She rasped, looking toward the source of the nose. Indeed she found her mother standing at her bedside. Feeling a hand grab hers she looked to the other side of the bed to see a tearful Maki standing there. “Maki-chan.” Kotori felt tears fill her eyes as she looked at Maki. She had thought she would never see her again. Maki leaned down and hugged Kotori tightly, a sharp sob springing from her throat. She felt Kotori hug her back, desperately. “I’m here. You’re okay now. I’m right here.” Kotori sniffled softly, vaguely feeling her mother gently stroking her hair. After a moment she heard her mother speak up. “Kotori, the…” Yume closed her eyes as her voice cracked. “The police are waiting outside. They want to talk to you about what happened.” “NO!” Kotori grimaced as pain shot through her ribs. She doubled over slightly, accidentally forcing Maki away and clutched her stomach. Her eyes watered with pain. “N-No, I-I don’t remember anything. I can’t…” Maki frowned slightly as scared amber eyes flicked toward her. She perched on the edge of the bed, gently touching Kotori’s shoulder. “It’s okay.” Yume glanced between the two for a moment, her brow furrowed before she spoke. “I’ll have a word with them. I’ll just be outside.” She waited for a nod from Kotori before she left the room. “Kotori.” Maki whispered as Kotori bowed her head. “You don’t remember anything at all? About who…” “It was Nijima.” Kotori said, her voice slightly choked up with emotion. Maki’s eyes widened in horror. She had feared as much but she had been hoping it wasn’t the case. “You need to tell the police, he can’t just get away with this!” “And risk him hurting you next? I can’t.” Kotori stubbornly shook her head. She wouldn’t let anything happen to Maki. “I can’t, Maki-chan.” Maki swallowed thickly against the lump in her throat. “W-What did he do to you? Did he…?” “I don’t know.” Kotori closed her eyes tightly, her hands gripping the sheets on top of her tightly. “I blacked out.” There was a moment of silence and when Kotori opened her eyes again Maki was pale. Strangely pale. She looked angry too though. “I-I have to…” Maki shook her head. She felt sick and faint but more than that she felt furious with Nijima. “I have to go. I’m sorry.” “Go? Maki-chan…” Kotori tried to catch Maki’s hand as she stood up but to no avail. Maki moved too quickly. Tears slid down Kotori’s cheeks, unnoticed by her. “Please don’t go. I’m sorry, I didn’t...please, Maki-chan.” Maki barely heard what Kotori was saying. She fled the room, ignorant of Kotori tearfully calling after her. A few steps away from the door she almost ran right into Yume. “What are you doing?” Yume asked, clearly able to hear her daughter’s despair. “You’re just going to leave?” “I’m trying to do something…” Maki tried to edge past Yume only to be blocked by her once more. “What?!” “Don’t you need to be with your fiance?” Yume asked bluntly, causing Maki to pause in surprise. “She needs you right now, Maki. I don’t know what’s happening between the two or...what you really are to each other but she needs you with her.” “I want to...but I can’t.” Maki whispered, her eyes flitting to the left. “This is all my fault. I need to do something. I have to go, I’m sorry.” With that said, she moved quickly past Yume and hurried down the hallway, her eyes prickling with tears. Her hands curled into fists as she neared Nijima’s office. She was a few feet from it when someone stepped into her path once more. “Where are you going?” Hisa asked, raising an eyebrow at Maki. She supposed it was a good thing Nico had told her to stand guard near the office in case Maki turned up there. She wasn’t sure how Nico knew that Maki would do that though. “Get out of my way.” Maki growled, trying to push past Hisa. “Nope.” Hisa placed a hand on Maki’s shoulder and lightly pushed her back. “Let’s take a walk, Nishikino.” Maki growled angrily. “Get out of my fucking way.” “No.” Hisa replied coolly. She sighed when Maki tried to shove her way past once again. “Seriously? Would you calm down for a goddamn minute?!” “No, I need to…” “How are you going to help your girlfriend by ending up in the hospital too?!” Hisa interrupted loudly. Seeing a flicker in Maki’s eyes, she sighed. “Just come with me for a minute so we can talk. Please. If you still want to go in there afterwards I’ll come with you to make sure he doesn’t beat you up too much.” “Thanks.” Maki muttered sarcastically, rolling her eyes. Nevertheless she let Hisa take her by the shoulders and steer her back the way she had come. She let herself be led toward the waiting room where she found Nozomi waiting alone. “She’s your friend, right?” Hisa asked as she guided Maki toward Nozomi. “It’s best she talks to you. I’m not in any kind of mood to cheer you up right now.” “Maki.” Nozomi said in surprise as she looked up to find Maki and Hisa pause in front of her. “What’s going on?” “I’m gonna find Nico.” Hisa said simply before she turned and walked away. Maki sighed and sat down next to Nozomi. “It was Nijima. Who hurt Kotori. I want to...damn it, I just want to hurt him as much as he hurt her.” Nozomi sighed, her shoulders slumped. She couldn’t say she was surprised by that. Nobody else had any reason to want to hurt Kotori. She tried to think of something to say to Maki but she couldn’t. She was exhausted. She had spent the past couple of hours trying to get through to Umi but Umi was beside herself. “Maki, am I a good doctor?” Maki hesitated for a moment, distracted from her thoughts by the sadness in Nozomi’s voice. She reached out, carefully taking Nozomi’s hand. “Nobody is good. We just do what we can.” “I can’t do anything.” Nozomi whispered, blinking back tears as she stared down at her lap. “I can’t help Umi, I don’t even know where Elichi is...I just keep screwing up. Professionally and personally.” Maki awkwardly cleared her throat. “I um...Kotori told me that she doesn’t know if Nijima only um...physically assaulted her. I asked and...she said she didn’t know and I ran. Not away from her, I just wanted to get my hands on him…” Nozomi sighed once more. “We’re both terrible with relationships.” “It’s...just a doctor thing, Nozomi.” “Maybe it shouldn’t be. Maybe they deserve better.” Nozomi glanced sideling as Maki to see her wince. “Sorry, I’m...projecting. I know. I need to figure things out for myself. And talk to Elichi.” “You should before Honoka makes her move.” Maki said jokingly. “Don’t joke about that.” Nozomi said, frowning at the thought. “When I was in graduate, seeing Eli’s instagram after our breakup was...hard. Really hard.” Maki’s brow furrowed slightly. “What did you…?” “Eli and Honoka were together, Maki-chan. I even saw a video of Honoka waking up Eli after...you know.” Nozomi let out a heavy sigh. “I’m scared of them getting close. If Umi starts hiding things from Honoka, pushing her away…” Maki briefly bit her lip. “Maybe you should be trying to get closer to Eli then? No offence but earlier, when you got to the hospital you just...left her. Honoka was the only person who asked Eli if she was okay.” Nozomi gritted her teeth in response. She remembered, she had been preoccupied with everything else that had been happening. “Do you know where Elichi is?” Maki awkwardly cleared her throat. “With Honoka. I think...they needed to talk about something. You saw how upset Honoka was about Kotori.” Nozomi groaned, running a hand over her face. “I really need to talk to Elichi.” Maki gave a slight nod of her head. “Can I ask you something?” “Sure.” “If Honoka and Eli were so happy together, why did they break up?” Maki asked warily. “How did Honoka end up with Umi?” “It’s...complicated.” “No seriously, how?!” “Umi kissed Honoka when Honoka was with Eli, okay?” Nozomi said wearily. “It’s just really complicated. But this is how it is now. Honoka and Eli broke up. They’re not getting back together...unless I keep screwing things up.” Maki bit the inside of her cheek to keep from saying anything as she recalled the way Honoka had acted around Eli earlier. They had acted more like a couple than Nozomi and Eli had in a while. “You really need to talk to Eli. Apologize.” “I know.” Nozomi mumbled. Realizing she was still holding onto Maki’s hand she gave a light squeeze before letting go. “You should talk to Kotori too.” Maki nodded solemnly. She had some apologizing to do too. --- Eli closed her eyes as soft lips brushed against her own, a stark contrast to the cold, hard wall her back was pushed up against. Honoka’s front was pressed to hers, soft and inviting. “Honoka.” Eli whispered, her eyes half-lidded as she lifted her head to chase Honoka’s lips with her own. She sighed when Honoka leaned back slightly. Honoka gently brushed a strand of hair behind Eli’s ear. “I miss you too, Eli-senpai.” She said softly, inching forward. This time when Eli leaned in to kiss her she didn’t move away. Her eyes flitted closed at the first touch and she kissed Eli back, pressing as close to her as she could. Familiar hands settled at her waist, gripping as if to tug her forward. Honoka whimpered slightly at the touch and pressed her tongue past Eli’s lips, deepening the kiss. Her heart pounded against her chest as she felt Eli’s hands move up, bunching her shirt into her fists. She remembered how many times they had done this in the past. It was so familiar and yet somehow at the same time it all still felt new to her. The sudden sound of her message alert tone drew Honoka from her stupor and she pulled away from Eli before she reached down, fumbling with her phone. It was a text from Umi, asking her to meet her in an on call room. “I-I have to go.” “Right…” Eli said, her cheeks flushed red as she stared at Honoka. “Um, Honoka…” She hesitated when Honoka looked at her. “N-Nevermind. I’ll see you back in there.” Honoka managed a small smile. She paused, looking like she was about to say something but finally reached out and touched Eli’s hand before she left, tugging her shirt back down as she did so. Eli sighed as she watched Honoka go. She didn’t know what to make of that kiss. But she had to talk to Nozomi. ---- Hisa gave a sigh of relief when she finally found Nico on the roof of the hospital. She walked closer, wrapping her arms around herself. “There you are! I’ve been looking everywhere for you.” Nico turned to face Hisa, surprised to see her there. “I just needed some time to think. Figured nobody would look for me here.” “I was worried.” Hisa said with a frown as she walked closer to Nico. “Are you okay?” Nico shrugged her shoulders. She didn’t feel especially okay. Her friend was in the hospital and the person who had put her there was working in the same hospital. It infuriated her. “Not really. Did you find Maki?” “Yeah. Took her to your other friend like you asked me to. Sounds like Kotori woke up.” Hisa said, casting a glance over the side of the roof. She grimaced at the height. It was a long way down. “Fuck Nijima.” Nico growled, kicking angrily at the ground beneath her feet. It was cold outside, she realized but her skin prickled hotly with anger. “If I get my damn hands on him, I swear…” “You really care about her, huh?” Hisa asked thoughtfully as she watched Nico. “She’s my friend. And…” Nico felt her voice give way with emotion and she turned from Hisa, lifting a hand to cover her suddenly teary eyes. “Fuck. This never should have happened.” Hisa sighed and walked over to Nico, gently turning her around. She leaned down and hugged her carefully, trying to soothe the clearly upset girl. Nico sniffled softly and melted into Hisa’s gentle embrace, letting her tears emerge for the first time since she had heard the news about Kotori. ---- Umi looked up hopefully when the door to the on call room opened, although her stomach promptly sank again when she didn’t find Honoka stepping into the room but rather a girl she didn’t recognize. “Oh…” The girl paused in the doorway, a surprised look on her face. “I-I’m sorry, I...didn’t know anyone else was in here. You’re...Sonoda-san, right?” Umi quickly wiped her tears from her cheeks, confused by how this girl she had never met knew her name. “And you are…?” “Oh, sorry. I’m Itsuki. My brother is dating one of your friends.” Itsuki said with a small, sheepish smile. “I was waiting with you in the waiting room?” “Right. I didn’t notice. Sorry…” Umi looked down at the floor, noticing her hands trembling in her lap. “Are you okay?” Itsuki asked carefully, inching forward. She pushed the door shut behind her, assuming Umi wouldn’t like anyone to see her in the state she was in. “Can I get anyone for you?” Umi silently shook her head. She knew that Honoka would be on her way. She had received a response from her a few minutes again. “My girlfriend is on her way, I-I’m fine…” “Alright.” Itsuki was about to leave but she noticed Umi biting her lower lip and hesitated. “Can I stay with you for a while? Until your friend gets here? I can just...sit quietly if you want me to. I don’t really think you should be alone.” Umi gave a silent nod and Itsuki moved toward her. She sat down next to Umi on the bed but at a respectful distance. She stayed silent but after a moment heard a soft sob from the girl next to her. She glanced over in concern to find tears sliding their way down Umi’s cheeks once more. She swallowed thickly and tried to think about what her siblings would do if she was the one who was upset. “Um...d-do you want a hug?” “You don’t know me.” Umi said, her voice thick with emotion. “It doesn’t matter. You’re upset.” Itsuki said with a shrug of her shoulders. “Maybe it’ll help?” Umi looked toward Itsuki, finding sincerity in the girl’s eyes. “Just for a minute.” She replied hesitantly, warning herself a small smile from Itsuki. The blonde opened her arms and Umi shuffled closer, turning so that she could sink into them. Surprisingly the embrace was both warm and gentle yet firm at the same time. Umi felt the panic she had been feeling ebb slightly and shakily lifted her arms to clutch at Itsuki tightly. She was grateful that Itsuki didn’t say anything when she didn’t pull away after just a minute. She sniffled softly into the girl’s shoulder instead, her eyes shut as she tried to block out the events of the night. She was tired of replaying it over and over again in her head. Itsuki gently stroked Umi’s hair, choosing to stay quiet. There was nothing she could say to make the situation easier and she got the impression that Umi would only end up more upset if she did try to say anything. She settled for comforting her without words. ---- “Honoka!” Honoka was halfway down the hallway when she heard Eli calling out to her. She turned to see the blonde in question jogging toward her. She opened her mouth to speak before Eli collided with her, hugging her tightly. “E-Eli-senpai…” “I’m sorry.” Eli whispered. “I shouldn’t have done that. We agreed to keep our distance and I’ve just screwed it all up. I’m sorry.” Honoka let out a soft breath, gently rubbing Eli’s shoulder. She should have known that Eli would be panicking about what happened between them. “It was just a kiss. It’s okay. Besides, I kissed you first. We were just thinking about how things used to be between us. It doesn’t have to mean anything. You have Nozomi-chan and I have Umi-chan...and we’re friends, right? We can get past this.” Eli slowly eased away to look at Honoka. “What’s happening between us, Honoka?” “Old habits die hard.” Honoka explained quietly. “I don’t know. When we were together you were always there for me and...I really loved you once. Maybe I just fell back into the habit of needing you when things get hard. Umi-chan can’t handle this stuff, she’s still recovering from...her own PTSD. And now with Kotori getting hurt because she’s with a woman...it’s too much for her.” “Honoka, let me take care of you.” Eli whispered, reaching for Honoka’s hand. “You deserve more than a few minutes to be scared before you go off to take care of Umi and Kotori. You almost lost your best friend. Let me help you.” “No, I can’t.” Honoka drew away, holding her hand close to her chest. It tingled where Eli had touched her. “We’re not together anymore. I need to do this on my own.” “No, you don’t. Don’t you dare turn into Nozomi.” Eli said sharply, stepping forward. Honoka stepped back to counter “Please, Honoka. Just calm down. I’m right here. I told you I’ll protect you.” “I think that was the other way around.” Honoka blinked back tears stubbornly, trying to calm herself. “With your mom and all…” “Just shut up and let it out. I want to help you.” Eli said softly, stepping forward. “We might not be together but you’re still one of my closest friends. Just let me help. Please.” Honoka bit the inside of her cheek and shook her head. She couldn’t let herself break. She had to be there for Umi and for Kotori. It was strange but in the past few years their roles seemed to have reversed, with Umi and Kotori needing her more than she needed them. Besides breaking up with Eli, everything had gone right for her. Eli stepped forward and hugged Honoka tightly, seeing a flicker of doubt in her eyes. She felt Honoka gasp and fight against her for a moment but held tight, refusing to let go. Finally Honoka seemed to relax completely and collapsed against her, breaking into sobs. Unable to hold Honoka up Eli lowered them both to their knees, hugging Honoka close even as tears stung at her own eyes. “It’s okay. I’m here. You’re okay.” “I’m a terrible friend. I don’t know what to do with either of them.” Honoka said tearfully, her face pressed into Eli’s shoulder. “No, you’re not.” Eli disagreed, shaking her head. She glanced around, hoping that nobody was going to disturb them. They weren’t exactly in a private place. “You’re always there for them. You’re a good friend, Honoka. I promise.” Honoka shook her head in disagreement and slowly drew back. Her hands went to Eli’s shoulders, their eyes locking. “I don’t know what to do anymore. I don’t know how to help.” “I know.” Eli said soothingly, a troubled look on her face. “But you need help sometimes too. Just let me…” “Why?” Honoka interrupted bluntly, earning herself a confused look from Eli. “Because I want to.” Eli said softly. She didn’t know what else to say. She just wanted to help, there was no other reason behind it. “I miss my friend, Honoka. I miss you. I just want you to stop pushing me away.” Honoka took a deep breath and got to her feet. “I have to find Umi-chan. I’ll find you later, Eli-senpai.” “Right.” Eli got to her feet, her shoulders slumped and watched as Honoka walked away from her. Honoka brushed away her tears as she made her way to the on call room, passing a couple of doctors on the way. She knew she wasn’t really supposed to be walking around the hospital on her own but nobody said anything. Possibly because it was so late. She turned the corner in time to see the on call room door open. She saw Umi step out with a girl she vaguely recognized as Raven’s sister. Honoka promptly stepped back behind the corner to stay out of sight. “Some tea will make you feel better.” Itsuki was saying as she led the way out of the room. “Yeah. Thanks, Itsuki.” Umi rasped in response, clutching the sleeve of Itsuki’s sweater for support. Honoka frowned as she watched them head down the hallway together. It seemed that Umi had completely forgotten that she was on her way. Her heart sank at the thought. She had been hoping that she would be able to spend some time with Umi, just the two of them. It seemed that Umi would rather spend her time with someone she didn’t even know though. Tears clouding her eyes, Honoka turned and ran back the way she had come, hoping to find Eli waiting for her. She found the hallway empty. ---- “I’m surprised you text me.” Honoka looked up in surprise from nursing her coffee but promptly relaxed when she found Eli standing over her. “I guess my incognito isn’t working out, huh?” “Don’t worry, I would recognize you anywhere.” Eli quipped with a smile as she sat down opposite Honoka at the table. She looked Honoka over, taking in her glasses and cap. She had been wearing a mask too, it seemed but she had taken that off to drink her coffee. She couldn’t help but grin at how cute Honoka looked. “Don’t give me that look.” Honoka grumbled, averting her eyes. “Sorry.” Eli leaned back in her seat, tugging at her tie to loosen it. She unfastened the top button of her blouse before reaching up to pull her bun out. Honoka bit her lip as she watched. “Tough day at the courthouse?” “This case is a pain in my ass.” Eli sighed loudly. “I should have been a prosecutor.” Honoka gave a hesitant smile. “Maybe. But that’s not really you.” “I guess.” Eli muttered before she met Honoka’s eyes once more. “You said you wanted to meet up? Is everything okay? Is Kotori…?” “She’s fine. I saw her again earlier and she’s...shaken but she’s okay.” Honoka said hesitantly. She glanced off to the right for a moment. “I just wanted to see you, that’s all. Um...do you want a coffee or…?” “I’m fine.” Eli said softly, shaking her head. If she was honest she’d probably had too much coffee. She noticed Honoka’s gaze dip down and raised an eyebrow. “Honoka?” Honoka looked away from Eli’s unbuttoned shirt, blushing. “It’s nothing, I’m fine.” “Is that Kousaka Honoka?!” “What?! Wasn’t she in the latest romance movie?! Unmei no Hito?” Eli groaned at the sound of a couple of women speaking excitedly nearby. “Come on, we’re leaving.” She stood up, grabbing Honoka’s hand and tugged her up. Casting a dark look at the women, almost daring them to follow, she led Honoka out of the cafe and onto the street. “Shit. I’m sorry, I didn’t think…” “It’s my fault. I should have suggested somewhere quieter.” Honoka said with a sigh as she followed Eli down the street. “We could go back to my place if you still want to talk?” Eli suggested hopefully. “I’m parked nearby. Or I could drive you home?” “Uh…” Honoka nervously bit her lip. She wasn’t sure if being alone with Eli was a good idea. Still, she needed to talk to her. “Umi is out with a friend. So you can come to my place. If that’s okay?” “Um...Nozomi is working late so I’d rather have someone at home.” Eli said regretfully. “Either or is fine, right? We could watch that movie. I got the DVD before anyone else.” Honoka couldn’t help but laugh at the hint of pride in Eli’s voice. “I’m not watching myself. Let’s find something else to watch.” Eli scoffeed. “Typical hot shot actress. Fine. You were so good though. I almost thought you were bi...or straight.” Honoka rolled her eyes. “I’m gay. Gay as the pride flag.” Eli grinned as they reached her car. She unlocked it and gestured for Honoka to get in before she climbed into the driver’s seat. “I missed this.” Honoka said after she’d buckled her seatbelt. “You were always so laid back. And teasing. And...I mean let’s go.” Eli smirked as Honoka busied herself with messing with the radio. She still had it, it seemed. She pulled away from the side of the street and headed in the direction of home. The drive was made in relative silence for a while, the radio playing quietly as Eli drove. Feeling something warm against her thigh she glanced down, finding Honoka’s hand resting on her leg. She swallowed thickly, cursing herself for wearing a skirt. She didn’t say anything though, not wanting Honoka to move. The simple touch made her feel wanted. Honoka didn’t move her hand until Eli had pulled into the parking lot of the apartment building. She didn’t even seem to notice it even as she moved it and got out of the car. Eli followed, her heart beating slightly faster than usual. Leading the way into the building and up to her apartment she was vaguely aware that she was blushing and kept her face lowered to keep Honoka from seeing it. Honoka followed Eli into the apartment, glancing around. “I don’t think I’ve been in here for a while.” “Yeah.” Eli said softly as she closed the door. She slipped her shoes off, along with Honoka. “Not much has changed.” “A lot had changed.” Honoka mumbled to herself as she walked into the living room with Eli. The blonde gestured for her to take a seat and she did so, sitting down on the couch. “I shouldn’t stay long. I have to get back to Umi.” “Give me a second to change.” Eli said, nodding to her bedroom. She lightly touched Honoka’s shoulder on the way past, causing the girl to shudder. Honoka took a calming breath as she listened to Eli fumble around in the bedroom. She just need to stay calm, that was all. “Sorry.” Eli said apologetically as she walked out of the bedroom in a loose shirt and a pair of hip hugging sweatpants. “What did you want to talk about?” “Um…” Honoka hesitated as Eli sat down next to her. “Us, actually.” “I get it.” Eli said, leaning back against the couch. “You’re with Umi and I’m with Nozomi. What happened between us was just a spur of the moment. You probably told Umi already, right?” Honoka shook her head. “I didn’t tell her. She’s busy with Raven’s little sister now. They’re friends. I’m happy for her. And I don’t want to bother her with this. I actually just wanted to apologize for snapping at you. I do want us to be friends. I guess I was just worried that it would be confusing. I was in love with you back when we were dating.” “Yeah.” Eli said softly, watching Honoka frown. “You keep saying...you were. When did you stop? I never really asked when we broke up. I figured it was less painful not to.” Honoka hesitated for a moment but settled for answering with a question of her own. “When did it stop for you? I-I mean assuming you were in love with me…” “I am.” Eli said softly, causing Honoka’s gaze to flit up to her own. She felt a brief spike of panic. “I didn’t want to break up with you. And I didn’t stop loving you.” “I…” Honoka swallowed thickly. “It was for the best. It didn’t work between us.” “Liar.” Eli accused, frowning. “We’re more miserable than we were together. A lot more miserable. We were good for each other. You know that.” “I…” Honoka bit her lip. “I love her and I love you but...I love her. And you love Nozomi.” “I don’t know, Honoka.” Eli said doubtfully. “I don’t know anything anymore. I mean look at Kotori and Maki and Nico. Nothing is ever certain. You’re the only one who makes me feel whole. I feel safer with you than anyone else. I don’t even know...I don’t even think Nozomi loves me anymore.” Honoka felt her chest ache as tears brimmed in Eli’s eyes. She silently cursed Nozomi under her breath. The girl was one of her best friends but she could be so thoughtless at times. Honoka didn’t doubt that Nozomi loved Eli, even if she wasn’t in love with her. Nozomi would still love Eli. But it didn’t seem like Eli could see that. Honoka gently took Eli into her arms. “If you’re unhappy maybe you should end it. You deserve to be with someone who loves you, Eli-senpai. Someone who has time for you. Maybe it’s for the best.” “Isn’t that you?” Eli whispered against Honoka’s neck. “You idiot actress.” Honoka winced. “I-I have a girlfriend, Eli-senpai. You know this is a bad idea.” “You deserve better too.” Eli murmured drawing back slightly. “I could be better for y-” Honoka interrupted Eli by kissing her, her hands going to the back of the blonde’s neck to draw her close. She was surprised when Eli kissed her back without hesitation but she didn’t draw away this time. She let Eli tug her close and shifted so that she could guide the blonde down onto her back. She wasn’t sure how long it had been since Umi had kissed her. Or looked at her like she wanted her. She could feel that Eli wanted her though, in the way that Eli deepened the kiss and tugged at her shirt. She could feel the longing emanating from the blonde. Slowly, she drew away and looked down at Eli. She gently stroked the girl’s cheek. “I do love you, Eli-senpai. I just…” “Shhh.” Eli gently removed the glasses still on Honoka’s face. “It’s okay. I know.” Honoka let out a shaky breath before she leaned in and kissed Eli once more, pushing her back down onto the couch. ---- Nico was on her way into the hospital when she spotted a familiar blonde ahead of her. Figuring that Eli must have decided to stop by to see Kotori before work, just as she had, she jogged to catch up. “Eli!” Eli turned to see Nico approaching her. “Hey, Nico. Going to see Kotori?” “Yeah.” Nico paused, narrowing her eyes at Eli’s chipper tone. Nobody should be that chipper, especially so early in the morning. “Oh my god, you had sex.” Eli paled, the smile that had lingered on her lips quickly slipping away. “NICO!” She grabbed Nico’s arm and tugged her away from the entrance to the hospital. “Not with Nozomi then?” Nico asked warily at the panicked look on Eli’s face. “Whoa. Okay, who did you sleep with? Wait...Honoka? Holy shit, that’s messed up.” “I know!” Eli hissed, quickly glancing around. “I...I still love her, okay?!” “Well considering you slept with her, yeah you are.” Nico said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. “Either that or an idiot who wants to throw her relationship away for a stupid fling.” “It’s not a fling! It was never a fling, Nico.” “Okay, okay. I’m sorry. Just tell me the whole thing. I’m not judging you.” Nico said calmly. “I know Nozomi has been buried in her work. It’s not working out with the two of you, huh?” Eli shook her head. “Honoka and I have been talking...hanging out more. I’m happy around her and she is around me even when we’re afraid of what’s happening.” “You two were good for each other.” Nico said softly, her brow furrowing. “I was kind of surprised when you got back with Nozomi and her with Umi.” “It was a mistake...I think.” Eli said regretfully. “I thought it was what she wanted and she thought that I deserved better. Idiot…” Nico stared at Eli for a moment. “What are you going to do, Eli? Is she going to break up with Umi? Are you going to break up with Nozomi?” “I think I have to. It’s not working with us and...it’s not fair to either of us.” Eli answered honestly. “Honoka loves me. But she loves Umi too so I-I don’t think she’s going to break up with her. I can’t really ask her to, can I?” “I don’t know.” Nico said, shrugging her shoulders. “And I thought I was in a messy situation with Maki and Kotori…” Eli sighed heavily. It was a mess, Nico was right. “I love her, Nico. I need her.” “Just be careful you don’t get hurt again.” Nico advised quietly. ---- “Honoka, be careful!” Maki snapped as Honoka slumped down next to Kotori on the hospital bed. Kotori flashed Maki a small smile. “She’s fine, Maki-chan. Don’t worry.” She glanced at Honoka, frowning slightly and sniffed near her. “Why do you smell like chocolate?” She watched as Honoka blushed. “Oh, don’t tell me you did something I would do. Honoka-chan!” “I-I didn’t mean for it to happen!” Honoka protested hurriedly. “I just...she was there a-and...it’s Eli-senpai!” Maki had been glancing between Honoka and Kotori in confusion but realization suddenly dawned on her. “Seriously, Honoka?” Honoka glanced away, frowning. “Shut up, Maki. You cheated on your fiance.” Maki pouted while Kotori grimaced slightly. Honoka buried herself into Kotori’s side, being as gentle as she could. “I love her. I still love her, Kotori. She made me so happy.” Kotori gently wrapped an arm around Honoka’s shoulders. “What about Umi-chan?” “I love her too. I don’t want to hurt her but she never has time for me. I need...I want to feel like someone wants me.” Honoka admitted, staring down at Kotori’s lap. “I feel like I do everything in the relationship. I always have to initiate all of the kisses even though Umi-chan was the one who kissed me when I was with someone! I feel like this is too one-sided. I love her. But I don’t think she loves me. In the same way, I mean. I know that Eli-senpai loves me.” Kotori held Honoka close to her. “You need to follow your heart, Honoka-chan. Where does it guide you?” “To Eli-senpai. But I can’t. It’s not just about me.” Honoka felt her eyes prickle with tears and quickly blinked. She couldn’t hurt Umi, even if their relationship was one-sided. She needed to find that out first. And she needed to ask Umi what she wanted. Kotori shared a troubled look with Maki. “I hate seeing you upset. You’re my best friend. Umi-chan is too but if you’re right and Umi-chan doesn’t love you in that way...she still loves you as her best friend. She’ll understand.” Maki frowned, thinking of her conversation with Nozomi. It seemed that it was already too late to keep Honoka from capturing Eli’s heart again. “Don’t hurt Eli, Honoka.” Maki warned sharply. “Nozomi will kill you.” “Well she should have paid attention to Eli-senpai!” Honoka growled, lifting her head from Kotori’s shoulder to glare at Maki. “She’s hard for her to live with! What is with you doctors screwing up your personal lives?! She really hurt Eli-senpai and she doesn’t even know! Don’t you dare fucking patronize me, Maki-chan! Nozomi-chan screwed up her own chances and she made Eli-senpai miserable! I’m not an idiot!” Maki stared at Honoka speechlessly, stunned by her anger. She had never heard her sound so angry. “And.” Honoka continued, holding up a hand as Maki opened her mouth to speak. “If you ever hurt Kotori-chan like that I’ll kick your ass!” Maki raised an eyebrow before she slowly relaxed into a smile. She reached out, gripping Kotori’s hand. “It’s never going to happen. Trust me. Unlike other doctors I like being distracted. And being able to relax in the arms of the person I love when I’m upset...I’m not going to throw that away for a job.” Kotori smiled warmly at Maki and gripped her hand back. “What if Umi-chan hates me?” Honoka asked hesitantly. “I’m not saying I’m breaking up with her! I don’t know yet but what if she hates me? I don’t want to lose her completely.” “You won’t. I promise.” Kotori said reassuringly. She noticed Maki’s confused look but gave a slight shake of her head. She knew that Umi wasn’t especially happy either but didn’t want to break up with Honoka and end up breaking her heart. The two just needed to talk to each other. ---- Maki stared vacantly at the drinks machine in front of her, waiting for it to finish dispensing the coffee she had purchased. She had decided to step out for a few minutes to give Honoka and Kotori some time to talk in private. She had planned to stay with Kotori for the entire day but she wasn’t concerned about leaving her alone for a few minutes. Honoka was still there after all. “Nishikino-sensei?” Maki looked up, her blood running cold at the sight of Kotori’s mother approaching her. “S-Sensei! Um...Kotori is just in her room with Honoka if you want to go in.” “I was actually hoping to speak to you for a few minutes.” Yume said, pausing near Maki. She gestured to the row of three seats behind them. “If you have a moment?” “Right. Sure.” Maki turned back to the coffee machine, fumbling to take her finished drink. She winced as the liquid splashed a little onto her shaky fingers but promptly followed Yume to the small seating area. “You don’t have to look so worried.” Yume advised as Maki sat down next to her. “I just wanted to talk to you about Kotori. And your relationship with her.” Maki nodded hesitantly although that was what she had been worried Yume would say. “Shouldn’t you be asking Kotori about this though? It wasn’t really fair of me to say what I did. I didn’t know you were there and I shouldn’t have been the one to tell you that…” “I don’t care that Kotori is dating a woman.” Yume interjected before Maki could finish speaking. “It did come as a surprise, I have to admit that but it’s the least of my concerns right now.” Maki’s brow furrowed slightly. “I don’t know what else you want to know. I love her and...I want to be with her. Even if my father hates me for it…” A small smile tugged at Yume’s lips. “She seems to be happy with you and that’s all that matters to me. Almost all that matters. I want her to be safe too. Can you tell me that she’s going to be safe if she’s with you?” Maki hesitated for a moment before she shook her head. “I...I don’t know.” Yume stared long and hard at Maki. “Was she hurt because she was dating you?” “I…” Maki swallowed against the lump that formed in her throat. “Yes. But he won’t go near her again. I’ll get him put behind bars. Somehow.” Yume was silent for a moment before she gave a nod in response. “All I want is for her to be safe and happy.” She slowly got to her feet. “I can’t stay for long so I should go in there. Do you want to come with me?” Maki gave a slight shake of her head. “Maybe in a little while. I don’t want it to be too crowded for her.” “I’ll let her know you’ll be back.” Yume offered a fleeting smile before she turned and headed down the hallway to her daughter’s room. Maki sighed softly and leaned back in her chair. Yume was right, she had to do something about Nijima. He deserved to be in prison for what he had done. Her hands closed into fists. She knew what she had to do. ---- Eli stared vacantly at her computer screen, trying to focus on the research she needed to do for her latest case but her mind was elsewhere. She couldn’t stop thinking about how good and familiar it had felt to be with Honoka again. To lose herself in the feeling of wanting someone and being wanted in return. Still, she felt guilty at the fact that she had cheated on Nozomi. Their relationship had been on and off for years but Nozomi deserved better. Still, her mind kept drifting to the feeling of Honoka’s lips on hers, to the gentle touch of Honoka’s hands and the marks that had been left on her thighs and shoulders. A knock at the ajar door to her office caught her attention and she looked up. Her stomach sank at the sight of Umi standing there. “Umi. What...what are you doing here?” Umi hesitantly stepped into the office. “I was hoping to talk. Do you mind?” She waited for a moment but when Eli merely stared at her she closed the door behind her. “Um...I heard that you took care of Honoka on the first night Kotori was in the hospital. I just wanted to thank you.” “You don’t have to thank me for that. I would always do that for her.” Eli said sharply, leaning back in her seat. “I care about her too, you know.” Umi flushed in response. “I know. I mean you two were together…” “We’d still be together.” Eli replied in a clipped tone of voice, narrowing her eyes at Umi. She sighed when Umi merely looked away. “Is that all you wanted?” “No, I...I wanted to say I’m sorry.” Umi said quietly. “I ruined your relationship and I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking. I was going through a lot and I just wanted to tell her my feelings.” “She broke up with me because she ‘cheated’. Because of you.” Eli growled, getting to her feet. She glared over at Umi. “Save your apologies.” “I’m sorry. But I-I loved her too.” Umi replied, a hint of anger in her own voice. “I love her. I couldn’t just...keep those feelings to myself.” Eli gritted her teeth. She almost wanted to tell Umi out of spite. A little bit of payback wouldn’t hurt. But she couldn’t do that. She had to keep her cool. She took a deep breath and sat back down. “And you just think it’s fair that you made her break up with me beca-” “I didn’t MAKE her break up with you!” Umi cried in frustration. “She wanted to be with me, that was all. She chose me because she’s comfortable with me. I’ve loved her since school and she knew that. With you she always felt like you deserved better than her, tha-” “SHE DESERVES BETTER!” Eli yelled, losing her cool for a moment. She was silent for a moment after, as was Umi who appeared too surprised by the outburst to speak. “It doesn’t matter. She’s with you now. Just...leave it alone, Umi.” She turned back to her computer screen, trying to ignore the tightness in her chest. She knew that her time with Honoka would be short and Umi’s explanation only made that more apparent. “I didn’t mean to ruin our friendship either.” Umi said softly, her shoulders slumped. “I hope that I can fix it. Someday.” Eli didn’t say anything as Umi left her office but she did feel a twinge of regret. She didn’t like that she had lost a friendship which had been important to her either but her anger at Umi dulled that grief. She took out her phone, seeing several messages from Honoka. She scrolled up to where they started before slowly scrolling down again. ‘I’m sorry about last night. I didn’t mean for that to happen. Are you upset with me?’ “I don’t want to ruin things for you and Nozomi...but I don’t regret what we did. I missed you.’ ‘I love you’. Eli took a deep breath before she typed out her own message. ‘I need to see you again. Tonight at my place?’ She was about to set her phone aside when Honoka text her back. ‘I’ll be there.’ ---- Kotori looked up hopefully as the door to her room opened and Maki stepped inside. The look on Maki’s face told her she didn’t have good news though. “I can’t leave?” “You need to stay in for another couple of days. For observation.” Maki explained sheepishly. “If it makes you feel any better I found Umi waiting outside.” Kotori sat up slightly, noticing Umi follow Maki into the room and close the door behind her. “Hi, Umi.” She mumbled, forcing a small smile to her lips as she settled back against her pillows. She was happy to see Umi but at the same time she was disappointed that she couldn’t leave. She just wanted to go home. “Hi.” Umi echoed softly as she walked into the room. She leaned down and gave Kotori a careful hug, mindful of her injuries. She could see that Kotori was still quite bruised and there was still a bandage in place on her head. “How are you feeling?” Kotori shrugged glumly. She was in pain and terrified that Nijima would come for her again. “Let’s not talk about me. How are you? And Honoka?” Umi settled in the seat next to Kotori’s bed. “I-I need your advice actually. I know it’s unfair of me to ask right now...you’re in the hospital and you’re recovering but I don’t know what to do.” “It’s fine. Just tell me what’s wrong.” Maki leaned against the wall near the door, deciding it best to keep her distance for the conversation the two were about to have. Umi guiltily averted her eyes. “Me and Honoka...I don’t feel the same way I felt three years ago. I’m a terrible person, I know. I just...I love Honoka and I know I like girls but Honoka just...you know about um…” “Umi-chan?” Kotori pressed gently when Umi trailed off. “I was almost...oh god, this is shameless.” Umi felt tears form in her eyes. “I just...I mean I thought I could be with Honoka. I mean I ruined her relationship with Eli and...well Eli kind of hated me because of that but Kotori, I just...I want my relationship to be slower. I love Honoka but she’s miserable with me. I just know it. I can’t give her what she wants and I-I don’t know what to do.” Kotori stared at Umi for a moment, considering what she had said. “You said you love her but...are you in love with her? Do you want to you know…” She paused for a moment, trying to figure out how to be tactful. She had to be especially gentle when it came to Umi. “Be intimate with her?” Umi blushed. “I-I’ve been fine with kissing and making out but too much, I don’t think I can handle...I don’t want to be afraid of Honoka, I’m just...cautious when it comes to things like that.” Kotori’s eyes widened. “So you two have never…” “Shut up!” Maki grimaced, wondering if she should even be hearing the conversation. “Umi-chan.” Kotori reached out and leaned over the bed with a slight wince, catching Umi’s hand in her own. “If Honoka-chan isn’t making you happy, I think you know what you need to do. You deserve to be happy. She does too.” Umi blinked rapidly against her tears. “But I love her.” Kotori sighed softly and scooted to the left, letting go of Umi’s hand. “Come here, Umi-chan.” Umi hesitantly climbed up onto the bed with Kotori and let her wrap an arm around her shoulders. She leaned into her with a soft whimper. “I don’t know what to do.” “I can’t answer that for you, Umi-chan.” Kotori said softly, rubbing Umi’s shoulder. “You need to think about whether you love her as a friend or more than that. No matter what happens, the two of you will always be best friends. I promise.” Umi sniffled softly and nodded her head. She knew she couldn’t make Honoka happy with the way she was now. “I-I’ll think about it.” ---- Eli anxiously stared down at her hands as she waited for Honoka to arrive. She was meant to be there already but she had yet to arrive and Eli was starting to worry that Honoka had had second thoughts. Hearing a knock at the door she jumped to her feet and quickly rushed to the door. She opened it and to her relief found Honoka standing there, albeit in her incognito disguise. She opened her mouth to say something but before she could Honoka tugged down her mask and leaned in, kissing Eli hard. Eli squeaked in surprise but managed to gather her wits enough to kiss Honoka back and tug her into the apartment before pushing the door closed. She felt Honoka’s arms go around her shoulders and drew her closer in response. “Honoka.” Eli mumbled against Honoka’s lips as she felt the younger girl press flush against her. “I really don’t regret this.” Honoka said breathily, drawing away for a moment. “Or you. I need you, Eli-senpai. More than anyone. I love you.” “I love you too.” Eli said, her voice trembling slightly. She knew that Honoka meant what she was saying but that didn’t change the fact that they were in a complicated situation. Honoka let her arm drop, her hand sliding over Eli’s thigh. “You haven’t changed.” Eli blushed. “I was too excited waiting for you…” “Sexy lawyer look is a turn on.” Honoka said, her voice lower than usual as she met Eli’s blue eyes intently. “So is incognito actress.” Eli replied, her heart hammering against her chest. She didn’t think it mattered how many times she did this kind of thing with Honoka, it always made her heart race. She glanced briefly toward the door to make sure she had slid the chain into place. “Eli-senpai.” Honoka gently nudged Eli’s cheek, encouraging ice blue eyes to meet her sky blue. She smiled softly. “I want to take you out tomorrow.” “Wow, unlike last time we’re having sex before the date…” Eli drawled, raising an eyebrow. “Well it’s exciting. Doing this in an...untraditional order.” Honoka smirked at Eli before settling back into a slight smile. “You deserve everything.” “I deserve you.” Eli whispered, brushing a strand of hair from Honoka’s face. “That’s all I want.” Honoka’s smile faltered. “I don’t deserve you…” “Shut up, you do. You deserve the best and I’m the best. I can be the best for you.” Eli pulled Honoka in close, kissing her warmly. “You deserve everything too.” Honoka let out a soft breath, holding Eli tightly. “I need to be with you. You make me happy. Happier than I’ve been in a long time. I feel like I can breathe again when I’m around you. You’re so warm and safe.” Eli hugged Honoka tightly, feeling her eyes mist with tears. She had wanted to hear that for a long time and yet it was upsetting that Honoka was only just realizing. They’d lost so much time together. And it wasn’t even likely that they’d have much more time. “I love you.” Eli breathed out. “I want to be with you. I want…” She trailed off, stopping short of requesting what she wanted. She couldn’t ask Honoka to leave Umi. Not when Honoka still loved her. “Will you stay with me tonight? We’ll be...alone until morning.” “Yeah.” Honoka answered softly. ---- “Don’t you have to go home?” Kotori murmured drowsily, resting her head upon Maki’s shoulder. As much as she didn’t want Maki to leave she knew it wasn’t fair to keep her there either. Her friends had long since gone home following their visits, telling her they would see her when they came the next day. Even Rin had called her after hearing the news. “I can stay the night.” Maki said softly, giving a slight shake of her head. She had the previous night too but she doubted that Kotori remembered. She’d been too heavily dosed with painkillers then. “Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere.” Kotori nervously bit her lip, glancing to the right at the seat Maki had abandoned a short while ago in favor of climbing onto the bed with her. “I don’t want to be a burden to you.” “What? You’re not. That’s crazy.” Maki frowned, shaking her head in response. There was no way Kotori could ever be a burden to her. “I want to be here, trust me. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else right now. Besides, you helped me when I was a mess last week, didn’t you? It’s only fair.” Kotori managed a small smile at that. “It’s not really the same thing. But I don’t want you to leave so if you’re sure.” “I’m very sure.” Maki confirmed, kissing the top of Kotori’s head. “And I’ll be sure when I stay tomorrow too.” Kotori chuckled softly and let her head rest against Maki’s shoulder. “What about the next day?” “The next day we’ll be in your bed. At home.” Maki replied with a happy sigh. She could hardly wait to get away from the hospital. She had decided that tomorrow she would need to speak to her father about what had happened but she was dreading that too. She wasn’t sure what his reaction would be, given how he had reacted when she’d told him she wasn’t interested in Nijima. She quickly decided to change the subject. “Hanayo is coming back to visit tomorrow too, I think…” “I think everyone else is too.” Kotori said softly, glancing back at Maki with a small smile. She felt guilty that they were going out of their way to visit her but she appreciated their company. They kept her mind off of things she didn’t want to think about. Maki turned slightly more toward Kotori, wrapping her arm carefully around her. “I love you, Kotori.” Kotori was slightly taken aback by the sincere comment but it didn’t take her more than a moment to respond. “I love you too.” “I’m not going to let anything happen to you.” Maki whispered, her chest tight at the thought. She should have been more wary the first time. She should have known what Nijima would do. “I promise.” Kotori nodded slightly, nestling her head into the crook of Maki’s neck. ---- Maki took a deep breath, bracing herself before she lifted her hand and knocked lightly on the door to her father’s office. She waited for a moment until she heard him call her in before she opened the door and stepped inside. “Maki.” Jin said, surprised to see her. He frowned as he watched her close the door behind her. “What are you doing here?” “M-My friend is…” “I know.” Jin interrupted. “I heard that your friend was admitted to the hospital a couple of days ago. How is she?” Maki swallowed thickly. Although her father was being civil, she knew he was just asking the question to be polite. “She’s getting better. The doctor’s said she could go home in a couple of days. I-I wanted to help but I was told my privileges were revoked…” “I’m aware.” Maki gritted her teeth. That was such a typical answer from her father. “I-I lied before when I said she was my friend. She’s not, she’s…” “Maki…” Jin warned warily. “She’s my girlfriend!” Maki blurted out, raising her voice slightly in case he tried to interrupt her again. “Can’t you just accept that?! She’s still from the ‘upper class’, damn it. I love her. And...and Nijima found that out. He found out and he attacked her because of my relationship with her! I wanted you to know that, even if you won’t do anything about it. He’s abusive and violent and I could never love someone like him!” Jin’s lips formed a thin line. “He was the one who attacked her…” Maki nodded, her stomach twisting uncomfortably. “He’s hit me before too. Once. He also threatened t-to touch me…” Jin’s eyes widened as he watched tears form in Maki’s eyes. “He has…” “M-Many times. But I always fought him off or outsmarted him.” Jin looked down at his papers on his desk, his hands shaking slightly atop them as he gritted his teeth. Finally, letting out a deep breath her grabbed his phone and called to the nurse’s desk. “Tell Nijima-sensei to come to my office. NOW.” He put the phone down abruptly and turned his attention to Maki. “Minami, huh? Her family does own the school and her child is extremely smart. After I fire Nijima would you please ask her mother to come to my office?” “H-Huh?” “We have much to discuss. I’d like to speak with her about future plans..” “W-Wait!” Maki spluttered in protest. “I-I’m still in my twenties, Papa! Wait, you’re...you’re accepting me?” Jin gave a sigh in response. “You’re my daughter. Of course I would have preferred that you weren’t...like this so that you’d have an easy life. But if Minami-san makes you happy...I wouldn’t oppose completely. Besides her own family is an elite so you can still fulfill your responsibility.” Maki froze, her eyes wide. “C-Can I hug you...Papa?” “Is the door closed?” Maki nodded emphatically. “Yes.” Jin stood and stepped around his desk, accepting Maki into his arms. He wasn’t quite prepared for the force with which she hugged him and he almost stumbled back a step. He held firm though, leaning down to hug her due to their height difference. “Thank you.” Maki said tearfully before she reluctantly pulled away. She flashed her father a watery smile just as there was a knock at the door. “I’ll take care of this.” Jin said, placing his hand briefly on Maki’s shoulder. He moved it away again before he called for Nijima to come in. The door opened and Nijima walked into the room. He looked surprised to see Maki and Jin together. “Nishikino-sensei, how can I…?” “Sit down.” Jin ordered sharply, nodding to the chair in front of his desk. He nodded at Maki, silently telling her to leave. Maki kept her head down as she quickly left the room. She didn’t want to look at Niima in fear that she would snap and punch him for what he did to Kotori. She closed the door behind her and hastened down the corridor, in a hurry to get to Kotori. ---- Nozomi was surprised to find the lights off when she got home. She closed the door, locking it behind her and stepped further into the apartment. “Elichi?” She called cautiously, switching the light on. She wasn’t sure where Eli would be at the time in the evening. Usually Eli would be home. “Elichi?” She headed to the living room, her stomach sinking. She had been hoping to surprise the blonde by getting home early and maybe taking her out. “Elichi?” She sighed heavily as she realized that Eli wasn’t home. “Damn it.” She muttered to herself. She supposed she would have to wait until Eli got home. Deciding to take the time to change and shower she headed to the bedroom to gather up her clothes. She decided to change into sweats and a loose shirt, figuring she could change later if they decided to go out. She slipped into the shower, letting the warm water wash over her as she mulled over where Eli could be. Her girlfriend hadn’t mentioned going out anywhere. She got out of the shower and started to dress slowly only to speed up when she heard the front door opening and closing. She quickly left the bathroom, heading for the door only to freeze as she turned the corner. The first thing she noticed was Eli and Honoka standing near the closed door. Eli’s arms were around Honoka’s neck as she kissed her, Honoka’s arms around Eli’s waist in turn Nozomi’s eyes flitted to the stuffed blue bear on the ground. She noticed that Honoka’s beanie was lying nearby. She opened her mouth but she couldn’t say anything. All that came out was a breath of air. Eli smiled against Honoka’s lips, pressing her back against the wall behind her. “Well someone is fiery...mmph!” Honoka’s teasing was cut off by Eli kissing her lips once more. ”Stupid sexy incognito actress…” Eli growled against Honoka lips. Honoka chuckled and let her eyes open as Eli kissed her again. She froze, catching sight of Nozomi behind Eli and quickly pushed the blonde off of her. “Oh shit. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Honoka exclaimed, her eyes wide with shock. “N-Nozomi-chan, um...I uh…” Eli had realized what had happened as soon as Honoka has pushed her away but she cringed at the sound of Nozomi’s name and slowly turned to face her girlfriend. “Nozomi...damn it. I...this isn’t how I wanted this to unfold.” Nozomi swallowed hard against the lump in her throat. “How did you want it to go?” “I-I um…” Eli hesitated uncertainty. She wasn’t sure Nozomi really wanted an answer to her question. “I don’t know. I wanted to speak with you this weekend. I just think..we’re not working anymore.” She looked away, holding onto her arm and bit her lip. “I’m not happy. In fact I usually dread coming home because I feel so alone. Y-You always put others before me...I mean I know how you are but...I don’t like that. I hate it. I like being the only person someone looks at. Maybe I’m a complete brat for thinking that way but I just...like my partner to shower me with affection. At least sometimes. Honoka...has always done that. And Umi doesn’t like all of the attention Honoka wants to give her partner. We...I still love her.” “And I still love Eli-senpai.” Honoka chimed in quietly. As much as she didn’t want to hurt Nozomi she had to be honest. “And she’s right. I also feel alone. I just felt my relationship with Umi-chan is...one sided sometimes. I mean I want a partner not to just bicker with but...I want someone who’s laid back and enjoys my affectionate side. Always wants to kiss, hug, touch...Eli-senpai always seemed to love that. And she makes me happy. So happy I could cry.” Nozomi stared at them for a moment before she replied quietly. “So you’re going to...leave Umi-chan?” She asked before she looked to Eli. “And you’re leaving me?” Neither Honoka nor Eli said anything for a moment but finally Eli spoke up. “It’s not fair on either of us to keep going like this, Nozomi. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry if I’ve hurt you but we can’t keep doing this. It’s not healthy. You deserve someone who’s patient, not someone who wants attention 24/7. I’m not going to ask Honoka to leave Umi. And this...thing between us might not go anywhere but what’s best for me and you is to...just stop. I still want to be your best friend but that’s all we can be.” Honoka glanced down at the floor. It was more than just a fling to her. She loved Eli and she did want what they had to go somewhere. She just wasn’t sure what to say to Umi. She still loved her best friend too. Nozomi took a shuddering breath and nodded her head. “I’ll um...head back to the office. I’ll pack up my stuff on the weekend.” Eli’s lower lip trembled slightly at seeing the sheen of tears in Nozomi’s eyes. “Nozomi…” “We’ll talk more, I just...need some time.” Nozomi said hoarsely as she turned away. “I’m just going to change and I’ll be out of your way.” Eli opened her mouth but Nozomi had already left for the bedroom to change and most likely pack a bag. Honoka turned, wrapping Eli in a hug. She felt Eli’s tears on her neck and closed her eyes as she hugged her tightly. “Senpai, you’re so brave.” She reassured, her voice cracking slightly. She wished she could be as honest as Eli. “I wish...I wish I could be as blunt as you. You just want her to be happy. And you want to be happy too. She’ll understand that.” Eli nodded though he couldn’t speak. She knew she had to give Nozomi some space, it was just hard. “W-Will you…?” Honoka drew away slightly and gently kissed Eli’s tears. “I’m here. I’m not letting go. Umi-chan  is with Itsuki again anyway so I’m not going anywhere.” Eli nodded in relief. She didn’t know what she would have done if she’d had to spend the night alone. “Thank you.” TBC

[daehwifi]

SONATA IN G(UMMY BEARS) MAJOR . | YU SEONHO

- admin xion

genre: fluff/crack lolol  member: yu seonho, a member of cube entertainment   word count: 1, 875 requested: nope  side notes: I KNOW WE ONLY WRITE FOR JBJ AND WANNA ONE BUT I JUST WANTED TO WRITE A SEONHO SCENARIO IN DEDICATED TO MY BABY SHURI AND I’S ANNIVERSARY ILY BUBS <3 @xiupch // done off of this classical piece for our classical dweeb minds 

prompt: the best piano player with the highest iq in the district, parent’s owning the whole entire high school and lives in a billion dollar mansion, eats gummy bears and can’t talk to girls properly 

soulmates were destined in different ways

the most common way you were prone to was the classic clef ‘tattoo’ since you went to a school mainly based around music

it’d usually appear on their necks or behind their ears

the gender didn’t really matter when it came to who had the treble clef and who had the bass clef

you’ve seen some of your friends had them

but yes, these ‘tattoo’s’ can vanish overtime if the love for each other soon fades away

you entered the auditorium, quietly closing the door behind you making sure no one could hear your entrance

it was almost like you had an synesthesia, the atmosphere gave you a warm orange, yellow and blue ‘vibe’ despite it’s silence

seonho was sitting at the piano, making a few jokes here and there with the two of his friends who stood on the opposite side of the grand piano

they all chanted for him to begin playing

seonho was known to be the “piano boy” of the whole entire school and people would just always praise him for his talents in that category

you took a seat near the back of the auditorium, close enough to hear everything but far enough to not be seen by many people

the boy began playing a song you were able to point out right from the very first chords

sonata in g major, k .283- 1st mov. allergo by mozart

everyone was amazed by his talent, jaws dropping and wide proud grins

his dynamics were good as well

you only learnt the right hand to this piece, mainly because you didn’t have that big of a passion in learning the whole entire song compared to seonho

unzipping your bag, you got out a pack of gummy bears due to your starvation in class (and not eating in the morning)

you began to snack of them, watching the show and enjoying the music

the dim lighting and the warm atmosphere made you feel at peace, closing your eyes to embrace this moment that may never happen again

after seonho finished playing, he smiled warmly and slightly bowed to everyone clapping

you watched the famous seonho step off the stage, waving bye to his friends and jumped a bit, realizing you were forgetting to give him his homework that he forgot to get

all your compulsory courses were with seonho and all of your electives did not have his presences

you two were basically mutual friends that didn’t talk to each other much

quickly grabbing your bag, you shoved the empty bag of gummies inside whilst zipping it up and rushing down the stairs to catch up to seonho

a groaned would escape your lips every time he’d turn a corner and you’d have to walk even more quicker to close the distance

but you had to admit, once he entered the music room, you were quite glad the wild goose chase was over

you swung your bag to the side to unzip it and get his sheets of homework out while entering the room

“seonho, you forgot-” you sharply stopped your talking without even noticing after seeing the sight of THE smartest kid in your school, with billions of dollars, multiple talents and multiple careers path opened to him was sitting at the piano with and ipad, eating the same gummy bears you were snacking on earlier

seonho jumped a bit, dropping a few gummy bears and quickly threw it behind him, acting as though he wasn’t eating them

“uh- hi what did i f-forget?” he stammered, clearing his throat a bit

“you’re homework...” you trailed off, slowly approaching him with the sheets in your hand

on his ipad, you saw him watching a cartoon show in which he quickly hid before accepting the sheets of paper

“t-thanks y/n, you c-can go now,” he mumbled shyly

“close the d-door behind y-you please,” he added as you slowly left the room, raising an eyebrow

the sight made you chuckle a bit at first to both how ironic and how cute it was

you were so used to seonho either wearing the expensive uniform or a suit for a important presentation he had to do

he’d usually present without stuttering at all and with ease but suddenly when he talked to you (a female gasp), he becomes all nervous

from that day on, you began to notice seonho’s actions a bit more

he was completely comfortable talking to his guy friends and would often laugh a lot when joking with guanlin

going home right after school, you threw your bag on the ground and stretched your neck since it stung a bit

as you were about to tie your hair into a ponytail, you noticed a small black sign on your neck

squinted a bit, you leaned in towards your mirror and attempted to rub it off

b u t    i t    d i d n ‘ t    r u b    o f f

you didn’t want to believe that it looked like a treble clef as well

“hAHAHAHHAHA i don’t have a soulmate do i?” you asked yourself, forcing a small smile

the mark didn’t rub off

it didn’t even smear

the treble clef was a bit faint but you’ve never seen it before until now

every time you got home, you’d tie your hair into a ponytail and put on your glasses but you found yourself stuck in that one step

you didn’t even tie up your hair because the mark was distracting you too much

“who could my soulmate be?”

“i have a soulmate?”

“do they like me back?”

“oh god,” you spoke to yourself

bipolar emotions slapped you in the face

you laughed and were confused at the same time

there was an increase in your heart race but you claimed it was out of nervousness over a reason you were unsure of

you attempted to distract yourself by eating random food in your cabinets and or watching random youtube videos

but you found yourself rubbing your neck here and there and lightly tapping your cheek

at one point, you came to a conclusion to stop worrying about it

unless the mark becomes more noticeable, then you should start worrying a bit more

going to school the next day, you found yourself covering the mark with your hair in hopes your friends don’t notice and loose their shit

sitting down at your usual seat, you noticed seonho approaching you

randomly, he sat next to you and looked around his surroundings

once his eyes landed on yours, you noticed a small mark on his neck as well

“don’t tell anyone a-about the gummy b-bear thingy s-situation uh-” he babbled, making you raise an eyebrow

“huh?” you blurt since you were paying more attention to the mark on his neck

“gummy b-bear, no, don’t talk, sh,” he made it clear, placing his fingers to his lips

“uh ok-kay bye y/n,” he mumbled, sheepishly smiling before running off

you watched him sit at his proper seat and oddly, he rubbed his neck

maybe you were overthinking but you attempted to ignore what you think you were thinking and paid attention to the upcoming lesson

midway into the school day, you were sent to the principals office to get a few sheets of paper from him  

as you knocked on his office, there was a faint ‘come in’ in the air

opening the door, you were taken a bit aback seeing seonho there

of course like any other father-son relationship, they were simply just having a conversation but you felt like you intruded on a family moment

“you must be here to pick up the papers for mrs. oh,” the principal spoke

you nodded in return as he walked to the other side of his desk

“seonho, you know having a soulmate is normal. when i found out i had a mark, i flipped out lik-”

“oKAY DAD LET’S TALK ABOUT THIS PRIVATELY PLEASE” he blurts loudly

seonho’s cheeks began turning a bit red, making you smile a bit to the sight

you didn’t know why and you didn’t notice

but you cheeks were turning a bit pink

the principal chuckled whilst giving you the sheets of paper

you slightly bowed, accepting the papers and left his office

just as you closed the door, you were able to hear them continuing their topic about the whole soulmate situation

“well i bet seonho’s soulmate is as smart as him,” you mumbled to yourself

from then on, every time seonho interacting with a girl, you connected the dots and try to see if that person was his soulmate

none of them connected to the big picture

he’d end the conversation to quickly or not smile at all with them

not a single time would his cheeks turn pink

going home, you checked up on the mark

and oh boy

it was official

you had a soulmate

you weren’t even aware you had a crush and you weren’t even aware that they liked you back

hell- you don’t even know who it was

dashing into your bed, you screamed into your pillow, kicking your legs like a child throwing a tantrum

“WHO

DO

I

LIKE?” you yelled into your pillow

rolling over, you stared at your ceiling, puffing up your cheeks

“that was therapeutic,” you mumbled to yourself

the next day rolled around

you noticed guanlin kept on pushing seonho towards you in a teasing manner

in reply, you rose your eye to the action

at first you didn’t really question as to why guanlin kept on doing that

but then you were reminded of seonho’s mark

you noticed he had a bass clef on his neck and it was awfully a lot more noticeable than you last seen it

during break, you entered the auditorium in attempts to play the piano

there was seonho’s sonata in g major sheet music before left on there

you began playing the song, following the right hand off the sheet music

the sounds of the chords clashing together filled your ears as you noticed seonho was standing beside you, playing the left hand portion

his cheeks were a light shade of pink that were slowly growing more red over time

you found yourself enjoying playing the piece with seonho and a small smile appeared on your face

slowly, as the two of you ended the song, seonho noticed the mark on your neck as well

there was a pack of gummy bears on the top of the piano and you managed to sneak one, cheekily laughing a bit without noticing

“you have a t-treble clef on your n-neck,” he mumbled

you made direct eye contact with him

though all you did was look at him, seonho found it to be the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen

then it finally clicked inside your head

seonho had the bass clef while you had the treble clef

you could only play the right hand in sonata in g major and seonho was able to fill the missing piece and play the left

you two were soulmates in this allegro piece

[danganronpawritings]

Unspoken (Ishimaru x OC Kazuki Saito)

Of course they both knew that something was there, but they both thought that they were just very good friends. Neither had even considered the possibility of something more than that. After all, they both had little experience with friends and no experience with love. … “You know, I could simply stand, Ishimaru-san.” Kazuki said from outside of one of the school’s storage facilities. “Nonsense! You walk with a cane. I won’t allow you to stand for an entire period! Plus, you’re the one that offered to serve as hall monitor with me.” Kiyotaka came out holding a spare chair over his head. “Here, I insist that you take this!” “U-understood…” Kazuki reluctantly took the chair and set it down, before carefully sitting. “Thank you very much, Ishimaru-san. I a-appreciate it.” “Of course! Anything for my friend!” Kiyotaka saluted happily. Kazuki smiled lightly “You just l-love that word don’t you?” “Which word?” “Friend. You say it…rather often.” “D-does it bother you!? I’m sorry, I-“ “N-no, I am not bothered by it at all! In fact, it is…quite nice, to hear someone call me that…” Kiyotaka breathed a sigh of relief. “O-oh…I’m glad, because…” Kiyotaka looked down awkwardly. “I…really like saying it. I’m not…sure why.” Kazuki paused for a moment, almost in shock, before looking at his friend and saying “I feel…e-exactly the same…” “Not surprising, but definitely relieving!” “Good…good.” … The next day during his free period, Kiyotaka was in the library, a common occurrence for him, this time studying Latin phrases. While he was engrossed in the book, Mondo entered the library, his sharp walk contrasting the quiet environment without a word. “Sup man?” Kiyotaka didn’t seem to hear him at all and chose to simply flip to the next page. “Bro?” Still no response. “TAKA! FUCKING LISTEN!” Kiyotaka finally looked up. “Oh, hey bro! Please do not yell in the library. This is meant to be a place of quiet study and tranquility! Nothing should disturb that!” Kiyotaka immediately realized his mistake and covered his mouth. “Well, I wouldn’t have ta yell if ya’d just listen the first fuckin’ time.” Mondo sighed deeply “Anyway, watcha up to? I don’t remember you takin’ Latin.” Kiyotaka’s response was immediate and had some sort of snap to it. “Oh, I’m not! However, Kazuki is taking Latin and I promised to help him. I tried to tell him that he would do well on his own, but he insisted. Something about my ‘superior organizational abilities.’” “Ah, that dandy? I should’ve fuckin’ known. You’re getting close with him, huh?” “Please don’t refer to him as a ‘dandy.’ That’s simply offensive. Also, of course we’re getting close! We are friends after all. Why wouldn’t we be close?” “No, man, I mean you’re gettin’…close.” As Mondo said this he winked as deviously as possible. Kiyotaka responded flatly, completely oblivious to the wink. “That’s…the same thing you just said. I’d ask that you refrain from repeating yourself.” Mondo emphatically facepalmed, whispering “This thick motherfucker.” “What was that? Be clear with your words!” “No, Taka, I mean CLOSE. As in intimate. Ya know, boyfriends? Is that clear enough for ya?!” “Gah…!” Kiyotaka seemed to completely freeze. “Taka?” As if he was a literal broken record, Kiyotaka uttered “Wha…wha…wha…” for an entire minute. Thus, Mondo decide to handle Kiyotaka’s sputtering the same way that he’d handle a real broken record; by punching. As of on cue, Kiyotaka uttered a resounding “WHATWHATWHATWHATWHAT!?!?!?” “Umm…bro? You feelin’ okay?” “NO! I DON’T THINK I AM! I..I FEEL WEIRD! AAAHHHHH!” Kiyotaka put his hands against his head, as if not wanting to hear something. At point, others in the library were beginning to shoot the pair dirty looks. Mondo sighed “Jeezuz.” Shortly, he dragged Kiyotaka out of the library and got him a safe distance away before punching him again, this time in his face. His nose bled a bit, but not severely. Taka clutched his nose on instinct. “B-bro, why would you-?” “Shaddup and listen! Now, ya said you feel ‘weird.’ Good weird or bad weird?” “Both! N-neither! Umm…I DON’T KNOW!” “Keep goin’…” Kiyotaka looked at the ground as he spoke, thoroughly embarrassed “I…I really like Kazuki. I mean…he’s one of my best friends…and this weird feeling…it’s kind of like what I feel when I’m with him…” “What!? Why didn’t ya say somethin’ earlier?” “I…I thought it was normal…” “You thought…a feeling like that…was normal…?” “Y-Yes! Like…like something you feel with all of your friends…” “Didja ever feel that way with me…? Anyone else?” Kiyotaka’s eyes widened and he looked up “Umm…no…” “THEY WHY WOULD YOU THINK IT WAS FUCKING NORMAL!?” “Gah!” Kiyotaka quickly looked down again “U-Umm, my most sincere apologies. I should have been wiser…maybe I should have studied a book on love!” Kiyotaka formally bowed, now furiously crying. Mondo sighed, this time solemnly, and put his hand behind his head “Dammit, I’m sorry…c’mon stop cryin’.” Kiyotaka sniffed “Y-Yeah…Yeah. Sorry…” “So, you were sayin’? I’m thinking there’s a ‘but’ coming up?” “Yes…I told you how I feel…b-but…these feelings…they’re not appropriate for a school environment…” Mondo thought for a moment, and finally came up with the genius response “Why?” “Wh-why…?” “Yeah, why!?” “Umm…b-because…!” “That ain’t a reason.” “I…” Kiyotaka stood for a few minuets, obviously in shocked contemplation. Suddenly, he smiled. It was somehow different than his normal smile, but Mondo couldn’t pin down how. “You know what…I think you’re right bro!” It was now Mondo’s turn to be surprised “W-wait, no shit?” “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have research to do!” Kiyotaka cheerily saluted and quickly walked away. Even if it was an urgent situation, he couldn’t run in the halls. Mondo watched as Kiyotaka walked out of his sight. “What the fuck just happened?” … Kazuki ambled through the halls, reading through his Latin dictionary. While it may have been dangerous for most people to walk and read, Kazuki had never had a problem with it and he didn’t plan to start on this day. He technically should’ve been in the library during his free period, but Kiyotaka has insisted on doing private research before they studied together, so Kazuki found it pertinent to leave him be. “Venditionis. That would be…s-selling.” Kazuki said this aloud, presumably to no one. However, someone did approach shortly after he uttered these words. “Hey Kaz!” Hirono greeted her friend with a small wave. Kazuki looked at her over the top of his book. “Salve Ishikawa-san! Quid tu agis?” “I’m just putting up posters for our school fundraiser.” Hirono held up some blue tape and then sighed sarcastically “Send the girl with two prosthetic legs to put up the posters. Great idea on the student council’s part.” Kazuki replied with equal sarcasm “Sent you…that’s odd. I seem to r-recall you asking to be put on the job because you needed more service hours for your degree. Perhaps I’m simply mi-misremembering. ” Kazuki snickered, though not loudly enough for Hirono to hear. “In any case, do you need a-assistance madame?” “Some Ultimate Gentleman you are! That should have been the first thing you asked.” Kazuki adjusted his glasses nonchalantly “You directed sarcasm towards me first. I simply re-retaliated. So…sh-shall I take that as a no, then?” “Yeah, no, I don’t need any help. After all, the student council gave ME this job. I’ll do it, no problem at all!” “Th-that is what I like to hear. I m-must congratulate you on you efforts, Ishikawa-san.” “Aww, thanks Kaz. Hey, speaking of the student council, how are you and Taka doing?” Kazuki donned a confused expression “Th-that was…a sudden change of topic…” “C’mon, just answer the question! How are you two doing?” Hirono asked this question with a slight touch of urgency. “Umm…I am…n-not exactly sure how to answer…” “Why’s that?” “Well, f-for one thing…Ishimaru-san and I are two different people. To answer your qu-question, I would need to give you…t-two answers…” “Umm, Kaz, that’s not exactly what I meant.” Kazuki then grew a bit more confused “…Then…wh-what did you mean…? Hirono showed her disappointment plainly “Do you really not have any clue what I’m trying to imply here?” “N-no, Ishikawa-san…I do not even have the f-foggiest notion…” “Geez, okay…umm…ah, yes! Kazuki, have you ever wanted a boooyfrieeend…?” Hirono made sure to stretch the last word in a semi-suggestive manner. However, Kazuki took no notice if this but instead said “D-do you insist on attempting to c-confuse me today, madame?” “What?” “I have m-multiple male friends. I…assumed that you were a-aware of that…” “Ugggggh…” Hirono clenched the bridge of her nose in frustration. “E-excuse me, am I…causing you undue stress? M-my apologies, I r-really should-“ “No Kaz! Boyfriend! One word! You get me!?” “No…” “Huh…!?” “What is a…’b-boyfriend?’” Kazuki uttered the final word with air quotes. “…” “Madame…?” “ARE YOU SERIOUS!?” “Umm…I-I…” “HOW CAN SOMEONE SO SMART BE THIS SOCIALLY DUMB!?” “P-perhaps you could calmly explain to me what a…’b-boyfriend’ is…? It’s possible that I am aware of it, just…under a d-different name.” Hirono sighed solemnly “Okay. A boyfriend is a guy that you want to have a closer relationship with. Like love.” Kazuki’s look of confusion didn’t fade. “…” “Kazuki?” “I…d-do not get it…” Hirono looked both shocked and crestfallen “Wh-What’s there not to get?” “Many things…the cl-closest thing that I can relate to this ‘boyfriend’ is a husband, but…there are m-many differences there…” “H-husband!? Nonono, a person is a boyfriend BEFORE marriage and then they become your husband!” “B-before…marriage? Th-there is a…step before marriage?” “What are you talking about!? Of course there is!” “Not that…I have e-ever know of…” “…WHAT!?” “Everyone that I have ever kn-known, including my parents, has had a spouse p-picked for them…by their parents or legal guardians. They often meet for the f-first time on their wedding day. Also, they do not marry for ‘love,’ they m-marry…for money and/or status.” Hirono covered her mouth in shock. She was sad, but couldn’t explain why. “D-damn…sometimes I…forget how rich you are…” Kazuki noticed her recoiling “I-l am really n-not trying to f-flaunt my money or to be a-arrogant I am just…I am just so genuinely confused right now…I have no idea what we are speaking about…” “B-but that’s…s-so…fucked up!”Hirono began to cry. “H-Hirono…!” Without even asking, Kazuki hugged Hirono “Dang it…wh-what kind of Gentleman am I…? T-to make one of my best friends cry…disgraceful…I…I apologize…” Kazuki let Hirono go. “D-don’t apologize Kaz. I just feel…I’m fine now! Thank you!” Hirono smiled genuinely, despite her tears. “Y-you are welcome…” … Hirono found Kiyotaka in the library the next day, which was no surprise to her. He was readying a book called “Relationship Milestones: How Long Should You Wait?” Hirono began to think it might be good that she was about to interrupt him. Taking a more tactful route than Mondo, Hirono tapped on Kiyotaka’s book. As soon as she did, he quickly marked his page, closed and put down the book and snapped to attention. “Ah, Hirono! Nice to see you my fellow student council member. How may I help you?” “Taka, all this research is…to ask out Kazuki, right?” Kiyotaka’s expression instantly changed to panic “Wha…wha…h-how d-did-“ “I heard about it from Mondo. Listen, I think that you might want to…give up…” “Give up? Why!?” “Well…you know how rich Kazuki is, right?” “Of course. He comes from one of the richest families in Japan, the Saito family. Both of the elder Saito’s are now deceased, so Kazuki had inherited both of their fortunes. How does this relate to the topic of me giving up?” Hirono thought “Does this guy seriously research…everything?” However, she said, “I’m getting to it! Well, I heard about what you’re trying to do from Mondo two days ago, so yesterday I saw Kaz and tired to…y-you know…” “No, I don’t.” Hirono twirled her hair awkwardly “I tried to…help things along…” “H-help things…along…?” “That’s not important right now!” Hirono seemed borderline furious about that part. “So, we talked for a while, and…since he’s so rich…he…” Hirono looked obviously sad. “H-Hirono, do you-“ “No I don’t need help.” Hirono retorted “He’s only ever seen arranged marriages, Taka! He wasn’t even aware of what a boyfriend was until I told him yesterday! He’s never even…heard of a marriage for love.” “…” “Taka…the concept of love is foreign to him. It took him such a long time to understand love between friends and he’s never really experienced true familial love…I doubt that he’d understand romantic love.” Kiyotaka had his eyes closed, thinking deeply “Hmm…” “What is it?” Kiyotaka suddenly opened his eyes “I truly thank you for the information, Ma’am, but I must respectfully refuse to give up! If anything, this is only a reason to try harder!” Hirono was dumbfounded “T-Taka…” “No battle was ever won by giving up! Battles are won trough uncompromising hard work and discipline! This situation is no different…I’m sure that I can do it! I’m a hundred percent sure, in fact! I want to be the person to make him feel that way…I want to…help him understand…” Hirono sat for a moment, processing the information that she had just been given as if she was a buffering computer. When she recovered, she smiled lightly and said “Well then…you’re a lucky man, Kiyotaka Ishimaru.” Kiyotaka smiled in the same manner “Let’s hope that I am.” … The next day Kiyotaka was in the student council meeting room, pacing. He had about a thousand thoughts at once, but couldn’t pin any of them down. So, he simply continued pacing and looked at his watch. It was just about coming up to the meeting time though Kazuki always said that being on time made him five minuets late. Then, Taka heard a knock at the door. It was, of course, his invited guest. “I-I am…so very s-sorry to be late, Ishimaru-san!” Kazuki bowed, gritting his teeth in embarrassment. “That’s not a trouble at all, Kazuki! Please, sit down.” Kazuki did as he told “So, what did you…want to talk to me a-about?” “Umm…I-I…Ahem, uhh…” “Ishimaru-san, wh-whatever it is, I’m sure that it’s not as big as you’re m-making it out to be.” “Ah!” Kiyotaka’s eyes widened, but he seemed more motivated than surprised “Okay…okay, this may sound rude, but…Hirono informed me about the conversation you had with her. About…the arranged marriages and such…” “Arranged marriage…? I’ve never heard it called that, but I s-suppose that…would be accurate…A-apologies, go on.” “So…would it correct to say that…love is an alien emotion to you…?” The words felt heavy as Kiyotaka said them. Kazuki was suddenly stuck silent, but he nodded his head slowly. Kiyotaka sat in a chair directly facing Kazuki and breathed in heavily “I understand…love…romance…it’s all so…foreign to me…but…I look at you and I know that…I want to figure it out for you…with you…b-by…e-experience…” Kazuki stayed silent for a second, though ever moment seemed like an eternity to Kiyotaka. “I-Ishimaru-san, a-are you…!?” “Yes Kazuki, I am…I am asking you formally now…would you please do me the honor…of being my boyfriend?” “I…I…I…” Kazuki paused for what must have seemed like a millennia “Y-Yes…” “D-did…did you just…say yes!?” “I…th-think I did…!” Kiyotaka smiled the widest he had in ages “Th-thank you so much Kazuki! This…this is the happiest I’ve been in such a long time! I almost can’t believe that you said yes!” Kazuki smiled as well “I…r-relate. So…what kinds of things do umm…‘boyfriends’ do…?” Kiyotaka cleared his throat “Uhhh, well, according to m-my research, I’ve found some things that would…work at this stage. So, first of all, boyfriends usually sit close to each other…” Kiyotaka immediately moved his chair to be closer to Kazuki “…and, they do things like…like holding hands…!” “Holding…h-hands…?” “Yes, it’s just like-“ Kiyotaka carefully took Kazuki’s hand in his own “-this.” “Ah, I s-see. What is the p-purpose of this?” “It is to reassure your partner! To make them feel safe knowing that you’re there.” Kiyotaka looked own at their linked hands with a smile “At least…that’s what this means to me…” Kiyotaka rubbed the back of Kazuki’s hand with his thumb “D-do you…do you like this, with our hands joined?” “Y-Yeah, I think I do…my h-heart is beating irregularly fast.” “Ah, that’s normal. No need to worry, you don’t have condition! That’s what I though at first too, but apparently that’s just a common reaction when your partner is near!” Kazuki looked genuinely surprised “Interesting…” Kazuki looked in to Kiyotaka’s eyes “A-anything else?” “Well, we could also…say nice things to each other…” “Nice things…? L-like what…? Could I have an e-example?” “Yes, of course! So, for example…normally I’d say that behavior like this was against school policy, but…Kazuki…” Kiyotaka squeezed Kazuki’s hand slightly and looked into his eyes “Y-you’re…you’re worth breaking a rule for.” Kazuki blushed severely “Ah…! Th-that was…” “W-was…was that good?” Kiyotaka said hopefully. “Y-Yes…great…” “Good! I was practicing that for a while! I meant every word of it too!” “L-let me try…um…I…I’d break my Gentleman’s Pact for you…” Kiyotaka now blushed equally “K-Kazuki…!” “Did I…?” “Yes! That…felt amazing to hear!” “W-were there any other things…?” “One more. We can give each other nicknames or what are know as pet names.” “P-pet names?” “They’re little names that we call each other and only each other. Things like honey or darling. Myself, I think I’ll just stick with your name.” “Y-Yes, likewise.” “Understood! Instead of calling you Kaz like everyone else, I’ll call you Kazu…is that fine?” “Y-yes…I like it!” “Very well! What would you like to call me?” “Umm, everyone calls you Taka, so…maybe I could call you…Ishi?” “Sounds great to me!” The two of them sat together holding hands for what felt like an eternity and a single moment all at once, until the school bell rang. This was the first time that neither of them were sure if they actually wanted to go to class. Reluctantly, Kiyotaka stood and Kazuki shortly followed him. “Well, let’s go to to class Kazu!” Kiyotaka smiled at his new boyfriend “Y-Yeah…here we go Ishi.” The pair then walked out of the student council room…still holding hands.

[blogobot5000]

EVE: (To girls) I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt there, since he knows I don’t really eat much meat or seafood… but the way he kept saying everything …

MAN: All the women were incredible.

EVE: Was not too charming.

MAN: There was this one woman… a flight attendant… we had a private plane for the wedding party, but we were hoping for our own separate party, if you know what I mean…

BONNIE: Wait- he did NOT say that.

EVE: Well … maybe not exactly but he was for sure laying down vibes that he wanted to get with this woman from this epic Italian wedding.

GWEN: Gross.

EVE: I do remember something word for word though…

MAN: Anyway, take a look. (Taking out his phone) I do not know if you saw all my photos, or remember from my profile -- did you see my dogs? I love dogs. Are you a dog person or a cat person?

EVE: Well, I like both.

MAN: No, no - If you had to choose. Say you could not pick both and you could only pick one.

EVE: Hm…

MAN: Everyone always has a preference.

EVE: Well, if someone held a gun to my head and told me I must choose between cats or dogs I would say cats. I used to be afraid of dogs when I was a kid.

MAN: (Almost offended or disgusted) I knew it. I knew you’d say cats. (Condescending) When I saw you in your red coat I knew immediately that you were a cat person.

EVE: (Confused) What does one say to that?

BONNIE: Was he trying to joke?

EVE: It did not seem like a joke. He legit seemed offended.

GWEN: Wow.

EVE: The dinner ended with him paying… (to him) are you sure? We can split it, if you want.

MAN: (With a condescending tone) I got it. It’s the least I can do for someone like you.

EVE: (Trying to make light) What does that mean?

MAN: I don’t imagine you have much money. (Exit)

BONNIE: Yikes.

EVE: At least he had the decency to text me after and say he didn’t feel a connection.

CLEO: What a low bar we strive for.

EVE: Honestly. And so, that is how ‘french guy’ was born. And the nickname trend. Speaking of… Wasn’t there a magician?

CLEO: Oh, there was…

BONNIE: What was his name again? Wasn’t it something like Abra Kadabra Adam?

GWEN: Presto Chango Pete?

CLEO: (Deadpans) Alakazam Andy. He was actually really nice. If he didn’t continuously refer to himself in the third person, we might have had a future. Saying things like, “Alakazam Andy would like to kiss you now” really made the mood disappear.

BONNIE: Hah! You so punny.

GWEN: And then sometimes, what they say online is just … so…

EVE: Questionable?

BONNIE: Mind-blowing?

CLEO: Revolting?

GWEN: Like this, I got this the other day. (Pulling out phone, they all do) Hey sexy. You (aside) spelled with the letter, not Y-O-U. Just the letter. Around, spelt “R-n-d” tonight- the number 2, N-I-T-E.”

EVE: Wait for it (Pulls out phone) “Let’s skip this small talk. Will you come over tonight?”

CLEO: “You want to fuck?”

BONNIE: I got something once like… “Hello beautiful, how are you? I know I might be kind of old but I just wanna let you know out of all my years you’re one of the most drop dead beautiful women I’ve ever seen since I can last remember and I thought I’d go out on a limb and let you know I’d love to take you out for a good old fashioned classy date with a classy man sometime.”

EVE: That one is actually kind of sweet-

BONNIE: He was sixty-two.

EVE: (Trying to make a positive) Well—

BONNIE: I was BARELY twenty.

EVE: Eek.

CLEO: Gross.

BONNIE: I mean, to each their own- but, yeah… that’s a bit of a gap. For me. Which I mentioned. On my profile. In which he claims he read.

CLEO: That’s not a gap. That’s a crater.

EVE: Well, if it makes you feel better one time I matched with a burrito on tinder.

CLEO: WHAT?

EVE: Yeah. I thought it was funny. But then it started to ask me what I wanted to be stuffed with.

BONNIE: Gross.

EVE: Yup. Oh and I also once matched 96% with a potato. But it never messaged me.

CLEO: Now that is a true match.

EVE: I thought so.

GWEN: (Looking at phone) Then, there are always the times when you answer back… because you have this little bit of hope of, like, “Oh! They don’t seem that bad. Maybe we can give this a shot.”

BONNIE: Which does not ever go well –

GWEN: Oh, absolutely never.

CLEO: I like this game. Examples please! (Motions to phones) And shots. We need shots.

EVE: Bartender! Four Washington Apple shots!

MAN: You got it, ladies!

GWEN: Pronto!

CLEO: (Standing up) Ladies, gentlemen, and distinguished guests of this fabulous venue. We present online dating at it’s finest. What you all have seen so far and what you are about to hear are stories that have actually happened to actual people that you may ACTUALLY know. Bear with us. As we unveil the hidden secrets and unlock the vault of conversations of ONLINE DATING

EVE: (MAN brings over shots) A FIVE, SIX, SEVEN, EIGHT. (They take the shots) ANOTHER!

CLEO: AND ACTION!

GWEN: (Reading off of phone. Our characters pair off and reenact these conversations they once had with each other. They are goofy, becoming more drunk throughout, and having a good time as they go through it all, listening to each other’s stories.) Example! Part ONE from the profile of Eve!

EVE: THAT’S ME!

GWEN: IT YOU! (Clearing throat) Here we go. “Have you ever had the chance to visit the Museum of Fine Arts?”

EVE: I have – have you?

GWEN: “Damn. I was going to say I’d love to bring you. But, even if we went I wouldn’t have been able to hold your hand.”

EVE: Why’s that?

GWEN: “Well, I don’t know about the last time you were at a museum, but when I go they don’t let me touch the masterpieces.”

ALL: (Hands over mouth, loudly) OOH!!!!! (They all take shots)

GWEN: Here we got some one liners that are truly just… gems. Every single one. Gems.

CLEO: (Mimicking a man) “I’m from Israel. What’s your name?”

BONNIE: “So… looking at your profile… what are the chances you wanna add me to your list of six things you could never live without?”

CLEO: (Mimicking same man) I’m Dan.

EVE: “Would you like some company in bed tonight?”

CLEO: (Mimicking Dan) You there?

GWEN: Are you a Dementor, cause you take my breath away.

CLEO: (Mimicking Dan) Dear pretty lady, either stop being so darn beautiful or chat with me. Your choice.

BONNIE: (Breaking, laughing) What did you chose though?

CLEO: I mean option one is impossible sooooo…

GWEN: HELL YEAH IT IS!

BONNIE: So you chatted with him?

CLEO: Absolutely not.

EVE: “Anyway, I really like your smile and I find you very sexy, so I hope we can meet and have some fun.” Scroll… scroll… Eggplant emoji. Scroll… Fireworks gif.

CLEO: Christ.

GWEN: “Hey, I read your profile and you seem really cool. If I was a giraffe, I would slap my neck against 1,000 other giraffes to establish dominance over the herd and make you my giraffe queen.”

BONNIE: “How many shrimps have you ate in your life so you think? Over 500?”

CLEO: (Breaking, to audience) THESE ACTUALLY HAPPENED, PEOPLE

EVE: Yeah! We’re not that creative! (Interacting with CLEO) “Wow! It sounds like you’ve been having an amazing night”

CLEO: “Thank you! I’m two drinks in and the food is amazing!”

EVE: “wow! Gin again?”

CLEO: “Beer and gin!”

EVE: “Fancy, fancy”

CLEO: “I’m pretty sure that I’m the classiest dude ever”

EVE: (Flirty and fun) “Ya? Do you have a top hat?”

CLEO: “One for my head. One for my dick.”

BONNIE: (Laughing, disclaiming) Oh wait- this one is GOLD. (Composing self) For starters, this is from a white man:

MAN: Any luck finding black guys on here?

GWEN: Why did he ask specifically about black men?

BONNIE: That is EXACTLY what I asked. To which he said:

MAN: “I can just tell you like black guys. Haha. I also get turned on by that. I know it is weird but it is what I like. Probably due to my ex girlfriend cheating on me with black guys and me watching.

(Giant pause.)

CLEO: Wow.

BONNIE: (after a pause) There’s also that guy who wanted a lock of my hair.

EVE: Here’s a man who says he likes my profile and thinks we have a lot in common.

GWEN: Oh? What’s wrong with that?

EVE: Screename—WannaKnockYouUp4.

BONNIE: BOOM! There it is!

GWEN: And shall we never forget the time a man messaged me asking if I would dominate him in the bedroom? Which like… don’t get me wrong- I’m not vanilla BUT this man asked if I would please dominate him and making him my pet and had this fantasy of being a used pool boy. He gave me a script. A very. Lengthy. Script. Where I was lounging by the pool and he was serving me and all sorts of stuff… happened.

EVE: What sort of stuff?

GWEN: Use your imagination. Not only this… but he offered me $200 and everything I that was on my Amazon wish list if I would do this for him.

CLEO: That is quite the offer.

BONNIE: Did you take it?

GWEN: While, in a certain light it was tempting- I said no. It was a lot. This was all within the first message. There was no initial getting to know each other, no ‘hello, how are you’ just BOOM: dominatrix script!

EVE: That’s quite the first message.

CLEO: Yup. No wonder we end up trolling half the time. (All look at each other and scroll through. They pair up and act out the conversations below.)

MAN: Another round, how about some waters?

BONNIE: Yes and yes!

MAN: I’m on it- you all seem like you’re having a good time.

BONNIE: We’re just getting started. (MAN exits) And ACTION.

CLEO: (Throughout this next bit, CLEO and GWEN interact with each other as do Eve and Bonnie, acting out their online stories) How was your weekend? (Beat) How are you? (Beat) Any fun plans tonight?

GWEN: (Dryly) World domination. (Shift to BONNIE and EVE)

EVE: Hey I was wondering… did it hurt when you fell from Heaven?

BONNIE: Like a bitch. (Shift to CLEO and GWEN)

GWEN: So, this site tells me that we’re a pretty high match. We should just forgo all the dating and get married. What kind of ring do you want?

CLEO: Emerald with small pearls on the side that has the blood of my enemies infused in it.

GWEN: Damn… you sound like my kind of girl. Wanna grab dinner sometime? (Shift to BONNIE and EVE)

BONNIE: On my way to Starbucks, want me to pick you up something?

EVE: Flaxseed.

BONNIE: L-O-L ! Whole Foods isn’t that far! How’s your day going? I’ve been told groceries are very intimate.

EVE: Who told you that?

BONNIE: People. Anyway, you seem harmless we should hang. (Shift to CLEO and GWEN)

CLEO: What kind of stuff do you like to draw?

GWEN: I don’t. (Shifting to another character) Hey – sorry to be so blunt but I’m only looking to sext so if you’re up for that we could have some fun xx

CLEO: No thanks. But I will hext you. (Aside) Curse you via dark magic in the form of online chat or text message.

GWEN: Please don’t, that’s quite scary actually.

CLEO: (Dryly) Okay.

GWEN: (Freaked out) Thanks. (Shift to BONNIE and EVE)

EVE+BONNIE: “You remind me of moon. Moon will be center of attraction and beautiful among all the stars in the sky. And also I think you have a great attracting force than earth.”

CLEO: (Breaking ‘shift’ sequence) Wait – which off you got that one?

EVE+BONNIE: We both did.

GWEN: (Suddenly) Oh my god – left handed guy! I forgot about him!

EVE: Who’s left handed guy?

CLEO: (Knowingly) Oh boy…

GWEN: (With a laugh) Well, it started off pretty normally – hey, how are you, how’s your day, etcetera, etcetera. So, we talk like this for a bit, you know- pretty normal, average conversation. He was cute, his profile was pretty standard … and then he asks me if I am left handed. Which… I am. I was a little thrown off at the time because… that’s not really one of the first online dating questions you come across. So, I told him I was, and he was all like “I knew it!” I asked him how he thought he knew. He said ‘well you’re more artsy and artsy people are more likely to be left-handed’ and then he told me how great it was that I was left handed. So, I asked him if he was and he was like:

MAN: No! I wish!

GWEN: I started to be like, well, this is a little… different- maybe let’s put this conversation on the back burner for a bit. Then, the moment I go quiet:

MAN: LEFTYYYYYYYY! What ya doing tonight? Coming to the city?

GWEN: (Dryly) Sup, righty?

MAN: hahahah I’m getting ready. (Pause) I’m both. I’m a converted lefty.

GWEN: I don’t think it works that way, man.

MAN: Hahahahahaha. Sure, it does! I’ll show you a scientific study later. Stop wasting your time chatting with these boring boys on here that will never keep your creative imagination and mind fulfilled long enough. I got what you need, boo. Friend, boyfriend, acquaintance, wing man- I guarantee we would click perfect.

GWEN: Nah.

MAN: I haven’t met a lefty yet that I didn’t click with everrrrrrrr.

GWEN: There’s a first time for everything.

MAN: Come on lefty!

GWEN: (To others) I stopped replying after that –

MAN: Lefty what up?

GWEN: But he didn’t-

MAN: Lefty, save me from these boring right-handed women!

GWEN: Stop –

MAN: Here’s my Facebook and Instagram

GWEN: Messaging me!

MAN: Facebook stalk me. Click away. Hit me up!

GWEN: (With a burst of frustration. To no one in particular) NO!

MAN: Is your boyfriend left-handed? Or girlfriends? Or any ex’s?

GWEN: What the hell?

MAN: The thing about lefties is you have to stimulate their minds in a certain way to keep them engaged. They like a certain kind of personality. And if you piss a lefty off then that’s it. They are tough to get back on their good side, if ever.

GWEN: And the cherry on top of it all:

MAN: P.S. make your fouth pic your profile and delete your fifth pic for better results! And if you get real brave I recommend a full body head to toe normal pic. Or just text me one and don’t show anyone else.

EVE: Wow.

GWEN: Yup.

CLEO: (Mocking jazz hands, but only with left hand) Left-handed guy, everybody!

GWEN: Lucky, lucky me. (Beat) Yikes.

BONNIE: I need to pee.

CLEO: I need another drink.

GWEN: You need water-

CLEO: You need to shhhhuuuuuush

EVE: We all need another one!

GWEN: Of water or a drink?

EVE: Both.

BONNIE: Okay… but can I pee first?

EVE: GO! PEE LIKE NO ONE IS WATCHING!

CLEO: PEE LIKE THE WIND!

BONNIE: I’m going! (She exits)

CLEO: Ya know. I hope she doesn’t get hurt. I don’t! For the amount of shit I give her – she deserves someone good… we all do.

EVE: And we’ll all find someone…

CLEO: You think?

EVE: Yeah!!! I mean… Yikes. Think about it! Just think! Do you ever look back on your college years and just cringe? I’d like to think I’ve evolved. Back then, I met a man online named Mason. “Harvard Grad Student.” Ugh. It was so shallow—that’s absolutely the reason I went out with him. We met at a Panera, so a step up from a strip mall food court. He presented like a normal human. Then, we sit down. He immediately starts pressing about my family life. I share, “My mother and sister live in Western Massachusetts.” Now, most men take a hint and read between the lines that I have clearly left a father figure out of my statement. Not Mason.

MAN: “Where’s your dad?”

EVE: It’s no secret here that my childhood was not ideal. I’m not ashamed, but I’m also not yelling it from the rooftops that things weren’t pretty on a first date. So, I say, “He’s not in the picture.”

MAN: Ooooo! Daddy issues!

EVE: Thus began the string of inappropriate and unwanted line of questioning…

MAN: How much money do you make? As a live-in nanny, do they make you eat in the bathroom? What’s the most disgusting thing you’ve found in their house? Why did your dad leave you?

EVE: I told him that he crossed the line. He backed off and apologized. Then, he whips out his phone and says,

MAN: Do you want to play a game? I’ll go first.

EVE: This MAN… this DATE… this HUMAN I am supposed to be on a DATE with opened up my dating profile and began rating my photos on a 1-10 scale. Lowest was a 3 and the highest was a 6.

MAN: Don’t take it personally! It’s just a game. You’re funny. Guys would want to fuck a funny 6. Maybe if you lost some weight or straightened your teeth, you’d be more aesthetically fuckable.

GWEN: Aesthetically fuckable?

EVE: HE THEN WANTED ME TO RATE HIS PICTURES! A saintly Panera employee was cleaning around our table and I jumped on the opportunity to GTFO. Then, he invited me back to his place.

MAN: My apartment isn’t too far from here.

EVE: What? So you could take me from behind with a bag over my head? That’s not what I said. Instead, I told him that we wouldn’t be going out again. I don’t know. Looking back on who I was on that date—I cringe hard. How could I allow myself to be subjected to that? But, growth.

CLEO: Now, you pick fights with men in bars and make them cry.

EVE: He didn’t cry and I’m not sorry. First of all, no man will look at me and tell me that I’m going to make him dinner. This is not the 1950s. I am not June Clever. If I must make you dinner, it will be English muffin pizzas or fucking starve.

GWEN: Wait wait wait wait wait. Can we all agree that it was a little excessive to be fighting over English muffin pizzas?

BONNIE: Abso-fuck-ing-lutly NEVER

CLEO: (Drunk) BONNIE’S BACK!

EVE: We missed you!

BONNIE: Is this English muffin pizza man?

EVE: AKA THE WORST

BONNIE: (Consoling) I know, he makes ya mad.

EVE: I’m not sorry about it! That lawyer needed everything in his life to be perfect. Every date was lavish���each course at a different restaurant. All without prices on the menu. When his smug face looked at me and said that our next date would be at my place and that I was going to cook dinner, English muffin pizza was the only thing I was offering. I am not fancy wines or Italian menus with words I needed to secretly google translate. I am English muffin pizza. When he looked at me and said that I could “do better” and he would find me a recipe to make… I saw red. Take no shit, hold no prisioners. Best part, he still tries to match with me on dating sites!

BONNIE: (Sighing) Men…

GWEN: Aren’t much better than women!

BONNIE: Debatable.

GWEN: Want to bet?!

CLEO: Oh boy.

GWEN: So online, if I talk to women they’re all like “are you actually even queer? Have you ever even been with another women before?” and it’s like, fuck off! First of all, yes, I am. Second of all, yes I have. I thought you might be someone who wouldn’t JUDGE me based on what I look like but I guess I was wrong. It makes me sad that I thought otherwise. Then I might as well forget meeting some men because sometimes when guys see that you’re bisexual they’re all like:

MAN: So… are you into threesomes? Have you ever had one? Would you like to?

GWEN: When is that ever an appropriate way to start a conversation?!

EVE: All manners seem to go out the window when people go online.

CLEO: Ain’t that the truth.

BONNIE: (Drunk. Trying to be optimistic) Well plenty of more fish in the sea, right?

GWEN: That’s what they seem to keep saying.

BONNIE: Well I found Clyde! He can’t be the only one who’s decent that was online- there’s like a million thousand and two people in this world… they can’t all suck and be crude, right? I mean no ones perfect – I’m certainly not perfect but you just gotta find someone who meshes with you, you know? Sometimes it takes, a lot of dates- I went on a lot of dates, remember?

CLEO: We remember.

(BONNIE dramatically gasps)

EVE: WHAT?

BONNIE: LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT THIS MAN I WENT OUT WITH THIS ONE TIME. OKAY? This was one of them. He was only one date but it was in the middle of a bunch of dates when I was trying to get out there and date, you remember?

CLEO: We remember!

BONNIE: Remember! A few years back-

CLEO: RIGHT-

BONNIE: Tryin’ to get out there. Okay! So, we met online. And we were chatting – and then he asked me out. And I was like FUCK IT let’s go-

GWEN: YEAH YOU DID.

BONNIE: I did! I mean I told him that I did not love meat. Like the food meat. Not meaning like dick meat but like meat meat. Like cows. But, I’m not a vegetarian.

EVE: Obviously.

BONNIE: RIGHT. So he was like “Well I know this REALLY GOOD SPOT IN LOWELL (she glares at the audience) LET ME TAKE YOU IT’S VEGERTARIAN.” And I was like. I know where we’re going.

GWEN: YOU LOVE LIFE ALIVE!

BONNIE: I DO!

CLEO: But not on a first date, dumb ass.

BONNIE: I MEAN, RIGHT. BUT IT WAS FINE. So, it was summer. It was summer camp. I was working at summer camp.

EVE: You always work at summer camp.

BONNIE: RIGHT. SO, I was all sweaty from working at summer camp. BUT I ran home I showered, I wanted to look nice and smell nice cause it was a date.

CLEO: Praised be.

BONNIE: And so I go, I shower, I looked nice!

GWEN: I bet you looked hot!

BONNIE: I sure tried. And I meet him at Life Alive. And he’s standing there. And – well you know I like beards-

[robgrayofficial]

HAPPPPPPY SATURDAY, PATRIOTS!This is your girl u/IvaginaryFriend here and I'm back at it again with a weeks worth of spice for you lovely Deplorables! (◠‿◠✿)Before we officially get this recap started, if you happened to miss any past recaps you can catch them here!Sunday, June 10th:🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:Fair Trade is now to be called Fool Trade if it is not Reciprocal. According to a Canada release, they make almost 100 Billion Dollars in Trade with U.S. (guess they were bragging and got caught!). Minimum is 17B. Tax Dairy from us at 270%. Then Justin acts hurt when called out!Why should I, as President of the United States, allow countries to continue to make Massive Trade Surpluses, as they have for decades, while our Farmers, Workers & Taxpayers have such a big and unfair price to pay? Not fair to the PEOPLE of America! $800 Billion Trade Deficit... ... ....And add to that the fact that the U.S. pays close to the entire cost of NATO-protecting many of these same countries that rip us off on Trade (they pay only a fraction of the cost-and laugh!). The European Union had a $151 Billion Surplus-should pay much more for Military! ... ....Germany pays 1% (slowly) of GDP towards NATO, while we pay 4% of a MUCH larger GDP. Does anybody believe that makes sense? We protect Europe (which is good) at great financial loss, and then get unfairly clobbered on Trade. Change is coming!Great to be in Singapore, excitement in the air!Sorry, we cannot let our friends, or enemies, take advantage of us on Trade anymore. We must put the American worker first!SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:Cultural enrichment as its finestThe version they didn't want you to see.Canada does it: everything is fine. American does it: REEE RACISMWhen you are done making the g7 your bitch and you have to go end the Korean war🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:GLOBALISTS BTFO: "WE ARE THE PIGGY BANK THAT EVERYONE IS ROBBING. THAT ENDS."BTFO SocialistMy eyebrows are real.Just a picture of Ivanka Trump colluding with some RussiansMonday, June 11th:TODAY'S ACTION:President Donald J. Trump Meets with the Prime Minister of SingaporePresident Trump Participates in a 1:1 Meeting with North Korean Leader Kim Jong UnPresident Trump Participates in an Expanded Bilateral Meeting with North Korean Leader Kim Jong UnPresident Trump and North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un Signs a Declaration of Friendship2018 Singapore SummitSeventeen Nominations Sent to the Senate Today🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:Thank you Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong!SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:‘We’re America, Bitch’THE FIRST HANDSHAKE BETWEEN NK & US LEADERS. HISTORIC!!Kim Jong Un Can't Stop Smiling After President Trump Said They Will Have A Fantastic Relationship Then Kim Shocks The World And Tells President Trump He Wants To Move On From The Past !!HISTORIC!! #MAGAAnother Supreme Court win: 'Supreme Court allows Ohio voter purge'In case you guys were wondering, she's there in case somebody needs to be bitch slapped...especially Fake News!!!PRESS BRIEFINGS, INTERVIEWS, RALLIES:Briefing by Secretary of State Michael Pompeo🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:And right over here we have the fake news. Nobody likes them.NO. FUCKS. GIVEN.Watch the left eat itself.Two terms. Two scoops. Two genders. Two cakes.The Democrat Party is now officially more hostile and dangerous to the US than North KoreaTuesday, June 12th:TODAY'S ACTION:President Trump Participates in a Media AvailabilityPresident Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate Personnel to Key Administration Posts🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:Meetings between staffs and representatives are going well and quickly....but in the end, that doesn’t matter. We will all know soon whether or not a real deal, unlike those of the past, can happen!Stock Market up almost 40% since the Election, with 7 Trillion Dollars of U.S. value built throughout the economy. Lowest unemployment rate in many decades, with Black & Hispanic unemployment lowest in History, and Female unemployment lowest in 21 years. Highest confidence ever!The fact that I am having a meeting is a major loss for the U.S., say the haters & losers. We have our hostages, testing, research and all missle launches have stoped, and these pundits, who have called me wrong from the beginning, have nothing else they can say! We will be fine!Just won big Supreme Court decision on Voting! Great News!Our Great Larry Kudlow, who has been working so hard on trade and the economy, has just suffered a heart attack. He is now in Walter Reed Medical Center.SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:Troll level - ExpertBREAKING: TRUMP'S CAMPAIGN MANAGER WANTS CNN REPORTER'S CREDENTIALS REVOKED OVER QUESTIONS DURING NORTH KOREA SIGNINGFake News Jim Acosta justifying his rude questions at the Singapore summit: "Hey if they're not going to let me in the fucking meeting, that's what's going to happen… That's the way it goes, baby."Amazing video Trump showed Kim🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:HAHAFoot. Meet. Mouth.This man is 72 years old and hasn't slept in 22 hours. This is the President I voted for!Someone's JealousCurrent emotion of the leftLiterally Reddit right nowWednesday, June 13th:TODAY'S ACTION:Historic Summit with North Korea is a Tremendous Moment for the World🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:My political representatives didn’t want me to get involved in the Mark Sanford primary thinking that Sanford would easily win - but with a few hours left I felt that Katie was such a good candidate, and Sanford was so bad, I had to give it a shot. Congrats to Katie Arrington!Robert De Niro, a very Low IQ individual, has received too many shots to the head by real boxers in movies. I watched him last night and truly believe he may be “punch-drunk.” I guess he doesn’t... ... ...realize the economy is the best it’s ever been with employment being at an all time high, and many companies pouring back into our country. Wake up Punchy!Congratulations to Corey Stewart for his great victory for Senator from Virginia. Now he runs against a total stiff, Tim Kaine, who is weak on crime and borders, and wants to raise your taxes through the roof. Don’t underestimate Corey, a major chance of winning!Just landed - a long trip, but everybody can now feel much safer than the day I took office. There is no longer a Nuclear Threat from North Korea. Meeting with Kim Jong Un was an interesting and very positive experience. North Korea has great potential for the future!Before taking office people were assuming that we were going to War with North Korea. President Obama said that North Korea was our biggest and most dangerous problem. No longer - sleep well tonight!We save a fortune by not doing war games, as long as we are negotiating in good faith - which both sides are!The U.S., together with Mexico and Canada, just got the World Cup. Congratulations - a great deal of hard work!Oil prices are too high, OPEC is at it again. Not good!So funny to watch the Fake News, especially NBC and CNN. They are fighting hard to downplay the deal with North Korea. 500 days ago they would have “begged” for this deal-looked like war would break out. Our Country’s biggest enemy is the Fake News so easily promulgated by fools!Senator Claire McCaskill of the GREAT State of Missouri flew around in a luxurious private jet during her RV tour of the state. RV’s are not for her. People are really upset, so phony! Josh Hawley should win big, and has my full endorsement.Congratulations to Danny Tarkanian on his big GOP primary win in Nevada. Danny worked hard an got a great result. Looking good in November!Congratulations to @KevinCramer on his huge win in North Dakota. We need Kevin in the Senate, and I strongly endorse him. Heidi voted NO on our Tax Cuts, and always will vote no when we need her. Kevin is strong on Crime & Borders, big on Cutting Taxes!SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:Tommy Robinson sent to Muslim Prison, the time to stand up is NOWMike Pence casts tie-breaking vote to allow states to defund Planned Parenthood. Prepare for internet meltdown. SBC18Food Stamp Enrollment Dips to Lowest Level in 8 YearsTrump Nominated For Nobel Peace Price... By NorwayTrump shows off 'The Beast' ( presidential limo ) to Kim during historic Singapore summit🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:POWERFULRare photo of our President shitposting in real timeWhen your attempt at political humor results in a massive redpilling.New "Make America Safe" painting by Jon McNaughton "If we don’t build the wall soon, we’ll be overrun by the weeds."The greatest moment of the Trump Kim Summit...Thursday, June 14th:TODAY'S ACTION:President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate Personnel to Key Administration Posts🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:The Republican Party is starting to show very big numbers. People are starting to see what is being done. Results are speaking loudly. North Korea and our greatest ever economy are leading the way!Now that I am back from Singapore, where we had a great result with respect to North Korea, the thought process must sadly go back to the Witch Hunt, always remembering that there was No Collusion and No Obstruction of the fabricated No Crime.So, the Democrats make up a phony crime, Collusion with the Russians, pay a fortune to make the crime sound real, illegally leak (Comey) classified information so that a Special Councel will be appointed, and then Collude to make this pile of garbage take on life in Fake News!The sleazy New York Democrats, and their now disgraced (and run out of town) A.G. Eric Schneiderman, are doing everything they can to sue me on a foundation that took in $18,800,000 and gave out to charity more money than it took in, $19,200,000. I won’t settle this case!... ... ....Schneiderman, who ran the Clinton campaign in New York, never had the guts to bring this ridiculous case, which lingered in their office for almost 2 years. Now he resigned his office in disgrace, and his disciples brought it when we would not settle.Happy 243rd Birthday to the @USArmy! Thank you for your bravery, sacrifices, and dedication to the U.S.A. We love you!Happy #FlagDay🇺🇸SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOUR FAVORITE PRESIDENT!!FULL INSPECTOR GENERAL REPORT - Ditch the SSRI's, double up on the vaccines and GET IN HERE, PEDES! We're going full autistic on this!STRZOK: ‘We’ll Stop’ Trump Presidency‘Viva Le Resistance’: Mueller Team Attorney Sent Anti-Trump TextsThis is huge. Boston’s BWH Hospital removing images of historic doctors from public view because workers complained they’re all white. First neurosurgeon in the world. Nobel winner for first organ transplant. We should be proud of our hospital’s accomplishments not ashamed of their skin.PRESS BRIEFINGS, INTERVIEWS, RALLIES:6/14/18: White House Press Briefing🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:FBI Director Christopher Wray holds a press conferenceIt’s GETOUS Birthday. Praise Kek, How will you celebrate this holiday. I plan to have the Standard Trump McDonald’s order then Two Scoops of Ice Cream and a Diet Coke while reading the IG reporthmmmmmmm"FBI says FBI is innocent, says FBI."Friday, June 15th:TODAY'S ACTION:A Message from President Donald J. Trump🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:FBI Agent Peter Strzok, who headed the Clinton & Russia investigations, texted to his lover Lisa Page, in the IG Report, that “we’ll stop” candidate Trump from becoming President. Doesn’t get any lower than that!The IG Report is a total disaster for Comey, his minions and sadly, the FBI. Comey will now officially go down as the worst leader, by far, in the history of the FBI. I did a great service to the people in firing him. Good Instincts. Christopher Wray will bring it proudly back!Thank you for all of the compliments on getting the World Cup to come to the U.S.A., Mexico and Canada. I worked hard on this, along with a Great Team of talented people. We never fail, and it will be a great World Cup! A special thanks to Bob Kraft for excellent advice.U.S.A. Jobs numbers are the BEST in 44 years. If my opponent (the Democrats) had won the election, they would have raised taxes substantially and increased regulations - the economy, and jobs, would have been a disaster!Wow, the highest rated (by far) morning show, @foxandfriends, is on the Front Lawn of the White House. Maybe I’ll have to take an unannounced trip down to see them?“Why in the world didn’t Barack Obama fire this guy (Comey)?” asks Mark Levin!(Retweeting Fox&Friends) @jasoninthehouse: All of this started because Hillary Clinton set up her private server(Retweeting Fox&Friends) @jasoninthehouse: Anything Mueller is doing with his investigation is tainted by the anti-Trump FBI agents(Retweeting Fox&Friends) @jasoninthehouse: The DOJ IG report is 562 pages of nothing but bias and animus(Retweeting Fox&Friends) “This is one of the most damning rebukes of the FBI that I think we’ve ever seen.” -@jasoninthehouse(Retweeting Fox&Friends) DOJ IG report finds that an FBI lawyer told a bureau employee “Viva le resistance” after President Trump was elected(Retweeting Fox&Friends) IG REPORT BOMBSHELL: Anti-Trump FBI agent Peter Strzok texted his lover Lisa Page "we'll stop" Trump from becoming president“Donald Trump was 100% right to fire James Comey.” Mark LevinSIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:Obama had direct contact with Clinton on private email server: IG reportUnder reported: FBI Agent acknowledges that Hillary's IT Guy "lied his ass off." Did we ever see ANY charges? Nope. Scandalous.Trump: ‘I May Get Involved’ in Justice Department ‘If It Gets Worse’Trump says he will not sign moderate 'Dreamer' immigration billFBI Employee: ‘Trump’s Supporters Are All Poor, Uneducated, Lazy POS…Pence is stupid.’ Another agent called us "retards." I was not even used to being in a cult yet. Fire these morons NOW🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:EverytimeDon Jr. Retweeted it!! Sad Ben Rhodes - Presidential Birthday RemixOoooh Noooo. Paul Manafort’s bail was revoked— he is going to jail.Obama's Left wrist is his foreign policy.Saturday, June 16th:🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:Democrats can fix their forced family breakup at the Border by working with Republicans on new legislation, for a change! This is why we need more Republicans elected in November. Democrats are good at only three things, High Taxes, High Crime and Obstruction. Sad!My supporters are the smartest, strongest, most hard working and most loyal that we have seen in our countries history. It is a beautiful thing to watch as we win elections and gather support from all over the country. As we get stronger, so does our country. Best numbers ever!The IG Report totally destroys James Comey and all of his minions including the great lovers, Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, who started the disgraceful Witch Hunt against so many innocent people. It will go down as a dark and dangerous period in American History!“Americans must demand their lawmakers support the legislation we need to defeat MS-13 once and for all, and to ensure every American child in every American community can grow up in safety, and grow up in security, and in peace.”SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:NOW WE'RE GETTING SOMEWHERE!Savage reply by POTUSTHIS RIGHT HERE, this nationally televised display of overt double standard, was the second biggest Red Pill (to date)🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:Weekend Fun Ben Garrison Cartoon The "It Will Make Heads Explode" PrizeFBI: Report Didn't Mention BiasWEEEEW LAD!Without further ado, some jams to help you groove through all this WINNING!!!InvincibleGhost townStarvingAftergoldHard To loveMAGA ON PATRIOTS! #robgray