#seriously i get bank holiday but even so it i SHOULD have gotten something by nkw

[moon-and-stars-selfship]

Auuuugh why hasn't my paycheck dropped yet???

[kpopfanfictrash]

Raise the Barre (Epilogue)

Author: kpopfanfictrash

Creative Contributor: @baebae-goodnight​ for the last Raise the Barre moodboard TT she nailed it

Pairing: Jimin / Reader

Rating: 18+ (Smut)

Genre: Enemies to Lovers / Dance Academy!AU

Warnings: sexual content. Dry humping, fingering, hand job, oral (female), breast play, multiple orgasms, Jimin gets turned on by making someone else come, dirty talk. Jimin’s pants are tight.

Word Count: 13,409

Summary: You and Park Jimin have been rivals for as long as you’ve known one another; ever since he tripped you in the front row of your first dance convention. When you graduate from high school and enter Russet Ballet Academy, you tell yourself you’re leaving all past quarrels behind. The main problem with this though, is that your past seems determined not to leave you alone.

Worse still, the obstacles you face while out in the real world might prove more challenging than anything your enemy has to offer.  

“And… more pointe shoes,” you said, opening the box in your lap. “Wow. Thanks, mom and dad.”

Your dad laughed, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “You’re welcome, kiddo,” he said, nodding from the couch. “I know Russet gives you some already, but you can never have too many.”

“Out of curiosity.” You glanced at the tree. “Are there any boxes from you which aren’t related to dance?”

“Not related to dance…” Your mom pretended to think. “I don’t understand.”

“Mom!”

She laughed. “I’m kidding! Yes, there are other presents. You just happened to pick all the pointe shoe boxes first.”

Shaking your head, you placed the box aside. You smiled though, warmth in your chest at being home for the holidays. Classes at Russet had ended a week prior and it had been nice for a few days to simply relax. Already though, you found yourself itching to return to the city. It was strange to wake every morning and not head to ballet. It was even stranger to take classes at your old studio, trying to stay in shape before second semester began.

Playing with the string of your sweatpants, you couldn’t help glancing at your phone on the couch. It had been several days since you’d last seen Jimin in person. Oddly enough, the separation had been harder than you’d thought it would be.

Immediately after ending things with Finn, you and Jimin had tried to keep your distance. The pain of your separation had been too fresh to even consider dating someone else but, as time had gone on, you and Jimin had started becoming friends again.

It was hard not to be, with Jimin continuing as your dance partner and classmate. At the end of the semester, you’d had the opportunity to switch partners, but you and Jimin had chosen the status quo. It just made sense this way; you couldn’t think of anyone else you’d trust as much as him.

At first, things between you were strictly professional. You saw him only within the confines of the dance studio but eventually, his presence bled into your normal life. At first, the outings were small. Jimin went to a pregame you also attended. He saw you once at the coffee shop and, instead of running away, he stopped to chat. One time, he walked you back to your dorm.

When the month became December, you found your outlook improving. Most of November had been spent wallowing in your dorm, but the holiday season brought with it endless activities. The very first weekend of the month, a bunch of your Russet friends decided to go ice skating and you’d ended up tagging along.

The biggest problem had been you’d never ice skated before. Noelle had been patient, skating backwards in front of you and dragging you around the rink. Jimin had done the same thing for Hoseok, who was in a similar predicament to yours, and at some point, they swapped partners and left you skating with Jimin.

When he’d taken over for Noelle, your stomach had swooped. Hands touching, he’d led you gently around the edge and the world had seemed to still. It had been the first time you’d felt anything stir outside of your break-up. Whatever hurt and distance had sprung between you, it seemed something had survived between you and Jimin.

Nose red, Jimin had smiled as he skated backwards. “It’s easy,” he’d told you. “You just swivel, Y/N. In and out, in and out. Got it?”

“Um, no!” you’d yelped, nearly crashing to the ice when Jimin let go of your hands.

He’d laughed, catching you easily and skating like that for a while. Eventually, Jimin had helped you off the rink and gotten hot chocolate, which you insisted on buying. Payback, you said, for the impromptu skating lessons.

That day had been a turning point for you both. Throughout the month prior, you’d texted sporadically but after, you seemed to talk every day.

Jimin even offered to drive you home from Russet, given the fact that your hometowns were so close together. After much hemming and hawing, you’d eventually taken him up on the offer. The savings it gave your bleeding bank account were well-worth the potential discomfort.

This had led to both the best and worst twenty-four hours of your life.

Best, because Jimin was an excellent road trip companion. He let you choose the music, laughed at all your dumb jokes, and agreed to play the road trip games you suggested. You’d already made a firm rule not to compare Jimin to any past boyfriends but couldn’t help but note this as an improvement over anyone prior.

The sole reason the twenty-four hours were also painful was because you stopped at a hotel halfway through. It was either this or drive until 3:00 AM, so you chose the smarter option and rested for the night. You and Jimin bought separate bedrooms, but they’d ended up next to one another, so you’d been forced to spend a sleepless night imagining Jimin separated from you only by a thin sheet of plywood.

You had told yourself this was silly. At Russet, Jimin hadn’t been much further away, but something about the closeness in the hotel made you nervous. It was infinitely easier to forget about boundaries when you were separated by only a car console for hours at a time. Infinitely easier to forget the rules when you were outside of Russet, cocooned by his car and the snow.

You couldn’t help but think about the one kiss you’d shared.

That had only been a taste, barely a teaser, but the memory kept you awake for more nights than it probably should have. You couldn’t help but wonder what it’d be like to kiss Jimin again, under different circumstances.

Groaning, you’d covered your face with a pillow that night and tried your best to sleep. It hadn’t really worked, and you’d shown up at the car the next morning with dark shadows beneath your eyes.

Forcing yourself back to the present, you glanced away from your phone and focused on the tree – only to see its screen light up in your peripheral. Grabbing your phone, you realized Jimin had texted. Stifling a smile, you scrolled through the conversation until you found his last message.

Jimin: MERRY CHRISTMAS! [10:23 AM]

Jimin: 

Y/N: oh my god everything’s so... coordinated lol how long did that tree take to set up?  [10:24 AM]

Y/N: and merry Christmas 😊  [10:24 AM]

Jimin: not long at all. I just googled ‘christmas trees’ and that was the first one I found  [10:24 AM]

Y/N: ha ha hilarious  [10:25 AM]

Y/N: so, what are the Park family plans for the day?  [10:25 AM]

Jimin: the usual. Opening presents, going to my grandparents later for dinner. What about you?  [10:25 AM]

Y/N: same, minus the grandparents. We usually have a pretty low-key day  [10:26 AM]

Jimin: sounds nice  [10:26 AM]

Jimin: what’s your favorite present so far  [10:27 AM]

Y/N: 

Jimin: LOL  [10:30 AM]

Jimin: how many of them did you get? I’ve gotten two new dance bags and seven pairs of black leggings. It’s like our parents have forgotten we do anything else  [10:31 AM]

Y/N: no new dance belts? 😈  [10:32 AM]

Jimin: Y/N, I’m shocked  [10:35 AM]

Jimin: mind out of the gutter. Stop thinking about my junk  [10:35 AM]

Y/N: as your dance partner, I have a vested interest in your junk. What if it breaks free in the middle of practice?  [10:38 AM]

Jimin: the more delicate ladies would faint, I imagine  [10:41 AM]

Jimin: and probably Paulo  [10:41 AM]

Y/N: lmao  [10:43 AM]

Y/N: but seriously, I hope you get presents other than dance gear  [10:43 AM]

Jimin: back at you haha  [10:47 AM]

Y/N: I can’t help but notice you didn’t get me, your dance partner, a Christmas gift though  [10:50 AM]

Jimin: was the drive home not enough?  [10:50 AM]

Y/N: oh, shoot. You’re right! You did get me a Christmas gift  [10:51 AM]

Y/N: I’m the one who’s been remiss  [10:51 AM]

Jimin: don’t forget about my housewarming gift, too  [10:52 AM]

You smiled, sitting back on the sofa. Jimin was lucky enough to be moving off campus second semester. He, Hoseok and Alex Wong were moving into an apartment not far from Paulo’s. You and Noelle had decided to stay in Grace Hall, but you’d talked about moving someplace else next year.

Jimin was heading back early to move into his new place, so you’d need a different ride on your return trip to Russet. Still, you were looking forward to Jimin’s apartment hosting parties in the new year.

Y/N: don’t get greedy on me now, Park  [10:54 AM]

“Who’re you texting?”

Jerking your head up from the screen, you nearly dropped your phone. From the couch opposite, your mom gave you a knowing look.

“No one,” you said hastily, setting your phone aside.

“Oh, really?” She glanced with your dad. “No one wouldn’t happen to have dark hair, his own car and excellent table manners, would he?”

Immediately, you felt your face heat.

When Jimin drove you home before Christmas, your parents had insisted on feeding him before he continued to Harleigh Heights. This had led to the weirdest double date of your life – which was, in fact, not a date – including you, Jimin and your parents for dinner. Luckily, your parents had been great and Jimin hadn’t cared, but you’d been endlessly mortified for your first date with Jimin to have included your parents.

Not that you’d called it a date. When Jimin had left that night, you’d brushed it aside and he’d simply gone along with it. After Jimin had left, you’d gone to your room and wondered what the hell you were doing. It was clear you still liked Jimin and wanted to be more than just friends. Still, something continued to hold you back.

You weren’t sure when it was considered appropriate to move on. The line seemed fuzzy, so you hadn’t dared cross it and Jimin hadn’t asked. You got the feeling you needed to be the one to make the first move – which made sense. You’d been the one who asked for more time. You’d told Jimin you’d say when you were ready.

Any next steps would have to come from you.

It had been weird to go home and not see Finn. His house was only fifteen minutes away from yours – you’d driven past it on your way to the grocery store last week. Still, seeing his home hadn’t caused the pain you’d expected. It was strange not to see him, but more like you’d forgotten something you needed to do, as opposed to missing his actual presence.

If you were being honest, Finn had crossed your mind less and less lately. Possibly because you’d been falling out of love with him long before you’d broken up in November.

Still, it would be unfair to jump into something before you were ready. You’d already hurt Jimin once this past fall and were determined not to do so again. No matter how good things had been lately between you, you didn’t want to make the mistake of dating Jimin too soon.

Despite this, things had become flirtier between you as of late. Exhibit A: casual text conversations about Park Jimin’s junk.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” you said lightly.

Your dad laughed as he stood from the couch. “Alright, then,” he said, grabbing another gift. “How about you open this one next?”

Accepting the thin package he handed over, you frowned. The box wasn’t large and, shaking it slowly, you heard no sliding inside.

“I swear,” you said as you began to undo the bow. “If you wrapped your passport photo again, dad...”

Laughing, he settled back on the couch by your mom. “It’s not that, I promise.”

Grumbling, you opened the box and immediately froze. Staring at the paper inside, you slowly looked up. “Is this… is this what I think it is?”

“It’s a plane flight,” your mom said with a smile. “I know we’re supposed to drive you back on the third, but we thought you might want to celebrate New Year’s with your friends.”

“But…” Speechless, you returned to the box. “We always hang out together on New Year’s Eve.”

“I know,” said your dad. “But maybe it’s time to start some new traditions, kiddo.”

With that, he stood and took his mug to the kitchen. Sensing he wasn’t needed for this conversation any longer, he began washing dishes and to prepare breakfast. Once he was gone, your mom moved to your couch and settled beside you.

“I… this is too much,” you said, immediately backpedaling.

“It’s not.”

“Well…” Hesitant, you considered the possibilities. “I guess Ari will be in the city for New Year’s Eve. Maybe Noelle, too. She mentioned she might go back early.”

Gently, your mom smiled. “That’s great if you want to hang out with them, but… didn’t Jimin mention going back before New Year’s?”

Startled, you glanced up. You were surprised she’d remembered. Jimin had mentioned it briefly at dinner last week – he’d said he was moving off campus, which was why he’d needed to return home to pack.

“I – he might have,” you said cautiously.

“I see.” She paused. “I just… I don’t want you feeling like you need to hold yourself back, honey.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Your mom glanced meaningfully at your phone. “I’m glad you’re taking time to yourself,” she said slowly. “It’s important to know who you are and what you want. But also – don’t feel like you need to follow someone else’s timeline when it comes to moving on.”

“I know, but…” You trailed off. “We only broke up in November.”

She shrugged. “Only you know when you’re ready, honey. I just don’t want you to keep punishing yourself for something that’s over. You’re allowed to be happy, even if you’ve messed up in the past.”

Swallowing, you glanced again at the gift. The plane ticket was for the day before New Year’s Eve. Plucking it from the box, you sat back on the couch.

“But…” you said lowly. “Mom, it’s only been two months.”

“And are you still in love with Finn?”

“No.”

“And did you learn anything from what happened this fall?”

“I… Yes. A lot.”

“Good.” Reaching out, she squeezed your hand. “Learn the lessons you need to learn, and then move on. Self-flagellation isn’t productive, Y/N.”

You nodded, still uncertain about what she was saying. Her words made sense, but everything she was saying uncovered a dormant fear. You were scared. Scared of hurting someone else, scared of being hurt by someone else in return. Your last relationship had ended so badly, it was hard to convince yourself it might be worth it to try again.

Finally, you turned to face her on the couch. “Does it ever get any easier?” you asked. “This fear of being hurt… does it ever go away?”

Something sad passed over her face. “Yes and no,” she said, pulling back her hand. “You’ll never be as innocent as you were in your first love. There’s something special about loving someone and never having been hurt before. Once you’ve gone through that kind of pain, you aren’t the same after. But… it does get easier. And better. You’ll know more about how to support this time, instead of tearing down. How to make a love stronger, instead of hanging on.”

Something about this speech gave you comfort, and you slowly nodded. Again, what she said made sense but if there was one thing you’d learned from the fall, it was no matter how great the advice was, it was impossible to take if you weren’t ready to hear it.

You continued wondering if the risk would be worth it. No matter how much you felt for Jimin, you couldn’t help but remember how you’d felt breaking up with Finn. You hadn’t been in love with him at that point and it had still been so painful. It was terrifying to imagine loving someone again and having things end the same way.

Your mom was right, though. You couldn’t keep punishing yourself for something you couldn’t change. There were several ways you could move on from here. The main question to ask yourself was whether you wanted Jimin in the picture.

“Alright,” you said softly. “Thanks, mom.”

“Anytime.” Smiling, she stood and dusted off her pants. “I’m going to see if your dad needs help making breakfast. Don’t be too long, now!”

You nodded, watching her go, and then glanced at the ticket. Your mom’s words continued to run through your mind and after a moment, you picked up your phone.

Jimin had texted back.

Jimin: I would never!  [10:57 AM]

Y/N: hey, so  [11:01 AM]

Y/N: I did get one non-dance gift this year. A plane flight the day before New Year’s Eve  [11:02 AM]

Jimin: oh, wow! That was really nice of your parents  [11:03 AM]

Taking a deep breath, you closed your eyes. When you opened them, you found yourself newly determined.

Y/N: when do you get back again?  [11:03 AM]

His ellipses started, then stopped, then started again.

Jimin: December 28th  [11:04 AM] 

Y/N: what are your New Year’s Eve plans?  [11:04 AM]

For a moment, he didn’t respond, and you felt your heart catch. Maybe you’d misread things. Maybe Jimin had moved on and didn’t care about you anymore. Maybe he didn’t want you to tell him you were ready.

Jimin: I’m free 😊  [11:05 AM]

Jimin: want to be my New Year’s Eve date?  [11:05 AM]

Smiling ear to ear, you responded.

Y/N: yes. Please  [11:06 AM]

On the actual day of New Year’s Eve, you found yourself stressed beyond belief. Standing in front of the mirror of your dorm room, you adjusted your dress and worried over the hemline. Jimin had arranged to meet you around 7:00 PM and it was dangerously close to 6:55.

“Is the dress too short?” you asked, turning a little to face Noelle. “It is New Year’s Eve in the city. Should I wear pants, or something? Will I be cold?”

Noelle considered, then shrugged. “Just drink more. Problem solved!”

Snorting, you turned back to the mirror. Nervously, you smoothed down the front of your dress. You’d bought it at an after-Christmas sale and had fallen instantly in love. It had seemed perfect at the time, but now you were having second thoughts about the thin straps and tight bodice.

“Alright, so Y/N.” Noelle changed the subject. “Here’s the plan. Are you listening?”

Hiding a smile, you adjusted an earring. “Listening.”

“Good. Okay, so Ari and I will be at a party uptown. If the date goes badly, just say the word and we’ll call you a cab. You can be ringing in the new year with us within the hour.”

“Perfect,” you said. “It’s good to have a back-up.”

“It is.” Noelle paused. “Not that I think you’ll need this, of course.”

“Well, you never know.”

“Please.” She snorted. “What’s Jimin going to do? Be too charming? Too respectful of boundaries? Wear pants that show off his ass a little too much?”

“Noelle!”

She laughed, coming to a stop alongside you. Noelle wore a sparkly dress which made her skin glow, although this may have been the glitter dusted over her shoulders. Looking at herself in the mirror, she fluffed her hair.

“Seriously,” she said, meeting your gaze. “You’re going to be fine.”

“I know, I know.” Shaking out your arms, you forced yourself to exhale. “I’m just nervous, that’s all. It’s been a long time since I went on a first date.”

Noelle considered. “That’s true. Allow me to give you some dating tips, then.”

Laughing, you turned around and sat on the futon. “By all means.”

“Alright – number one.” Noelle removed lipstick from her purse. “Don’t order anything with garlic. I know, that sucks because garlic is everything, but no one wants to make out while they have garlic breath. Rule number two!”

“Whoa, whoa,” you said. “Who said anything about making out?”

Noelle gave you a pointed look. “Just in case it should happen…”

Shaking your head, you sunk back on the futon, but you knew she was right. Tonight was New Year’s Eve, after all. Ideally, you’d like to do more than kiss Jimin, but this seemed like too much of a jinx to say out loud.

Mentally, you agreed to the ‘no garlic’ rule.

“What else?” you prompted.

“Let’s see.” Noelle began to reapply her lipstick. “Relax.”

“What?”

Glancing at you in the mirror, she raised both brows. “I can see your shoulders tensing from here, babe. Just relax, okay? Tonight will be fine. You’re just hanging out with Jimin. You’ve done that before.”

“I know,” you groaned, lowering your face to your hands. “For some reason though, I’m very aware of the ‘date’ aspect of tonight. I don’t know why.”

When you looked up, Noelle gave you a sympathetic look, but before she could say more there came a knock at the door. Half-standing, you moved to open it, but Noelle shooed you back.

“Rule number three,” she said as she crossed the room. “Never answer the door for your own date.”

“What?” you laughed, although you sat back down on the futon.

Grabbing the handle, Noelle pulled open the door. Blocking you from view, she leaned her shoulder against the frame.

“Password?”

“What?” came Jimin’s voice, sounding confused.

“That’s correct!” Noelle stepped aside.

As you stood, you saw Jimin for the first time. He wore a pea coat over his outfit, his dark hair pushed back from his face in a devastating manner. When he saw you, Jimin froze, and you saw his eyes widen.

Silently, you congratulated yourself on having picked the right outfit. His gaze slowly trailed your body, lingering in places which made your cheeks heat. When he returned to your face, he slowly exhaled.

“Hey,” he said. “You… you look beautiful.”

Smiling back, you found yourself at a loss for words. “So do you.”

Jimin grinned and you stood there, smiling at each other like idiots until Noelle cleared her throat.

“Well,” she said, side-stepping Jimin to grab her coat. “I’m going to head over to Ari’s. You kids be safe, okay?”

“We will,” you laughed.

Noelle left in a flurry of kisses and glitter, waving goodbye as she stepped out the door. Jimin turned to face you once she was gone, offering a smile.

“Are you ready to go?” he asked. “I brought you these.”

From behind his back, he pulled out pink peonies, which made you gasp. They were your favorites, a little limp from the cold, but still beautiful. Taking them gently from him, you turned them over in your hands.

“They’re wonderful,” you said happily. “Thank you.”

Jimin smiled. “I’m glad you like them.”

Glancing around, you found a clean glass near the sink and filled this with water. Arranging the peonies on your desk, you took a step back and cocked your head. You’d always thought the idea of flowers on dates was kind of cheesy, but now that you’d experienced it in person, it seemed unimaginably sweet.

“There,” you said, turning back. “All set.”

Jimin smiled at this, then glanced at your bare arms. “You’re going to be cold without a coat,” he said. “That’d be a bad way to start off the new year.”

“Oh – duh,” you said, hurrying towards your wardrobe.

Pulling a coat out, you slipped this over your dress and buttoned the front. As you left the room, you turned off the lights and shut the door behind you. Jimin walked with you down the hall, continually glancing your way from the corner of his eyes.

You felt oddly shy, despite this being Jimin beside you. Jimin, who you’d known since you were teenagers. Jimin, who’d been both the utter bane of your existence, along with the single person you trusted most in the world. He’d tossed you up in the air and caught you no question and somehow, this felt like the most daring thing you’d ever done.

It was strange to walk beside him, out on a date whose future held a large question mark. Excitement and uncertainty warred in your stomach, which only seemed to exacerbate the situation. You felt as though you stood on the edge of a precipice, staring into a ravine with no discernable bottom.

As you left the building, snowflakes swirled in the sky up above and you looked up in surprise.

“Oh,” you exhaled, breath frosting before you. “I didn’t realize it was snowing!”

“Yeah.” Jimin grinned, tilting back his head. “Snow is my favorite weather, actually.”

“The wet and the cold does it that much for you, huh, Park?”

“That, and the romance of it all.”

Your smile softened a little as you fell into step alongside him. The snow continued to drift as you walked, melting as soon as it touched the pavement.

“So, where are we going?” you wondered, glancing at him. “You said you’d tell me once you picked me up and I’ve got news for you, Jimin. I’m here. I’ve been picked up.”

“Right, sure.” He shoved both hands in his pockets. “I made a reservation at this restaurant around the corner. The food’s really good so I hope you’ll like it.”

“I’m sure I will.”

“Huh.” Jimin paused. “That was easy.”

You shrugged. “I’m just excited for tonight. That’s all.”

His gaze softened a little when he glanced at you. “Me, too.”

Smiling, you continued to walk alongside him. New Year’s Eve in the city was a grand affair. The sidewalks were still lit with holiday lights, people hurrying past in brightly colored coats. Privately, you were glad Jimin had made a reservation at a restaurant instead of trying to brave a club or a bar. You’d heard horror stories from people who paid extravagantly to get into a club, only to spend the entire night waiting in line at the bar.

Turning the corner, you saw the restaurant Jimin had chosen and brightened. It was one you’d walked past several times and always wanted to try but had never found time.

Jimin held open the door as you entered. The inside still had their holiday decorations up, garland strung across every surface with tiny, white fairy lights hung up above. Everyone who was dining wore formal attire, laughing and chatting in the glow of the fireplace. The food smelled amazing and immediately, your mouth watered.

Joining the line at the hostess stand, you waited for the couple before you to leave and then Jimin stepped up.

“Park,” he told her. “Party of two.”

The hostess smiled, nodding as she flipped through her notebook. “One moment, please.” The longer she looked though, the more her face fell. After a moment, she glanced up. “Park, you said?”

“Yes.” Jimin nodded. “P-a-r-k.”

The woman nodded, flipping through her notebook again as though the name might magically appear.

“I’m so sorry,” she said, glancing up again. “There seems to be some kind of mistake. I don’t have you listed as a reservation.”

Jimin’s expression faltered. “Can you look again?” he asked, leaning forward.

The hostess nodded, running her finger down the numbered rows. “I can’t find you anywhere. Do you remember who you spoke with on the phone?”

“Rebecca.”

“Oh.” Her face immediately fell. “Rebecca left the restaurant last week. It seems a few reservations slipped through in the transition. Is there… well, before I do that – let me see what I can do,” she blurted out, turning around to rush into the restaurant.

Jimin watched her disappear and you saw his expression tighten.

Silence fell between you as you adjusted your coat. Jimin looked stressed and you weren’t sure what you should do about it. Frantically, you tried to remember times he’d been stressed during class, but before you could do or say anything, the hostess returned.

“I’m so sorry,” she said, looking harried. “The restaurant is completely booked up. I was trying to see if we could squeeze you in, but there’s just no room. I’m so sorry. Normally, only one person does the reservations, but we’ve been so busy lately...”

“It’s fine,” you said, jumping in. The poor woman looked like she was about to burst into tears. “Please, don’t worry about it. We’ll figure something out.”

Jimin glanced at you, surprised, and then nodded. “Yeah,” he agreed, returning to the hostess. “Thank you so much for your help – I appreciate you trying. We actually have a back-up reservation somewhere else, so don’t worry. We’ll come back another time!”

“Oh, really?” Her entire face brightened. “That’s so good to hear. New Year’s Eve, and all. Thank you for being understanding!”

“Yes, busy night,” Jimin said with a smile. “Take care of yourself!”

The woman nodded, seeming grateful when you stepped out of line. Jimin followed your footsteps, heading towards the door and then came to a stop. Slowly, he exhaled.

“So,” you said, turning to face him. “Where are these back-up reservations?”

Jimin winced and met your gaze. “I have none,” he admitted. “She just looked so sad. I wanted to put her out of her misery.”

“Wait.” Piecing this together, you paused. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah,” he said miserably. “I only made reservations here and that was super lucky, considering most places in the city have been booked for weeks. I don’t have any back-up plans.”

For a moment, you could only stare. “So, you said all that just so that poor hostess wouldn’t worry about a mistake her restaurant made?”

“I – well, yeah.”

You stared another moment, then started to laugh. It started out small but grew until eventually, you were wiping tears of mirth from your eyes.

Jimin watched you laugh, seeming thoroughly confused. “What’s so funny?”

“It’s just…” Shaking your head, you paused to catch your breath. “You’re unreal. Most people would be super stressed about New Year’s Eve plans falling through, but here you are lying to make a hostess’ night better.”

He blinked, still uncertain. “I’m… sorry about that.”

“Don’t apologize!” you insisted as you straightened. “It’s… wonderful,” you said to him shyly. “I like that about you.”

Slowly, his expression changed. “I really don’t have other plans, though,” he admitted. “I wasn’t lying about that. And I am stressed about my reservation falling through. I wanted this night to be perfect.”

The sweetness of this made your heart start to melt and newly determined, you nodded.

“We can fix this,” you said. “We’ll just go somewhere else.”

“Like where?”

“Like...” You paused. “We could hang out at my dorm. Or at your apartment! One of our kitchens has to be free, right? We could make dinner and hang out, watch the ball drop.”

“We could go to my place,” said Jimin slowly. “Hoseok and Alex are at a New Year’s Eve party uptown. We’d have the kitchen to ourselves.”

“Perfect,” you said. “Let’s go there.”

“I should warn you, though – I can only really cook one thing.”

“Spaghetti-o’s?”

“Okay, two things.”

You laughed. “So, what’s the first thing?”

“A pasta dish they taught us in Senior Foods class. But it’s nothing fancy.”

“Perfect.” You shrugged. “That will go nicely with my contribution of store-bought bread and olive oil.”

Jimin started to grin. “Alright, then, it’s settled. Let’s go to my place.”

You smiled when he opened the door, following him onto the sidewalk. Jimin’s new apartment was a few blocks away, but time passed quickly with him beside you. Oddly enough, the mishap at the restaurant seemed to have cleared some of the lingering awkwardness.

Noelle had been right, you realized – you had nothing to worry about while you were with Jimin.

He talked while you walked, detailing the ongoing fight at his apartment about some posters Hoseok wanted to hang. This segued into the general ridiculousness of New Year’s Eve – a topic you wholeheartedly agreed with.

“It’s stressful,” Jimin complained as you walked. “Everyone’s always asking about your resolution, you need to find someone to kiss at midnight, and there’s that super awkward moment with the countdown and your date…”

You laughed, grabbing a basket as you entered the grocery store. Jimin had suggested you stop by, since he didn’t have much food at his place.

“Doesn’t the countdown make it easier?” you joked. “It really dumbs the whole process down. Fool-proof.”

“Well, sure,” Jimin said. “But then you end up staring awkwardly at someone for ten seconds while you slowly lean forward and wonder when you should blink.”

Laughing, you reached on tiptoe for a loaf of bread. “Alright, you got me there,” you admitted. “I’ve never had a proper New Year’s Eve, anyways. I’ve always been dating someone and then, it’s just kind of assumed you’ll kiss. None of the magic you see in the movies.”

Jimin nodded. “Most of that’s just movie magic, though. You aren’t missing much – trust me.”

“I don’t know,” you said as you turned the next corner. “The anticipation sounds kind of nice. Wondering if someone will kiss you back, if they’re thinking about you the same way you are…”

Jimin made a humming noise, low in his throat.

Coming to a stop, he reached overhead to grab some pasta. Putting this in your basket, Jimin casually brushed your arm as you met his faze. Fighting back a shiver, you tried to remember what you’d been saying.

Giving a smile, Jimin continued forward and kept shopping. You stared after him a moment before your gaze dropped to his ass. Inhaling quickly, you remembered Noelle’s comment about Jimin’s tight pants. She hadn’t been wrong about that. Hurrying along, you quickly caught up.

Grabbing another jar, Jimin placed this in the basket. When he caught your eye again, he grinned, his hair falling forward. The sight made your heart flip-flop in your chest.

As you entered the check-out line, Jimin came to a stop alongside you. His gaze traveled the store, eyes widening when he glanced over your shoulder.

“What’s that?” Jimin gasped.

Startled, you turned. “What’s – hey!” you blurted when he took your basket.

Grinning widely, Jimin placed the food before the cashier. “Too slow.”

“Jimin, come on,” you said, slightly flustered. “I can pay. I –”

“You can pay next time, if you want.”

This shut you up and you stared at him a moment before you stepped forward.

“There’s… going to be a next time?” you said.

Jimin glanced in your direction. “If you want there to be.”

“I do,” you said softly, and he smiled.

Taking another step forward, he pulled out his wallet to pay and you let him – this time, anyways. Outside, it seemed to have grown colder since your arrival and you shivered as you exited the shop. Noticing this, Jimin immediately undid his scarf from around his neck.

“Here,” he said, handing it over. “I don’t need this.”

“But then you’ll be cold,” you pointed out, accepting it anyways.

“I’ll jog in place to keep warm.”

“… With me walking beside you?”

“Yep.”

You laughed, even more so when Jimin began to demonstrate. He jogged for a few steps, then slowed to a walk.

“Changed my mind,” he said with a wince. “I’d rather be cold.”

You laughed, cheeks starting to hurt from both this and the wind. Jimin’s apartment wasn’t far, although it did turn out to be a third-floor walk-up. This left you slightly winded when you arrived at his place, to which Jimin shrugged and said the rent had been cheap.

Opening his front door, he led the way into – boxes. Tons of them, although most of the furniture had been set up around them. Jimin fumbled for a light, flicking this on and setting down the groceries.

“Most of the boxes are Alex’s,” he sighed, looking around. “Hoseok and I have a secret deal we’re going to unpack him ourselves if he doesn’t do it by Monday.”

“That doesn’t sound like much of a detriment to Alex.”

“I never said what we planned on doing with his things once we unpacked.”

You laughed, undoing your coat to set aside. Glancing around, you saw Jimin was right. Most of the boxes were scrawled in the same handwriting. Beyond them, you saw the living room had been mostly set up with a couch and TV.

To your right lay the kitchen, in which Jimin was already unloading the groceries. Beyond him was a hallway, through which you assumed were their bedrooms and bathrooms. Wandering back to Jimin, you realized he was staring.

“What?” you said, coming to a stop. “Did I spill something on my dress in the store?”

“No,” Jimin murmured, shaking his head. “I just… I know I said this before, but you really do look incredible.”

“Oh.”

Looking at him, you felt your face growing hot. Jimin smiled and ducked his head, resumed pulling things out of the bag. Stepping from your shoes to place in the hall, you returned to the kitchen and pulled out a stool.

Sitting down, you propped your chin in your hand. “Aren’t you going to take off your coat?”

Glancing down, Jimin blinked. “Oh,” he laughed, undoing the buttons. “I forgot I was wearing it.”

You smiled, but this quickly disappeared when you saw what he was wearing. Jimin had worn a dark blazer and trousers, paired with a paisley shirt and black boots. He looked ridiculously good and again, Noelle’s comment about his ass came to mind.

She’d been correct – his pants were well-shaped and well-formed.

After removing both coat and shoes, Jimin returned to the kitchen and pushed a hand through his hair. You watched him get to work, leaning forward a bit when he began to dice vegetables. Immediately, your brows raised. It seemed Jimin had undersold his skills in the kitchen.

When you said as much, he laughed.

“Maybe a little,” Jimin said. As he pushed veggies from the cutting board, the pan began to sizzle. “It’s all part of my master plan. Set expectations low, then over-deliver.”

“It’s working,” you said with a laugh. “You seem pretty damn impressive to me.”

Jimin’s cheeks reddened. “You’re just saying that.”

“Why would I lie?”

“I seem to remember some shocking texts about my junk and dancer’s belts. You could just be after my body, Y/N.”

“I – that’s not!”

He looked up and grinned. “Kidding.”

Flustered, you blurted, “That wasn’t nice!”

Jimin laughed. “I’m sorry.”

You huffed, waiting a minute before you continued. “You do look really good right now, though,” you said softly.

He looked up, eyes wide. As much as Jimin said he enjoyed being liked, it seemed to throw him for a loop whenever you said you liked him. It made you pause, mulling over this for a minute.

“You seem surprised,” you said quietly. “Whenever I say things like that, you always look surprised.”

“Well…” Jimin hesitated. “I just think… there’s been a lot of times where I never thought this would happen. It feels kind of unreal have you here. In my kitchen. On a date.”

“Times after November?”

Jimin paused.

Your brow furrowed. “Before then?”

Opening the pasta, Jimin added this to the pot. He stared into the steam, slowly exhaling before he looked up.

“Let’s just say I’ve wanted this for a while,” he admitted.

“What? But you hated me before Russet.”

“I…” Jimin trailed off. “Kind of. It’s complicated.”

When he failed to elaborate and returned to his cooking, your eyebrows shot up.

“Uh, no,” you laughed. “You can’t just say that and not explain what you mean. What are you talking about?”

Jimin winced as he set down his spoon. “Okay,” he said, gripping the counter. “I guess what I’m saying is I never really hated you. Not truly.”

“You didn’t.”

“No.” He spoke flatly.

“But…” Confused, you searched his face. “You’ve hated me ever since we met, Jimin. That first weekend at NUVO dance competition. We were both called out to demonstrate and you tripped me!”

“Well, maybe that’s not exactly what happened.”

“What are you talking about?”

Jimin released a low breath. “Okay, so here’s the thing. That weekend happened a little differently from my perspective.”

“How so?”

“We were both called out to demonstrate,” he said, repeating your words. “But I hadn’t seen you before then. When we both reached center and I turned and saw you – I froze. I couldn’t remember how to act. Every thought I’d ever had just… flew out of my head.”

You stared at him, speechless.

“I didn’t know what to do,” Jimin continued softly. “I’d never felt like that before. When you started to dance, it only got worse. I’d never seen someone dance like you did. That’s why I entered the combination late. That’s why I was in the wrong spot at the wrong time and that’s why I accidentally tripped you. I was… well, I was distracted.”

“By me,” you whispered. “You were distracted by… me?”

“Yeah.”

“So,” you said, breath catching. “This entire time, you haven’t really hated me?”

“Ah, I don’t know about that.” Jimin rubbed the back of his neck. “You could be really infuriating,” he said with a laugh. “There were times when you genuinely pissed me off. I meant it when I said I wanted to win against you. But also… I don’t know. I never really forgot the first time I saw you.”

“Oh,” you whispered, unsure what you were feeling.

It made your head spin to hear this different version of events. Jimin hadn’t hated you – at least, not in the same way you had. He hadn’t been the one to make the first move after all. You had when you’d decided not to listen to his apology.

“Oh my god,” you groaned, burying your face in your hands.

“Hey – what’s wrong?”

Dropping his spoon to the counter, Jimin came around and stood beside you. Keeping your head down, you refused to look up until Jimin touched your arm.

“I just,” you exhaled, turning to face him. “It was my fault. This entire time, I thought you hated me and that’s why I hated you. But instead, I just decided to hate you – and for what?”

Jimin’s upper lip twitched. “I wasn’t entirely blameless, you know. I was such a little shit at that age. I wouldn’t have believed me, either.”

“You tried to apologize, though!”

“Hey.” Gently, he gripped your elbows. “If it makes you feel any better, I did trip people just to get to the front. I was an ass. It’s why that Jungkook guy hates me. I started dancing later in life, so I was really hung up on proving myself.”

“Yeah, but it wasn’t true,” you told him. “You didn’t trip me on purpose, and if I’d only been less stubborn –”

“Whoa, hey.” Jimin smiled. “You weren’t the only stubborn one. Maybe it started off as a misunderstanding, but I didn’t really fight it. You were my competition as much as I was yours.”

“I guess,” you said quietly. “I just… I feel like I wasted so much time hating you. Maybe we could’ve even been friends.”

His gaze sparked. “Just friends?” he asked with a quirk of his brow.

“Jimin,” you groaned, but started to smile.

“Listen.” Expression softening, Jimin moved closer. “Even if I had decided to explain all this in high school, would you have believed me?”

“Probably not.”

“Exactly. I was a dick back then.” He nodded. “Remember that one time I lied and told you the awards ceremony had been pushed back an hour?”

Sitting up straighter, you glared. “Oh, I remember. I showed up after they’d already taken the photo for Top Junior solos.”

Jimin grinned. “Or the time I put an out of order sign on the women's restroom after your solo at BRAVO, so you had to run all the way across the auditorium?”

“That was you!” you blurted out, wide-eyed. “No one would believe me when I said it was! Every girl was so pissed off at you that weekend.”

“Which is exactly why I could never admit it was me!”

In disbelief, you shook your head. “You did all of that just to get back at me?”

Jimin’s smile disappeared. “Hey, you weren’t innocent either,” he argued. “Remember the time you spilled an entire water bottle next to my bag so that when I sat down, my ass got all wet?”

Devious, you smiled. “Honestly, there was kind of an ulterior motive there. As much as I hated you, your ass looks great in damp sweats.”

Jimin’s jaw dropped a little.

Managing to shut this, he took a casual step forward. “Is that what you thought?” he murmured, barely able to conceal the thickness in his voice.

“I… may have noticed a few things about you.”

When he placed a hand next to you on the counter, your breath hitched in response. Jimin repeated this with his other hand, bringing his body a step closer to yours.

Hesitant, his gaze roamed your face. “What else did you notice?”

“I…” you exhaled and glanced at his lips.

The air between you could have been cut with a knife, heated for a different reason than the stove beside you. Which – eyes widening, you glanced over.

“Shit!” you blurted. “Jimin, the pasta!”

Startled, he looked in the same direction as you and realized the water was boiling. Rushing away, Jimin entered the kitchen and turned down the burner. Now that you were separated by a solid counter, you felt somewhat dazed when you glanced up and saw him.

Meeting your gaze, Jimin came to a stop. “Anyways,” he said softly. “Now, you know. I didn’t trip you on purpose. I never really hated you. And I’m incredibly glad you’re here tonight.”

Watching him speak, something warm bloomed in your chest.

“Me, too,” you whispered.

Smiling, Jimin returned to the pasta and you settled back on the stool. Delicious scents soon filled the kitchen and you realized how truly hungry you were. You hadn’t eaten much at lunch in preparation and by now, you were famished.

It wasn’t long before Jimin placed pasta onto plates, adding the bread you’d cut up on the side. He brought these to his table, disappearing briefly to return with two candles.

“Oo,” you said as you took a seat. “Fancy.”

Jimin lit the one closest to you with a flourish. “We aim to please, here at Park Jimin’s Fine Eating and Dining.”

“Is that the name of your restaurant?”

“It is.”

“And you’re set on that decision?”

“I decided on a whim, but I have no regrets,” Jimin said, taking a seat across from you. “Now, eat before you piss off the chef and he takes back your food.”

Laughing, you dug into the pasta before you. It was delicious and, after the very first bite, you sighed in appreciation. Apparently, Jimin had truly set the bar low. Conversation began to flow, any lingering tension disappeared after talk of your past.

It was the oddest thing. You’d heard stories from friends about other first dates. They worried about how to behave, what to wear, or what to say to their date – but none of these worries seemed to exist for you in the moment. You’d been so concerned before the night began, but now that you were here, all these worries seemed to fly out the window.

You’d thought you’d spend the entire night comparing. Comparing Jimin to your last relationship, comparing Jimin as a date to Jimin as a friend, but instead, it felt like natural progression. It wasn’t a matter of comparing Jimin to anyone else, but rather simply enjoying where the night led.

After dinner, you insisted on helping clean because Jimin had cooked and bought the food. Donning rubber gloves over your dress, you stood at the sink and began to wash dishes. Jimin laughed as he joined, pulling on gloves to dry the dishes beside you. Once this was done, he suggested watching a movie before the ball dropped.

Collapsing onto the sofa, you adjusted your dress and scanned the room. The posters Jimin had bemoaned were now hung over the TV – you wondered if Hoseok had managed to somehow sneak them past his roommates. Small touches here and there made you think of Jimin.

A game he’d mentioned was out on the coffee table and a blanket which smelled like him was draped over a chair. Pulling this towards you, you wrapped it around yourself as Jimin left the kitchen.

Holding two glasses of wine, he paused when he saw you.

“What?” you said, glancing down.

“Nothing.” Jimin cleared his throat. “Are you cold?”

“A little,” you admitted, tugged his blanket closer.

“Shoot.” Jimin frowned. “The heat’s been weird since we moved in. I’m not sure how to fix – oh!” Setting the glasses down, he rushed towards the hall. “Do you want a sweatshirt?” he called.

“Yes, please!”

Jimin reappeared moments later, a navy sweatshirt in hand. Handing this over, he settled beside you on the sofa. He’d ditched his blazer and now, Jimin was dressed in only the paisley shirt and slacks.

Pulling his sweatshirt overhead, you somehow managed to get stuck right away. It was hard not to, with your hair and the dress, trying not to flash him while you kept your legs crossed.

After a moment of watching your undignified struggling, Jimin cleared his throat.

“Need help?”

“Yes, please,” you said weakly.

Jimin laughed, helping you free and once the hoodie was settled, you sighed and leaned back. Glancing sideways at Jimin, you found him already looking at you.

“What do you want to watch?” you asked.

Jimin blinked, then glanced at the TV. “Hm,” he mused, grabbing the remote. “We could watch the ball drop and enjoy the fact that we’re sitting inside, not standing in the freezing cold without any bathrooms.”

“I know!” you said with a shudder. “Out of all the stupid traditions, that’s one I’ll never understand.”

“How do so many people have it on their bucket list?”

“Right? That, and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Zero out of ten. It’s cold, there’s wind and again, there’s the question of bathrooms.”

Jimin laughed as he scrolled through the channels. “Alright, so no to the ball drop. Want to watch a movie?”

“Sure.”

“What movie?”

“Why’re you making me pick?” you whined, sinking deeper into his cushions. “That’s such a large amount of pressure.”

“Exactly, which is why I don’t want to do it.”

You laughed and after some back and forth, decided to watch About Time. This was a movie about obstacles and falling in love, which seemed more than fitting because of the new year. At first, you and Jimin were watching diligently but eventually, he asked a question and conversation slowly drifted from the movie.

At some point, Jimin lowered the volume to focus solely on you. You curled deeper into the couch beside him, your thighs somehow touching and shoulders inches apart. Jimin’s head leaned against the cushion and he continued to smile in a way which made your heart flip.

“Here’s a question,” you murmured, no longer pretending to watch the movie.

His eyes gleamed in the darkness. “What?”

“Why’d you tell Sabrina you only wanted to be friends?”

Briefly, his eyes widened. “How did… you know about that?”

“She told me.”

“Hm.” Jimin gave you a dubious look but moved past it. Sabrina had begun hanging out with your friends as of late. “But alright, I’ll answer. If I do though, you need to answer one of my questions. Deal?”

“Deal.”

“So, I was single when I came to Russet.” Jimin paused. “It was the first time in a long time, and I may have hooked up with a couple of people.”

“Hm,” you said tightly.

His eyes danced with amusement. “Jealous?”

“Answer the question.”

He laughed. “Anyways, I only hooked up with Sabrina the one time. Afterwards…” Jimin sighed. “I felt kind of weird about her asking me to switch partners. Then I overheard what she said about Ari at weigh-ins and just didn’t feel like anything more... Plus, there was the other reason.”

“And what was the other reason?”

“I was starting to like you,” he said, a bit softer. “The day you said you wanted to be friends was a giant weight from my chest. And the more relaxed you were around me, the more… I don’t know. The more I liked you, I guess. My mom has always called me her hopeless romantic,” Jimin said with a smile. “I don’t know about that, but I can be single-minded when I like someone. That was part of the reason I told Sabrina we shouldn’t hook up anymore.”

“Oh,” you whispered.

His smile turned lopsided. “Does that answer your question?”

“Yeah. I guess it does.”

“My turn, then.” Smile disappearing, his gaze darkened. “Why did you really call me that night at the club?”

“Oh. That. Well, I –”

“And don’t say it was because I had a car,” Jimin interrupted. “There were a lot of people you could’ve called to help. You didn’t, though. You called me. Why?”

You hesitated before you realized there was only one answer. “I wanted to see you,” you said honestly. “I was scared, I was alone and… you were the person I wanted to see.”

Jimin’s gaze had become nearly black, the air between you thick with something unsaid. You were suddenly conscious of all each part of your body pressed to his. When Jimin shifted on the couch, you moved somehow closer.

He hesitated, then glanced at your mouth. “I don’t…” Jimin licked his lips, sounding hoarse. “I don’t want to do anything you’re not ready for.”

“You won’t,” you told him.

Something uncertain passed over his face. “Maybe we should take things slow.”

“Or,” you said slowly. “I could tell you things I like about you, instead.”

“And what would be the point of that?”

Your gaze shifted to his. “You’ve told me a lot tonight about how much you like me,” you said softly. “About how long you’ve liked me. I think it’s time I returned the favor.”

Something in his gaze cracked and he nodded. The TV in the background was quiet, only the noise from the street and the whoosh of the heater breaking the silence.

“First,” you said, glancing down at his lap. “You have really nice hands.”

Jimin’s lips twitched. “My hands? I’ve always thought they were small.”

“Wrong. They’re the perfect size. Never have they dropped me.”

“Mm, that’s a good point.”

“And your smile,” you said.

“What about it?”

“I like your smile,” you told him. “It makes me smile.”

His eyes crinkled in demonstration. “Oh, yeah?”

“And your ears.”

Jimin laughed. “My ears?”

Reaching out, you delicately traced over an edge. “I’ve spent a long time looking at your profile, Park. I know what I’m talking about here.”

As your fingers moved lower, feather-light down his jaw, Jimin’s smile disappeared.

“I like your jaw, too,” you told him.

In the darkness, his gaze glinted, and you felt his jaw tense.

“And your lips,” you added, gaze lowering. “I like those a lot.”

“Y/N…” Jimin’s eyes fluttered shut.

“Yeah?”

He slowly exhaled. “I just don’t want you to regret this.”

“Jimin.”

He opened his eyes.

Your expression was serious. “I told you I wouldn’t jump into something before I was ready,” you said, lifting your other hand. “But I’m not in love with Finn anymore. It doesn’t hurt when I think about what happened last semester. I like you, Jimin. I want you. I don’t want to keep pushing you away. I get if you’re unsure about this, though. If you’re unsure about me.”

Jimin’s gaze roamed your face. “Unsure?”

“I know I hurt you before. I shouldn’t have kissed you and ran away. But I promise this isn’t like that. I’m not running away. I’m the furthest thing from running and I –”

Cutting you off, Jimin pressed his lips to yours.

You shuddered a little, leaning into his kiss before he pulled back. Jimin exhaled, barely a breath before he kissed you again.

Noses brushing, lips lingering, the kiss slowly deepened. Your hands curled into his hair, pulling him forward to bask in his warmth. It was dizzying, how different this felt than last time. Last time you’d been heartbroken, desperately yearning each time your lips had touched.

Now, Jimin felt like air, like sunshine as you drowned in his presence. Hand grasping your waist, Jimin moved you closer so your chest nestled to his. Lifting his fingers, his touch skimmed your jaw, your hairline before he circled the nape of your neck.

Drawing away, he bit down on your lip. With a low sort of moan, Jimin sought your lips again. When his mouth opened yours, his tongue swept forward and you nearly combusted.

This was only to tease, though. Only to taste before he pulled away, pressing a chaste kiss to your lips. Thumb skimming your jawline, Jimin tilted your head back to brush a kiss to your throat. Moving higher, he worshiped a slow path up the column of your neck. At your ear, he nipped gently before he returned.

Now, his kisses began to deepen. Mouths opening, your tongues brushed only briefly before he chose to withdraw. You were glad you were kissing on the couch, because suddenly your own legs felt weak underneath you.

Hand re-gripping his waist, Jimin pulled you against him. Eager, your hands found his neck and the blanket dropped to the floor. It wasn’t enough, though – you needed more, wanted to feel him fully beneath you. Rising on your knees, you swung a leg over his lap and settled on top.

Jimin hissed, his head hitting the back of his couch. Your dress had ridden up in the process, exposing your thighs – his thumbs skimmed the surface before he looked up.

“Shit,” Jimin croaked.

Smiling, you bent to kiss him again. Jimin arched upwards, each part of your body electric where you touched. He shifted his hips, granting friction and heat which made you short-circuit. Pressing yourself closer, your thighs sild backwards until they nestled around his waist.

Jimin’s hand found your spine, pulling you closer as his hips pushed upwards. You groaned when you felt him shift underneath you. The kisses grew steadily hotter, this ache in your core increasing with every touch.

“Can I…” Pulling away, Jimin glanced lower. “Can I take off the sweatshirt?”

“Yeah,” you said, a bit dazed.

Jimin didn’t waste time, helping you pull this swiftly overhead. It was tossed on the ground and when your dress was revealed, he inhaled.

Slipping his hands up your bodice, Jimin met your gaze. “I’ve wanted to do this for so long,” he confessed, his voice hoarse.

“Do what?”

Your breath hitched when his hands skimmed your breasts, lingering in all your softest places.

“Touch you,” Jimin said. “It was torture to see you, to look at you and not be able to do this. Not how I wanted, anyways. I’d tell myself not to think about it, but…”

“Jimin.”

He paused and looked up. “Yes?”

“Touch me. Please.”

Without hesitation, Jimin slid his hands lower. Cupping your ass, he pulled you against him and allowed his other hand to drift up your spine. You shivered, closing your eyes as your head tilted back.

His hands slid up your front, over your breasts and under the straps of your dress. Jimin’s thumbs drifted lower, brushing your nipples through the fabric of your bodice. Opening your eyes, you looked down at him and saw his gaze darken.

Reaching higher, Jimin cupped the back of your neck and returned your lips to his.

He kissed you slowly, purposefully as you melted forward. Shifting against him, the kiss began to intensify. Mouths opening, your tongue swept forward in bold strokes against his. Suppressing a whimper, you ground your hips on his lap.

“Is,” you murmured, breaking free. “Is your bedroom unpacked?”

Jimin went still. “I – mostly, yeah.”

“Can I see it?”

“Fuck, yes,” he groaned, releasing your thighs as he stood from the couch.

You laughed, sliding down his front as your feet hit the ground. Tugging your dress down, you followed Jimin when he grabbed your hand. He pulled you down the hall, coming to a stop at the last room on the row. Pushing open the door, he flicked on the light and came to a stop.

Stepping forward, you glanced around Jimin’s room. You recognized some of the items from the two times you’d visited Jimin in the dorms. Photos of his family were carefully hung on the wall and he had the same pillows laid over his queen-sized bed.

Turning around, you took a step backwards and sat on his bed. “It’s nice,” you said, patting the comforter. “I like it here.”

Jimin watched you, his gaze half-lidded from the hall. “I like you here.”

Cheeks heating, you watched him enter and gently shut the door. Leaning back on your elbows, you arched a brow.

“Where’d we leave off?”

Jimin exhaled as he crossed the room. “I think you were on my lap,” he said hoarsely, kneeling beside you.

You nodded, moving to straddle him as he leaned to the wall. Catching your waist with both hands, Jimin pulled you against him, kissing you roughly even before you sat down. Suddenly ravenous, his hands slid to your ass as he rolled you against him. Inhaling sharply, you sucked his lower lip between teeth as he groaned.

Reaching up, Jimin tugged on your hair as you inhaled, throat exposed for him to kiss slowly down your front. When he returned to your lips, you ground your hips impatiently over the bulge in his pants.

Shifting his weight, Jimin’s spine hit the wall. He stared at you, slightly dazed with his kiss-reddened lips. Without looking away, Jimin lifted his fingers and began undoing his shirt. You stilled, watching each inch of skin be revealed. When he reached the last button, you gave in and helped push this aside. Smiling, Jimin sat up as his shirt fell to the floor.

You weren’t sure where to look first. Hands faltering, you slid them up his abs, over his shoulders and down his biceps. He was so perfect, it almost hurt to look at. Jimin’s breath quickened as you touched him and slowly, he lowered you down to the bed.

“Enough,” he said roughly, returning your lips to his.

As you kissed it turned lazy, nothing but grinding and touching. Jimin’s hair was messy beneath the pull of your fingers. He didn’t seem to mind, his own hands digging into the curve of your thigh. Playing with the hem of your dress, he deftly slid upwards.

“Jimin,” you said, breaking free. “Unzip me.”

His gaze darkened. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

Jimin nodded, following suit when you sat up beside him. Turning around, you exposed your back and Jimin began to lower the zipper. He moved slowly, taking his time as his fingers brushed skin. Holding the dress up with your hands, you waited until it was fully unzipped before releasing it to the floor.

Turning around, you found Jimin’s jaw slack.

“You…” He roughly inhaled while he scanned your body. “Lace, Y/N? Really?”

“Do you like it?” you asked.

You may have gone overboard preparing for tonight. Although you hadn’t been sure what would happen, you also hadn’t wanted to be caught off your guard. Tonight, your constant need to plan had come in handy. Beneath your dress you’d worn a crimson lace bra and panties – a matching set which Jimin seemed to like, based on his expression.

“You’re going to kill me,” he muttered, lowering his lips to your neck.

Kissing slowly down your chest, he came to a stop where the two halves joined together. Skimming the length of your torso, his hands trembled a little when he brushed the lace.

Jimin looked up. “I’m sorry I keep touching you,” he murmured. “I just – you’re driving me crazy. You’ve been driving me crazy.”

“You said that before,” you whispered.

“I meant it.”

Kissing again up your body, he lingered in places your skin was exposed. Inhaling, your eyes fluttered shut as you grasped his shoulders.

Jimin’s hand slid between your thighs. “Part them,” he murmured, and you obeyed.

Heart racing, you opened your eyes and watched Jimin drag a finger slowly up the center of your panties. Even you could feel how damp the fabric was, how wet and ready you were for him.

Lifting his finger to his lips, Jimin sucked. “You’re soaking,” he breathed, sounding eager. “So good to me.”

Lowering his head, his tongue flicked your breast. Teasing the nipple through fabric, he urged and he sucked until it was fully erect. Moving onto the next one, Jimin grazed with his teeth until it pressed wantonly into the lace cup of your bra. Moaning his name, you arched against him.

Finding your wrists, Jimin pinned you backwards as he continued. Thighs caging your waist, he kept you hostage with his exquisite torture. The lace of your bra was now drenched, Jimin sucking debauchedly through fabric.

“Jimin,” you groaned, twisting on the sheets. “Please.”

His hips rolled lazily against your center. “Not yet,” he insisted before pulling back. “Not until you make a mess of my sheets. Want to ruin these panties.”

Sliding a hand between your thighs, he lightly circled your entrance. Feeling how wet you were, Jimin softly groaned. Sitting back on his heels, he finally relented and pulled your panties down. Tossing these to the floor, he returned to your thighs and spread your legs.

Lightly, Jimin dragged the pads of his thumbs up and down your panty line. “God, you’re so perfect,” he murmured. “Got my sheets fucking soaked.”

Separating two of his fingers, he slowly dragged his digits up and down your folds. You inhaled, feeling needy while you watched him touch you. Each brush of his fingers had you dripping – teasing over your entrance, he refused to give you exactly what you wanted. Feather-light, Jimin circled your swollen clit with his finger.

Hands gripping the sheets, you could only stare while Jimin brought you closer and closer to the edge. He was barely touching you, but it was the most turned on you’d ever been in your life. Jimin’s thumb swiped over your clit, rubbing you gently as you keened in frustration, arching against him.

He continued like this until you were gasping, begging for more and then – only then – did he slide a finger inside you. Legs trembling, you arched on his mattress and stared at him, glassy-eyed. When Jimin began to move in and out, you lost all control.

Lowering his head, he closed his lips over your clit.

“Oh my god,” you whimpered as you broke apart.

Barely did he suck before you were coming undone, pulsing around his fingers. Shuddering with pleasure, you collapsed on the bed as you rode out your high. Gently, Jimin pulled out his finger and returned to your lips.

Reaching behind you, he undid the clasp of your bra and tossed this on the floor. Once you were fully naked, he pulled you against him. You felt limp, thoroughly sated, but familiar excitement began to stir at his front pressed to yours. Tilting your head, he gently kissed you while your fingers wound in his hair.

Jimin moved slow, letting you take the lead. Your core continued to throb with oversensitivity, although this seemed to lessen the longer you kissed him. Before long, your nipples were hardening as you rubbed against him. Fingers digging into your thigh, Jimin pulled this over his hip to watch you lazily grind.

Realizing he still wore pants, you lowered a hand, determined to fix this. Jimin helped, dragging the zipper down to throw both these and his boxers down on the floor.

He bent to kiss you again, but you placed a hand on his chest. “Wait,” you murmured. “I want to see you.”

Jimin exhaled, leaning back so you could take in his body. If you’d thought his chest was unreal, it was nothing compared to his trim hips, sculpted thighs and cock nestled between.

“Oh,” you said, dragging a hand down his front.

Jimin shuddered a little. He was already hard, his cock thick and pretty with a reddened tip. It made your mouth water to look at, wanting to lick up the shaft. Reaching between you, you closed your fist around him and slowly jerked him off.

You watched in fascination as Jimin responded. His jaw tightened, abs tense while you teased over his frenulum. His cock responded instinctively, hardening further the longer you touched him.

After a few minutes of this, Jimin shook his head. “No more,” he said huskily, taking your hand in his. “I’ll come if you keep doing that.”

“Oh?” you murmured, gaze darting lower.

He chuckled, a rough sound in his throat. “I like watching you come,” Jimin confessed, his cock hard between you. “It turns me on. I’m… still trying to recover from your last orgasm.”

“Oh,” you said, in a completely different way.

Jimin exhaled, hair falling forward. “I hope that doesn’t weird you out.”

“Does it… weird me out that you like giving orgasms?”

“Well, when you put it like that.”

“How else would I put it?”

His grin became devious. “You could ask for another.”

Breathless, you nodded and Jimin’s gaze darkened.

He descended your body, not wasting any time as he positioned himself between your legs. Licking slow up your center, you gasped and instinctively drew your legs higher. Jimin didn’t bother easing you into it. No, now he ate you out like he wanted to.

Kissing your folds, he returned to your clit and sucked this into his mouth. Rolling the sensitive bud with his tongue, he teased and released before you knew what was happening. He continued to do this, spreading you underneath him and bringing you close to coming, only to pull back and leave you maddeningly empty.

Spreading your folds, he began licking sweetly over your clit. This was followed by loose, lazy sucking and more tender flicks. You stared dazedly at him between your legs, the sight more erotic than anything you could’ve imagined.

Grinding his cock into the sheets, Jimin thrust his hips while he pleasured you. You could tell he enjoyed this; each grunt from his lips was more affirmation. Moving lower, he circled your cunt with his tongue just to lap up your juices. You gasped at the sensation, having never felt it before. Flicking your clit with his thumb, Jimin fucked your cunt with his tongue before he slowly withdrew.

Spreading you wide, he returned to your clit and you clasped a hand over your lips before a moan could escape. Each curl of his tongue left you gasping, writhing beneath the pleasurable onslaught of his mouth. Pulling away, Jimin pressed a gentle kiss to your thigh before he rose up your body.

At your mouth, he kissed your fingers. “You don’t have to be quiet,” he told you. “I want to hear the noises you make, Y/N. It makes me feel good.”

Removing your hand, you slowly nodded.

Jimin just grinned, dropping between your legs to begin eating you out again. This time, you didn’t hold back. Jimin seemed to appreciate this as you slipped further from control. He was so good with his mouth, making you see stars as your legs started to shudder. When he slid his finger inside you and fingered you again, your hands fisted in the sheets.

“Ji-jimin,” you gasped, writhing beneath him. “Jimin, I – oh.”

He began to move faster, adding a second finger as your insides clenched around him. Everything tightened, hovering at a breaking point while Jimin continued, relentless. His mouth on your clit, his fingers inside you – everything broke apart when you came, gasping his name.

Jimin didn’t move, kissing your sex as you slowly came down. He lapped at your sex, licking up your arousal before withdrawing his fingers. Once your breathing had steadied, Jimin returned to the sheets beside you.

“Good?” he breathed, draping an arm over your waist.

“Oh my god, yes,” you exhaled, burying your face in his chest.

He laughed, pulling you closer. Jimin started to pull away, which made you look up and frown.

“What are you doing?” you said.

He paused. “I’m looking for a tissue.”

“Why?”

“I… I’m kind of at a loss here.”

“No, I mean why now,” you said, baffled. “I can come again, Jimin. I want to come with you inside me.”

Jimin stared at you a moment.

“Unless…” Uncertain, you hesitated. “You don’t want to…?”

“Fuck,” Jimin muttered, sounding hoarse. “No – I want to. I really want to. Are you sure, though?” he said, reaching to open the side drawer of his bed.

You grinned when he pulled out a condom, ripping this open.

“I’m sure,” you murmured, moving closer.

Jimin rolled the condom onto himself, pausing before he went any further. Shifting his weight so he hovered over you, Jimin searched your gaze. Reaching lower, you casually stroked his cock and guided him to your center.

He didn’t enter yet, content to take his time. Instead, Jimin bent and kissed you, dragging a hand down your side. His fingers paused at your breast, tweaking your nipple until it stood fully erect. Moving to your waist, he curved under your ass and lifted your hips to his.

Arching upwards, you felt his cock brush your center. The touch made you pant, wanting him inside you and wanting it now. Rolling over his length, you marveled at the feel of him between your legs. Having him so close and not having him inside you was maddening.

“Jimin,” you whimpered.

“Yeah?” he murmured, continuing to thrust between your thighs.

“Please,” you begged him.

“Alright, baby,” he said and rolled you onto your back.

It was the first time he’d used the endearment, sending a wave of warmth through you as your legs parted. Reaching lower, Jimin positioned himself at your entrance. It took him a moment to work his way in; you were so wet, he needed a second try. With only his tip inside, you immediately clenched and buried your head in his shoulder.

Lightly, Jimin brushed a kiss to your hair. “Relax, baby,” he murmured, making you glance up. “I’ll make you feel good. I promise.”

Slowly, you nodded. “Okay.”

Laying slowly back down, you tried to relax while he worked his way deeper. With slow, shallow thrusts, Jimin finally bottomed out and you stared at him in amazement. His cock was thicker than you were used to and stuffed to the brim like this, you felt so full. Glancing down, you saw his hips nestled snugly to yours.

When you looked up, Jimin met your gaze. “I’m sorry,” he exhaled, hanging his head. “I just – I need a minute.”

“What’s wrong?” you blurted, immediately worried.

A smile passed over his lips. “Nothing’s wrong.” He looked up. “You’re just… fuck. I feel like a damn virgin. You’re so tight and wet, I’m losing my mind.”

Hearing him say this sent a shiver through you. Shifting your hips, you reveled in the sensation of him moving inside you.

Jimin groaned. “No,” he protested. “You can’t do that right now.”

“Do what?”

“Try and make me move,” he murmured. “I know you can’t see yourself, so you can’t see how hot you look. Tits out, pussy spread and dripping all over my cock.”

“Oh,” you breathed.

“Sounding like that.”

“Jimin. If you don’t –”

He suddenly thrust deeper, grinding his pelvis against your core and making you groan. Speechless, you stared as he slowly pulled out. Jimin teased you with his tip, moving a few inches back in before he thrust again.

“Oh,” you groaned, jolted upwards on the bed.

His gaze dropped to your chest. “Fuck,” Jimin said quietly, dropping down to an elbow.

He moved again in earnest, thrusting slowly in and pulling back out. It made your breath catch, needing more but loving the torture. It was torture to feel every inch of him and have Jimin continue to hold back. You knew he could go faster, deeper, but wanted to stay in control.

Dropping his head, Jimin slowly kissed your neck. His cock continued to move, fucking you slowly as your legs opened wider.

“Jimin,” you whimpered.

Your hips chased after his, hoping to coerce him deeper.

He smirked. “Yes, baby?”

“Please,” you said, arching against him. “I want more.”

“You want it harder?”

As he said this, Jimin increased his strength. Keeping the tempo the same, each thrust of his cock had your lips parting with pleasure.

“Yes,” you whimpered, barely hanging on.

“And faster? You want that, too?”

You nodded, slack-jawed as Jimin sped up the pace. His cock began to pound into you, hand fisting in sheets as he gave it to you hard. Arching underneath him, your hands dragged down his back as Jimin fully let go. With each thrust of his hips, his pelvis brushed your clit and yet, it still wasn’t enough.

“More?” he teased, continuing to fuck you.

“More,” you whimpered, sliding your hands up your breasts. Tweaking the nipples, you watched his gaze harden. “I want more, Jimin.”

He immediately moved, as though he’d been waiting for this. Grasping your ankles in one hand, he lifted them high overhead and pulled his cock out. You gasped when he did so, your hands falling to the side while you were put on display. The position pushed your pussy lips together, giving an incredible view of your dripping cunt.

Jimin plunged his cock back inside, nearly making you scream. It felt so deep this way – so deep and hard and deliciously wanton. Jimin fucked you from above, hips slamming into you and making your breasts bounce.

Jimin groaned, his hips never faltering. “Touch them,” he said, lowering your ankles to one shoulder. “Touch your tits for me, baby.”

You obeyed, hands sliding over your breasts to tease your nipples. This sent a shock of pleasure straight to your core and Jimin hammered your g-spot, making you see stars. Jaw slack, you could only lie there and take it while he made you come.

It was too much, the wave of pleasure threatening to overwhelm, but then Jimin leaned forward and you finally snapped. You felt him release into the condom as you fell apart, rope after rope of hot cum inside you.

Eventually, Jimin softened and fell onto his elbow. As he opened his eyes, he sought your gaze and you smiled. His cheeks were flushed, his hair dark and sweaty and you couldn’t help the deep surge of affection within you.

“I don’t know about you,” he murmured. “But that was pretty fucking incredible.”

“Same here,” you whispered. “I’d like to do it again sometime.”

“Three orgasms weren’t enough?”

“Were they enough for you?”

“No.” Jimin laughed. “I could watch you come all night. But we should probably get you cleaned up and all that.”

“Probably,” you agreed, although you made no effort to move.

Eventually Jimin sighed and gently pulled out. Tossing his condom in the trash, he showed you to the bathroom and let you do what you needed to do. When you returned, Jimin was on top of his bed. He’d put back on his boxers and held out his sweatshirt.

“I thought you might want this,” he said, uncertain.

Smiling, you took it and lowered it over your head. Climbing beside him on the bed, you rested your head on his shoulder and cuddled beside him. Listening to his breathing, you concentrated until yours started to match.

Outside, cheers erupted from the street. Scrambling upwards, you fought to look out Jimin’s side window. As you hurried to see what the commotion was about, Jimin groaned when you flashed him your bare ass, but followed suit.

Glancing outside, you realized it must have turned midnight. Fireworks went off over the skyline, people cheered below, and someone had lit a sparkler on the street. Voices drifted higher, wishing each other a happy new year as slowly, you turned around to face Jimin.

He smiled at you, his happiness clear when he pulled you to him. A dizzying rush of what-if’s and excitement went through you and somehow, you knew this would be only the beginning.

“Happy new year,” he murmured.

“Happy new year,” you whispered, tilting your face up to his.

Author’s Note: Thank you so much for reading this series 😊 It’s been a whirlwind, so thank you for sticking with our main characters throughout the journey! I hope you enjoyed and are having a wonderful holiday season :) happy (almost) new year!

RAISE THE BARRE MASTERLIST 

© kpopfanfictrash, 2020. Do not copy or repost without permission.

[alisoncooper]

42 Distracting kisses from someone that are meant to stop the other person from finishing their work, and give them kisses instead.

The hours kept passing in their rigid, monotonous way, as was its nature - dragging its nails down the plasterboard of the office, so the emptiness echoed through the chamber and made Adam feel as restless as a child listening to the uncomfortable squeak of chalk in a classroom.

Truthfully, he could've left hours ago. Nothing was physically stopping him from going now, even. He could pick up a few beers on his way home, pop into that Chinese takeaway on the corner that has the fishbowl full of chewy mints on the counter, and enjoy the precious few hours of the Bank Holiday that remained.

But when he tapped his polished shoes against the thin carpet and looked up from his phone towards the muffled cursing coming from behind Fergus' closed glass door, he resigned himself to staying a bit longer. After all, Chinese, beers, and shit TV were more fun in the company of someone who...well. Someone he didn't hate.

The corner of Adam's mouth turned up for a split second before it fell again as he watched Fergus clutch his auburn hair between his fingers, his face cast down at his desk. When was the last time Fergus had gotten up from that chair? Or made himself a fresh coffee? Or had gone for a piss, for that matter?

Maybe Adam ought to do something about that? Not the piss thing, but the too-busy-working-to-actually-take-a-break thing. And he had a plan that he knew worked at least eighty-seven per cent of the time.

After making a fresh coffee, Adam pushed on the door handle without knocking, his presence barely making Fergus draw his eyes from the paperwork littering his desk. He grunted his hello as Adam placed the fresh cup beside him.

"How's it going?" Adam asked, knowing the answer already. "IT not managed to fix the system yet?"

"No, they're about as useful to me as a strap-on is to a nun," Fergus grumbled, suppressing a yawn and rubbing his forehead.

Adam grinned as he stepped up behind Fergus and pressed his hands to his shoulders. "I bet nuns could do a lot with a strap-on," he pretended to ponder, dropping a kiss to Fergus' crown. "Most of them are dirty fuckers anyway."

But Fergus didn't answer beyond a sigh, a reshuffling of his papers, and a cry of, "seriously, how fucking long does it take to fix a fucking network outage?!"

"Relax," Adam said with a shrug, pressing his face against Fergus' hair. "This shit will all be here tomorrow. Fuck it off for tonight, and let's get out of this hell-hole and get a Chinese."

"I'm a bloody minister, Adam," Fergus said through his teeth, "I can't just fuck work off whenever I like."

Pressing a carefully placed kiss on Fergus' temple, he shrugged again. "Of course you can. Mannion does it. What's the point of being a minister if you can't just fuck things off from time to time?"

"Well, thankfully, I'm not Mannion, am I?" he pointed out, noticing how his shoulders were beginning to unwind under Adam's firm touch. "Go home, Adam. I'll catch up with you later."

"No, it's okay...just stop for half an hour, yeah? Relax."

"I won't be able to relax if I leave it. I would've finished fucking hours ago if IT got off their fat fucking arses and actually did something around here."

Adam nodded solemnly and pressed another warm kiss to Fergus' temple, lingering there for a second before sliding his arms over his chest and pressing his hands to Fergus' sternum. Even through their layers of starched clothing, Adam could feel the steady beat of Fergus' heart. "Maybe they'll have fixed it by the time we get back?"

"I doubt it," Fergus sighed hopelessly, turning his head towards Adam. "I'm sorry it's another wasted Bank Holiday."

"It's not totally wasted," he answered, dipping his face lower to kiss Fergus' jaw beneath his ear, smiling as Fergus shifted slightly in his rickety chair. He kissed there again, not giving his boss a chance to shake him off.

Striking through a paragraph with his Parker, Fergus muttered, "I know what you're doing, and it's not going to work."

"I'm not doing anything," Adam said.

"You're trying to distract me, but the longer you try to do that, the longer I'm going to be here."

"Well, if you won't take a break, at least kiss me back, and I'll leave you alone," countered Adam slyly.

Fergus shook his head, doing his best not to smile. He was a serious politician with serious work to do, and he did not get distracted by trifling affections. He just didn't.

"I haven't got time to play games, Adam," he insisted. "Get out before I staple your fucking lips together."

Naturally, Adam didn't listen. Instead, he decided to pepper several kisses over Fergus' jaw and neck, travelling down to his shoulder.

"Fucking knock it off!"

"It's for your own good," he quipped, leaning away from Fergus to turn his chair, so they were facing one another. Now he could see just how rose-tinted Fergus' face had become, but whether it was from frustration or fluster, he couldn't be entirely sure. "As your adviser, I advise you to take a break or give me one kiss to leave you alone."

Fergus narrowed his eyes and wrapped his fingers tighter around his pen, regarding the glint in Adam's eye with suspicion. "You promise you'll leave if I kiss you?"

"That's what I said."

Feigning great reluctance, Fergus leaned forward, kissing Adam with a sincere softness that said, "thank you for trying. Thank you for staying. Thank you for caring about me like this. I'm sorry I've ruined another day off. I love you. I love you."

Adam cupped Fergus' cheek, running his thumber over his cheekbone like Fergus was made of fine porcelain, sighing peacefully into his mouth.

Maybe it was Adam's surprisingly calming influence, perhaps it was exhaustion catching up with him, or maybe it was the promise of a warm evening cuddled on the sofa with food that would make him feel shit tomorrow, but Fergus pulled away with a blissful smile - his IT troubles far behind him.

"Alright," he said gently. "I'll fuck this off for today-" he gestured to his desk -"but you're paying for the Chinese, and I want to watch BBC Parliament."

Adam rolled his eyes with a groan, unable to hide his smile. "Actually, maybe you should stay here after all."

"Sorry, but your distraction technique was just too great," Fergus said solemnly, pulling Adam to him by his burgundy tie.

[stydiaeverafter]

Will you be my Valentine?

Summary: Everyone knows that Evan Buckley is not a fan of Valentine's Day, but with the help of his buddy Christopher, Buck has a change of heart.

A/N: Happy Valentine's Day to all the Buddie fans out there! This fluffy fic is for all of you. ♥

Read on ao3

***

It had been an ordinary day; nothing special, nothing unique as the team sat upstairs watching TV on a day that might've been a holiday. The one that Hallmark makes bank from. Yeah, Valentine's Day. Again, nothing special. And no, Buck wasn't bitter about it.

He had recently tried to get back in the field, the dating field, and it had been explosive...not in a good way. The kind where someone screamed, "Bomb!" and you went running in the other direction.

Not good.

Buck had recollected for days why on earth it had been such a disaster. The date itself hadn't gone poorly, but he realized he hadn't been ready. Dealing with himself and family drama was one thing, but his heart had felt icy.

However, as he saw Eddie walk into the room, he knew that wasn't exactly true, especially when Buck felt like he was melting.

See, this man had become the axis to every point on Buck’s scattered map of a life.

Buck wanted to ignore the feelings knowing damn well his best friend would never see him in that light, but the emotions were something he could never entirely ignore. The truth of the matter was this: Buck had had these feelings for Eddie Diaz for as long as he could remember, and it took almost dying in the building, talking to his therapist, a comment by firefighter TK, and going on a date for them to surface to realization.

What was a single, not so straight, firefighter to do in this situation?

Instead of figuring out that million-dollar question, he shot a shit-eating grin towards the guy, unable to control it even if he had wanted to, "Hey there, Eddie, you sure look chipper today."

"Well, of course," Eddie replied as he fixed his suspenders, not that Buck was looking, "it's Valentine's Day!"

Buck's eyes narrowed, "Since when did you become such a fan of this gruesome holiday?"

Hen glared at Buck and then smiled at Eddie, "Ooo! Are things going that well with Ana?"

Great. The question Buck really didn't want to have asked by the guy. Could they just not go there? Because honestly, that was another reason Buck had decided to go on a damn date in the first place.

After he had found out Eddie had felt a spark or whatever Chimney had told him after their encounter with Christopher's former teacher, Eddie had asked her out. Not that Buck had been jealous or anything, but he had decided maybe he too should get out and see what fishies were still swimming in the waters, even during a pandemic.

It had nothing to do with jealousy. Not in the slightest.

Buck realized while being lost in his thoughts that he hadn't heard Eddie's reply. Buck looked up at that ruggedly handsome man and waited for the response that would probably slice him into tiny pieces.

Eddie cleared his throat, "Um no. That didn't work out." When Hen and Chimney started to say, "aww..." Eddie shook his head, "No, no, it's fine. Truly. Miss Flores is a wonderful woman, just not the one for me." Buck's heart started fluttering in his chest, and was he mistaken in noticing that Eddie looked right towards him when he had said, not the one for me?

Was this Buck's hopeful heart playing games with him? Cue the Backstreet Boys: Quit Playing Games with my Heart.

"So then enlighten us, firefighter Diaz, why so cheerful on this day?" Chimney asked. "I mean, I have a wonderful love of my life and a baby on the way, but you don't see me jumping for joy because it's Valentine's Day."

"Which is a surprise," Hen replied, raising an eyebrow. "What's wrong with you, Chim?"

"Nothing! I just think this holiday is a corporate holiday that makes singles feel bad about themselves. Then the chocolate and card company make a fortune," Chimney responded, rubbing his head, "I believe love, true love, should be shown for 365 days."

Hen patted his back, "You're a good one, my friend. I'll give you that. Maddie is lucky to have you."

"Karen, too," Chimney said with a smile, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Okay, as much as I love what's happening with this bromance here, can we get back to the matter at hands, aka Eddie, and why he's so cheerful on this most hollow of days?" Buck exclaimed, rolling his eyes.

"Yes, yes," Chimney acknowledged, "do carry on, Edmundo."

"Right," Eddie smirked, "Well, Christopher wanted it to be a surprise, but he made each of you a special Valentine last night. He got so creative. Our house looked like what I can only imagine the inside of Hallmark cards to look." He shook his head, smiling again, "Chris has been working hard on handwriting, building that strength in his hand and all. So he's bringing them by soon."

Buck's heart filled with so much joy he stood up quickly, "Seriously? Why didn't you say so sooner? Oh, my little buddy! That's too sweet."

"Yeah, so he should be around soon," Eddie looked around and frowned. "However, it's not decorated around here. Usually, Cap' goes all out."

Hen just shrugged sheepishly, "He and Athena took a few days off to be all lovey-dovey with each other."

"Okay, okay," Buck said, pretending to gag, "that's like my father you're talking about—let's not get into the details about their love life."

"I'm just saying that Cap' is usually the one who organizes the decorations," Hen replied, waving her hands. "You've seen how he goes all out for other holidays."

"Well, all I know is that Chris will be mildly disappointed when he sees it," Eddie sighed. "I'm going to run out and get some balloons and maybe some desserts real quick."

"I'll go with you," Buck instantly said. When all eyes went on him, he just smiled, "What, I can adapt to the holiday, okay?" They all knew he hated Valentine's Day, so Buck just laughed. "Well, if it's for my favorite little buddy, I can adapt. How about that?"

Everyone joined in, and Eddie nodded, giving Buck one of those rare smiles of his, "C'mon then, Buck. Let's try our best, but probably sad attempt, to make it lovey-dovey in here."

With Eddie smiling at him that way, that wouldn't be too hard to manage.

***

After two bags of decorations, treats, and an armful of heart balloons, Buck and Eddie made their way back to the station. They were laughing about this-and-that, as they always did, but Buck could feel the air around them changing. But perhaps Buck was the one who had changed, not them.  

As Eddie drove, Buck couldn't help but look at his best friend's beautiful features; it took his breath away, not for the first time, nor would it be the last.

"So, I'm sorry it didn't work out with the teacher," Buck said, unable to stop the words from coming out of his mouth.

"What do you have to be sorry about?"

"Isn't that what people say when something goes wrong?" Buck shrugged, feeling slightly stupid.

"Nah, man, it's cool. Nothing went wrong," Eddie looked over at Buck. "But like I said back at the 118, she wasn't the one."

Buck took a deep breath, "I just know you felt a spark for her and all..." Why was he pushing this further? Did he want to stab his own heart?

"Yeah, I think I was mistaken about who I was feeling that spark for..."

Eddie was smiling at him and then looked back at the road.

Okay, was this all in Buck's mind, or was Eddie talking about him?

"Besides, I heard your date didn't go too well," Eddie smirked as he gripped the wheel. "So should I be saying sorry?"

"You could say that, but nah, I'm not sorry about it," Buck replied, rolling his eyes. "Guess I'm not ready to get back out there. Not in the way I used to be." Because now all he wanted was his best friend—he was ready for that, Buck knew it. Eddie was different. He wasn't like anyone else. In some ways, in most, Eddie was Buck's other half. And as cheesy as it sounded, he completed Buck.

"Oh." The way Eddie had said the word turned Buck's head in his direction. Eddie looked slightly disappointed. "Well," Eddie added, clearing his throat, "you need to do what's best for you."

You're what's best for me, Buck thought, wanting to scream from the rooftops. After all, Buck had promised his therapist he wouldn't hide his feelings away, and the last thing he wanted to do was hide from Eddie. Still, fear of ruining their relationship held him back.

The outcome was like a box of chocolates, and to quote Forrest Gump, "You never know what you're gonna get."

***

After some decorating by the 118, Carla and Christopher finally made their way to the station.

Buck, luckily being in the Diaz family bubble, was able to give Chris a big hug. "Hey, buddy!"

"Happy Valentine's Day, Buck!" Chris said with a wide grin full of braces. Buck still couldn't believe how big the kid had gotten; he wanted to slow time down. "It looks perfect in here!"

"Very beautiful and festive," Carla said, blowing a kiss towards Buck and the others. "You all did well!"

Eddie smiled at Buck and nodded in appreciation.

"Looks a bit like a Pepto Bismo explosion," Chimney muttered, which brought laughter all around.

"You know you love it," Buck said as he put an arm around Chimney.

Chimney grinned, "You're right. I do. Just don't tell Maddie."

"The secret is safe with me." Chimney's eyes widened at the word secret, "Relax, Chim. No more secrets for you to keep." His friend blew out the breath he had been holding.

"Anyway," Eddie said, with a shake of his head, "Chris, why don't you show them why you came down here."

"Okay, dad," Christopher said, reaching into a large decorated Valentine's bag. "I brought you each a special Valentine." As everyone said a collective, "Awee," in response, Christopher looked pleased, which was all they wanted in the first place.

Christopher made his way to each person. Buck was last. Everyone was now talking and eating treats, so Buck took Christopher over to where it was a bit quieter.

"You're last because you're my favorite," Chris said, warming Buck's heart up, not for the first time.

"You're my favorite, too, buddy. Thank you!"

"Here's your Valentine," the little boy said, handing Buck a big pink, purple, and blue, wobbly-shaped heart. It was perfect.

Buck kneeled and opened it up and read, "To my Buck. I love you so much. You're my best friend in the whole wide world. Happy Valentine's Day! Love, Christopher."

This message meant the world to Buck, more than the kid would ever understand. Blinking away tears, Buck smiled, "Thank you, Christopher. I love it, and you." He looked down at the picture. "Tell me who's in the drawing here."

"Oh, that's you, me, and daddy, of course." He looked up and grinned at Buck, "My family."

In the drawing, they were all holding hands with a giant colorful heart above them. This drawing touched Buck in another way. They were his family, too—the one he had created. After all the crap with Buck's own family recently, this was the family that mattered. They were more real to him than his biological family would ever be.

There was also the fact he was in love with his best friend, but he would save those thoughts for himself. But his heart would always remain theirs and theirs alone, just like the picture captured.

"This means so much to me, Chris. Thank you."

"One more for you," the little boy added, reaching into his bag.

"Oh? From who?"

"From dad, even though it's a secret."

Buck's eyes widened as Christopher handed him another Valentine.

"Dad was showing me how to cut out the hearts, and then I told him he should make one," Christopher said. "He had already given me my Valentine, so I told him to make it for someone else that he loves, someone who's very special to him. So he made it for you."

Buck swallowed, and his hands began trembling as he held it. "Does he know you're giving it to me?"

Christopher shook his head, "Nope! But Valentine's is a time to spread love, so that's what I'm doing." He looked over at the celebration, "Why you look at it, I'm going to join the party, okay?"

"Ah, yeah," Buck said, lost in thought. "Go for it, kid! I can see a cupcake that's calling your name!"  

As Christopher hurried over to the sweets, Buck sat there by himself, looking at the heart in his hand. Finally, he opened the Valentine, and with a deep breath, Buck read:

Dear Buck,

Happy Valentine's Day! I know you don't care for this holiday any more than I do, but I'm sitting here with Chris while he makes his Valentine's and he told me to write it to someone special in my life. Well, you're someone special, you always have been. I wanted to say thank you for all that you do for us. You're not just my best friend; you're so much more. You are our family. We love you. Also, thank you for being an anchor in my life and never, ever giving up. I admire you more than you'll ever know.

With love always,

Eddie

Buck didn't realize he was crying until he saw a droplet fall onto the Valentine. In one hand, he had Christopher's card, and in the other, Eddie's. Both their hearts in his two hands.

Quickly wiping his eyes, Buck stood up and looked over at his best friend and the focal point of his life.  

Eddie was holding Christopher, and his son was smashing a cupcake into his face. Everyone was laughing and clapping, clearly enjoying the moment. Buck couldn't help but smile, too.

And right when Buck felt that immense love for the guy, Eddie glanced over at him and beamed. It was the smile that took your breath away.

Eddie took his breath away, always, and Buck wouldn't have it any other way.

***

Buck didn't know what he was doing, but hours upon hours staring at Eddie's Valentine brought him to the Diaz doorstep.

Before his nerves took him running in the other direction, Buck knocked lightly on the door.

Eddie opened the door wearing a green hoodie and black workout pants, his hair wet and tousled. He looked so beautiful that Buck's brain went on overload, short-circuiting out completely.

"Hey Buck, I wasn't expecting you tonight," Eddie said in surprise but still looking happy.

"Yeah, sorry, it's kinda late. I just wanted to say thank you for the Valentine."

Eddie frowned slightly, "What Valentine?" Buck held up the paper heart that Christopher had given him, and Eddie's eyes widened, "Oh, that one. Chris gave it to you?"

"He sure did," Buck said, and trying to lighten the mood, "I'm guessing you were waiting for that perfect opportunity to give it to me?"

Eddie smiled softly, "Well, yeah..."

"Who knew you felt this way for me?" Buck smirked, but he felt his heartbeat quicken in his chest when Eddie didn't add anything further. He swallowed before asking, aka jumping off the ledge, "Do you feel this way for me?"

Biting his lip, Eddie said, "Remember how I said I felt a spark, but it wasn't for Ana?"

Yes, Buck remembered; he couldn't get the thought off his mind. "Yes."

"Well, I realized the spark I felt was for someone else," Eddie breathed out in a whisper. He then looked up to meet Buck's gaze, "You."  

"You feel it with me?"

Eddie nodded, "Yeah, Buck, I do, every day." He ran a hand through his hair nervously, "I've known it for a while, I just didn't realize I was ready to move forward. However, a talk with Bobby helped me a lot. But then I also didn't think you were ready to date, let alone with a guy...me, so I tried with someone else, and it went exactly as I thought it would, nowhere."

Buck took a step closer on the porch towards Eddie, "Well, I'm not ready to date just anybody. But you're not anybody, Eddie."

"So...you feel the same?"

Nodding with a smile, Buck said, "Yes, I do." Then he admitted the truth, "I got jealous when you went on a date with Miss Flores, and I didn't understand why. It pushed me to try and date some random, but the whole time I wanted to be with you."

"I wish you would've told me that—I would have never agreed on a date with her."

Buck trembled, "I'm working on not hiding my feelings, but this is huge. I mean, how do you tell your best friend you're in love with him?" The declaration had come before even Buck had realized.

"You're in love with me?"

"I am, yes."

"Am I the first guy you've..."

"Felt this towards?" Buck asked. Eddie nodded. "Yes, that would be a yes. I didn't even realize...."

"That's okay, Buck, it's more than okay," Eddie smiled reassuringly, taking Buck's hands into his own, supporting him. "I realized it too, with you. You helped me through an awakening of my own, and I don't want to look back."

Buck felt as if he were floating, "Really?"

"Yes, Evan. I'm in love with you, too."

"So, where do we go from here?" Buck asked, holding on tightly to Eddie's hands, never wanting to let go.

"How about we start with the obvious," Eddie responded, gazing into Buck's eyes. "Evan Buckley, will you be my Valentine?"

Buck laughed, but his heart felt warm and light, "Yes, Eddie Diaz, I'll be your Valentine."

And as they sealed the first moments of their future together with a kiss, Buck realized Valentine's Day wasn't so bad after all.

[nightswithkookmin]

Hi Goldy! I am curious about your take on how Jikook are edited in the behind the scenes clips since October (such as the ones for the Life Goes on music video, ABC Holiday Dynamite, and the Japan one (search on youtube for BTS japan shoot || behind the scene of Japan)). Do you think Jikook are interacting less, being just friends, being more professional, or is BigHit editing their interactions out? It just seems so different from the ones before Oct (FILA, Dynamite MV, Season's Greetings 2021)

Huh???😲😲😲

BigHit is doing what what now?😥

Do you mean that as a fact or theory?🤔

Why though?👀 They are not Tae Kook? 😥

There's Bangtan video of Jimin with his third leg dangling loose in the air somewhere on the internet, I don't think BigHit is that savvy.

Lmho. I mean I see what you mean but they are editors and cutting is what they do for a living. But this is Jikook sis. I don't see BigHit's incentive for 'cutting' Jikook's moments and you shouldn't assume that-

Unless...

You don't think Jikook's been groping eachother homoerotically on set lately have you? Cos, chile I'll believe that! I don't trust Jikook anywhere near eachother's vicinity and personal space.

I've seen enough to traumatize the devil himself. Chilee. Lol.

Bighit, in recent times, mostly tend to cut scenes and moments if they are a bit risqué. Like JK shoving his butt in Jimin's groin face, sliding his hands down Tae's chest...

Often times too they cut moments if its redundant. If a part of a scene is already in the main content they don't bother showing it in the behind scenes. From my observation.

When an interaction is awkward they skip it too, I feel. I mean I am still waiting to see JK touching all over Jimin and feeling him up in Run 106- honey, I'll pay to watch that shit with my kidneys. Lol.

Often too they save some scenes for memories or some other shit that they use all those pent up footages for. Lol.

BigHit is a business, they produce content that per their research and analytics garners more engagement, audience retention and a whole other metrics. They put a lot of creativity into what they do as creatives and artists- I mean if the baby noises is anything to go by. Those bites are tired!

But often times too, they're tired and they're lazy, and they just put anything together and toss it out there without giving it much thought- isn't that how they leave Jin or Tae out of packages, how certain Jikook moments that should have never made it into screen time ended up in screen time- how JM's third leg made it to the internet? They should have cut that shit before uploading it with those subtitles and yet here we are.

I think people give BigHit too much credit- talking about JK shouldn't gay panic and run away from certain moments with JM if he knows BigHit editors are going to cut those moments.... JM's dixk begs to differ. Chilee, Jimin you should have just worn pants. Can't trust these phony ass editors my guy.

The editing is really not a big deal. Not to me. But I love your question anyway. Especially the bits about what's different about Jikook and the content BigHit has been putting out since October.

Well something sure did go down in October, I don't care what anybody says.

I keep saying BigHit banks on the bond and intimacy of the boys, and the boys are more than happy to showcase their bond for the cameras just as Tae said and confirmed in a recent interview- Tuktukkers y'all did an Oopsie on the whole Taekook don't like to show their bond on cameras! Lol

Tae said it himself not me- he lives to showcase his bond with the other members. *where is my skull head emoji. Lmho.

I think what has changed since JM's birthday in October to now, to me where BigHit is concerned, is the general marketing strategy of the company.

It seems to me the company is adopting a marketing module opposite of the strategy they had been using before the pandemic. I think I've talked about this though...

Hate to say I said it, but I said it. Lol.

They are limiting access to the boys to drive sales as and when. BTS dominates the internet and have amassed greater reach and attention partly due to the free content they put out on the internet. But those were never monitised- not in a direct or significant way.

In the wake of the virus, they've had to monetize their online presence. A single tweet from their Twitter account is a phone brand promotion as I pointed out in past posts. There's been an increase in their sponsorship collaborations, in Soop and many of the content they've put up this year. They even turned on ads on their YT channels it seems.

Like I've been saying, this situation is global and novel, they are going to experiment with means and methods till they find that sweet spot and that is what I feel we are experiencing- amongst other things.

Unfortunately for us, our access to Jikook is gonna take a hit like I said before because the numbers are in their favor. I mean go to their YouTube page and see the metrics for yourself.

Jikook's holiday remix pulls way ahead of their counterparts. If their going to monetize any ship brand in BTS it's Jikooks. Trust. But that doesn't mean any ship in BTS is spared.

Someone asked me a while back, when I talked about this, whether all these changes the company was going through was going to affect the way Jikook interact on camera and I couldn't answer that with conviction then.

But I mean we are seeing a subtle, if not drastic change in the way Jikook interact with eachother and with their glass closet.

What that means for us, I think, is the company is going to choose when and where to show us content and certain interactions but that doesn't mean Jikook aren't interacting- know what I mean? I mean they have them. The juicy moments that's gonna make us slap our mamas. BigHit has it all. They are just gonna save it for as and when based on their marketing strategy, if you know what I mean.

I mean we all saw that blackswan performance, we all saw the holiday remix performance etc.

And you are right about the less interactions post October and I've shared my thoughts on it so I won't go into it. But I will state again that they are not broken up either, not to me. Lol.

I think we need to examine what interacting less means. To me, I consider Jikook interacting less if they have an opportunity to interact and they don't interact in a way that is usual of them.

Majority of the content we've gotten in recent times are pretty much very official contents, interviews, etc. The entire BE era, as I said is not about Jikook or even BigHit.

It's about BTS, all seven and Jikook can't monopolize the shine like they tend to do in other BigHit marketed contents in my opinion.

Jimin tried to be funny and chill in the dynamite mv and RM nearly went ninja turtle on his ass when he called him out for not taking things seriously enough during the shoot- Left to grandpa Joonie, the kids will sleep at five. Lol.

Seriously though, there is a huge gap between what BTS views as marketing and marketable and what Jikook or even BigHit views as marketing, in my opinion. And conversations like that between RM and Jimin goes to prove it.

Another interesting thing about this whole marketing approach is how BigHit isn't substituting any other particular pair in Jikook's stead. I see them giving equal screan time to the individual members- well not in a technical sense but I think you know what I mean.

Are Jikook required to be professional in certain situations, absolutely. And in previous years, I think they took too many liberties with it. But as I said, now more than ever they are learning and need to learn to read the room because they wouldn't be able to get away with much if they don't.

BE is a self produced project, after Soop- after when they were isolated to help them bond and repair fractures in their bond. If there were anything they were not happy with that led to Soop, trust that they are going to fix it post Soop and it's going to reflect in every sphere of their interactions.

RM for example has chilled on his monitoring and censorship of Jikook, Jikook have been pretty considerate of the group and have tried not to do anything to have RM pop a vein, Tae has been stepping up too- with the members going out their way to praise him and push him to the fore front of the group unlike in previous years *cough cough I don't want trouble but chilee.

I mean Jimin pointed it out in the Be behind when he said Tae was working hard and putting his best foot forward because the members had been showering him with lots of compliments in recent times and he wasn't kidding.

In the LGO comeback live, RM praised Tae for working hard forgetting it wasn't just Tae and JM's reaction was telling. Of course he backpedaled to compliment JM too.

Suga did the same thing in the Be behind video when he was talking about JM and praising him- I mean it's Suga and his Jimin, uWu. But then he too backpedaled to compliment Tae when he realized what he was doing and I was like CAN SOMEONE PRAISE KOOKIE TOO PLEASE AND THANK YOU. Lol.

Anywho, the company is equally chilling on their Jikook agenda which I have speculated on several ttimes so won't get into- it's all so very kumbaya and God, I hate it. Lol.

Give me the chaos goddammit!

I feel Jlkook loosen up in contents that aren't like super official business moments and that's when you see their domesticity. Lol.

You see them having their me time in the background of some of the content, and in one of the interviews where they were sat a good feet apart but they kept moving closer and closer till eventually after their lunch break cut, they were sat very close to each other.

I'm not a fan of the cameras being shove in their faces during their private moments- Kookie certainly doesn't appreciate that either.

But they are working for a living nonetheless and making content is what they do for a living. So we are definitely gonna get the content from them alright, the fanservice, the organic moments passed off as fanservice, the moments that should never make it to screen- all nine. Lol.

We are just not going to get them in a way we are accustomed to. And it certainly doesn't help that they are each on their own personal growth journeys- gradually disconnecting from their fanbase, I mean Jk's been long gone duh, and Jimin did say he has come to the realization not everyone in the fandom loves him and he is learning to react less strongly to them; which to me translates as bye bitches you don't deserve me. Lol.

I mean dude didn't bother posting for new year this year- y'all Jimin is done with our ass. We might as well pack our bags and join him in Kookie's Casa. I call dibs on the broom closet under the stairs. Lol.

Jikook gets called fanservice and other creepy slurs in this fandom but people forget all of this is their choice too. They choose, are choosing to share all the bits of them they share with us, with us. Inspite of all the hate and insults, they choose to do that- if they did it for the fanservice don't you think they would have called a time out on it long ago because it's not worth it?

I hate it here.

I guess what I'm saying is, you are right about these observations you've made and some of the things you've pointed out are facts.

But we have talked about all of that so it really shouldn't be anything new? Kindly check my previous posts. I think I shared my point of view on what I think is going on with Jikook, BigHit and BTS.

Other than those, I don't think there is anything major up with Jikook honestly. I keep saying I don't think they are broken up. I don't see either of them closed off, emotionally open to connecting with the others.

If anything I said I feel Jimin is falling in love all over again with Kook. I mean when he looks at him he looks to me as if he is seeing Kook in a different light.

And it's funny how all through out 2020 he kept reiterating how his friends and family and relationships were important to him, shading the ef out of Kook during the Japan Stay Gold promos claiming his relationships were important to him and was what was Gold in his life.

He even went on to talk about picking an accent spending time around his friends and talking with his friends around his birthday but suddenly in the Be behind scenes he was talking about how he's come to the realization BTS is his only true friends and how friends come and go.

Clearly he's had an epiphany of a sort and has been through something post his birthday that has him setting his priorities straight in the aftermath.

In his Weverse magazine, he mentioned how he's recently discovered something about himself, about how he loves to be loved. He then went on to clarify that when during festa he talked about having a desire to perform with the members for a long that that he meant to say he wanted to be with them for a very long time.

But then JK said Jimin said that bit to him first. And if this is the interpretation Jimin is giving to that statement then- one plus one is two honey. Numbers don't lie.

Dude don whispered those sweet empty nothings in JK's ear telling him he wants to be with him for a very long time and shit.

And now homeboy out here setting up roots in gay boulevard. I don't think their well is drying up any time soon. Lol.

They are in a honeymoon phase again and they are not showing us. Stingy bastards! Lol

And when JK said to JM in response, that BTS is his home- wow. He really said that...

He is Jimin's home. Literally. Please, my heartu😭

Jikook is real. Please support them.

Signed,

GOLDY

[onimikan]

My Candy Farm

So. I really liked the #my candy farm post by  @yeleenzz, wanted to write some stupid comment...and then I went mad and it got out of control…

So here you go, my (long!) version of the introduction to  My Candy Farm:

(don’t take it seriously, I just wanted to have some fun after that whole Eldarya sitiation)

My Candy Farm 

An Online Otome Game

Get to know the handsome residents of MY CANDY FARM and experience your own flirting and farming adventure!

You are on the way to your hometown, where you want to spend the summer holidays with your family. But you should not have trusted your old car and that last short cut. Especially not after dark. After a bumpy ride on a pitch dark country road the engine finally dies and you find yourself in the middle of nowhere. Fortunately you are discovered by a curious German shepherd and his helpful owner, who accompanies you to his friend’s farm, where you can stay until your car has been fixed. 

Welcome to MY CANDY FARM! 

Meet the boys:

Lysander

The Gentleman Farmer

Lysander is the owner of My Candy Farm. Soft-spoken, well-mannered and fond of old-fashioned elegant suits, he is the complete opposite of how you imagined typical farmer. Lysander used to live in Sucré Town, together with his older brother. He played in a rock band with his best friend and dreamed about becoming a poet. But after the death of their parents, Lysander was forced to take care of the farm, while his brother stayed in the city and his former best friend became a famous rock star all by himself. 

Although this is not what he expected  from life, Lysander quite likes the countryside. He enjoys quiet walks through the woods, loves his rose garden and his greatest pride is his rapidly growing family of ExtraFluff ® white rabbits. But our sweet poet often has his head in the clouds and after a few almost-disasters in the beginning -  one occasion involving an open chicken shed and the running engine of a stuck tractor - he exchanged his fine suit for more practical clothes and resolved to write his first novel only after sunset. With time and the help of his friends, Lys has gotten used to his new life. But let’s be honest, this sensitive young artist is not made only for hard farm work. he needs something (or someone) who inspires him, who lets him breathe and dream about songs and poems. What’s worse, all his creative energy is lately wasted on fighting off agents from the notorious BV Bank, that wants to kick him out and buy his farm for their own new, shiny recruits. 

Lysander will make sure that you feel welcome at My Candy Farm and he will certainly not bother you with his troubles. But who knows, maybe you will help him find a way to  save the farm after all?

And who knows, maybe you will also bring back romance to his life?

Armin

The Cheerful Rebel

Before he moved to My Candy Farm,  Armin was an IT security expert who worked for BV Bank. When he discovered that the management secretly planned to implement a new and very expensive “saving system”, he tried to warn their customers and was promptly fired.

Armin originally only came to visit his old friend Lys to help him set up a better internet access. And then Netflix. And three giant flat screens. And the only thing that really mattered: a remote warning device that sounds an alarm  when the door of the  ExtraFluff ® rabbit house is left open. But when he heard that the  BV Bank had also officially banned Armin from Sucré Town, Lys offered him to stay as long as he wants. 

Armin is a laid-back and cheerful guy who gets along with everybody, even Ezarel, whose snarky comments leave him completely unfazed. There is only one big  problem: The great outdoors. Nature. Stinging bees. Singing birds. The sun. Everything that Armin hates with a passion. It’s not that he doesn’t like to hang out with his friends. But in truth, life at My Candy Farm is his very own worst nightmare. He is only seen outside when doing  research for the fantasy video game he wants to develop (meaning: when he is pestering Ez and Valkyon for details about life in Eldarya). But most of the time he stays in his room, ordering tech gadgets online, playing video games and secretly trying to hack into the system of his ex-employer, whom he suspects to be somehow responsible for extracting Ezarel and Valkyon from their own world. But lately he seems stuck, all his cracked passwords have been reset and the disgustingly fresh country air doesn’t help at all when he is trying to work. 

But maybe he just needs fresh ideas from a different source. Maybe you will provide the spark he needs. Maybe, together, you will start a virtual revolution! 

Kentin

The Faithful Friend

Kentin is the young man who saved you after your car broke down. He does not live at the farm but in the village nearby, where he works as dog trainer and breeds the most adorable German shepherds you have ever seen. Kentin visits the farm almost every day to look after his friends Armin and Lys, or as he calls them: the two worst farmers on the whole planet. His dogs are not allowed to come though, after that tragic day when he tried to train them to protect the rabbit house.  Kentin takes care of the shopping and the pantry and before Valkyon arrived he also did most of the  repair work.

Kentin went to school with Lys and Armin and eventually they all left town but only Kentin left voluntarily. He could have stayed and was even offered a job at his old military school. But the girl he had loved all through high school moved away after graduation and he didn’t have any reason to stay in Sucré Town after that. 

Kentin is a very helpful and caring character, although easily flustered, especially when he is once again the victim of Ezarel’s and Armin’s silly jokes. But he never stays angry at them for long, he likes his friends far too much, especially Valkyon, who has become some sort of mentor for him - and who also gave him the invaluable advice to bribe Ezarel with honey cookies when his pranks get out of control. After his time in the military school, Kentin is fit and athletic and loves to spar with Valkyon whenever he has time. But he will tell you that sometimes he is exhausted of having to act all tough and manly in front of the guys. Like in military school, he misses the company of girls, who are smarter and soft and much more sensible and he is really happy that you are at the farm now, if only for a few days. You are also the only one who knows about his debts. He has made the big mistake to buy bonds from BV Bank and lost a lot of money. Now the bank wants him to sell his dogs and his father will only help him if he goes back to military school. Of course Lys would lend him money if he told him about this but Kentin knows that he has his own problems at the moment. And he can never tell Armin, he would only become excited about a new BV Bank conspiracy, try to “transfer” the lost money back and get himself into a lot of trouble. 

But maybe you will find a solution for his dilemma? And maybe he will find a way to persuade you to stay at My Candy Farm a bit longer?

Ezarel

The Prickly Elf

Ez has a sharp mind and a sharper tongue and is an extremely valuable asset to the farm community. The herb garden thrives under his attention. He has also rebuilt the beehive and his homemade honey lemonade and his “elvenkiss” honeypots are a very welcome side income for My Candy Farm. Never ask him about the meaning of  “elvenkiss”, though  - his evil grin suggests it is not as romantic as it seems.  And never, ever make jokes about elves and flowers, he hates that cliché! Because yes, Ezarel is an elf, his hair is naturally blue and his ears are really that pointy.  He comes from Eldarya, the world of fairies, where he was a first-class alchemist and one of the leaders of a military group that tried to save Eldarya from extinction. But after the final epic battle, a powerful oracle -who, according to Armin, may or may not be controlled by  BV Bank - told Ez in no uncertain terms to not mind his unfinished business and leave. Ezarel, always a rebel at heart, and one of the very few who can create forbidden portals, literally “left” - and reappeared in a fairy ring, right in front of Lysander’s tractor, who would have overrun him, had Valkyon not saved them all.

When he is in a good mood Ezarel is a merciless teaser with the most insolent smile you have ever seen. He is also absolutely not above silly pranks (a hobby that he shares with Armin). But with a wrong word or a wrong look his jokes will turn sour and  his biting remarks will sting. It also doesn’t help that he really doesn’t like humans. Really not. He gets along tolerably with the three Sucré boys but  when a rare visitor comes to the farm, it is in everybody’s best interest to keep Ez away from them - and not only because his pointy ears might cause a few raised eyebrows. 

Yes, Ezarel is a complicated elf. But when you watch him closely and read between the lines, you will see that under all that snark hides a scarred soul who doesn't dare to commit to anybody. Because he is deathly afraid to hurt people - or to be hurt instead.  Once, in a weak moment, Ezarel talked about a great loss, about betrayal and about the love of his life who now lives in a crystal with a traitor who is also her soulmate. You probably misunderstood that last part but when you tried to ask again, Ez  left the house and didn’t talk to anybody for days. 

Will you convince him that humans can be trusted after all?

Will you be the one to heal his bruised heart? 

Valkyon 

The Lonely Dragon

Valkyon is a true warrior, tall, strong, silent, hard muscles, gentle soul.  He and Ezarel were both leaders of the guard that protected Eldarya, they both were close friends and they both fought in the last battle - the battle in which Valkyon died. He does not remember much of what happened after that. He said his ghostly farewells and then he floated in peaceful oblivion for a long time, until the moment he was suddenly swept away by a strong current. The next thing he remembers is a roaring metal dragon, a very startled dragon rider with mismatched eyes and Ezarel by his side. Ez, who knows more about those things, suspects that portals suck in every soul in their vicinity and Valkyon was accidentally taken along as blind passenger.

Compared to Ezarel, Valkyon can almost pass as human. Almost. If you don’t wonder too much about his unusual strength and if you don’t look to deep into his golden eyes. The eyes of a dragon. A dragon who cannot spit fire in this world, much to Armin’s disappointment.

Valkyon is almost always found outside, building new things, repairing old things, and sparring with Kentin whom he has secretly adopted as his younger brother. He has even learned how to ride the metal dragon. He also loves to visit the ExtraFluff ® house and watch the rabbits play.  Lysander has given up to correct him when he calls them Pimpels and he even let him adopt his favourite one, when he found out about Valkyon’s companion Floppy, who was left behind in Eldarya. 

Valkyon doesn’t talk much about his last life but when he trusts you enough, you will hear the story about the tragic fate of his dragon family, who was sacrificed. And about his brother who died and then was alive again and an enemy. In the end, when he lay dying on the battlefield, a disembodied voice whispered to Valkyon that the new era, for which he had fought, would now belong to this brother. The same brother who had killed him and who would now try to win the heart of the woman Valkyon loved. Each time Armin insists that this must have been another evil plan by the BV Bank, Valkyon just smiles sadly.

Of course he is glad to be alive again, to breath, to train and to play with Floppina, his little rabbit. He has found old and new friends and an almost-brother. 

And yet in this new world, he is alone. He is the last of his kind - again. And sometimes it feels as if he is still floating aimlessly through the void.

Will you help him to grow roots again?

Will you show him that a real family doesn’t have to share the same blood?

[paynesqueen]

🎄Home for Christmas🎄

A Niall Horan Fanfic, Rating to be determined

🎄NOTES🎄

This is a short story that will have between 5-7 chapters.

This is dedicated to my friend Livia (@horansqueen​) because she’s such an amazing friend. She is always there for me and listen to me even when I make no fucking sense. I love ya loads!!

I added Isa (@sushiniall​) because she has been such a good friend to Livia and plus she’s such a sweetheart.

This story will have romance, some drama and possible smut.

I apologize in advance for every grammar mistakes in this story.

🎄BLURB🎄

Olivia Cooper dragging her sister to spend Christmas in London this year is only an excuse to finally meet Niall Horan with whom she has been talking online for the past few years.

But colliding online and offline realities isn’t always as expected and for sure will make this a Christmas she won’t forget.

🎄PROLOGUE🎄

"Seeing is believing, but sometimes the most real things in the world are the things we can't see." - The Polar Express

“Remind me again why we are doing this?” My sister asked as we took our seats in the airplane.

I looked around as people rushed to their seats probably excited to reach their destination, but I knew that Isa wasn’t. She was never a good flyer and the only reason she was on board was because of me who begged her to not leave me alone for the Holidays. She was probably the only person in my life that I knew who wouldn’t refuse me my demand mostly because we always have each other’s backs.

“Because I need to be far away from my stalkerish of ex-boyfriend and you need to loosen up. Seriously, I love you to death, but you’re probably the most uptight person that I know.”

Ever since I broke-up with Josh, he kept coming over and trying to win me back. At first he was acting like he just wanted to be friends, but it soon became apparent that he was hoping for more. He wasn’t doing anything that I would say was dangerous, but it was mostly annoying trying to change the subject whenever he tried to ask me to get back together. He wasn’t a bad guy, but the spark was gone and there was nothing to light it up again. I was hoping that not seeing me for a while might just trigger him to finally go meet new girls.

“The need to get away from Josh, I get that. I think it would actually do him some good, but I am not that bad. I can have fun too.”

Of course, we were both quite aware that she was lying her ass off. My sister had definitely not inherited the adventurous gene in the family. Apparently I was the only one who did and I appointed myself to force my sister to step out of her shell; starting with this trip.

“Oh please.” I rolled my eyes. “So since the parents have decided that they didn’t want to spend the Holidays with us and go on that Caribbean cruise instead with the Jeffersons, I decided to take control on how we were spending it and I say we are going to London.”

“But why London? I mean, if you think I need to loosen up, I would have expected you to book us a two week vacation somewhere like Mexico, Cuba or somewhere like that so we could get drunk and party day and night.” She exclaimed as she started to fidget in her seat.

“Baby steps because let’s face it; you have never gotten drunk in your life or party for that matter and I wouldn’t want to scar you for life.  Plus, I have an amazing friend who has a flat there that we get to stay in for free so it settled it for me. So we’ll try to get you to enjoy life a bit more and I’ll try to get as far as I can from Josh so he can hopefully start finding someone else to annoy. Is it too much of me to ask you to do this for me?”

“No, Liv. It’s not too much though I think you are more interested in meeting this “amazing friend” of yours more than just getting away from stalker boy.” She added air quoting amazing friend.

Niall and I have been chatting online for the past three years and never got to meet once before now. We met through a message board where I was looking for someone to teach me guitar and the piano. Niall was one of my teachers and if at first, the messages and video chats were more professional, we soon moved to talk about more personal stuff and before we realized it a friendship was born.

I tried to hide the small smile that appeared on my face behind a magazine; “Am I looking forward to finally meet Niall? Perhaps, but really, this was an offer that I couldn’t refuse. It’s London! We’ve wanted to go there since forever and we the parents gone and Niall’s offer, it was like timing couldn’t be more perfect.”

But yes, my sister wasn’t stupid and Niall’s offer for a place to stay had helped a lot into making my decision. And the fact that my parents dropped the money in my bank account so I can do something with my sister during the Holidays had helped a lot too. But she wasn’t aware of the last part and I wasn’t supposed to tell her for whatever reasons my parents kept for themselves. I stopped long ago trying to understand why they do what they do most of the time.

“Sure. That is the only reason you opted for London. The fact that there’s a handsome Irish guy over there is simply a coincidence.” She added.

“Quit it already okay. Now you’re just being annoying about Niall.”

“Fine, I’ll stop complaining.” She sighed. “Once we are in the air, I’m getting a drink and then sleeping until we land in London.”

“A drink sounds really good.” I agreed. “Might calm me down a little bit.”

“Nervous about meeting Niall or is it something else?”

“I’m not nervous about meeting Niall. I just have a weird feeling like I’m forgetting something.”

“I swear if you scream Kevin, I’m hitting you.” She exclaimed as we both started to laugh.

“Now you’ve ruined it.”

“That’s what sisters do.” She explained. “Now can we just take off so I can have that much needed drink.”

“Just relax. It shouldn’t be that long now. It doesn’t look like more people are coming in so I guess it should be soon.”

“Yeah if only that was a good indicator. Remember when we went to Orlando and even though we were all seated it took over an hour before we actually left ground.”

It took about half an hour before we were finally taking off and as promised, once my sister took her drink, she closed her eyes to try and sleep. I couldn’t sleep no matter how much I should get a few hours of shuteye. We were set to arrive around 9 in the morning London time and I planned to do a few things on our first day and it would be nice not to be tired all halfway through it.

I wanted to do all the tourist spots we could in the first few days so we can then move on to enjoy our time just hanging out in pubs and of course shopping.

I didn’t know if Niall would be hanging out with us the whole time we were going to be there. He offered us his flat, but we hadn’t talked about how often we were going to actually be hanging out. And with Christmas smack in the middle of our stay, he might be going back to Ireland to be with his family.

I couldn’t help the happy feeling invading me knowing that in about eight hours I was finally going to meet him. I didn’t know what to expect, but unlike my sister I was always up for new adventures.

[ginnyzero]

Completely Harmless Ch. 30

Completely Harmless An SSO SilverGlade Re-imagining Story (Or Fix it Fan Salt fic) By Ginny O.

When Lily and her friends wanted to buy horses and were directed to the Silverglade Manor and its myriad of problems, they didn’t expect to start a revolution. They were just a bunch a stable girls. Completely harmless. Right?

A/N: Things are only canon if I say they’re canon. Pre-Saving the Moorland Stables compliant for the most part. Posted in its entirety on my website. Posted in 2000 to 4000 word bits here. Rated T for Swearing Word Count 177,577

Chapter Thirty A Very Bad First Meeting... Twice

Alex Cloudmill, beanie cap and all, strolled into the temporary pavilion with a look of complete and utter awe on her face. Like, she couldn’t believe everything she was seeing.

Now, Lily didn’t have the best impression of Alex. She’d heard through Pia about the way Alex treated James once she found out about Token after the big meeting. While, Lily didn’t like James, Alex wasn’t helping matters with her attitude. James wasn’t the only Cloudmill with social and behavioral issues. So what if James had a plushie he cared for, a lot of teenagers had plushies they cared for, and he wanted to do something positive with it for Jorvik.

But no, she had to pick on him about it.

Alex had her fingers in her pockets. “So, you must be Lily,” she said as she sidled over towards her.

“I’ve seen you around Moorland, Alex Cloudmill, right?” Lily tried to keep her voice polite. She didn’t know what Alex wanted and she shouldn’t be Loretta.

Alex rubbed the back of her neck and chuckled. “There are so many campers, I can’t keep track of all of you.”

“We’re coming and going all the time,” Lily said, sarcasm rolling off of her in waves. Not that she expected Alex to remember her at all. It wasn’t like Alex even bothered to try. Maya had more of an excuse than Alex did. Or maybe it was less of one since she worked with the campers. Lily pushed it away for later. Alex wasn’t a camp counselor.

Alex missed the sarcasm. “Exactly.”

“What brings you out here, other than Linda,” Lily decided to cut to the chase.

“Well,” Alex scuffed her shoe on the ground. “I want you to come meet Elizabeth Sunbeam. I mean, you’ve been doing all this great stuff, and,” she trailed off.

“Being a good leader with a mild side of delegation and organizational skills doesn’t make me a candidate to be a, what is it again?” Lily said.

“Soul Rider,” Alex supplied. “I think Elizabeth could help clear up any misconceptions you have about it.”

“If she’s not going to work with Melissa, who, by the way, is the Club leader at her stables, then why is she going to work with me?” Lily crossed her arms. “I’m, for all intents and purposes, the Baroness’ lady.”

Alex shrugged. “I think you should meet her. She’s a power.”

Lily glanced around. The other girls had edged closer and were blatantly listening in. “What do you girls think?” She asked.

“Go,” Pauline said.

“Get it over with,” Regina nodded. “We’ve got our stable and we don’t want any problems with Melissa though.”

“Nope,” one of the other girls said popping the p.

“All right, I’ll go,” Lily said.

Alex grinned. “I’m sure this is all some miscommunication and a good chat will clear things up.”

Lily strode past her to get to her horse. There was another horse next to hers, golden in color with a blonde mane. “Yours?”

“You should see him out in the wild.”

“Yeah, we haven’t been out far enough for that yet, I guess,” Lily said.

“You do know about it,” Alex blinked.

“It was brought to our attention that the Jorvik Warmblood Sports aren’t like other horses.”

“Well, this Tin Can.”

The horse whinnied.

“Nice to meet you too, Tin Can,” Lily said as she mounted her horse. “Transports okay with you, or would you like to get your hooves dirty?”

“Uh, he’s fine with a transport,” Alex said slowly, brow furrowed.

Lily nodded and urged her horse over to the transport. They rode in silence to Valedale. The transport slowed to a stop.

“I want to thank you for um, looking after my brother, and Justin,” Alex said abruptly. “I know he’s a pain in the ass.”

“James or Justin?” Lily asked.

“James,” Alex said quickly. “Look, I, I appreciate it. I mean, he told me how it was your plan to buy some of the Baroness’ horses for his stable and everything. We want him to succeed.”

“No one really wants anyone to fail. I mean, unless they’re a murderer or a fascist or something,” Lily blinked rapidly. “He’s got good ideas. He has really bad ways about executing said ideas.” She nudged her horse down the ramp.

Alex followed her. “Right.”

“Good people help other people,” Lily said. “So, you’re welcome.”

“And expect the same treatment?”

“Verily,” Lily nodded.

“I don’t know what that means,” Alex said.

Lily looked around. But what grabbed her attention first was the waterfall. It was neon green. It tumbled down the mountain and into the pool below with a great deal of mist and spray. If it was this bad at the head of the river, Lily couldn’t imagine what it was like over the mountain with the Lake that was placid in comparison. (She pondered if the Lake drained down into the river as well through underwater channels. The water had to go somewhere if it was constantly being filled.)

She tore her gaze away from the green water. She didn’t see any of the girls in their celtic uniforms.

Melissa and the others must be at the ruined summer house still. All for the best, she guessed. She stopped by a girl that had to be related to Jenna and Judy. “Morning, I’m Lily with the Silver Drakes Riding Club.”

“I’m Claire, Valedale Stable Master. Melissa’s told me a bit about you.” Claire grinned at her.

“All good I hope?” Lily’s lips twitched.

“Absolutely. Looking forward to Rainbow Week, it sounds like what you girls are putting together is going to be awesome. Going to have to take some days off to enjoy it all.” Claire nodded. “You might set an entirely new standard for holidays.”

“We hope so,” Lily said. “You have a lovely stable.”

“It’s quiet. We like it.”

“Nice meeting you, Claire,” Lily said.

Alex nodded at Claire. “Claire.”

“Alex.”

“She’s this way, cottage right next to the inn,” Alex said.

Lily noted a blonde woman sweeping her stoop wearing a dress with Celtic patterns on it.

“Elizabeth!” Alex called out as they got closer. “I brought someone to meet you.”

Elizabeth Sunbeam set her broom next to the door and brushed down her skirts. “How kind of you, Alex.”

Alex grinned. “Elizabeth, this is Lily. She’s the President of the Silver Drake’s Riding Club at the Manor.”

“Charmed,” Lily said.

Elizabeth peered at her. “Are you, are you really?”

“If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t say so,” Lily said blandly.

“I suppose like Young Melissa you think you know everything.” Elizabeth pushed her hair back over one shoulder.

“I know nothing about the druids or your religion or much about Jorvik. I lead a group of girls that like horses and want to see our stable thrive. Hopefully, if we get to train, we can make it to the Claymore Challenge. However, as my friends and I go about our business in Jorvik, we keep running up against the G.E.D. and a group called Dark Core. These groups we understand are rivals to you. While in most circumstances this would make us allies for the enemy of the enemy is my friend,” Lily trailed off.

Alex stared at her with parted lips.

“The battle between light and darkness,” Elizabeth started.

“Your methods of fighting the darkness leave me questioning how light you actually are. The ends don’t justify the means, Ms. Sunbeam.” Lily shifted in her horse’s saddle. “Dark Core is trying to steal horses from South Hoof Peninsula. The Hightower family won’t listen. G.E.D. has drilled deep into the Greydew Mountains and has completely blocked off Old Hillcrest, yet, no one does anything. Dark Core is situated just up there,” Lily nodded at the mountain side above Valedale. “You can see their camp through a telescope or with a zoom lens. You’re happy to help sick horses. Are you going to help a sick land?”

Elizabeth frowned at her. “I must advise patience.”

“Patience? Lisa Peterson. Anne Von Blissen are missing without a trace. These are your people.” Lily squared her shoulders. “I came here willing to listen and thus far you have neither been welcoming nor said anything I care to hear. I judge you on your inaction. You allow the Silversong River to be tainted on your watch. First the fish near here will die. The plants on the banks will dry up and rot. The dirt will start falling into the stream choking the waters. Then it will spread to the ocean. It’s a ripple and it starts here in your sleepy mountain village.”

Elizabeth straightened. “You play with forces beyond your understanding.”

“And you seriously underestimate how much I don’t care,” Lily said in a tight voice. “Ms. Sunbeam, I don’t know who you work for or who you worship, but here’s my message. Lead. Follow. Or get the hell out of my way. Change is coming on swift wings to South New Jorvik County. So far, none of you have been part of it.”

“You overestimate what I can do.” Elizabeth’s voice turned harsh. “And what you can do, a teenager, and a stranger to Jorvik, her magic, and her ways.”

Lily leaned down. “You were all strangers to Jorvik once.”

Alex shivered.

Lily straightened up and gathered the reins in her hands. “I’m sorry that this didn’t go as you hoped, Alex. With great power comes great responsibility. Do keep an eye on Justin for us.” She nudged her horse with her heel and he turned and flicked his hoofs daintily as he went down the hill.

Lily rode off to the Summer House.

Melissa looked confused to see her coming North from Valedale instead of West from the Manor.

Lily opened up without any preamble. “The Druids have gotten complacent.”

“Wow,” Melissa said. “You met Elizabeth. What did you say?”

“I threw down the gauntlet, quoted Spider-Man, and departed before she could get over her shock at my audacity.” Lily let her gaze rove over the Summer House.

“You should have seen it before,” Melissa joked.

Lily grinned. She sobered. “I wanted to warn you because I’m sure Claire will tell you I showed up.”

“Yes, the famous Lily,” Melissa leaned against her shovel and peered at the fire they had going on what remained of the hearth.

“Infamous more like,” Lily said drolly. “I really don’t know what came over me. Maybe it was seeing the waterfall and the camp right there. How can she live with that every day and claim to be a druid?”

“I don’t think she’s a druid in the way that we think of druids,” one of Melissa’s girls said. “She worships this Aideen woman, rather than nature.”

“The problems with language being imprecise and terrible for nailing down ideas,” Lily shook her head.

“Well, I’m properly terrified,” one of the other girls said.

“Oh you,” Melissa snickered.

“See that you are,” Lily teased. This was going much better than meeting Elizabeth.

“Now that you’ve seen it, any ideas?” Melissa asked.

“Everything we’ve done before has been through proper channels making sure they had permits and all.” Lily shook her head.

“You know, those are probably supposed to be posted,” one of the girls said.

“There’s a Ranger station in Firgrove. Ingrid told me about it,” Melissa examined her nails. “It’s small.”

“Rangers take their duty of care to the pristine land of Jorvik seriously,” Lily said and almost managed a straight face. She sobered. “Just be careful.”

“We should have reconned better the first time,” Melissa fretted. “This could be over already.”

“You don’t have my club’s flair for skullduggery,” Lily wiggled her eyebrows.

“Next meeting, tips for skullduggery,” Melissa said solemnly.

They all burst into giggles.

Lily’s phone buzzed. She frowned. “It’s Sonja. What in the world?” She picked it up and put it in her ear. “Lily, champion of horses, at your service.”

“You’re in a mood already,” Sonja said. “I need your help. Luciana is having a run in with someone who I’m sure has lovely intentions and, I think she’s one of those druids.”

“I’m on my way,” Lily said and hung up. “Code red at Dundull,” she explained. Sensing her urgency, her horse spun on a dime and galloped back towards Valedale. She slowed him down long enough to enter the transport without running into anything, shouting “Dundull, ASAP,” at the driver.

The driver gave her a thumbs up and they were off.

Lily wondered what was going on the entire way. Last she had heard, G.E.D. had tried to bottle and sell the water of the spring at Dundull and in order to save the town or at least the lake water, Rania’s mother had become Mayor.

The trailer parked and Lily shouted her thanks as she got out. She texted Sonja about where they were.

“Stable,” the text read. “Turn right.”

So, Lily went right and found herself in a large stable yard. Rania and Luciana were squared off against a woman in a green vest over a green shirt and actual brown leather breaches.

Emma looked close to tears.

Horses stood in a circle around them. A big palomino draft horse with a strange blaze in the shape of a lightning bolt. Lily wasn’t sure of the breed.

“Harry Potter, much,” Lily muttered. Then she grinned. Her name was the name of the main character’s mother after all. “No relation,” she added under her breath.

Then there was Dellinger, Rania’s Commenara who was trained to help her with her blindness. Sirio, the black Lusitano that was Luciana’s main ride. Sonja’s white on white Jorvik Warmblood Sport. And lastly, a muddy colored palimino horse that looked to also have the lines of a Jorvik Starter Pony.

“Muddy is Emma’s horse,” Luciana said. “You can’t just take him away when she’s bought him fair and square from Kirsty.”

“They even had the proper bonding ceremony,” Rania added. “It was very beautiful. I cried.”

“I’m sorry girls,” Rhiannon said. “Muddy is a Starbreed.”

“You can’t take Starbreeds from people they’ve bonded to,” Rania argued. “I’ve lived here all my life and I know that much!

Sonja trotted over. “They’ve been going around in circles like this for close to twenty minutes.”

Lily rode over. “Excuse me,” she said.

“Lily,” Emma said and ran over. “You have to make this woman listen. I love Muddy. I bought him fair and square with my earnings. We’ve bonded. Muddy is my horse.”

“You have papers?”

Emma nodded.

“I’m not asking you to give me, Muddy. I’m asking you to sell him to the druids.” The woman said. “He’s a special horse.”

“I don’t want to sell,” Emma said. “I just got him.” She flung her arms around the horse’s neck. “I’m not going to give you up, Muddy.”

“Not gonna let you down,” Sonja sang. “Not gonna run around and desert you.”

Lily glared at her.

“Sorry,” Sonja muttered.

“I didn’t come out here to be rick-rolled,” Lily hissed. “Look, Ms.,” she paused.

“Rhiannon,” the woman said.

“Rhiannon,” Lily repeated to put the name firmly in her mind. “If Emma has papers, the law is clear. The horse is hers. If she doesn’t want to sell Muddy, she doesn’t have to sell Muddy. Repeatedly asking when the answer doesn’t change is not only the definition of insanity. It’s harassment.”

“I’m afraid that Emma won’t be able to take care of Muddy properly. Muddy’s a Starbreed.”

“He’s a Jorvik Starter Pony,” Emma defended with her face in Muddy’s neck. “And his name is Mudskipper.”

“By what authority are you saying that he’s a Starbreed?”

“I’m a druid,” Rhiannon said.

Lily wanted to scream. Oh, she was not getting on a good start with these druids. “I’m sure druids understand property laws. I know the G.E.D. and Dark Core don’t seem to but surely an upstanding, are you even an organization, like the druids would,” Lily sighed. “What am I saying? I sound crazy. Fine. What is a Starbreed?”

“I can’t tell you that,” Rhiannon said. “You aren’t a druid. They’re special.”

Lily’s temper broke and sarcasm filled her voice. “And you used your mystic powers to determine this and now you want Emma to sell her special friend.”

“Essentially,” Rhiannon tried for a smile.

“Mudskipper,” Lily addressed the horse directly. “Are you happy with Emma? Is she your special rider?”

The horse nodded.

“There, it’s settled. The horse wants to stay with Emma.”

Rhiannon’s brow furrowed. “Can you talk to horses?”

“We can all talk to horses.”

“I mean, can you understand them when they talk back? Are you a druid?” Rhiannon asked.

“You couldn’t pay me at the moment to be a druid,” Lily’s voice turned icy. “I’m dedicated to getting things done in a prompt, efficient, and timely manner.”

Sonja ducked her head and smirked.

“Motivation that the druids seem to be lacking,” Lily finished.

Rhiannon’s eyes unfocussed. “Your horse is also a Starbreed.”

“And you’ll get my horse over my cold dead body,” Lily snapped. “You can’t just look at horses, wave your hands, and expect people to turn them over.”

Rhiannon shook her head and her eyes focused. “You aren’t from around here.”

“What gave it away? My accent or my attitude.”

“The druids,” Rhiannon began.

“Sorry. I already got into this with Elizabeth Sunbeam not thirty minutes ago.” Lily held up a hand. “People have more to fear from G.E.D. and Dark Core than they have to fear from you, and G.E.D. is barely competent at what they do.”

Rhiannon sucked her cheeks in. She nodded at them. “I’ll leave you to think it over.”

“There’s nothing to think over,” Emma wailed.

Rhiannon mounted her horse and took off.

They all watched her go, the other stable girls drifting from where they’d been watching.

“She’s off to chat with Elizabeth over how rude and disrespectful I am, I’m sure.” Lily said. “So, anyone have any idea what a Starbreed is?”

“The druids claim all the horses they ride are Starbreeds,” Sonja said. “They sweep in at foaling time, check out all the foals and come back for the ones they claim are Starbreeds when they’re weaned. No one is quite sure where they take them or what they do with them.”

“Are there enough druids to justify taking all these horses?” Lily asked. “I mean, that’s rather suspicious. And how did my horse get missed then?”

“The Baroness banned them from her paddocks. They might have missed Muddy by accident,” Sonja shrugged a shoulder.

“Good on the Baroness,” Lily murmured. She picked out her phone and texted all the other presidents that there were special horses called Starbreeds that could be found among the horses and if anyone knew anything about them, they should share.

Kelsey texted back that it sounded suspicious. What if Dark Core wanted a Starbreed horse?

It made sense to Lily. If the Starbreed horses were the horses of the druids and these dark riders were the druid’s opposites, then of course, they’d want a Starbreed horse for whatever they were doing. She didn’t and couldn’t text all of that to Kelsey. Linda hadn’t texted her druid business for a reason. Maybe Dark Core or G.E.D. was more tech savvy than they appeared. So, she texted back a confirmation. Though if only the druids like Rhiannon knew how to figure out which was which, she didn’t know how that would help Kelsey.

Or Dark Core.

If Dark Core couldn’t tell. They’d get a lot of horses before getting the one they wanted. Not that Lily wanted them to get their hands on any horses. She sighed. “I think I’ve done enough damage for today.”

“No. No. No. Don’t say that. Watching you stand up to that woman was empowering,” Sonja said.

Lily smiled tightly at her. “Last straw, I guess. I’ll see you guys before Rainbow Week I hope.”

--

She used the transport to get to the Manor. Tracking down Linda, she interrupted Alex rhapsodizing about her stand against Elizabeth.

Linda cleared her throat. “Lily.”

“Oh, I was going to tell you all about it,” Lily flushed. “I don’t want you feel forced to choose sides or anything.”

“No. No forcing here,” Linda reassured her.

“Yeah. It was excellent.” Alex said. “Like, I’ve been pushing for action ever since Lisa and Anne went missing!”

“Well, Rhiannon, another druid, I guess,” Lily explained the situation with Emma and Mudskipper. “Do you two know what a Starbreed is, and can you tell me?”

“Only in the way it related to Starshine,” Linda said. “His mane turns electric blue out in the wild. Herman thought it made him special, a Starbreed. I suppose by being our horses, they have to be Starbreeds. Though, Herman always said that Starshine, Meteor, Tin-Can, and Concorde were reincarnated versions of the original Starbreeds. Not that they remember their lives before, but that our souls have been together a long time.”

“You’re reincarnated too.”

“I guess?” Linda shrugged.

Alex sighed. “They really don’t like to explain unless you’re high up in the inner circles. We’ve only been at this a year.”

Linda gave Alex a chiding look.

“Not that we’re supposed to talk about it.” Alex waved her hands.

“All right, if you can’t, you can’t.” Lily said. “Be warned though. We can’t guard against people we don’t know about.” She left them there to get back to work. She’d been gone long enough.

She hoped those words wouldn’t come back to haunt her.

FOR THE ACCOMPANYING IMAGES PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE MY WATERMARK AND CONTACT INFORMATION. THANK YOU. I get it. Some of you might get excited and want to see this stuff in the game, especially the clothes, tack, and pets. However, the only way I want to see this in the game is if I get paid for it. If I see it in the game and I’m not paid for it, there will be hell to pay. You think I’m salty. I’d be angry. Personally, I’m not going to send this info to SSO. If you do, leave my contact information there! Don’t give them any excuses to steal.

Now, I’ll know you haven’t read this note if you leave me comments about how ‘salty’ I am about the game and if I hate it so much I should do something else. I am doing something else. It’s called Mystic Riders MMORPG Project. Mystic Riders however is a very baby phase game. You can check out our plans on the game dev blog. (Skills, Factions, Professions, Crafting, Mini-Games, 25+ horse breeds!) If you know anyone who would be interested and has money or contacts about game making, direct them to the blog.

[holy-honeybees]

Snowdrift

AO3

Rating: T+ (for swearing)

Summary: Three friends and  their dog get lost in a snowstorm while investigating the paranormal. Amidst swirling flurries of white, some lose their way and get lost in their memories, others lose sight of their friends and loved ones, and an unforgiving winter quickly fills in the footprints one would follow to get back home.

A/N: I started this back in November but sadly never finished the work. I was thinking of holding off till it started to snow again, but figured now was as good a time as any to try and finish this.The title is taken from Snail's House song "[snowdrift]" which you can check out here! 

EDIT: I realized after I posted that the way this ended didn’t transition to the next chapter well, so had to go in and change it. 

EDIT Part 2, The Return of the Edits: Someone was kind enough to point out that I had used the wrong name for the devilish darling of the Pepper household. I must have gotten mixed up with Carolina Reapers, whoops ^^; Her name has since been corrected.

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Chapter Two

The snow was starting to come down much steadier than it had just a couple hours earlier, already beginning to accumulate along the road banks. Swirling white eddies were left behind in the van’s wake as Lewis Pepper drove onwards to their destination. He was paying half a mind to Vivi’s excited chattering, emitting the occasional hum of agreement as her stream-of-consciousness-styled ramblings flitted from whatever thought grabbed her attention to the next. One minute she was gushing about the snow falling down around them, caught up in a story shared by her grandmother about Japanese legends of snow hags, the next minute spent wondering where the turtles went in winter. Then she was theorizing about what was behind the mysterious haunting she had determined their group was going to be looking into up north, weighing the odds that it was actually a ghost against just another cranky old man in a rubber mask. 

Even if Lewis had been able to give her diatribe his full attention, the ghost never would have been able to keep up with her train of thought. Still, Vivi was undeniably adorable when she spoke about something she was truly passionate about, and luckily, Vivi was truly passionate about a great many things. Their relationship may have been put on hold while they came to terms with his own death and Vivi’s returned memories, but it was hard not to enjoy spending time around somebody so full of life. Lewis was reminded time and again of why he’d fallen in love with her in the first place. He admired the gleam in her eyes, the animated way in which she spoke with her hands waving through the air, and the conscious effort she was currently putting into keeping her voice down so as to not wake up their passenger sleeping in the back of the van, having to check herself every few minutes as her voice climbed in volume in direct relation to her increasing excitement. He also appreciated that Vivi was okay with mostly just talking to herself, allowing his own mind to wander, watching the gathering snow with excitement. 

Lewis had never seen snow before. He’d never been farther north than Texas prior to joining the Pepper household, but even after having become part of the family, there was always work to be done in the restaurant, especially around the holidays. It was rare that Ma and Pa Pepper were able to take time off to travel far enough away from home to see snow, and even after Lewis had gotten his driver’s license and gained that modicum of independence, he’d never strayed far in case he was needed for babysitting his little sisters or bussing tables. Even their most daring paranormal escapades hadn’t lead them far enough north to experience winter. He had always dreamed of travelling one day, exploring someplace new and exciting with his friends or taking his adoptive parents on a badly deserved vacation. Now he’d never get the chance, his life cut too short at twenty-one-years-old. The thought came into his head, unbidden and unwanted, and Lewis tried to tamp down the responding flicker of anger that flared to life in his chest. It wasn’t Arthur’s fault, he reminded himself, I have a second chance, I can make the most of it. Deep down, Lewis knew it was true. Even if the most he did to blend in with the living was to stick a bandage over the hole where his heart used to be, Arthur and Vivi would gladly stand by him, accompanying him to even the kitschiest of tourist traps. If he wanted to take an extra day or two to enjoy the snow after they wrapped up their current adventure, Lewis was certain his friends would be more than willing to indulge him. He felt the last vestiges of the familiar burning rage slip away at the happy thought, quelled back to the ever-present ember that seemed to give him life. He gave another contented hum as Vivi’s self-sustained conversation switched topics to the latest batch of used books that had been delivered to the Tome Tomb, a series of increasingly laughable and cringey erotica novels that Duet had pushed to the far back of the store. The snow had begun to fall in earnest now, the first sparse spitting of snowflakes having evolved into a dizzying flurry. It was incredibly beautiful Lewis decided, the ground already covered in a couple inches of the quickly accumulating snow, blanketing the dull, flat plains they had been seeing over the past several hours. The ghost would have smiled at the wonder of it all had he the ability to do so.

Then it all went to hell.

In the increasing onslaught of snow, their surroundings became more difficult to see as the color white took over the landscape. The yellow sign pointing him in the direction of the curving road wasn’t visible until Lewis was almost on top of it, the guardrail marking the edge of the asphalt suddenly coming into view. He cranked the wheel hard to the right to avoid it, the van fishtailing wildly, and slammed his foot down hard on the brakes as he lost control. Lewis could feel the wheels lock up as the car began to slide. Vivi screamed beside him as Arthur popped his head up from the back, desperately grabbing onto the seat in front of him as he shouted,

“Pump the brakes, pump the brakes!” Lewis lifted his foot and pressed it firmly down on the brake pedal again, pulling on the wheel to try and get the van angled back towards where he hoped the road was. There was a loud bang as something hit the side of the vehicle, followed by a long scraping sound, before the car finally came to a stop. For a moment, they all sat in the van, quiet save for the mechanic’s rapid, shallow breathing. Lewis could see the wild, swerving path cut by the car’s tires through the snow behind them in the rearview mirror and quickly phased through the door to inspect the damage he’d caused. The guardrail he’d seen too late was bent at an odd angle and had left a large dent on the side of the van, as well as some scratched paint and a broken taillight. The scratches alone were sure to cause their resident mechanic some grief. Still, he knew it could have been much worse. He remembered driving this same vehicle off the road before as he had pursued it with a ghostly semi-truck, hellbent on tracking down his murderer. Thinking back to the sight of the van crashed into the side of Kingsmen Mechanics, the windshield shattered and Arthur slumped over the wheel in a daze…it had been inconsequential at the time when his desired revenge was so close at hand, but now the thought was terrifying. He’d been so absorbed in his misguided pursuit of justice for himself, he hadn’t even thought that Vivi was there, tossed about like a rag doll in the back of the van as it was forced off the road. The thought of how close he’d come to hurting his friends in his blind rage still haunted him. He gave a heavy sigh and phased back in through the side of the vehicle, not even halfway through before Arthur started peppering him with questions as to the van’s condition, his expression mournful as Lewis provided his assessment.

“What happened, Lew?” Vivi asked from up front, her eyes wide as she clung to Mystery, the dog letting out an irritated sounding wheeze.

“I can’t see the road very well and I lost control of the car,” Lewis admitted, abashed.

“You gotta be careful slamming on the brakes like that,” Arthur cautioned, “You’ll just skid in the snow if you do.”

“I’ll be more careful,” Lewis promised, reclaiming his position in the driver’s seat.

“I don’t think so,” Mystery said, wriggling free of Vivi’s death-grip on him, “Unless your ghostly abilities now include the power to actually drive in the snow, I suggest you Texas natives stay put.” Lewis had to agree that staying in place may be for the best. The snow didn’t appear to be letting up, and if they were down to Vivi as their backup driver… As he mulled over their options, he could see Arthur offering a tiny nod of agreement with the dog, and even Vivi looked like she was considering a delay in their arrival to their final destination. For her to seriously be considering postponing an investigation, the decision had to be clear.

“Alright,” Lewis said, “We should go a couple miles further, see if we can find a place to stop for the night.”

“Uh, Lew?” Vivi said, “I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but we’re in the middle of nowhere. Last I checked the map, civilization is a couple hours away in either direction.”

“Well, we can’t stay here,” he reasoned, “Someone else could miss the turn and run into us. Just give me a few minutes, we’ll find a better spot to park the van until it lets up. I’ll drive slow.”

---

After crawling further down the road at an excruciatingly slow pace, Lewis had spotted a small clearing to park the car in. Mystery and Vivi had jumped out of the van almost as soon as it came to a halt, excited to be able to relax and move around after having been cooped up for so long. Lewis could hear Vivi’s excited whoops and yells, even from inside the vehicle. He chuckled as he opened up the laptop he had borrowed from Arthur, using the address book saved to the computer to call his mom. The mechanic huddled towards the opposite side of the van to give Lewis at least the illusion of privacy as he spoke to his parents, the cat-ear headphones which Lewis thought were so cute clamped firmly over the other man’s head. The ghost wondered if it would prove to be a moot point though, as the laptop struggled to make the connection needed to dial home. Eventually, the ringing ended, and a pixelated, broken-up picture of his mother appeared on the screen.

“Hey, Ma,” Lewis greeted as she came into view. He could just make out through the badly distorted image the smile that appeared amidst his mother’s stern features.

“Lewis,” she greeted warmly, “We didn’t expect to be hearing from you so soon, let me get your father.”

“Is that Lewis!?” He heard the excited, high-pitched voices of his sisters in the background as they rushed their mother, seeing glimpses of little fingers and hands as they scrabbled for the cell phone Ma Pepper was holding.

“No fair, I want to hold the phone!"

“You’re too little, you couldn’t reach it anyways!”

“Can too!” Belle suddenly came into view as Cayenne and Paprika continued to squabble, squealing in delight at the sight of her adopted brother, his other two sisters ceasing their bickering so that they could crowd around the phone’s screen. In the background, he could hear his mother tut at their antics, and his heart throbbed with the familiarity of it all. Returning to his family after having been missing for years, and returning as a ghost after all that time…Lewis hadn’t been sure what kind of welcome home he would receive. Would his parents be too heartbroken at their son’s death to embrace his new afterlife? Would his sisters be scared of him? Would Paprika even remember him, as young as she was? But when Vivi and Arthur had brought him back, the minute he’d stepped through the door of the Pepper Paradiso, he’d been tackled nearly to the ground by three very excited sisters, not as little as he’d remembered them. His father had cried and his mother had wrapped him in one of her famous hugs, the kind that had made him feel safe and secure ever since he’d showed up on their doorstep and she’d wrapped her strong arms around him for the first time. There had been questions and anger borne of worry, then things had largely gone back to normal. He told his family as much as he felt was necessary about his death, as much as he thought they could handle, and after they couldn’t get anything more out of him, like his past, they’d stopped trying to good-naturedly pry and respected his privacy. Some things they just didn’t need to know. He’d heard secondhand how hard it had been on his family when his friends couldn’t provide any ideas as to his whereabouts after he’d disappeared, even more so when Vivi, his girlfriend whom his family cared about as one of their own, couldn’t remember their son at all. Lewis had decided it was best for them not to know about his exact cause of death, or that Arthur had a role in it. He knew the mechanic still carried a lot of guilt about the incident, and Lewis wasn’t sure how his parents and sisters would respond if they found out that while it wasn’t Arthur’s will, it had been his hand to push Lewis off the cliff.

“Lewis!” His sisters cried joyfully, causing the laptop’s speakers to crackle.

“Lew, I miss you! When are you coming home?”

“Lewis, did you make it to that haunted house you guys were going to yet?”

“Yeah, did you kick that other ghost’s butt?” Lewis chuckled at his sisters’ antics.

“I miss you too, Paprika. All of you. It’ll still be a few days before we get home, we haven’t gotten there quite yet. We ran into a little delay…” Lewis leaned in conspiratorially towards the camera of the laptop.

“It’s snowing,” he said, satisfied by the squeals of excitement he heard from his sisters.

“It’s snowing!?”

“You should have a snowball fight!”

“Make a snowman!”

“A snow angel!”

“Throw a snowball at Arthur’s face!” Lewis gave Cayenne a mock glare for her suggestion. He had to wonder why she had it in for Arthur so bad sometimes.

“Lew, I wanna see the snow!”

“Yeah, Lewis! Show us the snow!” Even Cayenne looked interested, the devilish grin she’d been wearing slipping into a more sincere smile.

“Alright,” the ghost said, “I’m not sure how much you’ll be able to see though, the connection’s pretty bad.” He maneuvered towards the front of the van, positioning the computer so it was facing out. He was pleased to hear three distinct gasps of delight from the laptop’s speakers as they looked out at the winter wonderland through the windshield. Vivi and Mystery raced into view, pausing to wave from the other side of the glass.

“Hi Vivi! Hi Mystery!” The girls chorused. Lewis chuckled again, turning the computer back towards the interior of the van as he settled back down. His mother reappeared on the screen with his father in tow, the small man wringing his hands nervously.

“Is everything alright, Lewis? We weren’t expecting your call for another couple of hours,” his father asked.

“Dad, it’s snowing where Lewis is at!” If anything, Pa Pepper looked even more nervous.

“Oh, that’s nice, Belle. You all doing okay up there? I know you kids don’t have a whole lot of experience driving in the snow.”

“Yeah, it’s, uh, coming down pretty good here, so we’ve decided to stop for a little while. Wait until the weather lets up to start driving again.” Lewis thought it would be best to leave out the mishap they’d had earlier, but his attempts at reassurance fell flat as he saw his father’s eyes dart nervously to Ma Pepper.

“Maybe you should all come back home. Lance, he’s in the dining area now, he keeps checking the radar where you’re at and it doesn’t seem like it’s going to stop anytime soon.” His father’s face brightened as a thought came to mind.

“We could even come to get you! If you’re having any trouble with the roads, that is.” Lewis sighed to himself quietly. One of the many things that hadn’t changed in the Pepper household after he had returned as a ghost was his father’s constant worry over his well-being. If possible, his father fretted even more now that he no longer had a life to lose. Before Lewis could respond though, he watched as his mother laid a heavy hand on her husband’s shoulder, causing him to stumble briefly.

“Lewis is fine, dear,” she reassured her spouse with a calm voice that brokered no argument, “He’s an adult, and he can take care of himself.” It sounded like a conversation they’d had more than once.

“Right,” Pa Pepper responded, “You’re right, of course. You know how I worry though!” The pink-haired man gave a nervous laugh.

"You will call us if anything happens, right? You know we’d drop everything if you guys were in a bind,” Lewis’s father asked beseechingly. The constant loving care of the Peppers, as differently as his mother and father expressed it, reminded Lewis all over again of how much he loved them.

“And deny the Pepper Paradiso of its head pâtissier and capsaicin artist? Wouldn’t dream of it,” Lewis said, “We really are fine though.”

“Well, alright…You be careful out there though, you hear? I’ve got to get back to work now, but I’d like to hear from you when you all hit the road again, okay?”

“I’ll give you guys a call,” Lewis promised, “Bye dad, love you!”

“Love you too, son.” Pa Pepper gave the screen a small wave before exiting from view.

“You will take care of yourself, won’t you Lewis?” His mother asked once his father was gone. It sounded more like a command than a question.

“I will mom,” Lewis responded, “We’re being careful. Arthur’s got the van fixed up so it’s like a tiny fortress against the cold, and Vivi and Mystery seem to actually be enjoying the snow so far.” His mother gave a hum to indicate she had heard him, a thoughtful expression on her face.

“Can you put Arthur on?” She asked to Lewis’s surprise.

“Uh, yeah. Is everything okay?”

“As your father mentioned, Mr. Kingsmen has been checking the weather radar in your area ever since you left, and it looks like things are going to get worse before they get better,” his mother said, “It’s not just your father who’s worried. Old fool is just too stubborn to admit it.” Lewis smiled; he had a feeling that Lance wasn’t the only one worried for Arthur either.

“Yeah, I’ll put him on. Hold on a minute.” Lewis picked the laptop up from where he’d sat down on the floor of the van, shuffling to where Arthur was still curled up by the doors. He waved to get his attention, and the mechanic hurriedly took off his headphones, looking up at Lewis curiously.

“Ma wants to talk to you,” Lewis said, setting the mechanic’s laptop in front of him before he could ask for an explanation.

“H-Hi Paprika, Belle, Cayenne,” Lewis shook his head in exasperation as Cayenne stuck her tongue out at Arthur in greeting.

“Hi Mrs. Pepper…”

“Girls, why don’t you say bye to Lewis now and go back to help your father.”

“Aw,” Belle whined, “I wanna keep talking to Lewis!”

“Me too!”

“Me three!”

“He won’t be able to call us again if he runs down the battery on the computer too fast. Now say goodbye, girls. He’ll be back soon.”

“Bye Lewis!”

“Be back soon, okay?”

“We love you!” The three little girls scurried off screen after having said their farewells. With them gone, his mother turned her full scrutiny onto his friend. Lewis could hear it as the mechanic gulped.

“Arthur,” she said sternly, “Have you been sleeping?”

“Um,” Arthur stammered, seemingly taken aback by Ma Pepper’s intense interest in his wellbeing, “Y-Yeah, I took a nap while Lewis was driving, until we—”

“He hasn’t been sleeping a lot, no,” Lewis interrupted before Arthur could say something to worry his parents even more, offering a silent apology as his friend shot him a betrayed look.

“I don’t need you to tell me that, Lewis,” his mother chastised, “I can see the shadows under your eyes from here, Arthur.”

“I’m really okay…” Arthur tried to defend himself. Lewis’s mother merely levelled an eyebrow at him.

“Good,” the woman replied, “Then you will sleep tonight.”

“Y-Yes, ma’am…”

“And you will eat.”

“Yes ma’am…”

“And you will wear more than just that vest if you go outside.”

“Yes ma’am…”

“Good,” she said again, giving a nod in satisfaction. Lewis knew she would be relaying the information to Arthur’s uncle, the older mechanic too emotionally constipated to do the asking himself, though he was doubtlessly fretting over Arthur’s well-being.

“You be careful out there,” Lewis’s mother said, her tone severe, “Lewis, look out for your friends and yourself. Arthur, take care.”

“I will,” Lewis replied earnestly.

“Bye, Mrs. Pepper.”

“Bye, mom!” Lewis said, “We’ll be back soon. Love you!” A warm smile flickered to life once again, momentarily softening her severe expression.

“I love you too, Lewis,” she said. With that, the video call ended. Arthur leaned back with a sigh, finally freed of Ma Pepper’s somewhat frightening concern.

“Your mom is scary,” he told Lewis. The ghost merely chuckled.

“Better do what she says then,” Lewis warned, “She’s even scarier if you don’t listen to her.” The mechanic offered him a small smile Lewis wished he could return, though he relished the warm feeling it gave him. Back at home, Lewis was sure his mother was already relaying a report of Arthur’s condition to the mechanic’s eagerly waiting uncle. As gruff as Lance was on the outside and as much as he tried not to let it show, he cared about Arthur, Lewis, and Vivi a lot, his skittish nephew most of all. Lewis had to wonder if Arthur knew just how much. How much they all cared. Lewis was sure his parents were now personally almost as invested in his friend’s health and safety as Lance was. Suddenly, the doors of the van flew open, causing the mechanic to let out a shriek and Lewis’s spectral hair to flicker as a flurry of snow and cold air swirled into the van. Vivi stood just outside the doors looking satisfied, her hands on her hips, Mystery excitedly prancing through the snow at her heels.

“C’mon, guys!” She said, “You’ve gotta come see this!” Lewis chuckled again, propelling himself out of the van, dumping Arthur’s orange hoodie on the already shivering mechanic as he floated out the doors and into the snow.

[dammitadolfnomorecake]

COTW 10 - Full

Levi was having a shit day at work. He was out in the field, biting his tongue about his plans to marry Eren as Erwin prattled on, asking after Eren and his mental health. He knew Erwin was concerned, but he'd already been thrown up on, and had one patient try to take a swing at him. Eren had said he was proud that Levi was out in the field helping people, but on days like this, it was hard to feel appreciated. At least the patient they were currently transporting to hospital was an old beta woman who was happy enough talking to through the gap. Hearing the radio crackle, he sighed as Petra's voice came through "Levi? Are you on channel?" She may have backed off on her continued perusal of him, but sometimes she'd revert back to hitting on him, making them all uncomfortable. She'd kind of edged to the fringe of their friends. Snatching up the receiver, Erwin looked to him "Go ahead Petra" "Eren's at Shinganshima hospital. He's not hurt, but he did sound pretty shaken up" Levi grabbed the receiver from Erwin "What do you mean he's there?!" "He called in an assault, Mike called me to see if I could warn you" "He called in an assault?" "I don't know much more, only that he's there... and that he's ok. He's not the victim" Erwin took the receiver back "Thanks, Petra. We're completing a patient transfer at the moment, we will be there shortly" "You're welcome. Mike also said to tell Levi that there's nothing wrong with the twins, and that he'd know what that means" That was something... but this whole thing was something he didn't need. Not on such a crappy day like today. He knew Eren could throw down with the best of them, but his mate has said he was going into the dance studio to catch up with his partner. Levi had no idea how that turned into assault "He does. Thank you, Petra" Erwin didn't dare talk for the first few moments, as Levi gripped the steering wheel so hard it hurt his hands "He's ok" "He wasn't the victim. That doesn't mean he's ok" "If something was wrong, Mike would have said" "Eren probably told him not to. We both know he likes to hide things" "He's gotten better though, hasn't he?" "No. Not really. No. That isn't fair. It's still deeply ingrained in him that he has to hide things to protect us" "Where's Viren?" "With Eren" That meant their son would have seen whatever Eren had... Shit... "Levi, we don't know what happened. We're ten minutes out" "You don't seem to get it at all. Eren. He cares for everyone. He was actually upset over the people his father killed. He took on that pain like it was his to carry. He's not fragile, but he tries so hard to make everyone around him happy. He'd even cry if something happened to you and your shitty eyebrows" "I know he's a good kid" "But?" "But he is rather emotional" "You try being tortured and kept chained up, and see how you like it. He's still discriminated against for being an omega" "That isn't as bad at once was" "If you believe that, you're a fucking idiot" "Omegas were segregated to keep them safe. They were treasures for looking at and never touching" "And whores for the rich, when their heats hit. We all know the shit that's been smeared over the truth" "Levi" "Look I don't care if you don't like Eren. Actually, no. I do. I know you two have butted heads, but he is my mate. You should at least respect that" "I didn't say I didn't like him" "That's why you've been hounding me nonstop about his mental state. You want to know the truth? Going on his medication has messed with all his systems. He's barely an acceptable weight, and he has a whole new heap of triggers that set off panic attacks. His nightmares have returned, my nightmares have returned. He also thought I was cheating on him, and wanted to break our bond because I started treating him like shit without knowing it. He lost a pup down in Paradis, that's why Hanji came down to join us, and he's so worried about everyone around him, he's hiding his pain over it all. He's brave and he's stubborn, and he's my hope. He gets twice as much shit for being a male omega, and he still stands up for himself. He's not all panic attacks and crying fits. So you need to start respecting him" "I didn't say I didn't respect him" "No. I know you too well. You've always thought he was bad for me" "Not bad. You just have a tendency to lose all control when it comes to him. He nearly destroyed you. More than once" "Being taken against his will, then forced to witness the inside of a baby farm was hardly his idea of a pleasant holiday" "There were quite a few high ranking officials that fell thanks to Floch's investigation" "And thanks to Eren" Erwin sensed his defeat, the alpha turning his attention to the beta woman in the back, Levi seriously wanted to deck the man. They'd had this argument more times than he could count. He wasn't the same person he'd been since meeting Eren, and talking to Krista had pulled up so many thoughts and emotions. He knew he struggled with his anxieties over Eren, but anxieties and worry came hand in hand with loving someone. He couldn't help it if Eren deserved the moon and every star in the sky. He loved him and he loved loving him. Even when things were rough, Eren soothed his soul like nothing else. * Completing the hand off, the beta woman smiled happily as she was wheeled away. Levi had made it a point not to look in Erwin's direction as he filled out the last of the forms. He had more important things to do. Get the forms done, then get the truth of everything out of Eren. Coming closer, Levi growled at Erwin. The man stopping just short of placing his hand on his shoulder. He didn't want to drag this up again. He didn't even want to invite Erwin to his wedding. That had been bad enough. He'd headed down to the courthouse to see about getting their marriage licence thing. The things they'd wanted on Eren's behalf had pissed him off. Eren was treated like a criminal. They wanted absolutely everything, including bank records and police clearance. Why the fuck their finances where any of the governments business, he had no clue. He'd thought it would be a simple case of presenting their ID's, but no. He'd had to take a small tree down, only for them to say each page needed to be signed by an authorised signatory. Which Mike could do, when he had time to talk to him without Erwin around. He was still yet to pick Eren's ring up... His phone hadn't survived its swim, which was probably why Eren had had to tell Mike everything. He hadn't had a chance to swing by the shops and pick up a new one... stupidly forgetting he could pick one up online when shopping for Viren. Though, in his defence, work had kicked his arse. He'd been dead on his feet when he came back on Monday night, then Viren had cried almost all night, his exhaustion had bled over into each following day since then. It was now Saturday and it felt like a whole month had passed since he returned. He'd been pampered into laziness by domestic life. Heading into the emergency department, he didn't know the woman working. Explaining that his mate had been brought in, and that needed to talk to Mike, he was made to wait in the reception area, where everyone was sniffling and sharing their shitty germs... Eren loathed hospitals, and wouldn't be happy to be there. Then there was Viren. He'd been so upset when Eren collapsed, if he witness what happened, the poor boy would probably just as distraught. When Mike finally appeared, Levi earned himself glares crossing the room before all of them. Slipping past Mike, his friend patted his shoulder, much like how Erwin had tried to before, leading him forward, he couldn't seem to find Eren's scent in the air "Eren's ok. Split lip and split knuckles, but he and the pups are otherwise ok" "Then what the fuck happened?" "He was having a late lunch with his dance partner Sasha, when he heard a cry. Leaving Viren with her, he found an omega in the middle of being assaulted" "Sexually?" "No. Though that didn't stop the beta from doing a number on their back and shoulders. Eren broke his arm, and jaw. Called emergency services for the omega and has been with her since they arrived" "He's really good with other omegas" "Her partner is on his way in. She'd come into the city for Christmas shopping, and was on her way to meet up with friends..." "Your shitty husband was just trying to tell me today how much better things were for omegas. What a load of shit. Even refuges don't give two fucks about the omegas in their care" "Just try not to let that anger show. She's pretty shaken up" "I know better than to do that. Have the police taken their statements" "It was your friend Pixis" Pixis barely ventured out his precinct these days. Things must have been desperate with the silly season upon them. Knocking lightly on the door to a room just off the emergency department, Mike opened the door slowly. Eren was sitting in the visitors chair, while Viren was bragging about all sorts of things to a very exhausted looking omega. The moment her eyes met his, she flinched away. Eren was there right away, hushing her softly "It's ok. This is my mate, Levi" "I trust you not to hurt her, but if she grows distressed, come find me" He'd planned to get Eren and go home, but of course his mate wanted to be there for the omega. Time to appear non threatening "Hey. Hey, Eren" "Hello, it's nice to meet you Levi" He noted the way the female omega didn't offer her name, and the slight tremor remaining in her frame. Moving to sit on the edge of the woman's bed, Eren wrapped an arm around her shoulders "You're perfectly safe here. I know all the doctors way too well, and if anyone does anything, Levi will jump in to protect us" "I'm not sure you need protecting. I'm so sorry you had to..." "No. I'm sorry you had to experience something like that" "You were honestly amazing. You didn't even hesitate" "Of course not. No one deserves to be made to feel that scared" Lifting Viren into his hold, Levi sank down into the visitors chair "How was work?" "Long. Erwin talks way too much" Eren snorted, then paused to explain "Erwin is married to Mike, the doctor who was there when you were admitted. He and Levi are paramedics" "Oh..." The woman frowned at the word paramedics "Who drove you in?" "I don't know. I think they were EMT's..." So Eren didn't know them "I did try to call you, then I remembered the whole phone thing. I'm guessing Mike called Erwin?" "Mike called Petra, who radioed through to us" "Ahhh... I did tell him not to. With you working, and me not being hurt" "Eren, you're a terrible liar. You've got steri-strips on your face and a wrapped hand" "It's fine. He didn't even hit my stomach, so it's nothing much. I've had worse from Viren. But we'll be talking about this when we get home. Levi might look all grumpy, but he worries way too much" The female omega forced a smile in his direction "That must be nice" "It is in its own way. Levi actually treats me like I'm his equal" "I can see why. I've never seen an omega hit a beta, or an alpha" "Sometimes it's the only way they listen..." "It was my fault, for being an omega" "It is not your fault. You cannot help being an omega. That beta could help being a douche" "I still feel responsible..." "I know. But I swear it wasn't your fault. You did nothing to deserve that" Nuzzling her hair, Eren held her close, gently calming her. Levi was strangely not jealous over the intimate contact. He was proud of his mate for standing up for what he believed in, and helping someone who could help themselves. The woman was absolutely tiny, he doubted she would be any taller than 5ft. Eren must have seemed like a 6 foot tall knight rushing to her rescue "Eren is right. You didn't deserve that. No one does. I'm so proud of you Eren" "You're truly not angry with him?" "No. How could I be?" "He hurt the beta" "If Eren hurt him, it was because it was necessary. He isn't one to jump into a fight and cause havoc just because he can" Eren blushed, flustered as he tried to get his words out "Besides, it's not the first time I've been in a fight. It, uh... it used to be semi regular. I mean, I didn't start them, but I wasn't about to let other people get hurt..." "What he means is, he used to work somewhere not so great, so regularly stood up for his coworkers" "That's so amazing for an omega. Usually no one listens. My alpha's nice, but there are so many out there that aren't" "That's true" Falling into silence, it was awkward. When Viren tugged his arm and less that softly told him he had to go to the toilet, Levi took the chance. With a look to Eren, his omega nodded "I'm going to stay with her until her alpha arrives. You probably need to get back to work" "It's fine. I'm just taking a long lunch, I want to drop you home before going back" "If you need to go..." The woman's frightened expression said it all "No. It's fine. Like I said, I know all the doctors around here. I can get a lift home" Not that he'd ask. His brat would hate to inconvenience them "And like I said, I'll take you home. I'll be back soon" Viren was more distracted by everything going on around them the fact he had to pee. The boy was so hyped up by everything, he ended up peeing on the toilet rather than in. Another thing Levi really didn't feel like dealing with, yet still wiped down the toilet, because he was nice like that. The whole trip had already taken longer than expected, with his son saying hello to everyone both there and on the way back. Eren was waiting patiently just down the hall from the omegas room "Everything ok?" "Yep. Her alpha's just arrived. And even though I've been here way too many times, I decided it would be smarter to wait here for you" "Thank you... after today, I probably would have lost it if I couldn't find you" "That good?" "Pretty much. Want to tell me what happened?" Taking his hand with his bandaged hand, Eren tugged him towards the exit "Ugh. Not if it means it's going to start a fight" "It's not going to start a fight. I just want to make sure you're ok... given what you witnessed" "I was having lunch with Sasha. There's this great cafe down from the studio, when I thought I could hear someone crying out. We were sitting out in the patio area. Sasha didn't seem to notice it, and no one else seemed to either, or they were ignoring it. Then it started getting louder, so I left Viren with her. They were both busy eating anyway. I probably looked like an idiot. Anyways, she was pinned up against the side of the restaurant, trying to get free and everyone was ignoring her. The police brought the alpha in separately, though the EMT's didn't seem too happy about us both being omegas, and having Viren there" So it didn't progress into a sexual assault... thank god for that. For both Eren and the omega "Not everyone. You did really good today" Eren gave him a shy smile, his mate still looking worried "Thanks. I wasn't sure if you'd be mad or not?" "I'm mad at everyone who walked past" "She was terrified. She kept asking him to leave her alone. I might have over done it" "From what I've heard, he had it coming" Pulling him into a one armed hug, Levi smiled at his mate "I'm so fucking proud of you" "It... was really scary" "And you handled it so well. You stayed with her and kept her calm" "I just did what felt right... I thought you might be mad" "No. I know how much omegas enjoy the contact of another omega, and how calming it is for you. You and Marco used to cuddle quite a bit" "I don't know how to explain it. It's like, really soft. Like cuddling into your favourite blanket" "Oh. Do I have to be jealous, after all?" "No. Your cuddles are the best in the world" "Mmm. That's better. He really didn't hit your stomach?" "No. He called me a slut and went to go me. All I cared about was getting him off Sophie" "Her name was Sophie?" "Yeah. I told her you might come by, so she wouldn't be scared. Viren was busy telling her all about you" Levi laughed, squeezing his son's hand as they made their way over to the door that would lead them out to the emergency department waiting room "I thought he was talking about himself" "He started by getting excited when I said "dad" and it snowballed from there" "Is that so?" "Yep. Anyway. Mike gave me an ultrasound to make sure I hadn't been hit, because I didn't remember getting hit in the face. No concussion either. I decked him in the face, and the idiot fell over his own feet. That's when he broke his arm" "Idiot" "Pretty much" Erwin was waiting for them in the waiting room, Viren yelling out of "Uncle Erwin", freeing himself to run over to the man. Levi was still pissed over their earlier spat. Tensing, Eren saw right through him "Did you two have a fight?" "Yeah, but it's fine" "Levi. You don't have that many friends. You can't fight with the ones you do have" "He was just worried about you getting into a fight" "Oh. Yeah. I don't think he and I will ever be the best of friends, but I'm ok with that. We both care about you so much, that we both think we know best" "I know" He wasn't about to tell Eren about the contents of the conversation. Not when his mate was still shaken over what he'd seen and how he'd acted. He could smell both Eren's fear and Sophie's lingering fear. "Everything alright?" Eren nodded, kissing Levi's cheek as he did. Erwin had Viren up in his hold, the four of them moving towards where the ambulance was parked "More than ok. Eren was extremely brave today" "Leeeee. It wasn't that brave" "He saved an omega from being attacked in public. I'm very proud of him" "And everything alright with you, Eren?" "Yep. Just fine. Both pups are fine, and the omega is with her alpha. It's just a few scrapes" "Mike said you were calm and collected, and kept her calm. Even though you broke the alpha's jaw and arm" "He broke his own arm. He tripped over his own feet. And, he was a beta" Mumbling, Eren was acting slightly skittish around Erwin. He didn't like that at all. Nuzzling Eren's back, his omega relaxed into his hold "I'm proud of you" "I know. You can stop saying it" "Nope" "Lee, please. I just want to go home now. I want to take a bath, and watch cartoons with Viren" "I think we can manage that" "Good. Oh, shit. I need to message Sasha. I ditched her at the cafe" "Am I going to meet Sasha?" "Yep. I invited her and Connie to Viren's birthday party" And Levi had remembered to look up trikes online, it was being delivered to Hanji's, along with a shiny red helmet for their son "I think they're really going to like Marco and Jean" "So they're coming?" "They're moving at the end of the month. Jean wants another pup soon, but Marco isn't having it" "He shouldn't have to" "He loves Jean, and he loves being a mum. Oh. He doesn't know I'm pregnant yet. Hanji's been warned that she's not to turn it into a baby shower" "I know. As far as I know, she doesn't have anything planned" "You know Hanji, she always has the best of intentions" "I know..." Guiding Eren into the back of the ambulance, his omega kept an arm around his waist as they sat on the gurney. Viren immediately wanted to play with everything as Erwin stood him up just inside the doorway, while Eren was happy to hide his face against Levi's neck. Taking his son's hand, Levi pulled him up into his lap, sandwiched between his two loves. Closing the door, Erwin headed around to climb up into the driver's seat. Looking back at them, Erwin shrugged at the sight "You three ready?" "Yeah. Viren wants to play with everything" "You're cleaning the mess up" "Don't I always?" * Dropping them at home, Eren was more than happy to be back in his safe place. He felt bad for inconveniencing Levi, and bad for bossing the EMT's around. They were going to take them to another smaller, closer hospital, but Sophie was terrified, and he didn't trust anyone else to handle the scared woman. Letting Viren go running to the sofa, Eren made sure the door was locked, about to text Levi over it, before remembering his phone was dead. He'd had enough of not being able to message his alpha. Like today, he couldn't even message Levi to let him know he was going to lunch with Sasha. He knew Levi wouldn't mind, but he felt the need to keep his mate in the loop given Levi's anxieties. They had a combined appointment with Krista, but that wasn't until after his dance wind up. Exhausted, he wanted to take a bath, but that meant leaving Viren unsupervised. His son would probably crash soon from all the excitement of the day, and a nap did sound great... scooping his son up, Eren nuzzled into his soft hair "Mummy?" "Come take a nap with mummy" "Noooo" "Viren, don't you want cuddles?" "Nooo. I want cartoons" "We'll watch cartoons later baby" "But mum!" "Please Viren, mummy has had a long day" A very long day. His nerves shattered now that he was ok to not be ok. He'd also been dancing with Sasha, and hiding that from Levi. It was hardly anything. Merely walking through the steps of the routine they would be performing, yet he still felt guilty. Hanji had told him to hold off until the start of December, which was only a few more days away... He'd have to tell Levi. Levi would be disappointed, but maybe he would understand. It wasn't as intense as pole dancing "Come on baby" "I want daddy" "Daddy has to work with Uncle Erwin" "But I want daddy" That was when the crying started. Carrying Viren through to their room, he sat him down, only for the boy to fling himself down on the floor, screaming as he dissolved into a tantrum. Instead of letting him cry, he attempted to lift his son, who squarely hit him in his split lip. Jerking back in pain, Eren finally broke down. Starting to cry, he stumbled back, sinking down on the floor sobbing. He'd seen red at Sophie being attacked. Everything has rushed back from when Zeke died, and he'd lost it. He was sure he'd called the man "Bertholdt", as he'd decked him thoughtlessly. Everything was a kind of blur, he'd even scared Viren when he came back bleeding. His son didn't know why mummy was bleeding again, but he didn't like it. Sitting on the floor with his back against Levi's wardrobe, he cried into his hands until two small hands grabbed his. His first instinct was to lash out, until his omega scolded him that it was their son. Gathering Viren into his lap, he rocked the boy. Viren crying just as hard as he did. He loved his son so much, but he hadn't thought about how badly he'd be scared by blood. Sasha had calmed him as they'd waited for the police and the ambulance to arrive, Viren didn't want to go near him at all. Kissing his son hair, he reminded himself he couldn't be like this. He was being selfish by crying in front of his son "I'm sorry baby. Mummy's sorry. Mummy's sorry. I know you want daddy. I know baby boy" Curled into each other, Eren kept rocking Viren until he fell asleep in his arms. Moving his son to his own bed, the omega then ran himself a shower, rather than a bath. With a towel shoved against the bottom of the door, so Viren wouldn't hear, he sobbed himself out. He hadn't even thought about the safety of his pups, and he was so fucking angry at himself for still being haunted by the past. When Levi got home from work, his mate seemed to know he really wasn't ok with a single glance. Striding over to him, Levi pulled him up from the sofa and into his arms. Eren crumbling against him "Bad day?" Eren snorted, nodding as he nosed at Levi's scent. His mate smelt as happy as he felt "Yeah. You?" "Absolutely crap" "Fuck... I'm sorry. When I got home, everything hit me. Viren was crying, and I was crying. But what happened with the rest of your shift?" "People are idiots. How do you feel now?" "Really fucking drained. I made dinner" "Thank you. Have you eaten?" "Not yet. I wanted to have dinner with you" "Sounds good. Let me take a shower, then we can cuddle on the sofa" "That sounds so good..." Neither of them moved, Levi laughing softly when it became apparent neither of them particularly wanted to "Levi. I need to tell you something" "What's up?" "I kind of danced today. Sasha and I walked through the moves to our routine. I'm sorry" "Eren, it's ok. I had the feeling you might, and you know not to push yourself just yet. Did you feel guilty all day because of it?" Eren nodded softly "I know you don't want to yet" "You don't need to feel guilty. We've both had a long day" "I'm sorry" "No, it's ok. Erwin made me pick up a new phone on the way home" "I was going to look them up, but..." "You fell apart. I can smell it" "I called the guy "Bertholdt"" Levi tensed, sighing as he did "Alright. You're coming with me" "What?" "I need a shower, and we both need a hug" "You do kind of smell" "I got vomited on during the first call out of the day, then pissed on with the last" "And you let me hug you" "Don't say I never do anything romantic" "You're an arse" "Mhmm. Come on" Levi was cooperative as they showered. Eren washing his fiancées hair, while Levi kept his forehead against his chest. He loved the grey hairs blending through Levi's neatly trimmed hair. His alpha was just as gorgeous to him as he was the moment Eren had met him. Trading a few small kisses, all their touches were reassuring, with no need to be sexual. He wasn't up for sex. Not after what had happened earlier. When their shower was done, Levi redressed his hand for him, kissing the wound sites and nuzzling into the spots, before disinfecting them. After their shower, they curled up on the sofa. Levi fitting nicely in his hold as they ate, it was a comfortable sort of silence, the TV playing something on the background, that neither of them was paying attention to. Sleepy and warm, he placed his half eaten food on the table, content with holding Levi. He knew his mate hadn't been sleeping well. Forcing himself not to fall asleep until Levi did. They managed a few hours sleep before he woke screaming. Levi sent flying to the floor as he started flailing. Climbing up, his alpha grabbed his shoulders "Eren?!" "I'm ok. Fuck... I'm ok" His chest was heaving as beads of sweat rolled down his face. Rubbing his eyes, Levi hovered until he was ready to sit up. Levi was a sexy kind of disoriented, sitting on the coffee table across from. His hair sticking up, with dried drool in the corner of his mouth "What was it about?" "It wasn't as bad as normal" "It was bad enough for you to scream" "It was weird... you killed Erwin, but he came back. And he had this rubber duck, and was chasing us. I don't really remember the rest, but it was weird" Levi laughed. His alpha threw his head back and laughed. Pouting, he pulled his hands back from Levi's "I'm sorry. But a rubber duck?" "Shut up. I told you it wasn't as bad as normal" "I didn't realise rubber ducks were so scary" "You know what, I was worried about you. I take it all back" "You can't take it back" "Then I'll remember this. And when you least expect it, there will be ducks" "I'm looking forward to it. But you're really ok?" "I'm ok. I had a good cry earlier while Viren was napping. I guess I was still a bit anxious when I went to sleep or something" "Anxious over ducks" "No one gets anxious over ducks" "Come here you, I think we can still get a few more hours sleep" Still pouty at Levi, Eren pushed himself up, surprising Levi by lifting him off the table "What are you doing?" "Carrying you to bed" "You're the one who had the nightmare" "And you're the one who was a dick over ducks. This my revenge" "I thought it was revenge by ducks" "Oh, there will be a great duck reckoning" "Look at you using big words" "You can't blame that on me. You're the one who's taught me how to read and write" "I never thought it would come back to haunt me like this" "You need to set your phone up" "I know. Tomorrow after work, we'll sit down and work it out" "And we need to get you a waterproof case" "That would probably be a good idea. It needs to be toddler proof too" "I don't think anything that's supposed to be toddler proof is" "No... you might be right about that one" Viren had crept into their room while they slept. The boy sleeping in the centre of the bed, out like a starfish. Sitting Levi down, his alpha smiled at their son "Should I move him back to his bed?" "No. You should sleep closer to him. Just in case I freak out again" "Eren, you don't need to be scared of Viren" "I freaked him out pretty badly, I didn't think about how scared he be over me bleeding" "Eren... it was all forgotten by the time we got to the hospital. He was happy" "I hate scaring him. When I started crying today, he was mid tantrum because he didn't want to nap. He climbed into my arms to make me feel better. He's not supposed to do that" "Let's go to bed. It's been a long day" "L-" "Eren, you're a great mum. And a great person. I meant what I said. I was so proud of you for stepping in" "I didn't even think about the safety of the pups" "Is that what's worrying you? The pups?" "I was so angry I forgot about them. It wasn't until Mike wanted to give me an examination that I remembered" "I think you're over thinking it. We've both had a long day" It was easy for Levi to say. He hadn't seen how scared their son was "Please Levi, just sleep next to him" "Alright, as long as you stay" He was planning on bolting back to his old room the first chance he got "Eren, stay. I want you to stay" He couldn't say no to that... "Even if you have another nightmare, I'll be here to protect you from the ducks" Fucking ducks. He should have kept his mouth shut. He was starting to feel anxious about it all... and stupid as fuck. Who the hell had a screaming nightmare over ducks?! "You're so annoying. Go to sleep already" "Then get into bed already" "I'm waiting on you" "And I'm waiting on you" "That's it. I'm going to go sleep in my room" "No. Ok. I won't tease you about it any longer, can you please just come to bed?" "You'll never mention it again" "Not unless you do" "Fine. Move over, I'm getting in" Levi might have promised to never mention it again... but the moment Eren spooned up behind him, his alpha quacked. After that, his desire to fall back to sleep vanished. He stayed in bed with Levi in his arms, but he didn't dare sleep. He didn't want to feel even stupider than he was.

[elzariel]

Karma Fairy

This will be a LONG one, like, short novel long, but its been a long gig and I need to tell the world of this mess, hoping this'll pay my debt back to the karma fairy for letting justice rain on this.

The cast: Me MOS (manager on site) CB (cheeky bugger) HAH (horny asshole)

TLDR; HAH acts like he's the pro and brags to everyone, before talking shit about coworkers behind their back to other coworkers and boss, then doesn't do his job, expects boss not to find out he's skipping work, doesn't turn to work and when boss wants to ask him what the fuck, doesn't even answer his phone. HAH is in for a surprise when MOS will never hire him again and probably will cut ties with him all together, as he now knows what a shit person HAH is.   

Background info: I'v been with this company for half a year now, but have recently moved from another town. My old boss offered to introduce me to the manager at the new town and said they could easily get me more work there. I agree that I'd love to keep working for them, as I'v been cleaning for years on several smaller companies, but its never ended happily. Turns out cleaning as a profession is a swamp of bad customers and crap employers. Who knew. All in all, this company has been nothing but nice and I love working for them. The two managers I'v worked for were stellar gents, I trust them and will bend backwards to keep the customer happy for these people. My current boss at the company, is a friendly, no nonsense guy. I'v met him like, twice before I got to the worksite, but he seemed to get along well with my old boss, so I trust this guy. A little scatterbrained and bad at choosing workers, but we all make mistakes. Also kinda crap at making inventory on what needs to be done when etc. but its okay, he has a whole town's cleaning jobs to run for a fairly big company.

My new manager, MOS, asks if I want to do a short gig, since they don't have anything stable to give me yet. I agree, as I want work asap. This would also raise my experience and give me kudos in the company for accepting short notice work, since MOS called me a day before the gig starts. (turns out nobody else wanted to do it except me and CB) Gig is at an office type building, to clean before the new tenants move in. Space has been cleaned after the last tenant left, but they want us to deep clean the space, since new tenant has had problems with in-door air quality at their last place, meaning they're gonna be absolutely anal about new place being clean. MOS makes it clear to all three of us working there, me, CB and HAH that this is IMPORTANT. The dust HAS to be gone. From EVERYWHERE. There is no slacking at this job. This is one of those gigs where it has to be spotless or we'll have to just re-do it until it is.

On day one, I meet my work buddies for this gig. CB, darker skinned immigrant worker, speaks fairly ok english and a understandable version of the language of the land. Does the jobs given to him, or so we thought. Not a bad dude, just has a shit ton of work on his plate, including another cleaning company next to ours, this raises tension with him and MOS. HAH, dude says he's a veteran of the field. Has been cleaning "forever". Keeps mentioning how he's a pro at window washing and seems oddly fixated on windows, as if he thinks this is his only job here. MOS said he hired this guy because HAH didn't have work atm. Never said that HAH would only be doing windows. From that day on, HAH would constantly, and I mean CONSTANTLY, keep talking how the windows will only take him a day to do, including the outside. How this job, that has been scheduled for 70 hours or in other words 5 days, will only take us like two, so we can take it slow and laze around. (Of course not when MOS is around, but he openly talks about going slow with me and CB. Even bitches at me for doing the bathrooms "too fast" as we'll "run out of work" if I don't slow down.) When HAH wasn't boasting about how fast this'll be, he is talking about sex. Not kidding. This man spent 80% of the time his mouth was moving talking about fucking, dicks, vags, railing women and the sort. Now I ain't a prude, but damn son, reel it in a little. He's 49, going through a divorce, with kids my age (29) and it seems like he has no other topics besides being a fast worker and how many women he's banged. CB humors him, but I only answer with curt, short comments. I'm not interested. I'm here to work, not boost someone's ego. We get trouble almost immediately. HAH starts on indoors glass surfaces, while me and CB start trying to figure out how the heck we're supposed to clean the windows that are second story high, we have our own saga with fighting a scaffolding set that's not only badly installed, but at the wrong spot, trying to get it moved, trying to have CB not die falling from cleaning on this thing, etc. It is not fun, its driving MOS insane trying to get the guys responsible for the scaffolding to help us. It goes on for most of the time we're there. In the end, all higher windows have to be cleaned with a seriously dodgy ladder.

Trouble starts on the third last day. Its monday. I come in to find nobody there. Okay, I assume CB has been working too much again and can't come in today, or will be late. Its a trend, but I'm like, its okay. We're almost done anyways. On Friday, HAH left super SUPER early, saying he's done all he needs and we'll do the windows outside on monday when it gets warmer. I shrug, almost tell him to fuck off since he's done jack shit all week, even though he was supposed to help us with EVERYTHING, not just windows, but let him leave because its his fault when MOS comes by later that day and he gets in trouble. MOS got annoyed as fuck when he did come by, but said I could leave early too since we're almost done. (or were we, dun dun duu)

At around lunch on monday, I call MOS to ask about the bathrooms in the foyer, if they belong to the office space and if I should clean them too. Here's the convo: "Yeah those are part of the office too." "Hey I wanted to ask, where is everybody? I'm alone here and we aren't nearly done." "Oh uhh.. Yeah HAH was there this morning, but since the usual electricians didn't show up before 9am, he waited outside the door for an hour and left, without calling me to get someone to open the door." "What?! He left???" "Yeah I don't think I'm hiring this guy again after this. Old friend or not. He's getting all kinds of cocky.." "Well, yeah, he left super early on friday too, saying how he'd finish the outside windows on monday but I guess thats tomorrow then?" MOS apologizes and tells me he's gonna come by in a few to do inventory on what needs to be done and check up a bit on what has been done. We're going to have a check-up with the customer on tuesday around noon, so we'll know what the customer wants re-done by wednesday. MOS shows up in about half an hour, I tell him the list of stuff that needs doing, at this point its mostly the floors, one bathroom needs a quick dust-up since its been in use. We walk around and spot some dusty window frames. MOS looks suspicious af and starts touching ALL the window frames indoors. There's dust everywhere. HAH was supposed to wipe these as he cleaned them, turns out he didn't. While we're doing that, we spot a few ventilation vents that need to be vacuumed, nothing major. Some walls are scuffed and we comment on how that could use a touch up. All in all it looks ok. Rest of monday is spent with CB, who shows up late, getting upper surface dusting done and me finishing small stuff like the bathrooms and some of the walls. By the end of day, I'v seen MOS outside with window cleaning stuff finishing the outside windows. I'm starting to suspect he is so done with HAH at this point. This is tuesday. I come in fairly early, as I can only work for 3 hours that day. In between that tuesday and the first day there, I'v gotten a small bank job from CB to do three times a week + I'm doing holiday leave for a bigger job in town, cutting my available hours to 3 at the office space. This means I'm there for 3 hours, finishing up dusting high up surfaces, when I walk past where MOS and HAH are talking in a room. HAH is making snide comments on how he's surprised (me) can use the floor cleaning equipment. I listen in, take a deep breath, and walk away. Not worth it. I don't have the energy to explain to this jackass I have a damn degree, that has 40% of it concentrated on machine usage and maintenance. I can use any and all equipment a cleaning job needs, be it floor cleaners, polishers, watervacuums or those mini-zambonis. Client shows up around noon. MOS is busy walking the premises with them and I immediately realize there's trouble. The client(s) turn out to be a group of people, with various faces and job titles. MOS looks horrified about 5 minutes in and it just gets worse from there. HAH has done a shit job. Like, major shit job. CB did some of the windows high up, but since he's clearly never been actually taught how to do it, he did it in whatever way that felt logical to him. HAH was supposed to spot clean after CB, but this combo just turned into a mess where ALL indoors window frames had to now be re-dusted with a wet cloth. Yes. All of them. 1000m2 of space, re-dusted. That's 10 763,9 sq ft for americans. HAH had the balls to walk past me re-dusting with "I did that when I cleaned the windows you don't have to do that" which I curtly responded to with "No, the customer literally just said everything has to be re-done." This caused HAH to start doing the SAME THING I WAS DOING. We now had TWO people dusting these window frames, like idiots, while the customer is there. I was so very VERY close to throwing my rag at this guy, telling him to fucking find something useful to do, instead of passive-aggressively following me. I was already doing the job, what on earth! On top of this, the customer found dust. But refused to tell us where he found the dust from. MOS is flabbergasted. How does hiding where it is help us clean? We have no idea, we went through the whole location trying to find this mystery dust treasure trove. Got some hits, cleaned those. MOS is defeated and deflated, he is tired and done after the customer(s) leave. Turns out we have to re-do most light-fixtures, some windows needed a re-wipe, the floors are still not done. I leave on tuesday early, with HAH still shit talking to MOS, now insulting CB's work ethic and results openly, getting more and more racist by the minute. I exit before I have to hear what he has to say about my cleaning. So its wednesday now. Its technically our last day there and everything has to be perfect, finished and spotless before anyone can go home. What does HAH do? Leave early. I come in around 9:30, by 10:00 HAH is gathering his gear talking about how there's only the floor to clean and we should be done. CB is coming later to help right, you'll be fine on your own with 1000m2 flooring to clean! (again, 10 763,9 sq ft) Apparently only some of the offices floors need cleaning, mostly what is needed is two front offices, the big entrance room, a hallway and the foyer. All this time HAH is talking, he is clearly talking about using the small floor cleaning machine we have there. He even points at it, making sure I know how to use it etc. Before he leaves, I ask him to help me move all our equipment, scattered around the office, to the main lobby room and clean up a little. I'm thinking, he can at least do THAT, right?? No. No he cannot. He brings maybe third of the equipment to the lobby, helps with none of the trash, and just poofs into thin air. I'm like, ok, I'm fine with this. I start by checking that everything is ok, spot clean some walls, then start on the floor. I use the little machine we have. At the lesser used end of the hallway it works fine. It looks clean etc. But by the time I'm at the lobby end of the hallway, I'm seeing streaks on the floor. This is a trend that continues through the two offices and the foyer. After I'm done with the lobby/main entrance room, I realize this isn't gonna fly. The floor is super streaky and I can't figure out what is going on. I'm technically done now, all the floors are ran through once with the cleaning machine, but I just don't feel right leaving without asking MOS about the floor, if there's something to do, if I can leave etc. I text MOS if I can leave, I'm done with everything, I think, etc. Ask about the streaking. Then I start my lunch. I know he's at a meeting so getting an answer might take time and I'm in no hurry, as I have no other work on wednesdays, I can stay here however long that is needed. I don't hear anything in 45 minutes and decide fuck it, I'll call him. MOS answers instantly, laughing how he was just about to call. We laugh about telepathy and here's the convo: "So are the electricians gone? They were supposed to finish today right? Are you guys alone?" "What? No, I'm alone. There's two electricians here with me, they seem pissed too, I guess nobody is in time here." "Wait what? You're alone? Where's HAH??? Didn't CB show up??" "Uhh no?" "What in the actual fuck!? What happened???" "HAH was here until about 10am but he left, said everything was done, he had nothing to do so he'd be off" "What the fuck does he mean Nothing to do?? The floors are- are the floors done?" "Well see, there's this weird streaking problem.. I don't want to leave before you ok me to leave, since this doesn't look clean to me, tbh" "Give me 20 minutes. I'll be there. I'll give you a ride home later." "I'm in no hurry, I have no other work for today" MOS shows up in exactly 20 minutes. "The polishing machine hasn't done a very good job has it.." "What polishing machine?" "Huh? You haven't used the polishing machine on the lobby yet?" "No??? I wasn't told that was to be done. All HAH told me was to use the small machine and we'd be done?" "No, we need to use the polishin machine on the lobby, foyer and probably the hallway too, looking at the streaking, the shit's stained too deep for the small machine to penetrate it. Fucking HAH! What the hell does he think he's doing!? Why the hell did we bring the polishing machine and watervacuum here if its not used! Idiots!" At this point MOS starts cursing and I realize its finally dawned on him how much work there still is to do, and its just me and him now. MOS calls around trying to reach anyone to help, CB can't come he's already used his hours today, again. (Turns out he isn't even doing his jobs at the other places he cleans well, he has been lazying around wasting time and not following customer wishes/demands for a while, MOS tells me I might be getting stable work sooner than later, as it seems CB is gonna get booted too if his shitty work quality continues) Its now about 1pm and MOS asks me, looking desperate, if I'm okay helping him for the afternoon and for the next day as well. I agree, saying I'd gladly take the cash and how this vexes me too. The floor looks terrible + I want to look as good as possible to MOS now that I know both CB and HAH have screwed over their graces royally. We take a couple hours to use the smaller machine again the offices, but with the Good Stuff used with the polishing machine, resulting in clean floors. While I'm doing the offices, MOS starts on the lobby, with the Good Stuff + the polisher. GS is a very smelly, acidic chemical meant to strip wax off flooring, so its serious stuff, but also proceeds to get this grimy, black substance to come out the plastic flooring, making us realize some poor fucker waxed this floor, thinking it'd help (spoiler it didn't, don't wax plastic flooring) and that was causing the streaking, as the smaller machine can't strip wax but it can streak it. Thing is, when you use the polishing machine, you literally throw water and cleaning agent on the floor, run it over with the polisher then use the watervacuum to remove the dirty water. Its a two person job or it takes forever, since you cannot let the detergent and water dry, or you have to re-do everything. There was NO way I could have done this alone in a sensible time! HAH either knew this and was a cruel shit head or didn't know and wasn't the pro he said he was. By the time its 3pm, we have the lobby half done and the offices finished. The next day would be the hallway and the rest of the lobby. Before we leave, MOS tries to call HAH to ask him what the fuck is up, but doesn't get an answer. I tell MOS not to bother, HAH knows he's in shit so won't answer. MOS drives me home and on the way he expresses his regret in letting HAH in on the job, saying how if he knew what a bastard HAH'd be, MOS would never have hired HAH. MOS also tells me how HAH spent the whole tuesday shit talking CB and my work, how if HAH was alone he'd finished in 2 days. TWO DAYS. MOS says that was the point where he stopped listening and decided this man was beyond help. This is also when I heard MOS talk about how CB's other locations have been complaining a lot, saying how CB would leave equipment everywhere, would not clean the whole time he was supposed to be cleaning, would not show up at work etc. Got pretty much told I could have free pick when CB was fired later this year on his locations. MOS also mentioned how he was going to find out if there was anything he could do about HAH's pay, since he hadn't been at work or if he had been at work hadn't actually worked. I told MOS some pretty exact times when I knew HAH was working, meaning HAH couldn't bullshit his hours to MOS saying he'd worked when he hadn't.

Sadly, I didn’t go on thursday after all, as I realized I had a medical appointment I thought was on friday but was on thursday instead, so I have no other ending to this, except the knowledge that HAH will never work for MOS again.

I apologize for the HUGE wall of text, but it was a wild week and by the end of it, I could literally see karma fairy when I closed my eyes. I just wish I could be a fly on the wall when HAH realizes what a shit show this gig was and how its gonna affect his work prospects with this company.

Epilogue: Also, as a sidenote, yeah, this whole thing was a mess from the customer perspective too. By the time we got to wednesday, the electricians weren't done, they were supposed to have been done DAYS before we were to be done. There was new renovations that needed to be done showing up constantly. Several smaller jobs hadn't been done etc. I feel bad for the new tenants, who were supposed to move in on FRIDAY, with walls to be painted and crap still MIA. So its almost as if the picky customer got karma'd too. They were so hellbent on having the cleaning done perfectly, that the renovations weren't done anywhere near in time, meaning the nice clean floors and bathrooms? Now dirty again from reno guys using them for a good two days after we finished. And as we have picture evidence of our work, they can't come back saying we didn't clean. We did our job and their reno guys fucked our work up, not our problem.

TLDR; HAH acts like he's the pro and brags to everyone, before talking shit about coworkers behind their back to other coworkers and boss, then doesn't do his job, expects boss not to find out he's skipping work, doesn't turn to work and when boss wants to ask him what the fuck, doesn't even answer his phone. HAH is in for a surprise when MOS will never hire him again and probably will cut ties with him all together, as he now knows what a shit person HAH is.

[mercury-dust]

venus ✧ roger taylor (ch. one)

— 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞! ; sorry if there are orthographic errors, this is my first time writing in english since it is not my native language. if you know spanish in my wattpad profile you can read this same fic in spanish. and welcome to venus! 

— 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬! ; epigraph, one

— 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠! ; hardy! roger taylor x original character (venus austin)

— 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲! ; Venus Kendrick Austin was an misfit who loved to break the rules without caring what the others thought or said about her. Venus is a lover of music and art that studies Fine Arts at East London University where, by luck or disgrace, she meets the heartbreaker of the university Roger Taylor and together they fulfill the dream of their lives.

THE CIGARETTE WAS CONSUMED RAPIDLY WHILE VENUS SUCKED FROM IT. The smoke came out of her mouth like a big thick ball of smoke, making her relax her shoulders almost instantly as she felt the nicotine entering her system, although she didN’t feel relaxed at all. She swung her feet from side to side as she watched the night campus full of drunk people and, most likely, drugged who had come to celebrate the holidays at the Imperial University.

The music was heard loud and clear from the bar that was a couple of meters from the bench where she was sitting. For some time she had lost Maeve, she had probably gone home with some boy and, frankly, Venus was thinking about the same thing but without the heaviness of a companion.

“And in my hour of darkness she is standing right in front of me” She murmured listening to the chords of Let It Be, which was being played in the bar of the university. The cigarette still lit on her right hand while the left moved from side to side to the rhythm of the song, as did her body, which began to sway gently from side to side. The Beatles' voices joined hers in beautiful harmony, making her care less about the tone of voice so she stopped murmuring and began to sing with all the feeling she had, making the few sober people turn their heads to see the siren owner of that voice.

Not far from the bank, in the same door of the bar, a blonde with long hair was observing her with a smile on his face and a brunette with long legs in his arms. The girl, noticing the lack of attention, separated her face from his neck and looked at him with a frown.

"Roger, are you listening to  me?" She tugged on the lapels of the boy's jacket, causing him, with too much effort, to look down at her.

"What's up, Adele?" He asked with some annoyance before turning his gaze to the girl who was now smiling at the strangers who applauded.

The brunette frowned even more, letting go "It's Daisy”.

“Oh, right” He made a bad attempt to look surprised but the college student realized that she hadn’t the slightest interest in what her name was or in herself. She looked at him with a fake smile on her lips.

“Go to hell” The palm of her hand impacted against his cheek and after giving him a smile of satisfaction she moved away from him to enter at the bar again.

Roger followed her with his gaze and shrugged. He brought his hand to the affected area once he claimed that the girl had gotten into the bar.

“Fuck, it itches ” He made a grimace writhing in place while rubbing his cheek in quick movements to try to make the itch go away, eventually it did but that didn’t stop to leave a big red mark on his entire left cheek. He snorted when he saw his reflection in one of the bar windows. He glanced quickly over his shoulder in the direction where Venus was still sneered, this time alone. He raised his eyebrows at seeing her alone and smiled to himself before turning to the window again and fixing his hair, when he was satisfied with the result he gave a smile to his reflection accompanied by a wink and turned to go towards the bench.

He walked unhurriedly towards her and when he reached his destination he sat down next to the girl, turned in his place to look at her and opened his mouth to speak but she did before.

“It's bad manners to look at a young lady for so long” She lit another cigarette and soon took it to her lips. Roger's eyes followed the nicotine stick and concentrated on her lips when it reached them "It could be considered harassment, you know?".

"It's not harassment if the lady is interested too, love" He shrugged a second time in the night before bringing his fingers to her lips and snatching the cigar. When the skin of his fingers brushed lightly with her lower lip theirs eyes made contact, contact that Venus broke when his hands slowly and tortuously separated the white stick from his mouth. They both smiled at the same time, Venus hiding her face from him and him with his gaze on her.

They both remained silent for a few seconds, still thinking about the event just happened, their eyes turned away from each other. The Austin girl frowned thinking that the situation with her feelings was too strange because she had only seen the boy once and her stomach was already causing the typical pressure that made her want to let out a high-pitched scream. She let out a slight sigh, scolding her hormones to relax. Giving a frantic look to the campus in search of something that would entertain her.

“You didn’t tell me your name” She felt his blue eyes fall back on her skin, almost burning her. He smiled, pressing his tongue against his lower teeth.

“I'm not going to tell you, Roger Taylor” She pressed her lips together, making them disappear in a to thin line while shrugging, turning around to look at him.

“Oh, but you know my name” He opened his mouth feigning surprise. He brought his right hand to his chest, placing it over the heart, formed a pout “C’mon, love. It isn’t fair that I don’t know the name of the love of my life but she does”.

Immediately Vee snorted amused thinking that Roger Taylor was a cliché with legs and blond hair “Love of your life?”.

“My father usually says that when you like something and have a strong feeling towards it, it’s because it is destined to be something important in your life. I am completely convinced that you are the love of my life" He took the pack of cigarettes out of one of his jacket pockets and offered one to Venus, who nodded, reaching for it, but before she could, Roger pulled ot close to his lips and kissed the cigarette before extending it again. The brunette shook her head accepting him.

“Oh seriously?”.

“Yes” He said with his cigar already lit.

“I don’t believe you”.

“Well, that's your problem”.

“And how many girls have you said that?” She raised both eyebrows causing the smile that formed on the lips of the drummer to fall making her laugh internally.

Roger quickly reassembled, throwing his shoulders back, preparing to release his next comment "Yes, I've told too many. But...

“But?” Asked, curious by the continuation of his comment.

He raised a hand, his cigarette between his index and middle fingers, indicating that she will wait.

“Dramatic pause” He whispered making her laugh again, but this time really. He smiled at the sound that swore he heard ten times better than his beloved drums. He winked at her “Ready?”.

“Of course” She smiled excited and entertained by the situation. She should thank Maeve tomorrow for leaving her alone, this was much more entertaining than seeing her trying to flirt with some dude.

“But none compares to you”.

"No!" She exclaimed before they both began to laugh, drawing the attention of the other university students, although they didn’t care much.

A week had happened since the last time Venus saw Roger Taylor and, definitely, Venus wasn’t too happy with that fact and that scared her because she knew the boy's reputation among the university students thanks to Maeve, who had been responsible to update her about Smile's drummer and his many conquests the day after that night when they both laughed and talked about stupidities as if they were lifelong friends who had just met again after many years without seeing each other. .

Venus Austin was a realist who knew that she hadn’t much chance of having the campus heartthrob drooling over her and leaving her hobby to go from bed to bed like a bee going from flower to flower just for her, for the — supposed — l love of his life. She knew that he only wanted to get into her pants and she was fine with it because everyone is free to do whatever they wants with their life but she didn’t want to screw up and develop feelings for him.

She knew there was more than one girl that had happened to her.

When she told this to her best friend, Maeve said, "You're nineteen! You have to go out, dance, sing, hook up with boys. You have to live! You'll have time to find an guy to marry you and settle down but first you have to lose it so ¡fuck Roger Taylor and then you tell me”.

The crazy of Maeve gave her advice above all, though Venus knew she would not need them because Roger Taylor would have forgotten about her back to school.

Oh, how wrong she was.

“Goodbye, Vee” Some of her classmates said goodbye to her when the alarm sounded throughout the university. She gave them a short smile and turned around to go to her room where she would lock herself up all afternoon with a couple of packets of tobacco, some chocolate and old movies, maybe, just maybe, she would invite Maeve and even maybe her sister if she wasn’t too busy with her work.

Muttering the lyrics of some song that she didn’t know it’s name and the singer's name, she continued her way down the hall full of students. She sighed, she was already missing the vacation. She smiled relieved when she left the building and proceeded to take the package and lighter from her purse, leaning on one of the walls of the building. She brought the white tube to her lips and threw her head back when the smoke hit her lungs.

A light touch on her right shoulder made her open her eyes. She growled slightly, mentally cursing the bastard who had interrupted her in her moment of relief before turning around.

"Yes?" She raised her eyebrows, staring at the man with remarkable deep circles under his eyes.

"You're Venus, right?" He asked, making her frown "Venus Austin, right?”.

“Yeah, that's my name” She nodded somewhat confused by the situation, tilted her head to the side while watching him from top to bottom. He was tall “And you are?”.

“I'm Tim Staffell” He gave her a smile before taking his free hand between hers and beginning to shake them slightly, Venus followed the movement with her eyes “Look, the other day, at the party of the Imperial, I heard you sing and, well, I have a band and I would love for you to be part of it”

Actually, Tim was lying. Yes, he had heard her singing that night and yes, he had a band but he didn’t want a member anymore just because Venus' voice had dazzled him but because he needed a replacement for himself when he left with Humpy Bong. He knew that Brian would love the voice of the girl Austin and Roger, well, Roger would think she was hot and accept only for that reason.

"Eh, yeah, you'll see" She slipped from her grip before running her hand through the fabric of his coat, trying to cleanse her skin from the stranger's touch "I'm not looking for a job, but thanks”.

“No, no” He denied when the girl started to walk away “It's not a job, we only make music for fun and love of our own music. Although it is true that we earn money every time we play in a university or bar”.

"Good for you, Timmy" She shrugged and resumed her walk before she had the man in front of her again. She let out a frustrated sigh. "Oh, for the queen”.

“Please, Maeve has told me that you love to sing and that your dream is to be a singer. You could fulfill it” He joined both palms, just as he was praying making her roll her eyes when she heard the name of her best friend.

She clicked her tongue “Maeve, of course” She pulled the strap of her backpack over her shoulder and took a drag on the cigarette that was consumed only between her fingers. She bit her lower lip “If I say that yes will you leave me alone?”.

Tim nodded before she pushed him out of the way and continued her walk to her room.

As I said, Venus was wrong.

[hes-woman]

Bank Holiday Antics

part one part two

05/05

“Is everything okay? Is it Y/N? The baby?” Harry rambled out, talking at one hundred miles an hour from the minute that Gemma picked up her phone.

“Everything’s fine, Harry. You don’t have to worry so much all the time, I’m not gonna let anything bad happen to Y/N while you’re away,” Gemma reassured him, soaking in his worried expression and messed up hair, most likely from him pulling at it from anxiety. 

“I had a missed call, I figured you’d just drop a text if it wasn’t important.”

“I’m offended, you make it sound as if I never call to check on you,” she snorted, frowning at Harry, “and d’you really think I’d be FaceTiming you if there was an emergency?”

“Well, you never know. You could’ve been too overwhelmed to notice what you were doing and accidentally clicked the wrong button.”

“I was just calling to give you an update on your wife, which you obviously need if you go into panic mode every time you see a missed call on your phone. Seriously, Harry, this paranoia’s really starting to get the better of you.”

“Don’t be mean to him, Gem. He probably needs a good sleep, can’t do him any good moving from country to country,” you defended him from where you were sat across from her, taking a sip of your orange juice as you mindlessly scrolled through social media. 

“We’re out for brunch by the way. It was meant to be breakfast, but someone couldn’t be bothered to get out of bed when she was supposed to,” Gemma told him, sending a playful glare in your direction.

“I was finishing a manuscript, actually. I started it yesterday at work and I wanted to get it finished before our weekend got busy to get a proper feel for the book,” you retorted, narrowing your eyes back at her as a light smirk spread across her face.

He couldn’t see you, since only Gemma was in view. But, he was glad to hear your voice and know that you had company, rather than being on your own all the time. He knew how lucky he was to have a partner who got on so well with his sister, to the point where they acted like sisters themselves, especially with his job. This way, he could count on you always having someone to look out for you while he was gone, without even asking them to. He could tell that the two of you had gotten particularly close since the wedding, and even more so since the pregnancy. Gemma had been one of the first people you’d told, after both of your parents, and she was so excited for there to be a new baby in the family. It gave him peace of mind that his sister would do anything for you, and the baby, when they arrived.

“You can really tell Y/N’s eating for two, proper scoffed her plate down. You might wanna hurry home, ‘cause, at this rate, she’ll have eaten you out of house and home by the end of the week,” Gemma teased, earning a swat to her arm from you.

“Be nice to each other,” Harry warned playfully, before saying goodbye to the both of you so he could catch up on some sleep before his next show. 

yourinstagram ladies who brunch @gemmastyles 

06/05

“Harry!” Gemma cheered when Harry’s face appeared on the screen of her phone, “we miss you, there’s no one here to cook all the food. Well, Michal’s doing it now but it took him and Y/N a while to figure out how to turn the gas on.”

“I’m glad you really value me as a person, and not just for my cooking skills, Gem,” he rolled his eyes.

“Your wife’s looking a bit like a tomato, if I’m honest. You should really teach her about sun cream,” Gemma snickered, flipping the camera around so it was facing you, standing a few metres away from her as you began to set the table.

“Don’t tell him that! He’ll throttle me. Or you, maybe, since you’re meant to be keeping me out of trouble,” you walked over to Gemma and sat next to her, peering at her phone as she turned the camera back again, waving to Harry, “s’not that bad, H. And I did put sun cream on, promise.”

“Just make sure you put something on the places you’re burnt later. I think there’s still some of that Aloe Vera stuff in the bathroom cupboard somewhere. Don’t want you waking up all sore tomorrow ‘cause you couldn’t put sun lotion on quick enough.”

“And here’s me thinking that Y/N wore the pants in the relationship, I stand corrected,” Gemma taunted, ignoring the jab to the stomach she received from your elbow and the glare Harry was giving her through the phone.

“Your mum said to give her a ring when you get a chance, just to check in,” you told him, pushing your sunglasses back up the bridge of your nose.

“Yeah, Harry, stop being a bad son and call your mother,” Gemma scolded playfully.

“I ring her every other day, actually. In case you’ve forgotten, I’m in a completely different time zone so it’s difficult to find a good time.”

“Anyways, on a serious notes, we’re missing you, baby bro,” Gemma pouted, leaning her head on your shoulder as she gestured for you to take the phone.

“I miss you all too,” he smiled, trying his best to subdue the ever-growing lump in his throat, “I hope you’ve both been drinking lots of water today. And moving into the shade when you get too hot. I don’t want to hear about anyone ending up in the hospital with sunstroke or dehydration.”

“Harryyy,” Gemma whined, “we’re grown women, y’know, perfectly capable of taking care of ourselves.”

“Don’t worry, H. I’m keeping the both of them in check,” Michal laughed, appearing behind the sofa and bending down so he was in shot.

“We’re independent women. You couldn’t tell us what to do even if you tried,” you scrunched your nose up in disapproval, Gemma’s handing lifting up to meet yours in a high-five.

yourinstagram perfect way to spend a Sunday evening. All I need now is @harrystyles

07/05

“We’ve got a surprise for you!” Gemma squealed when Harry answered the phone.

The camera was turned round so that he could see you standing in the middle of a small paddling pool, that the two of you had bought only a few hours ago. The trip had initially been to grab some food for the second barbecue you’d decided to have, but when the both of you saw the paddling pool, you knew it was something you needed to help keep you cool in the strangely hot British weather. You were wearing a black and white checked bikini, with a messy bun atop your head and oversized sunglasses protecting your eyes from the sun. Arms outstretched and a grin plastered on your face, you called out a ‘ta da’.

“And, if you look close enough, you can even see a baby bump beginn-”

“No, you can’t, Gem! I’m not even seven weeks yet, there’s not gonna be anything there for a while yet,” you pushed her phone away from where she was giving Harry close-ups of your stomach, “give me my husband, before you start telling him some other ridiculous things.”

“A paddling pool, hm?” Harry chuckled when Gemma handed you her phone, a smile on his face when he saw you back on the screen.

“It’s so hot here, we really need it. And we haven’t looked into getting someone to do the proper one yet, so I thought this was perfect for a temporary solution.”

“S’always handy to have a paddling pool. Seems like you’ve got the perfect weather for a bank holiday.”

“I know, we’re so lucky. I think we might pop down to the beach for a couple of hours, as well,” you sat down cross-legged in the blow-up pool as you continued to talk to him, “you’re meant to be getting ready to go on stage, aren’t you?”

He began to shake his head but he was interrupted by Jeffrey, who came into view beside Harry, “yes, he is. As much as I love listening to you talk about your plans, I could really use your husband’s attention right now.”

“I forget that it’s the evening where you are, sorry, Jeff. I’ll speak to you later, H, love you lots. Give me a text when you’re finished, and have the time of your life,” you blew him a kiss, giggling when Gemma began to sing Sign of the Times in a dramatic, high-pitched voice. 

gemmastyles summer, we’re ready for you

*this has been ready for about a month but I completely forgot about it, so here it is!! This is like a part 2.5 rather than a part 3 as it was initially meant to fill the gap until part 3 was written. Hope you enjoy :)*

[sweetlysilent]

Secret Santa with the Holland's... (Headcanon)

Requested By: Nobody

Side Note: Since Christmas is approaching I wanted to write something relative to that because for me personally it’s one of my favorite holiday’s. I also thought this could be really fun to write so, I hope you’ll enjoy it just as much. :)

- alRIGHT SO

- Christmas is approaching, it’s one of the most joyful times of the year

- people are getting their trees to decorate in their homes, also decorating the outside of their homes with colorful lights

- and then you know by the end of the day you’re basically brOKE LOL

- rip everyone’s bank accounts in December lmao

- aNYWAYS

- you came up with a brilliant idea this year, it was gOLDEN, 100% best thing ever

- “HELLO BROTHERS I HAVE A SNAZZY IDEA COME GATHER AROUND PLS” You would shout from the kitchen, waiting to hear footsteps.

- “Y/N this better be good I was in the middle of a game!” Sam whined, making you smile and laugh.

- “I second what Sam said, but I was editing a video.” Harry chimed in, now standing beside his brother.

- “Alright we got two of you, where are the other two Holland’s.” You squinted at Sam and Harry who shrugged in response.

- “Y/N, how did you even get into our house? Nobody let you in.” Harry questioned, now realizing you were just randomly in their kitchen.

- “Tom gave me a key.” You laughed, watching as the two boys in front of you nodded in response.

- “Make’s sense, you’re always here anyways.” Sam laughed, making you laugh in response.

- it was true, you were basically always at the Holland’s house

- “TOM, PADDY WHERE ARE YOU GUYS SAM AND HARRY ARE ALREADY DOWN HERE.” You shouted once more, resting your chin on your hands.

- “I’M COMING GOOD LORD.” Tom shouted back, coming down the stairs, Paddy behind him as well.

- “What’s this huge meeting about?” Tom questioned once him and Paddy made it into the kitchen.

- “Well, now that you’re all here, I can finally tell you all my brilliant idea.” You clapped your hands, a bright smile on your face.

- “Does it involve baking? Because I can’t do that.” Paddy questioned, making you smile and his brothers laugh in response.

- “I mean it could if you chose to honestly, but I wouldn’t really advise that.” You laughed, ruffling Paddy’s hair up.

- “ANYWAYS, so, my brilliant idea is that since Christmas is approaching, I thought it’d be so much fun to do Secret Santa!” You clapped excitedly, only to see them not showing the same amount of enjoyment.

- “Secret Santa?” Sam questioned, before glancing at his brothers who also wore the same expression.

- “Have you guys never done Secret Santa?” You asked in pure shock, you loved doing Secret Santa, it made the idea of buying a gift for someone fun and adventurous.

- oKAY BUT FR WHO DOES SECRET SANTA BC IT’S SO FUN

- bUT also rip again to everyone’s bank accounts including mine bc I spend so much money yikessss

- rip money :’((((

- aNYWAYS

- “I mean we decorate our house and get like two trees but we don’t really do ‘Secret Santa’ we normally just get gifts for each other.” Tom explained, making you roll your eyes in response.

- “You guys have never experienced the thrill of Secret Santa, bUT that is going to change! I declare that this year, the Holland family will do Secret Santa!” You cheered, clapping happily as they all sighed but smiled at you anyways.

- “Alright fine, we’ll try it out, and if we like it, maybe it can become a thing.” Harry added, making you even happier than before.

- wOW that took a lot of convincing smh

- soon after, you started explaining how Secret Santa worked, how you were going to draw a name out of a hat and whoever you got you had to get them a gift, but you couldn’t tell anyone who you got or what you got them

- “But what if I need help? I suck at getting people gifts.” Tom whined, making you roll your eyes.

- “You’ll be okay, I promise.” You spoke dramatically, making him glare at you playfully.

- “Okay lets draw names shall we?” You questioned, shaking up the hat that now held slips of paper with all of your names on it.

- the first to go was Paddy, who was eager to see who he would get, he mixed his hand around in the hat, then pulled the slip of paper out

- #Spoiler he got Sam !

- then went Harry who was praying he’d get Tom bc he was easy to get something for

- #Spoiler he didn’t get Tom hahahaahah he got Paddy

- then Sam went, he mixed the hat around, then pulled a slip of paper out

- #Spoiler he got you !!

- then it was Tom’s turn, he was ready to see who he would get, even though there were only like two slips of paper left lol

- #Spoiler he got Harry yeet

- then it came down to you, with the last slip of paper in the hat

- #Spoiler you got Tom ! >:)

- “Alright now that everyone got their person, it’s time to start looking for gifts! This is where to me at least it gets super fun and exciting because people can get really creative with what they get or they can get something super lame, but you won’t know till you open the gift!” You smiled, looking at all of the boys in front of you.

- “Let the games begin, brothers.” Harry grinned, then exited the kitchen, along with everyone else.

- IT WAS SECRET SANTA TIME

- you were currently in a store, trying to find something to get Tom, he was honestly so difficult to shop for ngl

- you felt your phone buzz in your pocket, only to see multiple messages

- yes, you were in a group chat with the lovely Holland brothers

- Tom: WHO HAS ME I WANT TO KNOW

- Harry: THE WHOLE POINT IS TO NOT KNOW YOU IDIOT

- Sam: tHIS IS STRESSING ME OUT I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO GET AGKAJSDFKJ

- Paddy: gUYS YOU’RE BLOWING UP MY PHONE SHUT UP

- You: So, how is everyone enjoying Secret Santa so far??? ;)))))

- Tom: Y/N I WANT TO KNOW WHO GOT ME

- Sam: YOU’RE NOT ALLOWED TO KNOW, SUFFER LIKE THE REST OF US BIOTCH

- Paddy: SHOPPING IS SO DIFFICULT GUYS HALP

- Harry: Y/N HOW DOES ONE FIND GIFTS FOR OTHERS

- You: How am I friends with you guys like???? I seriously wonder this everyday

- Tom: UHM BC YOU LOVE US DUH

- Sam: I SECOND WHAT tOM SAID

- Harry: I THIRD THAT STATEMENT

- Paddy: I AGREE TOO

- You: lord, you all are something else, but yeah.. I luv you guys too :)

- You: OKAY GTG I’M BUYING GIFTS FOR WHO I GOT HAHAHAHAH BYE

- Tom: WHAT Y/N WHO DID YOU GET

- Sam: sHIT HOW DO YOU BUY GIFTS,,,, Y/N !!!

- Harry: WE’RE ALL DOOMED

- Paddy: i’m lost

- and with that you locked your phone, a smile on your face as you continued shopping for Tom

- eventually after spending hours looking around you finally found the perfect gift for him

- weeks passed and it was now time to exchange gifts with one another

- aND LET ME TELL YOU, those weeks were complete chaos

- “Alright! Today’s the day, everyone exchange gifts!” You smiled, you were all back in the kitchen holding your gifts.

- Paddy started, he carefully walked over to Sam, before setting his gift in front of him

- “Merry Christmas Sammy.” Paddy smiled, giving his brother a hug, who returned the kind gesture.

- then it was Sam’s turn to go, he hesitantly walked over to you, before setting the gift he got you in front of you

- “I hope you’ll like it.” Sam smiled nervously, making you smile and laugh slightly.

- “Of course I’ll like it you goof.” You laughed, giving him a hug, which he returned.

- then it was your turn, you picked your gift up, before making your way over to Tom, who’s eyes widened when he realized you had gotten him

- “IT WAS YOU THIS WHOLE TIME I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN.” Tom shouted, shaking his head, a smile on his face as he hugged you.

- “Surprise!” You laughed, before going back to your spot.

- then it was Tom’s turn, he picked up his gift, before setting it down in front of Harry, who was a bit skeptical but was excited at the same time

- and last but not least it was Harry’s turn, he picked his gift up and walked over to Paddy, placing it in front of him

- “Merry Christmas buddy.” Harry smiled, messing his hair up before walking back over to his spot.

- “oKAY so now that everyone has their gift, how was the Secret Santa experience?” You questioned, a smile on your face as everyone laughed.

- “It was thrilling, but stressful at the same time.” Harry responded, as everyone nodded in agreement.

- “Overall, I think it was really fun.” Tom added on, making everyone nod in agreement once more.

- “I’m glad you guys had fun, but now is the best part! Open your gifts!” You cheered, and before you knew it they were all diving into their presents.

- Tom opened his first, you had gotten him a multi-picture frame and put a lot of his favorite moments in it

- “Y/N, this, this is amazing, thank you.” Tom smiled, his eyes still scanning every picture you had put in it.

- Paddy was next to open his gift, he eager ripped the wrapping paper off to see a video game he had desperately wanted

- “Yes! I’ve been wanting this for months! Thank you Harry!” Paddy cheered, looking at the game in pure happiness.

- Sam was next to go, he tore the wrapping paper off only to see Paddy had gotten him a video game also, but not just one, but two!

- “Aw sweet, thanks Paddy.” Sam grinned, looking over the two games.

- then it was Harry’s turn to open his gift, he removed the wrapping paper only to see a new camera

- “Oh my god, Tom, thank you so much.” Harry spoke, he was blown away, he had needed a new camera for so long.

- then last but not least it was your turn to open your gift, you undid the wrapping paper, Sam was anxious to see if you’d like it or not

- bUT you loved it, he had gotten you a few different things, some lotion, some perfume, a gift card to your favorite restaurant

- “Sam this is amazing, you didn’t have to get me this much, but I love it, thank you so much.” You smiled, making him visibly relax and smile back at you.

- needless to say, everyone loved their gifts and whether they wanted to admit it or not, Secret Santa was a lot better than they expected

Christmas + Secret Santa + The Holland Brothers = A New Yearly Tradition :-))

[bosstoaster]

For the holiday prompt, how about from your Don't Let's Start AU with Shiro and Ryou encountering huskies (or something close to huskies) and have to get them to pull a sleigh? Or maybe just the two of them just playing with huskies in the snow?

"Have you seen Ryou recently?"

Shiro paused and glanced back at Lance, arms full of freshly chopped wood.   As he stood still, his feet sank deeper into the thick snow below him.  "I thought he was with you, still.  Did you lose him?"

Arms crossed, Lance frowned.  "You know, you make it sound like I'm his keeper.  It's not my job to keep an eye on him."

"You both kind of alternate who's keeping who, really.  It helps when you're together, because then I just follow the chaos to you both."  Shiro's lips quirked up, but his humor quickly faded.  "Seriously, did you lose him?"

Lance shrugged.  "He was talking to one of the locals.  They started going on about the sleds they make around here, and he was getting excited but it was honestly kind of boring.  I turned around for less than five minutes to talk to the supply manager, and when I looked back he'd totally disappeared."

Shiro's grip on the wood tightened.  "I see.  How long ago was this?"

"Twenty minutes?  I figured he'd pop back up.  You know how he is, and he's really easy to overlook in this place.  On an ice planet, he's practically camouflaged."  Lance shrugged helplessly.  "I couldn't even find footsteps."  He gestured behind Shiro with a jerky wave of his arm.

Indeed, Shiro's footsteps were already fading away.  The snow continued to fall in steady, fat flakes, and the wind rolled them over, smoothing out the banks within minutes.

Dammit.

(read more below)

"I haven't seen him since I went to help out.  Let me drop this off and I'll help you look, alright?  Do you remember who he was talking to?"

Lance shrugged one shoulder.  "Not really, it was only a glance.  They was wearing one of those big fur coats, and they had long, dark furr.  Kinda curly.  One of the longer faces.  But, you know, that's everyone around here."

He wasn't wrong.  Shiro had thought the Ecritians looked like bears more than once since they'd responded to their distress signals.  After their storage buildings had been destroyed by the Galra, the team had offered to do what they could to restock them before the worst of winter hit.  Not exactly their most glamorous job, but good work.  

All the Galra presence had been on ships, not on land.  But several had crashed down in the woods, so it wouldn't be too strange to think a Galra or two had survived, and had managed to sneak up and grab Ryou while he was distracted.  Or maybe not everyone on this planet was as against the Galra as it had seemed-

No, Shiro was getting ahead of himself.  Ryou could hold his own in a fight, even when surprised.  There was no reason to think he was hurt.

There was also no reason to think he was safe.

Shiro let out a sigh and nodded.  "We'll ask around, see if anyone saw him.  Let's go."  He stalked through the snow as best he could, until he could hand off the wood to one of the Ecritians managing the new supply stocks.  Then, Shiro followed Lance along to the closest cluster of buildings, where he'd last seen Ryou.

Asking around the other paladins turned up nothing.  Hunk, Keith, and Pidge were off using their lions to help gather more stone and ore.  Allura and Coran had been speaking with the Ecritian elder on the subject of alliances and further aid.  Only Shiro, Lance, and Ryou had started helping with the most local efforts, and Shiro had been off in the woods at the time.

"Should we use the castle?" Lance asked, glancing back at where it towered over the one-story cabins the Ecritians mostly preferred.  "It can pull him up quickly."

But that required Coran or Allura, which meant interrupting the talks.  Shiro considered, then shook his head.  "No, not yet.  It's likely Ryou just wandered off to see something interesting and got distracted.  I don't want to interrupt the talks just to find out he's learning how to construct sleds the Ecritian way."

Lance winced, then nodded.  "Yeah.  Ask around, then?"

There really wasn't a better option.  "We'll split up for that, I think.  Have your helmet on, and meet back up here in half an hour.  If we haven't heard anything, or we've found signs of fair play, we'll use the castle."

"Sounds good to me."  Lance help up his thumb, already looking around.  "He'll turn up, right?  And if he is captured, pity on whoever tried."

Shiro's lips quirked up.  "Do you mean from his arm or his mouth?"

Eyes warm, Lance clapped him on the arm.  "Both.  He's fine.  I just want to find him, alright?  You're both pretty self-sufficient, and this isn't the first ice planet he's survived."

"I know, he hasn't stopped joking about it since we got here."  Shiro's smile tightened slightly.  What if Ryou had gone into the woods and had a flashback, and lost track of where he was?  What if he'd gotten hurt, not from an enemy, but just from the natural environment?

Lance squeezed his arm again, eyes searching his face.  "C'mon, let's go drag him away from whatever project distracted him."

"Yeah."  Shiro managed a thin smile.  "He'll turn up."

With that, they split apart.  It was gratifyingly simple for Shiro to ask if anyone had seen Ryou.  He just had to ask 'have you seen me but colored white?' and that about covered it.  The first few Ecritians were all negatives, which wasn't a surprise.  Everyone was frantically working to re-supply as much as possible before the sun dipped too low, so they were all busy.  The paladins stood out, but Lance had pointed out that Ryou blended better than most.  If someone wasn't paying attention, he could probably walk around without drawing notice.

The fourth, however, paused.  They squinted and tilted their head, making the braids in their thick fur sway and bounce off each other.  "I may have.  I admit, I am not well familiar with you all.  You seem very similar to my eyes, with your short fur.  It's worse when you wear your helmets."

Shiro resisted the urge to reach up and touch his own hair.  "I understand.  But even if you're mistaken, I appreciate the help."

"Alright."  They lifted one huge paw, pointing down the lane.  "I think I saw one of your paladins in pale armor walking with Revisha.  Judging the way they were going, it might have been toward his home."

Shiro nodded, chest lightening with hope.  "Thank you very much.  Which building is Revisha's?  And-"  He paused and glanced back at where he'd seen Lance last.  "Do they do anything with sleds?  Craft them, maybe?"

The Ecritian let out a deep series of rolling growls.  Shiro froze, unsure if he'd offended somehow, but then he realized it was essentially laughter.  "Oh, I'd say she does, yes.  If you go past the curve, it's the house with the large shed in the back.  I wish you luck in finding your litter-mate."

Not an accurate description of Ryou, but Shiro nodded.  "Thank you so much for your help.  It's very appreciated."  Shiro offered him a quick smile and a nod, and got a slow nod back.  Then he started off at a jog, pushing awkwardly through the thick snow.

It wasn't difficult at all to spot the right house.  As Shiro rounded the corner, there was only one with a shed behind it.  It was nearly big enough to count as another house, and looked well maintained.  

Shiro made a beeline toward it, then paused when he heard a voice.

"How old are they, again?"

Identical to Shiro's own voice, slightly distorted by the wind and distance.

Ryou.  Who was apparently fine.

Relief flooded Shiro as every horror story he'd cooked up in his head faded away.

It was almost immediately followed by anger.

Stomping his way through the snow, Shiro rounded the house and headed to the back.  "Ryou!"  He called, voice rising like a wolf's howl before the hunt.  "Did you seriously wander off during a mission?"

There was a long pause, then a quiet, "oh shit."

Shiro's lips pulled back as he finally came to the backyard of the cabin.  He spotted Ryou immediately, sitting near waist-deep in a snow drift, with what had to be Revisha looming over his back.  Storming forward, he full prepared to lay into his brother-

Only to finally spot the shock and dismay on Ryou's face.

"No, Shiro, don't look!  Turn around, stop it!"  He dove forward, trying to curl around something in the snow.  

Instinctively, Shiro stopped and looked down, trying to see what Ryou was protecting.  As he focused, he could see several fuzzy, grey bodies jostling between Ryou's arms.  One turned to face him, beady black eyes blinking up at him from a tiny, fluffy face with two tall, triangular ears.

The Ecritians looking so much like bears had been a shock, but not totally out of the ordinary.

But this animal was a dead ringer for a husky puppy.

"Shiro!"  Ryou whined.  "Why are you like this?  I said look away!"

"Is that a dog?"

Ryou groaned and flopped on his back in the snow.  "You're the worst.  I wasn't even gone for thirty minutes."

"You were gone for nearly forty-five," Shiro corrected immediately.  "And you didn't tell Lance, and he went to get me.  Why are there- seriously, is that a dog?"

"I believe your surprise has been spoiled," Ravisha informed Ryou, openly amused at his dramatics.  "You are Shiro, yes?  Your litter-mate said the same thing.  The Rusks are not native to our lands, but an import several generations ago.  It is possible it is indeed this 'dog'."

As if in a daze, Shiro watched the four toddly, fat, fluffy husky puppies flop over each other and attempt to climb Ryou's armor.  One tried to scale his chest plate, only to go tumbling back into the snow.  Other decided it wasn't worth the effort, and instead started to step onto Ryou's face.

"Hey, I'm moping.  Cut it out."  Ryou picked the puppy up under the legs and finally sat up.  He settled the fuzzball in his lap, where it immediately flopped onto its back and spread its paws for belly scratches.  "I was going to bring you here and tell you it was for some bullshit mission thing you needed to see.  But you ruined the surprise, you jackass.  Now come hug a puppy, already."

Shiro wandered over as if in a daze and sank to his knees in the snow.  One of the puppies glanced back at him, curious, so Shiro held out his hand.  The puppy gave it an interested sniff, then held still as Shiro began to pet.

Slowly, Shiro looked back over at Ryou, who now looked smug.  "It's a puppy."

"Sure is, bro."  Ryou jerked his thumb back to Ravisha.  "Apparently they're used to pull sleds in certain conditions.  And in competitions. Space Iditarod.  Ravisha breeds them.  The ones best suited to work get trained for mushing, and the others get sold as pets.  These are some rejects.  Aren't you a little reject?  Aren't you second place?  Yes, you are.  Yes, you are!"

Shiro blinked at Ryou, his lips curling up.  "I finally understand why Keith gets so weirded out when I see a dog.  You sound like an idiot."

"Guess whose fault that is?"

Shrugging, Shiro scooped up one of the puppies and held it close.  It squirmed immediately, turning closer to inspect his face curiously.  "I appreciate the attempt at a surprise.  But how about next time you just tell me there's dogs on the comm, so I don't have to worry and I can come running immediately."

Ryou rolled his eyes.  "Noted.  I will never attempt to do something nice for you again.  My apologies that you're such a helicopter parent."  Then he glanced up at Ravisha and offered a smile.  "Thanks for helping, though.  It would have been awesome."

"It seems to have gone well, as I see it," Ravisha replied, nodding to Shiro.  "He looks like a mother with her new cubs, just as you did."

"Thank you so much."  Ryou huffed, but turned to Shiro and smiled.  "I know we can't do this for long, since, well, mission and all.  But these dogs are for sale."

Shiro froze completely. "That- there's so much logistics to think about.  Where they'd stay.  If Allura is alright with that.  How we'd feed them, how we'd clean up after them-"

"We have a cow," Ryou reminded.  He scooped up a handful of loose snow and threw it at Shiro.  "A dog can't be harder to take care of than a cow.  Let's at least ask."

"We'll ask," Shiro agreed.  He held the dog in his arms closer, eyes falling shut as the tiny tongue flicked over his jaw.  "Oh.  Oh."

There was a long pause, as Ryou gave him the moment without comment.

A dog.  A real dog, out in space.  It had been years, and Shiro hadn't thought much of it.  He'd had a vague idea of getting a dog when he came back, but it had always been a silly daydream.  With his schedule and the fact that he specialized in deep space missions, keeping a pet wasn't possible.

Instead, he'd taken moments where he could.  The Holt's dog Baebae always loved when he visited, and Shiro volunteered at the local pet shelter once every month or so.  Sometimes, when he went into town, he'd go on a run in the park and greet every dog he saw on the path.

That had been enough, until Shiro had gone years without.

"Hey," Ryou suddenly said, voice soft and gentle.  "Promise me something?"

Shiro opened his eyes and managed to focus on Ryou.  He swallowed hard against a lump in his throat.  "What?"

"When we get back to Earth, get a dog."

A quick wipe of his fingers over his eyes got rid of any threatening moisture.  "You know that's not possible."

Ryou moved closer, till their shoulders were touching.  He glanced up at Ravisha, gaze pleading.  She nodded and stepped over to the shed, disappearing inside.

Once she was gone, Ryou turned to Shiro.  "I know why it was before," he replied.  "But if we finally go home, everything will be different.  So promise me."

"What if I take another mission for the Galaxy Garrison?  I'm still an officer, and I still owe them a few years of service from academy training."  The puppy in Shiro's lap finally squirmed to get down.  He settled them back into the snow, where they immediately toddled over and collapsed against a litter-mate's side.  "Like I said.  Logistics.  Is that fair for the dog?"

Ryou groaned.  "You can make it fair if you choose to.  But the point isn't- I want me to promise you'll do it anyway.  And that you'll go home to Earth, someday.  That you'll plan for that day.  Just promise me that."

Oh.  Ryou didn't specifically want Shiro to get a puppy - or, maybe he did.  But mostly he wanted Shiro to actually think he'd see the future.

That was-

Unlikely.

"Ryou," Shiro murmured.  "It's war.  I can't promise anything."

"Yes, you can," Ryou pushed on.  "I know the bullshit in your head, and it's exactly that.  Bullshit.  You're more than this war.  You don't look at anyone else on the team and think they're made for nothing more than fighting the Galra,  Even if it takes longer than their lifetimes, they have a right to retire if they want to.  You believe they'll survive."

Shiro's eyes cut over to Ryou.  "What about you?  Do you think you'll live?"

Ryou managed a thin smile.  "Depends on how I'm made, isn't it?  Who knows what the lifespan of a Shiro Clone is.  Maybe I age in dog years.  Woof."  He scooped up one of the puppies and held them up so their faces were side by side.  "We can take bets on who'll last longer."

For a moment, Shiro only stared.  Then he reached around and punched Ryou on the side where there wasn't a dog.  "Hypocrite."

"I have a good reason," Ryou whined.  "Better than you."  He set the dog down to rub his side.  "Ow.  Through the armor, too. Jeez."

"If I have to plan for the future, so do you," Shiro replied.  "You don't get to preach at me when you're just as bad."

Ryou huffed.  "I should get to if I want to."  But he sighed and set his jaw.  "Fine.  We'll keep each other honest.  But you have to do it.  No more acting like you'll die in a few weeks.  If nothing else, you're stressing Keith out with that shit.  You're going to give the poor guy an ulcer.  Cut it out."

That-

Was probably not inaccurate.

Shiro's lips twisted as he nodded.  "Fine.  That doesn't mean I'll get a dog when we get to Earth.  Or now."

"But they're so cuuute."  Ryou pecked the top of a fuzzy, gray head.  The puppy glanced up at Ryou and let out a curious noise that wanted to be a howl but was really more of a squeak.

Which was, indeed, very cute.

"I'll ask.  That's not a promise!"  Shiro pointed to Ryou.  "Don't blame me if it doesn't work out."

Ryou nodded solemnly.  "I won't."  But then he broken into a smile.  "But I'm going to make it really hard to say no."  Then he dove for his helmet, nearly indistinguishable from the rest of the snowdrifts.  "Guys!  They have husky puppies.  Actual husky dogs.  Here!"

Oh, boy.

Immediately, there was pandemonium as the rest of the Earth-natives immediately began to demand the chance to see them.

Shiro glared at Ryou, who only beamed back.  'I'll make you pay for this," he mouthed, but it didn't dent Ryou's smile.

As Shiro prepared to be the reluctant adult in this situation, so that Allura wasn't immediately buried under an avalanche of demands the moment talks were done, he glanced at his brother.

His brother, who was seeing a dog for the first time in his life, technically.

...Have a dog on the ship wouldn't be so bad, really.

[fluffwrites]

Haunted Spirits - Chpt 1

When Jack suggests the two check out a haunted house in the area Hiccup is skeptical, these kinds of things never turn out to be true. Hiccup tags along anyways, after all whats the worst that could happen?

also available on A03: http://archiveofourown.org/works/12619988/chapters/28752480

Inspired by Nagi's Dark Jack pictures on tumblr: http://nagi-77.tumblr.com/post/138349896927/darkjack-doodles

It shouldn’t have surprised him when a snowball hit the back of his head. Hiccup shook his head and turned with a scoff. “Seriously, give a guy a little warning…” He trailed off as he realized it had not been thrown by a certain Winter Spirit. His best friend Astrid came running up beside him.

“What would be the fun in that?” she questioned. “Snowball fights aren’t generally started with permission.”

“True,” he admitted, as they turned and began the trek back from school.

“I never got the chance to ask how your trip went,” she commented, referring to the trip to Norway his family had taken for thanksgiving. Usually they saved that trip for summer holidays or Christmas, but some of the family members from Norway were planning a vacation for Christmas this year, so the trip had been moved up. On the up side the trip had gotten him extra days off from school. “Anything interesting happen? How was your visit with that guy you like?” She asked teasingly.

“My visit with Jack was fine, and he’s my boyfriend, not ‘that guy I like,’” He corrected. He looked around briefly. It was a bit surprising that Jack hadn’t shown up yet. He had met Hiccup in Norway and visited with him during the trip, but usually he stayed in the area otherwise. Unless he was busy spreading winter somewhere.

“Fine, fine,” she said as she pulled an apple out of her bag and took a bite out of it. “Gotta be honest with you Hic. I’m glad you like this guy, but I don’t hold much hope for you maintain a relationship with someone who lives on the other side of the world. how did you meet him anyways?”

“He lives on the same street as my uncle. We actually met last year while I was visiting. There was this massive snowball fight when we met. I swear half their town must have shown up for it, and afterwards we just started hanging out.” It wasn’t entirely a lie. He had met Jack while in Norway. He didn’t like lying to his friend. But it was as close to the truth as he could get.

He had met Jack while visiting his relatives, and there had been a snowball fight, which he later learned Jack had started. The fight had been going full tilt before he had even joined, and right from the start the white haired boy had really stood out to him. Jumping and running around at a pace that seemed impossible. His movements were so graceful and fluid, it was mesmerizing. It almost made Hiccup feel jealous, he had always been so clumsy. The other boy was laughing and chucking snow balls and seemed to be having a blast. But after about a few minutes Hiccup noticed something that made his smile fade.

Everyone else seemed to be ignoring the other boy. No one was talking with him, or laughing when he made sarcastic comments or jokes, or interacting with him at all. He wasn’t even sure if anyone had thrown any snowballs at the other boy. Hiccup wondered what the other’s history in the town was. Was it who he was, or something he had done that had caused the others to shun him? Hiccup scowled. He crouched down and grabbed a couple fists full of snow and started packing it into a ball. He knew all too well how it felt to be completely excluded and he would have no hand in enabling that. If the other boy wanted to take part in the snowball fight, Hiccup would make sure it was an eventful one for him.

Hiccup stood back up, scanned the crowd for the other boy, then took aim and lobbed his projectile at the enthusiastic teen. The snowball hit the white haired boy in the side of the face, and the other teen froze. He looked around trying to determine where the snowball had come from when his eyes landed on Hiccup, who was still looking straight back at him. Hiccup grinned back and bent over, scooping up a bit more snow and packing it into a ball. The other just kept staring at him, an expression of complete shock and maybe the slightest start to a smile on his face. He frowned slightly and looked over his shoulder, as if still expecting Hiccup to be looking at someone else. Was this really such an unusual turn of events for the other teen? As the white haired boy turned back in his direction Hiccup tossed his snowball up slightly and caught it again, trying to give a clear indication that the other should grab a snowball and defend himself.

Then things took an unexpected turn for the young Viking descendant. The white haired boy took one step forward before his feet left the ground and he began to hover towards him. Hiccup’s jaw dropped and his eyes widened moments before a random snowball from somewhere to his right hit him square in the face. In his shocked state he was left off balance, slipped on ice he hadn’t known he was standing on and fell backwards, hitting his head on the sidewalk.

He couldn’t be certain, but Hiccup was pretty sure he never lost consciousness. When his vision cleared there were several people looking down at him. A moment later someone was asking if he was alright, and another person was pulling him upright. Someone was brushing snow off his back, and asking if he needed first aid. He felt disoriented and overwhelmed by all the people crowding around him. Hiccup looked around, trying to find the white haired… Person? Ghost? The first person that had inquired about his wellbeing seemed to notice his odd behavior, and asked again if he was ok. He wasn’t sure what to say, he looked around but couldn’t find the other boy. Had he imagined the whole thing? After assuring everyone that he was alright the snowball fight continued, although he couldn’t stop thinking about what had happened. Maybe he had finally lost it.

After the snowball fight ended Hiccup was walking back to his uncle’s when a strong wind came up behind him and blew his hat right off of his head. He sighed in exasperation and bent to pick it up. As he stood back up a voice behind him ask, “Can you really see me?”

Hiccup almost jumped clear into the street, but slipped on the ice again and suddenly found himself slumped against the white haired boy’s chest. As Hiccup’s cheeks did their best impression of a tomato, the boy laughed, and told him that he should invest in better shoes. and that was how he had met Jack frost.

“Honestly it sounds more like puppy love from what you’ve told me. You said you two hadn’t even held hands.” She said.

“Well,” He said as he felt his cheeks heat up slightly, “We might have kissed.”

She broke out into a grin, “He kissed you?”

Hiccup bit his bottom lip. “Actually I kissed him.”

She laughed lightly. “That, uhh, seems a little…”

“Unlike me?” He supplied, and then nodded with a nervous chuckle. “Yea. It was… a little terrifying. But,” He moved a bit ahead of her, trying to minimize eye contact. And just let his thoughts fall from his mouth unfiltered before embarrassment could stop him. “I could tell that he wanted to kiss me. Almost had actually, but then he seemed to hesitate. So… in a very uncharacteristic move for me… I just closed the space between us and…” He trailed off before turning back to Astrid.

Who had a massive smirk on her face. He rolled his eyes, “Stop looking at me like that,” he demanded.

She took a few quick strides to close the distance between them and shoved his shoulder lightly. “You’re adorable,” she said.

“No I’m…“

She snickered while shaking her head, but eventually he laughed as well. Astrid glanced down at her watch and muttered a swear under her breath. “Dammit I’ve got to get going,” she said running up ahead of him before looking over her shoulder again. “You ARE going to tell me more about this when I see you next.”

He threw her a mock salute, “yes, ma’am.”

She rolled her eyes before running off to her house. Hiccup smiled as she left then looked around, not entirely convinced a certain snow spirit wasn’t in the area.

His suspicions were answered a moment later when a chilled wind kicked up snow around him. A snowy mist of the white dust blew past and into his face. A moment later he was being tackled into the snow bank beside the sidewalk. He raised his head out of the cold powder while wrenching his arms out from underneath him. He chuckled slightly, wiping his face off. “Having a good day, are we?” He asked glancing over his shoulder.

Jack folded his arms across Hiccup’s shoulders and placed his chin on top of them. “Usually,” he replied with his trademark grin.

Hiccup pushed himself up and leaned his weight along his forearms. “You gonna get off of me?”

Jack’s grin turned to a smirk. “Nah,” he said rolling over and sprawling across Hiccup’s back, “You’re comfy.”

Hiccup raised an eyebrow at the winter spirit. Jack looked over his shoulder and down at Hiccup with a smirk. His grin quickly faded as Hiccup flung his arm back and over Jack’s chest and rolled them both over until Jack faceplanted into the snow. Laughing through the face full of snow, Jack quickly wiggled his way out from under the teen. He grabbed a handful of snow to form into a snowball. Hiccup choose that moment to tackle him again and Jack’s hands instinctively reached out to try and stop him. The snow in Jack’s hand connected with Hiccup’s face at the same moment his magic flowed into the snowball. The excess power literally exploded in a blast of snow in Hiccup’s face. Hiccup’s face scrunched up at shock from the cold. Jack’s expression of concerned warped into an amused one. He failed to hide the start of a laugh at the sight of Hiccup’s hair literally frozen standing on it’s ends.

Hiccup blinked through the snowy powder sticking to his face and looked down incredulously at Jack killing himself laughing. “Really?” he asked sarcastically.

Jack opened eyes that were watering from his laughter. He tried to suppress it, but once he caught sight of Hiccup again there was no stopping the giggle-fest.

Hiccup raised an eyebrow at Jack’s continued laughter, before scooping up a handful of snow and dumping it on Jack’s face. Jack let out a startled shout before twisting and sweeping up more snow himself and flinging it in Hiccup’s face. And the battle was on again as the two tackled each other and tried to fling the biggest handful into the other’s face.

A few minutes and one wrestling matched later the two collapsed in a snow covered laughing pile. “You know,” Jack commented while attempting to catch his breath, “anyone who looked out their window just then would have seen a 16 year old high school student rolling around in the snow like some overgrown puppy.”

Hiccup chuckled between pants for breath, “and anyone who knows me wouldn’t even have questioned it.”

Jack chuckled in response and pushed himself off the ground. “Up for a little adventure?” He asked offering Hiccup a hand up.

Hiccup took Jack’s hand and let Jack pull him upright. “What kind of adventure?”

Jack brushed snow off of his clothes. “Well,” Jack said as they started moving down the street, “I overheard some kids talking earlier. They mentioned an abandoned house in town that everyone thinks is haunted.”

Hiccup rolled his eyes. “Really,” he asked sarcastically. “I can think of several that people think are haunted.”

“Why didn’t you ever mention them to me?”

“Because it’s stupid,” Hiccup said. “In most cases, it’s just a house that looks odd, is really old, or someone just wanted to make something up.”

“What if one of them really is?” the winter spirit question.

“That’s… highly unlikely,” Hiccup trailed off as he realized his odds of dissuading Jack were very slim. As they started walking Hiccup couldn’t help but wonder. “What’s the difference anyways?” He asked.

Jack gave him a questioning look.

“Between a Spirit and… a ghost that haunts a house?”

Jack thought about it a moment. “Spirits… we’re usually given our responsibilities and positions by someone. In most cases we represent something. Some Spirits died in a past life, like me, and were brought back... Ghosts are usually people that have died and for whatever reason never moved on.”

“Have you ever met one?” Hiccup asked.

“A ghost?” Jack asked with a raised eyebrow and quickly shook his head. “No. But I’ve heard other Spirits talk about meeting them. There are some interesting stories.”

“Should we be concerned?” Hiccup didn’t actually believe they would find anything at this ‘haunted house’ but the idea of it was kind of fun.

“Nah,” Jack said. “From what I’ve heard they’re usually just grumpy.” The Winter Spirit laughed again and started forward with a bit more of a spring in his step. “Come on. We should hurry, it’s going to start getting dark soon.”

Hiccup turned and followed. “Honestly, the whole thing seemed rather ridiculous.”

Jack turned back and grinned at Hiccup, who was almost pouting. “Come on. We’ll have fun, I promise.” His grinned widened. “Besides an expression like that isn’t going to change my mind. It just makes you look adorable,” he said adding emphasis on the last word.

Hiccup’s eyebrows dipped into a frown at the choice of wording. “What?” He asked.

“Hmm?” Jack questioned walking backwards in front of Hiccup.

The teen took a couple steps to keep up with the Spirit. “Jack, did you just... Did you listen in on my conversation with Astrid.”

“What!?” Jack exclaimed feigning shock and placing a hand over his chest. “How could you even suggest such a thing?” If his act hadn’t been weak before, it fell apart when he couldn’t stop grinning.

“Oh, come on…”

Jack’s face wrinkled up even more as he turned and started down the sidewalk again.

“Jack!” Hiccup ran to catch up with him.