#she’s been hanging out here since she was still in her mom’s pouch!

[radiojamming]

An angel! A fashionista!

[mydear-corinthian]

Defense || John Shelby

Synopsis: Defending John during the ambush of Changretta's men in your home.  Pairing: John Shelby x reader (+ Michael - platonic) Warning: SPOILERS AHEAD ! (season 3 & 4), gun violence, mentions of blood, swearing, injury Notes: There will be some grammatical errors. Click here to find the main masterlist. Click here to find the PEAKY BLINDERS masterlist.

"Mom, mom, it's Christmas day!", Katie shrugging my shoulders to wake me up. A smile painted on my face just at the sight of my kids. The past few months with John have been challenging. He was held captive for six months and was on the brink death just hours before he was hanged. The good news is that Tommy was able to arrange for his release, though under quite tense circumstances. But Tommy still has my anger because he enabled my spouse to rot in prison. That's why the kids, John, and I are here right now. We've moved out of Small Health and into the country in our new house.

"Alright, Katie. I'm awake .. I'm awake. Happy Christmas," I greeted. I looked around the room and saw that John was nowhere to be found—just the kids and I. When I asked Katie where John was, she replied that he was just making breakfast downstairs. "Thank you, love. Let's go join your Dad now, eh?" I kissed her forehead and joined her to come downstairs.

I met John in the kitchen downstairs, breakfast was already placed on the table. He was in the kitchen, I assume he was still making some hot tea. "Happy Christmas, John," He walked toward me and planted a kiss on my cheek as he said, "Good morning and Happy Christmas, love. I made breakfast. Decided not to make you busy on Christmas day." I laughed at his answer. He gave me a cup of warm tea. He grabbed his metallic pouch full of cigarettes and took one. Lighting it before inhaling the toxic air.

"Bit too early for a puff, darling?", I asked, taking a sip of the tea that John made. "Just want to. Besides, it's Christmas day, y'know," he replied, releasing the air from his cigarette. I shrugged off. It was fine with me since I am a smoker as well plus he's right. It's Christmas.

A car caught my eye as it approached our house. I don't know why, but it felt like a familiar car. The Changretta's are still out there, tracking us one by one. Well- I blame my husband for it.

"John? There's a car coming by our house. We're not expecting visitors.." I looked at the window, moving the curtain a bit with my fingers. John smothered the fire and removed his cigarette right away. He reached for his weapon, which was kept under our kitchen counter table's cabinet. He immediately grabbed my arms. I startled at his touch, I asked nervously, "John, what is it?"

"Get the kids and hide. I'll check who it is," he ordered. My hands found his cheeks as I cupped them. My eyes were slowly filling up with water. "How about you John? I already lost you once and I'm not doing it again."

When his head was already in the noose, I thought I had lost him. awaiting the death angel's arrival to welcome him. I want my children to have a father in their lives. I wish to avoid loneliness. Also, I don't want him to be alone.

"You won't and I'll be back. Just go and hide for me. You understand, (y/n)?" he kissed my lips before going outside. I grabbed the kids immediately, telling them to go to the attic first. My son asked, "What happened, mom?"I got on my knee, now the same height level as my son. I brushed his hair with my finger. "It's nothing to worry about, love. Just go and keep your siblings safe in the attic? I'll be there in a while, okay?" My eldest son nodded in agreement, taking his other siblings up to the attic, and keeping them safe.

I followed John outside. Holding my sheriff gun tightly on my dominant arm.I saw him talking to someone. He put his rifle down, making a conversation with the person. I can't help but be curious and follow him. I sighed in relief, turns out it was only Michael. But that doesn't mean that there's going to be bad news.

"Michael, what are you doing here on Christmas day?" I can't help but ask, I was just beside my husband.

"We need to go now." Michael said.

"To whom?" my husband asked.

"To Tommy. He told me to tell you," he responded.

Fuck. Tommy again. What does he fucking want this time. I can't help but simmer in frustration, my mind fucking with annoyance and exhaustion. After what happened last time, I'm not going to risk my loved ones safety again.

"'Tommy told me' What are you, his fucking parrot?" I argued, my brows knitting together in frustration and in anger. "It's the fucking 'Black Hand'! The mafia! The New York fucking mafia!" Michael debated.

John and I's eyes widened.

The New York fucking mafia? Fucking mafia? Well, fuck us.

John noticed a wagon full of hays stopped exactly in front of our house. 3 men appeared wearing suits and a black hat. Guns out, pointing at the three of us.

"John, no!" Michael shouted but John didn't listen.

John cocked his rifle, shooting the three men. Michael and I did the same. One of their men got hit by our bullets and immediately fell. I was so preoccupied with aiming that I failed to notice that Michael and John had already been wounded and were lying on the ground with blood dripping off of them. I gave them a look. My eyes grew wide with terror and shock. I cried out while squeezing them together. With bullets squeezing his leg, John moaned in pain.

My heart stopped instantly. It seemed as though I was the one going to die. Time and gravity seemed to have stopped. My world came to an end. In front of me, time appeared to be motionless and lacking any sensation of reason or meaning.

Bringing back to my senses, I immediately tore my dress and tied it around my husband's leg, applying pressure to his wound. I did the same thing to Michael too, but John's wounds were much worse than his.

2 men stopped shooting and were heading towards my direction. I grabbed my gun, pointing it at them. "Stay where you are or for God knows what, I'll fucking shoot the both of you." I irritably said.

The two of the men can't help but laugh at what I said. Did I make a fucking joke?

"Very funny. You're a Shelby but you are also a woman. A woman can't shoot! I bet that gun isn't even loaded. How funn-" The man suddenly stopped speaking. His body fell to the ground, blood pooling out of his head. His eyes still opened.

I shot him, directly on the head with no mercy, guilt, and remorse after.

"Well, I'm afraid you lost your bet."

The remaining man was about to shoot me but my actions were more faster than his. I shot him multiple times, emptying the bullet chamber of my gun. "For your information, I shoot better than anyone in the Shelby family. I am a former assassin," you said to the dead bodies in front of you.

Before I left, I said,

"And you don't fuck, with the Peaky Fucking Blinders."

I went back to John and Michael, reassuring both of them that they were dead and that I'd call Tommy and an ambulance right away. John looked at me, and he slowly smiled, "Well that was offensive." I chuckled at his response but hey, it was true. I do shoot better than them. "Stay with me, John. And you too Michael. God doesn't want you guys above there yet."

I ran like there was a race, I reached out for the telephone, calling the hospital to get an ambulance. After that, I called Tommy, rage feeling in every part of my body.

"Black hand, the Mafia, the Changretta's. They were here Tommy. They were fucking here. John and Michael have been shot!"

I hung up the phone and gave it an aggressive touch. I groaned and clutched my hair in a fist. I almost lost my husband again. I quickly made my way to the attic and told my kids they could leave since it was now safe. I told them about their father and uncle while simultaneously assuring them that everything would be alright.

Later on, the ambulances came. They took Michael and John and I went too. The kids stayed with the kids. "Thank you, for backing us up, (y/n). I don't know what to do without you." John thanked me, and his hand grabbed my palm, stroking it with his thumb. I kissed his forehead, muttering an 'I love you'.

"I'm always here, John.

Always."

The End

[sanchoyo]

arc v 51-65 thoughts! JACK IS HERE FINALLY!!!! also crow. also, prison arc. they sent 14 year olds to actual adult prison! the gang learned about classism, corruption in the system and that you cant Beat Cops with Smiles, but with your Fists :)

-ok. in the back end of the reiji v yuya duel yuya seems surprised to hear yuzu is okay, just taken. and im like. OH IS THAT WHY HES SO UPSET?? HE THOUGHT SHE WAS /DEAD/??? I mean. you know what thats fair. being turned into a piece of paper/cardboard(?) cards. would usually mean death I guess and he did think thats what happened to her. I still think its silly for him to be so pissed at reiji who by all accounts is the nicest ygo rich guy in the entire serieses history imo. but reiji did withhold some info to test yuya a lil bit. but yknow. still.

-…reiji's mom…TOLD the WORLD about the war/invaders AND THEY CANCELED. THE. TOURNAMENT. THEY CANCELED IT AND PRIORITIZED THE WORLDS SAFETY. we ARENT getting a FULL TOURNAMENT ARC??? IN YUGIOH??? i am shocked. no way… (I know I said itd be really funny if a protag didnt win the tournament, but they CANCELED IT which is somehow even funnier to me) I cannot say I expected this at all but im not MAD abt it

-see the next ep when yuya v his mom we learn his mom was a former GIRL GANG BOSS??? WHERE HAS /THAT/ ENERGY BEEN THIS WHOLE SERIES??? instead of being a creep towards kids she couldve been characterized like this! the story abt her and yuyas dad is pretty cute but if /i/ i had a hot mob boss wife i wouldnt be telling her to solve everything with smiles not violence :) i would pick up a fucking bat with her. whatever its FINE

-god the lil montage of yuzu's dad dueling with her in a lil baby pouch on his back and pausing a duel to change her diaper was SO CUTE. TF BEST YGO DAD FOR REAL GOD. hes a duel school teacher!!! why!! cant he come to help!!!! why are they just letting an 18-19 yr old lead the lancers into anOTHER DIMENSION. i dont CARE that hes thee most responsible smartest guy ever or whatever. my god

-shun and serena are remarkably chill abt all of this, hope we see more of them talking and hanging out and stuff. like serena looks just like his sister and yuya looks like his bestie and u KNOW thats SO weird to him?? but also they were on oppisite sides of the war! i want! more interactions! (very funny theyre both kinda trailing reiji. tbh if /i/ was stranded in another dimension he would be the person id be latching onto out of this cast, too. very nice and level headed guy)

-MY GOD. yugo is SO sweet, his calm explanation to yuzu and them just sittin and talking was great. (his reaction to yuzu implying he loves rin was also very very cute. and rins design AUGH I love it SO much. yuzu is still best arc v girl for me but rins design is my fav. GREEN.) JACK!!! MENTIONED!!!

-while they were talking it sorta explained yugo v yuto was a huge misunderstanding bc yuto thought yugo was the Fusion Enemy and yugo thought yuto was yuri. very very understandable and funny. and also im starting to think everyone in this series is colorblind bc they cant tell any of the yuzu/yuya counterparts apart by hair… (also, speaking of yuri, where did he GO. whts HE up to. weve barely gotten any of him and id like More Please)

-it's…been a minute since I watched 5ds. years. and I only watched it once, so I know im probably going to get details wrong, but aside from jack and crow, all other charas so far are arc v originals? like melissa and Guy that Looks Like This :>/ arent in 5ds right… the city kinda looks different to me, but maybe its just the animation looks newer… are we going to get an explanation to where yusei is? bc if jack and crow are in this…like, none of the protags are in arc v. are they busy. is this a universe without them.

-I forgot how dystopian 5ds was! stupid rich ppl calling the cops on yugo and yuzu for LOITERING and acting like the lower class is a Threat is a lil too real…damn. yugo is so nice immediately just pulling her along to help while shes with him ;_; personality wise hes my fav of the yu boys so far… (I feel like such a traitor for this. sorry to yuto bc zexal is my fav series. but we barely got to see him. whenever he comes back im sure we'll get..more... and sorry to yuya bc I Love Clowns….but I love silly lil bikenana boy…willing to bet when we get more yuri he might fight for that spot bc i LOVE a good villain too…we'll see…)

-YUZU'S REACTION TO YUGO DWHEEL DUEL IS SO FUNNY SHES LIKE. SO RATIONAL THO. my GOD she kept saying he should stop to duel on foot and yeah. playing yugioh (or, any card game) on a bike would be insanely hard. like you have to basically have your cards ALL memorized bc you gotta keep ur eyes ahead to drive, right, so ud only be able to glance? everyone in synchro world has insane memorizing skills. (I know to a degree you'd be able to make the d-wheels have a sort of autopilot, but no, we see them steering themselves and accelerating themselves…)

-the animation kept cutting to 3d models while they were dueling on their bikes and it did Not Look Very Good. it was still very fun.

-yuzu Learns About Corrupt Police and Society Today! She once again is the Real Protag to Me. reporter cowgirl ladys design is cute!

-what was the point of the duel if the cops were gonna just set up a blockade anyway tf. the entertainment aspect is SO fucked lmao bored rich ppl. too real. yugo u dont need to rise in society u gotta burn it all down its all fucked. -_-

-YUZU HAS BEEN IN SYNCHRO WORLD FOR (1) DAY AND IS NOW A WANTED CRIMINAL!!! HOT GIRL SUMMERRRRR. (and by proximity, yuya and serena lol)

-LAYRA SAW COPS AND FLIPPED OUT. understandable but also WHO HURT U. SHINGO IMMEDIATELY NOT GIVING A FUCK AND IS READY TO DUEL THE COPS. SERENA TOO. honestly very iconic of everybody great job. except yuya who is just baffled and not 100% ready to throw down. Get with the PROGRAM yuya u cant fight cops with smiles.

-you know I understanding theyre tryin to duel their way out of it but letting ppl from synchro see: fusion, action cards, and pendulum in ONE GO seems DANGEROUS.

-sorry, but shingo being arrested while yuya is like YAY ACTION DUEL LET ME ENTERTAIN U ^_^ IS THE FUNNIEST THING EVER. and everytime he asked layra if theyre okay they look like a goddamn espurr like O__O clearly NOT OK. VERY SCARED WITHOUT REIJI. WHY DID U BRING THIS TRAUMATIZED CHILD!!!

-there was a scene when yuya was like 'look at these beautiful ladies!" n his hippo girl monsters danced for an uncomfortably long time and the cops face kept being zoomed in on and he was like O__O this ep…i cant tell if its TRYING to make me laugh but it is, my god yuya u are making ME smile if no one else. for absolutely the Wrong Reason. the CHEERFUL TONE he takes on in this situation is SO NOT APPROPRIATE FOR THE GRAVITY OF BEING. ARRESTED. this cop hes dueling is also the most tirest man ive ever seen which makes it so much better

-crows entrance was absolutely INCREDIBLE. WITH THE MOODY THUNDER AND ALL!! HOLY SHIT. just the sound of revving in the distance building up to it CROWWWWW I LOVE U. still probably most excited for jack but STILL.

-ohh, yugo know doesnt what his parents look like huh…and yuzu doesnt know what her mom looked like? her dad, the most cheerful dude in the world never talked abt her? weird.. theres still the mystery of yuzu having her bracelet…id say maybe all the yuya/yuzu counterparts might be the same but no, yuya has both parents so…cannot rly do anything with this info rn…

-ok just a small thought, but in the op and the eps so far, the guy whos always looking over security (idk his name yet but he looks like this :>/) is implied to be the villain, and ig reijis dad might be one of the final villains, but we havent had any Very Present Active villains aside from GROUPS of invaders that are p much faceless…I want more like. Present Villains. does that make sense. dennis doesnt count btw hes just some guy whos hangin out.

-shingo just introduced yuya as his APPRENTICE. PLEASE. i love him so much hes the funniest guy ever. crow also immediately being like 'idk abt all this dimension stuff! but u guys can hang out here for however long u need to :)' LOVE U CROW

-my god DENNIS can juggle and do silly little magic stuff. ok. ive been very lukewarm to him but thats very cute. also 'gon-chan' PLS.

-also one of the bills he got as a tip had that little clown guy from 5ds on it. was he a …person who was important enough to be on money? i dont remember him very much except he had like. a clown wife. cannot recall his place in the plot or anything else LMAO

-yugo and yuzu just trying to convince randos on the street the WAR IS COMING AND THEY CAN TRAVEL DIMENSIONS. AND GETTING LAUGHED AT. HELP THEM.

-im running into traffic to defend gons honor. hes so mad dennis made him the villain in their silly little roleplay HAHA. dennis is like a campy little guy, even when hes outed as a traitor later I seriously seriously doubt itll stick or he'll be a real threat. hes a silly guy..also I just like his monsters designs a lot. (also, he outed xyz to synchro dimension too LMAO DUDE. now they have all the summoning methods u guys can use…)

-gallager is just. he introduces himself as a promoter but him and nico smiley are both like. pimps for duelists right. KAHSDKJ. love his outfit so much tho

-so…where the HELL did reiji land….mildly concerned about now, its been a few…eps and he hasnt been shown…where did he go……..is he ok…….is he with jack….

-ILLEGAL DUEL BETTING. GON IS SOOO OFFENDED TOO. AND THEN IT CUTS TO SHUN IMMEDIATELY IN IT. epic illegal bird moment. poor gon is having to play peacekeeper and is the only reasonable person of this trio

-crow explaining the tops STOLE riding duels and make commoners do it for fun..my god they gentrified riding duels

-very grateful yuya is the one kinda looking after layra in reijis absence. makes perfect sense since he kinda is a big bro figure to the kids at the duel school too! it adds a real softness to yuya that I like (ok lets be real hes already been pretty soft. gooey and warm center, like a cookie) for a second it panned to serena and i was thinking pls dont let the only girl in the group be the mother hen but no. she completely ignores layra and decided to go out on her own (shingo following her lol) bc shes sick of sitting around waiting and her main goal, in her Words is to Find Yuzu too. would it be weird to ship them since they..look the same supposedly….JSDKFJK its tht question of what ud do if u met a clone of urself/alt version of urself. would u kiss or kill them. serena is a Kiss the Clone kinda girl and I respect that

-'friendship cup' is the funniest name ever for a tournament. YOU HAVE TO ENTER. TO DUEL JACK. JACK IS THE PRIZE. TROPHY WIFE JACK. shun and dennis both want to fight jack sooo bad its so funny. me too (affectionate) the fact dennis and shun both took to riding bikes and dueling at the same time SO fast is. incredible. and their lil outfits….

-oh wait. this means the earlier tournament being canceled is just gonna lead into this one isnt it HAHAH i knew it couldnt be ygo without a full tournament arc….its fine. I actually dont DISLIKE these type of arcs even if they arent my favorite

-not sure if ive said it but I Must mention it: yuyas magicians have nonbinary swag

-who the hell is shinji. youre not yusei. bootleg yusei….where did they PUT YUSEI!!! are all the protags busy like DAMN!! WHERE ARE THEY!!! I understand on a meta level u wouldnt want them all in the series to take away protagswag from yuya but this series literally lends itself to a bbt style crossover! the whole series is a crossover! they shouldve had a lil movie or smth. I want. another bbt movie. but w the newer protags too. lke all 8-9(??) ygo protags...itd be FUN

-crow being such a DAD to a ton of kids is cute. and probably the best person layra couldve come to stay with tbh, hes obv concerned abt them ;_; babies. also him and yuya dueling bc crow thinks feeding kids is more important than making them smile…and yuya thinks making them smile is more important…no yuya i gotta side with crow here LMAO crow called yuya privileged too JDSFHKJ

-NINJA GUY!!! I FORGOT HE WAS WITH THE LANCERS?? i mean ive been seein him in the op but STILL. good he got layra outta there. the cops were going to arrest a CHILD. i mean ik yuya is a child too but layra is a CHILD child not a teen yk. omg jail arc???

-speaking of arcs. is this series called arc v. because. arc 5. as in fifth arc of the yugioh series. I was speculating to why it was called that last time and had the realization thats prob why JKSHDFK

-god we actually are getting a…prison arc…this is INCREDIBLE. why werent they given the prison uniforms everyone else has. btw yuya now would be the PERFECT time to bring ur inner demon out to break out

-the bosses absurdly large brick stack of cards is insane. ive never seen so many so neatly stcked in one place…bro what if someone knocked them over that would be a nightmare…

-the lil story with the boss was fun (and felt appropriate given hes dueling yuya, who is all abt Smiles and Entertaining and hed lost that…like gettin his spark back) …so the moral here is u can make friends with fellow inmates n have solidarity but the cops are always enemies. understandable and real

-so yuya should become the new prison boss. right. he beat the old boss. but whatever I guess they didnt want yuya to be a crimeboss...cowards

-so whenever someone tries breaking out, their friends/the ppl left behind get punished and taken somewhere they 'never return from'…thats…terrifying and would be pretty efficient to anyone with any kind of morals, but idk, i feel like anyone would get really desperate and try it anyway at a certain point if conditions are bad enough, their fellow inmates be damned..

-sorry but it has to be said though. this mans hair is a lizard straight up. with the little hands and everything. is anyone fucking talking about this.

-my god yugo cannot whistle at all. everytime i see him and yuzu im like. they are so funny i love them both so much SJADFHKJ we go a few eps w/out them and im so sad… btw..yuya is in jail, i kinda expected this friendship cup thing to involve them more heavily, but the :>/ guy said yugo and yuzu would be arrested when they showed up for it too and im like. is it even gonna be an Event or Not. i mean I LOVE prison arc but. Wondering

-'hey crow if ur gonna leave here (prison) can I come too..' YUYA. DO YOU THINK CROW OF ALL PEOPLE IS GOING TO LEAVE YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS IN PRISON AND DITCH YOU ALL?? ITS CROW. CMON.

-yuya constantly looking like either the happiest dude ever (when its horribly inappropriate most of the time) or the saddest little kicked puppy alive makes me lose it. (and the third option of Murderously Possessed, but its been like 20 eps since weve seen that so..maybe the demon and yuto both peaced out. maybe they eloped. good for them)

-ok im going to need a gif of this PRONTO. shun how did you get there. HE SHOULDER DROPPED THIS MAN. XYZ BITCHES ARE BUILT DIFFERENT. XYZ REPRESENT!!!! he bodied like 15 more guards after this with his FISTS not even using his cards CMON LETS GOOO the prison break scene was AMAZING. also shingo grabbing some rare cards on the way out. best boy alert. why do his eyes glow in the dark.

-….hey shingo loses SO many duels its kind of funny. reminds me of watching manjoume from gx do the same thing. between them who has more losses. theyre both a certain…flavor of cringedude characters that i always end up liking…

btw Lightsworn Monster SPOTTED. I HAVE THIS CARD IN MY FAVORITE DECK!!! HIII FELIS!!!

-'what does a monster with 100 lp have to accomplish' -guy whos never heard of goddamn card effects. damn i thought these dudes were supposed to be the super efficient guards or whatever…anyway shun coming in with the literal xyz rescue was CUTE look at him functioning in a team ;w; good

-oh my god :>/ guy is named jean-michel roget. hes. hes french coded. u know wht i think i like my silly lil emoji name for him better. GOD DAMN they were SO close to escaping. CROW HAS KIDS AT HOME. ARGNH THEYRE TRYING TO SEPARATE SERENA TOO. BULLSHIT.

-REIJI FINALLY FINALLY SHOWING UP. WHERE WERE U. talking to a council I Guess. fucking negotiating. ok king of efficiency. he saved everyones asses with this. everyone say thank u reiji for everything, always.

-oh my god the friendship cup. theyre all being forced to demonstrate their abilities in the tournament . mandatory friendship cup. its a Full Circle. out of jail straight into the REAL tournament arc. i cant believe this.

-yuya vs jack. oh my god its going to happen. <- so excited to see jack i am going to throw UP

-crow called jack a traitor so. so they havent made up yet. I mean I FIGURED and yusei isnt HERE and i am :( I barely remember 5ds but I remember crow and jack bein silly together near the end…be FRIENDS or ELSE I will CRY

-yuzu's lil riding duel outfit is SO cute. pls. also yuzu crying with relief once she sees yuya is ok…baby ;_; theyre so Close to bein reunited….

-the problem with me trying to figure out how and why this series diverges from 5ds is that i remember Nothing Important from 5ds at all. i remember the dumbass details like that jack loved cup ramen JSDHKJ but its clearly an au (with..no yusei for some reason...) and im like. wondering if theyll ever explain WHY its an au from the original. or if im just supposed to Know. bc I Dont Yet

-I thought itd be really funny if jack DID defeat yuya in Three Turns like he said he was going to. and then he DOES. he beats him so hard yuya FLIES OFF HIS BIKE. AND BOUNCES. LMAO glad hes wearing a helmet at least. love u jack. also. i know it was probably framed in the way of jack being an asshole but I? kind of agree with him about this:

(I actually…said smth along these lines in my first arc v liveblog post:

almost word for word HAHA me and jack are on the same wavelength and he read yuya in like 10 seconds FLAT I am Amazed)

not that it's a BAD thing. he wants to make people happy, and it makes him happy in turn when theyre cheering for him! thats fine! (an irl example would be like, I enjoy making art for others to make them happy. but I also enjoy getting positive feedback for my own satisfaction!) absolutely nothing wrong with it!

HOWEVER. the impression I've gotten so far is that yuya gets upset when his opponent is the one being cheered for (a good example was the michio duel and that annoying trivia kid duel. he didnt seem real happy when the audience was rooting for them and not him!) as opposed to…I cant believe I'm comparing him to dennis but. the dennis v gon duel was a great example of what I think a more genuine entertainment duel should be…they were playing the roles of hero v villain, and dennis was great at improv there, quickly turning into the villain when Straight Man to his Comedy Guy routine Gon accused him of being the Real Villain in that situation. like he ROLLED with it and was perfectly fine with gon winning bc it suited their lil story and the audience loved it! I think entertainment dueling SHOULD be like that, like improv and acting bc you're entertaining ppl. ur a performer. u need to go w the flow more.

(Okay, this might not have been the best duel to show it off bc 1. hes dueling JACK of all ppl who declared hes gonna WIN and. he Will. 2. this is a situation where hes trying to showcase the strength of the lancers, so it wouldnt do to THROW the duel. but he couldve played into jacks dramatics a bit, made himself out to be more of a dramatic underdog, or a potential upstarter…for wanting to be an ENTERTAINER I want to see yuya channel his dramatics a LOT more than he does. esp w jack of all ppl!) to me it feels like yuya also ties a LOT of his self worth to how other ppl perceive his role in duels too which is Unhealthy (and again. is an extension of the 'smile when u want to cry' stuff imo, also pretty unhealthy) I…dont know if any of this is That Deep or theyre just trying to make jack seem like an asshole. I WANT it to be this deep bc its a REALLY interesting trait for a protag to have!

-kinda love how ppl in the Tops are dressed like old timey victorians. (also a lot of them have very western names) it just creates a very. unique vibe 

-can I also just say i LOVE LOVE LOVE the trope in ygo of 'person does what they think is the final finishing move, then theres smoke and everyone is like :0 and when the smoke clears, the person is still standing in the duel because of some trap/spell/effect' IT HAPPENS SO MUCH IN ARC V AND I EAT IT UP EVERYTIME.

-...jack gave this random child servant a card and told him it suited him and the kids mad jack 'changed' and got mad jack compared him to a 'weak card'...first off its gonna end up being smth like 'even weak cards have potential, none of them are useless, its like u, u feel like ur a low level but u also have potential' (which. very yusei thing btw) but also if my hero gave me a card i would literally be SO happy this kid is dumb asf. jack literally wasnt even being RUDE when he gave it to him and jack is usually SO Rude like CMON. 'wheeh i had NO cards and jack gave me one but its WEAK so i dont want it' this is called being ungrateful. i know hes a kid so I shouldnt be so annoyed but damn its rude. its a REALLY cute card too (not one I recognize and the text is in japanese but its a cute lil cyber girl with pink hair and a tuning fork and bc this is synchro I assume its a tuner monster or smth?)

-...went from jail to bougiest penthouse in the world. lmao and locked in his room....ur a rich persons pet now...'if u lose ur out of the penthouse' willing to bet its the same for jack since at the end of the day hes still. u know. a commons Guy cosplaying a bougie. funnily enough, the tops are saying 'as long as he keeps winning hes not a commons, hes one of us!' and the commons are saying 'hes a traitor who sold out!' then another commons guy being like 'NO jack is still OUR hero he doesnt belong to the tops!' etc. its like he cant fucking win no matter what he does! insane. jack ilu tho.

-...actually, first match is gon v crow. calling it now, gon loses his Stand In One Place shtick isnt gonna work v a motorcycle. i kinda think I want crow to win this tournament actually to duel jack KJHSDKJ i know itll prob be yuya but cmonnnn. its PERSONAL for crow. btw does this mean gon will be homeless for the rest of the friendship cup stuff since if u lose u get kicked outta the penthouse. where will he GO. ...tbh since crow has kids waiting at home for him it might be better if he loses first so he can take the losers of this tournament back home w him so they dont. go to jail again? maybe? we’ll see!!

very very fun stretch of eps, I binged SO many last night and tonight :3

[smells-like-mettaton]

62 Kris :]

Rating: G Word Count: 689 Prompt: Fingertips smudged in blue ink Read on AO3: here

---

“A-alright class, since I’m sure we’re all still reeling from the finale of Mew Mew Kissy Cutie 2—er, I mean, from the end of winter break—we’re going to do something easy today! Just write about your favorite thing you did on vacation! It can be sledding, or eating some really good ramen, o-or watching your favorite anime…”

Miss Alphys’s voice fades into white noise, and Kris picks out their blue pen without thinking about it.

Something thumps in their chest.

It’s nothing. Their pencil pouch—handstitched by Mom—was stocked with pens at the beginning of the year, even if they’ve since dropped most of them, replacing them with chewed pencils from the hallway floors.

(Painted wood tastes better than plastic, anyway.)

So why do they pick the pen? Is it to match the color of their skin, the warrior they became beneath the bunker doors before everything went wrong wrong wrong?

Kris clutches the pen tighter, but unlike battered pencils, it’s too strong to break.

Their eyes dart to Noelle, who’s staring with a blank gaze that skims off her even blanker paper. Kris can’t help her.

They couldn’t help her, or Asriel, or…

Plastic snaps in their hand, staining their skin electric blue.

Huh. Not too strong to break after all.

“K-kris?” Noelle whispers from the desk in front and to the left. “Do you, um… need a pencil?”

They shake their head, flushing with embarrassment. Noelle doesn’t need their help. She’s always been stronger than them. She’s fine.

“You, um… are you okay?” she asks them, proving their point.

Something thumps in their chest. A beat that doesn’t line up with their breaths anymore.

“Yes,” they rasp without telling their mouth to speak.

“Y-you don’t sound…”

Noelle trails off when Berdly turns and shoots her a glare.

“If you don’t have anything to write about, can you at least stop distracting those who had engaging winter vacations?”

“I wasn’t, I mean, we were just…” Noelle stammers.

Kris grins, reaches forward, and rubs their blue-stained palm against the back of Berdly’s pristine shirt.

“Wha—! Miss Alphys!” He shoots out of his seat. “Miss Alphys, Kris is—is vandalizing my property!!”

Noelle’s eyes widen, but she’s stifling a giggle.

Maybe Kris isn’t so useless after all.

“Huh?” Alphys looks up from the manga she’s reading. It’s hidden behind a textbook, but Kris can see the cover peeking out. She sighs.

“Berdly, I’m sure it’s not Kris’s fault their pen malfunctioned.”

“B-but—!” He flaps his wings, pointing behind his back.

“It’s nothing a little rubbing alcohol won’t get out. Trust me, I’ve seen worse stains than that from… eheh, nevermind.”

Kris has seen worse stains, too, but they’re pretty sure theirs won’t wash out.

After flapping there uselessly for a few more seconds, Berdly finally sits down. It should have been a victory, but Noelle’s biting her lip, lost in thought again.

“Can you believe what Krisaster did to me!?” he hisses to her, and she looks away, her hands clasped tight beneath her desk.

“Um… maybe that was… not a great idea,” she whispers.

Kris’s bangs hang in front of their face. Their grin disappears.

Something thumps in their chest.

“Sorry,” they mutter against their will.

(The thing inside them is polite.)

“You will be.” Berdly sticks up his beak, then returns to scribbling on his paper.

Noelle’s page is still blank as the fresh snow. That snow outside has melted, disappeared along with that strange underground world.

Disappeared along with December.

“Do you… need a pen?” Kris manages to get out.

“Huh? N-no, I’ve got one here. Look, it even lights up!”

She pulls one out of her pocket and clicks the button at the top, which flashes red and green. She got it from her dad for Christmas. This is the third time she’s shown it to Kris.

“Besides, I don’t need anything that’s going to explode!”

She says it with a cheeky smile, and Kris looks down at their desk sheepishly. Blue is splattered like blood across their page.

At the end of class, they turn it in to Miss Alphys without comment.

[vs-redemption]

hii! i swear i read your request rules but i’m still worried this doesn’t follow them. anyway i figured i’d ask and you can obviously decline ahahah. i just read Gray and it’s so well written and makes my heart shiver and i wanted to ask if you’d write a part 2 or a one shot/scenario of having levi as a soulmate in the same eye color soulmate au as Gray? thank you !! :) (^･ｪ･^)

From Cindy: I apologize for taking so long to get to this! It took me a while to get an idea I liked, and then I had trouble getting into the mindset to write it. Inspiration finally struck though, and this is the result! I hope you like it!

Soulmates (Levi x GN!Reader)

Based on the same AU as Gray (Levi x Gn!Reader)

⚠️angst and hints of sex work (Levi’s Mom)⚠️

Levi loved safety

Being born in an extremely run down and sketchy part of the city was one of the worst fates a person could experience. Ever since Levi could remember, he’d been burdened with warnings from his mother who had learned most lessons about living amongst the dregs of society the hard way. He never stepped a foot outside their tiny one room home without hearing her voice expressing concerns about who he talked to, which streets he went down, how late he stayed out, and which shops he visited. There was danger everywhere and no one to protect him.

“Levi, stay close to me,” the woman would say to him when he was younger. Even going out in the middle of the day was a risk for them because his mother had a reputation. In order to feed him and keep the roof over his head, she’d reduced herself to a line of work that garnered an uncomfortable amount of negative attention. In a world ruled by the existence of soul mates, everything about their lifestyle was wrong and all it took was seeing a woman with duel colored eyes and a child for someone to know she’d committed the biggest taboo.

At first, Levi didn’t understand why anything about his mother’s appearance would cause such a stir. He’d seen plenty of people with two colored eyes, including himself. As he got older though, his curiosity grew and one day he made the mistake of asking about his father. The pained look on his mother’s face filled him with regret immediately, but he sat and listened to her intently as she explained the ways of their harsh reality.

“Your eyes are a promise,” she’d told him as delicately as possible. “A promise not to share yourself with anyone until you meet the person who you are destined to find and be with forever.” Levi had been filled with sadness for his mother when she admitted to breaking her promise. It was clear that she’d only committed such a disapproved act out of absolute necessity. People were judgmental though and could only see the fact that Levi’s father had not been the woman’s soulmate, which is why her eyes remained mismatched.

“You can still find them,” Levi had tried to hold on to a glimmer of hope for her, but she just smiled sadly and shook her head. The likeliness was low at her age, and even if they happened to cross paths, her past and status as a single mother would drive any respectable person away.

Levi loved stability

After learning about and coming to terms with the truth of this mother’s situation, Levi became determined to help her out in any way possible. He didn’t want the woman sacrificing herself for him any longer. And once he got older, he begged her to start staying home while he did what he could to provide for them both.

“It’s not your job to take care of me, Levi.” She’d smiled at this thoughtfulness while cupping his cheek in her delicate hand. “Everything I’ve done will have been worth it as long as you can have a better life than me.”

He understood her sentiment, but was too stubborn to give up. It was hard to find honest work in a town full of desperation and poverty, but Levi did his best. He took odd jobs here and there, and tried not to get mixed up in any of the bad business that ran rampant in the area. The money he earned wasn’t nearly enough to cover the cost of his small home though. After a handful of threats from the landlord to toss them out on the street, Levi knew he had to do more.

Levi loved familiarity

Resorting to petty theft went against everything Levi’s mother had taught him, and he knew it would probably break her heart if she ever found out. Still, he couldn’t allow their home to be taken away, or worse, his mother to return to the work she’d done before.

He had to be smart though. Being caught stealing in his neighborhood could get him killed. Going into the nicer parts of the city would be a better bet. He didn’t know the area as well, of course, but there was the benefit that he wouldn’t be recognized if anyone saw him. If he did happen to get caught by law enforcement, he’d end up in a jail cell rather than a cold ditch somewhere. Neither option was ideal, but stealing from the rich would have to do until a better plan presented itself.

Things went decently for a while, and Levi was a quick learner. He figured out what worked and what didn’t without having too many close calls. He made sure only to take enough to get by since the thought of being too similar to the criminals he’d grown up around made him sick to his stomach. It was only a matter of time though before his luck ran out. Rumors of a pickpocket spread and people began to act more cautiously about carrying their valuables out in the open, forcing Levi to get more reckless with his stunts.

It was on a particularly frustrating day that Levi caught a glimpse of you. More accurately, he caught a glimpse of the leather purse filled with coins hanging from your hip as you chatted away with a friend outside a popular confectionary. With practiced movements, he slipped into the crowd and made his way in your direction, thinking that snatching up the money would be simple and easy. He’d made a mistake though. Your pouch wasn’t tied up like he was used to, but secured with a metal ring designed specifically to prevent the very act he was trying to pull.

You begin to turn around as soon as you feel the tug on your belt and Levi freezes for a moment, trying to think of a way to get out of the situation. One word from you and everyone in the vicinity would be on him. As soon as your duel colored eyes met his however, something happened that put all other thoughts out of both of your minds. Levi watched in shock as you blinked once, twice, and then suddenly your left eye changed color completely to match your right. The look of initial alarm on you face softened and Levi knew he had to get out of there. He turned on his heel, ducked his head down, and walked away as quickly and as naturally as his legs would allow. He waited for any sign that he was being pursued for a moment or two and then broke into a run.

Levi loved certainty

In his panic, Levi didn’t even greet his mother as he rushed past her once arriving at home. His heart was pounding and a light sweat covered his forehead uncomfortably. He went straight to the bathroom to stand in front of the cracked mirror above the sink. It took a few seconds to muster up the courage to look into his reflection and find that everything that had happened was real. The two colored eyes that he was so used to were gone.

“Levi, sweetie, are you all right?” his mother appeared in the doorway, looking scared. “Did something happen at work? You’re not usually home this early!” He turns to look at the woman who notices his matching eyes immediately. Her hands come up to her mouth which spreads into a smile and tears spring into her eyes. “Congratulations! Who is it?”

The question makes Levi feel ill. Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine he’d meet his soulmate while trying to rob them. And if his mother found out, she’d be so disappointed.

“It doesn’t matter,” He tells her stiffly. “I can’t be with them.”

The words were far from enough to satisfy his mother though, and she nagged him the rest of the evening with questions about what you looked like and where he’d saw you. He kept his lips sealed until he’d had enough of the interrogation.

“Please, my obligation is to you and nobody else,” he tells his mother. “I don’t know anything about this person. Not only do I have no interest in being with them, I’m certain they have no interest in being with me either.”

“Levi, this is all I’ve ever wanted for you,” his mother begs, taking his hands into her own. “Do not live your life feeling empty and alone. Take this chance and find your happiness.”

Levi shakes his head, refusing to even consider it. His only focus had been himself and his mother for so long that it seemed ridiculous to add a third person into the mix now. It was better to pretend he’d never met you, and he imagined you would feel the same way. How disgusted did you feel knowing your soulmate was the infamous pickpocket? It would be even worse once you found out where he lived and about his mother. Surely you were both better off without each other.

Levi hated the thought of a life without you

Despite his resolution to continue on with life as normal, it only took a few days before Levi caved and went back to the spot where he’d encountered you. The image of your face had never once left his mind, and there was an incessant need to see you again that he could not ignore. He thought perhaps one more look couldn’t hurt, and he had to go back anyway if he wanted to collect enough money to pay his landlord that month.

“I hoped you’d come back.”

Levi had been sure you wouldn’t recognize him after only getting that small glimpse, but apparently fate had engrained his face into your memory as well. He whirled around, his gaze immediately locking with yours. It was wild to see the familiar color of your eyes looking back at him. He had no idea why you’d be here looking for the person that tried to steal from you. The cautious smile on your face as you introduced yourself put him on edge as well. “What’s your name?”

“Levi.” He hadn’t meant to say it, but part of him already felt an attachment to you. What was more, hearing your name for the first time felt like a fire had ben lit inside of him. He shakes his head to get his mind straightened out. “I shouldn’t be here.”

“No!” the panic in your features makes him falter, “Please stay. Can’t we talk for a moment?”

“I’m sorry,” Levi backs away, trying to fight off the instincts rising up inside of him. He didn’t want you to be sad and he didn’t want to disappoint you. He knew though that it was inevitable that he would.

“Levi…”

Hearing his own name spill from your lips was enough to have him second guessing everything. Would he really be able to go the rest of his life without hearing it again? He wasn’t sure he was strong enough to stay away. He’d already come crawling back once already after all. As a last resort, he knew what he had to do. He had to tell you everything. And he did. He revealed his entire life story to you without hardly pausing to take a breath, knowing that every detail would drive your further and further away. Having so soulmate at all was much better than having a soulmate like him.

By the time he finished talking, tears had welled up in his eyes as well. His mother had told him to take the chance for happiness, but instead he’d violently thrown it away. A few seconds passed and suddenly you were slipping your hand into his. It was the wrong reaction to the story but he can’t help but tighten his grip around yours anyway, wanting the comforting feeling you brought to last forever.

“I’m so sorry you and your mother have had to fight so hard just to survive,” you tell him softly. “But you won’t have to live that way any longer, or at least, I want to join the fight with you.”  The genuine kindness and determination in your voice was overwhelming for Levi. Somehow he knew you meant every word, and the image of a brighter future for all three of you began to take shape in his mind. He had no idea if such a future was actually possible, but with you at his side he knew he’d definitely be willing to try. Being born in the roughest and seediest part of town had to be one of the worst fates a person could experience. Levi knew that first hand. He also knew he wouldn’t trade that fate for the world if it meant having you as a soulmate.

[weirdthinkingdragon]

Welcome To The Family (4/???)

1/ 2/ 3 here

Note- This festival is a different one than the festival arc.  Sorry if the ending seems kinda sudden. Didn’t really know how to end it. 

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

I’m unsure what time exactly they will be here. They probably should have told me that before, now that I think about it. Luckily, everyone is passed out by sunrise so that’s not an issue of them seeing who is in the vehicle. My issue is them possibly entering here, so I should probably wait outside. 

On my way to get outside, I run into the mold-quirked male. He’s passed out on the floor in the hall. His really long, oddly-textured white hair sprawled everywhere around him. I’ve never touched it, but just by looking at it, the hair seems weird. It looks like what fuzzy mold possibly feels like if that makes sense. Makes me wonder if his hair IS mold. Gross, no thanks. 

I wonder whether to wake him or let him sleep. I decided to just let him sleep and walk over his body. 

Exiting the building, it was like there was never loud music blaring, or even a party. No mess anywhere. That must be how they get away with it. 

I brought my money with me to play a few games, but nothing extreme. Of course, I should be safe around three heroes, but not taking any chances is still the better option than bringing all of it. 

It only takes a few minutes for the familiar black car to pull up. Being texted they were on their way would have been nice, but beggars can’t be choosers. Hitoshi exits the car for me to get in. 

I’m greeted by the very happy smile of Eri. That will never be a tiring sight to see. I buckle up and lean over since her arms are outstretched for a hug. 

From the view of Aizawa in the front, he’s dressed decently today, and even his hair looks much tidier than I’ve ever seen it. The same for the first time he’s wearing something besides his hero outfit. No doubt Hizashi made him do it, or even more likely he did it for Aizawa himself. He still has that scarf though. I resist the urge to laugh at the thought of him unwillingly being tidied up by Hizashi. 

In speaking of Hizashi, I’ve never seen his hair not standing up before. It’s a good look in the half-bun, but I wonder what it would look like fully down. Nope, don’t think too far into that. That’s kinda weird. 

“Morning Y/N!” Hizashi exclaims. 

“Morning guys! What’s planned first when we get there?”

“Eri wants to get a candy apple. She loves them after last time.”

I look at her. “Candy apples? Why did you never tell me? We could have made those at some point before.” 

“It should be more of a treat than a daily thing,” Aizawa says. 

“Says the one who pretty much lives off jelly pouches,” Hizashi informs.

“Like you’re much better with forgetting sometimes to eat at all.” Aizawa shoots back at him. 

Jelly pouches? How in the world is he still in such great shape then? Obviously fighting and training often helps, but that sounds like multiple deficiencies just waiting to happen. Same with Hizashi. Jeez, these two seem rather irresponsible sometimes. At least they’re focused on their kids since I’ve never heard Eri telling me they forgot to feed her. 

“You know how to make them?” Hitoshi asks. 

I look at him and nod. “Yep. I helped a friend in the past who was in a candy apple tournament with their other friends. Whoever could make the coolest-looking ones wins. They sadly got second place, but to me, galaxy apples look a lot cooler than the tree candy apples that won. You couldn’t even bite the top of the silly things without breaking your teeth!” 

Eri gasps and puts a hand on her mouth in the thought of breaking her teeth. 

“Don’t worry. I wouldn’t make them even if I could.”

She nods relieved. 

We get to the festival and Hizashi finds somewhere to park the car. 

Walking around, I could swear we passed a few familiar faces to me. The games are rather interesting and pull me towards them, but we can go to them later since Eri wants a candy apple. 

I notice Hizashi and Aizawa refraining from holding hands though they seem to want to. I try to come up with a reason for why that might be. Not very likely they’d be recognized by villains since they look like entirely different people. Hmm… Obviously, Hitoshi and Eri wouldn’t care. 

The only other thing I can think of is their students. Of course, their students might be able to recognize them. Did they not tell their students they’re married or something? I know Midoriya wouldn’t care since I met him, but maybe there are a few in his class that wouldn’t be too open-minded about it? It’s not my place, whatever is the cause. I do feel a little bad though they can’t act normally. 

Hizashi suddenly stops, making the rest of us stop, and pulls out his phone. He reads something with a frown forming on his face. He pockets it and looks at me. “Yo, Y/n? Could ya hang out with Hitoshi and Eri alone for a bit? Sho and I gotta go take care of something that came up.” 

Hero work I’m guessing. Poor guys, they really can’t seem to catch a break. “Of course!” 

They both then run back in the direction we came from. I look at Eri and Hitoshi. “Well, should we continue looking?” 

Eri happily nods.

Hitoshi goes in front of me with Eri, probably leading the way since he seems to know where they are. I stay rather close behind them so no one gets between us and we lose each other from how crowded it seems to be in this area. 

Over the music, I can swear I hear tiny explosions quickly getting louder, and maybe closer? Coming from behind me. I turn around to see people clearing from behind me to show an angry blond coming up incredibly quickly. Explosions crackling from his hands. His feral glaring face was enough to put so much fear in me that I freeze in my place. I clench my eyes closed and wait for an impact that no doubt is going to be painful.

“Kacchan, stop! They’re Eri’s babysitter!!!” A very familiar voice yells to the blond in front of me. 

He stops with one of his hands millimeters from my face. I can hear the sizzling and feel the heat radiating off of it onto my face. I slowly open my eyes to meet his still-glaring ones. 

… Isn’t he one of Aizawa’s and Hizashi’s students? I think he was one farther in the back frowning in the picture I saw on my first day. 

In the blink of an eye, Hitoshi slightly pulls me back, and stands in front of me, preventing the blond from coming close again. Midoriya is running up to us as well. He tries to cheer me up by giving me a kind wave. It does little to help my still-panicked state. 

Eri hugs me by my side in worry. I feel like fainting. 

The blond becomes slightly less tense at realizing she’s hugging me.

“Hah? How the hell was I supposed to know with the way the damn extra was following so closely?”

“Uh… Kacchan, I don’t think Shinsou would be so open for attacks…” 

The blond glares at him like Midoriya is the dumbest person on the planet. He refused to reply, and just storms off. 

Midoriya looks at me and smiles sheepishly with one of his hands behind his head. “So sorry about that! Kacchan can be rather… headstrong when villains might be involved.”

I just shakily nod. “Uh… y-yeah, good first impression.” 

Hitoshi’s face grows into one of great worry, and I think some anger. He puts one of his arms behind my back as a sort of comfort and support. Surprisingly, it helps a little bit. 

“I think I need to sit down for a moment.” 

“There should be some benches not too far from here,” Midoriya informs, and we get there after a bit. Miraculously, one of them was empty. I sit down with Hitoshi to the left of me. Eri sits on my right, clearly struggling in trying to figure out how to help.

Midoriya stands at my right, in front of Eri’s spot. He seems to be in thought for a moment. “Togata has a surprise the next time we come over. He found a new dress he wants you and Eri to judge.”

That sunshine adult makes me end up smiling slightly. Shinsou seems a bit annoyed at the mention of the kind blond. “Aw, that means Eri and I will have to make him another tiara so it will match his new dress.” 

“I hope it’s poofy!” Eri chimes in. 

I smile at her. “What color do you think it will be? Maybe it will be green! We should have one where we all wear green to match your tea set!” 

Her eyes shine in excitement at the idea. 

“I uh, I guess I have that covered,” Midoriya says. 

“You know you don’t HAVE to wear a dress, right? I bet you’d look great in a green suit too! Ooh! You could be the beloved butler!” 

“I think I’ll just stick with the dress I have… It was so awkward telling my mom about it back when I got it. I don’t know if I could ask her to buy something else too.” 

Hitoshi gets a message on his phone and pulls it out. I’m too focused on Midoriya and Eri. Going on that idea of Togata helped calm me down greatly. 

“That’s understandable. Suits can be rather expensive.”

“Midoriya?” Hitoshi suddenly pipes up. 

“Yeah, Shinsou?”

“You might want to run. Ashido knows you’re here and wants to give you more dance lessons.”  

His eyes widen fearfully, and he takes off while looking around. 

“I didn’t get to hug him…” Eri says rather disappointedly. 

“What’s wrong with dance lessons?” I question.

He has a rather large grin on his face. It kind of creeps me out a bit. How can someone be such a perfect combination of two adults that aren’t blood-related to them? “He usually doesn’t mind them, but recently they got struck with a personality-changing quirk. They became sterner than my dad.” It was easy to tell which dad he meant. 

Just thinking of someone even more serious and stern than him is terrifying. I bet Aizawa isn’t too happy to be stuck dealing with that. 

Hitoshi also seems rather relieved Midoriya has left. Wonder what’s up with that. 

I look at Eri. “Well, why don’t we continue to find your candy apple now that things are a little more settled?” 

She nods, and the three of us stand up. 

It doesn’t take long to find them. They look rather unappealing compared to my friend’s homemade, but I’m not going to bring that up.

After Hitoshi gives it to her, she looks at it for a second, then looks at me. “What is your favorite jewel?” That’s an odd question out of nowhere. Then again, maybe the hard shell makes her think of rocks?  

“Why do you want to know?” 

She shrugs. “They’re so pretty. I like the red ones!”

Red like the candy apple? How cute. I tell her my favorite.  

Hitoshi pulls out his phone and texts someone again. “Something is holding our parents up. It might be at least a few hours before they return.” 

I feel rather bad for them for that. Being a hero is something I thank them for daily, but it must be so exhausting not being able to spend time with your family… 

“Okay. What should we do then? I don’t think we should do any rides for now from Eri eating.”

Hitoshi shrugs. “The only thing we really can do is games unless there’s a different food you’re interested in getting here.”

I shake my head in reply. 

Eri gently tugs at my clothes with her free hand. I look at her and she points at a prize in the shooting game. It’s a stuffed animal of my favorite creature. It’s also my favorite color, and even has a rather similar eye color to mine. Huh, what are the chances of that? 

The game seems simple enough. Hitoshi notices what Eri is pointing at, and smirks at me. He crosses his arms. “Are you going to try first?” 

I get the attention of the person behind the counter and pay, having them give me the corks. I load it and take another quick look at Hitoshi with a smirk myself. “Well, what does it look like? And I’m going to be the one that gets it for her!” 

He teasingly huffs with a roll of his eyes. “Sure you will.”

I look back towards the prize and focus my aim. 

… It misses. Not by much, but my aim is a little too high and too far to the right. 

“You missed.” His tone isn’t condescending in any way. 

“Yeah, yeah. I still have two tries.” 

Looking again, I aim slightly down and more to the left. 

… It missed again, but much closer this time. It’s the right height, but now I have it too far to the left. 

“You missed, again.”

“Hush, you.” I don’t even have to look at him to know he has an enormous smirk forming on his face. I’ll show you!

I force my breathing to slow, focus a little longer, move just a tad to the right...

… Yes! I got it! 

The person goes over and grabs it, giving it to me. I then give it to Eri which gives her an enormous smile on her face. 

I give Hitoshi an “I-told-you-so” face. 

“I would have gotten it on my first try.” 

“Sure you would have.” 

“Next time I’ll show you.” 

“Mhm, whatever you say, Hitoshi.”

After that, we did a few more games and ended up going on a few of the rides. It was rather difficult due to Eri being too small for them. She was a little saddened by that, so I told her maybe she will be able to next year.

Hitoshi and I also ended up getting hungry at one point, so we bought some snacks. After taking a bite of what I bought, I look at the time. Surprisingly, about four hours have passed. I don’t think taking care of a villain should take this long, right? Maybe they got ambushed?

Don’t think about it. They’re pros. They should be able to handle anything. 

In speaking of them, a message from Hizashi pops up on my phone. “Just about done here! Was a rather bad ambush, but we’re good! Gotta clear up a few more things, then we’ll be on our way!” 

He put us in a group chat. Hitoshi is in it, and I’m guessing the other is Aizawa. He reads the message as well. 

Eri is still playing around with her new stuffed animal. 

“Should we do the same rides when your parents come?”

He shakes his head. “They will probably be rather tired when they return. Hizashi wanted to ride the Ferris Wheel with all of us more than anything.”

Why does that seem so accurate for him? “Really? The Ferris Wheel out of everything?”

He shrugs. “My other dad doesn’t really care. He’d rather sleep, but we all know Hizashi wouldn’t allow that.” 

I laugh. “He seems like the type.”

A chill suddenly goes down my spine. Why do I feel like someone is watching us? Hitoshi notices my discomfort, and goes on alert, scanning the crowd around us. He doesn’t seem to see anything concerning. He pulls out his phone and quickly texts someone again, constantly glancing around. 

“Don’t mean to be intrusive, but who are you texting?” 

“My dads. I’m telling them to hurry up.” 

Again, I feel bad for the two grown men. “It shouldn’t be too much of a problem. It’s probably just someone thinking they know me or something.” 

He frowns. “Not taking any chances.” 

I guess that makes sense. “If it’s such a problem, why don’t we find Midoriya to be with us again? I’m sure-”

“No.” He cuts me off. He was rather firm on saying it. 

… No? I thought they were on good terms? “Are you two not on the best terms anymore or something? You don’t seem to want him around.”

“If there is someone watching, it would be better for a student in the top class to not be involved. It could make you a bigger target if your feeling of being watched is correct.” 

Didn’t think of that. It still seems kind of like a ridiculous claim though. After all, Hizashi is a very well-known hero, so what difference would that make between Midoriya being with us or an adult?

 I decided to just brush it off. 

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

Whatever Hitoshi told them must have worked, since they arrived and found us at what must have been a record-breaking speed. 

“Hey guys, you got here quick!”

“Well, we couldn’t let you three have all the fun now, could we?” 

“Speak for yourself.” Aizawa tiredly mumbles. They’re wearing the same outfits they did earlier. I wonder if Hizashi was recognized during his fight. I have a feeling they keep their weapons in the trunk of their car just in case they get called. 

I look at Eri and notice her yawn. I then look back up to Aizawa. “Looks like you’re not the only one that’s tired.” 

He looks at her with the tiniest smile as she yawns again. “Fine. Just a few rides, then we go home.” 

We end up on a few of the rides Eri can go on. I still don’t feel comfortable around Aizawa, so I try my best to sit with Hitoshi and Eri. 

Hizashi keeps looking around as we go on a few of the rides. He tries to be more stealthy about it, but he’s failing at it greatly. Aizawa seems like he couldn’t care less. I should have just ignored it since now I feel like I’m ruining the rides for them for the imaginary odd feeling. 

We decided the very last ride to be the Ferris Wheel. “You guys should go ahead. I’ll wait down here for you.” I inform them. Three out of the four of them look at me like I just grew another head. “What? It will be too tight a squeeze otherwise.” Hizashi just shakes his head and grabs me by one of my wrists to come with. 

The feeling multiplied after he grabbed my wrist, making me forcefully stop and look behind me. He stops as well, looking in the same direction.

“That’s another thing! We can’t just leave you alone down here if someone’s watchin’ ya! C’mon!”

He drags me into the line for it with the others. Luckily, there wasn’t much of a wait. I can’t believe it’s sunset already. I also can’t believe I’m stuck going on it with them. 

We all get into the cart, and I try to sit down with Eri and Hitoshi. Hizashi grabs my wrist again, having me sit between him and Aizawa. It’s a rather tight fit with my thighs and sides being pressed on theirs. This is rather uncomfortable, and definitely something I did NOT sign up for as a sitter… 

At least the sight is beautiful to see with the sun shining brightly to the right side of us. Eri leans against Hitoshi and closes her eyes, hugging her new stuffed animal close. It stays quiet between all of us for a bit. Hizashi slips his arm behind my shoulders, making me tense. I decided he must be trying to give us a bit more room. 

“Sorry for not bein’ around much today to hang out with. Tell ya what, why don’t you join us next Sunday for dinner as an apology?” 

My eyes narrow in thought. “An apology for what? You guys couldn’t help it. It happens.”

He shakes his head. “Come on, we already cleared our schedules for it. It would be heartbreaking if you say no!” 

“But I was planning on hanging out with my friends next Sunday… Why not the Sunday after that?” 

“Just go with it. Having him change his mind is impossible.” 

I mentally sigh. “Fine. But the Sunday after, I won’t be coming. I WILL spend my day with them then, so please don’t invite me into anything.” 

I could swear Hizashi frowns disappointingly at the news, but his face becomes a smile before I can put much thought into it. “Great! Be sure to wear somethin’ at least a little fancy, okay? We’re going somewhere special! Oh! And we’ll pick ya up again!” 

“Okay…” was my only reply.

[babyspiderling]

Love Undercover   one

“Leiman! I got a story for you! Go undercover as a high school student, do a piece on teen culture or whatever the parents need to hear about their kids. This could be your shot kid!” Flashes of my own high school career three years ago plague my mind. “Sir, are you sure this is a good story? I mean, there are harder hitting stories than a piece on teen culture.” Mr. Edward's eyebrow simply raises in response, and I slink back to my desk. I raise my desk phone to my ear and ring my older brother, Anthony. “Tony, they’re making me go back to school. I thought I would never have to go back. It was hell.” I hear him chuckle through the phone. “Why are they making you go back? You lose your diploma or something?” I scoff into the phone. “No, Tony. They want me to go undercover since I’m the only one who can pass for a child here. I start on Monday. Shit, I gotta attempt to dress like a high school girl again. Thank god I’ve been the same dress size since my junior year. See you tonight Tony, we still on for dinner?” I hear him confirm for me into the microphone and I click the phone off. Standing and gathering my things I peek my head into my editor's office. “Mr. Edwards, I’m headed out to get ready for my assignment. I’ll see you soon.” He nods at me, letting me know he’ll enroll me this afternoon for Monday’s classes and I take my leave. 

Monday arrives sooner than later. I feel like a freshman again, out of my element and out of my comfort zone. My hair had been trimmed to a popular cut and I had been trained on how to style it. My journalist instincts took over at the mall, taking in what teens were wearing and how they were wearing it. For my first day I bought a striped blouse with a longer skirt to seem neutral. The end of winter chill caused me to grab a cardigan on my way out and I climbed into the front seat of my old “Mystery Machine” ready to go back to high school. 

“Well, three new students in a month, must be a new record. Tom and Doug McQuaid and now Y/N Leiman. This way.” The balding principal tosses my schedule at me and walks off in large, commanding strides. “Tell me Miss Leiman, are you a troublemaker like the other newcomers?” My eyebrows pull together in confusion. “No, no sir. I’m not a troublemaker.” He pulls to a stop in front of a door. “This is your first class. I’m sure someone will show you around. Prove yourself to be on your best behavior Miss Leiman. Wouldn’t want you to be labeled as a hoodlum.” He turns to walk away but is distracted by a skipping student roaming the halls. I tuck my hair behind my ear and fix my appearance. I take one last breath of confidence and open the creaking door. The click of my heels only adds to the attention as the entire class watches me with curious eyes. I feel the girls sizing me up, the boys appraising my value, and the teacher annoyed at the interruption. “This is Mrs. Dustin’s class right? I’m new here.” The woman takes the papers from my hands and catches herself up. “Yes, you’re in the right place. Please take a seat.” I nod and take one of the only seats left open, next to a boy dressed in leather and an earring in his ear. I struggle to remind myself that I’m at least three to four years older than these students, too intimidated by their stares to fill with confidence. I tuck my hair away from my face as I pull out my pen and notebook from my bag. I start to write a mixture of notes for the class and notes for my story when something sharp stabs into my thigh. Turning my head with pinched eyebrows I look at the boy reeking of trouble. “You got any gum? Teach made me swallow my last piece last period.” I nod and rummage through my bag. “Mint, cinnamon, or bubble?” He looks at me in a bit of shock at the number of choices. “Bubble.” I nod and hand him a piece, pulling a lollipop for myself. In my years of studying and writing and taking notes, I know that if somewhere else on my body is moving, focusing is easier. With my mouth occupied with the sugar, my brain is on a roll. Trouble leans in once more, the sugary smell from his mouth fills my nostrils. “You got anything else in that bag of yours? I could use a coke too.” I roll my eyes and smile a bit. “Oh, hush. I have a sugar addiction.” At the sound of our whispers, Mrs. Dustin clears her throat loudly. “Mr. McQuaid, Miss Leiman, is there something you’d like to share with the class?” I shake my head and duck my head back to my notes. McQuaid lifts his chin and smirks at the teacher. “Just Miss Leimans sugar addiction, teach. Probably why she’s so sweet.” My cheeks heat at his comment and I don’t know how to react. My brain berates me for my flustered appearance. He is sixteen, maybe seventeen! You are old enough to drink! Get your head together girl! I keep my head down until the bell rings, no matter how many pokes to the thigh I earn. 

I glance down at my schedule and attempt to find my way around the giant high school. An arm drops itself over my shoulder as I look up to find Trouble staring right back at me. “Can I help you? Need more gum already?” He chuckles a bit and pops his gum. “Nah sweets, my brother and I were wanting to invite you to sit with us for lunch. Unless you’ve got somewhere better to be?” His eyebrows raise at his question and my face heats. “Oh! Uh, no. I don’t have anywhere better to be. I guess I can eat with you guys?” McQuaid smirks around his gum and leads me to a table occupied by another boy who is dressed similarly to trouble. With a steady hand on the small of my back, trouble eases me into my seat. I unpack my bag and come to a realization. “I just realized we haven’t Introduced ourselves! I’m Y/N, I just moved here, and I’m a senior.” Trouble and the other boy smirk at each other. Trouble turns his body to me. “I’m Tom McQuaid. This here’s my big brother Doug. He would've graduated last year, or the year before that, but he just can’t seem to pass classes.” Doug gives a shout of defense, tossing a French fry at his brother, who catches it in his mouth, grinning triumphantly. I roll my eyes and give a small smile to their antics. “So you’re the McQuaid brothers. You’re new here too. And troublemakers from what I’ve heard.” They look at each other and laugh. “Well, sugar, what can we say? It’s much more fun to break the rules than to follow them.” After fishing out my lunch I pull another sucker from my bag, strawberry flavored as opposed to the cotton candy flavored from earlier. “Damn sweets, not gonna share with us? I’m hurt.” I roll my eyes and toss the older boy the bag of sweets. “Leave me the mango flavors. Those are my favorites.” Doug chuckles under his breath and tosses the bag to his brother. Tom rifles through the pouch of candy, and just hands it back to me. “I’ll just take another piece of gum when I’m finished eating.” I look from my salad at his burger and fries. “How can you eat that all the time and still look like that? I’m just looking at it and I think I gained ten pounds.” Tom shakes his head as he gives a once over to my figure. “Nah, you look the same. You look fine the way you are. Promise.” I giggle and play with my fingers in my lap. The line of playing the part and enjoying the attention continues to blur at my embarrassed reaction. I swallow my bite of rabbit food down and smile. “So, McQuaid brothers, tell me a bit about yourselves.” Almost evil smirks cross their faces. “Sweets, lets just say we’re not the kind of guy you take home to mom and dad. You’re too sweet and naive to know guys like us. Sugary thing like you’d get eaten alive with us. Too pure for the dark things we’ve done.” I hear the teasing in Tom’s voice. “You’re making fun of me. I know I’m not the “baddest” out there, but I know about the world. I want to be a  reporter. I’ll appreciate it if you don’t underestimate me.” I look back at my hands. “And if I’m too sweet and naive to be here, to be involved with you, why was I invited to have lunch with you two? I’m sure there are plenty of defectives like yourselves to hang out with.” I move to leave the table to sit anywhere else. A hand latches onto my wrist. I follow the hand up to Tom's face. His eyebrows are furrowed and his lips are twisted into a pout. “Look, sweets, I’m sorry. You seemed lonely and everything. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.” I sigh and gently pull my hand from his hold. “I accept your apology.” 

I move to sit back down and hear my beeper go off. I fish it out of my bag and read the message from my editor. Both boys crane their necks to read the message. I shove it back down into my bag in defense, thinking up a quick excuse for the interruption. “Oh, it was my brother. I’ll give him a call later.” I swipe a fry from Doug's plate. “What about you guys. You do anything after school? Besides the Dark stuff of course. What kind of records do you listen to?” Looks I don’t understand continue to pass between them. “Well, Doug here is his own entrepreneur. Me, I’m more of a car guy. I’ve got the blue mustang out there.” My eyes widen. “That one’s yours? She’s a beauty. I’ve got the old yellow mystery machine out there. She’s a great road trip car.” Both boys nod. “Our dads a bit of a hippie. He’d love you, flower power. What music you listen to?” I think for a bit, attempting to decide between my true likes and what a teenager would like. “Well, I’ve always loved Bowie. Ziggy Stardust is an absolute masterpiece, and one of the first records I ever got. Prince is pretty good too, but I love a nice mix of rock and funk. Something with a heavy drum beat I can move to.” They nod along, taking in my answer. The bell rings, signifying the end of the lunch period. 

I begin my journey to my next class, and choose a seat near the middle. Once I watch the class, looking around at the students and everything about them. And just my luck, Tom McQuaid walks in with his gum popping and a smirk painted on his face. As the student body shuffles into their seats, the teacher has us stand right back up. “I am your History teacher for this semester, Mr. Devo. I will be choosing your seats for my class, please let me know if you need to be seated at the front end of the room.” Two kids with glasses raise their hands and they are seated in the first two rows. 

“Anyone else? No? Alright let’s get started. When I point to you, I want to hear your name, your grade, and hmmmm, your favorite record.” He points at several people, pointing at their desks. He points to me pretty early on surprisingly. “Oh! Y/N Leiman, senior, and hmmmm, give me a second. Prince’s Sign ‘O’ The Times. It cost me a bit to get the four disks, but it’s an amazing album.” Mr. Devo nods a bit. “I haven’t heard the entire thing yet, but I do enjoy Prince. Here.” He points to the desk front and center. As if the whole thing was planned, Tom is pointed at next. “Tom McQuaid, teach. Senior like Sweets here, and I like Bowie's Young Americans. If you don’t mind, Sugar here fuels my gum addiction, so if I could sit near her, I’d appreciate it.” Mr. Devo gets a strange look on his face. The journalist in me would describe it as a cross of frustration and possibly… jealousy? But I don’t understand the jealousy part. I shake it off and get myself prepared for class. McQuaid gets sent to the classroom, possibly the farthest seat from me. With a smile, Mr. Devo starts his class.

I walk out the front doors of the school with a slight limp. “I made a mistake today. I can not believe I made the decision to actually wear heels to school. What was I thinking?” Two arms snake around my shoulders. “Well, Flower Power, if you’re hurting so bad, how bout we carry you to our car. We can get you home and drive your car for you.” I look at Doug and roll my eyes. “I’ll be fine. It wouldn’t be the first time I drove barefoot. I appreciate the offer boys, but I should probably head home. See you both tomorrow?” They nod and head to their Mustang. I climb into my mystery machine and kick off my shoes, heading home.

[bruhaalla]

broken flower 🥀

~word count -  798

pairing - fezco x  reader, mentions of Nate x reader

warnings - Nate, heartbreak,getting high,

It was raining outside luckily Y/N was inside but at what cost sitting here eating on bread and sipping wine waiting for her so called boyfriend to arrive. what she didn't know was that her childhood friend who she hasn't talked to in a while was staring at her. can i get you some food now madam the waiter ask she looks at the time again  10:30 she phone flashes aww fuck it Y/N thinks ill get the chicken alfredo extra sauce got it EXTRA. he food come no later then 15 minutes wow faster then my boyfriend she thinks thank you can i also have some wine no problem.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~15 minutes later ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

fezco finally gets up and walks over oh shit Y/N is that you he says hey fezy I reply he blushes from the childhood name anyway what you doing here he asks I sigh waiting for my so-called boyfriend I reply well I am about to go home and roll you know he rocks back and forth with his hands in his pocket  do you want to join like old times he asks I process it for a minute and figure why the hell not let me just pay my bill I got it he says oh shit thank you no problem he says I gather my things and turn my phone on don't disturb

~~~~

Turn this up more I tell fez as we drive down the road listing to mac miller and Steve lacy Bet he replies be careful ma I got to get those doors fixed he replies I blush I was always attracted to fez he had something Nate didn't and I never know what it was in till right now it was passion and care and he had these gold like specks in his eye that shined like gold but they were covered by gentle lust and the need to be reserved Y/N  Y/N he replies I snap out of it yeah I ask we here he replies with a deep chest laugh I blush sorry its fine ma do you think ash is still up I ask getting out of the car not wanting to wake him up Nah fez replies Nah he is on discord talking to some girl I laugh hold on I say walking I take off my heels finally those shits hurt I hold on to his shoulder walking up to the house.

~~~~~

I am now on spread out on fezco’s couch high ass hell laughing at who knows what in a pair of his sweat pants and huge tee I pick u my phone about to check on my mom and I see 25 missed calls from Nate and goes know what how many texts I call him back hello I say where the hell are you yell nates I am not at the restaurant I can tell you that Nate where the hell where you it don't matter yes it does Nate I yell you where with Cassy weren't you I ask shout he yells tell me you are he yells go to hell Nate I say be right there with your daddy we are done I yell and hang up the phone.

~~~~~~

 I turn the corner to walk to the couch and feel strange hands and look up to see it fez the things you know fez like you but you dint know was fez has been in love with you since you pouched that boy for him when you were eight. he looks into your eyes looking for something but it's too late you kiss him first you both deepen the kiss for 2 minutes into you pull apart for air I love you  Y/N fez says I know i reply I laugh deeply your friends told me it was you not Nate who left the big white roses sunflower and lilies bouquet which was kind of obvious Nate only buys we red roses we both laugh it goes silent “SHES LOVES YOU TO” ash yells from the other room we both chuckle I do love but I never told anyone I loved them at least not serious  but fez he's different I pull back I can see fez get nerves I breath in deeply I love you fez I say low and quietly I know he heard because I see him smile what he says I said I love you damnit and kiss him deeply and passionate

~~~~~~~

 he lays me on the couch and I hear and crunch on my back it's the flower from my dress I laugh at something my mom told me a broken flower is good luck something bad has to happen for the good I love you fez I say...

🥀

[rohad93]

Moonlit Masquerade: Turning Pages

Enjoy~

It was a warm, early summer day as Luz flew through the air back toward the owl house, grinning giddily to herself as the wind whipped through the long hair that laid over her undercut on the left side, her cloak flapping wildly behind her off her shoulders as the wind tugged at the short sleeves of her dark purple tunic.

She did a giddy spin and the leather pouches that held her glyphs and various other things flapped against the legs of her black pants.

The twenty-one-year-old zipped between the trees on her staff, she was so excited, she couldn't wait to show her mom and Lilith what she had bought today after packing up her stuff at the market.

"Luz, your home!" Hooty screeched the moment she burst through the tree line.

"Hey, Hooty." She smiled hopping off the staff with a flourish as he opened the door for her and she ran inside, dropping her satchel by the stairs.

"Mom, Lily!?" she called.

"In the kitchen!" Eda's voice called back.

She hurried into the kitchen where the two sisters were sitting at the table talking. It always surprised Luz at the wrinkles that had begun to line their faces over the last six years, though they both still looked great. Eda claimed hers were from Luz, and Lilith claimed hers were from Eda, which always made the young woman laugh, and Eda make a face.

Before she could think to say anything, Owlbrt was hooting at her from the counter.

"Hey buddy, you wanna play with Mochuelo?" She asked the small owl, who hooted wildly at her.

"Okay, okay, Owlbert, I know you missed your pal," she laughed.

She unscrewed the wooden tawny owl palisman from the top of her staff and set him on the counter next to a hooting Owlbert. Her palisman,  Mochuelo, gave himself a shake, fluffing his dark brown and white speckled feathers, golden-brown eyes blinking up at her.

She scratched both their heads and left the two to palisman play as she laid the empty staff against the counter.

"You're back early, already sell out all your potions in the market?" Eda cocked her head.

"Yup, not a thing left. I'll work on some more tomorrow, but forget about that, I have something to show you!" She stopped, looking around. "Is Amity here?"

"No, she hasn't come home yet, why?" Lilith cocked a brow at her and Luz grinned, digging something out of her pocket.

"This is why!" she exclaimed, pulling a small black box from her pocket.

"A box?" Eda asked. Luz rolled her eyes.

"No! Look!" She popped it open to reveal a bright gold ring inlaid with a deep, square-cut, magenta gemstone and two smaller, clear stones on either side of it.

The sisters both gasped.

"Luz is this…?" Lilith started.

"An engagement ring!?" Eda finished, looking up at Luz with wide eyes.

"Yup, I'm going to ask Amity to marry me," she declared proudly. "I mean, we've been living together for three years now and dating for six. I know there's no one else I want to be with."

"That's wonderful, Luz." Lilith stood and hugged her.

"Yeah, that's great!" Eda wrapped her up in a tight hug as soon as Lilith let go. Luz squeezed her back just as tight before finally pulling back. "Does this mean you two are finally moving out?" she asked with a grin as Luz blinked, wide-eyed.

"I mean… we can if you want us…" she started with a frown, but Eda just laughed.

"Naw, it'd be too quiet without you two. You two don't have to go anywhere unless you want to… and so long as you keep your bedroom door closed," she said seriously, making Luz chuckle.

How far they had come, from Eda being adamant that the bedroom door stay open when they were kids, to now demanding that it stay closed, lest she hear or see something she really didn't want to… again.

"Right, I'll talk to Amity about it later. I'm going to take her out to dinner tonight and pop the question." She grinned.

As if summoned by magic, the front door opened.

"I'm home!" A voice called from the living room.

Amity!

Luz shoved the box back into her pocket as her girlfriend of six years walked into the kitchen with a few bags in one hand and her staff in the other.

Her long auburn hair fell down against her back in a smooth curtain, except the longer sides she still kept pulled back, no longer in a ponytail, but in a neat braid that also fell against her neck.

Her white cloak was hanging from her neck and one shoulder to partially expose the sleeveless black shirt she wore beneath, tucked into her pants and the arm warmers that covered from her fingers to elbow in the customary dark pink of someone of the abominations track, and even after all this time, her nails were still painted black.

"Oh, Luz, you're home from the market already." She looked at her, surprised.

"Yup, sold out of everything pretty quick today, so I figured I'd come home. How was your day, mi amor?" She asked, leaning forward to give her a quick kiss.

"Busy, there's no shortage of problems that need straightening out since they finally put the new coven system in place," she sighed. "I'm exhausted…"

"You probably don't feel like going out tonight then, eh? She frowned.

"I don't think so..." She shook her head as she twisted the wooden dragon off her staff and let the long, golden lizard crawl up her shoulder to wrap his long, scaled body around her neck, beneath the curtain of auburn hair.

"Hey, Calliban." Luz smiled as Amity scratched under his chin. The dragon's long whiskers twitched happily, a puff of smoke coming from his nostrils, his long tufted tail twitched.

"Was there something you wanted to do tonight?" Amity looked down at her as she scratched the palisman.

"Uh… no. We can go out another night." Luz shook her head, she could see how tired Amity was, and it wasn't like she couldn't propose at any time.

Amity nodded and set her bags on the counter.

"If you're sure, I just want to lay down and never get back up," she mumbled.

"I'm sure that can be arranged, mi amor" Luz smiled, wrapping her arms around her waist and setting her chin on her shoulder, though only barely, the witch stood a good five inches taller than her. Amity smiled, leaning back into her.

"Just close the damn door…," Eda mumbled. Luz stuck her tongue out at her and Amity rolled her eyes.

Luz pulled her close, letting the taller woman relax against her for a few moments before she pulled free with a sigh.

"I need to go shower," she mumbled and carefully set Calliban on Luz's shoulders before kissing her cheek and walking out of the kitchen.

Luz hummed, petting his smooth scaly body, his tiny claws pricked at her skin as he settled himself around her neck. His horns poking her under the chin.

"Guess it's not gonna happen tonight?" Eda looked at her.

"No, but it's okay, there's no rush," Luz said and dug the box out of her pocket.

"Will you hang onto this for me? I'd hate for her to find it in our room and ruin the surprise," she asked, holding the box out to Lilith.

"Of course, Luz." She nodded, taking the ring and slipping it into the pocket of her dress.

"Hey, why not me?" Eda sat up, frowning.

"You lost King just yesterday…" Luz frowned.

"He found his way home eventually," she mumbled.

"I think I'd feel better if Lily held onto it. That's three weeks of potions sales I'd really rather not have to replace…"

Eda crossed her arms, pouting while Lilith gave her a smug look.

"I guess I'll just get started on brewing some stuff before dinner." She pulled off her cloak and laid it over a chair as she walked over to the counter, crowded with her and Eda's brewing stuff.

~

"So, you've been trying to propose for a week now?" Willow asked as she sat across from Luz in the Redstone bakery sipping on her tea.

Luz sighed, nodding.

"I just want it to be perfect but we've both been so busy, if I'm not out helping with the reconstruction or selling potions in the market, Amity is attending council meetings and helping sort out the kinks in the new coven system. We're exhausted half the time…I'm not even sure when the last time we had s-.."

"Stop! You're both very busy. I know what you mean..."

"TMI, sorry," Luz chuckled sheepishly.

But Willow just nodded.

"There's still a lot to do and a vacuum to fill since we did away with Belos, but you know, maybe you're trying too hard for the perfect moment?"

"Hmm?" Luz hummed, blinking at her oldest friend.

"We both know Amity doesn't really want the big over the top gestures, so long as you're you, she'd never said no."

"I know… I just wanted to make it special, ya know?

"I'm sure it will be, you'll find that 'Luz' way of doing it." She smiled and Luz snorted, the fact that her name had become some kind of verb her friends liked to use amused her.

"Yeah, I'll think of something… ya ready to head into town?" she asked. Willow nodded and they stood, leaving some snails on the table as they left.

They spent the rest of the day checking on things in Bonesburough.

It had been a year since Belos had been defeated and the old coven system and regime had been dismantled, and things were still being reconstructed in town where some of the heaviest fighting had taken place between the rebels and the loyalists.

Luz hummed as she walked along the streets with Willow, in some ways the town had changed a lot in the last year, but in others had remained just the same

Without the coven system that bonded people to only one type of magic, the covens looked totally different. They still existed, only now rather than only being able to perform one type of magic, people could do it all no matter what coven they were in, but many still choose to join the covens so they could work with other like-minded witches in the types of magic they specialized in. They were more brotherhood's than forced chains pulled by the Emperor, some people often belonging to more than one coven at a time. Luz herself, for her part in the rebellion, was welcome in all nine of the major coven houses, though she didn't actively participate in any of their politics or meetings.

She usually visited to get advice about certain spells from the more experienced witches of the discipline's. They were always glad to see her in their midsts.

The downside to it no longer being against the law to not join a coven was that crime had gone up some, with the less unsavory members of society now having access to all types of magic. The night market was still quite robust, especially during the rebellion when a host of unsavory things have been going on. Luz tried not to think about those days too much.

The new governing system, a council of the new nine coven leaders, was still getting to its feet in controlling stuff, so a lot of things flew under the radar as they dealt with the bigger, more pressing issues, like any remaining pockets of loyalists. It was a work in progress, one Luz was happy to help with when she could. She'd actually gotten pretty good at playing bounty hunter, though Amity didn't like it at all. She didn't go out of her way hunting down criminal witches, they just showed up a lot in the market when she happened to be there, and Luz had never been one to stand idly by.

Things seemed pretty quiet today.

As they walked past the library Luz took notice of a poster pasted to its wall and suddenly she had a brilliant idea.

"Hey, I think I know what I wanna do." She turned to Willow with a bright grin. “I’m gonna need your help.”

"Sure, that was quick…," she laughed and Luz shrugged.

"I just remembered something. I think Amity would appreciate it…" She smiled and Willow nodded. "You think Gus would be my best man?" she asked.

"He'd beg you… not that I won't pretend I'm not a little insulted that you don't want to ask me." She pouted, crossing her arms and making Luz laugh.

"Like Amity would want anyone but you to be her maid of honor." Luz grinned, making the plant witch smile. "Though you might have to fight Em for it," she warned.

"She can bring it on." Willow grinned, making Luz laugh.

~

"Hey, tonight's the night," Luz announced to the living room as she walked down the stairs.

"You're proposing tonight?" Eda looked up at her daughter's grinning face.

"Yup, I know exactly what I want to do and it has to be tonight. I gotta get some stuff ready, you've got the ring right?" she asked Lilith, who nodded.

"Of course."

"Great, I'm going to come back and get it from you in a little bit!" Luz said as she hurried out the front door, staff in one hand, and a dark green book in the other.

The door slammed and Eda shook her head, grinning.

"I can't believe she's really going to do it…," she chuckled. When there was no response she turned to her sister who was sitting on the other side of the couch, frowning, her fingers tapping nervously on her knees.

"What?" Eda cocked a brow at her.

"I...may have... misplaced Amity's ring…," she mumbled, biting her lip. There was a long moment of silence.

"Ha! Now, who's irresponsible?!" Eda laughed, jumping up with a grin.

"Are you serious right now?!" Lilith jumped up, scowling as Eda did that stupid 'moonwalk' dance Luz had taught them.

"I'm not the one who lost the kid’s engagement ring…," Eda sang smugly, dancing across the living room.

Lilith groaned.

"Yes, fine, I lost it, now help me find it before Luz comes back!" She stomped.

"And why would I do that?" Eda crossed her arms.

"Because she's your daughter, and she's going to be devastated that she can't propose because the ring was lost!" Lilith growled, and Eda frowned. Her sister had a point, as much as she liked getting one over on her older sister she wasn't going to do it at her kid's expense. She also knew what Luz sold her potions for, three weeks profit on one ring was nothing to sneeze at

"Alright, alright, where did you have it last?"

"It was sitting on my dresser last night, but when I woke up, it was gone." Lilith sighed, rubbing her temple.

"Well it can't have gotten too far then, let's check your room." The two hurried up the stairs.

They tear Lilith's room apart for over an hour searching for the ring and only find the box, sitting underneath the edge of her bed.

"It's not here!" Eda growls. Lilith sits on her bed, head in her hands.

"Luz and Amity are never going to speak to me again…," she moans.

"Yea…  not sure even Luz can forgive this one…," Eda mumbled and Lilith groaned louder.

"What's up witches?"

They look up at King, standing in the doorway.

"Lily lost Luz's engagement ring…," Eda sighed, hand on her hip.

"How irresponsible. She should have given it to me." He laid a clawed hand on his chest and there was a glint, drawing both sisters' eyes.

There, hanging on the tip of one of his claws was the ring.

Lilith and Eda tackled the small demon, who squealed as they jumped him, trying to wriggle out of their grasp.

"You took this from my room!" Lilith scowled, holding up the ring out of King's reach as he jumped up, trying to grab it.

"Oh, is that Luz's ring? I thought it was an offering." He crossed his arms.

Eda rolled her eyes and Lilith growled.

"Do you know how mad Luz will be if we tell her you stole her ring?" Eda looked down at him with a frown.

King hunched down at that, eyes turning fearful.

Then they heard the front door open downstairs.

"Guys?"

"Up here, kid," Eda called as Lilith quickly slipped the ring back into its box and closed it.

Luz poked her head in the room.

"Oh, what's everyone doing in here?"

They all glanced at each other.

"Nothing!"

"Uhuh… I don't believe that but I don't have time to question it. The ring?" she asked.

“Right here!” Lilith handed over the box.

"Great, thanks. Wish me luck!" She smiled before taking off back down the stairs. They all waited until they heard the door open and shut before sighing in relief.

~ ~

It was dark when Amity hopped off her staff outside the library. The tall building stood empty and dark, it was well after closing time after all.

She wasn't sure why Luz wanted her to meet her here, but she'd gotten pretty used to just rolling with her girlfriend's eccentric ways for the most part over the years. It was easier to not question it. She spun a finger and her staff vanished.

She walked up the steps heels clicking quietly on the stone as she looked around. The building had remained unchanged over the years, it had luckily been one of the few large buildings to be spared during the fighting, for which she was glad. She had many fond memories of the library, it was, for a long time, her only place of safety and solitude from her sometimes, over the top siblings, but more importantly, from her always overbearing and controlling mother, and then had been her and Luz’s secret place for the first some odd months of their relationship, until they had been allowed to be public about it.

The secret room in the romance section had all but been abandoned after her eighteenth birthday when she moved out of Blight Manor and into the owl house with Luz.

She stood at the top near the door, looking around. Now, where was her adorable doofus?

She felt the tingle of familiar magic pull at the back of her mind and turned in time to see Luz become visible, leaning against one of the library pillars as the glow of her palisman’s eyes faded, but her bright grin did not as she slipped the staff into the holster beneath her cloak.

“Buenas noches, mi amor. ¿Cómo estás esta noche?” She took a step forward to stand in front of her and Amity grinned back.

“Mejor, ahora que estás aquí, querida," She mumbled, taking hold of the collar of Luz’s cloak and pulling her in for a kiss, making Luz grin. “Now, are you going to tell me why we’re here?”  she asked, stepping back.

“I just felt like a walk down memory lane,” she shrugged, smiling. “Also considering what tonight is...”

“Tonight?” Amity blinked. Luz jerked her thumb at a poster on the wall and Amity’s eyes widened.

“The wailing star…” How long had it been since she’d thought about that? At least six years, since the time the twins had tried to take her diary as a kid.

“Come on, it’s about to start!” Luz walked over to the door, she flipped open one of her pouches and leafed through the many different papers before pulling out the one she wanted and pressed it to the library door. It dissolved in a flash of pale blue and the door made a quiet click and she pushed it open.

Amity smiled and followed her. When you considered all the trouble Luz could and had gotten into over the years, walking around the library at night wasn’t even worth the breath to protest, not that she really wanted to.

She closed the door behind her and as they walked into the main entry room of the library just as the large stained glass window above them lit up with the light of the passing star, the green glow settled over the books and Luz quickly grabbed a book off the shelf and opened it. Snakes slithered out, making her grin.

“I didn’t really get to enjoy this last time we were here during the wailing star... being too busy trying not to get killed by my favorite childhood book character and all," she chuckled and Luz grinned.

“Same,” she laughed as they moved up and down the aisles, picking up books. Luz saw a familiar book and grinned, pulling it off the shelf and whipping around to Amity.

“Hey, babe!”

Amity looked up just in time to be blasted in the face with a deluge of snowballs.

“You are so dead!” She yelled at her girlfriend’s back as she took off down the aisles, half screaming, half laughing as Amity gave chase, snatching her own copy of ‘A History of Snowballs’ off the shelf.

They chased each other around the bookshelves for a while before finally calling a truce.

Luz giggled as she closed the book and the remnants of snow vanished from Amity’s hair.

“Come on, I know somewhere we haven’t been in a while…” she slid her book back on the shelf.

“I have a pretty good idea of where we’re going.” Amity smiled, walking beside her to the romance section of the library.

“Maybe…” She smiled.

Amity chuckled as they stopped in the romance section and she reached up to pull at a familiar book.

The bookcase slid aside to reveal what once had been such an important place to her, then to them, and now stood dusty and empty, with cobwebs hanging off the candlesticks and rafters. She’d long moved all her books and more important things out of the room and into her and Luz’s room at the owl house.

“It’s dusty…," Amity hummed, running her fingers over the empty shelves inside.

“A bit…, I don't think we've really been here in three years,” Luz agreed.

Amity glanced around before she saw a book sitting in the middle of her old desk, it wasn't dull or covered in dust like everything else in the room.

She walked forward and picked it up, Luz watching her with a knowing smile.

It’s dark green, leather-bound cover was soft in her hands. She blinked down at the title, written in her girlfriend’s familiar looping writing.

‘The Tale of Luz & Amity’

She looked over her shoulder at her girlfriend who was watching her with a grin.

“What is this?”

“Why don’t you open it and find out?” she retorted, still smiling. Amity cocked a brow but turned her attention back to the book and flipped open its cover.

The first page had a memory picture pasted to its pages, one she immediately recognized as the magic of the wailing star worked on it and a small, fourteen-year-old version of her and her girlfriend materialized on the pages.

Them in the cafeteria at Hexside, Amity on her knees on the table, and her hands wrapped around Luz’s collar.

“I know you’re in there! Who are you, what are you? I want answers!”

“Blughhh...

Amity chuckled to herself, watching a younger her shake an abomination goo covered Luz like a ragdoll.

She smiled over her shoulder at Luz, who was looking at her with both brows raised encouragingly.

The next page was their meeting at the covention.

'Oh, it's you, Willow's abomination… thing.'

'Heyyyy Amity…. so, funny story, Not, an abomination, sorry for the confusion last week. I'm Luz, the human, hi.'

'Ugh, put that away.'

Amity shook her head at her younger self. If only she knew then what she knew now.

She flipped the page and this time the little figures of the two of them were partially sewed into a book, running from Odabin in this very library..

‘Now what?’

‘I don’t know! I didn’t even think that would work, I was all like ‘arghh!’

She still smirked at the sheer dumbness of that plan.

The next page held another familiar scene.

'Azura book club? Azura book club!?' an excited Luz bounced.

'As long as it's a secret club, okay?' Amity whispered, cheeks pinking.

She turned the page and watched as the next memory photo popped up, the two of them in Willow’s memories, just after sliding the flaming inner Willow into the lake.

‘Whoo, teamwork, baby!’ The younger Luz wrapped her arms around younger Amity and squeezed her.

She smiled to herself as she turned the page to watch the next scene play out in its entirety.

‘Well, if that’s settled, may I have this dance?’ she held out her hand, and Luz’s filled it.

She grinned at the next one, Luz scooping up her and her broken foot after playing grudgby against Boscha.

Then, pasted to the next page was one of the letters Luz had written to her as her secret admirer. She smiled down at it, though in the back of her mind she wondered how Luz had found it, she kept them all in a special box in their closet.

A younger and bashful looking Luz rose up from the paper with a handful of Blood-Blossoms.

‘These flowers could never be as beautiful as you, but I hope you like them anyway...”

There were also a couple of memories from the Masquerade, their dancing, and after the party had ended in her bedroom. Luz stood behind her, quietly, watching, waiting.

She flipped through its many pages, trying not to get too teary-eyed at some, like the night under the grom tree on their one month anniversary, their first fall shower, or her fifteenth birthday. Of course, Luz also included their fight with the illusion track upperclassmen, their first fight, her first numberry tripout when they were camping and that first, awkward dinner with her parents, as well as another first time she quickly flipped past, cheeks red and Luz, snickered behind her as she rolled her eyes.

Of course, she would add that...

She grinned, eyes glazed over with unshed tears at their second grom, graduation when she'd moved into the owl house, and a host of all the other things in between them were brought to life by the wailing stars' magic.

She turned the page about halfway through the book to find the last page with nothing on it.

This one did not contain a memory photo, instead, stuck inside it was a sticky note with a simple single line of text, the magic of the wailing star made the small magic copy of her girlfriend appear on the page, looking up at her.  

‘Will you help make the next one by saying yes?’

Amity blinked.

“What? Say yes to wh-” she turned and dropped the book, hands shooting up to cover her mouth as she looked down at Luz on one knee, holding up a small box with a sparkling ring sitting in it.

Luz’s heart was beating in her chest so hard she thought for sure it was about to break some of her ribs. Her mouth was dry, but she somehow managed to speak.

“Amity Blight, will you continue our story with me and marry me?” she asked.

What was in reality only a few seconds felt like an eternity as Luz watched the tears well up in her eyes and drip down her cheeks, her mouth working soundlessly.

“Yes!” she finally managed to shout when she could speak again.

Luz broke out into a bright smile and jumped up, pulling the ring out of the box and taking hold of her girlfriend's shaking left hand, and slipping the ring on her finger.

As soon as it was in place Amity practically flung herself on her, kissing her, even as tears slid down her cheeks.

Luz couldn't stop grinning even as her own eyes welled with tears, lifting her off the ground and spinning her around while Amity squeezed her neck.

She finally set her down but Amity didn't let go.

"I love you," She choked, face buried in her neck.

"Yo también te amo, Amity" she mumbled, squeezing her.

After several long minutes, she finally pulled back and Luz grinned at her, wiping the tears from her pale cheeks before she reached down to pick up the book and handing it to Amity.

"Try not to set these on fire…" Luz grinned and Amity gave her a gentle shove.

"Never," she promised as she really looked at the ring now sitting on her finger and tears threatened to fall again.

"It's beautiful, Luz…" she sniffled, and looked up at her, smiling, and Luz smiled back at her.

It was late when they finally left the library and headed home on Luz's staff.

All the lights were still on in the owl house when they arrived.

Lilith and Eda were both sitting in the living room, along with Gus and Willow when they walked in.

They were looking at them, trying not to appear expectant in case Luz hadn't asked but she grinned at them and held up Amity's hand.

"She said yes!" she declares and the living room erupted with cheers and congratulations.

"I'm going to get the good apple blood!" Eda grinned, disappearing into the kitchen, Lilith following behind her to help.

"Dibs on best man!" Gus called, jumping up.

"You got it." Luz laughed.

"So, was it everything you dreamed it would be?" Willow asked, sliding up to Amity, who smiled at her before glancing at her new fiancée as she talked excitedly with Gus and held the precious leather book in her hands.

"It was perfect."

~~

Before anyone absolutely loses their minds, no, this isn't the end, but a secondary plotline that will take place between their adventures as teenagers in the past.

[fluffykitty1999-blog]

Dog of the Military- Chapter 31

Chapter 31- Shopping

"Can we go to the High Market?" Ed asked hopefully as he bounced into the passenger seat of Roy's car.

"Brother. That place is crawling with sketchy people." Al admonished from where he was settling into the entire backseat of the car.

"We aren't going anywhere until you two put on your seatbelts." Roy admonished, shooting a glance over at both boys witheringly.

There was clanking from the backseat as Alphonse hurried to comply.

Ed blew out a breath and rolled his eyes.

"I don't see why I gotta wear a seat belt. My automail can't be broken. And Al's a suit of armor- nothing can hurt him!"

"No, but Alphonse could hurt us. If there was a crash and Al were to get thrown forward, we could be hurt. And you might have automail, Ed, but you're not invincible."

Ed crossed his arms. "It's stupid. Don't tell me what to do."

"Oh, so you think I'm being bossy, huh?" Roy asked.

"Ed, just put it on." Al piped up from the backseat. There was a click. Al was too large to fit the middle seat seat belt, so he had taken 2 seat belts from either side of the backseat and fastened them both over himself in an x-like fashion.

"I'm tired of old people trying to tell us what to do, Al!" Ed protested.

"It's for your own good, you know." Roy supplied patiently. "Seatbelts reduce the risk of death by 45% and cut the risk of serious injury to 50%(1). They also hold you in place so you don't get ejected in a crash. 3 of 4 people who get ejected from a vehicle don't survive(1). You wouldn't want to do that to Al, would you?"

Ed was silent.

"Remember that car crash was saw in Bresh, brother?" Al added. "We couldn't do anything to help. Everyone was gone. All we could do was cover up the mess with blankets so that the teenager's families wouldn't see them. Maybe if they'd been wearing seat belts it'd have been different."

Ed clicked his seatbelt into place. "Fine, whatever. Let's get going we have shopping to do."

Roy turned the key in the ignition and started out.

"So- does anyone want anything specific from the store?" Roy asked.

"Waffles." Ed said happily. "And soft pretzels."

"Scented candles." Al added.

"You're gonna polish yourself with that flowery smelling wax again aren't you?" Ed spoke up.

"It's the closest thing I can get to deodorant, brother." Al sounded slightly hurt.

"I know. Get some of those cucumber melon candles-I like the smell of those." Ed said quietly.

"Okay." Al brightened significantly.

"I wanna go to the High Market too." Ed piped up, looking over at Roy.

"For what?" Roy was wary. The high market sold useful things, but it was also a backdoor apothecary that sold unregulated pharmaceuticals and other odd, possibly illegal substances in the alley under the guise of traditional medicine.

"They got those cookies that have your future written inside them!" Ed looked childish with excitement.

"You need a cookie to tell you that?" Roy scoffed. "I could tell you for free. 'you will be short and miserable'."

Al sniggered from the backseat and Ed frowned. "Normally I would yell at you for that, but I wanna go to the High Market. So can we go?"

"Yes. IF you two stay close to me and we don't take long."

"Score!" Ed pumped his fist in the air, looking excited.

"What do you want to get shopping, Colonel?" Al asked.

Mustang shrugged. "Trash bags, milk, butter, eggs, bread, jam."

"Boring stuff." Ed added.

Roy pulled into the shopping center. "You say that, but I don't see you complaining when we eat dinner."

"Can we get Mac n' cheese?"

"Yes, we can get a few boxes."

"Can we get frozen burritos and ramen?"

Roy wrinkled his nose. Ever since Ed moved in with them, he'd realized the kid seemed to live off microwaved food.

"Yes, a couple. But you need to eat a vegetable every once in awhile." he got out of the car, and Ed did the same.

"Well excuse me for being too busy to go harvest nature's bounty." Ed scoffed.

"Guys!" Al called from the back, muffled by the car doors.

"What's up, Al?" Roy turned around to see Al still strapped into the back seat, his large hands struggling with the seatbelts.

"Can you unbuckle me? I'm stuck!?"

LINEBREAK LINEBREAK LINEBREAK LINEBREAK LINEBREAK

"Okay, this actually isn't so bad." Roy had his list nearly halfway completed. Ed insisted on standing on the bottom rack of the cart and holding onto the back to ride it, but Al was pushing, so Roy couldn't complain. And Al was tall enough to reach everything on the top shelf.

"Ed- name something that isn't microwaved that you'll eat."

"Peanut butter sandwhich."

"Done." Roy grabbed a jar of peanut butter off the shelf and tossed it into the cart.

"Fruits and vegetables you like?"

"Fruitsnacks!" Ed looked excited, pointing at a large box. "Those are the best, Mom used to get those for me!"

"Yeah I remember those." Al sounded excited as well.

It melted Roy's resolve. Just a little. He picked up the box. It said it was amde with real fruit juice. That was close enough to a fruit, wasn't it? If Trisha Elric had bought them for the boys, they couldn't be horrible.

"Okay. Fine. But REAL fruits, now."

"I don't have time for real fruits. I'm constantly running around to headquarters or the library." Ed complained.

Roy couldn’t argue with the kid. He was pretty busy. But still, that wasn't an excuse to live out of vending machines.

"Alright, so how about a grab and go snack. You like applesauce?"

"Yeah."

Roy snagged a box of applesauce pouches and threw it into the cart, then kept going. He just had to make sure Ed didn't realize they gave those applesauce pouches to toddlers commonly. Because he doubted Ed would care enough to grab a spoon or a more traditional applesauce cup.

"What about yogurt?" Roy asked.

Ed narrowed his eyes. "Milk." he groused from where he was holding onto the cart.

"Cheese sticks?" Roy held up the package enticingly.

"Okay." Ed acquiesced. "It doesn't taste like milk."

They were just about done shopping- the only thing left was to get coffee.

Roy started off towards the aisle but stopped when he realized Al wasn't following pushing the cart.

The boy was looking at a duster in the cleaning aisle. "Throw it in the cart, Al. I'll dust your armor off tonight if you want." he said. Al couldn't really eat, but it wasn't fair to exclude the boy from shopping.

"Thank you!"

"It's nothing. Let's get going. I want to hit the yellow market before it gets too late.".

LINEBREAK LINEBREAK LINEBREAK LINEBREAK LINEBREAK

It got dark early in the fall. So even though it was only a little after 5, dusk was setting in on the city as he and the boys parked alongside the street in the nicer part of town and walked towards the yellow market.

Ed had an excited bounce in his step at the prospect of fortune cookies, and Al was hoping to find stray cats.

The warm glow of streetlights faded as they entered the rougher neighborhood of town- a block or so was dark, before the hanging string lights and colorful candle lanterns lit up the street.

The barren streets of central melted into a new landscape of men shouting about wares in a Xingese tongue. Men with cone-shaped hates and women in flowing garb, as well as children and stray dogs ran though the streets, adding to the commotion and the smells and sights of the market.

People were selling vibrant flowers, roast seafood on sticks, and a variety of meat and pastries.

One market stall had a variety of little animals made of colored paper, and Alphonse stopped to look.

The children stopped running and playing with their sticks and hoops when they saw Edward and stared, whispering among themselves.

Roy wondered if they recognized him as the Fullmetal Alchemist or not. Normally children were enthralled by Alphonse and his armor, not Edward...

A cold wind blew, rustling the paper lanterns and scattering the children. They took off down various alleyways and down the street.

It unnerved Roy, for some reason.

Ed had found the shop he was looking for- an old woman selling the cookies he wanted.

She shakily bagged them up for him and they chatted as he got out his money to pay her.

Alphonse squatted to set a stray cat near the mouth of an alley.

The quiet suddenly struck Roy as odd. The market callers had stopped shouting about their wares and people had stopped chattering. Mothers took their children and went to other stalls further away from them.

A woman ran into Roy and fell, scattering her things on the ground.

"Sorry!" she exclaimed, her angular Xingese eyes drawing him in.

"No, not a problem at all." Roy bent to help her pick up her scattered items, though he couldn't stop the hairs of unease form standing up on the back of his neck.

As they both picked up the fallen items from the ground, the woman leaned closer to him, eyes wide. "You must leave now. They will come for the boy. Men offer lot of money for him. Children go get men- they take boy."

Roy froze for a moment, before he nodded, handing her one of the items he'd been picked up and straightening.

"Edward! Al!"

Ed had paid for his cookies- the old woman at the shop had somehow given him a large stick of candy as well and was patting him on the head.

"What?" Ed asked, looking annoyed at the interruption.

"We're going. Now." his voice left no room for argument, and Ed fell into step beside him and Al as they headed back the way they came.

"But we just got here." Ed complained.

"You got your cookies. Now let's go."

He couldn't shake the feeling they were being watched, though they got home that night without incident.

Yes- I know that in cannon the year is like 1920. I just like to imagine Roy taking his boys to walmart. I don’t know why, but it’s a balm for my soul.

Obligatory ko-fi link here; https://ko-fi.com/fluffykitty12 .

[fayeimara]

Meant To Be || One For Every Billion

7. Definitely Pretty

Hyogo is definitely a big change of pace and scenery from Tokyo, but a welcome one. The last time you were able to visit your aunt and cousin Kazuya was over winter break and it's nice to spend some time with them during the hot summer instead. You've spent your last few days here enjoying chilled tea in tall glasses dripping with condensation and hikes through the mountainous region with Akira and Akari's excited chatter filling the space previously occupied by the gentle sounds of nature. Though you suppose they're both a force of nature in their own way, as well.

Akari, specifically, has used her considerable talent at coercion to drag you and her two brothers to the summer festival today. Although she didn't need to expend much effort convincing you in particular.

Your aunt, their mother, had already painstakingly picked out and bought yukata for each of you, each piece a match for every one of your personal tastes and styles, knowing that at least you and Akari would appreciate the event all decked out. It's not something either of you have much of an opportunity for when you're both back in America.

She also helped you two style your hair and made sure you all took enough pictures to last a lifetime of memories, reminding all of you that someday these would be the moments you look back on with fond reminiscence.

Kazu and Akira have wandered off since you all arrived, saying something about food, so you and Akari decide to investigate the booths that hold various food and souvenirs themed to the event.

The two of you are at a stall studying the various masks displayed for purchase when a group of girls several years younger than you move into the recently emptied space to your right, giggling and whispering before turning to you both.

"Sorry to bother you! We just wanted to say we love both your yukata!" One of them confidently exclaims, jade eyes beaming with excitement and a little nervousness.

You turn to her with a pleased smile, "Thank you, you and your friends look beautiful, as well."

"Do you think? Thank you! My mom helped me pick mine out!" She indicates her pretty jade and white yukata with a lazy gesture, moving slightly closer to you as Akari starts off a conversation about her friend's hair.

You have to grin at her, wondering if this is considered chaotic neutral, a term your friends often seem to apply to you. "Yeah, definitely, I think it fits you perfectly. Really sets off your eyes."

"That's my best feature! Runs in the family actually." She states with a smirk. She's really too precious.

"Rika." A low voice startles you as the speaker comes up from just behind where you're standing.

You turn to meet a stunning copy of her eyes except for the completely uninterested look in them, this pair on an expressionless guy probably about your age. Wow. He's undeniably attractive and you're sure that unbothered but capable air just adds to the appeal. At least for you.

"Rin-onii!" While mostly still exuberant, she seems a little chastised by the single word from the guy that you're assuming is her older brother.

He doesn't say anything as he studies you back with that intensely perceptive gaze before turning away to address his sister, "You shouldn't have wandered off."

Her doe eyes and innocent smile are turned on full force, you guess growing up a younger sibling really teaches one how to do that well. It doesn't actually seem to work on him though as he narrows his eyes with an arch look, cutting her off before she can even try to sweet talk him, "I was forced to come to babysit you, so don't run off again."

She pouts for a small moment before perking back up to say, "But I made a new friend! And she's so pretty, right?"

You can't help the amused smirk that pulls at your lips while you wait for his response. Try and tell me I'm not, I dare you. Pausing for a moment while he stares at his sister, you catch him as, without moving his head, his piercing eyes slide back over to you again, looking sideways and down at you as if the last thing he wants to do is acknowledge you.

Then, instead of answering his sister's question, he finally addresses you directly to ask one of his own, "And who are you?"

You want to laugh at the pure arrogance of his question but instead you shrug and reply, "Right now, I'm just a pretty, new friend. Or should I assume you don't agree?"

This time you think you almost do see the lightest blush, yeah, you directly called out the way he dodged the question to throw the ball back in his court. I can slip audacious questions just as well, pretty boy.

His sister - Rika? - jumps back into the conversation a little cautiously, probably sensing the tension but not understanding why or where from it's originating. Me neither, girl, me neither. "Rin! Don't be so mean! We approached her and her friend first, you can't just demand an introduction!" and then turning away from her actual chastisement of her older brother, she beams up at you before continuing, "I'm Suna Rikona but you can call me Rika! This is my brother Rintaro. You can call him Rin or Rin-Rin."

"Shut it, Rika. That's not appropriate." He rolls his eyes and yes, he's actually blushing now. You wonder for a moment if you could push him further by using his first name to address him but you can't bring yourself to tease a complete stranger just yet. Not this one, at least, for some reason. Oh my god, your friends would be so proud.

"Nice to meet you Rika. You too, I guess...Suna." You follow her suggestion to call her by her nickname but also accommodate her brother after a teasing pause. "My name is L/n F/n. You can call me Y/n though."

You add the last bit with a smirk aimed at Suna whose eyes narrow again on you this time. Hm. Perceptive guy. Those are always interesting.

His eyes shift to your side just as you notice Akari pulling back to rejoin the three of you, along with the three other girls that came up with Rika. You introduce her to the two you're with and then have another round of introductions with Rika's friends, periodically catching Suna watching you every time you look back his way. He's making it really difficult for you to keep your composure.

"We were going to follow the booths down the street and then find a good spot to watch the fireworks." One of Rika's friends - Misa - explains.

Rika picks up from where she leaves off, throwing her pleading puppy dog look your way this time, "Would you please join us?"

While you and Akari have enough practice using that very same look with your own older siblings, you doubt either of you have had to field it and from someone so adorable too. You catch Akari's smothered smile before she meets your eyes and shrugs so you turn to look at Suna who just raises his chin along with a bored eyebrow, like he could care less but still somehow daring you to say something. What that thing is, you don't know him well enough to tell but okay then.

Looking back at Rika who's been giving her brother a frown at seeing his challenging look thrown your way, you laugh and agree, "I don't see why not. We did come here with two others but they've pretty much disappeared by now so I'll text to let them know and then we can go."

"Wait!" Akari cuts in as you pull your phone from the small pouch hanging from your wrist, "We still have to get our masks."

"We should all get one!" Rika declares but Rin lightly flicks the back of her head.

"Didn't you only bring enough for the food."

It's not actually even a question but he must be right because she turns back to him with the pleading look, "But Rin-onii, won't you-"

"No."

Completely deadpan versus completely affectionate, you really have to hold back the laughter at their cute exchange. She continues pleading but is cut off at every one of her sentences by Suna's monosyllable of choice. Eventually, your mirth is completely full and you can't take it anymore.

So as you put away your phone, you offer, "If you pick one for me, I'll get it with yours."

You swear, she and Suna both whip around to face you so fast that you get whiplash.

They speak over each other in the next instant but you can barely make out yet another firm, "No." from Suna over Rika's happy cry, "Really?! Y/n-chan, you're not just the prettiest, you're the best!"

You ignore both Suna's response and even Akari's outraged, "The prettiest?!" and turn back to the stall, Rika bouncing to your side in an instant. She picks out kitsune masks for everyone, a mix of half face and full face for her and her friends but half masks for you and Akari. You also whisper to her to pick out one her brother will like and after a delighted smile your way, points out the final one for your purchase.

Oh my, you can just imagine his eyes through the mask, something to be seen for sure, but you doubt he'll actually put it on. Turning back while Akari exclaims over the masks with Rika and her friends, the latter kindly assisting her with angling it just right on her head, you approach Suna, who's on his phone like he couldn't be bothered.

He looks up at your approach, face finally showing surprise when he sees you holding two masks and, before he can say anything, you extend one to him with, "Rika picked it out, but I think it really suits you too."

He opens his mouth as if to speak but closes it, eyeing the mask before reaching out and taking it gently from you with a quick, "Thanks."

You watch him carelessly arrange it on his head and when you look back to his eyes you realize he was watching you in return. You quickly move to place your own mask against the side of your head, you're sure you're blushing as a small amused smile tugs at his mouth before he gestures at you.

You don't know why and he must read your confusion because he elaborates, "Here." which is not much of an elaboration but it's accompanied by him moving up towards you and then you suddenly find yourself right in front of the bottom half of his face as he reaches up to your hair.

You don't know what you would have done given a cute but strange boy suddenly invading your space the way he just did, but you don't have a chance to find out as realization hits you when you feel the mask shift and settle again, realizing he just fixed its position on your head.

The two of you don't move for a minute as Suna looks down to study you, mask and all, and you hear him say, just for your ears, "Definitely pretty."

Yeah, anyone would blush so who can judge you for it, especially when you finally see his neutrality complete break with an amused grin. It's short and he even chuckles as he backs away, but it's fully wiped off as if it never happened by the time your cousin, Rika, and the rest of the girls swarm you exclaiming over our masks and asking about theirs.

After some reassurances that everyone's masks look incredible, Rika points out, "Rin-onii, I can't believe you actually wore it?!"

He raises an eyebrow with his uncaring, "Yeah? What of it?"

"Nothing.." She trails off as she studies him, then her eyes slide over to you for a moment before zeroing back on her brother, as a sly smile grows on her face. "I guess even you care what some people think, huh?"

He gives her a deadpan stare instead of an answer and she huffs before grabbing one of her friend's and Akari's wrists and starts dragging them to the next booth, other two friends automatically following behind, as she calls over her shoulder, "Whatever! We should get through the rest of these before we run out of time to find a good spot for the fireworks!"

And so, with another look at each other, you both follow in the wake of a natural force quite possibly as powerful as Akari. Which is how you end up spending your evening getting to know the quiet and compelling Suna Rintaro.

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Masterlist

Behind The Scenes!

-Suna's height with [age (year) - height] > 25 (2021) - 6'3, 22 (2018) - 6'2, 16/17 (2013) - 6'1... so as of his current age, 14, he's about 5'11 or 6'

A/N: Can I just say Suna has been taking the most room in my head for months now and leave it at that? I just... yeah.

Taglist: @delusivist, @prettyinblack231, @kac-chowsballs, @sakusasimpbot, @hawkthekinnie, @poppi144, @oikawasbuttcheeks

[myonechicagoworld]

CHICAGO FIRE – A COFFIN THAT SMALL (S01E19)

 [TRIGGER WARNING: kid trapped in laundry chute gif under the cut]

Matt Casey: Hey.

Heather Darden: I am so sorry. I completely zonked out.

Matt Casey: No worries. I didn’t want to wake you.

Heather Darden: What time is it?

Matt Casey: Uh, 7:00.

Heather Darden: Oops, I, uh, I have to pick up the boys from

                              grandma’s.

Matt Casey: Okay.

Heather Darden: Uh, the baking dish is still dirty, so I’m gonna

                              wash it.

Matt Casey: I’ll clean it.

Heather Darden: Matt.

Matt Casey: I saw this swing set fort type thing at True Value.

                      I’ve been meaning to build it for Griffin and Ben.

                      I’ll bring it and the dish by after shift. If that’s cool

                      with you.

Heather Darden: Thank you, you’re… that’s very sweet.

Matt Casey: Oh, come on.

Heather Darden: Mind if I use your bathroom?

Matt Casey: Of course.

                                    [knocks on door]

Kelly Severide: Hey.

Matt Casey: Hey.

Kelly Severide: My dad wanted me to drop that off. His way of

                          apologising for you catching that elbow.

Matt Casey: Thanks.

Kelly Severide: All right, well, I-I’ll see you at the house.

Heather Darden: Do you have any mouthwash?

Matt Casey: Eh… it’s not what you…

                      Hey.

                      Hey! It’s not what you think!

Kelly Severide: Yeah, I’m sure you’ve got it all figured out.

                                   [car door slams, engine starts]

                                                     cutscene

Christopher Herrmann: Hey! Any of you guys know John Pritchard,

                                         or are you all too young?

Matt Casey: He was gone before I came on, but I heard stories.

Mouch: Piece of work, that one.

Otis Zvonecek: What, he died or something?

Christopher Herrmann: Yeah! You know, Boden, Mouch and me,

                                          we all knew him back in the day. He

                                          must have been 20 years older than

                                          Boden if that tells you anything.

Otis Zvonecek: What did he die of?

Christopher Herrmann: Old man stuff. I don’t know.

Matt Casey: [chuckles]

Christopher Herrmann: Funeral is tomorrow up at Grayslake.

Otis Zvonecek: Are you guys going?

Christopher Herrmann: Yeah, I guess, you know? We should

                                         pay our respects.

Matt Casey: All right. Hydrant’s good to go.

Christopher Herrmann: [grunts]

                                         Peter Mills, you get to flush the next

                                         one.

Mouch: By the way, saikensha wa saimusha yori kioku yoshi.

Otis Zvonecek: What the hell’s that?

Mouch: You bet me I couldn’t say a sentence in Japanese. I just

              said one. You owe me 20 bucks.

Joe Cruz: [chuckles]

Otis Zvonecek: Okay. (A) I don’t remember that. And (B) how do

                           I know you’re not just speaking gibberish?

Mouch: It’s a sentence.

Otis Zvonecek: What’s it mean?

Mouch: Pay me 20 bucks, I’ll tell you.

Otis Zvonecek: Ridiculous. You tell me and…

Boy 1: Help! Help!

            He fell!

            We were playing hide and seek upstairs.

Victim 1 (Little boy): [groans]

Matt Casey: Hang on. We’re coming.

Victim 1 (Little boy): [strangled grunts]

                                                 - title -

Joe Cruz: (into radio) This is 81. I need a paramedic across from

                  our firehouse.

Dispatcher: (over radio) What’s the address?

Joe Cruz: (into radio) Look for our lights!

                  Let’s go, bro!

Peter Mills: Hit it!

                                        [siren wailing]

Victim 1 (Little boy): [strangled grunts/breathing]

Matt Casey: His neck’s twisted. He can’t breathe.

Boy 1: I told Taye not to go in that chute. He knows better.

Matt Casey: Come with me.

                      All right, we have to get through this block.

                                             [buzzing]

Boy 1: [crying]

                                         [sirens wailing]

Matt Casey: (over radio) 61, we need you on the second floor.

                      It’s a child.

Gabby Dawson: What’s going on?

Otis Zvonecek: Kid hid in the laundry chute.

Joe Cruz: Mills, get in here.

Peter Mills: Yeah!

                                             [drilling]

Lady 1 (Mom): Dougie?

Boy 1 (Dougie): [cries] I told him infinity times not to hide in

                           there [cries]

                                 [indistinct chatter]

Matt Casey: Okay let’s peel back the front.

Lady 1 (Mom): Taye?

Chief Boden: Ma’am. Ma’am, don’t look.

Lady 1 (Mom): [gasps]

Chief Boden: We’ll get him out. Let them work.

Matt Casey: Get his head.

Lady 1 (Mom): Dougie… Honey, go upstairs.

Chief Boden: Okay.

Lady 1 (Mom): Oh God. Oh Lord.

Matt Casey: Let’s back him out.

Chief Boden: Don’t look.

Lady 1 (Mom): [cries]

Joe Cruz: [grunts]

                 Grab his legs.

Otis Zvonecek: He’s conscious but barely.

Lady 1 (Mom): Taye! [cries]

Chief Boden: Okay, okay. Okay.

Lady 1 (Mom): [cries]

Joe Cruz: Grab his legs.

Lady 1 (Mom): Taye.

Leslie Shay: Let’s board him quickly.

Chief Boden: Hold on to me.

Lady 1 (Mom): [sobs]

Gabby Dawson: One, two, three.

                                                  [grunting]

Gabby Dawson: You the mother?

Lady 1 (Mom): Yes.

Gabby Dawson: You can ride in the back with me. Let’s go.

Chief Boden: Go on.

                                                cutscene

Gabby Dawson: I’ll be right back.

                            What have you heard?

Lady 1 (Mom): Um… the doctor says it looks bad. It’s a

                          damaged windpipe, so his brain was…

                          without oxygen.

Gabby Dawson: Well, they’ve got great surgeons here. They’ll

                             do everything they can.

Lady 1 (Mom): You know… Taye has been to your firehouse.

Gabby Dawson: Oh yeah?

Lady 1 (Mom): Yeah. His whole class went on a field trip last fall

                          when the school year started. It was all he could

                          talk about for days [chuckles] [sniffs]

                          He said he wants to be a fireman, help people.

Gabby Dawson: That’s… that’s sweet.

Lady 1 (Mom): [sniffs] Gangs are always calling, but he won’t bite.

                         He’s gonna be straight and narrow, and I believe

                         that.

Gabby Dawson: I’m sure he will.

Lady 1 (Mom): [sniffles] Thank you.

                                               cutscene

Matt Casey: You gotta be kidding me.

Mouch: I don’t know if I can handle another season like the

              last one.

Christopher Herrmann: Hope springs eternal.

Mouch: Hope never met a Sox September.

Otis Zvonecek: Yeah, well at least you guys have a series win

                           in the last century. Try being a Cubs fan.

Christopher Herrmann: There’s plenty of room on the

                                         bandwagon if you want to move to

                                         the south side.

Otis Zvonecek: Yeah. What are you, Pouch? You Cubs or Sox,

                           huh?

Christopher Herrmann: Look at her feet. She’s definitely a

                                         White Sox fan.

Joe Cruz: Guys, put a cork in it. I’m trying to listen to the

                 Hawk.

Mouch: Saikensha wa saimusha yori kioku yoshi.

Otis Zvonecek: What does that mean?

Matt Casey: Hey, if they score, come get me.

Otis Zvonecek: [muttering] Saikensha… Sai…

Chief Boden: Hey Lieutenant. I want to bring you up to speed

                       on what Kelly’s just filled me in on.

Kelly Severide: I’m gonna push to fast-track Peter Mills to

                          Squad. The youngest anyone’s every made

                          it was 23.

Matt Casey: You.

Kelly Severide: I think Mills can break the record. And I talked

                          to Chief Walker over at District, and he thinks it

                          would be great for CFD morale.

Matt Casey: Is that what you think, Chief? Great for morale?

Chief Boden: As long as he qualifies.

Matt Casey: Well, sounds like you guys have all the answers.

                                              cutscene

Peter Mills: You wanted to see me, Chief?

Chief Boden: As you’re aware, Lieutenant Severide thinks

                       that you’ll make a strong addition to Rescue

                       Squad.

                                          [door closes]

Peter Mills: Yes.

Chief Boden: I just want to hear your take on it.

Peter Mills: I’m gonna bust my ass to make it happen.

Chief Boden: Why?

Peter Mills: I’m sorry?

Chief Boden: Why’s it so important to you?

Peter Mills: ‘Cause I want to be an elite firefighter, sir.

Chief Boden: And this has got nothing to do with your

                       father?

Peter Mills: No, sir.

                    This has nothing to do with what my father did

                     or did not do with his time at the CFD. This is

                     about me

Chief Boden: Well, since you’ve been here you’ve put on ten

                        pounds. Which, from where I sit, doesn’t look

                        like a candidate willing to bust his ass.

                        [slurps]

                                             [door closes]

Gabby Dawson: Hey, how’s it going?

Peter Mills: Been better.

Gabby Dawson: You need me to take care of someone? Give

                             me a name.

Peter Mills: Not now.

                                               cutscene

Matt Casey: Heather Darden and me, we’re just friends. She

                      came over to talk and fell asleep on my couch.

Kelly Severide: Right. Got it.

Matt Casey: I don’t know what you want me to say here.

Kelly Severide: I saw what I saw, Casey. Sell your clean whistle

                          act to someone else, ‘cause I ain’t buying.

Matt Casey: You can’t imagine you might be wrong about

                      something, can you?

Kelly Severide: I can imagine a lot of things, just not the idea

                          of you rolling around with Andy’s widow.

Matt Casey: Come on.

Kelly Severide: Explain to me why Heather barely talks to me,

                          but she’ll sleep with you, even though you’re

                          the guy who put her husband through that

                          window?

                                            [gunshots]

                                            [shouting]

                                       [glass shattering]

Firefighter: Get down!

                    Get down!

                                            [gunshots]

Christopher Herrmann: What the hell is going on in here?

                                        [tires squealing]

Chief Boden: You okay?

Kelly Severide: Yeah.

Chief Boden: Casey, are you okay?

Matt Casey: Yeah.

Chief Boden: What the hell is going on here, Detective? This

                        has always been a neighbourhood house.

Man 1 (Det. Ben Vikan): You tell me. No run-ins recently? No

                                         fires where one of your guys tried to

                                         pop off to the local…

Chief Boden: No.

Christopher Herrmann: We’re not cops. People are happy to

                                         see a firefighter show up.

Man 1 (Det. Ben Vikan): Could this be Voight related?

Matt Casey: Voight?

Man 1 (Det. Ben Vikan): When it comes to gang violence, the

                                         man has a long reach. He’s got a

                                         dismissal hearing soon.

Matt Casey: Not like Voight to stir up the nest if he’s trying to

                      free himself.

Joe Cruz: Man, why don’t you pick up one of these bangers

                  for something small and trade the bust for what

                  they know about the shooters?

Man 1 (Det. Ben Vikan): Corner boys in this neighbourhood

                                         are good. We can’t catch them with

                                         the drugs and make the bust stick.

                                         We’ll keep our ears to the ground.

                                         In the meantime, I’ll make sure we

                                         have a conspicuous police presence

                                         around the station.

Chief Boden: Meaning what?

Man 1 (Det. Ben Vikan): Put a special detail on it. Squad

                                         outside. Officer posted in the 

                                         house.

Firefighters: [muttering in disagreement]

Chief Boden: Well, that’s fine. So long as the men are safe.

Otis Zvonecek: [sighs]

Chief Boden: What?

Christopher Herrmann: Cops in the house is a bad precedent.

                                        Sends a message to the good residents

                                        around here that… we’re not a safe

                                        haven.

Mouch: You rather have one of us be killed?

Christopher Herrmann: Of course not.

Chief Boden: We will let the police handle their business, and

                        we… will handle ours.

Joe Cruz: [sighs]

                                          cutscene

                                [police radio chatter]

Otis Zvonecek: Never seen anything like this before.

Joe Cruz: So much for being the neighbourhood’s house.

                                     [engine starts]

                                   [dramatic music]

                                         cutscene

Lady 2 (Barista): Here you go.

Leslie Shay: Thanks.

Kelly Severide: Thanks.

Leslie Shay: Yeah.

Kelly Severide: Hey, any word on that kid pulled out of the

                           laundry chute?

Leslie Shay: I haven’t heard anything yet.

                      Hey, what’s going on with you and Casey? It

                      seemed like…

Kelly Severide: Oh, I don’t… I don’t want to talk about Casey.

Leslie Shay: Okay, fine. We’ll just enjoy watching you two

                      mark your territory.

Kelly Severide: Ah…

Leslie Shay: So what do you want to talk about?

Kelly Severide: So how would this work? With the, um…

                           insemination?

Leslie Shay: Well… basically, you know, I’d get a hormone

                      injection once a day for 12 days to boost

                      ovulation, then we’d go to a clinic where they

                      have rooms set aside for collection. Meaning

                      you know, they give you magazines or

                      whatever and you go in and do your business.

Kelly Severide: I mean, I get that part

                                         [chuckling]

Kelly Severide: How much does it cost?

Leslie Shay: Uh, all-in, 10 grandish.

Kelly Severide: 10 grand, are you serious?

Leslie Shay: Yeah.

Kelly Severide: You have that kind of cash?

Leslie Shay: I’m gonna stretch some card limits and cobble

                      it together.

Kelly Severide: I’m in.

                                            [laughter]

                                            cutscene

Christopher Herrmann: What?

Mouch: You picked him up first?

Christopher Herrmann: Just get in.

Mouch: Now I gotta stare at the back of your head for an

              hour?

Christopher Herrmann: Yeah.

Mouch: Guess it’s better than getting shot at at the

              firehouse.

Boden & Herrmann: [laughs]

                                               [laughter]

Chief Boden: So I come home, try to climb in through the

                        window, but it’s shut. It’s locked.Oh, okay. I

                        thought I got a clean getaway, but no. Now

                        I gotta go around and ring on the damn

                        doorbell.

                                                [laughter]

Chief Boden: My old man, he’s just sitting in his chair.

                       Waiting for me. For hours.

Mouch: 3 o’clock in the morning.

Chief Boden: Alcohol on my breath

Mouch: Ooh! [laughs]

Chief Boden: He just stares at me, hard as nails. He says,

                       “boy, you got four choices where you’re going

                        to college… Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines…

                        pick one.”

Mouch: Wow.

Chief Boden: [scoffs]

Christopher Herrmann: At least your old man gave a damn.

Mouch: Oh, Bill Herrmann wasn’t so bad. I’m friends with

              Chris’s older brother, Larry. Your dad would throw

               the ball with us when he was home.

Christopher Herrmann: Larry did not disappoint him the way

                                         that I did.

Chief Boden: You never told me about your dad.

Christopher Herrmann: Aw, sold luggage to department

                                        stores all over the Midwest. He

                                        was on the road more than he

                                         was home.

Chief Boden: Is that right?

Christopher Herrmann: He wanted me to chase him into

                                         the business like my brother

                                         Larry did, so naturally I took the

                                         fireman’s test.

                                               [chuckling]

Christopher Herrmann: They got this whole thing…

                                         Larry and my dad.

                                         I don’t talk to him that much

                                         anymore.

Mouch: You should call him.

Christopher Herrmann: I should. It’d be that much worse

                                         when he didn’t call me back.

                                            cutscene

Gabby Dawson: [panting]

Peter Mills: What are you doing here?

Gabby Dawson: Maybe being quiet and keeping to

                            yourself is how it works in the Mills

                            family, but that’s not how the Dawsons

                             Dawsons do it.

Peter Mills: Is that so?

Gabby Dawson: Look, if you want to fly solo, you better do it

                             in bed with your eyes closed, okay? But if

                             you want to train for Squad, you better get

                             ready to talk while you run, ‘cause I’m

                             coming with you.

                             Hey. I want to be a part of whatever comes your

                             way.

Peter Mills: Well, then you better tie your shoes first.

Gabby Dawson: Oh!

Peter Mills: [laughs]

Gabby Dawson: [laughs] Oh I’m gonna get you!

                                          cutscene

Chief Boden: This is the right time, right?

Christopher Herrmann: Paper said 3:30.

                             [organ playing in background]

Christopher Herrmann: Excuse me, is this the Pritchard

                                         funeral?

Man 2 (Mortician): Yes. Yes, we’re about to get underway.

Christopher Herrmann: Oh.

Man 2 (Mortician): Have a seat.

Mouch: Thanks.

Chief Boden: Thanks.

Christopher Herrmann: Are you kidding me with this? Didn’t

                                         he have, like, five sons?

Mouch: Yeah.

Christopher Herrmann: Where’s his family?

Man 3 (Preacher): Welcome, friends. We’re all here today not

                                to grieve but to celebrate the life of…

                                John Aaron Pritchard. Matthew 5:4 says,

                                “Blessed are they who mourn for they

                                shall be comforted.”

Mouch: Let’s get outta here.

Chief Boden: Amen.

Christopher Herrmann: So, like, I mean, that’s it? I mean

                                         what… half a dozen people, and

                                         no family, and a preacher who

                                         doesn’t even know his name

                                         without looking at the program?

                                         And where’s the truck with a half-

                                         raised ladder and salute to a fallen

                                         firefighter?

Chief Boden: Chris…

Christopher Herrmann: No, I’m serious. What’s my funeral

                                         gonna be like when I kick it? Or

                                         yours, Mouch, huh?

Mouch: Doubt I’ll care.

Christopher Herrmann: All the same, he deserved a funeral

                                         with respect for all of his service.

                                         And just because he waited a dozen

                                         years to die and moved out to the

                                         sticks doesn’t mean that he wasn’t a

                                         hero.

Chief Boden: Let’s go.

Mouch: Shotgun!

Christopher Herrmann: This… this ain’t right! Grr!

                                               cutscene

                               [indistinct police radio chatter]

Matt Casey: Any word on the shooters?

Uniformed Cop: Nada.

Matt Casey: How was the funeral?

Christopher Herrmann: What’s worse than terrible? It

                                         was that.

Peter Mills: [groans]

Otis Zvonecek: What?

Peter Mills: Oven’s busted.

Christopher Herrmann: What? Blender is too.

                                                [buzzing]

Joe Cruz: Bad news. Remember that kid from last shift?

                  Trapped in the laundry chute?

Otis Zvonecek: Yeah?

Joe Cruz: Didn’t make it.

Gabby Dawson: He came here, this kid. He was here on a

                            class field trip.

                            He told his mom he wanted to be a fireman

                            when he got home.

Peter Mills: Wow, I recognise him. It was my first day. You

                    guys had me give the tour.

Otis Zvonecek: [exhales] Man I remember that.

Joe Cruz: Funeral’s on Friday.

Christopher Herrmann: Hey pop, it’s Christopher. Just…

                                         checking in. I know it’s been a

                                         while, and… anyway just call

                                         me back.

                                                 cutscene

Kelly Severide: You know what the worst part is?

Matt Casey: What is the worst part, Kelly?

Kelly Severide: That you don’t have enough sack to

                           admit you’re sleeping with Heather.

                           At least come clean.

Matt Casey: Keep walking. I’m done explaining myself.

Kelly Severide: You haven’t explained a damn thing!

                           That’s the point!

Matt Casey: ‘Cause you’re wrong!

                      Don’t come up on me again like this.

Kelly Severide: Really?

Chief Boden: What the hell is going on here?

                        In my office, now.

                                           [object clatters]

Chief Boden: We’ve been here before. Almost tore

                        this house apart.

Kelly Severide: This time, it’s different.

Chief Boden: Tell me about it.

Kelly Severide: Yeah, Casey, tell him about it.

Matt Casey: No offense, Chief.

                                          [door shuts]

                                            cutscene

Leslie Shay: So what do you think about the whole

                      Casey/Heather thing?

Gabby Dawson: Uh… I don’t know.

Leslie Shay: Hmm. You haven’t asked him?

Gabby Dawson: We’ve said like two sentences to each

                            other in a month.

                            Hey, what’s your name?

Man 4: Phillip.

Gabby Dawson: [laughs] All right, let’s get you up, Phillip.

                            Come on.

                            Here we go [groans]

Leslie Shay: Whoa!

Gabby Dawson: [chuckles]

Leslie Shay: Phillip, that is not the kind of full moon I was

                      expecting to see today.

Gabby Dawson: [laughs]

Leslie Shay: Come on.

Gabby Dawson: Here we go.

Leslie Shay: All right, keep your pants up.

Gabby Dawson: Whew! So Severide’s, uh, little swimmers,

                             huh?

Leslie Shay: Yeah.

Gabby Dawson: And who’s paying for this?

Leslie Shay: [sighs] I don’t know.

Gabby Dawson: You know, there’s another, cheaper alternative.

Leslie Shay: Oh, come on.

Gabby Dawson: What? I’m just saying.

Leslie Shay: Oh boy.

Gabby Dawson: Nature has already worked out a lot of these

                            details.

                            Come on. Oh!

                                      [engine revving]

                                      [tires squealing]

                                       [horn beeping]

Leslie Shay: (into radio) I need a 10-1 to East Van Buren, now!

Dispatcher: (over radio) What’s the nature of the call?

Leslie Shay: (into radio) Someone’s stealing our ambulance!

                                       [horn beeping]

                                     [tires screeching]

Gabby Dawson: Hey!

Man 5 (Thief): What the hell?

Gabby Dawson: Pull over!

Man 5 (Thief): Shut up!

Gabby Dawson: You can’t steal an ambulance!

Man 5 (Thief): I said shut up!

Gabby Dawson: Listen to me, moron!

Man 5 (Thief): Quit talking to me!

                                     [horn honking]

Gabby Dawson: This ambulance has GPS. They can track us in

                             the city so they know where we’re at at all

                             times. When you hear the beep that means

                             that they’re about to shut down the engine!

Man 5 (Thief): What are you talking about?

Gabby Dawson: They’re gonna turn off the engine, lock up the

                             tires, and send your face flying through the

                             windshield.

                                       [sirens approaching]

Man 5 (Thief): That ain’t true!

                                      [police sirens wailing]

Gabby Dawson: Here it comes!

                                               [beeping]

Gabby Dawson: You should buckle up!

                                       [beeping continues]

Man 5 (Thief): Damn it!

                                         [tires screeching]

Gabby Dawson: [heavy breathing]

Man 5 (Thief): [groans]

                                            [siren whoops]

Gabby Dawson: Somebody call for an ambulance?

Leslie Shay: Come on, Philip.

                                                 cutscene

Leslie Shay: Hey.

Kelly Severide: Hey.

                                             [door closes]

Leslie Shay: [clears throat] I know this may not be the best time,

                      um, but I have a new proposal. So please don’t

                      say anything or make any funny faces.

Kelly Severide: Okay.

Leslie Shay: Okay. Uh… I can’t afford the insemination. So I’ve

                      been thinking about Plan B. And I propose…

                      when the time is right, you go into your room with

                      magazines or Skinemax or whatever you need to

                      get yourself ready. And then with the lights out,

                      you signal me by calling out my name once. You’ll

                      hear your door open, footsteps. And… and then

                      you’ll be mounted. You will finish your business

                      inside of me as quickly and efficiently as possible.

                      And then I’ll be out the door, so you can clean up

                      or whatever you need to do. At which point, I will

                      need to be alone. Most likely to cry. And we will

                      never speak of this to anyone ever [chuckles] for

                      the rest of our lives. And… I thank you for

                      listening. Just think about it.

                                         [door shuts]

                                           cutscene

Gabby Dawson: [sighs]

                                      [phone buzzing]

Gabby Dawson: Here we go. Here we go.

                            Sit. Sit.

Mouch: What the hell are you doing?

Christopher Herrmann: I’m not standing near any windows.

Mouch: Well, it ain’t exactly easy to watch the ballgame with

              you staring back at me.

              You think the shooters are going to text you before

               they open fire?

Christopher Herrmann: I broke down and called my old

                                         man. I got nothing back.

Otis Zvonecek: [sighs] Mills, what’s for lunch?

Peter Mills: Oh, um, I was bringing in some beef tips but I

                     don’t think they’re gonna taste that good raw,

                     so, uh, we can do some pimento cheese

                     sandwiches…

Joe Cruz: How about Al’s beef?

Peter Mills: Okay, all right. We’ll do Al’s beef.

Matt Casey: Call it in.

Peter Mills: I will. All right.

Mouch: Oh Otis!

Otis Zvonecek: Yeah?

Mouch: Uh, saikensha wa saimusha yori kioku yoshi.

Otis Zvonecek: Seriously, up yours, Mouch.

Mouch: [chuckles] Hey, you know who knows how to

              translate that? Andrew Jackson [laughs]

Chief Boden: Dawson, where’s Shay?

Gabby Dawson: Uh, I don’t know.

Chief Boden: This is Tara Little. She’s a candidate. She’s

                       gonna be riding along with you guys for the

                       next few shifts for evaluation.

Gabby Dawson: Cool.

Lady 3 (Tara Little): Hey, so nice to meet you. I’ve heard

                                 a lot about you.

Gabby Dawson: Oh, don’t pay any attention to what these

                            guys have to say. Especially Frick and

                            Frack over here.

Lady 3 (Tara Little): Oh, which one’s Frick?

Gabby Dawson: [chuckles] Come on.

Matt Casey: What’s that?

Peter Mills: Oh, it’s… yeah I keep the cooking club cash

                     hidden here. That-that’s cool, right?

Matt Casey: Yeah. Yeah it-it’s fine. I’ll get the food.

Peter Mills: No, I don’t mind. I’ll grab it.

Matt Casey: I got it.

                                      [car door shuts]

Matt Casey: I want to talk to whoever’s in charge.

Young Man 1 (Dealer): Nah, get back in your truck.

Matt Casey: Not a cop. Not armed.

Young Man 1 (Dealer): Nah man, get back in your truck.

Matt Casey: I just want to talk.

                                 [game sounds on TV]

Young Man 1 (Dealer): [clears throat]

                                         [door closes]

Matt Casey: You in charge?

Young Man 2 (Greshawn): Who wants to know?

Matt Casey: My name’s Casey. I’m the Lieutenant at

                      Firehouse 51 down the street.

Young Man 2 (Greshawn): So?

Matt Casey: Someone tried to pop a couple shots into our

                      house in broad daylight. Could have killed

                      someone. Someone who works to protect

                      this neighbourhood every single day. Now I

                      know why. You guys hide your drugs in the

                      hydrants, don’t you?

                      Look, we have to flush those hydrants twice

                      a year. Otherwise one of these buildings is

                      on fire… yours maybe. It burns down

                      because there’s no water in our hoses. You

                      know, I’m not stupid enough to think that

                       you’re gonna give up selling your junk

                       because I come in here, but I’m telling you,

                       you hide it in the hydrants, it’s gonna get

                       flushed.

Young Man 2 (Greshawn): You done?

Matt Casey: No. Like it or not, we all gotta coexist here,

                      right? This is our neighbourhood. You

                      don’t own it.

                                          [door closes]

                                             cutscene

Leslie Shay: Hey. Guess what?

Kelly Severide: What’s up?

Leslie Shay: Well, my dad just called. He’s gonna pay

                      for the insemination. Says he was

                      worried that he’d never be a grandpa.

Kelly Severide: That’s great.

Leslie Shay: Yeah. So you know, back to Plan A.

                                           cutscene

                                [indistinct radio chatter]

Otis Zvonecek: You know what? Fine.

Mouch: Saikensha wa saimusha yori kioku yoshi.

              Creditors have better memories than

              debtors.

                                        [train passing]

Mouch: Hey, Lieutenant, okay if we make a quick

              stop. Won’t take long, I promise.

Matt Casey: Sure.

Mouch: Cruz, take a right here.

Matt Casey: This is the right place?

Mouch: This is it.

Christopher Herrmann: Aw, come on Mouch. What

                                        is this?

Mouch: Just wait. I want you to see this.

Christopher Herrmann: Yeah.

Man 6: Randy! How are you?

Mouch: What do you say, Larry?

Man 6 (Larry Herrmann): Good to see you man. Hey.

                                           Chris.

Christopher Herrmann: Hey, Larry, how you been?

Man 6 (Larry Herrmann): You’re not getting away with

                                           a handshake. Come here,

                                           little brother.

Christopher Herrmann: Yeah, good to see you.

Man 6 (Larry Herrmann): [chuckles] All right.

                                           Hey.

Christopher Herrmann: Hey. Wow you guys have grown.

Man 6 (Larry Herrmann): Yeah. How long has it been since

                                           you’ve been here?

Christopher Herrmann: I… don’t remember. Uh, dad around?

Man 6 (Larry Herrmann): No, he’s in Boston. He’s supposed

                                           to be selling socks to Filene’s

                                           basement, but he’s probably

                                           already in line for bleacher seats at

                                           Fenway. Randy called and said you

                                           were down about dad. So come on.

                                           There’s something you should see.

Man 6 (Larry Herrmann): You should hear him talk about his

                                           son the firefighter. I can’t get him

                                           to shut up about it.

                                                  cutscene

                                          [dishes clattering]

Chief Boden: Okay.

                        Mrs Leppert.

Lady 1 (Mom/Mrs Leppert): Chief.

                                                Hello. I’m sorry to bother you.

Chief Boden: No, not at all. We’re all very sorry about your

                       son.

Lady 1 (Mom/Mrs Leppert): Thank you. You may know he was

                                                here once. And… he wanted to

                                                be a fireman ever since. Anyway,

                                                he would have been happy to

                                                know you guys were there at the

                                                end. And he would have wanted

                                                you to have this. Thank you for

                                                what you do in this

                                                neighbourhood.

Chief Boden: Thank you.

                        We owe this kid. We owe Taye better than this.

                         We are better than this.

                                              [somber music]

Christopher Herrmann: I have an idea.

Chief Boden: Ten-hut!

Chief Boden: Present arms!

                                               - end -

Definitions:

Saikensha wa saimusha yori kioku yoshi = Creditors have better memories than debtors

Hope springs eternal = Said when you continue to hope that something will happen, although it seems unlikely

10-1 = Fireman/firemen needs emergency help

Frick and Frack = English slang term used to refer to two people so closely associated as to be indistinguishable

Filene’s Basement = Department store company

Ten-hut = Come to attention!

[sasuhinasno1fan]

Goodbye, I’ll see you when I get back-Lukadrien June Day 27

It was a toss up between this and the Chronicles of Narnia au I came up with today. I might slip in the Narnia AU later. Anyway, this is a Jinx au, the book written by Meg Cabot. In this AU, Lila is Luka’s cousin on his uncle’s side and Sass is his cousin on his mom’s.  Goodbye

Luka liked this, making out with Adrien. Before, it had just been them hanging out and ignoring Lila’s many attempts to get Adrien’s attention. Even worse attempts at magic. Now he could make out with Adrien and he wasn’t so afraid of his magic anymore.

His family was special. There was a story about a woman from their family who was called a witch and died in America, leaving her children alone during the witch trials. Thing was, she actually was one. Her tell was her Heterochromia, something not common then, or at least common enough to have a name other than ‘tainted with the devil’. Luka had Heterochromia, mild, but it was still there. He was always having bad luck, knew when things were going to go badly and just reacted to try and stop them. like when he pushed Adrien out of the way of a passing biker the first time, they met because of the red of a door looking a lot like blood. For a long time, he just waved it off as stories, something their grandmother would tell when family gatherings happened. Sass was interested in the history of it and their other cousin Lila, well she took it farther.

Luka never believed it but then he met her. It was so stupid, he knew it was, but he was able to find a love spell and he cast it. At first it was just her paying attention to him, then asking him out. Then it got out of hand, to a stalker level. Like, they lived on a boat, leaving every few months. They’d been sailing and somehow, she ended up on a boat following them. It was the whole reason he was even in Paris and not with his family. He wanted nothing to do with magic after that. Of course it was his luck that Lila was very into it, thinking she was a special second witch after the whole story about there being one user in each family.

Luka wanted nothing to do with it, but with Lila trying to cast love spells and attempting curses, he had no choice. When Adrien kept showing interest in Luka, Lila decided to play a different field. She ‘changed’ for the better. Sass didn’t believe it for a second, warning Luka she was trying something. Adrien had as well, but Luka held hope. Until Lila invited his love spelled old crush to their school dance. When his cousin started talking about what he’d done and then tried to pin her own love spell attempts on him, Luka left, angry and frustrated. He’d had a dream about his ancestor, the same one who was a witch, coming to him and telling him to stop being afraid of his power.

So when Lila basically kidnapped him and tried to do ritual that would take his powers and give them to her, he decided enough was enough. Adrien swears it had been because of noise, but Luka knew that Adrien was spelled to come look outside because he cast it. He helped save Luka and tell Luka’s aunt and uncle. Which led to now, Luka was a twisted ankle and a few bruises and a very nice new boyfriend.

One who was a very good kisser. Like really good. Adrien was younger than him, he wasn’t supposed to be this good.

“Ooh.” Sass teased as he walked into the dinning room where he and Adrien were supposed to be working on homework before they were very distracted. Sass had been a godsend throughout Luka’s whole stay, more interested in the history of magic than actually trying to use it. “Kissy kissy.”

“Can I help you?” Luka asked.

“Your mom is on the phone. Sounds like they’ve docked in the French countryside.”

Luka took the phone, not really moving far from Adrien. “Hi maman.”

“Hello mon trésor. How’s the ankle?”

“It’s doing well. I’ve been keeping off of it. Won’t be fully healed until halfway through summer vacation, but it’s ok. More time to play the violin.”

“Speaking of which, that scholarship, when do you have to play for them?”

Before the whole dance incident, Adrien had told Luka that their school offers scholarships for different departments and if he got it, Luka could attend the school for his last year instead of only staying for the rest of the year and moving back. Luka liked the school and he knew graduating from there would give him a great chance into getting into a university he wanted.

“I did it actually two days ago. I won’t find out until after exams though. But I think I did well. I just had this burst of inspiration and wrote a whole piece to preform for them.”

“You still have to let me listen to that.” Adrien whispered to him.

“Oh I’m so glad. I know got it; I have full confidence in you. however-”

“However? What can I not stay anymore?”

“No, no, of course you can. I think it would be so great for you there, even though your sister and I miss you like crazy. We just need you to come home for the break.”

“What? Why? Maman, I have a messed-up ankle. Being on a boat isn’t going to help.”

“Your aunt and I were talking and we think it’s probably best if Lila comes and lives with us on the boat. And I know that staying far away from her until she changes is a good idea but you need to understand. I sent you to Paris to be safe and then the girl invites your stalker to your dance as well as tries to hurt you and lie to get out of it? You’re lucky I even said yes to you staying for another year. I want to see that you’re ok with my own eyes.”

Luka wanted to argue but he couldn’t. his mom was right. She travelled on a boat every few months, somethings longer and she thought Paris would be safe for Luka. he had a twisted ankle and a magic hungry cousin that said different.

“Fine, ok. I’ll come back.”

“What’s going on?” Adrien whispered, no doubt seeing the frown grow on Luka’s face.

“I have to go back home for the break.”

“For how long?”

“I think the whole break.”

                                              __________________

Luka hated having to leave. He’d lived on a boat his whole life so there was never really a place that felt like home for him other than the Liberty. Paris was starting to feel like that. He knew he’d be going back in a few months, but it felt like he didn’t get to spend a whole lot of time with Adrien. Staying in contact on the boat would be hard. Half the reason Lila was going there was so she learned to live without easy access to things. His mom did have a hotspot but it wasn’t absolute. Plus phone service wasn’t also the greatest. He liked Adrien, a lot. He’d been so nervous about actually dating anyone after his mishap with the love spell but Adrien was worth it. Besides, Sass helped him find a spell to cancel his love spell so he was able to take care of that before his former stalker went back home. Things were good with Adrien and he didn’t want to leave.

But here he was in the train station, with a sudden cheap trip his mom got hold of. He didn’t get to say goodbye and he was worried Adrien would take that the wrong way, along with the distance. He could only hope his message he left with Sass would help keep things together.

“Alright, ready?” the assistant his aunt got for him, since he was still on crutches, came back from quickly using the bathroom before they headed to security.

“I guess.”

Luka fiddled with his passport and ticket, watching as they got closer to security when he heard his name.

“Luka, wait!”

He leaned over the arm of the chair to see Adrien and Sass.

“Do you know them?”

“Yes, please turn around.”

Adrien was out of breath by the time he reached them. “Hi.”

“Hey, what are you doing here? I thought you were at an event with your parents?” the suit told Luka he had been.

Adrien kneeled down so they’d been at the same eye level. “I was. Sass texted me and told me your mom got you an early ticket and how you were leaving tonight and I didn’t want you to leave before I could say goodbye. Well, maybe more ‘see you soon’ but you know.”

Luka couldn’t help it, he tugged Adrien over and kissed him. “Goodbye. I’ll see you when I get back. And I’ll text you when I get home.”

“Yeah, dad wants to do some forest shoots for his new line, maybe I can convince him to set up near you.”

“Sure. I’d like that. Oh!” Luka dug his hand in his bag and pulled out an SD card. “Here. It’s the recording the school took of my performance for the scholarship. I got it by the way. They told my aunt when she convinced them to send my final exams ahead. You said you wanted to hear it and I wrote it with you in mind.”

Adrien looked honoured as he took the SD card. “I can’t wait to hear it.”

“Train 392 is boarding at gate F.”

“That’s my train. So goodbye?”

“I’ll see you when you get back.” Adrien promised, pressing another kiss onto Luka’s lips.

He might not have wanted to leave but Adrien coming all the way down meant a lot. He wondered if it would be in bad taste to make a few ‘dream of me’ pouches with Adrien in mind.

Then again, maybe no magic around Lila.

[fortheloveoffanfic]

The Reveal

Keanu Reeves x Reader (A/n- Written in the The One That Stays universe, because I love it, and those characters so much. This is about 3 years post the last chapter, and I was really iffy about posting it, but here we are anyway.) 

Warnings- Nothing really, just pregnancy and fluff. 

“And I thought I loved you then.” -Then, Brad Paisley 

Warm yellow rays from the barely cloudy sky cast a picturesque gleam on the surface of cool, blue water. That day, thankfully, hadn't been as sweltering as the ones in the weeks gone by, and the forecast predicted for that weekend had been one conducive to recreational boating, which was why they'd decided to rent a yacht for the weekend. Joining them had been Keanu's side of the family, his sister, her husband and his mother, along with Julie, her husband Eric and their two year old Lucas.

It was their second day out on the water, anchored off the coast of Los Angeles and by late afternoon, everyone had gathered on deck, around the small pool to hang out. Eric had taken to the pool to humor Lucas, as had Keanu's brother in law, while everyone else had kicked back on lounge chairs. Y/n was laid back on Keanu's chest, his worn shirt soft and comforting against her exposure arms as his legs spread slightly to accommodate her bare one. One of his large hands were splayed on her stomach, while the other absently twirled the ends of her hair, something he'd taken to doing after she'd let her tresses grow out a bit longer, all while Y/n toyed with her wedding band. The diamonds shone proudly in the sunlight, and though the ring hand made its home on her finger almost two years ago, Y/n couldn't help but smile faintly. She was Mrs. Y/n Reeves. 

"You okay?" Keanu broke her thoughts, gently rubbing her rounded stomach. They were just under four months shy of welcoming their first child. They’d been discussing having a baby even before they married, in a small ceremony at Keanu’s favorite hotel, but hadn’t gotten down to actually trying until about a year earlier, when he had decided to cut back on the amount of roles he took and Y/n’s work schedule cleared up. Thankfully, though their road to pregnancy hadn’t been a trying one, they were both fairly healthy and it greatly helped that they were usually all over each other, and within about three months of being off her birth control, they had taken a home test, which had confirmed that Y/n was indeed pregnant. Since then, Keanu’s protectiveness had nearly quadrupled; the woman he loved was carrying their child, and he’d be damned if anything remotely bad happened to either of his favorite people.

Shifting a bit in his embrace, she laid one of her smaller hands next to his, feeling the light kicks of their baby, like butterflies fluttering in her stomach. According to Julie, those were only going to get stronger, and apparently a little painful, but Y/n didn’t care, she’d endure it any day if the reward was having their child in her arms afterwards. “Yeah,” Y/n smiled softly, nuzzling his chest with her cheek, “I’m good, we both are.”

“Good,” Keanu bent to kiss the top of her head, reassured for the time being. He’d been a little skeptical when Y/n and his sister had conjured up the idea of taking a boat out for the weekend; out on the water, if anything happened to her, getting to her doctor or the hospital would take longer than he preferred, and there had already some difficulties that had him almost constantly on edge. But, alas, Y/n was extremely persuasive and eventually convinced him that she was fine to get away for the long weekend, “And-”

A gasp from his mother, Patrica from her own chair as she set her cocktail down cut off Keanu’s words, and everyone turned to her, “I just remembered,” she sat up, eyes fixed on them both, “You two had an appointment this week, did Dr. Shaw tell you the sex?”

Boy or girl, it had recently become a hot topic in the Reeves family. Every time they all met, it somehow came up; what family names would work if it were a boy, how cute they’d dress up a little girl and Y/n was even sure that their was a bet going on between her sister-in-law and Julie, “We didn’t,” Keanu chuckled, “This little one was turned away from us; shy like their mommy.”

“And their daddy!” Y/n playfully slapped his thigh, giggling when he tucked her closer. When their laughter died down, Y/n elaborated, “I promise, you’ll be the first call when we find out.”

“Call?” Patrica repeated incredulously, as if the word were a capital crime in itself. How dare they simply call?

“We’ll take you to dinner?” Keanu scrunched his nose, trying to appease her. He knew it was a big deal, almost every family member had made sure to remind them of it, but surely, it couldn’t be that big. 

“Dinner- ugh,” she put a long, manicured finger to her temple, her entire, though possibly exasperated expression, was hidden by her dark sunglasses, though, her words were enough to tell them just how much a their options had not sufficed, “I’ve waited twenty years for my only son to get married to a nice girl. And now, they’re having a baby, and all I get, after all this waiting, is a phone call? My grand-baby is worth more than a phone call, you need to have a reveal.”

Julie squealed in agreement, “Oh! That would be perfect! You could do it where we had ours, at that cute little pastry shop in the city.” Y/n remembered that party well, especially since she’d nearly planned the entire thing. Julie had gone the perhaps, more old fashioned route, with a cake reveal. They’d rented out her favorite shop for an afternoon and gathered their closest friends and family for the vintage style soiree, where everyone was encouraged to wear a color that matched their suspicions; pastel blues and greens for a boy and light pinks and purples for a girl. Y/n, who’d been sure that she was going to have a godson from the very beginning, had opted for a cute blue dress with white lace trimming, claiming victory over Keanu who’d opted for a pink, which he dubbed salmon, shirt. 

“A gender reveal?” Y/n shifted again, scooting upwards, aided by Keanu and subsequently tucking her head in his neck after turning on her side. Quite recently, finding comfortable positions had started becoming quite a daunting task, but somehow, being cuddled to, or rather on top of,  Keanu had remained Y/n’s favorite. “We didn’t really think of doing one of those, my mom already wants to do a baby shower, we just feel like it's too much.”

“Yeah,” Keanu chimed in, trying to be another voice of reason, “Besides, that’s a lot of work, and we’re supposed to be keeping an eye on her blood pressure-”

“Well then let me plan it,” his mother protested, determined to have a reveal, “I’m sure Julie and Karina will help, and we can have it at her place too.”

Perking up, Karina joined their conversation, “Oh! That would be perfect,” she clapped her hands excitedly, no doubt on board with the idea. She’d been bursting with excitement since they’d announced that they were expecting, teasing that having a baby in the family this time around would be more fun considering she wasn’t the one who’d have to wake up at four am feedings. She was however, down to babysit whenever her niece or nephew started sleeping through the night. Yeah, their family thought of it all. “I’d love to help!”

“Count me in too,” Julie beamed, taking her son in her arms just as Eric came out from the pool, handing him over so he could go get Lucas a towel. 

And then, before Y/n and Keanu knew it, the three women were all involved in planning a party that they hadn’t even signed off on, though, at that point, it was clear that they didn’t have a choice anyway. “Perfect, all you two will have to do is show up,” she smiled triumphantly.

Three weeks later Y/n was a the snack table, surveying its contents and deciding if she wanted something, when Keanu came up behind her, causing her to jump with he placed  gentle hands on her shoulders, pecking the crown of Y/n’s hair, “It’s just me sweetheart,” he chuckled, his baritone warm and familiar.

“You startled me,” Y/n pressed one hand to her chest over the neckline of her white flowing dress, while the other cradled her bump. The little, unofficial planning committee had instructed guests to wear white, though, the decor had entailed a charming mix of baby blue and a light pink, beautifully mixed to compliment each other. The deserts; everything from inviting cupcakes to cute cake pops and elegant looking macaroons, and party favors, mostly made of little pouches filled with jelly beans along with fuzzy topped pens along with several other little trinkets, were also color coordinated. The ladies had really gone out, though arguably, simple wasn’t exactly their MO. “This is supposed to be a gender reveal, not a baby reveal,” she joked, turning to face Keanu.

“You’re right,” his lips brushed her forehead, one of his hands on her waist sliding to her stomach, “Wouldn’t want our bun popping out too soon,” he crouched down, so he could ‘talk to the baby,’ something he’d been doing for months now, “As excited as we are to meet you, you still gotta keep mommy company in there for a few more months.”

Threading her delicate hand through his dark mane a fond sorire upturned Y/n’s pink stained lips. She absolutely adored those little moments that Keanu would spend chatting with their baby, at first, he’d started with brief sentences, ‘I love you’s and ‘can’t wait to meet you’s, but as months drew on, and it the reality set in, Keanu had started reading to her belly, and sometimes at night, when he’d join her in bed, he could spend well over an hour talking about all the things he’d teach them as they grew up. Already, he was proving to be an exceptional father; extremely loving and always ready to put his wife and child first, and Y/n knew that things would only get better when they met their baby. 

She was so lost in her own thoughts, that Y/n had barely heard a thing of what Keanu had said, only returning to the moment when he pressed a chaste kiss to her tummy, offering one final declaration of love before standing again and heading to another end of the table after kissing Y/n one last time. "What are you doing?" She giggled as he picked up a pen and a little blank card out of a stack next to two decorative wooden boxes. The entire set up was for one of the many games being run that day, where their guests could vote on their options. Before the reveal later that evening, someone was supposed to count them and the reward would be satisfaction at the end. 

"I'm placing my bet," Keanu defended, scribbling on the white surface as he spoke.

"It's not a bet," Y/n placed a hand at the top of her growing bump as she made her way over to him, standing on her toes to peer over the loose shield he'd made with his hand, "You're going with girl again, huh?"

"Hey, Julie and Eric's baby was one thing, but I think I know our kid," folding the card in half, creasing it for emphasis, Keanu slipped it into the box with the word "girl” carved in cursive at the front, "This baby," he palmed her stomach with both hands, "Is definitely a girl."

Rolling her eyes, Y/n decided that she'd get in on it too, plucking on of the cards from its spot, swiping the pen from off the table and using Keanu's chest to press on, "Well, you must like being wrong," she chewed on her lower lip as she wrote, dramatically showing Keanu what she'd written before slipping it into the matching box labeled boy, "I was right then, and I'm right now."

"And how are you so sure of that?" The giddy smile of both their faces didn't show any signs of fading as Keanu reeled Y/n back in, "Why don't we bet on it?"

“Because I’m carrying the baby, duh,” she rolled her eyes playfully. Throwing her arms around his neck, Y/n twirled the ends of Keanu's hair in her fingers, leaning into his chest as far as she could, "And yeah,”  his arms circled Y/n's waist, toying with the lace on her flowing maxi dress, "Let's do it. What does the winner get?"

Keanu scrunched up his face, looking up thoughtfully, "The winner gets….." he thought on it some more, "Whatever they want."

Y/n eyed her husband suspiciously for a minute, a little curious about what he could possibly want, if by some miracle, he won. "Okay," she finally said, “Winner gets whatever they want,” Y/n smiled mischievously, almost certain that she would be triumphant. 

Hours later, just before noon had turned to evening and when the brightness had gone hazy as the sun journeyed to the horizon, everyone had gathered in the backyard, on the lawn for the long awaited moment. It was time for the reveal. They’d gone with a balloon reveal, and when it was time, Y/n and Keanu were positioned near the fence, just a few feet in front of their family and friends, all ready with phone and cameras. Keanu held on to the string of the large, shiny black balloon, one with a silver question mark painted on at the front, while Y/n had been armed with a metal skewer from Karina’s kitchen.

Just about an hour earlier, the contents of both boxes had been counted, and the team banking on Baby Reeves being a boy had come in strong, outnumbering the other side by a landslide. The small victory, though it couldn’t be considered a real prediction, had only built Y/n’s faith in her own suspicions, almost everyone, even down to her own parents, were convinced that she and Keanu would be greeting a son in the coming months. 

“Ready?” Keanu’s eyes met hers, the nerves shared between them, along with bright, excited grins plastered on both their faces. They both knew that in the end; boy or girl, daughter or son, it wouldn’t matter. None of it would matter as long as their baby was healthy and safe.

Y/n nodded vigorously, using her free hand to tuck some hair behind her ear, positioning the skewer near the opaque balloon, “Yeah.” Somewhere in the crowd, she heard her mother anxiously prompt her to “just do it already,” while someone else interjected that their camera was ready, “Okay, okay,” Y/n laughed, ready to get on with the moment of truth.

Taking a deep breath, Y/n didn’t even try to steady her shaking hand as she finally pressed the tip of the stick to the balloon, wincing and shutting her eyes tightly at the loud popping sound. The crowd cheered loudly, jubilance igniting a celebration and when Y/n opened her eyes, her jaw hung slack with shock. Rendered speechless, she just stood there, rooted to the floor, dropping the skewer and placing her hands on her stomach, barely smiling breathlessly at the patter of kicks beneath her palms. “Oh my god…..” Tears of joy welled up in her eyes as she raised her head to meet Keanu’s equally glistening gaze, “I…..”

For a second, he too seemed shocked, and the jeers of congratulations faded in the background as everything moved in slow motion. She could have sworn that there had never been so much love in his eyes, and Keanu thought that he’d never been that happy, though, their wedding day came in at a very close second. Suddenly, the prospect of parenthood seemed a thousand times realer. After that evening, so much would change, they would finally choose a name. 

Without another moment of hesitation, Keanu took her into his strong arms, lifting Y/n off the ground and spinning her in a circle and planting a passionate on her ready lips. In turn, she hugged him tightly, forgetting everything and everyone else as they basked in their joy. “So,” he began when he set her down, brushing some pink confetti off her shoulders and picking a couple similar pieces out of her hair, “I guess you were wrong,” he chortled, still holding her close. 

Nodding, Y/n looked at the ground around them; the healthy green grass was now freckled with bits of fuchsia pink, “I guess I was, we’re having a little girl,” she kissed him again, that time quicker, not even caring that everyone was still taking pictures of them, “You win.”

“I do,” Keanu pressed their forehead together, the tip of his nose brushing hers. By then, they both looked equally rosy, the sheer joy of the matter seeping through their skin, “And I know just what I want to cash in my win for.”

“What’s that?” Y/n giggled.

“This,” and before she knew it, Keanu was dipping her, one hand holding Y/n steady at the center of her back, while the other cradled her head. Her loose tresses hung in a waterfall, disturbed only by Keanu’s stocky fingers, just as he captured her lips again, in a breath stealing bout of sweet endearment. 

******

Taglist- @harrisongslimited @magnificentclodpiebanana   @keandrews @greenmanalishi  @rdjloverxxx​  @danceoftwowolves​  

[knight-ingale]

Chapter 1, Leaving the Sun

A/N: hey, it's Knightingale! This is the first chapter of my Twilight fanfiction I started writing this year. I edited this after I posted on my laptop so hopefully it looks better. 2020 is a mess and I just wanted to write some garbage fanfiction. Let me know what you think of it!

---------------- 

You looked out the open car window into the wide expanse of Arizona’s cloudless open sky, a backdrop of perfect blue against the tall buildings placed in the desert of your home state. Soon, your new home would be in Forks, Washington, which differed very much from here. The open sky in Phoenix was ever-present, only gracing the dusty ground and perpetually dying lawns a few times each year with rain an average of 33 times. Yes, you had checked. In Forks, the sky was framed by tall trees when you looked up into the shaded clouds that were nearly always hanging in the air. The rain was just as present as the greenery that covered the trees, raining nearly every day. Phoenix was where you had lived with your sister and mother for all your life. Forks is the home of your father, Charlie. You call him “Dad” to his face, of course, but you had fallen into the same habit as your older sister Bella when addressing him to others as “Charlie”.  Last you had been to Forks was three summers ago when you had made your month-long summer visit to his little home in the rainy forests. Bella, your elder sister, who detested Forks, had put up enough of a fight to convince both your parents to let the two of you stay in Phoenix for the summer, bringing Charlie up instead for a mere two weeks in Cali. Now you and your sister were moving to live with him there!

You were much more excited about your leaving compared to your sister. You hadn’t been to Forks since you were 12 years old. You had often enjoyed your trips every summer, living with your dad for a month felt like a fairy tale. The large forests covered in green was like an alien world compared to Phoenix, as if you had stepped through a faery gate and was transported to another dimension. One filled with trees that held up the clouds, a place full of desaturated buildings full of cozy warmth and forgotten smiles.

You’re mother, Renne, broke you out of her daydreams with her voice, 

“Bella,” she sighs to your older sister, “You don’t have to do this.” She glances at you through the rear-view mirror, “Neither of you do.” she looks back to Bella, her main concern, with her sweet, childish eyes. You can see Bella’s face tighten with nervous anxiety in the car doors outside mirror. You knew why she was anxious. As much as you loved her, Renne could be a little… absent-minded sometimes. She wasn’t dumb or dull-minded, quite the opposite, actually. Her mind was always in so many places at once; like a box of little bunny rabbits, hopping energetically from place to place. Unfortunately, this caused her to forget things sometimes. Like having a bag of marbles, but the bottom seam of the bag is ripped and marbles keep spilling out. You can catch them and try to open the pouch and put them in, but you’d still keep dropping marbles. That’s why you and Bella were around, you caught all of the marbles and put them back in the bag before she ran off to a new idea, leaving her little thoughts behind. Bella sighs herself before finally speaking, 

“I want to go.” she lied. Everyone in the car knew that was a blatant lie, but she had said it so often lately, someone who didn’t know her would have believed it. Luckily for you, you had spent the last 15 years with her, you knew your sister and her habits better than she probably did. Your mom looks up to the rear-view again, but you just smile, 

“I’m actually excited to go to Forks, mom!” You playfully glare at Bella as you lean towards her shoulder of the seat, “Besides, I’ll consider this making up for Bells throwing a tantrum and keeping me from Charlie’s place for three years.” Bella scoffs as she rolls her eyes, but she can’t keep the smile off her face, 

“You say that like I’ve forgiven you for pretending to be ‘Bloody Mary’” she jokes. You laugh. You lean back in your seat, letting the relative silence continue, the only hearing the quiet melodies on the radio and the rushing of wind as you neared your first destination, the airport.

When you had reached the airport and gotten your suitcases out of the back. Even between the two of you, there wasn’t much, only a few bags per person. Due to the near-polar-opposites of your parent’s climates, not much of your wardrobe was suitable for Forks’ usual weather forecasts. You and Bella actually had to go out and buy the warmest clothing possible manufactured in Phoenix, which wasn’t much, due to the near insufferable heat of the summer and mild heat that still hung around in the dead of winter months. Once you both had your bags out of the car, Renne turned to you both, looking equal parts loving and anxious.

“Tell Charlie I said ‘hi’” You smile, 

“We will,” You both answer. Your mom grabs one of your and Bella’s hands, 

“I’ll see you soon,” she insists, worry burning in her eyes, “You girls can come home whenever you want- I’ll come right back as soon as you need me!” Bella almost noticeably winces, she knows your mom really loved you both, but she was in love and wanted to spend time with your traveling step-father, Phil.

“Don’t worry about us,” She urges, “It’ll be great. I love you, Mom.” You smile and pull your mom into a hug, entrapping Bella into your cocoon of love with you.

“I love you, Mom.” you murmur into her ear. 

With that, you and Bella set off into the airport’s main building, taking the path familiar to you, one that you had taken with your sister every summer until three years ago.

Going through customs was easy, the only three carry on items being a pair of cheap earbuds, an iPod mini, and a parka. The parka for the predictable forecast of rainy weather, and the iPod to keep yourself entertained during the 4-hour flight. You were delighted when no one was sitting in the third seat in your row, but it was only to be expected. There weren’t many people coming from the blistering heat of Phoenix willingly leaving for the downcast rain puddle that is Forks, Washington.

Once the plane had landed, you and Bella stepped out into the rainy sky of Port Angeles. Charlie, your father was waiting for you both in the police cruiser, like he had every year you visited before. Charlie, being the Chief of Police in town, only drove the cruiser, instead of getting his own car. It made sense to you, why buy another of something you already have that works perfectly? Bella however did not like the idea of being driven around in it. Something Bella had adamantly refused to endure was riding to school in the cop car, “Nothing slows down traffic like a cop,” she complained. Because of this, she was hellbent on buying her own vehicle to drive to school in, regardless of her smaller-than-desired budget.

Charlie welcomed you both as you boarded off of the plane, well, Bella more stumbled. That’s why you had come off first, grabbing her arm to keep her from having a personal encounter with the asphalt landing beneath you. Charlie awkwardly hugged you both.

“It’s good to see you girls,” he says smiling at you both as he pulls away. “You haven’t changed much, Bells. Y/n, you’ve grown taller, kiddo!” he laughs, “How’s Renee?” 

“Mom’s fine, It’s good to see you too, Dad.” Bella answers. Of course, she doesn’t call him Charlie to his face. You smile, 

“Mom says ‘Hi’” Charlie nods and helps you both with your luggage. All of Bella’s things fit into the trunk, as well as most of your own, you only needed to put your biggest case of clothing with you in the back. As soon as you all strap into the cruiser, Charlie makes an announcement,

“I found a good car for the two of you, really cheap.” A car? 

“What kind of car?” Bella asks suspiciously.

“Well, it’s a truck actually, a Chevy.” Oh, a truck. Maybe then it’d be more durable. God knows you’d need it. You didn’t have your license yet, so Bella was the only option to get you to school. If you didn’t want to be brought to school behind the separation grate of a cop car, that is.

“Where did you find it?” Bella asks.

“Do you remember Billy Black down at La Push?” La Push was the little Native-American reservation down at the coast if you remembered right. Billy, Billy… You let out a little “oh!” before Bella can respond.

“He was that guy we’d go fishing with, right?” You remembered him faintly. He lived on the reservation with two, no, three kids. You remembered two sisters, twins, and a little boy. Man, you hadn’t thought about them in years! Of course, that couldn’t be helped, since Bella treated Forks liked it was cursed with the plague for years, enough to stop your summerly visits.

“Yup, that’s him,” your dad confirms, “He’s in a wheelchair now, so he can’t drive anymore, and he offered to sell me his truck cheap.” Bella, ever suspicious of this vehicle, prods further, 

“What year is it?”  You can see Charlie make a slight face at Bella’s question, 

“Well… Billy’s done some work to the engine- it’s only a few years old really,” he tries vainly. 

“When did he buy it?” Bella continues. 

“He bought it in 1984, I think.”

“Did he buy it new?” Charlie sighs at the question, 

“Well, no. I think it was new in the early sixties- or late fifties, at the earliest,” he admits. Bella sigh herself, 

“Ch- Dad,” she starts, “Neither Y/N or I know anything about cars! We wouldn’t be able to fix it if anything went wrong, and I can’t really afford a mechanic-” she rambles anxiously before Charlie stops her, 

“Really, Bella, the thing runs great. They don’t build them like that anymore.” Bella stews in her thoughts for a moment, you break the silence, 

“I mean, if anything, I’m more than happy to get to school in something other than the back of a cop car,” you laugh easily, “I mean, can you imagine, coming to school on the first day in the back of the Chief’s cruiser like a criminal? Talk about a first impression!” Charlie is able to laugh at your light humor with you before Bella asks another question, 

“How cheap is… cheap?” she asks, quieting your laughter quickly. 

“Well, girls, I kind of already bought it for you. As a homecoming gift.” you can see Charlie peek over at Bella before glancing at you through the rear-view hopefully. Already… wow, was the truck free?

“You didn’t have to do that, Dad, I was going to buy us a car myself,” Bella says. Charlie looks straight ahead at the road before answering, obviously trying to get his emotions out without his usual awkwardness.

“I don’t mind. I want you to be happy here.” His last sentence was obviously more pointed at your sister than you. She had never really hidden her… distaste for Forks. Charlie seemed rather pleased the two of you had willingly decided to come live with him for a more permanent amount of time.

“That’s really nice Dad,” Bella says, looking straight out the front window, just like your dad. “Thanks, I really appreciate it.” You smile at the two in front of you, 

“Thanks, Dad!” He makes a gruff sound of affirmation, slightly awkward, but mostly pleased at your positive reaction,

“Well, now, you’re welcome.” You settled against the window and car door and pop your earbuds in their place as you press play on your iPod. You look out through a rain covered window, alternating between watching the terrain run behind you and focusing on the water droplets streaking across the glass, seeing which ones met the bottom first.

Eventually, you made it home. You recognized the curve of the road, seeing a peek of the washed-out color of the white house and dark roof through the brilliant green of the trees. What was the most eye-catching about the scene was the contrasting red truck in the driveway. Bella hopped out of the front with almost excited energy. 

“Wow Dad,” she exclaims slightly louder than her usual, quiet volume, “I love it! Thanks!” You climbed out of the back, pausing your music and stuffing the earbuds into your pocket as you made your way beside your sister. Despite being the complementary color of green, the washed-out fade of the red paint made the truck look perfect in the surrounding environment. It was big and old, but it was sturdy looking, like a little tank. This was definitely one of the trucks that could get in a collision and crush the opposing vehicle like an empty soda can. At least if Bella managed to crash the two of you, you’d probably live!

Charlie calls you both to the back of the truck after accepting your thanks and words of appreciation as best as he could, helping you both unpack your luggage from the cruiser. It only took one trip. Bella carried her luggage upstairs with your dad’s help, and you dragged your own into your room on the main floor of the house. 

Originally, you and Bella had shared the nursery, but around 11 years old, the two of you convinced (or complained, depends on who you ask)  your dad to let you and Bella have separate rooms. Your little room was wedged between the stairs and the living room, the smallest room in the house. It wasn’t bad though. The walls were painted navy blue with old glow in the dark stars stuck all over the popcorn ceiling and tops of the walls. You still had the white garlands of Christmas lights tacked up the to corners of your ceilings, and the lace curtains still hung over the window. Your window faced the back of the house directly into the forest behind. There was enough room for your twin-sized bed and a small desk and bookshelf shoved into one corner, your dresser snug in a corner on one side of your bed, and nightstand on the other. There was an old computer upstairs in Bella’s room, the nursery. Your mom had all but demanded it be there for easy communication. You missed her already.

You didn’t set to really putting your room together, other than putting clothes in drawers and hanging what little you had in the closet. You decided you’d unpack all personal items later, but dug out your backpack. A white canvas backpack with two bottle pockets on the sides and a smaller, extra on the front. You had doodled on it with markers last year, but it hadn’t fallen apart yet so you had been using it this year too. Your now emptied folders and binders took up space in the main pocket; your pencil case and an extra pencil case full of period products housed in the smaller one. Your backpack was set. You decide on what to wear for tomorrow, familiarizing yourself with your new set up in the process. By the time you had busied yourself with the small tasks you could, the sun had fully set behind the cover of clouds.

You made your way upstairs to your sister’s room, peaking your head through the door. Bella had put on her pajamas and was sitting in bed, gazing out into the night. In the low light of the lamp she had on, you could see she wasn’t feeling great about tomorrow.

“Hey Bells,” you call softly. She looks over to you, not bothering to change her expression. She already learned she couldn’t hide how she felt around you, so she stopped trying quite a while ago. “Not excited for tomorrow, huh?” You slide into the room fully, gently closing the door behind you. She sighs as you set down across from her.

“Not really.” She admits. “Forks Highs-school only has three hundred and fifty-seven students,”

“Now fifty-eight,” you interject. She nods and closes her eyes, 

“Exactly. Everyone around here has grown up together- their grandparents were toddlers together! We’re the new girls from the big city-”

“A curiosity,” you agree tiredly, 

“A freak,” she grumbles pessimistically. “I mean, we don’t look how girls from Phoenix should, I know I don’t. I should be tan, sporty, blonde- a volleyball player, or a cheerleader, perhaps- everything people think about when they think of living in the valley of the sun!”

“You know neither of us should ever be let in a quarter-mile vicinity of a volleyball, first of all-” you joke, “and second, I don’t think being sporty or tan would really help anyway. If Phoenix is the ‘valley of the sun’, then Forks in “the valley of rain clouds’. I don’t think a lot of the other white people here are going to be very tan.” Bella manages a genuine, albeit small, laugh. “I don’t think we’d fit in anywhere, Bells, not unless we find people like us.” She sighs, 

“Other people with glitches in their brains.” You shrug, 

“I don’t think its a glitch. We’re just wired differently. Besides, our brains are literally meat-jello full of electricity, some of them are bound to work a little strange, right?” She laughs, louder this time. You give her a side hug before standing up. “Alright, I’m heading to bed. See you in the morning.”

“Goodnight,”’ Bella says un-enthusiastically. You exit the room and call down the short hallway to Charlie’s room, 

“Night, Dad!” He pokes his head out of the door a moment after, 

“Night honey, see you in the morning.” He goes back to his room and closes the door. You trail your way down the stairs and to your room before crawling under the blankets. You were going to need your sleep for tomorrow. After all, you were starting your first day at a new school. Forks High, now at a population of 359.

[tatratcoon]

School days TokitouTwins x ChildhoodFriendReader

Summary:You and the Tokitou twins have always been close until you went to middle school, with you creating distance between the three of you. 

Warnings: none really, fluffy ending?

You felt awkward between the twins, this was the worst scenario you could think of being in right now. You were in the middle of them like a sandwich, no one was talking and the feeling of dread was prevalent in your stomach. You then began to retrace your steps on how you got in this troublesome position.

"Look! Here they come!" your friend says with enthusiasm as two people made their way into the lunchroom. You looked indifferent to the situation just trying to eat your food in peace. However, you were curious as to what she was referring to even if you knew she was talking about those two. You could hear people making their way to them and trying to converse with them. "this is dumb" you thought as you took a bite from your food. You turned around again only to see them more clearly, the Tokitou twins.

"Man I wished they would notice me, being friends with them is like finding gold," your friend says with a defeated sigh.

"Yeah right..." you said under your breath with a sarcastic tone, not long after you and Muichiro made eye contact.

"shit," you thought as you quickly averted your eyes from him. You felt awkward when you would see one of the twins, or make contact with them, it felt even more awkward since you three had the same class, and sat by each other afterward. You knew you shouldn't be feeling this way when you knew the two so well and was their childhood friend. However, you choose to ignore that and keep escaping them.

Lunch was soon over and you walked into the chaotic hallways, trying to walk to the next class with a dreading feeling in each step.

The class was in session, boring as usual, and not a thing had changed. The outside looked nice, however. That blue hue had filled the sky with the sun shown brightly across the land. Clouds were nice and full, and the cherry blossoms looked as if they were about to fully bloom this time. "It would be nice to cloud gaze and sleep outside," you thought.

Your thoughts were soon interrupted when the teacher gave out pieces of paper to each of the students and said to complete the given questions that were on the sheet. You lazily took out your pouch and tried grabbing a pencil.

"wait....i...i don't have a pencil" you mentally facepalmed your self forgetting a pencil. You looked down to see if there was a pencil nearby or someone had just dropped once since the last class. Unfourtiantly there was none.

"Gosh, how am I going to get one now! The guy in front of me is stingy with his pencils and the person behind me is gone for the day. That only means...." you looked to your right.

...Yuuichiro...

"This can't be happening right now...but I need to get this over with"

You mustered any courage you had and tapped Yuui lightly on his shoulder

Yuuichiro turned and looked at you, a bit surprised but then went back to his normal face.

"Tokitou can I borrow a pencil?" you nervously asked. You knew Yuui to be quite stingy with his belongings except with Mui and you. Though you did expect him to not give you one since you haven't talked to him after your first-year in middle school.

Yuuichiro stared at you for a bit then reached down and grabbed a pencil

" Here," he said as you happily take the pencil with no hesitation.

"Thank you!" you replied as you began to work on your assignment with ease.

Little did you know that Yuui gave a small smile when you said thanks.

...

It was time to go home, you started to pack up your stuff when you heard a conversation with some people and the Tokitou twins

"Hey you guys want to go out to eat with us," one of the boys asked.

"Yeah, it would be soo~ fun with you two," a girl said while inching closer to Mui's face. You couldn't help but gag at her advances.

" Yuui is probs gonna make sure that she won't do that again," you think as you let out a small chuckle grabbing your coat.

Yuuichiro pulled Muichiro away from the girl

"Sorry we can't come, we have a club meeting," Yuui said with an awkward expression on his face. He looked like he was trying to be polite without hurting their feelings.

"don't you two only have shogi on Tuesdays?" one of them asked questioningly.  

"We have a competition coming soon, so we need to practice, plus we have an interview " Mui replied

"wait...all week...Ah then this means I'll be good for the rest of the weak"

you relax a bit more with that news.

you quickly went around both of them and the group and went on your way to your house. You wondered if you should go take the way you used to go on since the twins were at the club and it was easier, but you decided that you weren't going to take any chances. You took the other way which took you to the train station. The trains were packed as usual, and the sun was setting. you knew you weren't going to back home for a few hours now so you decided to take a rest for now.

"Just a few minutes won't hurt," you say as you then drift off to sleep.

Spring was in the air, and it seems as life was growing again. The flowers seemed to be in full bloom where you were, and you were sitting in a patch of your favorite flowers that seem to always grow in this place. As you began to pluck the petals from the flower, you heard two familiar voices.

"(Y/N)-chan!" The twins called in unison. You gave a bright smile as they came closer to you, you couldn't contain your joy any longer. "Hey, you two-"

Before you could even finish, the two boys had pounced on you you like prey. The three of you fell on the grass, luckily it was soft and neither of you guys got hurt. Soft laughter could be heard from the three of you, it seemed as if you were the only people in the universe.

"what are you two doing here?" you asked. The twins both looked at each other, then a smiled appeared on Muichiro's face as he hugged you. "just felt like it" Mui replied, with Yuui nodding along. "our dad was busy helping mom get better, so he allowed to come to your place" Yuui added.

The tree of you sat there, Mui clinging on to you and Yuui talking with you. "(y/n)-chan, will you walk with us to school tomorrow?" Mui asked while finally letting go of you. You smiled and nodded, "why wouldn't I? You guys are my best friends." The two of them smiled at your reply and both said in unison "(Y/N)-chan your the best!"

You couldn't help but blush a bit at their compliment, still, you smiled at them.

"both of them seem to know what's going on in each other's mind, I wonder is it some type of twin telepathy. Could it be something more or just a coincidence" you wondered? Your thoughts were interrupted by Muichiro tugging on you and Yuuichiro's sleeves. "Lets cloud gaze!" Mui said with a bright smile neither you nor Yuui could say no to.

You both happily watched the clouds with Mui without a care in the world, this memory felt nice and you never want to lose it.

You woke up immediately as you felt you were by your stop, without hesitation, you checked your phone to see that you had some miss calls from your friends. You gave out a tiered sigh and rubbed your head.

"what was that," you thought as you begin to recap your dream. You then realized it was a memory from when the three of you were young. Sometime in grade school, you believed, but why did you just have that memory now.

You arrived at your house, it took you a while but you still got home."(Y/N), finally your back. I feel like you've been coming home late on purpose, it's dark now!" your mom said with a worried expression

"Sorry mom, I blame the trains," you said with a bit of a chuckle." dear, I'm being serious, why don't you go the way you used to go..."

"Hey mom I'm feeling tired right now"

she sighed at your response and lightly shook her head" look that's fine and all, but eat first please"

you give out a tired sigh but nodded to her request, you were hungry as well, and you didn't want to sleep on an empty stomach.

The moment you got on your bed you turned on your T.V, you wanted to see what was on before you rested. Flipping on the channels you landed on an interview with the twins. They were talking about shogi and how they got good on it, you just looked at the screen with a pained expression wondering why are they always popping everywhere. you turned off the T.V and fell on your bed, while you suffocated yourself with your pillows. You turned your head to find the plushy the twins gave you when you were in grade school. You looked at the kinda pathetic face and gave a small smile, "where did this all start" you whispered to yourself.

You guys were super close and there was nothing that could get in the way of the three of you. Muichiro and Yuuichiro were opposites when hanging out with you, Mui was very affectioned while Yui wouldn't dare to show you his soft side, he was always a bit irritated however when Mui would not stop hugging you because he didn't want unnecessary rummers spreading between the two of you when they were not needed. Mui didn't seem to care and just kept on doing it only fueling up Yuichiro. You would always laugh and pat Yui on the head, which he may not have admitted, loved, and always kept him calm.

You three would always eat together, walk, and do activities, and that's how it was until middle school.

At first, it was nothing, you guys were still close

"let see, I only have one class with both of you, one with only Mui and one with only Yuui. " you said looking closely to your schedule. "aw, I thought I would have more with you~," Mui said in a whiney voice while hugging your arm. You didn't seem to mind since Mui is always like this with you, and it's not like he's harassing you.

"Yeah I would want more with you as well," you said with a sigh. You looked towards Yuui who seemed a bit aggravated, Mui looked at his brother and gave a small smirk as he proceeded to hug you. "Bro, are you perhaps  jelly that (Y/N) didn't say she wanted to have more classes with you as well?" Mui said with a smirk. Mui's face showed a hint of red, but not too much. "now that's a lie" Yuui said facing both of you, "now can you stop doing...that" his hand pointing at how Mui was hugging you.

"hm~? This?" Mui pulled you closer in his embrace, your face now buried in his arms. You glanced at Yuui, he seemed to be even more frustrated than before, Mui just gave a cheeky smile. You gave a defeated sigh and patted Yuui on the head. "Hey I want to have classes with you as well, after all, we're best friends," you said as small giggles escaped your lips, Yuui looked at you and gave a defeated smile.

You guys still kept hanging out and caught up on each other's day when walking back home together. However, the twins started gaining more popularity, more people would try to talk to them, get then to do activities with them, and eat lunch with them. You were delighted to know your best friends were getting attention; after all, they did deserve the best. The boys were smart, pretty athletic(despite their small bodies), and not that bad looking. The twins then started to attract secret admirers, especially girls.

You weren't bothered by that, you still hung out, but it was when bullies started to arise about you not being good enough for them, and claiming you were using them. Somehow there had been many times you wanted to hang out with them but so many others grabbed their attention it kinda left you feeling useless. Whenever you would talk to them, others would butt in and shove you to the side. The twins noticed and would always get mad about how these people treated you, but you told them to ignore it.

slowly you started to drift away from them

"Hey (Y/N) do you wanna be partners-"

"Sorry I'm working with my friend on this project"

"(Y/N) wanna hang out"

"Sorry guys got to study"

"(Y/N) why don't you walk with us anymore?"

"My mom says to now take the train"

"(y/n)-"

you would quickly turn the other direction, not daring to look at them. By the second year, you managed to become a stranger, no longer calling them by their first name. You made sure to avoid them at all cost, it hurts you, but you believed that they would be better off without you.

You're now in the middle of your third year, its become tougher now since you have most of your classes with them...

It was morning now, now it has become a routine, train, school, classes, classes, lunch, even more classes and the end of the day. You packed all your stuff, this time not rushing like usual. The twins would be doing club activities so you were safe.

Finally, at the entrance you looked at the cherry blossoms, the petals danced as they fell in your hands. They seemed to be everywhere now, "this is beautiful...." you said as you caught a petal that seemed if it was trying to get close to you. You smiled at the sight before you

"it would be nice to share this view with someone though," you thought as you heard a voice behind you

"(Y/N)?" you turned around slowly to meet the sight of the Tokitou twins before you, "crap". You mentally cursed yourself as you then began to run. You ran as fast as you could so you could at least not see their faces, only to hear both the twins running after you now. In the end, they caught you and made you walk with them. Thus here you are now, wishing you hadn't taken your time admiring those petals.

On your way home it was nothing but silence, it was extremely awkward for you as you didn't know what to do but mentally scream at yourself.

"so...I thought you guys had club today" you asked a bit sheepishly.

"We canceled it today" Yuuichiro replied, "oh christ what do I do now?!?!?" you thought

The silence lasted a bit longer until Muichiro decided to break it

"(y/n) do you hate us"

"eh?" you looked at him with a confused look" I could never hate you, why would I do that when I care for the both of you a lot" is what you wanted to say but you wouldn't allow yourself to do so.

" I don't hate you, why do you say that, " you asked with a nervous smile. The twins looked at you, and you could tell they weren't buying it. You could see their house and so you decided it would be a good time for you to rush your way home. As you approached the house you let out a sigh of relief.

" Well, it looks like we need to go our separate ways good-"

Before you could finish your sentence Muichiro pulled you into their house and pushed you to sit on their couch. It startled you how strong Mui was to push you with that amount of force but you quickly forget about it when the brothers started to interrogate you

"Do you hate us?"

"I don't"

" Liar" Yuui said with a sour tone. You could tell he was angry at you, and he the right to. You've ignored him and his brother for the past 1 1/2 years and not even spoken a word to them. You felt guilty as you looked at the brothers.

"(y/n) why have you been ignoring us?" Mui asked with concerned filled eyes

"Did we do something, have we said something?"

"no, it's not that..." you look at both of the twins, they were ready to hear what you had to say. You took a deep breath and began to speak.

"I don't deserve you two, you guys are so popular that you don't need someone like me. I feel like a shadow in the midst of you two and it feels overwhelming. Whenever I would even try to talk to both of you, I've always been pushed away. I care about You two and I didn't want to tarnish your reputation "

It was quiet for a while until you heard Yuui laughing, at this point you wanted to punch him. You spilling your feelings and he was laughing.

"Oh god (y/n) you haven't changed one bit, you're still an idiot," he said as he continued to laugh.

Nevermind, you wanted to kill him

As you were about to shout at him, you felt a familiar warmth on your hand. Mui was holding it as he looked at you, "Is that true, is that really how you've been feeling?" You let out a sigh and nodded your head. Then before you knew it, Mui hugged you, it felt nice as you began to remember the times your friend hugged you before and feeling it now was better than those memories.

You then heard Yuuichiro's laugh die down as he was now looking at you, he bent down making you look eye to eye with each other. "Idiot, do you think we care about some popularity status over you. Either you have lost your mind or you're just really dumb"

You looked at him now with irritation, you knew he meant his words but the way he phrased it made it seemed as if you were a stupid child. None the less it felt nice to know he cared about you.

He gave a cocky smile as he began to pat your head, "plus without you here, Mui would be depressed and miss you a whole lot."

Mui looked up at you and gave you a cheeky smile, "He says that, but he's over here being all giddy about the other day when you asked him for a pencil and thanked him. He was overjoyed that you finally spoke to him and he wouldn't stop smiling about it."

You could see that Yuui was extremely embarrassed as to what Mui said about him since his face had a tint of red to it now. He was pretty quiet now and looked away from you and Mui, this was all so nostalgic to you. The way they both acted, it felt nice, and you wondered why you left this behind.

You began to laugh now as you felt an overwhelming sense of joy fill you up.

"Why are you laughing," Yuui asked

"Because I've missed this, being with both of you," you said as you finally gave a warm smile, the both of them looked at you for a while since you haven't smiled at them for a while now. Like you, they were filled with joy and the three of you began to talk more with Mui hugging you and Yuui and you insulting each other but having fun with it. As the cherry blossoms bloomed again, so did your friendship.

end~