#she's their cute lil mascot

[betaminshitto]

Cringe gang

[iamquiantrelle]

PLAYING FOR KEEPS ────── iamquaintrelle (✨💕)

⌗ pairing : jules koundé x black oc

⌗ tags : @irishmanwhore @lettersofgold @deonn-jaelle @sucredreamer @greedyjudge2 @f1-football-fiend @2serenity0 @peyiswriting @coffeevacation

⌗ summary : jules is focused on himself — no girlfriend, no drama — but now he seems to have both after pictures of him having fun at a friend's house party shows up in tabloids, and now fashion houses are calling for him? and his agent wants him to keep up this charade? ♡ masterlist.

Jules was all about the grind lately. Training, press, brand meetings, repeat. No time for relationship drama or late nights that didn't involve reviewing game footage. His DMs were constantly filled with heart emojis and "my friend thinks ur cute" messages that he left on read. The tabloids called him cold, but he called it focused.

That's why he was surprised to find himself at Antoine's 90s/00s-themed house party in Le Marais after a crazy few days of attending Fashion Week shows. The apartment was a vibe — exposed brick and big windows with vintage MTV music videos projected on one wall. Someone had hung those metallic dangly curtains everywhere, and the whole place was tinted in purple and blue LED lights that made everyone look like they were in an old-school music video.

The crowd was a mix of football players, fashion week leftovers, and local party regulars. Girls in low-rise jeans and crop tops were everywhere, and more than a few guys had committed to FUBU jerseys and backward caps. Jules had kept it simple - white tank, vintage Prada sport pants, and a gold chain.

"Get Low" started blasting through the speakers and suddenly everyone was dropping it like it was 2003. Jules nursed his drink by the window, watching the chaos. The bass was so heavy he could feel it in his chest, mixing with the persistent buzz of his phone. Probably his agent wondering why he'd been tagged at a party instead of resting before tomorrow's training.

He was about to leave — this wasn't really his scene anymore — when he spotted her across the room. The girl who regularly roasted his outfit choices at Louis Vuitton, looking completely different outside the store. She was wearing what looked like a reconstructed Dapper Dan-inspired vintage LV monogram dress that definitely wasn't official merchandise, her hair up in two buns Princess Leia would envy. And she was absolutely destroying everyone in a dance battle to "The Whisper Song."

Jules couldn't help but smile. Who knew the girl who told him his €500 sweater made him look like a sad corporate mascot could move like that?

He didn't realize he was staring until she caught his eye mid-body roll and smirked. The same smirk she gave him last week before telling him his new Balenciaga sneakers looked like "orthopedic shoes for a cyberpunk grandpa."

Maybe he'd stay for one more song.

The dance battle ended with her throwing up peace signs and disappearing into the kitchen. Jules found himself following, weaving through a crowd of people that was tonguing each other down. The kitchen was quieter, if you could call anything quiet when Lil Jon was screaming "YEAH!" through the speakers next door.

She was perched on the counter, drinking water from a wine glass like it was champagne. Up close, he could see her dress was definitely handmade - a masterpiece of Louis Vuitton shopping bags.

"Your Air Force Ones are actually clean for once," she said instead of hello, looking him up and down. "Did you finally learn how to use a magic eraser, or did you just buy new ones?"

"Do you ever get tired of roasting people's outfits?" Jules leaned against the fridge, trying to look unbothered, but she always had a way to get under his skin.

"Do you ever get tired of giving me material to work with?" She grinned, taking another sip of water. "What's a football boy doing at a fashion week afterparty anyway? Shouldn't you be in bed watching game clips or whatever it is you do?"

"Shouldn't you be at Louis folding scarves or whatever it is you do?"

"Bold of you to assume I fold anything. I'm strictly there to judge people's choices and occasionally sell bags to WAGs who pretend not to know who you are."

The music changed to "Say My Name" and a chorus of drunk screaming erupted from the living room. Jules found himself laughing — actually laughing — for the first time in what felt like months.

"I'm Mila, by the way," she said, extending her hand like a queen waiting for someone to kiss it. "In case you were wondering who's been destroying your fashion confidence for the past three months."

"Jules," he replied, even though they both knew she definitely knew who he was. "In case you were wondering who's been ignoring your styling advice for the past three months."

"Well, Jules, now that we're introduced, want to tell me why you keep coming into my store just to ignore my professional opinion?" She hopped off the counter, landing gracefully despite her platform boots. "Because either you secretly love being told your taste is questionable, or you're really bad at shopping anywhere else."

He was saved from answering by a girl bursting into the kitchen, her Y2K butterfly top slightly askew. "Mila! Dom's about to play your song but he's also about to pass out so if you want to—"

"That messy bitch," Mila muttered, already heading for the door. She turned back to Jules. "Don't leave yet. I still need to tell you how that chain is giving wannabe 2003 Justin Timberlake."

Jules watched her disappear into the crowd, presumably to save her DJ friend from face-planting onto his equipment. The kitchen felt weirdly empty now, even as drunk partygoers stumbled in and out looking for mixers.

He should leave. He had early training tomorrow, and his teammate was definitely going to snitch to their coach about him being out late. But then Nelly's "Hot In Herre" started playing, and he could see Mila through the doorway, dramatically lip-syncing every word while trying to prop up a swaying DJ.

Maybe he'd stay until the end of this song too.

Three songs later, he was still there, watching Mila and her friends absolutely destroy the choreography to "Dilemma." She kept catching his eye and grinning, like they were sharing some private joke about everyone else at the party.

By the time two in the morning rolled around, the crowd had thinned out, the playlist had switched to slow R&B, and Jules found himself back in the kitchen with Mila, both of them picking at the sad remains of the snack table.

"I'm starving," she announced, examining a stale chip like it had personally offended her. "And not in a 'these sweaty pretzels will do' kind of way. In a 'I need real food immediately' way."

"There's a McDonald's around the corner," Jules heard himself say, even though he hadn't had McDonald's since his academy days. "If you want actual food."

Mila's eyes lit up. "McFlurry run? In this economy? In these outfits?" She grabbed her tiny matching shoulder bag. "Absolutely yes."

The McDonald's was exactly what you'd expect at two-thirty in Paris — a mix of drunk tourists, exhausted delivery drivers, and a few fashion week zombies still in full runway looks. Jules and Mila probably should've looked out of place, but somehow they fit right into the beautiful mess.

"If you tell anyone at Louis that I'm eating McDonald's in this dress, I'll have to kill you," Mila said, stealing one of his fries. They'd grabbed a corner table, their knees bumping underneath because the space was tiny. "I have a reputation to maintain."

"What, the reputation of being fashion's most brutal critic? Pretty sure that's safe." Jules pushed the fries between them to share properly. "Yesterday you told a guy his Gucci loafers looked like something a divorced dad would wear to a casino."

"First of all, they did. Second of all—" She paused mid-fry theft, eyes narrowing at something over his shoulder. "Don't react, but there are definitely people taking pictures of us right now."

Jules started to turn but Mila kicked him under the table. "I said don't react! God, you're bad at this. Just act natural." She took a dramatic bite of her Big Mac. "Though I guess the tabloids catching you eating McDonald's is better than them catching you at that party."

"My agent's going to kill me," Jules groaned, but he couldn't bring himself to care that much. He was having too much fun watching Mila attempt to eat a burger while maintaining her cool fashion girl image.

"Please, this is probably good for you. Hot football player eating late night McDonald's with a mystery girl? Looking like a whole vibe in vintage Prada? The internet's going to eat this up." She dipped a fry in her McFlurry with zero shame. "No offense but you could use some spice in your public persona. You're getting a reputation for being boring."

"I'm not boring, I'm focused," he protested, but even he didn't fully believe it anymore. Not when he was sitting in McDonald's at almost three in the morning, watching one of Paris's most exclusive luxury store employees demolish fast food like it was her last meal.

"Sure, focused," Mila smirked. "That's why you keep coming into my store just to get roasted. Because you're so focused."

Before Jules could defend himself, Mila's phone buzzed. She glanced at it and nearly choked on her McFlurry.

"Oh my god," she turned the phone to show him. "We're already on Twitter."

The photo was actually good — like, annoyingly good. Someone had caught them mid-laugh, fries scattered between them. The harsh McDonald's lighting somehow glowed against the gold hardware of Mila's reconstructed dress and the vintage Prada track jacket Jules had thrown on before leaving the party. They looked like an editorial trying to be casual, except their laughter was too real.

"Look at the quotes," Mila scrolled, her platforms kicked up on his side of the booth now. "'Who is she?' 'The way they're matching without matching?' 'That LV reconstruction is everything!' At least they appreciate art." She gestured to her dress with a fry.

Jules leaned back, taking in the situation. He'd spent years cultivating his image - the serious athlete who just happened to have top-tier taste. The guy who could mix high fashion with streetwear so well that GQ had done a spread on his game day arrival fits. But he'd never looked this… effortless. Something about sitting across from Mila, who treated Balenciaga sneakers and McDonald's fries with the same level of critical analysis, made everything feel less curated.

"Your agent's definitely awake by now," Mila said, still scrolling. "The fashion girlies are going crazy trying to figure out who I am. Ooh, someone recognized me from Louis! Watch this turn into 'Football Star and LV Girl' by the afternoon."

His phone buzzed. Then buzzed again. And again.

"That's probably my team's PR group chat exploding," he groaned, but couldn't help smiling. "Think Louis Vuitton will fire you for eating McDonald's in a dress made from their shopping bags?"

"Are you kidding? This is the most interesting thing that's happened to their brand this week. Fashion week's been boring." She stole his phone, adding her number. "You're going to need my contact info when this blows up anyway. Can't have you telling reporters the wrong designer credits for my outfits."

The notification previews were already wild — his agent, his teammates, fashion blogs, sports accounts. But watching Mila save herself as "LV's Meanest Stylist 👑" while demolishing what was left of their fries, Jules found himself caring less about damage control and more about when he'd see her again.

Even if it meant getting roasted for his next outfit choice.

It wasn't as brutal as Jules expected. Well, physically at least - he'd stuck to Gatorade at the party and he snuck in a power nap on the plane ride back to Barcelona. But his phone? Complete disaster zone.

217 unread messages. 68 missed calls. His agent had sent a voice note that was just straight screaming. Even his mom texted, asking who "that girl with the beautiful dress" was.

Jules scrolled through his notifications while his coffee brewed, still in his designer silk pajamas (that Mila would probably roast him for if she knew about them). Twitter had done its thing with someone had already made a thread analyzing their "couple aesthetic" and how it was "shifting the paradigm of sports-fashion crossover." Whatever that meant.

His phone buzzed again. Mila.

LV's Meanest Stylist: your form for running away from paparazzi outside my store is terrible btw. someone just showed me old pics. we need to work on that along with your sweater choices 💅🏾

He caught himself grinning at his phone like an idiot. Before he could reply, another text came through:

LV's Meanest Stylist: also check vogue's instagram story. we're about to have an interesting day at work bestie 🥰

The Vogue story was… a lot. They'd picked up the McDonald's photo, paired it with his past fashion week appearances and what they could find of Mila's work fits. The caption was killing him: "Football's New Fashion Power Couple? Jules Kounde spotted with mysterious Louis Vuitton stylist - serving looks and McFlurries 👀"

His agent was calling. Again.

Jules finally picked up his agent Bruno's call, putting it on speaker while he got dressed for training.

"Have you seen what's happening? This is Cristiano and Georgina levels of potential. She was at Gucci, he was just shopping, now look at them!" Bruno was in full spiral mode. "And yours is even better - you're both already in fashion, both have the aesthetic, and that McDonald's photo? You couldn't plan this kind of organic viral moment."

Jules tugged on a vintage Helmut Lang sweater (that Mila had actually approved of last time, even if she said it made him look like "an art curator having a midlife crisis, but in a hot way"). He thought about how he'd started finding excuses to visit Galeries Lafayette whenever he was in Paris, always timing it when he knew she'd be working. How she'd clock him the moment he walked in, already preparing her roast for whatever he was wearing.

"Bruno, it's not like that—" he started, but his agent was on a roll.

"The internet loves her already. She's got that whole 'devil in Prada' thing going but make it Gen Z. Plus she works at Louis! Do you know how perfect this is for your image? You're already getting more luxury house follows—"

Jules thought about Mila's unfiltered commentary on everything - not just clothes. How she'd rate people's outfits out loud in public like she was doing director's commentary. Everyone assumed it was an American thing, that typical no-filter attitude, but Mila took it to an art form. She'd call out fashion week scammers and hypebeasts with the same energy she used to debate whether Jules' latest Bottega purchase made him look like "money or new money."

"—are you even listening? This could change everything. The serious athlete image was working but this? This is—"

"Bruno," Jules interrupted, "I actually need to get to training. Can we talk strategy later?"

After hanging up, he stared at Mila's last text. She'd sent a photo of the crowd outside Galeries Lafayette:

LV's Meanest Stylist: these vultures really think i'm gonna serve them looks at 8am? bestie we need to coordinate our chaos because your fans are UNHINGED

He smiled, typing back: wear something worth getting photographed in, LV's meanest stylist 👑

Her response was instant: bold words from someone who owned those tragic Balenciaga crocs

His Urus purred through Barcelona traffic, Kendrick's "N95" drowning out his thoughts about the chaos waiting at training. The teasing was going to be relentless - his teammates lived for any crack in his usually composed life, yet his mind kept drifting back to Mila instead of dreading the locker room jokes.

Jules parked at the training facility, but didn't get out immediately. Against his better judgment, he pulled up Twitter.

"Fuck…" he muttered, running a hand through his locs when he saw he was still trending. The newest viral photo wasn't even from McDonald's - someone had snapped Mila at work in Galeries Lafayette, probably from earlier this morning.

She looked exactly like herself - unbothered and effortlessly cool in a blazer from Pharrell's men's line, paired with cigarette pants and what looked like an LV open-back crop top. Her brown skin glowed under the store lighting, her straight dark hair falling perfectly with curls at the ends, even as she seemed to be mid-roast of whatever poor soul was in front of her.

The comments were wild: "THE MATERIAL GIRL AND FOOTBALL BOY WE DESERVE 😭" "nah her style is actually insane?? that blazer with those pants??" "when is she coming to watch him play in barcelona tho 👀" "they literally match without trying, your fave couples could never" "LV girl has more sauce than half these football wives I'm crying"

Jules caught himself smiling at his phone. The internet was doing that thing where it turned real people into characters, spinning narratives from two photos. But they weren't completely wrong about Mila's style - she didn't just talk the talk. Even in the leaked store photo, she looked like she'd walked off a runway but make it corporate chaos.

His phone buzzed with another text from her: "your fans found my old fashion blog. it's giving parasocial relationship but make it haute couture"

The Barcelona training ground was already buzzing when Jules walked in. He'd tried to time it perfectly - not too early, not too late - but it didn't matter. He could feel the eyes on him before the comments even started, everyone had definitely seen the photos. His attempt to slip quietly into the locker room failed spectacularly when Marc, their goalkeeper, slow clapped his entrance.

"Damas y caballeros, nuestro propio personaje principal ha llegado (Ladies and gentlemen, our own main character has arrived)," Marc announced, grinning like he'd been waiting all morning for this moment. "El hombre que rompió Fashion Twitter con McDonald’s. El rey de las colaboraciones inesperadas. El..." (The man who broke Fashion Twitter with McDonald's. The king of unexpected collabs. The—)

"Cállate," Jules threw his bag at Marc, but he was fighting a smile.

"No sabía que lo tenías en ti (Didn't know you had it in you)," Pedri chimed in, not looking up from his phone where he was definitely scrolling through the trending topics. "Todo este tiempo actuando demasiado centrado en el drama, luego te vuelves viral con la reina de la mala de Louis Vuitton." (All this time acting too focused for drama, then you go viral with Louis Vuitton's queen of mean)

Jules started unpacking his bag, trying to maintain his usual unbothered expression. The kit designers had actually consulted him on this season's away colors - not that he'd tell his teammates that. They already thought he was too into fashion. "Todos ustedes necesitan mejores pasatiempos."

"¿Mejor que verte tendencia en todo el mundo? Nunca." Marc was scrolling through his phone now, perched on the bench like he was about to give a presentation. "Dios mío, ya hay cuentas de fans dedicadas a ti: ‘Jules and Mila Fashion Archive’ ya tiene 5 mil seguidores. Espera hasta que descubran que realmente vas a su tienda solo para que te asen—"

"¿Cuánto tiempo has estado tramando esto?" Pedri interrupted, finally looking up. "Porque mi chica sigue su blog de moda y aparentemente has estado en el fondo de las fotos de su tienda durante meses."

Jules paused midway through lacing up his boots. He hadn't known about any store pictures. The thought of him showing up in the background of Mila's content while she probably roasted his outfits to her followers was… actually exactly her style.

"Recuerda cuando firmó por primera vez y usó esos crocs de diseñador para entrenar?" Marc was on a roll now. "Apuesto a que ella tendría un día de campo con esas fotos—"

"Esas eran ediciones limitadas," Jules defended.

His phone buzzed in his locker. Speaking of the devil: your team's social media manager just followed me. should i be worried or flattered?

"Ooh, está sonriendo a su teléfono!" Lamine, one of the younger players, called out. "¡Julio en realidad está emocionando! ¡Rápido, que alguien tome una foto antes de que vuelva a su cara de modelo en reposo!" (Ooh, he's smiling at his phone. Jules is actually emoting! Quick, someone take a picture before he goes back to his resting model face!)

"¿Qué está diciendo?" Marc tried to peek at his phone. "¿Está asando tus opciones de atuendo a larga distancia? Porque esos pantalones de chándal que usaste la semana pasada..."

"Focus up!" Flick's voice cut through the locker room. "Save the gossip for after training. Jules, we'll be discussing social media strategy with PR later. Apparently, you're bringing in a new demographic we need to 'strategically leverage' or whatever they're calling it."

Jules grabbed his water bottle, already dreading the PR meeting. He could just imagine the PowerPoint presentation they'd prepared. As if his relationship with Mila - whatever it was - could be turned into a marketing strategy.

Another text came through as they headed out to the pitch:

LV's Meanest Stylist: some fashion blog found pics of you actually wearing the pieces i suggested. they're calling it a 'slow burn fashion romance' i'm screaming 💀 there's a whole timeline of your store visits matched with your match day fits. these people are UNHINGED. anyway good luck at training bestie, try not to get distracted thinking about my incredible style 😘"

"Julio!" Marc waved a hand in front of his face. "Deja de enviar mensajes de texto a tu gurú de la moda y concéntrate. A menos que quieras que el entrenador te haga hacer sprints adicionales."

He was definitely going to get megged at training for not focusing. His mind kept drifting to Mila's text about his match day fits - had she really been paying that much attention? The tabloids were about to lose their minds when they figured out he'd been lowkey getting styled by her through carefully timed "roasts" for months.

"Jules! Less smiling, more running!" Flick yelled.

Worth it though.

Mila's apartment looked like a crime scene of designer pieces she'd tried on and discarded. Her phone had been blowing up since that McDonald's photo dropped - fashion blogs, sports pages, and now Jules' agent calling for the fifth time.

She scrolled through her messages while heating up leftovers, pausing on one from her boss: "The engagement on our posts is up 200% today. Whatever this is, keep it professional." As if she hadn't kept it professional these past few months, roasting Jules' questionable fashion choices within the walls of Galeries Lafayette.

He'd shown up last fall during her shift, and when she'd told him his designer sweater was giving "tech startup CEO at a midlife crisis festival," he'd actually laughed. Started coming in several times a month, sometimes just to debate the merits of vintage versus new season pieces while she restocked displays.

Her phone lit up. Jules' agent again.

"Might as well," she muttered, picking up. "Hello?"

"Mila! Finally! Let's talk about this organic marketing goldmine you two have created—"

She moved the phone away from her ear, letting the agent ramble about engagement metrics and brand synergy. Her DMs were flooded with fashion houses wanting to "collaborate." Three months ago, they wouldn't even respond to her portfolio.

Her work phone buzzed with a store notification. Someone had requested her specifically for a styling appointment. Probably another footballer looking to recreate whatever was happening with her and Jules.

Mila put her phone on speaker, letting the agent's voice fill her kitchen while she made tea. He was going on about metrics and demographics, something about Jules' engagement being up 300% since the McDonald's photo.

"—and the fashion houses are loving this organic crossover moment. Your reconstructed piece was genius, by the way. Very editorial. Which is why we think—"

A text from Jules cut through the noise: "my PR team found your tweet about my 'tragic but endearing' yeezy phase. they're using it in the presentation. traitors."

Mila smiled despite the chaos. At least he was still giving her material to work with: "you wore those shoes to a MUSEUM opening. i was professionally obligated to drag you."

She hadn't meant to be at that party last night. Wasn't planning on going viral at McDonald's in a dress she'd reconstructed from LV shopping bags, yet here she was, accidentally becoming part of a narrative she hadn't signed up for.

Mila rolled her eyes, adding honey to her tea. She had three unfinished designs due next week and a client waiting on a custom piece. Whatever this was about could wait.

"—you two should continue dating. Or at least appear to be dating."

Her spoon clattered against the counter. "We should what now?"

"The optics are perfect!" The agent was on a roll. "The brutally honest stylist and the fashion-forward footballer? It's a narrative goldmine. Louis Vuitton's numbers are up, Jules' brand deals are through the roof, and you're already getting offers from—"

"We're not dating," Mila cut in, even though that was obvious. She'd just roasted his outfit choices for months and accidentally gone viral. That wasn't dating.

"Exactly! But imagine if you were. Or if people thought you were. The fashion week appearances, the match day fits, the social media moments..."

Her phone buzzed with a text from Jules: "my agent's crazy right? please tell me you're not actually listening to this facetime dating pitch"

"Listen," Mila pinched the bridge of her nose. "I style people. I critique awful fashion choices. I'm not about to play girlfriend for your marketing strategy."

"But you're already styling Jules. Already critiquing his choices. Already going viral together. Why not make it official? Think of the opportunities. The connections. The—"

Mila looked at her tea, then at her phone, then at the pile of design work waiting for her. This was ridiculous. She had deadlines. Real work. Actual goals that didn't involve pretending to date a footballer with occasionally questionable taste in sneakers.

But...

Mila glanced at her reflection in a mirror, mentally calculating. Jules wasn't completely lost when it came to fashion - boy actually had some drip. And unlike half the footballers who came through her store, he had his natural teeth - not a veneer in sight. The fact that he was fine as hell was just a bonus to his actually decent taste level.

Plus, this job was starting to drain her. The endless hours at Galeries Lafayette, the entitled clients who thought money could buy style, the corporate bullshit of it all. Last week some wannabe influencer had thrown a fit over a bag that wasn't even in production yet.

She could use this. Use him.

"What's in it for me?" Mila interrupted the agent's monologue.

The typing bubble appeared from Jules: "did you just ask about benefits? mila please don't encourage him-"

But she was already running the numbers. Fashion houses were watching. Her reconstructed pieces were getting attention. And Jules... well, having a footballer with actual potential to not dress like a fashion disaster wouldn't be the worst thing for her portfolio.

"Access to special archives for your reconstruction pieces," the agent started, like he'd been waiting for her to ask. "Front row at fashion week - not just Paris, we're talking Milan, New York. Creative control over Jules' match day fits, which means direct lines to any fashion house you want. Plus, Vogue wants to do a feature on your work - the pieces you've been creating, your styling philosophy, all of it."

A text from Jules popped up: "he's offering you the archives?? even I can't get in there 👀"

"And?" Mila took a sip of her tea, playing it cool even though her mind was already racing with designs she could create with archive access.

"And your reconstructed pieces get official LV backing. No more 'unofficial' collections. They're interested in a limited capsule release - young, edgy, sustainable. Everything you've been pushing for."

She set down her cup. Hard.

Another text from Jules: "take the deal before he offers to throw in his firstborn child 💀"

"Timeline?" Mila asked, already thinking about the archive pieces she could remix, the connections she could build, the doors this could open. "And I maintain creative control? Over everything?"

"Six months minimum. And yes - you've already proven you know what you're doing with his image. The McDonald's photo's got more engagement than his last three brand deals combined."

She glanced at her mood board, covered in designs she couldn't legally produce. Yet.

"Fine. But I have conditions."

Twenty minutes and several non-negotiables later, Mila's phone lit up with Jules' incoming call. She barely said hello before he started.

"So you like me that much, huh? Agreeing to be my girlfriend and everything?" His voice was annoyingly smug.

"Please. I like archive access and creative control. You're just the pretty package deal." She flopped onto her couch, kicking off her slippers. "How are you feeling about all this anyway?"

His laugh was unfairly sexy through the phone. "You're not exactly bad to look at yourself. Could be worse ways to boost my image than having fashion's meanest critic on my arm."

Mila rolled her eyes but couldn't help smiling. "Careful, I can still roast your outfit choices to my followers."

"You'll have to do that in person. Come to Barcelona - we need to get our stories straight anyway."

"I'll see what I can do." She examined her nails, trying to sound casual even though her mind was already picking out outfits.

"Mhmm," he hummed, voice dropping lower. "Bonne nuit, chérie."

"Sweetheart? Really getting a head start on the pet names?"

"Gotta save face, right?" She could hear his grin. "Sweet dreams."

The call ended and Mila's face broke into a wide smile, staring at her ceiling.

Oh, this was going to be interesting.

.................tbd

[razzafrazzle]

fun fact I love weird lil mascot characters so much so I made one. find them at your local hot topic on t-shirts that say stuff like "cute but deadly"

[image description: a page full of drawings of an original character named didi mise. she is a simply-drawn pale-skinned child with short black pigtails and bangs covering one eye. he also has heavy-lidded, shiny eyes and is wearing an oversized black and purple sweater, a short purple skirt, and mary-janes. the drawings of them include them looking back over their shoulder, them looking angry, them looking neutral, and them looking shocked. end id]

[tomatoderby]

She's been working a lil too hard.

I wanted to draw the Drawtectives main cast before Drawtectives season 3 came out, and I thought it would be cute to draw Rosé at her intern job. She fell asleep after working very late and Jancy is tucking her in (but I assume she will probably call either York or Grandma to pick Rosé up).

Please do not repost! Reblogs and likes are much appreciated. Timelapse below (tw flashing).

[Video ID: a 60 second timelapse of me drawing Rosé from Drawtectives sleeping at her desk. Her short dyed pink hair is up in a bun with a pen in it, and she is wearing a grey turtleneck and maroon fingerless gloves. There are a couple of papers, a manila folder, a black laptop, and a pen in front of her, and a massive pile of papers and a box of documents to the right of her. Behind her, a chest of drawers with some more papers and the Huck E. Heese bee mascot Heese Knees sitting on it is partially in view. Jancy is partly in view in her season 1 outfit, placing Rosé's jacket over her. It's night time and the scene is illuminated by a lamp on her desk. End ID]

[mikufigureoftheday]

Hello! I hope I am not too late to share my misc. submissions! Here's my current doll collection!

I bought my first Miku with Natural ver. from Project Diva's modeule! I'm love with FuwaPuchi(?) doll series so much! I would love to wear her casual outfit to pair with her in the future! She is second hand item too, still loved by previous owner.

I recently bought Charlotte/Bebe (PMMM's Witches) from the second-hand seller and they're all in great quality. They are hard to find nowadays, until that I'm lucky that my friend helped, to seek both of them <3 So grateful to have this!!

The candy plush was so cute, I couldn't resist to get this because it matches my doll collection. No tag, which is sad, i wouldn't love to gift it to my nieces/nephews/friends. Bonus dolls of Jirachi, Long teddybear & Kirby, love these goobers!

Wish Me Mell and Moppu were part of Sanrio's newer mascots. Wish Me Mell is obscure for her merch while Moppu is popular. They were both my personal favorites. Mell is shy and introverted, but she works hard to be post mail delivery girl. Moppu is just a lil guy wants to be cozy and enjoys winter!

That's all I have, these are my favorites and I still think my Miku plush is by far the best purchase next to Charlotte/Bebe ones. No regrets! My goal to clean them through hand wash laundry with specific detergent (Woolite). Wish me luck to clean them!! Have a nice day, pardon for writing so long but I hope you'd be appreciated my silly submission for this blog!!

[twstinginthewind]

"There's time for one more spin around the dance floor. Come dance with me?"

Joker is finally ready to join in the fun at @starry-night-rose's Glimmering Soirée! She's even learned how to waltz for this...

Card lines, full body, and outfit inspiration under the cut!

Summon: "There's time for one more spin around the dance floor. Come dance with me?"

Groovy: "I guess even someone ordinary like me can get to feel like a real princess sometimes!"

Set home: "Let's get ready to party!"

Home idle 1: "I'm trying my best to represent our dorm properly, but I'm worried I'm gonna forget the rules of decorum."

Home idle 2: "Having a cape at my hips feels weird. Swish, swish, swish..."

Home idle 3: "I wonder if there's gonna be any pizza rolls at the snack table?"

Home login: "Do ya think we'll be able to talk to the orchestra they have playing at this shindig?"

Home idle groovy: ".... whoa. Did you see Deuce? He looks like honest to goodness royalty! I might be getting a lil flustered looking at him."

Home tap 1: "Savvy helped me out with my makeup and hair. She looked so upset when I suggested wearing it straightened!"

Home tap 2: "I heard Sam's cute little mascot K is here tonight! I wonder if she's going to wanna dance with me?"

Home tap 3: "I almost didn't recognize Albert! So funny how folks look so different when they dress up."

Home tap 4: "Violetta said she was coming, but I don't see her. Shame, her crush looks fantastic!"

Home tap 5: "... I hope Trey asks me for a dance before the night's over."

Home tap groovy: "I wonder if I can convince the orchestra to play Girls Just Wanna Have Fun?

Other OCs mentioned -

Savvy & Violetta from @twst-the-night-away

Albert from @the-trinket-witch

K Oswald Junior 101 from @k-looking-glass-house

Style inspiration: this 2021 Moschino gown

Fullbody pic:

Heartslabyul uniform texture (inside of dress lining) from @wolflover10

[paninisoup]

New trollsona just dropped!! Her name is Dolly and she’s just a cute little thing that’s head is full of air. She seems pretty dumb at times but gets moments of clarity where she says astonishingly intelligent things (think Patrick Star..)

That’s about all the info I got on her, she’ll be my lil’ mascot. Also, drawing trolls is not for the weak idk how y’all do it cause I was almost starting to crash out on this since I’m so used to drawing people. I’ve been wanting to post trolls content since the beginning of the year but good god was I lazy, ig better late than never 💀.

[rubberduckyrye]

Please tell me more about this despair mascot au im so confused but SO interested

Bucfxgvhvgcf Okay do there isn't much to it it's literally a Crack AU--or a silly AU that spawned in from me complaining about how Kokichi couldn't be Junko's right hand man because logically the age difference would be too great. He would be like six years old when Junko is 18!

So @ultimateplaylistmaker said that he would be more like a mascot than her actual right-hand man

Then chaos ensued after that as me and some askers started developing the silly idea further

To condense!

-Kokichi has the Ultimate Luckster (Lucky Student) talent which makes him both unkillable and incorruptible

-This was discovered by Mukuro, who he was following around because she had a cool knife, and he probably followed her to somewhere secret so she tried to kill him but every attack failed

-She takes him to Junko and declares "this thing is unkillable"

-Junko takes Kokichi and says "mine now"

-She dresses him up in a Monokuma onsie and gets him to voice act for Monokuma

-She also uses him to taunt Future Foundation like "LMAO I HAVE THIS CHILD IM GONNA CORRUPT HIM HAHAHAHA"

-He doesn't understand, he's just sipping at his choccy milk

-At first the Remnants of Despair are confused and jealous over the new little mascot baby but then he endears himself to them and they all collectively agree that if anything happened to him they would kill the world and then themselves

-Monaca is the only one who hates Kokichi because he gets all the attention from her Big Sis and she tries to kill him but is thwarted due to Kokichi's lucky talent. He bites her legs and they fight a lot.

-Kokichi doesn't actually suffer throughout any of this he just gets spoiled with soda and choccy milk and appy juice. He draws pictures of his weird aunts and uncles and gives them choccy milk when they're being a little too crazy (Looking at you, Junko and Nagito)

-In the end Kokichi ends up pacifying each of the despairs just by being a cute lil baby and now he's got a fucked up lil found family raising him

And I think that's everything so far! xD Aside from specific silly plot bunnies about Kokichi interacting with the remnants ofc

[rikomoriyama01]

[Post from 2007] Since their transformation this year, Palmetto foxes got on everyone's radar - of course yours truly has been with them ever since the beginning (very short as their exy team started only in 2002! ). If you enjoy collecting things, you are in luck because almost all of the items are still readily available (for now at least - better hurry!) Team logo badge (Original)

Team logo (current) - Captain Dan Wilds demanded even brighter orange (My eyes!)

First sticker with Roxy's fullbody design It was made even before team mascot got its costume. It was designed during charity art contest organized by Renee Walker.

The design was slightly simplified to make it more workable. It's cute - she looks like she got some eyeliner going on! 🧡

Fox Stadium I love the lil tail! I wish it got ears, too.

Sly Fox is a badge for all former foxes. As far as I know, nobody's got it so far...

First anniversary badge! 2002-2007 It was Coach Wymack's small gift to foxes for winning championships!

All of the badges and stickers are available on Palmetto University's site. The profits cover manufacturing and the rest is donated to charity (PSU Foxes are the only team with such initiative!). That's it for today. There is few others I will show you another time. Check out also : A Crow's Guide to Collectibles (coming soon) A Fox's Guide To Trinkets (Part 2) Special thanks to @deadliestpieceontheboard and @sassy-pen for help organizing this and @emry-stars-art for being my inspiration for the project and influence on roxy's final design.

[fembot-y2k]

Decided to actually give the cute lil gal from my NEOTROPICA and NEOTUNDRA pieces a proper look! And a name! Meet 2-Kei! General mascot for the various fake video game/digital Y2K things I make. I think she came out pretty cute.

[sun-flower-children]

hey! first off, i love your blog aesthetic, so cute! 🥺💜 i’m in a big mood for some iida content so is it okay if i can have some headcanons of iida with a fem! s/o who tends to puff out her cheeks (idk how to describe whay that would look like lol) when she’s extremely concentrated on something. one day, they’re having a study session and iida looks up after a few moments to see his s/o’s cheeks puffed up as she’s studying and that’s all he could look at. and he’s just like ‘so cute. why must you be so cute?! 🥺’

hiya! sorry this took so long, life got away from me, but i'd be happy to write out a lil something something for you :) plus this idea is just so sweet i gotta :P I did end up making it pre-relationship bc I love a little pining Iida <3

IIDA x Fem!Reader Study Session

fluff w use of she/her pronouns :))))))))))

It would be the middle of the week after everyone has settled back into a more regular school routine. The monotony was easily invited back by everyone after the busy summer filled with internships drained people in a way they didn't think they could be drained. Everyone had been missing the comradery that Class 1A had even if nobody other than Kirishima had the gall to say it out loud.

The math lessons had begun progressing at an impossible rate and Iida found himself more often than not in the common area of the dorms helping people will various subjects. This became so common in fact that people will bring peace offerings or promises of future favors to gain any sort of aid in their course work. Luckily a few others in the class also pitched in with the tutoring even if it was only for a handful of specific topics or types of assignments.

Iida found himself enjoying the shared space and time with his fellow classmates but still missed what the study sessions used to be. It used to be secret and valuable time with his crush, (Y/N). With this newer update in the class gatherings he found her more and more distant. There would be many a night he would wistfully long for the nights only a semester and summer break ago that would be spent on the floor of his dorm room.

He missed the way she would spend forever setting up the study space; the lighting, the background music, the excessive collection of stationary with the cute mascots that he came quickly to recognize. The little stamps that she would use for both her to do list and stamp his hand whenever he did anything that was particularly pleasing to her ( he wouldn't wash his hands for a possible as he could afterwards)

So imagine his delight when one afternoon (Y/N) walks up to him and mentions in passing how much she missing their one on one study nights. Iida startled himself with how quickly he interrupted her sentence with a neat invitation to study together once more.

" I'd really like that" she smiled " I'll bring snacks"

Iida's heart hummed for the rest of the day. Through the rest of the lessons. Through the rest of the exercises. Through his evening workout. Through dinner. Even Todoroki mentions how much more invigorated he seemed today ( he couldn't help it after all he has finally had a chance to hangout with you.... )

That evening Iida walks back to his room thinking about how he's going to set up his room for your arrival when he hears the sound of speeding foot steps. Before he had a chance to turn around he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you ready to tutor the worst math student you've ever seen?"

Iida never though someone giggling could be so cute. He loved the way that she smiled and looked at him. So normal but also caring and with intention. He leads them to his room and helps (Y/N) with their armful of study materials.

They agree to being on reviewing the latest homework assignment to get an idea of where she was. Iida never minded helping out his peers and never liked how self deprecating they were but especially hearing the way that (Y/N) would talk to herself. Just because you aren't naturally talented at one subject doesn't mean that you are automatically garbage at everything. It means that you have to apply yourself and Iida has seen how hard (Y/N) works in other subjects.

After some formal instruction they had split into more individual work of the homework assignment. While (Y/N) is working on their math Iida had pulled out his laptop to work on the floor in tandem with her. Not to mention that he could keep a sneaky eye on her over the top of his screen.

He admired the way her face twisted with confusion when reading a question for the first time before resigning to re-read it out loud. Their intense focus of their proof work had them making some interesting faces. IIda couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle when he saw how much (Y/N) puffed out her cheeks.

She looked up, unconsciously bringing her face back to regular confused expression, and awaited an explanation for the noise.

"I'm sorry I shouldn't have laughed"

"Laughed at what?"

"The face you make when you're concentrated. It's so cute"

(Y/N) paused. Looking away from Iida and looking all over the wall behind him for answers they didn't have.

" I don't make any faces when I'm focused, what do you mean?"

"Nothing, really, it's nothing" Iida insisted.

Going back to their work it was not even ten minutes that passed when (Y/N) was making the same endearing face again. Again, Iida couldn't let the momment pass without another comment. Somethign about the casual nature of the situation, the way that (Y/N) put him at ease, or maybe it's the eucalyptus humidifier in the corner that got him in another state of relaxation.

"So cute"

Without moving her head she sends Iida a puzzled look with her eyes. Iida gently shakes his head and goes back to typing his essay. He knew he was in the deep end for (Y/N). There is no recovery from this without heavy emotional help. He would have to talk to his friends about the best way to approach this subject and how to (finally) confess to (Y/N).

He wanted to spend forever staring at that face after all.

[peachy-puddin-cup]

So got inspired to draw Suki in her place for the Megalopolis 5th Anniversary set, I know Im late af to the idea but I figured she would run a lil boba tea shop ❤️ also Im in love with the little wukong mascot I made! He’s so cute!

[praazlwurm]

Codename: CARVER challenged you to battle!

Lore and close-ups below the break

(❁´◡`❁)

Y'all ever struck by the realization your self-insert immortal incongruently-wizard-coded character can, in fact, have pink hair and eyes?

Okay so anyone happening across this, this is my blorbooo, Magpie, who got isekai'd into the Pokemon world in my pair of fics here and gets runic-flavored quasi magical abilities and immortality by blessing of arceus

Feat. the conceptual design for a Survey Ball - modeled after the Origin Ball and the first/only pokeball Magpie has built out of unown-inscribed starshards since she was experimenting with using shards as charms in tell-the-stars

Anyway Magpie redesign because my poor girl is sick of ruining shirts when she does a Big Magic, hence sleeveless top and experimental runic-imbued greatcoat that can withstand all but the Biggest Magic. In my mind she got pinged by InterPol but refuses to "be a cop" (even if the IP isn't exactly like irl cops) - instead she and Volo serve as consultants and Big Guns whenever the local evil team gets too big for their britches or things like the Ultra Beast/paradoxmon/rediscovered Ultimate Weapon crop up.

Besides the coat she's got unown-style colar chains, her old survey corps badge and the (now empty) Hisui ball to remember her first team of pokemon by.

Team would probably vary by region, the one here is the like ideal aesthetic/lore team (ft allotted quasi-legendary, single shiny (after a couple centuries of idle breeding rather than concentrated focus), and ever the necessary cute mascots Irony the unown and lil baby inkay)

The most mainstaying 'mon on her team is Otto the golurk, which she inscribed-to-life herself in a drawing that I… procrastinated on doing the background on with this character page lmao but here's a sneak peak at that:

ft. chienpao bc it loves Volo a lot, Volo's spiritomb and togetic in the background bc this is their idyllic home in paldea ig (im probably going to redraw mags, ursa and maybe inkay down the line because i remain intimidated by the background i tasked myself with RIP

anywho im going to work on making this a proper pinned post with links and tags for all of the Lore so expect to see it updated lol

[paula123la]

Umbrella Academy S4 take from me (Klaus obsessed

-lol Klaus is so cute now, I'm so glad he's clean

-okay he's the only one not taking the marigold

-damn he had to get it, sad

-yay Ben has a big role, maybe we'll see Umbrella Ben?

-O my god wait what maybe it was Reggie who killed Ben? Naaaah no way

-WAIT WHAT

-okay but why tf is Lila so Five obsessed and mean to her fucking husband, I was watching with my boyfriend and that whole plotline is whack, they gave her three kids and suddenly she doesn't love Diego anymore

-WAIT she got lost with Five, that's funny

-NO NO NO NO AIDAN NO NO NO

-FUCKKKK THIS SHIT I CAN'T, I HAD TO TURN OFF THE FUCKING EPISODE FUCKITY FUCK NO WAY THE WRITERS DID SOMETHING SO HORRIBLE FUKKKK

-NO NO NO I WAS SO IN LOVE WITH THIS SEASON UNTIL THIS FIVELA BULLSHIT, IM LITERALLY DISGUSTED

-Of course they ruined Klaus, he did fucking nothing useful, he was there as a mascot. Thank you for not giving my character any depth asshole writers (although Luther's was even more botched), at least they made Diego do something.

-Me, trying to forget the stupid thing ykyk, got moved by the fact that they had to cease to exist. I never watch alternate universe movies or shows and I heard it's a common thing to end them like this, but for me it was a first, and it's like... All the previous seasons plots didn't exist cause like... The main characters never existed :'))) I cried a lil BUT NOT A LOT CAUSE THE FUCKING FIVE THING ORNFNFNJSJFJFJFNF

Thank u, I'm 22 btw. Watched season 1 in HS :')

[lefthandedhotch]

hiiiiii linnnn🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰 i luv uuuuuu so muchhh🥰🥰🥰 it's been a lil bit since ive sent you an ask 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺 so im back!!!!!! with such a silly college!hotch ask inspired by this tweet i saw🤭🤭🤭 and also this CUUUUUTE piece from @ddejavvu <33333 just thinking about college!hotch <333 he's soooooo sweet and silly and a lil bit smug i luv him sm🤭🤭🤭🤭💞💞💞

you're at a frat party, having already had a couple of drinks when you find a cat!!!!! he's a cute furry little guy, swiping at a balled up paper towel by the stairs🥰🐈‍⬛ you're a bit tipsy when you coo and scoop him up, so the little bit of alcohol in your system is shielding you from his little claws as he tries to wiggle away akdmskdkkskf but after some pets and kisses and sweet words, he seems to understand you're no threat and settles in your arms enjoying the love you're giving him, both of you getting very comfortable on the hard stairs of this sticky, musty and loud frat house🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭🥰🥰🥰 you're lost in dishing out kisses and murmurs to the kitty cat you've found that you dont realize someone's trying to get your attention until the cat starts to wiggle away towards his owner☹️☹️☹️ a very handsome guy with floppy black hair and a very smug grin on his lips as the cat brushes up against his leg🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭 you frown (ignoring all the butterflies you're getting from his smug grin🥰🤭🙄) at him as he says "sorry, i didnt mean to interupt, just wanted to make sure he was alright🤭" you sigh and tell him that he was Very alright and so were you until he came over to claim his cat back🙄🤚 he snorts as he scoops up the furry guy and scoots next to you on the steps and offers you access to petting the cat again <3 normally, if some random guy you didnt know stuck himself next to you, sort of trapping you between himself and the wall, you'd get out as fast as you could, but with this guy (who tells you his name is aaron, you tell him it's a nice name, making him blush🤭) you dont get any outright reasons to not trust him so you of courseeeee pet his cat to your heart's content and soak up all of the purrs he's giving off <333 you and aaron chat a little bit and talk about uni stuff professors you two have in common and the cat of course <3 he tells you that he found him earlier that year digging around in the frat's trash cans (you're in awe that he's a part of this fraternity because you always imagined frat bros were total jerks and he's very much not hehehehe) and from there, the cat became their unofficial mascot🤭🤭🤭🤭 he definitely uses the cat as a reason to ask you out and you tease "i might take back what i said about frat guys, i cant believe you're using this cat as a wingman😔💔" you two get a good chuckle out of that and aaron's wingman runs off at the sight of a slice of pepproni falling to the floor (aaron grumbles "he acts as if we never feed him🙄🤔" and when you laugh, he looks soooooo proud of himself, silly smug grin on his lips again🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰💞💞💞🤭🤭🤭) a couple desperately trying to find an unoccupied room squishes past you and aaron up the stairs and when he leans over to let them by, he's pressed soooooo close to you and it makes your heart all fluttery and crazy and the alcohol you drank earlier spurs you on to lean up and kiss him💞💞💞💞💞💞💞 he pulls away and makes a silly stupid comment about giving his cat an extra serving of food tomorrow before you two kiss and kiss and kiss again <333333 EEK college!hotch and his wingman kitty🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭🥰🥰🥰💞💞💞💞💞🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛

hehehehehe hiiiiiiiiiiiiii jess-jess 🥰🥰🥰💞💞💞💞💞💞🥹🥹🥹✨✨✨💗💗💗💗💗 i luv YOU! sooooooo much!!!!!! hehehe welcome baaaaaaaack 🥰 i’ve missed my jess thoughts and cutie aaron asks sm!!!!! 🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭

you were most definitely Not looking forward to this silly frat party that your friend was dragging you to because the person she has a crush on was supposed to be there but as soon as you see the cute lil kitty slinking his way around the party you’re soooooo happy to be there 🥰🥰🥰😌😌😌😌 hehehe AND even though you’re Irritated that your new little friend was so rudely stolen away from you, the very handsome arms leading up to a handsome torso with a VERY handsome head attached makes your heart pitter patter like crazy and makes you even happier to be there too 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛ aaron was Very Very irritated to learn that his frat brothers were throwing a party because he has some big papers to be working on for his difficult law classes but once they got a couple of beers into him he was all loosey goosey and ready to Partayyyyyyyy! hehehehehe he notices you pretty early on into the night when he’s playing beer pong and spots you across the dirty sticky living room 🤭 but after he’s done with the game he looks around and he can’t find you :((((( and he’s really worried you left before he could even talk to you :((((( and he can’t find his cat either 🤧🤧🤧🤧🤧🤧 but!!!!! then he finds you both Together!!!!!!!! and seeing you press sooooooo many kissies to his lil kitty’s head and coo some sweet words to him makes aaron’s heart get all skippy and stuttery in a way he’s never felt before 🥺 and after some silly sweet (tipsyyyyyyy) flirting when you lean up and press a sweet soft lil kiss to his lips he literally can’t stop grinning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! especially when he hears your cute laugh when he jokes about the cat getting an extra treat for being the very best wingman ever and then he gets giggly extra kiss kiss kisses from you too 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰 when your friend comes to find you so you guys can head home, you and aaron are soooooo sad to see each other go :( you can’t help but feel like you guys have such a connection already :( but!!!!! before you can slip away from him, aaron somehow produces a pen out of thin air and you write your number (and a lil heart hehehe) on the back of his hand so tomorrow when hes more sober and thinking about you, he has your number so he can call you!!! 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰 and sure enough when your phone rings the next day you can’t help but squeal thinking about talking to him and his cute face and his cute kitty again 🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🤧🤧🤧🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹💗💗💗💗💗💗💗🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰💞💞💞💞💞💞💞🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭

[stranger-stardustt]

hallo hallo! I am here to give you a writing request, because the only thing I love more than getting asks is sending them! I can’t remember if this was on the list of things you write for, but maybe some Stobin? Like them just being best friends and acting like an old married couple?

I know this isn’t really like…a lot to go off of, haha, sorry :)

i love stobin!!!! this is a lil short but i hope you enjoy the stobin scoops ahoy shenanigans with a little added Eddie because somehow he snuck in there for plot. i promise its mostly Stobin /p though!!! tysm for the ask <3

Steve’s least favorite thing about working at Scoops Ahoy was theme days. Every Saturday, arguably the busiest day of the week, there was a new sea-related theme, accompanied by a mascot and a specialty flavor or two.

That Saturday was pirate day, and Steve and Robin were in the backroom getting ready to open when they heard someone come through the employee entrance. Footsteps were joined by whistling as someone approached.

“Who do you think is our pirate?” Robin whispered, moving toward Steve. “I hope it’s a girl.”

Steve laughed. “You just want a girl so you can stare at her all shift,” he whispered back, and Robin shoved him gently.

“Not true!” Her voice was a little louder now. “I want a girl so I don’t have to deal with a bunch of gross, sweaty boys like you for hours.”

“I am not gross or sweaty!” Steve exclaimed, grabbing her by the waist. “Take it back!”

Robin giggled, squirming in his grasp. His arms were wrapped around his hips, lifting her a few inches off the ground. “Put me down, you heathen,” she hissed playfully, kicking her feet. “Come on, Steve, this isn’t fair!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” sang Steve, spinning her around. “You must now suffer the consequences of insulting the one and only Steve Harrington.”

Twisting around, Robin broke free from Steve’s embrace. She launched forward, crowding him against the counter and running her hands through his gelled-up hair. “Got you!” 

A cough pulled the two of them from their bickering. They turned, freezing as their eyes landed on a new yet oddly familiar face. “Uh, sorry for interrupting,” a man said, pushing his brown curls out of his face. “I’m Eddie? I’m the stupid mascot or whatever for today.” He glanced between the two of them, like he was sizing them up. “Do you want me to leave you two alone or something?”

Robin made a retching noise, bouncing away from Steve and toward Eddie. “Please, don’t leave me alone with him,” she cried dramatically, holding out a hand. “I’m Robin, that’s Steve. We’re nothing more than platonic. I gag just thinking about it, jeez.”

“You’re so mean to me,” Steve sighed, fixing his hair and walking toward Eddie. “I’ve seen you around at Hawkins High. You deal, don’t you?”

Smiling, Eddie nodded. “Yeah.” He looked at Steve with something in his eye that the other man couldn’t quite make out. “But Wayne said I needed a real gig, so I’m doing stuff like this until I find something permanent. Let me tell you, I do a hell of a pirate voice.”

“I’m sure you do,” Robin giggled. “Your outfit is in the leftmost locker, you can change in the bathroom.” 

Eddie gave a little thanks and a nod, heading out toward the bathroom to get ready. When he left, Robin elbowed Steve. 

“Ouch! What?”

“He was cute,” Robin said. 

Steve looked at her. “You’re a lesbian.”

“I didn’t mean for me,” she replied with an innocent whistle. “Oh, don’t look at me like that.”

“I’m looking at you like I usually look at you!” Steve exclaimed, throwing his hands into the air. 

Robin grinned, teeth on display. “Exactly.” She raised a finger, pressing it gently to his nose before turning and skipping to the front. “Your face, it pains me.”

“I hate you.”

“No you don’t.”

Groaning, Steve leaned against the counter. “I really do,” he said, no hostility in his words at all.