#so you can't see the full waviness I had going on but oh well

[that-cheer-up-anon]

Yesterday was really fun (despite having to wake up early)! Went to the city w my partner to hang out w my big sister at a Japanese market.

There were quite a few stalls w stickers, charms, ceramics, and even a build-your-own terrarium! Had hojicha gelato and honestly I can see why my big sis likes hojicha more than matcha (I think I do too).

There was an area where you could write your wishes on paper and tape it to bamboo for Tanabata. There was one where someone drew a tall among us, and another where someone just wrote "Live, Laugh, Love" which I don't think is a wish, but whatever.

Bought a lot of stickers, an enamel pin and a couple of scrunchies from local artists which was really nice! I was so caught up w the stalls I forgot there was a second level and grocery, so I guess we'll have to go another time to see what's up there.

After the market we got some ramen and it was soooo good! It was my second time going there but the first time for my big sis. We all got black garlic ramen. She said it was really good and worth the money (she lived in Japan for years so I know she knows her stuff), so I'm glad we know at least ONE good authentic ramen place.

We split ways w my big sis and went to a billiard hall and played pool for an hour before heading home. Never been to a billiard hall before which was cool. We got there as soon as it opened so it was mostly empty. I had a lot of fun (even though I lost both rounds lol).

[kurogane2512]

After reading the Cocolia one shot in wattpad and then in Tumblr, I can't help but wonder at the end. I really want to see what happened after 😭😭

I want a Herrscher of the Void (Sirin) reader meeting Star Rail Himeko and the reader avoids her when meeting her because back in her universe, killing her Himeko was the biggest regret the reader made, thinking it was all a trap for her, now living in regret she has to get used to this Star Rail Himeko as they journey on the Astral Express. (SFW or NSFW)

I actually have a request for a fic about her continuation with the Express so I'll be writing all my thoughts in that! 🥰

And oh my god my heart broke reading the request all I think of is the arc when Kiana suffered the aftermath of the Hyperion battle and blamed herself so much for Himeko's death 😭

Game: Honkai Star Rail

Characters: HSR Himeko x Herrscher!reader (HoV)

Type: Fluff and slight angst with comfort

The Astral Express soared through the vast empty galaxy when an unexpected obstruction rocked the train and alerted its passengers. Pom Pom notified that some kind of portal formed on the path and an entity appeared from it, stopping the express from moving. March and Dan Heng took out their weapons and stood on guard while Welt stood in front of the door as it opened, the obsturction finally coming in their sight.

"Oh, it really is a train... Huh, interesting."

Welt's eyes widened at the person in front. How could it be? He had no idea.

"....Been a long time, Mr Welt. So, this is where you have been all these years."

"....Y/n, or should I say.... Herrscher of the Void? What's your objective here?"

"Now now, no need to be on guard. I'm not here to harm anyone, I was just strolling through space when I picked up your energy and thought to say hi~"

Welt glared at you then looked back at March and Dan Heng who lowered their weapons on his signal and allowed you inside.

"You have changed, Y/n. Did you win over the Honkai?"

"Mhm, you could say that. The price was leaving everyone and everything I cherished, but I don't regret it."

"You have been... floating through space since then? How long has it been?"

"I don't know anymore.... I remember I left a few months after that incident. When did you leave Earth, Mr Welt?"

"....Around 8 years after that incident according to Earth's time."

"I see, it's been a while then...."

Safe to say, your first encounter with the Astral Express Crew was full of surprises and uneasiness. Welt introduced you to March and Dan Heng to the best of his abilities, intentionally skipping to disclose too many details about Earth. You had just begun to take in the atmosphere and feel of the Express when your eyes fell upon a familiar woman walking towards you.... those flame-like wavy hair and golden eyes, you couldn't believe your eyes.

"Ahem, Welt? What's going on?"

Welt walked up to the said woman and explained the same things to her, all the while you stood speechless at your spot and stared at her with wide eyes. It was a splitting image, yet there were significant differences between her and the woman in your memory.

"H....H-Himeko? Is that you....?"

You spoke in a shaky and unsteady voice, countless memories and images surging through your mind at the moment. The woman responded to your voice and looked at you with a gentle smile, and right at that moment you saw her again. That face appeared in front of you, projected on this woman's face with the exact same expression.

"Ara, you already know my name? Welt, did you tell her?" the woman named Himeko spoke, and indeed her voice was exactly the same as well. It was like meeting a clone, but deep inside you knew what was happening yet you found it hard to believe.

"Ah, no— How to explain this?" Welt said with a sigh and held his head. Himeko softly chuckled then came closer to you, observing you from head-to-toe for a moment with a smile.

"Welcome to the Astral Express. I'm Himeko, the Navigator of the Express. It's a pleasure to meet someone like you, Y/n. Welt has told me about Herrschers on his home world, and I must say it's quite exciting to meet one with my own eyes finally."

This woman was her, yet also wasn't her. You didn't know how to react.

"Uh... I... I...." you stammered and stepped back, wanting to run far away from here.

"I.... No.... I.... I'm sorry!" you blurted out and summoned a portal but couldn't jump in as Welt held your arm and stopped you, using his own powers to cancel out your portal.

"Hold it, Y/n! Dan Heng, March! Don't let her leave!" Welt ordered and both March and Dan Heng immediately held you from the other side.

"W-What?! Welt, let me go! What's the meaning of this?!" you shouted and struggled out of their hold; you could push everyone away in the blink of an eye but the presence of the woman in front made you powerless.

"Y/n, calm down! Let us talk first!" Welt shouted.

"I don't want to! Let me go! I'll leave and never come back! I promise I won't hurt anyone!" tears were swelling up in your eyes as you looked back n forth at all the people in front. Himeko was visibly worried and tried to help as well, but the barrage of traumatic memories and your past weighed you down causing you to pass out in front of everyone. The next time you woke up was in one of the rooms of the Express, tears stains on your face as you stared at the unfamiliar ceiling and recalled your past.

You had a slight hope it was your Himeko, but you knew that wasn't the case and maybe that was for the best. You ended up staying on the Express for a few days on Welt's request, you didn't understand his motive but you couldn't deny you were drawn to the company here. March and Dang Heng were pleasant to be around and kept you occupied with questions and activities, eager to see your powers and know you more.

As for Himeko? You didn't see her after you woke up, you were informed she was fixing up any problems on the Express caused by your unexpected arrival. But that was only for a day. Afterwards, you saw her every now and then sitting in the lobby drinking coffee or reading some book. She always greeted you with the same gentle smile and offered you to sit beside her but you politely refused every time.

You had come close to everyone on the Express except Himeko, and she was quick to notice that. It was obvious how you avoided her, either looking away from her whenever in the same room or making very small talk if she tried approaching you. While Himeko would never interfere in your personal life, she couldn't deny it was upsetting how you avoided only her. She wondered if you hated her, and what she did to make you hate her.

You had become a reliable helping hand around the Express, Pom Pom seemed to find you quite efficient and was happy to have you on-board. There were times when you'd reach places generally difficult to reach in the Express and fix errors; like the time when the engine suddenly stopped working and Himeko was trying to fix it but she needed someone to go outside and aid her. It was an easy task for you so you offered to help, despite your hidden reluctance.

"And... that was it! Well done, Y/n. Thank you very much for the help. I'd normally make Dan Heng go outside and do that but you made it so much easier. Say, would you mind if I invited you for some coffee and snacks? Or anything other than coffee even, I'd just like to thank you for helping me with this." Himeko extended a cordial invitation to you, hopeful that you'd accept.

"Ah.... Um, sorry but no. You don't need to do that to thank me. Uh... s-sorry, I'll leave now. You can call me to help again, I don't mind."

"A-Ah, wait, Y/n—!" Himeko tried to protest but you already teleported away from her sight. She sighed and looked down in perplexion; thanking you was just one reason; she had hoped to get to know you better and perhaps clear any misunderstandings. It was truly confusing and upsetting to her now. She decided to talk to Welt after all her attempts to befriend you failed, he was the only person who knew you best.

That night, you laid on the bed of your cabin when an unexpected knock came on your door followed by an even more unexpected voice, "Y/n, it's me. Are you still awake? I'm sorry but I needed your help with something." It was Himeko. You sat up in shock and contemplated what to do, ultimately deciding to agree since you wanted to help her. You didn't care what she thought of you, as long as she was safe and happy.

"Oh, sure. I'll come." you opened the door for her and she asked you to come with her. To your surprise, she took you to her own room. You didn't understand what kind of help she needed here, and you became slightly suspicious.

"S-So, what do you need help with, Hi— Um, ma'am?" you struggled to even say her name.

Himeko smiled, "Have a seat first, make yourself comfortable."

You slowly nodded and made your way to the bed then sat down on one side. She looked through her belongings for a while then picked up something and came to sit beside you quite closely, making you shift away from her in a tensed manner.

"Here, does this look familiar to you?" Himeko handed you a photo and your eyes widened looking at it, your hands trembling while holding it.

"T-This... how come? W-Where is this? And how do you...?" you blabbered a string of words and looked at Himeko in shock.

"....It's on a Space Station that the Express regularly visits. I don't know if it's the real thing, but it is there in their storage room as a prized possession of the Space Station's owner. Sometimes I have been close to it and observed it, and I hear some strange whispers in my ear for a brief moment but I'm never able to make out what they say."

"I see.... I do know about it. It's.... from my world, from someone close to me."

You looked away then handed back the photo to her and abruptly stood up to walk out, "Is that all? Sorry, I'll help you some other time—"

"I know what happened, Y/n. I know who you are referring to." Himeko spoke before you could leave, making you stop in your tracks with your back turned to her.

"....Did Welt tell you?"

Himeko sighed, "Yes.... I didn't want to barge into your personal matters but I became increasingly worried how you avoided me. Will you give me a chance to talk, Y/n?"

"There's nothing to talk about.... It's not your fault, none of it is. You did nothing wrong. It's my own inability and fear. I'm sorry for making you feel that way but just know you are not in the wrong."

"Then!" Himeko suddenly came near you and held your wrist, "Then, let me help you through that fear! Let me help you overcome it!"

Her words shocked you, the touch of her skin sending shivers in your body. You gritted your teeth then slowly turned to look at her, the same gentle smile and kind eyes gazing at you.

"....Let go. I don't deserve it."

Himeko was surprised by the hurtful look on your face then frowned at your words and pulled you towards herself, tightly embracing you.

"Who decides that? I believe people can change and deserve a second chance, a chance to make things right and forge their own path. I look forward to the future."

".....You are so much like her. She would also say something similar in such situations."

Tears welled up in your eyes, Himeko gently caressed your head while embracing you and you couldn't hold back anymore. You melted in her touch and familiar feeling, wrapping your own arms around her and holding her close as if you never wanted to let go. Both of you sat down on the bed beside each other and she held your hand while wiping the tears from your face then cupping your face.

"S-Sorry, I don't know what to do in this situation...."

"Well, for starters, how about telling me what's on your mind? You have only been saying 'sorry' and running away from me every time I tried to talk."

"Ah, sorry about that. No, I mean—" you mindlessly blurted more string of apologies making Himeko chuckle and hold you again.

"Just calm down first, okay? Take it slow, you don't have to force yourself."

You nodded then finally calmed down enough after some time and felt like talking.

"How much did Welt tell you?"

"Not much. He explained what Herrschers were in your world and what kind of powers you have. He said you likely hold yourself responsible for causing pain and destruction there, and that you have seemingly been floating in space for a long time as punishment for your actions...."

"He left out the most important part then.... Yes, he's correct about all of that. I.... lost control of myself and killed so many people, destroyed so many lives. Among them was her..... the one woman I loved. She saved me, but I was blinded by power and....k-killed her too."

Your breath hitched as you finally said the words deep in your heart.

"That woman was.... Himeko in your world?"

You nodded, "She looked just like you.... Same hair color, eyes and voice. She was my teacher first, she taught me so much and helped me. And I.... what did I do to repay her?"

More tears filled your eyes and Himeko caressed your head, "I understand. Thank you for being so brave and telling me."

"I know I shouldn't project her on you. You are indeed similar but also significantly different, I have noticed it during the time I have been here. But.... I.... I'm sorry I just—"

"Shh shh, it's okay. No need to say more, I completely understand."

You nodded and she again hugged you closely, keeping your head on her chest and tenderly caressing it.

"But you know, Y/n, what Welt told me about Herrschers was different, especially about you. He said you were experimented on as a child and injected with the Honkai virus. Then the Honkai virus is responsible for what happened, it controlled your mind and made you do all that, then you left your planet to stay away from everyone and keep them safe. And now you gained control over the Honkai all by yourself; so tell me, how is any of this your fault? To me, it seems you are just a victim like everyone else. In fact, you have suffered the most in all of this."

"....I'm still the one who committed all those actions, it was my body and my face. If I was strong enough to gain control earlier then I would have prevented it, but I couldn't. It is on me.... I can't undo it even with these powers."

Himeko looked at you with a sympathetic expression then gently held your chin and turned your face to herself, you gazed into her deep golden eyes and felt lost as if you were looking at the love of your life. But you knew what the truth was and there was no denying it, it was pointless to gaze into this depth and search for her. You pulled away from her grip and turned around, your back facing her now.

"Uh, thank you for listening but I'm fine. I'll leave the Express tomorrow and not bother any of you more, it was a nice change of pace meeting you all and you treated me really well. I can't thank you enough..."

Himeko was caught by surprise, "You know, everyone would be happy if you stay. They have all already accepted you as a Nameless. Pom Pom loves how helpful you are with repairs, March is happy to have a companion around the same age as her and it seems you both share some hobbies, Dan Heng is intrigued by you and finds you a good practice partner, Welt is... well, you already know him enough."

"....And what about you? What do you think of me? I have only been avoiding you all this time...."

Himeko smiled to herself and moved closer to you then embraced you from behind, wrapping her arms around your torso and snuggling into your shoulder. The action made you blush, her body pressed closely to you and her breath tickled your ear, her lips even ghosting your skin.

"Why, you are very helpful to me as well. Everytime you helped me selflessly and asked for nothing in return. I know how you observe me and keep a close eye on me even when we aren't in the same space. You avoid me up-front but you are otherwise always attentive to me, aren't you?"

"....How did you know?"

"Hehe, just call it a Navigator's instinct. Of course, I'm happy if you stay as well. You have been alone and lonely long enough, it's time you heal your wounds and find happiness. If you like being with us then you are more than welcome to stay."

"I do... I really like it here. All of you are so different yet you seem like a family, I didn't know this is what a family felt like...."

"Mhm, we have been together for a while and faced many things together. All of us will always support each other. That's the way of the Nameless."

You wiped the tears in your eyes then let out a chuckle, "To think it's Himeko again who's comforting me.... It's a strange turn of fate."

Himeko smiled to herself then kissed your cheek, a blush forming on your face as you slowly turned to face her. She cupped your face and caressed your cheek with her thumb then came closer and kissed your forehead too followed by kissing your other cheek.

"H-Himeko.... you don't have to...." you said embarrassingly.

"Hehe, I can't help myself. You are so adorable and you finally called my name~"

You looked away bashfully, giving her the chance to kiss your cheek again. The barrage of kisses on your face didn't stop and soon you found yourself pinned on the bed with Himeko straddling you, both of you gazing at each other with ragged breaths and red faces. She cupped your face and slowly leaned down to connect her lips with yours, initiating a soft and gentle kiss. Your eyes opened wide at this, yet the feeling of her lips on yours made you melt into her and kiss back.

The kiss didn't last for long, it felt more like a loving peck with how quickly she pulled back, leaving you with a sense of wanting more. Himeko smiled and sat up on your waist, pulling you with herself. She wrapped her arms around your neck and embraced you again, whispering in a soft tone, "Let's take it slow, shall we? If you want to do more, that is~"

You blushed then kept your hand on her upper back and nodded, "I do.... but I don't want to think of you as a replacement for her. You are Himeko but you are not her, and I want to love you for who you are not because you are Himeko. Um, did that make sense?"

"Mhm, I understand. I also want that, I'd be upset if you take me just because I look and sound like her...." she paushed then leaned close to your ear, "....I'll make you love me, I hope you will be prepared~"

Little did you both know that you were already drawn to her, the Himeko that she was and not the one in your memory.

[nirvanawrites111]

Set My Wings On Fire Part 2 (Sub!Christian Yu x Fem!dom Reader)

Pairing: Christian Yu/DPR Ian x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 1717

Summary: It's been 30 days since you last saw him and he needs to make up for the lost time. You're still delulu af for him, but tonight is all about your pleasure.

Warning: Smut, fem!dom, slight humiliation kink, degradation for Christian calling him bitch and slut, oral sex (fem rec), face strap, face riding, mentions of killing, handcuffing, you're called goddess, fem reader implied but no pronouns used.

Part 1

minors and ageless blogs do not interact. Just put some indication of your age if you're going to engage, please.

"Control me, please. I need you," Christian whimpers for you. His hair is a mess, his eyes are full of darkness, and he's in front of you, begging to be dominated. His hands are restrained.

He's never had a problem relinquishing power over to you. In fact, it was his idea that he wanted to be dommed by you.

Normally, this is all it would take for you to give in to his pleading. He's in your favorite position, on his knees, willing and able to please.

But, for a particular reason, it isn't enough to sway you.

Your lover is desperate for your touch. He needs to feel your fingertips run against his skin more than he requires his next breath.

Yes, he was on the run, but this wasn't his first rodeo, and for knowing him so well, it won't be the last.

Today, was supposed to be a celebration of being able to reunite with each other. Because your man has somehow outsmarted the FBI and the police, and his name is magically no longer on the most wanted list.

You don't ask questions, because these are incriminating details that you can't afford at the moment.

You stand before him and glance down at the man below you. His beautiful dark brown hair is in messy wavy curls, and his knees are on the cold marble floor.

He's shirtless, but he has on sweats. Even through those pants, you can see that he is excited to see you. He is happy to be able to be in your presence.

Yes, you want nothing more than to pounce on your sweet lover, but this is just one problem.

He went completely radio silent on you during this "run."

Which triggered your anxiety more than usual. Every single time your phone rang, you were hoping that it was him to let you know he's safe.

"No," You finally speak after a little bit of time has passed.

It's hard for you not to give in to his wants because you love this man so much. You have blindly decided to meet him at this location in a random ass city, because of your undying loyalty to him. 

You don't even think you could exist without him, which is why those thirty days were harder than expected. Also, because you never knew when they were going to end.

"Goddess," Christian whines in such a deep tone, and his accented plea is so sexy to you. "Please. I need you. All I want to do is serve you. I've had dreams about tasting you and being fucked by you. Please."

"Oh really?"

"Yes." Christian sounds so desperate, but truth be told, you liked being desired in this way. "Use me as you will. I know I've been bad."

His whines seem sincere, but you're not convinced yet. He's going to have to prove to you how sorry he is.

"Tell me.. say it. How have you been bad?" You fold your arms, demanding an answer so that you both know why he needs to be punished.

"I neglected you. It wasn't my intention, angel. I just wanted to protect you."

"Protect me? By ignoring me." You scoff. Tell that to your many sleepless nights wondering if something happened to you.

You walk around the spacious bedroom. Your heels click against the marble floor. Somehow, he's managed to pull off getting a mansion in the middle of nowhere. As you explore the bedroom, your eyes are drawn to the exquisite chandelier hanging from the high ceiling, casting a warm glow across the room. The luxurious furnishings and tasteful decor reflect his understanding of your appreciation for elegance.

However, deep down, you hope this grand gesture isn't his way of compensating for past mistakes, longing for genuine forgiveness and understanding instead.

You turn to face him again and lift his chin to meet his eyes as he explains his reasoning.

"I had to be extra careful, because I didn't want anything getting tied to you. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if that happened. I'm madly in love with you, Y/n."

You want to cuss him out, but the truth is your feelings for him are mutual. So, you feel a bit conflicted because no one understands you the way he does. No one can make you feel the way he does.

No one can dominate you like him. No one can submit the way he does. The perks of being with him outweigh all the bullshit of what he does when he's not with you.

For some, the fear is their partners being unfaithful. For you, it's pondering if any of your disloyal exes ever faced Christian's wrath.

"Christian, I'm going to have to punish you."

"I know, goddess. I deserve it and will take whatever you give me."

"Normally, I would just spank you. But, I have something better planned. Now get over here and eat my pussy, bitch."

You sit down on the comfy bed and spread your legs. You watch as he eagerly falls between your legs. He takes his handcuff hands and pushes your dress up one side at a time. You're already not wearing panties for easy access.

Christian laps all your center. He licks across your clit and swirls around until you gush a little. His tongue trails down to catch all your juices.

You moan in pleasure as Christian's expert tongue explores every inch of your sensitive folds.

"Thank you, goddess, for letting me taste you. All I want to be is serve you."

"Yeah, yeah.. talk is cheap. Keep licking until I cum. No more talking until I do."

You're a bit harsh with him, but you know that he loves to be degraded. His mission is to make you orgasm, which you both know he has no problem doing.

Christian savors at your essence. He whimpers as he licks away at your pussy. The taste of you is something that he's been craving for the last thirty days. Every day he's spent without you left him lost in thoughts of fulfilling your desires.

He would have gladly taken the spanking from you. He loves the way you can take charge of the situation. Your ability to switch is something he admires so much.

You continue to enjoy the satisfaction of him practically worshipping you because you're literally a goddess in his eyes.

Christian isn't playing with you. His tongue is working overtime to make sure his goddess cums.

One thing about your man is he knows how to please you. He knows how you like it when he goes fast. He giving you faster licks to the point you have to grab the back of his head because you're approaching your peak.

"Fuck, I'm so close... baby. Just like that!" You cry out.

Before you can utter another word, Christian continues his reluctance pace, bringing you closer to your peak. As you tiptoe closer to your climax, your legs tremble, and you close your eyes to enjoy that final moment before you release.

The intensity of your orgasm rips through you, and you ride the familiar wave that you crave so much. Christian isn't letting up, either. He continues to suck your juices out of your pussy.

He's addicted to the way that you taste. He licks you clean until you push him away from you.

"God, I've missed you, goddess," Christian says, crawling back between your legs to give your pussy a final french kiss because he's so in love with pleasing you.

Christian is the type that you could lock him in a room with you and make him eat you for hours and hours. He would enjoy it more than you, because that's how addicted he is to you. He just wants to please you in any way he can.

Christian lays his head on your thigh, waiting for your next instruction.

"Christian," you call his name.

"Yes, goddess?"

You could see the light in his eyes and his eagerness when he was with you. This is the man that no one else gets to see. This is the side he hides from the world.

"You know... you did a great job giving me head. Which I would expect from a slut like yourself. But, you're not cumming tonight. I am. But, I'll let you fuck me."

"Really, goddess?"

"Yes, with a strap-on. You don't deserve to feel my pussy just yet."

You know that Christian was expecting to get pegged. Maybe he thought he would get a rough pegging session, and you would deny him release. But, you have a point to prove.

"Goddess, I really can't get fucked? I was really waiting for this."

"And I was really waiting to hear from you. Maybe you could earn a chance to get fucked, but until then, get on the bed."

You grab the face strap on and put it on his face so that you can ride his face this time.

"You ready?" you ask him.

"Yes, goddess."

You're still wet from when he ate your pussy, so you position yourself over his face while you ease down onto the strap. You quickly find a rhythm as he pumps from underneath you.

Although you would rather have Christian hard dick inside of you, the strap feels good inside of you. You stroke your clit as you enjoy Christian pleasuring you. 

"You're so eager to make me cum again, huh slut.. you're that desperate to get fucked in the ass?" You degrade him.

"Mmmhm.. yes, goddess. But, my priority right now is just pleasing you. I can't wait to feel your juices drip down my face."

You hold onto the headboard as you ride his face strap-on. Sure, it might be punishment, but Christian is enjoying very moment.

For the second time tonight, you feel the familiar feeling.  Your body tenses up, and a wave of pleasure washes over you as you reach your climax. Your juices coat his face, and now he's glistening with your cum all over his face.

You remove the strap from his face and slip your tongue into his mouth. "You did a great job pleasing me... maybe we could talk about you riding my strap." "I'd like that goddess."

Please reblog if you enjoyed my work! It helps my work get discovered by other readers. I would GREATLY appreciate it!!!

[sylusjinwoon]

{ 113 }

give me love.

akira kurusu x fem. reader

12 months to fall

general notes: unedited; both akira and the reader are in their 20s; the story takes place in roughly the south-eastern part of the united states (think north carolina, tennessee, virginia, etc)

{ caught in a river of records and dreams | oh, will you keep up with me? | everyone's looking for someone to hold | but i can't let you go... }

{ 2019 }

september

the fresh scent of autumn was in the air, and there was an excitement felt coursing through your veins. you were eager to start your first milestone here, your university life at the ripe age of 20.

your university was well-known, despite it being in the middle of a small town. it accepted thousands upon thousands of students each year, and you were proud to be one of them. the campus was gorgeous, and you found yourself being distracted by the various trees planted throughout it and the way the leaves changed colors. as you looked around, your breath was immediately taken away at the sight of a grand oak tree settled a few feet away.

it was as though you were drawn to it, the colors reminding you of a fiery sunset as you seemed to gravitate toward it without even a second thought. the moment you stood beneath it, you allowed your hands to gently touch at the orange leaves, not realizing such beauty could exist.

you were stuck admiring the tree for an unknown amount of time, becoming aware of someone who stood in your periphery. you said nothing to the stranger, just continued to admire the branches of the oak tree when a soft voice was heard.

"i did not realize it would be so beautiful here."

what caught you off guard was the faint traces of an accent beneath his tone. being filled with a curiosity, you look to your right to see what had to be the most beautiful young man you had ever laid eyes on.

he had wavy, ebony locks of hair and wore a pair of glasses that covered his stormy, grey eyes. he was tall and lanky, but you had a hunch that he was much stronger than he looked as you trailed your eyes down his form before looking back at his eyes. his full lips were halfway parted as he met your gaze, not once breaking eye contact with you, and the intensity of his stare was enough to make your cheeks heat up in response.

your heart was pounding, and you felt shy suddenly, unable to hold his gaze as you looked away from him. "y-yes, i've seen the leaves changing colors before, but not with such bright intensity."

you wanted to talk to this perfect stranger some more, but was cut off when your alarm went off from the confines of your bag. with a gasp, you hastily take your phone out to see the time read 9:00am, meaning you had fifteen minutes to get to your first class of the day.

letting out a tiny curse, you were about to say your goodbyes to this perfect stranger when he stops you, placing his hand on your wrist. "w-wait, don't go, i-i'm a bit lost and am unsure of where to go for my first class of the day."

you ask him what class he had, and when he says the same name of your first class of the morning, you gave him a wide smile and take a hold of his hand.

"that's perfect, we share the first class together then. come with me, i'll take you."

without giving it a second thought, you take a hold of his hand and interlock your fingertips together with his, unaware of the way the slightest dust of pink was seen settled against his cheek.

october

akira kurusu was his name, and you found out that he had come to your university as an exchange student, where he would spend a year learning about what being a student was like here in the u.s. he tells you about how he spent most of his life growing up in a small town and how due to certain circumstances, he had to spend his second year of high school in the big city.

when you asked him why he had to move at such an odd place in time, a strange look of discomfort fell over him, with akira telling you it was just something he had to do. his tone was closed off, and it was clear that he didn't wish to talk about it.

wanting to change the subject for his sake, you asked about his desire to come here to the states and was relieved when you heard him perk up once more. you spent some time enjoying a warm cup of coffee at your university's café, wishing to get to know akira better as he spoke about his interests. you felt awkward, trying to determine how akira wanted you to address him as, since you knew that in japan, many people referred to there peers by their last name. for the past couple of weeks, you have been referring to akira by his surname, but the strange glint in his eyes each time you called him kurusu made him feel too distant from you.

when you told akira about this concern, akira simply smiled at you, "you may call me akira, since i see you as a friend... well, my only friend here, really."

he was truly such a sweet and intelligent young man, telling you about how he held an interest in learning and taught himself english when he was a teenager.

you compliment him on his drive and how flawlessly he spoke. "seriously, english is a really tough language to learn, so i'm so proud of you and your hard work ku- i-i mean, a-akira."

you found yourself stuttering when you said his name, tasting it on the tip your tongue for the first time. akira's eyes widen the moment he hears you say his name, and you could have sworn you say a light tinge of pink against his cheeks.

seemingly embarrassed, akira lets out a cough before holding his cup of coffee, taking a sip of it so as to distract himself. he was acting a bit...strange- flustered was more like it. and with akira being so flustered, it made your own cheeks heat up in response.

"i-i'm so sorry, did you prefer me to call you kurusu instead-"

"no!" akira begins to vehemently shake his head, setting down his cup of coffee as a genuine smile paints his soft features. "i-i actually like how my name sounds against your lips..."

akira keeps his grey eyes on you while murmuring your own name in response, the syllables being enough to make your heart pound in response, not quite getting used to the sound of his smooth voice saying your name.

and it was in that moment that you realized you liked how your name sounded against akira's lips as well.

november

"akira sounds like such a wonderful friend, sweetheart. you should invite him over for thanksgiving!"

"m-mom!" something about her suggestion makes your entire face heat up in embarrassment.

you were nearly done with the semester, and thanksgiving break was only a few days away. after you completed your exam, you would be free to return home and enjoy the holiday with your family. but your mother's suggestion made you consider inviting akira along.

"you said that your best friend is originally from japan, right? so it doesn't seem likely that he'll go back home for just a few days. me and your father would not mind if you invited him over."

the offer was truly tempting for you as you chewed on your bottom lip, considering it. it didn't feel right to leave akira all alone when at least 90% of the school would be leaving to go back home to their families. just picturing akira all alone in his dorm room made your heart ache, and with your mother's permission, you figured having akira join you for thanksgiving would be needed.

you spend a few more minutes talking to your mother before hanging up the phone. going through your messages, you click on akira's name, the pad of your thumbs poised over the keyboard as you thought of what to say to him. as if akira himself had read your mind, you see a new text pop up from him that reads:

akira 🤓 📖 : [ hey, are you free right now? i just bought some hot cocoa for us! can i come over? ]

you 🌅 : [ YES! my roomie just left yesterday since she didn't have to take any exams. i'm all alone rn and it's kinda freaky here 😭 ]

akira 🤓 📖 : [ alright, i'll be over in a minute ❤️ ]

you felt butterflies erupt all across your abdomen upon seeing his little heart at the end, with you seeming to read his text over and over again.

you would be lying if you said that you hadn't developed a slight crush on akira kurusu. after all, he was just so soft and sweet. he gave off the aura of being the classic boy-next-door, and you wondered why he wasn't seeing anyone or was already taken.

recalling the moment you had studied with him just a few weeks ago, you brought up his relationship status out of pure curiosity (ignoring the fact that you were beginning to catch feelings for him) and was shocked to find out that he was still single.

"i was seeing someone when i was 16 and at shujin, but when i had to move back home, we had to end it. we're still on good terms though, and i consider them to be a great friend to this day!"

the familiar sensation of butterflies was felt coursing through you at the thought of akira being single, making you feel like you truly had a chance with him. however, a part of you was reluctant to truly tell him how you feel, not wishing to destroy this perfect friendship you had already developed with him.

so despite how you felt, you held back your feelings for him, wanting to cherish what you already had with such a sweet guy like akira.

a sudden knock at your door breaks you out of your prior reveries pertaining to akira, with you alerting your guest that you were coming. with an excited bounce in your step, you unlock your door to see your goofy and cheerful best friend holding up two warm cups of hot cocoa with a warm smile on his face before coming in.

"hey tr- i-i mean..." akira coughs, clearing his throat before referring you to your name. the strangeness of it all was enough to make your head tilt in question, but you ultimately decided against it. with a smile on your face, you take the hot cocoa from akira's hands while taking a sip of it. with you sighing dreamily at the taste, you beckon akira to follow you before settling yourself on the couch.

you fall into easy conversation when akira joins you, being so comfortable around each other that you had no reason to hide your true self from him. as you listened to akira speak, you felt the burning sensation creeping up against your throat.

you really wanted to ask akira if he would join you for thanksgiving, but you weren't sure if he would accept. he seemed like a very reserved person, and you didn't wish to scare him off with the plethora of family members that were bound to be in your home. but at the same time, you didn't particularly enjoy the thought of akira being all alone, either.

a soft voice calling your name coupled along with a hand being waved in front of you breaks you out of your thoughts as you see akira looking at you with concern. "are you okay? you seem out of it. is something bothering you? you know you can always talk to me about it."

the reassuring smile on akira's face was what finally gave you the courage to ask him. so, taking a deep breath, you clenched your eyes shut and told him, "m-my parents said that this was okay, but, if you can, would you like to come back home with me and spend thanksgiving with me and my family?"

the silence seemed deafening, and you were still feeling too anxious to open your eyes and meet his gaze. only when you heard the melodious sound of his laughter did you open your eyes.

the expression akira was giving you was making your heart race, with his eyes looking at you with such fondness that you found it harder to breathe. his gentle chuckle continues on for a few more seconds before he leans forward, reaching out a hand to softly grace at your cheek with the back of his hand.

"are you sure i won't intrude on your time with your family?"

you shake your head in response, feeling as though the air was sapped from your lungs the moment you witness his smile once more.

"then... if you'll have me, i don't mind spending thanksgiving break surrounded by you and your loved ones..."

december

letting akira experience thanksgiving at your household was a bit chaotic, yet so much fun at the same time. during the entire day, your parents and extended family welcomed your friend with open arms, and they had a blast learning about his culture with akira doing the same.

you were incredibly happy that akira enjoyed a lot of the foods that were piled high upon his plate, and the amount of leftovers that were still available the next day. it was so refreshing to see akira smiling so much while genuinely having such a great time.

after your finals were completed during the second week of december, you were shocked to find how quickly time was passing by, with your first semester already completed and christmas just a few days away. your parents had decided to spend the holidays up north where your grandparents resided, and you decided to stay back and spend it with akira.

when you broke the news to your mother over the phone, she seemed to understand why you wished to spend some time with akira and not leave him all alone on christmas day. she tells you how sweet he was and that she was happy for you, which in turn made you break out into a wide grin when you told her that you were only just friends with him.

yet the slight trill heard in her laughter let you know that she did not believe a single word that you said.

but truth be told, you didn't believe yourself, either.

when you told akira that you would be staying on campus, too, he gave you the brightest smile while giving you an unexpected hug. you could feel your eyes widen, taking in the scent of his cologne mixed in with coffee and something slightly spicy and sweet, like cinnamon, while returning his hug.

after a few seconds, he lets go of you while placing his hands on your shoulders. "that means we can spend christmas in my dorm. when midnight hits on the 24, come on over and we can celebrate together."

akira's excitement was palatable, and you found yourself smiling along with him while giving him an eager nod. "yes, i'll come over when midnight hits. should i make anything, or...?"

akira shakes his head before giving you a tiny smile. "there's no need, i've got everything covered. all you need to do is come by my dorm at midnight, got it?"

"got it."

you and akira still spent some time together up until the day before christmas. because he wanted to 'surprise' you, you did not get a chance to see him today, which gave you some time to wrap your present for him.

for some odd reason, akira had a deep fascination and love for arséne lupin, the gentleman thief. he often told you that his interest in learning english was to read the translated works of maurice leblanc, and that the surname leblanc held a deep meaning for him. so before finals began, you explored your local bookstore and was excited to find a leather bound copy arséne lupin, gentleman burglar.

knowing that this was the perfect gift for akira, you began wrapping the novel with a wide smile on your face. as you continued to wrap his gift, you slowly began to realize just how deeply you felt for akira, and the feelings you harbored for him were beginning to morph into something stronger than just a mere crush.

you were beginning to fall for him... hard.

once the present was completely wrapped, you looked at the time on your phone to see a text from akira:

akira 🤓 📖 : [ hey, so good news! i already completed my preparations. do you want to come over right now? ]

you found yourself smiling as you looked at the time on your phone.

you 🌅 : [ it's only 8pm. isn't it a bit too early?? ]

akira 🤓 📖 : [ yeah, i know lol but i really want to see you right now... ]

your heart was felt palpitating again, filling you with a warmth after seeing akira's text. as you chewed on your bottom lip, you began to grin before replying:

you 🌅 : [ i'll be there in 10 minutes. ]

akira 🤓 📖 liked your message.

since it was a bit cold outside, you threw on some tight fitting sweats along with a shirt and your favorite sweater, completing the look with your worn converses as you grabbed your bag and akira's present. placing the present within the confines of your bag, you fix your hair and grabbed your keys before making your way towards his dorm.

arriving in just a few minutes, you knock on akira's door, hearing some shuffling from behind as it opens just a few seconds later, revealing akira himself.

his face seemed flushed as he let out a breathless sigh of your name, welcoming you inside as he quickly beckons you to come closer. "here, come in and warm up. i've already got some dinner ready, too."

"oh wow, did you make me some curry? or omurice?" you giggle, taking off your shoes as you admired the cute cut out snowflakes hanging from the ceiling and the string of christmas lights strewn throughout the apartment.

as you admired the decorations, your eyes trail down towards the dining room table to find a bucket of fried chicken and a pure white cake settled on top of it. "what? fried chicken and cake?" you begin to giggle as you set your bag on the couch before following akira into the kitchen as he grabbed some plates.

although you knew that both of these foods were delicious, you wouldn't say that this was your typical christmas eve / christmas day meal. yet akira seemed excited all the same, "oh trust me, back home, when me and my old friends are able to spend christmas together, we would eat this and just have a good time."

the eagerness heard in his voice makes you smile, and you take one of the plates before settling yourself across from him on the table. you take some pieces of chicken while akira does the same, biting into it as you moaned at how good it tasted. "hmm, maybe you're on to something, akira. having fried chicken on christmas eve is pretty tasty."

"right? truly, i can't get enough of this."

you spoke to akira about his friends and family, and despite how he seemed to share so many fond memories with them, you could sense that he was keeping something hidden from you, something that would make his stories feel a bit more complete.

even though you held some suspicions about what akira was telling you, you allowed it to slide again since you were certain that if he wanted to tell you more, then he would do so when he was ready. you weren't going to be a bad friend and demand things from him that he wasn't ready to give.

after your delicious dinner of fried chicken, akira shares a thick slice of cake with you as you enjoyed how soft and fluffy it was. the frosting was addicting, and you were filled with so much happiness that you wanted akira to feel the same.

"hey aki?"

"hm?" akira looks away from his cake to see you getting up to take your bag. as you rummage through it, you brought out akira's gift. the two of you were completely silent as you sat back down and slid the gift across the table for him to take.

"i-it's not much, but today has been so much fun that i...i wanted to do something for y-you, too."

you watch with bated breath as akira takes the gift and carefully unwraps his. his fingertips work meticulously, and it was as though he didn't wish to tear apart the wrapping as he slowly revealed the leather bound copy of arséne lupin, gentleman burglar.

his grey eyes displayed no emotion, and you were afraid that he hated your gift. your heart was torn now, reaching out to him when he suddenly stands to walk away from you.

an iciness was felt coursing through your veins, and you felt the contents of your food swirling within your stomach, making you nauseous. your breathing became labored and you swore that you wanted to do nothing more than to get out of here, to run far away as you possible could-

yet that impulsive sensation dissipates into thin air when akira comes back with his own wrapped gift in his hands. he says nothing, simply returning to his seat settled across from you before sliding the present towards you.

all you could hear was the blushing rushing through your head as your shaky hands take the present. with careful movements, you unwrap the gift to see a slender velvet box settled on the palm of your hand. as you open up the box, you gasp upon seeing a glittering silver necklace with a snowflake pendant glimmering beneath the light.

"a treasure for my treasure." akira's voice was suddenly heard directly beside you, and you watch as his slender hands take the necklace out of the confines of its box.

you tried to keep your breathing even, yet you couldn't stop your heart from racing within your chest. you were becoming flustered, and when akira finished fastening the necklace around your neck did you finally turn around to look at him.

he wore a wide smile before leaning down closer to you. "c-can i kiss you?"

you could only manage a nod, sliding your eyes shut when you felt akira's soft lips press against yours in an achingly gentle, but sweet kiss. your first kiss with him wasn't demanding or forceful, but something that was soft and oh so giving.

after sharing a few more kisses with him did akira finally rest his forehead against yours.

while shakily saying your name, he asks, "will you be... mine?"

you would be a fool not to accept his confession.

january

time truly does go by so fast when you're having fun-

or when you're in love.

the moment you and akira became a couple on christmas eve was the best moment of your life. you had been so drawn to akira from the start and you were truly floating on cloud 9.

despite his departure looming above you, you decided to ignore such feelings of dread the moment akira must return back to japan in august. all you wanted to do was bask in the moment and spend as much time as you could with akira.

it was the evening after your first day of classes, the start of your spring semester when akira came over to your dorm to watch some movies with you on your laptop. you had a quick meal of instant ramen and put on a light, comedic film to enjoy.

you could feel akira cuddling you from behind, playing with your strands of hair briefly before softly calling your name.

"do you still want to know why i spent a year at a different school?"

you furrow your eyes a bit, reaching over towards your laptop to pause the movie. wanting to give akira your full attention, you turn around so that you were facing him, eyes glimmering with love while giving him a nod.

"yes, of course. if you trust me enough to talk about it, then yes."

he sighs before placing a kiss against your forehead. "i was sent to a different school because i was put on probation for a year, and my old school had kicked me out due to my then... criminal record."

your eyes were wide at this point, not believing that someone like akira could ever have a criminal record. akira knew what you were thinking and decided to hold you even closer to him. "i know i know. it's crazy, right? but all i wanted was to help her."

he then tells you the reasoning for his arrest, which involved a corrupt politician forcing a woman to go home with him. he didn't want the woman to do something that made her uncomfortable, and when he tried to move the man away from her, he fell due to his inebriated state.

because he was so powerful, no one believed akira when he told the cops the man had fallen by himself and was promptly arrested on the scene. you hear the way akira's voice cracked, knowing how traumatic it must have been for him as you slowly reached out to comfort him.

"oh, akira... i'm so sorry. it must have been so hard on you..."

you feel akira embrace you tightly while letting out a humorless laugh, "trust me, treasure, i've been through so much worse."

not wanting akira to be in pain, you gently frame at his face, making him face you as you could see the tears glimmering within his grey eyes. not saying a word, you leaned in to kiss him, tasting the saltiness of his tears against your lips, allowing akira to cling to you for comfort.

february

you never believed in celebrating valentine's day...

that is, until now.

you knew that it was customary in japan to make chocolates to display your romantic interest in a boy, but would it hold the same meaning if you were already in a relationship with akira?

in the end, you decided that it didn't matter, that as long as it made him happy, then you'd do something as ridiculous as making homemade chocolates for the first time just for him.

after sending akira a text that you were busy doing a project with one of your classmates (a complete lie), you spent the whole day gathering ingredients to make some chocolates for akira on this special day. while everyone else was spending it by going out to a dinner and a movie, you wanted to give akira a more traditional experience.

he told you valentine's day was kind of a big deal back where he was from and that there were many ways to celebrate it. anyone could celebrate valentine's day in either a platonic or romantic manner.

when you teased akira, asking if he got a lot of confession chocolates back when he was younger and you saw the way his face lit up in a blush was when you began laughing before kissing his cheek, commenting on how cute he was when he suddenly tackled you to the couch and began littering your face with kisses.

with the memory of that day fueling you, you put your entire heart and soul into the chocolates, following the recipe you found to the best of your abilities. a few hours later, you were able to make a decent amount of chocolate squares before individually wrapping them in cellophane and ribbons.

"whew." by the end of it all, you were sweating a bit, looking down at your basket of chocolates wrapped in a variety of different colors. it sure looked pretty, and you just hoped that it tasted even a little decent.

wishing to surprise akira, you take your basket and begin making your trek towards akira's dorm. with your heart pounding in anticipation, you knock on his door, hoping that his roommate was out and that you could spend some time with akira.

within a few seconds, you saw the door unlock with akira giving you a shocked expression. "i thought you had to do a project?"

you shake your head while holding up the basket of chocolates for him to take. "happy valentine's day, akira!"

he takes the basket of chocolates with an awed expression on his face, and you were in the midst of explaining, "now normally, i don't celebrate valentine's day at all, but i figured this would make you really happy. so, i tried to make some homemade chocolate and-"

you were cut off when akira takes a hold of your hand and crashes his lips into yours, kissing you with such fervor that it takes your breath away.

even if your chocolates may not be as sweet as you wanted it to be, akira's kisses made up for it by far.

march

akira 🤓 📖 ❤️ : [ meet me at our usual cafe, i have a surprise for you. ]

today was march 14, and you had just got out of your last class for the day when akira texted you. excited to see him again, you tell him that you were on your way and began walking toward the café with a bounce in your step.

upon entering the café, you saw akira settled on one of the tables in the corner and immediately went over to greet him. he sees you and takes you in his arms, giving you a quick kiss before gesturing at you to take a seat.

"i've got a surprise for you." he slides your favorite drink over to you, and you took a sip while basking in the warm flavor of your favorite coffee.

"mhmm, go on."

"you know the planetarium exhibit that just opened recently? well, i got us some tickets for it." akira was brimming with excitement now, completely and utterly excited for your date.

"wha- no way! that's so amazing aki! i've been dying to see it, too!" you talk about the rest of your plans for the night before akira quickly ushers you out of the café, "come on, let's get ready together, and we can enjoy our date."

with one last kiss, you tell akira that you'd meet him in the next couple of hours before heading back into your dorm to get ready. deciding to take a quick shower, you do so and make sure to clean yourself thoroughly, wanting to feel refreshed during your date with akira.

when you were done with your shower, you kept the towel wrapped around your body as you rummaged through your drawers and closet for something cute to wear. your roommate heard you pacing back and forth in your room and decides to check on you.

she knocks on your wall, catching your attention while smiling at you. "hey there, what's gotten you so jittery?"

"akira just planned the cutest and most thoughtful date for us, and i'm having trouble deciding what to wear."

you listen as your roommate lets out a hum, looking through your closet before picking out a single article of clothing. one by one, she settles the pieces on your bed before gesturing her hand out, "there we go, i think if you go with this style, it would suit you extremely well."

she gives you a wink before heading out of your room, "have fun on your date, and you can thank me later!"

you look down at all the clothes your roommate had chosen for you, only to realize that she was right-

this style was perfect for your date tonight.

you would definitely need to find a way to thank her someday.

{ ... }

when it was time for your date with akira, you met him outside of the café while dressed in the outfit your roommate had picked out for you. he seemed stunned upon seeing you for a brief moment before snapping out of it. "you look ravishing, my love."

akira meets you halfway to press a kiss against your lips, earning the widest smile from you. you wrap your arms together with his, remaining close to him as you both made your way towards the planetarium.

the walk was uneventful, but calm, with a small crowd forming outside of the building. you stood in line with akira, remaining close by his side as you rested your head against his shoulders, ready to enjoy this night with your beloved by your side.

{ ... }

after exploring the planetarium exhibit, you were left in a dreamlike state, completely mesmerized by all the beauty the universe had to offer. it was incredible to be surrounded by a sea of stars, and you were so happy akira shared this experience with you.

before you left the exhibit, akira told you to wait for him and that he'll be back in a moment. you give him a nod while standing off to the side of the exit, not questioning where akira needed to go as you browsed through your phone to pass the time.

about ten minutes later, you saw akira approach you, and that's when you lifted you head while letting out a gasp.

settled within akira's arms was a grand bouquet of roses that held a plethora of colors as its petals. a wave of emotion goes through you upon seeing the bouquet of rainbow roses, the sight so lovely that your heart ached.

"a-akira..."

"happy white day, treasure. you've made me so happy on valentine's day that i knew i had to do something equally amazing, just to show you how much i love you."

you gasp upon hearing those three special words, hands shaking as you reached out to take the bouquet or roses from his grasps. with tears streaming down your face, you grip akira from the collar of his shirt, pulling him closer as you shared yet another kiss to celebrate this amazing night.

when the need for air proved to be too much for you, akira pulls away while gently caressing at your cheek. he places one final kiss against your forehead before taking a hold of your hand. "come on, let's enjoy our night together and have some dinner. i reserved a place and would really like to try it..."

you were so incredibly happy, hugging your bouquet or roses close to you while praying that this night would never end.

april

the semester seemed to take a turn for the worst as you began to feel even more stressed out than usual with your upcoming finals as you struggled to stay afloat while amidst all the assignments.

it felt as though you were drowning, becoming so overwhelmed with everything you had to do before your spring semester ended.

and this afternoon was no better for you.

as you tried to look through your notes while typing out your study guide for one of your classes, you felt a sharp pain at the front of your head. you could feel the pinpricks of a migraine beginning to form, and you were so tired and stressed- but you needed to get this done.

letting out a shaky sigh, your hands were poised against the keyboard of your laptop once more, ready to continue typing when a sudden presence standing in front of you stops you.

"akira? what are you doing here?"

he says nothing, simply closes your laptop shut as words or protests begin forming against your lips. before you could say a word, akira ends up taking you away from your laptop and textbooks, leading you back to your room and on top of your twin sized bed.

it was a tight fit, but akira manages to lay in bed with you, holding you against his chest while gently playing with the strands of your hair. "your roommate texted me, telling me how much you were practically killing yourself with your studying."

"ugh, she's being dramatic." you groan while burying your face within his chest. "i just... have so much to do and so little time. i can't afford to-"

"you need to rest, love." akira brushes his lips against your hair, "and i will not take no as an answer."

"but-"

akira then pulls away from you, placing his lips on yours, successfully silencing you with a kiss.

"no buts, either. this is the plan... you are going to take a much needed nap with me, and when we wake up, i'll order some takeout, then we'll study together, okay?"

"okay..." was your weak reply, letting out a yawn as you fell against him, allowing your heavy eyelids to finally close. with the exhaustion felt coursing through your veins, you shut your eyes and bask in akira's warmth, feeling all of your stress melting away whilst in his arms.

may

akira's birthday was coming up, and you wanted to surprise him with a scrapbook of some sort, one that contained all of his beloved memories.

akira had no idea what your plans were, and he was currently away from his dorm to work on a group project at the library. he trusts you enough to leave you alone in his room, and you were happy for that fact.

but you wanted to make something as a type of memento for him. you had already printed out most of the pictures you had saved on your phone, but wanted to include some pictures he had of him in his hometown, if at all possible.

as you were rummaging through his room, your eyes fell onto his desk as you opened a random drawer. in it, you were surprised to find what looked like a diary with a bunch of pictures and online articles settled beneath it.

you open the diary, but could not make sense of anything that was written due to the fact that it was entirely in japanese. with a shake of your head, you place the diary to the side and look through the stack of papers beneath it.

in it, you could see a few printed pages of what appears to be an online forum called the PHAN-SITE. you caught a few other english phrases here and there, but the vast majority of it was in japanese. fueled by curiosity now, you continue rummaging through before coming across a few pictures that depicted the same group of people.

upon seeing akira standing amidst what you assumed to be his friends, you pick up the picture to admire it. they seemed to be standing in the middle of the city, and a black cat was seen settled on akira's shoulders as they were all smiling at the camera.

keeping the picture to the side, you saw something else that catches your attention. it was another article that you couldn't make out and read, yet it was the grainy, black and white photo that caught your attention.

picking up the article to get a better glimpse of the man in the picture, you saw the familiar waves of messy, black hair with a bird-like domino mask that covered his eyes. your heart was racing as goosebumps were felt all across your skin.

your hands were shaking now as you trailed your eyes over to the bolded letters settled at the top of the page.

THE PHANTOM THIEVES OF HEART STRIKES AGAIN!

the headline was enough to make you feel a bit unsteady, landing on akira's bed as you stared blankly at the online article. you were well aware of this strange phenomenon, of corrupted adults in japan having their lives changed because of this strange group of thieves.

you always found it odd that this phenomenon only occurred in japan, and was even becoming excited at the thought of the phantom thieves coming here. they were all everyone was talking about, even yourself.

so, why did akira have so many articles pertaining to them? was he once an avid fan like you were?

or could he possibly be-

that was when an epiphany hits you, with you realizing that perhaps, akira was once part of the phantom thieves of heart. you did a double take and look back at the picture featured on the article, and it was no denying of the fact that this had to be akira back in his youth.

why else would he hold on to these articles?

"hey treasure, i'm home. sorry if i kept you...waiting?"

the moment akira sees you holding on to one of the articles pertaining to the phantom thieves, he takes quick strides and rips the page out of your hand, nearly giving you a paper cut in response.

akira does not meet your gaze, and you could feel the guilt coursing through your veins at upsetting him. "i-i'm sorry, i was just trying to find hints on what to get you for your birthday and i got... carried away."

your boyfriend appeared to be close to breaking down, unable to meet your gaze as he bites down on his bottom lip.

"i... i really was going to tell you... i didn't want you to find out like this."

you stand back to your full height while brushing back his strands of hair, revealing his grey eyes to you. "you can trust me; you can tell me anything, and i'll still love you."

akira clenches his eyes shut before bringing you into his arms. he crushes you against him before laying down in bed with you. it was then that he spent the next several hours telling you everything, how his unjust arrest lead him and his friends to start a revolution of sorts in order to change the corrupt world around them.

the moment akira finishes telling his story, you felt your heart grow, filled with an unconditional love for him. kissing his own forehead in response, you tell him how proud you are of him for remaining so strong and for fighting for what he believed in.

akira remains silent with tears running down his face, holding you close to him as he buries your face within the curve of your neck, finding comfort in your warmth and mere presence.

june

it was finally summer break and today was akira's birthday, the day you were looking forward to celebrating the most with your beloved boyfriend.

you decided to keep this day simple and sweet, with akira staying in the dorms for a few more months before he had to go back home.

you didn't want to think about his homecoming, knowing that you would be in tears the moment he had to leave.

so instead, you focused on making this the perfect day for akira, baking him a small cake mixed in with some sprinkles in the batter. because you wanted this to be a relaxing and intimate birthday, you already had plans to order his favorite food and have it delivered around dinnertime.

with his cake finished, you spent the day spoiling him, singing happy birthday to akira while watching him make a wish before blowing out the candles.

"so what did you wish for?" you ask him with a teasing smile on your face. akira responds with his signature laugh, bringing you closer to him as he presses a kiss against your lips.

"sorry treasure, that i cannot tell you, for if i told you, then it wouldn't come true."

you roll your eyes at him, but relent, giving the tip of his nose a kiss before spoiling him even more with cuddles.

when evening came, you and akira were in the middle of enjoying your dinner. you had given him his first gift earlier, another journal and a sleek looking watch that he was currently wearing. you hadn't given him your last gift yet, wanting to wait for the perfect moment to do so.

and now, you finally had the perfect chance to give him your last gift.

as akira places all the empty takeout cartons in the bin, you called out to him, holding the last present behind your back.

"aki, can you come here?"

"of course, love."

he wipes his hand on a towel, placing it to the side before stepping closer to you. "what is it?"

not daring to speak for fear of bursting into tears, you slowly reveal the last present to him. akira's eyes were wide and he tries to tell you, "babe, the journal and watch was more than enough-"

you shake your head, silently beckoning akira to take the final gift and open it. with a nod, he does so, accepting your final gift. as he carefully unwraps it, he unveils the scrapbook you had taken some time to make for him.

as if mesmerized by the captured memories, he sees on the very first page the group picture of he and his friends that you had seen within his desk. and as he flipped the pages, that's when he saw all of the pictures you had taken together with him ever since you first started dating.

while akira flips through the pages was when you finally gathered the courage to speak,

"i made you this album consisting off all the pictures we took together... it took some time to extract them from my phone and print, b-but i truly wanted to give you something in hopes that you won't... that you won't ever forget about me."

when akira looks away from the scrapbook, he meets your gaze, and you could see the unshed tears glimmering within his steel grey eyes. he says your name, filled with emotion as he hugs you closer to him. "i could never forget you. i thought i had already felt love before, but that... that feeling is nothing to how i feel for you now."

he sets the scrapbook off to the side, framing your face with his two hands as you both began to cry. not caring about the tears that streamed down both of your faces, akira begins to kiss you deeply, crushing your body to his while holding you so tightly.

"whatever the future brings, it doesn't matter to me. because deep down in my heart, i know that i'll only love you and you alone."

akira begins to smile through his tears, using the pad of his thumb to wipe away at the moisture that streams down your eyes. "i promise you, i promise you that i'll never forget you, and that i'll always come back to you- always."

july

there were tears streaming down your face when you realized that akira had to return back to japan soon.

even though akira did everything he could to distract you from the inevitable, you still harbored such deep feelings of hurt.

you spent every day together, never once growing tired of each other. akira still cherished your gifts for him, making new memories with you as he filled the pages of his journal with details about you.

and despite how happy you felt, spending so much time with akira-

you were also feeling so hurt and miserable as well.

it was one of those nights where you began to feel sad once more, crying in akira's arms as he gently comforted you throughout the night.

"ssh, it's going to be alright. we'll see each other again, and i promise i'll text you and call you every day."

"i k-know that, aki, it's j-just." you could feel the tears brimming against your eyes again, "i can't let you go."

that was the final straw as you cried again, clinging to akira as a defeated sigh escapes from his parted lips.

"i can't let you go, either, treasure. ever since i met you, i feel as though my life has become so much brighter."

he whispers your name, catching your attention when your eyes met with his. wanting to do all he could to make you happy, he leans in and kisses you, not stopping as he wraps his arms around you, becoming a tangle of limbs in response.

you spent the whole night kissing and cuddling, basking in his whispers as you talked yourself into believing his promises of forever-

that what you had with akira was real, and that he would always come back to you.

august

you had no idea how you functioned without akira.

he had gone home on the exact date he was meant to leave, before the new semester began, and you did not wish to spend these final few weeks of summer alone. so, you went back home while trying to pretend that akira's absence didn't absolutely devastate you.

you hated the thousands of miles that stood between you and akira, and despite everything, you were glad that akira kept his end of the promise. even though there was also a huge difference in timezones, you did your best to make things work.

he would send you pictures in the middle of the night, and you could see how bright everything looked back at his hometown. he seemed happy in those pictures, being back with family and friends, yet even you could tell that his smile never could quite reach his eyes, always remaining tiny with the same glimmer of sadness in his gaze.

today, you woke up feeling groggy and admittedly, a bit upset. you texted akira first thing in the morning-

and had yet to get a reply back.

now, normally, you were able to brush it off, thinking he was busy doing some things with his family or friends. when this happens, akira always made sure to text you back within the next few hours, telling you about his day as you both fell back into an easy conversation.

so you waited...

and waited...

and waited...

but there was still no reply from akira.

around dinner, once he finished eating, your father suddenly excused himself, telling you and your mother that he had a quick errand to run, and that he'll return in the next hour or so. you barely heard him, still picking at your scarcely eaten dinner. you weren't even aware of how your father had just left, making your mother worry a bit.

"sweetheart, is everything alright? you've barely eaten today, and it's so clear that something is upsetting you."

you trail your eyes towards your phone currently settled on the counter, still with no text from akira. "it's stupid, you probably might get mad at me for feeling upset."

"i won't get mad, honey. you can tell me what's bothering you."

you felt your mother reach out a hand to you, placing it on top of yours as you sighed and relented. "it's about akira. i texted him a few times, and he still hasn't replied to me. and i just- i'm worried that i may have done something to upset him."

your mother gives you a sympathetic expression, bringing you closer to her as she embraces you fully. "don't worry, my dear. i'm sure he'll get back to you soon. just think positive, okay?"

feeling pathetic, you refuse to allow the tears to fall as you angrily began to wipe the dampness away from your eyes. heeding her words, you follow her into the living room to take your mind off of your boyfriend, putting on a random show to pass time as you both waited for your father to come home.

roughly an hour later, you hear the sound of the door unlocking as your father enters your home with what looks like some luggage. you were frowning with confusion now, "dad, what's with the luggage? who's here?"

he merely smiles at you before gesturing outside. "it's your surprise, that's who's here."

you could feel the feelings of hope coursing through your veins, making you stand from your seat on the couch as you ran barefoot out into your driveway-

only to see akira standing there, smiling brightly at you.

letting out a sob of his name, you ran towards him and threw your arms around his neck, feeling the tears of joy streaming down your face as you embraced him tightly.

"y-you idiot! i was so worried about you..."

you listen to his soft laughter once more, feeling his lips press against your hair, "i'm sorry, i'm sorry, but i wanted to surprise you."

you pull away from him with a pout painted against your lips. "b-but, how? how are you here?"

akira continues to smile at you, leaning down to press a kiss against your lips before explaining, "i had your parents help me prepare for this surprise. despite how arduous the process was, i'm able to continue going to university with you."

"b-but-"

he cuts you off with another kiss, "no buts, and honestly, didn't i already tell you?"

akira basks in your presence, closing his eyes while keeping you in his arms, "i will always come back to you."

epilogue - present day

you were the first to awaken when you heard the sounds of your baby crying in the next room. filled with a panic only a mother would feel for her newborn child, you throw back your blankets and quickly rush towards her room.

you call out your daughter's name, only to see that her cries had become quieter the moment akira held her whilst rocking her back and forth. his tired grey eyes meets your gaze, and he manages to send you a tiny smile all while comforting your daughter.

the sight of akira pressing gentle kisses against his daughter's dark curls was enough to make your heart melt as you tiptoed into the room. you bask in the beauty of your husband and child cuddled together all while playfully frowning at the sight.

"i'm so jealous, our princess prefers you over me."

as if reacting to the sound of your voice, you watch as your daughter lets out a soft whine, her legs and tiny arms kicking as they desperately reached out to you. not wanting to upset her, you lean down to give her your finger, watching as she automatically relaxes within her father's embrace.

"don't be ridiculous, it's so obvious that she loves both of us equally."

akira lets out a soft chuckle, beckoning you to come closer to him. when you lean down is when akira gives you another kiss, making your heart flutter with excitement as you found yourself falling in love with him all over again.

after pulling away from akira, you both look down at your precious daughter, who was already asleep now that she was in the comfort and warmth of her father's arms, a sensation that you knew of all too well.

"akira kurusu, i am so happy to have met you all those years ago. you have been my soulmate from the start, and i will never take what we have for granted."

akira's eyes were seen becoming brighter, filled with a love and adoration that you were so used to seeing as he beckons you closer to kiss you once more.

"you took the words right out of my mouth, mrs. kurusu. you have given me the greatest treasure i could ever ask for, and for that, i am eternally yours."

a.n. - it has been so long since i have written a story for akira, and i really wanted to try this new oneshot format with the best boy in the entire world. this story was truly a labor of love, taking me around 8 hours and 9k+ words to complete this entire story. please forgive me for any mistakes, as it is still unedited 🥹 and please, do enjoy the long read ❤️

all stories are written by rei; reposts, translations, and plagiarism are not allowed.

[carlsdarling]

Girl i have n ideea. Imagine reader with those african braids and carl helping them get the braids out, and carl just finds the reader very hot, a lil bit later some smut and after care, like sjhsnsksjskaka, it will be very cute!💜💜

Getting br[laid]ed

Carl helps Y/N getting rid of her braids... Bit of a plot, then sex. Everyone is 18 or over.

WARNINGS: smut, nsfw, unprotected sex

The little braids in your hair were annoying you. You wished you hadn't let Jessie talk you into braiding your hair at the temples with lots of little colored beads into a cornrow-like hairstyle at Thanksgiving. You had only liked it for the first few days; then you thought it was childish, and now - a few weeks later - the beads had grown out quite a bit, too, and it looked odd.

You had stopped by Jessie's to have her undo the braids, but she hadn't been home, so you scowled and turned back around when Carl approached you. "Have you been to Ron's? I'm on my way to see him now, too," he said.

"There's no one home," you said tersely.

Carl regarded you inquiringly. "What's the matter?" he wondered. "You look upset."

"Oh, it's nothing," you replied. "I just wanted Jessie to help me get rid of these stupid beads and braids," you grumbled, "I can't do it alone."

"Well, I can help you," Carl offered. "It can't be that difficult," he said optimistically.

"Really?"

"Yes. Come with me," he urged you, and just walked ahead to his house. Once there, you went up to Carl's room. He gestured for you to sit on the floor in front of his bed, and took a seat on the bed himself. "Let's see," he said indecisively, fingering the strands of your hair.

It was plucking. "Ow," you complained.

"Sorry," Carl muttered. "The beads are pretty tight." He gently loosened them, one by one, and tugged at the braids. Bushy and wavy, your hair stood out from your head, and Carl had to laugh.

"What's so funny?" you asked, miffed.

"Look in the mirror," Carl snorted when he had removed all the braids. You stood up and walked over to his closet where a mirror hung.

"Oh my God," you looked at your reflection in horror. "I look like an exploded broom!" Hastily, you sought out the bathroom, where you smoothed your curly locks with water before returning to Carl. To your surprise, he had switched on the TV and lay down on the bed; he propped himself up on his elbow, turned on his side, and gazed at you. Not for the first time, you noticed how attractive he was. His shiny hair fell messily into his forehead. "What are you doing?" you asked in wonder. "Are you tired?"

"No, I just...I thought we could chill a little more. It started raining anyway." He tapped the spot next to him.

Hesitantly, you approached the bed and lay down next to him. "What's that?" you pointed to the TV, where someone had just been chased through a house full of wax figures and then was doused with hot wax.

"House of Wax," Carl answered, but he was looking blankly at you. His face was very close to yours, and before you could think about it, he kissed you softly on the lips, then pulled back and looked at you, waiting. You were completely perplexed. "I'm sorry, Y/N," Carl apologized, embarrassed. "I've wanted to do this for a long time, and I thought you'd like it too, so..." That's as far as he got, because you had closed his mouth with yours. Carl's lips were soft and rough at the same time, and you kissed tenderly at first, then more and more intensely. Carl's hands had found their way under your top, and you didn't object when he unhooked your bra and carefully began to stimulate your breasts. You inhaled sharply as he turned his attention to your nipples and they immediately became rock hard under his caresses. "Do you like that?" assured Carl hesitantly.

"Yes," you gasped, "Carl, go on." You clung to him as he continued to fondle your breasts, allowing him to undress you. You shivered in the cold air, and Carl flipped back the covers after also removing his shirt and tossing it next to the bed. You two crawled under the covers and continued, the atmosphere heating up more and more.

"Should we take off all our clothes?" whispered Carl, as you were already fiddling with his belt. You just nodded, burying your face in the crook of his neck. He smelled so delicious. You giggled as you finally lay together naked, groping insecurely for Carl's cock. It was bigger than you had suspected, and touching it caused you to moan involuntarily and get wet between your legs. You were amazed at how quickly your body was reacting to Carl's touch and his pure presence. Carl grabbed your hand and moved it up and down faster and harder, sighing lustfully. At the same time, he let his other hand move between your legs. You spread your thighs as he began to finger you, screaming out. "You're all wet," Carl whispered in fascination, finding your most sensitive spot, turning you into a whimpering, begging mess.

"Do you have condoms?" you stammered eagerly. You could no longer form a coherent thought, your whole being, thinking and feeling was focused on Carl and what you were doing with each other.

"No," Carl said contritely. "I can pull out, but if it's not safe enough for you, we can..."

"I want to, Carl," you said breathlessly. At that moment, you didn't care whether he pulled out or not, or whether you got pregnant or not. All you wanted was Carl. You were helpless against your desire, rolling onto your back and pulling Carl on top of you. You were so wet and Carl was so hard that his dick slid effortlessly inside you.

"Fuck, princess, I won't last long," Carl moaned, making short, quick thrusts. It took him no more than a minute to tense up completely. "I'm cumming," he announced and tried to pull out, but you held him tight.

"Do it inside," you pleaded, "Please, Carl. I don't care. Do it inside."

Carl closed his eyes, arched his back, and pumped with firm, deep thrusts. His cum was hot and plenty, and as you felt him squirting into you, your own orgasm came over you like a shockwave. Gasping for air, the two of you lay still.

Carl had his eye tightly closed, and soon his breathing rate revealed that he had fallen asleep. You were looking at his sweet face and stroking through his long brown hair when an idea came to you. You suppressed a giggle as you braided Carl's hair into many little braids.

--

Tags: @loveforcarl @knochentrocken0808

[melancholyghoul]

another snippet !! this one for a 4alarmfire fic i am working on ~

wc: 1081 [so far]

r: explicit

Carlos and TK were on their couch. The room was coated in a blue glow emanating from the ignored TV. They had sat down to watch something, dressed in their pyjamas (TK in one of his boyfriend's light grey hoodies and black boxers, Carlos in a pair of blue plaid bottoms and a tight black t-shirt), but couldn't find anything worthwhile. Carlos ended up picking up a book from the end table next to him, TK laid his head on Carlos' shoulder, arms wrapped around his left one, hand resting on his knee. All of a sudden, TK erupted in a sweet symphonic giggle.

'What's tickled you so bad?' Carlos chuckled at him.

'Oh, It's nothing, just something Buck sent me.' He grinned at his phone in his hand, Carlos felt so warm whenever he saw that smile.

'That firefighter you met during the wildfires?' He asked, 'You sure do speak to him a lot, mi vida.'

'No I don't!' He scoffed light-heartedly, 'I speak to him a totally normal amount.'

Carlos smiled, 'Even if you did, you light up whenever you do. You get that twinkle in your eye, redness in your cheeks…' He looked at him with insistence, all he got in response was a confused look, 'you like him Tyler.'

TK sat up straight and swallowed a lump in his throat, is that what this was? The jokes and the late night conversations? Oh my God… they were flirting, 'I-I love you, Carlos.' He stated, Carlos just laughed.

'I didn't say you didn't.' He raised a hand to TK's cheek, 'What I am saying is that you are totally into this…' He picked up TK's phone, seeing Buck's Instagram profile, a picture of him in the gym flexing his bicep - a cheeky smile on his pink lips, slight blonde waves danced on his forehead, 'very attractive LA firefighter who seems to make you laugh, and smile, and blush the way I do.' He scrolls through more messages between them, it is full of flirty responses and stupid jokes, but also genuine divulgence. They shared a lot with each other, more than average 'totally normal' friends do, 'Tell me what you think of him. And be totally honest.'

TK moved to sit cross legged, facing Carlos, who moved one leg up onto the couch to face him back. His hands fidgeted in his lap and sighed, 'Buck is just… so sweet. He's thoughtful, he always messages me about things that I like and loves to share random facts. We've talked about everything, he's told me about his firehouse family - the 118; he told me about growing up in Pennsylvania, about his travels.' TK chuckled, 'He's also totally in love with his best friend and doesn't realise it.' He softened, 'He's smart, and selfless. He's been through a lot, like we have. And I can't not mention how gorgeous he is. He has these big blue eyes and adorable wavy blonde curls - you know how I love curly hair.' He runs his hands through Carlos', 'His shoulders and chest are broad, strong hands, I honestly think that if I was in a room with the two of you - I wouldn't survive.'

Carlos loved seeing his boyfriend happy. He knows he can sometimes get jealous, but not when it's so genuine like this. Maybe possessive is more the word for it. Anyone under his care and love should only get the best treatment - TK and anyone else. He knew that whatever he felt about Buck didn't mean he didn't also feel it for him as well, the two can coexist. From what TK has told him, he believed he could probably feel the same if he got to know him more. He also wasn't going to deny that the idea of adding another person to their life (and bedroom) was intriguing to him.

'So you've thought about it…' Carlos nodded his head forward, raising an accusatory eyebrow. TK's face grew very red, his eyes widening.

'W-what? I-I mean…' He stuttered, Carlos moved his hands, one to caress his shoulder, the other gripped his chin, insisting, 'Yes. Maybe. O-once or twice.'

Carlos pressed a sweet kiss to his lips, 'Just him? Or all three of us?' He asked, trailing his hands down to TK's thighs. He started to kiss down his jaw.

'B-both of you.' He breathed as Carlos sucked on his skin.

He turned TK around and pulled him onto his lap. He snaked his arms around his boyfriend's waist, hugging him closer as he whispered into the nape of his neck, 'Why don't you tell me about it?' He kissed down his shoulder, pulling at the fabric of TK's hoodie to get him to take it off. TK then relaxed against him, breathing unsteady, as Carlos roamed his hands around his naked torso, sneaking little bites across his frame.

'I, u-uh…' TK moaned, to embarrassed to say the contents of his fantasies aloud.

'Hmmm, maybe I should guess,' Carlos hummed against his skin, 'Do you want to kiss his lips and taste his tongue while you feel me suck and bruise your skin like I am right now? Stuck in-between two strong men, he reaches his hand down to stroke your cock while I grind against your ass, huh?' TK whimpered and reached his hand up to caress Carlos' hair. Carlos brought a hand down to his crotch to rub against the growing tent in his underwear. TK rocked his hips, 'Or maybe, you're riding me, feeling my hands grip your hips as he fucks your mouth, baby?'

'All of it, please.' TK whined.

'What if I cuffed you against the headboard like you like,' Carlos tucked his hand below the waistband of his boxers, 'You're laying on the bed, exposed, but you can only watch as I make-out with the other man of your fantasies.'

'God, Carlos,' TK breathed, 'I didn't think you'd be so into this.'

To be honest, neither did he, but after weeks of TK talking about this firefighter and occasionally letting his more unsavoury thoughts slip, his mind had started to wander. He liked where it was travelling.

Carlos simply growled in response, pulling TK out of his underwear, rubbing his thumb across his tip. He whined against his touch, he loved how vocal he was. He believed he was so talented in bed, and he's more than willing to share his gifts. He brought his hand to his mouth and coated it in saliva.

[littlegaybean1]

So I had a dream a few weeks ago and I thought you good omens Tumblr people would want to hear about it.

What was this dream, I hear absolutely none of you cry?

Good Omens Season Three of course!

It begins with Crowley, with his hair just above the shoulders and wavy, very similar to the 2000s Crowley hair. He's in his house, wearing sunglasses and dressed in his final fifteen outfit. Somehow my dream self knew that this was a month or two after the final fifteen. Crowley is lounging in his chair, looking depressed, with a glass of wine balanced on the arm somehow.

Then, we cut to Heaven. Aziraphale is sitting at the desk that Michael is seen at in S2, with stacks of paperwork on the desk. He's smiling, but tears are pooling in his eyes. The Metatron comes over and says something that I can't remember, to which Aziraphale says "yes of course" in his polite way with a smile. He shuffles the papers and then gets up and walks away, the Metatron looking on with an expression that I can only describe as villainous.

Then, we cut to... Hastur? Who is narrating? Subconscious brain, what are you doing? He stares straight at me (which is basically like staring at the camera) and monologues, which boils down to

"Our great heroes are separated, grieving the loss of each other when neither are dead" (sarcastically)

"Well," *chuckles* "neither are dead yet."

Cut back to Crowley. He's angry, tears streaming from underneath his glasses. He throws his wine glass at the wall before collapsing on the floor. Looking up at the ceiling, he speaks to someone above, we all know who.

"Why did you go? Why'd you have to go and leave me you adorable little bastard. You left me, I needed you! I still... I still need you. Come back. Please come back." Or something similar to that. His voice breaks and he just lies there crying.

Up in Heaven, Aziraphale can't hear him but something upsets him. He buries his head in his arms, crying.

Then, back to Crowley's flat, but this time he's not alone. Hastur, Dagon, Shax and Eric burst in through the wall, grab him and drag him out of the door whilst he's screaming and cursing at them.

Cut to Hell, in the room that Beelzebub teleported Crowley to in S2. Crowley's on a black throne, but he's chained down and his head is forced into a bowed position. The four aforementioned demons stand before him, cackling. One of them holds a sword to his throat.

Cut back to Heaven, and Uriel comes over to Aziraphale and says that they've been sent a message from Hell. The message is a live video call, showing the previous scene. Aziraphale gasps, suddenly going from mildly confused to purely terrified. His eyes flood with tears and he appears paralysed, standing stock still and eyes glued to the image before him.

The demons laugh and hiss, before burying the sword in Crowley's shoulder. It glows brightly and Crowley screams in pain. A bucket is seen next to them, and I somehow know that Aziraphale is certain that it's full of holy water. Aziraphale seems to break out of his daze, stutters a bit then says, to nobody in particular

"I'll just be two ticks"

The demons are visibly confused, as is Uriel. None of them really know what to make of this. Then, still on the video, Crowley starts to shake, and is suddenly not chained. He collapses and rolls off the chair. One of the demons shove him onto his back, where we see that Crowley is... Laughing???

"Oh, we're all seriously fucked. That's his 'I'm going to pretend that everything is fine then turn into an absolute raging maniac' voice."

He then starts laughing even harder. The demons exchange worried glances. Has he gone off his rocker?

One of the demons is getting seriously pissed off by the laughing, and stabs Crowley in the other shoulder. But this time, he doesn't scream, he just keeps on laughing.

Suddenly, the room rumbles and an extremely pissed, immaculately dressed Aziraphale appears, wielding his flaming sword. His eyes are glowing the purple of Arch-Angelic power. With two strokes of his sword, Eric discorporates and the sword pointed at Crowley is knocked away. Aziraphale stands over Crowley's bleeding form and growls in the same tone as in the bookshop

"Stay back."

He waves his hand over Crowley's body, and a shield of light splits him off from everyone. Somehow my dream self knows that Aziraphale isn't only protecting Crowley from the demons, he's protecting Crowley from him. With that, Aziraphale thrusts his sword deeply into the ground, the room shaking violently and filling with pure angelic light. When it fades, Aziraphale is covered in soot and bears several burns, and is carrying Crowley through the light, up and up back to

The bookshop.

Crowley looks up at Aziraphale in a bit of a daze, and weakly says

"Did you... Stop to change before charging down to hell?"

"I wanted to be dressed appropriately! It's not every day one fights off demons in their home territory." Aziraphale sounds defensive, but also worried.

"You idiot angel." Crowley smiles at him affectionately.

"Yes, he very much is."

DUN DUN DUN!

The Metatron appears in the bookshop, an expression of fury on his face.

"I gave you power, I gave you status, I gave you a name for yourself. But still, you throw away all this for some, failed angel who couldn't even be a demon right! I won't have it!"

The Metatron snaps his fingers, white light flooding the bookshop and Crowley cries out in alarm. The husbands grip each other tightly, refusing to let even the Metatron's power separate them.

My dream ends with Hastur's laughter, as the two wake up in Heaven, still clutching each other.

[madaboutmunson]

Raspberry Riddle

A little fic I wrote about Eddie meeting Scoops Ahoy Steve, sort of from Robin's POV

Word count: 4.8K Ao3 Link

Despite it being the summer holidays and despite it being warm weather, Scoops Ahoy was virtually empty. The reason was that there was some sort of parade going through Hawkins, so the mall was pretty dead, but once the parade was over, it might get hectic here.

A rounded face with small tight curls and heavy-lidded eyes looks through the store window, his mouth hanging open and their eyes blinking slowly. A sleepy smile sweeps over their face as they point upwards and beckons someone else over.

Two other faces appear, also slowly scanning up at the menu above the counter, until their sloth-speed eyes catch up to where their friend's finger is pointing. Giggling ensues.

"Brace yourself, Steve, we've got some little stoners on the way," Robin says with false excitement, "They'll probably buy us out, and we'll get to go home early," she says her words dripping with sarcasm, as her elbows land on the counter and her freckled face lands in her hands.

Steve reverses through the swinging door, arms laden with fresh tubs of ice cream, "If only", he observes the mirthful trio who are contemplating entering the store but seem to be deciding who should go in first, "This looks like your department Rob, three guys? I can't really turn on the Harrington charm for upselling here, can I?" He laughs at the ridiculousness of the prospect.

"Well, you aren't gonna make it as a salesman if you can only sell to one gender, Steve. I'm sure your charm would be as effective on these chumps as on all the ladies you served today." Robin laughs, pointing at the whiteboard under the counter. The tally under You Suck looks extensive, but zero tally marks are beneath You Rule.

"Hey, that's just because I have to wear this stupid hat, ok? The hair is part of the total package! With it covered up, it's not quite as effective, alright? Being dressed like a little sailor boy doesn't lend itself to being…er…alluring." Steve complains but then tries to see the bright side, "Though these shorts do make my thighs look great." He adds, trying to catch his reflection in the polished glass or metal surfaces.

"Gross!" Robin retorts, "Stop looking at your own ass."

"I wasn't… that's not…urgh" Steve resigns himself to refilling the tubs and taking the empties to wash as Robin takes point on sales.

"Ahoy, Mateys. What can I get you?" She says in a lacklustre tone.

They eventually all get to the counter, all three misjudging where it was in their own way, but all three sets of eyes trail up slowly to Robin's face simultaneously, and two sets continue up to the glowing menu above.

The set that remained on Robin belongs to a plaid-vested young man with jaw-length wavy light brown hair. He leans one hand on the counter and misses but rectifies his mistake quickly, "Good Moro, fair lady. We have travelled far to sample your wares."

"I know exactly where you've come from, and it wasn't all that far, well, not for anyone currently experiencing space and time like an average human being", Robin chides, knowing full well all three of them had just spilled out of the back of Eddie Munson's van along with their own personal cloud.

The young man gently strokes his chin, "You know where I've come from, huh? Spying on me were you, m'lady? Oh, to be under your beautiful watchful eyes is truly a tonic for my very soul."

"I know where you've been because you smell exactly like the van parked out back, where I take the trash out" Robin folds her arms and looks at him disapprovingly.

"Forgive our sweetleaf aroma, fair Robin. I sincerely hope your nostrils be not offended." He bows low, almost hitting his head on the countertop, which does raise a laugh from Robin but purely in response to his idiocy, not his flirtation, "Your name so apt as your voice trills like a beautiful birdsong to the ears of Gareth the Great. I will pen a masterpiece. With the crumbs of your laugh and the sea in your eyes, as the ink ."

Robin's eyes widen as Gareth tilts his head, leans his other hand on the counter, and sighs.

"STEVE!!!!" Robin shouts in his direction, not taking her concerned eyes from the floppy-haired rocker at the counter.

"I'm kinda busy here, Robin!!!" Steve's annoyed voice rings out, followed by a loud metallic clattering, "God damn it!"

A fourth wiry frame enters the store, carrying several shopping bags. Robin breathes a sigh of relief, "Eddie, finally. Can you keep your little drummer boy under control, please?" She gestures at Gareth, who tries to catch her hand as it flies towards him, but Robin is too fast.

Gareth receives a sharp backhanded slap on the arm from Eddie, "Gareth! For the last time, leave Buckley alone before you get your waffle cone privileges revoked!"

Another chorus of metal objects falling over comes from the other side of the hatch.

"New crew mate, Captain Buckley?" Eddie laughs, nodding towards the back of the store.

Robin sighs and gives Eddie an exhausted look, "Yeah. About a week now."

"Is there to be a mutiny? Will the new scoop-slinging chick usurp the mighty Dread Pirate Buckley?" Eddie grins broadly, taking out his chain-attached wallet.

"Doubtful, that new scoop-slinging chick only wants to serve the ladies. Adverse to guys for some reason, can't think why." Robin says sarcastically, looking at Gareth.

"Oh really?" Eddie says, raising an eyebrow, handing Robin $10 and jutting his thumb at his bandmates, indicating that he was buying for them as usual. He adjusts his battle vest, "Challenge accepted"

Robin opens the hatch for Eddie, takes a look through and then engages with the other three, but now with an enormous smile on her face.

Eddie skips around the counter and throws his head through the hatch. Robin knows he is only to be greeted by a little pair of shorts and the back of some ample lightly tanned legs as the rest of the sailor is searching for something under a trolley.

"Hey! Sweet Cheeks! Your shipmate is drowning out here," Eddie shouts, making the sailor jump and bang their head on one of the trolley shelves.

Eddie shuts the hatch and runs back around to the customer side of the counter. He fixes his hair a little, adjusts his belt buckle and does his best casual lean and finger drum on the countertop waiting for his sailor.

The door to the back swings open. Eddie takes a deep breath and puffs out his chest a little, which is almost taken straight back out of him, in a wheeze, when he realises the sailor shorts he'd been admiring belonged to none other than Steve Harrington, former King of Hawkins High.

The alarm on Eddie's face is evident, and Robin bursts out laughing and almost loses it entirely as Steve gets to the counter with an official "Ahoy, there. What flavourful voyage would you like to embark upon today?"

Eddie glares at Robin tight-lipped before continuing, "Hmmm…" he looks up at the menu and taps his chin thoughtfully, "Which one would you recommend…" he looks at his badge as if he doesn't know his name, "er…Steve?"

Steve lets a small smile slip and then straightens up a little, spinning his scooper into its holster, "You want my advice on the best ice cream we have?" Steve asks, looking Eddie up and down.

"Yeah…" Eddie drawls out slowly, "Wouldn't ya know it, some days I'm just so darn indecisive, and I find it best," Eddie leans a hand on the counter and himself towards Steve as he looks down and backs up into Steve's eyes, "to ask an expert."

"Huh," Steve says, "Well…". Then, as he moves towards the ice cream on display, as they pass Robin and the rest of Corroded Coffin, Eddie gives Robin a smug smile, and Robin replies with a silent look of disbelief.

Eddie waits on the other side of the glass as Steve seems deep in thought, "Normally I would say banana, but this cherry has actual cherry pieces in it, so you know it's a treat and got some goodness in it too."

"What other goodness does ice cream need? It's ice cream!" Eddie says, tilting his head.

"Well, it's got actual fruit in it, well...kind of, but it's still better than none. I guess?" Steve shrugs, and a slight concern pinches his brow.

Eddie quickly catches the thread before it's pulled and unravelled, "Absolutely, quite right." He gives a big broad smile, "I'll take a scoop."

A half smile sneaks into Steve's face as he grabs a tub and spins his scooper in his hand.

Eddie pulls an impressed face as Steve hands over the tub and anoints it with a small spoon and an extra cherry.

Steve is standing a little taller. He adjusts his hat and heads back through the doors to the backroom.

Eddie sidles up to the counter, "Told ya!" He smiles smugly at Robin, taking the cherry off the top, dangling it in his mouth, and pulling off the stalk.

Robin is totalling up the ice creams for them all, "You've proved nothing, Eddie."

Eddie leans over to shout whisper so Steve can't hear, "What do you mean, nothing??! I'm not a girl. He served me. I. Win."

"No. You see. You told him I, a girl, needed help. So he rushed out here to do so. You only win if he serves you before a girl waiting to be served." Robin smiles back at Eddie, "So. You. Don't. Win."

Eddie wrinkles his nose, "I. Will. Win!"

Robin shakes her head and laughs, "No. You won't. Just cut your losses, Eddie. The odds are against you."

Eddie points at her, "Never tell me the odds!" Then, he grabs his tub of ice cream and beckons the others to follow him out of the store.

A few hours later, the store is rammed. The queue is out the door, and surprisingly Steve is at his most efficient under pressure. Seeing Robin's stress, he had asked her to cover the register, and he'd manage the ice creams.

Which, to Robin's alarm, he did with gusto, entertaining the waiting people with spins of the scooper or bottle flips of sauce in the air. The customers ate it up, and if it hadn't been helping, Robin's cringe-o-metre would be rocketing into next week.

After some time, the queue thins out, as does the amount of ice cream they have left. Several makeshift signs have adorned the window to advise what Ice cream flavours have run out.

Finally, there is a break, no customers, and the tables are all clear.

"Why don't you take five? I've got this," Steve offers kindly. Robin jumps at the chance for even a few minutes with her feet up and not having to pretend to smile.

What was odd was almost as if Steve didn't seem tired at all. Instead, he appeared energised, like that mad rush had somehow charged him up to full power.

Robin sits at the table for no longer than two minutes when she hears a loud and cheerful "Ahoy Matey!" from Steve, but the noise that follows isn't a smattering of girlish giggles. Instead, it is a low, piratey accent, "Arrr me hearty, another round of ye good stuff, if ye don't mind. What be your sage advisings this time?"

"Well, honestly, there isn't much choice left, but there is a lot of vanilla. I can always jazz it up for you," Steve replies with enthusiasm, and Robin is sure she hears the shaking of a bottle. She peeks through the hatch window, and sure enough, Steve is tossing the bottle around his back. Eddie is following it with his eyes and suddenly catches it out of the air a split second before Steve does and hands it over to him, leaning over the counter.

"There you go, sailor," he smiles.

"Hockey player." Steve points at Eddie's hand.

Eddie's mouth opens to say something and then promptly bites his lips together for a second, "I was, yeah, how could you tell?"

"Oh, you know, I've got an eye for these things." Steve shrugs, trying not to sound pleased with himself as he coats the base and sides of the tub with a jumble of sauces and sprinkles.

Eddie's eyes shoot directly to Robin's peering through the glass, and he pumps his eyebrows at her with a smile, then quickly reverts to his previous stance as Steve looks up at him again.

"Are you allergic to anything?" Steve asks thoughtfully.

"Like what? Ice cream? A bit late for that sunshine," Eddie laughs.

Steve's hand goes to his dropped hip, and he gestures with his scooper, "No, like, um, bananas or nuts."

Eddie's fist goes to his mouth for a moment, and his eyes flash with mischief before he clears his throat, "No, I'm not allergic to any of those", Eddie says with a smile before promptly turning around to face away from Steve. His face looks like it's contorted in pain.

Eddie reaches into his pocket and pulls out a bubble gum. He unwraps it, takes out the small temporary tattoo inside, puts it on top of his money and slides it over the counter next to the register.

Steve hands over the ice cream to Eddie, who is reading the inside of the bubble gum wrapper, as Steve picks up the money and tattoo transfer.

"Huh. Interesting one today…." Eddie says, trailing off.

"What's interesting? Oh, I'm ok for stickers, thanks," Steve says, pushing back the tattoo transfer paper.

"Ok, well, today's riddle is interesting, and it's not a sticker. It's a temporary tattoo. I don't need 'em," Eddie says, pushing up his sleeve to reveal his puppet master tattoo.

Steve shakes his head and pockets the temporary tattoo, "A riddle?"

"Yeah, wanna give it a try?" Eddie raises an eyebrow at Steve.

"Nah, you're good," Steve says very quickly and starts cleaning the counter.

"It belongs to you, but your friends use it more. What is it?" Eddie says, ignoring Steve's answer, collecting his ice cream and change. "Until next time, Cap'n", he salutes and walks out of the store.

Robin watches Steve continue cleaning the counters and register until Eddie is out of sight, and then he leans back on his hands for a moment watching the front door, muttering, "friends use it more…".

Robin frowned. What was Eddie trying to do here? Confuse Steve into liking him more? If anything, this was gonna do the opposite. She didn't know him exceptionally well at this moment, even though the rate at which she and Steve were getting to know one another was rapid, the one thing she knew about him for sure: he didn't like to be made to feel stupid.

But then something interesting happens.

Eddie returns the next day, a quiet spell, the exact exchange of all American sailor and bloodthirsty pirate. An ice cream, a bubble gum, a temporary tattoo and a riddle.

"I am hard to find, difficult to leave and impossible to forget. What am I?" Eddie says, tapping a finger to his lips in thought.

"Oh, that one I know!" Steve says excitedly, "A friend!"

Eddie smiles hugely, "Really?" He unravels the wrapper a little more and flicks it, so it makes a snapping sound, "By Jove! You've got it!"

This time Robin can clearly see Steve's face, and he is beaming with pride, though he is trying to hide it, Eddie dips his head to chase it for a moment before reverting back to his normal stance and picks up his ice cream cup, as they make their goodbyes.

Eddie passes Robin and gives her a nod and a wicked smile, "Buckley".

As he reaches the doorway, Steve's voice rings out, "I think I got yesterday's too. Your name!"

"It's Eddie!" he yells back before exiting the store.

Steve smiles back and shakes his head whilst wiping down the counter.

Then over the next two days, the same thing happens. All that differs is the ice cream, the riddle and the behaviour.

Robin keeps a notepad

Cherry, Your Name.

Vanilla Craziness, A Friend.

Strawberry with a single strawberry. A Heart

Banana Caramel with a chocolate straw, A Promise.

Triple Chocolate with Fudge sauce and chocolate drops, A Secret.

Over those few days, she notices a shift in behaviour, it's not huge, and it's not as rapid a bond as she and Steve had, but it is something, it was different.

So different that Robin had done some investigations of her own. She got her own set of bubblegum sweets. Whilst they did indeed contain a random temporary tattoo, none of them had anything written inside.

For the past two days, she'd hurriedly decided to take out the trash as Eddie left, and both times, she saw him handing the ice cream and his change to a homeless person outside the mall before hopping into his van.

Then came Saturday, and the hordes of hell itself had descended upon the mall as usual. After the sell-out the other day, the order was triple the size, so there was absolutely no chance of the selling out today.

Last week there had been a decided split between Steve serving the girl customers and Robin getting lumped with the guys, but today, maybe because it was so busy, they had adopted the same team positions as before. Steve on scooping, with his additional flair and Robin on the register.

A few hours into the shift, both their tummies growling, only to be staved off by sneaking the occasional piece of fruit or broken waffle cone hurriedly crunched around back whilst grabbing a refill, a familiar silhouette enters the store.

Robin immediately sees Steve's eyes drawn to it, and his energy shifts. He's no longer showboating. Instead, he's opting for speed. Churning out requested ice creams so fast, Robin can barely keep up on the register.

Eddie finally reaches the counter, Robin is unceremoniously hip-bumped to the side, and a scooper is thrust at her, "Raspberry ripple, with the freeze-dried raspberries and dark chocolate sauce, please", Steve says to Robin quietly.

A group of older teen girls are also at the counter, all coiffed hair precisely placed on make-up and smacking their lips from chewing gum. Next to them was the tall, wiry-framed metalhead.

Eddie looks at the girls next to him and casts his eyes down, waving a hand in front of himself for them. Robin can see Steve's eyes dart between the ladies and the gent.

"Ahoy, ladies," Steve says, and Robin locks eyes with Eddie, who mouths, "You win" at her.

Robin thinks a win over Eddie should have felt a lot better than this. But instead, it feels flat as she passes the ordered ice cream to Steve at the register.

He takes the order from the girls and asks Robin for it, and as soon as they are dealt with, Eddie steps forward with a big smile and pushes over his money and temporary tattoo, and Steve pushes the Raspberry Ripple order over to him, and Eddie positively beams at him and lifts up a wrapper to his eye line.

"No, not today, Eddie. I've got one for you." Steve says and takes a handmade miniature scroll, made of two matches and rolled paper, from the crevice of his hat, placing it next to Eddie's change as he passes it over.

Eddie collects everything up, and off he goes again. Robin waits a few minutes and offers to take out the trash, a fully charged and weirdly grinning Steve nods, and she heads out back. She scrambles up the wall a little to peek out at the parking lot. Eddie does the same as usual, hands out his ice cream and change before walking to his van.

But this time, there is a pause at his door. He leans against the van and marvels at the little scroll with a big sweet smile. He opens and closes it a few times as if he were about to read a royal decree.

Robin wrinkles up her nose. Eddie was not ever this happy about losing anything.

He unrolls it, reads it, his smile disappears entirely, he shoves the scroll into his pocket and looks around quickly. He even does once around his van before getting into it to reread the note. Then, finally, he sits back in his seat, looking out the window and tapping the paper with his finger.

Realising she probably has been out back for too long, Robin runs back inside to help Steve, but once back inside, the place is virtually empty again, and Steve is in the process of winding down, stacking up boxes ready to take around back. Whistling The Sailor's Hornpipe tune to himself.

"Sorry, Steve, is everything ok?" Robin asks, a little out of breath.

Steve smiles at her, "Yeah, all good here", and he lets a little sigh.

Robin is desperate to ask what Steve put in that note, but she knows she shouldn't.

The next day, Eddie didn't turn up again, and Robin was disappointed, to say the least.

Robin wasn't sure if she was ready to tell Steve that she also had a history of striking out with the opposite sex. In hindsight, it's probably because she wasn't all that into them in the first place. So she could say she understood or at least could see a similar pattern, except that Steve seemed to only focus on pursuing his attraction to girls, but it was clear to her some guys caught his eye too sometimes.

This back and forth with Eddie these last few days must have been what Steve had been trying to instigate with the girls, but they either didn't get it or gave him that pitying look that shook and ultimately starved his confidence.

Eddie fed it.

And though Eddie might not have noticed, Robin sure did. Steve was letting Eddie do that.

Letting him lean a little too far over the counter, serving up innuendos that Eddie would pretend flew right over his head, saving up new tricks with the sauce bottles for when he turned up, but then purposely missing something so it would drop to the floor for him to go and collect and leaving pauses in the conversation for Eddie to fill in with one of his riddles.

Despite all of that, there was a tiny bit of Robin that was also glad Eddie hadn't shown up again that next week because that's when everything kicked off. First, Dustin had turned up, then the Russian code, the Russian military, Robin's confession to Steve in the bathroom stall, and the giant melted flesh beast.

The subject isn't brought up again until she and Steve have a movie night, deciding on their next steps after their last job got burned to the ground. Tonight The Breakfast Club.

Steve is poking around in his tub of strawberry ice cream, "Do you ever miss working at Scoops?"

Robin wiggles her way to sitting-up position, her legs still lying across Steve's lap, "Yeah, I guess. The money was ok, and sometimes you were bearable." She laughs, "What made you ask that?"

Steve holds up his ice cream tub at her. Robin narrows her eyes in response, glances at the TV screen, then back to Steve, and folds her arms, "So all those other times we've had ice cream, you've not missed Scoops?"

Steve shakes his head in a no and continues eating.

She doesn't press the issue, but she knows for sure this isn't about the ice cream alone. So she leaves a silence.

"Robin?" Steve says cautiously, "Why did you egg Eddie on with the getting served first thing?"

Robin keeps her eyes on the tv, but her pulse is racing. Was he going to call her out on attempting a set-up? "Um, I don't know what you mean, Steve."

Steve shifts in his seat, "You sure about that?"

"It was just Eddie and I having a bit of fun", She replies as casually as she can.

"Funny because from where I was standing, it looked a lot like you were trying to set him up to lose." Robin can hear the smirk in Steve's voice.

"Why would I do that?" She scoffs with a laugh.

"First of all, I heard you. Second of all, you one hundred per cent knew that Eddie would not be ungentlemanly enough to be served ahead of a girl" Steve takes Robin's arms gently so he can look her in the eyes as he talks, "I think you wanted to see what he would do to win me over. I think you wanted to see one of your little movies play out in real life."

Robin throws her hands up and slumps back against the arm of the chair, "Ok, you got me, alright? Eddie is a nice guy, if a little weird, but-but you know, you're a nice guy, and a little weird too…, and he's the only person that knows who you are and was over fifteen to come to that counter that didn't judge you for working there. Plus, you kept striking out with these girls, and I thought, what if-if there was a reason for that…." Robin lets her last words hang in the air.

Steve looks at Robin and swallows nervously, "Yeah…I kinda started to wonder about that too…."

"When? Now??" Robin rapidly sits up and curls her legs behind her, so she's now kneeling on the couch, looking at Steve and grabbing his shoulders to turn to her.

Steve laughs, "Hey, easy. No. Well yes. Now and then too."

"So wait-wait-wait, you liked Eddie? Did you speak to him after? What happened?"

Steve gives her a small forlorn smile, "Ah, you know, I don't think…um…I don't think he felt the same, but at least he was kind enough to keep it to himself."

Robin's eyes go wide, but she doesn't peel her eyes from Steve as she reaches for the popcorn bowl, "Tell me everything…immediately!" She says in all seriousness.

Steve shakes his head, "There honestly isn't much to tell. I wrote him a riddle thing back, and I think he didn't like the answer."

"Ok, I disagree hugely, but we'll circle back to that. What did the riddle say?" Robin asks, leaning over the bowl towards Steve in anticipation. So close, she sees the little flush of embarrassment hit his cheeks.

"Alright, but don't laugh too hard. I'm not Shakespeare, ok? It said:

I can be at hello

I can be at goodbye

I'm on the tip of a straw when your mouth is dry

But you can't have mine if you're too shy." Steve mutters faintly.

In joyous disbelief, Robin pushes Steve's shoulder, "Are you kidding me? You wrote that on that tiny little scroll thing you made?"

Steve looks a little embarrassed and nods.

"Well, do I have news for you. He didn't hate it. He loved that little thing. He had this great big grin on his face! He wasn't even coming in for ice cream! He gave them away, and when he opened it, he was thinking about something." Popcorn is flying everywhere as Robin animatedly reels off all the snippets she saw, gesturing wildly.

Steve laughs heartily and captures her arms, "Hey, calm down. Even if all of that was true, he never came back or tried to contact me about it. So you know, that's that."

Robin throws her arm around Steve in a big side hug.

"It's fine, honestly. I've got a few dates lined up this week, so it's all good. But, in a way, I'm kinda glad he didn't come back to the mall. He could have got dragged into all that stuff like you did, and honestly, I wouldn't have wanted to get drugged, crash a car or set fire to the grossest thing I've ever seen in my life with anyone else," Steve smiles bashfully and feeds Robin a spoon of ice cream.

She smiles back reassuringly at him for a moment, and then she recalls something. Something she thought at the time made no sense, but now it was all slotting together. Robin points at him, "Fire! Fire!!"

Steve frantically looks around as they both leap off the sofa. Robin has a huge smile on her face and runs out of the room and up to Steve's room and pulls out their scrapbook. She flicks through the pages of photos, newspaper clippings and debris of the mall incident and scoops.

She finds the article she wants and flicks through the surrounding pages excitedly, "There!! Right there!!" She pokes at the black and white grainy photo of the Mall site when the clean-up crew was there.

Steve circles the bed to kneel next to her and looks at the book.

Burnt into one of the panels around the site are the words, "NOT SHY JUST STUPID X"

There is a kind of sequel to this as requested by a reader. It is a small completed series and is set after the events of S4 in a universe where everyone is still alive Cryptic Cupid

[junowritings]

Hello! If you could do another matchup with Gale, since you mentioned that you nearly shipped me with him too, I'd really appreciate it! Thanks so much sweetie ^-^

I'm an autistic girl who also has adhd, asthma and chronic joint pain. I work as a librarian currently and am simultaneously very smart and scholarly and also full of energy. I'm definitely the sunshine person in a group, I love taking care of people and I'm very good at making other people laugh, I have a very dry witty sense of humor. I'm also super short, 4' 10"/147 cm, but I can get kinda insecure about it when dating. I have a very boyish style, long wavy auburn hair that floofs up around my head, glasses and I'm pale and covered in moles and freckles. I also love being out in nature, and if I can't be I bring nature to me, I have tons of houseplants.

Thank you so so much, have a great day!!

Sorry this took so long hun! Had to take a quick break from working through matchups but I'm hoping to get a couple more done so thanks so much for your patience on this~!

With that being said here's how I think things could go with...

I know we talked about how Halsin would appreciate you, but we know who else would love you - Gale!

The lovestory here damn near writes itself, especially given your current occupation. I mean where better for Gale to stumble upon love than a place teeming with potentially valuable and intriguing knowledge? More than likely this is where the two of you first cross paths - perhaps he’s come in looking for information on whatever subjects got his head racing with a thousand and one questions that need answers; or maybe he’s searched high and low for a specific subject material and this is his next stop in the hopes of finding it. Whatever it is, the guy comes for books, and stays for you. Because gods if his first meeting with you doesn’t stop the wizard in his tracks.

Your sharp mind is absolutely the first thing that draws him to you. You match his conversation topics and questions with a certainty and enthusiasm that speaks highly of your quick wit. You’re eager to indulge him as well, a welcoming ear to pass the time as you work,and because you seem to actually enjoy listening to him talk. Perhaps he gets a little carried away talking your ear off, but you don’t mind do you? What really gets him in the end is the smile that you flash at him before he leaves. That smile of yours is blinding, like the sun itself crinkles in the corners of your eyes and the curve of your lips when it's directed at him.

Of course he finds excuses to come around after this, both before and after you’re together. If it’s before then it’s all under one pretense or another.  Oh, he just so happens to be out of interesting reading material! Perhaps you could recommend some to him? Or he needs some help finding a specific tome and the aisle that it’s located in (as though this man doesn’t know any library like the back of his hand by like the third visit - I mean this is Gale we’re talking about.) Even after you pair get together he’ll make a point to come and see you, but he’s far less subtle about wanting to do it just to see you - spending time with you on your breaks and departing with a kiss or two as an incentive to help you get through the rest of the work day. 

Okay this is a personal hc but I’m pretty sure that Gale often deals with joint and back pain himself, so he understands a little of what you’re experiencing. When the chronic pain becomes overwhelming he’ll insist on you resting, attempting to ease the aches in your joints as best as he can with the stuff he keeps on hand at home. Goes overboard with research into spells that could help to offer a modicum of relief for your pain, or find a potionmaker who can give you something to ease the severity of the discomfort that you’re in. Whatever it takes to take some of that pain away from you Gale will do it - he can’t help but worry that whatever he’s doing isn’t enough sometimes but the sheer care this man puts into your wellbeing means a lot.

You say you love making people laugh, but you know what Gale loves more? Hearing you laugh. He’ll always throw in your jokes with a couple of his own; granted most of them are groan-worthy and some downright terrible, but so long as they get a smile out of you he considers it a job well done. Just about melts at the sound of your laughter, as though your laugh alone is enough to make him fall all over again. Gets this love struck puppy look in his eyes drinking in the sight, but he will fluster if you ask him what he’s looking at.

Another guy who understands that while it’s a sweet thing that you enjoy caring for others, sometimes you’ve got to take some time to yourself. If Gale sees that you’re potentially overworking yourself he’ll just straight up guide you away from it, gently assuaging your protests or worries with assurances that whatever you have to finish will always be there once you return. That being said he is a huge hypocrite of losing time in his own work and needs to be reminded sometimes that he needs to take breaks, so hopefully you’ve got that down pat with the tactics you know to lure him away from what he’s doing. Also Gale strikes me as the kind of partner who would come prepared with the little things that come through in a pinch. Considering you wear glasses I just know that he’d carry some cleaning cloths for them around for you. You don’t always need the kinds of things he brings along, but the little proud ‘aha!’ he lets out when you do need them is just too cute. 

Another 👏freckle👏appreciator👏. He’ll try to be smooth, pointing out patterns on your skin that match constellations and patterns in the stars that he recognizes, offering to trace the shape of them along your freckles to show you the similarity. Really it’s an excuse to cuddle up next to you and bask in your warmth as his fingers glide over every freckle and mole that you’ll allow him to touch. Good luck if you’re ticklish; he'll try to feign innocence if you laugh or squirm when his hand slides over any ticklish parts, but there’s no way he can keep a straight face about it, trying to hide his smile in the crook of your shoulder.

Gale is very much a ‘bring the nature to him’ kind of partner, in the sense that he’s far more on board with bringing the aspects that you love from the outside back into a far more familiar environment. And who doesn’t love being able to nurture your love of nature in the comfort of you own home? He’s had one or two plants at his home that are mostly self-sustaining, but as time goes on and you begin to integrate yourself more and more with his life, this number will quickly multiply. Hanging plants become especially prevalent throughout the entirety of his home, both because they don’t run the risk of accidentally being knocked over, and because the life they breathe into the place makes his tower feel a lot homier and cozy. Will tell you now that Gale WILL have plant favorites - he will get invested in its care and will keep that thing on his favorite windowsill with adequate access to necessities. (you may have also caught him using his magic a couple of times to give the lil thing a boost when he thinks you’re not looking - a fitting use for a master of the weave I’m sure.)

[townofcadence]

@the-haunted-office continued from here!

Technically these woods aren't haunted, per say, but they do give off the vibe, especially at night. Nightcrawlers are known to walk this area, and that's because they live around here and enjoy a good midnight stroll. The ghostly lantern fungus is also plainly visible from just about every angle through the trees, making it look like many lamps from many wandering travelers lost in the wood. And, of course, the knife-wielding zombies shuffling aimlessly about don't help either. But Thursday isn't worried about any of those. Not much. She knows how to deal with all them. The Nightcrawlers are her friends, the lantern fungus provides some nice mood lightning, and the zombies just need their souls to be freed by her ghost alternate, and then all is well. As to what she's doing out here at this hour, well, she's investigating one of the dead buildings, because even from over at the Office, on the other side of the wood, they could all hear screaming coming from it. Which obviously isn't normal. And so she wanted to go see what the fuss was about. It could be an animal, it could be a person, it could be a ghost. Who knows? Point is, something was screaming, and so Thursday went out to go see what the deal was. And so here she is now, with her flashlight and bag full of other paranormal investigation goods, tromping through the woods, when she meets a complete stranger. Just about bowls over him, to be precise. "Oh! ...Hello! Ahahaha," she laughs, not nervously, more so out of compulsion. "Sorry, wasn't expecting anybody else to be out here. Sorry about that. Hey, you weren't the one out here screaming earlier, were you?"

Artair had picked up on something coming, but he almost falls over, stumbling back when she comes out of the underbrush so soon and so close. A root catches his foot at the back of his ankle, but thankfully the tree it was growing from offered support to his prosthetic hand, allowing him to brace. After a wide-eyed moment of surprise, he pushes off, back to standing, hands out on either side just slightly as if to balance.

"Uh-- hey yourself." He's-- surprised, that's for sure. To meet someone out here. Though where here is, he's... also not entirely sure. It's definitely....different. Very different, than what he's used to. But that was the way with using ley-lines to go somewhere random and new, wasn't it? You couldn't really predict anything, least of all where you'd end up.

"I can't say I-- know what was screaming." He continued, after a beat of taking in what she looked like. She had a sweet face and wide eyes behind the square frames of her glasses, perched on her nose. Her hair was long, brown and wavy, a slight shimmer of a warm coppery color in the light where it bounced. She was wearing a black hoodie, it looked like. She was pretty. King of reminded him of Mason, but that was probably the glasses and what looked like a dress collar peeking out by her neck. "But I was also looking for whatever it was myself, actually. It sounded... pained. Scared? But I'm guessing it wasn't you either, huh?" He chuckled. "Though...sorry to scare you coming out of nowhere in the woods like that."

It made sense she hadn't seen him at all, since he... hadn't bothered with the flashlight. But with her presence, he turned to look around, and pulled one from his bag while he did. Best not to look like a complete weirdo to a stranger. Though maybe meeting in the middle of a wood, swarming with strange energies and spirits and all manners of things that pinged at the peripheries of his senses... kind of made that point moot. "I think maybe it was coming from this way? I was going to check it out."

[femmmie]

He Cooks

It was Zee's birthday a while ago so I wrote this fic for them! I hope you like it @wiggog-y-hecox <3 The self-insert Ian fic we talked about ;D

words: 1.015

genre: self-insert, fluff

Read on Ao3

You look down at your knees, gathering courage. Then you just say it. "I'm so glad to be here as well. I can't wait to kiss you." Ian speeds up significantly. You smile, content.

You're in a bustling crowd of people. They're chatting loudly, or look at their phones. Everyone is heading somewhere. But you don't know where you should go yet. You're waiting for someone. You keep looking in all directions, even the one you came from, you know he won't be there, but you look just in case. The high, arched ceiling echoes the sound back to you, making the noise ring in your ears.

But then you see him. A man with piercing, blue eyes. He's in a white t-shirt, baggy jeans and wears a golden chain. You let out an excited gasp. Ian!

"There you are! How was your flight?" Ian hugs you, but is careful not to be too pda about it. You told him before that you are a very private person. You smile at each other.

"It was okay," you lie. It was horrible. Turbulence, people fighting over seats, the movies weren't working. You're so glad you finally arrived!

"Come on, let's get out of here," Ian says kindly, sensing your unease. He walks you out of the airport, and the heat of LA hits you. It's like a heavy, warm blanket.

"This is a different kind of hot than what I'm used to," you say, grinning.

"You're in luck though," Ian says. "My car has excellent airco.

You walk past a couple of palm trees. You're so excited to be here, and finally meet your long-distance boyfriend in person!

"You look great, by the way," Ian says, blushing just a tiny bit. Is this real life?

"Thank you, Ian. You look great yourself. And you smell good too. What is that perfume?"

"Oh, thanks! It's Dior Fahrenheit, I don't know. My mom got it for me."

"Your mom is a woman of great taste," you say and wink at Ian. He chuckles.

"She will love you, then."

"Will I meet her?! Oh my god, Ian's mom, an icon, a legend! I can't wait."

"Alright, alright, don't get too excited just yet. We will probably visit Sac in a few days. But for now we're staying in LA."

"Yeah, I know. Oh! Is that your car?"

"Indeed! It's my new Volvo S60. Isn't she beautiful?"

"She's perfect," you say as you get in.

Ian is an excellent driver. Maybe the Volvo is helping, but you don't even feel like you're in a car. You're in a luxury seat, and the yellow and black scenery is flying by you. You can't help but glance sideways at Ian from time to time. He has just had a haircut and his beard looks freshly trimmed as well. He's wearing contacts, and you're just admiring his long eyelashes when he glances back at you and shoots you a reassuring smile. You blush nonetheless.

"I'm so glad you're here, babe."

You look down at your knees, gathering courage. Then you just say it. "I'm so glad to be here as well. I can't wait to kiss you." Ian speeds up significantly. You smile, content.

When you arrive at Ian's house, he walks you into his house and gives you a tour. It's a lovely house with lots of light and a beautiful view over the Valley. You could get used to this.

"So, do you want anything to drink?"

"Do you have some iced water? It's so warm," you smile and fan yourself. Maybe it's the weather, maybe it's Ian that makes you this hot.

Ian hands you a glass of water with ice cubes. You take a healthy sip.

"Thanks!"

You put the glass on the dining table.

"Ian, this is incredible. We can actually touch."

And you run your hand through his wavy brown hair. You caress his beard and boop his nose.

"Yeah, you are in fact real!"

He pulls you closer and then cups your face with his hands.

"Kiss me, babe."

You look at his rosy, full lips and a deep desire takes over. You lean in and press your lips to his. They are so soft, and he moans a bit into the kiss. You work your tongue into his mouth and taste something sweet, or is it just Ian that tastes so good? You hold his neck tenderly as you kiss and he circles his hands on your back.

"I love you, you know that?" he croons and continues to kiss you. You hum affirmatively.

After a few moments, you break the kiss and you just look at each other like big old goofs.

"Let's cook dinner together," Ian says. Your heart is still racing. You love cooking so you say yes and follow Ian into the kitchen.

"I've gotten quite good at making stew," Ian says proudly. You giggle a bit. "What? It's quite the feat for me!"

"Of course, I'd love to make stew with you! Where do you store your vegetables?"

You cut up all the vegetables and pour them into a pan. Ian adds spices and herbs, and you put the fire on. It smells delicious.

"You know, it would be nice to cook together every day," Ian says, while staring at you. You are drawn to his lips again.

"That would be nice…" You pick Ian up by his waist and put him on the kitchen counter. You kiss him with a hunger only matched by how bad you want to eat that delicious stew.

"You're so into me," Ian teases you in between kisses.

"Of course I am, idiot," you reply fondly. Finally, the stew is ready and you slice a baguette to go with it, put everything on two plates and arrange it so it looks beautiful.

"Wow, you should be a chef!"

"Thank you, Ian. Let's eat."

And so, you had a lovely meal at Ian's place. You sat next to each other at the kitchen table. As you looked into his eyes, you saw forever there. You saw your entire future together, and knew that you wouldn't be going on another plane any time soon. After dinner you watched Oppenheimer together and you cuddled against him, laying your head on his shoulder. Ian put his arm around you. Soon, you drifted off to sleep.

[novankenn]

Reluctant Hero?

= Twenty-Two = (Chapter List)

The corrupted grimm escorted him as he strolled along beneath the dense foliage of the Emerald Forest. He moved without a care in the world. His green outfit was pristine, his skin pale and unblemished. Casually, he reached up and brushed a pink dyed lock of hair from before his pure black eyes.

????: I know you are out here, sisters. Please stop hiding.

The rustle of brush put the accompanying beasts on alert until a pale skinned, white haired young woman stepped out from the brush. Her entire body was bare to the world, and she just regarded the young man before her and the creatures surrounding him without a hint of worry.

????: Brother. That is a fine host, it is such a pity that buffoon interfered with mine.

????: You were not the only one that ass screwed with.

The pair turned, watching a tall amazonian like young woman stepping out of the trees, her fiery mane of red hair in sharp contrast to her pale skin and black eyes.

Man: I am please your reconstruction was successful. Lilith, and Eiseth.

Eiseth: It would have been so much easier just to take over our hosts. Mine was perfect! Petite and doll like. Men would have fallen over themselves to be my meals.

Lilith: Mine is no different, just not so small.

Man: My queens, please. There are things we need to accomplish.

Lilith: Yes, Yes, Baal. What do we know?

Baal: The Book is near.

Eiseth: Most likely in that school. How many do we have to serve us?

Baal: We have legions of these... grimm, and I sense there are four in Beacon, and a potential fifth?

Eiseth: The fifth is a project of mine. If I am successful, she will make an excellent weapon to counter... him.

Lilith: Well, the four will not be long for this world. He is an idiot, but he is not entirely stupid. He will be making a move to eliminate that potential threat.

Eiseth: Yes, Bonnie Jauney.... his corruption would have been so succulent...

Lilith: It still can be. He is but a man, after all. He has no defence from our charms.

Baal: You two can have him after we have the book. This world is ripe for the taking... but until we can full manifest, we are vulnerable.

/==/ Beacon Morgue /==/

Jaune: Okay, here's the plan. Check all those drawers. Find the intact ones, and make them not intact.

Nora: And after that?

Jaune: We find the three others and see if we know them as the ones we took out yesterday. Nice and simple.

Cardin moved to the shelves of refrigerated drawers, and pulled one open. He hesitated for a moment before reaching in and hauling out the body tray. He looked at Jaune and Nora, who had yet to move further into the room, before he reached down and pulled back the sheet. Unveiled was the face of a young, fairly pretty woman, her faunus trait easily visible. A set of light brown fox ears nestled on the top of her head amidst her short wavy brown hair.

Cardin: (Reaches out and grabs one of the girl's ears) They're real! This proves it! I knew it!

Jaune: Cardin, what are you doing?

Cardin: Proving to myself that faunus are just animals and not freaks wearing fake appendages.

Jaune: Okay, that... that was a little racist.

Nora: No, that was VERY racist.

Cardin: (Letting go of the girl's ear and looking at Nora and Jaune) What? I'm going to smash her head in, or Jaune is going to lop it off with his saw, so why can't I check? Like, who is it hurting?

Jaune/Nora: Cardin!

Cardin: (Looks down and noticed the faunus girl's eyes were open, and milky white) Oh shit!

Girl: Like pulling ears, do ya? (her hands snap up and grab either side of Cardin's head, causing him to drop his mace) How about someone pulls on yours, you racist bastard!

Jaune: Wow.

Nora: What?

Jaune: Is it bad that a Deadite just called Cardin a racist? That's like evil agreeing with good. How does that work?

Nora: Ah... um... I'll get back to you on that.

Cardin: (Grabbing the Deadite-Girl's wrists, trying to pry her hands from his ears) Help me!

Girl: Not so fun when it's your years getting yanked is it, you little prick!

Cardin: Ow! Ow! Let go! Ow! Ow!

Girl: I'm going to pull your ears off, and then skull fuck you through the holes!

Nora: Okay, that... that was NOT an image I ever wanted in my head.

[elmaxlys]

Crazy dream. So I was this guy, a trained spy, cropped black hair, an easy smile, dressed in leather, 10 years in couple with this girl, Barbara, brown haired, plump lips, flat chested, who's an enhanced human (she was able to fly). Most people had super powers where I lived, but I didn't. So one day after work (Barbara worked in a high ens hotel), we met with our friends in a karaoke room of the hotel (with permission of course). So it start like this: the room is equipped with lights that make powers null for safety purposes. Except that my trained ass immediately saw this room full of part time superheroes (Barbs and her friends) now vulnerable and I kind of panicked. I went "you realize that if anyone attacks the only who can fight without superpowers is me, right ?" and sure I was well-built but officially I only knew basic self defense. And we were a dozen. They said "why would anyone attack us?" and there we went to sing. I didn't sing, I was on edge the whole time and then I said I'd go outside to breathe some fresh air - bc frankly it was getting way too loud with everyone getting drunk and stuff. So as I get to the entry hall, there are the two old ladies always sitting there. I greet them, they barely acknowledge me, the usual. Just before I get to the door, it opens and a lady, wavy blonde hair cut under the ear, with fur on her coat, gets in and says hello loudly, spinning a little, and then goes her way. I exchange a look with the old ladies and then get outside. As I walk to the parking lot, I seen another lady looking just like that first one. I think "Huh. Weird." but keep going, just more alert. Then I see another. And another. And I go combat mode. Something is seriously wrong. If it's someone with a duplication power...

I rush back. The old ladies are still there but they also look alarmed. (it's subtle, they're almost expressionless at all times). With that confirmation, I go back outside: I can't charge in alone without knowing what's going on. I disappear in the shadows and circle the building. There are the blonde lady everywhere. There are screams and sounds of fighting. I think: if their power is disabled then the ladies' will also disappear when she gets inside. But it doesn't. Everyone is outnumbered and overpowered. I keep watching from afar, evaluating what's going on as I can, and that's how I see her. Translucent, floating above the fountain in the garden, her black hair floating around her. She's smiling but it's cold and cruel. I recognize her. I don't remember her name now that I'm awake but I knew her. We'd met. She owned the hotel and the building where Barbs and I lived. I retreat.

Early in the morning of the next day, I go to the hotel, smiling like an idiot, officially here to pick up my girl. I smile and wave to the two old ladies who don't look like themselves but robot version. I pretend not to notice and greet them warmly and loudly, not paying attention to their lack of response, like usual. I walk down the halls like a happy idiot, humming to some tune, twirling my car key around my finger. I get to the room where Barbs and her friends where partying when they got attacked and knock. There's noise inside but no one answers. I open the door. Everyone is still there but they're. Objects or animals. Wrong looking. I recognize some of them, the others I'm not sure. I see Barbs. I don't say anything. I must keep looking like a helpless powerless idiot. I say something like "Huh. They must have left", scratch my head and turn back. I'm about to close the door behind me when She appears right in front of me. "Oh, Miles," she greets me. "What a pleasant surprise, I haven't seen you in a while." and I say "yeah, hi! I'd been meaning to contact you, by the way, regarding some.. stuff that's been going on. See, Barbs and I, well we decided we'd separate." I scratch my head again and give her an easy smile. I know She likes me a lot, and she frowns at what I say, I can tell she's angry. "Oh dear, I'm so sorry to hear that, are you okay?" she' s not sorry at all. She's seething. She eyes the place where Object Barbara is. I wonder if Barbara can hear me as she is. Regardless I have to keep going. My life depends on it. "Oh yeah," I answer, "we still get along, it was a mutual decision, but we decided it'd be better, for the kids and stuff.." She smiles sympathetically before she gets the implications. "So yeah, we're gonna be moving away." She looks even angrier somehow, yet her face does not budge, stuck on a pleasant smile. I say to her basically we'll be gone from our flat in a week tops. She asks if we need help to move and I say it's fine, that it's basically all packed already. Then I make a move like I'm going to go but then change my mind. I move toward her and lower my tone like I'm saying a secret. I say something along the lines of "could you maybe... let Barbs keep working here despite her not living there anymore?", her face lights up (it's fake) and she dismisses it with a move of her hand. "oh of course, it goes without saying!". I thank her, give her a wink, and go my merry way.

There isn't personnel left in the hotel. Everyone has been turned into a fucked up looking animal or an object, not any less fucked up looking.

Idk how I saw that? But I saw Her at her home, taking care of a Fucked Up Duck. Like. Blue and flat, plastic looking. Still floating on water, still saying Kwak, but her eyes so human looking. Clearly a kid. So cute. So heartbreaking. She feeds Baby Duck, She caresses her gently. She talks to her softly. Then She gives it a little sweet kiss and gets up, smoothing Her black straight skirt, and walks away. She goes down a dark hallway and goes inside a room full of vivarium. In each (and there's a lot), there is a different fucked looking insect. She feeds them, takes one or two on Her finger.

I am back to my apartment building. It's empty. There are weird insects everywhere. There was no traffic on the way. I understand She plans on changing everyone. I don't get why She let me go. But I'll definitely take advantage of it.

I made sure to throw away all my belongings and hurriedly packed all of Barbara's, then I hid. I disappeared from public sight. In truth, I was staying in the other flats in my building. I had to stay close to keep an eye on things. It did not make things easy but I had ways out. She did come to check whether I told the truth. When She left, She looked both satisfied and frustrated.

She kept sending her goons in the various apartments. Did She look for me? Probably. Did she suspect something from me? I had no idea. It turned into a mockery of hide and seek, where I had to constantly evade the scrutiny of Her Fucked Up robots and machinery.

At some point, She and I were the only last humans in the city. The city was closed off. I couldn't find help, I shouldn't expect any. Our color was blue. The most powerful neighbor was Red. We also were next to Green, and Yellow was a little farther. Did they know what was up?

She stayed in the hotel. It was Her castle, Her headquarters. I knew I had no choice but to try something there. I managed to get inside. The old ladies, still Fucked Up, were still there. They didn't react, their hands still. She had gone away to Her house so I had mostly free access to everything. I only had to avoid Her Fucked Up goons and machinery. Easy. I got to Her office cleanly. It was messier than I had expected. Her desk was positioned right by the window, so She could see outside when working. Nice for me to control my surroundings. I started ruffling through Her stuff. Nothing of note, nothing telling me how to undo Her curse. I found a little toy mirror. I picked it up and it trembled in my hand. Oh. It was someone. Used to be. I shushed it, promised I'd help. My eyes scanned the desk with even more fervor. I had no way to know what object was someone and what object wasn't. But the little mirror was. I found a plastic crown clearly meant to be attached to something (it had a plastic part to be inserted). I eyed the mirror. They were the same size but the mirror did have a hole where the crown could fit. In a hurry, as I heard steps outside the door, I put it in. Mirror buzzed again. It now was a proper mirror, golden and ornamented. Its eyes opened and it told me "My power is to give someone a power when they hold me and say my name." The voice was feminine. I asked what the name was and she answered "Winx". They were unlocking the door. So I walked over to the window, looked down at the three stories fall that awaited me. I held Winx in my hand and said: "Winx: flying" and jumped. It worked. I was able to fly. There was a lot of wind and as it was my first time flying, I had a lot of trouble. An umbrella was flying near me so I grabbed it and used it to hide my body from sight. I asked Winx to give me invisibility and she said "Not a good idea." I looked down and understood that she could only give one power at a time. If she gave me invisibility, I'd crash down. "Right, let's not," I told her. But someone saw me. And I hit a tree. In my surprise, I let go of the umbrella and Winx to grab the branches so I wouldn't get impaled. The umbrella flew away with Winx inside. Now that I wasn't touching her, I couldn't communicate with her anymore. "People" were pointing at me and coming after me. I had to get away before She got there. I went down to the ground and ran like hell. I evaded everyone and managed to reach the spot where the umbrella had touched ground. I grabbed Winx and asked for invisibility. Boom, I disappeared. I went missing again. The searches intensified: it became harder and harder to hide but now I had Winx on my side, providing me the powers needed each time to escape or be undetectable.

She was definitely after me: because I took Winx? because I was the last human in her controlled realm? I had no way of knowing but Winx had some insight to offer. Having been turned into an object, she knew what it was and what it did. She told me that the object I called Fucked Up were indeed incomplete: if I offered them something and they accepted, they'd regain some of their human attributes. In her case, communication and her senses. The people that mostly seemed like people still might become human again. She didn't know anymore but this was bette than anything I'd gotten so far.

I did such excursions again and again, planned each time better than the last, leaving less and less traces. I collected objects from various rooms, the ones that reacted when I touched them. Not all of them accepted anything I gave them. For some of them it was enough to say hello. For some - a doll and a pen - a kiss did the trick. Others I had to find something they'd lost. The others I had no way of knowing and no matter what I tried it wasn't enough.

I had saved around a dozen of small objects and they were "living" in the various empty apartments of the building I still hung around in.

One of them (the pen) used to work in the backstage of the hotel and knew all kinds of passages: including some to reach Red country. Carrying Pen and Winx with me, I went through the passageway. I reached a corridor with hm. labels? on doors (like, not on the door but sticking out? like a label you put on a book to keep your page?), in that corridor I encountered a man. A real man, not a Fucked up one. He was well dressed, his light brown hair combed back. He greeted me when he saw me. I asked him where he was from and he said Red. I said I'm from Blue, which alarmed him immediately, confirming what I suspected and they knew what was going on. He informed me that it was now a purpler blue than before, which I had noticed on the labels. He took me to a Red door and made me go through the border. Now that I had been authorized, I could go through the border on my own whenever I wanted until they revoked my authorization. It'd be useful to flee when needed.

He told me they didn't know anything except that She had taken over and the population had disappeared. I told him she had changed them into objects and the only way to bring them back somewhat was to offer them something and they accepted. He said "Damn..." and I was like "I know, right". Anyway we became allies and later tentative friends as our meetings accumulated. His name started with R (my brain offers me Raul and Russel but I think it wasn't any of these). Thanks to him, I got a lot more help and ressources. We contacted Yellow and Green. Green refused to help but Yellow was less on the fence about it, attending our strategy meeting in one of the common room of the border corridor.

One day as I was in the common Purple-Blue/Red/Yellow room with R and a Yellow ambassador, the Purple-Blue door opened to let Her come in, followed by a tracking machinery. While Yellow ambassador distracted her (he greeted her, talked to her about what she was doing there etc etc etc), R rushed me to a side room and told me to hide. There was literally only a table and a closet. He opened the closet for me so I went in. I could hear Her voice. She was saying that she was following a runaway and that her best hunting hound (the Fucked Up machine) had lead her there. They said oh that's regrettable, we'll look with you. So they let the hound do its job and followed it from room to room until it stopped right near the table I was hidden under (yeah I had moved from the closet to there bc it'd be easier to run without being seen from the under the table. they'd definitely spot a closet door opening :v). It beeped at it mistress and She asked what it was. It beeped sadly or confusedly. It kept scanning me but nothing showed up. It knew I was there but I wasn't. (big thanks to Winx for that) and so R looked under and said "there's nothing there" (he still thought I was in the closet, he didn't know about Winx) and so the Yellow ambassador checked as well and confirmed. So She leaned to look. She was staring straight at me without being able to see me. Still, I was pretty shaken. I held my breath, not moving a muscle, not moving a single hair, knowing anything would give me out. She came back up and the machine beeped insistently that I was there for real and She leaned back but still didn't see me. She inhaled sharply and thanked the two men, saying they needed to notify her if any Purple-Blue man was seen anywhere in the corridor rooms. They assured her they would.

I came out of under the table when I was sure they were far (they accompanied her back) and I ran like hell out of there, still invisible.

I turned the old ladies back at some point. They still appeared somewhat robotic but she blended in the background so well, everyone was so accustomed to them being there not moving nor saying anything that no one noticed a thing. They did spare me a glance, the only way I knew they were truly back, but they kept behaving like they were still Fucked Up. They didn't want to move.

I woke up as I was turning everyone from Barbara's friend group back.

For the stats: a man named Miles

[xxmyhomexx]

Song of The Crimson Nile: Amen Headcannons

THIS IS ABOUT AMEN AND WHAT I'D THINK HE'D BE LIKE AROUND EVA. I HAVEN'T PLAYED THE SONG OF THE CRIMSON NILE, SO THEY ARE NOT CONNECTED IN ANY WAY. Enjoy 😊 Set in modern times and a loooong one! Suited for older readers.

He is annoyed immediately when she comes to work for him. He is an imposing figure to her, so Eva tries to keep on his good side, but he is big in demand of respect. She gets along well with her co-workers, and he watches her always joking and laughing in good company. He isn't very fond of the chats they share, and takes the moments to command they get back to work.

Eva is frightened of him, but loosens up over time. There's a romantic tension between them, and one day he corners her in the elevator telling her to be ready for Friday night. She can't object because she knows he will show up at her house either way if she did.

When he picks her up, he is dressed in a navy blue collared shirt that shows off his tight muscles, brown boots, and black pants. He is taken aback by Eva's yellow sundress and wavy hair in a high ponytail, and blue makeup complimenting her eyes. They drive into town where there's a Friday event, consisting of food vendors, music, and art stands.

Eva is thrilled and drags Amen through the festival, trying different foods and admiring paintings and handmade figurines. Soon, a few hours pass and they come to the middle of the square where people are sitting at tables and in front of the stage, dancing to a band playing cultural music.

The dance floor is crowded with people, and Eva decides to join. She tries to persuade Amen to join her, but he declines and sits at an empty table near the concert. Eva rolls her eyes and saunters over, making sure to give him a nice view of her backside. His eyes slightly widen, and during a Spanish song, she's gleefully spinning and swaying like she's in a world of her own.

The world stops in slow motion for Amen when he watches her dance. She is lost in the neon lights and the skirt to her dress swishes with each move of her hips. Eva is a totally different woman, one he underestimated. He smirks and leans closer to watch her, until he sees a random man try to dance with her.

Eva gasps and backs away, politely during down his request. The man goes on his way and she returns to dance, until two strong palms whip her around startling her. Amen is towering over her with eyes narrowed. Eva hasn't seen a gaze this intense, only at work when he is annoyed with her, but this one seems different, almost...jealous.

"What's wrong?" Eva is confused.

"Are you trying to make a scene for me?" Amen demands in a hiss.

"What, you mean dancing?" Eva cocked a brow. "I thought you went to these kinds of things to have fun."

"I don't go at all," denies Amen. "I'm here for business."

"Oh you mean to sit and watch me..." Eva twirls on her feet. "Dance for you."

Amen scoffs, but she knows she's right. Cocking her head with a mischevious smile, she decides to challenge him. She leans in close, placing a hand on his left bicep. He is ROCK solid in muscle, causing her breath to hitch. The material holding his shirt together barely hides any definition, almost as if it were too small for him. Her face is eight shades of red, making her forget that she was trying to get another reaction.

Eva tries back off, but Amen grabs her arm and pulls her against him, causing her to yelp.

"You know how to get under my skin, Evyths," he says her full name. "And you don't even have to do anything to make me notice."

"It's not my intention," her voice is hoarse. "But, now that you mention it..."

"Come with me," Amen pulled her away from the dancefloor. Eva wanted to protest, but she had no idea where they were going until they reached his Mercedes convertible. What would he do to her? Where was he even taking her? The drive on the highway was silent, but she noticed they'd come to a rather large prairie house, the windows huge that you could get a view of how detailed the rooms were.

"Come in," Amen's voice cut through the air. He helped Eva out of the driver's seat and unlocked the doors, stepping inside the house. The colors were a stark contrast to what he wore, the walls painted black and filled with art of different style. At least one painting hung on each wall she saw, along with a couple busts of ancient warriors and goddesses lining the foyer. The living room was large, with a remote-control fireplace and a TV mounted above. The walls were pure marble in this area, matching black furniture standing across from another on a silk grey carpet.

"Oh...wow," Eva's eyes lit up. "You live here? It's beautiful!"

"It's a bit big for one person, but I like having a lot of space. Now..." Amen plopped down on the loveseat and leaned back, arms spreading across the cushions. "You want to get a reaction from me?"

Eva's face flushed. "Uh, what? Why would I-"

"Dance for me," Amen crossed his legs. "Just like you were at the festival."

"You mean, here? Now? Alone?!" Eva's voice came out in a squeak. Her boss wanted her to dance for him, at his house, by herself?! She pinched her left arm, flinching from the grip inflicted on herself. This was so embarrassing, so humiliating, but somehow...arousing?

"Relax, my princess," he drawled. "Plenty of eyes were watching you, and you didn't seem bothered. What's the difference with just one pair now?"

"T-there w-w-was a crowd," she stammered.

"And there's still an audience," he contradicted, spreading his legs and narrowing his eyes. "I want to see you lose yourself. Lose yourself in your own desires."

Eva sighed as she glanced around the room. She could use her phone, but this house probably has speakers that can play from any room. She eyed the fireplace and noticed an Amazon Echo plugged into the wall. Bingo.

"Alexa," the blue screen lit up. "Play...Hermosa Ingrata by Juanes."

Immediately, the room echoed with the sound of Spanish music accompanied by the eccentric, rhythmical voice of the man singing. The song wasn't romantic, she realized, but it was the only one she knew off the top of her head.

She started by untying her hair, letting waves of curls fall over her shoulders and back. She had beautiful hair, loosened by the band, and she dipped back letting it fan out. Amen watched intently, the girl rising up giving him a seductive gaze.

She them walked in circles, grabbing the sides of her dress and fanning them out. She started to sway, her legs carried away, and she became the woman at the party. Amen watched as she dropped to her knees and threw herself back, turning on her back into a crawl. Her her legs and arms were magical, and the way she stopped at his knees made Amen tilt his head to the side.

Eva gulped, unsure of what to do. Amen slapped his lap twice, and she went to stand until he cleared his throat.

Sliding like a snake, she slipped one knee around until she straddled his legs. Amen remained silent, watching what she'd do. She started to grind on his lap, using the same force of her hips. Then, she swung around and bent forward, rising slowly and steady. She had no idea how he'd react. Did he like her dance? Was he entertained? What the hell was he even doing?

Before she could react, another song started to play and two meaty palms sat squat on her hips, shoving her back into the strong embrace of the white-haired, pale-eyed man that ensnared her in his home. One hand wrapped around her throat, her body tensing. Amen's grip was gentle, and his fingers made her toes curl.

"Fuck," she broke the air.

"Fuck? Language, Ms. Evyths." Amen slid his hand from her neck down the front of her dress to the blue buttons holding it together. Eva's amber eyes bugged as he began loosening them, plucking them free. Her chest felt cold.

"Are you afraid, Eva?"

"N-no..." she whispered.

"Then take this off." He purred. Eva wanted to, standing up still with her back to him. Her fingers tingled as she reached for the straps, but her mind and body shivered violently.

"Allow me." Amen came behind her. His fingers wrapped around both, pulling them down and allowing her arms to slip free. She clung the fabric to herself, but more coaxing allowed it to pool around her feet on the ground. Now all she was left in was her underwear, in front of a giant with large muscles and very big hands.

"Do you enjoy pleasure, Eva?" He spoke her nickname.

"Yes, sir." She nodded.

"I'm going to reward you now for being a good princess," he whispered in her ear. His fingers tilted her chin back to meet his eyes.

"From here on out, no other man will look at you in yearning. I want your friends, family, everyone around you to understand you belong with me. Promise yourself, and I'll make you a woman worthy of worship."

"Amen..." Eva was speechless. "I don't understand. I thought you didn't like me."

She turned around and stared at him. "You're always hot and cold with me. One minute I'm making you upset, then you make my night with a beautiful evening out, and now this. What's going on with you, with us?"

She tightened her lips and her heart started to race, realizing she might've made him really, really mad this time. Amen's jaw ticked, his eyes narrowed, and his gaze burned in her core. She backed away, only to have him corner her along the wide window. She felt exposed only wearing black boyshorts and a bralette.

"My poor, sweet Evyths," Amen shattered the tension. "You're still so stubborn."

He leaned in closer towards her neck. "The only woman that I've ever wanted..." his lips brushed against her pulse point. "Is the one who purposefully makes me want to force her on her knees. I like you because you make me weak, and it annoys me because it makes me want to dominate you."

Eva shuddered as his tongue slithered to her ear. "Question is...what will you do about it?"

Good question indeed. Deciding to use her own judgement, Eva motioned back to the couch, taking one of his meaty hands in hers and stopping in front of the cushions. Gulping down her nerves, she gripped the edges of his shirt and began to work her way through each button. She popped one after another until it hung over his shoulders.

Defined abs, huge pectorals, bulging biceps, Amen had it all. Eva gritted her teeth and flung it off his shoulders, until he was half naked with the exception of his pants. She then tried to loosen the belt around his jeans, until he settled her hands and started to kick off his boots and socks.

"Get on the couch," he said. "I'll take care of the rest."

Eva waited on the couch as he unbucked the belt and slid his jeans down. Her eyes widened as he saunters over and pulls her toward the edge, relieving themselves of the rest of their barriers of clothing. Eva tried to cover her bare breasts, but Amen grabbed her wrists and pinned them to the sides of her head.

"When you are with me, you'll never hide your body." He commanded.

Eva nodded. He leaned in and slammed his lips against hers in an Earth-shattering kiss that blocked all her senses and clogged her brain. His tongue swirled in her mouth, tasting and savoring the flavor of her lips. Eva closed her eyes and dug her nails into his back, allowing herself to feel every muscle and ridge. When he lined himself up, her eyes snapped open as a sharp pain tingled up her thighs.

"AAAGH!" She cried, causing her to bite down on his shoulder.

"Give it a moment, sweetheart," Amen assured her. "You're all right."

Eva's eyes adjusted until the pain dulled into a pleasurable throb. She sucked in a breath and clung to him, wrapping her legs around him. Soon enough, his hips started to gradually pick up the pace. The entire world crashed around her.

"A-A-Amen...ugh!" Eva groaned at the sensation of his body excelerating hers, the movements becoming faster and faster. He suck and nipped every park of her skin, down towards her navel, shoulders, anywhere and everywhere between. The heat of his mouth and his tongue were enough to almost send her over the edge into a neverending abyss of euphora.

Soon, Amen collapsed on top of his lover, both sweating and exhausted. Eva shifted to her side with one strong arm tucked around her, steadying her shaking and dazed body.

"Are you ok? Did it hurt?" Amen kissed the crook of her neck.

"There was a bit of pain, but I'm fine now. I think I can take a little walk." Eva assured him. To prove it, she tried to rise off the couch, but her arms and legs were still weak, sending her with an audible "MMMFF!" into a bed of pillows. "Ok...maybe not."

A chuckle, one that was as deep as it was beautiful, echoed through the house. "Take your time. We have all night."

"All night?" Eva groaned. She turned on her back. "I can hardly walk!"

"Don't worry. I'll take good care of you." Amen promised. Eva cupped his face and brought her mouth against his once more.

[rabbit-dance]

Okay, this gives me All The Feels. For one, there's the Obvious feels because this is, simply put, beautiful. He can play again. The thing that makes him happiest. It's beautiful and I'm so glad his story has a happy ending and that we get to see it.

But this hits me extra hard because my story is similar. It's long, so it's below the cut.

So, I've been drawing my whole life, and I've apparently loved comics since before I could talk. My mom found one of my earliest drawings that wasn't a mass of scribbles on a page. I drew "panels", and in each of them were two different-colored blobs, my characters, with circles full of wavy lines and hash marks for word balloons above them. They were talking to each other, with the "words" appearing over one, and then the other in the next panel. My first comic. Apparently Tiny Rabbit was a comedic genius, because mom said that when I brought the comic to her I was laughing so hard I could barely walk. I couldn't speak much at that age, but she knew that I had, at least to myself, successfully written down a joke. Fast forward a bit, and I'm in college for animation. This was in 2000. It was a shiny new century, and technology in the field was racing forward at an almost alarming rate. I was right in the middle; old enough to learn traditional hand-drawn techniques, but young enough to be learning 3D animation and modeling with the latest programs and equipment. Best of both worlds!

It was wonderful but grueling, even in school. Remember the animator strikes that just happened? Yeah, that culture was taught. We were encouraged to draw with both hands so that if when the one hand gave out, you could pick up your pencil with the other and keep going. Only about 30% of students even made it through the animation program. Just like the industry, it was notorious for chewing people up and spitting them out.

But I'm stubborn as hell, and I did it.

This is where my story gets familiar. We've all heard this one. There's a promising young athlete, fresh out of college, who gets to do their thing professionally. They're doing okay. Not the head of the pack, but they definitely don't suck, and they're a favorite for advancement. Then they blow out their knee and their career is over before it's started. Oh, well. Them's the breaks, kid.

That was me with my hands. Carpal tunnel in both of my wrists. Potential permanent nerve damage. My fingers would sometimes lock up into little T-Rex claws like our pianist's up there. Pain that rivaled my migraines would shoot up my arm when I tried to grip a pen or hold a mouse. For a while I could hardly type. My doctors had never seen damage like mine in someone my age, especially with no other health problems that could affect it. They said that with surgery, the gods smiling on us, and if I was the best physical therapy patient ever, the best I could get was 70% function.

And that I could never be a professional artist again.

I felt like a fish that was just told I wasn't allowed to swim anymore. To say that I felt bad about it would be an understatement, but I couldn't wallow in it. Bills had to be paid, but what could I do? I have severe vertigo. I can't drive. My hands and wrists were toast, and I couldn't use a keyboard or reliably carry anything heavy.

My one grandpa had taught me metalwork growing up. Brazing, soldering, etc. I've always been a beader (Natives gonna bead, yo), I'd picked up chainmaille as a hobby, and I've always liked jewelry. So, I became a jeweler. I started with chainmaille, and over the years I expanded my tools and skills to get to silversmithing, engraving, etc. All that fancy jeweler stuff.

"But Rabbit," you ask, "Isn't that hard on the hands?"

A valid question! Turns out, how I hold my tools is different than how I hold my pencil. Even when I couldn't draw, I could still make jewelry. Eventually I got to where I could use my computer and such again, and I did start drawing, but only a little bit here and there. Doodles, really. They scratched the itch, but nothing more.

So, I built a nice little business as a jeweler selling at shows and festivals. My wife, kiddo and I were doing okay. I could manage a little bit of drawing every day; less than an hour, but it was something. I even made some coloring books and self-published them on Amazon. I said I was stubborn, remember?

Enter The Plague.

We all know that sucked for artists who rely on events to get by, so I'll spare you that part. What's important is that I, whilst doomscrolling (everyone's favorite quarantine activity), came upon a picture from 2002 that was shared on one of the Native pages on FB. It was taken outdoors, at night, at a college bonfire party. I was in it, along with about a dozen other people. I had been visiting family on the rez with my grandma, and my cousin invited me to the party.

What was a fun memory for me was quickly destroyed when I learned that I was the only person in the photo still alive. Everyone else had died from Covid.

Quick aside if you didn't know - The pandemic sucked for everyone, but it hit Indigenous folks HARD. Look it up if you want to be mad about something. It's awful.

Anyway, that made me take a long, hard look at my life and what I wanted out of it. I wanted to make a comic book. I'd always dreamed of it, and had even started several in high school and college, but I only got a few pages in before I quit. Life and my own insecurities got in the way. But now, with no shows to work towards in quarantine and an old flame burning again, I had plenty of time and nothing to lose. I had a story idea rattling in my head, too.

One about plague doctors.

So, I went back to have my hands looked at. I was going to make a comic book come Hell or high water, but I wanted to know where I stood, first. The doctors were amazed! The years of using all of the many different tools in my metalworking had strengthened my hands and wrists. I'd learned to take breaks, and how to do the right stretches. 95% functionality!

I was cleared to draw.

That was almost exactly three years and one month ago. I told myself then that I would start drawing on January 1st, 2021. To prepare, I started outlining, got Clip Studio Paint, dusted off the old Wacom, and decided to stream it to keep myself accountable.

I'm coming up on almost two years of drawing for hours every day I possibly can. I'm on Issue Five of the comic, and I'm working to get Issue Three ready for printing. I'm still excited about the story, and I get a rush every time a panel really comes together. Evie and the kiddo say they've never seen me happier, and I don't know how I could be.

As I watch this old man play with his bionic gloves, I look at the black drawing glove on my own hand, and smile.

I understand, João Carlos. I hope you play every day, for years to come.

Thanks to a pair of a bionic gloves, this 80-year-old classical pianist can finally play the piano again. The maestro, João Carlos Martins, had lost dexterity in his hands due to aging and health complications. His face at being able to play piano again says it all. 🎶

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[mystical-flute]

Checkered: Chapter 6

Also on AO3 || Buy me a Ko-fi

There was no sense of time in the Field of Reeds. Days blend into weeks bled into months bled into millennia. There was a time when it had been possible to sort of gauge how long it had been, when her children and grandchildren had met her here, but once everyone she had known in life had joined her, everything had bled together

She had known since coming to the Field of Reeds that she would eventually go back to Earth, to help guide the spirit of the Puzzle to come to home, where he had belonged for thousands of years.

The problem with this was that she wasn’t sure who the Spirit of the Puzzle even was. She knew someone had been sealed away, but who he was or what even happened had been lost, and Osiris had not been forthcoming in the answers. How was she supposed to help the Puzzle’s spirit get to the Field of Reeds if she didn’t know who they were and what even happened to lock them into one of the items?

But here she was, standing in front of the veil between the living world and the world of the dead,

"You will be an excellent guide, Azila," her husband said, leaning to press his lips against her forehead. "I wish you luck. See you soon."

Azila nodded. "I will be back as soon as I can."

It was a rare gift, to be able to travel to and from the realms, and she intended to embrace every second of it that she would.

Stepping through, Azila found herself in a dark room, lit by only what was coming in through the cracks of the fabric covering the window.

A shifting noise caught her attention, and she glanced over to find a bed with a sleeping young woman inside it. Her wrist was out from under the covers, and there was the Bracelet, visible in the moonlight.

Azila smiled. So it was another young woman who ended up with her bracelet. Though it was dark, she could see that there were… very similar features between the two of them. The shape of their noses, wavy hair, though this girl was missing the blonde strands Azila was currently sporting.

Strange, she had stopped dyeing her hair long before she went into the Field of Reeds. Why would Osiris had dressed her like this? So many mysteries to unravel, and yet she was supposed to help escort the Spirit of the Puzzle onward?

She looked around the bedroom, seeing what looked to be a large, ornate lantern on the bedside table next to a small rectangle with a string attached to one end. Next to the window was what Azila assumed was a work desk, with a strange closed rectangle with another long string attaching itself out the back of the rectangle and into the wall behind the desk. Against the wall was a large shelf full of tomes. The girl liked to read! How lovely!

Azila moved over to the shelf to take a look at the tomes.

Geography, mathematics, Japanese history (Japan… is that where she was?), Ancient Egyptian history -

"Ancient? Well I'm sure that can't be right…"

"What the hell? Who are you?!"

Azila turned to find the young woman sitting up in bed and switching the lantern on. Interesting - so she could do it without fire? Still, Azila gave her a polite smile. "Oh wonderful, you're awake! My name is Azila. I was sent down here to help the Spirit of the Puzzle discover who he is, and train you in the art of shadow magic."

The girl blinked at her several times, then rubbed her eyes and heaved in a breath before picking up the brick and staring at it. "I'm dreaming. It's three-thirty in the morning, I have brunch with KC at eleven, and I've got exams next week. I'm on edge. This is a dream."

"You are most certainly not dreaming," Azila scoffed, making her way over to the bed just as the girl flopped back down and switched off the lantern. "Young lady, I mean it. This is not a dream, and it is important that you listen."

The girl let out a groan and opened her eyes. "You don't have to sound like my mom when you talk to me y'know."

Azila chuckled softly. "Forgive me. I spent most of my life as a mother and grandmother. It comes naturally."

"Okay, okay fine. If all of this is real and you're really a ghost come down from on high, who exactly are you and who sent you?"

Finally, the girl was amenable to discussion, and Azila smiled as she settled - or settled as much as a spirit could - on the end of the bed. "As I said, my name is Azila, and I was sent down by the god Osiris to help guide the Puzzle's spirit to the Field of Reeds."

The girl gestured to the door. "Well, he's in the living room with my cousin. Have fun."

Azila chuckled again. "I'm afraid it's not that simple. The truth is, I don't even know who the Spirit of the Puzzle was. Just that I have to help him… somehow."

"Oh my god," the girl muttered, putting her head in her hands and rubbing her temples. "If you don't even know who he is, how are you supposed to help him?"

"He owned a Millennium Item, so he must have been someone important to those of us in Court. That is why it is important that he come to the Field of Reeds… there are so many people waiting for him."

The girl stared at her in sleepy confusion. "So, let me get this straight. You have no memory of this guy, but you think he's super important that you and a bunch of other ghosts have been waiting for him in the afterlife. And you're only here because Osiris told you to?"

"Yes, now you're getting it!"

"You picked the wrong girl to try and help you with this," she sighed. "I'm not even going to be living here in a few months."

Azila shook her head. "Whatever you might believe, you will be involved. The Items do not choose their owners lightly. You are meant to wield the powers of the Bracelet. Besides, have you not noticed that we look similar despite being born years and years apart?"

The girl blinked again, but turned the lantern back on to get a better look, squinting in confusion. "Your hair… you have wavy hair like me, the black and magenta like me… but you have a streak of blonde framing your face, like the men in my family. I don't understand. Why do we look alike?"

"Fate. It is the most powerful force in the world. And I will teach you - "

"I knew there was another soul here."

The girl blinked in surprise at the sudden arrival of another, the room door cracked open. "Yugi, I'm fine. Go back to bed."

Azila stared in horror as the figure approached. "No, it is not fine. Look at his forehead. The symbol there…"

The girl focused on the spirit (it was a spirit in charge, not a human, she could tell), before her eyes widened and she got out of the bed. "Wait - hold on. Who are you?"

The spirit grinned, though Azila could see - and sense - nothing but malice. "Consider me a guardian angel. I will determine if this spirit is actually safe or not."

"Where's Yugi?"

The spirit shrugged. "He is resting. He had such a tiring day. Everything with Ushio was exhausting. Surely you know that, Reika."

The girl - Reika - shuddered. "How do you know my name?"

The spirit tapped his temple. "Yugi's memories are available to me."

"Well get out of his head and get out of my room."

"I will… just as soon as I make sure this spirit means no harm."

The room began to warp, and Azila instantly felt the old, familiar tug of the shadows and the games they played. Reaching out with her hand, she could feel the power of the bracelet radiating, tugging and pulling and wanting to be free. Reika was woefully unprepared for this, especially against an opponent as unstable as… whoever this was.

"You are not the only one experienced in the Games," Azila said, her fingertips brushing against the bracelet and drawing its power to her, felt the DiaDhank form on her arm. She didn't want to - she really didn't want to - but she would summon what she needed to if it meant stopping this boy. "I will be your opponent and prove to you that I am not the hostile spirit here."

The Puzzle's spirit laughed. "Are you implying that I am?"

Azila raised a brow. "Yes."

"Interesting," the spirit said, tilting his head before flicking his wrist.

Reika went sent flying back onto the bed, the covers wrapping around her and binding her down onto the mattress despite her struggles.

"What do you have in mind for this Game?" Azila asked.

"I call it Truths and Lies. We each write down facts about ourselves and one lie. Then the other must guess which is the lie."

Azila raised a brow. It sounded simple enough, but these games never were. "And what does the loser get punished with?"

"Banishment."

Azila tilted her head in confusion, unsure if the spirit had played many of these games or if he just hadn't played one with another spirit. Azila hadn't either, but she was fairly certain neither of them would be able to be banished. She was at the mercy of a god, and he was bound to the puzzle itself.

But she knew the rules of a Shadow Game, and so she nodded, taking a seat at the table that had materialized in Reika's bedroom. "I accept your terms. Let's begin."

The pen she wrote with was strange, not nearly like the ones she used when she was alive, but she managed to write down her list.

I am a Great Royal Wife

I am a healer

I am the youngest of seven children.

The spirit laughed as he picked up the paper. "Do you want to lose? Clearly the lie is that you're a Great Royal Wife!" The shadows swirled around him, but she kept her gaze even with him as she spoke.

"I was the eldest, and I only had four siblings."

"'Only?'" came Reika's mutter of disbelief.

The shadows swirled around her, and as the Puzzle's spirit looked at her in horror, she only gave him pity.

"I do not know your name, nor do I know who you were in life, but I make a promise to you that I am only here to help you, so that one day, you can gain entrance to the Field of Reeds with your memories in tact," Azila said carefully. The shadows did not move from around her, but stayed pointed at him in warning. "I do not wish to bring harm to any of the humans. Nor will you be banished. We must work together to find out what is happening."

The Spirit looked at her, no longer looking manic, but instead quite sad, and very, very, young. "You… want to help me? How?"

"I do not know. But I do know that our god Osiris was the one to send me down… you are meant to come home to the Field of Reeds, I promise. But you cannot do so if you keep running around harming people with the Games. That was never what these powers were for."

Not exactly true, but the less insanity there was surrounding them, the better the world at large would be.

The spirit nodded, and the shadows began to vanish, freeing Reika from the bedding. Azila watched as the human scrambled off the bed with wide eyes.

"Yugi?" she whispered when the shadows completely disappeared, and the spirit retreated back into the puzzle in a flash of gold.

The boy, Yugi, snapped his head up in surprise. "Reika! What - "

(The spirit and Yugi were disconnected… interesting)

"This… is going to be a very long conversation that we can finish tomorrow but… you need to know that what gramps told us about the shadow games is true. They're real. And… your puzzle has a ghost in it."

Yugi stared at her. "Wait, the Shadow Games? So that means Ushio playing in the dirt and thinking it and the leaves were money…"

"He was being punished for his transgressions," Azila said, coming into Yugi's view. "I have seen that game used before, on con men."

Yugi blinked. "Who - "

"My item has a ghost attached to it too. This one is Azila. She wants to help us figure everything out," Reika explained, rubbing at her eyes. "But we really should get some more sleep."

Yugi nodded, but hesitated in turning around. "I… don't want him to take control of my body again."

"I will keep watch over you," Azila said. "I am well-equipped in the art of the shadows as well. You will be safe to sleep, I promise."

Yugi nodded and began to make his way out of the room. Azila turned back to look at Reika, who was sliding back under the covers.

"Thank you, Azila…" Reika said.

Azila smiled. "You are very welcome. Get some rest."

And with that, she followed Yugi out of the room.

-

"Yugi, I've got some books on Ancient Egypt in my room, if you want to take a look at them. See if you can figure anything out about… all of this," she said the next morning, glancing at Yugi with a shrug.

Yugi nodded. "Thanks Reika. Do you mind if I invite Anzu over too?"

"Of course not. Just don't make a mess and don't eat all of our food. The takeout menus are in the drawer next to the stove if you get hungry again and I'm not home," she replied as she made her way to the door. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

She paused at the mailbox upon realizing it had mail in it, and felt her eyes widen when she saw what exactly had been sent priority.

A letter - from the University of Kyoto.

Reika practically sprinted to her car and tore the letter open the moment she was alone.

Dear Miss Mutou,

Congratulations! You have been accepted to the University of Kyoto's Music Education program -

She stopped reading. That was the only sentence she needed for now. The rest would come later, after brunch, after the weird conversation with Yugi about the Shadow Games. For now, it was time to be a member of the Young Five.

"You cut it close this morning, Miss Reika," Lector said as she rushed into the restaurant's private room. "It's not like you."

Reika bowed deeply before she made her way to the table and took a seat next to him. "Apologies, Mister Lector. I received some big news just as I was leaving and I needed a moment to gather myself."

"Oh? Good news I hope."

"Yes sir. I got accepted to Kyoto for their music education program."

Lector grinned. "Well that is excellent news Miss Reika. Congratulations! I suppose that means all of you now know what your plans are for after graduation."

"A toast is in order then," Seto said. He was sitting at the head of the table and radiating an aura of being in charge despite five men in the room having decades on him in life and work experience. A wave of his hand, and servers were arriving with wine and sparkling cider, quickly placing them on the table. "To the Young Five. May the dedication and commitment they have shown to KaibaCorp carry them into their future endeavors, and may they excel at all they choose to do."

The glasses clinked together gently, and she took a sip of the cloyingly sweet liquid.

"Hey Reika! What's that design on your bracelet?" Mokuba piped up.

She blinked in surprise, momentarily forgetting what she was wearing. "I - oh, it's an artifact my grandfather brought me from one of his expeditions in Egypt. He gave it to me when I was nine."

"Hold on, didn't you tell me years ago you said you wouldn't wear it unless Yugi finished that puzzle?" Noah asked with a frown.

"And I kept my word. He finished it last night."

Noah stared at her. "He did? It was taking him so long I never thought it would happen!"

"Heh, yeah, neither did I."

"Is it true? Do they actually have powerful ancient magic? Your grandfather mentioned that once, didn't he?"

Mokuba's eyes widened, but Seto's rolled. She already knew how this conversation was going to go, but she soldiered on.

"Ah - right, that's the rumor," looking at Mokuba, she continued. "The bracelet and Yugi's puzzle are part of a set of ancient objects known as the Millennium Items. There are only eight of them in the world. Each one is said to contain powerful, dark shadow magic."

"Really?" Mokuba gasped. "Like what?"

"Mokuba," Seto said sharply. "Don't be ridiculous. None of that is real."

Mokuba frowned and turned back to Seto, but Noah rolled his eyes.

"It's real," she murmured, leaning closer to Noah. "The Shadow Games, the spirits… all of it. We don't know what it means but… gramps wasn't just telling us scary stories."

Noah's voice was low and level with hers. "What are you going to do?"

"Research, I guess. Deal with whatever comes our way. I don't think this is something e can avoid, Noah."

"You are correct. It is not."

She rolled her neck in an attempt to shake off the uneasy feeling of hearing Azila's voice in her head.

"Reika?" Noah murmured.

"It's fine," she said. "I'm fine."

So why were her hands shaking?

—

"Are you sure you don't want your father and I to check on you?" her mother asked, worry clear on her face even on the small cell phone screen.

Reika groaned and rolled her eyes. "Mom, I'm fine, I promise. The nurse said almost everyone gets a cold this time of year."

After not being sick once during the first semester of university, luck had not been on her side going into the second, and instead of being able to attend Yugi's first non-tabletop duel, she was being forced to watch it via streaming.

"You can call us at any time if you need us. We'll be on a train in seconds," her father added. "With food and medication."

She didn't have the heart to tell them Seto had already sent her a large care package with just those things. "I know you will, and I'm fine for now, I promise. I've got soup and honey. and tea. It'll tide me over until tomorrow. I'm going to be watching the duel tonight so I'll have something that makes me happy."

Her mother sighed. "Don't stay up too late! Go straight to bed once the duel is over."

"I will, promise."

Or not.

With a sigh, she ended the call with her parents and connected to the stream Noah had sent her to watch the duel. Yugi and his friends were just entering the arena, with the Young Five already sitting in the stands with Mokuba and Noah. Seto was standing in his spot at one end of the area already, a manic grin on his face.

She had been worried about him for a few days, even when they'd managed to get together for dinner for his birthday, he'd been wild-eyed as he talked about the future, and about the upcoming Japanese dueling tournament, and it had all felt so off.

Seto was always a passionate about whatever caught his interest, but his face, and the way his pupils seemed to shrink as Yugi stepped into the arena, told her something was wrong.

"I think you'll find our brand new duel arena to be quite exciting Yugi! And how lucky you are to be one of the first to test it out!" Seto laughed.

"There is a heavy energy around him," Azila said, materializing into the room with a frown. "It feels dark but… not in the way the shadows do. Has anything happened to him lately?"

She shook her head. "No, not that I can think of. Mokuba and Noah haven't said anything either." Mokuba, of all people, would have told her if there was.

"Odd… he was not like this before, was he?"

The duel began, both players making their first move.

"No, he seemed okay, until a couple of days ago," she said, coughing into the crook of her elbow miserably.

"Have some tea, and a spoonful of honey." When Reika gave her an odd look, she shrugged. "I was a healer before my marriage. There has been much changed in the world since my death but those two have remained."

Reika rolled her eyes as she got off her bed and moved to the small kettle already filled with hot water. While waiting for the tea to steep, she did indeed take a spoonful of honey. With that done, she returned to her bed with a mug of chamomile, leaning back to watch the rest of the duel.

It… was not going well for Yugi. He was down to four-hundred points to Seto's one-thousand, and Seto had all three of his beloved Blue-Eyes cards on the field. She could tell Yugi was using Grandpa's deck, so what other tricks could he possibly have…?

Surely not -

"You are pathetic Yugi, and so is your deck! So go ahead and draw your last card so I can end this duel already!" Seto still had that manic grin on his face, that seemed to only grow with each turn taken.

"Pathetic? The only pathetic thing I see here is you, Kaiba! My grandfather's deck may not be the strongest, but it does contain - "

It was.

"The unstoppable Exodia!"

Grandpa was a lot of things, but a fool was not one of them. He had stacked his deck for strategy, not just for strength, and it seemed that was a lesson about dueling Seto had forgotten.

The other Yugi was standing in Yugi's place as Seto's life points hit zero. "You have so much hatred in your heart, Seto. It has started to cloud your judgment. But don't worry… I can help you. Mind Crush!"

The Eye of Anubis flashed on Yugi's forehead, and Seto fell to his knees, his eyes clearing, pupils returning to normal.

And the feed went black.

"Reika…" Azila asked. "Are you certain there has been nothing wrong with Seto recently?"

Reika's heart was in her throat. "I - I - "she glanced up, spotting the calendar hanging on the wall across from her bed.

October thirtieth.

"Oh shit," she whispered. "Today is the anniversary of Gozaburo's death."