#someone could've done dishes while i packed

[who-the-fuck-is-sennalye]

god i just had the worst fucken dream. no one was helping me pack the car after our trip to the beach.

[clouddd-hannn]

His Favorite Senior

COUPLE: Jung Wooyoung x M!Reader

GENRE: Fluff

SUMMARY: You are an outstanding student, a senior in college and never expected to become a junior's favorite.

"And that is why our current study is relevant to our current situation this generation. Thank you for lending your ears and that would be all," you ended your statement with a bow as you smiled at the three panelists and audience.

You are in your senior year in college. You were quite an outstanding student, but not overly good with academics. You did excel in speeches, debates, and anything that has something to do with defending your sides and other 'talking' things.

"That was a wonderful answer, Mr. L/N," one of the panelists said, making you smile proudly then moved to exit the gym hall.

As you finally exited, you were met with a smiley San and Mingi. "Dude, you have got to tell us how you can answer those difficult questions at once," San said as he side-hugged you, making you chuckle before shrugging as if to say 'meh'.

"I guess it just runs in my veins," you answered with a small smirk. "But before anything else happens, we better head to the cafeteria or we'll miss the opportunity to get those good-good food."

You three then decided to make a run towards the cafeteria and luckily, you all had managed to get the 'good' food. The cafeteria wasn't packed, as usual. Some just brought their own lunches and some just don't bother to eat. As for you, sometimes you'd bring your own food but when you're lazy to cook for youself, you don't bother.

"Oh, tiramisu," you stated excitedly as you tried to grab the last plate of tiramisu but it was grabbed by another student. You looked up at the male then raised a brow. "I grabbed it first."

"No, I did," the other guy said.

"If you did, why—"

"M/N, it's just a tiramisu. I can buy you one later," Mingi stated, watching as you huffed, sighed, and glared at the other male who walked off with 'your' tiramisu. That was my tiramisu.

You and your friends grabbed your own trays and sat at a table that's good for three. "Seriously! I had it in my hand and he slipped his hand! I had saw it clearly and to explain how that happened is...I don't know! But I still grabbed it first! I saw it first. It was mine!"

"Sure, sure, M/N. You did. Mingi can just buy you one later. It's his time to treat us to food later after school," San said as he and Mingi began to eat their own food. You sighed as you nodded, beginning to eat your food. I guess so. You thought with a small pout. Just as you were eating, you heard a loud motorcycle go off.

"Woah. Is there a race going on here at the uni?" You asked Mingi who was more active with what goes on in the university compared to you and San.

Mingi thought for a while before shaking his head. "I don't think so. Plus, it's a school weekday. Probably someone's just off to go buy something urgent."

You nodded as an answer and you continued to eat your food, although curiousity is still in your veins. What was that for?

After you three were done eating, you placed your dirty dishes on a bin and your trays in a seperate bin. "Ah, I really wanted that tiramisu. If only that stupid guy had not taken it from me, I would have been able to eat one today, but let's just get on with it. We still have classes to attend later," you stated as you all exited the cafeteria, walking towards your next class' auditorium.

The other two agreed. "Hey, M/N. I'm having trouble with my math assignment—" San started but was interrupted.

"If it's shapes, I'm not the person you're looking for," you stated with a small chuckle. You were about to turn towards a corner but was soon stopped when a motorcycle had stopped just in front of you three. "Jesus, man. You could've killed us."

The person on the motorcycle turned the engine off and bowed at you and your friends. He was wearing blue fitting pants that totally hugged his thick thighs and a white vulgar tee that made you stare at it. "I'm sorry, seniors," the guy said, finally removing his helmet and  was met with a guy with black hair with the sides of his hair dyed blonde. "I wanted to talk with M/N-sunbae."

Hearing your name from the stranger made you raise a brow and pointed at yourself. The guy nodded his head repeatedly and smiled at you as he offered the box he was carrying to you. "My name's Wooyoung, Jung Wooyoung. A junior from your department and, uhm, I'm your biggest fan."

"What?" You asked, doubting the male as you looked at the box weirdly, inspecting it with suspicion in your eyes then looked back at Wooyoung before eyeing him from top to bottom then nodded as you crossed your arms. "You're a troller, aren't you?"

"No, no. I'm not, really. Please, take this box of tiramisu," Wooyoung said as he showed the hand that was carrying the box. It was the famous cake shop you, San, and Mingi frequented.

"Tiramisu? How..?"

"I overheard you, then I immediately bought one," Wooyoung stated as he offered it to you again, this time, desperately. "But if you don't want it, I can give—"

"No! Gimme it. It's for me so I should eat it," you answered with wide eyes as you neared the male then got the box of cake. "If I find out this is poisoned, I'm gonna haunt you in your dreams."

"I would never, I mean never, ever try to kill you because you're my favorite senior," Wooyoung stated with a gleeful smile as he held one of your hands in both his hands. You just stared at Wooyoung with uncertainty, blinking twice before looking back at your two friends who shrugged before you looked back at Wooyoung.

"Y-Yeah, okay. I get it, but is the skinship necessary?" You asked and Wooyoung just smiled sheepishly as he removed his hand from yours and chuckled. "Well, thank you, I guess. No one's ever told me I was their favorite senior. I appreciate the gift."

"Of course, sunbae. Anytime. Just call me whenever you need me!" Wooyoung stated with a chuckle as he put on his helmet and rode his motorcycle, probably off to park it somewhere else that's not 'here'.

You just stared at the box that was in your hand before you were approached by your two best buds. "Oh ho ho. Mister M/N here has a fan."

"Shut up, Choi. He's probably just a troller though. I just accepted this because it's tiramisu. I would never pass up an opportunity like this," you defended yourself with a 'duh' voice and pointed at the box with your free hand. "I mean, it's basically free food!"

"Yeah, yeah. We get it, M/N. You don't need to be so defensive," Mingi stated, only earning an eye roll from you.

-----

You were leisurely writing down notes on your notebook in the library like any other achieving students would do inside a library. Later, you were interrupted when a hand had covered the book you were reading. You looked up, ready to clapback but your eyes softened when you saw Wooyoung who was smiling from ear to ear. "Oh. Wooyoung, right?"

"I'm glad you remember my name, sunbae," Wooyoung stated as he took a seat in front of yours, laying both his hands flat on the table.

"Just call me by my name. It's weird hearing the word 'sunbae'," you said as you chuckled with a small smile, making Wooyoung's heart flutter like crazy.

"You're really cute."

You looked at Wooyoung with a raised brow then huffed. "I just chuckled though, but sure. Whatever floats your boat. Don't you have friends to hang out with?"

"Yep, but they're busy getting high on weed. I—"

"They smoke weed here in school?!" You whisper-shouted in shock as you looked at Wooyoung with wide eyes in both surprise and disbelief. Wooyoung looked straight into your eyes before laughing and shaking his head.

"No. Metaphorically speaking. They're just having fun elsewhere, looking for some person to fuck with tonight. I'd rather spend more time with you," Wooyoung stated as he smiled at you which you answered by rolling your eyes with a smug smirk.

"The next thing I know you'll ask me to go to your house to 'Netflix and chill'. That won't work on me, Jung," you teased the other as you looked back at your notes and the book you were reading.

"No way! I respect you so I respect your everything, privacy and all," Wooyoung stated, hearing a small hum from you, making him pout as he slumped his head on the table, trying to look at your face. "You don't talk too much?"

You looked at Wooyoung with cold eyes, staring into the others hazel brown orbs that was hypnotizing you. You eliminated your thoughts away then shook your head. "Nah. I tend to speak a lot but we have to be quiet since we're in the library. We're screwed if we don't shut up."

That day, you two both grew closer. You came to know that Wooyoung was really goofy and easy to go with. His nice personality was what drew you even closer towards Wooyoung. He was a sunshine but a literal sassy bitch when he wants to be, especially with you.

You seriously can't handle his sassy attitude sometimes which only makes you laugh. Besides, he also can't handle your philosophical and smartass self.

Weeks turned into months and now, both Wooyoung and you were closer as ever. Currently, you two were at the school's rooftop. Wooyoung was eating an onigiri you made early in the morning while you had your head placed on the other's thigh, laying down as you read a book, using Wooyoung as your shield from the sun's rays.

"There you are! Wow, and you're with Wooyoung. I'm starting to think you're trying to disown us as your best friends," a pouting Mingi exclaimed as he crossed his arms while San closed the door behind them.

You just chuckled as you watched your two best friends near you two. "Quit being a drama queen, Mingi. I'm always with you and San during the weekends," you stated as you sat up and closed the book you were reading (of course, after bookmarking it).

"Dude, you literally ditched us just so you could go play games with Wooyoung the past weekend," San reasoned out with a fake cry, making you smile apologetically. "What happened to our code? Freaks before dicks."

"Freaks?"

"It's just something we used to call each other when we were back in freshmen year," you explained to Wooyoung who nodded in understanding.

"But that's fine. We're not holding you down, are we? We don't want you to think that we're stopping you from doing what you want and like. I mean, I can see Wooyoung's making you happy. You two are made for each other," Mingi stated, making you two look at him with wide eyes.

"What? You think we're dating?" Both you and Wooyoung stated, bursting into laughter as you held your stomachs.

"See? And you two even share the same brain cells," San said as he wiped a fake tear. "We'll leave you two be. Sorry we interrupted. Now, go fuck each other."

"San!" You shouted with a blush as you watched your two best friends finally leave the rooftop with snickers.

You sighed and opened your book again. "I can't believe they thought I was dating you."

"You don't want to?"

"Huh?" You asked, confusion laced in your voice as you stared at Wooyoung.

"I mean, I was subtly sending you hints but I guess you haven't noticed," Wooyoung stated.

"Oh.." was the only thing that you sputtered as you played with your fingers.

"I mean do you not want to be my boyfriend, M/N?" Wooyoung asked you with sad eyes as he looked at you. You widened your eyes as you shook your head vigorously.

"No! I mean, I don't know. Wait, what? I don't—"

"So, I guess I'll take that you want to be my boyfriend?" Wooyoung asked for confirmation from you, which you answered by sighing before nodding and looking down as you blushed hard. "Then, we can consider this our day one."

You chuckled as you nodded and held Wooyoung's calloused hand. "That's..good. Yeah, I'd really love that."

[iguessweallcrazyithinktho]

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒆

Summary: you and harry dated in his early 20s but broke up after 6 months. You didn't tell him you were expecting his child out of fear. Now your son is 5 and Harry sees you with him.

𝑮𝒆𝒏𝒓𝒆: 𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒔𝒕, 𝒇𝒍𝒖𝒇𝒇

𝑾𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈: 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒕 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅

𝑷𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈: 𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒚𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒙 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓

𝑷𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒕 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒎𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕.

𝑭𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆!

5k words

--

You may seem like the perfect 27 year old. You Have a nice career as a lawyer, a nice car, you lived in a nice suburb, and you have many friends and family that love you just as much as you loved them. people thought you were on top of the world, living freely, but that was beyond the truth.

you had a little boy named Jack. He was your life – no your world. Even though he wasn't planned you were so grateful for him. And the reason why you had all these things in your life is because you wanted him to have a good life even if Harry wasn't involved.

He wasn't in jack's life by your choice. You knew it was stupid and you should've told him before Jack was born but you didn't have the guts to and still don't. You thought you could do it without him and Frankly you did. It was tough but as long as a smile was upon his sweet face you know you were doing the right thing.

--

You walked down the people filled sidewalk; it was around 2pm and you were done with work, on your way to pick up your baby Jack for preschool.

You walked onto the school property, entering the building. It was full of parents picking up their kids and teachers talking. You went straight to jack's classroom to pick him up.

As soon as you entered the room, Jack spotted you. He smiled widely and ran to you wrapping his arms around your neck seeing that you were already crouched down. "Mommy!" You laughed as you picked him. "Hi buddy, did you have a good day."

Jack looked at you, his sea green mixed with a hint of brown sparkled. He was way too identical to harry it was insane. Green eyes, curly hair, dimples, he even had his accent but it was just slightly. He was just a harry styles 2.0 and every day he grew he started to look more and more like his dad.

"Yeah! We draw, and we went to dance class. It was fun." He said giddily as he placed both of his tiny hands on your cheeks.

You chuckled, "that's nice. Okay let's go." You let him down so he could walk. The both of you walked out of the school, on your ways with your life. "We're going to go to the bakery." You said looking down at Jack briefly. He looked up at you. "Mama's going to get a muffin. What are you going to get bug?"

Jack looked up at you, "I going to get a muffin too." He stopped in front of the bakery's door waiting for you to open it. It was the bakery you both always went to due to the fact it was only a block from the school. You said 'okay' as you opened the door.

The sweet smell of baked goods filled your nose making your stomach growl; you didn't even notice you were hungry until now. You and Jack walked in and got in the short line of 3 people waiting in front of you, waiting for your turn to order.

–

Harry who was just finishing up his run decided to stop at the bakery for a snack. He stopped at the door taking out his earphones before he walked in.

It wasn't packed which was nice he thought to himself. He got right behind you in line.

at first he didn't even recognize you. He was to busy looking at the menu, but when Jack asked you a question and you responded his breath hitched in his throat. He remembered your voice like it was yesterday. Still as sweet as anything he has ever heard.

So many thoughts were running through his mind. Who was the kid you were holding onto? Were you babysitting? Or is he Yours?

Harry took a deep breath, distancing himself from his thoughts. He was going to say hi to you instead of freaking out.

It took some courage but he spoke up. "Hi." He tapped your shoulder causing you to turn around. When you saw harry your eyes widened. "Harry.... Hi." You were shocked, this couldn't be real, it was actually harry fucking styles.

"how.. how are you?" You asked. You weren't sure if you should hug him or shake his hand; you weren't expecting this.

"I'm great." Harry placed his hand on his hips looking down at Jack. "Uh who's this little guy, you're babysitting?"

In the inside you cringed at that but answered him, "uh no. He's my son." You looked down at Jack who was looking between you and Harry in confusion of who harry was.

You looked back up at Harry, his eyebrows were knitted as he tried to put everything together.

"uhh" harry looked back at you. "Uhh is he mine?" His voice was high pitched as he asked that. You hesitated, but nodded.

You can see a mixture of pain and disbelief on Harry's face. It kinda hurted seeing how he looked.

"Why didn't you tell?" Harry said looking at you then to Jack. He was starting to notice how jack looked like him. You shook your head to the side, struggling your shoulders, running your available finger over your forehead, "I.. I." As you started your sentence you felt a tug on your pants. You looked down at a pleading eye Jack. "yes Jack?" "I want muffin." He said. You nodded, peering back at Harry, "Look can we sit down and talk after I get him his muffin?"

"yeah, sure." Harry said as he swallowed. You muttered an okay, going to the counter while harry found a seat. You ordered a muffin for Jack and a coffee for yourself before going to sit with Harry who was in a Booth in the far back of the bakery. He was not trying to be seen and you understood that.

You placed Jack in the booth before you took your seat. You put on his favorite show on your phone so he can watch it while you and Harry chatted.

Harry didn't look at you, he couldn't. He went all these years without knowing he had a son; that hurt him more than anything.

"look, Harry I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I was scared and I didn't know what to do."

"you didn't know what to do? Y/n you could've called, text, told gemma or my mom. You had so many opportunities, and so many ways to tell me and you didn't." Harry exhaled as he finished. Even though he was pissed his voice was soft. As much as he wanted to be mad at you, he couldn't.

You looked down at your hand on the table. "I don't know what else you want me to say other than sorry." Harry looked up at you, "I know you're sorry, and I forgive you. But it's just, will you let me be in his life now?" You looked up at him, "of course." You softly grinned at Harry before looking at Jack. He had muffin crumbs all over his face as he ate it. You Chuckle, "Jack, I want you to meet someone."

Jack looked at you. "Who?"

"well I want you to meet him." You pointed at Harry, " he's your daddy." Jack looked at you then at Harry. "Daddy?" Harry laughed, "yeah, I'm your daddy." Jack looked back at you for reassurance. You nodded, laughing yourself. Jack turned back to harry. "Hi." He said smiling, followed by a little giggle.

----

Jack and you spending the Whole day with Harry. Despite the rough start, the day went well. It didn't take Jack and Harry long to become best buddies. Harry was already telling Jack about gemma, his dad, and Anne, jack was more than ready to meet them.

The night ended with Harry leaving around 8. He made sure to tell Jack he'll be back the next day to play with him. That made Jack extremely excited and he went straight to bed after harry left.

That night as you got in bed you wondered if today was a dream. It felt like one. It wasn't though. You laid in bed staring in the darkness as you tried to comprehend it.

--

The next day you took Jack to school and you went to work. The whole day your brain was in a blur. You tried your best to focus but you couldn't. You didn't know if it's because harry was back in your life and your past feeling for him were starting to return or something else, but whatever it was was like a concrete wall in your brain

You got through your work day and went straight to pick up Jack. Of course when you picked him up he gave you a big hug and cute giggles and smiles. As you both made your way home, Jack couldn't help but ask his dad.

"is daddy coming over." You nodded, "yeah, he's coming over for dinner. Should we make some pizza?" Jack nods his head as he giggles, "yeah!"

You snickered, "well let's go put some pizza in the oven.

-

You and Jack spent the evening cleaning and getting food ready. Jack was extremely excited; he couldn't help going to the window every minute to see if harry had arrive or not. He was already so attached to Harry.

While you were in the kitchen you heard the sound of a car pull up. Not long after you heard a streak, it was Jack. "Mama, he's here!" He ran in the kitchen, he was smiling and bouncing up and down.

You smiled, "let's go open the door." Jack led the way from the kitchen to the foyer. He struggled to open the door but once he got it open there was no stopping the kid.

He ran to harry, wrapping his arms around his legs; it nearly knocked harry unbalance. Harry chuckled, running his hands over his mini me.

"hi buddy." Jack pulled away from Harry's leg. "Hi daddy." Every time harry heard that name it felt like a dream.

"can I come inside?" Harry asked Jack even though the answer was obvious yes. "Yeah." Jack took harrys hand letting him in.

As he passed you, harry winked. You chuckled as you closed the door.

-

After spending a couple of minutes with Harry it was dinner time. You three sat at your dinning room table and ate. While Jack and Harry talked, you stayed quiet. It didn't go unnoticed by Harry either.

As you were cleaning up after dinner Harry managed to slip away from Jack to see if you were okay.

"hey y/n are you ok?" You turned to him. "Yeah, I'm great." You smiled at harry as you turned back to the dishes. Harry pressed his lips into a thin line. "Okay, well I'm going to go back to playing with Jack. He's so energetic."

You laughed as harry walked off finding the little monster. They were having such a good time and that made you so happy.

--

Later that night after Jack was put to bed, harry decided to stay a little late for a chat with you. You both sat on the couch beside each other but with a little space between you both.

"how have you been?" Harry asked you. You sighed through your nose, "I've been great. Really stressed from work, but I'm perfect." Harry nodded just the slightest. "What you do for work?"

You looked at him. "I am a lawyer." As you said lawyer harry couldn't help but smile. He remembered you always talking about wanting to be a lawyer and to see that you finally fulfilled your dreams makes him happy. "That's amazing. I'm so happy for you puppet."

The nickname, god the nickname. He used to always call you that when you were dating. Hearing it made your body tingle.

"you're working so hard, I have no idea how you took care of jack by yourself." You strugged your shoulders kinda getting a little embarrassed from Harry's comment.

Harry smiled at you, "how about I take out to dinner with no Jack, so you can relax. How does that sound?"

You looked up at harry, eyebrows raised, "umm sure, yeah." Harry smiled softly, his cute little dimples showing. "Okay." He stood up. "Well I gotta going. Thank you for having me over puppet."

Your breath hitched in your throat from the name as you stood up. Harry pulled you into a tight hug. If there was one thing he was good at, it was hugs.

When he pulled away he placed a kiss on your cheek before making his way to the door. You followed. "I'll pick you up tomorrow, 7?"

"yep." Harry turned to you, "okay, see you then." With that he walked out of the house to his car.

You shut the door letting out a deep breath. He was doing something to you.

-

The next day, around 7pm you heard a knock on the door. You quickly Walked to the door opening it. On the other side stood Harry. He looked at you and his breath hitched.

You were dressed in a dainy dress with flowers on it.

(I couldn't choose which one so, here)

"hi."

Harry returned back to earth. "Hi." You chuckled. "It's not too much is it?" Harry was quick to shake his head, "no, you look beautiful." You thanked him before you ran back inside to get your bags. On the way you passed your babysitter and your very close friend. "How does he like your outfit?" She asked at a whisper.

"he likes it." She ohhed, "you might have him on your leash now. Good job." She playfully congratulated you causing you to laugh. "Well, we'll see what happens. I gotta go."

She waved goodbye and you walked to the door. Harry was still waiting their but he was talking to Jack. When he saw you, he smiled and stood up.

"hi you two." You said, slipping past Jack. Harry turned to you. "Are you ready to go?" "Yes." You responded.

"okay, well I'll see you later buddy. Gotta to take your Mama out." Jack nodded, "okay, bye." With that Jack Jack shut the door on you both. You scoffed turning to harry, "well that was rude."

Harry chuckled, "very. Now let's go. I have the perfect restaurant for us. He walked over to the passengers side opening the door for you. You grinned walking over to the car, "thank you." You got in and harry shut the door. "No problem."

---

You sat across from harry, your nose deep in the menu you were looking over. Harry had brought you to a nice Moroccan (I'm sick of saying italian) restaurant that selled some great dishes.

"do you know what you're going to get?" Harry asked as he sat his menu down. "Yeah, I'm going to get Kefta tagine." You said hoping it was correct. Harry nodded, "nice, I'm going to get Tangia."

You smiled at him, "I was going to get that but I opted out." You Chuckled lightly as you sat your menu down. "It's very good. I always get it when I come here." You raised your eyebrows, "okay."

The waitress soon came by and took your orders. When they were done Harry turned back to you. "So how have the past few years been for you? I know you had Jack but how has it been for you?" He reached over and took your hand in his. It was a simple gesture that calmed you.

"well it's been hard but I've been enjoying myself. Um I've tried going on vacations, it's always to another city but that's good enough for me. I try my best to have alone time with Jack and go to the spa and the bar, but that's about all I can do."

Harry nodded as he listened. "You're amazing and I want you to know that. And you don't have to keep beating yourself up over not telling me about Jack. I'm here now and it's been the greatest Few days of my life so don't worry about it, everything is going to be fine."

You smiled at Harry. You felt very relaxed around him, it was just the power he had.

-

You both soon after got your food and began eating. You made conversation with each other easily. Harry talking about tour and you talking about Jack. At the end of the night as you both walked to his car harry couldn't help but wrap his arms around you.

"I had a good time with you." He said looking at you. "I didn't as well. Thank you for inviting me."

You both walked to the passengers side. As you reached out to open the door harry did the same. Your hands touched and you both pulled back at the same time. "Sorry." Harry mumbled. You shook your head, "it's fine" you turned to him seeing him blushing with his hand on his face. You laughed taking his hand, "why are you so shy?" You asked.

Harry looked at you and playful frown on his face. "I'm not..... Maybe." You laughed, some how you felt like a 20 year old girl again. Harry laughed along with you. He took your other hand in his. You looked into his eyes, the ones you loved dearly. Before you could even think right you were kissing harry.

You shuttered, shivers running down your spine as you kissed his soft lips. You felt your body yearning for him like it never had before. Harry let go of your hand and cupped your cheek. It deepened the kiss for the both of you.

Harry felt your little hands tugging at his waist so you didn't lose your balance. Despite wanting to kiss him more you had to pull away for air.

Your forehead rested against his as you both caught your breath. " I've missed your lips." Harry said. "I've missed yours too." You breathed out

Harry sighed, "let's start over. Let's not worry about the pass and just focus on the future."

You opened your shut eyes looking at him. "Okay." Harry mumbled out an okay before placing a light kiss on your lips and pulling away.

The man in that used to be yours was now yours again, and damn it felt nice.

----

Okay, I'm finished, I'm proud too. feedback welcome.

@littlesoldierelleora @big-galaxy-chaos @hazgoldenstyles @tea-spillin-trash @harryisking94 @hashslingingweedslingingslasher @limitedwonder @harryspirate @distinguishednachotale @angelishpersona @captainamerica-is-bae

[settersprouts]

꒦ ikanaide : chapter three ! ꒦

病欠

. . : iwaizumi gets sick and doesn't tell oikawa. oikawa notices he's not at school and skips practice for the first time to take care of him.

or, iwaizumi doesn't like to take medicine and oikawa can cook.

sniffles. coughs. that's all that could be heard through the iwaizumi household at five am, the time hajime iwaizumi was supposed to be getting ready for school. hanako iwaizumi sighed, not ready to deal with a sick hajime. reluctantly making his way out of the bed he shared with aiya, he got a bucket, a couple of rags, and starting the trek to his son's room.

``hey-`` hanako started, but was interrupted by a coughing fit. ``hajime. how you feeling?``

his son smiled up at him grimly, wiping at the snot in his nose. ``like shit.``

``language.``

``sorry.``

hanako let out another sigh, wringing one of the rags out and placing the damp cloth on his forehead. ``symptoms?``

``cough, sneezing, my nose is runny- and my throat hurts,`` iwaizumi managed, his voice dry and scratchy.

``that bad, huh?`` hanako set the bucket down on the floor, pulling out his phone and thumbing at his screen. ``i'll text your coach and teachers to let them know you can't make it.``

iwaizumi nodded, letting out a small groan. his eyes suddenly flung wide open, and he sat up abruptly, scaring hanako a little. ``don't tell oikawa! he's going to try and skip school to take care of me, i'm sure.``

hanako chuckled, giving his son a little thumbs up and pushing him back down. ``i got it. i'll just let him figure it out himself.``

his son sighed in relief, letting his entire body relax. ``thanks, old man.``

``i'm not old. want some oatmeal?``

``that'd be great. thank you.``

a smile pulled at hanako's lips. ``alright, coming right up, kiddo.`` he made his way out of iwaizumi's room, leaving the door open so air could filter through.

``don't make it sweet! i hate it sweet!``

``i know that!``

hanako made his way into the kitchen, almost running into his wife. ``whoa- oh, good morning, love.``

``morning, hanako.`` aiya yawned, her face contorting into an expression of confusion. ``where's hajime? he should be getting his breakfast ready by now.``

``the kid's sick,`` hanako replied, kissing his wife on the cheek. ``i'm getting him some oatmeal for breakfast.``

aiya nodded, opening a drawer and pulling out a thermometer. she handed it to her husband. ``make sure to take his temperature, too. i want to know if i need to have a doctor over.``

hanako deadpanned, letting out a gruff laugh. ``babe, that's a meat thermometer.``

``oh, is it?`` she smiled apologetically, putting it back and switching it with the other thermometer. ``here, take this, then.``

he reached out to grab at the cool metal, letting it sit in his breast pocket as he got iwaizumi's oatmeal ready. ``can you go get him some cough medicine, or something for his throat? hajime says it's sore.``

his wife nodded, and padded over to the fridge, reaching above it to open the medicine cabinet. she sorted through bottles and bottles of over-the-counter medicine, before finally reaching the cough and sore-throat remedies. pouring a little bit into a plastic cup, aiya put the bottle back and closed the cabinet, placing the cup onto the tray with her son's water glass and oatmeal on it. ``there. have you called hajime's school, yet?``

hanako nodded. ``mhm. already done. hajime doesn't want oikawa-kun to know he's sick yet, so don't tell his mother. knowing her, she'll spill the beans somehow.``

aiya let out a soft laugh, covering her mouth as she did so. ``i understand. he'll probably want to skip school and tend to hajime all day.``

``that boy is something else.``

⚝──⭒─⭑─⭒──⚝

oikawa tapped his foot impatiently, standing at the intersection where he and iwaizumi usually meet up. they were supposed to get there early so oikawa could grab something from the convenience store- it was his nephew's birthday, after all, and he wanted to buy some red velvet cake mix.

he let out a sigh, pulling out his phone to check the messages he had with the ace.

› Messages with : Iwaizumi, Hajime

[Sent:To Oikawa, Toorū] go to sleep already, you idiot

[Sent:To Oikawa, Toorū] i know you're up watching volleyball matches

[Sent:To Oikawa, Toorū] it's late, get some rest or i'll hit you

¹¹⁻³⁹ ᴾᴹ

[Sent:From Oikawa, Toorū] yeah, yeah, got it iwa-chan ಠ_ಠ

[Sent:From Oikawa, Toorū] you don't have to be so rude, you know

[Sent:From Oikawa, Toorū] and why r u so obsessed w hitting me ?

¹¹⁻⁴⁰ ᴾᴹ

[Sent:To Oikawa, Toorū] goodnight

¹¹⁻⁴⁰ ᴾᴹ

[Sent:From Oikawa, Toorū] goodnight, iwa-chan :D

¹¹⁻⁴¹ ᴾᴹ

[Sent:From Oikawa, Toorū] morning, iwa (*ﾟｰﾟ)ゞ

⁰⁵⁻³⁰ ᴬᴹ

[Sent:From Oikawa, Toorū] where r u 人´∀｀) i'm @ the intersection

⁰⁶⁻⁰⁴ ᴬᴹ

[Sent:From Oikawa, Toorū] iwa we're gonna be late i need to go to the store φ(。。*)

⁰⁶⁻⁰⁵ ᴬᴹ

[Sent:From Oikawa, Toorū] iwa-chan i'm leaving you >:p

⁰⁶⁻⁰⁷ ᴬᴹ

[Sent:From Oikawa, Toorū] im gonna kill you when i see you

⁰⁶⁻¹³ ᴬᴹ

despite what the messages ensued, he still hadn't left without iwaizumi. he let out another sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. he really had to leave, but he didn't want the ace to be mad once he figured out oikawa had went on without him. oikawa inhaled through his nose, and out through his mouth. pushing aside the fear of a very angry iwaizumi showing up to first period with homicide on his mind.

the sun was rising and starting to shine brightly, slightly blinding oikawa as he glanced at the star. if iwaizumi were here, he would've already been geeking out about it to him, trying to annoy the vice. he wasn't really that obsessed with space and extraterrestrial life, oikawa just liked to annoy his best friends.

``hey, oikawa!`` the setter turned at his name being called, and was instantly greeted with someone running straight into him. arms wrapped around his torso in what he thought was a hug, but couldn't be sure, since all the wind was knocked out of him in the process. familiar tufts of pink-brown hair tickled his nose, and his lips pulled into a small, genuine smile. he wrapped his arms around the attacker's torso, too, breathing in the scent he considered a second home.

``hey, makki. morning.`` oikawa smiled, pulling away to see his friend's beaming face.

hanamaki linked arms with oikawa, pulling him along. ``c'mon, we're going to be late for class!``

oikawa looked down at his phone, checking the time. 06:19 AM, it read. ``makki, it's only six twenty. we have plenty of time.``

``but..`` makki groaned, making a big show of rolling his head back and exposing his neck to the sky. whether or not that was an impression of oikawa on one of his days, oikawa may never know. ``we can be early for once.``

``class doesn't start until seven thirty.`` oikawa sang, pulling away from makki's grip and dragging him along. ``plus, i gotta get something from the store for takeru's birthday.``

his companion made an 'o' shape with his mouth, succumbing to oikawa's charms and letting himself be lead to the nearest store. ``nice. what are you getting?``

``cake mix. red velvet.``

``red velvet? holy shit, can i come to the party?`` hanamaki gasped, giving his friend his full attention now. oikawa laughed, and nodded.

``yeah. i was planning on inviting you and mattsun anyways.`` he replied, scratching the back of his neck. ``iwa-chan gets a free pass, since my mom knows him.``

makki gasped in mock offense, holding his free hand to his heart. ``she knows me too! how come i don't get a free pass? does she not like me?``

oikawa shrugged. ``well, you're kind of.. how can i say this. um-`` he laughed nervously, ``-too energetic, for her taste?``

``this is atrocious. i even did her dishes for her, once.``

``key word, once.`` oikawa retorted, eyeing the store up ahead. ``oh hey, look, there's sakanoshita. think we'll find cake mix there?``

hanamaki shrugged.  ``probably. doesn't karasuno's coach work there?``

oikawa nodded. ``hopefully tobio-chan didn't stop by on his way to school. i think i might throw up if i see him.``

``how immature.``

the two of them made their way into the small store, muttering a little "pardon the intrusion!" to the staff, who turned out to be a short, older woman, not karasuno's coach. they both let out a sigh of relief- anything could've happened if it was ukai who was sitting in the little swivel chair behind the counter. possibly just them having to endure the shameless torments from the latter, but who knows.

oikawa and hanamaki glanced at the small signs labeling the aisles, quickly finding the one they were looking for and walked down to the middle, where all the cake mixes lay. the captain sifted through the red velvet mixes while the other eyed the brownie batter with starry eyes. oikawa skimmed the backs of four boxes he settled on, tossing them all into the little basket he had picked up as soon as they walked in. turning to his partner, he couldn't help but let the wide smile overcome his facial features. hanamaki was practically drooling at the pictures of the brownies on the boxes.

he padded over to the wing-spiker and picked up a box, tossing it into the basket as well and waltzed out of the aisle- hanamaki at his heels. ``whoa, are you seriously buying that for me?``

oikawa shook his head. ``for me. to make for you when you come over later.`` he stuck out his tongue at his partner, smiling at the laugh he was able to get out of him.

``sure, whatever you say.``

the captain turned to the lady at the desk, reading the nametag on her shirt. hana sakanoshita. ah. so she was the owner. sakanoshita smiled at him, taking the bag out of his hands and scanning the barcodes on the backs of the boxes. ``find everything okay, honey?``

``yep, great, thank you! could we also get two packs of that strawberry gum?`` he pointed, putting on one of his award-winning smiles. she seemed to melt at this and nodded, quickly bagging up his stuff and handing his credit card back.

``you have a good day, boys.`` she said, waving at them as they exited. the two smiled and waved back, turning towards aoba johsai and resuming their trek.

hanamaki checked his phone, letting out a sharp whistle. ``nice. we didn't take as long as i expected- we have fifteen minutes 'till first period.``

oikawa grinned. ``told you so.``

``yeah, yeah. oh- by the way, where's iwaizumi?`` hanamaki looked around as if he were looking for the teen, turning back to oikawa once he figured out he really wasn't there with them. ``he walks with you, right?``

the latter shrugged, pulling out his own gum pack and popping a strip into his mouth. ``dunno. he didn't show at the intersection where we meet up, so i just went along without him. he didn't answer any of my texts, either.``

``huh.`` hanamaki said, putting his index finger and thumb on his chin in a thinking pose. ``that's weird. maybe he overslept?``

``doubt it. the man sleeps with his phone on so loud, he'll wake up immediately as soon as he hears one of my texts. plus, he has like, fifty alarms back-to-back to wake him up.`` oikawa replied, shutting down makki's theory so fast, he didn't even see it coming.

makki sighed. ``ah. i see.`` he shook his head as to clear his mind of any stray thoughts, and extended his hand. ``i want some gum. hand it over, peasant.``

``yes, my lord.`` oikawa said jokingly, gracefully whipping out the pack of strawberry gum and placing it in his hands. he folded makki's fingers around it, never breaking eye contact with his teammate. ``here it is. do what you wish with it.``

the two snickered at their antics, slinging their arms around one another. ``we're so going to be late.``

``yeah, probably.``

⚝──⭒─⭑─⭒──⚝

``oh, yeah, we're so sorry ms. sato. we got stuck in traffic- there was an accident over by my house.`` makki sighed dramatically, shaking his head slightly. ``we would've gotten a late pass, but we didn't think we were going to be so late.``

ms. sato shook her head quickly, smiling at the teen. ``it's okay, hanamaki-kun. just try not to let this happen too much, okay?``

hanamaki nodded. ``yes, ma'am.`` oikawa mentally facepalmed at his antics, and the two walked to the back to sit down in their seats, next to matsukawa, who was struggling to keep a laugh in.

``jesus,`` matsukawa breathed, ``the amount of bullshit in that was immaculate.``

``right?`` he and hanamaki fistbumped, grinning widely like the idiots they were.

oikawa sighed, turning his head slightly to talk to iwaizumi, then stopping himself before he could say anything. iwaizumi's desk stood empty next to his own. the captain frowned, checking his phone for any recent texts from the ace. nothing popped up.

makki slung an arm over oikawa, concern lining his features. ``hey, what's up?``

``he still isn't here.`` he pointed to iwaizumi's desk, the frown growing by the minute. ``and he's not answering. makki, i'm worried.``

a head full of black, unruly hair obscured the view he had of his phone. matsukawa laughed, stepping back. ``so he didn't tell you guys?`` when hanamaki and oikawa looked at him with confused expressions, he chuckled, and continued. ``guys, he's sick. coach was talking about it with ms. sato this morning. if you got here earlier you would've known.``

the captain facepalmed. ``of course, that makes sense. why couldn't he have told me though?``

``dunno.`` mattsun ignored the small pout resting on his captain's lips, shoving at his shoulder a bit. ``lighten up. he probably didn't want you to skip school and take care of him.``

oikawa let out a puff of air. ``yeah, okay. you're probably right.`` he was about to continue but ms. sato had started class, and a comfortable silence fell upon them as they gave the woman their full attention. makki and mattsun glanced at oikawa, worry clearly etched on their faces. perhaps they shouldn't have told him what happened with his best friend.

``oikawa,`` ms. sato supplied, stalking over to his desk and setting two thick packets on the hard wood. ``here's iwaizumi-kun's work. i trust you'll be able to get this to him?``

the latter sighed, looking up towards his sensei with the fakest smile he could muster. ``yes, sato-san, i'll give this to him as soon as i see him.``

ms. sato smiled, patting the boy's head and walking back to the front of the class. ``alright, so, has anyone written down the notes on the board?``

oikawa glanced at the chalkboard, internally groaning as he noticed it was completely filled with notes. where the hell did she find the time to write all that?

he let out the fifth-hundredth sigh that day, picking up his pencil and getting to work. iwaizumi totally owed him.

⚝──⭒─⭑─⭒──⚝

``you want to, what?`` coach irihata stared at his pupil, shock painting his features. oikawa stood before him, fumbling with his practice clothes, a faint blush plastered over his cheeks and nose. ``you want to skip practice?``

``yes.`` oikawa nodded. ``it's only for today, so i can go home and take care of iwa-chan. he has a lot of work to catch up on,`` he added, holding up the many papers he had collected from his professors in each class, since his and iwaizumi's timestables were identical.

irihata stared at him some more, then shook his head quickly, smiling at him. ``alright. i don't see why not.``

oikawa brightened, clearly glad by the news. ``thank you so much! i promise i'll make it up to you!`` he chimed, switching his volleyball shoes for a pair of regular sneakers. ``all your meals this week, on me!``

``you don't have to- and he's out the door.`` irihata sighed, glancing at the now agape gym door. the warm afternoon breeze rushed in, leaving an unpleasant, humid feeling. mizoguchi came up behind him, watching oikawa sprint off into the distance. ``that boy is something else, isn't he?``

``definitely.`` mizoguchi laughed, walking forward to close the doors. ``iwaizumi's lucky to have a good friend like him.``

the older coach nodded. ``we're all glad to know him.``

dammit, someone's talking about me, oikawa thought, as he sneezed for the seventh time since leaving aoba johsai. he rubbed his nose, pissed off at the irritation of his sensitive organ. his legs already burned- he had sprinted all the way to the intersection, and was now leaning on a streetlamp, catching his breath. he probably should've put on his knee brace if he knew he was going to exert a little energy on running home, but he was in a rush.

pulling out his phone, he quickly navigated to his email, frowning at the lack of messages from his dear friend hajime iwaizumi. he hadn't read the texts either, so he probably was really exhausted. slipping the device back into his pocket, he started the rest of his trek home, popping another strip of gum into his mouth.

the grocery bag swinging on his arm contained all the contents oikawa thought iwaizumi would need : some cough and cold medicine, a couple of boxes of tissues, a mask for himself, disposable rags, and a heating pad. the materials cost him about ¥800 each, which wasn't that expensive.

finally, after what had seemed like forever, the captain had arrived at iwaizumi's house. there were no cars in the driveway, which meant his parents weren't home. what were they thinking, leaving poor iwa-chan alone while he's sick? oikawa frowned at this. what a silly idea.

he flipped up the doormat, grabbing the key that was strategically placed underneath and unlocked the door. pushing it open, he let out a little ``yahoo~ anyone home?`` to let iwaizumi know he was there. he wasn't expecting a reaction, so seeing iwaizumi come downstairs to greet him kind of scared him out of his wits a little bit.

``jesus! iwa-chan, can't you warn a dude first?`` oikawa panted, placing a hand over his heart. the ace deadpanned, walking over and snatching the bags out of his hands.

``what the hell do you think you're doing here? i'm sick, go home.`` he retorted, his eyebrows furrowing so much, they looked like they were attached to his eyes. he sifted through the bag, pausing once he realized what the plastic bag contained. ``what is this?``

oikawa rolled his eyes, taking the bag back and setting its' contents on the kitchen counter. ``it's for you. you're sick, so i decided to skip practice to come here and take care of you, and to reteach everything that you missed today.`` he replied nonchalantly, shoving iwaizumi towards the direction of his bedroom. ``go back to bed, i'll cook you some lunch, since i'm sure you didn't eat yet.``

iwaizumi didn't reply, because (a) he was right. and (b) he was shocked that the toorū oikawa skipped volleyball practice for him.

``anyways,`` oikawa said, opening his fridge and scanning its' contents. ``how do you feel about egg?``

``i can eat it. i don't feel nauseous or anything,`` iwa replied, sitting on one of the stools at the kitchen counter. ``and wait- you're going to cook?``

the setter turned around, tying an apron around his waist. ``yeah?``

iwaizumi blinked, shaking his head and leaning down on his forearms. ``nothing. continue. don't burn down my kitchen.``

oikawa grinned, having just been granted permission to make his best friend's food. ``alright! on it, iwa-chan!``

``shut up and start cooking.``

⚝──⭒─⭑─⭒──⚝

``you have to take it, iwa-chan!``

``NO! YOU CAN'T MAKE ME!`` iwaizumi jumped onto his couch, holding a fork towards oikawa like a weapon. ``GET THAT THING AWAY FROM ME.``

oikawa let out yet another sigh. ``jeez, if i knew you were going to be this bratty about taking your medicine, i wouldn't have came.`` he took another dangerous step towards iwaizumi, holding out a glass of water and a small cup of liquid cough medicine. ``iwa-chan, if you don't take this, you'll never get better.``

``so? that thing's disgusting.`` iwaizumi fake-retched, the look of disgust on his face almost believable. he should've taken the drama course at school.

another step. ``you seem to have forgotten that i have a kid nephew, who i always got to take his medicine, no matter how big of a tantrum he threw about it.`` another step. ``you're acting like a toddler. just take your medicine and get better.``

``assikawa, if you so as much take one more goddamn step towards me, i'll kill you.`` iwaizumi growled, clenching the fork tighter. of course he wouldn't kill him, he'd just said that to frighten him. somehow, oikawa didn't seemed phased, and took another step.

``hajime iwaizumi. if you don't come down off that couch and take your medicine right now, so help me god, i will bring my mother here and she will be furious when she realizes how much of a tantrum you're putting up right now.`` the setter mused, shaking the glass of water like he was calling him towards him, like a dog. iwaizumi gulped. the aura surrounding oikawa was downright terrifying. his eyes seemed almost lifeless, and it scared the wits out of him. ``on the count of three. if you haven't taken the medicine by then, i'm calling her. one.``

iwaizumi flinched, backing up slightly. could he make it out the front door without oikawa catching him? probably not. his legs were longer, so he'd cover more ground easily.

``two.``

how bad would the punishment be if he just didn't take the medicine? it's not like oikawa would actually call his mother, he wouldn't do that. right?

``three-``

``okay!`` iwaizumi jumped off the couch, grabbing the medicine and pouring it down his throat. he made a face of disgust, snatching the glass of water out of his hand and gulping that down too. he shuddered, trying to force himself to keep the atrocious liquid down. ``there. happy?``

``very.`` oikawa grinned, patting iwaizumi's head. ``good job.``

the ace burned with pride at the praise, letting oikawa's nimble fingers tread through his hair. ``thanks for coming over.``

``of course.`` his friend replied, giving the shorter a warm hug. ``don't mention it. i'll skip practice for you every time.``

``you better not.``

oikawa smiled. ``no promises.``

─── sick day.

chapter 4 !

[funtimebunnyblog]

Diamante d’Italia: Chapter 1

After his Father "generously gave" the teenager a whopping amount of money Josuke finds himself vacationing in beautiful southern Italy.

However, being the trouble magnet he is, he ends up getting caught in Famiglia affairs.

Being so far from his home and his friends, Josuke needs to make some powerful allies to help him out of this mess...

(Chapter 1: Culture shock)

"--and remember to-"

"Yes Mom. I know." Josuke sighed into the phone, rolling his eyes. "I've got everything on me. You know I can protect myself."

They'd had this exact same phone conversation at every other airport he had called from so far. By now the teenager had memorized it all and knew exactly what his Mother was going to say.

Standing in the airport of Naples Italy wouldn't make a difference.

"Ok. But just be careful Josuke. Italy is so far from here." She said over the background clatter. "And you don't even know any Italian."

There was a crackle over the phone as she sighed, he could hear the sounds of dishes clinking in the background followed by running water.

He almost had to plug his other ear to drown out the loud voice on the intercom so he could hear her talking.

"...I know Tonio."

"That joke was horrible, Josuke."

If there wasn't the sound of dishes still being done, he would've been sure his Mother had hung up on him.

There were no words exchanged for at least a full 10 seconds and with each passing second the teenager tried harder and harder to contain every giggle that tried to escape his lips, waiting with baited breath on her reaction.

The teenager couldn't hold in his laughter anymore, wheezing a little as he leaned on the glass wall of the phonebooth.

"I know." He cackled. "But it's kinda true. Tonio told me so much about Italy! It can't be that bad here..."

A change of scenery would do him good. Especially after all he had been through in the past little while with all that serial killer mess.

He had been daydreaming about this trip, this place, but most importantly; the cuisine, for almost a month now.

After his Father so generously "gave" him his wallet upon departure of Morioh, Josuke Higashikata decided it was time for him to see some of the world.

It was definitely time for a vacation and what better place to visit than the country with food that made Okuyasu and him squabble over every single morsel cooked and served to them by Tonio.

He earned a punch to the shoulder however from Okuyasu after telling him the news. His friend wasn't spiteful however and laughed, telling him that he could finally have Tonio and his fine chef skills all to himself while he was away.

Neither of them had really looked at "normal" food that same way after tasting fine Italian food so he couldn't think of a better place to go for some rest and relaxation.

He had also heard that Italy held some beautiful sights.

Josuke promised to bring him home a shitload of souvenirs anyways. He was also considering getting something for Koichi and his Mom back home.

There was another crackle over the phone along with the running water in the background suddenly being turned off, making it a little easier to hear the woman as she spoke.

"If you say so..."

It also made it easier to hear the undeniable concern lacing her tone however.

"Say, what time is it over there anyways Mom?" He questioned, mostly out of curiosity, but also for the sake of taking his Mothers mind off of any worries she held for him.

"Just after 5." She answered with a hum, the sound of a plug being pulled and a draining sink accompanying it.

"Oh wow!" He blinked, peering out off the glass booth to squint at the overly large clock of the airport terminal. "It's only 10AM over here."

"If you're going to call home, please do it around this time Josuke." She told him, a laugh lacing her voice as she spoke. "I wouldn't appreciate being woken up by the phone at 3AM."

The Highschooler laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head. He should probably write that down just in case he forgot, the last thing he wanted was to be screamed at by his Mother over the phone for waking her up in the middle of the night.

"Right..." he murmured. "Anyways. I should probably go now Mom. I'll call you from a Hotel or something tomorrow."

"Ok Josuke."

He could hear her hesitation to let him go in her voice alone.

"I'll be fine. I love you Mom. Talk soon!"

"I love you too."

He hung up the phone at last, a small smile gracing his lips.

Gripping the handle of his luggage tightly, he stepped out of the booth with his head held high.

He was worried about his Mother too of course. She was going through a lot too, especially when she was still grieving for his Grandfather.

However, once he was in possession of his newly aquired money (not stolen! Where would you get that idea?) He had given her a good portion of it and told her to spend the time he was away getting her nails done or treating herself in anyway she saw fit. She needed this little break as much as he did.

"Time to find a cab."

☆☆☆

Easier said than done.

Here he was on a sidewalk, finally into the City after nearly 2 hours of waiting for an open taxi to take him from the airport to the city, his pompador all in a stressful ruffle over the whole ordeal.

His eyes darted back and forth between the outstretched hand of the driver and the meter on the dashboard.

"120 000 Lira?!" He squawked at the cab driver, his aquamarine eyes going wide in their sockets as the man held out his hand before him.

Josuke wasn't exactly a mathematician, but he knew enough to know that amount was absurd! "Th-there's gotta be some mistake, sir! You only drove me to the edge of the city."

This was highway robbery (no pun intended), there was no way it could've been that much!

The taxi driver had rolled his eyes at him and told him otherwise, demanding he pay up or he'd drag him straight to the Police Officers who were standing idle near the Cab on the streetcorner.

Josuke peered into his wallet with a sigh from where he sat on the curb. Damnit. He'd have to think twice about taking another cab. He only had so much money to blow, necessary expenses like food and hotelrooms were his main priority, and he still needed a ticket home to Japan when all of this was over.

He'd just have to settle for walking the entire time he was here.

He tucked his wallet away safely, flicking out a comb and began to straighten out the poof of hair he so adored. He'd have to put some more hairspray in it later if things kept going like this, good thing he packed 8 whole cans.

His Lunchhour.

He stood up, grabbing his suitcase once more and keeping it close to his side.

"Well... I guess it's time to find a hotel." He mused. His thoughts were interrupted however by a punctuating growl of his stomach. He hadn't eaten much on the plane at all and from the position of the overhead sun, he could tell it was noontime.

"Ooh." He breathed, a hand moving to his stomach in surprise. "I'm running on empty..."

However, maybe it was better to ask for directions.

He supposed a Hotel would have to wait. What he really needed right now was a restaurant.

From all the stories Tonio told him about Italian cuisine and the entire culture behind it, he was sure it wouldn't be too hard to find one of those around here.

"Um- excuse me--" he tried to grab the attention of a passing man. The guy kept on walking without even giving him a side glance.

Another man approached him from behind and Josuke turned, stepping in front of him somewhat to gain his attention.

"Er... oh! Sir! A moment please, I'm--"

There went another one, very much like the first.

"Excuse me sir, could you tell me--" he started again. The man stopped in his tracks, nearly bumping right into Josuke.

"Ey! What gives?!"

"Outta my way, bastardo!"

The Highschool student barely had a chance to blink before the guy was right in his face, a fierce scowl pulling on his face.

If looks could kill, Josuke would be getting murdered in that moment.

The man grunted and shoved him further out of his way, balling his fists and grumbling to himself, too low for Josuke to hear, but the teen knew it was all in fluent Italian.

He held up his free hand in surrender, backing up and out of the way of the angry stranger.

"S-Sorry sir!" He practically squeaked. "I... I didn't mean to bother you!"

He rubbed his arm, a frown found its way to his face as he watched the furious mans back.

Sheesh. And here he thought he had been in a rough town back in Japan.

Maybe he should just start walking...

☆☆☆

He was starting to wish he took some language courses with Koichi in this years last term.

Or maybe he could've learned some basic words and stuff from Tonio, the man always seemed eager to share in the wonders of his culture after all.

Or maybe he could've not been an absolute dumbass and bought an Italian to English dictionary to use.

Or worse.

Josuke had been walking up and down the streets for nearly an hour, passing by buildings and signs galore, none of which he could read.

He was tempted to stop another stranger to ask what any of them meant, or even just plain ask where the nearest restaurant was, but he didn't want to get screamed at again.

Staring at the signs like a toddler who didn't know how to read but was trying made it all the worse.

"This is hopeless..." he grumbled, kicking at the sidewalk, sending a small stone bouncing down the white concrete.

He was actually contemplating calling his Mother again to ask her what he should do.

Maybe he could even call Tonio. Or Koichi. Or Okuyasu. Or his Nephew. Or fuck, ANYONE at this point.

Maybe he shouldn't have traveled alone and brought one of them along...

He had a feeling this was going to be a long day and he dug in his coat, whipping out his comb again. His pompadour was getting all ruffled again.

"Ei, tu."

He paused. Did someone... speak to him?

"Um... Hello?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "Did you say something?"

Frowning, he turned to locate the voice, finding himself facing an alleyway that lead off the street.

A figure stood there, leaned against the brick wall of a building, their eyes gleaming at him. There were others too, just two others, all of them looking at him.

The one closest to the alley entrance, a tall thinner male, looked him up and down, "Sei il ragazzo?" A question of some sort.

The one who spoke sported disheveled brown hair and clothes that were even more so, with strange sunken in eyes that seemed to hold a never ending stare. His two friends were not much different, they all had that same stare and it was locked firmly onto him.

Josuke frowned a little deeper, he didn't really understand what the man wad saying. Did he want something? Or maybe... was he trying to help him?

The Highschool student looked around before stepping into the alley, closing the distance between him and the group.

"Um... I'm sorry I don't understand." He flashed an awkward smile, looking between the three men hoping that someone could understand him or at least translate. "Can any of you help...?"

It sort of reminded Josuke of when he ate his Lunch at the neighborhood park back in Morioh.

The dogs that hung out around there would all approach him, then sit and watch, with their ears up and their backs straight, unblinking and expecting him to give them a piece of his sandwich.

He always thought it was a little creepy, but it was even creepier somehow to see it in a person.

The brown haired one pointed to the suitcase he held, "É questo?" That sounded like another question to him.

This was getting nowhere. He heaved out a sigh, throwing his hands up as he began to back away. "Sorry. I have no idea what you're saying... I-I really got to go."

The more he backed up, the more the blankness of stares seemed to disolve into... anger?

Yeah, suddenly these guys were looking pissed. All three of them were staring even more intensely into him, most especially the brown haired one.

"Prendetelo!" One of the others barked.

"Dacci le maledette droghe, cazzone!" The brunet man screeched and Josuke realized there was a fist coming for him. He stepped back quickly, the closed hand swooping loudly through the air, barely gracing his chest.

What was happening? Why were these men suddenly after him? Josuke barely had the time to consider the options of running away or trying to talk his way out of all of this mess before he was suddenly on the ground.

"Darlo a noi!"

They tried to pull the leather bag from his grasp and he pulled back harder, now full on clutching it to his chest as the fists now rained down on him.

Josuke couldn't even cry out. Everything was happening all at once. His thoughts were loud and his heartbeat was louder. The noise around him had gone to nothing but whitenoise. His only thought was to not let them take his suitcase.

And then... it all stopped. Just as quickly as it happened.

The teenager opened his eyes to find that all the kicking and punching had ceased on him. One of the men was on the ground and there was another person standing over them, yelling into his face.

But here he was. Defending a fucking stranger from a group of junkies.

Leone Abbacchio hated getting involved with common street fights. He hated it especially more when he was supposed to NOT be fighting someone today.

It was his day off after all. Bucciarati told him he could spend his time how he wanted it and he wanted some alone time.

All the Mafioso wanted to do was listen to his damn music and get some lunch when he noticed this damn idiot (obviously a tourist) trying to converse with the men.

'Just keep walking.' He tried to tell himself over and over, trying to pacify the unease building in him.

It wasn't his affair.

This was their problem.

He was a bystander.

He wasn't even in the alley.

He was on his way somewhere.

He shouldn't even give it a passing glance....

And then he watched the punk get knocked to the ground.

Now here he was, kicking the shit out of a damn dirty junkie.

Josuke winced at he the sound of a fist hitting hard against a nose, the crackle of bone filling his ears.

"FUCK OFF!"

One of the men who had been attacking him came up behind the silver haired figure and threw his arms around him in an attempt to pull him down.

Abbacchio didn't even flinch and hauled the man forward, bending so he came right over his head and smacked into the brunet who was holding the nose that was gushing with red blood.

He definitely owned up to his name then and there because to Josuke his gruff and booming voice was like the roar of a powerful Lion.

That was all it took. All three of them were clamoring to their feet and booking it down towards the other end of the alley.

It sort of reminded Josuke of that time he broke that seniors nose.

Thank God his hair was still ok though, after checking quickly he sighed in pure relief. That was truly what mattered to him, along with his luggage.

His eyes turned to his savior and he slowly got up from the hard ground, wincing as he did.

He was definitely going to hurt in the morning. He could already feel a bruise spotting on the center of his back.

"Th... Thank you." He spoke at last watching as the new stranger turned to face him at last. "I just wanted to ask for directions but I didn't know what they wanted..."

The duel coloured eyes of the man burned into him as he looked over him, making the high schooler start to sweat under the penetrating gaze.

"You... seem familiar." Abbacchio said at length. He had seen someone before with the same kinda face, he was sure of it. He squinted at the Highschool student as he wracked his brain for answers.

The teenager was sure of that. He was sure he would've remembered this man purely by the way he looked, let alone the strong and intimidating presence that radiated off him, if he had even glanced in his direction before.

Josuke blinked, his expression not unlike a deer staring into the headlights of an oncoming car.

"Um... we've never met before."

Abbacchio rolled his eyes. "Tch. No shit." He spat. "I've never seen you before either stronzo. You just seem kinda familiar."

Josuke winced slightly, averting his eyes to the ground lamely.

"Sorry."

He really hoped this guy could take a joke. He just got off the ground and didn't want to be thrown back down onto it.

He really was. For what exactly, he wasn't sure, but apologies always spilled from your lips in these kind of situations, regardless of whether you did something or not.

He broke off into an awkward laugh, shrugging as he struggled to meet the mans gaze. "I'm the only one I know who has such stylish hair like this so I don't know what would seem familiar to you."

"Whatever." The Goth finally said, shaking his head. "Judging by what just happened I can tell you're not from around here. You a tourist or something kid?"

Abbacchio folded his arms, looking him up and down again, making him painfully aware of more sweat beading on his neck.

This man was so hard to read to Josuke, kind of like his nephew in that way, he had no idea what the hell he was thinking.

"Oh sure am!" Josuke smiled brightly, a little more at ease. This guy was making some small talk with him, which was usually a step in a good direction.

A direction where he hoped he wouldn't get beat up and almost mugged again...

"I'm kinda on a vacation. I got some money and decided I wanted to see the world..." He rocked on his heels a little, studying the man before him just as much as he was him. "You live around here?"

"You could say that..." Abbacchio hummed, glancing back towards the street. "I don't exactly have a home but I live here."

"Oh!" Josuke had to refrain himself from covering his mouth after letting out that noise in surprise. He averted his gaze, absentmindedly scratching the back of his neck.

"Oh." He said, much softer this time, feeling very awkward. If only he had the ability to make the ground swallow him up. "I'm sorry...."

Leone offered no response.

"Do you like... have a place to sleep at least? Like at nights?"

"Yeah. I tend to move around a lot though." He answered vaguely. Best to keep all that extra information to himself. This brat didn't need to know the ins and outs of his life.

He nodded this time, because he did. He mostly slept at Bucciarati's house, whether upstairs in one of the guestrooms or on the mans couch downstairs.

Sometimes when out on missions, whether alone or with the others, he checked into a hotel (sometimes a Motel) and stayed there.

Other times he slept in the back of a van while on the road to or from said missions.

At least he wasn't drinking himself to death somewhere in the gutter anymore...

He turned his gaze back to Josuke who seemed a little more at ease hearing his words. He narrowed his eyes, "You're not.... in the Famiglia? Are you?"

Josuke blinked a few times. The.... what?

"Fam-eel-e-ah?"

That alone answered his question.

Who the hell other than a Mafioso sported a fucking pompadour?!

Raising one pointed eyebrow, he looked the kid over again. He never would've guessed he wasn't associated because he certainly dressed like a Mafioso.

What with that black coat adorned with those shiny golden hearts, not to mention the peace sign and the anchor as well, and that hair...

This twerp apparently...

Abbacchio huffed, waving a hand dismissively. "Nevermind. Just... watch yourself Kid. More importantly, watch your wallet."

Oh Christ! His wallet! He might've dropped it in that scuffle! Those bastards might've took it!

Josuke panicked, hands instinctively slapping his pockets in a frantic search. Ah! It was there! As soon as his hand found the bulge in his pocket, he let out a breath as relief washed over him like a warm tidalwave on the beach.

"Oh- yeah, yeah... of course." He breathed. "Th-Thanks for reminding me-" here he paused, his pale blue eyes blinking. "I never... got your name."

To his own surprise, Abbacchio complied.

"Abbacchio." He said. "Leone Abbacchio."

"Abbacchio..." Josuke tested the name out, bobbing his head as he idly scratched his chin. "Ha! Cool name. I'm Josuke Higashikata, I actually come from Japan."

The dawny eyed mans frown deepened as he contemplated telling him that his last name literally just meant "lambchop", a far cry from "cool" if you asked him, but he thought better of it.

Yeah. There was no way in Hell Abbacchio was going to try and take a crack at repeating that last name. He'd be there all day.

Just "Josuke" would have to do.

"Japan, huh?" He said aloud, more to himself than Josuke, stroking his chin in thought. "I hear the streets are much nicer there..."

The events of the past couple of months suddenly came flooding back all at once to Josuke. How he and his friends had been attacked left and right, going against all odds, all on a search to hunt down their towns serial killer.

The blaring siren of that Ambulance still haunted him in his sleep and he woke up in a cold sweat each time there came the sound of a head being popped each time it replayed in his head.

He laughed a little, forcing a smile on his face as a hand swept through his hair. "Yeah... you could say that."

Now desperate to change the subject, he decided to steer the conversation to something much lighter. Something that didn't make him remember a massacre.

Or a hand-fetishing serial killer getting his head squashed like a grape.

"You've... got quite the fashion sense." He commented, pointing to the mans open coat lined with laces and purple lipstick maybe a little rudely. "I like your eyeliner."

Leone hardly batted an eye (a well lined eye at that) at his words. If anything, he was surprised the kid didn't outright say anything like "ARE YOU A GOTH?!"

He was quite used to that one, even if the answer was yes it was still irritating.

Besides... that one little girl on the bus that time told him he looked pretty. And that was enough for him.

Or there was always the "Why are you wearing makeup? You're a MAN!"

Now that one always made him fucking furious. Just because he was "a man" didn't make any damn difference. Makeup was to make you look good so it was for everyone.

"Thanks." He huffed. Though his voice hadn't lost any of that gruffness, he truly was thankful for a genuine compliment. "I like your coat."

He wasn't quite like Koichi however. The silver haired teenager thst only came up to his hip wore his heart on his sleeve everywhere he went.

Josuke, very unlike Abbacchio who seemed indifferent to it all, blushed at the praise. His friends always told him he was very expressive and that was true.

When he was happy he walked with bounce in his step, when he was sad it all came out in tears and when he was angry... oh... he was told the sight wasn't very pretty.

"Ah, thanks. It's my school uniform, I really like it."

Here Abbacchios eyebrows shot right up, a frown twinging at the corners of his mouth. A school uniform? This kid must have been living some kind of high life, or maybe at least went to a pretty decent school, if this was just a plain old uniform.

He pursed his lips, the punk kind of reminded him of a stand-user. He had a hunch.

"I see..." he hummed, folding his arms across his chest. "You really are still just a kid then."

Bucciarati often said that stand-users (natural or otherwise) tended to gravitate towards one another. Like "strings of fate" or some cliché sounding shit.

But maybe it was possible. This kid wasn't a Mafioso... but he could very well have powers.

Like lightning striking, Josukes expression changed again. His eyebrows went together and his lips into a sort of a pout.

"I'm 16." He told the man, trying to sound as rough and tough at least as half as this stranger was (Abbacchio quirked an eyebrow, looking completely unfazed at his attempt however, probably because he just watched him get beat up). "Besides. I think I'm pretty mature..."

"I won't call you a kid if you don't call me an old man. Deal?"

This kid was starting to kinda sound like Mista. However if the punk started spewing shit about how the number 4 was unlucky, he would get as far away as possible.

He half chuckled (it was more of an exhale), coloured lips quirking somewhat into a smirk.

Josuke shrugged, uncrossing his arms as his lips pulled into a smirk of their own, cocking an eyebrow at the other.

"Hmm, depends. How old are you?" He questioned, almost playfully. The man must have been at least approaching his 30's but he wasn't sure.

"Well into my 20's." Abbacchio grunted, keeping his exact age number vague to the young teen. "But I've seen more shit than other people do in a lifetime."

For all he know he really could be an old man. He had white hair after all and certainly had the gruffness of an older man.

Maybe he was hiding some wrinkles under that makeup or something?

Only in his 20's? Jeeze... he believed that last part. Most especially when the dawny eyes suddenly locked onto his, staring at him with all seriousness.

"Listen to me, I don't really care what the Hell you do, but when you get out of school... stay away from the bad stuff. You hear me?"

Josuke swallowed, his mouth now felt way too dry, and he nodded to the man almost knowingly. He had been through some bads too... however, he couldn't help but wonder how much similarities there were between him and Abbacchio.

Leone huffed quietly, giving the kid one more solemn nod, before turning on his heel and quietly going on his way down the alley, out towards the street.

The teenager watched him go, feeling painfully out of place all of a sudden, like a puzzle piece that had been jammed into the wrong spot.

"Uh- hey!"

He didn't even realize that he had called out until Abbacchio halted in his tracks, turning to look at him with a deep frown.

Josuke fidgeted on the spot, stuffing his hands in his pockets to avoid fumbling with them out in the open and look somewhat composed under the older mans stare.

Once again, Leone Abbacchio found himself feeling surprised.

"Uhh..." he cleared his throat, trying to focus his thoughts clear enough to speak without stuttering.

"This might sound kinda weird but -uh... you wanna... like grab a coffee or something?" He smiled sheepishly at the man whose expression didn't change. "I mean, you just kinda saved my skin back there and you seem pretty cool. I don't have anybody traveling with me and... we could like... talk more? Ah- only if you don't mind!"

Ah, fuck it. He had already gone out of his way.

Normally when he was out and about and people were forced to interact with him in any way, shape or form, they tended to want to get as far away as possible, as quickly as possible.

Hell, he had people practically jump out of his way sometimes when he was just walking down the street.

Plus, he was getting hungry.

He nodded to Josuke.

Josuke was now jogging up to him, the man swore he saw stars in the teens eyes to match his bright smile.

Tonio definitely didn't tell him that part about Italy...

He wasn't even sure if he had even been that long here in Italy.

Josuke did his best to keep up, Abbacchios steps were long and deliberate making him quite fast for a man who was just taking a stroll, keeping just a little behind him to avoid bumping shoulders with the people on the streets.

Abbacchio started down the alley again, waving him to follow.

"Comrades, huh?" He laughed a little. "What? You in a gang or something?"

It was meant to be a joke. Something to get his newest companion to roll his eyes and give a half-hearted chuckle. Josuke felt his stomach become as heavy as a brick when Abbacchio swiveled his head to look at him, his white hair flinging slightly over his shoulder as he stared him in the face.

The teen wondered briefly if his new ally would suddenly beat him up like those dealers tried to do and he gulped, preparing to turn tail and run as fast as he could down the street.

The former policeman frowned deeply. Did this stronzo know nothing about the mean Italian streets? The Mafia? Of fucking course he was in a Gang, did he think he was just a streetwalking freak that kicked the shit out of druggies and junkies alike for fun?

Abbacchio leaned closer, his expression radiating all seriousness.

"S-Sorry..." he muttered somewhat lamely, his voice so quiet Abbacchio probably wouldn't have heard him if he weren't so close.

Any idiot would know the true meaning to that answer and Josuke didn't consider himself an idiot.

The man grunted in response and simply kept walking, no more was said as Josuke continued to followed him down the street to this supposed spot.

On the bright side of things... he now reminded him even more of his nephew Jotaro.

Even if it wasn't in a good way...

More importantly, he was finally going to get something to eat.