#sure something might catch on fire but it'll taste good

[spoonv]

if Harvey were on tiktok I feel like he'd make those "what I pack my spouse to take to work" little lunch videos or cooking dinners and whatnot. He's such a homemaker I feel like he'd really like doing traditional housewife work

[crmsnmth]

September Sky Chapter Nine, Part 5

Once the apartment was quiet, Addison pulled me back towards her room. I was confused, but followed her with a kind of morbid curiosity. My thoughts, like always, were working against me, and all I could think was that she had finally gotten sick of my weirdness. My quiet and antisocial attitude was pretty hard to deal with, and I fully understood that. I was almost waiting for this to happen.

As she opened the door, her cat came running out. It stopped and looked at me, meowed once and then headed off towards the kitchen.

Addison sat on her bed and pulled me down next to her. I was about to say something before she planted her lips on mine. All I could taste was the mixture of her sweetness and whiskey. Honestly, it wasn't that bad of a combination, and reminded me of drinking old fashioned up by my mom's place.

"Are you sure you're ok with this?" She asked again, watching me closely. I belted down even harder on not showing the anxiety I had almost forgotten about.

"I'm cool. It'll be fun. Besides, then I can meet your crowd." I responded with a smile. "Is that really why you wanted to wait a bit?"

She looked at me with a kindness washing over her face. There was that twinkle in her eye that made my heart skip more than one beat. I kept forgetting how beautiful she was.

"Kind of. Did you want to stay here afterwards?"

I looked at her with growing confusion. I had stayed here a few times and couldn't figure out why she was asking. Of course I'd want to stay. I slept better with her next to me. I still found it very odd she asked about it.

"Of course. Why wouldn't I?" I finally spit out.

"I don't know. I just kind of want you here tonight."

"Is there something I don't know? Are you okay?"

She smiled her perfect smile. "I'm perfectly fine. Just thought I'd toss the invite to you."

I pulled her close in a one armed hug, and kissed her forehead. "I will take any chance I get to stay by you."

Addison's face lit up like a firework show. Her teeth shined in her smile and I couldn't help but catch the contagious bug that was her joy. I found myself grinning from ear to ear.

"Partially. I kind of wanted to talk to you about something, and I have just enough alcohol in me to actually talk about it." She fiddled with her hands as she spoke.

"This sounds like it might be something important," I replied.

"It kind of is. I just don't want you to take it the wrong way, or to offend you."

"Not only am I interested, but I'm also confused." And I was. The biting panic was back and the anxiety was making my heart beat right out of my chest, like the old cartoons.

"I think we should get tested," she said, without any spaces between her words. I tilted my head to the side, like a confused hound.

"Tested? What do you mean?"

"You know. Tested." She emphasized the word again, and gave me a hopeful look that I'd figure out what she was talking about. And then it hit me.

"Oh. Oh! Ok, wow. Right over my head." I motioned with my hand flying over my head. "Yeah, we can do that. That's cool."

"Really?"

"Well, yeah, it's a good idea. I've never been tested before. I mean, it can't hurt right"

A look of relief washed upon her face. I hadn't noticed the anxiety she wore until it melted away, like wax in a fire.

"For real?" Addison said, her voice inflicting upwards.

"Yeah, definitely. Why did you think I would take it or wrong or be offended?"

"Because I didn't want you to think I was saying that you had something, or that I was calling you a whore."

I couldn't help myself and I was howling with laughter. She looked at me confused, but I couldn't stop. Soon my breaths weregasps of air as I laughed,

"Seriously? You thought that I'd think that? Addison, my dear, that is the funniest thing I've ever heard in my entire life. I haven't slept with anyone in a long time. I know you weren't saying anything like that," I said as I tried to catch my breath.

"Fair point," she said and then she was laughing with me. When we finally calmed down, I looked at her, falling in love with her all over again. I kissed her softly and I almost let the words slip from my mouth. Somehow I managed to have the willpower to not say those three little words.

Instead, I hopped up off the bed and held out my hand.

"C'mon, let's go get drunk with strangers," I said.

[bravewolfvesperia]

Well, it... LOOKED somewhat edible before he'd left it at the mercy of the fire, and he's certain the small explosion that had followed had played a rather... monumental part in ruining his attempt at a homemade meal for Yuri. Maybe if he garnishes it with a bit of parsley, it'll take away from the almost HAUNTING shade of black the dish had emerged as.

" Yuri! I made lunch, if you've an appetite. " He sets the plate down, unaware the still hot ( unidentifiable ) food was beginning to burn a hole into the bottom of it, and shines Yuri that bright 'n knightly grin, like a Golden Retriever waiting for his pat on the head for a job well done. " Let me know if you would like a second helping after this! There's plenty! " // ( Flynn to Yuri--- we're so sorry ahead of time, LMFAO)

@tenebriism

Any appetite he may have had no longer existed, in fact. Did... did he really see nothing wrong with this? Nothing black and burnt about it? Some things you just couldn't save, Flynn... If he had to wait for something else, Yuri was certain he would survive in that time. Surviving this was a whole other matter.

And he... had made more?! There was no way Yuri was eating all of this by himself. Flynn could probably get through some of it too, since he apparently never really tasted true terror... but Yuri was quite positive his stomach was going to actually kill him if he ate more than just what was on this one plate.

Unfortunately Flynn was clearly proud of it... and Yuri had, for a moment, been about to warn him that he should just make something else because it hadn't quiiiite come out right... and now he just didn't have it in him. Flynn enjoyed cooking and making... whatever these monstrosities were, and that by itself was stoppable... but not when he gave the most pleased, proud, excited smiles at what he thought was genuinely edible. And it was homemade... He couldn't... reasonably... reject this, right...?

Yuri completely deflated when Flynn smiled about it. One day he really would because he really needed to step in and do something about this... but today was not that day. In fact, Yuri was not going to die alone today. If Flynn was in a good mood, he may as well stay that way now. Yuri wasn't sure he could handle watching Flynn deflate the way he had with that look on his face right now... "Uh... s-sure... Why not invite the others if there's that much? We won't be able to finish all this ourselves..."

Even talking normally was difficult, but he was trying. Trying not to sound suspicious. Trying to get Flynn to not catch on, despite how Yuri's friends had been begging him to do something about this. Nope. Instead he'd just... subject them to it too. Because he didn't have it in him to be that cruel. To Flynn, anyway. Here he was sacrificing his own stomach for Flynn's happiness. He'd sacrifice all of theirs for it too. Then Flynn would be extra happy. Everyone would be pissed at Yuri for a week. Everyone except Flynn.

If all it took was Flynn smiling that happily over potential manslaughter, a lot of people might die under Yuri's watch...

Why did he have to be so weak for Flynn in the worst circumstances?

[tiredassmage]

✂️ - What kind of thing would have your OC cut someone out of their life? How likely are they to let someone back in?

Thanks for the ask! <3 list here (x)! Once again, some XIV ocs and some SWTOR beans bc... I have too many ocs and I care them very much. >.>

Astor, in all his forms, is almost too forgiving for his own good. It will depend on what was done, but he generally believes in second chances if he believes someone is making a genuine effort to do better than whatever happened in the past. Someone trying to weaponize him, especially against someone he cares about, would be a definitive trust-breaker and it's one of his larger fears as a Warrior of Light. He'd never want that position to be used against others.

Shay, on something of an opposite hand, is way less trusting to begin with. It wouldn't necessarily surprise him if someone turned out to have ulterior motives. That being said, for as much as he tries to pour himself into violent molds, he rebels at the idea of being someone else's pawn and, despite what he might say, he'd throw himself on the sword to protect the few people he cares greatly for. It's kind of a case of... only he is allowed to insult himself and imply he's a nefarious villain. Cutting out his past with Isghard was over a long history of feeling alone, unwanted, and something like a tool within his own family, and was only solidified by the deepest betrayal of his supposed "friend" being involved in the death of his fiance. He doesn't tend to let people back in. If you burned your bridge with him, Shay likely feels you set the fire and it's your own consequences to live with. It'll be a long road back if you decide to trudge along it.

Tyr's hard to pin down given his own history as an Intelligence operative. At this point, he's been a spy for about half of his life - something like going on twenty years, and its a mindset that hasn't ever left him. I'm not sure if there's a particular individual he's cut out of his life yet for personal reasons, but his entire disillusionment with the Empire is tied to the betrayal of the Dark Council after his pursuit of Darth Jadus. My most recent desire, actually, is tied to his fierce commitment to burning the Empire down from the foundations, if necessary, but also his... I'm not quite sure what to call it, recognition? Maybe? That it's... not the solution to ending the war between the Republic and the Empire, and it's not everyone else's chosen solution either. He actually... wouldn't recommend it. What he really means is that the only plan he has left is to go out swinging, when it comes to it. He's spent years waiting for the moment his acts as a double agent, reporting to the Republic would finally catch up with him - because it's the only way he's ever really known Ciphers to end. Never good, in short. Doesn't mean he necessarily hopes for it to end that way, but... he'd like to call himself a pragmatist.

Anyway, mildly off subject there, I think, but, TLDR, Tyr is nobody's weapon without his express consent. He's weary of being a pawn in the war yet again, even as he sees little other choice than to commit because he cannot deny his own skill set - nor his desire to fight back against the Empire that he gave his life to, and that has always, he's realized, been ready to chew him up and spit him back out on some backwater planet alley the moment he outgrew his use as an attack dog. He hasn't balked from trying to bridge gaps though before - he knows he can be a hard person to trust. It's the nature of his profession. So, he expresses some sort of bend there; a lot of cutting people out or letting them back in will depend on his read of intent.

Vaylress is hardly unfamiliar with the taste of betrayal. It is something of a cornerstone of Sith society and she certainly had a Master in Baras that was abundantly fluent in it and manipulation. She is and... isn't quite a Sith lord. She recognizes herself as a Lord of the Sith and expects the respect granted that position in the Empire, but isn't always as quick to ignite as many may expect her position. Between her apprenticeship to Baras, her experience as the Emperor's Wrath, and her relationship with Malavai Quinn, Vaylress has displayed conflicting responses to betrayal. In her love for Quinn, she almost never paused over their... incident - instead looking higher to sink her teeth into his perceived puppet master, Baras, whom she pledged to end for his betrayals and manipulations in ways that were anything but merciful and swift.

What it's taught her, I think, is... something like Tyr realized: she was a pawn in a system built upon the backs of pawns, broken and discarded as necessary to keep the machine running, though her realization of this is more slow and gradual as she realizes her crew is as a found family to her and she begins her own family raising a daughter with Quinn. She has a harder time disconnecting herself from loyalty to the Empire because she still recognizes it as home and herself as Sith, despite the flaws she begins to realize with both of these identities. She begins to realize her personal desires, so I think her reactions would be to threats and infringements upon these things. Her loyalty is to her family - found and grown - first, then to the Empire.

Whether or not she forgives someone for transgressions is going to largely depend on what said transgression was. Baras did not survive her wrath because she believed Quinn was wronged - and fiercely, at that. Such acts required equal retribution as payment. In short, her beliefs are her own and she will not take kindly to those trying to force a change upon her. Second chances are going to be earned with her.

[zesevral]

[ TASTE ] Away from the noise of the festivities, the Chefs of the Round Table (the cooking club) has set up a mostly-private bonfire to test out some of their new creations. Their latest masterpiece? Something called a “marsh mallow,” a recipe from the Sreng region sweetened with vanilla and sugar. It’s supposedly delicious when toasted over a fire…

"Tell me, Shezzy-boy, you ever tried one of these? 'Marsh mallows' they are calling them. Allow me to show you how it's done, yes?"

To much more fanfare than need be, Azama deliberately takes his time in oh so carefully, perfectly placing the mallow on the pointy end of the stick. And then, twirling it once, twice for show, he spins on his heel to face the open flames.

"The coals are the best spot, you know."

Oh so gingerly, the monk approaches his treat to the flames, until--

it catches fire!!

And yet, he waits, hums, the very picture of patience and nonchalance all wrapped up together.

Only when the mallow has achieved perfect, coal-black crispness does he rescue it from the flames, blowing it out with one single, practised huff.

"And voila!"

He proffers the mallow end of the stick to Shez and smiles like he's the happiest he's ever been.

"It is a monk's honour to be able to share with others, and so, I allow thee the privilege of tasting my fine masterpiece, good lad."

Already satisfied from his soup, Shez was lounging in front of the blazing fire when he was pounced on from behind by Azama. Resisting the urge to punch the monk for jumping him, Shez looked curiously at the half melted white blob he was being shown.

"Marshmallow? No can't say I have" He says. "By all means go ahead." Watching Azama, rolling his eyes at the theatrics in jest, Shez reaches for a stick and marshmallow of his own to copy Azama's actions. Sticking his own treat next to the monk's, his eyes widened when the sudden blaze of the fire roared, setting fire to both of their sweets. Azama seems unaffected by this so Shez assumes it is simply part of the cooking process and leaves the food in the fire until its appearance is black and charred to match.

"Errr. . . Are they supposed to be this . . . crispy?" He asks giving stick an experimental prod. The confident tone in Azama's voice confirms that this is the intended look for the cooked treat. "Oh, thank you" Shez said accepting the stick from Azama. "Here, you can have mine in return. Sharing is caring after all"

Without hesitation, the purple-haired mercenary bites into the marshmallow. It immediately falls off the stick and he has to move quickly to catch it in his mouth before it drops in the grass. The hard outer shell is . . . not good. It tastes strongly of burnt coal, the hard flakes poking the inside of his mouth uncomfortable as he crunches it. Thankfully, there is the merest hint of sweetness from the viscous, sickness contained inside. It's not much, most of the marshmallow having been reduced to ash, but it takes some of the edge of the worst of it.

"It has a unique flavour for sure" He grates out before breaking into a dry cough. "I'm not sure it'll catch on thought. I think its an acquired taste" Maybe if it was cooked for a shorter time or even eaten raw it might taste better. The sweet centre he'd tasted had been delicious, there should be more of it. "What do you think of it?" He asked awaiting the monk to eat his own marshmallow. "I hope I cooked it correctly like you showed me"

[echo-three-one]

Whatever It Takes : Reloaded

They're on a mission, chasing a lead in hopes of locating where The Shadow Company is situated.

Table of Contents

Previous Chapter : Vlad the Janitor

Chapter 20 to another story made by Ray (echo-three-one) Comments and Reviews appreciated! I hope you enjoy! Love you all ❤️

forgive the piccrew

Undying Admiration

Francine "France" Winters

Safe house 110197, Brazil

"Look at them two, you think we could do that too?" Soap asked France. They were both seated on Soap's side of the floor, the soft foam caught their asses as they crossed their legs while Soap spun around a water bottle.

"You and me? Sing and Dance? Never in a million years!" She denied looking at the poor guy's attempt to actually get her to like him. She thinks he already knew that she's already falling for him since day one. But she wanted to focus on other things at hand rather than distract herself with romance. Maybe if this was all over and he's still there, he'll finally get the answer he's looking for.

"Why not? I'm kinda okay with singing." He grinned. Francine giggled. Sure he is, his overconfidence was getting attractive for her. If they weren't soldiers in a war, they'd probably be making out again. What happened back at the Gulag was an impulse, she never saw it coming as she almost lost hope for his absence.

"Why don't you like… sing for me?" She dared her eyes stared intensely into Soap's eye-catching baby blue orbs. She made a mental note that staring for more than five seconds in those were already dangerous, so she always breaks it before the fifth.

"Why do you do that?" He asked, his voice was giving her ears a good time. Yes. She's falling for him. It felt like everything he does is attractive, but she shouldn't be too quick, life has taught her that the faster she falls in love, the faster they leave. So she had to test the guy's patience.

"Do what?" she asked as if she didn't know what he meant.

"Look me in the eyes then immediately break it as soon as I stare long enough…" His eyes squinted towards her as she evaded eye contact.

"I don't do that." She easily shrugged it off and got up.

"Well, good night. John. We have an early mission tomorrow." She got up as Soap trailed his eyes on her, the look of admiration was painted all across his face.

"Can you not look at me like that?!" She pleaded as her cheeks blushed. Her boyish appeal on the force always repelled attention and now this guy was admiring her for who she is and she felt happy.

"I won't do it if I get a good night's kiss." he pouted his wonderful lips. Lips she actually really wanted to taste again.

"Good Night John." She said as she closed the men's bedroom door and went to her bed.

~

When Price told her about a small recon mission, she never knew it was this small. The team only consisted of her and Ghost riding a rental truck to a village which was a few kilometers away from their safe house. The point person was an alleged nephew of a soldier that currently works for Shepherd. It was almost a dead lead but the intel being accessible enough was sort of worth it.

Rule of engagement is "Don't".

The village would most likely be unarmed, unprotected and peaceful. But Price advised to keep a side arm in case things go awry. It was a good call, and France noted to herself that she won't ever fire a shot for this mission as to not raise any sort of attention in addition to what Shepherd already gave them.

"Looks like it's time to go." Soap muttered as Ghost passed through them looking prepared.

Soap nodded goodbye to the man but he just continued walking.

"Maybe he had earphones on." he muttered as he pouted his lips. France softly reached for his cheek and shoved it sideways.

"In your dreams." She laughed as she waved goodbye.

"Every night." He winked as France made an almost disgusted face and followed Ghost. She was lucky enough that she quickly moved that Soap won't see her blushing cheeks.

France hoisted herself on the shotgun of the car and smiled at her partner, who looked serious. Without his mask, he was your average tough british soldier, and he looked like he wasn't in for some small talk while driving. France respected his privacy and trailed her eyes elsewhere, looking at the lush greenery and muddy tracks of tropical Brazil.

France wasn't a fan of quiet road trips, she tried humming to tunes from her playlist as the loud revving of the rental jeep overpowered her voice.

"Are you usually this quiet?" France asked, trying to break the silence between them.

"Yeah. You got a problem with that?" He replied, his eyes trailed on the road as it hit a bump. France actually felt shocked toward his reply and she started to worry about what she did wrong.

"You know you could always say no to Price's orders instead of regretting and wishing Roach would be here instead of me." She pouted, crossing her arms.

"Well that wasn't my case but now that you said it, maybe I should've asked for Roach instead!" He yelled. France couldn't help but shed a tear. She actually had no idea towards his hostility and the thought of not knowing any reason made her mad.

"Wow. Okay." she squirmed and unbuckled her seatbelt causing Ghost to slow down his driving.

"Where are you going? The village is still far from here!" he asked, France never bothered to talk to him as she simply walked away from the path.

Ghost immediately left the vehicle and followed her, catching her so she won't escape and run away.

"Why are you not replying?!" He asked, gripping her hands, restricting her movement. France used her strength to break free of his slightly weak grip and turned to him.

"You see now how it feels? To ignore someone without knowing why?!" She raised her voice. This seemed to make sense to Simon as he actually looked like he's sorry.

"I… " he sighed and looked at her, his eyes were lost and sad.

"I can't talk to you anymore… because I like you… but you've already set your eyes on someone else… so I just had to ignore you hoping that it'll make it less painful." he muttered. Complete silence filled the air.

France didn't know what to do. She didn't know what to say. It may be true that she already had eyes on a certain Scottish cutie, but telling him the truth all over again would leave such mental scars.

It took her long enough to say something that Ghost already invited her back to the car, and her silence may leave no meaning, but to Ghost it meant a lot, at least he knew that he no longer had a chance on her and would finally move on.

The village was like any other typical village, the elder's house would always be on the highest point and the two opted to ask the village elder first to gather clues.

One clue led to another as they visited each house looking for one Fabian Alvarez, a nephew of an alleged Shadow Company soldier. Only a few were able to speak fluent english and they decided to help, until such time that Fabian decided to show up.

He looked like a five year old kid, holding a rubber ball and he looked at France and Ghost awkwardly before hiding back into his house. Fabian was far too young to know about his uncle's whereabouts and the lead went cold once again.

The ride home was quiet. France didn't want to say anything as she can't. Her heart was like inside a washing machine, swirling around as she thought of how Ghost liked her while she's clearly liking someone else. It must've been hella awkward and painful to see on a daily basis. She felt that once, when her best friend got together with her high school crush and continued to stay together up to this day… She knew how he felt.

~

The moment they got back, she was actually greeted by Soap, who already had his hands wide open for a hug. As usual, France would ignore his gesture and it now felt that she was already helping out Ghost from the pain. But now, she's the one feeling restricted.

It pained her to not get near Soap and he's already starting to notice the indifference. She was actually surprised when he cornered her, just as soon as she stepped out of the shower.

Her cheeks flushed as the idea of her, only wrapped with a towel, stood in front of Soap. She felt really vulnerable in this position.

"What happened out there?" he looked angry but the tone of his voice sounded concerned.

"Nothing, it's just … A dead lead. A waste of time." She replied as she attempted to cross over him.

"And how does that warrant an indifferent approach toward me?" he quickly moved to block her again. She sighed at her actions. He was right. He didn't deserve this treatment, he needed to learn something about the truth.

"We had a little fight with your friend over there…" She muttered, her voice was low enough so he couldn't hear.

"Who, Ghost?" he inched his face closer and his face lit up like a curious bystander who overhears conversations on a daily basis.

"Yeah… It was an unpleasant exchange." She said vaguely.

"Well, it'll all be resolved soon. I guess you're too carried away that you didn't want to talk to me as well…" he chuckled and scratched the back of his head. That gesture always made France happy, he may not notice it but she loves the way his muscles twitch when he scratches his nape. She found it satisfying and hot.

"Yeah… I'll go change." She said, as she frowned as soon as they parted. She knew she had to tell him the specific reason and the events that occured today, but she felt that it would create a domino effect that would lead the team to be uncooperative.

During bedtime, Alex requested France to swap sleeping spaces, meaning that she had to lie down beside Soap. She couldn't find the courage to say no as it might ruin the reunion they both longed for after a very long time.

France swung the door open and found out that they were already asleep, except for Ghost who was once again missing. She used this opportunity to actually wake Soap up and let him be aware that she'll be sleeping beside him. She planned to make both men comfortable by spacing herself between them, by only showing affection to Soap while Ghost's not around, until such time that Ghost would accept the inevitable truth.

"John." She whispered, as Soap lazily opened his eyes and reached out for her, wrapping her in his arms.

"I really like you. A lot. I hope you'll be patient enough for me." She whispered again. She knew he wouldn't hear it but the idea of her actually expressing her thoughts to him, put her at ease, as she slowly closed her eyes and drifted to sleep, wrapped by the arms of the man whom she really admired.

Next Chapter : If I Remember Correctly

Notification Squad my Beloved

@ricinbach @whimsywispsblog @smokeywhalee @samatedeansbroccoli @enderio @beemybee

[eryiss]

Summary: Freed and Gajeel were total opposites in every way, only connected by the guild. When they were forced to train together under Makarov's orders, they expected antagonism and mistrust. Instead, they were given a lesson in how quickly opposition can turn to attraction. The issue: let the budding relationship simmer away, or let it explode. [Freed x Gajeel Multi-chapter]

Notes: Hope you all enjoyed the last chapter, and thanks for sticking with this. It’s quite fun to write for this ship, and I hope you’re all ready for homoerotic exercise and another argument between men who don’t know how to communicate :)

Links: FFN, Ao3, Chapter List

Chapter Three - Proving a Point

Day Two: Tuesday

Gajeel woke in a pissy mood. This wasn't going like it was supposed to.

Freed was meant to be a smug, self important man with no practical skills, no world-hardened experiences, and no way of keeping up with what Gajeel was demanding of him. His three day plan had focused around humbling Freed, telling him that he wasn't hot-shit like he clearly thought, and making him realise that his cushioned life didn't mean he was Gajeel's equal.

What was not meant to happen was for Freed to be competent! He wasn't meant to make a shelter, he wasn't meant to be able to make a fire without a match, and he wasn't meant to be able to cook the damn fish and make them taste good! Even Gajeel couldn't do that.

Worse, the fucker knew. Oh he knew what Gajeel wanted but wasn't getting.

He hadn't been so smug when he'd lost though, had he? He hasn't been running his mouth when he'd been in the stream, gurgling his pathetic little surrender. Nah, he'd looked exactly how Gajeel wanted him; weak, embarrassed and unable to deal with the fact he was out of his league.

Sure, it hadn't taken long for Freed to recover and spout some bullshit about Gajeel being intimidated by his magic, or whatever the hell it was he said. He was trying to save face and Gajeel wouldn't let him; he had lost their fight because he couldn't live without his spells. That was impractical, short sighted and the way a spoiled brat of a man worked. No doubt if he had to rely on his fists more, he would have seen the stream as something to take advantage of and used it, rather than falling into Gajeel's trap.

Hah. At least one thing had gone Gajeel's way.

Mostly.

Kind of.

Look, Gajeel might hate the man and the things he seemed to stand for, but Freed wasn't bad looking. And Gajeel was just a man, who had been stripped to the waist with Freed in the same state of undress, wrestling one another. He was bound to get distracted for a moment. Thankfully, Freed's nasty kick to the balls and the ensuing tantrum after had quickly quelled any growing interest.

Gajeel knew what he had to do today, though. Because if he was going to fight with Freed at the end of the week, he needed to respect the man. He wasn't going to respect Freed if he couldn't take a defeat, and if he couldn't handle himself without his magic. So today, Freed was going to prove he had the ability to back up his words.

Okay, it was a tenuous reason for what he had planned, but fuck it. Fuck Freed too.

It was tempting to wake the prick up by dumping some of the water Gajeel had gathered over his sleeping face - a nice little reminder of how the fight had ended - but he decided against it. He needed to have everything prepared before he woke up, so it would be better to check that everything was in place. That, and Freed apparently snored a little when he was sleeping, and Gajeel certainly didn't want to interrupt the possible blackmail that could come from it.

And perhaps it was nice to have something cut through the silence of the forest.

Gajeel had trained in this forest many times, and as such had come to know how to utilise it's assets. He wandered slowly, blinking away the sleep in his eyes, and eventually found what he was looking for. A large tree that had fallen down years ago, and stumbled down a hill. What remained was a leafless trunk at the bottom of a steep incline, perfect for strength training.

Next, he walked to the largest upstanding tree within reasonable walking distance. Gajeel had often climbed this tree to push his agility and upper body strength, and it was the perfect way to test Freed's practical skills. The tree was still standing tall, the branches Gajeel used to climb still attached. Perfect, no excuses for when Freed fucked up.

When he got to the lake, Gajeel grinned a little. The morning was cold and the water would be freezing, the worst temperature to take a swim in. Normally Gajeel would have hated to swim in weather like this, but it would certainly be a nice wake-up call for the spoiled little Prince.

Yeah, this was gonna be fun. For Gajeel anyway.

——

"I think yesterday proved pretty damp conclusively that you're out of luck if you don't have your magic," Gajeel said with crossed arms, looking down at Freed. "So, today I'm gonna teach you a couple techniques that'll come in handy when you're in a situation where you can't spell yourself out of trouble."

Freed clearly wanted to make a comment, but held his tongue. He was learning, huh.

When Gajeel had returned from his check of the forest, Freed had woken up, set up a new fire and was using the rest of the fish (and a few berries that he had picked) to make them both a breakfast. Gajeel had wanted to reject it out of hand, but it had smelt great and if it was anywhere near as good as his meal the day before, refusing it would be a mistake. It had tasted amazing, so Gajeel had huffed out a thanks and gave a short nod of thanks.

Soon after that, Gajeel had motioned for Freed to follow him. Freed had done so without complaint - Gajeel couldn't prove it, but liked to think it was because the asshole was too embarrassed after his loss - and allowed himself to be led down the stream, towards the lake.

"You've got wings right, when you use yer magic?" Gajeel asked. "So yer probably gonna use 'em to get over every little thing, right?"

"Like you do with your little cat friend, I expect," Freed commented, and Gajeel stiffened slightly. Freed noticed and smirked a little. "My apologies, I interrupted you. Please, go on."

"Don't need yer permission," Gajeel grunted, more to himself than to the man standing before him. "But if yer using yer wings as much as I think you are, you ain't ready to deal with terrain that ain't easy to walk through. So, if this week's about improving then this is gonna help you get over that flaw. We run from here towards the lake, taking us through forested ground which ain't even and ain't safe, and then we swim from one side of the lake to the other."

"So it's a race then?" Freed asked, annoyingly not intimidated by the proposition.

"If you want," Gajeel shrugged. "But I ain't got a prize or anythin'. Definitely not one for participation, like yer probably used to."

Freed rolled his eyes at that, but didn't ride to the bait. Instead, he said, "Perhaps when I win, you'll cook for once."

"You ain't gonna win," Gajeel claimed.

"We'll see," Freed hummed a little, far too smug for his own good.

"Stretch up," Gajeel muttered, even though he wanted to push the man further, maybe even see if he could add an actual forfeit for losing, something to really make the fucker squirm. But, well, Gajeel didn't know for sure he would win, so couldn't risk things just in case.

Just as Gajeel went to start stretching his calves, he heard the sound of ruffling fabric and frowned. He ignored it for a moment as he felt the gentle burn of his muscles working, but caught sight of Freed's white - now dirt stained and crumpled - shirt now hanging over the branch of a nearby tree. With slightly furrowed brows, he turned towards Freed to demand an explanation, only to see him kicking off his pants and placing them right next to his shirt, leaving him only in his boxer-briefs. His tight and eye-catching boxer-briefs.

Before the thoughts could even form about how Freed was wearing his underwear to perfection, Gajeel forced his memory back to the night before. About how he'd acted and how he had tried to make Gajeel feel like crap just to feed his own ego.

Freed had lost a wrestling match, and had thrown a fit about it. Gajeel couldn't respect a man like that, and he couldn't find a guy hot if he didn't respect him.

"The hell are you doing?" Gajeel demanded.

"If we're going to swim, then I'd rather not get my only set of clothes wet when it could be avoided," Freed explained, and Gajeel was momentarily thankful that he didn't look ready to remove his boxers. He couldn't think like that, so spoke again.

"Cause you can't stand a bit of discomfort, right?" Gajeel grumbled.

"No, I just don't see the point of making things worse for myself to prove a point," Freed looked pointedly towards Gajeel when he said that. "The water is clearly going to be cold and the weather doesn't look like it'll improve, meaning it'll be a struggle to dry ourselves already. The fire can only do so much, and we'll either have to lounge around in wet clothes out of stubbornness, or remove them and wait for them to dry while we ourselves get dry. That extends the time we'll be cold, making us both uncomfortable and wasting time before whatever inane task you've got next. That, coupled with the fact that this is flu season, seems like good enough justification for avoiding a stupid problem."

Gajeel could hardly argue the point, so instead he mumbled, "We ain't gonna be lounging around."

"What an astute and well thought out argument," Freed deadpanned, and Gajeel wanted to punch him again. He didn't, instead averting his eyes as Freed started to stretch his arms. "Nobody is forcing you to do the same if you're shy, Mister Redbox. To me it just feels like the reasonable course of actions."

Rather than speaking, Gajeel turned his back. He also removed his shirt and boots; but he wasn't getting half naked like the pervert next to him.

Calling him a pervert was maybe a stretch.

He pushed back that thought, as well as the thoughts of how damn good Freed's ass looked in those boxers - Gajeel was only a man, and he couldn't deny what he saw - and instead got himself into line with Freed. The race is what he should have been focusing on, not the fact that Freed didn't look half bad when he was taken away from his pampered and luxurious sheen. Tangled hair and the odd spec of dirt really did wonders for the pretty-boy.

The race. Focus on the race. And the fact the guy couldn't deal with a loss.

"Ready?" Gajeel asked, but didn't wait for an answer. "Go."

He lurched forward before he could think, sprinting through the undergrowth of the the forest as he ran towards the lake. Years of guild work in places like this had allowed for the perfection of running through the forest; you kept alternating your gaze between the ground and on the trees.

Usually he would have turned his skin to iron so he wouldn't have to focus on the branches in his way, but he was trying to prove a point. He winced a little as a sharp end to a twig scraped against his cheek, far too close to his eye, but didn't let it stop his pace. He could hear Freed's breathing very close behind him, so evidently Freed knew how to run through a forest as well as Gajeel did, so he couldn't let up for a moment.

When they were out of the forest, there was a short run towards the lake with more space than there had been in the forest. Gajeel forced himself to run as fast as he could, not wanting to let Freed overtake him now he had the width to do so. And not having a view of the man's body might-

The race. The way he'd acted the night before. Focus dammit!

If telling himself wasn't enough to cut off his libido, the face first plunge into freezing, dirty water certainly did. He let out a shuddering gasp when his head broke the surface, but couldn't allow the ice-cold water to stop him. He quickly started to swim, smirking a little when he realised he still had the lead.

The smirk died when Freed overtook him pretty damn quickly.

Gajeel saw nothing but ripples of water ahead of him, and gritted his teeth as he tried to speed up. He was a man built to brute force his way through a problem, while Freed was apparently more agile. He should have expected that, but he had wanted to leave Freed in the dust during the run so it wouldn't be an issue.

All he could do now was swim to the other shore of the lake, pissed off.

When he reached the end of the lake, he saw Freed resting on one of the large boulders that made up the shoreline. He was panting, soaking wet and still wearing those fuckimg boxers. When he saw Gajeel haul himself up from the water, he looked towards him and smirked.

"That didn't end up how you wanted, did it?"

"Shut up," Gajeel snarled. "Get yer clothes, we've got a busy day."

When Freed laughed, Gajeel nearly pushed him into the lake again.

——

"So, you think ya can beat that?"

Gajeel had more than got his confidence back now, and he was smirking at Freed with his arms flexed intentionally.

Both he and Freed were stood at the bottom of a steep hill, where the dead tree-truck sat. Gajeel had explained this challenge; they would both have to push the tree-truck up the hill as far as they could. The justification for this exercise was that Freed might one day find himself in a situation where he was trapped without his magic and needed to force his way out with his strength alone, and the exercise was meant to simulate that. Freed clearly saw that Gajeel just wanted to push his limits, but he didn't say anything.

This was the last task of the day. They'd already attempted the tree climbing that Gajeel had planned, and Freed had been obnoxiously good at it. Gajeel had been faster, but they both knew that he had a natural advantage because he'd had practice. Gajeel could hardly boast about being slightly better then Freed at something he had done many times and Freed was new to.

Gajeel had just finished his attempt at pushing the trunk, and was fucking delighted when he saw he'd beaten his own personal record. This was how he would regain his control over things.

Freed didn't stand a chance.

"I'm sure I'll be a worthy contender," Freed stated, walking towards the tree-trunk. "Which is a feat, I expect, given that you've clearly been setting me up for failure from the beginning."

"Maybe if you weren't so predictable then I wouldn't have been able to plan things out so well," Gajeel grunted.

"So you predicted that, in everything other than tasks that relied solely on physical strength, I have exceeded your expectations and beaten you in completion, I suppose?" Freed taunted quietly as he positioned himself against the tree-trunk. "I expect you did all of this simply to prove your inferiority."

"Inferiority?" Gajeel scoffed. "You ain't done anything but bitch about this because it's not going yer way."

"Not going my way?" Freed laughed, turning from the log and looking at Gajeel again. "You are joking, aren't you?"

"All you've done is make yer little comments about how you don't think it's fair," Gajeel challenged, taking a step forward and glaring the other man down. "And when ya lose, you throw a tantrum."

"I throw tantrums," Freed demanded, sounding equal parts exasperated and annoyed. "As opposed to you, who has been acting perfectly rational throughout this? It hasn't escaped my attention that you clearly see Makarov's initiative as some sort of personal affront to you, and you have apparently seen it fair to force all of these grievances onto me. So for you, a man who has been as close to stomping his feet and wailing as his pride allows, to complain about me throwing a tantrum is practically laughable."

"You think that's what I'm doing?" Gajeel took another step forward. "I'm doing this because yer clearly a spoiled little city-boy and I ain't associating myself with something who can't-"

"Can't what?" Freed snapped. "Can't make a shelter? Can't start a fire? Can't swim across a lake faster than you? Because I've done all of this despite your clear hopes otherwise. Or would you rather judge my worth as a mage by seeing me push a dead tree up a hillside, or to wrestle you without the weapon I use nor the magic I wield? Because, Mr Redfox, if you need to force such strict parameters to best me and you consistently lose, then perhaps your plan isn't a good one."

Fuck, he wanted to punch the guy. Fully encase his fists in iron and beat the shit out of the guy. It would be damn satisfying to see the guy knocked out, while the smugness straight out of him.

"Nothing to say?" Freed continued, a patronising look on his face.

"Fuck off," Gajeel growler, turning around and going to walk away. Before he could take a step, a wall of glowing runes shot up in front of him, blocking his exit. He turned to Freed with an expression of fury. "What the hell is your problem?"

"You," Freed snapped, and magic seemed to emanate from him.

He looked feral in that moment, with all the shields of fancy clothes and smart ass words replaced by anger and magic. His shirt was billowing in the magic induced winds, and the glare on his face was accentuated by the purple swirling in his eye. Fuck, he looked like a man on the edge and it shot straight to Gajeel's dick. Freed was a gentleman gone wild, and if that wasn't one of Gajeel's most well-buried fantasies then he didn't know what was.

The expression was gone as quickly as it came, and the magic swarming Freed's eye fell away. For a moment, Freed looked worried, but he was talking again before Gajeel could understand why he looked like that.

"Neither of us are happy about this, but at the end of the week we have to fight side by side, and the biggest issue we have right now is that we can't stand one another," Freed seemed more calm now, as if the bubble of anger had burst. What the hell had caused that? "So, either you plan something that might make us work together, or at least respect one another, or we both stop trying and say to hell with the consequences."

Gajeel didn't say anything. It felt like the rug had been pulled from under him.

Suddenly, a wave of shitty realisation hit him. Freed had a point when he said he was taking his anger out on him, when he really just didn't want to do the damn training thing at all. He wasn't being fair.

"I think that's enough," Freed sighed. "I'll gather my things and go home. You needn't contact me again."

Freed was walking away before Gajeel could react, and the walls of runes fell around them both. A horrid feeling of regret filled Gajeel, and he quickly jogged to catch up with Freed, who was clearly ignoring him. He kinda deserved it.

"Shit, Freed, wait," He placed a hand on the man's chest, and Freed glared at him. "Yer right, I ain't been fair," It wasn't a fun thing to admit. "I had some ideas about who you were, and didn't wanna let ya prove me wrong, even when you were kicking my ass," He sighed. "And yer right about me wanting to fuck you over, that's why I did this shit, and it wasn't right. That was shitty of me."

"Well, I can hardly blame you for judging me. We were both guilty of that," Freed admitted. "And thank you for admitting that. But I don't see how we could suddenly become a cohesive, effective team, we're hardly compatible."

Gajeel sighed, Freed had a point.

But if a Fairy Tail mage was good at anything, they were good at being stubborn.

"What if we have a fight?" Gajeel proposed, and Freed frowned at him. "Talking like this ain't gonna get rid of the attitude we have for each other, right? You're still pissed at me, and you said some things that made me wanna sock a punch in yer jaw. Maybe having the chance to beat the shit outta each other might break through the attitude problems we have."

"That's not too bad an idea," Freed admitted, glancing at the evening sky for a moment. "It would be cathartic to make you scream."

"Buy me dinner first, city-boy," Gajeel teased before he could think. Freed all but gaped at him, and Gajeel was speaking to fill the silence before he could stop himself. "Y'know, I ain't ever seen you fight before. Don't know how you work."

"Then I have the advantage," Freed grinned slightly. "And you're voluntarily giving it to me. Perhaps you really are repentant."

"Nah, just wanna kick yer ass without you having an excuse."

"We'll see," Freed smirked, and Gajeel found himself grinning back.

[willow-salix]

Random bit of fun that popped into my head. Grandma Tracy + Selene + cooking sherry =

Selene checked the recipe again and nodded to Grandma. It couldn't be that hard could it, to be all domesticated and shit? She had many manly men that she had to cook for, not that she went in for all the "a woman's place is in the kitchen" stereotypes,  but she did think it was important that they came home to something better than their Grandmother's cooking attempts after a tough rescue, and this one looked like it would be a nightmare mission. 

She could cook most things, basic and homely she called it, having learnt baking from her Nan, although she did like to challenge herself now and then.

She had decided in her infinite wisdom that if she was capable of making simple dishes like lasagna, chilli's, soups, burgers, pizza's pancakes, breakfasts and the like, coupled with the fact that she was actually good at baking, she could manage to help Grandma in her mission. It shouldn't be that hard to make their boys some lovely fresh donuts, something they all loved.  Yep, that was a plan! 

Grandma Tracy had wandered back and forth while Selene was assembling the ingredients, flour, salt, yeast, eggs, milk and melted butter and insisted on helping, trying to add her own selections to the mix which Selene gently vetoed, hiding them in the microwave. It would be fine, with her overseeing the proceedings Grandma couldn't get into too much trouble, could she? 

Selene directed Grandma as they slowly added the wet ingredients into a big mixing bowl, one at a time until they made a relatively smooth mixture, then Grandma added that little by little to the flour, Selene mixing with her hands until they had a rough dough. 

She dribbled some oil onto the worktop, dumped out the bowl and began to knead the slop, gradually feeling it grow thicker and less gloopy, more springy. Damn this was hard work!

"Let me have a try, you youngsters don't know the meaning of hard work."

Selene stepped aside to let Grandma T take her turn, but within a minute the older lady was huffing as bad as Selene was. 

They tag teamed back and forth for a few minutes but her fingers were cramping and she was sure that she had inhaled so much flour she'd be sneezing bread rolls.  She went to wipe her forehead but her hands were so greasy with the oil she gave in. She didn't want to resort to cheating, but needs must. 

She whispered a little chant under her breath when Grandma made her excuses to go to the bathroom and watched as the dough kneaded itself, plumping up and down and flipping itself over as she washed her hands and settled down with a can of cherry coke. The dough flopped itself back into its bowl after a few more minutes and she covered it over and placed it on the windowsill to rise for an hour.  

And she promptly forgot about it, wandering off with Grandma to catch up on "The bold and the beautiful" a TV show that Grandma watched religiously and that had become Selene's guilty pleasure whenever she was on the island. 

Upon returning to the kitchen after learning that Chico was Marion's secret son and that Charlie's amnesia was fake, they found the bowl overflowing and the dough creeping its way towards the floor.

"Stupid magic kneading!" Selene dived at the dough, nudging Armstrong out for the way just as he tried to bat at it with his paw. "No! Bad cat. Leave it!" 

She cradled it in her arms like it was a baby, a big, messy, yeasty baby that was determined to get the fuck out of dodge. She balanced on one leg as she tried to hold it up with her knee, kneeing it like she was playing keepy uppy with a football. 

"Grandma, get a bowl! A big one!" She gave it a big push upwards as Grandma shoved a huge bowl under it, catching the evil, still growing blob. 

"What's wrong with it?" Grandma asked as she poked at it with her finger, diving back when it looked like it would consume her whole hand. 

"Nothings wrong with it, I'm sure it'll be fine."

Against her better judgement, and Selene wasn't known to be entirely sane at the best of times, she grabbed the biggest saucepan they had and filled it with oil, setting it on the stove to boil. Should only take a few minutes....  

She watched as the oil began to bubble and smoke,  knowing it was about as hot as it would get. Witches didn't like boiling oil, call her silly but that had always been something to avoid in the olden days, which was probably why she had taken the few minutes to kit herself out in a huge apron, Scott's spare bike helmet and a pair of Virgil's thick work gloves. Couldn't be too careful. 

She dug her hands into the dough, hitting it with her elbow when it looked like it might try to be the one to eat her before they cooked it. "No! Down! Bad dough!" 

She was sure it would be fine once it was cooked,  witches made everything a bit more lively, the boys could attest to that.

"Watch out Grandma, don't get too close." 

She scooped out a handful and rolled it into a ball then holding it at arm's length, dropped it in the oil like it was a hand grenade. Boom, the oil jumped up to meet her and she stepped back with a squeak of shock. Not good. Nope nope so much nope. Not doing that again. 

"Oh don't worry, it always does that when I cook too," Grandma shrugged as she crossed to the fridge to get herself a drink. "Keep going, it'll be fine."

After rolling another ball, which she caught before it rolled off the counter and across the floor yelling  'cry freedom', she sourced a pair of BBQ tongs to hold it with and dropped it carefully in the oil. 

"That seemed to work," Grandma encouraged. "Keep doing that."

Ball after ball followed and her roll, grab and drop operation was going so well she completely forgot that the oil was actually cooking the damn things. 

"Uh…little too brown maybe…" she fished them out and dumped them into a bowl lined with kitchen towel. She poked them, were they OK? 

"They'll be fine with some powdered sugar on them," Grandma proclaimed wisely, although Selene wasn't too sure. "Do the rest, that's nowhere near enough to feed my boys."

Grandma supervised as Selene slowly worked her way through the dough mass, which seemed to have lost its determination now she had effectively scooped half of it away, though it was still making a strange wheezing noise as it attempted to grow some more. She'd soon put a stop to that! She quickly rolled and tossed more balls into the oil, having perfected her drop and duck technique.  Paranoid that she'd burn the next lot she got them out earlier...Perhaps a little too early, as they stuck to her tongs as she slapped them into the bowl. 

"Damn it."

"Jelly will fix them, " Grandma nodded sagely, "Jelly fixes everything."

Selene threw the last of the balls, now looking slightly less ball like and more like lumps of dough that she was too fucked off with to fix, and began to search the cupboards for something to insert the jam inside the balls. 

She located a turkey baster that Parker had insisted they needed to cook a decent Christmas dinner, and that Alan had secretly been using to squirt the Gordon with. Selene had filled it with whisky that one time and used it to fire at Scott from opposite ends of the couch in an attempt to reach each others mouths. She grinned at the memory.

As if reading her mind- maybe she was a witch too- Grandma vanished and reappeared with half a bottle of cooking sherry. 

"Would you like a little taste? I find it helps me relax sometimes when I'm cooking, you're too tense."

Well, that might explain a few of Grandma's more adventurous dishes. 

Selene looked at the bottle, she could actually do with a little of that right now. She held out her coke can and Grandma poured a healthy splash into the remains of her coke.

"Don't tell John," Selene warned as she gulped down some of the drink for strength as she faced the fried dough balls she was supposed to fix. 

She grabbed a pot of smooth jam out of the cupboard and sucked some up into the baster -not that easy to do it turned out- and holding one of the cooked balls she stabbed it with the end of the rubber syringe. It went right through.  

"Shit!" 

She tried again, splitting another one. 

"Fuck!" 

"Language, Selene!" 

"Sorry, Grandma."

"Let me try," Sally managed to get the tip in one and squirted a generous amount into the donut. But didn't count on the force of her squeezing making the donut shoot off the end and fly across the room to smack Armie in the eye.

"Fuck!" 

"Grandma!" Selene was shocked, but had the terrible urge to giggle. 

Sorry," Grandma apologised, both to Selene and the cat, trying again.

                                    ***

The bowl was a jammy,  powdered sugar covered, slightly oily mess and Selene was on her third can of sherry and coke and honestly, she no longer really gave a shit. 

Who's stupid idea had this been? It was the thought that counted right? 

Grandma had given up over an hour ago and gone to bed, knowing the boys would be heading home soon and Selene desperately needed a shower. She had jam in her hair, sugar sticking to her hands and she'd lost the will to live. 

She plonked the bowl in the middle of the kitchen counter. 

"Sexy spaceman of mine," she texted, "sorry they look like shit…yeah, can't really explain what happened there…but I'll be naked in bed if that helps." She snapped a picture to go with it and called it good, promising to clean up in the morning. 

And she wound her way on slightly unsteady feet,  up the stairs and into the bathroom to shower off the remains of her one and only attempt to cook something you could buy easier,  promising herself a trip to Krispy Kreme in the very near future, and flopped on the bed wrapped in nothing but a towel. 

                                       ***

"John?" Gordon stared at the text that had popped up on all their comms less than 30 seconds ago. 

"I don't even know."

Their brother's long suffering, defeated tone just made the whole thing even funnier. 

"Think you had better get down here, bro," Virgil chuckled. "We'll be home in five."

"Yeah, that's probably wise," Scott added. 

Even EOS seemed to find the whole situation amusing, which in itself was a little bit worrying, as John rode the elevator down to the island. 

Alan and Gordon were staring at the bowl as if it might explode any minute. John spotted the empty sherry bottle in the sink and sighed. 

"Grandma got the sherry out." 

"That's not good," Scott agreed as he too entered the war zone, formerly known as the kitchen, his eyes taking in the precariously piled bowls, the flour that coated every surface, the oil patch that Alan almost slipped in and the grease splattered stove top, the pan of oil sitting abandoned. His bike helmet was on one of the stools and one of Virgil's gloves peeked out from the bottom bowl of the stack, though it was so covered in dough you could barely tell what it was. 

Virgil brought up the rear, his nose wrinkling at the slightly smokey, oily smell that hung in the air. 

"Dare you to eat one," Gordon nudged Alan. 

"Hell no! John should, it's his girlfriend that made them."

"Fiancée," John automatically corrected, poking gingerly at the contents of the bowl. "And no, I don't think so."

"Scott, you're the brave one, you like to take a risk now and then, you do it."

"Like the rescue wasn't risky enough? No way. Virg, you try, it's like modern art, appreciate it."

"Nope, I like my taste buds where they are, Gordo, you do it, it was your idea."

Gordon paled as he looked into the bowl. "All of us?" he asked hopefully. 

The boys exchanged glances and then one by one they all reached into the bowl, their competitive streak unable to resist, selecting the least offensive looking offerings. 

"On three?" Scott confirmed. "One…two…three!"

As one they all tossed their donuts into their mouths, chewing madly, their faces contorting into identical grimaces of horror and disgust. 

Alan raced to the trash can, opening his mouth to let the offending evil drop out of his mouth. 

"Urghh, it was raw inside," he shuddered. 

Gordon followed suit, spitting his out. "Mines burnt."

Virgil managed to swallow his. "Mine was all sugar which pretty much hid everything."

Scott had a dribble of jelly running down his chin to drip onto his uniform, his mouth hanging open as if he didn't dare close it again. Virgil handed him a paper towel and he grateful spat out the offensive food.

"My God, that was foul."

They all looked at John, who was still chewing his dough ball, now matter how much he worked it, it never got any smaller. In the end he too gave up and spat it into the trash. "It was like trying to eat a rubber ball."

Virgil tossed the remains into the trash to spare Kayo and Brains the same horror. "At least they tried."

Too tired to actually be bothered with real food, Scott handed round some bowls and Virgil grabbed a box of cereal and some milk.

They all ate quickly, eating in companionable silence, standing up, leaning against various cupboards and furniture, knowing if they sat down they would likely never get up again.

"Damn!" John moved suddenly, breaking the silence of the room, dumping his half eaten cereal in the sink.

"What's wrong?" Scott frowned, instantly worried.

"I just remembered the rest of her message," he was already running towards the stairs, "I've got a naked woman waiting for me."

Alan shuddered, gagging on his mouthful of cereal. "I did not need to know that."

[yellow-faerie]

Ok, I hope you don't mind but I kept thinking about this all evening and was ✨ inspired ✨

Zelda remembers childhoods of kicking the last of the fallen leaves and running out of the thundering rain with Daphnes as Autumn came to a close. She has a faint memory of getting bathed and violently toweled down before curling up by the fireside to listen to her father tell a story.

It had never, for as long as she had lived, snowed so early.

Link says it's normal, for the air to already be freezing by the time harvest should be taken in and he seems only mildly bothered when the snow begins, like it's an irritant rather than very concerning.

They haven't found a cave to rest in that night and, despite all the horror stories Zelda has heard of frostbitten fingers and toes, Link just sighs and goes about setting up camp right where they are.

She tucks her cloak a bit tighter around her shoulders.

Zelda, her great-times-too-much-to-think-about niece, the princess, had given it to her before she and Link had left the castle for their journey.

"For you," she had said with her regal smile and straight back and a sparkle in her eye. "It's quite durable - I know how Link can be, dragging you into every sort of danger."

Zelda digs her fingers into the fabric at the memory.

She watches Link as he builds up the fire, constructs a a rickety bracket over it from twigs that keep threatening to catch alight and settles an old kettle hanging from it carefully above the flames.

He talks as he does, about his past and the future and the Princess and questing and a strange man who once gave him a sword. Zelda doesn't know if he's talking to her or just talking out of habits built from years travelling by himself. He's been like this every time she has travelled with him, a fact that honestly doesn't help her work it out.

She lets his speaking wash over her as she picks at the edge of her dress. It's not the one she had woken in: it's the same pink but the fabric is coarser, the drape of the skirt is less extreme and it's shorter for practicality when hiking across the wilds.

The one she had woken up in is hundreds of years old, she realises, like one of the antiques kept locked away in the castle and she had just worn it until it was unsalvageable, letting it drag in the mud and catch on trees and-

A mug is pushed into her hands.

"Here's some tea to drink. It'll warm you up."

Link's face is always so open, Zelda thinks as she thanks him and takes a sip. It tastes heavenly (although she isn't sure whether this is because it is actually good or because she really needed something to warm up her frozen insides).

Link kneels down beside her and pokes at the fire. "I'm afraid I don't have any food for tonight - it slipped my mind on the walk to keep an eye out."

"The tea's fine enough," Zelda says and it's true enough. Whatever had been keeping her asleep had also stolen her appetite.

Link nods. "I think there's a village somewhere around here. After we've rested an hour or two (I don't think we should risk staying much longer as it looks like it might storm in a few hours), we can go on a search. Hopefully there will be hot foot and a warm bed there."

Link nods again. Zelda grips her mug tighter.

"Do you have a map?" She asks. "If you did, I could find the way. Daphnes..." She swallows at the memory of her brother, still terribly unsure how she's meant to feel about him. "Daphnes used to say that I was fairly good with directions."

Link shrugs. "I used to but it got lost and I never bothered to replace it. It would be a waste of money considering I could never use it."

"So you just...wander around until you find where you should be?"

"Zelda finds me if I'm needed. And I usually manage to know where the castle is quite well - I think it's because me and Zelda have a connection of some sort."

He pokes at the kettle with his stick and it swings softly like the pendulum of a clock.

"That must be nice."

"To know where the castle is?" Link makes a face. "I assure you, I do not like ending up anywhere near that place and I would turn the other way if I didn't know Zelda was suffering the nobles alone."

Zelda laughs. "I wouldn't wish that fate on anyone," she agrees and takes another sip of tea. It should have cooled down a bit with the snow that's fallen in but it's still as hot as it was. She comments on it in a moment of shock and, to her surprise, Link's face lights up.

"It's a magic mug!" He begins and he kneels upright, throwing his stick to the side.

Gesticulating wildly all the while, he begins to weave the strange tale of a man under a rock who sent him on a series of quests and how this mug had been the by-product of one.

Zelda sits there, enraptured by the joy he takes out of telling the story, and it feels so good to have someone else to laugh with again.

Starting to finally feel better! Here’s a little doodle of Link and no longer Sleeping Zelda from AOL having a soft moment together out on an adventure

[twobitsswitchblade]

“Pool at bucks” a Dal-pop fan-fiction.

It was only 11 pm. I was laying on the couch like a sack of potato's groaning and sighing. Darry was in the kitchen fixing lunch up for later and pony was at the kitchen table being forced to study. Me? I've fallen into a state of not caring much, had no motivation.

I'm the type of guy to be out around this time and hang out with some friends but lately I've just been tired, it might be from the lack of sun, seasonal depression sucks..

"Hey Cola, what's with the sappyness?" Pony asked as I groaned. "Nah kiddo, the cloudy days aren't making me as happy." I said lifting my head up facing the kid. "Well...you can go sit infront of a light?" Pony was really worried for me, he had some worried look and pierced lips like he wanted to say more, "I'll be okay pone I promise it'll get better!" I said flopping my head back down, the kid was worried and I felt bad..but I had no idea how to get happy again, if the sun wasn't such a stubborn thing I could've asked it to come out.

I looked over under the tv to see some board games the guys and I usually play when we're bored. I mean there's pony's skates he never uses and could fit me.

I kept looking around for something to do, I started thinking of someone to hang out with. Two-bit is Proably wasted, pony has homework, Darry is to busy and a lump on a log, johnny is already so exhausted, Steve is working over time today when I took the day off.

It was like circles going through my head, fuck I hate being bored. I felt like I was missjng someone though?

"Hey dar, hey pone" Incame a deep voice and heavy boot like foot steps. I sat up a little to try and catch a glimpse of which greaser came over to lump around. Dallas came through the living entrance and plopped beside me with a weed 'n' beer.

"Hey soda," he said sticking the weed between his light pink lips. "Whats up? Buck kick you out again?" The hoodlum looked at me and took the weed from his lips and laughed with smoke coming out. "Nah nah, not this time cola. I just wanted to see my favorite brother trope" he said head locking me and gave me a nuggy. I chuckled and unlocked his arm around me sliding my hair back. He took a sip of the beer and put his weed arm on the back of the couch facing me.

"Why you drooping on the couch? Shouldn't you be at work with Steve?" He said twirling the liquid. "I took the day off, seasonal depression." I said lay my head back closing my eyes and crossing my arms. Dallas seemed worried, but, you never know when he ACTUALLY is he's like a stone statue when it comes to emotion, he grew up thinking showing emotion would label him as being a pussy to society.

He looked around the room and looked down the hallway to make sure Darry wasn't near and he came close to my ear so I could feel his smoky hot breath sending chills down my arms and legs. I opened my eyes. "Why don't we get you out of the house, you know go out for lunch?" He said backing up as I sat up and looked at him, he never was this nice to anyone unless he was trying to hook up with some girl. I was very uncomfortable with accepting this offer from a hood. Plus he's probably lonely and needs someone to fuck. "I'm good Dal, but thanks." I said stubbornly as he nudged me "come on cola it'll be fun I'll bring you back, I'm not gonna harm you." He said with worried brows making my face soften. Maybe he wasn't lonely maybe he genuinely wanted to help?

My body was still unsure and it was a hard decision. "You promise your not gonna lay a hand on me?" I said putting a brow up as he looked at me confused. "Why would I put a hand on my best buddy?" "Dallas you put hands on everyone if it's sexual or not you still do." I said putting him in his place as he side and made his weed hang out of his mouth. "Fine you caught me but please? I ain't tryin to hurt someone like you and if I did Darry would stab me." Dallas's looks looked soft like he was trying to get me to come. His puppy dog eyes didn't make it better...I could feel my cheeks heat up like a bomb fire.

"Fine" I said as he smiled "I'll tell Darry, wanna come?" He said as I nodded and we walked to Darry who was focused on food. "Hey Darrel" dally said greeting the older man with a wave. "Hey Dallas what's up?" Darry said turning around and placing a bowl of already drained noodles down. "Me and soda were just gonna go out for some lunch and maybe a drive around town? He's been down lately" Dallas said with a rough look a lit another weed. "That's fine but bring him back before midnight, hear me? Or your head is on a knife." Darrel said point a wooden spoon at the hood as Dallas nodded. "12 sharp" Dallas said and tugged my sleeve and we walked out the door.

"Why are you doing this anyway?" I said fixing my flannel collar, "to bring the old soda back" he said popping his Proably stolen car doors open. I opened the passenger side and plopped in.

He drove off, it took a couple minutes to get there but we arrived to this run down bar looking place. I was very unsure about this so I looked at Dallas who seemed to be looking for something. I didn't wanna say anything cause I knew he was only trying to help but I felt very uncomfortable. "Hey dal is this a bar?" I asked as he looked at me "no don't worry cola it might seem like it but my buddy owns this place it has the best food. I always brought dates here" he said with a smirk and I was supprised I never knew he took girls to this place?

We stepped out and walked in, the fresh smell of brewing green tea and the sound of people chatting filled the air. It seems like Dallas was already noticed by the register person. "Hey Dallas, what another date?" The cashier said sending me into shock and my face went red. "Nah nah this is my buddy soda, I've talked about him before" Dallas said sending me into a confused look, I never knew he talked about me? "Ah the guy your in-" before the guy could finish Dallas slapped him, it scared me and I was confused why he'd hit him. "Daniel shut up, funny story, table for two goodbye." Dallas said angerily and took me by the sleeve. I was still so confused.

He sat us in a booth in the corner of the restaurant. It was nicely decorated it was a type of food place Highschool kids would go to, to bring their girlfriends to. I scanned the menu and Dallas was right they had good looking food. "What do you want? I'll pay" he said with a harsh voice I knew he was still angry at whag 'Daniel' was gonna say and it made me confused. "I'll just have a water I'm not that hungry" I said not wanting him to waste his money. "No order something the tables on me, buck lended me some bucks yesterday." He said, he looked sure he wanted to do this and it made the tips of my ears red, I never gone to such a nice place to eat with someone, I only ever brung sandy to old run down restaurants I never knew a hood had better taste than me. "I'll have their....actually Dallas, surprise me." I said since Dallas wanted to be mr nice I wanted to see if he'll be nice with his choice, to see if he knew me enough. The hood laughed and nodded his head and the waiter came over. "Not you again" Dallas huffed as Daniel had a sly face and laughed "who pissed in your cereal tucker?" The boy said "tucker?" "It's my middle name." He said and looked back at Daniel "just get me a water, for him, get him a Pepsi with..." he paused and then a lightbulb practically lit up on his head "some tea cake along with chicken tenders" this boy did know me it was scary, I lit up when he said all my favorite items "that'll be out soon winston" Daniel said and nudged his head and Dallas swatted his hand away. "Who's he" I asked "high school buddy he's annoying, hhhh, but he's a good friend" Dallas said pulling a weed out. "Ha..." I thought for a minute of whag I was gonna say to him "you really do know my taste...how do you know I liked that stuff?" I said as Dallas looked at me from his lighter. "I just do I pay attention to you soda, I ain't some jerk who dosent listen when you rant" he said having trouble with the lighter and giving up throwing the smoke and lighter on the table. "Well" I picked both the things up and lit the weed instantly handing it to him, "I never knew someone listened, thanks tucker" I said handing him the smoke as his cheeks went somewhat pink and I smiled, he just looked away and smoked and we sat in silence waiting for the food.

The food came out, Daniel winked at Dallas and Dallas slapped him again. "okay okay im sorry" he said rubbing his cheek and walked off, "enjoy ur food princess" he said sarcastically just teasing me as I went red from embarrassment. "Never call me that again." I said as he chuckled "okay Pepsi" he said wish a wink and drank his water as I just rolled my eyes and ate.

Time went on asn we gossiped, talked about gang stuff and laughed. Dallas had some humor not a lot of people noticed, but i didn't know how much I was red until he pointed it out making me think of a lie. "Just cold" I said smiling as he smiled "sure but okay, by the way Pepsi I got something to show you" he said making me tilt my head, "what?" I said as he smiled "you have to wait" he said and me being impatient sighed "fine.".

It was 1 pm and we finished our talk and food. "Hey dal, done?" Daniel came over and asked and the hood shook his head, Daniel handed the bill, "just place the money on the table I'll pick it up" he said and dallas left 10 bucks, not the right amount of money but Daniel rolled his eyes. "Now scram before I knock ur head off your body" Dallas said standing up and lunging at Daniel and Dan took the money and left. Dallas looked at me and sighed me to get going. I walked with him and went out the door and suprisingly the sun was out, I looked up and smiled and he looked at me "happy?" He said with a smile as I looked at him "now I am...that was nice Dal..." I said as he smoked a bit and walked down the steps with me. "Your welcome soda, now come on I got something to show you" he said and we drove off.

During the drive I could seee bucks not to far and I already had a bad feeling. My stomach grew sick. "Dallas wnat are you gonna do to me?" I said in fear of him touching me. "Nothing buddy, slow your breathe I just want to show you what me and buck bought for some parties!" He said happingly sending me into fight or flight. "Um okay". Dallas looked sad and looked at the road.

We parked and he got out and he opened my door, "come on Pepsi" he said as I stepped out and he put a arm around me and walked with me. "Look it'll be okay" he said trying to calm me down.

We walked in and country music was playing, bucks place always gave me iffy vibes Darry didn't even want me coming. Dallas let go of me and we walked to a stair case "come on" he said and we walked down creeky stairs and I was so glad it wasn't a bedroom.

We made it down and it was dark, Dal flicked some lights on and in the middle of the room was a pool table. Dallas walked over to it and grabbed one stick and looked at me "ever played?" He asked "not in a long time," I said calming down and he motioned for me to come over, I was quite excited me and my dad use to play and I smiled and walked up to him.

He took the triangle casing off the balls and walked behind me, he handed me the stick and helped me be in the right position, he made me follow his hips into a bending like position and put his hands over mine. I was blushed head to toe, feeling the guys body on mine made me flustered, I wasn't uncomfortable j was more excited, my ears face and finger tips went pink and a lump in my throat appeared. "And then" he said and hit the ball for me, I started to remeber it and I looked at him when he stood up "got the hang of it?" He asked grabbing his own stick. Fuck I didn't want his warmth off me, it felt weird to think that but I was being honest, it made me feel safe.

"Maybe one more time still rusty" I said smiling and giggling as he gave a smile "alright alright" he said as his smiled made my stomach flutter, right when he did the same motion to me my stomach was full of butterflies, I was uncontrollably smiling and giggling and he did the same "stop laughing your gonna mess me up" he said laughing as I laughed harder and when he let the stick go it went horribly. "Soda what's so funny" he said as I stopped and smiled "I don't know" I said facing him when he got off and he smirked

"Soda"

"Yeah Dal"

"Are you gay?"

My face went fully red making me grow a sweat, I never thought about it. Yeah I've found guys pretty but never dated one. But Dallas he made me wanna run a marathon when he was close to me, even at the restaurant I was flustered as his sly remarks or sex jokes, I daydreamed about him quite a lot but didn't think much of it.

"You don't have to answer" he said caringly as I snapped "no it's okay but.." I said looking at my fingers not wanted to make eye contact being afraid of him hating me. "I'm not sure, I've found guys pretty but never had a crush, but, I've never had someone to help me with knowing if I was" I said as Dallas nodded "I understand kiddo, can I admit something?" He said as I nodded "I'm pansexual kiddo so if your gay I'm fine with that, I won't ever hate someone for finding attraction to the same sex, I'd kiss a guy and jm some tuff hood" he said as a smiled peeled on my lips as he smiled too "plus you want someone help you to see if you are?" He said "kinda" I said as I looked anywhere else but his eyes

Before I could speak another word he put his hand on my cheek asn his lips on mine. I wasn't uncomfortable I was melting, it wasn't a rough kiss it was a quick peck but my body wanted more. His lips were rather soft and his hands were warm, once he let go I froze my eyes wide and my stomach fluttering. "Did that do anything? Sorry it was unex-" before he could finished I dropped my stick and grabbed the sides of his face and pulled him into a rough kiss with tongue, my stomach fluttered my heart raced and my hands kept gripping his hair. He dropped his stick and Held my waist with one hand and the other in my hair pushing me closer.

It felt like a dream it felt so good, so right. By then I was pushing against the pool table and I wanted more of his lips, it felt so good but he let go, panting, and damn it was hot.

"Sorry" I said catching breathe as he smiled "are you kidding that was,,,great, amazing even" he said as my eyes glittered he pecked my forehead "so how do you feel" he said as I gripped the collar of his jacket. I felt so gay and I loved the adrenaline running through my veins, "I feel amazing" I said playing with the back of his hair as he chuckled, never knew a hood could be so loveable.

His lips were soft, his tongue was desperate and rough and I liked it. "I'm glad" he said "wanna keep playin pool?" He said as I nodded "need more help?" He said as I laughed, "I might've only kept asking so ur body would be against mine" I said as he said oh snd smiled "I see, I guess you need more help?" He said as I nodded.

He kept helping me as I was focused on the game and I finally was able to do it alone, I already had my turn and got a coiled balls in snd I watch focused dally try to get a good hit. I sat on the corner of the table as he let his stick go and only got a couple in, "fuck" he said as I laughed, there was a ball almost in and I dropped it in for him.

"Good job tucker!" I said smiln as his face went heated "don't call me that" he said as I fucked around "okay tucker" he went fully red and walked around the table and put his hands by my hips and his face close to mine. "What'd I say boy" he said smiling making his Smokey breathe hit my face. I liked when he got aggressive it was a good look on him. "I said tucker" I said getting in his face smirking as he narrowed his browns and put our lips together.

Not gonna lie I expected to be hit but this was better. This went on for another hour before we got tired of the game. "I'm hungry" I whined as he put the balls back up. "Buck went shopping let's go get some food sugar." He said swiping his finger under my chin and I smiled and follwed him up the steps.

The kitchen table was full of bags of food and Dallas already was snooping and I followed his steps. "Ah-ha chicken tenders" he said raising a box as I laughed and smiled "I'm down".

He cooked them up in the microwave as I sat of the table and he took them out. "Their hot" he said right as I touched one. "OW" I yelped as he placed the plat down in worry, he came up to me and put some pressure on my finger. "Are you okay?" He said as I nodded. "He kissed my finger making me flustered as he just laughed, "alright good time" he said kissing my cheek as I smiled and brung me to his room.

We walked up the stairs as I kept trying to steal a tender or two but he kept swatting my hand and we made it to the room. He sat on the bed ans so did I "now you can eat" he said as he took a beer from his dresser and handed me one "I don't drink Dal" I said as he smiled "I know" he said abs turned so the label faced me "it's root beer, I know you don't like alcohol" he said as that made my face lit up, damn a hoodlum must have a crush on me.

We ate and drank and talked but we ended up laying in bed next to eachother taking, he had his hands behind his head and I layed next to him. "What time is it Dallas" I asked as he read the clock "11:40- I HAVE TO BRING YOU HOME" he said as I stoped him from jolting up. "Dallas" I said "yes sodapop?" He said as I put my arms around his big build "tell Darry im sleeping over" I said "but Darry dosent like you at bucks?" "Tell him were sleeping at Steve's" I said as he nodded, he picked his phone up and dialed Darry.

"Curtis place" Darry said "Heya Darry me and soda are sleeping at Steve's tonight" he said with a promising voice "Alright bring him back by 10 am okay? I trust you Dallas." Darry said "okay Darry wanna talk to him to make sure?" Dallas said as Darry indeed wanted to hear my part, in a sleepy voice I got handed the phone and talked "I'll be home at 10 Darry tell pony okay?" I said as Darry made sure too, "have fun soda" he said "thank you Darry" I said as he hung up.

I looked at Dallas and put the phone down as he looked at me. "Hey Dallas" I said "yes?" "I think I'm gay.." I said as I almost got emtotional "that's okay soda...and I have a question" he said as I looked into his icey eyes. "Wanna be my boyfriend?" He says as it felt like my heart started to flutter left and right and my face lit up, my fingers gripped him tighter and I dug my face into his side "HELL YEAH" I shouted into his side as he laughed..."okay kiddo" he said stroking mg hair. "Wanna go to bed it's pretty late?" He said as I nodded and yawned. "He turned the lights out and took off my flannel and snuggled to me. "Night Pepsi"

"Night dal."

~~~~~~~

8 am

"Soda, soda" Dallas said slightly shaking me "huh?" I said opening my eyes a little trying to get the sun out of my eyes. "Good morning Pepsi, want breakfast?" He asked as I nodded, he slid out of my grip and I sat up watching him, he was in a t-shirt and pajama pants and I was in different clothes.

A big green t-shirt and ok'd Christmas pj pants. "I hope you don't mind I changed you, no I didn't look at ur dick." He said grabbing a smoke and lighter, I smiled "thanks dally" I said as he looked at me and smiled

"You gotta leave in two hours kid, want me to drive you?" He said as I looked out the window to the sun "can we walk?" I asked his face was confused but gave in.

We walked downstairs to breakfast already made and buck in the living room, "breakfast is ready, I made your friend some too" buck said as I smiled "thanks buck" I said as he nodded reading the news paper as we entered the kitchen. Me and Dallas ate the food.

After we finished Dallas put the plates away, "imma hop in the shower" he said scruffing his hair" I looked at him and a idea popped in my head. "Yeah I smell bad I need a shower like now" I said, "wanna go first?" He said as I rolled my eyes. "No dingus" I said and walked up to the taller man and when on my tip toes and planted a kiss on his nose. "Can I join you?" I asked as he went red but my puppy eyes made him give in. "Fine fine"

We went to the bathroom and he shut the door, it was a nice white bathroom buck kept clean. Dallas took off his shirt and so did I, to be honest I forgot how jacked this greaser was in build caught me off guard to the point he was snapping his fingers snd caught my attention "earth to soda" he said I as o peeked up "you gonna undress you can't shower in pj pants" he said smiling as I blushed. I was very insecure about my lower half and this man could tell when I looked down in disappointment.

"Look I won't make fun, I like your body kid, I won't make it sexual." He said holding my cheeks as I smiled. "Okay" I said and undressed.

We hoped in the shower and it was nice, the warm water made me feel clean and Dallas there some how made me feel safe. He put soap on his hand and scrubbed my hair, "do you want grease in ur hair today?" He asked cleaning my head as I soaped my body, "nah to early" I said as he smiled, "okay cause I am" he said put a shower cap on so he didn't have to dry his hair. "You look like a doofus" I said laughing histariglg as he frowned smiled. "Shut it" he said and we finished out shower.

We stepped out and I started to dry off and he took the cap off and dried his body. Sometimes I need to catch myself dozing more often. "I know my dicks nice but you have to dry your hair" he said as I jolted up "Sorry" I said with blush scattering my face.

After we got done drying Dallas insisted to watch morning cartoons with me, he got me dressed in my clothes and he did the same. We walked down to the living room when buck left for work and we turned the tv on, he put his arm around me and I snuggled my head in his side. He kissed my head.

It was 9:50 and Dallas woke me from my nap so we could go. "Come on I was enjoying my nap." I said "darrys gonna kill me Pepsi" he said as I rolled my eyes and stood up with him, "come on kid" he kissed my head and we headed out.

We started to walk and we joked and flirted all the way down, right when we got there we didn't notice and everyone was outside when Dallas had his arm around me non stop flirting makin me red, we were bt the front yard when I caught glimpse of pony looking at me and slapped Dallas "OUCH" he said as pony ran up to me "HEY SODA" he said tackling my in a hug "hey pone" I said rubbing his back as Dallas let his arm down "hey kid" Dallas said. "Hey pone how was Steve's, he came home early" Darry said walking out pointing at Steve's behind him. "Wait what?" He said I tried to over talk him "we never got together" he said "IT WAS GOOD" I said walking in the driveway with Dallas. "Darry looked mad and confused, Dallas where did you bring him?" Darry said as Dallas went pink.

"Steve's." He said "no you didn't?" Steve said "fine I took him to bucks BUT buck was nice, I made him dinner, took him out to eat, played pool, went to bed, woke up ate breakfast That BUCK made and took him home on time" dallas said "and were saying how you'd do naughty shit to him?" Two said "that too, WAIT WHAT NO" Dallas said as two bit over heard our talk. I went red and Darry gave Dallas lifted eyebrows "soda?" He said I was stuck in place Dallas froze and smiled. "Come on soda your gay same with you Dallas, YALL wanna butt fuck blah blah" two bit said as we went pink "okay not the last thing I didn't put my hands on him but" Dallas looked at me and I shook my head in approval "were both gay" he said casually.

Pony got rather excited, Steve was shocked, two already knew, Johnny only smiled cause he wasn't a party person but he was proud and Darry smiled. "Well I'm proud of both of you but I still waiting for one last thing." Darry said

"Are you both a thing and if so Dallas you have rules." Darry said as Dallas shook his head proudly as I got flustered.

Dallas and me were now sitting in camp chairs in the front yard with the gang and Darry as Darry told Dallas rules.

"No sex until atleast one month, no getting him drunk, treat him right, if there's a emergency call me, atleast keep him home some days so he's not always out" he went on and on and Dallas understood everything.

At the end of the day we all went and watched late night cartoons. Two and pony on the floor with Johnny playing cards, Steve brought his girlfriend over and they were talking in the kitchen, Darry was asleep on the recliner. Me and Dallas were on the couch and I was laying on top of him watching the tv, I never felt more free, I felt more happy and more energetic. Dallas was practically always there for me and I couldn't ask for more...and the more I realize when I was sad and Dallas was there he was like my sun, and when I was around him the sun came out more, I guess you'll find your sun some day you gotta wait till you really need it and never expect it.

I layed on his chest as he looked down at me and I looked up. He smiled and along with me, he fluffed my hair up and I laughed.

"Goodnight Pepsi."

"Night sunshine."

(5073 words)

~~~~~~~