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bangtaninborderland · 2 years ago

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JHS: Twisted Feelings

Summary: After working at an award show for 2 years everything had become normal, idols were no longer exciting to see, performances became dull and every day blended together, that was until an unexpected man asked for your help.

Genre: idolljhope x fem!reader, angst, fluff, strangers to lovers, ongoing series

Warning: none for this chapter!

A/N: l i in no way own bts and this is purely a story of fiction! Please as always share your thoughts and leave a like if you enjoy! Thank you for reading my work and I hope you all have a beautiful day! I will take stabled and request/questions for this couple! If you’d like to be tagged as new chapters come out please let me know!

Ch.01 < Series Masterlist > Ch.03

It had been a week since your first encounter with Hoseok and Namjoon, Na-Rae had asked a thousand questions and by now everyone in the office had heard about it, people you had never interacted with had even began to ask you what it was like to be in the same room with you and as always you gave the standard answer of “It was fine just like with any other idols.”

You couldn’t have been more excited for today to have come, it was Thursday, the one day you got to have off work, or so you thought until your work phone rang. Usually you’d ignore it but seeing as it was your managers name flashing up on the screen it wasn’t something you wanted to make a fuss out of.

You let out a breathe of air before answering. “Hello?”

“Ah finally I was afraid you’d be sleeping all day.” Your manager scoffs, you can practically hear her rolling her eyes.

“It’s my day off today, is there something I can help with?” You try your best to sound friendly but this week had already been stressful enough.

“I had a call from a manager in the hybe building asking if you’d mind coming in for a meeting. I told them it was your day off but they insisted that it was a meeting you should attend.” She hummed the other end of the phone.

It was rare for a translator to be called in to a company, you’d be lying if you said you wasn’t curious. “What time?”

Ji-sung laughed. “I thought you’d respond with that, be here by 12. I’ll let them know you agreed.”

You said your goodbyes and hung up the phone, you had wanted to say no but as always your curiosity won. You threw the scrunched up sheets off your body before heading towards the shower.

You wasn’t sure what the meeting was about or who it was with but either way you didn’t want to seem unprofessional.

It didn’t take you long to finish getting ready and leave, thankfully the building you worked at wasn’t too far and you enjoyed the walk.

Na-Rae and Ji-sung were waiting in the reception for you.

“You took so long.”

You shot a glare at Na-Rae who silently laughed at her own comment. You would get her back for it later.

“This way.” You follow your manager into the same room you had gone into the day you had your first interview for the job here.

Although Ji-sung wasn’t the youngest she was definitely well for her age, her fast pace nearly put you to shame, you had never been one for physical activity.

You watched as she reached for the handle to the door and you knew this would be your last chance to ask. “Sajangnim, do you know exactly what this is about? I didn’t want to be rude and decline but it is my day off.”

“I believe it’s about the people you met last week, come to my office whenever you’re done.” You bow to her as she leaves, you push the door open only to be met with a familiar smiling face.

“Thank you for meeting with us today.” The unfamiliar man greeted you, his hand pointing towards an empty chair.

You greet him quickly before taking a seat. “It’s my pleasure.”

“You’re probably guessing why I asked to meet with you.” You turn your head towards him and he gives you a soft smile.

“Yes I am.” You agreed.

You watch as the man you guess to be another manager slides a document towards you. “The last time I was here we talked about how I wanted to learn English, I’d like you to teach me.”

“You’d what?” Your widened your eyes shocked at the sudden proposal, you was sure if you had a mouthful of water you would have done a spit take.

“I think you’d be great.” He says again, his voice quieter this time.

You look over the document, it was a full job offer, employee benefits, shift times, pay rates, everything. “Hoseok-ssi I already have a job.”

You watch as the smile on his face fades a little, his eyes flick towards the other man. “We spoke to your manager, she said your contract would be up within the year.”

You nod towards him. “Yes that’s true but I was planning to renew it or maybe take some time to write, I really don’t think I’d be any good at teaching.” You explain, surely this wasn’t really happening.

“Well don’t decide right now, take the contract home, read it, think about it and call the number on the contact sheet when you decide.” Hoseok looks at you as he speaks, his eyes fixed on yours. You didn’t get any easily but it was impossible to deny that he was good looking.

You thought for a moment, they was right about your contract ending soon and as much as you wanted to write you knew you wouldn’t have the money to do it. Teaching Hoseok would be double the pay you get now, you’d be stupid to completely decline without at least considering it and talking to your parents.

“I’ll think about it, is there a deadline I need to have an answer for?” Your question is directed towards the other man but for some reason your eyes find themselves stuck on Hoseok.

“I’ll give you a week to decide, that should be enough time for you to have all your necessary discussions. The number on the contact list is mine, I’m Kim Jaesang.” He points to the paperwork in your hand and you nod at him.

Before you could respond the older man’s phone begins to vibrate, he looks at you both before excusing himself leaving you and Hoseok in the room alone.

“Are you ready for the awards on Saturday?” He asks, his gaze settling onto your hands.

You nod at him. “My part is all finished, I could ask you the same thing.”

He laughs lightly as he begins to respond. “It always feels different retuning to the stage after a break but in a way it’s like a home away from home, I can’t wait to see Army.”

“That’s your fans name right?” You ask, wanting to at least seem interested, the truth being you wasn’t.

You watch as the small smile turns into a wide grin across his face “More like family.”

“That’s sweet. It’s great to see that you care for them, most idols aren’t as sincere.” You explain, although it seemed like a harsh comment it was true.

“Me and the others we always try to be as honest as we can be. We can’t share everything but we try to not hide things either. Army supports us so it’s only right we do the same.”

You could see the passion in his eyes and in all honesty it made you respect him more, to be at the top and still care for the people who got you there is a honourable thing. You would need twenty hands to count how many times you had heard idols bashing their fans.

“Hoseok-ssi I was wondering why you chose me for this, I mean I have no teaching qualifications?” You ask, your eyes fixed on the document.

He lets out a breath. “I think you’re kind and you didn’t make me feel like an idol, only like a person.”

“You are a person.” You laugh.

“I am but most of the time people don’t see me as Hoseok they see me as Jhope a member of BTS. You was more focused on getting your job right then impressing me and Namjoon and that doesn’t happen often either.” You watch as he spins the ring on his finger.

You didn’t know if it was nerves or a habit but It wouldn’t be the first time an idol got married and hid it.

“I can understand that somewhat, I can’t imagine how difficult it must be to be seen as an image rather than a human but me working is different, that doesn’t mean I’ll be good at teaching you English and I wouldn’t want to be responsible for teaching you badly.” You sigh.

“I don’t think you’ll teach me badly and if it doesn’t work out you won’t be forced to stay, the contract is flexible so you’ll have time to write if you wanted too. We already have a translator but there’s 7 of us and she can’t be with each of us at a time so maybe you could do that too, we could all have a meeting if you’d like?” You didn’t want to laugh but the way he rushed the words out was cute.

“I need a little time to think about it but I will definitely consider it.” You finish your sentence just as the door open and Jaesung walks back in.

“Everything okay in here?” He asks closing the door behind him.

“Yes it’s great, I have to go and talk to my manager but it’s been great meeting you and thank you for this opportunity, I’ll let you know by next week.” You quickly say your goodbyes before leaving Hoseok and Jaesung in the room.

The day had already seemed long and you could practically hear your bed calling your name. You headed towards your managers office successfully making it half way before Na-Rae managed to stop you.

“What happened in there?” She asked rocking back on her heels.

You rolled your eyes at her pulling her aside away from the other staff. “They offered me a job to teach one of the members English.”

“THEY WHAT?” You winced as Na-rae screamed.

“Shush!!” You whisper in a hushed voice pushing your hand over her mouth.

“I’m sorry, I just… wow.. that’s amazing” you heard her mumble, thankful she had quietened.

“It could be but I didn’t accept I told them I’d think about it.” You explained flashing the contract at her.

She hit your arm and you jumped back. “Hey! What was that for?”

“You have the greatest opportunity and you told them you’d think about it? Did you trip and loose brain cells today?” She asks, her eyes wide.

“No but I have more than just me to consider, I have to talk to eomma and appa about it. I can’t just accept a job that comes with both travel and a move.” You reason with her.

She stands still for a moment before sighing. “You’re right but this would give you time to write, I’m guessing you’d get more money there too.”

“Money isn’t everything.” You remind her and she rolls her eyes.

“Money isn’t everything oh I’m so special.” She dramatically copies you and giggle.

She leans forward, her eyes trying to read the contract. “So what member was it?”

You pull it closer to you and slap her hand away. “I’m going to find Ji-sung before she pulls her hair out waiting.”

“Yeah she’s scary enough as she is, I think I’d have nightmares if she was bald too.” You don’t know wether to laugh or take her words seriously but either way you don’t pay them too much attention.

You give her a quick hug before continuing your journey “I’ll call you later.”

“You better!” She shouts back as the elevator doors close.

You wasn’t a fan of elevators, you had gotten stuck in one as a kid but for once you was happy to be inside of one away from everyone and everything. Even just for a few seconds.

You took a deep breath just as the doors opened, the top floor only had offices for the most important people at the company, your manager included. You knocked on her door and waited to be called in.

“So what happened.” She asked, pressing her hands together on top of her desk.

You bored to her before taking a seat. “They offered me a job but I’m guessing you knew that because they knew my contract would end in a few months.”

She nods at you. “It’s because your contract is nearly over that I’m going to say this to you, you work hard, you’re smart and your degree and experience is far higher than this place requires, you settled for this job. You can and should do more, I made sure they would pay you more than we can here.”

“But why?” You ask, confused.

“Because I’m going to be leaving next year too, you do the jobs of everyone in your section, along with your own. You’re great at your job but you’re wasting your time here.” She looks at you, her face more serious now then ever.

“Thank you Sajangnim. I don’t know what to do.” You tell her.

“Im not telling you this as your manager but I think you should take it but do it for yourself. If you decide you want to take it there’s another translator who handed in their application a few days ago, they can take over your role. Take tomorrow off and have a think” She explains, settling one of your worries.

“I’m going to have a think about it but thank you for recommending me for the job.” You turn to leave before you hear her clear her through.

“Oh I didn’t recommend you y/n, Hoseok called in here asking for you.” You turned to see her smiling, nodding towards the door.

You didn’t say anything further before leaving, it wasn’t until you was outside that you felt like you could breathe again, had you really been that nervous?

The words of everyone swirled around your mind and for once you had no idea what to do, so you called the one person you knew would be there no matter what.

The phone rings twice before the call connect.

“Eomma I have a situation, I’m coming home.”

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makeste · 4 years ago

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BnHA Chapter 289: Looks Like the Gang’s All Here

Previously on BnHA: Horikoshi was all “you guys don’t really need to know what’s gonna happen to Deku and Shouto right now” and cut away to Toga and Ochako before anyone could get a word in. Skeptic utilized the power of Freak Shounen Coincidence to magically zero in on Ochako and Tsuyu amongst the fleeing crowd. Toga was all “IS THAT OCHAKO” and immediately leaped down to fight them, ignoring Spinner’s heartfelt speeches about Villain Found Family because fight now, hug later!! Down in the streets of some unidentified crumbling city, Ochako was approached by a sweet old lady and was all “I better help this sweet old lady who is definitely not leading me into a trap”, which unfortunately turned out to be poor decision-making on her part. Anyway so now she and Toga are going to throw down. AND ALSO, P.S., BEST JEANIST IS STILL ALIVE, and that doesn’t really have anything to do with anything right now, but BY GOLLY I JUST HAD TO SHOUT IT FROM THE ROOFTOPS.

Today on BnHA: Iida and Hadou are all “is it our turn yet”, and Horikoshi is all “yes”, and so the two of them finally burst onto the scene and are all “hello Shouto, Gigantomachia is on his way, btw do you need help” and so they all get ready to fight Tomura together. Meanwhile in Unnamed Ochako And Toga Fight Town, Toga is all “what’s up Ochako, oh is this the All Might doll Deku gave you, I guess you must like Deku as well, just like me, we truly are the same, btw I can use other people’s quirks now” before she vanishes in a flurry of knives and ambiguity, as mysteriously as she came. So that’s a thing that happened. The chapter ends with Gigantomachia and the League STOMPIN’ ONTO THE SCENE, JUST IN TIME FOR ENDEAVOR TO WAKE UP AND BE ALL “OHHHHH SHIT.” YOU’RE DAMN RIGHT, “OH SHIT.” Finally the pieces are in place for Dabi to reveal his true identity to Hadou and Iida, JUST LIKE WE ALL EXPECTED.

before I start, thank you so much to everyone who sent birthday messages on Wednesday!! I had a good day; my quarantine impulse purchase guitar that I ordered months ago but had been backordered finally arrived, and so now I can do something productive with my time as I continue to while away these months in isolation! not to say that capslocking over fictional characters and their shounen escapades doesn’t also count as being productive lmao. anyways, my fingers hurt so typing is kind of a bitch right now, but I’m having fun still. IF KAMINARI CAN DO IT THEN SO CAN I

anyway so let’s see what mishaps my various catastrophe-prone children are getting up to this week

okay there are several things happening in this panel which I want to comment on

IIDA!!!

HADOU!!!

“some time after” jesus fucking christ though, how long have Deku and the rest actually been fighting?? like it’s absolutely absurd to imagine that they’ve been managing to hold off Tomura for more than a few minutes, and yet everything we’ve seen these last couple of chapters suggests that this is indeed the case. which is just pure insanity tbh. excuse me sir, but I have an emotionally maturing son, a homewrecking grandpa, and a sleep-deprived one-legged platonic husband who are all in DIRE NEED of medical attention just FYI

lastly, I direct your attention to these two cool cats in the background who are both riding on hover surfboards. living it up like it’s Back to the Future. why are there two of them. do they both just happen to have the exact same quirk. what are the odds. ARE THEY TWINS. I want to know everything about them dammit

anyway so Hadou is asking Iida why he’s tagging along, because unlike the others, he can’t fly and is thus vulnerable to Tomura’s attacks and such

well Hadou I’ll have you know that it his DUTY AS THE CLASS PRESIDENT to tag along and THAT’S WHY

oh shit you guys IIDA SAID “FUCK THE LAW”

“plus Bakugou-kun, whom I am not particularly close to, but nonetheless hold nothing personal against!” well uh, kind of a weird distinction to make there bro, but okay. listen everyone, it’s a tense situation; if Iida feels the need to clarify the ins and outs of his interpersonal relationships with each of the people he’s rescuing then please just respect that okay

anyways though have I mentioned how much I fucking love Iida Tenya though you guys. feels like I haven’t mentioned that enough. I LOVE HIM. there

FINALLY

AFTER THREE WHOLE WEEKS WE FINALLY CUT BACK. OH MY GOD. DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW LONG OF A TIME THAT IS TO BE HOLDING YOUR BREATH. [EXHALES]

is it bad that my immediate reaction to this page was A LOT OF LAUGHING, though. fkldlksh this entire situation is SO ABJECTLY TERRIBLE that if I were Shouto I would almost be fighting the urge to look around for a hidden camera at this point. ASHTON KUTCHER WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU DOING HERE. OH THANK GOD, IT WAS ALL JUST A PRANK

anyway so uh. heh. how screwed are we at this point, exactly. oh and also, whose speech bubbles are these. who the fuck would look at this situation and these bleeding children and say “HA!” what kind of monster. just ignore that paragraph right before this one please

OH SHIT, OH SHIT, OH SHIT

TOMURA I CANNOT BELIEVE I’M SAYING THIS, BUT PLEASE LISTEN TO AFO FOR ONCE AND JUST LEAVE

pretty please. we kind of have a situation here. not that I wouldn’t love to see what this icy flamey boi could do if push came to shove, but I also have had just about enough of watching children get maimed for today though

OH SHIT

THE TIMING OF THIS MAKES ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE AT ALL BUT I DO NOT CARE!! THE CAVALRY HAS ARRIVED THANK GOD

“WHAT UP GUYS, WE BROUGHT YOU SOME TERRIBLE NEWS” FKLSHLKHLK

WELL GEE IIDA THANKS SO FUCKING MUCH!!

lmaoooo a wild Lida has been spotted what the fuck is this translation though

I don’t know which is better, the “Lida” (DO YOU EVEN READ THE SERIES BRO), or the “CHRIST” gkfhkg. CLASSIC LIDA

OH SNAP HADOU

sobbing at Manual cradling the still-warm corpse of Gran Torino like a tiny baby khlk;h. BUT ANYWAYS HADOU SAW HER TEACHER ALL BLOODIED UP AND IS READY TO THROW DOWN, YESSSSS, THE MY LADIES ACADEMIA ARC CONTINUES

(ETA: listen you guys, there were many things at the end of this chapter that brought me joy, but perhaps none more than the inclusion of Hadou in the final two page spread looking all serious alongside the Todorokis, as if she has any fucking clue at all wtf is going on slfkhlkhgghsl. what I wouldn’t give to see her and Deku and Iida all making frantic bewildered eye contact at each other throughout the next chapter lmao.)

GOD FUCKING DAMMIT DEKU

ARE YOU PROPPING YOURSELF UP WITH YOUR ARM THAT’S IN SPLINTERS, I CAN’T EVEN BELIEVE YOU RIGHT NOW. SOMEONE PLEASE SLAP SOME SENSE INTO THIS CHILD. SIT YOUR ASS DOWN

LMAO TODO’S READY TO TAKE AFOMURA ON. THE SHARED HERO BRAINCELL HAS ALREADY EXPIRED. FUCK IT LET’S DO THIS

“true, I already watched him murder my dad, my boyfriend, my other boyfriend, my teacher, and dozens of other people, but gosh darn it, I just feel like the fifteenth time’s the charm you guys.” shit, I ain’t even mad. who’s up for yet another episode of Todoroki Shouto Attempts to Murder a Bitch

-- “TIME TO CUT AWAY!!” laughs Horikoshi as he gleefully dodges out of reach before I can punch him, that SON OF A --

goddammit. you’re just lucky that I’m invested in the girl power fight too

YESSSSS OCHAKO

DON’T BE SORRY FOR KICKING ASS! NEVER BE SORRY FOR KICKING ASS

damn, looks like she managed to touch Toga’s shirt but not Toga herself. both of them are so fast

now Toga is monologuing from the shadows

we’ve all been there, Toga. sometimes you see someone you really like and it’s just like, ahhhhhh gotta kill them am I right

lol I love Toga so much you guys, but I’m also kind of wincing in anticipation of whatever essays are gonna materialize out of the fandom this week explaining how hero society has failed her utterly and she is just a victim here. CAN YOU NOT SEE HOW SHE JUST WANTED FREEDOM TO BE HERSELF AND MURDER A BUNCH OF PEOPLE flhkklhl

OH SNAP SHE WENT AND TOLD HER THE THING!!

and it was fucking awesome and scary as shit, Ochako. like damn, still sends a chill up my spine just thinking about it

anyway so now Toga is continuing to explain that she can use the quirks of whoever she transforms into

and Ochako is kind of freaking out, which I don’t blame her for, since it’s probably really upsetting to hear that your stolen blood and quirk were used to murder a bunch of people. shit

so now she’s all “WTF WHY WOULD YOU EVEN TELL ME THAT”

??? was this somehow the wrong answer?

for fuck’s sake. Toga you literally came down here to ask her if she would be willing to kill you, and here she is telling you “I would never be happy about killing someone, that’s fucked up”, and you’re all “......”

like come on though, what else do you want her to say?? and why does Ochako look so shocked now

OOP

LMAO

THEIR FACES DKSLHFKG. TOGA NO THAT IS MEAN. and jesus christ Ochako it’s just a toy. I know it has Sentimental Value and shit but is this really the thing to be getting distracted about right now

FOR FUCK’S SAKE

JIN-KUN WHOM OCHAKO HAS NEVER FUCKING MET?? THAT JIN-KUN??!

OM NOM NOM

this entire confrontation makes absolutely zero sense to me you guys. just. Horikoshi was all, “this is the kind of stuff girls talk about when they’re battling to the death, right?” just, are you okay my dude

anyway so Toga has somehow deduced that Ochako got the doll from Deku, which means that she and Ochako are exactly alike in every way, and this is somehow an important plot point, and now they’re finally getting back to the fight lulz

OH SHIT

OCHAKO BOUT TO SLAP THE SHIT OUT TOGA WITH THIS BOOKCASE ON A STRING AND THIS LOUIS BAG OH FUCK

so now Toga’s all excited and she’s all “THERE’S SOMETHING I OUGHT TO TELL YOU, I’M NOT LEFT HANDED EITHER” oh snap

fuck, it almost feels like she’s trying to warn her. Ochako idk maybe you should run shit I do not like this ( ﾟдﾟ)

but of course she is not running, and she’s all “I’ll have you take responsibility for your actions”

HEY NOW

WHAT IS FUCKING HAPPENING, DID TOGA JUST FUCKING MURDER TSUYU, WHAT THE FUCK. I AM TERRIFIED, I DON’T WANT TO SCROLL DOWN, SHE THREW LIKE FOURTEEN KNIVES INTO THE DARKNESS, WHAT THE FUCK

IT’S POSSIBLE THAT I MAY HAVE OVERREACTED

so did Toga just Swip a bunch of knives for no reason and then abscond, lol what. CAN ANYBODY PLEASE EXPLAIN TO ME WHAT THE PURPOSE OF THAT ENTIRE SCENE WAS. ASIDE FROM GETTING TO SEE OCHAKO TRY AND YEET A BOOKCASE AT SOMEONE

fuck, she was crying??

DID MY GIRL TOGA JUST KILL AN OLD WOMAN, NAKEDLY LURE OCHAKO INTO A BUILDING, ANTAGONIZE HER INTO SAYING “I’LL MAKE YOU TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR KILLING A BUNCH OF PEOPLE JUST BECAUSE YOU FELT LIKE IT”, STEAL HER DOLL, GIVE HER DOLL BACK, TELL HER “OH SO YOU LIKE DEKU TOO HUH? BTW I CAN USE OTHER PEOPLE’S QUIRKS”, AND THEN RUN AWAY CRYING??? BRUH

-- OH SHIT, OH FUCK

[SIRENS BLARING WILDLY] [AUDIENCE LEAPING OUT OF THEIR SEATS] [T-SHIRT CANNONS BOOMING IN THE AIR] [VIKING WAR HORN SOUNDS IN THE DISTANCE] FUUUUUUUUUCK

well never the fuck mind about Ochako and Toga and WHATEVER THE FUCK THAT ALL WAS SUPPOSED TO BE, I guess, BECAUSE!! MACHIA MADNESS HAS ARRIVED. SPEARS SHALL BE SHAKEN!!! SHIELDS SHALL BE SPLINTERED!!

AND LOOK WHO WOKE UP FROM HIS NUMBER ONE HERO BEAUTY NAP RIGHT ON CUE, TOO!!! ATTENTION ALL PASSENGERS... IIIIIIIIIIT’S TOUYA TIMEEEEEEEE

#bnha 289 #iida tenya #hadou nejire #toga himiko #uraraka ochako #todoroki shouto #todorokibowl 2020 #bnha #boku no hero academia #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #makeste reads bnha

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wulfies-kpop-fanfics · 4 years ago

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One Photo → Mark Lee [1]

↳ Pairing: Mark Lee/Reader

↳ AU: Soulmate!AU - The first touch of two soulmates permanently scars their bodies.

↳ Word count: 4,863

↳ Chapters: Prelude | You Are Here! | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9

⁙ Summary: For an end of the year photography project, you’re tasked with taking a photograph for your favourite group, NCT127, and coincidentally, discover your soulmate.

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MONDAY - 1

Your heart was pounding a million miles a minute as you stepped into your photoshoot studio on campus two weeks later, ready to see a bunch of other students preparing for interviews for the same position. Surprisingly, you were the only one present besides your teacher. She smiled and approached. “Hey,” she greeted you with a short handshake. “I see you’re nervous?” “A little,” you admit, returning her friendly grin. “I’m surprised nobody else is here.” She hummed. “Well, there was a lot to choose from. Come on. This one, I believe, is a little special compared to the others.” “How so?” Your voice was laced with curiosity as she led you further in, past the background sheets that separate the room into two halves. Behind it were people you had only dreamed of seeing in person.

The three of them stood as soon as they lay eyes on you. Johnny, Mark, and Jaehyun. You were completely frozen, staring at them and nearly forgetting to breathe. The thought of the members interviewing you themselves had never even entered your brain.

Your teacher placed a hand on your shoulder, startling you. Without a word, she smiled at you, nodded at them and left the room. Once the door shut with a soft click, Mark approached you. “Hi, I’m Mark Lee,” he held out his hand. “You probably knew that, considering your expression.” He laughed sweetly. You barely held out your hand with a shy nod, “I’m (Y/N).” Instead of going through with the handshake, Mark immediately moves in to engulf you in a friendly hug. “It’s nice to meet you,” you mumbled into the hug, barely processing that you were actually hugging Mark Lee and were in the same five-foot radius as three members of NCT. Johnny and Jaehyun also hugged you tightly, insisting that you join them at the table your teacher had set up for them.

“I thought I would be more prepared,” you admitted softly, digging into your backpack and pulling out your portfolio of projects and random photos you’ve taken. Mark takes it first to open and look through. “I’ve been a fan since your debut.”

Johnny smiled. “Then you’re just the person we’re looking for,” he said. He glances over at your portfolio, then back to you. “The truth is, we aren’t looking for a professional like a lot of others in this program. We bring our own from our company.” Your knit your eyebrows together in confusion. “Then why sign up? If, um, you don’t mind me asking.”

Jaehyun looked up from browsing your portfolio with Mark. “We were looking to take one photo.” He held up his index finger. “We wanted to have a friend that’s from around here to help us find the perfect spot, and photographers always know the best places.” Your eyes widened. A friend? Did he really just say that? “Just one photo?” You decided to ask, the whole prospect of clarifying what Jaehyun meant by ‘friend’ was a little too overwhelming.

The three of them nodded. “We want just one photo for our dorm. This stop is important to us, and we want this to stay away from social media. It’s just going to be for us. And for you, for your project, of course,” Mark explained. “We don’t want someone that is too professional and we don’t want a fansite to take it. It seemed to us that a friend would be the best choice.” He smiled gently at you. “We’ll provide you with a ticket and backstage pass, as well as paying you based on the program’s price for the photo to be touched up and framed.”

You tripped over your words. “Well, I… I don’t think I’m in a position to turn you down, but…” Johnny cocked his head to the side. “But..?”

You gulped and sheepishly avoided eye contact. “I can’t speak Korean,” you mumble, fiddling with your fingers. Mark smiled sweetly at you. “That’s okay. We’ll translate for you. So, what do you think? Would you like to spend a day with us before our show?”

You smiled, deciding to be a bit more daring. They did say, friend. “You’re asking that like there’s even a shred of a chance I’d say no.”

All three of them grin. “Thank you, I was hoping you would say yes,” Mark says. “Your portfolio is stunning.”

Your face goes red and you're barely conscious enough to stand with them as they prepare to leave. Johnny and Jaehyun hug you again, praising your work before taking their leave, but Mark doesn't join them.

“Our manager has your teacher's contact information, but I want to involve the company as little as possible… if it's not too sudden, could I please have your number?” Mark smiles sheepishly, offering his unlocked phone to you, open to a new contact page. It's as if he has no idea of the impact he has on his fans. Sometimes you forget that NCT is made up of normal humans, and the one standing in front of you is a year younger than you are.

“Of course,” you take it gently and add your contact info, taking a quick selfie to add as your little profile picture, all while Mark watches you searchingly. “Here you are,” you hand his phone back, hesitating on saying what you were thinking, “since you want to be friends, feel free to text me.”

Mark takes his phone back with a smile, sending you a quick smiley face to make sure the number was correct. The room is silent for a moment, your face feels as if it's on fire and Mark returns the stare you gave him when you walked in.

“Come on, Mark!” you hear Johnny’s voice from outside the classroom and you both turn toward it. You smile sheepishly.

“I shouldn't keep you, should I?” you ask, voice soft and a little embarrassed.

“No, but I wish I had more time. I'll text you, I promise,” he says, hugging you once more before leaving you alone and speechless.

You wondered if all fan interactions were like the one you just experienced. You were aware the members of NCT were known to be humble and kind, but they were much calmer and affectionate than you expected. The idea that you just saw Mark's smile in person made your own cheesy grin spread across your face as you packed up your portfolio.

After class, you headed back to your dorm, a skip in your step. Once you opened the door and stepped inside, you felt like you could collapse. Fatigue washed over you like a tidal wave, and you knew it was time for an afternoon nap. Rhiannon was still in her lab, so you could grab at least 20 minutes of shut-eye before she would come back and beg for you to make dinner. You set your bag down by the door with your shoes and set a course for your bed. As soon as you were able to slide underneath the covers and nearly drift to sleep, your phone vibrated.

You reach into your pocket, confused. Rhiannon was the only friend that had your number, and if she even thought about her phone in a lab, she would be kicked out. Once you unlock your phone, you finally remembered who else you gave your number to.

Mark: Hey!

You licked your lips as your chest twinged and filled with butterflies. You screamed internally for a few seconds, the moment hitting you a little harder than before. Mark Lee had your cell phone number and he was texting you first.

You: Hello, what’s up?

Mark replied almost immediately, which startled you a little bit. You turned over in your bed to get a little more comfortable.

Mark: We were just finishing up settling into our hotel rooms. I wanted to know how you're doing, are you in class? I hope I'm not interrupting anything

You: No, I got home a little while ago. I was gonna take a nap tbh

Mark: Oh! Sorry, I don't mean to take away sleep from a college student

You smiled a little bit. He was too sweet. As if your nap wasn't going to ruin your sleep schedule.

You: Its fine, if I had a nap I wouldn't be able to sleep tonight anyway

Mark: So you're free then?

Your eyebrows furrowed as you typed your response.

You: Uh yeah, why? Did you all want that picture now?

You put your phone down, a little overwhelmed. If they wanted it now, you wouldn't see them again until the concert, which wasn't until Friday. Perhaps you should have expected they wanted to do this as fast as possible, their Canadian and Chicago stops were planned with vacations in mind considering Johnny and Mark's heritage. When your phone buzzed again, you almost jumped to grab it.

Mark: Well no not yet. I was just wondering if you wanted to get coffee or something. Or tea if you prefer that

Your eyes widened.

You: Really?

Mark: Yeah. I dunno, I want to take the friend thing more serious than the guys. They just wanted to use that word so it was like an unspoken contract that you wouldn't post this everywhere y'know?

Your heart sank a little bit, but you could see how important privacy was. If you were in the same position, you would have done the same.

You: I understand… I'm still kind of a stranger though, are you sure?

Mark: That's why I'm asking. I don't want you to be. So, will you meet me?

You: There's a Tim Hortons on the first floor of M building near where you met me on campus, I can be there in 40 minutes

Mark: See you in 40 minutes then :)

As soon as you read that text, you tossed your comforter to the side and raced into the bathroom. You fix your hair and could barely decide whether to change your outfit or not. He did see you earlier today, would he think you were trying too hard if you changed?

“Keep it together, (Y/N),” you told yourself, patting your cheeks with your hands as you eyed your complexion in the mirror. “He just wants tea and coffee, nothing major.”

Just then, the front door opened. “Are you talking to yourself again?” Rhiannon called from the foyer.

“No,” you called back, clearly lying as you took one more scan of yourself in the mirror before leaving to greet your friend. “You’re back early. How was the lab?”

“Tiring,” she answered. “My bitch lab partner came in even earlier than usual to make sure I didn't have the chance to set up our station again.” She rolled her eyes and dropped her backpack next to yours.

“Yikes,” you reply, watching her wander into the kitchen. “Are you gonna tell your professor that she is trying to sabotage your grade?”

Rhiannon sighed. “I don't know if the following shitstorm would be worth it,” she says, plugging in the electric kettle. “I'm gonna make some tea, you want any?”

You shook your head, even though she probably couldn't see you from the wall separating the kitchen and foyer. “No thanks, I'm going out to Tim's in M building.”

Rhiannon took less than a second to appear in the archway to stare at you. “Why?” She questioned, squinting at you.

“Mark asked me to meet him for coffee.”

“Mark,” she repeated, crossing her arms. “I thought you hated Mark Davids.”

“Not that asshole,” you shot back. “Mark Lee.” You began to look for a pair of cuter shoes as Rhiannon’s eyes widened.

“You got the job?!” She exclaimed, her voice nearly reaching a squeal. "YOU MET MARK LEE? WITHOUT ME?!"

“Yeah,” you smile sheepishly, taken aback by her shouting. you picked out your favourite pair of shoes, red converse high tops. “He just seems like he wants to hang out right now though.”

“Oh my God,” her voice nearly lowered to a whisper. “Mark Lee just asked you out.”

You rolled your eyes. “He didn't ask me out, he just wants to talk,” you explain, pulling on your shoes to tie them.

“I dunno, he could be it,” she says, waltzing back into the kitchen. “You never know!”

You sigh. “See you later!”

“Tell him to get Haechan's number!”

After a 15-minute subway ride and a lot of hurried walking, you hauled open the pristine doors of M building, the newest addition to your college campus. Right before you was a little Tim Hortons with a tiny student’s lounge to accompany it. There was a little bit of a line to the micro cafe since night classes were starting up around now, but the student’s lounge was close to empty.

You took in a deep breath, fully stepping inside and beginning your search for Mark. It doesn’t take long to spot him, he’s sporting yellow hair and a white face mask, accompanied by two red Tim Hortons cups at a table in the corner of the lounge. It takes you a moment to fathom your position - about to meet someone you’ve been crushing on for months through a computer screen for coffee in a lounge at your college. On top of that- he’s already bought you something.

“Hi,” you meekly greet him, approaching the table. Mark looks up from his phone and his eyes immediately crease into the crescents of his beautiful smile.

“Hey, (Y/N)!” He pulls his mask off, “sit down, I, uh, got you some tea. You kind of struck me as that kind of person, so I hope I got it right.”

“Thank you, Mark. You really didn’t have to buy me anything…” You smile nervously, your face feeling hot and your heart beating a mile a minute. Mark seemed a little nervous, just like you. It was a sobering moment, taking the cup he pushed toward you and opening it to take a sip. Your eyes widened. Your tea was exactly the way you always order it, nearly to the grain of sugar.

Mark watches your expression, happy that you seemed to like your tea, “I wanted to treat you. I know how weird this must all seem for you, but for some reason, I feel like I know you.” He runs his hand through his hair, avoiding eye contact for a moment.

You look away from him as well. There's a moment of silence between you, the bustle of students slowly diminishing as the sun sets behind you.

“I, uh, can't really relate to you in that way,” you whisper after you worked up the courage to break the silence. “A lot of your life is on display.”

“You're right,” Mark agreed. “There are a few things I keep to myself, though,” he smiled cheerfully. “But what I mean is hard to explain.”

Curious, you nod toward him, “try me.”

“When I was standing in line, I was trying to figure out what to get you. I wanted to treat you since I asked you to come, and I kind of expected for you to say no since your professor said you had class today and-”

“Mark, it’s fine, stay focused.” you smile faintly at him and wait for him to continue, sipping your tea again.

He blushes and nods sheepishly. “When it was my turn, I got what I wanted and the second I thought about you, I recited medium steeped orange pekoe tea with two cream and one and a half sugar like I had been getting it for you for years.” He stops for a moment, presumably watching your stunned reaction.

Your breathing was feeling a little crooked, and you couldn't quite place what you were feeling. You tried to take in a deep breath, shaking your head when Mark began to look concerned.

“Sorry,” you apologize quickly. “I, uh, kind of know what you're talking about. This is all just a little; I don't know…”

“Overwhelming?” Mark finished, nodding his head. “I can't stop thinking about it.”

You tried to smile. “I guess you gave the bug to me,” you joke. “Want to get some air?”

“I'd like that.”

The two of you walked down a path that led off-campus, talking. It was as if the two of you had forgotten your positions in life; Mark a celebrity with his life on a pedestal and you just a fan that forgot how much you really knew about him.

You were rediscovering his cheerful nature, his loud and hearty laughter that was a whole-body endeavour, learning that he plays the guitar, his love of ice cream and sweet things. His favourite colour was blue, and he loved Christmas so much he already had a growing list of things to buy for his friends as gifts.

The sun was nearly hidden behind the hills of the park you wandered into, admiring the newly blossomed cherry trees. You were showing him a small bed of flowers decorated to look like a Canadian flag when Mark asked the dreaded personal question you had been hoping you would never have to answer again.

“How did your parents find out?” His tone was soft, curious. He didn't sound as invasive as others have been in the past, but the question still made you bite your lip to keep from frowning.

“A gang fight,” you answer, bitterly. “My dad punched my mom in the face so hard that day, she needed to go to the ER. It actually took three months for her to figure out why the print of my dad's fist hadn't faded from her cheek.”

Mark didn't speak for a moment. “Was that too much to ask?”

You looked up at him from the flower bed, smiling faintly. He looked good in the final evening glow. “I don't mind that much, but...”

“I'm sorry,” he said, tentatively placing a hand on the small of your back.

“It's okay,” you start, his sympathy nearly made you melt. The two of you begin walking again, Mark absently running his fingers over cherry petals as you both passed the trees. “I got out of it all pretty quickly. They fought when they were high, and that was almost all the time. Sometimes, I feel scared just thinking about how my life might end up. If any of it is all as real as everyone says it is.”

Mark stares at you, and there is sympathy radiating off of him. He looks like he wants to say something, but he stays quiet.

You hold back a frown and decide to break the silence. “Anyway, how about your parents?”

“A hug,” he answered, nodding, a smile returning to his face. “it's not the most common first touch in the world, but I hope I find mine the same way.”

“That does sound nice,” you agree softly.

“I've heard it's all up to fate and magic,” Mark says, charm in his voice. “I've always wanted to believe in that.”

“I'd like to believe in that. Makes life seem a little more bearable. I’ve just always been so cynical through my childhood, so much so that all of my hope for a fairytale ending faded a long time ago. I never really thought that anything good would come out of it. If the universe really wants me to find someone, I guess I can’t really do anything about it.”

Mark smiles, although you can tell he is hiding a smidge of disappointment. “I suppose that's one way to think about it,” he replies. “I just want to know someone so well that I don't have to think twice about it. Like knowing the exact way to cheer them up when they're sad. Like the perfect cup of tea or their favourite stuffed animal. I guess that takes a little bit of magic.”

You stop in your tracks, thinking about the perfect tea he had given you earlier.

“What's wrong?” Mark stops and turns around when he notices you're not keeping pace.

“Nothing,” you lie with a smile, watching Mark's scepticism through the darkness of night.

“Okay,” he says softly, looking up at the sky. “I guess it's late, huh?”

You join him in looking up. If the city wasn't always so lit up, this spot would be perfect for a shot of the starry night sky between the small canopy of cherry trees. “I guess it is.”

“How far away is your dorm? I can walk you,” he suggests, taking your hand. You're frozen, too stunned by the gesture to pull away.

“You don't have to,”

“But I want to,” Mark grins. “It's the one way I can make sure you get back safely.”

“You're too kind…” you pause for a moment. Mark is staring you down, waiting for you to say yes. “I'm not allowed to say no, am I?”

He shook his head, smiling. “Nope. Come on, let's go.”

Scoffing lightly, you concede and begin walking again. “You can take me to my subway stop and I can tell you which train to take to go back,” you offer, assuming he would need to be back at his hotel before it got too late at night.

“No,” he said quickly. Your eyes widened at his tone and once he noticed your reaction, he lowered his voice. “I just… have these gut feelings. I'd like to escort you right to your dorm,” he clears his throat, “um, if I'm not crossing any lines.”

You feel sympathy for him. Just looking at Mark, you can tell he's worried about you, but you can't quite see the reason. “Okay,” you agree softly.

It's silent for a while as you both walk through the well-lit city. It's not until you pass a food truck on the way to the subway station that either of you says something again.

“You know, you and I walked around that park for hours and we didn't even know how late it was until the last minute,” Mark comments, still holding your hand and pulling back gently to keep you from walking past him.

“Yeah, you're right,” you blush, you had to admit to yourself that you hadn't lost yourself in conversation or such comfortable silence like that even on a date. "We forgot to eat. Are you hungry?”

“Yeah,” Mark admits with a laugh, “and these hot dogs smell good.”

You look up at him. “I'll buy.” You wriggle your hand out of his grasp and run toward the cart before Mark can catch you, readying your wallet.

“Two hot dogs please, one with relish and one plain, please. Also, burn the plain one a little bit, thanks.”

“You're slippery,” Mark says, watching you pay for the food.

“You bought me tea, it's only fair,” you stick your tongue out at him. He sighs and nods at you, only breaking his gaze when the man at the cart hands down the hot dogs a few moments later. “The one with relish is yours. You hate ketchup, right?”

Mark takes his hot dog, eyes wide. “Uh, yeah,” he pauses. “I just haven't really told anyone outside the guys and my family.”

You're halfway through a bite of your ‘dog and you nearly choke on it.

“Hey, hey!” Mark reaches out for your shoulder, hoping that you wouldn't pass out. “Chew and swallow! Sorry, I didn't mean to freak you out.”

You swallow and cough, shaking your head. “Don't worry, I'm fine,” you say. “This is just a weird feeling.”

He nods. “Yeah. But I don't really mind it. Come on, let's walk some more.”

It was totally surreal to you, walking and eating with Mark. He was right, there was this strange feeling washing over you every time you looked at him, different than watching him on a Vlive broadcast or music video. Like you knew something about him that nobody else did, and it made you feel both good and scared out of your mind. It felt invasive.

One subway stop and a little bit of a walk later, you both arrive at your dorm building. “Here we are,” you announce. “My roommate is probably going to kill me for coming back so late.”

“Should I go in with you? To protect you?” Mark is smiling, but you can tell there is a hint of seriousness.

“If you want. She will probably ask for something from you, though.” You open the main doors and enter in your code, leading Mark in with you.

“Like what?” Mark furrows his eyebrows. “She's not weird, right?”

You nearly laugh out loud. “She's weird all right, just not the kind you're thinking of. She wanted me to get Haechan's number from you, but I got so absorbed in talking with you that I forgot to ask.”

“Oh,” Mark is following you close behind, letting out a tiny sigh of relief. “That doesn't sound too bad, but his reaction should be interesting.”

You shrugged. “You don't have to do it. Anyway-” You're cut off as the door to your apartment opens, Rhiannon stepping out and pressing her hands to her hips.

“Look who's finally back,” she states, and you can immediately tell she is angry. “It's almost 1 AM!”

“Shh! I'm sorry, okay? I lost track of time! I was with-”

“Mark,” she says, her voice less harsh when she notices Mark is standing behind you, sheepishly smiling and waving at her. “At least you had the initiative to walk her home.”

You squint at your best friend. It's clear she is trying not to freak out in front of him. “Are you gonna let me inside?”

“Not yet,” she states. “Mark, I love you,” she says quickly, grabbing your arm and pulling you to her. You're smiling awkwardly at him, shrugging and mouthing ‘sorry’.

Mark smiles awkwardly and nods at you. “Uh, thanks,”

“Thank you for bringing (Y/N) back. Has she asked you about Haechan?”

“Yeah. I'll text you guys his number when I get back- which I probably should…”

You step forward. “Do you know how to get back?”

Mark shakes his head. “I think it's on Yorkville, I might have to use my GPS.”

You shake your head. “It's easy to get there. Head to the station you and I were just on, take the southbound for 5 stops. Once you get above ground, you should be on that street.”

Mark smiled at you. “Thank you.” He approached you to give you a hug, which felt warmer than the other two from earlier in the day. When he turned to leave, a pang hit your chest.

“Mark,” you called. Instantly he turned around, his expression curious. “Let me know when you get back safely.”

He nodded, smiling warmly. “I will, I promise.”

You watch him leave, a little shocked that spending the entire night with him didn't feel like it at all. You're only broken out of your thoughts when Rhiannon drags you inside your apartment and shuts the door.

“You scared me half to death, you bitch! At least text me when you're gonna stay out this late! I thought you were just having tea! I was this close to calling the cops!” She presses her index finger to her thumb and shoves her hand towards your face as you stand before her, a little humiliated.

“Your fingers are touching,” you say quietly, screwing your eyes shut.

“Exactly!” she exclaims. “I was one button away from speaking to 911! You're goddamn lucky I heard you and Mark coming down the hall!” You open your eyes when she gently touches your arm. “Don't scare me like that.”

“I'm sorry. I promise I'll keep in touch next time.” You smile awkwardly at her. “I was just so caught up in talking and trying to make sure it wasn't a dream.”

Rhiannon nodded and returned your smile. “I know. You should go to bed, you have class in the morning.”

“Yeah. Thanks for worrying about me.”

Once you were in fresh pyjamas, you had some music on in the bathroom while you dry your hair with a towel. A quick shower before bed always was relaxing enough for you to fall asleep quickly. Snuggling up in bed after that long day was especially nice, gathering up your teddy bear to hug close. You're just about to drift off when your phone buzzes.

Mark: Hey, I'm back safe. Thank you for the directions

You: You're welcome

I had a really nice time tonight

Mark: Me too

You have class tomorrow right

You: Yeah, it's a short day though, just a small photoshop lab

Mark: Do you want to hang out again when you're done? By the way, the number I promised - __________

You: I'd like that. Thanks, I'll forward it to her

Haechan was cool with it right

Mark: Me too :) yeah he was cool with it, he owed me a favour anyway

Sleep well ok?

You: I will, you too?

Mark: Yeah I promise

Goodnight (Y/N)

You: Goodnight :)

After putting your phone down on your nightstand, you peacefully drifted off with a smile on your face.

#mark lee #mark lee x reader #mark x reader #nct #nct127 #nct scenarios #nct imagines #reader insert #fanfiction #nctu #kpop fanfictions #kpop scenarios #kpop imagines

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sabraeal · 4 years ago

Text

Traffic Lights Are Burnin’

[Read on AO3]

Written in honor of @nebluus‘s birthday! She asked for some WFB, and of the options I gave she chose the next part of our Six Flags saga...only the beginning scene of that chapter ended up ballooning out into this so...it ended up being less Amusement Park Shenanigans and more Wholesome Boys Will Be Boys Content. I’M SURE MADI WILL BE JUST FINE WITH THAT TOO 😂

“Are you making an omelette?”

English is not, functionally, Mitsuhide’s first language. Not that he thinks of it like that-- first or second, third or fourth; there’s no ranking in his life, no moment in which one language followed another. There was English with Mama and quebecois with Papa; a plan quickly scuttled by Mitsuhide being the fifth Lowen sibling. Refusing to be pigeonholed into a single language no matter how many times Mama repeated consistency is key, his brothers mostly spoke a tossed salad of both and assumed he’d understand the lettuce.

Coupled with the fact that all his cousins lived in Toronto anyway, Mitsuhide had hardly begun talking himself before it became outside quebecois and inside English. Unless they left the province, in which case it was a free-for-all that left his few monolingual aunts and uncles dizzy.

Which is to say, Mitsuhide only becomes aware of the precise inner ranking of his languages in moments like this, where gut immediately kicks out a dry ‘j’essaie.’ The translation is vetoed on the grounds that although in quebecois he’s never met a word he couldn’t steep in sarcasm and smuggle in a sacre, he prefers to keep his English so clean it squeaks.

You’ve got it all backwards, Kihal had told him as he sweltered under the San Juan sun, English is fake, you can be as much of an asshole as you want it in, it doesn’t count.

It’s true, there’s something that’s more real to him in French, that’s more real about him, but, well-- there were far fewer cousins to tattle on his potty mouth this way. And now that he knows Obi...

Well, if Kiki ever made good on her threats to teach him any of his “church swears,” he’d probably never sleep easy again. So instead, he scrolls through his mental rolodex of possible appropriate replies before settling on, “Would you like one?”

Zen glances up from his array of pamphlets, glossy paper glaring beneath the overhead lamp. It matches the way Zen is looking at him. “We don’t have time for that.”

Mitsuhide frowns, giving his eggs one last vigorous whisk before pouring them into the pan. “There’s always time for breakfast. It’s the most important meal of the day.”

He glances over just in time to see Zen’s grimace. “Shirayuki really could be your sister.”

There’s really no reason he has to look so horrified by the idea. His brothers may all be broad shouldered, barrel-chested giants, but plenty of his cousins made pocket money in high school through catalogue modeling. And they’re all very nice girls.

He doesn’t mention it. A conversation never ends well if you have to whip out photos of female relatives to prove your point. “Would you like one?” he repeats instead, a safer tactic overall.

Zen’s nose wrinkles beneath some dubiously drawn eyebrows. “Are you putting spinach in there?”

“Kale,” he agrees. “And chicken.”

“In a breakfast omelette?” He clucks his tongue, just the way the Wisteria’s chef would when he attempted to cook at the estate. Quel dommage, he would say, sighing over the cutting board, why would you do that to perfectly good eggs? “Why would you do that?”

Because these muscles don’t come cheap; Mitsuhide chokes down a truly staggering amount of chicken in order to keep them. Roasted, of course-- boiled is technically better for protein, but even he has to draw the line somewhere. The eggs have less, but they are calorie efficient; he’d eat more of them if he could stomach the slimy, snake-like sensation of swallowing them down hard boiled.

But explaining his diet regime usually ended with glazed eyes, so he settles for, “I could always put something different in yours. There’s ham.”

Fancy ham, Obi calls it. It’s just from the deli counter, fresh sliced from whatever quality cut’s on sale, but considering how the first time Obi saw a charcuterie board, he shouted, Oh, Lunchables!--

Well, Mitsuhide can accept that maybe they have different benchmarks for fancy. And somehow just the simple act of calling it that does make it taste better. Or at least more satisfying when it’s shoved between a Hawaiian roll and deli cheese.

There’s a soft shuffle by the kitchen door, and a wild thatch of bristle peeps around the frame. Mitsuhide shakes his head with huff. That’s a new one-- just think the devil’s name and he appears.

Obi lopes into the kitchen, all long limbs and smooth movements, blurring right into the background without any effort at all. He’d gotten Mitsuhide a few times when he’d first moved in, popping up wherever it was sure to be the most inconvenient, grinning like a cat with feathers in its teeth. But once you knew the trick of it, well-- it’s no effort to keep the kid in his sights.

Which is why he has a full, uninterrupted view when Obi slips right up to Zen’s elbow, and asks, “Whatcha doing, chief?”

“Wah!” Pamphlets fly up, a glittering flock of wings swooping beneath the lamp. Zen slaps them down before they can skitter off the table’s edge. “Obi! Make noise for fuck’s sake!”

“Sorry,” he sing-songs, not a sincere note in it. Two long fingers pluck a pamphlet off the wood, twisting it between them. “What’s all this? They starting to put theme parks on exams now?”

“No.” Zen scowls, snatching it out of his hands. “I’m just making today’s itinerary.”

Mitsuhide slides his omelette onto a plate, turning just in time to catch the glance Obi sends him. It somehow says is he fucking with me while also implying I’ll hold him down if we gotta send him to the doctor. “An itinerary?”

He leans a hip against the island, fishing out a fork. What was it Obi always said? Dinner tastes better with a show. Time to find out whether it extends to breakfast too.

Zen fixes Obi with a look that could have had trenches with all its affront. “You can’t go to an amusement park without a plan. How else do you get on all the coasters?”

“It’s only Six Flags New England.” A week ago, the name alone made Obi flee like a cat from a bath, but now every syllable drips with derision, like a sommelier reviewing boxed wine. “They’ve got what? Superman?”

Mitsuhide shoves a corner of his omelette in his mouth. It’s not as good as a sausage, mushroom, and cheese, but, well, it’ll do. “Bizarro.”

“Bizarro.” Obi scoffs. “See? Nothing. Besides, I thought you were the kind of guy to spring for fast passes, boss.”

Zen’s always been sensitive; the sort of kid who tended to pop off when a situation came to a simmer instead of trying to turn down the heat. When Izana had been sitting president, he’s spent half his tenure fielding tense calls, sometimes even climbing into a towncar at a moment’s notice to be taken back east. The school, he’s always say, lifting a shoulder, my brother is proving to be a challenge, and my mother is...unreachable.

He’d thought this Zen kid must be like the ones he knew on the ice, punching first and asking questions later, complaining about being put in the box. All temper and no temperance, Mama used to say when she drove him home, can’t talk when you got plastic between your teeth.

But then he’d met him, undersized and stick-limbed, living in that house with people paid to be invisible. A kid with too much on his shoulders and too many eyes to watch him stumble under it. He’s come a long way from there.

So when Zen squirms in his chair, red already starting to lick up his neck, Mitsuhide doesn’t enjoy it. On the contrary, Zen’s discomfort is his discomfort, a failure of him to keep the watchful eye on him that Izana asked him to.

But it also doesn’t stop him from adding, “Shirayuki believes that waiting in line is part of the amusement park experience.”

Obi looks as though he’s just been told it’s his birthday and Christmas, all rolled into one. “Of course she does.” His mouth sharpens to a wicked grin. “So you’ll be lowering yourself to the peasant’s lines today, huh, Your Highness?”

“Don’t call me that,” he grumbles, swatting him away. “No one’s being lowered anywhere. We won’t be running into any of them so long as we get there early and hit the coasters in the right order.”

Obi coughs. Or at least, makes it sound like he is. “Uh-huh.”

“Where is Shirayuki anyway?” Zen glares at the empty doorway, brows heaving like thunderclouds over the bridge of his nose. “I thought you said you’d get her.”

“I did.” Obi twitches his shoulders; as good as a shrug, from him. “She’s getting ready.”

“It’s been fifteen minutes.” Zen’s glare changes target to him, thunder rolling in the tone of his voice. “Shirayuki doesn’t take this long to get ready.”

When Mitsuhide glances up, chewing around another stab of egg, kale, and chicken, Obi’s eyebrows are already there to meet him. His head tilts, just the barest degree; this is your show, big guy.

Mitsuhide coughs, trying to clear his throat of leaf bits. “Girls,” he starts, the ground sinking beneath him with each word, “like to look nice. Especially when they are on, uh, dates.”

“This isn’t a date,” Zen informs him, more than a little put out. “Obi’s going.”

The sound Obi makes can only be termed as distressed. “I didn’t want to.”

For exactly this reason, is what he doesn’t say. Doesn’t even show it on his face, though it has to be lurking beneath it, considering how he--

Well, considering nothing Mitsuhide knows for sure. But certainly a few things he reasonably suspects.

“Chief.” Obi flips the chair next to him, straddling it. “You know, I really thought it couldn’t be true. I really wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt. But to hear you now--” he leans in, one narrow brow raising the same time his voice drops-- “you really do chicken out when it comes to getting chummy with Doc.”

Mitsuhide nearly chokes on his chicken.

Zen’s red all over, like someone pulled him from a boiling pot and put him on a plate. “You don’t know that.”

“Sure I do,” he says, so easy. “Doc told me.”

“She said that?” His skin’s so flushed Mitsuhide’s half afraid he’ll pass out, but instead he just collapses against the ladderback, head buried in his arms. “Shirayuki?”

“Pretty much.” Obi sighs, hands braced on the table. “I mean, is it so hard to say she looks nice when she dresses up? Or that you like her hair, or--” he stumbles, shaking his head-- “no, not the hair. Too loaded. But you know, one of her floaty little numbers. Her freckles. Something.”

“I have!”

Obi lifts a dubiously narrow eyebrow. “Like when?”

“Ah...” Whatever the answer is, it’s not helping his blood flow problem. Mitsuhide nearly opens his mouth, searching for a good way to make himself a target-- “The Big E.”

Well, there goes that plan.

Obi’s inquisition crumples into confusion. “What? When did you--”

Every word ekes into the air with the utmost resistance. “When she was wearing your hoodie.”

“When she was wearing my--?” Gold eyes round to coins. “Chief.”

For a solid minute, that’s the only reaction-- wide-eyed disbelief, earned from two sides. But Obi coughs, mouth twitching, and it’s a snort, a smirk, and--

And then Obi launches himself away from the table, both hands still gripping the edge as he falls apart utterly. The chair’s back keeps him from putting his head between his knees, but spiritually he’s there, tears tracking down his cheeks as his laughs wheeze out of him

One hand finally slaps the table, like he’s asking for a time out. Zen frowns down at him, red finally fading to a painful pink. “It’s not that funny.”

“It is,” Obi squeaks, and Mitsuhide has to shove his last bite of omelette into his mouth to stifle his own noises. It’s no good-- Zen whips around and gives him the same glare he’s been saving for Obi.

“If you don’t cut it out,” he says loftily, “I’m going to let a freshman stay in your room.”

Well, that brings Obi up. “Fine,” he coughs, voice still ragged from laughing. “But still. My hoodie.”

“The sleeves hung over her hands! It was cute.” Zen huffs, folding his arms over his chest. “Fine, if I’m so bad, why don’t you two show me how it’s done?”

There’s a pause, long and loaded; enough that Mitsuhide glances up from his plate to see just what tomfoolery he should brace himself to break up--

Only to find Zen staring at him.

Intellectually, Mitsuhide is aware that Zen is a Wisteria. He met him through Izana, after all; he’s been over to the manor, he’s even met their prodigal mother on one of her rare stopovers between vacations. But when he thinks of the name, it’s Izana who springs to mind, the gears churning behind his eyes.

It’s not often that Zen reminds him of his brother; Cookie’s always said that Izana takes after their mother with that long and lean model build, while Zen has always been Kain’s child. But now, now--

He sees it, and it sends a shiver right through him.

With a quirk of his lips, Zen says, so like Izana that if he closed his eyes he wouldn’t know any different, “You first, Mitsuhide.”

Obi’s mouth curves into a leer. “Yeah, Big Guy. Show us the skills that got you Ms Kiki.”

This probably isn’t the time to tell them that it wasn’t him who got her; Mitsuhide hadn’t been trying to do anything more than be the friend she needed, to be a person she could confide in, could trust. People like that were thin on the ground for girls like her; heiress tended to make men see dollar signs instead of personality. But Kiki--

Well, she had other ideas. Ones he’d only cottoned onto when she climbed on top of him and shoved him against the couch cushions with her mouth.

“D-Don’t look at me!” he manages, trying to busy himself with anything. But there’s only a plate to be put in the sink, and a pan to be wiped. Not enough to fake a decent amount of responsibility. “I’m not--”

“Aw, c’mon, Big Man. Don’t leave us hanging.” Obi leans back, grin so wide it practically splits his face. “Lemme paint the scene. You’re single, Doc is adorable, and she’s waiting there--” he gestures to Zen, who flutters his eyelashes in precisely the way Shirayuki doesn’t-- “for you to make your move. Go!”

He could point out he’s not single, and that he doesn’t have any plans to change that anytime soon-- but that only ends in one way: a two-pronged mockery with additional ridicule provided by the impending arrival of his better half. He could also point out that of all the people in this room, he’s the only one who hasn’t wanted to date Shirayuki, but-- well, the problems with that one were obvious.

Instead, Mitsuhide takes in a deep breath, learns on the counter, and says, “Why, Shirayuki! You’re looking beautiful this morning. Those shorts really flatter your legs.”

There is a long silence, and then to everlasting embarrassment, they burst out laughing.

“Her shorts?” Zen’s hand is pressed to his chest, like he needs support to keep upright. “That’s all you can think of? Her shorts?”

“Well, Obi said not to do her hair,” he protests. “Complimenting her dress seemed like low hanging fruit. I was trying to be unique.”

Obi doesn’t even bother to remain horizontal, sprawling himself over the long forgotten maps. “So you went for her legs?”

“There’s nothing wrong with legs!”

“Oh, no, of course not,” Zen sputters out in an effort to keep his mouth straight. “Definitely a very neutral place to comment on.”

“Definitely not known for being attached to things like asses.” Obi’s mouth twitches, as much a sign for danger as thunder rolling in the distance. “Or puss--”

“I was not trying to comment on that.” He’d felt bad for Zen earlier, but the sentiment doesn’t seem mutual. “It’s not typical, sure, but Kiki never seems to mind when I compliment--”

“Kiki?” Zen squawks. “Kiki?”

“Well, I think we’re all learning a little too much about Big Guy today,” Obi wheezes. “Mainly that it’s Ms Kiki that chased him, and not the other way around.”

“Yeah.” Zen shakes his head, long and slow and solemn, like a doctor about to give a terminal diagnosis. “No game at all.”

Mitsuhide’s not a competitive man. Sure, he was forward on the ice, the kind of player that got sent to the box before the end of the first half and slid right into the captain spot when it was vacant. Aggression is part of the game, competition laced in every turn of his skate and lift of his stick, but that’s a different situation, a different language--

But it’s that part of him that surges beneath his skin right now, that makes him want to saunter over and put both hands on that rickety, painted wood until it creaks. That makes him want to take a full minute to bend down, showing off every centimeter of his one-ninety plus, and ask real low if either of them has made a girl beg on their cock lately, but--

He puts it in its place. That sort of talk always sounded better en français anyway.

Zen waves his hand, slipping his pamphlets out from under Obi. “Anyway, enough messing around. Are you still making omelettes, Mitsuhide?”

“Ohh, omelettes?” Obi spins to him with wide eyes. “Can I get mine with fancy ham?”

Mitsuhide blinks. “Wait, aren’t you going to do your take?”

“Nah.”

Zen shrugs. “Joke’s over.”

“So I just did that for no reason--?”

“I wouldn’t say no reason,” Zen wheedles. “It was very educational.”

Obi grins. “Mainly about how Big Guy likes legs--”

“Oh,” drawls a voice that makes his body go cold and hot at the same time. When he turns, it’s Kiki leaning against the jamb, a single elegant brow raised, excusing amusement and menace in equal measure. “Am I to take it that the show is over?”

“K-kiki,” he stammers. “How long--?”

“Hm.” She saunters over to the counter, slipping onto a stool with a casual grace that still leaves his mouth dry. “Long enough. I have to admit, I was looking forward to seeing a display of Obi’s fabled moves.”

“Ms Kiki,” Obi simpers, pressing a hand to his chest. “I’d be happy to give you a personal demonstration anytime.”

Both her brows raise. “Did I say I was desperate?”

He’s saved from Obi’s answer by Shirayuki padding into the kitchen, flushed and breathless. “Oh, you were right Kiki! Everyone is already ready. Sorry to make you wait.”

There’s a hesitation in the air, and Mitsuhide can’t figure it out, not until he sees-- she’s wearing shorts.

Shirayuki blinks. “Is something wrong?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Kiki hums, sending him a gaze so wicked it should be illegal outside the bedroom. “Do you have anything to say to her, Mitsuhide?”

“No!” It comes out a little too harsh, a little too loud. “I mean, I, uh...like your sandals!”

“Sandals,” Obi snickers, a sound that’s only covered by Zen’s hushed, “Shut up.”

“Oh!” She blinks down. “Thank you. I got them at Payless. I, um, don’t think they make them in your size.”

“No,” he manages mildly. “I don’t imagine they would.”

“You do look real cute, Doc,” Obi chimes in, slinking out of his seat to circle around her. “Did you dress up for today?”

Zen makes a noise, somewhere between a choke and a gasp, but even with the pink brushing her cheeks, Shirayuki’s too used to his antics to do much more than sigh.

“Of course I did, Obi.” Her fists perch high on her hips, cocked as she talks to him. “It’s the last time we’re all going to be going out together, isn’t it? What could be more special than that?”

Mitsuhide may not be a competitive man, and especially isn’t a malicious one, but when Obi’s jaw goes slack, the tips of his ears darkening just the slightest bit, well-- he does indulge in the slightest bit of schadenfreude.

“Well,” Zen says, a little sharp. “Let’s get going.”

“Aw!” Obi whips around. “What about fancy ham?”

“I don’t think you need--”

“Oh, I haven’t had breakfast either!” Shirayuki adds, eyes wide. “Do we have time?”

Zen hesitates, and then with a sigh, relents. “We’ll stop at Dunkies.”

#obiyuki #akagami no shirayukihime #snow white with the red hair #The Wide Florida Bay #modern au #my fic #ans #mitsuhide gets so few POVs in the fic I can't help but let them get away from me okay #he's a gift #the actual six flags chapters are gonna have rotating POV #and it was just supposed to START with him #but then i was like WHAT IF I INCLUDED THE SCENE FROM BEFORE THE CANON DATE #and now we are here

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lastwagontrainhopper · 3 years ago

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Thanks @musing-and-music and @klainelynch for the tags!

How many works do you have on AO3? 16 technically, but a bunch of them are french translation. In reality, 10 (almost all one-shots)

What's your total AO3 word count? 62817 words. Which is, I learned today, the equivalent to an 200-page book!

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

The weight of the crown: My first fic outside of Royai Week, some angsty action. I like it a lot, but I never understood why this one in particular blew up (it has twice the amount of views as my second most popular??)

Watch our back: : again, Royai angsty action. I’m really proud of that one!

A guiding hand: a calmer, more contemplative peace about blind Roy (of course Royai).

The ties of our past: post-canon ball Royai fic. I love this one so much - I don’t think it’s my best fic, but I love the part of their relationship I got to explore there

Soft sorrow: Soft emotional hurt-comfort, Royai. I remember writing this one in one evening, scrambling to get it in time for the end of Royai Week 2020!

Do you reply to comments, why or why not? Of course! Not as fast as I would like (sometimes I procrastinate on it), but I absolutely love reading comments.

What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending? All my fics have angst in it, but it would probably be the first chapter of Behind every great man. I usually try to stay away from melodrama, but this one was very self-indulgent and I went all in!

What's the fic you've written with the happiest ending? I’m a sucker for bittersweet, and I usually end my fics with the sweet part...but I think it would be The tapestry of their skin

Do you write crossovers? Nope. No crossover, no AU. I guess I’m very conservative in what I write, but that’s also what I read! Canon-compliant is one of my favorite tag for a reason :P

Have you ever received hate on a fic? No hate toward me, but someone commented on “Behind every great man” that they really hate the trope I used. But they also seemed engaged in the story soooo I’m still not sure if they enjoyed the fic or not

Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Wish I could, but no. I’ll probably try it at one point!

Have you ever had a fic stolen? I don’t have enough clout for that haha

Have you ever had a fic translated? I write all my fics in french (or actually in a weird mix of french and english) and I then translate them into proper english. So technically yes.

Have you ever co-written a fic before? No

What’s your all-time favourite ship? I love one (1) trope, which is the bodyguard-to-lovers (or more broadly, comrades-to-lovers). So, in order of preference: Royai, CorvoJess, Rangshi, Levihan.

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will? I don’t really have WIP...usually when I start a fic, I finish it before moving on. Except, apparently, for my two chapters fic “Behind every great man” which is still waiting for its second part, 2 months later :( But I WILL finish it!

What are your writing strengths? Hard to say for myself, but according from the comments I get: my action scenes, vivid description, characterization. I’ll take it!

What are your writing weaknesses? Considering I have failed to update my only every multi-chapter fic.....perseverance! And also, “show, don’t tell”: I have a tendency to just explain my headcanons instead of organically showing them (its particularly obvious in my first fics, like The Tapestry of their skin)

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic? Since I’ve ever only written for Royai, a fic which doesn’t really have a language dynamic, not many thoughts. But as someone who lives a hyper-bilingual lifestyle, I would love to play with that one day.

What was the first fandom you wrote for? Hunger Games, in 2012! I started a fic on Fanfictions.fr (!!) about a new edition of the HG, with all OCs. The sheer ambition of that project (that was dropped after 3 chapter) still amazes me.

What’s your favourite fic you’ve written? I think Watch our back is my best fic, but The ties of our past is my favorite.

Tagging @nightofnyx8 @regardingroyai @royriza or whoever wants to do it. It was a fun exercise to do!

#fanfic #tag game #ao3 #writing

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thefinalcinderella · 4 years ago

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Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru Chapter 3 - Practice Begins (Part 5)

This chapter took a lifetime lol

List of translations here

Previous | Next

Students who were earnestly tackling long-distance ran at least six-hundred kilometers in a month. When it was time for the final stretch, it was common for some to run more than a thousand kilometers a month. Kakeru did long training runs, aiming for that level. He wished the residents of Chikusei-sou success, but that didn’t mean he intended to match his own training to the level of a newly-formed team.

“Kakeru, you ran a little too much.”

Kiyose, who was checking the training diaries, told him that after the main training. It was when everyone was working on leisurely cooling down while changing clothes and stretching on the grass of the field.

For the first two weeks, everyone struggled to make it through the regimen, in dire straits with muscle pain, blood blisters and awful foot blisters. However, the members had potential from the beginning. Now, it seemed that their bodies were adjusting little by little: running was becoming a bit more fun, and they had managed to assimilate the regimen written on the training table.

Inwardly, Kakeru was surprised at the high adaptability of the residents, but it was ultimately just beginner’s training. He was pursuing running on a whole different level. Unless someone stopped him, he tended to run for as long and as far as he liked.

“Even at your age, your body isn’t fully matured yet, so you can’t push yourself too hard. What will you do if you overwork your body now and injure it?”

Lately, Kakeru’s body felt very light. He felt that the more he ran, the stronger he got, and the more his speed improved. That was why in actuality, Kiyose’s warning didn’t hit home for him. Even so, he obediently answered, “Yes.”

“On the other hand, Prince is running too little.”

In Prince’s training diary, the word “treadmill” was written once every two days instead of “evening jog”.

“I thought that honesty was one of your best points but…this is actually just ‘I skipped jogging and read manga’, right?”

Even if Kiyose invited Prince to jog with him in the evening, Prince had built a barricade out of manga and stubbornly refused to open the door to his room.

Pursued by Kiyose, Prince desperately explained himself. “That’s true, but I really do read manga while using the treadmill. Lately, I feel like I’ve been gaining some muscle on my legs.”

“Let me see.”

Kiyose touched Prince’s calves to confirm. Seeing that, Yuki warned him, “Haiji, you should really stop that leg-touching habit of yours soon.”

Kiyose got up with a “hmm”.

“It’s true that you’ve made some progress in morning jogging and main practice. But working out on a treadmill while reading manga isn’t a good idea; it’ll ruin your form and it won’t help you develop the sensation of running on a road. I hope that you’ll join the evening jogs every day as well.”

Before Kiyose’s quiet, forceful power, Prince had no choice but to swear, “I will join.” As for Kakeru, he was relieved: he wanted Prince to run outside as much as possible. The treadmill was installed in his room, which was already bearing a lot of weight, and every time Prince trained there, Kakeru’s ceiling creaked like it was going to burst open.

“Unlike our honest Prince, there’s a king who is submitting a diary that’s filled with lies and embellishments.”

At Kiyose’s words, everyone looked at King and laughed. “You found out?” King asked, picking at the dirt with the toe of his shoe like he was embarrassed. “It’s because I can’t run at all and my times aren’t getting any better. I thought that was bad, so I showed off a little in my report.”

“It’s still only two weeks since you started training. Results won’t show that quickly,” Kiyose told King gently. “To become the quiz king, you need to steadily build up your knowledge and skills to hit the buzzer fast, right? It’s the same with track; cheap tricks won’t work. The physical strength and skills are acquired through daily training. Then, the courage to look at your true ability straight on is what will save you in the end in the actual event. I know that you’ve been training seriously, so you can just write down the truth.”

King nodded. “I’ll do that.”

“There’s no particular problems with anyone else so far. But, Nico-chan-senpai.”

“Yeah?” Nico-chan, called by Kiyose, stopped fixing his shoelaces and looked up.

“You haven’t been eating a lot lately.”

“That’s not true.”

“Don’t lie. Who do you think is making your food?”

It was Kiyose. Nothing could be hidden from the master of Chikusei-sou, who not only made the training plans but also the residents’ food.

Nico-chan explained himself while scratching his cheek. “Look, I’m stocky, you know? I need to lose some weight.”

“There’s no need for that,” Kiyose cut him off flatly. “You work your body during training, so you’ll lose weight even if you continue to eat the way you have until now. An unreasonable diet can cause your body to break down, so please eat a balanced and proper diet.”

“Got it. But if I can’t tighten up my body well in training, then I’ll go on a diet.”

“I’ve calculated that you should be able to tighten up over the summer for sure,” Kiyose conceded. “If it looks like it’s not working out, then we’ll think about it then. Don’t do anything reckless on your own.”

“Is it advantageous to be lighter?” Shindou, who was listening to the conversation, asked, tilting his head. “Won’t you have less energy if you lose weight?”

The theorist Yuki answered his question.

“Of course, unreasonable diets are banned. You’ll get anemia, and if you have that, it’ll be dangerous for your heart since that’ll put a burden on it. But fundamentally, you should tighten up your body—whittle away the extra fat and improve your cardiopulmonary functions. Even racing cars have their bodies as light as possible to make their engines more powerful. It’s the same as that.”

“I see.” Shindou withdrew in understanding.

“It’s just as Yuki said.” Kiyose looked over everyone. “Just like racing cars, where the body’s balance is confirmed and the engine’s performance is enhanced through repeatedly doing test drives, a runner also builds up their body by running every day. The backlash will be big if you seek a sudden change, so I want you all to be careful.”

Icing your muscles immediately if they seem to be staying hot after training, even just a little bit. Never missing stretches and massages. Taking supplements for iron and other nutrients which people tend to lack.

After teaching them the various ways of preventing injuries and maintaining their health, Kiyose said, “Now, you’re all dismissed.”

On the way back to Chikusei-sou, Kakeru ended up running next to Nico-chan by chance. Nico-chan was worried about his weight and currently abstaining from smoking, and he didn’t seem to be able to relieve his stress well. He looked somewhat somber.

At times like these, one should provide a fun and lighthearted topic of conversation. However, Kakeru tried thinking of all sorts of things, but couldn’t come up with anything.

“Kakeru, what’s for dinner today?”

In the end, Nico-chan was the one who started talking. I really am no good at anything other than running. Kakeru was dejected indeed.

“It’s probably curry. Haiji-san asked me to go to the shopping district to buy curry powder before the main practice.”

Something flickered at the back of Kakeru’s mind. That’s right, the shopping district. Didn’t Musa invite me to go and see his evening jog? Maybe it could be a diversion for Nico-chan.

“Nico-chan-senpai, would you like to run with me tonight?”

“Why are you talking like you’re picking me up all of a sudden?”

Yuki, who was a bit ahead of them, turned back. “Where are you taking me, darling?” he teasingly cut into the conversation with an expressionless face, as though he was wearing an iron mask.

“The shopping district,” Kakeru answered seriously. The three of them were the members who jogged on their own. It was perfect, so they decided to take a look at the “interesting thing” happening to the group jogging together.

As expected, dinner was curry. Kiyose’s personality of not cutting corners was demonstrated in his cooking as well. Before the main training, he boiled the onions until they were soft and tender, and adjusted the taste by uniquely blending the several commercially available curry powders that Kakeru bought.

But no one noticed the depth of the flavor of the curry sauce; everyone seemed more joyful at the fact that the curry contained a lot of boneless pork ribs. Even the colorfully arranged salads were devoured in an instant without a single chance to be visually appreciated.

“It wasn’t worth making this.” Kiyose, with an expression that was halfway between resentment and sadness, put the empty plates in the sink.

Nico-chan, who seemed to have decided to eat properly, said, “I’ll just have a little more.” He stood before the rice cooker. “More than taste or anything else, just let these guys eat meat.”

The kitchen didn’t fit a table for everyone to eat at. When the dining table was filled, the people who came to eat later would get out a small tea table and sit in the hallway in front of the kitchen.

Shindou and Musa arrived when Kakeru was still eating his curry. The dining table was completely filled, and though the twins were nearing dessert, they didn’t attempt to clear their seats. They were currently in a fierce argument over whether to cover strawberries in condensed milk or milk and sugar.

Kakeru, who was mindful of hierarchical relationships no matter what, held his spoon in his mouth and picked up his curry-filled plate, about to give up his seat at the table. Shindou hurriedly stopped him. “It’s fine, Kakeru.”

“Senpai-kouhai relationships do not matter in Aotake,” Musa said. “That is why it is so comfortable, right?”

“Yes.”

Kakeru sat back down at the table and ate the rest of his curry. For him, who had spent his three years of high school in his track and field club’s dorm, the fact that the upperclassmen ate in the hallway and the underclassmen ate at the table was unbelievable.

From his experience, as an underclassman he had to attend to his seniors’ personal needs, such as washing their shoes and doing their laundry. And of course his turn for the bath was near the end. That was the extent of it, and he didn’t really mind it as long as he could devote himself to practice without his seniors getting jealous of him.

Conversely, when he became an upperclassman, Kakeru didn’t want to let his underclassmen wash his shoes; they were important objects that were required for running. How his former senpai could so easily leave their shoes in someone else’s hands, he had no idea. His teammates in the same grade as him gossiped about him behind his back, saying things like “He’s messing up the order of things” and “Don’t try to look cool”. Kakeru ignored it all. No one could catch up to his speed, and if he could run without reservations when he became an upperclassman, then he was satisfied with just that. He thought he would let them say whatever they wanted.

Within the club, Kakeru had come to be kept at a distance, treated as an aloof and solitary existence. To put it another way, he was somewhat isolated.

But in Chikusei-sou, it was easy to breathe. Nobody cared about the difference between the years of their birth. They said what they wanted to say to each other. Even now, Nico-chan had just put an end to the twins’ fight. It was done forcefully by throwing both condensed milk and milk and sugar into the two’s strawberry bowls.

“You’re awful, Nico-chan-senpai! I wanted to eat it with milk and sugar!”

“I put it in for you, didn’t I.”

“I definitely prefer condensed milk.”

“I said I put it in, didn’t I.”

Leaving the exchange between the twins—who were far from reaching an agreement—and Nico-chan aside, Kakeru helped Kiyose in cleaning up. They stood next to each other at the sink, washing the dishes.

“Haiji-san, what time do you run near the shopping district?”

“Around eight. Why?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Musa, who had come to put his plate away, winked at Kakeru.

Kakeru, Nico-chan, and Yuki went to the children’s playground at the entrance to the shopping district. Running in circles between the sandbox, swings, and slide was monotonous, but there was no other way to keep an eye on the shopping district while jogging.

They ran around thirty laps beneath the dim outside lights in the park, and just when they were feeling pretty dizzy, Kiyose and the others from Chikusei-sou appeared. They turned the corner and entered the large shopping district that led to the station. Their running abilities varied, so the procession was long and stretched out, but Prince somehow managed to keep up.

“They’re here.”

“Let’s try following them secretly.”

Kakeru and the others left the park and entered the shopping district.

There were many private shops lining both sides of the narrow street: the bakery, which had its shutters down after finishing a day’s work; the fish dealer, shouting loudly to sell the last of their wares before closing time; the snack bar, where customers were starting to come in for the night.

Lamps that imitated paper-covered lanterns cast an orange light over the street. People walking home from the station and shoppers aiming for limited-time sales crowded the shopping district.

“No matter how you look at it, Prince is too slow,” Yuki grumbled. “It’ll be hard to run without passing him.”

Kakeru and the others hid behind the passersby and slipped past Prince. When King’s back became visible, they also managed to pass him without being noticed.

“It’s Haiji.” Yuki indicated forward with his chin. Kiyose was running towards them.

“Why’s he coming back?”

“It’s too soon for him to have turned back from the station.”

The three tried to slip past by looking down, but Kiyose didn’t fail to notice them.

“Why are you guys sneaking around?” Kiyose turned and ran next to Kakeru and the others, who were running towards the station, to accompany them.

“What are you doing, Haiji-san?” Kakeru asked.

“I came to see how the guys running in the back are doing,” Kiyose answered.

His management abilities were flawless as usual. Kakeru wondered just how far he was running to keep an eye on everyone. He was a bit worried; his legs weren’t even fully recovered yet, apparently.

Meanwhile, Kiyose was carrying on the conversation with Yuki.

“Kakeru said something interesting was happening with you guys, so we came to see.”

“Oh, you mean that?”

Kiyose pointed straight ahead, where Shindou and Musa were running side by side.

“What are they doing?”

It was understandable that Nico-chan was puzzled. Shindou and Musa were wearing white T-shirts, but there were words written on their backs in jet black permanent marker. Kakeru strained his eyes and read the words on the two’s backs as they were running through the middle of the shopping district.

We’re aiming for the Hakone Ekiden!!

Supporters wanted for Kansei University Track and Field Club

“…That’s some proper lettering,” Yuki commented.

“Apparently, Shindou did it by hand,” Kiyose explained matter-of-factly, his breathing not even disturbed. “I told him to stop since it’s embarrassing, but he insisted that we needed it to raise funds. He actually made enough for everyone, supposedly.”

I’m definitely not wearing it, Kakeru thought. Shindou was always quiet and calm, with an air of aloofness like he wasn’t connected to this earthly world, but he seemed to be quite practical.

“That’s surprising. To think that Shindou-san would collect money so actively.”

“Through running, you can see unexpected sides of people,” Kiyose said with a smile. “Shindou, Musa,” he called out to the two running ahead.

“It seems that these three want to cooperate with your business activities.”

We never said that, we never said that! Kakeru and the others shook their heads in unison. Musa raised his hand a little towards Kakeru, who joined them.

“I will give you one of Shindou-san’s handmade T-shirts as well, Kakeru. Also, please take a look at that person.”

There was a bicycle weaving through the crowd of people in the shopping district. The person riding it was a girl around the same age as them. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail and she was peddling her bike with all her might, her eyes fixed on something. Even from a distance, it was clear that her profile, which could be seen occasionally, was refined and beautiful.

“That’s the daughter of the owner of Yaokatsu,” Kiyose said.

“How do you know her?” Kakeru, who was preoccupied with the girl’s profile, moved his gaze to Kiyose running next to him.

“I’ve been coming here to buy food to cook for everyone at Aotake for a long time now, so I’ve seen her around.”

“Then have you ever chatted with her?”

“Just stuff like ‘these daikon have very nice leaves’ and ‘here’s your two-hundred yen change,’” Kiyose laughed from the corner of his mouth. “Are you curious about her, Kakeru?”

“No, not really.”

He returned his gaze forward. The bike was still heading for the station, popping in and out of the crowd.

“We’ve become a bit famous thanks to this.” Shindou pulled at the hem of his T-shirt. “Every day, we form a line and run like this, and the shopkeepers who recognize Haiji-san call out to us. ‘You’re a student staying in that shabby apartment, aren’t you? Looks like you’re starting something interesting,’ they say.”

“The landlord is a regular at the go parlor here,” Kiyose said. “Apparently, he’s going around spreading word that the ‘residents of Aotake are aiming for the Hakone Ekiden’.”

It was probably a strategy to get the locals involved in the plan so they wouldn’t be able to say “I quit” so easily. Kakeru was impressed with Kiyose and the landlord’s abilities to steadily remove the obstacles in their way. Since he was the first to announce his participation, it seemed that Shindou also intended to take the initiative in doing publicity. The carefree and easygoing residents were rapidly getting carried along by the flow towards the Hakone Ekiden. Will it be okay? Kakeru felt uneasy. However, it was nice and heartening that the people outside of Chikusei-sou showed interest in Kakeru and the others aiming for the Hakone Ekiden.

“She has been showing up when we are jogging recently,” Musa lightly pointed at the daughter of Yaokatsu who was riding her bike. “Her goal is…”

Drawn in, Kakeru, Nico-chan and Yuki’s gazes looked further ahead of the bike. The person who was running there was…

“The twins!?” Kakeru shouted in shock.

“Which one!?” Nico-chan also moaned. Musa shrugged.

“Well, I don’t know.”

“It doesn’t matter, they’re identical,” Yuki coolly pointed out.

I’m sensing love in the air, Kakeru thought. Jouta and Jouji, running next to each other, didn’t seem like they noticed at all. He would have to advise them to take a proper bath as soon as possible.

For now, it seemed certain that the residents of Chikusei-sou, who worked hard to jog every morning and evening, were becoming familiar to the people of the shopping district.

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#Kaze ga tsuyoku fuiteiru #kazetsuyo #run with the wind #kazetsuyo translations

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three-drink-amy · 5 years ago

Text

All the Shine of a Thousand Spotlights

This chapter was inspired by an interview I saw with Lin Manuel-Miranda about Hamilton and Beyonce. I thought it would translate well to this story! Hope you enjoy! Thanks for reading!

masterlist - AO3

Chapter Fourteen - When You’re Worn Out and Tired

It started as a gentle sniffle. I’d handed him a kleenex without much thought. Jamie was never sick. Never even allergies. The sniffle alone should have alerted me. But it didn’t. The sniffle grew stronger and lasted a few days. I figured everyone gets sniffles and it didn’t really matter.

But then the sniffle became a cough.

And the cough was obnoxious. It was loud. It sounded painful. It made him double over sometimes as he barked it out.

He was getting worse.

I wasn’t much of a caretaker. Never really getting sick all that often, I didn’t really even know what I liked when I was sick. We were two healthy people, but Jamie was starting to fall into another category.

He wouldn’t admit that he was sick though. The first day of the cough, he chugged a bunch of cough syrup right before leaving for the theater. He came home that night looking exhausted out of his mind. Stumbling in, he barely made it to the couch before he collapsed in exhaustion. I covered him with a blanket and let him come to bed whenever he woke up in the middle of the night. It wouldn’t do to try and get him back to consciousness.

The second day of the cough, it took on a different quality. It was deeper, and objectively, grosser. He hacked away like his life depended on it. That day, he took the bottle of cough syrup with him. Coming home, he was in a similar state to the night before. He plopped down on the couch, but before he could close his eyes, I had him back up and walking toward the bedroom. Jamie was out before I was even into my pajamas.

The third day of the cough, it was getting even worse. I was reminded of those cough suppressant commercials where the mucus mocks the sick people. I pictured a mucus party in his lungs. No matter what he took, it didn’t seem to make a difference. Granted, he wasn’t getting the rest he needed. Day three was when I floated the idea of his understudy. Jamie scoffed heavily, ignoring the idea completely. He sounded awful though. I suggested a doctor visit and he claimed he didn’t have the time. I knew he was stubborn, but I hadn’t seen this level of stubbornness from him yet.

Day four was the breaking point. His cough was still getting worse. I told him in no uncertain terms could he go do the show that night. He’d surely cough through the whole thing and give people an awful experience. He insisted that with enough medicine, he could get through it the same as the last three nights. I stood my ground though. If he could be stubborn, so could I. Standing next to him while he still sat in bed, I watched as he called and requested his understudy. It was clear that it killed him to do so, but he took me seriously at least. He sounded like death and more than preserving the show, I wanted him to rest and heal.

“I just feel bad,” he whined as I walked in with a cup of tea. I’d called Ellen and asked her what he’d liked when he was sick as a child. She’d sent me a long text of all the remedies she would try. I appreciated the help.

“You shouldn’t feel bad. This is literally why we cast understudies, Jamie,” I reminded him.

“Aye, I ken that. But do ye know how many times ye’ve told me I was perfect for the part?” Rolling my eyes, I nodded. Of course he was going to use my words against me. “I suppose that’s gone to my head a bit because I’m no’ sure I trust Mark wi’ the role.”

I shook my head and shoved the mug of tea in his hands. “Mark will be fine. He’s trained for this and watched you perform plenty of times. He’s got it.”

“But his Scottish accent is shite,” Jamie argued, hacking out a cough.

“Yes, but I’m sure Mark can get through a line without getting mucus on the first row.”

Jamie glared at me as he blew on his tea. “That’s cold.”

“I see steam coming from it,” I replied, looking at his mug.

He shook his head at me. “I meant yer comment.” I sat down on the bed next to him while I felt more whining coming. “I just feel like I’m abandoning the cast. I’m letting them down.”

“Didn’t you say Louise was sick in, like, the first two months?”

Jamie nodded with an annoyed look.

“And Joe missed a week of shows right? When Gail had the baby?”

With a sigh, Jamie agreed with me.

“Tell me, did the show fall apart without them?”

“No,” he said in a small voice.

“Then it’s not going to fall apart with you either. And if you don’t take at least one damned day to take care of yourself, you’re going to miss several shows because this will have turned into pneumonia and you’ll be in the hospital. Is that what you want?”

“Obviously not,” Jamie answered, taking a long sip of his tea. “I just...this is my first show. I dinna want to be the weak link. I’m no’ saying I think the show hinges on me, I just dinna want to leave them hanging or let them down.”

“Do you want me to go?” I asked. His head whipped over to look at me. “Not in your place, obviously, but it’s been a while since I’ve done a check up. I could go and make sure everything runs smoothly for you. Then I can tell you tomorrow how it all went.”

“Why no’ tonight?”

“Because I have a feeling you’ll be fast asleep.”

He rolled his eyes but I saw the start of a smile at the corner of his mouth. His eyes lingered on me as he sipped more tea. “Do ye want to do that?”

“Like I said, it’s been a while since I’ve checked in to see how things are running. I’m sure someone will freak that I’m choosing to do so the day that you’re gone, but they don’t know that I’ll already be expecting it.”

Jamie was silent for a long moment. I could tell that he was thinking over my offer. “Ye ken, I’d probably get more sleep if ye werena here to distract me.”

I snorted out a laugh. “I don’t think much is going to stop you from sleeping. Except maybe that damn cough.”

He let out a long deep cough as evidence.

“I’ll go,” I decided for him. “It’ll be nice to see everyone at a time when I don’t have to act weirdly toward you.”

Jamie laughed, but it only made him cough again. He nodded at my decision. “Alright, then. I’ll finish this and go to sleep.”

I leaned over and pressed a kiss to his slightly sweaty temple. “I think that’s a good call.” I jumped off the bed, walking toward the bathroom.

“Claire?” I turned back to look at him. “Thank ye.”

My face softened as I walked closer to him, a hand resting at his cheek. “It’s not a problem, my love. I just want you to feel better.” Leaning down, I kissed his forehead. I pulled the blankets up further around him before I headed back to the bathroom.

I left later in the day while Jamie was passed out from his cold medicine. A note was next to the bed telling him to let me know if he needed anything. I figured he’d surely still be asleep when I got home.

As I got to the theater, a wave of feelings crashed over me. I was thrown back into the way I’d felt all through production. It was strange. Walking back in gave me such visceral memories that almost made me wish I’d chosen a check in time that Jamie would be there for. But the whole point of coming was to ease Jamie’s mind.

Joe, thankfully, was the first one to see me. “Beauchamp!” he called, his arms outstretched.

“Joe!” I walked over and he wrapped me in a hug.

“What brings you by?”

I shrugged. “Just checking in. Been a while since I’ve done so.”

He hissed in a breath through his teeth. “You picked one hell of a show to check in on. Fraser’s out today.”

I hoped my face didn’t betray me as I pretended to act surprised. “Oh, he is?”

Joe nodded. “Yeah. Can’t say it surprised me all that much to hear it. He’s been fighting off something nasty for most of a week now. Boy needed a break for sure.”

Part of me wanted to ask Joe to say that all again so that I could record it and send it to Jamie. It wasn’t just me that decided Jamie needed to rest.

“Well then I’ll be curious to see how Mark does as understudy,” I replied.

“I’m sure he’ll be fine,” Joe assured.

“Me too.” I looked over at him and realized I hadn’t really talked to Joe in a while. We’d been friends before the show, after all. “So, how are things? How’s the baby?”

A bright smile crossed his face. “She’s wonderful!” He immediately pulled out his phone and started showing me picture after picture of the baby. We passed the time talking about his family. I was relieved that by the time he asked me about my life, he was pulled away to get his costume on.

I walked further backstage and was talking to one of the crew members when another familiar face pulled me aside. “What are you doing here?” John asked.

I stared at him in surprise. “What are you doing here?”

“I heard Fraser was going to be out so I decided to come see how things would run without him,” John told me. His eyes narrowed in my direction. “What about you?”

Shrugging slightly, I replied. “Well, it had been a while since I had done a check in. Between taking some time off and working the other days of the week, it’s just been a while. Decided to come today. I didn’t realize Jamie wouldn’t be here.” A well executed lie. I hoped.

“Why, because you would have picked a different night?” he teased.

I glared at him. He held his hands up in surrender.

“Sorry.”

“Yeah, well you should be,” I retorted before walking away from him.

I walked over toward the stage manager and stood toward the back wall. It wasn’t my show; I was just observing. The woman had an excited look on her face as she was whispering loudly to one of the other crew members. Each person who heard it became significantly more jittery and excited.

“What’s going on?” I asked, stepping toward them.

The stage manager turned toward me, her face lit up. “We heard from one of the attendants that there’s someone famous in the audience.”

I raised one eyebrow. “Who?”

* * *

I crept back into the apartment, feeling like quite the traitor. Slipping my shoes off, I tried to be as quiet as possible so I wouldn’t wake up Jamie. All the lights were off which meant he surely was still in bed. I’d gotten completely through my nighttime routine and pulled back the blankets before he roused at all. His head turned toward me before his eyes even opened. As I settled in bed, his hand reached out for mine.

“Sassenach?” he whispered.

I scooted closer, rubbing a hand along his forehead, pushing his hair back. “I’m here. How are you feeling?”

“Tired.”

“Mmm. I bet so. Just go back to sleep.”

“How was the show?” he asked, ignoring my suggestion and opening his eyes.

I chuckled to myself. “This is quite the role reversal.” A small smile tugged at his mouth. “The show went well. You’ll be happy to know that Mark didn’t ruin it.”

“Good. Anything notable happen? Did Laoghaire ask anyone else out in my absence,” he asked around a light laugh.

“Nope. Apparently you’re just the lucky one.”

He rolled his eyes, fighting to keep them open at all. “You didn’t answer my other question. Anything notable?”

My silence made him open his eyes wider to look at me. Apparently my answer was written on my glass face.

“What happened?”

I sucked in a breath. “There was a celebrity in the audience. Everyone got excited by that.”

Jamie, somehow even when sick, masked his face. “Oh? Who was it?”

“I don’t want to tell you.”

His face betrayed him a bit this time. “Claire, who was it?”

I bit my lip, knowing he was going to be mad at me. “It was Lin.”

“Manuel-Miranda?” he asked, a slight gasp to his question. I nodded, my face contorted. “Are ye bloody serious?” I nodded again. “Did he come back and meet the cast?”

“Jamie, don’t ask me that.”

“Claire.”

“Fine, yes, he did. He came back and talked with all of us. Apparently his dad saw the show and loved it and recommended it,” I told him. Jamie looked utterly betrayed. “I’m sorry.”

“The one bloody day ye made me stay home and one of my idols is there?”

“You know I never could have predicted this!”

He shook his head at me, a disapproving look on his face. “I canna believe ye.” He pulled out his phone, opening twitter. “Would it be bad if I tweeted him and told him he should come another time so he can have a better show? You know, with the actual lead.”

I grabbed his phone out of his hand and sat on it. “Yes, Jamie, that would be bad. I’m not letting you do that. Look, when it’s meant to be, you’ll meet your idol.” I leaned closer to him. “Maybe at the Tony Awards.”

His eyes narrowed as he glared back at me. “Dinna invoke the Tonys to try and distract me. Ye ken I’ll start thinking on how people are predicting that we’ll get nominated. But just know, Claire Beauchamp, that I’m no’ likely to forget this any time soon.” He told me, pointing at me ominously.

I rolled my eyes at him, tucking his blanket in tighter around him. “Okay, dear. But you know what? You sound a lot better.” He gave a half cough in reply. “Still sound better than you did earlier. Sleeping most of the day must be helping. Go back to sleep, okay.”

He huffed in reply, but scooted to lay back down. Even if he blamed me for making him miss meeting his idol, he still clutched my arms as I became the big spoon and curled around him. My ear pressed to his shoulder blade, listening to the comforting sound of his breathing til I followed him into sleep.

Next chapter

#outlander #outlander fanfiction #outlander fanfic #my writing #all the shine of a thousand spotlights

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cyberwolfwrites-fanfiction · 4 years ago

Text

a family's bond - chapter two

(https://archiveofourown.org/works/29878746/chapters/73715106#workskin)

words: 3717

summary:

"I hate it here," Peter whispered.

"I know," said Harley tiredly. They were curled up on the top bunk of their bunk bed together. They craved genuine physical affection after too many months of being touch-starved or physically hurt—there was no in-between—and being on the top bunk meant that they were harder to reach.

Dan was in his bedroom down the hall snoring off the alcohol. He'd gotten rejected for the promotion he'd been working towards for the past year and he'd drowned his sorrows in a bar somewhere before coming home to take out his frustration on them. He'd been too drunk and uncoordinated to cause any lasting harm—or harm that should have obviously still been there a day later—but the encounter had shaken them, Peter especially.

He'd come from a loving home, but in the matter of minutes both of his remaining family members had bled out in front of him and he'd been tossed in the system. He wasn't used to the harsh cruelties of the world—though he'd gotten a taste of it when he was four and eight, respectively—and it had left him reeling.

"I wish we could just... leave," Peter mumbled.

"Me, too."

"Ugh, disgustoso! I'm gonna puke," Harley gagged, recoiling away from the dumpster and making the lid fall with a clang. Peter chuckled to himself and sent an amused glance at his foster brother, glad that he was upwind from the dumpster. He could still smell it from clear across the alleyway—not only had his sense of smell become enhanced with the spider bite, but everything was smelling so fresh due to the snowfall earlier today—and he was glad that he didn't get the brunt of the smell like Harley.

"Stop laughing!" Harley hissed, shoving his tattered scarf against his nose. "Penso letteralmente che qualcosa sia morto lì dentro." Peter grimaced at the imagery. With their luck, something probably did die in there at some point.

"Tell me about it," he muttered as he nudged a suspicious-looking box. "I fell in there last night."

Harley winced. It had been Peter's turn to patrol last night and he had literally come home smelling like a dumpster; now he knew why. They'd ended up having to throw away his suit—a pair of old sweats and a stained hoodie—because the smell of garbage had also been paired with a six-inch gash along the side and a rip in the pantlegs. Until they completed the suits they were working on (hand-sewing was not a fast process and they were rather rubbish at it, so that lead to a lot of start-overs), Peter would have to share Harley's. It was that or use his old dancing clothes, and he was too attached to them to risk them being burnt, ripped, or blood-stained.

Harley wasn't too happy with that as that meant that they would have to clean his suit twice as often and risk Dan finding out, but it wasn't like Peter could just throw on a random pair of joggers. Their suits had to look the same because they had agreed that there would only be one Spider-Man, and they intended to keep it that way unless there was a big fight that required more than one person to show up. So far there hadn't been any big fights that they couldn't handle on their own (though Harley argued that Peter should have told him about Toomes), and it also meant that if one of them happened to get kidnapped, the other would (hopefully) be able to find them without getting the police involved.

Last night, Peter had ended up getting tossed in the dumpster during a fight and he had spotted some junk electronics that had been thrown up. He hadn't anticipated it snowing while they were at school so now they had to dig around to find the boxes he'd seen and he wasn't even sure if anything was salvageable. He hoped that since it hadn't rained and that everything was more or less frozen that nothing had gotten water damage.

While Harley rifled through some boxes next to the dumpster, muttering Italian swears under his breath that Peter had taught him, Peter toed at a box flap and nudged the box away when all it held were old newspapers. He wasn't sure where the boxes full of electronics he'd spotted last night were since he'd only gotten a glimpse and things had been tossed around during the fight.

Peter and Harley made some light conversation in Italian, though Peter had to correct some of Harley's pronunciations and fill in the blanks when Harley didn't know a word. While Harley was decent at the language, he wasn't fluent since he still struggled to translate sometimes and it wasn't automatic like Peter, and they hadn't taken much time recently to converse in it to make sure the language stuck, so Harley was a bit rusty. They mostly stuck to easy subjects like school; they had a History test in a week that they had neglected to study for—it's not that they were bad at history, it was just boring sometimes, and who had time to study when you could be catching bad guys?—and they talked some about their shared English project—they might be able to easily read complex algorithms or equations, but they still struggled with reading Shakespeare—and the conversation eventually tapered off as they tried to find the electronics so they could get back to the apartment.

It was freezing out, and ever since the spider bite, Peter and Harley had struggled to keep warm. Even through two pairs of gloves and multiple layers of clothing, Peter's teeth were beginning to chatter and his fingers were starting to get numb . From the corner of his eye, he spotted Harley shivering and he was just about to say that they should come back later—it was supposed to get warmer tomorrow—when Harley hauled up a box with a successful cry.

"L'ho trovato!" he crowed. "It was buried under a few other boxes."

Peter stumbled over and looked in the box Harley was holding effortlessly. It was full of what looked to be DVD players and radios and some other things, some of which looked like someone had taken a hammer to them. He reached in and pulled out a circuit board with some frayed wires attached to it.

"Could be useful," he muttered, dropping it back into the box. "Let's go, sto congelando!"

Harley shivered, no doubt agreeing with his statement.

They got back to the apartment in record time and swiftly changed out of their damp clothes, which they promptly shoved into the washer. They had only hung around the alley for a total of twenty-to-thirty minutes before leaving, but the stink of the garbage managed to saturate their clothing. Peter was pretty sure that their stuff stank so bad that even someone without enhanced senses could smell it. While Harley hopped in the bathroom for a quick shower, Peter got the washing machine running and began looking through the box of stuff they managed to procure.

As he'd seen earlier, there were a few old DVD players and some radios, but there were also some circuit boards and some random electronic parts like what looked to be a fan motor, as well as some remote-controlled cars, too. He sorted the items into different categories; parts, repair, useful, not useful, and trash. Some of the DVD players or radios could be fixed to sell for some extra cash, but some of them were too old or were too broken that could be taken apart for parts. The same could be said for the circuit boards and random electronic parts; some could be salvaged for future use while others were trash. The remote-control cars were staying, even the broken ones. The motors and controls could be used for webshooters or just be something to tinker with.

It didn't take long, only about ten minutes, until Peter heard the shower shut off. He pushed some of the stuff away so that Harley could have some space to manoeuvre and he grabbed his own shower things and clothes.

"I tried to be quick but hot water seems to be broken," Harley announced as he walked into the room, towelling his hair.

Peter mentally groaned, hoping that the water would at least be lukewarm. "I'll see if I can fix it after I shower, if not Dan's gonna be pissed," he sighed before pointing at a pile. "In the meantime, you strip those for parts and double-check the trash pile."

Harley looked at the assortment of items on the ground, taking in the various piles Peter had made. "Will do," he muttered, tossing his towel into the hamper.

By the time Peter finished showering and checking the water heater—one of the valves got stuck and the relief valve was loose—Harley was already a good two-thirds of the way through tearing apart the "parts" pile. The trash pile was gone, having been thrown in a grocery bag or two and tossed down the floor's trash chute, no doubt.

Peter finished drying his curly hair—it was long enough to cover his ears as he hadn't gotten it cut in a year, though Harley's wavy hair was longer, long enough to pull up into a small bun—and quietly joined Harley in pulling apart the rest of the DVD players and radios. Neither of them bothered to speak and Peter allowed his senses to fade out slightly, somewhat thankful that they were beginning to dull the longer either of them went without proper nutrition.

It was slightly worrying, the way that his senses were fading. They were still much better than a regular human's, but they definitely weren't up to par with how good they'd been when they had first gotten bit and had been somewhat healthy. Harley didn't know and Peter didn't intend to tell him because he didn't want his foster brother to worry. While he feared that his strength and agility and the other enhancements he'd gotten that made him Spider-Man would fade, too, he enjoyed the slight reprieve on his senses which had been dialled to eleven since the spider bite. (The slight blurring of his vision on bad days was a disappointment, though, he would probably need glasses soon, which meant that Harley would find out.)

The reprieve meant that he could easily ignore the cars down below or the neighbours talking, and he instead enjoyed the quiet atmosphere that was only unsettled by the sound of the DVD players or radios being taken apart and moved around. Eventually, they finished taking everything apart and moved onto completing their homework. While Peter knew that they should probably discuss their project for the Stark Industries Internship Competition—it was only a few days after they'd gotten their forms, but they only had a month to make a working prototype—he didn't want to ruin the peaceful silence and it didn't seem like Harley wanted to, either.

That calm feeling faded quickly.

The next week was full of Peter and Harley studying frantically for their history test, scrambling to finish their English essay, as well as studying for almost all of their subjects as they were all seemed to be finishing units at the same time. There was also patrolling and working on their internship project; they were staying up later and later, and instead of working together, they had to split up the project into different parts.

The only thing that stopped Peter from going crazy was the fact that Dan was on a two-week-long work trip, and he was willing to bet that Harley was feeling the same. They didn't have to worry about staying quiet in the evenings, they could take longer showers, and they also didn't have to commune to the old, no doubt freezing office building where their makeshift workshop was. Instead, they could work in the comfort of the living room and they could even stay after school to get the coding done without worrying about time. So long as they kept everything clean and made sure to put away their tools before Dan got back, then they were golden.

The second week into Dan's absence was much more successful than the first week, though no less stressful. Now that their tests were completed and their essays were turned in, they could focus completely on their project. The coding turned out to be more complex than either of them had been anticipating and Peter ended up having to order some chemicals online that he needed. He sent them to a P.O. box—because there was no way in hell was he risking Dan finding out that he was buying stuff—but couldn't afford the express shipping, which meant that he drove himself crazy coming up with various chemical formulas and ways to make the "fabric."

They ended up having to take multiple breaks via Spider-Manning and focused on the actual construction of their project to get rid of the stress. The tablet that would display the injuries was an easy fix as it just needed a new battery and screen, which were bought at a cheap parts store, and they managed to figure out how the pressure thing was actually going to work. Usually, someone just stretched the cloth while it was attached to a multimeter (amongst other things, but that was the simplest explanations), but they planned to have something that was worn and got stretched often. They also planned to monitor vitals, as well, which would be difficult if they were using a multimeter.

They did, however, use a multimeter on their first attempt. Peter basically attached a crap ton of wires to an old t-shirt and pressed on it to make sure it worked. (Spoiler alert; it did.)

By the time the first prototype was complete and some of the complex coding was done, Dan had returned and Peter had received his chemicals and had begun making the cloth in their makeshift workshop. The original idea was to make strands like his webbing and weave them together, but then he realized that the didn't have an industrial loom to weave the webbing, and so he decided to make something that was latex-like by pouring it like you would with resin. The first few test batches weren't particularly successful (one came out sticky, another was stringy like cheese, and the other turned rock solid instead of the stretchy rubbery substance Peter wanted) but he ended up with something he figured was decent enough. It wasn't his best work, and if he'd had access to SI's labs or even a loom it would've done better as a cloth, but he figured it was decent enough for a prototype.

Coding and programming everything and then testing it for bugs was as difficult as Peter and Harley expected. They had to more or less create numerous algorithms for injury identification, and they also had to find out what types of pressures and vital signs equalled what type of injury. They stuck with blunt force trauma as it was the easiest to test. It, unsurprisingly, took a lot of pressure or trauma to break a bone (while Dan had barely managed to fracture or bruise some ribs in his harshes blows, they'd been beaten on pretty badly in their starting out days as Spider-Man, even with their spider-sense to aid them (though Harley's spider-sense was less fine-tuned, for some reason)). As they would have had to do a lot of extra programming and research to know how much force broke a certain body type along with what vitals would look like at that part in time, Peter and Harley only had their pressure ensure catalogue injuries for a grown man's forearm.

By the time they managed to complete the project and make (and practise) a presentation, it was the day of the competition.

***

"Calmati," Harley muttered, nudging Peter's bouncing knee with his own. "We've gone over the presentation a dozen times since last night. Non preoccuparti."

Peter had stopped jiggling his knee at the nudge and instead began to fidget at his dress shirt cuff. Harley self-consciously smoothed down his own dress shirt. Both of them had been thrifted for pretty cheap but they hadn't fit properly, so they'd gotten the old lady down the hall to do it for them in return for them fixing her broken water heater. It was a common, if new, arrangement they had with the woman; if Peter and Harley helped her with whatever housework she needed to be done, she gave them some amateur sewing lessons in return. She'd also allowed them to use a plastic sewing machine she'd originally bought for her granddaughter, but hadn't allowed them to take it from the apartment, which meant that the old lady gave them some odd looks for making what looked like leotards.

Because Peter used to dance, he'd managed to convince the woman that they were making costumes, but that was only after he showed her a (rather sloppy) saut de chat. He used some ballet moves during Spider-Manning (mostly split leaps) but he hadn't been able to properly stretch or even dance in so long. Harley, after learning that he could dance, had managed to convince him to teach him a few moves, but they hadn't taken the time to do anything more in-depth since they were so busy with homework and Spider-Man.

Of course, even after the display, the old woman still looked like she didn't believe them for a single minute. But Peter was pretty confident she didn't know that they'd taken her lessons and had used them to make themselves super suits and to sitch up their own wounds if they ended up getting shanked. (Which happened more often than either of them cared to admit.)

Still, she'd been kind enough to tailor their shirts for them. They still didn't fit properly—they were too baggy around the middle and somewhat tight around their shoulders and chest—but they looked better on them than they originally had. They hadn't been able to buy any dress pants in their size that were cheap enough, so they currently wore their best pair of jeans. Both were black and Peter thought they matched pretty well. Well enough that they might even be mistaken as brothers, though that was wishful thinking.

Peter had always wanted a sibling when he was younger and Harley was the closest he had to one. However, they were only foster brothers and one misstep from either of them could get them separated, and the thought filled Peter with anxiety. He'd latched onto Harley as the first kind person he'd seen since his aunt and uncle died and he knew that Harley had latched on just as tight.

The doors opening caught Peter and Harley's attention and Peter looked up from his shirt sleeves to see who entered. The room they were in was packed full of people from the surrounding tech schools so it wasn't a surprise that he'd been unable to hear any approaching footsteps, and there was also the fact that he'd been so nervous that he hadn't been focusing on his senses too much.

Peter let out a surprised noise and stood respectfully as the CEO of Stark Industries, better known as Pepper Potts, entered. He hadn't known that the woman would show up and it made him tug on his clothes self-consciously. He noticed Harley doing the same.

"Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Stark Industries," Ms Potts said, causing everyone to quiet immediately. Peter was a little awed at how swiftly she managed to get the room to quiet, though he supposed that was due to being the CEO of SI and an extremely powerful businesswoman in her own right. "As I'm sure you all know, you've been invited here as a part of the Stark Industries Internship Competition, where only a select few of you who meet our specialists' criteria will be chosen for an internship here at SI.

"If you've read the permission forms you were given, and I truly hope you have, then you will know that any future interns will be given the chance to refine their project under the watchful and helpful eyes of your superiors, who will advise you in the inner workings of a tech company."

Peter glanced around the room. A good half of the projects he could see appeared to be robots—albeit cool ones—but that didn't look like they properly represented what SI worked towards, which was medical equipment, prostheses, clean energy, and equipment for the country's top authorities; mainly the military, police, and fire departments. The other half appeared to have gone for some type of prostheses or drones, though they didn't look nearly as advanced as the recent prostheses SI had shown to the public. Still, for high school kids that went to the city's top tech schools, the prostheses were pretty advanced. The only real competition Peter saw was the kids who had gone for something challenging like they had, most looking to be medical related.

Peter glanced at his and Harley's project, which suddenly looked so small and mediocre compared to all of the big robots around them. While he knew that making robots wasn't too difficult (he'd made plenty when he'd lived with May and Ben, and he'd competed in robot-building competitions with Ned and Harley before the two of them had to quit robotics club), all they had to show was a piece of cloth and a second-hand tablet. He hoped that the programming they'd come up with and their idea was enough to earn them some points.

"If you would please turn your attention over to here," said Ms Potts, gaining his attention again. She gestured to a group of several men and women, most of whom were dressed in lab coats or office-wear. "These are our heads and specialists in our Research and Development departments. They will be in charge of grading your projects and proposals. As we only have a limited number of specialists compared to how many of you there are, please be aware that not everyone will be able to present right away."

Peter counted just under twenty men and women, and compared to the number of kids he'd counting, that meant that there was something like a three-to-one ratio here. The number seemed daunting. Only a few people would get selected for an internship out of around fifty to sixty students.

"I know it may get tedious to present more than once, but all interns at SI are well acquainted with this, so please be patient," Ms Potts continued explaining. "If you need to leave for any reason, please tell our head of security Mr Hogan. He will write down your name so we can get in contact about presenting at another time."

She gestured to a man who Peter had noticed earlier. He stood silently and stared them all down, brown eyes flickering over all of them with distaste and like he was assessing them. It made him nervous to have such calculating eyes on him, but Peter knew that they'd be dealing with plenty of eyes on him once they began presenting, so he tried his best to shake it off.

"Thank you all for coming here today."

And with that, Ms Potts checked something off on her StarkPad and left, her heels clicking on the tiled floor.

#peter parker #tony stark #harley keener #peter parker is spider man #harley keener is spider man #spiderman #iron man #foster care #stark internship

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four-loose-screws · 4 years ago

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FE4 Suzuki Novelization Translation (Gen II) - Chapter 11

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Chapter 11 - The Children of Thracia

The next day, the liberation army began to march. Their destination was Queen Hilda's Chronos Castle.

Along their path was a wooded region, where a mage unit was waiting for them.

"Rout the enemy, then press onward!" Seliph yelled, then led the charge into the enemy formation.

His image vividly resembled that of "Blood-Soaked Sigurd," the great hero who'd made his enemies tremble in fear, and inspired his allies.

The liberation army cut down the enemy in the blink of an eye, then trudged through the forest.

After that, no one else interrupted them until they reached Chronos Castle.

"To Chronos!"

In response to his words, all units charged.

Hilda fled, fearing their power.

Right after that, they traveled west to Lados Castle, where they were met by a cavalier unit led by General Ridel.

Ridel had only been carrying out the child hunts, so the sight of the liberation army made him overjoyed.

"It looks like we'll be able to fight our first decent fight in a long time! All units, chaaaarge!"

Ridel's cavalier unit was powerful. However, after fighting so many successive battles, the liberation army had mastered the best strategy to use against cavalier units - endure the first wave, then shift the tide of battle with a counterattack.

It was a difficult fight, but once it was over, it was clear that the liberation army had claimed an overwhelming victory.

There was a large group of children being held at Chronos Castle, but none of them were from Thracia. The Thracian children had been taken to Grannvale the day before.

"Then we must hurry after them!"

"Please wait. There is still Lados Castle to the west. If we ignore it and all march onwards, the soldiers there will come to threaten us from behind.”

Seliph nodded at Oifey's proposal. "Oifey, you're right. Alright then, just the cavalier unit will attack Lados Castle. The infantry will all head towards Miletos Castle. When we take Miletos, next will finally be Grannvale."

The person who took the Thracian children to Miletos was Crown Prince Julius' beloved, Ishtar.

She loved him from the very bottom of her heart, and wished to make him happy, so she did whatever he said, no matter what it was. However, that did not mean that she gladly executed all of his orders. She questioned his orders relating to the child hunts in particular.

They arrived in Miletos at around three in the afternoon. The children were all given a simple meal, then ushered into a room. Afterwards, she went in to check on them, and, probably because they'd been so tired, they were all nestled within a pile of straw and fast asleep.

Ishtar saw nearly twenty children's sleeping faces. They looked completely innocent, as if they hadn't seen any of what they’d experienced on this trip. Some had tear stains on their faces, and every time she saw them, she felt a pain in her chest.

'What if it were my child?'

She had that thought because she'd recently started to suspect that she may be carrying Julius' child.

'If I told him we're going to have a baby, I wonder what he would say?'

When she returned to the castle's main building, Julius was unexpectedly there to see her.

"It's been so long since we last saw each other, Ishtar. I heard you brought the Thracian children here."

"Yes."

"How are they?"

"They are tired, but none of them are ill. They are all smart, cute little children."

"Excellent. I want you to send them to Belhalla straight away."

"I will."

"No, wait. It appears that someone else will take them to Belhalla. I've thought of a better idea for us." A mischievous smile, like that of a child's, crept upon his face. "Would you like to play a game here with me?"

"What kind of game are you thinking of?"

"Tomorrow, the rebel army will come this way. Let's see who can kill one of their soldiers first."

"I understand. If it's a fight, then it will be fun."

"Oh, so it wouldn't be fun if it were some other game."

Julius glared at her, and it felt as if he could see right through her and at her heart, making her panic. "Of course… I didn't mean it that way…"

"Well, it’s fine, then. But random soldiers won't count. It must be someone with some fame to their name. Someone with the blood of a royal family is best. Look at their weapons and armor, and choose your enemy wisely."

"Yes, Milord."

The next morning, as the two ate breakfast, Bishop Zagam appeared before them.

"The rebel army has broken the barrier and invaded this territory. "

"Don't get yourself worked up. There's still two hours left before they get here. Until then, leave things to the front line."

"Y-Yes, Your Highness!"

Julius glared at him, then Zagam walked away, looking confused.

When they finished their meal, Julius said with a smirk on his face, "There's still some time left. Shall we go to the bedroom and rest for a bit?"

As he made love to her, Ishtar thought, 'Should I say it? ...I'm still not entirely sure. ...If he finds out later that I was mistaken, he might get angry. If I wait another two weeks, then I'll know for certain…'

Just before noon, the two lined up and walked out of the Miletos Castle gate.

The rebel army still had not gotten close yet.

"Do not leave here. The fools will probably come to us.”

"Understood, Milord."

As a descendant of one of the Crusaders, Ishtar did not dislike fighting. 'I have Mjölnir. There should be no one who can match me.'

While they waited, the battleground moved closer and closer to Miletos Castle.

'That's it, come closer, so I can show Lord Julius my power.' At that moment, she saw a mage running towards them.

"Lord Julius, I've won, yes?" She said, then gasped.

The mage was running unnaturally fast.

'He's wearing a Leg Ring!' She thought as he rushed up to her.

Ishtar panicked and tried to cast a Mjölnir spell, but her opponent was a split second faster.

He hit her with a strong gust of wind, sending her flying to the ground.

Even upon watching that occur, Julius' expression did not change. He cast a spell on her limp body that revived her.

"You lost." Was all he said. He did not even extend a hand.

'He does not know what death is,’ Ishtar thought, 'so his heart is not moved by the deaths of others.' She felt the area around her chest become cold.

A second later, she was suspended in the air. 'He's warping me.’

When she regained her senses, she was in the reception room of Grannvale's Chalphy Castle.

Emperor Arvis was sitting on the throne.

She walked up to him, then bowed to him in a manner worthy of the emperor. "It's been a long time since I saw you last, your Majesty. I hope you have been well…"

"Ishtar, about the twenty children arrived a short time ago. I heard that they were brought here by your order. Is that incorrect?" He sounded as if he was blaming her.

"Y-Yes, it is.."

"Was it ordered by those who normally carry out the child hunts?"

"Yes. It was by Lord Julius' orders that I do it…"

"Please return the children to their parents. Tell Julius that I said to do so. I think that even you do not truly wish to do this job.”

"Y-Yes, Your Majesty."

Just then, Julius appeared between the two of them.

"Father, your selfish actions are causing trouble. Ishtar is my subordinate!"

"Julius! You…"

"You still do no't seem to understand, Father. You just recently promised not to speak out about what I do, did you not? Or are you planning to try to banish me again?"

"No…" Though he denied it, Arvis glared at Julius.

Julius calmly glared back. Their eyes were locked in a battle all it's own.

Finally, the one to look away first was the father. "I know it would amount to nothing even if I did oppose you. I won't say anything further." There was no power in his voice. It was the voice of a man who knew all of his hopes and dreams in the world had been destroyed.

"So long as you understand. Miletos Castle will fall any moment now. The rebels will target this castle next. Of course, Father, I believe I asked you to guard this castle. Have you sufficiently prepared to do so?"

"I have, but I will go check the unit's deployment status once more." The betrayed father said before walking out of the room.

"Now then, Ishtar, you look tired. Shall we rest for a bit?"

"N-No… It is my duty as well to protect the capital. I must prepare, and…"

"What's wrong? Do you want to run away from me now?"

"No… not at all! I love you."

Julius chuckled. "It's fine, you know. I won't stop you. I never lose, but you should prepare yourself until you feel at ease.”

"Thank you. Excuse me.. "

Julius, now alone, sat on the throne, and relaxed.

Archbishop Manfroy soon appeared from behind him.

"Is that you, Manfroy?" Julius asked, not moving an inch.

"Yes… Arvis is now only the emperor in name alone. What a miserable man."

"Don't speak of other people's affairs. Nobody else sticks their nose in your business, do they? By the way, how is Julia doing?"

"I moved her from here to Velthomer yesterday."

"Oh, really? Has her memory returned yet?"

"Yes, completely."

"Then I shall go to Velthomer as well. She is my blood sister, after all. I should speak with her at least once before she's killed. You're coming too, Manfroy."

“As you wish, Your Highness."

Julius' body was bathed in a beam of light, and Manfroy followed soon after.

Arvis, upon returning to the castle, called the priest of Chalphy, Palmark, into his room.

"How are the children who arrived today doing?”

"The Loptrian priests put them in the dungeon." Palmark answered vaguely.

"I see." Arvis muttered with a grim look on his face, then sat in front of a small desk. He wrote a few words on a piece of the emperor’s stationary. Then he lit a red candle and pressed the melted wax atop the paper. Finally, while the wax was still soft, he pressed his ring on it to make his seal.

"Tonight, while the members of the Loptr Church are asleep, show this to the guard, and have him unlock the children. Then, take them and run. If you cross the bridge over the strait before dawn, then the rebel army will be just beyond there. No, I suppose I should call them the liberation army. If you are found by any soldiers along the way, you should definitely show them this. But it has no effect on Loptrian priests, so be careful. If you’re alone with children, chances are, they won’t overlook the fact that you are taking them somewhere.”

The message on the stationary read, “Palmark's word is my word. Emperor Arvis.”

Palmark took the letter from Arvis. "I will follow my heart, no matter what.”

"There's one more thing I want you to take." Arvis said, then walked up to the wall and opened a hidden cabinet. He took out a single sword and gave it to Palmark.

The scabbard’s design was simple and made of silver, but the guard and hilt were finely carved, and the tip of the hilt was inset with a glittering blue gem.

"Th-This is..."

"You served Duke Byron, correct?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Then you should know very well what this is."

"I-I do."

"Then go. Take care of the children."

"Yes, I will. I will, Your Majesty."

When night fell, Palmark went down into the dungeon.

The guard didn't give him any trouble, but it was difficult to awaken the children. And some of them screamed the moment they woke up, making Palmark's heart skip a beat every time. It took much more time for the children to understand the situation and silently follow his orders than he'd thought it would.

They otherwise had no choice but to open the castle gate, so he decided they'd go out the emergency exit instead. The soldiers guarding it also silently let them through at the sight of the emperor's stationary.

Luckily for them, the moon was full, and they didn't need any torches.

Once they were a short distance away from the castle, they reached an area where some soldiers had set up camp.

'There's Loptrian priests among them, so it's too dangerous.’ Palmark thought, and decided to take a detour.

He distanced himself far from the campsite without being noticed by anyone.

'Now no one will be able to hear the children, even if they raise their voices.' Freed from his nerves, Palmark shouted out without thinking, "Children, we're safe now! All we need to do is head straight south and cross the strait."

"Really?"

"He said we're safe!"

"Yaaaaay!"

"He said we should go south!"

"I know which way south is! We should follow that star!"

"Let's go! Hurry, let's go!"

The children started to run away. Some even skipped.

Palmark followed after the children as his breath became ragged. "Hey, hold up! Not so fast! I can't keep up!"

However, the children were so happy that his words had no effect on them.

"He said we should go to the sea!"

"We're almost there! I can smell the saltwater!"

"Let's hurry!"

"Wait! Please, wait!" Palmark finally yelled very loudly.

And the children finally stopped running.

But when he caught up, he realized the real reason why they had stopped.

They were at the edge of a steep cliff. Beyond it was nothing but dark sea waters.

The children all made scared faces and looked up at Palmark.

'The bridge! Where is the bridge?' He strained his eyes and looked left to right, but couldn't see anything nearby that even resembled a bridge.

Finally, he realized that they'd gone the wrong way. 'Oh gods, what we should do?'

"So what are we gonna do now?"

"Are the dragon knights gonna come get us?"

'Gods, I don't care what happens to me. But please save the children.'

"I'm tired!"

"Me too!"

Palmark was completely exhausted, too. "There, there, we can rest here. We'll wait until sunrise."

At his words, everyone sat down. One child even put their head on his lap and started to fall asleep.

'Maybe we'll be able to see a bridge that will lead us over the strait once it is light out.'

However, knowing where a bridge was didn't necessarily mean they'd know where to go. And there might even be a mage somewhere along the way.

'If there's a mage, I'll think of what to do then. For now, all we can do is wait until daybreak.'

The next time he opened his eyes, he felt terribly drowsy.

"Mister? Hey, Mister!"

A little girl's voice woke him up. Before he'd realized it, the night had ended.

"Some guys are coming this way!" The girl's voice trembled with fear.

"What?"

He looked towards where she was pointing, and saw five or six mages coming towards them in the distance.

And the bridge over the strait was past them. If they ran from the mages, they would be distancing themselves from the bridge.

"What should we do, Mister?"

"They're gonna kill us!"

"How do you know that?"

"Cause that's what happened to the last children who ran away!"

It was indeed the way of the Loptr Church to kill to set an example for others.

"Come on, let's run away!" Palmark said, and started running.

He was moving in the opposite direction of the bridge, but right now, the childrens' lives were at stake.

The mages were moving slowly, so Palmark and the children were able to widen the gap between them, and soon, they were unable to see their enemies.

'Maybe, just maybe, they might not notice us here.'

However, that hope was soon crushed.

Ahead of where they'd run to was the tip of a small cape, with a steep cliff on all three other sides.

'The mages knew the road ended here. That's why they didn't panic.'

Mere moments later, they could see the mages’ heads on the horizon, and their whole bodies soon after.

"What are we gonna do, Mister?"

"Are they gonna kill us?"

"Everyone, close your eyes and pray." Palmark said.

"Um, to who?"

"To the Crusaders?"

"Yes, pray to whoever comes to mind. Ask them to please save us." And so, Palmark began to pray. 'Gods, please save these children.'

#fire emblem #fe #fe4 #genealogy of the holy war #nintendo #super nintendo #snes #famicom #super famicom #seliph #japan #japanese #translation #novel #light novel #fe4 suzuki novelization translation

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dailyaudiobible · 4 years ago

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07/28/2020 DAB Transcript

2 Chronicles 21:1-23:21, Romans 11:13-36, Psalms 22:1-18, Proverbs 20:7

Today is the 28th day of July welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I’m Brian it is…it is great to be here with you today to come…to come around the Global Campfire, to just kinda come in from whatever you're doing and all the obligations and responsibilities and the swarm of stuff that has to get done, to just set it aside for second, leave it at the threshold here as we walk around the Global Campfire. We can pick it…pick it all back up if we want to later but we usually can leave this place of serenity with a lot better perspective for having just let it go for a few minutes and allowing God's word to wash in and remind us of the things that we forget all the time and just allow God to speak through His word. So, let's dive in. We’re reading from the New Living Translation this week and continuing our journey through the letter to the Romans in the New Testament and the book of second Chronicles in the old. So, we’ll read second Chronicles chapters 21, 22, and 23 today.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word and we thank You for Psalm 22 today, a Psalm that we can read and go, “well this is pretty…this is kind of a downer, this is kind of depressing. This doesn't end well. Like this…this doesn't turn around and put a bow on top of it make it all good.” It's just articulating the pain of life sometimes, “my God, my God, why have You forsaken me?” And we confess that we have felt that way at times. And yet, what we’re reading is thousands of years old, penned by King David. He felt this way at times. These were the words You uttered from the cross, Jesus. And, so, even though this Psalm doesn't tie off in a nice bow it does tell us we’re not alone. And one thing that it certainly does do is give us words and language; language of honesty, of vulnerability, of telling the truth. David said, “You brought me safely from my mother's womb and led me to trust You at my mother's breast. I was thrust into Your arms at my birth. You have been my God from the moment I was born. Don’t stay so far from me. Trouble is near. Nobody else can help me.” Thank You for those words of honesty because they articulate how it feels at times. Thank You for giving us permission to be honest because this is the first step in being true. And so often we would just burry these things. We wouldn't…we wouldn't dare say these things…we bury these things. And, so, we chase all kinds of distractions and that doesn't fix it. It just like kicks the can down the road a little bit. We have felt overwhelmed and helpless Lord. Most of us have probably had that feeling some…at some point in this year. Some of us are feeling that right this very, very minute. And, so, we’re being honest here and the great lesson is that our honest worship before You, isn't just to jump up and down and get all whipped up and sing about Your power and how You’re gonna beat up the bad guys. And our worship is in these times too, maybe even more importantly in these times where things aren’t making sense anymore in this world or in our circumstances. You aren't inviting us to ignore these things or disavow these things or pretend that these things don't happen. You’re inviting us to be honest and it is such a relief to know that we can be honest with You. And, so, Holy Spirit well up from within us, give us the language that we need, the language of surrender, the language of worship in spite of it all, the language that will remind our hearts that You are within us, You will not abandon us, we can never escape from Your Spirit. No matter where we run You are there and make us aware of Your presence in all that's going on. And that You are always with us, we ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Announcements:

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There are resources in the Daily Audio Bible Shop for the journey that we are on. This journey…well…365 steps is what it takes, 365 steps in a row and we go through the entire Bible in a year and it goes fast but a year of life happens in…in the span of that and it’s just good to be able to write down the story, to be able to journal, to be able to just know we are in…in a community together going through this…this journey. And, so, there are resources for that in the Daily Audio Bible Shop. So, check that out.

Speaking of the Daily Audio Bible Shop, tomorrow there's gonna be something new in the Daily Audio Bible Shop, but I'll tell you how to tomorrow once it's there. Something for the double DABbers but we’ll talk about that tomorrow. So, stay tuned.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your partnership. There is a link on the homepage. If you are using the Daily Audio Bible app, you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or, if you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And, as always, if you have a prayer request or encouragement, you can hit the Hotline button in the app, which is the little red button at the top, or you can dial 877-942-4253 if you are in the Americas. If you're in the UK or Europe, you can dial 44-20-3608-8078. And if you are in Australia or that part of the world you can dial 61-3-8820-5459.

And that's it for today. I'm Brian I love you and I'll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Hello DAB family this is Teresa Whom the Son has Set Free from Canada and it’s been years since I call in. Sorry about that. I have been listening and praying along with you all. I need to ask my family for prayer for my daughter’s. They are struggling with alcohol and drugs. I received a call from the police the other day about my youngest being in the hospital after trying to commit suicide and then the oldest is calling me saying that she needs help. These two girls are mothers of young children. I have been through this before as I called in over eight years ago on this. I was grazing my grandchildren and whom since I’ve returned them back to their mother. My prayer is that Jesus set them free like He did me from addiction. I asked Him into my heart, and I was delivered and set free from alcohol and drugs myself. Now, I know he can do this for them. So, please join me in this spiritual battle that I’m under for my children. My son also but he’s gone into rehab so that is a “praise the Lord.” Any who, I want to also say…wow…Annette from Oklahoma, when I heard your voice, I had a smile on my face. I missed you girl. It’s been a long time since I’ve heard your voice. I want to give a shout out also to James the teacher and Joe the police officer. It’s been a long time since I’ve heard their voices as well. So, thanks dabblers. And yeah, I want to put…I’m gonna call in a lot more. I miss the family. I feel alone. And with you people, you know, the prayers and praise and Biola I love “in Jesus’ name.” I feel the power behind that voice of yours. I just want you’s all to join me in the deliverance of my children because this is…it’s awful when you start getting phone calls saying they’re in the hospital and they’re doing stupid things to themselves. Anyways. Thank you, guys. God bless you.

Hi Daily Audio Bible family this is Avery calling for the first time. I’ve never done this before, and I just want to thank you all so much for the way that you have…take care of each other and pray for one another. This community has really spoken into my heart in ways that I never thought was possible. I was looking for an audio Bible and I found this one and it’s exactly what I needed. I’ve been in a dry spell as most of you know who listen. It’s hard to discipline ourselves and sit and read so that’s why we listen and it’s been such a joy to hear all of your voices and it’s very sobering to know that there are so many believers out there and all of us have our struggles. And mine lately has been just, I feel like I’m kind of stuck in my job. I’ve been rotating shifts for 5 ½ years. I am tired and I just finished Bible college and I feel very much called into ministry. My fiancé and I both believe that we are called to serve in some capacity or another and we’re really excited to pursue that, but it just feels like everything is stopped in time and I’m thankful I’m employed, I really am. I know so many people don’t have jobs and my prayers go out to you. But I do feel like my call is in ministry and I’m just…I’m…my patience is…it’s bad. And I know my ministry is where I’m at. I understand that to some extent, but I do know that God is calling us into full-time ministry and I just ask that you’d please pray with me to continue to have patience and to seek out the Lord and to do what I need to do to prepare my heart for when that day comes that He calls us into ministry. Thank you all so much. My love and prayers goes out to all of you. And be blessed in Jesus name.

Hey DAB family I wanted to thank Brian for unpacking Romans lately, particularly July 21st. Brian that summary was amazing. You said, “because of Jesus whom God raised from the dead who fulfilled the law then our faith as with Abraham, our faith in God through Jesus obliterates the sin issue. It’s not supposed to be the thing, sin, that we focus on anymore.” And then you went on and said, “and yet don’t we go on and live our lives under some cloud of accusation and condemnation, don’t we know our failures every single day and drag them around like chains around our ankles or weights on our shoulders or clouds over our heads?” And the answer for me was, yeah, I spend way too much time under the cloud of condemnation instead of under the freedom that Jesus has already one for me. And, so, I’m taking up that challenge that you offered. I’m gonna do the experiment, change the way that I deal with sin. I will be quick now to repent, ask for forgiveness, receive it and then move on and switch from being remorseful and…and…and sin focused and, “O, I did it again” to praising the Lord and, “God what do you want to do next with me?” So, I just wanted to also say that Nehemiah 8:10 says, “the Lord, the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Don’t let the enemy keep you in sin consciousness and steal your joy because it steals your strength too and it’ll also reduce the light of your countenance. And people won’t want to come to you and ask for, “hey, what’s the Good News” if you’re gloomy looking. So, we can do it family. Let’s do it. Let’s take that challenge Brian offered. Love you all. Peace.

I know the plans that I have for you plans not to harm but to prosper you behold I am making all things new return to me and I’ll return to you what an awesome promise from our Lord that I, even I can be restored sins forgiven past ignored blessings in and on me poured God I’m so glad that you’re not like men because your more patient with me than my most patient, patient friend because I return to you again and again and again and again I return to my sin and not to sin some mistaken airing away but blatantly disobedient day after day forgive me father please forgive me now because I do want to serve you please show me how because I read your word I fast I pray and I still fall short every single day and that’s why I thank you for your mercy and your grace for your open arms and your smiling face for letting me know that even though I fail victories mine and I will prevail and I thank you for telling me every day Father the battle is not yours because I still need help staying out of those revolving doors because even though I’m out of Egypt he’s still in me and even though there are no bars walls or chains I know I’m still not free father give you more of your Holy Spirit I love your voice and I long to hear it and one more thing father grant me please an open broken heart on bended knees

[email protected]. And once again Brian and the Hardin family thank you for this wonderful podcast for God’s Holy Spirit to flow. Keep it flowing y’all. All right. Bye-bye.

This is Psychiatrist from California. I am wanting to say thank you to all of the DAB family for being here and showing me your faith and journey with God. It’s been a blessing to know that I’m not alone or unique in suffering but rather unique in the way God created me and who I am. I’d like to pray for my family as we go through this grieving process of losing my dad and we are trying to figure out how to bury him and have a memorial in this time of COVID. Also, I’d like to pray for my cousin’s children who are both atheists and living in ways are harmful to themselves and that they find Jesus and find belief in God who can save them. And I’d like to pray for my friend Sherry whose brother died just before COVID set and the grief that she and her family are going through, his two little kids and wife that have survived him and are trying to make sense of life. Thank you DAB family and thank you God. I love you. Amen.

Hello, my DAB family I’ve come to you today because my family needs covered in prayer as my brother Keith is sick with the coronavirus. They’re not sure if they’re going to have to intubate him, but he’s scared, and I’m scared too. He’s the only family I have left. Please cover him in prayer, that he gets better and according to God’s will. Thank you all and have a good day.

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jiminthestreets-bonesinthesheets · 6 years ago

Text

Lost in Translation - Ch 11

Title: Lost in Translation

Fandom: Star Trek

Pairing: Mckirk

Rating: lemon

Tags: minor character death, hurt, little bit of self destruction, stranded, smut

Summary:

“Attention citizens. This is the crew of the Enterprise asking for your aid. On Stardate 2264.78 a shuttle manned by our captain and fourteen cadets was ambushed by an unknown source and chased out of sight of our ship and into open space. Those cadets as well as our captain, James Tiberius Kirk, are still missing. We are asking anyone with any information on their whereabouts, or regarding the attack, to please contact the Enterprise immediately. Our family would appreciate any assistance you can give.”

AO3 Link

Masterlist

A/N: So this turned into a little treat for y’all! There is definitely a very nice scene in this chapter *wiggles eyebrows* (i guess you could call it... smut) Now, that’s not at all how I originally intended for this chapter to go, but I started writing it, and things happened, and I couldn’t stop them from happening, so I just went with the flow and I liked it! So, yeah, please enjoy! ALSO!!!!!! I owe this entire chapter to my dear friend and Boo @goingknowherewastaken She helped me plan out this entire chapter because shes freaking awesome! So if y’all haven checked her out already, you should!! <3

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Chapter 11

As Len rested his head on Jim's chest, still listening to the constant thrum of his heart, the padd he had abandoned on the bedside table chimed at him. Slowly he lifted his head off of Jim and grabbed the padd.

The next log on the screen was flashing, waiting for Len to play it. This time it was one of Jim's.

He found himself slightly hesitant this time. He wanted to know what had happened, to hear the rest of Jim's logs, and Spock had insisted that there was a reason, something at the end that would make everything fall into place and finally make sense. But it still broke his heart straight to the core that the only way he could hear Jim's voice right now was through his logs. He wanted to hear Jim's real voice, speaking to him face to face, but Jim was still showing no signs of waking up.

With a heavy sigh he forced himself to open the next log, sitting back with the padd in one hand and Jim's hand in the other as it started to play.

“Hey, Bones,” Len closed his eyes at the sound. By this point Jim had been on the planet for at least twenty days now, alone and walking across the empty desert. Len had lost track of the exact date in the logs since Jim had stopped adding stardates to his entries. But what really got Len at this point was the change in Jim's voice. Surely he was malnourished, dehydrated, and in pain from his injuries, but there was almost a distance in Jim's voice now. Almost as if he was starting to lose himself to the planet, to the empty desert, to the loneliness. Delirium was what Len would diagnose, at least the early onset of it. He shook his head trying to push the thought of Jim going crazy alone in the desert out of his mind as it played on, “I was thinking about you today, about how worried you must be by now, and probably scared and I'm sorry for that, Bones. But there was one time you really scared the hell out of me. You were missing and I was running my ass all over campus looking for you, but also… something happened that day and I… I don’t know if you remember, you were pretty drunk that night. But if I do die here, Bones, I want you to know what happened, and that I don’t necessarily regret it, but I wish it had happened under different circumstances. But, do you remember that time I had to peel your ass out of the bar… you probably don’t but I wish you did. You were so drunk you probably don’t even know what happened, you might not even remember getting from the bar back to our room. But, Bones, what happened when we got home… I wish I could have told you, but I was afraid. You were drunk and I wasn’t sure if your reaction was true or if it was because of the alcohol, and if it was I didn’t want to ruin us, I didn’t want to ruin our friendship. But I wish I could have told you how bad I wanted it to be true, Bones, when I had the chance, but I guess if you ever find this comm… now you'll know…”

~~~~~~~~~~~

To say that Jim was worried was the understatement of the year. He was horrified, scared as hell, and on the verge of panic attack number four of the day. He had woke up that morning to find Len gone from their room. His side of the bed was empty and cold, proving he had been gone for a while before Jim woke up, with no note or explanation as to why he had left.

Normally, Jim wouldn’t have been so worried, but it was a rare day. They both had a Wednesday off, the entire day. No classes, no work, just the entire day for themselves, and they had planned out the whole day together. Sleep in, get a late brunch together at the diner in town they both loved, Len had wanted a walk on the beach in the afternoon, a movie after dinner, and Jim had asked if they could lay in the grass at the park that night and watch the stars together.

It was a whole day of just being together, they had both been so excited for the day to come, and now Len was nowhere to be found. It was around eight in the morning when Jim woke up to find him gone, and it was now nearing ten at night. Jim had been from one side of campus to the other, he had asked everyone he could possibly think of that might know of Len’s whereabouts but no one seemed to have any information. He was about to call in a missing persons report when his phone vibrated in his pocket, and he quickly pulled it out to see if it was Len finally returning the fifty voicemails and countless texts he had sent him.

“Bones?!” he had answered the phone so fast he hadn’t even looked at the caller ID.

“Jim,” Jim deflated at the voice on the line, it wasn’t Len's, “hey, it’s Anthony.”

“Hey, man, look,” he sighed, starting up at a run again through campus, “I’d love to talk but now’s not really a good time, I-”

“That’s why I'm calling,” Jim slowed down just slightly to listen better, “heard you were looking for McCoy?”

“I am.”

“I’ve got him here,” Jim released a breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding, “unfortunately I didn’t see him on time before he managed to pump himself full of almost two full bottles of bourbon, so he's practically hanging off my bar, but he's here and I’ll keep him here until you can come get him if you want.”

“Yeah!” Jim started up again at a full run, “Make sure he doesn’t move, I'm on my way!”

~~~~~~~~~~

About fifteen minutes later Jim burst through the doors to the bar. It was quiet tonight, exams were in this week so most students were at home studying, save for the few who were just here for a good time. Looking around he instantly spotted Len at the bar, hanging off of it and looking an absolute mess just as Anthony had said.

A glance to the side had Jim looking at the large bar owner, standing in front of Len on the other side of the bar. Jim wasn’t all too happy that Len was very obviously drunk off his ass, but the pure flow of relief that coursed through him when he finally laid eyes on Len was the best feeling he had ever felt in his life.

When Jim reached the bar, Anthony nodded at him before saying, “Sorry, Jim. I tried to get him to down some water but he won’t have it.”

Jim looked down to Len as he just groaned, then back up to Anthony, “I don’t know which one of my employees allowed him to consume this much alcohol, but believe me when I find them, and I will, they’ll be lucky if I don’t hang their ass by the flagpole in the middle of campus. I'm sorry, man.”

“It’s not your fault,” Jim gave the man a small smile, “I'm just glad he's somewhat alright, or in my sights at least. Thanks for keeping him here.”

“No problem,” Anthony held a hand across the bar for Jim to shake, then gave a nod and said, “I’ll give you two some space,” and walked away.

When Anthony was at the other end of the bar, Jim took up the stool next to Len and sat down with a hand on his back. “Bones, what's going on?”

Len just groaned, his head still buried in his arms on the bar.

“Can’t help you if you don’t talk to me, and you know I'm not gunna stop nagging you until you do,” he gave a slight smirk when Len squirmed beside him, “so you can take your pick, easy way or the hard way.”

Slowly, Len forced himself to sit up straight, well, as straight as he could for as drunk as he was. He turned a scrunched face on Jim, more then likely fighting a raging headache.

Jim grabbed the glass of water that Anthony had tried to give him earlier and forced it into Len's hand, “Drink the whole thing, Bones.”

He did, all in one go, and when he was finished Jim motioned to Anthony for another, forcing that one into his hand as well. “Alright, now tell me what's going on.”

Len took a moment and ran a hand down his face, then reached a hand inside his jacket and handed Jim a folded up envelope. Jim took it, watching Len with worried eyes as he did, and pulled the papers out taking a minute to read them before responding with a deflated sigh, “I'm sorry, Bones.”

“I don’t know what her problem is,” he choked out, “it’s not like I was a bad father.”

“I'm sure you weren’t.”

“I worked extra hours so that we had extra money, so we could give Joanna everything she needed and would ever need,” he shook his head, staring straight ahead as he continued his venting, “and yeah, I know… I know I wasn’t home all the time, but I tried, Jim. I really did. I even tried to make it work with Jocelyn. We both knew long before Joanna came along that we should never have been together, but I tried to make it work for the baby, and she threw everything away, not me. She ruined my life.”

Jim winced at those words, looking away for a moment then turning back. “You can’t think about it that way, Bones. I know things went south for a while after she kicked you out but you got your life back on track. You’ve got a great career ahead of you with Starfleet, you're the head of the medbay at the academy, a few years away from graduating and then you and me will be in space, together, exploring and discovering new things! You have a great life ahead of you, Bones, you can’t look back at the past and let it run your life anymore.”

“Jim, I'm a mess,” he stated firmly, “an absolute, goddamn mess, who obviously can’t keep a handle on it for very long. Says so right in the papers you're holding.”

Jim lifted the papers in front of him and waved them furiously before throwing them on the counter, “These papers are a load of crap, Bones, send them back!”

“I can’t,” he pushed the papers away from him as if they were some kind of plague, “Jocelyn wants to finalize the custody arrangement, that meaning I never get to see Joanna again.”

“Fight it!” Jim leaned in towards Len, “She can’t keep you from your own flesh and blood.”

“I’ve tried,” he replied, sounding more defeated then Jim had ever heard him sound, even at his lowest, “and apparently she can. Because of my track record when she kicked me out, before I got into the academy and straightened out, she's been granted full custody of Joanna. And with the best lawyers this side of the planet, I have no choice.”

Jim sighed with a shake of his head, “I'm sorry, I'm really sorry.”

“Yeah well, guess I had it coming,” he shrugged, “I was obviously a terrible husband, a crappy father, and shit at everything else. I'm only good for screwing things up.”

“Bull!” Jim slammed a fist on the counter making Len turn to look him dead in the eyes, “I would bet my life that you would be the best husband in the world, a fantastic father… an excellent lover. It’s not your fault that this time it was with the wrong person.” Jim hesitantly lifted a hand to Len's face, stroking his thumb across his cheek, and he was sure he heard Len's breath hitch as he did, “Jocelyn doesn’t know what she let go.”

The two of them just stared at each other for a moment, Jim continuing to caress his cheek, and Len not knowing what to do or say. Before the moment could get much more heated, Len turned his attention to the papers on the counter, holding them in his hand.

“I sign these papers, Jim…” he closed his eyes, “I’ve got nothing left.”

Jim nodded, turning away from Len to stare down at the counter and whispered, “You’ve got me.”

Len whipped his head around to Jim, the sodden expression on his face pulling at every heart string he had, “Jim, I didn’t meant it like that, I just-”

Jim lifted his head and turned to Len with a smile, “I know. I just wanted to make sure you knew you weren’t alone, and you never will be again, not as long as I'm around. I promise.”

Those words hit Len like a brick wall. Even when Jocelyn had said her vows, ‘till death do us part’, he knew it was a lie. He knew she wouldn’t be around long, he knew they were never meant to be together and yet he still went through with it. But with Jim… it was different, it had always been different. Right from the start he knew Jim was here to stay, and so was he. He knew that nothing in the world, or the universe could ever tear them apart, but hearing Jim say it out loud, to promise him that when he already knew it was true, meant more to Len then he would ever be able to express in words.

Losing all control over his body, Len leaned into Jim slowly, making sure he had enough time to back out if he wanted to. But he didn’t, in fact Len was sure Jim was leaning in too. If they both wanted this, then why had they waited so goddamn long? It could have been the alcohol talking, but despite his current drunken state, Len still knew he wanted this, he wanted Jim… always had.

He was inches away from his face, he could feel Jim's breath on his lips, their noses touching ever so slightly. He was almost there, almost touching, almost kissing Jim.

He rested a hand on Jim's thigh and was ready to close the gap and make the leap, when his stomach suddenly rolled and betrayed him and before he could kiss Jim, he found himself bending over and completely emptying the contents of his stomach onto Jim's shoes.

Jim groaned throwing his head back in frustration. Not at the fact that Len had just ruined his shoes, but at the fact that it seemed every time they were that close, something happened to completely ruin the moment. Damn it, he was almost there. But maybe it was for the better, Len was obviously not at his best right now and Jim had to concentrate on taking care of him first.

He lifted Len from where he had his head rested on Jim's knee and hooked his arm around his shoulder. As he lifted Len off the seat and began walking with him out of the bar he threw an apologetic look at Anthony, “Sorry, man.”

He merely waved him off saying, “Don’t worry about it, we’ve had much worse. You just make sure you take care of the good doctor.”

Jim gave him a nod in thanks and began the slow trek back across campus to their building.

Half way there Len groaned and laid his head on Jim's shoulder as they continued to stagger across the grounds, “Can’t we just take a cab back?”

Jim chuckled, “Nope. Consider this punishment for ruining my best pair of shoes and making me worry about you all day. And the fresh air will do you good, wake your drunk ass up a little.”

He groaned into Jim's shoulder again as they kept walking.

It took Jim about twice the time it would normally take to get Len home and finally plop him on the couch with a tired sigh of relief. He left him there for a moment to grab him another glass of water and some pain meds for his headache, placing both in his hands before sitting himself on the couch beside him. A quick glance at the clock told Jim it was well past two in the morning already, and he rubbed his tired eyes.

“Jim…”

“Yeah, Bones?” he turned towards his friend who seemed a bit better already. He was sitting up straight and his eyes seemed to finally have some life to them again.

“I… thanks,” he blushed a little in embarrassment, “you didn’t have to do that for me.”

“Of course I did,” he gave Len a stern look, “I told you, I will always be here for you, Bones, no matter what that means. Even if that’s dragging your ass home from the bar at two in the morning, I'm here.”

“You shouldn’t have to be, I'm a grown ass man, I should know better.”

“It’s not exactly your fault. If I got the same letter you got I'm sure I would have also ran to the bar to drink it dry, so I don’t blame you for losing yourself for a while,” he said softly, then turned on Len with a bit of anger in his voice, “but that being said, do not ever do that to me again, Leonard McCoy!” Len flinched at the use of his full name coming out of Jim's mouth, he had never called him anything other then Bones, “I wake up and you're gone?! No note, no message of any kind, not answering calls or texts, no one on campus knows where you are. I thought the worst, Bones! I nearly had a heart attack, and I did, just so you know, have several full blown panic attacks because I couldn’t find you. I was so worried that you were hurt or missing, who knows what could have happened. You scared the absolute hell out of me, Bones, don’t do it again!”

Len had the decency to turn away sheepishly, “Sorry, Jim.”

“You should be,” then he sighed and gave Len a tired smile, “but its okay. You're safe and home with me now, so just next time wake me up or leave a note. Just let me know you're okay.”

‘Safe and home with me’. Len let those words roll around in his mind for a while. He was safe with Jim, and home… home had always been with Jim, where ever he was that’s where Len wanted to be. Jim was his home. It took him far too damn long to figure that out, but there was nothing in his life he knew to be truer then that.

“You know, you were right, Jim,” Jim hummed in response, too tired to do much else, “I wasn’t with the right person, and that’s why it all fell apart. But maybe… maybe the right person was always closer then I thought, right in front of me all along.”

Jim turned tired, almost closed eyes on Len in question, “What do you mean?”

Len watched him for a minute, his eyes going between Jim's own and his lips, and in a rushed decision he whispered, “To hell with Jocelyn,” and before Jim could give any sign of protest he did what he had wanted to do for a long time and closed the gap. He finally kissed Jim.

It was nothing more then a firm press of lips on lips. It lasted mere seconds before Len was pulling back, searching Jim's wide eyes for something, anything, some kind of indication as to whether or not he had crossed an unwanted line. But there was nothing, Jim just remained seated beside him on the couch in… shock?

Len reached out a hand to touch Jim's cheek, to apologize for what he had just done and maybe he could blame it on the alcohol, but before he could say anything Jim leapt forwards and took Len's mouth.

This time the kiss wasn’t so one sided, it was more then Len had ever hoped for in his first time kissing Jim. It was intense, breathtaking, and almost hungry in the way Jim pushed against him begging for more contact. Len pushed back, giving Jim what he wanted and kept pushing until Jim was on his back on the couch with Len on top. Jim sucked Len's bottom lip into his mouth and nipped at it as he opened his legs to let Len settle between them.

There was no tongue, but the two continued to move their lips together in perfect sync. Jim's hands held Len's face close to his, and Len's hands snuck down Jim's body to the edge of his shirt, lifting it up to touch and caress the warm skin there. At the feel of Len's hands on him, Jim bucked up into Len, grinding them together sending pleasure screaming through their bodies. Jim gasped into Len's mouth at the feeling and Len moaned in response, laying his head against Jim's. “Oh, Jim,” he moaned again when Jim bucked once more.

They continued their heated rhythm, sucking on each others lips and Jim bucking and grinding up against Len. After one last kiss, breaking off with a smack, Len trailed his lips down to Jim's neck and began sucking there. Jim's eyes rolled back in his head as he wrapped his arms around Len's neck, weaving his fingers in Len's hair in a tight grip. Between Len sucking on the base of his neck and the friction of their now hard cocks rubbing together through their clothes, Jim was sure he wasn’t going to last much longer. One particularly hard thrust from Len had Jim nearly screaming his name as he tightened his hold on him moaning out a long, “Bones!” before Len's body fell completely against his and stopped moving.

Jim was breathless, his chest heaving and his body shaking, but Len had suddenly stopped everything. His hands were still where they remained pushed up his shirt against his chest, his lips were rested against his neck but no longer sucking on that sweet spot, and his body seemed heavier on his then it did a second ago.

Jim tried to push against Len but he was solid on top of him, and he managed to choke out a breathy, “Bones?” before he heard a soft snore come from the man on top of him.

He had fallen asleep. In the heated throws of their moment, when Jim finally thought he was getting everything that he had wanted and that Len was just as eager for it as he was, he fell asleep.

Jim plopped his head back against the arm rest of the couch with a thud, “You're kidding me…” he sighed.

Maybe this wasn’t the right moment after all. He had been right back in the bar. Len clearly wasn’t himself right now, and he almost felt guilty about taking advantage of his drunken state. This could have ended way worse then it did.

He took a few minutes to calm himself down and catch his breath, before mustering his strength and pushing Len up with him. The man was out cold and didn’t even flinch when Jim stood and carried him bridal across the living room and placed him gently in bed.

He ran a quick shower and hopped in so he could take care of his… current problem, and when he was finished and cleaned off, he changed and hopped into bed beside Len as he did every night. He pulled the blankets up over them both and settled in. He wasn’t surprised when Len turned over in his sleep and wrapped an arm and a leg over Jim and pulled him into his chest. He was tucked right against Len with his head against his chest, his favourite spot to be in the whole world, and how they fell asleep most nights now. But tonight was a little different, it was a little more hopeful after what had happened on the couch.

Len was definitely drunk, but maybe Jim could talk to him about it tomorrow, maybe he would remember something, maybe it wasn’t all an alcohol induced decision. Whatever the case, Jim decided he would cross that bridge tomorrow. Make the choice then whether or not he would talk to Len about what happened.

With that thought pushed aside, he took one last look up at Len's sleeping face and leaned up to place a soft kiss against his lips. To Jim's surprise Len's body responded and pulled him even closer and kissed back just the slightest. When he pulled back and Len's eyes remained closed he smiled and whispered a sweet, “Good night, Bones,” and laid his head back on Len's chest and fell asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~

The sun broke through a crack in the curtains on the window by Len's bed and hit him smack in the face. He covered his eyes with a groan, rolling over in the bed to try and hide his face from the light since he already had the world’s worst headache pounding against his skull. But when he rolled over expecting to roll into Jim's familiar warmth, he found nothing but empty space. Confused, he opened his eyes and confirmed that Jim was gone, and a quick look through the open bedroom door confirmed that he wasn’t in the suite at all.

Len rolled onto his back with an arm over his aching eyes and thought back on the night before. He had kissed Jim, and then Jim had kissed him back. It was hands down the most passionate and breathtaking moment of Len's life and he would give anything to be back in that moment.

He continued through the memory, of pushing Jim back, laying against his chest, roaming his hands over his skin, the kissing, the sucking, the grinding, the pleasure. Did… did Jim actually want this as much as he did, or was that some kind of heat of the moment thing? A part of him wanted to know, wanted to know if Jim really felt that way, the way he seemed to feel last night when he was grinding up into him and moaning in his ear. But did he really want to risk losing Jim only to find out that he was wrong? Maybe he should just wait and see if Jim brought it up. Maybe that was the safest option and he decided that’s how he would play it for now.

The thought only made his headache worse, and so he rolled out of bed to grab more pain meds from the kitchen, but he didn’t have to go far. When he swung his legs over the bed to get himself up, he noticed that Jim had left him a glass of water and meds on the nightstand, but there was also a folded piece of paper leaning against the glass with “Bones” scribbled in Jim's messy writing on the front.

He grabbed the meds and took them both in one go, then grabbed the paper and opened it.

“Bones,

I had to go to an early exam, but I’ll be back around eleven. I just wanted to make sure that this information got to you before you woke up and signed those ridiculous papers. After you passed out last night and I managed to get you in bed, I couldn’t sleep much so I made some calls. This is the number of an old friend of mine, we used to be neighbours in Iowa. His name is Rami Ramesky, and he's a big time family lawyer based out of L.A. I told him your situation last night and he said he would be more then willing to help you out.

He had mentioned that since we would be going into space in a few short years, it wouldn’t make much sense to completely refute the custody arrangement, since its not like you can have weekends and certain holidays with Joanna while we are light years away, but he did come up with a plan. He wants to suggest that an open line of communication is always available between you and Joanna, anytime, and upon docking for shore leave you would have full access to unsupervised visits with Joanna including any holidays we are docked for, since Jocelyn would have Joanna for the entire time we are in space.

I know I may have overstepped a bit but… please call him, Bones. I don’t want to see you kept away from your daughter because of your ex-wife’s unreasonable demands, and I know Rami can help you win this. He's a great lawyer, Bones, I looked him up. He's won ninety percent of all of his cases, and I wouldn’t be recommending him to you if I thought he would only disappoint you.

Please call him, Bones.

Love, Jim”

Bones couldn’t help but smile as he read over the note once more. The fact that Jim had gone out of his way to make sure Len had a second chance at his daughter was beyond anything anyone had ever done for Len in his life, and only solidified his love for Jim that much more. And of course Jim hadn’t overstepped, he never could in Len's eyes, and he was glad he had Jim by his side no matter what.

With a new found determination and a slight swelling in his heart, Len crossed the room and went directly for the computer and called the number at the bottom of the page.

~~~~~~~~~~~

“After that night I was too afraid to bring it up.” Jim's voice came choked through the padd, and Len could feel tears welling in his eyes, stinging, “Now that I'm here, I wish I had though. I was never really sure if what happened that night between us was because you were drunk, or if it was something you actually wanted. But you should know, I wanted it, Bones, so bad.”

Len closed his eyes trying to will the tears away as Jim went on, “And I figured that since you never brought it up after that night, you didn’t remember. So I thought it was because you were drunk after all, and that you never really felt that way about me, so I let it go. Figured if I could still have you as a friend it was better then losing you to a misunderstanding. But you should know, that was the best moment of my life. And looking back now I think maybe we did both hold some feelings for each other, and I wish that we hadn’t wasted all this time dancing around our fears. So, Bones, if I don’t make it back just know, from day one it was always you…”

By the time the log ended Len was fighting with all his might to hold back the sobs he could feel stuck in his throat. He took a moment before he spoke, not quite trusting his voice, then with a shaky breath he looked to Jim, “Oh kid, I definitely remember that night with you, and hell if we aren’t both the biggest idiots in the whole damn universe,” he closed his eyes and shook his head, “of course I felt the same way about you, but like you, I was never sure if you felt that way about me. And you're right, looking back now, we were fools not to say anything and I regret not telling you that I remembered every second of that night.”

He ran his thumb across Jim's fingers before continuing, “I wish I would have told you, but I was so afraid I would lose you, just like you were afraid to lose me, Jim-” he had to turn away for a moment to compose himself before turning back, “damn it, Jim, all the time we’ve wasted, we could have been together like we should have been, then maybe this wouldn’t have happened.”

The wait was killing Len. Going through these logs and hearing Jim's confessions while he was still lying in bed in a coma, where Len could talk but Jim couldn’t hear him. He wanted Jim to wake up so he could tell him everything he should have said years and years ago. Len squeezed his hand and took a shuttering breath, “Everything good in my life has happened because of you, Jim. I stayed in Starfleet because of you, graduated because of you, I am where I am today because of you, and Joanna,” he lifted a hand up to wipe the tear sliding down his cheek, “because of you I was able to keep in contact with my daughter. That lawyer you recommended did exactly what you said he would and I was able to have open communication with her up here, and you sat beside me during every single hearing until we won the case. Without you, Jim, I would have just signed those papers, so you see how bad I need you, kid?”

Len leaned back in his chair, pulling Jim's hand into his lap, “Maybe when we get back, and I take you to Georgia, we’ll pick up Joanna. And the three of us can spend some time together, you can finally meet her. I’ve told her all about you, she always asks about you, but I think its time you two met.” Len nodded to himself, “When we get to Georgia, Jim, when we get home, I… I want us to be a family. You, me, Joanna, the three of us. Now I just need you to wake up so I can tell you all this, so we can actually do that, so please Jim… just wake up.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: Soooooo, yeah! That’s that! Let me know what you guys thought of this chapter and if anyone wants to be tagged in the future let me know! Tags: @goingknowherewastaken @medicatemedrmccoy @weresilver-in-space @resistance-is-futile81 @flaminglupine @0dannyphantom0 @bi-e-ne @haveyouseenmymind @jimboy-mccoy @reading-in-moonlight

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eleanor-writes-stuff · 6 years ago

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a language of its own - Day 11

“And the heart is hard to translate, it has a language of its own.”

All the ways Rey and Ben say “I love you”.

It’s Day 11 of my 12-day Valentine’s collection! Today’s prompt is a wipe my tears away kind of love, and it marks a triumphant return to soft fluff after our slight detour. Way longer than a thousand words, but that goes without saying at this point, right? Happy reading!

12 Days of Valentine’s Also available on AO3 Psst, you can also find me on Twitter and Ko-fi!

It’s way too bright outside by the time Rey wakes up.

For a moment there she’s so disoriented by the sight of sunlight spilling into their room in November that she fails to realize just how fucked she is. But eventually her eyes drop from the crack between the curtains to land on the digital clock on Ben’s nightstand, and that’s when she starts freaking out.

Seven minutes past nine. It’s seven minutes past nine, and she’s still tangled up in her sheets instead of dressed and awake and at work the way she’s supposed to be.

“Fuck,” Rey hisses as her frantic attempts to kick off the sheets lead to her falling over the edge with a thump. “Fuck, fuck, fuck–”

“Rey?”

She finally breaks free and peers over the side of the bed to find Ben looking at her with a slight furrow between his brows and an apron tied around his neck.

“Ben! Ben, it’s way past seven, we’re going to be so late–”

He steps into the room with a laugh and helps her up. “Sweetheart, I don’t have anywhere to be anymore, remember? And neither do you, today.”

“But I– your dad– wait.” Realization is slow to dawn upon her until she catches sight of the date tucked away in the top right corner of Ben’s clock. 11/03/19 grabs her attention and gives her pause, and suddenly the whole thing makes sense.

“Ben, you know I don’t–”

“I know,” he tells her, pulling her into his arms and dropping a kiss on her crown. She wants to tell him that’s cheating, wants to step away from him and demand that he put an end to this before it starts, but it’s too late. “Happy birthday, Rey,” Ben murmurs against her forehead, and he’s so goddamn gentle about it that she gives in with a sigh.

“Baby, I appreciate whatever it is you’ve planned for today but there’s a reason I don’t…” celebrate. Ever. Not once in all the time he and the others have known her, not even when she and Finn first met at the age of sixteen. Funny how it’d taken her two years to tell Finn why her birthday never seemed to roll around but only two months to tell Ben all about the day she’d been abandoned on the steps of a police station with no birth certificate, no documentation, nothing but a tiny scrap of paper bearing three hastily scrawled letters.

Today is the twenty-second anniversary of that day.

Ben steps back and swallows her protests with a kiss. “I got my dad to give you the day off so that you can do whatever you want… whether that’s having a party with all your friends tonight or ignoring everyone so that we can pretend today is just another day. It’s all up to you, Rey.”

She knows that despite her best attempts this past week to communicate just how not into her birthday she is, sweet old Chewie probably brought cake into work today anyway. Rose must have arranged for flowers and a teddy bear to be delivered as always, and Poe will be running around town trying to hunt down the perfect gag gift in the hopes of making her laugh. And Finn… Finn’s birthday wishes are always somehow both the best and the worst, because he’s the only one who can come anywhere close to understanding how she feels but he just can’t seem to get why she still feels this way after all these years, why she’s refusing to let herself heal and rise above her past.

But Chewie’s cake and her friends’ gifts can’t reach her in this apartment where Finn’s sincere wishes and Poe’s bad jokes can easily be silenced by ignoring her phone and the outside world. The heartfelt words, the carefully selected gifts… Ben’s offering to let her put it all on hold until she’s ready and able to handle it with grace. “That… that sounds kinda perfect, actually,” Rey concedes, wrapping her arms around his waist as she buries her face in his neck.

“Okay,” Ben says, one hand coming to rest low on her waist. “Just another day it is, then,” he declares, running his fingers through her hair as she nuzzles his neck. It’s only been two weeks since he walked away from his disaster of a job, but already Rey’s gotten used to waking up with him still fast asleep and curled around her, to having him all to herself.

Since it’s just another day, Ben tells her to go get washed up while he transfers breakfast from the birthday tray he’d carefully put together to their little coffee-slash-dining table. It feels more like a weekend than anything else when they squeeze themselves into the gap between the table and the couch and take their own sweet time enjoying every single breakfast food Ben could find in their kitchen.

After, he hauls her up to the couch and queues up a Pixar marathon, a little rainy day tradition they’d unintentionally formed two years ago. Outside it’s still unseasonably sunny for this time of year, but Ben pulls her close and lets her cuddle into his side anyway, draping one furnace-warm arm around her shoulders.

They spend the afternoon like this until Rey’s stomach rumbles, and even then Ben gives her the option of calling for pizza or waiting for him to go ahead with the special birthday dinner he’d had in mind for her. Her heart feels almost too full when he shows no disappointment at all over her choice of pizza, telling her with a shrug that he’s too hungry to cook anyway.

Later, much later, long after the last Pixar movie and the final slice of pizza, shortly after she let Ben talk her into accepting at least one birthday present, Rey curls into his side and places a kiss on his bare shoulder while his thumb traces a soothing, repetitive pattern over her hip.

“It’s not that I don’t like birthdays,” she murmurs into the night. “Or celebrations, or gifts. I love gifts, I love that you guys care enough to get me something. I love that you care enough to plan this whole day, even if I did kinda ruin it.”

Ben curls one arm around her waist and pulls her closer so that he can brush his lips along her forehead, so that she’s half on top of him. “You didn’t ruin anything, sweetheart. It’s your birthday. You get to decide what you want to do, even if it’s nothing.”

“I love birthdays,” Rey insists. “I really do. I just…”

His thumb grows still. “Just?”

She readjusts her head on Ben’s chest with a sigh, words nearly drowned out by her little sounds of happiness and the rustle of the sheets. “I just don’t like the way I feel on them, that’s all.”

Warm lips linger on her temple as one big hand curves along her hip, effortlessly spanning nearly half of her. All of this Ben does without comment, wordlessly encouraging her to go on, to confide in him.

A shuddery breath pushes past her lips. “Lonely,” Rey finally confesses into the night. “Every year I just feel so lonely, no matter how many people I’m with, no matter how many friends I’m surrounded by. As if deep down I’m still that baby on the steps, still the kid no one wanted, all alone in this world.”

She doesn’t even realize she’s crying until her tears streak across her face to pool between her cheek and Ben’s chest. There’s no great big sob stuck in her throat, no acute sadness in her heart, just… memories and feelings she’s never quite been able to bury completely even as they grow distant and faint.

Ben moves to rest on his side, putting them eye to eye and chest to chest as he gently wipes away her tears, thumbing at the saltwater streaks down her cheeks. When he lets his hand fall away she moves closer and tucks her head under his chin, takes a shaky breath as he wraps his arms around her.

“You’re not alone,” Ben murmurs just as she’s about to close her eyes, and Rey draws back to find his gaze fixed intently upon her. “You don’t ever have to be alone again, Rey. I promise.”

You’re not alone anymore, Finn had pointed out the first time she told him about her birthday. We’re not going anywhere, Rose and Poe and all the others have repeatedly assured her. But somehow all of it has always felt so temporary, so fragile, as if any day now they’d wake up and come to the same realization that had led her parents to abandon her on those steps.

But the way Ben says it, holding her in his arms in their bed in the home they’ve made together…

Together, she’d promised him when it felt like his life was falling to pieces.

Together, he’s proven to her time and time again these past few years.

Rey reaches down, finds the hand curled around her hip and takes it in her own. “Neither do you,” she whispers, giving Ben a small smile as the implications of his promise wash over her.

He meets her halfway, leaning down just as she tilts her head up to kiss him. It’s soft and slow, the both of them tired after a long day of nothing, and when he pulls away it’s only to touch his forehead to hers as he brushes a sweet Eskimo kiss against her nose. “Happy birthday, sweetheart.”

And for once, it is.

I've been working on this for a full day now, so I think it's time to let go and move on to the next piece.

It feels like more ground should have been covered since this is the penultimate ficlet leading up to the you-know-what, but the last few pieces have been so unexpectedly heavy that I quite like the idea of this one slowing things down and guiding us back into fluff territory. It's a bridge between days 10 and 12, I guess. Or at least that's what I'm telling myself because otherwise I'll never stop trying to fix this.

Anyway, Day 12 is upon us, friends... so you know what that means! @nancylovesreylo predicted a few chapters back that these idiots wouldn't actually get around to saying it until the last day and now here we are. You know me too well, Nancy!

As always, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it. Please don't hesitate to like/reblog/comment, and I'll see you tomorrow (or later today, I guess) for the final ficlet!

Bonus headcanon: the one time Ben talked about his nose being too big, Rey shut it down by saying it's perfect for Eskimo kisses. So that's a thing for them now.

#reylo #rey x ben #kylo ren/rey #rey/kylo ren #rey/ben solo #star wars #rey #ben solo #kylo ren #ficlet: language of its own #my fics

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makeste · 6 years ago

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BnHA Chapter 173: Campus Tour

Previously on BnHA: Class A hashed out everyone’s roles for the upcoming band performance/dance party. Momo wound up on keyboard, Jirou is doing vocals in addition to bass, and Kaminari and Tokoyami will be playing guitar. A staging team was also assembled, consisting of Aoyama, Sero, Kirishima, Kouda, and Shouto. And the rest of class A (as well as Aoyama again, for some reason) will be on the dance team. The next day Deku went to meet with All Might. He explained that he could only maintain 20% OFA for a short while and that it wasn’t enough to beat Overhaul and he needed some sort of long distance attack. All Might was all “then LET’S TAKE THIS OUTSIDE, SON”, and they went out to the forest and he had Deku activate 20% OFA and do a cool wind attack and fuck up some trees! And long story short, basically Deku has to learn how to utilize 20% OFA in just his hands rather than in full cowl, so that way he can whip out the wind attack whenever he wants without putting too much strain on himself. Having settled that, we then fast-forwarded one month later to the day of the cultural fest, (ETA: nope) with Mirio bringing Eri to U.A.

Today on BnHA: Mirio and Deku take Eri on a fun tour of U.A. to help her get a little more familiar with the place before the chaos and commotion of the festival. During the course of their wanderings they first come across the members of class B who are constructing the set and props for the fantasy play they’ll be doing in the festival. They then stop by to greet Hadou (who’s running for Miss Con which is basically a beauty pageant thing) and Tamaki before heading down to the support department, where they ooh and ahh at Mei’s cool giant robot. Finally they take a breather in the cafeteria and ask Eri what she thinks. She says she’s not sure, but since everyone is trying their hardest, she wants to see how it will turn out. The kids take that as a win, and Rat Principal -- who is sitting at a table nearby -- says that he’s excited too. We have a brief flashback to a meeting he had with the Commissioner General, who wanted U.A. to cancel the event. Rat Principal begged him to reconsider, saying that he felt it was necessary for the students. In the end they got the okay, on the stipulation that if the security is breached or the alarm goes off for any reason, the event will immediately be called off and evacuated. Back in the present, Deku bids Eri farewell, and one week later Mina abruptly boots him off of the dance team.

(As always, all comments not marked with an ETA are my unspoiled reactions from my first readthrough of this chapter. I’ve read up through chapter 199 now, so any ETAs will reflect that.)

did these motherfuckers really just spell Kacchan as Ka-chan

(ETA: the Jaimini’s Box translations have had a lot of issues lately so I’ve mostly been sticking to Mangastream now)

also [whips out nerd glasses] according to the U.A. class schedule from the databook, the kids in fact do not have Saturdays off, typically. though maybe they have this specific Saturday off? since they said the temporary license course group also had a break

anyways, these guys are lucky that I’m in a super good mood and don’t feel like nitpicking too much BECAUSE!

IIDA MOTHERFUCKING TENYA HAS HIT THE DANCE FLOOR Y’ALL

I’m going to create a new folder on my PC right now just for pictures of Iida dancing. once it is full I will post them all, and then whenever I am sad all I’ll have to do is go back and look at that post

(ETA: oh yeah I still need to do that at some point lol. when the going gets tough, remember Dancing Iida)

also it appears that Aoyama has fully jumped ship to the dance team, because the staging team is just Shouto, Sero, Kiri, and Kouda now

meanwhile Mirio is hiding in the bushes plotting some sort of hilarious entrance!

BUT HE HAS BEEN SPOTTED

DAMMIT DEKU

also! I figured that since Eri was there, it must be the day of the festival! but I guess it isn’t! which means he’s brought Eri to hang out with all of her class A sibs early! WHICH MEANS THIS IS GOING TO BE MY FAVORITE CHAPTER OF ALL TIME, ISN’T IT

MIRIO WHAT ARE YOU DOING

I’m crying sob help

lmao Ojiro is all IS THAT SENPAI’S KID?? as though that’s somehow the ONLY POSSIBLE EXPLANATION. not his little sister, not his cousin, not even Aizawa’s kid despite him also being right there. nope. this must be Toogata Mirio’s illegitimate child

(ETA: Mangastream version just says “is that his kid” which makes me think he is in fact referring to Aizawa, which makes a lot more sense but is less hilarious though.)

Ochako and Tsuyu are immediately complimenting Eri’s fucking adorable outfit, which is 100% the correct reaction. FOR FUCK’S SAKE. HER FIRST TIME WEARING SHOES AND THEY GOT HER THE CUTEST FUCKING BOOTS IN THE WORLD. and the little kid purse that matches her outfit. I can’t

Mirio is now hauling himself out from the bushes dejectedly while Aizawa explains that they got permission from the principal to let her visit

apparently the principal quite rightly said that Eri should visit on a quieter day first so she could get used to being around people since she’s been cut off from society until now and they don’t want her to get overwhelmed

and she is indeed shyly running back to Mirio and taking his hand

so now Iida’s coming up to introduce himself

...and Mineta is officially being the MOST cancelled he’s ever been, holy fucking shit. usually I just ignore his crap, but jesus. “I’m looking forward to meeting you again in ten years!” he says. to a six-year-old. how the fuck is that funny. can’t Aizawa just fucking expel his ass already. can we just delete him already please. god

(ETA: it’s even worse coming right off of 172 where he was much more tolerable than usual. one step forward, ten million steps back. took so many fucking steps backward he went and tumbled off a fucking cliff good grief)

ugh. anyway, so Mirio’s asking Deku if he wants to come with them

they’re going to walk around U.A. with Eri and give her the tour I guess

EYYYYY

I was just thinking to myself, it didn’t seem right that all of the other interns got to say hi and not him!

omg

HE’S KIRISHIMA! YOUR NEW BEST FRIEND!

now they should go take her to watch the band practice because I want her to meet Bakugou. I just do. it could go very good or very bad but either way, I’m all in

(ETA: am I the only one who wants this?? I agree with the anon who said a while back that we have been robbed of Shouto+Eri interactions, but also! Bakugou Katsuki, who recently leveled up and got his babysitting certification! Bakugou, who would be so awkward around her, but supposing there was ever a crisis situation though? he would be super gruff and he’d tell her not to worry and that he won’t let anything happen to her and that if any villains try to start some shit he’ll kick their ass. Bakugou who wouldn’t be at all intimidated by her quirk and would think it’s badass. Bakugou who also knows what it’s like to be held prisoner by villains, even if it was only for a short while and under very different circumstances. idk you guys I just think there’s a lot of potential there and I’d love to see it. my list of people who I want to see interacting with Eri is getting fairly long by this point. and for that matter, Aizawa himself is on that fucking list too because even though he’s been acting as her guardian, it’s usually Mirio and Deku who interact with her directly.)

why are these weirdos putting their uniforms back on

is there some rule that you have to be in uniform whenever you’re at school or what

(ETA: actually this is probably the case since everyone else also has either their regular or gym uniforms on)

anyway, they’re running across some third years from the business department, and they seem to know Mirio and they’re saying hi

why is everyone on this damn campus jumping to this conclusion lmao

(ETA: and this time the MS translation is making the same joke. I think)

they’re handing out program fliers to him and Deku and telling them to come visit during the festival

oh dang

holy shit. they’re really going all out. even for something like a culture festival, U.A. don’t play

EYYYYYYYYY

I love that Monoma appears to be standing up on tiptoes to peek at them excitedly. “FUCK YEAH TIME TO INDULGE IN MY FAVORITE PASTIME”

Deku’s asking Eri if she’s okay as though he’s not the one who nearly had a heart attack just now

she says she thought it was the “falling lady”, referring to Ryuukyuu. oh my god. so fucking cute I’m gonna die

(ETA: the notion that Eri’s lasting impression of Ryuukyuu is as the giant dragon that came busting through the roof just tickles me so fucking much you guys)

Monoma is declaring war as usual

WE’LL SEE ABOUT THAT, FRIEND

oh my god

“completely original”

this is the best joke ever if this translation is accurate. please be accurate. class B you are giving me life right now

(ETA: you bet it’s accurate. and since this is the future, THIS SHIT IS ALL IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN NOW, Y’ALL. so put those lawyers away and prepare yourselves for the fantasy epic of a lifetime)

Awase is knocking him out and apologizing because Kendou wasn’t there so “he went unchecked”

OH MY GOD

HE’S RUNNING FOR MISS CON. THIS WHOLE ARC TRULY IS HORIKOSHI’S TENDER, LOVING APOLOGY FOR THAT HALLWAY OF BULLSHIT

(ETA: yet another mistranslation from Jaimini but CAN YOU IMAGINE THOUGH. but yeah, obviously what he’s actually saying is that Kendou is running)

Deku’s still shocked and says Aizawa didn’t say a single word to them about Miss Con. probably because he wasn’t able to mention it to you all at a time when Mineta was conveniently out of the room

(ETA: and also because it’s the least rational thing in the world and he will be DAMNED if his kids get caught up in that nonsense when they have more important things to be doing)

Mirio is apologizing to Eri for “suddenly showing you U.A.’s bad side” lmao

look at his face though

“I’m sorry Eri. Monoma was acting like a cotton-headed ninny muggins”

EYYYYYYYYYYY

she’s got it in the bag this year for sure

she’s floating over to say hi!

IS THAT TAMAKI WITH THE CAMERA??

Deku is so flustered he can’t even make eye contact. U.A.’s very own awkward bi icon

Hadou’s saying that she’s never won and that there’s a girl in the class G support team who beats her every year

in a world of quirks, it occurs to me that even lashes like this might legitimately be “maybe she’s born with it” and not automatically “maybe it’s maybelline”

EYYYYYYYYYYYYY

GOOD OL’ TAMAKI

Hadou is smiling and saying that this year she’ll definitely win

I’m amazed and pleased that she hasn’t started asking Eri inappropriate questions. even she can respect boundaries when it’s important! UNLIKE SOME CANCELLED PURPLE FUCKS

ohhh snap now they’re stopping by the development studio

okay now this looks more like what I was expecting the last time we saw this place

CAN ONE OF YOU GENIUSES PLEASE BUILD SOMETHING TO RESCUE TONY STARK. HE IS STRANDED IN SPACE

Mirio says they’re preparing for the technology exhibition that they hold every year. apparently it gets a lot of media attention

oh here we go

eyyyyyyyyy

so she’s showing off her latest giant robot, and they’re acting appropriately impressed. everyone loves giant robots

she says that for the hero department, the sports festival is where they garner attention. but now their department gets to be the main attraction

although, given the type of attention the sports festival garnered, you might want to reconsider being so pleased about that

also, didn’t Aizawa say that this year’s festival would be more lowkey due to all the shit that’s gone down recently? I mean, that’s the plan, anyway. apparently we’re going to be invaded by a gentlevillain so we’ll see how that actually goes

oh shit, Mei’s robot just blew the fuck up

“AGAIN”

HEY EVERYONE! IT’S A SINGLE PANEL OF THE TENTH MOST POPULAR CHARACTER, SHINSOU

HEY’S STILL HERE. JUST FYI. STILL EXISTS. STILL POPULAR

(ETA: you guys I’m so excited I finally got to the part of the manga where Shinsou Does Stuff Again. you don’t even know)

so now they’re at the cafeteria and Eri’s sitting down with some juice

they’re asking what she thought and whether she thinks she’ll be comfortable at the festival

;_____;

she is so good so pure I love her please protect her always!!!

lmaooooo

ERI YOUR BROTHERS ARE HUGE FUCKING DORKS

OH MY GOD

WERE YOU TWO HERE THIS WHOLE TIME

Rat Principal says he’s also excited for the culture festival and that the students always do their best to create a good time for everyone

oh?

I’m so curious to hear more about U.A.’s behind the scenes struggles. dammit. Rat Principal always gotta keep a tight lid on gossip

now he’s walking off and telling them to enjoy the festival to their heart’s content

YESSSSS A FLASHBACK TO U.A.’S BEHIND THE SCENES STRUGGLES!!

LAY IT ON ME

well now we finally know who this guy is. this is the second time we’ve seen him; the first was right after All Might’s retirement

he’s not wrong. U.A. has been a magnet for trouble lately, and they have several students who are known targets of the League. not to mention a weakened All Might. basically another attack is probably inevitable at some point, and they don’t want to test fate, because if there is an attack and anything goes wrong, that’s probably it for the school and that’s the last thing they need. they desperately need this place to stay open

Rat Principal acknowledges that he’s right, but he says that he considers this event to be necessary for the kids

and that’s true also! they really need the morale boost right about now. they’ve had one hell of a year

Rat Principal, you’re really not so bad for a totally evil guy

so they apparently worked out an agreement, and have fortified security yet again, and if by any chance an alarm sounds -- even if it’s false -- they will immediately suspend activities and evacuate

back in the cafeteria, Midnight says that talk of class A’s program has even made it to the staff room, and she’s telling them to work hard

well of course class A was discussed in the staff room. I imagine they’re the number one subject of gossip most of the time no matter what

Eri’s asking what Deku’s class is doing, and he’s explaining that it’s going to be a dance party

this chapter cleared my skin and watered my crops you guys and it’s just the best

and now we’re cutting to one week later

LMAO

WE’RE SORRY MAN. YOU JUST DON’T GOT THE RHYTHM

ah well. at least he has an adorable little munchkin of a sibling whom he can now spend the day wandering the school with again, maybe. and beating back gentlevillains with his new finger cowl wind move

there is a bonus page but I’m short on time today to include it, so I’ll just throw it in there tomorrow instead! plus ultra!

#bnha #boku no hero academia #midoriya izuku #toogata mirio #eri (bnha)#rat principal #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #makeste reads bnha #brb #gotta go figure out what I did with that dancing iida folder

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agirlinjapan · 6 years ago

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Red Data Girl: My Wish on the Night of the Shooting Stars (Week 9)

Red Data Girl: My Wish on the Night of the Shooting Stars By Noriko Ogiwara A Translation

Miss the last piece? Read it here!

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This week’s RDG is short again. To make it up to you though, I’ll be posting an extra (regular-length!) installation of RDG next week. I had a great month of literary abandon as they put it at NaNoWriMo, but now it’s time to get back to RDG.

Happy Hanukkah to all my readers who are celebrating tonight. Happy holidays to everyone else! Let the season of giving begin!

Red Data Girl: My Wish on the Night of the Shooting Stars By Noriko Ogiwara Chapter 2: Reexamination Part 1 (2 of 3)

This was the first time she had seen Takayanagi since the end of the festival. Like so many other male students, he was wearing a blue button up shirt, a pinstriped tie, a white vest, and uniform pants. However, his clothes seemed so starched and well ironed that everything he was wearing had to be new. It made him stand out from the other students. The uniform fit his average height and frame perfectly which only made him stand out more. It was unusual to see such a well-tailored new uniform. Most students’ uniforms had been altered more times than they could count.

As for Takayanagi’s hair which he had recently cut, the look would have been more appropriate on the historical figure Shirou Amakusa than a student. Seeing him like this after the festival and out of his Warring States era clothes was equally strange as his new uniform. If it had been anyone but Takayanagi, the hairdo would have been strange enough to make the wearer a social outcast, Izumiko thought to herself. However, Takayanagi was unaffected by the students’ reactions. Izumiko could see that there was an old fashioned elegance to his look. At least that point would afford him some approval with the other students.

Izumiko stood in front of Takayanagi, her face stiff. “Are you sure you want to talk with me? I’m most likely going to say some things you don’t want me to.”

“That’s fine. I will most likely do the same. I can explain what happened the other day. I don’t believe you saw everything that occurred.”

I have to let him have it…

Izumiko took a deep breath, but she could not make the word “dog” come out of her mouth.

After a few seconds of silence passed by, Takayanagi said brightly, “Here. I bought something I thought I could give to you. It’s a souvenir from Kyoto.”

Takayanagi pulled a hand from behind his back and opened it to reveal a small box sitting on his palm.

“It’s a lesser known Kyoto confection. During the Nara era, the Japanese envoy to China brought it with them just like this as an offering to the Buddhist deity Nandikesvara. At the time, the confection was so valuable that only nobles ate it. They called it a Chinese deep fried pastry. Now, there’s only one shop in Kyoto that makes it.”

So Takayanagi went back home… Izumiko thought as she gazed down at the paper wrapped box from the old shop. She understood a little better now why Takayanagi was acting so relaxed. He had probably received a lot of support when he had returned to his family.

“I can’t accept this.”

“It’s not enchanted or anything of that sort. The confection is made with purity in mind. The craftsmen even purify themselves before they make them. So please, have a taste of thousand year old Kyoto,” Takayanagi said.

Still, Izumiko did not take the offered box.

“What are you playing at?”

“It’s strange that you’ve forgotten already. Didn’t I make myself clear after I found you in the woods?” His voice remained bright even as he said this. It seemed like this wasn’t a bluff, and that he meant what he was saying. “I have my family’s permission as well. I believe you and I need to talk further, Izumiko.”

Izumiko’s mouth might have been open, but there was no way she couldn’t have gotten any words out of it. She could sense that students from Class C were listening attentively from a distance away.

At the end of the festival while Takayanagi had still been in his dog form, he had apologized to Izumiko and asked her to turn him back to the way he had been before. He hadn’t made the request in his usual arrogant way either.

Before Izumiko could respond though, a decisive alto voice cut through the air.

“How the hell did you find the nerve to come over here, Takayanagi?”

Izumiko looked down the hallway to see the scowling figure of Mayura standing there with her fists on her hips. Miyuki was standing there next to her as well. The two of them had noticed Takayanagi’s disappearance from their classroom, and had come to help. Izumiko let out an unconscious sigh of relief.

“You shouldn’t speak like that, Mayura. It’s uncouth.”

“Well, I’m shocked beyond words to find you here. Are you still not going to admit that you lost even now?”

Takayanagi gave a quiet chuckle. “Heh. So you think your win’s already decided? Because you won the first match? Nothing’s settled yet. I plan to make a formal complaint saying that there’s been a misunderstanding. As a judge, Hodaka Murakami made a mistake.”

Unlike Izumiko, Mayura had no restraints holding her back.

“Even though you got turned into a dog?”

“I wish you wouldn’t speak about things you know nothing about. There were a number of hallucinations during the school festival due to the field tests the diviners and I were conducting that day. The abilities Izumiko demonstrated were also due to those tests. It would be correct to say that I was the one who performed a great deed.”

When Mayura did not respond to this right away, Takayanagi continued. “I’ll be visiting the student government after school today. I’ve been promised that I can speak directly to President Hodaka. You’re welcome to sit in on our conversation.”

The real reason why Takayanagi hadn’t been in school the day before was because he had been seeking out the shadow president. Somehow, he had managed to overwhelm the top student government members surrounding him and get what he wanted.

“Well, I’ll see you around.”

They watched as Takayanagi’s hand shot out, forcing the souvenir from Kyoto into Izumiko’s hand. Then he turned on his heel and walking away. However, neither Mayura nor Miyuki were fast enough to stop him.

After watching him go, Miyuki said to Mayura almost questioningly, “What just happened?…”

“Don’t worry. We all made sure none of the students around here could hear what we were talking about. Even Takayanagi’s self-preservation goes that far.”

“You’re probably right, but you never know,” Miyuki said carelessly. Then he turned to Izumiko who was still holding the box, and grimaced.

“You shouldn’t have taken that, stupid.”

“But—”

It wasn’t as if she could just throw the box in her hand down the hall and away from her that very instant. Besides, Takayanagi’s story about the confection had been intriguing, and now she was uncomfortably curious over the contents of the box. She felt a little ashamed of herself.

“…He said there wasn’t any magic on it.”

“He could bind you to him with just one bite of whatever that is,” Miyuki said through gritted teeth.

Mayura, standing next to him, intervened. “Calm down. I’ll make sure it’s not dangerous. Izumiko, here. Give it to me. Finding out if food is unsafe is Masumi’s specialty.”

Miyuki turned to look at Mayura, his expression somewhat surprised. “He can do something that useful?”

“That’s rude. He can do even more in Togakushi.”

As Mayura and Miyuki bantered back and forth, Izumiko’s ears were drawn to the conversation some of the girls from Class C were having behind her. They had stopped talking about Takayanagi, and were looking at them and whispering to each other instead.

“Those two from Class A are always together. I think they’ll become an actual couple sooner or later.”

“With them standing so close to each other like that, it sure makes it look like they’re together.”

“They’d really make a good pair.”

“I don’t want to say it, but they might be the best couple in the grade.”

“It’s like they came out of nowhere and knocked all the other couples aside. It’s a little frustrating, isn’t it?”

Surprised, Izumiko looked at the two in front of her, and saw that she too agreed with what the girls were saying. Anyone who looked at Mayura and Miyuki would most likely see the connection between them. Even some part of Izumiko had already noticed it.

She thought back to the conversation she had had with Mayura that morning.

There’s no rumor about me and Miyuki. I didn’t know it, but what Mayura said before about me and Takayanagi wasn’t wrong. She didn’t say anything about a rumor that had to do with herself though…

Of course, Izumiko knew that in truth. There was nothing between Mayura and Miyuki. All the same, something deep down in her chest still hurt. The more the Souda siblings, Miyuki, and Izumiko did things together, the more everyone around them would naturally mistake Miyuki and Mayura for a couple. That was also clear to Izumiko as she stood there, looking at the two of them.

There was no way for her to be happy about it with that reality thrust right in front of her, though.

Keep reading!

#rdg #red data girl #rdg 6 #rdg 6 week 9 #rdg my wish on the night of the shooting stars #translation

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