#the entire bit with her just like... flopping for pebbles

[arikuraaa]

Don't remember how it started, but I finally ended up reading Taking life as is by @nerdydowntherabbithole

I have WAY more sketches in progress but figured I had to commit to finishing one at a time cause if not, I'll just have a million unfinished pieces.

Anyways, love Arti being forcefully domesticated, it makes me laugh every time.

The original was meant to be in limited color, but I found that it was tough to keep consistency so I scrapped it.

[mo0dy-succubus]

I only want you

Dom!miyeon x sub!soyeon

G!p miyeon

First time

Oral sex

Vaginal penatration

(Very) brief mention of masterbation

Jeon soyeon was the nerdy type throughout college. Glasses, always studying, spending time in her room or the library when she's not in classes. She was introverted to say the least. On the other hand her girlfriend miyeon was the complete opposite. She was popular, absolutely stunning, did cheer and went out to party. Soyeon doesn't know how an introvert like her got and extroverted girlfriend who is well known throughout the entire college campus.

Soyeon was in her dorm studying, until she heard a small thud on her window. Thinking it was just a bird she continues working till another small thud happens a few seconds later. Soyeon gets up fixing her glasses a bit then opens the window. No surprise it was her girlfriend.

"Hey lover!". "Miyeon what are you doing here, and why are you throwing pebbles at my window, I have a door" soyeon says a bit annoyed. "I've came to pick you up" miyeon say. "Pick me up? Where are we going".

"Well if I tell you that, it won't be fun" miyeon said back to her. "No, I have alot of work to do maybe another day, night" soyeon said closing her window. Despite her exit miyeon stayed, she knows soyeon can't say no to her. Soyeons window opens again before she peaks her head out saying

"Ugh fine where are we going". Miyeon smiles brightly before soyeon comes down to go somewhere with miyeon. They get in miyeons expensive car before heading off to a building with flashing lights and people outside. "Miyeonie...you know I hate parties!" Soyeon say as soon as she realizes the situation. "Come on I knew you were gonna do this this it why I didn't tell you, since you are here you have to go it, it was the only way to get you out of studying" miyeon says complaining a bit.

Soyeon grumbles in protest for a bit before agreeing "fine! But not for too long it's a school night and I have to get work done". "Yayy! Miyeon says before reaching over and hugging soyeon. They enter the party. Soyeon cringes by the sudden spell of booze and weed in the air. Miyeon looks over at her before saying "don't worry we won't be here for long, if it gets to much just come get me and we will leave" miyeon says before kissing soyeon. Soyeon kisses her back she decided to accept her fate and stayed for a while.

After about an hour soyeon and miyeon leave and might fell, they went to go back to miyeons places. "Wait here I'll go change into some common clothes" Miyeon said to soyeon before going into her closet. Soyeon sits patiently on her bed. Miyeon had a very girly aesthetic despite not being a full one. Miyeon comes back with a tank top and some long pajama pants on. She flops on the bed her hair tied up as she scrolls through her phone. "Why did you want me to come, I doubt it just because of the party" soyeon say breaking the silence. Miyeon sits up "You are kinda right" she says "you just been caught up alot in work and I wanted You to take a break".

Soyeon smiles a bit kissing her. A few moments past before Miyeon speaks up again. "Soyeon do you plan on losing your virginity to me? It's an awkward and straightforward question haha". Soyeon pauses blushing a bit in embarrassment, sure she knows what sex is, she touched herself and masterbated before with Miyeon there just nothing dealing with penatration.

A small sob comes from soyeon. "Baby what's wrong?!? Was it something I said we don't have to!". Soyeon looks up at her with tears in her eyes. "I want to but I don't feel good enough for you what if I'm not good what if-" soyeon gets cut off by miyeons lips against hers. "I don't care about any of that I love you for you, and I only want you" miyeon says. "Let's do it then, I'm ready" soyeon says feeling a bit more confident.

Miyeon kisses soyeon pulling soyeon on her lap. "If you are uncomfortable you know our safe word right?". Soyeon slowly nods her head yes. "Good" miyeon continues to kiss soyeon her hand travels under her shirt removing it swifty. Soyeon takes off her shorts as miyeon removes her bra and panties.

Soyeon turns red feeling a bit sheepish being so exposed infront of miyeon. Miyeon removes her own clothes showing her semi-hard cock already. Miyeon makes soyeon sit on her lap to continue kissing her. They kiss their naked bodies against each other. Miyeon travels down soyeons neck to her collar bone to the valley of her breast. Soyeon shivers a bit at the feeling of miyeons warm lips against her body.

"Are you ready?" Miyeon says. Soyeon Nods "y-yeah" her nervous voice ages miyeon worry a bit. Miyeon puts her hands on soyeons hips helping her lower herself down on her hard cock. "M-mm.." soyeon winces in pain before going all the way down.

"Does it hurt?" Miyeon says checking on her girlfriend. "A little bit, just let me adjust a bit" she says before going back to kiss her girlfriend. They continue the kiss for a minute or two before soyeon speaks. "Y-you can start moving" soyeon said giving her the green light. Miyeon began to move her hips slowly up and down.

Soyeon whimpers at the feeling of pain but mostly pleasure. Miyeon moans at soyeons tight walls around her thick member. Soyeon starts to ride miyeon to her own pace for her to get use to it. Painstakingly slow. Despite how good her girlfriend felt miyeon didn't want to hurt her so she tried to control her urges as much as possible.

When pain isn't as much of a problem soyeon begins to go up and down riding miyeon faster. "M-mm~ ha~" soyeon moans out. Her cute moans only turning miyeon on more. Miyeon thrusts up into soyeon begin careful not to hurt her in anyway. Her tight wet wall drives Miyeon crazy her speed quickens as she reaches her climax.

"I'm gonna cum~" Miyeon says before pushing soyeon fully down on her length causing soyeon to moans out, feeling miyeons hot seed pour into her. She instinctively clamps down harder earning more groans to fall from miyeons mouth. Miyeon pants, her semi-hard cock still inside soyeon.

"I'm sorry...I couldn't stop to pull out.." miysays shamefully. "Don't worry about it.." she says trying to catch her breath. "You didn't cum yet" miyeon says a little embarrassed by her performance. "Don't worry about me babe" soyeon says.

She gets off of miyeon cock with a groan. Miyeons cum spilling out of her. "you are still hard" she says "I don't know if I'll be good at it but I can try". Miyeon looks at soyeon confused then moans in pleasure feeling soyeons mouth around the tip of her cock. Despite her being an amateur she was really good. Soyeons beings bobbing her head and of course she gagged. Alot around her. Soyeon tries her best to go down fully but her gag reflex doesn't let her she makes eye contact with miyeon.

Teary eyed in attempt to take miyeon fully. Miyeon tangles her hand in soyeons hair thrusting a bit to get more pleasure chasing her second orgasm. Miyeon announced her climax again before pulling out and cumming on soyeons face. Her hot load getting on soyeons face and glasses.

The sight turns miyeon on when she discovered a possible new kink. Miyeon gets ontop of miyeon unable to hold back and began pounding mercilessly in to soyeons wet cunt. "I love you~, fuck~, I love you so much~" miyeon says. "AHH~" soyeon moans out feeling how fast her girlfriend is going. "I'm gonna cum~ I'm gonna~" soyeon said wrapping her legs around miyeon pulling her closer.

Soyeons moans cumming over miyeons thick member. Miyeon pulled out of soyeon cumming on her stomach and pussy. "Fuckk" miyeon says groaning out falling beside soyeon. "..thank you..that was amazing.." soyeon said smiling at her girlfriend. "I'm sorry if I hurt you". "It's fine" miyeon snuggled up to soyeon. She kisses her and plays with her hair until they both fall asleep.

[siconetribal]

A Royally Unexpected Turnabout 5

Summary: With Tamaki back in school, Kyoya hopes for some semblance of normal insanity. However, the presence of a new queen with her own shadow throws that away. With a personality that rivals the energy of their excitable king and a guard that catches the eye of Honey and Mori, the duo sends the Host Club running once more.

A/N: Please like/comment/reblog and if you’d like to be tagged, let me know!

If you’re new to the story, please check out the master post for the rest of the chapters.

The lovely banners used in this fic are from @cafekitsune.

"Now you can meet Usa," Mitsukuni cheered as he disappeared from sight. Zaina raised an eyebrow at the bubbly blond's level of excitement, unsure if she was creating an inconvenience for the other patrons that were with her. From the looks of it, her hunch was not off.

"You don't need to do that right now. You have quite a few...err...guests? Clients? Friends? I'm not entirely sure how to refer to you ladies." Zaina turned her to attention towards the young women seated around the coffee table.

"Oh, I suppose the best way to refer to us is "clients". Though I'd love to think we're friends with Hani!" A curly brunette was first to answer, her cheeks turning red at the thought of being considered a close person to the host.

"I would love to be Hani's friend! He's just so adorable!" A girl beside the curly brunette chimed in, the group as a whole dissolving into squeals and chatter over their fantasies of what they would do as the senior's dear friend. Zaina simply sat in silence, hugging the school bags in her hands with her eyes closed as the group frolicked in their imagination while she tried to piece everything together. It was the odd sensation of being watched that forced her to open her eyes only to find her vision filled with a soft puffy pink face and tiny black pebble eyes.

"Ta-da, here's Usa!" The ever-cheerful voice came from behind the wall of pink as Zaina leaned back just a bit so that she felt less cross-eyed.

"Oh, well, hello Usa. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." She softly smiled at the stuffed bunny. Did...it just blush? She blinked at what she thought was yet another hallucination with the cute senior student. "It's really cute." She tilted her head to the side, wanting to look at Mitsukuni this time. The small host looked at her with wide-eyes wonder before promptly placing the stuffed bunny on to her lap. 

"You can hold on to her then!" Without letting Zaina respond, he hopped off to his seat and happily snuggled on to the laps of the girls who squealed in delight. The young bodyguard leaned back in her seat with the new item on her lap. Placing the school bags on the floor next to her feet, she observed the rather large stuffed animal and gently wiggled its arms and ears. The simple flopping motions of the limbs made her smile, bringing a sense of calm and comfort.

Meanwhile, Rin, who was seated with Tamaki, watched with rapt attention as the president of the club listened and entertained the group of girls with such ease and passion. The energy and sincerity was breathtakingly grand. “You’re incredible!” She suddenly applauded him, the other girls happily agreeing to this praise of their beloved king of the Host Club.

“You are too kind, princess. I am merely here to host such beautiful maidens who deem me worthy of their time.” Though the words were humble, his personality was far from it.

“Who wouldn’t want to spend time with you?! You’re always so warm and welcoming!” One of the girls eagerly spoke, leaning in towards the tall blond.

“And so brave! You fearlessly drink commoner’s coffee!” Another piped up, the group quickly became excited as they thought about the time there was a demonstration of instant coffee. Rin curiously listened in as they recounted the event.

Commoner, does he mean things that Zaina does? She wondered, her attention shifting to their host who seemed to burst with new found excitement.

“Ah, but of course! They have a variety of pre-mixed beverages, canned coffee with milk and sugar already added as well as in a variety of flavors as well! The most recent adventure of mine was to a convenience store.” He proudly stated, his chest puffed out in bravery and pride as the ladies looked on in awe of him.

“A convenience store,” one of them gasped. “My father would be livid if he knew I’d even think of going to one.”

“Me too, I would be grounded indefinitely!” A second student agreed, shuddering at the thought of being punished.

“I could never dare to think of going, you’re so brave Tamaki!” A third young girl piped up.

"Would you go with me if I promised to keep you safe?" The charismatic blond instantly flipped on his charm and the girls instantly changed their tune to a resounding yes. As this little scene played out, Rin was deep in thought over something when she finally recalled what it was.

"I went to one of those!" Rin suddenly spoke up with excitement. "It was so fascinating to see that I could literally purchase everything I need all in one place!"

"You've been? Yes, isn't it grand!?" Tamaki beamed with joy.

"It was amazing! They certainly do come up with the most interesting and efficient things! I had to beg Zaina to take me. The price of things were so cheap too! I could’ve bought the whole store with my allowance; I actually ate half of a steamed bun and an ice pop." She grinned at the fond memory. "It was delicious!"

"You ate from there?" The twins suddenly spoke up from behind the two.

"Yes, I did. Zaina usually buys from there so I mimicked her actions and bought for myself. I still have the receipt as proof and keepsake!" She nodded her head.

"You weren't sick from the food? You certainly are very brave!" One of the girls with the twins suddenly popped into the picture.

"Do you have the receipt with you now?" Kaoru asked.

"Yeah, show us!" Hikaru added.

"I'll have to check my bag, but I believe I do. I had it laminated to keep since Zaina said it would fade away.” Rin announced, grabbing more attention. Wanting to have no part in this, Haruhi happily let the girls go join in on the fun while she went over to Zaina who was now sitting alone and happily entertained with Usa.

"Done already?" She looked up at the arriving footsteps to see her old friend.

"No, they're comparing commoner notes." She sighed and shook her head as she took a seat next to Zaina. “The girls I was with wanted to join in on the fun, so I let them go.”

"Commoner notes, seriously? I feel like a zoo animal." She rolled her eyes at the way the rich would look at their way of life. “Their way of life is far more surprising being that they only make up a small portion of people as a whole.”

"I'm with you there." Haruhi scowled at the crowd, used to this by now but still displeased by it. As the two commoners watched on from their perch, they noticed Tamaki’s head swiveling every which way. “I wonder what he’s looking for,” she mumbled, Zaina simply shrugging her shoulders in response.

"Where is your bag?" Tamaki asked, the other hosts and guests also beginning to look around much like he had been doing moments ago; only Kyoya and Takashi continued their serene silence, frequently interrupted by the queries of the search parties.

"The last I saw, Zaina had it in her possession," Kyoya informed his best friend as he stood silently by his side.

"Oh, where is she?" A girl asked, everyone’s attention now on trying to spot Zaina amongst their sea of pastel yellow only to turn at the well known bubbly voice of the smallest host.

"Oh, I know where she is!" He raised his hand. "I had her watch over Usa for me while I ate cake with all the nice girls who came to spend time with me!”

"Excellent, Hani, where is she?!" Tamaki turned to his senior as Rin finally stood up from her seat, both with identical expressions of determination.

"We must find the receipt!" They proclaimed at the same time as the gathered crowd applauded them in awe.

"They were able to speak in sync like the Hitachiin twins!" One of the young girls softly gasped.

"I know, I’ve never met anyone outside of them that could do that!" Her friend nodded her head, clearly amazed that another pair was able to do so and were not even related in any way. Among the shocked crowd were the Hitachiin twins as well.

"Oi, that's what we do!" They visibly pouted, ignored by the girls but that quickly changed as Kaoru started to tear up and Hikaru shouted his name.

"Now that they can do it as well, we'll lose our designations."

"Don't you dare Kaoru, they didn't come for just that…even if we do, you still have me!" He tightly embraced his brother who whispered his name, the girls around them screaming at the brotherly love display. Rin watched the little show of affection with intrigue. She had not played too much before, unsure of how far they would be comfortable with, but now it was no surprise. There was no need for hesitation, which made her feel a lot more comfortable here than how she felt this morning. The looming shadows of her brothers finally faded away, though now it just seemed silly to her. They would never judge her or expect her to be like them, so why she was so nervous about coming to this school was now a mystery.

"I don't get the attraction of that," Zaina whispered to Haruhi as they continued to observe from afar. "I mean…they're brothers…how is that forbidden and enticing?" Her eyebrows knitted together as she tried to workout the appeal. In the end, she was unable to fathom it so she merely shrugged it off for now though as Tamaki and Rin turned to the twins.

“We would never dare to steal or mimic the beauty of your artistry,” Rin assured the two of them. “However, now is not the time for the beauty of forbidden love! No, now is the time for the search of Zaina and my receipt!" Rin firmly stated, though it was clearly spur of the moment. As everyone’s attention was redirected and focused once more on the mission, Mitsukuni hopped around calling out to the group to get some attention once more.

"She is right! There is a time and place for everything as they say and right now is the time to find Zaina!" Tamaki agreed. "Find Zaina and bring her here!"

"Tama, I think I can help!" Mitsukuni shouted but no one seemed to listen

"Yes, my lord!" The twins saluted and began to look through the crowd of yellow.

"Mori, see if she has left the room!"

"Takashi, you don't need to go." Mitsukuni called out, but it was too late.

"Hn," he nodded his head and went off running through the door.

"Uhm, what is going on now?" Zaina frowned as they all seemed to be up in arms over something.

"I don't know…I think they're looking for something. Maybe a girl lost something?" Haruhi shrugged this time as they continued to watch, curious about what was unfolding in front of them.

"Kyo, you'll listen to me, right?" Mitsukuni tugged at his sleeve, teary eyed. Kyoya looked down to the older student, about to answer him when Tamaki called his name.

"Kyoya, make sure they have not left the premises." He pointed to him and instantly Kyoya had his phone open with his back to the group to call for any security footage of the school he could get now.

"Tama, I really think I can help here!" Mitsukuni insisted.

"Hani, you…please eat the cake," He said after a moment of thought. Mitsukuni puffed his cheeks and sulked over towards Haruhi and Zaina.

"They always leave me out and never listen…I'm always just eating cake, you know?" He grumbled as he took his seat.

"I'm sure you're really important, they just don't have any super important tasks that require your expertise." Zaina assured, placing Usa next to him. "Haruhi helped me watch over Usa."

"Exactly Hani, they just don't realize your value in this task…which by the way, what is going on?" She asked, taking some tea for herself.

"They're looking for Zaina and I know where Zaina is! If they listened no one would be getting into such a mess," He explained and the girls looked to one another.

"Me? What for?" The person of interest frowned as she pointed to herself. Before Mitsukuni could answer, Tamaki's cry of frustration echoed in the room as the twins came up with nothing while Kyoya sat looking through the video.

"Where could she be?!" The tall blond sighed in anguish over the mystery of this disappearance.

"She never leaves my side, this is quite odd. It can’t be helped, desperate times call for desperate measures! You need to put me in harm's way!" Rin turned to the hosts that were with her.

"What?!” The twins gaped at her words.

"Harm's way, we mustn't!" The girls gasped and whispered as this drama thickened.

"Yes, you must. I trust you to keep me safe and it will be all an act but it needs to be convincing!" Rin insisted.

"But what if you get hurt?" Kaoru frowned at this.

"We can't let you! You reason with her our king!" Hikaru turned to Tamaki who was silent at this point. "Lord?!" He pressed at the lack of instant response.

"I heard you," he finally spoke up and the room grew silent. "Princess, you are quite brave to offer such, but I simply cannot let you be in such a situation. Even if I were to be in control, you are too precious…even a commoner's receipt is not worth this."

"Tamaki," Rin gasped softly as the twins sighed with relief as he listened to reason and the girls all swoon over his chivalry.

"But I'm right here," Zaina frowned as she saw the dramatics. "What’s this nonsense of faking danger? I think I’m beginning to realize just what sort of regret coming here is," She muttered, clearly used to Rin’s outburst.

"Welcome to the Host Club," Haruhi snickered in slight defeat.

"Oh, I know. Mr. Mitsu-,"

"Hani, just call me Hani! No mister either! We're friends, right?" He smiled brightly at her.

"Oh, yes, sure." She smiled at this. "Hani, why don't you bring me to them? That way you did something and well…you're the only one to really remember I'm here." She offered.

"That's actually a good idea! And it'll stop them from cooking up any weird plans," Haruhi added after some thought.

"Nothing on surveillance shows she left the school building…but no sign of her in the halls recently either." Kyoya returned to the group to report.

"Good, that means she is still here! Keep looking and see where she may have gone!" As Tamaki gave the orders, Takashi came back a little breathless and shook his head. "She must be in a classroom somewhere."

"Hey, where is Haruhi?" One of the girls pointed out and everyone started to look among the crowd once more as they noted that the popular newbie was missing as well.

"Haruhi is missing too?!" Tamaki practically jumped out of his skin. "Mori did you see Haruhi anywhere?!" He turned to the gentle and silent giant but was met with another shake of the head. "Nothing of her in the crowd?" Everyone shook their heads. "Kyoya," he turned to his best friend.

"I'm on it." He answered simply as he returned to his screen.

"You don't think they took them…do you?" The twins suddenly looked to one another and then to Tamaki.

“They?” Rin questioned, looking to the hosts and young women around her that seemed to know who they were.

"No, they wouldn't, why would they? Neither of them has yet to even encounter them today!" Tamaki tensed at the thought.

"They who?" Rin repeated, frowning at being left in the dark. "What aren't you telling me?" She firmly demanded as the girls whispered about the possible abduction by another club.

"Now is a good time, c'mon Hani." Haruhi quickly stood up from her seat, Zaina standing up with her. Mitsukuni eagerly hopped out of his seat and grabbed Zaina's hand as he led her over.

"What should we do if they did?" Kaoru frowned as Takashi looked as grave as they felt.

"We shall save them, that's what! No foe of mine will ever get away with such a dark and dastardly deed!" Tamaki puffed his chest a bit and the girls applauded the bravery and royalty that was Tamaki.

"Tama, Tama look! I have Zaina!" Mitsukuni shouted as loud as he could over the group.

"What?! Where?! How?!" Tamaki turned to see none other than Zaina and Haurhi.

"I was trying to tell you all before, she never left the room! I had her watch Usa for me! She was at my table!" He puffed his cheeks at them all, the twins turning to see a very blank looking Takashi who then looked down in guilt. Mitsukuni grabbed his hand and pulled his cousin down, patting his head. "It's okay Takashi, you always forget the small things! I'm not upset! I got cake with Usa, Haru, and Zaina." The rest of the Host Club was clueless on whether to be embarrassed and play it all off but the girls were already applauding before anything could be said.

"Oh wow, that was a spectacular performance! You really had me worried! It was so thrilling, like a suspense filled drama!"

"You always have something amazing! We even got to take part in it!" Another cheered and slowly the agreement grew.

"Rin was great as a leading lady! How you rehearsed it all when she is new is beyond me!" Another added as Haruhi placed a reassuring hand on Zaina's shoulder as she saw a look of shock that was all too familiar to the newest host. Zaina stared at them all as if they were insane.

"But of course, we always have something for you ladies and Rin simply played along with it all on her own!" Tamaki quickly joined in as Rin curtsied to them all.

"Yes, certainly you will keep giving us your patronage." Kyoya smiled and pulled out some photo books to sell and distract anyone from overthinking. It worked like a charm, as always.

"Oh, now that you’re here, do you have my bag?" Rin turned to Zaina once the patrons were all busy trying to get their hands on the merchandise.

"Here," Zaina let out a small sigh. "You know you could've just called me at the very least?"

"We really could've," Kaoru spoke up from Zaina’s left.

"But where would the fun in that be?" Hikaru added from her right.

"It was thrilling, wasn't it?" Rin grinned as she shuffled through her bag before pulling out the much sought-after receipt. “Ah-ha, here it is!” She raised it up with triumph before letting the others look over it in wonder as they saw the prices and items sold to Rin on that day.

"Wait, is that why you were all looking for me? You wanted that?!" Zaina felt one of her eyes twitch as Haruhi pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Welcome…to the Host Club." She repeated once again, but turned and looked to Zaina and Rin with a smile. "There's never a dull moment."

[bestfriendforhire]

Children of BFFH, Entry 185

 “Crazy, you’re up.” stated Four as he shoved another perimeter rod into the ground.

 “I know, I know.” I told him, flopping my arm down to flick a pebble at the beasties.  Two of the large lizard-ish things died instantly.  The third one looked around in a panic before another pebble claimed it too.  There was no way I could worry about protecting Four or Messy from beasties of this caliber.  If there was actually something on this virtual planet that could challenge Messy, the suit wouldn’t be able to handle her response.  That much would be obvious even if I hadn’t studied the design, which was admirable.

 The quadruplets really were brilliant.  If they had access to everything I knew, they might come up with something truly mind-blowing to me.  Having seen technologies on numerous other worlds, I admired their ingenuity more than most of their creations.  This game really was top-notch though, but that was largely due to Momma’s programming, which was where my begging came in.

 “You are perfectly aware that I don’t need to be a botanist in the game to realize the potential of those vines, Momma!” I insisted.  “Please, just let me look at the scan of it.”

 “Serenity Malice, you can wait until after the game’s conclusion.  Even then, I’ll have to check with your grandmother.” stated Momma, as if she ever had to wait to speak with grandmother.  Those two were probably having a dozen conversations about me, planning more steps for Best Friend For Hire in the greater universe, arguing parenting tips, debating philosophy, watching a few thousand shows together, having a few dozen heated arguments, comparing simulations on entire universes, and trillions of things independent of one another.

 Momma very well might be saving an entire galaxy on her own while I was stuck here, not even allowed to look at the data on a rather intriguing-looking vine.  If I could visit wherever she stole that plant from, I would understand how it functioned the instant it was within range of my magic, but I wasn’t even asking for that much, not that sending me there would take any effort from Grandma Death.  Grandma Death could just implant the info into my noggin whenever she wished, even giving me memories of discovering the information as if I had traveled to see the plant in person, though she was more likely to show me comical instances of beings dying to the plant.

 Even as part of my mind was focused on new arguments, I had to admit to myself that Momma knew precisely where I was going to use those vines.  I was already formulating hundreds of ways to incorporate my “shock troops” into our battles.  Stormcrow and Maimo would easily recognize the current and warn the others, so I’d have to create the shock troops and charge them on the fly.

 “Oh.” I stated aloud, already feeling my mouth spread into a grin.  I doubted that I had mentally simulated the vines perfectly, but I did give myself a new weapon by finding a possible way to create a living capacitor.  My grin only spread more as I mentally simulated different combinations of chemicals with the plants I knew.

 “Do I want to know?” questioned Momma with a sound of concern.

 I mentally asked Grandma Death to share my work with Momma, since Momma and I didn’t have a convenient way to mentally communicate.

 “Ah.  I’m warning Emma.” replied Momma immediately.  “Also, you’re forbidden from giving your Momma a shock greater than the average static discharge.”

 “Of course!  I wouldn’t want to hurt Momma Emma.” I pouted, feeling that was a bit unfair.

 “I’m just stating things clearly for you, sweetheart.” replied Momma with that tone she always uses to comfort me.

 Jumping, I caught a branch and swung to another tree when Messy turned to stare at me.

 “Not that.” she told me, projecting herself into my mind.  “What did you just share with Sis?”

 I grinned again, knowing that she could see me.

 “Four,” she said aloud to get his attention, “we might have a problem.  Crazy just came up with something troublesome.”

 He didn’t even pause in his work, shoving another rod into the ground after glancing at the previous one to check for clearance.  “Doesn’t she do that roughly every other second?”

 I almost argued, but he wasn’t precisely wrong from his perspective.

 “Yes,” agreed Messy immediately before saying, “but this was something Sis wanted to know about, which makes me worry.”

 They both worried too much.  If I really plotted something terrible, the Boss would lecture me for a week.  He had actually done that once when I was ten months old.  I had gotten angry at Momma Emma for telling me off while I was playing.  Most people would probably be appalled by the idea of lecturing a baby, but I was capable of killing before I was born.  What else would be expected of Death’s granddaughter?  Grandma Death had reversed time for me, undoing the damage that brief instant of anger had done, but the Boss was the one who took the time to explain why I needed more self-control.  Even as a baby, I had found listening to him enrapturing, largely due to his magic, I’m sure.

 I smirked as I remembered the day I had called the Boss “the second most dangerous being in existence”, which was also when I realized that the Boss didn’t like being thought of that way.  I could remember the wave of emotions that hit me as he argued with himself.  That was the only time he had allowed me to throw him off topic during a lecture.  Yes, Grandma Death was obviously the most dangerous being to ever exist, but she’d do anything the Boss wanted, which made him the second most dangerous through granted power.  One request from him, and all existence could be rewritten.

 As I continued to amuse myself with thoughts of my chats with the Boss, I assured Messy and Four “You’ll see soon enough.  I just came up with some new uses for plants.”

 Part of my mind was working on more efficient ways to create bioelectric charges.  Being able to create a power plant from someone’s lunch or shirt was tickling my imagination.  If the Boss allowed me to create a bioelectric power plant on the property, I’d only ever have to funnel the energy during our battles.  I sighed as I accepted that Momma Emma would probably have to stabilize things.  I still struggled with keeping the demonic energy from the plants I manipulated.  Even a small fragment of that power could alter my creations in unwanted ways.  Of course, that same power could also enhance energy production, but I didn’t want to create a nightmare engine.  Most beings interpreted demonic energy as nightmarish.

 “Great.” muttered Four as he glanced up at me.

 I shrugged for Messy’s benefit.  Out of all of my friends, Messy was the best equipped to understand why I liked finding new ways to entertain myself.  She was one of Death’s daughters, meaning she easily had as much free time on her hands as I did, but she still wasted her mental energies on worrying rather than fun things, like an electric cannon.  I had this great image of polarized roots extending under my targets while the “cannon” aimed.  Though using that on someone would be excessive, I was looking forward to seeing how my friends reacted to me blowing something up with it.  I already had a tally going for the rules they could potentially impose on me.  I was going to have sooo much fun with my new toys.

[piduai]

finally sat my ass down and read vol 31 of gk properly

1. i know that i personally was fed like a pig about to be sent for slaughter but i'm greedy so i'm still a bit annoyed there was nothing new for the epic saga of tsurumi and ogata. like i'm feeling antagonized here. is it my own fault for having unrealistic expectations? yes. will it stop me from complaining? no.

2. the line about becoming bait is gone, now he's saying just 'sugimoto and co are coming here'. i thought it was weird af when the chapter came out so i am not displeased

3. reading these chapters reminded me of the convos around each of them i either took part in or saw glimpses of and reaffirms my strong conviction that if you sent a handful of pebbles to first grade they'd put the vast majority of gk readers to shame in terms of intelligence. anyway i remember particularly how much weird fucking discourse that page of sugimoto looking at asirpa after she shot ogata brought. funnily sometimes the volume versions give a little bit more insight into the most controversial things that went down in the eng speaking part of the fandom, so i imagine japanese readers could have had some difficulty with that too. there was an added page in 309 of sugimoto thinking "her alone i can't take with me. her alone i can't put on a vip seat on the train to hell"

and then two additional ones in 310 after ogata yeets himself off the train

in which he's like "at the end of the day, i couldn't treat her like my partner, not truly, not from the bottom of my heart... not until i saw that she's resolved to follow me to hell". don't get me wrong if you're a stubborn dumbass with less emotional depth god granted a rusty kettle no matter how pre-chewed and soft the food you're being spoon-fed is you'll still be fucking stupid i guess. and not GET IT. but the story tried, it tried

4. the close up page of ogata blowing his brains out has been wiped, now it's a distant focus and shiraishi, asirpa and sugimoto are shown looking at him in shock. very disappointed, it was my favorite page in the chapter

5. the whole seemingly random exposition in 309 of tsurumi's plans he just tells us because he wants to is not random at all, it was strategically placed there as a set-up for the omake. lmfao. so that has always been planned as the true ending i guess. except in the volume he tells all of this to a corpse because why not

6. 306-308 were gk's greatest flop era, genuinely the worst 3 chapters in the entire manga. i was mad as shit when i read them as they were coming out and i was mad as hell reading them now. absolutely disgusting. and also 0 improvement on them too, tho i guess since they're unsalvageable it would have been a waste of effort. but i am tired of those two. i am tired of everything related to them so i'll just pretend they don't exist

7. in the mag version sugimoto only punches ogata once, but in the vol he goes oraora mode on his ass. lmfao

8. the way the tsurussy has been kept shadowed for half a chapter before he lost his bones (which he kept in his HEART POCKET) and THAT page... chef's kiss

9. also not pertinent to the volume alone but i love how sugimoto beat ogata's ass but tsurumi gave him a good fight <3 close combat competent king

10.

i love her

[dizzydennis]

Sonic x Cream & Cheese Cover Story - English Translation

Translator note: I am not fluent in Japanese. I did my best to bring these translations for Sonic fans to enjoy. Constructive criticism is absolutely welcomed, but please be kind. I hope you enjoy this sweet little story!

It’s the popping and colorful, “Music Plant.”

Tubes of brass instruments weave and wind around the bouncing path of a piano keyboard. This area is entertaining to anybody who listens to  the music within it and it’s become somewhat of a famous attraction for some animals.

In such a cheerful place like the Music Plant, you can see two energetic shadows chasing after something. The blue hedgehog, "Sonic" was ahead of the other two with a large gap between them.

Just behind was the little rabbit girl, "Cream" and her chao friend, "Cheese.” Due to the Music Plant being full of various musical instruments and gadgets, even if they thought they had caught up, they'd be pulled elsewhere soon again. The race between these characters allowed the scales of music to play beautifully like a duet.

Looking back, Sonic couldn't see Cream. Sonic tried slowing to walk to assess the situation, but... Cream then came down softly from the sky and blocked his way.

“Mr. Sonic! Please let us go on an adventure together!”

Cream can fly through the sky by flopping her big ears. She could never beat Sonic in terms of foot speed, but she was always able to catch up with some clever shortcuts. Sonic smiled and sighed.

“Like I said, ‘that’s no good!’ The place I’m heading towards is pretty dangerous.”

Sonic carefully chose his words. As he continued on forward he gave a wink to express an all-too-simple: “I’m sorry.”

Sonic then slipped and said “...for a kid.”

Upon hearing this, Cream puffed out her cheeks in frustration and clenched her fists.

“Urgh, Mr. Sonic! Don’t treat me like a little kid! Hmph!”

“It’s not like that, Cream! It’s not that at all. It’s just a bit...”

-ZUUUUUUUUUN-

Just as Sonic tried to find the right words, a terrifying rumbling sound was heard from a distance that shook the Earth. Sonic gave a serious look. Apparently he had a bit of an idea of what that sound was.

“I gotta go fast! Cream, you get home safely, OK?”

“Ah, Mr. Sonic! Please wait!”

Sonic, who flew off at full speed this time, disappeared from Cream’s view as he ran towards the horizon.

For a few seconds, Cream stared at where Sonic had ran with a frazzled expression, but she soon got blown forward... or rather, she started walking again with a much more excited expression.

“Teehee, we should probably go check out that loud noise. It’ll surely shock Mr. Sonic!”

“Chao, chao?”

Cheese seemed to be questioning why Cream wants to keep up with Sonic so badly.

“Is it alright, Cheese? Wherever Sonic goes, there’s bound to be lots of fun adventures! Of course, there are times when our adventures get tough, but Sonic is strong, kind, and knows all about how to adventure. Everything will be just fine!”

“Chao! Chao, chao!”

Cheese seemed to agree and the two went off!

-BANG!!!-

The air shook from far away, and suddenly a loud roar broke through the air. A very large clump of iron flew towards them while it emitted a thick black smoke. It quickly slammed downwards.

CRASH! CRASH! The keyboard bridge and instruments around it were totaled and collapsed.

“Th-Thi- This is bad!”

It must have come from that dangerous place Sonic mentioned just before. Cream, who had fallen over due to the first impact had gotten up in the chaos of everything and saw the miserable, destroyed surroundings. She tried to dust herself off.

Crumbling bridges, animals fleeing for their lives... is this what constitutes as an adventure?

Meanwhile... on the other side of the Music Plant.

“You wanna play me a number? Heh, this is just a robot from Eggman’s Incredible Interstellar Amusement Park; I guess he won’t play.”

A mass-produced Death Egg Robot about the size of a small mountain had stopped moving and was leaning against a trumpet-like facility. It stopped with black smoke shooting out all over the place.

Through it all, Sonic was making a fool of himself while gleefully playing the trumpets.

The truth is, Sonic came here to take down this mass-produced Death Egg Robot when he had heard it was attacking here. The owner, Dr. Eggman, was nowhere to be seen as this seemed to be a “stray robot” that rampaged at complete random. Even so, it was still strong and dangerous. Sonic had to be careful getting Cream involved.

The robot was defeated without much trouble. Sonic was in a good mood because he had made sure the collateral damage was minimal. With this, fixing things back to normal would be fairly easy. The beautiful scenery of the Music Plant and the beautiful sounds that people loved would soon be restored.

Suddenly...

Sonic noticed black smoke rising from the overpass which was only a short distance away. It seemed like the last explosion from the destroyed Death Egg Robot may have caused a huge clump of debris to fly off. It must have flown far and struck that bridge.

“Oh no!”

There were probably many tourists there and Sonic felt it was the exact area where he split up from Cream. He ran with all of his might and had an absolutely serious look on his face.

Sonic traveled at the speed of sound as he overcame colorful hills, spin dashed through a tunnel of brass instruments, and more to arrive at the scene.

A group of animals seemed to be relaxing after having safely evacuated the dangerous bridge area. Cream and Cheese flew down as she flapped her ears.

“Cream!”

“Mr. Sonic!?”

Cream made an expression that shined brightly as she flew to Sonic. But in the shadows of her shining smile, she was tired... but still happy. She went to rescue the many animals and others who were too slow and left behind on the bridge. She took care of the children who had been separated from their parents.

Sonic talked for a while and noticed that Cream was safe, the damage to the surroundings was not as catastrophic as it first seemed, and there were no major injuries. Cream felt relieved and put her hand to her chest. However, Cream’s expression seemed off.

She then said, “I’m so glad that everybody is safe.”

Cream looked downward and continued to speak in a sweet voice.

“I really wanted to defeat that bad robot and go on an adventure with Sonic.”

Just then, Cream stomped on some pebbles at her feet and turned away from Sonic. She continued to look down at the ground. Sonic spoke softly to Cream with a gentle smile.

“That’s not it at all, Cream.”

Sonic stroke the back of Cream’s head and she slowly looked up. Sonic then took to one knee to be at Cream’s eye level.

“An adventure like today... well, it requires both ‘strength’ and ‘kindness.’ We gotta make sure we have both of them.”

“...?”

“Today, you helped me out entirely with your kindness. It was honestly a huge help if I do say so myself!”

“!?”

“Sure! I defeated the robot that was attacking the Music Plant, but half of this adventure was entirely you, Cream!”

“!!”

Like a soft breeze floating by, Cream’s heart shined.

There are times when things get really tough, but if you have strength and kindness, it will be okay. Isn't that the ideal form of an "adventure" for Cream? Today she had an adventure with Sonic!

For Cream, today’s excitement, her hard work, and the way things turned out are all a shining part of her adventures.

Happiness and pride filled Cream’s heart.

“I... really had an adventure?”

“Yeah!”

“I really used my kindness well?”

“Sure!”

“So... will you... take me on more adventures?”

Of course! Sonic gave a thumbs up as a promise, but as the sun started setting, he thought for a moment and answered:

“That’s fine by me, but... it’s getting late. Isn’t it time to go home? Your Mom must be worried. So, how’s tomorrow sound?”

“Hmph! Please don’t treat me like a kid again.”

Sonic ran off with an expression that showed he knew he hit a nerve. Cream and Cheese gave chase.

Music scales filled the air as they ran through the Music Plant; their performance echoing through the sky.

[soulmate-game]

It had been a trip to Metropolis. Why would Francois-Dupoint go to Gotham, a crime-ridden city crawling with danger and supervillains, vigilantes that toed the line of being bad influences, and a really high chance of lawsuit, when they could go to the city of Superman himself?

Exactly. No good reason.

At least, that was what they all thought. Marinette’s parents even volunteered to chaperone, deciding that they could survive shutting the bakery down for one week. Marinette had helped raise enough money for the trip that the school could compensate them a bit for their time, and their food, hotel, and plane were all paid for. It was supposed to be a great trip. One to remember. And yeah, Marinette would never forget that vacation.

Because she stood with the rest of her class, watching smoke and dust rise off of the pile of rubble that just dropped on top of her parents. The fight was over. Marinette couldn’t even remember who it was. But even with his son by his side, Superman and Superboy couldn’t save everyone. Nobody could. It was asking too much, to expect any one or two heroes to save everyone when an entire city was being attacked and buildings reduced to rubble.

But that wouldn’t soothe the sight of blood creeping out of the rocks.

That wouldn’t soothe the scrapes on Marinette’s knees when she dropped to the ground.

It wouldn’t smother the sound of her agonized cries.

It wouldn’t heal the burns and scrapes and bruises, the chipped fingernails and bleeding fingertips that Marinette gave herself as she tried desperately, sight blurry through tears, to lift each and every piece of still-hot concrete off, shove it to the side, in an attempt to unearth them. They could still be alive, right? Right?

The fact that she was shoveling what amounted to pebbles off of a hill of rubble argued with her. No. No, they weren’t.

It wasn’t until gentle, but unyieldingly strong hands clasped hers, making them still.

“You’re hurting yourself,” that soft, deep voice came from whoever owned the foreign hands, but she didn’t have the mental strength to look up and identify them. Instead, she resorted to kicking rubble away. The voice sighed. “Back up. I can help. Okay? Will you let me help?”

It had been so long, Marinette furrowed her eyebrows. When was the last time someone had actually asked her that question? When was the last time someone ever offered her help? Legitimate help, not just something superficial.

She couldn’t remember. How should she respond?

Marinette’s tongue darted out, wetting her dusty lips. Her deep breath came in with a disconcerting rattle. Somehow, she managed to nod. The foreign hands loosened slightly.

“Okay. Good—“

“I can’t stop,” Marinette finally managed to choke out. “I can’t— I need to—“

“I know,” the voice said again, endlessly patient. Endlessly understanding. “But you’re hurting yourself, so put these on first. Then you can keep digging.”

With his help—yes, him. She vaguely managed to pin down that the voice was male— she was able to slip on thick gloves. They were several sizes too big, probably belonged to one of the firefighters nearby, her mind numbly supplied. She didn’t care. As soon as they were on, she dropped down and began to dig again. The man who had offered to help did just that, moving just a foot or two away and lifting up impossibly large chunks of concrete before placing them down gently in an open area.

With his help, they were uncovered. They were carried away, under blankets, as best as they could be. Marinette saw none of it. Hands covered her eyes, younger than the voice-man’s hands but almost as strong. The only thing she saw was whatever was left once most of them was taken away. Later, she would thank him. But in the moment she was furious.

“I’m not a baby!” She growled at him, her voice lower and scratchier than usual because of all the smoke and dust clogging her throat. “I need to look at them! I need to remember!”

“Not like this,” the new voice said. When he removed his hands, Marinette saw Superboy. He was probably just about her age, but that offered little comfort for her. At least his eyes were understanding, calm, and empathetic. “You don’t need to see them like this. Remember them like they were, not how they ended,” the young hero advised gently, keeping a respectable distance between them now that he was no longer covering her eyes. He wasn’t even floating, staying on solid ground to stay closer to her eye level. “Today will be hard enough on your mind as it is. You don’t need to make this more painful than it is.”

Marinette could only bite her lip at that, her shoulders trembling. Is this what it took to have someone worry about her? To have people realize that she wasn’t superhuman, that she wasn’t infallible or mentally indestructible? Is this what it took, to finally have people try to help and care for her?

Because if it was, she would gladly deal with Lila Rossi and be held to far too high a standard for the rest of her life. She would rather suffer quietly for decades with that much more gentle pain than deal with this agony right now.

She finally let the tears fall, but they were mostly silent. Only hiccups and gasps for air added sound to her sobs. Superboy gently removed her hands from her arms before she could draw blood on herself, and when she lunged into the touch he drew her into the hug she clearly needed. When she pretty much collapsed into his hold, getting snot and tears over the symbol on his chest, he said nothing. He just held her and shared a glance over her shoulder with his father.

—*—*—*—*—*

Lois Lane was an investigative reporter. And when her husband and son asked her to make sure the girl they had sat with for hours after the latest attack on their city would be taken care of, she did not cut corners in her research. What she came up with was less than reassuring.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng. With her parents gone, she didn’t have much in the way of possible guardians. Her paternal grandfather was dead, just a few months earlier of old age. Her paternal grandmother Gina was consumed with wanderlust, not very responsible and not likely to be able to win custody. Even if she did, Lois doubted Marinette would do well in such an unstable, constantly moving lifestyle. Some people would, but Marinette was much like her son from what she gathered from her investigation. She would need stability before anything else. There was her Uncle from her mom’s side of the family, but he only spoke Mandarin so the language barrier was not promising either. The last thing Marinette needed was pressure to learn a new language. If she hyper focused on anything to deal with her grief, it should at least be something she chose on her own. Lastly there was her maternal grandmother, but she had gotten in an accident and passed away almost two years prior.

Luckily, Lois Lane was also a woman of extreme, if mostly secret, political power. She knew several billionaires with political sway, international superheroes, and politicians. Also, not that she would ever tell her husband, but she might have squared away some blackmail and favors that she might cash in with some folks in the legal system if it decided to fight her on her new personal mission.

Nobody got in the way of Lois Lane and lasted long.

But first, she ran her idea past her family. It wouldn’t do any good if they didn’t agree with her, after all. Luckily enough, her offer seemed to be exactly what they had hoped for. Apparently Marinette was the type that was easy to get attached to.

And that was how, after twelve hours of intense phone-call sessions and very, very many in depth discussions, arguments, debates, bargains, and subtle manipulation, Marinette Dupain-Cheng ended up in the temporary custody of the Kent family.

The process itself was extremely complicated and in normal circumstances would have taken anywhere from days to months to complete, but as mentioned before Lois Lane is a secret political superpower in and of herself.

Officially, Marinette’s grandmother Gina assumed custody. Unofficially, her grandmother had plans to enroll her in school abroad in, you guessed it, Metropolis, so that she wouldn’t have to deal with the melancholy memories that Paris would supply her. In doing so, she contacted the Kent’s who were apparently old family friends and asked them to take her granddaughter in for the time being. She was oh so busy traveling the world, after all. And that’s no life for a teenager recovering from grief.

After two weeks to allow Marinette to go back to Paris for the funeral, pack up her things and say goodbye to her friends, she ended up on the Kents’ doorstep with her grandmother by her side. Any attempts to get more information out of the old woman were futile, she refused to say a word on why nobody had mentioned these “family friends” before.

(Lois figured out fairly quickly that Gina Dupain was not somebody to take lightly. The fact that Gina answered the phone thinking that Red Hood was calling was a giant tip off. Lois was pretty sure that Gina knew damn well who her son and husband were, but wasn’t saying anything about it. It really was a shame that she wasn’t exactly prime parenting material at the moment.)

Lois and Clark opened the door together, having been double and triple checking that everything was set up and ready for their new addition. Sure, Marinette wasn’t being adopted or even officially fostered by them, but they would still treat her like a Kent.

“Marinette, hi,” Clark greeted, smiling warmly down at the short girl. “I’m Clark, and this is my wife Lois. If you need absolutely anything, don’t be afraid to ask. Okay?”

The small girl nodded, her hair flopping behind her a bit. Normally she would have it held back in pigtails, but she just didn’t have the energy for that anymore. Maybe she would regain it one day. With that, Gina and Marinette said their goodbyes and she started her life with the Kents.

—*—*—*—*—*

It took a while. Luckily the trip to metropolis had already been in the early summer, so Marinette could be excused for the last few weeks of the school term and relax over summer before being forced back into society. Her grades at Francois-Dupoint were finalized, Marinette doing all the extra work during her two weeks in France for the funeral. She had been told it wasn’t necessary and that she could take her time with it but, as the Kents soon learned, Marinette hated being idle.

But even though Marinette was nowhere near healed, it only took a week for her to warm up to the youngest Kent. Jon was a very much welcome presence in her new life. Just about her age, he was always patient with her and never pried for information or asked about why she occasionally couldn’t bring herself to talk. Words just failed her sometimes, she couldn’t get her throat to work. Something would remind her of her parents, or that day, and she would just feel the dust in her throat again and the blisters on her palms and she just couldn’t say a word.

All three of the Kents helped her through these episodes as best as they could, but Jon always stayed close by so she could tug him into a hug when she was ready. As a very tactile person, she really appreciated that.

And somehow he and Clark, despite being very awkward and physically unsure of themselves on the surface, gave the best hugs.

But, even though Jon and Clark had resigned themselves to being slightly more on-guard about their identities than they usually would be at home, they hadn’t quite anticipated just how hard it would be to keep a secret identity. Not necessarily from Marinette, since the girl spent most of her time out in their backyard or in her room, or occasionally going out for short visits to the city with Jon. No, it was the other way around.

Because of course Marinette couldn’t just give up being Ladybug and the Grand Guardian. Fu wasn’t there to take over for her anymore, so she took it upon herself to watch over Paris twice as vigorously. Mostly through keeping an eye on news channels and texts with her friends, general media stuff. She didn’t want to tire Kaalki out.

And this was how, two months after Marinette started living with the Kents, she walked through a portal into her room and was met with Clark and Jon staring right at her. The elder Kent had his arms crossed, posture oddly confident for the man she had come to know, and one eyebrow raised. Jon looked like his smile was about to rip his face in half, and he was bouncing a bit on his heels. Even then, though, Marinette could pick out the slight worry in his blue eyes. In both of theirs.

She immediately jumped backwards and closed the portal. Trapping herself back in Paris.

And instantly crumpling down to moan in despair on top of a random Parisian rooftop.

She was sitting on the very top of the Eiffel Tower when Superman and Superboy found her, and it didn’t take much for her to guess that they had flown straight over from metropolis. Stupid super-speed flight. She drew her legs to her chest, resting her chin on her knees as they floated to her side of her patiently. She had long since separated Kaalki, and sat in just her Ladybug costume.

“I knew Lois could contact you guys, but this is a bit too quick even for you don’t you think?” Ladybug drawled monotonously, looking over at both of the heroes dryly. Now that she was mostly of sound mind and not in the middle of a traumatic situation, she was able to make connections she couldn’t before. She was able to actually observe their faces, whereas before she hadn’t really been in the right mind frame to really commit anything about them to memory. But now?

Ohhh, she knew those faces.

Marinette’s eyebrow twitched as she did a double-take, followed closely by a deep breath. Maybe the glasses and, for Jon, baseball cap, would be a good enough disguise for most people. Especially when combined with the frankly impressive body acting they both pulled off on an apparently daily basis, they felt like totally different people in and out of the suits even if they looked the same.

But Marinette was not a normal person. She was a designer, she had a very critical eye, and she had just spent the better part of the last two months living in the same house as these two. And now she realized that they severely toned down the body acting and general “disguise” of their civilian selves when they were at home rather than outside. She had shrugged it off as them simply relaxing at home and, while she was right, it wasn’t until this moment that she put everything together.

“No masks, seriously? Some day, someone with eyes as good as mine is gonna figure you guys out,” she told them blandly, earning shocked blinks followed quickly by soft grins.

“I would normally sit down next to you at this point, but you haven’t exactly left us any space,” Superman— Clark, Marinette reminded herself— joked lightly. Marinette looked down to the small tip of the Eiffel Tower and back up to him, pointedly raising both eyebrows. Jon giggled.

Rolling her eyes and fighting a smile, Ladybug stood up without any apparently care about her footing. Somehow, balance seemed to just come naturally to her. It was so different from the usual Marinette that Clark and Jon had seen literally walk into a wall on multiple occasions that they had to grin. Seems like she fit right in on their acts-clumsy-and-awkward-but-isn’t trope.

(No, they later realized, that was completely Marinette. Ladybug just brought out a different side of her, but the awkwardness was still there. Just better hidden.)

“I was kinda trying to stay somewhere that nobody else could join me on purpose. You know, I was a little busy catastrophizing about you guys wanting to get rid of me now.”

“What?!” Jon asked, horrified. “No way! Even if we were normal, we wouldn’t just toss you away because we found out you’re a hero. That just— do you honestly think we would do that?”

“No,” she admitted softly, crossing her arms and sighing as she looked down over Paris. Over her city. It was a bittersweet view nowadays. “No, but I always freak out over things like that pretty easily. I’ve had people leave me over less. Sometimes it’s hard to convince myself that anyone else will be different.”

“Marinette—“

“Ladybug, actually,” she corrected with a small smile. “Don’t wanna slip up here. You never know who’s listening.”

Clark blinked, needing a moment to let that sink in before forcing himself to continue. “Ladybug, then,” he paused to gently lay a hand on her shoulder, forcing her to meet his gaze. As always it was soft. Patient. Just like his voice had been that fateful day. And, oh, there were the memories. They had both been there, helped her, and they stuck with her. Even though it hadn’t been their fault, even though they could have easily stepped back and let her deal with own problems and who had her custody on her own, they didn’t. She would have blamed them if they did, who was she to expect heroes to care about her like she was their child? That would be horrendously selfish of her. They saved hundreds of people every week.

And yet here they were, treating her like family.

And there was the phantom dust, clogging her throat. Strangling her words. She opened and closed her mouth, but nothing came out. Clark understood, he always understood, and his grip just tightened slightly. It tethered her.

“Ladybug,” he repeated even more softly. “We are not going to toss you out. Not for something like this, not for anything. You’re family now. You might not have the Kent name, you might not be kryptonian, but you’re one of us. Lois understands. Heaven knows she’s put up with both of us long enough, one more hero in the family is probably not that surprising. I just hope that… that you knowing doesn’t—“

“I don’t blame you,” there we go, her voice finally decided to work again. It came out a little hoarse, so she cleared her throat and started again. “I don’t blame you. I never did. It’s stupid, blaming a hero for things that never would have happened if the villain hadn’t attacked in the first place,” she told them, ripping her gaze away from his to trace over Paris again. “Maybe it’s because I understand that not everyone can be saved. I get it. But I never blamed you. I was actually grateful from the very beginning. You helped me dig them out even though you very well could have just carried me to the sidelines and stopped me from digging at all. And you, Jon, you didn’t complain once when I pretty much tackled you in a hug. You both sat with me as the paramedics looked me over. You didn’t leave until you were sure I was back in my hotel and in good hands. You never got impatient with me. That’s more than I could have asked for,” suddenly her mask was wet, and she roughly swiped away the tears that had leaked from her eyes. “You guys being Superman and Superboy isn’t going to make me treat you differently. It’s… actually nice. Not having to hide anymore, I mean.”

Jon grinned and flew over, enveloping her in a tight hug. Ladybug only chuckled and returned it, never once faltering in her balance. “I know exactly what you mean!” He said happily, making Ladybug laugh even more. It quickly devolved into Jon having to compensate for Ladybug’s balance, since she was suddenly leaning all her weight on him as she laughed her little heart out and no longer seemed to care about her balance at all. Not that it mattered much, Jon was more than capable of keeping her safe at close range like this, but it was cute to see. And for Clark? It was really relieving to see the girl he had come to think of as a daughter laughing so genuinely for the first time. Not a chuckle, or a soft huff of amusement, a full blown belly laugh.

It was amazing.

“Come on. I think you have some explaining to do, if you are comfortable with it anyway. Do you want to fly back, or portal back?” He asked, tilting his head slightly. He wouldn’t force Marinette to use her powers, but he would be lying if he said he wasn’t curious about them. Marinette straightened up, easily regaining her balance on the pointed tip of the tower beneath her, and slipping on a pair of glasses that she pulled… out of her yo-yo?

Wait, why was a yo-yo on her hip her only weapon? Maybe Clark should look into the Paris situation a bit more in-depth. He was clearly missing a lot, and none of what he was seeing was necessarily filling him with joy and confidence. Maybe Marinette could help soothe his worries later, if she decided to explain her abilities to them.

One transformation and a portal later, and all three of them stepped back into Marinette’s room. And when the portal closed and Marinette let down all her transformations, she took a deep breath and looked around. At both men in the room with her. At her bed and all her belongings. At the way this space has become her own. It felt nice. Warm. Welcoming, familiar.

Home.

It felt like home.

And Marinette’s smile hadn’t been quite so wide since before that infamous Metropolis trip.

Part 2

Yes, Lois kept her last name when she married Clark. I just like alliteration, okay? Besides, my story my rules lol :P

[strangerays]

Nothing in Particular Update #3

About seven months and I finished the first draft at 93k!

I always imagined how it would feel to finish a first draft (I’ve been writing novels “seriously” since about 2017) and now that I’ve finally done it, I can say it’s a better feeling than I imagined! Telling my friends and family (and even my doctor, who was really quite excited about it) was an amazing amazing thing. I’m generally pretty nervous to tell people about my work, but I had a really positive reaction. Honestly all of it has me on a creative high (not sure I’m coming down from that any time soon lol).

I’m going back for my last year of school in two days, which means I’m not going to have as much time as I did to write all summer. This is okay, because I’m actually going to take an entire month off of writing! I’m really burnt out - don’t want to start editing a story that’s so near to me if I don’t feel ready. I’ll talk more about editing when the time comes!

In a lot of ways, I found that my life mimicked my art. I think for a lot of people, it tends to be the other way around, but this story did a lot to heal me.

Going to hop right into excerpts now! I’m not going to explain much this far into the story because I would like to try to publish this story (FAR in the future) so I apologize for that! Also, I stopped naming most of the chapters until I go back and edit because there are just SO MANY and I didn’t have the time to stop and think of cool names. Anyways... enjoy!!

(Here is the link to the original masterpost!)

#1

text: Rays of gold curled to the ground, primordial and shy as the fire reeds on the cusps of shallow pool around the bay outside of Mothouse combed them to fine sparkles. I remembered the way Lonan kneeled on the edges of this pool. He never dove in – just blinked slowly as he watched crabs and minnows chase each other in a swirl of sand. I could not resist the water. I’d made it a part of me. My hair was longer then; down to my elbows, fading from dark red to orange and white, soaked always. Lonan let me borrow his shirts when I forgot to bring my own. They hung from my waist, too big for me, and I was warm even as the breeze rocked us inside.

#2

text: The sky was never blue in Point Blink. At least, I couldn’t remember the last time the clouds hadn’t given way to a dark gray mist. Jude was here. I was out of place. I was floating – watching slender, underfed pines wave in the breeze behind houses on the water before they disappeared underneath furls of cloud. Bursts of warm light shone in windows on the bay, like hungry eyes watching for a storm. A group of kids our age chaffed on a rocky expanse, their heads popping over pockets of darkness when they laughed. Froths of cloud stretched across the sky, moving the ground with it. Long stretches of trees and islands far on the other side of our small pocket of ocean looked more like large freight ships. Lights glittered and beamed on the roads and highways that belonged to the city. Pink was starting to show over the horizon. Lonan was on the other side. Somewhere.

#3

text: 

Jude sucked her lips in and flopped onto her stomach so she could see the blue below her feet. Her dark curls draped over her ears and hid her nose.

“I can’t see the bottom of the ocean.” She cupped her fingers with the other hand. “See where the water fades to white and back again? The endless tide. Why do people say the ocean is blue?”

I leaned forward. She was right. Blue ocean climbed up the side of the cliffs and turned the rocks a dark gray; ate the erosion as if from a plate. I’d never had the ocean explained to me that way before.

“I think I like it that way,” I said.

I wasn’t sure I wanted to know what was at the bottom of Point Blink.

#4

text: 

She smiled weakly. “It’s okay. This is just guesswork. Patchwork.”

I wanted to apologize again, but I had a strong guess that it might make her annoyed with me. “It’s kind of like… I’m just waiting for the next bad thing to happen.”

She wrinkled her nose and eyebrows, scrunched up her little face. “That’s dumb.”

“I think it’s a smart way to live.” Sometimes it felt like worry was the only thing that kept me alive. It wasn’t dumb at all.

“You’re going to be fine though. We’re going to be fine. If something bad happens, we’ll deal with it. Don’t let it eat you.”

There was wisdom in what this seventeen-year-old girl on my bed had offered me. I caught it like a gold coin. Before I could reply with anything, she launched into another question. I didn’t want to think much about change anyways.

#5

text:

“Oh. Wow. That’s like, next year.” I sort of laughed.

“A year can be a long time,” Lonan said with a wince. “What do you think?”          

I sighed through my nose and leaned back with him. The sun was going down. Sometimes, my life felt less like a golden hourglass and more like a stopwatch with a broken face.

“For once, I think I agree with your mom.”

Lonan just stared at me, with something like awe.

“I think you should do what you want,” I said.

 “Ray,” Lonan started.

“No,” I interrupted him. “It’s not about me. She’s stopped you from doing anything and everything you’ve wanted to for the last four years, so when you go to college, you’ve got to separate yourself from this place.” I pointed to him. “You’re allowed to do this.”

#6

text: 

Maybe I was just being strange. Lonan was my best friend. It didn’t help that there was a little bit of him in everything – the tide pools, the echo of shells, my broken camera.

Soon, we stood in the center of the field. A breeze whispered through the cattails, fanning against our knees. Ellis loped behind me as I stepped in and out of tire tracks under the cloudless sun. She wasn’t much different than Jude. Her footsteps crunched excitedly behind mine, excited at the prospect of an unprecedented adventure. I’d missed those.

Lonan said he didn’t like to walk in fields because the wind tricked him into thinking that someone was behind him. Every brisk of his heel was a trick of the mind. Sometimes I felt the same way, like I might be haunted.

#7

text: 

The ageless water begged me closer, frizzed my hair and swathed my arms in a sweet, familiar scent. I remembered galloping down to the shore with a childhood friend in one May. Soft piano accompanied croaky lyrics from someone’s radio when we fell chest-first into the water. Static erupted in my head. There had been nothing new for me in Point Blink for so long that I’d forgotten what it was like to float. Grass turned into pebbles, and I heard Ellis’ footsteps soften to the beat of the sand. Our eyes crumbled the shells that walled the long expanse of dark sand where waves rolled in. We leaned over like two swans, crunching shells beneath our feet, displaying shells to one another, naming the ones we recognized, and when I looked out at the horizon, I saw blue.

Red plastic cups, cigarettes, and even some broken glass stuck out through the sand as we made our way further down the shoreline, as if someone had thrown a party. My brow furrowed. Maybe this part of the beach wasn’t so abandoned after all.

Between the spit of the waves and dry sand lay some sort of book. Sand trickled out of the pages and onto my shoes when I swept it out of line of an oncoming wave. Ellis was beside me in moments. Shells tolled under her shoes.

#8

*Warning for mention of blood (fake blood and fake knife!!) this takes place on Halloween haha*

text: 

Jude held the container in her palm, kneeled down so we were shoulder to shoulder. Her eyes fixed on the knife in my neck, mine on her hands, then her focused expression. Her fingers tipped my chin up, cold on my skin. I tried not to move. Suddenly, I wasn’t thinking about Dad, or Raven, or Lonan. I only let Jude in – this girl who had come out of nowhere and wrecked me, saved me. And she didn’t know any of that. I didn’t owe anything to her, but I needed her. She kept us afloat when I couldn’t even keep myself above water. Her fingers painted blood over the center of my throat, our breath quiet on each other’s cheeks. She held my shoulder as she set back.               

“Absolutely feral,” she said.

#9

text: 

“Point Blink is all I have. It’s where I am, what I am.” My throat was tight. “It’s all I’ve known. I am happy with my life. And I’m sorry, but I’m not willing to throw all of that away so we can dig up answers. I want to stay.”

 Jude sat there for a moment. I think Florian and Ellis had turned to look at us, because when we went silent, I could no longer heat their hushed whispers, only the sound of water as it rose and rose and rose. I wondered if it would rain.

Jude sat up on her hands, then her knees, then she stood over me.

“Is that what you honestly believe?”

Tears bubbled in her eyes. Blood streaked down her cheeks. I’d been so focused on not crying, I had missed when she started to.

“Point Blink is just the same as anywhere,” she said. The words sat somewhere above her inside her chest, weak and frail, as though they’d been realized a long time ago.

I’d stared into her eyes until they disappeared. She grabbed onto a branch above her and quietly swung herself around a corner. Her footsteps echoed until they dissolved into waves and birds and frogs and left me in the dark.

#10

*Warning for strong language!*

text:

“Why didn’t you tell me how you’d been feeling?” he asked after a few moments of silence. It was beginning to stretch uncomfortably.

“I know I don’t deserve to know,” he added, “but you’ve always put me first.”

I picked at the wood that peeled from the fence.

“I just want you to be okay,” Lonan croaked. “Please tell me what to do.”

Even when we were together, we still worried about each other. It wasn’t always that way. Maybe that was my fault. I didn’t want to think about it.

 “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” I mumbled into the crisp, red air. “To be fair, I didn’t know it like I know now for a long time. I think sometimes I got the same way as a kid. Now I have a name for it, and I still don’t know if it feels right.” I sighed. “I guess… I guess I just thought that was how things were supposed to be. I thought I was only the humming low and the high.”

“Of course that’s not how you’re fucking supposed to be.”

 I coughed on a laugh, wiped away a new set of tears. On the rare occasion that Lonan did swear, he sounded much like he was doing it for the first time.

I hadn’t fully realized what I’d said before Lonan’s hand was around my arm. He pulled me close to his chest. I felt smaller than him; warm and safe. I exhaled and sunk into him, didn’t allow anything else in. I’d almost forgotten what that felt like.

“You’re funny and smart and better than a lot of people.”

And... that wraps up all of my excerpts for the time being! I really enjoyed writing the last four chapters of this book. Of course they aren’t perfect. A lot of the book needs improvement. There are entire characters who are flat and plot lines I just forgot about! Come October, I plan to get back into my edits/rewrite the story.

Really quick before I finish writing this:

I just wanted to thank everyone who read about my story and showed genuine interest in the characters. Had I not received all of this love from people in real life and online, I might never have finished this draft at all. When I started this story, my mental health was really quite bad. (I’m doing a whole lot better these days!!) I guess you could say the idea started as more of a journal entry. All of these characters are like little parts of me coming together to help the main character, and I think there’s something really special about that.

Thank you so much! Good luck on all your creative endeavors! It pays off in the end, I promise :)

tag list (ask to be +/-); @wannabeauthorzofija @a-completely-normal-writer @baguettethebooklover @corkytheguar​ @writeherewaiting @cryptid-s-wips @kingsinking @author-a-holmes

[palettepainter]

Powerloader - Family reunion

Higari and Ecto go down to visit Higari’s family in the country, things don’t go according to plan

Warnings: Swearing, verbal arguing, lil sad angst at the end

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Aren’t you going to knock?” Higari stiffened, Ectoplasm’s voice pulling him back to reality, turquoise eyes blinking under his mat of ginger hair. His knuckles faltered over the door “...You know-“ Higari’s hand went to his pocket and he shrugged “We could always just go out ‘n’ bout town” he suggested, rocking on his heels slightly. Above him, Ectoplasm rose a brow “I know a good bar that my brother told me he worked at for a few years. Does good beer, and there’s a nice old fashion juxebox there too” he looked off to the side, kicking at a pebble on the porch “Think you’d like it..” Ectoplasm hummed “..Nervous?” He asked, tilting his head downward in an attempt to make eye-contact. “No.” Powerloader answered, perhaps sounding a bit too sure “...Not exactly” He said looking sheepish Powerloader sighed, pulling a hand back through his curtain of orange hair, eyes peering up to the house doorway with a crease in his brows “You sounded happy this morning when we where walking to the train station” Ectoplasm watched as Powerloader turned, pacing in a circle, taking leisurely steps, grunting back in reply “What changed your mind?” “This..this ain’t exactly the best a homes Ecto” Powerloader said, observing the large front yard and dirt drive through that surrounded the front of the house. “My family aren’t the same as your parents ya know” he could remember how kind and welcoming Ectoplasm’s folks had been after he got over his initial fear, he could name at least one person who wouldn’t be as welcoming.. “If that’s the case, why did you offer to bring me along?” Ectoplasm asked, head titled “I mean- yeah! I want you to meet them but..” Higari chewed his gum, hands on his hips before he sighed “I just dunno if everyone will be as nice as your parents where” Ectoplasm let that information sink in, with the narrow of his eyes Higari could tell he was thinking something over. When Ectoplasm was finished, he turned back to Higari “Are you worried they may not approve of our relationship?” Higari tensed “...It..crossed my mind” he admitted, sounding ashamed “And if that scenario becomes reality, would you break up with me?” “NO!” Higari whirled round so quickly that his entire fringe swooped off his face before falling back down again “N-NO! God no! Of course not!” “And you know I wouldn’t leave you” Ectoplasm replied, still calm “..So if worst comes to worst, we’ll still be together, no matter what - right?” He smiled, holding out his hand and tilting his head back towards the door. Higari looked between Ectoplasm’s face, the doorway, and then his hand. He let out a sigh “Okay..” he nodded “Alright..Let’s go, I guess” Ectoplasm gave him another smile, as Higari finally knocked on the door. No answer “...Huh” he knocked again, this time a bit louder “Odd, usually Taiho is home at this hour” Higari let go of Ectoplasm’s hand in favour of stepping onto the front lawn to try and peer up into the windows on the first floor “Maybe they’ve gone out?” Ectoplasm suggested, walking up to Higari who hummed “..Nah” he said with a shake of his head “Even if Taiho ain’t around, Chikara or Suru are usually here tinkerin’ around in-“ A giant explosion from the side of the house made both jump, going into high alert on instinct from years of work in the hero field. Black smoke as dark as ink pooled out into a giant cloud from round the back of the house, followed by yelling “...the garage!” Higari said before he took of running, Ectoplasm following swiftly behind as Higari led him round the back of the home and into what looked like another smaller dirt yard. There was a big garage, where the smoke was spilling out from, and odd piles of junk, scrap metal or engine parts littered here or there, as well as a small open shack with a work bench covered in other piles of metal sitting inside. “God fucking dammit!” A red head came rushing out from the smoke, a second figure with a head of ginger hair similar to Higari’s following close behind. “Shit!” The red head turned back to the garage doors and groaned, head flopping back with her hands on her hips “Uuuu...Welp” they shrugged “Could be worse..least there was no fire this time” “I take it engineering is a common hobby?” Ectoplasm whispered to Higari. “Welcome to the family” He replied, now a bit more at ease at seeing no one hurt after such a big explosion. “This the welcomin’ party I get?” Higari joked, making his way over while Ectoplasm stood back. At the sound of his voice the redhead threw her head over her shoulder, seeming to do a double take, before she grinned ear to ear “Higari?!” She yelled “No way!” Before Higari had time to say anything more the red head had moved the distance between them to eagerly embrace him in a hug “You asshole” she punched his shoulder, though years of work and digging through rubble hardly left it sour “Come and visit more often ya dick!” “Ha, nice to see you two Chikara” Higari stepped back to take a good look at her “...You cut your hair” he said, noticing how her hair was now much shorter, and two how she had it pinned up with a bandana. “Hm, you changed a lot” “Wish I could say the same for you shorty~” It was like a glass breaking noise went off in Higari’s head, as his brows narrowed, and he turned away “I take it back, you haven’t changed at all” Ectoplasm was guilty of letting a few eensie snickers out, which where apparently enough for Higari to look up and gesture him over “I actually have somebody for you to meet” the women who’s name was apparently Chikara hummed just as he came up to Higari’s side “Ectoplasm, this snotface is my sister, Chikara” Chikara rolled her eyes “The other one is Suru” Ectoplasm glanced over Chikara’s shoulder where the orange haired girl was busy trying to disburse the smoke by waving a towel, she offered a small wave, before turning back to work. “Chi, this is Ecto” Chikara’s eyes widened and she looked down to Higari, and then directly at him “Heh, the Ectoplasm? In the flesh~” She chuckled, dropping her hip with her hands in her pockets “Never thought I’d see the day, my rugged dirt rollin’ big brother would bring back a pretty boy like you” “My pretty boy” Higari corrected with a clear of his throat, making Ectoplasm blush a faint pink. “I ain’t trying to steal your boyfriend” Chikara confirmed with a sarcastic surrender motion, though the teasing grin on her face made Higari put an arm around his hips, for extra measure. Ectoplasm rolled his eyes and then offered a hand to shake “Hello, it’s nice to finally meet you!” He gave her hand a friendly shake, still smiling despite Higari’s hand still on his hip “Thank you for letting me come down to visit, I’ve been looking forward to the trip for a while” “Hm, polite and cute?” Chikara hummed, hand on her chin “You’re a real ideal husband package huh?~” before Chikara or Ectoplasm could say anymore Higari swatted his hand at her “Watch it” he warned, only half threatening as Chikara cackled, taking three steps back “Aight aight, I’ll stop!” She said, hands returning to her pockets “Jokes aside, pleasure to finally meet the ‘Ecto’ Higari keeps mentioning in his letters” “He spoke of me?” Ectoplasm asked Chikara made a ‘Pft’ noise “Only in every letter he sends” she said, glancing down to her older brother, hoping maybe a little too much that it’d draw a funny reaction from him. However Higari simply shrugged “I see no problem, you’re just jealous you don’t have a boyfriend yet” “You wound me~”  Chikara mocked, pressing a hand to her heart “Hm, yeah..so anyway, where the others at? Ma, Taiho, Hono?” “Ma ‘n’ Taiho are on a shopping run, Hono’s at work, prolly won’t be back till later on.” Chikara rubbed her neck, looking off at nothing while Higari had this blank look on his face that Ectoplasm couldn’t explain “..Lemme guess, he ran off to get an early work shift to avoid seein’ me?” Ectoplasm blinked, and then looked up to Chikara who appeared fidgety “Uh-“ Higari sighed, shaking his head and waving his hand “Nevermind..so when are Ma and Taiho gettin’ back?” “Anytime now I reckon, car engines busted” she jabbed a thumb over to the garage where most of the smoke had now cleared “Suru ‘n’ I’ve been tinkerin’ at it all day, stubborn thing just don’t wanna work. Ma took an early start to the shop out in town with the car engine out of action and Taiho went along to help with the bags” Higari hummed, missing how Ectoplasm was now looking at him “Ah, that would explain the smoke I guess” From there things went smoothly, it had been maybe around thirty minutes before Higari’s mother and one of his younger brothers came home, but in that time he, Higari and his two sisters had spent most of the time chatting about this or that. While Ectoplasm created three clones to help, Higari was currently inspecting the tuff of hair that his baby brother was growing from his chin “When the fuck did you get a beard?” Taiho, who Ectoplasm had learnt just from a small conversation seemed like a friendly guy, chuckled “Well I am an adult” “Keep growin’ that thing out and soon you it’ll be growing flowers” Taiho dramatically batted his hair with the back of his hand “Jealous?~” he asked Higari mocked laughing “Har Har, yeah yeah I get it, you and Chikara both got the glossy hair from dad” “You also got his memory I’d say” Higari turned to his mother, who had handed of the last of the shopping to a clone before turning back to Higari. Even if she was only taller by a few feet Higari still felt himself panic a little when she walked over with her famous resting scowl face “An’ just when where you gonna make some time to come see your family Hm? You sure ain’t been down a lot to visit from that big old shiny city” “Ah- Ma I said I was sorry!” Higari said while waving his hands, which made his mother give an unimpressed hum “What bout your letters?” She asked, Higari not sure if she was squinting or glaring “Ah-Well-“ he stumbled over his words, and Taiho was quick to show he wasn’t going to help him, the traitor. “Ya know, workin’ at a big school and doing hero stuff got me busy! I can’t help it if something pops up at work” His mother hummed again, as if silently judging him based on his answer, before her expression turned soft, and she ruffled up his already messy hair “..Thought I told you to start combing this” Higari chuckled, gently brushing her hand away “Uhm, you have no idea how hard it is to make space for things like brushing my hair!” He said in a joking manner, making his mother raise an amused brow before chuckling. “An’ who’s this tall fella you brought along with you?” She asked, leaning to one side to peer at Ectoplasm with a studying look, all humour gone as suspicion took its place. Ectoplasm felt a brief moment of panic before Higari stepped in to explain “Ma, this is Ectoplasm, my boyfriend” His mother gave him a sideways glance, hummed, and then looked back to Ectoplasm. She narrowed her eyes more, and Ectoplasm felt oddly small under her stare. Humming again she walked closer, circled him once, and then gave him a quick look up and down. Ectoplasm, feeling as though he should say something cleared his throat “Uhm, hello there Mrs Maijima, it’s nice to finally meet Higari’s family” once again he held out a hand, to which Higari’s mother blinked at, and rose a brow “..Uh- I hope you don’t mind me coming to visit, Higari wanted to introduce me to you, and I can’t lie I was excited at the idea of meeting you. He always has such interesting childhood stories to tell!” His mother hummed again, slowly...before a smug smile came to her lips and she slowly turned to Higari, brow cocked “...And how long where you planning to keep this nice young man away from visitin’ us?”  Ectoplasm felt a chill of relief cool his body, shoulders that had been tense finally dropping as he let out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding in. “Nice to meet you too, Higari sure does talk plenty of you in the letters he manages to send. Said your some big hero back there in your city” Ectoplasm nodded “Though I also work as a maths teacher at UA high school.” Higari’s mother hummed again “Hm, maybe you could teach my son a thing or two” she joked, prompting an embarrassed groan from Higari. “I’m not that bad Ma!” “Oh hush!” His mother turned to him, brow cocked “You takin’ some advice from your boyfriend here might help ya out in the long run - might even help tame that wild mess of hair you got” she fondly roughly his hair playfully, and she let out a chuckle the likes of which only Higari could do to a T Higari swatted her hand away, and then grumbled something under his breath, arms crossed “I’ll be seein’ you all inside shortly” Higari nodded, the god damn snickering from Taiho and Chikara wasn’t making things any easier for him. Ectoplasm waited until Chikara and Taiho walked off towards the house before turning to Higari “Personally, I like your hair” he said “Gives you character~” Ectoplasm didn’t miss the shy smile Higari gave before he scurried after him to the house “So, hows life up in the concrete jungle?” Chikara asked, taking another bite out of a chicken leg while Higari re-entered the room with a can of beer “Usual, loud ‘n busy” he answered, cracking open his can and lazily chugging three gulps. “It can be pretty stressful working at such an elite school” Ectoplasm added “I’ll say!” Higari replied, leaning back up in his chair “You remember the student Hatsume I told you guys about in a letter once? I swear that kids trying to meet some kinda property damage quota!” Taiho and Chikara snickered, obviously not taking him seriously “Oh you think I’m joking, don’t you?” “Well..you could be kinda dramatic” “Could?” Taiho said while looking to Chikara, smirking that stupid amused smile of his. Higari’s reply was to kick him under the table, resulting in Taiho jumping, and him smirking in victory with a ‘heh’ - “Alright alright” Mrs Maijima ended the fight before it could start “Save it for later you two, we got a guest” she gestured towards Ectoplasm “Mind your manners” “It’s alright” Ectoplasm tried to reassure “I understand they’re joking” Mrs Maijima smiled tiredly “You really are a sweetheart.” Ectoplasm felt his smile widen at the compliment, especially one coming from Higari’s mother “Yeah” Chikara agreed, nodding “...Why can’t you be more like him Higari?” She smirked, shooting Higari a quick smug look to which Higari met with a playful glare “Shove off” The group had been so caught up in their own conversations that no one had heard the door open or close from down the hall. It wasn’t until Suru turned to offer a ‘Welcome back’ to the new guest did Higari peer up- “Hey ma” Hono said, lugging off his jacket and hanging it on the coat rack by the kitchen “You’re later then usual Hono” his mother asked “..Aint any reason in particular?” Hono stood up, and turned to the table - Higari and him made eye contact. Hono scowled, and then looked away “Nah, just took a longer shift this week” he replied nonchalantly, trudging into the kitchen towards the fridge. The table had fallen oddly quite, everyone passing nervous worried looks, while Higari seemed frozen in his chair. Ectoplasm glanced to the newcomer, and then looked to Higari, as if asking for an explanation- “Ahem.” Taiho cleared his throat, and then leaned back on his chair “Uh-Higari came down to visit!” He called into the kitchen “Isnt that nice?” He asked The atmosphere was tense, Ectoplasm could sense it, yet for some reason he he felt like he should be quite.. From the kitchen there was a hum “Hm, yeah, nice he’s makin’ time for us” Hono returned to the kitchen, and Taiho let out a quite breath- “Nice to know he cares after leavin’ us to pick up the pieces for the last twenty years” he took a long, unhurried slurp of his beer, and then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand “Real considerate of you Higari” Higari sighed “Nice to see you too Hono..” Everyone at the table glanced off in different directions, expressions all the same “Hono.” Mrs Maijima’s voice was stern, eyes narrowed as she pointed to him “We talked ‘bout this”. Hono, unnerved at his mothers warning, rolled his eyes, before taking up the empty seat next to her - coincidentally enough, the chair opposite Ectoplasm. Ectoplasm did his best to try and relax, but the air around the dinner was now more tense then before, and even he was struggling to pretend it wasn’t, and he wasn’t even half sure of what was going on. “Who’s the guest?” Hono asked, pointing his fork towards him, making Ectoplasm lean back in his chair. Hono eyed him up suspiciously, a crease in his brows. Ectoplasm felt oddly small under his gaze, the rest of Higari’s siblings watching carefully. Ectoplasm put down his cutlery and offered a hand “I’m Ectoplasm, I believe your name is Hono?” his attempt to break the silence was met with Hono eyeing his hand, and then narrowing his eyes. “And they’re also the love of my life” Higari scowled cruelly, a look that even to Ectoplasm was a rare sight. With a smile that looked just a bit too forced Higari leaned one hand over, and pointed the end of Hono’s fork away “And while he’s here, you’re going to treat him with nothin’ but respect. Got it?” “....Oh” Hono looked to have realized something, before he turned his look towards Ecto. “So you’re the Ecto guy he kept mentioning in his letters huh?” He asked, his eyes lingering on Ectoplasm longer for what felt appropriate. Ectoplasm opened his mouth to speak, but almost ended up snapping it shut when Hono unexpectedly stabbed his fork into a piece of chicken on the serving plate, and then bit into it, eyes still locked onto him. Ectoplasm, not wanting to be rude despite being under his studying glare, nodded “Yes, though Ecto is just a nickname” Hono hummed “..Hero right?” “And teacher. I teach at UA along with Higari” Hono hummed again “UA Huh..” he pondered aloud “..Thought it was just a buncha fat cats and snobs up there, what’s some dumb snaggle-tooth doin’ in a place like that huh?” Mrs Maijima shot Hono a vicious look, slamming her fork to the table, and Ectoplasm blinked, more caught off guard then offended. Higari however twitched “Yer opinion on the matter is irrelevant. So why don’t you do us all a favour, and keep that trap shut?” “Tch. Or what?” Hono challenged, turning his attention to Higari who growled “You ain’t been home in years, you expect us to welcome you back in with some...” Hono regraded Ectoplasm with a look one might give garbage, Ectoplasm felt his brow crease “...Toothpick lookin’ city slicker hanging off your arm” he jabbed a thumb lazily to Ectoplasm, who blinked again, looking between Hono and then Higari - the air was quickly turning from heated to dangerous as Higari slammed his hands on the table and growled louder. “You had better be real careful about what you say next Hono” “Uh, guys, maybe we should just-“ Taiho tried to interject “Oh go lock lips with a rattle snack for all I care! You may have a say in that high ‘n fancy school but you’re at the bottom of the higharchy here! That goes double for your main squeeze” “Hono shut up-“ Chikara said through her teeth, attempting to shove Higari back into his chair. “Oh yeah cuz you’re the one runnin’ this house aren’t you Hono? I didn’t see you here making dinner for everyone, longer shift is what you said right?” Higari boredly picked up his can “That what you call sulking off now?” Hono bristled, Higari seeming to hit a sensitive spot as Hono’s hands slammed down on the table “Like YOU would fuckin’ know!” Hono suddenly stood up from his chair, his taller form making him tower over Higari, who was not shaken at his display of dominance. “Hono stop it!” Suru whispered sharply, glancing between her brothers- “Oh enlighten me little bro, what makes you so grown up huh? I bet picking fights with guests makes you feel like a real adult huh?” “Yeah, cuz you’re just a saint aren’t cha? Runnin’ off with yer tail tucked between your legs and hitched it off to the city” Ectoplasm narrowed his eyes, looking rapidly between the two in the face of imminent disaster “Bet your boyfriend here makes a real good placement for a kitchen wife huh?” Ectoplasm gapped, blinking more rapidly. “Dude!” Taiho stood up and attempted to push Hono back into his chair. “You leave him with messes to clean?? Let him pick up the pieces while you go flaunterin’ off with your do-hickeys and jim-jams in your cozy little workshop?” Higari seemed to stiffen, capped finger nails gripping his can a bit too tight, leaving behind light dents in the metal. Hono caught on, saw the change in his older brothers body language - he exploited it “Or is that just a special thing you leave for your family huh?” Hono leaned closer, mocking him. Higari’s eyes bore into him, other hand clenching into a fist - but he’d sworn off ever getting physically violent in the house. Higari tried hard not to loose his nerve, but his mind was already flooding back to his time at UA, flooding back too easily. The memories where as clear as day, and he hated it. A country boy like him suddenly up in the big city, surrounded by kids in what might as well have been a maze for him - a shy vulnerable little Higari drew unwanted attention, mean attention. A weird kid like him, all the mean kids seemed to love him. Really loved pushing him around in the hallway between classes, that always seemed to be their favorites. ..Yes, Ectoplasm had always been the one to help pick up his messes. Help pick him up when he was feeling down, help patch him up when he couldn’t even control his own student in the lab, help get his homework done because he forgot, help do his tie up because his fat fingers made it impossible. Yeah, Ectoplasm was always the one helping him out... Ectoplasm’s hand gripped Higari’s shoulder, comforting. Higari blinked, his touch grounding him back to the dinner table, bringing his mind out from the past. “Higari has always been considerate of my needs a-“ “I’m sorry mister hero-“ Hono fixed Extoplasm with a harsh look, and leaned in close to glower at him “I don’t think our family matters concern you” At seeing the shift of Hono’s anger now being focused onto a new target Taiho once again stood up and tried to force Hono back “Thats enough! Just sit do-“ “Bet pa’s just applaudin’ his lil’ Higari in his grave for how much he’s done for this family” Here did Taiho, Chikara and Suru all gasp, their mothers eyes widening as Higari was practically shaking, as if restraining himself “You watch your fucking mouth-“ “BOYS!” Everybody froze, all eyes snapping to Mrs Maijima. At the sight of the women’s chilling glare, all the Maijima children straightened up. Even Ectoplasm felt obliged to follow suit despite her anger not being directed at him “What in gods name on this earth is the matter with you two?!” She yelled, her voice like thunder “I don’t mind if you boys gotta settle things out your one way, but for Christ sake- pull yourselves together when we have a guest!” She threw a hand to gesture to Ectoplasm, who Hono scowled to again “But Ma-“ “ENOUGH Hono.” She bellowed “Can you two really not get along for one lousy dinner?” She glared hard at the two of them, both had their heads hung, scowling off at nothing. Hono snorted, shoved his chair back, and marched off to the backdoor, slamming it shut on his way out as Mrs Maijima pinched the bridge of her nose with a sigh. Ectoplasm looked around, feeling awkward “..I’m very sorry if I w-“ Mrs Maijima raised a slow hand and shook her head “Stop. You ain’t gotta apologise for nothin’” despite that she didn’t lift her head or open her eyes. “..Should I, Uh, go and talk with him?” Suru suggested, breaking the silence as she looked to the backdoor “No, leave him..” Mrs Maijima pulled her head back with another sigh, looking deflated “Might as well be trying to have a conversation with a rock when he’s like this..” she muttered to herself, a hand rubbing her eye “..Me ‘n Chi will clean the table” Taiho said, already standing to stack the plates. “..I need a moment” Higari said suddenly, pushing his chair out and making a beeline to the back door also, closing the door with a softer bang then Hono. Ectoplasm stood from his chair and went to follow “Don’t” Mrs Maijima said lightly, peering over to Ectoplasm who stopped to look back at her “..I know it might be confusing, but it’s best if we leave those two alone..” she sank back into her chair, the twins exchanged concerned glances “For now..” “...Why don’t you go upstairs and have an early night?” Taiho suggested, handing the plates over to Suru who hurried them off to the kitchen “We can clean things up for ya” their mother only nodded, her authoritative presence entirely gone as she slowly dragged herself towards the stairway. Ectoplasm looked back over to the back door, looking torn between darting after Higari or staying like she had asked. In the end he stayed, though he wasn’t happy with the choice, he only did it in favour of respect for Higari’s mother - besides, he could agree if he went now it might do more harm then good. Higari despite being so small had a very fierce temper. After all had been put away in the kitchen and the table cleaned - and after many apologies from the rest of Higari’s siblings - Higari still hadn’t come back inside, it was getting slightly dark, Ectoplasm couldn’t help but worry. After asking for directions he walked to the back of the kitchen to a doorway, opened it, and walked out into the garage on the other side. Walking down the metal stairway he walked round one side of the parked car, and opened the passenger door “Room for a passenger?” He tried to joke, an attempt at lighting the mood. Higari didn’t move his head from his resting arms above the car wheel, and didn’t object when Ectoplasm clambered in anyway. “...Did the others tell you I was here?” He asked quietly. “No” Ectoplasm replied, making himself comfy “I figured it out. You always did your deepest thinking in the design studio - a garage seemed like the next best option.” Higari hummed into his sleeve, but still didn’t look up “..Do you want to talk about it?” “No.” Higari replied clearly, brows creasing a little, his mention of earlier obviously not pleasing him. Ectoplasm peered down at his feet and rubbed at his neck “If you’d prefer it if I le-“ “No” Higari reached his hand out, grabbed Ectoplasm’s, and then brought the hand to his face, leaning his cheek it in while his thumb gently brushed across the back of his hand. Ectoplasm was frozen for a moment, before he shuffled round as best he could in the passengers seat to Higari “I’m..Ecto I-..I-I’m so sorry, I didn’t think-“ “You’ve got nothing to be sorry for” Ectoplasm was quick to say, knowing how Higari had a bad habit of getting upset with himself when things went wrong. “You didn’t do anything wrong” “But I DID!” Higari said, his eyes having a shine to them “I-.Ecto this was supposed to be a nice dinner for you and-and I made you sit through all that fighting! Maybe if I hadn’t been so thick headed it wouldn’t have even escalated the way it did” Ectoplasm frowned, studying him “I don’t blame you for arguing back, anyone would in your shoes..and I appreciate you trying to defend me” Higari didn’t look convinced, and with a sigh sunk down into his chair, hands pulling down his face before he leaned his head into them. Ectoplasm reached out a tentative hand and rested it on Higari’s back. “Is there anything I can do to help?” He asked, trying to pry Higari to peer out from his hands. Higari slowly lowered his hands, and then rubbed at his face with a grumble “...I think..it’s best we just head home” “Now?” Ectoplasm blinked “But..we planned to stay for a few hours after dinner” “I don’t think that’d be the best..” Higari said quietly, a silent prayer that Ectoplasm would understand his reasons. A long silence fell over the two, before Ectoplasm gave his shoulder a squeeze “If that’s what you want to do” he said with a gentle tone. Higari smiled over to him, reaching up to hold his hand before the two got out of the car and ventured back into the home. “You’re leaving already?” Taiho said with a blink, half way pulling a carton of milk from the fridge “Yeah Taiho..” Higari replied, not seeming able to make eye contact as he scuffed at the ground “Me ‘n Ecto are gonna head out, catch a taxi to the train station” the twins peered to each other awkwardly, not sure how to respond “Oh..Uh” Chikara got down from the kitchen stool “You want me to see you to town?” She asked “Nah, don’t worry. We’ll be fine, tell Ma I’ll be sure to write more when I get back home alright?” Higari had already turned on his feet and began walking to the door, the twins responding with the own forms of agreement to his request “See ya round Ectoplasm” Taiho said, a sad quality to his smile “Safe travels” Chikara added. Ectoplasm nodded, picking up his coat from the hanger “Despite what occurred, it was nice to meet you two” Taiho tried to smile “Yeah, you too..” he said, shaking the milk to Ecto. As Ectoplasm did the first few buttons on his coat Chikara spoke up before he could leave “Keep..” she hesitated, looking away and tapping her knuckle on the countertop “...Keep an eye on Higari for us. You take care of him” “...I will” Ectoplasm said with a nod, both twins smiling back gratefully Joining Higari out in the hallway he stopped in the doorway just as Hono came walking up into the house. He and Higari held eye contact, the air still. Higari licked his lips “Uh..” he sighed “Hono-“ With a grunt the taller brother shoved past him, rudely knocking Higari with his leg as he shoved past him to the stairs “Hono wait!” Suru followed after him, sparing Higari a very quick apologetic look before hurrying up the stairs. Higari was painfully quite for the whole trip back to UA. By the time they’d gotten back it was late, and cold, the two not hanging around as they marched on till they reached Heights Alliance. The other teachers where fairly surprised to see them back earlier then they had said, but Higari paid their greetings no mind. Even when they where in the privacy of their shared apartment Higari was still quite, kicking off his boots and tossing off his coat before he crawled his way into bed “...I’m going to make myself a hot drink” Ectoplasm called, awaiting a reply “...........Mhm....” “...Do you want anything?” When no reply came, Ectoplasm dismissed his evening drink and walked into the bedroom. Higari was curled up in his normal clothes on his side of the bed, half lidded eyes glossy and staring off into nothing. The mattress dipped behind him as Ectoplasm sat down “Higari, please talk to me..” he gently placed his hand on his shoulder Higari curled up before relaxing, though he still didn’t turn to him “..If you’re worried tonight has changed my view on you it hasn’t” he confirmed first up, nothing would ever change the way he looked at Higari. They’d been together way back since the early days in his hero career, it’d take a lot more then a family dinner catastrophe to change that. Higari turned his head slightly, but then let it fall back in its place. “Higari, I don’t like it when you’re quite” Ectoplasm’s voice lowered, obvious sadness seeping into his tone, it made Higari sink down more into the bed “.....Please?...” “....Ecto?” Higari spoke calmly, eyes still staring off at the wall “If it’s okay with you, I think I..would like to, uh, c-cry for a bit..” his tone wavered, body trembling as tears had began leaking down his cheeks “I feel like I messed things up and..a-and..” his voice trailed off into a whimper, one hand reached up to wipe at his nose “Oh Higari..” Ectoplasm laid down next to him and rolled him towards him, enveloping Higari in his arms as he sobbed into his shoulder

[remywrites5]

can you do some jegulus?

           James was sitting on his bed playing FIFA when his roommate, Regulus, came in and slammed the door shut. Reg was clearly upset so James quickly paused the game and watched as Reg went over to his bed and flopped down onto it. He put his face into his pillow and let out a scream.

           James walked over and poked Reg in the back. “Problem?”

           Reg turned his face to the side and looked up at him. “I just saw Barty at the campus coffeeshop flirting with one of the baristas.”

           “Ah,” James said, nodding in understanding. Reg and Barty had been talking for the last few months after hooking up at a campus party. James didn’t really see the appeal but he had kept his mouth shut because he wanted Regulus to be happy. Barty always seemed to come off as a prick and James was pretty sure Reg wasn’t the only person he was talking to.

           In truth, James had a complicated relationship with Reg himself. Reg’s twin brother, Sirius, was James’ best friend and they had roomed together for the first year of University. But then Sirius met Remus and fell in love, blah blah blah, and now they were rooming together. Having been out a roommate, James had agreed to room with Reg. The only problem was James had been crushing on Reg for over a year now, so rooming wasn’t exactly the best idea, but James Potter liked to be accommodating. Also he didn’t have a good enough reason to tell Reg no.

           Since then it had been a bit torturous watching Regulus talk to a bunch of guys who were, in James’ honest opinion, a bunch of wankers. They might have been perfectly nice guys, but James had no choice except to loathe them entirely.

           That’s why James said the thing – the completely idiotic thing  - that he would immediately regret. “You want to make him jealous?”

           Regulus sat up and looked at James in confusion. “How?”

           “He follows you on Snapchat, right?” James said with a grin. “We could take a couple of pictures and post them to your story. When he sees them I bet he’ll be hella jealous and come crawling back.”

           “You’d do that for me?” Regulus asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow at James.

           “I mean nothing too risqué,” James clarified quickly. He didn’t think his heart would be able to handle that. “Just, you know, pictures that could be interpreted as us getting pretty cozy with each other.”

           “That would be amazing!” Regulus exclaimed excitedly. He hopped out of bed and went over to James’ closet.

           “What are you doing?” James asked, sitting down on his bed and watching as Regulus rifled through his stuff. Reg held a few pieces of clothing up to himself in the mirror and decided on James’ team hoodie from his football days. It was in his old high school colours, red and gold, and had Potter written on the back. Reg stripped off his own shirt and tugged the hoodie on.

           James had a good ten centimeters on Reg and was a lot more muscular and broad shouldered than his roommate. What this meant that Reg was swimming in his hoodie a little bit with it falling to his mid-thigh. James swallowed thickly as his heart relocated to his throat. Suddenly James realized just how incredibly dumb he was for thinking that he could pull this off without Reg finding out how gone James was on him.

           Reg bit his lip and played with his hair for a moment in the mirror before turning to face James. “How do I look?”

           James cleared his throat. “Really good,” he said as evenly as he could manage.

           Regulus smiled and walked over to the bed. He grabbed James and moved his limbs into the position he wanted. James let out a yelp of surprise as Reg crawled into his lap and buried his face in James’ neck. “Do you mind taking it?”

           James took Reg’s phone and opened it easily. They both knew each other’s codes for their phone for emergency purposes. James held the phone out to get a good angle, making sure his name was visible on Reg’s back, for entirely selfish reasons. “Glasses or no glasses?” he asked before he took the picture.

           “Glasses,” Reg said softly. “I think you look sexy in them.”

           “Yeah they help me see,” James responded dumbly because his mind had apparently decided to go offline without his permission.

           Regulus laughed and slid his arms around James’ waist. “Just take a couple and we’ll adjust as needed.”

           “Okay,” James said, resting his chin on the top of Reg’s head. He’d never really though he’d had a thing for a height difference but he found himself really enjoying it. Reg felt so small and soft in his arms and James felt this overwhelming want to protect him. Although he knew if Reg could hear what he was thinking then he would hit him for it.

           James snapped a couple of pictures and then handed the phone off to Reg to see. Reg sat up straight and looked through them, taking his time to examine each one. “I think I like this one best, what do you think?” Reg held up his phone and displayed the picture to James.

           “Looks great,” James said encouragingly. He let his fingers play with the hem of his hoodie that Reg was wearing, his fingers just barely brushing over Reg’s warm skin.

           “Can I kiss you?”

           James felt his entire body tense up at the question. ‘What?”

           “It would really sell it, don’t you think?” Reg asked, chewing his bottom lip as he posted the picture to his story. “Or would it sell it too much? I kind of want him to come crawling back like you said.”

           “Oh, um, I think that might be taking it too far,” James said, sliding Reg off his lap and standing up. The last thing he needed was to be snogging Reg just so he could get that prick back. Why did he want his attention in the first place?

           “It would just be one kiss,” Reg promised, looking up at James pleadingly. “Just one little kiss and nothing more.”

           “I said no, Reg!” James yelled, tugging his fingers through his hair. “I don’t want to, okay? I don’t want to do that.”

           “Then that’s all you had to say,” Regulus said icily, narrowing his eyes at James. “This was all your stupid idea to begin with.”

           “Well you got your picture,” James shot back, grabbing his wallet and keys and shoving his feet into his trainers. Suddenly their dorm room felt so small and if he stayed he was going to say something he would regret. He couldn’t handle any of this, especially not with Reg still wearing his hoodie. Why did he have to go around trying to help people all the time? “So leave it, Reg.”

           “Fine, I’m leaving it.” Reg lowered his eyes to the floor. He stood and went over to his own bed, pulling the covers up to his chin with his back to James.

           James slipped out of their dorm, locking it behind him, and starting to walk with no real destination in mind. Why the fuck did he have to be so bloody awkward around Regulus? Why couldn’t he have just kissed him like it was no big deal? It would have been easy to pretend it was just a game like spin the bottle. Now Regulus had to know that it meant something to James and it would make everything uncomfortable.

           James sat down on the front steps of their student housing and buried his face in his hands, pushing his glasses up to his forehead. After giving himself a few moments to wallow, he opened his phone and pulled up Snapchat. He immediately went to Reg’s story and saw the picture of the two of them. He kept reopening it so that he could look at it over and over. It looked so real that it made James’ heart ache in a way it hadn’t since high school when Lily Evans had rejected him over and over. Since then, he liked to think he’d been a bit smarter with his heart, but apparently not that smart.

           “You fucking dumbass,” James groaned to himself.

                                                           ***

           James figured their picture had worked based on that fact that Reg started hanging out with that prat, Barty, again. James would come home to find Reg and Barty cuddled up together watching Netflix on Reg’s bed. James had no problem ruining their evening, turning on his game or doing his homework at his desk, so they couldn’t fool around.

           Things hadn’t really improved between Reg and James since the night they’d taken that picture. James had found his hoodie hanging back in his closet and it had clearly been washed. James had no idea why the idea of that made him so extremely angry. Maybe it was the fact that Reg had been too much of a coward to give it back to James directly. Instead he had just hidden it back in James’ closet and erased any trace that he had worn it in the first place.

           James tried to move on so that things could get back to normal. He got Tinder again and went on a few dates with a very nice girl named Mary McDonald. It felt disingenuous to continue to see her though so he ended things as gently as he could. As terrible as it was to admit, being with Mary wasn’t making James feel any better about being in love with his roommate. It was unfair to her to pursue anything while he still had feelings for Reg.

           He couldn’t help thinking about that night and would have happened if he had taken Reg up on his offer to kiss. Would things have been even more awkward once Reg realized just how into it James was? Or maybe it would have been the start of something – something so precious that it made James hurt just to think about it.

                                                           ***

           “Will you please – for the love of God – stop being such a pathetic mess?” Sirius begged, tousling James’ hair playfully. “We’re on our way to a party not a funeral!”

           James did his best to smile and nudged his best friend. “I guess I’m just still distraught that you’re not in love with me.”

           Sirius snorted. “Tough luck, Prongs. I don’t go for speccy gits with no fashion sense.”

           “Remus wears reading glasses.”

           “It just hits different,” Sirius assured him, throwing his arm around James’ shoulders. “Besides, I have a feeling your type is me only worse and with less personality.”

           “Shut up,” James grumbled, feeing his face grow hot.

           “So you do have a thing for Reg!” Sirius crowed with laughter, hitting James on the chest. “I had a feeling. That picture the two of you took was a little too convincing. You looked so fucking smitten in it, I swear to God.”

           “Doesn’t matter,” James muttered, kicking a pebble by his feet. “It was just a means to an end. He’s with Barty now. What a dumb name. Barty. It sounds like a stupid children’s show character.”

           “You’re thinking of Barney,” Sirius corrected him with an amused huff. “Besides, the bloke got stuck with a name like Bartemius. I don’t think there’s many ways to salvage that.”

           “I kind of hate him,” James confessed, feeling himself relax a little bit. It was nice to be able to talk with Sirius about this finally.

           “He does seem like a dickhead,” Sirius agreed with a heavy sigh. “Reg always did know how to pick them.”

           “So you’re saying I have no shot with him?”

           Sirius shot James a look. “I don’t know, you have your arsehole qualities.”

           “Oi!”

           “It all comes from a place of love, Jamie!” Sirius insisted, giving James a big wet kiss on the cheek. They got to the street corner where they were meeting up with Remus, who was coming off a shift at work. Remus was already there waiting for them, wrapped up in a scarf against the cold, his cheeks tinged pink. “Now why would I want you when I can have that?”

           Sirius bounded over to his boyfriend and put his arms around his shoulders. Remus gave him an exasperated but fond look and indulged him in a kiss. James shook his head and walked over to join them, third wheeling it as usual. “Alright, Moony?”

           “Hey James,” Remus said, smiling kindly at him. “Excited for the party?”

           “Well alcohol couldn’t hurt, right?” James joked, shoving his hands in the pockets of his jeans.

           Remus’ brow furrowed in concern. “He’s in love with Reg,” Sirius explained, sliding his hand down Remus’ arm and then grasping his hand. He tugged on it and began walking towards the party.

           Remus glanced over his shoulder and shot James a sympathetic look. “If you ever need to come over to ours just let us know, okay?”

           “Thanks Remus,” James said, falling in step behind them. “I’ll be fine.”

           Remus nodded encouragingly even if his face said he didn’t fully believe James. “Of course you will.”

           They were only a few blocks away from the party and James could already hear the music blasting some early 2000’s hip hop. It was the Prewett twins birthday party bash. The twins were a year older than James, Remus and Sirius, and their birthday party was always legendary. They lived in a shared house off campus with about six other guys and were always doing crazy shite. Last year they had rigged up a slide from their second story window. The party usually got broken up because of noise complaints but until then it was a blast.

           They got to the front door and were each handed a beer. It was policy for a Prewett party that you had to shotgun a beer in order to ender. James and Sirius grinned at each other and both pierced their beers before starting to chug them. They were both fairly competitive with each other and tried to beat the other. Of course Remus smoked them both easily and Sirius could only wink suggestively. “My man knows what he’s doing.”

           Remus rolled his eyes and led the way into the party, already unwrapping his scarf from the heat from all the bodies piled inside. “Oh my god they have a trampoline,” Sirius said, smacking James in the arm. Out the back porch door they could see a huge trampoline set up on the lawn and people were jumping off the balcony onto it and then back up. “We have to!”

           “Absolutely not!” Remus said, shaking his head emphatically. “I don’t fancy going to hospital tonight.”

           Sirius pouted for a moment and then turned to James. “You in, Prongs?”

           “Yeah!” James said, needing something to get his mind off of things. A huge adrenaline rush seemed like it would do the trick.

           James and Sirius raced up the stairs to the second story balcony. “Alright there, lads?” Gideon greeted them as they went through the window. “Feeling brave tonight?”

           “Definitely!” James said, bouncing on the balls of his feet excitedly.

           “Just have to go one at a time,” Gideon informed them. “Don’t want anyone getting hurt.”

           Sirius turned towards James and they did a quick rock-paper-scissors to see who would go first. James won and stepped up to the edge of the balcony. He took a deep breath and jumped, his stomach dropping as he fell through the air. Then it was like he was falling in slow motion as his eyes locked on none other than Barty Crouch Jr. snogging someone that was definitely not Reg. He hit the trampoline and went back up, his body flopping around like a ragdoll for a moment before dropping back down again.

           “What the fuck was that?” Sirius shouted from the balcony. But James was already rolling off the trampoline and heading for Barty.

           “What are you doing?” James shouted, his hands curling into fists. Barty and the bloke he was snogging pulled away from each other. Barty barely had a moment to realize what was about to happen before James’ fist connected with his smug face.

           “What the fuck is wrong with you?” Barty yelled, holding his nose.

           “How could you do this to him?” James said, ready to hit Barty again. He could hear people rushing over and then Sirius was there behind him, looking like he was unsure if he should hit Barty as well or restrain James.

           “Who?”

           “Reg!” James growled, his fist tightening. He swore he was going to hit him again. “Regulus Black, remember him?”

           Barty looked at James as if he were crazy. “Regulus and I broke up a week ago. He said he had feeling for someone else.”

           “Oh,” James said, blinking a few times. “Shit, I’m sorry mate. I didn’t know – “

           “Yeah, whatever,” Barty said, walking towards the house with his face tilted up to stop the blood dripping down his face. “Fucking mental case.”

           “What the fuck is going on?” Sirius asked but James was already pulling his phone out and dialing Reg’s number. All the air left his lungs the moment the call connected and he heard Reg’s voice on the other end.

           “James?”

           “Where are you?”

           “I’m at our dorm,” Regulus answered in confusion. “No need for me to guess where you are.”

           “Stay right there.”

           “James – what – “

           James rang off the phone before Regulus could ask him any more questions. He smacked a big kiss onto Sirius’ cheek and then took off running. He hopped the fence instead of trying to go back through the party, as it would only slow him down. He sprinted through the streets, his breath stinging from the cold, his mind singularly focused on getting to Reg as soon as possible.

           When he burst through the door of their dorm room, Reg was in bed scrolling through his phone. He sat up when James entered, his eyes wide in surprise. “James, did you run the whole way here?”

           “That’s not important,” James said, waving him off.

           “What happened to your hand?”

           “I punched Barty,” James said impatiently. “It’s not important!”

           “It’s not,” Regulus said slowly, looking extremely concerned. James knew he must look slightly manic, his hair a mess from the wind, breathing heavily and his hand bruised. “Then what is important, James?”

           “Do you have feelings for me?” James asked, his chest still heaving as he tried to get his breath back.

           “I – I don’t think that’s a very fair question,” Regulus said, ducking his head down.

           “Why not?”

           “Because you didn’t want to kiss me,” Regulus said, pulling his knees up to his chest, looking small and vulnerable. James wanted nothing more than to gather Reg into his arms. “And that would have been fine but then you ignored me for weeks. Now you rush in here demanding to know if I have feelings for you and it doesn’t feel very fair.”

           James soaked in Reg’s words for a moment. “Fuck, I’ve made a right old meal of this, haven’t I?” he said, scratching the back of his neck nervously. “Let me ask that again. Reg, I’m in love with you and I’d be very interested to know how you feel about me because I really want to kiss you.”

           Regulus’ gaze snapped up to meet James’, looking for any sign that this was a joke. When he found none his mouth dropped. “Oh,” he said softly, a small smile playing on his lips. “Yes. I love you and please kiss me.”

           James walked over with every bit of self-control he had left and sat down next to Reg. He cupped Reg’s face in his hands and watched Reg’s steel grey eyes flutter closed. James felt his own eyelids drift shut at the first press of his lips against Reg’s. It was soft and sweet and already addicting. He forced himself to pull back after a moment and something caught his eye. “You’re wearing my hoodie.”

           Regulus blushed a deep red. It was utterly adorable. “Yeah, um I wear it when you’re not here. I’m sorry, I’ll wash it and put it back. “

           “Keep it,” James said, grinning. He pressed a few more soft kisses to Reg’s lips just because he could. “It’s yours now.”

           Regulus laughed. “Are we talking about the hoodie or you?”

           “Both,” James said, tugging at Regulus until he was sitting across James’ lap, tucked in against him. Suddenly his only plans for the weekend were to kiss and cuddle Regulus as much as possible. And maybe ice his hand because it bloody hurt. “Both is good.”

[dweetwise]

Hey, can I ask for a request where the reader is a survivor and is basically the mum/dad friend of the group? So they constantly check people are ok and heal them if they are injured, they lure killers away from more vulnerable survivors, check on the others if they are having a shitty day etc. and are just generally absolute cinnamons rolls that the others would commit felonies for? Idk where this was going tbh 😅😅

[dw i got you bby! hope these are ok!]

Survivors & mom/dad friend reader headcanons

Dwight gets flustered by your kindness, he doesn’t think he deserves it. He’ll blush and fumble but still remind you that he’s stronger than he looks. Really wants to prove himself to you and will be ultra focused in your trials together.

Meg will talk your ear off about anything and everything so think carefully if you really want to adopt this girl. “Meg I appreciate that you told me about your entire high school experience but I just wanted to know if you need this med-kit?”

Claudette is super happy to have another healer on board! She knows what it’s like to care too much and is more than happy to mother you when you get overwhelmed by the responsibility.

Jake doesn’t appreciate being coddled, so good luck with this one! Getting a complete sentence out of him is a struggle, not to mention a “thank you” if you save him.

Nea takes a long time to warm up to you, not used to your kindness. When she realizes that yes, you really are just that nice, she’ll make it her mission to bully the killer away from you if you’re ever in trouble.

David will give you shit if you even think about sacrificing yourself for him. He appreciates what you do for the group, but protecting more vulnerable survivors is his job, and yes, that category includes you.

Ace is definitely not used to getting so much genuine concern for his well-being. He’ll always laugh it off but is secretly really grateful to have someone that will always lend an ear.

Bill will be extra grumpy if you try to mother him. “Go pester some of the others, Dwight looks like he’s about to cry again.” That being said, he refuses to leave a trial before he knows you’re safe.

Kate loves your warm demeanor and is always requesting hugs that some of the more reserved survivors refuse to give. She’ll immediately try to become besties with you.

Steve finds you really approachable, so prepare for a lot of questions! “Do you really have handheld arcade machines in the future?” “People are openly gay in your time?” “What if you like both girls and boys? Uhh, asking for a friend!”

Nancy is pretty reserved and finds your openness refreshing. She’ll open up to you and cry on your shoulder about how much she misses Jonathan.

Quentin hates being babied and isn’t a fan of you constantly reminding him to sleep. He pretends to be annoyed by you, but your stash of med-kits mysteriously never seems to run out no matter how many you deplete.

Feng will make any killer’s life hell; if they dare to camp you, they’d better be prepared to be teabagged and “baby killer”d into oblivion. Feng also sneaks items from the other survivors and gives them to you as gifts.

Yui works really well with you in trials, pressuring gens while you’re healing the rest of the team, or taking a chase when she sees you going for a rescue. She’ll defend you to hell and back if someone dares to criticize you for being too altruistic.

Laurie ends up mothering you despite your best efforts to the contrary. She’ll even tell you you’re “allowed” to drop shack pallet to avoid getting hit, which in her book is the greatest honor.

Zarina appreciates your companionship and vents out a lot of her frustrations to you, but is still careful not to overwhelm you. She knows how important it is for the group to have someone like you who looks after them.

Cheryl will immediately adopt you as a parent figure. She’ll snark and sass but also look at you expectantly every time she does something good in a trial, grinning when you praise her.

Jeff vibes with your calm energy and is the cool dad counterpart to your caring mom/dad role. When some of the more rowdy survivors are pulled to a trial, he’ll sometimes flop down next to you with a cheeky “It’s nice to get a break from the kids, huh?”

Adam appreciates your concern for him but is a bit awkward when showing it. One time when you saved him during end game, he gave you The Pebble, and that’s when you knew just how deep his gratitude was.

Ash is like an unruly teenager despite his age. Prepare to use the phrase “Ash NO” a lot. If you’re determined to protect him it usually means throwing the entire trial because he gets up to so much shit, so eventually you just let him do his own thing and it mostly works out.

Tapp is happy to let you be the good cop to his bad cop. He’ll often lecture the younger survivors about reckless behavior and he appreciates that you’re there to offer a more sensitive approach so he doesn’t just end up calling them idiots and leave it at that.

Jane likes to act as a makeshift therapist to the group and will want to psychoanalyze some of the others with you. She’s more of a gossip than you and will often point you in the right direction when she thinks someone could use a shoulder to cry on.

[these just got gradually more cracky i’m sorry i ran out of juice]

[marshmallow-phd]

Colored Blue

Genre: Royalty!AU, somewhat enemies to lovers

Pairing: Sehun x Fem!reader

A/N: I’m not sure if there’s much to the enemies to lovers part.... also, i don’t normal put the word count, but so everyone’s aware, this is about 6k... enjoy! (hopefully!)

**

The carriage ride was far from smooth. Each small pebble or rock or crack in the ground jolted the wheels which in turn shook the coach. Each bump churned your stomach that was already jostled with nerves. 

“Why do we have to do this?” you asked, your eyes closed to try and calm the nauseated feeling. 

Your governess, Edna, tsked from the bench across from you. 

Although you were too old now to need a governess, Edna continued to stay on as a companion, someone to keep you company on trips like this where your parents were unable (or simply chose not to) to attend. That was quite alright with you since you much preferred her presence to anyone else’s. She was like an eccentric aunt to you, somehow both responsible and adventurous. Sort of. 

Edna would never approve of sneaking out late at night or being alone with someone who was not your betrothed (which you were lucky enough not to have one of those – yet). However, she wasn’t against your archery lessons or horseback riding that went a little faster than a leisurely trot. She was practically a walking contradiction and you weren’t entirely sure of what she would and would not approve of. It was always a guessing game; one that you liked playing to keep yourself entertained. 

“Are you really wanting me to go over it again with you or are you simply wanting to cure your own boredom?” Edna asked, not even glancing up from her needlework. How she could do that without pricking her finger every bump was astounding. 

“Oh, I know why,” you huffed. “At least, on the surface. But it sounds like a pathetic excuse, if you ask me.”

“I don’t believe anyone did,” Edna smirk. Head still bent over her needlework, she looked at you through her eyelashes. Both of you started to laugh. 

Your laugh, however, soon faded to a light chuckle before dying out completely. It wasn’t fair. That was practically the slogan of your life. “Unfair”. Each aspect of your life - from how you dressed to how you ate to who’s company you kept - was dictated by both decorum and your parents. Being a lady of noble birth may have sounded like a glamorous life in the fairytales Edna had read to you as a child, but it didn’t take you long to find that it was nothing but a cage made of manners and tradition. While the bars had always remained steadfast, a new lock was about to be put on the door. One that was much stronger - and possibly unbreakable. 

Running away always sounded like a wonderful, spur-of-the-moment idea. Unfortunately, your mind would instantly remind you that you had no clue as to how to survive outside the castle walls. You didn’t know how to cook or hunt or work with your hands beyond the theory of it. You wouldn’t last more than maybe two days on your own and that fear kept you put.

The carriage slowed to a stop. After a short succession of knocks, one of your knights poked his head in through the small door. 

“Mi’lady, I wanted to let you know that we’re just outside the city walls. Once through, it should only be a few minutes more to the castle itself.”

“Thank you, Sir Markl.”

With a last nod, he closed the door before shouting to continue on. 

You were already here. Sure, you’d really been traveling for two days, but it still felt so sudden. How would your presence be received? 

Since your grandfather was a young duke, your two families had feuded. Sometimes it was simply high tension, while there were times where it was fought on the battlefield. The last skirmish was nearly two decades ago, forced to a fragile truce by the king. And now the old man was hoping to strengthen that truce by marrying you off to the son of the rival duke. Oh, of course. It was merely a suggestion. As if it could be ignored. 

How were you supposed to be happy with someone who surely hated you? 

You were certain that this boy grew up with the same kind of dirt spewed out about you from his parents that you heard from yours about them. Except, it wasn’t just your parents that didn’t have the most flattering view of this future duke. 

Other barons and knights didn’t seem to have the highest view of him either. Standoffish, uninterested, rude, and loose-lipped were a few of the adjectives you’d heard used to describe him. 

Wonderful. 

All too soon, the coach came to another stop and you could hear Sir Markl loudly announce your arrival. After a few seconds, you heard the gate being raised and the carriage lurched forward to go the forty feet or so to the real front door of the castle. You knew it was too late to run, but the image of you bolting out of the carriage and into the woods to get away seemed very satisfying in your head. 

When the door swung open, Edna motioned for you to exit first. In a very unladylike way, you blew air out through your lips before morphing your face into a neutral expression. In a fashion much more expected of your station, you stepped out into the sunshine. With the help of Sir Markl, you managed not to trip your way down to the ground.

Staring up at the large wooden double doors, you took a deep breath. You felt like you were at the mouth of the dragon’s cave, the sacrifice left to die for the good of the village.

“Come, mi’lady,” Edna urged with a wave of her hand. You nodded once, picking up your skirt and making your way up the steps as the doors were opened for you. 

The steward was waiting for you inside the front hall. He bowed and introduced himself, although your brain didn’t quite catch his name. Your mind was a little occupied at the moment. 

He led you through the halls of the grand castle where drapes and paintings that depicted scenes of hunts and parties covered up the less welcoming-looking gray stone. Your eyes wandered among the art but never lingered too long. There would be plenty of time to memorize their threads and brushstrokes in the future. 

The steward finally came to a stop outside another pair of double doors that could only lead into the Great Hall. The place where the Duke would conduct his meetings with citizens and dignitaries and where the festive parties would be held. You didn’t want to go in there, but what choice did you have?

With both hands, the steward pushed open the doors and announced your arrival. 

Sitting in a large wooden chair painted in a flashy gold sat the Duke, his wife - beautiful and smiling, nothing at all like the wicked witch you’d pictured as a child - sat to his left. 

“Welcome!” the Duke greeted. “It’s wonderful to see that you’ve arrived safely.” While there was certainly a small strain in his voice, the words out of the Duke’s mouth seemed genuine. 

You curtsied as custom. “Thank you for your hospitality, my lord.”

“I’m sorry that our son is not here as well,” the Duchess said with apologetic eyes. “He is in the middle of training at the moment and we didn’t want to make you wait for him to clean up. You must be exhausted from your journey. Sohee will show you to your room. Please, take your time settling in. We will reconvene at dinner.”

Relief flowed over you as the young maid walked up from her spot off to the side, curtsied in front of you, and turned to leave the room. Finally, you’d be allowed to rest and you didn’t have to meet your possible future husband quite yet. In fact, the more you were able to put it off, the happier you would be. 

In a very un-ladylike manner, you flopped down on the bed as soon as the maid Sohee was gone and the door was closed. Staring up at the ceiling, you blew air out from between your lips. Should you start counting down the days until you were allowed to go back home now?

“Oh, it isn’t even that bad,” Edna scolded you. “The Duke and Duchess were friendly enough.”

“For now,” you mumbled. It was true that their greeting was warm and they seemed genuine in wanting you here. But the childhood fears and scene of imagination that you’d grown up with weren’t easily tossed away.

Edna sat down next to you on the bed and coaxed you into a sitting position. “I know you’re tired of hearing it all, but this is truly for the good of your people and your own future.”

“I don’t exactly remember consenting to any of this.”

Shaking her head, Edna fixed a strand of your hair that had fallen onto your face. “That’s the sacrifice to be made in order to live a comfortable life.”

“Comfortable is not the word I would use,” you argued. How could a life dictated by marriages and land and being in the King’s favor be comfortable? You’d much rather be free, allowed to fall in love with whoever you desired and to go places when you wished – and avoid the ones you wanted. 

“You have much more than most,” Enda reminded you. 

You bit back your tongue out at her back as she stood up, knowing any further argument was useless. Like you weren’t reminded of that on a daily basis. Did their struggles suddenly make your own invalid?

The muffled sound of clashing metal interrupted your thoughts. Curious, you went over to the slim window that let in the sunlight into your new room. Just outside on the ground below you were a group of four or five men all attacking one central character. Even from here you could tell that he was tired, but he didn’t give up. He kept swinging his sword, blocking blows and delivering attacks of his own. Unfortunately, it didn’t stop one of the other men from getting the better of him. He caught the lone fighter around the ankle, pulling his leg until he fell backwards. You flinched at how much that must have hurt. 

As if he’d sensed you watching, the man looked up at you. You only allowed for a brief moment of eye contact before you quickly turned around, your heart pounding in your chest from being caught. 

“What has you all excited?” Edna teased as she started to unpack your trunk. 

“I am not excited.”

She chuckled at you, straightening up and placing a hand against your cheek. “The warmth of your face says otherwise.” Peeking over your shoulder she chuckled again. “It looks like his grace is still busy practicing his swordsmanship.”

Your eyes widened as you flipped back over to look out the window again. “That’s the Duke’s son?”

He was… scrawnier than you imagined. More lean than the barrel chested nobles you’d met in the past. Granted, they were built that way in order to wear heavy armor day in and day out.

Over the sight, you went back to your bed, hoping to get some true rest in before you were forced to meet him face to face. He may have been physically different than what you’d thought, you were sure you would be more correct on his personality. After all, rumors had to have some basis of truth, right?

**

A few hours later you were summoned for dinner. Edna was allowed to come with you and she took the seat to your right at the long banquet table. 

To be honest, you were a little surprised to see only the Duke and Duchess sitting at the table ready to eat and converse. You were starting to get the feeling that you weren’t the only one dreading this meeting. If he was going to avoid you as much as he could then you wouldn’t complain. Perhaps if the two of you never met, you would be allowed to go home with no commitments and no hostility. After all, it wouldn’t be your fault there was no marriage. 

However, those hopes were dashed when the doors across the dining hall opened and the man from the earlier scrimmage strolled in. He barely nodded to his parents before settling into the chair across from you. It was as if you were completely invisible and you couldn’t help but feel slightly offended. Sure, the avoidance and tardiness you could accept and deal with, but being blatantly ignored was… well, it was hurting your feelings for lack of a better description. 

“Thank you for joining us, Sehun,” the Duchess said in a voice that was simultaneously sweet and scolding. 

“Training ran late,” he said in a low tone. He made eye contact with no one, keeping his concentration on the food in front of him and filling his plate. 

“At least you cleaned up,” the Duchess murmured. 

“I’m sorry for my son’s rudeness,” the Duke said to you. “He should take a moment to introduce himself since he did not greet you earlier.”

Sehun paused, looking at his father questionably. When the Duke did not relent on the stern glare he was sending his son, Sehun sighed and fell back into his chair before finally standing up and bowing. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lady (y/n).”

You were surprised to the point of almost forgetting to nod back in acknowledgement. The fact that he knew your name…. Surely he’d just heard it from his parents enough that it sunk in beyond his control. But he kept staring at you with those dark brown eyes that were almost black. They were nearly unreadable, blank and impenetrable. You argued with yourself whether or not there were actually thoughts behind them and he was simply that good at masking it or if his mind was as truly empty as he was making it seem. If you were to be stuck with him the rest of your life, you really hoped it wasn’t the latter. 

Dinner went about in a more uninteresting manner. The Duchess would occasionally ask you about your upbringing, what you liked to do in your spare time. Once in a while, the Duke would comment as well or insert a question of his own in regards to your father’s dealings. Sehun, however, had gone to his previous mindset of pretending no one else was there. Part of you wished that he would open up, saying something, anything. 

“If you’ll excuse me, your Grace,” you said quietly. “I’m still a bit tired from my journey. Would you please allow me to return to my room?”

“Of course,” the Duke nodded. “We’ll see you in the morning. Sleep well.”

You gave them each a curtsied (although the energy felt wasted upon Sehun) and headed off to your room with Edna in tow. 

“You didn’t have to come with me,” you told her back in your room. 

“If I hadn’t I might have given that Sehun boy a tongue lashing for how he acted,” she grumbled. 

You smiled at her. “Yes, it was quite rude, wasn’t it? But what can you do? I’m not going to force him into conversation. Not today, at least.”

“Not today?” Edna raised an eyebrow at you. 

You tried to keep your face innocent, but it was useless. “You know me too well. The odds of me getting out of this marriage are slim. Might as well see if the rumors of his manners are true.”

Edna narrowed her eyes at you cheekily. “You think he’s handsome, don’t you?”

That got a scoff out of you. “I do not. He’s thin and his chin is pointy and you know I prefer lighter eyes.”

But your argument fell flat. “That’s a strong chin he has. And he isn’t sickly. From the way he was swinging that sword… he isn’t weak either.”

“That hardly means anything.” You were coming up empty on any meaningful fight back. 

“Keep telling yourself that. I wouldn’t be surprised if there was muscle underneath that tunic,” she said as she helped you out of your dress. “But I think getting to know him is a wonderful idea. You might like what you find.”

Rolling your eyes, you crawled in between the sheets and shoved your face into the pillow. It was a useless effort, but you wanted to stop yourself from thinking of Sehun before drifting off to sleep. 

**

The next day after breakfast, you thought you were to get to know your future family. However, the Duke had duties out in the fields and the Duchess was meeting with the wives of the lower nobles. Sehun… you weren’t sure where he was exactly, only that he disappeared soon after finishing his meal. 

So, you gave Edna the morning off and took to exploring the castle grounds on your own.

The garden was beautiful. Hedges twice your height nearly blocked out the sky. They were trimmed to perfect rectangles, little buds blooming spontaneously among the leaves. Flowers – both domestic and exotic – grew everywhere along the paths that twisted and turned within the walls of the garden. 

A smile grew on your face as you came across a bush of white roses. Taking the small knife out from your boot (Edna insisted on carrying protection at all times), you cute off three fully bloomed roses and headed back inside. After convincing one of the maids to fetch you vases and dyed cloth, you went to the library. In a corner near the window, you took the roses and put them in the vases freshly filled with water. Cutting the dark blue fabric, you placed the pieces in the water near the bottom of the vase. 

“Are you trying to poison the flower?”

The sudden visitor made you jump in surprise, nearly knocking the vase on the table over. You turned to simply explain what you were doing, but your lips formed a pout when you realized it was Sehun. 

“No,” you snapped. “I’m dyeing the petals.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

You shrugged. “Because I like strange colored flowers. Blue and purple roses aren’t exactly found in nature.”

“Isn’t it a bit wasteful?” he asked. You thought for a moment that he would sit down and join you at the table, but he remained standing, hands folded behind his back.

“Wasteful?” you echoed. 

“Blue and purple fabrics are the most expensive and yet you’re putting them in water. To dye flowers.”

“So beauty should only be allowed upon a person’s body?” Standing up, you took one of the vases and pushed it towards Sehun’s chest who barely caught the poor flower in time for it to not crash down to the floor. “Watch that over the next few days. You might be surprised at what grows before your eyes.” You turned and picked up the remaining flowers and scraps of cloth. 

“Is that supposed to be a metaphor for our own relationship?” he asked out of nowhere. 

You glanced at him over your shoulder. “I wasn’t aware that we had one.” And with that, you left the study, a triumphant smirk on your lips. 

**

Your last quip to Sehun must have put a chink in his cold armor. For the rest of the day, you didn’t see him, even at meal times. A worried look refused to leave the Duchess’ face all throughout the evening. Her eyes flickered to the chair that Sehun had occupied the day before.

The Duke was the first to excuse himself from the table, leaving you and Edna alone with the Duchess. 

“Lady (y/n)?”

You reluctantly raised your gaze from the plate in front of you to your gracious host. “Yes?”

“I would like to speak with you alone.” It was not a request that gave room for refusal. Even if you were able to say no, was there really any reason to?

“I’ll see you in your room,” Edna said as she stood up from her seat. Before exiting through the door, she gave you a last glance over her shoulder. 

The Duchess stood up and took over Edna’s seat, picking up your hand in hers. “I understand that this must be a confusing time for you.”

Confusing? No, not really. You knew what was expected of this “visit”. Trying? Frustrating? Irritating? Those descriptors would be much more accurate. But you didn’t correct her out loud. 

“We didn’t fully prepare Sehun for this possibility,” the Duchess confessed to you. “He was only aware of you coming here a few days ago. When it was explained what the hopeful outcome would be… well, he’s always been a free spirit. A bit of cliche way to describe one’s child, but it’s true. He’s always followed his own way. So, being told what would be expected of him - especially when marriage has never been an idea he was fond of - its taken its toll on him.”

“Why are you telling me this?” you asked bravely when she’d taken a moment to pause. 

“Because I want you to put more effort on your end to get to know him,” the Duchess said with a smile. “He won’t come to you, not if left alone. The King wants this union, but Sehun doesn’t care about that. I see a light in you that might attract him, if given the time.”

You couldn’t quite find it in you to return the smile. “So, you want to force myself upon him?”

“Not in any sort of obvious way, but, essentially… yes. For the sake of both of our territories.”

With that, she patted your head and left the dining hall. 

You didn’t really want to get to know the man. You were quite alright with the idea of him not liking the idea of marriage. Perhaps your previous hope of this not coming to fruition could still come together. 

But what you didn’t know was that Sehun was not as uninterested as you’d previously suspected or as the Duchess had spoken about.

From a shadowed corner of the hall, Sehun watched you get up from the table and leave the room. Something along the lines of curiosity was brewing inside. He’d never cared for the ladies that hung around the castle in the past. 

Before the King had passed down this “wish”, daughters of lesser nobles and rich merchants in town tried their hardest to capture his attention. They always failed. Perhaps it was because you were something new that he was more intrigued than he should have been. Someone he hadn’t seen grow up through the many balls and dinners his parents had hosted through the years. 

Or maybe it was because you didn’t seem on board for this marriage either. Earlier in the library, you didn’t bat your eyes at him or use flirty lines. You seemed more annoyed than anything that he'd interrupted you and questioned what you were doing. The flower you’d given him was still starking white, causing him to think that you might have been making up what you were doing. 

Sighing to himself, Sehun waltzed up to the table and made himself a plate of food while trying to stay out of the way of the servants who were cleaning up. 

“Feel free to take whatever leftovers you want,” he said softly to the younger ones. They were only children, twelve years old or so. Smiles shined on their faces as they bowed their heads to him. 

“Thank you, my lord!” they cheered. He returned the gesture with a small grin of his own, ruffling the youngest boy’s hair before heading to his room for the night. 

**

You were cringing inside as you slowly made your way to the practice field outside near the stables. One of the kitchen boys had told you that Sehun was out here with his bow perfecting his aim. The information seemed to be correct as you grew closer to the archery lanes. It didn’t stop you from questioning why you were bothering with this. 

All by himself, Sehun drew back arrow after arrow, hitting the center circle nearly every time. 

“You’re rather good at that,” you complimented just in time to surprise him and throw off his aim. You couldn’t help but giggle at his exasperated state when the arrow hit the outermost ring. 

“Is there something I can help you with, Lady (y/n)?” he asked, obviously frustrated. The tightness of his eyebrows and the downturn of his lips told you that he might prefer if you went away, but you’d told the Duchess that you would try. Somewhat. Besides, Edna was right. While he wasn’t anything like the knights and barons you were used to, he was a bit handsome. Or… maybe more than a bit….

You shrugged. “I was simply bored and thought I would join you and get some practice of my own in.”

“Do you know how to use one of these?” Sehun challenged.

You scoffed at the insult. “I am more than adequate at archery.”

“Really?” He raised that stupid eyebrow at you again. Then he held his bow out for you. “Let’s see then.”

Confident in your abilities, you snatched the bow out of his grasp and plucked an arrow out of the quiver sitting on the ground. Adjusting your stance, you held up the bow and docked the arrow. It took a bit more strength that you were used to in order to pull back on the string, but you managed to hold it long enough to set up your sight. However, when you let go, you were a little disappointed in the landing of the arrow, hitting the round straw target in one of the middle rings. 

“Not… terrible,” Sehun said. You could hear the amusement in his voice. “Better than most ladies, I’m sure.” Well, at least that was sort of a compliment. “Let me show you how to improve.” He stepped towards you, which in turn made you step back. 

“What are you doing?” you snapped. 

He sighed. “I’m trying to show you how to do it better. Or do you not want to ever hit the bullseye?”

He was challenging you again. Let him get close or run away. Well, you certainly weren’t going to take the second choice. 

This time you stayed put when he stepped closer. You even allowed him to turn you back towards the target with his hands on your hips. His back was nearly against your shoulder blades. You were a little too aware of him, his breath on your neck and his fingers on top of yours as he helped you lift the bow and pull back on the arrow. 

“Lower your elbow,” he whispered in your ear. It was much lower and huskier than it ever needed to be, letting you know that he was very aware of what he was doing. The only question: was he doing this to see how much he could play with you? A small part of you truly hoped that he wasn’t. “Don’t pull too tight or your arm will start shaking. The tension in the string is enough to send it flying without too much work on your end. And don’t aim for the dot. Instead, aim just above it. The farther you are away, the higher you need to aim as the arrow will drop as it flies.”

You were barely acknowledging what he was saying. As hard as you tried, you couldn’t concentrate on anything other than him. This probably wasn’t what the Duchess had in mind when she asked you to get to know her son. 

“Are you listening?” Sehun asked, apparently noticing the way your mind was wondering. 

“Huh? Yes, of course.” No, of course not. 

“Okay. Good. Then let go when you’re ready.”

You tried to recall what he’d said previously, aiming above the bullseye. Letting go, you watched the arrow fly, hitting just to the left of the large red dot. 

“Better,” Sehun nodded behind you. He didn’t seem to be aware that he was still so close. 

Looking back at him, you studied his face. The conflicting way his eyes and nose seemed so soft, but his chin and mouth sharpened out his features, putting him halfway between boy and man. Almost subconsciously, he placed a hand on your shoulder, causing your heart to jump into a frenzy. You hardly knew this person. Why were you acting this way? 

“How’s my flower?” you asked in order to distract yourself. 

“Hm?” He looked to you, still not moving to create space. “Your flower? Oh, right. It’s still white.”

“Well, of course it is,” you laughed. “It takes time for it to turn colors. Perhaps this is meant to teach you patience.”

“Or you’re simply playing with me.”

You shook your head. “I don’t play games.”

“Good,” was his reply. It seemed forever went by as the two of you just stared at each other, unsure of where to go from there but neither willing to walk away. 

“Lady (y/n)!”

You jumped back at the sound of your name, not as relieved as you should have been by the interruption. 

Edna hurried up to you, a twitch giving away her position on what she’d stumbled upon. “It’s time to get ready for dinner,” she told you. 

Nodding a little too eagerly, you curtsied a goodbye to Sehun, handing him back his bow and quickly following Edna back to the castle. 

“Don’t,” you told her once the two of you were far enough away. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Edna chuckled. 

“Yes, you do,” you growled through clenched teeth. “So, don’t even think about it.”

Her response was a smirk.

**

Something happened after that day in the field. Over the next two weeks, you and Sehun spent more and more time together. 

It was never on purpose. Neither of you sought out the other, but when you did run into him, you ended up spending several hours talking. The more you learned about him, the more your anxiety on the possible marriage faded away. While he occasionally had some childish tendencies, you saw his kindness towards the servants, particularly the younger ones. He was only slightly spoiled, but not to the point where it turned you away from him. In fact, there were times you found it enduring. An odd response, you were aware, but you couldn’t help it.

The two of you were walking through the gardens when the steward arrived. 

“What is it?” Sehun asked. 

“The Duke is requesting your presence,” the steward replied. 

Sehun nodded and then turned to you to bow. “I’ll find you again later.”

“Actually, he is wanting to see you both.”

Your heart leapt into your throat. Was this it? Were you expected to agree to a wedding this soon? As much as you’ve enjoyed getting to know Sehun, your feelings for him growing every day, you weren’t sure if you were ready for that step. 

The two of you followed the steward back inside and through the hallways until you arrived in the Great Hall. Sitting in their regal seats were the Duke and Duchess. Edna stood off to the side, a pale envelope in her hand. 

“What’s going on?” Sehun inquired. 

“A letter has arrived from Lady (y/n)’s parents,” the Duke answered. On queue, Edna stepped forward and handed you the envelope. A knowing smile played at her lips, but she kept quiet. 

With shaking hands, you opened the letter and began to read. But where you had been expecting an urge to get married, you received terrible news instead. It must have been written all over your face. 

Sehun came closer to you, his hand on your elbow. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“The Baron of Haeju has attacked our city,” you said quietly in a trembling voice. “My father’s knights are holding him back, but they’re asking for help.” You looked up at the Duke pleadingly. “They might not be able to win this on their own.”

“The Baron of Haeju?” the Duke echoed. He glanced over his wife before shaking his head. “I’m sorry, Lady (y/n), but I can’t send my men to assist your father.”

You gaped at him. “Wasn’t the point of me coming here to unite our lands? To heal the wounds between our families? My parents are asking for help, but you’re turning your back on them already?”

“My duty is to put my own people first,” the Duke argued. 

“Father, certainly we can spare a few men,” Sehun urged.

The Duke shook his head. “No. Our relationship with the Baron has been strained far worse recently despite the amount of trade we do with his merchants. I can’t risk cutting those ties and starving our people.”

“So, you would go against the King?” you challenged. 

“I’m sure he would understand.”

“Then there’s no reason for me to stay any longer.” Turning on your feet, you stormed out of the hall with Edna. 

“(y/n)! Wait!” Sehun blocked your path to your room, desperation on his face. He grasped your shoulders in an effort to hold you down. “Please, don’t go!”

“There’s no point in my staying here,” you told him. “My people need me and your father isn’t willing to help. I came here because of an alliance, but your father isn’t holding up his end of the bargain.” Your heart was breaking. You wanted to stay with him. You were falling for him. But your own sense of duty and pride was too overwhelming to ignore. Kissing his cheek, you settled into your decision. “I’ve enjoyed every second with you and I won’t forget you. Ever. Please be happy.” Before you could let the slightest seed of doubt start to grow, you ran past him. 

Not even half an hour later, you were in a carriage and headed home. Your father needed the few knights that had accompanied you here. Behind you, what was once a promising future was fading in the distance. 

**

“How could you let her go?!” Sehun yelled as his parents stared at him indifferently. 

“Decisions like this occur all the time,” his father sighed. “When you are the protector of this land, you will understand.”

“I thought you didn’t care for this marriage?” his mother asked. 

The question made Sehun step back. “Well, I- I mean-” He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. Father’s made his decision.” He ran out of the Great Hall before his parents could question him further. 

In his room, he sat on the floor, trying to wrap his head around what had just happened. His morning had started out so well. He’d enjoyed talking to you in the garden, the one place that seemed to make you truly happy here. Even though you were listening to him, you would stop and feel the petals of the plants between your fingers, holding the flowers gently in your palm. 

And now you were gone. 

On the mantle above the fireplace, the rose you’d given him stared at him. The edges had turned blue, just as you predicted.

Standing up, he went over to the mantle and took hold of the flower. Already, it was starting to die, to wither away. Soon, he would have to toss it. But he didn’t want to let it go. He didn’t want to let you go. 

His mind was made up. Surely, you hadn’t gone too far yet. 

Bursting out of his room, he ran to find his most trusted men. They would follow him to help save your people, he was sure of it. In the stables, he was busy saddling his horse as Jongin, Tao, and Luhan did the same around him. Others waited to join them outside. 

“You’re going after her, aren’t you?”

He didn’t look to his mother as he nodded. “I have to. I can’t let her walk into a fight. Not when I can protect her.”

“Good. You love her, I can tell. I couldn’t ask for a better outcome.”

Peeking over his shoulder, he frowned. “Did you know that would happen?”

“Of course not,” she said. “But I hoped you would open your heart to her. It tends to make these arrangements easier.”

Shaking his head, he kissed his mother’s cheek and then mounted his horse. “Let’s go!”

The group took off, galloping full speed down the road that would lead him back to you. With a lighter load, they had the advantage in catching up to you, but it would still take too long for Sehun’s liking. 

It seemed like hours had gone by and he could feel his horse growing tired. 

“Maybe we should rest,” Jongin yelled over the heavy beating of hooves against the dirt road.

As much as Sehun wanted to argue, he knew they couldn’t keep going like this. But he was granted one last miracle. Just as he was beginning to pull back on his reigns, a carriage came into view, prompting him to go faster. He recognized the coachman and the knights surrounding the carriage. It really was you. 

He pulled up alongside the carriage before overtaking it, forcing it to a stop or be responsible for a terrible collision.

“What’s going on?” Your companion, Edna, stuck her head out the window, eyes widening when she caught sight of Sehun. “Lady (y/n)!”

“What is it?” You, too, looked out the window and gasped. Pushing the door open, you jumped out while at the same time Sehun dismounted, running to you. He took you in his arms, holding you tight against his chest. “What are you doing here?” you demanded when you pushed back.

“I’m not letting you leave like this,” he declared. Then, he bent his head, connecting his lips to yours.When he pulled back, the corners of your mouth were pulling up. It made his heart warm to see you like that. “First, my men and I are going to help defend your home. And then, I’m going to marry you as promised.”

Tears pooled in your eyes that sparkled at him. “Why?”

“Because I’ve fallen for you like a petal falls from a flower.” From his tunic, he pulled out the now somewhat squished blue rose. 

“It turned blue,” you smiled. 

“Just like you said.” He swooped in for another kiss, happy to have you in his arms. He wasn’t sure if his plan to join your father’s men would work, but that was a risk he was willing to take to be with you. Only a month ago, you were the daughter of his father’s enemy. Now, you were his blue rose; unique, different, and forever close to his heart.

[elexica]

Second Chance Christmas: {{ December 24 }}

https://archiveofourown.org/works/27832405/chapters/69340716 Christmas Eve is a lot more pleasurable this year.

Rating increased to Explicit for smut this chapter. If you would like to skip it, end the chapter at the grilled cheese.

Entire chapter under the cut.

When Joey rolled over to look at his cellphone, he was startled to see it was almost 10:30 am.  How did he sleep in, until mid-morning, on Christmas Eve?  It was impossible that the kids hadn’t awoken with the dawn, and absolutely impossible that they didn’t need some form of attention by now.

Maybe they’ve been kidnapped, Joey wondered to himself.  That would be just his luck—the second Kaiba’s back, loved ones get kidnapped.

He looked out the French doors that lead to the master bedroom’s balcony.  It wasn’t a bad view at all, and the snow was wafting down.  It was soft, fluffy, powdery stuff, already accumulating on the handrail of the deck.  Joey considered fighting the temptation to wander out, but decided to just take a peek outside.

He was instantly rewarded with the sight of Alexis braining Atticus with a snowball.

They were dressed warmly, if a bit mismatching.  From the bright red glove on one of Atticus’ hands, and the black mitten on the other, someone wasn’t able to find the right counterpart in time.

That someone was looming a bit off to the side, like he always did.  Kaiba was crouching in the snow too, busy at work making something.  Joey couldn’t tell at this distance, and it would be pretty harsh of him to join in the snowball fight.  Joey knew from experience that Kaiba didn’t half-ass snowball fights and had killer aim.

Joey had only managed to keep up because he thought shoving snow down the back of Kaiba’s shirt was the funniest thing in the world.  The full body shiver and searing rage it inspired were unparalleled.

Instead, today it looked more like he was on hand to intervene if Alexis got too invested and owned her older brother too hard.  And like he was doing something of his own, playing with the snow.

Was Seto Kaia building a snow man? Joey squinted, but the white snow was too bright and the packed snow was too indistinguishable from the freshly fallen drifts for him to actually be able to tell.

Joey felt some snowflakes collecting in his own fluffy hair, and with a shake of his head decided he could do a better job spectating from downstairs.

A latte was sitting on the kitchen counter.  The foam had somewhat disintegrated, melting back into the coffee and milk mixture.  At first, Joey assumed Kaiba had just left it behind for himself when he had been probably unceremoniously dragged into the falling snow by their little miscreants.

But upon close inspection, the foam had a sort of heart pattern on the top, made from pouring the steamed milk just so.  Latte art had been an interest of Kaiba’s for about a day several years back—he had been convinced that he could replicate the delicate pouring in a robotic attachment added to the espresso machine, which could be repurposed to replace certain precision work in the Duel Disk manufacturing line.  In the process, he had gotten very good at making them by hand as well.

Could the mug actually be for Joey?  It didn’t look like Kaiba had sipped from it.

Kaiba was probably just showing off to the kids, Joey thought to himself.  Even so, it melted his heart in his chest just a little bit.  Even if it wasn’t for him, Joey was going to taste it.  It was on Joey’s counter now, right?

The milk foam was soft against his lips, sweet little bubbles popping on his tongue as he sipped, and the coffee was still warm.  He could feel the heat of it course down his throat.

He took another long drink of it, and it really was that good.  If Kaiba had a love language, Joey pondered midway through another gulp, it probably would be fancy coffee.

Joey took the mug out with him, the warmth of the mug soothing in his hands as he wandered to the backyard.  The chill in the air hit him in the face, instantly, and he wished he was wearing more than night clothes, his bathrobe, and slippers.

The family hadn’t really moved since he’d seen them from the master bedroom balcony.

Watching Seto play was always a source of fascination.  Sure, it had been infuriating back in the day.  The seriousness and anger he took to Duel Monsters, even when it wasn’t him dueling, was unpleasant at the time.  But over the years, it had become endearing and intriguing.  Sometimes, early on, Joey would even sit near Kaiba, during Yugi’s duels especially, just to hear the commentary.  Kaiba was thoughtful and smart as hell, and his take on the game was as insightful as it was overly intense.

When Kaiba played other games, it was even more fun.  Before they had met, Joey had never fathomed that someone could be completely engrossed in Operation!, or bring complete vitriol to Connect Four.  Discovering that Guess Who could be played through carefully crafted insults to each figure’s appearance was delightful.

It had been one of the things Joey had kind of been looking forward to seeing in Kaiba when they had kids.

But… things don’t always pan out the way you want them to.

Joey took another sip from the coffee—Kaiba had put some sugar in it too, to Joey’s surprise.  It had to be for him.  Just that thought lit a spark in his chest that warmed him in a way that his bathrobe and flannel pajamas couldn’t.

Joey refocused on Kaiba, trying to discern exactly what the other man was doing in the snow.  He was almost on his knees in the snow, and using his black-gloved hands to shape something.  The packed snow was rather elegantly shaped, and even if it had been years since he had seen one in person, those white scales were incredibly iconic.

“Ay, Kaiba, is that?!”

With a finishing touch of black pebble eyes on the modestly-sized snow-dragon, Kaiba turned to face him dead-on.

Kaiba’s smirk was almost as haughty as it had been when he was a teen.  He stood proudly in his winter coat, hands on his hips before the three-foot snow-dragon and pointed back at Joey with a flourish.  “Attack with white lightning!”

Like magic, the kids turned on Joey.  Snowballs were launched in his general direction and the kids made what Joey assumed were supposed to be dragon noises.

Joey was fortunate—the deck was pretty far from where they were playing, and the snowballs exploded harmlessly on the bannister or the porch in front of him.  Alexis’s little screech was especially precious, even if her throw wasn’t.

Joey laughed so naturally that he didn’t realize he was doing it.  When he composed himself again, he dramatically raised one hand, and pointed back.  “I play my trap card,” Joey shouted into the fray, revolving enough to point at the kitchen behind him.  “I’m making pancakes!”

Indeed, the promise of pancakes was more powerful than the lure of pretending to be dragons, and the kids cheered as they headed in.

Kaiba trailed the kids, looking oddly contemplative.  Joey was about to leave and make good on his promise, but he was struck by the way Seto had his lips pressed together.  He really looked like he was trying not to say something.

Joey gave him an expectant look, the space to say whatever it was that he was thinking.

“I never knew it could be this way.”

Joey tilted his head, blond hair flopping to the side.  “What do you mean?”

Kaiba walked closer, within a few inches of Joey.  With his thumb, Kaiba brushed a few snowflakes from the shorter man’s cheek.  “I… didn’t realize that life could be this free.”  And without any other comment or discussion, Kaiba composed himself and brushed past Joey.  Leaving Joey with his now-chilly latte and distant thoughts.  

…

Time slipped by quickly, the sands of the holiday magic hourglass rushing down as the finale approached.

The family had a holographic call with Mokuba and Yui, who expressed again how grateful they were to have the kids at their wedding.  If Mokuba was surprised to see Joey and Kaiba alongside each other, not fighting, he didn’t show it.  

After three years away from the high technology, Joey kind of saw the appeal of the holograms with fresh eyes.  It was pretty neat to see Mokuba again, in three dimensions, glowing just a little in his living room.  While Mokuba was patiently listening to Atticus explain how they were playing dragons this morning, Joey was just taking it in.

Then they sat down for another round of Christmas movies—this time all the classics.  First was Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, which Kaiba insisted had an overly mature message, that being unique is respected only when someone else can profit off of it.  Then was Frosty the Snowman, which Kaiba objected to on the grounds that it sent mixed messages about mortality.  “It is like watching ‘All Dogs Go to Heaven’ if you actually had to watch the dog—”

“Kaiba, it’s fine, he’s a snowman.”  Joey interrupted.

“He’s clearly sentient.  He’s aware of his surroundings.  Do you think he cannot feel his body melt—”

“Next movie!” Joey announced, clicking away.  

Kaiba completely left the room for Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer, which was a pity, given how much of the runtime was dedicated to business decisions.

Kaiba only returned later, to poke his head around the corner and say that he had finished making dinner.

Joey wasn’t sure what to expect from Kaiba for a holiday dinner.  Frankly, the times he had seen Kaiba cook were few and far between—he had helped out yesterday, but otherwise it was something of an informed ability.  Kaiba said he could cook, but Joey supposed the proof would be in the literal pudding.

When they were dating, Kaiba was usually working and they would get take out or go out to dinner far more frequently than doing dinner at home.  Joey couldn’t pinpoint exactly when the expectation of family meals had appeared—maybe after Atticus was born?  Whenever it had happened, the family chef had appeared like magic.

Joey realized that maybe Kaiba had no idea what Joey’s cooking was like outside of this week either.  That was a disturbing thought.  How long could you spend with someone without ever learning what their cooking tasted like.

Joey was in for a pleasant surprise.  It certainly wasn’t fancy, but tomato soup from a can—garnished with a basil leaf—and a decent stack of not-burnt grilled cheese sandwiches were waiting.  With the snow falling gently outside, and the reflection of a few twinkling Christmas lights draped around the kitchen, it was a very pleasant scene.

It felt like too much to demand, but Joey bit into a perfectly buttery sandwich—crispy on the outside and gooey on the inside—and thought maybe he would like it if Kaiba cooked every night.

…

Finally, the kids were instructed that they needed to have an early bed time, as part of the last ditch efforts to convince Santa that they were good kids.

With certain designated cookies set out and carrots left for the reindeer, the kids were headed to bed.

“So… we didn’t wrap the presents last night,” Joey announced.  Kaiba nodded, and they grimly turned toward the master bedroom to contemplate their fate.

The present pile was absolutely not representative of what Joey had purchased on his singular trip to the mall.  At some point, quite deviously, Kaiba must have procured another thirty presents, through some assistant or something—Joey really could account for most of the time, and had them hidden in Joey’s secret present hiding place (unsurprisingly the master bedroom’s closet).

As a result, even with the two of them working to wrap presents, it had been almost three hours and they were still at it.  Kaiba was frustratingly slow: he was both meticulous about straight edges and perfect tape amounts, and just slightly terrible at wrapping.  It was brutally obvious he had never had to do it before, so even though the theory was easy for him, his long fingers struggled slightly with execution.  It made the process even slower because Joey kept getting distracted, watching Kaiba’s long fingers fiddle with the paper and the tape.

“We can take a five minute break, we’ve been pretty busy this week,” Joey announced, stepping away from the supplies covered desk and flopping back on the bed.

Seto walked over and sat on the edge of pensively before curling into the fluffy duvet.  “It’s true.  Whatever doesn’t get wrapped can be saved for birthday presents.”

Joey graced him with a skeptical look.

“What?! You said you wanted it to be lower key,” Kaiba snapped back, offended.  Kaiba looked down at his hands, tape resting on his pinky as he tried to get the fold just so on a small packet that was obviously a Duel Monsters cards booster pack.

The bags that were omnipresent under Kaiba’s eyes were etched just a little deeper than before.  “A five minute break… sounds wise.”

Joey flopped backward onto the bed, avoiding the wrapping paper.  Kaiba relaxed backwards as well.

Five minutes passed, and then another five.  The bed was really soft and cozy.  Joey knew it was much more comfortable than the guest room bed, and Kaiba was burrowing in somewhat.

The other man really did look peaceful, brown hair falling into his glasses, eyes finally closed and relaxed.

Two hours later, a quick glance at the bedside clock warned Joey that it was almost eleven at night.  The lights had been extinguished, but the curtains hadn’t been drawn, leaving the room with a hazy glow from the bright snowscape and moon beyond the French doors.

Joey had dozed off on the bed and like magnets, Seto had ended up so close to him.  Joey really hadn’t expected to wake up to the other man clinging to him for dear life, but it felt so nice.  A pleasant weight, holding him, making him feel treasured.  God only knew where his glasses had ended up.

Seto’s breath ghosted across Joey’s collarbone.  “I missed you.”  It was soft, sleep addled, and entirely sincere.  His breaths were deep and warm, as if he was taking in everything about the situation that he could, inhaling the sleepy cozy scent of his partner, the soft detergent smell the dryer had left on Joey’s pajamas, the pine scented holiday candle that had been inadvertently left to burn for the last two hours.

Cuddling again felt so magical, after so long.  Joey’s hand caught in Seto’s hair, soft brown strands running across his rougher fingers.  His nails scraped lightly across Seto’s scalp, and Seto practically purred.  It was enough to make the heat rise in Joey’s cheeks.

“I don’t want to let go of you,” Seto admitted to Joey.  Seto looked up from where he was snuggled into Joey’s chest, eyes softer than Joey remembered them.

“Then don’t,” Joey answered, pulling Seto up so that their faces were perfectly aligned.

Staring into Kaiba’s eyes was always like this.  It hit so deep, struck Joey right on the inside of his sternum.  Something in the blue depths broke his heart every single time.

And Joey pulled him into a kiss.  Seto’s mouth tasted the way that it always had.  With his large hands grabbing at Joey’s back, clutching at the fabric, it felt the same way that it did before.  When Seto deepened the kiss, when his tongue plunged into his mouth, nothing had changed.

But Seto pulled away, marking that Joey hadn’t truly time traveled.  “I… are you sure you want to do this?  I’m leaving tomorrow, Jounouchi.”  Seto was so serious.  The flush in his cheeks was just painted onto his ex-husband, the rest of his face was schooled into a business-like countenance.  It almost made Joey forget the familiar hand on his hip, thumb stroking over his side.

Joey smiled, but he could feel the pinpricks behind his own eyes.  “Then you better not ruin tonight, huh?”

Kaiba smirked, falling back into his role.  “As you should well know,” Kaiba dived into Joey’s neck, sucking and biting something fierce, “I always rise to a challenge.”

Kaiba’s hand drifted up, grasping for Joey’s shirt and tearing it off.  “If I remember correctly,” Kaiba continued, crawling down his body and quickly arriving at his cock, “and I always do,” Kaiba’s eyes flashed up to meet Joey’s, devious and dirty be fore pulling down Joey’s pajama pants, exposing his dick to the tense air of their bedroom, “I have some reliable methods for ensuring this is worth your time.”

“You talk too—” Joey attempted to complain, but Kaiba’s mouth on his hardening penis cut him off.  A shock of lust zapped through is body, reaching the ache in his chest.

As Seto sucked gently—cheeks hollow and eyes closed in focus, Joey felt the lust course through him.  But also a sense of comfort, of safety, and of loss. Each jolt of pleasure also triggered something cruel and bittersweet.

Joey tried to hold off, knowing that the sooner he came, the sooner it would end.  The fantasy of having his husband back, adoring him in the most intimate way, would be over, even as the pangs of pleasure rippled through him.

But it was hard.  Kaiba was an obsessive man, and when pleasuring Joey was his focus, he was meticulous in mastering its intricacies.  One of Kaiba’s hands was caressing his inner thigh, alternating worshipful touches and soft, stinging scratches that dragged needy whines from Joey’s lips.

Just when Joey was certain he wouldn’t be able to hold on for any longer, the pressure building inside, threatening to spill out, Kaiba disengaged.  A bit of pre-cum mixed with spit bridged between his plush lips and Joey’s rock hard cock.  The light glinted off of the dew on Kaiba’s mouth, and accentuated the way that his lips were trembling.

Kaiba slid up, rolling over far enough to reach the top drawer of the night stand.  And, just as if no time had passed, a bottle of lube was waiting for him.  Joey’s eyes lingered on the way Kaiba poured it along his hands, leaving them glistening in the reflection of the moonlight off of the freshly fallen snow.

Kaiba removed his own sweatpants, and Joey’s eyes could see how devastatingly hard Kaiba was.  The full body shiver that ran through him just touching himself in order to lube his own cock.  And when he looked back over at Joey, the determination in his eyes was so intense, it was almost scary.

Kaiba crawled over, hands framing Joey’s head, heat radiating off of his body in hot waves, cocks threatening to touch.  “I want you so bad, Jounouchi,” he whispered, voice husky from sucking him off.

“Then take me, Kaiba. You never had a problem taking what you want before,” Joey issued the challenge with a hint more menace than he had realized was there.

And the restraint was lifted.  Joey hadn’t really realized there ever was any restraint, but with Kaiba’s fingers plunged into his tight opening, searching and quickly finding the familiar magic spot, maybe his partner had been holding back.

With only so many desperate thrusts of his fingers, Kaiba withdrew them.  Joey almost moaned at the loss, wanting to tell his partner there was no rush.  That they had enough time for everything, make love like they used to—languid and peaceful, wasteful of time.

Any complaints were silenced as he felt Kaiba’s thick cock enter him.  Joey was lost in the sensations, swimming in the lust. The only things he could keep track of were the thrusts, the feeling of Seto’s hips and thighs rhythmically moving against his own.  The white hot pulse of Kaiba coming inside of him, and that perfect moment, when he felt full and complete.  Finally coming himself, untouched, semen spilling over his own stomach.

Even though it was sticky, and would soon be uncomfortable, he hated when Kaiba withdrew.  His heart ached when he handed him a damp towel from the in suite, and when Kaiba gathered his pajamas, prepared to walk to the guest room.

Joey had to go back in his memory all the way to their earliest days to remember Kaiba getting up immediately after sex.  Once their relationship was, well, a relationship and not a duel to see who could keep the connection more casual, Kaiba loved to be close afterwards.  Even if he didn’t necessarily snuggle, he was usually present, sharing small smiles and holding Joey until he fell asleep.

“Don’t.”

Kaiba froze.  And then he looked back, more surprised than he should have been.

The look on his face sent Joey to the early days of their courtship, when Kaiba would wear that same expression as he gathered up arm-belts as he bailed from Joey’s shit apartment back in Domino.

But that they had shared this exact bedroom for six years.  

Joey hadn’t even changed up the pictures on the walls—shamefully enough, a wedding photo still sat on the dresser.  Their trapped smiling faces judging the messy entanglement that their romance had become.

“Don’t leave me,” Joey choked out.  Don’t leave me again went unspoken. He didn’t have that bad of a time saying how he felt, but Kaiba always tested the limits, made him want to withdraw into himself.  It took some kind of bravery to be open with his feelings now, and it swelled in his chest.  “I want you to stay the night, here.”

Kaiba nodded slowly, and dressed in his pajamas.  He sat down on the bed carefully, cautious, like he hadn’t slept there a thousand times before.  It almost seemed like he didn’t trust the mattress not to turn to dust beneath him.

And then he laid in bed like a corpse in a coffin, careful to bind his arms to his waist.

With a deep sigh, Joey said, “Ah come on. We just fucked, Kaiba.  You can uh… you can touch me, if you wanna.”

Kaiba looked over.  In the darkness, the glow of the moon-touched snow glinted in his eyes, sparking something mysterious.  “We… did.”  He looked a little bit like a cryptid, something not quite of this world, trapped in a reality he couldn’t totally understand.

“I don’t regret it,” Joey said, though his voice betrayed a bit of his uncertainty.  “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Hn.” Kaiba scoffed.

“Yeah, I shoulda seen that one coming,” Joey said, leaning back against his pillow.  It was somehow entirely foreign to have another man in his bed, and yet also familiar.  Like Kaiba had never been there before, but also like he had never left.

The warmth was almost that of a phantom sensation—almost close enough to touch, just far enough away to feel like a figment of his imagination.

And then, somewhat suddenly, Joey felt the familiar hands of his ex-husband wrap around his arm.  Just like that, Kaiba crept back into his space, foreheads almost touching, straight brown hair entangling in unruly blond strands.  Joey could feel each exhale of Kaiba’s against his cheek.  They were soft and rhythmic, pantomiming sleep.

Joey was surprised when he didn’t tense up at the contact.  When they both melted into the shared cozy warmth under the quilt.  When his own breathing turned more evenly paced.

He was falling asleep in that most literal sense, the experience of complete relaxation where one sinks through the mattress and into the dream world.

Somewhere in that sinking, the purgatory between sleeping and wakefulness, Joey could have sworn he heard Kaiba whisper “I still love you” in his gravelly tone.

But it could have been just a dream.

[fortheloveoffanfic]

Put Me In a Movie

Keanu Reeves x Reader (A/n- Did I really just get the name of my own fic wrong? If you saw it, for the sake of us both, pretend you didn’t)

Summary Prologue  1   2   3  4  

Chapter 5- Skewed Clarity

That night, Y/n had gone back to her room, dried off and plopped back into bed, more awake and before and irritatingly sexually frustrated. She’d tried dealing with the situation herself, but her efforts were fruitless and unsatisfying; her fingers were small in comparison to Keanu and all in all, she just couldn’t sink into the moment. For the briefest second, as Y/n had laid a top her unmade bed, the softness of the fluffy duvet caressing her skin, she had considered shrugging on her robe and trekking to Keanu’s room, uncaring if he was awake or not and demanding that he’d finish what he started, but Y/n had quickly deduced that she’d need a few drinks well to muster up that kind of courage. Besides, she wasn’t desperate. It was just a matter of politeness really, how dare he leave her like that, with silky moisture between her thighs and an ache to be touched?

After several failed efforts, or perhaps it was just one long one, Y/n had decided that she was through for the night, opting to quickly wash up, get back into her pajamas and crawl back into bed. It had taken almost two hours after that for her eyes to even start drooping and when Y/n finally fell into a fragile slumber, it was past five am.

There wasn’t enough caffeine in the world to rectify the heaviness in Y/n’s eyes and as hard as she tried to stifle them, a yawn would escape her lips every few minutes or so. Figures that the night that she’d had the worst sleep of her life would lead to the first time they’d be filming at seven am. 

Really, she blamed Keanu. Who, coincidentally looked far more refreshed than she felt. Maybe it was irrational, but Y/n couldn’t help but be a little annoyed with him. First, he’d been on her mind so much that she couldn’t fall asleep, then he’d interrupted her alone time and gotten her worked up, just so she couldn’t fall asleep again. 

Ugh.

Walking from her trailer, already in costume with her hair and make up done, Y/n tried to chug yet another cup of scalding hot, black coffee before she got to set. It burnt her tongue and the bitter taste was the reason she usually added milk and sugar, but still, she needed to be as energetic as possible, and if her sixth cup of coffee for the morning was what it took, then so be it.  

They were shooting in the large parking lot that morning, which meant that Y/n would have to pass through the studio, to get to the open area at the front, where everything was probably already set up. It was the kind of walk that she ordinarily took with Keanu, but alas, Y/n had been avoiding him since their initial though very brief run in at hair and make-up. She had been heading in just as he was opening the door to leave. Small talk had been a must, though neither of them brought up their earlier encounter, what was there to say anyway? Y/n didn’t know if it had been a joke, if Keanu had actually intended to make her feel ‘some kind of way’, or if all in all, she was reading too much into it. It was awkward and Y/n hated awkward, she hated not knowing and she desperately wished that things with Keanu weren’t so confusing. 

The studio was quieter than it had been most days, though, that should have been expected considering they were meant to spend the next eight hours or so working outside. Jackson had predicted that in one long take, they could cover the entire scene in just about three hours, but that wasn’t accounting for the human factors; mishaps and bloopers. 

By the time Y/n was spilling out into the large, outdoor set up, the morning sun was stinging her eyes again and there was an energetic buzz in the air that had been absent from inside. Y/n began wondering if she’d be able to keep up with the way she was feeling. Why hadn’t she just downed some cough syrup and called it a night?

“Hey,” an unsteady baritone broke Y/n’s thoughts and she immediately clutched her chest, jumping in surprise when he gently touched the center of her back.

“Fuck,” the fright was enough to wake her up a bit, though it didn’t last long. Keanu came to stand next to her, closer than he did before things got complicated and Y/n had a feeling that it was intentional. She could smell the coolness of his cologne, mixing with the enthralling aromas of ground roast and cigarette. Y/n hated when he stood that close, it always got her flustered. 

Though, she didn’t want him to move either 

“You scared the shit outta me,” she sighed, letting her hand return to her side. Her gaze once again to the ongoings before them, not wanting to lock with his chocolate orbs for too long.  Why couldn’t she ever successfully avoid him? 

Keanu chuckled beside her, the throaty sound like water over rocks; smooth and soothing, “Sorry.” He seemed totally unaffected by their run in from the night before but Y/n couldn’t tell if he was faking it or if by some hellish miracle, his short term memory had been erased. It was bad enough that it had cost her a few hours of sleep, she couldn't be the only one with that memory. “I hate to be that person, but you look terrible. Everything okay?”

Scoffing, Y/n folded her arms and rolled her eyes. As if he didn’t know! “I’m fine,” she mumbled, slightly begrudged. With the toe of her block heeled ankle boot, Y/n kicked a rogue pebble, watching as it skipped out of her foot’s reach. The shoe scraped noisily as she dragged her foot back childishly, “Is that what you came over here to tell me?”

Unstirred by her mood, Keanu chortled again, “Somebody’s cranky.” Again, Y/n rolled her eyes, preferring to wallow in her sour, awkwardness instead of asking him anything about the previous night. When Y/n didn’t respond, his grin softened and his words were twisted by flirty undertones, “This is about last night, isn’t it? Don’t tell me a few little words made you all pissy,” Keanu’s breath was hot on her ear as he leaned in and Y/n hoped the set photographer wasn’t nearby to capture the redness painting her cheeks.

Gritting her teeth, she finally turned to face him, her hair whipping his shoulder as she did, “How dare you? First its oh Y/n this was a mistake, then you’re all up in my face, with your stupid smile and your good looks, telling me that you can fuck me real good and then you’re walking away. And-” the ‘v’ in Y/n’s forehead became more pronounced and her mild irritation turned into flustered anger, “Are you laughing at me?”

Tilting his head to the side, “My good looks?” He quoted, taunting her and Y/n groaned, frustrated. Still though, Keanu didn’t look like he had any intention of ceasing his quiet chuckles. Slipping his hands into the pockets of his character’s battered jeans, Keanu dragged his lower lip through his teeth, “I’m sorry,” he looked down for a minute, and Y/n could feel his eyes travel appreciatively up her body as he raised his head again, “You’re just….really fucking cute when you’re mad.”

“See?” Y/n huffed pointedly. It was so hard to tell what they were doing, what he was doing. Was he actually flirting, or was he just plain out fucking with her? “This is too confusing Keanu. You’re just…..”

It didn’t take too long after that for Keanu to lapse into his usual seriousness, hissing in hopes that no one would hear, “You think you’re not confusing too? One minute you acting like you regret what we did and avoiding me like the fucking plague the next we’re in a pool together and you’re basically asking for it.”  

“Do not put this on me,” her finger jabbed into his chest and Keanu caught her wrist, his fingers easily circling it with room to spare, “This is not my fault.”

“I never said it was anybody’s fault,” Keanu countered, still holding onto her hand. It had been so long since he’d last touched her, in any way, he’d missed the softness of her skin and Y/n his calloused touch, “I’m just saying, maybe neither of us are as blameless as we want to be.”

His admission left Y/n scrambling for words. The truth was that Keanu was right, they were both active participants, worse yet, Y/n would be lying if she said she wanted to stop. The thoughts of Keanu were consuming, her quelled longing for him was hard to deny even to herself. Swallowing thickly, Y/n watched as Keanu’s grip slipped from her wrist to maintain a gentle hold on her fingers. They had forgotten their surroundings a while ago, not noticing if anyone was looking at them. “This is…..” Y/n didn’t know what it was, and she couldn’t really think of it while he was standing that close.

Keanu bent his head, a contagious smile curving his lips and a mischievous glint in his eyes, “I-”

“Places everyone!” Jackson snapped and they sprang apart. Keanu passed one had over his hair, the other going to his back pocket, while Y/n, who didn’t really know what to do with her hands, immediately grabbed the hem of her leather jacket, sucking in a breath.

Stuttering, Y/n’s lips quivered, about to speak when, in a frenzy a hair and make-up team surrounded her and Keanu, picking and pulling at their outfits, freshening their make-up and giving them one last look over before the scene. There was a faceless hand in her hair, fiddling with her extensions while someone else passed a powder brush on her cheek, “Can we….?”

Meanwhile, there was a woman freshening a cut on Keanu’s jaw while two others gave his outfit gentle tugs to ensure perfect placement, “Yeah,” he assured her hurriedly, hoping that the aids wouldn’t suspect anything. 

By the end of the day, all Y/n wanted to do was face flop into her bed, and she was pretty sure that she could sleep then. Her caffeine high had kicked in right in the thick of their first scene of the day; where her and Keanu’s characters were supposed to be ‘ambushed’ by operatives and subsequently engaged in a  shootout, where she’d acquire ‘minor wounds’. It had taken three takes to get the end right, but just as midday approached they did. Afterwards, she had taken her lunch break while Keanu shot a brief solo scene and then vise versa.

They weren’t done for the day until the sun was resigning past the distant horizon and nothing further could be done outside. Thank heavens they weren’t needed on set again until past lunch the next day. 

As she packed some things into her handbag, Y/n could feel the wear of her muscles with each movement and the heaviness of her eyes every time she blinked. The crash after the caffeine had worn off had hit her hard and if there were something bigger than a small sofa in her trailer, she might have showered and slept right there. 

With a huff, Y/n zipped the bag and reached for her coat draped over a throw pillow, when someone knocked on the metal front door calling her attention, “Y/n?”

Keanu.

Even if they’d spent most of the day together, they hadn’t gotten back to their earlier conversation, though Y/n didn’t know what she’d say if they had. Still, she answered the door, hoping he’d be braver than she was.

Keanu had absolutely no idea what he was going to say. But nonetheless, his anxious feet had led him to Y/n’s trailer, and possibly, by his fist’s own admission, he hit the door three times. It was hardly his best idea; to show up at her trailer, without a clue on what he was about to say all while knowing that Y/n must have been dog tired. Though, he was already there, so the least he could do was rack his brain for a quick remedy.

When she pulled the door open, standing before the entrance looking a bit worse than she had that morning, Keanu frowned, that was definitely the worst timing in the history of things being timed. “Hey,” he waved briefly, only coming up the two metal steps when she waved him inside. Upon seeing her bag, packed on the counter of the small kitchenette, Keanu scrubbed on hand over his groomed beard, stuffing the other into his pocket, “Is this a bad time?” Maybe if she said yes then he could return to his uncomfortable state of not knowing, trying to figure things out until he, well, knew. 

But alas, there was nothing as unforgiving and he internally cursed when she quickly quipped back, “No, I don’t have anywhere to be.” With a tired huff, Y/n dropped onto the small, rich brown, leather sofa, patting the spot next to her, “What’s up?”

“I……” What was up? Quickly, he scanned his brain for anything useful, though eventually came up short and let his mouth go on autopilot, “I wanted to talk about this morning, about us.”

Keanu couldn’t help but smile lightly when she absently scrunched her nose, testing the word on her tongue as if it were foreign, “Us?” Sighing, Y/n shifted in the sofa, bracing an elbow on the back cushion and pulling one leg under herself, “Is there an us?”

“I don’t know,” he cleared his throat, speaking as the ideas came, with no room for thinking them over or polishing them up, “But I think at this point it's more there than isn’t, if you know what I mean.”

It took a minute, and Y/n seemed to be mulling on it, but eventually, she gestured her agreement, moistening her succulent pink lips before, “Yeah, yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“Right,” Keanu stalled. He wasn’t good at that, letting people in and letting himself feel. It wasn’t like he couldn’t, he could, he did. Even if it was all a jumbled mess, he did feel something, or rather several things for Y/n. Things he couldn’t quite decipher, but also things he wasn’t ready to lose. But it didn’t make sense and Keanu didn’t know what to do with those things. Besides, his relationship track record had never been on for the ages, he was always giving too much or too little, typically the former; a commitment-phobe at heart. 

Y/n looked at him expectantly and Keanu felt terrible for making her wait, but he really didn’t have a clue on what he should say next. How could you explain what you felt if you didn’t understand it?

Maybe he didn’t need words.  

Swallowing thickly, Keanu reached out, letting his thumb caress Y/n’s jaw, awed at how she leaned into his touch. 

Maybe it wasn’t just a sex thing. Maybe it was something more, merely covered up by something primal, because still there with Keanu, Y/n didn’t feel they way she had in the pool, or that day after their sex scene. Instead, she felt a fullness in her chest, it was warm, and she was very surprised that a feeling like that could be physical. Her heart didn’t beat a mile a minute, her palms weren’t sweaty and she wasn’t anxious about his next move. For the first time in two weeks, she knew exactly what to expect from Keanu.

It didn’t feel much bigger than their friendship though, it was merely an extension. It was the tranquility he brought, paired with the warmth of his touch. The thought was barely there and fleeting, but somewhere in the back of Y/n’s mind registered that Keanu’s was completely unlike Luke’s touch; a couple fingers on her cheek able to do more for her than arms around her waist. 

Intently, Y/n watched as Keanu leaned forward, licking his lips just before he laid them on hers. Coffee, cigarettes and something sweet. The taste was one she quickly committed to memory. Slowly, Y/n tilted her head, allowing him better access, letting her eyes slip closed. One hand moved to cup his cheek, the rough hair tickling her palm. 

What she felt right then was unmatched, the completeness morphing with a sense of serenity. Like the first breath of spring air or sipping chilled Rosé in the heat of summer, refreshing and light. The sensation in her chest spread, traveling to her finger and toes while the inner working of her head simply stopped. It didn’t matter what the road to lead them to that moment looked like, how much hurt there had been, confusion, despair and anguish, gone, just for a few savory minutes, letting them be in their own little bubble.

Butterfly wings fluttering against his lips, that was the only thing Keanu could liken that kiss too. It was so unlike anything they had shared before then and Keanu felt as if that was the last thing he ever did before he died, it would be okay, because even if he couldn’t say it, he’d shown her. Shown Y/n that she wasn’t just a body to him, that every touch he’d laid on her wasn’t a mistake, it could never be. 

What they had, whatever it was, was still in its infancy, but he liked it. Keanu wanted to show it off and protect it all at once. Keanu had always been afraid of relationships, and he could tell that Y/n was the same- there had always been an understated caution that hung in her words when spoke of Luke, like she was never really sure that sharing herself outside the realm of what was tangible was what she wanted. No doubt, they both had their flaws, but maybe, they could try together. Keanu wasn’t sure if it was what he wanted, but by then, he didn’t think he could firmly say he was sure of anything. Anything except for the fact that kissing Y/n felt right. 

When they broke, their breaths were still shared for a minute, Y/n and Keanu smiled softly. “Is this what you want?” Y/n’s voice was meek and unsteady, she didn’t even know if it was what she wanted.

Humming, Keanu lingered on the question for a minute, relaxing into the cushions. Acting on the urge, he pulled Y/n against his chest, her ear over his heartbeat. The blurry thoughts clouded his vision and Keanu knew his answer would change everything between them forever. But arguably, that had already happened. 

Suddenly plume of fear bloomed in the center of his chest; fear that he would hurt her, fear that they were too different, but most prominently, the paralyzing fear that she would hurt him. If Keanu let her in, chances are, he wouldn’t want her to leave. But it happened, it always did, they always left. 

Then again, what was life without fear? What was happiness without suffering?

“I…..” Keanu sighed at the way Y/n relaxed against him, absently tangling his fingers in the ends of her hair, his glazed eyes trained forward, “I think.....I think that maybe we could try. I mean, this is so confusing, and we didn’t exactly have the best start, but maybe it could work. I don’t really know how to do this,” he chuckled, usually asking a woman out came on instinct; Keanu would just do it. But the effort needed weight with Y/n, she deserved more than just a random offer for coffee, they got coffee together all the time. Keanu was about to start tripping over his words again when Y/n shifted against him, burrowing her nose deeper into his chest, “What are you-”

All it took was one look down for Keanu to realize that Y/n was far gone, and probably hadn’t heard a word of his ramblings. Huffing his quiet laughter, he shook off his thoughts, tightening his hold on her waist as he leaned his head back. Maybe he’d have something more worthwhile to offer her the next morning.

*****

Tagging- @harrisongslimited​  @paanchu786​  @thesadvampire​  @fanficsrusz​  @fickensteinn​  @ladyreapermc​  @babygirltaina​  @septimaseverina​  @snatchedbylele​  @omg-imagine @21stcenturyyfoxx​  @magnificentclodpiebanana 

[chaoticdazefire-new]

Morning guys! Today I'm finally getring back to posting my It Lives fics. (Sorry for the delay) Im posting 2 parts today since the first one is kind of short and its been a while. In todays chapter, its the morning after you and your friends performed the ritual that finally brought Noah back, and you just get a call with a new lead on stopping the Power. But before you go to get some answers, you take the time to catch up with an old friend. You can go to part 16 here. @it-lives-in-westchester @anxietyismyspiritanimal @ouleye I hope y'all enjoy it!

    The following morning, you rub your eyes wearily as the suns rays shine through your window and hit your face. You check your phone to see it's only 8:30 and groan. Given you only got roughly four hours of sleep last night, you're not ready to greet the outside world just yet. Just then, Luna stretches at the foot of your bed and walks up to you, gently headbutting your arm and purring. You scratch her head for a few minutes until you're interrupted by a phone call from Connor.

     You answer the phone still half asleep. "Hello?"

     "Woah, sorry, did I wake you up?" He asks. You chuckle a little bit and sigh. "No, I actually just woke up. What's up?"

     You can hear muffled voices in the background, one sounding like Jocelyns. "I'm pulling a shift at the hardware store right now, but Joss just came in here with some pretty solid information about the um... Situation."

     "Really?" You ask, "like what?"

     "She said she found-" Connor suddenly stops mid sentence and you can hear the phone drop, and in the distance you can hear Connor yell "put that back Joss it's just a display!" You pinch the bridge of your nose, and after a minute of more muffled talking, Connor picks the phone back up.

     "Heh, sorry about that."

     "Are you sure Jocelyn is the one who found actual information?" 

     You hear Connor give a small chuckle over the phone. "I'm sure. It's pretty busy here today, so maybe it's best if you just come here."

     You flop your head back down on your pillow and scoff. "But I don't want to get up yet."

     "Well, when you are ready to get up, you know where we'll be."

     "Yeah yeah, I'll be there soon."

     You hang up the phone and lay down a little longer, cherishing the comfort of your bed before getting up and running around for the rest of the day.

     Before leaving, you make sure to take care of Luna, then head to the shed to check on Russel. As you step into the backyard, you take a long look at how destroyed it is. Branches from your tree have been broken off and scattered throughout your yard, dirt has been picked up and tossed around, not to mention the tire tracks in the grass leading up from your driveway to the tree where Connor slammed the vine bear.

     Well, this is a mess.

     Surprisingly, despite a few cracks and loosened boards, your shed still remained intact. You step inside and spot Russel nestled up in his nest, easily startled at the sound of the door creaking open. He puffs his feathers and caws, but once he realizes its you, he giddily jumps up and hops along the table as you approach.

     "Looks like someone is happy to see me." You hold out your arm and he quickly leaps onto it, cawing with excitment. You gently stroke the feathers along his wings for a moment, until he suddenly puffs up and caws aggressively at the door. You feel your heart race as you carefully set him back in his nest, not taking your eyes off the door. You grab your bat and grip it tightly as you slowly approach the door.

     You take a deep breath and place your foot between the door and the frame, then YANK it open! You charge out of the shed with your bat held high ready to swing- but no one is there. You look around skeptically but see no one around, and slowly lower your bat. You look back at Russel, who is still cawing from his nest, and then you hear a strange sound coming from your pond. You raise your bat once more and begin to cautiously advance towards the pond.

     As you slowly approach the pond, you can see a torrent of bubbles shooting to the top of the water, and you feel your heart pounding in your ears. You can feel your legs begin to go numb as you are only a few feet away, but you keep on moving.

     Then, as you finally stand right before the pond, the bubbles disappear in an instant. Bewildered, you cautiously look into the water and only see your reflection. Just as you are about to look away, you spot a face appear right behind you in your reflection. A face that you've only seen in a drawing you discovered at Coras: Redfield.

     Immediately, you spin around and swing your bat as hard as you can, and see the figure just dodge it by a mere inch, their long brown hair brushing in the wind. "Hey!-"

    "Noah?!" You drop your bat and feel your entire body shake as your heart drops like an anchor at the sight of him, relief washing over you. "Jeez, you want me gone again that bad already?" He asks, his arms still covering his face like a shield.

     You roll your eyes and he grins. A small smile tugs at the corner of your mouth and you pull him into hug. After hesitating for a split second, he wraps his arms around you as well. "What are you doing here Noah?" You ask, still locked into a hug. "Trying to get my head taken off apparently."

     "No, seriously," you say strictly as you pull away. "It's not even 9 o'clock yet, how did you even know I was in the backyard?" He shrugs and puts his hands in his pockets. "Well, I knocked on your door first but you didn't answer. Then I heard your bird in there making all sorts of noise, so I figured I'd come out back to see if you were out here. And then you tried Lucilling me."

     You can't help but shake your head and laugh. "You scared the hell out of me. I thought you were-" you cut yourself off, thinking back to the face in the water. He raises an eyebrow at you as you remain silent. "Thought I was... what?" You shake the thought off and look back at him. "I thought you were something else."

     He looks at you, eyes wide. "Something that involved using that?" He points to your bat lying by your feet, and you pick it up. "I...I just thought it was something from the woods."

     "Hey, look around." He scans your entire yard with his hand and looks back at you. "There's nothing here now. Its just us." You look around yourself without seeing a hint of anything suspicious. "Yeah, you're right."

     But I know what I saw...

     You take a long skeptical look back at the pond, then turn back to him. "Connor actually called not too long ago. He said him and Jocelyn might have found something new about the Power but they're stuck at the hardware store. Want to take a walk there with me?"

     He shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly. "I might as well, since you clearly need a bodyguard." He grins as you playfully punch him in the arm. You set your bat back in the shed and you and Noah head out into town. But as you're walking away, you swear you can feel something watching you from the trees. Something that makes your blood run cold.

******

    The walk into town is long and quiet, giving you and Noah time to catch up.

     "So, how does it feel?" He looks at you with a raised eyebrow.  "How does what feel?" You lightly nudge him in the arm. "You know, to be back. To be you again."

     He looks down and stares at the ground as he walks, thinking before answering you. "I'm not sure how to feel about it honestly. For three years I was trapped as some shadow monster, now all of a sudden I'm back," he looks at his hands, studying them. "And it's like I never was that monster."

     You walk in silence for a minute as you take in his words, and think of how to respond. "I wouldn't necessarily say you were a monster." He looks at you as if baffled. "Then what was I?"

     You shrug your shoulders. "You were just... You. Just with a new look." He scoffs, but with the hint of a smile on his face. "And telekinetic powers? And the ability to go through walls? Not to mention a terrible speech problem."

     You both burst out into laughter, the first time you've seen him laugh in years. You can't help but stare at the smile on his face, the happiness he hasn't felt in so long, even if it's just for a moment.

     You look forward as you can just see the town in the distance. You look over to say something to him, but realize hes no longer walking next to you. You turn around to see he's stopped a little ways back, staring down a long street. You make your way back to him and follow his gaze, and you know exactly what he's looking at:

     His house.

     You look at his face and see the pained expression, the joy he had just felt disappeared, as if it were never there.

     "Do you... Want to go? And see her?" He doesn't speak, nor does he look at you, his entire focus still locked on his house. "Noah?" He shakes his head as if coming out of a trance, and looks at the ground. "No. I can't." He kicks a pebble by his feet and watches it skip into the grass. "I'm not ready for that. Not yet. And I don't think she is either. Not after thinking I've been dead this whole time."

     You put a hand on his back and rub it soothingly. "Hey, there's no rush. You've been through so much. Just take it all one step at a time, okay?" He still doesn't meet your gaze, but nods his head.

     "Now come on, the town is just up ahead." He slowly starts walking with you, taking one last look at his street, guilt stricken across his face.

  When you finally reach town, you notice him looking all around, at all the people, all the buildings, even the birds flying above. "Enjoying the scenery I see?" You say jokingly. He gives a small smile, still looking around. "Just taking in what I've missed the past few years."

     You smile and look forward, and see the hardware store in the distance. You keep walking until he suddenly puts an arm in front of you, stopping you in your tracks.

     "Hey-"

     "Do you have to be there right away?" He asks. "I'm not necessarily on a schedule, why?" He nods his head and you notice he's stopped you in front of the cafe you sat down at the day he followed you from school, where he told you the story about when Jane chased after him when he ran away as a kid.

     You look at him grinning from ear to hear as he meets your gaze. "It's been a long time since I've sat down and had a blueberry muffin." Rolling your eyes with a smile, you both walk inside.

     "Go ahead and find a place to sit, I'll get us something to eat." You look at him with a sarcastic smile. "You're treating both of us to blueberry muffins?" He smiles. "Technically, Dan is treating us." He pulls out a ten dollar bill from his pocket and walks in line as you find a seat by the window. After a few minutes, he sits in the chair across from you and hands you a muffin. You take small bites from it like a mouse while he scarfs his down.

     "So, you still never told me why you were at my house at 8:30 in the morning." He looks up at you with a mouth full of muffin, and holds up an index finger while he finishes eating.

     "I assumed you'd want to play 21 questions with me about everything, so I figured we might as well sit down somewhere and talk about it." He picks up whats left of his food and admires it before finishing it. "Plus, I really wanted a muffin."

     You raise a mischevious eyebrow at him and grin. "So, you wanted to take me out on a date is what I'm hearing?" As soon as the words leave your mouth, he nearly coughs on his food. "What? No! Nothing like that-"

     "Noah, I'm kidding."

     He eases up and sits back in his chair. "Oh, good." He looks out the window, his cheeks a shade pinker. You both sit in silence for a minute and he clears his throat. "So um, what do you want to know?" You gaze out the window, so many questions racing through your mind, deciding what to ask first.

"How much do you remember? From being like that?" He huffs and looks at you, "all of it." He looks out the window, watching as people walk by. "I remember floating through the woods night after night, day after day, just feeling lost. Like I had no idea who I was. I remember being alone for so long, just thinking to myself how much I deserved it." You look at him, pained as you take in his words, and then he looks at you, his eyes lighting up a little bit. "And I remember the day someone I thought hated me came barging right into those ruins calling my name like she had no fear." He smiles at you and you smile back.

"Well, I wouldn't say she hated you. But she did have a little fear running up in there." You go to take another bite of your muffin and you can still feel his eyes on you. You look back up at him to see his smile has faded. "What?"

"...Why?" He asks. You tilt your head at him. "Why what?"

"Why did you come for me that day? At all? After what I did?" He swallows hard, and you can see the guilt across his face.

"I had a dream. That you were at the ruins, begging me to come help you. You told me I could save you." He looks at you, confused. "So, a dream made you go out there, where I could have killed you for all you knew?" You shrug your shoulders at him. "I knew the risks I was taking."

He looks at you as if struck. "You were really willing to do that? Even after I-" You cut him off before he has time to finish. "It doesn't matter what you did or didn't do that night Noah. You didnt deserve what happened to you. I promised you before I wasn't going to pull away again, and I'm sorry it took me two years to keep that promise."

A small smile spreads across his face, and you smile back. After smiling at each other for what feels like too long, he clears his throat. "So um, we should probably get to the hardware store and see what Connor and Joss picked up."

     "Oh, right, of course." You wipe your mouths with a napkin and toss out your trash before heading out. But as you're heading out the door, you get a weird feeling in your gut.

     You look around the cafe and see everyone is paying no mind to you, yet you can't help but feel like someone- or something- is nearby, watching you.

[the-general-hux]

@finishwhxtyoustartxd

Armitage Hux rested his forehead against the cool glass of the passenger side window. His parents had stopped talking hours ago, his mother was asleep in the front seat and his father was driving with white-knuckled fingers crimped around the steering wheel. Hux shared the backseat with luggage that wouldn’t fit in the trunk of their rental sedan. His knees pressed against the back of the driver’s seat and he longed for chance to stretch out his legs. His eyes blinked open and shut as he looked out the window at the endless procession of trees.

Traffic slowed down and his father spat out a string of curses at the other drivers’ abilities to keep stopping distance on the rain slick road. The air smelled damp, even through the filter of the air conditioning. A small town appeared and a sign declared it Bayport. Perhaps the settlers had never heard of redundancy, Hux thought. A smiling whale spouted a flourish of water on the sign. Hux gritted his teeth and put in his headphones.

Tourists crossed the highway, oblivious to oncoming traffic and the increasing frequency of his father’s cursing. A bead shop. Souvenirs. Weed shop. Rinse and repeat. Hux caught a glimpse of some amazing biceps in front of a coffee shop and he wrenched his neck to see if the potential face matched the muscles, but his father turned a corner and Hux lost his sight line. He huffed out a sigh. Probably just a tourist, maybe one of those bikers that cruised up and down the Oregon coast. Doing what? Whale-watching?

They pulled into a driveway that was marked with a jaunty lighthouse, Driftwood Cove. They named the rental house. Of course they did. His father stopped the car, turned off the ignition and announced. “This is our home for the next month. Let’s try to not kill each other.”

“No promises.” Hux said and his mother shot him a warning look. “Fine. You work on your book, you work on your paintings and I’ll work on growing a thick coat of mildew.”

“Now darling, it’s not that bad. The ocean air is marvelous for my health and I only have so much time with you before you go off to college and leave me behind.”

Forty two days, six hours and twelve minutes, Hux thought as he got out of the car. He sighed again and nodded because that was what you did when your sick mother guilt tripped you. This wasn’t his idea of a beach holiday. The sky was painted in shades of blue and gray, the whole landscape looked angry and battered into submission by the relentless coastal wind. Then he turned to the ocean. There was a haze covering the entire Pacific Ocean, as far as he could squint. “Twelve hours in the car and I can’t even see the fucking water.”

Hux claimed the room at the very top of the rental, it had a window overlooking the ocean and a stupid sign. “The Crow’s Nest.” He dragged his luggage up the stairs. The whole room smelled musty and forgotten. He sat down on the edge of the queen bed and flopped backwards, staring at the rafters. There was no need for a bed this big in such a small space— Hux scrunched his face up in disgust. Do not think about how many people have had sex in your bed, just don’t. That way lies madness, Hux thought. I am not going to look under the mattress pad.

“Boy!” His father hollered up the stairs, “Come help your mother with her junk!” Hux blew out the breath he was holding and descended the stairs.

It started to rain.

It continued to rain for three days. Drops splattered on the window panes and wind shrieked through the eaves. Hux made a bet with himself about how soon the roof would fly off. It was even money. He curled up on the bed, surrounded by fifteen decorative pillows that some poor soul had embroidered with seagulls and a two year old copy of People magazine. He’d read it cover to cover three times. Cellular service was complete shit and WiFi was apparently an alien concept in rustic vacation rentals. His father’s laptop had not survived the road trip and Hux’s had been commandeered, so no jerking off to his carefully curated archived amateur Alpha porn. The television downstairs had a dial to change the channels. All three channels.

“I’m going to start talking to myself. I am. I’m going to start talking to myself and go find a great white whale to have a battle to the death with. Honestly, it’s inevitable.” He could go talk to his parents. See what they were doing— Hux shook his head. Mother was sleeping, exhausted from her medication and Father was writing. He could write for days at a time, eating what was brought to him and pissing in a milk jug by his desk. He had a bestselling series, it was Regency romance of all things and the royalties were sending Hux to a very good school.

“Yet another thing for me to grateful for.” Hux told a decorative seahorse on the wall. “I have to get out of here. I have to.” He grabbed his coat and one of the guest umbrellas from the hallway. “I’m going out!” He called to his father who grunted in response and waved him off.

Hux made his way down the driveway towards the town center. He paused in front of the map of the town, drawn in a cartoon fashion that made the library and the police station look like equally jaunty places to visit. His sneakers squelched with wetness as he made his way to the coffee shop. It seemed like ages ago that he’d caught a glimpse of those glorious biceps. Everyone was wearing shapeless polar fleece and practical galoshes that he coveted with an practical intensity he’d never truly felt before.

He ordered a hot milky tea, something to chase the cold away from his bones and wrapped his fingers around it. “It's June,” he reminded himself and the counter girl smiled at him and then at his Omega Pride lapel pin. “It really is June, isn’t it?”

“It usually clears up by now. It’s not so bad. Just remember to take your vitamin D pills until the sun comes out again.” She pulled another shot of espresso after that bit of unsolicited advice. Hux pushed his sopping wet shock of red hair out of his face. He was not a natural sun worshipper, but the next time he saw the sun even he might offer up a few prayers of gratitude.

Hux wandered over to the small shelf of used books that lined the back wall. A hand lettered sign read, “Lending Library”.  Out of habit, he looked for his father’s name on the spines of the books. Only one volume this time. The fourth. Savage Unbroken Hearts. Hux couldn’t read his father’s writing, it was far too intimate an act. It was worse than the time his father had walked in on Hux taking a selfie, wearing glitter and a rainbow thong. Hux cringed at the memory and selected a paperback space opera that boasted about galactic conquest. He sat down at a table and thumbed through the yellowed pulpy pages. The previous owner had scrawled his name in childish block letters on the interior cover. Ben.

The counter girl gave him a plastic bag for the book and Hux stepped out into the rain. It wasn’t going to defeat him. “You hear me?” Hux muttered to the weather as he made his way down the boardwalk. He rolled his eyes at the tiny salon and a candy store that was only open on the weekend. He paused in front of a photograph studio that specialized in pirate portraits. Skywalker Studios. Tourists grinned in tawdry costumes and posed in front of pirate flags. Rain dripped from the tip of Hux’s nose and he snorted in disdain. There was a 90% chance that his mother would drag them all in here for a souvenir portrait.

The beach access stairwell was just beyond the photography studio and Hux gripped the guardrail as he wrestled with both the slippery seagull shit smeared steps and the wind that threatened to steal his umbrella. The ocean was surging, the tide rolling in. Hux stared out at the dark, seething waters and felt begrudging respect for the power and intensity of the storm. Also for the warning signs posted all over the beach. Rolling logs that could kill you. Rip tides. Sneaker waves. Tsunamis. This was not the ocean that was in the brochures. Icy spray hit him in the face and he blinked saltwater from his lashes.

There was a man strolling along the pebbled beach. Long dark hair whipped around his head. What kind of Alpha bullshit was this? It was a stereotype of course, but the only person who would have the sheer ballsy stupid confidence to be walking on that beach would be an Alpha. A shameful thrill trilled up the back of Hux’s neck and he tasted the salt on his own lips.

The man reached the stairwell and as he ascended, Hux hid behind his Driftwood Cove umbrella. The man paid him no mind as he passed, Hux peeked out from beneath the umbrella shade. He swallowed hard as he caught the hint of a defined, youthful jawline, speckled with interesting moles that reminded Hux of constellations. The man unlocked the door to Skywalker Studios, stepped inside and flipped on the OPEN neon sign.

Oh god dammit. He wasn’t going to follow that weirdo guy, no matter how broad his shoulders were, no matter how bored Hux was, no matter— he stood on the steps of the photography studio and pushed open the door.

A bell jingled announcing Hux’s presence as he folded up his umbrella in the entry way. “Just a moment!” A deep voice called out from behind a curtain. “Be right out!’

Hux looked at the puddle of rain water accumulating around his feet and he flushed with embarrassment. He glanced to the side at a mirror for the tourists to check their costumes. His hair was plastered to his head, water dripped from his ears. No, no, no this was a mistake—

The broad-shouldered stranger walked out in a muscle baring tank top, drying his hair with a towel. The lack of fabric made one thing painfully clear to Hux’s libido. This was the owner of the Glorious Biceps. He wrapped the towel around his hair in a makeshift turban and looked at Hux. For a long moment, the Alpha’s plush pink mouth fell open as he took in the bedraggled, soaked ginger making a mess of his shop floor. If the Earth could open up and swallow me whole right now, that would be just dandy, Hux thought. He turned to leave.