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raekahwritings · 5 years ago

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A Second Life, Finding Redemption (Shinsou x Reader)

Pairing: Shinsou Hitoshi x Villain!Reader Rating: Explicit, N*SFW Warning: Angst, Murder, Assassination, Fake!Death, Decapitation, Some Smut Word Count: 8,731 Words A/N: This does not have a tragic ending, I can’t bear to write angst without a happy ending.

Summary: You’re a cute coffee barista that Shinsou has feelings for-- and hopefully he never finds out your real purpose in Japan. You are a villain in pursuit of revenge but you wish you could’ve lived a simple life, that you really were the barista you masqueraded as. If Shinsou knows the truth, he would hate you. Or does he?

From Me: I’m trying to post this in time for @bnhabookclub (Antagonist x Protagonist prompt) and I haven’t had time to proof-read this or beta it so please excuse any mistakes or pacing issues. I hope to re-post at a later point but I definitely wanted this out.

Also, inspirations for this work is from @katsukisprincess, @lady-bakuhoe, @iwvs-on-ao3, @bnhabookclub, @/lemonlordleah-shinzawa, @/marilla-eldriana, @/queensynderella.

Sometimes, there was no other end in sight. You could rewind the moment a million times and try to find something you missed, but it would always end the same miserable way.

“Shinsou, you should know what people think of us.” You idly sat from the rafters of the room, simply a shadowed silhouette to the brain-washing hero Shinsou Hitoshi. He desperately looked but he was lost through the maze of unconscious people talking all at once. “They will never trust people who can manipulate others.” Numerous voices bounced around the room, making Shinsou’s eyes dart back and forth—were you even here, or was it yet another machination?

“Marionette—You don’t need to do this.” Shinsou tried to tempt you away from the shadows, trying to sift through the ‘dolls’ you had set in place. You knew he would be sorely disappointed. You had already known about his abilities and set countermeasures in place.

Shinsou caught an idle movement above him, letting his capture weapon snake up to the beams while imperceptibly turning on his own voice-changing mechanism—but it was foiled. “Don’t try that. You know I wouldn’t fall for something so obvious.” You backed away from even the shadows, dissipating, away from his empty oaths and reassurances. Away from the ignorant and unaware hero. With a flick of your wrist, you dispelled the strings of your quirk and letting the bodies fall to the floor.

Shinsou tried to make his way through the unconscious victims but it seemed like you had no more desire to speak to him—you soon disappeared in a silent farewell. Your dolls soon fell to the floor, crumpling as their marionette master was gone.

This is fucking creepy. When Shinsou had arrived onto the scene, it was eerie at how doll-like everyone had seemed with their glass-like eyes and lifeless motions. But upon his arrival, they had come to life and stalled the young hero.

“She got away again.” He frustratedly sighed. This wasn’t the first and this wasn’t the last time you escaped… But he was starting to get the hang of your quirk; it seemed you had to be somewhere nearby to manipulate people. Shinsou reached down for a child, relieved to discover they were breathing and no apparent harm. But as he garnered a better look – it didn’t seem as if anyone was harmed here.

This was strange; you had been responsible for the killings of several prominent people. A businessman. A minor government official. A doctor. The most notable was a visiting dignitary. This latest incident invoked a sense of international outrage and a greater calling for your arrest. Your signature calling card was a single severed head amongst immobile witnesses who only remembered a blackened haze. Their loss of memory was surprisingly similar to Shinsou’s own quirk which is why he had been called in. So far, the only clue he found was your spider-like wires.

“Hey, get the crew in here. There’s a lot of unharmed civilians who need assistance.” Shinsou radioed the information in and took one last look to make sure it was safe before back-up reinforcements were to arrive.

Strange. Shinsou tried to muse over this information; no one else aside from your victims was ever hurt. It seemed that you were aiming for something awfully specific. Shinsou didn’t know what though….

That’s how Shinsou found himself in a cat café, sprawled in a chair, and lost in thought. He was currently on-break from the case since the police were investigating the unconscious victims and the link. So far, they seemed to have found none.

“Hello. Did you want a refill on your coffee?” Shinsou looked over and gave you a slight grin—you were his favorite barista at this cat café. Most places served awful drinks, relying on the kittens to draw people in and shitty service. What a rare find it was to find both adorable kittens, cats, and amazing coffee.

Here you were, one of the most cheerful people he had ever met. Beautiful? Shinsou wasn’t much for conventional beauty or ‘instagram’ models that seemed to be so ‘in’ nowadays. But when cats were crawling all over you and you bundled them all in your arms in a fit of laughter—yes, he thought you were pretty.

Shinso gave you a grateful smile, especially since a napping kitten seemed to have him rooted to the chair. “That would be wonderful.” You leaned over to take his cold cup and Shinsou politely leaned back. Albeit, even he was a virile male and couldn’t help but to take a lightning-quick look at you bending over and shoving down thoughts of how delectable your ass looked.

You apparently didn’t notice but you took a look of your own at his face. Of course, he had his darker-than-usual eye bags and you sighed sympathetically. “You look like you’re working harder than usual.” Shinsou didn’t think he looked different…? But fuck yeah, he felt tired. “Why don’t I add an espresso shot? A little bit of milk to make it sweeter?” He was your favorite customer after all. The purple-haired man had become something of a fixture around the café—you wondered if he ever actually slept sometimes. But he was always wonderful with the cats and often over-tipped. It was to the point that you as a barista, had to hide the tip jar and give him a very pointed glare.

You had caught him stuffing fifty dollars once and you had to draw the line; the poor man needed food and you sent him home to buy dinner for himself. Instead, he sheepishly came back with food for you both and had left it for you at the counter.

This was probably the first moment you had fallen in love with the purple-haired sleepy customer that constantly came to your café that you worked at. The owner gave you plentiful shifts because of your coffee skills.

“…. I think you’re the only one to know about my sweet tooth.” Shinsou said sheepishly. You took that as agreement, happily walking over back to the counter.

You filled up the metal tins and efficiently started frothing the milk, snagging the espresso shots, adeptly mixing the syrups and continued. “Hey, hey, I know when someone doesn’t like Americanos.” You gave him a mischievous smile. “I also saw your nose scrunching up and if you had a cattail, it would’ve been stick straight.”

“Ugh, you remember that.” Shinsou face-palmed. He remembered the first time he came in and one of his hero coworkers had ordered it for him; apparently, he had cultivated the image for loving the watery and bitter brew. No, it was because his office had no fucking good coffee and he was forced to drink it to stay awake. Shinsou had bit back any words and stifled the longing he felt for something tasty.

Apparently, you had noticed. Then you had come over, profusely apologizing that you had given him the wrong coffee and given him a specialty drink with no one the wiser. That moment solidified Shinsou’s affinity for this particular store.

“Do you pay attention to all your customers like this?” Shinsou took the new drink with great appreciation; it seemed everything here was good. He had yet to dislike any of your coffee concoctions.

“I try my best.” You said honestly. Shinsou looked around, there were a few people left at this late hour but for the most part, you seemed to be lingering near him. He bit back a stray thought, maybe that you also liked him a bit more than a regular customer, and gave you a small quirk of his lips. Shinsou wasn’t much for smiling but maybe your drinks invoked some kind of magic.

Shinsou hummed with delight. “I noticed. How long do you think you’ll be working around here?”

“Hmmm. I wonder!” You gave a little bit of a laugh, scooping up a yawning kitten and putting it back in their bed. Another customer gathered their things and gave a friendly goodbye.

Shinsou was content to let the comfortable silence reign but he was compelled by his own curiosity. “What would you do if you left?” He could only hope you’d stay… but he hoped you’d do what you want to do. Life tended to take people all over the place.

“Owning my own café would be a dream.” You wiped the empty tables nearby and took a bit more time cleaning than you usually did… Staring down at the table with a furrowed brows and bitterness. It was an expression he’d never seen before because you were always so happy with the customers.

Shinsou looked questioningly at you. “I think you’d be rather good at it. What’s stopping you?” He gestured to the cafe and you gave him a bit of a melancholy smile.

“Life.” You put your hand on your waist and gave him a smile—it didn’t quite reach your eyes. Huh, Shinsou thought. He noticed you had a way about yourself… answering but not saying anything about yourself.

You tapped his messy paperwork. “Probably the same reason you’re here? Why are you inside my café on a Saturday night? You could be ‘living’ it up with all your friends.” You air-quoted the words, giving him an eyebrow raise at his lonesome self.

“Hey, when did this become about me?” Shinsou held his hands up in a ‘I surrender’ gesture. Interesting deflection though. You had smoothly changed the topic and you were rather adept at turning the conversation to others.

But he couldn’t resist having the last word, call it petty of him. “I still think you’d be great at owning your own café.” He muttered— he knew you could hear. But it was something you should hear. He could see your dedication; you had been here unfailingly every weekend and he knew you took over shifts no one else would take.

“You, my dear customer, need to take no for an answer.” You jokingly rapped him on the head with a familiarity that few people showed.

Then you turned around to see someone secretly taking a picture of Shinsou. He had heard the click of the phone but unfortunately, it was all too common. He was going to ignore it but you weren’t. You shot a daggered look at the customer. “Excuse me, we value discretion in this store.” You courteously told them with a steely undertone.

Shinsou… was surprised. “Hey. Thank you for that.” He didn’t realize you noticed. This was a new side to his barista. He had never once seen you other than impeccably friendly. to civilians and heroes alike.

You dismissed his thank-you. “No, that’s my bad. I should be making sure our customers know not to bother you. You need your privacy too.” Your flippant words caused something to click within Shinsou. You weren’t like the others, you knew heroes were people. People who also should be respected, unlike those goddamn paparazzi sell-outs.

Yea, Shinsou liked you. He really liked you, more so because you didn’t seem to give a damn about his hero-fame. So he finally got the courage to ask you—

“Would you want to grab a bite to eat after the café closes?”

You looked back at him, a bit startled. “Me?” Even the kitten, napping in his lap, jumped away at his suddenly terse invitation.

Shinsou was now a bit embarrassed – he wished he was smoother about this. “No pressure. You just work super hard and I really want to treat you for everything you do for me. I know you stay late because I’m here--” Shinsou was rambling. He never rambled. God, you threw him off his game.

“Sure.” There was no harm in accepting his invitation. “You mind if I choose? I know this izakaya with home-made food but it’s a bit out of the way.” Shinsou nodded. The door rang as another customer entered. You gestured to him ‘five minutes’ and rushed off.

Soon enough, you were both at the amazing izakaya and Shinsou swore to himself that he would drag Aizawa here. This place had black garlic ramen and delicious chicken and sides. His mouth was watering from the moment he entered the place. You wasted no time in getting your orders in.

“I take it I picked well?” You were really happy you got to see your favorite, not-a-crush, customer eating with you. Your elbow was on the table, your face leaning on one hand as you watched him demolish the ramen in front of him.

He nodded, his mouth too full otherwise. “Calm down, the food’s not going anywhere.” You leaned over to push his messy locks back and gave him a chiding smile.

Shinsou froze. You froze. You leaned awkwardly back in your seat. “Um, I don’t want you to eat your hair.” You said lamely. Shinsou… leaned in to get another bite, trying to pass this off as a casual moment. You took an awkward sip of your drink. He could see the pink blush at the tip of your ears and he wondered…. Maybe you liked him back too?

The night was over too soon. He wished it could last longer… You both were at the nearby station, ready to part ways.

He had made the first move so you could take a step too. You tugged at his jacket to catch his attention. “If you ever need a ramen buddy, I’ll be happy to keep you company.” You… nervously said. Because what if he didn’t enjoy the night as much as you did?

Shinsou gave a grin as big as a Cheshire-cat smile. “Now I know what to do to pay you back for all those free lattes!”

----------------

Who knew that random ramen night would lead to café shenanigans between you two?

If anyone were thinking perverted thoughts, they would be disappointed though. Shinsou now helped you to coral mischievous cats and kittens into their cages.

You both had collapsed on the couch after a particularly troublesome kitty had decided to dart every which way and crawl near the coffee beans. It had taken every trick in the book to outsmart this particular kitten.

“Oh god.” You started giggling. “When did a kitten get smart enough to outsmart both of us?” Shinsou started chucking as well. You had to say between fitful of laughter—“You’re a pro-hero and you’re supposed to be smarter than this.”

Shinsou pointed accusingly at you. “I wasn’t alone in this!” You gave him a ‘ohohoho’ laugh as you got up. As a reward for his troubles, you dropped a brown paper bag of pastries onto him to take home. “God, if people saw us, they would’ve thought we were insane.” Chasing the kitten around, scrambling to get it before it escaped to the shelves…

Shinsou meant to get up. He really did. But as he lazily lied on the couch, watching you turn off the coffee machines and the glow of the lamps left a hazily ambient glow… He even shut his eyes for a few moments, relaxing his guard around you… You leaned over him to wake him up…

And then you heard it. The soft, sleepy whisper… “I wish I could see this every day.” He said it before he could think to shut himself up.

Shinsou was so gentle and sweet. You ached for him so much, so much that at those words, you gave in to the temptation. You leaned down to kiss him before he fully woke up. It was chaste, a gentle press of your lips against his.

“I hope you meant that for me and not the kitten?” You teased.

Shinsou’s eyes widened as he woke the fuck up.

Had you overstepped your bounds? Was he not interested? You hesitantly leaned back.

Not to be beaten, Shinsou tugged you down this time. “You don’t get to confess and become all shy, kitten.” His fingers entangled themselves into your hair and he caught your lips with his. He craned his head to lick your lips open, gently requesting permission.

And how quickly you caved, as you crawled into his lap.

You wished you could kiss him forever, Shinsou tasted so sweet— of caramel and sugar— he made you feel so preciously loved. His fingers stroked the nape of your neck, his lips moved down your throat, and his chest met yours as you both breathed heavily.

“I wasn’t hoping for this…” Shinsou whispered. “But I would be lying if I said I didn’t think of this.”

You nodded in a daze. Shinsou leaned forward to cup your breasts in his hands, relishing the feel of your skin against his. He claimed one for his own as he took your hardening nipples into his mouth. You writhed against him as Shinsou took his sweet goddamn time licking both breasts.

You writhed in his lap, feeling the burgeoning erection but Shinsou kept you still. “That isn’t fair…” You whined. You wanted his pants off, you wanted to feel his throbbing length against yourself. But Shinsou merely laughed, letting you suffer through the feel of the maddening cloth barrier. “Are you trying to torture me?” You whined.

“Hm?” Shinsou tugged at your hair, making you arch your chest against his. He took a chance to nip at your throat, giving you just a hint of dominance underneath his nice-guy exterior.

You thrust impatiently against him. “Pay a little attention down here, won't you?” You locked your legs around his hips, bunching your café skirt up, and shoved your wet panties against his tightening pants.

Shinsou nearly groaned, he could swear he felt you throbbing against him. But he did have to concede— there was too much between you two.

“Alright, alright kitten.” He lifted you up from the couch— oh god, you didn’t expect it but his lanky build hid more strength than you realized— and splayed you on the table. What a delicious view. Your lay passively back as he took off his shirt, exposing his toned muscles and inching down his pants. Your eyes didn’t leave his hands for one moment, he had a way of inching his pants down like he was a goddamn stripper.

His cock? You weren’t disappointed when he finally shimmied out of those pants. It was long and curved, already erect at the sight of you. You opened your thighs lewdly and snuck a hand down to rub lightly—

“Kitten, oh no.” Shinsou let his voice drop low, a slight threat to this tone. “You are going to wait patiently for me.” It wasn’t a question. This Shinsou— this wasn’t the awkward, endearing Shinsou that you came to know. This was…

He bent to a knee, looking straight into your soaked panties. You thought he was going to fuck you, not this— you closed your legs but Shinsou wrenched it apart with his hands. “Patient means you get to wait as I get my fill.” What did he mean? You gave him a wide-eyed look, questioning… “Oh kitten, are you embarrassed?” He leaned forward to lick at the wet patch forming. You jerked away but he held you still, teasing you and making you wetter. He could almost taste your slick, the heady damp-heat enticing him. But he wanted to see you beg. He pushed his finger against your cunt, letting you feel his decisive movements through the irritating fabric.

Oh god, it was the first he had touched down there all night. But he didn’t touch you, you needed the panties off. You needed more. But no man had ever cared for foreplay with you before, you had always been used for their pleasure— you only knew to do what they wanted.

“Wait.” You tried to move away from his heated breaths— “I can handle it. It’s better for you if I just take it all in—“ Shinsou withdrew his fingers, his other hand tightening on your thighs and stopping your movement.

“Kitten. You are wet but you’re not wet enough to handle this.” Shinsou glared at you. Did you make him mad? You didn’t understand.

“It’s not about me though, it's about what feels good for you?” You tried to offer.

It was definitely the wrong words to say. Shinsou was feeling a little baffled and a little incredulous. “What do you mean by that?” He demanded. You… didn’t know what to say. Wasn’t this how it worked? Even more so because Shinsou was so important to you, you should’ve been on your knees for him.

Shinsou didn’t like your silence. “Y/N, who have you been with?” You looked away… Shinsou pinched your thigh in warning, “Let me clarify. I’m not asking who. Did no one take care of you?” He had stopped his ministrations.

“What would anyone ‘take care’ of?” You thought Shinsou wanted to fuck you. This was about him. You honestly didn’t know what he wanted of you. So you tried to cajole him out of his increasing irritation with practiced words, “It’s okay, I’m okay. I’m wet enough for you to just take what you want. Don’t you want this?”

Shinsou looked at you with darkened eyes and finally, finally slid your panties off. “Y/N, I’m not trying to just fuck you with no pleasure. I want you to feel this,” he circled your clit with his calloused fingers. “Feel like you’re wanted.” You felt wetness coming from you, getting wetter and wetter. “Have you hot and needy,” You jerked your entire body as he plunged his entire tongue into your cunt as he licked you— you had never felt this before. No man had ever decided to eat you out there but Shinsou ate like a man determined and starved. It felt like forever, Shinsou just wouldn’t let you go. You felt your entire body go taut and Shinsou squirmed his fingers in to pinch your throbbing clit and you screamed as an orgasm washed over you.

“And have you scream like that.” You weren’t even down from your high as Shinsou thrust his fingers in. He scissored his fingers in there, searching, not letting you rest until he found a spot that made you tear and cry. You tugged at his head futilely and Shinsou gave you his Cheshire-like grin again. He finally crawled up to relish your awed, tear-stained expression but he still didn’t stop.

“Shinsou, just stop. Just fuck me, please.” You implored and pleaded with him. In a way, you were trying to escape a pleasure you had never encountered before. No one had cared enough, no one had ever found this spot within you. Why was he doing this? Why did he care? This made your heart hurt, this made your cunt throb in a rising heat you had never felt before.

“I’m not going to fuck you, not like that,” Shinsou said in a low, raspy murmur. “I’m going to put it in you.” He thrust his fingers in time with his words. “When you’ve come.. a few times. Until I’m satisfied that you’re taken care of.”

Shinsou relentlessly pursued the spot within you while leaving his bite marks all over you, his mind tucking away every detail of your skin and every spot that made you feel sensitive. Until you had squirmed, screaming on breathless climaxes. Until you could no longer beg, beg those selfish words.

He never wanted to hear that this was about himself again. He waited until your throat was hoarse and your thighs utterly soaking in your release before he inched himself into your luscious warmth.

Then he started an achingly slow pace that had you feeling every ridge of his cock, your tired body heightened in pleasure. Only when did you utter the most delicious little sighs, did he piston his length into you and finally take his climax alongside yours.

*****

At least you were on closing shift the next day. You didn’t have to wake up early, you and Shinsou had messily cleaned up after yourself in the café and you had followed Shinsou to his apartment.

Shinsou didn’t want to be apart from you and had been accompanying you at the café.

“We’ll be closing soon. Do you want me to come over tonight?” You inclined your head towards the last few customers. Shinsou was about to say yes but then an incoming call came again.

“Sorry!” Shinsou cupped his hands over his phone and walked to a corner to take a call.

He heard the familiar creation hero’s voice, “Shinsou! We have a meeting tonight!” Shinsou realized, oh shit, he was supposed to be meeting with Yaoyorozu tonight. He had enlisted her help for after-hours with the case for Marionette.

You looked curiously over but said nothing. Shinsou still turned away though, sighing. “Yes. Sorry, it slipped my mind but I’ll be home in thirty minutes.” He hung up the phone.

He looked sadly at you. “Work.” You understood his work was important so you nodded. He gathered his stuff but you busied yourself and made several drinks for him to go. “Your co-worker can choose what they want.” You had included muffins, hot tea, a latte, and a coffee.

Shinsou gratefully accepted, a little at a loss for words. You were endearing yourself, more and more, even sending him off with food so he wouldn’t starve. He left the café but not without throwing a look over his shoulder; wondering if you were ever lonely closing or if you were safe.

You noticed him standing outside and made another ‘shoo, shoo’ gesture. Shinsou reluctantly walked away, curling his jacket around himself in the cold night air. Maybe he would take more patrols in your area to make sure you were okay?

Shinsou nodded to himself and decided, that would settle it. At this time, he wouldn’t possibly have known how this would have turned out—

You lay dying on the floor with a small hand reached out to Shinsou. “It was always going to turn out this way… Don’t cry. I don’t deserve it.” The pro-hero lay over your body, his arms forced at his sides as he shoved back his questions, his outrage, wondering how he could’ve ended this differently. He couldn’t even lend a hand to you. You gave him a pained smile despite bleeding out and let your arm fall. “Thank you… for letting me finish this until the end.” He could see the light of your eyes leaving, the blood choking any further words you wanted to say.

It was always going to end this way. It didn’t matter what he did.

---------------------

You saw Shinsou off with a fond smile. A smile you shouldn’t have had; judging by your fellow ‘friend’ who was watching you from the corner of the café.

You leaned in to pick up your so-called friend’s book, thumbing through it to find the loose-leaf sheet you’d been waiting for. “Y/N, are you getting soft for him?” She murmured in a soft voice. You had hoped she wouldn’t notice. You shook your head decisively but she grabbed your arm, looking at you with near-desperate eyes.

“You know that he’s a hero right? If the option came down to it, you will have to choose.”

You shook her off, giving a glare of your own. “No innocents, heroes or no heroes. I’ve accomplished it so far. There’s only one target left.” You scanned the address listed.

“Y/N…” She dug her nails into your skin, tears in her eyes. “You know we have nothing left. This is the last chance to set things straight.”

You leaned your hand reassuringly over hers. “I promise you, nothing, absolutely nothing will stop me.” You looked at the time; noting it was nearly time for you to take over tonight’s operation after the café closed. A customer walked in so the conversation came to a halt. “The shift is almost done here so why don’t I go and get you a drink?” You sent her off with a drink, waited until closing and bidding goodbye as everyone left.

You let the smiling façade fall and curled your fingers painfully into your palms. A cat came up to you, weaving around your legs and gently comforted you. Cats are uncannily perceptive. You hunched down, picking it up and burying your face into its soft fur.

Shinsou had made you think for a second, you could continue to live this life. To indulge in a second of whimsy, to hold onto this brief and mundane happiness.

“It’s such a stupid dream… so stupid for someone like me.” You felt the rising emotion in your throat, but you dammed back the tears, and shoved the anxiety that threatened to overcome you in your lonely moments. You loved this place, adored the gentleness of the innocent kittens, and cherished the trivialities of this daily life. A life that was simple. Working, having fun, laughing, maybe having a secret, starry-eyed relationship with a certain sleepy customer.

It was too bad that this was never meant to last; night had fallen, and you needed to finish one last thing before this illusion overtook you.

---------------

“Yaoyorozu, none of this adds up.” Shinsou frustratedly pushed away the numerous papers surrounding him. All of Marionette’s victims seemed to have no connection, no reason or rhyme as to why she targeted them. But that wasn’t possible; the precision in which she chose her victims should prove she had motive.

Momo sighed, staring at the list again. “Let’s go over what we know, shall we?” She lined the portfolios up. A businessman. A minor government official. A doctor. An international dignitary. They had both been pouring over the victim’s backgrounds but had yet to see a connection. Momo looked at their respective work and occupations, their paths had occasionally crossed but nothing stood out.

Shinsou looked up the families, the nationalities, their political beliefs but none of those stood out either. Except for their… religion? He stared at the church on the dossier for the businessman and doctor. Something was familiar…. But he could not put his finger on it.

“Hey, can you check on the government official and dignitary? Their list of funded causes?” Shinsou frowned. He couldn’t find information on the their religious beliefs; it wasn’t listed because government entities couldn’t publicly pledge allegiance to any religion—lest it be known, and their commitment swayed away from public conviction. But he had sworn there was a familiar name.

Momo scanned the sheets. “Both their records showed they funded a Russian church.” Shinsou tapped the sheets before him. “This doctor is Russian and this businessman had numerous Russian business deals.” He leaned back, thinking…. Then Shinsou pulled up a slightly illegal database, a website he had obtained from one of his informants on the street.

“Don’t look too closely, Yaoyorozu, or you may see things you don’t want to see.” He typed in the church organization, pulling up a number of results. He rapidly keyed in some back-door codes, punching through sensitive data files.

Yaoyoruzu looked at him with lilting eyes, her fingers paused on the paperwork. “You don’t want to ask the police?” Surely, police would be privy to any information they would need.

Shinsou shook his head— “They don’t have enough international information. What I need probably isn’t on official servers.” Regardless of his warnings, Yaoyorozu inched closer and peeked over his shoulder. What had so raptly caught his attention? Shinsou jotted a note on a paper, monologuing to fill his fellow pro-hero in. “As you well know, Russia is one of the worst criminal countries in the world.” He let that sink in. The creation-based hero was informed of the world events—Japan had taken control of their villain society and with All Might, they had issued in one of the most peaceful eras to date. Not to say there wasn’t the League of Villains lurking about. Other countries hadn’t been so lucky. “If you know about Russia, their justice system is highly corrupt and their church and government is known for propagating war crimes.” Yaoyorozu nodded but she wasn’t sure what exactly they were talking about. “And this unique equation of victims makes me think of something really bad.” Shinsou rapidly clicked through the results, not quite finding what he suspected.

He typed in the dignitary’s name, opening an article about his funded endeavors…. “Well, shit.” His tired eyes glazed over the newspaper and article, noting the familiar faces.

Yaoyorozu leaned in and gasped at the contents of the picture. “That’s all four of our victims.” She realized with dawning horror at who they were with. “Shinsou, they couldn’t possibly have….”

Shinsou grimly nodded. “I think so. If I’m right, this last person is the next victim.” He tapped the computer screen and rapidly looked up the captioned woman—“And she lives here in Japan… as a airport customs official.” Shinsou punched in a call to Tsukauchi.

“Hey, I think we found the next victim. Can you send a police escort to them while I fill you in? I’d like to go over and talk to them personally as well.”

-----------

Shinsou was soon driving over, with the police requesting assistance from Tokoyami and Todoroki. Yaoyorozu had teamed up with the police investigators, filling them in on their research.

He met up with Todoroki at the bottom of the apartment building. Was Tokoyami missing? Todoroki answered his question before he could even ask, pointing to the dark night sky and emergency stairwells. The raven bird hero was much more adept at dealing with the situation that Shinsou might be.

“I assume you read up on Marionette?” Todoroki nodded. “Looks like we’re prepared.” Shinsou and Todoroki advanced upwards. They both entered the darkened hallway while Shinsou stared pensively at the eerily silent door of the apartment. Where were the police escorts? Where were the neighbors?

Both of the pro-heroes had a bad feeling; flinging open the door without warning. Todoroki instinctively put up an ice barrier, deflecting the lethal cut of wires flung at the door. Despite the icy steam and darkness, they could still make out the bloody severed head on the floor and unconscious police officers, lit by the blue light of the computer screen.

You, Marionette, looked back at them in your disguised mask. Your blade ran fresh with blood, still dripping heavily and they realized they must’ve only been minutes too late. Shinsou took a lightning-quick assessment, noting the police were still breathing and unconscious, and again, only the victim looked dead.

“Marionette.” Todoroki stepped in. “You’re under arrest by the authorities of the hero association, for the murders of—”

“Stop.” You let the knife fall and waved away his words. For the first time in all your encounters, you deemed to speak a word. In your real voice. Shinsou knew they had you cornered... but it didn’t make sense. Why? Why had you chosen to stay when you could’ve escaped in the ample few minutes? You didn’t attempt to escape, even as Todoroki froze the only other window over. “It didn’t take you very long this time.” Why did you choose to speak, when you had evaded his abilities so well before? Shinsou and you stared at each other.

Shinsou could’ve taken control but he wanted to hear his suspicions proved wrong. He wanted to believe that the victims… were truly victims. That you, Marionette, was a cruel murderer.

Todoroki faded into silence but you all knew if you made a move, he would not hesitate to freeze you in a split second. With that in mind, he let Shinsou step forward closer to you.

“Marionette, we just want the truth. You told me before, no one would trust us.” Shinsou let the past memory sink in, let its weight fall heavy. “Tell me the truth about St. Magdalene boarding school.”

Your breath hitched at the mention of the school. It was the first, discomposed, emotion he had heard from you in all his encounters.

“Trust? Figures you’d be the one to figure it all out, hm? Shinsou.” The brain-washing hero’s blood ran cold— he recognized that familiar way of speaking. More so, how else would you know his name? Todoroki now looked confused. You cast off your hair clip, letting the familiar locks fall and crooked your head at him with a sigh.

“It’s not…” Shinsou rasped out. He had caressed those silky locks this morning, pressing a vulnerable kiss to your sleepy face. He could even see the finger-shaped bruises of your passionate interlude— you couldn’t. Please, not you. But you took off the mask, dispelling any hope Shinsou could’ve had. You looked at him, your expression one of martyred determination. “Why?” His voice come out more agonized than he wanted to show, Shinsou died inside at seeing you.

You leaned forward, pulling— Todoroki got ready to deter you with fire but you simply pulled a thumb drive from the computer. The screen flashed with the same information you had withdrawn, slowly panning pictures of innocent girls. If Shinsou knew the truth��. Then he would know what you were about to say. “St. Magdalene is a Russian school from all appearances.” You felt Todoroki’s ice experimentally but made no violent movement and the pro-heroes remained alert. “If you believe the records. But we both know its far more than that?” Todoroki looked at the girl’s pictures with a dawning realization.

Shinsou decided to fill in the gaps. “But it was an operation for human trafficking, especially from Japan. All the victims— no, culprits, had the connections and means to get children through the channels and have them disappear.” You had to give him credit, he got farther than anyone else.

Yaoyorozu had researched the supposed names that had graduated from the school, only to have them disappear from any official records. “Where they went? We haven’t found a connection but the police are working on that.” Shinsou couldn’t find anything more but he was determined to.

You traced the computer screen, tracing the faces you had grown up with and had seen sacrificed, suffered, and mutilated. “I can help you with that. ”

Todoroki shook his head, muttering. “Disappearing means there’s a chance we can help—“ You let out a cruel scoff.

“You’re naive pro-hero.” Your voice dripped with disdain for Todoroki. “Disappearing would’ve been a kinder fate than what we went through. You name it, you got it.” You tapped the screen at one girl. “Bought and sold to the highest bidder, found dead from sordid sex gone wrong. She was dumped like an animal.” You watched as another face flashed on by. “This one, she wasn’t very pretty. Cut up for organs for the nouveau-rich.” You waited for another one, grimacing. “Drug mule; except she was cut up countless times, screaming every time they carved out her innards.” Shinsou could only imagine it but already, he felt sickened. “My sister?” You hesitated at that one. “She was given to the church, probably from some pedophilic fetish— didn’t help that she was crucified and burnt alive as a whore.”

Both pro-heroes wanted for you to lie; otherwise, the consequences of those well-known officials and the longevity of their career meant there had been countless victims over numerous years. It means that countless people had been involved in hiding these atrocities.

You shifted from the computer to walk directly to the brain-washing hero. You turned your emotions to cold steel, willed your sentimentality to die. Right, because it was oh-so-easy. If it had been, you wouldn’t be on this vendetta for revenge. You would’ve been gone to live the life you wanted.

“I will hand this thumb drive to you if you, Shinsou, promise to bring these people to justice.” You gestured to the rolling head beside you. “The organization will be in disarray but what’s left of it, they probably don’t deserve to die. Just rot the rest of their lives in jail.”

Todoroki regarded you suspicion. “How do we know you’re telling the truth?”

You clapped your hands in a mocking gesture. “I’ve left you not only the names but times, dates, locations, names, and potential future victims. You should be able to work off of that.” How you got that information? Well, it certainly wasn’t through official channels otherwise it would’ve been covered up.

Shinsou was reluctant to let the conversation end. “Why didn’t you just run then?”

You gave a weary sigh. “It’s not like I could’ve continued this forever. How many more bodies would I need to kill? How much longer before a so-called pro-hero ‘arrests’ me? If it's not you, it’ll be a hit on my head. I’ll die without bringing this to light.”

They couldn’t deny it. But you... you gestured to them. “But I’ve heard of you two. You and Deku, you won't abide seeing the system like this.”

You looked world-weary, bone-tired to all the killing you had done. You looked like you had given up. So Shinsou tried to consider a way you could be saved— a way that was right as a pro-hero.

But none of you had time, not as a gunshot rang loud and clear in the room and you lurched, looking down at yourself.

You were bleeding. You were bleeding heavily as you fell forward. Todoroki swore, leaping forward to disarm the weapon as one of the police officers look triumphant.

“What have you done?” Shinsou looked near venomously at the police officer, kneeling forward to catch you.

“No!” You coughed blood up, holding Shinsou back. “It’s not safe for you.” You could feel the taut wire of control fading, your life ebbing with the flow of blood. Your quirk was reacting badly, you weren’t sure if you could keep it in check.

So you kneeled on the floor, your body crumpling. Shinsou looked agonized above you— but you gave him a lackluster smile. You reached out your hand… and looked for no comfort. “You look like you’re gonna cry. I don’t deserve it.” You tossed the thumb drive to him.

Todoroki lay a hand on Shinsou’s shoulder. “We have to call the ambulance… but I’m not sure she’ll make it.” Shinsou wondered how he could’ve ended this differently. Could he have helped you? What if you had come to him? But none of that would’ve changed how this ended. You had been on a lonely path to vigilante justice.

The fiery streak of pain and bullets was nothing new to you. Neither was bleeding. You know what was new? Seeing someone who actually cared that you were dying.

Paramedics pushed past Shinsou to take Marionette in, others cordoning off the scene with the decapitated body. Tokoyami flew in, having heard everything from outside.

“Shinsou, take a look at the computer.” Everything was well and truly deleted from it, the bios flashing with erased data. Some kind of virus program? Meticulous planning.

Someone brushed by him to examine your wounds… Shinsou’s eyes flickered over to the paramedic.

“Todoroki, can you run this to Yaoyorozu? Make sure I get a copy and to pass one to Aizawa. I want the originals before this moves up to the police and higher-ups.”

“Understood.” They both understood how.. ‘sensitive’ this was. “I’ll protect this on my life.”

***

You woke up, groggily moving and wincing as pain shot through your stomach. You gently laid a hand on the gunshot wound, expecting to see red— but came away to see neat bandages on yourself. Surprising, she’s not usually so thorough.

“I didn’t expect such loving care.” You turned to your friend, expecting to see the informant from the coffee shop. But instead, you saw a purple, messy-haired and raccoon-eyed hero.

One who was smirking at you like you were an idiot.

“What the fuck.” It was the first of your plans that had gone so awry, the brain-washing pro-hero was sitting there as if he was a figment of your imagination. Maybe he was. Maybe your drug-addled brain was hallucinating. So you turned away, scrubbing your face with your hands.

“I’m not disappearing,” Shinsou said helpfully—giving credence that your hallucinations were extremely vivid—never mind that fact you’ve never had any before.

You took a deep, deep breath. “Humor me. How did you find out that I was alive? And if you knew, why aren’t I in jail?”

Shinsou gestured to the medical equipment hooked up to you. “We have mutual friends, for once, in our line of work.” You… didn’t expect that. Your cohort at the coffee shop had promised you an escape route—albeit risky—and you didn’t think to check on the connection. “Turns out you’re not the only one who’s had the idea to fake their death. But it usually needs very specific quirks and connections so here we are.”

You looked down at your bandaged and nearly naked form, sighing. “It was that or just dying on the way here. I didn’t expect to get shot.”

Shinsou scoffed at that. “What did you expect then?”

“I thought Todoroki might try to kill me. Either that, I could try to poison myself. “You threw out suggestions as conversationally as one might discuss the weather. “The better question is, why did you let me live? If you knew what I was up to?”

Shinsou leaned back in his chair, giving you an assessing look. “Your information, as far as we can tell, has panned out to close multiple cases.” So Shinsou knew you hadn’t lied about what you’d told him. About anything you told him. “So I’ve made a case to the Eraser Hero that you be kept alive to supply the police with information.”

You … absorbed that knowledge. “So you want me to be a confidential informant.” You closed your eyes wearily. “From one organization to another, I’m going to be used like a scapegoat.” You were changing hands from the Russian government to Japan’s government and used like their dirty little patsy. “I thought you would be different, pro-hero.”

Shinsou shoved himself to his feet, growling in frustration. “I’m not that much of a fucking low-life—don’t accuse me of that bullshit.” You may have shrunk back a little bit; this was the first time you had to see him angry at you. Honestly, you thought you would never see him again. You’d never face the moment of truth because you’d either be long-dead or long-gone. Here he was with all your secrets laid bare—and he was going to use you like the rest of them.

“You’re under the direct protection and surveillance of me and Eraser Head—we are the heroes who are holding you accountable. We give you the orders; not some fucking government organization.” Shinsou pointed to himself, scowling because of your accusations. You.. were reeling. Because how could he have worked that out?

“I can’t believe that. There’s no possible way you could have that authority. At best, I’ve got life in jail.” You knew how this worked. “At worst? I’m more than dead from Russia. I’ll be lucky if they kill me first.” You had already killed too many… You regretted the innocent you killed. You regretted the path you used to climb to the top. But after that? You could justify every sordid thing you did to get to Japan and to get the culprits responsible. “I know this can’t be true.”

Shinsou could finally get the upper hand here. “And this is where you’re wrong. Aside from a few of us pro-heroes, you’re dead to the world.” He flung down the newspaper at your bed, you shakily took ahold of the articles. You could see the gallant statements of heroes, Shoto and Tsukuyomi having taken down the international villain, Marionette. You were pronounced dead at the scene—inconspicuous pictures of your supposed corpse with no discerning features.

He could see your confusion. “Aizawa and I are handling the rest. You’re getting a different identity; hopefully you like the name Y/N because I’m not even sure that’s your real name.” Shinsou was mildly, oh-so-very-fucking irritated that he didn’t even know your real name. He couldn’t even find this one simple fact about you.

You… couldn’t believe it. If what Shinsou was saying was true…. It was too good to be true. You could finally be free. Whatever they’d want of you, it couldn’t be as bad as the others. You felt warm emotions claw up, the composure you held for so many years crumbling at this possibility ahead of you.

Shinsou sat at the edge of your bed, watching you. Evaluating and gauging you. You were a trained and murderous assassin—but he could see that you fought for good. That you hadn’t lost your humanity. “Y/N… if that’s your name. Listen to me.” He held a hand to your cheek, gently. “We’re going to arrest everyone who’s been involved in this. And when we do, I want you to find peace.” He had been there. The desire for revenge, the desire to shout to the world that they were wrong—it was all-consuming and would burn the entirety of your soul.

“Shinsou…. I’m so tired. So tired.” You finally sobbed out. “I don’t want to kill anyone anymore. I don’t want to lose what’s left of me— Was it just too much to ask for a simple life where I can be happy?” You cried, probably disgustingly into your hands.

“A life of cat cafes and being a barista?” Shinsou ventured to ask. If anything, the words made you cry even harder. You tried to nod between all the hiccupping breaths and tears. You tried to stop, you tried to breathe—but it was so hard. Even as you tried to believe him, the fear that all of this was fake, that this would all be taken away like some cruel dream had you almost hyperventilating.

“Please tell me if this is a lie. If you’re going to send..” You tried to breathe, still losing more oxygen than you were taking in. “… Me to jail, just don’t torture me.” You beseeched him, imploring with your eyes—it was too cruel.

Shinsou could see how desperate you were; a hint of the lost little girl you must’ve been at one point. The girl who probably never had a chance of a childhood, of meeting friends, of growing up and falling love. How did it feel to have that all taken away from you with no choice?

Despite all his logic and rationale screaming at him that this could be the worst decision, that he would be yet another naïve hero you so disdainfully scolded—Shinsou leaned forward to kiss you, to give you the oxygen you deprived yourself of.

You were too shocked to cry more. Shinsou took that chance to give you his own breath, stealing what was left of your panic and just kissing the life out of you. If you thought he was hungry before, Shinsou was stealing what was left of your soul. He eventually lifted his mouth from yours, whispering gently. “If you promise you want to be good, Y/N, that you won’t kill anyone—that if I can believe you, I’ll do my best to save you.”

You gave a watery smile. “I want to be. I want to be someone that can atone for everything I’ve done.”

Shinsou brushed your hair back from your face, mindful of your injuries. “Just atone? Don’t you want a chance to try to be happy?” You… looked up at him.

“Do I deserve to try?” You dared to ask. You dared to even try hope.

“I think you do.” Shinsou murmured.

You hesitantly laced your fingers with his, hoping he wouldn’t pull away. Not that you could blame him if he hated you. “What if I told you… that you made me happy?” You were a little scared to meet his eyes, your gaze flitting nervously between his limp hand and his unreadable expression.

“I would tell you, I’ve never tried dating an assassin but I’d make an exception for you.” Shinsou laced his fingers firmly with yours and gave you another stolen, chaste kiss.

“But you definitely need to heal up before we talk about anything else.”

#bnha #shinsou hitoshi #shinsou x reader #bnha x reader #boku no hero fanfic #boku no hero #fanfiction #bnha fanfiction #bnha smut #boku no hero academia #boku no academia #bnhasmut #smut #angst #bnhabookclub

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prompt-wars-in-the-stars · 5 years ago

Note

How about 6.“Shh. Stop fussing. I’m just braiding your hair.” with Ahsoka,Anakin and Obi-Wan bonding time?

It would be my pleasure! Got away with me a bit. I hope you enjoy!

“Shh. Stop fussing. I’m just braiding your hair.”

The words were followed by a noise that could only be described as a yelp. It was in a voice Obi-Wan would recognize anywhere. The yelp was followed by a protest of "Snips!" that only further confirmed who he was overhearing.

Obi-Wan wasn't surprised the noise was coming from Anakin's favorite meditation balcony. He'd been using the same one since he was nine years old and was supposed to be using it for teaching Ahsoka meditation, at least according to her Temple schedule that Obi-Wan had peeked at. Slipping through the doors Obi-Wan couldn't say he was surprised to find that the Master and Padawan pair were most definitely not meditating. Anakin was sitting cross legged, facing away from Ahsoka, curling forward away from her hands. She was on her knees bent over her Master with her hands tangled into his hair. Scattered on the meditation mats they'd pushed together was a curious mix of sparkling clips, ribbons, and a few barrettes.

"Stop struggling Master!" Ahsoka shouted arms jerking forward as Anakin moved away pulling her with him. She pulled back causing another yelp of pain from the unexpecting human.

"Snips! Ouch, whatever you are doing stop it! That is not braiding!" Anakin protested attempting to escape, but it was clear Ahsoka had somehow managed to tangle her own fingers in the knotted mess of curls that appeared to have a few hair bands already mixed in. Obi-Wan winced sympathetically and decided it was probably best to interfere before Anakin lost some of his hair in the struggle.

"It may be best if you both stop moving for a moment," Obi-Wan slipped in, unable to keep the amusement completely out of his voice.

They both turned to him simultaneously, Anakin wincing as he did, and spoke in unison.

"Master!" / "Master Kenobi!"

Anakin tried to straighten up as Ahsoka tried to pull away, both looking embarrassed at being caught. Obi-Wan could see the disaster on its way even as Anakin gave another shout and Ahsoka seemed to be gearing up to yank at full strength. He dropped to a knee beside them, using one hand to grab Ashoka's elbow and Anakin's shoulder. Both went still instantly, refusing to meet his gaze.

"Now lets see if we can't get you free, why don't we?" he said with as much warmth as possible, focused on Anakin's poor curls and pretending like he didn't see their flushed faces. "Hm, Ahsoka keep still for me will you? And Anakin stop squirming you are making it worse."

Ahsoka obeyed quickly, with obvious contrition, looking down at the mess with guilt. Anakin was a bit slower but not wanting to cause himself more pain by disobeying just to be contrary. Obi-Wan worked slowly, gently unweaving the knots, freeing the hairbands that had twisted into a tight web and easing Ashoka's hands free. He continued untangling the attempt at a braid, with quick practiced ease as Anakin relaxed and Ahsoka watched with clear interest.

Once he could run his fingers through the curls without catching, he leaned back satisfied and looked at them both expectantly.

"So, what exactly have I stumbled upon my Padawan and Grand-Padawan?"

Ahsoka looked startled at being referred to as such, but then was clearly pleased at the recognition. She looked at Anakin for guidance and he met her gaze with a reassuring smile, turning to face Obi-Wan. The two of them had only been together for a couple months and it was reassuring to see they were already looking to each other for support. Obi-Wan had sadly been unable to get to know his Grand-Padawan too well yet. They'd been deployed separately after Christophsis and it was only by a miracle of the Force, and an unexpected engine malfunction, that the 212th was back on Coruscant during the 501st's leave.

"I wanted to try braiding human hair," Ahsoka admitted, looking a little shy like she expected to be scolded. Very different from the bold, snippy girl Anakin reported to him in his comm calls. Obi-Wan nodded, keeping a smile on his face. This seemed to make Ahsoka relax a little and she continued.

"Skyguy, eh Master Skywalker," she corrected the nickname self-consciously, but seemed reassured when Obi-Wan didn't react. Obi-Wan thought the nicknames the pair had were endearing even if Anakin did pretend to be annoyed at it sometimes. "He agreed to let me practice on him since we were taking a break from meditation. But, I wasn't very good at it."

The last part was said mournfully and Anakin frowned at his Padawan's upset. Obi-Wan couldn't sense exactly what passed between them, but he could feel the Force around Anakin blaze and see Ahsoka's frown relax.

Obi-Wan did not raise an eyebrow at the story though, feeling thoughtful. Ashoka's meditation hour was less than halfway over. Anakin shifted slightly, guilt carefully hidden, and Obi-Wan decided to make a point to invite the two of them to meditate with him. Meditation had always been hardest for Anakin to master and it was not right to expect him to be able to pass it along to his own Padawan easily. Obi-Wan had received counsel and training from others in areas Qui-Gon was weak in. He saw no reason not to assist his Padawan, former Padawan he mentally corrected, in this.

"I see," Obi-Wan said. Looking at the assortment of hair decorations and knowing the disappointment that had been on Ashoka's face he did.

"Was this your first time braiding Ahsoka?"

She nodded, sheepish. Anakin was frowning at him looking both protective and curious as to where his former Master was going with this. Obi-Wan smiled at him.

"Well, I'm certain Anakin himself isn't much help. He has always been terrible with braiding. I always had to do his Padawan braid for him whenever it came loose." Obi-Wan said, allowing a teasing tone to enter his voice directed at Anakin, who huffed, but seeing Ahsoka perking up said nothing. "If you give me some room I will show you how it's done."

"That is," Obi-Wan said, meeting Anakin's knowing gaze. "If Anakin will volunteer to be our model."

Anakin sighed, loud and dramatic. "For you Snips."

Ahsoka beamed and scooted over to allow Obi-Wan to settle in behind Anakin. He picked up a comb and began gently working his way through Anakin's hair, sure to give Ahsoka a clear view. Anakin relaxed at the attention, he'd always enjoyed physical affection and Obi-Wan could feel his Force signature relaxing into something peaceful that was normally accomplished through meditation.

"Human scalps are quite sensitive, Anakin's especially, so you must be very gentle. Start from the bottom to work out any tangles," Obi-Wan began adopting the same tone he'd used when teaching and feeling his own peace settle in as he showed Ahsoka how to separate the hair into sections. He stopped after each step to allow her to practice, correcting as needed.

Obi-Wan maintained eye contact with Mace Windu, his posture relaxed as his former Padawan stood stubbornly straight and determined despite his embarrassment and his Grand-Padawan barely stifled giggles beside him. Mace looked like he wanted to ask, but also did not, continuing to debrief them as if there was nothing wrong. Plo wore an expression more befitted to someone looking at a collection of Tooka kittens. Yoda was amused, very clearly in the Force, though he kept a serene expression. Shaak was smiling softly, eyes somewhat distant. The rest of the Council, rather in person or over comm, wore a mix of resigned, confused, or amused expressions.

"I will make sure Cody begins preparing the men immediately," Obi-Wan said a picture of innocence. "I believe he and Anakin's second are together and that should take care of preparation for the 501st. Is there anything further the Council needs?"

Mace looked at him wryly and Obi-Wan, from the passed ten years of getting to know the Master more closely, saw the corner of a smile. "Perhaps remove the flowers before you start negotiations."

Obi-Wan nodded seriously, and saw Ahsoka bite her lip out of the corner of his gaze. Anakin's face was red hot at the teasing.

"Your wisdom is always appreciated, Master Windu, now if you'll excuse us," Obi-Wan said and Mace nodded his dismissal. There was a small click that sounded like a holo being taken that Obi-Wan ignored as he ushered Anakin and Ahsoka out. As soon as the doors closed behind them Ahsoka burst into a fit of giggles and Obi-Wan allowed his own smile to grow widely.

They had finished braiding Anakin's hair, playing with it until they'd managed to shape it into something resembling a butterfly Ahsoka had admitted to admiring on a civilian she'd met on one of the 501st's missions. It was completed with a rather ornate flower barrette and small sparkling clips and ribbons Ahsoka had eagerly braided through Anakin's hair under Obi-Wan's tutelage. When they'd finished Anakin had gotten a gleam in his eye and said something about Obi-Wan not being left out and between the two of them, after a few winced, they'd managed some clumsy braids in his now much shorter hair. Anakin had pouted about it, bemoaning the loss of "Obi-Wan's luscious locks", but then Ahsoka had mentioned seeing flowers braided into beards and soon he'd found himself allowing them to decorate him with a dozen small white blooms plucked from the crawling vines on the Temple no bigger than a pin's head. When Ahsoka had looked somewhat put out at not being included Anakin had surprised them by getting the idea for a ribboned headdress and together the two of them had crowned the beaming, laughing Torguta teenager who'd protested but looked too happy to be taken seriously.

Halfway through Ahsoka had stopped being so formal and happily snipped and called him 'Obi-Wan' instead, to his pleasure.

They hadn't even registered the decorations when an emergency call came through from the Council, resulting in quite a sight.

"Master Windu's, hic," Ahsoka could barely manage her eyes streaming as she laughed. "His face! Skyguy, they were all so-"

She collapsed into laughter causing the ribbons to sway and the bells in them to jingle. Anakin smiled, offering a small chuckle at his Padawan's amusement. Obi-Wan could feel his embarrassment fading slowly.

"It was pretty funny," Anakin admitted. "I don't think I've ever seen Master Rancis so confused."

Ahsoka beamed and Anakin returned it. Obi-Wan basked in the warmth between them pleased at how close they were. Ahsoka turned to look at him brightly.

"Master Obi-Wan since you'll be joining us, can you show me jar'kai? Skyguy said you're one of the best at the Temple and Skyguy is terrible," Ahsoka looked up at him so hopefully as Anakin sputtered behind her.

Obi-Wan felt a warmth spread through his chest and reached out to give Ahsoka's shoulder an affectionate squeeze. "I would be honored Ahsoka."

#kathlin3 #prompt fill #answered ask #ahsoka tano #obi wan kenobi #anakin skywalker #disaster lineage trio #sw prompts #star wars prompt #star wars #star wars the clone wars #tcw #fanfic #long post

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danganronpastories · 4 years ago

Text

Dorm Opposites ch 2

Kazuichi had learned a lot about his roommate over the course of two days. One: For how eccentric Gundham acted, he was actually quite quiet, he really only talked at random or when he was spoken to. Other then that he only talked to his animals. Two: He was extremely introverted and socially awkward. He didn’t seem to know how to hold a normal conversation, and whenever Kaz brought up social events the boy seemed to get anxious, fiddling with the large scarf. Finally Three: Gundham was very observant, he would sometimes find Gundham staring at him, almost like he was analyzing Kazuichi. The boy had seemed to figure out all of Kazuichis nervous ticks, his entire schedule and even the fact that Kazuichi had brown hair and eyes. Though that was attributed to Gundham walking in on Kazuichi taking out his contacts, but his hair, Kaz had no idea. Maybe he saw some brown hair near his scalp, if so Kazuichi had to dye his hair again soon. Now it was the day that Kazuichi had told Gundham that they could go to the arcade together. Kaz was putting on a black tank top and loose gray pants, he put on his signature black beanie and brushed his teeth. Gundham was in the bathroom, he took out a black t shirt with fishnet sleeve, black jeans with some kind of stitched on star on the pocket. he put on a chocker with a pentagram hanging from it, black nail polish, eyeliner, some rings and like 3 bracelets. Kazuichi peeked into the bathroom. “Hey Gundham- Oh” Kazuichi ducked out, blushing. “Holy jesus, what is this?!?!? He’s so hot omfg” Kazuichi thought to himself, hand covering his mouth. Gundham walked out of the bathroom in his buckled up knee high boots. “Are you alright mortal, it looks like fire has taken over your very being. DO YOU NEED ME TO VANQUISH IT!” Gundham yelled, pointing at Kazuichi at the end. Kazuichi laughed and shook his head, “No Gundham i’m fine, let’s head out now and have some fun.” Kazuichi exclaimed with excitement. The world outside the academy walls was bustling and bright, their were busy restaurant's, bustling and bright Cafe’s, Movie theaters that smelled like popcorn. People, mostly college students walking around and chatting. Kazuichi never felt so alive and free, It was nothing like his old poor neighborhood. They soon found their way to a building colored in black and blue with bright rainbow letters saying “Marty’s arcade”. There was people walking all around the place, mostly teenagers and students their age walking around, chatting and playing colorful designed arcade machines. Kazuichi walked in, Gundham trailing behind him. Kazuichi looked around, excited and bouncy. He loved arcades, they were one of the most fun places in the world. Kazuichi had also stolen a machine once just to look at the mechanics, his dad had given him a lot of shit for it. Kazuichi turned to Gundham, “so what do you wanna do first edgelord?” The moment he finished though he noticed something was up. Gundham was looking around, his facial expression was confused and anxious. His hands were grabbing and twirling his scarf around. Kazuichi got a bit closer, “Hey Gundham, are you ok? what’s going on man?” Kazuichi asked, hushing his voice a bit. Gundham turned towards him suddenly, causing the mechanic to jump a bit in his shoes. “What is this place, Inventor of machines?” Gundham asked, tilting his head. Kazuichi’s mouth gaped open, “You’ve never been to a arcade??” Kazuichi was dumbfounded to say the least. Gundham looked away, and shook his head. The boy looked like he was internally shrinking in on himself. Kaz grabbed his hand and Gundham flinched, “come on edgelord, i’m going to introduce you to the wonderful world of arcades!” Kaz yelled, grinning ear to ear. Gundham found himself smiling too, Kazuichi’s smile was infectious. Gundham laughed, “Ok!” Gundham replied and the two ran into the depth's of the game filled building. Kazuichi and Gundhams first game was a zombie shooter game, not the best choice as both of them were scared out of their minds. Kaz was screaming while shooting at zombies, he was not very successful. Gundham was biting his lip while screaming curses that Kaz swore was a part of some other language he didn’t know. The both of them did eventually lose with terrified screams and Kaz jumping on Gundham like this was some scooby doo ripoff. Kaz got up on his hands and knee’s on the floor. Gundham was under him, eyes closed, stirring a bit. “The fall might have caused him to blackout”, on that thought entering his head he panicked. Kazuichi shook the dark haired boys shoulder maybe a bit rougher than he intended to. “Gundham, edgelord, tanaka, Gunny wake up” Kazuichi whisper yelled. Gundham stirred, his vision was blurry for a sec as he broke out of the haze. He turned over and saw Kazuichi, inches away from his face. “Um mortal, what are you doing?” Gundham asked, voice cracking, blushing bright red. Kazuichi scrambled to his feet, pulling down his beanie. “S-sorry, we fell.” Kazuichi muttered, face bright pink. Gundham got up, shaking his head a bit. They both decided to play a large version of pac man. Gundham looked at Kazuichi, “It’s all a matter of looking at and memorizing the patterns in puzzles like this. If you can do that, you’re guaranteed success” Gundham explained, though his voice was a lot softer. Maybe he was muttering to himself. Kazuichi shrugged turning to the game. Oh boy did Gundham wipe the floor with Kazuichi when it came to scores. They both battled fiercely but in the end Gundham, the supreme overlord of ice came out victorious. Kazuichi stood up, looking between the game and Gundham, who had just stood up calmly. “How did you do that!?” Kazuichi screamed, exasperated. Gundham tilted his head, “I just told you, I memorized the patterns in the puzzle, specifically the enemy ghosts, all but one move in a pattern, if you can figure out the pattern and track their movements, while also keeping tabs on the wild card you can win.” Gundham explained, raising his finger up, looking truly invested in the conversation for the first time since Kazuichi has met him. The boys spent the rest of the day playing games, and Kazuichi even got a cool sticky hand with his tickets. Gundham got a bag of sunflower seeds. The moon was high in the sky and shining down on the world beautifully, illuminating the boys walk back to campus. Kazuichi looked at the boy, the boys dark hair with white streaks shone in the moonlight, and his red eye was almost glowing. Kazuichi had to admit he was beautiful, with the moon shining on him. “I don’t have a crush on him or anything, I’m just observing” Kaz thought, completely oblivious.... He heard a tiny yawn and looked at the boy. “Omg he yawns like a kitten” Kaz thought, totally not freaking out or anything. Kazuichi laughed, “You sound tired edgelord, are you doing ok” Kazuchi asked, stifling giggles. “I’m fine, I’m just tired. I don’t normally hang around a place with a lot of people, I’m just tired. I-i had fun though, I’ve never done this mortal thing before” Gundham smiled brightly, his voice was soft, with tired tones. Kazuichi smiled, this conversation was one of the more sentimental conversations he’s had with Gundham. “What about you? do you do this often?” Gundham asked Kazuichi, staring intensely at the pink haired college student. Kazuichi looked down, he wondered if he should get this personal but maybe, just maybe, he could trust his roommate. “Yes I did, but I hung around the wrong crowd, and sometimes we did bad things, so I had to leave the crowd, or i guess cast out when I wasn’t good enough anymore.” Kazuichi answered solemnly. Gundham stared for a moment, he wanted to comfort the boy but he didn’t exactly know how. So he decided to break it down in the only way that he knew how. “So you hung with a bad pride of lions, then you were banished or left” Gundham spoke in a quiet voice. Kazuichi tilted his head, confused. “What do you mean edgelord?” Kazuichi asked. “In nature when the dominant male lions return to their pride all the other males must either submit to their leader or be banished.” Gundham explained, eyes focused and steely. Kazuichi ran a hand through his hair, “I guess, I did try to fit in at first. But I was....betrayed by my fellow lions, so I left.” Kazuichi said, voice full of sorrow. Gundham frowned, maybe he could do this. He put a hand on Kazuichis shoulder, “It’s alright, you should always leave a situation that hurts you. I know how cruel mortals can be” Gundham said to Kazuichi. Kaz smiled, he felt a bit better, “Thanks Gunny, i feel a bit better” Kaz only realized what he said a second after he said it. Kaz blushed and started yelling nonsense, and Gundham hid himself in his scarf. Once Kazuichi calmed down he proposed his question. “What about you? You said you’d never been to one?” Kazuichi asked, wiping his eyes quickly. Gundham took his hand off Kaz’s shoulders. “Well, i’m like a white tiger. Now tigers are already solitary creatures, they prefer to hunt alone. Most tigers have a orange with black stripes palate but white tigers have a white with black stripes pallete. They even stand out among their solitary species. Even if I tried to make friends, I never fit in. I don’t need mortal friends anyway” Gundham explained this before he started walking faster than Kaz, looking pretty upset. “......” Kazuichi didn’t know what to say, to never have any friends your entire life......that must be so lonely. Kazuichi caught up with him, “Gundham?” Kazuichi muttered, “Yes” Gundham looked over at him. “Are we friends?” Kazuichi asked. Gundham stopped short, his whole world seemed to go into slow motion, friends?? “Y-you wanna be friends, with me?” Gundham stuttered, he sounded so confused. Kazuichi felt sad hearing that, he felt bad for his roommate, he probably didn’t understand. “Of course, Your kinda strange but, you’re very fun and kind.” Kazuichi tried to take it slow, he wanted to get it through to him. “Are you trying to trick me somehow, what’s your game. What do you want?” Gundham backed up from the boy, staring Kaz straight through his soul. Kazuichi shook his head, “Nothing, nothing Gundham. Nothing, I just want to be your friend. I don’t want anything, just calm down man, it’s ok.” Kaz soothed and Gundhams trembling shoulders slowly lowered. “I-i guess we can be friends, but beware mortal, for I am not to be trifled with!!!” Gundham’s personality switched back to normal. The boys soon walked home and they looked at each other before giving each other a high five before going into their dorm room. The two got changed into their nightclothes and went into their beds. “Goodnight edgelord” Kazuichi whispered to Gundham sleepily. “Goodnight.....Kaz”

#dorm opposites #I hope this is ok #kazuichi souda #gundham tanaka #soudam #danganronpa #i actually like this #I like my own stuff #what #when did that ever happen

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author-j-mccarthy-blog · 5 years ago

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Hogwarts: The Continuing Years Chapter One

Welcome to Chapter One of my new Harry Potter Fanfiction series. Go back to Hogwarts with Lily Luna Potter and her friends in this new adventure for the next generation of the Harry Potter family. This series is family-friendly, inspired wholey by JK Rowling’s original writing style. I hope you enjoy Lily’s adventures at Hogwarts.

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Raindrops tapped gently on her window, awakening Lily Luna Potter on a grey September morning. She blinked the sleep out of her emerald green eyes with a smile. Today’s finally the day! Lily threw the covers off her and scrambled out of bed. She was already pulling on mismatching pink and orange socks when her mother knocked lightly on the door.

“Lily, are you up sweetie?”

Lily threw open the door and jumped into her mother’s arms. Ginny Potter caught her daughter with a happy laugh.

“Today’s the day mum! I’m finally going to Hogwarts!”

Lily separated herself from Ginny and beamed up at her mother. Ginny ruffled her daughter’s ginger hair affectionately.

“So it is, darling. You’re going to love your first year at school, I just know it.”

“Thanks mum,” said Lily happily. She had been waiting for today for eleven years and three weeks, and she was determined to make it perfect.

“Well, I wanted to wake you up first today,” said Ginny, “Want to help me wake your brothers?”

“Of course,” Lily giggled. “Can I wake them up with tricks?”

Ginny made a sceptical face.

“I promise I won’t be too mean, pleeease mum!”

Ginny laughed. Why were Lily’s pleads so irresistible?

“Fine Lily. As long as they’re up in time for breakfast.”

Lily whooped with delight and ran past her mother. She padded through the upstairs hallway, happy for her socks to muffle her footsteps as she came to her eldest brother’s door. Lily peaked inside James’s messy room. Clothes and spell books were strewn all over the floor. Has he even packed? She wondered, as she checked her pockets for the perfect trick. Uncle Ron never failed to get her something great for birthdays. Should she throw a dung bomb? Was that too mean? She had promised mum not to be too mean… A-ha! Lily took out a small glass bottle filled with a tiny rain cloud. A “weather in a bottle” would be perfect! That would show James for pushing her into the Ministry of Magic fountain on bring your child to work day…

Lily crept into the room. She had to place the bottle over his bed just so, otherwise he might not get hit. James snored lightly, his face hidden under his mess of curly hair. Lily had to concentrate hard to stop from giggling as she edged her way around the mess on the floor. James’s tawny owl, Flit, cocked his head curiously at her from his cage. Lily brought a finger to her lips to tell the owl to be quiet. When she was finally in position at the foot of James’s bed, Lily carefully uncorked the “weather in a bottle” and the tiny rain cloud was released. It flew out of her bottle and bga to grow at a rapid pace, until James’s bed was completely covered by the cloud. Lily held her breath in anticipation as the clouds swirled around her brother. Suddenly it burst open and rain drenched her elder brother’s bed. James let out a shriek as water soaked his blankets, and Lily couldn’t hold back her laughter any more. James fell off the bed trying to untangle himself from the blankets and simultaneously reach for his glasses to see the culprit of the trick. Lily raced out of the room before James could stand up, giggling with delight as her brother muttered confused curses behind her.

Her next victim was Albus, her other brother. His room was at the end of the hall by the stairs. Lily peaked in cautiously, worried that James’s scream had woken Al. He was still sleeping soundly. His room neat and tidy, the exact opposite of James’s. They had to be opposite in every way, thought Lily as she edged into the room. A green and white Slytherin Flag hung on his wall. She stifled a gasp as she almost stepped on Fritz, Albus’s pet ferret. He skittered away under the bed as Lily reached into her pocket and pulled out her signature trick: her screaming yo-yo. Albus was so jumpy, it would be brilliant. She twirled the yo-yo off her finger right by his ear and the toy let out a scream that would curdle milk. Albus yelped at the scream, sitting bolt upright and covering his ears. He saw Lily giggling uncontrollably next to him, right as James burst into the room still sopping wet.

“You’re dead Lily,” James shouted with a grin.

He charged into the room as Lily ducked under Albus’s bed. Albus, still half asleep and disoriented threw a pillow at where Lily had been. Instead it hit James in the back of the head. Lily scampered out from under the bed and hurled herself down the stairs while her brothers were still looking for her under the bed. She raced down the hall and into the kitchen laughing in delight. Today was off to a great start!

Lily leaned against the kitchen door to catch her breath. Her mother and father were making breakfast (pancakes, Lily’s favourite). They looked up at her and Ginny raised an eyebrow.

“Lily, did you remember not to be too mean?”

Lily shrugged playfully right as James and Albus hammered on the door behind her.

“Is Lily in there?” Asked James.

“Yeah,” called Albus, “we need to, uh, ‘talk’ to her.”

Lily ran away from the door as the boys burst in, and hid behind her father. Harry Potter ruffled his daughter’s hair and held up an arm to ward off the boys.

“Wow, Lil, it must’ve been bad if you got them working together,” he chuckled.

“Alright, alright,” Ginny said, “enough tricks for today.” She waved her wand over James, drying him instantly. “Now go get dressed, boys. No hitting your sister on her big day.”

“Come on mum, she deserves it,” James whined as they left to get dressed. Lily stuck her tongue out after them as they shut the door.

“Your first day at Hogwarts is off to quite the start,” said Harry. He piled some pancakes onto her plate and Lily smiled up at him.

“It’s going brilliantly so far!”

The Potters sat down for breakfast at the kitchen table. Ginny made sure to set places for James and Albus, who came downstairs a few minutes later in jumpers and jeans. Albus in Slytherin green as usual, and James in Gryffindor red. As they sat down, Lily couldn’t help but wonder which house she would be sorted into… Of course she hoped for Gryffindor, like her parents had been. That’s where all the Potters and Weasleys were sorted into… But if Albus could be Slytherin, maybe she could be too?

“So, Lily,” said Harry, “Are you excited to ride the Hogwarts Express?”

Lily nodded enthusiastically. “I’ve been saving my pocket money all year for the sweets from the trolley,” she replied.

“We gave your brothers trolley money,” Ginny said, “we were going to give you some too.”

“No thanks mum,” said Lily, “I’m excited to use mine!”

“Which class are you most excited for?” Harry asked.

“Flying,” said Lily without hesitation. “I’m going to be on the Quidditch team in first year, just like you dad!”

Lily had been obsessed with Quidditch since she had discovered her mum used to play for a team called the Holyhead Harpies. When she found out her dad had played too, she wouldn’t keep quiet until her parents finally got her a broom for her ninth birthday. It had child locks and wouldn’t fly past the barrier of their neighbourhood, but still it had been wonderful to play pretend Quidditch captain on that broom. She and her brothers used to play three on three with their cousins every Christmas at the Burrow. And when her parents had brought her to Diagon Alley to buy her books and her wand, Lily had been most excited to finally buy her first real broom, a Nimbus 3000 like her brother James’s. Only to be used at school, Ginny had told her. She couldn’t wait for her first flying class when she could finally sore above Hogwarts on her real broom.

“I should have guessed,” said Harry warmly. “But don’t be too disappointed if you don’t make it in your first year. Ginny only got onto Gryffindor’s team in her fifth year, you know?”

Ginny nodded, “And I was the one who played professionally out of us.”

Lily’s mind lingered on the word “Gryffindor” and again her thoughts turned to which house she would be sorted into. She looked across the table at Albus. He never talked about school much, but when he did it seemed like he didn’t like Hogwarts at all. Was it because he was Slytherin? James was constantly talking about how great Hogwarts was: how many friends he had, how good at spells he was… But James was in Gryffindor. Lily prefered Albus out of her two brothers, he’d always been nicer to her than James… But if she was being honest with herself, she hoped that she would be James’s housemate, not Al’s. She had only ever heard bad things about Slytherin house afterall…

Suddenly Ginny stood up, breaking Lily’s train of thought. She waved her wand and the empty dishes in front of them flew up and into the sink.

“Breakfast is finished,” she announced. “Time to get your trunks, kids.”

Harry looked at his watch and stood as well. “The train leaves in one hour.”

James and Albus stood up and left to gather their things. Lily was following her brothers out when Harry called to stop her.

“Lily, wait a minute. Your mum and I have a little something to give you.”

Lily turned around to look at her dad. He rose from the table and disappeared into the living room for a moment. Lily glanced at her mother questioningly, but Ginny only smiled. When Harry came back into the room, he carried a box in his hands. He came up to Lily and knelt down so she could see inside. There, sleeping soundly in a pink blanket, was the most adorable little kitten Lily had ever seen. She held her hand over her mouth to stifle a squeal.

“Every student at Hogwarts is allowed to bring a familiar,” Harry explained. “James has Flint, and Albus has Fritz, so it’s only fitting that you get a pet too.”

Ginny leaned over to look at the sleeping kitten. She was cream-coloured with light brown paws and a fuzzy long tail. Lily reached in to stroke her soft fur and the kitten opened a pair of brilliant blue eyes.

“What will you call her?” Asked Ginny.

Lily wasn’t sure. The little kitten started playing with her finger and her eyes glimmered like two blue precious stones.

“Opal.” Lily said eventually. “She looks like an Opal, don’t you think?”

“It’s perfect,” said Ginny, kissing Lily’s cheek affectionately.

“Well,” Harry said, “What are you waiting for? She’s yours.”

Lily lifted Opal from the box and hugged her close. Opal was small enough to sit on Lily’s shoulder and play with her fire-red hair. Lily giggled with delight and hugged her parents lovingly. They hugged her back, holding onto their youngest child for a moment. She was finally ready to go off to Hogwarts. Ginny wondered, as Lily parted from the hug and ran upstairs to grab her trunk, just how had she grown up so fast?

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#fanfiction #harry potter #lily potter #family friendly #fanfic #writing #my writing

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vixxscifiwritings · 6 years ago

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yellow tulips for love

jbsdhffhkb I didn’t know this gif existed before I wrote this oneshot

Characters - Hongbin x OC, Taekwoon x OC (established), Hyukvi, HaKen

Warnings - cheese everywhere

Summary - Hongbin and Haneul dance around their growing feelings for each other. Or rather, Haneul remains unaware of Hongbin’s silent confessions.

A/N - Yes this is the cursed story I wrote in return for @biasedwriting writing me college AU jock!Taekwoon. Or rather, the first half of the deal.

-x-

“Kim Haneul? What a pleasant surprise!” Hongbin said, smiling at her. He had been happily surprised to see her when she had walked into the conference room. He had waited till after the presentation to approach her.

“Hello. Minah couldn’t make it so I am a last minute substitution for her” Haneul explained. “She sends her apologies. She is terribly sorry about being caught up in Busan.”

“It’s alright. We are always happy to see a familiar face” Hongbin said.

“I don’t think your team was as happy after the presentation” Haneul said, frowning to herself.

“Well, it’s a lot of work every time a new product comes around. The company pushes really aggressively on targets just to make it popular in our client base” Hongbin explained.

“Well the new underlying processes reduce our cost of financing overall and the low interest rates would attract more customers from the middle market base” she argued.

“Still a gamble to take. The new loan scheme is complicated to explain to someone who isn’t a financial analyst like you or me” he replied. Hongbin smiled and his dimple showed, momentarily making Haneul lose focus. She narrowed her eyes at him. He always used his dimples to throw people off focus when he was losing an argument. Yet it strangely made her heart flutter.

“It’s a shame that the presentations always happen at the end of the business day. I don’t think people appreciate being pulled into meetings so late” she noted, watching as some people in the room yawned.

It had been an exciting day on the market and such days often saw a lot of worried investors harassing their relation managers over their portfolios and if they were making large profits or losses.

“It’s been a day for us as well. The equity team looked to be on the verge of tears. The advisory team is still faring okay” he told her.

“I did not expect a sudden change in regulations. We have a very short time to update our rules and start reporting on the new laws” Haneul observed.

“They will extend the deadlines. They always do” Hongbin said, dismissing her worry.

“Dangerous gamble to take Mr Lee” Haneul said with a grin. He smirked at her before adjusting his tie.

“I guess I’ll be on my way then” she said, with a short bow.

“It’s late. Should I walk you home?” he asked, looking out of the window. The sun had set before the meeting had started.

“I don’t want to trouble you” Haneul said hesitantly.

“Well, I do have an ulterior motive. I was hoping we could stop by the dumpling store like we did last time? I’ve been craving them and I forgot to ask you the name of the store” he confessed sheepishly.

“Who can say no to dumplings? Let’s go!” Haneul cheered. Hongbin laughed as he picked up her bag and held the door for her. Haneul went first, talking animatedly about the hole in the wall dumpling store that the two of them had walked across the last time he had walked her home.

-x-

“A vanilla latte please” Haneul said, stifling a yawn. It was seven thirty in the morning and it was too damn early by her standards. Hence she had decided to make a quick coffee run before she had to get to work.

She collected the receipt and waited at the pickup counter for her coffee to be ready. She mindlessly scrolled through the news, noting in the headlines and marking whatever seemed relevant to be read later. The slight chill in the air seeped through her suit jacket and made her shiver.

“You look like a funny kitten” a familiar voice announced. Haneul gasped, turning to see Hongbin standing there and grinning at her.

“Excuse you, I am a puppy” she protested.

“You look like a wet kitten that’s shivering in the rain. Why didn’t you wear something warm?” he asked her, standing next to her and leaning against the counter. He had a receipt token identical to hers and Haneul realized that she had been too busy to notice him come in and order his coffee.

“I forgot my scarf in the rush to get to office” she said, embarrassed at how silly it sounded when said out loud. Maybe she shouldn’t have said anything at all.

“I thought you didn’t clock in till later” Hongbin said.

“I am working longer for a month. We have this new research that’s keeping everyone on their toes” she explained. “It’s really exciting because we have finally started using big data algorithms. Did I ever tell you that they finally licensed the new market data for the parameters that we had been lobbying for? The deal with Bloomberg licenses went through so now we have extensive datasets to start analysis on -”

She was startled when soft wool landed along her neck. Hongbin removed his scarf and put it around her while she had been talking about her latest project.

“Sorry. But you kept shivering” he said by the way of an explanation.

“I couldn’t -” Haneul started, only to be interrupted when Hongbin bopped her nose.

“I’m used to the morning chill. I’ll survive. Besides, our coffee is almost done” he said, pointing to the barista fitting lids and cardboard holders onto the paper cups that held their names.

“Thank you” she said gratefully. She hadn’t realized how chilly it was till she felt the sharp contrast to the warmth of the wool. The scarf held the smell of his cologne. She could never quite place the scent and what tones it had, but she distinctly remembered that it was his signature scent. She coloured, burying her face in the scarf out of shame.

Hongbin smiled at her before taking the coffee cups. She adjusted the strap of her handbag before taking the cup from him and thanking the barista on their way out. They discussed the news as they walked down the block to the office campus, feeling more active after caffeine.

-x-

Haneul looked at the scarf, lying in a packet next to her desk. She had gone looking for Hongbin only to learn that he was on a business trip and wouldn’t be back for another two weeks. The weather had gotten colder and she hoped he kept warm.

“Haneul, do you have five minutes?” Minah asked, walking over to her cubicle.

“Uh yeah. Do you want to catch up on the report I wrote?” she asked her manager.

“Yes. And a couple of other things” Minah said. She frowned when she saw the packet that Haneul had been fiddling with.

“More dumplings from your brother’s shop?” Minah asked.

“No that’s just the cover. I had stuff… to return to someone” Haneul said vaguely.

“Okay, you are terrible at hiding things” Minah said. “Is this someone, the boy your brother doesn’t like?”

“My brother has never been introduced to a ‘boy’. Also I’ve only visited the shop with a friend not a boyfriend” Haneul clarified.

“Blame Wonshik. He is a tattle tale. He told Taekwoon and me about this man you came in with, late at night once. And then multiple times” she said, raising her eyebrow suggestively.

“Like I said, Hongbin is a friend” Haneul said. She bit her lip when she realized that she should never have given the names away.

“Lee Hongbin? As in the senior manager from the Advisory team?” Minah asked, a lightbulb going off in her head. She had seen the two of them walk in once with coffee in the mornings but she hadn’t thought much about it and hence hadn’t connected the dots.

“It’s not what you are thinking” Haneul said warily.

“Too late, I am already thinking it. He’s cute” Minah teased.

“And a colleague and I have a strict personal policy of not dating anyone I work with” Haneul said firmly.

“Funny because you work for the middle office while he works for the front office and have no business functions in common” Minah reminded her.

“Even so…” Haneul started and trailed off. She had no good response to that argument. “Just no. We’re.. Friends at max.”

“What a shame” Minah said, smiling at her like she would smile at her nephew causing trouble. She clearly had no intention of believing Haneul.

“Let’s just discuss my report? Disinvestment in the petrochemical industry is more important at the moment” Haneul reminded her.

“Yeah but your love life is more interesting” Minah observed.

“I lost interest in romance the day you said you wanted to date Taekwoon” Haneul said sourly.

“Shut up. We don’t talk about that” Minah said, clamming shut.

“Eat up the human dumpling was it?” Haneul pretended to recall.

“Disinvestment in petrochemicals!!” Minah announced dragging her subordinate along to her cabin.

-x-

“I should stop talking to all three of you” Haneul said with her arms crossed.

“That’s my line. I cook at the shop all day and now I am cooking for dinner too. I should be the one breaking this friendship” Wonshik complained.

“I am clearly helping” Taekwoon responded.

“You are only sitting on the counter and eating vegetables that should be going into the dumpling fillings” Wonshik complained, shoving him. Taekwoon yelped, almost falling off the counter.

“Boys, no fighting” Minah said, breaking them up. She took the bowl of veggies from Taekwoon who whined before handing them over to Wonshik who thanked her.

“Come along” she said, dragging him by his hand to the couch.

“You’re both gross” Haneul called out after them, when they ended up snuggling on the couch.

“You denying your puppy crush is gross. Go out and get laid” Minah retaliated.

“I don’t have a crush” Haneul said. “She doesn’t have a crush” Taekwoon added in perfect sync.

“You’re both stubborn high school children” Wonshik said, pulling out the first batch of dumplings. He carefully handed a plate over to Minah who promptly declared she loved him for the food. Taekwoon glared at the two of them before nuzzling into her neck. Minah rolled her eyes at the childlike behaviour of her boyfriend before focusing on her food.

“I am not a child. That is also precisely why you should believe me when I say that I don’t like anyone that way” Haneul explained.

“That’s why you were wearing his scarf?” Wonshik asked.

“Scarf? What scarf?” Taekwoon asked sitting up. He almost made the plate in Minah’s hands fall over, causing her to cry.

“So one day, I decided to go over and meet Sanghyuk at his cafe. You know the one near Minah and Haneul’s office? It’s sort of early and I am mentally crying but then I saw Haneul walk in” Wonshik started.

“Oh my god, why were you there?” Haneul asked in horror. Wonshik smirked at her before turning to the couple on the sofa.

“And Haneul is busy on her phone so she didn’t notice me. Which is fine because I wasn’t feeling very social anyways” Wonshik said. He gave a loud uff when Haneul ran up to him and covered his mouth.

“Shut up. You misunderstood everything that day!!!” she cried.

“Tell me I gotta know!” Minah said, putting her food away and hugging Haneul so that she would let Wonshik go.

“So this dude walked up to her and they start talking and then before I know it, he is pulling his scarf and putting it around her. He was so smooth, I swear it was like a drama” Wonshik said, laughing at Haneul’s misery.

“He was being nice!” Haneul protested.

“Sanghyuk almost died smiling at the the moment. I just died on the inside. It was too early for drama moments” Wonshik said, grimacing.

“Where can I find him and murder him?” Taekwoon asked.

“Don’t be overprotective. He was nice and respectful. What was his full name? I think Sanghyuk knew him but I forgot to ask” Wonshik said.

“Lee Hongbin and he works in our company” Minah said. “We can stalk his instagram.”

“We do not have to stalk anyone's Instagram. Why do you even know it?” Haneul asked Minah.

“That information is not important. He is a hobby photographer and he has an aesthetic af insta account. We should totally check it out” Minah insisted.

“We should” Taekwoon said. Everyone raised an eyebrow at him. “I need to be able to recognize him so that I don't murder the wrong person.”

“Taekwoon hyung really now” Wonshik sighed.

“Taaeeeeekwooooniieee” Minah cooed. “Don't you want Haneul to marry quickly and have tons of babies that you can play with?”

“Oh yeah” Taekwoon remembered causing Haneul to gape.

“You're both crazy.”

-x-

“Hi Sanghyuk” Haneul greeted when she walked into the cafe.

“Ah the other half of my otp. Your boyfriend is on the table by the window” Sanghyuk said.

“I don't have a boyfriend” Haneul deadpanned.

“Good to know” a voice behind her said, causing her to lose ten years from her life.

“I just came over to clear my bill and leave. I am sorry if I am interrupting you being asked out” Hongbin said. His voice was deeper and husky, a clear sign of him being sleepy. His hair was curly, something Haneul hadn't seen before.

“I wouldn't date her in a million years” Sanghyuk said, grimacing. Haneul leaned over and hit him.

“Just for that comment, my coffee is free today” she threatened. Sanghyuk gave her a patronizing look and she shrugged. At least she had tried.

She turned back to Hongbin who had been observing the interaction. “I didn't know that you were back” she said.

“I returned last night” Hongbin replied.

“How was your trip?” she asked.

“Terrible. The deal fell through because of competitive rates from a rival” he told her.

“I thought we were the most competitive on the street” she frowned.

“Clearly not. There is a long meeting planned for analysing the situation. Jaehwan was not happy” he said with a frustrated sigh.

“Not going to lie. Lee Jaehwan scares me a little” Haneul said.

“He's nice for most part” Hongbin refuted. “But he has a laser sharp focus when solving a problem and none of us are up for it after such a long trip.”

“Ahem” Sanghyuk interrupted. The two of them turned towards him.

“A sweet vanilla latte. It's on your tab” he said, pushing a paper cup towards her.

“I owe you” Haneul said gratefully before he left the two of them to their conversation.

“I guess I should get going” Hongbin said looking at his watch. He smiled at ruefully at her before attempting to fix his hair. He gave up with a very audible sigh and a hunch if shoulders that made Haneul feel bad for him.

“Uh… Hongbin?” Haneul called out to him.

“Yeah?” he responded.

“You need the sugar rush more than I do” she said, giving him the coffee cup. Hongbin looked at the coffee in his hand before looking at her.

“Are you sure?” Hongbin asked. She nodded in reply.

“Thanks I guess” he said, a little confused. Maybe it was her imagination, but his cheeks did look pink. An effect of the morning cold. She really should return his scarf, she mentally scolded herself.

He smiled at her, dimples showing before walking out of the cafe. She leaned against the counter and hit her head. How embarrassing. Why had the act been cute in her head but supremely embarrassing in real life???

“Well that was awkward” Sanghyuk commented, only to have Haneul hit him again.

-x-

“Hi, is Lee Hongbin here?” Haneul asked the person sitting in the cubicle next to his.

“He just left for a break. He should be back in ten. I can call him if you’d like?” the woman offered.

“It’s alright. I just had to return something. I’ll leave it at his desk” Haneul replied. The woman nodded, smiling at her before going back to work. Haneul looked around, spotting a post it notepad and a marker. She wrote down a small note, just so Hongbin would know that she was dropping his scarf off.

Of course it was more polite to give it to him in person, but she had an extremely busy day ahead and she had been hoping to catch him during her break. This would have to do.

She made her way down to the fifteenth floor. Advisory and Client Relations worked on the thirtieth floor since it had the best view, meant to impress visiting clients. But the fifteenth floor had a good view of the city too. The entire building had glass elevators on the outside that let you look out at the east side of the city as you traversed up or down. Haneul stepped out only to run into Hongbin.

“Oh hi” she said, surprised to see him here.

“Hey” he said, equally surprised. He awkwardly gestured to the elevator which was held open for him and Haneul nodded in understanding. As soon as the door closed she hit her head. How awkward was that?

She looked at her watch and she realized that she only had ten minutes for her next meeting. So much for grabbing a quick coffee from the cafeteria. With a deep sigh and a heavy heart, she walked back to her desk.

She stopped when she saw a cup of coffee on her desk. She hadn’t had time to stop by the cafe this morning so it definitely wasn’t hers. There was a small post it note next to her cup, accompanied by a bunch of yellow tulips.

‘I owed you coffee - HB’

“Oh” Haneul said, picking up the small bunch of flowers. The tulips were bright and looked extremely well taken care of. She didn’t know of any flower shops nearby, so where had he gotten flowers from? Surely he must have picked it up on the way at last minute’s thought.

“Haneul let’s go. We’re meeting in 17B instead of 15C” Minah said, passing by her desk. Haneul started, hiding the flowers behind her back. Minah was too busy with a stack of reports to look her away and Haneul thanked the gods. She grabbed her folder and coffee and followed, offering to divide the load.

The flowers stayed in her mind for quite a while.

-x-

“You were looking for me?” Haneul asked, peeking into the cabin.

“Yeah, take a seat” Minah said. “It’s just our routine one on one meeting. As your manager, I wanted to catch up with you and see how you were holding up.”

“Well it is tax season after all so hurray for how hellish everyone’s life is” Haneul said, taking a seat.

“Tell me about it. It’s extremely taxing on all of us” Minah said. The two women stared at each other and sighed. That pun may have been unintentional but it was terrible and both of them judged Minah for it.

“Anyhow… how is work? I get that this month is trying but otherwise? Are you able to hold up?” she asked, moving on.

“It’s okay. Manageable” Haneul said. There wasn’t much to be discussed to be honest. Since Minah was a close friend outside of work, they didn’t need to wait for a monthly meeting to discuss issues. This was more of a formality between the two of them now.

“And what of your life outside of work?” Minah asked, grinning at her.

“We are not discussing that here” Haneul said, sitting up straight.

“As your manager, I should be kept apprised of any such developments between you and any other colleague. HR regulations” she said, smirking at Haneul.

“Well good for us that there are no developments then” Haneul lied through her teeth. There had been… events or incidents or just a casual exchange of hellos and post it notes. But those were most certainly not romantic developments.

“If you think Jaehwan and I have not noticed the sudden increase in the number of times Hongbin and you have dropped by each other’s desks to supposedly return things you forgot then you both are sorely mistaken” Minah sang. “At first I was hoping that it was because you were hooking up and were being forgetful about your things at each other’s places. Imagine my disappointment when I found out that it was just post it notes and flowers and phone charms.”

Haneul buried her face in her hands and groaned. She didn’t know how things had escalated to this point. About one month ago, when she had originally stopped by Hongbin’s desk to return his scarf, Hongbin had stopped by her desk to drop off coffee, claiming he had owed her one. Since Haneul did not have the foresight or common sense to have asked for his number or his business card and she did not want to have this conversation on the office messenger or email, she had ended up leaving another post it note the morning after, thanking him for the flowers.

One post it note had turned into multiple. Sparse and spread out over the days but always accompanied by flowers or in her case, cute things like a Hello Kitty phone charm that she had found and thought he would like.

It had almost become a habit that Haneul thought nothing of. Till Minah had called her out on it.

“It’s not like that” Haneul protested weakly.

“Just so you know, I have no issues with this relationship. Jaehwan sends his blessings too” she added in a sweet voice.

“Since we are clearly done here, I am going back to my work” Haneul said, standing up.

“Please let me know of any further developments on this track” Minah said, formally yet mocking her.

“I hate you and you are officially uninvited for Chuseok dinner” Haneul frowned.

“Too bad for you. I’m hosting it this time, remember? You can’t uninvite me. I uninvite you” Minah replied.

“Fine. You won’t ever see me again. We talk formally like manager and direct report from now on since we must work together” Haneul said, parodying her brother when he was angry.

“We’re never letting Taekwoon live down that argument with Wonshik are we?” Minah laughed.

“No not at all” Haneul agreed.

“It did give me an idea though…” Minah said thoughtfully.

“For?” Haneul asked.

“Nothing. Just idle thoughts” she dismissed. Haneul nodded before leaving the cabin.

-x-

“Not leaving yet?” Minah asked, looking at Haneul typing away on her desktop.

“I just have some analysis left to do. I think I will leave in an hour” Haneul told her.

“Don't stay too late” Minah said, patting her shoulder before leaving.

Truthfully Haneul would have left with her but there was a single hypothesis on her analysis that was failing. She could swear it was a data issue. Their sample size hadn't been as large as she had hoped for. But she hadn't expected it to fail with such a wide margin and now she had to rework the calculation. That had of course escalated to data cleaning being redone and had taken her a good chunk of the past hour.

She groaned as the test failed with a significant error yet again. Luck and math were both clearly not on her side today.

She decided to take a break and probably come back at this problem in five minutes. She locked her screen and took her phone up. She mindlessly scrolled through her Kakaotalk messages and LinkedIn notifications. There was nothing there except the usual adverts and spam messages.

She hovered over Instagram. How had Minah known about Hongbin’s instagram account? She had remembered him mentioning that he liked photography and that sometimes he would travel out of the city on weekends for nature shots. But she had never seen any of the photos he had ever taken.

Haneul looked around to make sure no one was looking before opening up the app. She navigated to Minah’s profile. There was a photo of pasta that she figured her brother had cooked for her. She double tapped for a like and went to her following page. A quick search revealed Hongbin’s instagram. It was his name with extra Is in it. Cute, she thought as she clicked on his profile. It wasn’t private which was a blessing because she could now scroll without having to follow.

Minah hadn’t been wrong about his page being aesthetic. The photos he took were all so beautiful and high definition. Looking at the dates, she could tell that he uploaded rarely. Maybe he had a different place to share his photography or didn’t share much. But the photos he did have uploaded were beautiful.

He also didn’t upload many pictures of himself. Amongst the scenery, there was only one of him walking through the cherry blossom trees in Yeouido. A lot of it was also food. There was one another picture of him, with a Hello Kitty headband. From the comments, it looked like it had been uploaded as the result of a dare. It was really cute, she giggled to herself. Perhaps a few years old because he looked very young in it, but uploaded not so long ago.

She double tapped and froze for a moment. She had accidentally liked the picture. Why would she do that?!?!?! She was such a dumbass. She had a mini panic attack as she immediately unliked the picture. Except she tapped too many times and now the picture was liked again. Distressed, she threw the phone away from her and buried her face in her hands. Clearly she could do nothing right today.

-x-

“Yo Haneul, your boyfriend was looking for you earlier” Sanghyuk said, placing the vanilla latte in front of her.

“He’s not my boyfriend. He can be your boyfriend” she said, miffed and sulky.

“Okay spill. Why are you sulky and why are you avoiding him?” Sanghyuk asked.

“I’m not sulky and I am not avoiding him. He’s just not my boyfriend” Haneul protested.

“Are you in a mood because he isn’t your boyfriend? I thought the problem was something he might have said but I guess the problem is the lack of him saying anything” Sanghyuk deduced wisely. “Sometimes men are idiots like that. Maybe you should make the first move.”

“I will strangle you with an empty coffee cup. Also you deduced amazingly wrong” she grumbled.

“I am only trying to help you here” he said, raising both his hands in defeat.

“Oh Sanghyuk I did a very stupid thing” she confessed, burying her head on the table.

“Tell me something new” Sanghyuk snorted. Haneul glared at him and he chuckled. “Okay, confess your sins away.”

“You have to promise not to laugh at me okay? I was scrolling through Hongbin’s instagram” she started.

“Stalking you mean” Sanghyuk corrected.

“Scrolling!! Anyhow, I accidentally liked a very old post. I wasn’t even following him when I did! He would clearly know that I was looking at his ig!!” Haneul cried.

“What an amazing miracle. I am suddenly inside a teenage romcom” Sanghyuk said, faking awe.

“You are terribly useless and I hope you die alone” Haneul told him.

“Well… I don’t know about that considering I just started dating Wonshik and I think it might be for the long haul” Sanghyuk said, smiling sheepishly.

“What? When?! Details!!” she asked excitedly.

“There are no details. It’s all pretty new and we’re still trying to figure this out. But you know how Wonshik is. If he decides he loves someone, he goes all in. And I kind of like him a lot too” he confessed.

Haneul beamed at him. At least love was going right for someone in this world. And she hadn’t thought about it before but now that she had been enlightened, the two of them would be the cutest pair ever! They had similar interests and got along like a house on fire. And looking at the dopey way they talked about each other, they were clearly very in love and her heart was so soft at the moment.

“Do the others know yet?” she asked him.

“We were thinking of telling Minah and Taekwoon on Chuseok. But Minah changed her mind and invited a couple of other people she wanted us to meet. So we will tell them after that I suppose” he said, playing with the stirrers.

“I am so happy for both of you” Haneul said, positively glowing for the two of them. Sanghyuk blushed, ruffling his hair since he didn’t know how to respond to it.

“Since I am the first person who came to know, will you name your first baby after me? Haneul is a common name for both boys and girls too” she said, resting her hands on the counter.

“And risk sharing your intelligence? What if the name itself is jinxed?” Sanghyuk asked in horror.

“I officially hate you and I am going to take my business and go to Starbucks from now on” Haneul said crossly.

-x-

“So… will anyone give me the lowdown of who you guys invited or will you both just stand there being gross?” Haneul asked, cutting up the meat. Taekwoon just stared at her before going back to hugging Minah who was busy with the glass noodles. Minah chuckled when Taekwoon buried his head in her neck.

“You tire me out” he told his sister, who just gave up on him. How on earth anyone tired out by doing nothing was a mystery to her. It was clearly Minah who had done most of the work.

“Taekwoon” Minah laughed when he kissed her neck. He paid no heed to her words as he proceeded to kiss her jaw and her cheeks and ears. She hit him with her elbow and he grumbled, only to hug her tighter.

“Right in front of my salad” Haneul said, taking away the vegetables from the extra lovey dovey pair in disgust.

“Excuse you that’s my salad. Don’t steal the carrots!” Taekwoon called out.

“I don’t know man, maybe don’t kiss where all of us will eat!” Haneul replied.

The doorbell rang, saving them from another sibling quarrel. “Hannie, can you see who that is? Taekwoon, if you’re not helping then go sit down” Minah ordered.

“No” Taekwoon said, pouting at her.

“Baby we have guests” she explained.

“Yeah baby, move your lazy ass and go welcome your guests” Haneul added sarcastically.

“I should kick you out of my house” he said, detaching from Minah and walking out of the kitchen.

“Why is my brother in such a weird mood today?” Haneul asked Minah, now that they were alone.

“No reason” Minah said.

“I knew it. He’s just a weird child” Haneul grumbled, taking over cooking the stew. There was a lot of laughter and chatter that confused Haneul and made Minah smile. It was followed by Taekwoon’s loud whining and the two women sighed.

“I guess this means Hakyeon and Jaehwan are here” Minah said with a fond exasperation.

“Hakyeon… and Jaehwan?” Haneul asked.

“Yeah. Hakyeon is a friend from university that both Wonshik and Taekwoon know. And Jaehwan is Hongbin’s boss. The one and only Lee Jaehwan” Minah told her, walking out. Haneul’s heart dropped as she covered the stew and followed them out.

“Hannie come here. I need to introduce you to our guests” Taekwoon said when he spotted her.

“Hakyeon, Jaehwan - This is my sister Haneul” he introduced. Haneul bowed and the two men did too.

“We work in the same company. Different departments though” Jaehwan told Hakyeon.

“Ah… so you’re that Kim Haneul” Hakyeon said. Haneul raised an eyebrow before Jaehwan shushed him.

“Hakyeon studied in the same college I did. That’s how we know each other. Jaehwan is Hakyeon’s husband and Minah’s close friend… by some twist of fate” Taekwoon said.

“What a coincidence” Haneul said shooting Minah a look. She knew exactly why the two of them were suddenly best buddies. Both of them gave her matching innocent smiles. Devious Aries people, Haneul cursed under her breathe as she turned to her brother.

“Why don’t we all go inside? The food’s almost done and we’re still waiting on a few people” Taekwoon said.

“You have a really cozy home” Hakyeon said, following him. Jaehwan followed, talking about something that Haneul wasn’t paying attention to. She dragged Minah to the kitchen under pretext of checking on the food.

“Who else did you invite?” she asked Minah. They were only waiting on Wonshik and Sanghyuk. What had her brother meant by the word ‘few’?

“Well, we did invite someone else. But this time it is someone you know” Minah said with a guilty face. But her tone indicated that she really wasn’t.

“You invited Hongbin, didn’t you?” Haneul asked, her head buried in her hands again. The state of facepalming was slowly becoming her constant state of being.

“Yeah. The poor boy was alone on Chuseok because his parents are on some tour out of the country. So I invited him along” Minah told her. “And I know that you are lovestruck but I hope you behave tonight.”

“This is insane” Haneul said with a heavy sigh.

“In a few years, you will look back at this moment and thank me for setting you guys up” Minah said.

“The police will look back at this moment and declare that you pushed me to the point of jumping out of this window and declare my suicide a homicide” Haneul said before storming off behind the counter.

“Yeah okay. Go set the table” Minah said, dismissing her. Haneul was as dramatic as her brother sometimes, if not more. It often gave Minah pause, wondering what she might marry into someday. But it was also very amusing when not directed at her.

Haneul joined the others in the living room once the stew was done. Jaehwan and Hakyeon were sitting on the couch while Taekwoon was sitting on the armchair on the side with Minah leaning against the handle. Her brother had his arm around her waist and it made Haneul scoff.

“But you really should drop by Hakyeon’s new flower shop some time. It’s very close to our office and from what Minah tells me, it is close to your restaurant too” Jaehwan said enthusiastically.

“I must mention, I am a huge fan of the dumplings. Jaehwan and I binged on it once with no regrets” Hakyeon said.

“They were Wonshik’s special recipe. He will be happy to know” Taekwoon replied modestly.

“Oh, speaking of specialities, I heard that your shop has beautiful tulips Hakyeon. How did you manage to get them in this season?” Minah asked. “Haneul really loves tulips” she added with a sweet smile her way.

“Ah. That was a tricky thing but I won’t give my secret away” Hakyeon teased. “Do you like flowers a lot Haneul?” he asked her.

“In general yes. I like flowers” she said. It hadn’t taken her long to figure out what Minah was hinting at. The yellow tulips from six weeks ago had been from Hakyeon’s new shop.

“Tulips are delicate flowers. Probably the reason why they have such a romantic meaning attached to them too” Hakyeon said.

“Romantic meaning?” Taekwoon asked.

“Yeah. what was it again? Love?” Jaehwan asked his husband.

“Yellow tulips were a sign of being hopelessly in love” Hakyeon said. He shared a look with Minah and Jaehwan while Haneul’s heart sank further and further.

“Excuse me” Haneul said, excusing herself from the discussion. Had Hongbin always known?? What was this supposed to mean???

Her brain went into overdrive as she paced around the kitchen. What was she supposed to do now? Oh my god, she was such an idiot. How was she supposed to keep a straight face when Hongbin arrived? And why in the world were Hakyeon, Jaehwan and Minah all in on this??

The ringing of Minah’s phone distracted her from her thoughts. But Haneul went right back into it when she saw Hongbin’s name flash. If only she could either jump from the balcony or make herself small enough to hide under the kitchen sink or something. Haneul settled into a compromise and just ducked behind the counter, hoping to hide from the world forever there.

“What in the world are you doing?” Taekwoon asked, staring at his sister. He had volunteered to come get Minah’s phone but had been confused by Haneul acting like a weird chicken.

“I uh… don’t feel so well. I think I need to run to the pharmacy and get some medicine” she said, jumping up. She rushed out before Taekwoon could ask her what was wrong and dove straight for the closet. She pulled out her jacket and put on her shoes, not caring for the socks that lay forgotten in a jumble.

“Is Haneul okay?” she heard Minah ask as she closed the door behind her. Haneul checked her pocket for keys to her apartment. Maybe it wasn’t too late to just go home and sleep and pretend that tonight had never happened.

She pressed the button for the ground floor and counted down numbers till she did reach the ground floor. The activity helped her calm down a little and brought rational thought back to her head.

She must have definitely looked like an idiot rushing out of the room like that. But there was no way to save face now. She could always walk down to the all night pharmacy and buy cough drops for the sake of going through with the lie, but it was too extreme, even for her. She hung around in the lounge for a while before stepping out.

“Oh. Haneul hi” a familiar voice said.

“Sanghyuk! You’re here” Haneul said, surprised.

“Yeah. Wonshik and I were just looking for the visitor’s parking area. We found Hongbin too. Bless the poor soul, he had the wrong block” Sanghyuk said, turning and waving to the two men.

“Um… I was just headed to the pharmacy so I should get going” Haneul said weakly. Maybe she should have jumped off the balcony when she had the chance.

“Pharmacy? Are you not feeling well?” Wonshik asked. He had heard the last sentence when the two of them had arrived.

“Haneul! Hi” Hongbin greeted before stopping. He had noticed something was wrong and he immediately went up to her.

“Are you okay? Are you feeling unwell?” he asked, touching her forehead to check her temperature.

“I’m fine” she squeaked. Her face was hot from her embarrassment at her actions and she was sure that Hongbin had misunderstood the high temperature as a rising fever. He took her hand to measure her pulse but she pulled away.

“I’m absolutely okay” she lied. She had never been more not-okay in her life but she couldn’t stand the fuss.

“Let’s go upstairs. It’s cold outside” she told Sanghyuk who was now smirking at her. While Wonshik and Hongbin were confused. Sanghyuk had figured out the reason behind Haneul’s actions and was now clearly enjoying himself. When Minah had admitted that she hadn’t told Haneul because she didn’t want her to freak out and bail, she had clearly been right in her assumptions.

“Isn’t it? It’s unusually cold for autumn this year” Wonshik said.

“Maybe I should buy more woollen scarves. It gets chilly here” Sanghyuk said, causing Hongbin to blush and Haneul to start coughing.

“Are you okay? Do you want me to go to the pharmacy and get you cough drops?” Sanghyuk asked her in a very concerned voice.

Haneul glared at him and walked ahead, not caring about the others. Sanghyuk laughed before following her. When Wonshik raised an eyebrow at him as they waited for the elevator, he promised all of it was in good fun.

“Are you sure you don’t have a fever though?” Hongbin asked in a whisper as he leaned in. Haneul nodded, trying not to pay too much attention to his perfume that she had come to like.

-x-

“Thank you for having us” Hakyeon said once he put his shoes on.

“It was our pleasure. You are all invited for dinner again some time. Maybe we can convince Taekwoon to cook his signature pasta. He is really good at it” Minah said proudly.

“Some time for sure. We would love to have you guys over for our New Year’s Eve party if you are in town at the time” Jaehwan added. “You too Hongbin. Wonshik and Sanghyuk too. Tonight was a lot of fun.”

“I can’t deny my boss’ order” Hongbin teased. Jaehwan glared at him causing everyone to laugh. It was a merry sort of buzz, everyone feeling warm and cozy after having their fill of food and drinks. Sanghyuk and Wonshik had brought soju along and now everyone except the designated drivers were tipsy and giggling.

“Do you want us to give you a ride to your place?” Sanghyuk asked Hongbin.

“It’s not very far from here so I will just walk” Hongbin said, politely declining the offer.

“Well, I’ll see you tomorrow at the cafe then” Sanghyuk said. He bid everyone good night before the two of them headed out. Taekwoon and Minah noticed them holding hands as they left, but wisely left their questioning for later.

“That’s our cab driver and our cue” Hakyeon said, holding up his ringing phone. “You’re sure it’s not a problem if we leave our car parked overnight?”

“Yeah, don’t worry about it. Come pick it up later” Taekwoon said, waving his concern off.

“Thanks for inviting us Minah” Jaehwan said. He went to give her a hug but somehow found himself hugging Taekwoon who was staring at him blankly while squeezing him to death. Hakyeon stopped laughing long enough to rescue his husband before pulling him out the door, giggling about how cute possessive Taekwoon was.

“I shall be out of your hair too” Hongbin said, once things had quietened down a little.

“Thank you for the persimmons though. You really didn’t have to bring anything” Minah said modestly.

“It’s Chuseok tradition. And it was the first time I was visiting your house. I couldn’t just show up empty handed” Hongbin insisted.

“Next time, you don’t have to be so formal” she said warmly.

“Good night” he wished everyone.

“Good night” Haneul replied. Probably the first words she had spoken to him in the duration of the entire event. He smiled at her before taking his leave.

“You know… maybe you should walk Haneul back. Don’t the two of you live close by?” Minah asked.

“I can walk her back” Taekwoon said, not impressed by her suggestion.

“You have zero balance at the moment. You are only walking back to bed mister” Minah told him firmly. Taekwoon looked at her, raising an eyebrow suggestively.

“Good lord why didn’t I die before I had to see that” Haneul groaned, grabbing her socks and shoes and running out the door for a second time that night.

“Your brother is just drunk” Minah yelled back, amused by her complaints.

“I don’t care. Be gross in private!” Haneul yelled back in reply. She came back the door and grabbed Hongbin’s hand, pulling him out and closing the door behind them.

“Do I want to know?” Hongbin asked as the two of them stood at the end of the corridor, waiting as Haneul wore her socks.

“You really don’t. My brother is a weird child” Haneul said scrunching her nose. She jumped about, trying to get her shoes on and Hongbin laughed at the silliness of the situation.

“I’m glad you’re feeling better. You were really silent during dinner” he said, pressing the button.

“Yeah… I… yeah” she replied. Very articulate, she berated herself.

“You are really bad at handling the cold aren’t you?” he asked her, as they stepped into the elevator.

“I generally have better resistance” she said half heartedly. “And I usually have my coat which I forgot at my brother’s apartment. I am an idiot.”

Hongbin grinned at her pouting at her own self. Haneul was expressive and this amused him no end.

“You don’t really have to walk me back. Minah just said that for the sake of it” she told him in a quiet voice. “I don’t really mean to inconvenience you. It’ll be out of your way and it is already late and -”

“I would like to” Hongbin interrupted her. He put his jacket around her so that she wouldn’t feel cold and she blushed. “If you don’t mind it, I would like to walk you home.”

“I… That would be nice yeah” Haneul relented. She did want to spend time with him. She had been too embarrassed to talk at dinner time and the walk would be a nice excuse.

“I stay about a block away. It’s not too far” she assured him. He nodded, letting her lead the way.

“Are you sure you’re not feeling cold?” she asked, ten steps into their walk together. He nodded in response. She bit her lip, wondering how to return the jacket without seeming too rude or blunt.

“I never caught how Hakyeon and Jaehwan know Minah and your brother” he said, making idle conversation.

“Jaehwan and Minah are friends from work. Hakyeon knew Wonshik and Taekwoon from college. They went to the same business school I think” Haneul told him.

“It must be nice to stay in touch after all these years. I am only in contact with a few people from back then” Hongbin said.

“Yeah. Most of my friends decided to settle in different places so we rarely meet up now” Haneul agreed. “How did you come to know Hakyeon? Through Jaehwan?”

“Yeah. We’ve been friends for better part of three years now” Hongbin replied.

“Can I ask you a completely random question?” Haneul asked.

“Go ahead” Hongbin replied.

“The yellow tulips from earlier. They were from Hakyeon’s shop weren’t they?” she asked him.

“How did you come to know?” he asked in surprise.

“His flower shop is the only one near office. Jaehwan said that they specialised in exotic flowers. Tulips are rare in autumn” she explained.

“Ah. Yeah they were from his shop. He suggested I buy them for you” he told her honestly.

“Did he tell you… what they mean in flower language?” she asked him.

“He did” Hongbin confessed.

“Huh” she said in response to it. The two of them continued walking, not saying more

“Did you like them?” he asked after a moment of prolonged silence.

“Yes” she said, looking at the ground instead of at him. Hongbin said nothing more, walking along with her.

“This is my building” Haneul said, gesturing to the apartment block they were approaching. “Would you like to come upstairs for coffee? Or hot chocolate? Or something?”

Hongbin ran his hands through his hair, wondering what the correct response to the situation was.

“Maybe next time” he said, although both of them could tell that he didn’t mean it.

“That’s a shame” Haneul said.

“I had a good time tonight” she followed up, tiptoeing back and forth.

“Me too” he said ruefully. Haneul nodded, not moving because she didn’t want to say goodbye just yet. Hongbin had no such intention either but the silence was making things awkward.

“Would you like to get dinner with me? Next Saturday maybe?” Hongbin asked her.

“Yes! I mean yeah. Yeah that sounds like a good idea” she said, trying not to sound too enthusiastic about it.

“Great” he replied. “I'll pick you up on the day of. We could go to the nice restaurant or maybe Lotte World. Namsoon Tower is too far -”

“Hongbin?” Haneul interrupted. “Can I get your number or your KKT id?”

“Oh right. Yeah” he said, flustered that he forgot the most basic part. He entered his number on her phone and saved it under his name. He would automatically show up in her contacts.

“Thanks. I'll see you at work?” she asked hopefully.

“Yeah. We could grab coffee before that if you liked” he suggested.

“Sounds wonderful”

-x-

“Your boyfriend was looking for you” Sanghyuk said when Haneul walked in.

“He's not my boyfriend. And I found your boyfriend who was looking for you” Haneul said, gesturing to Wonshik.

“You didn't tell me that Haneul knew about us” Wonshik said with a pout.

“I think Taekwoon and Minah figured out that something was up at dinner” Sanghyuk confessed.

“So effectively everyone knows” Wonshik summarised. “It would explain while Taekwoon kept looking at me and didn’t say a thing when I said I wanted to make a coffee run.”

“I’ll excuse myself then” Haneul said winking at the two who groaned. She laughed, accidentally walking into Hongbin who had come looking for her.

“I am so sorry” Haneul exclaimed, worried she had hurt him on accident.

“I’m okay” Hongbin said, holding her steady by her shoulder so she wouldn’t stumble.

“Ah…” she said wisely, feeling awkward and nervous.

“So um… coffee?” he asked her.

“Not here. Sanghyuk and Wonshik are going to do gross PDA” Haneul said. Her volume was loud enough for the people in question to hear and that resulted in Sanghyuk chucking a cardboard sleeve at her.

“Please take her out if she intends on being troublesome” Sanghyuk yelled at Hongbin.

“In a date way or a sniper way?” Hongbin asked, causing Wonshik to laugh and Haneul to frown.

“Sniper way. I can’t live if you three being friends would mean listening to such bad jokes” she retorted.

“Damn. I was hoping for a date way since we’re both free today” Hongbin replied. Wonshik and Sanghyuk ooh-ed while Haneul blushed.

“Well?” Hongbin prompted.

“Can we go eat patbingsu?” Haneul asked, taking a chance. Hongbin pretended to think.

“Strawberry or red bean?” he asked, causing her to smile widely.

-x-

#vixx fanfiction #vixx hongbin #vixx ensemble as minor characters #cheese everywhere I am sorry

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sunflowerheartwriting · 7 years ago

Text

Dragonic 9

Welp, It is about time I am back with an update, right?! Sorry for the wait my friends! Work has gotten crazy since the last update but i finally got a day off after working for a month or so, to finally give you this! Please expect another update in the coming days as well to make up for the wait! :D As always thanks for reading my dudes! FF.net and AO3

Gajeel and Levy finished off the food Sue brought, as Gajeel explained what his advisors told him through mouthfuls.

"As you know Lullaby, is a terrible sickness that can spread like wildfire if we're not careful. It can knock even the biggest person off their feet, keeping them in bed for days. Weeks if it's not caught in time." Gajeel spoke finishing off the last piece of meat. "What makes it so bad is the symptoms are the same as a common cold, so it's hard to know if you have it or not."

Levy sat in a chair that usually sat in front of his desk, but she brought around to sit beside him to look over her notes with him. "How many people are infected?" Levy asked, turning to look up at the man.

Running his hand through his hair, he shook his head, "Almost an entire hospital. One of the older doctors recognized what was going on and quarantined the building. She sent a message to us before she shut it down."

"But, Lullaby hasn't been seen since, The Mad King era. It doesn't make sense that it's back now." She frowned.

"I know, that's why I have one of the best coming tomorrow to help us get this under control." He smiled to himself a memory sparking his mind.

Levy watched him smile sweetly at whatever he was replaying in his mind before it fell back into a frown. She wondered what he could be thinking about that made his mood change so drastically.

Collecting his thoughts to the main objective, he continued to speak. "We will get this under control, I'm just worried about it spreading to the castle." He huffed, rubbing his palm against his cheek as his face twisted in worry.

Nodding her head, Levy understood that if the King goes down then the kingdom will eventually follow. "We have to make sure your health stays in tip top shape."

"My health?" He asked in astonishment, as if he was insulted by her comment. "My health will be fine, it's my staff and yours I'm worried about."

Creasing her eyebrows in confusion, she stated, "But you're the King and if you go down, we go down too. So, yes. Your health is just as important."

He quirked an eyebrow in amusement, her frustration rising at the smug smirk curling his lips. "What's so funny?" She asked.

"You figured out that my family has different senses than you but you somehow overlooked that our immune system may be part of it too."

Her eyes went wide in realization, mouth snapping open at his statement. She did think about it but she didn't have enough information to come up with a good hypothesis. Plus there's very few books on the dragon slayers so assuming what they have and don't, without something to back her up didn't feel right to her. The only reason she guessed they had different senses was the proof she had.

"Gihee, no need to look so surprised." He chuckled. "Do you want know what else is different?" He asked leaning in close with a toothy grin.

Levy face flushed a deep red by his question and how close he was. The smell of the woods still clung to him and a scent that she couldn't place that was naturally him caused her insides to flop. "I-uh-I'm not sure about that." She stuttered out.

"My, My Miss Levy are you thinking dirty thoughts?" He grinned wider causing Levy to sputter in embarrassment.

Covering her flaming face, she shook her head trying to get her emotions under control. There was no way she was going to admit to what she was thinking and in all honesty it wasn't the cleanest. She felt a firm hand on her head and heard the King's signature laugh.

"I'm just teasing shorty, but if you still want to know-"

"I'm ok!" She interrupted, speaking louder than she wanted too. "Let's just get back to work."

She desperately needed to focus and to think about something else other than how red her face was and the erratic beating of her heart. Taking a much needed deep breath, she cleared her mind ignoring the butterflies in her stomach that continued to move erratically as they got back to work.

Gajeel's grin was replaced with his previous grave expression as he talked. The sound of rain hitting the window seemed to fit the gloomy mood of the kingdom, a heavy tension hanging over the pair as they tried to come up with a solution to the sudden epidemic. More food was brought by Sue as the two skipped dinner, too engrossed in their discussion to leave the office. Levy ate a few pieces, occasionally throwing pieces of meat to Lily who moved from the couch to her side. The big cat seemed anxious of the rain, as he balled up tightly by her feet, ears flat down occasionally whining when a big gust of wind rattled the windows.

Rubbing his head, Levy voiced her concern. "Is Lily ok? He seems really anxious."

"You noticed that, huh?" Gajeel said with a sad smile. "He's terrified of thunderstorms. Even though I don't think the weather is going to get worse than this, the wind has picked up quite a bit."

Levy didn't know what she expected but thunderstorms definitely wasn't it. Lily let out a whimper at the mention of his fear, putting his paws over his ears as if he could hear the storm raging outside. Smoothing the raised fur, Levy tried her best to calm the nervous panther.

"It's ok, Lily. It's only going to rain tonight. No thunderstorms." She promised scratching behind his ear, earning a low purr. She smoothed some more fur down, waiting for him to calm down a little more before turning to look at Gajeel. He shot her smile of approval, before stifling a yawn.

"It's late and we have a pretty decent strategy on how to help until reinforcement arrives tomorrow, so I suggest we go to bed." Levy declared standing up, collecting the empty plates and placing them back on the platter.

Gajeel stood up with a stretch and a loud yawn, agreeing as he twisted his torso left and right to crack the stiffness out of his back from sitting so long. Levy straighten the items on his desk the best she could, as the wind and rain outside picked up, the rattling of the window and howling of wind sounding ominous. Lily's body vibrated with fear, his fur sticking up immediately as he scurried from his spot on the floor towards Gajeel. The big cat lept onto the unsuspecting Gajeel causing him to stumble back a few steps as he held onto the shaking feline.

"You're getting heavier, buddy." Gajeel grunted out as he adjusted Lily's weight in his arms, holding him as if he was a small kitten. Lily's butt and back was supported by Gajeel's arms as the cat's head and paws tried their best to hide in the crook of Gajeel's neck with no avail. The sight tugged at Levy's heart strings, her wanting to hug the two but also not wanting to interrupt their moment. She wondered how many times Gajeel had to hold Lily in order to ease his anxiety of the storms.

"I guess Lily won't be walking you back tonight without my help." Gajeel said petting the cats back softly.

Collecting the platter, she shook her head at his statement. "No, it's ok. I can make it back on my own. Lily is great company but he's too shaken up right now and we're all tired."

"Oh, so I'm not good company?" Gajeel teased, chuckling at the small woman's face as she quickly tried to correct her previous statement. "I'm just teasing shorty. You're way too easy to rile up."

Puffing her cheeks in frustration, she pouted at the realization that he got her again. "Goodnight, Gajeel." She said with a roll of her eyes, leaving the office platter in hand.

Leaving the platter in the kitchen, Levy quickly made it to her room so she could take a shower to wash off the day's stress and get into bed. The sound of the rain lulled her to sleep, as she prayed it wouldn't thunderstorm for the sake of Lily.

The next morning Levy was surprised again to see Gajeel and Lily awake and dressed. Levy wheeled in their breakfast, immediately handing Gajeel his plate as she greeted him.

"Good morning, nice to see you're both awake." She said, before walking over to Lily who was stretched out on Gajeel's bed. "Are you feeling better this morning?" she asked the feline as she gave his head a generous pat, placing a bowl of kiwis in front of him.

His ears perked up sitting up with a smile, a low purr vibrating from his chest in appreciation. "I'll take that as a yes."

"You spoil him too much," Gajeel said before stuffing a piece of pancake in his mouth. Lily let out a slight growl, causing the man to stop eating, his eyes squinting at the cat.

Giggling lightly, Levy leaned down, whispering loud enough for both of them to hear. "Yea, I think he's just jealous too."

"Oi! I am not!" He defended, as the two laughed. Grumbling to himself he stuffed more food in his mouth occasionally shooting daggers to his cat, who smiled happily as Levy showered him with attention.

Levy waited for them to finish their breakfast before she sent the dishes back to the kitchen and returned to Gajeel's side. She met him in the hallway as he walked briskly to his awaiting advisors.

"What's on the agenda for today, your Majesty?" She asked trying her best to keep up with his long stride.

"I have to talk with the old men about our plan before company arrives."

Nodding her head in agreement, she asked, "Are there any orders you have for me while you talk with them?"

Slowing his pace, he smiled to himself, "Yes. I want you to sit in with me." Levy stumbled at his statement, Gajeel quickly grabbed her arm just in case she fell. Heat raced up her arm at his touch as he helped her stand correctly. Shaking off the feeling she turned him, his words ringing in her ears.

"What? I can't sit in with you." She announced with wide eyes, "It's not allowed. Officials only."

He shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, "Who cares, you're the one that helped me, so you're as official as it's gonna get."

How could he say something like that? And say it as if it wasn't a big deal? These were people who have mentored and aided royalty for generations. They've been trained and taught how to help their people, whereas Levy wouldn't know how to act around them. Is there a certain etiquette to the conversation? Where does she sit? Would it be weird if she sat close to Gajeel? Could she speak or would she just have to sit and listen to the conversation? All these questions and more swirled in Levy's brain as she thought about his request. It would be an immense honor to sit in with him, but…her past is tainted now. She's no longer a scholar's daughter, she's now a bought item.

"I still can't go in. What would your advisors think?" She faltered, her eyes going downcast, staring at her feet. Fiddling with her fingers, her voice sounded as small as she felt. "I'm sure they know…about me."

She couldn't see his face but he was frowning as he looked down at her. She was wringing her hands as her thoughts got the best of her, spiraling into self-doubt. She didn't belong there, next to him; whatever gave her the notion that she did? A gentle grip on her hands pulled her out of her disassociation.

"Levy, look at me," he spoke softly as if not to scare her as he wrapped his other hand around her wrist pulling her closer to him. They were standing toe-to-toe, her head bowed, nearly touching his chest. "Please, look at me." She shook her head no.

She couldn't look at him, not now. Her emotions were displayed clearly on her face and she wasn't ready for him to see them. Not when she was so unsure herself. But his hands wrapped around her own seemed to anchor her to the real world as she heard him clear his throat.

"I-I'm no good with the words. But, past is the past and it no matters now. You here now, help me with the kingdom and you are person of good." His broken words of encouragement, as he tried his best to use what she taught him caused her to smile. He was getting better and his hesitation to speak between words was improving. She guessed that this was his own way of trying to cheer her up and it worked.

A small giggle came from her lips as she looked up to her King. "You're getting better, I'm proud of you."

"Thank you, I have a wonderful teacher."

They both smiled like idiots as they stared into each other eyes, when the sound of someone clearing their throat made them jump apart. A guard approached them bowing at the waist as he spoke.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, your Majesty, but the advisors are requesting your presence."

Gajeel understood the general notion of the guards visit and turned his attention back to Levy. "I can handle the old farts by myself, how about you and Lily pick some of the plants we talked about. That'll be one thing off our list."

Picking up her skirts she curtsied, "Yes, your Majesty." He shot her a wink as he turned to leave with the guard, ignoring the weird look the guard gave her. Levy watched as they walked down the hall before she turned to head back to the kings quarters.

#gajevy #Gajeel X Levy #gajevy fanfic #multigajevy #gajevy multific #fairy tail #ftfanfic #ftfanfics #fairy tail fanfic #Dragonic

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not-just-any-fangirl · 7 years ago

Text

Days Of Summer CH 5

A/N; Well. It was good while it lasted. And at last we are here with an update!

I wish I could promise a schedule but with both of us working and having other fics it might not be as regular as we’d like, but we’ll promise to try! Feel free to drop into mine or @hannah-nobody‘s inbox with any questions or things about the fic!

Here’s the updated playlist!

Summer has arrived, and with it the start of the two month long music camp; Fairy Tail! Full of new songs, friends, and adventures, the campers learn things they never knew about themselves and one another. And just how easy it is to sneak booze and a full sized karaoke machine out into the middle of the woods.

Camp Rock!AU

Pairing: Nalu, Gajevy, Gruvia, others mentioned; Fairy Tail

Words: 11154

Rating: T

Parts: Chapter One, Chapter Two, Chapter Three, Chapter Four, Chapter Five, Chapter Six, Chapter Seven

Chapter Five: Good Time, Good Life

Good energy

Come follow me

Oh, it's gonna be a fun night

Juvia smiled brightly as she waved to Gajeel and Levy, sighing happily as she watched Gajeel choke on his tongue at Levy leading him around. Juvia didn't think she had ever seen Gajeel let himself be manhandled like that by anyone. Except Juvia that is.

“Gajie!” Juvia called clinging to his other arm when the two got close enough. “Juvia is so happy Levy brought you with her! Now we will have two guides!”

“I'm afraid we're down to the one,” Lucy pouted, crossing her arms over her chest as she glared in the direction of the cabins. “Cana was supposed to meet us here, but honestly who knows where that girl ended up.”

Juvia smiled at Lucy's obvious irritation with Cana, but the anger disappeared quickly from her pretty brown eyes. They all turned to Gajeel, who seemed to pale under the expecting smiles of all three girls. “So, where is Gajie taking Juvia and her new friends first?” Juvia asked.

“Would ya stop with the nickname, Rainwoman?” Gajeel grumbled, lips pinched in his signature pout. He always remind Juvia of a fluffy Great Pyrenees, intimidating to look at until you realized he thought he was a lap dog.

“I think Gajie is a cute name,” Levy said off handedly. Gajeel squawked, coughing loudly and lifting the arm that Juvia held to try and mask the noise. Juvia met Levy’s clever eyes, stifling a giggle of her own, lest she send Gajeel into a sulk. He had a habit of hiding for a few hours when too embarrassed.

“Oi, don't you start either, Shrimp.”

Levy’s smile fell to a dangerous glower, grumbling under her breath at the nickname. Juvia wanted to ask why she seemed so upset, nicknames from Gajeel showed a comfort few were graced with. Juvia considered hers an honour. “Why doesn't Gajie show us the studios first?” Juvia offered instead, smiling brightly at the other two girls nods of approval. Gajeel grunted his lack of disdain for the idea, allowing Juvia to half lead him in the direction of the studios. She was eager to see what kind of floors they would have for the dance areas.

“What song are you humming?” Lucy asked, falling into step beside Juvia.

“Oh, was Juvia singing out loud? She apologizes.” Juvia said, blushing brightly as she turned her gaze on the path before them.

“No,” Lucy said back, smile kind as she gently rested a hand on Juvia’s arm. “Don't apologize! It sounded really pretty.”

“She was singin’ I Can Hear The Bells from one of her musicals.” Gajeel grunted.

“Gajie remembered the name!” Juvia cooed happily, squeezing his arm tighter.

“It's not like you don't sing it every time some guy smiles at you,” Gajeel grumbled, nudging Juvia kindly with his elbow but keeping his face forward. Juvia knew he didn't understand how Juvia could open up so easily, especially after their shared past horrors, but Gajeel also yearned for the embrace of a lover. Juvia knew it. It's just while she kept hers on her sleeve, Gajeel carried it buried under several layers of snark, sarcasm, muscle, and glaring.

“You thinking of Gray?” Levy asked, peering around Gajeel's chest. Juvia noted that Levy had to take two steps for every one that Juvia and Gajeel took. Something that Gajeel also seemed to be aware of, by the way he slowed his gait. Interesting. Those thoughts would have to be looked at another time, however, as Juvia was drawn into a blushing mess at the mention of her infatuation.

“He's pretty cute, isn't he?” Lucy asked, eyes bright as she leaned into Juvia’s space. “With his dark hair and dreamy eyes and brooding aloofness. All you could want in an emo boy.”

Juvia balked at Lucy's wagging eyebrows. Her lips drew into a thin line as realization dawned on Juvia. “Is Lucy to be Juvia’s love rival aside Natsu?”

Gajeel groaned loudly at the same time as Lucy sputtered. “Juvia, I am not interested in Gray! He's like my brother!” Lucy complained, pouting at Juvia. Juvia saw through her denials however, bright blush loud on her puffed cheeks. Besides, how could someone not be interested in Gray? He seemed so sweet and protective and indeed dreamy.

“You could do so much better than that prick, woman,” Gajeel said. He rolled his eyes at Juvia’s frown, guiding them along the left fork of the trail.

“Gajie is just jealous that he isn't the main man in Juvia's life now,” Juvia teased. She giggled at his low grunt and muddled curses.

“Juvia,” Levy started, tone cautious, “when we met you said you didn't have any friends, but it seems like Gajeel is your best friend.”

“Oh, that's because Gajie isn't Juvia's friend. He is her brother.”

“Oh!” Levy said, shocked as she looked between Gajeel and Juvia. “I'm sorry, um...” she trailed off.

“You two look nothing alike.” Lucy said, comparing Juvia and Gajeel’s faces intently.

“That's ‘cus we ain't related. Juvia just lives with me and I've known her since I was a brat.” Gajeel smiled at Lucy, crooked grin the most relaxed Juvia had seen it with more than two people present.

“Sounds like you two are basically siblings.” Levy hummed, grinning easily at Gajeel.

“Gajie is the only family Juvia knows. And Gajie’s family is Juvia's family.”

“Awww,” Lucy and Levy said at the same time, Juvia blushing under their attention. “Well now you have family and friends.” Lucy said brightly. Juvia smiled back at her, a little in awe of how pretty Lucy was. Juvia would be in trouble with her bid for Gray’s attention, but perhaps being around her chiming giggles and enchanting smile for so long would have numbed Gray to Lucy's siren like effect. Juvia would much rather have Lucy as a friend than Love Rival. Or perhaps they were destined to be both.

“Yes,” Juvia said instead.

They continued to walk and make small talk between the three girls and Gajeel’s highly expressive grunts, Juvia enjoying the warmth of the sun on her face and the easy sounds of people around her. “Juvia wants to dance.” She said suddenly, beaming up at Gajeel. Juvia’s friend rolled his eyes, as he often did around her, but stopped them in front of a single story white building that looked like it could fit seven school buses nose to bumper in it. Large glass windows gave light into the last four rooms, the rest with average windows on their side of the building, wooden trim giving it a clean but still woodsy feel.

“Well go on in and check out the rehearsal space, Rain Woman.”

Juvia clapped her hands excitedly, running into the building. She passed pairs of doors, each with a small window and letter on the natural wood, light blue paint on the walls scuffed around knee height from instrument cases banging against them over the years. Juvia burst through the third last door on the left, standing still as she basked in the feeling of being back in a dance space. This is where Juvia felt at home the most. Looking around the room, Juvia was able to see a fairly updated sound system, and a barre that wrapped around three walls of the room at waist height, above the wooden paneling. Juvia bounced on the balls of her feet, taking in how much give and bounce the floor had. It was better than Juvia’s rehearsal space at school!

Juvia did a few channe turns to the centre of the room, her skirt swirling around her legs making her smile, spotting to a tree out the large wall sized window. There was so much natural light, it made Juvia giddy and want to dance. Juvia wondered if she could sneak back here after turn in and dance a bit. It always made Juvia feel better.

“Don't worry, she gets like this when she finds a new studio. Or crush.”

Juvia turned towards the door, rocking on her feet and hands clasped behind her back, smiling at where Gajeel stood, Lucy and Levy peeking around his bulking figure. “Gajie, come dance with Juvia!”

Gajeel blushed and scoffed at Juvia's out stretched hand, Levy and Lucy giggling and looking up at him slyly. “But Gajie always dances with Juvia,” Juvia said softly. Had she done something? Gajeel bit his lip, blush darkening on his skin as he fidgeted, eyes darting between the wall, Juvia, and Levy. Ohhh, so that was Gajeel’s problem. And he said Juvia had a dramatic streak! As if he had forgotten the time he scoured the allies for weeks trying to find a cat after Natsu and Wendy had gotten their kittens.

“Awww, that’s so cute!” Levy chimed, grinning up at Gajeel. Juvia’s love sense tingled, and she fought letting out a high squeal. Setting up Gajie and Levy would be an excellent distraction when Juvia needed a break trying to woo Gray from Lucy’s charms!

“Gajie, come dance with Juvia! Please?” Juvia batted her eyelashes at Gajeel, clapping happily when Gajeel’s shoulders slumped and his whole face flared bright red.

“One dance.” Gajeel said through his teeth, stalking towards Juvia in the centre of them room. “Got it, Waterworks?”

Juvia hummed as she nodded, holding out her hand expectantly. She grinned brightly when Gajeel took it, rolling her eyes when he stood tense and awkward in front of her, like they hadn’t done this a hundred times.

Gajeel cracked a small grin when Juvia started into a swing routine she had had to learn for an audition for Grease in the advanced after school program, and had promptly forced Gajeel to practice with her until she couldn’t feel her thighs. Well, Gajeel always said forced, but Juvia had only needed to cry and beg for ten minutes before he caved, which was frankly a record. Usually it took a few hours of pestering him. Juvia squealed and laughed when Gajeel did the full lift, swinging her in the air and on either side of his hips, motions easy and needing as much thought as breathing. She panted slightly when he put her down, his large hand patting her head to signal he was done. She beamed up at his fond look, straight line that his lips were usually set in slightly curled up and eyes soft, like when he looked at Pantherlily. He also reserved this look for when Natsu made him laugh, though Gajeel would rather choke his cousin than admit to seeing him as a brother.

Juvia bowed exaggeratedly when Lucy and Levy began clapping, both standing in the room now and excited by even Juvia's standards.

“Everyone here is so talented!” Lucy awed. Juvia thought she heard of tinge of jealousy in Lucy's voice, but it was quickly pushed aside when the blonde smiled brightly. Juvia felt her cheeks heat when she smiled back shyly. “Just like that boy who was singing earlier. He sounded amazing.”

“The mysterious boy did sound quite good to Juvia,” Juvia agreed. She looked at Gajeel in confusion when she noticed him snort and shake his head. “What is Gajie thinking?” Juvia asked.

“Nothing, Water Works,” Gajeel brushed off, grin wide and sharp as he looked down at her. He patted her head before walking back to Lucy -and Levy, more pointedly- leaving Juvia in the middle of the dance studio. “Now come on, unless you don't wanna see the lake side,” Gajeel grunted.

He left the room with the girls, Juvia sharing an excited look with Lucy and Levy before following her tall, dark, and brooding friend. Juvia blinked as both girls looped their arms through hers, physically pulling her into their conversation as all three chased after Gajeel. Her new friends.

Juvia couldn’t wait for camp to really begin.

Gray leaned back, elbows resting on the riser step behind him as he looked at the empty stage just behind the large bonfire pit. Steps were carved into the ground in a semi circle around the stage, wooden planks bolted down for seats. This was what he had imagined when Lucy had first brought up the idea of a summer camp to him. Outdoorsy and a little run down, wood everywhere. Not the state of the art recording studios and practice spaces Gildarts had shown him when he took Loke and Gray on a rough tour -including where the female staff hung out. Why Gildarts would be chasing after twenty-somethings was a thing Gray didn’t want to think about, but might also help explain Cana’s constant silver flask.

And he thought he had a weird relationship with his family.

Whoops, bad thoughts. Think about how big of a drum set could fit on that dinky little stage. Better.

Gray looked over the sea of faces around him, taking in the ages. He was suddenly thrown back to his first AFI concert when he was 13, an endless crowd of young teenagers screaming along to surprisingly dark lyrics. Gray had truly found his people that first concert. And that black was his favourite colour.

“Look at all these cute little kids,” Lucy cooed, eyes shining as she caught sight of one that even Gray had to admit made him wish for another sibling, even if it was only so he wasn’t the youngest anymore. His attention shifted from the little lost looking girl with blue pigtails to the boy running around with no shirt between the aisles, something that Gray hoped was chocolate or dirt smeared over his chest as he chased his friend.

“They sure are there.” Gray drawled, keeping an eye on the screaming twelve-year-old even as he turned back to Lucy, making sure that he had plenty of time to make a break for it in case the snot nosed brat tried to put his grubby hands on Gray’s limited edition Nine Inch Nails tour shirt.

“Stop being a butt,” Lucy swatted at his arm, distracted when she began waving for Levy to join them. Gray bit back a grimace, seeing the hulking figure of his death metal bunk mate behind Lucy’s friend, and the knowledge that where Gajeel was there was the unfortunate chance of seeing Flame Head. What kind of scene punk dyed their entire head pink like that? Gray’s thoughts were thankfully saved from thinking more about Natsu when he caught sight of blue hair and even bluer eyes peeking out from behind Gajeel’s back, pale skin flushing as she met Gray’s gaze and hid fully behind the six-foot-something mass of black clothed muscle.

It was kind of cute how shy Juvia was, but also kind creepy. The jury was still out.

Gray kept his face blank when Juvia sat down next to him, pointedly ignoring how her skirt was slitted to reveal the smooth skin of her thighs, pressed tight together as Juvia made herself take up less space. Gray furrowed his eyebrows when it clicked in his head, remembering how Lucy used to sit the same way in front of her father. He met Juvia’s eyes and gave her a small smile, feeling unnatural as the corners of his lips forcefully turned up slightly. He was determined to never make anyone feel like how Jude made Lucy feel. He’d be the family she deserved, like how she was the family he didn’t.

Juvia squeaked loudly, face turning bright red before she scrambled away, hiding on the other side of Gajeel. He turned to Lucy, smiling slipping away. “Did I do something wrong?” he asked, glancing at the ball of blue and fur that Juvia had become.

“You mean other than existing?” A voice said beside him, Gray snarling as he turned to look up at him.

“Was hoping you fell into the river,” Gray spat back, frown deepening when Natsu sat down beside him.

“Both of you be nice,” Lucy sighed, Gray rolling his eyes at her motherly tone. “And no Gray, all you did wrong was stripping your shirt before smiling at her.”

“Wha- goddamit.” Gray said, looking around and catching sight of the turned inside-out black of his shirt, snatching it off the ground and brushing off the wood chips.

“Are you like, trying to get arrested?” Natsu asked. Gray’s head snapped to him with an insult on his lips, stalling when he only saw curiosity in Natsu's eyes. Holy shit, did the idiot wear contacts too? Who had green that bright as a natural colour?

“Uh, no. I don't mean to get naked all the time,” Gray explained, scratching the side of of his face. He didn't even know why he was explaining this. Half his brain told his mouth to just say ‘fuck off’ and drop it, but the other half of his brain had different ideas. “My aunt was a competitive rock climber and used to take me and my cousin with her. She liked to train uh, with less clothes so the cold wouldn't bother her and Lyon wanted to be just like her, and I couldn't let Lyon beat me. So uh, the habit kinda stuck.”

“Huh,” Natsu said, nodding as he looked at the stage as well. “So pervert runs in your genes. Or outta them, I guess.”

“You pink haired dipshit,” Gray snarled. “You're lucky people are around or you'd be at the bottom of the lake.”

“It's nice to see you two talking!” Lucy beamed at them, grin bright and a little forced as she leaned forward to look at both him and Natsu. “This camp is the time to make friends and explore our own identities! Aren’t you guys excited?”

“Uh, is there something funny in the water I should be worried about?” Natsu asked, cheeks pink as he eyed Lucy but gaze wary.

“Nah,” Gray grunted, slinging an arm around Lucy's shoulder and pulling her closer to his chest. “She just read too many brochures and is as optimistic as a fucking beam of sunshine.” Gray smirked when he noticed Natsu curl into himself a bit, eyes flicking away from Gray's and his lips turning down. It was better Natsu accepted that he had no hope with Lucy anyway. He didn't think he could stand sharing a room with that idiot mopping over his best friend all summer, all dopey eyes and dumb smiles. God it would be so gross.

“Gray,” Lucy complained, smiling as she pushed herself away from under his arm. “Just because I'm not still in my emo phase doesn't mean I'm a beam of sunshine.”

“I think you're pretty beamy,” Natsu mumbled. Gray sneered at him, Natsu returning the look briefly. His attention was turned to Lucy again at her soft giggle, Natsu's eyes widening as Gray's snapped to Lucy. She was blushing, eyes cast down and her fingers playing with her ponytail tip.

“That's a stupid thing to say.” Gray grumbled, slouching back against the riser. He pulled at the neckline of his shirt, cloth itchy and hot suddenly.

“I thought it was sweet.” Lucy defended. Gray held Lucy's warning glower, ‘tch’-ing before looking back at the stage. If Lucy knew the truth she wouldn't be so eager to flirt with the pink haired bastard. Gray was stopped from telling her just how not ‘sweet’ the pink fuckwit was when someone spoke on stage.

“Hello there brats!” Makarov said, voice carrying even without a microphone over the wide group. “It's good to see you all again. Here at Fairy Tail we like to keep things informal, don't need at those blasted rules holding us back, do we brats?” He grinned, mischievous twinkle in his eye reminding Gray why Cana’s dad fit so well into the staff here. “So be free to try new things and explore! Bend and break the rules of what you were told you can and can't do! Whatever makes your heart sing can't be all that wrong, can it? We do have some guidelines though, the themes of the weeks coming up to give you growing brats some structure!

“So without further adieu, here is the lovely Mira Jane to introduce them.” Makarov motioned to the side, a pretty white haired woman waving her hand. Well, Gray couldn't exactly tell her age, she had the kind of face that could be fifteen or twenty-five. Gray jerked when he felt Lucy's nails dig into her upper arm, grip vice like as she clung to him. Gray could practically see the stars in her eyes as she gaped at the stage.

“Gray! Gray look! Gray oh my God it's Mira Jane!” She whispered loudly, shaking him with each word. Gray was pretty sure she was breaking skin at this point.

“He literally just said that,” he pointed out dryly, trying to pry her off one finger at a time, and failing. When the fuck had she gotten so strong?

“No,” Lucy hissed, “I mean it’s the Mira Jane Strauss! World famous model and rockstar? Part of the mysterious band She Devils? I have her poster above my bed, dummy.”

Gray was pretty sure he didn't care. And that he was losing circulation in his arm.

“The She Devils are famous?” Natsu asked, incredulous as he eyed the stage. Gray glared at him, no one was even talking to the idiot. “Nah,” he said after a pause, grinning easily at them as he leaned back in his seat, beanie starting to pull back and show his cheap pink dye job. Natsu quickly fixed it, continuing on as if nothing had happened. “It's just Mira and Erza and Ever! If they were famous they wouldn't be hanging around at our camp, no matter how great the program is.”

“Erza's in the She Devils?” Lucy gasped, nails definitely cutting into Gray’s arm now. He might lose the limb.

“Yeah! She's the main guitar, Mira’s vocals and rhythm guitar, and Ever is drums and vocals. Though, they ain't exactly been getting along since last summer...” Natsu trailed off, face paling as he looked at the stage again. “They are called the ‘She Devils’ for a reason.”

Gray snorted as he eyed Mira Jane over again. Her smile was kind but shy as she fiddled with the projector, a pretty but simple summer dress that fit her snugly enough to remind Gray that he was a teenager. “She doesn't look all that scary.”

“She makes Erza look like a baby.” Natsu said flatly, dead serious as he held Gray’s gaze. Gray felt a shiver of fear travel his spine at Natsu's words, turning to look back at the stage. Wait, no, that chill was just the evening air on his bare spine.

“Fuck,” Gray hissed, looking around to find his shirt. Again.

“Careful or Erza will hear you,” Levy cooed, eyes sparkling as she giggled at Gray’s sudden stiffness. He put a hand over his heart, trying to get it to restart.

“Levy don't tease him like that, he nearly had an asthma attack in the cafeteria.” Lucy chastised lightly. Gray whipped his head to see Natsu snickering at him, rage boiling under his skin. How dare that dumbass laugh at him! At least he didn't have a dozen piercings in his ear, no matter how much he had been trying to save up to get his own done. His would look way cooler! Gray dug his elbow into Natsu's ribs, grinning when the air left his lungs in a pained gasp. His grin sharpened when Natsu was stopped from attack by Mira Jane finally speaking.

“Hello everyone! My name is Mira Jane, but you guys can call me Mira. I'm the camper coordinator, so if you guys ever need to talk to someone about the events or need a friend I'm here! Gildarts is our professional counselor for more serious or personal matters, as I am a camper just like you!” Mira smiled, taking a breath. Gray wondered how many times she had done this, considering how rehearsed and polished she sounded. “We have some very exciting themes this year that focus heavily on teamwork and collaboration and trying new things. The rest of this week will be for settling in! Some meet and greet events but nothing too major, including the camp favourite: Karaoke.

“The first theme is different talents! This will last three weeks and will end in a miniature camp showcase. You all remember checking the second box on your application forms, and will be grouped with someone who chose your main skill as they're secondary!” Mira gestured to the screen, where pictures of smiling kids faces were opposite to the words she had just spoken in point form. “Then the next theme will be different genres, where we will pair you with someone of the same main talent in a different genre. This will be the last week before the break, where you guys can have a little R and R before coming back. The sixth and seventh weeks will be the collaboration weeks, where you get to choose your partner. The staff thought by then you should have enough time to see who you work best with and what suits you! The eighth and ninth weeks will be the group weeks where you will be split into several groups to work on choreography and stage presence, and the last and final week will be all about preparing for the final showcase for all your parents and loved ones!” Gray scoffed at her overly cheery tone. He wasn’t sure if he would count his family as his loved ones.

“Of course,” Mira continued, pulling Gray’s attention back to her, “there will be several student organized events scattered throughout the weeks, so keep your eyes on that cork board and your ears open. Now, who’s ready to rock?”

The crowd met her energetic question with a loud roar. Gray was pretty sure he heard someone screaming about being ‘manly’, whatever that meant. He looked over at Lucy, jolting when he saw the beginnings of tears in her eyes. “Uh, Luce?” he asked, unsure what to do.

“She’s just so beautiful, Gray,” Lucy whimpered, clutching her hands to her chest. “And she’s a camper here! Gray what if I bump into her and spill a drink all over her? What if she hears me singing? What if she doesn’t like me singing? What if she hates my songs Gray?”

Gray sighed, patting her head and rolling his eyes at her warbling lip. He forgot how much of a fangirl Lucy could be sometimes.

“Nah, she’ll love ya,” Natsu assured, smile bright as he looked at Lucy. God did Gray want to punch him, something heavy curling in his chest.

“He’s right, Bunny Girl,” Gajeel chimed in, “Mira’s crazy but she’s nice enough.”

“She’s the only one who listens to him try and sing,” Natsu whispered loudly, sharing a sneaky grin with Gray over mocking Gajeel before beaming at Lucy’s high giggle.

“Oi, it’s ‘cus she’s the only one ‘round here who can recognize talent,” Gajeel spat out, glaring at his cousin. Gray had heard Gajeel humming before he left the cabin. He wasn’t sure he’d call whatever Gajeel had ‘talent’. He kept his mouth shut, though, not seeing a good escape route and preferring not to start a fight in the middle of a crowd.

“All you brats get your butts back to your cabins, lights out is in ten and I have no clue where our lovely Erza is at the moment.” Makarov called loudly, grinning at the petrified crowd before hopping off the stage.

“C’mon you knuckleheads, I dunno about ya but I'd rather not play hide and seek with the crazy redhead my first night here.” Gajeel said gruffly, standing and making a path through the crowd. Gray and Lucy shared a look, shrugging as they stood and followed after him, Natsu and Loke striking up a conversation as they followed. Traitor. Actually, if Gray thought about it this was the first he had seen of Loke in hours. Weird.

Natsu was pretty sure if it wasn’t for Happy sleeping on his chest and pinning him to the bed that Gray would be dead.

“For the last time, it’s ‘the goddamn door’!” Gray snapped, throwing a wadded up piece of paper at Natsu’s head. He bared his teeth in return before rolling his eyes, wishing he had a rock or something harder than his pillow to throw in retaliation.

“I thought an emo like you woulda known it was ‘a goddamn door’,” he hissed.

“Oh my God it’s been three hours you’re both giant music nerds just fucking look it up. We do have internet here,” Loke sighed. Gajeel had put in his headphones a while ago, so the group was saved from his creative and explicit threats, although Loke might be nearing the ‘murder’ point pretty soon. They had been stuck in the cabin for the last four hours due to a sudden thunderstorm that made it nearly impossible to see your own hand in front of your face outside. The weather was due to clear up before karaoke, which was at eight; another six hours away.

Natsu didn’t know if he could survive another six hours in this damn cabin.

“Lucy’s saying that the girls are playing truth or dare and ‘having girl time’,” Loke continued, “I wish I was with them, having Cana probe my sex life would be much more enjoyable than listening to you two bicker over song lyrics.”

“Stop being melodramatic and just fucking google it, seeing as you're the only one in here with a signal.” Gray snapped, throwing a pillow at the orange haired boy this time. Hah, that dumbass was out of pillows now.

“If it'll make you two shut up for a bloody second then fine.”

Natsu perked up as he waited for Loke to prove him right, shove that in Frost Bite’s face. As if anyone knew Panic! At The Disco better than him. That band had practically raised Natsu through his early teens, he wasn't about to misremember the lyrics of one of their most iconic songs. Although it wasn't Natsu's favourite, it was still up there alongside Nine In The Afternoon.

“Oh my God.”

“What!” Natsu asked, upper body hanging over the barricade of his bunk bed as he looked down at Loke, eager to be proven right. A grin spread over his face at the rueful smile on Loke’s face, eyes flicking in Gray’s direction above him apologetically.

“Natsu’s right.”

“You're dead to me.”

“Fucking suck on that you fake emo!” Natsu crowed, squeezing Happy in a victorious embrace. He closed his eyes, imagining Lucy laughing and beaming at him as he proved Gray wrong, a little exasperated but fond and soft.

“I can't believe I was wrong,” Natsu heard Gray whisper, looking sideways to see Gray staring at the wooden ceiling blankly.

“Erm,” Natsu said, suddenly unsure of how good his win was. Gray looked shaken by the revelation. “You okay there Frosty?”

“What else have I been wrong about. How can I call myself a fan. Who am I?”

Oh God Lucy would never forgive him if he broke her best friend. And Natsu would much rather deal with the piss baby Gray than this, if he were to even care about Gray. Which he didn't.

“Oi, Loke. I, uh, think Gray’s having an identity crisis.” Natsu said, giving Gray another concerned pass over. The boy looked near comatose actually.

Loke rolled his eyes, texting with someone quickly as he ignored his friend above him. “Give him a smoke and an hour and he'll be fine.” Loke said dismissively. Several more minutes passed as Gray mumbled to himself before Loke groaned loudly and threw himself into a sitting position. Natsu watched curiously as Loke dragged one of the suitcases from beneath his bunk and rummaged through it, finding his prize with a huff. He stood, kicking the suitcase under the bunk irritably before whipping the cardboard box at Gray’s head. “Fucking light up but if Lucy asks I'm ratting your ass out.”

“Does anyone have a lighter?” Gray asked in a lost voice, dark eyes glazed and freaking Natsu the fuck out. He lobbed his over wordlessly, Gajeel’s attention finally caught by all the flying objects.

“Wait!” Natsu said, sitting up in a cross legged position and lifting his hands to cover the smoke alarm placed over the middle of the bunk. While Natsu had feared any batshit ideas Gajeel might have come up with wake him up when he first noticed it, he was thankful it was in reach now. He raised his arms, covering it easily before nodding at Gray to continue. “Don’t need Gildarts bustin’ in our door on our second day ‘cus you needed a drag. Or worse, Erza.” Natsu shared a shudder with Gray at the thought who gave a barely visible nod in recognition before lighting the cigarette between his lips.

Gray laid back down wordlessly, eyes becoming distant again even as the end burned a dull red and orange, traveling down the white stick with each inhale. Natsu watched, curious as the greyish white smoke puffed out of Gray’s nose effortlessly. He had considered taking up smoking to give himself more of an authentic growl in his voice when he was thirteen before his dad had found the pack he had stolen from Gajeel and promptly shoved a handful of poupore in Natsu’s mouth for being ‘a miniature dumbass’. He’d never admit it, but he’d always hoped to look as cool as Gray did when he envisioned himself smoking. Then the thick burning-tar scent hit his nose and his face scrunched. He definitely didn’t need whatever could make a smell that gross filling his lungs, thank you very much.

Minutes passed and Natsu felt his shoulders and the back of his arms start aching from the awkward position. “You almost done there Mr. I-Make-Bad-Life-Choices?” Natsu hissed. He rolled his eyes when Happy curled up in his lap, purring contentedly at his warm spot. Gray ignored Natsu, his eyes far away. He put the stub of a cigarette out on the odd circular object he had been tapping the ashes onto, quickly pulling out a second one and lighting it up. Great, his bunkmate was a fucking chainsmoker.

“Has anyone seen my mirror?” Loke asked suddenly, Natsu hiding a snicker when he noticed what Gray had been using as an ashtray. Natsu was stopped from telling Loke exactly what his mirror was being used for by Gray’s mumbles becoming clearer and louder as he pulled the cigarette from his lips, still laying on his bed and staring at the ceiling.

“So baby pull me closer in the back seat of your rover that I know you can’t afford, bite that tattoo on your shoulder.”

Natsu blinked and squawked when Gray rolled over groaning loudly, face burying itself in his pillow and smoke dangerously close to his blankets. “Uh, Gray?” Natsu asked, ducking his head awkwardly to look closer at the dark haired boy.

“How can I know the words to that trash song and not I Write Sins Not Tragedies?” He wailed, voice muffled by the cotton stuffed fabric he was trying to smother himself with.

“Because you're an idiot?” Natsu offered.

“Fuck off,” Gray mumbled into his pillow.

“Stop being emo,” Loke called up, eyes still glued to his phone and thumbs flying effortlessly. Natsu wondered who he'd be texting so obsessively.

“You fuck off too.”

“You’re all stupid and I’m one noise away from throwin’ both of your dumb asses out into the storm,” Gajeel barked. Natsu decided he was done helping Gray and dropped his arms, hanging his body over the railing on his bed to look at his cousin. Happy meowed loudly, upset at his spot moving.

“Words not working?” Natsu asked. Gajeel sat surrounded by balled up scraps of paper, Lily claiming Gajeel’s abandoned pillow for his own, pencil nearly bit in half. Gajeel always got pissy when he couldn’t work out a song properly, and while Natsu was happy that it meant his cousin wasn’t trying to sing he was also very, very afraid because it meant Gajeel was one too-loud-breath away from trying to put his pencil through someone's eye. Natsu didn’t think Lucy would dig a dude in an eyepatch.

“No, it’s going like a fuckin’ dream,” Gajeel snarled, pencil snapping in his hand. Natsu gulped, scurrying back onto his bunk. Gajeel had seemed more surprised at the shattered wood and lead but Natsu really did not want to be thrown into the rain. It always made his piercings itch.

“Hey, Natsu?” Loke called. Natsu cocked his head, unsure of what it meant that Loke was talking to him.

“Yeah?” he asked. Gray was still mumbling into his pillow and his cigarette was out, so Natsu was thankful there would be no cabin fires tonight. Natsu was bound to set one off eventually, but he’d rather know for a fact he had been the one to cause it when he got blamed.

“You got your guitar here?”

“I always got Fev,” Natsu said, even more puzzled.

“Is she acoustic?” Loke asked.

“Nah, she’s electric,” Natsu said, his pride seeping into his voice when he thought of his guitar.

“Cool, use mine. It’s acoustic.”

“Uh, ‘kay?” Natsu said slowly. He had no clue what the fuck was happening anymore.

“I have a request.” Loke said, still looking at his phone and typing faster than any girl Natsu had seen at his school do.

“Erm, sure?” he replied. Gajeel passed Loke’s case up to him with a low grunt, obviously still working over his lyrics in his head if he was willing to help out Natsu before he asked.

Loke waited until Natsu had the guitar settled in his lap and partily tuned before speaking.

“Play Wonderwall.”

“Get fucked,” Natsu howled, whipping the guitar pick at Loke’s face. He grinned broadly at Loke’s sly smirk, fishing another pick from his jean pocket before strumming. He began to sing in the most contrived, hipster voice he could, voice warbling as he sang. Loke joined in shortly, harmonizing nicely with Natsu. Even Gray lifted his head slightly from his pillow, amusement and disgust equal in his curled lip and narrowed eyes.

“Hey Strawberry,” Gray said, rolling onto his side. “Play Welcome To My Life next.”

Natsu cackled mid word, resuming his very serious and artistic persona as he nodded at Gray’s request.

At least it was better than worrying about what the fuck Natsu was going to do about karaoke tonight.

Cana leaned back against the railing, watching as a boy probably around fourteen or fifteen got off the stage, shy smile at the light applause of his karaoke performance, the few people eager to perform but too scared to do it when all attention was focused on them performing before the actual event.

No one here would pass up the opportunity to listen to Lady Gaga, even if it was done by the cracking voice of a boy on the cusp of beautiful, beautiful puberty.

Her eyes scanned the crowd, looking for either Lucy or Juvia, both girls definitely in need of a perpetual chill pill and Cana was only too happy to comply as substitute for a happy visit from the pot fairy.

Cana snorted at the thought of Loke wearing a pink tutu and flinging sparkling packets of weed wherever he went. Such a shame the camp had a strict no drugs policy. She wondered idly how difficult it would be to forge a prescription for medical marijuana as she straightened and strolled over to the karaoke sign up sheet. The forgery itself wouldn’t be the hard part, she thought as she signed herself up, smirking at her song choice. No, the hard part would be slipping the forgery past Gildarts keen eyes.

That was a challenge for another day however. For the moment, she settled on perfecting the handwriting of the next three people that would very generously be performing after herself- though of course none of them would be able to top her own performance.

“Signing up for kareoke?”

Cana turned to find Natsu peering over her shoulder, a few tufts of pink hair sticking out from under his beanie.

“Want me to add your name?”

Natsu snorted.

“God no.”

“Why not? Don’t tell me you get stage fright. Y’know hot people aren’t meant get that, right?”

Natsu blushed at the compliment as someone pushed past him to get to the sign up sheet. Cana shoved them back for his sake before handing over the pen and moving out of the way herself.

“I’m not hot,” Natsu rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly before shrugging, “And I get anxiety.”

“Well I got a fix for that,” Cana smirked. She could tell from their previous conversations that Natsu wasn't going to take her word on his hotness level -which was fairly high in her professional opinion- but she knew the fix to anyone's nerves easily.

“Wha-” Natsu jolted when Cana presses her flask to his hands, squeaking as he tried to hide the plain silver cannister in the breast of his hoodie. Cana snorted as she plucked the pen back from the plastic set up table, twirling it lightly between her fingers as she waited for Natsu to unfreeze.

“Just polish that beauty off and you'll be set!” She grinned, writing down Natsu's name for him as he continued to gape at her. Cana would've pegged him for a punk and rule breaker with his piercings and pink hair and the mischievous smirk he wore when he wasn't getting lost in that dense mind of his, but so far he'd been as adventurous as Lucy. Which was to say more than the normal person, but not quite on the same level as Cana.

The whiskey should fix that out.

“Uh,” Natsu said, sniffing the flask lip before jerking his head away. “What even is this, eighty proof?”

Cana grinned, impressed. The boy at least knew something about drinking, which was enough to make him good in Cana’s books. “Close,” she hummed, winking at him. “It's eighty eight.”

“How are you even alive right now,” Natsu sniffed the flask again, nose wrinkling in a way she knew Lucy would find adorable. Damn it, now she had to get them together. Not to mention that meddling in Lucy’s love life was basically her job description as one of Lucy’s best friends.

“Sheer will power,” Cana drawled, tapping the bottom of the flask up so it hit his lips. Natsu would never woo Lucy if he couldn't grow the balls to go on stage and sing a fucking karaoke song. Natsu shot her another -completely unnecessary- disbelieving look before taking back a hard sip.

Cana nodded, impressed again by his ability to handle a shot.

He took another shot at her encouraging nod, Cana distracted as she lifted a hand in a peace sign as Loke walked over.

“Just because you’re an alcoholic doesn’t mean you need to convert my bunkmate,” Loke said flatly, arms crossing as he gave Cana that look. It was both disapproving and amused and Cana always rolled her eyes at it.

“As if you wouldn’t be pushing it on him if you’d seen what a wreck he was. He doesn’t even think he’s hot!” she scoffed. Natsu choked, denials catching on his tongue at Cana’s truth speaking. His cheeks had already gotten a bit of a flush, which meant her idea was working.

Loke snorted, eyebrow raised as he looked at Natsu. “Not everyone has the self confidence you project Cana.”

“Well they should.” Cana stuck her tongue out at her friend, Loke laughing and slinging an arm around Natsu’s tense shoulders.

“So what do you need Cana’s favourite liquid courage for?” he asked, eyes lighting in the way they always did when Loke sensed fresh meat to hit on. Cana narrowed her eyes at him, mentally telling him to back off. Pinky was gonna be for Lucy, and Cana was determined to beat off anyone that even hinted at flirting with him. Which probably wouldn’t be helping his apparent self esteem issues, but Cana liked to take one problem at a time. And right now, that problem was her ginger friend thinking with his dick.

“‘Cus he’s too chickenshit to get on stage and woo Lucy with a karaoke performance.”

Cana raised her eyebrows as Natsu choked again, face flaming as he took a long and third sip. Loke’s face pinched, Cana watching as his gaze flickered to where Lucy was standing with Gray and Juvia. Levy was off with her bandmates -Jet and Droy she was pretty sure their names were. She had felt a little bad for them, what, with their obvious fawning over the short girl completely either going over Levy’s head or flat out ignored.

“Am not!” Natsu said hotly, pouting under Cana and Loke’s laughter.

“Prove it,” Loke jabbed him in the ribs. “Sing her a love song.”

Cana snorted despite herself.

“Lame,” She drawled, “They met like three days ago, it’s a bit early for Whitney Houston don’t you think?”

Natsu’s nose crinkled at the song implication, but Loke ignoring it. The arm over Natsu’s shoulder tightened protectively.

“But what if he will always love her?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Natsu hiccuped, “I’m pretty sure I couldn’t hold those notes anyway.”

Cana rolled her eyes. Did he even hear himself when he sang? She’d only heard him belt it out once and she had been impressed enough to wager the kid had a hell of a vocal range on him. So, that song probably wasn’t his prefered genre, but Cana was willing to bet his rendition would be interesting.

“So what are you going to sing then?”

Loke pulled away to inspect Natsu’s response to Cana’s question. Without the support, Natsu swayed a little, and Cana couldn’t help but mask a smirk. She watched as Natsu scratched his head in thought, the motion pushing his beanie back enough to free the turfs of hair he’d hidden earlier. He made no move to correct himself.

All of a sudden his hand dropped and Natsu chuckled as he grinned to himself.

“What? What have you thought of?”

“Hehehe, Gajeel will be so embarrassed.” Natsu’s chuckle turned into maniacal laughter.

“Gajeel?” Loke grimaced, “You want to sing a love song to your cousin?”

Natsu threw the flask at Loke, hitting him square in the shoulder. Cana managed to catch it before it hit the ground.

“I know what I’m going to sing!” Natsu practically screamed before running off into the crowd.

“That was my playing arm!” Loke shouted after him, cradling himself as though he’d just been shot.

Cana watched Natsu run in what was very obviously not a straight line.

“Shut up you idiot, we have to go after him!” She slapped Loke on his wounded side, “We have yet another Operation Lightweight on our hands.”

Lucy watched her two friends running after Natsu for the fourth time in ten minutes as she took her seat beside Gray in front of the karaoke stage. She had to admit, she was a little concerned. It seemed Cana was trying to hide her notorious flask in Natsu’s crumpled beanie, which was also filled with leaves. Natsu didn’t seem to notice the absence of what Lucy had guessed was one of the boys many crutches as he told her two friends to stop following him at a very surprising volume. Loke seemed only mildly irritated by the whole situation, but for some reason his right arm was bundled up in a sling made out of a hoodie.

“Fucking morons.” Gray muttered to himself as he watched them go by.

“Should we save them a seat?”

Gray seemed to think a moment before shaking his head.

“I get the feeling this is one of those times where we’ve no choice but to pretend we don’t know them.”

“You mean like that time we went to Hargeon on a school trip and Loke got his hand stuck in the condom vending machine they had in the hotel?

“And Cana tried to use peach schnapps as a lubricant to get him out? Yeah, exactly like that actually.”

Lucy nodded, remembering the sickly feeling of hoping no one would realise she was sharing a room with the girl screaming ‘I know one of you bastards brought lube with you goddamnit’ down the hallway. She still had nightmares about what the elderly couple from Alverez must have thought.

“Why was Loke in need of some, um, protection?” Juvia asked from Lucy’s right, having overheard their conversation.

“I ask myself that question every time I find one in my bunk.”

“He brought condoms to camp?” Lucy grimaced.

“Yup. So far I’ve found eight in my bunk. Still in the wrapper- thank god. Yesterday, I woke up in the middle of the night to find him leaning over that pink haired moron’s bed. I know he’s an idiot, but no one deserves having Loke unknowingly in your bed- we don’t know where he’s been- and I was about to warn him but then I realised Loke was just hiding a rubber in the smoke detector.”

“Why would Loke need a-a, erm, one of… those in a smoke detector?”

Lucy and Gray sighed in unison.

“Because,” They answered, voices completely lacking emotion, “His sex is on fire.”

Juvia’s nose wrinkled in response. Lucy was inclined to agree.

Lucy leaned forward in her seat, trying to find her friends in the crowd. She spotted Cana pulling Natsu and Loke into a team huddle off to the side of the stage. Lucy’s brows furrowed.

“Did either of you check the karaoke list?” She asked Gray and Juvia.

“Juvia thought about signing up, but decided she does not want to make her camp debut yet.”

“I didn’t think drum solos counted as karaoke so I didn’t bother. Why?”

“We have left Cana to her own devices for over an hour.” Lucy observed.

“Shit.”

“Why is this a bad thing?” Juvia asked them.

“It might not be.” Lucy admitted, “But we should always be weary when we spot Cana with a flask.”

Juvia’s face turned very serious.

“Juvia shall remember this.”

“I swear to god, if that asshole has signed me up I’ll-”

Gray was cut off by a dramatic fanfare as the lights were dimmed and Gildarts stepped onto stage with a clipboard and a wild grin. Lucy applauded with the rest of the crowd at his entrance, excited for the night of performing to begin.

Gildarts announced the first performer and the show began. First up was no one Lucy knew, but their talent was undeniable. If the rest of the night went like this they were all in for a treat. As the show worked through the first couple of performers, Lucy wondered at everyone’s talents. Although karaoke was mostly for singers, some brought their guitar with them for an acoustic song, while others went up with friends to ease their nerves- like Levy and her bandmates.

Lucy stood and cheered loudly as they walked onstage after Gildarts introduction. Jet and Droy carried guitars with them while Levy stepped straight up to the microphone, bouncing on her tiptoes to reach it until Gildarts reappeared to lower the stand for her. Lucy could see the small girls blush from the audience.

“Alright guys!” Levy’s voice chirped over the speakers, “We’re Shadow Gear and we hope you enjoy this song!”

Lucy smiled to herself as she recognized the opening of the song. She noticed Gray’s surprised expression from the corner of her eye, not expecting a song choice such as this from a band named Shadow Gear.

“We were both young when I first saw you,

I close my eyes and the flashback starts

I’m standing there,

On a balcony in summer air.”

Levy’s voice was sweet as it carried over the crowd, all the audience swaying in their seats at the easy melody. To Lucy, Levy seemed perfectly content in front of the microphone. She seemed to grow more confident as the song went on, even detaching the microphone from it’s stand and walking across the stage as she sung, enchanting the audience. Though Lucy did spot her quickly turning away after meeting eyes with someone in the crowd. Lucy turned to see who but couldn’t make out the shape of the person she suspected it was in the dim lighting over the seats.

Her attention turned back to the stage as Levy neared the climax of the song, her passion stealing Lucy’s breath from her.

“Romeo, save me, I’ve been feeling so alone

I keep waiting for you, but you never come.

Is this in my head? I don’t know what to think,

He knelt to the ground and pulled out a ring and said…”

Levy leant her body towards the crowd and held out the microphone, a smile beaming on her face. Lucy was the first to stand up and continue the song, followed by most of the other girls in the audience.

“Marry me, Juliet, you’ll never have to be alone,

I love you and that’s all I really know.”

Levy brought the microphone back to her own lips and finished the song with the crowd singing along with her. Lucy was beaming with pride for her new friend by the time the song drifted off. But even as everyone stood and applauded them, Lucy thought she saw a hint of doubt on the blue haired girl's face. But perhaps it was just the light.

“Who knew Shadow Gear would be a pop band?” Gray smirked as he applauded too.

“Juvia saw Gray mouthing the words. Does Gray adore love songs like Juvia does?”

Lucy snorted.

“That and he loves country music.”

“I do not.” He protested.

Lucy laughed, but Gray could do nothing as he was once again interrupted by Gildarts presence on stage.

“Thanks for that Shadow Gear! Next up is…. Ah! The amazing, the wonderful, the beautiful- my daughter- Cana Alberona!”

Lucy clapped as Cana swagged on stage, unable to stop herself from shooting an apprehensive look at Gray, who matched her own curiosity.

“Alright losers,” Cana’s voice purred as she pulled the microphone from it’s stand where Levy had left it, “Let's get this party started.”

Cana pressed play on the karaoke machine and began to sway her hips. The first notes floated over the crowd and Lucy’s muscles clenched with dread.

“Why do they even have this song on there?” Gray hissed beside her.

As if she could hear them, on stage Cana smirked and winked in their direction before she began singing.

“Sex with me’s so amazing,

All this hard work, no vacation

Stay up off my instagram, pure temptation.”

Lucy covered her face with her hands. Relieved as the song continued that Cana at least had the sense not to sing the n-word in front of children. At least she hadn’t gotten drunk enough to forget she was white.

“Vodka and water, and a lemon,

And a few other things I cannot mention.”

Lucy peeked through her fingers to see Cana slut-dropping on stage, oblivious to the thirteen year-old with a nose bleed in the second row. Equally obvious was Gildarts, who was beaming from the side of the stage, eyes filled with pride for his daughter as he did some strange middle-aged version of twerking.

“I’m now certain we died in a horrible car crash on the way home,” Gray shouted in her ear over the music, “Because we’re definitely in hell.”

“Well you were the one driving.” Lucy reminded him.

Gray shot her a look she understood perfectly. They had only themselves to blame for not giving Cana the correct amount of supervision.

“Sex with me, sex with me, sex with me,

So amazing, so amazing, mmmm.”

When the song finished there was a very long moment of complete silence as Cana smiled proudly from the stage. Lucy glanced at Gray to see him shaking his head at her. No, they would not reward her for her shameless behaviour.

Though most of the other boys in the camp seemed to have a different idea to Gray as they shot to their feet applauding and whistling.

Cana bowed low, providing the audience with a pretty clear view of her cleavage. The applause grew louder.

“God, guys are so disappointing sometimes.” Gray sighed.

“Juvia does not think Gray could disappoint her at anything.”

Lucy was too busy watching Gildarts hug Cana onstage to acknowledge Gray’s discomfort at Juvia’s statement. Clearly this was the point at which Cana had gotten her mitts on the sign up sheet. She wondered at what point during the show her friends meddling would cease.

Gildarts finally released his daughter as the applause died off, once again consulting his clip board.

“Alright next up is Gray-” Gildarts frowned, he turned the where his daughter had just exited the stage, “Cana! You know Gray can’t sing, that’s just cruel!”

Beside Lucy, Gray sunk down in his seat groaning. Juvia leaned forward on Lucy’s other side and offered him a sympathetic smile.

“Juvia is sure Gray has a wide range of other talents.”

Lucy patted Gray’s shoulder as he groaned once more.

“Alright, ignore that,” Gildarts continued, “Next up, Lucy Heartfilia!”

It was Lucy’s turn to groan, pushing herself from her seat before Cana wadded her way through the crowd and dragged Lucy on stage herself. It was official, either her or Gray had to be on Cana Duty at all times. Cleary Loke couldn’t be trusted. She sent a half hearted glare at her alcoholic friend when Cana blew her a kiss.

Lucy’s mood brightened when she noticed the keyboard was plugged in still, settling down at it tentatively. Lucy laughed under her breath when someone wolf-whistled from the crowd, Loke always the flatterer.

She took a deep breath, running her fingers over the keys without any pressure, gaining a feel for the new instrument. Lucy played the first chord, already knowing what song she wanted as her camp debut.

“You bought a star

In the sky tonight

Because

Your life is dark

And you need some light.”

Lucy lost herself as she played the notes from memory, singing along to her favourite comfort song. It had been there during her worst fights with her dad and her loneliest nights without her mom, the one that made Cana push her back to music after she caught Lucy singing it in the shower. Lucy was also willing to admit that it was easier to perform with the keyboard in front of her, the white and black keys stealing her focus from the sea of faces watching her pour her heart and soul into her voice.

“And still you'd like to think you own me

You keep buying stars.”

Her fingers flew along the keys, emotions building and swirling inside her as she sang out the chorus again, meaning only those who truly knew her could understand. Lucy had cried when she first heard this song, and she felt tears prick the corners of her eyes again now. She belted out the next verse, loud and powerful and raw and more than than the gentleness of the original track.

“You're buying stars to shut out the light

We come alone and alone we die

And no matter how hard you try

I'll always belong in the sky.”

The rest of the song was a rough blur, Lucy’s fingers playing without thought and the lyrics pulling from her lips as easily as breathing.

“It’s who you are.”

Lucy pulled her hands back into her lap after releasing the final notes, blinking in shock at the loud applause she was greeted with. She saw Gray and Cana standing side by side, her arm thrown over his shoulders as she hollered expletive riddled praise. Her other arm was around Juvia’s shoulders, Lucy beaming at the blue-haired girl’s tear streaked face and enthusiastic clapping. She had to flush when she caught sight of Natsu by Loke’s side, green eyes bright and beaming as he grinned at her, hair wild in a way that made Lucy’s heart pick up and blush coating his cheeks. Loke too was giving her a standing ovation, pride making his chest puff out. Lucy bowed awkwardly, hurrying off stage when she caught Gray’s ‘encore’ floating through the noise of the campers.

Lucy smiled brightly at all the small congradulations people gave her as she passed, finally coming to stand on the other side of Gray with a huff.

“That was amazing Luce,” Gray greeted, pulling her in for a rare hug. She hugged him back just as quickly, not even caring that he was shirtless again.

“Thanks,” she mumbled, grinning at him when he pulled back. They took their seats, Lucy ignoring Juvia’s pout two people over as she focused on Gildart’s return to the stage. He was wiping a tear from his eye, looking at Lucy almost as proudly as he had looked at Cana after her performance.

“And now, though I don’t know how he’ll top Lucy’s beautiful rendition of Buy The Stars by Marina and the Diamonds, is Loke!”

Cana and Gray snickered at Loke’s muffled whine from offstage, Lucy blushing at having the attention turned again on her so soon. “Oh shit,” Cana hissed, scrambling from her seat between Gray and Juvia and stumbling over Lucy as she tried to get down the stage. Gray and Lucy shared a look, sighing tiredly as they silently agreed to plead ignorance for whatever Cana had gotten herself involved in. Lucy ignored Loke’s slow swagger onto the stage when she saw Cana grip Natsu’s elbow, whispering something in his ear before rolling her eyes and dragging him out of Lucy’s eye-line. Worry pitted in her stomach. It was never a good sign when Cana was dragging people away.

Loke was playing his guitar and singing some generic love song -quite well and with so much feeling Lucy was sure everyone who was interested in men at the camp was swooning over him- but Lucy couldn't help but favour craning her neck to try and track where Cana and Natsu had gone.

Mainly Cana.

Lucy wasn't keeping an eye out and worrying her lip over a boy she had known two days. Because that would be silly. And creepy. And yet, here she was, keeping her eyes open for any flash of pink amongst the crowd. Lucy had been pleasantly surprised to see him without his ever present beanie, especially now as it made him easy to track in a crowd.

God, she really sounded like a stalker.

But honestly, she was just concerned for his well-being. Cana was capable of roping almost anyone into something that, under normal -sober- circumstances, they would never agree to. She could only hope Natsu was more resistant to peer-pressure than she was. Though knowing the strength of the alcohol Cana carried with her, that hope was pretty far fetched.

As if on cue, Lucy spotted pink at the side of the stage. As Loke wrapped up his song, Natsu was high-fiving Gildarts as Cana hid a giggle behind them. Lucy tried her best to shoot Cana a glare, but from this distance there was no way her drunken friend would be able to see her. If the way Natsu was swaying slightly on his feet was any indication, Cana had certainly succeeded in roping Natsu into something his sober self would never have agreed to.

The audience broke into applause at Loke’s performance. Lucy clapped along, but Loke had barely finished taking a bow before Natsu strolled onto the stage, not even waiting for Gildarts to announce him. Loke barely rolled his eyes and patted the pink haired boy good luck on the shoulder.

“Hey everybody!” Natsu shouted into the mic as he tore it from the stand, “My name’s Natsu and this is Damned If I Do Ya!”

The music began and instantly Natsu was jumping about the stage, excluding an energy that had the crowd cheering in moments. Lucy’s jaw dropped in shock. This was a far cry from the bashful Natsu she’d been getting to know over the last few days.

“I fought it for a long time now

While drowning in a river of denial

I washed up, fixed up, picked up all my broken things.”

Lucy stared at the stage in wonder, completely awestruck. That voice! That was the voice everyone had heard singing the other night! She turned to Gray to share her surprise, but her best friend only shrugged, as if he knew Natsu had to have had something hiding up his sleeve.

On stage, the singer himself was singing with his eyes closed, hand over his heart as if it had truly been him that had ended up alone after one stupid call. From the second row, Lucy was enthralled. People behind her were standing up and cheering as Natsu sang out the second rendition of the chorus as he pointed out to the crowd. Lucy wasn’t surprised when she finally realised she was grinning from ear to ear. He was amazing! Why was he so shy if he could make people go crazy like this?

Lucy let out a yell of support, punching her fist into the air. She hadn’t expected him to notice in such an exhilarated crowd, but his head snapped in her direction as soon as the sound left her lips. Even after knowing him for such a short while, Lucy would have expected him to blush, but instead Natsu’s smile only grew bigger as he changed course on stage.

The crowd went wild as Natsu knelt and jumped off the stage. The girl sitting in front of Lucy jumped up in excitement, but Natsu ignored her, instead squeezing between the girl and her friend until he was standing right in front of Lucy.

“Make a fool of myself when you hang around,

When you’re gone

I’m a match that’s burning out

Could have been, should have done, what I said I was going to..”

Natsu’s green eyes were intense and his smile bright as he sang. Lucy couldn’t move, she was so surprised. He was close enough to smell Cana’s whiskey on his breath.

And that’s when it hit her.

The festival. The taste of whiskey on her tongue. The pink hair. The kiss.

Now she knew why he’d known her name when they’d first bumped into her. Thoughts racing, she didn’t even notice as Natsu turned away to finish the song on stage. She’d seen him before. They’d spoken before.

And they’d kissed.

Playlist:

Good Time Good Life - Erin Bowman

I Can Hear The Bells - Hairspray

I Write Sins Not Tragedies - Panic! At The Disco

Closer - Chainsmokers

Wonderwall - Oasis

Welcome To My Life - Simple Plan

Love Story - Taylor Swift

Sex With Me - Rihanna

Buy The Stars - Marina and the Diamonds

Damned If I Do Ya - All Time Low

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