#they are father-daughter to me in my heart. or at the very least older bro-younger sis

[random-lil-illing]

low effort doodle of the butcher gang :)

hey. psst. @impishly-queer. this is a gift for you. :]]

[aitarose]

SUNSHINE | MAKO

PAIRING: Mako x Kya’s Daughter!Reader [fem]

PLOT: Mako’s always had a little crush on Y/N. After all, who wouldn’t? But admitting it to himself? Yeah, no. Just the thought of admitting it to her? Even bigger no. He’d never consider confessing..right? based on these requests by anons

WARNINGS: fluff, mutual pining, friends to lovers

WORD COUNT: 2.3k

A/N: i love mako sm like you guys don’t even know. this man OWNS me fdjafdlsjk. also i got a little carried away with these requests and i took them to the next level so please enjoy :)

MY MASTERLIST

Mako was living his absolute worst nightmare. 

Stuck aboard an airship with his two exes, his brother, his boss, and his boss’ ex with no opening window to jump out of?

The day was definitely not in his favor.

Every hour seemed to be the same.

Radio a call..hear about a new airbender..find the map..use the map..go to the town..get kicked out of the town..return to the beginning.

While Mako did love having a routine—he was bored of this one.

The only thing that made his day even slightly interesting was Y/N.

It wasn’t long ago when he had met the water tribe girl. They’d first spoken during the Glacier Spirits Festival in the Southern Water Tribe.

He had been introduced to her mother, Kya, through Bolin. His younger brother was so starstruck by Avatar Aang’s only daughter, that he couldn’t help but drag along her own daughter with him for the entirety of the festival.

Bolin spent the rest of the night proudly walking alongside the teenage girl, who had to have been at least two to three years older than him.

He went around and showed her off to all of their friends from Republic City, even if they already knew her.

“Don’t make a show of it, but I know the Avatar’s granddaughter. You don’t need to be wowed or anything, it’s no big deal.”

“Bolin, I’m literally her uncle.”

Mako was one of the very last people to meet the infamous Y/N.

It was right after his argument with Korra about the situation between her father and Unalaq. His emotions were all over the place, confusion and annoyance dominated his mood.

But all of his anger dissolved with one look at her smile.

It was at that moment when Mako decided that Y/N had a gift.

She could lift someone’s spirit with a single glance. Her eyes always glowed with positivity and her soul was the purest one he had ever come across.

Y/N could be compared to the rising sun. Just by existing, she radiated more light and goodness than the greatest man on Earth could ever achieve.

It had been a very brief introduction. 

“Mako, my man!” Bolin slapped his palm over the firebender’s shoulder, a cheesy side smile pointed at the teenage girl standing next to him. 

“This is my good friend, Y/N. Y/N meet my big bro!”

Y/N beamed, her teeth sparkling under the moonlight. She held out her hand in a friendly manner and looked straight into Mako’s eyes, unafraid of making eye contact. 

“It’s nice to meet you, Mako.” She spoke whilst shaking his hand. “I’ve only known Bolin for an hour and I feel like I already know everything about you.”

Mako groaned in embarrassment. He was always flattered by how much Bolin looked up to him, but sometimes his little brother went a little too far.

“You had an hour? Let me guess..” Mako pointedly looked at Bolin, shaking his head in amusement. “He must’ve told you our entire life story by now.”

When she laughed at his blunt attempt at a joke, Mako’s heart soared right then and there. 

It was like the fire inside of him had been ignited with gasoline. but instead of her water smothering his flames..they made the grow. Made them stronger.

Though Mako hadn’t realized these lurching feelings at the time. He did have a girlfriend after all, and he liked to think he would never intentionally cheat on her.

That didn’t stop him from admiring her from afar.

Platonically of course.

There weren’t many moments after the festival where Mako found himself alone with Y/N. 

He had chosen to follow Korra to open the spirit portals and Y/N went off to tour the air temples with her extended family—and if he was being honest, he hadn’t had much time to think about her between fighting off evil spirits and breaking up with his girlfriend.

It wasn’t until after Team Avatar defeated Unalaq and Vaatu, that Mako’s mind returned to his unresolved and unrealized feelings.

With the spirit portals open, the world was new again.

Thousands of people were traveling, discovering places they never knew existed, and migrating to different nations.

Luckily for Mako, Y/N had been one of those people.

It had taken her about a week to move into her apartment in Republic City.

Her flat was quaint but cosy. It had views overlooking the busy downtown and bustling people, and she had easy access to stores and shops in the neighborhood.

There was nothing wrong with her new home, but it wasn’t like the South. In fact, it was nothing like the South.

Y/N missed her friends and colleagues. She missed the chilly wind that would slice through the air and freeze her cheekbones. She missed the animals and the overall energy that the South had.

But she was open to new beginnings and new friends—and her open mindset was exactly what led her to join her family and Team Avatar on the search for new airbenders.

Which is right where Mako had left off. 

The airship was dreadful, dreary, and just plain boring. 

His main source of entertainment was watching a cloud disappear from his view, and then preceding to find another one for his eyes to chase.

Luckily for him, Y/N was also bored out of her mind. She had no one to talk to on the ship.

Korra? Tempting, but intimidating.

Asami? Sure if Y/N was less hippy and more business mogul.

Bolin? Yeah, she didn’t want to go down that path again. 

Lin? No way.

Her actual family members? Good option—but Tenzin was boring and all Jinora did was read old scrolls.

Y/N was at a loss, and the only person that seemed remotely interesting was the brooding firebender staring out of the window.

When she approached him, Mako was at a loss for words.

He had been thinking about this moment for awhile now, and had a pun filled pick-up line ready to go, but when it came down to crunch time, he stalled. 

“Hey,” Y/N smiled, gesturing to the seat next to Mako on the iron bench. “Mind if I sit?”

Mako’s mouth opened to respond, but no words came out of his mouth. He sat there like a fish out of water, nodding his head silently.

Y/N shrugged her shoulders and happily sat next to the nineteen year old. 

With her being so close in proximity, Mako’s brain flashed exe.error messages through his thoughts.

They sat in a comfortable, yet also awkward silence for a long time. 

Every time Mako tried to get a word out, he stumbled. His nerves overcame his speech, preventing him from sounding the least bit cool.

Scratch that. They prevented him from sounding like an actual person and not a toddler that just learned how to speak.

After what felt like generations, Mako was saved by none other than his ex-girlfriends.

“We just landed,” Korra said, waving to the former probender and his companion. A confused look flashed across her face at the sight of them so close yet so uncomfortable.

Asami then poked her head around the corner, coming into view. “Are you guys going to come out or what?”

Y/N was the first to jump up, nodding her head enthusiastically.

She nearly sprinted to the exit—not because she wanted to get away from her encounter with Mako, she was just really excited to meet new people.

Mako heaved a deep sigh when she was completely out the door and out of earshot. It felt like he could finally breathe again without the stress of being in her presence.

“You like her?” Korra crossed her arms over one another, leaning against the wall as Asami stood by her side.

“What?” Mako stuttered, his face flooding with hues of red and pink.

“Why would you say that?”

“No Way!”

“I don’t even know what you’re talking about!”

Korra and Asami loudly laughed at Mako’s rambling, while they had both been hurt by his actions in the past, they had come to forgive him—and they wanted nothing more than for him to find his special someone.

“Okay, then.” Korra shrugged, pulling Asami out of the room with her, “Whatever you say, Mako.”

Mako dropped his face into his hands, pulling at his hair as he mentally beat himself up.

“But if it matters,” he looked up to see Korra still standing at the door. A genuine smile shown on her face. 

“I think you two would be perfect together.”

As Korra finally left him to himself, Mako couldn’t help but think about how lucky he was to have a friend like her. 

She was everything he didn’t need in a relationship, but everything he could’ve ever wanted in a friendship. 

Eventually, Mako did manage to force himself off of the airship. He helped with the little show the airbenders put on to influence others to join the nomads and even fought a few bad guys while he was at it. 

He was finally having a good day, until the little punk tried to steal his wallet.

“Wait,” he ordered, pulling Kai back by the neck of his shirt. Mako held out his hand expectantly and gave the younger boy a hard look. 

“I think you might have something of mine.”

Kai smiled sheepishly before pulling out the firebender’s stolen goods. 

“It must’ve fallen into my pocket, my bad.”

Mako glared at the new airbender. The stare he was giving Kai was so cold, it could intimidate a pack of polar bear dogs.

“Now listen here,” he bent down to Kai’s level. His tangerine eyes meeting Kai’s green ones. “I know your game. I used to be the master at it, actually—and let me tell you that it gets you absolutely nowhere.”

Mako sighed, he already saw so much of himself in the kid that he didn’t want him to go down the same hard path that he did.

“All I want is the best for you, kid.” He patted Kai on the shoulder before sending him off to join Jinora on the ship. “Don’t mess up this opportunity.”

There were times where Mako enjoyed being the big bad cop or the authoritarian figure, but this was not one of those times. 

He just wanted Kai to have the best life he possibly could.

The life he had always wanted for himself.

Unbeknownst to Mako, his secret crush had witnessed the whole ordeal.

His pure-hearted intentions touched Y/N. Acts of kindness and wellbeing always found their way into her heart, and his act of good caught her attention in a very positive way. 

It caught her attention enough, that she found herself standing right behind him.

“That was really sweet what you said back there.” She told Mako, who jumped in surprise at her soft voice.

“Yeah, I tried. I’ve been where he is before. I know how it ends.”

Mako felt much more comfortable now that Y/N had started the conversation. He wasn’t afraid to give his thoughts knowing that she was the one who wanted to talk to him.

Y/N let out a low breath. Her hair willowed in the breeze, her eyes shining under the sunlight. She looked like a lost spirit.

A beautiful lost spirit, Mako thought. 

“I try, too.” She whispered to him. Mako could barely hear her voice, it was so faint.

“Sometimes being there for everyone else has its downfall.” Y/N’s sparkling eyes turned dim, sadness drowned her usually uplifting features.

“I spend all my energy making sure that everyone I love is happy, but then there’s never anyone looking out for me, you know?”

Mako did know.

He knew exactly how she was feeling. He’d raised Bolin since they were children. 

If anyone knew the pressures of holding onto another person’s burdens, it was Mako.

“I’ve noticed that,” Mako said, stepping closer to the girl. He could see that her eyes were welling with tears, all he wanted to do was wrap his arms around her and make all the negative energy go away. 

So that’s exactly what he did.

Y/N melted into Mako’s embrace. She felt his body radiate heat, he warmed not only her body, but her heart in an instant.

“I see you, with Tenzin’s kids.” Mako ran his hand down her back, comforting Y/N as best he could. “They look up to you more than they do anyone else. You’re really amazing, Y/N. I’m surprised you don’t hear it more often.”

Right then and there, Y/N realized exactly what she needed in her life—and it was Mako.

If she was being honest with herself, he hadn’t exactly caught her eye before.

She thought he was somewhat bland at the Glacier Spirits Festival and the whole double girlfriend situation definitely didn’t spark her interest in the firebender, but now here she was..

Crying in his arms, confessing her insecurities, and feeling heard.

She had never felt heard before.

“I think you’re really amazing.” Mako blurted out. 

He cringed at his confession, hoping that she didn’t take it the wrong way. If there even was a wrong way to take it.

Mako felt Y/N grow still in his arms. His heart pounded in anticipation for what her next words would be.

To his surprise she pulled away..

Before pressing a deep kiss to his lips.

Mako immediately responded. His mouth moved languidly with hers, connecting in the most perfect way, as if they were meant to be.

His entire body nearly combusted. Her bright spirit combining with his fiery one.

Mako felt like sunshine was running through his veins.

She pulled away, giving him one last chaste kiss.

“I think you’re amazing, too.” 

i love feedback pls give me some

[bruh-haikyuu]

Dear oik suckers can I ask for some comedy of oikawa and kags liking the same girl

A/N: Hana I see u 👀

viridity. | oikawa tōru + kageyama tobio

word count: 2482

warnings: none

(n.) naive innocence

It’s perfect. It’s so ideal, Oikawa nearly jumps up and down screaming. You’ll love it. You’ll love it so much you’ll actually jump up and down screaming like he’s aching to. And after that, when he tells you how he feels, you can’t possibly say no.

White Day is going to be middle school third-year Oikawa Tooru’s day. Anyone who plans otherwise is getting a volleyball to the head very, very soon. He’s saved up for this moment the entire year and took up as much part-time jobs as his schedule could handle. Resisted ever burning urge to get new knee pads, so he could afford the very item being displayed on the front window of the chocolate shop.

“My lucky day,” Oikawa thinks as his hand reaches out for the last daintily wrapped box of bittersweet chocolate on the shelf. Nothing is going to stop him now...

Except the pristinely kept hand that takes ahold of the box at the same time. The pristinely kept hand that extends all the way to the torso of the last kouhai he needed to see right now.

══════ ⋆★⋆ ══════

Kageyama knows that this present screams you in every fashion. You, his precious second-year upperclassman, who’d brought a dazzling light into his world whenever you entered a room. It’s the type of chocolate that isn’t too bitter but not sweet also; it’s milky, and just the way you like it. If Kageyama doesn’t get it for you, he doesn’t know what he’ll do to himself.

White Day is going to be middle school first-year Kageyama Tobio’s day. He’s practiced day and night for the day where he’d finally tell you how he feels; hearing you say no, would be the death of him, but if you’d miraculously say yes... well, he’ll think of the intricacies later. You’ll love this gift from him, much better than any gift you’ll ever have. It’ll be a gift where you’d profusely say you couldn’t accept it, but would eventually prize it for years to come.

Kageyama thinks, “This chocolate is mine.” Thrusting out his arm to slip the last beautifully wrapped box into his hands, he pictures your sparkling smile when he presents this to you and professes his love.

But he’d spoke to soon, when he feels another hand gripping the other end of the box. Another hand that belonged to the upperclassman who could ruin everything he’d ever planned up to this day.

══════ ⋆★⋆ ══════

“Tobio-chan.”

“Senpai.”

Oikawa wants to laugh, and then cry and then curse at the gods for his unfortunate encounter. How fitting. Of course Kageyama wants the exact same thing as him as well; all he’d ever done was did what Oikawa had done and made it look better when he was doing it. But now he had to develop a similar eye for chocolate too? Oikawa nearly growls, but pits the feeling deep in his stomach.

Meanwhile, Kageyama tethers on the brink of pulling the chocolate from his upperclassman’s hands and running away. But if you’d heard he’d done such a thing, Kageyama would never be able to live with himself anymore. Why now? he thinks. And out of all the people to do it too... Kageyama deems himself as a rather unlucky person.

But neither of them even thinks of backing down. It was this chocolate, or eternal shame that will haunt them until they’re crippled and dusty.

“Tobio-chan,” Oikawa starts, gripping the box hard enough for veins to pop from the contours of his skin. Despite this, he’s sporting an impressive grin enough to make the shopkeeper’s knees go weak. “What a surprise to see you here.”

Kageyama, on the other hand, does not spare a single smile to his senior, and tugs the box harder towards him. “I believe it’s more surprising that we’ve gotten ourselves in this situation, Senpai.”

“Oh, you think so?” the older boy gripes, pulling the gift and Kageyama to his side. “Say, what a tough grip you’ve got here. You must really want this very specific box of chocolates specially designed for the female species which is coincidentally the last on the shelf.”

“Of course, it’s a gift unlike any other.”

“Who’re you planning to give it to? I don’t remember you being this forward with girls,” Oikawa feels slightly childish, having to go through a tug of war with a first-year middle schooler in the midst of a refined candy shop. But if it means getting this present for you, it’s to hell with everything. “Is it Misaki-chan? Or that cute girl with pigtails in your class?... Don’t tell me you have a crush on Y/N-chan...”

Kageyama would rather have been run over by a bus than admit anything to anyone—particularly a senior who’d almost tried to “subjugate” him with bitter violence. But hearing your name, in reference to the feelings he’d harbored for you, boils his blood to the peak.

“So it is Y/N-chan... How regrettable, then. Because I was planning to give this to her too.”

Oikawa wishes his naive junior didn’t turn red. But alas, that is the truth, and the truth is that the both of them are rivals when it comes to your affections. The truth is that the dewy-eyed genius Tobio-chan and the apex predator Oikawa are destined adversaries, whether they like it or not. Yet frankly, they just want a break from each other.

Neither of them are letting their iron grips go loose, even by a single millimeter. Determination is scribbled all over Kageyama’s face, his features scrunching up like a week-old prune left out in the sun. Little by little, he also spots the faint animalistic aura from his senpai, who doesn’t seem very pleased with their little “game”.

“Please let go, Oikawa-senpai. I grabbed it first.”

He laughs in return, “Well I liked Y/N-chan first. You let go, Tobio-chan~”

“I won’t let Y/N-senpai’s heart fall to the Demon King’s hands.”

“Ha?! What’d you call me, you brat?! Say it again! Let’s see what happens!”

No, no, no, no. This is not supposed to be how it was going to go. Oikawa was just going to head into the candy shop, grab the last box of chocolates and pay for it with the hard-earned money he’d collected. Then, the next day on White Day, he would give it to you at the private corner in the school courtyard with the blossoming plum tree. You’d smile that smile he loved, then he’d confess. You’d blush and shyly nod and you live happily ever after. Bla bla bla. End of story.

That was the plan. Until Oikawa found himself locked in a tug-of-war with his stone-faced underclassman in a petite candy shop with all its patrons staring at them—he even swears he noticed a father whisper to her slobbery daughter: “Ume-chan, they’re the kinds of boys you’ll want to avoid dating when you grow up, okay?”

“Give it up, Tobio-chan! I’m prettier!”

“Well, I’m not a narcissist!”

“At least I know how to read kanji!”

“Th-That’s not important! I saw it first, senpai—”

Kageyama doesn’t know if he is lucky or cursed, but when a shrill voice suddenly cuts off their heated dispute, he is sent flying back against the vending machine with the faintly crumpled package of chocolates held tightly to his chest. Did I win? he asks himself before being met with a pair of round black eyes reflecting his fatigued face.

“Mama, look, look! I found the chocolate!” a young boy, not older than six, is sidled in front of Kageyama who’s slumping lowly against the snack dispenser from the awkward distance. His stubbly finger is pointed at the chocolates, with the powerful conviction of need.

“Adachi-kun! What did I tell you about pointing at people like that?” the boy’s mother quickly emerges from the crowd to take her son by the hand. Her expression is apologetic, but her son’s gaze does not break away from the box in Kageyama’s hands.

“B-but, Kokoro-chan really, really likes this chocolate. She gave me those really nice candies on Valentine’s and I want to give her something back for White Day—”

Adachi-kun’s mother smiles at him before her kind expression is replaced with one of remorse. “That’s very sweet of you... But these young men saw it first and probably want to give this chocolate to the girl they like too. Let’s go buy Kokoro-chan something else, okay?”

Seeing the boy literally droop, Oikawa and Kageyama feel something wilt inside of them too. Mumbling incoherently, he bows to Kageyama, “Sorry for pointing at you, Big Bro...”

After the boy’s mother does four consecutive bows to Oikawa and Kageyama each, the two boys retreat back to the shelf where the box of chocolates were. It’s nearly pathetic, bordering on lame. Sure, Kageyama got the chocolate, but something hollow blooms in his heart. You’ll love it, but at what cost? Just so that a kid couldn’t give back a gift for someone he loves?

Oikawa cringes in silence, his eyes glancing back and forth at the chocolate in his junior’s hands and the sunken back of the young boy. He doesn’t say but he sees himself in him—fated to lose inevitably to the whims of chance. Sighing, Oikawa ponders about his day; it just keeps getting more and more difficult for no reason. And he wants to know why.

“You can have it.”

Kageyama’s dim voice nearly throws him off. The chocolate being shoved to Oikawa’s chest is even more of a shock. His expression is painfully strained, but his needless request is genuine—and Oikawa’s pissed off again.

“Me?! I don’t want it either now. Geez...”

The younger boy furrows his brows, “So what am I supposed to do with this, senpai?”

“You tell me,” his eyes are still lingering over to the tiny figure of the boy. The postures of the two middle schoolers are that of surrender.

And surrender is what they do.

══════ ⋆★⋆ ══════

Thanks to the “whims of chance”, both Kageyama and Oikawa are lacking the gift they’d sought for you on White Day. But thanks to those same “whims of chance”, a girl out there called Kokoro-chan was going to get the best chocolates ever from a boy she liked. The feeling is not realistically satisfying, but at least they can brag a story to you one day.

Oikawa is tired out. Completely drained; battery level 0%. After leaving the shop with empty hands and a full pocket of saved money, he figured he’d get you another gift. But if it took him half a year to figure out the first one, how long was it going to take to figure out his plan B?

“Why not try something homemade? I think your feelings can convey to others better if you do it from scratch,” his mother had smiled that evening, presenting him with two bars of cooking chocolate.

Oikawa had been excited. His mother was a genius. While everyone else was giving out those crappy, factory-made chocolates, Oikawa’s gift to you was going to be straight out of his own kitchen. It was going to be perfect, ideal—

...Until he found out he didn’t have much of a talent for cooking.

So walking in the second-year hallways is volleyball celebrity Oikawa Tooru, face pallid from pulling an all-nighter to figure out how in hell his chocolate had turned green. In his hands are those treats, packed prettily in heart-patterned plastic with a satin bow (thank god for that), as an attempt to hide the fortunately less green globs of chocolate within them.

Well, if you’re not going to like the chocolate, at least you’ll appreciate the wrapping. Oikawa thinks, lazily drifting through throngs of blushing second-years.

Kageyama is on the other end of the hallway, a crumpled scrap of paper sitting in his hand. If you listen closely, you’ll hear his distinct voice forcing out a... i-is that a mantra? Thankfully, Kageyama has no intention to recite a Buddhist prayer to you on White Day—instead, it’s a love poem, uncharacteristically being brought to you by your pensive junior.

He doesn’t even recall what sparked him to write it (though he was rather suspicious of his sister’s magazines lying around the house). Did he even ask his mother or sister to proofread it? Well, he was thankful that he didn’t, because if he did, they’d either laugh or scold him for his poor use of four-character idioms.

It isn’t chocolate, but it’s straight from the heart. Yet how he wishes the incident at the candy shop didn’t have to extend all the way to little Adachi-kun’s plight. Now you were going to think of him as a joke with no prowess for literature—not that he was one in the first place...

“Oh, senpai.”

“Tobio-chan, we meet in this situation again, I see.”

Neither of them had realized that they’d reach the doors of your classroom until they locked eyes with each other. They’re both too tired to argue at this point, better yet, scorn each other. Oikawa who’d spent the night conjuring a tornado in his mother’s kitchen and Kageyama who’d surprised his family by cracking open a literature book. You’ll never know what’s coming.

“Well, here we are,” Oikawa says, tossing his gift up and down like it’s nothing more than a baseball. “The final judgment.”

“She will choose between us, Demon King-senpai.”

Oikawa’s eyebrows twitch in exasperation but he makes no move to choke the boy. “Stop calling me that, the “senpai” at the end doesn’t do any help you know... I don’t get what’s going on in your head, but may the best gift win the Y/N-chan’s heart, I guess.”

Kageyama politely nods and urges his senior to open the door. When it slides away to reveal your beautiful, smiling face, the boys’ jaws drop when they see what’s piled on your desk.

They nearly forget how popular you are. They nearly forget that there are hundreds of boys and girls out there who’re just as in love with you as they are. And what’s worse is that the mountains of chocolate, love letters and poems don’t seem to stop growing as more people crowd around you.

It’s even worse when they spot at least ten of a familiar box of chocolates in the masses. The same boxes of chocolates that they had wrestled for in the candy shop. The same boxes of chocolates that are about to be given to a certain Kokoro-chan today.

“Special”. What a lie, they both curse. Nevertheless, they surrender and join the mob of people anyway, because there is no way in hell are they going to let their late-night efforts go to waste. Even if one looks like a cat’s vomit and the other sounds like a crappy soap opera. You’ll love it anyway. And that’s what they love about you.

[hiccanna-tidbits]

5, 6, 7 & 8 for OTP asks with Hiccanna!!

HELL YEAH BRO

Soulmate AU: Who is eager to meet their soulmate? Who absolutely does not want to meet their soulmate?

Anna, hopeless romantic and “true love” fanatic that she is, is incredibly down to meet her soulmate. One of her biggest fears is being inherently unlovable and that no one will ever love her for who she is (parents dying and sister shunning you has to leave some abandonment issues babyyyy), so she takes a lot of comfort in the idea of a soulmate--at least one person is basically certain to love her, right?

Hiccup, meanwhile, is apathetic at best and annoyed by the idea of a higher power dictating who his girlfriend is at worst. Unlike Anna, he doesn’t really fear no one will ever really love him for who he is--rather, he just accepts it as fact. Growing up with no friends and an emotionally-distant father, Hiccup came to believe that he was never going to feel the kind of deep, boundless love he’d seen between other people--and he made his peace with it. Being a more introverted scientist and inventor-type, Hiccup tends to spend a lot of time alone anyways and believes (maybe not fully accurately) that he prefers it that way. Besides, the logician in him thinks the whole “magic cosmic soulmate” thing is probably bullshit, and he just can’t figure out how something like soulmates could ever be backed or supported by modern science. Ultimately, Hiccup figures he’s going to date who he’s going to date (if he can even find any girls who are interested, that is), and he really couldn’t care less what the stars have to say about it.

When Hiccup and Anna do finally meet, and eventually start dating (knowing how shy and awkward they’d both be about confessing, it would take months to years after them meeting to actually get together, even in a goddamn soulmate AU), it isn’t revealed that they’re soulmates right away. Maybe it’s revealed by their hearts glowing a certain color when they first realize they’re in love with the other person? Idk. 

When Anna finds out they’re soulmates, she’s absolutely stoked. Like the girl probably runs around their home for a solid 15 minutes planning a soulmate reveal party or something. Hiccup, meanwhile, is just kind of like “Oh! Neat!” and then immediately goes back to whatever he was doing XD

Anna is a bit hurt that Hiccup is so, ah...unconcerned about them being literally destined to be together. She’s mainly worried that it means that he doesn’t like...cherish their connection enough and whatnot. After he picks up on the fact that she’s kind of upset about his definitive lack of a strong reaction to the whole thing, he explains to her that he didn’t really care because he’d 100% date Anna whether or not she was his soulmate. Saying their souls were deeply connected was basically just putting a formal title on what he already knew.

And Anna has to take a minute, because honestly? Hiccup confidently saying he’d be with her in any reality, even one where he risks angering cosmic forces to do so, is actually much more romantic than them being supposedly “fated for each other” since the beginning.

Single parent AU: Which one is the single parent? (Alt. if they’re both single parents: Which one is open to starting a new relationship from the start? Which one is never planning on finding love again… Until they meet the other and are instantly smitten?)

I think I’ll have Zephyr and Nuffink be the single parent kids because I Just Think They’re Neat! That, and I honestly can’t bear to make lovechildren for Anna with anyone but Hiccup XD (those of you who know me will know making Krist/anna lovechildren in any context is RIGHT OUT).

So in this AU things didn’t work out with Astrid and Hiccup is pretty heartbroken over it :( I imagine she ultimately left him because she wasn’t really feeling the spark anymore, and they have joint custody of the kids. Meanwhile, Hiccup and Anna were neighbors growing up, and were pretty close friends as kids until Anna moved away and they lost touch. She eventually comes back to their hometown as an adult, and she and Hiccup reconnect. They’re also both like “ah shit, my old buddy got HOT” XD

I actually think Anna and Zephyr would really hit it off, mainly because Anna sees a lot of what she loves the most about Hiccup in Zephyr. Zephyr has Hiccup’s anxiety, cynicism, inventive streak, overall social awkwardness--and because Anna knows Hiccup so well and knows how to best accommodate all of his quirks and oddities, it’s not hard for her to extrapolate how best to befriend a younger version of him XD Zephyr, meanwhile, has had trouble befriending kids her age due to her bluntness and general “nerdiness,” so she’s always happy to find someone who accepts her unconditionally and takes a genuine interest in her wacky inventions--even if it’s her dad’s new girlfriend, who by all accounts should be a weird person for her to get close to XD Zephyr also devours science books like they’re going out of style, and is very pleased that Anna is more than happy to listen to her ramble on and on about random science trivia. Zeph still loves her biological mom, for sure, but she starts thinking of Anna as a second mom. She brags to all the kids at school that she has two moms, which leaves them very confused and wondering if Astrid ended up marrying another woman after she divorced Hiccup (which, to be fair, wouldn’t be entirely out of character).

Nuffink, meanwhile, is a little more unsure about the whole situation, if mainly because I headcanon him as a bit of a mama’s boy. He doesn’t dislike Anna so much as he’s just...wary of her, and doesn’t know how to feel about his dad falling in love with someone who isn’t his mom. He also can’t help but feel out-of-place when he, Zephyr, Hiccup, and Anna go out on “family outings” because he kind of looks like he doesn’t belong. With her reddish-brown hair, her blue eyes, her aundance of freckles, and her fondness for wearing twin braids, Zephyr could definitely pass as Anna’s daughter (I’ve even seen Anna used as an older version of Zephyr in video edits, which is hilariously ironic). Although Nuffink has his dad’s eyes, he very much has his biological mom’s hair and doesn’t look like he’s related to Anna at all.

I think what helps them finally bond is that they both have a love of combat! Nuffink definitely does some kind of martial arts or fencing training if he can access it, and Anna is more than happy to teach him some swordplay and spar with him if he wants! Because Sword Anna is best Anna, fight me. Nuffink is also open-minded enough that hey, if his cool big sister likes someone that much, she can’t be that bad. Hiccup is just...continually super impressed with how much Anna knows about fighting--and it makes him fall all the more in love with her, because he loves that in a woman XD Once Nuffink warms up to Anna, he’s constantly trying to impress her ith how tough he is--mostly shown by him ramming his head into walls. Poor Anna worries about Nuffink a lot XD

I imagine there’s a little bit of tension between Anna and Astrid in this AU. Not really because Astrid resents Hiccup moving on--she’s actually pretty happy for Hiccup that he found someone better suited for him than her--but more because she worries Anna is trying to replace her as the kids’ “true mom” XD Anna, meanwhile, can’t help but resent Astrid a little for breaking Hiccup’s heart and doesn’t get why they kids can’t just have two moms! The more people who love them, the better, right???

I don’t imagine Anna and Hiccup having any biological kids in this AU, because I think two stepkids would be plenty for Anna! Of course, since Zephyr and Nuffink are Hiccup’s, she loves them with all her being and tries to be the best stepmom she can be. But I think having more than two kids would stress Anna’s ADHD ass the fuck out, and she doesn’t strike me as the sort of person who would feel a need to have biological kids with Hiccup if she already had Nuffink and Zephyr to parent. Our girl is perfectly happy adopting!

Doctor AU: Which one is the longsuffering doctor? Which one is the patient?

Hiccup is the long-suffering doctor, although not entirely by choice. Often he wonders if being a doctor is actually what he wanted, but his dad was like “WELL SON! YOU’RE SMART, SO YOU GOTTA BE A DOCTOR SO YOU MAKE BIG BUCKS!” (I’m headcanoning in this AU Stoick is a professional athlete of some kind, and has made BANK since he was young. He can’t really conceive of his son NOT pursuing a well-paid profession). Hiccup doesn’t really want to disappoint his rather intimidating dad, so he goes along with it.

It’s not that he dislikes it, when all is said and done. He does care about people and wants to help them, although he hides it underneath about 10 layers of snark. Still, it’s stressful and thankless work, and often he worries about whether he took the right path. Too late to pursue something else now, he supposes.

Then he meets Anna, rushed to the ICU with a collection of third-degree electrical burns. She tried to plug all of her Christmas light strings into the same power strip, and uh...it did not go well. Hiccup is there monitoring her vitals when she wakes up, and she just kind of wearily sighs and admits to him that living on her own wasn’t nearly as fun or exciting as she thought it would be. As it turned out, Anna had insisted she could be trusted with putting up her apartment’s holiday decorations, and she very much should not have been.

Anna ends up having to stay a couple weeks. She needs a small skin graft (yeah, she fucked herself up THAT bad), and then needs a bit of time for the surgery wounds to heal. Hiccup is assigned to do checkups on her regularly, and starts to look forward to it. Her perky disposition (despite being stuck in the hospital with burn wounds) is contagious, and she never fails to make him laugh after a long, draining shift. As stressful as his job is, Anna becomes his one respite.

He has to admit, it’s nice to have at least one thing to look forward to.

Hiccup is a little sad to see Anna go. Of course, bumbling, socially awkward foot-in-mouth fool that he is, he doesn’t have the courage to ask for her number so they can keep in touch. That would, uh...probably be unprofessional or something. Besides, it would probably crush his heart and soul if she was weirded out by his soft spot for her so like...maybe best not to even open himself up to the possibility.

Then, not two weeks later, Anna shows up at the hospital again--this time having broken three bones in a hiking accident. Apparently she got too excited about a particularly nice view, and toppled right off the top of a very steep bluff. He, once again, takes on her care, and is delighted (albeit guiltily) to have her back. He, once again, has something to make work not suck as much!

Oddly enough, this turns out to be the first of many hiking accidents. Anna comes in next month claiming to have nearly burned her arm off in a rogue campfire, and then again the next month claiming to have been mauled by a bear (although Hiccup is pretty sure those bleeding gashes were just left by a very big dog, and Anna is too embarrassed to admit it). Odder still, Hiccup distinctly remembers talking to Anna during her first hospital stay about how much he loved hiking and the outdoors, and now all of her new string of injuries just happen to be hiking-related. He can’t help but be baffled about how her insurance even covers all of this, but apparently having a family lineage distantly related to Norwegian royalty has its perks.

On roughly her 7th hospital stay, Hiccup finally gathers up the courage to ask Anna for her number, if only because he figures it would be nice for them to see each other without Anna having to nearly get herself killed first every time XD

Bodyguard AU: Who is the bodyguard? Who are they protecting? Which one is secretly pining for the other?

OMIGOD SO

I HAD AN IDEA FOR THIS

What if Anna was sent to bodyguard Hiccup in an AU where Arendelle is a lot more militaristic???

Basically what I'm thinking is that this is in an alternate timeline, Hiccup didn't injure Toothless's tail when he shot him down. The beginning of HTTYD plays out the same, but Toothless can still fly and just yeets off after Hiccup frees him, supposedly never to be seen again. However, this still leads Hiccup to believe he may not be dragon-fighting material after all. The poor boy still yearns to find a way to prove his worth to Berk, though.

As Hiccup gets older, his strength doesn't really improve, and it becomes clear to Stoick that he's always going to be pretty scrawny. Because of this, he's hesitant to put Hiccup in dragon training for the sake of his son's own safety--and hey, Hiccup seems to have lost interest in dragon-fighting anyhow, so it's not like Hiccup will fight him on it. Nonetheless, the dragon raids are getting worse, and Stoick worries about Hiccup being able to protect himself at all. Knowing most of the older villagers are busy with dragon-fighting and other jobs, and honestly doubting any of the village's teenagers would protect Hiccup if push came to shove, Stoick sends out an appeal of sorts to neighboring villages and kingdoms requesting a bodyguard for his skinny disaster of a son.

Back in Arendelle, shut-in princess Anna is surprised yet intrigued when a messenger from the Viking village of Berk shows up at Elsa's coronation. In a timeline where Hans and Anna don’t have their chance encounter, Hans sets his wooing sights on the newly-crowned Queen Elsa (and fails), and no push ends up being strong enough to make Elsa lose control of her powers at the ceremony. Anna, however, still feels hurt by her sister’s seemingly reasonless rebuke earlier in the evening and finds herself aching to explore the world outside her castle and be close with someone--anyone--again.

When the Viking messenger requests a bodyguard for the Chief of Berk’s son, Anna is quick to volunteer. The messenger scoffs at first, but to his surprise, the soft-looking princess isn’t entirely unqualified. She filled many of her long, empty childhood hours training with the Arendelle guard, and her swordplay is admirable. To prove her worth, Anna faces off with one of the Berkian warriors in a duel--and holds her own shockingly well. While Queen Elsa is hesitant to let her sister run off to a faraway nation, Anna vehemently insists that Arendelle doesn’t need two monarchs, and this will be great for diplomatic relations in the long run. Of course, she also longs to explore and get away from the place she’s been trapped her entire life, but Elsa doesn’t need to know that part.

When Anna arrives in Arendelle, Hiccup has absolutely no idea what to make of his new bodyguard. On the one hand, a girl who’s good with a sword is hot, and he’s long since given up on Astrid anyways. On the other hand, Hiccup is definitely irked that his dad sees him as so weak and incapable that he’s the only Viking in the village who needs a full-on bodyguard, and he hates feeling like he’s being babied and coddled (not that this is Anna’s fault). Still, his bodyguard is essentially the only person who’s ever seemed to actually want to be friends with him in...well, his whole life, and honestly? He’ll take it.

Anna, meanwhile, still aching for love and connections of really any kind, is nigh-instantly smitten. His brains, his creativity, his constant snide jokes, his snark-coated good heart, his weird, messy hairdo--all of it has an 18-year-old Anna completely over the moon. Hiccup, feeling hopeless in the world of romance after being rejected by Astrid, is honestly just relieved to finally have a friend--to the point that it doesn’t even occur to him that Anna’s a girlfriend option.

Not long after she arrives in Berk, Anna is put into dragon training to prepare for raids. She does a bit of training of her own with Hiccup, teaching him some swordplay to try and boost his confidence. It’s not hard to tell that he has mixed feelings about having to have a protector, and Anna hopes that by teaching him some basic fighting skills he can at least feel a little better if he’s ever in a situation where she isn’t there to defend him.

As she gets deeper into her dragon training, Anna asks Hiccup why he never gave dragon training a go. Granted, him being as physically small as he is would be a disadvantage, but he could still learn to hold his own decently well using speed and stealth. It would help him be able to protect himself, if nothing else. Hiccup seems very reluctant to talk about the whole subject, but he says Anna needs to trust that he knows he can’t kill dragons. He tends to give the shortest answers possible to her questions, and nigh-instantly changes the subject. When Anna presses too much, he gets snippy.

As they get closer, Hiccup finally opens up to Anna about the time he shot down a Night Fury and couldn’t bring himself to make the final kill. He admits to cutting the creature free, and how the dragon nearly killed him--only to spare Hiccup just as Hiccup had spared him. “I saw more than just a ruthless killer when I looked into that dragon’s eye,” Hiccup tells her. “I saw myself. I think there’s so much more to them than anyone knows, but...you’re the only person I feel like would actually give me the benefit of the doubt on that.”

During the next raid, Anna pays closer attention to the dragons than before. She watches how they interact with the villagers, and notice that they never seem to go out of their way to go after people. They only fight Vikings when Vikings initiate, and the dragons’ main concern always seems to be taking sheep and fish. Left to their own devices, they don’t seem to want to hurt anyone.

Unfortunately, Anna standing off to the side and trying to watch what all the dragons are doing leaves her distracted--and vulnerable. She’s not prepared for a camouflaged changewing to melt out of the wall behind her, whipping around and backing her into a corner. Anna grabs for her sword but can hardly move, frozen in terror as the massive dragon stares her down.

She holds up an arm, bracing herself for a wall of fire, but none comes. There’s a swish of wings and a gust of wind blows her back. When she looks up, the dragon is gone.

It would’ve been beyond easy for the dragon to kill her. The creature clearly saw her--could have taken advantage in her moment of frozen stupor and burned her to a crisp. And yet...the dragon spared her. Just like the Night Fury had spared Hiccup.

Anna realizes Hiccup might be onto something.

Together, Hiccup and Anna decide they’re going to get to the bottom of what dragons are really like--and why they’re stealing the village’s food. While claiming to go out for “battle practice,” Hiccup and Anna track down dragons and study them in secret--observing them, writing about them, seeing how they behave and how they interact with one another. They’re surprised by what they see: left to their own devices, dragons are good-natured and compassionate, and they take care of their own. Strangely, they never seem to feed the stolen food to their young. Hiccup predicts they’re not actually keeping it for themselves, and taking it somewhere nigh unreachable for humans. For what actual purpose is anyone’s guess.

Anna starts using the info she gathers observing dragons with Hiccup in dragon-training. She finds ways to sooth them and calm them down in the ring by using things they seem to enjoy in the wild. Scented grass, bits of fish, soft touches, slow, gentle movements. The village marvels at her newfound skills, and can’t help but wonder where she developed such a knack for controlling dragons despite spending basically all her time around “Stoick’s little runt.” She couldn’t be training with him, of all people...could she? Astrid, for one, is definitely none too pleased about her spot at the top of the class being threatened.

Meanwhile, Anna and Hiccup can’t help but grow fond of the dragons they watch. They start becoming more bold, and leaving snacks of trout and mutton for the scaled creatures. Anna is delighted when the food ends up attracting none other than what she’s pretty sure is the same changewing who spared her, as well as a curious snaptrapper. She’s never gotten to see a snaptrapper up close before, and is completely undeterred by the triple-jawed four heads. Rather, she is far more preoccupied with coming up with the perfect name for each head.

“Omigod, he’s so PRETTY! And he smells like CHOCOLATE!”

“...you know they probably emit that scent to lure in prey so they can slice it in three, right?”

“CHOCOLATE, HICCUP!!!”

With each new meal, the local dragons grow more and more comfortable with Hiccup and Anna. After a while, the changewing and the snaptrapper even let Anna touch their noses. Anna falls in love with watching the changewing seem to melt around the forest as she camouflages, and rolling in the mud with the snaptrapper after a summer storm. Hiccup starts catching what seems to be glimpses of the Night Fury he freed, and it appears that the curious creature has come back to investigate him.

The Night Fury appears more and more, drawn in by Hiccup’s trout feast. Hiccup notices the dragon’s wing is injured, likely shot by someone from the village. Although he’s not completely helpless, he’s having trouble. Hiccup sets to work on his most daring project yet--making a “brace” of sorts that can mend the ripped wing.

When Hiccup and Anna attempt to distract the Night Fury long enough to climb up and put the wing brace on, something unexpected happens. The dragon shoots up to the sky, both unwitting passengers clinging onto his tail for dear life.

Once they get their bearings and clamber up to his back, the Night Fury (who Hiccup has nicknamed “Toothless” for his retractable teeth) takes them on a flight through the clouds. Unable to help herself, Anna laces her arms around Hiccup’s waist--if only so she can supposedly “hold on better.”

Hiccup, of course, still doesn’t get it.

The flight takes a sinister turn when Toothless takes them to the dragon nest, and Hiccup finally gets his answer about where all of the villages food has been going--to their queen. Unsure what to do or how to free their new friends from the Red Death, Hiccup and Anna promise each other one thing or sure--none of the rest of Berk can know about the dragon nest. If they attack it, it spells disaster for both dragons and Vikings--not to mention the question of how they got there is sure to dig up their secret dragon-related activities as of late.

With each dragon raid, Anna finds herself more and more reluctant to fight dragons--especially now that she knows what’s actually going on. She only does the bare minimum to protect the food and the village, never going out of her way to attack a dragon or landing a killing blow (although by this point, she’d definitely be skilled enough to). During one particularly intense raid, Anna is finding it harder and harder to fend dragons off without doing lethal damage. While driving out a particularly tenacious monstrous nightmare, Anna happens upon the same changewing she’s befriended in the forest, limping to safety.

It would be incredibly easy to finish the dragon off, but Anna refuses. The dragon knows she’s beat, and so Anna lets her leave without so much as a swing of the princess’s sword.

Unfortunately, Astrid sees.

After the raid, Astrid storms up to Anna and chews her out in front of the whole village, yelling about how weak she was to not go for a dragon kill when she had the chance. It turns out Astrid’s also been noticing Anna going intentionally easy on the dragons, and how much the Arendelle princess seems to hold back when fighting him. Astrid knows it’s not physical incompetence, or a lack of skill--she’s seen Anna subdue plenty of dragons in training.

No, it seems to be the princess’s heart that’s weak. Her kingdom must be nothing but a bunch of bleeding-hearted morons, and she’ll never be tough enough to really belong in Berk.

As he watches Astrid yell and the Berkians all turn to sneer at the scene, Hiccup feels a sudden rush of protectiveness for his friend. Tears are starting to form in the corners of her eyes, and something gives in him seeing her subjected to the very ostracization that left him completely alone for so many years.

He walks up beside Anna, and suddenly he’s shouting like he’s never quite had the courage to before.

“You’re wrong, Astrid! You’re all wrong!”

Before long, he’s spilling everything--how dragons are intelligent and caring creatures, how they’re only stealing food to feed a ruthless queen, how he’s sure humans have killed far more dragons than vice versa. The village stares, horrified. When Stoick storms forward, Hiccup and Anna know it’s nothing good.

Stoick is disgusted. The very bodyguard he had brought all the way out to Berk to give his son strength did nothing but fill Hiccup’s head with softness and dangerous lies. He banishes Anna, warning her never to set foot in Berk or speak to his son again.

Hiccup will not have it. He says if Anna’s leaving, he’s coming with her. He’s made his choice, and he’s standing by the only person who ever really treated him with unconditional love and kindness.

“Fine,” Stoick says simply. “We’ll be rid of two traitors, then.”

Cast out from Berk, Hiccup and Anna find themselves with a new mission: Find the nest before the rest of Berk does, and take out the Red Death once and for all.

With the help of Toothless, the Changewing (who Anna has nicknamed “Flicker”), and the Snaptrapper (whose heads Anna have very creatively named Leafy, Greeny, Spiky, and Badbreath. It’s beyond Hiccup how she tells all of them apart, but she’s very adamant about which is which.), they find the dragon hive again, and attempt the impossible--attacking the queen. It seems hopeless at first, but once more and more malcontented dragons see what they’re doing, they join in and rebel.

It’s a tough fight, but the two humans and the revolting dragons come out on top. Not before the Red Death has one last hurrah, though--letting out a final, massive blast of fire that knocks Hiccup askew and sends him tumbling down into the flames. Toothless, Flicker, Anna, and the Snaptrapper dive after, and are quickly engulfed in red and orange.

Meanwhile, the Berkians have sent out ships following Hiccup, Anna, and their dragons, guessing the nest is where they were headed. By the time they get there, the fight is over--and Stoick and Gobber just manage to catch a glimpse of Hiccup plummeting into the flames.

Anna screams Hiccup’s name until the smoke burns her throat so much she can’t anymore. She remembers swooping underneath him and just managing to grab hold of his limp body before everything goes dark.

When she comes to later, it’s still dark--but she feels something soft and warm in her arms, and feels scales pressed against her back. Her arm is searing with pain, but she barely notices it as her eyes adjust to the darkness. Hiccup is curled up against her--groaning, but alive.

Not sure she’ll ever get another chance, she puts a hand on his cheek and finally tells him the truth. “I love you.”

He opens his eyes and looks, gaze shocked until a slow realization washes over him. He smiles. “I love you, too.”

They both pass out, still wrapped up in each other.

When the flames clear, Stoick sees what looks like a pile of dragons, all pressed together with their wings folded in. Slowly, they lift their wings to reveal two humans--charred in places, but alive.

Wracked with guilt, Stoick realizes he was wrong. Hiccup’s new bodyguard helped his son become stronger and braver than the chief of Berk ever imagined.

It turns out taking down the queen saved the dragons and the humans, and thanks to Hiccup, Anna, and their dragon friends, Berk will never have to worry about dragon raids again.

It turns out Hiccup’s leg and Anna’s arm didn’t quite make it out of the fire. Luckily, Gobber has always been handy at prosthetics--and Hiccup manages to make a fairly dextrous and functional metal hand for Anna. Anna is utterly delighted with how cool it looks.

After the whole Red Death incident, it’s decided that Hiccup is probably competent enough that he doesn’t need his own bodyguard anymore. Nonetheless, Anna is welcome to stay in Berk as long as she likes. And with new dragon friends and an incredibly cute new boyfriend, she’s not going anywhere anytime soon!

***

This is in reference to this post! I’ve already done these questions for Moanida. Theoretically still willing to do any questions I haven’t yet for Hiccanna and Moanida, although these were exhausting to write out so I might not give as long of answers XD

[myforeverforlife]

familiar stranger (final).

“It doesn’t feel like home when you’re not with me."

Jongdae’s eyelids fluttered shut, the weight of your words touching the depths of his heart. "You’ll always have me, no matter what. Home hasn’t been the same without you.” His eyes opened, brown pools of color full of adoration as he stared back at you.

Everything was falling back into place.

Disclaimer: This series was planned out before Jongdae’s announcement, and I wanted to finish this for everyone who’s been reading and following along since part one. As always, everything in this is fictional, the only things linked to reality are the use of some character names.

Word Count: 5,734

Masterlist

Series masterlist: ( 1 )  ( 2 )  ( 3 )  ( Final )

Moving day was more organized than you expected. You only had to bring over the pile of stuff you accumulated while staying with Minseok, and the rest already had a place at home with Jongdae. Most of your items were easily settled and in their places within a couple of hours, much to your satisfaction. The only thing left to do was to get the remainder of your clothes put away. 

As you folded and hung up your clothes, it hit you that while most of your other tastes had stayed the same, your choice in clothing hadn't. In the course of six years, your wardrobe had changed almost completely. 

"I feel like I'm shopping through my own closet," you said over your shoulder. Rummaging through coats and sweaters, you were impressed by certain fashions choices, and oddly confused at others. "Did I really wear this orange sweater?" You took it out by the hanger, lifting it up just as Jongdae peeked out from the bathroom. 

"You did, and I always said that you looked like a pumpkin. A very cute pumpkin, I might add." Jongdae laughed, even with his mouth full of toothpaste. 

You hung the fuzzy blob of a sweater back up, failing to hide the smile working its way onto your face at Jongdae's words. "I guess I know why I kept it," you said to yourself as Jongdae finished brushing his teeth. He joined you at the closet soon after, similarly dressed in his well-loved pajamas. 

"I forgot you even had this," he chuckled. Jongdae reached out, fingers running down the woolen fabric of the sweater. "I never knew why you didn't donate or throw it away. You always said it was too scratchy to wear." 

Eyebrows raised in disbelief, you crossed your arms over your chest. "Really? You honestly don't have any idea why?" 

Jongdae was still confused, staring harder at the sweater as if he would find the answer there. "No... why?" 

"I probably kept it because you liked it so much! Who doesn't want to be called a 'cute pumpkin' by their husband?" 

"Huh." Jongdae's head cocked to the head slightly, studying the article of clothing one last time before turning to you. "You didn't have to do that. I know you don't usually like this style." 

"I mean, technically I didn't do anything. 'Past me' did." 

Jongdae smiled, closing the distance and putting his arms around your waist. "Well, 'past you' is still you." He kissed the crown of your head, his lips lingering a but longer before he rested his cheek against your hair. "Ready for bed?" 

It amused Jongdae to watch you hop in on the left side of the bed, a spot you always claimed. You pulled a pillow close to you as you brought the fluffy blanket over your shoulders, sniffing curiously as you caught a whiff of a familiar scent. 

"Lavender," you mused, diving down for another sniff. 

"To help you sleep," Jongdae explained as he turned off the light on the nightstand. "You used to talk about how it takes forever for you to fall asleep." He stifled a laugh as he lay down, resting his head on the pillow underneath. "And if we're being honest, you were sort of jealous of my ability to fall asleep in five seconds flat." 

You mirrored Jongdae, lying down and facing him as you clutched the pillow tightly to you with both arms. "I'm still jealous, now that you've brought that up," you pouted. 

Jongdae cooed with sympathy, scooting closer and bringing one arm up to encircle as much of you as he could. "Hopefully the lavender helps tonight."

"I'm sure it will." You smiled up at him before hugging him back, the pillow between both of you making it hard to get your arm over his waist. To Jongdae's amusement, you shoved the pillow out of the way before snuggling closer, nose pressed into his shirt. 

And sure enough, you slept better than you did in a long time. 

"Y/N, can you bring me the scallops?"

"Yes, chef!" You picked up the hot pan with a towel, warning your fellow chefs as you stepped past before placing on the counter next to Key. He finished plating his risotto before reaching for the scallops, sending you a quick thanks before focusing entirely on the food before him. 

"Mingyu, I need garnish soon! Kyungsoo, get ready to have your salmon up to the counter!" 

Both men were quick to respond to the head chef, Mingyu readying dainty flowers to be sprinkled atop the scallop risotto while Kyungsoo wiped the edges of his salmon dishes. 

You went to check on the meal ticket one last time, making sure that nothing was missing. Under Key's supervision, his dishes were immaculate and aesthetically pleasing to the eye. 

Once Jaehyun came to take the dishes out, the whole process started all over again. Key led your team through a couple orders of spicy pork over cauliflower rice and, much to Kyungsoo's delight, wasabi tacos. Time seemed to fly past as you all finished up the last of the main dishes and started on desserts. 

Service ended with a last order of lychee cheesecake and mini red bean pancakes topped with French vanilla ice cream, your mouth watering at the sight of them. 

"Good work tonight, everybody. That was the best service we've had in a long time. Maybe even since Y/N was last here," he added, giving you a thumbs-up. "Alright, let's clean up and get the hell out of here. I'm dying for a drink." 

You rolled back your shoulders, stretching out the sore muscles and moving onto your neck when Kyungsoo called out to you. "You okay?" 

"Yeah, my body's just stiff. Too much sitting around at home for me really left me out of shape," you joked. 

Kyungsoo's eyes softened in sympathy. "It's tough jumping back into this after so long. You'll get used to it again though."

"Sounds like you speak from experience?"

"Yeah, before I got hired here, I did my military service. I had to leave my job at Junmyeon's old restaurant, Oasis, but he offered me one here once I got out. I thought I'd ease back in like I never left, but it was weird to get back into the habit of cooking in an environment like this. Not just physically, but mentally as well." He leaned back against the counter, throwing the towel in his hand onto his shoulder and crossing his arms. "Luckily, Key is a decent head chef, when he's not sending drunk texts to the groupchat."

"I can hear you Do Kyungsoo, and those counters won't wipe themselves!" Key yelled from the walk-in fridge. 

You stifled your giggles as Kyungsoo flinched, immediately reaching up for his towel and searching for the nearest surface to start cleaning. 

Sure, your body wasn't used to the stress of pulling through a service like this, but you felt better than you had in a long time. It also helped that you had been welcomed back so cheerfully. Of course, everyone in the kitchen was overjoyed to have you there. Your tasks had been divvied up and shared among the remaining four chefs, the managers even stepping in to help wherever they could. 

But you could feel the camaraderie between everyone, and the way that this same friendship was extended towards you. The younger ones liked to rope you into their antics, Lucas and Mark often looking to you for your opinion whenever they got into an enthusiastic discussion about, well, anything. The latest debate had been over which Smash Bros character was the best. 

Your happiness at work filtered into your cheeriness at home, and vice versa. Your parents were even able to pick up on your cheery mood as you talked to them over the phone. Although they were cities away and unable to come up to Seoul as often as they liked, you made the effort to call them at least once a week. 

Jongdae liked to say hi to your parents whenever he heard that you were on the phone with them. Nothing more than the usual effervescent, genuine greeting, and then he left you with a kiss and your privacy to continue your phone call. As familiar as he was with your parents, you were almost terrified about meeting his. It was slightly comforting to know that they loved you already, but meeting your partner's parents was always a nerve-wracking event. Jongdae never pushed you to meet them, much less talk to then until you were ready. 

But deep down, you knew that this was something you would have to do eventually. 

You met them for the first time (again) at his parents on a sunny weekend in March, during a family get-together at their house. Jongdae's older brother was there too with his wife, their little daughter back home spending some time with her maternal grandmother.

It was easy to see where Jongdae's assorted charms came from as you observed his parents. His father was reliable and always ready to lend a hand, even when you didn't say anything. His mother was bubbly and optimistic, constantly refreshing others with a kind word and a warm smile. 

And Jongdae, sweet as ever, was by your side throughout it all. A hand on your waist as you talked to his mom, a hearty laugh when you innocently pointed out that his brother had a piece of spinach stuck in his teeth. 

His childhood home was gone, but his parents still kept a room reserved for him and his brother in their new apartment. Boxes of artifacts from his youth were stacked against the wall, full of yearbooks, letters and stuffed plushies spilling out when you opened them up. 

"You have a teddy bear collection?" you asked, picking up one with a plush skateboard attached to its feet. "This might be the cutest thing I've ever seen."

"Stop," Jongdae whined, falling to the floor and covering his face with his hands as you laughed. "I feel bad about throwing them out."

"I'm serious, Dae. This is adorable." You sat the bear up against the pillows on his bed, lining up bear after bear until you had an entire row there. Some were in better condition than others, but all had been well-loved. 

Jongdae showed you old photos of the band he was in during high-school, an adolescent version of him sporting different hairstyles that his friend did for him. "I let him practice on me, but I drew the line at mohawks. My mom would've killed me, and Jongdeok would've teased me about it forever. Not that he doesn't tease me enough already," he added with a good-natured roll of his eyes.

"How about now?" you asked, wiggling your eyebrows. "I think you'd look good in one."

Jongdae choked on his laughter, tears welling in the corners of his eyes as you frantically got him up to a sitting position. "I'm fine," he assured you, coughing in between chuckles. "You just surprised me." 

"You mean you don't want a hairstyle that makes you look like a rooster?" you quipped, joining in as Jongdae erupted into giggles once more.

"Okay, that's it, I'm never going with you to the hair salon." His chest continued to rumble with laughter as he leaned against you, his cheek pressed against your head. "I'm glad you're having a good time here."

"Your family's so sweet, how can I not?" 

Jongdae smiled to himself, head ducking down to kiss you. "I'm happy that you're happy, darling." 

Jongdae's family members were so similar to himself, how could you not love them? They welcomed you into the family a second time, your personality suiting their easygoing ways. 

And something you really appreciated — not once did any of them comment on your ring-less finger. 

It had been a journey wracked with guilt and confusion, but you had reached the point where looking at your wedding ring didn't send you into a whirlpool of nervousness. 

A few weeks and sessions unpacking your guilt with Dr. Suh later, you even took to wearing your wedding ring again — although not where you were traditionally expected to. The elegant piece of jewelry hung from a thin silver chain around your neck, an old Christmas present from your father. 

Your ring was the bridge between your present and past — but more importantly, your future. Wearing your ring grounded you, reminded you about how lucky you were to be here now, even if you couldn't remember the past six years. It was comforting to feel the slight pull on your necklace when you leaned forward, the ring swinging forward and catching the light. 

What warmed your heart even more was Jongdae's reaction to seeing it again. 

You had been antsy all day, the ring hidden under your shirt. For all Jongdae knew, you were just wearing a necklace you had rediscovered. But when you leaned down to pick up a pair of shoes, the ring slipped out from its hiding place. Jongdae, who tended to be completely oblivious to his surroundings, took a bit to realize what he was seeing. Once he did, however, his mouth fell open, eyes trained solely on the ring at your neck. No matter how many times you replayed it in your mind, you couldn't figure out who had moved first. All you knew was that both of you were in each other's arms, Jongdae's lips on yours as he kissed you like his life depended on it. 

When he managed to finally pull away, he looked you in the eye, asking why you chose to wear it.

"It just feels right," you murmured, fingers tracing over his collarbones. You couldn't meet his gaze, feeling the the intensity of his eyes on yours. You needed to be clear-headed if you wanted to get your thoughts out correctly. "I used to be scared of it. I knew that I loved you, but I wasn't sure if I was ready for a big commitment like this. It's my first time being married," you finished with a soft laugh. 

Jongdae lifted your chin up gently, waiting until you were looking at him. "You didn't do this just for me, right?" He swallowed back the nervousness creeping up his throat.

You shook your head. "Not just for you or me, but for us, darling." 

Jongdae froze for a second before his hands came up to your cheeks, caressing them softly. “Say it again, please.” His voice was shaky, despite the steadiness of his hands. "I've missed hearing that." 

"Darling Jongdae," you whispered back, your own hands trembling as they reached up to cover Jongdae's where they rested on your face. "I love you. I don't think I ever really stopped." 

Jongdae let out an unexpected sob, closing his eyes and ducking his head. His hands dropped from your face, taking yours down with him. 

"Dae, don't cry," you pleaded, reaching out to be the one to cradle his face now. "Dae," you said tenderly, brushing his bangs back as he tried to hide his tears.

He turned his head, wiping his face on his sleeve before turning back to you. His eyes were red-rimmed, tears clumping his eyelashes together. "I'm happy," he choked out, taking in a shuddering, raspy breath. "You make me happy, Y/N, no matter what you do. But this... nothing even compares to this.” 

"But I'm not even wearing the ring the right way," you murmured, surprised by his strong reaction. 

Jongdae shook his head, brows drawn low over his face, a serious glint to his eye. "It doesn't matter where you wear it. You could wear it on your pinky toe, for all that I care. But I'm... I'm honored that you would choose to wear it again. To choose me again." 

"It's only ever been you, Jongdae. I'd fall for you again, a million times over if it meant I got to be with you." You kissed him, feeling the subtle tickle of his eyelashes against your skin when he closed his eyes. 

"I love you," he breathed, unwilling to move even an inch away when he was already drunk off of you. 

"I love you too, Dae." 

And in your soul, you felt that truer words had never been spoken. 

Winter ended and with it came sunnier spring days, each with their fair share of rainy ones. You and Jongdae had spent these early months of the year cuddled up in late winter's warmth, discovering new things about each other as the first seeds began to sprout. It was normal now for Jongdae to pick you up from work, for both of you to come home and talk about your days over dinner and then spend the rest of the night lazing around. 

Your old worries tended to creep up on you from time to time, but your circle of supporters were always ready to listen and comfort. You confided in Dr. Suh, sharing your deepest, darkest fears about not being able to live up to the person you had been before the accident. It took a lot of talking out your thoughts and thinking through the realities of them, sorting through what was fact and fiction, and the importance of living for now. 

You had gotten so used to having Dr. Suh as another shoulder to lean on that it knocked your world off balance when you got down to your last sessions. 

"I don't think there's anything left for me to help you with," she explained. "You've done an amazing job learning to talk through your problems, and not just to me. I've seen how much you and Jongdae have improved, and I think it's time that I take a step back." 

"This is so weird, it feels like it was only a couple of weeks ago that I came in here for the first time," you mused.

"Time really has flown by, hasn’t it?” Dr. Suh took off her glasses, resting them on top of her leg. "You've made so much progress, and I have faith in your abilities to continue your good work. I'll miss my sessions with you and Jongdae, but I sincerely believe that neither of you need me anymore. I'm proud of you both." 

A sudden wave of emotion came over you, gratitude towards Dr. Suh for all of her help over the past months, to uncertainty about the days ahead without these confidential talks in her office. "Are you sure?" you asked meekly. "What do I do if I need help again?" 

"Then I'll always be here. But I think you and Jongdae have done more for each other than I have." Her lips curled upwards, bringing an uncommon youthfulness to her usually calm demeanor. 

"I'm sure together, the two of you will be just fine."

Six months later... 

Your played with the ring hanging from your neck, one foot tapping anxiously against the floor. Tonight was the night. It wasn't your first holiday with Jongdae, and some people wouldn't consider a birthday a "real" holiday anyways, but in your eyes, it was absolutely imperative that everything go smoothly tonight. 

"Y/N, relax, he'll be here soon," Key said, wiping off a few beads of sweat from his forehead. "If you stay in the kitchen any longer, you'll end up sweating in that outfit." 

He had a point. "Are you sure you don't need any help?" you asked, leaning across the counter. Key had done his best to keep you out of the kitchen, sparing one glance at your dress and stating that he wouldn't be the one to get oil or food residue on your outfit. After you begged and pleaded, he begrudgingly agreed to let you sit and watch from across the counter.

"I'm sure," Key emphasized, waving you away with one hand. "Now hurry and get out there before your dress starts to smell like beef or something."

With a snort, you hopped off the stool, pushing open the kitchen door and leaving the chefs to their own devices.

The restaurant was nearly empty, the last few customers finishing up their meals and settling their checks. You had offered to work today, but Irene wouldn't hear of it, especially after hearing of your plans to celebrate Jongdae's birthday. She even insisted that you take your time off to go and treat yourself to some time at a salon. That didn't stop you from showing up an hour before you told Jongdae to meet you, running through your plans and finalizing them. 

For your sake, the restaurant was closing early tonight so that you and Jongdae would have the whole place to yourselves. Well, yourselves, and the rest of the staff who you knew would be eavesdropping at every moment. 

"Y/N!" Junmyeon called out, coming over with two copies of your menu. "We finally got the printer to work, what do you think?" 

In his hands were two menus, the thick leaves of paper already laminated and placed inside the leather bindings. You read down the list, nodding contentedly at what you saw there. "Perfect! Thanks so much, Myeon. I know how much trouble the printer was giving you." 

"If it's for you and Jongdae, it's not a problem. You can pay me in leftover food, though." He laughed as he walked away, the apples of his cheeks tinged pink with mirth. 

One table by the window had been especially reserved for both of you, the table settings already freshly cleaned after the previous diners. You leaned over, rearranging the petite flowers in the vase that sat there, the golden sunshine of their petals instantly lifting your mood. The simple arrangement held a mix of dandelions and black-eyed Susans, with some sprigs of baby's breath to add some subtle contrast. As much as you and Jongdae both loved lavender, you noticed how he was always drawn to any sort of buttery, yellow flower. His face had brightened up when you brought some home the other day, his nose disappearing into the depth of petals as he smelled the fragrant scent. He made you laugh when he picked one out, sticking it behind his ear as you both did the rest of your Saturday chores. 

"Y/N, it's almost time!" Irene came up from behind, smoothing down your hair and giving you a final look-over. She nodded to herself when she was satisfied, gently pushing you into a chair.

"Irene, I'm probably gonna stand up again once he comes in," you said, even as your boss meticulously straightened out every little bit and piece on the table. 

"That might be true, but when Jongdae walks up to the entrance, the first thing he's going to see is you sitting here by the window. With the light coming at you from this angle and your vase of flowers here, you look like you belong in a painting. Jongdae will be at a complete loss for words."

Your lips quirked up at the unexpected compliments, thanking your friend for her help tonight.

"I'm happy to do this for you, Y/N. We all are." She glanced up, spotting something through the window. "I'd say good luck, but I know that you won't need it."

You followed her line of sight, sitting up in your seat and craning your neck until you saw Jongdae, frozen on the path leading up to the restaurant. He broke out of his stupor when he met your eye, raising a hand to wave shyly. You didn't even notice Irene as she slipped away discreetly, your heart melting at the sight of Jongdae. Your boss may have tried to frame you like a portrait in a museum, picturesque and pleasing to the eye, but no work of art could surpass Jongdae's beauty in your eyes. 

Jongdae greeted Johnny at the entrance, following through the charade as the taller man led him to your table — the only occupied table in the entire restaurant. He took his seat, fingers tapping nervously against his legs as he gave you a crooked smile. "Hi, darling. I didn't think we'd be the only ones here tonight." 

"Being friends with the owner has its perks," you shrugged nonchalantly. "Happy birthday, Dae." You had already wished him a happy birthday multiple times already, but you were overflowing with festive cheer. It was your first time celebrating his birthday, and you intended to make this a night he wouldn't forget. 

"Thank you," Jongdae replied sweetly, his hand reaching over the table to meet yours. 

Johnny came back with drinks and your specially crafted menus. There was only one option listed for each course, but you had made sure to pick dishes that Jongdae absolutely loved. His face lit up as he read down the list, unconsciously swallowing as if he could already taste the food. "Babe, this all sounds amazing. How am I gonna eat all of this?"

"I'm sure we'll find a way. And if we don't, at least we've got a full staff to help us out." You nodded towards the kitchen, Jongdae following suit only to see Key staring through the window. The head chef was unfazed at being caught, waving quickly before he disappeared from view and sending you and Jongdae into a fit of giggles. 

The first course was the appetizer: a sampler of short ribs cooked in several ways. The bites were small, but enough to hold you over until the next course. Jongdae, ever the carnivore, dug in with gusto. "This isn't a dish on the menu, is it? Did you come up with this?" he asked in awe.

"I planned it with Key and Soo. They both helped me with the flavor combinations." 

Jongdae sighed happily. "You're a genius. I could kiss you right now, you know?"

"I'd be fine with that," you smiled, leaning closer.

The door to the kitchen swung open, Ten coming to bring you the main course. You and Jongdae both jumped back in your seats, laughing quietly at your shared embarrassment.

If Jongdae was ecstatic at the sight of the appetizer, he was completely overjoyed when he saw what the main course was. "It's your kimchi stew," he gaped in wonder. 

You had practiced the beloved recipe, the one from your cookbook that reduced you to tears months ago. It had taken a couple of test trials in the kitchen before you felt that it was absolutely perfect, nothing less than what you wanted to present to Jongdae. Tonight, Kyungsoo was in charge of it, but you trusted him with your recipe wholeheartedly. 

Jongdae closed his eyes as soon as he took the first bite, the familiar spiciness and warmth rushing over him. "God, this is so good," he gushed, opening his eyes to meet your proud smile. 

"I'm glad you like it. Kyungsoo did a great job with it tonight." 

Jongdae nodded, scooping up some rice from the stone bowl beside his stew. "I'll have to give my compliments to the chef," he joked with a twinkle in his eye.  

When both of you were done and felt like you couldn't eat any more, Ten came back to clear your dishes. You knew what was going to happen next, and the dormant butterflies in your stomach began to fly into a frenzy. Across from you, Jongdae sat oblivious to your inner turmoil.

"I don't know if I can eat any more. But then again, Mom always said I had a separate stomach for dessert." He laughed, hands resting over his full belly as you joined in. 

"Well, I guess we'll see if that's true." 

Jongdae raised an eyebrow, about to ask something when some of the lights went out, only your little corner by the window still illuminated by light. A chorus of singing could be heard from the kitchen, only to come flooding out once the doors opened. 

Junmyeon carried the cake out, concentrating hard on singing and walking at the same time. Irene was beside him, hands outstretched as if she expected the cake to fall at any moment. Kyungsoo was right behind, the cake knife wrapped in a cloth napkin and held carefully in his hands as his cheeks glowed with excitement. The rest of the staff followed along, singing turning to shouts and cheers as the fun of it all started to sink in. Even Minseok and Baekhyun were there, Minseok recording on his phone and Baekhyun with a party hat on his head.

"Happy birthday!" Baekhyun yelled once the singing was over and the applause died down. He took off his hat to put it on Jongdae's head instead. Of course, always ready to go along with the fun, Jongdae let his best friend put the silly hat on him. It was much too small, and you were sure that he would have a mark on his chin from the rubber band, but none of it bothered him at all. 

Junmyeon managed to get the cake onto the table without any incidents, much to everyone's relief. He hid behind Mingyu to wipe away the sweat at his temples while Jongdae grinned appreciatively at the cake.

"Matcha cheesecake?" he asked, eyes flashing up to meet yours. 

"The one and only. I hope you like it, Dae." 

"I love it, all of this. Thank you so much, darling." He brought your hand up, pressing a feather-light kiss to the knuckles there. 

"Don't forget to make a wish," Minseok spoke up, still recording every moment. 

Jongdae took in a deep breath as he closed his eyes. It was almost like watching him pray, the way he whispered to himself so softly, no one else could hear. He opened his eyes and blew out the candles, the room erupting into cheers and applause once more. 

Soon, the cake was cut and pieces passed around. Jongdae had tried to cut it at first, but the slices were in danger of coming out horribly uneven, so Kyungsoo stepped in. Everyone was scattered throughout the restaurant, lounging around and talking over their cake. They were mindful of your privacy, varied conversations never interrupting the intimacy shared at your table. 

"Y/N, thank you so much for tonight," Jongdae murmured, now without his birthday hat. "This is the best birthday I've ever had."

"Really?" you asked, fork stopping halfway to your mouth as your froze, taken off-guard.

"Really," he repeated. "I can tell how much work you put into this, you and everyone here. I still can't believe how lucky I am to have someone do this for me." 

"I do it because I love you, Dae." You set your fork down, the metal clattering against the ceramic plate. "I actually have one last surprise," you stammered out. The butterflies in your stomach had now reached peak frenzy, almost rendering you frozen. 

Jongdae watched, half intrigued and the other half worried by the trembling of your fingers. You reached up to undo the clasp of your necklace, slipping your ring off of the chain and cradling it in your other hand. 

"At the beginning of this year, I wasn't sure what would happen to me. I was terrified and lost, and it took everything I had to even try to piece my life back together." You paused, licking your dry lips and readying yourself for the next words. Jongdae's eyes were wide, emotion swirling in that expressive face of his. The love and awe that you saw there spurred you on, words coming more readily. 

"I was scared of falling back in love with you because I knew even less about you than I knew about myself. And the more I found out about you, the deeper I fell. It was the biggest leap of faith I'd ever taken, trusting myself to you and hoping that we would both come out unscathed. And now, every single day, I'm so thankful to have you in my life. I love you more than I can say in words, more than I will ever remember. Kim Jongdae, will you marry me a second time?" 

Jongdae jumped up, surprising you and everyone else in the room who had been listening in. He came around the table, stooping down to cup your cheeks gently before he kissed you. 

Someone started hooting and cheering, but it was merely background noise to you. How could you focus on anything else when Jongdae was kissing you like you were the most precious thing he had ever set eyes on? 

"Is that a yes?" you mumbled against his lips, raising an eyebrow when Jongdae chuckled softly. 

"Yes, with all of my heart." Jongdae crouched down beside you, on his knees as he took the ring from your hand. Both of you watched as he slid it carefully onto the finger that had been bare for so long. Once it was nestled safely against your skin, you pulled him back in for another kiss, giggling when your friends began to crowd the two of you again. 

"Yo, but can people really get married twice?" Mark asked to no one in particular, looking from face to face for his answer.

"I was thinking more of us renewing our vows, but asking him to marry me just seemed more romantic," you explained with a laugh. 

"And it worked," Jongdae added, his hand stroking the side of your face. "I'd marry you a thousand times over, if you asked me to." 

"Don't say that, she'll really make you do it," Minseok interrupted.

You stuck your tongue out at your older brother, ignoring the chuckles of amusement at your childish reaction. Jongdae reached down to pick up your left hand, his thumb running reverently over the ring there. 

"Thank you," he whispered to you, his forehead resting against yours. "Thank you for choosing me again, even after everything." 

"Darling, I always will. Even after every hardship, every unexpected thing that comes out way, we’ve managed to still make it out together. With you, I'm never lost." 

Jongdae's gaze softened, his brown eyes reflecting your own hopes and dreams back for you to see. You felt his thumb run over your ring again, the touch comforting and immediately putting you at ease. "You'll never be lost again," he said sincerely. 

"I promise." 

Series masterlist: ( 1 )  ( 2 )  ( 3 )  ( Final )

A/N: and that’s a wrap! thank you to everyone who’s been reading not only this series, but any of my jongdae fics since I started posting them here! 💕💕💕

for the flowers in the vase: baby's breath means long lasting love, dandelions can mean bravery, personal growth, healing, perseverance (there were lots of mixed meanings) and black-eyed susans mean encouragement.

if you guys remember the small paragraph I shared of this a long, long time ago before I really started working on the series, this will seem pretty different from that. I went through a lot of changes after hearing about jongdae's good news because I didn't want to write a jongdae scenario so close to reality. i’m still happy to end this series on a good note, and I can genuinely say that i’ve enjoyed every moment not only of writing this, but for writing everything i’ve done for jongdae. I won’t be writing any reader x jongdae fics anymore, but there’s always a good chance he’ll show up as a side character in future works! 

tag list: @khelmatic​ @chogi-wae​ @wongxiexie​

[dc-fics-and-pics]

90′s Superboy x Batsis reader

AN: Here is one of my one-shots from my wattpad with some tweaks hope you like it.

Warning: Mentions of sex 

You sat in the cave playing with your brother's trinkets as you waited for Bruce to get back from patrol. Tim had left a pile of things on his desk and you had been messing with them for the past hour while he was out with his team. He had left for the Young Justice headquarters yesterday and wasn't set to come back till tomorrow.

 It was the perfect time to go through his stuff since you were on house arrest. You had gotten in trouble for sneaking out last Friday. You were banned from patrol and Alfred was checking in on you every five minutes. You were livid at your punishment. You had watched Damian crawl out his bedroom window countless times to visit Jon but you do it once and you're stuck here.

 Bruce was practically your father after he had taken you in when you were younger. He saw you as his little girl and he didn't like the idea of you running off in the middle of the night going who knows where.

 Bruce wasn't all to blame though. He said he would lift your punishment if you just told him where you went so he could have peace in his mind but you refused. 

This had caused him to think of the worst things and punish you for it. You couldn't tell him you climbed out your bedroom window to go visit your secret boyfriend in Metropolis.

 You had been dating Kon for four months now and you were both still in the honeymoon phase. You didn't want to get your families involved especially since Bruce had never been a fan of the cocky leather-wearing Kryptonian. Tim would be the worst though considering Kon was his best friend and your relationship totally breaks the bro code.

 If you are being honest Tim was the only one in your family that liked Conner. Dick thought he was too cocky, Jason thought he was too stubborn and Damian just saw him as Jon's annoying older brother.

 However, you and Kon had grown close over the Summer while Tim was with the Teen Titans. You filled in for him with Young Justice and you had gotten along well with the team.

 You liked working by yourself or with the other Batgirls. It was awkward being on Young Justice because they knew you were just replacing Tim after he left them to lead a different team. You first met Kon after during a battle. Tim called you in to help them and right when you showed up you got a 5 ft 10 sack of muscle thrown at you.

 He shielded you from the ground when you both slid across the gravel. He had wrapped you in his arms and you buried your head in his chest until you came to a stop. He made a flirty remark followed by a quick wink. You groaned rolling your eyes and dusted yourself off returning to the fight.

"What are you doing!" Tims piercing voice interrupted your thoughts. You looked up at him and the Young Justice team behind him at the entrance of the cave.

"Nothing." You answer nonchalantly brushing your h/c hair out of your face.

He huffs and takes the little gadget out of your hand, "Don't touch my stuff y/n you are going to blow yourself up."

"Sorry." You mumble getting off of Tim's seat.

When you stood his eyes widened and you could see his teammates blush and turn away.  You caught Kon smirking at you while struggling to hold in his laughter. You looked at your own appearance and blushed a bright shade of red seeing your outfit choice. 

Your shirt is one that Conner had gifted you as a joke when you first started dating. It was a blue shirt with his logo on the front that you had cropped. You had paired it with some loose short shorts that may have exposed the bottom of your but. 

In your defense, it was hot in Gotham at the moment and that had caused the cave to shoot up in temperature. You didn't think anyone would be with you so you put on the most comfortable thing you could find. The amount of skin showing wouldn't have been as bad if there weren't hickeys that littered the inside of your thighs as well as your neck. 

You thanked the gods they couldn't see the ones hidden under your shirt and shorts. You slowly walked backward out of the cave not wanting to expose your behind and definitely not wanting them to read the sentence printed of the back of your top. Kon had thought he was being funny when he added ' SuperDaddy' to the back of the shirt. You had laughed at the joke too except now you don't want to see Tims reaction to that. So you inched out of the cave stalking backward and up the stairs before making a break for it into your room.

~~~~

You sat on your bed cuddled into one of Kon's black hoodies and comfy black shorts. Your laptop was on top of your knees as you scrolled through different youtube videos trying to find one that would interest you for a little while. You had locked yourself in your room for the past couple week only leaving for food and patrol. 

You were upset, to say the least. Kon had to go off the planet for a mission. He had been gone for three weeks as of today and you had missed him more than ever. You were doing fine the first week and a half after he was gone. Since he was in space wich ent you couldn't even call him.

 After being away from him you where just craving to be around your handsome boyfriend again. This past week you had been down. Your brothers had noticed your sad demeanor and had started to get worried. 

They had asked Bruce if something was wrong but not even the worlds greatest detective could figure out what was wrong with his adoptive daughter. You had snuck into Kons room stealing his jackets and spraying them with his cologne and as you sat in your bed now you took in his familiar scent as you curled deeper into the sweatshirt. There was a knock at your door. You crawled out of your bed and open the door revealing your beloved butler.

"Hello miss y/n dinner is ready." He smiled.

"Okay, thanks, Alfred."

You followed him down the hall to the dining room. You were surprised when you entered and saw your whole family sitting at the table. It was very rare to get all of you guys at the table together. Even Jason was there sitting across from Tim.

 Dick gave you one of his signature big hugs when you made your way to your seat. He held in his arms in a very comforting way that reminded you of the hug Kon gave you before he left. When he pulled away though he looked a little confused before going back to sit beside Jason and whisper something in his ear. You sat in your normal spot between Tim and Damian across from Dick who was between Jason and Barbra. At the head of the table was Brice with Barbra on one side and Damian on the other. Stephany sat on the other side of Dick across from Duke who was placed between Jason and Cass.

Alfred placed the food down on the table and you all dug in loading up your plates with lots of food. Your siblings all made small talk and you stayed quiet thinking of the one time Kon took you for dinner and you had mashed potatoes that couldn't compare to Alfreds.

"What do you think y/n?" Dick had asked you his big blue eyes gleaming.

"Huh?" you hadn't been paying attention to the conversation they were having.

"What do you think about Tim and Steph dating? I mean Stephanie is your best friend aren't you upset your brother is dating your best friend?" he asked again.

"Oh uhm..." you looked at the couple next to you as they pleaded with big eyes. You didn't know they where dating you guessed that is why everyone was here so that they could announce their big news. It hurt a bit knowing they had kept it from you your two best friends and siblings but you weren't one to talk. "No, it doesn't bother me I know Tim would support me in whoever I dated," you responded hoping that Tim would agree.

He let out a forced laugh," I don't know about that." he exaggerated.

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"Well me dating Steph is different than you dating my friends," He answered.

"What do you mean it's different?" Jason butted in.

Tim rolled his eyes irritated his family didn't get him, "Well take Conner for example," you tensed at his name," If y/n was dating Kon that is completely different. Because Steph is a nice girl we've known for years. Conner, although he is my best friend, is stubborn and would cause trouble.

 I would not approve of that because he's my teammate I'd have to see him all the time it would be weird he's not allowed to be with my sister. I would have to beat the shit out of him, he's my best friend I don't want to do that," Your face paled as he finished his tangent and the whole table was silent, "But that doesn't matter cause it's not like you're dating Conner " he laughed nervously. His smile fell flat at your silence," Right?".

~~~~

You sat in the lobby of the watchtower as you watched Tim cuss out Kon in front of you. After dinner last night Tim had come to the conclusion you were, in fact, dating his best friend and he was more than mad. His mind went back to the hickeys he saw littering your body weeks ago and shivered at the realization of who put them there. 

Bruce had ordered Clark bring Conner back immediately. Once his feet hit the ground of the watchtower Tim was on him like he was a cup of coffee. He was livid at his ‘best friend’. Not caring about the other leaguers starting to watch. Tim screamed at the boy and he just stood there taking it only flinching at some of Tims harshest words.

 You were restrained by Jason who scowled at the teenage boy waiting for his turn to shoot at him. And he meant literally shoot. When Tim had tired his voice his rage still bubbled and he threw a punch at Superboys head. Kon dodged the punch Tim was tired and his emotions were making him easy to read. The leaguers gasped when Tim tried to fight his friend. You struggled against Jason trying to save your beloved boyfriend from kryptonite to the heart.

"Stop!" Bruce yelled making everyone's head turn. Everyone disbanded except for your family and Clark. "Tim that's enough." Tim stopped fighting taking deep breaths trying to calm his anger. "Look Clark and I have talked and we both agreed that y/n and Conner are both old enough to date each other and we shouldn't get in their way."

"What!" Tim screeched clearly not agreeing

"Timothy calm down." Bruce's stern voice made Tims trap shut, "Of course there will be rules I don't want any doors closed and you can't be alone in the house together but other than that there is no issue." he sighed.

"No! That's not going to stop the B they have already had sex! I saw the hickeys he left her!" Tim was flailing his arms around not noticing the bright red blush that covers both yours and Kons cheeks.

Bruce's eyes narrow at Conner with a murderous glare. "Okay that's it," Jason loaded his gun and aimed it right at the seventeen-year-olds head.

"Woah Woah Woah Woah calm down Jay," Dick grabbed Jasons pistol out of his hands trying to calm everyone. "Y/N is a big girl she can make her own decisions okay."

You took Kon's hand in yours and squeezed it tightly trying to release the stress that came with your family knowing about your relationship with the teen of steel. Damian made his way in front of you both and stared up at your boyfriend with his fathers scowling eyes. "I guess you can suit my sister for now however I do not wish for you to procreate so maybe keep it in your pants Kent." The young boy hissed.

Everyone gasped at Damian's words and you burst out laughing after a couple of seconds of shock. Damian just growled and stomped back to his father grumbling.

You just turn to Kon giving him a kiss that he gladly returns. Your brothers all groan in disgust making you giggle. Even though Tim is upset now you know he is happy that you are happy. Kon is good to you and you really love him so your brothers will get over it eventually until then though you are going to have to deal with the groans.

[dcmiiniic]

hi, it me, mini from the block --- bringing you another muse, and he is my lil bb. also @maddisvn’s brother bc i love lia. so uh, read the intro (srry if its a bit long), like this and I WILL mssge you for plots and threads. the messier the better, bc im a messy biiih. ily.

❛ new york’s very own Dominic Parker was spotted on broadway street in  Off-White White 3.0 Off-Court Sneakers. your resemblance to Reece King is unreal. according to tmz, you just had your twenty third birthday bash. while living in new york, you’ve been labeled as being impatient, but also idealistic. i guess being a sagittarius explains that. three things that would paint a better picture of you would be reading a book by the beach, torn up runners, and neon highlighters & ( cismale & he/him )

Basic Information

Full Name: Dominic Omar Parker

Nickname(s): d, dom

Age: 23

Date of Birth: December 20th 1995

Zodiac sign: sagittarius

Hogwarts house: ravenclaw

Ethnicity: african-american/white

Nationality: american

Gender: cis male

Pronouns: he/him

Orientation: bisexual

Religion: agnostic

Language(s) Spoken: english 

Accent: american

Favourites

Weather: summer

Colour: green

Music: logic, big sean, etc.

Movies: the lion king

Sport: track + field, basketball

Beverage: hennessy or red label

Food: doubles! and plantains with cheese.

Animal: sea lions + turtles

Family

Father: henderson parker

Mother: cassandra parker

Sibling(s): maddison parker + older bro (WC)

Children:  aaliyah strawberry parker, 1 yr. (stormi webster fc)

Pet(s): a turtle named franklin

BIOGRAPHY

dominic grew up in san francisco, california. his favorite thing growing up was hanging out at pier 39 and just watching the sea lions chill all day on top of the boards. regardless of the smell. he loved the fact that it didn’t rain or snow, the weather was just ideal. it allowed him to thrive when things were constant with minor changes.

dominic feels most at home by the ocean. he finds it peaceful since it’s calm and quiet besides the sounds of the water crashing together.

@ 15, dominic and the rest of the parkers moved over to NYC cos their dad got a job there and tb he hated it. 

he had to be the new kid, at a new school, in a new city but, dominic is the type of person to blend in so making a whole new life barely came with challenges. he was able to work a room, and he was smart to figure things out easily. 

he made a lot of friends, went to the randomest of parties, all while maintaining a high average in school and keeping A1 appearances.

FAMILY

since the parkers were well off, dominic didn’t have to work for anything when it came to getting things he wanted - but what he did have to work for was getting his father’s approval on almost every part of his life.

being one of the only two boys, there was a lot riding on them to do things. going to school, getting the best grades, making sure you’re always presentable - and bc dominic just wanted to please his dad, he did everything he could. he studied a lot, he did a lot of volunteer work and thankfully for him he liked to study, so studying a lot wasn’t a problem.

dominic rlly struggled being the middle child, but don’t get him wrong, he loves his siblings. believe it or not, he still loves his dad, and he’s a big time momma’s boy. 

even while his dad talks a lot of smack about him, dominic still attends family events, dinners and the works, to please his dad and so it wouldn’t be stressful on his mom. 

CAREER 

dominic is a nerd, a smartass. his grades were always high, especially when it came to liberal arts.

it wasn’t really his choice if he went into university, it was expected. dominic didn’t think much of it besides that he had to do it. 

he went to columbia university for law, and he got his degree in that, and he was doing his graduate legal studies until he got scouted by the New York Knicks.

he grew up with a lot of stress riding on his back, and being the middle child really sucked when you had to have as much of responsibility as the oldest, still be looked at as the younger sibling but at the same time having to take care of the youngest. 

what he did on his past time was run. whether it was around the block, or around the track, dominic found it peaceful just to be by himself where his heart rate went up to the point he couldn’t breathe and he’d fall onto the ground. years of doing so earned him a spot on the track + field team, and because he was good at it, his dad put him in on basketball teams since he was fast enough to make home runs - multiple times.

Basketball was never his first choice at anything, if he could, dominic would do track and field but as far as his dad was concerned, basketball was the better path between the two. so that’s what he did to please his dad. 

dropping out of columbia though, that was dominic’s choice. he figured, he already got his degree, his masters could be put on hold while he played basketball. 

it seemed like a good idea to him, but since then he has a pretty rocky relationship with his dad.

he was never meant to be the black sheep of the family. he was supposed to have this picture perfect image, probably be the next Barack Obama - but that didn’t work out. 

Being an athlete wasn’t the same as being an academic. it took a lot of work physically, and at the end of the games he was left with such a rush. it was a completely different kind of satisfaction.

PERSONAL LIFE

for once dominic didn’t have to worry about hitting the books or the next test. his main focus was basketball and keeping an image that was easier to maintain. this came with a lot of partying and a lot of - accidents.

one night, when he was too drunk to function, he woke up the next day in a random girl’s bed. not that that was anything special but it definitely was when he got a call saying she was pregnant. so 9 months later, aaliyah strawberry parker came into this world. she is currently 1 year and a few months, and that little babe added a light into dominic’s life. 

he was never prepared to be a dad DILF, but he’s a damn good one! he keeps his life separate when he’s with his daughter.

he’s not with his baby momma, but they have a solid relationship, sometimes rocky, sometimes not but y’know. it happens. 

so far, dominic hasn’t introduce aaliyah to any of his family members except maddison. it’s not a secret, it’s just something he doesn’t want to do considering the rocky relationship he has with his dad. 

currently, besides being a baskeball player and a dad, dominic is just figuring things out as he goes. he loves to read, and paint, and sometimes when he’s bored he’ll take a class on something just to feel mentally stimulated. 

he’s always curious, and loves to travel to wherever he can. 

he’s a mfng fuckboy. just bcos he had a kid, doesn’t mean it’s gonna stop him from messing around. he’s just extra careful with it. 

even tho he’s not talking with his dad, and he’s doing his own thing, he rlly still hopes in a way he’s making his dad proud. 

he gets emo sometimes bc he didn’t turn out the way his parents wanted him to, and cos he doesn’t have the best relationship with them - but that’s why, at the very least he has close friends and siblings. 

he lives by himself in a fairly decent apartment with his turtle that he named franklin, bc he can’t own a sea lion. 

PERSONALITY

dominic is always fun. he was the one in the group of friends that made the jokes, and made everyone feel comfortable. he was always out there hugging his friends and chilling, laying around.

this was the guy that brought a textbook to a party bc he wanted to get lit but also had a test the next day to study for.

he’s been given so many expectations his whole life, he really doesn’t like it now. he just wants to be free and do his own thing.

he cares a lot about people, sometimes he’s too nice and doesn’t see the way it’ll back fire on him.

he’s smart in a lot of other ways. take him to a museum and it’s like returning an alien to the mothership. 

he believes in positive thinking, his mind is always open, and is never one to judge - or he tries not to judge bc he grew up judging other people that he doesn’t want to do that anymore.

he loves to be outdoors and walking around barefoot on the grass. 

a lot of things come easy to him. he’s sociable and charming, and loves adventure.

WANTED CONNECTIONS 

some connections based off of muse posts :)

one

two

three

four

five

six

seven

eight

nine

ten

besides that, i’m down for anything !

unrequited connections

toxic relationship/friendship

brotps

give me a SQUAD

first loves

childhood friendships

sibling type friendships

exes on good and bad terms

all the fwb~ 

creative type friends

enemies plots pls

crossword puzzle friends pls

[xaz-fr]

The Story So Far

@griminal-rising @deadpool-scar-bro @hikayelastoria @cornsnoot-fr @redlion-fr @mushroomdraggo @murdoch-fr @tales-around-sornieth (let me know if you’d like to be added to the lore pinglist)

dragons are humanoid unless said otherwise

I really like Johanna and her daughters. They’re sweet.

Jealousy

Elspeth hated the curious part about herself sometimes. A good Paladin didn't question things. They were self-assured that things would be the way they were. But Elspeth was too curious for her own good.

She peered into her mother's room. She really should have just left it alone like Johanna had instructed her but she felt that since she obedient everywhere else she could be slightly disobedient in this. Her mother was out if North Face at the moment, dealing with something on Which Island. She wasn't sure what exactly. Something about Jessabelle ruining Shai’s perfectly blended tea by adding sugar to it. Something foolish like that. Her mother being gone was the only reason she felt even remotely safe prying like this. Otherwise she would have never.

Inside Johanna’s room it was almost strictly utilitarian. Everything had a place and there was no clutter or mess on the floor. All her weapons and armor was cleaned and hung up properly and any personal items were stowed in containers or on shelves hung on the wall. Anything dangerous was far out of reach of anything smaller than her which for Johanna was important now. Elspeth hardly glanced at the things around the room and instead her eyes were drawn right on a made nest in the corner. It was made of blankets and surrounded by a wall with little balls of light hanging above it like a mobile. She could just sort of see the rise and fall of a scaly flank huddled in the nest.

Stealing one last look behind her to assure herself her mother wasn't home she stole inside and gently closed the door behind her. She padded over to the nest and peered over top. Sleeping in the mess of blankets was a little Guardian, curled around a plush toridae that looked like Vex had made it so fine was the stitching and craftsmanship. Elspeth wasn't a tall girl but she still loomed over the hatching who was sleeping soundly. She frowned deeply . This is what had happened because her mother had slept with that young Guardian she hadn't recognized.

Elspeth knew, reasonably, that it was none of her business. But that didn't mean she didn't feel a bit jealous of her mother having a new baby. She'd grown up with her father in another clan but had asked incessantly about her mother growing up until her father had finally told her where she could find her. But she'd never been raised by Johanna and Johanna wasn't exactly a super dotting and nurturing woman to a half grown child like Elspeth had met her as. She couldn't help but think that was she not a good enough of a daughter or Paladin that Johanna had had another child. Another girl by the looks of it and the way the spines along the Guardian’s back curved.

She crouched on side of the nest, looking in, scowling a bit. She was more than a little jealous of the new baby and Johanna seemed to be taking good care of her already. She hated feeling resentment for a child but she couldn't help it. Elspeth was a good daughter. She should be all Johanna needed. Right? What was the point of training her so much if Johanna was just going to replace her?

Her frill went up when the baby moved in the nest and opened her eyes. They yawned and huffed, slumping against the side of the nest. She watched as they used their wings to scratch their neck and couldn't help it. She snorted when the baby guardian couldn't hold her head up because her head was a bit too heavy for her neck and she ended up headbutting the side of the nest. That drew the hatchlings eyes and she looked at Elspeth, her Light eyes reflecting her own.

“Ammy?” they asked her. Elspeth scowled. This little thing wasn't allowed to be cute like this. “Ammy ammy,” and they shuffled over to her. Elspeth pulled away when the hatching tried to reach up for her. “Ammy ammy,” she squeaked again.

Elspeth frowned at the hatchling again. “No. You don’t get to be cute with me,” she said.

“Ammy ammy,” the hatchling grabbed the side of the nest and pulled herself to an unstable standing position on her rear legs. “Ammy ammy ammy,” she blathered. Elspeth had no idea what that meant. She really should leave before her mother came home. She knew her mother well enough to know she would track when her child napped and when she needed to be home. Johanna would probably be on her way home now.

Elspeth turned and went back to the door. She cracked it open to check outside and practically slammed it closed, putting her back to it. Johanna was right outside. She hadn’t even had a chance to see what her face looked like. She’d just closed the door because she knew she was in so much trouble.

Several seconds passed before there was a soft tapping on the door. “Elspeth, that’s my room,” Johanna said in a bit of a lyrical tone. Elspeth squeezed her eyes shut miserably. She took a deep breath and opened the door. Her mother was standing in her armor, her hair graying hair in a practical bun high on her head but not totally severe. She didn’t look angry but she didn’t look amused either. “What are you doing in here?” she asked patiently. She didn’t fold her arms but Elspeth got the auditory visual of it.

“I- uh-” she swallowed. “I just wanted to see,” she said.

“Hmm,” and Elspeth wasn’t sure if that was good or bad. She gently pushed Elspeth aside and closed the door. Elspeth didn’t dare leave. Her mother wasn’t mean but she was strict. Johanna gave a slight sigh as she undid the side buckles of her breastplate and pulled it off her chest and the big gauntlet that was both decorative and functional to give her a mighty swipe with her otherwise delicate humi hand. She put the top of her armor on a stand and stepped out of the boots she put underneath before coming back over to Elspeth. “Come here, sweetie,” she said and that was when she knew she wasn’t in trouble.

Elspeth allowed herself to be led over to the nest again. The hatchling was now very excited seeing her mother was back. “Ammy ammy ammy,” she blathered, her tail practically wagging. Johanna sat on the edge of the nest and the hatchling immediately draped half of herself over Johanna’s lap. She was about the size of a big dog and holdable but wouldn’t be for much longer. At least not for Johanna’s breed.

Elspeth stood in front of her awkwardly. “Her name is Victoria,” Johanna said and gently scratched Victoria on the eye ridges. “Your sister.”

“I know she’s my sister,” Elspeth huffed.

“Why did you sneak into my bedroom?” Johanna asked her mildly while Victoria happily rubbed her face all over their mother. Elspeth just looked down at the floor. “If you were curious about her you could have asked. She’s your family.” Elspeth still said nothing and was stubbornly keeping her frill still. “Are you upset you aren’t my baby anymore?” Her frill flinched back a bit without her meaning to.

Elspeth was surprised when her mother got up from the edge of the nest and hugged her. She hugged her mother back tightly. “Why do you need another daughter?” she asked quietly.

Johanna found that amusing. “Honey, you two aren’t even my only daughters.”

“What?” Elspeth pulled away to look up at her, not understanding.

“You think I have gray hair for aesthetic?” she teased Elspeth and Elspeth was so shocked it took her a minute to register it as gentle teasing. “I’m very old, honey,” and she gently pet Elspeth’s hair. “You have many siblings.”

“What?” Elspeth blinked a bunch, not quite understanding. “W-where are they?”

“They all live their own lives. They lived with me, I trained some of them… others didn’t follow our path.”

“Oh,” Elspeth frowned.

“Some serve the deities directly. Some… well, I had to leave some behind.”

“Mother-

“You’re a good girl, Elspeth,” Johanna said gently and stroked her hair. “Daughter of my heart. Me having another baby makes you less of one too. She’s not going to replace you.” Elspeth looked away shamefully. She couldn’t believe she’d even considered that her mother was someone who’d do such a thing. Johanna hugged her again and she pressed against her mother for comfort. “Don’t worry, sweetie. You’ll always be my older daughter,” and she stroked the back of Elspeth’s hair. Elspeth nodded into her chest. Johanna let go of her and she awkwardly rubbed at one eye feeling very silly and foolish for thinking her mother would just replace her with a younger girl. “Now do you actually want to meet your new sister?” she asked Elspeth.

“Yes,” Elspeth nodded a little and swallowed down her emotions because they were silly ones to have. She had no reason to be jealous or petty. “I’d like that.” Johanna smiled and guided her to sit down at the edge of the nest with her.

[angelkurenai]

Papa Winchester - Jeffrey Dean Morgan x Reader

Title: Papa Winchester

Pairing: Jeffrey Dean Morgan x Reader

Word Count: 3,529

Warnings: None really

Prompt: YN and Jeffrey met on season 1 of SPn where she played his daughter(the middle Winchester sister) and have been together ever since,they'r married with kids by now, and the fans (specially the cast who's her family) always makes fun of that during interviews and pannels,but it's always cute because Jeffrey likes to surprise them ,specially when the fans are involved,and they all love and are very supportive of their relationship

A/N: Thanks RLS for proofreading this!

“Oh and your husband totally got married to your daughter a couple years later, but no big deal!” Jensen said with a shrug and wave of his hand.

Jared chuckled next to him “I seriously thought he was gonna say this, and you know what would be even more creepy? Him being completely in character!”

“Absolutely! Oh and let's not forget the whole zombies thing!” Jensen added with a playful grin as both he and Jared burst into laughter.

“Hey mom, dad married our sister and she made you a grandmother in the meantime!” Jared said in a deep voice, mimicking Dean as they chuckled “That would be one hell of a blooper, how the hell did you miss that chance?” he asked the older man who just shrugged.

“Don't know, I was a little into character I guess.” Jensen shrugged “But oh, with Jeffrey visiting the set so often to see (Y/n) we are so going to do something with Samantha for next season!” he wiggled his eyebrows as Jared shook his head.

“Well, you guys really seem to have fun on set, don't you?” the interviewer chuckled “But I think we all can understand you, I don't think there is a single person I have personally met that watches Supernatural and doesn't love them as a couple!”

“Really, moments like this I realize how messed up our fandom is that that sounds completely normal anymore! I mean, making the devil adorable is one thing, other shows have done it as well- not as successfully-” he chuckled with an innocent shrug “But now also this- the fact that the cutest couple of the fandom is Jef and (Y/n), well you know that just says Supernatural! Also, come on, we all know we wouldn't change it for anything!” Jensen shrugged with a smile and Jared nodded his head.

“We- we love making fun of her, you know? Teasing her has become Jensen's favorite hobby-” Jared chuckled as Jensen nodded his head with a big childlike grin “But we always are supportive of them because it's real love and seriously now, if someone doubts about it he has to fight us on that! Nobody will dare utter a word about the two of them because we are gonna end them!”

“We support out sister's relationship yeah!” Jensen exclaimed.

“Plus Jensen ships it, so there's that!” Jared added as Jensen chuckled.

“Guilty!” he admitted “But- Other than making fun of them we seriously don't give a crap about differences, since that's what some usually point out. So what? There is an age gap, no big deal. (Y/n) might be younger than me but she definitelyis more mature than both me and Jared put together! She's 36, she can do whatever she wants with her life. You know I- I hate it when people make quick assumptions, luckily we don't have that in our fandom, about people. Like she can love whoever she wants, why does it matter to you? They were made for one another, end of discussion.”

“We make fun of her, that's- that's our job ok? That's what we really get paid for, I know-” Jared chuckled as Jensen did the same “But at the end of the day the entire cast and crew, and fandom of course, are a family and we will never push someone aside, for something like this especially! We all know how much they love each other, and that's what matters.”

“Besides, they are really asking for the teasing!” Jensen added with a smirk as they both chuckled.

“I am sure you would say this!” the interviewer said with a chuckle and you laughed as well “She's finally taking a break from you two now, huh?”

“It's Baby's backseat I swear!” Jensen exclaimed and they burst into laughter with Jared who just patted his back.

“Oh my poor brother, what a traumatic experience!”

“Wait-” the interviewer piped in “-Really now?”

“Oh oh no, no don't worry!” Jensen shook his head “If I had really come across such a sight I would have taken my own eyes out. I didn't even get near the car once I saw it moving.” he made an unpleasant shuddering and you gasped at how he could just say it so openly “But you know the point is that the Winchester genes once more functioned and she's pregnant.”

“Oh alright.” she chuckled “I can understand what you mean, it's a family thing. Besides, she really was the only Winchester to not have used it yet.”

“Yep, and she might want to deny but oh she is already eight months pregnant so she can't!” Jared shrugged and you narrowed your eyes at the screen.

“You sly bas-” you stopped yourself when your daughter moved next to you.

“Mommy, are uncle Jensen and Jared talking about the baby?” she asked looking up at you through her eyelashes.

“Uh yeah, princess. But don't pay attention to that, go back to sleep.” you whispered as she gave you a small nod and closed her eyes. You didn't even realize when she'd woken up, but shaking your head you decided to click on another video. Having missed most of the interviews and panels these days because of your pregnancy you wanted to be able to at least watch some of them in case your friends decided to embarrass you too much and obviously they did.

Your six-year-old daughter loved spending most of her time with you because you were often gone, and being able to talk to her baby brother was her new favorite thing. Evenings like this you'd just sit in your couch, get comfortable and browse the net – mostly watch videos or listen to music – while she snuggled with you, sometimes like now fast asleep, and your husband was making one of his specialities in the kitchen.

“Idiots” you shook your head but still smiled as you clicked on another video.

“And we have a surprise for our little sister, well my little sister- she's older than moose here.” Jensen said into the microphone and you smiled as you remembered that event.

“We always wanted a family photo but never got the chance to, so we finally get the chance. Please everyone give a big applause for Samantha Smith and Jeffrey Dean Morgan!”

“Our mother, father and at the same time brother-in-law?” Jensen said with a funny face as you watched yourself punch his shoulder hard.

You watched with a fond smile as the entire crowd cheered for the both of them and your heart almost skipped a beat when you saw your husband's wide grin the moment he spotted you on the stage. He gave Jensen and Jared quick hugs before practically running to you are you jumped in his arms and he hugged the life out of you. The fans went practically wild as they cheered for the two of you and that made your smile widen. You saw yourself hide your blushing face in his chest as he laughed and leaned down to kiss your forehead. You giggled as you saw yourself pull slightly away to look at the fans, winking at them as they some of them yelled “We ship it!”.

“Man of my dreams.” you said into the microphone as the all clapped and chanted “Kiss. Kiss. Kiss.”

You saw yourself laugh, resting your head on his shoulder as he slid his arms up around your shoulders and hugged you closely as he laughed at the face Jensen made “For the love of no! I just ate like half an hour ago!” he turned around covering his eyes.

“Sorry big bro, can't leave the fans hanging!” you said, smirking at your friend who made gagging noises.

“At least we all know who was John's favorite one!” Samantha said with a grin and you chuckled.

“That awkward moment when those two are the cutest couple of the show!” Jared said with a grin and you giggled before finally turning to your man and cupping his face and kissing him.

“Oh keep it PG rated you two!” Jensen exclaimed in that old-man voice that made you grin into the kiss.

“Alright, alright alright.” you saw Jensen say, putting on a serious face when the two of you pulled away. He grabbed your husband by the shoulder as Jared came to stand next to him, hands right behind his back.

“Listen dad-” he started and you giggled, watching yourself narrow your eyes at them “It's not like we're going to threaten you but you know our sister comes first and you-” he glanced at Jared.

“You might know how to fight zombies, yeah we get that you're good at that but our best friend is an angel. Maybe no harp but certainly got everything else.”

“And we're not saying like we're gonna send all of heaven after you if you hurt her but- you know, we're also friends with the King of Hell!” Jensen continued.

“Yeah, Dean had a summer romance with him so there's that!” Jared said matter-of-factly as some of the fans laughed and the green-eyed man turned to give his friend a look.

You watched as the five of you laughed and joked around, took the family picture that you actually still have in your phone and responded to fans' questions. Jensen and Jared of course teased the hell out of you but you didn't care then and you didn't care now because you knew that would always be their thing. In the end, both them and the fans loved you and it was evident from how much they tried to express it to you.

Most of them were curious about how it all started but in a good way. They wanted to know how your romance began and how you defied every difficulty there could be to just be together. Most of them found it romantic and you'd always smile shyly when they mentioned it. You'd always have some sort of contact, whether it was just holding hands and playing with each other's fingers or your shoulders touching with your head leaning on his side or even you sitting on his lap.

“You know, it's interesting that you asked-” Jared's voice brought you a little out of your daydream as you remember most of the Cons your husband had surprised you in “It raises an interesting question.” he looked from the fan to you “Since Jeffrey is your father is Supernatural, does that mean he also is- I am curious how you really call him when-” he stopped himself, giving you the look and you snickered as your watched your eyes widened and a loud gasp leave your lips, soon everybody else realizing what he was trying to hint.

Some of the fans cheered as Jensen stared at his friend in shock “And then- then you said I am the dirty one!” he said into the microphone, looking at the fans as Jared laughed a little shyly.

“Ew Jared!” you exclaimed “I serously have no idea why I hang out with you anymore! How the hell did you even think about that?” you made a grossed face as the only thing your husband did was hold his stomach from the laughter.

“I am just saying!” he raised his hands in surrender.

“Mommy, what is uncle Jared talking about?” your daughter's sleepy voice caught your attention once more, the loud cheering had obviously woke her up.

“Oh nothing, sweetie. Don't mind him, uncle Jared is being silly as always.” you tucked a few brown curls out of her face, closing the laptop just because you didn't want her to wake up and hear any more stuff.

“Are you sure about that?” you heard a voice behind you say playfully “I mean darling, you never really answered that question did you?” you turned to look at his smirk and only narrowed your eyes, grabbing a pillow and throwing it at him.

“Ow, hey! What was that for?”

“You know what.” you said through pursed lips as he only grinned at you, winking.

“You know, there is a first time for everything.” he kissed the top of your head as you scoffed.

“Dean still is my favorite character, sorry baby.” you said with an innocent smile and his own fell for a second.

“Two kids later and I still have not proven to you wrong huh? Challenge accepted.” he said with a glint n his eyes and you bit your lip, looking away from him to not let it show how much he affected you. And oh it wasn't just the hormones that made you want him more, the man himself could have you all ridden up without even trying too much.

“Hey sweetheart.” he whispered as he knelt in front of your daughter, rubbing her head “Why don't you go wash your hands and change into your pjs too? Dinner is ready, we could have it in the living room while watching a movie hm?” he used that sweet father voice of his that made your heart swell inside your chest. She was his princess and he loved spoiling her, that much you knew from the first moment you brought her home. But it still didn't stop surprising you and making you tear up at seeing how much he loved her and how he was willing to do everything for her. He was such a great father that up to this day it made you feel like the luckiest woman on Earth.

“Ok dad.” she said in a sleepy baby voice, making both you and your husband smile even more.

“That's my girl.” he kissed her forehead as she rubbed her eyes with her fists.

“Love you dad.” she mumbled as he chuckled softly when she kissed his cheek, making your heart skip a beat at how adorable the sight in front of you was.

“I love you too, princess.” he pushed her hair out of her face, patting her back before letting her get up and pad her way upstairs.

“Up to this day I wonder how the hell did I get so lucky?” you whispered breathlessly as he grinned at you that breathtaking smile of his, scooting closer to you on the couch.

“I am the lucky one, here. You gave me all I ever wanted and so much more, how can I ever thank you enough?” he said in a low rough voice as he cupped your cheek.

“Well, I think you might have something mind considering you asked our daughter so smoothly to leave us alone.” you smirked knowingly and he shrugged innocently.

“I am not going to deny anything. Not now not ever.” he looked at you with a predatory smile and you felt a shiver run down your spine.

You didn't have the chance to reply to him because you felt his lips crash to yours and all air left your lungs. You moaned but grinned into the kiss when you felt his beard tickle you. It had become your new favorite thing on him and you just refused to let him shave it. You gasped when you felt his hands remove the computer from your lap and grab your thighs, firmly so and making you sit on his lap. It wasn't the easiest situation with your big belly in the way but you did wrap your legs around his waist and he let a growl when you shifted on his lap. You smiled, pleased with yourself when you pressed yourself as close as you could to him and he tried to deepen the kiss.

“Still insist on that Dean thing?” he half asked and half growled as he attacked your lips with his, biting and licking.

“Don't know, if this is all Papa Winchester has for me then I might-” you gasped loudly when you felt his hand squeeze your ass and soon giggled when his jealousy showed as he kissed your neck. Hell, maybe attacked it with kisses and bites.

“Sweetheart, we're just getting started.” he said in a grave voice as he nibbled your neck “Besides, I guess you'd remember how much more your hubby has in him for you.”

“Mhm” you bit your lip, burying your face in the crook of his neck; giggling when his beard tickled your neck “I think I do, it's been a few months after all. But I must say, reminds me where the older Winchester got it from.”

“No jokes about that.” he said in a rough voice and you laughed.

“Boy I love seeing you jealous.” you pushed him slightly away so that you could look deeply in his eyes “When will you ever realize that you are and will always be the number one man in my life ever since that first day on set?”

A small sigh left his lips as he leaned back on the couch. A soft smile grazed his lips as he brought his hand up and brushed a few strands out of your face, cupping your cheek soon afterwards “I know it, I do.”

“But still you are jealous when I joke about sleeping with Jensen.” you pointed out with a laugh “Come Jef, you know me better. I fell hopelessly in love with you from the first moment I met you. What? Just because he is closer to my age means he is perfect for me? No, you are.” you said as sincerely as you could to actually make him believe you.

“I know sweetheart.” he pecked your lips “I just can't help it sometimes, I think I still can't understand what a gorgeous woman like you wants to do with me.”

“Are you kidding me?” you laughed “Have you taken a look at yourself in the mirror or what? And let's not talk about what a great man you are not just to me or your friends and family, but also your kid. Soon to be kids.” you placed a hand on your belly.

“Well, they do say wisdom comes with age.” he mumbled and you gave him a hard look.

“You know the age gap has never been an issue for me, Jeffrey. I know we've had to deal with some serious shit at first, and I know it took a toll on us but if what I felt for you, if my love for you wasn't this strong I wouldn't have stuck around. We've been together for eleven years now, married for eight out of them and there has not been a single day that I spent with you that I regretted. You are the man that I love, and will always love.”

“I never gave a single fuck about them either, baby.” he sighed “It was always you I got worried about, it was always you I cared for. I didn't want them to take it out on you, that's all.”

“I know but people are always gonna have a problem with whatever we do, so why care anymore? Besides, the people that really know us and the ones that really care about us can see that this was serious from the first moment. We wouldn't be married if it wasn't and we wouldn't have lasted all this time.” you shrugged, kissing his cheek.

“Sometimes it feels like it's been years upon years and other... it feels like it was just yesterday when I first saw you and thought “Damn this woman is going rock my entire world.” and you actually did.” he breathed out and you giggled.

“Was that really what you first thought?” you raised an eyebrow and he nodded his head.

“Yeah, and then my second thought was “Oh crap what's my name? I need to go introduce myself but what the fuck is my name?!” and I swear I looked like a deer caught on headlights for a moment.” he said with a chuckle and you bit your lip.

“You are so not serious?!” you shook your head “You are Jeffrey freaking Dean Morgan, how the hell could you be nervous about a woman?”

“You are not just any woman, sweetheart. Besides, did you see the way you walked around on set with such ease and all the fucking beauty of the world in you? I was smitten! I thought that if you ever said yes to even going out on a date with me I'd have to be the luckiest bastard on Earth.”

“But I agreed to more than just one date, didn't I?”

“Yes you did, and I swear I almost fainted when you said that yes to my proposal. I had to hold back from pinching myself. How the hell is it even possible that a beautiful young woman like you would want to give an idiot like me a second glance to begin with?”

“What can I say...” you breathed out, resting your forehead on his “I've had the hots for you ever since day one, no younger Winchester could ever beat that.”

“So we could say this one goes to daddy Winchester huh?” he broke into a boyish grin and you laughed.

“You're so lucky I love you so much.”

[midnightswans]

The last chapter

Summary: After the curse on Hyperion Heights is broken, Henry decides to bring his new family, wife and daughter, to meet the rest of his family in Storybrooke.

A/N: I wrote this little one shot, trying to give an ending to Emma and Captain Swan's stories, for me, this should happen at the end of this season, at least I hope A&E manage to bring JMO one more time to make something like this, and because I feel like we deserved this.

Big big thank you this amazing persons @the-reason-to-sail-home @swaansong and @shealivedarnit they help to write this in the best way  pd. this part isn’t beta so I’m sorry if I wrote something wrong.

Read: ff.net/AO3

The curse broke at 8:34 PM on Friday after Lucy risked her life trying to jump from the ledge of the balcony in her step-grandmother's office in a last desperate attempt to make Henry believe again.

She didn't jump, but slipped trying to step down and fell to the balcony below, knocking her unconscious. The loss of blood dropped her blood pressure to the floor, putting her in critical state. The accident sent her to the hospital's PICU for three days until her mother and father -after talking with the doctors about the health state their girl- both kissed her head wishing for the best but expecting the worst.

Then, the magic came like a rush of energy.

A week after that episode, Henry brought his whole family: wife and daughter, along with his mother and his friend Officer Rogers, to Storybrooke so that they could see where he was from. Regina - or Roni - could visit her own place and see what problems Zelena had made in their big white house and most important: look to see what Storybrooke had done without a mayor like her.

He led the way to that big, white picket fence house, the house where he lived his teenage years, where he fell in love for the first time, the place where he felt like he was home, the place that gave him a father – not a birth father, but a stepfather who loved him like his own.

"Wow, you lived here? This place is amazing, Dad," Lucy said with amazed tone, looking at the big house that now was full of toys everywhere. The backyard even had a little play castle like the one he had years ago when he brought Emma with him.

"Yeah kid, I think I lived here since I was thirteen years old between Regina's place, my da- step dad bought it for my mom, remember the story in the book? The house that Hook bought for Emma when she was the dark one?"

"That house is this house?" She asked mouth and eyes wide open looking at her mother like she couldn't believe what she was looking at.

"Yes Lucy, let's hope it's still theirs." He smiled, giving a squeeze to Jacinda's hand who stood beside him. She gave him a quick kiss on the lips with a hopeful smile, trying to make him feel more comfortable.

"I think your mother will be thrilled to see you again," she said simply with her characteristic accent playing with her hands. She was still a little nervous to meet this mother, she'd met Regina under other circumstances and they were already friends before the curse broke.

With a big sigh giving his girls a last look, he opened the door carefully, trying to clear away and not trip on the toys that surrounded the stairs. This was something he never thought he would see, this house full of kid stuff and, damn, he was thrilled about it.

Emma opened the front door to him at 6:34 PM on Saturday, a blonde toddler with bright blue eyes in her arms and a big bump on her stomach. Her usual red leather jacket and jeans with boots were replaced with a blue maxi dress with small flowers and a bun over her head in a casual style he never saw on her before.

At first, no one knew what to say, his mother couldn't hide her exhaustion but was very happy. It was a face he'd never seen on her before. True, he knew he made her happy, but the ghost of giving him up for adoption had always followed Emma, keeping her from being fully happy. The expression she had now had nothing but happiness and tiredness from having a toddler but freedom to be who she was.

And even being mother of a toddler and being pregnant on third trimester, as he thought she was, Henry was positive his mother would never leave the station, so yeah, those things could add some tiredness too.

"Hey mom," he said, not knowing what more to say.

"Henry?" She asked not sure if this man – no longer a kid - was her son, years had passed and even when she was sure she will always remember Henry's face, some of his features had changed.

She knew time passed differently in Henry's realm, and that was the reason why she came to his rescue and told him she was pregnant for the first time was only 1 year after he left. Up until this very moment, Henry must have been gone from Storybrooke for at least 4 years.

"Yeah, mom. It's me, it's Henry." He smiled, tears starting to go down his face. Emma couldn't help but hugged him, both of them crying with his little sister between them.

"Oh my god, kid. I mean I can't keep calling you that but… Look at you, you're so grown up," she said looking at him and hugging him one more time "Look Leia, look who's here. Remember Papa and I told you about your amazing big bro?" She asked with silly tone to baby Leia, who just looked at him like he was some stranger. Henry laughed at his mother's words and started to make faces to his sister trying to make her feel comfortable around him, but she snuggled harder around her mother.

Jacinda and Lucy were behind, giving their man time with his own mother. For him, it had been at least 10 years since he saw his mother. He deserved to have a heart to heart conversation with her before his new family stepped up to speak.

"Leia? Really?" he asked almost laughing about the name.

"Well, Star Wars is a thing in this family and it seemed to suit her." She smiled back, taking away some of tears and playing with one of her daughter's hair.

"Did I hear that the prodigal son has returned?" Killian voice came from upstairs and he soon descended with a towel around his shoulder after spending most of the day helping David on the farm.

"Killian," He grinned and give the man a big hug. Yes, Officer Rogers could looks a lot like Killian and speak like him but he wasn't the man who helped raise him and taught him how to sail. "You look older captain, looks like someone gave you gray hair." He laughed, looking down at Leia touching her nose with affection.

"Officer Rogers?" Lucy couldn't contain anymore giving a step forward while her mother tell her to stop, stopping Killian to answer his step-son.

Both Emma and Killian looked at the girl, and then back to Henry, trying to understand what he was doing with a 10 year old girl, and most importantly why she called Killian officer Rogers. With that, Jacinda appeared from behind, trying to stop her daughter.

"Lucy!" she whispered before looked to her in-laws. "Hello, I'm sorry for Lucy's behavior," she said with her Latin accent. Forcing a smile, she still felt a little awkward around her in laws and the situation of how she met them.

"I always thought that grandmas and grandpas had to be be older," Lucy said breaking the silence that was around them. She looked at Emma and Killian like she was studying them to see if they fit as the grandparent's job.

"Kid…?" Emma asked not knowing what the hell was happening around her giving a quick look at Killian who just raise both of his eyebrows.

"As you can see a lot has happened," he said simply, putting a hand on his daughter's shoulder and the other one around Jacinda's waist, the happiness reaching his eyes making them a little smaller than usual.

Emma couldn't help but just start laughing, not knowing what else to say or do. Yes, her family tree was already so fucking weird. What was a little more weirdness? Having her brother who was 29 years younger than her was nothing, why not to add a little more? After passing Leia to Killian she continued laughing until she crouched to meet Lucy's gaze.

"Now I know how your grandparents must have felt when the first curse was broken," she laughed again hugging little Lucy which made Henry laugh too remembering those years. "Hello, Lucy, I'm Emma and I assure you I don't even have wrinkles yet." She said still laughing but trying to compose herself.

"I know, I saw you in my dad's book." She grinned, hugging her grandmother back before going to hug Killian and try to talk with Leia.

"Book?" Emma asked her son after hugging Jacinda.

"Oh, well… I officially became a writer and wrote a book about us and all our adventures years ago," he explained. Henry scratched his ear, visibly uncomfortable talking about it. No one in Storybrooke knew about it and he wasn't sure if they would like it or not.

"And he was a bestselling author!" Jacinda smiled, proudly putting a kiss on his check while Henry turned a little red and coughing to make look more normal.

"But we have all the time to talk about it, like who Officer Rogers is, the guy in Granny's Inn who looks like Killian. The woman will think you kicked him out of the house!" Henry laughed, thinking about the moment Granny would see both of them in the same room.

"It wouldn't be the first time, mate" Killian speaks watching his daughter and step-granddaughter play with some Leia's toys from the sofa on the living room. "Never contradict a pregnant woman, especially if she has magic." He rose an eyebrow and looked at Emma who just pinched his arm in retaliation.

"Magic? So everything in the book was real?" Lucy asked amazed still couldn't believe everything was real.

"Yeah, kid, everything is real" Henry smiled to his daughter before looking at his parents "Guys, is there a chance we could stay here while we look for our own home? I remember that Granny's has the worst beds ever. I'm pretty sure Rogers will be complaining tomorrow," he asked hoping Emma could transform his old room into a guest room or something.

"As long as you want! If you want to be woken up by a three year old and soon a newborn, be my guest." Emma joked. "We can put a bed for Lucy in Leia's room, Leia can sleep with us that way so Lucy wouldn't be woken by her. And about you two, a while ago I made some modifications in your bedroom hoping you came back when you were older."

"I can sleep with Leia, she doesn't need to go to sleep with you guys, it'll be like having a little sister." Lucy smiled up at Jacinda and Henry, looking at eachother with warning, hearing the subliminal message their daughter sent them.

"It would be an adventure," Henry smiled, hugging Jacinda and taking Emma's hand.

"Like old times, kid."

Finally he found his own story with his big family.

And the book finally could end, giving them the most precious words:

They all lived happily ever after.

Thank you for read this little one shot, feel free to give likes, reblogs or comments.

[alvskat]

under the cut is all my chars, links to their pages, and mini bios about them all for plotting purposes. if anyone wants to plot, feel free to hit me up tbh, or like this and i’ll come to you. thxxxxxx.

cordelia genevieve von jenner (gigi hadid fc) - 21, fashion designer, aries, the queen bitch. cordelia has always grown up with more money than she knew what to do with (but that didn’t stop her from trying to use it all). she grew up in beverly hills, california and has the valley girl accent to match. everyone thinks that she’s ditzy and dumb usually the moment they see her. her family life has never been great. her mom is critical of every little thing she does and her father is just absent whenever she needs him most. the person she’s closest to is her twin sister, ziggy. they were raised by nannies and couldn’t have turned out more differently. where ziggy is kind and sweet and caring, cordelia is cold and cruel and cunning. she has a plot for everything and was the classic mean girl in high school. she came to new york university for college and ended up dropping out after two years, being offered a job to design for a major fashion company in the city itself after spending a year there for an internship. good connections for her would probs be ex boyfriends, hookups, best friends, friends from home, friends turned enemies, etc.

margot avery benson (nina dobrev fc) - 23, medical student, leo, the sweetheart. margot is probably one of the kindest people that anyone has ever met. she cares about people to an extreme degree. she’s competitive to a fault, headstrong, and never without a smile on her face. she’s also the biggest klutz known to man and tends to make awkward situations 200x more awkward than they need be. she’s the second oldest of four siblings–the eldest of whom recently died in a tragic car accident over the summer. this really affected margot’s world negatively and made her re-evaluate things. she was dating a boy literally for years–they were high school sweethearts and everyone thought they would go on to be together forever–but after her sister’s death, she immediately pulled away from him, breaking up with him because she realized she hadn’t gotten to experience much of life without a boyfriend. basically, her purpose is now to feel as alive as possible and become the best person that she can. she’s trying to figure out what she wants to do, how she’s going to do it, and what’s most important to her. connections for her that i would love is the ex-boyfriend she dated for years, a good friend group (squaaaad), and academic rivals.

rowan scott vitto (jeremy allen white fc) - 22, investigative journalist at the new york times, capricorn. the stoner. rowan  has a love for the green stuff. overall, he’s not so much different from the frat brothers he left in college–he partied (still does often), he slept around until he met his girlfriend silver–but he is a kind, poetic soul at heart. he spends most of his time reading old literature and writing his own poetry. he has a younger sister, venus, who he protects like no other. his father is a little out there as a person and, in turn, so is he. they’re a close family for the most part, but the death of their mom really took its toll on all of them. when he’s graduated, rowan is  ambitious and romantic and just the sweetest lil southern gentleman  you’ll ever see in your life. he’s also ridiculously rich and is very giving because of it, as he knows that not everyone has the same opportunities as he does. 10/10 guy. would probably make pancakes in the morning for the girls his frat bros slept with in college. some great connections for him would be exes, a best friend, frat brothers from college, coworkers, etc.

chander dawn miller (phoebe tonkin fc) - 21, actress, taurus, the reformed. chandler dawn is a household name. anyone who’s anyone has heard of her. since the age of 12 when she was first discovered as an actress and went to work on a successful kids tv show, she’s been a star. from magazine covers to movie premieres to award shows, chandler never had a normal childhood; she never had the chance, and it very clearly affected her once she hit adolescence. she went a little crazy come her teenage years, especially once she turned 16. she began sleeping around, partying like wild. she wasn’t the sweet, household name anymore. she wanted to show the world that she changed and grown up. this went on for years. all anyone would see in magazines was more articles about her getting arrested for underage drinking or drinking and driving or drug possession. it wasn’t until she finally nearly overdosed on cocaine that she realized that she needed to get her shit together. her dad no longer a part of her life, her mom acts as her agent and isn’t so enthusiastic about her daughter taking it easy from acting and moving to new york, but chandler is hoping that the change will be good for her. that it will be a new beginning. good connections for her are party friends that she used to hang out with, fellow actresses, enemies/rivals, bad influence friends, etc.

miranda angelica lancaster (nicola peltz fc) - 21, business student, capricorn, the executive. miranda lancaster is no one you can push around. while she believes in class and dignity above all else, she will still punch someone in the face if they piss her off. she doesn’t take shit and she’s kind of a bitch, but that comes with the territory of being a spoiled brat. she’s driven and determined and knows what she wants--in life, in a partner, in her future--and she’s willing to go to whatever lengths to make them all happen. her true dream is to take over her father’s business once she graduates, but he seems determined to give it over to her older brother, sebastian, instead, despite the fact that he doesn’t want to do it. some gr8 connections for her would be friends with benefits, unlikely friends, a friend she can protect that doesn’t speak up as much for themselves, enemies, exes, etc.

toby anthony dermott (daniel sharman fc) - 22, store clerk, cancer, the addict. toby’s life hasn’t been an easy one for him. when he was about ten years old, his parents passed away in a random shooting at the grocery store they were at. he’s lived with his grandparents since. they’ve never been wealthy, in fact most of the time they lived a paycheck to paycheck lifestyle, but toby never took it for granted. he was extremely grateful for them, but at the same time, he was depressed. he missed his family and the way things used to be. he turned to drugs in his time of need, only at age 15. though he sucked at actually attending school, he was practically a genius. he had a natural inclination toward mechanical engineering and, thanks to a teacher who knew him well and wrote him a glowing letter of recommendation, he got a scholarship to attend nyu. still in the prime of his addiction, he attended school there, getting an apartment in the city. it was only after a semester, though, that his grandfather passed away from a heart attack. his world was changed once more, and now he was determined to get sober. he went to rehab back home for a few months and ended up returning once more to new york. he’s never seen himself as worth very much, but he wanted a fresh start in the city to take his mind off of all he lost at home. he’s still close to his grandmother, though. some wanted connections for him are exes, cousins/family, friends from home, friends from his time in college, coworkers, etc.

sasha marie underwood (dominique provost-chalkley fc) - 22, dance instructor/student of dance, virgo, the idealist. sasha’s parents gave her up when she was only a few hours old. all they left her with was a note explaining their decision and her birth certificate. sasha had never had the heart to read the letter, even today, but she’s always kept it close to her bed at night, tucked away in a nightstand. she moved in and out of foster care from that age onward, bouncing from home to home. finding a home seemed impossible and making friendships seemed even worse, as she was always moving around, being separated from those she cared about. she made one friend in foster care that she lives with now in new york and they remain closer than ever. sasha’s experience in foster care was a terrible one full of abuse, but the friend made things seem easier for a time at least. she was never adopted, but when she was 18, she left, having earned a scholarship for dance at the new york academy of the arts. she’s a kind, open-minded soul with so much love and heart to give. she puts her everything into teaching kids how to dance and wants to be on broadway someday. some connections i would love for her would be the friend from foster care she lives with, any other friends from it, ex-siblings, exes, parents of kids she teaches, etc.

[darisu-chan]

The Lies We Tell Ourselves, 1

Chapter 1: The Meeting

“Each time you happen to me all over again.” ─ Edith Warton

Early May, 2001

Fifteen year old Kurosaki Ichigo was walking the streets of Karakura Town one Friday evening, when he got into trouble. It was a natural thing for him to happen. Since he had been born with a strange shade of orange hair, early on he was dubbed a hooligan, and was prone to ending up in fights he generally didn’t start. It just so happened that, as he grew older, his reputation had preceded him, and by the time he was done with junior high school he and Sado Yasutora, his best friend, were known as the fearful pair of Kurosaki and Chad. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Ichigo seldom started fights by himself, unless he thought a great injustice was being committed. Similarly, Chad only fought for two reasons: to protect Ichigo, and to protect others in need. It was a promise between the two friends, to always have each other’s backs. One would think that with this reputation, they were isolated from the rest of the students at Karakura High School, which wasn’t true in the least. Precisely because both liked to protect others, they had gained two new friends at the start of the year, Kojima Mizuiru and Asano Keigo, because they had protected them from two of their self-proclaimed “enemies.”

Well, even if Ichigo had a heart of gold, this same feature was the one that often got him into trouble, as it had so happened that fateful Friday at 7:13, when he knocked out a guy.

“What the?! You suddenly appear and kick over Yama-bro, plus you want to get us to get outta here?! What are you thinking? You wanna die? Huh?!” One of the other guys who were with “Yama” exclaimed, evidently angry that Ichigo had kicked his friend.

Ichigo, meanwhile, didn’t look the least bit affected about his own actions and the guy’s threats. “Say something, you…” The guy continued, but was interrupted by Ichigo kicking him on the face.

“Ah! Toshi-bro’s down!” Other two guys exclaimed, watching Ichigo at a safe distance.

“Don’t know what’s going on… but this is dangerous… I’ve never seen such irrational violence…” Another boy said.

“That guy’s certainly one of those… if we fight with him, we’ll be killed for sure…” Another companion stuttered, feeling frightened by Ichigo. And, as cowards as they all seemed, they had reason to feel fearful of Ichigo, because whenever he got angry, he was a force to be reckoned with.

“SHUT UP ALREADY!” Ichigo yelled as he stepped on the guy he had first kicked. “All you guys look over there!” Then, he pointed towards a vase with flowers, which had been knocked down, and was lying on the floor. “Question 1! What the hell could that be?!” He asked, seeming completely out of his mind. “Ok, you over there, the stinky looking one!” And then he pointed to one of the guys who was still standing.

“Huh? Me? Stinky looking?” The guy in question muttered before answering. “Umm… an offering to the kid who died recently…”

“Great answer!” Ichigo shouted as he kicked that guy too.

“Mit-bro! You ok, Mit-bro?!” The rest exclaimed at their fallen comrade.

“Question 2!” Ichigo continued with his interrogation. “Then why is the vase knocked over?” He asked calmly. The calm before the storm.

“That’s… that’s ‘cause we knocked it over…skateboarding?!” The rest of the gang said, each one shivering in fear of what was sure to come.

“I see.” Ichigo nodded to himself. “Then, shouldn’t you apologize to her?!” He yelled and pretended to point at something behind him. As it were, the guys thought he was seeing a ghost, and screamed in fear.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I won’t do it anymore!” They screamed and ran away.

Ichigo shook his head. Those guys were as gullible as they come. The good news was that they probably would never come to this part of town ever again, and they would probably think twice before knocking over offerings for the dead.

“Don’t worry, they won’t come back here anymore.” He said out loud, as if he were speaking to the ghost of the girl who had passed away in that very place. “I will bring you flowers next time I pass by.” He added as he gently placed the vase in its previous spot.

If one knew Kurosaki Ichigo, you would know that his actions, as strange and unorthodox as they were, were justified. Ichigo had lost his mother at a young age, which had made him quite sensitive to death and respecting those who are gone. It was no wonder, then, that he had felt the need to punish those who had been disrespectful to a dead person, a child nonetheless, whose parents were probably still grieving her passing.

After fulfilling what he thought had been his duty, Ichigo walked home. He was deep in thought, thinking about a variety of things. Firstly, about the gang of skateboarders, and if they had learned their lesson. Then his thoughts changed and he thought about the dead girl, and which type of flowers would she have liked as an offering. Then, his mind went over the homework he had to do during the weekend, and whether or not his friends and he were actually going to go to the movies the following day. He was so focused on this, that he almost didn’t notice a limousine passing by before he crossed the street. The driver beeped, and that brought him back to Earth. He blinked once, noticed that he had almost been run over by the black limo, and he got angry.

“Hey! Watch it!” he yelled, but the limousine was long gone. “Stupid rich people.” He muttered.

Ichigo didn’t like entitled people, especially those who were rich enough to help others, but never did, and lived life as if the world owe them something. That was the very impression he got from the limousine, and whoever was inside of it. Although Karakura was certainly small, and nothing of consequence ever happened there, it was close enough to Tokyo that sometimes rich people traveled across town, or stayed at some of the summer houses on the outskirts of town.

Ichigo kept walking, until he reached his house. He lived at a two-story house, which doubled as his father’s clinic. There he lived with Karin and Yuzu, his younger twin sisters, and with his father, Dr. Kurosaki. They were definitely not rich, but they lived a relatively normal life.

“Tadaima.” He announced as he crossed the house’s threshold.

“You’re late!” His father, Kurosaki Isshin, exclaimed the moment he appeared at the door, and he kicked his son’s head.

Well, it was a normal life as normal as it can be for the Kurosaki family.

“What time do you think it is, you delinquent son?!” Isshin started scolding Ichigo. “You know dinner is every night at seven!”

“You! Is that how you greet your son who just returned from doing community service?!” Ichigo yelled back.

“Silence! No matter what reason, to he who disrupts this household’s iron harmony, only a punishment of blood can be rendered!” Isshin counterattacked. “Or what, are you saying you’re suddenly better than us for doing something for the community?! I’ll have you know I do more than you! I’m a doctor, I save lives!”

“Shut up! That’s your profession! I help people because I want to!”

“Oh, stop it both of you! The food’s getting cold!” Yuzu, the younger of the twins, said. Ever since her mother’s death, she had taken upon herself to help her father with some of the chores her mother used to do, such as cooking for the family.

“Leave ‘em alone, Yuzu.” Karin, Yuzu’s sister, said. Out of the two, she was more sarcastic, and was better at ignoring their father’s antics. “Another bowl, please.”

Meanwhile, Ichigo and his father kept arguing. “First of all, the rules in this house are too strict! In what world is there a parent that sets a curfew for a healthy male high school student at 7 pm?!” Ichigo exclaimed.

“What? Are you saying you have a girlfriend, Ichigo, and that’s why you want to come home late? Hmm, I’d never thought my own son as a pervert.” Isshin said, clearly with the purpose of making Ichigo angry.

“What the hell, dad?! That’s not it!”

“So you’re gay?”

“No!”

“Ichi-nii is sure growing fast, Yuzu.” Karin commented as she finished eating.

“Karin-chan, don’t say that!” Yuzu whined. Although both sisters loved their brother, Yuzu admired Ichigo a lot, and as such, she was more attached to him than his twin.

“One of these days, he’s going to bring a girl home, Yuzu, so you better be prepared.” Karin kept on going as she munched her food.

“Who said anything about a girlfriend, Karin?!” Ichigo, who had heard the conversation, turned to yell at his sister.

“An opening!” Isshin had taken advantage of Ichigo’s distraction to pounce on him, but his son had managed to escape his grip.

“Forget it, I’m going to sleep!” Ichigo said, and then went upstairs to his room.

“Ah, onii-chan!” Yuzu said, trying to stop him, but was unsuccessful.

“Oh well, he’s gone.” Karin announced, then turned to look at her father. “It’s your fault, dad.”

“Me? Why?” The father asked.

“Onii-chan’s had a hard time lately! Since a lot of guys start fights with him, he hasn’t been able to study as much as he’d want to, and he’s worried about his upcoming exams.” Yuzu explained.

“What? He talks to you about things like that?!” Isshin exclaimed, quite surprised.

“I’ll take dinner to his room later.” Yuzu muttered to herself.

“That kid… he doesn’t tell any of his troubles…” Isshin talked to himself.

“Of course.” Karin interrupted his train of thought. “Even I wouldn’t talk about my problems to a father over forty who only has such childish communication skills.”

Her words terribly wounded Isshin, who turned to the poster of his deceased wife, which he had hung on the wall. “Masaki! These days it must be adolescence, because our daughters are awfully cold to their father… what should I do?”

“First start by taking down that ridiculous poster of mom.” Karin said and rolled her eyes.

“Hey, dad!” Yuzu suddenly exclaimed.

“What is it, my precious daughter?” Isshin turned to look at her.

“You forgot to tell onii-chan about the news!” She said with urgency. In the background, Karin face-palmed.

“Oh, that’s right! Maybe it’s not too late! Ichigo!” He started calling his son.

“He went to his room, of course it’s already too─” Karin started saying when a scream, a thud, and some yelling interrupted her.

“Late.”

The family turned to look at each other.

“Well, the cat is out of the bag, right?”

Ichigo dragged himself upstairs, while muttering. “Jeez, why’s everyone in my family like that?”

He finally reached his room, which was marked by a wooden plaque with the number “15”, and opened the door. “Huh?” Although it was dark, he managed to notice the silhouette of a person sitting on his bed. “Wha─?!”

“Are you room service?” The voice, which belonged to a girl, asked.

“’Are you room service?’ my ass, idiot!” Ichigo sprang into action, and kicked down the person.

“Eh! You’re a pretty confident burglar, by ‘are you room service’ do you mean to ask if I live here or something?!” While Ichigo yelled at the person, the girl looked at him in surprise.

“Don’t you know who I am… I mean, did you just kick…?” The person, still shocked, asked.

“Huh? What the hell are you talking about? Of course I don’t know you.” Ichigo said.

Just then, his father kicked him. “Be quiet, Ichigo! Don’t make a ruckus on the second floor!”

Ichigo retaliated. “You be quiet! How can I not make a ruckus?! Look at this guy! What the hell’s going on with the security of this house?!”

And then Isshin burst out laughing. Next thing he knew, his sisters had turned on the light of his room, and he could finally see clearly the person who had entered his room unannounced. It turned out that the burglar was in reality a girl about his age or younger, who had black hair, which reached past her shoulders, white skin, and impossibly big eyes of a strange color, which was neither blue nor purple, and she was wearing a black kimono with red butterflies on it.

“Son, this girl is not a burglar. She’s Kuchiki Rukia-chan, and from now on she’s gonna live with us!” Isshin announced with a smile on his face.

“Pleased to meet you, I’m Kuchiki Rukia.” The girl said and extended a hand towards Ichigo.

“EH?!” The boy shouted, feeling disconcerted about the turn of events.

The wheels of destiny started moving, and, from that day onwards, Kurosaki Ichigo’s life was never the same.

“Long time no see, Ichigo.” Kuchiki Rukia said, while she smirked.

Ichigo gulped. “Yeah, it’s been a long while.” He said, as he stood awkwardly in the middle of the room.

“Shall we sit?” Rukia asked, as she gestured towards the table.

“Ah, yeah, we should.”

They sat in front of each other, with the bottle of sake between them. It was then that Ichigo noticed that he was severely underdressed for the occasion, only wearing a pair of jeans, a black leather jacket, and a red dress shirt underneath. He had opted for casual chic, while Rukia was sitting there, all elegant. Like always.

“Do you want sake?” She asked him politely.

Ichigo nodded. “Yes, please.”

Rukia served them sake on their cups silently, and then she gave him the cup. They each took a sip of their beverages, without speaking.

“So, how have you been?” Rukia asked him, breaking the silence that had fallen between them.

“I’m fine. Thanks for asking. And you?”

“I’m good. Thank you. How’s everything at the clinic?” She continued with the small talk, probably fearing the two would grow silent again.

“Same old, same old.” Ichigo shrugged.

“So, you still barely have clients?” Rukia said, smirking. Ichigo understood the situation. She was trying to get a rise out of him, to get him to argue with her. That was familiar ground. That was their thing. He decided to humor her.

“Oi! I’ve already told you that that’s good! It means people are healthy!” Ichigo said, scowling at the woman in front of him.

“My, my, Kurosaki-kun, you don’t need to get so angry with poor old me!” Rukia said, speaking in a very high voice, as she had often done when they were young. It still annoyed him to no end.

“Stop that! You’re so annoying!” He scoffed and crossed his arms.

Rukia giggled. “You’re still so funny when you get mad.”

“Tsk. Whatever.”

“Hey, so how is your father?” Rukia continued speaking.

“Goat chin is as crazy as always. Still finding ways to mess with me. I don’t know how he does it.” Ichigo complained, while Rukia looked amused.

“That’s good. It means he’s healthy.”

“Yeah, he is. He’s gonna bury us all!” Rukia covered her laughter with her hand.

“And your sisters?”

“Karin already moved out to her own apartment, but Yuzu is staying with dad, because she doesn’t want to leave him alone. But both are quite happy with their lives. Yuzu is working at a new restaurant which opened a few blocks from my dad’s house. I see her often. Karin’s place is a little far, but we eat together every Sunday.” Ichigo explained.

“I’m so glad they’re doing well. Still no signs of them getting married?”

“God, no!” Ichigo said a little too quickly, which caused Rukia to laugh.

“I can’t believe you’re still so overprotective of them! What will you do when they decide to get married?”

“They’re my sisters! I’ll always protect them. And whoever wants to marry them, will have to prove they’re worthy.” Ichigo crossed his arms once again, while Rukia tried to bite down her laughter. “And speaking of overly protective brothers, how’s Byakuya?”

That question sobered her up immediately. “Nii-sama is doing well too. He’s healthy, and he still works for the family company. But I think he’s getting tired of dealing with the elders.”

“So those elders are still a pain in the ass, aren’t they?”

“Yeah, they are. Probably will always be!”

Both laughed, and suddenly Ichigo felt as if they were back in time, back when they were fifteen, and carefree. As if more than a decade hadn’t passed at all between them.

“So… how are Orihime and Kazui?” Rukia asked once they had quieted down.

Ah. She had finally asked the dreaded question. Ichigo took a sip of his sake before answering. “They’re good… how are Renji and Ichika?”

Rukia sipped her cup too. “Ichika is doing great, actually. She is currently fascinated with soccer, and so I bought her this pink soccer ball, and now she practices every day after school with it. She was going to try for her school’s soccer team, but then we moved and will have to wait a little bit to try out in her new school.” She gushed about her daughter, and Ichigo could see a light shining brightly in her eyes, one he hadn’t seen in her in a long, long time.

“That’s great. I’m glad for Ichika. And how’s Renji?” Ichigo asked, noticing she hadn’t mentioned Renji at all.

The light immediately disappeared from her eyes. “Oh… he’s doing ok, I guess. Ichika is with him right now.” She mumbled.

Ichigo raised an eyebrow. “You guess?” Once upon a time, he could have been able to interpret her silences, and know exactly what she meant. But not anymore. Things had changed, and although he could tell she was hiding something, he could no longer tell exactly what it was.

“Well, it’s not like we talk a lot these days.” That was definitely unexpected. Ichigo kept looking at Rukia questioningly until she caved in.  She sighed, and started playing with some strands of hair that had become loose from her hairdo. “You see… Renji and I recently got divorced.”

Ichigo hadn’t counted on that. At all. “Oh… I’m sorry.” He felt stupid for forcing her to tell him such news.

“No, it’s ok, don’t be. It was a mutual decision.”

“Can I ask why you guys got divorced? Last time I saw you, you guys seemed to be doing fine.”

“It seemed like it, didn’t it?” Rukia chuckled darkly to herself. “Actually, it had been coming for a long time. We stayed together only for Ichika, but then those unresolved issues were too much, and we were hurting her. That’s why we’re not together anymore.”

Ichigo breathed heavily. “Is Ichika alright?”

“Yeah, she is. I’m taking her to therapy, though. You know, just in case. And she stays with Renji every weekend, and he calls her daily, so it’s not so bad.”

“And… are you alright?” He could only imagine what she was going through.

She smiled tiredly. “I am… or I’ll be… I’m, I’m trying to find myself again.”

“So… since you mentioned you moved, that means you don’t live in Tokyo anymore, right?” Ichigo decided to change the subject.

“Ah… no… actually, I moved to Karakura recently.” She said shyly.

That surprised Ichigo again. Rukia back in Karakura? How come he hadn’t seen her yet? “Oh. Since when?”

“Three weeks ago. I felt like I needed a fresh start, and this was the place for it. Renji moved too, to the neighboring town, so that he could be closer to Ichika.”

“Oh.” Ichigo nodded, and went to sip his cup when he noticed it was empty.

“Let me refill it.” Rukia offered, and he passed her the cup.

Ichigo observed her intently as she expertly filled both their cups. He felt that there was something that Rukia was hiding, and it definitely was not her divorce, or her moving to Karakura Town. He suddenly wondered why they were even in the bar. If she just wanted to catch up, why did she want to meet him at a bar? A coffee shop or literally anywhere else would have been better. No, there was something else going on. And he wished once again that their special communication hadn’t been lost through the years.

Stop pretending! His mind shouted at him, and he felt the impulse to scream and demand the reason for them being there, for making him leave his family to be with her, the reason why she wanted to meet him. What are you playing at?

He decided to call her, to do something which would make her look at him. “Rukia.” For the first time in a long, long time, he said her name out loud. It left his lips like the first breath of someone who is finally able to breathe. Like the breeze of the sea, as it softly blows your hair. It felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. As if he finally were at home. He could finally speak normally to her. I’m getting to the bottom of this.

This caught her attention. “Ichigo?” Rukia asked timidly.

“What are we really doing here?” He finally asked, gathering enough courage to confront her.

Rukia sighed. “When I moved to Karakura, I started working at a firm. Last week I find out some, erm, interesting information, to put it simply, and I thought you should know.” She said rather cryptically.

“Rukia, you’re not making any sense.” He told her bluntly.

“I’m sorry. It’s just this is a delicate subject.” She murmured.

“You can tell me anything, you know that.” Ichigo said softly, and Rukia looked at him wide eyed. She then smiled.

“I didn’t know we still had that kind of relationship.” She wasn’t jesting. She was being serious.

“Rukia, come on. Nothing will ever change that, ok?” He locked eyes with her for the first time that night. She nodded.

“Ichigo… there was a rumor in my office which turned out to be true. I asked my boss to confirm this information with some people he knows at the police. It seems that a wanted criminal has finally been found, and the police has enough evidence to prosecute him for one of his crimes, but are still missing witnesses and evidence for other cases that are believed he committed. They are asking for anyone with information to communicate with them and share what they know.” After saying this she paused, and turned to look at him worriedly.

Ichigo knew what she was going to say before she even said it.

“Ichigo, that criminal is Grand Fisher.”