#they were supposed to be smaller but eh

[bananafroggo]

three goobers

👑 🔪 🕹

[futuristichedge]

My Sonic, Shadow, and Silver chao :)

Also an earlier picture of Shadow taking care of Night and Lil' Blue (Des hasn't been hatched yet)

[giuseppe-yuki]

Just imagine anyone on the grid having a lion or a tiger as an so and rocking up to the paddock (just like tiger king), with the animal on a bedazzled leash and everything

hmm interesting! i honestly tried to stick with smaller animals in my series, as to not spook the fans and reporters around the paddock, but i feel like a tiger shapeshifter!reader is a good concept as well!

i feel like the top contenders to have a tiger shapeshifter s/o would either be someone with a loud personality, like danny, or someone completely unexpected like andrea (kimi antonelli).

here's a little blurb/oneshot i thought up on a whim:

picture credits from pinterest :)

you are woken up from your nap by the shrillest scream you ever heard. you leap back, accidentally trampling a few decorative plants in the back of the mercedes motorhome. oops, you think. in front of you stands bono, lewis' engineer, who looks like he's seen a ghost. eyes wide behind his black framed glasses, he stands, frozen in fear. still blinking sleep from your eyes, you carefully pad in a direction away from the terrified engineer, who is now very noticeably trying to tiptoe away.

it was ironic, really, for the universe to grant you the ability to shapeshift into one of the world's deadliest predators, but make you have the shyest, most timid personality.

you were technically not supposed to be napping under the sun behind the merc hospitality- your boyfriend kimi had told you to wait inside the building while he had a quick meeting with toto. it wasn't your fault that the sun was shining so warmly and the lovely smell of freshly planted flowers were floating outside. you had decided to chill on the grass when you must have fallen asleep (and probably accidentally shifted too).

now, you watch in fear as bono beckons a group of people towards you. they all wear matching black uniforms with the word "security" pasted right in the back with neon yellow letters. god, this was going to be hard to explain when kimi came back.

they approach you, not knowing how to deal with the giant tiger currently huddling in the back of the mercedes motorhome. you couldn't blame them, you knew you looked pretty intimidating, and let's be honest, anyone would be scared if they saw a fierce predator in the wild, much less behind a formula 1 motorhome.

they slowly surround you, batons out, and a few of them talk through their radio walkie-talkies, requesting for "backup". it seems that some reporters and fans have gotten wind of the situation too, because you see some at the edge of the entrance, phones out and recording. you hear them mutter about the weirdness of the scene unfolding in front of them.

suddenly, you hear a familiar accented voice ring out behind the ring of security guards and crowd of people.

"baby, come here!" kimi says firmly. he clicks his tongue twice and beckons you toward him with his finger.

to everyone's surprise, you bound towards him through the now horde of people. they scatter to the side as you race towards your boyfriend. once you skid to a halt in front of him, he brushes his hand through your fur and places a soft kiss on your wet nose. it's a laughable sight, seeing your impressive-sized striped body cowering behind kimi's shorter figure.

bono steps out of the crowd of people, brow scrunched in fear and confusion. "what the-? kimi??? when did you own a tiger?"

your boyfriend laughs. "well, i don't really own her, you know. we just have, eh, what do you call it- a special bond between us." he gives a light hug, squeezing you against him. "i love her very much!"

if you were in your human form, you would definitely be blushing.

turning away from bono, kimi leads you back towards main paddock road, which wasn't hard to do considering the crowd leaving a wide berth of space around you both (probably from the fear of getting eaten by you, even though you would never think to ever do that to someone).

once he reaches the main part of the paddock, he pulls out a bejeweled collar and leash out of his pocket. you look at him questioningly, but don't resist as he threads it around your neck.

"just so no one thinks that you're a random runaway tiger," he explains, tightening it comfortably.

you both continue your walk through the paddocks, this time heading towards kimi's garage. several fans and enigneers scamper out of the way as the see you approach, not used to seeing an actual real life tiger, albeit in a shiny leash and collar.

as you lightly amble towards the entrance of the merc garage, leash trailing behind you from kimi's hand, you spot toto walk by with a big grey wolf on his heels.

he turns to kimi, looking him straight in the eyes, and smirks, eyes twinkling knowingly.

"you got yourself a tiger, huh?"

a/n: sorry i don't know why the picture format is acting up and won't let me make it into a singular row like it usually is 😭

[weirdowithaquill]

Traintober 2024: Day 16 - Golden

Oh, How Rebecca Loved the Sun...

In a siding, tucked behind a long line of trucks awaiting transport to the works for repairs, sat a West Country class. Her name was Rebecca, and she was patiently awaiting her crew. Golden rays of sun shone down on her, warming her boiler through and leaving her comfortable and just a little sleepy.

“Morning, Rebecca,” called her driver, striding over from the sheds. “I see they left you out in the sun again, eh? You always were fond of the sun.” “It just feels so nice, driver,” chuckled Rebecca. “Surely you understand?” Her driver just nodded in agreement, already starting his checks. As soon as he was out of sight though, he grimaced.

Rebecca was a delightful engine to work with – but she was naïve and oblivious to the extreme. All around her, steam engines had been withdrawn and replaced by diesels and electrics – she herself had been moved from Exmouth Junction just before all her classmates there were unceremoniously pulled from service and dragged away to be cut up. And yet somehow Rebecca didn’t realise. She barely noticed as the number of steam engines around her grew smaller and smaller with each passing year, long time friends vanishing while she was out on an express run.

“They’re just being useful elsewhere!” Rebecca would say when her driver tentatively asked what had happened to them, hoping one day Rebecca would wise up to the truth of the situation and admit they’d been scrapped. And every time Rebecca replied that her old friends – many of whom she’d known since she was built – had simply been transferred, her driver caved and agreed that he’d heard that too.

What was he supposed to say to his engine? This living sunflower of a locomotive who only seemed to see the best in everything, even as she became run down due to a lack of maintenance.

“Come on Rebecca, we’ve got a train to pull,” her driver said kindly, and swung up into her cab. He could only hope to keep protecting her for as long as possible. At least until she either figured it out on her own or he was unable to hide it any longer. And much to his displeasure, he didn’t think either of those options had a very long lifespan left in them.

***

Rebecca’s driver clung to the letter, scrunching it up in his hands. His engine had been sold off.

“I thought I’d get longer,” he sighed, letting the letter fall to the floor as every fibre of his body seemed to sag in sadness. His golden girl was being preserved, sure – but not on the railway. She would likely not run again, not where she was going.

“Morning Rebecca!” he chirped, trying to put on a brave face. The West Country Class opened a sleepy eye, gazing down at her driver even as she hummed at the warmth of the beams of sunlight gently warming her boiler. “I have exciting news for you!” “Oh? What is it driver?” asked Rebecca curiously, gazing down at him with bright eyes. Looking closer, the deep, also black of the pupils was flecked with hints of golden, her eyes an almost warm brown in the sun.

“You’ve been sold,” her driver said as gently as he could. “You’re going to get a full overhaul and a special coat of paint next week, and then you’ll be going to your new home!” He tried to smile, but it felt weak in front of his engine. Rebecca just stared at her driver in confusion.

“Who bought me?” she asked. “S. J. Edwards’,” replied her driver. Rebecca frowned; had she been a puppy, she’d have tilted her head to the side in confusion. Her driver felt a bit like he was telling a golden retriever he was ‘selling it to a farm in Scotland’.

“Isn’t that the toy company?” quizzed Rebecca. “I didn’t know they needed an engine.” “Neither did I, Rebecca,” replied her driver. “But that’s who bought you.” Rebecca seemed… apprehensive about the revelation that she was being sold on, but still went about her regular duties with her usual cheerful mood.

“Maybe I’m going to pull special trains of toys for children,” she thought to herself out loud. Her driver winced in her cab, but said nothing. He would just have to let her dream for a little while longer.

The days passed rapidly, far too rapidly. The sun kept up its shining for once, giving Rebecca plenty of time out in its golden rays. To her driver, it was almost as if the heavens above were giving Rebecca her swansong. She was certainly getting the most out of the good weather, spending all her time out soaking up the sunshine in between trains. In the sheds, the other engines spoke in hushed tones about the odd West Country Class who just seemed oblivious to everything, though her driver did everything he could to keep Rebecca from hearing the whispers.

It was not enough. It was never enough.

Rebecca was sent to Eastleigh Works for the repairs. She was to get a full overhaul to prepare her for her new life – one of the last major overhauls of a steam engine the works would ever undertake, and also Rebecca’s first true taste of the truth. Without her driver or her friends around to protect her, Rebecca was faced with the ugly reality of British Rail. As she waited for her turn in the works, she was placed in the Eastleigh engine sheds, right near where rows of steam engines stood silent, men weaving between them with cutting torches. These men held none of the same love for steam engines that her driver did. Instead, they silently did their work, slicing deep cuts into slowly rusting engines to pull them apart and sell off their metal for reuse. A line of stonily silent trucks stood between the engines living at Eastleigh sheds and those dying there, a stark dividing line which was being steadily loaded up with the cut-up remains of the engines.

The weather changed too, the sun hiding away behind thick grey clouds that unleashed great heaps of rain all over the countryside. Rebecca was left cold and alone, not even able to talk to the other engines due to how shocked she was.

“Poor thing,” sighed a Lord Nelson Class from the other side of the yard. “She really had no clue apparently. Must’ve been nice, living without the knowledge.” Rebecca didn’t agree. She wished she had known, she wished she’d been able to grab all of her friends and cling tightly to them. They were gone now, weren’t they? Brought to places like this and left on cold, damp sidings until they were ripped into by the scrappers. They’d all put on such positive attitudes around Rebecca that she’d never suspected, never heard the undercurrent of fear that permeated every illness and rust patch that made itself known.

Her friends were dead.

Rebecca was a very different engine, going into the works. Even as she was buffed and shined and gifted brand new parts machined to perfection to ensure she was the absolute peak of health, all she could think about was how there were hundreds of engines right outside being treated to agony and death while she was pampered. Rebecca didn’t even notice the golden yellow livery being deftly applied until it was finished, bright orange and red lining and embellishments being carefully added to compliment the new colourful livery. Her number was changed, as was the lettering on her tender.

Gone was the old British Railways logo; in its place stood a large stuffed bear holding a banner with ‘S. J. Edwards’ written on it in a fancy logo. The teddy bear looked very fancy, not that Rebecca could see it. All she could see was the men scurrying about in front of her, preparing her to be moved.

She had taken up enough space in their workshop for too long already, and now they wanted her gone so they could begin work on the next EMU overhaul. Rebecca was dragged out by a Class 07 and gently pushed backwards up a rickety ramp and onto the back of a Scammel Contractor lorry. Rebecca felt very odd as she watched her tender get added to a second trailer moments later, seeing just how different it looked for the first time.

“Where am I going now?” she asked the foreman. “S. J. Edwards’ main plant,” replied the foreman briskly. “You’ll be their shining mascot… or something like that.” He turned away to signal that Rebecca was chained down and ready to move, even as Rebecca began to realise just what the foreman had said.

She was to be a mascot. Mascots didn’t move, they didn’t haul around presents. They sat still and smiled even as the years wore down on them. She’d seen it from an old tank that had been the mascot of a town until he was so rusted and tired that he had to be taken away and placed in a specialist museum to be restored.

Or maybe that had been a lie, and he’d also been scrapped.

Rebecca travelled far on the roads, through towns she’d once served that now had only diesels, if any railway at all. How had she been so blind to everything changing? How had she managed to miss each event as it happened?

The truck turned again; Rebecca felt something shift under her. The roads were so uncomfortable, and yet it was the only way to the factory now. There was no railway out to the S. J. Edwards main facility anymore, because British Railways didn’t think it important.

There were no more steam engines safe from scrap because British Railways didn’t think they were important.

The truck slowed to a stop, and a crane rumbled up. Rebecca looked over – the building was certainly fancy, and right inside the front entrance there stood a plinth. It was empty but for a pair of rails set into the concrete.

That… that was her new home, wasn’t it?

Rebecca was carefully pushed inside, moved on temporary rails up to the plinth before her brakes were locked on, chocks were forced under her wheels and the temporary rails were ripped up. Her glorious golden paintwork was starkly contrasted by the tears falling from her eyes.

“Stop crying and smile, idiot!” snarled a man in a pinstriped suit. “You’re meant to be a mascot, not a sob story. What child wants to see a blubbering mess when they come visit?” The man rapped his cane against Rebecca’s buffers. It didn’t hurt, but it was enough to silence the stunned engine.

Rebecca looked up – above her stood a large dome from which great white lights hung to illuminate everything far too brightly. It was nothing like the golden rays of sun Rebecca so loved to feel on her boiler. These lights weren’t warm, they were cold and unforgiving.

And at night, they were abruptly shut off, plunging Rebecca into the dark with only her own thoughts and her tears.

And even today, one has to wonder if Rebecca will ever feel the sun again? 

Back to the Master Post

[wukong-s-only-wife5000]

LMK!Wukong: First Meeting.

Pair: Wukong x Human F!Reader.

Authors Notes: As requested. :3 Also, liked how this turned out so the following shots will be based off it.

The spiders in this shot aren't the same as Spider Queen's henchmen. This shot takes place in the modern era, long before the Macaque episode.

Enjoy!

Your task was simple; go to town, get the food, go straight back home. Sweet as honey and easy as blinking, so why did the obstacles in your way have to be so… life-threatening? It was supposed to be an easy trip, so why did you end up having to run from a bunch of spider demons?! You'd just lost the group that chased you and you were so out of breath that your heart felt like it was going to jump out of your chest.

Inside your house, you couldn't see the disaster since you lived so far away from the village. Now, you had to hide behind a building that smelled like alcohol, secure behind two large barrels you assumed also had alcohol in them. You tried so hard to get your heart rate down, but you were pretty sure you were having a panic attack. 

Your body froze and then tensed before you covered your mouth to stop the sob when a shadow walked past you. You relaxed a bit when the demon cluelessly walked right past you, probably too tall to even notice your smaller form.

“What do we have here~?” a voice from above made you tense so much you pulled a neck muscle. You craned your head back to see one of the spider demons with spider legs above on the side of the building. “C'mere!” 

“AH!” You yelled out and as you were about to bolt, the demon spider was kicked through a few trees about 20 feet away before it could pounce on you. You looked to see who your saviour was and, let's just say it wasn't who or what you'd expect.

“Fear not, mortal! I am here!” the monkey grinned and took an overly confident champion pose. You looked at the monkey demon like he was crazy. 

“Thanks?” you asked more than said. Were you supposed to know who he was?

“Seriously?” he looked at you as his shoulders slumped. “You don't know who I am?”

“Should I?” you shrugged before you noticed a group of spider demons as they rushed to the ‘Monkey King’ as they had called him. You clung onto him out of pure instinct. 

“Whoa, easy there, girly,” he chuckled before he noticed why you reacted as you did. He detached you from him and set you aside before he attacked the approaching arachnid demons. You were honestly amazed by what you saw the overly dressed monkey do. 

Monkey King? You'd never heard of such a person, but maybe it was high time you got up to date on some things. You didn't have wifi where you lived and since your place was so secluded, you never heard anything close to gossip. You continued to watch in amazement as he quickly had those spider freaks running with their tails between their legs.

“You okay there, kid?” you were snapped out of your thoughts and looked up at the monkey who didn't even seem to break a sweat. 

“Um… yeah,” you nodded before your previous actions made your cheeks flush. “O-oh, I’m sorry about… ya know.”

“Hm? Oh, you mean you clinging to me for dear life?” he asked with a grin, a clear sign he was messing with you, but his words made you too embarrassed to notice. “Eh, don't worry about it, I'm just messing with you, kid,” he laughed a bit.

“Yeah… I'm not a child,” you folded your arms. 

“With your strength? I hope not,” he teased, which made you clear your throat.

“A-anyway, thank you for… ya know, saving me and taking care of those spiders,”

“No problem,” he grinned, his fists on his hips as he slightly looked down at you. “So, what's your name, cutie?”

Cutie? You weren't sure how red your face was at that point, but it felt hot from the blush. 

“Oh, it's (Y/n),”

“Well, it's nice to meet you, (Y/n). I am Sun Wukong, the Great Sage equal to Heaven! Otherwise known as the Monkey King,” he introduced himself with such a bright smile you had to squint a bit.  

“Uh huh…”

“You seriously never heard of me?”

“Sorry,” you looked at him apologetically. He sighed in defeat but quickly shook it off. 

“I should probably go,” he said and glanced off to the side. 

“R-right,” you nodded when you remembered you still had some things you needed to get before you could head home.

“Do you live around here?”

“Close, but not here,” you said sheepishly as you rubbed the back of your head.

“Lone wolf, huh?” he let out an amused breath before he glanced around with a slight frown.

“Something wrong?”

“Do you live in the forest area?” He looked at you kind of seriously. 

“Yeah, why?” you answered before you thought the worst. “Are there more of those spider things around?”

“It’s okay!” Wukong said as he tried to settle your nerves. “It's not that, those guys are long gone now. I just think that it’s not smart to go off on your own,”

“I've done it every day,” you pointed out with folded arms, but the thought of running into those demons didn't sit well with you. “But if you want to walk me home I won't stop you,” you said as you tried your hardest to seem confident, which made Wukong laugh.

“I like you, (Y/n). you're funny,” he snickered before he whistled and summoned a cloud; he hopped onto the cloud and then turned to you. “May I?” he asked as he offered his hand to help you. 

Against your will, not only did your heart skip a beat, but you also took his hand. The shopping was long forgotten when you saw the cloud, unexpectedly, it was so soft and fluffy! You let out a yelp and clung to Wukong as he’d taken off without any type of warning whatsoever.

“Warn me next time!” you yelled at him over the wind that blew past your ears.

“Oh ho, next time, huh?” he glanced at you when you two were high enough to see the layout of the land.

“You know what I mean,” you hadn't realized your blush had subsided till that second when the blood rushed back to your cheeks. 

“That your place?” he asked. You looked around his body to see what he was referring to and when you saw it… you couldn't help but notice exactly how far away the village was.

“Yeah, it is,” you responded. 

“Wow, how do you get Wi-Fi or anything else from way over there?” Wukong mused before he took off again, luckily you'd prepared yourself that time.

“I don't,” you rubbed the back of your head then let out an ‘oof’ when your body slammed into his as he suddenly stopped.

“You don't have Wi-Fi or cable or any type of service?!” he asked as if you offended both his ancestors and insulted his bloodline.

“Yeah?” you raised a brow.

“Do you have electricity or are you going to tell me you live in the light of the sun and candlelight,”

“Why do you sound so offended?” you mused a bit. He looked like a feisty little monkey and you had to admit it was really cute. “I have electricity… and ac,”

“Oh, thank the gods,” he said and placed his hand on his heart, but still looked at you like you were a new breed of creature. 

“What?” you questioned the monkey king.

“What do you do?”

“What do you mean?”

“Like, you have no wifi or cable. Do you even have a TV or video games?”

“No?” you looked at him as he reacted like you stabbed him in the heart.

“Damn… I need to teach you about the best things you mortals have ever made!”

“Uh, no thanks,” you said nervously. “I'd just like to go home, please,”

“Fine, fine,” he sighed in exasperation as he moved towards your humble abode. “If you don't have a TV or any of that stuff, what do you do?”

“Well, I read,”  you looked at him in amusement. “You do know what reading is, don't you.”

You didn't notice this, but that statement felt like an attack to him… ya know, since he can't read.

“Of course I know what reading is, I read all the time!” he said a bit too defensively. 

“Can't read, huh, tough guy?” you saw through his bullshit, he slouched.

“Not a word,” he confessed and helped you off his cloud before he hopped off himself. 

“That's okay,” you smiled at him. “Maybe to repay you for saving me, I can give you a few lessons.”

“Huh?” he looked at you in slight shock.

“It's the least I can do,” you smiled at him before you walked to your front door. You didn't see it because your back was to him, but it was his turn to blush. 

Sure, he'd been treated well by few humans in his lifetime, but you… you had this way about you that made the immortal’s stone heart beat.

“Sure, if I have time,” he tried to brush it off like it wasn't a big deal. 

“Well, you know where to find me,” you smiled at him as you unlocked your door. “Can I offer you a drink or something before you go, oh Great Sage?” your teasing made him grin.

“Got any peach chips?”

[koenigami]

synopsis: that one time you accidentally lost ushijima in a mall on christmas. tags: fem!reader, fluff a/n: helloww sweet @ohtokki, your secret santa here! wishing you a wonderful time with your family and friends!<33 i really hope you like this little something i wrote for you and ushiwaka^^ it's actually my first time writing for him so i hope it's not too ooc ehe..

Like in a crammed can of sardines, people tried to navigate through the crowded streets and stores. Some of them looked for last minute gifts while others enjoyed the mesmerising decorations and lights ornamenting the city that seemed even brighter and more vivid once dusk fell. Watching some of the people rush down the halls of the mall you were currently strolling through, arms packed with packages and bags, wide and frantic eyes glancing from one shop window to another, you were more than relieved that Ushijima and you belonged to the second category of people.

“Wow, good thing we bought everything at - " Losing a nearly 6’4 tall boyfriend was hard. "Toshi?" But not impossible.

Especially in a crowded place like this one. With a deep sigh, you looked around, hopefully trying to spot Ushijima somewhere in your proximity though apparently it was not going to be that simple. A young man accidentally bumped into you. The pink gift bag he was carrying slipped out of his hand, though with a hectic hand gesture he managed to grasp it before it touched the floor. “I’m so sorry, Miss!” The teenager blushed and quickly bowed his head before scurrying off. 

Meanwhile somewhere in the same mall, Ushijima paced from one shop entrance to another, curiously peeking over other customers’ heads, shoulders slumping every time he did not spot you. The “E” in the corner of his phone display mocked him when he pulled it out of the pocket of his jacket, and it seemed like no store nearby offered free wifi for him to at least send you a quick message.

Of course he could have anticipated that the shopping centre would be this packed today, though when you had asked him to accompany you to get your favourite dessert from the patisserie that was supposed to be somewhere around here, Ushijima had not been able to decline. 

A soft tug on his pants pulled his attention away from his phone, and instead of a bright screen, he was gazing into big, teary eyes as a little girl shyly stared up at him, her height barely reaching up to his thigh. “Um, you’re ‘Shijima-san, right?” Had he not crouched down to her height, he would have probably not even been able to hear her question over the loud Christmas music that all of a sudden started playing in the background. 

“Yes.” He nodded, somehow not finding it in him to correct her mispronunciation of his name, and instead patiently waited for her to continue. “My Nii-chan always says you’re the coolest so- uh, will you help me find him and mommy?” There was a light shake in her small, gloved hands as she played with one of her dark pigtails, the glittery red bows in them sparkling with every movement of her head. 

A curt nod of his was enough to make the little girl smile as if he had just now shown her the entire world, and once he picked her up like she weighed nothing to place her on his shoulders, he indeed did show her an entirely different kind of world. Ushijima’s hands swallowed her much smaller ones, making sure that she was safely positioned and holding on tight. So this is what a giant’s view looks like, she thought, completely in awe about how she could truly see everything and everyone from up there. 

“Where was the last time you have been with your mom and brother?” He inquired and looked around for… not exactly sure who. A panicked looking mother? A similarly frantic looking boy? While at the same time trying to catch a glimpse of you amidst the people moving past him. 

“We wanted to buy cupcakes!” Her little legs dangled excitedly down the volleyball player’s borad shoulders while she explained that her mom was planning to buy mentioned cupcakes for her fourth birthday. “But then poof! Nii-chan and mommy were gone.” She gestured with her hands as if they had disappeared into thin air.

Poof, huh? Sounded pretty familiar to him when he thought about how you were one minute walking right beside him and the next- 

The phone in his pocket vibrated, and Ushijima carefully fished it out with one hand while the other made sure the girl on his shoulders would not fall over. 

“Hello? Toshi, where are you?” The sound of your voice eased the tension in his shoulders and he did not dare to budge from the spot that, thank god, provided him with some decent signal. 

The little girl on his shoulders involuntarily eavesdropped on the giant’s conversation since, with whoever he was talking to, the small gentle smile on his face made it obvious that talking to them made him clearly happy. 

“I’m on my way to the patisserie. There’s this girl I just met and she-” 

“But we have just been there? And what girl?” It was not a rare occurrence for Ushijima to get held up by fans, yet right now you really just wanted to get home as soon as possible. The crowded space and your missing boyfriend were slowly but surely getting to you and tiring you out so much that you could not help but sound a little snappy over the phone. Whatever fangirl he was dealing right now, he better- 

“Love, she’s four.” 

"Huh?" Oh. 

You loosened the woollen scarf around your neck once you heard your boyfriend’s breathy chuckle on the other end of the line, a light heat creeping up your neck out of sheer embarrassment. Manoeuvring your way through the slowly dissipating crowd, you listened attentively to Ushijima as he explained the little girl’s predicament as well as his current location to you. Since it seemed that you were not too far away from them, you agreed on meeting them at a flower shop in front of which they were currently standing.

“Was that your girlfriend?” The little girl asked curiously once Ushijima hung up, both his hands now securely resting back on her thighs. “Did she also get lost?” 

“You could say it like that. But she’ll get here soon and then we will go to look for your family together, alright?” 

“Yes! Thank you, Shijima-san!” She exclaimed gratefully, her arms wrapping around his neck in a tight hug that made his heart swell. Remembering that she was now even taller than the giant himself, she figured that she could help him too find someone dear to him.  “So, what does she look like?” 

“Hm? Well, she’s wearing a long coat, a thick white scarf, she has long brown-” 

“Is she pretty?” 

Ushijima was a little taken aback by her question, since she made it sound as if an answer to it would be more helpful to pinpoint you than a detailed description of your appearance. Yet with a deep sigh and significant warmth in his eyes, he answered truthfully. “Yes, very so.” 

And somehow, as if satisfied with his answer, the little girl quietly looked ahead of herself and rested her chin on top of his head. With each passing minute, the mall got emptier, customers wrapped up their purchases before leaving, cash registers in certain shops looked less busy, and even an employee who was wearing a santa costume looked like he had finished his shift as he walked past Ushijima, waving kindly at the girl who happily reciprocated the gesture. 

“There!” The girl suddenly perked up after noticing a young woman hurry towards them with a fond smile on her face. 

And how could you not smile when the sight of your lover with such a sweet looking young girl perched on top of his shoulders was so endearing to you. You approached them finally and reached up to greet the girl with a light squeeze to her calf. 

“I see you’ve made yourself comfortable over there. What’s your name, sweetheart?” 

“Chiyo!” She answered with a bright toothy grin before she fervently started to tell you about how she had gotten lost and found "Shijima-san".

Eventually, you made yourself on the way to the patisserie where you hoped to find Chiyo’s mother and brother, since it was the only place where you could get fresh pastries at this time of the day. By the way she clung to Ushijima, you could tell that she had warmed up to him pretty fast, and the same could be said about him. He looked so effortlessly handsome as he carried the child in a way that you would think he had never done anything else in his life. In a way that made you wonder what it would be like to have your own little gremlin sit on top of him and call him a “giant”. 

Warmth suddenly engulfed your left hand, and his rare physical display of affection astonished you a slightest bit. But as he squeezed your hand gently, his thumb stroking the back of it back and forth, he simply stated matter-of-factly. 

“Don’t want to lose you again.” 

Right, Mr. Shijima, you thought knowingly. Admitting that your short lived disappearance had made him feel uncomfortable and that going through the same dilemma would probably make him age a few months more- that was definitely not something he was going to admit today. 

However, when he had to put Chiyo back down and watch her run over to her Nii-chan, who coincidentally was the same young man who had earlier bumped into you, Ushijima had to admit that he was a little dejected about the fact that his adventure with the little girl was over so soon.    

[thewritetofreespeech]

Fly me to the Moon

Astarion x Tav

WORDS: 2.6K RATING: T PAIRING: Ascended!Astarion x Tav SUMMARY: just as they were settled, plans seem to change. (sort of a sequel to [x])

Despite having all the luxuries and money available to him now, Astarion preferred to sleep in a smaller bed.

When you had finished redecorating the castle, an arduous process as you didn’t realize how big it was until you started, Astarion had been left the bedroom per his request and actually did it a lot more modestly than you thought he would. Somehow you envisioned gold for every nailed down surface, ornate rugs patterned across the floor, mirrors or reflective surfaces anywhere he could put them to preen at his reflection any space moment; now that he had it back.

There was a bit of gold. 1 larger rug under the bed to keep the feet from touching cold marble first thing in the morning. More than a few mirrors. But the part that surprised you was how…average the bed was. Along with the grandeur, you thought Astarion would want a lake of a bed to dominate the room. He corrected you and said that a bed like that wouldn’t be necessary as his intention was to be wrapped around you every night for eternity, so all of it would go to waste.

That’s why it was so strange when you realized he wasn’t there beside you in your sleep.

You awoke and sat up. Scanning the dark room and landing on a small light by the desk on the far side with Astarion sitting at it. His handsome face pursed in thought but warmed by the candlelight. You slipped out of bed onto the soft rug and walked over to see what he was doing so late at night.

"Oh, hello my love. Did I wake you?"

You shook your head. Coming up beside him to see what he was working on. "What's all this?"

"Maps for our travels." He announced. Showing you one that was faded and worn. "Although, we may have to engage a new map maker or literary archivist for some updated ones. I think some of these are older than I am."

"But not nearly as pretty." You reply with a chuckle. Kissing his cheek. "Why the sudden interest in geography? I thought we agreed to stay in the Gate for a while. 'Set up camp'. Establish a base for your great dark empire."

"Eh. I changed my mind." Astarion said that as if he had changed it on a whim. Perhaps he had. But the work he had poured himself over led you to believe this was a thought that had been seeping for a while. "I realized; I haven't actually left the city at all in 200 years. Where that Nautiloid spit me out was the furthest I had traveled since....I can't remember when. And, if it hadn't, picked me up and spit me out that is, I would still be here. Trapped in the city. My new gifts have left me with a literally world of possibilities to break free of these walls. It would be a shame to squander them.”

You supposed that was true. Astarion’s ascension had given him a lot of new abilities. Including, but not limited to, his continued ability to walk in the sun. Which made leaving the Gate all the more possible. There was a big, bright new world out there. You could see why he would want to leave. “Hmm…so, where do you want to go first then?”

“I…don’t know.” He told you honestly. “I have the means to go anywhere and yet somehow…that seems more challenging than no choices.”

“A burden of options.”

“Exactly!” He seemed incredibly pleased that you got it, without having to explain or dumb it down for you. ���Just so long as we don’t have to sleep in the dirt again, I really have no real opinion on where we go.”

“No feelings of nostalgia bedding down by a campfire?”

“Oh please….” He seemed less pleased with that quip. “Have you traveled anywhere? You know, for all our near deaths and how intimate we are now, I also just realized I know almost nothing about you. Other than your body and parts of your mind from the tadpole.” Astarion leaned in close to take your hand. “I’m such a cad.”

You chuckle at him. But you tell Astarion no, you haven’t traveled before. Not really. Not the far off, wonderous, exotic, or lavish places Astarion probably had in mind to show you. Different beaches down the River Chionthar. The country side. Nothing special.

“Good!” He announced when you told him. Spinning around and standing from his desk. “I want us to share all of this together. See it all for the first time, side by side, as my consort. And, be the first to make love to you on every continent imaginable.”

You lean in close when he leaned forward to kiss you. Coiling your fingers through his wavy hair as he pulled you in by the waist. “I suppose we should start packing.”

“Hmm…yes. But that can wait until later.” You let out a surprised sound when Astarion lifted you up in his arms bridal style. Grinning at you with that cheeky smile of his. “For now, I think we should practice a bit before our journey. You can’t just expect to make love on every continent without a little stamina training, yes?” You giggle as he carried you back to bed.

Once you were done, and sufficiently exhausted, you fell asleep dreaming of far off places and exotic shores. The smell of salt air. The warm feeling of tall grass. All of it in your mind’s eye, along with Astarion.

[cillianmesoftlyyy]

The Ward Pt. 1 | Jonathan Breech x fem!character

Summary: Jonathan Breech is sentenced to three months in a Dublin psych ward after trying to take his life. He meets a girl and thinks he's fallen in love... but is this just a product of opportunity and loneliness or could it be more?

Warnings: Based heavily on One the Edge (2001) so there is already a lot of mental-health specific discussions. More specifically- mentions of suicide, self-harm, death, depression, anxiety, feeling helpless and alone, medication, vomiting, pregnancy. There is nothing explicitly sexual in pt. 1 so there are no warnings for that here. Please don't read if you think any of the previously mentioned topics could be triggering! Some of this is taken from my personal experience with mental-health issues so read with care.

word count: 3098k

1979- The Smashing Pumpkins 🎶

Up the Junction- Squeeze 🎵

note- I named the female character because I personally don't love using "y/n." It can take away from the story that I'm trying to tell sometimes but the character is supposed to be general enough to be whomever you wish.

additional note (sry)- One the Edge is free on Internet Archive...

Please read the warnings before continuing, thanks!

Jonathan made his way through the hospital corridors, glancing briefly into each room they passed. 

“This is a pretty shitty hotel, eh? What do you charge per night? Whatever it is, I’m not fucking paying it,” he stumbled around behind one of the nurses and laughed lightly. They stopped in front of a room. 

“This is you. You’re expected in group therapy at 4.” The nurse deadpanned and unlocked the yellow steel door for him. Jonathan poked his head inside the door and whistled low. 

“Mhm, yep. Just what I was expecting,” he leaned out again and yelled after the nurse, “would it kill yeh to add some fucking color to this room? Fucking depressing.” He shook his head and wandered inside. He sat down on the mattress, the metal springs popped below and it sagged below his weight. He looked around at the drab gray room, the one window covered by rusted bars, and the bare bedside table. Jonathan emptied his pockets on the bed beside him and moved the carton of cigarettes to the table. A clock on the opposite wall ticked quietly and he watched it with his bright blue eyes, blinking every so often to the rhythm. 

A second nurse came by and handed him some clothes, pajamas. 

“What are these for?” Jonathan frowned, “I don’t need pajamas.” 

“You have to wear them during the day,” the nurse responded. 

“Why the hell would I do that when I have my normal clothes?” 

“Its policy, it distinguishes you from guests and day patients. In-patients have to wear these.” The nurse pointed to the pile of neatly folded clothes in Jonathan’s arms. “Put them on.” 

Jonathan sighed and kicked off his shoes. 

“You’re not gonna watch are yeh?” He sneered at the nurse when he didn’t leave immediately. The nurse turned and left, closing the door without another word. Jonathan stripped down to his underwear and examined the clothes that he was given. It was a matching pajama set in an icy blue color with smaller blue designs across the fabric. The sleeves were too short and ended at his forearm and the pants around his midcalf. He pinched the bridge of his nose and cursed under his breath. He put on his shoes and the cardigan he had brought with him, a yellow wool cardigan that still smelled like home. 

…

Around 4 o'clock Jonathan left his room and wandered aimlessly through the psychiatric ward, looking for the group therapy room. He walked until he spotted Dr. Figure walking into a small room and called out to him. 

“Heya, Dr. Figure. I’m here for my group therapy!” He said with a flare of dramatic excitement. Dr. Figure looked tired and responded with a strained smile. 

“Hello, Jonathan. Please come in.” They walked inside the room and Jonathan took a seat in a chair beside a boy around his age wearing a dark blue bathrobe. His light brown hair was messy and long and he wore round wire-framed glasses over his eyes. Dr. Figure sat opposite of him across the circle and cleared his throat as he arranged a stack of papers. Another boy and a girl sat at the circle too though neither of them looked up when Jonathan sat down. 

“Good afternoon everyone, thank you for coming today.”

“I didn’t have much of a choice,” Jonathan shrugged and pulled one of his knees up to his chest in the chair and rested his chin on his knee. 

“Yes, thank you Jonathan for coming anyway.” Dr. Figure sighed and gestured towards him, “this is Jonathan, everyone. He’s new and he’ll be joining us in group therapy. Why don’t we all introduce ourselves? I’ll start. I’m Dr. Figure and I’m the head psychiatrist here.”   

“I’m Toby.” The boy next to Jonathan nodded his head and Jonathan smiled at him. It passed across Jonathan to the girl on his otherside. She glanced up briefly to introduce herself with a small smile. 

“I’m Margaret.” She said softly and looked down at her hands again as the last boy introduced himself. He had headphones around his neck and a walkman clipped inside the pocket of his robe. Jonathan looked back at the girl, studying her. She looked as though she hadn’t slept in a while with the dark circles shading her downcast eyes. She was wearing a vintage nightgown, he realized, one with long sleeves and a modest neckline even though the dress was shorter than her knees. On her legs she had long brown socks tucked into a pair of duck boots. Her hair was brushed away from her face and fell straight down her back but he couldn’t see how long it actually was. She had a busted lip, he could tell from the bruising around her bottom lip and a scab that looked as if it was still bleeding. She played with the hem of her nightgown and glanced up again, catching him as he stared at her but he didn’t look away, she did. She flushed and stared at the tan tile around her chair. 

“Now I’d like to pass this around and I want you all to add any recent fears or anxieties that may have come up in the last few days that we haven’t talked about yet,” Dr. Figure handed the clipboard to the boy next to Margaret. Toby raised his hand. 

“Yes?”

“What if we’re scared of filling out paperwork?” Toby asked and Jonathan laughed. Dr. Figure seemed to genuinely ponder the question before Toby added, “that was a joke,” and Jonathan laughed again. 

“Why don’t you tell us what you’re afraid of, doctor?” Jonathan smiled and Dr. Figure exhaled. 

“It’s not important.”

“I think you’re deflecting, doctor.” 

“Jonathan, if you’d like to discuss my fears then I would be happy to do so at a later time in my office,” Dr. Figure answered calmly. 

“Oh, I see. You can analyze us as much as you want but as soon as someone asks the same question of you, you can’t answer, eh?” Jonathan crossed his arms across his chest. 

“It’s just not something that I do with my patients during group therapy. This is your time to get better, it isn’t about me.” 

“You know what would make me better, doctor?”

“What’s that, Jonathan?” Dr. Figure rubbed his eyes and waited for Jonathan to answer.

“I want clothes that actually fit. These are too short, I look ridiculous! And why do we have to wear fucking pajamas? How am I supposed to feel good about myself walking around in these, eh? And no one told me that girls were gonna be here too! Jesus, it's embarrassing.” Jonathan huffed and complained loudly, leaning forward in his seat sometimes to emphasize his point. He looked over at Margaret who was turning red. 

“I understand that you’re upset about the clothes but they shouldn’t matter. You’re here to get better, Jonathan.” Dr. Figure crossed his legs and clasped his hands together. 

“Now, if we could, please continue.” He gestured to Margaret to take the clipboard from the boy next to her. As she did so, Jonathan stood up and walked towards the door. 

“Thanks, doc. That’s it for today.” He waved his hand and left the room, letting the door close behind him. He went straight to his room and sat down on his bed. Gray light filtered in through the window and he looked out at the rainy streets. 

…

That evening he found the rec room and sat down by a window, bracing himself against a heater. Toby was sitting by the window as well and looked up at him when Jonathan approached. 

“Hey,” Toby nodded.

“Hey.” Jonathan replied and opened the window but it caught after a few inches. 

“It doesn’t open all the way,” Toby smiled, “they don’t want us to jump out.” 

“Damnit, that was going to be my plan A,” Jonathan shook his head.

“What’s your plan B?” 

“Wait out the next four months,” Jonathan chuckled darkly and reached into his breast pocket for a cigarette. 

“They won’t let you smoke that in here,” Toby advised and glanced over at the female nurses speaking quietly near the door. 

“I wouldn’t mind getting in trouble with them, eh?” He smirked at Toby who laughed. “Toby, right?”

“Yeah,” Toby nodded and pushed his glasses up his nose. 

“Jonathan,” he patted his chest for a second and changed the subject, “By the way, what’s that girl’s story, the one from group.”

“Margaret?” Toby asked and Jonathan nodded. “She’s been here for a week or two. I think we came in around the same time. I don’t know a lot about her because she doesn’t say much in group. It must be hard being the only girl around our age here.” Toby shrugged and continued, “She’s had that busted lip for a while but I’m not sure exactly how she got it. I’ve talked to her a little and she’s nice.”

“And cute,” Jonathan added with a laugh and Toby nodded. 

“Yeah, that too. I think she’s been through some shit.”

“Haven’t we all?” Jonathan muttered and Toby nodded knowingly. They sat in silence for a moment before Toby spoke again. 

“You know I’ve been sneaking out of here a few times a week at night. I could take you if you wanted.” 

“No shit,” Jonathan whispered with a smirk, “really?”

“Yeah. Wanna go tomorrow night?” 

“Of course.” 

“Ok,” Toby smiled. 

“Ok.” Jonathan affirmed and hopped up. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” 

“See yah,” Toby waved and went back to looking out the window. 

Jonathan left the rec room and wandered further down the hallways, passing the women’s ward. There was one men’s bathroom in the women’s ward and he went in. The opposite end of the bathroom had a short tiled wall that ended in a ledge below a row of barred windows. There were three sinks on his left and two stalls on his right, one a handicapped stall. A single urinal stood against the wall. Sitting on the ledge and leaning against one of the walls of the handicapped stall was Margaret, reading a book. The dying light from the window shone through her nightgown, showing the dark silhouette of her body underneath. She looked up quickly and jumped at seeing her. 

“Shit sorry, I thought this was the men’s room.” 

“It is, sorry.” Margaret closed her book and hopped down from the ledge, wincing as her feet hit the ground. “I like to read in here.”

“In the men’s room?” Jonathan raised his dark eyebrow, his pink lips pursed. 

“No one uses this bathroom in the women’s ward.” 

“The male nurses?”

“They aren’t allowed to work in the ward… legal reasons.” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and held the book against her chest. He looked at the cover of the book. 

“What are you reading?”

“Jane Eyre.”

“That’s a bit on the nose, isn’t it?” Jonathan laughed and she smiled. 

“Maybe but I love it. I love anything by the Brönte sisters.” She fingered one of the pages on the book and met his eyes. She had a heart-shaped face with messy unkempt eyebrows and she was short, barely 5”3. 

“Did someone have you locked up in their attic?” He joked. 

“No, though it would have made my life more interesting.” She smiled at him, her cheeks pressed up into her eyes and flushed slightly from the conversation.

“You’re cute,” Jonathan broke the momentary silence and her eyes widened slightly. 

“You don’t know me,” she laughed breathlessly and brushed past him to the door. He spun around and followed her. 

“I don’t have to know you to know that you’re cute.” He protested and smiled as she took the door handle in her hand. 

“Don’t be stupid,” She frowned and he threw up his hands in surrender. 

“Personally, I thought that was pretty smart but hey- wait! Don’t go, I wasn’t actually coming in here to use the bathroom, I just wanted some space.” 

She looked at him for a moment and rolled her eyes, “word of advice? Don’t call girls cute, it's demeaning.” She cocked her head at him and left the bathroom. He left after her and watched as she walked down the corridor to her room. She looked back at him and smiled to herself as she went inside and closed the door. 

…

Jonathan woke up early the next morning for his private appointment with Dr. Figure. His room was cold and he’d slept in a t-shirt on top of his covers like a child. He was shivering when he finally woke up and quickly changed into his warmer pajamas, gritting his teeth as he remembered how short they were on him. He pulled on a jumper and laced his roughed up sneakers. Stepping out into the corridor, he rubbed his shoulders for warmth and hopped down the stairs two at a time. He pushed open the door to the garden and followed the cement sidewalk through a row of tall hedges. The morning was cold but the sun was already in the sky and shining on the hospital’s grounds. As Jonathan passed through the first set of hedges he looked to the side. Sitting on a small wooden bench was Margaret, still reading Jane Eyre. She had on a pair of men’s blue checkered pajama pants and a dark green jumper, also still wearing her duck boots. She sat with her legs crossed beneath her and her hair billowed in the short rushes of wind. He caught himself looking at her crotch and snapped out of it. He stuck his hands beneath his armpits and walked over, smiling wide when she looked up. 

“How was your first night?” She dog-eared the page in her book and squinted up at him. 

“Not bad, but I woke up fucking freezing.” 

“The heaters don’t work in the rooms. That’s why I go into the bathrooms to read.”

“Or outside,” he pointed at her book. She smiled and looked down for a moment. 

“It’s part of my treatment. I spend an hour outside everyday, for the fresh air and sun. It’s supposed to make me happier.” 

“You know they have drugs that do the same thing.” Jonathan smiled and rocked back and forth on his feet. 

“I don’t take them… I haven’t for a few weeks.” 

“Oh?” Jonathan sniffed, his nose already running in the cold air. She thought about telling him why she wasn’t on her meds but changed her mind. Jonathan noticed her change in body language and cleared his throat. 

“Look, I’m supposed to have a meeting with the doc. Could you show me where his office is?” He cocked his head to the side, twisting his lips into a smile. 

“You think you’re real smooth, don’t you?” She shook her head, laughing. 

“Don’t know, it depends on whether or not you say yes doesn’t it?”

“And what if I have something I’d rather be doing?” She smirked slightly and brought her knees up to her chest, balancing her heels on the edge of the bench. 

“Do yah?” Jonathan asked. 

“Of course.”

“And what is that?” He brought his head back upright and continued to smile, “what would you rather be doing than walking with me?”

“Eating real food at a restaurant with warm bread at the table, or going to a library where I actually have a valid library card, or buying expensive ice cream that I can’t eat because it's freezing outside…” she listed off the items, taping her lips with her index finger. Her cheeks were pink from the cold and Jonathan imagined how soft and cold they would be against his fingers. 

“What if in exchange for showing me where the old man’s office is, I buy you an ice cream when we get out of this shithole?” He shuffled his feet in the brown grass and Margaret smiled softly. 

“You think we’re getting out of this place?” She shook her head, almost sad but still smiling. 

“Why don’t we just pretend we are, for the sake of today?” He shrugged and twisted his torso side to side. She watched him for a second, trailing her eyes over his lanky body stuffed into clothing that was made for someone much younger. She had to admit that he was pretty but there was a reason that they were all in there, and Jonathan wasn’t exempted from that. She nodded and put her feet back on the ground and stood. Holding Jane Eyre in her arms she led Jonathan back to the path in the direction of the smaller house near the border wall. 

“So, what ice cream do you like?” Jonathan asked. His sneakers gripped the pavement and sent small pebbles bouncing across the pavement. 

“German chocolate,” she answered after a moment of serious deliberation. 

“You know, I’ve noticed something.”

“What?” She looked at him as they walked. 

“I don’t recognize your accent. You aren’t Irish.”

“No,” she shook her head, “are you disappointed?” 

He smiled and put his head back, “No, no. I’m just surprised. You don’t sound British either…” He bit his lip, trying to place her accent. 

“I’m American,” she answered for him and pulled her hair to the side of her shoulder. 

“American? What are you doing here?” He laughed lightly and she blushed. 

“I’m studying here for a semester.”

“Where?” 

“Trinity,” she glanced at him, “for Literature.” 

“Fuck, no wonder you’re depressed. Why would you come to Ireland for college?” He laughed and she blushed further. 

“I just wanted to get away from my family and Ireland seemed like the farthest place from home… and you have a good Literature program here.” 

“Ah, all the Irish poets and writers…”

“And Sinead O��conner.” She added and Jonathan laughed loudly. 

“You’re funny.” 

“And cute, apparently.” She shrugged, “you still haven’t apologized.” 

“For what?” He played dumb. 

“For calling me cute.” 

“I’m not apologizing for pointing out something that’s true.” He argued and she looked up at the sky, pretending to study the clouds. 

“I think you’re an asshole, Jonathan.” She looked up at him and he nodded slowly, a small smile stuck to his lips. 

“So do I.” 

They walked in silence to the house and Margaret left him at the door. He walked in through the door, strips of paint curled and fell onto the doormat. 

“Don’t forget that you owe me an ice cream,” she called quietly before the door closed and he gave a little salute before the door snapped shut.

...

end of pt. 1 :)

Thank you so much for all of the support. This community means the world to me and I feel very supported by everyone on this niche community. I love writing these silly little fanfics and I'm flattered that people like them. I read all of your comments and reblogs- lots of love!

[kakashixhatakesxwhore]

I'm in my feels rn and I need you to do an EverythingIsFine AU with Shisui where he's got like a baker gf or florist gf or something, I'm literally begging you for Shisui fluff🙏

i'm sorry y'all i'm going through my requests with a gun to my head rn i promise - thank you for this one, it was quite nice to write

Closing Time

Pairing: Shisui x GN!Reader

Summary: Our dear reader makes a mess in the back of their family's bakery right before they're done closing, and their favourite customer comes to their rescue.

W/c: 1.4K

Warnings: Couple swear words, I got hungry in the middle and started to crave a profiterole

Notes: btw Shisui is with the police force in this EIF!AU, lmk if this sucks

Masterlist💿

Crouching low, you flopped the fifty pound sack of flour over your shoulder. Your knees creaked and cracked as you stood up, steadying your footing before you started moving to the storage room. It was closing time, and you hadn't needed to bake any extra bread, so you had to take the extra flour back.

Easy task, on paper - one of the most grueling acts, when the time came.

Still, your strong, stubborn ass insisted upon working alone. Hell, you sometimes put fifteen hour days into the bakery, from the first loaf of bread in the morning, to this bullshit task.

The bell at the door rang with a clipped ding-a-ling, and you threw the bag of flour you were hauling onto a table carelessly.

So carelessly that it burst.

"Fuck!" You yelled as a massive, white cloud puffed up immediately.

The flour got in your mouth, it went up your nose, it was in your eyes. Cripes, you could feel it in your fucking hair.

"Oh, dear! Are you okay?" A familiar voice asked as you hacked up smaller white clouds.

Your favourite regular came beside you, concern so obviously etched into his features that you could see it through the blur. Wetting your mouth, and trying to push down the lumps in your throat, you croaked, "You can't be back here."

"Who cares? Your old man's not here, and you could have gotten hurt," Shisui quickly said, looking you over with an intense scrutiny as you rubbed your eyes. He looked around, at the white, fluffy mess that surrounded you, and grumbled, "Why were you even lifting more than twenty kilos? If it was that important, you could have asked me-"

"It's my job, not yours, officer," you quipped, still feeling the burn up your nose. "Besides, I didn't even mean to do that-"

"Well, I suppose not," he grinned. 

You rolled your eyes and started to brush the flour on your shoulders onto the flour, shaking out your hair in the process. With an anguished gaze, you looked at the bag of flour, with a now gaping hole.

"What can I do to help?" Shisui asked, making you look at him. He smiled warmly, "You're so close to closing, and this will take you forever to clean up alone."

You sighed, "Alright, fine... you can sweep."

"Ooh, lucky me," he hummed as you retrieved the broom from the corner beside the mixers.

Giving Shisui the broom, you thanked him with a small voice, and his smile only deepened. You got a few containers to empty the good flour into and put them on a different metal table. Shisui was crouched, trying to get the dirt from beneath the table, as you leaned over the bag again to move it to the other table.

Immediately, Shisui shot up and moved you away. "Nuh uh. I've got it."

"You're not getting paid for this, need I remind you," you quipped as he struggled to gather the strangely weighted sack in his arms. 

"Your- eh- smile-" Shisui shuffled over to the other table, groaning a little as he set the burst bag down gently before he beamed, "-is payment enough."

"You're as sweet as the pastries you buy," you hummed softly, moving to stand beside him.

Cheeks tinting red, Shisui's eyes darted away from your face, but couldn't seem to stay away for long. With a nervous chuckle, he dipped his head, gulped, then returned to the broom.

A small smile rested on your lips as you siphoned the remaining forty-nine pounds of flour into the two containers you had gotten out. They had airtight seals, so their freshness wouldn't be an issue - besides, you were set to open tomorrow morning, so no one would even have to deal with the flour already being in a container.

If anything, you were making tomorrow's job a little easier, by making your night a little bit more tedious. 

"I'm sorry by the way," you said with a grunt as you popped the lids onto the containers, leaning on them with all of your weight. "Some- fucking, go on- some Chunin came in about twenty minutes ago and cleaned me out, so all I've got left is bread."

"I like bread," Shisui remarked, dumping a dustpan of flour in the trash. 

"Good, there's a loaf of bread with your name on it then," You giggled, looking away from Shisui as soon as he looked at you. "Do you like my bread more than my eclairs?"

Pulling the two containers to the edge of the table, you lifted one up and slid it on the ledge under the table. Shisui came beside you and took the second container before you could, putting it beside the first with more obvious ease than you had. 

You both stood straight, facing each other. You grinned nervously, heart pattering around your chest madly, as Shisui looked down at you with a gracious smile. His dark eyes sparkled so beautifully, even in the shit bakery lighting.

"No," he mumbled. "I like your eclairs more than anything."

"More than my madeleines?" You tested, narrowing your eyes some.

Shisui laughed, "I choose your eclairs."

"What about a profiterole?" 

Bending his knees, and throwing his head back, Shisui nodded and hissed, "You got me."

He was your favourite customer for a reason.

"Well, alas, you'll just have to come back in tomorrow for a proper sweet," you sighed contently, finally moving again to continue the few closing activities you still had to do. "And come in earlier; you might even get a pastry when it's still warm."

Collecting the dried dishes into your hands, you started to put them away when Shisui joined you in the task. You shook your head and stole the whisk he had picked up.

"Would you like an application?" You asked, putting the whisk into the whisk bin.

"No," he chuckled. "I just want to help you."

"Sweetie, if I could give you anything more than a loaf of white bread in return, I'd be okay with that - but as it stands-"

"I told you," Shisui hummed, picking up three wooden spoons in the same handful. "Your smile is payment enough."

"If I didn't know how much you liked my pastries, I'd accuse you of coming in here so often just to flirt with me," you chortled, putting up a stack of containers. 

Drawing a breath, Shisui said, "Well... as much as I like your sweet treats..."

"Oh, shush, you philanderer," you scoffed playfully, flipping the dish rack upside down. Without looking at Shisui, you drew to the very back and started to turn off the lights. First the storage room. "Besides-" Then the fridge. "-I know damn-well you'd pick even a madeleine over me."

"M'kay, first of all, definitely not a madeleine, and not even one of your profiteroles," Shisui started. "Secondly, I am not a philanderer - whoever told you that lied-"

"Nobody told me anything of the sort," you told him with a quirked brow. You shrugged at the confused expression Shisui wore, "I just kinda assumed-"

"Why?"

"I mean, c'mon," you chuckled. Shisui only furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head as you approached him. You opened your mouth, but closed it, trying to pick your words more carefully now. After a second, you mumbled, "Well, you're so charming... and people don't often, y'know, just flirt with me at work... not unless they want me to come home with them, and you're always coming in so late in the evening..."

"People ask you to go home with them?" He asked, surprised and aghast.

Maybe you should have taken a slight offense to his tone, because why wouldn't someone want to take you home? But, at the same time, he didn't seem surprised at that thought - he seemed surprised that people had that kind of audacity.

"Not much, but it happens," you stated, trying to be neutral. "Why? Not your intention?"

Shisui shook his head quickly and stuttered, "No, not at all- well- no, no."

Alright, that one got you. He didn't want to take you home at all? Shit, he really was just a good customer-

"So, what is your intention in coming in almost every day, in helping me even when I'm a bitch about it?" You asked, crossing your arms tentatively.

"You're never a bitch about anything," Shisui assured you.

You shook your head, staying firm. "Answer the question; what do you expect-"

"Look, I don't expect anything," he sighed. Suddenly, Shisui took your hands in his. His skin was as soft as a pearl, though the pads of his fingers were rough. "And it's not that I don't want to take you home-" You looked up from where your hands were joined, into his eyes that danced with nervousness. "-I just... I wanna take you on a date first."

"Okay," you agreed instantly.

Shisui's smile broke across his face. "Really?"

"Yeah," you grinned, squeezing his hands. "Help me close up first, though."

"Okay, so long as there's a loaf of bread and a warm smile at the end of the rainbow."

[ovobawrites]

𝐵𝑒𝒶𝒸𝒽: 𝐸𝓅𝒾𝓈𝑜𝒹𝑒 𝒯𝒽𝓇𝑒𝑒 ♡ 𝐹𝒷𝑜𝓎𝓈 𝒜𝓃𝑜𝓃𝓎𝓂𝑜𝓊𝓈

disclaimer: this has already been posted on ao3 and quotev, i'm just reposting this beach episode special as a promo for the fic. after this is all my previous author notes.

this is a fem!reader and also a half chinese!reader insert.

previous ♡ next

You hung limply over Jade's shoulder as he brought you over to the table. He set you down gently and handed you a plate with a polite smile, before quickly snapping up the food he wanted. Thankfully, Jade was quick enough for you to be able to grab a sandwich you actually wanted to eat. There's no way in the cold, wet hells[1] that you'd eat any large meal before swimming. Stomachaches were already a common occurrence for you due to the curse of menstruation, why go through even more unnecessary pain? 

Sadly, the boys had a completely different philosophy. Ruggie had piled a plate sky-high with varying meats and seafood, all while fiercely guarding a gourmet steak for Leona. Floyd and Jade, with you stuck between them, had also taken a large amount of food. At least they were planning on eating vegetables. Meanwhile, Riddle, Azul, Vil and Rook seemed to have prepared meals with the 'perfect' caloric intake.

And even then, they're eating so much! Though I guess the minimum calories are higher for guys? And they are younger...[2]

Leona slowly stalked over to the table, hair a mess from his nap and snatched his plate from Ruggie, sitting next to the hyena. Idia eventually got up from the pancake he made on the ground, mostly by Ortho's prompting. A plate stacked with healthy foods was handed to him by his brother and he was forced in a seat next to Silver. The Diasomnia first year had a plate with similarly healthy foods, though Idia had a smaller portion in comparison... It didn't help that every so often, Lilia would add a vegetable or cut of meat to Silver's plate. 

Malleus ate silently at the head of the table with a contemplative frown, Lilia smirking and whispering in his ear while Silver just ate in silence. Trey smiled sheepishly in conversation with Cater and Riddle, the three of them seemingly somewhat pleased with their meals. Kalim and Jamil ate next to each other, food already tested for poison and picked out to be a perfect lunch.

"Koi fish~" Floyd started, leaning over your shoulder. "is that seriously all you're gonna eat?"

"Ah- well..." You trailed off. "I'm not exactly a 'growing girl' so to speak."

"Still," Jade chimed in, mirroring Floyd. "that isn't a lot of food. Are you sure you don't need to eat anymore?"

Are they... planning something? It's not my fault you boys all eat like beasts!

Trey silently spooned some pasta onto Riddle's plate. Suddenly, everyone at the table seemed extremely invested in your private conversation. 

You sighed. "Yes, I'm sure."

Who are they? My mom? Please. She'd never be so smothering.

"You're already skin and bones." Leona chimed in, "A herbivore like you definitely needs to eat more. Else you'll end up like Riddle."

"WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN!" The redhead snapped at Leona, face matching the colour of his hair. "Though you definitely should eat more, it doesn't seem like enough food for the day." He looked over at you, now cool as a cucumber. 

"I agree, I don't think a sandwich is enough for a day in the sun." Trey frowned in concern, Cater nodding emphatically next to him.

"Yeah! How are we supposed to post cute beach pics if you're fainting from a lack of food!"

Can the peanut gallery PLEASE stop offering their opinions?

You took a small bite out of your sandwich, resisting the urge to roll your eyes. A posture of steel, not a crumb falling nor a hair out of place. The essence of perfection you were taught to be. Too bad the boys were too busy worrying over your lunch to properly appreciate it. 

"Are you really fine with only eating that much?" Kalim tilted his head in concern. "Shouldn't she eat more, Jamil?"

"Eh?" His vice dormleader looked over, pretending to be unaware of the conversation. "...Yes, she should be eating more."

Lilia nodded his head with a frown and a shrug. "She definitely should, humans are sooo fragile~"

Vil and Rook looked over at what you were eating, looks of disapproval obvious.

"Don't tell me you've bought into diet culture," Vil lectured, "it's been proven to be a scam that hardly works and even then-"

"Diet culture is a scam?!" Azul looked shell shocked. 

"Obviously? Pressuring people into restricting what they eat so much and guilting them for even barely straying from an un-nutritious and unfulfilling diet is a binge-eating disaster waiting to happen!" 

"...You guys are binge-eating?" Ruggie looked over, half a chicken wing in his mouth, curious.

Floyd poked your cheek, then attempted to place more food on your plate. A serving of calamari clashed against a spearing of mushrooms. Twins glared and started to war a silent fight while you polished off your lunch. There was no way you were gonna deal with this in-fighting when you could just find Crewel and go swimming. You put your plate in the sink and cleaned it up. 

Quiet as a mouse, you left the room, boys none the wiser. Grabbing your bag off of the couch, you bid Crewel adieu and went out to the beach. Shimmering waves against the gleaming, blinding white sand enamored you as you placed your bag and towel in the shade.

A warding talisman and the removal of your sundress left you free to explore the shore to your heart's content. Wandering around, you gathered bone-bleached shells and smoothed down shards of colourful sea glass. By the time you reached rocky cliff, you had left a trail of footprints and a floating pile of your treasures following you. You smiled and took in the relaxing atmosphere.

A crash and the loud slam of the door. 

A swarm of boys rushing down the hill towards the sandy beach. 

"(Y/NNNNN)!!!" Floyd called out, arms waving around wildly, giant grin on his face.

Ruggie and Leona waved from where Ruggie was setting up a throne room for the king of naps. Malleus and Lilia curiously observing while being blasted with horrific UV rays. Rook had already helped Vil set up a UV-proof zone and the two were slathering on reef-safe suncream, glancing at-

Did Idia just eat sand and die?

You smiled ruefully, your boys were so stupid. And there goes Idia rolling over! Knocking over Riddle, Trey, Cater and-

Like dominoes, Idia's fall started a chain reaction ending in a dog-pile of half-naked, sweaty, flushed men. Disgusting. 

You glided over gracefully, faked concern appearing on your face like a well-worn mask.

"Are you guys okay?" You asked, leaning over, hands on your knees. 

For whatever reason, the boys just went even more red. You think Riddle let out a muffled shriek. The momentary confusion was replaced by disappointment.

They were looking at your cleavage. The pigs.

Yeah. There's no way you were going to go near them. You acted confused, tilting your head before walking past in a decisive moment towards Vil and Rook. 

How do I bleach a memory from my brain?!

No matter. You sat in the UV-safe zone with Rook and Vil. The hunter offered you a bottle of water. 

"Ah- no, thank you." With a snap of your fingers, your bag appeared next to you. "I brought my own."

A sip of water and then you gathered up the things you collected from beach-combing. 

"Was that what you were doing while we had that..." Vil paused. "discussion?"

You beamed. "Yep!" That reminds you... "I founded a shell that was like you!" You told Vil with a blinding smile, rummaging through the piles for it.

You pulled out a large conch shell, spiky with streaks of purple. A shy look in your eyes and you offered it to him.

"If I remember correctly... conches follow the golden ratio, right? And well... you're the most perfect person I know, so..."

Vil sniffed and took the shell from your hands like a merciful god. "I suppose it's... nice."

"Vil, mon cher Roi du Poison, I can always take it from your hands if you do not want it!" Rook stated with a wink and a grin. "I always delight in a gift from our Reine des Cygnes[3]!"

Rook reached his hand out only to have it slapped away, Vil tucking the conch protectively into his arms.

"No, it's mine. She gave it to me, so hands off!"

You fretted over the slight fight, feeling the sparks flying between the two. Vil with a stone cold expression and Rook with his ever-present smile. 

"Oh- uhm, I also brought something for you, Rook!"

It wasn't a lie, you did find a piece of glass that reminded you of your classmate, but...

"You did?!" Rook took your hands in his, stars in his eyes. "I shall cherish this for every year that goes by, ma chouette!"

...You just knew Rook was gonna get weird about it. Too late to save yourself now. 

"Ah- here." You tugged your hands out of Rook's grasp and handed him an arrow-shaped shard of indigo sea glass. It sparkled against the sun, uncannily reminiscent of the shine in Rook's eyes.

"Thank you so much ma chère!" He quickly took it, handling it with the reverence of a man with an idol of his god.

"It was no problem at all..." You flushed slightly at the praise.

"No, you took the time to search for these and then give them to us." Vil gazed at you with ardent warmth. "Thank you for taking the time to find these."

You suddenly wished for a fan, hands covering your face while it rapidly heated up. You couldn't handle this! Both Vil and Rook in their purple swimwear, decorative open shirts framing their bodies with such elegance... it was too much! 

A chuckle. Vil covered his laugh up with a hand over his mouth. Rook simply stayed smiling with a knowing look in his eyes. The Pomefiore Housewarden leaned in closer to you, hands brushing, as he opened his mouth to whisper something but-

"Ey, (Y/N), come here!" Leona beckoned you over and with a frown and a curious glance, you followed. 

Vil looked awfully put out, but Rook seemed to be even more pleased by this outcome, taking out a pair of sun-proofed binoculars from who knows where. 

You walked over to the two Savanaclaw members, Leona now lazing on a towel-bed while Ruggie set up portable fans to cool the lion down. 

"Heard you were giving out gifts." Leona said with a twitch of his ears. "Where's mine?"

You fumbled for a second in slight shock, but with a quick recovery, gave him one half of an oyster shell, coated in mother of pearl. 

He raised an eyebrow. "Where's the other half?"

"It's for Ruggie!" You smiled. "Who else?"

The hyena, with a bashful turn of his head, took the other half from your hands. "Wait- I can probably make a lot of money with this... Thank you!"

"Isn't it rude to sell a gift?"

"I gave it to him since I knew he probably would sell it!" You snapped back in reply. 

"I don't get either of you." And with a huff, Leona lied down and took another nap. 

"...Is he already asleep?" You asked Ruggie, head leaning against your hand as you watched him finish up the nap-fort. 

The hyena glanced at Leona. "Probably, yeah."

"He's really good at this..." You sighed. "Now if only he'd apply this effort to his studies..."

A bark of laughter. 

"Like he'd ever! Leona isn't Leona if he spends all his time studying!"

A fond grin and a burst of yellow roses in your heart. "Yeah... you're right."

After a while of chatting with Ruggie and a quick re-application of suncream, you went over to the waves. Floyd and Jade waved at you from where they were (most likely) torturing poor Riddle, who was fuming once again. Trey and Cater tried their best to calm him but it was a lost cause. Meanwhile, Idia was carefully watching Ortho's movements in the water, taking notes on a floating tablet. Kalim was splashing around while Jamil stayed on guard by the shore, resolutely ignoring Azul trying to talk to him. 

"Koi fish! You gonna swim?" Floyd asked with a bright grin, cheeks flushing.

"Why else would I be by the waves?" You teased. 

Riddle went bright red at your entrance, eyes darting to your chest and then to your face before he quickly whipped his head away from you. If he wasn't so endearing you'd have punted him into the sun already. 

"Oh, (Y/N)!" Kalim waved you over. "Wanna play a game with us?"

"Sure!" You beamed. "What is it?"

Jade held a hand to his chest, a smirk on his face. "We're playing 'save the princess'. Would you like to play the part? The heroes have to rescue you from us, if they get to that tree with you, they win."

At some point I am going to murder these men. Is he seriously asking me to play the damsel in distress?

You looked at both Floyd and Jade, the two, in their true forms, were practically vibrating with excitement. You guessed they would be your captors... and even then you doubt that they'd let you go. 

A sigh. "I guess..."

Floyd smiled wide and grabbed you by the waist in a second. Clawed hands almost fondling your sides. 

"I've got Koi fishie~ let's swim away, Jade!" He laughed in childish glee as he quickly darted off.

"Wait, we're starting now?" Kalim called out. "Oh, then, Jamil! Help me catch those dastardly villains!"

A tilt to his head and a proud smile on his face, Kalim fell into his role as the knight-prince, your supposed saviour.

"If sea snake's joining then I want Azul!" Floyd pouted as Jade simply smiled. "Azul! Join us!"

Their Housewarden sighed, getting up from his place in the sand along with Jamil as they entered the water. For whatever reason, Azul stayed in his two-legged form, yet he still could quickly swim over. 

"If we are to win," Jade said, "we should make sure to split up. Toss (Y/N) over to the person who is unswarmed by these heroes."

"But I want to spend time with (Y/N)!" Floyd frowned, hands twitching around your waist while you let him carry you, limp. 

And I wanted to play a fun game of tag, but I guess we don't always get what we want!

"I agree with Jade." Azul pushed his glasses up. "We should make sure to keep (Y/N) away from these heroes."

Your captors had migrated over to the deeper waters in the ocean, powerful tails (and legs) allowing them to tread the water with ease. You shifted in Floyd's grasp, turning chest-to-chest, to peer over at your supposed heroes. The merman chirped with glee and held you even tighter to him in a pseudo-hug while he continued to discuss tactics with his dormmates. 

Surprisingly, Riddle, Cater and Trey were participating in this game as well. By the looks of things, it seems they had managed to recruit Ortho too. The 'knights' were similarly congregating, thinking up a game plan. While their numbers trumped your captors, you're sure that they are the ones with the advantage. 

Seriously, why are the teams like this. There's no way Kalim's team is winning against this sea-beasts.

In a flash, Azul, Jade and Floyd swam off in different directions. Floyd's powerful tail pushed the both of you through the water at a near-alarming speed, making you laugh in an adrenaline-fueled manner. You looked over Floyd's shoulder to see most of the hero team swimming towards you both at a much slower rate. Floyd soon stopped and started to float in the water, guarding you in his arms like a precious treasure.

"You'll never take Koi fishie from me!" He growled out, baring his teeth with a laugh.

"Are you sure about that?" Riddle smirked. "You're surrounded."

In a flash, Riddle, Trey, Cater and Kalim had encircled Floyd, slowly drawing closer with no escape. It's too bad that your 'captors' had planned for this. Floyd smiled even wider, lifting you up by the hips, and called out to Jade. With strong arms, he tossed you over to his brother, who caught you gently with steel cable-like arms. As you flew through the air, you couldn't help but laugh at the 'heroes' shocked faces. 

"It seems you're stuck with me now." Jade smiled, quickly swimming off with Jamil and Ortho giving chase. 

The merman was holding you in a bridal-style carry, whipping his tail through the water, dodging Ortho and Jamil's tries to grab and save you.

You waved lazily at them. "Oh no. I've been caught. Dear heroes, please save me." You spoke, completely deadpan. 

You could hear Jade's chest vibrate from a chuckle as he continued to race through the water. A glance towards his back showed Azul setting up for a catch while Floyd taunted poor Riddle. Trey and Cater were quickly swimming over to help Jamil and Ortho, who were quickly catching up.

So they're handicapping themselves for this. Probably 'cause it wouldn't be as fun.

"Don't worry (Y/N), I'll save you!" Ortho called out, his motors whirring as he started to speed up, nearly brushing your hand as Jade quickly dodged.

"It's not polite to lie, Ortho." Jade called out as you braced yourself for another toss. "There's simply no way for you to win."

In a quick, smooth motion, you flew through the air once more to be caught by Azul. You laughed and ruffled his hair in joy, undeniably pleased from all this throwing. For whatever reason, being tossed through the air filled you with pinks and yellows of a childish happiness, making you giggle, adrenaline-drunk, with glee.

"Please don't mess up my hair." Azul sighed, resigned. He shifted you around in his arms for a better ease of movement as Riddle drew in near with a dangerous glare.

The position he landed on was you, held by the waist in one arm as you were slung over his shoulder. He then took off, not as fast as Jade or Floyd, but still faster than your supposed future saviours. Soon enough, he let them catch up, then threw you through the air to Floyd. 

And so the cycle continued, you happily being thrown in the air while the hero team eventually slowed down, exhausted. Not ones' to lose, they congregated into a circle on the shore to discuss plans, while you stayed fixed in Floyd's arms. Jade and Azul soon joining you as you all watched the hero team plan. 

"I wonder how they'll approach us this time." Jade simpered with an everpresent smile.

Azul scoffed. "This is such a stupid game. How on earth are they going to win?"

Unfortunately for them, Azul just jinxed the 'villain' team. Malleus, Lilia and Silver, returning from a beach combing exploration, went over to the hero team. Kalim waved his hands around and suddenly, it seemed that the Diasomnia boys joined the hero team. Their discussion continued with even more fervor, a dark shadow appearing over their group as they started to scheme.

"Wow. You really just screwed yourself over, Azul." You deadpanned, unbothered by any of this. 

Floyd hugged you closer to him in glee. "Now it's gonna be super fun! Too bad none of them will steal you from me..."

A dark chuckle. "No. They won't win against us, right Azul?"

His glasses flashed. "I think it's time to think of a different plan."

You laughed as Floyd darted through the waves, waving at Malleus, Silver and Lilia who were closing in on you. Sadly for them, Floyd picked up even more speed. Beads of water flew through the air as the waves splashed into the Diasomnia group. Meanwhile, Jade tried to shake off a persistent group of Heartslabyul boys, Azul facing the same problem with Kalim and Jamil. 

"Return (Y/N) to us, mortal, and your punishment will be lessened." Malleus glared, picking up speed.

"There's no way for you to win, Floyd, so just give up." Lilia added with a chuckle. 

Silver stayed silent, a dark look on his face as he swam even faster, nearly managing to grab you off of Floyd. Floyd laughed in amusement and quickly changed directions. Jade and Azul started swimming towards the center of the ocean alongside you and Floyd. Though you were, of course, a limp spectator in this competition. Still, it was fun to move so quickly through the water, you giggled as Floyd started to go even faster.

The three of them met in the middle, the others not far behind. Azul scowled as Jade grabbed you from Floyd, manhandling you into his arms.

"Ready?" Azul asked, "They're closing in."

True to his statement, the group of 'heroes' were quickly getting closer. Riddle looked triumphant, while Trey and Cater's eyes shone with determination to 'save' you.

I guess it's time for my plan to come into action, too. 

There was no way you were playing damsel in distress. No matter how fun it was to go fast and be thrown around, this objectification was too much to bear. Thank god for Idia, who had seen your rapid signing and silently gathered Ruggie and Rook to the shore. You smiled to yourself. This rescue plan was going to work.

"Hand (Y/N) over, criminals! We're here to save her, there's no escape!" Malleus boomed with a smirk. 

"Isn't there?" Jade smiled in reply, "It seems you weren't paying enough attention."

In that quick amount of time, Azul and Floyd had tied up their legs in the seaweed from the ocean floor. They struggled, shocked. 

And now it was your time to shine. 

"Yeah. There's no need for you heroes!" You smiled, a steely look in your eyes. "I can save myself just fine, thanks."

In one quick motion, you grabbed Jade's arms, throwing him over your shoulder by using his body weight. The eel barreled into Floyd and Azul, knocking them out. Whip-quick, you swam off, darting through the waves with a laugh as you approached the shore. 

A look over your shoulder, the boys were catching up. Floyd, Jade and Azul were closest, but the others were pulling on them to slow them down. It soon turned into an all-out war as they fought to get near to you, either to 'save' or 'capture' you. Too bad.

With a smile and a wave, you ran onto the shore. Idia and Ruggie grinned and guarded you as you approached the win-point. You hit the tree with your hand and beamed. 

"I win!" You said in a sing-song tone. 

The boys were stunned.

Trey laughed first. "Yeah, you did! Well done."

The others joined in, heaping you with praise as your heart fluttered in joy. Butterflies in your stomach as you all started to chat about your plan and your win. Ruggie ruffled your hair while Idia gave you a smile in support. 

It was a fun day.

[1] Chinese hell is cold, dark and damp. Basically the opposite to traditional perception of Christian hell. And there are multiple hells! Lovely ^^ [2] Generally, Chinese eating tendencies is that the best and most food goes to children, then the elderly, then the adults. Portion sizes also tend to be quite small for adults/teens, at least compared to US portion sizes. MC is exaggerating when calling the boys younger tho... it's the innate mom instinct lmao [3] Queen of Swans... get it.... cuz MC's so graceful but can also be very fierce? Also cuz swans = romance and Rook is definitely noticing the reverse harem shenangians

Just a fun fact, kids/babies get so happy from being thrown because it helps strengthen their bodies against gravity. It also strengthens a kid's sense of balance and motion. I wonder why MC likes it now uwu

and here is the third part of the beach ep. if you'd like to read the rest of the fic, you can read it on ao3 here, and on quotev here.

[the-himawari-otome]

[Piofiore: Episodio 1926] Character Drama CD Vol. 3 Orlok Translation

Track 3: Heute ist die beste Zei.

Summary: Orlok realizes what this growing feeling inside of him means...

Translated by ear so it might not be 100% accurate.

･ﾟ･:,｡★ translation under the cut ★,｡･:･ﾟ

*sfx: door closes*

“Meow”

—Ah. I’m home. So you were awake. I’ll get his food ready. You keep Notte company, alright?

*sfx: walks over*

“Meow, meow”

Here. From today on, this will be your plate. The two of us chose it together.

*sfx: places plate down*

“Meow”

Mm, it looks like he likes it for now. Is the food good?

“Meow, meow, meow”

Hm? Ah, are you saying you want to share your food with us?

“Meow”

Um, Notte. I’m happy, but she and I already ate so don’t worry. Eat up, okay? I also bought some toys, so let’s all play together later.

Hm? What’s wrong?

Eh? Ahh, I guess you’re right. It feels like he’s gotten bigger than when he first arrived. Kittens sure grow fast. I feel like his fur became a bit nicer too. It’s pitch black and beautiful. Plus, I think he’s gotten cuter since the beginning.

Hm? Why are you smiling? I’m a doting parent? Ngh, I don’t think so though…

“Meow… meow”

Ah, Notte climbed on your lap again. He’s been doing that a lot lately, huh? I suppose he likes it?

“Meow”

It looks like he feels good getting pet. It’s a bit unfair. I mean, I…

Eh? Ah—no, you don’t have to pat my head. Ah, it’s not that I don’t want you to… it’s just, I’ll get more and more spoiled…

Ngh, well… just a little then…

Mm, that feels nice. I really love your hands.

It’s because you held my hands—it’s because you didn’t shake off my hands—that I’m here right now. You have no idea how many times these hands which are smaller than mine have saved me.

Ehe, thank you. I’ve had my fill. Now if only Notte would get off your lap, it would be perfect—.

“Meow”

*sfx: licks*

Ah—t-t-that’s not allowed! Ngh…

“Meow”

Notte, no licking her mouth.

“Meow”

Nope, no can do. After all, she’s my girlfriend. I’m the only one allowed to do those things—err, n-no. You should mind too. The mouth isn’t okay, even if it’s Notte. I don’t care if it’s childish. I want to do these things properly.

I-I’m not pouting.

“Meow”

Hm, Notte? *Sigh* he looks kind of sleepy. Even though we were discussing something important. Geez.

“Meow”

Ngh, I got it. I’ll take you to your bed, okay?

*sfx: walks away and comes back*

*Sigh*. Notte’s not fair. I’m always putting in tons of effort to hold back.

Ah, what I’m holding back on is probably different than what you’re thinking.

Huh? Well, that’s… at first, I was just happy holding your hand. My chest felt warm and fuzzy. I thought, ah, I want to protect this person—no, I will protect them. I was satisfied just being able to be by your side. That alone was enough. Even so, when I kissed you for the first time, my chest became all hot. My feelings of love for you grew more and more. I wonder when it started… the feeling that simply kissing you wasn’t enough grew larger. What should I do? What do I want to do? I wasn’t sure.

Before we came to England, back when I was working in Lienz, the shopkeeper did a lot to help us out, right? At that time, I had the opportunity to ask about a-a lot of things. And so… I feel like I came to understand what these feelings of mine meant.

—But how you feel is even more important, so…! I… don’t know how to put this. Up until now, there have been times where I kissed you whenever I wanted, wasn’t there? Even if it troubled you, you didn’t stop me. Because of that, I thought that you would definitely spoil me and forgive me, and I was sure that you… also felt good when you kissed me… since you loved me. So what I want to do now… is… w-what comes after that. If you don’t want to, then we won’t.

*sfx: hugs*

Ah, h-huh? You surprised me by hugging me so suddenly. You’re kind of like Notte.

Ehe, how cute.

Hey, when you’re hugging me like this, I don’t feel as nervous as I did before. However… now, my heart races much more than before.

I want to treasure you. I love you the most in the entire world. That’s why…

That’s why…

*sfx: kiss*

Let’s… do… what comes after kissing.

---

[DO NOT USE OR REPOST MY WORK W/O PERMISSION, THANK YOU]

[giggly-squiggily]

I've been thinking abt this for head cannons to drabbles

Mikey and Draken right righttt. I totally think Mikey is a food thief and steals when no one is looking and Draken totally gets him for it. Most likely cause he's always a victim from it!

(Headcanons to Dabbles: OFFICIALLY CLOSED)

((Mini author's note: I won't be posting dabbles this Saturday due to being out of town! Dabbles will resume Sunday!)

AHH THIS IS GOLD! I love Draken and Mikey so much! And the whole food thief thing is so canon? I think it actually legit is given Mikey ate his dessert in that one flashback episode? Anyway- this is adoarable and I love it very much! I've gotcha covered, anon!

CW: Sick mention (Nothing graphic- but figured I'd throw that in there)

Draken sat down with two pop tarts.

When he turned back from talking to Baji, there was one.

“MIKEY!” He roared, glaring at the smaller blonde. “You don’t mess with a man’s pop tart! Especially not the strawberry kind!”

“W-What?” Mikey tried for innocence, but his cheeks were puffed, and there were crumbs all over his face. “I didn’t take it!”

Draken raised a brow. Mikey swallowed the last bite of his snack, having the humility to at least look sheepish.

“Well…maybe I took a bite or two..”

“You son of a- come here!” Draken grabbed him by the collar, pulling him forward. Any other person would think they were about to get into a proper brawl, but Toman’s members knew what was up.

“Whoa-Whahahha! Aheahhahahhahah! K-Kehehehehenny, sthahahahhap!” The smaller of the two practically shrieked as his ribs were attacked, Draken merciless in his delivery. “Cohohohome ohohohon, I’m gohohoohnna be sihihihihick!”

“I highly doubt that. Oi- watch those hands, Baji!” He didn’t look up from tickling the other to know his next move. “Touch it and you’re next.”

“Damn.” Baji laughed as he pulled back, leaving the remaining pop-tart be.

“Nohohoho, Bahahhhaji! Taahhahake it! Thahhahke the pohohohoptart and ruhuuhhuuhn!” Mikey cried, reaching out helplessly towards it. “Sahhahave me-EEHEHEHHEEH!”

“Save you from what? Yourself?” Draken snickered as he wiggled a few fingers into Mikey’s armpits, making him cackle and shrink back into himself. “These are the consequences of your actions. Deal with it.”

“Aheahahhahaha! Wahhahait, wahhhait whahhait whahhait tihiihme ohohout! Deahahhhadass I feeheheheel sihihiick!” Draken immediately stopped at their safeword, helping Mikey back in his seat as he doubled over, groaning. “Ehehehehe..heheheheeh..ohoohow, my behehelly..”

“Karma’s a bitch.” Draken chided, though he gently rubbed the other’s back as Mikey took slow giggly breaths. “But I suppose you have learned your lesson. Now you know not to take my p-” He turned back to find the wrapper empty. “Poptart…”

Silence. Draken looked towards the guys, eyes locking onto Mitsuya and the poptart in hand.

“Eh…a fly landed on it?” The tailor offered, eyes widening as Draken stood. “No- No Draken I’m sorry! I’ll buy you another one!” He gave the rest of the treat to Baji before running for the hills, Draken hot on his trail. Seconds later, laughter could be heard all over again.

Lesson learned; best not mess with Draken’s food, else you will suffer greatly.

[the-barricade]

magazine matchups

vil x reader

you and vil were supposed to just be colleagues, but as your work kept pushing you closer and closer together, you couldn’t help but fall for one another.

a/n: this is another repost of a previously deleted fic I posted. also can’t believe i ever deleted this, this is like the funniest thing I’ve ever written (imho)

—————————————

His absence was something you barely noticed, just as his presence. You weren’t oblivious to it, however. It started out as a coincidence, the two of you ended up modelling for a few projects together, which had the internet going wild. Soon enough, it turned into free advertising, and your managers were intentionally pulling the strings so that you’d be working together. If anything, the nonsensical rumours that came out of it were kind of annoying - other than that, you had no strong opinion about working with him, or his personality.

He wasn’t exactly a constant in your life either, that’s why you almost didn’t notice his unannounced break from the public eye. You remembered him after seeing a now slightly old article about the SDC, ah that’s right, he’d taken a break from almost all of his work to focus on the competition, which had ended a couple of months ago. Despite this, you can’t recall him coming back to the limelight since.

Might as well check his magicam page, you thought. He still posted there, would it be weird to follow him out of nowhere? Eh, who cares- you did it anyways, and then went to bed.

As always, it felt like the sun rose far too early to wake you from your slumber. Your alarm hasn’t gone off yet, or you hoped it hadn’t at least. You checked the time, and you were fine, you didn’t oversleep.

In the meantime you should probably check the texts you got from Neige, your certified best friend who doesn’t usually text you at six in the morning.

“Hey, Y/N! You’re trending on magicam, so is you and Vil’s ship-name, did you know?”

Um, what? That was… strange? Honestly, you really wanted to see what was going on, but you’d be late for school if you let social media get a grip on you right now.

Break time. It felt pretty exciting to hear the bell ring this time around, since you’d been itching to find out what had you on the trending page, it’s not like you did anything either spectacular or offensive recently.

Damn, Neige really wasn’t lying, then again, you couldn’t recall any time he ever has. Your expression died down comically quick, as you kept scrolling through the tagged posts. Your fans were literally insane sometimes, to the point were maybe following someone new on your public account was a bit of a mistake. Basically all of your conjoined fandom was trying to theorise over Vil being added to the list of people you follow, which was otherwise only Neige and your manager. Really, it was a slight disappointment, but it was also kind of funny, at least the internet didn’t decide it was time for a dose of unjust cancel culture just yet.

A few days later, after school had let up, you went to hang out with Neige in town. It was a tradition between you two, a way to keep in contact despite your busy schedules. The two of you often cycled round different attractions or areas in the city, sometimes just opting to walk around and talk. This time, you were headed to the local museum. It was interesting to read about all the history loaded behind what seemed like a simple piece of pottery, or learn about how certain things were used to supplement both the lack of technology and magic of the older world.

It was mostly things you’d seen here before though, but you’d never paid much mind to the modern art section, you realised after thinking about it. “Hey Neige, should we go look over there? Who knows, they might have your portrait framed or something.”

Your joke was received with a light laugh and, “Sure, let’s go take a look!”

This section of the museum felt a lot smaller, but there were even less people willing to marvel at the paintings that adorned the walls. Coincidentally, the one other person that was there happened to be someone both you and Neige recognised. You wondered if he visited the place a lot, people don’t tend to look so blank whilst visiting a museum by themselves.

Neige turned to you, excited to ask if it’d to be alright to approach him. That’s right, you’d somewhat forgotten that those two knew each-other. “Yeah sure, I don’t mind.” As soon as the sound of his name filled the room, his head turned, and his expression looked mildly annoyed. Did he look like that before? God, you’d have to hope the two of you weren’t upsetting him. Your friend however, didn’t appear to notice anything out of the ordinary as he continued to make small talk.

Gradually, said small talk came to close, and Neige had invited him to spend more time with the two of you, though Vil politely declined. He was rather curt, but he didn’t seem like a bad person, if anything your opinion hadn’t changed since you first worked with him.

Before waving goodbye, you rushed to scribble your phone number down on a crumpled piece of paper to give to him. Momentarily, you pondered wether that was a good decision to make, as he almost stayed silent, but soon put on a smile and thanked you. It was an awkward first meet.

Vil turned away after the two of you had left, it was due time to head back to his dorm, despite his visit to the museum serving a different purpose than intended. For Vil, he had hoped to come about some inspiration in preparation for returning to his work but meeting Neige was a frustration in its own right, considering how a large part of his break was dedicated to self improvement after realising his envy was severely holding him back.

Regardless of his efforts, it was disappointing to see Neige thrive under the same conditions as him and yet thwart all the hardships that Vil faced. Whilst his perfection was his pride it robbed him of approachability.

You however, offered him your number despite how out-of-reach he often is to people through your slight uncomfortableness. He thought it was folly of you, but it was a rare boldness that wasn’t unbeffiting of you - having only experienced similar things from Rook, who sometimes took it to an extreme.

Maybe it came from you also being in the industry, but he found himself thinking fondly of it. When Vil arrived at pomefiore once again, he decided to follow you back on magicam, not unaware of you doing so a few days back, although he made no effort to add your contact to his phone. You were still asleep by morning, enjoying the extra time the weekend was granting you. When you did wake up, you checked your phone, a part of your usual morning routine. ‘Oh, he doesn’t hate me’ was what came to mind after seeing that Vil had followed you back.

Not having any plans today you thought to message him on the app, curious as to wether he’d reply. “Hey, how are you doing? Hope we didn’t bother you yesterday.”

After sending that short message you looked through your feed for a bit. Reasonably soon you got an awfully formal response back. Apparently he didn’t mind your presence the other day, which was nice to know. Now however, you were in a position of not knowing wether or not to continue the conversation or what to say. Reaching out to someone over something so minuscule without making an attempt at getting closer with them proved kind of useless, so the two of you briefly discussed your musings about school and work before cutting the conversation.

That was the last time either of you had talked to one another until the two of you inevitably crossed paths again, outside of the internet. This time, the two of you met at a more understandable place, a model’s holy grail, the skincare section.

Another thing to note was that this time, he was not unaccompanied, unlike you. His purple-haired friend was actually who drew your attention away from the ingredient list on the bottle you were looking at. Being a bit louder than intended, he was complaining about this excursion being a waste of time and effort. When you did turn around, you saw Vil glaring daggers into the poor boys soul. Maybe they weren’t friends as you’d initially thought?

Ignoring it would’ve been your best bet but as you heard Vil sigh and mutter something along the lines of ‘I thought we were past this’ you realised he was dragging himself and his possible-friend in your direction. The two of them started looking at the labels of product after product, after Vil had scanned the shelf for a short while. Vil looked quite nonchalant while doing so, but his friend seemed awfully confused when absentmindedly staring at the product. Considering you knew one of them, you thought it might be good to offer up some advice, and recommend a couple brands.

Vil was actually quite thankful for your help, due to him only using products that he’s created himself, he was only aware of what was currently popular rather than beneficial. And this wouldn’t have been the best way to teach Epel how to pick out certain products without any good examples. He thanked you, and invited you to hang out over coffee some time as a thank you.

It was perhaps a little overboard, but neither of you really minded, considering how it was starting to seem that you could become decent friends. And that was how you ended up here, finally settled in to a popular cafe, that at first proved to be a bit of a poor choice, specifically due to its popularity.

When the two of you met up, the people already around the place started to form a crowd around you. It was reasonable, after all people don’t see celebrities everyday, and whilst you were used to it, it could prove to be rather bothersome. Of course, both of you handled the situation well, but there was something so enchanting about how graceful he was with each and every person who approached him, and how he was able to express his appreciation all the while making sure his air of perfectionism never slipped.

When you eventually got a moment of quiet together, you made sure to learn a lot about each other. He wouldn’t say it out-right, but you could surmise that the purple-haired boy from before and a huntsman named Rook were his set of friends. It sounded like an interesting group, but cute nonetheless. You also figured out that a lot of his personal life revolves around his work, or maybe it would be better to say that they happened to coincide.Despite that, he still seemed less daunting now that you’d got to know him a little.

Naturally, you two hung out a lot more after that, and it was fun as you got more comfortable. You even got to do things like convincing him to pose for you to draw him because, “come one, it’ll be extra practice!” He didn’t look amused at all, but he still let you.

Sketching Vil was enjoyable, but he wouldn’t let you notice how he got increasingly anxious as time passed. Vil normally had no reason to feel anxious around anyone, he usually felt confident in himself, but the issue was that his confidence was surprisingly conditional.

It was strange though, the only person to ever make him feel insecure before was Neige, yet you didn’t make him feel threatened. He could only come to one conclusion as to why he was becoming increasingly sensitive to your opinion on him, and being as self aware as he is, the answer didn’t come as a shock to him. But acknowledging that he was in love was a scary revelation to make.

As you finished up your drawings and showed them to him whilst raving about how pretty he was, he calmed down. His appearance was the main factor in his confidence, and reminding himself that he would always have power in that regard soothed his anxiousness, but what really relieved him this time around was the fact that you weren’t judging him.

The next time you were on-set participating in a photo-shoot together, you’d known beforehand. You were both affiliated with the same company, and had managed to put two and two together when discussing your work schedule.

Things felt a lot more light-hearted than all of the other times you’d worked together. Seeing him there as you’d entered the room put a smile on your face.

As you’d taken your last shot together, and everything was getting cleared up, you went to take your arm of Vil’s shoulder, but as you were doing so, he grabbed your hand. You could feel him tense up, and the walls started to feel slightly closer than before. “What’s wrong?” You couldn’t help but be worried. You saw him take a second to compose himself, before he leaned closer to you and whispered a short confession in your ear, “I’ve happened to find myself loving you… Would you be mine?”

That was… unexpected.

But when you said yes, Vil found himself experiencing a joy he hadn’t felt in a long time, and enveloped you in a gentle, heartfelt hug. The two of you stayed there for quite some time, ignoring everyone else around you because they didn’t matter.

[noficbyhalves]

Have some "Kadar is thoroughly Done with these two even from beyond the grave":

"Hey! Altair!" called a familiar voice.

He froze, turned. Leaning out of a traincar door was Kadar, waving furiously at him. He was smaller than Altair remembered, but somehow whole and hale. The only way that could be real was if- if he-

Fuck.

"I'm dead, aren't I," were the first words out of his mouth as he walked closer.

"Hello to you too, I've been lovely thanks," Kadar said dryly. The mannerism was achingly familiar, but when Altair tried to remember from what his head only pounded.

"Hi Kadar," he sighed. "Am I dead?"

"Eh, kind of?" Kadar made a so-so gesture. "You're about halfway there. Something about blood ties making curses rebound? Don't ask me, I'm just the messenger."

He had heard all this before, it was on the tip of his tongue. He died because of his grandfather, because of the war, but Altair knew there was something else, something so very important. Why couldn't he remember? Why did the inside of his skull feel so battered? "You're the messenger of... death?"

Kadar laughed. "Not for everyone, silly. It's more of a 'the universe shows you someone you trust to guide you' kind of situation."

And the universe had decided the best guide Altair could hope for was a scrawny fourteen-year-old. It would be funny if it wasn't so sad.

[...]

"You've got two options. You could go back to life and all its complicated bits," Kadar gestured vaguely at the nebulousness behind him on the platform. "Or, you can get on the train and just... let go."

"Give up?"

Kadar's expression was terribly sad. "No one's going to judge you if you want some peace, Altair. You've done plenty, if that's what you're worried about."

Altair couldn't meet his eyes. When put like that, it made perfect sense... and yet. He started walking towards the train. Maybe peace wouldn't be so bad. Kadar was here, he could see Rauf again, he could meet his parents...

Then why was his heart hammering in his chest? Why did he feel sick looking at the train?

Kadar was holding out his hand. Altair lifted his left hand to reach him, glanced down at his fingers.

...his... four fingers.

He had four fingers on that hand, because...

The pain in his head reached a fever pitch. His vision was swimming.

Because of his grandfather, because of the brand on his arm, because because because-

This is perfectly safe and I'm a fucking genius.

Altair sucked in a gasp (had he breathed at all since he opened his eyes?) and jerked his hand back. There was a phantom sensation of a hand on his jaw (only the one), a voice echoing in his ears (wake up you have to Altair please). Kadar smiled, and for once it looked real.

"I can't," Altair croaked.

"I figured. You two sort your shit out yet?"

Altair had no idea how to answer that, even if he could get enough air in his lungs. He stumbled backward, away from the train.

Kadar sighed. "Nevermind. Don't suppose you can pass a message along?"

"Will I remember this... after?"

"Your guess is as good as mine. It's usually more of a one-way situation."

Right. But Altair's wasn't because of blood magic or something. The rules of magic really were bullshit. If he remembered this enough to share, Malik would have a conniption. Altair nodded, "I'll try."

"Tell him I love him, and it's not his fault either."

Altair gaped. "How-"

"I've known him my whole life, and I'm not an idiot?"

The laugh bubbling out of his throat was edging on hysterical. "I- yeah, yeah okay." He turned away, towards the unnerving blankness on the other side of the platform. "How do I-?"

When he glanced over his shoulder, Kadar gave him the world's most exaggerated shrug. Truly unhelpful.

Nothing for it but to do it. Altair shut his eyes and walked into the fog.

[shelbgrey]

The luck of a dog(Linus Caldwell)

Paring: Linus Caldwell x Ryan!Reader

Summary: Linus and the reader find and lost puppy. Linus names him Lucky not realizing how lucky the dog actually is to have around.

Request: @jolovesfandomes

MasterList ML2

We were yet on another case, Danny gave us the lowdown and his ‘sold’ plan just like he did when we robbed the Bellagio casino. After me and my brother Rusty met up with Linus and Danny we split up to get a few things. Lunis was supposed to go with me and steal some documents for the heist. Linus was a total sweetheart and the complete opposite of most of the guys on our team, but damn he gets distracted easily. I looked down for one second and he’s gone.

I caught him getting distracted by a stray puppy. I head to admit, it was kinda cute to watch it all go down. Linus was across the street, knelt down on one knee in front of this blond Dachshund puppy. The puppy put his front paws on the knee that was on the ground and craned his neck up to sniff Linus’ hand. I smiled at how gentle and loving Linus was to this puppy he just met.

I chuckled from afar, approaching him. God knows he'll get in trouble if either Danny or Rusty finds out he got distracted so easily

“You get distracted so easily” I said kindly and knelt down next to him and petted the puppy too. He was a very unique looking puppy, probably a mutt. He had those big black dachshund eyes and body, but had the same shade of fur as a golden retriever. I've only seen these types of mixes in fancy pet stores and dog shows on tv. He must have ran away, but he didn’t have a collar and looked like he hadn’t eaten in a while. It broke my heart to think about him possibly being abandoned.

Linus looked up at me with those big blue eyes, they almost held just as much innocents as the puppy’s eyes did. It was unusual in a good way that his personality was so different. He was just gentle and kind unlike my sarcastic brother and Danny with his twisted and sometimes misunderstood humor. Linus laughed before looking down at the puppy again. He flashes me a smile as he looks back up at me.

“I know, I know... But who can blame me?” Linus gestures to the puppy as if it were obvious why he was distracted in the first place. Linus gently scooped the puppy up in his arms and held him to his chest protectively.

“You're adorable, you know that?” I smiled softly, not confirming if I was talking about him or the puppy. I gently rubbed the puppy behind the ear as Linus held him. The puppy sniffed my hand, letting me love on him.

Linus raised an eyebrow in confusion, turning pink as he looked up at me. It was rare for me to make a guy blush, I was just as shy as he was at times. But I guess I just felt comfortable with him and the team, I guess I'm what they call an ambivert.

Linus looked between me and the puppy, bushing “Me? Or…” He nods over to the puppy, clearly not certain that I meant him or the puppy.

“Wouldn't you like to know…” I looked up at him with a smirk, but it was very affectionate. I stroked the puppy behind the ear. The puppy was small, but he looked even smaller when Linus held him.

“Hah” Linus let out a bit of a scoff at my answer. He rolled his eyes, a small smile forming at the corners of his lips. “That's not fair, ya know?” He said with a chuckle and looked back down at the puppy, gently stroking his fur.

“Eh, you're smart…you’ll figure out who i'm talking about soon enough” I shrugged playfully and let the puppy lick my hand.

Linus laughed gently, rolling his eyes as he tried to mask the red tint in his face and the pounding in his chest. He continued gently stroking the puppy's soft fur, but looked down at his watch. He quickly glances back down at the puppy again and lets out a dejected sigh. “I guess we should get back?” He said, though he seemed as if he didn't want to go back immediately.

“We should take him with us…” I looked up at him with puppy eyes, begging him to go along with my plan. “we can't just leave him out here alone”

Linus raised an eyebrow at me before looking down at the puppy again. He couldn't help but let out a small amused snort. “You realize that you're giving me the same puppy eyes look that this puppy is, right?”

I smiled up at him. “You do the same thing to me all the time”

“Touche” Linus let out a bit of an amused scoff. He turns his attention back to the puppy, gently stroking him before letting out a fake defeated sigh. “Fine then, we'll take him with us. But we may have to hide him from Rusty and Danny if we have to”

I chuckled softly at the mention of Danny and my brother. “They'll be fine” especially if i'm behind it. Have both Rusty and Danny wrapped around my finger. Rusty refuses to yell at me because doesn't want to be like our dad and Danny knows he'll get hit by Rusty or Tess if he’s mean to me. Usually if they have an attitude I don't like I'll pull a prank or refuse to hack into anything for a heist.

“Will they?” It was mostly a rhetorical question, but Linus' tone was a tad serious. He held the puppy close to his chest, as if he was protecting it. He looked down at the puppy smiling, but looked concerned. “...We're going to need to feed him too. He looks skinny.”

“If Rusty didn't already eat it all there should be some leftover fried chicken in the fridge” I said petting the puppy. I smiled, thinking about what Danny and Rusty would say. “and who could say no to this face... Danny's too much of a softly deep down to tell us to get rid of him”

Linus let out a soft sigh, knowing that I was correct. He gently held the puppy closer to his chest and gently scratched behind the puppy's ear. He let out a small chuckle. We both knew the puppy really was cute..

“Damn it…” Linus muttered under his breath, though he didn't seem angry. He looked down at the puppy with a small, warm smile. The puppy looked up at him and craned his neck up, he sniffed Linus' face and licked his chin.

I smiled, stroking the golden fur on the puppy’s back. “Good boy,” I said softly.

Linus chuckled as the puppy licked his chin, closing his eyes in amusement. “Hey there, boy” He said gently in a playful, tender tone. He gently scratched and patted the puppy on the head and underneath his chin, to which the puppy gently barked and wagged his tail happily.

“Please... Who knows how long he's been wandering the streets” I said softly.

Linus was still occupied by the puppy, scratching behind his ears and patting him on his head. He was quiet for several moments before letting out a small chuckle and a sigh. “I suppose you're right…”

My smile widened and I looked up at him, Linus gave back a small amused grin. “Guess this is our puppy now, huh?”

It made my heart flutter when he said 'our puppy.' I've loved him for so long, I just didn't know how to tell him and didn't want to mess up our strong friendship. Owing something this important and innocent together was the best feeling I had in a long time. I could only dream that he felt the same way. “I guess so…” Is all I said.

I didn’t know Linus has had feelings for me for quite some time. However, I was worried about messing up the strong friendship we built since the day we met. He continued to gently pat and scratch behind the puppy's ears, who was clearly loving the attention. “Do you mind if I name him...? I thought of one that actually suits him?”

“What did you have in mind?”

“How do you feel about calling him Lucky?” Linus said in response, smiling softly at the puppy. It was quite the fitting name after all... Lucky was a true miracle to be born like the way he was. A rare, unique puppy. Linus truly believes that the puppy is a miracle in itself, and wanted to remind the dog of it by naming him Lucky.

“Lucky is a cute name” I smiled and stroked his golden fur. “well... It’s lucky we found him”

“Yeah.” Linus agreed. He watched as I pet the puppy, though I felt his gaze focused on me instead of the puppy. He smiled warmly as he watched me with those beautiful blue eyes, his eyes filled with admiration as he watched my tender touches with Lucky.

I smiled at the puppy as he craned his neck towards me and licked my cheek. I laughed softly. Moving closer to the puppy as Linus held him. I petted his head with one hand and stroked his chin with the other.

The puppy was clearly loving all the attention from both of us, his tail wagging happily and his tongue was out slightly. Linus continued to watch me and Lucky closely, his heart beating rapidly in his chest. I couldn't help but find it adorable to see Linus so focused on the puppy, holding him so protectively. I had to resist the urge to move myself closer and gently press my lips against his. “Let's get him to the hotel…”

“Yeah... The others are probably starting to get worried.” Linus gently held the puppy close to his chest as he nodded in agreement. He didn't let go of Lucky as he looked back up at me with a small smile, before gesturing for me to come along. “Onwards

~~~~~~~~(.......)~~~~~~~~

We took him to the hotel room then set him down. He sniffed around a bit, getting used to the place. His tail was wagging and his nose led him right to Rusty. He looked down from where he was sitting at the counter, he looked down surprised. “where did the dog come from?” Rusty asked as the puppy stood on his hind legs, begging for the food Rusty had.

“Uh... We found him in the streets. Left all alone” Linus explained as he looked over at Rusty. He couldn't help but smirk, knowing that the puppy was going to try and steal the food Rusty was currently eating.

Rusty sighed, but not completely against it. “Guys..”

I ignored Rusty as he dragged out the word and stole a chicken strip off Rusty's plate then knelt down in front of Lucky, giving him a piece.

Linus chuckled. It was obvious Rusty was reluctant to let the puppy have any of his food, but he didn't protest for the time being. Linus continued to watch me feed Lucky, a smirk still on his face as the puppy happily wolfed down the chicken piece given to him.

“Come on, he was on the street. What were we supposed to do?” I asked rusty as I filled a bowl of water up for the puppy

Rusty was silent, as he knew I had a point. Even though he was annoyed, he didn't protest or say anything. He let out a deep sigh and looked over at me and Lucky in defeat.

“Fine... He can stay for now, alright?”

Rusty shrugged as he spoke. He looked over at the puppy, his eyes showing that he didn't want to admit it but he was softening to the dog. He took another bite of his food and spoke again. “Look, the dog has to prove himself first. Then I'll make my judgment”

Linus and I both knew Rusty was just trying to save face. But he knew deep down that Rusty already had a soft spot for Lucky. The puppy let out a quick small bark at Rusty.

Rusty looked over at the puppy and couldn't help but let out a small scoff of amusement at the loud bark. He rolled his eyes and took another bite of his food as he muttered. “Smart ass…”

Danny walked into the room a couple of minutes later and raised an eyebrow at the sight of Lucky. “Why's there a dog here?”

“me and Linus found him…”

Danny was silent for several moments as he took in this information. He looked over at Lucky, who was now sitting at your feet. The expression on Danny’s face was clearly a mixture of irritation and disappointment.

“Please tell me you two aren’t keeping the dog…”

“Please, Danny. He was all alone... Someone abandoned him”

Danny lets out a loud sigh in annoyance. He looked over at you and at Lucky, who was looking up at him with wide, pleading eyes. “Damn it. I hate cute things” He muttered to himself under his breath before looking back over at me and Linus. “You better make sure that goddamn dog doesn’t cause any trouble, got it?”

I immediately hugged Danny. “Thank you!”

“Yeah, yeah” Danny said, playfully rolling his eyes. “You guys are such children sometimes”

Linus chuckled as he watched Danny roll his eyes at the hug. Linus knew Danny would soften up eventually and end up approving of having the puppy with them in the hotel room. He crossed his arms and smirked. “Yeah, yeah. We’re such children. But you secretly love us really”

“Yeah, we're a joy to be around” I added.

Danny rolled his eyes in annoyance again, though it was clear from the affectionate tone in his voice that he was only teasing me and Linus. “Yeah… More like, a right pain in the ass…”

Lucky walked right up to Danny and sat at his feet. The puppy looked up at him and let out a small yelp, pawing at his pant leg gently. Danny raised an eyebrow in annoyance as Lucky sat at his feet. However, when the puppy let out a small yelp, it softened his irritation just a bit. But he refused to show it immediately as he looked down at the puppy and scoffed. “What do you want, mutt?”

Lucky tilted his head and wagged his tail. Danny continued to look down at Lucky, but his expression softened when the puppy tilted his head and wagged his tail in response. He tried his absolute hardest to hide the fact that he was softening to Lucky, but ultimately failed miserably. He let out a small grumble under his breath. “Stop looking at me like that, will ya?”

“aw, he likes you” I smirked.

Danny sighed, but the expression on his face quickly softened. He couldn’t help but give into the puppy’s cuteness, and secretly admitted to himself that the puppy was adorable as it sat there wagging its tail. “Ugh…. Cute bastard” Danny sighed, making me laugh.

Danny gave me an annoyed look again, clearly not happy to have had his secret admission of how adorable he found the puppy. Even Rusty chuckled at that

“Shut up… You two are even worse than the mutt” he told me and Linus.

“He does have a name ya know... You don't have to keep calling him mutt”

Danny looked back down at Lucky and raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, yeah… So what’s the mutt’s name then?”

“Lucky” me and Linus responded at the same time.

Danny looked at Lucky for several moments before raising an eyebrow at me and Linus. “Lucky, huh?” He smirked, clearly secretly finding it a bit ironic that we’d give the dog that particular name. “How cliché…”

“Fuck you” I said in a fake offended tone.

“Hey, don’t hate me cause it’s true” Danny shot me and Linus a smirk as he said that, to which Rusty snickered from where he was sitting.

I rolled my eyes. Danny chuckled, clearly amused. He continued to look down at Lucky, before crossing his arms. “Hey, Mutt. Gimme your paw”

Lucky held his paw out for him. Danny was a bit surprised but impressed when Lucky held his paw out for him, as if it was asking for him to shake it’s paw. He raised an eyebrow, but the smirk never left his face. He knelt down and held onto Lucky’s paw with the tips of his fingers and gently shook it. “Huh… Smart little bastard”

I smiled and playfully nudged Linus, looking smug that we had a smart pup. Linus chuckled, smiling back as he playfully nudged me back. I looked at him and couldn't control the slight blush that dusted my cheeks. My heart fluttered at the reminder that Lucky was our puppy. I just wished I had the courage to tell him how I felt, that his friendship meant everything to me, but I loved him more than just that. We may have Been lucky to have found... Lucky, but there hasn't been a day that's gone buy that I didn't feel lucky to have Linus in my life.

I cleared my throat, trying to distract from my flustered expression. “Okay, but Lucky is sleeping with me tonight” I said, picking up the weiner dog mix and holding him to my chest.

“Lucky gets to sleep with you on the first night with us? Damn… Seems a little unfair, don’t ya think?”

“It's very fair” I smirked as Lucky licked my face. But I would be lying if I said I didn't think about the three of us all cuddling together and safe in bed. Lucky curled up between us and Linus' arm around me as we slept. I cuddled my face into Lucky's back as I held him so I could hide the blush those thoughts brought.

“Lucky's a really Lucky dog, huh?” Linus spoke in a joking tone, making me chuckle softly.

Before he could control the impulse, he spoke almost subconsciously. “God, you're so beautiful, you know that?”

My heart skipped a beat, I looked up at him with wide eyes as my cheeks turned red, I quickly played it off, afraid this could go bad. “M-me or... The pup?”

Linus’ lips twitched in amusement as I tried to play off his compliment. He had a small smirk on his face as he chuckled. “Oh, absolutely the pup….” He said sarcastically, his tone clearly teasing. But he quickly spoke again with a more serious, yet still slightly teasing tone.“You know damn well I’m talking about you”

“T-thank you... Y-you too” I mentally cursed myself, that was such an embarrassing response. I couldn't understand how I could have these loving or sometimes dirty thoughts about me and him and when there's a sliver of hope I chicken out. I held Lucky closer and hid my embarrassment in the golden fur of his back.

“Yeah… Your welcome” he mumbled almost awkwardly.

“So... Umm” I looked up shyly to change the subject. “tomorrow... Do you wanna go to the pet store together and get Lucky a collar and some other supplies?”

A faint smile appeared on Linus’ face as I asked him, secretly grateful we changed the subject. He chuckled softly and nodded. “That sounds like a great plan. We can go to the pet store tomorrow and get Lucky his supplies”

He paused for a moment, secretly wondering whether or not he should use this as a chance to take a risk and subtly confirm if I had any feelings for him… He took a deep breath and quietly added.

“Just the two of us?”

“Well, lucky will be with us,” I joked with a smile.

Linus chuckled at my response. Despite the pang of disappointment you could see running through his body, he smiled back. “You know what I’m trying to ask, you smartass. Just us two without Rusty or Danny tagging along”

“Of course” I chuckled. Me and Linus were paired up to do a lot of stuff when it came to heists anyways, that's how we became such close friends. The more time I spent with him, the harder I fell for him.

“Great! It'll be just the two of us, sounds good”

“Yep” I smiled, my cheeks turning red when my eyes met his blue ones. “So... Umm” I looked down at Lucky in my arms, the puppy let out a yawn then shook his head. “I Should probably get to bed…”

“R-right, yeah… Get some sleep” Linus said as I held Lucky out to him so he could say good night.

Linus smiled as I held Lucky out towards him for him to say goodnight. My heart couldn’t help but flutter when I thought about how the puppy now technically belonged to the both of us. He took Lucky into his arms and chuckled.

“Goodnight, Lucky. Behave, alright?” He jokingly warned Lucky, before passing the puppy back to me.

--------(3rd pov)--------

Y/n’s hotel room was right across the hallway from the one Linus, Danny, and Rusty were staying in. It was about 1 Am, y/n was fast asleep with Lucky curled up beside her. Lucky's ears perked up suddenly when he heard her whimper and shift in bed. Lucky stood up, alerted now when she twitched. Lucky nudged her arm with his cold nose trying to wake her up from the nightmare, she wouldn't open her eyes. Lucky let out a yelp but I didn't work.

Lucky jumped from the bed and ran as fast as his stubby legs could take him. He went to the front door of the hotel room and looked up. The Handel was too high, he sniffed under the door then saw there was a side table next to the door, he jumped up on it then pawed at the door handle. He eventually pushed down, almost falling off the table in the process. Once he was out in the hallway he ran to the hotel room where he tracked Linus' scent. To the puppy's luck, Rusty forgot to close the door. He slipped into the room and went to where Linus was sleeping on the couch. He jumped on to his chest and let out a yelp.

The sudden feeling of something small and soft landing on his chest brought Linus out of his deep sleep. He immediately sprung up, instantly on guard as he wondered what had just landed on him. However, his confusion was quickly replaced with surprise when he saw it was Lucky. He blinked, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness around him.

“Lucky? What the hell…” He muttered under his breath. Despite his surprise and slight annoyance at being woken up in the middle of the night, he still gently petted the puppy’s head.

Lucky barked again and Linus quietly shushed him, not wanting to wake up Rusty and Danny who were sleeping in the room.

“Hey, hey… Keep your voice down, alright Buddy? You’re gonna wake up the others”

Then he immediately realized something. He got a bad feeling in his gut. “Wait a second… How did you even get in here?” He whispered.

Lucky jumped down to the floor and tugged at Linus' pant leg. He watched as Lucky pulled on his pant leg, feeling incredibly confused by the dog's actions. He didn’t understand why Lucky was trying to pull him out of the hotel room. “Hey- What do you want me to follow you or something?” He quietly asked the puppy, before he decided to stop wasting time with questions and get up to follow Lucky instead.

Linus quietly followed Lucky to the door, his mind running a mile a minute as he tried to figure out why Lucky had randomly come to his room and tried to get him out. He looked back at Rusty and Danny, making sure they hadn’t been woken up by all the racket before tip-toeing out of the room and gently closing the door behind him.

“Okay… I’m out. Where are we going?”

Lucky led him to y/n's room and to the bed she was sleeping on. Lucky jumped up on the bed, whimpering as She continued to have a nightmare she couldn't wake up from.

Linus’ eyes widened in panic when they finally entered the room and he saw her tossing and turning in the bed. Seeing y/n have a nightmare was a horrible sight for him, and he immediately crossed the room and knelt beside the bed, his concern growing as Lucky whimpered and nudged her arm.

“Hey, y/n. wake up” He whispered, gently placing a hand on her shoulder, trying to gently shake her awake.

Y/n immediately shot up, her heart racing. Lucky jumped in her lap and licked her chin and nuzzled himself closer. Linus’ heart skipped as he gently held her shoulders as he tried to soothe her, wanting to calm her down and make sure she felt safe again from whatever horrible dream that was. Linus’ eyes never left hers.

“Hey, hey. It’s okay… You’re okay. I’m here” He whispered softly, gently rubbing her upper arm with his thumb in an attempt to comfort, while also subconsciously savoring the feeling of touching her.

Y/n's breathing was heavy and she wrapped her arms around Linus' neck, holding on to him. Lucky jumped off her lap and went to them empty side of the bed so Linus could get closer to her

Linus’ heart was pounding against his chest, his mind went blank for a moment. He had secretly dreamed of her hugging him like this so many times… But he could also feel how scared she was. He could feel her trembling in his arms... So he gently wrapped his arms around her, holding her close.

“Shhh… It’s okay, baby. I’ve got you. You’re okay”

Y/n buried her face into his chest, making his heart flutter. He held her a little tighter, rubbing her back soothingly while resting his chin on the top of her head. He swallowed hard, his heart racing as he gently stroked her hair. He tried to ignore the hammering in his chest and the butterflies he felt in his stomach when he held her like this.

“I thought I lost you” she cried. “Everything went so wrong…” She mumbled, as her nightmare flashed in her mind over and over.

“No, No” Linus felt his heart ache for y/n as he heard her cry. His arms instinctively held her tighter when she cried and he gently shushed her, rocking her slightly in his arms. “No, I’m right here. I’m right here with you, Baby. I’m safe… I promise”

He gently tilted y/n’s head up so he could look at her face. He gently placed his hand on her cheek, gently wiping away the tears as they fell with his thumb.

She nuzzled into his touch, trembling. Linus’ heart ached as he continued to wipe away the tears and saw her tremble in his arms. The need to comfort and protect y/n overwhelmed him, his heart feeling like it was going to burst as he gently kept his hand on her cheek. He carefully shifted closer to her, bringing his other arm around her. He gently pulled her closer, resting her against his chest.

His mind was racing as he held y/n, both trying to distract himself from the intense closeness between her and thinking about what her nightmare could have been about. Just the feel of her in his arms, her body against his, her head resting on his chest as he held her. It had his heart racing and his stomach filled with butterflies.

“I didn't mean to wake you up... I'm sorry” She mumbled.

Linus gently tilted y/n's chin up again so she was looking at him. He gently wiped a tear off her face again, his heart aching as he saw the fear behind her eyes.

“Hey, don’t worry about that. I don’t care about losing out on some sleep. You don’t need to be sorry” He gently cupped her face in both his hands. He felt his breath hitch and his heart race as he stared into her eyes, his thumb gently stroking your jawline. She melted into his touch, feeling nothing but love and safety.

Linus stared back into y/n's eyes, his breath hitching as he looked at her like this. He was mesmerized at the sight of her up close. He loved her eyes, the way they shined and how loving they were, how he could get lost in them for hours and never want to leave. He loved having her this close to him. He gently cupped her face in his hands, leaning in closer until his face was just an inch away from hers. He gently stroked her face with his thumbs.

“Can I ask you something?”

Her breath hitched, she didn't shy away from him and let him get closer. Her heart fluttered at how close they were. “What is it?”

Linus’ heart raced at her soft voice and the fact that she didn’t move away from him. He took that as a good sign, a sign that she was perhaps comfortable with him being this close. He swallowed hard as he looked into her eyes. And then he took a risk, his voice barely louder than a whisper. “Can I… do something?”

“Yes” she whispered.

He slowly but carefully shifted a bit closer to y/n, his body almost flush against hers and his face close enough that he could feel her soft breaths.

“Close your eyes.” he said softly, her eyes fluttering closed.

Linus took a deep shaky breath as soon as y/n's eyes closed. He could feel himself trembling slightly as he carefully moved closer to her. He wanted this moment to be perfect so badly… He gently pulled her body flush against his, wrapping his arms around her waist and gently holding her close to his chest. He slowly leaned in, his heart racing in his chest and his head buzzing as he slowly and gently pressed his lips to hers. Y/n’s breath hitched as his lips met her's. She melted into the kiss, placing her hand on his cheek.

He gently pulled her closer, wanting to savor every second of this moment. He gently cupped her face, kissing her. His heart was racing and butterflies filled his stomach. Y/n tasted like heaven, she felt like heaven, and he could already feel himself getting addicted to the feeling of her lips on his.

Linus reluctantly and gently broke the kiss for y/n to catch her breath. He felt a little breathless as well as he felt y/n rest her forehead against his.He couldn’t stop the feeling of warmth that spread through his body when he held her like this. His heart was still racing, and he couldn’t help but to admire her face so close to his. “Jesus… you have no idea how long I’ve been wanting to do that”

“me too”

Linus let out a soft, slightly shaky sigh of pure happiness as he heard y/n’s response. He gently pulled her closer, holding her tight against his body, his arms securely wrapped around her. “Then… does this mean you have… you know, feelings for me?” He asked softly, his heartbeat quickening.

“I've had feelings for you since the day we met,” she said softly.

“You… have?” Linus once again was stunned. He wasn’t expecting y/n to admit that she had feelings for him this whole time. He couldn’t help the way he practically melted at the admission. “why didn’t you say anything?” He gently asked, his eyes never leaving hers.

“I was afraid of ruining our friendship, you mean everything to me” she said softly, there was a hint of vulnerability in her voice.

“You mean everything to me too, baby” Linus gently lifted his hand from y/n’s back to cup her face, gently stroking your check with his thumb. His heart still felt like it was racing a million miles per hour, he took a deep shaky breath before he continued to speak.

“You could never ruin our friendship, darling… because I’ve been completely in love with you for months”

“R-really?” Her breath hitched and she stared up at him with doe eyes.

Linus chuckled at her cute little doe eyes, his fingers gently stroking her skin as he stared into her eyes. “Yes, really… You have no idea how much I love you. I’ve been in love with you for monts”

“I love you too” She whispered, nuzzling her nose against his.

Linus practically melted at hearing her say that. It sent a wave of happiness and excitement through his body, and the feeling of having her nuzzling against him only made his heart race faster. He gently cupped her face in his hands and softly nuzzled his nose against hers, a soft smile on his face as he spoke. “Jesus, I’ve wanted to hear that from you for months”

“Sorry it took so long,” she said softly.

“no, don't apologize… You have nothing to be sorry for”

Linus gently pulled y/n a bit closer, wanting to savor the feeling of having her in his arms and as close to his body as he could. His hands on her waist gently moved to her hips, still holding her securely against his body. He softly nuzzled his face against the top of her head, taking in the scent of her hair and enjoying the sensation of their body pressed against each other. He felt like he was in Heaven.

Y/n eventually fell asleep, making Lucky want to be closer to them. Linus gently chuckled at the feeling of Lucky cuddled up next to him. He continued gently stroking y/n's hair with one hand, the other gently moving to stroke the top Lucky’s head. He looked down at Lucky next to him, smiling slightly at the way he was staring up at him with cute puppy eyes.

“You really are a lucky mutt…”

[the-gt-fairy]

More ISAT g/t! This time tiny size shifter Siffrin semi-inspired by that ask I got. I wrote this all in one sitting last night and am deciding fuck it and posting it

Context: Family is at a fancy party cuz they saved the country and get invited to fancy parties now. Siffrin is Not Having a Good Time with all the people

--

“You clearing the snack table, Sif?”

‘Snack table’ was a bit of an understatement. The set of platters nearly stretched across the whole wall, and each were filled with fancy dishes Isabeau couldn’t even begin to name. Sif had been hanging out there for most of the party, so he expected them to be stuffing their face.

But they only nibbled absently on a desert, shrugging at Isabeau’s question.

He frowned. “Hey, are you ok?”

They shrugged again, eyes flicking back towards the crowd. Someone nearby laughed loudly, and Sif flinched, shrinking in on themself.

Literally. They were actually shrinking, dropping in centimeters by the second.

Oh.

“How about we go somewhere else?” Isabeau suggested.

Siffrin nodded and let himself be guided out of the main room and into the hall. Isabeau shadowed them, making sure no one was watching too closely, until they reached one of the copious amounts of sitting rooms.

It was empty, and that seemed to be good enough for Siffrin to let go of the rest of their height.

They stumbled, catching themself on their palms. Isabeau dropped to his own knees, hovering his hands around them.

Siffrin took the half-aborted offer for what it was supposed to be, using his little finger (god, their hand didn’t even cover his pinkie) to hoist themself up. Even once he was stable, he kept his hand on Isabeau’s.

Siffrin looked up at him. “...Hi,” he said, for lack of anything better.

“Hi,” Isabeau returned, just as clueless.

They looked down at their hand on Isabeau’s, then quickly tucked it back to their side.

(Isabeau stamped down his disappointment.)

“You can go back to the party,” Siffrin spoke up, “I'll be fine to camp out here till I can turn back.”

“Do you want to be alone?” Isabeau asked (stamping down his immense disappointment.)

He glanced away. “You shouldn’t have to look after me.”

“Ok, but do you want to be alone?”

“...No.”

Isabeau shifted from a kneel to a cross-legged seat. “Then I’m staying right here.”

They snapped their head up. “But, but you were so excited! For getting dressed up and stuff…”

“Eh, I already got to do the dressing up part,” he waved off, “I’m fine with missing out on the people.”

“You’ll miss out on the food, too,” Siffrin argued.

“I’m sure what Bonnie makes is a million times better.”

Sif snorted, bringing his hand up to cover his mouth. And he stopped trying to convince Isabeau to leave, so it was a win.

Siffrin eventually sat down, staring off silently. But, as usual, Isabeau couldn’t keep his eyes off them.

This was…This was his first time seeing them small, wasn’t it? The few times he had actually witnessed them sizeshifting, they had been giant. Fierce, protective, larger than life.

But now they were small and quiet, more so than Isabeau was used to. Was this how Siffrin had felt when he looked down on the four of them? That they were all so tiny and fragile, and that he would do anything he could to shield them?

Isabeau didn’t feel like he was being a very good shield. He was trained to be a Defender, but he didn’t have a clue what more he could do than sit there uselessly, not knowing if his shadow was more ominous than comforting.

Siffrin shifted, curling in on themself further. “It’s so blinding cold,” he muttered.

“You miss your cloak?” Isabeau asked. Siffrin hadn’t been very happy about giving it up in exchange for fancier clothes. (They looked even smaller without it.)

They nodded. “You said once–” A phrase that meant he was talking about the loops. “--that it was Crafted to regulate temperature. So I’d never get too hot or too cold.”

“Huh, I’d never heard of that before! I wonder if we can figure out how it works…” That would be amazing to implement when he actually started designing clothes.

Siffrin shivered again, cutting off the thought with another one. Right, smaller things didn’t regulate body heat so well, did they? He didn’t want Sif to suffer until he grew back, but what could he do…

An idea came to mind, followed by immediate doubt. Siffrin told them he actually liked touch, it was one of the first things he admitted after leaving Dormont. But Isabeau couldn’t help but feel he was overstepping every time he even tried.

Still, he slowly slid his hand over to Siffrin. “Hey, um. I’m probably warm (really warm) if you want to…”

He trailed off, but Siffrin got the message anyway. They lightly leaned against his hand, then practically melted into it.

Oh god. Oh Change. This was…man. Look at them, even smaller than his palm, snuggling closer just to get all the warmth. Haha, if they really wanted to be warm, all Isabeau would have to do is put them to his face and NO WAIT THAT WAS EMBARRASSING AND HIS FACE WAS EVEN HOTTER NOW CRAB–

“I can feel your pulse from here, ya know,” Sif teased.

AAAAAAAHHH

They pressed a little closer, probably just to goad him. “Thanks.”

“No problem!” he replied higher than he would like.

They looked up at him with their big , bright eye. “Sorry for being–” He got That Smirk on his face as he gestured to his spot. “--such a handful.”

“Pffft, Sif!”

They snickered, but the smile faded, and they looked away again. “Really, though. You shouldn’t have to deal with me like this.”

“Hey, we already agreed I’m not missing out on anything,” Isabeau assured, “I like spending time with you, Sif.”

“We spend time together all the time.”

“And I enjoy every second of it!”

They huffed, but their mouth ticked up again. “I’m not going to convince you, am I?”

“Nope! I’m going to care about you whether you like it or not! Well, I mean, I’d hope you would like it, but–but if I’m ever overstepping just say the word and I’ll back off–”

“Isa,” Siffrin cut off, “You’re fine. I really don’t mind.”

Isabeau softened. “I don’t mind either. This is only a small price to pay.”

Sif barked a laugh, doubling over as he cackled. Isabeau glowed at the reaction.

The two fell back into silence, but Isabeau felt like he was doing a much better job.