#trying my hardest to avoid food waste i am so cool

[bolithesenate]

What're you gonna make with the plums?

I just cooked them into oblivion with some sugar, to make some sort of jam or smt!

and now i am eating some of it on a good portion of porridge :D

[youarejesting]

Wash Out.21 (Sope Special)

[Master List]

Banners: @purpleskies1999 Pairings: Dolphintrainer!Taehyung x SharkDiver!Jin,  Mer!Jimin x Reader, Scientist!Namjoon x MerKing!Jungkook, Mer!Yoongi x Mer!Hoseok. Rating: 16+ Genre: Mystery, Romance, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, little bit of Action, Slice of life, Enemies2Lovers, Friends2lovers, Social media au, Fake Texts, Fake Subs.

Summary: Taehyung and his best friend Y/N are Dolphin trainers at Wash Out; Marine Wildlife and Theme Park. When the nerdy marine biologist and resident veterinarian Doctor Kim Namjoon goes missing; the two friends form a ragtag team with Taehyung’s rival Seokjin and a…. Fish?

[Prev] [Next]

Yoongi stood still, his legs shaking. It was not normal for him to be standing for this length of time. They were mermaids used to having tails their strength in the water. Swimming was like breathing. Of course their legs only appeared on their sacred land under the ocean.

They couldn’t walk on human land, could never compare to their leg strength. Most Mermaids spent their days in the water only entering the sacred land for celebrations. Yoongi being one of many guards would protect the royal family, albeit there was no longer a royal family. Jungkook was all that was left, a prince forced to be a king before he was ready. 

Guards were the most common of the merfolk to adorn legs. Jungkook was confined to the sacred land, his time in the water limited. Anything to keep him safe from the threat of other merclans. Each guard embellished in the silk of the clams. Byssus was woven finely like silk, the light material was surprisingly warm enough to protect the guards and King whilst in their more vulnerable form.

Yoongi looked across the crystal throne room, the love of his life standing just as tall, his stature stronger than Yoongi’s. A feat as Jungkook tore the room apart, bioluminescent vines and lanterns ripped from the walls. Food and wine splattered on the floor of their ancestors.

Hoseok’s mouth turned down, the sight unnatural for his usually cheerful disposition. The hardest part of their job was raising Jungkook, it seemed no matter how hard they tried to teach him right and wrong, politics and history they still came up short. He didn’t have a family, not anymore, he didn’t know how to share and never had to work for relationships. 

Everyone adored him, feared him, doted on his every whim. He was given the finest foods and all the newest technology Merfolk could offer. Anything to keep him content in his prison. It surprised Yoongi that Jungkook hadn’t questioned his confines, that he was complacent with their level of control over his freedom.

Jungkook no longer understanding, why his new found friend was so reluctant to stay. He extended all his riches and gifts to the human, something other merfolk would cherish. 

“Why does he still want to leave, with me he could be treated as a king,” Jungkook seethed, throwing a leg over the arm of his throne massaging his temples. “Leave me.”

Hoseok marched dutifully to Yoongi, supporting the older merman as they made their exit. Walking him to the entrance of the underwater cove, the air though damp enough to keep their lungs from feeling dry, they much preferred sinking into the cool water. Doing so allowed the power of the sacred land to slip away leaving only their natural form. 

The two transformed their black and blue tails wrapping around each other, a romantic gesture Yoongi enjoyed more than he wished to admit. They relaxed in eachothers arms peacefully, sinking further until they landed on the floor of the large network of caves. This is where most of the merfolk lived as they were still protected from the open ocean.

Under the cove was wide and besides a few stalagmite and stalactite the surface was predominantly flat. However the local life was anything but, everyone bustling around the settlement enjoying tending to the seaweed, crafting and protecting the sealife. 

“Jungkook, is struggling. He doesn’t understand how to handle rejection. He doesn’t understand that people value the same things,” Hoseok mumbled, massaging Yoongi’s lower back to help relieve tension from standing for such a long time.

“That human cannot survive long under the ocean, he grows weaker by the day, barely eating.” Yoongi huffed, “If Jungkook doesn’t let him go, the poor thing will die, Jungkook isn’t ready to experience something like that so close to him.”

“I think he has gotten too attached, losing this human might break him,” Hoseok bit his lip, “Dare I say he is in love with him, he could be his promised.”

Yoongi scoffed, the idea that Jungkook happened to find his promised one and he was a human, the first human he had ever met. Yoongi and Hoseok were unaware they were each other's promised until Yoongi had a week off from guard duty and started to get really sick. The two had met in the infirmary wasting away and only in one another's company did their condition improve. “Hoseok, that’s a bit much.”

A figure swam down the path quickly, heading straight to the sacred cove entrance, carrying something large. Was someone trying to attack their home? The two fell apart taking up offensive stances, each lurching forward when they spotted Jimin holding an unconscious human.

“Not another one,” Yoongi chastised, eyes sweeping over Jimin trying to be inconspicuous. Though he cared he showed it silently, not fond of open praise. The kind to listen and assist others out of sight.

“I have to make sure he is alright,” Jimin gave no further explanation, swimming up into the cove entrance dragging the human onto the sacred land. Jimin’s gold tail disappearing, leaving behind two bare legs. 

Wrapping himself in a cloth, the two followed. Yoongi strained to lift himself into an upright position. Hoseok brought out their usual transport, especially for Jungkook’s deliveries. In this case they threw the unconscious human across the shell of the crustacean and they headed to their king.

“Are all humans this big?” Yoongi asked, eyeing the figure draped beside Jimin. The two crab-pooling wasn’t the issue, the way Jimin looked genuinely concerned for the human was. It was no good for humans and Merfolk to fall in love, the dynamic wouldn’t end well. 

“No, they aren’t all this big, some of them are small, delicate and beautiful. They are magnificent, fascinating beings. Some are scary and mean and others are innocent and protective, just trying to do the right thing.” Jimin whispered, checking the humans breathing once more. 

“Is he your promised?” Hoseok asked softly, not knowing how to approach the topic sensitively. Jimin smiled, shaking his head. The thought appeared to have amused him.

“He is someone else’s promised,” Jimin said, “But I think I met her, she was beautiful and strong, never letting anyone stop her, never letting bad things keep her down. She would swim head first into enemy waters to save someone she barely knows.

The human groaned, “Where am I?” Jimin let out a sigh of relief, this human was waking up and didn’t seem to be physically hurt, at least there were no wounds they could see upon his flesh. “Am I dead?”

“No, you are not dead, you are in our settlement.” Jimin grinned at the disorientation present in Seokjin’s words. He was struggling to enunciate his words, each more like a whine drawn out.

Upon entering the crystal throne room the group tried their best to support the sluggish human inside. Gaining the attention of Jungkook, ceasing his brooding long enough to assist the three struggling mermen. As if hearing the commotion or perhaps Seokjin’s terrible jokes Namjoon emerged from where he had been staying.

“Jin! Are you okay?” Namjoon grabbed his friend, checking him over for injury, “What are you doing here?”

“Rescuing you and avoiding the police, I ran my car off the cliff and also may have destroyed the letter box outside your beach house.” He laughed, “Never really liked it anyway.”

“You did what?” Namjoon said, concerned, “Are you crazy?”

“Listen, we were being chased. It was all for you, and Jimin of course, returning Jimin and rescuing you.” Seokjin smiled at his friend. Yoongi thought these humans were weird, they were reckless and too odd for his liking. “I even teamed up with Taehyung and Y/n in order to save you. Do you know how hard that was?”

“Didn’t seem hard at all, you and Taehyung seemed to get along really well.” Jimin pushed the human with a smile, it was weird to see Jimin acting so comfortable with the humans. “We will return you so that the issue can be resolved, I am starting to grow worried about how we left.”

“What do you mean?” Seokjin asked confused

“Humans tackled Y/n and Taehyung dragged me into the water. Right before you and your car contraption fell into the water I killed the man who scared you all.” Jimin said proudly, this didn’t seem to go over well with the human’s. Yoongi hoped Jimin didn’t do something stupid turf war wasn’t on his to do list.

Yoongi didn’t understand the words coming from Seokjin’s face, if he had to liken it to anything, it sounded like vulgar slang, curse words. The human looked panicked.

“We have to go back, they are probably being sent to prison,” Seokjin said, trying to leave unsure which direction to go, “They are in big trouble.”

“Can’t you just talk to your king and explain and they will be removed from prison?” Jimin said

“Prison doesn’t work the same as it does here,” Namjoon explained, “Very Very bad people go to prison, Murderer’s, thieves and other despicable humans put in one place.”

“Yeah and if they go to prison, they may be beaten or worse,” Seokjin huffed. Jimin looked up at Jungkook who nodded, bringing out a small mirror and handing it to Jimin.

Looking over Jimin’s shoulder, Yoongi noticed a human different to the two infront of him, she was feminine delicate and leaking. “What is happening to her?”

“She is crying,” Jimin explained, “Humans do that when they are hurt or in despair, from what I have been told they do the same when they are happy too.”

“Confusing and a little stupid.” Hoseok laughed, “How do you know the difference?”

The charges have been dropped, Namjoon breathed listening to the interrogator, explaining that they couldn’t record the phenomenon that occurred on the beach. “They are being let go,” He smiled, a sight Yoongi hadn’t seen since he first laid eyes on their large domestic crustaceans.

“There is Taehyung,” Seokjin called out looking down, the two humans looked void of any emotion, they collected their things and climbed into the police car getting an escort to their homes. “They are safe and that’s all that matters.” 

Seokjin smiled, his eyes leaking much to Yoongi’s disgust. Namjoon smiled, he seemed a little amused by the older human. “I remember distinctly you saying you hated Taehyung with a passion and wanted him to choke on a sardine.” They two laughed for a moment, “When did things change?” 

“I guess when you are working as a team to save someone you develop an understanding.” Seokjin shrugged his large shoulders, “It also didn’t help that he was living in my house for almost a week.”

“You like him,” Namjoon poked him, “Admit it you have feelings for him.”

“We can head back when you are ready, we have returned Jimin home safely.” Seokjin smiled, looking around at the group and smiling, “I am Seokjin by the way, you can call me Jin.”

The man was goofy, reminding Yoongi of Jungkook himself, the two so alike in their childlike nature, letting themself play without hesitation. It was almost admirable that people could act so carefree, unaffected by how they could be perceived.

“I don’t know if I am allowed to leave?” Namjoon said, his smile falling, eyes fixed on the ground before him. 

Yoongi looked at his king, the spoiled young man reflecting on his actions, it had been many days since they saw the young man smile. Almost expecting him to refuse, Yoongi schools his expression when he doesn’t. 

“You should go, You don’t belong down here?” Jungkook took the mirror before walking away from the group to sit on the throne. He lowered his head looking at his reflection trying to distract himself from the pain. Letting your promised go was the hardest thing a merperson could do. Under normal circumstances, promises are only parted by death.

Namjoon walked over, placing a hand on the king's head and smiling at him, “If ever you want to visit, I would be happy to show you some great places, places you would love.” Jungkook’s broken heart warmed at the human’s dimples appearing softly in the flesh of his cheeks.

That was the last thing they needed, their king running off for a romance on the coast line. Seokjin swung his arm around Jimin playfully, the merman giggling whilst his legs almost buckled. “Yeah Jimin knows the private beach by Namjoon’s house, he can show you the way if you ever want to visit.”

Tags: @backinblack1967 @miriamxsworld @moccahobi @simplymemyself @a-gayish-unicorn @ella-mella @vjinfan23​

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[a-storm-of-roses]

October Fics Day 5: Baking

Pairing: Teyla Emmagen/Jennifer Keller

Rating: G

Words: 2015

Summary: Teyla is good at many things, but baking isn't one of them. Luckily, Jennifer knows a trick.

A/N: Saw this prompt and HAD to make it about the two women who are canonically bad cooks!

Read on AO3 or below!

Teyla choked back a cough, as a cloud of flour rose up from the bowl. She stirred vigorously, but the mixture simply would not come together. And she was certain it wasn’t intended to look so chunky. Or so oily.

“Whatcha up to?” Jennifer leaned comfortably against the entry to the kitchen, a Driffen apple in her hand, looking bemused and more than a little curious. She was dressed casually, in jeans and a loose shirt, and Teyla realized she must be taking advantage of a rare day off.

With a sigh, Teyla wiped a hand across her forehead. It was only as she felt the drag of flour and grit across her skin, that she realized her error.

“I am baking,” Teyla ground out. Fetching a rag to wipe her face. “Or, at least I am trying to.”

Jennifer wandered over to the large, industrial counter where Teyla had been working. She peered over into the bowl, took one look at the contents and scrunched up her nose. Teyla would have found it cute, if she hadn’t been distracted by the annoyance and frustration of an hour wasted in the kitchen. She was hot, her arm was sore, and she was no closer to having created anything remotely resembling a cake.

“Uh, what exactly are you trying to make here?” Jennifer asked. She could tell the doctor was schooling her tone, adopting that forced, cheery accent that sometimes drove Teyla up a wall. Rodney called it Midwest nice. John, in his weaker moments, called it fake.

“A birthday cake for John. He does not particularly enjoy celebrations, but a cake seemed like a pleasant and simple tradition.”

“And you didn’t just ask the kitchen staff?” Jennifer asked. She picked up the mixing spoon, abandoned in the bowl of batter. Slowly, she lifted it out, and made a face as the oily, chunky mix splattered back into the bowl.

“I was under the impression that the cake was more meaningful when baked by a loved one.”

“In that case, shouldn’t Rodney be making it?” Teyla shot Jennifer a look, and it seemed to serve her purpose, because she blushed and stammered out quickly, “Or Ronon, or maybe Major Lorne? You know,” she continued, regaining her equilibrium, “don’t let them convince you that you have to do the cooking, just because you’re a woman. It’s sexist and outdated.”

Teyla sighed, and picked up the recipe again, smudging brown batter on the white paper.

“Ronon was going to join me. He is actually quite a good cook and baker, and he received the recipe from Evan. But then he implied that I would not be capable of doing this on my own, when Evan specifically said this was an easy recipe, and so…”

"So you got a bit competitive.” Jennifer smiled, real and easy, and Teyla felt some of the tension drain from her shoulders. “But I still don’t understand why you didn’t just use an Athosian recipe. Surely that would have been more familiar.”

Teyla shook her head, and picked up the bowl again, futilely attempting to stir the batter into submission.

“I’m afraid I am not a terribly accomplished baker, regardless of the recipe’s origins. My tuun bread was always too flat, and a bit hard. And at least I have access to the ingredients for this recipe.”

Jennifer hummed in agreement, before leaning forward on the counter, careful to avoid the stray flour and batter, and watching Teyla stir vigorously a few moments longer.

“I don’t think that’s how it’s meant to look.”

“I am aware of that,” Teyla snapped. Jennifer straightened up, her lips tugged down in a frown. Teyla sighed and placed the bowl on the counter, rubbing firmly at her temples. “I apologize, Jennifer, cooking always brings out the worst in me. It is not my strong suit.”

Jennifer brightened a bit.

“I have an idea, let me just see…” Jennifer made her way to one of the pantries, and crouched down, digging on one of the lower back shelves. She moved boxes, shifted tins, until she reemerged, looking triumphant and holding a small, cardboard box.

“Here! I thought we might still have some left over.” She presented the box to Teyla as though it were a prize, and looked so pleased with herself, so eager for Teyla’s approval. Teyla took the box and examined it more closely. The front displayed an image of a cake, and the back was covered with simple, short instructions.

“What is this?” Teyla asked.

Jennifer’s smile never faltered. “Boxed cake mix. A culinarily-challenged Midwestern girl’s best friend.”

Moving to the cabinets and pulling down a fresh bowl, Jennifer then rifled through the shelved ingredients, placing a bottle of cooking oil and some eggs on the counter.

“All you do is pour the mix in the bowl, add some oil, water and eggs, and pop it into the oven! I suppose not-chicken eggs will work just as well.”

Teyla eyed the collection of items warily. She was not usually one to take a shortcut, especially when it came to her friends, but then again, she also wasn’t one to bake.

“I could help?” Jennifer offered, clearly misinterpreting her silence for trepidation. It had sounded simple enough, she didn’t think she particularly needed the other woman’s help, but then again, Evan’s recipe had also sounded simple.

“That would be very appreciated, thank you Jennifer,” Teyla offered warmly. Jennifer beamed.

“Great! Why don’t I measure the oil, and you crack the eggs. That’s the hardest part, anyhow.”

They worked silently and companionably, Jennifer pouring the mix into the bowl, adding the oil, before Teyla added the eggs and the water. Before Teyla could reach the bowl, Jennifer had it in her arms, stirring slowly and steadily.

“Figured your arms could use the break,” she said, looking pointedly over at the bowl where Teyla’s first attempt sat congealing.

“Thank you.”

For a moment the kitchen was silent, the only noise the quiet squelch of Jennifer stirring the batter.

Teyla would be the first to admit that she had spent little time with Jennifer, especially following their disastrous mission to New Athos. It wasn’t that Teyla disliked her - there were very few people out there that Teyla truly disliked - but the doctor tested her patience at times. She was too soft, too naive for life here, it seemed. Too earnest, and too kind. She worried that one day the lovely doctor would go off-world, and would not return.

But as she watched Jennifer pour the batter into the cake tins, and pop them into the oven, she wondered if perhaps a bit of softness was not always a bad thing.

“Think we can toss this, then?” Jennifer asked, holding the bowl of chunky batter.

“Yes,” Teyla laughed, “I believe we can.” They moved in tandem, cleaning the used dishes and wiping down the counters, before Teyla grabbed a broom to sweep the spilled flour from the floor.

Jennifer leaned back against the counter and watched her, her gaze direct and focussed. Teyla was certain the other woman had never looked at her like this before, but she found, surprisingly, it was not unwelcome. Teyla met her gaze in return, and smiled, laughing a bit, as Jennifer’s eyes widened and looked away.

“So,” Teyla began, “you have done this before?”

“I- um, what exactly-”

“Made cake from a box?” Teyla took mercy on her.

“Oh,” Jennifer blushed. “Right. Yeah, I used to be in a lot of activities when I was younger. Girl Scouts, debating. Swim team, for a bit. I was always ahead of the class, and my parents thought it would be a good way for me to meet other kids my own age, you know, acclimate socially.

“Anyways, these activities always had a lot of bake sales. Um, where you bake things and sell them to raise money for the club? We all had to bring something. My mom was a great baker - she used to make the best cupcakes. But after she died, I had to figure something out. I tried making a couple of her recipes, but they never really turned out right. That’s when Betty Crocker and I became BFFs.”

Teyla felt a sudden pang of her own grief.

“Your father did not bake?”

“No, I come from a pretty conservative area. It was enough that he took over making all of our meals, I couldn’t ask him to make me a devil’s food cake for my debate tournament too.”

Jennifer busied herself checking the cake, showing Teyla the clean toothpick and bringing it out of the oven to cool. The two round cakes were golden yellow, edging into a bit browned at the edges. They looked not unlike the cake the mess served on special occasions. Teyla was just relieved to see that they appeared edible.

“We’ll need to wait a bit before we can frost it.”

Teyla sat on one of the high stools, and regarded Jennifer closely. After a moment, she spoke.

“I lost my mother when I was quite young as well. No one ever quite made fried melo like her. I tried to get it right, for many years, but even the best cooks in our settlement never came close.”

“You miss her,” Jennifer stated, leaning over and placing her hand on Teyla’s. Her palm was warm, a bit damp, but soft. Teyla nodded. “I miss mine too. I don’t think it ever goes away.”

For a moment, Teyla considered leaning in. Brushing the hair that had fallen loose from Jennifer’s ponytail back, swiping her thumb across a smooth cheek.

But then, Jennifer pulled her hand away, cleared her throat and stood.

“I think we can frost it now.”

“Do we need to make the frosting, or does that also come in a box?”

“Even better,” Jennifer responded, placing two small containers on the counter. “It comes in a tub.”

They each took one cake, Jennifer showing her how to spread the frosting evenly, without causing the cake to crumble. Finally, carefully, Teyla lifted one layer on top of the other, smoothing down the frosting covering the sides.

“It looks great! I’m sure John will love it.”

“I just hope it tastes alright,” Teyla laughed.

Jennifer grinned at her, happy and relaxed. Even more hair had fallen out of her ponytail, and ridiculously, there was a smudge of frosting across her cheek. She looked messy, not at all like her normal, put-together self, and Teyla was surprised to find it endearing.

“Here, you have a bit of-” Teyla reached out, and wiped the frosting from her face. Almost instinctively, she popped her finger in her mouth, licking the sweetness from her own skin. Jennifer’s pupils dilated.

“How’s- um- how’s it taste?” She asked, voice just a touch breathy.

“Delicious,” Teyla answered, her eyes never breaking contact. “Perhaps you should try some.”

It was a challenge. Jennifer could take the risk, take what Teyla was offering. Or she could pretend she didn’t understand, pretend she wasn’t feeling this thing thrumming between the two of them.

Jennifer’s eyes dropped down to her lips, and her hand settled on Teyla’s arm, before she moved closer, leaning in to gently kiss her, barely a brush, before pulling away.

“Was that alright?” She asked, uncertain, her hand still gripping Teyla’s bicep with more force than she would have expected.

“Yes, but I don’t believe you got to sample the frosting.” Teyla swiped her finger across the base of the cake, before sucking it into her mouth, making a little show of licking the excess frosting off. It was ridiculous, she knew it, but it had the desired effect, Jennifer pulling her in close and kissing her again, this time with a confident heat, her tongue venturing out to pull the sweetness from Teyla’s own mouth.

They kissed for long minutes, before breathless, Teyla finally pulled away.

“I believe I have found something pleasurable about baking after all.”

Jennifer laughed. “Just wait til I show you what I can do with a roll of cookie dough.”

[scornedlove]

Chapter Twenty-Nine

ROBYN

I called Mel to blow off some steam, but her phone was going straight to voicemail. To say I was boiling was an understatement. Half an hour later, I found myself asking for a shot of whiskey at the nearest bar. Some place that probably hadn’t had a new customer in weeks. 

“I’ll take a water with lemon” John stated, his eyes roaming the dark room. The place was small, yet cold and unfamiliar. There wasn’t many people here, but you could tell the few present were regulars.  

“Thanks for coming in with me, I know this ain’t in ya job description” I sighed, trying my hardest not to dump all my problems on him.

“I’m just glad you got up out the house. I was beginning to think you replaced me” 

“You know better than that! You ain’t getting rid of me that easy” I chuckled in surprise. I tossed back my shot and motioned for the bartender to refill me, wasting no time to toss that one back too.

“This whiskey’s not gonna have you trying to throw bottles upside my head again is it?”

“I promise I’ll behave myself” I crossed my heart with my right hand. “Sometimes, I get so worked up and I just need to take the edge off. Whiskey helps.”

“Don’t let this shit be your go to” he advised, glancing over his shoulder to see who walked in when the door opened.

“Shopping is my go to, Mary Jane is definitely the runner up, but this shit easily takes third place.” I admitted, nonchalantly. “Everybody needs an outlet”  

“You gonna have to find some better outlets. I know it’s hard, but I’ve been where you are before and it ain’t a pretty place. I’m not going to sit back and watch you spiral downhill.”

“Eh, to each their own. I’m sure you got your outlets.” I shrugged, before requesting another refill and quickly gulping it down. John just shook his head and looked back at the door as a couple of people walked out. I loved how alert he always was, it made me feel safe. Safe enough, to order another shot.

“Can you at least slow down?” he demanded rather than asked. “Ain’t no way yo tolerance that high.”

“Boy please! I am Bajan, we can hold our liquor.” I teased, starting to feel myself. The whiskey had my temperature rising, so I slid my jacket down on to the stool. The bartender placed my refill in front of me, this time flashing his dingy smile while his eyes burned a hole in my chest. 

“Thanks, we’ll let you know if we need anything else” John practically yelled to snap him from his daze.

“Sorry man. We don’t get models in here often” he apologized before tending to the other couple at the bar.

“Bullshit” I blurted before falling into giggles. “I know I look like shit today, but that was a good save”

“You ready? Cause I’m ready to get up outta here.” John stood, with his mind made up. He’s never bossed me around before and oddly enough, it was turning me on.

“Wait, just let me get-”

“You’ve had enough, let’s go.” he ordered, looking down at me. I was beginning to imagine his dark skin on mine and realized he was right. It had to be the liquor taking over, so I shook the thought away and stood like he requested. 

 "Yeah, you’re right, I uh, need to do some shopping anyway.” I stammered, leaving a few twenty's on the counter before leading the way out. 

The ride to the mall was awkward. I rolled and smoked an entire blunt to myself on the way. I could tell John was pissed, but I didn’t understand why or even cared to ask. I’m sick of people trying to give me advice I didn’t ask for. I’m grown as hell and if I want to get fucked up in the middle of the day on a Monday, then that’s what I’ll do. 

“I know how long these trips can be and I don’t want you to feel rushed, just give me a call when you’re ready” he stated, once we reached the mall entrance.

“Don’t even worry about it. Thanks for the ride, enjoy the rest of your day” I added, jumping out the back seat before he’d even come to a complete stop. I didn’t want to be around his bad energy, that shit was contagious. I’ll just have to take a cab home. I’d much rather ride with a stranger than be judged.

Turns out John was right. I spent much more time shopping than I expected. There wasn’t much traffic and I enjoyed not having to wait in lines.  I treated myself to new clothes, shoes, earrings, and a new purse. Everything I wanted was in stock and I had many of the stores to myself. Apparently I picked a good day to splurge because I spent well over forty grand.

After shopping, I ordered some Chinese food and found a little corner to myself in the food court. I was so happy about the leopard print Louboutin booties I found, I had to put them on before I even touched my food. Something about leopard print made me feel sexy and I needed that feeling now.

I slipped my flats off and smiled as the softness of the booties welcomed my feet. They made me feel so good, I forgot about my bad day. I started to devour my food as if all the appetite I was missing all week suddenly appeared from nowhere. When I was done, I wasted no time getting in line at the ice cream shoppe. 

I sat down again, taking my time and enjoying my chocolate chip, double dip cone a little too much. I was in heaven, oblivious to my surroundings. A weird feeling crept over me and I felt like I was being watched. My eyes shot up for a quick scan and immediately locked on the culprit. Christopher fucking Brown.

I stared back for what seemed like forever, but he wasn’t letting up so I decided to show out. If he thought he couldn’t stop looking before, he wouldn’t know what to do when I made him wish he were the ice cream. 

“I knew my eyes weren’t deceiving me” a smooth baritone caught me off guard in the middle of my act. I sighed deeply before locking eyes with the one night stand I was supposed to never see again. 

“Today has got to be my lucky day” he grinned.

“Hey Stranger” I smirked, swallowing the big ass frog in my throat. I should’ve put my ice cream down, but I couldn’t. I just took bites instead of licks while he eyeballed my lips.

“Nah, call me Rocky” he pleaded, his eyes roaming with no shame. Fuck I thought to myself, realizing I left my favorite black leather jacket at the bar. My nipples were at full attention and an apparent distraction, so I crossed my arms. 

“I thought we agree-”

“You really want me to treat you like a stranger after the way I had your body feeling the last time you saw me?” he asked, inviting himself to sit in front of me. 

“We agreed to no names”

“Who are you shopping with, if you don’t mind me asking?” he quizzed, checking out my table full of bags.

“Damn you nosy” I frowned, shaking my head. “Who you here with?”

“Shit, I’m here with you. I just wanna know who about to be pissed when your plans change up.”

“How my plans change up?” I giggled, loving his persistence.

“I got somewhere I wanna take you”

“Boy you don’t even know me”

“I know what you taste like. You gonna let me taste you again?” he asked wetting his lips before biting the bottom one and slowly letting it out. Flashbacks of his lips on my body sent shivers down my spine. Before I could even respond, I could see Chris approaching at record speed with Nicki on his tail. 

CHRIS

“Thank you for getting me out the house today” Nicki smiled, taking a bite from her huge, soft pretzel. “This is exactly what I needed!”

“Me too” I mumbled between bites of my pretzel dog. I was glad I was feeling better than I had the day before, but I still felt crappy. Yesterday I laid around with a hang over from hell, but when Nicki called today I had to pull my shit together. 

“I’m so glad Sam will be home for good today. All I can ever think about is what if he misses our baby’s birth”

“Aren’t you due next month?”

“Yeah, but look how fat I am! There’s no way I can hold this baby for another month!” she stood up and turned sideways for me to see her silhouette. 

“Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll be back to yourself in no time. You’re having a healthy baby. That’s the important part.” I stressed and her face immediately dropped in shame.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean-”

“Sorry for what?”

“Complaining. I’m grateful for this entire experience. I just wish Sam could’ve found a closer job sooner, but it’s done now and I’m soooo grateful” she beamed as her phone vibrated on the table. “Speak of the devil.”

“Tell him I said what up” I laughed at her girlish demeanor while she spoke with her husband. Somehow they pulled through their long distance relationship, even with the hormone roller coaster. I was happy for them.

“So are you spending Thanksgiving in Texas with Tae now that Mama got her own thing going on?” Nicki quizzed after hanging up with Sam. I hadn’t told her it was over with me and Tae yet, I was hoping to avoid this conversation altogether.

“Nah. You know me, I like to make my rounds. Are you cooking? I’m tryna come get one of your plates!”

“Noooo Chris! Holidays show a girl how serious you are about her. You gotta at least try to go see her, it’s important!”

“Well, sh-”

“Robyn”

“No, it’s not about Rob-”

“No, I was saying, is that Robyn?” she nodded across the food court towards the ice cream shoppe. Sure enough, Robyn was standing in line with three bags on one arm and her wallet in hand as she waited to order.

“Damn, she looks good” I blurted under my breath. I didn’t know where we stood since the last time we spoke, so I definitely wasn’t going over there.

“That hair looks so good on her. When’s the last time ya’ll talked?” 

“Not long ago, and it wasn’t pleasant” I answered honestly, unable to take my eyes from her as she paid and grabbed her ice cream from the cashier. She quickly found an empty table, set her things down, and began to devour her ice cream in the most seductive way. On top of that, the dress she wore revealed every curve and way too much skin. 

When she sat down, her eyes met mine. She refused to break eye contact and began to lick her ice cream with a flat tongue, curving it around the top. She winked at me, then opened her mouth wide before sucking her ice cream from the top, clearly giving me a show.

“So ya’ll cool or not?” Nicki’s voice snatched me back to attention. My head snapped in her direction to see if she was seeing what I was but she was preoccupied with her phone. When I looked back at Robyn, there was someone else sitting in front of her, blocking my view. 

This guy must’ve been enjoying the same show I was, too bad he didn’t stand a chance. Rob’s the kind of girl that doesn’t even give a guy two seconds if he’s not worth it, which made me wonder why this guy was still sitting there. 

“I don’t know. Let’s go say wassup” I suggested as Nicki tossed the last of her food in her mouth, then followed me towards Robyn.

As we approached her, a huge smile spread across her face and she waved in our direction. I wasn’t sure what to expect but my nerves relaxed a bit. 

“Oh my God! Look at you!” Robyn shrieked, jumping up to hug Nicki.

“No bitch, look at you! I was just telling Chris how bomb this haircut is on you!” Nicki returned the love. I tried to get a word in, but Robyn turned her back to me and proceeded to talk to Nic like I wasn’t even there.

“I can’t believe you almost done cooking the munchkin already!” She squealed, rubbing Nicki’s belly. 

“Yes girl, exactly 28 more days!”

“Boy or girl?”

“We don’t know yet, we wanted a surprise”. They went back and forth for what seemed like forever, paying me no mind. I waited patiently until Robyn attempted to leave with the random guy without speaking to me. She tried to walk by me so I grabbed her hand and pulled her towards me, catching her off guard.

“So you just gonna ignore me?” I asked, glaring into her shocked expression. It took a second of thought but to my surprise, she shook her head no, so I wasted no time leading the way to an empty table for a little privacy.

“How you been?” I began, instantly pissing her off.

“What you mean How I been?” she mimicked rolling her eyes. “What do you want Christopher?”

“I ran into Rayven last night..you wanna tell me what’s going on?”

"Wow, you pulled me to the side to ask about Rayven?” she asked, with slanted eyes. 

“No, that’s not wh-”

“Fuck you Christopher. I should beat your ass like I did her” she frowned, attempting to walk off. I grabbed her hand and pulled her back to me again, with a little more force this time.

“Have you been drinking?” I asked, trying to smell it on her breath but only smelling the ice cream. “Who’s this guy your with? Do you know him?”

“Mind the business you chose over me. I ain’t yo woman.” she spat, before returning to the lucky punk waiting for her. Those words hurt like daggers but I was more embarrassed than anything.  

“I guess it’s safe to say ya’ll not cool” Nicki spoke, breaking the silence on the ride home.

“I don’t know Nic, I think I really messed up this time”

“Ah hell, what you do now?” she shook her head in frustration as I caught her up on my cursed love life. 

“Can I be brutally honest with you?” she asked, raising her brow as she stared me in the face.

“That’s all I’m asking”

“You sound confused as fuck! At the end of the day, who do you love?

“I can’t even lie. I love them both”

“Who do you want to be with....like forever”

“I don’t know”

“Well that’s your problem. You gotta figure out what you want” she shook her head in disbelief.

“It’s not that easy. See with Tae I have this clean slate, well almost clean. Distance is the only problem. “

“Which is a pretty big problem” she pointed out. 

“But with Rob there’s so much chemistry, history, love... it would be hard to come back from what we been through”

“Well if you put it like that, do you want hard as shit or hard as fuck?” she teased, cracking herself up. 

“Thanks for the lovely advice”

“I can’t help you bro, you on your own!”

“I can see that!”

“Nah, but for real, every time I’ve seen you and Tae together you seem happy as hell. I mean head over heels, you stay cheesing like a damn girl, and treating her like a princess. But when you talk about Robyn you seem unsure and even kind of depressed. I’m sure it’s because of the accident, and everything else that happened but aren’t you ready to put all of that behind you?”

“Put Robyn behind me? “I sighed, giving it deep thought. It wasn’t like she was fucking with me anyhow. After seeing her today I was even more confused than before. 

“That situation is out of your hands at this point. I’m sorry, but it’s clear to me that Rob ain’t fucking with you bro. I can tell you’re not really taking Tae serious because you’re hoping Rob comes around. That’s bullshit and you definitely owe Tae an apology. Start there and just see where everything else goes.” she suggested, as she kicked her shoes off and kicked her feet up on the dash.

“That girl don’t want to talk to me”

“Of course not, you gotta go bigger than a phone call”

“Like what?”

“Like go see her. Go spend Thanksgiving with her! Have you ever been to her place? She’s been to your crib, your galleries, and met all your people. Ya’ll been together long enough, it’s time for you to meet the family. Matter of fact, you should pop up on her!”

“That’s actually not a bad idea.” I grinned, realizing how right she was. It was obvious I hadn’t been putting in much effort and that’s probably why she keeps one foot in the door and the other out. She just needs a grand gesture to know how important she is to me.

With Nic’s help, I came up with the perfect plan to get us back on track. Thanksgiving was less than a week away, so I wasted no time booking my flight and a room near her salon. All I had to do was show up and speak my peace. How hard could that be?

[daybreak-academy-fanfic]

Daybreak Academy: Chapter 88

Uncle Eraqus

Summary: In which Anora and Brain have an off campus Thanksgiving feast with the latter’s uncle. Word Count: 1,686 First | Previous | Next ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆

It was right in the middle of history class when Anora got a text from Brain.

'Are u doing anything tonight? Wanna meet me by the gates for a Thanksgiving feast off campus? I know a real quiet place by the lighthouse. Wear your jogging pants- I'm not going to let you leave until you gain three pounds.'

Anora only wished that she could have seen her face after reading it. The young woman looked up at her teacher before carefully typing her response. Thank goodness that the keyboard on her slider phone was a quiet one. Too bad that she was generally a pretty slow typist.

'what if i'm not hungry?'

After sending the text off, Anora set her phone in her lap and tried to write some notes down. Brain must have been in the middle of class too- his text came back to her roughly ten minutes after.

'Ur nothing but skin and bones, madam. If I don't stuff you up, my uncle will.'

Anora almost had to force herself from questioning why Brain had an uncle. But, still. If this was going to be a Thanksgiving feast, would more of Brian's family be coming along? A small spike of fear hit Anora's head when she asked him just as much.

'Don't worry pretty girl. It'll just be you, me, and uncle E. Like I said, the buffet is a quiet place even on its worse days. It's got separate rooms like a karaoke bar. It's pretty cool.'

'i don't do karaoke'

'It's not an -actual- karaoke bar. Just trust me. Or don't. You don't have to come if you don't want to. I'm kinda just throwing it at you anyway.'

Anora lightly nibbled at her lip as she thought it over. It wouldn't hurt her to get off campus for a bit. She wasn't really expected to join in on anyone else's Thanksgiving dinner. Brain had also appealed to her social avoidance side too- there would be a lot more people in the cafeteria tonight. Some family members joining their kids on a free meal provided by the school. She knew for a fact that Mog's family would be coming- and that included both parents, a brother, a handful of cousins, and a persnickety aunt or two for good measure.

Come to think of it, she probably wouldn't have had dinner at the cafeteria tonight anyway. Still making sure that the history teacher wasn't going to notice her texting, Anora carefully typed her reply back to Brain.

'do i have to wear a dress?'

The bell that signaled for class end went off before Anora got a reply. She didn't even look at her phone until she got to the next class.

'Of course not. Wear what you've got. E's not picky and I literally just mentioned jogging pants. I'll wait until 6:30 for you at the gates.'

After reading through the message, Anora gave a little nod to herself and tried to focus on the rest of class. If there was one difference between Ephemer and Brain, it was that Anora didn't particularly feel like she needed to impress the latter. Hypocritical as it sounded- considering she was the one that told Ephemer he didn't need to impress her to keep her love for him. Most of her dresses were better suited for the summer anyway.

But she should still dress, nicer, though. Meeting with your significant other's (rebound or not) family was a big deal. She didn't want to give Brain's uncle the wrong first impression. Not that she'd be able to talk enough to form a good impression to begin with…

After classes were over, Anora went up to her dorm and started to go through her winter coats. The one she usually wore, a very warm double down jacket, was a bit ratted from years of use. She had to dig real deep in her stored away clothes for the fancy things. The young woman let out a happy noise of discovery when she found her maroon colored peacoat. It would match well with what she was already wearing; a long sleeved, light brown colored tunic shirt and dark washed jeans. It was respectable, but not too dressy.

She didn't waste any time in meeting Brain at the front gates. He was casually leaning on the brick archway before noticing her. When he did, he stood up and adjusted his hat a bit.

“So all your girl clothes are hiding in winter wear.” Brain mused as he looked her over. “Sounds like the opposite of every other girl I know, but it sounds about right for you.”

Anora suddenly stopped dead in her tracks. “Is it bad?”

Brain shook his head. He took a step or two closer to so he could take her hand and gently kiss her knuckles. “Not at all.” he gently purred. “You're just more unique.”

The blush on Anora's face came quickly and without restraint. Brain chuckled a bit at her before calling up a taxi. As the taxi headed on down to the lighthouse located outside of town, Brain tried to make a bit of light conversation with Anora.

“I'm not trying to scare you, but you should know what kind of guy my uncle is.”

Anora turned to him and raised an interested, but wary, eyebrow at him. Brain laughed at it for a moment before going on to explain himself.

“He's the principal at one of the main Departure County public schools. The same one that Ven came from.”

“Oh.” came the rather small answer. A snort escaped Brain's lips in return.

“Don't worry,” he assured her, gently taking her hand to rub her thumb over it, “I'm just teasing. He'll love you.”

Still giving Brain a wary glance, Anora carefully nodded her head and said nothing further. The drive to the lighthouse was spent in a still silence. When they were close enough, Anora could see a man that, at a distance, looked a lot like Brain. As Brain helped Anora out of the taxi, she continued to study the man. She must have stared for two long because he looked right at them. But he didn't call them out. Instead, Brain politely guided Anora by the elbow to the man and even tipped his fedora at him.

“Long time no see Uncle Eraqus!” he happily greeted the old man.

The man gave a nod of his own. “It's been a long time since we've met...”

“Brain.” Brain finished for his uncle.

“Brain...” Eraqus repeated with unease. “So it's official now?”

“Yep.” the young man boasted, grinning at his uncle with a cheeky certainty. “Well, no. A lot of the school paperwork still say I'm 'Blaine', but as far as anyone else knows, I'm the one and only Brain Renzhen.”

“Certainly is a unique name.” his uncle warily agreed. With this out of the way, Eraqus turned his attention to Anora.

“I don't believe we've met before.” Eraqus politely said to Anora. “My name is Eraqus, young lady. I am the brother of Brain's mother.”

Anora shrunk a bit, but offered him a smile and nod of acknowledgment.

“She's not much of a talker.” Brain laughed. “It takes a bit of getting used to for this little bird to sing.”

“Well, if that's the case,” Eraqus offered, “The let's go secure a private room for just us three. I'm sure it would be a lot better to the more socially anxious.”

Anora gave him a small smile in thanks, and with that the three of them entered the buffet. It was a rather cozy place, with amber lighting and the smell of freshly baked bread faintly hinted in the air. The individual rooms were separated with a sliding divider. Anora still sat a bit closer to Brain as the relatives started to talk to each other. The two seemed to have a rather amicable relationship. But the hardest part Anora had to wrap her head around was that Brain hardly referred to his uncle as uncle. Instead he called Eraqus by his first name only. It took time for her to realize that he was doing the same for his aunts as well. From what she could gather, he had two; one older than Eraqus, and one younger than both Eraqus and Brain's mother.

“Do you have any plans for winter break?” Eraqus asked Brain at some point.

“Not really.” the young man mused as he reached for his water glass. “I know Mom wants me to come home. But that means Beli and Chika are going to be there too with their small armies.” Brain took a sip of water before adding, “Thanks for not adding to the gaggle of cousins, by the way.”

Eraqus gave a rather bemused chuckle. “Not yet, anyway.” he teased. “There's one young man that I've been keeping my eye on. He's not much older than you two, but he could benefit from a more kinder household.”

“Are you going to take him to Christmas or New Year's dinner with you?”

“I might.” Eraqus agreed with a sigh. He then turned to Anora and said, “What about you, Anora? Do you have any plans for the break?”

Anora jumped a little, surprised to be a part of the conversation, before carefully shaking her head.

“Daybreak is one of the better campuses to be on during breaks.” Eraqus told her with a nod. “It's a shame that it can't provide housing for its recently graduated students. Assuming that a Tenth Year didn't buy an apartment in town already. Has the food quality improved any since we last had an all state school conference? Urd still swears she got food poisoning from the meatloaf they served.”

“Doesn't Miss Urd get sick off of anything that wasn't served on a gold plate?” Brain lightly snickered. Eraqus gave a small snort of amusement.

As Brain and Eraqus then went into a conversation that slightly mocked whoever this Urd lady was, Anora found herself lost in her own thoughts. What was she going to do for winter break?

[arts-n-anarchy]

The Worst Night Ever (Chapter 2)

Pairing: Queerplatonic Errorink

Warnings: Some internal conflict

Word count: 1222

A/N: I FINALLY BEAT MY WRITER’S BLOCK! WOO-HOO! NOW TAKE MY TRASH (this is actually trash, for real)!  {Chapter 1}

Error was watching the AUs in the anti-void, as he always did before he went on a destroying spree. 

He would survey each AU, determining whether it was useful or not. If it was a waste, he would make a note to destroy it when he had the time (which he had today). Since Ink was busy, Error could sneak out without getting caught. Then he could really have his fun.

So far, this one was nothing good. He jotted it down in his notebook and snapped his fingers. The screen switched to the next AU, showing Underswap Sans hugging his brother. Error scoffed. 

Meanwhile, several clangs and crashes sounded from afar. One time Error swore he heard a cat yowling. He didn’t know what the heck Ink was doing, but he thought it would be better not to find out.

He sighed and continued working, trying to block out the noise behind him. But in a moment's time he couldn’t even hear his own thoughts over drilling sounds. Error snapped and stood up. He left the AU unmonitored as he stomped away to confront Ink. 

Ink had finished his grand creation and was sitting next to his brush. He patted it, giggling about what Error's reaction might be. He smirked when Error came to him less than a minute later. 

“What are you-“ Error started to shout, but then his voice lowered to a whisper.

Behind Ink stood a brown three-story house that had not been there before. It had aluminum sidings, a gable roof, and a front porch. Smoke was flowing out of the chimney and roses were blooming in the garden. 

Error dropped his jaw, conflicted on whether to scream or to gasp. He couldn’t deny it was nice, and Ink had spared him most of the work. The hardest part would be moving in, especially because he was used to living in a disorganized wasteland. 

“I—wh—how?!?!” He stammered as Ink’s smirk stretched even wider. “I was bored.”

Ink grabbed his brush and got up. “Whew! All that hard work made me hungry. Come inside! I started putting some snacks in the kitchen.”

Ink bounded towards the house, beckoning for Error to follow him. Error hesitated, still not sure what had just happened. Still, something in his head was pushing him to go inside.

He became curious about whether he should keep it or tear it down. If he didn’t like it, then why should it take up space?

He was led through the front door and into the living room. It didn’t have any furniture in it yet, but the walls rose 20 feet high and the wooden floor was neatly polished. The ceiling was perfect for hanging strings overhead, like he did in the anti-void. The room was also fairly big, so he would have a space for his dolls to live in.

The next room was the dining room, with a large limestone table and a chandelier above it. There were seven chairs on each side, and two on each end. Near the doorway was a shelf with assorted glasses. Error couldn't help but mumble to himself about how white stupid it looked.

The third room was a TV room, with a real TV at the end of the room and a bean bag. The TV rested on a low shelf, and under it was a cable and a DVR. With the DVR, Error would never have to throw a fit about missing Undernovela again. 

The last room on the first floor was the kitchen. There was a stove on top of an oven at the side of the room. On both sides of the room was a long, slender countertop. Above the stove was a microwave, along with some cabinets. Error opened the cabinet farthest to the right to see a box of Froot Loops and Thin Mints.

“There’s Cheez-its and Doritos in the other ones, if you want them.” Ink said. Ink paused, and then his eyes changed to exclamation points. “Oh! By the way…” He walked over to Error and whispered, “I got you your favorite. It’s in the next cabinet.”

He opened the cabinet next to the first one. Inside was a box of macaroni and cheese. Error squinted at it, then cracked a smile. Ink led Error upstairs. There were two bedrooms next to each other, and they each had full-sized beds with a dresser. Each also had a desk for so-called "organization purposes." 

Last but not least, there were two bathrooms at the end of the hallway, complete with a shower and bathtub. They had large cabinets for storing toiletries and came with towels and a rug. 

At the end of the tour, Ink asked eagerly, “So, do you like it?” Error stood there in silence, at a loss for words. “Actually…” he mumbled, avoiding Ink entirely. “…I think I’m hungry too.” 

Error made his way down the stairs and disappeared into the kitchen. Ink smiled subtly and glanced at the floor below. He noticed that he had left the front door open, giving a glimpse of the empty world.

Error needed a home, Ink thought. Sure, he had his own AU, but he never thought of it as a home. 

Would this make him happier?

He moved like a robot down the stairs while he was lost in thought. He asked himself questions that had never even crossed his mind before.

Why am I doing this? And why do I care about him so much? I never worry about other people like I do with Error.

He got back to his senses the moment he stepped into the kitchen. 

The first thing he saw was Error eating a box of macaroni and cheese near the countertop. He didn’t even notice Ink coming in with the huge spoonfuls he was shoving into his mouth.

Ink reached into a cabinet and took out a bag of Doritos. They were Cool Ranch, as Ink insisted they were the only good flavor. So there he was, standing in a house he made, with a snack he brought into said house, putting fistfuls of it into his mouth. 

Ink and Error stood in silence while inhaling their food. For several minutes, they weren't on edge by the presence of the other. And it was glorious. 

Ink was going through the notes on his scarf, as he always did when he had nothing to do. In a laid-back time like this, he thought it was best to catch up on current events. 

Error was the first one to move, walking towards the doorway before he had even finished eating. At that moment, something popped into Ink's head, pleading for an answer. 

“Wait!” Ink yelled. Error whipped his head around. 

“Um, didn’t you say you were gonna use me as a reference for new doll?" Ink raised an eyebrow. "Because I saw you were making Underswap Sans instead. Also, I saw your old doll of me strung up on the ceiling with the rest of them. What's up with that?"

Oh. Shit.

“Um…” Error wiped his forehead, staring down at the ground. He fumbled with his fingers until he dropped his spoon with a CLANG!

Welp, now was the time to kiss his evening plans goodbye. 

[teddystrap]

Drama CD: [今、隣のキミに恋をする] CASE4 日向 傑

A sorta new (2018-2019) six-disc series from TEAM Entertainment Inc. Guy #4 is my first listen, and from the looks of it the first three characters are students and the latter three are working/adults. Some stats on #4 from the official site:

Age: 30 Height: 175 cm Occupation: Foreign investment company employee Relation: Your superior who sits at the next desk

♥

Our story starts with a meeting, where the boss compliments Hyuuga Suguru (cv. Hirakawa Daisuke) for having the highest # of clients this month. To which Hyuuga thanks his team and says he couldn't have done it without them.

Co-workers of both sexes question in awe if he is even human, because he has everything: looks, brains, AND a great personality it seems. Even the ladies from the other departments all have their eye on him, and it's hard for us mere mortals to even get near to him *le sighzzz*.

...Enter YOU, staying behind to work overtime because the bossman had dumped a mountain of folders on your desk. Hyuuga sees you just as he's about to leave after a time-consuming client. He praises your dedication, but says that you should learn to say 'no' to people occasionally or else you will die of karoushi. (Ok he didn't exactly say it like *that*; I took some liberties.)

So, as your senpai, he’s staying to help you with your work. In return, he only asks that you lend him a hand in the future if he's ever in a pinch ;)

Both of you finalllly finish your work, and he brings you a coffee. You ask him why he stayed to help you, and he replies that, as a man, he couldn't bear to see a girl struggle with everything by herself. Also, you are the hardest worker in the entire department, and he wants you to succeed~ (ง •̀_•́)ง Shucks ain’t that sweet?? :3

Afterwards. he offers to take you home, since there's no more public transport at this time of night and it's unsafe for a girl to go home alone. On the way he asks about the office drinking party on Sunday, which you are both planning to attend.

…At the drinking party, Hyuuga is surrounded by #drunkpeopleactingdumb. He notices that you are being rather quiet, and you explain that you are not much of a party-person. To which he replies that he's the same way!! You are surprised because he seems so popular, but he jokes that he must seem like an ojisan to someone your age. A cheesy exchange ensues:

You: Ojisan? That's not true, Hyuuga-san is cool af. Him: Cool? Whythankyouverymuch, that's an honour. Looks like I'll have to work harder from now on, in order to maintain my cool af image in your eyes! You: But... the way you are right now is enough... Him: 'The way I am right now is enough'... for what?

Just then you are interrupted by a drunken co-worker, who forces more drinks onto Hyuuga. Hyuuga remarks lovingly that everyone at the office is like his family, making the drunk dude cry tears of joy into his sake. Ay-yai-yai.

♥

NEWSFLASH: your department is going to have a reorganisation soon. You and Hyuuga will be on the same team, and you will become his new assistant! So then he casually asks about your document-prep time, and mutters 'SLOWPOKE' under his breath after hearing your reply. You thought you heard him say something and question him, but he denies it *whistles innocently*. Hmm...

After work, you show up at your regular bar following a long absence. The staff tell you they've missed you, and gossip to you about a new regular customer who goes by 'Suu-san'. According to them, this person has the face of an idol, but a completely *twisted* personality, always complaining about work. At that very instant, who else but Hyuuga enters the bar, and it is confirmed that he is the Suu-san they are talking about.

Hyuuga didn't see you, and before the staff can make the introductions, he cuts them off and places his order, launching into his usual work complaints. He bitches about his new female assistant who is sooo slowwwwww that he is forced to take work home and sacrifice his weekends. And all the other co-workers are either unhelpful retards or pathetic gold-diggers. THAT PLACE IS DOOMED, YO.

After his spiel (of which you heard every word), the bar owner turns back to you... and that is when Hyuuga finally notices you. He is so shocked that he spits out his drink LOL, and hurriedly pays and drags you outside to *talk*. He tells you that what you heard are his true feelings, while his 'work persona' is but a carefully crafted act for survival. Also, he only helps you with your work because your slowness affects his work.

Unsurprisingly, you are shocked and hurt by his confessions, but he doesn't even seem to care. In his view, you and the other co-workers only like his fake personality and not the real him anyway. His only concern is that you keep this a secret from them, and luckily for him, you agree to it without much fuss.

Next day at the office, you keep your promise and didn't tell anyone. But unfortunately, you look all #doom&gloom and are clearly avoiding him. Since you are his assistant, it would look too suspicious, so he orders you to act normal - i.e. like his loving kouhai... OR ELSE.

♥

After work, it's pouring and you've forgotten your umbrella. What's worse, it's not going to stop any time soon. Hyuuga sees your sorry state and makes you *beg* him to share his umbrella with you. At first you refuse, but, not wanting to be stuck at the office all night, you reluctantly beg him in the end and walk to the station together.

Along the way, he tells you to scoot closer under the umbrella (-ella, -ella,...) so that you don't catch a cold and miss work. #TSUNDEREALERT!!! Then he sees the #1 most cliched item ever to appear on a rainy day: An abandoned baby kitten in a cardboard box. He instructs you to take his umbrella home, while he takes the kitten with him and hails a taxi to safety.

…

It's the weekend! You are at his place!! And it's not what you think!!!!!!! (Wait, ...what ARE you thinking? ;P) There's an error in your document, and he's called you over to fix it before handing it over to the client. As your superior and a bona-fide #goodguy, he will have to take responsibility for your misses :'). He threatens that he gon' make you pay for wasting his weekend, and you cower in fear imagining unsavoury scenarios XD.

He teases you about your gutter-mind, and you become on the verge of tears. Your defenselessness makes him want to bully you more, so he announces that you will become his sex-slave, because... he is interested in you (!!), and this is how he treats people he likes. #ufeelingluckypunk??!

Except for past girlfriends, he hasn't invited anyone else to his place. Hearing this makes you slightly happy :3. What's more, he promises to treat you to some delicious food after you finish the work. (Awww I am melting~~~) You call him sweet, and he overreacts and denies it, making you laugh XDD. He tells you that, in the past, *some people* have said he has a bad personality, and it's stuck.

Later the stray kitten that he brought home came running out. He's named it 「アメ」 ('rain', after that fateful day of their meeting) and nursed it back to health. You observe that the way he talks to Ame is super cute, which embarrasses him, and he's all like 'SHUT UP AND DO UR WORK' to cover up his shyness wwwww~~~

Afterwards, he compliments you on a job well-done and calls you a responsible and almost-perfect worker - your only weakness is your speed (or lack thereof). You are surprised by his praise and start to reevaluate him. This is when he tells you his #assholebackstory:

Once upon a time, he was in love with a girl and tried his best to make her happy... only for her to tell him that he is a hurtful bastard who is abusive to everyone around him. This misunderstanding was a huge blow to his self-esteem, and ever since then, he started putting on the inoffensive persona that he uses at work, in order to navigate the treacherous terrain of social relations.

On hearing this, you become sympathetic, despite his protests to the contrary. You bring up the rain etc. as examples that he is actually a big softie, and he tries to come up with excuses how they are just normal behaviour. He also admits that he's secretly glad it was you who overheard him at the bar that day, instead of anyone else. His embarrassed confession is so adorable that you call him 'cute' again, and he gets all #angrytsundere trying to deny it lulz.

♥

At the next meeting, the boss assigns a big client to your team. Afterwards, Hyuuga invites you to lunch together, Your closeness starts to arouse the jealousy of some women in your dept, and they gossip behind your back (which Hyuuga overhears). During lunch, Hyuuga tells you that you are not only important to the team, but to him personally as well. You are all like #confusedpuppyeyes, which makes him doki-doki, but just then the waiter arrives with your food, and he swallows back his confession. #badtiming ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Days later, some v. important data for this case has gone missing, and Hyuuga asks the boss for some time to fix this. You apologise and admit that you might have lost it by accident, but he doesn't believe that you would make a silly mistake like that. Two female co-workers come over and badmouth you for your carelessness, and Hyuuga starts to yell at them but you stop him.

At this point, Hyuuga can't hold back anymore, and says outright that he saw the two of them at your desk yesterday after everyone had left. He threatens to check the building's security cam footage. As the culprits struggle to come up with an excuse, he flies into a fit of rage and goes ballistic on them at some length before storming out.

You chase after him and express your worry now that he has revealed his 'true self' in the office. But he doesn't seem concerned - more than keeping up his persona, he has now found something *more important* to protect. You don't get his meaning, and he's all like (┛◉Д◉)┛︵ ┻━┻ 'cos he can't believe how dumb you are. #rofl

So then FINALLY, dude confesses that he likes you! Your acceptance and nonchalance after seeing his true self, plus your knack for bringing out his gentle side, have (#reluctantly) won him over. He asks you to date him, and you laugh good-naturedly at his whole #ore-sama attitude before saying a resounding YES. (ﾉ*>ω<)ﾉ~☆

[Epilogue / half a year later]

You come out of the shower with your hair all wet, and he nags at you while drying it for you. He complains that you are more low-maintenance than a dude, and he feels more like your mum than your boyfriend XD.

Ever since revealing his true personality at the office that day, everyone has ironically grown even closer to him, and he wonders if you are all secretly a bunch of do-M's lol. Then he snuggles up with you for the night and thanks you for accepting every side of him, and promises to stay by your side 4everrrr.

♥

[Thoughts] I loved this story!! Sure it has a bunch of cliches and predictable elements in it, but I love the way he gradually changed his attitude and slowly warmed up to our lovely heroine. You also get to hear Hirarin as an オラオラ/ヤンキーtype, which is so out-of-character for him. He’s just too cute/hilarious when he gets angry to hide his shyness. And the way he raged at those two jealous co-workers... Is this even real?? OMG.

The audio is from the bonus track/free talk, where he does his special baby voice that he uses to talk to cats, and... I JUST CAN’T. EVEN. I mean just listen to it. wwwwwwwww~~~ XDDD. Hirarin also reveals that, on his 30th birthday, he got a msg from his dad explaining why they named him ‘Daisuke’. The reason is kept secret here, but apparently 「大輔」 means was a kind of high-ranking official title in olden times (pre-Heian). #don’tquoteme

One other thing I really liked, is that some of the side characters are voiced as well, like the boss and co-workers. It’s so refreshing and cuts the monotony of usual situation CDs where you have to guess what the other people are saying, because everyone else is unvoiced. Especially in fight scenes, where your guy starts taunting and/or getting injured by *nobody*. But anyway.

[pinay-princess]

Take it Slow | Princepen

Who: Princess Kalangitan & Aspen Jones @runaspenrun

When: Sometime after Christmas before New Year’s

Where: Aspen’s Room

What: They discuss classes and share their first kiss. Taking it slow and cuteness.

Princess

Aside from Carter, Aspen was easily growing into some one who Princess was comfortable around. And even though they’ve only held hands and kissed on the cheek, Aspen still gave her so many butterflies. So many. She pulled her hair out of her bun and threw on some jeans and a spaghetti strap before making her way over to the Dominant dorms. With a smile and a wave she offered up the Tupperware of pancit she made on Christmas and slipped in. “Hey.”

Aspen

Her laptop was open in front of her but Aspen was hardly paying attention to it. Instead, her eyes were on the tv screen as images of the lion king flashed across the screen. It was something to help her pass the time until Princess showed up. She wasn’t really in any rush to pick her classes but she didn’t mind using them as an excuse to see the other woman. Aspen tried not to appear too eager as she moved to answer the knock at the door or when she smiled as she opened the door. “Hey, yourself.” Her eyes drifted down to the Tupperware container. “What’s this?”

Princess

Princess had almost forgotten about the container in her hand and was confused for a little bit, temporarily distracted by Aspen. It seemed like she had that effect on her. "Oh this?" She lifted the container to show the noodles inside. "Pancit. It's a Filipino specialty and one of my favorite things to make." She handed it to Aspen and slipped her shoes off at the door. "I figured you wouldn't say no to some food?" Princess slipped her hands into her pocket and waited for Aspen to lead them to wherever they were getting this done. "Oh, I should have brought my lap top, huh?"

Aspen

“It’s almost like people know I can’t survive off my own cooking....which I’m not complaining about at all.” It was pretty well known with the people that knew her that Aspen couldn’t cook to save her life. She relied on people cooking for her and meal delivery services to keep her on track with her diet. She slipped into the kitchen long enough to placed the container in the fridge for later before she was leading Princess back to her room. Thank goodness she had actually put away her laundry for once. “You can just use mine.” She shrugged as she climbed into bed, patting the spot next to her. “So what classes did you take last semester? We should probably start there.”

Princess

Princess shook her head. "I honestly wasn't even thinking that. I just love cooking and I love sharing my cooking with other people. But now that I know that's the case, I will definitely be cooking for you more often." Princess followed Aspen's lead, waiting for her just outside of the kitchen and following her into the bedroom, situating herself next to her on the bed. "Cool." She pulled the phone out of her pocket and clicked open her notes. "So I have last semester's classes on here and like a draft of this semester's?" She zoomed in and handed it over to the other girl. "Figured it would be better to come prepared. Even though this is basically random from the first list of classes." Princess shrugged and pulled her legs up to her chest while Aspen looked over her list.

Aspen

Aspen took a few moments to look over Princess’s list and took note of the classes that she had already taken. “So the intro to submission is a given since that’s a year long class.” She mused more to herself as her eyes drifted towards the list of classes pulled up on her laptop. “If you want to keep with all of the non kink classes then I think you have a pretty good list but I think you should take at least one kink class cause how else are you gonna know if you like something and it’s safer than doing the hands on approach, you know?” Aspen wasn’t trying to take over and make the decision for her but it felt like a good idea to at least present the option to her.

Princess

This was good for Princess, having someone give their input. Because when it came to stuff like this... Princess was completely lost. And Aspen hit it right on the head. She was unsure of which kink classes she’d like, which was why she was avoiding them all together. She sighed an nodded. “Yeah, you’re right.” But she was still unsure. “Which kink classes were you thinking of taking?”

Aspen

Aspen was focusing so much on Princess’s classes because she had no idea what she wanted to take herself. She had been racking her brain. There were too many choices and it was a bit overwhelming, and being put on the spot made her mind go blank for a second or two. “I think I might continue with the bondage courses and maybe sensory play. I haven’t gotten to try them out yet but I wanna make sure I’m prepared when the time comes.” She handed her phone back before pulling her laptop into her lap. “I just need one more class. I’ll be an overachiever and take five classes next time.”

Princess

That made the decision easy for Princess. Once Aspen handed her the phone back, she erased the mental health class and replaced it with sensory play. "Okay, what if I took sensory with you?" She asked, her voice full of hope. "And maybe you can take either the sexual health or the d/s identity class with me?" Princess had no doubt that Aspen was secure in her mark, but it still would be nice to have some friends in some of her classes. "I take horrible notes and I'm not very motivating, but I am funny and I will always make class entertaining," she offered with finger guns.

Aspen

“I wouldn’t mind that at all.” Other people might have seen it as Princess slowly infiltrating her life but Aspen was more than okay taking a couple of classes with her. If anything it would serve as an excuse to spend even more time with her. “I can take the d/s class with you but you gotta promise to be my partner if they make us do group shit, deal?” She was speaking already as added the class to her list without even waiting for Princess’s answer. Part of her wasn’t really giving her the option to say because she didn’t want to deal with rejection. “This is perfect cause I take amazing notes and I hate failing.” Aspen laughed and grabbed one of her fingers, squeezing it gently.

Princess

"Okay, yes, promise. Deal." Princess held out her pinky to show Aspen that she was really serious about this. She made the final changes in her phone then tucked it away with the intention of registering officially when she was back on her computer. "Full disclosure, I'm a horrible student but for you I'm going to try my hardest." Princess looked down at their joined hands, pulling it up and pressing a kiss to the back of Aspen's hand. There was no reason for it and for that reason alone, it made her heart rate speed up as she looked up to meet Aspen's eyes.

Aspen

Aspen twisted her hand so that her pinky could lock with her and swing them back and forth foe a few seconds. She hadn’t made a pinky promise she was like 7 with one of her sisters over something meaningless and trivial, but there was something about doing it with Princess that made it fitting. Her breath caught in her throat, a barely audible gasp at the feel of her lips against her skin. Heat formed almost immediately right underneath them and Aspen had to swallow against the lump in her throat. Her eyes drifted down to her lips. She moved without hesitation, being pulled closer by some unseen force, as her free hand came to cup the side of Princess’s face to lift it up. The force only grew stronger until their lips were just barely touching. Tension hung thick in the air, reaching a point that Aspen couldn’t stand any longer. Aspen needed to kiss her—to know how her lips felt and how she tasted—and so she did.

Princess

Princess smiled, feeling lucky that Aspen was willing to entertain her sometimes childish tendencies. It seemed like time stood still as she anticipated the Domme’s next move. Princess was well aware of what she hoped would happen next, but she had no idea it’s something that could happen. Not to her. It happened like from a movie, as Aspen invaded her space, Princess closed her eyes and puckered her lips. But there was no amount of preparation that could have made her ready for this. Her breath hitched and she was lightheaded when their lips finally connected. Aspen smelled like vanilla and her lips her so soft. So so soft. Her free hand grasped at the other woman’s thigh as she moved forward, doing everything in her power to keep her from pulling away.

Aspen

Aspen wasted no time closing her laptop and pushing it out of her lap without even pulling away from Princess. She shifted to bring their bodies closer, her hand moving around the back of her neck and fingers working up into the soft strands of her hair so that she didn't pull away. She had been wanting to do this since they first met and now that she was getting the chance to finally do it, she didn't want the moment to end any time soon. She wanted to suspend time and leaving them hanging right there in that moment. Their lips fit together almost too perfectly, moving together without pause as Aspen took control. Her own lips parted slowly and her tongue peeked out enough to move across Princess's bottom lip almost asking for entry.

Princess

Princess was left damn near breathless. Every point of contact from Aspen's touch made her skin feel like it was one fire and she needed to tell herself to keep breathing. Well, keep breathing as best as she possibly could while Aspen was asking for permission to enter. She opened her mouth willingly, allowing Aspen the access, but mostly to gain access herself. Just the small push of the other girl's tongue had her stomach doing flips and suddenly she couldn't get close enough. So she moved closer, which included her moving to straddle the other girl's lap. Her lungs her burning but there was no way she was ready for this kiss to end.

Aspen

Aspen couldn’t help but moan softly, the sound getting swept in the kiss. She was easily getting swept up in the kiss. Especially when Princess moved into her lap. She leaned back against her pillows, a hand moving down her back to push the other woman forward and press their bodies together. She only pulled away long enough to take in a breath before her lips were back. This time, they moved along the length of her neck, down and then back up again so that she could feel her lips again.

Princess

This was not at all where Princess was expecting this to go but she wasn't going to complain or try to stop it. The truth was she liked Aspen, a lot. And with their dates and hangouts, this was inevitably the next step. But how fast was she willing to go was the real question. As good as Aspen's lips felt on her neck, there was a nagging thought in the back of her mind that this was not how she wanted her first time with Aspen to go. She craved structure and mutual consent instead of just giving into the heat of the moment. She pulled back begrudgingly, offering Aspen a shy smile and kissing her jaw. "I like you a lot," Princess said without prompting. "I don't want to rush into things, you know?"

Aspen

Aspen couldn’t say that she wasn’t a little disappointed when Princess pulled back and spoke. The level of attraction she had for the other woman was astronomical but she would never do anything to make her uncomfortable. She smiled softly and reached up to push hair from her face. “However fast or or slow you wanna go, I’m right there with you, okay?” She kissed her lips quickly before slowly moving her from her lap but keeping her arms around Princess because she wasn’t ready for her to leave just yet. “Wanna watch Sky High?”

Princess

Princess felt like a complete mood killer, but she knew that she needed to be completely honest with both herself and Aspen. Because the truth was, she was already thinking about going to that place with Aspen, her heart and body just needed to catch up. When Aspen pushed the hair back from her face, she leaned into the touch and smiled at the validation. "Thank you, Miss. That means a lot." She pressed one last kiss to her cheek as she was guided off of her lap and gave into the embrace with a quickness. "That sounds perfect."

[everythinginslowmotion]

Fixing Blue

This is a second part to my story Seeing Red (found |x| for ao3 and |x| on my blog)

Healing must be one of the hardest things for the human race to endure through. Some are able to push through to the end easily, others struggle to make it all the way to the finish. And a handful, well, sometimes that healing process takes too much and pushes out the light before they even come close to the exit of the tunnel. Although everyone wishes that healing was an instant occurrence, it just isn’t and god knows if it ever will be. Even an ancient alien civilization far more advanced in technology than humanity wasn’t even able to perfect the seemingly impossible task. 

For Lance, healing always seemed like it would be apart of his life. On his 5th birthday he had to heal for the first time after he fell off of the back of his sisters bike and fractured his arm, it took 4 weeks. The next time was 2 months after his arm was healed when he fell from the tree and twisted his ankle from landing wrong, that time is took only 8 days. The most recent major healing he had to endure before his departure to save the universe happened the week before being promoted to fighter class in the garrison. The day he found out Keith had been booted from the program started out being the best day of his life, but the moment he called home to tell his family he had a chance at moving up to what he came here to do, it turned sour. His abuelo died the next day, and Lance didn’t even get the chance to tell the person who believed in his dreams the most the news. That healing, will never be complete.

It only took a week for his arm to heal with the weird Altean cast on.

````````````````````

Moving was hard for him. It sounds stupid, but it's the truth.

Getting out of bed that first day ended up being too difficult a task after Keith’s “I need you” moment and Lance’s realization of how broken he had truly let himself become. So he didn’t proceed with the trying task and rather just stared up at the ceiling like he had done many a night, too drained to cry and too empty to feel or think anything else for the rest of the day. Night. Whatever it had ended up being before he finally closed his eyes and fell into a restless dozing. Hunk entered his room a couple of times after Keith left. The first time, he opened the door and brought in a bowl of the green slime they liked to call food.

“Hey buddy, you awake?” He whispered though he could clearly see that Lance’s eyes were in fact open. He made his way over to Lance’s bed and set the tray down on the floor next to the bed. “Oh no, shit Lance what happened?”

Lance didn’t respond.

Leave it to Hunk to recognize him in this state. Hunk had been the one to comfort Lance those difficult nights in their room at the garrison when he couldn’t sleep because of his loss. Hunk saw the mask fade away once Lance shut the door for the night and just sat there on the blue sheets of his bed telling him about all of the things he wishes he could have done and said but would never get to do. Hunk never tried to get Lance to sneak out like they had done before. He never pushed him to stay up late to play stupid games that Lance would come up with during the middle of a class when he finally stopped paying attention to what the teacher was trying to say. Hunk had complained about all of those things before, “Lance, come on we need to sleep”, “Lance we have a huge test tomorrow, neither of can afford to fail this one”, “Dude, Iverson is literally going to kill us if we get caught leaving our room this late”. But he never really meant them, and during those few days he wanted them to return more than anything else in his life, but he didn’t push. They would find their way back into his life after almost a week, not because Lance had gotten over what had happened, but because he realized that wasting his life was the exact opposite of what his abuelo wanted for his life, which is why we applied for the garrison in the first place, and slowly went back to living his life as he had been. But occasionally Lance would go back into those habits, and this was one of those times.

“You know I’m not gonna force you to tell me anything, but you know I’m here for you when you need me man. I’m always here”.

He didn’t want for Hunk to leave his room, but he also didn’t do anything to stop the exit. He just sat there in silence, listening to the sound of his own breathing and the harsh tone of his thoughts, wrestling around the inside of his mind.

Not much more happened that day. Pidge came in with Shiro to check on him, and she invited him to go watch her play their game that they had bought back at the space mall. She knew how much he loved to watch her play it, not in a creepy way though, when Pidge played it reminded him of when he would babysit and his younger brothers and sister would fight over the controllers and play the videogames on the small television in their little house. He didn’t take her up on her offer though, not today. Shiro just wanted to make sure his arm wasn’t hurting too bad, and honestly he had almost forgotten entirely about his arm if it hadn’t been for the restraint movement that he had when trying to bend it. Coran also came by to check on his arm and spent the first part asking questions but quickly realized that Lance was not in a chatting mode and switched it over to a story about when Allura had to wear one of these devices in her childhood. He was always good in that way, seeming to always pick up emotional cues and adjusting his ways to fit the needs. Sometimes he wondered if it was an Altean thing and then would remember that Allura never seemed to notice when he was feeling this way, but he really couldn’t blame her, she had much more important things to worry about and frankly probably didn’t care all that much on the kind of day Lance was having unless it directly affected team Voltron.

The last visit he got that day was another one from Hunk in which Lance spent the entire duration holding [and failing to] back tears as they sat on the floor leaning against his bed.

“Hunk, I fucked everything up. Why do I always fuck everything up.” There was a scratchiness to his voice that was unnatural and made him cringe with every syllable that left his lips. He sounded so broken and it just made him break a little more with every word.

“I talked with Keith earlier Lance, he feels horrible you know. You didn’t mess everything up.”

“Not with Keith. Well yes, with Keith. I fucking told him I loved him, Hunk! How is that not fucking it up? Not only that but I then proceed to punch a wall and break my hand. Who the hell punches walls? Fucking dumbasses, Hunk that’s who. Now Keith knows everything, and god knows everyone else probably does too, I don’t even know if I can pilot at the moment but I still promised Allura I would, and I’m just bits now Hunk. Ever since we got here I’ve been blaming everything on Keith but it was never his fault. This entire time I’ve been slowly unraveling and I was so sure it was his fault but it's not Hunk. It’s all me, I broke myself and I don’t know how to fucking fix it because all I ever am capable of is breaking”.

“Lance- that’s not…”

“Don’t tell me it’s not true Hunk! At this point I don’t even remember who I was before this, all I know is that I’m stuck here now and I just- I just need to go home”.

“I know, buddy. We all need to go home.”

`````````````

He came out of his room the next day.

Today was going to be the day Lance went back to being Lance. No one would look at him as a broken toy. No one would sit in a slightly uncomfortable silence around him in an effort to comfort. He wasn’t going to let them. Today was going to be normal.

The dark room around him slowly started to illuminate as the castle started powering on the lights for the day, starting a stinging sensation in his eyes that forced him to half squint in order to see. Without allowing time for regret, he achingly pulled back the covers exposing his uncasted arm to the cool air of the metal building. The floor sent chills up his legs as he grudgingly shuffled across the floor to grab his clothes from the closet like panel on the opposite side of the room. He really needed to ask Allura if they had any other clothes, because his blue and white baseball tee and jeans were starting to get a little too redundant to wear. His brothers jacket, however, that thing he would wear until the day he died.

The bathroom across the hallway was one that he and Keith shared since their rooms were right next to one another. Lance slowly made his way over to the door, knowing that Keith wouldn’t be using it at the moment. Keith always woke up unnecessarily early, like 2 vargas earlier than when the lights turned on. And luckily for Lance, that meant that he had also finished up in the bathroom way before Lance even was close to needing it, meaning that he could avoid at least one awkward encounter for now.

Lance tried to make everything like it had been before. Like it had been when they first arrived at the castle. When his efforts weren’t difficult and when he could look into the mirror and see hope and adventure rather than emptiness and disappointment. He tried. But no matter what he did, the water in the shower seemed just a little colder, the food goo mask seemed a little clumpier, and his face seemed a little more paler than it previously had seen. It seemed as though the color and comfort was draining away from the world; and it was taking him with it.

It took 3 tries for him to finally go to the kitchen. The first was after he left the bathroom. Once the door closed behind him, it closed up his lungs as well. He caught himself on the wall as the tried to breathe but wasn’t succeeding. Eventually he made it back to his room where he was able to calm down long enough breathe again. The second time was roughly 10 minutes later, after pacing around the room repeating “You can do this. Just fucking go McClain” and then proceeding to promptly open the door and then close it immediately after. The 3rd time was more or less what someone would call a success depending on who was being asked. As soon as the door closed, he reopened it and took a shaking step outside.

The lights in the hallway were spread further apart than the ones in his room making it appear slightly dimmer. It was also colder out here as the air ran through the hallways causing his nervous shaking to get slightly worse. He pulled his jacket around his tighter and took a step out. The walk down the hallway and towards the kitchen area never seemed as long as it had now. Every step hurt and felt like his legs were about to give out on him. His body and mind were weak from the last couple of days and he felt as if he could fall over and just lay there for hours until somebody came and found him, but he kept on going. Pushing through to a normal day.

“Well someone has to bring him food! Why can’t it be me?”

“Keith, you know why. We all already agreed…” Shiro’s voice traveled through the thin metal door leading into the dining area allowing Lance to hear it with ease.

Lance stood behind the entry way, breathing in one last breath before putting on a smile and pressing the button. Shiro paused with the woosh of the door and everyone's eyes were on Lance. The scene before him was not one that he was expecting. They were all sitting around the long table but not actually eating anything. In fact most of the food looked untouched. Keith was halfway between the table and the door with a bowl of food goo in his hand and with an exasperated looking Shiro standing next to his chair. Everyone was dead silent as Lance took a step through the door and for just a moment he thought his facade might fade away revealing his nervousness and uncertainty, but it didn’t. Rather, he took on his usual stride and made his way over to the table, keeping his arm near to him at all times.

“Well guys I know I’m strikingly handsome, but I didn’t think it was enough to leave a whole room speechless,” he managed to get out as he sat down. He heard Pidge and Allura sigh. He gave Allura a look and winked at her like he usually would after making a comment as such, and like clockwork she rolled her eyes back at him, but with that he noticed a small smile forming in the corners of her mouth.

“Well it’s good to see that you are feeling better, Lance”

“Of course Princess. I told you I would be fine, it takes a lot to knock me off of my feet.” Lance noticed that worried glance he got from Hunk after that statement but decided to ignore it. “Anyway, where did my food go?”

Everybody turned their heads back towards Keith. His face got a deep shade of red and he looked down. Lance saw Shiro sit back down out of the corner of his eye. Keith started shuffling his way back towards his seat next to Lance.

“Oh so now you’re trying to steal my food too? This rivalry is getting serious if we are messing with each others food now too”. He tried to control his voice, and it semi worked.

“I-uh, I was going to bring it to you… but I guess that isn’t necessary.” He eventually made it back over to his chair and set the food down in front of him. Despite Lance’s efforts to try and play off what had happened over the past couple of days, he could sense everyone was worried about the future relationship between the two paladins and what it meant for the future of Voltron. The tension in the room was becoming unbearable and the silence of the crowd wasn’t helping.

Lance tried to eat the goo as quickly as he could with his left hand, and though his efforts were snail like and the time dragged on for much longer than what seemed possible, he still managed to be the first person finished with their food.

“Well, if you guys would excuse me, I have some bonding to catch up on with Blue.”

“Don’t forget about the training later, Lance.”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world Princess.”

He could finally breathe again as the door closed behind him.

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

“Hey there beautiful, did you miss me?” He asked while walking up to the ginormous metal paw that stood in front of him. In response, a purr like sound came from her as her head lowered allowing Lance to step inside the all too familiar area. The blue lights powered on around him and he closed his eyes allowing for him and Blue to become closer. Blue could read his thoughts, just as he could feel hers. He knew that she was worried about him and worried about him piloting with a broken arm and she knew that he was tired and scared for what was going to happen next. But they were able to take comfort in each other as always.

He doesn’t know how much time he had spent in the hangar with Blue but he didn’t care because it was the most relaxed he had felt in a long time. It wasn’t until he heard Allura’s voice coming over the castle coms telling him to report to the training deck that he finally opened his eyes.

Blue let him out and he took one final look at her before turning and running towards his room to change into the blue armour that he now called his.

He made his was towards the familiar area of the training deck but this time it was different. This time it wasn’t just memories of training or late night walks that would flood his mind upon entering the room. There would be the added image of Keiths face as he was screaming at him. Keith screaming at him back. His hand crumpling against the impact of the wall. All things he would rather not see. But he could do it. He did it for every other day before that and he can do it now. Maybe.

Hopefully.

The room didn’t suck the sound out when he entered this time. Allura and Coran were up in the control room and his fellow team members were gathered in a circle in the middle of the room talking amongst themselves. They probably wouldn’t have even noticed him if it weren’t for Alluras announcement.

“Oh good, you’re here. Okay paladins, since we can’t exactly do any team sparring exercises today we are going back to one of the easier team building exercises of the invisible maze.” Everyone collectively groaned at the memories of how painful the maze could be. “No complaining. We could all use a little team bonding and this is one of the easier ones. And, whichever team gets through the maze the fastest with the fewest mistakes gets to leave training early.”

“How is that promoting bonding, isn’t that just creating competition?”

“Precisely number four! You can’t have a team work well together if they can’t even have a safe and friendly competition every once in awhile.”

“And after the past few days, I believe we could all use a little fun.”

Lance already knew this wouldn’t be fun however. His bonding exercise partner was Keith and he had a feeling Allura and Shiro weren’t going to let him switch for today's competition. In fact, they were probably hoping that a competition would bring the two of them closer together. Lance didn’t blame them though, he understood that the events that unfolded in this very room only 2 nights before could have severe consequences and better try and stop them now before it hurts the team. Lance didn’t want to hurt the team anymore than he had.

He took one final deep breath in before glancing at Hunk, mouthing to him ‘I’ll be okay’ then striding on over to where Keith and Shiro were talking.

“Ready Mullet?” He asked the red paladin. Keith just gave him a slight smile before nodding at Shiro and replying “Sure thing partner.”

Pidge and Hunks maze went extraordinarily well as it always did. Hunk got a little nervous when giving directions like he always does, but it seemed more controlled than usual. Probably because he wanted to get back to trying to figure out how to create better food from food goo. Allura went with Shiro, but she only directed him rather than switching to be directed later. They always worked the best together, which was expected with them being the leaders and all.

It wasn’t until it was time for him and Keith to go that things started to go wrong. Lance could feel the anxiety starting to build up in him as he stepped into the maze. They always failed the maze. Never once have both of them successfully gotten through it without screaming at each other or purposefully running the other into the wall. Lance kept waiting for the shock that came whenever he ran into the wall but it never appeared.

“What the quiznack? Did Lance just go through the maze without touching the wall once?” He heard Pidge call from the control room over their coms.

“Wait I’m finished?”

“Yeah, congratulations boys. Now if you can do that again and maybe a little faster with Keith then looks like you two will be done with training for the day.” Allura replied.

“No but seriously. How did you two do that? You guys always bomb the maze?”

“I guess we just make a good team, Hunk.” He heard Keith let out. Lance could hear the amusement in his voice as he said it. Lance soaked that feeling in letting himself temporarily forget about the last few days and go along with the moment.

“Hell yeah we do!” He yelled back turning and smiling towards the room where everybody was standing watching him as he fist bumped the air.

Well, like everything else in Lance’s life, this started to fall apart as well. Lance got up into the control room and scanned over the map trying to find the best and quickest way out of there. That was the part he was good at, it was the speaking directions part that always got him. Ever since he was a kid things like directions took slightly more time to process than things like numbers and physical images did. He could feel the brief moment of happiness slipping away from him and feel the pull of anxiety and failure starting to take control again.

“Um, take two steps to your right and then head straight for another five steps. Small ones. Make sure they are small. Wait! Actually those were too big so stop.” The rest of the maze came out in hesitant statements and shaking words, but regardless Keith still stepped and turned as directed. Then he ran into the wall.

“Shit! Ow, come on Lance!”

“Oh God. Sorry, I- I meant left.”

“Ok, calm down Lance. It’s fine. Just think about it before you say things or we are going to lose points for aim rather than time.”

He hit the wall a total of 6 times. Which, is better than the usual count that is closer to 20 for each of them. Lance sighed in relief as Keith exited the maze rubbing the arm that took most of the shocks. ‘Shit that's his sword arm. Shit, great. Fuck he’s probably going to be mad.’

He felt Shiro pat him on the back but he didn’t respond. Words were being said to him but it was too much.

“Lan- Lance! Are you okay buddy?” He looked up at Hunk who was now holding onto his good arm supporting him so he wouldn’t fall.

‘So much for a normal day…’

“Lance I think you should spend your extra time off from training resting,” Shiro told him. He was giving him an extremely concerned look.

“Guys, what’s going on up there?” Keith asked from the floor of the training deck.

“Keith, could you help take Lance back to his room?”

“No! I’m fine. I can handle it, I have a broken arm not broken legs. I don’t need Keith to escort me, he already did that enough today.”

“Calm down Lance. You are really pale right now and… “

“Just shut up Pidge! I’m not a broken toy in need of fixing,” LIES. “I don’t need you guys treating me like a stupid child just because of a broken arm! You guys didn’t need to set up a competition to try and get me out of training early! I don’t need…”

“That is enough Lance,” He looked up into the hurt eyes of Pidge, the surprised eyes of Hunk and Shiro and the angry ones of Allura.

“I’m- oh God. No, sorry, I…” he didn’t finish the sentence, instead he just left the control area as fast as he could and walked back to the one place he knew would help him.

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

He could hear them talking about him over the comms as he walked towards the Bridge.

“There is something wrong with him besides just his arm.”

“Maybe he is more homesick than usual?”

“I think the other night just really messed him up.”

“Do you think he will be okay?”

When he got to his chair on the bridge he removed his helmet and pulled up the star map. The room around him grew dim and surrounding him were little spots of light representing every star, planet or sun that is around them. The star map always amazed him. How something so large could be contained to such a small area and even then it only showed was was nearby. There were just so many different things out there and none of them Lance had even known about when he left Earth. Oddly enough, the feeling of being so insignificant and small to such a large scheme of things did the exact opposite of what most people would think. Rather than make him more anxious it helped calm him and helped him focus in on what the real problems that mattered were.

He put in the coordinates for Earth and sat there while the image of it popped up in front of him. Small and blue just like a lot of the planets that were around him.

If he couldn’t go home, then why not at least look at it to give yourself a little motivation of what to fight for.

His mind became lost to him again, so much so that he wasn’t even aware of the person that had come in and sat down next to him. They sat there in silence for a long time just looking out at the various stars and the galaxies that were placed out in arm's reach of them. Neither one acknowledging the fact that the other was there. Just the two of them sitting amongst each other, small in comparison to where they were.

“Lance I…”

“I heard what you said.”

“What?”

“Yesterday. When you came into my room after arguing with Shiro. I was awake. And I heard you.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“Well I meant it.”

“I know you do. I could hear it in your words.”

“I don’t hate you.”

“I know.”

“I like you Lance… I actually really like you.” Lance could feel his heartbeat speed up as those words left Keith’s mouth. “And I was a coward for pretending this whole time like I didn’t. And for yelling back at you the other night when I could see that you needed help.” Lance felt warm as he became aware of Keith’s hand slowly covering his own in between them.

“I’m so sorry Lance. I’m so sorry I broke you.” Lance finally looked up at him while completely intertwining their hands together.

“It wasn’t you Keith. I was already a mess. Ever since we got here I’ve been a mess. It just became too much, I kept on piling on different things like you and our rivalry and not disappointing Shiro and trying to keep all of you alive and it just was so hard to do all of those things. And I broke. I spent so many nights awake trying to blame you for all of my issues and thinking that if it wasn’t for you then all of my problems would be solved but it wasn’t true. You didn’t break me Keith, that was all on me. Everything. From going off on you, to blaming you, everything was all me. All you did was play along with this stupid competition I created and looked great while doing it. If anything I should be sorry. Sorry that I hurt you, and the team and myself.”

“Lance, you didn’t hurt the team. Obviously. We were the ones most affected by the other night and look what we did today! We kicked Pidge and Hunks assses in the maze. If the team was affected, I think it would have shown today. If anything we are stronger than before.” He squeezed Lance’s hand as a way of reassurance and Lance squeezed back. “Oh my God look at us,” He said as he brought their hands up into the air so they could both see them. “It’s like our bonding moment that you don’t remember all over again.”

“Not exactly, this time you don’t have to cradle me as you carry my half dead body to the cyropods.” He said giving Keith a slight smirk getting an offended look out of Keith and a newly freed hand.

“I can’t believe I fell for you of all people,” Lance felt his face kind of drop at the statement. “It’s not like you made it hard or anything with your selflessness and stupid good looks.”

Lance didn’t know how to respond to that. He wasn’t used to getting compliments from people, especially Keith. So instead he just looked at Keith, smiled and leaned his head on his shoulder rather than taking his hand again.

“So what now,” he asked as Keith draped his arm around him carefully so that he wouldn’t bother Lance’s broken arm.

“Well now we try to fix you.”

“Keith, you do realize that I am extremely gone and that you alone won’t be able to do much.”

“Yeah, I know. But that doesn’t mean we can’t try.”

it hasn’t been edited but I know some people have been waiting a couple of weeks for this new part so I decided to go ahead and post it! 

[the-writer-ofthe-fandoms]

Control (Sam Uley)

Pairig: Sam Uley/Vampire!Reader Words: 1500+ Warning(s): Nothing too major A/N: I put all my focus on this rip there goes my motavation. I hope you enjoy~ PS i suck at endings,, Request: ello, hey, hi there! Could I possibly ask for an imagine, please? Or a songfic is fine. A twilight one, please and can the pairings be Sam × Vampire!Reader? (Teddy Bear) Reader almost hurts/kill their Mate, Sam because of their hunger? 

   Your new life was hard, but you were trying as much as you could for Sam Uley. You see, you were a vampire and he was a Quileute shape-shifter, and alpha of his pack. After you both discovered you were mates, you had to change your source of food. You now were on an animal blood only diet and although you previously fed on human blood, you were glad to change, you felt a bit more human. Plus you had Sam and the rest of his pack supporting you as best as they could; they took you in as if you were a wolf yourself.

   It was hard, but today seemed like the hardest of them all, everything seemed to want to test your patience today. Every little thing seemed to tick you off and it was making your hunger skyrocket; even feeding off deer ten minutes ago didn’t seem to help. You were trying to avoid any contact, afraid of snapping and hurting someone.

   You were currently laying on your bedroom floor, your black eyes closed as you tried desperately to calm your nerves. You heard the wolf pack tumble in downstairs, you hoped they would think you weren’t home or something. You tune them out the best you could, focusing your supernatural hearing on a bird off in the distance. You paid no mind to the footsteps coming up the stairs or approaching your bedroom, nor did you pay mind to your bedroom door being opened.

   "(Y/N)?“ A familiar voice echoed through your ears. ”(Y/N) I know you aren’t asleep!“ The voice became more clearer, you could make it out as Seth’s.

   "What do you want, Seth?” You grumble, trying to not to snap at him; he was a sweet boy after all.  

   "Sam wants to do some training with the pack and I wanted to know if you wanted to watch?“  

   "Yeah, sure.” You leap up from the floor gracefully and follow the young Quileute down the stairs, maybe watching the wolves train would help keep you some-what calm.

—-

   Watching the pack train was not helping you at all. It wasn’t the fighting that really bothered you, it was little things that made your irritation and  hunger worse. First it was Leah’s not-so-subtle glares being thrown at you, then it was the smell radiating from the wolves (besides Sam, he didn’t smell bad to you), and then it Embry and Seth yapping away right next to you. But what really was the kick was hearing Sam’s strong heartbeat and his blood pulsing throughout him. Usually for any of the wolves you would pay no mind, but since he was your mate… you craved him and today not in a good way.

   You crossed your arms and kept your dark eyes closed, just trying to listen to something other than Seth and Embry.  

   "Hey babe.“ You felt your lover nudge you.  You opened your eyes and saw him standing in front of you. "Why don’t you join us? It would probably be a good practice sense you are a vampire after all.”

   "No, Sam, not now.“  You mumble and glance away from him.

   "Aw c'mon, (Y/N)”

   "No.“

   "You scared?” He laughed and you knew he was just teasing but in your current state, you took it personally and snapped. He was about to nudge you when your grabbed his wrist, and using your all of your strength, you slam him into the ground. You pounced on him in a flash and bared your teeth before you snapped back into your normal self. You stared down at him as he let out a pained moan, your entire being filled with guilt.

   You glance around and noticed the back staring back at you, some were even whispering to each other. You jumped off him as he began to get up, wincing and rubbing his head.

   "I-I’m sorry.“ Was all you could say. "I couldn’t-” Everything around you seemed like it was spinning and you couldn’t take it anymore, you needed to get away. You didn’’t waste another second to run away.

—-

   You went to your secret get-away spot. It was as a short waterfall that spilled into a beautiful bluish-green pond, the dark rocks were covered in viridescent moss while leaves and branches secluded the area. It was very tranquil, it was the first place you went when you were changed. It was like a little safe space for you.

   You sat at the edge of the small pond while you slipped off your shoes, dipping you ice cold feet into the equally cold water. You stare at the falling water as the scene that happened moments ago kept replaying through your mind. You hurt your mate. You hurt the most important person in your life because you were a cold-blooded freak who can’t control their thirst.

   You cringe at yourself. Your hands cover your face as you squeeze your eyes shut, you just wanted to cry but you couldn’t; it felt like the guilt was trying to tear you up from the inside out. You weren’t sure if you could ever go back to the pack.

   Your head snapped up when you heard a twig snap behind you. You would of pounced whoever or whatever snuck behind you if you hadn’t of picked up the familiar scent of Sam. You looked behind you and their stood Sam in his gigantic, black wolf form. He dipped his head as his eyes bore into you, asking to approach you.

   "I don’t know why you’re here, Sam.“ You speak under your breath but you knew he would be able to hear you. You feel the air get warmer and hear his body shift as you looked back towards the waterfall.

   "I came to get you.” He said as he sat next to you, you can feel the heat radiate off his copper skin.  

   "Why? I hurt you-“

   "More like you knocked the wind out of me. You didn’t hurt me, (Y/N).” He reassured, which made you feel some-what better.

   "I’m sorry. It just seemed like everything was trying to irritate me and it didn’t help that my thirst for blood was at an all time high. It must suck having a vampire as an imprint.“

   "Not really, you’re pretty awesome for a vampire.” He smiled and pulled you close to his body, you’d probably blush if you were still human.  

   "And you’re pretty cool for a wolf.“ You chuckled and let yourself relax against his extremely warm body.

   "There’s a beautiful smile. We should probably get back the others are worried.”

   "Worried? That I might attack someone else?“

   "Worried for your safety. They are all asking if you are alright and Seth wants to play some Mario Kart with you to make you feel better.” He chuckled and stared down at you with his warm earth brown eyes. “Even Leah is asking if you’re fine.”

   "Can’t you just… think to them I am fine?“ You ask while wrapping your arms around his waist, snuggling your cold cheek against his firm peck. "I kind of like having you here with me at my secret spot. It helps calm my nerves.”

   "I wouldn’t mind a break from the others for just a moment.“ He leaned his head down and you looked up to him, your chill lips and his warm ones meet for sweet kiss, your hunger seemingly died down.

   "Want to wade in the water?” You didn’t wait for an answer. You got up from his hold and start wading towards the deepest part of the pond, which only reached your knees. Sam laughed as he stood up, joining you in the middle. You give him a mischievous look which he caught a second too late before you splashed him with the cold water.

   "Now that’s not fair!“ He grinned and gave you a big splash of water.

   "Life ain’t fair pretty boy.” Sam rolled his eyes and took you in arms as he started kissing your face in random places, making you giggle and try to move your face away from his kissing attack.

-

   After some time of just messing around the water, it was time for you both to return home.

   "Want to race home?“ You ask with a child-like grin.

   "Better not get upset when I beat you.” He shifted into his wolf form and the both of you took off, using your full speed. Nobody was in the lead, you both just ran alongside each other like the race was forgotten. You kept a smile on your face as you glanced to Sam and you could tell he was smiling too when he glanced at you. The wind whipped through your hair and his fur, you felt free at last.