#turns out that sympathy-buying is fine for things that just have to be decorative or Loved (like dolls + jewelry + art)

[marzipanandminutiae]

NEW OLD WATCH

c. 1895-1903, gold-filled, made by the Waltham company. so she’s a New England lady through and through

and contrary to my standard “BUT THIS JANKY UNLOVED PIECE NEEDS ME” method of antiquing, I used some Christmas money to actually do the thing properly where a mechanical device is concerned. so she is recently serviced and keeps excellent time. I also love the use of texture to make the tone-on-tone design clear despite its monochrome look

now I think some skirts are in need of watch pockets...

[aettuddae]

hole in one — chapter 58.

⌕ synopsis: at one of the most prestigious universities in the country, where everyone is battling to be the center of attention, yu jimin is just a regular. people want her because of her beauty, but all she cares about is sharing her freaky stuff with her friends and passing her subjects. although there's one thing that might push her out of her comfort zone, revenge. when nakamura kazuha, one of the richest and most well-known students of NCU, starts to spread gossip about her for thousands of followers to see, jimin decides to get back by taking away the thing kazuha cares about the most: her perfect girlfriend, the young golf star, kwon haru.

masterlist | prev | next

[half written chapter]

"how are you coping with being completely ignored for about two hours?" minhyuk asked karina as he popped another fish cake into his mouth.

"i'm fine." the appointee folded her arms, acting exaggeratedly nonchalant. "as you guys told me the four times i threatened to leave: she's with her girlfriend, and i respect that she has a girlfriend." she reiterated.

"exactly, my friend. besides," seungkwan paused to take a bite of his hotteok. "you said you'd take distance from her and that's what you're doing now." the addressed and minhyuk nodded. "in a healthy way where you can still have good times together."

"but we're not having good times together, we're just being around each other!" the girl exalted, shouting in a whisper so as not to be heard by who was the center of the conversation, who was walking a little ahead of them, holding her girlfriend by the waist.

"stay calm." the golfer pointed the thin stick with food on it towards her. "you were mad at her first." he reminded.

"yes, but i have a reason to be, meanwhile she's ignoring me just because."

"not 'just because', she's with her girlfriend who hates you." reasoned his best friend.

"but why would she inv-"

"oh, crystals!" squealed haru excitedly, distracting the three people from their chat.

the girl stopped next to a small stall filled with handcrafted accessories and decorations, especially things that included various crystals. she nodded her head politely to the woman who was tending and began to look at what it was offering. the group a few steps behind the couple moved a little closer to wait for her as she picked something out.

"love, look!"

she pointed towards some models of couple necklaces. they were simple, just a lace holding a beautifully stylized metal, which held a stone of your choice inside. the fun of these was that the material that held the crystal detached from a small magnet, so that if both necklaces were brought close enough, they would inevitably come together.

haru took two and began swinging them in the air, playing, watching them stick and peel off, causing her to laugh, and thus the others as well.

"what do you say?" she turned to her partner and raised her arms, still holding the two objects in her hands, as these were connected, bringing these up to her face level to properly show them to her.

"oh, you really want to buy those?" questioned kazuha with surprise, the joy leaving her face.

"don't you want to?" kwon dropped her arms.

"baby, i don't like them." she confessed, guilt showing all over her face. "they look..." she thought. "i don't know, cheap." she mumbled trying not to let the lady manning the stall hear.

"they have magnets." she lifted the product again, making both pieces collide, as if she wanted to prove kazuha wrong.

"sorry." she shook her head, trying to maintain sympathy.

haru turned around spiritless, her face dull, and put the necklaces back in place, dedicating a few apologies to the owner for wasting her time.

"i've never liked a person less." opined the short boy and took another bite of his dessert.

"she's the nicest person in the world!" added minhyuk wryly.

"guys, i can't. it's the barney effect." blurted out jimin suddenly as she watched the golfer apologize.

"k, you have to get away from her." warned the athlete, putting his hand on the girl's shoulder to stop her as she started walking towards his friend.

"jimmy, kazuha hates you!" murmured seungkwan in exasperation, trying to grab her jacket to pull her back.

"you tried to kiss her and you don't know why! karina!" the taller one tried to talk some sense into her, but she was already by the stall.

"how pretty those rings! hello!" she greeted the woman behind the table cheerfully, then linked her arm with her trainer's to keep her next to her as she pretended to analyze the options in front of her.

seeing her friend's action, the two males who had been left behind moved in quick strides, trying to remain unnoticed, and stood on either side of kazuha. just in case.

"i love those necklaces, are these the ones you liked?" she gestured toward the ornaments, then she turned her head to look at the woman, who wasn't even surprised by her abrupt actions, as she was still slumped over.

"yes." she affirmed, jaundiced. "they have magnets." she reported.

"do you like crystals?"

"yes, they're nice." she looked at the ones on the table. "i don't really care if they have properties, i just think they're very beautiful."

"which one did you want?" jimin took her eyes off haru, trying to look casual as she scanned over the stand.

"that one, it's my zodiac's" she aimed her finger at a specific stone. "and i was going to ask for the peridot for zuha, because i read that it's leo's birthstone." she smiled shyly. "zuha is a leo."

karina felt her heart squeezing, she couldn't help but feel compassion and annoyance at the same time at how much it thrilled the older to simply share with her partner something of their own, like their birthstones, and that the latter still hadn't accepted.

"could i have a pair of these, please, with this stone?" jimin suddenly asked the seller, pointing to the gem haru had told her she wanted. "and which one relates to aries?"

kwon was moving her head all over the place in confusion and surprise, looking to understand what was going on, also to find her girlfriend's reaction and avoid anything that might happen. but she seemed to be calm, serious, but calm.

the professional couldn't guess if it was because her friends were guarding her like two bodyguards, or if it was because she knew that if she wanted to have avoided the reaction of her couple's new friend, she should've accepted the necklaces in the first place.

"oh, the diamond." the woman replied excitedly to the question jimin had asked. "it's strong and brilliant, like aries." she described as she began to prepare both personified pieces.

"then, the other one be with the diamond." she requested happily after hearing the description. "did you hear? she said i'm brilliant." she boasted confidently to her companion, causing her to laugh.

they stood in silence for a few minutes, waiting for their new acquisition to be ready, karina still with her arm wrapped around haru's. minhyuk and seungkwan started chatting to pass the moment, trying to include kazuha to distract her and keep her from losing the patience she was surprisingly keeping.

once ready, the younger one thanked the woman and paid, not allowing her teacher to spend money, and then passed hers to her. they each tied the one that belonged to them around their necks and immediately began to joke around with the function of the magnets, graciously moving their heads and bodies to cause the accessories to flutter and see if they could get them to join.

"oh!" they shouted in unison vivaciously once they got it to happen only to burst into laughter after by their reaction.

"thank you." haru said sincerely once she stopped laughing and separated both stones. "i really wanted them." she looked at her friend tenderly.

"i didn't do it for you." the said raised a judging eyebrow and with her hand pushed her hair back. "they're awesome, i wanted one for myself." she averted her gaze, faking disinterest.

but her act of indifference was not very helpful nor did it last that long, as haru abruptly jumped in to wrap her in a hug, resting her head on her shoulder and squeezing her tightly, but not hurting her.

"thank you, jimmy!" she claimed again before quickly pulling away.

"you're welcome, haru." she replied looking at her lovingly before she walked away to show her new accessory to her girlfriend.

[dreamylittlesugarcube]

The Trench Coat

Genre: EXO AU, Baekhyun AU

Characters: Baekhyun x Reader

Warnings: Slightly suggestive, discussion of nudity, implied smut

Word Count: 1.5k 

Summary: It’s your boyfriend’s army discharge day and you’re ready to spend the day together–that is, until your boyfriend’s friends show up unannounced for a surprise welcome party. When your boyfriend arrives, he’s got other things on his mind, mainly what you’ve got underneath that trench coat of yours! 

A/N: This was a request for a Baekhyun discharge story, so I hope you like it! Please re-blog if you liked it so that others can find it easier <3

*Please note: I do not own the pictures above, so credit should be given to the original owner(s)*

~*~

You opened the drawer, running your hands over the multi-colored garments within. It had been a long time since these particular clothing items had seen the light of day. You surveyed your options: red lace, pale pink satin, green chiffon, and purple silk. You pondered long and hard, wondering which ensemble would be most pleasing to your man– it was his welcome home party today, afterall, and you wanted to welcome him in style. 

Sometime later, you stood in front of the mirror, modeling a red lace teddy and analyzing its effect. Unsatisfied, you removed it, dropping it onto the floor in frustration. Nothing seemed quite right and you had no time to go out and buy something else, with your boyfriend being due in–

You jumped at the sound of the doorbell. 

You frowned, looking over at the clock. Baekhyun wasn’t supposed to arrive home for another two hours and you definitely weren’t expecting anyone. Hurrying to your closet, you threw on a tan trench coat, making sure the thick fabric covered all the important bits. 

Walking barefoot to the front door, you checked the video feed, surprised to see the faces of your boyfriend’s best friends–Chanyeol, Jongdae, Minseok, Junmyeon, and Kyungsoo, and Yixing, carrying an assortment of party decorations and snacks. You had no idea what they were doing here–sure, they knew Baekhyun was coming home today, but he’d been very clear that he wanted the first night to be with you and you alone. 

Chanyeol’s voice booms through the speaker: “Y/N-ah, we’re here!”

You cracked the door open part-way. “Hey, guys”, you greeted lamely. “I–uh–wasn’t expecting you…what are you doing here?”

“We’re here for the surprise welcome home party for Baekhyun, of course!” Minseok fist pumped the air, clearly jazzed for a celebration. 

You furrowed your eyebrows in confusion. At no point did you recall having a conversation about a party of any kind. “Right…the surprise party…for Baekhyun…”, you laughed nervously, struggling to play along. 

Junmyeon’s smile faded. “Yeah…the one that Chanyeol asked you about last week…right?” 

When you gave no response, Junmyeon looked to Chanyeol, who had suddenly gone very quiet, for an answer. “Right, Chanyeol?”

Chanyeol handed the balloons off to Minseok. “Hyung, I definitely texted Y/N about this last week,” he said, confident at first. He scrolled through his phone to locate the afore-mentioned texts. Gradually, his shoulders slumped, as he tried and failed to find what he was looking for. “Sorry,” he said, looking abashed.

“So, let me get this straight…Y/N had no idea we were coming and we just showed up here, out of the blue?” Junmyeon looked ready to give the taller, yet younger man a stern scolding. 

You intervened, hoping to ward off a fight and avoid making a scene in the hallway. It’s fine–really,” you said, lying through your teeth. “I’m sure Baekhyun will be excited to see you.” You held the door open and waited as they filed through, returning Kyungsoo’s small smile of sympathy as he passed by. 

~*~

You were overwhelmed. No, that was an understatement. You were really overwhelmed. What you’d hoped to be a quiet night with just you and your lover had turned into nothing short of a circus. You watched in a daze as Chanyeol hung the piñata filled with sour candies. In the kitchen, Kyungsoo grilled meats, rolled kimbaps, and seasoned side dishes. Minseok was setting up the bar area and Jongdae was getting a song playlist going. When Chanyeol started vetoing most of his song choices, Jongdae could be heard loudly exclaiming, “Ahhh waeee?!” 

Looking for a bit of peace, you quietly slipped out the door. You made your way to the stairwell, still clothed only in your tan trench coat, having been unable to change due the boys’ presence in every room of your apartment. With a sigh, you plopped down on the top step. Nothing’s going according to plan, you thought miserably. You’d wanted nothing more than to have Baekhyun all to yourself, to touch him and hold him as much as you wanted. To fall asleep in his arms, his familiar scent on your pillow. 

You hid your face in your lap, tears burning in your eyes and slipping traitorously down your cheeks. You didn’t want to be sad, not when the day you’d been waiting for had finally come. 

“Y/N?”

You looked up, struggling to see through your tears. But, you didn’t need to see to know he was there. You’d recognize his voice anywhere. It was your Baekhyun, coming home to you at last. 

Dropping his pack, he came to you immediately. “What’s the matter, baby?” He held your face in his hands and tenderly wiped the tears away. 

You threw your arms around him, holding him close, remembering what it felt like to be held. More tears came and went, soaking into Baekhyun’s coat, as the events from today melded with the long, lonely nights of waiting. How long you stood there, you didn’t know–seconds, minutes, years, it didn’t matter, time stood still.

“Y/N, why were you sitting in the stairwell crying? Did something happen?” Baekhyun ran his hand rhythmically over your hair, making it hard for you to concentrate. 

You hummed into his chest. “It’s a long story, Baek,” you said quietly. 

“Yeah? Well, let’s go inside and you can tell me all about it.” Baekhyun bent to gather his pack in one arm, keeping the other tightly wound around you, clearly wanting as little space as possible between you. He led you out of the stairwell and down the hallway.

“Baek, before we go in, there’s something I need to–” 

Before you could finish your sentence, the door opened and you and Baekhyun were pulled through. Confetti poppers exploded around you as the boys swarmed Baekhyun for hugs and enthusiastic back pats. 

Looking over Jongdae’s shoulder, Baekhyun mouthed, “What?”, confusion obvious on his face. 

Resigned, you simply shrugged, not wanting to ruin all the hard work the boys had put into everything. Kyungsoo offered you a drink and you accepted, noticeably parched after your waterworks episode earlier.

 As the swarm thinned and the boys went to grab food or drinks, Baekhyun made his way back over to you. “So this is what you were trying to tell me about, babe?”

You nodded your head affirmatively, learning towards Baekhyun so the other boys wouldn’t hear. “Yeah, they showed up about two hours ago…unannounced,” you admitted. 

“Chanyeol?” he asked, clearly understanding of the score. 

“Who else?” you asked rhetorically, a small smile in your voice. 

Baekhyun sighed, gathering both your hands in his. “I know this isn’t what either of us were envisioning for tonight, but soon they’ll be out of here and then it’ll just be the two of us. And then the real fun begins,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. 

That definitely sounded good to you. 

“That coat looks kind of warm, Y/N. Do you want to take it off?” Baekhyun moved to undo the belt at your waist. 

You assured him you were fine, skillfully moving out of reach before you happened to flash anyone at the party. 

Undeterred, Baekhyun continued: You don’t need a coat in here, Y/N, you’ll get overheated–” 

“Baekhyun, stop,” you hissed. Lowering your voice so you were sure no one would hear, you added: I’m. Not. Wearing. Any. Clothes. Under Here.” 

Baekhyun’s pupils dilated and he released the breath he’d been holding in a loud whoosh. He slid his arms around your waist, pulling you close till his lips rested at your ear. “You’re naked under there?”

His voice had taken on a strained quality, spurring electrical pulses in your belly. 

Baekhyun turned abruptly to address the guests in the room. “Everybody out.” 

The room stopped and all eyes turned to you and him. It was Chanyeol who spoke first. 

“But hyung, we planned this whole part for you, we can’t just–” 

Kyungsoo grabbed Chanyeol and pulled him to the door, muttering that he should “be quiet” and “read the room”. The others took their cues, emptying the place in record time, with Junmeyon assuring you they’d be back tomorrow to clean up.

Finally alone. 

Before you could blink, Baekhyun pulled you in for a mind-numbing kiss, pointedly fingering belt on your coat. “Now, let’s see the present that my baby got for me,” he whispered, a wicked smile on his face. “And look, she was so kind as to wrap it up.”

You squealed as Baekhyun hoisted you over his shoulder and carried you into the bedroom. 

After depositing you on the bed, Baekhyun slowly loosened the ties at your waist, his hands shaking with anticipation after so long. 

Watching as Baekhyun took in the sight of you, you were reminded of one of the most basic tenets of fashion: sometimes simple is better. And as far as this outfit went, you were very inclined to agree. 

~*~

Thank you so much for reading, The Trench Coat! If you liked what you read, I would so appreciate it if you re-blogged this so that others can find it easier and enjoy it too! I love hearing from people, so feel free to leave a comment or send an ask with feedback or reactions :) 

XOXO,

Emmy

[deppsessed]

Good Luck Charm

Hollywood Vampire Series part I

Pairing: Johnny Depp x Reader

Summary: Your lifelong dream to meet your favourite actor, Johnny Depp has finally come true. What happens when you finally come face to face with and manage to impress him?

Feedback is much appreciated

Johnny Depp. Even thinking about his name makes my heart skip a little beat. I’ve been a fan of his for years, seen just about every single one of his movies (and know just about every word in them too). When the Hollywood Vampires had announced their latest world tour a few months back, there was no doubt about me trying to get VIP tickets, but I’d somehow managed to end up with something better. My best friend, Alex, works at the concert venue, and for my birthday, had given me an ‘access all areas’ pass for the show. Not only would I be seeing the concert, but I had full access to backstage. But the thing I was still trying to wrap my head around was the fact that I’d be meeting Johnny Depp.

I’d been thinking about it for months. What was I going to wear? What was I going to say to him? Or would I find a way to make a complete idiot of myself?

Today was going to be the day that I’d finally find out. After days of planning out my outfit, I’d decided on something a little grungy, a pair of ripped skinny jeans, a Jim Morrison t-shirt (to maybe grab Johnny’s attention), leather jacket, and a pair of Dr Martens boots. With it being a Hollywood Vampires concert, it only felt appropriate to dress up a little vampy.

“Y/N! Hey! Hi!”

It’s Alex, and she has her arms open ready to hug me.

“How do I look?” I ask once I pull back and give a little twirl to show off my outfit.

“Like you’re about to catch Johnny Depp off guard and take his breath away.” 

I snorted. “Very funny.” 

“Don’t act as if that wasn’t the answer that you were wanting!”

I have to hand it to her, she knows me well, but she has been my best friend since we were kids.

“I hardly slept last night thinking about it…”

Alex laughs and shakes her head. I know she’ll find it amusing and pretty typical of me.

“But now you’re here, I can give you the whole backstage tour. Come right this way.” 

She ushers me towards a door with the lettering “Artists and personnel only”. After a couple of minutes of walking down one corridor, it opens up to a giant concrete looking area. I’m shown places like the wardrobe room, where all of the band's clothes are already hanging up, ready for the show later. The band's green room, where there are bottles of alcohol ready to be opened. The highlight had been seeing the rack of Johnny’s guitars and better yet, the marked out dressing rooms for the band members. The pre-show buzz was starting to take hold with people running about the place in all sorts of different directions.

By the time that we’re done, it’s time to go to meet and greet. Alex escorts me back down the long concrete corridor, to the meet and greet hall. 

“Good luck! And promise you’ll tell me everything later.” 

The room is already teaming with a couple of hundred fans, all waiting for Johnny, Alice and Joe to come on through. I’m not feeling nervous, but instead, excited. The room erupts into a fit of screams as the band enters the room. My eyes instantly look onto Johnny. He’s wearing one of his usual edgy Hollywood Vampires outfits with layers of jewellery. He’s even more handsome in person. It doesn’t even bother me that I’m at the back of the line, it means more time to be able to look at, and soak up the feeling of being in the same room as him. It’s endearing watching him interact with his fans because he takes his time and indulges every single one of them. I know that when he eventually gets to me, it’s going to be worth it.

Needless to say, when I’m next (and decidedly last) in line, he’s looking a little worse for wear, as if he’s between needing a good drink, a cigarette and a nap… or maybe all three at once, somehow. I hadn’t figured out what my first words to him were going to be, but I wanted to be memorable. Not just for being the last fan. But for not fitting into all the other conversations that I’ve been overhearing him having. I’m not going to be starstruck, he’s only another person.

“You know, if you want to take a moment for yourself to smoke a cigarette or have a drink, you can. I’m not going to go screaming from the rooftops about it.” 

Right away, he’s raising an eyebrow at me, as if he’s uncertain by the invitation. 

“Honestly, it’s fine. I’ve got all day.” 

I can see the little bit of reluctance disappear from his face, and while he doesn’t take up the offer of a drink right away, he does reach into his pocket for his rolling tobacco -- despite all of the no-smoking signs around the room, nobody is going to be telling him off. 

“Do you smoke too?” He asks, offering me the packet. I shake my head and shrug my shoulders. 

“I wouldn’t put that stuff into my lungs willingly.” I can see his eyebrow-raising again, he obviously isn’t going to retaliate with anything. I let him light up his cigarette and move for the next subject change. I’ve overheard people telling him how much they love the album, and the fact that they do a mixture of original stuff and covers.

 “I love the album, you know, Heroes is my favourite cover because you get to sing…” What I haven’t heard once is the suggestion of other songs. “School’s Out is good, but Poison would sound amazing with you and Joe on guitar. I keep thinking how something by the Rolling Stones would sound cool too, like, ‘Paint it Black’ or ‘Sympathy for the Devil’, kind of feels like it would be Alice’s kind of aesthetic.” 

I’m not sure where the apparent confidence is coming from, but I’m happy to run with it, especially when Johnny seems to be visibly impressed by it. His lips pull into a grin, clearly amused by the last part of my statement and what I’m trying to get at.

“I wouldn’t be too fooled by the gothic exterior, he’s a softie, deep down.” He pauses to take a drag on his cigarette. “I’ve always wanted to do something by The Doors… A vamped up version of Light my Fire or something.” Ah, so he has spotted the t-shirt.  

“Good choice.” I’m hardly going to tell him that there are plenty other songs out there that I think they could do better, but then again, maybe he’s secretly testing me and wants me to. “Break on Through to the other side would sound even better.” 

He’s impressed, the way that his eyes light up really shows it. I can see his mouth open, ready for a response for me, when one of the band's security interjects and places a hand on his shoulder.

“Johnny, I’m sorry, but we’re already running ahead of schedule here-”

He scowls, evidently irritated at the fact he’s being told to move things along. 

“I’m sorry,” He pauses and pushes his hand through his hair. “But what are your plans after the show? I’d love to see you at the party and maybe buy you a drink...”

Is this a dream? I’ve got to be dreaming. This isn’t happening.

“I’d love that.” I’m trying to keep my composure and not show my excitement, or the fact I’m freaking out on the inside. 

“Great -- what’s your name?”

“Y/N.” 

He holds his hand out to me to shake. “I’m Johnny.” 

--- 

The music is loud, or maybe my ears are still ringing a little bit from the concert. The band had been simply incredible! I swore that Johnny had been looking right at me at a few points, and even going as far as to wink. Tonight was shaping up to be something.

Johnny had stuck to his promise and put my name on the guestlist for the show after-party. I was still trying to get my head around what was happening. I was at a Hollywood Vampires after-party, and it was everything that I had imagined it to be. The place was decked out in black and red decor, and fittingly playing old classic rock from the speakers. I feel like I’m standing out a little bit. Everyone seems to know each other one way or another and are engrossed in some kind of conversation. 

“You made it,” The voice nearly makes me jump out of my skin. Johnny Depp is standing right behind me. “I didn’t have any other invites,” As if I would have been anywhere else. “The show was amazing, by the way, you were great.” He’s probably had people coming up to tell him all night, but it still feels appropriate.  

“How do you feel about meeting the band and then I’ll buy you that drink?” My widened eyed expression is enough for him to laugh. “I’ll introduce you, come on.” 

The Hollywood Vampires are standing at the other side of the room, laughing together like a bunch of teenage boys. “Guys!” He holds his hand up to try and get their attention. “This is y/n, the girl I was telling you about from meet and greet.” 

He’d been talking about me. 

“And the reason that Johnny was almost late!” The band start to laugh in unison and Johnny shakes his head and lets out a defeated sigh. 

“This is Tommy, Joe and I don’t think that Alice really needs an introduction...” I shake hands with them all in term, but when it comes to Alice, he’s glaring at Johnny. “Hey!” He objects and again, the band are just about on the floor laughing. Making fun of each other in turn is a thing, it seems. 

“I feel like I should be offering to buy you all a drink, what an amazing show you pulled off.” 

“Thank you, darlin’, really glad that you enjoyed it.” Alice replied, “But we’re buying you the drink.” We stand and talk for a little while, mainly about music, before Johnny buts into the conversation. 

“Now if you guys wouldn’t mind excusing us, I do believe I promised the lady a drink.”  

I can feel a blush rise into my cheeks at the realisation that he’s talking about me. “It was nice meeting you guys, good luck for the rest of the tour.” We say our pleasantries and goodbyes. The group disperses, leaving just me and Johnny standing.

“Another admittance on my part, I don’t enjoy these after-parties, they’re too loud for my taste.” He scratches the back of his neck, as if he’s a little nervous . “I know I’m being bold, but would you like to come back to the hotel with me for that drink?”

Pinch me.

Johnny Depp’s hotel suite is bigger than my entire studio apartment. It shouldn’t be a surprise to me that it’s that extravagant, but it’s straight-up like something out of Pretty Woman. It’s a little hard not to stare with your mouth open around the place. Plus the fact, I’m in his hotel room. 

“Pick your poison,” He gestures towards the rooms mini-bar, “Or if none of this is suitable, I can call for room service.”

I shake my head, “A bottle of beer is fine, you don’t need to order a bottle of champagne on ice on my account.” Johnny laughs and grabs a bottle of pass over to me, which I twist the lid from and bring it up to my lips for a taste. 

“You’re an easy girl to impress.”

 I scoff, there are plenty out there that I’m sure would say otherwise. “Somewhat.” 

He, too, grabs a bottle of beer and sits down on the bed. We start to talk, he wants to know about my life, my job, my friends... And while I’m more than certain of the fact that I’m boring the pants off of him, he’s listening as if he’s absorbing and holding onto every word.

When I tell him about my love for poetry, his eyes light up in curiosity. “Who would you say is your favourite poet?” 

I want to set out and impress him, tell him the name of somebody he hasn’t heard before, but I go with my heart. “Oscar Wilde -- I know, it’s a typical answer but there’s just something about his writing which resonates with the soul.” 

“I’d agree, actually-” He pauses to bring his beer bottle up to his lips. “There are only two tragedies in life: one is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it’ is one that’s always stuck with me.” 

“I can resist everything but temptation.” I grin at him and shrugged my shoulders, always a quote that I’ve related to.

I look back at him, to notice where his gaze is, right at my lips. Before I have a second to comprehend what’s going on, he leans forward, his lips brushing against mine. It takes me by surprise. Johnny Depp is trying to kiss me.

“I’m sorry, shit, I’m sorry. It’s just-” He starts to hastily explain. “I’ve been thinking about it, and I thought-” 

He doesn’t get his last word out because I bring my lips back onto his to return the kiss. It’s soft, slow, and tender. I feel his tongue trace along my bottom lip, as if asking to deepen the kiss.

I’m kissing Johnny Depp. Johnny Depp is kissing me. 

I don’t know how to comprehend it.

Or how I’m even going to begin to tell Alex when she texts me tomorrow.

[digitalstowaway]

No Winners: Chapter Three (Mia & Miles AU)

Read on AO3 | After failing to win a guilty verdict at his first trial, Edgeworth is denounced as von Karma's protege. Mia finds him, alone and traumatized, and decides that befriending him is like picking up a lost, wounded puppy on the side of the road. But it turns out they're connected in more ways than Terry Fawles' death. 

--

It was Friday afternoon by the time Lana knocked on Miles’ front door, holding a thermos of soup and smiling. 

Miles stood in his doorway, squinting at her. He wore his pajamas still—a comfortable set of flannel bottoms and a large t-shirt that hung off of his scrawny frame—and his hair was ruffled and messy. Lana could see how it stuck up in the back while the fringe had become frizzy and laid flat against his face. 

“I thought I’d check up on you,” Lana said. “And bring you soup.” 

“That was… thoughtful.” His voice was hoarse, and it sounded like he strained to get the few words out.

He would have looked adorable if there wasn’t a worrying flush to his face and glassiness over his eyes. But he did look younger than Lana had ever seen him. And smaller. If Lana didn’t know any better, she would have assumed he was a teenager taking a day off school. 

She just had to take care of him. She couldn’t leave a sick child home alone. 

“Mind if I come in?” 

Without waiting for an answer, Lana pushed past him and was walking into the house. His home was cute but definitely belonged to a 20-year-old boy. There was hardly any decor, and all of the curtains were drawn shut—though, the latter could have been due to the poor thing looking like he had just crawled out of bed—leaving the rooms to be dark and stuffy. The kitchen was bare, most notably. The only items on the countertops were an electric kettle and decorative containers that Lana suspected held nothing in them.

“May I ask what you’re doing?” Miles asked, standing behind her as she unscrewed the top of the thermos. 

“If you don’t eat the soup now, it’ll get cold.” 

If I don’t watch you eat right now, I don’t think you’ll eat at all. 

“I’m capable of taking care of myself.” 

“Sometimes it doesn’t matter if you’re capable of it or not, it’s just nice to have someone with you.” 

She began rifling through his cabinets. She was happy to see full sets of plates and bowls and cups. She wasn’t very happy to see, though, the lack of food on his shelves. 

She motioned for him to sit at his island. He did, looking like he was obeying the command of a superior. 

“I can make you tea as well,” Lana said, pouring out the soup in front of him. 

“Are you always in the habit of inviting yourself into people’s homes and invading their kitchens?” 

“I’ve been known to do so on occasion. But usually, people are more accepting of it than you because I’m also known to be a good cook.” 

Miles looked down at his soup. He stirred it, mixing up the vegetables and noodles in a whirlpool, and then set his spoon down.

He was tucked into himself, arms discreetly wrapped around his middle. Lana recognized the position as someone who couldn’t stomach the thought of food. 

And all of her forged maternal instincts that came from taking care of Ema rushed forward. Really, a 12-year-old girl and Miles Edgeworth couldn’t be too different to look after.  

Lana pressed her hand to his forehead. He allowed it, closing his eyes. 

“You’re really warm,” she sighed. “Do you have a thermometer?” 

Miles shook his head. Lana tutted. 

“Do you have cold medicine? Or any medicine?” 

“I have aspirin.” 

He was barely old enough to take aspirin. Lana prided herself on her knowledge of over-the-counter meds, and she clearly remembered the warning label on the back of the aspirin bottles to not give any to a person under 20. And god, the kid was just old enough to take such a simple drug? He was just entering the final stages of his coming of age?  

Lana had had a thought or two upon first meeting Miles that he was truly too young to be in a prosecutor’s office. Not for the uptight, snooty reasons her colleagues had. But because she couldn’t bear to think of the toll it would take on someone so young—so bent on perfection. 

“Do you have anything else?” she asked.

Miles shook his head. His eyebrows raised as if he was in trouble and scared of being scolded. It was always the subtle things that made Lana worry.  

“Well, lucky for you, I carry everything in my purse.” 

As she dug through her purse for her trusty bottle of acetaminophen, he coughed harshly into his elbow. It sounded worse than the night before. Like his lungs were trying to come up his throat. He winced and grimaced and struggled to breathe through it. Lana forgot about the pills and pulled out her phone. 

“I’m going to have Mia pick up a few things for you,” she said. 

“No—”

“Miles, you’re not going to get better like this. I’ll have her drop off something for your cough and a thermometer at some point today, okay?” 

“And what are you going to do?”

“I’m going to make sure you finish your soup.” 

—

By the time Mia arrived with a little bag from the pharmacy, Lana was waiting in the doorway with her phone in hand. She tried to smile when Mia met her, but she looked tired and worried. 

“Is he okay?” Mia asked. 

She tried not to care. People got the flu. People lived through the flu. Miles was going to be fine in a week. 

“He’s in rough shape,” Lana said with a shrug. “I’m sure he’ll be okay.” 

Mia passed her the bag with the highly specific requested items inside. Two types of cough syrup—antitussives and expectorants. Whatever those were. Lana had said a balance of both was necessary. A bottle of acetaminophen and another of ibuprofen. There was something about alternating between the two that wasn’t explained well over text. And cough drops (of which Mia had bought three kinds), acetaminophen, ibuprofen, and a thermometer. Any thermometer, Lana told Mia. 

The shopping list had been followed by a notification that Lana had sent Mia more than enough money to cover it all. There was a note in the money-sharing app that said and buy yourself something nice ;) xo Lana 

It had been a nice break from her anxiety-ridden text messages. Mia had bought herself a pack of gum and two lollipops.

“That’s for you,” Mia said when Lana pulled out the second lollipop. 

“How sweet,” Lana said. 

“Can I see him? I want to look at the scary prodigy all sick.” 

“Yeah, but be quiet. He just fell asleep.” Lana led her in. “Why do you want to see him like this?” 

“Blackmail. In case he ever tries pulling something, I’ll have a picture of him all snotty and gross.” 

“Mia, don’t take a picture of him.” 

“Why not?” 

“It’s mean. And isn’t your whole thing being anti-blackmail?” 

This was different. There would be no one to truly show the picture to. And Miles would catch on to that. The threat would be superficial and empty. 

The living room was dark and quiet, and Mia nearly missed Miles on the couch. He was curled up under a blanket, blending into the upholstery. But looking closer, Mia could see how pale his face was and the light layer of sweat covering his forehead.

Lana unpacked the pharmacy bag on the coffee table, careful to not make a sound to disturb Miles. But he woke himself up anyway, his uneasy breathing turning into a coughing fit. A hand emerged from the blanket, and a crumpled tissue in his fist was pressed to his mouth. His cough sounded awful. Mia nearly gagged in sympathy when she heard something deep in his lungs get stirred up. 

“Miles, Mia brought you some stuff,” Lana said. “Can you take your temperature real quick?” 

She assembled the thermometer. Mia had picked one up with multiple tips in hopes that the fancier it looked, the better it would work. 

Lana handed the thermometer over, and Miles laid it under his tongue. Mia was surprised by the lack of fuss he made, and he did close his eyes immediately and seemed close to sleep by the time the thermometer beeped. 

Lana slid it out of his mouth for him as a mother would. 

“103.5,” she read. 

Mia grimaced. That wasn’t good at all. 

Miles’ eyes opened, but they didn’t react to what Lana had said. Instead, they fell on Mia with a glare nastier than what he usually served. 

“What are you doing here?” he asked. 

“I delivered you half of a pharmacy,” Mia said, gesturing to the table. “Be grateful.” 

Lana interrupted them. “Miles, if your fever gets much higher, I think I’m going to take you to a hospital.” 

And the glare towards Mia immediately changed to a scared look to Lana. He shook his head. 

“I’m fine,” he said. 

“But if you get any worse, I think you’ll need help and there’s no clinics open at this hour. It doesn’t sound like you’re breathing very well, either.”

It didn’t. Every other intake of breath was raspy.  

Miles shook his head again. Lana sat next to him on the couch and brushed his hair back from his face. It was absolutely out of character to allow himself to be coddled in such a way. 

How childish he looked, Mia thought. He certainly always carried the air of a brat, but he had never looked so small. So helpless. So in need of a person like Lana Skye. 

“Only if you get worse, okay?” Lana said. “And Mia brought you a lot of medicine, so hopefully you start feeling better by tonight.” 

But Miles still looked scared, and Mia wondered what his damage was with hospitals. Not that anyone particularly liked having to go into hospitals. They were genuinely acknowledged as places no one ever wanted to be. 

“Let’s try to get this cough under control first,” Lana said and reached for one of the bottles of cough syrup. 

Hours passed, and Mia stayed. She felt bad about leaving Lana alone with the possibility of Miles needing to be taken to a hospital hanging in the air. 

It was also nice to see Lana mother Miles, waking him so often to take a different pill or to press the thermometer into his mouth one more time. When she wasn’t doting on the prosecutor, they snuck into the kitchen to talk like children. 

“He really needs a doctor,” Lana said. “But it’ll be best if I can get him to a clinic tomorrow instead of putting him through the emergency room tonight.”

 “You’d go with him?”

“Do you think he could drive himself?” 

Mia rocked against the countertop. “No.” 

“Then, I’d have to go with him. Or someone would have to go with him, and I don’t really see anyone else lining up to escort him.” 

Lana picked up her phone and, looking over her shoulder, Mia could see her texting Ema and then Damon Gant. One a reassuring conversation and the other a semi-desperate beg to ask anyone at all if they could do her a favor. 

“You know,” Mia said, “if someone needs to watch Ema tonight, I can do it.” 

Lana looked up, perhaps embarrassed that she had been caught in such weakness. “Would you?” 

“Unless you need someone to wrangle Miles to the hospital.” 

Lana smiled. “We’ll see which child needs the most supervision. But if I did ask you to watch Ema tonight, you wouldn’t mind?” 

“Of course not. I have nothing better to do.” 

“And if I asked you to help me get Miles to a hospital?” 

Mia tilted her head back. She had little reason to say no. “Sure.” 

— 

As the sun was finally setting, coughing turned to choking. 

Miles struggled to pull himself up. He rested on his elbows, his head bowed, coughing too hard to take in any fulfilling breaths. 

Lana tugged him up so that he was sitting against her. His shoulders heaved and with his coughs, small strings of bile spilled from his mouth. 

“Can you get towels please?” Lana asked Mia. 

Mia ran down the halls until she found a closet and stacks of towels. It was an unnecessarily large house for one kid. Mia had a one-bedroom apartment with barely enough room to accommodate Maya when she visited. And there was Miles living in a house with, if Mia counted right as she passed them, two bathrooms and a bedroom on the first floor alone. 

But she couldn’t be mad at him if his sleazy mentor gave him the money to buy the house. If anything, it was good for Miles to keep whatever that man had already given him. 

Mia grabbed all the hand towels and wash clothes she could, wetting a few down, and ran back to the sitting room where Lana was trying to keep Miles up. 

“It’s okay,” she was repeating, and Mia could hear Miles mumbling apologies as she handed over the towels. 

Lana got to work cleaning up his face and then his clothes. Miles’ thin hands were limp on his lap, only being moved by Lana to scrub at the bile that hand landed on his sweatpants. 

“Do you want to change?” Lana asked. 

Miles shook his head. He was usually so pristine, Mia was surprised he didn’t want a fresh pair of clothes. 

“Okay. We can lay back down for now.” Lana helped him shuffle around until he was lying back down. 

She covered him with his blanket again and left one of the damp cloths over his forehead. Mia stood awkwardly off to the side. 

“It’s getting kinda late,” Lana said. 

“If you want me to watch Ema now, I can,” she said.

“I don’t know. I think I should really get Miles to a hospital, but I think it’ll take at least the two of us to get him anywhere.” 

“Is there anyone else who can watch Ema?” 

Lana didn’t say anything. Mia didn’t know many people who could really be left alone with a child. Not any that could be called at the last minute. 

“What about Diego?” she asked. 

“Ema’s never met Diego before. I’ve barely met Diego.” 

“Yeah, but he’d probably be willing to stay with her for the night. He mentioned to me once that he likes kids.” 

“Miles is a kid, and he doesn’t seem to like him.” 

“Miles is 20.” 

“I’m 20,” Miles agreed sleepily. 

“And Ema isn’t Miles,” Mia said. “She’s… less difficult.” 

“Okay,” Lana said. “If he doesn’t mind, tell him I can give him our house key if he meets us here and helps us get Miles into my car.” 

Mia didn’t hesitate to grab her phone and begin texting Diego, her newest message harshly juxtaposing her previous, half-flirty ones. Miles whined next to her, telling Lana that he would be okay. That he didn’t need to go anywhere. And Lana gently cooed to him that it would be alright. He needed more help than she could give him, and she and Mia would stay with him. 

Mia didn’t remember when she volunteered to stay with Miles in the hospital. She thought that she would be there long enough to get him inside and moved on from the waiting room before going back to her own apartment. She watched Miles cough into his pillow and Lana brush his damp hair back from his forehead and knew that she was well past the point of any further negotiations.

[nanstgeorge]

elain being a smart, kind, and useful bitch: the series

setting up the plan to meet graysen:

Then Elain said quietly, “We could move them to Graysen’s estate.”

“If—if you and … they”—a glance at Rhys, my friends—“ come with me, your Fae scents might distract the dogs.”

“You’re Fae, too,” Nesta reminded her. “Glamour me,” Elain said—to Rhys. “Make me look human. Just long enough to convince him to open his gates to those seeking sanctuary. Perhaps even let you set those wards around the estate.”

“Are you sure?” I demanded at the same time Nesta said, “I can go—let me talk to him.” Elain only rose to her feet. “He doesn’t know you,” she said to me. Then she faced Nesta with a frank, bemused look. “And he hates you.”

literally being gagged and still helping out

My sisters were shrieking over their gags. But Elain’s cry—a warning. A warning to—To my right, now exposed, Tamlin ran for me. To grab me at last. I hurled a knife at him—as hard as I could. He had to dive to miss it.

convincing nesta to help out the night court while coming up with a plan on the spot (at the same time)

“Nesta,” Elain said again, twisting her hands. “If … if we do not help Feyre, there won’t be a wedding. Even Lord Nolan’s battlements and all his men, couldn’t save me from … from them.”

“We keep it secret—we send the servants away. With the spring approaching, they’ll be glad to go home. And if Feyre needs to be in and out for meetings, she’ll send word ahead, and we’ll clear them out. Make up excuses to send them on holidays. Father won’t be back until the summer, anyway. No one will know.”

clearing out the house for the night court

“Today,” I pushed. “We don’t have any time to lose. Order them to leave now.” “I’ll do it,” Elain said, taking a deep breath and squaring her shoulders. She didn’t wait for either of us before she strode out, graceful as a doe.

It took hours for Elain to work her charm on the staff to swiftly pack their bags and leave, each with a purse of money to hasten the process.

“You’d think they’d been told plague had befallen the house.” I pulled the door open wide enough to let them in, then quickly shut it against the bitter cold. “My sister Elain can convince anyone to do anything with a few smiles.”

tells feyre that nesta went to see her because she knows that nesta wouldn’t

Elain sighed. “Maybe you could talk to her.” I contemplated telling Elain that Nesta and I hadn’t had a civil conversation in years, but then Elain added, “She went to see you, you know.”

“Elain said—said you went to visit me, though. That you tried.”

words of wisdom baby

“I’m sorry.” Nothing. Not even a flicker of emotion. “Everyone keeps saying that.” Her thumb brushed the ring on her finger. “But it doesn’t fix anything, does it?”

“This could end very badly, Elain.” She brushed her thumb over the iron-and-diamond engagement ring. “It’s already ended badly. Now it’s just a matter of deciding how we meet the consequences.” “Wisely said,” Mor offered, smiling softly at Elain.

“Why?” Elain demanded. “Shall I tend to my little garden forever?” When Nesta flinched, Elain said, “You can’t have it both ways. You cannot resent my decision to lead a small, quiet life while also refusing to let me do anything greater.”

“We have everything we need,” I admitted to Elain. “Buying presents feels excessive.” “It’s their tradition, though,” Elain countered, her face still flushed with the cold. “One that they fought and died to protect in the war. Perhaps that’s the better way to think of it, rather than feeling guilty. To remember that this day means something to them. All of them, regardless of who has more, who has less, and in celebrating the traditions, even through the presents, we honor those who fought for its very existence, for the peace this city now has.”

observational

Elain now watched Lucien warily. Blinking every now and then. She revealed no hint of whatever she might be seeing—sensing. None.

Nesta didn’t bat an eyelash....Dismissing him entirely. Cassian’s face went almost feral. Elain’s voice wobbled as she noted the same thing and quickly said to him, “It … it is very hard, you understand, to … accept it.”

when it comes to nesta

She stormed off, Elain darting after her, cooing her sympathy.

Nesta was wrong, Cassian realized, to think Elain as loyal and loving as a dog. Elain saw every single thing Nesta had done, and understood why.

Until Nesta said too softly, “This is the talk of madwomen. Of arrogant, stupid fools.” Elain grabbed for Nesta’s hand to silence her.

Elain sat a little higher as she said to Cassian, “And as for Feyre’s hunting during those years, it was not Nesta’s neglect alone that is to blame. We were scared, and had received no training, and everything had been taken, and we failed her. Both of us.”

when it comes to feyre and their childhood

“I know it’s not easy for you,” Elain observed as we drifted through a weaver’s shop, admiring the fine tapestries, rugs, and blankets she’d crafted into images of various Night Court scenes....I turned from a wall covering depicting that very image. “What’s not easy?”...Elain’s brown eyes roved over the Night Court insignia. “Buying things without a dire need to do so.”

“Feyre gave and gave—for years. Let us now help her. Help … others.”

“Did you know,” I said over the sound of my sawing, “that one summer, when I was seventeen, Elain bought me some paint? We’d had just enough to spend on extra things, and she bought me and Nesta presents. She didn’t have enough for a full set, but bought me red and blue and yellow. I used them to the last drop, stretching them as much as I could, and painted little decorations in our cottage.”

I had not painted in years at that point, had not dared spend the money on myself … But Elain had.

helping out the team physically

Azriel’s roar echoed off the rocks as the hound slammed into him, dragging those shredding talons down his spine, his wings—The girl screamed, but Elain moved. As Azriel battled to keep them airborne, keep his grip on them, my sister sent a fierce kick into the beast’s face. Its eye. Another. Another. It bellowed, and Elain slammed her bare, muddy foot into its face again. The blow struck home. With a yelp of pain, it released its claws—and plunged into the ravine.

Elain, to my surprise, had a horse, a satchel of food, and supplies ready when I hurried down the stairs.

But as a black blade broke through the king’s throat, spraying blood, I realized someone else had. Elain stepped out of a shadow behind him, and rammed Truth-Teller to the hilt through the back of the king’s neck as she snarled in his ear, “Don’t you touch my sister.”

“I don’t know how to look,” Elain mumbled. “You can try.” I should have asked Amren to train her, too. But Elain studied me, the map, then nodded.

[trealamh]

For @sea-fiddle​ something short and sweet — holding hands while walking home from the shops. (And if I get carded every time that I try to buy a painkiller well then, so does Arthur nation or not.)

-- -- --

The couch in the living room is a relic from the seventies. No, by far, the oldest piece of furniture they own, or even the finest. Fact is it is probably the single ugliest thing that has been dragged into this living room, save perhaps Sean on a good Thursday. 

(He makes the comparison once, in front of him, and has the stool he is sitting on promptly kicked from underneath him. It’s still sitting out in the garden, missing a leg and waiting to be fitted with a new one. Scotland will find time for it this weekend. Or better yet, let Sean fix it.)

But despite it’s sagging cushions, despite the horrendous floral print and the hideous decorative pillows, it is without a doubt the best couch Alasdair has ever had the pleasure to sit on. He’s fond of the old thing too, and that means that he’s taken good care of it; found the perfect fabric match to patch it up over the years, re-stuffed it. Levelled it back up whenever it’s been broken in during a scrap. He has even come to love the pillows. Garish wee things with the corners torn to bits and restitched because Arthur lets the cat chew on them. Dai embroidered them while he was down with a bout of influenza in the thirties and they had finally found a home in the living room after the last time they cleaned the cellar.

It’s an odd arrangement that they have between them—have had, since they banded up, for convenience at first and now… They have an arrangement, and as a result the house is an amalgamation of their lives, mismatched furniture and all. Clothes, keepsakes, odds and ends. Most of it fair game. But they have unsaid rules and boundaries set out. To keep the peace. 

One of them, and a very fair one, he thinks, is that once Alasdair’s settled down on the couch that’s that. He refuses to move, not for grief. If they’re watching a footie match and he’s sprawled on the couch, they can sit on the armrests, pull up a chair. Sit on the ground for all he cares. If Alasdair is feeling generous he might even shuffle over, on caveat. It is not like he minds sharing so much as it is just the principle of the thing. 

Which brings them to now.

Alasdair looks up at Arthur from where he is comfortably lying on the couch with his feet propped up on the arm rest.

Arthur shifts his weight from one foot to the other under Alasdair’s impassive glare and repeats what he just said as though there was a chance that Alasdair could have misheard him. “I need you to come to the shop with me.”

“Aye,” he answers slowly, after letting the words hang in the air for a moment. “I heard you fine the first time.”  

“Alright then, come on.”

Arthur’s coat is buttoned up from when he walked through the door not five minutes ago. “Didn’t you just come back from the shop?”

England rolls his eyes. “Just throw on a coat.”

Alasdair crosses his arm over the hideous cushion resting on his chest.

“Please.”

Scotland refuses to budge. “There are not enough words to express how much I cannae be arsed to go to the shop, moppy.”

Wales chooses that moment to pop his head into the room. “Is Arthur back?” He smiles when he spots him. “How’s your head, mush?”

Arthur cringes a little. “Better now, ta.”

Dai grimaces in sympathy. “Tea?”

“Yes please, love.” Arthur turns back to Alasdair when Dai disappears down the hall again.

“No.” Alasdair interrupts him before he can ask again.

“Alasdair.”

“No.” He sinks stubbornly deeper into the couch, bending his knees. “Take Dai.”

“Dai is busy. And I’m asking you.” Arthur is starting to sound a little exasperated. “Get up.”

“Who’s getting up?” Sean comes padding in, bare footed and with a sleeve of paracetamol in his hand. “Catch.” He tosses it to Arthur, who grabs it out of the air. “Mind, I think they’ve gone off.”

Arthur turns the packet in his hand to look at it closer under the light and groans, tossing them down on a side table. “Thanks anyway.” The furrow of his brow seems tighter than a minute ago when he glares down at Alasdair. “You know what? Fine. You'll do,” he says to Sean. “Put on your shoes.”

“What for?”

“Going to the shop.” Arthur says, pinching the bridge of his nose and turning to head for the door without waiting for an answer. Ireland shrugs, patting his pockets to check he has his wallet on him before stepping up to follow. 

Alasdair groans to himself.  

“Wait,” he calls out, bidding a silent, mournful goodbye to his spot on the couch. “Arthur, wait. I’ll go.”

Sean makes a dive for the couch the moment he heaves himself up. “Bring me something back!” 

Alasdair at least has the satisfaction of slamming the pillow he was holding on his face before he goes.

-

Alasdair swipes a basket by the door and passes it to Arthur, expecting they’ll end up grabbing a few things on top drinks and whatever’s on the short, cramped list Dai wrote earlier. The first thing Arthur grabs is a packet of painkillers. 

They look a right pair, with Arthur in his handsome peacoat and Alasdair in his joggers, Sean’s slippers, and a leather jacket he’s owned since 1983.

While Arthur is busy going on a purposeful track to get milk-eggs-flour-butter, Alasdair wanders about a little aimlessly. Amuses himself by sneaking things into the basket to see when Arthur will notice. A packet of strawberry laces is easy to slip in, light and thin. Chocolate buttons for Sean. He shoots in a cream egg from across the aisle while Arthur is bent over to grab a can of something-or-another and thinks he’s been had for a moment before Arthur just adjusts the handle on his arm and keeps walking.

What gets him caught is the packet of crisps that hits the back of Arthur’s shoulder instead of the basket.

Arthur looks back, startled, and puts it together with a look down at the basket. He shakes his head with a snort and steps into the next aisle before Alasdair can toss another. 

He’s glad to see Arthur grabbing the good cider and a pack of beer to go with whatever awful movie they end up watching. 

“Give here,” he steps up behind him and takes them from him. “How’s yer head?”

Arthur shrugs. “It’s fine.”

Alasdair hums and presses a quick kiss behind his ear before heading for the till.

The first thing the nice lass at the tills says to them as she’s ringing them up is ”Sorry about that,” as she shoots Arthur a sympathetic smile. It strikes Alasdair as odd, but he doesn’t think much of it, just passes her their things and bags them while Arthur digs for his wallet. 

“It happens all the time,” Arthur reassures her, smiling politely the way he does when he’s talking to someone who doesn’t know him any better. 

“Is your head a bit better?” she asks next, theme of the night, and that is what brings Alasdair up short, an inkling of something forming at the back of his head.

Arthur is tapping his foot the way he does when he’s been caught in a fib or wants to leave a conversation and cannot. “A bit, yeah.”

“Still not found your ID though?” And oh, oh, if this isnae a hoot.

Arthur’s smile twitches like he can hear what Alasdair is thinking. “‘Fraid not.”

She looks up at Alasdair as she hands him their last bag, smiling a little impishly. “Well that’s alright. Is there anything else I can get for you?”

Alasdair steps subtly closer to Arthur after taking it from her and not-so-subtly nudges his nose against his temple. She looks quickly away smiling still, eyes a little wider. 

“Yes, please. A pack of… what is it you’re smoking these days?” Arthur looks over his shoulder to ask him, oblivious. 

Alasdair tells her and she rings them up after grabbing a carton from the back shelf.  She sees them off with a cheerful little wave and they step out into the chill of the night to a chorus of ‘cheers’ going back and forth.

Arthur seems to be trying to out pace him, walking briskly down the street with the carton of cider under his arm, but Alasdair has longer legs and it only takes him a couple of steps to catch up.

“Arthur...” he starts chuckling. 

“Come on, then. Get it out.”

“Did she card ye?”

“Yes,” Arthur grouses. “Yes, she bloody carded me for the fucking paracetamol.”

“How did it feel?”

Arthur’s glare is answer enough. Alasdair laughs a little more at his expense. 

“Where’s yer license?”

“London.”

“And you didn’t bring Dai because?” Alasdair pauses. “Didn’t you drive down from London?”

“He’s not got a license, just now,” Arthur answers, conspicuously ignoring his second question.

“And looks a bairn.” Alasdair bumps his shoulder against Arthur teasingly. “Just like you, bonnie lad.”

“Fuck off,” Arthur finally laughs. 

They’re walking close enough to each other that their fingers brush lightly. Arthur pulls his hand back, apologising instinctively under his breath and taking a half-step away. Alasdair looks at his profile against the bright streetlights and with a fond shake of his head grabs his hand outright, tugging him closer again. “Do you know what we’re watching?”

Arthur looks at him, a little surprised. “Something god awful,”—there is a small smile playing at the corner of his lips—”I imagine.”

Alasdair hums and gives his hand a squeeze. Considers the centuries when this would have been impossible. Thinks about taking Arthur upstairs, and letting him rest his eyes properly in a dark room; if he’d rather stay with the lot of them, pulling him down to rest his head on his lap while the telly plays in the background so he can run his fingers through his hair—

If he can kick Sean’s arse out of the bloody couch first.

[pixieungerstories]

Quarantine -3

It would have been nice to have something other than the word of a shadow to go on.  I stared at the ceiling.  I wished I had a cat or a dog or - hell - a pet hamster.  Some other living thing in the house.  I had no idea what Nick was but I wasn’t entirely sure he counted as a living thing.

“Humans who don’t sleep start to hallucinate,”  I muttered to myself.  Maybe if I actually got some shut eye, I would wake up and this would all be a dream.  “Fuck it.”  I got undressed and crawled under the covers.  I settled under the covers, then realized I was facing the closet, so I rolled over.  Having the door in my blind spot wasn’t necessarily better.

“Nick?”  I wasn’t really expecting an answer.  “Can you move the bed to another room?”

“I can.  I don’t want to.  I like having you where I can see you.”

I nodded.  “I’ll go sit in the kitchen until dawn.”

“Go! To! Sleep!”

I jumped then started to shake.  “Yelling at me isn’t going to help me sleep,” I muttered.

The bedroom door slammed shut.  Rattling the door knob and pulling as hard as I could didn’t make it budge.  “Please don’t do this,” I whimpered, then I screamed as something brushed my face.

The door opened suddenly enough that I unbalanced and fell on my ass, but a moment later I was running down the stairs and out the front door.  I was at the gate before I knew what I was doing.

The cops were still right there.

“You need to go back inside ma’am!” the closest one called.  After that they were all looking at me.  

I paced for a moment, uncomfortably aware how odd I was behaving.  I needed to get out of here.  I needed a smoke.  I needed to stop acting weird before they decided I had killed my neighbours.

Oh god.  I was trapped in a house with a creature that probably killed the looters.

I didn’t want to face the idea that Nick was a killer.

“Ma’am!  Go inside!”

“I saw what happened on the news,” I explained.  “It’s giving me nightmares and I’ve been stuck in that house for more than a month.  I wasn’t expecting to be quarantined in a construction site.”

“Be that as it may, you need to go back inside,” the patrolman called.

“I’m more than six feet away from you.  Can’t I just stay out here near some other people and the street lights? Please?”

“You aren’t exactly dressed for the weather,” he pointed out.  

I crossed my arms over my chest as I realized I was standing on my lawn in my night dress.  I should go in and at least get my robe.  It was in the room with Nick’s closet.

I thought about just confessing to something so that I could go with them.  Prison wouldn’t have Nick.  Maybe I just needed a hospital.  No.  That was a death sentence these days.

He was driving me off.  He had flat out told me that he was good at that.

“Are you alright, ma’am?”

“No!” I snapped.  “I’m scared.”

He gave me a pitying look but still insisted, “You need to go inside now.  You will be safe in your house.”

I snorted, and swatted at the bugs that had found me.

“Go inside,” he said gently.  “The last thing you need is to catch something from the mosquitos.”

I nodded slowly and headed back in to sit in the kitchen.  Maybe he would let me make a pot of coffee.  When I got inside the lights in the kitchen was on and the bed was set up on the main floor.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

“You’re welcome.  This is temporary.  You will sleep upstairs when the walls are repaired.

The next morning I got a phone call ordering me out into the garden as a forklift delivered a load of drywall.  It was left in the middle of the floor next to my bed.  I looked at it.   Nick’s voice was too close to my ear, “Someone will come hang in tomorrow.”

“How did you pay for this?”

“You have an excellent credit rating and you aren’t spending much of your money.”

“Great.  Did they say how long it would take?”

There was no answer to that.

“I guess drywallers wear masks all the time anyway,”  I mused.   “At least there will be some other people around.”

“Yes.”

I didn’t have walls the next day.  In fact things were worse as the last of the lath and plaster was taken down.  They found hundreds of razor blades in the wall in the bathroom.  The construction guys assured me that it was normal to find all kinds of weird things in the walls of old houses, but they still looked uncomfortable that it was razor blades and that some of them were more bloody than you would expect from a mere shaving accident.  I spent the night picking them up with tweezers and dropping them into a jar for safe disposal.  Nick didn’t say a word and the lights stayed on that night.

One half the team turned up the next day.  No one commented on why that was.

I ordered a hammock and a grill for the backyard.  I got the hammock but someone had changed the grill to a chiminea when I wasn’t looking.  It was nice, but I couldn’t cook on it.  My order had also been edited to include a bunch of bug repellant candles and some sunscreen.  I tried to figure out if that was something a shadow creature would actually do or was this another sign that I was losing my mind.

Either way, I worked on the concrete table out back at the very limit of the wifi during the day and concentrated on fixing up the yard after official work hours.

One of the drywallers sold me a patio umbrella.

I also got the lecture that just because the walls were up didn’t mean that it was safe to use the shower.  

“You still have to get a membrane installed and your tiles up and sealed,” the guy explained.

I nodded, “You don’t happen to know a tile guy that is still working?”

He frowned, “I’ll ask around.  Do you have tiles yet?”

“No,” I admitted.

“That might be the hard part.  You can still find a few guys willing to come out, but all the factories are shut down.”

“Shit.”

He gave me a look of sympathy.  “Yeah.  There are stories of people doing penny walls or using their grandma’s china to tile just so they have a working bathroom.”

“I don’t have either of those things,” I said sadly.

He nodded, “I’ll ask around.  It isn’t a big project and people might have some leftovers.”

Given how protective Nick was of the house I should have expected his warning.    I was still unimpressed to see “no ugly tile” written on the drywall in the morning.  Still, he could have used the last of my lipstick and instead had found a pencil somewhere.  I tried to ignore it as I brushed my teeth.  I didn’t even have a mirror over the sink.  Grumbling around the toothbrush I realized, “Fuck.  I’m the only person who could buy a haunted house where the ghost had been watching too much HGTV.”

That earned me a creepy house shaking laugh and proof that he hadn’t just left.

“It’s your fault,” he purred in my ear.  “You are the one who fell asleep all those nights with decorating shows playing on repeat on your computer.”

I sighed. “Yeah, it was,” I agreed sadly.  “If I hadn’t would you be haunting me right now?”

“If you hadn’t, I wouldn’t have seen the value in what you are doing and I wouldn’t have spent a week keeping you alive when you got sick.  Perhaps you would have been haunting me.”

I frowned, “I wasn’t sick for a week!  It was only a couple of days!”

“You should check your calendar.  It was a couple of days of you being sick and a week of me forcing you to breathe.”

“There is no way I lost a week without noticing!”

He didn’t say anything.  When I checked my calendar there were nearly two weeks missing.  I told myself it didn’t mean anything.  Nick used my computer, he could have just deleted the information.  I could just call work or Penny or someone and ask how long I was away for.

I kind of didn’t want to.  What if he was telling the truth?

I took my coffee and toast and ate breakfast outside, once again wishing for a cigarette.  Nick had never left the house, as far as I knew, and I didn’t want to talk to him just then.  This was ridiculous!  Shadow monsters didn’t … do that!  They didn’t … exist.  I was just …  this wasn’t happening!

I was out of coffee and the coldness of the concrete bench was soaking through my night shirt and into my ass.  I had left the folded towel I used as a cushion inside overnight so it wouldn’t get damp.  Now I was cold and damp instead.  Fuck.

When I made it back to the kitchen, my laptop was open and had apparently been searching for bathroom tiles.  ‘Fine.  Whatever.  Pick something nice that I can afford.”

I don’t know what I was expecting him to do, but contacting a local stained glass artist wasn’t it.  I really wasn’t expecting her to check if it was OK if my boyfriend picked out the design since it was my credit card that was paying for it.

I was afraid to ask, but I had to know, “What did he pick?”

Nancy cleared her throat, “Well, originally he wanted a reproduction of a stained glass window from Maison Schott in France.  But when we talked about how complicated it would be for a tiler to install that, he settled on a simpler rose on trellis pattern.”

  I set down the phone to close my eyes and scrub my face.  “Do you like what he picked out?”  She seemed a little taken aback by the question.  “Yes?  It’s a little modern for your age of house, but it’s a nice piece and will be easy to install.  It mostly uses different textured white glass, so it would be in keeping with a white bathroom. I can have it ready next week.  I’m not exactly over run with work right now.”  She paused before she added, “I’ll send you some sketches and if there is anything you need changed, just let me know.  I could really use the income, to be honest.”

“Yeah.  I understand that.  I guess I’m just doing my part to keep the economy running.”

“I really appreciate that.   The whole ‘buy local’ movement ended when we weren’t allowed to leave our houses,”  Nancy pointed out.

“Ok.  Send me the sketches and the quote and I’ll get back to you in the next couple of days.”

I lay in bed that night and looked at the newly drywalled dining room ceiling.  “What are you doing, Nick?”

“Making a home for you,” he whispered.

“Can I even afford this?  You don’t have a secret money vault hidden in the walls with the razor blades, do you?”

There was a long moment of silence, then he whispered, “You could sell the wine instead of drinking it.”

I froze.  “Just because it’s old doesn’t mean that it’s valuable,” I pointed out.

Something caressed my calf as he purred his reply, “But it is.”

I closed my eyes and let my body melt into the mattress.   My breath caught in my throat as the touch moved up my leg.  As soon as I made the noise, the contact vanished.  I groaned.

“What are you doing?”

“Breaking the rules,” he grumbled from across the room.

I needed to know, “Why were there razor blades in the walls?”

“There was a slot in the back of the medicine cabinet for used razor blades to be dropped between the wall boards so that they were safe and wouldn’t hurt anyone in the trash.  That was perfectly normal at one point in history,” he explained.

I considered this, “Why were there bloody razor blades in the walls?”

He didn’t answer that one.  “Why haven’t you used your little toy since I cleaned it for you?”

Now it was my turn to be silent.

“You liked that toy,” he prompted.  “I liked watching you enjoy yourself.  Good for everyone.”

“That’s really creepy.  Can’t you just watch porn like a normal person?”

“Porn isn’t as satisfying,” he replied.  Then he added, “For either of us.  And I am not a normal person.”

“I noticed.”

“Would we have fucked by now if I was?”  he just sounded curious.  The vocal leer from a moment ago was gone.

“I would have had you arrested by now if you were.”

The low chuckle rumbled through the house at that.  I closed my eyes and he stroked my face.  “Let me watch,” he purred.  “I can feel how badly you want.”

That made my eyes snap open.  “What?”

“I can taste your fear, but also your pleasure.  I enjoyed watching you cum in a way that humans can not understand.  And I am very aware of your frustration.”

“What happens to my soul if a shadow … creature watches me play with myself?”

“It gets to live in a house with a happier guardian?” he suggested.

“A guardian?  Is that what you are?”

“Guardian sounds better than monster or eldritch god but that’s just semantics.”

“I’m pretty sure there is a difference,” I pointed out.

“Perhaps the difference is what I’m doing at the time.  And right now, I am guarding this house, taking care of you and hoping you will take care of yourself.”

“Is that what the kids are calling it these days?” I joked.   “I’m too damn tired!”  I thought for a moment, “I need more rules, Nick.”

“Like what?” he asked in a breathy hissing rasp that sounded pretty much like how I imagined a death rattle would sound.

“Well, there’s that,” I pointed out.  “Now I’m scared and I can’t see you so this is going to be another night of sitting up until I fall down.”

“You need to rest,” he murmured in a more normal voice for him.   It wasn’t human sounding, but it wasn’t deliberately scary.

I had already set up and was fumbling for a light switch. I shrieked when he caught my hand.  “Ugh! Look, either I get to sleep or you get to scare me, but you have to pick one.  And I can’t see when you are going to touch me, so it’s scary every time.  That’s why I asked you not to.  But if you can’t do that, can you at least tell me when it’s coming?”

“Would that really make it better if you knew I was going to lick my way up your back?”

“It would if I knew you would listen when I tell you not to.  This is about trust, Nick.  I don’t trust you.  I am already very aware of how vulnerable I am here.  You could easily lock me in the basement and wait for me to starve to death.  You could smother me with my pillow.  Hell, you could slice open an artery and hide the razor blade in the walls.”  I stopped abruptly, wondering if I was just giving him ideas.  “I can’t stop you and I can’t leave and I can’t trust you not to lock me in the bedroom because you think that will help me sleep.”  He let go of my hand.  I turned on the light and looked around the empty house.  “My head hurts and I don’t want to be afraid any more.”

“I have never done anything to hurt you, but I can see how I have done things that are frightening.”  It sounded like a whisper on the very edge of hearing.  “Turn out the light, lay down and I will rub your back until you can sleep.  I will do my very best not to be scary.”

I turned on my laptop as a source of light and sound before I turned off the light switch.  “I can’t believe I am saying this, but if you want this to be less scary for me, find me a nightlight.  I haven’t needed one since I was ten, but, congratulations, I do now.”

I felt the bed dip.  It didn’t always do that.  “I’m going to rub your back now,” he whispered. “You can tell me to stop.”

“Ok,” I acknowledge.

It wasn’t a massage; it was more like a person petting a cat.  He started at the top of my head and stroked back to my waist, then stopped and started again.  It was vaguely soothing and I was really exhausted by then.  At some point in the night I woke to see a huge black shape hunched over my keyboard.

In the morning I had emails confirming my order of six cartoon animal night lights from IKEA and one from an auction house saying they would be happy to broker the sale of my wine and that they would send an expert to confirm its authenticity.  

I wondered how you forge wine.

[shwazzberryswriting]

Movie Night

Pairing: Renjun x Original Female Character|Reader

Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Romance, Friends to Lovers, Fluff and Humor

Summary: Renjun's crush just broke up with her boyfriend, now is his chance to make a move. Things don't go according to plan. ---- Part 3 of my "The NCT Frat House Series"

Word count: 4.5k

Rating/Warnings: PG-13/Kissing, watching an R rated movie together

Author’s Note: My first Renjun fic! Please enjoy!

------

    As a favor to Lucas, Kun’s girlfriend Ruby was organizing a surprise birthday party for Alma, Lucas’s girlfriend. Ruby and her roommates offered their house to host the party, and though Alexandria didn’t qualify as a roommate, she was a friend, so she was part of the party planning committee. When she arrived on the day of the party, she was not prepared for the NCT frat bros to be at Ruby’s house, helping set up.

    Once Janell handed out responsibilities to the volunteers, Alexandria was seated at the dining table, using Ruby’s coveted decorating tweezers to strategically place silver sprinkles onto a simple white frosted cake. With her legs crossed in front of her, and her shoulders slumped down to get a closer inspection at the cake, Alexandria stopped and sat up straight, rolling her shoulders as she fixed her posture. Blowing her brown bangs out of her eyes, she tried not to think about her mom’s constant nagging, You’re an adult now, and you still need to fix your posture.

    “The ‘A’ needs more sprinkles,” Haechan said, leaning over from across the table to look at her work, breaking her concentration.

    “Who died and made you my boss?” she asked, looking up at him.

    “I mean, if you want the cake to be ugly, don’t take my advice,” he said with a shrug, turning back to the game he was playing on his phone.

    “What are you doing here if you’re not helping set up for the party?” she asked, trying to keep her tone even.

    “Johnny told me to be here two hours before 5:00 so I’m here two hours before 5:00,” he said.

    “We’re here two hours early so we can help set up for the party,” Renjun explained as he sat down next to Haechan. “Janell put us on balloon duty.”

    “Where’s the helium tank?” Haechan asked, looking up. “I’ll fill the balloons and you can tie them.”     “We can take turns,” Renjun replied. “It’ll be faster.”

    “No, you have nimble fingers. They’re perfect for tying balloons. I can’t tie balloons. I should be in charge of the helium tank.”

    “Lex!” they heard a voice shout from the backyard. The only person to call her by that name was Janell's younger sister. Renjun jumped in his seat and Haechan snorted a guffaw while Alexandria stood up and slapped Haechan’s arm gently, chiding him for laughing at Renjun. Renjun was easily startled but Haechan took extra glee in his reaction due to Renjun having a crush on Janell's sister.

    Alexandria hadn’t meant to find out that Renjun had a crush on Violet, but during a recent party at the NCT Frat house Renjun had drunkenly admitted to her and a couple friends his secret. Before the party, Alexandria considered herself friendly with Renjun, but now that she’d experienced him make a drunken confession they were comfortable calling each other friends. He’d even gone to her condo a couple times to hang out. Unfortunately for Renjun, since Alexandria was in on the secret Haechan felt more comfortable teasing him in front of her.

    “Alexie,” Haechan said, touching her arm to stop her from leaving, “don’t make it obvious that Renjun likes Violet.”

    Renjun reached over to wrap his hands around Haechan’s neck, a pained smile on his lips, and Alexandria shook her head as she turned away from the fight. She was going to have to remind Ruby and Kun that they were better off not asking any of the NCT guys to help with any sort of party planning. The small surprise birthday party for Lucas’s girlfriend had turned into a daycare for man-children, and not even half of them had come.

    “You called?” Alexandria said to Violet once she made it outside to the backyard. She sat down on the picnic table. Violet, Janell, and Johnny were decorating a couple mason jars for the small bouquets of wild flowers they’d picked from around the neighborhood.

    “If I gave you some cash, would you go to the dispensary and buy me a couple joints?” Violet asked. "My sister and her boyfriend won't help me out."

    “Hold on,” Alexandria said, raising her hands out before her as she stood up. “Am I the only one who remembers what kind of party this is? Lucas asked for a small cute surprise birthday party for Alma, this isn’t a house party.”

    “Oh my gosh, Lex, you’re always so dramatic,” Violet said with a sigh. “I need some weed because I broke up with Joey, OK?”

    “I’m sorry,” Alexandria said as she sat down beside Violet, hugging her. “We can chill at my place after Alma’s birthday party. I’ll take you to my favorite dispensary, my treat. What happened?”

    As Violet tearfully went on a tangent about her ungrateful ex-boyfriend, Alexandria glanced over to see Janell and Johnny rolling their eyes. It was in Janell’s nature not to extend too much sympathy toward her younger sister, still holding a grudge that Violet had followed her across state lines to attend the same university, so Alexandria took on the task to give Violet a little more patience as a surrogate older sister. With that in mind, Alexandria couldn’t blame Janell and Johnny for reacting the way they did when it came to Joey, Violet’s boyfriend of 5 months.

    The couple were cute, but they argued constantly. Violet and Joey had spent the last month threatening to break up with each other, and now that they were properly broken up it seemed like the drama was still ongoing. Alexandria tried her best to remember what it was like with her first boyfriend. She'd believed he was The One and put up with the petty drama, so she understood why Violet was putting herself through the unnecessary pain with Joey. After a five minute rant, Violet seemed satisfied and grew quiet as Alexandria confirmed that she would buy Violet some weed.

    Returning to the dining table, Alexandria found Renjun tying ribbons onto a single balloon, and then heard Haechan with some others in the front living room, playing with the balloons and helium tank. She sat down and crossed her legs in her seat before returning to spelling out Alma’s name onto the cake using the sprinkles. Renjun ran a hand through his hair and leaned back as he watched Alexandria decorate the cake, his new platinum blonde hair making his brown eyes seem bigger and darker than they already were.

    “Did you hear?” she asked softly, raising an eyebrow. “Violet broke up with Joey.”

    “You’re lying,” he said, though he sat up straight, leaning over closer to her. “What happened?”

    “She broke up with him a few days ago, and I invited her to my place so we can get high,” she replied. “You should come along. Maybe you can cheer her up.”

    He laughed nervously as he met her gaze, and she closed her mouth as Ruby and Kun entered the kitchen. Given the tone of his voice, Kun was nearing the end of his patience as he barked orders over his shoulder only to be met with what sounded like Yangyang imitating Kun. There was a ripple of high pitched laughter, and Ruby gave Kun a pleading look.

    “They’re grown men, they’ll be fine,” Kun said, setting some grocery bags onto the countertop.

    “They’re playing with a cheap helium tank,” Ruby said softly. “Do you hear them?”

    The front living room sounded like the Chipmunks singing Migos’ “Walk It Talk It” followed by more high pitched laughter. Groaning and slumping his shoulders, Kun turned around and led Ruby back to the front living room so they could make sure the boys weren’t going to hurt themselves. Meanwhile, Alexandria and Rejun set up the dining table with the bouquets, balloons, and cake.

    As everyone gathered around the front door to surprise Alma, Alexandria asked Jeno and Hendery to help her tape up the streamers in the kitchen so that Renjun and Violet would have a moment alone on the loveseat. When she returned to the front living room, she saw Renjun and Violet deep in conversation, and patted herself on the back. As she stood beside the loveseat, Violet grabbed her hand and invited her to sit with them, sandwiching Renjun between them.

    "Isn't he the softest thing in the world?" Violet asked as she reached her arms out around Renjun and grasped onto Alexandria's arms.

    Alexandria gave a chuckle as she reached out to grab Violet’s arms in return and the two women hugged Renjun, his face turned bright pink and he began guffawing. It was difficult for anyone not to like Violet. She enjoyed showing affection to her friends and was doing her best to make Renjun blush, making some of the other guys laugh. Alexandria placed a hand on Renjun’s cheek and chuckled again as she felt that it was burning up. She removed herself from the group hug and let Violet continue to hug him while she turned around to see Kun and Johnny standing nearby, complaining like middle age dads, each man holding a can of beer in his hand.

    Even after graduating, Kun and Johnny were still in touch with the frat house, making sure the guys were taking care of themselves. It also benefited the NCT guys that Kun and Johnny's girlfriends were still attending university, so the two men were likely nearby the campus during their free time. Alexandria understood the sentiment. She hadn't lived with Ruby and Janell for over a year, but she visited them often and helped clean the house as if she still lived there.

    When Lucas and Alma arrived at 5:00, Yangyang, Haechan, Xiaojun, Hendery, Jaemin, and Chenle had taken some of the helium filled balloons and insisted on singing Alma's birthday song with their high pitched helium voices. Alma was a good sport and clapped as everyone suffered through their helium induced singing. Once she was served a slice of cake, Alexandria sat down with Violet and Renjun in the dining room, the trio sitting across from Alma and Lucas.

    Lucas pulled Alma into his lap and he kissed her free hand as she ate her slice of cake. For as long as Alexandria had known the couple, they were proud to be affectionate with each other. Their PDA didn't bother her, but she knew it made some people uncomfortable. She stopped herself from laughing out loud and snorted cake up her nose as she glanced over to see Renjun poking his fork into his slice of cake as his eyes darted nervously from Alma to Lucas while Violet's eyes were focused on the pair as she passively chewed on her food. The pair looked to be taking notes from Alma and Lucas.

    "I-I need water," Alexandria coughed out, distracting Renjun and Violet. The cake crumbs up her nose burned her sinuses, and she stood up to find a tissue.

    "Let me take you home," Violet announced, standing up immediately. "Happy birthday, Alma! Janell and Johnny paid for your present but I picked it out. Remember that when you unwrap it."

    "Over here, Dria," Renjun said, standing up and leading her toward the front living room by placing his hand on her elbow.

    "Lexie!" Yangyang and Xiaojun exclaimed together.

    "Alexie!" Haechan and Hendery screamed, making her laugh before she gagged and fell onto the sofa beside Jeno.

    “Are you dying, Andria?” Jeno asked as he helped her sit up. His shoulders were shaking as he tried not to laugh.

    The guys found out that Renjun gave Alexandria a nickname in an attempt to start a conversation with Violet when he first met Violet. Whenever any of them heard Renjun call her "Dria" they enjoyed making jokes out of her name, and Alexandria knew it was easier to let the kids have their fun rather than take the teasings to heart.

    “I don’t want to ruin the party,” she said when Renjun handed her a bottle of water. “I’m going home.”

    “Can I come?” Violet asked immediately, linking her arm with Alexandria’s.

    “You want to come along?” Alexandria asked Renjun.

    “I do,” Haechan said, raising his hand. “Alexie! Will you make me your mom’s eggrolls?”

    “Sorry, Haechan,” Violet said as she grabbed Renjun’s hand. “Alexandria only likes me and Renjun.”

    “Happy birthday, Alma!” Alexandria shouted as Violet walked her and Renjun out of Ruby and Janell’s home.

    As she dropped by the dispensary, Alexandria had Violet and Renjun go buy snacks, directing them to meet at the front of her condo complex after 20 minutes. She took a slow stroll through the streets, appreciating the warm spring weather. She thought about how she was playing Renjun’s wing(wo)man, and she wondered if her interest in Renjun and Violet hooking up was her way in dating vicariously through her friends, something Ruby and Wen, one of Ruby’s other roommates, had accused her of before.

    She gave herself another pat on the back when she saw Renjun and Violet laughing together, plastic bags in their hands. Was she dating vicariously through her friends? Whatever the case, Alexandria was glad that Renjun and Violet seemed to be hitting it off. Renjun was a fun person to be around, and Violet was playful as well, the two would always have fun together. Violet could take advantage of Renjun’s NCT Frat status to invite herself to Janell and Johnny’s dates. There was so much to be gained, Alexandria hoped Violet would see Renjun’s datability.

    "We decided to watch a horror movie," Violet announced when Alexandria led them inside. "Have you heard of It Follows? It's about a sexually transmitted monster. Renjun makes it sound good."

    "Um, OK," Alexandria replied, plastering on a bright smile. She hated horror movies, but Renjun and Violet looked excited as they shared a smile and raised their eyebrows. "Is it, like, super scary?"

    "It's not super gory but there are definite scary elements to it," Renjun answered. "Your condo is perfect, too, Dria. It's quiet and there's only going to be the three of us."

    "Perfect," Alexandria muttered as Renjun and Violet listed their favorite horror movies to each other while they entered the elevator.

    Renjun made them iced green tea, and Alexandria popped 2 bags of popcorn in her microwave and unpacked all the candies into bowls. Violet sat by the patio door and lit a joint as she played music from her phone, setting the mood for the evening. Alexandria went through stages where she either smoked a lot of weed or she didn’t, and she hadn’t smoked in over 2 months, but Violet tempted her into taking a few hits, especially when Renjun said that he’d take a hit if Alexandria did. He didn’t react well, coughing up a storm, and Alexandria felt bad that Renjun was smoking in an attempt to impress Violet.

    She felt worse when she noticed that Violet was texting with Joey. Violet’s music playlist had started with playful Bruno Mars songs, but after a few texts with Joey she began playing Ariana Grande love jams. Renjun was too busy singing along to the music to notice the shift in Violet’s mood. Placing the bowls of snacks onto a serving tray, Alexandria asked Violet and Renjun to bring the snacks to the living room and start the movie while she would finish preparing the iced tea, hoping to give them a few minutes alone.

    “I invited Joey over,” Violet announced when Alexandria arrived with a small serving tray that held the glasses of tea, sitting up straight. “He wants to watch the movie with us.”

    “Um, sure,” Alexandria said as she sat down next to Violet, making sure it was Violet who was seated in the middle. “How long before Joey gets here?”

    “He’ll be here soon,” Violet said loudly as she picked up the remote and started the movie.

    Alexandria held the bowl of popcorn in her lap as she sat on the couch with her legs crossed in front of her, her shoulders slouching. Noticing her posture, she straightened her back, and rolled her shoulders as she glanced over to see Violet’s eyes glued to her phone while Renjun was busy shoving M&Ms into his mouth, completely absorbed in the movie. They were roughly ten minutes into the movie when there was a knock on the front door.

    “I’ve got it!” Violet said immediately, jumping up and rushing to the front door. She stepped outside and shut the door, having not invited Joey in.

    Alexandria ate some popcorn as she tried to pay attention to the movie, but all she could hear was Violet and Joey having an argument in the hallway. As Joey sounded like he was crying, begging Violet to give him another chance, Alexandria glanced at Renjun and was impressed to see him absentmindedly shoving Skittles into his mouth, still completely immersed with the movie. She turned her attention to the movie, and felt her face grow hot as she realized that the scene was a sex scene. Feeling silly for her bashfulness, Alexandria set the bowl of popcorn onto the coffee table and grabbed her glass of iced tea. The movie was about a sexually transmitted monster, of course there would be at least one sex scene. 

    Sipping her drink, Alexandria’s eyes drifted to the front door as she heard Violet and Joey talk, their voices sounding softer and less volatile. Her eyes returned to the TV screen as she set her drink down, and she sank into her seat as she watched the scene unfold. The lead protagonist, a blonde girl named Jay, was lying on her stomach in the backseat of her date’s car as she talked.

    It was a sweet post-sex scene, her date was crawling up behind her, and Alexandria gave a soft sigh as she thought about the last time she’d felt a guy press his body up against her back. It’d been before Ruby and Janell began dating their boyfriends, and she cringed at the length of her dry spell. Her mind forgot about her lack of a sex life as the lead’s date chloroformed her from behind, shocking Alexandria. She leaned in close to Renjun and threw a hand over her mouth, worried that she might scream.

    “Renjun, what’s going on?!” she breathed out, shaking his arm. “I thought this was about a sexually transmitted monster! Is her date going to kill her?”

    “Watch the movie,” he said, sighing gently. “Can I get some popcorn?”

    Alexandria screamed and grabbed on tighter to Renjun’s arm as the scene in the movie became more intense, Jay’s date had tied her up to a chair and she could not move as her date explained to her of the monster that was now after her. It was a slow monster that took on the form of a random person, and once It caught up to the infected person It would kill them. She buried her face into Renjun’s arm, and said to him, “I can’t watch this! I can’t watch this!”

    Renjun laughed, making her look up, and she sat up straight, feeling her face grow hot.

    “It’s just a movie. I knew you were afraid of scary movies, but…wow, Dria. You’re a complete wimp.”

    “I never denied being a complete wimp,” she said, shoving his arm. “If you want to finish this movie then you’re going to have to put up with me jumping and screaming.”

    “Fine,” he said, giving a small chuckle, throwing his arm over her shoulder. “I can’t believe I have to hold you like a little kid.”

    “Oh my gosh, they called the cops?” she asked, turning her attention to the movie.

    “Cops are useless in horror movies,” he replied. “You really don’t watch scary movies?”

    “No. Do you remember that old Japanese movie…Ju-Oh? My cousin was babysitting me when I was 8, and she put it on for us to watch and I haven’t liked scary movies since.”

    Renjun laughed and she poked his side to shut him up. After he pushed her away, Alexandria hugged her legs and Renjun leaned back into the sofa as he ate the popcorn. The movie’s pacing was slower and more subtle than she’d anticipated, and Alexandria found herself being drawn into the mystery. What was going on, and would Jay be able to avoid the monster? Alexandria bit her bottom lip, wondering if she’d be able to go through with finding new sex partners in an attempt to prevent a monster from coming to kill her.

    The suspense built up again, and Alexandria tried to be brave, but the reveal of the monster entering Jay’s house at night was too grotesque. She screamed once more, and grabbed for Renjun’s arm again, throwing her face into his shoulder. He laughed, and threw his arm over her shoulder, letting her grab onto his hoodie as she turned her face in toward his chest. The movie kept slowing the suspense down to build up drama, and whenever the suspense built up it went on much longer than she was prepared for, so Alexandria spent the majority of the film curled up in Renjun’s arm, clawing her fingers into his chest.

    “So are they going to die?” she asked him once the movie ended. It ended on an ambiguous note.

    “Maybe,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “What do you think?”

    “I think if I ever watch scary movies, this is the only way I can watch them,” she said, burying her face into his chest again.

    The air was silent and became very still after what felt like an entire minute. Renjun hadn’t moved a centimeter, so she lifted her head up and saw him looking down at her with his eyebrows furrowed. Looking into her eyes, his face softened, and he reached over to cup her cheek in his hand. She looked at his long eyelashes for a moment when he kissed her, but feeling the warmth of his lips on hers instantly had her closing her eyes. His hold around her tightened, and she moved her hand up to touch his neck. As her fingers moved to caress his earlobe, he pulled back, breaking the kiss.

    They stared at each other, and Alexandria could only think about wanting to kiss him again, her mind feeling foggy. She could feel her heart beating fast and loud in her throat, and his arm draped around her body felt heavy. She pressed her chest against his as she pushed forward, kissing him, but turned her head aside when she felt his hand on her cheek drift down to her neck. He groaned as his tongue flicked the side of her cheek.

    “I think you should go home,” she said softly.

    The heat that burst into her gut was intense when his fingers had touched the bare skin of her neck, and she wasn’t sure how well she could handle Renjun’s touches. The night had been a mess, and she didn’t want him to think she was the type of friend who was into hookups. They might come to regret it, especially if Renjun was going to continue to crush on Violet.

    “Did I do something?” he asked, releasing his hold on her. She shook her head, planting her feet onto the ground, sitting up straight.

    “I’m sorry that Violet bailed on our movie night,” she said softly, her eyes unable to meet his.

    “Oh, right, yeah,” he said, falling back into the cushions of the sofa. He ran a hand through his hair, and he gave a nervous chuckle. They sat together in silence for a few moments, and then he spoke up again. “Why did you kiss me?”

    “You kissed me,” she replied, shoving him gently by pushing her hand against his knee. “You started it.”

    “The details don’t matter,” he said, sitting up straight. “We kissed, I liked it, and I know you did too.”

    “So?”

    “So...can I kiss you again?”

    He barely had the question out of his mouth when she’d already begun to climb onto his lap. She held onto his shoulders as she straddled him while he rested his hands on her hips. They kissed, her fingers running gently through his hair as she dove her tongue into his mouth, giving a soft moan every time his mouth was able to capture her tongue to suck on it. When her lips began to burn, feeling a little swollen, Alexandria pushed against Renjun’s chest, and sat up straight, looking into his eyes.

    “This is a bad idea,” she said.

    She shut her eyes and bit her bottom lip, pulling his head to rest on her shoulder as his hands slid down to grab her ass. She raked her fingers through his hair as she panted heavily, breathing through her mouth as his hands groped and squeezed her ass cheeks. Instinctively, her hips thrust against his, but she closed her mouth and found the willpower to shove against his chest, getting off his lap to sit back down beside him.

    “What’s so bad about it?” he asked, out of breath, his eyes looking at her in a way she’d never seen before. His eyes were darting around, seeming to look over every inch of her.

    “I mean, I think Violet and Joey are back together, but...you know, what’s going to happen when they break up for good?” she asked, brushing her bangs with her fingers, trying not to look at him.

    “I don’t know,” he said, shrugging.

    “You really don’t care about her? This girl you’ve been crushing on for months?”

    Renjun gave her a grin. He sat up in his seat, and he said, “Dria, I forgot that you invited me here for Violet. It’s just you and me here, and I like it better when it’s just you and me.”

    “So are you saying that you like me?” she asked.

    “Dria, you just felt my boner poking your ass,” he said, making her blush. “Yeah, I like you. What? You don’t like me? I can go home.”

    He made to stand up, but she reached over and grabbed his arm.

    “No!” she shouted. “Renjun! I like you! Stay. You have to stay.”

    “Oh, I have to stay now?” he asked, guffawing as he moved to stand up. “I thought you wanted me to leave.”

    “I watched that scary movie with you!” she said, placing herself onto his lap. “You have to give me company now, because I’m going to have nightmares.” She kissed his cheek, making him stop as he grinned at her, his face turning pink. “What a twist,” she said softly. He laughed, touching her chin to tilt her head toward his, and then kissed her.

    “None of our friends are going to see this coming,” he admitted.

    “Can we watch another movie?” she asked him, resting her head onto his shoulder.

    She didn’t want to think or talk about their friends. He kissed her cheek, smiling at her before picking up the remote to scroll around for another movie to watch. He insisted all the movies he wanted to watch weren’t very scary, the title cards and movie posters just looked scary. She didn’t believe him, but eventually let him pick a movie for them to watch. As much as she didn’t like scary movies, it was worth it since she was in Renjun’s arms.

------ Thank you always for reading!

[cuddlepilefics]

could you pretty please with a cherry on top🥺🥺🥺 do a fic where felix from skz is a little and none of the others really know because he's really shy about it. While the group is out shopping they pass the baby section of the store and he sees a rattle he really likes. felix tries so hard not to slip in front of the members but when they get back home he like shuts himself in his room and closes off from the members. Bang chan or changbin (your choice cause i cant choose) notices how theyre acting and earlier saw him looking at the rattle so he buys it in secret for felix and then eventually felix has to come clean about being a little

i love your work but try to stay happy and healthy during these hard times in the world😊😊

Changbinnie-hyungie

 Fandom: Stray Kids

Little: Felix

Caregivers: Stray Kids

 No one’s POV.:

Stray Kids had just finished their dance practice for today and wanted to go for lunch together before splitting up for their individual schedules. They went to the food court of a close by mall, chattering while eating. When they were done eating, it turned out that they still had some time left before they’d have to be back at the company, so they decided to just visit some of the shops. Since they were quite many, they decided to split up as to not form a too large crowd. Felix wasn’t really looking for anything in particular, so he just trailed some random aisles to pass the time till the others were done or they had to get back to work. To his misfortune, the Aussie managed to end up in the baby section of the store. This was exactly what he had wanted to avoid. Felix was a little and being around toys and pacifiers often made him feel very young. It wouldn’t have been that much of a deal if his members knew about this. They could help him try to hide his secret from the public and get him home safely but they didn’t know. Not only needed the dancer keep up perfect appearances for the public, he also needed to hide his age regression from his friends, who knew him better than anyone and who would know something was up.

The Aussie turned on his heel, ready to make his escape when something caught his eyes. There on the middle shelf was a sky-blue baby rattle, decorated with a smiling sun. Not able to stop himself, he picked it up to get a better look, immediately smiling back at the sun. He gave the rattle a few light shakes and barely managed to suppress an excited squeal. Things like this always made him feel giddy. His exhaustion had vanished as he felt himself slowly slip into his headspace. He wasn’t fully little when a realization hit him and he quickly pulled himself together. He couldn’t be little now, people would find out, his friends would find out. If they couldn’t find out, that also meant Felix would have to walk out of this store without the pretty rattle he had discovered. Just the thought of it broke his heart but it couldn’t be helped and right when he put the rattle back onto the shelf, there was a loud voice a few steps away, startling him: “Hey, Lix! We’ve been looking everywhere for you. We really need to leave now or we’ll be late.” The Aussie nodded and walked stiffly towards Changbin, who ruffled his hair. Meeting up with their group, they went to the company building together before splitting up again into their units.

With one final smile, Changbin said good bye to Felix and followed Chan and Jisung to their production studio. As soon as the older was gone, the fake smile Felix had plastered on his face vanished. His anxiety was high after almost exposing himself at the store and to make matters worse, he still didn’t feel fully big. He was trapped somewhere in between, not fully big, not fully little. It was confusing and it made his head hurt. It usually wasn’t this bad when he felt like slipping because his little side was just a bouncy, giggly ball of cuteness and excitement, so nobody thought much of it. Today was different though. When he was little, Felix felt all emotions much stronger. That’s fine if he’s happy and excited but right now, his little side still mourned the rattle he couldn’t buy because he was too much of a coward to tell his friends. While Felix big self tried to be as professional as he somehow could, his little self was hurt and upset. Upset at himself for not being braver and getting himself what he wanted and scared that, should he ever find the courage to come out to his friends, the rattle would be sold out and he’d never see it again, never get to smile at the cute sun again and never get to hear the exciting sound it made.

The dance-line maknae felt his eyes burn and bit the inside of his cheeks to get his control back. He managed not to cry but his headache steadily got worse as the battle between little and big became more and more desperate. “Hey, you okay, Felix? You keep missing steps”, Hyunjin frowned. The younger nodded but the tears in his eyes betrayed him. Minho carefully guided him back to their bags and decided: “Let’s take five and have some water.” Felix slid down the wall next to his bag and buried his head in his hands. A futile attempt to hide the tears making their way down his freckled cheeks. His two hyungs had moved the bags around and now sat down on either side of him. “What’s wrong?”, Hyunjin tried again. Felix sniffled and rubbed at his face, admitting: “Head hurts.” Minho worriedly pressed his palm against the younger’s forehead to feel for a fever. Yeah, the Aussie was a bit warm but he had been dancing for a while. “You don’t have a fever. Did it just start to hurt or did you have a headache all day?”, the oldest dancer examined. “It started on the way back from lunch”, Felix replied, wiping his tears. The older two cringed in sympathy. During the short moment Felix had lifted his head, they had both seen the pain in his eyes and the slight furrow in his brows, indicating he was tense but trying not to show it.

Hyunjin pulled him into a comforting hug and Minho rubbed his back, asking: “Do you want to go back to the dorm to rest, Lixxie?” Being cared for by his hyungs, along with the use of his nickname made the Aussie feel incredibly soft. With that his little side won and he slipped, crying harder due to the increased sensibility. He nodded his head, if he didn’t speak, they’d hopefully not notice. Hyunjin pulled him to his feet and steadied him on their way back. Minho quickly threw everything into their bags and slung them over his shoulders, following the other two members. Felix remained quiet for the entirety of their walk. He let Hyunjin walk him to his bed, while he tried to pull himself out of littlespace. “Here, I got you some medicine and water. Do you need anything else?”, Minho smiled. Shaking his head, Felix managed to at least become big enough to talk to them properly. He thanked his hyung but assured them he’d just go to sleep and they could go back to the practice room. The older two were reluctant but they knew Felix would feel even worse if they stayed back from work for him. They said their good byes and told him to get some rest. With one final hair ruffle they were gone.

As soon as he heard the front door click, Felix slipped out of bed and locked the door to the room he shared with Chan and Changbin. Then he pulled out a box from his closet and retrieved cute yellow pacifier. Popping it into his mouth, he crawled back into bed and hugged his plushie. Not having to hold back anymore, he cried freely, sometimes rambling to his plushie explaining what a cute rattle he had seen and how happy he had been but that he’d never be able to get it. At some point, he had cried himself to sleep. When he woke up from his nap, he noticed a few missed calls and multiple texts from various members. He had still about two hours left till the others would come back, so he ignored the messages and huddled deeper into his fluffy blanket. Despite still being little, his thoughts had cleared up a bit, so he went on his phone and searched the internet. Maybe he could find the rattle online and get it delivered discreetly.

An hour later, that hope was also shattered and Felix threw his phone on his bed, tearing up again. It was almost another hour till his friends would get back and the little made a decision. He would tell the others about his littlespace and maybe he was lucky enough to be able to go buy himself that rattle that he yearned for so much tomorrow. Sitting down at his desk, he pulled out a blank paper and started writing with a purple crayon. He’d write down exactly what he was going to say, so he wouldn’t just forget everything and make it even more awkward. Covering the paper front and back, he included an explanation what littlespace was and his personal reasons why he needed to slip once in a while. When he was done, he was satisfied with the short speech but mostly he was nervous. Would they accept him? He heard the front door open and different voices chatter. Not to long after, there was a knock on his door before somebody tried to open it. “Lix, you okay?”, Chan asked, his voice muffled by the door. The younger pretended to be asleep, feeling a bit guilty for locking his hyung out of their shared room but he wasn’t ready to confront anyone yet.

Chan luckily bought it and decided to grant his dongsaeng some more sleep, if he was really feeling as poorly as Minho and Hyunjin had told him. The next time, he went to try the door was when he wanted to wake Felix for dinner. This time he wouldn’t just walk away again. If need be, he’d pick the lock but he needed to see with his own eyes that the younger was okay and just sleeping. That’s what he ended up doing and Felix barely managed to hide his pacifier under the pillow in time. Chan carefully sat down on the edge of the bed and when he saw the younger blinking up at him confused, he asked: “Hey, how are you doing mate?” Felix shrugged, not trusting his voice. “Dinner’s ready so I was going to wake you, plus if you sleep much more, you won’t be able to sleep tonight”, the leader explained. Felix cringed, he really didn’t want to face all his members and he was to nervous to stomach anything at the moment, so he asked: “Hyung, I really can’t eat right now. Can I stay here? I won’t go back to sleep, I promise.” He was almost fully big by now but that didn’t mean he’d want his members to see him. Chan sighed but nodded, not before settling that Felix would have to eat something later that evening and that he wouldn’t go to bed without dinner.

Felix listened closely and when he heard the table being cleared, he took a deep breath before exiting his room. If he didn’t jump over his shadow now, he’d never do it. “G-Guys, can – can I talk to you? All o-of you?”, he asked shakily. They nodded and gathered in the living room before Chan stopped him: “Changbin’s not here yet. He took a detour earlier and should be here soon. We should wait for him.” Felix nodded and bit his lip, growing more anxious as time passed. After what seemed like an eternity, the door swung open and Changbin gave them a confused look. He didn’t know there’d be a group meeting. He only kicked off his shoes before joining them and every step he took was accompanied by a weird noise. With trembling hands, Felix unfolded the note he had written and started to read it out. He was stuttering, stumbling over his words before pushing the paper into Chan’s hands, a silent plea for the older to continue. The leader complied and finished the short speech his dongsaeng had prepared. There was silence, except for Felix soft sniffles. Chan pulled him into a hug and assured him that it was fine and that he was grateful the younger had trusted them enough to open up about such a vulnerable thing. Seeing how much their silence scared the young Aussie, the others were quick to follow their leader’s example and tell their friend that they didn’t judge him for it.

When Felix had calmed down a bit, he was ready to answer their questions. “Yeah, when I try to suppress my need to slip, I get a really bad headache, which is what happened today. I didn’t think I could go on like this, so I needed to tell you”, he explained. Minho gave him a questioning look: “Are you little right now?” – “No, I’m not. Though I feel really close to slipping, just not yet. I was little earlier when you took me back home, that’s why for a while I wasn’t talking”, Felix replied. Hyunjin admitted: “I’m scared guys. He’s so cute already, I don’t think I could handle it if he was little.” That brought a smile to Felix face, happy that they had taken him the way he was. Changbin got up and made his way over to Felix. There was that weird noise again and when he reached for the pocket of his jacket, Felix could see it was bulging slightly. “I saw you looking at that rattle earlier at the store, you really liked it, right?”, the rapper asked, “Now I understand why you do. It makes you feel little.” Felix nodded, growing sad. He avoided the older’s eyes by looking at the floor. “Then it’s a good thing I went back and got it for you, hmm?”, Changbin smiled, pulling something from his pocket, “Your eyes were literally sparkling earlier but then you looked sad when we left, so I thought you must have really wanted it.”

Felix face lit up when Changbin handed him the toy he had been wishing for so badly. Looking at it again, he slipped in an instant. Beaming at the sun, painted on it, the little gave it a good shake and broke into giggles when it made the noise he liked so much. Changbin felt his heart beat faster and he smiled widely at the excited little in front of him. There were muffled squeals from the members around them, as they had to realize being little multiplied Felix cuteness. “Changbinnie-hyungie!!! TANK CHU!!!!”, the little squealed and threw himself into his hyung’s strong arms. Laughing, Changbin caught him and hugged back. The two stayed cuddled together, with Felix occasionally shaking his rattle, eyes wide and innocent, until Chan spoke up: “Cutie, can you let go of Binnie for a while?” – “Nuh! My Changbinnie-hyungie!” – “I’m not taking him away from you”, the oldest chuckled, “but I know that neither of you have eaten yet. You can cuddle again after.” Felix seemed to be thinking about it. “Come on, Lixxie. We saved you some fried chicken and Channie-hyungie is going to feed you. When Binnie is done eating and took that shower he has been looking forward to for hours, you can cuddle again.” – “Lixxie wan’ cuddle with Channgbinnie-hyungie and Channie-hyungie.” – “Okay baby. We will but first. Food?” – “Foowd”, Felix agreed before being picked up by his hyung.

[tales-unique]

MEMORIES OF THE WEST  II

When dawn breaks you watch the sky blossom with pink, purple and blue, the morning chorus of birds serenading you with their beautiful calls. The camp is relatively quiet, barely a sound from anyone save the occasional snore here and there. The horses snort as they graze on the edges of camp and you finally sit up, taking in your surroundings properly for the first time. It isn’t so much big as it has more carts and tents than your kidnappers camp, more amenities too — this is a home base rather than a pit-stop. There’s tables with the remnants of card games and bottles on them, and animal skulls and chimes decorate the carts and trees. It looks homely, in a rustic kind of way, like when your daddy used to take you and your brother hunting in the woods and you’d set up tents in the wilderness under the open sky. Peeking to your side you see Tilly and Mary-Beth are still sound asleep, but you don’t see Karen and you wonder if she’s already awake or not. You haven’t seen, or heard, her yet. There’s another couple of women who you haven’t yet met sleeping on bedrolls in front of the cart next to yours and you study them for a moment before carefully standing and stretching. All your muscles are aching, your wrists sting with the effort, but you feel revitalized in a way you haven’t before. Guess a near death experience will do that to someone.

Philosophical thoughts aside, you realize that there’s not much you can do while everyone’s still sleeping without seeming like a snoop. But that doesn’t stop your curiosity from taking over. Quietly, you try to navigate about the camp without drawing attention to yourself and against your better judgement you wander between the tents and carts, looking over the members of the camp with an almost childlike wonder — you’ve never been among roaming folk like this before and you’re almost envious of how free they appear to be. Like a startled deer you bolt as quietly as you can when you hear movement, the shuffle of someone turning in their sleep, almost prancing in the dewy grass towards the treeline to hide. From your place hidden behind a tree you wait for the consequence of your prying with bated breath. When it doesn’t come you exhale deeply, resting against scratchy bark in relief. A snort behind you roots you to the spot momentarily, until you’re nudged forward by an inquisitive snout looking to get at the soft shoots you've so rudely been blocking. You step to the side to allow the horse it’s meal, smiling warmly. They’re all so beautiful, and well kept, that you can’t help but admire them. Then you spot the horse that Charles had been riding; an Appaloosa mare, whose name you sadly didn’t catch. “Hey there, girl,” you coo, slow in your approach as you step over to where she grazes. You don’t want to spook her. “Aren’t you a beauty!” The way the sun catches on her back makes her coat shine and you think for a minute that she’s the prettiest horse you’ve ever seen. Well, except your Ginger. That mare would always have a special place in your heart, no matter what. Your singular focus makes you blind to the attention you’ve attracted. An early riser, Charles notices you coaxing his horse into letting you stroke her as he gets a cup of coffee. Taima is, understandably, wary of you at first but she soon warms to you as you gently smooth your hand over her back and scratch behind her ears. While you lavish attention on Taima as the sun rises, you catch movement in your peripheral and look up to see Charles walking over, coffee cup glinting in hand. “She likes you,” he muses, looking between you and Taima. “Really?” You murmur, a fond smile coming to your lips, “I’m glad, I like her too.” There’s a comfortable silence between you as you both bask in the early morning sunshine and each other's company, but all too quickly it melts away into reality when the rest of the camp starts to wake and go about its business. Mary-Beth and Tilly greet you warmly, as well as Charles, when they go for coffee. Karen is still passed out, drunk, on her bedroll, snoring, and you wonder how you could have missed her when you were looking around camp. An older, sterner woman passes you, greeting Charles while giving you a once over. He greets her as Miss Grimshaw. You kindly say good morning ma’am. She doesn’t look impressed as she pointedly humphs and you wilt under her gaze. It only worsens when you look away and spot Dutch staring right at you from his open tent, squinting at you with an unreadable expression. At his side stands two other men, neither of whom you have met yet, one looking worried while he talks at Dutch and the other scowling as he toes the dirt. The three of them seem to be the ones that the others answer to, and so you quickly avert your eyes out of respect. “What’re they going to do with me?” You swallow nervously, turning your gaze to Charles expectantly with big doe eyes. He spares a glance in the direction of Dutch and the others and sighs, shaking his head. “Honestly? They’ll probably pack you up on a horse and send you on your way. Escorted, so you don’t come back.” You frown, your hands gently combing through Taima’s mane. “Well, I’ll be escorted a long way then,” you huff, “only home I have right now is with my brother William, and he’s in Saint Denis.” This time the silence is stifling, but you don’t dare to look at Charles. Your sourness is uncalled for and you know it— he’s given you the honest answer that you asked for, you have no right to be mad at him. And yet you are, because they’re treating you like a threat when you have no reason to be one. Luckily you don’t have time to ruminate on your actions. “Mr. Smith, would you mind if I have a word with our new guest , alone?” The way Dutch says the word has your back up instantly and you have to bite your tongue to keep from spewing venom. You glance up at Charles and see that his gaze is on you, sympathetic, but you know that he won’t stay to defend you. “Sure,” he nods, leaving you alone with Dutch at the edge of camp. You’ve never been more on edge. Holding your breath. Eyes pinned to the man dressed sharp as a nail. “Charles told me of your unfortunate encounter,” Dutch starts out, glancing back at the camp before looking at you with what you suppose is sympathy but is actually pity . You don’t buy it for a second. He’s a charmer , like the men your mother would tell you about when you were young. Never believe a word they say, she told you, because it’s all just smoke and mirrors until they have you where they want you. “I just can’t imagine what that must have felt like. Why, our own poor Mrs Adler went through a similar thing, at the hands of O'Driscolls too no less! So I offer our most sincere apologies,” he continues, shaking his head, “but, as you can see, we’re one too many as it is and a respectable young woman like yourself has no business running with a band of miscreants like us!” The urge to roll your eyes is hard to ignore but you manage to resist, instead offering a tight-lipped smile. “I appreciate the sentiment, Sir—” “Please,” he laughs, waving his hand dismissively, “call me Dutch . And I may call you, miss—?" “—DuBois. As I said, Dutch , I’m real grateful to have been found. They didn’t have to stay and help me, they could have left me there, but they didn’t, and then the women help clean me up and dress me,” there’s a slight shake to your voice, an obvious sign of nerves, and you know that Dutch sees it by the way his eyes squint ever so slightly at you. “I feel I owe somethin’ back, f-for their trouble. Their kindness .” You conclude, clasping your hands together tightly in front of you as Taima walks away from you towards a fresh hay bale. You suddenly feel vulnerable and downright stupid for wanting to stay, your mothers yelling echoing in your head for being so damned naive . These people were similar to the ones who had taken you, if assumptions were to be believed, yet here you were pleading your case to stay with them; absolute madness. Dutch is quiet for a time, stroking his mustache, no doubt contemplating your argument. All while you stand there stock still, big eyes filled with anxiousness. “Miss DuBois, you seem like a fine girl, but forgive me for being dubious. I simply just don’t know what help you could be to us, unless you’re hiding a stash of money or something of the like!” He laughs, an obvious joke, but it’s just the opening you need. A smile slowly spreads to your lips; two birds with one stone, coming right up. “Well, I sure don’t,” you muse innocently, rocking on the balls of your feet, “but I sure know someone who does .” The look on Dutch’s face is priceless.

[mitchychaos]

🅦🅗🅨 🅐🅡🅔 🅨🅞🅤 🅢🅗🅐🅚🅘🅝🅖? - 🅚🅨🅞 🅧 🅡🅔🅐🅓🅔🅡

pairing:  kyo soma x reader

word count: 1,839

warnings: mild cursing

[A/N: this is my first oneshot for this blog. let me know if there is anything you would like me to change about it! btw, this is from my challenge!]

“Y/n are you almost done? You have been taking forever to get ready!” you heard your orange-haired boyfriend yell from outside of the bathroom. To be honest, you had been taking a while to get ready, but it was Halloween! You needed to get your costume put together! You were going as (whatever you want I’m not here to decide that for you), and Kyo was going as a vampire. All he had to do was put on some fake teeth and dark clothes! You needed time to perfect your look. 

“Yeah I’m almost ready! Just give me a minute!” you called over your shoulder before putting some lipstick on, and giving yourself final lookover in the mirror. You thought you looked pretty damn good for a last minute Halloween costume, but the real test was how your hot-headed boyfriend enjoyed it. 

You stepped out from the bathroom, giving him a small smile and a spin, “Well? How do I look?” you asked, holding your arms open waiting for his response. He sat up from his spot on your bed, giving you a small look over, then the faintest smile. You two had been in a relationship for a long time now, if you hadn’t you probably wouldn’t have noticed the smile. 

“You look fine. Let’s go already! The lines are going to be hella long thanks to you.” Kyo complained before getting up from the bed and walking out the door with you. 

The two of you were going to an amusement park that was close by, one that was conveniently turning into a horror themed park for the season. Kyo really wanted to go through some of the haunted houses and mazes. You were looking forward to the candy and fun atmosphere of an amusement park at night. As Kyo paid for the tickets you stuck close to his side, you knew how these things usually went. The people that were dressed up always targeted you, scaring the absolute shit out of you. You could never understand why, but it probably had to do with your reaction. You knew you needed to be careful though, if you hugged Kyo it would be a disaster. Neither of you needed to deal with an orange cat running through the amusement park before turning into a naked boy.

To say that you were nervous was an understatement, you were practically screaming every time someone jumped at you. Kyo, obviously, kept laughing which earned some feeble glares from you in his direction. He couldn’t help it though, you looked adorable trying to hide from the people in costumes. Both of you knew they were just normal people but you were both handling it very differently. You had no idea how he did it, Kyo would just stand there and even laugh when the workers tried to scare him. You on the other hand would jump, squeal, and shake any time someone walked up behind you or came close. You were practically crushing Kyo’s hand with how hard you were holding it, and if you could hide inside his body you probably would. You couldn’t hug him though, which was increasingly becoming an issue. You just hoped that the haunted house wasn’t as scary as you thought it would be. 

You both were standing in the long line together, waiting to get inside. Your hand still in his, squeezing as tight as you could. “We aren’t even in the haunted house yet, why are you so scared? You’re going to crush my hand before we get inside!” Kyo remarked in a teasing voice, looking over at you. You looked frightened. You were only going in this house because he wanted to anyway! 

“I’ve been getting jump scared since we walked into the park! I’m freaked out okay?” You said in a little whiney voice hoping for some sympathy from your boyfriend. Some sympathy that was not received, you just got a little chuckle and a light flick to the forehead. What a dick. 

As you two approached the house you could hear the screams of the people that went in front of you, and you tried to glance inside to see if you could at least slightly prepare yourself for what lays ahead. You didn’t get that though, through the entrance all you saw was darkness. Depending on how you thought about it that could be comforting, or even more frightening. You let Kyo’s hand tug you forward into the house, and you started getting more scared. You were practically shaking and the boy beside you just pulled you forward without a care in the world. You had no idea how he seemed so calm, maybe he was faking it. 

The first little bit of the house was in complete darkness, and you could hear chains jingling from different corners of the room. Your eyes were darting around but you couldn’t see anything, you just had to listen to the noises and hope to prepare yourself for what was to come. You managed to get through the pitch black darkness unscathed, no one jumping out at you and spooking you, however, the house was far from over. 

You moved into the next room, which was brighter than the last but completely covered in smoke. It was impossible for you to even see where the door was, but Kyo seemed to know where he was going so you just followed his lead. Soon enough you both were stopped by a man jumping around on all fours, he was dressed like a clown, fake blood dripping from the top of his head where an axe sat. Kyo tried to move you both to the side around the guy but he just side-stepped in front of you, staring silently. You thought it was worse that the man wasn’t speaking. Kyo sighed in annoyance. 

“Just scare us already so we can move on damn it.” he urged the man in front of you two, rolling his eyes a little. Yet again, you were amazed at how calm he was in the current situation. You must have been too busy looking at your boyfriend’s face because the minute you looked forward again the man in front of you jumped up, screaming at the top of his lungs. You, as any sane person would, screamed back and Kyo just pulled you along again. 

The rest of the house was a blur of you screaming, trying to look closer to see if that was a person or a dummy, and trying to run past the man with the chainsaw. The last one Kyo held you back for though. He seemed to know better than you did. He knew that if you ran forward the man would then proceed to chase you with the chainsaw straight out of the house. He just kept a tight grip on your hand, and made you stay close to his side. 

If you weren’t shaking before, by the end of the house you were quivering. You saw the exit and just wanted to bolt for it. The steady hand beside you kept the normal pace though. You were glancing around quickly looking for whatever it was that was going to scare you now, and while you were turned away a chainsaw revved behind you, making you jump and scream again. You tried your best to pull Kyo the hell out of there. 

“If you run then he’s definitely going to chase you.” Kyo stated calmly, watching the guy as he ran up. You flinched and turned your head away, hiding your face slightly for the last few feet until you were outside. 

“Why are you shaking so bad? You’ve been shaking the entire time, are you really that scared of stupid haunted houses? They aren’t even real.” Kyo spoke up, looking over at your shaking body. 

“I am that scared! I don’t know how you didn’t jump once! I was freaked out the entire time!” you whined, leaning your head back a little, trying to stop your shivers. You were embarrassed obviously, having been called out by the boy beside you, especially once he started laughing like the manic clown you had just seen in the haunted house. “Kyo! It’s not funny! I was really scared!” you pouted, then looked away from him. 

“Aw you baby. Cmon let’s go get something to eat.” Kyo stated after he had finally calmed down, then pulled you into one of the restaurants close-by. It was decorated like a witch’s house, and they were selling plenty of candies. Kyo went to the front to buy you something, while you found a table for the two of you. When he came back you still had the same pout on your face. 

“Oh cmon, those houses aren’t even real. You can see the people coming from like a mile away.” he said, then offered you a candy apple, tilting his head. “Do you really hate them that much?” 

You took the apple, biting into it and thinking over a response for a few moments. “It's not that I don’t like them, I just don’t see any of the people coming so I always get scared! And I scream a lot so they target me.” you replied, same little pout on your face that you had the entire time. 

Kyo ate his apple while proceeding to ponder something, which you couldn’t guess, so you just looked out the window at everyone walking around. “How about the next one we go in, I’ll tell you where the people are coming from so you are ready for them? Hm?” he finally spoke up. 

“Kyo, I really don’t wanna” you whined. 

“Just one more! And if I tell you where they are you won’t be scared because you will see it coming! If you still hate it we can go home and have movie night instead.” he offered, tilting his head to the side, his same small smile on his face. The smile he reserved for you and knew would get you to break. 

“Okay. Fine, one more, but if I hate it we go home.” you agreed then finished the apple in your hand. 

The rest of the night you two spent going through haunted houses unscathed. Kyo would lean down by your ear giving you heads up for what was coming, as well as letting you know when things were people or dummies. He made sure to move you to his other side anytime he couldn’t get to let you know about the workers beforehand, and also made sure to ask if you were okay during the houses. You actually started to enjoy them! You spent hours going through houses, and only left because the park closed. 

Once at home, you two still ended up having a movie night. You begged Kyo since you spent so long at the amusement park. He obviously put up a fight, but eventually, with a roll of the eyes, he agreed. You two spent the end of your night watching movies before falling asleep together on the couch, the TV flashing in front of your faces.

[knight-queen]

Lunatic Parade Ruki Mukami – (Chapter 2)

[Chapter 1] 

Place: Mortstein Hotel • Guest Room / ホテル • モーントシュタイン客室

Yui: (Nh...something smells so good…)

Ruki kun….?

Ruki: Oh, you’re awake huh.

Yui: Good morning….what are you doing?

Ruki: Room-services were also admirable, but since there was a kitchen so I preferred to make breakfast.

I thought to wake you up after I’m done with settings...hmph, you have a very sharp nose.

Yui: nh….I didn’t really wake up because of appetite!

Ruki: Ho? Does that mean you don’t wanna have some?

Yui: Uuuh….I’ll eat…

Place: Mortstein Hotel • Balcony / ホテル • モーントシュタインバルコニー

Yui: Waah….wonderful! Have you managed all of these on your own?

Yui: (Perfect table settings. Menus are Salad & Soup and on the main plates, there are….)

Ruki: It’s called egg benedict. ...I did even imagine cooking it in the Demon World.

The refrigerator’s number of ingredients in this hotel was terrible.

Yui: (Cooking such a delicious breakfast using limited ingredients means Ruki kun’s cool indeed.)

Well then, I’m gonna start eating!

Ruki: Yeah, I don’t mind while you’re eating but listen to today’s planning.

Yui: Yes.

Ruki: ...I am thinking about going to talk with that boy from yesterday one more time.

Yui: Eh? But…

Ruki: We still can’t give up even though we were declined for once, right?

Nevertheless….we’re dealing with getting back your heart after all.

Yui: Ruki kun…

(But the man from yesterday, somehow he seemed to deal with some circumstances…)

(I don’t think we can get to hear everything  from that man without any troubles…)

Ruki: ...What’s wrong? You’re wrinkling your eyebrows.

Yui: Umm...that’s...what can we do so that he’ll explain everything to us…

Ruki: ….Ofcourse, I’ve also thought about that.

He somehow looked like he was facing some certain issues…

Yui: kh….So, you’re thinking that too?

Ruki: ...Well, yes.

This is why, let’s try to talk with him in a different approach. There won't be any point if it gets repeated over again, right?

Yui: I think so…

(As expected of Ruki kun. Unlike me, he has always been thinking about many things…)

Ruki: Let’s pause this conversation for now...if you don’t eat then the break will get cold.

Yui: Ah...that’s right.

*Spoon*

...Yummy!

Ruki: ...Then I’m glad.

Yui: Especially the taste of this sauce...what did you apply in it?

Ruki: Oh, that was probably...cheese like thing.

Yui: ….? “Probably” you say….

Ruki: My bad, but even I don’t know how to answer your question.

It’s similar to cheese however, it was made from the animals’ milk which is unique in this Demon World.

Talking about that, there’re some pictures of the animals in the package…

Yui: I- I won’t see it…!

(...I have a bad feeling about it...I hope it won’t damage my stomach…)

Place: Rubean Lake / ルビーン 運河

Ruki: It’s about that man from the underground corridor, however, I’ve found new information about him.

...Looks like he is a shoemaker.

Yui: Shoemaker?

Ruki: Yeah, they say, he is a tradesman who specializes in making shoes for women and…

The shoes that guy makes are very unique and charming, and those are very well known even in the Demon World.

Yui: I see...but…

(That shop doesn’t feel like shoemakers’ shop at all…)

|| Yui meant here “靴屋さん” kutsuya San” which basically means Mr. shoemaker. However, I have translated it like “shoemaker” as there’s no difference based on the politeness level in English.

Ruki: However, he looks like he’s completely retiring from his main job.

Yui: Eh...but why…

Ruki: ….No clue. But he must have reasons.

From here onward, it’s just my stimulation but…

Probably Earl walter is involved in the fact that he has paused making shoes.

Yui: kh...Earl?

Ruki: Mhm, probably….

According to my familiars, the time when his treasure was stolen,

It’s the same time he retreated from making shoes…

That’s why, today I wanna continue the conversation by keeping in mind these possible facts.

Yui: I see...then…

Ruki: Perhaps, it will be the last chance to get to hear something from that shoemaker.

This time, while talking with him, I gotta be cautious as much as I can.

So, I also want you to land me a hand.

Yui: Mhm, got it.

Ruki: I think we should figure out the ways of how to make him split out something…

Don’t you have any idea by the way?

Yui: Uumm..let’s see…

→ Selection

上手に出る / Over behaving

誠意を示す / Show good intention

Yui: We have no other way but to make him understand that our attitudes are having good intentions.

Ruki: I get your point... Maybe that’s right…

Yui: By the way, it’s important to know that man very well.

(For now, I want a little bit of information…)

Ruki: Yes, that’s what I meant.

For both humans and demons, it’s impossible to compromise without co-understanding each other.

Like I and you were, right…?

Yui: Fufu...that’s true.

(Many things happened, plus there were also sometimes when we had differences in a few cases…)

(He was able to understand me...this is why, I have him now.)

(That side can’t be changed for both humans and demons. I really think so….)

(kh….then, it means…)

(If I think...what would humans like me do in such circumstances…)

(If I try that out, then it should be fine I guess…?)

Ruki: ...Yui? Did something happen?

Yui: Something good...pops out in my head…

Say Ruki kun, would you mind going over there?

Ruki: Flower shop….? But for what?

Yui: Fufu, just a little.

Place: Glimmer Main Street, front of Wagon / グリンマーストリート表通りりワゴン前

Yui: (Waah, they are a variety of colors…!)

What about giving these flowers to that shoemaker as a present?

Ruki: ….Flowers? Such stuff...he is a guy, you’know….

Yui: That’s true but…

But you know...that shop of the man was really dreadful.

If we decorate his shop with these a little, the atmosphere may turn out better….

Ruki: Mhm, so it’s what it was about huh….?

Yui: (Will he won’t agree…)

Ruki: Well, that’s fine. If that’s what you want then do it without asking.

I will be waiting around here.

Yui: Yes! Understood.

(Which one shall I choose…)

(Red or pink ones are very pretty though... shall I go with white and yellow ones?)

(I hope he’d like it…)

*After all*

Yui: Ruki kun, thanks for the waiting. Let’s walk on then.

Ruki: Ah, but wait a sec.

Yui: Eh?

Ruki: I just thought something by being taught by your conception a while ago…

Not only those flowers but let’s buy something else for him too.

If it’s possible then the shop right there…

Yui: (...Confectionary store?)

Ruki: ...If feeling sympathy for others leads to showing a good faith in them, just as you said, then we should give more, no?

Yui: Yes...then let’s do it.

(He really appreciated my opinions…)

(May it’s a simple thing but...it makes me happy….)

Place: ‘The fear” Confectionary Shop / ザフィーア菓子店

Yui: This place is crowded too.

Ruki: Yeah, according to that poster, there are a few baked sweets which are restricted for the parade.

*shows her the poster*

Ruki: Here, this one.

Yui: Waah, so cute!

(The small box of baked sweets, the tastes and also it’s wrappings are being specialized for the parade!)

Ruki: Alright then...which one will you choose? I don’t mind if you decide.

Yui: Then, this one...

Ruki: Okay, then I’m gonna tell them to wrap it.

Yui: Yes!

(By the way…)

(There are many cakes in the showcase which I haven’t even seen before…)

(Looks super delicious…)

*On the other side*

Ruki: ……….

*After a while*

Ruki: Oi, let's’ move on.

Yui: Ah, yes!

Place: Underground Corridor / 地下回廊

Ruki: That shoemaker's shop was...in this direction, right?

Yui: (M- may be…)

(Yesterday, we came here accidently, so I couldn’t realize at all…)

Ruki: ...hm? What’s wrong? Did you say something?

Yui: N- nothing at all. I hope we’ll find the way without facing troubles.

Ruki: ...It’s because yesterday I put some familiars out here just in case.

...Good grief, yesterday was really awful…

Yui: ...I think so...fufuh

Ruki: ….But, if I take a prediction then, you’re somehow in an unfortunate state, aren’t you?

Yui: Eh?

Ruki: Shall I press you against the wall just like yesterday…

*Corners her*

Yui: Aaah…!

Ruki: I thought you wanted to receive punishment from me once again like this…

Yui: S- such…

Ruki: Fufh...your face is flushed.

*He backs off*

But unfortunately I lack the time playing with you right now. Let’s hurry.

...I want that face to be back in the normal color before you meet that shoemaker.

Yui: (...He is so…!)

*after a while/ knocks*

Yui: Excuse us.

Shoemaker Man: Yes….but, you guys are from yesterday…

Yui: Very very sorry. Umm…

Ruki: We wanted to talk with you once more. Would you mind buying us some time?

Shoemaker Man: But, I told you. There's nothing to talk about.

Ruki: We’re actually aware of that. But still I want you to listen to us by any means…

We’ve heard about the reputation of your shoes. We’ve done something rude yesterday, for not having known such a famous shoemaker. 

Shoemaker Man: kh…!

Thanks for the compliments! But unfortunately I don’t make…

Ruki: We’ve heard that too. You’ve retired right?

Shoemaker: Mhm…

Ruki: That’s fine. When I heard that you make shoes without even using magics, it made me a little interested.

Yui: Without using magic? It means these are completely hand made…

Shoemaker: Yes, that’s true…

Yui: Wow! You are a real deal shoemaker, aren’t you!

Shoemaker Man: Fufu...that’s right. It’s something that I am special about….

Labor work is darning painful, however it’s very worthy at the end…

I feel like the people who’ll wear it will love it for a long time as much as it takes time to make it…

I see. As expected from you. ...If you agree then can we talk a little bit more?

Shoemaker: ….But…

….Well, nevermind. Got ya, come inside.

Ruki: Ah, thank you.

Place: Underground Corridor, shoemaker’s shop / 地下回廊 靴職人の部屋

Yui: Umm, it’s not something special but...if it’s good then would you accept this from us…

Shoemaker: Hm? Taking a burden for bringing a present for me…? You guys are bad…

Fufu, it’s very pretty flowers. The sweets seem to be a product of restrictions for the parade…

Ruki: ...You took a correct guess.

Shoemaker: It’s almost like a habit of mine to observe works of stuff and fashion trends.

Anyways, please wait a lil’. I’ll make some tea…

*After a while*

Shoemaker: Here you go.

Yui: We’re sorry…

Ruki: Thanks a lot. ….hm? This tea has a different aroma.

Shoemaker: Eeeh, you’re correct! This was also limited stocked for the parade. I think it also goes well with these sweets.

Yui: Waah...thank you so much!

Shoemaker: Then...what did you want to talk with me earlier?

Yui: It’s about you making shoes which are handmade…

Ruki: In the first place, why’d you wanted to be a shoemaker?

Shoemaker: I wonder...who knows…

Since I didn’t have any productive things, I didn’t expect to earn a huge profit at the beginning.

Making custom shoes one by one一

Just for one person. Putting all of my heart into making just for one person was fun to me. 

Yui: Just for one person at once…

Shoemaker: Strength and brightness...the practicality is also essential but I don’t wanna ignore the design.

If the shoe doesn’t enchant one’s heart by wearing it...that shoe will be meaningless.

Yui: kh…!

Shoemaker: Thus, when I became interested in these, then I naturally started making shoes for ladies…

Ruki: I see.

Yui: (I feel like Ruki kun is denying him a little…Umm…)

...Oh that’s! If it’s okay then I want to see your shoes…

Shoemaker: My shoes…? Well, if you’re fine with seeing the simple ones that were left then...I don’t mind…

Wait a little.

*Walks away*

Ruki: Oi, why did you dive into this conversation? It was a waste, isn’t it?

Yui: ...Because he was surprisingly sharing his feelings, so….

Ruki: We just can’t listen to his passion for making shoes.

We have to jump on the topic about Earl. Or it will be a waste of time, nothing else…

Yui: That’s...I am aware of that…

Shoemaker: I’ve made you wait.

Yui: ...Nope! Kh...ah…

*Fades to CG*

Ruki: It’s a magnificent one indeed.

Shoemaker: Fufu, these three are the ones I still can’t lose.

Yui: Wah, incredible….!

(Jet-black high heel and bright red layout, plus…)

This is sparkling. And also it has a strange shape...is it mule?

I have set the jewels in such a way so that a few light sparkles in all rainbow colors. 

Ruki: Ho...rather than a shoe, it’s more likely to be called a work of art.

Yui: Umm, can I touch…?

Shoemaker: Mhm! I don’t mind. You can also put on if you want to…

Yui: Eh, but…

Ruki: ….isn’t that fine to wear it?

...Such a splendid shoe, it might be something that can’t be seen again.

Yui: ...You’re right. Sorry for behaving like a child...then

*CG as Yui puts on the shoes*

Yui: Wah…!

(It's the first time I’ve worn such adult shoes. Feels a little strange…)

Ruki: ...hmph, not bad. Thanks to these shoes as you’re looking a bit more…

Yui: Eh…?

Ruki: Nope, it’s nothing to matter.

Yui: (Ruki kun! It’s awful!)

*CG fades*

Shoemaker: nh…….

Yui: Umm, did something happen?

Shoemaker: No...that’s...that I was looking at you putting on those shoes…

I think the round toe shoes go well with you.

...Then, if I set this heel like this...no, if I do one like a princess style一

……

Yui: (He suddenly starts drawing something…)

(Hm? Could it be…)

(A sketch for the design…?)

Ruki: It’s really skillful work.

Shoemaker: Really?

It makes me happy when it is put into words.

I had practiced to sketch precisely all the way through…

Despite expectations, I did anything that was helpful in making shoes no matter what…

Ruki: Why did you stop making shoes even though you’re so passionable about it..?

...If so painful and sad reasons. So sad that I can’t even say it…

Yui: Eh?

Shoemaker: You know, there’s another pair of shoes that I made putting on all of my efforts onto that…

*Shoes those shoes*

Shoemaker: It’s this one.

Yui: W-...wow…!!

(Such beautiful heels, I’ve never seen it before…)

Shoemaker: I was making over and over again to finish that until I am satisfied.

Particularly this red one...probably I can’t create such a color a second time…

Ruki: Yeah….it looks very unique and passionate in color.

Shoemaker: Usually I contribute according to the choices of the customers….However, it’s different.

It’s the heel that I made thinking about personally for someone…

Yui: ...For someone…?

(It’s heels which means...he had made them by thinking of a woman, I guess….)

(Could it be it’s for his lover…?)

*Parade final BGM stops*

Shoemaker: ...But, just before I was about to handle over to (her)...it got stolen.

Yui: ...Eh?

(Then the stolen thing he got back from Earl was this one…)

(This shoe…?)

Ruki: ………

So this shoe was the one that was snatched by Earl huh.

Shoemaker: Yeah, that’s true.

Because he stole that, I had missed the perfect timing to propose to her.

Yui: ngh….

Shoemaker: So, that was the circumstances of shoes I faced…

Yui: Such…

Ruki: ...However, you get back the shoes didn’t you…?

Then what about confessing your feelings now.

Yui: (Certainly, that’s true…)

Shoemaker: No, I can’t do that. ….I can’t meet her anymore…

Yui: Eh?

Shoemaker: I’ve broken her heart.

I am sure she lost her interest in me….for getting unrecover shock for losing her shoes…

As a result I was even more shocked and stopped making shoes at last.

How was that? Very pathetic right…?

Yui: ...Did she directly tell these to you?

Shoemaker: Nope. These are all my conjectures though…

I was able to understand by seeing her behaviour when I last met her. That’s why I couldn’t even face her.

I am sure she will hate me so much that she doesn't wanna see my face anymore…

Yui: ...Such…

(Even though she didn’t say it to him, he already made up mind to give up…)

(Such...it’s no good….!)

You just can’t give up you know!

Shoemaker: Eh…?

Ruki: O- oi….Yui.

Yui: Whether it’s too late or not….You still won’t know it, do you…?)

(Only his lover herself will know her true feelings, no one else…)

That’s right, what about if you go to meet her from now?

Shoemaker: Eeh!?

Yui: If she sees the shoes, I bet she will…!

*Ruki grabs her*

Yui: Kyaa!

Ruki: Oi, you’re cutting out the main conversation! We’re not supposed to mind this business.

Yui: But...he explained us this far after all….I can’t leave this alone.

Ruki: This is why I am saying this….haah. Right now, you have a limited time, are you awaring of that?

Yui: kh...that’s... I am aware of it. But…!

Shoemaker: ….? Did something happen? You guys are murmuring for a while though…

*Ruki backs off*

Ruki: No, nothing. Anyway, finish this other topic conversations already, let’s jump right on to the main point.

The time when you get back your stolen thing, explain in detail as much as possible.

Shoemaker: kh…

Yui: Ruki kun…!

(If we force it then…!)

Ruki: Although we ended up listening to your personal stories. Then let me share some personal circumstances of us.

The thing that Earl stole was her heart. Now, it has been replaced with a kleinod which will keep her alive for a short time.

We must have to get back that as soon as possible.

This is why, explain in detail the time you get your shoes back…

Shoemaker: Aah...haha, so this is what it was about huh…

I see now. I thought it was very weird for you to be interested in my occupation.

Because Of your purposes, you were acting like you were showing interest in my shoes…

Yui: ...Hold on! We didn’t plan something like that, your shoes were really 一

Shoemaker: Stop it!

Enough already. I don’t wanna hear anything…

Sorry but leave this place... I want to be alone…

Yui: Wait, let us say something...一!?

*weird sound*

Yui: (Wh- what was that…?)

Ruki: ...What’s wrong?

Yui: (...everything’s getting blurred…)

*Yui collapses*

Ruki: Yui!?

*Ruki holds Yui*

Yui: I am...alright…

Shoemaker: What happened so suddenly…?

Yui: That’s...I am okay…

Ruki: You don’t have to talk...darn it, your body temperature is dropping.

Yui: ...Could it be…

(Kleinod is…?)

(No...my consciousness is…)

*Yui closes her eyes / BG black*

Ruki: ...Oii!? Oi!

Place:???

Yui: (nh...this place…)

???: Oh, we’ve met again huh.

Yui: (I am familiar with this voice…)

Earl Walter…?

???: There’s something more important than that. Your partner...is Ruki, right?

Yui: Is there anything wrong with...Ruki kun?

???: No, I didn’t mean that.

It just looks like he has rushed into trouble on his own for having too much worry for you.

Yui: Troubles…

???: You made him angry. He was very close to telling you the secret.

Haah…

Looked like you were somehow helping out that shoemaker. However…

Now the requirement is you and your partner have searched the shoemaker’s girl whom he wanted to propose, right?

Yui: kh…!

???: He has made this promise with the shoemaker for your sake…

...His hard work should be rewarded I think...fufu.

Yui: Wait up, what do you mean by that…

(...He goes away from here…?)

(...I have a bad feeling about it…)

*BG black*

Yui: kh…!

Place: Mortstein Hotel, Guest Room / ホテル • モーントシュタイン客室

Yui: (That was...a dream…?)

(ngh...Where is Ruki kun…?)

Ruki: ……..

*Page sounds*

Yui: (That’s good...he’s just putting himself into reading…)

(There are so many books on the desk...I wonder where he got them from.)

*Turns on page*

Yui: (...But it’s something...that I missed from him…)

(...It's delicate work, but he looks happy everyday.)

(I am sure he prefers this as a part of his daily basis.)

*Page turns*

Yui: (But still I burdened him with so many problems or something...even though we’re in the middle of the parade.)

(I have been always acting against his preferable things...may me he will get disgusted with me.)

(Even though he’s having eternal life...not, rather this is why he wants to spend his life calmly I guess.)

Ruki: ………

...Yui? You woke up?

Yui: Yes...how long was i sleeping?

Ruki: ...The exact time it took to finish reading two books.

Yui: I see...I am sorry.

Ruki: You don’t have to apologize. Above that, how’s your condition?

Yui: Looks like I am fine now, thank you.

Ruki: I see, Then let’s go searching for the shoemaker’s lover.

Yui: If we find out the person he wants to propose to, then he'll tell us about Earl, right?

Ruki: kh...you surprised me. I thought you were completely fainted but were you listening to our conversation?

Yui: Yes, I am sorry…

(The truth is that I heard it in my dream...I don’t want to bring extra troubles so let’s be silent for now.)

Ruki: Well, if it’s true then there’s no point of explanation. Let’s go to the main street.

Place: Rubean Lake / ルビーン 運河

Our destination is the sugar house. It’s said that she works there as an assistant.

Yui: (Ruki kun has been collecting correct information as always…)

(I also have to do my best…)

Place: ‘The Fear’ Confectionary Shop / ザフィーア菓子店

Ruki: It’s here, Come.

Yui: Yes...will you also buy a souvenir?

Ruki: Nope, not that case...Which one you want to eat?

Yui: ...Me?

Ruki: At that time, you were staring at these, weren’t you?

Yui: ngh…!

Ruki: These are delicious so let’s get them. There are also some spaces for eat-in.

Yui: ...Is it okay?

Ruki: Yeah, it’s fine if it’s a little.

Yui: ...Thank you.

(...By that time, he meant when we came here to purchase a present for the shoemaker…?)

(When did he notice that I was interested in these cakes...I wonder.)

(He saw it when I wasn’t aware of him I think…)

(But I am worrying whether I am being a burden to him for this or not.)

Ruki: Why are you making such a face. If you are having problems choosing, then are you gonna eat every single one of these?

Yui: I- I can’t eat such amounts…

Ruki: Then, I’ll help you so...don’t hesitate.

Yui: ...Really? Alright then...

Tart, mousse, jelly, mille crêpes, sachertorte and…

Ruki: kh….! Oi...are you serious…?

Yui: Fufuh... no way. Just kidding.

Ruki: ...You…

Yui: (Just for now...let’s spend time without thinking anything.)

Place: Sugar House / シュガーハウス

Sugar house assistant: You’re welcome here.

Ruki: ….You know the shopkeeper who works in a shop in the underground corridor, right?

Sugar house assistant: kh...Did he say something…

Yui: (Ruki kun is...too abrupt.)

Sorry for saying so suddenly. We wanted to search you for your boyfriend.

Sugar house assistant: kh...I can’t meet him anymore. Please tell him sorry.

Ruki: What do you mean?

Sugar house assistant: Please leave it as it is. I want to forget him already.

Yui: If it’s okay then would you mind explaining the reason? He was really depressed about that…

We want him to become lively once again…! Please!

Sugar House Assistant: ……….

Understood. I’ll explain everything. But in exchange, can you tell him to forget about me?

Ruki: ...If your reasons can convince him, then yes.

Sugar House assistant: Honestly I was thinking to have a good future with him. But, I didn’t want to cause trouble for that.

My younger sister has been sick since she was born...it means I must have to face troubles for nursing her.

But, if I do that, then it’ll be a great problem for him….I can’t allow that.

This is why, at least...I just don’t want to be a burden to him. That’s why I've decided not to meet him anymore.

Ruki: Looks like you have decided something very complacency...if it would be that man, then he would agree to face these troubles.

Sugar house assistant: This is why I disagree...I really love his shoes. So I wanted to devote myself to help him out in making shoes.

Yui: ...I understand those feelings.

Ruki: Oi?

Yui: (“I like him, so I don’t want to bother him. I like him, that’s why I don’t want to a burden to him.”)

Ruki kun, I am sure these are the feelings... for love.

Ruki: ngh…!

Monologue  一

Ruki kun had become silent like that.

...I am sure he had gulped all the words he wanted to say.

Not tolerating the awkward face that Ruki kun was making, she gave us a spa ticket on out way back.

We left the store as the conversation didn’t get lively.

End of Monologue

Place: Spa / スパ

Yui: ...So nice feeling.

(We got separated in the changing room, so I interned in the hot spring alone...but I am somehow feeling down.)

Ruki: ...You were here after all.

Yui: kh….! Ruki kun!

Ruki: ...Tell me

Do you think those two will be happy?

Yui: ….I hope so. They are a good couple.

Ruki: But, if they love each other, then they won’t be willing to struggle for mutual concerns right?

Yui: ...Yes.

Ruki: ...I don’t think they will be able to understand each other that easily yet.

Yui: I am sure it won’t be easy...but there are different kinds of love.

Ruki: ...I see.

Yui: (Her words, her boyfriend’s... and Ruki kun’s…)

(Without any doubt, they are sharing the same feeling(s) from the beginning, then why did it turn out like this…)

Ruki: ...The wind feels so nice.

Yui: Yeah, that’s right…

………

(I don’t know what should be the correct decision though, let’s think about it.)

一The END of Chapter O 2

[eerythingisshaka]

Ficmas Day #5 “Gift of the Hargreeves”

[Diego Hargreeves x Reader]

Word Count: 1.9k

“Hold on, I have to move a little so I can get it in.” “How far down do you need to be?  I’m ready for it already.” “Don’t go too fast!  If you kill me with that thing, ain’t for sure gonna be no damn Christmas!” “Ok!  Geez, don’t get mad.  I’m afraid you’ll break it while you’re holding it and mad.” As you guide the plug in the shadows into the socket, the multicolored lights wake from their storage slumber for another year of holiday cheer. You crawl out from behind the tree, wiping off your knees as Diego takes your hand to help you up.  As he holds you from behind, you hold hands watching the tree in its glory. “We did that, huh?”  you ask. Diego nods.  “Who knew what an hour’s worth of labor can produce.  You did great, baby.  All that’s missing is presents under the tree!” “Uh!  Remember, we’re not gifting big this year.  $50 max for presents.”  You turn your head back to him to share a couple sweet pecks as his hair starts to fall in the way of your lips. “Pfft!  Diego, I really can’t get used to your hair like that.”  You wipe your lips of the phantom sensation of hair before pulling some lip gloss from your pants pocket to refresh your lips. Diego whips his locs back with the grace of a cover model.  “What’s wrong with it?  I thought you like guys with the man buns and flowing hair and shit?” Adjusting your glasses, you reach for his hair, feeling the texture and moving it around back and forth.  “Sure I like that, but...baby it’s just stiff and dry looking.  I appreciate you trying something different if that makes you happy but whew, we need to come up with a routine.” He swipes your hand away gently, looking offended.  “This is my natural beauty you’re dissing, you know that?” You nod.  “Yes, true.  But even naturals have to get their product usage down for HEALTHY natural hair.  I’m sorry you feel oppressed at the moment.” Diego rolls his eyes sarcastically.  “I feel so seen.  But you can help me with that right?  What products work for me?” You shrug, walking past him to get to a box of white and red garland untangled.  “I may be able to help, but I don’t know anything about your type of hair.  Isn’t some $1 shampoo and conditioner from the grocery store all you need?” Diego takes one garland from you.  “You know I’m already using that stuff, and clearly it isn’t working for either of us.” You sigh looking at him again, feeling somewhat bad for him.  “It’s not like I don’t find you handsome as you are.  You still have that pretty sad boy face that I adore…” “Sad boy?”  he asks as you hold his face playfully in your hands. “Yesh!  My wittle sad puppy wooking for wove!  And honey, that chest, them arms, that stomach…”  you give each part mention a squeeze with a lift of his shirt for a peek of his abs.  Diego pulls his shirt down turning away from you.  “Please, control yourself...but keep going if this is turning into something...” You shrug, balling up the garland and walking up to a step ladder to start lining the decoration.  “I’m just saying, don’t think I have lost any interest.  And if all else fails, what’s a paper bag for?  How does this look over here?  Is it high enough?” As you hold a foot of garland along the wall, studying the placement you hear a tiny whistle followed by an impact.  You almost stumble backward wondering what it was until you look up and find a small shiny tack in the garland, securing it firmly in place. “Whoa!  Fuck, D!  I told you not to do that shit by me!”  you yell, jumping down the ladder, leaving the flaccid hanging garland, pushing Diego as he smiles with a handful of tacks. “I won’t get you!  It’s my thing, remember!  My accuracy is never off!” “And I will accurately beat your ass if you throw tacks or whatever metal bullshit you wanna toss around here.  Now let me place the garland with tape first!  Then you can take those spots after I am safely away.” Later that night, Diego stares at the ceiling watching the credits roll from the Christmas movie you watched together.  You come out of the bathroom feeling disappointed to have missed it. “Damn!  Did they find the daughter in that landfill ever?”  you sit on the end of the bed, reaching for the remote to rewind to the part you missed. Diego crawls out from under his blankets, coming up behind you to lightly bite and kiss your shoulder. You shudder under his touch.  “Please, D!  I wanna see this!” He groans, reaching on either side of your face for your glasses to slide them off.  “Now you can’t…” You snort as he takes the remote out of your hands, tossing it aside.  “I’m not blind now, you know that?” He reaches around your waist to pull you backward, turning you on your back as he looks down at you, looking your body over like he’s famished. “And baby I have never been blind to what you do to me.”  He gobbles up your neck, letting his hands caress parts of you that make you giggle and gasp concurrently. “Wait, wait, I wanna...oh nevermind,”  you say into his mouth as he takes your words and thoughts away in his kiss, running your fingers through his hair and giving it a rough tug.  Diego sits up, smacking your hip to flip you on your stomach when all of a sudden you hear a crunch. “What was that?”   you say, accidentally knocking your back against Diego before he was ready to move that knocks some wind out of him.  As you survey the bed you find your glasses with one arm of it sitting wayward beside the other two-thirds of the frames. “Nooo, seriously?”  you sadly utter as you pick up your broken frames. “Oh, sweetheart, I’m sorry.”  Diego says pitifully, looking at the frames in your hand.   “I had these forever!  They were my favorite too,”  you sit back on the bed groaning in despair. “I can fix them I think.”  Diego takes them for a minute looking them over.  “....or buy you some new ones.  Better ones, since it’s Christmas time.” You shake your head.  “No...at least not yet.  That would be way past the budget we set this year for presents anyway.  I don’t even wanna think about a new pair.  It’s so hard for me to get a good prescription, I swear they switch some shit with my lenses every time.  What I see during the test and whatI get are always different.  These were perfect!” Diego sighs, rubbing your back.  “I f-f-feel bad.  I wasn’t th-thinking.” You look over at him with sympathy, giving his leg a squeeze.  “Don’t get upset, it’s fine.  I can still see and shit just gotta find my older frames now and oh I may have a free repair with my doctor on them.  I’ll call tomorrow.  It’s fine Diego, really.” -- When Christmas morning came, you bundled the blanket under your chin tighter for warmth as the cold winter sun peeked through the window.   “Merry Christmas, love,”  Diego hoarsely whispers in your ear as he caresses his hand up and down your hip, kissing your cheek.   Your mood is lifted with his affection.  “Mm, same to you,” you groggily reach for his head, crawling your nails over the side of his head feeling something is different.  When you look back at him, you see Diego with his short cut again. Your eyes buck as your mouth flies open with surprise.  He smiles as you notice the change. “See?  Just did it myself this morning before you woke up.”  He runs his hand over his head proudly before nuzzling into your neck like an excited pup. You try to track your thoughts.   “Wow!  I just...Wow!  It’s so different, I almost forgot how you look without your hair.”  You hold his face above yours, feeling the freshly cut hair under your palms. Diego gives you one more kiss.  “Merry Christmas!  But this isn’t your gift though, so don’t worry!  Get up so we can start gifting!” You slide out of bed and head to the bathroom to freshen up.  Having brushed your teeth, you reach for the cabinet to pull out a container of contacts, cleaning them in solution before opening your eye to place one. “Hey, did you want some pancakes or...what are you doing?”  Diego asks just as you place a contact in one eye, blinking a couple times before looking at him through the mirror.   “Yeah, I have been testing out these new contacts.  My doctor kind of convinced me to give them a shot, and so far it’s not the worst thing.” “Wh-what about your glasses?” You brush him off.  “I still have them, just not fixed.  Apparently I need a stronger prescription anyway and those were kind of out of style.  And now I have contacts, so... You ok?” Diego stares at you in the mirror a little long with an expression you don’t understand. “Oh, and pancakes are fine, by the way,”  you say as you prepare your other eye. “Ok.”  Diego heads for the kitchen, stopping at the tree to retrieve the little box with your gift, setting it on the kitchen table before getting the ingredients for breakfast together.  Not too long after he has started you come to the kitchen with your present hidden behind you. “Diego, before I give you your gift, I was planning this gift before this morning...obviously.”  You hold out the gold wrapped box to him, which he takes with a gentle smile.   “I’ll take anything you give me, baby.  I know I’ll love it.”  He kisses you quickly before pointing to the small red bowed gift on the table.  “It can’t be worse than mine.  I am willing to bet.” You pick up the box, lifting it’s lid to reveal another box monogrammed with love, your name.  You lift it out to reveal a glasses case with an exact replica of your broken frames inside. Your heart drops instantly.  “Ohh baby!!” Diego shrugs with his hands in his sweats pockets as you wrap your arms around his neck, kissing him generously. “But now you’re a contacts girl, so…” You shake your head, looking at him as you squeeze his face.  “Don’t!  This is amazing, you’re amazing!  And you should really open your gift now.” Diego sighs.  “Ok.  Look I’m glad you love yours but you don’t have to try to make me feel better.” You scoff.  “I promise, this will make you feel better if nothing else.” When he opens the box, he takes a beat to stare at the contents.  As he lifts a shampoo bottle out, followed by a conditioner, then a comb and brush set and gel, he looks at you with the biggest grin. “Baby…”  he says, dripping with enthusiasm. “I was -- I was gonna help to style it and-and make your hair better and healthy, then you go and CUT IT!” He puts down the bottles, running up to snatch you up in a bear hug. “I love you so much.  We are so perfect together,”  Diego says, giving you a deep kiss that would put you both on the naughty list next year.

[paganinpurple]

A Feline’s Family - MariChat May 2019

Hi guys, sorry for the lateness of all this. It's been like 18 months since MariChat May 2019, but as you all know I was struggling a lot last year and of course, everyone knows that 2020 has been ~A YEAR~

I've just been more overwhelmed and anti-social than ever and it's taking everything to keep me going to work and eating throughout everything.

Buy Me A Coffee?

AO3

Chapters (If there’s no link, it’s not written yet)

1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10

11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18  19  20

21  22  23  24  25  26  27  28  29  30  31

Day 21 - Cold Night

“Feeling any better now, Kitty?” Marinette called as a blond head appeared through her trapdoor. The answer became intuitively obvious as the rest of Adrien rose up into view, a thick blanket covering his shoulders and obscuring the pyjamas he was wearing underneath. As he shuddered with a sudden chill that he was sure only he could feel, he sucked air between his teeth, refusing to let them chatter, lest he worry her.

“Still cold,” he said, fighting the stutter that threatened to surface. “I used up all the hot water,” he continued with a guilty glance up at her, “and got frozen again when the cold came through. So, that was fun.”

She couldn’t help but giggle as his grumpy cat face returned, his lower lip sticking out. She quickly tamed it as another shudder wracked his body and this time the chattering sound made itself known as well.

“Oh! Here!”

He was only beginning to register her words with his last chill-slowed braincell when she flung her arms around him, her gentle hands rubbing up and down his back to share her warmth. He remained stunned – frozen (ha!) in place – even as Tikki and Plagg appeared in his eye line.

“You should ask Plagg to transform you,” Tikki told him, “the suit might not be able to heat you up exactly, but it helps hold onto whatever heat you already have or gain as the night goes on.”

“Yeah great, Sugarcube, just volunteer me and all my energy instead of letting me sleep tonight.”

“Oh shusht, you. It’s a-” -she glanced at Marinette briefly as the girl pressed her face against Adrien’s chest- “-comfort thing. So enough complaining.”

Despite his misery, Adrien chuckled –partly at the exchange in front of him, partly from his giddiness at his proximity to his Lady– until a small sneeze reverberated through him, another threatening to follow. He quickly pulled away from Marinette even though internally he was protesting the idea, already craving another hug. But since he wasn’t sure yet if he was just feeling cold or had caught a cold, he didn’t want to risk infecting her.

“I, um, don’t think it’s a great idea for you to sleep downstairs tonight,” Marinette said when his sneezing had passed, her teeth worrying her lower lip, “The window guy didn’t finish the job today like he promised. There’s probably a horrible draft in there.”

“Yeah. Guess it’s a good thing your dad was suspicious and put off moving my bed earlier.”

It was true. The plan had been to move some of the bare basics into his finished room as the window fitting was completed. He could sleep there at night while they speed-decorated it during the day and hopefully his case worker would be appeased. They all really wanted to avoid any further issues she had with the two teens sharing a room.

But instead Tom had approached Adrien this morning and said he thought he should give him an extra night or two “just in case.” Adrien had frowned as he supposed Tom must have been wary of the contractors promised timescale, though he had thought that was odd at the time. The guy had seemed like a total professional and as far as he knew, had only been held up today by an abnormality in the wall which made sealing the facing more difficult than expected.

“Oh,” Marinette said flatly, “That’s…good.” She chewed her lip harder and he winced a little in sympathy even as he fought back another sneeze.

“Kid, I just checked your bed, and it is freezing over there,” Plagg said, dashing between them, “The window must have been open earlier or something. You do not want to sleep over there tonight.”

“You just don’t want to have to work to keep me warm,” he grumbled, sniffing back another sneeze as he spoke, “So tell me Plagg, where am I supposed to sleep?”

“Duh. All the heat in this place rises, so-”

“Oh!” gasped Tikki, suddenly catching on, “Marinette’s skylight is practically airtight. No heat escapes unless she opens the vent to let it. So, her bed is the warmest of all!”

“Tikki!” Adrien shouted, scandalised. He looked back to the girl standing in front of him and immediately noticed how she refused to meet his eye, instead glancing at a random spot on the floor. With her feet turned inwards slightly, and her arm reaching behind her to grip the opposite elbow, timidity radiated from her with every breath.

“Actually,” she started, turning her head a little towards him, but still not quite meeting his eyeline, “I was thinking the same thing.”

Adrien’s pupils shrunk to tiny specs, even as the rest of his eyes seemed to enlarge to fill up the remaining space on his face. He watched as she shuffled in place a little, enchantingly nervous but eager for his response.

“Are you…asking me to…take your bed?” He watched, fascinated, as the pink hue across her cheeks darkened and spread out further.

“It’s the warmest place in the whole apartment,” she said to his shoulder as she continued with her miniscule attempts towards eye contact, “and it’s where I sleep. So, I can always help keep you warm too.”

He blinked rapidly and a wonderfully cosy blush spread across his cheeks briefly before the heat was absorbed by the chill of his skin. “I am trying so hard not to make the kind of comment that usually gets me throw off buildings,” he admitted bluntly.

She choked on an adorable little snort-laugh and her eyes finally inched up the last of the remaining distance as he joined in, their rising giggles harmonising together beautifully. A tickle in his nose gave him a brief moment of warning and he turned his head away in time to prevent himself from sneezing all over the laughter-flushed girl in front of him.

“Aw, poor kitty,” she cooed, running her hands through his damp hair, even as her face bloomed with heat, “Tell you what. I’m gonna go make a hot water bottle for you. Head on up to bed and get bundled up. Plagg, take care of him while I’m gone, will you?”

“Can do, Spots,” the little black creature answered and the two of them watched as their other halves disappeared through the trapdoor together. Plagg turned back to his charge with a satisfied smirk, “You heard the lady, up the stairs to bed!”

“Oh my God,” the teen said in sudden awkward terror, “I’m really gonna share a bed with her tonight.”

Plagg rolled his eyes at the squeak of his voice and gave a long-suffering dramatic sigh, but his fond smile gave away the true affection he felt for the boy. “Yup,” he said as he started to gently push Adrien towards the ladder, only stopping when the stunned boy began to climb upwards on autopilot.

He managed to crawl across the mattress, and it was with a little assistance from the kwami that he got under the pink covers, blanket still wrapped around him beneath them. His mind was running a million miles a minute and he hated the foggy way his thoughts were forming because of how cold he was. He knew Marinette considered the two of them best friends on a completely different level than either of them saw Alya or Nino, but this was pushing those friend boundaries more than usual. The two girls could share a bed, or the two guys and it was fine, but this? A boy and a girl sharing a room was considered odd enough. His case worker had insisted he get his own room, or he would be removed from the Dupain-Cheng’s care, so for him to sleep on the same mattress as Marinette? Under the same duvet?

“Doesn’t she realise just how this is gonna…I mean, Plagg, isn’t she freaked out? She knows I like her. Does this mean-” he coughed awkwardly to break off his thoughts before he voiced them, “Isn’t she worried about sending me mixed signals or something?”

“Oh, my Me,” Plagg groaned, a phrase he had taking a liking to after it had made Adrien laugh once during a conversation about Plagg technically being a god. The small creature facepalmed with a sigh, “Kid, please tell me you’re joking. If you can’t see that Spots has it bad for you by now, then I don’t know how to convince you.”

The warm blush that swam across his face once more was a pleasant change to his frozen state. He smiled softly as Plagg’s words sunk into his heart deeper and deeper, drowning in the gooey affection they caused there.

“I was worried I was just imaging it,” he mumbled softly, “I still think I might be.”

“Uh huh. And I’m that pleasant white fluffball pooch from down the street.” His tiny paws came up to rest on non-existent hips. “She’s crazy about you. Tikki thinks she’s just scared to tell you in case you suddenly change your mind. I think she’s just awkward as heck and has no idea how to bring it up.”

“So, you think that I should-”

The trapdoor opened and Adrien clamped his mouth shut as Marinette reappeared, pyjama clad and looked delectable with her hair splayed loose across her shoulders. She took a moment to turn out the lights before she ascended the ladder rungs and joined him.

A blossoming of warmth spread out across his chest as she shyly pressed a hot water bottle into his arms. He smiled as he took in the calico design on the cover, and the nervous way the girl tried to adjust herself to get comfortable, clearly very aware of his presence so close beside her.

“This is nice,” he said with a short sniff.

“Yeah,” she whispered with a shy smile, eyes pinned to the pillow beneath her.

“Rest of me still feels cold though.” He smiled as she finally glanced at him properly. “Could I get a hug to warm up?”

She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear as she considered it. “Will you transform first so you stay warm?” she asked.

“Plagg, claws out.”

The light from his transformation hadn’t even faded fully when she snuggled into him, her face tucked into the crook of his neck and the cosy calico pressed into his chest tightly by her own. He wound his arms around her as hers in turn settled against him. He considered tucking a leg around her own but stopped himself before he took that step, fearing it might have been one too far.

“Did Plagg take care of you while I was gone?” she asked and the feel of her breath against his neck made him shudder in a way completely unrelated to his temperature.

“Yeah. Yeah, he was great really. He talked with me for a change instead of driving me crazy, so I guess that counts as exceptional care.” Her giggle reverberated through him and he decided he should get sick more often.

“I’m glad,” she said, her calf unexpectedly sliding against his and tucking under it loosely, as his heart stopped briefly, “I was w-worried he might make fun of you over this.”

“This?” he squeaked, clearing his throat quietly before he continued, “Nah. He was actually…really helpful. Cheered me up a bit as well.”

“Rea-” -She gave a loud yawn- “-lly?”

“Yeah. He said something to me, you know?”

“Mm hmm.”

“He told me that I’m not imaging some of the things I’ve been wondering about lately.”

“Hmm.”

“He said that you…Marinette? You know I like you, right? Uh, love you, actually.”

There. It was the first time since their identity reveals that he had said it out loud. He exhaled heavily. She didn’t respond.

“So, I need to know, do you like me? The same way that I like you?”

Silence.

“Marinette?”

He pulled back enough to glance down at the girl snuggled against him. Her brow furrowed adorably at the loss of contact and her arms loosely pulled him back in towards her. She had fallen asleep at the moment of his emotional vulnerability and all he could think was that she was the most gorgeous creature alive. The view warmed his heart even as he shuddered at another sudden chill.

“Hmm. Purrs,” she mumbled sleepily, and he realised she was right. The sight of her and the feel of her arms around him had elicited a deep rumble in his chest.

Giving into the happiness he felt in the moment, despite the lack of an answer to his own internal dilemma, Chat replaced his head on the pillow and allowed the sleeping girl to cuddle into him tighter. He sniffed away the discomfort in his nose and gave into the soothing rumble and their mingled breathing as he fell asleep.

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Hope you enjoyed!

Shouldn't be too long for another chapter. Next one's already written. Bit of editing...next weekend, I think. Gives me more time to write some more for other chapters too

[deathnotesecretexchange]

Christmas Traditions

From: @madmeridian

To: @hhhhhotleafjuice

Prompt: mello and nears first kiss and all of the whammy kids on christmas (combined)

Additional tags: Meronia

Word Count: 1850

Author’s Notes: Okay so I thought it would be a cool idea to combine these two (I guess you’ll see why?) I like Christmas a lot so I was really excited to do that particular prompt! Anyway, I really hope you like it! If not I can try to rewrite it or smth idk let me know :)

Christmas at Wammy’s had always been an extravagant affair. It was rare to find a child or staff member who wasn’t excited for the Christmas season. The halls were lined in garland, lights were everywhere and there was no shortage of Christmas trees anywhere. In fact, it was near impossible to find a room that didn’t have one, whether it was a small one that children kept in their rooms, or large ones where the stars and angels on top were nearly brushing the ceiling. 

  Gift giving was an important part of these traditions as well. Children rarely tried to sneak out after hours, but during the holiday season, there were far more attempts, each more bold than usual. When they were inevitably caught, they stomped their feet and argued that they were only going out to buy gifts for their friends, even though the caretakers often took them down to stores and whatnot to do so. None of the orphans had been particularly good with socializing like normal people did, but they understood well that giving gifts was a good way to show friends that they cared. 

  Near was one of the few in the orphanage who neither gave nor received gifts. He’d only ever received one, from Linda the year prior, but only because she’d just found out that he didn’t get any and got teary-eyed about it the way she always did when hearing about some aspect of Near’s loneliness. Near supposed that he’d have to give her one this year in return, as would be expected of him. 

  He did see the value in giving gifts, but figuring out what to give people was a nightmare. Near had never really cared about anyone enough before to want to give them a gift. Likewise, no one had ever cared enough about him to do so, other than Linda.

  Of course, she was easy enough to get a gift for. She constantly complained about the lack of art supplies she was given to by the orphanage, so Near got her a nice set of quality paints. It would make her happy and hopefully show her some appreciation. Near wasn’t necessarily the best with people, but he did hope that she’d at least recognize this was his thank you from her gift last year. 

  Linda was the only person he bought for, though. It was an advantage, having so little people to shop for. Other kids spent hours in town, blowing all their money on gifts and still not having enough to buy everything. Near had been asked to loan out his allowance more than once, but he wasn’t dumb enough to say yes to that. He’d never get anything back. 

  Near often got called stingy for doing so, but he didn’t mind at all. He did spend his money on other things, like toys for himself and decorations for his room. Outwardly, he didn’t seem that much in the holiday spirit, but he did rather like Christmas. Simply put, he just didn’t celebrate the way everyone else did. 

  The weeks leading up to Christmas were often chaotic and Near preferred to stay in his room, to avoid it all. Spirits and energy were high, with no schoolwork to keep them busy. Near often watched from his window as kids played outside, throwing snowballs and making snow angels and snowmen outside. 

  Unsurprisingly, Mello was terrorizing some of the other kids his age, chucking snowballs hard at them while they screamed and ran away. Mello liked Christmas too, Near had noticed, but not quite for the same reasons the other children did. 

  Mello took great pride in reminding everyone of the religious significance of the holiday, though the only ones that really listened to him were the little children, who didn’t quite understand it all. Near had listened to him tell the story a few times too and found himself enraptured. Though, he was more enchanted by Mello’s passion for telling it than the story, which Near didn’t really believe in. 

  Of course, that meant that Mello didn’t give out many gifts, since he was a staunch believer that Christmas should be less about gifts and more about the religious aspects. In all the years Mello had been here, Near only remembered him ever giving Matt a gift and no one else. The staff, at least, was relieved they wouldn’t have to deal with Mello trying to sneak out for Christmas shopping and the like. 

  Near could see a small group of children gathered further out in the field, whispering amongst themselves. They kept giving shifty looks to the caretakers watching over everyone outside. Near supposed they’d be the next to sneak out and probably the next to fail. Those that made it out were never that obvious about their plans like these younger children were. 

  Attempting not to get caught by the caretakers, especially Roger, was a time-honored tradition at Wammy’s. It was a high achievement if you were clever enough to be able to sneak out and back in without anyone knowing you’d left at all. Not many students had done it, since most didn’t make it out and those who did were quickly noted as missing. Though the punishment for sneaking out was often harsh, students still dared each other and tried. 

  Well, the staff at Wammy’s had encouraged them to try to achieve the impossible. It was only to be expected things like this would happen. 

  Near would’ve thought that those trying it would at least be smart enough not to talk about it outside, in the open. The group of children soon dispersed, but the caretakers had taken notice of their little meeting. Near was sure he would hear all about their failure tomorrow morning in the common room. 

  Another time-honored tradition at Wammy’s was staying up as late as possible on Christmas Eve. The caretakers knew the younger children would fall asleep fast, and the older children would follow. If anyone was truly able to stay up into the late hours of the night, they’d just be sent to bed and told that Father Christmas wouldn’t deliver their gifts if they didn’t. 

  Near did join in on this tradition, since he could still sit in the common room, unbothered, watching the others celebrate. It was during this time that the children who’d attempted to sneak out would regale everyone with the stories of their failed escape. Others would tell about their Christmas traditions from before Wammy’s, or lack thereof. Several of the older children told scary Christmas stories, resulting in many of the younger ones screaming and crying to the caretakers. 

  Overall, the energy was quite chaotic, everyone shouting and jumping everywhere, convinced they could stay up late. The caretakers often tried to set up games, so that they could tire everyone out, but it devolved into others making up their own “games” to play. One of which was another common tradition at Wammy’s.

  It wasn’t so much a game as it was a way to bully people into kissing each other. A group of kids would run around with mistletoe, proclaiming the two poor souls they had under it had to kiss. Some told them to bug off, while others did it to avoid being called a coward. Near was only lucky enough no one ever came close to him to get stuck in that situation. 

  Unfortunately, one of the kids that was new to the orphanage this year wasn’t quite clear on who to pick on and who not to. He had his turn to choose who to stick under the mistletoe and zeroed in on Mello. The child giggled and quietly crept up on him. Near almost thought that Mello was going to deck the child when his chocolate was snatched away, but the boy darted away, triumphantly waving the chocolate in the air. Everyone else had frozen. No one did that to Mello, not without getting their butt kicked by him.

  “If you want it back, you have to kiss someone,” the boy sang, ignoring the worried looks everyone was giving him. “I choose…" 

  The boy’s eyes flitted around the room, searching for the perfect target. Then he settled back on Near with an evil grin. 

  "You have to kiss Near, Mello.” He rushed over to dangle the mistletoe over Near’s head tauntingly. 

  Near thought that Mello would just storm over and take his chocolate back, judging by the furious look on his face. Then another kid piped up, trying to support their friend. 

  “Yeah! Are you chicken, Mello? Not gonna do it?" 

  Some other kids half-heartedly joined in the jeering in a weak attempt to stop their friend from getting decked. Mello’s scowl turned more into a frown as more kids piped up and Near saw the cogs turning in his head. If he were to just take back the chocolate, he would be seen as a chicken for not taking up the dare. The downside was, he’d have to kiss Near. 

  Eventually, he came to a decision and stomped over. Near had predicted that Mello would take the fall so that he wouldn’t have to kiss his self-proclaimed rival. Everyone else did too, judging by the way they looked at the new boy with sympathy. 

  However, everyone was proven wrong when Near was dragged up by his collar and his lips met Mello’s. Confusion briefly overtook him, as to why Mello would possibly agree to kissing him. But the feeling of Mello’s warm lips on his distracted his train of thought and he finally melted into to it-

  and then he promptly fell back on the floor when Mello let go of him. 

  Near noticed that Mello’s face was flushed, that Mello had even whispered a small "sorry” to him. Then, just like that, Mello turned to the kid and took his chocolate bar away. He also pushed the kid to the ground, but that was far more expected than what had just happened. 

  “Near, are you okay?” Linda asked, rushing up to him. Near realized that his face was equally as red as Mello’s had been and that he’d just been sitting there, dumbfounded. He hid his face a little, picking up another piece of his puzzle. 

  “Fine, thanks,” he mumbled, hoping she wouldn’t push further. 

  Linda put her hands on her hips, lips pursed, but didn’t say anything else. Near noticed her giving Mello and Matt a look briefly before going back to her spot on one of the couches. 

  Near refused to leave the common room early, despite the incident that had occurred. He was one of the few that was sent up hours after everyone else had fallen asleep, since he didn’t mind staying up late. Mello was one of those people too and Near pointedly avoided his gaze as they all stumbled up the stairs to go to bed. 

  That night, Near had trouble falling asleep, the feeling of Mello’s lips on his still stuck in his mind. He couldn’t shake the thought that it was the best Christmas gift he could’ve gotten.