#used a label too just in case since it's VERY direct even if it's silly and non-descriptive

[townofcadence]

I want to see that man fucked silly!

What would you like to see happen to my muse?

//DJGAGGAHDJGGJGJGGJG not what I expected gjdjdgjdgjg

(if you really want to I do have a nsft blog, but it's by off-anon request so I can make sure everything is good age-wise and stuff!)

[imtherain]

How We Used To Be (Forced Closeness)

Oh Hai - Logan has inspired me again. This was supposed to be a very different story and there was supposed to be smut, but it didn't work out that way.

Warnings: Talk of injuries (basically that scene in Logan (2017)), Not smut, almost tho, talk about the past, angst I guess? Old Man Logan, who has issues with intimacy and it's not what you think (or maybe it is). I used y/n but it's in first person and I gave her powers/a mutant name, so idk what that's called.

Old Man Logan x mutant!reader I guess? I'm too old to learn the new tricks of labeling these things, all I know is I've been thirsty for Logan since I was literally 7 years old and this is quickly turning into one of the recipe blogs where you have to read a bazillion words before you see the directions. Sorry

Word Count: 3.2k (don't look at me)

[Masterlist]

“You look like shit, love,” I said, leaning in the doorway to the bathroom. Logan’s eyes shot up to glare at me in the mirror. He was bleeding from several bullet wounds and was currently shirtless and heaving over the sink. 

“Get the fuck out,” He ground out. I hadn’t seen him in almost six months. Almost a record.

“Calaban called me,” I told him, knowing he likely knew that was how I ended up here. “I’m glad he did, you’re worse off than anticipated.” 

“If you touch me, I’ll rip your arms off,” A caged animal snapping his teeth. I knew all of his threats to me were empty, but it still made my heart ache that he would rather suffer than let me help him.

“I’m not scared of you,” I told him, pulling myself off the doorframe. I shut the door behind me and crossed the tiles until I stood next to him. He was snarling in general, but didn’t move away when I took a cloth and began to clean the blood from one of the wounds on his arm.

My gift had earned me the name Booster back when things were good and goofy mutant names were all the rage, as my main ability was that I literally boosted other mutants powers when I touched them. I always joked about how it was a lazy XMen name. But now? There weren’t many of us left, no reason for silly code names. But we still stuck together when we could. I told myself that was the only reason I hung around this part of the country still. To be close to the few mutants I knew were left.

Nevermind that it was really the bleeding man in front of me that I stayed for.

“I don’t need your help,” Logan’s voice was quieter now, but still sharp edged like his teeth. I shushed him and wiped at another spot of blood, waiting for him to give in to the knowledge that I could actually make him feel better.

“I’m sure you don’t, but it would make me feel useful to help, would you deny me that?” I quirked an eyebrow at him and he looked away from me. 

“Last time you helped me I hurt you, I’m not letting that happen again,” I reached up and took his face in my hands. His eyes fluttered closed.

“Cuts heal,” I told him. He moved to cage me with his arms for a moment and I was sure he was going to give in. But all at once he shoved me away from him and I stumbled into the wall. “Logan,” I chided. 

“Leave, Y/N,” There was no snarl left in his voice, just defeat. 

And pain.

“No,” I told him simply. “Now are you going to let me Boost you or not?” 

“Last time…” 

“Yeah, yeah, last time,” I rolled my eyes as I cut him off. My abilities didn’t just boost one part of a mutant, it boosted all of them. So in Logan’s case, it made him a bit more animalistic for a time. Made him more likely to use his teeth, or use his claws.

The claws are what got me that last time he kept thinking about. He got me good, I'd give him that, I even had the scars on my ribcage if you looked close enough. But I didn't tell him that.

“If you do that again, I won’t be able to stop myself from…” Logan snarled at himself as a wave of pain contorted his features. “Fuck,” He cursed lowly to himself. I sighed and pulled my shirt off while he watched me in the mirror. 

“I’m a big girl, love, I can handle you,” I half teased, half soothed him. “And don’t forget, I get to keep a bit of what I boost, so anything you do to me won’t last long,” A secondary benefit to skin to skin contact with me. I got to taste the powers that others had. I hadn’t used it on too many mutants in my life. Most mutants didn’t really have powers that benefited from boosting all that much. But Logan and his healing factor? It was useful. Even if it made him extra feisty for a day or so.

It also made him horny usually but that was hardly a complaint from me.

“Fine, but only for a minute,” He finally gave in. I smiled at him and stepped behind him.

“Want me to take my bra off too?” I smirked over his shoulder at him and he shivered, shaking his head no. Too bad I was a bad listener. I shucked my bra and made a big show of dropping it to the floor next to us. Logan let out a shaky breath, knowing what was coming.

We’d been here before.

I pulled his beater out of his pants and slid my hands slowly up his ribs. He grunted as my hands slid over bruises and broken things. I hummed softly as I let my powers unfurl into his skin while I slid his shirt up. I’d learned pretty early on that the more skin that touched skin, the better my boosting worked.

I pressed myself along Logan’s back as I helped ease his shirt over his shoulders and arms. He groaned when the shirt finally came free over his head and joined mine on the floor. 

My arms closed around him, one moving up towards his chest, one circling around his middle. Skin searching skin as he caught my eyes in the mirror. 

“How does it feel?” I whispered against his shoulder. I had aimed for his neck but he avoided me.

“Warm,” He murmured. “Always does,” I pressed a soft kiss to his skin and he shivered again.

Instead of teasing him anymore, I focused on the task at hand, closing my eyes and leaning against him. I could feel my powers seeping into his skin, like sunshine that time we took a bunch of the kids to the beach the summer it was so hot the AC kept going out. I wondered if he ever let himself remember the good times or if he only ever lingered on the bad ones.

Logan let out a shaky breath followed by a deep groan as a bullet pushed free of his flesh. It landed with a metallic thud in the sink, closely followed by a second and a third. 

“Do you know how many there are?” I asked. 

“More,” Was all Logan got out from between his clenched teeth. I adjusted my hold and focused back on my breathing. Healing and boosting were both somehow tied to breath. 

My powers were not a magic fix though either. It still took time. I still remembered the days when he didn’t need me to boost him, but he’d ask just so I’d touch him a little. Back then I’d been shy, always holding his hand, or maybe his arm. I was shy a lot until the day he kissed me the first time.

Then all the cards were on the table…all the clothes on the floor.

A metallic thud on the floor brought me back to the task at hand. I moved my arms to touch different skin and Logan covered my hands with his, holding me so I didn’t pull away. I smiled against his shoulder and playfully nipped him with my teeth.

“And you didn’t want me to touch you a second ago,” I teased him. He growled, low in his throat. The animal was coming up in his chest and I knew what that meant for me. Logan was scared he’d hurt me again, but I knew the risk, and I was eager to face him. 

“That’s enough,” Logan panted, but he didn’t pull my hands away. I waited to see what he’d do, pull away or pull me closer. 

He brought one of my hands up to his mouth and kissed each finger tip. I hummed in pleasure, not so subtly rubbing my suddenly erect nipples along his spine. Another growl and my fingers were suddenly in his mouth.

“Logan!” I chuckled as he nibbled on my fingers. “I know that’s technically skin, but my arm isn’t helping if you hold it up like that,” I tried to pull my hand back and he just grumbled at me. 

“How do you still taste so good?” Logan mused, not expecting an answer. “It’s been years and you still taste just as sweet,” 

“You’re a romantic is why,” I hid my blush from his hungry eyes by dipping behind his shoulder again. Logan pulled me in front of him, caging me between his chest, his arms, and the bathroom sink.

“You should leave now, before it’s too late,” His eyes were hungry in the same way they had always been for me. I reached up and took his face in my hands again, tracing the crows feet around his eyes with my thumbs.

“And miss all the fun?” I mused. He rolled his eyes at me. “And you’re still bleeding,” I pointed out, tracing the one wound on his arm that hadn’t quite healed yet. It must have been the nastiest one because it appeared to be the last one to go.

“Y/N,” he warned. 

“I’ll stop touching you when this one heals,” I told him. “Promise,” it was a baldfaced lie. I wouldn’t leave him unless he bodily threw me out the window. And not only would I not fit out the closest window, he would never dare.

“I don’t know if I can hold out that long,” Logan’s pupils were blown and his smirk was hazy. I knew exactly what he was craving and I was pretty impressed he’d managed to hold himself back as long as he had.

“I can take you, big boy,” I smirked. “Always could and always will,” I pulled myself on his shoulders so that I could press my lips to his. It was just a quick peck, testing the waters. Logan stared at me for a long time, neither of us noticing that the last bullet hole had finally closed. 

But there was still pain in him, still things to heal, so I held onto him, hoping to fix everything I could before he made me leave him again.

Logan finally got himself together enough to push me away from him. I swallowed hard, wondering if he’d be mad that I clung to him as long as I had, wondering if this time I’d sassed my way into making him actually hate me.

His eyes drifted from my flushed cheeks, to my parted lips, down the curve of my neck and the valley between my breasts. I knew they’d seen better days, having drooped with the years, but from the hunger in Logan’s eyes, you’d think he didn’t notice.

His hands moved from my shoulders to my chest and I gasped at the sudden sensation of him pawing me.

“I shouldn’t,” Logan complained into my throat as he dragged his teeth along my pulse.

“I can take it,” I assured him.

“What if I hurt you?” 

“I can take it,” I told him again.

“Fuck,” Logan’s growl tickled my neck as he moved to lift me onto the nearest surface, a sad excuse for a bathroom cabinet that gave way with a crack as soon as he set me on it.

“I’ll fix that,” I told him but he didn’t care, his mouth was on mine before I could come out with another apology. Logan pulled me flush with his chest, off the now broken surface to my feet, and walked backwards with me until he ran into the door frame. 

I giggled a little as he cursed, unclear why this was so difficult. I got us through the door, smiling and pulling on his hands, making sure to keep my skin touching his somewhere. Anywhere.

Everywhere I could reach. 

Logan licked his way into my mouth as we stumbled through the living room, bouncing off the wayward furniture as we made our way to his bed. Finally, something soft to land on.

I was on my back looking up at him. I’d seen him in his prime, when his hair wasn’t graying, when he didn’t keep a beard. I’d seen him when nothing could stop him. And looking at him now, I felt exactly the same as I did back then. Hungry for the animal of him, for the things I knew he could do to me. Lust for the sensations he could cause. And love, still burning brightly after all these years.

Love for the man he was underneath it all.

When Logan didn’t join me right away, I reached up to him and whined, knowing he always liked how desperate I got for him. He shook his head at my shenanigans and I wiggled for him as his hands worked to undo his pants.

“Impatient as always,” Logan chuckled.

“It’s your fault for making me go away all the time,” I countered. His slacks hit the floor and he moved to kiss his way up my bare stomach as he worked on getting me out of mine.

He just grunted as his mouth ran along the skin he exposed when he pulled my pants and underwear down my thighs. I knew it wasn’t the time to bring it up, so I didn’t push him or ask him to ask me to stay.

Logan pressed his face into the soft spot behind my knee and I squirmed as his beard tickled the sensitive skin.

“God you smell amazing,” He mumbled, tracing the inside of my thigh with open mouth kisses. I let my hips relax and fall open for him and his eyes zeroed in on the place that, at the moment, needed him most. With a growl, Logan moved to bury his face in my folds, and I couldn’t help the surprised yelp I let out at his movements. 

There was a time he would devour me for hours if given the chance. A time when he’d want me in any place we were. Broom closets, empty classrooms, offices that we weren’t even supposed to be in. Every hotel and far too many bathrooms. Quickies and love making and slow fucks and even hate fucks now and then. We had everything, but now? 

“Fuck, Logan that tickles,” I wiggled against his face as he breathed me in.

“Shh,” He murmured. “Just let me have this,” 

“I’m trying to give it to you,” I groaned. Logan rolled his eyes at me, but adjusted so that he could pass a long lick of his tongue through me. I shivered at the sensation, a fire sparking along my nerves. I felt his self-satisfied smirk against my core before he moved his mouth against me again. 

“I don’t remember you being this desperate,” He mused, pulling two long fingers through the dampness he’s been lapping at.

“Logan, baby, please,” I begged him to do more than tease me.

“Please what, sweetheart?” Logan’s eyes caught mine as I huffed, annoyed that he wasn’t fucking me yet.

“I want more of you,” I told him. 

“Yeah well, ‘more of me’ ain’t exactly working at the moment,” He admitted. I knew finally growing old had caught up with him in a lot of ways, but my chest ached for him that it came for him this way too. He’d always prided himself on his virality.

“I want any of you I can get, baby,” I smiled at him, reaching down to pull him flush with my chest so I could kiss him again, my mouth opening easily for his tongue to explore. I let my powers unfurl into the kiss, into any skin of his that was touching mine. Trying desperately to let him feel like himself again.

“Hmm,” He mumbled, pulling back slightly. I kissed the side of his mouth, his jaw, as he tried to shake the feeling out of his head. “Warm,” His eyes were suddenly really far away, sleepy. I kissed him again, softer now. 

“It’s ok, baby, I’ve got you,” I told him. He made a grumbling noise in his chest as sleep zapped his strength.

“What did you…what did you do to me?” Logan tried to push himself off of me, but only managed to roll to one side. I held him close.

“Nothing, love,” I whispered, kissing his face again. “Healing is just, just a lot, remember?” 

“But I was gonna fuck you,” Logan mumbled, eyes closed now.

“I know baby,” I smiled gently at him. I had my arms around him still, trying to help him heal some of the damage that the bullets hadn’t caused. “You can fuck me tomorrow,” He tried to move away from me, but he was unable to untangle our limbs before his body told him it was nap time.

I sighed heavily, a bit bummed that neither of us had ended up getting our rocks off, but happy too, that I’d been able to help boost his healing. But I had a terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach that he was far worse off than I thought he was. 

When we were younger, he’d almost go into a rut after being Boosted. It was madness but it was always a good time. The last few years, with his body slowing down, the Boosting made him feral, but then he’d pass out for a long time while his body caught back up. The last time I’d been here, he’d fucked me through two orgasms and himself through one, before the sleepiness came for him. That time, he’d lashed out, thinking he’d been drugged. It was like the nights he’d wake up with nightmares, only he’d not gone fully to sleep yet.

Part of me was glad he didn’t try to gut me at least. But my heart clenched at the thought that maybe the end of him was closer than I wanted to believe.

To stave off the tears that were suddenly crowding my throat, I adjusted our bodies so that Logan could use my chest as a pillow. He mumbled something in his sleep, and his arm pulled me closer, holding me like maybe this time he wasn’t going to let me go. I circled his head with my arms, carding my fingers through his hair, happy to be able to comfort him, to allow him to sleep.

For just a moment, it could have been any other day. We could be young again. All of our friends, still alive. I closed my eyes and imagined the sounds of the school. Kids running down wooden hallways, calling after each other. Tears escaped me then, because most of those kids were gone now. And any kids like them, like I had been so long ago now, didn’t have a school to go to. They would be rounded up and killed now. Or taken away to some place horrible. And I knew there was nothing I could do.

Except maybe hold Logan just a little bit tighter, knowing that every fight ever fought for those kids, eventually made its way to him too.

[Another Logan Fic]

[articularreview]

⚠️Spoilers for Shinrei tantei Yakumo - the lamenting doll file 03 and the epilogue⚠️

Here in case you missed it

I just read it and spontaneously wrote this.

Be careful if you haven't read it yet.

The file starts with where it left off the last time with them deciding to locate Mahiro's mother.

I kinda forgot about it since we haven't seen Isshin for a while, but this volume reminded me of how much Yakumo is influenced by Isshin. Be it the way they talk or sometimes even their mannerisms.

It's pretty much a given that they'll have to stay another night at the hotel but that would mean Haruka will have to stay in that creepy ass room again. Isshin really told Yakumo “accept the situation or sleep with her”😭😭😭

But sadly It's just like Gotou said, Their relationship label won't allow it smh

Gotou's snores and Isshin's bad posture are KILLING ME. My mom entered the room while I was having a fit of laughter I just looked crazy to her 😭

Isshin is so chill he doesn't care if you try to make him look bad. Rather his hilarious responses made Gotou look silly for complaining. Poor Gotou-san. Maybe I should learn from him... Unbotherement sure is powerful~

Anyways I guess that means Yakumo is the only one who sleeps normally hahaha

Just like I expected, Mahiro's death is weighing Hiromi down. kinda knew it from file 02, but hearing the details from Masae made me want to cry. No parent should ever go through this.

And so they split into two teams: team Gotou and Yakumo. and team Haruka and Isshin. All I'll say is that the latter team sure is a good match.

And then we have Gotou-san who not only has to put up with Yakumo's comments but also got a Salary cut too!! He suffered too much this trip. Imagine wanting to skip work only to get dragged all the way to a whole different prefecture. Still kinda his fault for ignoring Ishii smh.

Speaking of Ishii I'm happy he and Makoto were mentioned even though they didn't make an appearance. Isshin's mere presence made up for any other character's disappearance. Kaminaga-sensei is a genius for mentioning Eishin too. I think references like that will increase in the complete version. Knowing the future and the direction of your work sure makes a big difference. It was really interesting knowing that Eishin was the one taking care of Nao when Isshin's not around. Nao must really miss Isshin even if she doesn't show it on her face. I head canon afterwards Nao being overjoyed to see not only Isshin but Yakumo and Haruka too after his two-day disappearance.

The scene when that madman dragged Haruka gave me the chills. Kaminaga-sensei using TTCM as a reference sure was brutal I ended up imagining it. Haruka did her best till the very end but the situation was hopeless. She can't even resist. her mouth, legs and wrists were taped. And on top of that he had the audacity to slap her! How dare him! If that man wasn't charged with attempted murder after all this I'm throwing hands!

In the end the case was solved and we find out that Takahiro-kun was the one talking to Hiromi all along. It really broke my heart knowing that all this time he didn't even know he was dead and yet played along to try to comfort Hiromi who was mourning for her child. What a strong kid. He and Mahiro are.

The lamenting doll huh... makes sense.

In the epilogue we learn that Yakumo can't handle hot food which I thought was really cute.

Tbh his whole food preference was quite unexpected. First we learn that he has a sweet tooth (Which Haruka thought doesn't suit him at all lol) and then a similar situation to the one in the epilogue happened in vol. 7 iirc when Yakumo was (again) staring at the sake and when Haruka asked if he can't drink he stubbornally tries to only to spit it out. This man just can't be honest😂 I actually really respect men who don't drink or smoke so that's a flex~

Now some of my favorite Yakumo lines which for some reason all happen to be verbally abusing Gotou (Can't blame Haruka for laughing because c'mon how could you not?)

• “You can say that because you've never heard it yourself. Compared to Gotou-san's snores, even a train would be quieter.”

• “A member of the police stating that he'll be driving under the influence? Japan is finished.”

• “I'm saying bears can't understand the taste of wine. What if someone made up a new proverb: bears and wine.”

• "I don't want to waste any more calories than this."

• "Well, that's not surprising. A bear with damaged taste buds such as Gotou-san will never understand."

Bye I'm using these irl.

I'll also add these two because I keep remembering these two exchanges and laughing:

1)

"I see. If you don't want to, it's fine. But please stop bringing cases to me from now on."

"This and that are a different story."

"No, it's the same thing. Ah, that's right. So that Gotou-san will stop bringing me cases, I'll be reporting to the police that you've been leaking investigation details to a civilian."

"What!? Don't joke with me! I'll get fired if you do that!" Gotou shouted in panic.

"Good then. That way I won't have to involve myself in cases that have nothing to do with me, and taxpayer money won't have to go into paying the incompetent Gotou-san; just like killing two birds with one stone."

"What did you say!?"

"Isn't that great? This way, Gotou-san can also play around to your heart's content. So it'll be more like killing three birds with one stone," said Yakumo, grinning as he looked at Gotou.

He really stabbed where it hurt. Having been commented like that, Gotou wouldn't have a way to refuse. "Fine. I'll help. Happy?"

Gotou lifted his heavy bottom up from the sofa reluctantly as he sighed. Yet Yakumo wasn't done with his counterattacks.

"Not really, it's fine even without Gotou-san helping."

"That wasn't what you said earlier!"

2)

"Sorry about that. Could you please tell me what I should do?" Gotou asked formally while swallowing his displeasure.

"You should know if you listened to the story,"

"I'm asking because I don't know."

"You should have if you paid close attention to the whole story."

"Well I don't know!"

"Is that something to be proud about? Good grief.”

Too much Yakumo😂

Volume 11 is up next. I'm really really excited for this one because Unkai and Miyuki are one of the best antagonists I've ever read. I'll never forgive them for what they did to Yakumo but their back stories are very very well written and explains how they ended up that way. That last arc will wrap everything up. I remember reading the book description a while back but Laute's translations stopped at the time so I thought I'll never read it.

The day has finally come!!!

[thunder-at-dawn]

Hidden Book, Hidden Giggles

word count: 2,448

summary: tommy has a plan, and gets his brother involved. things are going very well, and wilbur is very proud of himself...until the plan fails.

it’s currently 3:30 in the morning when i’m typing this, so i’m not typing a proper intro OR spellchecking this until later. no beta we die like wilbur does in this fic /j anyway buckle up because i was VERY mean to wilbur in this one

warning: this is a sfw tickle fic! don’t read if that makes you uncomfortable :]

Tommy had a great idea.

Well, in his opinion, it was great.

And that idea...was to fuck with Techno all day.

Of course, Tommy fucked with people all the time. He was Tommy, that’s what he would do. However, tonight, Tommy felt like being a little bit more of an annoying little shit than he normally was.

Naturally, he went to Wilbur for help. His plan that he had come up with relied on the power of teamwork. Wilbur agreed to help out, reluctant at first. However, nothing was wrong with a little extra amusement that was provided by Techno slowly losing his cool. Both of them had also convinced Phil to help with the plan, which Wilbur had no idea how he managed to get him on bored.

The plan was very simple, but very effective. The three of them would each steal something from Techno that night, and then continuously hide it from him around the house all day. While Techno had gone outside to practice his swordsmanship, they each snagged an item from his room. Wilbur grabbed the book that Techno was currently reading, Tommy took his crown, and Phil stole his reading glasses. When Techno came back inside after hours of practice, he was too worn out to suspect a thing.

The next morning, the first thing Wilbur did when he woke up was to check and make sure that Techno hadn’t already foiled his plans. He let out a happy sigh of relief to see that the book was still where he had hidden it: in a small cabinet drawer inside his closet. He had opened it to a random page to take up less vertical space, and it was the perfect size to be stowed away.

Things continued like normal. Wilbur got dressed, headed downstairs, said hello to Phil and Tommy, and started prepping breakfast for himself. Not much was happening in their household today. He had planned to stay home, and as far as he was aware, Phil and Techno planned to do the same. Tommy had plans to spend the night at Tubbo’s place, but it wasn’t until the evening that he had to leave. As he cracked an egg over the frying pan on the stove, Techno came shuffling into the room.

“Morning, Techno!” Phil greeted as he took a sip from his mug of coffee. Techno nodded in response, heading straight for the cabinet and pulling out a box of wheat cereal. He flipped the box over, squinting and reading through the words on the back, before walking over to Tommy, who was sitting at the table and eating a sugary cereal of some sort.

The young teen looked up, an eyebrow raising. “...What?” He asked with a mouthful of cereal and milk.

“Tommy, I need you to read the contents of this box of cereal for me.” Techno told him.

“Can’t you just...do it yourself?” Tommy questioned.

“Normally, I would, but I can’t find my reading glasses anywhere.” Techno sighed with annoyance. “I can barely make out anything on this box.”

“Do you know where you last left them?” Phil asked Techno.

“I swore I left them in their case on my nightstand, but when I woke up this morning, they weren’t inside.” He explained.

“That’s...weird. Very, very strange.” Tommy said, pretending not to know the truth. Wilbur could feel his heart beating fast as he caught Techno staring at him out of the corner of his eye, but huffed out a quick sigh of relief when Techno only said good morning to him, and nothing more. As Tommy read out the statistics labeled on the cereal box, he silently hoped to himself that he and the other two would be able to keep their acts up all day.

After breakfast, Wilbur headed into his room, both to relax and to keep guard. He grabbed his guitar, closed the door, and sat cross legged on the his bed, starting to play. He had a couple of ideas for songs, and would play around with the notes that he strummed. His family would peek open the door and visit, chatting briefly. Techno even walked by and chatted with him, still not suspecting anything.

After a few hours of playing and relaxing, he opened the door, leaving the room to get a snack. As he made his way down the stairs and to the kitchen, he found Tommy hunched over one of the counters.

“Hey, Tommy! What’s up?” Wilbur asked, stepping closer and opening the door to the fridge.

Tommy looked up, smiling as he saw his older brother. It looked like he was...out of breath? A bit strange, but Wilbur didn’t question. “Ah, Wilbur! Hey. How’s your part of the plan going?”

“Great.” Wilbur smirked as he pulled an apple out from the drawer in the refrigerator. “Technoblade came by, we had a nice little chat about swordfighting, and he hasn’t questioned anything from me since.” He said to Tommy, closing the refrigerator door now.

“What about you? How are things going?” He turned away to pick at the sticker on the apple and awaited Tommy’s response, but didn’t get one. He looked up, curious. “...Tommy?”

“Yeah...about that...Techno, um, got the crown back.”

“What? How?”

“I...he walked in on me trying it on in the mirror.” Tommy huffed, embarrassed.

“...Oh my god.” Wilbur couldn’t help but chuckle a bit at the silliness of this situation.

“I- I didn’t let him take it away from me so easily, though!” Tommy reassured, a pink tint on his face. “I ran around the room to get it away from him, but he managed to nag it. Not without me putting up a fight, I would never hand it over to him. Did you not hear me yelling at him and telling him how he would never get it back? We were pretty fuckin’ loud!”

“Mm, no.” Wilbur shrugged. “I had my door closed and was playing guitar, so I didn’t hear you guys.”

“Wow, okay.” Tommy blinked in surprise. “Well, he’s onto you next, so good luck. You’ll need it.”

“...Alright, thanks.” Wilbur shrugged as the two of them headed out of the kitchen.

Wilbur went back upstairs, apple in hand as he closed the door behind him. Instead of playing the guitar this time, he went ahead and put a music disc into the jukebox. The beats of pigstep played throughout the room as Wilbur sat on his bed, opening up a spare notebook, which had sporadic notes about possible song lyrics. He jotted down his ideas, nodding his head to the beat of the music. Probably about fifteen minutes had passed when he heard a knock on his door.

“Come in!” He called out. Opening the door was Phil, who, like Tommy earlier, looked like he was out of breath. It was quite strange, Wilbur thought.

“Wilbur, hey mate.” His father greeted him. “So, would it be okay if you were the one to drop Tommy off at Tubbo’s later?”

“What? Yeah, that’s fine.” Wilbur nodded. “What, did something happen?”

“Yeah, I’m just...” Phil paused, looking left and right, as if he was being secretive. “I’m just a little worn out.” He said, putting his hand on the doorknob, about to close the door shut with no further explanation.

However, before Phil could close the door, he was stopped by a hand wrapping around his own. Looking up, he saw Techno intensely glaring at him.

“Keep the door open, Phil. I’d like to talk to my brother.” Techno said politely. Phil chuckled softly (and, by the sound of it, a bit nervously), nodding as he walked away, leaving the two alone. Wilbur looked up as Techno entered the room and closed the door behind him. What made Wilbur feel especially uneasy, however, was that he was wearing his reading glasses.

“...Techno.”

“Wilbur.”

“You...I see you found your glasses.” Wilbur said, feeling nervous already.

“Indeed I did.” Techno nodded, walking over and turning off the jukebox. “And you won’t believe where I found them.”

“Oh, really? Where?”

“They were in Phil’s nightstand cabinet. Turns out, he had stolen them from me. Just like Tommy had stolen my crown.” He said, making direct eye contact with Wilbur. “Now, the one last thing I’m missing is my book, and I was wondering if you had any clue where it was.”

“...Nope.” Wilbur looked down at his notebook.

“Oh, don’t play dumb with me, Wilbur.” Techno rolled his eyes. “I know you took it.”

“I didn’t! Seriously!” Wilbur said, the nervousness setting in and becoming evident in his voice. “You can check my entire bookshelf, man. It’s not gonna be there.”

And that’s exactly what Techno did. He made a beeline for Wilbur’s bookshelf, scanning through each and every book. Pulling a few off of the shelf to investigate further, he went through the full thing as Wilbur simply hummed to himself and wrote down more lyrics.

“See? Exactly what I told you, it’s not there.” Wilbur said a bit smugly, proud that he was currently in the right. Techno huffed, starting to dig through other various things in Wilbur’s room, but not anywhere near the closet. At one point, Wilbur felt his heart fill with fear as Techno opened the closet door, but he only looked in there briefly, and didn’t do a full fledged look through, simply closing the closet door afterwards.

“...This is taking too long.” Techno grumbled.

“I’m telling you, I don’t have your book.” Wilbur lied. “You’re not going to find it in here.”

“You know what? Alright. It didn’t have to come to this, but you’re being stubborn.” In a swift movement, he grabbed Wilbur’s notebook and pen, tossing them to the side, then quickly grabbed Wilbur by the shoulders, lightly pushing him down and then grabbing his wrists, holding them above his head. Wilbur gasped in surprise, snapping his head up and looking at his brother.

“Now, Wilbur. Tommy refused to give me my crown, and Phil wouldn’t tell me where my glasses were. So, now, I’m going to use a strategy that I used on both of them, and it worked on both of them.” Techno explained calmly.

With that, Wilbur simply scoffed, a smirk on his face. “Oh yeah? And what would that be?” He asked, acting confident.

“Hmm...acting cocky now, are we? I’m not sure if you want to act that way right now, Wilbur.” Techno moved so that he was now sitting next to Wilbur on the bed as he laid down, and held his two hands above him with only one of his own. Wilbur did his best to relax, but the feeling of not knowing what his brother had planned was making him nervous. He stayed calm though...until he suddenly felt a hand squeezing at his right hip.

Wilbur inhaled sharply, giggling lightly and attempting to shift away from the hand. “T-TeHECHno! Whahat are you dohohoihing?!”

“Well, what does it look like I’m doing?” The piglin asked.

“Y-You’re squhuehehezing my hihihip.”

“Squeezing? That’s weird. The answer is that I’m tickling you, that’s supposed to tickle.” Techno muttered. “But, apparently, that’s not what you think, so I need to change that.” As he started clawing at Wilbur’s stomach, his eyes widened, and giggling turned into laughter.

“WA-WAHAIT- Wahahaihit! TehehechnOHOHO!” Wilbur started to squirm around, bringing his knees towards himself as an attempt to protect himself.

“Yes?” He asked, eyeing his brother.

“Yohohou’re- aHA- TeHEHechnoHO-!”

“Unable to form coherent sentences, are we? Well, I need you to speak if you’re going to tell me where the book is.”

“I dohon’t hAHAve ihihit!”

“Hmm...I don’t believe you.” Techno pushed up the bottom of Wilbur’s sweater so that his stomach was now exposed, and gripped at Wilbur’s wrists once again, holding them above his head. He shook his head so that his braid fell over his shoulder, then lowered his head slightly and put his plan into motion. Wilbur squeaked, laughing softly as he felt the tips of Techno’s hair lightly brush over his bare skin.

“This is your last chance, Wilbur. Tell me where my book is, and I won’t be nice anymore.” He said, the smallest of smirks on his face.

“Ihi’m tehelling yohou...I dohon’t hahave ihit.” Wilbur giggled, taking a moment to catch his breath.

“Heh...it’s your funeral.” Techno shrugged. He let go off Wilbur’s wrists, and immediately shot his hands down into the armpits. Wilbur’s eyes shot open, his arms flew down to his sides, and he quickly burst into loud, boisterous cackles.

“NAHAHAHAHA- TEHEHECHNOHOHO!! YOHOHOU DIHIHIHICK- AHAHAHAAA!!”

“Maybe if you had told me where my book was, we wouldn’t be in this situation.” Techno said, speeding up the speed of his scribbling. Wilbur kicked his legs, laughing hysterically.

“IHIHI DOHO- NOHOHOHAHAHA!!”

“Don’t what? I can’t understand what you’re saying.” He said, acting oblivious. He continued for as long as he chose too, until Wilbur quickly screamed out his name, tears in the corners of his eyes.

“TEHEHEHE- TEHEHECHNOHOHO- AHAHALRIHIHIGHT! IHIHIHIT’S IHIHIN THE CAHABNIHIEHET!!” He yelled through his laughter.

“Which cabinet? You have plenty of cabinets,

Wilbur.” Techno asked, leaning down and taking a breath before blowing a raspberry on his stomach. Wilbur let out a scream louder tan be ever had before, hysterical cackling spewing out of his mouth.

“IHIHIN THE CLOHOHOHOSEHEHET!!! NOHOHOW PLEHEHEHEHEAHAHASE, STOHOHOP IHIHIHIT- EHEHEHEHAHAHAHA-!”

At Wilbur’s request, Techno pulled his hands away, standing up and opening the closet door, shuffling through the cabinet drawers until he found what he was looking for. He grabbed the book, sat back down on the bed, looking at it for a moment, then groaned.

“...Wilbur.”

“Yehehes?”

“This wasn’t the page I left my book on, Wilbur.”

“Oh. Wehehell, how the fuhuhuhuck wahahas I suhuppohohossed tohoho knohohohow thAHAHAHA- TEHEHEHECHNOHOHO- WAHAHAHAHAIT, IHIHI’M SOHOHOHOREEHEHEEY-!” Wilbur shrieked as he felt a raspberry to his side, throwing his head back onto the bed.

“PLEHEHEAHAHASE TEHEHECHNOHOHO!! MEHEHEHRCY, HAHAHAVE MEHEHEHERCEHEHEY!!!” He pleased, tears streaming down his face.

“You’re asking for mercy? Well, now I know what to do when I need you to shut up.” Techno chuckled softly, standing up and heading out of the bedroom. “Oh, and I’ll see if Phil can drive Tommy to Tubbo’s for you. You’re way too tired and giggly to be able to focus on the road.”

Wilbur stared at the ceiling once Techno left, using the wool of his sweater to wipe away some of his tears. He needed time to catch his breath, and to plot how he would get revenge on his twin.

And how he would enjoy getting that revenge as much as he enjoyed this experience just now. However, he would never say that out loud.

[xxprettylittletimebombxx]

I wanted to address one more thing on the subject of plagiarism in fanfics-- 

and then I promise I’ll shut up about this for a while (or at least that’s the hope because it’s not exactly a fun topic?)

There was a story posted to ao3 this week that was clearly heavily inspired by my fic, ‘Who Could Deny These Butterflies?’ 

The fic in question has since been removed by the author (which is the only reason why I feel comfortable talking about it now.) And if any of you saw it before it got taken down, I’d prefer if you didn’t name it or the author in question. 

I’m not trying to direct any targeted hate their way. I’m just hoping that by talking about this, and sharing some choice screenshots, it helps offer some perspective to those of you who’ve noticed me and/or my friends talking about the issue of plagiarism in the JATP fandom with some regularity over the past few weeks.

Something that I’ve seen pop up quite a few times whenever the issue of plagiarism in JATP fanfic has been brought up before is this mentality of sort of instantly giving the other person the benefit of the doubt instead of the original author. 

I’m someone who desperately wants to see the good in others first, so I totally get why that might be a natural gut reaction. And I totally agree that allowances can and should be made for similar concepts included purely by accident.

But the idea of more or less chalking everything up to an honest mistake really starts to bother me when the instances of plagiarism are so blatantly obvious, it’s almost impossible to believe the thing that was stolen was stolen by accident.

I can guarantee you that literally any time you’ve seen myself or somebody else in this fandom vague posting about an instance of plagiarism, it’s the latter.  

And just in case you need an example of the sort of instances we’re talking about, here’s an example of just one moment the person in question took from ‘Butterflies’ and put into their own story:

And just for comparison’s sake, here’s my version:

It should also be noted that in this particular most recent instance, I had a handful of people call the fic in question to my attention (one person in my asks, two friends, and in addition, two separate readers who left comments on the plagiarized work.)

I hadn’t even read the story that took from mine before I was made aware of it, so the fact that other people noticed on their own-- and left comments saying as much-- should be a major red flag. AND YET, when I commented on said fic politely asking the author to remove it given the similarities, I found myself receiving pushback from another reader.

(There are probably some other points to be made here about the difference between a few passing similarities and what is essentially just a rewrite of the same scene, with one or two characters missing and/or added in, but that’s perhaps a post for another time.)

It’s just completely baffling to me that anyone’s gut reaction would be to side with the other person when the case is so cut and dry? Which is, quite honestly, why it’s so hard to speak up about stuff like this. 

There’s always that fear of being labeled as overly sensitive. Literally any time I’ve reblogged a post about plagiarism on here I’ve worried that people on here think I’m being overly sensitive. Which is why I’ve let a few instances of plagiarized lines/concepts/etc. slide in the past-- and I know some other friends have as well.

And I guess it seems silly to get worked up about fanfics getting plagiarized because none of us own the characters or the canon we’re all playing with. But it’s hard not to feel a little disheartened when, as a writer, you put so much time and effort in crafting a story with those characters that’s uniquely yours, only to see somebody else trying to pass it off as their own original work.

There’s really no graceful way to end this post. So just...you know...don’t steal. 

If you’re an avid fanfic reader and you see somebody else stealing pieces from someone else’s writing, call them out on it (nicely though, please! something as simple as “I couldn’t help but notice your thing is very similar to this other thing-- you should maybe think about crediting the author and reaching out to them to make sure it’s okay that you’re using it” can go a long way.) or at least notify the original author so they can decide what to do about it. 

And if you’re a fellow writer who’s worried about perhaps accidentally writing something that’s too similar to someone else’s thing, please try not to harp on that too much. And if it happens by accident, just apologize and come up with a way to fix it-- we’re all learning here, you know? And we’re all just trying to create fun things for each other to enjoy, and I don’t want that to stop just because of a few bad instances. It’s just exhausting, you know?

ANYWAY, I know this post is very long so thank you to anyone who bothered to read through it-- I really appreciate you. Picture me scurrying away to my writing dungeon now. 

And to end on a more positive note,  Jukebox Appreciation Week kicks off in THREE DAYS-- I hope y’all are ready and are as excited for it as we are!

[stardustincarnate]

YOU SHINE LIKE THE STARS, YOU LIGHT UP MY HEART // Touta Matsuda x Reader

word count : 2585 genre : fluff <33 (stargazing with this pretty boy!!)

It was a sight to behold—the empty of clouds but shrouded with twinkling stars with the right distance from one another. They were visible in every direction. What a perfect night to stargaze. You had just gotten out the yard of your family's house, accompanied by a cup of hot milk and cookies. Unfortunately you forgot to bring your eyeglasses so you had to head back inside—a surprise welcoming you when you saw someone who didn't belong in your house.

"Touta? What are you doing here?"

That was a little... impertinent. You felt guilty. It wasn't like you weren't happy to see him, you were just shocked. Plain shocked.

"Hey [Y/N]! Haha, good evening!"

He was a bit skittish, maybe nervous. You noticed how clammy his forehead was, with the reason being just finished looking at you through the loophole in the kitchen wall. "It's been a while. You look.. dazzling.. as always."

"If your definition of dazzling is someone who looks like a zombie who's just gotten out of bed, thank you." You smirked, wearing your glasses. "What made you come here anyway? Isn't it late? It's your day-off today?"

"Yup. Thought of visiting a.. friend. You see, I—I really missed you! Work hasn't been the same since you le—"

"Hm, I know that tone. Come on Matsu."

"Hey! It's not that I'm complaining! I still like my job, it's good. But it could be better if you're with us, despite your never-ending bad mood. Hehe..."

"Ooh, so you missed me, that's why you're here. You wanna catch up."

"Of course?" He sheepishly rubbed his nape. You smiled slyly and hummed, trotting back to the yard.

"Come. You're obliged to."

Matsuda followed, hesitant to sit beside you on the grass, only until you pat the space beside you. He kept on constantly shifting his legs as you munched on your cookies, offering him some. You two ate in silence, looking at nothing in particular as the night breeze hit you. The wind's eerily ethereal howl rung in your ears, blending with the faint sound of the television from inside.

He pursed his lips and looked at you, blushing while waiting for the right time to speak. You thought the same thing even without looking at him. After some time, you spoke, immediately cutting yourself off as he did the same. Of course, that's bound to happen.

"You go first."

"You're my visitor. I know you wanna ask me some things."

He fidgeted the hem of his shirt. "How.. How have you been?" You snorted, shaking your head fondly. "I'm fine, I guess. Nothing interesting though, really. No thrill in my new work plus my bitchy subordinates. I swear, Matsu, if I get full, they'll know I'm the worst of their kind."

"Show them who's boss [Y/N]! You do look scary and mean after all.. I mean—"

"Hey! I'm not as mean as I look like! I only am to Satan's spawns."

"I-I was kidding—"

"Chillax, of course."

"But at least you are actually kind and can cope with me."

"And your stupidity." You jested. He flushed pink and frantically shook his head.

"What's your new work anyway? Am I the only one among your peers who doesn't it yet?"

"Nah, they've no idea too. I'm currently working as a hotelier. But I think I'm... Is old-work-sick even a thing? Something like that."

"What hotel?"

"Not too far from the station. You just gotta grab a taxi and voila—you're there. Hm, why ask? Thought of visiting me frequently? Eh? Eh?"

"N-No! I mean.. why not? Just thought of.. visiting you during my free time, just to, you know, chatter with you. Because—because you boost my mood.. in some sort of way."

You felt your heart melt. "Aww, I'm happy. You do the same to me. And you know? I've thought of visiting you in the station as well."

"Really? You should! I—I mean.. only if you're free of course. I've been feeling out of place lately. They're still nice but I don't know. Maybe it's just me..."

"They're preoccupied with work, that's why they barely interact with you. Focus on your work, it'll make you less lonely." You said, plaintive.

"But I am focusing.."

"No, hocus focus! Not focus focus. You know what I mean?"

"That's vague, but okay?"

"And yeah, if I visit you, it won't be very frequent. I'm sorry Matsu, even if I want to. I don't want to get scolded by the inspector or the chief. I don't wanna get you in more trouble too. Even though I'd often, er, miss you, too."

The words came out, unbidden, and you mentally smacked your forehead. His eyes softened as you stared at him. He smiled, and you could tell that he was still restraining himself because even his eyes were smiling, his ears turning red. You found his smile cute and rather infectious. You cleared your throat. He averted his gaze elsewhere, mumbling.

"Why did you have to quit.. I wish you had stayed."

You sighed then pursed your lips. "Me too. But my parents don't like it anymore. Well to begin with, they never liked the idea of their only daughter being involved in a perilous job. But the arson was what really ended it all."

Matsuda looked crestfallen after you'd mentioned it. He clenched his fists. He could still remember that day vividly—the day you almost died. He remembered how he struggled to not look at the criminal because he was afraid he might start thinking of doing unjust things to the person who almost killed you. He sighed.

"I should've stayed with you. That would've never happened."

"No no, chin up Matsuu! The fire didn't even fully touch me 'cause even it was intimidated of how hot I am compared to it." You chuckled, casting him a wistful glance. "I was reckless. My bad. And that recklessness led to that. So take it from me. Think thoroughly before you act. I wouldn't want the same thing happening to you, you reckless bean."

"Noted Madame!" He laughed.

You smiled and looked up the sky, tapping his shoulder moments later.

"Yes, [Y/N]?"

"You stargaze often?"

"Not really. I can't remember the last time I did. Do you like stargazing?"

"Needless to say. I often do it. You should, too." You nudged his shoulder with yours, your proximity making you blush. You both threw your heads back and stared at the stars in silence. You began making random patterns. Matsuda giggled as he found one that looked like the initial of your name.. or as he had tried to convince himself.

"This peacefulness, it's my dolce vita! Nothing but the question of how many stars we could count. I can do this for hooours."

"Your neck will turn numb.. Mine's already feeling a little.. eh."

"There's no need to worry when we can just lie down."

You could see the redness of his cheeks after hearing that. You could almost giggle.

The two of you lay down on the grass, him spacing out a little. His shoulders were tense, his heart banging his sternum that he was afraid you'd hear just how loud it was. But eventually he relaxed when he saw you not minding the proximity at all.

Matsuda looked up, his smile growing larger and larger the more stars his eyes caught. But he had completely forgotten the counting-star-thing you said.

The night was silently still. Television from the inside had been turned off so the only noise you heard even from the distance was the sound of nature. You controlled your breath, afraid that it might disrupt the stillness. You began to grow lethargic from all the star counting. Alas, you gave up and stopped at number 42.

You looked to the side to see what progress had he made. None at all. He was not only staring at you—he was smiling! Looking at you like you are his world!

Once he realized you were also staring at him his face turned beet red. He wanted to look away, but how? There were you, exchanging stares of adoration. Hah. All that was needed was a label.

You had the strongest urge to lean in and kiss him. Kiss him? Oh [Y/N], control your thoughts! Sigh. If nothing would miraculously interrupt the stare session, you'd really kiss him.

Nothing. Nothing. The universe was in favor of you. And you know the drill.

You took the opportunity to face him and lift yourself up from the grass. Your stare could've frozen him on his position. He was going to explode in mushiness. It's almost like the wind was all it would take for your lips to press.

You rested your elbow on the grass and gently caressed his hair. You cupped his cheek with your other hand, your thumb circling it. You closed your eyes, praying you wouldn't fail this one. You did it slowly on purpose, but seemed like Matsuda opposed that. He inclined and cupped your face, kissing you.

But only for a mere second.

Your torso clumsily fell flat partially on him and the ground because of your initial awkward position. And you didn't even feel the kiss because of your forgotten eyeglasses.

"Aha...haha... Uhm—[Y/N]—you okay?? I'm—"

You sat up and boldly chuckled in spite of looking like a four-eyed tomato.

"That went veeeeery well."

"So.. ah.. the thing earlier.. moments ago—" It's as if he was trying to convince himself that it really happened. And he couldn't contain his infectious smile and laughter anymore that you were sure reached the entire neighborhood.

"What waaas that!"

You laid your glasses aside and tossed yourself at him. He fell on his back with you on his top, your legs in a tangled mess. As he wrapped his arms around your waist, he wheezed.

"I hope you're not dumb at this stuff because I hopelessly am."

"Whaddaya meaann?" You were certain he was teasing you. You clicked your tongue.

"....Silly! We're a couple now!"

"HAHAH—wait—you're not joking?? Are you?? No??"

"Do I look like I am?"

"Hah-hah, as in, you're serious-serious? [Y/N]??"

"Do I look like I'm not? Idiot of course I am! You want me to take it back?"

"Nonononono—" you tried your hardest not to cackle, "—I mean of course I do, but—ah! Stupid mouth! Uhm—well—if that's the case then why should I decline when I really like you for—for a long time now!"

"I'm going to pretend to be shocked. But I—I like you too.. I was just waiting for, uhm, you, to, uhm, confess to me, but that sounds so unlikely.. So, thank you for staring?"

He stared at you eagerly.

"Darn it, that wasn't cool! Nonono—you know what I mean, don't you...? You stared at me, and I wanted to kiss you, and then we're here.. And and—"

"I love you!"

Matsuda hugged you tighter as you became stiff and red with what he just uttered. It's either you move and explode or you don't, so you didn't.

I love you ...

He loves you. And he means it.

You squeezed your eyes shut and bit your lower lip, though unable to restrain a smile.

You cleared your throat.

"M-Matsu... Do you want to stay the night here?"

"Oh, no! Actually.. I should be heading home by now. I've got work to do tomorrow morning."

"Awh bummer I forgot.. Well, let me assist you back there."

"Thank you. I'll.. I'll visit you more often, I promise! Ah—ahem! It's one of my duties now that I'm your boyfriend.." He rubbed his nape, shy in proclaiming. You blushed.

"Hey, but you can't just disappear from your work otherwise the chief will beat your ass. Besides, you're a baby! Can't have a baby constantly slacking off his work, can we?"

"Hey! I am a tough police officer! I'm far from being a baby like you!"

"Ohohoho look who's whining like one!"

"I—If you keep saying that I really won't visit you!"

"Fine with me. I'll just find others to hang out with."

His sulky pout fueled your eruption of cackling. You put your head on his shoulder and wrapped your arms around his waist from the side.

"I'm only kidding! Of course I only have my eyes set on you!"

"That better be true.. or I will arrest that man trying to steal my girl." He squished your cheeks. "Oh, and that reminds me—I have something to say to you.."

"I bet on my life it's gonna be one of those pickup lines.."

"No no this is a good one, promise! Ehem. Are you a cr—"

"DON'T! I just know what you're going to say! No no no!"

"I haven't even s—"

"I heard that pickup line way to many times already! Don't you dare!"

Matsuda sighed. "At least I tried.. I just wanted to make you smile.."

You shifted behind him, back-hugging him and patting his tummy as you rested your chin on his shoulder.

"There is no need for that when just seeing you can already make me smile.."

Matsuda grinned, placing his hands above yours.

"I didn't know [Y/N] was so cheesy."

"H-Hey! At least it's not as bad as that 'are you a criminal cause you stole my heart' thingy you were going to say!" You protested. He laughed loudly as a response. "Psh. Time to go home now, officer."

"Uh...?" He looked back at you and your position.

"Go go go."

Still confused, he started walking through the backdoor, with you never letting him go. It was not an ideal position, and when he passed by your parents in the living room to bid them goodbye, they only snorted, unable to believe your clinginess.

Once you two were near the front door, you let go of him.

"Goodnight Touta. Please be safe on your way home. Text me as soon as you get home, okay?"

He opened the door, nodding. "Don't worry [Y/N], I will. Although.. I might be safer if you give me a lucky charm."

"What lucky charm?"

He pointed his cheeks. "...Here, please?"

"Aw I thought you'd never ask!" You leaned closer to peck his right cheek. But instead of his cheek, it was his lips that you kissed. Matsuda had turned his face a millisecond just before your lips could press his cheek. You couldn't help but smile in the kiss. He was, too. Eventually you two pulled away, with triumph written all over his face.

"Touta.. You.."

"Ahaha... Is that the time? Oh, byebye [Y/N]! Thank you for the lucky charm. Goodnight, dream a little dream of me!"

He kissed your cheek before leaving your house, looking back every now and then as he walked away, and still waving goodbye to you. You smiled and shamelessly threw flying kisses at him.

You closed the door once he was out of sight, leaning your back against it dreamily. You thought, that night couldn't get any better. You glanced to the right, your parents whose eyeballs looked like it would come out of its sockets greeting you. You laughed and shook your head before they could say anything, and then headed to your room.

And maybe you did dream a little dream of him that night...

[scabopolis]

😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍

Hope that I do this properly 🙃

I would adore a XO between Veronica Mars (LoVe) & Once Upon a Time (C/S).

PROMPT: "I’m really competitive and drunk and I just told a rival that my relationship is way better than theirs, but they don’t believe you exist (but I’m too stubborn to admit they’re right)" OR really anything you'd like. Honestly, I'm dying to see Logan and Killian interact/co-swagger.

And / or another installment of "Come Rain or Come Shine" from In Lovers Meeting because I love it with my whole ❤️.

Thank you so much for doing this. You made my day,

😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍

Oh @jjmazzy​ you bring my heart so much joy! I didn’t feel quite up to the task to do a crossover between OUaT and Veronica Mars so I went straight for a OUaT AU. I hope that’s okay? 

This is just a silly little thing that I am realizing only fulfills about 40% of the prompt, but I think it’s cute??

ANYWAY! Enough hemming and hawing xx *** Title: Of Expats and Onion Rings Rating: PG Fandom: Once Upon a Time Pairing: Killian Jones/Emma Swan (mentions of Robin/Marian and a smattering of other characters) Additional Tags: Two out of three of my OUaT fics feature Killian as a bartender, silliness and only half a prompt, probably way more fluff than is medically recommended Word Count: 1,500

Every Friday night, Emma Swan sits on the same barstool at the same bar in the same restaurant. This Friday night has her staring into space as she lets the sounds from the kitchen and the bar swirl around her. It’s busier than usual, with almost all the booths and tables filled and the bar area half-occupied. In fact, when she first walked into the bar, she worried there wouldn’t be a seat for her. But the bartender caught her eye and waved her over, a menu and a glass of water waiting for her in her usual seat at the end of the bar. 

Said bartender slides her an Old Fashioned, extra maraschino cherries on the toothpick per usual. 

She takes a small sip of the drink. “Why is it so busy?” 

Killian’s eyes roam about the room and then come back to rest on her. “Some magazine labeled us the best kept secret in Portland, Maine.” 

“And in doing so—”

“Assured that we would never be a secret again. Yes.” 

“The pitfalls of fame.” 

“Burger or chicken sandwich?” 

“Burger. Any chance—?”

“Aye, probably a very good chance, but only because Graham is sweet on you.” 

Emma feels her cheeks redden. “He’s not sweet on me.” 

“Sure he isn’t.” 

She watches Killian step away from the bar and into the kitchen to talk to Graham. How Graham can manage to listen to anything given the noise of the dining room and the kitchen she’ll never know. Graham and Killian both look over at her. Graham rolls his eyes but nods, and Emma raises her glass in thanks. 

“Okay,” she says to Killian when he’s back at the bar. “He might be a little sweet on me.” She takes a long sip of her cocktail. 

Killian’s brow is knit with concentration. “Long day?” 

She nods. “I had a run in with Zelena.” 

“Ah. The wicked witch of the northeast. What’d she do this time?” The ticket printer next to Killian’s till spits out a long drink order, but he listens even as he mixes drink and pours glasses of wine. 

“She got engaged over the weekend and hasn’t shut up about it. And today, she took great pains to ask me, in front of everyone in the faculty lounge, if I’d be okay if she didn’t give me a plus one.” 

“Bit rude, isn’t it?” 

“Right? But then she kept going on and on asking how long it’d been since I dated someone, and did I know that after 35, forty-five percent of women’s eggs are considered genetically abnormal and her fiancé is a very wealthy furniture manufacturer and she’s certain he has some less attractive less wealthy friends he could introduce me to and on and on and on.” 

“Does she truly want you at her wedding?” 

“Oh, yes. She said she wouldn’t take no for an answer.” She runs her finger along the condensation of her glass. “Which is when I did something very very very stupid.” 

“Smacked her?” 

Emma snorts. “I wish. No I—” Her explanation is interrupted by the arrival of her burger and the plate of special order onion rings. Onion rings which are technically available only as an add-on to the steak sandwich but that Emma has a 80% success rate of cajoling the kitchen to make her a plate of. 

She eats her meal with one eye turned to Killian, waiting for a long enough lull in the drink tickets to finish her story. She’s almost finished her burger when Killian slides another Old Fashioned in front of her.

“What was this very stupid thing you did?” he asks, leaning towards her. 

“I told her I was dating someone.” 

Killian remains where he is but she notices the clench of his jaw. “Ah,” he says. “I was unaware.” He seems to hear his own words as he says them because he cringes. “Not that there’s a reason you would tell me. I mean, we’re friends, but friends in that way that I get you drinks and —”

Emma rests a hand on Kilian’s to stop the rambling. “I’m not. Dating anyone, that is.” 

“Then why—?”

“It just popped out. I’m not sure who was more surprised, me or Zelena.” 

“So, this fake boyfriend of yours. Just who is he?” 

“Well, okay, so this makes sense when you remember it’s Friday, and I knew I’d be coming here.”

“Right,” he says, equal parts cautious and curious.

“I told her my boyfriend was British.” 

Killian shakes his head. 

ExPats has been her weekly haunt for close to a year now and while not everyone who works there is a British expatriate, with Killian as bar manager, Robin as front of house manager, Graham as chef de cuisine, and Phillip as pastry chef, it kind of feels that way.

“And that he had blue eyes,” she continues. 

“Ah, I see,” he says, teasing her. “Are you telling me you’re sweet on Graham too?” 

“Not Graham.” 

“In that case, Marian is likely going to have a big problem with you trying to date her husband.”

“And, uh,” she clears her throat, “I told Zelena he has dark hair.” 

Killian wings an eyebrow. “How dark?” 

“Uh, right about your color probably.” 

“My color?” 

“Probably. I said probably.” 

“Interesting.” Emma takes a sip of her drink. There’s a delicious, hazy feeling brought on from the second cocktail washing through her veins. “So, you and I are dating?” he asks. 

“Stupid. It was so stupid.” 

“I wouldn’t say that. I mean, I’ve been meaning to ask you out for months now. This might be just the little push I need.” 

“What?”

“What?”

“What did you just say?” 

“What now?” he asks in return, the picture of innocence. 

“You’ve been trying to ask me out?” 

“Not as such, no.” 

“Oh.” She sinks back in her seat, disappointed.

“I didn’t want to risk you running scared and not being here every Friday night.” 

Emma perks right back up again. “Oh?” 

“You already said that, love.” 

Emma looked down at her plate, the remnants of the crispy bits from her onion rings on her plate. Something occurs to her then. “Graham doesn’t give these to me because I want them. Does he?” 

“Excuse me?” 

If she’s not mistaken the tips of his ears have gone a little red. She loves his little elf ears. “He makes these for me because you ask him. Don’t you?” 

“I might have told him they bring you an inordinate amount of joy.” He scratches idly at a spot on his arm. “And that it brings me an inordinate amount of joy to see how happy they make you.” 

“Did you know my weekly ExPats date used to be on Wednesdays?” 

She can see him try to mentally adjust to the change of direction in the conversation. “Really?” 

“I only came in a few times, but then one week, I had parent/teacher conferences so I came on Friday. And there you were.” Emma shrugs. “Your Old Fashioned is better than Will’s.” She bites off one of the maraschino cherries from the toothpick. “Your smile is better, too.” 

“Emma, darling, are you flirting with me?” 

“What? Suddenly it’s a crime to flirt with my boyfriend?” 

Killian laughs and it makes her heart hum. She likes the clean line of his throat as he tilts his head back. “Your boyfriend? I don’t suppose you’d want to go out on a date with, then?”

“I’m free on Wednesday.” 

“Funny that,” he says. “That happens to be my day off.” 

“Is it?” 

Emma would be content to sit at this bar all night and let Killian smile at her and make her drinks. It seems like Killian is having similar thoughts, until something seemingly flies out of nowhere to hit him in the back of the head. 

Killian reels around to find Robin standing there, arms folded across his chest. 

“What’d you throw at me, you git?” Killian asks. 

“A dinner roll.” Robin gestures at the drink ticket printer. A ticket printer which has at least 10-tickets waiting to be fulfilled. “Pardon, Emma. Mind if he stops flirting with you long enough to fulfill the drink orders?” 

“You’re fired,” Killian says. 

“For the last time, mate, you can’t fire me. My name is on the lease right next to yours.” 

“Murder it is, then.” 

“Make the nice customers their cocktails and then you can murder me.” 

Robin walks away, and Emma notices it’s not just her at the bar who finds herself charmed by the whole display between the two men. She thinks she might see a small group of women sneakily taking a cell phone video, giggling as they watch it through.

“Emma, I’m sorry, but I—”

She waves him off. “Do your thing. I’ll be here.” 

“Yeah?” he asks, and when she nods, he beams. “Good, because if we’re in a committed relationship I’m probably going to need your phone number.” 

“Pour the drinks, you goon.”

[honeywithblueberries]

The Perks- Face to Face

I told you I was writing another one. It’s a bit meh, but I hope you like it! And there’s some light smut in it too :).

…………………….

Jack sat at the table across from the small ewe and glowered, the badge around her neck displaying her name.

Even her fucking name is annoying, the buck thought. Dawn Bellwether… Phft! Dawn! This bitch ain’t aptly named.

Skye had been initially excused from the meeting, though she took it as recommendation rather than an order. Her arms were crossed as she stood behind Jack. Her blue eyes were afire with rage but for all the good it did, she may as well have been in the kitchen. Still, the rabbit buck was comforted by her presence. The ewe simply sat calmly in front of them, unfazed by the angry predator.

Bellwether clacked away at the bulky laptop, a smug grin on her face as she did.

“Such a disgusting little shop,” she said, her eyes flicking up at the audible grind of Jack’s teeth. “My sister was here last week. Told me all about the filth and muck that was lurking here.“ The ewe tsked and paused her typing. “Can’t say I’m surprised. An owner that lets their morals fly as loose as yours? No wonder this place is a garbage heap.”

“Yeah, fresh sani buckets, sanitized sinks, up to code refrigerators and freezers with everything in them labeled and dated, and all of my employees have their food handler’s cards. Not to mention my grease trap and kitchen have been recently inspected and the fire department has already given their ‘OK’ after our last inspection.” Jack gave the inspector an almost friendly smile. “But you’re right! Such a filthy dump of free love and expression. Stick around long enough and you may get invited upstairs for our… What would you call it, Skye?” The buck gave a mockingly confused look over his shoulder at the vixen, who shot the ewe a toothy grin.

Her paws went to his shoulders as she leaned over him. “I thought we were good with calling it an orgy, handsome.” She maintained eye contact as she grinned, showing off every pearly white tooth, and lightly nipped Jack’s ear. 

The buck grinned at the look of horror on Bellwether’s face, trying not to shiver when she hit a sensitive spot. His paw rose to cover Skye’s and gave it a small squeeze. With a shake of her head, her jaw obviously, painfully clenched, Bellwether tapped away at her computer.

“Fortunately for you,” she began, her eyes focused on the screen, “the law prohibits me from inspecting a private residence.”  

“Yes, I feel myself drowning in fortune,” Jack remarked with a sarcastic smile. Bellwether merely huffed at him and continued to type.

“But be that as it may,” the ewe continued, “there’s still enough around this hovel to fail you. Or at least not give you the A you think you deserve.”

For the first time since they sat down, Jack let his temper rise out of his control. A bolt of righteous anger shot down his spine and he shot to his feet. His fur fluffed out and his ears were stiff as boards on his head.

“Like what?” he demanded. “The only thing you have on us is a grudge. The last three health inspectors have always rated us as one of the cleanest restaurants in the city and we've followed every code down to the letter. My mammals called me the Striped Dictator for the first six months we were in business!”

Skye looked at him in surprise before her ears picked up the sound of light laughter. Sandra, Bobby, and Kari were trying to hide their amusement by the register. Sandra caught Skye’s eye and nodded.

“It’s true,” she confirmed. “That was the nicest name we had for him.” Skye bit the inside of her cheek before turning her attention back to the ewe.

“So?” demanded Jack as he crossed his arms and looked at the ewe expectantly. “What possible reason could you have for giving us a less than perfect score? Or do I need to file a complaint with the health board and alert them of our previous exchange.”

With a falsely sweet smile, Bellwether stood and closed her laptop. Facing the buck fully, she gave him a look so cocky, Skye automatically put her paws on his shoulders to keep him from punching her.

“Minors under the age of fifteen can’t get their food safety cards in Zootopia.” Bellwether turned her smile towards Nick, Judy, and Gideon, who could be seen peeking out from the kitchen. Facing Jack once more, she handed him the inspection slip and gathered her things. “C minus. Tsk! Such a shame. Maybe next time we can bump it up to a C plus." Pulling her laptop case behind her, Bellwether marched towards the door. “Toodaloo!”

Both Jack and Skye glared after her, Skye more composed than her boss, who was practically quivering with rage. 

“I will snap her,” he growled, his bright blue eyes still narrowed on the closed cafe door. “I will snap her like a fucking twig.”

Skye ran her paws up his arms to his shoulders, giving the tense muscles a reassuring squeeze. 

“We can contest the grade, can’t we?” she asked him. Jack looked over his shoulder at her. “I mean, we can go to the board and file a complaint still. And challenge the grade she gave us. Clearly it was motivated by a personal vendetta and was undeserved.”

“We could, but that doesn’t rule out the fact that she’s right. The kits are too young to get their food safety cards so we’ll have to go through our parents.” Jack sighed and rubbed his muzzle tiredly. “We're going to have to get documentation."

Skye cocked her head at him. “So what’s the issue?”

“It’s not really an issue. Just annoying.” The buck shook his head and stood. “I can bet she’s going to use that against us. If she won’t change our grade after the extra legwork, then we’ll go big.”

Sandra blinked at him before looking at the todd in question. Nick just shrugged at her before the doe turned back to her boss. 

“How could you, Mr. Nit Pick, overlook those details? It’s not like you at all.” All eyes turned to the astounded buck. Sandra let a small smirk cross her face before flicking her eyes over to Skye. “Distracted much?”

Jack frowned at her, his crimson ears falling to his back as the fur of his cheeks tinted pink. He opened his mouth to speak, only to be cut off by the sounds of angry yelling. Screeching, more like. Very familiar screeching. Jack, Skye, and everyone else present rushed to the windows to see what the commotion was. A snort escaped him when he saw the ewe rush out of the shop across the street, chased by a predator less than half Skye’s size.

“Cami,” Jack and Sandra said together, laughter in their voices. 

“Who?” Skye, Gid, and Nick looked at them curiously as Judy giggled. 

“Did someone let Cami out?” Jon asked from the kitchen, excitement in his voice as he rushed to see the spectacle.

All eyes turned back to the window as a vixen only a few inches taller than Finnick chased the ewe down the sidewalk. A broom was waved at her in a threatening manner, her angry tirade audible even from a distance.

“You get out here, you horrible, awful, dirty little creature!” Cami shrieked. "Get out before I shove this broom where the sun don't shine! I deny your entry to my business!"

“It’s a routine health inspection! It's required by law!” Argued Bellwether as she tried to re-approach only for the kit fox to wave her broom and gnash her teeth.

“Get her, Cami,” mumbled Jon, his fists closed in excitement. The mammals in the shop all looked at him. “Get her, get her!”

“Routine inspection! Ha!” Cami scoffed. “Routine inspection, my sweet, little tail! You’re targeting predator friendly shops and I WON’T STAND FOR IT! Hi-ya!” The broom was swiped at her and Bellwether leapt back to avoid getting hit. "That's what I think of your silly law!"

That set off another round of giggles from the occupants of the Perk. Trying to push down his amusement, Jack remembered he actually liked Cami and her being arrested for assault would do no one any favors. Least of all, the family waiting for her inside.

“I’ll be back,” Jack laughed as he headed for the door. Skye watched with interest as the buck raced over and stepped between the two, his paws raised in a soothing manner towards the vixen. 

Her furious eyes were still ablaze as she tried to duck around the buck. Skye snorted with laughter as Jack succeeded in scooping up the pygmy fox and sling her over his shoulder. He spun to face Bellwether and address her. Though his words were drowned out by Cami's shrieks of rage and indignation.

 “You will put me down right, Hopps, or I’ll yank that sad excuse for a tail out! Put me down!” She thrashed about, Jack nearly losing his hold on her. "I WON'T STAND FOR THIS! AFTER I'M DONE WITH THIS BITCH, I'M COMING AFTER YOU!"

A round of laughter erupted from the cafe. Skye was impressed at how well Jack was handling it. She was way bigger than the kit fox, but had no doubt Cami could lay her out like a rug. 

“Give her a minute,” Jon commented, taking a sip of his coffee. Sandra nodded in agreement next to him. Kari and Bobby simply shook their heads and returned to work.

“She’ll tire herself out and crash,” Sandra chuckled and shook her head one more time before heading back to the register. "This isn't the first time something like this has happened."

And sure enough, as the ewe decided it wasn’t worth the aggravation and stormed off with a final glare, the vixen slumped over his shoulder in defeat. Jack wagged his fingers after Bellwether, his “Toodaloo!” audible as his fingers dropped to flip her back off. 

“I’m putting you down now,” he warned, as Cami took deep breaths to cool down. “Are you calm?”

“I’m cool, I'm good,” she assured, smiling brightly over her shoulder at him. He nodded and crouched to let her hop off. Only to snatch her by the back of her shirt when she lunged in the direction of the vanishing ewe. “I WILL CUT HER!”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m sure you will, killer.” He jerked her back and cautiously released her when she stopped struggling.

She gave up and settled for giving the sidewalk an angry kick before turning to storm off. Curses were muttered under her breath as Jack sighed in relief before looking into the window of the Perk and giving Skye a smile and wave. She wasn’t exactly sure why that made him so sexy, but it did.

“I’m so locking that down,” she murmured to herself with a smile and waved back. The warmth that spread through her tickled and she chuckled a little to herself before turning around. And she nearly ran into Judy. The little bunny giggled and allowed the vixen to put an arm around her shoulders.

“Sorry about that, Bun-Bun,” the vixen joked, giving her a small squeeze and walking towards the coffee bar.

“Jack’s thinking the same thing, if it makes you feel any better. You don't need it, but you have my blessing," Judy grinned then skipped away.

Skye smiled after her, her ears twitching at the sound of the door opening. She turned to greet the buck, leaning against the bar and crossing her arms, her eyes silently inviting him to join her. He returned her grin with one of his own, leaning next to her once he approached. 

"So…." She began with a smile. "Cami?"

He huffed and rolled his eyes. But they did light up a bit with humor when the kit fox was brought up.

"She owns the little bistro across the street.” Jack leaned into her space, her muzzle moving in, nearly touching his. “Mostly caters to predators, but she has an amazing black bean burger. She's a little…." 

"Perfect," sighed Jon from the coffee maker, breaking whatever trance they were under. They blushed and looked over to him. .

"Bonkers,” Sandra gave the raccoon a droll glare which he ignored while he refilled his coffee. He was obviously day dreaming about whatever a guy like him dreamed of. “Bonkers, is the correct adjective. She’s nice and fun, but balls to the wall insane. Jon has a little crush, " the bunny added with a small smile. “Nevermind Cami’s like ten years older than he is and married.”

The vixen gave a light chuckle, before turning to Jack with a mischievous smile. “Whatever gets him going. Jack, can I talk to you in private? We really should go over that… meeting.”

Sandra nearly choked on her drink. Jon ducked his head to hide his smile and reached for the kits to herd them into the kitchen. Nick and Judy looked back towards their siblings and rolled their eyes but complied. Gideon paid no one any mind as he went right back to making his cookie list.

Jack- being a red blooded male and very good at reading between her lines- got it. His blue eyes became wide when Skye gave him a final, lingering look and moved to the stairs. He was so stunned that for a moment he could only watch her walk away from him, that lucious tail giving a far too appealing flick. She was halfway up the stairs before he came to his senses and tried to not make his haste too obvious.

“Yeah, yeah,” he answered, smiling as he gave a distracted wave towards the remaining employees and rushed after her. “Totally! We gotta lot to talk about after that visit. We gotta stay…” his mouth went dry when she turned to face him at the apartment door, completely out of sight of the main lobby. One white paw undid the top few buttons of her shirt and Jack’s train of thought was completely derailed. “...on top of…” He swallowed when another button came undone and the edge of her bra was revealed, “...of the…. thing....”

The giggles and scoffs from down below were ignored. Easily, in fact. Even Sandra’s offer to start making the appropriate phone calls fell on deaf ears. Skye opened the unlocked door with one paw, the other snatching him by the collar and crushing her lips to his. They stumbled over the threshold. Jack’s paws went to her hips and the door was kicked shut. Her paws stripped him of his shirt just as her ass found the dining room table. He helped her onto it as he finished unbuttoning her shirt and tossed it over his shoulder. Once it was out of the way, his paws went to her jaw to continue their kiss.

“I’ve been dreaming of this since I first saw you,” he mumbled as his mouth and paws began to explore. Jack dragged his lips down her throat making her groan and clutch at his shoulders. Her knees went to his hips trying to drag him closer and properly wrap her legs around him. His paws moved over her body, thumbs slipping under her bra strap but pausing until he got permission. She dropped her own to his belt buckle, feeling him pause and huff into her fur, inhaling her scent as deeply as he could.

Jack pulled back, panting heavily, and both sets of eyes dropped to her paws before meeting again. Her shifting hips put enough pressure on her target that he had to bite his lip to stifle his groan. A paw left to cup his jaw and brought his gaze back to hers. Blue met blue while Jack composed himself enough to focus.

“What do you want from me, Jack?” Skye asked, her voice laced with uncertainty. Jack smiled at her as if it was obvious.

“Forever,” he answered. “I want forever.”

Again, his collar was grabbed and their lips crashed together. 

“I need you,” she muttered against his lips. “All of you…”

“I’m yours…” Was the passionate response.

Both sets of paws moved to the other's pants, frantically unbuttoning. Skye had his belt undone and was ready to shove them to the ground just as he managed to slip hers away from her hips. She pressed herself close against him, lifting and shifting to get them off and onto the floor. All she wanted now was to strip him naked as fast as she could.

And she would have…. if the door hadn’t banged open.

…………

“They’re going to do it somewhere gross,” Bobby muttered. Nick, who had grabbed a bus tub, pulled a face of disgust. 

"Bobby!" He protested. Judy had begun to help Kari pull orders together and shared a short giggle with her. Nick caught her eye. "Why aren't you more grossed out by this?"

Judy shrugged and gave him a smile. 

"I'm a bunny," she explained, boxing up cookies. "Some of the things I've walked in on still give me nightmares." The doe shuddered and earned a laugh from the young todd. "There's a reason some stereotypes exist. Jack isn't nearly as bad as some of my other brothers and sisters. At least, not while I'm here."

"Not while you're away, either," Sandra confirmed. "The last doe I saw him with was when Adrian Bogo got married last year. They were only together for a few weeks but we didn’t really see her at all. She cheated on him to try to make him jealous because he was so focused on work. I don’t think he ever noticed she stopped coming around." She winked at Nick who was listening in curiosity. “It takes a lot for Jack to notice someone. And Skye is something else.”

Her comment brought a smile to Nick’s lips. All he wanted was what was best for Skye, being his sister and all, and he wanted to make sure any future brother-in-law was worthy of her. Being related to Judy was a huge point in the plus column, but he owed it to his big sister to keep his eyes and ears open. She had such rotten luck with todds and dates in general.

"Your sister picked a good one,” Sandra stacked the orders together and passed the slips to Judy for double checking. Taking another tray of fresh cookies from Gideon she headed out to the display counter.

“The best one,” Judy assured. She also took up a tray as she and Nick exchanged one last smile before he got back to his task. Though she almost ran into Sandra who was paused in the doorway, staring intently out the window. Kari was also frozen, her brow furrowed and ears alert, staring intently at the car that parked in front.

“Isn’t that your brother?” the corasc asked. 

Nick and Judy looked past the older mammals, the doe recognizing the beat up SUV. Tom had it since high school and the thing ran on prayers and stubbornness. Nothing anyone could say would make him give that hunk of junk up and he avoided driving long distances specifically so his ride would last longer.

“What’s Tom doing here?” Judy asked to no one in particular. Tom’s dark brown ears were straight as rods, his brows furrowed as he strode to the door of the cafe and marched up to the register. 

Judy maneuvered around the adults to speak with him. But he cut her off before she could open her mouth. 

“Where’s Jack?” he demanded.

“Uhhh….” Her eyes involuntarily looked towards the stairs, his following before he made towards them. Panic filled her, darting around the bar to try to stop him. “Tom! Wait! You can’t go up there!”

Tom ignored his little sister and took the stairs two at a time. Judy was almost caught up when he banged the door open. The sight of his brother half dressed between the legs of a mostly nude predator had him backing up in shock, his nose twitching like mad as he took in the scene. The amorous couple gasped and Jack spun around trying to use his body to keep Skye out of view. His paws snatched up his shirt, which Skye had dropped next to the table after relieving him of it, and passed it to her. She accepted it gratefully with a blush spreading over her ears and cheeks. 

“Tom?” Jack gasped out, frantically trying to redo his belt and pants. Noticing his little sister behind him (along with over half of Perks staff) only made his fluster worse. “What are you doing here? Aren’t you working the market today?”

“Mom and Dad gave me the day off because I told them I had to see you right away.” His brown eyes were focused on the vixen behind his brother, watching her slip the tee-shirt on before hopping off the table to fetch her pants. Jack didn’t care for the appreciative gleam in his brother’s eye. “Maple’s been ranting and raving since she came home this morning about how unbalanced you are.” He met Jack’s gaze, his eyes full of humor with a touch of disbelief. “I’m guessing this is what she was talking about.”

Skye, now fully dressed, turned to face the newcomer with a nervous smile on her muzzle.

"Hi, I'm Skye. I'm Jack's new… GM…" her blush intensified, realizing how their situation must have seemed to his brother. 

Tom bit his lip and pulled an expression that had her confused. Like he was trying very hard not to laugh. 

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Skye," he croaked out. His throat was cleared before he continued. "I'm guessing you're the reason our sister is screaming the burrow down."

Skye narrowed her eyebrows in confusion. She turned to Jack, who was rubbing his temples with his back to their audience. Realizing he now had everyone's attention, the stripped buck tried to furtively adjust his pants. He turned to make eye contact with her.

"What's he talking about?" She demanded. 

"I didn't want to upset you," Jack took a breath and braced himself when Skye's expression became stormy and suspicious. "My sister had stopped by and saw us at the bar the other night. She came to the shop on your day off, we got in a fight, and she stormed out. I didn't tell you because she's a major speciest bitch, Skye, you didn't deserve to be subjected to it."

She didn't hesitate to stride to him, pulling him back into her arms with another kiss. 

"I don't want this to come between you and your family," Skye said as soon as they pulled apart. "This can't destroy everything you worked for."

"Everything I worked for is here in this room." Jack smiled and kissed her again. Pulling back, he gave her a satisfied grin before scowling over her shoulder. "And I would appreciate some boundaries not being broken, thank you very much. "

Tom had been choking on his laughter, leaning on the door frame with Judy patting his back with concern. Nick, Sandra, Kari, Bobbie, and Jon looked between the two brothers. From the bottom of the stairs, Gideon's tentative "Hello?" had them snapping out of it. 

Sandra looked horrified once she remembered the young todd was left alone downstairs. "Be right there Gid!"

Everyone but Nick followed her to rejoin Gideon downstairs. Nick's eyes were filled with suspicion and narrowed in on Tom. The brown buck was starting to compose himself and straighten up, putting his arm around Judy while turning to face their still shirtless brother.

“Sorry!” He said before pressing a kiss to his baby sister’s head. “Judy, why don’t you and your friend head down stairs? I'll be down in a bit.”

Skye felt a bit of protective annoyance sneak down her spine at the action. Her intelectual side knew this mammal was closer to the doe than she was, but close proximity with her made Skye’s sisterly instinct kick in. She must have growled because Jack turned to smile reassuringly at her. Once the door closed, he led Skye to the couch and took a seat next to her. Tom was waved towards the chair and Jack to a breath in anticipation for all the questions. From Tom AND Skye.

“So,” Tom cleared his throat and studied his paws, “How long has this been going on?”

The couple gave each other curious looks.

“I think since day one for me…” Jack answered with a smile.

“Sounds about right.” Skye grinned back and pulled him in for a kiss he happily returned. They shocked Tom more by getting a bit carried away. His shock wore off just as his brother’s paws went up the back of her shirt and he cleared his throat.

“Okay, but what’s the time frame?” He had a bit of an edge to his voice when they parted with embarrassed expressions and even more reluctance.

“Two week-mfpt!” came Judy’s voice before it was muffled with a giggle and soft “Shhh….!”

“Nick!”

“Judy!”

“Down stairs, please!” the trio ordered together. The pair on the other side of the door giggled louder and rushed down the stairs. 

Tom was half turned in his chair facing the door when he began to shake his head. “I heard from Quentin that she was talking to a fox in the city. I’m guessing that’s him?” Jack nodded with a laugh. The situation was really quite ridiculous, but at least Skye was laughing with him. And he was very aware that she was wearing his shirt; it was really doing something to him. Really, REALLY doing something to him.

“Yeah, that’s my brother,” the vixen slumped back into the couch. 

Close enough to Jack so he could pull her into him. It was bizarre for Tom to see his normally uptight brother so infatuated with something other than work. SO bizarre, he had to stand up and shake off the chills he got from the constant state of shock. When he returned to his seat, he took a breath and made his request. 

“Okay, I’m just going to ask you both to go back and just catch me up on what’s going on.” 

Jack grinned at his brother and got up to head for the kitchen. Shooting a quick text to Sandra updating her on the situation, he pulled open the fridge and grabbed three beers. 

“I hope your meter’s paid up,” he said, passing him and Skye a beer each before settling back down with his own. “It’s a long story.”

…………

Greg was hunched over in his tent with every article of clothing he had pulled on. On occasion a drop of water would drip onto his nose, courtesy of the many holes in the roof of his tent. His sleeping bag was drenched but fortunately his clothing was waterproof.

It had been raining non-stop since they had set up camp. They hadn’t even been able to start a fire, getting only as far as setting up shelter before the area was flooded with a late spring storm. Fortunately, they had all been scouts together, and thought to bring rations that didn’t need to be heated.

But that was a small comfort as they gazed miserably out at the pouring rain.

“This sucks.” Greg smiled at the sound of Marco’s voice. The badger’s eyes could be seen glowering at the rain from his own tent.

“Yeah,” agreed Andrew, the meerkat, as Victor (the ferret) laughed next to him. “Whose bright idea was this?”

“Wilde’s,” Victor supplied.

“Said the group of males who claimed camping would help them get in touch with inner predators.” The todd shuddered as a particularly large drop of rain water landed on his nose. Looking up, he groaned as the once invisible tear in the seam now showed a small glimpse on the soggy canopy above them. “Though I’m willing to call a truce in this episode of Male Vs Wild. I mean, if anyone else is interested.”

There was a brief pause before his friends scrambled to their feet to pack up their things. With much slipping and sliding, tents, coolers, and sleeping bags were broken down and tossed in a muddy heap in the car.

“All right,” groaned Marco as he climbed into the driver’s seat, “let’s get the hell out of here. And you animals are cleaning my car when we get back.”

Sighs echoed around the vehicle when the air vent warmed up. They pulled out of the camp site towards the highway, Greg stretching as much as he could in the back and relaxing. Part of him was excited to be going home early. As much as he loved his friends, he found himself wanting a bit more curvier companionship. He couldn’t go back to the bar, on the off chance Duke was there, but he had a few places in mind that wouldn’t look too closely at his fake.

But there was something to be said about vixen he saw at the gas station. She was just the sort of companionship he needed right now. And the fact that she didn’t seem the least bit charmed by him made him pant harder.

Way to be a cliche, Wilde, he thought with a smile as he dozed.

The trip back home seemed to take no time at all. Before they knew it, the wild outskirts of Meadowland became more rural and cultivated before turning into the more familiar streets Savana Central. With rain left behind, the dreary twilight they left behind was now clear and (mostly) dry city nightlife.

After being dropped off in front of his building, Greg lugged his gear up and into the apartment. It was left in a damp heap by the door as the todd savored the silence for a moment before heading towards the bathroom. He sighed in relief when the hot water hit him, soaking into his fur, taking the dirt and grime with it down the drain. Suddenly he felt very tired. The idea of going out and finding some company lost its appeal and a new idea took form. Once he was clean and dry, he fell into his bed and opened his laptop. He scrolled a bit and found what he was looking for; he leaned back and pressed play on his favorite video.

“Okay, Greg!” His dad’s voice came from behind the camera as he focused on his nine year old son in the hospital bed. “How ya feelin’, buddy?”

“Really great, Dad,” he answered, looking exhaustedly into the camera. “Nothing like having your appendix taken out to make a mammal feel alive.” 

The camera shook as Matthew laughed.

“Trust me, bud!” his dad’s voice assured cheerfully. “Someday you're going to watch this and thank me for making it.”

“Oh, honey,” his mother laughed when Matty swung the camera to her. She carried a bag of Greg’s favorite fast food for dinner and set it on his bedside. “Please give it a rest with that thing and help your daughter with your son.” 

On his bed, Greg laughed with tears in his eyes when his father zoomed in on his mother’s rump and whistled. Vivian swished her tail in irritation but there was humor in her voice when she addressed him again.

“Matty, you’re going to scar our children for life.”

“Too late,” Skye chirped from somewhere off screen. 

He could hear himself laughing off camera and the screen zoomed out again and focused on the bedridden kit. This time, Skye had come to stand on the other side of the bed and settled their little brother on the bed with him. The youngest Wilde snuggled next to his big brother and took a burger from his mom.

“I’m just making sure everyone knows who the world’s greatest family is.” The camera was flipped around and showed a close up of Matty’s nose before he adjusted it. The familiar green eyes were as bright as they had been the last time he saw him alive. “I have the world’s greatest family,” he declared. “That’s me, Matthew Wilde.” The camera went back to the Wilde’s eating their food while their patriarch amused himself.

Greg cried but was smiling as he clicked through his saved videos. But in the end it was just salt on his wounds. He felt a tug of loneliness and curled up and closed his eyes. His mind wandered to the vixen in the gas station. She was something else and if he had been in a better mood he would have gone out to find her or a vixen who looked like her. Falling into a fitful sleep, the todd dreamed about his father and their life before that horrible day. 

And part of him desperately hoped he would find what the rest of his family was finding: Peace.

…………..

 It was an interesting day for Tom. A whole new world of firsts that had been busted wide open and it was (if he was being honest with himself) a lot to take in at once. He knew there was a reason why Jack and Judy were so close. Ever since she was small, she and Jack had been like carbon copies of each other. Though she noticeably lacked his skills in the kitchen. But neither of them seem to fit the majority of the stereotypes for rabbits. Jack hated carrots and Judy had less interest in dating than her big brother.

But seeing the two oddballs in the family go ga-ga over foxes was rather… disconcerting. Almost as much as seeing the foxes go ga-ga over them. And even more crazy was Tom could see exactly what Jack saw in Skye. At least, physically. Tom was a normal rabbit in almost every regard and his own pants grew tight at the sight of the beautiful vixen in just her underwear. He wasn’t proud of his reaction, but what’s a guy to do? The vixen was hot! She and Jack made sense.

It was almost three by the time the trio had finished talking and made their way back down stairs. Skye was still wearing his shirt, something Jack was still very aware of. Turning back into the lobby, Kari and Bobby both snorted and giggled behind their paws as they left for the day. Sandra gave them a knowing smirk while Jon was showing Gid how to make different decorations with a piping bag. Nick and Judy were back by the sinks, giggling and washing dishes.

“Sandra!” greeted Tom as he held out a paw to her. “Always a pleasure to see you again.” She nodded and accepted a pawshake as he looked over her shoulder into the kitchen. “Judy? I’m leaving now!”

The doe looked over before dashing towards him to say goodbye. Tom noted the look of disappointment on Nick’s face when she did, but he carried on with his work without complaint. Judy gave her big brother a quick hug and kiss, bouncing back to her friend within seconds of leaving him.

“I’ll miss you, too,” the brown buck mumbled, feeling hurt that she didn’t pay much attention to her big brother. Jack looked over at their sister and shook his head with a smile.

“She’s smitten,” he explained. Tom’s eyebrows went up.

“It seems she’s not the only one smitten.” The brother’s shared a laugh as Skye joined them. Tom smiled at her. “Take care of my brother and sister, okay?”

Skye grinned and stuck out her paw. “Deal.” To her surprise, he batted her paw away and pulled her into a hug.

“Welcome to the family,” he whispered so low, only she could hear. Not even Jack picked it up, though he did see the happy smile on her face when she looked over at him. He was almost out the door when Jack called back to him. 

"Hey, Tom? Let's keep this between us, okay?" Tom and Skye looked at him in confusion. "I want to tell Mom and Dad myself, face to face. With Skye next to me. Soon," he added with a reassuring smile at the vixen. 

The brown buck grinned at the pair and nodded. Giving a final wave, he left for his car. Skye gave Jack a kiss on the cheek, relishing how he pulled her close and nuzzled into her neck. They pulled away from each other to give Tom a final wave though the window as he drove away. Just as they had turned to restart their day, when Brook and David appeared, walking and chatting as they reached the door. Both teens smiled at the couple when they entered.

“Hello, Mr. Hopps,” greeted Brook politely, looking from one to the other. “Hi, Skye. Are Nick and Judy around? We were hoping they might be able to come with us to the Canal district. There’s a boat parade and festival going on.”

The pair in question had spotted their friends not long after they had entered and rushed out to greet them.

“What are you guys doing here!” asked Judy, her voice filled with excitement.

“Boat Parade in the Canal District.” David answered, winking at Nick. “There’s a really good ice cream place nearby. Are you in the mood for some ice cream, Nick?”

The young todd grinned and looked down at the doe. “I think I can go for a scoop.”

Judy rolled her eyes, but smiled and looked over at Jack.

“Can we go? Gideon will love it and it gets us out of your fur for a few hours.” Judy looked over to Gideon through the window, returning the thumbs up he gave her. 

“Imma call my sister and ask her now!” Gideon called out.

“And afterwards,” Brook chimed in, “I was hoping you could sleep over tonight, Judy.”

“And my parents said you can stay the night at my place!” Dave added with a grin. ”Gideon can join, if he wants and his sister’s okay with it.” 

“We’re going to have to check with your parents, but I’m fine with it,” Skye said with a suggestive smile to Jack on her muzzle. He, however, looked concerned and opened his mouth to protest only to get an elbow to the ribs from her. She gave him a look until he realized what she was insinuating.

A night to themselves, no kits, completely uninterrupted and focused on just each other.

“Yup!” He agreed eagerly. “You can go! Have fun, be safe, have fun!”

Jack double checked Gideon’s work and spoke to both Daisy and Brook’s mother before allowing the kits to leave for the day. There was electricity in the air as they completed the work day and closed up, broken briefly by Cami when she barged into the cafe, shrieking about her master plan to get rid of Bellwether for good. She didn’t elaborate beyond a cackle and victory dance, her patient husband waiting outside the cafe doors, shaking his head with amusement. Michael gave Jack and Skye a small wave and smile before dutifully following his wife back to their restaurant. Once they were out of sight, their heated gazes allowed them to go on auto mode as their employees bid them good night. Now, with the lights off in the cafe and darkness surrounding them, they calmly took the stairs up to the apartment.

But all sense of restraint and decorum flew out the window before they had crossed the threshold.

……………………….

Maple was still fuming. Pacing the house, half completing tasks, slamming things around, and snapping at anyone who came near her. Including her parents. Bonnie Hopps was massaging her temples at the kitchen table as she tried to figure out how to handle her daughter. One of her other daughters who was helping with dinner put a glass of water in front of her with cucumber and mint added to it.

“Here you go, Mama,” she said with a kiss to her head.

“Thank you, baby.” The matriarch reached for glass and smiled at her husband entering from outside, Ben following closely behind him.  

“Look who just pulled up,” Stu greeted happily. Bonnie smiled and stood to greet her son, when she was stopped by the cold, hard voice of Maple.

“Where the hell have you been?” Maple stomped into the kitchen and glared at her brother. Her siblings in the kitchen paused to gaze at her in amazement. Swearing was forbidden in the warren; both Bonnie and Stu were very militant about it. But neither had the opportunity to reprimand her before she plowed on, unbothered by her words. “Why do all the bucks in this warren think they can just run off and do whatever they want? What the fuck is the matter with you?! You’re just like Jack and, if you’re not careful, you’re going to end up just like him! A pathetic loser who can only find other bits of trash to tolerate him! Do you want to be trash like he is, Tom? Should I just drag you out to the curb and wait for pick up?”

It was well known in Bunnyburrow that Tom Hopps was the most even tempered rabbit in the area. No one, not even his parents, knew of a time he had lost his temper. He frustrated most bullies because they couldn’t get a rise out of him and it was usually he who stepped up to calm any squabbling within the family. The buck was just so damn calm and likable. When Maple wasn’t breathing fire, even she got along with him. And she was his opposite in nearly every regard.

But Tom was only mammal. And he wasn’t sure why he became enraged, but he did. Like everyone else at the Perks, he had recognized how good Skye was Jack. Even if it was just an infatuation destined to sizzle out. The two were consenting adults who were enjoying each other's company. Jack had seemed to skip over the doe crazy faze of his adolescence and dived right into workaholic. Up until his first visit home from college, Tom thought he was still a virgin. Walking in on him and a neighbor doe was shocking. But what he had now made that seem vanilla in comparison. 

That reaction from Maple was the limit for him. Tom was not going to sit back and listen to her insult his brother and the perfectly lovely vixen he had chosen to be his mate.

“You need to shut the fuck up, Maple!” That earned an audible gasp from the kitchen. “Just because you’re bitter no one wants to touch your fun parts doesn’t mean you can rag on him for finding someone that’s willing to touch his. Even if she is a-” The horror Tom felt at his inability to keep in the next word was palatable. “-fox!”

Bonnie and Stu stood staring at him with their jaws dropped. Maple looked equal parts furious and smug. Everyone else took one look at their parents and filed out of the kitchen. Most pulled out their cell phones and started taping away. Tom knew within minutes, everyone in Bunnyburrow would know about this. He buried his face in his paws, hoping he was in a bad dream and trying to keep his tears to himself. Jack had asked him for only one thing in their entire history as brothers and Tom failed him.

“What do you mean she’s a fox?” Bonnie’s voice was deadly quiet.

Maple chimed in, in her most viciously smug voice. “She’s a smelly, evil, horrible-”

“I don’t remember asking you a godsdamn thing, young lady!” Maple was shocked into silence by the harsh comment. Her mother’s eyes flashed angrily at her. “Leave the kitchen.” The younger doe gulped but didn’t move.

“NOW!” Stu’s voice made her jump and dash for the door. He strode over to the kitchen table and yanked out a chair. “Sit!” he ordered. 

Tom didn’t think to disobey. Once he was sat and joined by his parents, he braced himself for their questions. And question him they did. He wasn’t sure what happened to his resolve and backbone as he answered every question without resistance. After they had interrogated him, they sat in stunned silence before turning to each other.

“You have to call him,” Stu decided to his wife. “If I do, I’m going to scream at him and drag him AND Judy home by their ears.”

Bonnie nodded and pulled out her phone.

“Wait!” Tom begged. His mother paused to give him a very nerve wracking glare. “Please, just wait until morning. Give yourself time to cool off and at least meet her! She’s really great and has this adorable little brother who Judy has a huge crush on! It’s really, really sweet-”

“She’s bringing more foxes around our baby?” Bonnie practically screamed. She stood from her seat, trembling in fury and panting in nearly uncontrolled rage and pulled her phone from her apron pocket. “And you want us to wait UNTIL MORNING to call him? Are you out of your fucking mind?!”

This time, some tears did escape his eyes. “Please….” he begged, hoping to reach them. “Just wait. You know how Jack is if you try to strong arm him with anything. If you don’t want to lose your son, please just sleep on it.”

Stu and Bonnie glared at Tom, both standing now, Bonnie’s thumb poised over Jack’s number. 

“Fine,” she decided. She navigated away from the call screen and turned abruptly to leave the kitchen. “Stu, deal with him, please.”

Their son watched her stride away from him before he focused on his equally furious father. 

“You need to find somewhere else to stay,” the patriarch ordered with ice in his tone. “If you’re going to support this type of behavior, you’re not going to do it under my roof. Get out.”

Brown met brown as both bucks marinated in silence. Tom felt a numbness seep into him as he stood from his seat and walked back to the kitchen door. His paw fished his phone out as he turned the knob. He needed to warn his brother so he can at least be prepared for the fallout about to come his way.

“Leave your phone.” The younger buck stumbled in shock and looked back at Stu. “Your mother and I paid for it. We would like it back. Now.”

His eyes looked down at his brother’s number and contact picture and he swallowed. With a sullen nod, he turned and set the phone on the table before turning to leave again. Trudging to his car, he climbed behind the wheel and broke down. There was no way Jack or Judy would ever forgive him for this.

…………………..

Skye smiled down at Jack underneath her. His paws travelled up her thighs, sitting up once he got to her hips and kissing her. Pleasure, centered in the apex of her legs, ignited and warmth flowed through her, one of his thumbs moving gently, yet firmly, in place. Her paws cupped his face to deepen their kiss.

“You feel so good,” she whimpered when they parted. He thrust slowly and kissed down her neck while cupping her breast. 

“Gods, you’re so beautiful.” Jack slid his paws to her cheeks, wanting to see her pleasure drunk expression as he moved with her. 

He had always enjoyed sex, but truth be told, he could either take it or leave. With Skye, however, he had no idea how he lived without it. Without her. He felt he had been waiting his entire life to find her and now that she was in his arms, his world finally made sense. HE finally made sense. This realization had his passion overflowing, causing him to roll until he rested in the valley of her legs and showed her how much he wanted her.

And her moans and begs for more drowned out the constant pinging and ringing of the cell phone still stuck in his pants pocket by the front door.

[thejustmaiden]

Jaken = Rin's Dad?

Okay, is this how a daughter treats their so-called father?

Most definitely not.

Rin and Jaken's relationship clearly screams of your typical sibling rivalry punctuated with cute and silly moments of playful bickering.

Yes, Jaken may technically be her main provider, but that doesn't necessarily equate to him being more of a father than Sesshomaru. If anything, he demonstrates more of a brotherly love towards her. As we all know, parents (which Sesshomaru embodies more based on real life patterns and parallels) will leave their older more capable children in charge of looking after their younger brothers and sisters. In this case, that would mean making Jaken responsible for watching over Rin and protecting her if need be. Ah-Un offers protection, too. Think of it as Jaken as the big brother and Ah-Un as the family dog who are babysitting while Sesshomaru as the parent of the household is away at work or taking care of business. I mean, they literally fit that description to a tee and I'm dying at the accuracy of it all! 🤣👌

[Quick! Someone write up a modern au where Sesshomaru finally gets out to have a nice date night but everything goes wrong in the most spectacular way. Like maybe Rin and Jaken catch a ride on Ah-Un to go spy!]

I recently revisited some episodes from The Final Act, and I couldn't believe how many moments like this there were where Rin got after Jaken or when she would "put him in his place" so to speak. Obviously, all of it is mostly harmless. I was only surprised by how often it occurred, not to mention how Jaken would just stand there and take it. Towards a supposed father figure, Rin's behavior is downright unacceptable. There's a certain level of respect a child is expected to show their parents/guardians, and that's just not what I'm witnessing here between them. Like at all.

Rather their dynamic has the nature of some sibling relationships like I mentioned above. So I really wish fans would stop pretending otherwise, because based on what we know of father-daughter relationships- healthy ones at least- they don't appear anything like what Jaken and Rin have. If you could please provide me other examples of where we've seen similar portrayals in fiction or in real life, then perhaps I can get on board.

Look, that doesn't have to mean that because Jaken isn't her father then Sesshomaru must be. They can both be her caretakers without necessarily filling that traditional father role. I'm just saying that if we're going to start assigning titles to characters, let's make sure we are accurate and truthful in our assessments. If you're going to label anyone Rin's dad, then it needs to be Sesshomaru. Jaken doesn't have precedence over him in terms of fatherly attributes, that just wouldn't make sense.

After all, this isn't about what you want to see, this is about what Rin very likely sees. It's safe to assume that she views Sesshomaru more like a father than she does Jaken. She knows she's safe with him (broadly speaking lol) and that he'll come for her no matter what. That sense of security and comfort is what a child seeks and what they should always feel in a parent's presence. She trusts and even idolizes him, just as a young and innocent child tends to do with their parents. At that age, parents are perfect and could do no wrong in their child's eyes. Idk about you, but this describes perfectly how Rin is around Sesshomaru.

Rin adores him and will follow him anywhere- yes, even into danger! That's what the innocence and unconditional love of a child will bring them to do if necessary. Fortunately, at the end of The Final Act we learn Sesshomaru takes Kaede's advice when he realizes that leaving Rin with her in the village is in her best interests. That way she'd be able to lead a more normal and safer life alongside other humans. Remember, Sessrin shippers, that doesn't mean he wasn't still a part of her life and didn't witness her become a young woman over the years right before his very eyes. Therefore, if they eventually do become romantically involved, then most if not all of those gifts had intimate and seductive intentions and it essentially constitutes as child grooming.

I understand from a Sessrin shipper's point of view why it'd be so much easier to claim Jaken as the father. In doing so, they diminish Sesshomaru's role in her upbringing. By refusing to acknowledge the real role he had in helping raise Rin (short periods can be crucial and impressionable too esp. in a child's early years so yes they did assist in raising her not only Kaede), these shippers are better able to justify how their filial-like relationship evolved into a romantic one. So yeah, I get it, if I were a Sessrin shipper I'd probably do the same. It's one of the more plausible arguments available to them, after all. "Let's pin Jaken as the father to fend off antis!" is the best chance they've got, but even so, it's still not good enough. But if you insist Jaken is indeed like a father to Rin, then Sesshomaru is most certainly one too. Who says she can't have two fathers anyway?

The thing is however much you want to deny or downplay what Sesshomaru truly means to Rin and vice versa, nothing will ever change or hide the truth of the matter. Please, stop acting like they're only traveling companions and nothing more. Some of y'all even go so far as to say that they're like strangers. Knowing potentially little about a person is not equal to a lack of love and affection. Making big assumptions such as this to defend your ship is actually doing you more harm than good. Let me elaborate.

According to your reasoning, if that's all Rin ever was to him was a companion and Sesshomaru had no real attachment to her, then what precisely is the basis of your ship? Recall that Adult!Rin doesn't exist yet, thus we have no real idea what she will be like or if she's even alive. So how can you make comments like that but then go on later to say "they have such a unique and unbreakable bond" or "only Rin can be the mother because she's the only human he ever cared for" if all that time spent traveling together didn't amount to much in the first place like you claimed to believe beforehand? Do you see how your rationalizing is confusing?

Contrary to what some of you may think, I'm not just saying all this because I'm an anti and I'm obligated to disagree with you, or whatever other excuse you want to tell yourself. Believe it or not, I'm attempting to give as unbiased and objective of an analysis I can based on widely accepted interpretations of family dynamics, development, and any history we know of.

Of course I respect that at times fans will perceive things differently since that's bound to happen. What's hard for me to wrap my head around however is the unwillingness of some fans- not exclusively Sessrin shippers- to apply basic common sense and sound judgment to their observations and deductions.

Looking at all our facts, then taking the small handful of scenes Sesshomaru and Rin do share together into account, one can logically conclude that their dynamic is akin to one found in a typical parent-child relationship. If you still fail to recognize Sesshomaru as a parent to Rin, then that's fine too. In the end, that won't really change the fact that he'd still take on a role resembling an adult figure overseeing a young child's care and protection. Be it as a vassal, guardian, what have you. Plus, nobody is saying here that Sesshomaru doesn't make mistakes regarding Rin's general well-being, but so do all parents. Overall, I think the majority of us agree that Rin is in good hands. Whether it's in his direct company or in his occasional supervision from his frequent visits to the village.

In other words, it doesn't really matter what exact title you assign him in relation to Rin, as the distribution of power is all inherently the same with any and all adult-child relationships. That bond never changes once you've established it either, seeing as it's a special kind of connection one can only form with a child and a child alone.

I was a teacher for a few years, and speaking from personal experience, you don't need to be a parent, per se, to take on a role of authority in a child's life. I know without a doubt that I could never and will never view any of those kids I taught in a sexual/romantic light later down the road; yes, not even once they become grown-ups who are independent and more than capable of making their own decisions. Those of you who disagree are usually missing the whole point though, because we're not trying to dictate what Adult!Rin can and cannot do like many tend to accuse of us doing. This isn't a question of taking away from her autonomy nor does it fall under "purity culture," which is why people shouldn't continue jumping to these outrageous conclusions and really listen for a change. You're deflecting from the real issue here when you choose to misinterpret what we're saying by ignoring the problem we're actually referring to. You cannot present a valid counter-argument if you persist in twisting our words.

Bottom line: once these kids become old enough to pursue a sexual/romantic relationship, of course they have that right if they're ready. All we're trying to say is you guys ought to stop pushing forward this it's-completely-normal-to-want-to-bang-your-adoptive-dad-since-you're-an-adult-and-can-do-as-you-please agenda and not expect backlash. Ship it if you want, but please stop acting like their romance would be the epitome of a pure and healthy relationship.

Sesshomaru may not wear his heart on his sleeve, but it's foolish to presume he didn't actually care about Rin during their whole time together just because he didn't openly express his feelings until the very end. Surely everybody can comprehend that people handle and process their emotions differently. The way Sesshomaru chooses to is completely valid for the most part, so let's cut him some slack regarding this already.

What I'm trying to get at is that any child whose life you played an influential role in will always be a kid in a lot ways to you even when they're old and wrinkly. Just as they will always picture you as the loved one who guided and protected them when they were most vulnerable and couldn't always fend for themselves. Can't we relate this to children we know personally and apply it accordingly?

Finally, I want to end on this note. Could you kindly take a look at these two images below for a second?

The reason I ask is because of something I recently read that's relevant to the topic. There was this pro-sessrin tweet I saw that stated Rin trying to take care of Sesshomaru when they first met is what a mom would do for a child, which in their opinion, translates to Rin being more like a mother than a daughter if anything.

First off: are you freaking kidding me????

Seriously, so now children aren't allowed to tend to their sick or injured parents?! Parents are apparently superhuman and shouldn't be offered a helping hand from a child, even if they mean well and want to help their parent who's in pain?? Now this Twitter user was mostly being a smartass, but at the same time, it was evident they genuinely thought they offered a valid enough point that warranted no further explanation or clarification.

Secondly, by saying this Sessrin fans don't seem to realize that in actuality they're contradicting themselves and proving the point we've been trying to make all along. Glancing at the first picture and moving down to the second, the role of the one being cared for and the caretaker is reversed. So then by their own logic, Sesshomaru IS in fact like a father to Rin.

What it comes down to is the names you give to the roles these characters play aren't as crucial as the dynamic they share. The specific characteristics of that dynamic are what define the importance of said role, not so much the name in the role itself. So real father or not, Sesshomaru and Rin clearly mean a lot to each other. Close relationships are defined and solidified by the devotion and belonging they have to one another, not solely by the duration of time spent together and their proximity.

Well, that's a wrap! I hope you guys got something outta this blog, and that you enjoyed or found some portions of it interesting. I would love to hear your thoughts on the subject from this fandom, but only engage in conversation if you plan to be respectful. Thank you!

[geeks-universe]

& To All a Goodnight.

Dean Winchester x Reader

Request:  For requests could you do a dean x reader where they spend Christmas together and it's a lot of fluff?😳😳

Requested by: Anonymous

Holidays were never really celebrated at the bunker.

If you were being honest, most of the time you weren’t even sure what day it was, let alone preparing for festivities regarding some day that was probably tied to some horrible historical event.

But, if you were being more honest, you really did love Christmas.

It wasn’t so much the religious connotations- which had grown considerably more complicated when you considered your relationship with angels- but more so the idea of holiday cheer, and an unexplainable magic in the air. As a kid, you had loved Christmas. You celebrated from the beginning of November, right up until the day itself, baking cookies, watching cheesy holiday movies, and decorating every square inch of the house.

After losing your parents, and the subsequent descent into the life of a hunter, you hadn’t really been able to celebrate. It wasn’t that you didn’t want to, though it was considerably a difficult time for the first couple years, but you hadn’t had a chance. You were constantly on the go. The closest thing to a home you had was the warm embrace of Dean Winchester and the backseat of the Impala, which Sam had argued he was too big for. (He was, but you liked sitting shotgun.)

With the bunker though, you had an opportunity to celebrate like you hadn’t in years. 

And you did.

Sam and Dean had left for the week. Well, five days maximum, if Dean were to be trusted, but you knew him well enough to know that meant seven days minimum. You had cracked a couple of ribs on the last hunt, and with Castiel MIA, you were stuck healing the old-fashioned way.

Never one to be cooped up for an excessive amount of time, you had gone all out with the decorations. Every room had an overwhelming amount of Christmas cheer, save Dean and Sam’s room.

And the tree!

Oh my goodness, the tree!

You had gone out and got a fresh tree, straight from a Christmas tree farm. Red and gold adorned the green needles, creating a homey atmosphere among the living room typically used to unwind after rough cases. You decided on a star to put atop the tree, as opposed to an angel. (It was bad enough you had them popping up in real time, you didn’t want them to ruin the Christmas cheer.)

You hadn’t stopped there, either. You bought and wrapped both Sam and Dean enough gifts to fill out the empty base of the tree. Dean had confided in you once that he couldn’t even remember what a normal Christmas was like, so you were determined to give the boys the best one yet.

And, when four whole days had passed of decorating, you moved onto baking. Chocolates, cookies, pies- you name it. You had gone slightly overboard, but the boys still weren’t back yet, and Christmas was slowly creeping closer.

Would they be back in time?

You certainly hoped so. They hadn’t given you an update in nearly a full day, but you had a 48 hour rule- 48 hours before any of you unleashed hell upon whatever case the one who hadn’t contacted was working on.

Though, after putting away all of the goodies, you’d snuggled up on the couch and put on a cheesy, and wholly predictable, Christmas romantic comedy while waiting for your boys. You were worried, and it took three and a half movies before you were able to fall asleep, but eventually, to the gentle lull of Christmas music, your eyes slipped shut on Christmas Eve.

Sam and Dean were practically dragging themselves into the bunker by the time they made it home. It was a long haul back, and they hadn’t even managed to check in with you.

Dean had been adamant about making it back before Christmas. He had been holding onto a special gift for you for months, and maybe it was a little cheesy, but he couldn’t wait to see your face when you opened it.

“Wow.”

Sam had been the first to step back into the bunker, and Dean couldn’t see over his giraffe of a younger brother, so he was left to wonder what “wow” meant. He wasn’t left waiting for long though, because as soon as he got through the door, he saw the decorations all placed precariously throughout the room, making the bunker feel a little more like a home.

“So much for rest,” Dean muttered, already preparing his worried, yet heartfelt speech about why injuries were not to be taken lightly.

“That’s exactly what I need,” Sam hid a yawn behind his hand. “I’m heading to bed, I’ll see you both in the morning.”

Dean waved him off, following the string of multi-colored lights to the living room. You had a habit of waiting on the couch for him when he was gone, like you thought you could stay awake a few extra hours just in case he made it home early. It brought a smile to his face.

As expected, you were stretched out of the couch, clothed in an old, oversized t-shirt of his. His blanket was wrapped snugly around your body, and the corner of your lips were pulled up like you were having a good dream.

Unable to help himself, he slipped his phone from his pocket and snapped a quick photo of you. He had an album in his camera roll, labeled with just a heart, that consisted solely of the photos that made him fall a little more in love with you.

It was created the day after he met you, and there were already several hundred photos in it.

“(Y/N),” Dean called softly, careful rousing you. As a hunter, you were sometimes a little too aggressive if you were suddenly woken up.

“Dean,” you whispered back, your eyes still shut, but the beginnings of consciousness seeping in.

“Hey, sweetheart,” he replied, dropping down onto his knees to get closer to you.

By the time you opened your eyes, he was right there, running his thumb along your cheek.

“How’d the hunt go?” You inquired, leaning into his touch.

His lips quirked up.

“A few bruises, Sammy’s hair got a little messed up, nothing serious.”

You breathed a laugh, reaching up to cradle his head with your hands. He kissed your wrist as you did so.

“Looks like Santa got here early,” Dean commented after a moment, nodding his head in the direction of the tree.

“Guess so,” you stated, failing to keep the smile off your lips. “Hope you’ve been good this year.”

His brows raised, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

“Darling,” he drawled, “You and I both know I haven’t.”

You giggled at his silly joke, moving to sit up so you could embrace him a little better. He took the sudden vacancy as an opportunity to slip into the spot beside you. His arms wrapped more firmly around your waist, tugging you onto his lap.

“I missed you,” you hummed, nuzzling into the crook of his neck.

“Of course you did,” he teased, pressing his lips to your cheek. He stayed there for a moment, letting the warmth of your skin seep into the cold whispers the days without you had brought.

“I’ve got a present for you,” he said suddenly, shifting a bit to pull the gift from his pocket.

“I think you’re supposed to open gifts on Christmas,” you reminded him, listening to the strong beat of his heart against your head.

“I mean, it’s passed midnight,” he argued, holding a small box out in the palm of his hand.

It was made of wood, and had a symbol you didn’t quite understand carved into the smooth mahogany, but you took it with a smile nonetheless.

“You didn’t have to get me a gift,” you stated. You had meant for this Christmas to be all about him and Sam.

“Open it,” he urged, ignoring your objection without hesitation.

You rolled your eyes good-naturedly, popping the box open with a soft click.

 It was a necklace. The chain and pendant were both a shiny silver, though the pendant was shaped like a compass. You gasped, reaching out to run a finger along the craftsmanship.

“It’s beautiful,” you told him. “Why the compass?”

Even in the dim light provided by the Christmas decorations, you could see the red on his cheeks.

“So you’ll always find your way home to me.”

It was very much an un-Dean thing to say. He had, in recent months, been exceedingly comfortable with you, and had allowed himself to say some of what he had hidden under his gruff, macho exterior.

It was endearing.

He clicked his tongue against his teeth.

“It’s made from the knife you stabbed me with.”

While that sentence would sound totally bonkers from anyone else, and honestly make you question whether you should be in jail, the story wasn’t quite as cut and dry as Dean made it seem.

You and Sam had to perform a ritual to force the creature possessing Dean out of his body. In order to do so, you’d had to get some amount of blood. However, the creature had made it nearly impossible, and in the end you’d sent the blade through his hand.

Cas had been there to heal him up, but Dean hadn’t let you live that one down ever since. It had been used in one too many guilt trips.

“I was-”

“Saving my life, I know, I know,” he interrupted with a laugh.

You lightly pushed against his shoulder.

“You’re a jerk,” you claimed, admiring the gift. It was really pretty, and the details were immaculate.

“But you love me,” he sing-songed.

“I do,” you agreed, leaning up to kiss his jaw. His eyes slipped shut as you did so. “Somehow.”

“Funny,” he retorted dryly. “Now let’s get you to bed, since you obviously didn’t rest while we were gone.”

Yeah, you were definitely expecting some sort of a lecture on your inability to rest, despite being injured. At least he’d let you cuddle some before launching into it.

[silverlightqueen]

Monsters

silverlightqueen’s SKZ Scarefest

ot8magicalcreature!skz x readers from all 8 fics - comedy, fluff, angst, basically just tying up the loose ends from all the fics with the setting of Jackson’s famed party lol

Word Count: 16.2k+ (she’s a monster lmao)

Summary - Jackson’s (in)famous Halloween party is finally here, after months of being hyped up, anticipated, and labelled ‘the Party of the Year’. He’s invited everyone who’s anyone - the guestlist is exclusive to say the least. Werewolves and vampires, wizards and witches, angels and demons (and demon hunters), living creatures and dead; magical folk of all kind are on their way to Jackson’s party on All Hallows Eve. Oh, and a few humans too.

Warnings: explicit discussion of sex, alcohol and mention of drugs, I think that’s it but please let me know if you noticed that I missed something!

a/n: and here is the ninth and final instalment of my SKZ Scarefest! I know it’s not actually Halloween anymore lmao but uh better late than never ig? I’ve had so much fun writing this series, and this part was actually my favourite to write, even though it’s taken me soooo long. I really hope you guys enjoy reading this (make sure you’ve read the previous parts first, or reach out to me to ask for a summary for any parts you haven’t read - this part won’t make sense if you haven’t read all of the others too!). a big thank you to @silverlightprincess for being the best, and to everyone that’s interacted with all of the previous parts, I really appreciate it. and now, this is silverlightqueen signing off on my SKZ Scarefest! x

taglist: @kodzu-ken @cloudsgathering @silverlightprincess 

@peculiarskidz @cararoserae @t-tbinnie​ @liatlyn​ you guys didn’t ask to be tagged but you’ve shown interest in this part I think so I thought I’d tag you guys anyway lmao sorry if you didn’t want to be tagged lol

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‘Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, angels and demons, and everything in between! Before we get into this, I wanna lay out a couple ground rules. Wolves and vamps, if you can’t get along, stay away from each other. Wizards, witches and fairies, keep your magic away from the drinks. My bedroom is off limits, unless I take you up there myself. Everyone’s an equal here, so I don’t care if you’re a king of hell or some shit – in Jackson’s house, you’re the same as everyone else, so you better treat each other like it. And have fun, motherfuckers! Let’s get this party started!’

Jackson finishes his very eloquent speech with a loud ‘whoop’ into the DJ’s microphone, voice echoing out into the massive living room of the manor house, and everyone cheers in response. I can’t help but laugh, rolling my eyes amusedly as my friends, dressed in our matching Pink Ladies’ outfits, scream and shout, bumping their cups together enthusiastically. ‘Come on, y/n! Cheer up!’ Yeji practically bellows into my ear, and I wince at the volume of her voice over the music blasting out from the speakers. ‘I’m fine!’ I reply, the girls all raising their eyebrows at me. ‘You’re not even drinking. If you’re gonna be heartbroken, at least be drunk heartbroken!’ Chaeryeong says, the girls cheering at her words, and I laugh at them, trying not to think about the reason that I’m heartbroken. ‘Listen, y/n, Hyunjin ain’t shit! You’re better off without him! He’s fucking ancient, anyway! You need a young sexy thing instead! Fuck him!’ Ryujin exclaims, and I grin at her words. She’s right; he’s probably off feeding on some girl dressed as a sexy nurse or devil in a club, and I’m here moping at the party of the year. Fuck that.

‘Someone get me a drink!’ I say, the girls cheering loudly. ‘Yuna, get her a drink! Wait, no, you stay away from the drinks. I’ll get her a drink,’ Lia says, all of us laughing as she stumbles towards the kitchen, already a little tipsy. ‘I hate seeing you like this! You’re supposed to be my dancing partner,’ Yuna says, sitting down next to me, and I give her a sad smile. ‘I know. I’m sorry. I just can’t get him off my mind. I feel like such an idiot,’ I say, and she shakes her head, scrunching up her nose. ‘Don’t be silly, you’re not an idiot. He’s the idiot for leaving – you’re the best thing that would’ve ever happened to him,’ she says kindly, my heart swelling. ‘You’re so sweet, Yuna,’ I say, throwing my arms around her, but I don’t hear her reply, my focus shifting to the front door where I see Chan walk in, immediately catching Yeji’s eyes, and the two of them wave at each other across the room. Seungmin and Jisung follow Chan in, and I guess Hyunjin’s gonna be there too, with the rest of them. ‘Fuck. I need to go,’ I say, not wanting to see him just yet (I’m far too sober), so I detach myself from Yuna and jump up from the sofa, quickly dodging my way around people to get into the kitchen. ‘y/n!’ Lia exclaims when I pass her, ‘I’ve got your drink here!’

‘I’ll have it if she won’t!’ Jisung calls out to the girl in the Grease Pink Ladies jacket stood beside us, watching her friend rush into the kitchen. ‘Oh, uh… yeah. Here,’ the girl says, handing the cup to Jisung who thanks her with a wink, and she rolls her eyes amusedly, heading back to her friends. ‘You flirt,’ Ryujin laughs, Jisung smirking at her as he takes a sip from the drink. ‘More like slut. Whoring himself out for a drink,’ Hyunjin teases the boy, who shoves him, the two of them getting into a little fight, and Chan just sighs, looking away from the two of them with a hand raised beside his face, as though to block them from his sight.

It’s been just over a week since the boys first stumbled into the diner, and this is already the fifth time I’ve seen them. They came into the diner again a couple days later, and then again, and then another time, when Chan asked if we’d go to Jackson’s party with them. It’s a full moon tonight, so they’re gonna be disappearing in a couple hours, and then making a reappearance a bit later than that. That was their excuse for not wearing costumes, but I’m not sure I’m buying it. We decided to dress up as Harry Potter characters, us girls in the Hogwarts robes, and we already got some cute pictures at Ryujin and Yeji’s apartment before the boys came to pick us up. The girls have already started developing relationships with the boys too, and I can see us becoming one big friendship group.

With regards to Chan and I, though… things haven’t progressed in the slightest. I texted him, and we’ve been messaging, but he hasn’t made a move or anything! He’s the perfect gentleman, which is great, but also sucks, because I just want him to be forward and tell me if he’s into me. But I’ve decided not to say anything, just in case he isn’t actually into me, and I’ve misconstrued everything.

‘Oh, God, the vamps are here,’ Minho murmurs, all of the boys grumbling as they watch the vampires walk in and join the Pink Ladies girl and her Pink Ladies friends. ‘Ugh, look at them, all of them in all black. They look like they’re going to a funeral or something,’ Changbin spits out, and I exchange a glance with Chan, the boy rolling his eyes. ‘Don’t even look in their direction, guys. I don’t want anything to start, especially on a full moon. So stop looking,’ Chan says calmly, and the boys all look away, muttering under their breaths. ‘If I catch any of them giving me a funny look, I’m not holding back,’ Jisung threatens, Chan sighing wearily as I hold back a laugh. ‘Honestly. Not one peaceful party with you idiots,’ Seungmin complains, and Jisung lets out a scandalised noise. ‘Idiots? Who are you calli-’ ‘You. He’s calling you an idiot, Jisung,’ Jeongin clarifies, Jisung turning his scowl to the youngest now. ‘Are you siding with the vamps?’ he demands, everyone sighing. ‘No one’s siding with anyone. Nothing’s even happened. Can you relax?’ I say amusedly, and Jisung looks at me with a frown.

‘I hope you’re not trying to boss me around, y/n. You’re forgetting that you’re human,’ Jisung says warningly, and I roll my eyes at his empty threat. ‘And you’re forgetting something too,’ Felix says in a sing-song voice, looking amused, and Jisung’s eyes suddenly widen, flitting to Chan. He doesn’t say anything, and neither does Chan, the latter looking at the former serenely, and Jisung seems to relax under Chan’s chilled gaze. ‘What?’ Chaeryeong says suddenly, everyone’s eyes turning to her. ‘What?’ Hyunjin asks, and she rolls her eyes. ‘What did Jisung forget?’ she asks, and I won’t lie – I’d quite like to know the answer to that too. They keep doing this – one of them will say something cryptic and they’ll all look at each other and then go silent. ‘Oh, it doesn’t matter,’ Hyunjin says, us girls exchanging an exasperated glance. ‘Fine. Whatever,’ Chaeryeong sighs, the group falling silent at that. ‘Anyway… I’m gonna get a drink. Does anyone want anything?’ Minho asks, getting up from where he’s perched on the sideboard, and I raise a hand. ‘Can you get me a cup of Echo Falls please?’

‘God, these humans drink some weak shit. Echo Falls is practically flavoured water,’ I say to Felix, the boy rolling his eyes. ‘Stop eavesdropping on their conversations.’ ‘I can’t help it. You know I’ve got good hearing,’ I say, and Felix just gives me an amused smile. ‘You should be focusing on me.’ ‘You’re being boring, though. You won’t dance with me,’ I complain, pouting as I flick his plastic red devil horns, and he raises an eyebrow at me. ‘I’ve already told you why. If we dance together, you won’t keep your hands to yourself, and one of the other angels will see us and go snitching to God. I want you to speak to her before anyone else does,’ Felix explains for, like, the tenth time, and I roll my eyes at him. ‘I will speak to her. But is it that big of a deal if she hears about it from someone else beforehand? No. I just wanna dance with my boyfriend without worrying about anything,’ I whine, and his lips curl into a smile, eyes sparkling.

‘Did you just call me your boyfriend?’ he asks, and I realise that, yes, I did, and my face heats up a little. ‘No.’ ‘Are you sure?’ ‘I didn’t.’ ‘I think you did.’ ‘I think you’re hearing things.’ ‘Hmm, I’m not so sure about that,’ he teases me, and I roll my eyes, trying not to show him how embarrassed I am. ‘Whatever. Maybe I did. Am I wrong?’ I ask, and he grins at me, pulling me down from the arm of his armchair into his lap, and I’m surprised at the sudden display of affection. ‘Of course you aren’t. My girlfriend is never wrong,’ he murmurs with a grin, tilting his head up to press a gentle kiss to my lips, and I practically melt into him.

I break away a moment later, grabbing his hand and climbing up from the seat, pulling him up with me. ‘If you can kiss me, you can dance with me,’ I grin, dragging him towards where people are in a big throng, dancing along to the loud music pulsing out into the room. I wrap my arms around his neck, his arms coming around my waist, and we instantly begin dancing, bodies pressed close as we roll and wind against each other, the smiles never leaving our faces. Dancing with him like this is so… mundane, so human. To anyone else watching, we’re a boy and a girl dancing together, and that’s all. It feels like the most simple happiness, one I haven’t experienced for a long time. And one that gets cut short very quickly.

I blink, and suddenly Felix is no longer in my arms, and I’m no longer at Jackson’s party either, the air around me a startling silence. Instead, I’m stood in an office, God sat at the desk opposite me. She’s leaning back in her seat, her eyes on me, inspecting me, almost picking me apart, and I feel a little bit of panic flare inside me. I’m not prepared for this now – I’m halfway to being drunk on tequila shots.

‘Are you dressed as an angel?’ she asks amusedly, and I nod, feeling sheepish now in my little white dress, wings pinned onto the back of it, and my wire halo headband. ‘Quite ironic. Such a crude depiction, these humans have of my angels. Though… I do like your dress,’ she says softly, and I’m flattered. If God likes my dress, it must be good, right? Or maybe it’s not. I mean… I thought this was sexy and revealing, but if God likes it, it’s probably not as sexy or revealing as I thought. Shame.

‘Did someone snitch?’ I ask bluntly, and she lets out a gentle laugh, the sound melodious and light. ‘Yes. Somebody… snitched.’ ‘Who?’ ‘I’m snitching if I tell you,’ she says with a small smile, and I roll my eyes. ‘Can’t you just tell me?’ ‘It was Seungmin.’ ‘That little shit,’ I mutter, sighing in annoyance. ‘Felix didn’t make me aware of your relationship.’ ‘I know. I told him I’d speak to you about it.’ ‘You speak to me? Why not him? He’s here every day. You… are not,’ she says pointedly, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. ‘I know, but he was nervous, so I said I’d handle it.’ ‘And how will you handle it?’ she asks amusedly, leaning forward with her elbows on the desk. ‘By asking for your permission.’

She looks quite taken aback at my answer, raising an eyebrow in surprise. ‘Asking my permission?’ ‘Yeah. We assumed you wouldn’t be too impressed if one of your angels pursues a relationship with a demon.’ ‘I wouldn’t be impressed if the circumstances were any different. But, as I’ve observed recently, you seem to be particularly harmless with Felix around. He keeps you under control. I suppose it’d be in my best interests to encourage him to be around you, to keep you on a better track than Lucifer would have you on,’ she shudders, saying his name with disdain, and I bite my tongue rather than defend my father. I doubt she’d take well to it.

‘So you don’t mind?’ ‘No. I don’t. He’s good for you. And I’m quite impressed that you unconsciously won his affections. I never expected such a lovely angel to fall for a demon,’ she says, and I feel my lips quirk up into a small grin. ‘He’s a dark horse.’ ‘Apparently so.’ ‘Does this mean you’re not gonna kill me?’ ‘Yes, y/n, I’m not going to kill you. I’m nothing if not benevolent. So you may return to your party. Just bear in mind,’ she adds, as though it’s an afterthought, ‘I have a particular fondness for Felix, so see to it that you don’t break his heart.’ ‘I can’t make any promises,’ I say honestly, and she just looks at me for a moment, deep in thought, before a small smile breaks across her face. ‘I can’t fault you for such a truthful answer. Now go,’ she says with a kind smile, her warmth seeping into even my cold heart, ‘make him happy.’

The next time I blink, I open my eyes to Jackson’s party once more, the earsplittingly loud music making me wince as I scan the room for my boyfriend. ‘y/n!’ I hear him call from behind me, and I turn to briefly see his panicked face before he pulls me into his arms. ‘You disappeared! I was worried sick,’ he says into my ear, holding me in a vice-like grip, and I let out a laugh, pushing him away gently. ‘I’m fine,’ I murmur, pressing a brief kiss to his lips. ‘Where were you?’ he asks with his big eyes, and I grin, before replying, ‘With God.’

‘Goodness. Whatever were you doing with that bore?’ I ask Lucifer’s daughter, my equivalent of the ninth circle, and a smile of joy spreads across her face at the sight of me. We hold each other in a brief embrace, her boyfriend stood to the side, watching with curiosity. ‘What are you doing here? It’s been forever since I saw you at a party,’ she says, her language so much more modern than mine. I suppose I hung onto my outdated vocabulary, just as I hung onto my love. ‘I have much to celebrate. My love is returned. Changbin is himself once more,’ I inform her, her face lighting up at the news. ‘No way! That’s amazing, I’m so happy for you! Is he here?’ she asks excitedly, and I nod. ‘He is getting a drink for me – I am quite parched. Be sure to greet him at some point before you depart. He has missed you all – he was more excitable than I have ever seen him as we were readying ourselves for this party. He could not wait to come and see you all once more,’ I explain, hearing the fondness in my own voice. ‘I will, of course. It’ll be nice to see him.’

‘Yes. It shall. And who, may I ask, is your companion?’ ‘This is Felix. He’s an angel, which is why I was with God,’ she explains, my mouth falling open. ‘You, Lucifer’s daughter, with an angel? Goodness me, this is surprising news. I expected you to choose Minho as your companion. Certainly not a being so… soft. But if you are happy, I am happy for you. I just hope Felix does not do anything to hurt you, for he shall have many dark ones to answer to,’ I say threateningly to the sweet boy, his face falling as he gulps. ‘Of course not. I’d never hurt her,’ he says quietly, and I smile at him, taking to him almost instantly. He reminds me of a little lamb, or a gentle fairy. He is quite lovely. ‘I am glad to hear so. I am going to go and find Changbin, for he has been gone a while, but I hope to catch up with you at some point tonight,’ I say to the both of them, embracing them both and taking Felix quite by surprise when I do so (it is unusual for demons to be so kind to those they have just met, but I quite enjoy teasing other beings, and making them all flustered), a small smile on my face at his girlfriend’s soft giggles, before I turn away, making my way towards the kitchen and stifling a laugh when I hear Felix ask, ‘Who’s Minho?’

I enter the kitchen, Changbin stood on the opposite side of the room, pouring himself a scotch, a glass of red wine for me beside his tumbler glass. I glide over to him, sliding my arms around his waist when I reach him, and a smile stretches across his face when I press a kiss to his cheek. ‘I have missed you,’ he murmurs, turning to pull me into his arms, and I let out a soft laugh. ‘I left for a few minutes – you cannot have missed me that much,’ I reply, and he grins at me. ‘I don’t mean the last few minutes – I mean the last few centuries,’ he chuckles, and I feel my heart swell. He has told me he missed me so many times over the past few days and it has not yet become old to hear him say so. ‘I like hearing you say that.’ ‘I shall say it to you every day for the rest of our lives if you so wish,’ he proclaims, making me giggle (only he can make me behave as though I am a young teenage human girl with her first love).

I can feel eyes on us, and I manage to pick up whispers here and there, about how the famed original demon hunter is no longer a demon hunter, and is in the kitchen of a Halloween party thrown by a drunken fool. How Jackson has all these connections, I am not quite sure, though I suppose he is a sweet boy on occasion, when he is not intoxicated out of his sanity. ‘People are talking.’ ‘That is what they do.’ ‘I mean, they are talking about us.’ ‘They will always talk about us,’ he grins, cockiness seeping into his tone, and I roll my eyes. ‘More specifically, they are talking about you.’ ‘Well, they will always talk about me.’ ‘And why is that, my love?’ I ask with a grin, leaning against him with my arms around his neck, and he leans back against the counter, hands resting low on my back. ‘Would you like to guess, my love?’ ‘Your dashing good looks?’ ‘No.’ ‘Your unfairly perfect body?’ ‘Not quite.’ ‘Your… lovely personality?’ ‘Not even close,’ he says with a grin, childish giggles falling from my lips every few seconds. ‘Then what, my love?’ I ask, feeling drunk on love when he replies, ‘they wonder how somebody like me is with such a perfect lady like you.’

‘Wow. Did you hear that? That was the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard,’ I murmur to Jisung, the boy rolling his eyes as he takes a sip from his beer. ‘He’s had a long time to practice his lines,’ Jisung says dryly, and I raise an eyebrow. ‘So have you, being a thousands-of-years-old demon and all.’ ‘Nope. I was too busy fucking people. Anyway, stop listening to other people’s romantic conversations, and focus on your own romance,’ he says sternly, and I hold back a laugh. ‘Romance? He didn’t even pick me up. He said he’d ‘see me there’ which is, like, totally not a date,’ I say mildly, and Jisung shakes his head. ‘He’s trying not to be too eager.’ ‘He’s going a little too much the other way.’ ‘Well… he’ll regret it when he sees you. You look hot,’ he says offhandedly, though the way his eyes roam over me hungrily betray his cool demeanour. ‘I do, don’t I? It was a good costume suggestion you made,’ I say, looking down at my angel costume. It’s a little basic – quite a few other girls here are dressed as angels (I’m pretty sure I saw a princess of Hell dressed as one, which is quite funny actually) – but the white dress, feather wings and tinsel halo are quite cute, if I say so myself.

‘Yep, it was. Sex God Seonghwa’s gonna love it,’ he grins, and I shush him, looking around embarrassedly in case someone heard. ‘Relax, relax. Oh, look. Talk of the devil…’ he trails off, and I follow his eye line to the door of the kitchen, Seonghwa and his friends just walking in. They’re dressed in standard house party outfits with a little bit of makeup on their faces – a half-skeleton face here and a half-zombie face there. I’m not quite sure what Seonghwa’s supposed to be, with his bright white contacts and cuts across his eyes, but he looks hot. I catch his eye, and he smiles widely at me, the butterflies I usually feel when he looks at me absent today, but I shrug it off. ‘I’m gonna go say hi,’ I say, rising from my seat, and Jisung nods. ‘I’ll be with Hyunjin, if you need me. Not that you will, but… just in case,’ he says gently, and I nod with a smile before heading towards Seonghwa.

‘Hey, y/n. You look… nice,’ he says with a devilish grin, eyes flitting over me before he pulls me into a loose hug. ‘Thanks, Seonghwa. You look good, too. I like your… contacts,’ I say awkwardly, but he continues grinning at me as though he can’t feel the uncomfortable tension in the air. ‘Thanks. Not more than my real eyes, I hope,’ he jokes, and I let out a forced laugh. ‘No, of course not. You’re real eyes are, uh, much nicer.’ ‘Thanks. Can I get you a drink?’ he offers, and I hold up the cup in my hand awkwardly. ‘Oh, never mind. I’ll just grab myself a beer,’ he laughs, turning to get one out of the fridge, and I want to scream at myself. Why am I being so awkward with him? Come on, y/n, step up your game.

‘So what exactly are you supposed to be?’ I ask, trying to sound more comfortable than I feel, and he grins as he flips the top off the bottle with a bottle opener. ‘Can’t you tell? I’m a… possessed… devil… thing?’ he says, and I laugh, the boy laughing with me. ‘You don’t sound so sure.’ ‘Yeah, it’s a little ambiguous. Wooyoung did it and I’m not sure what he was going for, but I’ll roll with it,’ he chuckles before motioning to me. ‘Your outfit’s pretty obvious, though. A perfect little angel, right?’ he smirks, and I let out a fake laugh. ‘How did you guess?’ ‘I think the halo and the wings give it away a little. The dress isn’t too angelic, though. A little… tight. Not that I’m complaining,’ he grins, and I feel my heart sinking. He’s attracted to me, he’s flirting with me, and yet… I don’t feel a single thing. What is wrong with me?

‘Well… I’m glad you like it. It’s a little… out there for me,’ I admit, hoping that derailing the conversation to something a little more tame will make things less awkward. ‘It really suits you. I think you should wear things like this all the time, if you want to. Be more confident in your body,’ he says encouragingly, and I feel so sad. Look how nice he’s being, and I still somehow feel like I’d much rather be talking to anyone else at this party. ‘I’ll try. I’m not sure my tutors would be too impressed if I showed up to my lectures and seminars in teeny little bodycon dresses,’ I joke, and he chuckles, grinning. ‘Maybe not,’ he murmurs with a smirk, ‘but I’m sure… other people would appreciate it.’

‘God, that’s the most awkward conversation I’ve ever listened to in my life,’ I say dryly to Ryujin as we leave the kitchen. ‘I know! The girl was obviously not interested, but he was not getting the message,’ she says, both of us wincing at the thought of how uncomfortable that was. ‘Boys are so dense,’ I complain as I throw myself down onto the sofa beside Lia, Ryujin perching on the arm of the sofa beside where Yuna sits. ‘Listen to you. She’s got a demon boyfriend now and, suddenly, she’s above human boys,’ Chaeryeong teases, and I raise my eyebrow, the other girls laughing. ‘He’s not my boyfriend. I’ve met him once.’ ‘And that was enough for him to fall in love with you,’ Lia says simply, and I roll my eyes. ‘He’s not in love!’ ‘He’s willing to come to a human party for you – it’s close enough to love,’ Yeji says dryly, and I shake my head with an amused smile. ‘This is not a human party at all. We’re like the only humans here, pretty much.’ ‘Us and that girl being practically tortured by that boy in the kitchen,’ Ryujin says with a wince, and I laugh. ‘Poor thing. We should’ve saved her. Pretended we know her or something.’ ‘Na, he was pretty hot. Maybe she’s just looking to get laid,’ Ryujin says with a shrug, and I consider it, nodding after a moment.

‘Who’s looking to get laid?’ a familiar voice says, and I look up to see Minho stood there, my heart stopping momentarily. He looks so handsome, in a pair of tight black trousers and a black shirt with white stripes on it, an expensive-looking black jacket thrown over the top of it, a smart casual outfit perfect for a date. I tried my best to wear something that doubles as a date outfit and a Halloween costume, but all I could come up with is a little black dress and a cat ear headband with a matching tail on my ass which I’ll take off when we leave here. At least I look sexy in it.

He holds out a hand to me and I take it, letting him pull me up from my seat, and he keeps my hand in his, holding it up and pressing his soft lips against my skin. ‘You sound different,’ Ryujin observes dryly, eyebrow raised, and he grins at her. ‘I decided to drop the formalities. No one wants to date a guy who sounds like he’s just stepped out of the Victorian era. Unless you’re into that?’ he asks with a grin, coaxing a laugh from me, and I’m relieved to hear him speaking like this instead of that stiff formal language. It makes him much less… intimidating.

‘I brought my friends,’ he says, and my eyes focus on the group stood a few feet behind him, all of them dressed similarly to Minho. They’re all taking turns to hug one blond boy who I saw earlier with his gorgeous girlfriend, the girl now stood beside the group, watching them with a loving smile on her face. ‘I’ll introduce them in a minute. Our friend was turned into a demon hunter centuries ago, and we’ve just now found out he’s back to being a demon again. It’s a long story – I’ll explain over dinner,’ he says, and I’m a little confused but I brush it off, just nodding.

‘Dinner?’ a voice says from behind Minho, the boy turning to reveal the blond boy’s girlfriend. She’s dressed in an elegant white evening dress, decked out in jewels and finery, a white veil in her hair and horribly gory cuts and wounds all over her face and chest. ‘Yes, dinner.’ ‘Ah, so this is the date you mentioned?’ she says, her eyes flitting to me, and I feel a little intimidated under her powerful gaze. ‘Hi. I’m y/n,’ I say shyly, and she looks impressed, holding out a hand to me, and I shake it firmly. ‘Nice to meet you, y/n. I am the Princess of the 5th Circle of Hell,’ she says with a smile, and I blink in surprise. ‘Charmed,’ I reply faintly, and she lets out a gentle laugh. ‘Does she not know of our nature, Minho?’ ‘She does. I suppose it takes a little getting used to,’ he says ruefully, and I nod embarrassedly.

‘You are dressed as a cat,’ she observes, and I nod, even more embarrassed. She looks all graceful as a zombie bride (I think?), and I’m in a cheap ass black dress and a flimsy plastic headband. ‘Minho has a liking for cats,’ she says amusedly, Minho choking on thin air, and I try to ignore the girls’ stifled laughter behind me as I say, ‘I… didn’t know that.’ ‘I guessed as much. What exactly are you supposed to be, Minho?’ ‘A normal boy taking a girl to dinner?’ he says with a small grin, and the girl rolls her eyes. ‘How boring.’

‘We don’t all have your creativity, Miss Zombie Bride,’ he teases sarcastically, and she lets out a little outraged gasp. ‘How dare you? Are you accusing me of being unoriginal? You should see Lucifer’s Princess – she’s dressed as an angel, and she’s here with her angel boyfriend,’ the girl says, sounding a little gossipy, and Minho’s mouth falls open. ‘Angel boyfriend?’ he asks, the girl nodding with a grin, satisfied at Minho’s reaction. ‘Do not ask her for details – she will gossip with you all night, and you shall be late to dinner with your human love,’ the blond-haired boy says amusedly, Minho nodding before his eyes flit back to me, a grin spreading on his handsome face.

He holds an arm out to me, and I link mine with his shyly, feeling more than intimidated with all these demons around. ‘We should get going. I’m parked outside,’ he says, and I feel excited – I’m really looking forward to this, regardless of the fact that my date is a demon prince. ‘Why did you bring a car?’ the demon princess says amusedly, and I look between her and Minho with confusion. ‘How else would we get there?’ ‘We can travel without… vehicles. What is it you humans call it… ah, teleporting, I believe,’ she says, and my eyes widen. ‘Can we do that?’ I ask Minho excitedly, and he shakes his head, an amused smile on his face. ‘You’ve never done it before, and it takes a lot of getting used to. I don’t want you to get hurt,’ he says, the last bit a little quieter, and his demon friends behind him fail at holding back their laughter, making him look more than a bit sheepish. ‘Do not tease him. He is obviously taken with her, and it is high time he settled down,’ the demon princess says, though she looks like she’s holding back laughter too, and Minho just shakes his head.

‘We’re going. See you in a few hours,’ he says embarrassedly, leading me towards the door, and I wave goodbye to the girls and Minho’s friends over my shoulder, all of them watching us leave with big smiles on their faces. We dodge around the groups of partygoers, dressed up all sorts of supernatural creatures and famous characters, and it feels like we’ve entered another world when we step out through the front door, the air clear, crisp and quiet. ‘Are you cold?’ he asks, and I shake my head, his eyebrow raising. ‘Okay, maybe I am.’ ‘I’d be shocked if you weren’t in that dress,’ he says amusedly, taking his jacket off and helping me to put it on, giving me butterflies. It smells like expensive aftershave and something… dark and smoky, like night itself. ‘Come on, angel, let’s get going,’ he grins, throwing an arm around my shoulders and leading me towards where several cars are parked on the driveway of the manor. ‘Where are we going?’ I ask, and his grins grows even wider. ‘Wherever you want to go, angel,’ he says softly, holding me close to him, ‘I’ll go anywhere with you.’

‘Oh, my God. That was so romantic,’ I squeal under my breath as we pass the couple who are leaving, the boy holding the passenger door of his car open for the girl, and I.N. – no, Jeongin – rolls his eyes. ‘It was cheesy,’ he says, ever the cynic, and I shoot him a look. ‘Whatever, grumpy,’ I mutter, and he lets out a little laugh. ‘I’m not grumpy.’ ‘You are! You complained the entire way here!’ ‘Yeah, because I don’t want to be here. I don’t like leaving the house.’ ‘But I’ve got a s-’ ‘Surprise, yes, I know. It’d be nice if you told me what it was,’ he says pointedly, and I roll my eyes. ‘It’s not a surprise if I tell you,’ I say simply, the boy muttering something under his breath as we reach the front door. I push it open, stepping through the doorway with Jeongin behind me, and I can feel the nervous energy practically radiating from him as we head further into the party. This is the first time he’s left the house to go further than the local shops and I can understand his anxiety, which is why I reach out and take his hand into mine, leading him through the big groups of people, to where they said they’d be in the kitchen.

‘Okay, I have some good news,’ I say when we reach the door of the kitchen, his hand still in mine, and he looks relieved that he’s finding out the surprise. ‘What’s the good news?’ ‘You can carry on living in 325 Sunshine Street,’ I say excitedly, looking forward to his reaction, and his face lights up. ‘You’re not selling it?’ he asks breathlessly, eyes sparkling with excitement, and I hesitate. ‘It’s still being sold… to me. I’m moving in,’ I say tentatively, and he doesn’t react for a moment. I worry that I’ve got this all wrong, that this is the last thing he would want, and that this is going to ruin the friendship that’s developed between us, the friendship that I treasure more than I realised. ‘You’re moving in?’ he asks, and I nod slowly. ‘I mean, only if you want me to! I don’t have t-’ ‘I want you to. I really want you to. Are you serious?’ he asks, eyes lighting up as he speaks, and relief floods through me. ‘Yes, I’m serious. I’m buying the house!’ I exclaim, and he lets out a loud whoop of excitement, pulling me into his arms. He’s so real, so warm and soft, and he doesn’t feel like a ghost at all.

‘That’s the best surprise you could’ve given me!’ he says contentedly, pulling away from me, and I can’t help but grin at him, so happy that he’s happy. ‘Actually… I don’t think it is. I have an even better one for you,’ I say excitedly, and he eyes me suspiciously. ‘Another surprise? Better than you moving in?’ ‘Mmhmm. It’s in the kitchen,’ I say, and he looks at the door before looking back at me. ‘Can I…?’ he asks, and I nod, laughing. He holds a hand up to the door, looking nervous as he pushes it open, and when he opens it, I wish I could imprint the look on his face to my brain forever, the look of pure wonder and happiness making me feel warm inside.

I can hear loud yelling from the kitchen before Jeongin rushes in, and I follow behind him, watching with a fond smile as his friends greet him and hug him for the first time since their exams all those years ago. For the first time since he died. I reached out to Chan last night, who was the one trying to sell the house, and told him everything. He told the other boys, and they told me they’d be at the party tonight, asking if I could bring him so they could see him again. When I first spoke to Chan, I suggested they all move into the house with Jeongin, but he told me that some of them were married with children. They had their own families now, and it was too late for them to move in with their old family. Which is when I came up with the idea to live there myself. I still have to work out the logistics, and how I’m going to tell my parents that I’m moving out of their house to live with my friend that they’ve never heard of in the house I’ve been trying to sell for months and haven’t been able to do so. But that’ll come later.

Jeongin’s eyes are full of tears and so are his brothers’, all of them radiating happiness as they embrace, and try to catch him up on what’s been going on in the past few years. He looks so young next to them, but I can see the echo of what they were at school, his presence making them seem younger too. I stand in the doorway and watch, wanting him to have his time with them, but he turns to look at me after a few minutes, telling them he’ll be right back. ‘You’re the best. Thank you,’ he says sincerely, pulling me into another hug, and I feel my heart melt. ‘You’re welcome. Now go back to your family, stupid. You’ll have all the time in the world to speak to me, when we live together,’ I say with a grin, and he rolls his eyes. ‘You’re the stupid one, y/n,’ he grins, and I raise an eyebrow, and my heart swells when he says, ‘don’t you know you’re my family now too?’

‘Did you hear that? How cute,’ I say to Chaeryeong as we enter the living room, wanting a reprieve from the racket those boys were making in the kitchen. ‘Yeah, but what’s the context? Because it’s not cute if she’s into him. That wasn’t even friendzone – it was familyzone,’ Chaeryeong says, making me laugh. ‘I didn’t think about that. Poor thing,’ I say as we head to the bathroom. There’s a little room before the actual bathroom itself, with mirrors lining the walls, and we head to the one in the corner to check our appearances. I nearly have a heart attack when I spot a wrinkle creasing my forehead, and I feel faint when I see grey locks streaked through my hair, making me look more like the Bride of Frankenstein than the sexy vampire I’m dressed up as. ‘I’m gonna cry. Look at the state of me. I look like an old lady,’ I wail miserably, Chaeryeong giving me a pitying look. ‘You don’t, y/n! This hairstyle is in!’ ‘Okay, but wrinkles all over my face isn’t!’ I shriek, the girl wincing when she spots them. ‘Well… you’ve gotta break the curse then.’ ‘I’ve been trying. It’s harder than you think. I’ve been doing so many selfless and generous things, but apparently not without judgement, even though I wasn’t even being judgemental,’ I complain, and Chaeryeong raises an eyebrow.

‘What have you been doing?’ ‘I paid for the coffee of the guy behind me in Starbucks, even though he totally wasn’t my type. I gave this half-troll girl a pad when I went for dinner with Yuna last night. I stopped to let an old man cross the road, and he was super slow. I did loads of other stuff too!’ I list off, and Chaeryeong shakes her head despairingly. ‘y/n, you moron! You judged every one of those people!’ ‘No, I didn’t!’ ‘Listen to how you just described them. A guy who wasn’t your type. A half-troll girl. An old man. You’re supposed to look past people’s appearance, but that’s the way you just described them all, stupid!’ she exclaims, and my mouth falls open. She’s right. I am stupid. ‘Oh, my God. I’m never gonna break this curse. What’s wrong with me? Why can’t I look at people without seeing what they look like?’ I wail helplessly, Chaeryeong rolling her eyes at me.

Before she can speak, a girl dressed as a devil walks in, ranting and raving angrily, and Chaeryeong exchange a glance. She looks like she’s crying, her friend trying her best to comfort her. ‘Are you okay?’ I ask, and she looks at me in surprise before letting out a loud sob. ‘No,’ she wails, and I step towards her, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. ‘What’s the matter?’ I ask, and her friend sighs. ‘Her ex is here, with his new girlfriend, and they’re dressed as an angel and devil. She thinks her ex’s new girl is a better devil than she is, and now she feels like an idiot that she’s wearing a couple costume with her ex, but he’s here with his new girl,’ her friend explains, and I wince. It’s an awkward situation to say the least, and I feel really sorry for her. If that was me, I’d probably leave out of embarrassment, especially if I thought her costume was better than mine.

The girl in front of me is in all black with a red belt (a devil tail hanging from it) and red devil horns, with red contacts like mine, and she looks around the same size as me. ‘Oh, my God, I just had the best idea! Why don’t we swap outfits? You can have my fake fangs and I brought fake blood, too, and I’ll have your horns and belt! Then you can be a sexy vampire instead of a sexy devil!’ I suggest excitedly, the girl’s eyes lighting up. ‘You’d do that?’ ‘Of course. Exes are, like, the worst. Here,’ I say, pulling my fangs out and rushing into the bathroom to give them a quick wash. When I came back, she’s taken off the belt and horns, holding them out to me. ‘You’re really nice, you know? Thank you so much,’ she says sincerely, looking a lot happier now than she did a minute ago, and I grin at her. ‘No problem,’ I reply, passing her the fangs, and I help her to put some fake blood around her mouth and in two dots on her neck. She keeps thanking me and we even exchange socials before she leaves, because she says she wants to keep in touch with the girl that saved her Halloween. I can’t stop smiling as I put on the belt and horns, carefully wiping away the fake blood on my mouth and neck, touching it up with my foundation. It feels nice to do something nice for someone.

‘Oh, my God!’ Chaeryeong exclaims, and I look at her worriedly. ‘What?’ ‘Look at your hair!’ she practically screams, and I look at myself in the mirror. The grey has disappeared from my hair, and so have the wrinkles on my face. My body feels a little stronger than it did a few minutes ago, and I poke my tongue around at the back of my mouth, finding that there are no longer gaps where three of my teeth fell out yesterday. ‘I broke the curse!’ I say excitedly, Chaeryeong pulling me into an excited hug. ‘Look how easy it was!’ ‘I know! God, this’ll teach me to stop being such a bitch. Ugh, I’m so glad to have my teeth back! I’m gonna go find Seungmin,’ I say, wanting to tell him, and she nods. ‘I’ll be with the girls. Just phone me if you can’t find us,’ she says, and we leave the bathroom, going our separate ways.

It doesn’t take me long to find Seungmin – I can hear his friendship group from a mile away – and he grins at me as I approach. ‘You just broke it, didn’t you?’ he asks, and my eyes widen. ‘How did you know?’ ‘It’s obvious. Look how excited you are. How did you do it?’ he asks, and I explain to him, the boy rolling his eyes. ‘See how simple it is? I’m glad you’ve learnt not to be a judgmental bitch now,’ he teases, and I shove him half-heartedly. ‘Whatever. But, honestly… I really have learnt my lesson. I feel terrible about that witch now. I’ll never be nasty again,’ I proclaim, and Seungmin raises an eyebrow. ‘We’ll see about that.’ ‘Well… I’ll try to never be nasty again,’ I amend, and he laughs. ‘That sounds more like you.’

‘y/n! Long time, no see! Are you two back together?’ Changbin slurs drunkenly, throwing his arms around us, and I wince as Seungmin closes his eyes momentarily. ‘No. We’re not,’ he replies, Changbin cringing. ‘Oh. Sorry for making it awkward. I’m gonna just…’ he trails off, turning back to the boys and whispering loud enough for us to hear, ‘they’re not back together, Jisung. You owe me a twenty.’ Seungmin sighs, putting a hand over his face as though he’s trying to keep himself together, and I let out a little laugh. ‘I’m sorry.’ ‘It’s okay. It’s not that big of a deal,’ I say, and Seungmin hesitates before saying, ‘I actually wanted to speak to you about that.’ I freeze for a moment, blinking as I try to process his words.

‘About… us?’ I ask, and he nods. ‘I know you ended things because I’m immortal, but I… found something. I’ve been looking for a… solution to that problem, and I found one. There’s this… potion, I guess, a really complicated one that takes a long time to brew, but I collected all the ingredients and I’ve started brewing it already,’ he begins, and I’m itching to hear the rest of what he’s got to say. ‘It’s an immortality potion, but it works in different ways, depending on who takes it. If someone mortal takes it, they become immortal. If someone immortal takes it…’ he trails off, and I finish for him; ‘they become mortal.’ He nods gravely, and I don’t reply for a few seconds, mind working at a million miles an hour.

‘So you want me to take the potion to be immortal?’ ‘No! No, y/n, God, no! I’d never ask that of you!’ he says quickly, looking shocked that I even asked, and then I realise what he means. ‘You’re suggesting that you take it? To be mortal?’ ‘Yeah.’ ‘But… is that what you want?’ I ask, and he sighs, taking a few moments to reply; ‘I’ve been thinking about it a lot, and… yeah, I think so. I mean…. I don’t want to outlive everyone around me, everyone I care about, and love. And it’s not even outliving them, it’s seeing them turn 30, 40, 50, 60, whilst I still look like a teenager. I don’t want that to happen. I want to grow old with the people I love. I… I want to grow old with you,’ he says quietly, and I feel my heart stop momentarily. ‘Me?’ ‘Yes. You, y/n. I still love you. A lot, actually. I’d do anything for a life with you. And I understand if you don’t feel the same way anymore, but I thought I’d tell you, because I know that’s the reason you ended things. I guess… I’m hoping that that was the only reason, and that now I can fix it, you’ll have me back. But I get it if you don’t want to-’ ‘I do, though. I really, really do,’ I say without even thinking, and his eyes widen, face lighting up.

‘Wait, really?’ ‘Yes, Seungmin. I do want to have you back. But… I want you to properly think about this. It’s a big sacrifice that you’re thinking of making, and I want you to think it through.’ ‘y/n, I’ve been thinking it through the entire time we were broken up, the entire time I was looking for the potion. It’s all I ever thought about. I want this,’ he says earnestly, and I know that he’s being truthful, that he really has thought this through properly. He’s mature and responsible, and I know he wouldn’t rush into a decision like this without thinking it through properly. ‘Okay,’ I say simply, and he blinks in surprise. ‘Okay?’ ‘Okay. I’ll be with you.’ ‘Really?’ ‘Yes, Seungmin, really,’ I laugh, and he lets out a loud shout of celebration, throwing his arms around me in a hug and I giggle at his reaction, touched at his excitement. ‘Are you back together?’ Jisung demands when we break apart, and I roll my eyes as Seungmin sighs at him. ‘Yes. We are now.’ ‘Ha! Changbin, you better give me that twenty back!’

‘Oh, that reminds me of our bet!’ Jisung says suddenly, all of us looking at him in surprise. ‘What? What bet?’ Yuna asks, and the boys exchange yet another cryptic glance, none of them speaking. ‘Oh, my God!’ Lia exclaims, finally losing her patience, ‘what is wrong with you guys? Why can’t you just tell us what the hell is going on? Or, at least, stop talking about it in front of us! Because I’m fed up of it n-’ ‘y/n,’ Chan says suddenly, cutting Lia’s tirade off, and we all turn our gazes to him. ‘I wasn’t talking, it was Lia-‘ ‘I know. I just… can I have a word with you? Outside, please,’ he says quietly, and I blink in confusion. What’s with the weird timing, and what exactly does he want to say? ‘Um, yeah, okay,’ I say softly, completely confused, and Chan rises from his seat, holding out a hand to help me up too. He leads me through to the back of the house, taking me out into the grounds, and he sits us down on a bench, a group of boys sat smoking weed on the bench on our left, and two other boys having a heart-to-heart on the bench to our right.

‘What’s the matter, Chan? Are you okay?’ I say concernedly, and he gives me a faint smile. ‘I’m fine. I just… I’ve got something important that I’ve been meaning to talk to you about, but it’s kinda… serious. Just, um… prepare yourself,’ he says seriously, and I side-eye him. ‘You’re scaring me, Chan.’ ‘It’s not bad! Well, maybe it is. I don’t know,’ he rambles, and I let out a little laugh. ‘Chan, just tell me.’ ‘Sorry, sorry. Um, so, basically… you are my… um… my mate,’ he says slowly, wincing as he speaks, and I just blink for a few seconds before asking, ‘Your mate?’ ‘Yep.’ ‘Like… life companion forever?’ ‘That’s right, yeah.’ ‘But… I’m a human,’ I say slowly, unable to believe what he’s saying. ‘Anyone can be our mates. Even… vampires, or demons. So, yeah… you’re my mate. But just because you’re my mate, it doesn’t mean I have to be yours,’ he says, almost sounding sad. ‘What do you mean?’ I ask, puzzled, and he sighs.

‘Humans don’t have mates, so you can be with anyone you want to be, fall in love with anyone you want to fall in love with. You don’t have to be with me if you don’t want to,’ he explains, and I feel even more confused. ‘Wait, so what does it mean then? Like… I’m your mate but I don’t have to be with you? So what’s the point of it then?’ ‘It means that I will never… want anyone else, or love anyone else. Not that I want or love you – I barely know you – but y-’ ‘I know what you mean. So… if you don’t end up with me, you’ll end up alone?’ I ask, and he nods sadly. ‘But don’t… force yourself to be with me because of that. I want you to be happy, whether or not that’s with me,’ he says, and I can feel the burden of it already settling on my shoulders. I’m the love of his life – he’ll never love anyone other than me.

‘Um…’ I begin, but Chan cuts me off, ‘you don’t have to, like, make any decisions, or even say anything. I just… thought it was important that I told you.’ ‘Yeah, I know. I’m glad you told me, because now I can tell you that I’ve been crushing on you since the second I saw you, and I’d really like it if we went on a date together,’ I force myself to say, feeling so nervous even though he’s just told me I’m his mate. He just stares at me for a second before he says, ‘really?’ ‘Yeah. Really.’ ‘Well… I’d really like it if we went on a date, too,’ he says with a grin, and I can’t help but smile back shyly. ‘God, y/n, I was supposed to ask you out! Not the other way around!’ he complains, and I let out a fond laugh, amused at his childish behaviour that he’d never show around the other boys. ‘Well, you did make the first move by telling me I’m your mate,’ I point out and he thinks for a moment before a satisfied smile spreads across his face. ‘Yeah, I guess I did,’ he grins, and I roll my eyes.

‘Come on, let’s go back in. You must be cold out here, and we better get going. We’ll be turning soon,’ he says, standing up and taking my hand to pull me up from the bench. ‘So what’s the bet Jisung mentioned?’ I ask, curious, and Chan lets out an embarrassed laugh. ‘Whether or not I’d tell you tonight. They all betted I wouldn’t, and I said I would. They owe me ten each now,’ he says with a victorious grin. ‘I’m gonna deny all knowledge,’ I laugh, and his mouth falls open. ‘You wouldn’t betray me like that!’ he exclaims dramatically, making me giggle. ‘I won’t if you share the money with me.’ ‘y/n,’ he begins, eyes sparkling with amusement, ‘you’re my mate. I’d share my life with you if you asked.’

‘Ugh, did you hear that sappy shit that wolf was saying? Oh, y/n!’ Jisung says when he sees me, eyes lighting up which makes my heart stop for a moment. ‘Hey,’ I say, sounding breathless to my own ears, and Jisung grins at my tone, looking up at me stood before the bench with dark eyes. ‘y/n. It’s nice to meet you,’ the boy sat next to him says, and my eyes flit to Hyunjin, the boy Daehwi originally tried to set me up with. He’s even hotter in person. ‘Hey, Hyunjin. It’s nice to meet you too,’ I say shyly, and he grins. ‘Sorry I couldn’t make it. But I’ve heard Jisung more than made up for my absence. You two have struck up quite the friendship, right?’ he asks, and my gaze turns to Jisung, the boy smirking, and I look back to Hyunjin before nodding. ‘Yeah, we have, actually. He’s a great friend.’ ‘And a great wingman too, by the sound of it,’ Hyunjin grins, and I feel my face heat up at the thought that these two very attractive boys both know that less than two weeks ago, I was an untouched virgin who wanted to have sex before my first ever date. I’m embarrassed beyond belief, and it’s like they can both sense it, amusement settling on both of their faces.

‘Yeah, y/n, speaking of which, where is your date?’ he asks, and I remember why I came out here, a pout making its way onto my face. Jisung and Hyunjin move apart, making space for me on the bench, and I throw myself down with a long, dramatic sigh. ‘He is literally… so boring,’ I admit, both of them bursting into laughter. ‘Don’t laugh! It’s not funny! I’m, like, heartbroken!’ I complain, annoyed that they think this is funny, but I can also feel myself holding back laughter. ‘Sorry, sorry. But… y/n, I thought you wanted to have sex with him. You don’t have to find him fascinating,’ Jisung says, and I let out another long sigh. ‘I’m not like you stupid boys. I don’t wanna just have sex with someone because they’re good looking. I was attracted to him until I found out he’s literally the most boring guy I’ve ever spoken to in my life. Okay, maybe not boring. Just… we’re not compatible, so it was really, really awkward. And the worst thing was that it seemed like he didn’t even realise that is was awkward. He just kept talking,’ I explain, the boys nonstop laughing as I talk, and I’m laughing along with them by the time I finish speaking.

‘That’s such a shame, y/n,’ Hyunjin says, still laughing, and Jisung says, ‘maybe not. I don’t want you in a relationship.’ I look at him in surprise, and he looks surprised too, as though he didn’t mean to say the words out loud. ‘You were good, angel. I’d like it if we c-’ ‘Okay! Okay, you don’t need to finish that sentence,’ I say embarrassedly, not wanting him to say it in front of Hyunjin who fails at stifling his laughter. ‘So why are you here, y/n? You’re best friends with Daehwi’s girlfriend, right? And she’s here. Why are you out here with us?’ Hyunjin asks, and I hesitate, not exactly sure myself. ‘I guess… I wanted to come and complain to Jisung about the fact that he took my virginity for no reason, because I’m not even gonna have sex tonight,’ I say miserably, kicking at the gravel like a sulky little kid. ‘I mean, you could,’ Jisung says with a grin, Hyunjin bursting into laughter as I choke on thin air. ‘I’m kidding.’ ‘No, you’re not,’ Hyunjin chuckles, and Jisung says, ‘you’re right, I’m not.’ ‘Well… thanks for the offer, but I’m not in the mood. I’m too upset,’ I say dramatically.

‘Let me cheer you up then,’ Jisung says, and I side-eye him. ‘I just told you I’m not in the m-’ ‘No, I don’t mean that! Let’s go dance together, or we’ll go somewhere for food if you’re hungry. Let’s get your mind off… Soggy Seonghwa,’ Jisung says with a grin, both Hyunjin and I dissolving into uncontrollable laughter. ‘Soggy Seonghwa?’ I giggle, Jisung nodding. ‘I don’t think he deserves the Sex God title,’ Jisung says, tone all shady and gossipy, Hyunjin and I laughing even more now. ‘Well, whatever. You don’t have to cheer me up, it’s okay. I’ll go find one of the girls and get blackout drunk,’ I say, Jisung frowning. ‘No, no. I don’t have to cheer you up, but I want to cheer you up. I mean…’ he trails off, and Hyunjin raises his eyebrows at Jisung, as though there’s something going on here that I don’t know about. ‘We’re friends, right?’ he asks, and I nod instantly. ‘Of course.’ ‘Well, you must know I see you as more than just a friend, and I think you see me as more than just a friend too. So, yeah. I’m kinda relieved things didn’t work out with Soggy,’ he says, and I’m too shocked to laugh, butterflies exploding in my stomach.

He sees me as more than a friend? ‘Wait, what do you mean?’ I ask, and he laughs. ‘I like you, y/n, and you like me too. You might not know it, but you do. I can tell from the way you feel when I’m around. So let me… woo you,’ he says, making me laugh, and his lips curl up into a small grin. ‘Woo me?’ ‘Mmhmm. Let me dance with you, or take you for food, or take you back to your apartment,’ he smirks, and I roll my eyes. ‘Having sex is not wooing me.’ ‘I never said anything about sex,’ he grins with a mischievous glint in his eyes, and I raise an eyebrow. ‘So what would we do?’ ‘I don’t know. Watch a film? Cuddle? Bake? What is it you human girls like to do when you’re dating someone?’ he asks, and I let out a gentle laugh. ‘That stuff sounds about right. But I don’t want to leave yet.’ ‘Okay. Let’s go dance then,’ he says with a grin, jumping up from the bench and pulling me up with him. ‘Hyunjin, you coming?’ Jisung asks, and I’m reminded that the other boy is sat there too. He smiles up at us, eyes shining with happiness, and he shakes his head. ‘You guys go. Have fun. I’m gonna find a cute little human girl. Got any friends, y/n?’ he asks with a mischievous grin, and I laugh. ‘Quite a few. And you’re hot, so you can take your pick,’ I say, Hyunjin jumping up from the bench at that, all of us laughing as we head up to the house. ‘Wait,’ Jisung says when we reach the back door, looking at me with a scowl, ‘did you just call my best friend hot?’

‘He is pretty hot, though. I won’t lie,’ I say to the boy as I step out through the back door, the pretty girl dressed very similarly to me and the two pretty boys on either side of her looking at me. ‘Yeah, I am, right? Can I get you a drink?’ the taller boy asks with a cocky grin, and I roll my eyes. ‘My boyfriend’s getting me one,’ I say, and his grin falls. ‘You just said I’m hot,’ he complains, and I raise an eyebrow. ‘I’m Lucifer’s daughter – I can say what I want,’ I tell him, and his mouth shuts straight away, the girl looking a little scared and the other boy looking amused. ‘Shame you’re in a relationship. You’re pretty hot,’ the taller boy says, and I grin at him. ‘Thanks. She’s hotter, though,’ I say, pointing at the girl who looks like she wants to curl in on herself and disappear. ‘Me?’ ‘Mmhmm. You got that cute little innocent vibe going on. Makes you even hotter.’ ‘Oh. Thanks,’ she says, a little more at ease now after the compliment.

‘She likes him,’ the taller boy says, pointing at the short boy who’s grinning proudly. ‘Share her,’ I say, only half-joking, and the girl coughs out of shock. ‘Share me? I’m not a chocolate bar,’ she says indignantly, and I feel my eyebrows go up in admiration – she’s a feisty one. ‘I like you, angel. You into girls?’ I ask, and the shorter boy’s smile drops. ‘You’ve got a boyfriend.’ ‘What about it? You think Princesses of Hell conform to different sexualities? Or to monogamy?’ I ask, purposely trying to piss him off, and he opens his mouth before closing it. I look at the girl again, waiting for her answer. I’m not actually interested (I mean, I wouldn’t say no) but it’s fun to tease her little boyfriends like this. ‘I’m… open to anything. But I do kinda like him,’ she says, pointing to the shorter boy, and I shrug. ‘Shame. I’m way hotter than him,’ I grin, the boy letting out an indignant noise.

‘I’m getting you a drink, and you’re flirting with someone else?’ I hear Felix’s voice behind me, and I turn my grin to him, my heart jumping at the amused smile on his face, the boy handing me a cup of some fruity flavoured vodka. ‘Ah, you’re the boyfriend? I’d sort her out if I were you – she’s flirting with my girl,’ the shorter boy says, and I roll my eyes. ‘He’s just jealous because he knows I could steal her if I wanted,’ I tease, baiting him, and he scowls at me. ‘Stop trying to steal the demon boy’s girlfriend, please. I’m not in the mood to hold you back from a fight today,’ Felix says, and I look at the shorter boy interestedly. ‘You’re a demon?’ I ask, surprised Felix realised and I didn’t, and he nods. ‘An incubus. So is he,’ he says, pointing at the other boy who gives me a lazy grin, and I look between the three in them with amused interest.

‘This just got way more interesting. A human girl has two incubuses wrapped around her little finger,’ I observe, the taller boy blinking in surprise. ‘I just met her,’ he says, and I raise an eyebrow. ‘You think she’s hot, though?’ ‘I’m not blind, of course I think she’s hot.’ ‘You got competition, kid,’ I say to the shorter boy, the frown on his face making me hold back a laugh. ‘Anyway, I don’t care about you two. Well done, girl. Bagged yourself… at least one incubus – I don’t know about this guy, but the other one definitely likes you. He’s, like, radiating jealousy right now,’ I tease, enjoying this, and Felix puts an arm around my waist. ‘Okay, that’s enough picking on the human girl and her incubus boyfriends,’ he says softly, the three of them letting out annoyed noises. ‘He’s not her boyfriend!’ ‘He’s not my boyfriend!’ ‘I’m not her boyfriend!’

‘Relax, he’s just kidding,’ I say as Felix begins to pull me towards the living room. ‘You’re a handful,’ he mutters amusedly, and I roll my eyes. ‘It’s fine, Lix, you don’t have to worry about me.’ ‘I don’t. I worry about the poor thing that you piss off to the point where they try to fight you and then you kill them,’ he says tiredly, and I let out a laugh. ‘I wouldn’t kill them. Probably just injure them a little.’ ‘Wow, I’ve really changed you, huh?’ he jokes, and I shove him gently as we reach the farthest corner from the DJ booth, both of us perching on the bay window.

We’re silent for a few moments, just looking at all the partygoers. It’s been quite a few hours now, so people are very drunk. The wolves left a little while ago, ready for their turn, and the vampires are making the most of their absence; they’re all scattered out into the party, biting people (consensually – I think) left, right and centre. The humans here seem at home around us otherworldly beings – in the space of a minute, I notice a human boy making out with a wizard in the corner, a group of human girls and succubuses dancing together in the middle of the room, and a pixie boy on the lap of a human girl, the two of them playing cards with their pixie and human friends. It’s quite nice to see the way everyone mixes together so freely, without worry or judgement, but we all know that nothing like this would happen in any other district. That’s why District 9 is so special.

I look at Felix, the boy deep in thought, and I lean against him, pressing a kiss to his neck. ‘What are you thinking about?’ I ask him against his skin, and I can feel him grin. ‘Whatever you’re thinking about,’ he says, and I groan, making him laugh. ‘That was so cheesy.’ ‘You’re dating an angel, babe. Get used to the cheesy lines.’ ‘I might have to dump you if you use another one.’ ‘If I can deal with you flirting with random human girls and demon boys, and nearly starting a fight with one of them, you can put up with a bad line every now and then,’ he grins, putting a hand on my chin and tilting my head back to press his lips to mine. ‘You’re lucky you’re so cute, because I wouldn’t put up with it from anyone else,’ I grumble when we break apart, and he smiles at me softly.

‘I’m so glad God was fine with it.’ ‘Of course she was! I told you she would be. You just worry too much.’ ‘I know, I know. I can’t believe you spoke to God dressed an angel when you’re literally her biggest betrayer’s daughter.’ ‘Did you just refer to my dad as God’s biggest betrayer?’ I ask with a raised eyebrow, and he winces, making me laugh. ‘Sorry.’ ‘It’s fine. He’s not that good a dad, anyway.’ ‘Oh, God, have you got daddy issues? Would be nice if you’d told me before I started dating you,’ he says, mirth in his eyes, and I shove him gently. ‘You’re so annoying.’ ‘You wouldn’t have me any other way,’ he grins, and I roll my eyes. ‘You’d be boring if you weren’t so annoying.’ ‘Oh, thanks.’ ‘I’m kidding. Kind of. No, I’m joking, I’m joking. I wouldn’t have you any other way,’ I admit when he starts pouting, laughing at the proud grin that stretches across his face.

‘You’re so whipped for me.’ ‘I am not whipped.’ ‘You are.’ ‘Am not.’ ‘It’s okay. I like you whipped. Whipped you is super cute.’ ‘Cute?’ ‘I was gonna say sexy, but I thought that’d make you act up,’ he laughs, and I raise an eyebrow, feeling my eyes glow red and watching the grin from his face slowly slip away. ‘You thought right,’ I reply quietly, hand snaking up his chest to the back of his neck, and he gulps imperceptibly. ‘You think there’s any empty rooms upstairs?’ he asks, hands sliding around my waist, a small smirk on his face. ‘Trust me, I’ll make one empty if I have to,’ I grin and his smile grows as he takes my hands into his, our drinks discarded when he pulls me up from the windowsill. ‘You know,’ he begins, pulling me towards the stairs, ‘I never thought it’d be so sexy to hear you threaten to murder people so we can have sex in an empty bedroom.’

‘I’m so tired of all this romance,’ I wail, throwing myself back against the sofa, and Yuna raises an eyebrow at me, holding back a laugh. ‘Romance?’ ‘She threatened to kill people for him. That’s so romantic.’ ‘She’s a demon, so it’s not a big deal for her.’ ‘Did you just say murder isn’t a big deal?’ I ask, and Yuna is silent for a moment. ‘This party’s changed me,’ she says with horror, making me burst into laughter and momentarily forget about my drunken wallowing. ‘It’s crazy being around all these different… magical people,’ she says quietly, obviously not wanting one of the said magical people around us to hear and take it the wrong way. ‘We’re always around vampires. This isn’t any different, if you think about it,’ I say, reminding myself of vampires and then letting out a dramatic cry, Yuna shaking her head amusedly at me.

‘y/n, just go speak to him if you’re that upset. There’s no point ruining your own Halloween by being all drunk and sad. Just speak to him, get it out of the way, and then you can enjoy yourself!’ she says, and I raise an eyebrow. ‘I’m not sure I’ll be able to enjoy myself if he breaks my heart,’ I say dryly, and she thinks for a second before saying, ‘he already did, didn’t he?’ ‘Well… yeah, but-’ ‘So what have you got to lose? Go, speak to him.’ ‘I thought you were calling him an idiot earlier,’ I say pointedly, and she raises an eyebrow. ‘I was before I realised you’d be moping all night and drowning your sorrows in the worst alcohol I’ve ever smelt in my life,’ she spits, making me laugh when she scrunches up her nose, pushing my cup further away from her. ‘It doesn’t smell that bad.’ ‘Tell that to your breath.’ Yuna!’ ‘I’m kidding! But here,’ she says, reaching into her bag and pulling out bubblegum, handing me two pieces. ‘If you’re gonna go speak to Hyunjin, you don’t want to smell like cheap gin,’ she says as I down the rest of my gin and put the bubblegum in my mouth, quickly chewing it down from solid little shells into stretchy elastic gum.

‘Okay, now go. Seriously,’ she prompts, pushing me up from the sofa, and I nod, looking down at myself. ‘How do I look?’ I ask, and she inspects me. ‘Touch up your lipgloss. And take the jacket off – it covers how cute your top is,’ she says, and I do as she says, applying some more lipgloss from the tube that’s in my back pocket before pulling off my jacket, Yuna taking it from me. Now, I’m just in black leather trousers, a black crop top and black heels, looking more like sexy Sandy than pretty pink lady Sandra Dee. ‘Go. And don’t tell the girls you’re going – they’ll stop you and give you all sorts of stupid advice,’ she instructs, and I nod, heading towards the kitchen before I lose my nerve, avoiding the girls dancing in the middle of the room. I take a deep breath when I reach the door before putting my best uninterested face on, pushing the door open and revelling in the way all eyes turn to me. It’s much quieter in here, due to the door separating us from the loud music, and the fact that it’s very late and a lot of people have already left, so I can hear people whispering about how I look.

I ignore the whispering, not bothering to look around yet because I don’t want Hyunjin to catch me looking at him, and just head towards the fridge, pretending to decide what to have before I reach for a small glass bottle of alcoholic pink lemonade. I close the fridge, looking around the room for straws and I spot them, right beside where the vampire boys stand. I head towards them and they all go quiet, obviously expecting me to speak to them, but I don’t bother, just reaching for the packet of black straws and pulling out a clean one. I begin to walk away, hoping my plan will work, and I have to stop myself from punching the air when I hear Jeongin call out, ‘y/n!’ I turn back around slowly, pretending to be surprised when I see them. ‘Oh, hey! I didn’t see you guys there. Where have you been all night?’ I ask, taking a couple steps towards them but still keeping my distance, my eyes staying on Jeongin and not straying to the annoyingly handsome boy beside him. ‘We’ve been around. The question is, where have you been all night? There’s eight of us, and one of you, and none of us have seen you,’ Changbin says with a grin, and I raise an eyebrow, taking a sip from the lemonade. ‘I’ve been around,’ I reply, and his eyebrows go up, an impressed look on his face. ‘Touché,’ he murmurs, a grin spreading across my face at that.

‘I’m gonna head back to the girls in the living r-’ ‘Why in such a rush, y/n? Stay and chat for a bit,’ Felix says with a small smile, eyes cryptic, and I raise an eyebrow. ‘About what?’ ‘You.’ ‘What about me?’ ‘What you’re dressed up as,’ Felix says, and I laugh softly. ‘I was a pink lady, but I got too hot, so I took my jacket off. Is that all?’ I ask, the boys exchanging a glance. ‘No, no, not quite,’ Jisung says, and I roll my eyes. ‘What else then?’ I ask, sounding exasperated to my own ears. ‘I wanna know why you’re so drunk,’ Seungmin says dryly, and I let out a laugh. ‘I’m not that drunk.’ ‘Your eyes aren’t fully focused, the smell of peach gin is literally dripping off you, and you’re chewing on bubblegum to try and cover it up,’ he says pointedly, and I let out a little sigh. ‘Okay, so maybe I’m a bit drunk. What about it?’ ‘You’re usually so responsible, y/n. It’s not like you to get drunk. What’s going on?’ Minho asks, smirk on his face, and then I realise what’s going on. They know what happened, and they know that I’m hurt and that’s why I’m drunk, and they’re basically dangling it in my face.

‘If you must know,’ I begin, all of them practically hanging off my words, ‘I was drowning my sorrows, but now that I’m so drunk I can barely see straight, I feel a lot better. So good, in fact, that I might take the incubus I spoke to a little while ago up on his offer. So, if you’ll excuse me.’ I turn on my heel, heading back towards the living room, and then I hear his voice. ‘y/n, wait,’ he says softly, and I freeze, taking a deep breath before I turn back to face them, the boy shrinking in on himself when he sees my face. This is the first time I’ve looked at him properly, and it breaks my heart how beautiful he looks, his soft dark locks falling over his eyes, tall and lean build dressed in all black, top few buttons of his shirt unbuttoned and trousers skin tight. ‘Yes?’

‘Drowning your sorrows?’ he asks softly, and I want to scream at him, my eyes filling with tears. ‘The embarrassment of leaving me without a word wasn’t enough, and neither was the ghosting me or the telling your friends about what happened so they could interrogate me whilst I’m smashed, so now you have to humiliate me by making me spell out how hurt I am? Is that what’s going on here?’ I demand, voice wavering, and about a million emotions pass across his face, the most prevalent being guilt. ‘No, y/n, that’s not what I-’ ‘I don’t care. Please… just leave me alone like you have been the past few days,’ I spit out, turning back towards the living room, and then I hear sudden movement, feeling a hand grab my arm a few moments later.

I turn around to see him, desperation on his face, and wrench my arm away angrily. ‘y/n, please, let me… explain,’ he pleads, and I hesitate. This is all I wanted, an explanation, and that’s what I came in here for, but now… I don’t know if I can handle the hurt. We stare at each other for a few seconds until I open my mouth, not quite sure what I’m about to say. ‘Fine. Explain,’ I say quietly, relief appearing on his face. ‘Can we go outside?’ he asks, and I nod as I put my drink down on the counter top, letting him lead the way out of the kitchen and out through the back door, everyone whispering behind us.

‘I’m really sorry,’ he says when we’re sat down on a bench, and I let out a humourless laugh, not even looking at him. ‘You can’t be that sorry; you’ve been ignoring me and avoiding me since that night. No reply to my text, no call back, and you didn’t come to the apartment once. So forgive me for not believing you,’ I spit out, and he lets out a little sigh. ‘y/n, I am sorry. And I know I shouldn’t have ghosted you, but I wasn’t sure what I else to do. I should’ve just spoken to you and explained from the start.’ ‘You don’t need to explain. It’s pretty obvious,’ I say bitterly, and I can see him smiling sadly out of the corner of my eye. ‘No, y/n, you don’t understand,’ he says gently, and I meet his eyes as he tells me, ‘I love you.’

I feel my heart stop, my entire body freezing, and it takes a little while to process what he’s telling me. He loves me. ‘So… I heard right. That night, when I was falling asleep, you said it then, didn’t you?’ I ask, and he nods with sad eyes. ‘And it scared me so much that I left.’ ‘But… I love you too,’ I tell him, and he doesn’t react as I expect, just smiling wistfully and nodding. ‘I know you do. You have for a while, and I’ve been lying to both of us by pretending I didn’t know, and pretending I didn’t love you back. But I did, the whole time. I do.’ His words are all I’ve wanted to hear from him, for so long, and yet, he looks so sad, sounds so sad, and it’s breaking me. Why is he acting like there’s something between us that’s stopping this? ‘You love me, and I love you. What else is there to say?’ I ask, and he lets out a mirthless laugh.

‘You’re a human, and I’m a vampire,’ he says simply, as though that explains everything, and I blink at him before saying, ‘what about it?’ His lips curl up into an amused smile, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. ‘I’m over 300 years old. You’re, like, a fifteenth of that-’ ‘So what? We look the same age anyway.’ ‘We won’t forever. You’ll only get older, and I’ll stay the same. You’ll be 90 dating a 20-year-old.’ ‘That doesn’t matter. We’re in love, Jin. I don’t care what you look like, or what I look like.’ ‘And neither do I. But I won’t even be able to love you in public in a few years’ time, y/n. People will think you’re, like, my sugar mommy or something.’ ‘But I don’t c-’ ‘And, not just that, you’re alive. I’m dead. We can’t have a family, or have children-’ ‘Ugh, I don’t want kids. I never have,’ I say, nose scrunched up in disgust at the thought – all they do is eat, cry and shit. I’d rather not, to be honest – and he lets out a laugh. ‘You might change your mind as you get older.’ ‘Then we’ll adopt.’ ‘y/n…’ ‘I’m being serious! Wouldn’t you prefer to give a kid a better life than they’d have in the care system? Better than me having to carry a baby and my body getting all fucked up because of it.’ ‘And then the kids we adopt will grow to look older than their dad,’ he says pointedly, and my mouth is open, but no words come out. I’ve run out of solutions.

‘It doesn’t matter, Jin,’ I whisper, and he shakes his head sadly. ‘y/n, you’re being silly. You know that it’d never work out. I love you and you love me, but I can’t ask you to give your life to me, when I can’t give mine to you. We can’t grow old together, can’t start a family, can’t love each other in public – these are basic things in a human relationship.’ ‘But we wouldn’t be a human relationship.’ ‘Which is exactly the problem,’ he says softly, and I don’t even know what to say, my eyes full of tears. ‘I’m sorry, y/n. This wasn’t supposed to happen, but you make it too easy for me to love you,’ he whispers, taking my hands into his and my tears spill over onto my face, making him let out a gentle laugh. ‘Don’t cry,’ he murmurs, leaning forward to kiss my tears away, and my eyes flutter shut. I wish I could live in this moment with him forever.

‘Okay, I’ve got a solution,’ I say, mustering up the courage to tell him something that’s been on mind for months now, and he breaks away from me with a raised eyebrow. ‘Living in seclusion so we don’t have to deal with people judging us for the difference in the ages that we look?’ he asks suspiciously, and I laugh. ‘That’s not what I was gonna say, but it’s a good idea,’ I joke, and he rolls his eyes. ‘It is not. What’s your solution?’ he asks, and I take a deep breath before saying, ‘you turn me.’

He doesn’t react, just staring at me for a few seconds before he says, ‘I must be losing my mind because I could swear you just suggested me turning you into a vampire.’ ‘I did.’ ‘y/n, are you fucking crazy?’ he demands, and I sigh. ‘Jin, hear me out-’ ‘No! Are you actually insane? There is no way in fucking hell!’ ‘Why not, Jin? What would I lose? The pale thing is a myth, the burning in the sun thing is a myth, the-’ ‘y/n, are you listening to yourself? That stuff might be myths, but you will have to drink blood to survive! You will watch generations of humans that you love die! You will lose your humanity!’ ‘Jin… I don’t care. The blood thing doesn’t bother me at all. You haven’t lost your humanity, so I don’t think I will either. And… maybe it’ll suck seeing my family die, but my friends… they want the same too, Jin. We’ve all been thinking about it and discussing it, and we all want to turn,’ I admit, his eyes nearly falling out of his head.

‘This isn’t, like, a matching tattoos thing! This is serious!’ ‘We know, Hyunjin, we’re not stupid! We’ve been discussing it for months! But I don’t care if they do or not – I want to anyway. I want to be with you… forever,’ I say, and he shakes his head. ‘No. I won’t turn you, and I won’t let anyone else do it either. It’s not happening.’ ‘Hyunjin, please. This isn’t a spur of the moment thing. I promise I’ve thought it through. I love you, and I want to spend the rest of time with you. I was just waiting to see if you felt the same way before I mentioned it to you. It doesn’t have to happen straight away, obviously, but I just want you to consider it,’ I say, and he shakes his head. ‘You don’t understand. My selfish side wants it more than anything – you think I don’t want to spend the rest of time with you? But my responsible side can’t let you give up human life for me.’ ‘Why? It’s what we both want. We’ll be happy, Jin, so happy, forever. I don’t expect you to agree to it, but promise me you’ll at least think about it, and we’ll discuss it regularly,’ I say, and he doesn’t say anything, looking down at his hands. ‘Please, Jin,’ I plead, and he sighs deeply before his eyes meet mine, my heart stopping like it does every time he looks at me.

‘I’ll think about it. That’s all,’ he says over my loud shout of celebration, an amused smile curling up his lips as I throw my arms around his shoulders, his hands coming around my waist to hold me against him. I tilt my head back to press my lips to his, eyes fluttering shut at the feeling of his kiss – it’s only been a few days, and it feels like a lifetime. He grins against my mouth and we break away after a few seconds, his lips coming to my forehead. ‘I love you,’ he murmurs against my skin, and I feel like I’ve never been happier when I reply, ‘I love you too.’

We stand up from the bench after a little while, holding hands as we head back up to the house. ‘You wanna dance?’ he asks, and I can’t say yes quickly enough, my eagerness making him chuckle. ‘Oh, the girls are gonna kill me.’ ‘Why?’ he asks, and I hesitate before replying, ‘maybe because they all hate you for ghosting me, and we’ve been cussing you nonstop since you left.’ His mouth drops, fear in his eyes, and I wave it off. ‘Don’t worry, it’ll be fine when I explain. But they didn’t even know I was coming to speak to you.’ ‘Well, neither did you. You came to get a drink,’ he says, and I raise an eyebrow. ‘You’re 300 years old and you still don’t know about girls, do you? I came to get a drink because I knew you’d speak to me, stupid,’ I say as though it’s obvious, and his eyes widen. ‘You’re so sly.’ ‘Oh, whatever. You should be glad. If I hadn’t set it up, we wouldn’t be…’ I trail off, not actually sure what we are, and a small smirk spreads across his lips.

‘Wouldn’t be what?’ ‘I don’t know. What… are we?’ I ask, and he laughs. ‘Will you be my girlfriend?’ he asks amusedly, as though he thinks it’s silly, and I know he’s only asking for my benefit. ‘Yes,’ I grin, preening at the question, and he rolls his eyes. ‘So we’re boyfriend and girlfriend, I suppose,’ he laughs, and I laugh along with him, half finding it ridiculous that after confessing that I want to be a vampire so I can spend the rest of my life with him, our relationship is reduced down to boyfriend and girlfriend, and half ecstatic that I can officially call Hwang Hyunjin my boyfriend.

‘Do you know how exciting this is?’ I ask, and he chuckles, raising an eyebrow. ‘We’ve practically been dating for months already anyway.’ ‘I know, but it’s official. Now I can tell people you’re my boyfriend instead of saying you’re my hot friend,’ I explain, and he looks at me in confusion. ‘Who have you been saying that to?’ ‘On nights out, when girls would ask if you’re my boyfriend. I’d say no, you’re my hot friend, and they’d ask if you were single.’

‘And what would you tell them?’ he asks suspiciously, and I bite my lip. ‘No. Obviously. Why would I want all these pretty girls trying to get with you?’ ‘You’re the only pretty girl I’d ever want, y/n,’ he murmurs, making my heart skip a beat, and I raise an eyebrow. ‘I’m being serious! Look how hot you are in your… costume,’ he says amusedly, eyes travelling up and down my body, and I roll my eyes. ‘I promise you, I was wearing my Pink Ladies jacket a little while ago,’ I say, and he raises an eyebrow, taking his own jacket off and putting it over my shoulders. ‘That’s better. I don’t like people looking at what’s mine,’ he says lightly, only half-joking, and I feel my stomach fill with butterflies. ‘Now,’ he says sternly, face serious but eyes shining with amusement, ‘what did you say about an offer from an incubus?’

5 YEARS LATER

Chan and y/n are married and living together in the house next door to the pack house, raising three little werewolf pups. y/n still works night shifts at the diner because she’ll miss it too much if she leaves, and she’s the only one who knows the wolves’ after-turning orders off by heart. She has it ready for them when they arrive, and she feels herself falling in love with him all over again each time he walks in, the same way she did the first time he walked in with his sandy hair and his bright sparkling eyes.

Minho and y/n are in a long-distance relationship – she’s in District 9 and he’s in the 2nd Circle of Hell. He stays at her apartment a couple nights a week, and he takes her for date night every Saturday. Ryujin and Chaeryeong are also seeing a couple of Minho’s friends – y/n’s friends and his friends make quite the dysfunctional group. y/n found a ring in his jacket a little while ago and has been waiting for him to propose, waiting eagerly until she can say yes. She hasn’t come up with a solution to the problem of him not aging when she does, but that can come later, because their love is all that matters to her right now.

Changbin and y/n are happily ruling together in the 5th Circle, doing whatever they can to turn demon hunters back to their original state. They have had a child together and y/n is pregnant again – Minho and his girlfriend pay regular visits because of how much the human girl adores their child. They are old, so old, but y/n feels like a little girl when she’s with Changbin – their love keeps them young and happy, and will do so for the rest of time.

Hyunjin and y/n still live in their apartment, now as an engaged vampire couple. They’ve been engaged for a couple years now and still haven’t started wedding planning yet – they have all of eternity to do that. Lia and Yeji have both turned, and Yuna, Ryujin and Chaeryeong plan to do so too, in the next year or so. y/n’s family knows what she and Hyunjin are, and they have since gotten over their initial despair about the fact that their baby girl will stay this way for the rest of time, and the couple are always welcome at family events. The two have discovered that vampire blood tastes so much better than human blood, and has better effects than human blood too. y/n is still Hyunjin’s little blood bag, but she has a particular fondness for the name now.

Jisung and y/n have their own apartment together in District 9, and they are very much in love. At the beginning, y/n found it difficult that Jisung has sex with people for a living, and so they began… training y/n, building up her stamina and tolerance in a sexual sense, and now she can satiate Jisung alone. Even if she couldn’t, Jisung still wouldn’t have sex with anybody else – she’s the only one he ever wants. y/n and Seonghwa are good friends now, and Jisung and y/n regularly meet up with Seonghwa and his husband (Jisung found it hilarious when they got news of Seonghwa being closeted all that time – he claimed that it made perfect sense because no straight human boys are good enough at sex to get the title of Sex God). y/n still gets a little upset that Jisung can’t get her pregnant, but she’s come to terms with it and the couple have now started to look into adoption.

Felix and y/n have bought a house together on Earth, their common ground, and are engaged – y/n found it slightly ridiculous when Felix proposed to her, considering they’re otherworldly beings that don’t really conform to humans’ customs like marriage, but she still said yes in a heartbeat. Lucifer and God both regularly reach out to the couple, asking them to visit, and have even showed up at their house a few times (it was more than awkward when they both visited at the same time). Felix and y/n stayed a few weeks in the 5th circle with Satan’s daughter and her love, and their child took a particular liking to Felix. After seeing him with the child, y/n suggested they have children of their own, and they have begun trying to get pregnant.

Seungmin and y/n are living together in District 9, the two of them slowly aging together as a happy married couple. y/n redecorated Room 13 at the surgery for Seungmin, and she much prefers it now, spending a lot of her time there with him, training to become a magical nurse. Seungmin’s mum was over the moon when y/n started making appearances at family events again, and she played the part of the enthusiastic mother-in-law perfectly at their wedding a year ago. y/n is still trying her best to be a nicer person, and she is mainly succeeding. She slips up every now and then, but Seungmin is always at her side to pull her up on it.

Jeongin and y/n lived together at 325 Sunshine Street for a little over three years before Jeongin sat y/n down to tell her that he wouldn’t be a ghost for much longer, and would be passing over to the afterlife soon, as he had discovered that his unfinished business was the house. He’d found someone worthy of living in the house, and they’d truly made it a home – where he and his friends had made it fit to live in, a house in only a home once it’s full of light, love and life. And once y/n had brought that, his business on earth was finished. She held back her sadness over the last few weeks of his time with her, and threw a farewell party with all of his friends. She felt her heart break when she awoke one morning to find that the other side of the bed was empty, and he was gone forever. Jeongin’s friends drop in nearly every day to check on y/n, and she’s doing much better than she was when he first left. She still misses him, more and more every day, but she’ll be okay, because she knows that even if she can’t see him, he’s always with her, no matter what.

[escxpedes]

loopholes

I haven’t written anything for a fictional couple in a very long time, much less obsessed over them. That being said, the show can only give me so much. I could write a thesis paper on why Angus Macgyver and Riley Davis belong with each other, but that’s for another time. I have this idea about writing macriley drabbles, oneshots, etc every day until they become canon. It’s a bit crazy, but let know if that’s something you’d be interested in. I have so many ideas, and my fingers are itching to write every single one. I’d like to thank @refinedbuffoonery because even though I don’t know you personally, your work inspired me to write and I couldn’t bring myself to even touch a word document (unless it was for class) until now. Please go easy on me, I’m a little rusty. I hope you guys like it! x

~

loop·hole noun | A loophole is an ambiguity or inadequacy in a system, such as a law or security, which can be used to circumvent or otherwise avoid the purpose, implied or explicitly stated, of the system

~

Riley finally moves into her new apartment, but struggles to adjust after the events of Codex and the realization of her feelings for Mac. When Mac finds her passed out over her keyboard after a late night of coding at Phoenix, he decides a talk is long overdue. Just some slightly angsty soft!macriley to help you cope with this season 5 hiatus. 

~

there is a love I reminisce, (like a seed i’ve never sown.)

There's a lot about Los Angeles that makes it home for Riley, but her new apartment doesn't exactly fall under the list. It's a quaint place, just big enough for her to live comfortably. It's only ten minutes from Phoenix Homebase, a couple of blocks from her favorite late-night pick me up, and she was able to negotiate the rent to a livable wage—always ask for more than you want, as Jack would have told her if he was there.

Although, she's pretty sure the negotiating tip is common knowledge.

Despite this, there’s something about the way the place feels that she can’t place. It’s not enough of a reason to stop her, though, so she takes a leap of faith and gives the grouchy landlord the required security deposit. 

Of course, when she finally gets around to mentioning it to the team, they insist on helping. She doesn't even try to dissuade them, already knowing they'll show up on moving day with extra boxes and a case of beer.

It takes several trips with Mac's truck and most of the day, but eventually, the echoing, empty rooms of her new abode are filled with boxes packed with belongings that probably aren’t labeled correctly. 

Everyone is hard at work before she can even put the last box down, and it fills Riley's heart with so much appreciation, it nearly knocks the air out of her. 

For the first time since she signed the lease, the apartment comes to life.

She watches as Matty scolds Russ for not reading the directions before putting together the desk she recently picked up from IKEA. She notices Bozer checking out the fridge, ranting to nobody in particular about good ventilation. She helps Desi unpack the kitchen, cracking open the beer and passing them out to everyone. 

Riley lets out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding, and for a moment, it almost feels like everything will be okay.

Then, she notices Mac scouring every inch of the place: checking the light fixtures, fiddling with all the faucets, making sure her locks work, always preoccupied with her and their team's safety.

It's such a familiar sight, something so undeniably Angus Macgyver, that it makes her heart both swell and clench at the same time.

Before Mac has the chance to ask where her air conditioner and heater are, just to make sure it has all the working components, Matty gathers everyone in the kitchen and proposes a toast.

It's endearing, and among all the excitement, Riley almost forgets why she dreaded moving out of Mac's house in the first place.

Almost.

It still lingers in the back of her mind, showing in the faltering smiles that she struggles to hold when the attention isn't on her.

She knows she should be grateful for her new place, grateful for an escape from the near-constant pressure building up since she recognized her feelings for Mac. 

This is an opportunity to move forward, to forget the way Mac's hand curled around hers in the presence of danger and instantly tamed her racing mind.

So far, she hasn't had any luck.

Before Riley knows it, and maybe before she's ready, the night is over, and slowly, everyone packs up their things and clears out. After all, they had to be up early in the morning, and the world isn't going to save itself.

Mac is the last to leave, prattling on about an untrustworthy screw in one of her ceiling fans and urging her to call him if something needs fixing.

She knows he's serious about it, knows that he'd answer in a heartbeat, no matter the time, place, or situation. His selfless nature is something some might consider a weakness, but to Riley, it's one of the many things she loves about him.

On the outside, she's the epitome of ease, full of soft smiles and effortless wit. On the inside, she wonders why it hurts more than it did before.

She knows why, but she's afraid to admit it.

When he pulls her into a hug, it feels like something inside her is breaking. Her lungs constrict, it's hard to breathe, but she refuses to let go. Instead, she buries her face into his neck and tries to commit the warmth and comfort she feels in his embrace to memory.

When she finally pulls away, because some things are just too much to bear, she swears she can feel the smallest reluctance in his movements.

When the door shuts behind him, the silence is deafening. It fills the room with the feeling of regret, and things left unsaid. Without the laughter and silly conversation as a consistent distraction, her mind goes into overdrive.

Although she can't stand the absence of sound, things like music and the pointless jargon of shitty late-night television only remind her of what she can no longer enjoy.

Or, moreover, what she can't enjoy with the people she wants to.

Glimpses of the past couple weeks surge forward before she can stop them; the feeling of being completely comfortable next to Mac while they watch the most recent episode of Rick and Morty, their shoulders brushing as they discuss possible endings and conspiracies.

Or when they ordered takeout after a failed attempt at something as simple as stir fry, although she can't help but admit that it was cute that he tried, her knees brushing his under the small dining table due to his tall frame.

Even annoying memories like being woken up at the crack of dawn to the sound of Mac building complicated machinery or adjusting something on his motorbike fill her with so much longing.

Living with Mac had felt so effortlessly right, but Riley couldn't fool herself anymore.

Of course, she knows that they could easily replicate the activities at either of their homes, and nobody would think anything of it. Something inside her thinks it's wrong somehow, that she's betraying Desi, or rather, the respect she has for her.

Not to mention, Mac is her best friend.

She would sooner go back to Supermax before entertaining the idea of ruining their friendship over something as silly as her feelings.

It's easier to remove herself from the equation, to add distance, and allow herself to heal and move on with her life. Unfortunately, moving on is easier said than done, but knowing that certainly doesn't make it hurt any less.

So, instead of turning in and spending the next several hours staring at the ceiling trying to figure out how she got into this mess, Riley plugs in her old coffee machine and double strains the coffee grounds for an extra-strong helping of caffeine.

Matty talked to her recently about upgrading the Phoenix’s firewall, and there's no time like the present to get started.

She sets up her new monitors, pushing the unwelcome reminder that throwing herself into her work is an unhealthy coping mechanism to the back of her mind.

Pouring herself a large cup of coffee and grabbing a warm blanket, she settles into her chair and stares at the bright screen of her desktop

It's going to be a long night. 

[kerwritesthings]

South Of The Equator

Summary: Gestures of love are woven in the fabric of relationships, especially ones built around the priority of your love

Word Count: literally juuuuust shy of 5.8k

Warning: pining, love and fluff

Author Notes: Muse fell in love with this photo last week when Bre threw it out onto my dash, spit out stupid notes at midnight that night for it along with about 350ish words and then didn’t touch it until again yesterday evening where I proceeded to crank out about 5.8k in less than 24 hours. Oops?

This falls well later into the verse, like the latest I’ve taken it thus far. It just felt right to bring this into that part of the timeline with the premise and where the muse was taking this. Can be read as a standalone but diving into the verse and the masterlist would give a little bit more understanding.

It was not in the plans. Whatsoever. A whim. A lot of longing. A lot of missing connections. A lot of feeling that this was a sync you just wouldn’t be able to get. That scares the both of you, more than either of you will let on especially to the other. You both promise that this would be the longest stretch on this very last swing – something like 48 or 50 days depending on travel for both of you, that a somewhere between 12 and 14-hour plane ride at best for a long weekend made no sense. You’re in Bucharest when he starts the swing in Mexico. What was thought to be a few days off for him to come home to see you between the last Mexico show and the venture further south becomes non-existent, with surprise pop up concerts in both Costa Rica and Panama along with hoopla surrounding them on either side that the label drops last minute. You initially think you’d be able to make the last shows, but there was a potential work trip to Hong Kong hanging over your head, so you both agree not book anything.

Well, love makes you do some stupid and irresponsibly crazy things. When the Asia client pushes their timeline back, things change completely. Which is why you find yourself on the phone, trying to make arrangements while juggling 7 open browser tabs on your laptop at nearly 1am. This is what you do for each other. It’s been established. It’s been done for each other on numerous occasions throughout your relationship. But it’s never been something like this. This grand and involved.

“Up for a bit of a challenge?” you start. “What’s the actual schedule like between Buenos and Rio and Santiago?”

“Flip it around. Chile first. Then Buenos then Sao Paulo. Finish off in Rio,” Beatriz laughs. “Don’t book the wrong flight. Cause. This is where it’s going isn’t it? This bugger is so lucky to have you. He best appreciate this. He’s been whiny. More to Cez then me. Andrew too, but he trusts Cez more when it comes to you.”

“He’s not the only one,” you sigh. “Dee’s taken to sending me videos and photos of Tali every day before I call to bitch to her to try to ease my tension. We’ve done longer, when we first got together. This one though. We’re just not taking it well, either of us. It feels off. He can’t come to me, so I have to go to him.”

“There’s doubles now in Santiago, not just in Buenos and Rio. Only the one in Sao Paulo. Days off scattered through, but definitely some between the city jumps. Are you really going to try to do just a weekend down here?” she asks.

“Work remote if I can swing it. Then bank out on some time off. I’m due after the extra hours to lock in the Danish project and the haul to Bucharest for basically a 48-hour lookie loo from them with no commitments. Boss lady is great as long as my work gets done and I don’t pull the ask for ‘but my famous boyfriend’ very often, if at all,” you explain, poking away at the keys of your laptop.

“Ooh Denmark, so you going to get out for that one?” Beatriz questions. “Do you have a lam for this tour? Should we get you another?”

“I think I can, timing looks ok and I may be able to drag Shawn with me for once since it’s after all this hoopla,” you mutter, poking at Kayak and cursing. “I think I do, snag one just in case if it’s not too much trouble. It looks like Air Canada has a direct from Pearson to Santiago at 11 hours of flight time and an overnight red-eye. Bless it. No layovers. Less chance for him to even let on. Y’all can sneak me in on the flights between yeah?”

“Shawn is gonna shit you know this right?” she laughs. “I heard about your surprises you both have pulled on each other before, but this is something else. Duh girl, yes of course. He’d have you sit on his lap the whole flight if he had to, but we definitely have the room. Give me the flight info. I’ll make Cez book it. Do not even think about clicking that buy button that I know you’re hovering over.”

“Bea...” you begin.

“No, not hearing it. Cez blocked out travel budget for him to go home and you know that didn’t happen, so your flight there and then back with him at the end it is instead,” Beatriz interjects. “I’ll loop in C for sure. Maybe Andrew. Less folks who know the better, we need to keep this on lock down.”

“Beatriz, you’re the best. I owe you big time. I’m so glad you’re on this rag tag motley crew,” you thank her. “Let Cez know if he needs anything when he’s booking, if they don’t have it saved to just let me know.”

“Bottle of Bulleit and you finally spill the recipe for those kitchen sink bars the boys are always raving about and inhaling, we’ll call it even,” she deadpans. “But no really, I’m glad to help. As much as I tease that boy of yours, I’ve got a soft spot for him. We need to figure an epic reveal. It’s late. I’ll fire off a text to Cez and we’ll be on it tomorrow. Off with you. Night!”

You have a week between that call and your flight down to get all your things in order luckily. Work is understanding and accommodating, your boss practically sending out the out of office email for you after she hears your plans. He meanwhile has a few shows in Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia ahead of him within that same time frame.

“There’s that face I adore,” you smile through FaceTime as you’re tucked in bed, two nights before you’re due to leave. “Hi you. How was the show? Where are you now?”

“Just out of the shower in the hotel and about to fall face first into bed, but I needed a dose of my pretty girl before I do,” he exhales, running a hand though his mess of wet curls. “Good, crowds down here are something else. Beyond the first time I swung through, on the last tour. And them singing back in perfect English still breaks my brain a little. Tired though. Looking forward to the break. Day break here, then like a half one off in Santiago before the last few shows. It’s so crazy to think we’re there already.”

“I can’t believe it’s almost over,” you murmur. “You did it baby, an entire circle of the globe. I’m beyond proud of you.”

“As much as I love this, I’m ready for just me, you and our bed. At least for a week straight, if not a few of them,” he chuckles. “Remind me of how tired I am now when I start to say I’m twitchy or bored, ok?”

“If you say so,” you say sleepily. “Just remember, I get to drag you with me on some my work trips next. Denmark for sure. Hong Kong perhaps since that’s still a moving target. Maybe Prague. Wanna be a silly romantic tourist with you for a bit. Just me and you”

“Always me and you, sweetheart. Go get some sleep. You’ve got work in the morning,” he whispers. “We can talk more tomorrow, promise.”

“You sure?” you fight back a yawn, eyes starting to flutter. “Can you sing to me though? Please? I miss you. Be like you’re here.”

He starts humming at first, the eases into a slowed down, Shawn-esque version of Sam Smith’s Latch. You want to stay awake to hear the whole thing, but he sounds like he’s there singing it right into your ear while he’s got your back against his chest. It’s so pretty, easy and dream like that you drift off in moments. He watches you for a few minutes after he finishes the song, making sure you’re truly asleep. Plus, he just wants to feel like he’s next to you in bed.

“Goodnight and sleep well, baby,” he whispers before disconnecting from FaceTime, a small smile slipping across his lips.

“He still has no clue by the way, so you’ve done a bang-up job,” Cez explains as he rings you while you’re in the car on the way to Pearson. “You’re still running on time from what we checked so you’re good. We’ve got everything square. Bea will come snag you from the airport, you’ll have time to hit the hotel, she’ll have the extra room key for you so you can get some actual rest and then get ready. Figure we’ll grab you while he’s doing Q&A. Do you want to surprise him before the show? After?”

“During?” you laugh, leaning your head back against the headrest as the car makes its way down the 401. “Maximum effect. Con would be on my side too you know, epic footage.”

“Of course, you do,” he retorts. “I should have known. Don’t forget, I’m on your side too. I’m glad this worked. I know it’s been a long stretch. For the both of you. I’ve seen it wear on him, but he’s put up a good front minus a few nights where he ends up with me until he needs to get to sleep, just needing someone who understands to talk to.”

“I’m glad he has you, that we both have you. You are a gift, Cez, really,” you reply as the car slows to ease up to the terminal. “I’m just about to hop out. I’ll text you and Bea when I land in the morning, customs will probably take a bit to get through. Thank you again.”

“Fly safe, dear. Try to get some rest and we’ll see you tomorrow,” he responds.

Check in was easy, of course they went above and beyond on the flight. You text Cez and Bea a photo of a cookie from the lounge with your ticket telling them they did not need to and thanking them. Cez responds first.

Again, you know if he found out we flew you like in row 24 on a flight that long, he would pitch a fit. I’m not up for a Shawn fit this late into the last of the last legs of tour. Enjoy the space and the lay flat. Sunshine and that boy awaits you.

Beatriz chimes in next.

Label owes you and the pain in the arse, so enjoy it! Have one for me. I’ll be there for you tomorrow with bells on and a tea in hand. Cannot wait for this – so epic. You two are nauseatingly adorbs.

The flight wasn’t crowded thankfully and the room to stretch fully is a welcome bonus. You are able to wind down a lot easier than expected and get a decent amount of sleep especially given it was on a flight, lay flat or not. Despite an extra circle, you land only a few minutes past your initial arrival time, make it through customs quickly and thankfully your luggage is waiting for you once you’re done.

“There she is,” Beatriz calls out as you head out to the open concourse. “And in one piece too with all your bits and bobbles. Good, the boss won’t be angry. And as promised, your tea!”

“Which one?” you chuckle, snagging the iced chai before hugging her.

“I can handle Cez, your man though,” she rolls her eyes as you walk out to the sprinter van. “He tried you last night when we were coming back from dinner, couldn’t get through even though we all told him it was late. He got all sad puppy. You were just about taking off, so it made sense. If he only knew what today is bringing him. I’ll drop you at the hotel, sleep, shower, eat, do whatever. I’ll be round to grab you about 4.”

As soon as you step into his room, you are overwhelmed just by the sheer sense of being back in his space again, despite him not even being there at the moment. You drop your suitcase, strip and crawl immediately into his still unmade bed to surround yourself in the smell of him. Setting your alarm before you drift off, you curl yourself around his pillow and exhale. Only a few more hours and you’ll be able to wrap your arms around him instead of a goose down that carries whiffs of his scent. A deep breath, an inhale you hold just for a moment before letting it go carefully and you’re drifting away.

You wake shortly before the alarm and to a couple texts from Shawn.

Miss you pretty girl. Almost there.

FaceTime after the show tonight? Even just for a few, I can tuck you in from here again like the other night.

Saw this on the drive over before, couldn’t help but think of you.

It was a slightly angled photo out the car window, but it was of a park with a fountain surrounded by high bushes littered with flowers.

I wish I could press you into those blooms and kiss you. Would make such a pretty picture. Love you baby.

You will yourself not to cry. That sweet, sentimental boy of yours. You’ll have time, you need to make that happen tomorrow.

I miss you sweetheart, so much. Yes to tonight, I’d love a tuck in from you. We’re so close. Love you <3

A shower, some primping and a good battle with both your blow dryer and your travel steamer later, you’re finally ready to head out.

“He’s a lucky bastard this one,” Beatriz whistles before handing over your new credential as you slide the van door closed behind you. “Don’t you have any sisters you can send my way? Cousins?”

“Sorry Bea, only child,” you laugh, as the van pulls away. “Cousins are stateside and not your type.”

“He was happy to hear from you before. Stopped in the middle of sound check to look at his phone. Got all stupid smiley and googly eyed,” she rolls her eyes. “He’s so gone on you if it wasn’t so bloody sweet to see him so gushy, it would make me ill.”

“Just wait ‘till later. I should apologize now,” you explain.

“Why there’s no plans for post-show, dearie. We knew better,” she giggles. “Shawn’s not going to want to share.”

You can’t help but smile as you pass the park he sent you the photo of earlier, it’s prettier than his shot let on. You definitely have to go there tomorrow. From that point, it’s a windy way through the streets of Santiago to the arena.

“He should just be wrapping up,” Beatriz prattles, looking at her watch as you make your way through the bowels of the building. “Which is good, I can sneak you into Cez’s room without him sniffing about. You, he, Jake and Con still need to hash everything out yeah?”

“Kind of. It’s the fine tuning of details at this point,” you say, flipping the pass around in your hands before slipping it around your neck as you walk, still not fully grasping you’re going to see him as soon as you are. “It’s a matter of where to go in the pit during his walk up to stage where I won’t be spotted too easily, but also not be in the way of everything either. I think it’ll work, totally up to Jake though. Worse case, we’ll do it just before rally or he hits the stage. Better visuals, and Con will agree with me, but it’s Jake and Cez who have final call.”

“It’s brilliant, all of it. However, here is where I leave you for now,” Beatriz nudges you through the door into Cez’s makeshift office for the next two days. “Need to make sure the sound techs have everything. Fridge is stocked, so steal what you need. He should be back in a few. They’re due to be walking your man now. His room isn’t far, so stay put. I’ll let C know you’re here. Toodles!”

Shortly after you settle in on the couch, engrossing yourself in your inbox, you feel someone settle down next to you.

“Thank god you’re here, I cannot do the sad Shawn shit anymore,” Connor sighs, throwing an arm around your shoulder. “I love him like a brother but damn, this go has been a beast when he’s feeling it like that.”

“Hi Connor, I’ve missed you too Connor, it’s good to see you Connor,” you roll your eyes, pushing his arm off you with a poke.

“Yeah yeah, all that too,” he smiles, sliding his arm back into place and kissing your cheek. “It’s good to have you here, all that aside. Despite all that, missed you around these parts.”

“Considering Central America took away our long weekend together, with no warning. It’s just been a hard go this swing. For both of us. May just be the wear and tear of a tour this long finally hitting. Even with as much as we’ve made it a priority to stay more connected and grounded. You guys are lucky it’s the end and it didn’t happen in like the middle of Europe, or the US leg. Though that would have been easier to get to than an almost 11-hour flight,” you fight out.

“You’re too good for him you know?” he teases. “Remember, he has friends if you ever need to bail.”

“Not any of y’all that’s for sure. No way. And, it’s the other way around, Con,” you reply, poking at his knee. “So, you’ve seen the setup, what’s going to make the most sense?”

“We’re going to do whatever you want, missus,” Jake chimes in as the door shuts behind him and Cez. “Only thing I require is a hug.”

“I think that can be arranged,” you say happily, ducking around Connor to get to Jake. “Con, stop being in the way.”

“Thank you,” you murmur to Jake as he pulls you into an embrace.

“We should be thanking you,” he whispers hugging you tightly. “And seriously. We’ll make it all happen. Kid needs this as much as you do.”

You pull away, smiling. “Ok guys so here’s what I’m thinking. Let’s surprise him on the walk out.”

The details come together quickly as well as easily. You’re happy, the team is comfortable with it all. It also helps he’s not expecting a thing. Everyone’s on board.

“So,” Cez begins, rolling a bottle of water around in his hands as everyone else filters out. “Hop a flight on a whim in the states or Canada is one thing. Cross the pond, a little more effort, but doable. This is something else entirely, even for the two of you.”

“I don’t know why this one is so different; I wish I knew; believe me I do. It would have saved me an 11-hour flight,” you utter. “It’s not like we’ve not done it before. We got through this, worse even, when he went out on last leg of the last tour and I had no leverage to take time off to come out other than that last show. We were only together a little bit at that point.”

Cez smiles his all-knowing smile, looking down at your hands playing with your credential. “I think you do, somewhere in there. I think he does too, well I know he does.”

“What are you talking about?” you ask inquisitively. “We’re good, really good. Minus this blip and it’s just us being a little more emotionally wound together. More in the groove than we’ve ever been. It’s been great, actually.”

He smiles yet again, making you wonder even more, and picks up his hand pointing to a certain finger.

“No,” you shake your head.

He nods, still smiling. “You’re practically there already.  We were honestly all surprised it didn’t happen before tour, or at break. Especially after Japan. I knew though not the holidays, it’s too cliché and not him, or you. He’s asked me a few things, more recently. Won’t give away more than that, but it kind of all makes sense. At least to me.”

“I just. Like. Shit Cez,” you sigh, looking down at the lam in your hands. “We’ve talked about it before, couple times. We want it, both of us. He’s it for me, and vice versa. He knows I’ll say yes. I’ve told him as much. But I’m also not that girl that needs the pretty on her hand to know where we stand in our relationship. He’s also not that overly possessive man who needs to prove he’s got me like that to the world, even in his crazy whirlwind of a life.”

“I think it’s both of you really ready for what’s next and this just all happens to be in the way right now. But, you’re here now, which not only is he going to be over the moon about, the rest of us are pretty happy as well. Not just because he’ll be in better spirits, it’s because we love you just as much too,” he states plainly. “You’re as much a part of this, a part of the family. I’m personally glad you’re here for these last few. This run’s been special, you should be here for the end of it.”

“Do not make me ruin my makeup, damnit,” you half laugh, half bite back a sob. “I’m so glad he has you, not just on the road, but in general. I know how much he loves you. I do, too.”

His phone pings rapidly.

“Ten-minute warning for fetching him. Let’s go get you out and set. Phil’s on you until Jake walks out with Shawn,” he states, reaching for his headset in one hand, for you with his other.

You carefully walk down the back hallway towards the stage together. Jake and Phil meet you at the back corner of the build out. Jake hands you off a fresh pair of earplugs.

“You’re going to need these,” he reminds you. “It’s his usual walk, so he won’t expect a thing. Especially seeing Phil at that junction of the barricade, once Phil gets the signal from me that we’re going, he’ll shift behind you so Shawn can spot you.”

You throw him a thumbs up as you wedge the plugs into place. Phil takes your arm in his, his other hand patting your forearm.

“Let’s go surprise him,” he says, leading you out to the pit.

For some reason, probably your conversation with Cez if you’re being honest with yourself, has your stomach set off with butterflies. You’ve not been like this since the early days of your relationship. Excited, always. Happy, without a doubt. Nervous though? No. You try to not shift about, instead closing your eyes to take in the moment. The crowd is loud, you can smell the remnants of the smoke machine test earlier lingering in the air.

Phil taps your shoulder, sliding you into place in front of him.

“He’s walking,” he mouths with a wink.

The house lights come down and the stage lights start to just warm. You exhale and lean back onto Phil slightly, whose hands come to rest comfortably on your shoulders. The opening video starts to roll and the lights hit the pit walk so you know you’ve got about 30 seconds at best before he comes into view. Phil pushes you forward just a touch just as you spot Jake and Shawn with Connor shuffling just behind to get the right angle for the surprise.

He’s in his pre-show zone, not taking in much around him. Jake nudges him though and his eyes shoot up. Shawn looks over towards you, taking a moment for things to register, and when it does his smile is as bright as you’ve seen. His eyes grow wide, he turns to Jake, who nods with a grin and then Shawn takes off in a sprint.

“Surprise!” you try to scream, but he’s already got you in his hold lifting you to swing you around.

“Tell me I’m not dreaming, please,” he utters in your ear before pulling you closer, finally getting you back on your feet.

You slide your hands from his shoulders, one to the nape of his neck fingering the wispy curls there, the other to nudge his one in-ear out.

“Not a dream, baby. Very much here, very much real. You got me for the rest of the run, love,” you say directly into his ear. “Go be my Rockstar. I’ll watch side stage, be there waiting for you after the show.”

You pop his in-ear back into place then cup his cheek, watching his eyes roll back slightly.

“I love you so damn much,” he yells before kissing you soundly. “I am so lucky you’re mine.”

Shawn rubs his nose against yours before sneaking in another kiss, then runs up to the stage with Jake on his heels. Jake winks as he passes, throwing a double thumbs up before Phil takes you towards the back staircase so you can set up on the rolling case you know is waiting for you.

The show is electric as always, but he’s got a special energy tonight. You can’t help but feel a bit happy as to probably being the reason why. He’s smiling, sweaty and disheveled, running back towards you in the break before the encore.

“You’re a mess,” you quip with a smile, handing him a bottle of water and a towel.

“Never minded that before,” he retorts back, running a hand through the mess of his hair after wiping his face down with the towel.

“Not the place Shawn Peter,” you say, shooing him away. “Go finish, I’m not going anywhere.”

He drops the water bottle down on the case next to you, stealing another kiss before bopping his way back out.

You hop off the case and head out towards the curtain line to get a better view. His encore covers have been something else this tour. He’s been leaning hard into Tom Petty’s Free Fallin’ and it’s a stunner, especially just him and the piano.

“I had a surprise tonight delivered to me just before the show, a really amazing one actually,” he begins as he settles into playing the piano. “So, if you all don’t mind, I’m going to play something a little special before I get into my last two songs.”

Once he hits the first few chords, your jaw drops immediately.

“You lift my heart up when the rest of me is down. You, you enchant me, even when you're not around. If there are boundaries, I will try to knock them down. I'm latching on babe now I know what I have found,” he sings and you can’t help but inch closer to the edge as far as you can go without being spotted or seen. “I feel we're close enough, I wanna lock in your love. I think we're close enough, could I lock in your love, baby? Now I got you in my space, I won't let go of you. Got you shackled in my embrace; I'm latching on to you.”

You didn’t expect this the other night, so you very much don’t expect it tonight. You can’t do anything but watch him, enamored and amazed. He sounds breathtaking. The whole song just gives you goosebumps, especially in a setting like this. Damn this boy.

“Thanks for indulging me tonight, Santiago,” he says and you can see the flush spreading across his cheeks, even from there. He immediately segues into Free Fallin’ to get his encore moving, before finishing completely with If I Can’t Have You.

He’s got a hold of your hands the moment he’s out of sight of the audience.

“Did you like it?” he asks, dipping his head down to kiss you, feather soft.

“Love it, love you,” you reply, dusting kisses across his knuckles. “Come on, let’s get you back there before they start to think we’re defiling a case on the stage.”

He chuckles, tangling his fingers deeper with yours before leading you towards his dressing room. As you hit the main hallway, most of the band and the crew are waiting there and start whooping and clapping the moment the two of you come into view.

“What the hell?” you question, as he holds your hand tighter trying to make your way down the hall. He shakes his head, cheeks pink as he bites his bottom lip.

“Hold up,” Jake stops you both just before the doorway to his room, arms crossing against his chest and a shit eating grin spread across his face. “Believe you owe this lady a thank you.”

“Hello, the song, on stage, the encore? In front of the whole damn audience,” he retorts, running his free hand through his curls before tugging you towards him and the door without getting you covered in post-show sweat. “Now I’d like to shower, get the heck out of here so I can spend some time with her. Without an audience.”

You can hear the snickers and wolf whistles, it’s your turn to flush. Jake shakes his head no.

“You know what you assholes, fine,” Shawn sighs before rolling his eyes.

“Don’t even with me kid,” Jake smirks.

“I know what you’re…” he trails off but tugs your hand, so you stand closer to him. “Shit. C’mere baby.”

The next thing you know he’s cupping your neck and kissing the breath straight out of you. Your hands fly up, one gripping his shoulder the other tangling in his hair. He pulls away first, just as breathless as you’re feeling.

“You all happy now? Can I please get into my room?” he asks.

Jake moves aside, patting him on the shoulder. He snatches your hand and tugs you into the room, shutting and locking the door behind you both.

“Do I even want to know?” you say, leaning back against the door as he toes off his boots.

“Grander the gesture, bigger the thank you,” he replies, stripping off his button down next, his tank and jeans follow. “They like to tease, you know this. Especially when you and I start getting the way we do. It’s all in good fun, but not when you pull the most epic surprise and I’ve run through a whole damn show. I haven’t seen you in how long and I still haven’t really held you or loved on you the way I want to.”

“Then you best go shower, sweetheart,” you tease. “You know feeling is mutual.”

He darts over to kiss you again, “Be right back.”

He’s quick, which you appreciate, and even more that he’s just in a pair of threadbare, low slung navy sweats when he heads back out to you. He drops the towel in his hand to snag yours, pulling you towards the couch. He flops down first and pulls you immediately down on top of him. He kisses your forehead before scooting you down so your head can rest comfortably on his shoulder. He smells fresh, clean, warm, like him and like home.

“Hi baby,” he murmurs against your lips before kissing you slowly and thoroughly. “Fuck, how I missed you. I can’t believe you’re here. I’m so damn happy that you’re here. You’re amazing you know that? How did you pull this off?”

“Once Hong Kong pushed timeline, I had a little wiggle room, but I wouldn’t be sure until Denmark signed off,” you explain, finger carefully tracing back and forth against his collarbone and shoulder. “I didn’t want to get either of our hopes up, so I didn’t say anything. Then like a week and a half ago? That night we just couldn’t get timing together I think you were in Panama still. I was up and cranky at stupid o’clock, said screw it. I knew I had some comp time due, had a little vacation time left, plus after Bucharest debacle on their part, they kind of owe me to boot. Called Bea, looped in Cez and voila.”

“You’re making it harder to even come remotely close to do for you what you do for me,” he presses his lips against your hair. “I’m so grateful for you.”

“There’s not a tally, sweetheart. We do for each other, you know this,” you remind him. “You and me, always right?”

There’s a knock on the door and jingling of keys, you go to move but Shawn holds you to him.

“Just gonna be C, we’re not doing anything. You stay put,” he wraps his arms around your waist and nuzzles your ear.  

“Sorry kids, time to get a move on,” Cez calls out from the doorway. “Can I come in? Are you at least PG?”

“It’s cuddling man, that’s all,” Shawn barks out with a laugh as you bury your head into his neck.

“You’ve got about 10 minutes to get yourselves together before the sprinter gets here,” he reminds you both. “We’ve got a curfew in the building overall, so we can’t be late on this one.”

“I’ll make sure he’s ready,” you reply, trying to wiggle out of his hold. “Let’s go, you. Need to get your stuff together. Can’t be late.”

“Listen to your girl, Shawn,” Cez remarks. “She’s right. Plus, you’ll be free of us and interruptions once you’re back at the hotel. Late call tomorrow since we’re already set here. I’m leaving the door unlocked and open so no funny bunny ok?”

“Thanks, Cez. See you in a few,” you say, trying to nudge at Shawn.

“You know that means we can go to that park in the morning,” you whisper, kissing his chin once Cez is back out in the hallway. “Upsy daisy dear.”

He sighs dramatically, but with a smile, “Only if you promise a little morning love, breakfast in bed and that park in the morning.”

“You drive such a hard bargain,” you giggle. “It’s a deal.”

He kisses you quickly and loudly before sitting up with you still in his hold, “I can’t wait to get you alone alone tonight.”

“Which would be sooner if you got a move on,” you roll your eyes, poking at his chest while his hands palm you ass.

He stops for a moment though, looks at you softly while not taking his eyes off of you.

“Love you pretty girl,” he declares, hand pushing stray strands of your hair away from your cheek, before holding it in his palm.

“Love you too, Shawn.”  

[gaylotusthatexists]

An Accidental Confession

pairing: dukexiety

summary: Virgil and Remus are relaxing together after a day at school, when Remus confesses something neither of them expected.

trigger warnings: swearing, blood mention, general remus-related body horror mention

word count: 1080

a/n: Yo, I wrote this based on a prompt by @pattonkittysquad2 over on the big bang discord server, so you can blame them for this entirely. Had a great time writing it tho, so thank you <3 Anyway this was just be practising writing dukexiety, but I hope y’all enjoy ^^

ao3

Virgil spread his legs out across the bed as he ran his fingers through Remus' hair. He hadn't exactly planned for this to happen, but it wasn't his fault that Remus had his head laid on his stomach, in the perfect position for Virgil to play with his hair. And Remus didn't seem to be objecting, so Virgil saw no reason to stop. Maybe asides from the fact that his brain wouldn't stop screaming because Remus was so close.

He was rambling on about something, Virgil was pretty sure. He wasn't quite paying attention. For the last hour or so since they arrived back at Virgil's place, Virgil had been scrolling through Tumblr on his phone, mostly looking at aesthetics and reblogging the occasional piece of art. This wasn't the first time they had done this, of course. Remus came round after school almost very day, and if he didn't he was often on call to Virgil for several hours, but...

Christ, they had never been this close. He supposed that Remus was just exhausted, or something. Tired. Exam season was coming up soon, and whilst Remus wasn't exactly a brilliant student, Virgil knew that he tried his best in his studies, and exam stress was definitely beginning to get to him. To get to both of them.

So nights like this was good. Nights where they didn't have to worry about school, where they could just lie together and be at peace. Remus was letting out his thoughts and emotions and Virgil was just relaxing.

"So then I just stab the guy, right? And-"

Oh. That didn't sound great. What was Remus talking about again?

"-then another monster comes round the corner, and at this point I've got basically no weapons and I'm completely fucked, y'know?"

Ah. A video game, probably. Remus did play a lot of those, Virgil noticed. Horror games particularly. Virgil himself wasn't a massive fan - he was a big fan of sleeping at night, not really a fan of staying up and staring at the door in case a horrible beast burst threw and ate off his face.

"-but of course I'm gonna keep going, because I gotta rescue my true love or whatever, right? Like, if you were stuck in a tower obviously I'd come and save you, so it wasn't really a question-"

Virgil froze. He stared at his phone screen for a second, vision blurring slightly, before he blinked and glanced down at Remus.

"Sorry, what did you just say?" he asked.

Remus smirked. "I tore the guys arm off and blood splattered everywhere," he repeated, proudly.

"No, uh, before that."

He frowned. "Before... Oh. Right." He sat up, readjusting himself to sit cross legged. "You mean about you being stuck in a tower?"

Virgil nodded, slowly.

"Yeah, I probably fantasise about that a little too much, I think Roman's a bad influence on me."

Virgil tried his best to remain calm. "D-Did you mean that other thing you said, though?"

Remus hummed. "What other thing?"

"You... You implied that you love me?"

Remus' eyes widened. "Oh, shit, did I?"

"Kinda?"

"Is... Is that okay?" he asked, moving his legs so they hung off the bed. "It's okay if it isn't. I mean, I do kinda think of you like that, but I understand if you don't, like it's fine, I-"

Virgil's thoughts exploded in a million different directions. Was Remus really saying what he thought he was saying? Was... Was this a confession of love, or something? Was this what Virgil had been waiting for, for so long, what he hadn't even thought he'd been waiting for?

Maybe he had known it. All those nights that the two had spent together, laughing and playing and sharing secrets. All those years where it was just the two of them, protecting each other, looking out for each other, taking on the world together. All of those hugs they had shared, the tears they had shed, the smiles they had traded. And now...

"Oh, God, sorry, I'm freaking you out now-"

Virgil shut him up by pressing their lips together and all of a sudden things began to make sense. In that moment, their hearts intertwined as one, beating in sync. Remus melted into Virgil, reaching his arms around his shoulders and kissing back. It was passionate, verging on aggressive, as they made up for all those years lost.

And when Virgil finally pulled away, he looked at Remus, staring back in shock. That look just made him panic again.

"Sorry, was that too-"

"Don't apologise," Remus said, moving closer to Virgil. "I just wasn't-"

"I feel the same way," Virgil blurted out, immediately turning a bright shade of pink a few moments later.

Remus giggled. "Wow, really? I never would've guessed-"

"Shut up," Virgil grumbled, shoving him playfully. "I... God, I didn't even realise it until just now."

Remus raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?"

"Yeah... H-How long have you-"

"Years," Remus said. "Since... Remember that time we went exploring in the woods and found that stone wall?"

Virgil nodded. "We climbed it and I fell off. I got a cut on my knee, it was bleeding for days..."

"That's when I first figured it out," Remus said. "The thought of losing you made me realise that I wanted to be with you, all the time. I-It was silly, because it was hardly a fall, you were fine, but... We were young."

"That- That was, like, five years ago, though," Virgil said.

"Yup." Remus smirked. "I was waiting."

For a moment longer, the two just stared at each other, until Virgil burst into laughter. He wasn't sure why - maybe he was just happy, or maybe it was something about Remus' smile. He threw his arms around Remus again and pulled him in for a hug, returning to scrolling into his phone, just happy that he understood what was so special about the two of them now.

"So, does this make us boyfriends?" Remus asked.

"Eh, I wouldn't put a label on it yet," Virgil said.

"But do I get to kiss you?"

"Absolutely."

[megaboy335]

Mega’s Top 2020 Anime

The year 2020 is finally coming to an end. It’s been an unusual year to say the least. Coronavirus more or less almost cancelled the entire spring anime season, which lead to a strange anime schedule for the rest of the year since delays have trickle down effects to what was in the pipeline. To be completely honest, this was not a good year for anime. I watched only a handful of very good shows, and the rest were mediocre at best. The top 5 shows I talk about here are definitely worth watching at least.

So with the introduction out of the way, lets get into this. As usual this list is just my opinions. Don’t take it too seriously.

1) Kaguya-sama Love is War? (Season 2)

The second season of Kaguya-sama took everything from season 1 and brought it up a level. The visual gags became more impressive, the voice acting was just as good, and the show is delivering sharper writing as we get deeper into the manga. 

Season 2 added two new notable aspects to the show. First, a new member to the main cast by the name of Iino. She adds a new angle to exploit for the skits as someone who adheres strictly to the rules. This often means Iino and Kaguya frequently bump heads. In fact how they interpret a situation can be entirely different, which creates numerous misunderstandings between them. Second, Kaguya-sama began expanding the skits into long form stories. There were a series of skits that form an arc spanning an entire episode, or in some cases multiple episodes. Episode 11 was the highlight of the season where Ishigami confronted his past to overcome the bad stigma surrounding his character. Additionally, the story added depth to his connection with Shirogane while making us realize there was more to Ishigami than meets the eye. Kaguya and Shirogane also both became a little closer as the tangled web of their schemes yielded unexpected results at times.

Kaguya-Sama has an ova and season 3 planned. I eagerly look forward to seeing what new crazy situations the characters find themselves in. 

2) A Certain Scientific Railgun T (Season 3)

After waiting 6 years since the conclusion of season 2, the Railgun anime finally returned to adapt two more arcs from the manga. 

The first half was a Railgun version of the Daissheisai Festival arc. This version focuses on a completely different event in the arc with a story involving Misaki, Misaka, and Dolly. It pulls us deeper into the story threads established in the Level Upper and Sisters arc of what the scientists were doing out of the public eye. We meet the original Misaka clone and how Misaki came to meet her which adds a new layer to the current Misaka and Misaki relationship that we never knew. We see how Misaki is also a victim of the dark experiments occurring behind the scenes in Academy City. The experiment to turn Misaka into a level 6 was a very hype moment. Railgun’s Daissheisai Festival arc definiely hit all the right notes.

The second half of Railgun season 3 was the Dream Ranker arc. Like in previous seasons, I found the 2nd cour arc to be weaker than the first half. Indian Poker is a fun concept, but didn’t cleanly tie into the overall story. I also found it weird how special cards that can exchange dreams suddenly exist out of nowhere. Additionally, this arc brought it characters from the Accelerator spin-off which I wasn’t familiar with. It had a few cool and funny moments scattered throughout. The final fight at least brought the conflict to a satisfying conclusion. The only thing holding back Railgun for me like always is my lack of knowledge of the greater Raildex universe. Hopefully this won’t be the last we see of Railgun in animated form because I picked up the manga and the next arc is pretty neat.

3) The Journey of Elaina

The Journey of Elania is an anthology-centric anime where we follow Elania on her adventures. The first episode is a prologue to how she became a witch and the origins of her ambitions. Episode 2-onwards follow a fairly straightforward template of Elania arriving at a new location. She notices something isn’t quite right or learns about something from a local. As the story unfolds, Elania often takes a backseat role and opts to watch things playout. An anime of this style always brings a mixed bag to the table with the kind of stories that are told within the universe. Each episode/adventure is only loosely connected through the main character Elania traveling to a new location, but otherwise they are mostly independent besides a handful of recurring characters. 

Naturally this format means there are both great and not so good episodes. There are bitter sweet tales, comedic, and even a few darker entries mixed within this show. In particular, there were a few standout episodes that cemented this show as something worth watching. Episode 7 was a comedy episode split into two halves. One half showed how two towns divided by a wall were ironically doing the same thing to the wall on each side. The second half recalled how Elania accidentally started a grape stomping tradition in a tiny village. Then there was episode 9, the darkest entry of the show so far, when Elania went back in time to help someone save their childhood friend. However, this person came to realize she hardly knew what her childhood friend was really like. Lastly, the last episode was unexpectedly deep where Elania met various alternate versions of herself and had to confront a dark version spawn from the events in episode 8. It showed how her journey can take all sorts of directions if events had transpired even a little differently.  

A high part of the appeal to me was never knowing what kind of story we would get each week. Was it going to be light-hearted? Serious? Would it focus on Elania or not? Her adventures were certainly full of unexpected happenings. The light novels are 17 volumes in and still going. I wouldn’t mind seeing more if they ever wanted to make another season.

4) Tonikaku Kawaii

From the prolific author Kenjiro Hata comes an anime adaptation of his newest work under the “Crunchyroll Originals” label. The story is simply about a guy who is head over heels for his new wife and can’t get over how awesome it is living with her. Tonikaku Kawaii is a simple show that chooses to highlight the little moments between our main couple Nasa and Tsukasa. We go through all sorts of everyday events with them such as the act of buying a ring, a new television, bedding, and meeting each other’s family. All the characters are so earnest you can’t help but enjoy their silly banter. There is little to no drama here to drive the story forward. You just get to enjoy a newlywed couple discovering new things about each other as they go through everyday life.

However, at the end of the day Tonikaku Kawaii is far from complete and is honestly the type of show that likely wouldn’t make my list most years. It hardly scratched its overarching story during the 1 cour run. The thing that put it over the top for me was simply how likable each of its characters were. They all present their emotions like an open book and you come to enjoy the little quirks of each one. I was slightly confused at how this show became a “Crunchyroll Original” when anything by Hata would have probably gotten an anime sooner or later. There are plenty of other Weekly Shonen Sunday series that could really use an outside force to help them get animated. I can only hope it did well enough for Crunchyroll to consider investing into more from the magazine .

 5) Ahiru no Sora

As usual, my list usually contains at least 1 show that began in the previous year. Ahiru no Sora is an anime that not a lot of people watched, but became one of my favorites each week. This is a 4 cour basketball series about a main character named Sora who is too short for basketball. Despite this set-back, he has a deep passion for the game imparted from his mother and wishes to someday find the same success as she did at the sport. The story begins when he enrolls in a new school and has to build the basketball club from scratch. However, the catch is the basketball team is basically non-existent. He ends up creating a team from a group of unlikely people: the ones who were bullying him. Ahiru no Sora presents a down to earth human side to the sport. There are no fantasy or supernatural elements found in this story. It follows a group of rough around the edges guys whose lives gets back in order through playing basketball together.

All of the main characters go through a decent amount of growth as their personal stories are explored, and Sora especially is taken through a series of events that allow his character to grow more than anyone. I was pleasantly surprised at how emotional it got at times. There was some real heart put into this series. In the middle of the show it genuinely felt the team had hit rock bottom. They lost a major game, the club room was lit on fire, and Sora lost his mother all right in a row. It was the recovery from that period and how each member matured from their experiences that solidified Ahiru no Sora as one of the top shows this year. The only thing holding back the show is that it's left incomplete since the manga is on-going (and actually on hiatus at the moment). I hope there will be an opportunity down the road to have more episodes.

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Disappointments of 2020

1) Deca Dence

I enjoyed Death Parade, Mob Psycho 100, and Detective Conan: Zero the Enforcer was pretty good too. So I figured another original anime from Tachikawa Yuzuru would be something I would like, and yet Deca Dence barely resonated with me. I could never wrap my mind around the setting of the show where robots would enter an alternate world called “Deca Dence” for sport or how these robots had a human persona in the game. The humans were effectively NPCs in the game to the eyes of the robots. The show no doubt had a story it wanted to tell, and it certainly went through the plot beats it wanted to hit, yet I could never get invested in the show. I’m still looking forward to whatever Tachikawa Yuzuru does next. I’ll just consider this as something was not for me.

2) The Day I Became God

This show marks Jun Meada’s 3rd anime original project with P.A. Works. I understand that Angel Beats and Charlotte are flawed shows, but that did not stop them from being enjoyable for me. This unfortunately did not apply to The Day I Became God. At a base level it has many of the usual troupes you would expect from a Jun Meada title: the humor, baseball, an emotionally driven story. The place where this shows failed hard was having no backbone to back up the story it was trying to present. I enjoyed the comedy in the early episodes quite a bit and was somewhat intrigued by a subplot in the background that was slowly creeping up on the main plot. Ending each episode on a countdown to the end of the world helped to keep a looming sense of unease during the early part of the show.

Then in typical Jun Meada fashion, the plot of the show hit all at once. Episode 9 was the big climax where the subplot and main plot collided to send the show into its “true” storyline. The hacker kid who uncovered everything about Hina in the early part was poorly utilized and underdeveloped. So when he joins our main group in episode 10 for a short period of time, his presence makes very little sense. I can only describe that part as a 10 hour VN plot condensed into 10 minutes. The male lead Narukami has almost no personal stake in the story. Hina is hilarious in the comedy episodes, but lacks any sufficient character arc built up to carry her into the final section. Jun Meada is trying to sell this as a love story between Narukami and Hina, but I just don’t see it. Narukami spent at least half the summer trying to wow his childhood friend only to suddenly change at the last minute. It felt so haphazardly put together.

The Day I Became God is an extremely bare bones Jun Meada story. It goes through the motions of similar elements to his previous works, but comes out feeling emotionally hollow. While Angel Beats and Charlotte also felt rushed in the grand scheme, I can at least say he got the emotional aspect right. This will be remembered as one of, if not Jun Meada’s weakest title.

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Top OPs/EDs of the Year

1) Jujutsu Kaisen Opening 1 - The song is great, but it’s the visuals that really sell this opening. Each shot is brilliantly connected to showcase how everything in the world of Jujutsu Kaisen is layered. There is far more than what meets in the eye in our surroundings. Curses and humans co-mingle more than you might think.

2) A Certain Scientific Railgun T Opening 1 - There still hasn’t been a bad Railgun opening yet. Flipside once again delivers a song that once again never failed gets me in the mood for the episode each week. The visuals highlight some of the best action moments in the arc too.

3) Black Clover Opening 10 - Unlike the other songs on the list this year, this a slower somber song. It always makes me think of Nero’s backstory and how the story was leading up to the fight versus the devil. The black and white aesthetic with rain conveys how everything is laid bare for this major story climax.

4) Kaguya-Sama Love is War? Opening - Just like how this season is more character focused, the opening animation is basically a 90 second skit. It never fails to get to get me in the mindset for the hijinks that are ahead in the episode. The song itself is also a great follow up to the previous opening.

5) Rent-a-Girlfriend Opening - It’s a colorful opening that highlights the best aspects of each character. It completely conveys what the show is about with some nice music. I love how fun and upbeat this opening is. It definitely helped to set the tone for the episodes each week.

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....and so, that brings 2020 to a close. The North American anime scene is shifting once again with Sony buying out Crunchyroll. Hopefully the result of the merger keeps Crunchyroll as an entity alive. I’ll be curious to see how everything shakes out. In the coming year I am most looking forward to Chainsaw Man’s anime. The manga is quite an experience and anime viewers will be spinning their heads over learning how such a series was published in Weekly Shonen Jump. I think it has a good chance of being one of the most talked about shows in the new year.

Lets hope 2021 is a good one.

[antiadvil]

5 times Dan and Fiona were not dating (and one time they were)

summary: Dan has been confused about her sexuality for a long time, and Fiona isn't helping. Or maybe she is? 

Labels are overrated. Having sex with girls is fun. Just as long as there aren't any feelings involved. And there aren't any, right? Right?

rating: M

wc: ~2.8k

chapter 1/12- I’ll get you lost (but I’m having fun)

first chapter on ao3 | tumblr masterlist | next chapter on tumblr

notes: a gift fic for @itsmyusualphannie

Dan didn’t know how to play poker. Most friends would probably take this opportunity to try to teach her, she figured. Not her friends.

“We could play strip poker instead,” Fiona joked.

“I still don’t know how to play poker,” Dan protested. “Don’t you need to know regular poker to play strip poker?”

Fiona shrugged.

“Do you want me to lose?” Dan demanded.

Fiona smirked, looking Dan up and down. Dan suddenly felt very exposed, even though her jeans and long sleeved T-shirt were covering most of her body. “I mean. I wouldn’t be complaining.”

Dan’s face flooded with heat. Fiona was still joking. Right?

“We can’t play strip poker; Dan’s the only straight one here,” PJ joked, bumping Dan with her shoulder. “I wouldn’t want her to feel left out.”

Dan dropped her cards. “I-”

“PJ! Leave the poor girl alone.” Chris elbowed her and smiled across at Dan. “I want you to know, Dan, that I support your heterosexuality, even if PJ doesn’t.”

“Thank you,” Dan mumbled, trying to pick up her cards without letting anyone else see them. Not that it mattered. She was still going to lose.

“I don’t,” Fiona deadpanned.

Dan rolled her eyes. “Thanks, Fiona. Glad to have a friend I can always count on.”

“Of course.” Fiona smiled sweetly.

They played regular poker, to Fiona’s disappointment. Dan lost. Multiple times. She idly wondered what happened in strip poker if you ran out of clothes to take off. Did you just start tearing your skin off? Was that the end of the game?

Chris and PJ left early, claiming they needed to work on a group project (“It was the only time we could find that worked for everyone, can you believe these people?”), leaving Dan and Fiona alone.

Dan thought it might have been the first time she and Fiona were ever alone together. She had known PJ and Chris for a year or so now, ever since they met in their first semester English class, but they hadn’t introduced her to Fiona, who they had known in high school, until earlier this year.

Dan didn’t dislike Fiona, but she was a little bit intimidating. She wasn’t an English major like Dan, Chris, and PJ, her major was something to do with technology- Dan couldn’t remember what. She was openly lesbian, and Dan was very confused about her sexuality, and the fact that Fiona was very pretty was not helping.

“Should I go?” Dan asked.

Fiona looked confused. “Why would you go?”

Dan shrugged. “I’m the only one left. I don’t know, it feels weird.”

“I mean, you don’t have to stay if you don’t want to. It’d be nice if you did, though. Besides,” Fiona said, walking to the kitchen and beckoning Dan after her, “Look what I have.” She pulled a bottle of vodka from a cupboard.

“Were you hiding that earlier?” Chris had asked if Fiona had alcohol when they first showed up, and she had said no.

“Don’t tell Chris,” Fiona said. “I provided free alcohol once and now she expects it every time she comes over.”

That did sound like Chris.

“Tell you what,” Fiona said. “For such a special guest, I’ll even get out my real shot glasses.”

“I’m honored,” Dan said sarcastically, but she felt a smile tugging at her lips.

Fiona handed Dan the bottle of vodka and pointed her towards one of the doors in the hallway. “My roommate’s out tonight, but just in case, let’s move this to my room.”

It took Dan a moment to find the light switch in Fiona’s room. Fiona’s room was about what she expected- small, a messy desk in one corner, brightly colored sheets on the bed.

Dan liked it. It felt like a room that belong to Fiona.

Fiona entered the room behind her, holding two shot glasses. She took the bottle from Dan, poured the alcohol into the two glasses and passed one to Dan. “Here you go,” she said.

“Cheers,” Dan said, clinking their glasses together and immediately feeling stupid.

Luckily, Fiona didn’t seem to mind. “Cheers,” she smiled, tossing her drink down her throat.

Dan did the same, grimacing immediately afterwards. She never got used to the taste of vodka.

“Another?” Fiona offered.

Dan shook her head. “No thanks. I’m good for now.”

Fiona nodded, collecting Dan’s shot glass and setting it aside with the bottle of vodka. She sat cross legged on her bed and patted the spot next to her. Dan sat down.

“So,” Fiona said, leaning forward, her chin on her hand. “Are you really straight?”

Dan startled. “What?”

Fiona shrugged. “You got weird when PJ said you were straight. That’s all.”

Dan hesitated. Sexuality was a sensitive subject for her. She’d spent most of her life determinedly not thinking about it. What she didn’t know couldn’t hurt her, she had reasoned, but lately, she wasn’t so sure.

“It’s okay,” Fiona said. Her eyes were bright and blue, reflecting the light. “I won’t tell.”

“I dunno,” Dan confessed. “Girls are kind of hot, but I don’t know… everyone thinks that.”

Fiona snorted. “No they don’t.”

Dan rolled her eyes. “I mean, not like, a lot. But a little bit.”

Fiona quirked an eyebrow. “They really don’t.”

Dan was starting to feel a bit silly now, but she had come this far. If she backed down now, she’d just feel even sillier. “Girls are always looking at other girls, telling them how pretty they look-”

Fiona laughed. “Dan, you sound like me when I was in grade school. Trust me, when those girls compliment you, they’re not thinking about having sex with you.”

“I mean-” Dan’s face felt warm.

Fiona leaned in closer, so close Dan could smell the soft rose of her shampoo. “Why? Are you thinking about that?”

Dan opened her mouth to respond, but her brain took this moment to go on vacation somewhere very far away. Hopefully it was somewhere sunny. Maybe it even had a beach. Dan wished she could join her brain there.

“Um,” she squeaked. Fiona’s face was very close to her face. Her eyes were so bright, and they weren’t really blue, Dan realized- they were a million dizzying shades of colors all at once, all green and blue and yellow. “What?”

Fiona leaned back. “Sorry. Ignore me. I’m just…” She flicked her hand. “I really need to get laid.”

Dan’s face felt even hotter as her imagination ran in directions it really should not be going.

Fiona noticed. Why did Fiona always notice? “Did that make you uncomfortable? I’m sorry, I wasn’t trying to-”

Dan shook her head. “No!”

“Okay…” Fiona said slowly. “Why are you all red then?”

“Just.” Dan took a deep breath, stalling. “Thinking.”

“About?”

Dan’s face, which had cooled a bit, was hot again. She looked down.

“Oh.” Fiona smirked. “You want to.”

Dan opened her mouth, but her brain was still on vacation.

“It’s okay,” Fiona said. She was leaning forward again, not quite as far as she was earlier. Her hand slipped out to grip Dan’s thigh. Did her eyes drop down to Dan’s lips or did she imagine that? “You don’t need to be scared.”

Dan was leaning in too. Her brain had decided to return from vacation, but all it could focus on was the steady pressure on her thigh, the growing warmth in her core, how achingly perfect and pink Fiona’s lips were.

“Can I kiss you?” Dan whispered.

Fiona hesitated. “Look, Dan, yes, but I don’t want you to get the wrong idea- I mean, you’re cute and all, but I think we’d be better off not in a relationship.”

“I wasn’t saying- I don’t want-” Dan protested.

Fiona looked relieved. “Okay,” she said, and quickly closed the distance between them. So quickly that Dan barely had time to react before Fiona’s lips were on Dan’s, and oh.

They were so soft, and Dan suddenly felt incredibly self conscious about how chapped her lips were, how rough they must be, but then Fiona opened her mouth, and Dan could taste the vodka on her tongue, and there was no more room in Dan’s head for insecurities.

Fiona tugged her own shirt off before reaching to tug at the hem of Dan’s. “Can you take your shirt off?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Dan said breathlessly. She lifted it over her head with shaking fingers, balling it up and tossing it to the side, where it landed on top of Fiona’s shirt.

Fiona closed the distance between them again, but she didn’t kiss her just yet. “You’re so pretty,” she whispered. “God, you’re so fucking pretty.” She kissed her then, slow and sweet.

Dan kissed back, breathless, hoping Fiona couldn’t feel how warm her face was getting again.

“You really sleep with boys?” Fiona said. “God, they don’t know what they’ve got.” She kissed her again, pushing Dan so she was lying down. “I’m going to make you feel so good.”

Dan couldn’t help but moan at that, pushing her hips upward against Fiona’s body.

Fiona smiled. “Are you ready?” she asked.

Dan hesitated. She was, but- “I don’t know what to do,” she confessed.

“It’s okay.” Fiona’s voice was soft and reassuring as she straddled Dan, pushing her further into the bedsheets. “I’ll show you.”

***

So maybe Dan was a little bit gay, she thought. Or maybe a little bit more than a little bit gay. That was what having sex with a girl usually meant when you were also a girl. Especially if you really enjoyed that sex.

Dan filed this piece of information away to think about later. Now wasn’t the time to have deep, introspective thoughts. Fiona was lying next to her and being very cute. She should focus on that instead.

“We have to cuddle afterwards,” Fiona pouted. “I always cuddle afterwards.”

Dan rolled her eyes, but she rolled herself closer, so her head was resting on Fiona’s shoulder. Fiona wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her closer. “Don’t be shy.”

“I’m not,” Dan protested into her neck. The rose scent of her shampoo was even stronger from here, and her skin was a little bit sticky from sweat. It was a little bit nice- like they were glued together in the places their bare skin was touching, Dan thought.

It was also a little bit gross, but Dan had decided not to think about that.

“You can touch me,” Fiona said. “It’s okay.”

Dan reached across Fiona’s body, putting a hand on her hip, tracing circles with her thumb. Fiona hummed quietly. “That’s nice,” she said.

Dan’s other hand was a bit too awkwardly positioned to reach most of Fiona’s body, but it could reach just far enough to land in Fiona’s short, dark hair. “Hair,” Dan mumbled, because she wasn’t sure what else to say.

Fiona laughed. “Hair,” she agreed.

Dan thought her head must be short circuiting. It was just hair, she reminded herself. Lots of people had hair. Lots of boys had hair, but she’d never felt this way about a boy’s hair.

Of course, boys’ hair was never this nice. Fiona’s hair was so soft and nice smelling and Dan wanted to run her fingers through it, so she did.

“I like your hair,” she said.

“It’s good hair, isn’t it?” Fiona agreed.

“Now,” Dan said, “No need to get conceited.”

Fiona shoved Dan away playfully. “Hey.”

Dan pouted, opening her arms and giving Fiona her best puppy dog eyes. “Come back.”

“Apologize.” Fiona demanded.

Dan pretended to think about it.

“Apologize for upholding a patriarchal system where women are expected to-”

“Geez!” Dan said. “Okay, okay, I’m sorry.”

“Good,” Fiona said. She moved smugly into Dan’s arms, resting her head on her chest.

They stayed like that for a few moments. The rise and fall of Fiona’s chest was surprisingly calming. Dan tried to match her breathing for a bit- it was a nice relaxation exercise, she thought. Like meditation, except better.

“I have a dumb question,” Dan said.

“I have a dumb answer,” Fiona said. “Hit me.”

Dan tried to resist the urge to make the obvious joke, but failed. “Didn’t know you were into that.”

Fiona kicked her shin. “Hey.”

“Ow,” Dan said, even though it hadn’t really hurt.

“Sorry,” Fiona said, kissing the top of Dan’s head and moving closer so their legs were tangled together. “What’s the dumb question?”

“What’s your major?” Dan asked.

“Philosophy,” Fiona said.

“Oh,” Dan said.

“What did you think it was?” Fiona asked, a hint of laughter in her voice.

“Weren’t you doing STEM or something?”

“Oh.” Fiona’s face cleared of confusion. “I started out as a CS major, actually. I switched last semester, though.”

“Weird jump,” Dan said.

“Not really.” Dan could feel the movement in Fiona’s shoulders when she shrugged. “Theoretical computer science and philosophy are a lot more similar than most people realize. Lots of logic things involved.”

Before Dan had time to feel stupid for not knowing anything about Fiona’s major, Fiona changed the subject. “You’re an English major, right?”

“Yep,” Dan said.

Fiona dipped her head into Dan’s hair. “Ha. I got it right.”

“Right,” Dan said. “You’re a better friend than me. I get it.”

“Aww,” Fiona said. “I didn’t say that.”

“I did,” Dan said.

“Are you saying something mean about yourself?”

“Maybe.”

“Well, stop.”

Dan considered it. “What if I don’t want to?”

“Then I’ll make you,” Fiona said.

“Maybe I want you to.”

“Yeah?” Fiona turned her head to place a kiss on Dan’s collarbone.

“Yeah,” Dan breathed.

“Well,” Fiona said, “I’d love to, but it’s getting really late.”

“Oh.” Dan tried not to sound too disappointed.

“In fact,” Fiona said, reaching to check her phone, “It’s past midnight. You can stay over if you’d like, but if you’re not, you should probably head home. I’m going to bed soon.”

The offer was tempting. Dan kind of wanted to stay like this forever, but she did have a lot of homework to get to the next day, and she didn’t like the idea of running into Fiona’s roommate, or anyone really, the next morning. She didn’t need anyone to know what they had done.

“I think I’ll get going,” she said.

Fiona nodded, though she looked a bit disappointed. She sat up, reaching for her clothes, and Dan thought she might cry at the loss of her warmth.

She thought that immediately sobbing might not be the best look, so she just gathered her clothes and got dressed.

“Did you bring anything else?” Fiona asked, cracking her door open.

Dan shook her head. She had everything she had come with.

“Okay then.” Fiona walked Dan to the door, where she wasn’t quite sure how to say goodbye. A kiss was way too much, probably, maybe a hug? A handshake? No, definitely not a handshake-

“Text me when you get home,” Fiona whispered, hugging Dan tightly. Okay then, a hug. Dan clutched her back, sinking into her warmth. How was it possible for a human being to be so warm?

“I will,” Dan promised, reluctantly letting go.

Fiona nodded, pressing a light kiss to Dan’s mouth. “Good,” she said. “Be safe, okay?”

“I will,” Dan promised again. She stared for a moment back into Fiona’s eyes, wondering if she dared kiss her again.

Fiona shoved her lightly away and grinned. “Now get out of my apartment, loser.”

Dan was normally good at banter, but something about Fiona’s eyes were throwing her off today. “No, you,” she managed.

Fiona rolled her eyes. “See you.”

“See you.” Dan turned away, finally, and started down the stairs, her lips still burning from Fiona’s kiss.

It was colder than she expected outside. Dan had only worn a light sweatshirt- she hadn’t been expecting to leave so late, or for the temperature to drop so much while she was inside. She shivered, pulling her hood up.

Luckily, her own apartment wasn’t too far away- just a ten minute walk. She unlocked her door and slipped in quietly, hoping she wouldn’t wake her roommate up. There wasn’t a light from under her door- she was either still out or she had already gone to bed. Dan stayed quiet as she moved to her room, just in case.

back, she texted Fiona before tossing her phone on her bed. She could really use a shower, but she was also incredibly tired, so she just changed into her pajamas and tossed her dirty clothes on the floor. She could pick up her laundry and take a shower in the morning.

She flopped down on her bed, rolling over to check her phone one last time before she fell asleep.

I had a really good time tonight and I hope you did too :), Fiona had messaged.

Dan relaxed a little bit. Fiona had certainly seemed to enjoy it, but there was always that doubt in the back of Dan’s head.

i did :) Dan texted back. She hesitated, then added, i’m glad you did too :)

Disgusting. Way too many smiley faces. Who was she becoming?

She didn’t want to think too much about that question. She set her phone aside and rolled over, going to sleep.