#was in the kitchen yesterday and put 3 separate containers in the wrong place and without putting their lids back on

[durn3h]

The effects of my current bout of horrible insomnia are really starting to accumulate

[redridinnghood]

How should I call it?💕 Part 1

Hello There,

I'm Back with a new Story, Story will contain more parts and be a bit slow burn.

You meet a man with a Addiction and other Problems. For example he doesn't have any Impulse Control. Can you work it out? Can you help him heal? Or will he be your End?

What happens when you meet a certain Chaotic blonde?

Polyam relationship between Rafe, JJ and Reader. Don't like, don't read.

(Y/N Pov)

The first time I met him it was a late Summer Night. Met is the wrong word, I found him lying in an Back alley behind some Fancy Club.

He was clearly under the Influence of some Drugs and Probably Drunk as Fuck. But I couldn´t just leave him there like that at three in the morning. Should I call an Ambulance? Shit but I couldn´t risk it to pay for it. On the other Hand he needed defiantly help. I let out a deep sigh. Y/N how do you get yourself always in such situations? Leaning down I check his pulse, it´s fast but not dangerously fast. His skin is hot nearly Burning and his breathing is uneven.

Gently I stroke his head. ”Hey Man wake up, you shouldn´t sleep here it’s Dangerous.” My Voice is soft, I know how People under the Influence can act out. He just slightly lifted his head he tried looking at me, he failed his Head rolled Back. His Long limbs splattering out on the Pavement. Dam it! “Can I call someone to pick you up?” Voice still soft. He shook his head slightly. No. “Okay that’s not a big Deal do you live anywhere near here? I could call you an Uber and bring you there.” My Voice sounded a little more desperate. He blinked slowly. “No..” his Voice was raspy and sounded worn out.

Again I sighed deep. I held my Hand out for him, “Come on Big Boy, you can crash at my place but I can´t carry you so you need to help me a little bit.” He blinked Again slowly he reached out to take my hand. As I got a grip I pulled him up at first into a sitting Position, scared he might throw up. I waited a few seconds than I helped him up on his feet. He stumbled into me but I managed to help him stay Upright.

He groaned, he was distressed, his Head spun and he is pretty worn out. Yeah I know how it feels being slightly overdosed, not from my own experience but from a few people I grew up with.

His body felt Hot and I could feel his shirt being drenched in his own sweat. He needed a shower and to take of his drenched clothes. Slowly I made my way towards the big Apartment complex dragging him with me. Thank God it wasn´t far away, finally we reached the building climbing up some stairs.

As I put my Keys into the door I felt him clinging to me as if his life depended on it. It kind of did, I mean this neighborhood isn´t peaceful. Isn´t good to people who fall asleep on the pavement. After a few moments of struggling with the door it finally opened. Gosh when will the Landlord finally repair those fucking doors. Carefully they made their Way into the small apartment. I placed him on the couch.

“Alright Big Boy, can you tell me your Name?” Voice Soft but louder than before. Blue eyes with giant orbs fixated me, Truthfully he was quite Handsome. “Rafe” I heard his hoarse Voice. “Okay” I smiled a little. “We need to get you out of those dirty Clothes. It would be best if you would take a Quick Cold Shower.” He nodded absently. I walked out of the small living room into my Bedroom, searching for a few clothes my best friend Luca always left here. It were just a pair of gray shorts and an old Band Shirt but that would do it, Just in case I put a pair of Boxer in the pile. Since Luca wouldn´t wear them again I could throw them Away. I walked back into the Living room handing him the Clothes.

“Here take those, and there is the Bathroom. It´s nothing special.” He nodded and took the clothes. Slowly like in slow motion he got up steading himself on the couch. Than he reached for the wall because he started stumbling a bit. “Don´t look the door in Case you faint and keep in Mind it should be a cold shower.” I said loud enough so he could hear me but not loud enough to be shouting. When I heard the Water in the shower I started preparing the couch for him. After I prepared the Couch I filled a big Cup with water and placed it on the small Table. I made myself a tea and waited in the Kitchen area for him to finish. As he walked by I could just confirm my statement.

He was Handsome, beautiful Face with storming blue Eyes, he was Tall and had Dirty Blonde hair. When he spotted me he looked at me intensely. I just smiled “You are ready, that’s good I prepared the Couch for you and some Water. I will hop in the shower next If you want I can throw your clothes into the washing machine.” He looked at me and nodded I took a deep inhale. “I hope the cold shower lifted the fog a little bit of your mind.” His Gaze softened. “Yes, thank you” his voice was still cracking and the small smile he gave me didn´t quite reach his eyes.

Giving him a small nod I disappeared into my small Bathroom. The old blue tiles were still a bit wet I looked around and found his small pile of clothes throwing it into the Machine with my clothes. Turning her on, on a short Program so she would be ready in 20 minutes. As I stepped into my shower letting the Hot water embrace me. So I started thinking. He doesn´t Look Poor, his clothes seem to be pretty expensive. So what is he doing here? And why did I help him, I mean yeah I couldn´t just left him there I mean I could have. Why didn´t I just called the Police? It didn´t matter anymore he would crash here tonight and be gone tomorrow. Leaving the shower I hop into an old shirt and some panties hanging up the freshly washed clothes.

As quietly as possible I walk down the apartment into the bedroom. Soft snores coming from the Man, so I stop and look at him. The way the slow sunrise aluminates his Body makes him look so peaceful so out of a fairytale. Realizing that I just stared at a Stranger while he slept I quickly kept going. Carefully I lay down in my Bed, its full of Pillows and I have a few Books laid out on the other side. Sleep came faster than expected.

 

(Rafe Pov)

A soft humming sound wakes me gently I open my Eyes. Where am I? This is not the new Mansion? Not the Hotel where I usually stay when I go out.

It´s a small living room with a weird combination of furniture but it looks Good. Kind of. It seems cozy. Slowly I sit up stretching out. Wait those are not my Clothes. What the actual fu…

“Good Morning Big Boy” I hear a soft Voice. Why does it sound so angelic? Turning around I spot a Young girl in the Kitchenette. It´s probably her apartment.

“Want some coffee?” she asks while turning around grabbing a cup. “Sure” I reply while standing up and walking towards her. As I reach her she hands me a Baby Blue Mug with Puppy´s on it. Really?

She smiles, a smile so pure I never seen before. “thanks” I answer as I take the Mug. “Milk is in the Fridge and Sugar there.” She points at a small Container. “You want some Breakfast? I suppose after your consumptions yesterday you are pretty Hungry.” She asks while I pour some sugar in the Mug. “ This would be really nice.” I give her a small smile. My Memories of yesterday are coming back slowly. Why did she take Me in? Rafe takes a moment to Look at her, really look an her.

She is small around 5`3 her (Y/H/C) is tied in a lose ponytail her Skin looks so smooth and her (Y/E/C) are trained on the food she´s making. She is not skinny but also Fat, She´s just Beautiful.

But at the same time I´m  concerned, why did she took a stranger in? What if I had Lashed out on her? “ Thank you for Yesterday. I.. Honestly I´m really grateful but you could have gotten Hurt.” I swallow the Lump in my throat. “I could have Lashed out on you or something.” She hands me a plate with scrambled Eggs and some Toast. “Come let’s sit down and eat.” She just rounds me and sits down on the couch placing her plate on the small table and mentioning me to sit back down where I slept the last night. I obliged.

“Listen I´m Fine and that’s all that counts. You didn´t Lash out. You didn´t hurt me. And I couldn´t let you stay there.” Her Voice was genuine. It feels weird having someone so lovely not fearing me. Everyone fears me. “I.. Thank you.” I was dumbfounded she was right and I shouldn´t think about what if´s. Peacefully she sits next to me eating her Breakfast so I also start eating.

And oh my I never thought scrambled Eggs could taste so good. “This really good.” I smile at her, and she smile´s Back. “Thanks” she mumbles, she is cute.

Than it struck me I don´t even know her Name. “Hey.. um.. I think you didn´t tell me your Name…so.. What is your Name?” Why am I so Nervous. “ (Y/N). My Name is (Y/N)” I felt like my Heart skipped a beat the way she smiled and how soft her voice was. We ate the rest of our Breakfast in silence. It´s weird but I didn´t want this moment to end. I don´t know when it was the last time I felt so at ease. So content with myself. After Breakfast she handed me my Clothes and I changed. When it´s time to say goodbye and go our separate ways I find longing for staying. As if she could read my mind she hands me a small piece of paper. Confused I Look at her. “My Number. In case you need anything like a place to crash or something. Or just want to talk. I´m here.” Her gentle smile mesmerizes me and I can´t help it but embrace her in my arms hugging her. Carefully or she might break. “Thank you so much. I will defiantly reach out to you.” I say a little to enthuasstic. When I realise hear I hear a small giggle. I´m making my way down the stairs notifying my Dad I won´t be home for a few Days. Then massaging my dealer that I need some new Stuff.

After that I stare at the small pice of Paper, alright nothing to lose. It's late when I send her a Message, just a basic Hi.

[snowdice]

Little Kestrel (Part 6)[Birds of Different Feathers Series]

Fandom: Sanders Sides

Relationships: Logan & Patton & Virgil (future Virgil/Patton but not in this story)

Characters:

Main: Logan, Patton, Virgil

Appear: Thomas

Mentioned: Janus

Summary:

It was supposed to be a quick job either way. Either Virgil would assassinate King Thomas of Prijaznia or he’d be caught and get executed. Yet, when Virgil gets the wrong bedroom and gets caught by Prince Logan and his future royal advisor, Patton, the job ends up getting way more complicated for the 14-year-old. He also ends up sleeping in a (actually pretty comfortable) closet for a few weeks…

Notes: Implied/referenced child abuse, assassination attempt, knives, torture mentioned, captivity, teenagers being really dumb

This is a prequel to Kill Dear. I wrote it 100 words at a time on my blog, but this is the edited version. If you want to see how it was crafted, look at the tag proofread stories.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

Virgil had started to feign sleep about an hour after Logan had left to his potions lab. Patton could tell he was faking because his arms never relaxed. Despite the boy no longer responding, he kept talking to him in soft tones. He seemed exhausted, but he was also clearly not planning to truly sleep any time soon. Patton wondered what had led up to him being here both recently, which had caused the dark circles under his eyes and long term that had caused the sunkenness of his cheeks.

Patton’s stomach growled, reminding him of the passage of time. He had no idea how long whatever Logan was doing was going to take, but someone was going to have to go to the kitchen and get some breakfast soon. The snacks truly had not been enough to hold them through the night.

He felt secure enough even knowing Virgil wasn’t actually sleeping to push himself to his feet and walk over to the potions lab door. “Hey Lo,” Patton called. Virgil still hadn’t moved to indicate he was still awake.

“Yes?” he asked.

“How long are you going to take? I need to get food soon and maybe come up with an excuse for at least one of us to stay here all day.”

“It’ll be a little while longer,” Logan said.

Patton glanced back at Virgil. He caught the boy with his eyes open this time and saw him wince at being caught. “Maybe Virgil can stay in there with you while I go get things?”

“That would be fine,” Logan said, turning back to what he was working on. “Bring him in here if you’d like.”

“Okie dokie,” Patton chirped. He turned to Virgil who was looking up at him. “I’m going to take your arms and lead you to the other room, okay?”

He nodded and Patton leaned down and grabbed his wrists. He got even tenser somehow when Patton moved his arms to his front and Patton frowned, but didn’t comment. He helped him get to his feet and led him into the other room.

“You can seat him over there,” Logan said pointing.

Virgil was looking around the room with wide eyes and Patton had to stop and think about what this room might look like to someone who hadn’t been enthusiastically introduced to every new potion ingredient and piece of equipment as they arrived. There were shelves of ingredients, all organized and labeled. Logan kept all powders in uniform glass vials and liquids in bulbous containers. Whole dried herbs hung from strings in one area and there were containers of fresh ones glowing a soft green; the preservation spells that Logan came up with himself kept them fresh for months longer than they would usually last.

Logan had three separate areas for potion making. There was one space for potions that required more dangerous ingredients which currently had something simmering at it, but the enchanted protective curtain wasn’t drawn around it, so Patton imagined it must not be doing anything that could be too harmful at the moment. The table he used for experiments was empty and thoroughly cleaned, so he was clearly making something with an already well-established recipe. Currently, he was standing at his table reserved only for non-harmful substances. He was chopping up what appeared to be mint as two smaller pots boiled in front of him.

Patton led Virgil over to the indicated chair which was out of the way of even the non-dangerous ingredient zone. He still seemed to be trying to take in the room as Patton settled his wrists on the chair’s armrests.

“Any requests?” he asked Logan.

“Not really,” Logan replied. He glanced up at Patton. “Though if you can sneak me some of the leftover macaroni salad from dinner, that would be appreciated.”

“That’s not breakfast!” Patton chided.

“Which is why I requested that you to sneak it.”

Patton shook his head and turned back to Virgil. “What about you?” he asked.

He looked up at Patton and shook his head. Virgil looked a bit scared and out-of-sorts. He wanted to reach forward and pat him on the head or kiss his cheek to comfort him, but he imagined that would go over worse than badly. Instead, he flashed the boy a quick smile and then turned to leave the room.

He left Logan’s private chambers and closed the door behind him before walking down the hall.

“Good morning Patton,” one of the stationed guards greeted.

He smiled at her and the other guard. “Good morning Kalani. Hi Owen.”

“I see you and the prince had a sleepover,” Kalani said. “Should we be planning on him not making it to his royal duties until later today?”

“Actually,” said Patton. “Maybe all day. He was feeling a little sick. Had a headache.” It was… probably true. They hadn’t slept a wink last night.

“Hmm,” Kalani said. “Maybe there’s something going around. Clover said she had a bit of a dizzy spell last night.”

“Oh,” Patton answered. Clover had been one of the two guards set to watch the door to the royal wing. At least Virgil had been telling the truth about not hurting anyone.

“I hope she feels better. I’m going to go get Logan something to eat for breakfast since he can’t come himself, so I’ll see you again in a few minutes.”

The guards nodded to him and he turned to walk down the hall. The areas around the kitchens would be pretty busy at this point in the morning so instead of taking any of the busier paths to it, he walked past the dining hall towards the guest wing and took the staircase that led straight outside. It was a longer path because he had to go around and through the garden, but it was worth not getting in anyone’s way.

Patton always did like the garden. It was pretty at every time of year. Even now as the flowers started to get sparser in the fall, it was still wonderful, and it smelt great. He took just the briefest moment to himself to splash a hand through one of the fountains with a giggle. He turned away to continue on his path to the kitchen, which is when he saw her.

“Oh,” he said softly. “Hi kitty.”

Ghost Kitty was there and stared at him briefly before taking off into one of the bushes.

“Bye kitty,” he said just as soft. He smiled even though she’d ran away because that was the closest, he’d ever gotten to her.

He continued his trek to the kitchen and snuck inside on quiet feet, hoping to be unnoticed as he went for the chilled storage box. Luck was on his side, because Mama was busy talking in hushed tones to the gardener, Mr. Deknis, as she peeled potatoes.

“Well certainly no one has joined the kitchen staff who has a child,” Mama said. “I’d know.”

“Perhaps a maid or even a guard,” Mr. Deknis suggested.

Mama was frowning. “We don’t usually hire many people towards winter for those positions. Maybe someone in the stables?”

“But he needed to get back to the castle, not to the stable hand’s lodging.”

“Well then,” Mama said. “I don’t know Jeff. I’ll ask around.”

Mr. Deknis sighed. “I should have asked him more questions, but the poor thing seemed ready to startle out of his boots, and I didn’t want to push.”

“Well if he’s new to the castle, he’s probably just a little out of sorts and nervous,” Mama reasoned.

“It didn’t seem like normal nervousness. He was…” Mr. Deknis shook his head. “Anyway, tell me if you figure anything out.”

“Of course,” Mama said.

“Also, your kid’s steeling macaroni salad for breakfast.”

“Patton!” Mama said, rounding on him. “That’s not breakfast!”

Patton shot a pout at Mr. Deknis, but he seemed unrepentant. Patton pulled his hand away from the macaroni salad. “The prince wanted it,” Patton said.

“That’s not breakfast for ‘the prince’ either.”

“But,” Patton argued, “he’s not feeling well.”

She placed her hands on her hips. “Is he not feeling well or is he tired?” she asked.

“…Both?”

“Mmhmm.”

“No! Seriously mom!” Patton said. “Kalani said that Clover wasn’t feeling well this morning and she sees Logan all the time. I even convinced Logan not to do any unnecessary royal duties today.”

“Well he must really be sick if that’s the case,” Mama admitted, “unless of course he found an interesting book to read or had an idea for a new potion.”

“It’s not about a book or a potion,” Patton promised.

Mama considered him. “Fine,” she said, turning back towards the countertop. “Then give me a few minutes to make him and you a nutritious breakfast that doesn’t consist of 80% mayonnaise.”

“Pancakes?” Patton asked hopefully.

Mama shot him a look over her shoulder. “I said nutritious,” she said, wagging a finger at him. “Besides, I thought you said he was sick.”

“He’s not nauseous, mama,” Patton said. “And if you put blueberries in it, it’ll be healthy!”

“Mmhmm.”

“It will!”

“Now I know my own son doesn’t think I was born yesterday,” she said.

“Please mama,” he begged. “I promise we’ll both eat some other stuff too.”

“I don’t believe you.” Patton gave her a wobbly lip. “No,” she repeated.

“But Mama.”

“You and Logan are going to have a healthy breakfast or so help me…”

“… but Mama.”

Want to read more? Click below!

Part 7

[mushroomminded]

The Wishing Pond PART 3 (FINAL)

Story by @creative-lightbulb​

​Illustrations by myself.

WARNING: MAY CONTAIN MAJOR MICOVERSE SPOILERS. If you are a new reader/follower to my account and the micoverse story, please proceed with care! Old followers, you know all this already. ;)

Milo had to resist the urge to slam his phone down in frustration, taking a breath he reread Cody’s frantic late night texts.

“Aren’t you suppose to be grounded?” Was his only reply, spiteful and short yes but he felt it got his feelings across well enough. 

He set it on the dresser, rubbing his eyes groggily as he headed down the hallway. 

Sumney was in the kitchen again, absentmindedly scrubbing at a single dish with a vacant expression. Milo frowned.

“Dad?” He called out, Sumney not replying. 

There were bags forming under his eyes, his hair jutting out in all directions, his sweater was missing.

“Are you feeling okay?” Milo asked, approaching and placing a hand on his forearm. Sumney jolted, staring down at him with panicked eyes.

“Oh..” He turned his gaze back to the sink “It’s you.” 

“What’s wrong?” Milo asked, a worried frown weighing heavy on his features.

“Couldn’t sleep..” Sumney replied “Thinking too much.” 

“…Is it because of the pond thing?” Milo asked. Sumney’s expression twisted into discomfort.

“No.” He replied bluntly “Don’t worry about it.” 

Milo sighed, grabbing himself some cereal before slumping into one of the chairs. 

Neither spoke, Sumney returning to the dishes as Milo ate. 

“Have you seen Cody before?” Milo asked, gesturing as he spoke “Glasses, dyed hair, lives next door?” 

“The one in green?” Sumney asked, Milo nodding in reply “What about him?” 

“He’s really freaking out about yesterday..” Milo continued. “Says he saw you with blood on your hands or something?” 

Sumney’s gaze drifted to his bandaid, an empty laugh escaping.

“Oh, that?” He replied flippantly  “I wasn’t very careful with the kitchen knife, nothing more.” 

A relieved smile grew on Milo’s face, he leaned back in the chair “I dunno why he’s been so paranoid lately, you’d never hurt me would you?”

“I’d rather die than entertain the thought.” Sumney replied, tone unwavering. Milo gave him a faint laugh, rising from the table and glancing into the hall.

“Hey, Dad?” He called out.

“Mhm?” Came a reply.

“Have you seen my hoodie?” Milo asked, setting his bowl in the sink before searching the hall closet.

“It’s getting washed!” Dan answered. Milo frowned. 

“Can’t we wash it when I get home?” 

“No! The tail is filthy!” 

“But—“

“It’ll be waiting for you when you come home!”

Milo groaned, scratching at his arms idly before glancing at Sumney.

“Can you watch it for me while I’m gone?” He asked. 

Sumney tensed. “…Sure.” He replied. “I’ll try.” 

That seemed to bring some relief, Milo’s shoulders relaxing as he trudged down the hall. 

Dan and Milo reentered the kitchen moments later, both dressed and bickering slightly.

“Milo its only one day, we’ve been pushing it back long enough.” Dan continued, digging through the fridge and grabbing a half-empty mug.

“But daaaaaad!” Milo whined, Dan downing the contents of the mug before setting it aside.

“We’re both running late, we don’t have the time for this.” Dan concluded, nudging him towards the front door.

Sumney grabbed the empty mug, running it under the tap as he continued to listen to the conversation.

“Take it easy, alright?” Dan said, squeezing Sumney’s shoulder lightly before heading towards the door himself “See you later.” 

“Bye.” Sumney said, finishing up the dishes.

The silence was filled by the soft rumbling of the dishwasher, Sumney put the dishes away as he tried to quell his thoughts.

“Hey—“

Sumney jolted, the plate in his hand slipping free and crashing onto the kitchen floor. Jake cringed.

“Oh— I’m so sorry.” He began, Sumney waving it off.

“It was my fault… don’t worry.” He insisted. 

Jake rummaged through the hall closet and handed him a broom. There was a sharp prick in Sumney’s heel as he swept. He froze.

“Hey.. don’t cry..” Jake said softly as Sumney sniffled faintly “What’s wrong?”

“I’m fine, I’m fine.” Sumney shooed his hand away, wiping at his eyes.

“Just take a seat, please?” Jake pleaded, leading him to the nearest chair “I’ll take care of it.” 

Jake glanced back at him every so often as he swept, his expression filled with concern. Sumney dug into his heel, pulling the stray piece of plate out and glaring at the small puncture hole it left behind. Water began to flow free, running down his foot.

Jake dumped the pieces into the garbage, glancing back at Sumney one last time.

“Are you okay?” He asked, beginning to approach. Sumney tensed, cupping his heel in his hands.

“Yes—!” He exclaimed, letting out a shaky breath “Just… can you get me a bandaid?” 

“..Of course.” Jake replied after a pause, confusion beginning to overpower his worry. 

He disappeared down the hall. Sumney stared into the laundry room. ~

“I’ve already talked to him, you’re just being paranoid.” Milo dismissed, Cody sighing deeply.

“Milo, he’s not safe.” Cody insisted “He stabbed a guy!” 

“The blood on his fingers was his own.” Milo countered. “You have no proof he’s guilty.”

“You said he cut himself with a kitchen knife, right?” Cody said “Well I saw one in the pond when I got there!”

“Yeah right.” Milo rolled his eyes “You did say anything about it until I brought it up.” 

Cody looked about ready to pull his hair out. 

Milo shut his locker abruptly. “Listen, I’m not in the mood to argue with you today.” He sighed, readjusting the small stack of notebooks in his hands. “Can we just drop it?” 

Milo scratched at his upper arm again, turning and beginning to head toward the classroom. Cody followed.

“You can go see for yourself if you don’t believe me.” Cody mumbled. 

Milo gave him an unappreciative glare.

They continued the walk to class in silence. ~

Sumney grabbed a basket, filling it with the fresh load of dried laundry. He froze at the sight of the hoodie.

It radiated warmth, practically clinging to his hand as he gingerly set it atop the rest of the clothes. 

He briskly walked to Milo’s room, setting the basket down and quickly hanging the hoodie up in the closet. He attempted to shut the door, cursing under his breath when one of the doors refused to budge. 

The hoodie remained in view, it’s very presence making his skin crawl. 

Picking the basket back up, he exited the room as quickly as he could. 

He knocked lightly on Jake’s door, entering shortly after with the basket in hand. 

“Hey.” Jake greeted, fingers gliding across his keyboard as he typed. Sumney smiled.

“Hey.” He replied, setting the basket down and beginning to sort through the assortment of clothes. 

“Is that foot doing alright?” He asked, eyes still glued to screen. 

“Yeah, still stings though.” Sumney replied, his smile fading. 

He set a few shirts on Jake’s bed. Jake glanced over.

“You’ve been having a hard time, huh?” He said, sympathy evident in his tone as he turned his chair to face him.

“What gave it away?” Sumney asked, smoothing out his hair with his fingers.

“Everything, pretty much.” Jake answered, pausing in his typing only to dig into his pocket “I probably shouldn’t do this but ..” Sumney watched him slide a couple bills on the desk with a shrug. “I dunno, maybe get yourself something and take your mind off it.” Jake finished, returning to his typing.

Sumney pocketed the money, giving him an appreciative smile “Thank you.”

He set the remaining clothes in Dan’s doorway as he left the room, making a mental note to return for them soon. His shoulders tensed as he passed by Milo’s door, taking a moment to shut it he formed them to relax and waited for the discomfort to pass.

“I’ll be back!” He shouted into the house, not bothering to wait for Jake’s reply before heading out the door.

The sun was bright, clouds sparsely dotting the sky. Sumney jogged lightly, hardly taking in the scenery as he passed it by. 

It was longer of a walk than he expected but he soon found himself entering a small gas station. 

He wandered the aisles for a bit, briefly glancing over the random assortment of shelved items. He swiped a single pack of gum from the shelf, slowly making his way to the counter. 

A box of matches caught his eye, his pace slowing to a crawl as he stared. He hesitated for a moment more before grabbing them and continuing towards the counter.

He exited the store, chewing idly as he walked. The matches sat snugly in his pocket, providing him some sort of reassurance as he began the walk home.

The house was quiet when he returned, everything being the same as he’d left it. Peeking into Jake’s room, his expression softened at the sight. Jake’s arms were folded, his head resting on them as he snoozed lightly.

Sumney smiled, carefully lifting Jake from his chair and carrying him over to the bed. Jake mumbled incoherently, eventually settling in and curling up in the sheets. 

Gently shutting the door behind him, Sumney went and retrieved the basket from Dan’s doorway.

Milo’s door was ajar, a single shark plush peeking out into the hallway. Sumney shuddered, carefully scooting the plush back onto the room with his foot before shutting the door.

He could’ve sworn it was closed.

Fingers twitching, he rested his hand on his pocket. The feeling of the box was soothing.

Sumney sighed, settling on the couch as he separated the rest of the clothes. The quiet was nice in a way, his attention focused solely on the task in front of him.

He let the hours fly by. ~

Milo walked past the front door, his destination clear the moment he’d exited the car. Dan called out to him, Milo waving it off and charging ahead. 

He ignored Dan’s voice, breaking into a run as he headed for the forest. Bursting through the tree line, he stumbled into the clearing. Everything was hushed. 

The pond was still, a rusty knife nestled in the grass around it. The water was murky.

Milo’s expression radiated disbelief, his lips settling into a frown as he pushed further into the forest. Dan’s shouts became nothing but background noise. Pushing deeper into the forest, Milo glanced around the tangle of trees. Everywhere he glanced appeared the same, the tangle of trees only growing thicker the further he went inward. He squinted.

“Hello?” He shouted, his voice echoing endlessly into the brush. His pace slowed to a hesitant walk. He frowned.

Dan’s voice was absent, Milo looking back only to find the entrance to the pond’s clearing was obscured between the identical patches of trees and their many branches. He froze. 

“Dad?” He called out, arms wrapping around himself as he tried to mentally retrace his steps. The sound of a distant thud caught his attention.

He looked around frantically, trying to pinpoint the direction from which the sound came to no avail. 

A gentle breeze drifted among the trees. 

Milo felt a hand on his shoulder, spinning around he let out a relieved sigh at Huni’s presence.

“How do you keep sneaking up on me..” he laughed weakly, his eyes drifting to the dried blood that caked the tattered ends of Huni’s shirt. The bandages that extended to his forearm were now in ruin, the pieces sloppily slapped across a wound Milo couldn’t see. 

He sniffled.

“Hey— don’t cry..” Huni began, pausing a letting out a hoarse cough “It’s okay, I’m okay.” 

Milo stared at the ground, his eyes watering.

“I’m lost..” he muttered, Huni’s expression softening. 

“Follow me.” Huni replied, setting his good hand on Milo’s back and guiding him through the pathless woods. 

The panic on Dan’s face dissolved at Milo’s return into the clearing, Huni trailing behind him.

Dan jogged up to the two, resting his hands on Milo’s shoulders as relief flooded his features.

“Do you have any idea how worried I was?” He asked, thumb wiping at Milo’s tears “C’mon…” 

Huni turned, beginning to hobble back towards the seclusion of the deep woods.

“Hey.” Dan called out, Huni hesitating for a moment “Can you stick around for a moment? I just need some answers..” 

“Oh…” Huni let out a long sigh, settling onto the grass. Dan and Milo followed shortly after. 

“Who are you?” Dan asked. Milo pressed to his side with his face completely covered.

“The name’s Huni, this is my pond.” He replied bluntly “It… usually looks a lot nicer, promise.” 

“What’s so interesting about this pond, Milo?” Dan asked. Milo remained glued to his side. Dan sighed.

“It’s a wishing pond.” Huni explained instead. “Ya make a wish and the pond grants it, though probably not exactly how you’d like it to.” His gaze drifted to Milo.

“Wishes?” Dan echoed. He surprisingly didn’t sound skeptical, realization seeming to hit him all at once as the dots connected in his head “Oh..” 

“Mhm.” Huni winced, setting his hand over the hastily applied bandages and frowning at the red that stained his fingers.

“That looks pretty bad.” Dan pointed out, Huni laughing it off.

“I’ll be fine.” He insisted, rising from the grass “Uh..take care?”

Dan stood slowly, Milo staring blankly at the ground.

“I wanna go home..” He mumbled, Dan patting his shoulder idly as they began to lead him home. The two entered the house. Sumney was sprawled out across the couch in a fitful sleep. Milo clung closer to Dan’s side as they walked past. He broke off when they reached the hall, searching frantically. His shoulders relaxed when he reached his closet, pulling the hoodie from its hanger.

Dan appeared in the doorway not to long after, his expression full of concern as he entered the room. Milo pulled his hood up, tugging tightly at the strings.

“You okay, bud?” He asked, Milo glancing up at him.

“I guess.” Milo answered, Dan taking a seat beside him on the bed “I gotta talk to Cody though..” 

“Something happen with you two?” He asked. Milo nodded. 

He pulled his phone from his pocket, resting against Dan as he dialed and pressed it to his ears. Dominic held the buzzing phone in his hand, Cody sighing deeply.

“What has gotten into you lately?” He asked. 

Cody ignored him in favor of the growing sting in his side.

I’m sorry…” he mumbled, rubbing at his eyes. His vision was blurry, the mere sting growing into a full on burning as the lecture he received became less and less coherent.

“Cody?” Dominic called out, setting his hands on his shoulders to steady him. 

“Dad..” He whined, tear droplets collecting on the lenses of his glasses “It hurts..”

The side of his shirt was dotted with red.

Dominic lifted the shirt, the fabric clinging to his side for a second longer before giving way. There wasn’t a gash as he’d first thought, his skin just seeming to secrete blood all together. 

He panicked, Cody burying his face into his side and beginning to sob. 

There was only so much paper towels could do. 

Dominic sat on the front steps, holding Cody close to his side as he dialed for an ambulance. Sumney awoke at the sound of the ambulance siren. He sat up and approached the nearest window.

Milo practically ran out the front door, Dan calling after him as he followed. 

The paramedics were helping Cody into the ambulance, Dominic watching with handfuls of bloody paper towels and a terror stricken expression.

“What happened?!” Milo exclaimed the moment he reached his side. Dominic continued to stare off in the direction of the ambulance, even when it began to pull away from the side of the road. 

“I don’t know..” he replied, voice faint. ~

Milo refused to budge when Dan gently nudged his shoulder the following morning.

“I’m not feeling good.” Milo mumbled, rolling onto his opposite side and leaving his back to face him. 

Dan sighed, retracting his hand as Milo curled further into his sheets.

“Well…” He replied, brushing some of Milo’s hair aside and kissing his temple “I hope you feel better soon.” 

Milo’s shoulders relaxed as Dan’s footsteps grew distant. 

He sat up, his hoodie uncomfortably warm from the night’s sleep. He slipped out of bed and trudged down the hall. 

Dominic, Sumney, and Jake were in the kitchen. Sumney was pouring coffee into a mug as Dominic and Jake chatted idly.

“Milo?” Jake called out when Milo peeked into the kitchen “What are you still doing here? Dan’s left.” 

“I’m not going today.” Milo said simply, waiting for Dominic’s disapproving gaze and frowning faintly at it’s absence. 

Jake made room at the table. Milo half-heartedly chewed at his breakfast as the three sat in stiff silence. 

Sumney approached the table, eyeing the hoodie as he took a seat. Milo didn’t bother glancing his way, instead scooting closer to Jake’s side.

“How’re you holding up?” Jake asked, voice low and mouth hidden behind his glass.

Dominic seemed to deflate, letting out a drawn sigh as he rested his head in his hands.

“Fine.” He replied, pushing his hair back with his hands “Doing just fine!” 

Jake patted his arm lightly, his expression full of sympathy. “Visiting hours should start soon, right?” He began “How about we drop by?” 

Dominic folded his arms on the table, shoulders drooping as he glanced in Jake’s direction.

“Yeah … let’s do that.” He replied, sniffling faintly as his frown deepened .“How much longer ‘til then?” 

“Only a few hours or so.” Jake answered, Dominic’s gaze turning downcast.

“Can I come?” Milo asked, the two’s heads turning in his direction. His gaze landed on Dominic in a silent plea.

“Of course.” He answered after a lengthy pause, Milo giving him a faint smile in return. 

Sumney shifted uncomfortably in his chair, eventually deciding to rise and collect the empty dishes from the table. He paused, exchanging a brief look of pure discomfort with Milo as his arm brushed against the hoodie fabric. Neither said a word. ~

Milo practically bounced in the doorway, shouting into the house for Sumney to hurry as Jake and Dominic waited in the car. 

Sumney reappeared in the hallway, pulling his sweater over top of his shirt before jogging out the door. Milo followed shortly after. 

The drive to the hospital was a quiet one, Milo remaining pressed against the window throughout its duration. The moment the car had come to a stop in the lot, he was out the door. Jake yelled after him, eventually confining him to his side through hand holding. 

Milo pouted, still tugging Jake along every now and then to his dismay. They stopped by the desk, Dominic chatting with the lady up front before the four headed upwards. “Reese!” Milo exclaimed, throwing himself into the nurse’s side as she looked up from her clipboard.

“Oh— hello, Milo.” She greeted, returning his hug to the best of her ability.  The two separated after a moment, Milo staring at Cody’s hospital bed. Cody was propped up, currently leaning into Dominic’s chest as the two conversed. 

“Is he gonna be okay?” Milo asked, glancing back at her.

“While this is definitely unusual..” Reese began, setting the clipboard against the nearest desktop “He’s fine overall, shouldn’t be too much of a problem in the long term.” 

Milo let out a relieved sigh, giving her one last appreciative squeeze before rushing over to Cody’s side.

“Cody!!!” He exclaimed, gripping the boy’s shoulders.

“Milo!” Cody replied, chuckling faintly as Milo pulled him into a gentle hug.

Dominic had stepped aside to give them room but his eyes darted back to the pair occasionally. 

“What happened?” Milo asked, hands cupping Cody’s face as his concern gaze only intensified. 

“I think it was the pond’s price..” Cody admitted, voice low “It’s gotta be, there’s no other explanation.”

“Wha? But you didn’t make a wish..” Milo trailed off at Cody’s nervous grin “Did you?”

“I didn’t plan to.” Cody insisted, resting his hands on top of Milo’s “It was sort of a complicated situation, I didn’t know what else to do..” 

Milo pulled him into a light hug, Cody eagerly returning it. There was nothing but the soft hum of medical equipment for a moment.

Sumney was sat in one of the plastic chairs, detached from the pairs of conversation happening around him. He scratched at his arm, staring blankly at the tile floor. 

Reese side-eyed him as she continued to speak with Dominic.

“What’s wrong with him?” He asked “He was fine one moment and then..”

“Well we’re still trying to figure things out.” Reese explained “He wasn’t bleeding from any cut, it seemed to just be coming from the skin. Which .. is very strange.” 

Dominic’s expression only grew more panicked, Reese patting his forearm as she continued.

“But! He’s perfectly healthy overall and at the moment nothing seems to be causing any long term damage.” She clarified.

Dominic only relaxed faintly, worry still dominating his features as he glanced back towards the hospital bed. 

Jake had made his way to the bedside, idly chatting with Milo as Cody pointed towards the site of the bleeding.

“Thank you..” He said finally, Reese giving him an appreciative smile in return.

Visiting hours didn’t last as long as he would like, though Cody conked out a good hour and a half before they’d have to go. 

Jake patted Dominic’s shoulder as they headed back towards the car, assuring him they’d be dropping by as soon as visiting hours were on again. 

Dominic thanked him, dropping the other three off at the house.

“You sure you’ll be alright on your own?” Jake asked, standing at the window of the car as it’s engine hummed softly “You’re still welcome if you’d like to stay another night.” 

“It’s fine.” Dominic insisted, sighing deeply “I appreciate the offer.” 

The two said their goodbyes, Jake turning back towards the house as Dan came to greet them at the doorway.

Sumney entered the house without another word.

Milo filled Dan in on the happenings of the day, the two heading into the hall as Jake lingered in the living room. Sumney was sat on the couch, expression somber as his gaze remained fixed on the carpet. 

“You…doing okay?” Jake asked, taking a seat beside him on the couch.

“Yeah.” Sumney replied, pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers “I’m good.” 

“You’re not a very convincing liar.” Jake commented. 

Sumney laughed faintly. “I know..” he replied, resting his head on his folded hands “I’m sorry.” 

“Don’t apologize, just tell me what’s wrong.” Jake said, setting a hand on his shoulder.

“I’m just tired, that’s all.” Sumney insisted. Jake stood after a pause. “Not in the mood to talk.”

“Well… if you change your mind, you know where to find me.” Jake replied, heading down the hall.

Sumney sat in silence, placing his hands in his pockets and running his thumb over the box of matches that resided. ~

Milo was awoken in the middle of the night, being forcefully turned onto his side as his hoodie was snatched from under him. He sat up, bleary-eyed and deeply confused, eyes darting around the room as the quickened shuffling of footsteps caught his attention.

Sumney glanced back at him, the two locking eyes momentarily before he darted out the door with the hoodie in hand.

“Hey!” Milo cried, the situation finally catching up with him as he hopped out of bed. Sumney was quick, his footsteps being a lot quieter without assortment of scattered plushies and clothes covering the floor. 

The house was dark, Milo only able to make sense of the man’s silhouette as he dashed through the halls. There was the faint sound of liquid swishing in a container, Milo faintly able to recognize the shape of odd jug in the man’s hands. He flew out the door, Milo taking a moment to throw on a pair of shoes before talking off after him.

The destination was still familiar despite the cover of night, Milo pushing past tree branches and swatting at the thorny bushes that clung to his sweatpants. He broke through into the clearing, pausing for breath before looking around frantically for his hoodie and the man who stole it. 

Sumney was hunched over a patch of bush and collected branches, gently pouring a liquid onto it.

The smell was unmistakably pronounced.

“What are you doing?!” Milo shrieked, attempting to pull the hoodie from his hands. Sumney stumbled, eyes wide as he looked back at Milo.

“…Go home.” He said simply, tightening his grip on the hoodie.

“Not until you give me my hoodie!” Milo replied, his fingers digging into the fabric “Let go!” 

Sumney smacked his hand away, Milo’s eyes going wide as he stepped back.

He shook his hand lightly, the sting fading moments after.

“I told you to go home.” Sumney said, pouring the rest of the jug’s contents into the pile. He slung the hoodie over his shoulder, eyeing Milo warily as he reached into his pocket. 

Milo shoved him harshly when the match’s flame came to life, snatching the hoodie from his grasp.

Sumney’s eyes narrowed as he flicked the match into the pile, the fire grew in an instant. 

“Give me the hoodie.” He demanded, approaching Milo with a venomous glare.

“No!” Milo exclaimed, fear radiating off of his features as he backed away with the hoodie in his unrelenting grasp “Why do you even want it?!”

“I can’t stand that thing!” Sumney spat, gesturing to the space around them “I can’t stand this place—! I need to get rid of it, it’s the only way I can stop thinking about it!” 

“Wha..” Milo could hardly formulate a response, letting out a scream when Sumeny suddenly sprang forward, swiping at the hoodie but only managing to brush his fingers against the fabric as it was moved from his reach.

“Hand it over, Milo.” Sumney ordered, smoke billowing out behind him as the light of the flames casted an eerie shadow against him. 

Milo shook his head wordlessly, coughing lightly as the smell of smoke invaded his airways. 

He turned sharply, breaking into a sprint and heading deeper into the woods. Sumeny let out a scream of frustration, yelling after him as Milo weaved his way between the clusters of trees. He hurriedly pulled the hoodie over his shirt, hugging himself as he continued to run blind.

“Huni!!!” He screamed, eyes darting around for the slightest hint of movement as he continued to run “Huni help!!!” 

He huffed, sweat running down his forehead as he pushed himself. He stumbled into a new clearing, practically tripping over his feet as he came to a stop. 

The clearing was filled with tree stumps, a poorly constructed log house lied in ruin in its center. Milo headed straight for it, carefully stepping through the open doorway. There wasn’t much to the inside, holes littering the walls and ceiling, Milo paused when he stumbled across a body. 

Huni was curled up on the floor, face flushed and slick with sweat. Milo shook him, Huni groaning faintly before beginning to stir. 

“Wake up please..” Milo pleaded, shaking him hurriedly as he glanced around. 

Huni sat up, rubbing at his eyes. He stared at Milo in confusion, glancing around.

“Milo..?” He mumbled, getting pulled up almost instantly.

“Please— you have to help me!” Milo began, struggling to explain as Huni swayed in place.

“What’s going on..?” Huni asked, Milo tugging him outside. 

His eyes widened at the smoke pouring into the night sky, panic hitting his features instantly.

Milo didn’t get to speak. Huni tucked his hair into his cap before immediately taking off in the direction of the flames. Milo hesitated for a moment before following. 

The flames had encompassed the clearing. Patches of grass were blackened by the flames as the fire threatened to consume everything. 

Milo let out a shriek, feeling a harsh tug on his hood as Sumney sprung from the currently untouched patch of trees. He attempted to rip the hoodie from Milo’s torso, struggling to hold him still.

Huni spun on his heel, throwing the best punch he could muster in Sumney’s direction. 

Sumney shook it off, glancing at him with nothing but mere annoyance before continuing to struggle with Milo.

Huni steadied himself, dizziness washing over him. The flames continued to eat away at the trees, flaming branches breaking off and careening towards the ground only to further spread the fire. 

The smoke was suffocating, Huni struggling to grasp the untouched end of a flaming branch before swatting Sumney across the face with it. Sumney hissed, his skin steaming at the heat exposure.

Milo wiggled free, hiding behind Huni as Sumney reached out for him once more. 

Waving the flaming branch, Huni forced Sumney to back away from the pair.

Milo pulled the collar of his shirt over his nose, struggling to breathe the smoke filled-air. Huni’s gaze continuously flickered back towards him, his movements unsteady as he forced Sumney to the scorched tree line. ~

Jake’s expression was terror stricken as he rushed into Dan’s room, shaking him in a panic. 

“Huh?” Dan mumbled groggily. 

Jake gripped his shirt. “Milo’s missing.” He said. 

Dan sat up in an instant. “What do you mean?” He asked, following Jake as they headed into the hall. Jake ran his hands through his hair, trying his best to explain.

“What do you think I mean?!” Jake answered “I was just gonna check on him .. and he wasn’t there!” 

“Did you look anywhere else?” 

Jake shook his head in response. “Where else would he be?” Jake asked, the two splitting paths as they called for Milo.

The two practically turned the house upside down searching, eventually widening their search to include next door. 

Still in pajamas with the nearest shoes they could find, they knocked rapidly at Dominic’s door. Jake paced as the waited. Dan considered knocking again, halting when the door swung open.

Dominic gave them odd looks, rubbing at his eyes as he leaned against the doorway.

“Is Milo with you?” Dan asked, Dominic shaking his head as the two exchanged fearful looks.

“What’s going on?” Dominic asked, glancing between the two “And where’s the other guy?”

“We… don’t know.” Jake admitted, his worry only amplifying at the implications.

Dominic’s gaze drifted toward, eyes widening as he pointed to the distant sky.

“Does that have anything to do with it?” He asked, the two following his line of sight before staring in horror.

Smoke fogged up the otherwise clear night sky, specks of orange peaking between the cluster of trees. The two took off, Dominic taking a moment to slip on his shoes before following. The three couldn’t get too close to the blazing woods, hovering at the outer edges instead. Jake kept the phone pressed to his ear, trying to keep himself relatively calm as he spoke to the dispatcher. 

Dominic was keeping an eye on Dan, attempting to talk the man down from charging straight into the blaze. 

“I gotta look for him!” Dan insisted. 

“We don’t even know if Milo’s in there!” Dominic replied, his expression full of impatience. “And even if he is, how will you even find him? You’re only going to get lost or hurt.”

“I have to do something!” Dan countered, a deep frown weighing on his face.

“You are doing something!” Dominic assured him “You’re doing the reasonable thing and waiting for someone qualified to handle the situation.” 

“Dom…he could die..” Dan mumbled, voice low as to avoid further freaking Jake out.

“..So could you.” Dominic replied, setting his hand gently onto his forearm “I just— There’s no sense in you getting hurt unnecessarily.”

Dan didn’t reply, gaze fixated on the forest as Dominic patted his arm lightly in reassurance. 

They could do nothing but watch as a tree tipped, careening straight into the heart of the woods and only furthering it’s destruction. 

~

Milo clung to Huni as flaming chunks of toppled tree went flying upon impact. The pond hissed at the contact, water dousing a small handful of the miniature flames in its surroundings. 

Sumney stared them down, flames licking his forearms as he planted his feet at the clearing’s edge. Huni had since discarded the branch, the tips of his fingers bright red from the close contact with the heat. 

“Dad—“ Milo began, an attempt to reason being cut short at Sumney’s bitter response.

“I am not your dad.” He spat, each of his breaths seeming to take a tremendous effort “Give me the hoodie.”

Milo didn’t reply, his grip tightening on the hoodie’s stuffed tail as Huni continued block him from Sumney’s view. 

Sumney pulled a peeling strip of bark from the tree beside him, flames dancing across his fingers as he gripped it tightly. 

Huni didn’t budge.

“We gotta get you out of here..” Huni wheezed, eyes trained of Sumney as the man eyed him right back.

Sumney broke into a sprint, one hand latching onto Huni’s wrist as the other pressed the burning wood into the man’s face. Milo stumbled back, startled by the suddenness and the bloodcurdling shriek that followed. 

Sumney forced Huni to the ground, smothering the burring wood further in. Milo began to make space between himself and the scuffle, Sumney’s murderous glare landed on him. He attempted to go after him, but Huni held onto his leg despite the kicking that followed. 

“Let go of me!!!” Sumney demanded, stamping angrily at whatever he could pin under his soot-stained soles. 

The heated blade of the rusty knife singed Huni’s shoulder, the man recoiling after a swift kick to the face. 

His hand grasped the handle.

Sumney’s eyes widened at the knife being embedded into his lower back, spurts of water surging from the fresh wound.

He stumbled back, hands flying to cover the wound but being unable to contain the gushing liquid. Steam rose, curling around his leg as the heat from the flames mingled with the new water source. 

“What … are you?” Milo asked, Sumney’s eyes wide and fearful at Milo’s terror-filled question. 

There was a pause, the crackling of flames keeping the three from plunging into a stiff silence. Sumney stared at him.

He hesitated for only a moment longer before turning heel, fleeing into the deeper forest. His hurried footsteps grew faint, Huni’s shoulders slumping in relief.

Milo stared in the direction he’d left, gaze lingering for a moment or two before it landed on Huni’s trembling form. 

The man was hacking, strands of hair clinging to his sweat-soaked face as his hand gingerly cupped his scorched cheek. 

Blood was steadily gushing from his nose and cracked lips, his breaths escaping a short wheezes. He looked seconds away from total collapse.

Milo rushed to his side, kneeling and beginning to tug at his good arm. The two began to limp towards the edge of the forest, Huni doing his best to shield Milo from the crumbling branches. 

The two broke from the tree line, burns of various degrees littering their arms with their clothing baring all sorts of singes. 

Dan ran at them, scooping Milo into a tight hug as the boy rested his head on his shoulders. Dan hushed him lightly as choked sobs began to escape, the boy’s grip tightening as he sniffled heavily.

Sirens wailed faintly in the distance, Huni swaying in place as his gaze became unfocused. Dominic approached cautiously, slinging Huni’s arm over his shoulders and carefully steadying him. 

His eyes remained fixated on the burning forest, his expression heavy with exhaustion.  His eyes were watering, whether it was due to the smoke exposure or the pain from his many wounds remaining unknown to Dominic.

The sirens continued to grow ever closer, the five sitting in a weary silence as smoke continued to overtake the deep blue night. ~ “Milo, it’s almost closing time.” 

Courtney set a gentle hand on his shoulder, Milo continuing to stare wearily at the tank.

“I know…” he replied, sat cross-legged on the carpet floor. His hood was partially up, hanging off the edge of his head with his hair freely spilling out from the extra space. 

She ruffled his hair as she walked by, Milo sniffled lightly. She frowned, wiping at the glass of the viewing tank as she glanced at him. 

He continued to watch the shark lazily glide across the water, Courtney spoke up.

“So…where are your dads?” She asked, spraying the glass with cleaner before continuing to wipe.

“They’re waiting for me.” He answered, gesturing towards the general direction of the front lobby “…I wanted to watch Chomps alone.” 

“She’s missed you, y’know?” She replied, trying to lighten the mood “Every time I come in here to clean the glass she’s pestering me on where you are!” 

A faint smile crept onto Milo’s face as he readjusted himself. “Poor girl..” he said, waving at her as she swam by “I’d live here forever to keep her company if I could.” 

“Don’t think we’re licensed to care for shark boys.” Courtney told him.

“Can you double check?” Milo asked, Courtney grinning at him.

“I’ll ask the boss.” She assured him. the two lapsed into silence as she continued to clean. 

Milo’s smile didn’t last very long, a deep sigh escaping as he finally made the move to stand. Courtney watched from her peripheral.

“Heading out?” She asked, Milo nodding faintly as he pulled his hood back up “Have a nice night, alright?” 

“You too.” Milo mumbled, beginning to trudge his way over to the front desk where Dan and Jake stood patiently.

The two were engrossed in conversation, Jake catching Milo’s approach and nudging Dan lightly. The two turned to him.

“Ready to go?” He asked, Milo nodding faintly as he took their hands.

“Cody’s coming home today, did you know that?” Jake said, the three heading out into the lot as Dan skimmed the cars in search for their own.

“Really?” Milo asked. “Can I go see him?” “Dom’s said he’s really worn out from the pain meds, don’t think you’d be able to have much of a conversation.” Jake warned. 

Milo gripped his hand lightly. “I still wanna see him..” Milo insisted “Just for a little bit, please?” 

Jake caved rather quickly and the three piled into the car and heading home. Milo hopped out the door the moment the car came to a stop, bounding past the lawn and up the front steps of Dominic’s place. He knocked rapidly as Dan and Jake caught up.

Dominic didn’t seem very surprised at Milo’s presence, inviting the three inside.

“Cody!!!” Milo exclaimed, racing for the boy who was sprawled across the couch.

“Hey—! Be gentle with him!” Dominic instructed, Milo slowing his pace before plopping down on the couch beside Cody.

“Hey..” Cody greeted, eyelids drooping heavily as he took a sip of water “I’m not leaking blood no more..!” 

Milo went for a hug, glancing back at Dominic who gave him the go ahead. 

Milo gently wrapped his arms around him, Cody slumping into his hold. His glasses nearly fell off, Milo grabbing them and setting them on the coffee table.

“Sleepy?” Milo asked, Cody mumbling some sort of agreement as he continued to shift his weight onto Milo. 

Dominic kept a close eye on the two, grabbing Dan and Jake something to drink as they chatted in the kitchen.

“Did you hear they’re bulldozing the whole patch of forest?” He asked. The two’s eyes widened faintly.

“Why?” Dan asked, seeming particularly concerned about the fate of the woods.

“The fire was the last thing they needed to prove it was a hazard to the neighborhood.” Dominic continued, pausing to sip from his mug “Folks have been fighting over that place for years and I guess someone finally won.” 

“Well…at least the risk of nearby houses catching fire has been dealt with.” Jake replied. 

Dan carried a troubled frown.

“You okay?” Jake asked, Dan looking up at him.

“Yeah…just fine.” He assured him, and the three settled into a silence. 

Milo frowned. - Huni didn’t know what he was expecting. The forest was in complete ruin upon his arrival. Trees were toppled over, blackened and splintered by the hours of burning. The ground was covered in ash, bits of partially burnt wood and plant crunching beneath his feet as he walked. 

Ducking under some sagging branches, Huni hesitantly stepped into the clearing. He held onto his side, the new stitches that lined it stung at the sight: The grass had completely been eaten away, bits of broken trees scattered all around the clearing. In its center, was a shallow pit. The soil was damper than its surroundings, an assortment of junk embedded within. 

Huni stared blankly , shoulders drooping as the wind slowly picked up. 

Shielding his nose and mouth from the bits of ash getting blown around, he continued deeper into the wood’s remains. The usual pathway was missing, buried beneath fallen trees and layers of soot and ash. Huni stumbled around, eventually breaking through into a second clearing. 

The entire place was leveled, a fallen tree having completely crushed what was now just a useless pile of splintered logs. Huni picked his way through the wreckage, pausing at the light glimmer that came from a single silver coin. Flipping it, he pocketed the resulting to coins after wiping them of any clinging ash before turning on his heels and heading back the way he came. 

The sky was a dark gray, a steady drizzle falling over the faintly smoldering forest. Huni paused, foot nearly crushing a browned piece of balled up foil. He picked it up, examining it faintly. It was a mere gum wrapper, Huni rolling his eyes as he crumpled it further before shoving it in his pocket.

Thunder rumbled faintly overhead.

[cupidmarwani-archive]

Cakewalk (3/15)

WC: 1506

Halfway through the lunch hour, Sonny runs out of chocolate chip cookies, his most popular daily treat, and he doesn’t notice until Amanda asks for one and he brushes the empty tray. It’s been a fairly slow day, giving him the opportunity to get some reading done and try to avoid thinking about the lingering sadness that clings in the cracks of the floorboards. No matter how much time has passed, it still hits him hard too often. Amanda’s on her own lunch break, luckily, and doesn’t mind waiting around while he cooks up a fresh batch.

“I’ll watch the store,” she says, waving him into the back and grabbing a seat on his stool behind the counter with her soda.

He thanks her and disappears. There’s still dough in the fridge, since he likes to prepare it after closing the night before in order to let it rest and thicken up to lose less butter while it bakes. Thick cookies are good cookies, after all. Content with Amanda in charge, he turns on the oven and greases the baking sheet to put down the cookies on and bake, after quickly washing his hands in the sink. How he didn’t realize, he isn’t sure, but then again he’s been easily distractible lately. It’s like his brain, his attention, is being constantly pulled in all different directions and it’s overwhelming him. He’s always wondered what would have happened if he hadn’t taken over the sweetstop, but now more than ever it’s come to mind. What would his life be like if he had taken his scholarship and gone to Harvard? Imagining himself as a lawyer is hard, but Nana always did say he was good at arguing. And he’s been intrigued by law ever since he was a little boy, sitting on the kitchen counter while Nana patched up his scraped knees and asking her if the culprits would ever get in trouble. Every time he went to the office about it at school, they would tell him to man up. As soon as he told her about that, though, she marched down herself and demanded punishment. No one can ever be as scary as Nonna was when she was angry.

After he puts the cookies in, Sonny leans against the counter and resists the urge to run a hand through his gel sticky hair. It’s getting messy by this point in the day anyways, but he can hopefully make it last through the next few hours of work. Maybe he should hire a part-time worker at some point, but he doesn’t trust anyone else to take care of the sweetstop.

From the main entrance, he hears the windchimes go off to signify the door opening. Amanda’s voice greets them in an accent a little thicker than normal. “Liv, nice to see you again. This must be Rafael?” The customer responds too quietly for Sonny to hear. He doesn’t pay much attention, since Amanda knows how to ring up cash if the customers can’t wait for Sonny to finish up in the kitchen. He’s preparing a second tray of cookies when Amanda calls, “Sonny, you might wanna come out here.”

“Give me a few, I’m lining up the next sheet-”

“Now.”

He rolls his eyes and wipes the flour off his hands onto his apron before pasting on his customer service smile, patented from his teenage years. If Amanda needs him immediately, they’re probably pricks. When he walks out into the main area prepared to greet them, his voice stops in his throat. Amanda is smiling at a woman with brunette hair loose around her face who must be Liv, but that’s not who Sonny gets distracted by. Beside her is the Rafael Barba, examining a brick of fudge wrapped in foil. Only when Amanda elbows him does he manage to speak.

“Hi, I’m Sonny, can I help you with anything today?”

“I’m Olivia and this is Rafael. We’re new, what do you recommend?” Olivia asks.

At the same time, Rafael asks, “Do you have coffee?”

Sonny isn’t sure who to answer first so he clears his throat and goes behind the counter. Amanda swaps with him and stands beside Olivia, a little too close for friendship. “Yes, I serve coffee. Normal and Decaf. I’d definitely recommend my cookies, but we’re out right now. I’ll have a batch fresh out of the oven in a few minutes, if you want to wait. Um, the guy I buy my fudge from, Peter, is pretty talented so all of that is great. And the chocolate-orange macarons are really good today.”

“If Peter makes the fudge, who makes the rest?”

The questions rubs Sonny the wrong way, but he ignores it because it was asked by Rafael fucking Barba, who’s literally standing in the sweetstop right now. He’s surprised his heartbeat isn’t audible.

“I do. The recipes go back in family for generations, but I change up the flavors.”

Rafael nods and puts back down the fudge in his hand to look up at Sonny properly. His eyes are much greener in person, Sonny’s brain supplies rather unhelpfully, and the little half-smile on his face is going to be the death of him. Of all the photos he’s seen, he doesn’t think Rafael was smiling in a single one of them. That’s a shame, really.

“...and two raspberry macarons, how much would it be?”

“I’m sorry, what?” he asks, suddenly realizing he didn’t hear anything Rafael said to him.

“Distracted?” Rafael’s eyes are bright with barely contained laughter. “How much would a coffee, a chocolate chip cookie, two chocolate-orange, two vanilla, and two raspberry macarons cost?”

Running the total in his head, Sonny answers back, “Eleven seventy-two, including tax. How do you take your coffee?”

“So you’re smart, I’m impressed. Black with lots of sweetener.”

“Rafael-” Olivia starts to reprimand, but Sonny isn’t paying attention to her. He just keeps repeating that Rafael is impressed over and over again in his head. “-sorry, Sonny. Can I get a donut and one of your cream sodas?”

He nods and starts pulling out their food orders to bag up so that Rafael’s coffee is still hot when he pours it out of the pot and into the paper cups. As he does, Amanda takes Olivia over to the cooler to get her soda, leaving him alone with Rafael, who leans on the counter and looks up at him through his eyelashes. Is he flirting? Is that what this is? Should Sonny say something? He silently panics as he picks up the macarons with the tongs and slides them into a little white paper bag separate from the cookie.

“How long’ve you worked here?”

“About- about eight years,” Sonny answers. “I took over for my Nonna.”

“Where is she now?”

Although Rafael couldn’t have known, Sonny still pauses to blink back tears and sniffles before he gets back to work. “She’s um, she’s gone. And this place is… you know what, you don’t need to hear about that. You’re Rafael Barba, right? From New York Barba?

Rafael groans before answering, “Yeah. Let me guess, you’re upset about what I said about Muñoz on yesterday’s broadcast.”

“No, actually. I’m a big fan, I think you make a lot of good points and you have an interesting view on the government today.”

“What’s your take on the supreme court’s decision on Masterpiece Cakeshop v Colorado Civil Rights Commission?”

Sonny knows that it’s a test, especially given that Rafael had his own very firm opinion on it when he did a show specifically about the verdict a month and a half ago. “I think you’re right that it opens the door for more discrimination based on sexual orientation, but the court ruled according to the law. It’s the same as that time you tried to try a gay man for a hate crime and you got deadlocked. If you target all lesbians, it’s a hate crime. If you target lesbians with freckles, it’s a pattern. The same applies to the baker. He doesn’t deny all same-sex orders, just same-sex wedding cakes. It’s disgusting but not technically discrimination under the letter of the law.”

“So you have a backbone too,” Rafael muses. “And you do your research. But he did deny their order specifically because it was a gay wedding. He doesn’t refuse straight weddings.”

“But he would serve them for other occasions. Again, despite the fact that he’s morally wrong, it’s within his rights.”

“Would it be within his rights to protest a gay wedding?”

The mere thought makes him wrinkle his nose. “If he doesn’t disturb the peace or assault anyone, then technically yes. Think I’d clock him in the face for interrupting my wedding though.”

“Funny, I didn’t mention it being your wedding.”

If Sonny didn’t already know that Rafael isn’t homophobic, he’d still feel like shit about this. No matter how old he gets, coming out is scary, and his heart is in his throat when he turns around to make Rafael’s coffee.

Taglist: @rafaelscarisi @giraffe-puppy @biweatherman @scottishblend @obfuscateyummy @tiredbisexual @scanavino-esparza @welcomehomemysweet @bullet-prooflove @msamethyst1

[citious]

CHAPTER 5

Characters

Main: Yoon Jinmyung, Park Jaehwan, Jo Eun, Seo Janghoon

Supporting: Song Jiwon, Im Sungmin, Yoo Eunjae, Jo Chungwon

Note: If you haven’t read the previous chapters you may do so here –> Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 2.5, Chapter 3, Chapter 4

In a nutshell: Long-distance relationship is indeed a difficult obstacle to overcome, but what contributes to pass that hurdle? Yoon-sunbae, Jaehwan, Eun, and Janghoon will tell us how.

Rating: T

Belle Époque

18th February 2018

9.00 a.m.

Yoon-sunbae exited the bathroom, wearing a feminine sky-blue dress. She painted her face with light makeup and let her shoulder-length hair down. She approached the fridge to check the contents. Unlike the day before, the fridge was full with home-cooked food.

She smiled and pulled out some containers from the fridge to heat them up and went over to the kitchen island to transfer some kimbap rolls she personally made early in the morning into two separate containers. Her expression showed satisfaction

10.00 a.m.

As headed out of Belle Époque’s front door, she saw Eun coming out from the room downstairs, who was making her way out as carefully as possible.

Eun jumped in shock as she was Yoon-sunbae and said,

Eun: Yoon-sunbae, you scared me!

Jinmyung: What were you doing?

Eun who got asked that, put on an awkward expression while whispering something to Yoon-sunbae’s ear.

Flashback

Belle Époque

17th February 2018

11.25 p.m.

Eun curled up on her bed, looking sullen. She was staring at her blank phone screen when a call suddenly came in,

Janghoon: Eun-ah, what are you doing?

Eun replied right away,

Eun: Nothing. Why?

Janghoon: Wanna have some snacks downstairs?

Eun agreed willingly and said,

Eun: Eo, I’ll go down now

Janghoon: Okay!

When Eun went downstairs, Janghoon guided her to the small living room in his place.

Janghoon: Let’s eat tteokbokki together!

Janghoon handed over a pair of separated bamboo chopsticks to Eun. They both started eating with silence in the air. 

After a while, Janghoon opened a conversation,

Janghoon: Eun-ah…

Eun cut Janghoon’s words and said,

Eun: I know. Just keep eating.

Eun knew. She knew Janghoon was about to tell her that he’s returning the next day. So for about 10 minutes, Eun and Janghoon ate the spicy rice cake silently. 

Eun commented,

Eun: Aaah, so delicious!

Janghoon offered her a cup of water to wash down the heat from the spice. When he saw sauce smearing all over Eun’s lips, he chuckled to himself, 

Eun: Why?

Janghoon didn’t reply and kept laughing to himself

He took a ply of tissue to wipe the sauce off her lips, but their faces were too close for them to resist each other’s lips. 

Janghoon leaned forward to kiss Eun, but Eun retracted shortly. Janghoon was confused, so he asked,

Janghoon: Is something wrong?

Eun didn’t respond to Janghoon’s question.

Janghoon who felt that something must be wrong, pulled Eun towards his body to hug her tightly. He knew all too well that Eun will miss him so much after he returns to the base.

Without notice, Janghoon carried Eun to his bed, thinking Eun might feel better if she was lying down.

Despite Janghoon’s height that’s a little shorter than Eun, he’s strong. Eun was a bit startled at Janghoon’s spontaneous act, but it all faded when she was lying on Janghoon’s soft mattress. 

The two lied down to cuddle and Eun said,

Eun: Seo Janghoon.

Janghoon: Hm?

Eun: Promise me.

Eun continued,

Eun: Promise me you’ll never forget to call me once a week. Promise me to not drool over girl group members who come to perform at the army base. Arasseo?

Janghoon who heard Eun’s cute request, just laughed and didn’t comment anything to Eun’s remarks. 

To this, Eun responded,

Eun: Why are you not saying anything?

Janghoon: Aigoo aigoo… Yes, Ma’am! PRIVATE SEO-JANG-HOON WILL ACCEPT AND EXECUTE YOUR REQUESTS.

Eun smiled brightly when Janghoon replied in his military speech style. Eun who already got comfortable with the position that she’s in, asked,

Eun: Can I sleep here just for tonight?

Janghoon was surprised to hear Eun’s question, but he replied open-endedly with a hint of shyness,

Janghoon: Well… If you want and are sure….

Eun closed her eyes to sleep, while Janghoon held her in his arms.

Janghoon murmured to himself,

Janghoon: Right. Let’s spend the night together just once.

Truthfully, Janghoon also felt extremely sad when he had to leave Eun alone for his departure to the base 5 months ago, but he kept it to himself until he even had to shed his tears during showers so that his fellow army mates wouldn’t notice that he was crying.

The thought that he had to leave Eun for the second time felt even harder, but the last 4 days that he spent with Eun – from their sweet date riding the Ferris-wheel, getting themselves a couple necklace, and now, cuddling together to sleep on his last day in Seoul, are all precious. 

It made Janghoon even surer that his feelings for Eun is only going to get stronger when he’s away later.

To end his midnight thoughts, Janghoon adjusted his position and tightened his embrace on Eun, before kissing Eun’s forehead sweetly to wish her goodnight.

Seoul Train Station

11.35 a.m.

Yoon-sunbae was waiting inside the train station to pick Jaehwan up from his train journey from Busan. 

She texted him earlier,

As Yoon-sunbae could see a tall and handsome figure in front of her, she approached and gave him a light peck before wrapping each other’s arms to walk out of the station.

Jaehwan voluntarily took the paper bags that Yoon-sunbae were carrying and asked,

Jaehwan: So, we’re going for a picnic date?

Yoon-sunbae nodded,

Jaehwan looked at the contents inside the bags and wondered,

Jaehwan: wow… you prepared all these by yourself?

Jinmyung: Eo. I woke up at 6 today to prepare all these… You’d better eat them all! Well actually, some of them are from my mom, so…

Jaehwan: Mom? You went to see her?

Jinmyung: Yup, I went home yesterday.

Jaehwan: That’s great!... Jinmyung-ah, can I ask you something?

Yoon-sunbae thought for a while first and suggested,

Jinmyung: Let’s head over to the park and talk about it over there.

Jaehwan agreed with ease on that one.

Yoon-sunbae and Jaehwan chose Banpo Hangang Park as their picnic destination. 

The view from that park was nice as they could see Namsan Tower, The Hill and Seoul Cityscape all at once.

As they sat down on the picnic mat, Jaehwan helped Yoon-sunbae to unpack the food that she brought. Yoon-sunbae asked,

Jinmyung: So, what did you wanna ask me?

Jaehwan: When… are you going to introduce me to your mom?

Yoon-sunbae looked down and smiled a little,

Jinmyung: Why?

Jaehwan: Well… you know, we’ve been together for a while now and I wanna get to know your mom more than just hearing her from your stories.

Jinmyung: Hm…. Good news, then. My mom also wants to meet up with you soon.

Jaehwan smiled sweetly and hugged Yoon-sunbae before suggesting,

Jaehwan: what about next month? When I visit you next?

Yoon-sunbae sulked a little when Jaehwan said ‘next month’ was going to be his visit. ‘1 month is a long time,’ Yoon-sunbae thought to herself. Jaehwan noticed Yoon-sunbae’s expression and said,

Jaehwan: Jinmyung-ah, how?

Yoon-sunbae came back to her senses and smiled while replying,

Jinmyung: Of course, let’s set the date!

Yoon-sunbae took a roll of cut kimbap and fed it into Jaehwan’s mouth.

Jaehwan: Hm! It’s yummy! Yeokshi, you’re so reliable.

Jaehwan complimented Yoon-sunbae’s kimbap making skills to cheer her up a little. He continued to try the side dishes that Yoon-sunbae’s mom cooked, and his eyes widened in wonder,

Jaehwan: Wah… your mom is an amazing cook! Did her skills pass down to you?

Jaehwan teased Yoon-sunbae and laughed as he realized how cringe-worthy his statement was.

Jinmyung: By the way, how’s the restaurant doing?

Jaehwan: Well, it’s doing pretty well. We have a lot of customers coming in every day, and nice words have spread about the restaurant for the handsome chef who cooks the menu.

Yoon-sunbae hit Jaehwan’s shoulder as she heard his over-confident statement, but he’s not exactly wrong, though… because he really is handsome to the point that somewhere deep inside her, she’s scared that another woman might take Jaehwan from her. 

Jaehwan uttered,

Jaehwan: Jinmyung-ah, I have something I wanted to tell you. Well, I’ve had this thought for quite some time now, but I think it’s best that I tell you now.

As Jaehwan completed his sentence, Yoon-sunbae’s heart suddenly pounded uncontrollably. She thought, 'is he gonna propose?’ but she tried not to show any excitement on her face and answered back coolly,

Jinmyung: what is it?

Jaehwan: I…

Yoon-sunbae’s expression got more serious as she tried to hold her anticipation.

 Jaehwan continued,

Jaehwan: I want to…

Just then, Yoon-sunbae couldn’t hold herself anymore and blurted,

Jinmyung: Yes, I do!

Jaehwan who didn’t understand what Yoon-sunbae was talking about, asked,

Jaehwan: Do what?

Yoon-sunbae had so many question on her mind as she replied,

Jinmyung: Weren’t you going to… propose???

Jaehwan had a good laugh and said,

Jaehwan: Hahaha, I’m so sorry… but that wasn’t what I was about to tell you.

Right at that time, Yoon sunbae could feel her cheeks getting hotter and it turned so red that it could pass as a boiled shrimp.

Jinmyung: Then what was it?!

Jaehwan: I’m planning to move back to Seoul. In June. I’m setting up a restaurant business with a colleague of mine who’s an investor mainly in publishing, but he offered me this amazing opportunity, so I think I’m gonna go for it. What do you think?

Yoon-sunbae whose cheeks were red in embarrassment, suddenly blanked out and responded,

Jinmyung: Jaehwan-ssi, are you not kidding me?

Jaehwan: Of course not. Why would I lie about such things?

It was such a good news for Yoon-sunbae. It was even more ideal than getting proposed right at that point. To properly answer Jaehwan’s question, Yoon-sunbae replied,

Jinmyung: I’m absolutely behind you back for this one. I’m putting on my full support for you.

Jaehwan’s lips stretched widely as he heard Yoon-sunbae’s reply. There’s a reason why he agreed to open his own restaurant in Seoul .Well, number one is because he wanted to make his own authentic menu and build freedom in his own kitchen kingdom, but there is one core reason underlying that – he wanted to bring his relationship with Yoon-sunbae to the next level.

Belle Époque

9.56 a.m.

Eun opened her eyes as she woke up from her good and long sleep. She noticed that the room she woke up at wasn’t hers. 

After a while, she remembered telling Janghoon that she wanted to sleep with him for the last time before he returns to the base.

Eun looked right and left, but couldn’t find Janghoon anywhere, so she headed out from Janghoon’s place to go back to her room upstairs. 

She didn’t want to be found out by anyone that she spent the night at Janghoon’s, so she carefully watched her way out.

As she closed the door and turned her back to climb the stairs, she got scared by Yoon-sunbae’s presence who looked extra pretty that morning.

Yoon-sunbae asked her what she was doing, and Eun made a white lie to save herself,

Eun: I was just checking whether Janghoon was home, I wanted to go ask him out for lunch before he goes.

Jinmyung: oooh… really? Is he inside?

Eun shook her head to respond Yoon-sunbae.

Eun: By the way, why are you dressed so prettily like that?

Jinmyung: Aah, Jaehwan-ssi is coming to Seoul today, so we’re gonna go on a picnic date.

Eun: Ah, that’s right! How can I forget about that, you told me about it before last Friday when we met outside the courtyard. Arasseo-yo! Have fun! Please tell chef-nim I said Hi.

Jinmyung: Eo, thank you. If you see Janghoon, tell him I say goodbye, ok?

Yoon-sunbae made her way out of Belle Époque and Eun exclaimed,

Eun: Arasseo-yo. Bye! Be careful on your way!

As Eun saw Yoon-sunbae disappearing from her sight, she touched her heart and sighed in relief.

Come to think of it, Eun still wondered, ‘where is Seo Janghoon?’

Before giving up to return to the share house upstairs, someone shouted Eun’s name. She knew whose voice it was. Janghoon’s.

Janghoon: Eun-ah!

As Eun turned back, she could see Janghoon holding a few plastic bags. She asked,

Eun: What are those bags?

Janghoon: These? I just went to the market to buy some ingredients to make lunch.

Eun: Make lunch? You can cook?

Janghoon felt a little offended, but he didn’t take it seriously,

Janghoon: Eo, of course I can. How do you think I survived all these time living alone downstairs? And do you know we have cooking duties at the army base? One of the reasons why I got awarded this precious holiday is because of my cooking. My seniors loved it so much.

Eun who just found out about Janghoon’s hidden talent, nodded in acknowledgement,

Eun: Arasseo. So, what are we having for lunch?

Janghoon replied with a smile,

Janghoon: Budae-jjigae

Eun scoffed after hearing Janghoon’s reply,

Eun: Yeokshi. What else can you cook

Janghoon, who felt irritated, ruffled Eun’s hair and said,

Janghoon: Euuugh, is that what you have to say to your boyfriend who’s returning to his base in a couple of hours? Let’s go!

Eun who heard Janghoon’s sensitive reply, commented while laughing,

Eun: I know I know, I was just joking!

As the atmosphere brightened, the two went inside Janghoon’s place to start cooking.

Eun helped Janghoon unpack the ingredients from the plastic bags. Her eyes widened as the things she took out from the bags didn’t seem to come to an end. Eun blurted,

Eun: Why are there some many things in here? How can you remember all these ingredients?

Janghoon: Why? Are you amazed?

Eun scoffed,

Eun: ANI! Why do you have to answer it like that?

Janghoon was taken aback and said,

Janghoon: Eun-ah… what’s wrong with you today?

Eun didn’t say anything and proceeded to the basin to wash the ingredient she took out.

Honestly, she couldn’t stop thinking about having to say goodbye with Janghoon in a few hours-time. She wanted to stop the time so badly, but she knew it’s impossible.

As the air was silent and both Eun and Janghoon kept quiet, Eun took a kitchen knife to cut some sausages, spam, raw vegetables, and spices for the stew. Her mind was still overwhelmed by the idea of farewell. She hated separation ever since she was young. Learning how her parents separated really traumatized Eun until now that she’s become a college student.

Eun suddenly hissed in pain as she accidentally cut her left thumb while chopping off the sausages. Janghoon who thankfully was paying attention to Eun, deftly took the first aid kit to apply some ointment and paste a plaster around Eun’s lean thumb. Eun couldn’t stand the mixture of feelings inside her and started crying. Her face was red.

Looking at this, Janghoon consoled Eun,

Janghoon: Eun-aaaah…. Be careful next time, okay? And I know you’re sad too for having to say goodbye to me. I’m sorry okay I was a little harsh on you earlier.

Eun’s sob subsided as she heard Janghoon’s comforting words.

Janghoon: Now can you wait and sit on the chair over there until I finish cooking this?

Eun nodded in response as she still didn’t have the energy to produce a sound due to the lump she felt in her throat.

In about 30 minutes, Janghoon turned off the boiling hot pot of Budae-jjigae that he successfully cooked. He tasted his cooking with a spoon and let go a sigh of satisfaction and praised himself,

Janghoon: Ahhhh, it’s perfect!

He grabbed the pot handles with a pair of mittens and brought it to the dining table. He set up the table with two bowls and two pairs of cutlery before joining Eun who was waiting since her thumb got cut.

Janghoon instructed,

Janghoon: Eun-ah, take some!

Eun scooped down the stew that was filled with numerous ingredients with a ladle and transferred it to Janghoon’s bowl first, before taking her share.

As Eun tasted the dish, her facial expression lightened up and Janghoon who noticed it smiled and started eating his own share.

Janghoon: Is it good?

Eun swallowed whatever was inside her mouth and said,

Eun: Eo. It’s amaaazing.

Inside, Janghoon felt really happy and proud that his food can bring his girlfriend happiness. ‘Yeokshi, food is the medicine to a girl’s sorrow.’

Janghoon realized how much he’s learnt about relationship, despite it being his first relationship and the fact that he had to be away from Eun to serve in the military. But without long-distance relationship as an obstacle, he wouldn’t be able to cherish every second that was given for him to return from the base.

There was one thing Janghoon wanted to tell Eun before going,

Janghoon: Eun-ah,

Eun who was slurping the tasty soup, looked up at Janghoon who called her,

Eun: Why?

Janghoon: I only want to tell you this before I go.

Eun’s gaze was still locked at Janghoon.

Janghoon: Please be a strong woman. I want to you be strong as long-distance relationship and not being able to see me whenever you want to will be a difficult hurdle to jump over. 

I want you to be strong if anyone ever hurts your feelings. I know all too well how you can put on a straight face when in fact your heart is torn into pieces. 

And I want you to be strong, in protecting the key to my heart, because without that, I wouldn’t be able to return back to you.

Eun’s eyes that still felt sore were suddenly teary again, but this time, she openly wiped it with a ply of tissue and tried to control herself. Eun then replied,

Eun: Ya Seo Janghoon. I can’t believe you can make a girl cry like this… I’ll do it. I’ll be a strong woman. But don’t you forget what you promised me, okay? What did you promise? Do you even remember???

Janghoon chuckled and pretended to forget.

Janghoon: … what were they? Uhm… aish I can’t remember.

Eun who thought Janghoon was being real, almost hit him with the back of her spoon, but before she could hit him, Janghoon shielded himself and said,

Janghoon: Call you every week and not to drool over girl group members. I remember it all, Eun-ah.

Eun repelled her motion and put the spoon down as she heard Janghoon’s answer.

As they both finished eating, Janghoon and Eun parted ways for them to get ready. 

Eun wanted to properly send him off this time. She’s not going to repeat the same mistake by staying cool like the last time.

Eun: I’ll come down when I’m ready

Janghoon: Okay. See you!

As the door closed behind Eun, she ran upstairs to pick her favorite outfit.

Jiwon and Eunjae who were enjoying the food that Jiwon’s parents delivered the day before, had their eyes on Eun who seemed to be ecstatic.

Jiwon asked eunjae a random question,

Jiwon: What date is it today?

Eunjae peeked at her phone before she answered,

Eunjae: 18 February.

Jiwon: 18 February… 18 February?!

Eunjae nodded.

Jiwon: Isn’t Janghoon supposed to return to his base today?

Eunjae: Oh ya! How can I forget about that?

Jiwon: But how strange, how come Eun looked so cheerful?

Eunjae who wondered the same thing, shrugged and shook her head at the same time.

Jiwon and Eunjae got shocked when Eun suddenly barged out of her room, asking,

Eun: Jiwon-sunbae, Eunjae-ya… Do you want to come and accompany me to send Janghoon off?

Jiwon and Eunjae shared a glance and Jiwon said in a shock state,

Jiwon: Eo… alright, I’ll go I’ll go

Eun looked over to Eunjae and expected an answer from her,

Eunjae: Yeah… I’ll go too.

Eun looked excited as Jiwon and Eunjae agreed.

At Belle Époque’s Courtyard

12.45 p.m.

Jiwon, Eunjae and Eun went out of the main door and saw Janghoon who was ready with his bulky army backpack, dressed in his army uniform plus cap, and not to forget - the lock necklace was there, hanging under his shirt. 

Seeing this, Jiwon teased Eun,

Jiwon: Oooo, Seo Janghoon! I didn’t know you can look this cool! Eun-ah, don’t you want to kiss this boyfriend of yours every single second?

Eun who got embarrassed, said shyly,

Eun: Aniyo, Jiwon-sunbae. Please stop it!

Janghoon looked at the digital watch he was wearing on his left wrist and said,

Janghoon: Alright, let’s go! I’ll be punished if I don’t arrive by 3 p.m. today.

Janghoon reached his hand over to Eun, while Eun offered her other hand to Jiwon and Eunjae. The 4 people walked hand-in-hand as farewell this time was full of light-heartedness.

Army Bus Depot

1.10 p.m.

As Janghoon sat on the bus seat near the window, he opened the window to kiss Eun for the last time.

Jiwon and Eunjae who witnessed the scene could only imagine themselves doing it with their own partners – Sungmin and Chungwon.

Suddenly, Jiwon and Eunjae stared at each other. They couldn’t believe the crazy thought they both had in mind. They wanted to persuade their boyfriends to go to the army. Just to get the bus kiss.

As the bus went off, Eun waved goodbye at Janghoon. Jiwon and Eunjae did the same from behind.

Han River

6.22 p.m.

Yoon-sunbae and Jaehwan were having their final stroll around the Han River banks. The location was originally where many couple have their dates too, and it’s their turn to be like those other couples.

Jinmyung: Jaehwan-ssi…

Jaehwan looked over to Yoon-sunbae as she called his name,

Jaehwan: Hm?

Jinmyung: I know I shouldn’t be thinking about this, but I can’t help but to do so, because we rarely see each other.

Jaehwan: What is it?

After pausing for a while, Yoon-sunbae said whatever was inside her mind.

Jinmyung: Have your heart wavered for someone else besides me?

Suddenly, Jaehwan stopped walking. He was quite startled at Yoon-sunbae’s honest query, but he knew exactly what his feelings were.

Yoon-sunbae turned back to see Jaehwan who was standing before her. She waited patiently to get an answer from Jaehwan. 

She wanted to know his answer because whatever it is will determine whether she can trust him to be her lifetime companion.

As Yoon-sunbae and Jaehwan both looked into each other’s eyes, Jaehwan explained,

Jaehwan: Jinmyung-ah, I understand where you’re coming from. I know our long-distance relationship makes you worried a lot, but I just want you to know that there’s no other woman who can make my heart waver besides you.

I have to admit how many times the customers in my restaurant have tried to get close to me purposely, but I always rejected them and said “I have a woman that I love back in Seoul.” 

Some of them even left negative reviews about the restaurant because of that. But I personally don’t mind that a lot, because I think it’s the right thing to do.

I love you. And I always will.

Yoon-sunbae almost shed tears as she heard Jaehwan’s words, but she kept it in.

For once, the suppressed anger and confusion that she had towards the long-distance relationship with Jaehwan subdued. 

From then on, she knew that the relationship wasn’t just about mutual love, but it’s also about trust and commitment.

Jinmyung: Arasseo-yo, Jaehwan-ssi, and thank you. It must’ve been equally difficult for you too. Being away from me, although Busan and Seoul aren’t that far away.

I’m so sorry that I’ve been selfish all these time. You were the one who always visit me in Seoul, and I never once had the initiative to visit you in Busan. I know I should be happy that you’re going to move back here in a few months, but I don’t know how I can repay you back, Jaehwan-ssi-

All of a sudden, Yoon-sunbae couldn’t hold her tears anymore. Her tears rolled down her cheeks as she tried to explain her complicated heart.

Jaehwan who watched Yoon-sunbae from the start, pulled her tight in his warm embrace and let the chilly night breeze of Han River calm the sorrow of his love’s heart.

Seoul Train Station

7.22 p.m.

Yoon-sunbae and Jaehwan are at the station. They were ready to say goodbye to one another, but this time, Yoon-sunbae was sure that she didn’t have to worry about her situation anymore. Everything was all clear, and she trusted Jaehwan fully.

Announcement: Passengers heading to Busan, please board the train through platform 3. Thank you.

As Jaehwan and Yoon-sunbae heard the call, Jaehwan pulled Yoon-sunbae closer for a quick peck, before he waved goodbye and uttered his parting words,

Jaehwan: I’m going first. I’ll miss you a lot. See you!

Those words of goodbye were short and sweet, but it gave Yoon-sunbae the assurance that they were gonna meet again in the future.

University Newspaper Club

Friday, 28th February 2018

2.10 p.m.

Jiwon was sitting beside Sungmin in the club room. Sungmin was trying to focus on the planning of the first quarterly newsletter of the year that will be published at the end of next month, but Jiwon’s presence hindered him from focusing.

It’s not because he couldn’t control himself from not kissing her or to simply stare at her, but Jiwon was back being herself. Completely.

Since the morning, Jiwon had been following Sungmin everywhere. She even followed him to the bathroom when he had to answer the call of nature.

Outside the restroom…

Sungmin: Jiwon-ah, why are you following me even here?!

Jiwon: Why? Why can’t I?

Sungmin: It’s seriously so weird. Please go back to the office. It won’t take long.

Jiwon: Aaaaanggg, Sungmin-ah…

Sungmin tried to ignore her to go inside the restroom, thinking that Jiwon wouldn’t follow him inside, but she did, so Sungmin headed out of the restroom and scolded,

Sungmin: Jiwon-ah. Please. It’s urgent.

Jiwon: Why can’t I follow you? I’ve seen you without anything anyway.

Sungmin: Aish!

Just then, Sungmin’s life was saved when a group of guys went inside the restroom, and Sungmin followed through. He could see Jiwon’s lips putting in disappointment.

Sungmin knew Jiwon wanted to tell him something, but he couldn’t understand why she couldn’t just say it.

At the office table…

Sungmin: Why do you keep looking at me like that? I can’t focus

Jiwon: Sungmin-ah

Sungmin: Hm? Why?

Jiwon: Can’t you go to the army?

Sungmin: What? What are you talking about? Why all of a sud-

Before he could finish his words, something came up on his mind,

Sungmin: Why? Are you tired of me already? Are you bored seeing my face already?

Jiwon shook her head.

Sungmin: Then what? Why, Jiwon-ah?

Just the, Chungwon who’s been listening in to their conversation, jumped in,

Chungwon: Isn’t it because of the bus kiss?

Sungmin who knew nothing about it, asked,

Sungmin: Bus kiss?! What the hell is that?

Chungwon: You know, hyung. It’s that cheesy thing guys do with their girlfriends before they go off to the army. They kiss their girlfriends through the bus window.

Jiwon nodded and her eyes widened.

Sungmin understood Chungwon’s explanation, but he was curious,

Sungmin: but by the way, Chungwon… you... how do you know about all these?

Chungwon sighed.

Chungwon: Because Eunjae asked me the same thing.

Hearing that, Sungmin shook his head in disbelief, but inside, he was dying of Jiwon’s cuteness. He asked Jiwon to come out for a while with a hand signal.

Outside the office…

Sungmin: is it that? You want me to go to the army because of that cheesy bus kiss?

Jiwon: what do you mean, cheesy? It’s so romantic.

Sungmin couldn’t help but smile.

Sungmin: Hey. Don’t you forget that I’m your boyfriend already? If you want to kiss me, do it, then... I thought you were always that forward.

Jiwon: I know, but it’s different.

At that moment, Sungmin sighed and grabbed Jiwon’s hand to go back to the office.

3.42 p.m.

Sungmin went home together with Jiwon. This time, they took the bus together. It was the first time, but Sungmin wanted to feel how Jiwon goes to and off campus to Belle Époque. 

Since the bus also goes to his apartment too, Jiwon told Sungmin that he didn’t have to walk her home. 

As Jiwon alighted at the bus stop to Belle Époque, she waved goodbye at Sungmin.

Just before the bus went off, Sungmin asked the driver to hold on for a while. He sled the bus window on the right side and shouted,

Sungmin: Jiwon-ah!

Jiwon who heard Sungmin’s voice, looked back.

Sungmin: Come here!

Jiwon who thought maybe she forgot something, ran back to towards the bus. 

But suddenly, Sungmin protruded his head out of the window and said,

Sungmin: This is what you want, right?

Jiwon smiled and tip-toed to touch her lips on Sungmin’s. They closed their eyes for a while and felt each other’s soft lips before the driver spoke loudly,

Driver: Young man, are you done with your business?

Sungmin who heard the driver’s words, quickly finished his job, and he waved goodbye at Jiwon once more before the bus started accelerating.

Jiwon who couldn’t believe Sungmin just fulfilled her dream kiss, grinned while touching her lips.

Back at the bus, he felt relieved for accomplishing Jiwon’s wish, but there’s one thing he didn’t realize.

His kiss with Jiwon went viral on the internet the next day, as a few passengers and people who were waiting at the bus stop took the video of the heartfelt sight. It was since then known as the ‘nation’s bus kiss’.

Glossary

Budae-jjigae = Army Base Stew

Spam = Canned ham

Thanks for reading.

Read the next chapter:

Chapter 6

[mepler]

Learning and Training (Part 3)

After 9 hours later of sleeping, the sun rises again, shining through Qurosuke's room anew. The day has now turned from Monday A into Monday B. What the hell? Why are there two Mondays, one may ask? Well, Mepler takes about 47 hours and 59 minutes to spin around once and 730 days to orbit around its sun once. The early civilizations on Mepler mistakenly thought that Mepler was similar to Earth and therefore made the calendar like that of Earth's. Only after a million years has passed is when an astronomer has finally noticed that the calenders were drastically wrong. To correct this, the astronomer told everyone that they only needed to adapt and act as a day lasted 48 hours instead of 24 hours. Also, the astronomer told everyone to make a separate day system, making it 14 days a week rather than 7. In simpler terms, there were two Mondays. Back on topic, instead of Qurosuke waking up to the sun shining through the windows, Gano was the one where his sleep was interrupted. He groaned in annoyance as the dream he was in was rudely ended. Gano looked at the clock in Qurosuke's room and saw that the time was 6:00 am. The crack of dawn. How annoying Gano thought. Even at this time, millions of other people would still be asleep but, due to his eternal clock and schedule, that would be his antithesis. Gano stretched his body and felt a bit sore throughout his body, a surplus bones cracking due to Greysen's harsh training. Not the wrong type of bone-cracking, the one where a person would do with thier fingers. Gano would then look towards Qurosuke and see that he is still heavily asleep, loudly snoring his way through the morning.  He would then make his way towards Qurosuke and start to shake his body in an attempt to wake him. But, after a few seconds of rocking him, Qurosuke just wouldn't wake up. Gano then started to shake Qurosuke a bit more roughly, which in turn started to move the whole bed a little too. After another few seconds, Qurosuke is still soundly asleep, unaffected by Gano's attempt at waking him up. It was time to get rougher. Not in the physical sense but more of a psychological sense. Gano would lean onto Qurosuke until he was only a few cms away from his ear and would then whisper something that would wake him up.

" If you don't wake up right now master, I will eat all of the fish in the refrigerator. "

The murmur had a hint of truth and mischievousness in it. If left unnoticed, Gano would honestly eat all of the fish. Qurosuke wouldn't let that happen even if it was Gano. He loved eating fish just as much as Gano. So much so, if they were in a fish-eating competition, they would both tie first place. Immediately, the words process in Qurosuke's head caused him to wake up. He sprang up from his resting position and onto an upright position. His eyes were full of a mixture of shock and annoyance.

" Okay, I'm awake! Don't eat them all Gano! Save some for me! "

Qurosuke yells in a whining and annoyed tone. Not that he didn't mind it too much. He was having a very odd dream while he was asleep if one could call it that. It was rather strange that it was merely a reply to him playing the games yesterday. But, the memory didn't just play once, it repeated itself over and over, with each repeat being more detailed than the next, giving Qurosuke the info about the games he has played. From the characters, the music, the background, to the powers, weapons, vehicles, etc. Right down to the most useless detail. Everything about the games he played was now in his head, just floating there seemingly with no use except for when he would either play it again, which was unlikely, and if someone were to ask him information about the game itself.  While Qurosuke was just finishing up processing, Gano merely chuckled at the rude awakening he gave his master.

" Well, next time you should wake up when I tell you to the first time. Besides, I won't eat all of the fish. I respect you too much to do so. Though, I won't say how much will be left. "

Gano says with slight mischief in his voice. It was rather hard for Qurosuke to determine if Gano was lying or not, even as his best friend and master. Gano would then get off the bed with his master right behind him. Finally, now that his master was awake, they can start the day right. Although, Gano was a bit concern as to why Qurosuke had trouble waking up and getting up a bit later than in his normal schedule but he checked that off as a one-time thing and didn't find it that serious.

They then make thier way out of Qurosuke's room and into the large hallway, similar to yesterday but, the only difference being that Qurosuke woke up a bit delayed.  They both then make thier way halfway down the steps towards downstairs, only to be met with the beautiful scent of breakfast. Greysen must have awoken at least an hour earlier than Qurosuke and Gano to make breakfast. The smell of the breakfast itself reached Gano and Qurosuke's noses and it was just heavenly. Although Qurosuke and Gano were addicted to any fish-based food, they also ate other food on different occasions. Today is one of those times. Any person within an average or standard childhood could recognize the smell. The smell of eggs, bacon, and pancakes with brown and sugary syrup and given that Qurosuke and Gano's appetite were very spacious, their breakfast was gonna be huge.

They immediately raced thier way down the steps and into the living room then into the kitchen, being met with one of the biggest breakfast they have seen. 4 pancakes stacked on top of each other with syrup slowly flowing on them then onto the plate. On the side was 3 average-sized sunny side up eggs and bacon, also having a small amount of sugar on them to Gano's and Qurosuke's preference.  As a drink, Qurosuke got a generous glass of orange juice and Gano got a massive container of milk. Of course, as a butler, Greysen also had placed the appretiate eating utensils for their breakfast. Due to his schedule, Greysen had already eaten his breakfast to correctly prepare Qurosuke and Gano. Gano and Qurosuke then quickly take thier chairs at the large glass kitchen table, Gano sitting in a particular chair made for him to eat as if he was a human and Qurosuke resting in a normal seat.

" Enjoy your breakfast you two.  While you do, I will be preparing the training for today. Also, put the dishes in the sink when you're done as will be in the training room for almost the rest of the day, thank you.  "

After finishing his sentence, Greysen would then be seen walking out of the kitchen then disappearing to the training room. Almost immediately when he did, Qurosuke and Gano started to eat thier breakfast. Qurosuke was absolutely in love with the pancakes and syrup, appreciating the tiny but noticeable sweet taste to it while the syrup's natural sugar only made it better. Qurosuke did have a bit of an obvious sweet tooth. That's why Greysen made it the way it is specifically for Qurosuke's taste. While Qurosuke started with the pancakes, Gano started with the eggs. Eggs are technically safe for a cat to eat depending on how they are cooked. Sunny-Side Up is safe for Gano to consume and is actually beneficial to him. Then, Gano would eat one of the whole eggs right in front of him in one enormous bite and gulp. Yup, that's how Gano would eat something if it wasn't large enough for him. The eggs itself tasted godly. The little amount of syrup that was on the egg complicated its flavor to Gano. Actually, Gano had a bit of a sweet tooth but was different when compared to most, especially Qurosuke.

In under 5 minutes, Qurosuke and Gano would finish their breakfast quietly and efficiently. There wasn't any trace of a breakfast on the plates now, evident to the plates being comparable of squeaky clean, the light from the sun the shined through the kitchen reflective off of the plates perfectly. Again, showing how much Qurosuke and Gano enjoyed Greysen's cooking. Out of the request of Greysen, Qurosuke would put the glass and dishes in the sink for Greysen to clean later. Only Qurosuke since he had the obvious perk of opposable thumbs when compared to Gano having paws but, Qurosuke didn't mind doing a simple and quick task by himself.

Qurosuke and Gano would then start to make their way out of the kitchen and to the training room but before Qurosuke would walk out of the kitchen, he felt a quick yet rather strong tug on his right arm. It was soft and unforgettable of the feeling when his arm was touched and tugged. It was Gano's tail, evident to it having a half black and half white color when Qurosuke noticed. Qurosuke would then turn around a bit to see Gano but not with his usual smile on his face. It looked like he was worried about something bad would happen or that he was nervous about something.

" Hmm. What's up Gano, something wrong? "

Qurosuke asked in his usual calm but bright tone. He wasn't unhappy so he had a reason to be happy or at the very least joyful. But, this only made Gano look a bit more worried on his face.

" Master. Are you all alright? I mean, is everything okay with you? "

Gano asked in a bit of a nervous and anxious tone of voice. But in all honesty, Gano was truly worried about his master after him not usually waking up at his normal time and not waking up after multiple attempts to do so. Any normal person would find this weird so why shouldn't Gano? Qurosuke could only give what Gano a half-hearted smile in response to hearing to his question before responding.

" Well, My mind is a bit jogged up at the moment. Other than that, I'm fine. "

Qurosuke answered Gano honestly and nicely. It wasn't a lie. His min did feel like it was on the verge of having a headache but also not having one at the same time. It didn't hurt but, it was only just a bit uncomfortable at best.

" Oh. Then I'm glad your okay master. "

Gano finishes his sentence with a smile. He was a lot happier knowing that his master and only friend, well, best friend is okay. As his best friend, he would know almost immediately if Qurosuke was lying or that he was feeling bad. Qurosuke would then kneel down to Gano's height and started to pet and scratch his head and neck, which shortly causes Gano to purr.

" Gano, if I was feeling bad or if something was wrong, I would tell you. But, thank you for being so worried about me. Such a good boy. "

Gano would then purr a lot longer and louder at his master's compliment. Qurosuke as a pet owner loves to compliment and sometimes even spoil Gano for being such a good cat, even at times when he doing nothing but resting and relaxing. Shows how much of a good and caring pet owner that he was.

" Well then master, I have nothing to worry about. Now let's not keep Greysen waiting. "

Gano says as he must, unfortunately, leave from his master petting and scratching him. To him, Qurosuke petting and scratching him was next to god-like since his hands were so soft and comfortable and searched the right places. Qurosuke and Gano would then make their way out of the kitchen and into the training room. But, something was different. The tv and game system from yesterday was no longer there but in its place was a rather large block of wood. Nothing was even on it. It was just a large block of mahogany wood at least being 10 x 10 x 10 inches in size and in the shape of a cube. Other than the cube of wood, everything else was the same, even the kendo sticks that Greysen was holding, the bottles of water, and even pillow. With Gano behind him, Qurosuke approached Greysen with a slightly cheerful attitude of his, like most of the time.

" Yo Greysen. What's with the random giant block of wood in the room? "

Qurosuke asked Greysen in a curious tone. What in the world was just a large cube block of wood doing sitting there randomly in the training room? This would have easily confused anyone else a bit like Gano but for Qurosuke, he was more curious than confused. Greysen would then respond.

" This, young master, is not just any block of wood. I asked a friend of favor to lend me this for the entirety of the training. This is called and a Traning Cube. Built with a magical rune inside of it, this cube is primarily used for physical training. How do you train with a cube you may ask? The rune inside of the cube allows it to move and morph as easily as a person would without actually changing its shape. But, due to how it's designed, the only way for it to activate is for you to attack it. Which brings us to the point of your training. If you want to accomplish your training young master, you must destroy the rune within the cube. Are there any questions before we begin, young master? "

After finishing hearing his sentence, Qurosuke had to contemplate the questions he had to ask. After 40 seconds of thinking. Qurosuke knew the questions he wanted answers to.

" One, what are you and Gano going to be doing while I fight the Training Cube? Two, is there a time limit? And finally three, as long as I destroy the rune inside means I complete my training, even if I fail multiple times doing so? "

Those were the question Qurosuke asked in an eager and slightly serious tone of voice. It looks like he was really taking his training seriously. In response, Greysen only gave a small smile in gratitude on how serious Qurosuke was taking this compared to his usual self. He thought he would take this more as a joke but was proud that Qurosuke was more mature than he looked or rather he takes things seriously when he has to.

" Well young master, me and Gano shall resume our usual training with the kendo sticks but rest assured, I'll be watching you both carefully at the same time. There's no defined time limit but I would like you to complete your training in at least a week. And yes, you can fail as many times you can, as long as you destroy the rune. "

Greysen answered all of Qurosuke's questions with full confidence and honesty. It seems that if Qurosuke wanted to complete his training while still at least impressing Greysen, he should finish it within the time limit but since he can fail as many times he wants, he can set the pace himself. Qurosuke would then give a slightly cocky smile mixed with enthusiasm. Now he looked and thought he was ready. Qurosuke asked one last question.

" When do I start Greysen? "

Greysen and even Gano could only smirk at the courage Qurosuke had. He didn't feel anxious or afraid, not even one bit. He wanted to train and be good at it. Well, whether the training would be successful or a bust would be up to Qurosuke. Would he destroy the rune inside the cube or will the attempts to do ao break him? Greysen would then answer him.

" You can start now if you like to, young master. "

Almost Immediately as Greysen would finish his sentence, Qurosuke would quickly walk towards the Training Cube while Greysen would hand Greysen a kendo stick start training, clashing the wooden sticks against each other making a bit of a thwacking noise. Qurosuke was at least 5 feet away from the Training Cube. He knew how it only would activate when he attacked but for a beginner like Qurosuke, he didn't know how to approach or begin to attack it correctly. But, Qurosuke didn't have to think long about his actions. If he can't decide on his actions, he would never get better.

Qurosuke would begin his attack by rushing a hard right punch at the Training Cube. Due to being a beginner and have no training or even fighting for that matter, his punch would be at least 4.5 meters per second with only 0.01 tons of force behind it. An average punch to be more specific. Almost immediately as he began his attack, the Training Cube activated and unfortunately for Qurosuke, retaliated. The Training Cube itself did not move an inch but a part of it did. Like a piston, the Training Cube extended out a part of itself at Qurosuke stomach. The extended body part is similar to that of a log that would be accurately measured at 12 inches in diameter. It was twice the speed that Qurosuke punch was going at. Flesh vs wood. Obviously, flesh losses to wood as long as there was assistance or the flesh in question was trained to beat wood. But, what happened next surprised Qurosuke and even Greysen a bit.

[themirandapamphlet-blog]

Part 3- sweatpants (1/2)

The night before had gone by so quickly from there, a blur of fruity cocktails, childhood stories - and at the end of the night, when he'd had too much to drink, he ended up coming back to your place - there was no way you trusted him to get back on his own, plus you didn't know where he lived (and you doubted that he knew at the state he was in). He crashed out on your sofa as soon as you let him in, and you left him tucked up with a blanket and one of the pillows from your bed. You'd gone to sleep in the room next to him, leaving the door open so that he would be able to see you from where he lay. You told yourself you were just making sure he was okay, but you found yourself staring at him breathing for what felt like a lifetime before sleep gently washed over you. You woke up the next morning, and quickly pulled a hoodie over your pyjamas, shivering as you left the safety and warmth of your cosy little bed. You padded out to the living room and looked at the form of the sleeping man on your sofa. He was too big for it, his feet (which were now bare of his shoes -he must have kicked them off during the night) stuck right off the end. He had snuggled right into the pillow, hugging it tightly to his chest and resting his head on it. His hair was mussed up from sleep, and his cheeks were flushed pink from sleep. You quickly grabbed your phone and snapped a picture, tweeting it to Lin with the caption :

"Good friend brings drunk friend home. Drunk friend has a relationship with your pillow.", before going to the kitchen. You reached into the fridge and pulled out eggs and cheese, and set out making your favourite hangover cure, along with two cups of black coffee. You set the plates down on the table in the living room, and went back through to retrieve the mugs. "Morning sunshine!" You called cheerily, awaking Lin with a start. He jumped with a start, before moaning and closing his eyes again. "Here, get up and drink your coffee. I made you breakfast." You told him bossily, shifting his legs and taking a seat next to him. He sat up groggily, looking at you through half closed and took the proffered mug out of your hand. "I'm never drinking again." He grumbled, after a comfortable silence. "You're never drinking that much again." You corrected. He looked at you and smirked. "Neither of those are true at all, but we'll pretend." He said quietly, taking another sip of the coffee. "What's for breakfast?" He asked, leaning forward and taking the plate off the table. "Scrambled eggs with cheese. My favourite hangover cure." You told him. He seized a fork and began wolfing the food down. Between mouthfuls, he asked "Why are you being so nice to me when you hated me literally yesterday?". You finished your mouthful of eggs and spoke slowly. "Well, I didn't think I should have left you considering how bad you were - you forgot where you lived, how could I let you go home on your own? Guess I was trying to look out for you," you paused and smirked "you lightweight." He gasped in mock outrage. "I am not a lightweight! I just have more fun!" You just looked at him, "Okay, maybe I am. Nothing wrong with that right?" He admitted. "Anyway, thank you. I appreciate it. You gonna finish that?" He motioned to the remnants on your plate. You shook your head and he tucked in eagerly. You smiled- apparently you were a better cook than you thought, even if it was just eggs. You stretched and stood up, taking the dishes. You motioned for his now-empty plate, but he just stood up and followed you to the kitchen. "You should probably go get dressed. I'll wash up- a small token of my thanks for last night." You grinned at him and headed off to quickly get dressed, realising he still had his clothes from last night. You pulled open a drawer on the bottom of your cabinet and grabbed a pair of your ex's sweatpants, along with a shirt, and nearly smacked straight into Lin, who was stood outside your room. "I was about to knock -I-I-" he stammered as you cut him off. "Clothes. My ex's, they might be a bit small but better than nothing right?" He took the clothes gratefully, and you pointed him to the bathroom. He turned around before he entered the bathroom, "I wasn't like-l-looking at you whilst you were getting changed or anything." He told you, his ears turning pink. "I know, if you wanted to have seen me naked you would have shared my bed last night" you teased, watching him squirm a little. He fidgeted with the clothes in his hands; "Right, just… going to-to-get changed." He said, before suddenly disappearing into the bathroom, shutting the door on your amused face.

--------

"You do realise that the cast are going to realise you came home with me?" You asked Lin as you climbed out of the cab together outside the theatre. He rolled his eyes; "They already have bets on how long it takes for us to hook up. Something about sexual tension?" He told you, his brow slightly furrowed as he laughed. "That doesn't surprise me, at all. Let's just get today over and then we can go out separate ways and prove the cast we aren't going to get together, okay?" You said playfully. He agreed with you and you both went inside, determined to make the day as professional as you could.

Fate decided that wasn't the case. There was no show today, so you hoped for an easy day, however every single main cast member felt like they should come up to you and ask if you and Lin were together. Between the tweet you posted, his obviously borrowed clothes and his bag containing last night's outfit, they were all convinced you, as Daveed put it, "Got off" with each other. Daveed was the worse, teasing you and Lin mercilessly throughout the day, and then insisting, in front of everyone, that you joined them tonight for Anthony's birthday. "You know, a few drinks, we've hired a room at a club near here, it's just a small thing but you HAVE TO come - I'm sure we can stretch the invite to you to, you know," he winked at you, "thank you for looking after our little Lin last night." You hadn't been able to say no in front of everyone, and even when you'd told him you didn't have anything to wear so wouldn't look right, he thrust Jasmine at you, insisting you were the same height so you could borrow some of her clothes. The rest of the day at the theatre passed quickly - the cast rehearsed some scenes that hadn't been up to the director's standards the night before and did some team building exercises to help them work on their ability to work as a chorus. The rehearsals ended relatively early, and you found yourself leaving with Jasmine and Phillipa - two of the main cast members. They chatted to you shyly, making you feel welcome as they spilled secrets about the production. When you got to Jasmine's, they made short work of finding you something to wear, the two fashion forward girls finding outfits in a flurry of clothes spread out onto the bedroom floor. Phillipa had opened a bottle of wine at some point, and over the course of an hour you had had several glasses, chosen what to wear and styled yourself. You were all very giggly when you finally got changed into a light blue dress with a white print on it. "You look perfecccct!" Jasmine drawled out, raising her glass to you. You blushed and pulled your shoes on. "Come on, it's nearly 7 and I've got no clue where we're going" you told the girls, who both were already ready. You made your way to the club and found the cast in a room to the side, which was decorated with birthday banners. To the side was a bar set up, along with a sign reading "Serve yourself". There were tables packed with food, and the place was absolutely packed full of people that Jasmine and Phillipa knew, rushing off to greet people and leaving you by yourself. You looked around nervously - you couldn't see anyone you knew! You fiddled with you jacket awkwardly, wishing for someone to come that you would recognise. After several minutes you decided you would leave and turned, only to run smack into someone who had just entered. "Oh shi-I am so sorry!" You exclaimed, looking up at the man you had just knocked into. He only smiled in response, dusting his jacket down. "Don't worry about it, accidents happen. You're leaving so soon?" He asked, noticing you looking at the door. Before you could open your mouth, he smiled at you again, his incredibly(!) white teeth beaming at you, and pulled you into the room. “Let’s go get a drink, c’mon.” You followed the (incredibly forward) man, confused. 

Who was he? You had absolutely no idea - you didn’t know anyone at this party. You were glad that someone was actually talking to you, you thought, and he was kinda cute. “What could go wrong?” you thought in your head as he handed you a drink. 

3 tequilas, 2 vodka and cokes and a Bloody Mary later, you learned that your mystery man was a distant cousin of the birthday boy himself, had a big apartment in Lennox hill and did something in taxes. He didn’t ask anything about you (except to ask if you wanted another drink) - you’d noticed that- but you were grateful for the company, and you were very drunk at this point - he acted as something to lean on. “Y/N?” a voice asked behind you. You turned around quickly, stumbling at the sudden disorientation, to see Lin looking at you concerned. You grinned at him excitedly. “Lin!!!” You exclaimed. He reached out an arm to steady you.”Are you okay? How much have you had to drink?” He asked, concerned brown eyes fixated on your face. “I’m fabulous! I wa-” you were suddenly cut off by the smooth talking stranger who had kept you company. “Hey, she’s with me, she’s fine.” He insisted, turning you back to face him. He ran a hand down your arm. “What’s say I get you another drink, and then we -uh, go back to mine?” He asked, with another one of his unbelievingly white smiles. “Woah, I think she’s had enough pal. Y/N, I’ve been looking for you for hours, where have you been?”Lin interrupted, stepping forward to try put himself between the two of you. “Hey, PAL, the lady is busy, now why don’t you go find someone else to bug?” The stranger snapped, filling your cup up with a bottle of something that reeked of alcohol. “Yeah Lin, relax. I’m just having something to drink with... with-w-what’s your name again?” You paused confused, going to take a gulp of the beverage in your cup, before he snatched it out of hand. “No, Y/N, don’t drink that.” He told your protested yelps. “This jerk’s just trying to ply you with alcohol so he can sleep with you!” He exploded. “Hey, why don’t you go back to your theatre friends before I get mad, okay?” You found yourself moving slightly away from the stranger, and he noticed your movements. 

“Look what’ya done now - Come back, come on, I’ll show you a good time!” He said to you, advancing forwards to you, to which you pulled back. 

“Leave her alone” Lin warned, putting the drink he took off you down and rolling up his sleeves. 

“Or wha-” he was cut off by Lin’s fist connecting to his jaw smoothly, sending him sprawling. Lin pulled you away from the bar, wrapping one arm around you as you teetered precariously. “Y/N, what were you thinking? That could have been so dangerous! Let’s get you home, you’re not staying here any longer.” he told you, the authoritative tone in his voice making you feel protected. You started giggling, “Lin, I left my bag with my keys at um-” you giggled again “At Jasmine’s!” you finished with another chuckle. He sighed. “I’m playing host tonight then, come on. You can sleep on my couch this time” He teased, grabbing your hand as he lead you out into the cold New York air as he hailed a cab.

[365daysofj2]

Another Year Older (Library AU, 12/?)

Jared struggles to ring Jensen’s doorbell with one hand full of takeout bags and the other holding two wine bottles, also bagged, that he doesn’t want to bang around too much. He ends up just leaning his shoulder against the tiny switch instead. When Jensen opens the door, his face lights up. “Hey! What’s all this? I thought we were going out?” “Let me in and I’ll explain.” Jensen steps aside. “Here, let me take something.” Jared hands him the wine, which he carefully sets on the counter. Jared places the two takeout bags on the dining room table. “I chilled the wine as much as I could, but I only bought it two hours ago.” Jensen takes the bottles out of the bag and raises an eyebrow. “Cremant? I didn’t think you knew French wines.” “I don’t. I Googled “wine with sushi” and that’s what it suggested.” Jensen’s thousand-watt smile comes out in full force. After the dreary, stormy day they’ve had, it’s a welcome ray of light. “You brought sushi? I didn’t think you liked sushi.” “I don’t like the raw stuff, but there’s cooked stuff I like,” replies Jared. He starts unpacking the takeout bags. “I got shumai and soft shell crab, and then Sushi Deluxe for you, with the miso soup, and California rolls and coconut shrimp rolls for me.” “This is officially the best birthday I’ve had since I turned twenty-one,” says Jensen with a delighted smile. He crosses the room and throws his arms around Jared, kissing him breathless. “It’s the least I could do,” says Jared when Jensen finally lets him up for air. “I know it’s been a really rough couple of weeks for you.” “I haven’t even told you what happened yesterday,” says Jensen, his face clouding over. “You were in trainings all day.” “I got your text that said you banned Larry. Did something else happen?” Jensen nods. “He threatened to kill himself when Aldis tried to escort him out.” Jared’s mouth drops open. “You’re fucking kidding me.” “Nope. Aldis asked him if he was a danger to himself or others and he was so frantic that Aldis called for the ambulance anyway, but took him over to the DJ’s office to wait for it, so he was off property.” “God, I’m so glad you’re done with this shit for a year,” says Jared, rubbing a hand down Jensen’s back. “Come on, let’s eat. If the food doesn’t cheer you up, the wine definitely should.” Jensen goes back to the kitchen to pour the wine. Jared starts opening containers and separating the wooden chopsticks. But naturally, Jensen brings a wooden set with painted cherry blossom boughs to the table in a small wooden chest. “You know, you’re so pretentious that I should hate your guts, but instead I find your stuffiness incredibly endearing. What is wrong with me?” Jensen sets two full glasses of sparkling wine on the table. “I could reach for a cliche, like ‘love is blind’ or ‘opposites attract’…” He curves a hand around Jared’s neck and tilts his head up for a kiss. “But instead, I’m just gonna thank whoever’s up there for putting you in my path.” Jared grins. “Happy birthday, Jensen.” “Sure is,” replies Jensen with an even bigger grin. They both start eating then, dividing the shumai and crab appetizers between the two of them and then sorting out the various rolls. Jared ends up giving half of one of his coconut shrimp rolls to Jensen when he starts drooling over it. It’s a shrimp tempura roll with crab and coconut flakes and two different sauces on top, and it’s the whole reason Jared goes to Empire in the first place. Well, that and the half-price sushi Sundays. “It’s too bad your birthday wasn’t on Sunday,” says Jared. “We could have ordered even more.” “Oh, God, this is plenty,” says Jensen, wiping some stray dumpling sauce off of his chin. “This is amazing. Thank you so much. I know this wasn't cheap.” Jared smiles. “I’m full time now. I’m rolling in the dough.” Jensen laughs so hard he almost chokes on his spicy tuna. “We work for a nonprofit. Shit, even Jeff doesn’t make more than 50 grand. That’s gotta be about half what he’d make in a for-profit company.” “Did you talk to him yesterday?” “Yeah. I called him after Aldis removed Larry.” Jensen sets a shrimp tail back on his plate. “He was totally supportive. He said that the Reference department at ESA is buying us donuts, they’re so grateful to us for getting him out of their hair. And they only deal with him two days a week!” “Wow, are you serious?” Jared loses a piece of cucumber from his California roll and struggles to pick it up with the chopsticks. Jensen chuckles. “Yeah, he said Ruth would be by tomorrow with them.” “Man, I miss everything good.” Jensen stops with a piece of salmon nigiri halfway to his mouth. “I would have given anything to have you there with me,” he says, almost too softly to hear. Jared sets his chopsticks down and covers Jensen’s hand with his. “I’m really sorry I wasn’t there when you needed me.” Jensen shakes his head. “It’s not your fault. You did more than enough. You kept me from falling apart, and I’m incredibly grateful for that, because I don’t think I could have gotten through this without you.” His voice starts to shake on the last sentence. Jared stands up and steps behind Jensen’s chair to wrap his arms around him and kiss his jaw. “I will always be there for you. I promise.” “Thank you,” whispers Jensen. Jared kisses him once more and returns to his seat. They eat in silence, and when they’re finished Jared refuses to let Jensen help him clear the table. “It’s your birthday. You’re not allowed to do chores.” Jensen heads to the stairs and waits for Jared to tie up the full garbage bag. “When do I get to unwrap my present?” Jared follows Jensen up the stairs, and at the top he grabs him and throws him over his shoulder. “You may be the birthday boy, but I’m the one getting the present.” Jared charges into Jensen’s room and throws Jensen down on the bed. He jumps on top of him and unbuttons his shirt with lightning speed. In no time at all, Jensen is stripped bare and laid out beneath him, cheeks flushed pink to match the tip of his now-hard cock. Jared pulls his phone out of one pocket and connects it to Jensen’s Amazon Echo. He starts the playlist he made before he came, and soon Bad Company’s “She Brings Me Love,” bursts forth from the speaker. Jared reaches into his back pocket and pulls out his other surprise—a bottle of raspberry massage oil. He sets it on the bed next to Jensen and makes quick work of his own clothes, tossing them in the same pile as Jensen’s. Then he squeezes a dollop of oil into his hand and starts rubbing it into Jensen’s shoulders. “Mmm, smells good,” murmurs Jensen. “Sweet.” “You’re a sweet guy.” Jared gently blows on Jensen’s shoulders, eliciting a full-body shiver. Jared leans down and kisses a trail along Jensen’s collarbone, pausing at the hollow of Jensen’s throat to graze his teeth over the sensitized skin. Jensen moans and throws his head back, thrusting his neck even further into Jared’s grip. Jared gently bites down, drawing a hiss from Jensen, then soothes the area with his tongue. Jensen tastes like summer, sweet like a berry cobbler but with a hint of spice, that little tang of musk that’s uniquely Jensen. “You’re also the hottest guy I’ve ever seen, even if you are over the hill.” Jensen chokes out a bark of shocked laughter. “I’m not forty yet, asshole.” Jared frowns. “You’re not?” Jensen shakes his head, his hair tickling Jared’s forehead. “Nope. Thirty-nine.” “I think your birthday’s wrong in Sierra,” says Jared. “‘Cause it’s listed as 3/1/76.” “It’s 3/1/78,” replies Jensen. “I’ll have to go in there and fix it tomorrow.” He shakes his head. “Sierra issues. That’s, like, the least sexy topic in the known universe.” “No, the Dewey Decimal System is worse.” Jared grins. “Did you know that the Dewey Decimal number for sex is 649.65?” “And you call me nerdy?” Jensen mock-glares at Jared. “That’s it, you’re banned from speaking for the next five minutes.” Jared glares right back. He squeezes more oil into his hands and massages it into Jensen’s pecs, which are really firm for a thirty-nine-year-old Branch Librarian. He dabs a drop of oil onto each index finger and starts circling Jensen’s nipples, coaxing them into hardness. Then he takes one between his lips and starts flicking his tongue over it, collecting the sweet oil and eliciting deep, almost pained groans from Jensen. “Fuckin’ tease,” mutters Jensen. Jared opens his mouth to sass back, but remembers that he’s still got a couple minutes left on his sentence, so he instead moves to Jensen’s other nipple and flutters his tongue over the sensitive bud in a way that makes Jensen buck his hips and moan deep in his throat. Jared starts rubbing Jensen’s abs with the sweet oil, making wide circles with his palms and drawing little breathy gasps of pleasure from Jensen. “You can talk now,” says Jensen, as Jared directs his attention to the ridges of Jensen’s hips. “And Jesus Christ, would you get to the fireworks factory already?” “Don’t you have any stamina any more, old man?” teases Jared, dabbing more oil onto his fingers. He slides one slick hand up Jensen’s shaft to the tip, flicking a bead of precome off the slit with his thumb. He tastes it, and the combination of salty and sweet blows him away with how right it is. He immediately squeezes more oil onto his hand and starts coating Jensen’s dick with it, paying special attention to the head. He lightly runs a fingertip around the underside of the head and Jensen bucks his hips so hard he nearly puts Jared’s eye out. “Fuck!” “Sorry, sorry,” breathes Jensen, sounding anything but. Jared pins Jensen’s hips to the mattress with his free hand and continues to spread oil over Jensen’s dick with the other. When he takes Jensen’s cock into his mouth, the sweet taste of the oil is almost overwhelming. Once he’s removed a good deal of it, Jensen’s heady musk starts to come through, cutting the sweetness with a hint of bitterness and spice. Jensen’s panting and moaning, and Jared gently presses a fingertip behind his balls to pleasure him further. Jensen grits his teeth. “Fuck, would you just—” Jared releases Jensen’s cock with a succulent pop and presses his spicy-sweet lips to Jensen’s. “What do you want, birthday boy?” he whispers, lips brushing over Jensen’s with each word. “Stop teasing and fuck me already,” growls Jensen. “That’s your birthday wish?” “Jared, I swear to God—” Jared covers Jensen’s protesting lips with his own. “You got it, babe.” He reaches into Jensen’s nightstand drawer and grabs a condom and lube. The massage oil is water-based, so he doesn’t need to worry about it being all over his hands. He sets the bottle of massage oil on the nightstand and spreads lube over his fingers instead. He eases one into Jensen’s hot, tight hole, and Jensen gasps. “Yeah, yeah,” he whispers, head thrown back. Jared adds another finger in short order, but Jensen grumbles impatiently. “Come on, just do it.” Jared starts to scissor. He’s not a small guy, and he doesn’t think two fingers are quite enough, so he adds a third as fast as he’s comfortable with and hurries the process along. “Finally,” mutters Jensen when Jared eases his latex-clad cock into Jensen’s slick hole. Jared silences Jensen with his own lips as he starts to thrust. He has to break away for air, though, but Jensen seems to have gotten the message. “Fuck, yeah, harder,” he rasps. Jared fucks Jensen as hard as he dares, and Jensen’s lips quirk up with pleasure as he gasps and moans and writhes underneath Jared. He keeps tilting his head back, so Jared peppers the long golden expanse of his throat with little kisses, each one tasting sweeter than the last. Jensen squeezes his eyes shut and the cords in his neck stand out as he sucks in bursts of air. “‘m so close,” he groans, and Jared redoubles his efforts. It’s only a few moments before Jensen comes with a ragged shout, sinking boneless into the mattress. Jared thrusts a few more times before achieving his own release, and once he’s freed his own cock, he collapses next to Jensen, pressing a few last kisses to his collarbone to taste the summery sweetness. “I love you,” breathes Jensen, kissing Jared’s flushed cheek. “I love you too,” murmurs Jared. “Happy birthday.” “The happiest in years,” replies Jensen with a satisfied sigh.

[theprismaticintrovert]

My First Day in Milan

June 21st, 2017

           Today marks my first official day in Milan, Italy. I feel like yesterday could not have been the first day because we only arrived around nine o’clock in the morning, and then we had to wait in the airport for 3 more hours until some other students from different flights arrived and claimed their luggage. Not only that, we spent another three to four hours to get each other settled into our apartments. Then we went grocery shopping at a little supermarket just two blocks away from us, and it was very affordable too. Finally, we ended the night with some pizza and wine at a pizza parlor.

           Since I signed up for this study abroad adventure, I was not really sure what to expect; in fact, I am kind of glad I did not try to guess because I would have had high or low expectations of this place. There really isn’t a reason why I decided to study abroad I guess it’s because I have always just wanted to travel and never have. So the only way I knew how was to do this. Luckily I had a friend my age who had done it two summers ago and she recommended that I should do it in my college career. And I did. However, if I am being totally honest here in my journal then I can say that I was not expecting to be studying in Milan, Italy that’s for sure. I was planning on going somewhere in Australia, London, or Argentina (Because my friend went to study there and it looked gorgeous on her Snapchat and Instagram I had to check the place out. Now fortunately my college only had one study abroad program this year and that destination was Italy. The reason I am saying fortunately is because like I said, I had no high or low expectations of this place, I really didn’t know much about Italy except for the fact that they have everything Pasta and Wine! Two of my favorite things combined oh it has been heaven here! The night before I left I talked to my grandma about the trip, and she asked me the simple question, “Are you excited?” But that wasn’t it, she was looking deep into my eyes because she then added, “Because you look like you are extremely nervous about it.” For some reason, her saying that made me cry out all of my anxiety and nerves that I had been bottling in since the moment I put down the deposit for the program. I then answered, “I am scared,” and her face just reassured me that everything is going to be fine. She replied back with, “Oh my, and here I was thankful you have the bravest soul.” As understandable as it sounds, my crying and anxiety did not allow me to know what that statement meant. It didn’t hit me until I began walking the cobblestone streets of Milan. It takes a lot of guts for someone to just live in a foreign country to study for a while instead of taking a vacation at home and going to the beach, or binge watching any Netflix show until four in the morning or once they go to sleep. No, I decided to buy a ticket and think to myself “Why not?” instead of “why?”

           Upon arrival in Milan, I did not believe the side effects of jet lag until I have done it myself. Waiting in an airport for 3 hours, flying from Los Angeles to Miami, waiting once again for another three hours until we boarded our connecting flight to Milan. So a five-hour flight, plus a ten hour one, and nine hours of waiting equaled up to twenty-five hours of being fully alert and awake. I was only able to sleep about 3 hours throughout the entire day. We were all dying of exhaustion and jet lag and we still had to get our rooms in order and attend a welcome orientation and eat dinner. I saw so many people closing their eyes and dozing off I am sure the professors noticed and decided to cut it short because they kept saying, “I am going to make this short.” I was happy to hear those words but I was getting annoyed when I saw each minute pass on the clock and we were yet to get up from our seats and walk out.

           The next part was quite interesting, for it was the first time I was going to take a look at my Italian apartment. First, let me start off by saying how cute and wonderful the girls’ apartments were. Well, each apartment had a small kitchen, a bunk bed, a small living area, a dining/study area, and a huge bathroom. It was cute and modern I kind of liked it that I was really hoping that the boys’ apartment would be just the same. Unfortunately, since not all of the apartments were remodeled, the only boys of the group (Carlos and I) had to get our own apartment just two blocks away (about an eight-minute walk). So our advisors of the group took us to the other location which I had already seen on Google Maps (I know I am a cheater) but I was so excited for what I saw. First off, there was a riverboat restaurant right in front of us, then a pizza parlor on the left-hand side, as well as a bar right next to it. I assumed we had it all. I thought wrong. Once the car parked in front of the apartment building with the local businesses surrounding it, I took the liberty to actually take in my surroundings. I am eternally grateful that I did so because before entering, there were these really big gray wooden doors. They were humongous but the funny part was that there was a cut-out door at the bottom that can open for anyone who has a key; it is so small and short that you have to duck your head upon entering in order to avoid a big red bump on your head. Once entering, the doors led to this beautiful yellow courtyard leading to either three different houses or the apartment building which had five floors with one apartment on each. We got the room on the second floor and I was dreading it as soon as I saw how narrow and steep the stairs were. But I managed, mainly because there was an elevator to accommodate mine and my roommate’s luggage and taking it up the stairs.

           I have never in my life actually seen an Italian apartment, I have never in my life seen Italy period. So for the first time in my life, I was indulging in so many different things. The culture, the city, the people, and now my very own apartment. Once getting off the elevator, the doors opened on a big brown and white wall, and to the left was a veranda looking out to the houses and cobblestone streets that made this little heart of the city. To the right, was a big dark brown double-sided door that when opened, led to an all white twelve by twenty square foot apartment (I could be getting my accurate calculations wrong). First off, the key we got to open our door was huge it was bigger than the size of my palm and quite heavy too I might add. That is how ancient it was. To the right of the room, stood two all white clean twin beds, only they were right next to each other. I was already beginning to think how uncomfortable the situation was because of how the beds were put right next to each other and there were supposed to be a boy sleeping on each one. However, I did not mind it at the moment, like I said, I was indulging everything in until it could finally hit me. There was a large closet right next to the beds, and then an old green chair sitting by itself amongst the corner of a wall. Then a big white with a vaguely opaque glass door opens up to a toilet, sink, a shelf, a shower, and a small little bidet. In case some of you might not know, a bidet is a little sink in which you are able to wash your front parts and your anus as well. There was some fresh crisp all white towels, some soap, and shampoo. The little kitchen contained a stove, a microwave, a sink, some cups and plates, pots and pans, silverware, cooking utensils, and even an espresso maker. We had it all for an Italian apartment; the wonderful scenery, the restaurants and bars right next to us, and the beautiful canal which was beautiful to look at at night when the buildings’ lights reflected on the water.

           Now the next part was to go grocery shopping and buy the rest of the things we needed for our little apartment. We were not the only students going to the supermarket to buy all of the things we needed. We found one about a couple blocks away from us that had everything we can think of. If I can remember correctly it is called Simply. Just like that, and we walked in only to find some escalators leading down. Once walking in, the smell was familiar, almost that of a supermarket in Mexico. Once we hit the first floor, we saw a security guard and about eight cashiers checking people out (they are always overstaffed here in Italy). Everything is so crowded and fast-paced that it was almost impossible to look at everything I needed to buy; I almost forgot half the things I needed on my shopping list. We bought mostly food items, water, and some toilet paper because that was the most important thing of all. The way how the pricing worked was so odd. It felt like shopping American style only instead of a period between the numbers to separate dollars and cents, there was a simple comma placed in between (plus the Euro symbol). On one visit, I spent only 19 Euros, which is like twenty-three dollars. But then again, I did miss a lot of things that I needed.

           Finally, to end the night, my friends Nely and Alexa, including my roommate Carlos and I decided to go out for pizza at the pizza parlor that was right next to us. Once we did, we walked by the pizza place not knowing a single clue of what to do; luckily, a waiter approached us and asked what we liked – in English. I was beginning to question myself if we really looked like American tourists. When we answered yes, he brought us inside to sit at a table. Upon doing so, he kindly handed us menus and offered us drinks. We all asked for waters and got them back in bottles. We were confused as if the bottles were filled with sparkling water but it was regular mineral water that actually tasted quite refreshing (way more than American water if I might say so myself). I looked at the Menu and felt a little overwhelmed with how many types of pizzas there were, along with other pasta dishes, salads, finger foods, and drinks they could offer. There was not a simple one like pepperoni or supreme which would have been easier for me to choose and indulge. As I scrolled my eyes down the menu, seeing all of the varieties and names like bufalo or margherita. Well I ended up choosing a margherita pizza because I read that all it had was tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, and basil. Simple as that. My friend Alexa got the bufalo pizza after fifteen minutes and it came out a little different than she expected. First of all, she did not expect it to be a whole pizza, and I don’t think she realized that the on the bottom of each menu item stood a translation of the ingredients. The ingredients called for mozzarella cheese, spinach, and grape tomato slices; somehow she forgot to read that and was not aware until she got her food, she looked at it with big eyes. She was still able to enjoy it for she took off the tomato and spinach and only ate the cheese pizza without the tomato sauce. My pizza came out right after hers and I could not wait to dig in. The waiter put it down on the table in front of me and said “Bon Appetíto.” I saw it look a little different than I expected, there was hardly and I mean hardly any mozzarella cheese. I did not bother to question it and I decided to just dig in. Once I cut into my whole pizza and began to bite into my slice, I can say it was pretty hot but delicious. The pizza would have given me a total of eight slices and I was only able to consume four. I felt terrible because I did not want the cook to feel like it was not appetizing.

           We realized our first day was coming to a close and we all went our separate ways. Nely and Alexa went their separate ways to their apartment, while Carlos and I went to our own and decided to call it a night. I showered, changed, laid down on my bed and looked up at the obscure ceiling overhead and thought to myself about how good it felt to be in a bed and not on a plane, walking around parts of the town, or listening to another lecture or orientation meeting. Jet lag hit me so hard for my first time, but let me tell you, so far it has been extremely worth it. I have been able to do some things I have been dreaming of doing; that is fly, travel, and live in a different country. The good thing about those types of dreams is that you can keep doing them, you can do them as much as you want because you never have to let your dreams go. I keep telling myself that it is pretty impressive I am studying in a foreign country, living in a foreign country, indulging in the culture, and last but not least, travel parts of the world I never thought I would see. 

Until then! 

Damian