#washed dishes -- still singing AWFUL karaoke

[empressofthelibrary]

Y'know, I think I'm glad I'm alive

[writingtraumaforever]

Die With A Smile: A Sonadow Oneshot

Notes: My friend challenged me to write Sonadow karaoke. This is the result. Very crackhead. Much gay.

Summary: Shadow loses a bet with Rouge and has to attend a karaoke party. Shenanigans ensue.

Rating: T for language

Start:

Shadow has got to stop placing bets with Rouge.

It’s his own fault, really. His ego is too big, and his need to prove himself as the Ultimate Lifeform in every possible way is far too strong. Rouge? Rouge knows this and takes advantage. Every. Time.

And as it has been many times before, her cons came in the form of a bet.

Walking over with a towel, she fiddled with it in her hands as she spoke, “So you coming to Amy’s Karaoke Spectacular??”

“I’ve already answered this. Seven times,” Shadow grumbles as he washes dishes, passing one off to Rouge to dry. This is their routine. They’ve been roommates for a little over eight months now, and the deal is whoever doesn’t cook has to wash the dishes. Tonight, that’s Shadow.

Rouge gives him a little pout, placing the dried dish on the rack and waiting for the next one, “Aw come on, Shadow.. Not even for me?”

“Why on earth would that make a difference?” Shadow questions with a quirk of his brow and teasing little smirk.

Rouge rolls her eyes at him with a huff, “Okay then. What if I said ‘pretty please’??”

“The physical appearance of the please doesn’t matter,” Shadow says unbothered, handing the next dish to her as he then begins scrubbing at the pan the chopped potatoes had cooked on, “And begging doesn’t suit you..”

“Hmph,” she growls a bit, placing her hands on her hips a moment before then growing a slow smirk, “What if we made a bet??”

Shadow’s ear twitches at that, looking at her out of the corners of his eyes a moment. She has that mischievous glint in them. He knew it was trouble, and still he-

“I’m listening..”

Rouge moves the pan Shadow is working on out of the sink, Shadow’s brows furrowing questioningly as he watches her instead place the towel she’s been holding in his hands.

“Here’s the bet. I lose, I’ll cook and wash the dishes for three months.”

Shadow’s brow raises at her, looking at the towel in his hands a moment before back to her, “And if I lose I have to come to the karaoke spectacular??”

“AND sing a song of my choice,” Rouge adds with a wicked grin.

Shadow is immediately handing the towel back to her and shaking his head, “Absolutely not.”

“Oh what’s wrong??? Got a case of the stage fright??”

“No. I just refuse to lower myself to such insolent and ridiculous standards as singing cheesy songs that no one asked anyone to cover,” Shadow’s arms cross.

Rouge shrugs, “Fine. Guess I just didn’t expect the Ultimate Lifeform to back down from a challenge so easily.”

Shadow’s eyes narrow at her with a scowl.

Rouge’s narrow with a challenge.

“...We have a deal?” She asks, reaching her hand out to him with a knowing grin.

Shadow growls a bit, already mentally scolding himself for falling for this shit again. But he still finds his hand reaching out to shake hers, nodding with a firm, “Deal.”

Rouge giggles a bit giddily, “Great!”

“So what’s the challenge?” Shadow questions as he retracts his hand, realizing now he probably should’ve asked that before making this bet.

Rouge hands the towel back to him again, Shadow watching as she moves his hands into position under the tap of the sink. Shadow holds an end of the dish towel in each hand, arms outstretched and spread as wide as the towel goes. Rouge then reaches to turn on the water, the tap flowing in the space between his arms, himself and the towel.

She crosses her arms then, nodding her head to him with a simple, “Move the towel without letting go of either end or getting it or your arms wet. And NO chaos control.”

Shadow’s brow raises at her. Crimson eyes roll at this, smirking confidently with a scoff, “That’s it?? I expected more from you-”

He looks back down at the towel and his brain freezes.

He stares at it a long moment, the gears in his head practically groaning and creaking with how he tries to find the solution. He could move it to the left, but then his right arm would get wet. Same with the right getting the left wet. He can’t simply move it towards him because then it’s wet. His brain begins to hurt. Rouge can’t help but let her grin widen as he successfully allows himself to get overwhelmed and overthink the entire puzzle.

His teeth grit, growling low as his body starts to tremble.

Rouge just leans against the counter and waits, examining her nails as if she has all the time in the world.

They stay like that for a solid sixteen minutes, which is terrible for the environment to let the water run that long. And then Shadow groans and growls out, “I can’t! I don’t get it! What the hell am I supposed to do!? Tell me!! Tell me or I’m gonna destroy this damn sink and rip the towel to shreds–!”

Rouge simply takes the towel from him, moving her arms into position while holding the towel. She then moves her hand while still holding the towel to simply turn off the water, successfully retracting the towel back to her body without getting it or her arms wet.

Shadow just stares dumbfounded and feeling smaller than a pathetic worm.

“But you can’t just– you– that’s–”

“See you at karaoke~,” She coos as she playfully rolls the towel up to whip and snap his tail, making him jump about two feet with a yelp.

And that’s how he ended up here. Standing outside Amy Rose’s front door with nothing but shame for what’s going to happen tonight. He can hear music coming from the backyard, what sounds like an agitating rendition of ‘We Built This City On Rock and Roll’ being sung.

He could run. He could chaos control somewhere far away, and no one could ever force him to socialize or sing or any of it.

But he can’t.

He made a bet and promised Rouge he’d come.

And he always keeps his promises.

Taking a deep breath, Shadow collects his dignity while he still has it and lifts his hand to ring the white doorbell next to the pink door.

Breathing out the breath he had just taken slowly, he hears footsteps approaching from the inside.

The door opens to reveal Amy standing there with a wide grin that only seems to get brighter the second she sees it’s Shadow who had rang the doorbell.

“Shadow!” she beams, her voice reaching octaves that shouldn’t be possible for most Mobians. He’s always like Amy, though, so he tries not to seem too agitated by this.

He offers a tired sort of smile in return, not quite reaching his eyes but still trying to be in good spirits for his host’s sake, “Hello, Rose.”

Amy quickly reaches to grab his wrist, dragging him inside and shutting the door behind him, “Come in! It’s chilly out there..”

“Isn’t the party outside??” Shadow asks with a quirk of his brow. Amy giggles in response with a sheepish, “Well, yes, but we have a bonfire going and everyone is toasting marshmallows and hotdogs and there’s a chili bar with hot cocoa— I even made some coffee in case you showed up!”

Shadow hums with a soft look to his eyes at her thoughtfulness. “That was kind of you.”

“I’m so glad you came!” Amy grins, bouncing on her toes as she leads Shadow to the kitchen where Cream and Miss Vanilla are helping her whip up some more chili since they’re running low outside, “Rouge has been saying you’d be here, but I honestly was doubting her.”

Before Shadow can respond, another squeaky voiced girl is wrapping her arms tight around his torso and squeezing for dear life, “Mr. Shadow! I’m so glad you’re here!”

Shadow looks down at the rabbit hugging him, chuckling a bit as his hand rests between her ears and pets there tenderly, “Nice to see you too, Miss Cream..”

Cream giggles at how he addresses her formerly, looking up at him with those big, starry eyes he can’t help but have a soft spot for, “Miss Rouge said you were coming, but I wasn’t sure she was being honest.”

“Why would Rouge lie, Creamy Dear?” Miss Vanilla says as she approaches, “Hello again, Shadow.”

“Miss Vanilla,” Shadow nods to her politely before looking back to Cream, “Unfortunate for all of us, Rouge is right most of the time.”

Cream giggles at this, letting go of Shadow and moving to tug on his hand, “Come with me, Mr. Shadow! I have a free seat next to me just for you!”

Shadow smirks a bit and allows himself to be towed behind the little one towards the backyard’s door, giving a small wave to Amy and Vanilla as they stay back in the kitchen.

Maybe this wouldn’t be so terrible.. Shadow does enjoy seeing Cream. She reminds him so much of the time he spent on the ARK taking care of Maria.. That and the little rabbit has never once looked at him with any sort of judgment or fear in her eyes. She always looked at him as though he had all the potential in the world to be nothing but good. And he couldn’t ever say why that meant so much to him, but it did.

If Cream ever looked at him with disappointment, he’d lose his mind.

Upon entering the backyard, he looks around at the decorations. Amy really is the best host for gatherings. She never misses, always hits the nail on the head perfectly and seems to enjoy seeing everyone have fun and appreciate her hard work.

The yard has fairy lights dangling all around, circling a bonfire in the middle that is in the center of a stone firepit. There’s wooden seats around the firepit for those who get a bit chilly, though most are empty currently. Only Espio sits there, not seeming too keen on the cold weather. There’s a coat rack just to the right of the door with complimentary, hand-knitted gloves, hats and scarves. Next to it along the porch is the coffee, hot cocoa and chili bar Amy had spoken of along with a little basket with long, metal skewers sticking out of it and a chalkboard dangling from the front that reads ‘For your Hot Dogs and Marshmallows’. There were hot dogs and marshmallows stacked into little pyramids on a table, ready to roast. Amy even had a vegan option..

To the far left is a stage pressed against the wood fence surrounding the yard, white curtains providing a backdrop behind it and spotlights hanging from the bottom of the stage to provide good lighting.

On the stage bouncing far too energetically up and down was none other than the dynamic duo themselves: Sonic and Tails.

Sonic is jamming on his electric guitar he seems to have brought for himself and Tails is singing next to him with laughter in his voice. Sonic is banging his head so aggressively that Shadow wonders if he’ll still have all his quills by the end of the night.

Rolling his eyes at the ridiculous display, Shadow looks back down to Cream who leads him to the coat rack.

The rabbit lets go of his hand to ponder the choices of winter weather clothes for a moment before she reaches and pulls off a deep blue scarf, turning to him and holding it out for him to take, “I think this one will look nicely with your eyes!”

Shadow looks at the scarf as he takes it into his hands, observing it a moment. Amy really outdid herself making all these for everyone.

He can’t help but look at it and think of—

“Thank you,” he says with a gentle smile at the little girl, wrapping it around his shoulders and then tying it secure but comfortable around his neck, “I like your light blue one.”

Cream giggles at this, beaming at him as she rocks back and forth on her toes, “We kind of match!”

“I believe we do,” he says with a wink, offering his hand to her again which she takes with pride.

Walking them towards the stage, Cream Explains her seat is in the front row. She likely chose this spot due to her short size, but Shadow really dreaded being near the front like this..

As they approached the stage, Shadow took notice in who all was there.

Vector was DJ-ing, of course. Charmy was sitting on a speaker near him, watching Vector’s hands move over the sound system as if he was taking notes. Rouge had Knuckles cornered near the back of the seats, leaning towards him a little too close for Knuckles’ comfort if how red his face was was anything to go off of. Omega was stood behind them, seemingly ignoring them with his robotic eyes locked towards the stage. Sticks the Badger was there. She was a relatively new member of the group that Amy had apparently taken quite the liking to. And Shadow trusted Rose’s judgment.

Big the Cat was sitting in the front swaying side to side in his seat with his frog in his hand as if this was a slow song, not at all matching the upbeat momentum of it. Even Silver and Blaze were there, to Shadow’s surprise. It’s not every day one should break the time stream just to come to a party.

He doesn’t dwell on this, though. Moving with Cream towards the front to find his seat just as Sonic and Tails finish up their number. The group hoot and holler for the two, applauding as Sonic gives a dramatic bow and Tails sheepishly grins and rubs the back of his neck. They exit the stage and Vector announces the next song,

“Alright everyone! That was a pretty sweet song, gonna be tough to follow up with that! Next on the song list is another duet! ‘Club Can’t Handle Me’ by Flo Rida! Let’s see who our duetists are!”

Shadow’s eyes watch Sonic as he walks off the steps to the right of the stage, high-fiving Tails as they go. They’re both laughing and saying something to each other that Shadow can’t make out, but it’s probably dumb anyway.

Sonic’s whole voice is dumb. And his dumb face and his dumb smile and dumb eyes—

He’s looking at Shadow.

Shadow quickly looks away, feeling his cheeks heat up a bit as he dips his head down in hopes his scarf will mask it some. Was he staring?? No, he wasn’t- he just got lost in his thoughts of how dumb that faker is..

His eyes are on the ground as Vector pulls two random names from a hat and announces it will be Blaze and Big performing this next song.

“Woo! Everyone’s favorite purple felines teaming up for the win!” Sonic yells supportively, Shadow flinching slightly at how close he sounds.

Oh.

That’s because he’s close.

Bright red, signature shoes appear in his line of sight, crimson eyes trailing up Sonic’s form to find emerald looking right back.

Sonic smirks. Shadow scowls.

“Well looky here. Didn’t expect to see you here, Shadow!“ the blue hedgehog beams, wearing a red scarf that matches his shoes. His has a tiny ‘S’ on the end of it, Shadow notices. Amy must’ve made one especially for him.

“I try not to make a habit of social gatherings,” Shadow gruffly replies, looking away as if to take in the event except it’s really just to escape that gaze..

Sonic chuckles at that, hands moving to his own hips as he speaks, “Well, maybe you should..”

Shadow’s eyes return to him at that, eyeing the blue hedgehog questioningly which seems to make Sonic blush a bit as he quickly gestures to Cream.

“Looks like you’d make a certain little rabbit real happy if you came around more.”

Cream beams at that, standing on her chair to try and be as tall as Sonic, “I would be, Mr. Sonic!”

“See??” Sonic grins, looking at Cream now, “Who could say no to that face???”

Cream giggles, bouncing on her toes to which Sonic reaches over and picks her up to toss her up then set her back down as she laughs excitedly. He bends down as she speaks to him.

“Can I make you a ‘little-bit-of-everything’ chili dog, Mister Sonic?!”

Sonic winks at this, giving her a thumbs up, “You make the best ones, Cream.”

She nods with a determined face, dashing off to the chili dog stand as if she’s on a mission.

Sonic watches her with a chuckle, rubbing under his nose as Shadow looks at him..

Sonic looks at Shadow.

Shadow looks away.

Sonic smiles a bit at this, moving to take a seat next to Shadow as Blaze and Big start their performance. It’s quite a comical one. Blaze’s raspy and shier voice paired with Big’s own off beat and tonedeaf one. She definitely looks uncomfortable but Silver is giving her thumbs up in the audience so that seems to motivate her.

“So what made you come?” Sonic asks after a moment, looking at Shadow with a tilt of his head.

“Rouge,” he mutters, looking over at the bat who is still pestering that poor echidna, “Lost a bet.”

“Ah,” Sonic immediately answers with a grin, “She’s a trickster for sure.”

“Mm..,” Shadow nods in agreement, his arms crossed over his chest.

There’s a long moment of silence.

“…So how have you—“

“I’m getting coffee,” Shadow interrupts, standing from his seat and leaving Sonic behind. Sonic’s ears droop a bit, watching Shadow go with a quiet, “Oh. Okay. See ya.”

Shadow walks quickly towards the coffee bar, grabbing a cup once he gets there and working to fill it up with his heart pounding in his chest.

Anxiety is a bitch.

He takes a long shaky breath as he pours the drink, watching the steam rise from it. Black. Just how he likes it.

He cups it in his hands and blows on the top before taking a sip and immediately feeling his shoulders slouch and some tension fade. His sighs slow and takes another sip, swallowing down the lump that felt like it had been forming in his throat.

He hated he got like this. It always made him feel so weak. He didn’t do well in groups.. he always felt out of place or like he has nothing to contribute to conversation.

And that hedgehog… that damn blue hedgehog.

Sonic always seemed to make Shadow lock up even more than usual. Made him feel like his defenses were both down and up all at the same time. Like his walls were crackling apart and thus making Shadow panic to rush to build them higher and stronger.

He thought it would get better with time, but instead, it just seems to get worse.

He does fine on assignments or missions with Sonic, whenever they’re required to work together for the greater good. It’s easy to speak to him then. They work well side by side, a power that can’t be beat. But in casual conversation??? Sonic is.. intimidating.

He’s so quick witted and talkative. He always knows what to say and how to say it. Shadow admires this and hate it about him. It’s overwhelming.

Just like his dumb face.

After a moment to gather himself, Shadow moves to instead approach Rouge who sees him coming and snaps up with a grin, “You came!”

“I’ve been here,” he grumbles with a roll of his eyes, noticing how Knuckles seems relieved her attention is elsewhere.

Shadow can’t help but wonder if Knuckles feels the same way about Rouge as Shadow does about Sonic. Two painfully charismatic people talking to two painfully awkward people.

Except with Knuckles and Rouge, it’s flirting and bickering.

That’s not what Sonic and Shadow do.

Well.

They bicker.

And Sonic might be naturally flirtatious now and then.

But it’s not the same.

“Oh. Sorry, I’ve been busy with Knuckles here,” she smirks, gesturing to Knuckles who offers a small “sup” to Shadow, Shadow nodding back before returning his gaze to Rouge.

“How long do I have to stay??”

Rouge blinks, “But— you just got here?”

“I’ve been here for about ten minutes, actually. And that’s plenty long, I think.”

“Don’t be dramatic,” she rolls her eyes at him, placing a hand on her hip as she juts it out all sassy-like, “Besides, you still have to sing your one song.”

Shadow had been hoping she’d forgotten about that.

“Then can we just get it over with so I can leave??”

“No way!” Rouge huffs, poking his chest with a finger as she narrows her eyes at him disappointedly, “You are going to stay here and socialize and be happy about it! And when I decide you can sing and leave, you’ll sing and leave.”

She crosses her arms, sticking her nose up a matter-of-factly as she closes her eyes with a “hmph.”

Shadow blinks.

He looks at Knuckles for help.

Knuckles just shrugs at him, “She scares me too, dude.”

“What did you say?!” Rouge glares down at the echidna who flinches immediately with a “Nothing!”

“Oh I’m scary, huh??? You know what’s scary is an echidna whose only friend is a rock!”

“Oh yeah?! Well—“

Shadow leaves before he gets a headache.

He looks at the spot near the front that Cream has saved for him.

Sonic is still sitting there eating his chili dog and talking to Cream and Tails and now Amy as well..

He turns on his heel and makes his way to the bonfire where Espio sits alone. At least he can depend on Espio to not try and spark a conversation with him.

He sits in one of the wooden chairs, leaning back in it with a sigh as he sips his coffee.

Espio, in fact, does not try to talk to him. He keeps his eyes shut in silence a few seats away from Shadow. Honestly, Shadow thinks he might be asleep.

His eyes flutter shut, holding his coffee in his lap as he sighs and lets the karaoke going on fade to the background.

He surely won’t actually be able to sleep Like Espio. He’s use to silence in his slumber. White noise. Like when he was in the tank on the ARK..

But he might be able to look enough like he’s sleeping that no one will disturb him.

He stays like this a long time.. at least three or four songs are performed as he sits there unbothered.

‘Don’t Go Breaking My Heart’ performed by Silver and Cream.

‘Firework’ performed by Amy.

And ‘Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better’ very ironically performed by Rouge and Knuckles.

The next performance is Tails singing ‘Count On Me’ when Shadow hears footsteps approaching.

He doesn’t open his eyes, hoping whomever it is will take the hint and leave him be.

His ear twitches at the sound of the wooden chair next to him creaking with someone being seated in it. The person takes a breath as if they’re gonna speak and then stops.

Shadow expects them to get up and leave.

Instead he hears some fidgeting and movement. And then he hears the quiet sound of guitar strings..

His eyes slide open just slightly to peer over and see Sonic sitting there with his guitar in hand picking a quiet and relaxing melody..

It’s… odd to see.

Sonic who is chaotic and fiery and adventurous and always loud and obnoxious and can’t sit still..

now sits there picking one of the softest and quietest melodies he’s ever heard.

And he looks content while doing so. His face is soft with a smile on his muzzle, humming quietly as he plays. Like a lullaby.

Shadow watches him a long moment.. and then his eyes drift over to the fire. He watches it burn as Sonic plays, finding himself almost hypnotized by the moment. The calm of it. The warmth and the lull of the melody..

He sips his coffee. Sonic doesn’t bother him.

It’s nice. Shadow wasn’t even aware Sonic played guitar before tonight, if he’s honest. He never thought the hedgehog could even sit still long enough to learn such a thing.

And without much thought, he voices this, “I didn’t know you played.”

The strumming stops a moment, Shadow seeing Sonic’s head lift out of his peripherals to look at him. Sonic starts playing again and shrugs as he does so, “Yeah, I have since I was a kid. Use to be in a band, believe it or not.”

“I shockingly can believe that,” Shadow says with a small quirk of his brow, eyeing Sonic as he sips his coffee to which Sonic chuckles at in response.

“I don’t play a lot anymore. Only when I need to clear my head some or am at events like this. Sometimes both..”

Shadow turns his head a bit more towards Sonic at that, eyeing him a moment as Sonic’s own gaze returns down to watching his own fingers move.

“…Has something been on your mind?”

Why is he asking that??? It’s not his business and he doesn’t care—

“Mm..,” Sonic shrugs, “Just been having trouble sleepin’..”

Shadow hums at that, “Can’t say I relate fully. As the Ultimate Lifeform, I don’t require sleep.”

Sonic’s head lifts a bit at that, looking at Shadow with a slight tilt of his head, “Seriously??”

“Mm,” Shadow nods.

“Then what do you do most nights??” Sonic asks curiously, his picking on his guitar never stopping.

“It varies..,” Shadow says, not planning to elaborate but seeing how Sonic is leaning in tentatively, he keeps going, “Sometimes I read. Sometimes I do research for work.. sometimes I watch the stars or go for a run.”

Sonic smiles a bit at that, seeming to relate to that, “So you never sleep at all??”

“Well.. occasionally. For the sake of the pastime. Or for the sake of simply resting for a bit.. shutting down and not having to think for a period of time can be therapeutic.”

“I can’t imagine not sleeping,” Sonic says with a chuckle, “I’m a professional sleeper, I’ll have you know.”

“Well what kind of professional sleeper has trouble sleeping?”

Sonic’s cocky demeanor falters at that, looking at Shadow with a faded smirk before he looks back down to his guitar and mutters, “I’ve been having nightmares is all.. they’ll go away, though, and when they do, I’ll be a shooin’ for the Snooze-lympics.”

Shadow watches the blue hedgehog deliver the joke with a little grin, but he sees how it doesn’t meet his eyes..

He knows about nightmares.. he has far too many of his own.

“Do.. you want to talk about it??” Shadow asks after a moment, holding his now nearly empty coffee in his hands as he shifts his body a bit more towards Sonic.

Sonic hums a bit, looking up from his guitar to the fire instead. He seems hesitant. Reluctant. Shadow won’t push him if he is made uncomfortable by the conversation. He shouldn’t have asked in the first place, frankly.

“…You know.. in all my years of heroing and what not, I’ve rarely not been able to save someone,” Sonic says after a long pause, Shadow’s brows furrowing a bit at the subject change but he doesn’t interrupt.

“..So I guess when I fail, it would haunt me.. huh?”

Shadow purses his lips, not liking the way Sonic guilts himself but understanding the toll being a hero can take, “Makes sense..”

Sonic nods.

“..It’s the same dream. Over and over. Reaching and not being able to grab it. Not being fast enough.”

Shadow feels a sense of uneasiness grow inside him, his heart starting to rise into his throat again. He grips his cup a bit tighter and raises it to sip to try and swallow the feeling back down.

“I watch it fall like a star.. out of my sight. I try to get to it, but it’s like I can’t move. I feel so helpless..”

Shadow swallows the last of his coffee but keeps the cup to his lips, eyes staying on Sonic.

“…Why didn’t you let me save you, Shadow??” Sonic’s eyes lift to Shadow’s then and Shadow feels his chest hurt.

When did Sonic stop playing his guitar??

The only sound now is the crackling of the fire and the distant karaoke performance currently happening on stage.

Shadow doesn’t answer. Just watches Sonic in a long moment of silence. Sonic doesn’t push. He just waits, leaning his elbows against his guitar in his lap and chewing on the inside of his cheek.

The ebony hedgehog lowers his cup after a moment, clearing his throat before speaking at last, “I-… don’t really remember much of that event.”

Sonic doesn’t seem too convinced of his answer, so Shadow tries to add, “After the fall, I simply remember waking up and not knowing anything anymore.. I’m not sure what was going through my head—“

“You remember,” Sonic says. And there’s such conviction in his voice that Shadow’s mouth immediately shuts. Their eyes stay locked as if a challenge.

Shadow’s crimson orbs glare for a moment longer before Shadow huffs and pushes himself to stand from his chair. Sonic watches with his ears sinking back a bit.

“I’m leaving. Tell Rose I appreciated the hospitality.”

Sonic stands then, moving his guitar out of his lap and setting it on the chair, “Shadow, wait—“

“Alright! Next up is a special request from our belovedly devious Rouge the Bat!” Vector announces from the stage, Rouge standing beside him with a wicked little grin. Shadow is making his way to the door with Sonic not far behind him.

“Our two performers will be..,” Rouge whispers in Vector’s ear and Vector seems a bit stunned, “Sonic and Shadow???”

There’s immediate silence and whispers among the group, Shadow’s attention brought to the stage upon hearing his name and his eyes widening at realizing he’s being summoned.

Sonic too has paused, staring at the stage and then back to Shadow and then the stage again.

Shadow doesn’t spare a glance to Sonic, defensively crossing his arms with a stubborn, “I was just leaving.”

“Ohhh no you don’t, Grumps,” Rouge immediately protests, leaping from the stage to glide over to Shadow and tug at his arm, “You promised me a song of my choice. It’s your turn to perform.”

“Now is not the time, Rouge,” Shadow growls under his breath to which she shrugs unbothered.

“Not my problem,” she pulls him to the stage and pushes him towards the steps, “Now knock ‘em dead, Shadow! Metaphorically, of course.”

Sonic has walked to the stage now as well, seeming very off-put by this but also seeming as though he’s resolute.

Shadow watches him approach the mic on the stage, refusing to join him as he stands at the bottom of the stairs. He looks out at the small intimate crowd staring at him expectedly and then back to Sonic and then to Rouge and—

“Fuck this-“ he huffs before quickly making his way towards the exit again, Rouge standing from her seat to follow him.

“Hey! Shadow, hold on a second!”

The music starts playing.. emerald eyes watching the black hedgehog making his escape. Sonic swallows hard, moving a hand to hold the mic as he keeps his gaze on Shadow.

A surprisingly angelic “oooh” coming from him as he warms up to the song. Shadow’s steps falter a bit at this, not expecting Sonic to actually perform. Rouge stops behind him, her attention turning back to Sonic again, and then Shadow who is now standing still with his hand on Amy’s backdoor..

“I.. I just woke up from a dream,” Sonic sings with a slight sway on his feet, trying to loosen up some but his eyes stay on Shadow, “Where you and I had to say goodbye..”

Shadow’s brows knit a bit, turning to look towards the stage again and seeing Sonic standing there watching him.

“I don’t know what it all means..,” Sonic sings with a small shrug, averting his eyes a bit shyly now as he continues, “But since I survived, I realized..”

Shadow steps away from the door.

“Wherever you go that’s where I foooollow. Nobody’s promised tomooooorrow.”

Sonic’s eyes shut as he grips the mic a bit tighter and gives his all, “So I’ma love you every night like it’s the last night- like it’s the last night!”

Everyone watches as Shadow approaches the stage between the chairs, Sonic singing his heart out quite literally into the mic with an undeniable amount of emotion and earnest.

“If the world was endin’, I’d wanna be next to youuuu! If the party was over, and our time on earth was throuuuuugh.”

Sonic’s eyes open again to look up at the stars now, reaching a hand out to them as if to grab, “I’d wanna hold you just for a while..,” his hand returns to his mic with shut eyes, “And diiiiiie with a smile!”

Everyone is in absolute awe of what’s happening. Sonic’s voice demands attention and captures them with its feeling, but so does the fact it feels like a very intimate moment between Shadow and Sonic..

“If the world was ending, I’d wanna be next,” Sonic’s eyes open again, “to you..”

Sonic’s eyes widen a bit when he looks for Shadow but doesn’t see him, a quiet breath escaping him as he immediately backs from the mic and begins to leave the stage to the right to look for him when—

“Ooooh lost..”

Sonic’s eyes widen as he spins on his heels to see Shadow has joined him from the left side of the stage and is now holding the second mic singing into it..

He seems shy.. quiet at first, but his voice is so.. enchanting. Smooth like silk and mesmerizing.

“Lost in the words that we scream..,” Shadow sings with a knit to his brow, cheeks rosy as he glances to Sonic from the corners of his eyes, “I don’t even wanna do this anymoooore.”

Sonic quickly moves to his mic and joins in to harmonize as they both sing.

“‘Cause you already know what you mean to me!”

“And our love’s the only one—“

“Worth fighting for..”

“Cause wherever you go that’s where I—“ Shadow turns towards Sonic then, point down at the ground as if to make a damn point and Sonic just smiles and steps towards him a bit.

“—Fooooollow.”

“Nobody’s promised—“

“—tomooooorrow.”

Shadow and Sonic are now gripping their mics tight, and it’s as if the rest of the world has faded away.. Shadow’s stage fright gone as it feels as though they’re both confessing to one another right then and there.

“So I’ma love you every night like it’s the last night! Like it’s the last night!”

“If the world was ending, I’d wanna be next to youuuuu! If the party was over and our time on earth was throuuuuugh!”

Shadow gives an ever so small smile as he sings,

“I’d wanna hold you..”

Sonic harmonizing with him with a heart melting grin, “Just for a while..”

“And diiiiiie with a smile!!”

“If the world was ending, I’d wanna be next to you..”

Sonic smiles as he steps closer to Shadow, “Right next to youu..”

“Next to youuu..,” Shadow coos with a slight tilt of his head, taking a tiny step closer as well.

“Right next to youuu..,” they harmonize, Sonic’s hand moving to touch Shadow’s only for Shadow to reach and place his hand on the small of Sonic’s back. Holding him there, he pulls him close so their chests bump together.

Sonic beams at this, face going red as he tosses his head back and lets out a howled, “Ooh-Oh!”

And then Shadow is yanking Sonic in as the music reaches its climax, planting a hard and firm kiss on his lips to which the crowd of friends screams and cheers at excitedly. Whistles and applause but all of it is drainage in their ears as they share their kiss. Sonic’s free hand lifts to hold Shadow’s quills tight, fingers curling there as he holds himself to him and feels his heart soaring. Pieces of him mending that have been broken a long time..

Shadow feels whole in that moment. Complete. And not alone for the first time since he can remember..

It’s euphoric. It’s cheesy. It’s straight out of some corny chick flic and neither of them give a damn.

They eventually part a bit reluctantly, Shadow’s eyes staying shut as his forehead presses to Sonic’s with quiet pants for air. Sonic’s eyes open all half-lidded and dopey as he lifts his mic in the small space between them to sing,

“If the world was ending, I’d wanna be next to youuuu..”

Shadow smiles at him a bit dopey as well, opening his eyes as he lifts his hand to lock their arms and sing into his own mic, “If the party was over and our time on earth was throuuuugh..”

“I’d wanna hold you..,” Shadow’s hand lifts to cup Sonic’s cheek, “Just for a while,” Sonic’s head tilts to nuzzle into his palm.

Both of them then tossing their heads back to sing with their whole chest, “And diiiiiie with a smile!”

“If the world was ending, I’d wanna be next—“

“To youuuuuu!”

“If the world was ending, I’d wanna be next to you..”

Their foreheads touch again, noses nuzzling as they melt into one another.

“I’d wanna be next to you..”

Their eyes lock as the music fades, Sonic’s grin wider than ever and a soft little smile on Shadow’s own face..

He leans in to kiss him again only to be snapped out of his daze by the wolf whistling and applause their friends teasingly and knowingly give them.

A mix of “about time”s and “congratulations” were shouted at them as Shadow’s cheeks heat up beet red,

He turns his head away from them towards the back of the stage, trying to hide from the group. Sonic chuckles at this and moves to crouch slightly and tilt his head up to put himself in Shadow’s line of sight.

His hand moves to squeeze Shadow’s. And Shadow smiles and squeezes it back.

“In their defense,” Sonic teases with his thumb rubbing The back of Shadow’s hand, finally able to reach him..,

“That was super gay.”

[junekissed]

baby, it's cold outside

day three of junkissed’s svt season’s greetings event

member — bf!joshua x gn reader genre — fluff, comfort word count — 1.4k synopsis — maybe going skiing on the coldest day of winter wasn’t the best idea. but at least you have joshua to take care of you. warnings — mentions of illness (reader has a cold), mentions of food, temperatures are in fahrenheit (sorry i'm american) notes — lowercase intended, reader is implied to have longer hair

one reblog = one ski trip with the sexy gentleman

“i can’t believe you got me sick!”

"what did i tell you?" joshua frowns, his bare feet crossing the rug to where you lay across the couch. he hands you a mug of tea and you sit up, narrowing your eyes at him.

“i don’t wanna hear it,” you say, sniffling. you cradle the warm mug in your palms before bringing it up to your lips to take a sip. “it was your smart idea to go skiing in the alps during the coldest week of the year.”

“i told you to wear more layers,” he sighs, settling into the recliner next to the couch.

“but whose idea was it to leave the hotel when it was twelve degrees outside?"

joshua rolls his eyes. “don’t act like you didn’t have fun.”

you had enjoyed the trip, a much-needed vacation, but you weren’t about to admit it and prove him right. “see how well that worked out,” you pout, taking another sip of your tea before setting it on the side table and laying back down.

as you shift your focus back to the cartoons playing on the tv across the room, joshua studies you, fondly watching you pull your blankets tighter around yourself. the tip of your nose is raw from blowing it so much, and the trash can by the table is filled with balled-up tissues.

you’d had a cold ever since the two of you came back from your vacation last weekend. the morning after your flight home, you woke up with a sore throat and a nasty fever, and you’d been so sick you hadn’t been able to leave the house.

as the days trudged on, joshua had tried to distance himself from you to avoid catching whatever flu was going around, but he had still taken every opportunity to wait on you hand and foot. you had warned him not to get to close, but he insisted on doing everything for you, getting anything you needed and running to the store to make sure you were stocked up with gatorade and soup. of course he would go above and beyond to make sure you were eating enough and staying hydrated; it’s just how he is.

many bowls of soup and cups of tea later, you were starting to feel a little better, but the reason for that was more him than the medicine you’d been taking every twelve hours. you’d called the doctor and they’d confirmed you were no longer contagious enough to pass along your cold. joshua had welcomed the news, grateful to have the opportunity to get close to you without being afraid of getting sick.

what you were most excited about being better was that you would finally be able to sleep in the same bed again. you hated sleeping alone, not when you could have a perfectly good boyfriend snuggled up next to you every night. the bed was cold without him, and you’d never let him know this, but you kind of missed the sounds of his snores. he was only sleeping down the hall in the guest room, but it was too far away for your liking.

there were a lot of things you missed when you were sick. you hadn’t realized how much you took for granted until you didn’t have it anymore. you missed when joshua would help you wash dishes after a meal, pressing a gentle kiss to your cheek. you missed waking up next to him, curling your arm around his peacefully sleeping body before falling back asleep yourself. you missed cooking dinner together and having dance parties and singing karaoke until your lungs burned. you hated being sick, but most of all you hated how awful the both of you felt, unable to do the things you loved together.

“why are you staring at me?” you ask, your eyes finding joshua’s staring back at you, and you realized you’d zoned out thinking about how much it sucks being sick.

he smiles and stands up, the recliner rocking at the shift. “sit up for a second,” he says, walking over towards you.

you grab your blankets and sit up as joshua slips onto the couch beside you, the cushions sinking slightly with his weight.

he adjusts himself next to you, leaning back against the arm of the couch and stretching his legs out for you to rest your head on his lap. you lean into him, relaxing into the familiar feeling. he rests his forearm on your side, lightly wrapping his arm around you.

he gathers your hair, sprawled out beneath your head, and brushes it gently with his fingers, laying it across your shoulder. “is this better?” he asks softly, running his hand along your forehead.

“mhm,” you sigh, melting into his touch. you tilt you head backwards a little to look up at him and nod, pulling the blankets up to your chin. “better than ever.”

you stay like that for a while, cuddled up on the couch, barely paying attention to the tv playing in the background. you realize you must’ve fallen asleep at some point, because when you look back up at the screen, the simpsons have been replaced by a football game. but it felt so good finally being back in joshua’s arms, you don’t care about missing your favorite show. you’ve seen every episode, anyway.

it’s late evening when joshua finally gets up off the couch, sliding out from underneath you to stretch his legs. he wanders out of the room, and you crane your neck to watch him enter the kitchen. soon you hear the clanking of pans and the fan above the oven, and a little while later he returns with a bowl in his hand, steam rising from the surface.

you drag yourself upright, making space on your lap as he carefully hands you the dinner he made. “what kind this time?” you ask, peering into the bowl.

“chicken noodle,” he says. “sorry, it’s all we have left. i’ll run to the store tomorrow.”

you swirl your spoon around the bowl, waiting for your soup to cool off a bit. “no, it’s fine, i like chicken noodle.”

he sits back down next to you. “we need groceries anyway, i’ll pick some up on my way from work tomorrow. write me a list if there’s anything else you want while i’m out.”

you bring a spoonful of broth to your lips and blow gently. you never have to ask him for things like this; he always just does them. he always seems to know exactly what you need and when you need it.

you take a sip of soup, the warm liquid soothing your throat. “thank you.”

he smiles. “of course, baby.”

as you eat your soup you watch the sun fall lower and lower through the window, the evening quickly growing dark and turning into night. joshua gets up to plug in the strings of lights draped across your fireplace mantle, and instantly the room fills with bright, colorful pinpricks of light.

you glance up at him standing in front of you, holding out his hand to take your empty bowl. “i can do it,” you say stubbornly, moving the blankets and starting to stand. but you stand up too quickly, and a fit of coughing overcomes you and forces you to sit back down to catch your breath.

he gives you a look. “c’mon, baby, just give it to me.”

you scowl and hand it to him, feeling bad at the fact that he’s cleaning up for you and at the fact that you were unable to do a task as simple as taking a dirty dish to the kitchen.

he reaches down to rub your shoulder with his other hand. “i’m sorry you’re sick, sweetheart,” he says. “if there was anything i could do to make you better faster, i’d do it.”

you sigh. “i know you would, joshua.”

he leans down to press a quick kiss to your forehead, giving you a smile as he walks back out of the room. you can only hope you’ll recover as soon as possible, so you can spend the holiday season with your love without this stupid cold.

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[regrettablewritings]

Hi!😁 I'll give you another ship with my dear Lucifer morningstar from Lucifer cuz as it turns out I'm a hoe for a lot of characters but what can ya do? Thank you!

Aw hell yii, somebody's talkin' my lingo! 😎

Who the fuck put the Peeps in the microwave?: Lucifer. And no, it's not because he actually likes them or is curious about what would happen; he's seen plenty of Youtube videos enough to know exactly what happens. No . . . It's far more malicious . . . Generally speaking, you don't like the constant comparison of cats to the devil. But after getting to actually meet The Devil, you think that those believers might be on to something. Lucifer's whorey ways bleeds into his need for attention like red bleeds into white in the wash, and he's completely shameless about it. For example, if he feels like you may be focusing too much on work or, gasp, other people besides him, you run the risk of encountering a very . . . mischievous Luci. Not that he's not already a prankster, but he somehow becomes a bit more childish. Catlike in some respects. He puts your mugs up higher than what you can normally reach without having to climb on the countertop. He joins you at your kitchen table while you're reading over files for work and puts on his most angelic face, insisting he just wants to keep you company and will be as quiet as vermin in Dear Old Dad's house . . . then proceed to obnoxiously click a pen while pretending to solve a word problem, or eat cheese puffs obnoxiously loud. And then . . . the Peeps: The absolute prettyboy bastard used your microwave as a casualty of war, plopping the unplated, mutant-colored marshmallows directly on the glass and letting them go. To be fair, it technically didn't ruin anything. But at least he had your attention now -- because after fussing at him for making a mess, you were currently supervising him scrubbing not only the effected areas of the glass dish, but the rest of the microwave as well. Unfortunately, you can't say a lesson was really learned because now Luci knows that if he wants to get a rise out of you, what he needs is a bunch of candies from the bargain bin.

Who forgot to put the cat out before sex?: It's not that either of you forgot the cat was there -- it was that Lucifer wanted the bloody animal to give the both of you some privacy. And because Lucifer forgot the cat was there. He was simply too busy embracing you in a liplock and laying you down on the couch to notice the glaring eyes of the cat you had rescued from the shelter. Thankfully, you two didn't get very far before the lovingly-named Lucipurr released a meow, indicating that he had become flesh and bone in the few hours it had been since you'd last fed him. Suffice to say, after a startled Lucifer flung himself off of you and onto the floor, nearly breaking his ass on the coffee table (and the laughing fit that had induced on your end), the mood was killed. For the next fifteen minutes, that is. The next time he tried anything, Lucifer made sure that his efforts would be continued in the bedroom (but not before he did a complete check of every nook and cranny in there to make sure the furry bastard wasn't trying anything).

Who posts Vines/TikToks of the other doing embarrassing shit?: Lucifer absolutely lacks boundaries. The moment he discovered smartphones, social media, and all their potential, he was all in and recording as many videos of friends and coworkers as he could in as many awkward or unideal situations as they came. You felt bad for Dan being his constant target, but you were somewhat sure that Dan felt bad for you in a way: After all, you were dating the freaking guy and yet Lucifer had few qualms about posting a video of you, drunkenly singing karaoke in what was supposed to be a private room? Harsh.

Who breaks the most phones?: Lucifer does. He's not necessarily careless, but his part-time occupation does lead him to circumstances that tend to put his phone in danger. You, Chloe, Dan, literally everyone has told him to just leave his phone in the car if he's going to get it broken that often while on the job, but the dumbass never learns. Not that he really seems to care all that much: With his wealth, he can always buy a new one. Though, the only times he gets frustrated is when photos or videos don't quite make it to the transfer and things get lost along the way. Funny photos, suggestive videos, photos and videos of you . . . Photos and videos of you being funny or suggestive . . . Downright pornographic videos he had recorded of you -- Though don't worry: He's sure you'll be more than happy to help recreate the latter. He'd gladly help you . . .

Who dies first?: It should go without saying. It really should. But that doesn't make it hurt any less. Lucifer was always one to get caught up in his indulgences, after all: Somewhere along the way, he must've gotten too swept up in the thrill, the feeling of adoration. He tells himself this but it's really just denial. Closer to the truth is that it all really was just denial: He denied the idea that you would ever leave him, that you would ever die. Luci was never good with his own thoughts and feelings, but the way you made him feel was nearly enough to convince him that, in some way, you would just plain live forever. But of course, this was not the case: It didn't matter that you were fantastical enough to love and be loved by the Devil; you were still very much a human. Very much mortal. So susceptible to things like time and illness and injury. Lucifer was the King of Indulgences. It was extremely rare for him to experience regret. But when your time inevitably ran out, remorse filled him like smoke filled his lungs with every cigarette he ran through from the moment your funeral arrangements were decided. He could never regret knowing you, as much as part of him thought doing so would spare him this pain. He tried to think of how much better he might've been had he never met you, and it always felt like he was stuck in his own personal Hell Loop with everything going wrong over and over no matter how hard he tried to change it. He regretted that for as much time as he lived up with you, he felt like he didn't use nearly enough of that time to just . . . enjoy you. You in your mortality, your fleeting beauty and love that would nonetheless haunt him for however long he might go on for. So maybe . . . for eternity? This didn't feel like his own personal Hell Loop: This was his own personal Hell Loop. And until he learned to forgive himself, it would never end. So he'd be stuck here for maybe . . . eternity.

Which one I could see as being lactose intolerant: Neither. Unless they get brought down to mortal enough, Celestials generally don't suffer ailments, let alone from things like food allergies.

Who thinks they can do something really well even though they can't?: Lucifer . . . It's not that he's not smart. But by Dad, he is lacking in so much self-awareness that it can be maddening. He thinks he's pretty good at following Dr. Linda's advice (and, to an extent, he's progressing). But the fact of the matter is, he's incredibly troubling at best. Not nearly as bad as some patients, mind you, but when Linda admitted to you that one or two sessions of Lucifer completely misinterpreting her advice nearly drove her to consider adding a secret bar into her desk, you believed her and didn't blame her for one bit.

Who is more likely to get kicked out of bed?: Lucifer is a changed devil. But it's a very slow change. You're more than happy to understand and accept this, but that doesn't mean you have to let him and his issues walk all over you. Sometimes, the big dummy just says or does things without thinking -- or because he thought too hard and thought this was the best decision to avoid further strife. And you try to be patient with him about these tendencies, you really do. But that doesn’t erase your ability to be upset by these habits, or your right to be. And no amount of him buttering you up is going to be acceptable, even when he comes by your place, armed with a dish he so thoughtfully prepared for you. Nope, he can literally go to Hell with that (really, you’re sure the demons there would appreciate a nice beef wellington); you just need some space. Ironically, this may create a cycle wherein his need to make you happy again and have your attention on him drives him to constantly hover around you and attempt to win you over, which in turn just further frustrates you. It’ll likely keep going until you either snap or a loved one pulls Luci to the side and gives him a heads up that maybe he should respect your boundaries. After all, intention isn’t the problem here: It’s the actions taken. And as much as it hurts him knowing that he accidentally hurt you, he has to respect your need for time to cool off. He forces himself to go back to his place and tries to think less about how he feels and more about how you might feel, and try to work out ways to avoid similar incidents in the future. And even though the conclusions he comes to may not be perfect, you at least respect the effort -- particularly when he next sees you, no longer armed with snacks from your favorite bakery or bouquet-carrying teddy bears. Instead, all he has is an apology. It’s sheepish, and it feels foreign to someone who rarely experiences shame or regret, but you know his whole heart is in it even if he himself doesn’t understand entirely why that is. Which is good because that’s just part one of the process; part two involves him warming up that spot in your bed that’s reserved for him!

Who uses the computer the most?: You, absolutely. Lucifer's adorably but altogether completely crap when it comes to technology. Besides, he can easily find other things with which to amuse himself, and doing the paperwork is for other people anyway.

Thank you sooooo much for participating again!!! It really means a lot!!! ❤️ ❤️ ❤️

[waitineedaname]

And Did You Know That You Were Always Like A Fantasy?

happy late birthday @notedchampagne! also on ao3

---

If someone had told Jon two years earlier where he would be and who he would be there with, he would have scoffed. Really? With him? It would have been too absurd to consider. If someone had told him two months earlier, he would have been scared to believe it. Really? And we’re safe? It was too perfect to even hope for. 

But here he was, standing at Martin’s side in the kitchen of a Scottish safehouse, rinsing the soap suds off the dishes Martin handed him and swaying gently to the soft music playing off of Martin’s phone.

The peaceful domesticity scared him sometimes. He would catch himself getting too comfortable, and he would be seized by a sudden terror that it was a trick or that it would all be yanked out from underneath him, that some fearsome monster was waiting for just the right moment to strike him down. He would count the doors and stare at the cobwebs in the corners and avoid his own gaze in the mirror. It couldn’t be real. After all that had happened, after all he had done and become, he couldn’t have this scrap of happiness.

It was real, though. Martin, if nothing else, was real. It was hard to deny that fact when he had Martin’s warm body brushing against his side as they went through the domestic motions of washing the dishes together. It was hard to deny the memories of Martin’s soft kisses on his cheeks or the victorious laugh Martin let out when he discovered a long forgotten bottle of wine in the cupboard or the dozens of pictures in his phone of Martin posing next to indifferent Highland cows.

Even if the worst was yet to come, it was hard to care during mornings like this, when everything felt still and quiet. Not the still quietness of a world holding its breath, but the peace of waking up naturally to light filtering in through curtains, with the arm of the person he loved around his waist.

Martin roused him out of his thoughts by leaning across the sink to turn up the volume on his phone. “Oh, I like this song.”

Jon huffed out a soft, fond laugh. He couldn’t help but think the song was the same as the last dozen he’d played; apparently Martin’s fondness for “lo-fi charm” extended to soft indie music Jon had never heard of, but he couldn’t bring himself to mind.

Jon didn’t realize he was singing along until he felt Martin staring at him. “What?” He said, caught off guard.

“I didn’t think you knew this song.” Martin said with pleased surprise.

“I don’t.”

“...Ah.” Martin said. “Well, I guess there are worse things to Know?”

“I suppose.” Jon sighed, unhappy despite the relatively innocuous nature of the Knowledge. It would never become less unsettling to suddenly Know things he didn’t ask for. Martin gently bonked his hip against Jon’s, distracting him from the downward spiral that seemed imminent.

“I’ve never heard you sing before.”

“It’s not like we hosted karaoke nights.” Jon smiled wryly.

“I’m fairly certain Tim planned one, but it never happened for… whatever reason.” Martin steered the conversation away from another uncomfortable subject. “You have a nice voice, you know.”

“I’m flattered.” Jon said, a sarcastic tone covering genuine happiness at the praise. “Would you believe I was in a band while at Uni?”

“No, I wouldn’t believe that, actually.” Martin’s expression was of surprised delight.

“We were quite eccentric.”

“Now that I do believe.”

Jon allowed that a self-deprecating huff of laughter. “A bunch of dramatic Oxford students singing about space pirates and cyberpunk Frankenstein and Arthurian legends retold as sci-fi westerns…” He smiled fondly at the memory.

“Jon.” He looked over to find Martin looking at him with restrained glee. “Please tell me you have recordings of this somewhere.”

“What, currently? No.”

“You don’t understand. I have to hear this right now.”

“I can’t help you! It was over a decade ago.” He laughed at Martin’s exaggerated pout and leaned up to press a kiss to his nose. “Sorry, darling.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. I’ll just lose sleep knowing there are probably pictures of my boyfriend dressed as a space pirate, and I can’t see them.” Martin heaved a great sigh, but there was a smile playing at his lips. He dried his hands and turned to place them on Jon’s hips. Jon followed suit by taking off his dish gloves and draping his arms over Martin’s shoulders.

“There are certainly worse things to lose sleep over.” Jon said, playing with a tuft of hair that curled over the back of Martin’s neck.

“I guess so.” Martin pressed his face into the top of Jon’s head, and when the song on his phone switched to something with a quicker tempo, he could feel Martin’s smile. He started swaying, hands still on Jon’s waist.

“Martin,” Jon said with a warning in his voice, “What are you doing?”

“Nothing. I’m not doing anything.” Martin replied innocently. He stood up straight and smiled down at Jon.

“I’m fairly certain this is something.”

Martin rolled his eyes fondly. “I’m dancing. You know, that thing people do where they move in time to music? Surely you’ve heard of it.”

“I know what dancing is, I’m just- I’m not very good at it.” Jon protested, even though he was already matching Martin’s movements with only the slightest stutter.

“You don’t have to be good at it. Come on.” Martin stepped back and took Jon’s hands, pulling him into the middle of the kitchen. They weren’t even dancing, not really. It was more of a combination of sways and shimmies that made Jon laugh and shuffling footwork as they avoided stepping on each other’s toes. Jon felt more than a little ridiculous, but if he was completely honest with himself, he would do any amount of ridiculous things to keep that happy, adoring look in Martin’s eyes. An adoring look that morphed into one of mischief as Martin said, “I’m going to spin you.”

“Y- Oh!” Jon didn’t even get the chance to question it before Martin was guiding his arm around in a spin. It wasn’t exactly the most elegant maneuver, and he almost lost his balance for just a second, but it startled a laugh out of him all the same. Martin looked delightfully smug when he faced him again. Well, two can play at that game. 

Martin must have seen the look in Jon’s eyes when he decided his next move, but he only had half a second to look inquisitive when Jon slid his hands around Martin’s back. Martin leaned back with him as he was dipped, and Jon relished the surprised awe in Martin’s eyes for just a brief moment. 

And then they simultaneously remembered Jon’s limited upper-body strength. 

Jon’s arms gave out and Martin yelped as he fell, grabbing onto Jon, who let out a shout as he went tumbling down too.

The two of them fell in a heap on the floor, Martin letting out a soft “oof” as he took the brunt of the fall with Jon collapsed on his chest. Martin groaned quietly, and Jon scrambled upright. 

“Oh- Oh god, Martin, I’m so sorry. Are you alright?” Jon’s heart seized with panic as he saw Martin sling an arm over his face and start shaking. Oh god, was Martin crying? Jon would never forgive himself. Wait, no, not crying-

“That was so stupid.” Martin managed to say through helpless laughter. He slid his arm off his face to reveal bright eyes and a brighter smile. Jon gaped intelligently at him. “I’m twice your size, how could that have possibly gone well?”

“I…” Jon stammered for an excuse. “I thought it would be romantic.”

“Oh, it was romantic, sure. Really stupid, though.” Martin was still giggling weakly up at Jon, and some of the anxiety slid out of him. Still, he had to ask.

“You’re sure you’re alright?”

“I’m fine, Jon.” Martin rolled his eyes. “I’ve dealt with worse than a bruise before.” 

Jon slid back to sit on Martin’s shins as Martin lifted himself into a sitting position. He touched the back of Martin’s head gently, and Martin stalwartly did not flinch. “I can get you some ice.”

“I said I’m fine.” Martin grabbed his hands before he could get up, a laugh still playing in his voice. “You don’t need to fuss.”

“I’m not fussing.” Jon protested. Martin gave him a look, and he huffed. “Besides, that’s rich coming from you.”

“Alright, fair.” Martin smiled and kissed Jon’s knuckles, still not letting go. “If you really want to make it up to me… you can find your college band’s stuff?” He asked oh-so-hopefully. Jon laughed softly.

“I’ll see if there’s anything on YouTube. Satisfied?”

“Yes.” Martin looked pleased with himself as he finally stood and pulled Jon to his feet with him. “Now come on, we have dishes to finish.”

The peace might be deceptive, the happiness a trick to convince him to let his guard down, but when he shot Georgie a text requesting concert pictures from their college days while Martin chatted politely with a shopkeeper later that afternoon, Jon was convinced he wouldn’t trade it for anything.

[me-mindfulexistence]

100 Ridiculous “Get To Know Me Questions”....And What My Husband Guessed I Said.

 Need something to do?  Share some “get to know me questions” with your friends and family”.   

I answered 100 “Get to know me questions” alone...and then later I asked my husband what he thought my answer would be. How many did we match? 

1.Who is your hero?  (me) No one in particular. Anyone who stands up for the underdog, (Fights for the weaker person, feels compassion and empathy for humans and animals....but actually does something about it besides running their mouth) Ron:  No one      CORRECT

2.If you could live anywhere,  where would it be? Somewhere very very warm, with very few people and all  of my children (Ron) Somewhere warm and sunny           CORRECT

3.What is your biggest fear?   Losing my husband or children. (Ron) something happening to my kids/family            CORRECT

4.What was your favorite family vacation? N. Carolina, time on the beach with my family. (Ron) N. Carolina           CORRECT

5.What would you change about yourself if you could?  Rid myself of self-doubt and anxiety. I’d be unstoppable! (Ron) To be more extroverted and outgoing.                        CORRECT

6.What really makes you angry? Oodles  of things. People acting like the boys we took into our family, aren’t “real” family, racial discrimination, animal abuse, bullying, gender stereotypes, and religion (Ron) “Oh jez! Incompetent people”                       WRONG

7.What motivates you to work hard?  My family and their success. (Ron) To Help others                           WRONG.

8.What is your favorite thing about your career?  Wanting my patients to feel better about themselves and giving them an improved quality of  life. (Ron) Helping people                     CORRECT

9.Coke or Pepsi? Coke (Ron) coke             CORRECT

10.What is your proudest  accomplishment? Besides my having family, getting my BJJ black belt. (Ron) being a mother         CORRECT

11.When did you meet for the first time? Was it a connection? Friends introduced us at his work, Moyer and Son. Nope, no connection!. (Ron) Moyer and son, I don’t think you spoke to me. no connection   CORRECT

12.Favorite TV cartoon growing up as a kid?  Scooby Doo. (Ron) I have no idea, I didn’t watch cartoons as a kid, Tom and Jerry?   WRONG

13.Who makes you laugh the most?     My husband. (Ron) me   CORRECT

14.What would you be willing to do for a million dollars? Almost anything as long as my husband was okay with it and it didn’t hurt anything else. (Ron) eat red meat      WRONG

15.What did you want to be when  you were small?  A teacher. (Ron) heavier                WRONG

16.Do you want to be buried, Cremated, have your body donated to science or do some kind of eco-friendly burial when you die?  The funeral market is a scam and it’s polluting the planet! Eco-friendly method on a green burial site. NO Coffin! (Ron) eco-friendly burial, or some shit like that.                  CORRECT

17.If you could choose to do  anything for a day, what would it be?  African Safari.  (Ron) nothing               WRONG

18.What is your favorite game or  sport to watch and play?  Brazilian  Jiu-jitsu. (Ron) BJJ                     CORRECT

19.What household chore do you like the least? Cleaning the bathroom.  (Ron) cleaning in general               WRONG

20.What would you sing at Karaoke night?  LOVE LOVE LOVE SINGING!  Sinead O’Connor, Nothing Compares To You (and about 100 more songs). (Ron) Beastie Boys, fight for you right to party      WRONG

21.What two radio stations do you listen to in the car the most? SiriusXM 100, 101. (Ron) The two Howard Stations         CORRECT

22.Which would you rather do: wash dishes, mow the lawn, clean the bathroom, or vacuum the house? Mow the lawn (if it’s hot outside), otherwise vacuum. (Ron)   mow               CORRECT

23.Favorite color? Yellow.  (Ron) black          WRONG

24.If you could only eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be? salad with lots of stuff in it. (Ron)   lobster         WRONG

25.How do you feel about adoption? Bring em’ on. Babies of any age! The more the merrier. (Ron) strongly           CORRECT

26. Have you ever had a nickname? What is it?  Sher (pronounced “Share”). (Ron) Dukers              WRONG

27.  Do you like or dislike surprises? Why or why not? Hate surprises. I wanna know.  (Ron) no, don’t like being center of attention     CORRECT

28.  In the evening, would you rather play a game, visit a relative, watch a movie, or read?  Ummm. Do nothing, so watch a movie I guess. (Ron) movie     CORRECT

29. Would you rather vacation in Hawaii or Alaska, and why? Hawaii b/c it’s hot. (Ron) Hawaii b/c it’s warm and has beaches           CORRECT

30. Would you rather win the lottery or work at the perfect job? And why?  Lottery b/c then I could still work at the “perfect job” as much or little as I wanted. (Ron) work at perfect job, b/c you’d be happy and help people   WRONG

  31. Who would you want to be stranded with on a deserted island? My husband. (Ron) me         CORRECT 

   32. If money was no object, what would you do all day? Create my utopia, an animal rescue. (Ron) Some kind of crap with animals         CORRECT 

     33. If you could go back in time, what year would you travel to? 1995 (after college).  (Ron) 1978        WRONG

   34. How would your friends describe you?  I’m not sure. Stubborn, strong willed? Sensitive. (Ron) passionate          WRONG

   35. What are your hobbies? Momming. Jiu-jitsu. Animal stuff. (Ron)  teaching bjj and pets              CORRECT

   36. What is the best gift you have been given?  My family. (and my jukebox that breaks all the time). (Ron) children           CORRECT

   37. What is the worst gift you have received? Anything that has to do with cleaning. (Ron) dryer vent              CORRECT

   38. Aside from necessities, what one thing could you not go a day without? My animals….esp my dog Mable! (Ron) exercise    WRONG

   39. List two pet peeves: My husband yelling about my animals, my kids not doing their chores. (Ron) me groping you, bad drivers      WRONG

   40. Where do you see yourself in five years? Wanting more kids (Ron) here                        WRONG

41. How many pairs of shoes do you own? idk10?,  the same shoes I had 5 years ago (although I’ll replace my sneakers once or twice a year). (Ron) 10     CORRECT 

   42. If you were a super-hero, what powers would you have? I could be invisible. (Ron) strength                WRONG

   43. What would you do if you won the lottery? Quit my  job and Open an animal sanctuary. (Ron) pay off all debt             WRONG

   44. Finish things as soon as possible or wait until the last minute? Wait until the last minute. (Ron) wait until the last minute            CORRECT 

   45. What unconscious mannerism do you display if you are upset or uncomfortable in a situation?  I become very quiet... (Ron) chew face   WRONG

   46. If you could go back in time to change one thing, what would it be?  How I acted as a teenager. I could be pretty rotten. (Ron) not throwing poop out a window            WRONG

   47. If you could share a meal with any 4 individuals, living or dead, who would they be? Jim Morrison, Jimmy Hendrix,  mommom, and God. (Ron) all your grandparents but especially your mommom Knipe           WRONG

   48. How do you feel about group vacations with other couples? That sounds awful. (Ron) not happening               CORRECT        

         49. What's the longest you've gone without sleep (and why)?  An entire day when I was young, partying all night. (Ron) 24hrs partying       CORRECT 

   50. How Do you handle anger?  I bottle it up for a while and get quiet. (Ron) not well, you get quiet             CORRECT

51. Would you rather trade intelligence for looks or looks for intelligence? Interesting question! I’m already getting close to hitting the wall with looks….but I also can’t afford to lose any intelligence either. I’d have to trade looks for more intelligence.  (Ron) intelligence for looks             WRONG

   52. How often do you buy clothes? Almost never. (Ron)   not often     CORRECT 

   53. Have you ever had a secret admirer?  Probably (who hasn’t). It would be secret. (Ron) probably              CORRECT 

   54. What's your favorite holiday? CHRISTMAS! (Ron) Christmas        CORRECT 

   55. What do you drink when you go out for social occasions?  Coke (not diet either). (Ron) water or coke                  CORRECT 

   56. What was the last thing you recorded on TV?  True blood. (Ron) SNL   WRONG

   57. Do you prefer the live version or studio version of an album? Studio. (Ron) Studio             CORRECT 

   58. What's your favorite type of foreign food? Mexican. (Ron) mexican      CORRECT 

   59. Are you a clean or messy person? Pretty Messy. (Ron) messy       CORRECT 

   60. Who would you want to play you in a movie of your life? Uma Thurman. (Ron) Uma Thurman             CORRECT 

   61. How long does it take you to get ready in the morning? 30mins (Ron) 1hr             WRONG

   62. What kitchen appliance do you use every day? Dishwasher. (Ron) microwave              WRONG

   63. What's your favorite fast food chain?  Taco Bell. (Ron) taco bell       CORRECT 

   64. What's your favorite family recipe or dish?  mommoms apple pie.  (Ron)  Mommoms apple pie           CORRECT 

   65. Do you love or hate rollercoasters? Love. (Ron) Love      CORRECT 

   66. What's your favorite family tradition?  Christmas Morning Breakfast at my moms. (Ron) Christmas Eve          CORRECT  

   67. What is your favorite childhood memory? Having baby bunnies with my dad. (Ron) I have no idea           WRONG

   68. What's your favorite movie? Natural Born Killers (Ron) Pulp fiction  WRONG

   69. How old were you when you learned Santa wasn't real? How did you find out? Devastating. I wanted to believe forever. I was forced to “not believe” at about 12. My aunt said on Christmas day “You know Santas not real, right?”.  Ugh. (Ron) 8, I think your friend Dorene probably told you.   WRONG

   70. Is your glass half full or half empty? Half empty….just waiting for the other shoe to drop. (Ron) Half empty         CORRECT 

   71. What's the craziest thing you’ve done in the name of love? Dating my husband was risky. (Ron) got married          WRONG

   72. What is your favorite chip flavor? Salt and vinegar. (Ron) salt and vinegar             CORRECT 

   73. What was your favorite subject in school?  Science. (Ron) none   WRONG

   74. What's the most unusual thing you've ever eaten?  I’m not very daring. Seaweed. (Ron) I have no idea, you really don’t care for food   WRONG

   75. Do you collect anything? Unwanted animals. (Ron) records     WRONG

   76. Is there anything you wished would come back into fashion?  Bell bottoms. (Ron) The 70s                  WRONG

   77. Are you an introvert or an extrovert? Introvert.  (Ron) Introvert        CORRECT 

   78. Which of the five senses would you say is your strongest? touch. (Ron) You have a nose like a dog                   WRONG

   79. Have you ever had a surprise party? (that was an actual surprise)  Nope…and I don’t want one. (Ron) No                  CORRECT  

   80. Best quality and worst quality?  Best-compassionate/empathetic,  Worst-Too compassionate/empathetic to a fault. (Ron) best-caring, worst-caring too much                    CORRECT 

   81. What do you do to keep fit? Brazilian Jiu-jitsu but I also just exercise to not be a big lump of (Ron) BJJ and exercise            CORRECT

   82. Does your family have a “motto” – spoken or unspoken?  I say “wrong is wrong, damn it”. (Ron) Never a wrong time to do the right thing never a right time to do the wrong thing                   WRONG

   83. If you were ruler of your own country what would be the first law you would introduce?  ALL KINDS OF RULES about limiting the use of animals for consumption. NO FACTORY FARMS! (Ron) NO killing of animals      CORRECT

   84. Are you a leader or follower?  Leader (Ron) leader       CORRECT 

   85. What three things do you think of the most each day?  Work, family, how tired I am. (Ron) something happening to my kids, something happening to ron, or me                     WRONG

   86. If you had a warning label, what would yours say? Proceed with caution. (Ron) warning fragile                     WRONG

   87. What song would you say best sums you up? Comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd. (Ron) someone left the cake out in the rain, AKA MacArthur Park by Donna Summer                 WRONG

   88. What is your favorite drink? Vanilla Chai Latte. (Ron) water    WRONG    89. Who was your first crush?  Bo Duke (on Dukes of Hazzard). (Ron) Shaun Cassidy           WRONG

  90. What's the most interesting thing you can see out of your kitchen window? My chickens. (Ron) chickens              CORRECT 

   91. On a scale of 1-10 how funny would you say you are? 6. (Ron) 8  WRONG

   92. Where do you see yourself in 10 years? Working like a dog and getting no where. (Ron) here                WRONG

   93. What was your first job? Working at an awful pizza shop. (Ron) pizza shop                 CORRECT 

   94. If you could join any past or current music group which would you want to join? The Doors.  (Ron) The dead              WRONG

   95. Do you believe in an after life?  Yes. (Ron) yes            CORRECT 

   96. You’ll never understand people who do what.....?  Fart in front of anyone intentionally. (Ron) hunt              WRONG

   97.  Who would i hate to see naked? Any parental figures. (Ron) parents     CORRECT 

   98. If you had to describe yourself as an animal, which one would it be? Probably a cat. I can be affectionate one minute but turn and walk away b/c you are boring me the next. I don’t like to be told what to do…and I’m not easy to control. “Obedient” isn’t my strong point. (Ron) cat, b/c you can be a loner and snobby (or some might perceive you to be that way).          CORRECT 

   99. What is something that turns you off about another person?  If they don’t like animals.  (Ron) people who are loud              WRONG

 100. Who knows you the best? My husband. (Ron) Me            CORRECT

The end

[sickiebangtan]

hoseok 2E? we all know he is a lightweight lol

i loved this prompt. thank you for it :3 honestly, i’ve been wanting to write about lightweight hobi, because facts! lol wrote it in free form so i could try not to be a perfectionist about it, and it just flowed after that. namjoon barged into my imagination and claimed his spot, so it just became good ole rare and friendly namseok real quick

tonight it’s just hoseok and namjoon, catching a late movie with a few beers; one of their favorite ways to bond. drinks at the movie theatre always made things ten times more enjoyable. namjoon would always fight back giggles as he whispered commentary to hoseok and they’d both hit each other, snickering uncontrollably. namjoon would stay pleasantly tipsy for most of the night and hoseok would be tipsy for all of 30 seconds before he was just blissfully drunk, after only a second beer. 

hoseok insists on an hour of norebang after the movie. he’s practically bouncing, with his arm looped over namjoon’s shoulder, buzzed, bright-eyed, and hyper. he’s excited to be out of the house and without security for a change. they have to do these kinds of things past midnight, on unpopular days of the week in order for this to work out. and even then, it involves masks and hats to keep fans unsuspecting. 

norebang means lights and screaming (not singing), and shots, and chicken wings and more beer. karaoke with just hoseok and himself? always fun no matter what they do, but kind of makes namjoon a little self conscious. he doesn’t necessarily think he’s a  very good singer or dancer. and sometimes hoseok’s a bit intimidating in those circumstances, even if this isn’t supposed to be serious. he tries to get out of his head about it. 

as they walk to a busy lit-up complex up the rode in the crisp night air, namjoon reaches in his back pocket for his phone. 

“should i call the guys? see if they wanna come too?”

because of course, that’s what hobi must mean, right? he doesn’t want to just sing in a karaoke room with only namjoon there. but hoseok actually looks momentarily hurt. 

“no, fool! it’s just you and me tonight. what, you don’t think you’ll have a good time with hyung? come on, joonie, lets drink and sing our hearts out, lets go, hajjah!“ 

a shy smile graces namjoon’s face as hoseok pulls him eagerly toward the karaoke bar, singing “joonie joonie” all the while. he feels special tonight. the thought of hoseok having a good time with him feels like a priceless reward. 

____

namjoon should have stopped hoseok after the third shot. it was only makgeolli, but even a casual sweet rice wine beverage like makgeolli could make hoseok stumble around. namjoon is having so much fun that he isn’t able to keep track. they’re on their 5th song, voices hoarse but unbothered, jumping around, screaming toward the ceiling, sharing verses to rap songs and hyping each other up. hoseok twerks like nobody’s business when there’s no one to stop him. it makes namjoon laugh until he’s actually scared he won’t be able to stop enough to take a breath. 

the wings are clean bones piled on a plate on a table strewn of other crunchy snacks and glasses of beer and bottles of makgeolli. namjoon casually throws another one back as he takes a much needed seat, reveling the burn traveling down his throat and sharing a smile with hoseok. the dancer is swaying his shoulders to a slower song, singing a little more serious. he sounds good. of course he does. 

“this song is… sauce!” hoseok attempts in english, shaking a hand sign at namjoon, who laughs and mimicks him. 

“the sauciest, man.“ 

“yeahhhh!!!!! thass riiight!“ 

he grabs namjoon’s hand, pulling him up to join him for another song. namjoon doesn’t know where hoseok gets all this energy from. he’s tired, and he’s about to complain, but with a knowing smirk from hoseok, the drake track that starts playing has namjoon hyped up all over again. 

_____

hoseok is quiet when he’s drunk. unusually quiet. maybe listless is a better word.the deep flush in his skin is always the first blaring giveaway, and then it’s the total absence of that amusingly brassy voice of his during a conversation. he’ll completely check out. he’ll lean back in his seat and go total yoongi-mode on everyone. 

when they’re alone together, namjoon gives hoseok the leader title. but right now, he has to direct hoseok out of the karaoke bar with a hand pressed on the small of his back and with hoseok just silently going with it. although, he doesn’t have much of a choice; hoseok seems to need some sort of support in order to keep their stroll in a straight line.

usually, hoseok is walking in front of him, leading the way, vocalizing every thought and pointing in whichever direction. 

a mile into the uber ride home, namjoon places a hand on his hyung’s thigh after the older audibly gulps. you can always read hoseok’s face. he’s an open book, visually. he doesn’t look very good right now. he’s got that drunken sway about him, but it could also pass for feeling sick. 

“hyung, you good?" 

hoseok meets droopy eyes with him and mirrors namjoon’s thumbs up. 

"m'good.” he replies, in english again. “i’m really very good.” he continues, and his voice cracks adorably. 

“really very good, huh?” namjoon pats hoseok’s palm like a lazy high five. hoseok nods his head sleepily, keeping namjoon’s hand loosely in his. his head lulls, forehead hitting the window. namjoon rubs a thumb into the top of hoseok’s hand as he looks down at his phone to continue texting jin, who is still awake, even though they’ve been at the karaoke bar for 3 hours instead of 1. 

his frequent texts reveal how worried he was getting. namjoon presumes jin won’t go to bed until they arrive home, though jin is playing everything off like he’s just up watching a movie. he might be right though; he says yoongi’s up watching it with him. 

____

the elevator doesn’t bode well for hoseok at all. he’d already almost lost it outside the building, where namjoon held him by the waist and rubbed his back until he stopped convulsively swallowing.

he has a death grip on namjoon’s jacket as the lift of the elevator makes his stomach feel like it’s in his throat. he can barely stand straight and his body’s basically leaned completely into namjoon, who keeps a firm and reassuring hold on him. 

“almost there, hyung.” namjoon comforts with a tender voice, rubbing some warmth into the dancer’s arms. hoseok’s breathing heavy into his shirt, the smell of alcohol wafting up namjoon’s nostrils. ____

they make a lot of noise when they get inside. it’s really hard not to with namjoon’s general clumsiness while he tries to bring a slumpy stumbling hoseok inside. jin seems to have teleported to the front door since namjoon can’t recall the transition of jin getting up from the couch and making it to the door. yoongi just takes in the scene from his comfy corner of the couch before he figures he may be needed in a few seconds. 

jin takes hoseok so namjoon can be relieved of the deadweight as hoseok slumps into him instead. 

“shit, namjoon, what did you two do? he’s wasted!" 

namjoon bites his lip. "not necessarily. he didn’t have that much." 

"for hobi, i’m sure it was." 

"yeah. definitely… sorry, we kinda got carried away.”

jin wants to scold. he wants to curse some more, not expecting hoseok to be in such a state, but hoseok’s stomach makes a loud gurgle and that’s the only warning before he’s suddenly pitching forward and spewing a torrent of makgeolli and beer and sprite onto their polished floors. 

and then jin’s really cursing, rushing hoseok to the kitchen sink, so thankful that for once there are no dishes there. he holds hoseok’s forehead as liquid comes out of him like a water jet, rubbing determinedly on his back as he splutters with each choking heave. 

“aish, hobi–god, that’s a lot. you’re okay, baby.” jin says, unable to wrench his eyes from all that’s coming out of him. “you should feel better once you get all that out, hmm?" 

namjoon frets by the both of them at the sink. "you think he’ll be hungover tomorrow? i would hate for him to. i mean, we ate quite a bit." 

"i see that,” jin comments with an upturned nose, turning on the faucet so the water can drain the undigested contents. “he should be okay if we can get a few glasses of water in him before he goes to bed." 

hoseok keeps his hands squeezing the edges of the counter, feeling dizzy and awful, panting shakily and sniffling as if he might start crying. yoongi stands beside him, reaching over to massage the back of his neck. 

"you’re alright, lightweight,” yoongi says, but somehow manages to make the tease sound loving. “you’ll laugh about this in the morning, i promise.” but hoseok hiccups sadly, letting out a quiet sob. 

“oh baby,” jin croons, bringing his hand under hoseok’s shirt to get a better pattern going on his skin. “we’re sorry–you must feel awful. this kind of drunk is never a good feeling, i know." 

"mm–mm, no,” hoseok answers tearfully, a burp rolling up hollow and empty, finally done. jin keeps him ducked over the sink so he can run some warm water over his hair. whenever hoseok was sick, an impromptu hair wash relaxed him. “but we had so much fun. so much… joonie and me,” he babbles, slurring. 

namjoon tells jin and yoongi about their night while they all watch hoseok be lulled by the running water over his head, occasionally giving him a comforting rub or pat. they hate for hoseok to be sick like this, but it’s hard not to be equally amused.

namjoon might not have wanted the night to end like this, but he’ll hold the memory close to his heart.  

[tehkusogaki]

Gravitation Fanfic

Riku stood uneasily in the kitchen entryway, ready to retreat back the way he came. He grappled with his nerves to finally find a smidgen of resolve. Only to have it immediately vanish, like a puff of smoke in the wind.

He couldn't do it.

Why was it so difficult to talk to that man?

He slunk away, and was betrayed by the creaking of the floorboards beneath him.

“Riku?” His dad turned to face him, his attention pulled from the meal he'd been preparing. “Finished up with your homework already?”

Riku studied his father for a moment. He was relieved his dad had finally shaved off that awful beard, but wondered if he still wouldn't be teased if his classmates saw the man now in all his glory: cute apron, thick glasses, and headband adorning him like a lopsided crown.

...Well, he was also brandishing a large knife, so maybe not.

“Uh, yeah…” Riku shrugged and ran his hand through his hair, resting it on the back of his neck, and pretended to be nonchalant before letting it drop back to his side and wishing there was an inconspicuous way to run back to his room and barricade the door.

“How about you wash up and help me then?” That Man asked, though to Riku it felt like a command. “It's just us tonight.”

Dammit! Riku was trapped. He blamed his Japanese upbringing: he was too polite to decline.

“What about Mom?” Riku asked while scrubbing his hands in the sink.

“Ayaka’s letting your Uncle Hiro out of the house for the first time in ages-- I guess the twins are finally manageable-- he and Shuichi are having a boy's night out.”

“Oh.”

It had been a long time since Mom had spent any time with his oldest friend, so Riku didn't want to resent him taking the opportunity, but it was going to be so awkward eating dinner alone with Dad!

“Where should I begin?” Riku asked, drying his hands on a kitchen towel.

“Get the rice started. By the time it's done, everything else should be ready to eat.”

“Okay.” It was a simple task that was quickly completed. “Now what?”

“Finish cutting up these vegetables, I'll start grilling the meat.”

It was weirdly familiar, this scene.

...No, maybe not so weird. Riku could remember helping his dad in the kitchen when he was younger-- before his dad had developed his wanderlust.

It was kind of fun then.

“Watch your fingers,” his father warned.

“I know,” Riku said as the sound of rhythmic chopping filled the room. “I’m not a little kid anymore.”

“Sorry,” his dad chuckled, “force of habit. Your mom's not exactly a child either, but I'm still constantly restocking the first aid kit.”

Chop.

Sizzle.

Chop.

Awkward silence filled the room save for the sound of the knife hitting the cutting board and the meat frying in the pan.

“So… what are Mom and Uncle Hiro doing tonight?” Riku asked in vain attempt to shoo away the uncomfortable atmosphere.

“Probably getting blitzed off cheap beer, and singing karaoke. Those done?”

Riku's father pointed to the veggies he’d been dicing.

“Uh, yeah,” Riku replied.

“Go ahead and add them to the pan. Slowly.”

Riku carefully pushed the fresh cut vegetables off the edge of the cutting board and into the skillet with his knife while his dad stirred them in with the meat and sauce.

As soon as Riku pulled the empty board out of the way, his father flicked the pan up, tossing its contents into the air and catching them with the flourish of a much practiced skill, coating everything evenly with seasoning. He then mixed everything together and and adjusted the cooktop's heat settings.

“Just a simple stir fry dish tonight. I didn't feel like making something fancy.”

“T-that's okay,” Riku said. It certainly smelled good! And Riku had never known his dad to cook anything that wasn't delicious. His dad could make any 'simple dish’ amazing.

Riku watched his father, trying to work up the courage to ask him what he originally came into the kitchen for.

“Go set the table.” Dad said suddenly and derailed  Riku's train of thought. “I'm almost done here.”

“Uh, sure.” 

In all honesty Riku was relieved to be given an opportunity to leave the room, even if the dining room was barely separate from the kitchen.

His dad hadn't been staying home that long, but Riku still habitually grabbed three place settings before reminding himself that Mom wasn't going to join them.

“Finished,” Riku said, returning to the kitchen in time to catch the musical chime of the rice cooker.

“Perfect timing! Go put the rice out.”

Riku scooped the rice out of the cooker and into a serving bowl and ran it out to the dining room table.

“Here,” Riku's dad shoved a tasting spoon in front of Riku's face the moment he returned. “Try some.”

“Mm! Good!” Riku said around a mouthful of food.

“Vegetables not too crunchy?”

“Nope, I like them better when they're a little crisp than when they're soggy.”

His dad smiled-- just a little bit-- and nodded approvingly. Then, without dropping a single morsel, transferred the food from pan to serving dish and turned off the stove.

Whenever Riku or Mom (especially Mom) cooked the kitchen was always a mess afterwards! Dad left everything sparkling.

“Here, go put this out,” Dad said. He handed Riku the food, the took off his apron and headband- tossing them onto the counter to be dealt with after eating. “I'll join you in a sec.”

Riku took the food to the table, then served himself some. He wondered if it would be rude to start eating before his dad sat down. 

Luckily he was saved from having to answer himself when his dad plopped himself down in the chair across from him, took a swig of beer from the bottle he'd grabbed from the fridge, and started shoveling food on to his own plate.

For someone who could cook such high-class looking cuisine, his at home table manners we're practically barbaric. Riku wondered if he acted like this when he travelled. Who would let him into their country?!

Uncomfortable quiet filled the room as they ate. In between bites Riku pushed food around his plate with his chopsticks, wondering how he could breach the silence.

“So…what is it?”

Riku jumped at the question.

“Huh!?”

His dad took another swig straight from the bottle, adjusted his glasses, and met Riku's gaze without wavering.

“When you came into the kitchen earlier, you kind of looked like you had something to say to me.”

“I, um, yeah…” Shit! Now that his dad had brought it up, there was no way he could back down!

Riku squirmed and fidgeted and hoped his father wouldn’t notice.

“It's, um, it's just that…”

Why was this so difficult! It wasn't like he was making that big a request, was he?

“It'sjustthattommorowisMike’sbirthday!” Riku finally spat out in a single breath.

His dad blinked, trying to process Riku's flurry of words.

“Did… you... want to go get him a gift?” He asked, having finally sorted it out. “I can take you shopping if you'd like. Do you need money?”

“No,” Riku answered as he stared down at his plate.

Surely initiating conversation was the worst part, right? It shouldn't be too hard to ask for the rest...

Riku forced himself to make eye contact.

“Mike wanted me to ask you if you'd make him a birthday cake.”

“Hmm…” his dad thought for a moment. Then he set his chopsticks down and vanished into the kitchen.

Was that a no?

A yes?

Why the HELL was that man so difficult to read?!

How did Mom do it?

Riku heard rummaging in the kitchen and the opening and shutting of several cupboards and drawers and the familiar sound of the refrigerator opening and closing.

“Alright,” his dad said as strolled back in the room and took his seat.

“Alright?” Riku pressed.

“I'll bake that cake for you,” his dad answered. “On a few conditions though…”

“What conditions?” Riku couldn't help but be worried and a little suspicious.

“Yeah, I have to go buy some things for it, so you have to clean up the kitchen and do the dishes while I'm out.”

Well, that was fair.

“And?”

“And now I want cake, so I guess I'll have to make an extra one for us... and maybe Shuichi if he hurries his ass home before I eat his share.”

Of course. There was a time in Riku’s life when he thought birthday cakes came half-eaten. At least he was making his own this time instead of cutting a slice from the birthday boy’s.

“Is that all?”

“No, one last thing…”

Riku flinched. What could his dad possibly want from him?

“Make it with me?”

Riku stared at him in disbelief. Maybe Mom was right after all, Dad was sometimes hard to understand, but perhaps he really was trying.

“Sure.”

And maybe it wasn't so bad having him home after all.

The End.

[mssjynx]

breathless

smiitz. 1310 words no warnings .

[ 19:23 ] J: hey fucker u doin anything 2nite? [ 19:24 ] CamCam: nah [ 19:26 ] J: sick. b there in 10 [ 19:27 ] CamCam: … great [ 19:30 ] J: ;]

-

Cam rolled out of bed with a sigh. He carded his fingers through his hair as he dragged his feet all the way to the kitchen. Maybe an evening nap hadn’t been the smartest idea…

Knowing Jaren well enough, he poured a bowl of cereal and left the milk and a spoon beside it at the ready. He glanced to the dirty dishes on the sink, contemplating for a moment if he had the energy to clean up for his incoming guest. But Jaren was hardly a guest and he knew he wouldn’t even notice if the dishes were there or not.

He turned away.

Unsurprisingly, the knock on the door came five minutes before Cam expected it and he sat down at the kitchen bench with a yawn. He heard a key fit into and unlock the front door, before it clicked shut again.

Soft footsteps padded down the hall and Cam poured the right amount of milk into the cereal bowl.

“Hey.” Lazy grin, sparkling brown eyes.

Cam scoffed. “Is that my hoodie?”

The boy hummed in delight, sitting and scooping as big a spoonful of cereal as he could into his mouth. “Yup,” he spoke through his food and Cam rolled his eyes.

“When and how did you get that?”

“Oh, only like a week ago when you were cleaning up. You threw it at me and told me to hang it up.” Mischievous twinkling eyes.

Cam shook his head, but couldn’t fight the little twitch of a smile on his lips. “So, when I asked you to hang it up you didn’t; you, instead, stole it?”

“Borrowed,” Jaren corrected before giggling in his own amusement. “I borrowed it.”

Cam couldn’t even be annoyed. With his small friend wearing his hoodie which was way too big, and that perfect smile and knowing giggle: Cam wouldn’t care if Jaren stole all of his hoodies.

Thoughtlessly, his eyes dropped down to the pale thighs that were carelessly on display. He stared blankly. “Did you forget to put on pants?” he asked, feeling joy and warmth flutter in between his thoughts at the giggly laugh Jaren let out.

His grin told Cam everything he needed to know, shrugging and replying: “Aw shit, I guess I did!” Giggly, pretty boy. Cam smiled, shaking his head and standing up.

“You’re an idiot.”

He hummed in thought. “You love it.”

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever.” He walked from the room, stretching his arms up over his head.

Humming softly to himself, he made a half-assed attempt to clean up his room. Throwing dirty clothes in the wash-basket, straightening up the bed, closing his drawers and closet doors.

By the time he was done, Jaren was standing in the doorway watching him with a little smile on his lips. “What?” Cam asked, receiving nothing but a sly shrug and a flashing grin. Jaren prowled to the side of the bed, gleefully jumping onto the soft mattress and stretching out like a cat. Cam watched him, trying not to let his eyes linger too long on the milky expanse of skin that didn’t often see much sunlight at the top of Jaren’s thighs.

Cam sat at the end of the bed. “Any reason for your unexpected, uninvited visit?” he inquired as Jaren reached for his hand. The smaller boy beamed when Cam raised a brow at him, the smile blindingly beautiful. Soft fingers played with Cam’s. Big brown eyes blinked innocently.

“Is wanting to make out on your really comfy bed a good enough reason?” he asked and Cam snorted. He couldn’t contain his laugh as Jaren rolled onto his front, resting his head on one hand while still playing with Cam’s fingers in his other.

Cam stood, unlinking their fingers and instead taking a seat at the desk chair. The space between them was evident but not of ill-will, Cam analysing Jaren’s response with a small smile. Jaren grinned, beautiful as ever as he stared right back. There was no deflation, no discourage. He knew Cam like no other, as Cam knew him the same.

There was nothing to hide between them.

“Can I play a record?” Jaren asked, tone sweet as he swung his legs off the bed.

“The Wombats?”

“Of course.” Teasing grin. Cam returned it.

“Go nuts.”

“I’m already nuts when I’m around you.” An offhand comment, a joke that meant a little more than one might expect. Jaren knew. Cam knew. A confession but not quite because neither boy was going to be the first to say words with such heavy meanings.

So little unnoticed comments would slide and jokes would add a playful humour to any honest message they were trying to pass on.

That was how the two of them were.

Cam watched as Jaren very pointedly bent over to both receive the vinyl disk and flash Cam his pretty thighs and butt in snug boxer shorts. When he glanced over his shoulder in expectance, Cam threw a shoe at him.

He laughed, and focused on getting the record in place and playing.

Greek Tragedy was the first song he went to. Habit. They both loved it and as Jaren turned the volume dial, the music filled the room and settled a blanket of contentment over them. Jaren sat on the edge of the bed, shaking his hands as if holding drumsticks and nodding his head dramatically as if actually playing the drumbeats of the song.

“We’re smashing mics in karaoke bars.” Hand held close to his face as if singing into a mic, the brunette flicked his head back and forth and sung like he was on stage. “You’re running late with half your make up on.” His voice wasn’t perfect. A little scratchy, slightly off-pitch. His cheeks were flushed a slight bit pink and he bounced on the mattress in his little performance as he continued to sing to the music he loved so dearly.

“I love this feelin’, but I hate this part.” The boy stood, grin on his face as he pranced up to Cam. “I wanted this to work so much”—grabbing the blonde’s hand and pulling him to his feet—“I drew up our plans on a chart.”

Cam laughed softly as he was tugged into the middle of the room, Jaren singing and dancing with that gorgeous smile on his face and that look in his eyes. He looked at Cam with that look. Only Cam.

The song rolled into a different beat. Jaren swinging Cam’s arms ungracefully as he swayed from side to side. Each word dropped off his tongue perfectly. With each beat, he twirled and swayed and swung his hips. The chorus, another verse; the song enveloped both of them as Cam danced dazedly with Jaren.

Jaren stamped his feet, head falling back as he sung: “She hits like ecstasy!” Swinging his head from side to side, eyes closed. “So free up the cheaper seats.” He stopped still, grinning up at Cam. “Here comes a Greek Tragedy!”

He let go of Cam’s hands, spinning away and letting the music teach him how to dance. And he danced badly. Ungraceful, uncoordinated; no style or direction with how he moved. His hips swung around his arms moved aimlessly, lifting up above his head, moving all around. He had no idea how to dance! But Cam just stared because who knew a boy could be so damn beautiful without even thinking about it?

The next song rolled over, Jaren’s cheeks flushed and grin broad. He stepped up to Cam. “Kiss me?” Sweet, hopeful: eyes so full of joy that Cam couldn’t refuse.

He wouldn’t dream of it.

[daintyopal]

Feb. 5th

"Stop wearing makeup. Stop wearing heels. Chop off your hair."

These are weak and superficial tips. Here's what I've learned:

1. Find a hobby that makes you feel more in tune with yourself. Maybe it's writing, maybe it's taking up a cooking class or learning how to rock climb or playing piano or practicing yoga, etc. Find something that makes you a fun person to be around because you genuinely enjoy this activity, and you can meet other like-minded people through it.

2. Focus on the relationships you do have - friendships you may have put to the side while getting through the monotonous workweeks, or family members you haven't spoken to (even if you're FB friends with them) in a while. Getting in touch with the people in your life who already love you, and whom you already love, will remind you of the person you are and who you can be. I know for myself, I am notoriously awful at keeping in touch with people, and by trying to text friends I haven't spoken to in a while just to say hi and catch up, I find myself more grounded. Focusing on trying to be a good friend, good family member will help you become a better significant other to your future person.

3. Do something every week that scares you but forces you to go out on a limb. Go to a restaurant for a sit-down meal by yourself. Go to the movies alone (seriously the best, AND you never have to share popcorn ;) ). Take a solo road trip (after letting friends and family know where you're going, of course) to a town you have always wanted to check out. Sign up for a class of some kind. Sing at a karaoke bar. Go on a date, sans alcohol. Apply for that job you think you're underqualified for or is in a city far from you. Take a chance! You will learn so much about yourself by seeing how you handle and channel that fear into something positive.

4. Remember that the relationships you see in your life - parents, coupled friends, etc. are flawed, no matter how perfect they may seem from the outside. You can feel more alone in a crappy relationship than you do when you're single! Be grateful that you respect yourself enough to work on yourself and to know that relationships are not the magic cheat code to solving all the problems in your life. Strive to be the kind of person you want to be WITH. And remember that everyone posts pictures of the flowers they got for their anniversary dinner, but no one posts the pictures of the dishes that their partner never washes.

5. Feel free to go on dates or to not go on dates as you see fit. Feel free to wear makeup or not wear makeup, to cut your hair or rock the 'do you've been rocking, to switch up your style or keep it the same. The most important thing is to FEEL FREE. One day you will look back on this time in your life and remember how FREE you were, to pick up and leave for a weekend, to wear whatever the fuck you want to wear when you run to the grocery store for a late-night Cheez-Its fix, to pick and choose your career or education path or where you live. You are FREE to decide who you let into your life and how you let them treat you. That is a beautiful thing.

6. Remember that your relationship status does not define you. Whether you are single, married, in a serious and committed relationship, recently broken up with, etc. - that does not define you! You are still a whole person, with interests and fears and likes and passions. Do you know what those are? If not, find out! Apathy is the enemy here - NOT being date-less on Valentine's Day. Be honest with those you meet, be honest with YOURSELF, and the love you deserve will come to you. Law of attraction, baby.

Spoiler alert: sometimes the person you fall in love with is yourself. Fairytales never mentioned that as a happy ending, but it's a damn good beginning to whatever's next in your life. :)

https://thoughtcatalog.com/mara-savina-falstein/2015/09/6-ways-to-stop-looking-for-love-and-let-love-find-you/

[willthisbemylaststop-blog]

Stop Looking For Love, Let Love Find You

1. Find a hobby that makes you feel more in tune with yourself. Maybe it's writing, maybe it's taking up a cooking class or learning how to rock climb or playing piano or practicing yoga, etc. Find something that makes you a fun person to be around because you genuinely enjoy this activity, and you can meet other like-minded people through it.

2. Focus on the relationships you do have - friendships you may have put to the side while getting through the monotonous workweeks, or family members you haven't spoken to (even if you're FB friends with them) in a while. Getting in touch with the people in your life who already love you, and whom you already love, will remind you of the person you are and who you can be. I know for myself, I am notoriously awful at keeping in touch with people, and by trying to text friends I haven't spoken to in a while just to say hi and catch up, I find myself more grounded. Focusing on trying to be a good friend, good family member will help you become a better significant other to your future person.

3. Do something every week that scares you but forces you to go out on a limb. Go to a restaurant for a sit-down meal by yourself. Go to the movies alone (seriously the best, AND you never have to share popcorn ;) ). Take a solo road trip (after letting friends and family know where you're going, of course) to a town you have always wanted to check out. Sign up for a class of some kind. Sing at a karaoke bar. Go on a date, sans alcohol. Apply for that job you think you're underqualified for or is in a city far from you. Take a chance! You will learn so much about yourself by seeing how you handle and channel that fear into something positive.

4. Remember that the relationships you see in your life - parents, coupled friends, etc. are flawed, no matter how perfect they may seem from the outside. You can feel more alone in a crappy relationship than you do when you're single! Be grateful that you respect yourself enough to work on yourself and to know that relationships are not the magic cheat code to solving all the problems in your life. Strive to be the kind of person you want to be WITH. And remember that everyone posts pictures of the flowers they got for their anniversary dinner, but no one posts the pictures of the dishes that their partner never washes.

5. Feel free to go on dates or to not go on dates as you see fit. Feel free to wear makeup or not wear makeup, to cut your hair or rock the 'do you've been rocking, to switch up your style or keep it the same. The most important thing is to FEEL FREE. One day you will look back on this time in your life and remember how FREE you were, to pick up and leave for a weekend, to wear whatever the fuck you want to wear when you run to the grocery store for a late-night Cheez-Its fix, to pick and choose your career or education path or where you live. You are FREE to decide who you let into your life and how you let them treat you. That is a beautiful thing.

6. Remember that your relationship status does not define you. Whether you are single, married, in a serious and committed relationship, recently broken up with, etc. - that does not define you! You are still a whole person, with interests and fears and likes and passions. Do you know what those are? If not, find out! Apathy is the enemy here - NOT being date-less on Valentine's Day. Be honest with those you meet, be honest with YOURSELF, and the love you deserve will come to you. Law of attraction, baby.

Spoiler alert: sometimes the person you fall in love with is yourself. Fairytales never mentioned that as a happy ending, but it's a damn good beginning to whatever's next in your life. :)