#water cooler in nuh

[me-shop-gurgaon]

Blue star water cooler SDLX 2020 with water purifier

[alottiegoingon]

the last night

shauna shipman x fem!reader

summary: shauna comes back after 19 months in the wilderness

warnings: shauna and r had a situationship, very suggestive content but nothing explicit, wilderness time, mentions of mental illness (depression, anxiety), r cheating on her actual gf, manipulative shauna (?), angst but happy ending, not proofread

"i can't believe you're leaving me," you complain in a purposely whiny tone, your voice ringing in shauna's ears as you sit across from each other on the bed. she grips her familiar journal while you help her go through her checklist of essential items.

"i'm not leaving you. It's only a week," she murmurs, her head bowed over her journal, but her eyes lift to catch yours. a playful smile dances on her lips, secretly entertained by your antics.

shauna played as the midfielder for the yellowjackets, a girls' soccer team. their recent victory had secured them a spot in the nationals in seattle, and it was all she could talk about.

you were genuinely excited for her, but the thought of spending so much time apart made you anxious. it wasn’t a full week, technically, but you couldn’t help worrying about shauna meeting someone much cooler in a much cooler place.

"remember the last time?" shauna reminisces about her trip to denver five years ago, also for soccer. you were just middle schoolers then, and you were forced to make new friends while she was gone for days. "you found new friends," her voice crackled slightly.

"so we are friends now?" you say, your voice constricting. shauna doesn't look up but you hear her snort, contrasting with her muscles tensing up. the silence settles in and you don't wait any longer to fill it, not wanting to make things any weirder than they already were.

"anyway. it's just not the same now," shauna understood your words perfectly well, especially considering the kind of friendship you had. still, she questioned.

"why's that?" she inquires, her hands absently rubbing the pen against her journal as she finishes her list.

"you know why," three words of yours were responsible for the abrupt stop of her writing. shauna places the journal and pen aside, focusing on you.

"because no one is as cool as me?" she quips, a self-satisfied grin spreading across her lips.

"that's debatable," you retort, feigning skepticism as you mock her with a playful expression.

"you hurt my feelings like that," her false frown deepens as she leans in.

her hands move surreptitiously toward your legs, eventually landing in a gentle and not so innocent touch on your knees. inch by inch, she traces your skin with her fingertips until her full hands were on your thigs and crawling up to your waist.

"i'm so sorry," you try to keep yourself unbothered by her touch but she's smarter. her nose strokes your cheek, stopping to give your upper lip a messy kiss, and she kisses her way town to your neck.

brushing your hair out of the way along with the heart necklace, her teeth gently grazes on your skin.

"nuh-uh. this won't do," her hot breath into your skin makes you shiver. "i have a better idea."

𖠋

everyone remembers where they are when an upsetting event happens. the death of a celebrity, a natural disaster, a medical trauma. you remember, clear as water, where you were when you read the newspaper. walking back home.

it was all over the news. flight 2525, the private plane that lottie matthews' dad had chartered, had disappeared. the plane shauna was in. making everything worse, the news would often use the word 'crash' instead and you couldn't bare the idea.

soon enough, it hit you that the night before her trip was the last time you would ever see her again. the only thing more unbearable than that was the uncertainty; not knowing if shauna was still out there.

after a month of silence, you thought you had your answer.

people don't move on from things like that, not completely. especially if their best friend was envolved. spending your days in bed, skipping meals and not going to class became part of your new routine. you lost track of whether it was day or night, whether the sun was shining or not. your mind was consumed by her.

moving on or not, life goes on and the world doesn't slow down for anyone. after six months, normalcy had returned for most. apart from the parents and a handful of students, the yellowjackets had faded from people's memories, just like their plane. this pissed you off. you barely had time to grieve as the rest of the world rushed forward.

forcing yourself to merely exist, not truly live, you returned to class. like a ghost, you attracted curious glances and avoided them like the plague. after graduation, college was the next step.

a year later, shauna’s parents asked if you wanted anything from her room. something special, or perhaps just to visit. you were certain it wasn’t a good idea, but you went anyway. under her pillow, you found an envelope from brown university—the same school you were attending, the place you and shauna had planned to go together.

that was all it took to break you down into a sobbing mess on her bed.

𖠋

things got better. not perfect, not the way they used to be, but better. you weren't alone anymore but always had to push away the idea of losing all of your friends at once, one in special. luckily or not, college kept you busy.

"have you finished tomorrow's essay? It's so boring I might just drop the class," your girlfriend says, dropping a pile of old books on the cafeteria table and sitting across from you.

"i have dark circles under my eyes, what do you think?" you groan, lifting your head. she leans over the table to kiss your forehead.

"i think you still look pretty, baby."

"thanks, but I'm not letting you copy my work."

"worth the shot," she chuckles, placing two cups of coffee on the table, sliding one towards you.

your plan was to finish that damn essay and be completely free. the cafeteria was buzzing with students, but at least they were minding their own business. that's what you get for studying in a campus cafeteria.

"did you hear what happened to them? i'm so glad they're alive. It must have been so tough," her sudden comment startles you, taking a moment to register.

you swallow a lump in your throat as you glance over your shoulder at the TV, where crowds of people are watching the news: 'yellowjackets rescued'.

"holy shit," you whisper, the shock setting in as you realize you hadn't revealed not only your awareness of their situation but also your complex connection with one of them.

𖠋

a week after shauna got back, her parents had called you your stomach was turning upside down and your anxiety levels were through the roof. you couldn't manage to put your feelings into words.

you knocked on her bedroom door, too anxious to wait, just to announce yourself. for the first time in almost two years, shauna stood before you. she bore a few scars, nothing too severe; her hair had grown longer, losing its waves; her eyes seemed somehow larger, fixed on you as if she had just saw something extraodrinary.

she leapt from the bed, a cautious gaze scanning you, before rushing toward you and embracing you tightly.

her arms wrapped around your shoulders, her fingers digging into your clothes so intensely it almost hurt. you reciprocated, holding her waist tightly to keep her close, unsure when the tears started flowing, but you feeling your shoulders becoming wet.

"hi," she whisper between tears, her voice crackling.

"hi," you echo her. "i thought i would never see you again."

"i know," she sniffs, clinging to you. the last thing she murmurs for the long time you two spent hugging.

shauna was back, but she was much quieter, easily irritated, and frightened by everything. she had every right to feel that way, but you were worried. no one was allowed inches close to her journal and you respected that, encouraging her to write about her feelings.

your finals didn't matter anymore; nothing else did. for the next few weeks, you were constantly by her side. even waiting outside the bathroom door like a loyal dog.

however, you weren't the same as before. you weren't as touchy or intimate, especially after shauna discovered you were dating someone else. she became distant and strange, pushing you away and ignoring your calls.

"hey, I bought you a new book. It's from that author you used to like before..." you stop yourself mid-sentence. "you know."

forcing a smile, you place the book on her desk. her vacant eyes meet yours, but she remains still, lying in bed staring at the ceiling.

"is everything okay?" you ask hesitantly, walking towards her and offering your hand.

the silence lingers but she accepts your hand and joins you.

"shauna?" you say. as soon as she's on her feet, she drops your hand quickly.

"everything is fine," she says sharply.

"right... it's just that you've been acting weird lately," you explain, trying not to upset her.

"in case you didn't know, I was trapped in a cabin in the middle of nowhere for almost two years," she snaps, her body stiffening.

"yes, i know," you say, inhaling deeply. "but I—"

"don't you have to go back to your girlfriend anyway?" she interrupts, glancing at the door and then back at you. she clearly wanted you out.

"no, I don't," you reply, frowning. "is she why you're acting like an idiot?"

she snorts, taking a step forward, her eyes narrowing.

"It's funny how I'm the idiot when you've replaced me with someone else so quickly," you would feel bad thanks to the pain in her voice if it weren't for her absurd words.

"replace you?" you scoff. "she's my girlfriend, shauna."

"and what was I?"

"you were my friend! we were friends."

her face shuts down completely, lips parting as if ready to shout something, but she stops herself. you weren't sure if you agreed with your own words, but it’s too late now.

"i thought you were dead," you say, taking a deep breath to keep your voice steady. shauna, however, seems perfectly fine with letting her voice rise.

"you sure did," she says, shaking her head slightly.

"well, you left me."

"not because I wanted to, you fucking idiot!" she snarls, suddenly pressing her forearm against your collarbones and pushing you backwards. you gasp in surprise as your back hits the cold wall.

"shauna! what are you doing?" you try to push her away, but she’s stronger than you remember and hold you in place.

"do you ever think of me when you kiss her?" she whispers, ignoring your question. her breath is ragged, her chest heaving. she tilts her head slightly, studying your face. then she leans closer, her lips just brushing against yours.

you can hardly make sense of her words, stunned by her sudden change in behavior. your mouth hangs open, but no sound comes out.

"answer me," she growls, pressing her arm harder against you. her jaw clenches, making you yelp, and you immediately whisper a faint 'yes.'

she smirks, crashing her lips into yours. though you hesitated for a moment, you quickly recovered, syncing your movements with her rough rhythm. when you try to pull her closer by the hips, she lets go of your chest, grasping your wrists and pinning them along with you.

the urgent kiss didn't last much longer as she trailed her way down to your jawline with small bites and feral kisses, eventually reaching your neck. in her preferred area, you cry out her name when she sinks her teeth into your skin, drawing blood.

when did she got so into biting?

[sweetnsour1]

9:36:04

Fluff, Bakugou x fem reader

Part 4 of Broken Collection

Go to the beginning

“You should really wait for break to do that.”

“But this brat wants to start a fight now.”

You bit the inside of your cheek, settling for restraining your laugh since you couldn’t stop smiling.

“You’re ridiculous.”

“He started it.” Fuck, it was pretty adorable how he was nearly bouncing in his boots. He seemed to be waiting for you to sign off on the battle before he fully committed.

“Alright, make it quick.”

He flashed that nearly frightening wide grin he had when he got too competitive. He turned back to the attendant running the booth. “Here.” He scanned his phone to cover the cost of the game for him and the kids at the rest of the seats. “You playin’ too?”

“Nah, one of us should keep working.”

You could barely see how he scrunched his nose at you through his mask. You glanced around, trying to hide your smile once again, while you made sure there wasn’t a situation in the area you could possibly be neglecting.

The bell sounded, reclaiming your attention. The water guns were firing at a row of All Mights. The goal seemed to be to knock all of his teeth down. The underage opponent was actually pretty good, but he did seem to be cheating with some kind of water quirk. Bakugou was just barely keeping the lead, already starting on the bottom row of teeth. Not long after, a siren sounded and a flashing light spun round on top of Bakugou’s All Might. The kid groaned but stood up and stomped closer.

“My winnings?”

It wasn’t often that kids were brave enough to scowl at Dynamight, but when they did it was always impressive.

“Dynamight is…the strongest.”

“And?”

The kid glared and crossed his arms over his green shirt as if to cover the eyes of the hero featured on it.

“His merch is wayyyyy cooler than Deku’s.”

Bakugou seemed unbothered by the sarcasm drenched prize he’d won.

“That’s more like it.”

He scruffed the hair of the kid as he stood, pulling out an autographed Deku card from his belt and handing it over before walking to you. He didn’t look back to see the kid’s eyes go wide or to see him run over to his friends to show them what was probably his new favorite possession.

You couldn’t remember when he had started designating pouches to signed merch from other UA grads. He might have been doing it since you guys first showed up on the cards. You wondered if he still had any of yours in there.

“What?” You paused when he did, tilting your head at him as you met his gaze.

“What what?”

“You’re starin’.”

“Sorry.”

“Didn’t say it bothered me.” You coughed at that and continued walking, knowing he’d follow. You thought about changing the subject, but didn’t want him reading too much into it.

“Just thinking about how much you’ve changed over the years.”

“Nuh uh.”

“Yuh huh. You’ve gotten softer…” You didn’t have to look to know his eyebrow was raised. “…kind of.”

“Have not. I’m hard.” A surprised group of students ogled the hero as you passed by…clearly catching his choice of words. “Fuck.”

You couldn’t hold back your laughter this time. When you finally wiped the tears from your eyes, you caught sight of a very red-faced Dynamight. You took a couple deep breaths to compose yourself again before moving back along the patrol route.

“Someone is gonna get a lecture from Aizawa.” You felt the soft kick of a boot against your own as he followed behind you.

“Shut up. If I get in trouble, I’m taking you down with me.”

The writers block just vanished suddenly and now it’s causing massive floods. Sorry for harassing your feed, but it does feel good to be able to have new content to post.

Masterlist

Next part

[furrbbyx]

M👹NSTER March Day 8: Lake

Ok this little shortie was inspired by some tumblr art of a slutty, fish-stealing scalie. Look, I made y'all a cover image!

Croc-Manxafab!reader (Black)

Sfw-ish, no seccs but much horn.

cw: bratty behavior, mentions organs, mentions a dead fish, snark

Do not copy, do not reproduce.

Approx 600 words

You take the fresh trout you'd bought on to your hook and toss it into the lake. The familiar zzzzsh of the unwinding reel feels like its zinging through you body. You wait for your bait to be taken with a giddiness and a growing creaminess between your legs

It doesn't take long. You can see a large figure swimming out of the lilies, towards you, from the far side of the lake.  You squeeze your thighs tightly and try not to fall off the rock you sitting on and humping slightly.

You wait to feel the pull on the line, but it doesn't come. Instead a big hulking croc rises up out of the water before you with a terrific splash.

You squeal and kick your legs pretending to avoid the water as it soaks through your flimsy crop top and bikini bottom. 

"I don't know what kind of beast you take me for. I must have really lost my mind taking a dead fish off a line." The thickly scaled anthropomorphic croc-man growls, causing your heart to flutter.

He sounds bored, annoyed and utterly bratty about the fish he's holding in his clawed hand like a ...well like like it was a dead fish.

You grin widely and take in his dripping wet, powerful body, his bright reptilian eyes and his tail cutting  lazily through the water beside him.

"Oh come on." you purr" "Didn't anyone ever tell you to be nice when someone gives you a gift?"

"Cheap gift." He scoffs

"Nuh uh! I paid a pretty penny for that trout."

"Yeah cuz you can't catch your own."

"Or somethin steals 'em" You grumble turning away with a smirk.

He yanks on the fish and you suddenly find yourself face first in the lake.

"Awk!"

Your big, sexy croc-Man crush plucks you out of the water and holds you against his broad smooth chest so that your shirt rides up, exposing a generous curve of underboob flesh. You wrap your thighs around his trunk of a torso and squeeze him.

"If you don't want it" you splutter "Give it back!" You grab at the fish but he holds it out of your reach, above his head.

"No way, I'm hungry" With two snaps of his fang filled jaw he devours the fish to your delight. Bits of the fish, scales and blood splat on your cheek causing you to squeal again.

Watching him annihilate the food you'd brought him makes a hot little feeling squirm in your belly, and watching him swallow in big gulps that distend his throat turns your nipples into stiff points.

You roll your eyes, pretending to be the annoyed one now.

"Ugh, gross!" you exclaim, but you reach up to wipe a bit of organ meat off of his chin and narrow your eyes in pleasure when his long rough tongue snakes out to curl around your fingers.

"You better have more where that came from." he demands. 

"Mmmph, I thought bought fish was too good for you." you sass him.

"Maybe if you feed me by hand I wont notice."

"Hmm, I've got some squid and shark in the cooler"

His eyes light up.

"I've always wanted to try shark. But I imagined gutting one in battle."

"Oh wow, you're impossible to please."

"I can think of a few ways you can please me." He coos and lowers his head to nuzzle your neck. You revel in the the touch and the feeling of your crop top slipping further up your breasts as he crushes you tighter against his side.

You roll your hips in encouragement and wrap your arms around his shoulders. He begins to carry you toward the shore and you lean in to say quietly

"I wanna feed you while you split me open"

He just grins and makes his way towards the shore.

[autistic-crypt1d]

Stargate (1994) live blogging:

Ok so I'm a huge fan of the SG-1 and Atlantis shows and have watched them in double digit amounts each, but I haven't seen the original movie since I was like 7. I'm about to rewatch SG-1 again and I've decided to finally watch it again, here's my thoughts!

Updates:

- I'm nervous because all I remember is that I hated it which is why I never watched it again

- good lord this is a long ass intro

- ahhhh the did a shorter version for the show, I see

- did little Catherine just steal that necklace, girl wtf

- I miss my Daniel :(

- I miss my O'Neill :(

- yeesh, didn't realize how soon after his son's death this took place

- wow that was the worst sneeze I've ever heard in my life

- he's so tiny oh my god

- LUCIUS??? NO, GET OUTTA HERE, SHOO

- bro the sound mixing is killing me, Daniel is so fucking soft spoken compared to not only everyone else but the damn chalk he's drawing with

- he sounds horrifyingly identical to show Daniel

- "I'm Colonel Jack O'Neill", NUH UH

- pfffft, just yoinks his paper

- I can't look at Daniel in this outfit without immediately thinking of Anakin

- Daniel why would you draw on the screen

- I wonder why Catherine had an accent in the movie but not the show

- I'm currently unable to remember how this fits with the reveal of Earnest in that one episode

- ooooo the stargate is so much more water like here, it's even reflective

- Kaliam galaxy? That makes no sense, until the Ancient database episode, we're told it's impossible to dial outside of our galaxy without a serious amount of power like a ZPM aren't we? That's the whole reason Jack had to build that device in the ancient database episode and why they couldn't dial Atlantis again.

- she gave him the stolen necklace, how touching (sarcasm)

- does the stargate look bigger here or am I remembering wrong

- I'm so glad we got the Jack O'Neill we did, oof

- wtf is up with that stargate depiction

- why are they frosty and damp

- "that's a nice tent. Oh, we each get a rent, nice." Ah Daniel

- Ferretti, you such, and so do the rest of your buddies. The way he made fun of Jackson and threw the case at him only to then look back at his buddies for approval like the spineless jackass he is

- WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT

- NO SERIOUSLY WHAT IS THAT THING

- WHY HAVE WE NOT EVER SEEN THAT IN THE SHOW, WHERE WAS OUR WEIRD ALIEN FAUNA STUFF HUH???

- the captions spelled Jack's last name wrong *tsk tsk*

- of course Daniel gets dragged away by the weird alien thing

- oh shit it's the same Skaara!

- everyone being in neat lines is weirding me out

- oh boy, hate everyone kneeling for him, that's uncomfy

- ok wtf is that scanner thing cuz we sure as hell never see that again

- these creatures are clearly very prevalent in their society, it sucks so much we never see them in the show!!!

- and the same guy who plays Sha'uri's father!

- and we never see this much of their architecture again either! We only see tents as far as I can remember but they had this whole impressive city!!!

- I don't really understand why they would set up basecamp out in the open instead of inside the pyramid

- OOF that is a big ass storm

- another creature we never see again!!!!

- pffft there goes Daniel being taken again

- bro is being HANDLED

- oh dear

- oh man she looks like she's gonna cry, poor girl being offered up like that

- uh oh

- I have to say, the ship looks fucking AMAZING, respect given how old this movie is

- WOAH, THAT MASK IS SICK

- bitch the jack o'neill I know and love would NEVER, EVER give a child a cigarette and he would never teach him to smoke it either!!!

- OOOF, the gun reaction, ouch

- aw man them learning to communicate in the cave is so cute help

- hot damn this sarcophagus is like a blion times cooler wtf

- hang on a sec, wtf was the alien depicted in the walls, it looks like a freaky Asgard

- PFFFFT, not the band of kids following them back XD

- DUDE WHY ARE THE MAAKS SO MUCH COOLER

- the staff blasts and effects are ROUGH

- has Daniel literally ever fired a gun in his life at this point?

- also, why're there Horus and Jackall guards here?

- uhhhh, do the ships ever open again? I don't remember that happening

- the throne room is much more throne roomy in the movie than the show

- uhhhhh why are all his servants children

- oh wow that mask removal cgi is rough

- aaaaand Ra also looks like a child for some reason

- WHY ARE ALL THE SERVANTS NOT ONLY CHILDREN, BUT PRETTY MUCH NAKED

- does Daniel die here and get revied in the sarcophagus? He does that a lot so I'm not sure

- ah yeah, sarcophagus

- I'm so uncomfortable rn

- LET'S GO SHA'URI AND SKAARA

- the Jaffa don't seem to have symbiote pouches

- Daniel that wasn't really an explicit invitation

- "cover me!" "cover you?!?!?!"

- Sha'uri dies and comes back too?? Man what a couple

- PFFFFT that ring transporter effect

- it really sucks that he saves her only for her to become possessed by a Goa'uld for the rest of her life

- doesn't make much sense for them to be wearing the big ass helmets while in the death gliders

- what the hell is up with his face glowing and the alien face being beneath his???? Huh???? Did they just like, change their mind about what the Goa'uld were once they started making the show?? But why would the one Jaffa that was left at the SGC have a symbiote pouch??? I'm so confused

- ok well at least she seems to like him back but still

Pretty good movie overall, but I don't think I ever wanna watch it again cuz the kids thing is hella fucking weird, but I understand the show a lot more now! Except for the parts that make no sense because they made hella lore changes between this and the show.

[littlekoifishes]

Forever Playmate!!

[It was bright and sunny morning, the birds were chirping and the sun was smiling for once, a back to back rain storm has finally settled down in the mushroom kingdom]

Smg6: *stomping happily in her raincoats at the door, smiling and giggling. Holding a umberlla* DADA YOU ALMOST READY!?!

Mr.puzzles: *in a raincoat, smiling and coming to hold there little angels hand* I'm ready doll, im so sorry I took so long l.

Smg6: *giggling and pulling puzzles outside and to the sidewalk for a walk to the park* Come on than silly wets go!!

Mr.puzzles: *holding there littles hand, watching them jump in the puddles* careful now my little dearest, we don't want to ruin our play clothes now?

Smg6: *shaking her head* nuh uh! But puddles!

Mr.puzzles: *sighing and nodding* alright, but play easy, you look so pretty in your raincoat.

Smg6: *gleaming at her dada before jumping in another puddle, handing her umbrella for puzzles to hold* thankies dada! dada we gonna go park?

Mr.puzzles: *walking along side smg6* Yes we are! And your having a playdate with smg4! You remember him right?

Smg6: *nodding* He so much fun!! Dada, we gonna play tag! Hide n sweek! And Ooo MAYBE WE CAN CLIMB ON DA PLAYGROUND

Smg6: *giggling before splashing in the water puddles again* look dada no more clouds!!

Mr.puzzles: Yes sweetheart no more clouds! Mr sun must have drove then away!

Smg6: Wowie!! Dada mr sun can do THAT!?!? THATS SO COOL!!! *jumping up and down, being a bit to loud*

Mr.puzzles: *chuckling, twirling the umbrella half mindly, his head glitching a bit from the loud noise* Mhm! But remember not to yell, remenber smg4? Well his ears are sensitive little star, you'll scare him a bit with yelling...

Smg6: *looking down sadly, not realizing them being loud might scare people, and walking back to hold puzzles hand* oh...sowwy

Mr.puzzles: *realizing it sounded bad, picking up smg6 and hugging her* I didn't mean it in a bad way little star. I didn't mean to upset you..dada is so sorry

Smg6: *sniffing a bit* it's Otay, I sowwy too..

Mr.puzzles: You have nothing.to be sorry about starlight.

Smg6: *nods and gets put back on the floor on both feet*

Mr.puzzles: *sighing feeling terrible* hey? How about you run and yell all you want to the park gate, I'll catch up with you yeah?

[Alreadly in the park and can see smg6 running to the park gate, seeing her do a cartwheel before jumping excitedly on the locked gate of the park]

Mr.puzzles: *finally making it to the park gate, unlocking it and seeing smg6 run to hug smv4 and seeing them run off* sorry we took so long, we had a bit of a hickup

Mario: *shaking it off a bit and smiling* Mario doesn't mind, you came right on time, smh4 was getting rowdy!

Mr.puzzles: *smiles and look at the littles playing with each other, half roughhousing and than going on the slides together and push each other on the swings* there adorable..

Mario:*grabbing a ice tea out the cooler and handing it to puzzles* They sure are! Mario thinks they'll get along right together.

[Mr puzzles nods in agreement and watches the littles play all day with other littles in the park]

[daydreamgoddess14]

Poker Face

MASTERLIST

Ted Lasso / Rebecca Welton, fluff, romance, smut. Ignores events after 3.11.

From a prompt: Everybody knows that Rebecca is in a terrible mood today, and Ted is having the hardest time keeping a straight face because he knows why. (Or vice versa).

~~~~~~~~

“Abort, abort!” Roy muttered under his breath as he passed Beard on the stairs to Rebecca’s office.

“Why?”

“Just fucking abort, whatever it is you think you need to go up there for - you do not need to go up there. Fucking trust me.”

“I’m sure you’re overreacting, buddy.” The coach said with a firm nod and continued up the stairs.

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” He said, but Beard was already halfway up. He made his way back to his office and slumped into his desk chair. “Do I look like I fucking overreact to shit?” He asked loudly. Quizzical and fearful looks passed back and forth between Ted and Trent.

“Umm…”

“I’m gonna say…” they both shrugged.

“No?”

“Yeah, I mean I was going to say no, of course. Of course you don’t overreact Royo, why would you think that?” Ted asked, relieved that he and Trent had apparently selected the correct answer.

“Beard said I was overreacting.”

“To a situation in particular?” Trent queried.

"Blondie has just gone absolutely tits at me cos I haven't booked a table yet for Keeley's birthday. Proper went off at me. I fucking told Beard not to bother if he wanted to keep his head. He told me not to overreact. Fucking as if." Roy trailed off, mumbling under his breath. In the other office, Trent went straight back to his writing while Ted toyed with his phone, a tiny smile just visible under his mustache. Not even 10 minutes later, Beard sat heavily in the chair across from Ted. 

"Well?" He asked gruffly. 

"You were right."

"Pardon?"

"You were right. She was very… angry." At the sound of his voice, Ted looked up. 

"Sup Willis?"

"Ms Welton is a little out of sorts today." The coach replied stiffly. Roy snorted.

"Out of sorts? She was full on Roy Kent up there." Ted hummed and rolled his chair back to put his feet up. 

By mid morning, the club was on eggshells. The admin girl had refused to take the post upstairs, Leslie had broken two teacups through shaking so much. They'd roped in the big guns for lunch. 

"Come on then you bunch of pussies, what are you so scared of?" Keeley fucking Jones arrived with a paper bag full of wraps for the coaches and a couple of salads for her and Rebecca. 

"She's fucking scary today Keels!" Roy muttered. "She even scared Beard." The usually unruffled coach nodded from the corner. Clearly, not a scrap of work was being done. 

"Will nearly had her laptop launched at his head when she couldn't print something earlier." Higgins said from the gym window. Keeley looked around, incredulous. 

"You lot are-" she paused at Ted, "proper wimpy. Here, take your lunches, I'll take the wicked witch her salad." The bag was emptied by the vultures and Keeley made for the door. Just as she passed the water cooler, Ted caught up with her. 

"Hey, Keels, I'll take the salad. The boss might be more hungry." Keeley narrowed her eyes at him.

"What do you know, Lasso?"

"Don't know whatcha mean jelly bean. Just trying to help."

"Why aren't you scared like the others?"

"Sure I am, I'm shakin' in my boots."

"Nuh uh, you're the only one who sat there with a cheeky little smile. So what do you know?"

"There might have been an issue with the biscuits this morning. As in, there ain't any."

"Oh Ted, what have you done?! You do not introduce something into a daily routine unless you can keep up with it! Well no wonder she's fucking hungry. I'd better get up there!" She turned on her heels and left Ted at the foot of the stairs. It wasn't the full story behind Rebecca’s bad mood, but it was all he was willing and able to confirm. 

"Knockadoodledooo!" Keeley sang as she tapped the door, peering round into the room. 

"Come on, it's safe, I promise."

"You've scared them all down there, babe. Well, except Ted." 

"Ted hasn't been up here."

"No, he's just watching everyone else be terrified with this little smirk on his face. Oh, he switched your salad. He told me about the biscuits and said you'd be hungry."

"Damn him." Rebecca all but snatched the wrap from Keeley and tucked in.

"So, what's wrong? And surely it's not just biscuits?"

"It's nothing, really." Rebecca spoke through a mouthful of her lunch. 

"Rebecca, don't bullshit me. Out with it." She checked the door was closed - it was, it had been all morning. 

"Something happened last night. I may have, well, we actually - it's more of a two person situation - that is to say, Ted and I-"

"You shagged him didn't you?"

"How on earth do you do that?!"

"He's the only one sitting down there with a sneaky little shit eating smirk while everyone else still looks traumatised from bringing your post or saying hello to you. It's more obvious than… Bumbercatch's nationality-"

"You do realise no one else knew he was Swiss?" Keeley shushed her with a hand flap.

"You two have been playing this super weird game for weeks! Months even. Ever since you saw boring John Wingsnight in the cafe and you told me what his fiance said. Ted has been out of sorts since his mom went home. The only thing I can't work out is why you're angry?"

"I'm… not able to tell you that."

"Ooh is it dirty? Tell me, tell me!"

"I can't."

"Rebecca Victoria Welton, if you don't give me a full match of the day style run down of what happened then I will go down and get the mustachioed man himself and make him tell me."

"He wouldn't."

"Maybe not, but I'd make him cry while I try and break him." Rebecca stared at her tiny, violent best friend. 

"OK. Fine, I'll tell you." Keeley clapped her hands in glee. "I asked him to come over after he told me in his office that he was leaving. I wanted to check on him, he'd been so down and so un-Ted - especially after his mom left, like you said. So we had some dinner, opened some wine and got a bit drunk. He wants to be with Henry. His mom put some stupid guilt trip on him, so he thinks going back is the only solution. Anyway, I… got a little upset after we talked about it."

~~~~~~~

"Hey now, you don't have to cry, boss. You got plenty of time to find a new coach, and the boys will be just fine and-"

"Ted! I don't give a shit about finding a new coach!" She pressed her hands against her eyes, desperately trying to stem the flow of tears. Tears that had arrived involuntarily and unexpectedly. She thought she was pretty well under control up until that point. She'd remained calm when he told her, and when he'd told the team. "I was doing so well! I was trying so hard not to cry, I didn't want you to feel any guilt about going and now-" sobs overtook "I thought I could be the one person you could rely on who wouldn't plead with you to stay and now I've fucked it all up." Her shoulders shook with the force of her tears. Ted hovered next to her, unwilling to make things worse. At her last comment, though, he had to intervene. 

"No, don't do that, boss. You ain't done anything wrong - this is all on me, if I could stay-, if you only knew how I really feel." He wrapped her up in his arms, enveloping her. He could still feel her snuffling into the collar of his sweatshirt. She stopped suddenly, her breath hiccuping a little. 

"What do you mean?" She didn't move.

"Nothing, I just mean how much I care for you all, that's all." 

"Oh."

"Why, do you-, I mean, is there another reason you're so upset?"

"Me?" She froze, matchbooks, tiny green army figures, and an image of Ted playing darts I believe some folks call it white knighting flooded her mind. "Don't be silly, Ted. I'm far more worried about you!"

"Oklahoma?" She stepped away from him and towards the comfort of her wine glass. 

"I don't think that's a good idea." She replied honestly. 

"I know you don't, that's why I Oklahoma’d you. Out with it, Welton."

"I am still your boss, Ted."

"I know. Why else would I have stayed quiet for so long?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" She put her glass down a little too forcefully, the contents splashing up and over the rim of the glass. 

"I think you know, and if you do, then I don't see why you can't say what you need to say." Her brow furrowed in confusion.

"What the fuck does that even mean?"

"Why can't you say it?" He demanded. 

"Say fucking what Ted? That I don't want you to go? Fine, I don't want you to go."

"Why not?" She glared at him, having another drink from her glass. "Why not?" He asked again, more softly.

"Because…" She shook her head, the tears returning. He reached out to take both of her hands in his, his eyes the darkest hazel she'd ever seen them. Eventually, she sighed, resigned. "Because I love you, Ted." She snatched her hands away to wipe her tears again. "That’s enough now. You should probably go." She turned away from him, embarrassed, blotting her cheeks with a tissue from a box on the counter. She waited for the sound of the door but it didn't come. Instead she sensed Ted behind her, felt his breath on the back of her neck. 

"I love you too." She heard him say quietly. "I'll leave you in peace, boss." It wasn't until she heard the front door shut that she registered his departure. She made it upstairs, took off what was left of her makeup, brushed out her hair and changed into soft leggings and a large sweater. She went back down to finish the contents of her glass, pulled on a pair of trainers and ran out of the house. 

Ted had made his way across the Green. He'd waved to Mae through the pub window, but shook his head when she held up a pint glass. He poured a glass of whiskey and downed it, then poured another. He'd kicked off his sneakers by the door and pulled off his Richmond sweatshirt by the time his intercom buzzed. He figured it was Beard - he'd seen him in the pub through the window, so he let him straight in. He hadn’t expected to see Rebecca walk through his front door. He didn't say a word, just handed over his glass and went to get another. 

"How long have you known?" She asked. 

"How long have I known about you or about me?"

"Both?"

"I thought I'd worked you out a while ago, when I was in my head about whether Michelle was getting engaged, but I didn't know for sure until my mom visited. For me, it's been since you refused to accept my resignation last season."

"Ted, that's a year?" He shrugged. 

"I mean, It's probably been longer, I just didn't fully realise it until then. Or maybe when you told me about Sam. Why? When did you know?"

"This morning in your office.” 

"Oh. Oh you got some catching up to do then. No wonder you look so terrified."

“Thanks.” She muttered, dripping with sarcasm. “It hit me like… lightning."

“I’ve had longer to process it all, that’s all. It’s just always there for me, in the background of everything. It’s not even like it’s a big secret, I’m pretty sure Beard knows. And Higgy.”

“Oh, that’s just bloody wonderful then. You’re so ok with it all that you’re over it! You can just leave and carry on with your life like it’s nothing!” She sneered.

“Don’t say that, you know that ain’t true.”

“Do I?” He sat back down on the sofa, leaving space for her. She remained between the kitchen and sitting room for a moment before taking the seat next to him. “I can’t believe everyone knows but me. Am I really that oblivious?”

“Not everyone. And of course you’re not oblivious. You’re the most perceptive woman I’ve ever known, Rebecca. You've just been in your own head lately."

"So what now? You go back to Kansas and we forget all of…" She waved her hands around, "This? Chalk it up to bad timing?"

"Depends I guess."

"On?"

"Do you really not want me to go?" She took a big drink and put the glass down.

"Do you know what I've spent all day doing?" He mirrored her, finishing his drink, then motioned for her to continue. 

"I do not, but I sure hope you're gonna tell me."

"Schools. I've spent all day looking at every school in town, what they offer, how they can support pupils from overseas, if they have sports clubs. And then I cross referenced that list with another list of schools nearby with teaching vacancies. And then I added in a commute radius so I could make sure that both you and Michelle could get to the Henry's school in nearly equal time from your potential workplaces. I also called the schools with job vacancies to find out exactly what they were looking for." Ted stared,

"How the heck?"

"Michelle keeps her LinkedIn profile very up to date. It's almost like she's looking for another job. Anyway, of the 5 with vacancies, 3 would be suitable and would like to know more about Michelle and cross referencing those 3 gave me 4 potential schools for Henry." He took back the glass he'd given her and finished what was left. "That's my drink."

"Sharing's caring." He mumbled, still staring. "You did all that?"

"It's not that big a deal. I already had lists of schools suitable for both of them anyway. I just had to see who had vacancies." She shrugged. 

"You already had the lists since when?"

"I put it together when you asked me to hire an investigator to see if Michelle was getting engaged. It seemed more worthy of my time."

"I'm a little a lot drunk right now, but that's a pretty big romcom gesture, baby."

"Pish, it's exactly what people do for their friends."

"Would you do it for Higgy?"

"Nooo, he already knows the area so well."

"Roy?"

"He's too picky."

"Keeley?"

"Highly organised, already has a list."

"So just me then?"

"Ted, you're the only friend I have who might have a requirement for this list!"

"I'm also the only friend you're in love with." He nudged her with his shoulder, pushing a little too hard in his drunkenness so that she nearly tipped right over onto the sofa.

"Yep, thanks for reminding me." She righted herself. 

"So you really did that, huh?"

"The things you do when you're in love, baby." She nudged him back. 

"So you really, really don't want me to go."

"Is that not obvious enough for you yet, Ted? Should we stage an intervention? I don't want you to go. I want you to stay, and I'd do anything I can to make that happen." They sat in silence, Rebecca's words flowing over him like the whiskey and wine they were so drunk on.

"Fuck, Rebecca. That might be the hottest thing anyone has ever said to me." He said at last, leaning into her and catching her cheek so he could turn her to face him. "If I kiss you, you gonna try and hit me?"

"Try? If you kiss me, you'd damn well better be staying. Otherwise, don't fucking bother."

"You'd walk out of here right now? Or would you rather see how the kiss goes?" They both knew she had no intention of leaving. He reached a hand around the back of her neck, pulling her towards him, and claimed her lips in a kiss. She immediately tilted her head to give him better access, and he took the chance to deepen the kiss. Her hands went to his scruffy hair, her long nails against his scalp, making him groan into her. He pressed against her, twisting her body so that he could lay her back on the sofa and move fully on top of her. She moved her knees apart to make room for him, feeling the hard seam of his khakis in contrast to the soft, thin material of her leggings. As he kissed a sloppy path down her neck, she could feel him harden against her thigh. She bucked her hips against him.

"Jesus, Ted -" He pulled at the hem of her sweater, so she moved up onto her elbows to help him remove it, pressing her chest against him. He ran a fingertip along the top of the cup of her bra, pulling it down and taking a nipple into his mouth. He fumbled with the waistband of her leggings, his hands moving faster than his brain. It took far more maneuvering than it would if they'd been sober, but eventually, they'd made it the short distance to the bedroom with considerably fewer clothes. They stumbled against the bed, tripped over clothes, and bumped heads multiple times. He was rock hard against her, but Ted didn't give himself a passing thought as he kissed every inch of Rebecca’s body. She arched into every touch, his name a constant chant. When he finally pressed his tongue hard against her clit, he had to pin her hips down to keep her on the bed. He barely let up for a second as she came down from her first release, already willing her into another. When he crawled back up her body, she dragged her fingers through his hair again, desperately rolling her hips against his. 

"I know baby, I got you. Do you have any-"

"No need, Ted. Unless you want to. I'm all clear." He dropped a kiss to her lips and pushed into her, inch by inch. 

"Fuck, Becca-" she lifted her legs to wrap around him, the angle causing a friction which had her on the edge again almost straight away. He came seconds behind her, her name pulled from his chest. He collapsed on top of her and she relaxed her legs. "I'll move, don't wanna hurt you." She lay a palm between his shoulder blades to keep him in place.

"I'm fine, stay a minute." He kissed her neck, his hands absentmindedly stroking up the sides of her breast. They lay in silence until their breathing returned to normal and Ted moved. He returned with a damp washcloth and she watched in awe and amusement while he helped her clean up. "Thank you, love." She whispered, a hand cupping his cheek. She was hesitant when she left the bathroom, unsure whether to stay until he handed her a soft, worn t-shirt to sleep in. With the lights off, she curled against him, pushing a leg over and squeezing her knee between his. "Do you think we've fucked it all up?" He kissed her head, 

"I sure hope not, cos I really wanna do that again." Rebecca laughed.

Amazingly, she woke up in the same position. She could feel him hard against her and rolled further on top of him. She kissed his jaw and neck, pulling him from any last traces of sleep. His hands reached around to grab her bum so she sat up onto her knees. She ground herself against him, gasping when she finally had him inside her. They rocked lazily together, a deliciously tense orgasm building slowly. 

"Mornin' Ted. You still in the shower? I got the coffees already. You got any food?" Beard's voice rumbled through the half open door. They could hear him opening kitchen cupboards. Rebecca quickly moved off Ted and into the bathroom, where she pointed frantically at items of clothing from the doorway. Ted grabbed what he could and followed her inside,

"Uhh yeah, just finishing up. Be out in a sec." He called out, closing himself and Rebecca in the bathroom. 

"What the fuck is he doing here?"

"It's 8.30am, Bec. If he's here, I'm gonna be late for work." 

"I'm your fucking boss!"

"Ok, well shall I tell him you're here?" She glared in response. He showered quickly, while she dressed. "I'll see you at work?" He whispered, kissing her once more, and then left her in his bathroom. In the living room, Beard had clocked the two whiskey glasses and the discarded ladies trainers. He didn't question Ted, and moments later, Rebecca heard them shut the door of the flat.

"Fuck." She whispered. "I need to get back to mine."

~~~~~~~

“So let me get this straight, you’re mad as hell because one, Beard interrupted your morning session and two, Ted didn’t have time to make biscuits because you got him drunk and you guys had lots of sex?” Rebecca blushed and nodded.

“He just stopped, Keeley!”

“I’m sorry, Rebecca, but you’re a grown, single woman! You could have,” she held up and wiggled her index and middle finger, “y’know, bit of DIY.”

“I didn’t want DIY, I’ve had enough of that. I wanted Ted.” Keeley couldn’t hold herself together any longer, and giggles erupted.

“Oh my god. And there’s everyone down there thinking something terrible has happened! Thinking how upset you are over Ted leaving, but all along, it was this!” She laughed hysterically. 

“It’s not like we had a chance to talk this morning, we were really fucking drunk last night Keeley. What if he still wants to leave? I’m mad about the whole combination of things, I’m hungover, the interrupted sex, the biscuits, the drunkenness… I just-, I don’t want him to go. But I don’t know if I’ve given him enough reason to stay.”

“There’s only one person who can answer that, babe. Though you might want him to get you off first so you’re more amenable to whatever his answer is.” Keeley started laughing again.

“Shut up, you. Maybe we should have done what I said. He goes back and we attribute it to bad timing. Missed opportunities, sliding doors etcetera.” Keeley frowned.

“Are you fucking real, Rebecca? Are you seriously telling me that last night's drunken confessions and the super hot sex that continued into this morning both mean so little to you that you can just forget it all?”

“Of course I can’t, I’ll never forget any of it. But if he doesn’t want to stay then I can’t and won’t force him.”

“Well if he’s down there smiling away then he’s clearly made some sort of decision, wouldn’t you say?” Rebecca didn’t respond, she fiddled with the edge of her shirt. “Why don’t I send him up?” Rebecca nodded so briefly, Keeley nearly missed it. She darted out of the room before Rebecca could change her mind.

“Oi, Lasso. Your presence is required upstairs.” Keeley said brightly from the doorway. Ted’s phone clattered against the table.

“Me? Uhh… why?”

“Why not? She’s shouted at everyone else today. Your turn.” Beard sniggered into his book, turning it into a cough when Ted looked at him.

“Right, right, sure thing Billie Jean King.” He bumped against every surface in his haste to get upstairs and knocked gently at the door.

“Come in.”

“Hey boss, how was your lunch?”

“It was good. Thank you for swapping.”

“Ahh if your hangover is anything like mine, carbs are a must.” He took a seat on the sofa, slightly across from her. Remembering the last time he sat in this spot and she’d returned the ceremonial spray of tea in his face

“Said the man who had a salad.”

“It’s a peace offering. I’m sorry about this morning, believe me, that is not how I would have wanted our first morning together to go.” Rebecca looked up sharply.

“You’ve thought about… that?”

“I’ve thought about everything. I’ve pictured you in just about every single scenario my brain could come up with.” She looked wary. “Nothing compares to the real thing though. Waking up with you was something else.” He could see her demeanor start to soften. And if we hadn’t been interrupted, I'd have told you as much. I’d have shown you.”

“Have you thought about anything else we discussed last night?”

“You mean your 10 point plan to get Henry into Cambridge?”

“Oxford, actually.”

“My bad. Yes, I have.” He held his phone up, “I’m currently opening negotiations with Michelle about it. I’ve given her enough detail to think about for now, we’ve got a call planned for later on where I can give her all of the information and give her time to make an informed decision.”

“Does she think you’ve gone mad?”

“Far from it. She thinks it sounds great, and that’s without me telling her that you’ve already got her lined up for a promotion and pay rise.”

“I don’t recall mentioning either of those things.”

“Well I guess we’ll have to sweet talk her together. If you’re interested?” She nodded, her eyes filling with tears. “Wow, you really broke that dam last night.” She hit out at his knee.

“Fuck off.” 

“Sure, yeah, I’ll go-” He went to stand but she took his hand and pulled him back down. “I’d really like a do-over on this morning.”

“Would you like to have dinner tonight?”

“Only if we don’t drink so much, I don’t remember nearly as much of your body as I want to.”

“You’ll be in for a surprise later then.” She said cheekily.

“You’re always surprising me, baby. Thank you for wanting me to stay.”

“Thank you for thinking about it.”

“Ohh I’m gonna do more than think. Whatever happens, we’ll make the next decisions together. I love you, Rebecca. Now, how about we go tell everyone that they ain’t getting rid of me that easily, and you can show them that you’ve turned your frown upside down?”

FIN

[myfanfic-urfantrash]

Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost

(...but I am very very lost.) - [4]

Kazuha and GN!Reader

CW: Mentioned injury, blood, drowning.

A/N: Not me forgetting I was gonna post this like a billion days ago :’)

-------

Luckily the storm did not last for long, blowing over by the second morning of being stuck in that little cave.

Seeing as it was safe to finally leave Kazuha offered to carry you, though this wasn’t really an offer you could refuse considering, well, you ALMOST DROWNED AND LOOK LIKE A MUMMY. So you accepted even if you can’t exactly enjoy this, being in pain and all.

It wasn’t so bad though, even if your surrounding and the both of you smelled like, well, funky sea water, it was quite nice seeing the rising sun again. You wish you had a camera, or rather, “kamera” if you really were in Genshin to snap a shot of Kazuha against the morning rays.

WHy must he be so pretty? CUrse this bishounen.

You start to wonder if you look similar to him too, with stunning anime but not looks. But you quickly stop yourself because you feel that the shock of seeing yourself will either wake you up ruining the whole dream or cause you some sort of mental break down from looking like a high quality self-insert oc commission of yourself.

You’re not ready for that...and you’ve already got ocs and they’re like at least 300% cooler than you at this moment. And they have like 30 lovers and besties in this world too. You’re not ready for a romantic relationship yet, you’d rather be friends with the characters instead.

But...But what if you were an npc? What if you looked like some generic-

Oh good, Kazuha’s saying something again. You don’t want to go down that train of thought.

“We’ll be taking a rest at the inn closest to the harbor, it’d be best to get you properly cleaned before you see any doctor. Besides,” Kazuha looks down at you with a playful twinkle in his eye. “I’m sure you’d like to see this “bishounen” you want to curse not look so messy, right?”

He did not just-

Kazuha doesn’t react much when you tug his ponytail in retaliation. He just hums amused but he narrows his eyes just slightly. “While I am grateful that you are active, you should settle down, The cuts on your arm could open again.” Right.

You let his hair go and hear him mutter a quiet “thank you” upon release. He was right you shouldn’t be moving too much. Now your hand is even sorer...more sore? Sorest? You’re too tired to think now, the oc/npc crisis wore you out more than you’d like even if it’s just mentally.

If you’re remembering correctly, that inn is the small one just off the main path to the main gate of Liyue. You remember missing it a few times while playing until you did Mona’s quest. You like Mona.

Wait.

If you met Mona would she be able to tell you if you’ve got a constellation in this world? Would it be the same as the one from your home world?CAN SHE TELL YOU YOUR FATE?!?!?!

Nope.

We are not getting into that.

Nuh uh.

Nope.

Not in a thousand years.

-Speaking of thousand of years...what’s the time difference here again? Wasn’t there like a whole every 24hrs in Teyvat is 24mins on Earth???

You begin to question your age but before you are driven into another rabbit hole of thoughts something golden passes by your vision.

IS THAT THE-oh. It’s just a leaf. A pretty leaf.

You take in your surroundings again. You’re much farther from the ocean and just past the Guili Assembly. Damn. A missed opportunity to legit confirm you’re in Genshin and not dreaming.

But you’re distracted by the lovely leaves that pass you by. You reach out to touch one but your left arm is so tired you don’t get far. But Kazuha the sweetheart that he is, catches a leaf fluttering by and gently places it into your hands. Your fingers glide around the leaf. Yep sure does feel like leaf. You bring it to your nose. Yep smells like leaf too.

Kazuha hums again, though it sounds a bit like a laugh? You’re not sure anymore, this leaf is so distracting. You can’t believe how distracted you are.

But soon you find yourself drifting off. The comforting warmth of being in Kazuha’s arms and the gentle swaying as he walked lulling you in and out of consciousness.

-------

[ 1 ]  /  [ 2 ]  /  [ 3 ]  /  [ 4 ]  /  [ 5 ]  /  [ 6 ] / [ 7 ] / [ 8 ] / [To be continued...]

[dunkleosteus-official]

Have you ever tried those colorful and tasty looking creatures that live near those smokey chimney things? I once tried but the water got way too hot when I got nearer. I then tried to lure one into cooler waters but it said "Nuh-uh, not happening."

I live in warmer waters, but those things probably get way too hot for me!! I also can’t swim quiiiiiite that deep, and that sucks because I reeeeeeally wanna try them!!!

[rthidden]

AI: The New Secret Sauce for Small Biz

Think AI's reserved for Silicon Valley hotshots? Nuh-uh!

Your small business can cook up some magic with AI and automation.

Why it matters

Small business owners now have the power to juice up their operations with AI.

It's like having a secret ingredient that turns every dish into a gourmet meal—minus the Michelin star, but still very tasty.

By the numbers

35% of companies are on the AI train in 2022, up from 28% in 2021. We're looking at you, future-forward small biz owners. (IBM Global AI Adoption Index, 2022)

Global AI market is heating up, from $136.55 billion in 2022 to a projected $1,811.75 billion by 2030. Talk about a glow-up! (Grand View Research, 2023)

56% of businesses say AI's been like an espresso shot for productivity. (PwC AI Predictions Survey, 2021)

Overheard at the water cooler

"So, my AI just predicted our coffee inventory would run out by Friday and reordered it. I guess this thing's smarter than my last assistant!"

Myth vs. Fact

Myth: AI is just robots taking over the world.

Fact: AI, from answering FAQs to sorting emails, are the unsung heroes of tedious tasks. It's like hiring a wizard but without the pointy hat.

The bottom line

Small businesses, it's time to embrace AI like it's your new bestie.

With smarter processes and increased efficiency, you won’t just survive—you’ll thrive.

[me-shop-gurgaon]

Usha water cooler in Gurgaon

Are you tired of the scorching heat in Gurgaon? Look no further than Usha water coolers, the leading manufacturer in India! And guess what? Me shop is an authorized dealer of Usha water cooler in Gurgaon. We are proud to bring you these top-notch cooling units not only in Gurgaon but also in Nuh, Sohna, Rohtak, Delhi, Panipat, and Sonipat areas. Usha has built a reputation for producing…

[storyofmychoices]

This absolutely gorgeous art is by the one and only @/artbyainna on Instagram. She is seriously the most talented and lovely gem to exist. She is helping me create my very own Sistine Chapel of Bryce and Olivia lol. So here is the latest addition!

Soon (It's a relative term)

[Bryce Lahela x Olivia Hadley Masterlist]

Pairing: Bryce Lahela x Olivia Hadley (F!OC) Other Characters: Keiki Lahela Book: Open Heart Word Count: ~700 Rating/Warning: General (all the fluff and kisses)

Synopsis: Bryce and Olivia finally have a morning off together.

This was not how things were supposed to go. They had plans: sleep in, brunch, and then, apple and pumpkin picking with Keiki before heading in for a late afternoon shift. It was supposed to be the perfect autumn day, except, so far, they'd only made it as far as the couch.

Her nose scrunched, and her eyes closed as she smiled into the warmth of his embrace. Her feet bent up behind her, flitting playfully back and forth as he held her in his arms, kissing her softly and slowly. 

Olivia always marveled at his natural warmth. She had grown up in New England and was used to the crisp autumn air but still needed a hoodie or sweater on the colder days. Non-native New Englanders from warmer climates typically had difficulty adjusting to the cooler temperatures and could be seen wearing winter coats as early as October. Forget about what they'd be like come January. She had expected Bryce to be one of them, especially having grown up in the tropics. But he wasn't. Bryce didn't seem bothered by the cooler days. (And Olivia certainly was not bothered by the view that came with that.) Somehow, he always seemed the perfect temperature, even as the days grew shorter. Bryce was never too hot or too cold but always just right. Olivia felt like Goldilocks when he held her in his arms. Everything about the way they fit and how it felt was just right and exactly what she needed as if the space was created just for her.

It had been far too long since they had a morning off together. Twelve days to be exact, but the pair agreed it felt much longer. They had hoped to take advantage of the beautiful, autumnal day but found it difficult to keep up with their schedule. Despite its enchanting allure, the wonders of fall paled in comparison to the magic they found in each other. 

He twirled the loose strands of hair at the base of her neck that had slipped from her messy bun. He kept her close, kissing her again and again, savoring every subtle shift of her breathing and memorizing the tender touch of her fingertips brushing lightly over him. This was his favorite kind of kiss. The kind of kiss where you lose yourself in each other. Slow. Steady. Neverending. The kind of kiss that makes you forget everything else except that moment. 

"Should we?" He whispered regretfully into another kiss.

"Nuh-uh—" her reply hummed against his lips. "Soon," she decided, resting her forehead against his as she caught her breath for a moment. 

"Okay," he agreed, brushing his nose against hers, "—soon." He pulled her in for another kiss.

Olivia couldn't help but smile, knowing that soon was a relative term and this time it certainly didn't mean anytime "soon". Although in all fairness, on their last morning off together, they never made it out of bed. She figured they could agree that the couch was significant progress.

A Long While After "Soon"...

"Ugh—" Keiki groaned, sticking her tongue out in disgust. She squeezed the plastic spray bottle in her hand. "Wake up!"

"Ahh!" Olivia quickly pulled up the hood of her hoodie and buried her face further into Bryce's shoulder.

"Keiki!" Bryce sputtered as his little sister continued spraying water at his face. "Stop it!"

"Make me," she teased, spritzing him again with a light mist. "Did you forget about our plans?"

Bryce's hand lashed out, trying to get the bottle from his sister without knocking Olivia off, who was giggling into his neck. 

"Time. To. Get. Up!" Keiki announced smugly, ending each word with another fine stream of water, this time focusing her attention on his hair.

"Now you've done it," he grumbled. Bryce lifted Olivia's chin and pressed a kiss on her forehead before slipping out from under her as carefully as he could manage. "Sorry!" He called back as he chased after Keiki. 

Olivia repositioned on the couch, curling up in the warm space Bryce had left on the pillow in his absence. She watched as the siblings tore through the apartment. They had come so far since that first night when neither really knew how to react. Now that they had found each other, she knew they’d never lose one another again, and she couldn’t be happier for them. They needed this. They needed each other. And she needed both of them just as much. They were a family—the three of them—and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

Thank you for reading this pointless drabble. I hope you enjoyed it. I really need art of the epilogue part now. I totally head canoned that happening but had no intention of writing it, but here we are. It was kind of my favorite part so I had to share. Keiki is a gift we did not deserve in book 2. I love her so much! 💖

[brynnwrites]

little league - aaron hotchner

summary: hotch coaches jack’s little league soccer team and you have to put up with one of the other moms

warnings: if your name is amber…I’m sorry

a/n: I do not know how soccer works

When you found out Hotch had signed Jack up for soccer, you were beyond excited. You had always wondered what it would feel like to be a classic "soccer mom." Well, you and Hotch were still engaged, but Jack had started calling you mom long before that.

"They've asked me to coach," he chuckled, stirring his coffee in a to-go cup as the two of you prepared to take Jack to practice.

"Really?" You asked excitedly, "Aww, babe, that would be so cute!"

His cheeks tinged pink as he shook his head with a smile. He didn't quite understand why you were so excited over a little league sport, but he found it adorable.

Jack came speeding into the kitchen in his team's colored shorts and tee shirt. He had his socks on and his cleats in hand, nearly bouncing up and down with how excited he was.

"There's our little soccer star," you grinned, ruffling his hair as he stood between you and Aaron.

"Can I have some coffee too?" He asked.

Hotch was about to say no, but you gave him a quick, "I have an idea," look and he stopped himself.

"Sure you can, since you're so grown up now," you nodded, pulling down a small cup from the cabinet.

While Jack talked to his dad, you filled the cup halfway up with milk, taking the pot of coffee and pouring in just enough to make it look like coffee. Hotch laughed lightly as you handed Jack the cup.

"Smart one," he mouthed at you as Jack took a sip, "How is it, bud?"

"It's yummy," he said, turning to beam at you, "now I'm just like daddy!"

"Mhm," you hummed with a grin, "except you're way cuter than daddy."

Jack giggled before turning to Hotch, who was rolling his eyes with a small chuckle.

"Yeah I'm cuter than you daddy," he said braggingly, and it was taking everything in you not to die laughing.

"Is that so?" Hotch hummed, amused as he looked down at his son.

"Yup," Jack grinned, popping the 'p' for emphasis.

"Yeah well I bet I'm faster than you," Hotch challenged.

"Nuh uh!" Jack shook his head.

"We'll see about that," Hotch smirked, a playful glint in his eye, "cause I'mmmmmmm gonna getcha!"

That started a chase around the kitchen and out into the living room. Hotch was bent down, chasing Jack around the living room table, and they were laughing.

You watched from the kitchen, smiling at the sweetest boys you could ever have in your life. You loved them more than words could express.

Hotch eventually won, throwing Jack over his shoulder once he caught him. The boy cried out in glee, trying and failing to wiggle out of his father's grasp. He brought Jack to you, and you held out your arms. He plopped him down into them.

"You ready for soccer practice, little man?" You tickled his tummy and he giggled wildly.

"Y-yes!" He stuttered between laughs.

You set him back on his feet, "then we better get your cleats on and get going, huh?"

"Yay!" He exclaimed, running to the front door.

"I'll get your coffee, you help him with his shoes," you instructed, still giggling slight from the mornings antics.

He nodded, leaning in close to your ear, "I think we need to have a discussion later about how you don't think I'm cute."

You hummed as he pulled away smirking.

"I don't think you're cute," you shrugged, hiding your smirk as you picked up the coffee. You turned to meet his look of confusion, moving so you were next to him on your way out of the kitchen, "I think you're hot as hell, but I couldn't say that in front of Jack, could I?"

Your smirk grew as you moved past him, leaving him chuckling as he trailed behind you.

When you arrived at the soccer field, you unloaded the SUV. You grabbed Jack's soccer bag as Hotch grabbed the rolling cooler and bleacher seats. You had filled the cooler full of water, Gatorade, Capri-Suns, a couple pb&js, and some fruit-snacks. You took your new soccer mom role very seriously.

"Hey, Aaron!" One of the other dads called. He was the one who had asked Hotch to coach.

You took your stuff to the bleachers, picking a spot as Hotch talked to the other dad. You sprayed Jack down with sunscreen before sending him off to huddle with the other boys on his team.

Hotch made his way over to you, squinting in the sun, "they want me to try coaching practice to see if I'd be interested."

"That's great!" You exclaimed.

"I don't want to leave you by yourself though," he said with a slight frown.

"I'll be like 6 feet away from you," you teased, "besides, I can make friends." You gestured to the other moms who were already seated.

"Are you sure?" He asked.

"Yes, now go," you giggled, nudging him towards the field.

He gave you a small smile, "You're the best, you know that?"

"Noooooo," you gasped sarcastically, "it's not like you don't tell me that every day."

He shook his head with a grin, "Well I mean it."

Your heart fluttered, and you finally got him to go over to the team.

"Which one's yours?" Someone asked from behind you as you sat in your bleacher seat.

You turned to see a blonde woman in her late twenties, looking at you with a friendly smile.

"The one with the kind of sandy brown hair," you pointed, "he's next to his dad, the tall one in the blue."

Her face lit up, "oh my gosh, you're Aaron's girl!"

"You know him?" You asked curiously.

"Oh yeah, Jack and my son, Baylor, have been in the same class since kindergarten," she explained.

You smiled, "I think I've heard Jack mention him before."

She nodded, "Me and Aaron went on a couple dates, but gosh, that was like three years ago? I've always regretted letting that one go."

You tried to ignore the knot of jealousy tightening in the pit of your stomach.

"So how long have you two been dating?" She asked way too sweetly.

You mustered up a smile, "We dated for about a year and a half, we've been engaged for two months."

"No way!" She squealed, "Let me see!"

You held out your left hand and she grabbed, examining the glittering ring with wide eyes.

"Ugh, I'm totally jealous," she giggled, "You know, I would have never have guess when you sat down that you were with him."

"What do you mean?" You asked as politely as possible.

"I guess you just don't really look like his type," she shrugged, "he's usually into more athletic looking women."

You frowned, "I work with him, I have to be athletic."

"Oh, really?" She asked, her perfectly shaped eyebrows furrowing, "I couldn't tell."

You laughed fakely, "I guess I'll have to make myself more athletic looking by our wedding next month."

She smiled at you but it looked more like a grimace. You watched the rest of the practice, trying to muster up some of your earlier enthusiasm and failing. You knew you were too old to get jealous over this type of thing, but you just couldn't help it.

Hotch noticed how reserved you had become on the way home. When you arrived he instructed Jack to go take a shower before following you to the kitchen.

"Something's bothering you," he stared matter-of-factly.

"You're not profiling me, are you?" You asked teasingly, hoping he wouldn't push the subject.

But, of course, you were wrong.

He patted the countertop, "Up."

You sighed, hopping up on the counter as he moved to stand between your legs. He often did that when he wanted you to talk to him. He rubbed your thighs while examining you face to try and figure out what was upsetting you.

"Did someone say something to you at the field?" He asked knowingly.

"It's incredibly creepy when you do that, you know," you frowned.

"Am I right?" He asked.

"It was nothing," you shrugged, not meeting his eyes.

"If it was nothing, it wouldn't be bothering you," he argued, brows furrowed, "I'm your fiancé, you can tell my anything."

You sighed, giving in, "Some blonde, I don't even know her name, but her son's name is Baylor-"

Hotch groaned, "That's Amber...what did she say to you?"

"Well she asked which boy was mine and I pointed out you and Jack and she asked if I was 'your girl' and I said yes and she said you guys dated and then I told her we are getting married and she said I'm not your type," you ranted all in one breath.

His frown deepened, "Not my type?"

"Yeah, she said I wasn't athletic enough or something," you mumbled.

Hotch looked pissed now, "She said you're not athletic enough? Did you tell her you work with me? You probably do more athletic things in one day than she's ever done in her life."

You giggled, he was just too cute when he was frustrated, "Like I said, it's okay."

"But she made you doubt yourself, that's not okay," he said, looking into your eyes, "you know you're even better than any 'type,' I could've come up for myself, don't you?"

"I didn't know that," you whispered.

He kissed you deeply, his hands cupping your face. You were putty in his hands, letting him lick his way past your lips, tapping your tongue with his lightly. After a while you both separated, lips shiny and chests heaving.

"You are stunning," he began, "everything about your physical body is perfect to me. And you're amazing with Jack, you're the best mother figure I could've asked for. You work with me so you understand my schedule, and plus I get to keep an eye on you at all times to make sure you're safe. Your laugh that you hate for some reason is the best thing I've ever heard, especially after a long day. And I love that you're kind and gracious to people even when they don't deserve it."

You reached a hand up, patting his cheek, "you're really real, right? Just making sure."

He smiled wide and kissed you again, more gentle and sweet this time.

"Can you stop doing that so we can get ice cream?" Jack's voice interrupted. You broke apart laughing.

The next week at practice, Hotch made sure to kiss you very obviously in front of Amber. Needless to say, she didn't bother you again.

[babytooru]

Ahhh! Welcome back! I’ve been looking through you page and your content is so wholesome! Also can you do Oikawa and Iwa taking care of Little Kindaichi, Little Kunimi and Little Kageyama? (No rush ofc!) this is only for if you are still doing these!💕

hi! i am definitely still doing these (when i can hehe) so thank you for your patience! and thank you so much for enjoying my writing 💕💕

*

iwa (daddy/dada) and oikawa (papa) - caregivers

tobio (1-2), kunimi (5-6), and kindaichi (5-6) - littles

*

It’s hot. Much too hot to be outside, not that the littles care.

Oikawa shudders as a droplet of sweat trickles down his back. His eyes drift enviously over to Iwaizumi, sitting over in the shade on their picnic basket and nursing an ice cold water. Tobio is sat on his lap, sipping on his own bottle of ice water.

“Papa, pay ‘tention!” Kindaichi shouts from across the net, stomping his feet in frustration.

“Yeah, ‘s your serve,” Kunimi chimes in from where he sits at the side of the court, keeping score in their makeshift volleyball game.

Oikawa wipes his hand across his forehead. “Kunimi, baby, are you absolutely positively sure you don’t want to play?” The boy was shaking his head before Oikawa even finished his question. “Maybe we should take a break. Aren’t you hungry? Tired? I am!”

“Don’t complain, Lazykawa,” Iwaizumi shouted over from the blanket, startling Tobio a bit from where he started to doze off on the man’s shoulder. “I bet you’re scared you’re gonna lose, huh?”

Kindaichi and Kunimi broke out into a fit of giggles as Oikawa gasped dramatically. “What? Oh my gods, boys, do you hear how your Daddy talks to me? He’s so rude sometimes. I’m absolutely going to win.”

“Nuh uh!” Kindaichi stuck out his tongue at his caregiver. “I gonna win!”

Oikawa huffed and picked up the ball from the sand. “We’ll see!”

-

Oikawa collapsed in a sweaty, sandy heap next to Iwaizumi a half hour later.

“I won!” Kindaichi cheered as he ran up behind him, holding a bouquet of “flowers” (a bundle of sticks and dandelions that Kunimi had gathered) he had received for his victory. “Daddy, did you see me? I won! Tobi, did you see?”

Tobio grinned up at his brothers, clapping in excitement. He hadn’t been watching, not really, and probably wouldn’t have been able to follow along well, but his brothers were happy so he was happy.

“We both saw,” Iwaizumi beamed, reaching into the cooler and grabbing two sippy cups. “Here. Victory drinks for the winner and the scorekeeper. You both worked hard.”

“Did I work hard, Iwa-chan?” Oikawa asked, voice muffled by the picnic blanket.

“Mm,” Iwaizumi stifled a laugh and grabbed one last drink from the cooler. “A drink for Papa, even if he lost super, super badly.” Oikawa sat up with a pout, taking his drink dejectedly.

The five of them rested for a while on the blanket, letting the shade and drinks cool them down from the sweltering August heat.

Eventually, though, Kindaichi jumped up once again, grabbing Oikawa’s hand. “Come on! Round two!”

[peachmuses]

" uh huh, asshole. " he's quick to retort, " you really want to leave me alone with your body ? bad decision, zuya. " shuuzou snorts. " nuh huh, you're coming home with me. " his head tilts, " i dunno. i think you're hot anyways. " a pause, " i mean body temp wise. normally i'm cooler body tempature than you. " shuuzou shrugs, " yes well. i'm sensitive you know, something something, water, something something - i dunno. i never paid attention. that's why - " oh this is probably important, and he sits up, " my mayhem --- the more turbulent the emotions the more likely you're to cause a tsunami. you won't get hurt, but the chances of tokyo disappearing is y'know. likely. if you're not aware of it. visualise still waters when you feel like you're about to snap, and you should be good. " shuuzou yawns, " alright. don't go to sleep. you should get what you need y'know. " pushing himself out of the bed, he blinks towards the small hallway / closet / and bathroom. he shakes his head. " rich people, " muttered under breath.

“ none taken. ” it’s not like kazuya doesn’t know that this place is cold / uninviting. it’s not like he likes being here, either. he’s usually somewhere else. anywhere else. shuuzou teases and kazuya shakes his head. “ for all you know, i planned on staying here. ” don’t make him stay. “ just for that, i might anyway. ”

“ do you? ” kazuya doesn’t remember feeling like that, but — “ it could be whiplash from different mayhems? ” but if that’s the case, why does he feel fine, then? a bit too fine, kazuya thinks, like he’s breathed the cleanest air he’d ever come across. weird. “ no…? i got along with you, you just thought i didn’t like you. ” which is something that kazuya thinks back to every so often. “ what tatsu thought about the way i treated him, i have no idea. it’s not the same. ” shuuzou seemed to care, that’s the difference. “ but the universe obviously hates us. ”

head shakes and kazuya rolls over, back towards shuuzou and he chooses to drop the subject of family. “ bathroom’s right there, ” vague motion towards a cracked door in his room, one which leads to a small hallway, housing a closet, then his own personal bathroom. “ pick out your own shit, i don’t care. ” he can feel himself beginning to shut down. “ … comfortable. ”

[ramzawrites]

Rivals - Prince!Reader x Prince!Eret

Male

Pairings: Eret x Reader

Characters included: Eret

Warnings: n/a

Series: a request from 🌱🌟 my beloved <3 /p

Summary: Prince Y/N and Prince Eret hated each other. That was just a fact. Mostly causing trouble together in order to one up the other. Though over the time even their relationship can change.

Words count: 5367

Authors Note: I’ll be honest you hit me with this request at a very good time so I ended up writing 10 pages in one go haha

At the end I made the executive decision to finally cut it off or I probably would have written even more, for which I’m honestly don’t have the time at the moment. I hope it’s not that obvious but if it is I apologize.

Thank you for the request 🌱🌟

I am reposting it since the original post doesn’t seem to appear in the tags no need to check the original post but I wanted to give a reason why it’s twice on my blog

Prince Eret and Prince Y/N hated each other.

That was just a universally accepted thing and something that made sense. Just like how water is wet, the ground was made out of dirt, Eret and Y/N hated each other.

Both of their respecting kingdoms never had a good relationship to say the least. Way back in the day the two nations have wared against each other which almost ruined both kingdoms forcing the two to an act of neutrality with the behest of the neighboring kingdoms.

Though this was way off in the past. Nowadays they had rebuilt. Their forces and monetary situation stood strong but they stayed neutral. Eyeing each other closely for any slip ups, though they were also bound to contracts that would involve other nations as well should they begin to go to war again, which wasn’t in interest for both parties.

So they tried to mostly ignore each other which only worked to an extent. If you are a strong nation with an impressive military force or with a lot of money, other nations will invite you to their balls, banquets or whatever fancy party they have going at that point. And it was in your best interest to join these as well, to show off your might, wealth or to connect with other foreign powers.

The first time Y/N’s family took him with them to one of these balls, he was barely six years old.

For a six year old a ball was a boring affair. All the adults were courteously laughing and only sipping on their drinks. Occasionally walking on the stage to dance to the slow and boring music.

Y/N was busy watching two older women dance in tandem. Their dresses and silk moving together in a sea of fabric that seemed to hypnotized the child as he sat on the side of the stage. His parents were off somewhere else, feeling they could trust enough in his proper upbringing to not cause any problems, that they left him. Saying that he should try to enjoy himself.

Enjoy himself how? Dance with the lonely grandma that was busy drinking away all the wine in the castle? No, thank you.

Finally tearing his eyes off the dancing women Y/N noticed how someone else was cautiously approaching him. It was another kid in what he assumed was his age. This stranger had fluffy wild hair and had a sympathetic smile on his face. He wore a simple suit similar to Y/N’s but there were a ton of differences in details.

As he got closer Y/N could swear that something seemed off about him. Something in him was screaming but he couldn’t place why he felt like that.

“Hello.” The other kid greeted Y/N.

Y/N looked around the room for a second before setting his attention back on him “Hello. Who are you?” There was a small hope in him, hey maybe this boring ball won’t be so boring after all.

With a proud expression the kid did a proper royal greeting, bowing in front of Y/N for a second “I am Prince Eret from the mighty nation of-“

But Y/N interrupted him “Prince Eret?! I know of you! My parents warned me and told me to ignore you.” He then stuck his tongue out and made a point to look away from him.

Eret furrowed his brows, exclaiming loudly his confusion to this reaction “Huh? Why?”

Y/N rolled his eyes and got off the chair he was sitting on. Just like Eret, he did his own version of the royal greeting that he got taught by his etiquette teachers “I am Prince Y/N.”

He knew he didn’t need to say more which got confirmed by Eret’s worried and confused expression turning into a proper frown.

“Oh, yuck, so that’s what you look like.”

Y/N gasped in anger “What do you mean yuck? You are the yuck one here! Between the two of us I’m clearly the cooler prince!”

“Oh really? Prove it.” Eret huffed as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

Now fired up Y/N looked frantically through the whole ball room but couldn’t seem to come up with anything, that was until he saw a servant of the local royal family sauntering around with a plate of drinks and even with a few cheese and meat skewers.

“I bet I could steal more of these skewers from the servants than you.”

Instead of backing down Eret now had a competitive glint in his eyes “You are on.”

And that’s how both Eret and Y/N got into their first real trouble with their parents and other nobles.

They snuck around the people, hiding behind huge skirts and trying their best to grab a skewer from the plate. At first they waited for the servant to look away while they were talking to someone but soon their maneuvers turned riskier and riskier. Jumping up to grab one or even trying to distract them before grabbing another.

At some point for whatever reason both jumped into the air at the same time, grabbing the same skewer which ended with them smashing into the servant who in return fell down, the drinks spilling onto a couple that stood closely by.

As the adults were trying to understand what just happened Y/N grabbed Eret’s arm and yelled “Run!”

The two begun running away, making their way into the garden, hiding behind a bush as they heard some adults screaming and running around.

Y/N didn’t care if Eret got caught by the adults but he was worried he might sell him out to them as well. No, he was positive he would definitely snitch on him.

Out of breath the two kids huddled together, keeping their ears open, trying to catch any sound that might come closer to them.

Eret looked at Y/N  “I clearly won.” He then showed off the skewers he was holding against his suit, effectively ruining it.

Y/N shook his head, showing his own off “Nuh-uh. I clearly won.”

For some reason or another they managed to acquire the same amount of food so they sadly had to come to the conclusion that this was a tie. As they angrily begun snacking on their loot, they still continued throwing childish insults at each other.

This only lasted for a few minutes until their parents found them and figuratively tore them away to yell at them. Saying things like “this is not the proper behavior of a prince! Now we have to apologize to all the people! Do you know what this could cost us?”

From that point on their rivalry really started. Every few months they would meet up again by proxy of being invited to the same noble festivities. In fact every time Y/N was on such a party he fully expected Eret being there as well.

He would arrive and keep look out for that oh so dashing prince from the rival kingdom. Y/N scoffed, Eret wished he thought of him like that but in truth Y/N probably knew the best what kind of idiot he could be. After all he had firsthand experience for this.

While they always ended up in some sort of trouble there was this one moment, when they were twelve years old, that always stood out to him.

As usual Eret and Y/N found each other during a banquet. Both immediately fell back into arguing and making fun of each other. The adults got so tired of it that they sent the two outside so they could, in their words, cool down.

“You look ridiculous in your suit.” Eret mumbled towards Y/N as they wandered outside into the garden. Y/N just rolled his eyes as a response, choosing to ignore Eret at this point, not feeling comfortable with being banished outside together with him.

The garden was beautiful, of course.

Different kinds of flowers were planted along all the sides of the garden. Between them stood a few Willow trees with their long leaves hanging above the flowers and seating opportunities while in the middle of the whole place stood a beautiful huge pond with a statue protruding from the middle of it. The statue displayed two unidentifiable human beings holding on to each other, both holding an urn up into the air together where some water was rushing out ouf down into the pond.

While this all, together with the moon light, looked almost magical Y/N was more concentrated on what was inside the pond.

As he walked over to the water he could see a few koi fish flitting around in there. He sat down and lazily begun drawing invisible patterns into the water. Sometimes the fish would come close only to immediately swim away once they either saw the hand or felt the movement.

Eret was just standing dumbfounded to the side. Staring at Y/N which infuriated him. He could feel his dark eyes lingering on him and it just annoyed him. Eret finally shut up but now he was just standing there in uncomfortable silence.

Y/N let out a frustrated sigh “Stop doing that.”

Eret looked bewildered at that “Stop, what?”

“Staring! I can see you staring! I know I’m handsome but come on.” Y/N snickered at the last part.

This time Eret rolled his eyes “Nah, I was just thinking how easy it would be to push you into the water right now and was debating if it was worth getting into trouble for it.”

“And what did your small brain come up with?”

Eret walked over and sat down next to Y/N “It’s sadly not worth it. I feel like I would get in even more trouble than last time when I was destroying you in that food fight.”

Y/N angrily shook his head “Oh, no! I was winning! You were lucky my father literally pulled me away from you or you wouldn’t even be standing here right now!”

“You wish! Your father saved the small bit of dignity you have!”

Ignoring Eret’s attempt to obviously rile him up and make him more angry, Y/N turned now fully away from him and instead returned to watching the fish. They looked more interesting and had more personality than Eret anyhow.

It was also definitely easier to look at the animals than Eret. Every time he would look at him even only for a little bit this fuzzy anger inside the pit of Y/N’s stomach would come up and by god he hated it. Unbeknownst to him this feeling was mutual.

Eret almost seemed chuffed that Y/N didn’t seem to react and instead chose to follow him suit with watching the fish.

“If we are already stuck out here let’s make it at least interesting.” Y/N broke the silence “Let’s catch some fish. I’m betting I can catch more than you.”

Eret was already getting rid of his jacket and pushed his sleeves up “I doubt that!”

Not wasting time Y/N shed his jacket as well and rolled his sleeves up only to jump into the water himself once the fish stayed out of both their reaches due to their incessant punching into the water.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“Not losing!” was all Y/N said.

Eret not feeling too keen on possibly losing, jumped into the pond as well, trying to ignore Y/N who was inadvertently splashing water his way.

As a bit of a payback Eret threw some water towards Y/N which resulted in him loosing a prime chance for trying to grab a fish.

Everything is allowed in love and war after all and this was definitely war.

Though this action led to Y/N retaliating with spraying water back on Eret. Soon the two didn’t care about the fish anymore and were too busy trying to wrestle the other under the water. It wasn’t a full blown fight, no real punches fell but there was a lot of pushing and pulling.

They only stopped once they heard a blood curdling scream. Apparently the noble who owned the garden saw them inside her pond and was obviously not too pleased with it.

Yeah, there was a lot of anger and screaming afterwards but for Y/N and Eret it just fueled their hatred toward each other. If the other one wasn’t there, then they wouldn’t have this problem in the first place but since this wasn’t the case all they could do as proper heirs to their respecting kingdoms was to make the others existence pain.

Over the years their rivalry became infamous and nobles who invited both to their festivities either tried to keep increased watch over them or to the detriment of both sides of the families, tried to incite them. Noble people where a strange lot, trying to find entertainment in the weirdest places.

Not that Y/N or Eret cared too much. They were too busy trying to screw the other over though their methods changed over the years. As kids they were more physical with it while the older they got they tended to use their words more and more to the relieve of their parents.

A good example for that was when both were about sixteen years old.

At this point they learned to rein in their anger towards the other and instead concentrated more or less on their royal duties. Well, they tried but every time they saw each other anger would just flood their systems.

It was a typical ball really. The nobles were busy mingling with each other, spreading false compliments in order to gain the political or social upper hand. Some called it an intricate game but Y/N thought it was just stupid. Just say what you think and don’t sugar coat it. That was something and maybe the only thing he and Eret could agree on. As much as he hated that guy he wasn’t scared to tell Y/N what he thought of him.

He appreciated him for that. A shiver ran down his spine as soon as that thought crossed his mind and Y/N just shoved it away. Never in his life would he actually appreciate that mad prince.

That said it was a bit weird how he hasn’t spotted Eret yet. Not that he was specifically looking out for him or anything. He just wanted to be aware where he was so he could avoid him. Was he invited? His family was here but he seemed to be gone. Maybe he finally gave up trying to one up Y/N and stayed home.

Y/N doubted that though. The only reason why Eret wouldn’t appear to something like this was if he was seriously sick. It happened only once and Y/N ended up being bored to death. So what if he derived entertainment from his rival? That’s a part of the reason what rivalries are for, right?

Spending so much time thinking about him made Y/N uncomfortable. This one feeling in the pit of his stomach just flared up again which he didn’t appreciate one bit. Just another reason why Eret was so annoying. He was the only person this happened with.

Bored out of his mind Y/N begun moving through the ball room. There was one place Eret could be hiding away at. If anything Y/N could predict some behavior from him over the years. Making sure to stay away from all the dancing people and the conversations, not feeling interested to take part in it. Instead he moved towards the gardens.

It was just the place he and Eret would default to since at the slightest chance of trouble the other nobles liked to throw them out immediately.

So when he spotted Eret walking around the rose bushes it didn’t completely surprise him.

“And here I thought I spied a birds nest in between the bushes but alas it is just Eret’s hair.”

Eret visibly flinched once he heard Y/N. Apparently he had been so busy with his own thoughts that he didn’t notice Y/N approaching him. He frowned at the other prince while he in return was just smirking smugly.

Sighing Eret walked over to a particular big rose and begun inspecting it“ And I thought I would finally be free of you. You arrived late, huh?”

“Hardly my fault, though I too was hoping you finally conceded and stayed home but here you are just staring at some roses like some hopeless romantic prince from some sort of fairy tale.”

When Eret didn’t immediately fire back and hesitated Y/N’s eyes widened “No! Don’t tell me! Don’t tell me you actually have a crush on someone! Who is the poor person?”

As he spoke the words out loud it felt like his chest was ablaze. Something about that thought rubbed him the wrong way. He just labelled it as a different way for his annoyance towards Eret to show up but it confused him nonetheless.

Realistically what did he care about his love affairs?

Finally Eret vehemently shook his head “No, nothing like that! Why was this where your mind went? I was just bored and am looking at the flowers. Even you can admit that they are pretty, right?” Eret chuckled “Or are you jealous somehow?”

“Only in your dreams.” Y/N responded with a disgusted expression on his face.

“Nightmares you mean.” Eret added before pulling one rose out of the bush.

Y/N looked around hoping none of the staff or someone else saw this “Dude, what the hell are you doing? If you get into trouble for stealing flowers and I’m around everyone will think I’m part of this.”

“They won’t notice, Y/N. Well, they will only notice it if you aren’t careful enough. You need to have an eye for such things and me begrudgingly knowing you as well as I do, you do not have an eye for that.”

This is always how it happens. Every god damn time. One of the two would make a statement that the other person couldn’t do a very specific thing and all bets were off.

A dangerous glint appeared in Y/N’s eyes “I’ll give you the most amazing rose bouquet without tipping anyone off.” He didn’t seem to realize what he just said but Eret did.

While Y/N turned around in order to scour out the place Eret was still standing in the back. A soft blush on his face. Almost angry with himself he frowned and turned to the opposite direction Y/N just went. He was just so frustrating to be around. Doesn’t even think before he speaks.

This whole endeavor took longer than both initially expected. Most of the time they would just saunter between the bushes only occasionally plucking a flower off. Often enough the two stood in front of the same rose, trying to act as fast as possible to get it before the other.

Eret clearly went for the flower first but once his hand touched the stem of the rose, Y/N was there as well, his hand brushing past Eret’s, holding onto the lower part of the stem.

“You’ve got be kidding me.” Y/N cursed.

Eret squinted his eyes as he looked at him “What do you mean? I went for it first! You still continued grabbing it like the brute you are!”

Y/N gasped in a fake display of disbelief. Acting like the biggest insult just got hurled towards him when in fact Eret has said worse things before or even the countless nobles who suffered damages due to their shenanigans.

Both stared at each other, not letting go off the rose. Their brows furrowed into deep scowls as they just continued staring at each other. Hoping that for some reason any kind of weakness would just magically appear or that someone will let go off the damn flower.

It was incredibly uncomfortable for the both of them. Y/N and Eret both stared directly into each other’s eyes. Pink dusted faces turned towards one another, not daring to move a muscle.

“God, I hate you so much.” Y/N grumbled.

Eret nodded “Believe me the feeling is mutual.”

After a few more seconds of staring and angry expressions they both let go at the same time.

There they stood. Two princes of enemy kingdoms holding each a small bouquet of roses with blushing faces.

If you would ask them about it they would immediately exclaim the blush was just a result of their anger bubbling out.

Eret let out a breath he didn’t notice he was holding “Tie?”

Y/N looked down at his own bouquet “Yeah, sure, let’s call it a tie. This is stupid anyhow.”

That was the last time they saw each other for a while.

Since they both were heirs to their respective thrones they soon got sent away to boarding schools in order to get properly trained for their future duties. Besides being educated and introduced what these duties actually entailed, they also got trained in the art of combat.

While most of, if not all, nobles learn how to fight it was something expected from Y/N and Eret. They had to get good at it. A tradition that still stemmed from the waring days of their competing nations.

So for the next four years Y/N was sent away to a boarding school inside his own nation, only later hearing that Eret befell the same fate, which didn’t surprise him.

The years dragged on rather slowly. Most of the subjects were boring but Y/N realized they were important so he put himself through the grueling task of proper studying. The daily training sessions helped him immensely by bringing some sort of change to his every day and tended to look forward to them. Mostly since he became good friends with his coach. A mercenary hired by his family to train him.

Becoming a friend to him, while others tried stay away from Y/N. Most didn’t dare to approach the only heir of their kingdom, others knew he was a bit of a troublemaker and stayed away from him because of it.

Y/N caught himself missing Eret from time to time. While he was annoying and infuriating at best, Y/N couldn’t help but think it was more enjoyable than spending his time alone surrounded by people around his age.

Every now and again his thoughts would always jump back to Eret. Hell, he even once considered writing him a letter before he stopped in his tracks, realizing what he was about to do. Silently chastising himself for it.

Y/N graduated when he was twenty. His parents amazed by his progress threw compliments towards his improved behavior.

“Guess Prince Eret was the problem all along.” His mother noted.

He scoffed, of course Eret was the majority of the reason for the problems. His mother only needed to mention him and Y/N already felt the same annoyance from back then again. Guess some things never change.

It was the time for a lot of nobles to graduate so one family took it up on themselves to prepare a grand ball in order to celebrate these young adults. It also helped to bring all the heirs and influential people together to form new relationships that could be beneficial for their future rule.

Y/N got invited as well.

As a graduation gift his parents bought him fancy new clothes made out of the finest cloth. While he thought it was a bit over the top, it was comfortable so he didn’t complain too much. They even fashioned him with a ceremonial crown that complimented the whole outfit quite nicely.

It was only then that it really sunk in what this all meant for him. He had to act proper no matter what from now on. While people were always aware of him, now they were really watching. This also meant he had to start to properly get into contact with other influential families and nations which meant he had to actually dance on this ball.

So when he and his family stepped out of the wagon that brough them to this event, his heart was beating fast. Y/N was nervous and yet he still managed to put on a confident smile. He didn’t go through all these etiquette classes without learning a few things at least.

When he walked into the ball room, a servant announced his and his families arrival which caused a lot of people to turn their heads. It was the first official outing of an heir to an incredibly strong nation, of course they wanted to see what he was like.

In fact it didn’t take long until Y/N got swarmed by multiple people talking courteously and making conversation with him. He returned the gestures and mingled with the others, curious to see if anyone interesting was here. It was the first time in a long time people didn’t seem to avoid him, even if it was purely for the purpose of forming new beneficial connections.

It beat sitting around alone.

Y/N slowly scanned the huge room with his eyes that’s when he spied something that made his heart figuratively jump into his throat.

In the corner stood someone tall with a shock of brown and fluffy hair that got pushed down by a crown. He wore an amazing suit made out of silk and with a variant of different purples completed with something that resembled a cape. As he talked to the person in front of him he had this huge, genuine, beautiful smile on his face that made Y/N’s heart skip a beat.

He was handsome that’s all he could say about him. Knocking all the air out of Y/N’s lungs.

Pressing his hand against his madly blushing face Y/N tried to look like he was deep in thought and not just silently checking out this one person way off in the corner.

“Be still my beating heart.” Y/N mumbled as he pressed his free hand on his chest. Feeling his heart beating fast and hard against his ribcage. Luckily no one heard him but he did receive a few worried and confused looks. Guess he wasn’t as sneaky about his display of emotions as he had thought.

Y/N took a deep breath in and coughed in order to calm himself down a bit “I’m sorry to interrupt you all, but I need to go. I need to find something out. It was an honor talking with you and I hope we can continue this later on.”

With all the confidence he didn’t have Y/N slowly made his way towards that person. Something was just pulling him towards him and he needed to at least know his name. It was like his heart and mind both yelled at Y/N.

While walking he could tell that his breath was short. He felt hot and he was certain that his face was still in a lovely shade of red.

Did he just develop a probably one sided crush? Perhaps.

Once he got close enough, he begun to tremble. His knees felt weak and by god he wanted to turn around but something in him just forced him to move on. As if this was his only chance to ever exchange even a word with that stranger.

Y/N was about to put on a polite smile and wave towards him but the stranger was faster and turned towards him.

The stranger audibly and unmistakably gasped. His eyes wide open as his face suddenly turned into a similar shade of red to Y/N.

“Hello.” Y/N begun speaking. He wanted to introduce himself but his voice failed him. Throat and lips dry out of nervousness.

“Y/N?” he spoke with a deep, soothing voice and Y/N had to admit he liked hearing his name coming out of his mouth.

Wait that handsome stranger knew him?

That’s when it hit him. But that can’t be! That was impossible, he would have recognized him immediately!

“Oh. Eret?”

Y/N put his hand against his mouth trying to hide the smile and blush. Why was he feeling like this? Why wasn’t his typical white anger returning? He still had that fuzzy feeling in the pit of his stomach but something felt different. Maybe it was the maturity from the years or maybe he just imagined it.

Eret was madly blushing and just staring at Y/N as he slowly lifted up his trembling hand “Let’s talk. Would you care for a dance?”

That feeling in his stomach increased as well as the beating of his heart and yet Y/N put his hand into that of Eret’s. Together they walked towards the middle of the room. Slowly beginning to dance.

Y/N was at this point biting his lip. He wanted to talk, say anything but his mind was running in overdrive. No proper sentences would form. Luckily some sort of muscle memory jumped in when it came to the dancing but everything else? No, he was completely screwed.

Why now? Why was he reacting like this?

“You look like you are doing well.” Eret suddenly spoke. His voice trembling almost as much as his hands.

Y/N nodded as he continued moving in tandem with Eret. Their feet skillfully moving around on the dance floor.

“You look good, uh, I mean, you look alright as well, you do look good but I mean you seem to be doing good as well.” After Y/N stammered that out he mentally begun cursing himself out.

He used to wrestle Eret into the mud, why is this happening to him? Why can’t he just go back to his anger, that was easier to deal with. Wait, is that the reason why their anger towards each other held on for so long? Sure, their families had always a rivalry but over time something must have subtly changed concerning their relationship that it managed to end up like this.

Y/N felt like a lovesick pre-teen and he hated it.

Eret suddenly let out a short laugh “I’m guessing you didn’t expect this as well?”

Y/N raised his eyebrows “I- I have no idea what you mean. Like, seriously, what exactly of this do you mean?” Of course his nervousness showed itself via him ranting his thoughts off.

“Us meeting like this again.”

“Seeing our past track record I feel like it was inevitable, though this time it certainly does feel different.”

“Yeah, I can tell.” Eret smirked and gave Y/N a wink only to end up turning back into a blushing mess himself.

Now Y/N begun to chuckle, his blush ever present on his face, he pressed his forehead against Eret’s shoulder. Trying his best to hide his face from his view, not willing to give Eret the satisfaction that he succeeded in whatever the hell he just did.

Instead of stopping the two continued to dutifully dance. The best way for a private conversation was while dancing after all but the two were too busy snickering at themselves.

While Y/N had his head still pressed against Eret, Eret spoke up “I’m glad you are here, Y/N. Meeting you here like that again after these years, it made me realize something.”

“Like what?” The same was true of him, of course but he was almost scared of saying it out loud.

Y/N looked back up again but Eret hesitated. His eyes landed on Y/N’s lips only to immediately snap back up to his eyes.

So when he asked “May I?” Y/N knew exactly what he meant.

He gave him a nod which resulted in the two stopping to dance. Eret placed one of his hands against Y/N’s jawline and the other continued to rest at his side as he closed the space between their lips. At first softly brushing their lips for a small second but then Eret went back in pressing his lips properly on Y/N’s only to separate after a few moments.

Y/N put his hands on Eret’s chest, feeling his rapidly beating heart beneath his fingertips “I thought you hated me.” He noted smugly.

Eret laughed “I guess we both were wrong in some way.” He immediately dove back into Y/N’s lips, deepening the kiss, ignoring the confused and surprised noises from all the other guests.