#we had a sleepover of sorts. it was stupid silly and funny even if short lived

[transgaysex]

everyone be so kind to me im being so brave even though im so so unbelievably sad

[onewfantaesy]

Foster Kid AU

Taemin’s whole brain short circuits. He can’t believe it, because sitting across the table from him is Kang Hodong and his wife. And every time he’s interacted with the man, he’s been goofy and funny and just a comedian. But now he’s serious, and even though he’s smiling it’s not the same, and Taemin just doesn’t understand what’s going on.

They talk for hours though. About all sorts of things. About how they want to be parents, how they’ve been trying to adopt for over a year now, how they heard Taemin’s story about wanting to be adopted and tried so hard to get in touch with Taemin’s case worker.

And Taemin talks too. About how he gets good grades in school. How he’s never gotten in trouble. How he’s a good kid who does exactly as he’s told. How he stays at the SHINee dorm all the time so he won’t even get in their way.

Taemin regrets talking though, because it seems to upset them, to throw them off, and he’s terrified of scaring them away.

“Please, I’m really really good, I promise!” he says quickly. “You can even look at my file, I’ve never been in trouble ever! See look!”

And he leans over the table and pushes the file his case worker brought towards them, even opens it for them, his picture on display right at the front. He thinks it’s a decent picture. It’s no SHINee photoshoot, but his hair is combed neatly.

“Can you tell us,” Hodong asks softly, “why you want to be adopted?”

He feels like his brain is buffering. He doesn’t really understand, doesn’t know how to answer, doesn’t know what the right answer is.

“I just,” he stammers, his heart pounding, “I just want someone to want me.”

Turns out that was right enough of an answer, because a date is scheduled for Taemin to have a sleepover at their house. A whole weekend. Just two days from then. Taemin is nervous and a little shaky as his case worker guides him out to take him back to the dorm, after saying goodbye, after getting hugs from both of them. As soon as he gets back to the dorm, he’s packing a bag and spilling word after word to the other members about everything that happened. They all seem just as confused and excited as Taemin.

Except that Friday, SHINee are guests for a Star King recording. Taemin’s never felt so nervous in his entire life, because he can’t fuck this up, there’s no room for error, he needs to do everything right and be the perfect guest or else Hodong won’t want him anymore, won’t even let him sleepover that, it will ruin everything.

But Hodong is as silly and goofy as ever, even carries Taemin around stage like he always does when SHINee comes to Star King, treats Taemin just exactly the same as always even though Taemin stutters more than he usually does and blinks more than he usually does.

Then after recording runs late and all the members are exhausted after a long day of school and practice and schedules, Taemin is slumped over on the dressing room couch, waiting for the other members to finish changing so they can go home. He’s tired and blinking slowly falling over Jinki’s lap when Hodong comes inside, speaks quietly to the senior manager, and then comes over to the couch to kneel in front of Taemin.

“Are you ready to come to our house?” he asks, smiling again in the same soft way he had in his case worker’s office.

Taemin didn’t realize he’d be leaving the shooting with Hodong, didn’t realize his manager had even brought the bag he’d packed two days. Taemin just nods, trying to stay quiet and calm and put together. And Hodong just slings Taemin’s bag over his shoulder and guides Taemin out of the room, out of the building, into the parking garage with a comforting arm held around Taemin’s shoulders.

“You must be tired,” Hodong says as he drives. “Your manager said you’ve had a long day.”

“Yeah,” Taemin says. “Kind of.”

“How was school today?”

“It was okay,” Taemin says, clasping and unclasping his hands in his lap. “Had a chemistry test.”

“How do you think you did?”

“I think I did okay,” Taemin says. “It was a little harder than the last test.”

It’s a little awkward and forced, but Taemin appreciates the school questions. They’re easy to answer. He talks about what he learned in math that day, what book he’s reading for his literature class, what war they’re learning about in history.

Then when they get home, dinner is prepared and waiting on the table, the three of them sit down together, and Taemin repeats the same answers for the same questions when Hodong’s wife asks them, even though Hodong has tried telling her that he’d already asked him all these questions.

“Do you like this type of dinner?” she asks instead.

“Yes, it’s delicious!” he answers immediately.

Taemin spends the entire weekend trying his absolute best to please them. To be nice and polite and follow every single tiny detail of the house rules they outlined. He helps wash dishes and takes out the trash and makes the bed they’re letting him sleep in every morning. He keeps everything in order in the room he’s staying in, no clothes on the floor, no mess in the bathroom, no clutter, nothing. On all accounts, he’s done everything right, done everything perfectly.

Taemin thinks it’s a good weekend. Even though he had to go to SHINee practice on Saturday morning and Hodong drove him and picked him up even though Taemin insisted he could get there on his own.

“It’s no trouble to take you to practice,” he insists.

He meets with his case worker that Tuesday after school.

“It was good, right?” he asks quickly, as soon as he enters her office, before he even sits down. “They liked me, right?”

“Did you like them?” she asks instead. She seems concerned, and Taemin has seen her get concerned like that before, and now he’s convinced he fucked it up, he fucked it all up.

He doesn’t sit down, his hand lingering on the back of the chair instead.

“They don’t want me anymore,” he says, his voice shaking. It’s not a question. He’s been through this enough times. But now he doesn’t know how he’ll ever go on Star King again if Hodong hates him.

“They adored you,” she says, and it throws Taemin off enough to make him fall in the chair. “But they were worried you didn’t like them.”

“But I did like them,” he says quietly.

“I explained that you’re just shy,” she tells him. “That it sometimes takes you a little while to open up more.”

“Do they still want me?”

“Very much so.”

It’s several more weekend sleepovers, then a couple week-long sleepovers, and then Taemin is officially moving into their house, into his new bedroom, with his new foster parents. But he doesn’t want another foster home, he doesn’t want more foster parents, he wants to be adopted.

“It’s just the next step to being adopted,” his case worker tells him for the millionth time. “It’s just a couple more months now.”

He’s on edge all the time now, even when he’s staying at the dorm instead. Because everything has to go right. Everything has to be perfect. He has to be perfect. Or else everything will be ruined and he’ll go right back to being alone and he can’t go through that again.

But Hodong and his wife always just tell him how amazing he is. How he’s just a delight of a boy. How happy he’s made their house, how it feels so much warmer, so much more like a home now that a child is living in it with them.

It’s too good to be true. He knows it’s too good to be true. It’s all got to be a prank, there’s a secret camera somewhere, they’re going to punk him. That’s the only explanation. It’s going to be the night before the set adoption at the courthouse and they’re going to tell him how it was all for tv, how stupid he is for thinking anyone could ever want to adopt him.

So just a couple weeks before it’s all supposed to be official, Taemin snaps. He acts out and he yells at them and breaks their rules and does presses every possible button. He stops making his bed. Stops keeping his room clean. Stops doing his homework. Starts staying late at the company building and not letting them know like they asked, starts staying at the dorm even on nights they specifically ask him not to, starts talking back anytime they try to discipline him.

And when Hodong finally snaps back and forces Taemin to sit on the couch and asks in what might be a louder voice than necessary what Taemin’s attitude is all about, his hands gripping Taemin’s arms, keeping him held down in front of him, Taemin just breaks down.

He’s crying, trying so hard to hold it back, but that only makes him shake more, heaving and gulping in air, his eyes squeezed shut but tears still pushing past and falling down his cheeks, pooling in the corners of his nose and lips until they’re spilling down his neck and wetting the collar of his shirt.

“What’s wrong?” Hodong asks, almost sounding like he’s begging, his voice soft and desperate and his hands moving from the way they were gripping Taemin’s arms to instead rub them up and down, trying to comfort him in anyway he can. “Please just tell us what’s going on with you. We can’t help if we don’t know what’s wrong.”

It takes a few minutes before Taemin stammers our a desperate, “Please.”

“Please what?” Hodong asks, moving instead to cup Taemin’s cheeks, to use a blanket from the couch to wipe the tears still falling from Taemin’s eyes.

Taemin sucks in a few breaths before whispering, “Please don’t let it be a prank.”

“What’s a prank?” he asks. “I don’t know what would be a prank, Taemin, honest.”

“Everything,” Taemin cries, fresh tears welling in his eyes. That’s when Hodong pulls him close, hugs him tight, and Taemin hides his face in his shoulder as he begs, “Please, please I just - please want me, please.”

His wife comes and sits down with them too, rubbing circles into Taemin’s back, agreeing with Hodong as they both insist, “We want you so much, we want to adopt you so much, we want you to be our son so much. Nothing’s going to change that. You not always being perfect isn’t going to change that.”

It takes a lot of reassurance. A lot of fierce insistence that they’ll love him no matter what. A lot of hugs and a lot of tears and a lot of comfort. But then just a couple weeks later, they’re at the courthouse and the judge has approved the adoption and everything is official, Taemin’s family name is officially changed, because he officially has a family.

He officially had parents. And he doesn’t really know how to react to it. He just knows he’s happy and ecstatic and overwhelmed.

And the only time airing it on tv is brought it up is when Hodong tells him it’s because he wants the whole world to know that Taemin is his son now, that he wants everyone to know that he’s the lucky one because he’s the one who gets the privilege of being Taemin’s father. That so many people have missed out on having such a wonderful son.

And the next time Taemin is on Star King, Hodong is the same as he always is when SHINee are guests. He carries Taemin around and teases him silly and makes a big show of how much he adores all the SHINee members. Except this time, Taemin is calling him Dad and Hodong’s face lights up more than ever and it’s so clear they both adore each other, it’s clear Taemin is thriving under the attention, and that Hodong is thriving giving the attention.

It’s not always easy, and it’s not always cute, but they’re a family now. And they love it, even when it’s difficult.

[anxiouslowercase]

dancing on the kitchen’s tiles

fandom: dc comics warning: none summary: at their sleepover-that-is-totally-not-a-date, jon learns that billy does not know how to slow dance. thankfully for him, he’s ready to fix that right away. notes: yes, another rare pair; no, i do not regret it. this prompt was picked from this list with the help of the always lovely @achinghcarts ! thank you so much for your help and support always!

Jon Kent, who so far had been eating the remaining cake batter from the bowl, letting his feet dangle gently from where he's sitting on the counter, freezes in place as he looks at the other boy's face. The spoon hangs comically from his lips, content probably already eaten but feeling too shocked to bring himself to put the utensil down. In front of him, Billy Batson smiles a mix between sheepish and endeared, arms crossed as he leans against the breakfast table.

“Are you serious? Like, for real?” Without changing his expression, Billy shakes his head. “Not even, like, for fun? As you watched movies?”

“There's not a lot of slow dancing in the movies I've watched,” is his excuse, and that seems to be enough to put the half kryptionian back in motion.

He drops the spoon on the already scrapped clean bowl and leaves it on the sink, quickly jumping down from the counter. The other boy straightens up, a slightly confused frown appearing on his face.

It had all started with Jon telling him about how he'd come back from patrol a bit earlier than usual and had caught his parents laughing and slow dancing all along the living room and the hallway. He'd made fun of Clark because he looked not nearly as smooth as the people on TV and even Tim was much better at it (which he knew because he had accidentally spied on them, but it was so accidental Billy it really shouldn't even count as spying) and, honestly, who could not know how to slow dance? And, it turns out, his boyfriend-not-boyfriend didn't, in fact, know. Jon was appalled to say the least because how was that even possible.

“We're fixing that right now,” he finally says, responding to the unsaid question on the older boy's face, as he makes a bee line for his phone.

“How come it's something to fix?” A soft smile inevitably comes back to his lips as he turns to look at the youngest Kent because dang he's cute. “People like me make people like your dad look better, you know.”

“But you are better than my dad,” is his whole explanation. “Have you seen The Lion King?” At the confused nod, he grins. “Great, so you already know the song, we're halfway there.” And just as he's done talking, the first few notes of a song Billy can't quite place right away start coming out of the speaker. It would be a lie if he said he wasn't the tiniest bit nervous when Jon started making his way back to him.

“We really don't have to do th--”

“It's actually kind of fun,” the half kryptionian cuts him off, gently grabbing his wrist and pulling him away from the table. “And we can keep talking and it's not like we're doing anything more interesting.” And Billy was ready to point out that they could always just put a timer on their cake and go watch TV or play some videogames, when the cheeks of the boy he was stupidly crushing on turns a pretty shade of pink, one that almost right away makes him forget what he planned on saying. Jon, on the other hand, looks down. “A-and... Maybe I want to. Do it.” He clears his throat. “It's... It's like a moment. F-for couples a-and... Future. Couples.” The blush extends a bit further up his face and, really, what was the Phyllis boy to do but just smile (and maybe melt a little)?

“... You want to have a... Couple moment? With me?” His voice is slow, gentle, and sounds way more in control and collected than how he actually feels. Vaguely, in the back of his mind, he seems to be able to conjure up an image of two lions in love as the music continues - go figure.

“Is that weird? Or bad?” Jon asks, suddenly shy. With a soft smile, the other boy shakes his head and uncrosses his arms, showing his open palms up towards him.

“You're the boss.”

It could be the act of trust, or how he didn't belittle his opinion, or just how he didn't start complaining when it came to doing something silly that *he* wanted. Or maybe it could be because he'd noticed he really liked Billy, and the fact that he'd basically said yes to having a cheesy, couple-y moment with him had his stomach doing flips. And maybe Jon was a textbook hopeless romantic. Whatever the case, it doesn't even take a second for a grin to paint his face.

Hoping for his palms not to be too sweaty, the half kryptionian takes the other boy's hands and doing his best to pretend he is not shaking in both nerves and anticipation, he guides one of them to his waist and keeps the other on his. Timidly, he takes half a step closer (yet refuses to look past his chin because... Because... Well, he isn't sure, but probably because his heart feels a little weird right now as it is.)

“Right, so... So you can keep your hand there and--” he swallows. “I'll keep... We can keep the other one up here, and...” His gaze falls to their feet, and he takes small steps to move them to a nearby spot in which they won't collide against a chair, for that would definitely take from the charm of it. “And now we just... I mean, my mum taught me how to count for... For the waltz? B--”

“Is this a waltz?” It's funny, because Billy's voice is nothing short of a whisper, yet it somehow manages to startle him. And so his eyes immediately move up and he is already looking at him and... And could it be, that his gaze is just as soft as his voice? Is that too cheesy?

He can feel the warmth spreading on his cheeks and slightly down his neck, and though it is a sort of reassurance to see that the other boy's face is also lightly flushed, Jon still finds that his mouth opens without any real sound coming out of it. Which is so stupid. He quickly snaps it shut, but that doesn't make is less difficult to come up with a sensible reply. And so, just as stupidly, he shrugs.

“Maybe not.” Billy just hums, contemplative yet not quite looking away, and the younger boy fidgets. “R-right, so... So then you can--” he brings the hand that was on his to his waist, and then puts his on his other shoulder. “And I do this and... We can just sway.”

“... Just sway?” There's a hint of amusement in the Phyllis boy's voice, but he still starts moving very slowly - though hardly on time with the music. “This is all there is to the great art of slow dancing?” The teasing note seems yo be enough to make Jon's shoulders relax (which he didn't know were so tense, to be honest) and he even manages to roll his eyes - though he does try to guide the other into a more rhythmic movement.

“You still have to... Let the music guide you - which you're not doing.” Billy chuckles, and he can't help but smile a little. “And my parents say it's not just the dancing, or how you do it - it's the whole experience that counts.”

“How so?” The older boy asks, head tilting to the side as his hands wrap a little bit tighter around the other's waist; he doesn't seem to notice.

“It's also the song, and where you are and who you're dancing with. Mom says that even if your partner steps on you during most of the dance, it can still be the most special one, cause it's...”

He trails off, palms already getting sweaty again because maybe his explanation is being too cheesy and he's making this moment too much of a moment and they were just supposed to be making a cake for their middle-of-the-night snack but now they're too close and he can feel the love tonight, mister Elton John, he really can, but can he?

And maybe the question is too evident on his face, or maybe Billy is also going through a similar thinking process, because he smiles a bit more confident and nods, fixing his eyes on his.

“Cause it's you. And us.” Dear Rao please don't have his father checking on his heartbeat because he's pretty sure he's going into cardiac arrest. “I get it.”

“... You do?” He nods again, and now Jon can feel the warmth going all the way down his chest, too.

“I would've tried this much sooner if I'd known I'd get this moment with you.” Now he's definitely going into cardiac arrest.

And the thing with Billy is that they have been toeing the line here and there for a while now. They've gone on dates that aren't quite dates, and they have hold hands without really putting a name on anything, and they have made comments that, according to Maya, are a way too clear indicator that they both want to keep moving forward. But that's all there is, they've both been respectful and quite timid about taking steps - or at least they had been until now, because before he can fully process the moment itself, Jon's mouth runs without his permission and softly blurts out:

“Hey, can I kiss you?”

For a second that is way too long, if the half kryptionian has any saying on it, there's only silence except for the music still playing from the phone. And, to be completely honest, he does have the knee-jerk reaction of pulling away because what if he went too far? But, thankfully, before he can actually move, Billy smiles and hugs him just a tiny bit closer.

“I'd like that, yeah.”

[snatchersnatched]

Why my affections extend to Snatcher and the Prince

With a title like that, you must be wondering “What the hell does Kitty have cooking up this time? Just a random shitpost? A short story about how she likes creepy things? Etcetera?”

It’s uh, it’s more deeper than that.

Now you also must be wondering why I’m not talking about how I found ahit, or something similar. It’s not really a complicated story. My friend sent me a dm one night about Luke getting a part in a game, and that was that. And before you ask, no, I do not like Snatcher just because Luke voiced him. And no, it’s also not only because I’m plain ol’ attracted to him, which is also a factor, but there’s a bigger part of the picture.

It’s about to get a little depressing, and I usually don’t talk about this, but, here we go. This gets personal, uhhh I guess tw for bullying and abusive friendships?

Let’s open up an old page, 9th grade to be specific. I was a dumbass, let’s just get that out of the way.

I was introduced to this girl, I’m gonna call her M. I knew her since 7th grade because of another friend, though we weren’t really friends at first. Anyway, she decided to approach me during lunch cause none of her other friends were in the same period, so I was like sure, cause I usually am up for making new friends.

We bonded over Big Hero 6, and we both decided to see it together one night. Thus, our friendship was solidified. We had sleepovers, and get-togethers, and talked a lot together during lunch. We were pretty much attached to the hip at that point.

Then, February came around.

My mom said we were going to go to Florida for a week in March! Wow, a week away from school. I immediately asked M if she wanted to come with us, and she said yes. After that, she got me into Transformers.

It took a slow plunge from there.

I won’t get into every single detail, but here’s the basics.

We shared the love for this franchise for a while, even starting a long never-ending roleplay and watching the movies together and the cartoons and all that.

But after a while, in tenth grade, it just sort of took a crash.

She wanted to know when I was going to nap, in fact she never did want me to nap after school. We got into a fight about my weight, and she blocked me instead of talking things out. It made me cry hysterically in English, because we were such close friends, why would she do this?

We made up only one week later, but that nearly costed a friendship with someone else. Because she didn’t want me to be friends with her, despite that friend sticking up for me when I was upset.

I wanted to sleep early one night, and she reprimanded me for it, saying that I always “slept” during the day and that our roleplay was much more important than sleeping at that time. I told her, ok, I’ll stay up a little longer then, but she just rejected that idea and told me passive-aggressively, “Goodnight.”

When I wanted to nap after school, cause I was always so exhausted, she’d say no, you always do. That led me to having to promise to only take a nap once a week, which led me to being exhausted more often. I could barely do my homework because she just wanted me to focus on her.

Later 2015, Undertale released. I was super excited, and I adored the game. I found out M liked it too, so I asked if we could start a roleplay together about it. Suddenly, because I also liked Undertale, she didn’t like it anymore. This is when she started to get really territorial over Transformers, saying it was her thing and that I had to find something else to like. Even though she wanted to continue the roleplay we had.

This also led to what I now find an amusing message from her friend yelling at me for liking Undertale and not Transformers, but let’s not get into that.

Finally, I was able to get out of the abusive relationship, because we had another fight, but got through it. I told her about my new interest, One Punch Man, but once again insulted me for it. It took a friend of mine to give me the courage to block her again once and for all.

After that, she kept coming back in small ways. She’d insult me behind my back, she’d mention her weight around me just to draw attention to my weight. Etc.

I haven’t really recovered, if I’m honest.

But slowly, I have, and this is why we’re here right now.

I never really mentioned this to any of my friends, new and old that I made after I got away from M. I was severely depressed, and old habits die hard as they say. I was really struggling through 11th and the first half of 12th grade because I was scared that M would try to force herself into my life again.

Then, A Hat in Time came out.

I made new friends, and I gained a new love and fascination for a game I never gave a second glance before then. I also had this love for our lovely purple noodle, and his past prince self. At first I thought it was just because I liked tragic characters, and that Luke voiced him and I just thought that he was pretty cool.

Slowly, I found myself relating to him more and more as we found out more about his past, mostly with Vanessa. How controlling she was, how horrible and abusive she was.

Soon, he became a comfort character, someone I could shout my love about whenever I wanted.

As you all know, David soon came in the picture, and I found myself being in a similar situation M put me in because he insulted me for my likes of Snatcher/Prince.

I kept my love for him, and it only got stronger when David left the picture.

When Seal The Deal came out, and we saw all this dialogue about Snatcher talking about Vanessa and almost seeming to lament over the past, it came to me in an epiphany.

He’s a comfort character, I love him so much, because he helps me see that it’s ok to move on, and that after you get out of an abusive relationship/friendship, it gets better. No, I don’t see myself in the sense of I eat souls and I make contracts and I kill people. He actually helped me get through the past pain I suffered through.

I’m not of course putting down my friends that also helped me be able to laugh at my past. But I suppose it was a more spiritual connection that I needed, someone I could relate to and project myself onto to help myself heal.

I still love Snatcher, that fact is obvious, and I’ll never stop loving him. No matter how much I’m insulted, or took down for it. He helped me through a dark time in my life, which seems funny and silly, because he’s a fictional character. But I suppose sometimes you just need that extra push to get through something.

I want to thank Gears for Breakfast for making such wonderful characters, and helping me make new friends that I never thought I’d be able to make. And I want to thank my friends, the ones who have stuck by my side, and helped me through big puddles of mud when I needed it.

Thank you, all of you. For supporting me, and supporting my stupid thoughts and stories.

Here’s to another year, aye?

[downin-thevalley]

Marlene McKinnon is Not a Werewolf

(Based on this text post)

(I never really write let alone post fanfiction so uhhh let’s go)

          “Jesus, Sirius” said Remus, “this is disgusting and I will have no part of it.”

        Sirius wrapped James’ invisibility cloak around him like a cape so that his head was seemingly floating in midair. Even to the other marauders this was unnerving. “Is it really much worse than the time we snuck into McGonagall’s office?”

        “Yes.”

        “Well, is it worse than chasing Snape with a shampoo bottle while we were under this thing?”

        “Yes,” Peter chimed in.

        “Okay, well, is it worse than—”

        “Sirius!” Remus interrupted, “sure, we’ve done worse from an objective point of view, but this isn’t even that funny.” He made eye contact with Peter who, by nature, followed Remus’ lead. Sirius looked towards James in hopes of the same comradery. He was unfortunately met by dark brown eyes glaring at him over large framed glasses. Sirius pouted.

        “James! My best mate! My brother, my—”

        “Oh, Sirius, you drama queen. Spying on the girls…”

        “Is something you should be dying to do!! You do realize that Evans is a girl, and therefore part of this sleepover business?”

        At this James blushed and went rigid. “Uh, yeah, wh-which is why I think it is wrong to spy on them.  She already hates my guts, and if we got caught—”

        “Which we won’t!”

        “Anyway! If we got caught Evans would beat my arse. And for the rest of my life she’d be glaring at me with those bright green eyes, swishing her hair in my face as she turned up her nose at me and strode away…” James flopped back on his bed, groaning into his hands. “I just can’t stand it, Sirius.  You’re on your own for this one.”

        Sirius rolled his eyes and snatched his broom from the end of his bed. “Fine, have it your way.  But if I happen to hear something particularly juicy, you lot aren’t gonna hear it from me!”

        Him and his broom concealed beneath the invisibility cloak, Sirius descended the staircase from the boys’ dormitories to the common room.  Floating scarcely a foot above the ground, he looked up at the girls’ staircase. He gave a loud gulp and slowly ascended, careful of his feet not touching the ground and blowing his cover. Finally, he found a door slightly ajar, and heard the familiar voices of the girls in his second year.  The sound of their chatter and music covered his awkward entrance which would have given him away under just about any other circumstances.

        He figured he could stand now instead of hovering.  He wasn’t entirely sure, though; he’d never gotten this far before after all.  Clutching his broomstick to his chest, he stood pressed against the wall, thankful that he wasn’t forcefully removed by the floor beneath him.

        Holy shit. I’m really here. I’m really doing this. Oh, Prongs, you don’t know what you’re missing!

        The room was more crowded than usual, and the party was in full swing.  It was warm, and it smelled of—was that rose? Citrus? Lilac? Jesus, did they put all their perfumes in a cauldron and let it fester in the corner of the room? It was all rather intoxicating for Sirius.  He strained his ears over the strange music they were playing to try and make out what they were saying.

        “Lily and Severus, sitting in a tree!”

        “Get off it, Mary!” Lily retaliated, giving her a swat on the shoulder from the bed she sat on.

        “Well, if not him, then who?”

        “I don’t know. Boys just aren’t mature or appealing in their second year.”

        “I bet you fancy the Potter boy!”

        “Don’t make me vomit, Dorcas!”

        Okay, maybe James was wise not to come.

        Mindless chatter ensued.  Topics such as muggle stories, schoolwork, and boys came up, but no boys Sirius knew or cared for much, so he was growing tired of his little stunt.  He started towards the door, awkwardly trying to mount his broom without knocking anything over or bumping into something or someone.

        “Ugh, who here knows that one healing spell?” Marlene groaned next to Lily on the bed.

        “That time of the month again, Marlene?”

        Sirius stopped suddenly. His blood ran cold. Surely he had heard wrong.

        “Yes, it’s awful,” she said. “I’m in so much pain. I can’t believe this has to happen every stupid month.”

        Sirius had to clap a hand over his mouth to keep in his shock.

        “I feel sort of silly, but I sort of wish it’d happen to me already,” piped up Mary.

        Why would Mary want that?

        “Why would you want it, Mary?” Lily asked.

        “I dunno. I think it’s sort of neat to be in sync with the moon like that.”

        This statement caused Sirius to stumble off his broom. Unfortunately, as close to the door as he was, this caused his left foot to step out onto the staircase. Losing his balance further, he yelped, falling onto his back and sliding down the concrete slab where the stairs used to be.

        “What was that?” Asked Marlene. The girls all looked at the door and shrugged.

        Sirius was left sliding helplessly. His heart was pounding in his ears. He was still in shock. He suddenly wished he’d listen to his friends, for now he was stuck with this bit of information he was sure he wasn’t supposed to hear.

        Marlene McKinnon is a werewolf, too.

--

        Sirius didn’t remove the invisibility cloak until he reached his dormitory.  There, he slammed the door shut, dropped his broom to the ground, and tried to control his breathing.

        Peter was asleep, but James and Remus were sitting up in bed reading.  After James was hit by his cloak flying through the air, they could clearly see Sirius’ face: pale, clammy, and eyes bulging.

        “Sirius, are you alright?” Remus asked, putting his book on the bedside table.

        “Yeah, you look like you’ve seen a ghost. Did Nearly-Headless Nick catch you?”

        Sirius realized he was still clinging to the closed door.  He tried to relax and appear casual, but he stumbled and the hand leaning on the door frame began slipping. “Oh, I’m great. Heard a lot of interesting stuff over there. Yup. So much cool shit that I’m just going right to bed right now.”

        Remus smirked. “And you’re not going to tell us anything you overheard?”

        “Nope” Sirius said, changing into his pajamas, “I told you I wouldn’t tell you anything I heard. You weren’t the ones sticking your neck out.  And besides, it’s not my secret to tell—”

        “Secret!” James perked up. “Was it Evans? Did she admit she can’t resist me? I bet she’s secretly madly in love with me.”

        “Stuff it, Prongs, big red still can’t stand to look at you.”

        “Whatever you say,” James shrugged and pulled up his covers. “So what did you find out? You can’t just bring it up and hop into bed.”  

        “Actually, I can, and I will,” Sirius said as he did just that, jumping into his bed and under his covers in one swift motion.

        “I bet he’s just pulling our legs. Padfoot didn’t hear a damn thing, just wants to make us feel as if we’re missing out.”

        Sirius was about to defend himself, but then was reminded of what he was keeping concealed. “That time of the month again, Marlene?” His breath caught in his chest all over again.

        “Haha, yup, you caught me, goodnight boys.”

        Remus gave him a curious look. It was obvious Sirius wasn’t going to sleep any time soon—he was just laying on his back, eyes wide, staring at the top of his four-poster.  Something he heard in the girls’ dorm was clearly bothering him. He considered pressing Sirius to talk more about what he’d heard, but it was late.  He figured if it was still bothering Sirius in the morning, Sirius would talk about it.  He had trouble keeping his mouth shut. After having this silent debate Remus shrugged and rolled under his blankets.

        As the night went on Sirius could hear his roommates snoring, but he barely blinked for hours. Poor Marlene, he thought, having to suffer every full moon like he’d seen Remus. Wait, it wasn’t near the full moon. So why was Marlene in pain? Maybe it was different for girl werewolves? Then again, Remus would feel the repercussions of his transformations before and after the full moons, so maybe Marlene was just extra sensitive to it.

        Those words bounced around in his head over and over as sleep finally took hold of him hours later. Poor Marlene.

--

        “Pads!” James exclaimed at breakfast the next morning.  He reached over and pulled on Sirius’ shaggy hair, lifting his face out of the bowl of oatmeal in front of him. “What’s the matter with you? Didn’t you sleep at all last night?”

        Sirius tried rubbing the sleep (and oatmeal) out of his eyes.  Remus offered him an extra napkin, and only then did Sirius seem to realize he was covered in warm oats. “Aw, shit” he said, furiously scrubbing his face as he heard the laughter from down the table.

        “Sirius, something’s clearly bothering you,” Remus said quietly. “What’s going on? You know you can tell us.”

        Pulling the napkin down from over his eyes, Sirius spotted Marlene a short way down the table. His eyes lingered until she turned to look back at him, at which point he promptly went back to cleaning his breakfast off his face and now the front of his shirt.

        Remus looked at him, to Marlene, to him, to Marlene, and back again. “Marlene? What about Marlene? Did she say something?” His eyes widened. “Did you…did you see her…?”

        Sirius looked horrified that Remus would even think such a thing. “God, Moony, no!  What on earth would give you that idea? There is nothing the matter with her!” Throwing down his napkin, Sirius saw Marlene getting up from the table, and hastily followed suit. “It’s fine, she’s fine, I’m fine, I gotta go… take a piss.”

        Sirius’ pace quickened as Marlene rounded the corner out of the great hall.  James, Remus, and Peter all looked at each other, equally confused.

        James shrugged, shoveling a spoonful of scrambled eggs in his mouth. “Knew he fancied her.”

                Sirius followed Marlene all the way up to Gryffindor tower without saying a word.  What was he even supposed to say? As Marlene reached the portrait hole, instead of saying the password, she whipped around and was nose to nose with Sirius.

        “What, Black? What? What do you want?”

        Sirius was so taken aback, all he could do was stand there with his mouth open, words failing to come out. Marlene grew more aggravated.

        “You stare at me all through breakfast, at least when you weren’t swimming in your food, you follow me all the way to the tower, what? What is it? Spit it out! I’m sick of—”

        “I know your secret!”

        The sudden exclamation surprised both of them. “What are you on about?”

        “Don’t ask me how, but…I know. I know about your…monthly ailment.”

        Her eyes were the size of saucers and her face started glowing red. “What?”

        “I overheard something. I’m sorry. I heard you and the other girls talking about your ‘time of the month’. And I just want you to know, your secret is safe with me. And I’m glad you have friends who aren’t afraid of you being a…you know…a werewolf and all.”

        Marlene’s brow furrowed as Sirius struggled to find the words. “You think I’m a werewolf?”

        “Well…yeah.”

        “Oh my God.”

        “I’m sorry, I know I’m not supposed to know, but I—”

        “Oh my God!”

        “Please don’t be mad! I promise your secret is safe with me! In fact, I—”

        “HAHAHAHA!!”

        Marlene was doubled over in laughter, much to the confusion of Sirius.  He blinked at her and chuckled back, unsure of what was so funny.

        “Sirius, Sirius,” she said between gasps of air, “I take it you haven’t had the talk? You don’t know what a girl’s ‘time of the month’ is?”

        “Well, I do get the impression that it’s different for girls and boys.”        

        She let out another guffaw just as a few other second year girls reached the top of the stairs.

        “What’s so funny?” One of the girls asked.

        “Yeah, Sirius,” Marlene said, “why don’t you tell them what’s so funny?”

        Sirius was even more confused. Did she want the whole world to know? “Well, I don’t really get the joke.”

        “Black, just follow us,” Marlene said leading the group into the common room, the painting swinging shut behind them.

--

        James, Remus, and Peter walked into their dorm to find a lump on Sirius’ bed under the covers.

        “Padfoot, that you?” James asked. “If you’re not too tired, we were just going to head out on the quidditch pitch.”

        “Go on ahead. I… I need some time to think.”

        “Oh, come on, Sirius! What is going on with you?” Said Remus, exasperated, and sitting next to the lump under the covers. “What happened last night? Why did you run out of the great hall?  What’s so bad that you can’t even tell us?”

        Sirius rolled onto all fours and poked his head out from under the blanket so that he was inches away from Remus. “Marlene McKinnon is not a werewolf.”

        Siruis went back under, not unlike a turtle, as the three boys exchanged confused looks.

        “What? Did you think she was a werewolf?”

        Sitting up this time, Sirius wrapped the blanket around his shoulders. “Do any of you know what a menstrual cycle is?”

        “What?!”

        “It. Is. Horrifying.” Sirius’ eyes fixed on a spot on the floor. “They…they went into so much detail.”

        Remus was having trouble holding back his laughter. James and Peter still looked confused. “Is that what you heard last night?”

        “Well, sort of,” he explained. “I heard…Dorcas said something to Marlene about her ‘time of the month’, and…”

        “Oh, sweet Jesus,” James said, finally understanding.

        “And, well, I know you have a ‘time of the month’, Remus, so I thought…”

        “Sirius!” Remus began to blush. “Menstruation and Lycanthropy are very different things!”

        “I know! I know this now!”

        James sat on the bed across from Remus and Sirius. “So wait,” he said, “when you followed Marlene out of the great hall morning, you asked her…”

        Sirius went back into hiding.

        “Oh, Padfoot, you didn’t!”

        A quiet groan, growing louder, was heard from under the blankets.  The other boys laughed until their sides hurt.

        “Come on, guys, it’s embarrassing enough” Sirius whimpered from under his covers.  “No one told me! No one told me a god damn thing!” He poked his head out again. “Did you know that they bleed once a month?!”

        The laughter tapered off as the preteen boys grew uncomfortable.

        “Well you don’t have to put it like that,” Peter muttered at his shoes.

        “Well it’s the goddamn truth, and if I had to hear it, so do you.” Sirius retaliated. “I mean, you bleed from your nether regions once a month, it changes you.”

        “Sirius! We don’t want to hear this!”

        “Well, James, I don’t care. I was happy and naïve like you, once.” Sirius’ face scrunched up in thought, then popped up to look at James. “Hell, I blame this whole thing on you!”

        “Me?! Why me?”

        “You refused to go with me last night.  If you’d been there, or sufficiently talked me out of it, none of this would have happened.”

        James opened his mouth to retaliate, but instead sighed. “Okay, fine. Whatever helps you sleep at night.”

        “Oh, by the way,” Sirius said, smirking, “the girls found out how I found out and got McGonagall involved, so we’re in detention all this week.”

        “Wait…did you say ‘we’? Because you better not have said ‘we’!” James said.

        “Look, boys. If I’m going down, you’re going down with me.”

        Three different hands smacked him upside the head in sync.

[fallen029]

Sleepovers, Sickness, and Switching Sides

When she had invited him to stay the night, it seemed like the most casual thing ever. And it still felt that way…right up until about half an hour before he was supposed to come over.

It all started the day before when they got back from a short mission. Her cut of the commission though was just enough to pay her rent for the next month, so everyone decided to take some time off. Err, rather Natsu had declared that he didn't want to take another mission for a week at least and everyone else more or less agreed. Gray had been feeling kind of down recently and Erza was going to off to some place a few towns over to look at some new armor.

It was while they were at the guild hall, celebrating their victory and time off by drinking heavily, that Lucy had whispered the suggestion in Natsu's ear. They had been together for coming up on three months at that point, but had never spent the night together. Not together in the most important at least. Sure, they had spent the night with one another on missions and such, but they had never ever shared the same bed. And certainly not in a romantic way.

Natsu didn't seem to think much of it when she offered it to him. He just said that he was really tired that night and that they could the next day. Which was great! …Until the next day came.

Not only was she hungover, but she was also rushing around to clean up. Which was really silly when she thought about it. It was just Natsu after all. And it didn't matter if she cleaned the place spotless; he'd only make a mess anyhow.

Still, it just gave her something to do to keep her mind off…well. Not to mention, she did kind of need to pick up. And she called on Plue who was more than happy to help. She explained to him first though that when Natsu showed up, he was going to have to go back to the spirit world, that she and Natsu were going to be on a date of sorts. Plue only nodded in understanding before giving her a thumbs up.

Honestly, why she ever felt the need for friends outside of him was beyond her.

Lucy was busy scrubbing the bathroom floor as Plue more or less just slid around on the tile, when she heard a crash from her bedroom. As the door was open, she just peaked in there, not shocked to see Natsu had stumbled in from the window. Who he had with him did shock her some.

"Lucy," Happy called out. "We're here for the sleepover!"

"Yeah." Natsu was quick to head over to the bathroom. "We even brought sleeping bags, stuff to make S'mores, flashlights, and Happy and I both know a bunch of scary stories!"

There she was, on her hands and knees in the bathroom painstakingly scrubbing away, only to hear that. Ugh. Could her life get any worse?

"What are you doin', Luce?" Natsu asked as he stood in the doorway, staring at her. "You don't look ready for a sleepover."

"What do you mean?" she asked, frowning. Just from what he had described to her a minute ago, she had a sinking feeling that Natsu had no idea what exactly she had invited him over for.

"We're having a sleepover, aren't we?" He stared at her in wonder. "You sure don't look ready to go hiking or nothing. Do you even have your sleeping bag?"

She just stayed there on the floor for a moment or too, gapping at him before slowly saying, "Natsu, I invited you to a sleepover. Not a campout."

"Eh?"

"We're not going camping, you big dope! We're going-"

"Oh, cool, Plue!" Happy, who had been fluttering around with his wings, hit the ground then before running into the bathroom and sliding on his furry little feet as well across the tiled floor. "This is so much fun."

"Happy," Lucy huffed. "Stop that."

"Why?" He slid around some more, narrowly missing the shaking celestial spirit. "Plue's doing it."

"Plue's helping clean."

"How is what he's doing any different than what I'm doing?"

"Because I say it is, cat!"

Natsu only sighed. "So are we not camping? Because I was totally planning on making us a really awesome fire for our S'mores and everything."

"Yeah." Happy came to a stop in front of Lucy, frowning. "I wanted to go camping."

"You can go do whatever you want, cat," she told him with a matching facial expression. "You weren't invited to sleepover anyhow."

"What?" He looked to his best friend then. "Natsu, you said-"

"What do you mean he's not invited, Luce?" Natsu scratched the back of his head, frowning down at her. "Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm feeling fine, Natsu."

"You sure? 'cause you sure are acting funny. I mean first you invite me to go camping-"

"I never invited you to go camping!"

"-and now you say you didn't. Then you say that Happy can't come over," he went on. "I mean, is something up?"

She was actually beginning to feel rather silly down there on the floor, so she slowly got up, dusting herself off while she was at it.

"Nothing's up, Natsu," she told him with a frown. "It's just…this was kind of a date."

"A date?" More head scratching. "You sure? 'cause I could have sworn it was a camping trip-"

"No, Natsu. It was totally a date." Then she made a face. "You didn't…invite anyone else did you? Like Gray and Erza?"

"No. Then we'd have to share our S'mores."

She blinked. Then she sighed. "Natsu, didn't you think that when I asked if you wanted to sleepover that I was, you know, implying that it was something…between us?"

"How is this not between us? Me, you, Happy, and Plue." He just stared blankly back at her. "You know, the four of us?"

"Yeah." Happy wasn't over being left out. "How come Plue gets to be here then if I don't?"

"Plue was helping clean." She looked over at the little white spirit. "Huh, Plue?"

He nodded his head in agreement.

"I think you're confused about whose side you are on here, Plue," Happy grumbled before looking up at Natsu. "Does that mean that I have to go?"

"Well…" Natsu was clearly confused by the whole thing and no doubt still bummed out about not being able to start that bonfire. "It was Lucy's sleepover thingy. So if it's a date, I guess so, little buddy."

Happy's ears fell down some then as he looked to Lucy. She just shot Natsu a dirty look for putting her in the situation.

"Fine, Happy, you can stay."

"Really?" And just like that, he was perked right back up. She only rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, if you want to." Might as well. "You can stay for awhile too, Plue. If you wanna."

So they two of them went back to sliding around on Lucy's floor which she begrudgingly allowed because, really, what was the point anymore, while her and Natsu headed back into her bedroom.

"So did you really not know what a sleepover was?" Lucy asked with a frown. "Because you totally described a campout."

"Campout, sleepover, what's the difference?" He had dropped his and Happy's pile of stuff in the middle of her floor without a second thought. Ugh. "'cept apparently sleepovers don't include S'mores which, quite honestly, was my only reason for agreeing to this whole thing."

That made her huff slightly. "You are not serious?"

He just peeked into the bathroom once more at the sound of Happy letting out a slight yelp. He had slid into the toilet which caused Natsu to call out if he was alright.

"Aye, sir!" was his response which only made Lucy roll her eyes.

"I offered to send Happy home if that's what you want, Lucy," Natsu told her then as he turned his vision back to her. "But I mean, I just don't get what the big deal is. We always all hangout together. And-"

"But this was a date, Natsu. We never get to go on dates. And I planned for us to-"

"How is it a date if we're just going to stay here in your apartment? At least camping would have been fun."

"Really?" She was about done with him. "You can think of nothing remotely entertaining about staying at my apartment, ordering takeout, and just being alone? Alone, Natsu?"

He blinked. "What sort of takeout?"

Groaning, she went to sit down at her desk. "Whatever Happy wants since apparently our whole lives revolve around him."

That made Natsu frown. "If you're just going to be miserable tonight, Luce, Happy and I can go do something else. Like real camping."

"I don't care what you do, Natsu. I really don't."

Of course they ended up staying. Which was fine…if she hadn't totally planned on being alone with Natsu that night. Happy had a thoroughly grand time sleeping over, even after Plue left for the night. He had such a great time in fact that he didn't even end up using his sleeping bag. Nope. He ended up curled up right in between Lucy and Natsu in her already too tiny bed, completely running any chance at snuggling.

There went her night. And her drive to ever invite Natsu to sleep over again.

Natsu sat with his head down on the bar, staring aimlessly at the mug in front of him and the foam spilling over on the sides. Mirajane, who had been busy dealing with everyone else, finally took notice of his down attitude and immediately went to see what was bothering him.

"What's wrong, Natsu?" she asked in that overly concerned tone she had. And honestly, she was concerned. It wasn't like him not to be fighting with someone. "Don't tell me you're the same as Laxus."

"Did Laxus make Lucy hate him too?"

"No," she said with a shake of her head. "Laxus has somehow managed to catch a cold."

She thought that hearing that would cheer him up, but it didn't. Usually Natsu would take to mocking the man, especially considering he wasn't around, but he must have been really down if he wasn't even up for that.

"Sick, huh?" was all Natsu mumbled.

"Mmhmm. He woke up this morning and could hardly breath, his nose was so clogged. And his throat's killing him. I offered to take off to care for him, but he refused. He's a big baby about me treating him, well, like a baby. He's so cute."

Natsu only grunted. His head hurt.

"I did make him some tea before I left for work though," she went on. When she started talking about something, she couldn't stop. Especially if that thing was stupid Laxus. Ugh. Giggling, Mira added, "I even held the cup up to his mouth for him. He sure complained at first, but didn't dare stop me from doing it."

Gah! The last thing Natsu wanted to hear about at the moment was possibly the worst relationship in the world. Honestly, the thought of Laxus in a serious relationship still weirded him out. And to Mirajane?

"Mira." Suddenly Lisanna was in the seat next to Natsu, smiling at her sister. "I don't think that he really wants to hear about Laxus right now."

She smiled in apology. "Sorry, Natsu. It's just that I've found that no one wants to talk about Laxus. Except for Laxus, but then it's only him talking about all his accomplishments and-"

"Sister."

She giggled again. "Sorry. I guess my mind is else where today. What's your problem then, Natsu? Something about Lucy?"

"Yeah," he sighed, lifting his head slightly then. "She asked me to, like, spend the night last night, so I thought that we were going camping. Then she got mad at me."

Lisanna blinked. "Why would you think you were going camping?"

"Why wouldn't we go camping?"

Mira cocked her head to the side. "Is that all that happened? You thought you were going camping so she got upset? That doesn't sound like Lucy at all."

"Well," he began slowly before rubbing the back of his neck. "I might have invited Happy to come along too. I think that's what she was most upset about. But how was I supposed to know it was a date? I mean, if you offered Laxus to go camping, would he think it was a date?"

"I think that he'd think I was a tad crazy," Mira responded slowly. "But if I asked him to sleep over for the night, yes, I think he would presume that we were going to be alone. He wouldn't invite Freed or anyone, no."

"But Happy's not like Freed," Natsu defended. "He's not just a friend. He's…well, he's always with me. If she didn't want him there, she should have said so. And if she doesn't want him there, then maybe she should rethink even inviting me! It's not- Ah! Lisanna-"

"That's a very foolish thing to say, Natsu," she told him, having been unable to keep herself from thumping him in the head. "Honestly? Lucy's dating you, not Happy."

Mira grinned at the sight of Natsu rubbing his head. "Where is Happy anyhow, Natsu?"

"We slept over at Lucy's last night and when I woke up, they were both still super tired, so I left him over there."

"Wow. So you just invited him to sleep over without asking and then you left him for her to deal with?"

Natsu glared at Lisanna then. "You know, you're not being very supportive here."

"Why should I be? You're coming off as a real jerk."

"Lisanna," Mira sighed. "Natsu didn't know that it was a date. Maybe Lucy should have been more clear."

"Yeah! And you don't even know all the prep that I went through to go camping," Natsu told them. "I got our sleeping bags all ready, got stuff for S'mores, got flashlights, was all ready to make an awesome fire-"

"But she never said anything about camping, Natsu," Lisanna reasoned. "That was all you being silly. And no doubt drunk."

The last thing he wanted at that moment was to be scolded by the other woman in his life when the first one was all pissy with him. Laying his head back down, he looked to Mira.

"You think that I should apologize?"

"Do you think that you did something wrong?" Mira asked.

"Does he- Mira, are you serious?"

"Shush, Lisanna," was her sister's response, still just watching Natsu. "Do you?"

"Well…this is the first time that she's been mad at me since we started dating. And I don't like her being mad at me."

"That's not what I asked."

He moaned. "I guess I could have been a little nicer. Like sending Happy home when I realized that it was a date. But-"

"There are no buts in apologies, Natsu," Mira reminded him.

"Would you make Laxus apologize if he ruined one of your dates?" Natsu asked her then.

"If? He does all the time." When she started giggling again, he realized his flaw. Now she was going to start talking about him nonstop again. "Like this once, he-"

"Sister," Lisanna sighed.

Another giggle. "Oops. Well, I just meant that Laxus messes up a lot. I'm used to it. But you and Lucy have only been dating a few months, right?"

He blinked. "Uh…"

"Natsu, honestly?"

"Well, a few months sounds about right." It was hard for him to differentiate the memories from when they were a couple against the ones when they weren't. His whole life just kinda blurred together. "The point is that we don't fight. And last night I could tell that she was really upset with me."

"Well, leaving Happy over there wasn't a good plan first off," Mira told him. "But what's done is done. Now you need to focus on the rest of the day."

"What do you mean?"

"You aren't planning on going on any missions, are you?" Lisanna asked to which he shook his head.

"Nope."

"Then you need to make it up to Lucy," Mira told him with a confident nod of her head. "You should do something nice for her today. That'll fix things."

"And apologize," Lisanna reminded. "Don't forget that."

"What should I do for her though?"

"Whatever you think is right," Mira told him. That made him lift his head again in excitement.

"Alright! So camping is back on."

Sighing, Lisanna said, "Maybe, Natsu, since you're trying to make Lucy feel better, you should do something that she would like to do."

"Like what?"

"You're the one that's dating her," she pointed out. "You have to know something that she would like to do."

"Hmmm." That one took some thought for him. "Well, she likes paying her rent."

Mira giggled while Lisanna only grinned slightly. When he was being sincere was when he was the cutest.

"And she likes…well…writing. A lot."

"Oh, Natsu," Mira sighed before shaking her head. Someone was calling her name down at the other end of the bar. "I'm sure you'll figure something out. You're just going to have to learn to organize your time, okay? It's not about choosing Happy over Lucy or vice versa. It's just learning that they're both important to you and deserve some time alone with you. That's all."

"Yeah, Natsu," Lisanna assured him as her sister headed off to get back to work. "You know that Lucy loves Happy too. But she's your girlfriend. Sometimes you just have to be alone together. I mean, Happy doesn't take you everywhere with him, does he?"

Natsu grunted. "Guess you're right. I only-"

"Uh-oh," Lisanna cut him off, staring off behind them. Turning slightly, Natsu saw what she was so concerned about. "Mira's about to be very-"

"Laxus Dreyar!"

"Here she goes," Lisanna said with a frown. Natsu only watched as Laxus, looking worse for wear, came walking over to the bar, falling onto the stool next to Lisanna with a groan.

"What are you doing here, Laxus?" Suddenly, Mira was right back over to them. "I told you to-"

"Keep your voice down, woman," he grumbled as he laid his head down on the bar. "Aggravating my headache."

"Good." She had her serious look on then, that fake happiness disappearing quickly at the sight of her sick boyfriend. "Did I not tell you to stay in bed and to wait for me to come home? Huh?"

Grunt.

"Laxus-"

"I ain't sick, so I don't know why-"

"You are sick, Laxus. We went over that this morning. Have you forgotten already?"

Grunt.

"Laxus-"

"Stop saying my name."

"You could get everyone else sick. Do you realize that?" Mira wasn't letting up. "You're contagious."

"Can't be contagious if I ain't even sick."

She huffed then, clearly getting nowhere. Lisanna was giggling while Natsu was only staring at the man, watching as he shivered slightly despite the fact he had his huge coat on.

"Did you even rub that stuff on your chest like I said? That gel? It'll help clear up your nose."

"My nose is fine," he said through a sniffle.

"Laxus-"

"I can't do it," he told her, sounding so miserable that honestly Natsu was ready to just put the poor guy down. "Takes too much energy."

"But you had enough strength to walk all the way down to the bar?"

Grunt. Then, lifting his head a little, he stared up at her with his blood shot eyes and pale face. "Can you do it for me?"

"Laxus," she sighed. "I offered to stay home today with you, but you said that you didn't want me to."

"That was before."

"Before what?"

"Now."

"Lax-"

He sniffled, giving her his best sad face. Honestly, Natsu wished he had a camera because he was definitely using the whole scene as ammunition later. After all, all was fair in love and war.

"Come home? Make me soup?"

Groaning, she looked to her younger sister who was still staring at Laxus with an amused expression.

"Lisanna, can you watch the bar for me for, oh, two hours?"

"Two hours?" Laxus complained, but Lisanna only nodded her head.

"Of course, sis."

"Thank you." Then Mira looked to Laxus. "Come on then. Two hours only. Use them wisely."

"But-"

"One hour, fifty-nine minutes, and forty seconds."

He got to his feet slowly. "I hate you."

"Come on then," she said before giggling and smiling at Natsu. "See you later. Hope everything works out with Lucy."

"Thanks," he said softly as she walked around the bar, heading over to her boyfriend. She easily slipped her hand into one of his before dragging him along, right back out of the bar.

"They really are the weirdest couple I know," Lisanna said thoughtfully before jumping up. "Anyways, I have to get to work now, Natsu. You think that you can figure the rest of this out all on your own?"

"Guess so."

"Good." She patted him on the head then, to make up for before. "Just remember, Lucy likes more than paying her rent and writing. You just have to figure out what that is."

When Natsu got back to Lucy's apartment, he was honestly expecting Happy finally to have been kicked out. Instead, when Lucy answered the door (he figured it best to use that since it only made her more upset when he used her window), he found the Exceed still running around in there, cleaning.

"Hey, Natsu," Lucy greeted with a smile. "You disappeared this morning early."

"Yeah." He looked passed her, watching as Happy continued to dust Lucy's bookshelf. "Uh, buddy? What'cha doin'?"

Happy didn't even look over at him. "I'm cleaning for Lucy."

"Oh." Natsu blinked then as he slowly came further into the apartment. Shutting the door behind him, he asked slowly, "Why?"

"Because, Natsu, he felt bad about ruining our date last night," Lucy told him, laughing slightly. "When I woke up and you were gone, I thought that he would be too. But he was busy in the bathroom, cleaning the toilet and sink."

"Really now?" Natsu cocked his head to the side. "That's really, uh, thoughtful of you, Happy."

"Yeah, well, Lucy wasn't too happy with us last night," the cat told him with a nod of his head. "So it's the least I can do."

"Aw!" Lucy grinned over at the cat who sent a devious smirk back to Natsu. That's when something dawned on him.

"Hey, cat, this was totally my job to get her happy with us again," Natsu whispered to him with a hint of a hiss as soon as Lucy was distracted with something else. "I'm the boyfriend here."

"Yeah, well, I'm the loveable ball of joy that she's going to like way more."

"You don't even really like Lucy!"

Happy stuck his tongue out at him. "So? Who's she happy with now? That's right. Me. So ha."

Growling, Natsu turned his attention back to his girlfriend, who was also picking up around the apartment.

"Ah, Lucy?" He went over to her. "Here, let me help out some, huh?"

"No, that's okay, Natsu." She smiled at him. "I think me and Happy have it covered. Don't we, buddy?"

"Aye, sir!"

What? Natsu was seething then. How dare they both switch sides on him! Now what? It was the two of them against him? No fair!

"Well…maybe we could go out on a date tonight then?" Natsu asked then. "I mean, you don't have plans, do you, Luce?"

"Oh, Happy already said that he'd be fine if you and I spent the night together tonight," Lucy told him with a shrug. Natsu sent a glare over at his friend who only grinned back at him. The cat had thought of everything. "So why don't you go home for now, Natsu? Come back home around eight or so? You too, Happy. You've been more than enough help."

"Yeah, Happy," Natsu grumbled. "More than enough."

It wasn't until they were outside of the apartment (that time he totally used the window just to spite Lucy), that Natsu unleashed on his friend.

"What's the big idea, buddy?" Natsu asked in annoyance as his friend flew above him. "This was totally my chance at getting Lucy alright with me again and you went and ruined it."

"Sorry, Natsu," Happy said with a slight shrug of his shoulders. "It was you or me."

"Yeah, but she's my girlfriend," he pointed out. "Isn't there like rules against stuff like this? We're supposed to be friends!"

"She's not angry at us anymore," Happy told him. "So why does it matter?"

Natsu just hung his head with a sigh. Maybe he'd just have to pay her rent the next month or something. Because at the rate he was going, Happy would be her stupid boyfriend before long.

"Cheer up, Natsu," Happy told him then. "We still have stuff to make those S'mores, remember?"

"Oh yeah." Natsu grinned at that. "Then get ready, buddy, 'cause that's what we're going to be doing until eight. S'more, S'mores, and more S'mores."

"Aye, sir!"

In short, Natsu and Happy both got so sick once they got back to their place that they couldn't even move and Lucy had to come over and take care of them. Maybe Natsu did learn one thing from Laxus that day. If you can't make your woman happy, just make her your nurse. That absolves all problems, every time.