#we're not even going to talk about how they were sharing cups and the host even called it out and all hanbin said was yeah this is normal

[vendarkoe]

so hanbin just called himself and hao a married couple on TV . just so anyone who's wondering knows how it is rn .

translation: @haobinsplanet on twt

[warsinmyhead]

[Musing] The Beginning of Trouble and the Chats

TW: Exchanging stories about someone, mention of a blowjob, talking about male anatomy size and appearance, mention of bullying, mention of vandalism

The rookie agent decided to get something to drink after working out in the company's gym one morning and he checked his phone to find nearby cafes that had good ratings. Jimin, Amelie, and Dabin were away in another country for a mission, which meant Tadashi was left to train and practice his field skills on his own.

One of the clerks asked if he needed help finding the place and he politely explained that he was going to follow the directions on his phone. He excused himself and turned left as instructed by his phone. Every now and then, he looked up to check his surroundings, then he would check his phone again to make sure he was on the right path.

As he rounded the corner, he looked up to see the sign for the cafe in question and he squinted as he got closer. There was a couple sitting outside the cafe and he thought the girl looked familiar.

"Briggs-san, is that you?" he asked as he approached the table.

The girl looked up from her conversation with the young man seated across from her and blinked in surprise, before allowing a smile to cross her lips. She waved and then gestured to the empty third chair at their table.

"Long time no see Dashi," she responded. Her right hand motioned toward the guy seated across from her and she introduced him as Hiro. "Hiro went to school with Jimin. Hiro, this is Tadashi, we work together on occasion. He's at the Tokyo location while I'm in New York."

Tadashi turned to his left and he shook hands with the other male. The other male sized him up in surprise and murmured that he was impressively tall.

"I'm in town for a college friend's wedding," Briggs shared as she adjusted her jacket collar to lie flatter. "Ran into Hiro on the subway and we thought we'd catch up. Forgot this place was so close to the Seoul shop." She glanced inside to see how long the line was and she looked back at Tadashi. "Line's a lot shorter now – you're welcome to join us after you get your order."

#########

"I think it's funny how we all know sunbae," Hiro mused as he swirled the contents of his cup around a few times. "You two work with him and I went to school with him."

"How did you meet him at school?" Tadashi asked as he cupped his drink in both hands.

Hiro chuckled a bit nervously and he took a sip from his cup before sharing that the pair met at a party. "We got invited to the same party and he let me have his water when the hosts ran out. Eventually we ran into each other a lot over a week and a half, and um..."

"Just say it," Briggs said as she crossed her arms over her chest. "You were pretty confident when you blurted it out the first time we met."

Hiro reddened a little and he rubbed the back of his neck. "Oho, I did, didn't I? Um, well I blew him over spring break. See, I was really curious about him and he was pretty cool and nice to me, even though everyone thought I was a bit a of – eh what's the word noona?"

"Manwhore," she offered.

Tadashi nearly choked on his drink when he heard what happened. Hang on, this guy already got with Jimin-san? Was he really just a friend or was he an ex?

Hiro must have sensed Tadashi's reaction to his revelation and he quickly added it was a one time thing. "I don't like hyung that way, not anymore! I think it was a crush and then I realized we're probably not the best match! Why are you his boyfriend or something?"

Now it was Tadashi's turn to blush and he fumbled with his words to explain himself. He kind of thought they were a thing, but come to think of it, had Jimin-san called him his boyfriend/partner or something?

"I'll go with maybe there's something," Briggs concluded with an amused raise of her brows. She leaned back in her seat and shook her head with a laugh. "Man, hearing about Ji now is a world away from how he was when I first met him at work."

Tadashi tilted his head curiously as it dawned on him that his elder never really talked about his early days at Kingsman. He knew Jimin and Briggs were here before the dreaded V Day that everyone at the organization talked about, but he never pushed to ask about how things were. Some of the other personnel preferred to forget about things leading up to V Day, and others admitted they were pretty new to the organization too and didn't know much either.

Before he could open his mouth to ask for more details, he was startled when he heard a ringtone go off for a K-pop girl group on someone's phone. He's pretty sure its that girl group with the 3 Japanese members, because some of the Tokyo branch talked about their success in passing.

"Sorry that's me," Hiro apologized. He answered the phone and responded in short, but polite sentences, then hung up. "Sorry everyone, that was my advisor. He asked me to move our meeting up to 15:45, which means I should get going now." He stood up from his seat and looked around for a waitress to pass his empty plate and cup to.

Briggs checked her watch and noted that she needed to think about getting back to her hotel to change for the rehearsal dinner. She straightened up and called out to Hiro before he started to pass over his empty cup and plate. "Hey, what do you have for chat systems or apps?"

"I've got KaTalk, why ask noona?" Hiro asked.

Briggs turned her attention to Tadashi and repeated her question.

"Umm...I don't know – I've got iMessage and I think I have LINE?" he offered.

"I used to have LINE, but I got locked out of my account and I can't reset the password," Hiro sighed. "But I have an iPhone too."

Briggs tapped the table surface and nodded sharply. "Okay, so iMessage it is. Seeing as we didn't get to discuss our favorite social media-challenged 30 something now, let's exchange stories over iMessage. We good with that?"

She looked at Hiro, then Tadashi for a response and both nodded.

"Then let's chat about the man himself. Funny, good-to-know, and whatever we can think of. No hate or threats toward him."

############

@sovrumana

[bwbatta]

The one where you get together (1)

Abstract: Y/N and Sirius have been friends since they first met on the Hogwarts Express, so when they do get together, they decide not to tell their friends straight away. (Friends AU)

Pairing: Sirius Black x Lupin sister!Reader

Warnings: Swearing, talking about sexual content

Word Count: 3.5K

A/N: To celebrate reaching 500 followers, I'm dropping another mini series as a thank you to everyone who has shared and supported my work! Add yourself to my taglist here 

Series Masterlist | Main Masterlist

You could still vividly remember the first time you met Sirius Black.

Boarding the train to Hogwarts the first time, you managed to find a compartment with your brother, Remus, before it was descended upon by two rowdy boys with large grins.

James Potter and Sirius Black had, with no hesitation, introduced themselves to you and you quickly became friends, especially when you pulled your money together and bought a various selection of chocolates from the trolley. When the sorting hat placed all of you in Gryffindor, it only reaffirmed your friendship.

It wasn't just the four of you in your little group though, the boys were placed in a dormitory with another boy, Peter, and you shared a dorm with two other girls who also became fierce friends of yours; Lily Evans and Marlene McKinnon.

Of course, growing up together through Hogwarts had it's arguments and fall outs, though somehow you always seemed to remain friends.

It wasn't until your seventh, and final year of Hogwarts did the surprising pair of Lily and James get together which solidified your friendship group even further. Between Sirius and you, the bet you had made in your fourth year regarding when the pair would get together, finally came to an end where you had happily took your winnings with a smile and paid for a bottle of Firewhiskey to celebrate.

After graduating, you ended up moving in with Marlene, finding a perfect two bedroom flat for you to share, close to Diagon Alley. The boys had taken a page from your book with Sirius using some of his inheritance from his great uncle and buying a flat directly across the Leaky Cauldron.

Whilst he had invited Peter to also live with him and Remus, the boy politely refused with the intention to stay with his parents for a while.

James however, had asked Lily to move in with him almost the second they graduated and the pair had moved to a little cottage in Godric’s Hollow. It wasn’t long afterwards that James had proposed to Lily which led to the current series of events.

About an hour before, you and Marlene had walked down the aisle in the gardens of Potter Manor in your bridesmaids dresses, while Lily had donned a white dress and followed you. Standing opposite your brother and Sirius, the latter caught your eye when your friends said their wedding vows.

With a wink, Sirius had your attention and you weren't exactly sure what it was that felt different, but something definitely did.

As the reception started, you watched Lily and James take some of their wedding photos together. The smile on your face was something you couldn't help as Remus appeared at your side, a similar expression on his own face.

"Remember when Lily hexed James so hard he vomited out of his nose because he proposed to her?"

"I'm pretty sure it made him like her even more to be honest, James is weird like that." You snickered, accepting the drink from your brother. "Who would've thought we'd be here not even four years later?"

"Tell me about it. If you plan on getting married anytime soon though, please give me some warning." Remus joked, nudging his shoulder against yours.

"I think I need to actually date someone before I marry them, but thanks for being so optimistic about my dating life." You grinned at him before seeing Sirius making his way over to the two of you.

"Well well, if it isn't the Lupin twins." Sirius laid an arm over both your shoulders. "How long do you reckon it'll be before Lily's creepy uncle makes a move on Marlene?"

"At least after two more drinks." Remus chuckled. "Which reminds me, I promised I'd save her from any men tonight who wanted to dance with her that, and I quote, looked like they had to use a stamina charm in bed."

"Good luck with that." You snickered, waving your brother off as he disappeared in the direction of the blonde.

Sirius didn't say anything else as he took a seat at one of the tables and pulled you down into his lap. It wasn't uncommon for the two of you to hug or cuddle, having done so numerous times in the Gryffindor common room, much to Remus' annoyance. This only really resulted in Sirius being more affectionate.

Being twins, the two of you were naturally closer than normal siblings which resulted in Remus being protective over you since the only blood family you both had left was each other. Your parents, especially your father, had grown fearsome and disgusted at what Remus was, despite it not being his fault when Greyback bit him all those years ago. Your father began to resent you after you constantly took Remus' side and played his constant advocate.

"Hey, what're you thinking about?" Sirius nudged you, grabbing your attention. His expression was unreadable as he watched you watch Lily and James interact with each other.

"I don't know, it's nothing." Sirius nudged you again, looking for a proper answer. "I look at them and I just wonder if I'll ever have that, you know? Someone who looks at you like you're their whole world."

Sirius didn't say anything at first, but pulled you closer. He wouldn't admit it but he often had the same thought cross his mind.

"You'll find them."

"Are they fucking hiding from me?!"

"If they've already met you, then probably."

Smacking his chest, you couldn't help the contagious laughter that bubbled from you, echoing that from the wizard.

"Being serious though," Sirius grinned at the pun he just made, "who wouldn't want you?"

You smiled at him warmly, not knowing what to say. It wasn't often that Sirius was, well serious. The boy loved a joke, but he also loved his friends and knew exactly what to say to them to cheer them up, especially you.

"Thanks, Siri."

"Hey, James and Lily are about to head off for their honeymoon." Remus said, knocking on Sirius' bedroom door at Potter Manor, stepping inside to see Sirius rush back out from the ensuite bathroom only in his shirt and boxers. "What happened to you? You disappeared from the reception."

"Uh, dropped cake down myself, had to come and change." Sirius told him quickly.

"You do realise you're a wizard right? You could've just vanished the mess?"

"Ah yeah, of course, how stupid, sure could've. Anyway, I just need to put on some clean trousers and I'll be right down."

Remus frowned. Something was off but he couldn't work out what it was. Putting it down to Sirius drinking too much, he waved the man off, exiting the room.

"Alright well, hurry down, James was asking for you."

Remus exited the room and Sirius quickly closed the door behind him. Turning back to the bathroom, he watched as you opened the door with a tentative expression, trying to zip your dress back up but failing.

"Do you think he knew I was here?"

"Don't think so, here, turn around, I'll do it." Sirius turned you around, quickly zipping up your dress before resting his hands on your waist. "So, we haven't done that before."

"That is correct."

It was slightly awkward between the two of you, why was it awkward? Oh, maybe because you were both fucking like rabbits not even moments before your brother knocked on the door. It had never been awkward between you before though and you didn't like it.

"Why is it so awkward?" Sirius chuckled as you spun around before him.

"Right! It's like I don't know what to say!"

"We're just two friends who've had sex one time, there doesn't have to be anything awkward about that!"

"Exactly, it doesn't have to be a big deal, it was a one time thing, we can just go back to the party and no one will know!"

"Yes, good plan, lets go!" Turning towards the door, Sirius started towards it with a new determination, completely forgetting one issue.

"Sirius?" He paused, looking back at you, "maybe you should put on some trousers before we go down though."

"Good idea."

Waving James and Lily off, you stood alongside the rest of your friends as Marlene appeared, pulling you towards her by your waist.

"Ugh, please tell me we're going to get some good booze and continue to get fucked up at ours?"

"Is that an open invite?" Remus asked with a grin, "Think I spied an extra bottle of Firewhiskey knocking about near the top table."

"100%," Marlene grinned at him, "after all, it's the least I could do after you saved me from so many creeps tonight. I will thank you in the form of hosting a small afterparty with the inner circle. Right, Y/N?"

"I'm up for it, I'll go see if I can grab that extra bottle you mentioned."

Taking off towards the top table, your eyes scanned the tables one by one until you felt a presence behind you. Already knowing who it was, you didn't bother looking back at them.

"I've got a fresh bottle stashed under my bed upstairs if we wanna grab that one?" Sirius said lowly in your ear.

"That sounds like a plan," you said slowly, "though I thought we said it was only a one time thing?"

"Weddings don't count, right? I swear that's a rule somewhere."

"...How long do you think we can be before the others get suspicious?"

"10 minutes?"

"Sounds good, lets go."

The pair of you said nothing more the entire night on the matter and ended up just having a good time with your friends. The boys ended up sleeping on your sofas, not trusting themselves to apparate safely considering the amount they each had to drink.

It wasn't until mid morning when everyone started to rouse, that you offered to make everyone a cup of tea to help with the hangovers that had started to form.

"Hey, make mine extra strong, will you?"

You laughed, turning to face Sirius.

"You need the caffeine that much?"

"That answer is a strong yes."

Pouring the boiling water into the mugs, you passed Sirius' over to him as he smiled at you in thanks.

"So, yesterday was something." You smiled, taking a sip of your own drink.

"Yeah... something stupid, right?"

"Yeah, totally stupid." There was a brief silence between you as you weren't exactly sure what to say next. "Look as much as I enjoyed it, I don't want us to become awkward or ruin our friendship or anything because of it."

"Good, because I was going to say the same thing." Sirius nodded, leaning against the kitchen counter top. "As good as the sex was, and trust me it was good, it's not worth making our friendship awkward or anything not knowing where we stand with the other."

"Right, yes, that makes a lot of sense." You both took another sip of tea as you listened to Marlene and Remus in the living room laugh about something. "Unless... wait no, it's nothing."

"No, what it is?" Sirius asked.

"Unless... I don't know, we keep fucking in secret and just don't tell the others?"

You stared at the tea in your cup before raising your eyes to meet Sirius' grey ones which were wide, a grin on his face.

"I guess that would work too?"

"Yeah... anyway on a totally unrelated note, Marlene's visiting her family tomorrow night at like 7."

"Noted."

"Where's my bloody tea, Y/N!" The blonde in question strode into the kitchen sluggishly. "I swear you've been in here for 4 hours making it."

"If you were a little more patient, Mar, I was just about to bring it out for you." You rolled your eyes but handed the mug over to her anyway.

"Thanks, how're you two feeling this morning?"

"Rough." Sirius grunted out as the three of you headed back into the living room. "But what's new there, really?!"

"You should really try cut back on your drinking, Pads." Remus mentioned, taking the cup of tea from you with a smile.

"You should cut back on your chocolate."

"Chocolate doesn't give you hangovers." Remus countered with a smirk causing Sirius to just roll his eyes as he sunk down into an armchair.

"Either way, I hope Lils and James are having fun." Marlene stretched out on the other sofa, placing her legs over your own. "I know James will be with the things Y/N and I packed as a surprise in Lily's bags."

You snorted into your cup as you remembered the countless lacy items you'd snuck into Lily's normally conservative wardrobe.

"Well, James might be happy about what you packed, but he certainly won't be happy with what we packed." Sirius snickered as Remus held back a laugh.

"What did you do?!"

"We might've exchanged his entire bag of clothes for an entire bag of Cornish Pixies." Sirius grinned. "I'm already expecting a howler from Lily at some point in the near future."

Sirius didn’t have to wait long for Lily’s reaction as only moments later he heard an angry shout through his two way mirror he shared with James.

As planned, Marlene visited her family the next day and no later after she flooed away, Sirius appeared at the front door of your flat. The same happened after Marlene was picked by Dumbledore for an order mission and Sirius happily flooed into your flat only moments later. You were convinced he’d bugged your flat somehow.

James and Lily returned from their honeymoon a week later, effectively surprising you as they flooed into your flat with no warning, causing you to stuff a naked Sirius into your closet. It was safe to say he wasn’t impressed after Lily insisted she make a pot of tea to ‘catch up’, and ended up staying round for several hours. 

You barely managed to hide the snicker which escaped your lips when James asked if you knew where Sirius was.

With the newly married pair being back, the two of you decided to come up with a plan as how to sneak around without the others knowing.

Somehow, it didn’t really go to plan.

Sirius insisted that you should come over and take a bath with him one night, especially as Remus was due to be out. You couldn’t help but agree to the idea, mostly because you got to spend time with your very sexy male friend who looked very good in bubbles... and also the fact his bathtub was a lot better than your own.

The bathtub in question was a massive claw-foot tub which could fit the two of you and your two roommates if you so desired. Compared against the shitty little tub Marlene and you had in your flat, it was a no brainer.

Which is why as you sat in between Sirius’ legs, your back against his chest, you couldn’t help but feel more relaxed than you had done all week. 

Sirius was leant back against the tub, his arm around your waist with a glass of Firewhiskey in his other hand. The two of you had nicked this particular bottle from James’ ‘secret stash’ which everyone knew he hid under his cloak, under the stairs. It was all too easy for the two of you to sneak in and borrow it for the time being. 

“You know, Prongs must be real blind if he can’t see how many people actually know about his hiding spots.” You snickered as you took the glass from Sirius and took a sip.

“I think it might be all the brain damage after getting hit in the head so many times.” He grinned.

“How long do you think it’ll be until he notices the actual bottle being gone? A few days?”

“Give him some credit, it’ll be at least a week.”

The two of you chuckled before you heard the fireplace roar with flames. Footsteps quickly made their way towards Sirius’ room before heading towards the bathroom.

A panicked look between the two of you was exchanged as a knock was heard on the door. 

“Pads? It’s me, I’m coming in.”

Sirius quickly took the glass of Firewhiskey back from you as you dived underwater, praying the bubbles would cover up the fact you were there. 

The door opened and James stepped in about to say something, before he stopped and observed the scene before him. Sirius was sat covered in bubbles with candles lit around him. Despite the calm expression on his face, the fact you were lying between his legs in the water had his heart racing. 

“Did you need something, Prongs?”

“Uh, yeah, have you seen the bottle of Firewhiskey which I was given as a gift for my wedding?” James asked, very obviously looking at the opened bottle on the side of the bath. 

“Didn’t even know you got given one, mate. This was from Y/N.”

“And if I ask her, will she give me the same story?”

“Positively. Anything else?”

“Yeah, you want to order some Chinese?” 

“I mean I- NO!” 

His outburst was a surprise to both James and himself after you had pinched him underwater signalling you were running out of air.

“Really? Lily’s got me on this diet and-”

“James! Get out!”

“Fine! Okay! No need to shout at me, I’ve seen you in weirder scenarios.”

James left and shut the door behind him just as soon as you jolted up, gasping for breath. 

“I’m sorry, he wouldn’t leave! He wanted to ask me if I fancied some Chinese.”

“Chinese?” You asked, turning to look at him over your shoulder with a contemplative look on your face. “I could go for some chow mein.”

“Prongs!” Taking a deep breath, you disappeared underwater again just before James appeared once more. “I’ll have a large chow mein, sweet and sour chicken, some of those prawn cracker things and the spring rolls.”

“Spring rolls? I swear only Y/N likes them.”

“Thought I’d try them out since as she’s always yapping on about them.”

“Alright, back in a bit.”

James left and shut the door again. You emerged from the water, leaning back on Sirius again as he relayed off what he’d ordered. 

“You ordered me spring rolls?!”

“Yeah, I remembered you liked them.” Sirius shrugged, wrapping his arm around your waist again. “Even if they taste like arse.”

The group had gathered at Marlene and Y/N’s for an evening where despite Lily’s constant health kicks, she relented into ordering pizza for the group. 

“Hey, you guys will never guess what I found out today.” Marlene grinned.

“You’re secretly a guy?” Sirius snickered from the armchair, only to receive a cushion being thrown at his face by the blonde. 

“No,” Marlene scowled at him, “Alice and Frank got engaged!” 

“What?! How’d you find out?” Lily asked as she cuddled up to James in the other armchair. 

“I ran into Alice at Headquarters earlier and she showed me her ring.” Marlene leant back into the sofa as she brought her legs up to lay them over Remus’ lap. “We best be getting ready for another wedding soon.”

“I’m sure we’ll hear more at the meeting tomorrow.” James said grinning. “Who knew Longbottom had it in him?!”

“Alice certainly did.” You snickered, leaning onto Remus’ other shoulder. The comment got another round of chuckles from everyone present as Lily shot you a less than impressed look. 

“Alright, I say let’s call it a night if we have to be at the meeting early tomorrow morning.” The redhead rolled her eyes at you all before standing up and brushing her dress down. 

Everyone else seemed to follow her lead as Marlene and you stood to show everyone out. 

“Yeah, I need to sleep as much as I can with Moony’s snoring keeping me up all night.” Sirius grinned, stepping up beside you and Remus. 

What no one expected to happen was for Sirius to dip and find your lips in a kiss, his hand wrapping around the back of your neck to pull you closer, just as he had done for the last few weeks. 

The rest of the group stood with slack jaws as they took in the scene before them as they watched Sirius kiss you. Pulling away, you caught each other’s eyes as realisation set in and your own eyes went wide. 

“Marls,” Sirius shook off his slight hesitation before heading straight over to Marlene and pulling her in for a kiss of her own. “Lily.”

Stepping forward to give Lily a kiss goodbye, Sirius couldn’t help but notice the wide eyed look from both James at kissing his wife and Remus at kissing his sister. 

“Pleasure to spend time with you all.” Sirius grinned at everyone’s expressions before entering the fireplace to floo back to his own flat. 

“What the hell was that?!” Remus asked with wide eyes, securely on you. 

“Probably some leftover greeting from Lily and James’ wedding. Lils did have some french cousins, perhaps he picked it up from them?” You chuckled, trying to play down the laugh you so wanted to let out. 

“Yeah, it did feel french.” Marlene snickered. “I’m not sure if I feel happy about saying that I’ve kissed Sirius Black though.”

“Well, he can keep his lips to himself and not on my wife.” James scowled at the fireplace where Sirius had disappeared moments before. 

HP Taglist:

@ochrythum​ @hahee154hq​ @loonyslytherin​ @fleur-tysworld​ @la3divine @fiantomartell​

Permanent Taglist: 

@whatthefuckimbisexual​

[melk917]

Kinktober Day 18: Hand Jobs

Cock worship || Hand jobs || Sex Work/Prostitution

Summary:

“Shhhh, let me take care of you,” you whispered, lips brushing his as you spoke. His breath hitched as you slipped your hand into his pants and wrapped your fingers around him, stroking lightly.

“What if they hear?”

“You’ll just have to be quiet then, no?”

Pairing: Paul Mendelssohn x gn!Reader

Masterlist

Previous Day (Choking) Nevada Ramirez x f!Reader

Next Day (Dirty Talk) Rafael Barba x f!Reader

A/N:

A little sweetness to balance yesterday's spice.

I wasn't sure I would do this, but the idea took hold after it was asked for and it wouldn't let go. So, for the anon who requested Paul. We're all super hot for this soft boy, and this soft scene deserved a soft boy. I hope you enjoy!

There also won't be any new content the next few days, but I will be returning on the 21st with some dirty talk filth with one, very special ADA, so stay tuned.

And lastly, as always, this was done as a speed exercise, so please let me know if there's any errors!

You woke slowly, the soft gold light of early morning filtering through the blinds and throwing beams across the bed. The house was still quiet around you, too early for people to be awake on a holiday. You were pleasantly warm, burrowed under the thick duvet and still wrapped up in Paul’s arms, his chest against your back, nose tucked into your neck as he continued to breathe, deep and even.

He had been more nervous than you had anticipated about coming with you to your parents’ for Thanksgiving. It had been over a decade since he last met anyone’s parents like this, his ex-wife having kept so much of her life separate. He had fussed for weeks, asking about things like your mom’s favorite wine and the sort of desserts your family liked for the holiday, going overboard with plans to impress. You had humored him, answering his questions. But pointed out he didn’t need to do anything other than show up as himself, and you were sure they’d love him.

He had snorted and said, “I’m sure they’ll love their child bringing home an older, divorced man in a middle-management government job. Anyway,” he had shrugged, “it’s just what you do when you’re a guest.”

That was your man, always the gentleman, always polite. And more than a little self-deprecating. You had rolled your eyes, and cupped his face in your hands, staring into those beautiful green eyes and told him they’d be happy their child was with someone who was sweet and dedicated (and hot, you winked at him). His cheeks had turned a little pink, but the set of his mouth was stubborn leaving you to bite back a smile when he still insisted on showing up with a bottle of wine and a pie he had made himself, offering them to your mother as a thank you for hosting, and telling her how lovely her home was. Pulling out all the stops to impress.

He was adorable. And unnecessarily concerned. And you told him so as you got in bed later that night, kissing him soundly.

You felt him shift behind you now with a small hum, lips brushing your neck and pulling you more firmly against him. “Good morning,” he mumbled against your skin.

You smiled and interlaced your fingers with his where they rested on your sternum. “I didn’t wake you?”

You felt him shake his head, and he shifted as you settled back into him, his hips pressing firm to the curve of your ass.

Among other things.

A smirk curled the edges of your mouth at the feeling of his dick, hot and hard against you.

“Someone was having a good dream.” You felt the puff of his soft laugh on your neck as he rolled his hips into you more purposefully and slipped his hand under your shirt to stroke his fingers across your skin.

“Mmm, very.”

“Wanna share with the class?” You dragged your hips along the line of his cock and he sucked in a breath. His fingers started to stroke with more purpose, dipping below your waistband, as you continued to roll your hips against him, his cock nestled between your cheeks.

“Fuck” he whispered softly, grinding against you before stopping and groaning, pressing his face into the back of your neck. “Mmm, no, we shouldn’t.”

You rolled your hips back again, flexing your ass as he slid between your cheeks. He gasped at the pressure, digging his fingers into your skin. “Why not?”

“Here? In your childhood bedroom?” he whispered, his voice strained, taut with tension as he held back, worked up but nervous at the prospect of debauching your long-past youth.

You rolled over to face him. He was a little flushed, cheeks pink, eyes a deep green in the early morning light. You slid your hands up his broad chest, tweaking a nipple just to hear the little whine he always made when you did that, and how it tapered off into a soft groan as you rubbed firm circles over it with your thumb. His eyes fluttered shut as you ran your hands over him, throwing a leg over his hips to draw him closer in.

“It’s fine,” you murmured, slipping one hand down to toy with the waistband of his sleep pants, brushing your knuckles over the hard length of him. “No one will know. It’ll be our secret.”

He gave another small moan as you teased him, unable to control the small jerks of his hips. “But—your parents…”

“Shhhh, let me take care of you,” you whispered, lips brushing his as you spoke. His breath hitched as you slipped your hand into his pants and wrapped your fingers around him, stroking lightly.

“What if they hear?”

“You’ll just have to be quiet then, no?” You teased. “Here, I can help with that.” And you kissed him, slow and hot, licking into his mouth and stealing the breath from his lungs as you started to jerk him with firm, intentional pulls, twisting your palm over the head at the top, gathering up precum to slick the way on the downstroke.

He groaned softly, giving in, and you swallowed the noise. His hands slipped under your shirt, stroking the skin of your lower back, sliding down to grasp your ass and pull you closer, fingers kneading the swell as he panted against your mouth.

For all his protesting, he was still hot and hard in your grasp, hips working as he started to fuck into your hold.

“Yes, just like that, babe,” you whispered against his mouth, stealing kisses and nipping at his lips. “Fuck into my hand, let me get you there.”

He moaned, fingers digging into your ass as you shifted your grip so your fingers were in a tight ring just under the flared head, letting him fuck into it while you worked your thumb over that spot where the vein met the head that you knew drove him crazy.

He pulled back from your kiss, gasping, “So—so close. Fuck, can’t come on the sheets. They’ll know.”

You laughed as he dug his nails into your hips, trying to hold off. “Baby, please,” he whined.

“Hey now, I got you.” Rising up onto your knees, you pushed him onto his back, pulling his shirt up to bare his torso. You raked your nails down his chest, making him groan and throw his head back. Grasping his cock fully again, you set a hard pace, started jerking him with firm, rough strokes that had him arching up under you, hands fisted in the sheets. He was biting his lips, trying to stay quiet, but desperate little noises kept slipping out with each pull of your hand. Leaning up, you dragged wet kisses along his jaw, before whispering in his ear “Don’t worry about that, baby, Come all over yourself and I'll clean you up.”

He gasped then groaned, long and low, the combination of your words and the twist of your palm over the head of his cock sending him over the edge, back bowed and spilling cum over your hand and onto his stomach as you drank the noises from his mouth.

He came down slowly, heart beating fast as his breath came in soft pants. You dipped down lower, cleaning the pearly streaks off his skin with long drags of your tongue until there was nothing left. His hand found the back of your head, stroking your hair as he arched up weakly with a soft sound at the feeling of your mouth on his over-sensitized skin.

Smiling into his soft belly, you kissed your way up his chest, over his t-shirt, trailing a line up his neck to nuzzle at his jaw. “See?” You said, smirking into his skin there. “All quiet.”

He snorted, hands coming up to rub along your sides, pulling you down against him. He hummed into your hair as he stroked your back. “If your mom takes me out with a carving knife during dinner for debauching you in her house, I’m haunting you for eternity.”

You laughed, and leaned up to look at him. He was still flushed from orgasm, eyes twinkling as he teased you, and you were overwhelmed by the desire to keep him like that forever.

“Well, that’s a bit unfair.” You objected, your fond smile sliding into an over-exaggerated pout. “I think you’re the only one who got debauched here. I’m still waiting my turn.”

“Oh?” He raised an eyebrow at you. With a smirk and twist of his hips, he flipped you over, muffling your yelp and giggle with a hard kiss, pressing you into the mattress. “Well then. I guess I better get to work.” His fingers dipped lower, sliding into the soft sleep shorts you were wearing, and you gasped. “But you have to stay quiet.”

[twoidiotwriters1]

Until The Very End -(WITS Sequel)

A/N: Domestic fluff is so fun to write idk why i don’t do it more often lmao -Danny

Words: 3,453

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Listen to: ‘Never Gonna Leave This Bed’ -by Maroon5

October 2000 - January 2001

Leaving her mum and brother was the hardest part of moving out.

Mel cried in a swirl of emotions, knowing her life would never be the same. She was no longer just someone's daughter, she was her own person, with a house that she shared with the love of her life.

Harry sat next to her on the couch, he handed her a cup of hot chocolate that she took silently. "How're you feeling?"

"Well, I'm no longer crying," Mel replied humorously, "I s'pose I'll feel out of place for a while. We've been building this place for so long, it was starting to feel like it was never going to be finished, now it's done and we're here... It's still hard to believe that this is our new home."

"It's weird," Harry looked around, "did we ever get to sleep in a new bed?"

"Don't think so."

"And now if I say 'I'll read in the garden', it'll be our garden I'm talking about. Our house, our pets... It's kind of overwhelming to have all these nice things."

Mel drank a bit of her chocolate. "So many empty rooms too... and it's so quiet— I don't think I like the quiet yet... what do we do?"

Harry tilted his head, he thought about it for a moment, and then smiled.

"Let's have our friends over."

To celebrate, they invited their friends to a little party. Although little was not the right word: The Weasley family was there, the Lovegoods, the Longbottoms, Hermione and her parents, Anne and Emily Flint, Mel's mother and Regulus, Tonks and Teddy, Andromeda, Joseph, Aberforth... Anyone who'd been close to them during school or had anything to do with their family.

Erick, Remus, and Charlie weren't able to make it, the first two because they were teaching and the last because he was working abroad, but the house was crowded, some were in the drawing-room, others in the kitchen, and some were still in the dining room having a few pints. The rest was out in the garden.

Mel and Harry hosted the evening and made sure everyone was having a good time. Neville was dating Hannah Abbott, to no one's surprise. He'd gotten along with her after the war and they kept visiting each other months after everything had ended.

George and Angelina announced they'd gotten engaged and Fred made sure to be as dramatic as possible, talking about forsaking his kin and quitting his youth before Joseph cut him short, and reminded him he'd been the first to move out of the little flat in Diagon Alley.

Mel didn't feel anxious about any news this time. How could she, when she was part of it too? She and Harry had moved in together, they'd bought a house and restored it with the help of their friends. Time was moving and it continued to push them forward.

"Did you hear the news?" Harry caught up with her while she was walking out of the restroom.

"Are we working on Christmas? I can't stand another minute of that annoying little tune that keeps coming from the office's ceiling—"

"Barry and Andrews are retiring," He interrupted her. "You know them, don't you?"

That was not the right question, she didn't know them. She did know where they worked.

"They're retiring?" Mel lowered her voice as they walked into the crowded kitchen. "How do you know?"

"Mr Weasley told Ron," Harry smiled. "Andrews and Barry were thinking about retiring next year. They think it's time to quit the dangerous experiments."

"Good for them," she bit her lip, "next year... well, I've got plenty of time. If Mr Greengrass doesn't ask me—"

"I'll drag you to his office so you have no excuse not to take the spot," her boyfriend retorted, "you can do it, Mel."

All she had to do was reach and seize the opportunity. The worse that could happen was getting a no for an answer and she'd be able to keep her job as Head Auror. It wouldn't be the end of the world.

"Oh, alright!" She made a face. "But don't tell anyone! Not even Ron and Hermione. If I get the job I want it to be a surprise."

"Alright, boss," He hugged her by the waist and kissed her temple.

"Won't make it to lunch," Harry announced as they walked out of the lift. "Ron's staying though."

"Be careful out there," she replied, "love you!"

Harry started to walk away, but he managed to say "Love you too!" before disappearing into the crowd.

"Ah, young love," a woman said next to her, "I heard you and Mr Potter bought a house! Congrats."

"Don't you have work to do, Rita?"

"I'm doing it," she smiled, "people want to hear all about your relationship— must be quite serious if you're living together! Are you marrying soon? Do you plan to have children? I know Flint's about to have another one— a girl, am I correct?"

Mel started to walk away without responding, and Rita followed her.

"My readers want to know how does Mel Dumbledore keep a cool head in these trying times? You're going through big changes, that alone is enough to make a sane person go a little anxious, but for someone like you—"

"I'm perfectly fine," she retorted without getting angry. "Y'know, I think you should continue the good deed you were doing, back when you interviewed Harry and me when we were fifteen. You should make an article on Miss Granger's work with the house-elves. I noticed you haven't written any regarding their success managing Azkaban, I guess it isn't thrilling when things go well. Anyway, you can tell your readers to stop treating them as inferior beings..."

Skeeter's pen was writing each word coming from her mouth, Mel tried her best not to say anything that could be slanted.

"You could also visit the department of misuse of magical artefacts. Mr Weasley's doing a remarkable job keeping the muggles safe, some wizards still think enchanting stuff and giving them to people who can't defend themselves is fun— That division's being forgotten by the higher authorities and I think that's not right."

"Wonderful! So about that new house— some people say is almost as huge as Hogwarts! How does a twenty-year-old manage to afford such a place?"

Mel laughed loudly, she couldn't help it.

"As big as Hogwarts! Please, Rita, you can't believe that rubbish. I have things to do, so if you could leave..."

She didn't wait for a reply, the young witch turned left and discretely closed the door behind her with a wand movement.

"How are you going to name her?"

"Elizabeth," Erick replied, "Anne likes it and I think it's sweet." Then he added in a playful tone, "Unless you wanted to name your kid Elizabeth?"

"Oh, shut up," Mel grinned. "This is your last Christmas as a teacher? How are you feeling? I would've stayed for the feast..."

"I considered it, but my wife's pregnant and I hadn't seen my daughter in months. I attended many feasts while I was a student, my kid will be a year old only once."

Mel hummed. "Good thinking."

"Is it true that Mark Andrews and Leonor Barry are retiring?" He asked, drinking a bit of his eggnog.

She stared at him. "How do you know?"

"I have my ways," he smiled.

Mel observed him carefully. "Daphne told you, didn't she?"

Erick winked at her. "Are you planning to switch jobs?"

She looked around the room in contemplation. "I'm not particularly bored of my current one, but I'm not in love with it either."

"If Mr Greengrass offers you a spot," he insisted, "will you take it?"

"Why is everyone so nosy?" She frowned. "Merlin, is like I'm still fifteen..."

"Everything alright?" Harry walked up to them. "Is this man bugging you, love?"

"I'm driving her up the wall," Erick responded. "Could you please help me, Harry? Your girlfriend is having doubts about her future..."

"Ah, I know," Harry sighed, "I'd be worried if we were living in different places, but now I don't mind it if she quits. Even if I did, s'none of my business, is it?"

"Precisely. Please leave me and my insecurities alone, will you?"

"We want you to be happy, that's all," Erick raised a brow. "We know you want the job, I don't know what's stopping you."

"Well, I don't know either," she retorted, "if you excuse me, my godson is calling for me."

Teddy wasn't even looking in her direction, but she walked up to him anyway. He and her brother were playing near the Christmas tree.

"Hello," she beamed at the children, "what are you doing?"

Regulus looked at her. "Teddy doesn't know what Quidditch is."

"Of course he doesn't, he's two years old," Mel grinned.

She looked at Remus, who was seated next to the tree, and silently asked if she could sit next to him. The man moved so she could fit better.

"So," she began, "how's Hogwarts' favourite Professor?"

Remus laughed. "I'm hardly the favoured. You should see how the students look at Erick, if I didn't know any better I'd say he spiked their drinks with Amortentia during the feast."

"He must be loving the attention, all swooning for him," she said sarcastically.

"Especially when he's trying to teach a difficult lesson and all they do is stare blankly. I should be thankful I'm not pleasant to look at, that way my students focus on their books."

"C'mon, Moony," she nudged him gently, "you're just as handsome as the Prince. Maybe a little older, but I've heard forty is the golden age! Are you still drinking the wolfsbane potion?"

He nodded, a teasing smile forming on his face. "Erick suffers whenever I have to stay in my room, he's the substitute teacher. I'm not saying the kids like it when I can't attend class, but they certainly don't hate seeing him twice a day."

Mel laughed, she paused a moment before speaking.

"Uncle Lu... are you happy?"

Remus looked at her in surprise. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Did you always want to be a teacher?"

He smiled knowingly. "What's troubling you, Mel?"

She placed her drink on the coffee table.

"There might be a chance for me to start working as an Unspeakable, but I don't know if I want it."

He waited for her to keep talking, so she did.

"What good would it bring? I mean, what can I do? Unspeakables study the secrets of the universe and all that, they uncover stuff, invent things— I'm not an inventor! I'm not an innovator either... I don't want to steal a spot someone else could use in much better ways."

Remus stared at his son for a moment, deep in thought.

"Well, there's no way of finding out unless you go for it."

Mel groaned, falling back on the couch.

Regulus stood and placed his little hand on her knee. "Mely, are you in ache? D'you want ice?"

"She's alright, Leon," Remus replied. "Why don't you ask Dora for a cup of hot chocolate?"

"Mum said one's enough," Reggie said hesitantly.

"Well, Mily's there," Remus nodded towards the end of the drawing-room, "and Dora's in the kitchen. Tell her I sent you."

Regulus' eyes shone with glee, he seized Teddy's hand, who obliged without making a fuss, following his young uncle to the kitchen.

"You must be tired of adults telling you what to do," Remus gently seized her wrist and squeezed a little. "It's your life, Mel. If you want to quit, or if you want to stay there forever, that's your decision to make. But I will tell you this: If you're waiting for a sign, you'll be waiting forever."

"I don't like waiting," she sulked.

"I know," he smiled at her, "patience is definitely not your virtue. Nothing's stopping you, so why are you still having doubts?"

"I think that's the problem," she pouted, "all my life someone was always there to stop me from derailing— and now they all stand aside and I... I'm not used to being in control."

"I don't see how that's a problem," Remus said, "some of us would give anything to have a bit of control over our lives."

She grimaced at his words. "I wasn't—"

"It's fine," he put an arm around her, "growing up is confusing— you've been pulled back and forth between being a kid and being treated as an adult for a long time. Whatever you decide, we'll help you through it."

Mel stretched and let out a soft noise as she did, blinking away the blurriness. She turned around on the bed coming face to face with Harry, though his eyes were still closed.

She smiled to herself, a pleasant tug in her belly reminded her the rest of her life would be filled with mornings exactly like that one. The young man's face was serene, his brow used to furrow during sleep, but now the gesture was starting to fade. Harry's breathing was slow and quiet, a few strands of his wild hair were framing his forehead.

Without his glasses, she could see the shape of his eyes and each eyelash perfectly, she could stare at the shape of his nose and the few freckles that he'd gained after a childhood of chores under the sunlight. She shifted closer, and slowly followed every crease and shadow of his face. The light stubble across his jaw that he'd never let grow, and that she secretly wished to one day feel against her skin.

The thought made her shiver, she squirmed under the sheets and accidentally kicked his foot lightly, but Harry didn't budge. Mel stared at him until her eyes began to close again out of weariness, it was then that she sighed and curled up closer to him, her face against his naked shoulder.

Sleepily, Harry's arm wrapped around her, the other was now under her head, and she could hear his steady heartbeat.

"You stare too much," he mumbled, "woke me up."

"That makes no sense," she replied in the same drowsy voice.

"You know what I mean," Harry's lips brushed her forehead. "M'not complaining..."

"I was just admiring the view," she grinned, "my boyfriend keeps sleeping in nothing but his underwear."

Mel felt his smile growing, his arm tightened its grip around her. "My girlfriend sleeps in my shirts— got nothing to wear on the weekends because she stole all of them."

"How unfortunate," Mel moved under the blanket, she sat up, hands swiftly pulling up the fabric and throwing the shirt at his face. "Maybe your girlfriend needs the extra layer since she has a hard time warming up. Bet you didn't think of that."

Harry took the shirt off his face and looked at her, he wasn't wearing his glasses but she was so close that he could see her clearly. The young man stared without an ounce of shame, a blatant smirk adorning his face.

She glanced at the clock on her bedside table. "It's too early to get up, I think I'll have a nap."

Mel turned her back to him and slipped under the sheets once more. Harry was fully awake now.

"I think not," He responded playfully.

Both of his arms wrapped around her and turned her around, Mel let out a little gasp followed by a chuckle, and then Harry's lips found hers.

"Mel?" Harry sat behind her while drying his hair, he had a copy of the Daily Prophet in his hand. "Did you talk to Skeeter last month?"

Mel stopped drying her own hair and turned to face him. "Why?"

He handed her the paper, then walked toward their closet to get dressed. Mel read quickly. It wasn't the front page, at least, but one of the first pages had an article that caught her eye:

Mel Dumbledore: Anti-ministry Head Auror?

'Dumbledore— war hero, and the youngest Head Auror to ever work in the Ministry— had a very interesting chat with our reporter, in which she let her true colours shine through.

Miss Dumbledore highly recommended us to 'write about the things that really matter'. When questioned about what those things were, she talked of wizards using biting teaspoons to attack muggles, and the work of her long-time friends, Miss Granger, and Mr Weasley's father. Assuring that 'things aren't thrilling when they work well'.

Don't be deceived, dear reader, although her words hold as much sense as the Quibbler, she isn't entirely delusional. Sources claim that Miss Dumbledore and Mr Potter have recently bought a house. When asked about these rumours, Miss Dumbledore laughed and responded: "As big as Hogwarts!"

How can a twenty-year-old have enough gold to get such a place? Dear reader, forgive us if we're wrong, but not even Potter and Dumbledore's fortune put together should be enough to get a whole castle!

We wouldn't like to assume the worst, but this leaves us with an eery question. Have you ever asked yourselves, what Ministry workers do with the money given to their department? Is it being used wisely, or do they think, like Miss Dumbledore, unbothered about giving the house-elves the responsibility to guard our most dangerous wizards, that there are other things more important than the community they work for?'

"You know what?" Mel said in shock. "Maybe I won't have to choose between being an Auror or an Unspeakable— I'll be sacked!"

"Kingsley won't believe that rubbish," Harry retorted calmly, "he knows us."

"What about the others?" She threw the newspaper on the bed and began to dress frantically. "She made me sound like Lockhart!"

Harry tried not to laugh. "Loads of people know you, they know you're not an idiot."

"What about the old ladies?" Mel pulled a shirt over her head, when she emerged there was a pout on her face. "I don't want judgy old ladies scowling at me on the street!"

Her boyfriend chortled and covered his mouth to stifle the noises.

"Don't laugh, this is terrible!" However, there was a grin on her face. "Not only do they think I'm a lunatic, but now I also steal money to buy castles!"

"Look on the bright side— At least this time she didn't drag our love life into it!"

"Oh, just you wait," Mel avoided his gaze so she wouldn't laugh, "one day we'll wake up to an article saying I'm having an affair with Hermione. Why else would I defend her so much?"

Harry was fully laughing now. "Ron'll be heartbroken!"

"Don't think so," Mel said between chortles, "he'll be having an affair with you!"

Her day was going well until she entered the same lift as Mr Greengrass.

She'd made a fool of herself by talking to Skeeter, most of her acquaintances at work hadn't believed the article, but some strangers looked at her weirdly, and even though she'd been treated this way before, she'd never learned to accept it fully.

Mel hadn't seen Mr Greengrass in a while, and she didn't know if the article had affected the way he perceived her. She was wondering if he was now regretting offering her a place in his division when suddenly he spoke:

"Goodmorning, Dumbledore."

"G'Morning, Mr Greengrass," she nodded at him briefly before fixing her gaze on the doors. "How are you?"

"Very well, thank you," he replied, "have you heard the news about Andrews and Barry's retirement?"

Mel turned to look at him so fast she hurt her neck, she did her best to keep her composure.

"I have. I hope they're okay?"

"Yes, yes, but they've grown old and plan to spend what's left of their lives next to their loved ones, not locked inside a dark office. Have you thought about what I told you at in Mr Flint's wedding?"

"I've thought about it for a long time, sir."

"Have you made up your mind?"

She hadn't. However, once the man asked her, the answer came to her right away.

"I want to work as an Unspeakable. If you think I have what it takes to be one, sir, I'll do it."

Mr Greengrass smiled for the first time since they'd met. It wasn't really a smile, more like a little twist of the mouth, but Mel found it comforting.

"Indeed, I think you do," his voice was encouraging, "I expect your application on my desk next Monday."

"It'll be there," she said, struggling to contain the excitement in her voice. "Thank you."

"No, Dumbledore, thank you," he responded.

The lift's doors opened and the man did a curtsy before walking out. Mel remained quiet until she reached Kingsley's office, she knocked once and his voice quickly told her to come in.

"Dumbledore," he raised his eyebrows. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Morning, Minister. Mr Greengrass has offered me a spot as an Unspeakable," she felt her pulse increasing, "I think I'll accept it."

Kingsley nodded, he wasn't surprised at all. "Mr Greengrass mentioned his interest to take you in. I told him I'd let you go if that was what you wanted as well."

"It is, sir."

He sighed. "You were the best Head Auror we've had in a while, Mel. This is not how we usually do it, but if you have a person in mind for your replacement, I'll trust you blindly. I'll hire them right away."

Mel smiled, that was the easiest assignment someone had given her in years.

"I have the perfect candidate."

Next Chapter —>

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[thatsgay-writes]

Day 16

PREVIOUS

"Here they are, the brave young women whose tale of struggle and survival has gripped the nation." The host says as she sends the camera a smile. "The unsinkable nine, as we have come to know them. Ladies, you must have dreamed of coming home for so long. Now that you're here, what do you wanna do most?" She questions as she turns towards you and your friends. "Honestly, smoke about a hundred cigs, you know? Like, really rip through a carton or two." Dot starts as she leans forwards on the couch. The host gives her a slightly awkward smile, "Okay. How about the rest of you?"

"I don't know; Maybe hit up the OG for a never-ending pasta bowl and just... I don't know... Get back to our real lives." Toni says next followed by Nora. "I'd like to read the Odyssey again, rather than, like, live it." She jokes awkwardly, causing some of the girls to laugh in response. "Leah, what about you?" "Oh, um, I just wanna reconnect with certain people... People who may have been worried and-or felt like we had unfinished business. And if that person is watching right now, I just wanna say that I did not not miss you every day." You cringe at Leah's little monologue, still not feeling 100% about her after her fight with Shelby.

"My turn, Brooke, and I've got a nice, straight answer for you. I'm going to fuck the rowdiest guy with the biggest dick as soon as I fucking can." Fatin says, causing everyone to pause the fantasy you all shared and look at Fatin. Fatin turned to look at you, since you were at the end of the couch, and you couldn't contain your laugh. "Holy shit!" You belt out as you roll onto your side, "I don't think you can say that." You tell her after you finally catch your breathe. Fatin rolls her eyes, "Okay, make it more media-friendly. I am going to fornicate with the healthiest penis I can find ASAP." You let out a laugh at her newly formed answer.

After that, Dot changed her answer and Fatin got on Leah for her "emo shit show" answer and how Romeo's would be in everyone's DM's, before they finally started cheering over the fact that there was a chance to return home. "We're going home, bitches!" Martha yells as she holds up the bottle of vodka, causing all the other girls to cheer. You go to celebrate with them but notice how Shelby stays silent and slowly pulls away from the group. You watch her go, debating if you should follow her, as Toni helps you stand. Her face holds a large smile that slowly falls as she notices how distracted you are and that Shelby was walking away.

Ever since kissing Shelby, Toni had been confused on her feelings between the both of you. She had loved you for years but Shelby just had something so attracting about her. Unknown to her, you were having the same thoughts. "I'll, um... I'll be right back." You say as you pat Toni's hands that were still holding your own after helping you up. Toni just nods her head as you hop away after Shelby.

---

"You don't seem very excited..." You try and joke as you hop around the rock Shelby was sitting on, closing your mouth as soon as you see how sad she looks. You fidget nervously for a few seconds as Shelby doesn't respond to your presence. You let out a deep breathe before sitting down next to Shelby on the rock. "Are you okay?" You ask as you slowly reach out your hand to grabs hers. You move slowly so she has enough time to pull away but she doesn't. When you tangle your fingers with Shelby's, she finally reacts some and turns her head to look at you. She opens and closes her mouth a few times wanting to say something, but ultimately ends up closing it and shaking her head. You let out a sigh but nod your head. You lean forwards and cup one of her cheeks, giving her a quick kiss on the other one. Your face gains a small smile as you notice Shelby blush, "I'll leave you to your thoughts... If you ever need someone to vent to or a shoulder to lean on I'll be here." You tell her as you slowly stand up and start hopping back towards to other girls, missing how Shelby stared after you longingly.

---

As you get closer to the other girls, you smile as you hear them all laughing and joking around. "Oh, Martha, you're gonna be trippin motherfucking balls dude." You hear Fatin say as you finally reach the group and collapse next to Toni. Hopping around was not fun and you were going to need to find a walking stick or something soon. "And she won't be alone." Rachel says as she holds her hand out towards Fatin. Taking what looks to be a bag of gummy bears? You nudge Toni with your shoulder and send her a questioning look. "Martha ate edibles." She whispered to you before turning back to the group and reaching for the bag. You covered your mouth in shock and laughed at the fact that Martha, sweet and innocent Martha, ate edibles. "You want one y/n?" Toni asks as she holds one out towards you. You think about it for a second. Your doctors back at home would probably advise you not to get high but you had been feeling fine the past few days. "Why not." You answer as you take the gummy bear from Toni and pop it into your mouth.

---

"Marcus!?" You hear Martha yell out for the 5th time as almost everyone laid on the beach, high out of their minds. The only ones not laying down were Fatin, who looked like she was meditating, Shelby, who still hadn't returned from the rock, and you, who had taken a seat on Toni's back and kept tracing out random letters and shapes on her back. "I'm so fucking blissed out. Not even from the gummies, just from the thought that in 48 hours I can have an orgasm." Was the first thing Fatin had said in an hour, causing you to giggle and almost fall off of Toni's back. Unlike Toni, who always got more relaxed when she was high, you got more giggly, enthusiastic, and talkative. You being high rivaled Shelby's whole "Who wants to play an ice breaker?" persona.

"Wait? You haven't like self-induced?" Leah asks, seriously but still with a playful tone. "No, I can't do it with my hands actually. I have this weird cello-vibrato PTSD. It's a whole thing." Fatin responds, breezing over the subject. "So your electric toothbrush hasn't seen any action?" Dot asks causing you to laugh more and add on, "I mean we all kind of assumed." You send a wink Fatin's way before turning your attention back to Toni's back, effectively spacing out on the conversation.

When you do focus back onto everyone, it's from Toni tapping your thigh to get you to get up. "Huh?" "C'mon we're gonna go play in the water." Instead of standing up and hopping your way towards the ocean, you just roll of Toni's back and lay on your back in the sand. "I'm good... I think I'm just gonna lie here." Toni gives you a questioning look but you just push her thigh towards the water. "I'll be fineeeee, go have funnnnn." Toni rolls her eyes as you purposefully draw out words and follows the rest of the girls into the water.

You could hear the girls from where you laid, all of them letting out screams and laughs of joy. You would have joined but hopping around on one leg isn't fun and tired you out pretty quickly. You rolled onto your side once the sun felt too hot on your face and you noticed that Shelby hadn't joined in on the fun either. You contemplated going up to her and trying to talk to her or give her more space, but went with the first choice. If she had rejoined the group than maybe she would want some company now.

---

"Not a fan of the water?" You ask as you let yourself collapse next to Shelby, taking note how she now had the bottle of vodka and it had a less in it than it did before. "I... Um..." Shelby stuttered out as she purposefully did not make eye contact with you. "It's fine." You say with a shrug and lay on your side. "No need to talk, just relax." You say as you suddenly get hype fixated on making shapes and letters on her back. Missing the way she tensed up before finally relaxing. You spaced out again from what was going on, a common thing that happened when you were high.

---

The rest of the day blew by as everyone did their own thing. Nora and Rachel went off talked somewhere, you noticed that Toni and Shelby got into a argument, and you just chilled around with Fatin, Dot, and Leah, while Martha decided to adventure into the woods. "Guys! Guys! Guess what I just saw!?" Martha yells as she runs over the hill and back towards the group. "I just saw Marcus and he's alive!" She yells out, out of breath, causing everyone to laugh at how ridiculous she sounded. "No, guys, I'm being serious!" Martha defends and grabs the nearest person to her, Dot, and starts dragging her along. "C'mon, he's in the woods." Dot turns to give the group and exasperated look but you all decide to follow along.

You had your arm wrapped around Toni as you all journeyed through the woods. You had tried to get out of going, but Martha wanted everyone to go with her. "You're just saying that he, like, fucking pinocchio'd?" Dot asks, having not stopped laughing or joking about the situation since you all headed into the woods. "Yes. That is exactly what I am saying." Martha says in relief, missing that fact that Dot was still making fun of her. "He turned into a real boy." She finishes as you and Toni see Marcus... Who is still as fake as he was the day he was found. "I don't know, he kinda looks the same to me." Toni says as you release her arm so she can pick up Marcus. "Hey! My leg!" You say excitedly as you notice it laying under Marcus. When Fatin goes to kiss Marcus, you kiss your leg. It was all fun and games until Leah had to mention the fact that Marcus and your leg had been swept away but suddenly ended up in the middle of the forest. You had thought the same thing but hoped to just ignore that fact. "Leah. We're mellow. We're leaving."

---

"Oh Shelby, you love America so much. USA! USA!" Martha cheers, trying to get Shelby to join her but the other girl is completely zoned out. "Is she okay?" You and Toni ask at the same time. Both of you sharing an awkward look with each other, neither of you had told the other about your own kiss with Shelby. Luckily, Fatin isn't stuck in an unknown love triangle and walks over to Shelby. You all watch as Shelby starts to brush her hair, it seems to stay tangled no matter what she does. Until the brush gets stuck in her hair. Fatin attempts to help her but Shelby goes into full freak out mode. "It's all ruined." She says as she grabs the scissors out of Fatin's bag. Fatin attempts to stop her but Shelby was inconsolable.

"I don't' fucking want it! I don't want it!"

NEXT

[addictofsupernatural]

OHSHC Rewrite: Episode 1

Starting Today, You Are a Host!

Host Club x reader

Summary: Y/n meets new people and fall into a whole new world.

Warning: mentions of past trauma

Word Count: 4.4k

Episode Masterlist

Nerve wracking. This was very nerve wracking. It was one thing to go to a school full of rich people, but it was another for it to be in a different country. Though you felt nervous, this was a giant step into a new life.

You had highlights dyed in your hair for a while now, but didn't know if the school allowed it, so you hid it up in a beanie with only your bangs peaking out. You also didn't know if they allowed crop tops, which was what you had on right now due to your unattended laundry, so you put a big sweater on to hide that as well.

Everyone stared at you. You expected nothing less, considering you weren't wearing a school uniform. You kept your head low and your mouth shut, though it was starting to bother you to have all those eyes on you for no reason. It's rude to stare.

After school you wanted to find a quiet place to study. All three of the huge libraries were noisy, for some reason, so you ventured into trying to find an empty room. There was a music room that looked uninhabited, so you opened the door.

"Welcome to the Ouran Host Club."

A gush of wind came and you stepped inside to see 6 guys standing there, greeting you.

"Oh." One of the twins said. "It's just a guy."

"Host Club?" You quietly asked. "Um, I'm sorry! I didn't know this place was occupied. Sorry."

You turned and reached for the handle, only for both twins to lean on each of your shoulders.

"You said sorry twice." The said in unison.

"I'll just leave now—"

"You must be the foreign honor student, Mr. Y/l/n."

You looked back at the boy with the glasses giving you a small smile. "I'll ignore the Mr part for now, but how did you know my name?"

The tall blonde one gasped. "You're the exceptional honor student from y/c?!"

"It's quiet interesting seeing a commoner with the audaciousness to come here." The guy with glasses said.

"Commoner?" You repeated, taking in the name.

"You should feel lucky." He continued. It did do injustice for your nerves to hear that, but you tried to not let the innocently rude words effect you.

"So lucky." You sighed.

The blonde man rushed over to you and slung his arm over your shoulder. "I think it's wonderful for a commoner such as yourself to come and study us. It'll set an example for other commoners and you'll be a hero to all of them. Long live the poor!"

"Am I supposed to not find all of this offensive?" You asked as you ducked out of his arm.

That's when a small boy jumped onto you, causing you to instinctively catch him. While in your arms he could feel your hidden breasts against his head, which made him the second person in the room to catch on.

"Wow, y/l/n huh? That's a really weird last name. I like it though, it's interesting. I hope we can be friends from now! "You were honestly confused at to why there was a little boy here, so you gently ruffled his hair and put him down.

"That'd be nice." You sweetly said. "What are you doing here?"

"Huh. Who knew the honor student would be so openly gay?" The blonde man shrugged.

"What?" You asked, though you were ignored again.

"So then, which would you prefer?" He pulled your arm to each of the boys. "Is it the strong, silent type? The loli-shota type? The mischievous devils? The cool type?" He got extremely close and grabbed your chin, whispering, "Or maybe you'd like me."

You jerked yourself back, walking backwards as the twins and the blonde were walking towards you. "Please don't get so close when I don't even know you! I'll leave you all be now—"

You bumped into a table, and a vase fell and shattered as a result. "Now you've done it commoner." Said the twin with the higher voice. "That was a Renaissance vase."

"We were gonna sell that at the auction. The bidding was going to start at 8 million yen." Explained the other.

"8 mi..." Your voice was barely a whisper as you looked at the shattered glass. You then began to internally panic, causing words to just spew out. "Oh my gosh okay okay I am so so sorry I should've expected something like this cause of my luck and it's just like me to be a screw up and–" you let out a deep breath before scrunching up your nose and turning to them. "I need to pay you back."

"With what money?" The twins said.

"Holy crap this is bad." You began shaking your leg. "Okay, what do I do then?"

"Well Tamaki, what do you think we should do?" The glasses guy asked, still giving you a small smile.

"There's an old saying that we should all live by! When in Rome, do as the Romans do."

"I'm in rich territory, does that mean I need to do as the rich people do?" You asked, being unconsciously sarcastic.

He chose to ignore you and go on. "Since you don't have any money, you will have to pay us back with your body!"

"Can you please rephrase that—"

"Starting today, you are the host club's dog boy!"

It all happened so fast, and next thing you knew you were coming back from the store with their grocery items. Was this going to be hell? When you got back, you thought about the club while walking in the halls. It was their job to make women happy. That probably meant you would have to put on a brave smile.

"Hey there, little piglet. Did you get everything on our list?" Tamaki senpai smiled at you.

Brave face. "Yup, everything you asked for sir." You smiled brightly.

His eyes widened, and he zoomed over to you to pull you into a crushing hug. "Aww, you're too adorable!"

"Please let go!"

"Why? I'm not done hugging you yet!"

"I don't..." You looked around for help. "Mori senpai! Help me please!"

He made eye contact with you before swooping in and picking you up. You clung to him out of panic. Why would anyone smother strangers like that?

Mori senpai let out an inaudible gasp. He was now the third person who figured it out. "Uh, Mori senpai," Tamaki said. "Don't you think that was a little much?"

"No." He said, putting you down.

"Thank you." You said sweetly. He nodded and went back.

"Wait, doggo," Tamaki called to you, picking up the grocery bag. "What's this?"

"Just what it looks like. Coffee." You said as you walked over to him. "And I have a name."

"I've never seen coffee like this before." He ignored you again as he sat down on a couch.

"Are those the ones where it already has the beans grounded up for you?" Kaoru asked.

"No, it's instant coffee." You said.

"It's... Instant?" Some girls asked.

"Wait a minute, I've seen this before!" Tamaki widened his eyes. "It's commoner's coffee! They don't have time to make it themselves so they use this and it magically appears."

Someone watching this quietly asked, "Commoners don't have time to ground their own coffee?"

"Why is everybody staring?" You asked before sighing. "Nevermind. If you want I'll go back and buy a more expensive brand. Sorry."

"No no, let's keep it." The whole crowd gasped. "I think I'll try it." Another gasp. "I'm going to drink this coffee!" Everybody began clapping. "Y/l/n~ this coffee won't make itself~"

"I guess that's my cue." You said to yourself.

"Wait, commoner," Hikaru said.

"What's up with that ugly outfit?" Kaoru asked. "Can you not afford a school uniform?"

You giggled. "Do I look someone who can afford a school uniform?" They giggled again. "I'm used to public schools, so I wore a random shirt. I don't know if it fits this school's standards though." The twins heard your giggle, and we're now also figured it out. "I've actually been meaning to ask, is there a rule against dyed hair?"

"Dyed hair? No." Kaoru said.

"Oh good," you sighed. "Cause I have some highlights."

"Then what about your shirt?" Hikaru asked.

"It's a crop."

"A crop?" The twins asked in unison.

"Come to think of it," Kyoya spoke up. "Nobody ever asked you what your first name is."

You took off your beanie and let your hair down. You then took off your sweater and put it on top of your bag in the corner.

"It's y/n. Y/n y/l/n." You then walked over as everybody remained silent. "Thank you Kyoya senpai. Nobody else actually cared about my name. Means a lot." You smiled.

"Of course, now it's time to go make the coffee."

"Yes sir." You made it while everybody else remained silent. Tamaki couldn't take it anymore, and exploded.

"You're a girl?!" He barked.

"Yeah?"

"Why would you hide that?!"

"I wasn't trying to, and you shouldn't treat someone different because of that either way." You then turned to everyone else. "Coffee's done. Time for me to get back to work."

"But–but—"

"Tamaki, we still have guests to entertain." Kyoya reminded. He shook out of it and began flirting again, and you took this as an opportunity to start with your other chores. You began to clean up some plates and tea cups as everybody fussed over the coffee.

"Oh Tamaki, you've taken the joke too far. You have a delicate taste, your pallet can't stomach that crap. It's obvious you're just doing it to please her." You looked over to a very pretty girl, sipping her tea. "Oh, I'm sorry. I was just talking to myself."

"Of course ma'am. Would you care for any more food or drinks?" You quietly asked.

"No, you can leave now." You smiled and nodded, walking away with a bad feeling about that girl.

You were then cleaning up the coffee cups, watching other girls become fascinated with it. As you cleaned up they stopped to look at you. "Oh, you're the commoner honor student right?" One asked.

"Yup. Did you ladies enjoy the coffee?"

"Very much so. It did not taste poorly, and it was surprising to see how quick it was to make."

"Well, us commoners are always in a hurry to keep up with our bills." They giggled, though you didn't realize you were being funny. "Anyways, I'm glad I got to share my poorness with you."

The giggled again. "You're so funny y/n."

"Thank you. It's sweet of you not to call me a dog." You said, grinning afterwards. "And wow I never thought I'd say that."

They giggled again. "Are you enjoying Ouran Academy?"

"Hell yeah, it's awesome! Who knew there can be so many buildings in a building!"

"You have an interesting way of speaking." One laughed out.

"Well I didn't think so until I got to a whole different country. I totally forgot about the whole bowing to people thing when I left y/c. We don't do that there."

"Oh my goodness, really?!"

"Yeah, you have no idea—"

"Y/n, Honey senpai spilled." Hikaru called out. "Come and clean it."

"Oh, I have to go. It was nice talking to you ladies." You then hurried over there.

They then went back to their hosts. "What were you all talking about?" Tamaki asked one girl.

"Not much, just talking." She said. "It was very fun and pleasant."

"I wish we could've talked more." Another girl said.

"She's coming by." The third girl tried to say quietly.

"Y/n, come over here." Tamaki said. As you walked over his eyes ventured down to your opening stomach. "I heard you had quiet the chat with some ladies."

"Yup, I thought it was a very nice little talk." You said, smiling at them.

He grabbed you and crushed you into a hug again. "Your smile is so cute! You need to learn how to be more girly! Now promise me you won't wear any more of those dirty poor boy clothes."

"First of all, personal space please! Second, those clothes are comfy. And crop tops aren't for dirty boys."

"That's debatable." Tamaki murmered and blushed.

"Y'know, we think it looks pretty cute." The twins said against your shoulders.

"See? Hikaru and Kaoru aren't judging me on how I look." You hugged each of them at their side. They then both blushed out of surprise, not that you noticed.

"Don't trust those shady twins! They just want to take advantage of you." He then grabbed you back, nuzzling up against your cheek. "You know what, why don't you two make yourselves useful and grab an appropriate school uniform for my little girl."

"Little girl?" You asked, pushing him back a bit.

"Of course! We're a family after all, and now you're my little girl!"

"That's weird." He then suddenly started sulking in the corner, to which you felt bad about. You went over to him and sat on the floor next to him. "I'm sorry if I made you upset. I'm actually glad that friendship is that important to you. It's not often you still see that, and I'm happy to be a part of it."

His eyes began to shine. "Do you really think so?!"

"Sure!"

"Aww, you're so cute!" He squished your cheeks.

"Uh, boss." Kaoru said.

"The female uniforms were still in the process of being made, so all they had were male uniforms." Hikaru explained.

"Oh, that's actually better for me." You said. "I'm not much for dresses." You then took the outfit and went to the changing room to put it on. You came out without the blazer, the tie being loose, and the top button being undone. "Are you sure I can keep this?"

"Well the tailoring was messed up so they were gonna throw it away." Kaoru explained.

"Oh, perfect." You smiled.

"No, not perfect!" Tamaki popped up in front of you. "WHY WON'T YOU WEAR FEMALE CLOTHING?!"

"Are you trying to say I don't look good in these clothes?" You teased.

"Wha– noo~" His eyes began to tear up. "I never said that!"

"So you were thinking it."

"I WASN'T THINKING THAT AT ALL! Please y/n, I think you're beautiful, I swearr~"

You began giggling. "Senpai, I'm just teasing. I understand that you didn't mean that at all. It's okay."

He gave you puppy dog eyes. "Really?"

"Sure." You said lightheartedly. You wanted to ruffle his hair from how much of a puppy he was acting like.

"Then why would you tease me like that?" More puppy dog eyes.

"If I'm staying the Host Club's dog until I graduate, I might as well have fun while being here." The twins were busy laughing on the ground, while everybody else watch you two. Nobody could make Tamaki like that except for Kyoya.

"She's so funny." A girl mumbled.

You patted Tamaki's shoulders. "Straighten up senpai. You still have an audience waiting."

"She's right you know." Kyoya said. He then happily sighed. "Okay everyone, back to work."

You wheeled around the tea, hearing someone whisper, "She's coming."

You stopped and smiled, furrowing your eyebrows. "What?"

"Nothing, just that you don't react normally to Tamaki. No one has ever made him flustered like that before."

"Not only that." Another girl said. "You just seem so fun. It's like you don't give a care in the world. We're not used to people being so care free, so it's very fun."

"That's very sweet to hear. It's nice that you guys all care about whatever I ramble on about." You poured them all tea. "Maybe I should be a host too. I could tell stories and we could all hang out."

"That'd be very pleasant." One said as the other two nodded.

The red headed girl from earlier laughed. "How sweet of you three to make her feel good about herself. She seems like a person who needs to be praised."

"That was a little harsh Ayanokoji." One of them said.

They all looked at you frowning, but you didn't want them to pity you. You mustered up a smile. "More tea ma'am?"

"No, that'll be all. You can leave." She smiled as she sipped on her tea.

"Of course." You then walked away.

Kyoya heard everything. You passed by him, frowning and looking downward. "You mentioned being a host. It's an interesting notion, in it's own way."

"Don't worry Kyoya senpai, I know my place."

He didn't look back at you, only staring at his notebook. "Your place, huh."

"Would you care for anything?" You asked.

"Just some answers." He continued to write in his book. "What do you consider your 'place'?"

You chuckled. "Not here. I know how lucky I am to be here, and that I shouldn't push it. Especially after breaking something."

"I see. Well, I do like your suggestion of being a host." This gained the attention of Tamaki.

You had your back to him as you cleaned up a table. "I was joking."

"Yes, but most people seem to enjoy hearing you talk. It'll help gain money for your debt."

Tamaki flipped and landed right in front of you. "Why would you do that?! Don't tell me you're not interested in men?!"

"I didn't say I wasn't. I just think that these girls might also have fun by laughing and not just being flustered. Having someone to talk to can be refreshing."

His eyes began to sparkle again. "This could work! Having more females could get you in touch with your feminine side. Starting tomorrow, you are a host!"

The next day you were sitting on a couch with the three other girls you talked to yesterday with you. "So y/n, what was your life like before you came to Japan?"

"Oh, you guys don't really wanna hear about my boring life, do you?" You leaned back on the cushion. "I thought we could talk about you ladies."

"We're actually very intrigued by you. We all want to know more about your life."

"Yeah, it seems like you lived in a whole other world."

You grinned, looking around. "Well, this does feel like another world. It feels like a dream come true."

"Were you poor?" Someone blankly asked.

A few people turned around to listen in. You chuckled. "Yes. For a commoner, I was on the more poor side."

"You mean there's a poorer side?"

You chuckled again. "Yup. Instead of commoners, we like to call ourselves middle class. Or at least in y/c we were. There were those who had not bad jobs with not bad incomes, and there were others who actually struggled maintaining enough money to get by."

People began to stop talking and began listening in. "What were your parents then?"

You kept your smile on your face, but stared out the window. "My dad was a lazy asshole who never worked a day in his life, but I guess he didn't seem that way when my mom met him. My mom was an honest and hard working accountant. She used to say that he was nicer to her, sweeter, and not a lot of people were kind to women where she lived. She told me she thought he could make her happy."

They all listened intensely. Even Kyoya stopped writing, and watched you from his side view. You looked over the the three girls. You weren't used to having people really listening to you, but it did feel surprisingly nice. Like the weight on your chest was being lifted little by little.

"What happened?"

"It wasn't until she was pregnant with me when she realized it was all a lie. And it wasn't until after I was born when he showed her that he loved alcohol. He was angry when he drank, and he always drank. Mom got sick when I was about 6, and by that time being angry turned into being violent."

"Did he ever hurt you or your mom?" You looked her in the eyes, and she gasped, knowing the answer. You didn't answer that question.

"A few months later she passed, and I ran away the same day."

"Where did you go?"

You kept your voice steady and calm. "I was living in the streets. Stole from this liquor store to eat. The woman who owned the shop caught me, but she wasn't mad. She invited me into her apartment, fed me, bought me new clothes. She's good to me."

"Did you keep living with her?"

You nodded. "She called the cops on my dad before putting me into the foster system and becoming my new mother the right way. Took a few months before she could foster me, but she didn't hesitate to fill everything out and put down her name for a daughter."

"What happened after that?"

"I worked at her liquor store, made some friends, found out I was really good at learning things in school. Then I saw that there was an opportunity to go to a prestigious school in Japan. After seeing a lot of injustice in the neighborhood I lived in, I decided that I wanted to be a lawyer. So I studied, learned Japanese, and when I got in Maria sold the liquor store and we moved here."

"Maria?"

"My second mother. The one who adopted me."

"I see. So you came here with her then?"

"Of course. We wouldn't abandon each other." You turned to them and smiled. "It's nice to know when you're wanted."

The three of them were in tears. "That's so sad." One said.

"Oh, no no no, don't be sad girls. It's fine, honestly! I'm happy that I found a new family, and I'm happy for being here. I don't like tears, so please don't cry for me. It makes me sad."

The three of them smothered you with a hug. "WE'LL KEEP SMILING FOR YOU Y/N!"

You giggled. "Thanks girls." You then looked around. "Has everybody been listening in?"

"No!" You heard from the twins. Everybody quickly turned away from you.

"Well that's very embarrassing. Thanks guys." You blushed and looked down. Tamaki pulled you away and gently grabbed your arms.

"Y/n, listen to me. I promise you that we will do our best to make you feel as comfortable as possible." You were going to answer, but you noticed something when you looked out the window. "What's wrong?"

"My stuff..." You frowned. "I'll be right back."

You ran outside to get your things. Your bag was thrown into a lake. As you ran you saw that princess, Ayanokoji. She gave you a side eye, and something told you to stop running.

"Oh, it's you." You didn't look back, and neither did she. "You can charm everybody with your words, but I hope you know that to Tamaki you'll always be a second class citizen."

You said nothing as you kept running. Once you got to the lake you took off your shoes and socks, rolling up your pants and going in to fish out your stuff. What you couldn't find was your wallet. That would be good money gone to waste.

"You've got some nerve running out on me." Tamaki said, watching you. "Hey, why are your items all wet?"

"Oh, it's nothing. I'm just looking for my wallet. You can go back, I'll be there in a bit." You didn't notice him take off his socks and shoes until he got in as well. "What're you doing?"

"Helping you look."

"But you'll get all wet." You felt bad for making him do this.

"A little water never hurt anybody." You stopped what you were doing you watch him. "Besides, people are always telling me I'm dripping with good looks. Oh, I think we got something here." He showed you your wallet, though you just kept staring at him. "Why are you staring at me?" He then smiled. "You're not falling for me~ are you?"

You scoffed and smiled, grabbing your wallet from his hands. "You wish."

"By the way, how did your things end up in the pond?"

"Don't worry about it, let's just go back to the club."

Later that day, to your dismay, Princess Ayanokoji requested you. You politely asked her what she wanted to talk about, and she asked about you digging through the pond.

"I see, that must be terrible. I don't know what I'd have done if my bag got thrown into there." She then chuckled. "And you even got Tamaki to dig through that dirty lake water. Impressive."

"I don't see what's so impressive about it." You shrugged. "I suppose he's just a nice person who'd do that for people."

"You know it's just a little obsession with you. You're new and exciting, but pretty soon Tamaki will lose interest. I mean really, you're just another pretty face."

You frowned, looking into your tea cup. "Jealousy can make a beautiful face very ugly, don't you think?"

She widened her eyes before pushing the table to the ground, causing tea to spill on your lap, and slapped you in the face. "How dare you?! Someone help me, the commoner tried to steal my bracelet! Somebody do something!" The twins said nothing as the dumped water on her. "W...why did you do that?"

Tamaki pulled her up and into his arms. "Ayanokoji, I'm disappointed in you. You were the one you put y/n's bag in the pond, weren't you?"

"You don't know that!" She angrily said. "Do you have any proof that I did?!"

He sighed. "You're a beautiful woman Ayanokoji, but you aren't classy enough to be our guest. If it's one thing I know, it's that y/n isn't that kind of woman."

As she ran away crying, Kyoya handed you a girl's school uniform. "Since you got tea on your uniform. I know you wouldn't prefer a dress, but it's what we have, and it's better than a wet outfit."

"Yeah, thanks senpai."

You went into the changing room, putting on the dress. You were thankful for it being long. You didn't want anybody to the scars. You stared at yourself in the mirror, wondering if you looked okay. You sucked up the doubts and went out.

All the club members turned to look at you. Tamaki stared at you. "Y/n... wearing a... dress?"

"Senpai!" You walked over to Tamaki, taking his hands. "I forgot to say thank you for helping me find my wallet. I thought you were really cool today."

Tamaki's face then began to redden as you smiled.

---

Author's Note: Please comment and let me know if you liked it. I really want to keep this going and make fillers of my own.

AN #2: Also just ask if you want to be tagged in future stuff.

[eryiss]

Fraxus Week 2020: Day 1 - First Meeting

Summary: After a crappy post-college first year, Laxus jumped at the opportunity to leave town for a week for a road trip with his friends. He intended it just to be a week away with his friends, but when he meets an unfamiliar stranger, the vacation turns into something much more. [Fraxus Multichapter]

This was written as part of the annual Fraxus Week event hosted by @fuckyeahfraxus​​. This year I’ve decided to make an eight-part multi-chapter fic out of the prompts. They might not be in the correct order, but I think the end product will be worth it. Hope you all enjoy it.

You can read this on Fanfiction, Archive of our Own, and under the cut.  Read the other chapters from this masterlist.

Chapter One – Getting Aboard

It had been Bickslow's idea.

Nobody would think it, but the blue haired idiot was perhaps the most caring of the group, the mother figure, in a way. He wasn't the most conventional 'mom friend', and it certainly didn't diminish his enthusiasm to get drunk off his ass when the opportunity presented itself, but he was always the one keeping an eye out on his friends and knew when something was wrong. Apparently he had seen something was wrong with all three of them, and had come up with this plan on how to fix it.

A road trip to the Grand Canyon. None of his friends knew where the idea had come from, nor did they know why he insisted on renting an RV and driving there instead of getting the train. But the man had this enthusiasm about him that was cast upon them like a spell, and they couldn't find a way to fight it. Perhaps they all knew they needed the break.

Laxus was damn sure he did.

It had been just shy of a year since his graduation from college, and his plan had been to get a job in a gym being a personal trainer. That hadn't happened. He'd gone to many job interviews and nothing had come from any of them, and each rejection had been like a punch to the gut. He knew he couldn't just use his grandfather's money for ever, so had gotten what was meant to be a temporary job in an office while he looked for more appropriate employment. That had been nine months ago, and he hadn't been near to an interview for his chosen career in over half a year.

So far, his post college life had been a failure. Perhaps he had been naïve to think good things would happen instantly, perhaps he just needed to be patient. But the idea of getting away from everything for a week was what he needed.

Even if it was in what he could only assume was a crappy van.

Even if he had to wake up at five thirty to get on the highway before the majority of traffic, for some reason.

Even if one of the people he was traveling with was a stranger.

He had known Bickslow for the longest. They had been friends since they were kids and, although Bickslow moving away for college had meant they weren't as close as they once were, Laxus still considered the man his closest friend. He was chaotic, loyal, and overall just a fun guy. He could be obnoxious, but who couldn't?

Evergreen had come later, when she transferred into their high-school and Bickslow had dragged her into their small group. She was a little haughty at first, but that was clearly a defensive state she took on as the new girl. As they got closer, she showed a snarkier and quick-witted side. She fit in with the two men like the missing piece of a puzzle, even if she had a stupid insistence of hitting them with a fan when annoyed.

But now there was Freed.

Laxus didn't know all that much about Freed. He knew that he went to the same college that Bickslow and Ever did. He knew that he lived a few towns over, about half an hour's drive. He knew that he was a literary and science major. That was it. But both Bix and Ever thought well of him, so he was probably a good person.

"What time is he coming?" Makarov asked, cupping a mug of coffee while sitting at the kitchen table.

"Should be a few minutes," Laxus shrugged, biting into the toast he'd made for himself.

"I don't get why you have to leave this early," Makarov commented, glancing at the clock handing on the wall as sipped his drink. "You're going to be driving for days on end, you'll get caught in traffic anyway. You might as well sleep in to an appropriate time."

"Nobody asked you to see me off," Laxus quirked an eyebrow. He agreed with the sentiment though, he'd much rather leave later and deal with the traffic.

"No, but you seemed determined to bump into everything as you were getting ready and to make as much noise as you could. It's hard to sleep through that," Makarov grinned, clearly trying to get a reaction out of his grandson. "Besides, it's been years since I saw your friends, it'll be nice to see them again. And that new boy you'll be travelling with, I want to mee him too."

"We're picking him up later," Laxus said, crunching another bite of toast; he had burned it.

"Ah," Makarov nodded.

The two men fall into a comfortable quiet, the silence being accompanied by the radio Makarov had insisted turning on despite complaining about all the music they played. Laxus ate his breakfast while his grandfather read the newspaper. Once Laxus was finished, he checked the small suitcase that he had packed for himself to make sure it had everything he needed, then sat back at the kitchen table and waited for his friends to arrive.

A few minutes later he got the text saying that Bickslow was outside. He cracked his back and walked to the front door of the house he shared with his grandfather, and looked upon the large RV that had been parked at the foot of the driveway.

It was an impressive looking vehicle, and probably a good model. The idea to go on this road trip had been made in March, giving the four of them four months to save up enough to hire something relatively luxurious. Bickslow was hanging out of driver's seat window with a wide grin on his face, clearly happy that his plan was starting. Laxus found his enthusiasm infectious, and a small smile graced his lips as he approached.

This was exactly what he needed to put aside the disappointment of the year.

"Hey man," Bickslow greeted with a voice too loud for the time of the morning. He looked past Laxus and grinned wider. "Hey Mr D."

"Morning Bickslow," Makarov greeted from the doorframe, smiling. "Is Evergreen not with you?"

"She's in the back, sleepin'. Told her that it'll take a hell of a lot of beauty sleep not to make her look like that, but she didn't listen to me," He cackled at his own joke, and Laxus chuckled as he saw a hairbrush hit him in the back of his head. "The big guy wake you up, Mr D?"

"What do you think?" Makarov laughed, and Laxus glared at him. Since when was it a known trait that he couldn't keep quiet in the morning?

"See you in a week-old man," Laxus waved his hand, hoping to stop the taunting conversation between his friend and relative. "Try not to die while I'm gone."

"Cheeky brat," Makarov retorted with a grin. "Have fun kids."

Bickslow gave a response in the affirmative while Laxus pulled open the door of the RV, climbing up the steps. It was as nice inside as it was outside, with a small table and seating nook, a cooking area, a bed at the back and a small room that Laxus assumed would be the washroom. Laxus absently wondered if either he or Bickslow would manage to fit in the shower, given their size. But still, it was a nice vehicle and would be more than enough for their week inside of it.

Laxus walked to the front of the vehicle and took the passenger's seat, grinning at the sight of Evergreen with an eye mask on while buckled into the seats surrounding the table. The seat was comfortable enough, and Laxus found himself smiling at the vehicle.

"She's nice, right," Bickslow grinned in reference to the RV. "Best one they had. Turns out four of us not having any fun for months means we save a lot of money."

"Glad to hear it," Laxus chuckled. "I half expected you to pull up in some crappy van with a piss stained mattress in the back."

"Oddly specific there Dreyar. Speaking from experience?" Bickslow grinned, and it was clear that his excitement was going to make him completely obnoxious throughout the week. As annoying as it was, Laxus wouldn't have it any other way. "So, just gonna put this out here. Sleeping situation. The bed at the back fits two, and the table folds away and makes another single bed. Obviously, they'll be two of us in the back. So we can either have Ever and Freed sharing the single bed 'casue we won't fit-"

"Like hell I'm sharing," Ever snapped from her seat. "It'll be cramped enough as it is."

"Or we take turns each night with one of us in that chair," He nodded to the seat Laxus was sitting in. "It reclines and turns slightly, so they'll be enough leg space. It's basically like a plane seat without anyone behind you."

"I'm sure we can manage with that," Laxus nodded. "Wouldn't wanna piss of medusa," A hairbrush hit the back of Laxus' head this time. "How many brushes do you have?"

"Five, they each do different things," Evergreen grunted from her seat, and Laxus chuckled when he saw her put the mask over her eyes again.

"How can they do different things?" Laxus asked.

"They just do, it's why they're all different shapes and have thinner and thicker prongs," Evergreen sighed. "Ask Freed when he gets here, I'm sure he'll know. And that way you won't be talking to me and I can get some sleep."

Laxus decided not to push his luck, knowing that his friend had enough strength to throw a hair dryer at his head, as well as the morality to do so. Instead he leant over to Bickslow, who had pushed the key into the ignition, and spoke softly.

"Why would he know much about hair brushes exactly?" He asked, and Bickslow looked at him with confusion before realisation hit him.

"Sorry, I keep forgetting that you know basically nothing about him," He laughed, turning the key, and starting the engine. It was a powerful machine, and Laxus appreciated it. "Freed's got really long hair, keeps it pretty well looked after too. Goes down to his ass, don't know when he last had it cut. It looks good on him though. Oh, and it's green. Like, bright green."

"Really," Laxus furrowed his brows. "Everything you've said about him makes him seem pretty… strait laced I guess."

"He is, kinda. He's just got green hair," Bickslow shrugged, smiling wide. "He's kinda contradictory when you get to know him. You'll love him, I know it baby."

Bickslow revved the engine unnecessarily, waved out the window with an overly loud 'Bye Mr D!' as he did so, and started to pull out from Laxus' neighbourhood. Laxus gave his grandfather a small wave in goodbye, and saw the old man return the gesture. He leant back in his comfortable chair and allowed the gentle vibrations of the vehicle moving to calm him, closing his eyes softly as the warm sun hit his face through the front window.

This was exactly what he had needed after the year he'd had, and even the idea of being in the RV with a stranger didn't put a damper on his mood.

~~~

It had taken about forty minutes to get into the town Freed had lived in, and only a little while longer to get to his apartment. The building wasn't the nicest looking place in the world, and Bickslow explained that Freed lived by himself and financed his own life through his student loan and a job. Laxus didn't judge him; that was an admirable thing to do and he couldn't look down on his because he lived in a slightly crappy apartment building.

Honestly, for some reason he had expected a spoiled kid.

"Could you go up and get him?" Bickslow asked, looking towards Laxus.

"Can't you text him?"

"Nah, he takes hours to answer any texts, so I never know if he actually reads them quickly or not. Don't wanna be waiting down here for ages," Bickslow shrugged, and then grinned. "Besides, it'll give the two of ya a chance to get to know each other before you get trapped in here with us. Makes it less awkward."

Laxus sighed, but nodded. He was almost certain that getting to know Freed was the only reason he had been chosen to find the man, but he couldn't prove it as he didn't know if Bickslow's claim about his texting etiquette was true or not. He shifted his way out of the RV, Bickslow shouting the man's apartment number and the code for the door as he did so. Once he closed the door, he could swear that he heard the two speaking in the van, but ignored it.

The apartment building wasn't run down, but it was lacking luxury. Paint was peeling off some of the walls and the elevator opened with a horrid creak. Laxus walked into it and pushed the button for the ninth floor.

A ridiculous bubble of nervousness entered his stomach as the elevator started to ascend. He had never been talented socially, and his communication skills were both blunt and often uncared for. This had meant he never truly got used to being around new people, and it took him a while to warm up with most people. And now he was going to be stuck in a pretty small RV for around a week with a man he didn't know. He knew that his friends were good judges of characters and they assured him that they'd get along, but Laxus still could be nervous about meeting him.

Once the lift had found the right floor, Laxus looked around and settled on the sixth apartment's door. He knocked it curtly, the sound echoing awkwardly in the hallway. Laxus fidgeted for a moment before it was opened, revealing Freed.

"Oh," The man said in a velvet smooth voice. "Hello."

"Hey," Laxus greeted. "I'm Laxus, Bickslow might have told you about me. He said to come get you."

"Of course," The man said, and offered him a smile.

It was a nice smile. In fact the entirety of the man was nice to look at. He had long green hair, as Bickslow had said, and it was tied up in a high pony tail. A few green strands had fallen down to frame his face, accenting his sharp features, and pronounced bone structure. His outfit portrayed a fit body, and the unassigned top button showed a small slather of a firm chest. He had piercing blue eyes, a small black mark high on his left cheek, and thin lips.

When his eyes flickered down, he saw that the man had two large sports bags at his feet, clearly his own luggage. Laxus was suddenly reminded of why he was there, and snapped out of his split-second trance.

"You need help with them?" He offered.

"I'm fine," Freed assured him. "Although you could hold this if you don't mind."

He reached for a shelf in his apartment and picked up a small plastic thermos, handing it to Laxus. The blonde took it and looked at it with confusion. "Doesn't it make more sense for you to hold your own drink. I really don't mind taking a bag."

"It's not for me," Freed explained, lifting his bags out of his apartment, and placing them down to lock the door. "I shared a morning class with Evergreen, and she was snappy enough at eight in the morning, let alone half six. I assumed she might need some caffeine."

"Yeah, both me a Bix got a hairbrush thrown at us already," Laxus laughed. "Probably a good call."

"I would have made the two of you one as well," Freed stated as they walked down the hall. "But I don't know what you drink, and I don't believe that Bickslow needs any help in being overly energetic."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure my grandpa's neighbour is gonna complain because of the shouting," Laxus grinned a little as he called the elevator. His friends were a topic he could handle.

"I'm surprised he didn't try and get my attention by yelling from the sidewalk."

"Well, I'm pretty sure that the only reason he sent me up here is so we can talk without them being there," Laxus admitted, before wondering if it was appropriate to say so. Was it meant to be a secret?

"It makes sense," Freed nodded. "They haven't really told me too much about you. I know your name, that you're a year older than us, and that you went to college to become trained in sports science and physiotherapy. That's essentially it."

"Well, that's all true," Laxus said as he walked into the open elevator. "I haven't gotten a job in my field yet, so I took a temp job. But I'm still looking. Bix said you've got a job as well as going to college?"

"I'm a waiter at Blue Pegasus, a restaurant a few blocks away," Freed explained. "It's not the most interesting work, but the pay is enough to keep me stable. And sometimes I'll get a meal at the end of the shift for free, so I can't complain."

Laxus nodded, understanding the conflict of working at a job that doesn't thrill you without having the option of quitting. The elevator started to slide down, and a repetitive tone began to play in the small box. Neither man spoke, and Laxus would have expected the urge to fill the silence, but it didn't come. For whatever reason, he felt comfortable with not speaking when Freed was around, something that didn't happen to him often.

Thinking back, the last time he had been okay in silence with a stranger had been Evergreen.

They reached the bottom floor hallway of the building a moment later, and Laxus held open the front door for Freed so the man could walk out without dropping his bags. When they walked into the morning sun, Laxus found himself momentarily transfixed by the sight of the man under natural light.

He looked radiant.

His slightly paler skin seemed to glow in the sunlight, and his perfectly brushed hair shimmered in the light. His eyes even seemed to sparkle as he approached the comparatively dull vehicle that was their home for the next week. Laxus' grip on the thermos tightened slightly as he walked forward.

"Just opened the storage," Bickslow commented from the window. "Put your bags in there, so we have space."

Freed nodded, walking to the small storage cubby that was opened from the side of the truck. He placed his bags down and opened it, and Laxus walked beside him. Freed placed one of the bags into the RV's trunk equivalent, and Laxus lifted the other to do the same. It held a fair amount of weight to it, and Laxus found himself impressed that the man had managed to lift this and another bag without any difficulty. Maybe the bulging in his sleeves wasn't just vanity muscles, as Laxus had assumed.

"Thank you," Freed nodded towards Laxus, closing the storage space.

"It's fine," Laxus assured him.

The two men climbed inside the RV, being greeted by a still too cheery 'welcome to the party bus' form Bickslow. Laxus saw that, in his time in the building, Evergreen had taken the front seat and was reclining in it with the eye mask on and a blanket covering her body. He rolled his eyes, placed the drink in a cup holder on the dash, and looked back over the RV's interior. The only place you could sit while it moved were in the table booth that Freed was sitting at. Laxus took the seat opposite him.

As he got into the leather booth, he saw that Freed had taken out a novel and was scanning the paged with quick moving eyes. The sun was hitting his face just right and illuminated it in a damn impressive way. Annoyingly, Laxus blushed

"All aboard," Bickslow yelled. "Next stop, the Grand Canyon."

And, with a pleasant nervousness in his stomach as he looked at Freed, Laxus found himself excited for the journey.

[zi-i-think]

9 | The Miraculous Bastards

Pairing: Zuko x Ama (OC)

Word Count: 6100+

.☽☼☾.

~ Ama ☾ ~

          Around the dinner table, we all chatted happily. After all it's been years since we were together like this. And this time we had some new friends. I sat with my cheek resting on my palm while I watched Aang and Katara tell the story of their engagement again.

         "Honestly, I don't know what came over him. I was so focused on the sun setting that I didn't even hear him ask the first time." Katara laughed, taking another sip from her wine.

         "I thought her being quiet was a no at first." Aang was finishing. "She practically had to threaten me to repeat the question. And when I did she instantly said yes." He and Katara shared a loving look.

         "Threaten you with what? No kisses?" Toph taunted them. Everyone laughed as Aang blushed.

         "N-no." Aang claimed.

         "Then what?" Toph pushed. Based on the deep red blush on Aang and Katara's cheeks. It must be something a little... different than kissed.

         "Anyways." Katara avoided the question, bringing the red wine to her lips again. "Before we all retire to bed. I think Ama had something to announce."

         Everyone's eyes immediately turned to me. Gosh, I already regret telling my sister that I wanted to come out to everyone at once. "One moment." I held up my pointer finger as I chugged the rest of my wine while the others chuckled at me. The light burning in my throat made me clear my throat, as I set my glass down.

         "Here goes nothing." I mumbled to myself and started picking at my nails. "Okay, well as everyone knows, there were a good two years where I-"

         "Disappeared?"

         "Went dark?"

         "Didn't visit?"

         Some of the others finished. My jaw dropped in an offended way as the table erupted in more laughter. "You know what, yes." I admitted. "And in those two years, I sort of fell in love."

         "That's wonderful."

         "What's his name?"

         "Where is he?"

         "How great."

         The table erupted in chatter again. "Okay, you all aren't really helping me with my nerves right now." There was a slight shake in my voice as I spoke and they all stopped talking immediately.

         "I think I get it." Ty Lee said, mainly to herself. I wondered if she actually knew what I was saying and gave the peppy girl a curious look. "You're pregnant!"

         "Ama, really!?"

         "Congratulations!"

         "I'm going to be an aunt!?"

         "No!" I shouted, rapidly shaking my head and my arms out in front of me. "It's been a year since I've last seen them. Besides, it was never even a possibility. Cause- well." I looked around the table. They all either had confused or curious expressions.

         My eyes landed on Zuko, he was leaning back into his chair. Arms crossed over his chest as he waited to hear me speak. His soft golden eyes bore into mine. Immediately, I felt calmer and just blurted it out. "The whole point of me saying all of this is because I'm bisexual and Mulan was a woman who I was very much in love with!"

         "Oh, that's old news!" Toph immediately exclaimed before anyone could say anything.

         "Old news? I just told Katara and Sokka this morning. They were the only ones who knew!" I pointed out, motioning to my siblings.

         "Oh." Toph realized. "Then I guess it's just old news to me. You're heartbeat always sped up whenever you saw an attractive woman." My face reddened and I buried my face in my hands.

         "Moving on. I think that's great, Ama." Suki said, looking at me from beside Sokka, who sat between the two of us.

         "Yeah. We're all very happy for your new found understanding of yourself." Ty Lee grinned at me. "Or would it be an old understanding of yourself? Either way, your aura is very purple and bright!"

         "So, none of you think differently of me?" I wondered, peeking through my fingers.

         "Of course not. You're still the same Ama." Zuko spoke up, giving me a comforting smile. He didn't speak all that much the entire night.

         "So what happened?" Ty Lee's curious voice wondered.

         I shrugged, a somber expression on my face. "She got really sick one day and died." Some voices expressed words of condolences quietly. "It's been hard, but everything happens for a reason, I guess." I began to feel extremely uncomfortable in the dismal atmosphere. The quiet was eating me up.

         "Well," Katara spoke up, standing from her seat. I am so thankful for her ability to see when I'm uncomfortable. "it's been a long day and I'm exhausted." Aang stood up also, ready to go to bed as well.

         "So am I." Ty Lee jumped from her seat. "Who knew traveling could suck all the energy out of a person." Slowly everyone left the table.

         "Don't forget ladies, tomorrow is the bridal shower." Katara announced quickly before entering her room.

         "Good job, sis." Sokka pulled me into him for a side hug. "The execution was a little rocky, but I'm proud of you for finally overcoming your fear."

         "Sokka, your breath reeks of wine." I laughed, shoving him off me. "Get to bed."

         "Mhh. Bed sounds good." Sokka mumbled happily then gave a sly look at Suki. "What do you think, Suki? Bed? Good?"

         The girl smirked back at him seductively. "I think bed sounds great."

         "Eww." I said in disgust. "You're going to make me throw up."

         "Aww, you're just jealous you don't have someone in your bed tonight." Sokka teased.

         "Yeah, it's totally because of that and not because your bedroom is right next to me." I raised my eyebrows and entered my bedroom. A sigh of relief escaped my lips. Finally. I can rest easy, I hope. The walls here are thick, right?

.☽☼☾.

         I woke up early with a list of things to do. But of course, everyone needs  their breakfast. Sitting at the dining table with a bread bun in my hands and a book in another.

         "Watcha reading?" A familiar but still strange voice asked. Turning my head, I saw the one and only Zuko. I gave him a smile as he sat down, taking a bread bun from one of the bowls in the center.

         "A romance novel." I replied, keeping my eyes on my book. "A princess falls in love with the stable boy. But he gets drafted into the war. The princess then disguises herself as a man in order to protect him."

         "Sounds interesting." He responded. "I'll need to borrow it when you're done."

         Memorising the page I was on, I set down the book. "So, how've you been?" I asked.

         "I've been good. Bored, mainly." He shrugged. "You know. When I became Fire Lord, I was never told how much of my time would be spent with paperwork in front of me."

         "That's rough, buddy." I quoted something he'd said a long time ago, cracking a smile from him. "How's Kiyi and your mom?"

         "Good. Kiyi turned 12 a few weeks ago. And mom still asks about you." He responded with a warm smile.

         "Did they get the bracelets I sent? I know it wasn't anything fancy, but-"

         "They loved it." Zuko interrupted me. "Kiyi wears it almost everyday, actually."

         "That's good to hear." I said, taking another sip from my tea. I grimaced at how cold it got from being neglected. I looked over at Zuko with an innocent look. "Hey do you mind-?"

         Already one step ahead of me, Zuko took my tea cup, heating it up with his hands. Giving him a questioning look, Zuko just chuckled. "You're a very predictable person, you know."

         "Well, thank you." I said, taking the cup back from him and sipping it. "So, did you boys plan anything for today?"

         "Aang wants to go to the market." He answered. "Hey, what are some foods you recommend?"

         "Depends." I started, pointing at nothing in particular. "Auntie Ashuna has a booth selling seal jerky. I find that to be pretty filling. There's also a booth selling different sea foods, but fried. Honestly, it's one of my new favorite snacks."

         "Anything sweet?" He asked more specifically.

         "Oh. Auntie Nalle has an entire bakery. She sells cakes, tarts, and all sorts of things." I listed, my mouth already watering at the thought. "She's going to be at the bridal shower, though, so Uncle Perlu will be running everything. Word of advice, don't stare at him. He'll write your name on a piece of paper and burn it."

         He chuckled and looked a bit confused. "Should I ask?"

         "It's kinda my fault." I recalled how I told my uncle that burning the name of a person was a great way of both detaching from them and wishing ill-will on them. "Anyways, I gotta get going. Bridesmaid duties." I stated, standing up from my seat.

         "Have fun." He said as I was picking up my book, placing it under my arm to pick up my dirty dishes.

         "You know me." I smirked. "I'll always have fun."

         "Can you do me a favor?" He asked, just before I left. I nodded, for him to continue. "Keep an eye on Suh for me? I know she's a very extroverted person, but she can feel out of place easily."

         "You can count on me mister Fire Lord." I assured him. He gave me a thankful smile as I actually felt the dining room this time.

         My smile fell as I left. The mention of Suh made me feel... uneasy. I wanted to like her, I really did. But there was something about her that made me wary. I don't know what it is. But I will.

.☽☼☾.

         "What a beautiful knife set." Katara opened the last gift. "Thank you, Mai." The Fire Nation woman nodded a 'you're welcome' while she grabbed a biscuit. Katara turned to look at me, as she set the gift to the side. "I didn't think I could get so many plate sets."

         "You'll never need to worry about not having one." We chuckled together.

         "It was a great idea to host the bridal shower here in the green house." Katara looked around at the place. Vines hung from pots, trees grew strongly, and flowers of all colors filled the clear paneled house. "It sets the perfect atmosphere and it's gorgeous."

         "I know." I agreed. "Plus I think the two of us needed a break of the snow."

         "Oh, please. You were in here like everyday up until two weeks ago." She mocked me, starting to fold up the gift bags.

         "Yeah, some of the bridesmaid duties I were procrastinating on had finally caught up to me." I recalled, looking across the long table I noticed Suh chatting Mai's ear off. The poor girl looked so bored and annoyed.

         Remembering my promise to Zuko earlier, I stood up and went over. "Hey, Mai. Katara could use some help organizing the gifts."

         "Finally. Something to do." She said dryly and left her seat.

         I took Mai's seat and smiled at Suh. "So, how are you liking the South Pole?" I started conversation.

         "Oh, it's beautiful." She awed. "I always believed that the Southern Water Tribe was underdeveloped and unstable, but I was obviously wrong."

         I tried not to feel offended by her little comment. After all, it wasn't like the Fire Nation was taught a whole lot about the other nations. "You should go to the market one day, you can get a taste of some more Water Tribe culture and food!" I suggested. "Zuko told me that he and the boys were going to be there today?"

         "Oh. I didn't know that you and Zu-bear talked today?" It took everything in me not to burst out laughing at the nickname. Zu-bear? Zuko can't possibly like that. "But, anyways. I guess I'll try to go to the market."

         "So, how did you and Zuko meet?" I inquired.

         "Oh, it was nothing special." She swatted the air with one hand and grabbed her tea with the other. "The Fire Nation Council introduced Zuko to lots of women. We went on a couple dates, and just clicked. With all the competition I really didn't think Zuko would want to be with me, but well. Here we are."

         "What does the Council have to do with Zuko's love life?" I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion.

         "Zuko, isn't exactly getting younger. The Fire Nation is going to need an heir." She spoke like it was common knowledge. "The Council just made sure that all the women eligible to him are fit to be Fire Queen."

         It made sense. After all, the royal life is a lot more pristine than I know. The year I spent living in the palace had me following proper etiquette. And that was just scratching the surface. Still, having a group of people limiting who you'd spend the rest of your life with sounded terrible.

         "And what did you do before you met Zuko. Were you a diplomat of some sort, academic...?"

         "My father was a general in the war. I never really did anything." She answered. The answer was way too simple for my liking. Especially since she likes to talk. "I hope I don't sound rude, but I'd rather hear more about you." She grinned. "Zuko never really talked about you guys."

         I was taken aback by that. He never talked about us? Why? Is he ashamed? No. Why would he? "Um, well. What would you like to know?"

         "Everything!" She exclaimed excitedly. Her hands intertwined and a hopeful look glimmered in her eye. And I'm starting to see why Mai said she was unbearable.

.☽☼☾.

         I rubbed by my temples slowly, stepping inside the palace with Katara behind me. "Remind me to keep Auntie Vik away from the alcohol at your wedding." I grumbled.

         "I'll remember." Katara grumbled back. "It's been a long day. Oh, you know what would be nice? A relaxing time at the hot springs."

         "That sounds like heaven." I moaned at the thought. "You think the others would want to join us? The sun hasn't even set yet, we have time."

         "That's a good idea, actually." Katara grinned. "I'll go get everyone."

         "And I'll go get the wine!" I exclaimed, sharply turning to the wine cellar.

         And just like that, the second evening with my friends started. With wine in our hands and the hot, soothing water up to our chest.

         "...I was so close to using my trusty boomerang on the guy. I mean, who does he think he is?" Sokka complained about some shop owned from the market.

         "For not lowering the price by a couple copper pieces?" Haru chuckled.

         "I'd already spent most of my money on food. And that dress was perfect for Suki." He grumbled. Suki shook her head, but still smiled at her goofy boyfriend, leaning into him.

         "How was the bridal shower?" Aang turned the attention to the girls.

         "It went well. And now we have a lot of plates to use." Katara grinned, making me chuckle.

         "Props to Ama, though. The girl was hella busy both before and after the event." Toph brought the attention on to me.

         "Oh, please it was nothing." I smirked and swatted my hand. "But the chef was so rude. He told me that the dishes I requested were 'too complicated.' I met with him last week to go over everything and he didn't say a word about it."

         "I saw the way he talked to you." Suki spoke up. "He was way too bold."

         "Seriously though, Katara. You better put as much effort as I am right now when I get married cause I've been busting my ass." I grumbled at my sister.

         "Yeah well I won't procrastinate like you did." Katara crossed her arms over her chest and had a fun-loving smile.

         "That's assuming that Ama will even get married." Sokka quipped, earning some snickers while my jaw dropped. "Hey, I just realized. Katara is getting married before Ama. Even though Ama is older and still single. Ha! Good luck sis."

         "Sokka!" Katara scolded while I actually bent the hot water and splashed his face.

         "Ow! Ow! Ama!" He hissed and with his eyes closed, he reached out of the water, using his hand to try and find his towel.

         "Don't worry, Ama. You'll find someone." Ty Lee assure me.

         "What is with you all?" I chuckled, running my fingers through my hair. "I am perfectly content with my life right now. I got my friends, my family. What more do I need? Besides, I'm not worried about that. After all, I was able to pull in the FIre Lord."

         Zuko just shrugged with a cocky smirk and sipped his wine. "Hey, you got good taste I'll tell you that." Suh looked a bit uncomfortable at the mention of Zuko's relationship with me and pressed closer onto him.

         "Minus Jet." Aang huffed a laugh.

         "And we never got to meet Mulan. So we don't even know what she's like." Suki added.

         "You know it would have been nice to meet her, Sis." Sokka said with his chin up in an offended way.

         "It wasn't that I didn't want to," I threw my hands up and some water splashed from my hand. "You know, the world isn't exactly all that accepting of same-sex couples."

         "I was actually really surprised when I found that out." Aang commented. "The Air Nomads embraced everyone's differences, no matter who they loved."

         "Fire Lord Sozin decreed that same-sex relationships be made criminal when he came into power." Zuko said. "I'm still in the process of legalizing it. There's been quite a bit of pushback by the Fire Sages."

         "Why?" I furrowed my eyebrows as I started to feel frustrated. "It makes so sense. The Water Tribe prefers for you to keep it to themselves, the Fire Nation will throw you in prison, and the Earth Kingdom families will kick you out."

         "Is that what happened to Mulan?" Katara wondered softly.

         "Was she kicked out? Yeah." I said somberly. "She was 13."

         "I had a neighbor that was gay." Haru spoke. "He had to leave town because his farm hept getting robbed and received death threats."

         "So now you can all see why I didn't tell you guys anything?" I raised my eyebrows at them all.

         "Yeah, snowcone." Toph punched my shoulder. "But don't do that ever again."

         "Yeah, yeah. You can't read, I get it." I chuckled as I rubbed the spot she just punched.

         "Ama, I promise you that I will reverse what my great grandfather has done." Zuko assured me. "No one deserves to be punished for who they love."

         I broke into a huge grin. "You're all the best I'm going to cry." My hand went up to my eyes, my thumb wiping the tears that started to drip.

         "We're just glad you could confide in us." Katara swam over, embracing me in a hug.

         "Yeah! You can always trust us." Ty Lee also swam over to embrace me.

         "Okay, new conversation before I start bawling my eyes out." I laughed, the two girls left the hug.

         "Ama, so emotional." Sokka shook his head in fake disappointment.

         "Says the guy who cried when Auntie Ashuna ran out of seal jerky." I retorted. Sokka grumbled to himself as he sank further into the water.

         "You know, I'm kind of curious to know about Toph and Kanto." Katara smirked at Toph.

         The earthbender smirked smugly, taping a sip from her wine. "All you guys need to know is that we're together and he'll be at the wedding."

.☽☼☾.

         Another day had passed and we were one day closer to the wedding. Today was chock full of wedding planning, or at least the finishing touches. Katara and Aang needed to confirm the centerpieces and the decorators were going over how to decorate the venue.

         We spent hours there. And it wasn't the stressful atmosphere or the pre pre-wedding jitters Katara was having that made me feel uncomfortable. It was Suh. As best man, Zuko came along to help Aang out. And Suh never even left his side.

         She kept talking out of turn, suggesting things that no one asked for, and was way too loud. "What about roses as the centerpiece instead of the panda lilies? They're so much prettier." and "Wouldn't blue be a more 'Water Tribe-y' than yellow?"

         I had to constantly remind her that it was both Aang and Katara's wedding and that they wanted to incorporate both of their cultures into it. But it never sank into her head. She'd apologize and do it all over again.

         "I can't stand that woman." I complained to the girls. We all, minus Suh, sat in Katara's room as Ty Lee tried different wedding hair styles on her. "Honestly, I don't know what Zuko sees in her."

         "I told you." Mai said dryly. Yeah, I need to learn to listen to Mai more.

         "Oh, she wasn't that bad." Katara argued with her sweet tone. "Sure she had a lot to say, but you can't hold that against her."

         "Of course I can. She was being incredibly inconsiderate of our culture and us." I justified. I didn't know how Katara was being okay with this. I would have thought she'd be on the same page as me since it was her wedding.

         "Ama, do you think you're maybe over exaggerating?" Suki suggested.

         "Why would I exaggerate?" I huffed.

         "Maybe 'cause you still have feelings for Zuko. And she's kinda engaged to him." Toph said without missing a beat.

         "Will you all stop with that." I grumbled in annoyance. "I told you. I see Zuko as nothing more than a friend. My problem is with Suh."

         "You're problem is with Suh because you like Zuko." Toph was blunt and spoke without holding back. She took pleasure in teasing others, but there was always truth in what she said. Still. She's human and can be wrong.

         "You guys simply haven't spent enough time with Suh." Mai came to my defence. "I've had to put up with her for months. The woman has no filter."

         Suki giggled from beside me and shook her head. "How convenient that Zuko's two exes are the only ones who don't like Suh." Mai just rolled her eyes and I scoffed. There was no way I'd be able to convince them anything. Not if they thought I still had feelings for my ex.

         "I think Suh is nice." Ty Lee spoke up, tying the last band into Katara's hair. "How's this one?" She asked the bride. Katara was the focus of everyone's attention now.

         She took a moment to look at herself in the mirror. Her dark hair was put into a loose braid and then swirled into a low bun to look like a flower. The strands by her face were tied with blue string all the way to the end and pinned to the back of her head.

         "It's beautiful, Ty Lee." Katara complimented after giving it some thought. "It just feels too... posh. And all of the pins are poking at my scalp." She grimaced at the pain

         "Hmm." Ty Lee placed a finger on her chin, thinking about how she could restyle it. "I guess we could try a half-up, half-down style." The girl started to unpin Katara's hair.

         "Katara, shouldn't your hair be a bit more on the 'posh' side?" I asked her, stepping up beside to her to assist Ty Lee in removing the pins. "I mean, this is the biggest wedding of the year. Maybe of the generation."

         "Oh please." Katara snickered, laced with nerves. "Just because I'm marrying the Avatar doesn't mean everything has to be so elegant. There's only 300 people."

         Ty Lee and I shared an amused look. 'Only 300 people.' The vast majority of it were our family and friends, a few others from the tribe. But each nation was also sending reporters to cover the Avatar's big wedding.

         Katara didn't want it to be as big of a deal as it was. But one thing led to another while planning, and it became a big deal. She wasn't complaining, though. Because at the end of the day there was only one thing that mattered to her. That she was marrying Aang.

         Taking out the last pin from her hair, I looked at my sister. She was zoned out, stared at herself in the mirror with a soft smile. The kind that only a person in love would have. No doubt she was thinking about her loverboy.

         "Okay, so what if I tied beads on the top and..." Ty Lee began explaining another style to try, using her hands to run through Katara's hair. I sat back down on the floor next to my sister, seeing how her smile grew at Ty Lee's description.

.☽☼☾.

         The sun had barely touched the horizon. The sky was painted in hues of orange and yellow. The blue sea looked dark except to the line where the sun's light touched it.

         I took in the sight. My back rested against a large oak tree on a cliff. My left leg was out in front of my while my right leg was close to my chest as I rested my arm on it.

         So far, my journey was filled with knowledge and laughter. It was odd, though. I always had my siblings with me. They were my source of joy. Then it was Zuko. And for the past three years, it was myself.

         I still saw my friends. In fact, just a week prior, I visited Toph at her metalbending academy. I rarely saw Zuko. Maybe just twice since our breakup. Once when I passed through the Fire Nation and once at Yu Dao. Apparently, he and Aang were planning on creating a whole new nation. The United Republic of Nations.

         It was an interesting plan. Using the land that was previously Fire Nation colonies to create an entire independent state. One where benders and nonbenders of all nations could live together.

         That was a few months ago. And since then, the United Republic has made advances. Last I heard, there was a vast majority of the population for it. I had no doubt that my friends would be successful in their project.

         I sort of felt like a leaf, I guess. Drifting from place to place. Not that I was complaining. It was nice, learning new things and meeting new people. There was just something missing from my life. And I didn't know what.

         I didn't let myself dwell on that. I knew I'd find this missing thing eventually. But at this moment, I just let myself be content. An apple in my hand and some stupid song stuck in my head.

         Spirits, it was on repeat. It was a song I heard that afternoon from an old man in the town. "When I think of that painter, that beautiful painter. My heart almost bursts and I spin on the spot." It was a beautiful song with a gorgeous melody. But it wouldn't leave my head.

         "Hello there, beautiful." A raspy voice interrupted my tranquil evening. "What's a girl like you doing out here all alone."

         I craned my neck to see who it was. No one I knew. Just some man, perhaps a few years older than me, leaning smugly against the tree. His black hair slicked back with some sort of gel. His layered style was made up of dark clothing. But the most important part of his whole getup was the willow leaf saber in his hand.

         Or in simpler terms. The man literally came up to me with a whole weapon out. I was an unarmed girl just enjoying the sunset. He was a thug.

         During the war, it was the Fire Nation soldiers that caused problems in each city. That spot was now filled by criminals and gangs. They bullied citizens for money or food or anything they could get their hands on. I was lucky enough not to come across any of them. Until now.

         I remained emotionless and just took a bite from my apple. "You know it's dangerous 'round these parts. You never know who might try to rob you. Especially a pretty girl like yourself." I almost laughed at how this man was trying to sound intimidating.

         "Thank you, for letting me know." I replied, covering my mouth with the back of my hand while I chewed. I looked back at the sunset, trying to ignore his staring.

         He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "Nice bag." He pointed at my colorful satchel with his sword. "What's in it?"

         "Alot, actually. Some copper pieces, some gold, some silver. Passport, hair ties, good stuff like that." I egged him on and looked up at him. He had a mischievous smirk, thinking this would be an easy steal. "You can look through it if you'd like. But you won't find your dignity."

         His smirk disappeared and he sneered at me. "You taunting me?" He pointed his sword at my chest.

         I sighed with annoyance and got off the floor with my hands on my hips, his sword still pointed at me. "Look man, I was just trying to enjoy the sunset until you got here."

         "Funny, I just started to enjoy my evening when I saw you here." He chuckled.

         I didn't know how long he wanted to keep bickering like this. And I just wanted to get back to the sunset. So I snapped open my waterskin and bent the water in it to spash it against his sword and then froze it against the tree.

         The man's eyes widened and tried to pull the sword out, despite it not budging. "Okay, buddy. It's been wonderful being threatened by you, but as you can see I will be winning any sort of fight against you. So, if you just agree to leave me alone, I'll unfreeze you little toy." I tried to strike a deal.

         But my self-assured ass didn't see the man behind me. Pulling on my hair, he drew me close to him and placed a dagger against my throat. "Nuh uh, sweetie." His gross, hot breath was on my ear. "You see, we never travel alone."

         Three other thugs came out of hiding. Each of them with disgusting smiles. One of them grabbed my bag and looked through it. "Ha!" She exclaimed, pulling out my bag of coins.

         "Jackpot!" One of the others jumped happily.

         "Now if you'll just unfreeze my friend's sword, we'll be on our way. And you'll be unharmed." The man who held me growled.

         "Gladly." I responded and bent the frozen water off and struck the man holding me in the face. Effectively getting him to remove his grip on me.

         The others sprung into action. Mister 'hello there, beautiful' ran over to me, swinging his sword. I dodged it by side stepping to my right, and used my water to, this time, push him onto the ground and froze his hand on the ground.

         The woman stomped her foot on the ground, and the earth beneath me rumbled. I jumped back, avoiding the sharp earth that sprung from the ground. I took my water and used the waterwhip to slap her harshly, throwing her onto a tree.

         But while I did that, I didn't notice that the other guy bent the earth, holding my feet to the ground tightly. It felt like the earth was cutting off the blood circulation to my feet. In shock I looked down. But when I looked back up the man was sprinting, sword in hand and ready to strike me through.

         I called my water to me, but just before I could do anything, a new person entered the fight. A woman. All I saw was a blur of red hair as she tackled the man to the ground. Rolling back up, she lunged again. Punching the man's throat. His hand went up to where she injured him, like he couldn't breath.

         The earth around my feet disappeared back into the ground. I was free, but I was right when I speculated that the rock was cutting of my circulation. It was like tiny needles were continuously poking at my feet, and I fell back into a seated position.

         The man that held me before was back up and held his dagger tightly in his hand. Swinging it across his body to attack the woman. The mysterious redhead jumped back, grabbing his arm to hold him in place as she then kicking his knee in. The man, with a backwards leg cried out in excruciating pain.

         One of the other, that hadn't done anything yet, dropped the bag of money on the ground. He unsheathed his sword and walked over to the woman. She in turn, unsheathed her own sword, a katana to be exact, and the two pieces of metal collided.

         Using his own strength against him, she moved to the side and he fell forward slightly. And while he was hunched over, the woman slammed the butt of her katana against the back of his head, making him fall over in extreme pain.

         The woman I fought earlier was also back up, bending two pieces of rock beside her, she threw it at the redhead. She dodged both as she ran towards her before sliding beside the woman. And when she jumped back up she kicked the back of her knee, getting the attacker to fall on her knees.

         The redhead pointed her katana at the woman's head. And everyone paused. Well, all of them were maimed pretty badly. "You thugs need to watch it." The redhead's voice spewed venom when she spoke to them. "If you ever try to cause pain to another innocent person, I won't be as merciful."

         The ones that were capable nodded in understanding. Satisfied, the mystery woman sheathed her katana walked over to me. With some feeling of my feet I stood up to greet and thank her. But I guess there wasn't as much feeling as I thought and my body started to lean forward. Luckily, the woman was right in front of me and caught me before I could fall any further.

         "Woah there." She laughed lightly, helping me stand by wrapping her arm around my waist and allowing for me to lean on her. "Are you okay."

         "Perfect." I chuckled at myself. "Thank you, so much." I then looked back over to the group of criminals. "That was incredible. The way you moved and everything."

         The woman shrugged. "It was nothing. I do this over four times a week." I looked at her curiously. "I'm part of this group. The Miraculous Bastards."

         "The Miraculous Bastards?" I laughed and was finally able to hold myself up. She chuckled with me. Spirits, her smile is gorgeous. In fact, now that I look at her, her entire self was beautiful. She had dark red hair that hung loose and ended at her shoulders. Sparkling forest green eyes. And she was taller than me by two or three inches.

         "I didn't choose the name." She shook her head.

         "I'm Ama." I introduced myself.

         "Ama?" She repeated like she recognised it. "Wait, weren't you one of the waterbenders that traveled with the Avatar?" I nodded and smiled at her excited reaction. "You literally saved the world! Meeting you is an honor."

         "Thank you." This kind of attention always left me feeling a little awkward.

         "So, what exactly are you doing here?"

         I shrugged. "Just traveling around. That is, until something else comes around and my life takes another turn."

         The woman tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "Um, I hate to ask, but would you by any chance want to meet my friends? It doesn't have to be for long and our camp isn't far." She pointed with her thumb towards a direction away from the cliff.

         "The rest of the Miraculous Bastards, you mean?" I inquired with a smirk.

         "Yeah." She chuckled.

         "I'd love to." I agreed. "Just let me grab my stuff." I crouched down, grabbing my satchel and the bag of coins. Ignoring the groans for help from the criminals.

         "I'm Mulan, by the way." The woman said quickly as we left the scene. I smiled at her. I didn't know what it was. But just speaking to her had me feeling something I haven't felt in a long time. Butterflies.

.☽☼☾.

I didn't want Ama's sexuality to be such a big deal. In an ideal world, no one would have to make a big deal or be scared of coming out. Heterosexual is not the default. But after watching Legend of Korra and reading the first comic, I realized that this would be something that Ama would have to confront.

Hang loose, amigos 🤙🏼

[fenheart87]

Unexpected Ch 1

"Alright class, I know today is a special day and you all have been so eager to drop the school work and get to celebrating but we have one more thing before we can end our work for today." Mme. Bustier smiled brightly at the collective groans across the classroom. "This is a project, you can be by yourself, with a partner or a group or even all work together."

"Mme. Bustier, what type of project is it?" Mylene asked, more excited than confused.

"Marinette as class president I believe I'll let you share with the class." She waved up the ravenette, flipping the white board that showed a loosely detailed plan and a list of everyone in the class.

"Sure thing! And before you say it, no Alya I was not hiding anything from you, we actually set up this a few weeks ago." Marinette teased, falling into her confident planner self as her front row distraction was currently modeling for a perfume ad. "We are taking over the park for a few hours for a class party at the end of the day! Snacks will be provided by the best bakery of course, papa has some new flavors so please be honest on what you think. The best ones get to become part of the menu."

"Oh yeah dude! Bring it on!" Nino cheered, Kim fist pumping the air in excitement.

"First things first! We need to split into jobs, here is a rough idea of what we need done and how many people to do it. If you want to take a few jobs that require only one person go for it! If you only want one or just a group job that's fine too. Please make sure you sign up for at least one as that is considered your participation for today and cross your name off the list."

Everyone jumped from their seats, breaking off into groups and talking about what they wanted to do and how they want to decorate. Marinette waited to the side for any follow up questions or to give directions to find supplies they had set aside for the party.

"Um, mme. Bustier, I don't see my name..." Lila spoke up, pouting slightly.

"Oh! With how busy you, Chloe and Adrien are, I left you off incase you weren't able to make it. Same with Max, sometime his gaming club has plans already. Just made it easier so we dont accidentally sign you up for something." Marinette said brightly, watching as Lila tried to hold her composure at being thwarted.

"Oh thanks Marinette but we do not have plans for today, we are getting together over the weekend. Speaking of, would you like to join us?" Max invited, ignoring the italian completely who seemed to be struggling for a composed face.

"Sure! Although I'm not sure how good I'll be at anything other than mechastrike." She laughed, waving off Markov who was running numbers to argue her claim.

"Looks like you'll have to try harder Rossi." Chloe commented in a smarmy manner. "Sabrina sign us up for something like getting supplies, make it quick and easy. I do not want to be crowded with a bunch of losers."

"Sure thing Chloe, looks like we'll be helping Marinette with the food! We just have to get it from her parents bakery when everyone else is set up." Sabrina wrote their names under Marinette's, handing off the marker to Alix.

"Girl you thought of everything! How did you keep this a secret from me?" Alya accused playfully, throwing an arm around the shorter girl.

"I told you we had a party coming up, you just thought I meant a different kind. Besides you gave me a lot of the ideas and you didn’t know it!" Marinette preened under the positive attitudes and creative ideas that were flowing around the room.

"Marinette you forgot one thing!" Rose spoke up, jumping in place excitedly.

"Oh no, did I forget some decorations? Or did i not ask for enough food? Drinks?"

"No silly! Music!" Rose twirled Marinette causing her to stumble right into Ivan who just got back from the art room. Seeing the boxes she almost knocked out of his hands, Marinette squeaked and flailed a little bit more causing her to tumble down fully.

"Whoa, careful! Looks like I got back just in time." Ivan smiled helping a red faced Marinette from the floor with a free hand.

"Oh Ivan! Good thing you are back! We were just talking about the Valentine's Day party for the class and setting everything up at the park. Marinette, do you think we could ask Kitty Section to play?!" Rose gushed, hands under her chin and hearts in her eyes.

"Kitty Section is busy but I could talk to the leader guitarist, I helped with their outfits when they performed for Bob Ross after all." Lila spoke up drawing everyone attention, confused and angry alike.

"Alya, for once, please just let this happen." Nino whispered, cupping his hand over his girlfriend's mouth.

"Oh! That would be amazing Lila! Just the thing were missing. I cannot believe I spaced on the music selection. It is kind of last minute though, they are super busy... If they can't make it, Nino would you be able to spin some beats?" Marinette chimed cheerfully, snagging one of Lila's hands as she would anyone else before spinning to the frozen couple.

"Sure thing dude!" Nino smiled, removing his hand from Alya's mouth.

"Awesome! Rose, Juleka, Ivan and Mylene can you help Nino with his equipment?" Marinette asked with a grin, blue eyes sparkling.

"Sister-dude." Juleka mumbled as she walked by, earning a bright smile from the shorter girl and giving a small upward squirm of the lips in return.

"Chloe and Sabrina, if there is nothing else you want to help with, maman said we can start boxing up stuff. We have to wait for the tables before we can place them." Marinette smiled and left the classroom, sending one last text to her maman. "Today is a great day!"

__________________________________________

"So the party is at lunch and we get to enjoy the rest of the day to celebrate and enjoy!"

"Looks good so far Nathaniel, Maman said the food is almost done so we will go get it once the tables are setup." Marinette complimented, giving a thumbs up.

"I hope I'm invited this all looks great!" Adrien joked, finally back from his perfume ad. " What can I help with?" Streamers decorated the trees and a huge picnic blanket was. hosting some board games with coolers next to them.

"Hey dude, we could use some help getting the tables propped up so when the girls get back they have somewhere to put the food." Nino waved the blond over to where he was trying to puzzle out the safety latch.

"Adrikins! After this, we should totally go eat at my fathers hotel, I can have them reserve a table for just the two of us-" Chloe began, cut off by Lila who joined in swarming the model.

"Adrien! I don’t know if you've heard but I'm getting Kitty Section to play, I talked to the lead guitarist and since I helped design their costumes, they said they owe me a favor and will play for us!"

Adrien looked uncomfortably between the two girls, looking to Nino for help be he certainly knew Lila was lying. The DJ looked ready to laugh at any moment and subtlety shook his head. His savior came in the form of a blue hair guitarist, who was helping Marinette and dropping off Juleka's hair clips.

"Hey Adrien, Nino. And new girl." Marinette snorted softly, earning a playful nudge. "I heard something about Kitty Section?" Luka listened to Lila's spiel, noting her methods and listening to her true self. "Cool, I wanted to give back the guitar pick to the bass player. She's pretty awesome and I hear close to the guitarist."

"Oh well when they get here you could!" Lila deflected, sliding closer and seeming to just notice his aesthetic.

"Too bad you don't go to our school, things would certainly be more musical if you did." Marinette giggled, drawing a smile from Luka. "I can stop by later for the finishing touches, there's no rush."

"Marinette! You didn't tell me you had a boyfriend!" Lila exclaimed, drawing the attention of the entire class, most amused as they knew the blue eyed darling was torn between the two boys.

"You know it is so not cool to blurt out other people's business when it doesn’t concern you. I'd appreciate it if people who don’t even know my name didn't spread lies about me. What Marinette and I have between us, or do not have, is our business and we certainly don't need outside help to figure it out. Unless we ask for it." Luka coolly snapped, leading Marinette over to Rose and Juleka.

"Adrikins!" Chloe would not be letting the little liar work another lie to cover up her being called out. "Dinner tonight, my father hotel of course. Wear something nice."

"Actually I already have plans with Kagami... We're going to see a movie and then have dinner, her mother and my father have fencing ideas to discuss. Hey Marinette, if you and Luka want to join us you can."

"Actually-" Luka stared but was cut off by the shorter girl.

"Double date?" Marinette asked, looking at Luka to confirm, smiling shyly.

"Oh, cool." Luka smiled like the sap he is, drawing giggles from Rose and snort from his sister. "Yeah, double date."

"Text me later?" Marinette blushed, leaning up to kiss his cheek. The sappy sigh had Rose burst into giggles which snapped the taller boy out of his trance.

"Yeah, later." He looked lost for a moment. "Later." Luka repeated and then left, not even caring the cheesy grin on his face was completely ruining his bad boy image.

"Marinette." Alya's voice snapped Marinette back to herself and she became an incoherent blubbing mess of blushing stutters.

[stoopsbookstore]

"Nothing I can Do"

Warning - Use of the C word said in moment of anger

"So that's it? 6 months for nothing? For you to say you want to break up and no good reason?" Y/N stood next to Kino's bed, the boy holding his head in his hands as the situation in the room grew more tense.

"I'm sorry, Y/N. It's just between my schooling, the radio station and the guys, I never have time and maybe we could be frie-"

"And we discussed that beforehand. We will text every morning and night, and we'll meet up when we can!" Y/N was exasperated, "and you don't think I have a lot on my plate, too? With fucking 6 classes, my job and an internship at the news station?"

Kino bit into his hand, he knew Y/N was right, "I just feel like we should work on oursel-"

"Save it," Y/N grabbed her bag, running out of the door and almost slamming into Wooseok who had opened the entry.

"Kino? What was that?" Wooseok sat next to his older friend, patting his back as tears flowed out of his eyes.

Kino curled up in the tall boy's lap, sobs coming out, "my biggest mistake."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shinwon and Yan An had to drag Kino out of the radio station's rundown studio they let him use for his music. The trio walked to the cafe, Port Town's Caffeine, opting to sit in a booth.

"You need to eat, Kino, Ms. Hyuna said you locked yourself in there and you've been there since yesterday," Yan An sat next to him as Shinwon ordered the drinks and snacks, "Hui told me he found you asleep at your computer the past 2 weeks, that's not good."

Kino kept quiet as Shinwon handed him his iced coffee and a muffin, picking at the wrapper.

"Is this about that bit-"

"I told you, Shinwon. It was all me. My choice, ny regret, my decision," Kino perked up, his eyes void of all emotion, "she's not anywhere in the wrong for this."

Shinwon sat back, bitter as he noticed Y/N walking in with another boy, "holy fucking shit, that slut."

Yan An and Kino turned around, taking notice at the pair, the boy with his hand on Y/N's hip as he guided her to a chair.

"We're not together, bro. If she wants someone else, that's fine, that's what I wanted her to do."

"We can leave if you'd like," Yan An started picking up the wrappers and empty cups, "we don't have to stay. I know it's still fresh."

Kino shook his head, "guys, I'm fine. I mad-"

"Kino?" The guy with Y/N pulled his mask down, walking over to the group as Y/N kept her eyes down, "what's up, man?"

"Hey Vernon, what's been up with you?" Kino offered a seat next to him as Vernon waved Y/N over, the girl bitterly walking over.

"Oh, I've been good," Kino lied through his teeth as Y/N kept her eyes on the table, fiddling with her fingers while Shinwon glared holes into her head.

"Cool!" Vernon turned to Y/N, "Let me introduce yo-"

"We know who she is," Shinwon barked, crushing his cup, "he used to fuck her in our dorm. How is his sloppy sec-"

"Shinwon!" Kino and Y/N yelled at the tall male, his drink covering the table.

"That's low," Yan An scolded Shinwon, "what he meant to say is they were together. I'm guessing Y/N told you?"

"Yeah. She had mentioned she had a class with a Hyunggyu and they dated for a bit, but I didn't think it was him," Vernon felt the sudden awkward tension, looking between Y/N and Kino, "we can go if you'd like."

"Um, no. It's fine, Kino and you seem like you need to catch up, I'll actually go order food," Y/N stood up before being cut off by Kino.

"Actually, if it's okay with you, Vernon, I'd like to talk to Y/N."

"It's up to her, dude," Vernon helped Yan An clean up the now liquid-free, but still sticky table.

Y/N bit her tongue, nodding, following Kino outside.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What the fuck did you tell them?! Why did Shinwon try to attack me like that?!"

"Because it's Shinwon, he's impulsive. And I told him that I broke up with you, he took it as I did it because you hurt me, cheated on me, did something to me."

Kino and Y/N stood in the alley next to the cafe, both of their faces red with annoyance, anger, bitterness, regret.

"Have you told him it was you?! Not me! Did you tell him I cried myself to sleep or that Roa had to basically rip me from my bed to go out?" Y/N's words were like knives in Kino's heart, "I'm not saying this to makr you feel guilty! I'm saying this because Shinwon's accusing me of cheating and all this shit, calling me a slut, but it's been hard for both of us and I'm not going to be talked to like that by someone who eats his entire weight in trashy fast food!"

"I've tried telling him! I've told Hui! I've told Yan An, I've told Yuto. I've told my entire group of friends that it was me! It's not my fault that he wants to be an asshole!"

"Well, birds of a feather flock together! I wonder he got the idea of me being a horrible person from! Calling me a slut?! What the hell?!"

"We've been broken up for 2 weeks and you're already on your knees for some fucking other cunt! You're already in bed with Ver-"

"Who said I'm in bed with him?! We're partners in an acting project together and we figured we would take a fucking break before getting back to the scene! At least I'm not the fucking asshole who broke up with someone and couldn't give them a real fucking answer!"

"I broke up with you because I thought you'd be better without me and with someone else! I felt like I wasn't there enough for you to be happy and I didn't want you to feel trapped out of guilt!"

The venom in both of their words raced through their veins, both of them embarrassed by what they just said. The reality hits them both as the tone in the alley went from angry hatred to heartfelt sincerity.

"I've told him it was all my decision, you had nothing to do with it. He's just annoyed at the aftermath."

"Is that Hui texted me saying he found you sleeping in the radio station's record studio at least 4 times last week?" Y/N walked over to Kino, the space between them closing as the two looked at their feet.

Kino's voice wavered in defeat, "maybe."

"Hyunggyu," his real name a gross taste to both parties, "You need to take care of yourself. You need to eat and drink, make sure you're getting some rest."

"Why do you care? You sounded so angry before," Kino looked up to see Y/N holding back tears.

"Because even though it was a shitty breakup, I'm still going to care for you," Y/N grabbed his hands, "we may not be together, but we can still care for each other."

Kino and Y/N looked at each other, both of their cheeks wet with tears that they didn't even notice until now. Kino took his sleeve of his sweater and wiped at Y/N's years. The two sat in comfortable silence, Y/N making the first move to hug.

"Hey, Kino!" Shinwon was at the beginning of the alley, watching the two like a hawk, "we're needed at the radio station."

Kino broke the hug, Y/N with a soft smile on her face as Kino kissed her cheek.

"We can talk more later," Y/N wiped at the last tears falling.

"I'll facetime you when I'm out. Sounds good?"

"Yea," the pair shared one last hug as Vernon and Yan An showed up, Kino and Y/N walking towards them, "take care of yourself."

"You too. Good luck on your project."

"Good luck on your recording."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Happy Thursday, this is Kino's corner and I'm your host, DJ Kino with my friend, Shinwon," Kino talked into the microphone, a melancholy cloud over his head, looking at the sheet of songs he was suggested to play, "I know it's been a long week, a long day and I don't want to bring anyone down."

Kino stared at Shinwon, the older male nodding in approval as Kino took a breath in.

"I don't want to get too depressing, but I want to talk about break-ups, make-ups and regrets. We all go through them at one point in our lives. Sometimes all at once, two at a time or one right after another. Here's my story about a break-up that I regret and still do, but I've come to terms with it."

Kino started tearing up, the pain in his chest dull as he focused on making sure his voice doesn't crack.

"We were together for a good amount of time, 6 months, you know long enough to fall in love, find each other's quirks and fears, learn about each other. I felt like she could find someone better. I wasn't there for her and if we did see each other, it was only for about 5, 10 minutes top between classes. I broke up with her, giving her the reason we were too busy. I didn't want to tell her that it was because I felt like I wasn't enough, I knew she would feel guilty and I guess I'd rather her hate me than her feel guilty about me not being enough."

Kino watched his phone light up with a notifcation.

"I'll admit, I've been one of those exes who would look at their Instagram, snapchat, line, kakaotalk, Facebook, all that shit. She does look happier and I'm glad for her. Yes, we still talk and see each other out, but I don't think there's any chance of us getting back together."

Kino unlocked his phone, a text from Y/N, her classic snarkiness coming through.

'You know I listen to the radio show, right? :P'

"I know there's certain people listening," Kino chuckled as he queued Shinwon to play a song, "I think there are some people who may need to listen to what I'm about to play. As you know, me, my cohort, Shinwon, as well as our friends Hui and Yan An, have a group, we're called Pentagon, we're recruiting more people, at least... we're trying."

Shinwon laughed as he played the intro, "auditions tomorrow at 2! We have 6 spots open!"

"Thanks, Shinnie. This is a song we just did, I hope you'll like it, it means a lot to me. It's called 'Nothing I Can Do'. I hope you all like it."

[zig-a-zow]

Taking chances [Rory/MC, Aiden/MC]

Summary: Bailey is in need of a little pep talk at the cast party, and she finds it from the most unexpected source: her niece's boyfriend. 

Pairing(s): Rory/MC, Aiden/MC

Word count: 956

Warnings: Extreme amounts of fluff ❤️

Song: 

Just a little heads up: I have two HSS MCs, Grace and Callie. Callie is the one that broke her leg. Bailey is Grace's aunt. Keep that in mind as you read. Now let's jump right in! 

----------------------------------

Even though it was her own party, hosted at her place, Bailey was feeling incredibly nervous.

She had been nursing the same red cup of soda for about twenty minutes, glancing around from time to time before taking a síp. 

Her thoughts were interrupted by Grace's voice greeting her, as she and her boyfriend approached, making her startle. 

"Oh! Grace and Aiden! Didn't expect to see you here!"

"Well, I might not be part of the cast but I did your kick-ass make up! If Sydney can be here, so can I!" 

"And... I did compose a lovely piece for the play" added Aiden with a gentle smile, before shrugging. "But we can leave if you--" 

"That's not what I meant!" Bailey interjected immediately, suddenly a bit more nervous. She sighed deeply. "I just meant... never mind. Of course you can be here, even if you hadn't contributed to the play. We're family after all."

"Awwwww!" 

Grace approached her younger aunt to hug her tightly, making her almost spill what was left of her soda. Aiden stood by and watched, noticing just how anxious Bailey seemed to be... and how that anxiousness increased whenever her eyes found Rory, talking to a group of friends close to the window.

He felt a pang of sympathy deep inside him. He knew what was happening. And maybe he could help her out.

"I'm gonna go get us something to drink, I'm parched" Grace disentangled herself from Bailey and gave Aiden a quick peck on the lips. "Don't miss me too much!" 

He watched her walk away with a tiny smile and a deep blush, before turning to the freshman next to him, taking another nervous sip from her cup as she side glanced the window. 

"So... is tonight 'the night'?"

Bailey startled again, almost choking with her soda. She gave him a questioning look, and Aiden shrugged as he shoved his hands inside the pockets of his jeans.

"It's just... you're acting exactly like me, almost a year ago. The night I asked Grace to be my girlfriend" he explained, and couldn't help but sigh with a nostalgic gleam in his eyes. "I was wondering if maybe you were thinking of asking something similar to a certain someone."

His eyes found Rory as well, and Bailey looked away immediately, hiding the lower half of her face with her cup. She sighed heavily. 

"Is it that obvious?" 

"Perhaps only to me, since I can relate" Aiden turned to her with a little smile, arching an eyebrow. "So, are you ready to take the leap or not?"

"I don't know! I mean, I really want to but... what if he doesn't like me back?" 

Aiden couldn't help but chuckle at that, receiving an accusatory look from the girl. He raised his hands to show that he meant no harm with it. 

"Sorry, it's just... you really remind me of myself right now. I also wondered days and nights if Grace would like to date me or not. The very night I asked her, I almost didn't."

"But you did... and she said yes and now you're together" Bailey finished her soda before letting out a despondent sigh.

"But what if she had said no? What if she preferred to keep it casual, which definitely wouldn't work for me?" he questioned out loud, both to her and to himself, a pensive expression in his face.

After a moment of silence, and another stolen glance at Rory, Bailey spoke again. 

"What would have happened then?" 

"Well, quite frankly, it would've sucked" he replied with a smile, shaking his head as he spotted Grace talking to Erin and Casey, clearly forgetting about the drinks she was supposed to get. "But at least I would have known for sure, and would be able to move on. I'm immensely happy that it wasn't the case, of course. I love Grace, and I'm thankful for her every single day."

Bailey couldn't help but feel astonished and a bit overwhelmed at those words. Aiden and Grace were in love. It showed in the way they talked to each other and about each other, the looks they shared, even the simplest gestures such as Aiden composing melodies for her and Grace writing lyrics for him. 

She wanted that kind of love for herself. And whenever she saw Rory, she felt that warm fuzzy feeling that romance novels talked about. Maybe it wasn't love yet, but it was enough for her.

And she wouldn't know if he felt the same about her if she didn't do something.

"I'm ready."

There was a glimpse of determination in her eyes as she left her empty cup aside, eyes on the window, where Rory laughed at something they couldn't hear. Aiden couldn't help but smile, feeling a strange sense of pride.

"Sorry, Erin was telling me the funniest story just now" Grace approached them again, two red cups full of soda in her hands. She raised an eyebrow at her aunt. "You're ready for what?" 

"You'll see. Excuse me, I need to do something important."

Bailey walked away then, taking deep breaths and slow steps to calm down. He could hear Grace and Aiden talking, their voices lowering the more distance she walked. 

"What were you two talking about?" 

"About how lucky I am to have the most wonderful girlfriend."

"... I'm sure that's not true, but keep them compliments coming...!" 

Bailey couldn't help but smile a bit to herself, and before she knew it, she was standing right beside Rory, Clint and Natalie taking notice of her right away. 

Rory turned around and his eyes softened with affection at the sight of her, with a smile. She smiled too. 

She was ready. 

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Author notes: Hi! I hope you enjoyed this short little thing! I wasn't planning on writing it but inspiration hit so here we are. Thanks for reading! ❤️

(Tagged as "zig writes", in case you want to block that tag. Also as "long post". I'll try to add a Read more from mobile. Thanks for your patience.)

[my-imagination-and-other-stuff]

Part 6, ending

You would never think that silent, calm breakfast time could turn into real storm. Artem kept rotating spoon in his cup and you kept looking down like it wasn't annoying. He's spent a lot of time in his room, talking by phone but you wasn't able to hear anything.

- He's leaving. Do you know that?

You gulped, knowing very well what he meant. It would be hypocrisy to act that you didn't understand his question but you only looked up at Artem.

- Melovin. He's moving to Kiev.

- Why do you ask me? You finally spoke.

- He's leaving because something happend between you two, right?

- Why do you think it has anything in common with me?- You asked him, putting out your cutlery with anger.

- Because you're silent like you was hiding something. You don't seem surprised.- Artem said. There was something in his gaze that you couldn't describe. Not really anger or sadness. It was tiring to hide that he wasn't that wrong about it but it was so obvious that he never really trusted you.

- Artem, who do you think I am?! I'm so done with your distrust. You always suspected something, didn't you?- You raised your voice and left kitchen.

- Yes because he seemed to be interested in you from the start. The way he fucking looked at you and your weird reactions when I was joining you! I'm not the only one who noticed it! - He screamed, following you to guest room- How long this was happening?- He suddenly asked you so you turned to him.

- How long- what?!

- When did you stabbed me in a back and started this shit?! - Artem yelled and pushed chair next to him. You've never seen him that angry.

- What the hell are you talking about? I've never cheated on you! He admitted that he has thing for me and left.

- Has a thing? A thing? - He hissed - I'm not a fucking idiot. I know him better than myself. He wouldn't leave his hometown just like that. It must be something serious.

- I didn’t know what he felt about me till he explained why he’s leaving. He was scared to ruin your friendship. I was scared too - You started and moved closer to Artem - Please, don't blame him. He didn't know how to hide how he feels. It wasn't easy for any of us.

- And why do you defend him?

- I don't - You murmured, confused- I just don't want to be a reason of you two fighting.

It was like never before. You felt so far from your boyfriend. The way Artem was looking at you, felt like you were strangers.

- Is he only friend to you?

- Artem..

- It's easy question - He sighed, touching his forehead.

- Whatever I feel know, I don't think we can fix what just failed - You said with tears in your eyes - It's not about Mel anymore. I'm sorry but I'm tired of this. I'm not comfortable in this relationship.

It hurted to say such words out loud. Artem looked at you in silence like he couldn't believe what he heard. You looked down, not being able to stand his face expression.

- What is it? You want to break up? - He asked weakly.

- I just think that I want some time alone. We're mess now - You whispered, tearing you wet cheeks.

- Well, let me make it easier. If you for once thought about Kostya the way he thinks about you, let's stop it right now. Because I won't stand it.

These were the last words that day. You wasn't able to answer because of upcoming tears and Artem left flat very quickly.

***

- Did you manage to come on time? - You heard female voice when you answered phone. You joined queue to big hall. It was so sunny and hot outside.

- Yes. Thank you so much for sharing room, Carmen. It would be so hard to find accommodation in good price. There are so many foreigners who booked rooms before Eurovision.

- You helped me once.. And by the way, are you going to talk to him?

- Hmm.. I don't think it's a good idea.

- Hey, you came to Lisbon to watch him performing. You said you promised him to go when he finally wins preselections - Carmen said with enthusiasm.

- It was year ago and we haven't talked since he moved out. Besides, my ex boyfriend can't see me - You sighed.

- I see. Well, have a good time.

You was so nervous when you entered hudge hall with other Eurovision fans, especially when you waited for Melovin's performance at the end of show. You came closer to group of people with ukrainian flag. You clapped with them when Melovin appeard. It happened so fast. Piano, fire, his voice.

- Oh my God, that's was great! - You shouted and when camera turned to your direction, you realised that you was filmed with the rest of fans.

- Melovin! - some man next to you screamed. After next hour, hosts announced results of second semi final. You kept your fingers crossed, looking on a big screen with your heart beating very fast. That time when they announced Ukraine as another finalist, you run to stairs where all contestants started walking down from. But when you came back to your senses, you stepped out and hid behind group of people. Kostya appeard but he couldn't see you. Neither Artem. You turned to exit but you couldn't stop yourself from watching press conference on screen in main hall.

***

- Hello? - You answered phone in the morning, seeing unknown number on screen.

- Hi - This voice sounded familiar.

- Hi..

- Are you by any chance in Lisbon? I would swear that I've seen you yesterday in a crowd from balcony. I think that I saw you in video after my performance.

- Mel..

- I can't leave rehearsals but please, come today to cafeteria on first floor in hall - He said with soft voice but you wasn't able to speak. It was so unexpected that he was able to notice your in such a big crowd and when he meant to be fully focused on his performance.

- Hello? Are you here? - Kostya asked you.

- Yes.

- Please, come - His voice sounded sad and suddenly you thought it would stupid to reject his invitation.

- Okay.. I'll come. What time?

- I'm free in two hours. Twelve o'clock?

You looked at your watch. It was taking almost an hour by train so you probably had to go out right now. Of course you didn't tell Kostya you wasn't exactly in Lisbon so you said you'd come on time. You checked out hours of departures of trains and prepared your clothes pretty fast. It was almost twelve when you caught a bus from station to another station where stadion was placed.

- Where is he? - You whispered with concern when you didn't see Kostya anywhere in cafeteria. You was twenty minutes late. He didn't answer your call and for some reason you panicked.

- I won't answer phone - You heard behind your back and saw Kostya smiling widely - I left phone in wardrobe so nobody can interrupt us.

- Did you come just now?

- Actually, five minutes ago. But I don't like sitting alone when there's a lot of people around so I walked away - He said, smiling even more - You look great.

Your heart was beating so fast that you wasn't able to feel it in your chest.

- You too.

You both sat at the table and ordered coffe.

- What brings you here? I mean.. what are you even doing here?- He laughed sweetly.

- I visited my friend..- You said uncertainly - Are you good with Artem already?

His face expression changed.

- For few months we didn't talk except work stuff - He answered shortly and leaned to you - Don't worry. It's much better now.

- I was worried that he might give up on being your manager. But he's really professional and.. he's your best friend after all.

- He is.. How long has it been? Over a year?

- Yeah - You sighed- It's good to see you but won't your team be looking for you?

- They actually know I'm here with you. Including Artem.

- He's probably angry now, right? - You said, looking down like you was ashamed.

- He's actually fine with this.

- How can he..- You didn't finish, looking in Kostya's eyes. You missed looking in them You missed the way they were resting on you. You finally noticed what Artem meant by Kostya's gaze being different. You could see how he was looking at you with admiration.

- He knows well that you can't gave up on someone just like that - Kostya said silently. You tried to smile to him but at that moment you was too moved by his words.

- I would like to ask you something and get an honest answer - He added after a while when you was looking at each other- Are you really here because you're visiting friend?

- I actually.. My friend lives in different place in Portugal but I used opportunity to come here when you're performing. I wanted to see you on stage. I promised you. But I didn't expect to talk with you..- You said with heavy voice, feeling that your eyes got teary - I'm really proud of you. You did it. You really did it.

You laughed nervously and you felt Kostya's hand on yours. It seemed so natural that he wanted to comfort you. It always been like that. Both of you felt good in your own company, except some tension when you felt mutual attraction while dating someone else.

- I'm so happy that you came - Kostya said, caressing your hand.

- Me too. Even if.. I shouldn't come here - You said and added quickly, seeing his expression: - But I don't care. I missed you, Kostya.

- Do you mean that..- He didn't finish when he saw that you nodded. You both knew what was the hidden question.

- I know that timing was awful for us but what can I do when I already love you so much?- He suddenly said and made you feel shivers all over your body.

- I'm tired of denying what I feel about you but I'll always be ex of your best friend - You said, reaching for his hand.

- What is now is the most important so don't leave again.

- But how can we show up in front of our friends.. and Artem as a couple?

Kostya looked away with thoughtfulness.

- We will work it out - He said - For now stay with me till final.

- Ok - You whispered.

- What? - He asked you like he wanted to be sure what he heard. You smiled.

- Let's work it out.

[tristinleighhh]

✨☀️ my heart & soul are so full.

This was truly the best experience of my life. Envision is something else. I danced and sweat out every negative energy that I had stored away before I came here. I feel like a new person..

🌊 I loved the whole vibe of the Uvita area. Everyone was so nice. I've missed the salty air in my hair and on my lips. Being surrounded by the jungle and the ocean is a euphoric feeling. 🐟 I ate a lot of good fish outside the festival and I am definitely missing it. I loved the fresh fruits and coconuts everywhere 🥥🌴🍍🍌🍓

🏕️ our air b&b was just a couple minutes away from the festival and our host Jose was the nicest human ever. He was constantly making sure everything was perfect for us and coming back to get sleep in the ac was prime. I'm very glad we did that. Cabinas yuriel 💛💚❤️☁️

🐳 we went on a whale watching tour and we're blessed to see a male and a mama and her baby playing around! Humpback whales are my flavorite animal and I haven't seen them since I was in Hawaii so it was an epic treat.

🌄Then Dan and I watched our last Costa Rican sunset for the trip and took a nice stroll home. On the way we saw a sloth in the tree, a crazy poisonous snake and a gnarly looking centipede. 🐍🌙

I have fallen in love with envision and everything it stands for and for the beautiful country of Costa Rica. I will be back there's no doubt about that. I want to explore everything. Thankful for this trip and all the lessons learned and friends I met along the way. Until next time 🥥✨ Pura Vida ✨🥥

✨ Top Envision Moments & Music ✨

🔥 the sunset and fire spinners on the beach with the drum circle. I had hoped to spin some fire down there but I'll be a little more prepared next time.. you walk up the path onto the beach and you are met with various vendors with cool bones and jewelery, cheap beer and food as you emerge into a sea of people on the sand. The sky was on fire and the vibes were hiiiigh. The drum circle was tribal and euphoric. Looking around me being surrounded by jungle and ocean and beautiful people was straight bliss.

•

🍄 seeing Paul staments talk about mushrooms. I only caught one but it was so cool to hear him share his stories and experiences with us.

•

🍽️💦the dishcoteque

The waste at this festival was pretty much non existent. It always makes me sad how people can leave a place so destroyed and covered in trash. I had to pick up no trash from the ground and all the volunteers who were picking up trash barely had anything in their buckets. When you got food at any vendor here you received an actual dish, bowl, silverware or cup. When you were done you'd bring it to the "dishcoteque" and recieve a voucher for your next one. No plastic at all barely any paper products besides some paper straws .. the bathrooms also did not have toilet paper in them.. you had to get it from the outside and bring it with you so they were not overflowing with paper and and overuse of products.

•

✨🎨✨ the art & the stages

There was so much phenomenal art. I was blown away by the murals everywhere and the art gallery was bursting with talent and creative energy.

The bars and booths were all made from the materials surrounding them. Everything was made from the earth. The Sol stage was surrounded by a beautiful design with a big screen in the back that had really awesome visuals on it

The lapa stage was filled with house n deep techno vibes all day and night. It felt like something out of an epic movie in there with all the mist and the lights. The entrance to the beach was right there too. It was a great place to go to just dance and chill out.  And finally... The Luna stage. W o w. The most incredible stage I've EVER seen in my life and I've seen quite a few cool stage setups. It was a huge tower of Earth and wood and vines and beauty. There was a portal where people danced behind. The lighting was a1 from the lasers to the mapping on the funktions. It was truly other worldly there.  I will be riding the high of that stage for a long time. There was water refill stations in all the right spots which made staying hydrated in the jungle heat so easy.

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🌮🍓🍦🥑🥙 the food

It's usually hard for me to eat at festivals lately because I don't eat meat anymore. Chicken fingers was always a go to for me but I've sadly become very picky. Everyone was pretty accommodating to my needs ( I wish I thought about asking for no cilantro before the last day 😞 I hate that shit )and everything was so nourishing and healthy. I have not been eating well lately and I feel so nice and full after all the smoothies and juicy goodness I ingested over the weekend.

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🕷️ the huge tarantula like spider that happened to wander through the crowd of people dancing with the bass vibrating the floor and onto our blanket. It was SO BIG how did you even make it through the crowd?! Stealthy dude. That was wild.

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☕🍵The tea party!

I went to the bathroom and I came across a tiny but huge tea party. Everyone had tea cups along a very small rectangle table/stool and they were singing jungle tea time jungle tea time and cheersing to life it was so cute

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🎭🤸‍♀️🔥💃 the performers...

Wow. I haven't seen performances like that ever. Every collective blew my mind they all had a vibe of their own and absolutely slayed it on stage. Serious inspiration

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🎶🔊 the music

Every set was so good. Nothing was like oh that was cool .. everything i was was so we'll put together and everyone definitely out out jungle vibes.

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I'll just put this first in case you don't want to read all the way cause this was my flavorite part 💓

👽 Tipper 👽

This was my 30th show.. in the jungle...and the Luna stage couldn't have been any better. He played so many fat unreleased tracks and vips I have never heard before. Serious deep jungle vibes. I can honestly say that was my flave set I've seen by him so far. There were no visuals but I was so okay with that. the lights were so on point and the performers were so freaking good and well paired with what he was putting out. I am sooooo freaking thankful for that experience and to have had it with all my tipper family. This community has Brought me all over the country and now out of the US. I am constantly overstimulated and it's just getting more intense as I get older so traveling can be difficult for me. The high energy if the airport is a lot for me. Music festivals are even a lot for me but I eventually get comfortable..I just love the epic moments of euphoria through music and these experiences that I'll push myself through the rest of it. The way tippers music makes me feel is so worth trooping through a sea of energies to get to that moment. It's truly beautiful for me and I know others feel the same. Blessed to be alive for the making of tipper music

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Thursday

✨ the first real full set of music we saw was jpod.. someone ive never listened to and I'm so glad I know about him now. It was so fun I found all my friends and it was the perfect way to kick off the weekend.

✨Naughty princess was someone I didn't know as well and she threwwwww down a dirty heavy dubstep set. It was proper as fuck and she looked like a boss in the dj booth.

✨Honerable mention to Govinda and an-ten-ae

✨🔮Clozees first set on Friday night was so surreal. Seeing her live is a true experience. It got so heavy and blissful it was by far my flavorite set I've seen from her. She's so humble and cute and beyond excited to be doing this for us. When she plays she emmits such a powerful feminine vibe. The high that gave me was super intense.

✨ Honerable mention to

Stylust beats with the filthy dubstep set

Nico luminous

And attya to close was super smooth

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Saturday

✨ The funk hunters played two sets. The but their Saturday night set on the Luna stage was so fire. They're so fun and energetic

✨ Random rab was so beautiful. Probably the most beautiful performance I've seen by him yet. His voice is absolutely amazing.

✨LAZY SYRUP ORCHESTRA...... If you don't know them please go listen to their sets on SoundCloud. The sun had risen and the people were vibin.. 6am set - ???? It was so freaking good ahhhh words can't even decribes

They're all so talented I want to return to that moment forever.

Going to the beach and jumping in the ocean after that was so freaking cooooooool.

✨Honerable mention to symbolico for throwing down two dope sets & moontricks on the Sol stage

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Sunday

✨ Drrtywulvs ... Wowza. That was so fun and uplifting.. all the booty shaking..I love his music and all the noises. It always makes my body move in the weirdest of ways.

✨SUPERTASK..he's one of my flavorite artists ever and he threw downnnnnnnnn such a dope set in the jungle.

✨ SOOHAN was everything I wanted. His music makes me dance in all the best ways

✨🌄 Clozees played a sunrise set @ 545 and it was beautiful. She was very downtempo and played a lot of slower vibe songs.. it was perfect and blissful.

✨ and finally emancipator. They are forever one of my flavorites. They played at 7 am and closed out the Luna stage with the most magical morning vibes. I feel like they played a lot of new music and it was a perfect way to bring down the high energy from the night

✨Honerable mention to dirtwire on the Sol stage who pulled me out of my funk bc of the rain I love their music so much and Seeing them live is a huge treat.

If you've made it this far thanks for reading! Envision is my new flavorite place and I am already counting down the days until I can go back. ✨🥥