#whaaat. if. i finish it by the end of TOMORROW night

[bigcats-birds-and-books]

hang on to your hats, y'all, i'm about to be overcome by a fit of Hubris

[riarushi]

love is war. | h.rj

❥ summary- confessing your love is a matter of pride. ❥ genre- high school (student council), enemies?, fluff, crack ❥ word count- 1.4k

a/n: I basically just went on an unannounced hiatus, but now I’m back! This one is based off an anime called Kaguya-sama: Love is War. The plots are usually something similar to this, so I thought it would be fun to try this out. Let Chenle Chika dance. ~Ness

➵

You fall in love with someone, confess that love, and become a couple. Everyone would say that’s a wonderful thing.

But they’re wrong.

Even among sweethearts, there exists a distinct power relationship. A side that uses and a side that is used, a side that devotes and a side receiving devotion, a winner and a loser. If you are trying to live a noble life, then you must not become a loser.

Love is war. The person who falls in love, loses.

You closed the open notebook on the table. Elegantly folding your hands in your lap, you lifted your gaze to see your best friend frowning, arms crossed.

“I don’t know, Y/N. It looks like a whole bunch of excuses to me,” Chenle commented. “If you have a crush on Prez, then you should just tell him.”

You scoffed. “I’m only saying that if he confessed to me, I would put some thought into the idea of us being romantic partners.”

“Blah, blah, blah. You two have been working together in the student council for half a year already. Can’t you be more upfront with him?”

“Don’t you understand? If I tell him that I have those kinds of feelings, I’ll lose. He can’t know I like him that way.”

He groaned. “I’m honestly surprised he hasn’t already picked up on it. You drop hints every single day.”

“What do you mean?” you asked.

“Well let’s see... Yesterday, you pretended that you lost your umbrella because you wanted to borrow his. A week ago, you did your nails and tried to show it off to him while handing him files. Oh, and remember when you made an extra lunch but gave it to me? I’m pretty sure you meant to give it to Prez.”

“Y-You knew and you still ate it?!”

“What? I’m not gonna say no to your cooking!”

“But you had your own food that day! How could you? You’re so mean, Lele!”

While bickering with Chenle, you noticed the door swinging open in your peripheral vision. Immediately realizing what trouble you might be in, both of you stopped to paid full attention to the entering person.

“I thought I told you two not to slack off while I was gone.”

Huang Renjun, the student council president. He was well-known for being an attentive listener, hard worker, and an overall diligent young man. It was no wonder he was voted for his position.

Chenle’s face suddenly lit up with energy, knowing he could avoid another long lecture about your philosophy and approach to love. “Prez! Didn’t I take good care of the room?” He smiled, jumping out of his seat and throwing his arm around the older boy’s neck. 

“I asked you to file the stuff on my desk, not laze around in the seating area.”

Standing up, you brushed off your clothes and took the papers from Renjun’s arms. The weight now taken away from him, he returned to his desk at the front of the room. “You should be glad that nothing’s been broken,” you chimed, placing the stack on the table. You took a seat on the couch once more, filing through it slowly, making sure to take in every important detail.

He nodded. “I suppose you’re right. Chenle is a reckless person.”

“Come on,” your best friend whined, “You guys are all about work! Can’t we do something fun for once?”

“It seems you’re always doing something fun in here. Have you picked up a single document today?” Renjun remarked, gracefully scribbling something down.

“Wh-Whaaat? Of course I did...”

Smiling to yourself, you reached into your bag and pulled out a container of homemade sweets. With the help of internet recipes, you spent hours last night making them to bring to school. 

This was your chance.

“Well, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to take a break,” you started, placing the container in plain view of the other two. Opening the lid and pulling a small cookie out. You extended it to Chenle. “Want one?” you offered.

“Seriously? Of course I want one!” he exclaimed, grabbing the pastry and shoving it in his mouth. “God, this is amazing.”

Perfect wording. If Renjun knew how good your baking was, there would be no room for him to resist. The moment he requested some, he would be admitting he cared enough about you to try them. One more little push and he’s sure to ask.

“I actually tried making some healthier ones, too. Cookies can be really bad for you, so I swapped out any ingredients I could for better alternatives,” you said, glancing over at the front desk to check your crush’s reaction. He seemed unbothered, continuing to focus on his work.

Now what? If he isn’t even listening, then there simply is no point in executing this plan. What will all that effort be for?

“Come on, Prez! You gotta try this.” Your best friend snatched another from the container, bringing it to the front desk and waving it in the other boy’s face.

“I’m good,” he replied bluntly. “Besides, these sorts of biscuits are designed to be eaten with tea.”

There it was: the counter-attack.

By introducing the unprepared element of tea, Renjun was trying to back you into a corner. You either had to make the tea or allow him to leave the student council room biscuit-less. If you made the tea, you would be admitting that you made the sweets for him. That would create an indirect confession that ends in the president’s victory. On the other hand, you could give up on your plan which would result in both sides calling truce. However, that safety was at the sacrifice of your hard work in the kitchen yesterday. How could he do something like that?! It was absolutely horrendous, insulting that he would disregard everything you did.

“That’s true,” you agreed. Hopefully, this would make him feel as if you hadn’t become flustered over his move. “How about you make some, Prez? Since you’re closer to the cabinet.”

Brilliant. Now the responsibility of brewing has been thrown onto Renjun, meaning the cons surrounding that option have been reversed onto him. Would he want to try your baking so much that he’d go through the effort to make tea? You bit a cookie in anticipation.

Your crush furrowed his eyebrows, contemplating what to do next. He hadn’t thought you would be so clever as to pull an Uno Reverse card on him. How could he do it? He really did want to try your treats, just not at the cost of his own pride. Maybe if he waited long enough, Chenle would just shove one in his mouth. Speaking of Chenle, it was possible to throw the task onto him, but it seemed like the easy way out. He’d look like a coward. Should he just run out the building? Use his power as the student council president to confiscate the container? Pretend to make the tea and then drop the pot on the floor so it breaks?

“W-Wait! Chenle!” you suddenly shouted, panicked.

Renjun looked up, watching as the secretary ate the final biscuit. His jaw dropped, and the other boy simply rolled his eyes.

“If you wanted to eat it, you should’ve made your mind up faster, Prez,” he managed to say in between chews. “Anyways, I’m gonna leave you two to finish all those boring papers. See you tomorrow!”

Before either of you could protest, your best friend grabbed his bag and ran out the door.

“...”

“...”

“So you really did want to eat them, huh Prez?”

“You’re only assuming that because of what Chenle said. Besides, what got you all freaked out just now? Did you want me to try one that badly?”

“You seemed to be thinking about having one, so I was only trying to save it for you.”

“How considerate of you. What’s your reasoning behind doing so?”

“It’s just in my nature.”

“Sure.”

“...”

“...”

“You won’t get away with winning tomorrow.”

“Right back at you. You know how it is.”

“Yeah, yeah. The first one to fall in love...”

“...Loses.”

Today’s results: Y/N and Renjun’s loss.

[denkimystery]

Denki Mystery Series - 1st Episode: 『Six Men Getting Sick』

ー Midorito House, Eve of the Jyushimatsu Festival

A Voice: ... Come to think of it, the owner of my cab company… I wonder if he’s one of those people who's into the occult?

Ozo: I only come to the office sometimes. And whenever I’m there that’s all we talk about.

Ozo: Like, strange stories of this area? I’ve heard a lot about that too. I've heard it all from that person.

Takashi: Ah! I know who you’re talking about. He came to my store, too. He kept chattering on and on about how I should get out of this place before I am unable to leave, and then he just left.

Hajime: Wow. Is that person a local from here?

Ozo: No, it's nothing like that. I heard that he came here a long time ago, and then he was given the job and entrusted with the company. You're very curious, aren't you.

Karatsugu: I wonder what he was doing before that. He’s not from around here, but he knows a lot about it, right? The stories of this place, I mean.

Ozo: Come to think of it, people wouldn't talk so openly about that kind of stuff if they were from here. I wouldn't ask or deny it, though.

Ozo: He said I drive too rough, so he started calling me “Cowboy”.

Toshio: You sound like a villainous pro wrestler. It’s kinda cool.

Ozo: Right? But I'm not that buff! … Phew, that was a nice time. It's been about half an hour since we got back from the factory?

Ozo pops open a beer. The sound of the fizz is replaced by the sounds of him gulping his drink.

Chorosuke: It’s a bit late, but we've prepared a midnight snack.

Ozo: Whaaat, I didn't think the Master was here, but he cooked for me? That's very kind of you.

Takashi: Let me help, Chorosuke-san.

[[Takashi gets up to help Chorosuke set the food down.]]

Takashi: Wah, this looks so good.

Ozo: Ahhh! I'm so hungry!! … Ah, can you let me borrow your phone before we start?

Chorosuke: Sure, be my guest. … Dayoko, escort him please.

[[Ozo follows Dayoko out of the room.]]

Toshio: You have some for me too? Wah... It's mushroom soup! Looks good.

Chorosuke: Everyone, you must be hungry. After you eat, let's rest for today. We still have tomorrow.

[[Ozo comes back to the room.]]

Ozo: Thanks for letting me call. It was the president. I told him I was sick.

Ozo: Since we have a private gathering tomorrow, I told him I was gonna stay up and he replied with a resounding OK. Heheh!

Ozo: If it had been the old lady in the office, she would have told me to go home for sure!

Takashi: That’s the normal reaction. I think you're being underestimated by your president.

Karatsugu: Well, let's eat before it gets cold. Thanks for the food.

Toshio: Thanks for the fooood!

[[Toshio shoves a spoonful into his mouth, chewing eagerly. Everyone else follows suit.]]

Hajime: These mushrooms are delicious.

Chorosuke: These are the mushrooms that my student grew. He often gives me some, they are very fragrant and delicious.

Toshio: Are there other ways to eat it other than miso soup?

Chorosuke: You can also roast it, it’d still be delicious.

「Thank you for the meal.」 Everyone says when they’re finished.

Chorosuke: Did you all like it? Then, let's brew some tea. ... Dayoko, your big bwother*** will also help.

[[Chorosuke leaves the room.]]

Takashi: … Huh?

[[Takashi’s gaze is pointed down. Staring at something.]]

Takashi: ……. Jyushimatsu-niisan, why are you buried in the ground. Heyyy… Ah, another Jyushimatsu-niisan.

[[Hajime looks at where Takashi was looking at. There’s nothing but the floor.]]

Hajime: Ta-Takashi-kun? What’s wrong? … Are you ok!?

[[Meanwhile.]]

Ozo: … Hm? When did I get back to the car?

[[Ozo notices he’s not alone, looking into his rearview mirror he sees someone on the passenger’s seat.]]

Ozo: Customer-san, why are you wearing a paper bag?

Ozo: … Hie! [Ozo flinches as the customer removes his paper bag.]

Ozo: … You look just like me…!?

[[Toshio seems to be struggling.]]

Toshio: Uwah! What’s this thing in front of me! ... A big dog!

Chorosuke: Dayoko! I won’t hand Dayoko over to you!! Dayoko!? Where-? Dayoko?

Karatsugu: ... huh. I feel like my back is…

[[Karatsugu focuses on the feeling in his back before realizing that it’s sharp and he’s in deep pain.]]

Karatsugu: … W-Waaah!! I-I’ve been stabbed! I’m dead! I’m cuuursed!

Hajime: Eh... Where am I?

[[Hajime looks around.]]

Hajime: It’s pitch black.

Hajime: H-HIEEEEEEE!!! [[All of a sudden Hajime screams. Thrashing and flinging.]]

Hajime: H-Help meeee!!! SOMEBODY, HELP ME!

Takashi: Waaaaaah…!! … Huh. What was that?

Ozo: Wah! What the-? A-are these mushrooms safe to eat!? I just had a scary dream!****

Chorosuke: Huh? What’s the matter? Nothing happened to me, I’m fine. Here, have some tea.

[[Chorosuke starts pouring tea.]]

Toshio: I'm fine too.

[[Toshio starts munching on some of the snacks Chorosuke offered with the tea.]]

Toshio: Delicious! Where did you get these snacks?

Ozo: Eh ~ !? You're always eating them, so you've built up a tolerance? I don't remember it clearly, but I was really scared!

Toshio: Aah! Are you okay, Karamatsu-niisan? The corner of the desk is digging into your back.

Karatsugu: Eh!? The corner of the table? … Ah, thank goodness. I thought I was stabbed in the back…

Hajime: Haa~. [[Hajime releases a sigh he’s been holding.]]

Hajime: …. What was that. Just now. I’m not immune to these mushrooms… What did I just see…? Th-That was scary.

Toshio: Aaaa, that was delicious. … Well, I’m going home now. I’ll see you all tomorrow. My big brothers and Todomatsu!

Takashi: I'm getting a little used to it. That “Todomatsu”. Jyushimatsu-niisan.

Ozo: You live on the other side of the mountain, right? Why don't you just stay the night? Or, do you want me to drive you home?

Toshio: The roads are dangerous at night. I can take a shortcut.

[[Toshio stands up quickly in one fell swoop.]]

Toshio: Nanna is waiting for me.

Chorosuke: Here you go. Didn’t something break just earlier?

Toshio: Thank you, Choroma- Chorosuke-san. Todomatsu, my bigger brothers. Good night!

Thump, thump... Rustle, rustle, rustle. [[Toshio takes off running, his footsteps landing heavy on the dirt path. Soon after he runs through the bushes and into the forest.]]

Takashi: Ah…! He jumped into the bushes. I-I hope he’s ok.

Chorosuke: Ogami’s fine. Oh, and he’s always running around in the mountains.

[[Dayoko walks in to tell Chorosuke something.]]

Chorosuke: Hm, what. … Aah. Thank you, Dayoko. Everyone. The bath is ready. Please, help yourselves.

Ozo: Ah~, I'm going to catch my breath ‘cause my eyes are getting tired*****!

Chorosuke: Eh!?

Ozo: If we're going to talk about scary stories, how about we tell a “Hundred Stories” while drinking?

Chorosuke: Can you stop doing that I don’t want to get in trouble if something weird happens!?

ーThe Endー

Original Event

Summer Arc: 1 | 2 | 3

Mod Note: This came from the Stories that came with the Akatsuka Mansion Attraction from Trashneyland. All 4 and 3 star attractions have 3 stories, often related to the theme of the building. (ex. Akatsuka Mansion has 3 stories related to Denki Mystery. Geruge Castle also has 3 stories related to the Geruge Set).

The original title is 二豎(にじゆ)と六人の男 (lit. The Evil Spirits of Illness and the Six Men). *Nijiyu (二豎) is a term that originated from the legends of Zheng Chenggong. Unfortunately it’s all in Chinese and I’m already at my wit’s end so I can’t give you an exact origin lmao. I’m not sure what exactly happened but there’s this Duke who was cursed to not be able to eat anything new. He is feeling ill, he dreams of his illness and the doctor says that the illness can’t be healed because the cause is somewhere even his medicine can’t reach. That’s my rough understanding of what happened. Anw, that illness became known as the Nijiyu. Edit: I looked up David Finch's filmography again and turns out that the original title is referencing his 1967 work "Six Men Getting Sick (Six Times)". I've changed the title to make more sense to English readers, but I've kept the original title in the mod notes. If the stage names are references to David Lynch's movies then the story names are references to David Lynch's short films. And unlike the stage names, the titles of each story is relevant to what happens in the story.

*** Chorosuke uses Anii-chama again. Which is a cutesy way of saying bigger brother: Nii-san > Nii-sama > Anii-chama. He’s acting like a sis-con btw.

**** If you haven’t noticed, their mushroom trip is based on their original attack sprites. Ozo’s hallucination is a combination of his (Taxi + Passenger) and Toshio (Removing Mask)’s attacks. Karatsugu, Hajime and Takashi are slightly different from their original attack sprites (Karatsugu doesn’t write a dying message, Hajime doesn’t wield an axe and bolo, Takashi isn’t screaming). Chorosuke and Toshio’s hallucinations are original. Chorosuke is hallucinating about Dayoko being taken away and Toshio’s hallucinations involve a big dog, most likely the Inugami Youkai.

*****I think the original text is an idiom? I don’t know what it exactly means though so I did my best approx.

[ifuckedchrisevans]

One Beer - Part Four

Based off the song One Beer by Hardy you can listen to it HERE

High school sweethearts AU with Chris | You and Chris just graduated high school. You have an amazing summer planned before you and your friends part ways for the fall and go on to your separate schools. But what happens when things don’t go as planned?  

PART ONE | PART TWO | PART THREE

Note: Sorry this took so long! I’m not that good at ending chapters lol :/ Let me know what you think and if you want to be tagged in future chapters :) 

The next three months flew by. Before you knew it, it was the middle of August and Chris’ big move to New York was tomorrow. To be honest, you were trying not to think about it, the thought of him being so far away made your stomach turn, and no, it wasn’t the baby.

You were folding Chris’ clothes when he walked in his room with a bigger duffle bag. 

Chris looked around his room, you had organized everything he was taking with him into piles. Shirts, pants, socks, underwear, shoes, and a nice suit cause “you never know when a great opportunity could present itself.”

“Babe, you know I can do this myself, you should be resting,” he said, joining you on the floor. 

You stopped folding the shirt in your hands and leaned your head on his shoulder, Chris wrapped you up in his arms instantly. 

The two of you sat in silence, trying to ignore your soon to be new reality. 

“I need to keep folding,” you mumbled, leaning out of Chris’ arms

“Baby, just leave it, can’t we just be here,” Chris said, rubbing your back.

“No, I need to finish this, Chris,” your voice quivered. 

“(Y/N),” he whispered, trying to reason with you.

“I said let me finish!” you snapped back, “please, it’s all I have left to control,” you cried. 

And that’s when the flood gates opened. You couldn’t tell if it was your anxiety, the pregnancy hormones, or a little bit of both. 

“Hey,” Chris whispered, “what’s this all about?” he questioned, pulling you into his arms and holding you tight. 

“You’re leaving, there’s a literal human growing inside of me, my pants barely fit me anymore, all of my friends are leaving for college and rushing the sororities we stalked on instagram all year, and I’m just here, left in the dust and getting fat,” you cried, looking at your boyfriend. 

Chris hugged you tighter, to be honest, he had no idea what to say. He finally took a breath and tried his best to say the right thing. 

“I know you’re not going to believe me, but you are absolutely beautiful, baby bump or no baby bump, you’re breathtaking. You’re doing the most selfless thing right now and I am so, so proud of you,” Chris said, his eyes locked with yours. “I can call this whole New York thing off at a moment's notice, you know that. Just say the word and it’s over.”

“I could never do that to you,” you said, there was a hint of pain in your voice. You played with the collar of his shirt. 

“I know,” Chris sighed, you were selfless, pregnant or not, you were always putting others' needs and wants before your own. It was one of the things he loved about you. “Just say the word and I’m back home with you,” he pecked your lips.

“I love you,” you smiled at him. 

“I love you, always,” he smiled, hugging you tight and pressing a kiss to the top of your head. 

The two of you sat in a comfortable silence, surrounded by piles of folded clothes. 

“Can I be honest?” Chris’ voice broke the silence.

You turned your head and looked up at him, waiting for him to continue his thought. 

“I’m kinda glad you won’t be away at school, rushing and stuff,” he said hesitantly.

“Why’s that, babe?” you asked.

“Cause I don’t think I could compete with all the Brads and Chads out there,” he giggled, slightly joking and slightly being serious. 

“You put both Brad and Chad to shame, babe,” you giggled, pressing your lips to his.  

--------------------------

The morning you had dreaded was finally here. You rolled over to snuggle into Chris’ side but found his side of his bed empty. You sat up and looked around his room, he was nowhere in sight. 

You put on your glasses and pulled one of Chris’ hoodies over your shorts and t-shirt before you made your way downstairs. 

The sight before you made you smile, Chris stood at the stove with his mom cooking breakfast. If he hadn’t turned to walk to the fridge he wouldn’t had seen you standing there. 

“Aw, you’re up,” he whined.

“Was I not supposed to wake up?” you giggled and walked over to hug him.

“I was supposed to bring you breakfast in bed,” Chris said, before he pecked your cheek. 

“Want me to go back to bed?” you asked.

“I’ll tuck you in,” a goofy smile spread across your boyfriend’s face as he walked you back upstairs. 

--------------------------

After you ate breakfast in bed together, you and Chris stayed snuggled up in his bed watching TV. 

“I got you something,” his voice whispered.

“Hey! Not fair, we agreed on no ‘going away’ gifts,” you whined. 

Chris smirked, rolling over to pull a small black box from the drawer in his nightstand. 

“Uhh- C-Chris? Whaaat are you doing?” you said, slightly panicking. 

He giggled, “it’s not what you think it is. Not yet at least,” he winked. 

You took the small black box in your hand and popped it open. You gasped at the small, gold bar necklace that stared back at you. There was a small “C” engraved on one side, and the other side had a simple six letter word, the word that Chris liked to add to his ‘i love you’ messages.

“Always” you whispered, running your fingers over the engraved letters. 

“I love it,” you sniffled, “thank you,”

Chris smiled, pressing his lips to yours. 

You didn’t want this kiss to end and neither did he. This one was going to have to hold you both over for a bit. 

The two of you laid in his bed, tangled up in each other. You stayed that way until the last possible minute. 

“Do we have to leave this spot?” you wondered out loud.

“We could just pretend the outside world doesn’t exist,” Chris joined your thinking. 

“But how will you become a rich and famous movie star who can give your son and baby mama a lavish life?” you giggled.

“Uhh, correction, son and WIFE,” he smirked.

You playfully rolled your eyes at his “correction”. Of course, you wanted to marry Chris, you love him, you’re literally having his child. But, you didn’t want to rush it and make Chris feel like he had to hurry up and ask because of the circumstances. 

--------------------------

Chris pulled himself out of bed and got dressed. He pulled you with him, walking down the stairs with the last bag to load into his car. 

The trunk slammed and he turned to give hugs to his family.

“Call us when you stop,” his mom said, she hugged her son, fighting back a tear or two. 

Chris turned to you with a sad smile and took your hand. The two of you walked to the driver’s side of the car. 

“I’ll call you when I stop, I’ll call you when I get there, and I’ll call you every morning and night,” he promised. 

“And I’ll come visit next weekend,” you smiled and took a deep breath. “We can do this,” Chris said. 

You smiled and nodded.

“Now, go catch your big break, make momma some money,” you winked.

Chris laughed and pulled you into his arms one last time. 

“If anything changes, you call me. I don’t care what time it is, I don’t care what I’m doing. I’ll be back here in the blink of an eye,” he said, you could hear a hint of worry in his voice. 

“I promise,” you smiled, “I love you, Christopher Robert.”

“I love you, (Y/F/N , Y/M/N), always,” Chris said before he crushed his lips to yours.

Chris climbed in the car and started the engine. He looked at you with an excited spark in his eye but a sad smile on his face. 

“Love you, ma!” he hollered, looking back at his mom, “I’ll call ya when I stop!”

“Drive safe,” you squeezed his hand before you stepped back from the car. 

“I love you, always” Chris smiled, pulling out of the driveway.

“Always,” you whispered to yourself, holding your necklace.

Chris’ mom came and stood beside you, she put her arm around your shoulder. 

“C’mon, sweetheart, let’s go get some lunch. Our boy will be home soon,” she said. 

The two of you walked back into the house. You sat at the kitchen island while Lisa cooked everyone lunch. 

--------------------------

You talked with his sisters about potential baby names and Scott insisted that the baby be named after him, whether it was a boy or a girl. 

You were so relieved that Chris’ family accepted you as one of their own. It was comforting to know you could be at the house without Chris having to be by your side. 

After lunch you weren’t feeling well. Lisa insisted that you did not drive home until you were feeling better. 

You agreed to go take a nap in Chris’ room before going home. 

His almost empty room still smelled like him. Your eyes watered as you tiptoed into the room. 

You fell back on the bed and wrapped yourself in the blankets. Breathing in the familiar scent of your boyfriend who was currently driving miles away from you to follow his dreams. 

“He’ll be home soon,” you sighed to yourself before you drifted off to sleep.

--------------------------

Tag List:

@introvertatitsfinest @thegetawaywriter @classylady1234 @patzammit 

@captain-rogers-beard @evansxxx @twittytelly​ 

[flowerpowell]

Unexpected (Drake x MC)

PART FIVE

A/N: Another chapter within two/three days? Who is she? I reallyyy hope I can update this series frequently but life’s kinda busy so we’ll see how I’ll do. I hope you’ll enjoy it! Feedback is always very appreciated! Characters belong to Pixelberry.

Rating: PG

Word count: 1811

Tagging: @gardeningourmet​ @delightfullypinkglitter​ @hopefulmoonobject​ @akrenich​ @blackcatkita​ @cora-nova @client-327​ @desiree---1986​ @jlpplays1​ @dcbbw​ @kingliam2019​ @the-soot-sprite​ @mskaneko​ @thequeenofcronuts​ @dr-ethanjramsey​ @missameliep​ @maxattack-powell​ @badchoicesposts​ @mymandrake​ @butindeed​ @burnsoslow​ @annekebbphotography​ @alesana45​ @addictedtodrakefanfic​ @walkerduchess​ @ao719​ @texaskitten30​ @lodberg​ @cordonianroyalty​ @emichelle​ @siriusxxvideos​ @i-bloody-love-drake-walker​ @samihatuli​ @choices-lurker​ @i-miss-trr​ @of-course-went-to-hartfeld @nikkis1983​ @innerpostmentality​ @msjr0119​ @bascmve01​ @mind-reader1​ @edgiestwinter​ @drakesensworld​ @queenjilian​ @princessleac1​ @saivilo​ ♥

“Ummm,” Riley hesitated, “could you repeat the name of that drink again because I don’t think I heard it right?”

“I didn’t ask for a drink, I asked you to marry me,” Drake repeated slightly embarrassed he had to ask her again.

“Right. Okay, bye,” she turned and started walking away. Drake grabbed her arm and lead her to a table in the back of the bar.

“Didn’t you hear what I just said?”

“I did and I decided to ignore it. It’s clearly a joke,” she shrugged.

Oh boy, this is embarrassing. I hate Liam.

“It’s not, listen--”

“Drake, listen,” she took his hand and he frowned. “I hate to break it to you, but I kinda hate you. I don’t know if you’re saying this because of a stupid bet you made or because you are drunk but I will never marry you, okay?”

Drake took his hand from her and rolled his eyes.

“Jeez, I’m not asking you to marry me for real! I don’t even like you. I am forced to do it.”

“You’re forced to marry me? Are you drunk? Because if you are, I am not serving you any whiskey tonight.”

“I am not!” he sighed. “Let me explain, ‘kay?”

“Yeah?”

“My sister and her husband went missing some time ago and they’re cosidered to be dead.”

“I’ve heard about that and I’m really sorry. I met them once and they seemed to be great people,” Riley smiled at him reassuringly, still confused what his point was.

“Now Bartie, their son, needs someone to take care of him. I had a deal with Bartie’s grandfather that we would take care of him in turns but he just filed for a full custody. He is an awful man and I can’t let him take Bartie, especially that his new wife is a witch. So I need to win the custody case somehow,” he finished and looked at Riley. She seemed unimpressed.

“Umm, okay. Good luck! Go for it? I still don’t understand why you asked me to marry you?”

“Because it’s gonna be nearly impossible to win the case when I’m unmarried.”

“Ohh, I get it now. Ugh, that sucks,” Riley nodded and patted him on the back.

“So... what do you say?”

“Well, I am very sorry for you, like, very sorry, but no way. I’m not marrying a guy I hate, no offence. I wish you all the best but I’m not doing that.”

“This is going to be a fake marriage! Liam, the King, will annul it a few weeks later, I promise! It’s just so I can take Bartie. This is what my sister would want. Trust me, it’s far from an ideal situation for me too.”

“Listen, I’m sorry but no. Find someone else who can pretend to be your wife but that’s not gonna be me.” Riley stood up, ready to end the conversation when Drake spoke again.

“Why are you here?”

She turned to him, confused. “Hmm?”

“Why are you here, in Cordonia? I saw your CV, you’re from the U.S., you have a college degree, you  had a job, what are you doing here, working in a bar in a small European country?”

“I don’t see how’s that any of your business?” Riley answered calmly but Drake could see she tensed.

“It is, it’s my bar after all,” he raised an eyebrow and she sat back down.

“Change of plans,” she shrugged, “there’s no story. It’s just a dream I had and I decided to go for it.”

“Dream? To work in a Cordonian bar?”

“Well, no, I mean, kinda...”

“Well?” He asked and she sighed.

“I always wanted to have my own place. Restaurant, cafeteria, bar, whatever. My grandma was a great cook and she left me all her handwritten receipe books. I always dreamed of opening my place and serve everything she taught me. America is full of places like this so I wanted to try Europe and... that’s kind of how I found an American bar in Cordonia. It also helps that I’m far away from my overprotective parents,” she laughed but it didn’t reach her eyes.

“So you came here to take over my bar?”

“No! No!” her eyes widened, “I just wanted to gain more experience. Find out more about Cordonian cuisine. Find places without many restaurants,” she explained as Drake remained silent. He was thinking about something and Riley was chewing her lower lip wondering if she said something that would make Drake fire her. Finally, after a minute or two, he finally spoke.

“Okay.”

“Okay?” She was confused. Was he firing her or...?

“Okay. I’ll give you the bar, it’s gonna belong to you and you can do whatever you want with it if you agree to fake-marry me.”

Riley’s eyes widened in shock. “What?”

“You heard me. This bar for a few months of pretending we’re married.”

“You’re crazy,” she murmured. At that moment, all her dreams seemed more real than ever. She almost heard her grandma’s voice to take the chance. But was it worth it if she had to pretend to be in love with a man she hated so much? He was good looking, yes, but too annoying. Would she have to kiss him on their fake wedding ceremony? Ugh, she hoped no. Would they--

“You’re drooling,” Drake interrupted her thinking.

“I am not!” She said but instinctively wiped her mouth.

“So... what’s the verdict?”

She looked around the bar, a place that could be hers in just one word, all of her dreams coming true (after she would survive her nightmare) and she thought that maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. She could always make his life so miserable that he would divorce her sooner. And if that wouldn’t work, she could always kill him, right?

“Well, Mr Walker, you got yourself a deal.”

~~~~

The wedding was scheduled for a week after their conversation. Drake said he would handle everything and they hadn’t seen each other since that day. The only people who knew that the marriage was going to be fake was Drake, Riley and Liam.

Maxwell got nearly a heart attack when he was informed about Drake’s wedding but he was happy for his friend. Olivia didn’t believe Drake was actually getting married and she tried to start a bet that Drake was only joking. Madeleine and Barthelemy were clearly not happy about it but they congratulated him and promised to come to the wedding. Drake noticed how Madeleine whispered something to Kiara, angrily gesticulating, and he was proud that he ruined her plan, whatever it was.

“It’s a bit strange, I’ve never seen you with her. In fact, it’s strange she’s not here with you today,” Madeleine smiled at him when she approached him with Kiara beside her.

“She’s not interested in being around Nobles. Besides, she’s getting ready for the wedding.”

“And, as I presume, moving, right?” she asked sweetly and Drake almost spit out his drink. He had completely forgotten they would have to live together.

“Yes, we’ll be living in my cabin. She loved it there ever since she first visited me, the day we met,” he answered not even having to lie too much.

“Hmpf,” was all Madeleine said before abruptly walking away, Kiara sending one last glare towards Drake.

He quickly pulled out his phone and messaged Riley, “I hope you’re all packed to move into my cabin. Don’t worry, the guest room is ready”

The answer came a few seconds later:

“I’m not moving to your dumpster. I’ll stay in the bar.”

Drake rolled his eyes as he typed, “Everything is clean and neatly organized just for you. Besides, that’s a part of our deal.”

He smiled at the reply that came five seconds later. “I hate you.”

~~~~

“Ugh,” Riley groaned, throwing her phone on the table. She forgot she’d have to actually live with Drake under one roof.

“Whoaa, someone’s in a bad mood! What happened?” the bartender asked but she just shook her head.

“Nothing. I need to pack my stuff, I’ll be moving out of our apartement tomorrow.”

“What? Why? Are you going back to America?”

“Worse,” she sighed, “I’m getting married.”

“Now, whaaat?!” her friend asked and she realized she never really told him anything.

“Yeah, to Drake. I’m sorry I forgot to mention it to--”

“Now HOLD UP. The last time we talked about him you hated him. I knew you were lying! I knew you liked him! I saw it in your eyes, I knew it!”

“Umm, yeah. I was totally lying,” I was totally not lying. I hate Drake even more now.

“Good catch, R! I’m sure your wedding day will be beautiful and your wedding night even better,” he winked at her and she felt sick.

“Please stop, I’m going to throw up.”

“No way!!!”

“What?” She was confused now.

“Now I get it! The wedding so soon, you feeling sick... You’re pregnant, oh my gosh!!!”

“No, please, no!!! I am not, listen--” her eyes widened in horror as her friend hugged her.

“It’s okay, I won’t tell anyone! I’m so happy for you, girl! I’ll help you with moving out, you probably shouldn’t be carrying these heavy boxes by yourself now.”

“Seriously, it’s not like that, I--”

“Josh!!!” The bartender called out seeing the manager walking out of his office. “Riley is getting married! And she has a little bun in the oven,” he added quietly as the manager’s eyes went wide.

“I was aware of your marriage to Drake but I had no idea you two were already expecting. My sincere congratulations, to both of you.”

“Wait, no, I am not pregnant!”

“It’s okay, you can still work here until you don’t feel like it anymore,” Josh patted her on the back and left the bar before Riley could say anything else.

“Why does no one believe me?” she asked but her friend was already behind the bar making a drink. A few minutes later she got a message from Drake.

“Why is your manager congratulating me on having a baby? Am I missing something?”

She sighed as she typed, “It’s a long story.”

“Anyway. The wedding’s tomorrow at 6. Don’t be late.”

She sighed again as she shoved her phone back to the bag.  She now wasn’t sure if she just made the biggest mistake of her life or not but it was too late to back out now.

The die was cast.

[221bshrlocked]

the edge of love

Pairing: Bucky X Reader

Words: 2533

Warnings: Fluffffffffff. Maybe too much fluff actually.

Prompt: “I don’t need that giant teddy bear, I already have you.” 

A/N: For @sherrybaby14 because you are a sweetheart and this is long overdue but I still wanted to write it. Also, I do hope you like this even though I am not too positive about it. I know this is a really bit late and I’m really sorry but I really wish you like it and congrats on the milestone that you already passed. :)

To say you’ve counted down until this morning for the past months would have been an understatement. You’ve had a smile on your face all week long and it got to the point where Sam constantly made fun of how chirpy you were because it was so damn annoying to jump and squeal immediately after working out with Steve. It had amazed even Steve, laughing when Bucky told you Steve went to Bruce to ask if you were okay or going through something. 

“What? Why is me being happy suddenly worrisome?” You were drying your hair when Bucky walked in and hugged you. “Well, doll, you’re usually swearing at him after his hellish workouts and it’s weird seeing you asking if you were done for the day.” Bucky tickled you before pulling away when you elbowed him.

“I’m just excited babe.” You turned around and smiled when you saw the lovesick eyes he was giving you.

“All because of an island huh? Damn, is it weird that I'm feeling a bit jealous from a place?” He crossed his arms and stepped back just in time to avoid your attempt of pushing him.

“Oh please, you know how much I love you. It’s because I get to spend time with you Buck. I’ve never been and I can’t wait to share that with you. Also, I just want to know how much it has changed since your time.” You winked at him when he pretended to laugh at your joke.

“Yeah yeah. Save your excuses sweetheart. Now, what time are we planning on leaving tomorrow?” He almost jumped at the loud clap echoing through your room, his eyes following your legs running across to your desk to grab your calendar. 

“Okay so here’s what we’re going to do. We have to leave no later than eight so we can make it there on time and enjoy the entire day. I know how grumpy you get in the morning so I’m preparing our breakfast tonight so we could just grab coffee and eat it on the way there.”

“I’m not grumpy in the morning!” Bucky replied defensively only to roll his eyes when you raised an eyebrow at his comment.

“Now, I don’t really know what to do once we get there so you’re in charge of that. All I know is, I really want to go on the ferris wheel. Anything else is just a bonus.” You shut the calendar dramatically and smiled at him, laughing when approached you and jumped on the bed. He pulled you to him and hugged you tightly, kissing your neck and tickling you until you couldn’t breathe. 

“Don’t you worry your little heart Y/N, I’ll take it from here.” 

“I’m really glad we’re going Buck.” You traced his jawline with your finger, wanting to say so much but not finding the right words to convey what your heart felt. 

“Kinda obvious by now isn’t it doll?” He teased you and watched as you turned around in his arms and seriously looked at him.

“No, not just this. I’m happy with this, with us. What you’ve been through wasn’t easy and I’m glad you trust me to go there with you. I know for a fact I wouldn’t be able to go if I know this place might remind me of old memories. What I’m trying to say is, thank you.” You could tell Bucky wasn’t expecting your sudden serious reaction but he smiled nonetheless, leaning down and capturing your lips with his before pulling away just to whisper to you.

“You’re welcome Y/N.”

The rest of the night was spent with you trying to stop Bucky from distracting you so you could prepare everything for a quick breakfast tomorrow and when you saw how Sam and Steve reacted to the unbelievable cuddle fest Bucky wanted, you humored him and laughed at the disgusted reactions you were getting from both men.

The next morning, you woke up without the alarm but didn’t move so Bucky wouldn’t wake. As soon as the alarm rang, you jumped out of bed and apologized to Bucky when he growled at how disturbing you were being.

“Sorry babe but you gotta get up. I’ll make breakfast and your ass better be ready by the time I come back.” You smacked his backside for good measure and laughed when he crawled under the covers even more.

Of course you didn’t leave by eight because Bucky refused to be the first one at the park. And when you made it there an hour later, he was laughing and poking you because it wasn’t as crowded as you thought it would be. By some miracle, Bucky convinced you to do the Cyclone first, knowing you’d probably chicken out once you got tired. Even though you made it clear you hated every second of it, you couldn’t help but continue to look at Bucky throughout the ride because it has been so long since you’ve seen him this happy. He was laughing and holding your hand the entire time, screaming with everyone else at each drop. 

Bucky almost had to carry you when you finished the ride but when people started asking for pictures with the two of you, you couldn’t let him because the news would definitely have a field day with the ex-Winter Soldier carrying S.H.I.E.L.D’s top agent. When too many people started circling around the two of you, you kindly told them that the two of you just wanted some privacy and enjoy the day to which everyone apologized and proceeded to tell you how cute the two of you looked. You thanked the little girls and the parents but Bucky only blushed and pulled you away.

“Whaaat that was cute!” It was your turn to tease Bucky, knowing how much he hated it when people complimented the two of you. 

“Just for that, we’re going to go on Steeplechase.” He pulled you to him and didn’t care about how hot it was.

“Does it look any different? From back then.”

“I can’t really describe it. It’s all the same but in a different way. I mean we had this coaster back then but it’s much higher and probably technologically safer you know. But everything is similar enough. It’s nice. And I’m glad I’m doing this with you too. The old one was for Steve and this new one is for you.” Bucky saw teary eyes staring right back at him and quickly wiped them away, telling you there was no time to get sentimental now when the two of you needed to beat the line.

This rollercoaster wasn’t as bad as the first one and you took more time to enjoy the scenery and the exhilarating experience with Bucky, a part of you wishing you could spend the rest of your lives here. By the time you ate lunch and played some arcade games, it was already three in the afternoon. 

But when it came to one of the games where everyone had to shoot water at the target, you and Bucky almost didn’t sit down. As soon as the other kids saw you, they begged the two of you to play with them, even when their parents told them they’d probably lose between two avengers.

For the sake of the already-crying little girl, you were the first to lose, whispering into Bucky’s ear to do the same but he just did not listen. You laughed at the way the parents reacted to their kids screaming and laughing and when the man behind the counter declared Bucky as the winner, the other jumped off their chairs and started running around Bucky. You took a step back to appreciate this moment. It was very rare for Bucky to enjoy other people’s company but he seemed to love it when the kids played with him. He took the large prize from the man and tried to hand it to you but you turned it down.

“I don’t need that giant teddy bear, I already have you.” 

“That’s very true darlin’ but what do I do with this now?” You pointed to the young girl that continued to cry and he winked at you before approaching her. Crouching down to her, he whispered a hello before telling her he won the teddy bear just for her. The scream he received was almost terrifying, the little girl jumping at him and thanking him for the big cuddly bear before attempting to carry it.

“I’m gonna give this to mommy and daddy so they could carry it for you okay?” He gave the toy to her parents who couldn’t thank him enough and when he tried to give the girl another hug, she ended up kissing his cheek. You decided to have some fun and pretended to tell her he already had a girlfriend.

“When I grow up, I want to be just like you so I could have a superhero boyfriend like Bucky.”

“That’s right, you can have someone like him but not him. He mine.” 

“Fiiine.” You smiled at the parents and nodded when they asked if the two of you could take a picture with their daughter before you left.

“Well that was a breath of fresh air. My heart almost gave out for a second there James. I thought it was over between us.”

“You know no one has my heart but you doll. You ain’t gettin rid of me that easily.” He wrapped his arm around your neck and brought you closer to kiss your forehead. 

“Your accent is full on today huh? Sure the island isn’t bringing back memories.” When he blushed at your comment, you told him you weren’t trying to tease him. “On the contrary, I like your Brooklyn accent...makes you so much sexier.”

“Down girl.” Bucky warned you and chuckled when you smudged his nose with some of your ice cream. 

“Alright, where to next soldier?” 

“How about the Brooklyn Flyer? Then we can do the boat ferris wheel and the boat ride. I have a surprise for you doll.”

“Really now? Any hints?” You tried to get him to talk but he mimed that his lips were sealed. “And for the record, it ain’t food. Food is after the surprise.”

“Ugh fine, be annoying.” You ran to the Brooklyn Flyer and paid for the tickets, hurrying Bucky so you wouldn’t miss this round of the ride. You ate your ice cream and kept on bothering him about the surprise the entire ride but Bucky said nothing, telling you he couldn’t possibly ruin it when you’ve had a perfect day so far. When you got off to go to the ferris wheel, the park announced the fireworks were about to start and you turned to Bucky to tell him the ferris wheel was probably all taken by now.

“Oh don’t worry about that babe, I booked this ahead so we could be at the top.” You saw him giving the tickets to the booth nearby and the man led the two of you to your place.

“Oh my god Bucky how did you do that?”

“Well, technically, all it took was Tony calling and me asking them if I could reserve a spot and they very happily said yes. Guess it pays to be a superhero.” He made sure the bar was locked before telling the man you were both ready. And as you started ascending, the fireworks went off and you couldn’t keep your eyes off the pretty colors, all the while Bucky stared at your rather beautiful reaction to the fireworks. 

When you stopped at the top, you turned to Bucky and saw him already looking at you.

“You’re missing the view sergeant?”

“I ain’t missin’ anything doll. I got my whole world right in my hands.” He leaned down and slowly kissed you, his hand tangling in your hair and bringing you closer to him. You shivered at the sensation and Bucky thought it was because you were cold.

“No it’s just...James-”

“Tsk tsk, how many times did I tell you sweetheart, if you want me to keep my hands to myself, you can’t call me that in public.”

“Buck, you still make me nervous.”

“Do I? I don’t mean to doll, I just love kissin’ you and lovin’ you. That’s all. Can’t a man admire his sweetheart?”

“Such a sweet talker.” You playfully hit his shoulder and turned to the fireworks in time for the last one.

“And you love it.” Bucky kissed your forehead before quickly sending a text to Steve. 

You made it down and made your way to the boat ride.

“Wait here okay?” Bucky went to the man preparing the boats and said something quickly before coming back. “Alright it’s ready. Let’s go.” He grabbed your hands and you couldn’t help but feel that something was up. As you sat down in the boat and made your way to the tunnel, you continued to turn to Bucky to make sure everything was okay. You talked and cuddled the entire tunnel but when you could see the exit, Bucky pulled away. 

“Buck is everything okay?”

“Yeah sorry I just dropped something.”

“God you’re such a dork. Wait until we’re outside.” 

“No here I almost got it!”

As soon as you were out of the tunnel and your eyes adjusted to the light, you turned around.

“Oh my god!” You gasped loudly, your mind not wrapping around what was happening quick enough.

“Y/N, you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. You’ve been my rock and my saving grace these past few years and I can never thank you enough for what you’ve done to help me. I’m not sure how the universe brought me to you or if I even deserve your love but I’m sure of one thing. I wanna spend the rest of my life making sure I do deserve you and I wanna protect you from everything cruel in this world, but most of all, I wanna grow old with you doll. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?” Bucky remained on his knees for longer than he thought and when he saw you crying and nodding, he threw you that dashing smile you loved before placing the ring on your finger.

“Finally!!! We thought you’d never respond Y/N.” You turned around and saw everyone waiting for you at the exit, and while your friends were calm about it, pretty much everyone who was around them was clapping and screaming. 

You turned to Bucky and threw yourself at him, laying as many kisses as you could on his face before pulling away.

“I love you James.”

“I love you too Y/N. Now, we gotta go cause I am starvin’.”

“Way to ruin the moment Buck.”

“Look me in the eyes right this second and tell me you aren’t hungry.” On cue, your stomach growled and you looked away sheepishly when he started laughing.

“That’s what I thought. Now, there is a bowl of clam chowder waiting for us so move your little ass woman.” 

[miracloud]

Sealed Fate [2]

han seungwoo x y/n

fluff, bit of rated

Part One } Part Two

Ever since that day, he would always wait for you outside your room after your classes. You scolded him at first as it was gaining too much attention and you don’t want that. But he continued on doing it that you just gave up.

You were saying goodbye to your friend when he appeared on your peripheral vision. He asked you where to eat dinner.

“I’m eating at home”, you told him.

“Oh, we’re eating at home. Are you going to cook for us?”

You did not reply. Living in one house, it would be too rude to only cook for one person.

He placed his arm on your shoulders and lean closer to you.

“That’s my wife”

When he did these acts the first time, you were too flustered, often pushing him away but it became a daily occurrence. It’s nothing new.

He followed you through the supermarket. As you pick the ingredients for the tuna carbonara, Seungwoo was pushing the cart. You observed the other people in the supermarket. You looked like them, like a married couple.

“What are you spacing out for?”, he asked.

“Huh? W-what?”

He looked at where you were looking. There, he saw a couple with similar tasks as you two. The male pushing the cart while the female looking for groceries.

“Ohhh~ Were you thinking that we look like them?”, he teased as he leaned closer to you.

“N-no. Not at all.”

“Haven’t heard you stutter for some time. Of course, we look like them. We are a married couple”, he reminded you.

You entered your shared home and told him to place the groceries in the kitchen counter. You were boiling the pasta when he went beside you.

“Can I help with anything?”, he asked.

“No, just sit down and be quiet.”

He snickered and went to the couch. After an hour, you brought two plates on the table at the living room. You were about to stand up again when Seungwoo told you to stay. He brought the bottle of cola from the refrigerator and brought two glasses.

Instead of sitting opposite you, he sat beside you and you scolded him.

“You’re supposed to sit there”, you said as you point to the other side.

“Isn’t it better this way?”, he teased as he scooted closer to you.

“You always love to tease me.” You may be complaining but you can’t help but smile. Who wouldn’t smile if someone as handsome as him would act like this towards you?

You breathed out a couple of times to calm down. Seungwoo saw this and he knew that he’s slowly progressing with you.

You started eating the carbonara but it seems like Seungwoo is not yet done with his games. As you are left -handed, he held your right hand and gently smiled at you. (a/n: we all know how THAT smile looks)

“Wha- what do you think are you doing?”, you exclaimed as you tried to push him away. Maybe it’s because of its frequency of your actions but Seungwoo already knows that you’ll push him away so he held your hand tighter.

“Don’t you think this is romantic?”, he asked.

You just blushed. It is romantic but you can’t tell him that. You can’t lose to him yet.

So the two of you ate dinner while holding hands. It was quiet but it was not awkward. You can tell that he was smiling while eating and you were doing the same. While looking around the room, you saw your luggage and remembered something.

“Ah right. I think I should tell you this. I’ll be away for five days starting the day after tomorrow.” He let go of your hand.

“Huh? Where are you going?!”, he exclaimed. You were shocked with his reaction.

“Uh.. I’m going to attend a regional forum.”

“You should have told me earlier. This is an important matter.”

He was speaking a lot and you felt like you did a grave mistake. What’s wrong with him?

“Seungwoo, I’ll be away for five days, not five months. And we see each other everyday”, you reasoned.

“But..”

The truth is, Seungwoo felt that any matters like these should be discussed by the two of you. He won’t stop you but it’s a different matter to be informed. You may have not noticed this but whenever Seungwoo had to do something important, he always mentioned it to you. He was simply disappointed.

He quietly finished his meal and thanked you for cooking. You looked at him as he was washing the dishes. He was silent, not the usual Seungwoo. After doing the dishes, he went to his bed without saying good night.

I should have apologized.

You intended to apologize in the morning but he already left when you woke up. When you went to school, the first thing you did was ask your best friend about Seungwoo. You first heard about Seungwoo from her so you figured that she might know something.

“h/n, do you know Seungwoo’s classroom?”

“Seungwoo?” She looked at her watch. “He’s at room 214 at the E Building. His class will end in an hour”, she added.

“How do you know that?”

She blushed. “I have a crush on one of his friends and they share the same schedule.”

You thanked her but before you can do your thing, she asked you a question.

“By the way, when will you tell me about you and Seungwoo? Everyone can tell that something’s happening between the two of you.”

You were about to give some excuse but she shushed you.

“Don’t you dare lie to me”, she jokingly threatened you. YOu’ve always wanted to tell her so you dragged her to an empty corner.

“We’re married”, you whispered.

“WHAAAT?! YOU’RE --” Before she can even say it, you covered her mouth.

“How come?”, she asked.

“Our parents know each other.”

While you two were walking back to your classroom, she asked you a question that made you ponder.

“Wait. So I guess you have been married to him months ago, right? That’s when he started fetching you here. He knows your schedule but.. you don’t know his?”

She was right. How come you don’t know his schedule? It made you realize that Seungwoo has been doing efforts from the very beginning.

You waited for an hour to pass. Before you left, your best friend cheered you on. Since he is in the E building, you had to ran so you can meet him in time. When you arrived, you were panting and your hair was messy.

“Oh? You’re Seungwoo’s --Ahh, that’s why.” It’s Seungyoun, one of his closest friends. He called for Seungwoo without mentioning that you are there.

“What is it? I’m not really in the mood”, Seungwoo said.

Seungyoun pointed at you with a grin. Seungwoo was shocked to see you and he especially saw your messy hair. By instinct, he was about to fix your hair but he stopped midway.

“So this is the reason why you were not in the mood?”, Seungyoun teased. “I’ll leave you two lovebirds”, he said before he left.

“I’m sorry. I should have told you about it earlier”, you told him right away.

“Is this why your hair is messy?”

You actually did not realize it so you hurriedly fixed your hair. It was embarrassing. You have been standing for some time and you wondered why people were looking at you.

He reached out his hand and touched your hair. You looked at him directly and because you are shorter than him, your eyes seemed larger from looking up. You looked cute. He sighed and stopped touching your hair.

“Okay. Just tell me earlier. I won’t stop you but I still want to know what’s happening.”

“Okay.”

You two were having a moment when you heard his friends cheering. They were quite rowdy so it grabbed the attention of the other people in the hallway. You hated the attention so you ran away.

Just like other days, Seungwoo waited outside your classroom. Seungwoo suggested to eat at home for dinner. He’s unbelievably clingy. Usually, he really does plenty of touching but this time, he did not let you go even for a second. 

“Dude, you’re clingy”, you remarked since he’s way closer to you than yesterday while eating dinner. His shoulder is literally touching yours, that’s how close he is.

“You’ll be away for five days. I’m getting five days worth of skinship.”

You let him. It’s embarrassing to admit but you liked it. You grew accustomed to it.  The whole dinner had a warm atmosphere. You two exchanged warm smiles. When you used to read this scenario on romantic stories, you cringed but you now understand the feeling and it’s good.

“Okay. I understand that you’re getting your five days worth of skinship but isn’t this too much?”, you asked as he was giving you a back hug while you were washing the dishes. His arms were around your waist while his chin was resting on your shoulder. You can feel his breath and it was tickling you but you were trying to stop giggling. 

You finally finished washing the dishes and he let you go.

“I have to sleep early. I might be late for tomorrow”, you told him.

You were arranging your sofa bed. You have been sleeping on the sofa for months but it’s mainly your fault. Seungwoo had invited you to share the bed countless times but you always declined. You don’t know what will happen.

“Hey, why don’t you sleep beside me?”, he asked.

“It’s fine. I’ll sleep here”, you answered immediately. With the flow of events, you can’t really let your guard down.

“y/n, I won’t do anything”, he added.

“It’s okay. I’m comfortable here”, you insisted. He held your wrist, pulling you closer to him.

“I told you, I won’t do anything if you are not ready”, Seungwoo said. He did not wait for whatever you were about to say. He pulled you towards his room and pushed you to bed. Your heart was beating too fast. You instinctively covered yourself with the blanket. Seungwoo turned off the lights and you felt the other side of the bed move. 

“W-w-what are you doing?”, you panicked. You heard him laugh lightly. “You’re stuttering. Why are you so alert?” He wrapped his arm on your waist and pulled you closer. His chin was on top of your head and his leg was on top of yours. After a few minutes of tension, you heard his soft breathing.

What the hell? Did he just fell asleep?

You can’t slow down your beating heart and you can’t help but focus on his breathing. You failed to realize that it’s nearing dawn and you just noticed the light coming from the window. 

Did I just-- did I not sleep?!

You hurriedly got out of bed and went to the bathroom to get ready. While you were eating breakfast, you heard the bedroom door open.You looked at him and he laughed.

“Did you not sleep?”, he said in between his giggles as he noticed your dark eye bags.

“It’s your fault!”

He continued laughing as he went to the bathroom to brush his teeth. You have finished eating and you were making final preparations when you felt his hand on your shoulders.

“Hey, don’t touch me. You already have five days worth of touching”, you told him. He raised his hands gesturing that he meant no trouble. You pulled your luggage and went towards the door.

“y/n, give me a hug.”

You sighed. “Fine.”

He pulled you closer and you hugged him back. It felt like the longest hug you ever received. You let go and for those few seconds, Seungwoo went closer to you and you felt his lips on yours. Just like the hug you received, his kiss lasted longer than the one you have previously shared with him.

You pushed him away as you felt his hand touching the lower end of your back. You looked at him with a shocked expression but he gave you a sweet smile. How can this guy be two-faced?

“Take care, y/n”, and he said it in such a teasing manner. You were stunned. While you were walking to the bus station, the sensation of his lips is still there and you were touching your lips as you remember it.

Even up until the forum, you can’t focus because of what happened that morning.

“y/n, what’s wrong with you? You have been touching your lips for awhile”, your best friend said to grab your attention. You remembered what happened that morning again and you became red. She read too much romantic stories that she had a hunch.

“Oh my! Did you guys--?”, she asked with glee. You just covered your face. You can’t hide it anymore. After dinner, you told her about what happened. It’s the first time that you have talked about your love life and it felt exciting. After sharing it to your best friend, you became calmer and you got to concentrate for the rest of the forum. You were actually surprised that Seungwoo did not call or sent a message to you up until now. On the fourth day, you received a call from him.

“How are you doing? Are you having fun?”, he asked.

“Yes, I’m learning a lot here. How about you?”, you asked.

There was silence from his side.

“Seungwoo? Are you still there?”

“y/n, I miss you. Come home already”, he said, almost pleading. This time, you’re the one who can’t speak. You were too happy.

“I’ll be home tomorrow”, you consoled him. You heard him sigh. At this point, you already know what kind of face he’s making.

“Fine. Message me once you’re in the neighborhood.”

You said goodbye and you were about to hang up when your best friend who was observing you the whole time went beside you.

“I love you”, she said to the phone. Your eyes grew wide and you hit her.

“Seungwoo, that’s --”

“I know. It’s not you”, he said but there was something in his voice.

“Ah, that’s good that you did not misunderstand”, you sighed in relief.

“Though I would have been happy if you said it”, he said before saying goodbye and hanging up.

You tried to concentrate for the rest of the day. It was embarrassing for you to think the thought but you wanted to go immediately and see him. The closing ceremony ended and you packed your things immediately.

“You’re that excited to see him,huh?”, your best friend asked. You just laughed it off. Before you left the area, you went to buy a souvenir with h/n for Seungwoo. It was a red bracelet, made with rope-like material.

You can’t explain what you were feeling as you were on the way home. It was a mix of everything and you don’t how you would face him. You sent him a message when you were near.

You opened the door and you realized that he was not inside. You figured that he was still at school.

Opening the luggage, one by one, you moved your clothes to the laundry. You washed and let it dry. You turned on the TV and watched some drama. After some time, you heard the door opening. You suddenly felt nervous. He walked in and you two looked at each other.

“Hi?”, you first greeted.

He went closer to you and you scooted to the end of the sofa. He was looking at you intensely and it’s making you feel things. His eyes were playing between your eyes and your lips. The tension was tight and in that moment, all you wanted was for Seungwoo to get closer.

It was taking too long that you just did it. You closed the gap between the two of you and kissed his lips. Seungwoo was beyond surprised. For a matter of seconds, he just opened his eyes while you were kissing him -- it’s more of a peck. He was processing what’s happening. He usually does the first move. 

You let go and you just looked down. 

What was I doing?! That was embarrassing. 

“Wife, that’s not how you’re supposed to kiss”, Seungwoo teased.

He touched your chin and made you look up. He gave you a deep kiss. You were about to back out when he started using his tongue but he held you tightly around your waist. His tongue continued to dance inside your mouth and since you don’t have any experience, you let him lead. For like approximately 10 minutes, your lips were just dancing against each other. 

“W-wait Seungwoo. It’s too much..”, you told him as you catched your breath.

He gently touched your cheek.

“I can’t get enough of you. I can’t believe I’ll like you this much”, he told you.

“Uh, thank you.”

He laughed hearing your response.

“I just confessed to you, you know? How dense can you be?”

“You did? Uh, I’m sorry”, you replied. but I also like you -- you wanted to tell him that but you still can’t. You hated this part of you. Seungwoo noticed how you were fidgeting. He gave you a hug.

“It’s fine. I won’t force you to say it.”

He pulled you and made you sit on his lap. You panicked feeling how close he is to you. He gave you a quick bite on your neck.

“W-what was that for?!”, you exclaimed.

“I did not know how much of a tsundere you are. I’m going to enjoy teasing you”, he told you then he gave you another kiss. “You’re going to learn a lot from me especially there”, he added as he pointed to the bedroom. Your face just turned red and you stood up. 

“Y-you! Y-you’re really -- !”

You still think that Seungwoo is a mystery. You can’t understand what he’s exactly thinking but you know that behind his teasing behaviour, he genuinely cares for you. 

There’s no winner or loser. Both of you surrendered at the same time without realizing it at first. You soon realized that your parents’ decision was not a mistake. It really did brought you to your fate.

a/n: that’s the end for this series. some of you might feel that it’s lacking and i actually wanted to bring more to this. wanted to put some more smut for the ending lol but im still not good at that. 

im genuinely happy that a lot liked the Sealed Fate part one and i received good feedbacks and requests to make the part two. with this,hope you enjoyed the part two. :) anticipate for more scenarios ;) i seriously have too much in the drafts, i dont know when to finish all haha.

[hinataislikeasun]

That one time hinata went missing 

I was sleeping when my phone started ringing, I thought I was dreaming so i went back to sleep but the ringing persisted for a few minutes.

I looked at the clock it was way past my bed time.

"Hello?" It was an unregistered number.

" Is this Sawamura Daichi?" A lady was on the other line.

I nodded out of habit "Yes Ma'am."

" I was wondering if shoyou is with you?I'm her mom."

Shoyou?

" we went home past eight pm- he didn't come home?" I know I should be calm and call Suga but Hinata would never do something like this.

" his father was home and they got into an argument- his father doesn't want him to continue playing Shoyou got mad ,really mad."

She started crying.

" I'll contact the other members and check if Hinata went with them I'll call you again Ma'am"

I immediately called Suga, he's close with Hinata so he might know.

I forgot that it was already late and Suga will be grumpy being interrupted.

" Mhmm.." he was half awake.

" suga? You awake? Hinata didn't come home last night. His mom is looking for him"

" he-whaaat?" I can tell that he bolted and is now awake.

" wait- he went home, did they practice?"

I went on and explained to him what happened at home.

" why would they say that to him?" He was disapproving.

" hinata loves volleyball. Why would they stop him..?"

" let me call Kageyama and you call the others okay?" I ended the call and called Kageyama first.

" Captain?" He was alert.

" sorry to wake you up- but is hinata with you?"

" No-" He was silent for a moment.

" did something happened? He was acting all weird awhile ago. He was asking if being independent is difficult."

" he's not home. His mom called me,and his father doesn't want him to play anymore."

Kageyama was silent again.

" i can't blame him for wanting to run away."

When he said that I was loss for words

" he still needs to come home Kageyama so if he ever contacts you let me know-"

" I'll try and call other people too-"

Suga texted, be called Tanaka and Asahi but still the same response. Both of them planned on checking the gym with Nishinoya.

I know that it would be too far for a kid like hinata to go to but I still texted Kuroo.

" Kuroo- did Hinata drop by at your practice by any chance?"

I don't want to call him since I don't want to be disturbing other people.

But Kenma called.

" shoyou didn't come home?" For the first time he sounded agitated, I can hear him scuffling around.

" yeah- his mom called i don't know where else he could go."

" lemme try and check the other members too and let you know."

I didn't know that Hinata has this much effect on other people,after kenma's call bokuto was on the phone.

" where did my discipline gooooo? I'll wake akashi and tell him hinata's missing-"

I didn't even finishing speaking the call ended being Bokuto panicking.

Kenma was stopping his game to look for hinata and Akashi called after a few minutes with bokuto at the background.

" bokuto-san at home. apparently he seems to have lost hinata which i don't think is possible given that hinata wasn't at practice today, so I'm guessing what bokuto-san is trying to say is that hinata didn't come home?"

i wanted to laugh at Akashi resigned tone.

Bokuto seems to be at his room still panicking.

" I'll calm this kid first lemme know if we can help anyway-bokuto san we're not going to miyagi at this hour."

The call ended and Asahi was calling me,he was with Nishinoya and Tanaka.

" Daichi we're on our way to the gym- they went to the convenience store to get something to eat just in case Hinata is hungry." 

" be careful though? It's late." But should I be worried when it's Asahi,tanaka and most specifically Nishinoya outside when its this late?

Kenma texted saying that Lev didn't receive any message from Hinata and is asking if we need help looking for him.

Aone texted Suga and was asking if there was any news. I wonder how news got out when I don't have any contact with Date Tech.

" Kuroo?" I was on my way out when he called.

" I just read your message,kenma is asking me to go to Miyagi is the shrimp still missing?" I heard the door being open on his end and it seems like Kenma just arrived at his place.

" I'm not sure where to look for him- he doesn't have any place to sleep. Asahi and the others looking for him at school."

" Kenma seems to be wearing his jacket inside out wait-" he was helping Nekoma's setter with his jacket,laughing while Kenma keeps on telling him it's fine.

" you have school tomorrow kuroo, I'll let you know once we find hinata. Bokuto seems to be panicking too. "

I went out and tried calling hinata's phone.

It just went on ringing.

He always answer my calls,this is really worrying.

[drakepad]

Your Heart Is In My Lunchbox

a/n: i’ve had this idea in mind for a while and i’ve been wanting to write childhood friends/awkward best friends in love drakepad for ages! enjoy!

warning: mentions of bullying

In the years that they had been friends, Drake and Launchpad had fallen into a routine. Every other night after school, Drake would go to Launchpad’s house, to simply hang out, to chat, or to binge watch Darkwing Duck and never getting tired of it. Drake was practically an extended family member at this point, with Launchpad’s mom caring for him in such a kind and genuine way that the first time Drake experienced her caring ways, it was almost overwhelming. Stuck with parents that barely realise when he isn’t at home and when he is, spending time with the McQuacks was a more than welcomed change of pace, and he couldn’t be more thankful for how quickly they all made him feel at home-- even little Loopy, Launchpad’s eight year old sister, who adored Drake and tackled him to the ground with cuddles whenever he walked through the door to the house.

The two had become friends when they had gotten their lunchboxes mixed up at elementary school. They were at the young age of ten years old, and conversations between the two during class had been few and far between before they realised they have the same Darkwing Duck lunchbox.

“Drake Mallard…?” Launchpad had read with a frown as he noticed the name on the lunchbox wasn’t his own. 

He stopped just as he was leaving the class, noticing the small boy in the purple sweater behind a crowd of kids that were grabbing their lunchboxes at the end of the school day. He was the kid that no one really paid attention to, the kid that didn’t really hang out with anybody or talk all that much. The boy was looking at a similar lunchbox with a similar confused expression, which soon turned to worry and panic. Young Launchpad shoved his way through the hustle and bustle of kids to get to the boy, and he tripped, landing right in front of him with a loud “oof!”. The boy in the purple sweater yelped and jumped back in surprise, before leaning down almost without hesitation and hooking his arms around one of Launchpad’s own, yanking him back up. Launchpad nearly fell over again as he was yanked up with surprising force, but he managed to regain his balance, and he gave the boy in the purple sweater a goofy, crooked smile, holding out the lunchbox in his grasp.

“Drake Mallard! Is this yours?” He asked, tilting his head.

Drake flinched at the sound of his name being yelled-- something that was often followed by a shove, or a push, or a punch, or a kick. But he blinked when that never happened, and Launchpad looked at him in confusion, waiting for him to say something.

“Uh-- Yes! Yes! Thank you!” Little Drake Mallard exclaimed excitedly. He glanced at the other Darkwing lunchbox in his hand, looking at the name tag. “Um, Launchpad?” He questioned, looking at the other boy in front of him with a raised eyebrow. Funny name.

“Yep! Launchpad McQuack!” Launchpad beamed, puffing his chest out with confidence while pointing a thumb at himself. He took his lunchbox from Drake, the smile on his face unwavering. “You like Darkwing Duck, too?! That’s awesome!”

“Like him?!” Drake repeated, clutching his lunchbox to his chest. “He’s only, like, my absolute role model!” 

Launchpad bounced on his feet excitedly. Meeting fellow Darkwing fans was a rarity, but he never realised there was another Darkwing Duck fan in his own classroom and he didn’t even know it!

“Do you wanna come to my house tomorrow after school?!” Launchpad had asked-- or rather, yelled in a flurry of excitement. 

Drake’s gasp was more than audible, and he looked at Launchpad with watery eyes and a quivering beak, clutching onto his lunchbox a little tighter than before. This was the first time he had ever been invited to… well, anywhere! And it was almost overwhelming. But before little Drake could let himself overthink it, before he could convince himself this was some sort of elaborate plan that his bullies had concocted so they could surprise him after school, he nodded frantically and a smile found it’s way onto his face again. Besides, someone who owned a Darkwing Duck lunchbox like him couldn’t be all that bad, right?

“Yes! I’d-- I’d love that! Should I bring my action figures?!” The happiness in his voice was unmistakable, and tears ran down the sides of his face with him being powerless to stop it. Launchpad frowned slightly at that, reaching out to squeeze Drake’s shoulder.

“Are you okay, buddy?” Launchpad asked, giving the young boy who he had only met just minutes ago’s hand a squeeze. The affectionate gesture made Drake blink, with physical affection being somewhat of a luxury in his life rather than a regular occurrence, and he nodded again, quickly wiping his eyes.

“Totally! This-- this kinda just happens when I’m happy!” Drake spluttered with a small laugh. “So the action figures--”

“Oh! Yeah! I have action figures too!” Launchpad told him with a wide smile, gripping his lunchbox. “I can’t wait to tell my mom and dad all about you! Oh, oh! I wonder if my mom will get us the Darkwing Duck shaped chicken nuggets for dinner!”

Drake giggled out of sheer excitement, one hand holding his lunchbox by it’s handle and the other flapping up and down. “I love those chicken nuggets!”

Young Launchpad gasped, his smile still gleaming on his face. “Where have you been all my life?!”

In the midst of their excitement, they hadn’t realised that they were now the only two in the dimly lit classroom, and their teacher rushed into the room upon realising they were still in there to usher them out. 

Their play date went without a hitch, and Launchpad’s mom was able to get the Darkwing Duck chicken nuggets that the two so thoroughly enjoyed, although they barely resembled Darkwing at all, and were basically just weirdly shaped chicken nuggets (weirdly shaped chicken nuggets that were recalled a few years later, due to parental complaints of them being far too unhealthy). They watched their favourite series together and acted out their favourite scenes from it, quoting it off by heart. Launchpad ever so generously allowed Drake to be Darkwing as they played, with himself making up the role of Darkwing Duck’s pilot and best friend. He even owned a makeshift plane, which was just a cardboard box painted red with cardboard cut-out wings attached. The two friends sat in the cardboard box together, with Drake barking orders about following an evil-doer who had just made off with stolen money from a bank heist. It had been the most fun Drake had ever had, and probably the most he had ever laughed with another child in his life.

When it was time for Drake to go, it was hard for him to hide his sadness, and Launchpad couldn’t help but feel slightly forlorn at having to see his friend going back to a house he didn’t seem all that happy to be in, but he gave him a reassuring hug, and asked if he wanted to have a sleepover the following weekend. Drake responded by excitedly grabbing Launchpad in an even tighter hug, his feet lifting off the ground as he did so.

Over the years, Launchpad and Drake became inseparable. One was hardly seen without the other, and they always appeared to be at their happiest when they were doing something as simple as having lunch together in the school cafeteria, or walking home together after school. Drake coming to Launchpad’s house became such a regular occurrence that Birdie and Ripcord didn’t even bother to question it anymore, and Launchpad didn’t feel the need to ask, because Drake was loved so genuinely by all members in that house and was round so often that his presence not being there every other day was almost strange. When Drake wasn’t there, Birdie made sure to ask Launchpad how he was doing, and if Launchpad came home from school without Drake, she’d often question if everything was okay between them, since seeing one without the other was more of a rare sighting than seeing them together at this point.

It was now their last year at high school, and Launchpad had just turned eighteen years old, with Drake nearing the age of eighteen within the next few months. They had managed to get an early finish from school on one sunny summer afternoon, and they sat in the backyard of the McQuacks’ house. What should have been last minute studying for exams coming up within the next week turned into a discussion about something entirely unrelated, their school books remaining unopened on the table as they sat together with glasses of soda.

“Oh, hey!” Launchpad exclaimed suddenly, sitting up straighter in his chair and looking over at Drake. “Prom’s coming up soon. D’you wanna go together?”

The out-of-the-blue question made Drake blink in Launchpad’s direction, and he laughed nervously, lifting his glass of soda up a little higher in an attempt to hide the blush creeping along his beak. “Wh-- what? Go together?” He repeated, as if the very notion of going to prom together was ridiculous and not at all something he had thought about almost every day since the date of prom was announced.

“Yeah! Why not?” Launchpad said, relaxed as anything with a smile, crossing his arms and leaning on the table. “It’ll be fun. Don’t worry, I don’t mean like a… date date sorta deal.”

“Oh! Phew!” Drake replied a little too quickly, followed by a laugh that came from his throat a little too loudly. The reaction made Launchpad quirk a brow.

“Whaaat’s… so funny?” He enquired, tilting his head as he looked at Drake. Drake looked back at him, still laughing somewhat nervously before placing his drink on the table.

“I mean, it’s-- it’s just funny! You, and me, and prom... “

“Yeah…?” Launchpad’s brow furrowed, letting out a laugh of his own. “And?”

Drake looked at him, raising his own eyebrow with a smile. “Oh, come on! That doesn’t sound the tiniest bit ridiculous to you? I mean, you’re Launchpad!” He stated, gesturing towards his best friend from across the table.

Launchpad laughed again, more out of confusion at whatever Drake’s point was. “So? What’s up? Am I not date material?”

Drake scoffed, rolling his eyes with a smile. “It’s just-- if it was a date date sorta deal, would that not be a little weird to you?”

Launchpad eyed Drake, and thought for a moment, leaning back in his chair again.

“Uh… I mean, would anything really change? It’s just hanging out, right?”

“I kiiiinda think the term ‘date’ has more of a stigma to it than just ‘hanging out’, LP.” Drake said bluntly, though his smile didn’t falter, and he moved to pick up his drink again, sipping from the straw.

“Huh.” Launchpad fell flat, then shrugged his shoulders. “Guess I never thought about it too much before. You were just the first person I thought of when my buddy mentioned taking a date to prom.”

Drake tried very hard to not appear too flustered at Launchpad’s casual confession, but he smiled warmly, tilting his head.

It’s not like he hadn’t thought about Launchpad in that way before-- it’s just that the thoughts were usually quashed underneath over thoughts, like there was some invisible line he was being very careful to not trip over, like he was scared of the idea of what could happen should he ever decide to act on such a thought. And there was also a part of him that decided that he and Launchpad should only ever stay just as friends, like they had been friends for too long at this point to warrant it ever developing into something more, something special, something… romantic. The idea of risking it all over some silly fantasy that maybe this could go somewhere, maybe it could flourish into something amazing and fantastic and wonderful and they could be the happiest couple in Duckburg and other people at school would be so jealous because there was definitely more than one person at school who had a crush on Launchpad and maybe he could be the one who was able to keep Launchpad all to himself. But it was all just a fantasy, something he tried not to think about too often for the sake of his friendship with Launchpad, and for the sake of sparing his own feelings, too.

“First person you thought of, huh?” Drake finally said after a beat of silence that lasted slightly too long, and Launchpad blinked at that, a blush spreading across his own beak. He scratched the back of his head with a sheepish smile, as if the weight of what he had just said was starting to sink in.

“Well, I-- I mean, yeah!” Launchpad said in total honesty. “We spend everyday together and even if we aren’t together we’re usually texting each other. I just kinda figured it’d be the… normal… thing to do?” The last sentence was phrased more like a question than a statement, as if he were questioning his own thinking now.

Launchpad had been almost confident in his feelings for Drake for quite sometime. Years ago, when they were nearing the age of fourteen years old, the two had been having a sleepover at Launchpad’s house, and they were having a movie marathon together. They’d had a pretty action packed day already, climbing trees and exploring parts of Duckburg that children were pretty much forbidden from entering all for the sake of ‘getting dangerous’. It was pretty tiring-- so much so that Drake had fallen asleep on Launchpad’s shoulder not even half an hour into the first movie. The feeling of his best friend’s head dropping on his shoulder made Launchpad stiffen, and he had stared down at Drake’s face, peaceful and content and warm and… lovely. 

He was drowning in an emotion he hadn’t experienced before, an emotion that he only felt when looking at Drake, an emotion that caused butterflies to flutter in his stomach and that caused his palms to get sweaty and his heart to race. It wasn’t until a few days later that he realised what he was experiencing was a crush, because he panicked to his mom that his stomach felt weird and that his heart was beating too fast whenever he thought about Drake. She’d explained simply and calmly, with her usual cheery disposition, that what he was experiencing was his first crush, and since he and Drake spent all day every day together, it only made sense that had developed a strong attachment to him. She had said that the feelings would probably fade away in time-- something that she couldn’t have been more wrong about. Launchpad only became more and more secure in his feelings for his best friend, but he managed to stop himself from ever acting on them, out of fears similar to Drake’s own anxieties about moving their friendship into something that could be labelled as more romantic. They both meant too much to each other to lose their connection to something as silly as a crush. 

But now that he had just all too casually asked his best friend out to prom, he was fighting back the urge to hang his head in shame, as he had just gone against every single promise he had made to himself in the past four years. He made a mental note to sellotape his mouth shut once Drake went home.

The silence felt as though it had dragged on for hours, but in reality, it was only around half a minute or so.

“I guess I can’t argue with that logic.” Drake said simply, though he looked to the side at the garden before them, his eyes focusing on a butterfly flapping around some of the daisies amongst the grass in an attempt to gain control over his fluster and he hoped his cheeks weren’t burning a brighter shade of pink than he thought. “But, uh--” he said softly, eyes moving to fixate on his own fidgeting hands instead, “--what if other people think differently?”

Launchpad fiddled with the straw on his drink, raising his shoulders in a light shrug. “Well… would that be such a bad thing if they do?” His voice was quiet and low, and as he finished talking, he looked at Drake, and Drake looked at him, and they looked at each other in tense silence. Drake’s eyes were wide, and he opened his mouth to say something, but words failed him.

“Y’know what? Just-- forget it. We don’t have to go to prom together.” Launchpad stifled a laugh in an attempt to mask his embarrassment, his shoulders tensing up. He placed his drink back on the table. “It was dumb. I just couldn’t think of anyone else to go with.”

Drake raised an eyebrow at that, and crossed his arms over his chest. “Oh. I’m flattered.”

Launchpad’s eyes widened, and he raised his hands up immediately. “No-- no, no! I didn’t mean it like that! I just thought-- y’know, we like spending time together, I thought it’d be fun to kick it at prom together! I just-- I mean-- there’s no one else I thought of asking, because I like being with you the most.”

Drake’s frown soon shifted into a smile, and his defensive posture softened up as he smiled over at his best friend. “Aw… Launchpad… I--”

Before he got a chance to properly reply to Launchpad, they got interrupted by an energetic little girl with messy blonde hair who was sporting pink dungarees and sneakers with untied laces. She popped up seemingly from nowhere, a toothy smile stretching from cheek to cheek as she eyed both Drake and Launchpad. The two best friends jumped at Loopy’s surprise appearance, and, once he had recovered from the jumpscare, Launchpad reached out and enveloped his little sister in one of his arms, ruffling her hair with his spare hand. Drake watched the two fondly, his heart forever happy to see how good Launchpad was to his sister, how much he made her laugh and smile.

“What are you guys talking about?” Loopy enquired once Launchpad had let go of her, and had now perched on his lap, reaching out for her older brother’s drink and sipping from it herself. Launchpad was just about to answer, before Drake butted in.

“Oh, boring school stuff.” He said, smiling at the little girl all the while. “Uh-- speaking of which, I should probably head home to study. Since that’s obviously not happening here any time soon.” He let out a soft laugh, and Loopy let out a whine of disappointment.

“Can’t ya stay for dinner?” She asked, pouting. Drake looked at her, feeling a little weak at the puppy dog eyes she was pulling, but he remained strong, picking up his books and standing up.

“Not today, sweetie. Sometime this week, though, for sure!” He smiled, stopping for a high five as he started to walk to the gate of the backyard. She high-fived him with brute force, making him let out a hiss of pain, but it was soon replaced by a laugh. He ruffled Loopy’s hair, and she giggled, playfully pushing him off of her. Drake’s eyes then fell on Launchpad, who was looking at him with almost the same puppy dog expression that Loopy had just tried on him.

“I can walk you home if you want!” Launchpad offered, about to stand up from his chair while Loopy hung off his arm like a monkey.

“Oh, no. Don’t worry about it.” Drake said with a small, somewhat awkward smile, and Launchpad couldn’t help the sinking feeling in his stomach as his offer was declined. Drake placed a reassuring hand on his best friend’s shoulder, and squeezed slightly. “I’ll text you, okay?”

Launchpad sighed, but smiled at Drake, nodding. “Okay. See ya.”

Drake nodded back with a smile, and headed towards the gate. Launchpad couldn’t help but stare after him, an ache in his heart that could only be described as yearning.

“Byeeee, Draaaaake!” Loopy called after him, smiling widely and waving in Drake’s direction. Drake waved back happily, sparing one more glance at Launchpad, and then he was gone.

Launchpad let out another sigh, and pushed himself off of the chair he was sitting on. He made his way back into the house, with Loopy now hanging off of his back happily, her legs swinging.

“I love Drake.” She stated simply, her arms wrapping around her older brother’s neck.

“Yeah… me too.” Launchpad replied gently, brow furrowing. He then jumped as he felt something vibrating in his pocket, and swiftly reached out to pull out his phone. His face beamed as he realised it was a text from Drake, and was almost surprised that he had texted him so soon. He didn’t overthink it, though, and instead opened the text immediately. He glanced at it, and couldn’t help but smile so widely that it almost made his cheeks hurt.

[Drake]: sorry for acting weird. i’d love to go to prom with you. <3

Launchpad nearly dropped his phone at how rapidly he replied to the text.

[LP]: AWESOME!!!! :D

With a new skip in his step, he placed his phone on the counter and reached around to grab his little sister from his shoulder. She let out a delighted squeal as he threw her up into the hair and caught her with ease, spinning her around.

“I’m gonna throw up!” Loopy yelled through loud chortles as her brother span her through the air in the kitchen, and Launchpad laughed himself, slowly stopping and holding her in his arms with a gleaming smile. Loopy held her head in order to stop it from spinning, then shook it from side to side, her blonde bangs falling into her face. 

“What’s got you looking so happy?” the duckling asked, as if her older brother wasn’t the happiest person she knew, but even with his usually bright disposition, she had never quite seen him beam this much before.

“Ah, Loopaloonie…” Launchpad sighed wistfully, holding her up above his head, and she held onto his arms tightly, laughing at the nickname. “There’s a lot in this world to be happy about.”

“Soooo…” Loopy started, fiddling with her hands. “If I tell you I ate the rest of your pop tarts, you won’t get mad, right?”

“You ate my-- Loopy!”

[revengeisalwaysanoption]

FICS: PROPOSTE INDECENTI + AMO GIA’ IL FINALE

I posted these on AO3 back in January. And I really wanted to have something brand new for today, but I am trying as hard as I can to have the fairy tale AU finished by tomorrow, so... Hope you’ll like them! They are BOTH IN ENGLISH ;) !!

PROPOSTE INDECENTI Seconds  

10 - 9

The longest ten seconds of his whole fucking life. Maybe Niccolò really is considering turning it down, given the time and setting.

3 a.m. McDonald's. Sitting on plastic chairs. Lazily eating cold fries and a hamburger that tastes like cardboard with one hand, stroking each other's thumbs with the other. Feeling like the last men on Earth, in a deserted place that would normally be buzzing with life in the daytime.

He should have sticked to his plan, given him his scripted speech this Sunday at the Bioparco. But he didn't, and now...

 8-7

… now he's screwed, isn't he? He fucked it up, and Niccolò is going to carry on and pretend this has been nothing but a bad dream.

He couldn't help it, though. Not when Niccolò was glowing with pride and elation as he showed Martino his first - published, finally!! - illustrated book.

The one Nico had lovingly renamed 'our baby' - and damn if Marti's heart didn't skip a beat at that -  even though all he didn't do much but offer his moral support.

How was he supposed to resist?

 6-5

He looked more beautiful than ever, in an old tracksuit and with a ridiculous headband holding his wild curls at bay. Buzzing with enthusiasm, while he told Marti about how Naima the giraffe who had her head too high in the clouds learnt from Mabel the red panda that she shouldn't fear what's in her heart. That her feelings are never too much, like so many others have been telling her.

Niccolò had always been very secretive about the plot, saying 'It's a surprise' with a mischievous glint in his eyes whenever Martino asked for more details… and right in that very moment he could see why.

"Children emotions tends to be heightened, and therefore often dismissed. I hope this can tell them that they matter, you know? That they're gonna find someone willing to listen, someday. Just like I found you."

It was their story. Edited, tweaked but still the same at its core. Shared to offer some hope to whoever might need it.

How could he not stop Niccolò right there and fumble for the box in his bag?

 4-3

Flinging it into his hands and dropping on one knee felt too predictable and cheap, however.

"I… I think I'm gonna get a milkshake. Would you like me to get you anything? An ice-cream cone? A Flurry?" Then, raising a voice a couple of octaves to make it sound childlike he adds "A Happy Meal?"

"Ahah. You're so funny, have you ever considered a career as a stand-up comedian? Get me a Happy Meal, you ass." And he would have sucked on that raised middle finger, without any shame, had it been a night like any other.

But it wasn't.

 2

Niccolò kept on gloating, until he opened the Happy Meal. His face fell, indeed, when he found the giraffe and red panda wooden figurines connected through a red silk thread and carrying a ring.

Ebony black, like his hair. Adorned with amber and aventurine, which both reminded Martino of his eyes.

Eyes which were now boring into him with a mixture of confusion and… disappointment?

Not exactly the reaction he had been wishing for. The silence between them felt a bit uncomfortable, for the first time in maybe ever, but Martino forced himself to speak.

"I know that I told you, so many times and in so many ways, that nobody knows a fucking thing about what's gonna happen tomorrow but... I am certain about ONE thing and ONE thing only: that I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you, as your HUSBAND. Don't you wanna spend the rest of your life with me?"

"That's two things, Marti. Maybe even three. I believe so… but let me just have ten seconds to think it through, okay?"

 1

"Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. " He finally says. Each yes said before a kiss, his smile getting brighter and brighter as they both start crying. Tears they brush away with gentle fingertips, with soft lips.

"A thousand times yes, Marti." Niccolò reiterates, resting his forehead against his fiancé's. Not an old fashioned to say 'boyfriend' when you significant one is not exactly a boy anymore, but the real deal now.

Fiancé. Betrothed. Soon to be husband. He can't wait to refer to Martino using those term with friends, colleagues, guests, relatives. With all those random people he ends up talking to while queuing up at the post office - on the bus, on the train, on the subway. The whole world needs to know, and he is certain that Marti feels like the same.

"Once is more than enough."

-----------

   Minutes  

It still doesn’t feel real, even though he has had some minutes to let it sink in. Despite the weight of the ring dangling from his necklace - "how very Frodo of you…" "Are you calling your future husband a fucking hobbit, Mr Rametta?" - and his proposal still echoing in his ears, he fears he might wake up any minute now. Alone.

He has to take refuge in Marti’s arms, grounding himself in his warm and tight embrace. Nothing can touch him, when he’s there. Nothing can reach him, apart from Martino’s smell and the palpable solidity of his body.

"I can take it back, if you’d like." Marti mumbles, against his helix piercing.

"Don’t you dare!" Niccolò protests, first jabbing his ribs with his forefinger and then flicking his nose.

"I mean… you don't sound positively thrilled about it…" He points out, puzzled to hear Niccolò chuckle.

"Well, we're talking about spending the rest of my life with the most boring gay I've ever met…" Nico sighs dramatically, but then he gets dreadfully serious. He is so overjoyed, so full of love he could burst, and Martino better not end up thinking otherwise. "I couldn't be happier… You know that, right? I simply wanted to be the one to propose."

"Well, maybe you still can. Fifteen or twenty years from now, when we'll feel like renewing our vows or some shit…" Martino suggests, standing up and cleaning their table. They must go now, if they want to have some time left to spare to celebrate home before heading out again to work.

"Sounds lovely. You have such a way with words, Marti." Niccolò shoves him playfully, but files that piece of information into a secured corner of his brain. Might come in handy, in the future. "And how do you know about renewals, anyway? Don't tell me you've been bingewatching 'Say Yes To The Dress' on RealTime!"

"Whaaat? Me? Nope. Never. Must have heard something from Filo. Or was it Edo?"

*************

AMO GIA’ IL FINALE

Hours  

Hours have gone by. It took them twice longer than usual to reach their flat, unable to walk more than a few steps without stopping for a quick peck. Or a full on make out session against a couple of closed, sturdy, doors.

Clothes were discarded on the floor as soon as they stepped inside, and they had made love until dawn. Exhausted, by then, they had fallen asleep.

Fear has had time to come knocking, and with it the painful reminder that people always leave. Or get sick of each other, and stay together only to keep up appearances.

No. That's not gonna happen. Not to them. Not when they are perfectly aware that gonna have to make a promise to each other not only on that day… but every second, every minute, every hour they spend together. Or apart.

Not necessarily with words. Which little gestures, too. Cherish their love. Never take it for granted.

"I promise you that we can make it. From now, to infinity." Martino says, softly, as he lays a kiss on Niccolò chest. Right where his heart is, just like Nico did so many years before under those red lights.

"To infinity and beyond."

"Don't start quoting Toy Story when I'm trying to be deep, Ni."

"It doesn't suit you. Now, up up up. Put something on and come with me... I don't want to miss watching the sunrise and cuddling with my betrothed on my cozy balcony."

"You are unbelievable."

"And you love that."

"I sure do, don't I?"

   Imagination  

This is absolutely not what Niccolò or Martino had in mind.

The unnecessary opulence, the stifling atmosphere in spite of the marvelous outdoor venue.

"It's not like you had a clear picture of what you wanted, anyway." Anyone would argue, and they would be right.

It had been easy enough to picture it back in Milan, where having a wedding in their birthday suits had sounded like the coolest idea he had ever had… But now Nico can't really see how that would go down, can't imagine it wouldn't be a complete catastrophe.

Like any other scenario they came up with. Some are too over the top, and would make Martino feel uncomfortable. Some are too dull, and would be an ill match to Niccolò's eccentricity.

Someone had to take the matter into their hands, and it wasn't like Silvia had done a bad job with the very little input she had from the grooms.

Maybe they could settle for this?

***************

   Instinct  

Or maybe not.

Martino refused to make this day, their day, about anyone else but themselves.

His in-laws were probably going to hate him for this, as firm believers of a time and a place for spontaneity, and their own friends were surely going to hold it against them for the next fifty years or so… but who cared?

Not him. Not when he was witnessing the first real smile of the week from Niccolò, merely by showing up on his old bike.

"Get on." It took him some fumbling, since a tight fitting tuxedo wasn't really the best attire for riding a bike, but eventually he managed to sit comfortably behind Martino.

"Where are we going?" He asked, presuming to be filled in about Marti's plan for the next few hours.

"Wherever the fuck we want." Martino said, instead, refusing to tell Niccolò anything concerning their destination. Or what they would do, once they reached it.

It didn't take too long to get to a church that Niccolò knew all too well. He had often joked about getting married in its crypt, surrounded by skulls and chandeliers made of human bones. Too bad it was hardly ever opened to the public, and totally unavailable for any kind of celebration.

"And how exactly are you planning to get in?" He inquired, walking over to the locked door.

"I might have asked Filippo to make me a copy of the key, when he got one for his photography project. Off the record." Because he knew Niccolò would love to stroll through the building undisturbed. Taking in its macabre allure, appreciating the fleeting nature of his own existence.

"Uh… Martino Rametta breaking the law by owning something he's not supposed to? A man after my own heart, I must say."

"I thought I already had it. Your heart, I mean." He commented, offhandedly, as he cursed and kicked against the rusty old door. "Oh, come on! Jesus! You were working just fine last time!"

"And this wonderful hint of blasphemy, right in front of a church. Wow." Niccolò reached out for him, then, pinning his open palm onto his own chest. "You're not mistaken, by the way. This has been yours for years."

"Same here." Marti turned to take his hand, and l let him feel how fast his heart was beating.

And then, as Marti was leaning in for a kiss, Nico moved back and brazenly snatched the keys.

"You know I've got the magic touch. Don't know whether it's in the fingers on in the wrists…"

"You better leave those innuendo at the door, Ni."

"Or what? You'll punish me, Father? You'll drag me into one of the confessionals and…"

… and he might had been tempted to do that, to drop on his knees and worship this man… Before he was basically challenged to reign in his wildest fantasies. Oh, he knew Niccolò wouldn't even try to play fair but still… He was so going to win this.

******

   Memory  

"... and then?" The kids asked, trying to get Mr. David's attention.

"Mh?" He had been distracted by an old lady coming to congratulate him on finally tying the knot a couple of weeks before. Shoelaces were a challenge for anyone, indeed, so it made sense he got praised for achieving that goal… Even though it took him so many years.

And that hadn't been the only interruption. For same weird reason their parents kept butting in to tell them shouldn't bother Mr. Fares. Or his 'partner'. They don't say 'husband', for some reason. Despite it being the word David uses for Michelangelo.

Grown up are so, so dumb.

"You ran away from your own wedding, got to a spooky church… and then? What happened?"

"Did you find a body and have to solve a murder?"

"I'm afraid not. We walked inside, and I read him my vows. He gave me his. I can show them to you, if you'd like? I always carry them in my pocket." Most didn't quite understand what was so great about two stick figures on a badly drawn giraffe, but the words written on the side sounded nice. Especially the closing line.

 Per quanta strada abbiam fatto, e per quanta  ancora ce n'è da fare… Amo già il finale.

"Booooring! I bet you went back to the ranch for the actual ceremony, after that?"

"Wrong. Remember that I started telling you all about this day because Meni asked what was the biggest prank I've ever pulled on my friends and family… That's it: making them all believe they would see US getting married and then have two other people saying 'I do' that afternoon. And this day I'm still quite proud I could pull that off. And so is my husband. I mean, our old folks were THIS close to believe we had been kidnapped."

Impressive. Kind of. Perhaps grown up can be cool, once in a blue moon?

"Ni? Nico? Earth to Niccolò Fares?" Not fair! He was a grown up! Why was he getting sweets before dinner?

"Yeah yeah, I can hear you loud and clear Marti." He gulped down his candies in a heartbeat.  And then gave him a quick kiss, saying "Thanks, love."

Huh? Nico? Marti? Then why their moms - and a couple of their dads - referred to him as Michelangelo's David?

Grown ups are so, so weird.

[missneko-otaku]

Sakakibara Yasumasa

A Faint Affection (MC x Yasumasa)

-Chapter 1/ Chapter 2/ Chapter 3/ Chapter 4/ Chapter 5/ Chapter 6-7/

(Writer’s notes: Omy gosh..finally, after so, so long...! I am posting the continuation of my Yasumasa fic again. It is not dead yet! My Yasumasa fic is still alive and kicking~ XD Whew~ (・ε・`*) … I had been writing and trying to finish these two chapters for almost a week now. (And if it wasn’t for the latest Tenka Yasumasa event I read from Agas-chan, I wouldn’t feel more inspired and try to reaally give time for my fic again. So busy with life that I had a hard time squeezing some time for writing this fic. But finally! I managed now to squeeze my time and finish these two chapters! Yehey! Waah I feel so tired ＿ﾉ乙(､ﾝ､)＿ 

I even had to reread the whole fic from chapter 1-5 just to make sure I am not forgetting or missing something XD 

As always, please bear with my English and writing skills~ (๑•́ ₃ •��๑) I am no pro, just average XD ~ And hopefully,ｖ(⌒ｏ⌒)ｖI hope you have fun and enjoy reading this fic as much as I do!)

Chapter 6-7

Running in the middle of the night, 

                            Tomorrow morning with a cold.

                                          And an evening full of sadness. 

“Did something good happened?” inquire Umeko, her face observing me so carefully.

It is early morning, we have been tasked to prepare food early for some reason. The sky hasn’t lighted up yet but you can hear the roosters outside crowing already. A sign that morning sun is approaching. A brand new day for all of us.

“Haah!??” startled by her sudden question, I almost drop the knife I am holding. “Whhha--, why do you think so?” I reply.

“Well, you seem.. “ she pauses,  giggling she continues and says, “you seem like someone who is in love.”

“A whaaat!!?” I find my tone suddenly rising. 

“Who is the lucky girl? Ayeee, Yahiko!” squeaks Umeko while elbowing me in my side. “I didn’t know you have one!” exclaimed Umeko again.

“What are you even saying? I don’t know what you are talking about to be honest.”

“Tsk. You can’t fool me young man, I can see it and feel it. Something is different with you these days.” says Umeko as she continues peeling the potatoes beside me.

“I think you are just imagining things.” I reply as I hold the knife and the potato I am peeling more firmly.

“Imagining things? Maybe you are the one who is imagining something there! Tell that to your giggling face!” she says pointing the small knife to me. “Do you even take a look at yourself? You are giggling by yourself since we started peeling these potatoes.”

“Am I?? Reaally?” I say, caught off guard.

“Yeah! You keep on smiling and smiling while peeling these potatoes! I wonder why? Hmmm???” teases Umeko while she pinches my cheeks with both of her hands.

Do I look like that? Was I really am smiling?

I ask myself countless times inside my head. 

***

Breakfast was served earlier than usual. After having breakfast, lord Ieyasu and lord Sakai with some of the retainers departed to Owari to visit lord Nobunaga leaving the castle for a few days to the trusted trio: lord Tadakatsu, lord Yasumasa and Toramatsu. The three are left in charge of the affairs in the castle. 

So here I am, as usual, outside the veranda just finished everything that needed to be done. I am glad that I am able to do and finished every chore fast. Now finally, I can relax a bit. I look at the swaying sheets of my laundry that are hanging so perfectly out in the sunshine. I feel proud for the good work I have done. As I take in the breeze around me, my mind floats back to what Umeko was saying.

You seem like someone who is in love..

Whhhhaaaa! No no no! Haha, what the hell? Hahaha Umeko is so jumping into conclusions! Me? In love? To whom?? I was just smiling. I was smiling because of what happened a few days ago. Nothing more. I was just happy that lord Yasumasa even tagged along in getting the two children back home safely despite his nonstop complaints. And I was maybe, yes, giggling because lord Yasumasa doesn’t have the slightest clue that those are the very same children that secretly gave him pressed flowers before. I was just happy because everything feels like fate and such. Yeah, that’s it. 

I clapped my hands together making a loud sound in the air. 

Umeko is really jumping to conclusions. I hope she wouldn’t spread any rumours to our fellow maids.

“Anyway! Why am I thinking so hard about this? The weather is so nice today! Perhaps I should go out and buy some new ingredients for our dessert.”  I tell myself with glee.

***

“Hey is that Yahiko? Toramatsu?” says Tadakatsu as he points Yahiko who just went outside the castle gates with basket in one hand.

“Yes, why?” says Toramatsu

Lord Tadakatsu together with Toramatsu and of course lord Yasumasa is currently walking outside in the castle garden. You can visibly see the sweat forming on their clothes and faces as they leisurely walk in the open garden. They have finished practicing their swordsmanship with their retainers a couple of minutes ago. 

“Nothing really, haha. But, I can’t help but notice that he is really a hardworking lad. You must be so lucky to have him Yasumasa?” says Tadakatsu as he laughs.

“I think I have to agree with you lord Tadakatsu about that,” says Toramatsu, “Yahiko is a very hardworking person but I am afraid he might over push himself.” concern present on his voice.

Meanwhile, Yasumasa who is standing beside them nods in agreement for the first time with Toramatsu and says, “True, he is very useful I have to say. Way more useful and responsible than any other servants out there that worked under me.” 

“Oooh..is that a compliment to Yahiko? Haha” teases lord Tadakatsu.

“Take it whatever you want, Tadakatsu.” says Yasumasa disinterested as he wipes his sweaty face with his kimono sleeves.

“But, I do really hope he doesn’t overwork himself too much. He handles almost all the chores in the castle. I think it won't bring any good to his health later on, if he keeps on abusing his body, doing everything by himself.” says Toramatsu in a whisper as the three of them walk.

As Toramatsu says this, Yasumasa looks back behind him. He looks at the castle gate with something on his mind.

***

As soon as I got back from my mini shopping, I start helping out in the kitchen. It is almost lunchtime, so the old kitchen ladies are all busy preparing the meals of the retainers. I help with ladling the hot soup, filling their porcelain bowls to the brim, then putting them in the trays that are lined up in front of me. After everything is prepared, we start to distribute the trays on the main hall so that the hungry retainers can eat their meal while it is still hot. 

I go and serve Toramatsu, lord Tadakatsu and lord Yasumasa their meals as usual. 

“Thanks for the meal, Yahiko” says lord Tadakatsu beaming with a smile.

“Why don’t you eat with us too, you must be pretty starving by now” says Toramatsu, smiling at me with some gentleness in his eyes. 

Meanwhile, lord Yasumasa on the other hand is just listening to us three while he eats his food.

Feeling shy to eat with them so suddenly, I reject the kind offer. “I umm.. I am not yet hungry so don’t worry milord” I say when suddenly as I am about to stand up from my kneeling spot, my stomach rumbles without any warning. 

“!!”

“I think your stomach says otherwise.” says nonchalantly by lord Yasumasa who is now drinking the hot steaming soup from his porcelain bowl.

Lord Tadakatsu laughs at me. I can’t help but blush so hard in front of them. My face turns slightly red like a ripened tomato. Toramatsu on the other hand, tries to stifle his laughter and end up just giggling quietly. 

“Just eat with us, Yahiko.” 

“Yeah, eat with us..!”

Invites Toramatsu and lord Tadakatsu again to me.

“Umm..haha, no, I am okay. And I still have some things to do. Well then, excuse me my lords!” I bow and walk quickly from the main hall not even looking back because of the embarrassment. Gosh, why of all time!!??? Why!!? I want to crawl into some hole and never go out. This is so embarrassing!

“Yahiko is cute, don’t you think Yasumasa?” says lord Tadakatsu innocently without any deep meaning at all. 

“What’s so cute about a person who lets himself starve or lets his stomach rumble in front of everybody.” says coldly and unimpressed by lord Yasumasa.

“Ohh come on! Yahiko is cute! Isn’t he Toramatsu? You agree with me right?” lord Tadakatsu says again in a gleefully manner, pointing his chopsticks to Toramatsu.

“Instead saying that and giving him a cold shoulder, you should have asked him to eat with us. He was probably shy in front of you to say yes to us. He must be worried that you might not like the idea with him eating with us or maybe with you.” says Toramatsu in a faint stern tone towards lord Yasumasa.

“What!? So are you saying that it’s my fault now?” irritated, lord Yasumasa unconsciously slams his chopsticks on his tray. “Is it my fault that he was shy, that he couldn’t eat with us and rejected your offer? Why do you have to blame me for it, as if it is my responsible or something..”

“Just saying. You should have been more thoughtful.” Toramatsu replies without looking back, continuing eating his hot meal in a calm manner.

“Tsk.” lord Yasumasa snaps, now feeling a little bit guilty towards Yahiko who seems tired and really hungry just by the sound of his rumbling stomach earlier.

“Umm, hello? does anyone agree with what I am saying? Isn’t Yahiko cute??” beaming and smiling and waving like a fool, lord Tadakatsu asks them again.

“Oh! Just shut up for goodness sake, Tadakatsu!” yells lord Yasumasa, his brows furrowing into a deep arch clearly irritated by what Toramatsu said to him. “Just shut up..!” he says again to lord Tadakatsu who is oblivious of what is happening to his surroundings.  

***

Late afternoon, alone in the kitchen.

It has been a tiring day somehow for all of us. After lunch, the retainers was tasked by Toramatsu to clean up their rooms, then their belongings. Lord Tadakatsu and lord Yasumasa on the other hand, tasked the other retainers to polish their swords and their armors and other weaponries they have inside the storage. When they all finished their tasks, us servants made them some refreshments and desserts. Now that everyone is just relaxing on their own, here I am in the kitchen--my favorite place-- doing some wiping. My peaceful moment is suddenly been shattered by some loud voice coming from outside.

“Hey, Yahiko! Is it true!? Is it true!??”

Umeko suddenly comes running to me shouting in the kitchen like she heard some kind of big news from outside, almost knocking all the clean pots on the table that I have been wiping so far.

“Umeko, would you just calm down.” I say as I stack the wiped and cleaned pots in order again on the table. “Why are you shouting? Did something happen in town?” I ask, inquisitively.

“You wouldn’t believe what I just heard!” she catches her breath, then for a moment starts talking again “they say lord Yasumasa struck an innocent civilian!”

‘What!? When?!” I almost yelled at her, so shocked at what I just heard from her mouth. Lord Yasumasa, struck a civilian? is this even true?

“Well, they say, he beat up an old man in the streets a few days ago. All the old man did was he was trying to teach this certain samurai lord to be respectful towards elders. But it didn’t end well. He got beaten up badly by that young man. And it turns out that the man they are referring to is lord Yasumasa. Many say that they saw the horrible scene too. It is the talk of the town!” says Umeko.

No way..How did the story turned up into something like that? Don’t tell me that it is the drunkard we met before. That man is saying such a big nasty lie to the townspeople. He is trying to make lord Yasumasa look bad! 

“Where did you hear that? That is nonsense! Don’t believe such a big lie.” I snap at Umeko.

“Why are you getting a bit mad at me, Yahiko? I just heard it. And the old man himself was the one who was telling it all out there. He and some men also says that lord Yasumasa doesn’t deserve his title and such...that he is taking advantage of his position just because he is a samurai lord..”

I can’t believe this, why? Why say such bad things? There’s a faint pang lingering inside me that I can’t fully explain. I feel sad for lord Yasumasa who doesn’t seem to know anything. He did something good only to turned out bad like this? And at the same time, I feel very angry too, to the persons who spreads such bad lies about him. Even though lord Yasumasa can be a jerk, still saying such lies is still wrong. It is not right at all.

“Yahiko??”

“I’m sorry Umeko for snapping like that at you. But don’t believe them. That man is lying. I think he was the drunkard we met back then and he was trying to hurt some kids, lord Yasumasa just taught him a lesson. I was there. So believe me. I know lord Yasumasa can be snappy at all times, but after working under him, I can tell that he is a good man. He will not do something so bad like that.” I say to Umeko. Umeko, on the other hand is listening to me quietly and eagerly. “Is that so? I believe you then! I’m sorry too, I just got carried away because people were talking about it so I was just so shocked that I came running straight to you here right away just to confirm it. Don’t worry, if ever I heard someone here in this castle talking about it, I will say that it isn’t true.” 

“Thanks, Umeko.” I smile at her, feeling happy about her sincerity and  that the misunderstanding has been cleared up. 

***

Just outside, the two servants don’t know that somebody has been quietly listening to their conversation. It is lord Yasumasa, standing just outside near the kitchen door. He didn’t mean to listen or eavesdrop. He was supposed to ask Yahiko something, maybe ask him to do some errands for him and maybe will tell him that he can have the day after his task. He stands there, looking at the two quietly. Or more so, looking at Yahiko with such bafflement. Eyes with a faint doubtful expression. His brows in deep furrows, as if he is trying to understand something in his head but he can’t. He observes Yahiko from afar and murmurs to himself, “I really don’t get...this guy..”

***

The setting sun paints the afternoon sky with splotches and smears of crimson and orange colors. Evening is approaching slowly as the sun says goodbye to the day again. After finishing everything I have to do in the kitchen, I make my way to lord Yasumasa’s quarters. Walking in the corridor with a tray of tea and manju on my hands, I can’t help but recollect inside my head what happened earlier regarding the false rumours about lord Yasumasa. I feel angry for lord Yasumasa. I wish I was the one who was out in town so that I could correct those bad people and tell the townspeople that those are nothing but lies. That they shouldn’t believe a word that that old man and his men was spreading about.

But no matter how much I wanted to do something, all I can do now is just sigh and hope that these will stop soon. 

I see from afar lord Yasumasa’s quarters already lit up inside. Usually he is late going to his quarters but now he seems early. He must be so exhausted if that is so. Lord Yasumasa probably returned early to rest. Poor lord Yasumasa, he must have had no clue about what’s going around in town. 

Should I inform him? Or not? But..ughh what to do. What should I do… I ponder as I get nearer to his quarters.

“Lord Yasumasa, I brought you some tea and dessert.” I announce myself.

“Bring it inside.” he says flatly. 

I come inside and place the hot tea and his plate of newly made manju on his table. He has been sorting some paper scrolls again. 

After serving his tea and manju I sit near the sliding door waiting, waiting for the perfect time to tell lord Yasumasa about it. At the end, I think he should know about this. But, soon as I try to open my mouth, I can’t say nor find the right words right away. I pause, and then ponder. Ponder but then when I try to speak, I find it hard. At last, after what seemed like an eternity, I take a deep breath, then I call him in a low tone that is enough to be heard. 

“Lord Yasumasa, no matter how many times I think about it, I think you should know.”

“And what is that? Be sure that what you are about to tell me is really important or else don’t bother at all.” He says, his right hand stops from whatever it is doing. Finally he looks at me, as if he is ready to listen to what I am about to say. 

I gather my courage, and opened my mouth. 

“Somebody out there is putting such bad rumours about you, milord. I think it should be stopped or else the whole town will probably think that it is true.” I say with sincere concern for him.

“And?” 

It was an unexpected dull reply. It caught me off guard. 

“And?? I-- I think we should do something about it milord.”

“Why? Just like you said it is just a bunch of crap. Lies. Why bother?” he replies without a care in the world.

“But-- milord... don’t you feel..wronged here? Don’t you feel angry or something, because I feel angry.” I say somehow bluntly, my hands unconsciously gripping my hakama while sitting there in his room. 

He observes me like he doesn’t understand me. Like he doesn’t understand what I am trying to say to him or where I am coming from. There’s this bewilderment expression showing on his face. His brows forming into an arch, like he is trying to figure out me on his head. 

Finally, he speaks, breaking the brief silence that surrounded the room.

“I don’t understand you at all.” he says. 

“Huh?? What do you mean milord?” I say in response to him, totally confused.

Then his expression changed into his usual annoyed expression, that expression that I see from him from time to time, whenever he thinks I am being stupid or being an airhead again. 

“What I mean, fool, is that why would you feel bothered by it? Why would you even feel angry? It’s not about you. So why get so worked up about something that you don’t have business with?” he says sounding irritated like as if I am making a real big deal out of it--which I don’t understand.

“But milord--” 

“Ohh, stop.” he interjects, “Can’t you even, for once properly use your head? Why don’t you put all your energy into something more productive? Instead of complaining to me about this crap that is not worthy of my time or your time, if I were you, I would just use it to something more productive. Know what? I don’t need you and your negativity here. Go take a bath or something. Don’t get into my nerves while I ask you nicely.” he says, his hands shooing me away like I am being a pest to him right now.

Seeing that the conversation is really over, I just give up. And make my way outside of his room.

***

“Ugggghhhhh..!! I DON’T GET HIM AT ALL!” I say aloud, my voice echoing in the whole room. I punch the water around me, making a huge splash of a mess. Here I am inside the public bathroom of the castle taking a nice warm soak in this wooden bathtub. As usual, I made sure that everyone had their bath  before going here. It is hard living in disguise, you have to be cautious especially when it comes to taking a bath and changing my clothes. But it sure feels sometimes nice to have the whole room for me to use. It is quiet and no one would bother me. And I can let out all these hard feelings and frustrations I have in me.

“He is the one that I don’t understand. He always gets mad, complains a lot even by the slightest, small irrelevant things but he won’t even feel upset about somebody out there badmouthing him. What!? Mind my own business?? And here I am, worried for him. Worried that he might feel-- l.. Ughhhhh..!” I submerge my head in the warm, steaming water and letting all the frustrations and anger within me melt away.

I really don’t get how lord Yasumasa and his mind works at all. As I try to recall everything that happened, it felt like for him I was overreacting over something stupid. That I was stupid for reacting like that. The way he responded as if I am some kind of a pest, ughhh..I don’t get him at all. Use my head properly? Really? Ughh, I hate him. Here I was feeling sad for him. Oh, MC, why would you even feel concerned for that jerk? Really? Hah..! 

When I couldn’t hold my breath any longer under the water, I hurriedly come to the surface gasping for air. 

“Ha, hahh, hahh…*coughs” I let my head rest on the wooden wall, closing my eyes, thoughts wandering about the incident again.

To think they figure out lord Yasumasa’s name, or whoever they are, or I mean that old man must have done his research about it. He must have been so angry about how he was beaten up in public that he couldn’t let go of it unless he gets even to him. To think that there are people who would go to such lengths just because they feel wronged...it is scary.

Mulling over while my eyes are still closed and my head still resting on the wall, I hear the sliding wooden door of the public bathroom suddenly being opened. I open my eyes hurriedly and submerged my whole body in the bathtub. I quietly scan the area, and see someone really comes in. My body freezes, anxiousness creeping in. Thankfully, the area is dark and steamy so whoever it is still haven’t noticed me yet. The man removes his hakama, then his whole kimono robe, the fabric smoothly slipping down from the slender yet taut, muscled-body then falling to the floor. Without a sound, he walks in my direction. Even though I don’t look like it, I am panicking in my head. 

Ohh god, what should I do? He is coming nearer and nearer here. No, no...MC just relax, just think. *getting nervous and lightheaded because of too much steam* Think!? What am I supposed to think? Besides there is a man naked in front of me! And he is walking now in my direction, so how am I supposed to think..! And haha *sarcastic laugh* I am fully naked too for heaven’s sake..! 

I am starting to feel dizzy, and the only thing, the only possible solution that my mind comes up with is to just hurriedly run away from this place. No matter how hard I try to think, that is the only way I would be able to escape from this scenario. So I ready myself. I don’t care anymore if I see him naked or he sees me naked, as long as he won’t be able to see my face and discover my identity, I have no choice but to just run without clothes. 

As he gets nearer, I grab the nearest small wooden pail I see without making a sound. The man is about to enter the bathtub, the moment I see his left foot has submerged in the water, I hurriedly stand up smack the man as hard as I can with the small wooden pail. 

”Ughhhh!! What the!???”

I hear the man groaning in pain, hear him falling into the bathtub with a loud painful thud.

I’m sorry...really, really sorry..! I cry inside my head to the man who seems like in deep pain because of how he fell and got his head hit.

 And like a mad person, I hurriedly jump off the bathtub, grabbing my clothes right away and flee from the crime scene.

***

“Ouch..What in the seven hells!! Who was that stupid fool..!?!? Uhhhggh..! My butt and my head..ouch..I will kill whoever that is..! That fool!” groan in pain by lord Yasumasa. Even though the place is dark, you can still see with the moonlight’s help the reddening back of lord Yasumasa. His head hurts like crazy because of the wooden pail that was smacked on him, while half of his body is in pain because of how hard the impact it got from falling hard on the wooden tub. If you are wondering why he is there at that time, well it was just an unfortunate coincidence. He was so exhausted that he was a bit late in taking his usual bath. Unfortunately, that is the usual time MC takes her bath..so..you know now.

“What a crazy guy.! I will surely kill that person! Just you wait..! Ouuucchh.. Aww, damn..my body hurts like hell..” curses lord Yasumasa in the air, alone in the dark.

***

I am panting so hard, like a person who just survived from death. Wet to the bones and naked, I am clasping my white kimono undergarment like my life depends on it. I am so looking weird, like an exhibitionist right now. I hurriedly put my clothes on despite my body still drenching from water. After checking nobody is outside, I hurriedly run to my quarters hoping and praying that no problems will arise tomorrow.

***

Morning, it is.

The weather is nice and as usual we prepared breakfast early and on time. Still cautious about what happened last night, I am on guard even though I am working like nothing happened. Thankfully, it seems like nobody knows who or what happened last night. With stacked trays on my arms, I go to the main hall to serve the newly cooked breakfast for the retainers.

“You looked flushed, you okay?” asks with a happy-go-lucky tone by lord Tadakatsu to lord Yasumasa who is sitting beside him waiting for their breakfast meals to be served.

“I hope there is some hot soup in the menu today.” says lord Yasumasa more like to himself, than to lord Tadakatsu who is beside him looking bit puzzled.

After serving the others including Toramatsu’s food, I go to lord Tadakatsu and lord Yasumasa’s side next. I kneel in front of them and start serving their respective trays.

“Here is your breakfast milor--- achooooo..!”

“Is there a sou---- achooooo..!!”

The sound of my sneezing and for some reason, another sound of somebody’s sneeze too surprised me, lord Tadakatsu, lord Yasumasa as well as the other retainers nearby.

“Wow. Did something happen? Both of you are looking flushed and looks like both of you caught a cold too.” says lord Tadakatsu a bit taken aback by our sneezes. I realized that the other person that sneezed the same time with me is lord Yasumasa.

“Haahaha…*nervous laughing. It must be the weather.” I countered. But at the back of my mind, I don’t want to think but I get the feeling that it was lord Yasumasa that I smacked last night with the wooden pail. The one who entered the public bath. The one I saw naked. The one I almost killed…! Realizing this, I feel like fainting right there on the spot. 

Shoot..!! MC!!! Pray he doesn’t notice or don’t get any idea!!!

“But the weather is nice though..that is weird haha” laughs off lord Tadakatsu as he starts digging his meal. Meanwhile, as I try to catch a glimpse of lord Yasumasa, I accidentally make an eye contact with him. 

Oooopppss..!  This is not good. I can see the reaction in his eyes. There is a sudden brief faint of surprise in his eyes, something that tells me that he must have realized it all and now he is suspicious of me.

Damn. Please, please, please..don’t let him realized it was me. I cry to myself inside, hoping that he still hasn’t caught on about it. 

“I am going now milords...” I say meekly to them and bow. Then I go out from the main hall going straight to the kitchens in a hurried manner but not obvious.

***

“Hey, are you not hungry? I thought you are craving for some soup??” pry lord Tadakatsu to lord Yasumasa who is somewhat murmuring to himself.

“So he’s the stupid fool..” smirk lord Yasumasa, as if he is having fun on his little discovery.

“Hmm?? What are you talking about?” questions lord Tadakatsu.

“Nothing. Nothing...don’t mind me.” responds lord Yasumasa back as he begins his meal by sipping the hot soup from his steaming porcelain bowl.

***

In town. 

With a basket on my arm, I stroll the town aimlessly while my head tries to come up with a good, reasonable and believable excuse if ever lord Yasumasa realized that it was me who almost killed him with a wooden pail last night.

“Ughhh.. What excuse I would say to him... What!?” I murmur to myself. 

As I am walking, oddly, I suddenly heard the name Yasumasa in the street. Curious, I move nearer.

“Even though he is a samurai lord that works under the Tokugawa still don’t you think that it was too much? What he did to an old man like me? He abuses his power no matter how you look at it .” 

“Omy, well..that is true..” nods reluctantly of an old lady from the restaurant, somehow feeling pitiful but hesitant towards the old man. 

“Is that really true though?” counter the manju vendor that has a mini stall next to the restaurant. “..because from what I heard from the other vendors too, you are the one who started picking a fight with some kids…” states the vendor matter-of-factly. 

“And who told you that?” butts in by the man who is with the old man. “That cocky boy and his young servant started it, he beat up an old man here.”

“Still, maybe the guy had a good reason? And we know the young servant who is with him. That young servant of his usually buys manju to me, and some of us know him..He is kind and isn’t the type of person to do such a thing..so I wonder if you are telling the truth..” doubts the manju vendor.

“What are you saying?? Are you accusing us then?” yells the man.

“Ohh my.. Please don’t fight here.” says the old lady from the restaurant, worried.

“Hey, calm down. Let it go buddy..” says the old man--who is playing innocent--  tapping the shoulder of his friend who is yelling at the manju vendor. “Well, if you don’t believe us, if you don’t believe this poor old man me, then I have no choice.” As he walks from the place, he suddenly stops and looks back at the manju vendor who still doubtful about them.  “And ohh.. If I were you, I wouldn’t get too close to them, especially to that lord Yasumasa. He seems to like beautiful young guys.”

“What are you implying or trying to say here?” 

“Ohh nothing. Just saying.. You don’t want to give him a wrong impression, do you?” says the old man with a crafty smile. “You see, I heard he does things with that little servant of his that you are saying you know.”

This time, despite my hard efforts on trying to stay still, hearing those words made me finally lose my patience. And before I know it, I am charging forward to those liars almost ready to smack them with the goods I have in my basket.

“Hey!! You are really being too much!” I strike back feeling really upset.

“And who are-- Ohh, I see.. Are you here to defend your master now?” smirks the old man with meaning. “See how he acts so defensive, I wonder why..hmm?”

Trying to compose myself, I talk back to the old man who pretends to be the victim with civility. “I don’t know why you feel so wronged here even though you are the one who is at fault here. It is true that lord Yasumasa beaten the heck out of you, but because you deserved it. You wouldn’t listen to reason, and you were about to hurt the kids way way smaller than you just because they tripped you or something. I think you already had enough badmouthing him for the whole town to know your lies. So will you stop now?” I say, my insides fuming. 

After letting everything out, I face the restaurant lady and the manju vendor that I frequent to whenever I buy manju, “Please forgive me for causing a scene here. I just want you to know that lord Yasumasa isn’t the type of person this group of men are saying. He may not look friendly outside but in the inside, lord Yasumasa is a good and decent person that does his responsibilities well as a retainer and follower of lord Ieyasu. He won’t do something unless there is a reason behind it. He may have a sharp tongue but he genuinely cares for his duties as a Tokugawa retainer and he admires lord Ieyasu’s leadership. So much as he won’t do something that will put lord Ieyasu’s name into shame, like what those people are claiming.” I gave a glare those bad men, before bowing and saying goodbye to the restaurant lady and the manju vendor.

***

It is almost late afternoon. I walk in an alley--a shortcut to the castle-- with the basket in my left arm filled with new goods and spices that I bought in town, now feeling somehow calm, my anger subsiding already. “I hope they will finally stop now that I--” as I am about to turn, someone grab me from behind, my mouth being clasp by a hand. I try to escape, struggling so hard when another person suddenly pops up in front of me and punch me on the stomach so hard that I lose my consciousness right then and there.

***

Meanwhile in some corner of the alley just a few walks near where MC is being dragged unconsciously, laughter fills the air as children are playing with some rocks and pebbles. 

“It’s my turn!” says the little boy to his fellow little friends as he throws a big flat pebble on the road missing the target objects laid out in the rough road. “Ooops, hahaha sorry. Wait I am going to get my rock.” says the little boy as he goes to the corner of the alley, as he is about to pick his rock, he saw a familiar figure. “Ohh! Is that onii-chan? Onii-chan..!~” he shouts but MC doesn’t seem to hear him, as he takes a closer look, he realized that MC--the one who took them home after being saved from the old drunkard man-- is being dragged by some men. “This is bad…!”

***

In the castle, lord Yasumasa seems to be looking again for his servant Yahiko. “Where the hell did that fool go again?” He strides and scans the corridor and the veranda but to no avail. “Just you wait and see. If you think you could fool me then you are so wrong. I wonder what kind of stupid excuse will you come up with this time..” murmurs lord Yasumasa to himself as he strides in the veranda going to the kitchens. His face looking not irritated or mad but instead, oddly, he is smirking. A mischievous smile forming on his face, it is as if he is enjoying this. Like he found something that will give him entertainment later.

As he arrives in the kitchen, he is about to ask the servants and kitchen ladies there when suddenly a kid running in a hurry bumps into him. 

“Aaagghh..!” 

Lord Yasumasa clearly not happy about it, scolds the boy telling to pay attention to his surroundings. When the boy looks up and realizes that it is lord Yasumasa that he bumped into, total relief shows on the little boy’s face. The boy immediately stands up, he grabs hold lord Yasumasa’s hakama and starts to plead. “Onii-chan..! Thank goodness its you! Yahiko-oniichan was dragged by some bad men out there. One of them is that scary drunkard we met before! I don’t know what happened but it seems like they will do something bad to him!”

“That fool..!” huffs lord Yasumasa under his breath. “Where did you last saw them?” he asks, immediately, following the little boy.

***

It seems that it is evening. As I look from the small window, the sun had long set already. The surroundings outside starting to really get dark. I am here in some kind of abandoned small house in the woods, the whole room only lit by a candle. I am trying to think calmly, trying to figure out how will I save myself from this bunch of old men before they return and discover that I am a girl. Just the thought of it, of what they will do once they discover my real identity sends shivers in my spine. I tried so many times untying myself, but the rope is so tight that I couldn’t do anything about it. I tried looking for a knife or something sharp around me but to no avail. I tried standing up, but they have tied my feet so tightly it is beginning to hurt and my legs feeling numb too. As the seconds pass, I am starting to panic. 

“MC, focus..focus. You need to be strong and smart at a time like this.” I say to myself but to no effect. The ropes on my hands and feet are too tight, I can’t loosened it. Nobody knows that I am here. I don’t have anyone that is close to me that will worry about me to be honest. I can’t think of anyone. But even if let say Umeko notice me not still there preparing dinner with them, she would just probably think that I am out there flirting with some women about my age.. So help from the outside would be impossible. Now, what? Now what, MC??

As I try harder to come up with some escape plan, I hear my abductors opening the door of this small cottage. I don’t know if it is the right thing to do but I pretend to sleep. I can hear them talking, and worse, the air smells sake. And it seems like they are drinking. I can smell the sake lingering in the place. Please, please, don’t let them do anything bad to me. I pray.

“So what we will do now?” asks the man.

“We will teach this boy a lesson. A lesson he will never forget so that he would not be bold enough again. Like what he did to us earlier.”

“So we will what? Beat him up? This thin, woman-like boy?”

“Oh hell..” replies the old man, that drunkard to his accomplice. “You should be a bit creative sometimes..”

“Creative? You mean?”

“Oh come on, just look at this guy’s skin? Almost similar to a woman’s. And guess what? When I dragged him, the smell..!!! Hahaha I have never smell a man so nice, so nice that I want to try and see myself..” the old man cackles, his laugh so menacing my whole body freezes, my heart beating so rapidly against my chest that it almost feels like it is about to burst at any moment. 

Still lying on the cold floor, faking to be asleep, nervousness creeping on me, I say to myself that if ever these men starts to get near to me, I will really, really smack them hard with my head before they do something to me. And I need to do it so hard, so hard enough to get my chance to run right away from them. I brace myself. Readying to use my head. I feel them moving closer to me, the sake smell lingering more, smelling more stronger and nearer. 

“Hey wake up little, pretty boy..~” says the old man in a very lewd way it gives me the chills.

“Hahahaha wake up boy, wake up wake up~” says the other too. 

When I feel their hands almost reaching me, I open my eyes like an alarmed creature in the middle of the night, and smack them so hard using my head that I, too, almost stagger and feel some dizziness and pain. They stumble, both of them, then I take my chance when I find my balance again, I start to run towards the door only to be dragged by the hair by the old man. I lose my balance, and really fall hard to the floor. Suddenly the old man shouts, “grab him by the legs..!”. The other man, tightly hold my legs, my feet, I don’t know any more-- I struggle, struggle so hard that I feel the pain all over my body. 

MC, you need to fight..! Fight..! Don't let them..! Don’t..!!

I shout inside my head, like a mantra, I keep on repeating those words.

But my body will not listen. It does not listen at all. The weight of the two man, ganging up on me, holding me so hard and so tight that I can feel their nails sinking on my sink, on my flesh. It is just too much. I try to fight so hard, so hard… I thought I was shouting but I don’t hear a thing at all. I don’t hear my voice at all. Strangely, my mouth is open, struggling trying to say something but no words come out from it. Just groans of me. Groans of struggling so hard from keeping them from touching me.

But my body starts to lose all the energy it has, my hands and feet getting weaker and weaker. But my mind keep on commanding me, fight..! MC you have to fight!. 

They finally grabbed my kimono collar, the old man in a sudden force tear them apart, almost choking me. The pain stings on my neck. I told myself it is no time for crying but my eyes starts to get a bit teary and my vision starts to blur. But I told my head again, this is not the time for crying. I have to fight them.

I scratch the old man’s face, but he slaps me so hard almost sending all the consciousness in me away. He stops for a second, groaning. But the other man, hold me even tighter, I can’t move at all. Then that old man suddenly is on top of me, undressing me..my head is in a swirl as I try to stop them with all my might.

“Ohh..hahaha” cracks the old man.

“She is a girl..! So she is a girl..! We are lucky..!” says the other. 

Somebody, please help..please…

As they are about to remove my hakama, the man on top of me suddenly is sent flying to the other side. While the other who is just below me, holding my feet and legs, gasps and then yells with a groan, “Aggghhh...!”

I don’t know what is happening but the man seems like his arms are being twisted, so hard I think I heard a crack like something snapped. Then the man yells and cries so hard, “Argggghh..! aghhhh..!!! my arms! my arms..!!!!!” 

“You, who the hell are you!!??? Wait, you are--” then again the old man who was sent flying suddenly lost his voice, somebody punches him in the face so hard that I see blood spilling in the air. “urgkkh..!”

Everything's happening so fast, I don’t know anymore. My body feels so weak, I couldn’t move from the spot. 

“Let us go..! let us go!! I don’t care anymore, you can have the girl, just let us go!!” 

“My arms..! don’t come any closer! It is not my idea! It is his!!” 

I hear shouts, then groans and then, I hear somebody scrambling to their feet, banging the door open and finally they are gone like the wind. Suddenly, the surrounding becomes quiet, so quiet you can hear the sounds and cries of the night insects in the woods. I am left here, almost lifeless. My body feels so cold against the ground. I couldn’t move an inch at all.. 

Then, I see a somehow familiar figure coming into view in front of me. He is looking at me, his eyes and his expression, I can’t figure out at first. But then, there is this brief surprised in his eyes, then a bewildered yet worried expression. I don’t know if it is just my imagination. Then in a very faint voice, almost like a whisper, I hear my little brother’s name. 

“...Yahiko..?” so soft, his voice almost like he is careful of mentioning it. 

It is lord Yasumasa, kneeling now beside me, helping me get to my feet. 

“...you..you are such a trouble..I-- I mean, in a mess..” he says almost like a whisper. His voice seems like he is reprimanding me, but in a gentle tone and manner. Then without a word, he scoops me like a beaten puppy from the floor. I still couldn’t move nor say anything, my mind is blank.  

Then, suddenly, tears comes rushing in. In his arms, like a lost child, I cry and cry. Muffled cries. He is a bit shocked, then I thought he would complain or get annoyed at me behaving like this but he doesn’t speak. He holds me in his arms, quietly and without his usual complaints. He listens to my sobs. He is just there, holding me like I am a dear thing. 

I don’t know why I am crying now. There are these mixed emotions playing inside me right now. I feel so glad that somebody saved me. That those men are now gone. That lord Yasumasa is here. Yet I feel so scared and terrified about what just happened. My body is trembling as I cry. I am so scared. So scared that no matter how much I try to stop myself from sobbing, my tears just won’t stop from falling. 

We are in that position for a little long. Him cradling me like a child. I can’t see his face clearly because my eyes are all blurred by my tears.  My hands, then, find their way on his collar, grabbing and tugging it lightly. For some reason, I feel angry at him. Inside my head, thoughts and emotions are pouring out. Like, thoughts, why am I even getting mad for this jerk’s sake? Why i feel so concerned for this man. Why do I ended up in this kind of situation.  Anger, fear and confusion is welling up on me. I keep on sobbing with anger and then relief that he is here. That someone looked for me, protected me. Because I thought no one would notice that I am actually missing, that no one would come for me. Huge relief and comfort washes over me now that everything is over. No more evil laughter, no more sake lingering around me. Just calmness, quietness, and him.

***

MC has now fallen asleep soundly in Yasumasa’s arms. Her face much better than before. All the fears and sadness and shock, already gone in her.  Her pallor is getting better as the color in her cheeks returns. Her body temperature, still a bit cold, but much better than when he first held her in that state. It is dark, very dark now, the round moon, the only light in the wide evening sky together with the glimmering of the little stars. All the retainers are probably at the main hall right now, in the middle of their dinner. Thankfully no one is in the veranda, Yasumasa carries MC quietly to her quarters. Without so much a sound, he puts MC on her bedding, careful to not wake her up. He realizes now that her collar is ripped and opened too much, the fabric in tatters like it was roughly and forcefully pulled open. Her neck with bit of scratches and redness. He sees the bindings on MC, white strip of fabrics tightly wrapped around her to conceal her identity. Her being a woman. 

He puts the collar back in place, swiftly yet carefully. He stands and get an extra blanket from a cabinet. He put it on top of MC until she is covered comfortably in blankets. The trembling of her body has finally stopped, exchanged with a sense of calmness showing on her whole face. 

Yasumasa sits beside her, arms crossed, staring at her, observing her peaceful breathing. And at the same time, he seems like he is in a deep ponder. He has never been this puzzled before, so unsure of what to do, supposed to feel or say in this kind of situation. 

Outside, you can hear the laughter of some of the retainers from the main hall. Merrily eating and having nice conversations and talks, perhaps. You can hear lord Tadakatsu too being weird again, and Toramatsu trying to stop him from doing something. Everyone is lively tonight as usual.

While inside MC’s quarters, the place is calm and still.

The candle, flickering, giving light and shine to MC’s fair skin and womanly features evident on her face.  Why hadn’t he noticed of it? He foolishly asks himself in his mind. If you take a closer and careful look at her, you can tell that she is a girl. And yet he didn’t notice it at all. And why he--or she is pretending to be a boy? For what reason? does anyone know her secret? Does lord Ieyasu knows this?? or not? Questions floods into his mind like a torrent. 

And why the hell did he--I mean, she got dragged and kidnapped by those worthless trash? How did she got herself into that kind of-- 

Lord Yasumasa just sighs and stops from asking himself such questions..

“You fool. I clearly told you to use your brain properly, but what is this?” complains lord Yasumasa under his breath. 

He sighs again. “Did you tried to be a hero or something again? ..did you boldly speak up...for me? ...you stupid fool. Always poking your nose into something you shouldn’t be concerned to begin with. Now look at--- look at you.. why? I, I really..I really don’t get you at all. You weirdo..” says lord Yasumasa in a somehow light reprimand, sounding a bit irritated but with a tinge of concern and sadness in his voice. 

“Now, what I should do with you...you-- you stupid woman..” whispers lord Yasumasa to himself, as he observes the calm breathing of MC. 

***

____________________________

tagging: @shiranata, @ieyasu-tacogawa @yvckie @sassy-spocko @all-my-cuffs-have-buttons @bmp-slbp-matchup @sagaralisa @uesugi-miu @bulbaqueen @krookls @frywen-babbles

[kumkaniudaku]

The Love Tonight (1)

A/N: A request by @queenbutterfly2018. Thank you for keeping my creative juices flowing. Even if it does take me 7000 years to finish things. 

Summary: The family bonds over Beyonce and a classic movie. 

The Love Tonight (2)

"And I just can't waaaiit...to be KING!"

CoCo silently bopped her head from side to side in the kitchen as she split her attention between washing the dishes and her kids enjoying the third showing of The Lion King in as many weeks. 

Noah let out a small squeal of excitement followed by a laugh that caught Micah's attention. 

"No, Noey! We don't laugh during this part. It's really serious!" When the youngest of the pair responded with a gurgling babble, Micah let out an agitated groan before continuing her explanation. "Simba could get hurt. He didn't listen to his daddy, and now the heenas are looking for him. That's why we have to listen to Mommy and Daddy."

"Good lesson, baby girl," Tasha called from the kitchen, adding a wink to her praise when Micah turned around to acknowledge her mother. 

From the moment she could focus on moving images, Micah became enamored with Simba's timeless tale. Her big eyes would sparkle when she would hear the movie's main theme, the song often doubling as the only sound to keep her quiet when she was restless. 

When she was three, Micah insisted that she would not participate in Halloween festivities if she could not dress as Nala. Her first eating utensil set, big girl underwear, and bed set featured the beloved characters. Even as she found other interests, The Lion King was her first love. 

"Mommy, your favorite song is coming! You gotta sing it!"

Micah wiggled around in her seat while Tasha took a break from cleaning to join her on the couch. Pulling the little one into her lap, CoCo cleared her throat to mimic Scar. 

"I know that your powers of retention are as wet as a warthog's backside. But thick as you are–pay attention! My words are a matter of pride."

Noah perked up as Micah joined the song, becoming the third voice in a chorus of off-key voices. Together they fumbled over lyrics and laughed until their stomachs were sore and the song was over. 

After a moment of silence to catch their breath, Micah broke the silence. "I wish Daddy was here to sing too. He likes to sing the Simba and Nala song with you."

"I know, baby, I know. But Daddy has to be at work."

"Work is mean! Tell him to come home and play!"

"Dadadada." Noah's chanted, adding his two cents in the conversation to make both ladies giggle. 

"How about we call Daddy so you two can say all of this to his face. How does that sound, Pookie Butt?" 

Cheering and made up songs bounced off of the living room walls before echoing on the other side of the phone when Chadwick finally answered. 

"Sounds like I'm missing out on a party back home," he laughed. 

Across the country, the sun had long allowed the moon to have its place in the sky. Chadwick sat in his dimly lit bedroom clad in worn lounge clothes with sleep forcing his eyes half-closed. 

"You sure are. We're watching your favorite movie. Wanna take a guess?"

"Whaaat? Where's my girl? She wouldn't watch The Lion King without me, would she?"

"I only watched a little! Not even the pig song!" 

"You didn't get to...should I sing it," he questioned, already knowing the answer. 

"Yes! Sing it!" 

"Nah, it's time for bed. Mama wouldn't be happy if I did." 

Chadwick put on an award-winning acting performance to sway Micah's opinion before she turned to make a case for why she deserved a song from her favorite singing partner. 

"Please, Mama? Please, please, please, please, puh-LEASE!" 

"Sure, sing the song, Dad." 

While Micah squealed in pleasure, CoCo made sure to give her husband the finger as discreetly as possible. 

"You can do that for as long as you like when I get back, love," he assured with a wink. 

"Sing it, Daddy! One, two, three!"

Straighten in his seat, Chadwick took a deep breath and comically poked his chest out. "WHEN I WAS A YOUNG WARTHOOOG!"

Before her daddy could finish the most boisterous line in the entire film, Micah doubled over and laughed until her whole body vibrated with joy. Even Noah joined in on the laughter despite nodding in and out of sleep in his walker. 

"Sing it again," Micah requested between gasps for air. "Sing it again!" 

"Nuh-uh. It's time for you and another cub to get to bed. Maybe we can sing it in the morning when you're on the way to camp. How's that sound?" 

"You promise?" 

"Double pinky promise, baby girl. First thing in the morning." 

Though visibly upset, Micah accepted the terms of the deal. "Okay. Goodnight, Daddy. I wish you could come home tomorrow." 

"I wish I could too, little one. See you in a few weeks. Be good for your Mama and be nice to your brother." 

Another round of goodnights sealed the deal, sending Micah off to her room to wait on Tasha to tuck her into bed. Chadwick followed her movements as far he could until she was out of camera view. His sad eyes betrayed the smile on his face and caught his wife's attention. 

"I know it's tough, baby, but she understands why you're away. She's just missing you tonight." 

"Doesn't stop me from feeling like the worst dad ever. Now I have to make it up to her." 

"Please, do not send another doll to this house or I will burn it. Send a Birkin instead!" The line on Chadwick's end went silent as he froze and stared. "Hello? Can you hear me? Is this thing frozen?" 

"It ain't frozen. I'm just givin' you a minute to hear what craziness you just said to me." 

"So I don't deserve a bag?"

"You deserve a bag so much that you have a shelf in the closet to stock with as many as you can buy." 

Tasha opened her mouth to respond but found herself interrupted by the sound of toys hitting the hardwood floors close to her. After quickly assessing the situation, neither of them could withhold their laughter. Noah sat slumped in walker with thumb in his mouth to self soothe, deep into a dream that had him smiling with his eyes closed. 

Finally calming down, Chadwick allowed a yawn to slip past his lips. "Alright, baby, I have to be on set early tomorrow." 

"Goodnight, handsome. Sleep well, and don't send any more gifts to this house." 

"You don't tell me what to do, T. Bye!" 

There was no time for Tasha to protest any of her husband's statements as he ended the call abruptly. In the weeks that followed, he would vaguely hint at a surprise when talking to or about Micah. When pressed for further intel, Chadwick would smirk as if he were hiding the most interesting secret in the world, the twinkle in his eye brighter than any star in the sky. 

CoCo began to suspect the true nature of the surprise when she received confirmations for two booked nail appointments and a separate dress fitting. Questioning the keeper of secrets proved to be futile until he returned from work at the tail end of a busy weekday night. 

Micah met him at the edge of the driveway with unbridled excitement, waiting for him to step out of the car and scoop her body into his arms. Once the house was calm and sharing a meal around the dinner table, Chadwick pulled an envelope out of his pocket and quietly sat it on the table. 

Taking a look up while chewing her food, Tasha eyed the package. "Is that a check for me?" 

"No." 

"Plane tickets?" 

"Tickets, but not for a plane." 

"Is it a letter from the Tooth Fairy," Micah inquired. "Because I lost my front teeths. Mommy found them and said the Tooth Fairy would give me monies, but that was a long time ago. I think she forgot."

"She spent the money on dance lessons," Tasha mumbled.

Chadwick cut his eyes at CoCo who mouthed 'what' in response. "Anyway...remember when we told you there was gonna be a new Lion King, Mikey?" 

"Yeah! You said we could see it if I read a whole book by myself. Are we gonna see it?"

"We're gonna do more than see it, baby girl. We are going to…" Chadwick paused for dramatic effect, waiting for a drumroll that Tasha reluctantly provided. 

He listened to her rapidly tap her fingers against the glossy wood grain tabletop. Soon, Micah joined the spectacle, leading the charge for Noah to slam his hands against the tray of his high chair. Chadwick's grin spread across his face as the tension and noise in the room built to deafening levels. 

"Aaron! Spit it out, darn it," Tasha hollered, careful to censor her language. 

"Okay, okay! We're going to...the premiere!" 

For weeks, Chadwick had played this moment in his head countless times, and each encounter ended with the members of his family singing his praises and running around the house in excitement. Instead, they met him with two blank stares and senseless babbling. 

"What's a...a...premiere? I want popcorn." 

"Chad, she's six. Explain why a premiere is better than just going to the theater on Cheap Tuesday. I would also like an explanation." 

As Micah looked between her mother's sarcastic smile and her father's eye roll, she found herself still very confused. She'd only been on a few red carpets in her short lifetime, and none of them involved a brand new movie. It was unreasonable to expect a child to enjoy the bright lights associated with such an event, much less an entire movie without any outbursts or excessive moving. Chadwick hoped that an introduction through the Lion King would be an adequate test run for future instances. 

"A premiere," he started as he lifted Micah out of her chair and into his lap. "Is when special people get all dressed up to see a movie before everyone else. All the people that are in the movie are there too." 

"So I get to see the movie with Timon and Pumbaa?" 

"Well, kind of. You'll meet the actors that play them." 

Micah thought for a moment. "Are these big people that play dress up like you?" 

"Sure... let's go with that." 

"Is Mommy and Noah gonna come with us?" 

"Just Mom. Noah's still too little. But we'll get the DVD when it comes out, and then he can see it at home." From the corner of his eye, Chadwick could see Tasha giving him a thumbs up for his attempt at explaining such a complicated matter to a child. Micah, however, still had questions. 

"I guess I'll go," she shrugged. "Do I get a new dress?" 

"My girl asks the important questions! That's what I'm talking about!" 

Laughing, he shooed his wife away to answer the question. "You drive a hard bargain, Princess. Yes, you and Mommy get new dresses." 

"Yay! I want sparkles on my dress! Wait, I want it to look like mommy's dress. What is your dress gonna look like Mommy? Big and poofy like a princess?"

"Girl, I think we should-" CoCo halted her rand and dramatically covered her mouth to whisper-speak to Micah. "I think we should go to another room because somebody is a little too nosey. Meet me in your room." 

Her dramatic wink was excitedly returned before Micah focused her attention on dashing out of the dining room and up the stairs. When she was out of earshot, Chadwick turned to his wife and smiled. 

"Make sure you go easy on my pockets." 

Standing, Tasha quickly adjusted Noah on her hip and pretended to flip her hair. "Sparkles are expensive, baby. We'll try our best. You just make sure you can keep up." 

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[donamoeba]

Asahi: And soooo, right then, Mikoshiba-senpai laughed and went, like, "GAHAHA, IT'S MEEE"...!

Makoto: Ooh, so that's what happened?

Ikuya: By the way, who is Mikoshiba-senpai?

Haruka: Oh right, Ikuya, you don't know Mikoshiba-senpai. He's our senpai at the university swim club.

Makoto: And he was also the captain of Samezuka's swim team.

Asahi: So he's someone like Natsuya-senpai when we were at Iwatobi Middle School.

Ikuya: My brother's doesn't say "Gahaha."

Makoto: EH!? The...the lights went off!

Ikuya: It's… pitch black.

Haruka: I think it's way past the closing time of the student union building.

Ikuya: Hmm… it's just past 10pm.

Haruka: The light in this discussion room turns itself off at 10pm.

Asahi: In that case, should we head to our club room and talk more there? We can even sleep overnight there!

Makoto: Ikuya and I are not in the Hidaka swim club, so we really shouldn't, don't you think?

Ikuya: That's right.

Haruka: Well then, should we go home?

Asahi: No way! Let's stay for a little longer! I mean,  Makoto and Ikuya came all the way to Hidaka to see us.

Makoto: Hehe, with the four of us in the dark like this, it reminds me of our training camp in middle school.

Ikuya: Right... that time during summer break when Asahi said "we're doing a training camp for next summer!" and we all stayed overnight at school?

Asahi: That's right! Should we all start telling scary stories, just like we did that night? Since the lights are off and this is the perfect mood for it!

Makoto: Eeeeh, I'll pass, thank you!

Ikuya: Hehe, Makoto, you're a scaredy-cat, as always.

Makoto: Well yeah, but…!

Haruka: It's okay, Makoto. There were many scary stories at Iwatobi Middle school, such as the Seven Scary Wonders, but Hidaka doesn't have them.

Ikuya: Now that you mentioned it, there really were many. Like when you stay at school at night, the bell would suddenly go off, and the ghost of a teacher who died in an accident would appear…

Asahi: Oh yeah, there was that. And if you don't say the magic word, they'll follow you back home, and curse you to death…

Makoto: Heey, Stopppp! No more stories!

Makoto: Hyaaah!

Haruka: It's just the bell. It chimes at this time every day.

Makoto: Fo-footsteps!? Would it be… a ghost…?

Asahi: C'mon, ghosts don't have legs, so they couldn't make footsteps.

Makoto: But… they're getting closer…!

Ikuya: Maybe it's a teacher patrolling?

Makoto: Haru, the magic word, say the magic word…!

Haruka: Magic word… what should I say?

Asahi: I think it's something like...toma..doburi...or somethi-

Haruka: “Tomadoburiranchinburiranti”!

Makoto: AAAAAHHHHHH!!!

Hiyori: I knew you guys would be here. I heard you talking.

Ikuya: Hiyori!

Asahi: Geez, don't scare us!

Hiyori: Sorry, sorry. Were you that frightened? You guys are timider than I expected.

Ikuya: More importantly, Hiyori, what are you doing here?

Asahi: Oh! Could it be that...Toono...you're… already dead? And you became a ghost and came looking for Ikuya? You're definitely the type to hold a grudge forever!

Hiyori: Can you not say such insulting things? Of course I'm not a ghost. I got a message from Terashima inviting me to an all-nighter karaoke, so I thought I'd ask Ikuya as well.

Haruka: Terashima…? Oh, the Archerfish from Shimogami University.

Asahi: Couldn't you have just asked him by texting him? You scared everyone by coming here all of the sudden!

Hiyori: I messaged him AND I called him, but I didn't get any response. That's why I got worried and started looking for him.

Ikuya: Oh…? I don't have my phone on me.

Makoto: Did you leave it somewhere?

Ikuya: Aah… at the canteen where we had dinner, I'm sure.

Makoto: I wonder if the canteen is still open…

Haruka: It's likely closed, but maybe we can still get in.

Toono: Hidaka is pretty big! Not as big as Shimogami though.

Ikuya: The campus at night… is surprisingly quiet.

Toono: Looks like there's no one in the gym either.

Haruka: It's holiday tomorrow, so I guess everyone finished practice early and went home.

Makoto: ...wait, someone's in there!

Ikuya: This reminds me… of the Seven Scary Wonders of Iwatobi Middle School…

Asahi: The Headless Soccer Kid!

Ikuya: That's right, the one about the kid who did basketball drills with his own head…!

Makoto: Like I said, stop telling these stories!!

Toono: Tachibana-kun, you really are a scaredy cat, aren't you? Actually, I also know of this really special scary story! Would you like to hear it?

Makoto: I don't want to hear it!!

Haruka: It's coming over.

Asahi: This is...probably…

Kisumi: Oh? What's everyone doing here?

Asahi: I knew it's you, Kisumi!

Kisumi: Aah! Toono-kun is here, too! I'm really looking forward to the 3x3 next Sunday!

Asahi: What? You guys play basketball together?

Toono: It's my day off from swim club, so yeah, to socialize.

Kisumi: Asahi, you're jealous?

Asahi: Like I would be!

Kisumi: Ooh, so you guys came to find something you left behind. Hehe, it feels a bit like one of those dares you do as a challenge! It reminds me of the Seven Scary Wonders back in middle school~

Haruka: We were just talking about them.

Asahi: And how it's boring we don't have them at Hidaka.

Kisumi: If they don't exist, maybe you can make them up yourselves?

Makoto: Nooo there's no need for that!!

Ikuya: ...what's that sound?

Haruka: Like something is flying?

Asahi: There it goes again.

Toono: Oh? Over there…

Ikuya: Something… just flew?

Makoto: Eeh… is it not a bird?

Asahi: Birds don't fly like that.

Toono: A UFO?

Asahi: Isn't it too small for that?

Kisumi: Oh! Looks like it fell.

Asahi: Alright then, let's go take a look!

Makoto: WHAAAT!?

Asahi: Um...it should be… right around here…

Makoto: That's enough, don't you think!?

Kisumi: Even though we might be the ones to discover the first Scary Wonder?

Makoto: I don't want to discover anything at all!

Haruka: Ah. What is this?

Kisumi: A boomerang?

Makoto: There's a drawing of a kangaroo on it.

Kisumi: Boomerang...and kangaroo...would mean…

Makoto: Australia?

Haruka: Could it be… Rin?

Asahi: He threw it all the way from Sydney?

Ikuya: How is it supposed to reach here? Stupid Asahi.

Kisumi: No wait! Could it be that something bad happened to Rin, and some supernatural force is in works, trying to tell us?

Makoto: Haru… should we call Rin?

Haruka: Rin…!

Kisumi: You're texting Rin?

Haruka: Yeah. ...I've got a reply. He said: "why are you texting me this late at night?"

Makoto: Oh thank god, he's okay…!

Kisumi: But if that's the case, what's the boomerang from Australia doing here…?

Ikuya: Could this be…?

Makoto: Oh, is it Momotarou-kun?

Ikuya: No, I think I know who it is…

Toono: Yeah, you're probably right.

Natsuya: Hey guys, so this is where you are! Oh, that boomerang is mine.

Nao: I'm glad you found it.

Makoto: Natsuya-senpai! And Nao-senpai, too!?

Ikuya: Brother...what on earth are you doing?

Natsuya: What do you mean "what"...I got into an argument with Nao about how to throw a boomerang, so we decided to try it out for real.

Asahi: So you just… started throwing a boomerang… in the middle of the night… at a university you don't go to?

Natsuya: Sorry, I thought there's no one here, so I just…

Ikuya: Brother… what did you come here for?

Nao: He heard from Ikuya that you guys are having a training camp together, so he said he'd bring some snacks over for you guys.

Natsuya: Here. Beer and snacks to go with it!    

Ikuya: We're still underage!

Natsuya: That's just a joke. These are for Nao and me. I've got soda for you guys, don't worry.

Toono: You plan to join the training camp, too?

Asahi: Or maybe he just wants to drink…

Ikuya: It's not a training camp… besides, we're just about to head home.

Natsuya: Really? How boring. By the way, I called you on your phone, but you didn't answer, so I was worried.

Ikuya: We're on our way to retrieve my phone.

Haruka: It seems like he's left it at the canteen.

Nao: Is that the canteen over there?

Natsuya: The lights are off.

Nao: Something is flashing inside.

Makoto: A will‐o'‐the‐wisp!!

Haruka: It's probably Ikuya's phone. Maybe someone's calling him right now. Like Mr. Archerfish.

Asahi: Oh, the flashing is gone.

Toono: I'll try calling the phone, too.

Asahi: It started flashing again.

Natsuya: I knew it.

Makoto: Oh thank god...woah! It's now moving! And it's floating!! If it's a phone, it shouldn't move on its own, or float….right?

Kisumi: So this is the new Seven Scary Wonders?

Ikuya: A will-o'-the-wisp that wanders around a canteen in the middle of the night…

Makoto: Eeeeek!?

Asahi: Oh, it's leaving the canteen.

Nao: Maybe someone is holding the phone in their hand?

Natsuya: You're right. They found the lost item, I'm sure.

Toono: But… isn't that person… laughing maniacally?

Asahi: That's true… there's no need to laugh like that… just because you found a phone.

Ikuya: This reminds me, there's a scary story about a man's silhouette that keeps laughing… it's one of the Seven Scary Wonders.

Makoto:  Eeeeeh! It...it's heading over here…! W-WHO IS IT!?

Sei: GAHAHAHA, IT'S ME!!

All: Mikoshiba-senpai!?

THE END

[studiobeebo]

Message Sent (Tamaki Amajiki x Reader)

i have had 0 inspiration for like 7 years but this idea popped up in my head last night so i hope you enjoy despite my absence uwu

In reality, the two word sentence of “Hi (Name).” was in no way complicated, but for poor Tamaki, it must have been the most difficult sentence he had ever been tasked with typing out.

If it were up to him he would have never even gotten anywhere near sending even a simple text like that to you, but of course life wouldn’t let him continue on the easy path. It wasn’t that he didn’t like you, but rather that he liked you too much for his already often trembling heart to handle. Maybe to the average eye you weren’t extremely tremendous or outstanding, but to him you were as radiant as the sun and he wished nothing more then to comfortably bask in the warmth of your bright personality, yet his nerves always got the better of him. He could hardly hold a conversation with you because once he ran out of things to say, which was generally pretty soon after he returned your daily “Good Morning!”, his mouth would get dry and his mind would go blank, leaving him to awkwardly shuffle away. He was lucky that you didn’t seem to mind and that you understood his severe anxiety, but that didn’t make him feel any less bad about it. He wanted to get to know you and do simple things together with you, but he just couldn’t bring himself to do so. Fortunately for him however, or maybe unfortunately, he now had no choice because the two of you ended up getting put together for a group project, and he was absolutely terrified.

Of course it was nice that he at least got paired with someone he was slightly more comfortable with compared to the average person, but that relief was crushed by the idea that this meant he’d have to work with you personally. Just the thought of being alone with you made his chest tighten in an attempt to contain the whirlwind of nervous emotions within, so when you scribbled down your number on a piece of paper for him and told him that the two of you cold talk about the project, he could do nothing but grab it with a shaking hand and nod. Even after he entered your contact into his phone, all he could do was stare at the empty text box, type out a simple hello, and then frantically delete it. At first he thought he could have just waited for you to text him first, but upon realizing that he had forgotten to give you his number in return, he knew he had no choice but to at least try to face his fear and be a bit ‘bold’.

Now that he was just staring at what must have been his hundredth version of saying ‘Hi’, however, he was feeling anything but bold. He felt more ashamed to be honest, but that feeling soon switched to fear as he nearly screamed while clenching his phone in his hand and practically jumping a mile off of his bed at the sudden “What’s up Tamaki?” that sounded from beside him.

“MI-MIRIO?!”

“The one and only!” His friend laughed out while pulling himself through the wall and plopping down beside him on his bed.

“Y-You can’t just go through my wall like that!!” Tamaki sighed out with a hand clamped over his chest.

“Whaaat? But it’s so awesome now that we’re living in rooms right next to each other!”

“Still..” He mumbled, his tensed muscles finally relaxing as he brought his hand away from his chest, but the moment he did so and looked down at his phone that was still clenched in his hand, he immediately tensed up again before letting out a yelp and bringing his phone up to his face.

“What is it?! What happened?!” Mirio prodded, immediately leaning over to get a good look at whatever was so shocking on Tamaki’s phone.

“Ohoho hey you finally got (Name)’s number!! Good job!”

Despite his best friends words of encouragement, however, he still felt nothing but dread upon seeing that he had accidentally sent the message he was planning on deleting when he clenched his phone in surprise just moments beforehand. When he saw the little notification that you were typing back, however, he gulped before thrusting the phone out towards Mirio and turning his head away.

“Take it!! I can’t look at what she says, she probably thinks I’m a total creep..”

Even though Mirio knew well that there was no way someone as nice as you would think Tamaki was creepy just for saying hello, he also knew that his nerves wouldn’t be settled until he heard for himself that you weren’t upset in any way, so when you replied Mirio read it alloud for him.

“Ok ok just listen to this! She says ‘Hey Tamaki! I’m so sorry I didn’t text you sooner, after class I totally realized that I gave you my number and never got yours’ - then she put the little sweat drop emoji.” He said, continuing when another text popped up.

“Ok and then ‘So would you want to go to the library today or tomorrow to get started? I’m so excited I get to work with you, I thought I’d get stuck with someone I don’t like’.”

When he finished reading off what you had said, Mirio looked up from his friends phone with a raised brow, trying to gauge Tamaki’s reaction, which judging by the look on his face was ‘shocked’.

“She..said that?”

“Yup!” Mirio cheered, handing the phone back to him so he could see for himself and then grinning once he saw the slight smile that appeared on his face accompanied by a dusting of pink over the bridge of his nose.

“See? She liiikes you.” He teased in a childish manner, watching the pink on Tamaki’s cheeks quickly turn to red.

“Sh-She didn’t mean it like that!” He defended, but he couldn’t deny that it would be a dream come true if you did have feelings of some sort for him..

Just thinking about such things made him shake his head in an attempt to clear his mind, this was just a school project after all and there was no reason to get into the whole ‘But what if she likes me too?’ debate with himself like he had many times beforehand.

“What should I say then?” He asked, reading over your words once again to make sure he didn’t miss a thing.

“Just say yes!”

“Seriously?! Just like that?!”

“Yeah, why not?” He questioned. “Just say..Hmm..Just say ‘Sure, we can go together after classes tomorrow’. Is that good?”

Even though Tamaki nodded, he hesitated for a moment before slowly typing out exactly what Mirio had told him to. He thought that this time it would be harder to press send since the first time was an accident, but knowing that you were…’excited’ about this whole ordeal made him feel a bit less nervous as he finally sent the message.

“Ok, there..” He mumbled, staring at his phone for a minute or two before uselessly trying to ignore the little jump in his heartbeat when he saw you text back.

‘Sounds good! See you tomorrow :)’

“Well? Did she respond?”

“Oh.” Tamaki gasped, almost forgetting his friend who was seated right beside him. “Yeah she- She said it sounded good.”

“Oh hey awesome! See, you got this man.”

Tamaki just smiled and gave a small nod while letting out a sigh of relief. He had no idea if he really did ‘get this’ and the thought of being alone with you was already making his stomach erupt into a flurry of swirling butterflies, but along with that flurry came a sense of warmth like the calm in the eye of a storm and all he could hope for was that this warmth would get him through whatever was to come tomorrow.

[jessiewre]

Day 51

Mon 24th Feb

🎉 🎈 🥳 PHILS BIRTHDAY 🎁 🎂 🍰

As he’d warned, Phil woke up with the birthday demand that we head straight to the sea to be the first ones in. I slightly rolled my eyes as he woke me up from my slumber but it was his birthday. Then of course as you’d expect, it was actually awesome. There were only a few people milling around walking up the beach or opening up their businesses and the sunrise in the bay looked amazing. It was super quiet & calm, the perfect way to start the day.

As we walked back, we swung by the restaurant as they set up for breakfast and they gave us some hot milk with coffee sachets & mugs etc so we could have coffees on our balcony as the sun rose. ROMANTIC OR WHAAAT. Once back in the room, I offered to go and get more sachets - classic secret agent cover - and ran back to the restaurant to help Wendy set up the table as planned. She was collecting petals from the floor when I arrived and revealed she’d decorated the table once already but the fan had blown it all away. Nightmare 🌸🌺.

I helped prep and decided not to correct her spelling as she laid the petals on the table.

JES 💓 FIL

Another lady who worked there came over to see if she could help and saw me trying to prep the presents. My plan was to wrap them in napkins and hide them around the room, but I had stuffed them all into a small bag to hide them over the last week and this had resulted in some extreme creases. She looked at this pile of creased material and scrunched up her face

‘Are these Phil’s presents?’ she asked, clearly very unimpressed by my presentation. She insisted on taking them away to iron them for me and hey, who was I to argue.

I eventually completed by napkin-wrapped treasure hunt now with ironed goods 😏 and went back to the room with coffee sachets with a solid cover story.

‘You’re not gonna believe this, they had run out of coffee. Someone had to go get some from a nearby hotel’

I think he actually believed me too. It’s both impressive and worrying how good I am at lying and how easily Phil believes me when I do.

As we walked towards the restaurant, I got a phone out to film Phil’s reaction and he began to get really awkward and nervous as he imagined a group of dancers and singers were ready and waiting for him - but then he saw the table was the surprise and was really happy. Not as happy as Wendy though who was SO excited. I can appreciate that for many people, organising surprises is actually way better than receiving them yourself.

The 1st gift of the skittles were in a bowl on the table and the English mustard was proudly placed above a plate they had decorated with the words:

‘35th Happy Birthday Philly G’.

In that order.

Then Phil began his treasure hunt. Phil found presents in the plants, hanging out of windows, on chairs, behind lamps, all while awkwardly walking around the restaurant amongst other guests. I enjoyed it very much.

So, opening the presents. Crunch time. Well he absolutely LOVED the shorts and put the first pair on immediately. Knew that would happen. Then the bracelets went down an absolute treat too! He donned his Boy Bangle with great pride.

Now onto the shirt. I must admit I was sweating slightly when he opened the shirt. He made a bit of a Geraldine noise of ‘Mm hmm’ at first and I thought Uh ohh. Then he was like ‘Oooooh, wow!’ which again had a real McCusker-ness about it - but THEN he was like ‘Wow its really great!’.

I couldn’t believe it - he loved it. The mustard shirt was a win!

The head band was a winner too and his card was the ultimate the cherry on top - one night in a luxury Maasai lodge where we could do spear throwing and he could have a massage. PLUS it was booked for when his mate Chet would be visiting us for a week! He was SO happy and I had just completely won birthdays.

We enjoyed our breakfast and just when Phil was a really relaxed, the clinking of the cutlery started faintly in the distance. Phil looked at me with a face full of nerves and a bead of sweat trickled down his brow. I smiled like the evil genius I am.

The kitchen door opened and closed again as the staff assessed the room, god the anticipation was building, and then the good ol’ Kenyan conga began! The group of 10 or so staff included the gardeners, the waiting staff, the chefs and more and they sang for Phil like he was a close member of their family. One of them was carrying a huge cake decorated in green, orange and white (#IRELAND4EVA) with the Happy 35th Birthday Philly G message on and then when they sang happy birthday, some of them even said Philly G. It was hilarious 😂. There was a section where they sang How old are you now and Phil would chip in with ‘35’! It was so great.

After what seemed like a very long time, the performance stopped and Phil thanked everyone, cutting the cake up to share around the room with the other guests. We then went to the kitchen in the back to share it out with all the staff and make sure everyone got a piece.

It was a pretty fun packed morning and Phil was thrilled with it all while I was relieved to have my agent duties completed. We went to the pool where the good vibes continued, playing some sick games with the space hopper and doing a lot of handstands like the adults we are. Barry rocked up (it wouldn’t be a happy birthday without an special guest appearance from Barry) and he’d been shopping. Time for the full low down. He’d decided to get some gifts for friends back home but some chump tried to charge him $7 per sarong and Barry knew it should be $5 - so he weren’t ‘appy about that and he took his business elsewhere.

The good news is he found somewhere to buy his 5 sarongs for his hareem of women but the even better news was still to come when Phil asked him what else he got.

‘I got a kilo of turmeric for $4, half for me half for my mate’

Phil and I were slightly shocked by this announcement, but a little impressed too. Phil asked him what he was planning to do with it.

‘Juice in the morning. Yeah, you blend it, makes a hell of a mess of the blender though, stain wise, awful.’

You know what. At this moment, I decided I was going to really miss Barry.

We asked him why he had it and he said ‘Health init. I try. When it runs out I won’t bother though’.

Good old Barry and his turmeric juice. Good luck to the guy.

Phil chose the Swahili restaurant for his birthday lunch (minus Barry I’m afraid) and they kindly gave him a slice of cake as a starter to celebrate. Then as we left, they gave us ANOTHER slice of cake as well as 3 sweet donut balls! They realllly love a birthday in Kenya! Might start saying its Phil’s birthday a bit more often. We walked to the supermarket to get birthday beers and I gave a bit of cake to the grumpy supermarket till lady who very nearly smiled.

At 17:30 we were about to leave our room for a trip to the beach in the cooler evening sun when our room phone rang. Turned out Agatha on reception had made the dinner reservation I asked for the day before - but we were meant to be there at 17:30. Oops...we asked her to delayed it and went to the beach to enjoy a swim in the sea with a beer before heading off to get ready.

Phil’s mustard shirt made its premier appearance and it was then Phil noticed the pocket was a little skewiff. By skewiff, I mean it was practactically under his armpit. Oh well, he wore it anyway and we headed for dinner at Hemingways, the most luxury resort in the area, with Phil’s cash firmly safe in the depths of his armpit.

It was a beautiful setting. The food however was SO disappointing.

Phil went rogue and ordered crispy squid as a starter and the dish had far more tentacles than he was anticipating. My bruschetta starter was ok.

But the worst bit was our mains. Phil’s mushroom risotto was SUPER bland and my ravioli was so poor I didn’t finish it. The waiter asked if everything was ok and much to his surprise I told him No. We’d had a laugh with him up until that point so he went and got us two chocolate mousse desserts to apologise.

Well he shouldn’t have bothered, cos they tasted like cooking chocolate from the 90s mixed with a bit of Nutella. Phil took a giant spoonful and dared himself to eat it in one to avoid having to leave so much of it on the plate.

We asked the restaurant to sort us out a tuc tuc but then we refused to pay $3 for the one they offered out of principal as it was double what we’d paid to get there!) Then we ended up walking along the main road in the dark to find a tuc tuc. The joke of it all was that after paying $55 for the meal and it suddenly dawned on us that we were now sweating and walking for the sake of $1.50. We had to laugh about it.

Despite the dung food & tuc tuc fun, we had a great day and Phil went to bed a happy 35 year old, with the agreement that we would work out when we were leaving Watamu tomorrow...

[boneshine]

Close Call

Pairing: Benjamin Clawhauser / Chief Bogo

Rating: M

Summary: Bogo confiscates Clawhauser’s phone in order to make him more productive at work. Established relationship. Post-Movie.

Warning: NSFW! Details under the cut!

Part Four/Five

--

Warning: This is a NSFW story, although the adult content does not really begin until Part Five. That being said, this is still an M-rated story, so read at your own smut-loving risk.

--

The bed was warm, the blankets soft and plentiful as they wrapped around Clawhauser’s peacefully snoozing form. His paws kneaded at the air; a quiet purr nestled in the back of his throat. He was roused a bit at the sound of a door opening and shutting, but he drifted slowly back down into his dreams as the silky warmth and the scent of wheatgrass and his lover’s musky cologne kept his consciousness at bay—

EEGH EEGH EEGH!!!

The wailing, strangled beeps of Bogo’s alarm clock stabbed into the feline’s ear, his body jerked back and flailed, his world twisting around him as he fell off the bed.

“ACK!”

His heart pounding, head aching, Clawhauser could still hear the tell-tale chuckle wash over him.

“Works every time.”

Eyes squinted open in irritation, the cheetah’s frazzled form struggled to climb back into the bed, immediately deflating and flattening back into the sheets, his face slowly becoming more and more acquainted with the pillow as sleep tried to coax him back. “Vin-n-n-cenpphh…”

“Good morning, Ben.” He didn’t even need to look to know that Bogo was already up, showered, dressed in his uniform, fur groomed, and impeccably ready for the day before the cheetah had even opened both eyes. A hoof ran down his back, making the smaller’s round body instinctively raise itself in an arch at the welcoming touch, only to flop back down in exhaustion. “I said ‘good morning’, Ben. That means you need to actually get up.”

“Ugh…”

“On all fours, at least.”

Clawhauser’s ears perked. “Ooh.”

“Not like THAT.”

“Aw.”

The feline grumbled but heard something slosh in front of his face, the scent of berries filling his nose. His tail curled as his eyes open to spot a bowl of cereal in Bogo’s hoof, already poured and ready for him. “Lucky Chomps!”

“Indecipherably nutritious.”

He sat up and snuggled back into the pillows as he heaped spoonful after spoonful into his mouth with glee, stopping only to give his boyfriend a big milky kiss on his cheek. “Thaaanks, honey!” he chimed.

Bogo wiped his face. “Finish up and maybe we can get to work on time?”

“Three more bowls and I’m right behind you.”

--

The morning, while early and vastly unpleasant due to said earliness, had left Clawhauser in a considerably better mood. It wasn’t every day that he got to spend the night and the morning with his beloved Buffalo Buns, lounging with cereal and the occasional lingering touch from him as he stumbled around to get ready for work. However, as they drove in to the precinct, the cheetah recalled with a growing annoyance that he had another boring day without his phone ahead of him.

How did I forget that my boyfriend was such a jerk? I’m such a sucker for morning cuddles…

It didn’t help that Bogo seemed to recall it as well, and the expression on his face was a smug, amused contrast to the normally-bubbly feline’s pout.

“Don’t look so glum, Ben,” he spoke as they strolled to his desk, “It’s just one more day, you know.”

“It’ll be the worst day of my life,” he groused, climbing into his seat and already sulking.

“Oh, don’t be ridiculous. You’ll have much worse days than this.”

“… Gee, I really appreciate that!”

Bogo smirked. “Maybe this will help you change your outlook.” He leaned in, dangerously close considering it was a public space, and Clawhauser looked around uncertainly before he was drawn back to rich brown eyes and that handsome face. “I’ve decided to add something to our little bet.”

The feline sputtered. "More rules?! Wh—Vinc— Chief, I'm already chained to my desk! What more can you ask for?!"

"Nothing like that. It's a perk, really. And since you'll be tethered to your desk the rest of the day, I thought that perhaps some incentive will help keep you on track."

“Incentive?”

A warm hoof landed on his paw, trailing up his arm to graze the edge of a flickering ear. All the while, that salacious smirk only grew as he stared into wide eyes.

“Think about it. What motivates a Clawhauser?”

“… Doughnuts.”

Bogo’s smirk fell. “And… what else… ?”

It took only a second, and the cheetah’s mouth fell open in understanding. “Oh-h-h-h!” Another moment, and his eyes sparkled. “Ooo-o-o-o-o, I’m gonna get some--!” he squealed, muffled as his mouth was immediately covered with a hoof, the buffalo now glancing around suspiciously.

"Not outside of the office," he grit out.

Clawhauser couldn't stop a giggle, prying off his hoof from his grin. "Save the magic for the show, right?"

“There will be no show.”

“You’re such a prude at work, you know that?”

“I’m professional.”

The younger quirked a furry brow at him. “Mm-hmm… Okay, Mr. Shoulder-Touch-and-Ear-Grope-and-Sensual-Whispering-and--”

“Clawhauser.”

“… Sex-Promise.”

--

Of course, he took the incentive. Why wouldn’t he? It would be at least a decent reward for the hell that his boyfriend was making him go through.

Besides, it would only be six more hours, right?

The feline’s bored gaze was trained on his computer, holding back a sigh as he refreshed the page for the hundredth time to see if any new reports had popped up to deal with. Sadly, nothing. And he had five hours and 15 more minutes to go and he was literally going to go insane--

“Um, Ben?”

The cheetah jumped, blinking from the screen daze as he leaned over the desk to see the familiar face of a bunny staring up at him, gasping. "Judy!" Boy, was he glad to see her, obvious by his wide and excited smile. A distraction! And also, his dear friend! But mostly, right now, a distraction! "How's it going, my bunny from another mummy?"

"Fine, fine..." Judy seemed to hesitate, a rare expression on her velvety visage. "It's just that... I haven't gotten a text from you since the Molencia call." Her ears tilted back in worry. "Did I upset you somehow?"

Aww! Cute! Cute! Cute! "No, no! Of course not, cutie-- Judy," he corrected quickly at her narrowed look. "You're fabulous as always. It's something completely out of my control, believe me. I'm being punished. Bogo confiscated my phone to teach me a lesson."

"Oh." The bunny blinked and cracked a small smile. "Is it a... good lesson?"

"Huh?"

She wriggled her eyebrows. "You know... the kind that some couples do... I've heard..."

The implication in her tone was not lost on him, and his skin immediately burned under his fur. "Whaaat?! N-No! He's just trying to teach me to focus on my job! O-M-Goodness, Judes! Where did that come from?!"

Judy giggled. "Hey, I'm a bunny. I come from a family of over two-hundred siblings. I know this stuff."

"I thought that you didn't like to use those stereotypes!"

"... Nick MAY be influencing me more than I thought," she mumbled.

 Knew it! Clawhauser hid his own grin and covered it with an indignant huff. "Any-who, I'm stuck at my desk until the end of my shift..." He suddenly leaned over, startling the small rabbit. "So-o-o-o how's about you stay here and chat with me for a while? Maybe an hour or two? It's been a slow crime week, hasn't it? You can spare the time!"

His enthusiasm seemed to set her back. "Oh... Well, actually, I got a text from Nick about some 'former friends' that may be linked to that stolen car ring we've been working on." She grinned. "We get to be part of the stakeout! Six A.M. sharp!"

Bunnies were such morning creatures; it was almost nauseating. "Fan... tastic?"

"I know! So, I'm afraid that I'll have to cut our talk short. Like, right now," the bunny was already turned to begin leaving, her paw up in farewell. "Good luck, Ben!"

Panic filled the cheetah. "Wait! No! I can't leave my desk! Don't leave, Judy! I need to talk! Just stay a little longer, please!"

"Can't hear you, too pumped!"

"Judy, no! Judy, don't go through the door, no! I need contact from the outside world! No-o-o-o..." he moaned out and slumped against the desk as the doors slid shut behind her. "My bunny beacon of hope..."

"Clawhauser!" A voice boomed from above.

The cheetah jolted and gawked up in confusion. "What?!"

Bogo's expression seemed less stern, but he pointed to his door regardless. "In my office!"

The cheetah stared. Was he serious? "I haven't left!" he blurted out.

The chief rolled his eyes. "Just get up here!"

--

There was no hiding the irritated stomp the feline had and Clawhauser huffed as he walked into the office. "Let's get one thing clear, okay?" he started. "I want it on the record that this does NOT count as me losing the bet because YOU ordered me up here for who-knows-what reason and--"

As soon as the door shut behind him, he was pressed against it.

Soft lips covered his in a sudden kiss, a hoof grasping the back of his head like the shirtless hunk on his favorite romance novel cover.

Clawhauser's bewilderment immediately turned to joy, and his eyes sparkled before closing and returning the kiss with enthusiasm.

Surprise hanky-panky? Thanky!

The hot, heavy weight of his lover was pressed into his body and he purred wildly, paws kneading strong shoulders as the feline clung to the older male. Yes! This was a fantastic way to kill a few hours (which was NOT an exaggeration as he recalled other, ahem, 'meetings' like this) and to keep his mind off that stupid bet! After all that teasing his chief had done, he could use some relief. He licked at his boyfriend's soft muzzle, urging him to continue--

But Bogo pulled his mouth back, and used it to smirk at the dazed form, still pressing him against the wall.

"You'll get the rest tomorrow."

The words were like a splash of cold water and Clawhauser's pants faded as he blinked. "Come again?"

"Sorry. Not yet."

"... What?" A hiss.

The mounting anger on his lover seemed to please the buffalo. "That was just a taste. You didn't think I'd let you get away with more than that today? The bet isn't over."

"Wh-- You just..." Clawhauser's body squirmed frantically, fangs bared. "You can't keep DOING this to me!"

His paws were held and restrained by one hoof; his struggles worthless.

“I haven’t done anything to you.” The humor in the chief’s voice was infuriating. “And I won’t until after the bet is over. That’s the point, Ben.”

"No!” he hissed again, “No, this—this is unacceptable! Absolutely not! You already took away one toy! And THEN you have the AUDACITY to dangle my favorite one in my face and take it away before I get to play with it!" the smaller snarled and struggled to reach his lover's trousers, claws ready to rip fabric open, but they barely wiggled in the buffalo’s iron grip. "Just a quickie! It’s the least you can do!"

“Actually,” his body was lifted and twirled around to face the door, with a fond pat on his sizable rump to end the contact as Bogo returned to his desk, “the least I can do is nothing. And that’s exactly what’s happening. Until. The bet. Is over,” the chief hummed.

Several things ran through the feline. Anger. Indignation. Incredible horniness.

Oh, he was going to PAY!

His eyes were almost slits as he managed out, "I have half a mind to deny you for a week!" He bit back a growl, already at the door. He tried to adjust certain things before he swung the entrance open.

"The other half seems to disagree, then," came his boyfriend’s sly response.

"Oh, no! Believe me, the rest will follow when blood flow returns to my brain, you big buff jerk!"

--

It was the first moment of the entire day that Clawhauser was glad he couldn't leave his desk. He shifted and grumbled as his arousal slowly faded into a dull throb. It had been difficult enough trying to ease back down the stairs without alerting anyone to his 'condition.'

He is going to make it up to me so hard... Oh, cripes, hard... He cursed at himself, only to sigh as the landline rang.

Five. More. Hours. Left.

Hello, sex life? Sorry, you've been canceled.