#woah hes getting brave posting at brave hours

[thalassous]

"i believe, we have to kill this guy, citizen kuragin." "damn!"

or, war and peace as well as les miserables happen at literally the same time interval.

[ ID: A halfbody, coloured drawing of Enjolras standing partially in front of Anatole Kuragin. Enjolras is on the left, he holds a pocket watch in his right hand and a gun in his left. He looks troubled. Anatole is on his right, and he lifts his head above his left hand while looking pleased. Enjolras says, "Je crois, nous devons tuer cette homme, Citoyen Kuragin." Anatole responds with, "Zut!" The background is plain grey END ID. ]

[ms-spkhd]

thinking about a Blast From the Past steddie au tonight. like, think about it for a second--steve as the sweet, well-meaning himbo raised in a fallout shelter and eddie as the cynic who shows him the world as it is:

The year was 1962, and an atomic bomb had just dropped on top of the Harrington household.

Okay, not really. It was actually a fighter jet that suffered a mechanical failure just above the little plot of land the Harringtons called their home, but Walter Harrington took it differently. Far differently.

See, the thing was that the man was living in a state of paranoid delusion over the Cold War--terrified of the possibility of an outright nuclear holocaust over the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Soviet Union. He had been carefully building a fallout shelter under his home for his wife and possible children to live in with the works--canned food, running water, and even a working television.

And one day they went in and simply never left. The explosion right when they closed the door was tangible proof that the nuclear war was happening right above them.

A few years later, around 1968, a baby boy was born in a fallout shelter with no one but his mom and dad to keep him company.

They raised Steve the best they could, even if Walter Harrington was a mad genius and Madeline Harrington was a borderline alcoholic. Even if the boy was living in a perfect little time capsule of the fifties and early sixties. Walter made sure to educate him right and teach him how to be a sociable gentleman--even if he had no idea what swear words or the concept of sex were. That was for another time. Although, twenty-four years came and went for Steve Harrington, his father still owes him 'another time'.

Steve Harrington grows twenty-four years in perfect seclusion, but that changes at the flick of a switch.

The year is 1992: supplies are dwindling Walter is growing sick, and Steve is tasked to bravely set foot in the nuclear fallout to retrieve more material. (The only reason why Walter assumes they can even get more stuff is because he observed the outside world when the shelter unlocked and mistook it as a post-apocalyptic mutant society.)

The moment Steve made it outside his little bubble, he was utterly fascinated by the world--how different the people were outside of his television and his little books, how bright the sky was outside, how the irritable man on the bus wouldn't accept the money he tried to give him, how the bus moved and didn't fling him right off his seat.

(He even saw an adult bookstore. Dad told him that those things were filled with poisonous gas. How were they even to operate if they were filled with poisonous gas? That's dangerous and totally inconsiderate of the general public's safety.)

Anyway, he tries to follow the grocery list that Mom and Dad gave him the best he can, stocking up on poultry and tissue paper and the works. But by the end of the day, he doesn't know where he came from. Not a single sign or building or person can give him a single clue where to go.

After a few hours of wandering, suitcase in hand, he comes across a store with WE BUY BASEBALL CARDS written on the window.

Golly, Steve loves baseball cards--could look at Dad's collection for hours, and with the collection he has, he could make a pretty penny selling them for supplies. Despite the little hobby store being beside an adult bookstore with poisonous gas, he scampers right in.

"I see you're looking to buy baseball cards," he says breezily to the gruff, scary-looking man behind the counter.

"That I am," he replies.

Steve pulls a few from his jacket's inner pocket. "Well, these are a bit old, you see, but I was hoping you still might be interested."

The gruff man yanks them from his hands, a spark in his eye. He looks delighted to see them, and it fills Steve with an excitement he hadn't felt at all today. Nobody has been this happy over something he's done today. "Woah," he gasps, then covers it with a cough. "Mickey Mantle rookie season...how much do you want?"

"I was hoping to sell all of my cards, actually!"

The man sputters incredulously. "All of 'em? Are you fucking with me?"

"I'm not sure what that means, but all I have are hundred-dollar bills and I need something smaller. Like, uh...ones, tens, fives..."

"Tell you what, I'll give you five hundred in small bills for all you got."

Steve smiles brightly. "Oh, that would be wonderful, sir--"

"Five hundred for a case-full of rookie season Mickey Mantles, Rick, are you fucking joking?" A deep voice cuts through Steve's thanks from the other side of the small store. He turns around to find a man leaning against a magazine rack, arms folded sternly.

The man is unlike Steve's ever seen before. Long, long limbs and big brown eyes that look traced with black and smudged around the edges. Pretty lips, too almost girl-ish, in the way they were big and plush like the women he'd see on the television. The strangest thing about him, though, was the curly hair that tumbled past his shoulders.

He looked mad, though. Madder than mad.

"Tell the poor guy you're fucking with him," long-hair-pretty-lips says to the man behind the counter, who bristles.

"Were you raised in a fucking barn, Munson? Who told you to interrupt on business?" Rick counters. Steve was really not appreciating the amount of f-words dropped in the conversation, it was uncouth.

"Sure I was!" Munson saunters towards the counter and Steve's eyes follow him like a moth to a light. "But my morals go past your business practices at this point. You remember the ninth commandment, yeah?"

"You shut your Goddamn mouth--"

"Excuse me sir, but I really don't appreciate how you're using the Lord's name in vain like that," Steve says firmly.

"See?" Munson smiles. It's like sunlight. "He gets it."

He plucks the baseball card from Rick's hand and holds it over his head when he tries to reach for it again. "See this little thing?" He says to Steve sweetly. "This guy costs six grand alone."

"Get out of town! Really?"

"Oh yeah, big guy. Selling the thing would give you a small fortune, and Rick over here is trying to con you out of it."

Steve frowns. "Is that true?" He asks Rick.

"Nothing but," Munson says in place of him. He slips the card back into Steve's hands and gives them a pat.

"The Hell is even keeping you here, Munson?" Rick sneers. "Did the gig you won't shut up about fall through like they usually do? Better to bum it out here than in your shithole apartment? Stop loitering in my damn store and make like a fucking tree. You're banned."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night," Munson says rolling his eyes. He looks at Steve, then the door, gesturing at it with a flick of his head. "I'll see you out, Beaver."

He walks them both out the door, stopping to gesture at Rick strangely--hands balled into fists with only his middle fingers up--before stepping outside onto the sidewalk.

"Well merci, Monsieur," Steve says appreciatively, because Dad taught him French was always to be used on such occasions.

"What, you're French?"

"Oh no, I'm"--he thinks back to what Dad told him if a mutant asks where he's from. Gosh, he thinks he's supposed to be--"out on business."

"And you don't even have a clue about the little business trick that Rick tried to pull?"

"No...no, I--"

"Yeah, doesn't matter." Munson shrugs. He smiles sympathetically at Steve before turning on his heel and walking off. Oh boy, what would he do without him?

He follows him like a lost puppy, that's what.

"...You going the same way?" Munson asks incredulously. Steve shakes his head.

"Well, I'm following you."

Munson stops in his tracks, blinking, and Steve almost runs into him in his state. "Me?"

"Well yes! Where are we going?"

"We?" Munson asserts. "I'm going back to my shithole apartment, and judging by that jacket you're wearing, you should be taking the next left and hop-skipping straight to the barber college."

"Oh, I'm lost, though."

"Aren't we all?"

"Say, did you just get banned from that hobby store because of me?" Steve says to change the subject.

Munson sighs. "Seems like I did, sailor. The place was shitty anyways, with that dickhead running the operation. Wayne could get better cards from a different joint."

...dickhead? Steve's never heard that leave the seams of anyone's lips before. "Dickhead?"

"Yeah, he's a real fucking loser. A walking talking penis capable of human speech."

Steve gets queasy at the image he's concocted in his head. He leans against the nearest brick wall, his suitcase tumbling to the ground as he drops into a contemplative squat.

"Dude, what is wrong with you?"

"Well, the mental image that I..."

Munson's eyebrows scrunch before he reaches out a hand to Steve. He takes it, letting the man haul him upward. "Look, man, where'd you park your car?"

"I came by bus."

"Aren't you full of surprises."

"I am?"

"Okay look." Eddie raises his hands, palms splayed in the air. "It's your first time in Los Angeles, right? Everyone wants a taste of it, I know, and you're out for business and fucking famished. You got the opportunity to see the great big world outside of your little bubble and you got excited--but you took a bus and got mixed up in the middle of San Fernando Valley without a clue in the world. Am I correct?"

Steve listens in wonderment. So far, Munson's been correct in a way. He's convinced he might be psychic. He nods slowly and seriously just to see Munson flash that lighting-strike smile.

"Great, great. Which brings us to here. Correct again?"

"Oh yeah."

"Where are you staying?"

Nowhere, at the moment. Steve opens his mouth to say so, but Munson interrupts quickly. "Holiday Inn?"

"Yes, the Holiday Inn!" Steve says totally truthfully.

"Okay, cool. Cool." Munson claps his hands together with finality and starts walking. "The nearest bus station is a couple of blocks away if you take a right--"

"Don't you have a car?"

Munson stops in his tracks again. He turns to face Steve once again. "What's your name, sweetheart?"

Something warm pools in Steve's gut at the pet name. Something about the way those pretty lips form that word sends blood rushing to his cheeks. "Steve," he says.

"Alright, Steve." Oh boy, his name sounds even better when Munson says it. "Rule number one in Los Angeles? Never let a stranger drive you anywhere."

"If it makes you feel any better," Steve says sweetly, "I don't have a gun."

Munson pales, then starts running.

"Hey!" Steve cries and makes haste to follow him. "I must've said something wrong, please forgive me!"

"Nope, nope--get the fuck away from me, man!"

He grabs Munson's wrist to pull him back, which is a bad move since the man starts writhing around in his grip. "I'm not going to hurt you, sir!"

Steve drops Munson's hand and raises his in surrender. "See?"

"...Just let me get to my car."

"I'll give you a Rogers Hornsby if you take me to my hotel," Steve reasons.

Munson stills. "...That's like four grand, don't bullshit me."

He pulls the card from his jacket and presents it as evidence. "See? I was holding it back." He wants Munson to feel safe. "I got two." He reaches for the other cards in his pockets and pulls them out. "And-and all these other ones, too!"

"Okay, okay. You'll give me four thousand dollars if I drive you to your place?"

"Uh-uh!"

"That's it?"

"Yep."

"And I don't have to give you a quickie in the backseat or anything?"

"Yes sir--wait, what?"

Munson blows past his question like it didn't even leave Steve's mouth. "Can you stop with the sir crap?"

"Well, I'm sorry, sir--"

"My name is Eddie."

Eddie...Eddie, Eddie, Eddie. Wow, what a name. It's almost like something he's heard on the television.

"Why, it's nice to meet you, Eddie."

"Tolerable to meet you too, Steve."

Steve smiles shyly, then asks, "So are you a girl?"

"Excuse me?"

"Well it's just your hair...it's so long." Steve points at his as an example. "I've never seen anything like it before."

"Dude, it's 1992, every other guy looks like this--have you been living under a rock or something?"

Something like that. Steve shrugs.

"Well guys having long hair doesn't mean that they're girls, Steve, that's a given. It's not 1962 anymore." Eddie backtracks. "Well, I mean, dudes can have long hair and be chicks and chicks can be dudes too but that's not--"

"Oh, wow, my dad told me about one of those the last time he went here!"

"Oh that's fantastic, sweetheart," Eddie says, sugary-sweet. "But how about I drive you home?"

"That'd be a pleasure, Eddie."

[obwjam]

for the prompt, 26 and peter quill with a teenage borrower?

this has been sitting in my inbox for over a month LOL so sorry anon who was probably expecting something better, much sooner

from this post

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

“Aw, c’mon, bud. I’m not that scary, am I?”

You gulped. He kind of was, but you weren’t going to say that. 

See, you knew exactly who this guy was – Star Lord, leader of the famous Guardians of the Galaxy. He was so famous that even borrowers knew who they were, and your kind tended to stay so secluded that they barely knew anything about the giants of your world.

It was the thing you hated the most. Giants were fascinating! They did things with such ease, and they never had to worry about basic survival like you did. You knew if you could study them up close, you could learn something and help make life better for all of you.

Unfortunately, you really failed to take into account how utterly terrifying it was going to be.

“Aw, man…” Peter frowned. He had noticed this little thing following him around this shop – they couldn’t have been more than 16 years old. He pretended that he didn’t notice them, since he knew they definitely thought they were being sneaky, but they were so caught up in following him that they didn’t notice the ledge of the shelf they were running across was rapidly approaching, and before they knew it, they were tumbling toward the ground. Peter caught them, and now they were sitting in his cupped hands, wide-eyed and trembling.

Guess he was that scary.

“Hey, don’t – c’mon, it’s alright, don’t cry!”

Crap, you were crying. That’s so embarrassing! you yelled in your head, furiously trying to blink away the tears without moving too much, but it was no use. You thought you were being sneaky. You thought you were being brave. But when it came down to it, you were just as terrified as everyone else in your village.

“Shit, um–” Quill looked around, making sure nobody else was nearby. The rest of the Guardians were waiting back on the ship, since this was supposed to be a quick stop to get these little cookies that reminded Peter of Oreos. “Hold on, ‘lil dude, I’m takin’ us somewhere else.”

You whimpered at the sudden movement, too stubborn to stabilize yourself in fear of looking even weaker than you felt now. A few minutes felt like a few hours, but soon, you stopped moving. Quill had found a quiet corner outside the shop.

“Okay, I think we’re safe here,” he huffed, leaning against a dirty brick wall. He took a moment to look you over – wide eyes, heavy breathing, arms pinned tensely at your side. He wasn’t exactly sure how to proceed, but he knew he had to calm you down. 

“What’s your name? Can you tell me that?”

You squeezed your eyes and shook your head. Even if you wanted to tell him, the words would have gotten caught in your throat.

Peter sighed. “Okay. Names later, that’s cool, that’s cool. Well, I’m Peter Quill, people call me Star-Lord.”

You nodded. “I know.”

Quill perked up at the impossibly small sound of your voice. “You know me, huh? I’m that famous?”

You couldn’t help but giggle. How could he not know how famous he was?

You didn’t notice Peter’s soft smile. Maybe he would get through to you after all.

“How old are you, little buddy?”

You hesitated. “...Fifteen.”

“Fifteen?! My god, little dude. You shouldn’t be out alone! Where are your parents?” Quill nearly laughed when he said those words. He never thought he would be the scolding parent type.

You shrunk back. “I…” You didn’t expect him to get mad! And you couldn’t just tell him, either. Why did he have to ask that?!

Peter could immediately tell he had just asked a sensitive question. “Woah, hey, I’m sorry,” he said suddenly, feeling the tears splashing down on his palm. “I, uh, I get it.”

You tilted your head.

“Well, I lost my mom when I was real young, back when I lived on earth.” He said that like you should know what earth was. “And my dad… well, I kind of killed my dad, but I didn't even meet him until a few months ago.” He smirked at the look of sheer confusion on your face. “Oh, don’t worry. He totally deserved it.” A pause. “Anyway! What I’m saying is… I know what it’s like not to have…” He trailed off. “But I’ve got my friends, and that’s more important, anyway. Do you have any friends around?”

You gulped. One of the most sacred borrower rules was to never reveal the existence of others if you were to get caught. Of course, you had already broken the most sacred law, which was to never be seen, no matter what. 

You couldn’t help but really reflect on the question he just asked. Sure, you lived with the village, but after what happened to your parents, you were rarely allowed to leave. They didn’t even know you had left to observe Star-Lord. They were gonna be real mad about that.

“...I’ll assume by your long pause and contemplative looks that the answer is, it’s complicated.”

You shook your head sadly. You don’t know what compelled you to admit this; maybe you respected his attempt to sympathize with you. Or maybe you just really wanted his help. 

“I… I thought – if I could watch you, I could learn from you,” you squeaked. “Make things better for me. For everyone.”

Quill felt his heart swell. That was an adorable admission. 

“But – but nobody listens to me,” you continued. “They don’t care what I have to say. They probably don’t even – I doubt they even noticed that I’m gone.”

A moment passed before Peter spoke again. “Well, what did you learn?”

“Well, I… I learned that giants can be really nice.” You instantly blushed. Did you just say that out loud?

Quill knitted his eyebrows. “Are we not supposed to be?”

“Well… yeah,” you said. “That’s why I’m not supposed to be seen.”

“Gotta say, little bud, you’re doing a terrible job at not being seen.”

Quill was relieved to see you laugh at that. He didn’t know why, but he felt this tug toward you. Maybe it was because you seemed to be receptive to his jokes, or maybe it was the way you looked at him with those pleading eyes. Yondu was there for him when he needed it most – maybe you needed someone like that, too.

“So,” Quill started, “you really want to learn from me?”

You nodded tentatively. What was he getting at?

“Well, if it’s alright with you… why don’t you come hang out with me and the Guardians for a bit?”

You nearly fell over. “What?”

Quill smiled. “You could learn how to fight, how to build stuff, how to pilot a ship… well, maybe not that last part, because nobody flies the Milano but me. But you could definitely watch.”

“Are… are you serious?”

Peter nodded. “Of course I am. Plus, this place sucks, right? Like, it’s totally boring.” 

“It – it is pretty uneventful around here.”

“Exactly. See? I think you already know the answer.”

You thought about it for a moment. You would be leaving, totally unannounced. The village would go frantic searching for you… if they even noticed you were gone. You could actually see what was out there! You could learn skills you only dreamed of having. You could protect yourself… just like the giants could.

“I’ll go with you!”

Now, Quill was beaming. “I knew it. Your life is about to become insanely awesome, little bud. Just wait until you meet the others.”

You couldn’t help but beam along with him as he walked away, the landscape you once called home melting further and further in the difference before disappearing completely. 

Peter Quill wasn’t so scary after all.

[aheckinmess]

(One-shot series 1/3 chapters posted - posts regularly on Saturdays. If anyone knows who to credit for the Hizashi fanart, please let me know!) Read on AO3.

Tags: Graphic violence, Hizashi Yamada x OC, Present Mic, Present Mic saves the day, Hizashi Yamada is a ray of sunshine, angst, hurt/comfort, scared reader, pro hero rescue

Word Count: 4,364 words

Summary: Ichijiku Aoki has lived in hell with Kigai as her captor for three years. During a chance encounter at a dance club, she runs into her first breath of fresh air in years: Hizashi Yamada. Kigai makes it clear that Ichi belongs to him, so dare she hope for a better life and an escape from her prison?

Author's Note: I haven't posted fanfiction in years, but after a two-year obsession with My Hero Academia, I have more than enough content to share. This first series is pretty dark, but there's some comfort and sweetness along the way. Enjoy.

TW: Implied/Referenced Sexual, Physical, and Emotional Abuse

Chapter 1: Time Signatures

Ichijiku (Tigress)

In another life, listening to the pulsating beat of the music in the club might be fun. I might feed off of the voices singing at the top of their lungs, or delight in the changing colors flashing all around the dance floor. 

But I’m not living in another life. I’m living in hell.

“Give her another shot.” Kigai’s voice rises over the crowd as he gives me a look. Don’t you tell a goddamn soul what I’m doing or you won’t live to see the sunrise. His quirk stretches into my mind and reminds me just who I belong to. Of course, the bruises littering my thighs are testament to that too. Kigai would never let me go out in anything other than skinny jeans, so it’s not like anyone can see, though.

No one ever sees.

The bartender gives me a smile and I play the perfect part of being his playful partner, leaning over to give Kigai a kiss on his cheek, a loving gaze, and a swat at his butt while bile turns over in my stomach. I throw back the shot of tequila before Kigai puts his hands at my hips and looks directly at me. You’d better get out on that dance floor and pretend you’re having a good time. People have started looking at you.  “Why don’t you go have some fun, sugar? I know you don’t feel good, but the dance floor has always helped you clear your mind.”

He plants a slow and tender kiss on my lips, but all I feel is dread. I want to feel happy. I want to feel a flutter in my chest. I want to feel anything. Anything but Kigai.

You’re mine, Ichi. And don’t you forget that. His eyes bore into mine and then he turns away, laughing at a joke Shihito tells him. I can feel his gaze follow me as I put on my brave face and walk through the dance floor.

In some ways, I’m grateful for the tequila. Otherwise I’d never be able to play like everything’s fine. Winding my way through the undulating bodies feels easier to bear than seeing that look on Kigai’s face. The threat that always lingers there. In this mingling of bodies I can close my eyes and lose myself to the music, feel the beat move in conjunction with me instead of forcing me to move with it. 

The only time I’m conscious of is the time signature in the music. Minutes could pass, or it could be hours. What’s important is that Kigai doesn’t cut in and I can’t see those eyes trapping me in their domineering gaze. 

For the first time in three years, I’m reminded of the better parts of life.

And then the better part of life bumps into me.

“Whoops! Hey there, little lady. Sorry for the intrusion.” A blonde man with a broad smile and glasses apologizes to me. “Did I hurt you?”

For a moment my breath is taken away and my façade cracks. The best way I can describe him is pure sunshine. He only looks at me for a moment with that grin but the warmth seeps into my skin and makes me yearn for a normal life. My throat gets tight. Help me. I want to say. Please make him leave me alone. 

“Woah, hey, is everything okay? Did I really hurt you?” His puts a soothing arm on my shoulder as he makes himself heard over the crowd. “Why don’t you come sit down?”

“No!” I panic, forcing a grin on my face and hoping that he’ll shake it off as me being drunk. That’s what everyone else has done. “Really, it’s okay. I just get emotional when I’m drunk. I’m sorry. You just took me by surprise.” I shake my head as if trying to clear my mind and turn away from him. You’re too pure for someone like me, too beautiful for this world. If Kigai knew I slipped up…I can’t drag you down into this. You could get hurt.

“Hey, wait!” I hear him call behind me, but I ignore it and keep moving.

My feet rush towards the bathroom. I head inside and slam the first stall door I see before heaving into the porcelain bowl. Get it together, Ichijiku. I’ll kill Kigai. We can’t. I sob in the stall. We can’t do anything. Kigai has my family on his radar. We’re stuck! What a foul sack of shit. He’s not worth the stripes on my skin. I want to die. I know, Little Cub, and I’d surely embrace death knowing that you didn’t have to suffer this any longer. But we have to hold on. Change is coming. I can feel it in my bristling fur.

There’s a banging at the door that I know means I’m in trouble. I quickly wipe the tears from my cheeks frantically and flush the toilet before wetting a paper towel and dabbing under my eyes. Breathe. Get it together. We’ll survive. I’m right here with you.

I step out of the bathroom and Kigai’s hand wraps around my arm as he pulls me aside.

“Baby, what’s wrong?” He puts on a concerned simper, feeling my forehead with his free hand. You’re supposed to tell me where you’re going and why. You were trying to run away, weren’t you, bitch?  “I thought you were hurt. Did you get sick?”

“I think I drank too much.” I sniffle, looking down so he can’t use his quirk and I don’t have to listen to his haunting voice in my thoughts. It’s a mistake.

His hand comes under my chin. To an outside party it might look like he’s being a tender lover, but there’s bite in the way his fingers dig into my skin. You know I hate when you look away from me, whore.

“Honey, you only had one shot. When did you become such a lightweight?” He laughs. I’m sick of your damn excuses. He runs his fingers through my hair and his hands cup my cheeks as he kisses my forehead. “But if you need to take a seat, go ahead.” Stay where I can see you.

“Thanks, love.” I return his gesture of affection with a hug and a peck on his cheek.

For a while, I sit at the bar again, scrolling through my phone to look busy. I can’t see Kigai, but I don’t need to. His gaze always follows me, even when he’s not in the room.

“It looks like you needed a break, huh?” The blonde from earlier takes residence in the seat next to me.

I turn to look at him as I nurse a lemonade. He’s like a breath of fresh air.

“Yeah.” I look down at the table again and trace around the rim of my glass. “Sorry about earlier. I think I’d been dancing too long and was getting overheated.”

“Yeah, the dance floor can get overwhelming if you’re not used to it.” He laughs. The sound sings through my bones. 

“What’s your name?” I ask.

“Yamada Hizashi. But you can call me Hizashi.” He tilts his head like a puppy and the lights around him make him appear almost angelic. “What’s yours?”

“Ichijiku.” 

“Nice to formally meet you, Ichijiku.” He answers. “Was that your boyfriend I saw earlier?” 

“Yes.” I smile into my cup to hide the disgust in my eyes. God, I wish he wasn’t. “He was making sure I was okay.”

“Ah, good to know. From back there it looked like he was going to hurt you, but I was obviously mistaken. I’m glad you’re safe, you know?” 

Something about the way he says it makes me look up at him and feel more hope than I have in a long time. I feel seen and heard. After a cursory glance around the club without seeing Kigai, I feel safe enough to answer.

“Kigai’s not a dangerous man. He doesn’t hit me and he likes to make sure I’m taken care of.” My eyes scream the opposite. I hope he catches it. I hope he doesn’t. “He knows my favorite colors and we watch my favorite movies all the time and he loves me. He never calls me names and he always asks before he touches me; Kigai doesn’t want to hurt me.”

Hizashi’s hand moves closer to mine and when I look at him I don’t feel sick.

“So you don’t need my help at all, do you?” He asks. He doesn’t break my gaze. 

My lips part in a relieved gasp;  I’m ready to tell him everything, but my eyes hold terror as Kigai catches my gaze from across the room. What the hell are you telling him? His smile follows me even though he’s standing beside the DJ. Abruptly, I stand and move away from Hizashi.

“It would be better if you stayed away from me.” I hiss under my breath, cursing myself for wishing for a normal life. Cursing myself for dreaming that I’d ever be able to get away from Kigai. What was I thinking? If Kigai finds out, it’ll be my head. But at least Hizashi knows. Maybe he can get help! Why would he help me? He probably has no idea I need help. I was reading too much into it. No one ever notices the bruises. Or they make excuses if they do.  That’s right. No one cares about you. Who cares about a stupid whore? She’s not a whore. Kigai’s a manipulator and a rapist, and that’s all there is to it, fiend.

“Are you looking at my girl?” I’m suddenly face to chest with Kigai. Shit. He was closer than I realized. Fuck!

“Kigai, honey, it’s okay. I was just coming to find you. It’s fine.” I place my hand on his arm and squeeze, trying to redirect him. 

“No, it’s not fucking okay.” Kigai growls, glaring bullets into Hizashi’s eyes. 

“Hey, man. You have the wrong idea.” Hizashi puts his hands up, looking composed and calm. See? He knows nothing. Everything you told him went straight over his head. “She bumped into me earlier and I was just making sure she’d gotten back to the bar safely.”

“She bumped into you? Or were you trying to cop a feel?” Kigai snarls, dangerously tense.

“Kigai, please.” I beg, pulling at the front of his shirt to make him look at me. Why the hell did you let him get close to you, huh? You know you belong to me. Not some sleaze who’s just going to fuck you and leave you out to dry. After everything I’ve done for you. His words reach into my mind and I do the only thing I can to get out of the situation. I reach up around his neck and pull him in for a kiss. 

Thankfully, Kigai seems to take the bait. He becomes more possessive, gripping my hips so hard I know there’ll be bruises there in the morning. His tongue invades my mouth and he tugs fiercely at my lip. When he pulls back, he still turns a fiery glare onto Hizashi.

“Don’t you get near my girl again, got it?” Kigai wraps an arm around my shoulder and pulls me close to him. My eyes lose their shine. I guess that’s it. We’re stuck again. All in good time, Little Cub. All in good time.

He pulls me away and I risk one last glance back at Hizashi. One last hopeful plea begging him to help, but he’s not looking back at me. 

. . . . .

Six months go by that Kigai refuses to take me out again. For six months he beats the lesson into me.

“You were trying to be a clever little whore, weren’t you?” His foot connects with my jaw, but I don’t make a sound. I take it. “Thought you had a savior. Someone to take you away from me, right? But you’re mine! If you left me do you know what that would mean for your family? For you?” He yanks me up by my hair. “They’d be up shit creek without a paddle and it’d be all your fault!” 

“I’m sorry, love.” I whimper out, hating the taste of the words on my tongue. “It won’t happen again.”

“Damn right it won’t.” He lets go of me and I catch the brunt of my weight on my arms. Tears trickle down my cheeks and then suddenly he pulls me into his arms and then onto his lap on the bed.

“You know I love you, right?” He coos in my ear, saying the words that my heart wants to hear in the most twisted tones. “It’s just…seeing you with that other man…mmm…I hated seeing that. You know he was just trying to manipulate you, right? Use you when you were vulnerable?”

You’d know all about that wouldn’t you? I wish I could have been more specific…told him something more concrete. Then maybe I wouldn’t be stuck here. It’s not your fault, Dear One. “I know, Kigai. I’m sorry. I wasn’t feeling good and I just wanted someone to talk to.”

His grip tightens on me. “You could have found me.”

“You were busy, Kigai, I didn’t want to ruin your time.” I turn and kiss his cheek to make the comment more believable. “I love you.”

“Mmm, that’s what I like to hear.” He kisses under my ear and it burns. Nauseous flames swim along my body until he leaves me broken under the covers. I curl up into a ball as he gets up from the covers and starts grabbing his clothes. “C’mon, baby, get your clothes on. I think you’ve learned your lesson. I’ve got a surprise for you.”

I don’t question it. I’m silent as I pull on my clothes and fix my hair. When I’m ready, I take the arm he offers me. 

“You’re gonna like this, baby.” He rubs a small bruise he made at my neck, smiling as we head out into the street and he looks at me. You’d better not tell anyone it’s anything other than a love bite, got it? Or I’ll have your family hunted down with a snap of my fingers.  “Look at how beautiful you look with my marks on you. Everyone will know who you belong to, yeah?” 

“Of course. Only yours.” I nod, swallowing past the lump in my throat.

Before long he leads me to a karaoke bar. The sight of it puts a pep in my step; even though I’d rather be here with anyone else except Kigai, this is the most I’ve gotten out in months. I’ll take what I can get.

“A karaoke bar? How did you know?” I giggle, kissing his cheek as I slip into the assumed role.

“I know my babygirl.” He pauses to kiss me roughly outside the door before pulling me inside. He pays for the two of us before we’re taken to a private room where a few of his friends are waiting. “I hope you don’t mind, some of my buddies came to join us.”

“It’s okay.” I promise, even though seeing all of them makes my heart sink. “As long as they don’t bother me.”

“They’ve already been warned, babe, they’ve already been warned.” Kigai winks at me. Don’t test those waters after I’ve let you out. “Would you like to go first?”

“Yes, please.” 

Once again, the music distracts me from my own crumbling little world. Life seems full of more promise as the notes spill from my lips. 

“Hey, Takamaru! I’ve gotta take a piss. Keep an eye on my girl, okay? Make sure she doesn’t get into too much trouble.” Kigai chuckles and glances at me before he leaves. Don’t do anything stupid.

“Sure, man.” Takamaru doesn’t even look in Kigai’s direction. He’s too busy focusing on Shihito’s selection. “What the fuck, man?! You’ve sung homura three times already! Pick something new.”

“Shut up, Taka, it’s the only song I know.” Shihito huffs, pulling up the microphone again.

“Hey, do you guys mind if I go grab a snack?” I ask, wanting to get some fresh air without Kigai hovering over me. If he gets back before I do, I can always blame Takamaru. He never goes too hard on his buddies. 

“Sure, Ichi. Can you grab me a granola bar while you’re at it?” Takamaru tosses me a couple yen. 

“Sure thing.” I nod and head towards the vending machine on the balcony. 

I walk by a room where I hear such sweet sonorous notes I can’t help but glance into the window. Hizashi?! My feet stutter and I nearly trip. I have to keep walking. Kigai is liable to beat him up if he even sees he’s in the same building. If I were to stop and wave? Impossible. I force myself to keep walking until I make it to the machine. 

Once I’ve got a pack of crackers and Taka’s granola bar, I hang over the railing and take a deep breath. When did this all start? Why did I let myself get roped into this? I hate this… None of this is your fault, Little One. Kigai is a manipulator and a fiend. And his quirk makes it inanely difficult to give any sort of proof to the authorities of your predicament. 

“Fancy seeing you here.” Hizashi’s voice joins me on the balcony. I jump back as if stung and start backing away from him. His moves his hands from his pockets and holds them up in surrender. “Woah, hey, I’m not going to hurt you.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about.” I turn to look and make sure Kigai isn’t headed back to our karaoke room and then back to Hizashi. “You can’t be here.”

“Is he hurting you?” He asks me bluntly, eyes somehow fierce and kind all at once.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I choke out, starting to speed walk back into the building. This can’t be happening. Kigai’s going to kill him if he sees him anywhere near me! 

His hand grabs my wrist and I’m forced to pause and turn back to him.

“Is he hurting you, Ichijiku?” 

The first time I saw his gaze in the club, I nearly lost myself. Seeing it now, so intentional and worried…I feel I have no choice.

“Yes.” I hiss, eyes watering. “Yes, he hurts me. All the time. For big things, for little things. But I take it, okay?” Part of me is angry. Not even at Hizashi, just everything in general. Why the hell am I in this predicament? What did I do except love people and want them to love me back? It’s okay. You’re allowed to be angry. Especially at this situation. “I take it because Kigai says he’ll hurt my family if I don’t. Because they’ll die if I don’t suck it up like a good girl, alright? And he’s going to hurt you too, Hizashi. He’ll hurt you really bad if you so much as look at me. If you’re so much as seen with me.” I keep glancing back, waiting at any moment for Kigai to round the corner and exact his punishment. “So go! Leave me alone. I don’t want anyone else to get hurt for my sake…please.” I beg, finally yanking my hand free of his hold.

When I hear Kigai’s voice down the hall, I don’t look back. I rush back into the room just in time and hand Taka his granola bar. I start nibbling on my crackers so I can compose my face before he walks in. I smile at him and offer him a cracker.

“Oo, got me a snack, baby?” He takes the whole pack and leaves me the one. “Thanks.”

The rest of the evening, I’m too nervous to sing like I want to. I pick one or two songs to make sure Kigai’s off my scent, but mostly I watch him and his friends sing. In reality, I keep watching the door to make sure Hizashi doesn’t walk by.

By the time we get ready to leave, it’s dark. I assume that Hizsahi is long gone, because as we walk by his room on our way out, it’s empty and quiet. Thank you, Lord. He deserves a better lot in life than this. 

“Damn, Kigai, every time we go out for karaoke I forget just how shitty of a singer you are.” Taka teases as we give the desk lady her key back. 

“Hey, man! I’m not that bad. At least I can carry a tune.”

“Barely.” He snorts, before nudging Shihito. “And this fucker only has one song he can sing!” 

The ribbing continues as we walk out the door. I keep my eyes down and my arm wrapped around Kigai’s until a group of voices convene on us and someone suddenly pulls me out of Kigai’s grasp.

“Police! Get on the ground, now!” Someone barks out, and my brain struggles to keep up.

Kigai and his pals look shocked to say the least. Kigai is the only one who tries to struggle, of course. “Get the fuck off me! Let my girl go! Babygirl, tell these fuckers to get off me!” 

“Don’t hurt him!” I call out, aching heart bleeding for him even in spite of all the bruises he’s left on my heart and my body.

“Get on the ground.” The cop repeats, needing two more officers to help bring Kigai down to the ground. “Sir, you’re under arrest.”

The world around me sways. My breath gets shaky and I start crying as I beg them to leave him alone. What am I doing?! I want them to take him but… He’s a manipulator. He’s made you afraid and obligated to him. I want him out of my life. I don’t ever want to see him again. My pleas ultimately die down as my sobs get louder. 

The weather is colder in the darkness. My body starts shaking and I start swaying.

“It’s okay, ma’am. We’ll get it taken care of. You’re safe now.” The woman holding me rubs my shoulders and starts looking around. “Can one of you grab a jacket for–”

“I’ve got it taken care of.” Hizashi’s voice melts into my eardrums as the police get Kigai into the back of their cruiser. I wrap my arms around myself and then he’s got something warm and soft wrapped around my shoulders. “Here. Take my jacket.”

I turn to Hizashi and then back to the police cruiser. I look at the woman.

“Excuse me, Officer?”

“Yes, ma’am?”

“Th–That man…Kigai…he…he said he’d hurt my family if I ever turned him in. Are they–”

“This young man here told us the story. We’ve got a unit at their house.” She assures me, rubbing my shoulder. “You don’t have to be afraid anymore, honey. We’ve got it all covered. We’ve been trying to find definitive evidence to put this guy away for years.”

I look at her, disbelieving. “H=How did you find any evidence?”

The officer looks at the cruiser as Kigai is hauled off, before she looks at Hizashi with a smile and then back to me. “Your friend here said that he recorded your conversation in the karaoke place. He said he’d previously met you and was suspicious of the situation.”

“I hadn’t seen you in months. I was scared I was too late to do anything, so when I saw you…” He pauses. “I started recording on my phone before I walked over to talk to you. I was hoping that maybe if I was blunt enough…you might tell me what was going on.” Hizashi admits sheepishly. “So we left as soon as I got the evidence just in case your group was planning on leaving soon.”

For a long time, I just stare at him. I memorize everything I can about him. The way his hair frames his face and the small, pampered mustache making his smile pop out on his face. Then there’s his eyes.

One look and my body works without my permission. I wrap my arms around him, tackling him into a hug and feeling three years of pain and grief claw out of my chest and manifest as sobs.

“Thank you, Hizashi.” I hold his back in a death grip, and I feel him pat my back delicately. 

“I couldn’t sit by and watch you get hurt without doing anything.”

“Ma’am, would you like me to walk you to your home?” The officer asks me, also reaching over to rub my shoulder.

“I don’t have anywhere to go right now.” I admit with a sniffle. “But if you can go with me to grab my stuff from Kigai’s, that would be great.” I turn to Hizashi. “Will you come with us? Please?”

“Of course. I won’t leave you alone right now. That a problem with you, Officer?” 

“Not at all.” She assures.

When we make it to Kigai’s house, there’s blue and red lights flashing there too. Hizashi steps with me inside as the officer gets debriefed on other things found out about Kigai’s dastardly affairs. “It’s just down this hall.” I assure him.

Going back into Kigai’s room sends a cold chill down my spine. You’re mine, whore. You belong to me, understand? I pull Hizashi’s jacket tighter around me, before steeling my nerves and grabbing my bag and stuffing it.

“Anything you need me to grab?” Hizashi asks as he looks around.

“No. I don’t have much.” I toss in my phone and charger, a few changes of clothes, toothbrush, hairbrush, and a few other necessities. “I think that’s all.” I say once I’ve got everything together. When at last I turn to him and meet his gaze, I’m expecting to hear foul words stabbing into my brain.

He is not Kigai, Little One. It’s going to be okay. 

My nose quivers as I look at him. “He’s really gone.”

“He won’t hurt you anymore, Ichijiku.” Hizashi nods. “You don’t have to be afraid anymore.”

I don’t have to be afraid.

Continue Reading -> Ch. 2

[sunshine-snippets]

Rotting Roots

woah,, within the hour of posting it on ao3,, no longer current! i am, oh boy,,, /pos

ANYWAY- MOMBOO TIME

Ao3

Words: 1.1k  

Summary:

She had never ended before, she had died, but not ended. She didn't know what it felt like- and yet she could tell this would be it. The lady of the world's final journal, her last hurrah. Momboo’s final affairs. (or me thinking a lot on the feeling of rotting)

Contents and Warnings: vague descriptions of body horror as well as just illness general, rot and mold metaphors, dying,

______

Rotting was a horribly visceral feeling, sapping of nutrients and energy, and leaving Strawberri tired.

She could feel herself rotting, wholly unpleasant in the way it made her feel empty- hollow, curly red hair getting duller and thinner and warm light skin becoming paler and colder.

She felt less alive, though they weren't just yet, a realization that she'd long since been forced to come to terms with, the idea terrifying- an eventuality she never thought she'd face, that she was now. But one she'd come to terms with in the months of ache regardless.

The not-quite-irony not lost on her- so many resets not remembering, choosing not to, just for the one she did, for her memory to stop.

Maybe a cycle in of itself. Though not one she had the energy nor care to elaborate on to her mind- most energy expended when someone came over to check on her, worried faces of her friends and children, and she wanted so badly to tell them it would be okay, to protect them. But that would only hurt them more.

Momboo was going to die. 

Amongst the chaos that was stirring, the wack was going to finish its rotting. Finish molding into her chest in an array of sharp colors almost blinding in contrast to her now-dull palette.

And if her children did not know- if her friends did not know, it would catch them by surprise and it would break them even more than they already were.

She didn't expect them to accept it, couldn't imagine a world in which they did, knowing them all too well. But they had to know, had to prepare themselves enough in the way she had.

She was still scared after all.

How could she expect them not to be?

She had never ended before, she had died, but not ended. She didn't know what it felt like- and yet she could tell this would be it. The lady of the world's final journal, her last hurrah.

Momboo’s final affairs.

..

They would still try- even if it seemed pointless, for her. They'd fight it until the end, something inherent to those she surrounded herself with, even if they knew they couldn't fix it- Even if Rae knew he couldn't fix it. Just because he had to try until the end.

They knew, knew the likelihood, but accepting it-

They just wouldn't be able to. Jamie, her youngest coming the closest- not stopping their search, but.. They knew the just-incase, leaving a sour feeling in her chest, undeniable sadness as they clung to help, as her child clung to her.

She couldn't tell if it was acceptance- or a desperate attempt to make peace for her, the closest thing truly possible for a child losing their mother. Or just an attempt to be brave for her, her youngest doing his best to put on a brave face and smile for her.

And as she accepted the way her chest had long since dulled into a constant strum of pain, of ache, extruding slowly through her limbs like it was growing roots through her veins, the way even potions didn't truly help, not long enough to act as a true reprieve, she wished she didn't appreciate it.

Just wanting to gather her children into her arms like when they were little, young pale blond and little bear pressing themselves as close as physically possible, sometimes bickering between the two just to get closer. Just wishing to protect them from the world in a way she couldn't anymore.

That hurting the most, knowing she’d leave them, but nothing could change that fact. No matter how much they fought for an answer that differed.

And yet, with the way the way she knew her tree- something almost an extension of her being, was no longer what it once was, rotted and decaying so clearly to anyone who looked, bright pink only feeling mocking to the joy she had found at the discovery of cherry trees. 

and after she left, she was sure it'd leave too- that idea alone leaving Strawberri apprehensive, but it didn't feel like a question in her mind. The tree being there for so long- it would've been nice to leave something to remember her by.

She could hope it would heal without her- pretend it could heal, without her impact, but the tree was linked, and maybe it always would be. And though it felt a nicer thought, it was a weird one too, the idea of it surviving without her. both options not truly right in her mind, but she still hoped- maybe. 

Even if it felt- the idea still not right in her mind. Even if the idea felt like fighting the inherent.

Just for the ability for something left of her to remain, to have the tree grow without her and to remain around those she cared for.

Just- one little piece. 

She had nothing to look to, just as she never really had, that feeling not unfamiliar.

She'd accepted it as much as she could.

And so maybe the colorful fungus would take over the tree too, rotting at the roots first before hollowing out the inside, leaving just the exterior shell,  Just as it would her.

Rot knew its job well.

Momboo also knew rot well, now intimately.

She'd lived so long, so very long, so much longer than any human should've, seen so many resets, seen so much.

Which she’d reassure Rae of, knowing if she reassured Easton and Jamie of it, they'd-

Momboo wished she could stay with the two longer, wished she could see the end of the conflict, make sure her kids were safe.

But they could take care of themselves, and when they couldn't, or just for extra measure- the extra reassurance. Rae would take care of them, just as he always had, And so would Ghosty, and Fenris.

They'd be okay- 

Well maybe not okay. She knew they wouldn't be okay. But they'd be safe, and eventually they'd be able to breathe again.

The idea of putting them through the grief of losing a parent-

She wished she could stop it.

But her connection to the world had dwindled and vanished, leaving her unsure if she even counted as Lady of the world anymore, the powers being inherited by her children before her eyes.

And if even there was another reset- something she dreaded and hoped desperately against, 

She didn't know if she'd come back. This was different from a stab wound- a sudden death brought on by unsuspecting forces. 

She was sick, she'd been sick, and her connection was leaving her, only signifying the worst.

Rot taking down the tree. Violent splattering of colors taking its in turn, turning it dull and dead.

What a fate to share.

[instantlandtimemachine]

Welcome to the very first junkbots chapter, this AU has been getting some support from those who liked my posts so thanks to all who liked 👍

Let's get into this saga with:

CHAPTER 1 - ESCAPE FROM THE HEAP.

In a New York city in the current day and age, things are going shit for humanity, and soon things will get much worse for everyone and everything, but you wanna know what brave guys are not having any problems?

These are the junkbots.

A bunch of lovable goods who live in an abandoned junkyard, which they call "the heap".

There's the leader of the team - jack static.

His friend Arielle 51.

The anxious boxstritch

And the bit who knows magic, sage.

They're currently trying to build a car so they can learn to drive.

Sage: jack my boy, we need a steering wheel, I think there's one just over there!

Jack: alright sage, I'll be back soon.

As Jack walked around the old and trashed place, he heard a clanging in the various metals and waste, unnerved but determined, jack set off to find the steering wheel.

Boxstritch: hey sage, have you seen the giant spacecraft in the sky?

Sage: wait, what?

Arielle: Sweet! A photo opportunity!

Sage: are you serious?

Arielle: eh, it's a cool moment.

As the mysterious spacecraft started to come to orbit, hordes and hordes of heavily armed crash test dummies jumped out, and were immediately destroying everything in sight.

Jack: *gasp*, HOLY FUCKING SHIT! I can't let this go to waste, it's fighting time!

???: Hello there friend!

Jack: GAAAAAAAAAH!

???: WAAAAAAARGH!

As Jack came across the startled blue bot, jack became scared.

???: Don't be scared, I'm M.O.E, the mechanical operations expert! (And yes my name is an acronym).

Jack: nice to meet ya M.O.E, I'm jack static!

M.O.E: I'm here to get you outta this dump, because an Invasion is here!

As the bots looked around, the dummies were armed with guns of all shapes and sizes, and started tearing down the junkyard.

Jack: WHAT!?

As Jack's mind was about to snap, he gained a power that he had hidden in himself, he could run at Mach speed.

Jack: Oh hell yeah.

Crash dummy: aw fuck, he can run fast!

Jack: and I'm about to kick your metal ass.

Crash dummy: get him troops!

The enraged bot used his powers to fight the dummies, tearing them apart one by one.

M.O.E: hey static, tray holding hands with everyone and running really really fast!

Sage: I heard that!

Jack grabbed everyone by their hands (except boxstritch, he held him by his leg), and ran so fast, he traveled across dimensions, and to brighton falls, 1987.

CHAPTER 2 -BOTS AND HUMANS.

Arielle: woah! How could you do that?

Jack: I simply got so pissed that I could run at Mach speed!

Boxstritch: that's impressive.

Jack: but I'm really exhausted, I'm gonna go to sleep in this car... *Sleeps*

M.O.E: well he would get tired eventually.

As Jack slept in the automobile, the other guys decided to find a hiding place, and they found: a wheelie bin.

Sage: is this really where we're gonna be hidden?

Arielle: it's worth a shot.

A few hours had passed, and the car jack was in, had left.

Sage: oh fuck no!

Boxstritch: does he still have his gun?

Sage: of course he does! He also has a wrench for melee combat.

As Jack woke up, he found himself in a moving vehicle, with 2 people talking to eachother at the same time.

Jack: aw fuck, I can't get out now, but wait, I can hear some dicks being dicks!

As our hero overheard the ruckus, he got an insane idea.

Jack: this just might work.

Jack grabbed his gun and said to every teenager in the area:

Jack: LISTEN UP YOU BOZOS! This here girl is really really mean, look it this fine lad with the afro and the girl with the denim, do you really think they should get bullied? I say we all beat her up! What do you say?

Random teenager: he naturally has a point. Let's get her!

Jack's rousing speech had turned all the teenagers against Tina lark, and also his speech had also made it to the workers of hot dog on a stick, and they bet up their boss Craig.

???: Wow, how'd you do that!

Jack: I have no idea, but I'm jack static.

???: I'm Charlie Watson and this is my good friend memo.

Memo: yo!

Jack: my universe is really fucked up, and a bunch of evil dummies have destroyed my home, so could we team up?

Charlie: hell yeah, I'm dow-

Jack: aw shit, it's one of their ships!

Memo: get in Bumblebee.

Jack: who the fuck is Bumblebee?

Charlie: you'll see In Due time.

Jack and his newfound team members escaped back to the house that the junkbots had first rushed into.

M.O.E: eh jack, I see you made some new buds? Anyways, we're getting outta here, with this warp core and this microwave!

???: Who woke me up?

Charlie: aw fuck, Otis, we're escaping our world.

Otis: aw hell no.

Memo: ok lil' man, go tell your parents (or parent).

M.O.E: all done!

Boxstritch: so where are you warping is now TV-face?

M.O.E: have you eve been to a space city before? Because that's where we're going!

Sage: it is called the "crossroads" perhaps?

M.O.E: bonus points for funky wizard bot, you're correct!

Sage: oh boy! I've been here before! I can show you all around.

Arielle: that's great and all, but now we gotta go!

Boxstritch: we're warping in 3, 2, 1!

And so - our heroes warped into the space city, ready for a new adventure.

Also, I forgot to show the character images of Charlie, memo and Otis so here they are.

[princesachicana]

𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐢𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬 (conrad fisher x reader)

description: your new job has conrad’s mind spiraling.

wanna be added to my conrad tag list?! just send me a direct message or ask! or comment on this post!

Conrad was a very supportive boyfriend, he’d been there for each and every cheer competition, he’d had your back when your parents judged your career choices. But right now it took a lot for him not to speak his mind.

“So how do I look?” You asked spinning in a circle showing off your new work uniform. When you told him about getting a new job a week ago, he thought his perfect innocent girlfriend would apply to some bake shop. He was super wrong. You’d applied at a sports bar to be a waitress! If it was any other waitress job he’d be fine. But this one was packed full of snobby frat dudes who’d ogle his girl the whole time.

The uniforms. The tiny booty shorts did little to conceal your ass, the bikini top had your breasts nearly spilling out of the top. God you looked so beautiful . “You look good enough to bend over this counter.” Conrad smirked, wrapping his arms around your body. Would trying to seduce you before work be evil? Maybe he’d get to have you all to himself for the rest of the night you’d forget the whole job thing. “That’s very tempting but my shift starts in 30.” You stood on tip toes placing kisses all across his face, landing the last one onto his lips.

“Can i come with?” Conrad’s question causes you to giggle, “Oh you’re serious?” You said when you noticed his frown. “Yeah why wouldn’t i be? just wanna look out for you.” His fingers absentmindedly massaged your hips lightly. “I’ll be fine you stay here and I’ll be back in 4 hours!” He almost ran and trapped you, so you wouldn’t be able to walk out that door, but as he watched you leave excited,he wouldn’t ruin your mood.

~

Conrad couldn’t concentrate, his mind kept running back to you in those booty shorts, how other undeserving dudes were looking at you tonight. He wasn’t one of those boyfriends that controlled what you wore. Even at parties if dudes tried to feel up on you while he stepped away for a second he’d pull you away immediately. If the dudes were brave enough they’d try to pick a fight with Conrad which in return didn’t end up well for them.

All he could do was stare at the clock, watching it as it ticked by waiting for your shift to end. The thoughts that were going through his mind at the moment weren’t good. He’d wonder if you would even mention if a guy made you uncomfortable. He knew that you always tried to avoid conflict as best as you could. So the thought of a guy making lewd comments or worse touching you, and you not mentioning it to any one at your job scared him.

The sound of the door opening and closing has Conrad on his feet in no time. “Woah hey baby!” You say as he quickly grips onto your hips. “Missed you too!” You laugh when he smothers your chest and neck with kisses. “How was your day?” When he pulls away he examines your figure, he has the most attractive girlfriend ever. Even now with a baggy shirt over your uniform, you were beautiful.

“It was so good! all the girls are so sweet!” You gushed about your new co-workers. Conrad felt his body relax, you sounded like everything was fine but he was still going to ask. “The customers though?” You pursed your lips “You know how it is, some people complain about stupid things.” You rolled your eyes. “But look! I almost got 700 dollars in tips today!” You pulled money out of your back pockets. Conrad raised an eyebrow “Must have provided good service then!” he kissed both of your cheeks, you were so adorable when you were excited about something.

“Well I hardly do anything at some tables!” You started walking to the living room, shedding your over sized t-shirt. Conrad couldn’t help it when his eyes stopped at your breasts for a minute before looking back at your face. “I got tipped a one hundred dollar bill! And all the dude ordered was a lemonade!” Conrad wasn’t stupid he knew why that fucking dude did that! “Was the lemonade that good or?” He questioned sitting down on the couch pulling you onto his lap.

“No! it was that minute made fountain drink, I think he liked me” You shrugged, leaning into start a very needy make out session with your hot boyfriend. You immediately frowned and almost let out an audible whine when he turned his head away. “Kiss me” you tried another time, but like you expected he turned his head once again. “What’s wrong?” You whispered, playing with his hair. “You think he liked you?” He asked repeating your words from earlier with a scoff.

“Not like that!” You shook your head “He said i was fun to talk to!” Okay now this was really annoying Conrad. “That’s what they say all the time, did he ask if you had a boyfriend?” Conrad’s question left you silent. “Yea and I told him I do!” Conrad felt relief after that but not fully, guys still flirted when girls had boyfriends right? “What’s this fuckers name?” You gasped but let out a little laugh before replying “John” Conrad processed the name for a little, he didn’t know any John.

You took this time to pepper kisses down his neck, Conrad blew out a breath you were good at distracting him, you were fucking evil. As you rolled your hips into his and felt the strain in his sweats, you know you had him right where you wanted him. “Besides john’s not the worst thing ever? You should see the dudes that write their phone number on the receipts.” Conrad was about to reply but you silenced him with a kiss “Don’t worry baby I throw them away.”

His breathing turned rapid as you moved off his lap, landing in front of him on your knees. “You look tense connie let me make you feel good” you whispered massaging his thighs over his sweats. His only response was a “fuck please” and a head nod. You reached for the knot in his sweats and untied it agonizingly slow, “Don’t fucking tease right now baby.” Conrad muttered, his jaw flexed. You slowly pulled his sweats and under wear down with his help.

“Don’t worry baby we have all night.” You said as you finally took him inside your mouth. And he was a goner, All wrapped up in you and your body, your mouth, just you.

~

Week three of your job and he was barely coming to see you, he felt like a bad boyfriend. Conrad stood in line at your job, the hostess line where he waited to be seated was taking forever. Every time a waitress would walk by in the same uniform you wore every day he looked away. He wouldn’t dare disrespect you. He breathed a sigh of relief when he noticed he was next in line. Now that he was closer to the restaurants front, he looked around for you, where were you?

��Next!” the cheery voice had him moving forward. The red headed girl smiled politely at him. “Welcome just a table for one?!” She asked full of bright energy. Conrad nodded in reply. “Okay let me see what we have” she started messing with the tablet that was on her counter. “Okay today you’ll be with Alyssa she-“ The girl was interrupted before she could finish her sentence.

“I’ll take him, he’s mine!” You stood beside the hostess with a goofy smile. “But you already have like six tables” The hostess worried that it would be a lot of work. “It’s fine Maria I swear, this is my boyfriend.” The hostess who he knew now was Maria laughed knowing all to well she would of the done the same thing if it was her boyfriend “Oh okay wanna sit him down?” She handed you the menu and quickly told you where to seat him.

As you guided him towards the table he couldn’t help it but stare at your backside, those shorts were going to be the death of him. “Right here babe!” You seated him at a tall table. “Thank you” he took a seat staring at you with a small smile. “What?” you questioned now feeling shy. “I’ll take him he’s mine?” He repeated your words that you said at the hostess line. “What? You wanted me to be your waitress right?” You looked at him with an irritated look. “Because I can tell Alyssa to take your table if you want someone else!” You started to raise your voice a little. “I’m kidding babe, just liked how you said it that’s all.”

“Okay what can I get you to drink? Wanna beer?” You went back into professional mode. “Yeah I’ll take a beer” you smiled, leaning over to plant a kiss onto his lips. “I’ll be back!” Now that you were gone is when he took the time to look around the place. And just like he expected obnoxious frat dudes. He had a smug smile as the frat dudes stared at him no doubt talking about the hot waitress that Conrad got to kiss.

~

5 minutes. 10 minutes. 15 minutes.

You still hadn’t brought him his beer, you hadn’t even been back to this section of the restaurant. Conrad could tell your other tables were getting impatient as well. He stood up on a mission to find you.

He clearly remembered how you joked about being so wrapped up in conversation. With your new “friend” John that you often forgot about your other tables.

It didn’t take long for him to find you, there you stood at the bar having a conversation with a customer that was hidden from his line of sight. Fucking John right? he didn’t wanna rush up towards the both of you and look like a crazy person so he remained walking normally. As he crept up you gasped “hey baby!” You gushed wrapping your arms around his neck, placing a chaste kiss on his lips, he had no problem kissing back. “This is John!” You introduced the person when you pulled away.

He was an old man, no older than 70. “This is John?” Conrad asked, eyes assessing the man. The lemonade that you always said he ordered? check. The lonely chair that no sat next to him in? check. “Yup!” you popped the p. “My new best friend!” John laughed “yes,yes me and your girl have quite the conversations almost all of them seem to be about you! you must be Conrad!” John stuck his hand out. Conrad shook his hand without complaining.

“Yeah, heard a lot about you too! thanks for keeping my girl company.” Conrad spoke genuinely. “Oh my gosh my other tables, I’ll be back!” You nearly yelled before rushing back towards the section. Conrad couldn’t believe this was John! The John he’d cursed out in his head more than once. The John that tipped you one hundred dollar bills even though he only drank a lemonade.

“She’s the first one to not make fun of me or think I’m some sorta creep.” John spoke after a moment of silence. “What?” Conrad asked. “She doesn’t make fun of me because I’m a lonely old man, everyone else here has.” Conrad smiled to himself you really were the nicest person ever. “She mentioned that you come here almost everyday, why is that?” Conrad couldn’t help but be curious.

“Bethany, my wife about 50 some years ago she worked here, right at this bar that’s where I met her, I had some drinking problems back then, stubborn girl didn’t give me a drink after my 5th shot said it was either lemonade or water” he laughed to himself, no doubt reminiscing about the old days. “Before I knew It I was in love and married, we came here every weekend even though she no longer worked here! every-time I got the urge to have a drink she ordered me a lemonade.” John’s face turned sorrowful, by the look on his face Conrad knew his wife was no longer alive.

“Can i ask what happened?” Conrad whispered, he knew now how conversations with this man had distracted you many times. “Car accident, on her way to an appointment we was supposed to have twins.” John cleared his throat understandably getting emotional.

“Gotta cherish every moment with y/n alright? She loves you.” John clapped his hand on Conrad’s shoulder. Conrad nodded with pride. “Sorry to hear about your family, and I love y/n more than I can express ever since we were 7 years old.” John smiled with a fondness that seemed to make his heart happy “Childhood lovers? My favorite.” Conrad laughed “We use to fight a lot, everyone would say that we would be dating by the age of sixteen, spoiler alert they were right.”

You came back quickly. “I might have gotten a write up because I abandoned my tables for more than 15 minutes.” You laughed with a shrug. “Oh it’s all my fault!” John shook his head feeling bad. “No it’s not! I should be able to multitask!” you reassured him. “So what did y’all talk about?” You beamed with a smile, Conrad wrapped his arms around you waist kissing your forehead.

“Just about making every moment count.” Conrad whispered, smiling down at you with so much love and care.

TAGS: @gillybear17 @tessastle @conradsupporterr (SRRY IF I FORGOT ANYONE)

[rek1s-headband]

hi! figured i’d drop a request for you :))! Maybe some general bf hcs for reki and langa? Just in general how they would be as a boyfriend or how they would act in a relationship?

Hi!! Thank you so much for your request, I’ve been excited to do one of these. I hope you enjoy it!

➯ random boyfriend headcannons

➯ characters: Reki Kyan and Langa Hasegawa x gn reader

➯ warnings: none! Just some fluff for these two boys:)

Reki:

-Literally the most enthusiastic person you’ve ever seen. He’d be happy to just sit in silence with you because come on, it’s YOU. There’s no one he’d rather be wasting the hours away with.

-Your biggest hype man, EVER. You post something on Instagram? Get ready for a flood of comments, all from him. You could put your phone down for two minutes after posting, and you’ll come back to 99+ notifications of just reki commenting along the lines of “woah suddenly I’m on one knee” “DAMNNNN” and many, many more.

-Never leave your phone unattended around him. He won’t snoop, but be prepared to come back to your camera roll flooded with just zoomed in pictures of his face, his mouth, his eye, ANYWHERE. Mf is spamming your whole phone with pictures of him for you to come back to.

-He has to always be touching you in some way. Whether it’s holding your hand, your waist, a casual arm around your shoulder, there has to be something. He’ll put his hand on your ass sometimes while you walk in public.

-Honestly doesn’t even think PDA is anything out of the ordinary. Like, you’re his s/o??? Yes you’re in his lap, yes you’re in the middle of the skatepark, so what? You’re his, and he’s happy he can make everyone aware of that.

-I saw a post on here that said he would peel stickers off fruit and stick them to peoples’ foreheads, and I fully stand by this. However, it doesn’t just stop at fruit stickers. Anything remotely sticky, whether it’s tags from clothes, tape from a food box, even random sequins and bits of glitter he finds around, it’s immediately being stuck to some part of your face.

-Loves casual dates. Stopping by food stalls, browsing in clothes and game stores for a few hours, and skating around with you until it’s time to go home is a dream for him. Be prepared for day-long dates, because he will clear his entire schedule just to spend the day with you.

-His family adores you. His mother is always goading him to bring you over more, complaining that she misses her "honorary son/daughter/child". His sisters love you too. Any time you come over there’s immediately three tiny bodies shooting at you, grabbing you by the waist and dragging you over to wherever they’re playing. Reki tries to drag you away, wanting to have you for himself, but you always try and stay for at least five or ten minutes. Secretly, he loves that you get along so well with his siblings, going soft at the thought of how you would act with children of your own.

-He loves playing video games with you. Sitting in his lap, the two of you could spend hours switching from game to game. One minute you could be burning down a village in Minecraft, the next complaining while Reki whoops your ass in Mario Kart. His mom brings you food for your breaks between games, and she’ll even stay for a few minutes to talk to you while Reki shifts underneath you, glowing red from embarassment.

-If you can’t skate, he would beg to teach you. If you accept, he goes all out. He’ll make you your own customised board just for practicing, making sure it’s absolutely perfert for you to learn on. But if you can skate, get ready for endless races and competitions to see who can nail a new trick the quickest.

-Adores when you come to S to support him. He loves looking into the crowd and seeing you there cheering him on before he goes into a beef. If he wins, he’ll race over to where you are in the crowd, picking you up and spinning you around, kissing you without a care in the world. However, if he loses he’s thankful you’re always there to pick him back up and make him feel better afterwards.

-Loves cleaning you up after a big fall, kissing your bruises and cuts better. He’ll carefully wrap each injury with care, telling you how brave you are, no matter how small the cut. Secretly, he loves when you baby him after he falls himself. Seeing you wipe away the blood from a new cut and place a small plaster on it with such tenderness melts his heart in a way only you could.

-Speaking of plasters, this man has one for every occasion. Princesses, pirates, aliens, cats, dogs, sparkles, stripes, you name it, he’s got it.

-The type to sneak you out at two in the morning to get a slushee with him. Honestly, he’s up so late making boards for people he just has no perception of time.

-Spams your phone with TikToks or other funny things that reminds him of you. It could be a very specific thing, or a flower or cloud. If he thinks of you when he sees it(which is fairly often), it gets sent to you.

-Talks with his hands a lot. He’s a very expressive talker, so when he’s telling you a story it feels like you’re right there in the story with him.

-Please just kiss him. His cheeks, his forehead, his hand, his shoulder, his temples, his lips. Anywhere, he’ll melt under you. Mf is touch starved to the max.

-Always knows how to make you laugh. His laugh is infectious, it could get you out of your darkest moods.

-Sleeps with his head on your chest, and one hand in your shirt little perv.

-His social media is like a SHRINE for you. His highlights, his posts, his stories, EVERYWHERE. He’s just so proud to be able to call you his that he wants the whole world to know.

-Kisses in the rain while you run home, skateboards in your hands after the weather forecast failed you once again. He’s just so happy in the moment that he can’t contain himself, so he’s pulling you into him in the pouring rain, kissing you hard while your hair gets drenched.

-You don’t need to steal his clothes, he will literally give them to you because “you just look so cute wearing them”. Occasionally, he’ll take one of your hoodies, and even if it doesn’t exactly fit him, he’ll still keep it near him while he sleeps so he can keep your scent close to him.

Langa:

-This man is so oblivious to obvious hints, but still manages to pick up on the smallest of details? It’s incredible, honestly. He could describe the exact colour of your eyes with the most insane detail, but he still won’t notice when you try and hint that you like him in the first place!

-You two have a bit more of a low-key relationship, but you’ll make your usual appearance in his Instagram posts, or on his Snapchat story with a casual caption like a simple heart, or “my love<3”

-Not very big on PDA, not because he doesn’t like it, but because he doesn’t think of it. However, when he does feel like he’s being too physically distant, he’ll link pinkies with you as you walk along, or rest his head on your shoulder while you watch a video on your phone.

-His mom adores you, which is why Langa despises bringing you to his house. You always seem to leave with seven of his baby photos from his time snowboarding in Canada, a new recipe from his mother that you complimented, another one of his hoodies, and more miscellaneous stuff that you don’t even know how it ended up in your bag. He has a little shelf in your room specifically for this random stuff, and he always adds to the collection when he comes to your house. He’ll leave a keyring, a small toy, a Polaroid, anything honestly.

-Loves dates that you can experience. The movies, aquariums, museums and the zoo are common dates for the two of you to go on, but other than that, he adores going skateboarding with you. He’s been improving, and he loves when you notice little things he’s been picking up on, whether it be a new trick or simply how he balances himself on the board.

-Adores old Disney movies. Yall will binge a ton of them in one day, having full-blown musicals in Langa’s living room. When any of the romantic songs come on, like “So this is Love” from Cinderella, Langa will stand up and offer his hand to you, as the two of you waltz around his sitting room, humming the tune of the song.

-Study dates are frequent with the two of you. If you happen to stay up late studying and fall asleep on each other, his mother will cover the two of you with a blanket, tidying some of your books and leaving with a smile, happy with the knowledge you were making her son the happiest he’s been in quite a while.

-Slow dancing in the kitchen while you cook is a regular. When a particularly sappy love song comes on while he stirs the pot, he’ll turn around and hold you close to him, twirling you around the kitchen.

-Reki constantly jokes that he is a third wheel, poking fun at the two of you, Cherry and Joe, and Shadow and “his little girlfriend back at the flower shop”. He’ll hang out of Miya, whining about them having to stick together since they’re the only two “lone wolves”. He’ll usually get a well-earned thump into the back of the head from Miya, but it’s still funny to watch the whole thing go down.

-Tends to be shy when giving you clothes, so instead of asking you to wear them he’ll leave them out in places he knows you’ll find them, or he’ll come up behind you and plop it in your lap, murmuring about how cute it would look on you.

-Please do this man’s makeup. He will sit so still for you, waiting patiently while you dab eyeshadow at his eyes, trying not to blink so you don’t mess up his mascara. He’ll sit there mesmerised for a few minutes, taking in how he looks, and simply whisper “you do this every day?”

-Evem though he’s not a very openly affectionate person, he is stuck to your hip behind closed doors. He’ll lie in your lap for hours, staring up at you while you mess with his hair, pulling it into little plaits and pigtails.

-I can’t even describe how the two of you sleep. It’s simply a mass of limbs, and no one knows exactly what belongs to who. Somehow one of yall will end up upside down, and-why is Langa on the floor??

-He could talk about his time in Canada for hours, and you’d just lie on his chest and listen to him. Every once in a while he’ll look down at you to see if you’re still listening, and his heart will melt a little every time he sees you staring back up at him, eyes wide with interest.

-This man NEVER gets jealous. You’d literally have to cling to another man for it to click in his brain that Oh. He doesn’t like that.

-He’s not big on texting, but if you call him he will stay on that call with you for hours, even after the two of you fall asleep.

-Whenever he falls(which is quite often), you’ll always have plasters on hand to help fix him up. He always flushes bright red when you kiss his cuts better, and never knows just what to do with himself afterwards.

-When he skates against tough opponents, you’ll always give him a kiss for good luck. Of course, this doesn’t stop you worrying, but you know Langa wouldn’t go out of his way to get injured. And if he does, well, at least he’ll have you there to kiss his bruises better.

[143-cupid]

Hello there im not sure if you're accepting requests but I was wondering if I could please have a fluff headcanon for Lucifer, Mammon, Diavolo, Simeon (separately) reacting to MC giving them a bouquet of their favorite flowers? Thank you and have a great day 💖

"For you!"

♡ Pretty flowers for pretty men <3 ♡

♡.Obey me!

♡♡.Fluff but still MDI!!

♡♡♡. Hi, this is so adorable! thanks for requesting and sorry for the delay, love :( I went with flowers that went with his strongest personality trait

. . . L U C I F E R !

♡ Working as always in his study, it was evening when he heard a knock on his door, "Come in."

♡ He didn't look up until he heard a soft thud on his desk, something hit it, he was about to arch an eyebrow but stopped when he noticed scillas tied with a purple silk ribbon

♡ That's strange, Devildom doesn't grow flowers like these...did you go to the human world to get flowers...?

♡ His lips twist up in the smuggest smirk he can muster! So smug and teasing, you love him that much? Sneaking in the human world without a word to Lord Diavolo for him?

♡ How...brave of you

♡ After kissing your forehead, he closes the book he was reading and sits you down to lecture you for going out without telling anyone but Solomon! Didn't he tell you not to hang out with that shady human so much?

♡ After that earful, he thanked you and went back to working, not paying much attention to the flowers you worked hard for to get

♡ Don't let that act fool you, dear, the next day, you'll find him worrying about what vase will look pretty with the scillas and what spell to use on the flowers to keep them fresh

♡ "Yes? Is there an issue with me caring about a gift from a loved one?"

. . . M A M M O N !

♡ During a photoshoot break, he got a package! Ohh is it the new- flowers? He didn't ask for any dumb-

♡ ....you sent flowers to him? O-Of course you would! It's only natural to show your love to the Great Mammon!

♡ Alone in the room, He'd carefully put the bouquet of Delphiniums on the table in front of him, hand on his mouth as he slips down in a chair...you were thinking of him?

♡ After thinking and staring at the flowers, he'd change into his next outfit and grab the bouquet with him

♡ A few hours later, your DDD is suffering with notifications from Devilgram! A new post of Mammon...woah it has a lot of likes!

♡ Aww he's posing with the flowers in his hands!

♡ There's a video and Mammon's tagged

"Hey Mammon! Who send those?"

“…hmm." Mammon was walking off to his makeup room, a curt, hot-bothered face was all the camera was showing along with quick zoom-ins of the flowers in his hand

"Is it that human you always talk about? HUH!"

"SHUT UP!" He closed the door and the video ended

♡ Then a message popped up in one of your chats, a picture of Mammon smiling next to the flowers with a "Thank you, human"

. . . D I A V O L O !

♡ Diavolo was walking back to his office, all tired from a meeting he had, yet all those complains stopped at the tip of his tongue when Barbatos told him that you've stopped by

♡ Oh? Why didn’t you text him, he could’ve used an excuse to get out from that meeting early!

♡ His eyes widened when he noticed hyacinths flowers on his desk, with closer look, he saw a card, ‘These made me think of you :)’

♡ Aren’t you thoughtful! He’d be over the moon because of this gift all week! He won’t shut up about it!

“Can you believe MC got me flowers?”

“My lord, you have a meeting in five minutes, go change, please.”

♡ Oh the flowers now stand on his desk, next to your picture with him and Lucifer is in the background send death glares at you for getting too close to the demon lord

[minty-frost]

A sour welcome and its bitter consequences

Word count: 10016

Summary:

The evil is defeated, and peace is set in The Cookie Kingdom. Turned back from their past ways, the Cookies of Darkness are set to live as everyone else in the kingdom. Red Velvet stays to watch over the tower, and Dark choco with Poison Mushroom have Milk to rely on. And Licorice? He has to stay with the mysterious Sour Cream Cookie. For a roof over his head, he is willing to forgive all her weirdness. Especially if that roof is of a giant mansion, so far into the woods, that no one will ever hear your screaming.

No pairings, OCs play a major role, the entire thing is split in tiny chapters, I have no idea how to write fanfics.

WARNINGS:

Drugging/poisoning, some cussing, collars and kinda kidnapping in a way, decieving and gaslighting I guess, a good test is - if you dislike yandere themes you'll probably dislike this, though it is not a yandere fic.

OC refs: This post

Chapter 1 | Introduction

It was a warm, sunny day in the Cookie Kingdom. It was that blissful hour when the sun was still shining brightly, but the shadows were slowly getting longer and the air was filled with calming freshness. With a happy smile on his face and a head covered in confetti, Ginger Brave ran up to the table that was stood a bit away from others, covered by the shade of trees. Three cookies were sat behind it, Dark Choco Cookie carefully moving spore-filled hands of Poison Mushroom Cookie away from the untouched plate of Licorice Cookie, who was too distracted scribbling small drawings of himself with angry eyebrows on one of the napkins and muttering under his breath to notice.

- So, how's everyone's moving progress going?

Dark Choco moved his own empty plate in front of Shroomie, who happily began covering it with spores.

- We're fine. - He moved his head to face Ginger Brave. - Me and Poison Mushroom Cookie are temporarily staying at Milk Cookie's house. He gladly accepted the opportunity and said that we don't have to be worried about spores because they won't have an effect of him. Something relating to how good his health is.

- That's great! And you, Licorice Cookie?

Licorice Cookie glanced at him and angrily mumbled something.

- Oh, right, weren't you staying with Avocado Cookie?

- Yeah! UNTIL she slapped me on the shoulder so hard it nearly crumbled and said "Welp, time to work some kindness into ya'!", while laughing!!! - Licorice stood up from the bench, seemingly to make his story have a more dramatic effect - I am a MAGE not a- a- a blacksmith's rookie!!

- Woah, woah, calm down, no need to yell! - Ginger Brave stepped back and grabbed onto his cane tighter - If you aren't staying with her, then where are you planning to live until we get you guys a permanent living space? You know everyone else refused to take you-

- He can stay with me.

Licorice jumped up, nearly flipping over his plate and quickly turning his head around. Dressed in all white with green eyes, standing nearly as tall, if not taller then him, the cookie walked up quietly, as if a woodland ghost.

- Sour Cream Cookie! That would be amazing! But don't you already have two other cookies living in your house? We wouldn't want to inconvenience you. - While Licorice was still trying to get over the scare, Ginger Brave didn't seem to be bothered by the cookie's sudden appearance.

- Don't worry dear, there is always enough place for one more in a mansion. - Sour Cream Cookie smiled.

- Cool! Oh, right, - Ginger Brave turned to Licorice - Licorice Cookie, this is Sour Cream Cookie. She moved here from a remote land, where she has a big business, and now lives in a big mansion in the forest. We don't really get to see her very often, but she has really helped out with funding the Kingdom's renovations and builds in the past, and sometimes even helps with housing newcomers! Sour Cream Cookie, this is Lico-

- No need to introduce me to him, deary, I know everything I need to know, and what I don't, I'd rather learn myself. - Licorice finally got a proper look of her. She seemed quite a bit older than him, but not elderly. With pale dough, white lashes and eyes the color of fresh green onion leaves, she had a calm and somewhat smug expression on her face. Her right eye was covered by long and puffy sour cream hair, with little bits of greens sprinkled in it. A warm, pale green dress went down to her knees, revealing boots of the same green with white cream sheep wool and short heels. The same fur was around the dress's neck and on the end of long sleeves. It was held up by a green, double-wrapped onion belt, with one circle right on the waistline, and the second one resting on the cookie's left hip.

- So, Licorice Cookie - She was looking directly at him now - Are you accepting my offer to, for as long as the circumstances require, stay as a resident at my house?

He hesitated for a moment. Something about that look sent shivers down his spine. But he had no better choice, he had to pick her.

- Yeeeeaaah, fine, I'm staying with you.

- Then it's decided! - Sour Cream smiled even wider and folded her hands.

Urgh, these Kingdom cookies are so friendly and cheery, it's disgusting.

- If you wish to, we can go and set you at the mansion right now.

Licorice looked over at the table. His plate finally got in Poison Mushroom's reach and was now rapidly filling with spores. Dark Choco sat in place with a slightly ashamed expression.

- Okay, - He was still cautious of her - just let me grab my things first.

-Of course, I will be waiting for you here.

He stepped out of the table-bench and, trying to avoid the particularly active parts of the Peace Celebration, headed to the Cookie Castle, where his, Dark Choco's and Shroomie's belongings were kept. But one last thing caught his attention. The whole time they were sitting under the trees, three young cookies were watching them from the nearby table. They were giggling and making plans as to what pranks they could pull if they could just convince Poison Mushroom to work with them. But now, they looked scared, and were quietly whispering to each other. They went completely silent as Licorice walked past them, but as he was walking away he could just barely hear one last faint whisper:

-...I heard she ate their tongues... 

Chapter 2 | The Mansion

 Finally, the trees started to step back, letting sunlight shine through. They've been walking for at least fifteen minutes, if not twenty. It was so deep into the forest, one could barely hear the fanfares and happy voices of the Kingdom behind. Suddenly, as if by some magic trick, all the trees in front of them stopped completely, revealing a giant mansion. Though far smaller than the Cookie Castle, it still looked like it could fit at least three full families living with no discomfort. The outside was white and intricately detailed , with all the details highlighted in greens and gold. Licorice stared at it in awe, unsure if it was the right place, but Sour Cream Cookie proceeded to walk further through the small garden, split between various vegetables and flowers, convincing him that this beautiful mansion really was the place where he was going to live in for an unknown amount of time. Sour Cream opened the door, and they walked in.

- Miss Sour Cream Cookie, welcome back. I see, you have brought a visitor with you. Is there a way I can help them?

 In the middle of a big hallway was stood a cookie. They were slightly shorter than standard height, and had soft butter hair covering their eyes. They were wearing a knee-long puffy dress of a light ochre color with a white apron, which had a big square pocket, imitating a melting piece of butter. Their hat was the same butter-slice shape, with a black ribbon wrapped around it sticking up like two long antennae. But probably the most noticeable feature was the two bee wings, gently fluttering behind their back.

- Butter Bee Cookie, please welcome Licorice Cookie. He is going to be living with us until he has his own place. - Sour Cream turned around to face Licorice and gestured to Butter Bee. - Licorice Cookie, Butter Bee Cookie is my best helper, sometimes I think they know this house better then me! They can lead you to your room.

Butter Bee quickly bowed, and started walking down the hallway, Licorice cautiously followed.

  The mansion was truly enormous, while walking he counted many doors, hallways and staircases. Finally, after a flight of stairs, and a few doors, they ended up in a medium sized room. Well, it was considered medium sized, for Licorice it was the biggest room he has ever had to himself. The walls were painted a pleasant dark purple, with a big open space in the middle, just enough for his summoning circles. A big window with purple curtains on the wall opposed the doorway, opening a view onto the forest and the Cookie Kingdom. In the far corner, next to the window, was stood a bed with dark sheets and a night table next to it with a lamp. The left wall had multiple bookshelves and a big closet stood up against it. The right wall had a desk and some hanging shelves. The corner had a chair with a soft seat and a small potted tree. Seemingly, one originating from the Mala tribe's lands, due to it being planted in rocks and having thick, dark, leafless branches. Butter Bee bowed again, and quickly walked out of the room closing the door behind them. Just as the door closed, Licorice rushed to the table, putting his old, torn and sewn up backpack down and quickly unzipping it

- Cough, cough! Meowster, meowbe there were better ways of transpurrtation. - Bat-cat has climbed out of the backpack, all ruffled up, and was now trying to stretch its wings.

- Shh! Be quiet, I don't know if they allow pets here.

Bat-cat hissed quietly and flew off onto the potted tree, where it hung upside down on one of the branches.

  Licorice proceeded to unpack his things, putting full diaries on the hanging shelves, necromancy books on the big bookshelves, and the few extra clothes he had - in the closet. The last touch was his current diary, carefully placed on the table. As he was planning to sit down and write about the mansion, a sudden knock on the door distracted him.

- Miss Sour Cream Cookie wishes to know if you are to show up to the dinner on the first floor, sir Licorice Cookie.

Bat-cat quickly crawled under the bed, and Licorice opened the door. Butter Bee cookie was standing in front of him, same empty expression as always. Dinner sounded good.

- Yeah, sure, lead the way, Kid. - He couldn't help but note their height difference, hoping that at least annoyance will affect their expression. Butter Bee just nodded and started moving. Licorice could only quietly follow them.

Eventually, they ended up in a brightly lit dining room. The big table was set, and Sour Cream Cookie was sitting in the centre spot. Butter Bee moved out a chair a bit, close to Sour Cream's spot, and Licorice sat down. They themselves walked off to a small door that was spreading a wonderful aroma, which he could only guess was the kitchen.

- I asked Cabbage Cookie to prepare something special for  today, she'll bring it in very soon. - Sour Cream started speaking - So, how do you like your room, dear?

- It's... Fine... And don't call me dear, I... - Licorice didn't get to finish his sentence, as Butter Bee and a new cookie entered, carrying a tray with four bowls and a big salad plate with some kind of a bottled drink. All of it was placed onto the table and as his bowl was placed in front of Licorice, he was hit with a delicious smell of beets, cabbage and meat jellies.

- Just like mama makes! Come on everybody, while it's hot! - The new cookie, who Licorice assumed was named Cabbage Cookie, was a sturdy-built one, just a bit shorter and tanner than him, with a big cabbage leaf-hair bun on the back of her head, wearing a green shirt with rolled up sleeves and a white cooking apron, which blended into a cabbage leaf, with dark green pants and big boots. She looked cheery and kind, speaking loudly and reassuringly. Her and Butter Bee proceeded to pour everyone a glass of light sparkling juice, and sit down themselves. Licorice didn't notice when they put those down, but the table now also had a tray of bread and a small bowl of sour cream, with the aforementioned big plate containing a vegetable salad.

  Sour Cream Cookie quietly wished everyone a good dinner, and they all started to eat. The soup tasted just as amazing as it smelled, though with a weirdly... Bitter aftertaste. Suddenly, Licorice felt so... Awkward. He was sitting in a giant, well decorated dining room, with everyone else dressed up nicely, and then there was him. Just him. Wearing his dumb old robes. He didn't belong here.

- How are you enjoying your food, dear?

He didn't answer. He was looking at his bowl. It was different. Nothing much, just a small red cross on its side. The entire room fell silent, only the loud buzzing left. He felt his head tilting down, right into the bowl. The last thing he saw as everything was rapidly turning to darkness, was Sour Cream Cookie's blurry hand gently moving the half-finished food away from the trajectory of his head. Everything went dark.

Chapter 2.5

So cold... He barely could open his eyes, his head felt as if it was full of molten lead, his mouth disgustingly bitter. Opening his eyes as much as he could, he could distinguish that he was standing on his knees, prepped up against a wall in a dark, cold room. He tried to move, but, to his terror, his arms were tied tightly behind his back. It was silent, the only sound being his heavy breathing and the rustling of the robes' fabric, his mouth was gagged with a piece of cloth wrapped around his head.

- Oh, you finally woke up.

Suddenly the room was filled with a bright, blue-ish white light. He quickly closed his eyes, as not to go blind.

- Well, well, Licorice Cookie, don't be scared, open your eyes.

Licorice slowly opened his eyes. It occurred to him that it wasn't that the light was bright, it's that his eyes got too used to darkness. Now the room was more clearly visible, though all corners where still cloaked in darkness, as a single lamp on the ceiling couldn't glow brightly enough. It was a dark grey square room, quite nicely cleaned, with some unidentifiable furniture in one of the corners, though a staircase leading up to a door clearly revealed it to be a basement. On the top of the staircase was stood a figure. 

Nearly as tall, if not taller then him, dressed in all white with eyes the color of fresh green onion leaves, Sour Cream Cookie stood there with a smile. She slowly walked down the stairs, slower than anyone would need to.

- You know, I wasn't planning to do this today... - She walked over to the left side of the staircase. Metal rustling could be heard as she was moving something on what seemed to be a table. - But oh, I was so exited, I just couldn't wait any longer!

She carefully put on blue medical gloves on both of her hands, and moved the tall surgical instrument table closer to him. From the floor, Licorice couldn't see what was on the table, but whatever it was, he wanted to have nothing to do with it. Sour Cream carefully untied his mouth, and Licorice could finally catch a breath enough to scream.

- HELP!!!! - That scream felt painful, scratching his throat and completely emptying his lungs, making him desperately gasp for air. Sour Cream Cookie looked displeased, she rubbed the side of her head with her forearm, and looked at Licorice with a smile.

- Deary, have you not seen how far into the forest we are? Scream all you want, it'll only annoy me. And you don't want to see me annoyed, don't you?

Licorice looked at her angrily, intending to scream once again, but he was still out of breath, and he really didn't think getting her annoyed in this situation was the best idea.

  Sour Cream Cookie turned back to the instrument table, and picked up a pair of scissors. He had never seen scissors like these, they were very thin in width, long and had green plastic on the handles. At the same time, she, uncaringly, put her other hand right into his mouth, pulling out his tongue. Oh fuck. He knew exactly what she was going to do. He started abruptly yelling and wiggling, trying to get out of her grasp. It was pointless and just made her clutch onto his tongue tighter as well as making Licorice have to inhale sharply again, just to not faint from a lack of air. The despair of the situation set in as the scissor blades shined in the dim light, now he could only whimper like a sick puppy. The cold blades laid on his tongue, as tears poured out of his eyes, burning them. He felt like he was about to pass out, nausea, fear, and the rage of not being able to do anything spun in his head painfully.

Snip.

Chapter... 3?

He slowly opened his eyes. His eyelids felt heavy, and his head was buzzing like a swarm of bees. His mouth was filled with a rancid taste of licorice and a weird aftertaste of... Strawberries?..

- Oh, thank goodness you are awake! - Sour Cream Cookie's voice hit him like a sledgehammer - It seems like you had an allergic reaction to something in the food, I'm so glad you're better now.

- I'm... - Something felt off. He slowly licked his lips. Cold sweat rushed down his spine, breath stuck in his throat. His tongue was cut clean off at the tip.

Sour Cream noticed his terror.

- What's wrong, dear? You look like you just saw a ghost.

Licorice could only mumble, nausea swirling in his head:

- M-my tongue... It's... Cut off...

- Huh, I thought that was a natural thing for Licorice-based cookies?

His thoughts were all over the place, as were his memories. Was it? Wait- Wait, right, it was. He really couldn't remember the last time he actually saw his tongue.

- Maybe you're just now noticing it because it hurts? - Sour Cream Cookie wondered - But, enough talking, you need more rest. Butter Bee Cookie's room is just around the corner, tell them if you need something.

Saying this, Sour Cream Cookie stood up from the chair next to Licorice's bed she was sitting on, and headed out of the door.

 Left alone, Licorice looked around. The window was open and the morning sun was shining brightly, seems like Bat-cat was yet to return from its night hunt. He felt too bad to write or read anything, so the only thing left was go back to sleep.

 When he woke up, it was already afternoon, Bat-cat was calmly sleeping on the potted tree, and all the sickness seemed to have gone away. Just as if it had never happened. He stood up from his bed, still unsure if he was going to suddenly fall onto the floor. Nope, he felt as fresh as ever. Just really hungry. He walked out of the room, and into the mansion. His memory wasn't the best, so it didn't take him long to get completely lost. In a mess of hallways and stairs he ended up in what seemed to be an office. Many magichanical screens and wires were an amazing way to move information to really far away quickly. But that was not the part that interested him. He saw enough of those in Strawberry Crepe Cookie's domain. What really bothered him about this room was the closet. Or, more so, a bookshelf with a thin layer of sugar glass separating it from the outside. There were many books on the shelf, some folders with what seemed to be business records, and even an old lamp. And a jar. With a young jelly worm completely submerged in unknown syrup.

- What are you doing here?

Licorice jumped, instinctively grabbing for his scythe, only to remember that it was taken away. Butter Bee Cookie was standing behind him, having silently walked up.

- Tsk, none of your business - Licorice stopped and thought for a second. It was most definitely their business. - I was looking for the kitchen, but this place is like a darn maze!  

- I will lead you to the dining room. You seem to have completely recovered from your poisoning.

- Wait, what? Sour Cream Cookie said it was an allergy.

- Well, yes. There are some flowers blooming in the garden this time of the year whose pollen may cause a mild poisoning due to Cookie's bodies being disturbed by an alien object. Also known as an "allergy"

- Gee, you're such a nerd. Lead me to the kitchen already, I'm starving here.

- As you wish.

 With no problems they got to the dining room. Butter Bee Cookie explained that since he was late for breakfast he now needed to go to the kitchen and ask Cabbage Cookie for the portion that specifically was left for him. They left, and Licorice entered the kitchen, once again bombarded by all of the various smells. Cabbage Cookie was standing behind the stove, mixing something in a big pot. As Licorice called her name, she turned around and instantly understood what he was here for.

- Oh boy, your breakfast, huh? Well listen, the lunch is up next very very soon, see, the potatoes are already mashed, why don't you just wait for it for a little bit?

- No, I want it now!

- Oh-ho, a feisty one, are you? If you really want to, you can get the leftovers from yesterday's dinner, with those meat jellies that knocked cha' out.

- Meat jellies? I thought it were the-

- Yeah, yeah, I won't buy them from that lady anymore, that's for sure. But, stop distracting me, I still have cooking to do, go play outside.

 Annoyed, Licorice walked out of the kitchen with all intentions to get lost in the house again just out of spite, but instantly bumped into Sour Cream Cookie, who was heading into the kitchen

- Ah, Licorice Cookie, you are here already! It's going to be lunch soon and-

- Yes I KNOW that! Cabbage Cookie already told me to go "play outside" while she cooks.

- Really? Hm, she can be a bit rude like that. I'll make sure to talk to her about such jokes. But, that reminds me, Butter Bee wanted me to ask you if you could maybe help them practice magic a little bit? They are also a summon specific epic mage and want to get a bit better at their spells.

- Hmpf, you know, reducing my magic to just that is really underestimating it. I'm not just a "Summon specific epic mage" I'm a - He hesitated for a moment - Professional Necromancer Cookie, and I don't have time to tutor some newbies, they're probably a light mage anyway.

- That's sad, you know they've said they're a big fan of you and your magic.

Licorice got quiet for a second. He was thinking.

- ...Are... Are they really?

- Yes, of course!

- Urgh, okay, then I guess I can find a bit of time to help a fellow admirer...

 This was a terrible idea - He thought standing in the open backyard, as a swarm of butter bees rushed at him with admirable speed.

- STOP!! - Butter Bee Cookie yelled and waved their arms, forcing the bees to make a sharp turn and disperse into small glittery magic particles.

- Goodness, I'm so, so, so sorry, they weren't supposed to do that! Are you okay?

- I would be better if I wasn't swarmed by bees.

Butter Bee grabbed onto their apron and looked aside. They looked like they were about to cry.

- Okay, let me show you how REAL mages do it. - Licorice walked up closer to the forest and picked up a long stick he noticed since they got here. His scythe was taken away for the time being, just for safety, but it really wasn't the important part of his spells. The scythe was needed so, when magic wasn't available, he could still defend himself. And, well, it looked cool. Prior to it being taken away, Licorice would always carry it around, even when it wasn't needed. Something about holding it calmed him down. Maybe that was the reason he has been feeling odd this whole time? Thinking about this, he didn't even notice that he drew a summoning circle on the ground with the stick. That was another use of his scythe. As the last rune was drawn in, the circle started glowing deep purple, a small lightning spark, and a small licorice servant crawled out from under the ground. It waved its sword, willing to fight whatever cookies stood in the way of its master, even all by itself. Licorice looked it around. It seemed smaller than other servants, the licorice candy on top of its head was a bit crooked, and the sword definitely wasn't as sharp. A stick wasn't the most comfortable thing to draw with. Despite all that, Butter Bee Cookie seemed to be really exited over it. They were running around the angry summon, gasping when it swung its sword at them.

- Oh, its ADORABLE! Can-Can-Can we keep it?!

 Licorice was a bit shocked. He has only known Butter Bee Cookie for less than a day, but that was enough to set in the impression that they were a cold, calm and obedient cookie. Seeing them run around, exited over something as pathetic as a failed summon was just plain weird.

- Tsk, it's not even that cool, I can do better, why keep this one?

The servant's active time ran out and it disappeared into light purple smoke. Butter Bee seemed really upset by it.

- Oh... Right.. They disappear...

- Well, battle ones do. - Licorice quickly drew a new summoning circle on the ground. As he tapped the centre of it with the stick, the circle began glowing again, and a different licorice servant showed up. It had no visual differences to the previous one, but for Licorice they were like night and day.

- This is a housekeeper servant. We always had a bunch them cleaning and cooking around the evil lair, they don't disappear unless I tell them to.

He could see Butter Bee Cookie's eyes spark, and he couldn't even see their eyes.

- Lunch's ready! - Cabbage Cookie stuck her head out of the window and yelled to the cookies in the backyard

 Licorice waved the stick in front of the servant, and it grabbed it by the end. He then handed the stick to Butter Bee Cookie, creating somewhat of an impromptu leash. They silently took it, and all three went back into the house.

 As they walked into the dining room, they could see Sour Cream Cookie standing next to the dining table. She turned around to see them and froze with a slightly confused expression facing the licorice servant.

- Oh, right, - Licorice realized the situation - You don't have any rules against pets... Riiiight?..

- No, of course not! - Sour Cream got herself in order again - It can stay, as well as your little friend over here.

She smiled and stepped back, revealing Bat-cat sitting on the table, excitedly chewing on some jellyberries. Licorice froze. How- How did she find Bat-cat? Did it come out to her itself? Did she lure it out with jellyberries? Was she... Looking around his room? Those were questions he decided he definitely needed to ask Bat-cat later. He was way too hungry for that now.

 The lunch consisted of mashed potatoes with the side dish of roasted vegetables. This time everything went fine, even though Licorice could swear nearly all ingredients were the same as in yesterday's soup.

 After the lunch, Licorice headed to his room, Bat-cat flying next to him. When in the room, he locked the door and sat down on the chair in front of the desk. Nearly two days have passed with him having no proper access to his diary, and now he could finally sit down and write about everything that happened properly.

Chapter 3.5| Diary notes

"Day 2 at this weird place. It's ENOURMOUS I literally managed to get lost here while looking for the kitchen. Nothing compared to the lair we had back under Dark Enchantress. Still can't believe this is happening. At least now I don't have to listen to Pomegranate's whining. The cookies here are so damn weird, Cabbage Cookie, the cook of this place is probs the most normal one. But then, what if she poisoned me? Why? Who knows, maybe I cursed her sibling or smtn, thats possible. Was in knockout for like, a day. Butter Bee Cookie - just a weird kid in general. Why are they so quiet and then so loud? At least when they run around they seem SOMEWHAT like a real cookie, not like a weird porcelain doll. Freaky stuff. And URGH don't get me STARTED on Sour Cream Cookie. What is WRONG with her??? She calls me "DEARY"! D E A R Y!! I told her not to do that, usually it's enough for these kingdom cookies to shut up. She seems like the type of cookie to put her hand on my lap and don't think that there's anything wrong with that! And I still have to ask Bat-cat how she managed to find it. She creeps me out. Creepy old lady in the woods. And I have a weird gut feeling that's not even the creepiest she can be. Just great. What did I get myself into..?"

Chapter 4 | A Kingdom visit

- Parfait Cookie is performing at a charity concert today, are you going? - Sour Cream Cookie asked while watering flowers.

- No, I don't like happy songs. - Licorice was standing outside, politely kicked out of his room for a cleaning by Cabbage Cookie.

- Is the only thing you do is work? Every time I met you, you were either cooking or doing some other housework, don't you like, have hobbies or something? - He asked her.

- Nah, cookin's my hobby, I do it because I love it!

- Are you by chance related to Avocado Cookie? Because that sounds exactly like something SHE would say about her blacksmithing.

- Nah, not even distant cousins, completely different buff green gal here. Though, we were quite good friends before- Cabbage Cookie went silent for a moment. Her gaze defocused, as if deep in thought. But she quickly returned to normal - You know, before I found out this cool mansion needed a chef specializing in northern dishes. Lucky coincidence, huh?

- And what songs DO you like? - Sour Cream Cookie wondered.

- I- I don't really listen to music, mostly just read. - That was a lie, he just couldn't openly admit how much he loved all that soft and upbeat music, and how much it made him just want to jump in place and wave his hands around excitedly.

- Hm, then how can you know you don't like her music? I need to go to the kingdom today to do something, how about we stop by her concert? I'll buy us tickets if that's what you're worried about.

That was the last straw. FREE tickets to a PARFAIT COOKIE'S concert?! AND he can pretend he never wanted to go?! Licorice just couldn't say no. Parfait was a sweet and aspiring cookie, who he used to watch and listen to for quite a while now, blatantly ignoring the "Cookies of Darkness DNI" in her live channel's description. Getting to hear those wonderful uplifting songs in person sounded like a dream come true to him.

- Okay, if you insist, I'll go.

- Aww, you're doing it for me?

- No, I... - It was too late.

- That's so sweet of you, go get prepared, we'll head out in a couple hours. I'm pretty sure Cabbage Cookie has already finished cleaning your room.

Licorice gladly headed inside. She was right, his room now had only napping Bat-cat in it. Though he did not notice it being any cleaner. What did she mean by "get prepared"? He looked into the closet. An old robe which was basically just strips of fabric loosely tied together by this point, but had too much memories connected to it to just throw it away, a warm sweater made out of a werehound's mane, which was a winter gift from Red Velvet Cookie, and a couple of light undershirts and shorts that he didn't even remember where he got them from. There was no point in changing. He closed the door and turned to the bookshelves. "Black magic for beginners"? Yeah, he read that a long time ago. "The official Parfaedian guide to summoning circles"? Boring. "What to do if a servant you summoned becomes self aware"? Oh, that one was for a special occasion. "Poisonous plants of Earthbread"? Wait, when did he get this? Licorice took the heavy, dark green book with a bunch of flowers on the cover out and looked it around. He definitely did not remember buying OR stealing this one. It probably was one of the books that were standing on the shelves when he just moved in. Whatever, he has read all of his own books already, if it was in his room they're probably okay with him reading it. He sat behind his desk and opened the book. Two hours passed quickly while reading about all the different ways you could suffer. Hearing a knock on the door, Licorice put the book aside and went to see who it was, though he already knew.

- Miss Sour Cream Cookie asks if you are ready.

- I am, let's go.

He followed Butter Bee Cookie to the front door, where Sour Cream Cookie was already standing. She smiled at him and they both stepped outside.

 It was past midday, and the air was still warm, but the sun wasn't so harsh now. Walking in the shade of the trees, it was nice and cool on the path to the Cookie Kingdom.  While they were walking, Sour Cream Cookie decided to start a conversation.

- So, I didn't get to properly ask you before, how are you enjoying your life at the mansion?

How could he answer? Tell her that this place was creeping the life out of him? That he felt like he couldn't trust anyone, and couldn't even pinpoint why? Or lie, and say that it was great, just not to lose that bit of homely comfort and care that he hadn't felt in years?

- It's... fine, I guess...

 Sour Cream Cookie smiled.

- I'm glad you are enjoying it. You, know, I really just want to see you happy.

Licorice looked at her with a condescending expression.

- Good luck with that.

Sour Cream Cookie just giggled in response.

 The rest of the walk was in silence. Licorice was following Sour Cream step by step, afraid to get lost in the thriving forest. Eventually, the road became bigger, with more branching off paths and a rocky pavement. The happy voices and sweet smells reached their peak as they stepped into the grand Cookie Kingdom, which was, as always, filled with life. While Licorice was a bit overwhelmed by all of this, Sour Cream didn't seem to be bothered, and was walking confidently. He could only follow. Suddenly, she slowed down. They stopped in front of "Maison Marron". Sour Cream Cookie turned around to face Licorice:

- Dear, I'll have to go in for a bit for some business, could you wait outside, please?

- Okay, just don't take like, two hours there. And don't call me dear!

Sour Cream Cookie just chuckled and walked into the boutique. Licorice was left to sit on a bench outside, protected from direct sunlight by the roof's shadow. He was looking around out of boredom, as his eyes fell upon Herb Cookie, who was standing next to the bench, definitely wanting to say something.

- Are you just going to stand there and stare at me or what?

Herb's expression changed to an even more awkward one.

- I- I just wanted to ask, because I heard you live at Sour Cream Cookie's place now, how's Butter Bee Cookie doing?

- Wait, you know them?

- Oh, of course. - Herb Cookie smiled - They used to visit my garden a lot.  They would usually come around when Clover Cookie was over, he would play and they would sing. The flowers around that spot where always the most beautiful ones, thanks to their butter bees.

Herb Cookie seemed very happy thinking of that time, which made Licorice wonder:

- So what changed? Can't they like, visit from time to time or something?

The smile on Herb Cookie's face faded, he looked upset by Licorice's words.

- I- I mean, no, they probably can but, uhm, they haven't visited since moving in with Sour Cream Cookie. Maybe, - He frowned - They just grew tired of me?

That's possible - Licorice thought to himself. Herb's mumbling was getting annoying.

- Well, I'm pretty sure they're fine. All in one piece, if that's what you were wondering.

- That's... Good to hear... I'm sorry for bothering you, I probably will go now.

- Okay.

- I- Tell them I said hi.

Herb Cookie left. Licorice was left alone again.

 Thankfully, the late summer sun wasn't cruel enough to give him a heat stroke, but he was already regretting wearing all black. Though, ever since he became a dark mage, he always felt a bit cold.

Chapter 5  | The Library and The Concert

Sour Cream Cookie returned soon, and, what surprised Licorice, empty handed. Does Mont Blanc Cookie make per-request costumes? He always thought her designs were just impulses of creativity. Now thinking, he realized that maybe that wasn't the most realistic business strategy.

- Well, that's taken care of, now where?

Licorice was stunned by this question. Why is she asking him?

- What do you mean?

- The concert is in about an hour, is there somewhere you would like to go meanwhile? Oh! I know! There's a library nearby. I heard you like reading, we could borrow something for you.

- Who- Who exactly could you hear that from?

Sour Cream Cookie giggled.

- Let's just say, a little birdie told me. So, is that a yes?

- Fine, only if we aren't gonna be late to the concert.

- One leg here another one there, darling.

Well, at least it's not "dear" - He thought.

 And so, they headed through the Kingdom again, eventually ending up in front of a large library. It was painted in dark and light blues, reminiscent of the Blueberry Yogurt Academy, but still fitting into the Cookie Kingdom's chaotic, yet homely aesthetic. Walking inside, one was hit with cold air that smelled like old books. And new books. Okay, maybe just books in general. At the entrance, behind a desk, was sat a light-blue bear jelly in tiny round glasses. The bear jelly, who seemed to be the librarian, looked deep asleep. Sour Cream assured Licorice that it was okay to just walk in.

- Just let her sleep, I assure you, when she doesn't like something someone's doing, she's awake in moments. I can show you where the dark magic books are, if you want.

- No thanks, I think I'll find it myself, there's signs everywhere.

- Oh, I assure you, you will not. - Sour Cream Cookie sounded weirdly... Strict... - This place is like a maze.

Says you. - Licorice thought to himself, remembering the mansion's hallways, but said only: 

- Fine, lead the way.

He soon realized that yes, he would absolutely get lost.  Sour Cream made turns opposing the signs multiple times, saying that they were "outdated" and that "this way is shorter". And yes, the books on the shelves were getting darker and darker in color, with reds and purples popping up more and more often. Licorice remembered a book he never could find. A copy of the Academy's director's personal project, forever unfinished, but still containing a lot of very rare information. He looked on the shelves, walking up stairs and bending down. Anytime a book caught his attention, he would carefully take it off the bookshelf and gently touch the cover material, reading the title and synopsis. From Sour Cream Cookie he knew that the books were protected by multiple spells. From being stolen, getting dirty, or not being returned in time. Speaking about Sour Cream Cookie, she was walking near him, sometimes walking off to look at a book, but still always in the same isle as him. Does she really worry he'll get lost that much? Just as he was ready to accept that it was banned in the happy haven that was The Cookie Kingdom and request to be shown the way to the counter, something caught his eye. There it was! A deep blue book, stuffed in between others on one of the highest shelves. Thankfully, his height and a stepladder standing nearby were just enough to reach it. He stepped down. It was beautiful. With a replica of the director's portrait on the cover, and an elegant font, the book was nearly glowing. Or maybe it was. Who knows what they were making their books out of back then. With it in hands, he and Sour Cream Cookie headed to the counter. Sour Cream Cookie tapped the little bell standing on the desk, which seemingly had its only purpose being to wake up the sleeping librarian. The bear jelly jumped up and started quickly blinking while fixing her slipped glasses.

- Oh-hoh, Sour Cream Cookie, a new one? - The librarian finally fixed her glasses and looked Licorice up and down. - Oh, this one's a sweet young lad, oh-hoh.

- Oh dear, don't make me blush, he's just living with me for a bit. But he sure is one crispy bitter-sweet cookie, ha-ha.

Licorice didn't like being treated like an auction bid, so he put the book on the desk and decided to introduce himself:

- Hello. It's "Licorice Cookie". I would like to, uh, borrow this book. Can you do the whatever thing you need to do to let me borrow it?

Librarian Bear Jelly squinted at the book's cover and started writing something in a big notebook that could probably serve as a part of the library itself.

 The book was now acquired, and Licorice realized he didn't have anywhere to put it, so he just decided to carry it until he is in a place where it was safe to hand it off to a servant. Now, it was time for the concert. It didn't take long to find the scene, it was large, and placed in one of the most popular parks of the Kingdom. Licorice knew the park off by heart, back from when he would go on "spying missions"  into the Kingdom, but somehow always ended up with a puffy cloud of cotton candy and a drink. There was already a small crowd in front of the stage, excited for the concert to begin. Licorice quickly summoned a servant, handing it the book, and sending the servant back into what he could only assume was the underworld. He was afraid that the security spells wouldn't allow that, but weirdly, the book got through. While he was doing that, Sour Cream Cookie seemed to disappear, only to come back with two vanilla ice cream cones and hand one to Licorice without asking. He tried to say something about it, but the speakers suddenly burst with sound. The concert has started.

- Paru-Paru-Parfait~! Hello, my sweet sweet fans! Oh gee there's a lot of you, huh? Well, the more of you are here, the more of you will hopefully check out the information stands over there! The organizers tried really hard to prepare those pamphlets, and all coins earned from this concert will go to help save the forests of The Cookie Kingdom from being destroyed. So, hopefully, this new song about beautiful spring bloom of wild woods will inspire you to donate to help us even more in this project! It's called "Blooming love"!

 The song was amazing. As were the other songs featured in the performance. Parfait Cookie was truly the master of her craft, other performers were great as well, but she was clearly the star of the show. After the concert, Sour Cream Cookie headed to the stands to donate to the project. From the parts of the talk that Licorice could hear, it was quite a bit of coins. She really does care about the others, huh?

 After that was done, she walked up to him:

- You know, this concert was amazing, but it made me really crave parfaits. What do you think about asking Cabbage Cookie to make some back home?

- Huh? She can make those?

- Oh, yes, of course, Cabbage Cookie is a master at making all types of sweets. You really should try her caramel candy sometime.

- Well, than yeah, sounds nice.

And so with that, both cookies walked out of the park and headed home.

 The sun was just starting to set, changing it's color to yellow and then to light red as they entered the mansion. Sour Cream Cookie went to talk to Cabbage Cookie and Licorice couldn't wait to write about everything in his diary. The day was really just amazing. He couldn't believe he was getting used to this life. This sweet, careless, safe life.

 He was already finished writing and was laying in his bed, reading his new book, as Butter Bee Cookie knocked on his door. They just nodded at him and lead him to the dining room. Sour Cream was sat down already. Her left sleeve was rolled up, and her forearm was bandaged over. She noticed Licorice Cookie's confused look, and was quick to respond.

- Oh, it's just an unlucky accident at the kitchen. Put down my arm on something sharp, I'm okay, really.

- I didn't ask.

Licorice sat down, and Cabbage Cookie walked into the room with a tray. The tray had four beautiful parfaits. In nice glasses, with puffy whipped cream, crispy waffles, and fresh fruits, with cocoa powder and dark red, probably jellyberry, jam. She put them down in front of everyone, along with spoons. The parfaits tasted as great as they looked. The jam on top turned out to be strawberry scented, and the waffles were a bit soft, but other than that, it was perfect. Licorice tried to contain himself, but still ended up finishing before everyone. He looked up at the others. A familiar shiver ran down his spine. Just briefly, he caught Sour Cream Cookie's stare. Just looking at him. She quickly moved her eyes off of him and started eating her seemingly untouched dessert. That's good, she better not ruin his good day with her creepiness. Still, he didn't feel like staying here, so, complimenting Cabbage Cookie's cooking, he went back to his room.

- How was your day, meowster? - Bat-Cat was already awake and preparing to fly off to its night hunt. It seemed to be enjoying the newly acquired freedom.

- Oh, it was AMAZING! - Licorice Cookie allowed himself to relax and be honest, Bat-Cat knew him better than anyone anyways.

- That is wonderpurr to hear, meowster! Now, could you please open the window? My paws aren't strong enough to push the handles.

He opened the window and Bat-Cat flew out, disappearing into the darkness of the night.

Chapter 5.5

- Miss Sour Cream Cookie? - They lightly knocked on the open door.

- Oh, Butter Bee Cookie, I didn't even notice you walking in, come here.

Sour Cream Cookie was standing with her back to the door, seemingly searching for something in one of the closets behind her desk. As Butter Bee walked closer, she moved back holding a hand-sized wooden box. She turned to face them, a usual calm smile on her face.

- Butter Bee Cookie, dear, I called you here to say that everything is ready.

It felt as if a shock ran through them. Already?? They thought he had at least a few more days. Sour Cream continued speaking:

- I've talked to Mont Blanc Cookie about his outfit, it should be done by tomorrow's midday. Just two days, she really is a master! - Sour Cream Cookie slid her fingers on the wooden box, catching the ridge and opening it. Inside was a licorice jelly. A small dark spiral, which acted as a core in licorice servants, providing the magic needed for them to function properly. It was her most prized possession, as battle servants were almost never taken alive. Seeing her take it out of the box was a rare moment to witness. - Cabbage has dealt with the pet last night, he seemed too exhausted after the concert to notice it's disappearance today. Though he had some worry in his eyes. I would've ask her to do it this night, but you know, she already has too many things to do tomorrow, wouldn't want to overwork her, would I?

 She looked the jelly all around, admiring it with a soft smile. Butter Bee Cookie stood there silently, lightly grabbing onto their apron.

- Understood. Do you want me to come pick the outfit up tomorrow?

- Mmm... Yes, that would be great. - Sour Cream Cookie seemed to be contemplating something.

- Is that all?

She glanced at Butter Bee, and brought the jelly closer to her face. She indulged in its beauty one last time, and, with a sigh, took a bite. Butter Bee Cookie twitched, as if it was their soul she was chewing. She swallowed the piece and carefully placed the rest of the jelly in the box. She closed it.

- Yes, that would be all. You can go, but you should probably head to bed now, it's quite late already.

 Butter Bee bowed and started walking to the door.

- Wait, Butter Bee Cookie.

They stopped.

- Yes?..

- I realized that I've never told you just how grateful I am, to be a part of your life.

A shiver ran through them. But that wasn't unusual. Think about it, it just felt natural by now.

Chapter 6| Family.

Licorice Cookie was set behind his desk, tapping the diary with his fingers. He hasn't seen Bat-Cat ever since he let it out on the night after the concert. So, a whole day and a half. It never disappeared for that long. Usually, it would return in the morning, and fall asleep either on the potted tree, or on the bed, next to his legs. It was already nearing evening, and Licorice was getting more and more worried with the hour. What if it got caught by one of those Cookievorous plants? Or flew too far north and froze in the mountains? A familiar knock distracted him from the grim thoughts. Walking to open the door, he already adjusted his eyes to be a bit lower on it, to face Butter Bee Cookie.

- Miss Sour Cream Cookie wishes to see you in her cabinet. I will show you the way.

Their face was as cold and expressionless as usual, yet he felt some... Sorrow in their voice. He decided not to ask, he can always ask them later anyways. And so, a walk through the seemingly endless hallways began again. The large door they stopped in front of looked familiar. It was the same door he stumbled upon while looking for the dining room. It really has been only four days, huh? It felt like at least a week had passed with everything that happened. Butter Bee Cookie opened the door, and they both walked in.

- Licorice Cookie! Great to see you again. - Sour Cream Cookie was sat behind the large table, a bunch of papers laid in front of her.

- We literally saw each other at lunch.

- Oh, dear, you know, every time seeing you is like the first, come here.

- Don't- Urgh, fine. - He didn't even bother with correcting her, he knew she would just call him "dear" anyways.

He walked closer, looking at all of the weird books, folders and items on the numerous shelves. Sour Cream Cookie stood up from the table.

- There is something I wanted to show you, follow me. - With those words she proceeded to walk to one of the larger closets. She opened it and reached inside. Something clicked, and, with a light push form Sour Cream, the heavy looking closet moved aside with ease. Licorice stared at it shocked, but Sour Cream Cookie just smiled at his confusion and gestured for him to walk inside. He was worried. Should he? Or is it a grave mistake to follow such a weird cookie into a random secret passage? He quietly sighed, and stepped in. After all, what's the worst that can happen?

 The closet door lead to a staircase, cloaked in darkness. The light from the door was just enough as to not fall down, but not enough to light up the room. Licorice stood still, showing that he is letting Sour Cream Cookie walk down first, in case she decided to shut the door on him. She walked down, and he cautiously followed. Suddenly, just as Licorice was stepping down into the darkness, light filled the room. Cold sweat rushed down his spine, breath stuck in his throat. He had seen this room before. Grey walls, some furniture in the corners, and a surgical instrument table. No no no no. He quickly turned around to try and run back. Strong hands wrapped around him, completely immobilizing him.

- HUH?! What are you-

 In panic, he looked up, only to see Cabbage Cookie's face. Her expression was distant and sorrowful, yet her hands held him like iron chains. Butter Bee Cookie walked up from behind her. They weren't looking Licorice in the face. He tried to wriggle out of the grasp, yelling and kicking as much as his robes allowed, yet Cabbage Cookie seemed to not be bothered, holding him tight, while Butter Bee took his hands and tied them. Cabbage Cookie put him on the ground. Licorice saw it as his chance and tried to stand up. Cabbage Cookie roughly pushed him down, nearly breaking his neck. He angrily looked at her, to be met with a freezing cold stare. He was not getting up.

- What on Earthbread do you think you are doing?!

 While all that was happening, Sour Cream Cookie had already moved the instrument table closer to where he was sat, and Butter Bee Cookie closed the door.

 Sour Cream Cookie sat down next to him and put her hands around his neck. He tried to bite her, but Cabbage stomped her leg, showing that it was a bad idea. Something heavy and tight clicked under his chin. Fuck. A collar. He was slowly realizing something. He looked around. Cabbage Cookie stared at him, thick shirt collar covering her entire neck. Butter Bee Cookie stood aside silently, ruffled shirt collar covering their lower neck. He looked at Sour Cream Cookie. She was smiling.

- Why..?

 She carelessly grabbed his face and started looking it around. He saw her eyes, he saw her stare. That was not the look of someone looking at a person, it was not even a look of someone maddened by love. It was a look of a collector. Of a rich man coming home after an auction and admiring the newly purchased painting. She looked at him as one looks at an item. She was pleased. Pleased by the thought of him belonging to her. As if a rare trinket, he was hers now.

 But it wasn't yet over. Sour Cream Cookie stood up and reached to the table. She put on one blue glove and took off a tiny brown bottle. She opened it, and picked up a syringe. Licorice Cookie, sat on the floor in a basement, hands tied behind his back, with a guard towering over him, for the first time in years felt so hopeless. She put the syringe in the bottle. He was still a child when he last felt this. The syringe was filling with a transparent liquid. Cornered one of the worst blizzards the Cacao Kingdom has ever seen. The syringe was just barely filled when she stopped, it was enough. There were no mountain lions, no snow hitting his face, no screaming and roaring of the snow, and no tiny, shivering Bat-Cat to hold in his freezing hands. Yet there was no hope either. She moved his hair and the collar, revealing his neck. A needle pierced through his dough, but the burning of tears was too much to notice the pain. His brain went numb.

Poisonous plants of Earthbread

Our world, while sweet and crispy, is also home to many dangers, which fragile beings like us should avoid. In this book, written by the famous Professor Foxglove Cookie, you will find out about all sorts of poisonous plants, which one may encounter while traveling on the lands of Earthbread.

 Chapter one: What is a poison? And how is it used?

A poison is a substance that is capable of causing the illness or death of a living organism when introduced or absorbed. While common in plants, it is also met in many other living and non living things. A poison is not only a danger, but also a really helpful tool in many situations, if used correctly. For example, the deep Licorice Sea jellyfish produces a unique neurotoxin called twizzletoxin. A neurotoxin is a poison affecting a cookie's, or another living creature's mind, the way they think, and perceive reality. In large amounts, twizzletoxin causes a cookie to go numb, stop perceiving any stimuli and be not react to anything, but in really small, watered down doses, it has been found to be really helpful in calming down overly aggressive animals, causing them to be calm and obedient with no harm involved. No tests on cookies have yet been done.

Welcome to the mansion

Sour Cream Cookie opened the door, and Mozzarella Stick Cookie got to look inside.

- Welcome back.

Two cookies were stood in the middle of a hallway. One was short, wearing an ochre color dress with an apron, bee wings fluttering behind their back, soft butter hair covering their eyes. The second one was tall, wearing a light purple suit with a similar white apron, dark licorice hair covering their eyes.

- Mozzarella Stick Cookie, this is Butter Bee Cookie and Licorice Cookie. They will lead you to your room, just be polite with Licorice, he is quite new here, he still gets lost sometimes. Licorice Cookie, Butter Bee Cookie - this is Mozzarella Stick Cookie, she has no place to stay after the university, so she'll live with us for a bit, okay? The two weird cookies nodded and started walking down the hallway. Mozzarella fixed the sports bag with her drums on her shoulder, and cautiously followed. Sour Cream Cookie smiled to her. The door of the mansion closed.

[captainimprobable]

Part 3 of that thing I’ve been posting.  This is a first draft, once it’s edited I’ll put it on Ao3.  There will be five parts! Part1  Part 2  ~~

Amity has a plan.

She knows her girlfriend likes meaningful gestures, especially when it’s about something important.  So as she signs her name at the bottom of the pink paper, she wills herself not to be nervous.  She’s doing everything right, she knows, and besides, it’s Luz.  Luz is understanding and generous.  She’ll love this. 

(Amity hopes.)

Walking to school the next day is torture, and she’s brought back to a similar morning a few months ago, when she was clutching paper from the same notebook she used today.  She didn’t go through with it then, but everything is different now.  Luz will say yes.

So why can’t she stop shaking?

She walks into the building and immediately spots Luz.  Her stomach flips itself over, as usual, and she nervously walks over to her girlfriend.   

“Amity! I missed you!”  Luz sees her and runs over, catching her up in a hug.  Amity tries not to swoon.  

“Luz, I saw you yesterday,” Amity says, smiling as she’s picked up and swayed a little.  

Luz pouts as she puts Amity down.  “Yeah, but that was a long time ago,” she mumbles.  She looks down at the ground, and her eyebrows scrunch together.

“Oh wait,” she says, stooping down and picking something up.  “You dropped this.”

It’s the pink paper.  Amity wants to die.  “WAIT,” she says loudly, startling a couple of other kids down the hall, “DON’T LOOK AT THAT.”

She grabs the paper and then stops.  Wait.  Things are different now. 

“Actually,” she says, with as much composure as she can muster after an outburst like that, “this is for you.”

She holds out the pink paper. And Luz. Takes it.

If Luz recognizes the type of paper the note is written on, she doesn’t mention it.  Amity is shaking as Luz opens the note, inspecting every single change in Luz’s face, anticipating a possible rejection. 

But instead, Luz’s face morphs into a huge smile, and she turns the paper over so Amity can see the words she’s written.

“Luz, will you go on a date with me?”  

 There’s color high in Luz’s cheeks as she asks “Really?”

“Of course really,” Amity scoffs, her entire body relaxing at Luz’s reaction. 

“Ohmygosh of course I will!!!!!  Where are we going? What are we doing? Can we-”

Amity holds up a hand to stop Luz’s train of thought.  “I have it all planned out,” she says proudly.  “All you have to do is show up.”

 Luz smiles, the crinkles at the corners of her eyes getting deeper as she does.  “Of course you do,” she says.  “I’ll be there!”

~

Amity had thought she was nervous yesterday, but that’s nothing compared to today.

 Edric and Emira are trying to help calm her down, but they’re somehow making it worse.  “I’m sure she’s gonna have a great time,” Ed says sincerely, nodding to himself.  “Unless….she doesn’t,” he adds.  

 Emira hits her twin on the arm.  “Ed, not helping,” she scolds, and puts her hands on Amity’s shoulders.  “First dates are scary, but this is Luz.  You could take her to the dump and she’d thank you.”

 “I’m terrified,” Amity confesses to her sister.  

 “Don’t be!”

 “Thanks, Em, suddenly I’m totally fine.”

 “Glad I could help,” Emira winks.  “Now go get your girl.”

~

It’s time for her date with Luz.  Well, actually, it’s an hour before her date with Luz, but she’s leaving now anyway because she likes to be punctual.  

 As it turns out, she doesn’t have a lot of time to be nervous, because when she opens the door to leave Blight Manor, Luz is standing there with flowers.

 “Hi,” Luz says excitedly, laughing a little at the look on Amity’s face.  “These are for you.  I got you purple ones because they match your hair!”

 “You’re early,” is all Amity manages to say.  She takes the flowers from Luz and their fingers touch.  Normally, this wouldn’t be such a big deal anymore, but knowing they’re about to go on an actual date makes everything feel a little different.  Amity tries not to jump.

 “Yeah,” Luz says, hands behind her back.  “But I know you, and I knew you’d be early, so here I am!”

 Suddenly Amity feels like crying.  Being known isn’t something she ever thought she would get to experience.  Being known this well was never even a thought.  She is so, so lucky.

 She blinks the tears away and manages to direct a smile at her girlfriend.  “Thanks,” she says.  “I love them.”

 Luz beams.  Amity still marvels over the way Luz’s expressions are so open and extreme.  She’s smiling with her entire body, somehow, exuding so much happiness just because Amity liked the flowers.  

 “So you have an idea?” Luz asks.  

 “Oh, yeah!” Amity says.  “I have the perfect plan.”

~

Amity watches Luz’s face stealthily out of the corner of her eye the entire way through Bonesborough.  They’re holding hands, and it feels like magic, but Amity is so nervous that Luz won’t enjoy what she’s planned that she can barely appreciate it.  Luz looks unbothered, though, swinging their hands between them happily as she chatters on about something King did earlier in the day.  Normally, Amity would be paying rapt attention, but today she’s a little too wound up.

 “Okay, here we are” Amity says nervously, watching  Luz’s face carefully for any sign of rejection.

 Luz looks up and gasps.  “A bookstore?????? I didn’t even know there was a bookstore here!”

 “Yeah,” Amity says shyly.  “I just thought...well, the first thing we really bonded over was Azura, so I figured maybe we could wander and…” She trails off.

 Luz is jumping up and down on the balls of her feet.  “Yes! I’ve always wanted to go on a bookstore date! I wonder what kind of weirdness a Boiling Isles bookstore has! Unless it’s just, like, a normal bookstore.  Which would be disappointing but still cool!”  She grins and pulls on Amity’s hand.  “Cmon, let’s go!”

~

It’s going well, she thinks.  Luz looks like she’s having fun as she pulls book after book off the shelf, commenting on them each before putting them back.

 “I’ve been wondering about the Azura books,” Luz says at one point.  “Like, how come we get them in the human realm and the Boiling Isles? How is that possible?”  Luz scratches her head.  “Maybe the author is from here and somehow managed to get their books to my realm? Maybe they’ve got a really good publicist? Or maybe they’re human and their books accidentally made it here somehow, like, maybe Eda brought one back one day and someone bought it and-”  Luz stops.  “Oh my gosh, Amity, do you think Eda is responsible for the circulation of the Azura books on the Boiling Isles???”

 Amity considers that.  

 “You know, I haven’t really met any other people who like these books,” she says.  “I always wondered why they weren’t more popular.”  Her eyes widen, realization dawning.  “What if I’m the only one? What if Eda sold them to the bookstore and I bought them and-”

 “Woah,” Luz says.  “That is some crazy coincidence.”

 “Well,” Amity says bravely.  “Guess it just means we were always meant to be.”

 She gets a bright red Luz as a reward for her nerve, and she smirks.  It’s fun to make Luz nervous.  Knowing she has that effect on her makes her so happy.  

 Luz doesn’t say anything, just reaches out a hand for Amity’s.  Amity gets it.  Sometimes holding Luz’s hand is the only thing that makes sense.

 “Oh no way,” comes a voice from behind them.  Amity’s heart sinks.  Oh no, not now, why now, why here, why-

 They turn around and Boscha comes into view, scrutinizing their linked hands.  “You’re actually dating the human.  Wow.  I thought that was a rumor, like, one so ridiculous it couldn’t even be true.”  She smirks.  “And yet here you are.”

 Amity can feel Luz stiffen next to her, and she’s suddenly filled with rage.  Luz escaped her world to avoid being made fun of, she shouldn’t have to deal with that here, too.

 Amity raises her chin and looks Boscha in the eye.  “Aw, what’s wrong, Boscha, jealous that nobody wants to hang out with you?”  She looks around pointedly.  “Looks like you’re alone, huh?  Has everyone finally realized what a monster you are?”

 Boscha’s face turns a shade of pink darker than her hair.  “I’m not alone,” she spits.  “I came here by myself on purpose.  It’s exhausting, having followers all the time.”

 “Sure,” Amity says, turning to leave.  “Come on Luz, let’s-”

 “Can’t believe she went and got a girlfriend from another species,” Amity hears Boscha mutter under her breath.  And then, a little louder, clearly intending to be heard- “Guess shopping at the bottom of the barrel is easier than finding someone normal.”

 Amity stops.  She’s gripping Luz’s hand so hard it’s probably starting to hurt a little, but she can’t help it.  Luz seems to sense the storm coming, and she scrambles to stop it.  “Amity, it’s okay, let’s just go-”

 But Amity is done.  Done with Boscha and her stupid games, done with everyone making fun of Luz for things she can’t control, done with her girlfriend being treated lesser than because she wasn’t born a witch.

 She releases Luz’s hand, whirls around, and says, quiet as the dead, “Say that again.”

 Boscha seems to realize she went a little too far this time, but she’s not one to back down.  “What are you gonna do, Amity? Hex me? You don’t have the-”

 Before she can finish her sentence, Amity’s fingers are twirling in circles and Boscha is on the ground, angry hives crawling up and down her body.

 A security guard comes over, looking bored.  He gives Boscha a glance, unimpressed.  “Miss,” he says to Amity.  “I’m gonna have to ask you to go.”

 “Don’t worry about it,” Amity says.  “We were just leaving.”

~

Amity thinks her hands might be clenched permanently, now.  The anger (coiling, rampant, hot to the touch) she’s feeling isn’t new, but it’s somehow louder now, a line of static in her ears so loud that she doesn’t hear Luz calling her name until the third time.

 “Amity!”

Amity blinks herself out of her stupor and remembers, suddenly: she’s supposed to be on a date.  A date with her cute girlfriend.  A date that she messed up by getting them kicked out of a store.

 She knew she’d mess this up somehow.

 “Amity, are you okay?”

 Luz is looking at her with concern in her eyes, and Amity doesn’t deserve it.  She doesn’t deserve any of this.  She’s ruined everything.

 “I’m sorry,” she mumbles, not looking Luz in the eye.  She’d understand if Luz dumped her over this.

 “For what?” Luz asks sincerely, and Amity looks up in confusion.  “Um, for ruining our date?”

 Luz raises her eyebrows.  “How exactly did you ruin it?”

 “I hexed Bosca, I got us kicked out of the bookstore, I-”

 “What I’m hearing,” Luz says, taking Amity’s hand again, “Is that you got angry on my behalf and defended me from a bully”

 “But I got us kicked out of the store!” Amity insists.  She feels like she owes it to Luz to admit what a screw up she is, but Luz isn’t having it.

 “No, Boscha got us kicked out of the store.  Besides, it’s no big deal, we were basically done anyway.”

 This isn’t right.  She knows she should be happy that Luz isn’t blaming her, but something inside her insists that Luz needs to know, that Luz needs to understand that Amity messed up and will probably mess up again, that she had everything planned out perfectly and it went nothing like it was supposed to and Luz should probably break up with her and-

 “Break up with you?????” Luz sounds scandalized, and Amity realizes: she said everything out loud.  

 “You think I would break up with you over this?”

 “I..I don’t know,” Amity says, closing her eyes as though that will make her disappear.  “Maybe.”

 “Amity, I-I don’t like you because you’re perfect.  You’re only human- I mean, you’re a person, and people make mistakes, and that’s okay! I make mistakes all the time! Just today I missed a step and fell down the stairs.  It happens!”

 She takes Amity’s other hand and looks her in the eyes.  “You’re perfect to me.  But not because you never mess up.  Because you’re kind, and funny, and beautiful, and you do things like hex bullies because they make fun of me.  I don’t need the perfect date, Amity.  I just need you.”

 Amity is speechless.  Nobody has ever said anything like that to her.  She remembers what she told Hunter in that cave all those months ago: I grew up thinking everything was an opportunity to justify existing.  But there are people out there who won’t make you feel worthless.  You just have to let yourself meet them.

 It’s time she took her own advice.

 “Thank you,” she says quietly, smiling shyly.  “You’re the best girlfriend a girl could ask for.”

 “No, you are!” Luz says earnestly, and Amity realizes that, if she had the courage, she could kiss Luz right then and there.

 She doesn’t, of course, but now that it’s in her head, she’s not going to forget about it anytime soon.

[stanning-reyna]

Percabeth one-shot

AN: So a few months ago I made a post about an idea for a fic about percabeth seeing sights in New York City and Annabeth not knowing where she’s going but Percy knowing the city super well, etc. I finally wrote it! Disclaimer: I’ve only been to nyc once and had to look up maps online, so if I messed up the layout of the city please don’t attack me. Takes place between TTC and BOTL. Read below the cut

Percy’s pov:

“Percy! Did you do what I asked you to?” Sally yelled from down the hallway.

Percy froze in his tracks. What had she asked him to do? Something, he knew that much. She had asked him right when she got home from work. He had been doing math homework in his bedroom. It had to do with guests coming over. 

Clean up the bathroom? No, he did that this morning. Take out the trash? It was as good a guess as any. Percy made his way over to the kitchen and opened the cabinet door. Sure enough, the trash was nearly overflowing under the sink. 

“Percy?” Sally called again, this time just behind him. “Did you change your sheets like I asked?” Oh. His guess has been wrong.

“I was just about to do that,” Percy lied, plenty sure his mom saw through it. 

“And didn’t I tell you to take out the trash yesterday? It’s starting to smell,” she added. 

He just shrugged in response and heaved the plastic bag out of the bin.

“Thank you. And make sure to change your sheets!” Sally said as Percy began his trip out the door and down to the dumpster. 

His brain had been scattered all over the place the past few days. Annabeth was coming to visit for spring break, something the two of them had been planning for over a year now. In less than an hour, they’d pick her up from the airport.

How did anyone ever feel safe flying in a plane? There were so many ways to die, most completely unpredictable. Annabeth was fearless though- brave enough to face any monster and even an airplane.

Percy returned to his apartment after dropping the trash in the dumpster, trying to quell the giddiness rising inside him. There was something he had to do before they left to get Annabeth. What was it again? He had just been thinking about it.

Sheets! Change the sheets on his bed. But where did his Mom keep their spare sheets?

After 10 minutes of sorting through drawer after drawer, new sheets were finally on Percy’s bed. His usual navy blue was replaced with a pastel green. Annabeth had been in a light green phase recently, so hopefully she’d appreciate these.

“You ready to head to the airport?” Sally called from the front door. 

He looked around his room for anything he might have missed while cleaning up. Percy’s eyes found the photos of Annabeth pinned to the cork board above his desk. He should take those down. She might be a little weirded out by images of herself watching her as she sleeps.

After stashing the photos in a drawer that Annabeth hopefully wouldn’t look in, Percy pulled his shoes on and dashed to the front door.

. . .

Annabeth’s pov:

She probably should feel bad for the person sitting next to her on the plane. For the past however many hours in the air, she had been flipping through travel guide after travel guide, taking breaks only to play with her necklace or her hair.

Every time Annabeth played with her hair, her elbow flew straight out to her side, regardless of whatever might be there. Meaning she had bumped into the man next to her more than once already. Sorry dude.

The 6 different travel guides in front of her consisted of long lists of the best places to visit in New York City. Annabeth had been into the city plenty of times before, but she never had the opportunity to explore. Which was stupid considering Camp was less than 2 hours away.

Percy had offered to give her a tour while she was staying with him, but Annabeth had a very specific list of sights she wanted to see. Not that she didn’t trust him, but she would much rather be the one in control of where they went.

The plane rumbled slightly as it touched down onto the runway. Woah, that had been a short flight. It felt so much shorter than the usual 6 hours from California to New York. She was glad, of course. That meant she got to see Percy sooner.

The trip through the airport was easy, as usual. Annabeth loved airports. They made sense- everything had a direction and a purpose. If only the rest of the world could be like that.

“Annabeth!” a voice yelled from across the taxi lane as she walked out the building’s doors. It was Percy’s voice. She scurried across the street towards him, dodging taxis and other people along the way.

. . .

“Are you sure you want to take that train?” Percy asked as Annabeth strutted to the nearest subway entrance. They had just gotten off the Staten Island Ferry and were now on their way back to the Jackson’s apartment.

“Yes, I’m sure. The map says it’ll take us north,” she asserted. 

“Sure it will,” Percy muttered, stopping in his tracks behind her.

Annabeth had to refrain from blowing smoke out her nostrils. He had been doing this for the past hour- critiquing her navigation choices and acting like he knew better. Which he did, but Annabeth wouldn’t admit that.

She knew she was right this time. The sign by the stairs said the train ended up in Brooklyn. Brooklyn was north of here. Right? Annabeth couldn’t quite remember, but if she had learned anything from her quests it was that sometimes you have to take a leap of faith and see where that gets you. And she wasn’t about to ask Percy for directions.

Annabeth began down the dirty concrete stairs. She reached the platform and the voices around her started to echo off the stone walls. Suddenly, someone yanked on her arm, pulling her back up the step she just left. She turned to look as Percy pulled her up the stairs, weaving in between the dozens of people crowding around them. A man muttered a curse word at her as she bumped into him.

“That train will take us out of Manhattan, in the opposite direction of my place,” Percy said as they reached street level. 

Well that’s not where she wanted to go. Maybe Brooklyn wasn’t where she thought it was.

“You could have said something sooner,” Annabeth hissed. “Maybe before I got all the way underground.”

“But you so clearly knew where you were going! I didn’t want to interrupt,” Percy spoke, the sarcasm heavy in his voice.

Annabeth huffed. Sometimes he was insufferable. 

After a minute they arrived at an intersection full of cars moving in all directions.

“So if you know the way so much better than me, what street do we take?” she asked sourly. 

“This one.” He pointed to the left.

Annabeth was hesitant to trust his sense of direction at first, but by the time they made it back to the Jackson’s apartment with no more trouble she was reminded once again that Percy’s much smarter than he looks. And it doesn’t hurt that he’s spent his entire life in the city.

[sugarmaplewings-fics]

Unexpected Kisses

Pairing: BNHA boys x reader

Warnings: Talks about anxiety for a bit in Tamaki’s part

Request: Hi!! Uhm,, I kinda,,, don't talk to users on this app so idk where to send requests AHAJSHSJHS but I do know that you write BNHA stuff so,,,, if it's not too much, maybe Tamaki, Midoriya, Denki and Kirishima (separate) reacting to their s/o's suddenly scattering their face with kisses and complimenting them out of the blue?? you don't have to do all of them tho :''D thank you!! <33

A/N:

I don’t have much to say about this one, other than sending thanks to @aahilovetheatre​ for sharing such a cute request with me! Sorry I’m slow about getting these out, but I am working at my request list the best that I can.

Characters: Midoriya, Kirishima, Kaminari, Amajiki

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Midoriya:

● You know, he really was just minding his own business

● Izuku sat at his desk, taking notes from a textbook like he did every Thursday evening. You were laying on his bed, reading a book for class. Every minute or so, the silence of the room would be broken by the scratching of a pencil or the turn of a page

● At some point, you started getting a little bored with your reading. The words on the page began to feel less and less comprehensible as your mind started to wander elsewhere

● Your boyfriend cleared his throat, and your fickle attention snapped to him

● He was so absorbed in his work, it was cute. The way his eyebrows furrowed as he scanned over the page; and how he tapped the worn down All Might eraser at the end of his pencil against his lips. His lips . . . his cheeks . . . . Yep, you were getting an idea

● Sliding a post-it note into your book to mark your progress, you set it down and stood up. Izuku, of course, didn't notice, still deep in concentration

● You came up behind him, glancing at the paper from over his shoulder

● He finally turned and straightened, meeting your eyes with his own forest green. "Hey, (Y/N), what's up?"

● You took the opportunity to slide down into his lap, wrapping your arms around his shoulders and pressing a kiss to his cheek. "I needed a break for a moment."

● "O-oh." Izuku's voice had taken on a higher pitch, cheeks flushing with warmth and color at your sudden proximity

● He dropped his pencil and wrapped his arms around your waist, beginning to relax into your hold

● It was then that you put your hands on either side of his face and started pressing kisses all over him, leaving no area of skin untouched by your lips

● You could feel the way his cheeks began to burn a bright red under your fingers, nervously giggling at the ticklish sensation of your breath and skin against his

● Once you were finally satisfied, you sat back, simply gazing at his face lovingly for a moment

● "What was that for?" he asked. “I—I mean, it’s not that I didn’t enjoy it—” You wondered if it was your own heart or his that you felt beating so rapidly

● "I just . . . needed you,” you cut in. “You're so cute when you study." You relaxed your grip on his cheeks, sliding back in to plant yet another kiss on his forehead. "You work so hard . . . ." You began to graze your lips slowly over to his temple, before pressing them back to his skin in a syrupy sweet moment

● You proceeded to praise him, whispering how strong he was, and how proud you were to have him as your boyfriend, and how attractive you found him. After every other sentence, you left another kiss on his face, whether it was his cheek, forehead, or nose. You even made a silent game out of trying to see how many of his freckles you could kiss

● By the end of it, Izuku looked almost like he was about to cry. He'd loved every minute of it and had hung onto your every word. Even so, he still couldn't help but wonder what brought all this on

● "(Y/N), what's—why would you—?"

● You poked at his nose gently. "Because I love you."

● He wrapped his own arms tighter around you, crushing you closer into his chest for a hug. "I love you too, (Y/N). So much."

● You rubbed his back while he stroked your hair for a moment, just letting yourselves hold each other

● "Do you have work you need to do?" you finally asked. "Sorry, I interrupted you."

● "No no, that's okay. We can stay like this for a little bit longer."

● You hummed, nuzzling further into the crook of his neck

● No doubt about it, Izuku's head was already spinning with schemes to surprise you and get you back. It was only a matter of when

____________

Kirishima:

● Kirishima was just hanging out on the couch, casually scrolling through various feeds on his phone

● That is, until you came in the room, intent on sneaking up behind him

● You went up behind the couch as softly as you could, before suddenly wrapping your arms around his neck from behind

● He jumped, startled for a moment, until he realized it was you

● "Hey, there," he said, rolling his head back so he was looking upside down at you

● You giggled and kissed his forehead. "Hi."

● "Come 'ere." He patted the empty cushion next to him

● Without needing to be told twice, you circled around to the other side of the couch, settling onto his lap

● "So, how have you been—mmph—"

● You'd cut him off with a kiss to his lips; one he quickly grinned and melted into

● "Woah, okay," he breathed when you let him go. "Is there something going on?"

● "Hmm, no," you admitted, reaching up to boop his nose. "I just love you. Feel like showing it."

● "Okay, then. I can get behind that." He put your foreheads together and nuzzled his nose against yours. "How are you going to do that?"

● "By telling you how amazing you are," you said, leaning in to kiss his forehead again

● His blush nearly tripled. "O-oh. I—"

● "Like, how you're so strong and manly," you whispered, lips grazing the skin of his cheek. "And you've worked so hard to get where you are now. You're brave, and I'm so proud to say that you're my boyfriend."

● Your words went on as you languidly pressed kisses against his skin. After a few minutes, you’d worked him up so much, a tear or two spilled from his eyes, and you kissed those away as well

● "I love you," you whispered again, dipping to give him a full kiss on the lips

● When you leaned back, he simply gazed up at you in awe. He was a man in love, and it was as though you were some sort of deity or angel sent from the skies above

● "I—um, I don't really know what to say," he said, giving a weak chuckle and wiping at his eye. "Wow, uh, I wasn't expecting that."

● "Did you enjoy it?" you asked, pulling yourself into his chest a little more

● "Yeah! I'm just—not very used to it is all." He trailed off, glancing to the floor as his thoughts began to take flight on their own

● "You'd better get used to it," you said, tilting his chin so he could look at you again. "And I meant everything I said. If you try to deny it, then I'm going to say it again. But this time I won't be so nice."

● "Oh, really?" Eijirou asked, a smirk drawing a corner of his mouth up. "And what would that look like?"

● "Well, I guess I'd have to tickle you," you said, shrugging as if it were an unavoidable fact. Because it was. "And I wouldn't stop until you admit that what I'm saying is the truth."

● "Hmm, I'll keep that in mind then." He suddenly pushed you back a little from his chest so you were facing him again. "But I think a little payback's in order. Say, Pebble," he leaned in and gave you a quick kiss on your nose, "you're looking pretty cute today."

● It was a long time before either of you moved from the couch

____________

Kaminari:

● Denki was just laying on his bed, alone in his room, reading

● This particular part of his book wasn't particularly interesting, and he was considering leaving it to come back to some other time

● Nevertheless, his eyes lingered on the page, skimming through sentences that did nothing to capture his attention. Maybe it would be easier for him to pick back up if he left on a better note

● You had other plans, though

● The silence in his room was broken when you flung his door open, running in without scarcely bothering to swing it all the way shut again behind you

● Kaminari barely had time to lower his book when you came barreling into his lap, throwing your arms around him in a mighty hug

● "Oof—(Y/N)-chan! What's going on?"

● "You're getting a vibe check."

● You adjusted yourself just enough so you would both be comfortable before peppering his face with kisses, rapidly moving over every key point

● "Ah—what?!" Denki started giggling at your actions, and soon enough you were unable to fight back the smile and laughs that were freely expressed by your own lips

● "Denki! If I'm laughing like this, then I can't kiss you!"

● "Then what if I kiss you?"

● He pecked the tip of your nose, making you giggle again as you eased in closer to his face. "No. It's my turn. I love you and I need you right now."

● "(Y/N), we just saw each other an hour ago."

● "Too long," you pouted, going back to planting kisses on his cheeks, although this time you were slower and more deliberate. "I want to make sure that you know how much you're loved. By me."

● Kaminari's cheeks flushed a bit. "Really? O-okay."

● You busied your hands by rubbing at his back and shoulders, your lips whispering praises into his ear

● "I love spending time with you," you said. "I love your jokes, and hearing your laugh always brightens up my day."

● Each sentence had him burning up, and the slow kisses you'd leave between sentences did nothing to help. Any minute now, he felt like he could short circuit

● When you finally leaned back, Denki stared at you, wide-eyed. "Where did that come from?"

● "I just felt like it." You shrugged

● "Wow, I—I think I need a minute."

● He glanced off to the side, touching at one of the countless places you'd kissed him. "You're so cute, babe," he muttered, grinning into his hand

● "Yeah?" you giggled

● "Of course." Denki wrapped his arms around you again so you were flush against his chest. "And you know what else?"

● "What?"

● "I'd say it's cuddle time." He pulled you down so you were lying on top of him, then rolled to his side so you were still facing each other. "And it's also my turn. I'm not going to be the only one who's getting compliments today."

● And with that, he held you; generously peppering your face with kisses as he professed everything he loved about you

● It was a wonderful end to his afternoon

____________

Amajiki:

● Tamaki was alone in his room. He had turned the lights off and sat down in his bed. His head rested in his hands as he tried to stop the shaking, but it was almost as if there was nothing he could do

● He'd just had an awful day and his mind wouldn't stop going back to everything that had gone wrong

● First he'd had to do a presentation, which he could have sworn he was ready for. But fate—or at least, his anxiety—had other plans

● It was as if he was watching himself from outside of his body; watching as his own throat closed up and he lost the capability to speak. Watched as he stumbled over his own thoughts as his tongue betrayed him. He spat out an incomprehensible string of "um"s, and spoke too fast, and his thoughts wouldn't connect with one another

● And then, directly after that, he'd been unable to find either you nor Mirio. You both must have been busy with your own work, but seeing you was something that Tamaki always looked forward to. He could make it through any kind of day as long as one of you spoke your kind words to him, or showed him your sun-bright smiles

● But he'd been deprived of that, forced to retreat to his dorm room to sulk alone

● His mind focused on the memory of his words, replaying them over and over again

● It was so much, he almost didn't hear the knock at his door

● "Tamaki? Are you in there?" He immediately recognized your voice

● "Yeah," he called back glumly. He was glad he would finally get to see you, but now he wasn't sure what it would take to get him out of such thoughts

● You let yourself in, quietly shutting his door before making your way over to his bed. "Are you doing okay?" you asked him. "I've barely seen you at all today. How'd your presentation go?"

● "Awful," he responded. "I locked up again. Everyone was staring at me and I was under so much pressure." He paused and sighed, putting his face in his hand again

● "Hey, it's going to be okay," you said, putting a hand on his back. "I'm sure your teacher understands. And you're a really good student and hero."

● "Hm," he responded, not looking at you

● "You don't believe me?" you asked, reaching up to caress his cheek. "It's true."

● He still made no move to respond, merely sighing and leaning into your touch

● "Is it okay if I hold you?" you asked. "Would that help at all?"

● You knew it could be a little risky being too forward with touching Tamaki. It was always best to ask first

● He finally met your eyes, nodding. You both moved around on the bed until you were comfortably seated in his lap, thighs wrapped around his hips

● You held onto each other in a close hug, and soon your hands were rubbing little circles on Tamaki's back. You began to whisper things to him, telling him everything would be alright

● "Hey, hey. It's just you and me now, no one else. It's okay."

● Finally his shoulders began to settle from their tense, hunched position

● You nuzzled your nose against his ear before giving his cheekbone a small peck

● "Feeling better?" you asked

● "Yeah, a little," he admitted, his face still buried in your shoulder. "Thanks for this."

● "Of course."

● You pulled back so you could face him, unable to stop yourself from placing a kiss directly on the tip of his nose

● You grinned at how his face scrunched up a bit, so you repeated the action. Soon enough, you were leaving little kisses all over his face, and the boy beneath you even let out a few chuckles at the sensation

● "I love you," you said, watching as his pre-existing blush only deepened

● "I love you too," he said. "You always know how to make me feel better."

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Taglist: @basicaegyo​ @iiminibattlehero​ @katsugay​ @nabo39​ @pyrofanatic​​ @sendhelpimstupid​ @sokkasangel​ @xoxopam4​​

[themusicplayedherlife]

Missy’s Lesson Plan

Lesson #1 Listen to Her Worries

pairing: marcus moreno x f!teacher!reader characters: f!reader, marcus word count: 3.6k+ warnings: fluff, awkwardness, bonding, summary: dating is hard; dating after losing a significant other is even harder, but Missy is sure she has a foolproof plan that will help her dad and her teacher finally confess their feelings and get the happily ever after that they deserve! a/n: sorry for the wait! since so many people liked it i wanted to make sure everything about this chapter was decent to post, so ya’ll have @forevans​ to thank or else this would’ve been stuck in limbo for a long time lol--also, im about to dub reader and marcus the thank-you-couple lmfao--you’ll see why

There are three things you are absolutely sure about in your life.

1. Your name. 2. You love your family. And 3. Missy Moreno is your favorite student.

“Turns out she was just testing us!” She moves around your classroom, picking up scraps of paper and throwing them into the black, durable trash bag she’s hauling around with her, recounting her heroic tale of saving her dad and the other Heroics with her new super powered friends. “A transfer of power or something. Can you believe it?”

Yes and no.

Your heart had literally jumped out of your throat and blood turned cold when Missy was plucked from school during recess—“taken somewhere safer,” the principal had informed you after you stormed into her office wanting to know where your student was and why you weren’t informed.

School was released an hour after that, a way to prepare citizens for the inevitable destruction the Heroics tend to cause in the heavily, populated metropolitan areas, and after making sure every single one of your students had been picked up by a family member, you hurriedly headed home.

You had sat yourself down in front of the television with your mom, worried for Mr. Moreno and the rest of the Heroics (more so for Missy’s dad), feeling completely and utterly helpless.

It only got worse when agents suited in black and white showed up at your doorstep, demanding to know where Missy Moreno and the other super powered children were hiding.

“You lost them?” You had balked—your worry rising to new heights—first Mr. Moreno and now Missy? You didn’t know what to do other than demand how a bunch of agents could have lost a group of untrained children during an alien invasion!

None of them answered you, remaining stoic, and if it weren’t for your mom, you would’ve pounced and clawed the closest agent out of desperation.

The agents only left after turning your house upside down in their search for the children.

And then, after hours of waiting, the news showed the Heroics, Anita Moreno, and the children landing in front of the White House, safe and sound. You almost cried from relief in your mother’s arms.

So, no, you can’t believe it; but seeing her here, this special girl, that has somehow worked her way into your heart from the moment she walked into your life, safe and sound in your classroom, you do believe it.

But you can’t tell Missy all of that when she’s practically bouncing on the heels of her feet, beaming up at you every few seconds to watch your reactions to her story. Instead, you widen your eyes for good measure and your mouth hangs open. It’s a little exaggerated, but you really are impressed with Missy—very much worried, but impressed. “Woah! I’m so proud of you!”

Her grin is so bright and proud, it makes you chuckle under your breath, your shoulders finally relaxing at the rare, childlike mirth dancing in her eyes.

“Are you going to write about it for your report?”

She shrugs. “Maybe.”

Now that stops you from sorting through the craft supplies, eyebrow raising in surprise. “Maybe?”

“It’s stupid,” she murmurs, focusing a little too much on one area.

“Missy,” you start, patient, “why do you think it’s stupid?”

“It’s just—” she shuffles on her feet and then sighs heavily, looking up at you with dark eyes full of doubt—“what if no one believes me?”

It takes you no time to close the distance between you. You coax the bag out of her hands and set it down on the floor, motioning for her to sit at the desk she had just been pretending to clean. “Why do you think no one would believe you?”

“Because I don’t have super powers.” Her nose wrinkles, looking away from you and to the whiteboard.

“Missy…”

“I know, I know!” she exasperates, having heard this spiel from you many times before. “It doesn’t matter, it’s never mattered, I get it!” You stare at her incredulously, and she is quick to assure you, leaning forward on the edge of the chair. “I do, really! But I—it would be useful, you know?” She slumps back, finger rubbing at a spot on the table. “Proof, I guess.”

“Powers could always be useful,” you agree with a soft laugh. “But not always necessary.” She still doesn’t look at you, and you sigh softly, a small amused smile forming on your lips. “I know you know some of the most amazing, most brave people are the ones without powers.”

She looks up at you, head tilting and waiting for you to elaborate.

“You once told me that aside from your dad, your mom was your absolute favorite hero, remember that?”

She nods, a smile finally appearing on her cherubic face.

“Don’t underestimate yourself, Missy.” You crouch down to her level. “You not having powers doesn’t mean the rest of the class won’t believe you. They know you’re a leader, they look to you not just because you’re Marcus Moreno’s kid but because they believe in you.”

“I knew it was stupid,” she murmurs bashfully, tanned skin brightening as she huffs and folds her arms over her chest.

“Hey, no, none of that. Having doubts or being scared or even jealous is never stupid. It’s perfectly human,” you assure her, her brown eyes searching yours. “In fact, I sometimes feel that way too!”

“Really?” She drops her arms and her pout softens. “You?”

“Of course! Just because I’m an adult doesn’t mean I don’t sometimes doubt myself or feel a little insecure.”

“Like what?” she asks, dark eyes curious and wide.

“Oof, a lot!” Your eyes roll to the ceiling as you think. “I think… one of my biggest doubts and fears is not being a good enough teacher.”

“What?” She gasps, jumping in her seat and eyes narrowing with scary determination to get you to believe that: “You’re an amazing teacher!”

Warmth fills your chest at the sincerity in her voice and eyes. “See!” You cross your arms over your knees, but Missy takes your hand in hers, and you let her, squeezing her smaller hand in yours. “Sometimes, we don’t see ourselves in the same light as others do, and that’s okay. We just need a little reminder every once in a while.”

“Yeah,” she drawls, playing with one of your fingers, “I guess you’re right.”

“I know I’m right.” You nudge her nose gently with a hooked finger and she wrinkles her nose in response. “And this is my reminder for you today: I truly believe you’re capable of doing extraordinary things, Missy. Powers or no powers.”

She grins, nudging your nose just as you had. “And I truly believe you’re the most amazing teacher ever.”

Yeah. Missy Moreno is definitely your favorite student.

“I know.” You ruffle her hair and she grabs your wrist to push you away, laughing.

A loud thud by the entrance of the class brings you to your feet, spinning in place and firmly placing yourself in front of Missy and the sudden intruder—only to find a sheepish Marcus Moreno mid trip and hand raised sheepishly.

“I—ah—sorry, I was going to knock, but the door was opened—” he says, quickly crouching down to pick up the empty rack you set up for the kids to place their backpacks and lunch on. “Sorry.”

Missy lets out an exasperated, “Dad!” while your form relaxes (replaced by a new tension squeezing your chest).

Clearing his throat, he straightens up, raising a hand in greeting and an apology. “Sorry,” he murmurs again.

“It’s fine, Mr. Moreno.” You offer him a warm smile, ignoring the little butterflies in your tummy. Turning to Missy, you catch a very much exasperated eye roll that only makes you stifle your laughter behind your hand. “Come on, Missy, get your things.”

She eyes her dad for a moment longer before nodding and hurrying to her table shared with Karina at the front of the classroom, a table away from your desk.

“Thanks for letting Missy stay.” He scratches the back of his head, his other hand resting on his hip as he shifts his weight. “Paperwork took me longer than I would have liked.”

“A hero’s work is never done, huh?” you joke, keeping your voice light.

He cracks a charming smile, the one that always seems to melt your insides into a pile of goo. “Unfortunately.”

Your eyes move to Missy, who is slowly putting her things away, organizing them and reorganizing. Her head tilts slightly when the conversation between you and Marcus pauses, dark eyes trying to inconspicuously look over her shoulder to get a glimpse of you and her father. Her eyes catch yours and widen in surprise before she snaps her head forward, pretending to be busy but not hurrying her movements, either—much to your amusement. What is she doing?

Shaking your head and returning your gaze to Marcus, you’re met by brown eyes full of exasperated fondness, an apologetic smile on his handsome features.

“I heard about what happened,” he suddenly says. “About some of our agents raiding your home.”

“Oh!” You blink owlishly, embarrassment crawling under your skin—what else did he know? “You heard about that?”

“Read about it in the report, actually.” He tilts his head, scratching the stubble on his cheek, and you press your lips together to keep from questioning what else he read in case they didn’t add the part about you losing your cool. “I have agents on their way to help clean up any mess they might’ve made and to replace anything they might’ve broken.”

This man is truly a god sent, isn’t he? “Mr. Moreno, I appreciate it, thank you. You didn’t have to do that.”

“I wanted to,” he assures you, firm and kind. “It’s our fault you got caught in the cross hairs.” His eyes fall away from yours, and again, he shifts his weight on his feet as he pushes his glasses back up over the bridge of his nose.

You wait for a moment, but when he doesn’t look back up at you, you let out a little defeated sigh, disappointed that the conversation is over. Not that you want to keep talking about agents ruining your home, but you like listening to Mr. Moreno speak. He has the softest, most reassuring voice that makes you feel safe in his presence; like he trusts you.

“Well, again, thank you,” you start as you make your way over to the plastic bin full of craft supplies on your desk and are about to take them to the closet you store them in when warm fingers brush against yours, taking the box from your hands. “Oh!”

“Let me help you with that,” he says, soft and rich, warm eyes full of kindness staring into yours.

“Thank you,” you murmur—and he’s close, not like when he was sitting across from you as you introduced yourself to him and showed him the first progress report of the year, but close enough that you can see the glints of black and umber in his eyes, tips of his shoes barely touching yours, and a small box keeping your chests from brushing against each other.

“It’s no trouble. Least I could do.” He flashes another smile, and again, your heart melts and you have to physically keep yourself from biting your lips by swiping your twitching fingers over your mouth, eyes darting away from him.

Clearing your throat, you say, “Let me show you where I need them.”

He nods and follows after you, keeping a fair distance even after you point at the empty space the bin was in earlier that day.

“Thank you,” you say—again! all you do is thank the man!—as he puts away the bin and closes the closet doors for you.

“Of course.”

“Okay, I’m finally ready!” Missy announces, a little too loud for it to not to be intentional.

“We should start heading out, then.” His hand settles on Missy’s head, steering her towards the door. “Again, thank you for letting Missy stay—really saved me.”

“It was no trouble at all.” You wave him away, following after them to walk them out.

“That was painful to watch,” you swear you hear her whisper to her dad, and he shushes her.

Did you imagine it?

“Ah, actually, Mr. Moreno, may I speak to you for a moment?”

“Of course!” He pats Missy’s shoulder. “Go on ahead, I’ll meet you down the hall.”

She narrows her eyes at him, as if trying to communicate something to him before nodding and walking off. “See you Monday, teach!”

“Bye, Missy! Have a good weekend!” You wait until she’s completely out of ear shot, or at least on the other side of the hall to address your worries to Mr. Moreno. “Missy told me about what happened on that spaceship and I—I’m worried. I know what Missy is capable of, trust me, I know. She’s—extraordinary. A good kid.” You bite your lip, wrapping your cardigan tighter around your frame, the cold wind brushing against your exposed skin. “But I—I can’t help but worry either way. I know it’s not my place—”

“No, no!” He steps forward and a little to the side, blocking the wind from hitting you. “Thank you for caring so much about Missy. I—I always feel grateful knowing you care about her and that she’s in capable hands at school.”

You release a breath you didn’t know you had been holding, a huge weight off your shoulder now that you know you’re not stepping on his toes.

“I’m worried too, if I’m being honest.” His eyes slide to Missy waiting for him at the end of the hall where she’s rocking on her feet, and you follow his gaze, both of you smiling when she glances up and waves. “She’s headstrong. Once her mind is made up, you can’t stop her.” He chuckles, the sound low and a little self-deprecating.

“I would never ask you to change her mind,” you affirm gently. “All I ask, is that you look after her—not that you don’t already do, because I know you do, but it’s… different out there.”

He nods resolutely. “I promise.”

“You need to stay safe out there, too, Mr. Moreno. I can’t keep having two heart attacks in one day,” you tease, leaning against the metal doorframe.

“I promise you, we’ll stay safe,” he says it so seriously, eyes locked on yours that it practically steals your breath away. “Missy and I—we’ll protect each other.”

“Like you always do,” you hum into the space between you.

“Like we always do,” he reaffirms, just as soft.

“Good.” You stare at one another for a beat longer than necessary, but you look away first, straightening up. “Have a good evening, Mr. Moreno. Drive safe.”

“You too.”

You watch him walk away, waving each time he looks back until he reaches Missy. They wrap an arm around each other and with one final wave, they disappear into the stairwell.

Smiling, you head back inside to get your things.

“So,” Missy starts as they climb down the stairs, “did you ask?”

“No.” He sighs, bracing himself for the ten year old judgement (he can’t wait to see what her pre-teen and teenage judgement looks like, probably even more brutal).

“What?” She pulls away from him as they reach the final step. “No? What do you mean ‘no’? That was the perfect timing!”

He knows it was perfect timing! There were many perfect moments that he could’ve asked if you were doing anything this Saturday, but no! He just had to get distracted by the curves of your lashes and the way your eyes glinted under the setting sun and how your nose wrinkled when the cold air kissed your nose and—“Next time.”

“A deal is a deal, dad!” She reminds him, staring up at him with those eyes that used to remind him so much of her mother, but now they’re becoming less and less like hers and more her own. “You said you would!”

“I know, I know,” he whines in mock defeat. “I just… what if she doesn’t like me?” It’s a legitimate worry, one that has only grown since Missy started encouraging him to ask you out.

“Seriously, dad?” Her hand connects with her forehead. “It’s so obvious! And besides, how will you ever know if you don’t ask?”

“I guess you’re right. Any ideas?”

She cups her chin, thinking. Her eyes brighten. “I do have a plan!”

“And what exactly is this plan?” he asks, a little wary of what his precocious ten year old could possibly come up with.

“Just trust me!” She grins up at him and wraps her arm around his waist, tugging him along with her towards the car. “With my plan we’ll win her over completely!”

[zukkoxx]

mha boys realizing they’re in love pt.1

w/ deku, bakugo

tw⚠️ insecurities!, self doubt!

deku 🥦

izuku knew he loved you since you guys started dating.

he had liked you for a long time, and when you finally got together in your last year of UA, he couldn’t have been happier.

he planned on living the rest of his life with you. and would go through any feats to make it possible.

so when you started to feel doubts about your relationship? that was a wake up call for him.

you had just finished training, all sweaty and tired, walking back to your dorm with a towel around your neck.

you scrolled through your phone mindlessly, and just happened to come across a twitter post about your boyfriend, deku, who had just taken down one of the villains that’s been on the run for months.

you smiled. you were so proud of him. already achieving his dream in becoming one of the greatest heroes. and getting the recognition he finally deserved.

you made it your your dorm, slumping on your bed as you read some of the comments.

woah this guy is still attending UA!? he’ll be a great hero for sure

there’s no one like him!

deku strikes again! what a stud😍

you laughed at some, grimaced at others that claimed the mission was too easy for him. but one particular comment had you freezing in your spot.

is he single? i won’t hesitate to run to the scene and give him my hand in marriage right now!

you knew it was a fun, lighthearted comment. but you clicked the the commenters page and instantly noticed how beautiful as preppy she was.

she was also a big deku fan...probably had more merch than you.

you sighed and threw your phone across the bed.

for the past few weeks, you had been thinking about how different you and izuku were in terms of success.

you were both in your last year of high school, and he had already done so much.

worked on so many cases with pro heroes and went through successful missions all the time. he was destined to become the greatest hero.

and you?

well, you’ve never even caught a villain.

sure you’ve helped out on low grade missions for the hero you interned under, but you had never been publicly praised like izuku. you never stood out.

you had trouble believing you’d become a hero at all.

you always wondered, wouldn’t izuku be better off with someone that could keep up with him? who wouldn’t hold him back. someone who he wouldn’t leave in the dust when he excelled in the future.

he deserved someone better.

your thoughts were cut off when your dorm door brushed open, revealing no other than the man himself.

izuku walked into your room with worried eyes and seemed out of breath.

“y/n? ive texted and called a bunch of times. why haven’t you answered?” he asked, and you subtly turned to your phone that you discarded on the other half of the bed.

“my ringer was off. sorry izu.” you tired to give him a smile as he sat next to you on your bed. “i saw an article about your mission today. you were amazing!” you complimented.

“ahh you give me too much credit. i couldn’t have dont anything with the pro heroes and other people helping.”

“still, you’re a great hero. i wish i was like that.” you chuckle dryly, past insecurities already pushing forward again.

“what!? you’re a great hero y/n!” izuku exclaimed.

“i’ve barely done anything izuku. i don’t know how you put up with me. i should be able to help you on your missions, but i’m stuck in the same position i have been in. i don’t know when i’ll improve.”

you didn’t mean to sound so pathetic, but you had been feeling this way for so long. it was all just spilling out now.

and izuku? he literally stopped breathing when he heard what you were saying about yourself. “you deserve someone that will be able to keep up with you. what will people think when they find out the amazing deku is dating a weak, incapable, good for nothing-”

“don’t say one more word y/n.” izuku cuts you off, and you look up to meet his eyes piercing yours.

they were dark, nothing like their usual gleaming glow that shined when he looked at you.

there was no sign of amusement on any of his features. just dead seriousness

“what the hell are you talking about y/n?” he asks, but doesn’t give you a chance to respond. “you’re one of the most courageous, brave, intelligent, capable people i know! where is all of this coming from?”

“i’ve been thinking about it for a while. it’s just you’re so...amazing and i’m so...” you knew anything you could have said after that would make him even more angry. it was nothing positive.

god he probably hated you for being so insecure.

“you’re you, y/n.” izuku says softly. “you’re you and you’re who i love. i don’t care about what i do, what you do, who says what! i love you for you!”

izuku looks at you with so much love and compassion. you stared into his eyes, wondering what was gong on in his head.

well? at the moment he despised himself for letting you feel this way.

you were his whole world! the person who supported you in everything he did and he would support you in the same way! he couldn’t understand why you were feeling this way when he was literally...in love with you.

he loved you yeah of course, but hearing the way you were speaking about yourself, and how you had doubts about your relationship made his heart physically hurt. he was absolutely and unconditionally in love with you and wouldn’t be able to see himself with anyone else.

and he needed you to hear it.

“y/n you’re my everything! i’m so in love with you, no amount of fame or recognition could make me even think about leaving you!” izuku said urgently, and he finally calmed down when he saw a slight smile reach your lips.

a real one this time.

the conversation continued, and izuku promised to let you learn and remember how in love he was with you until it was the last thing he’d do.

bakugo 💥

bakugo would never pursue anyone unless he definitely knew he loved them.

so of course he never asked you out when he couldn’t differentiate if what he felt for you was love, or if it was a stupid little crush.

he didn’t like thinking about his feelings, especially the irrelevant ones.

he was trying to become the number one hero. who needed time for love anyways?

so he ignored his “feelings” for you, not allowing them to confuse him any longer.

it wasn’t until a few months into his third year when bakugo got the worst news of his life.

you were on a mission. an important one that had you absent from school for weeks.

bakugo was worried.

he’d text you every few days, asking what was going on and how things were and you’d always respond with “it’s fine.” or “we’re hanging in there.”

he assumed it was a pretty difficult mission, but nothing you couldn’t handle.

you were strong

so when he heard from a certain icy-hot that you were in the hospital in critical condition after completing the mission, he forgot about everything and ran straight to you.

ignoring aizawa’s calls, he almost blasted himself out of UA and checked every hospital for you, considering he didn’t even ask todoroki which one you were in before he left.

when he finally reached the hospital holding you, he sprinted to your room.

he found you hooked up to a bunch of wires and tests.

you looked peaceful, sleeping while the heart monitor beeped beside you.

but you looked horrible. bloody bandages covered almost every limb, and your body was covered in bruises.

bakugo’s heart dropped to his stomach. he couldn’t stand seeing you like this.

why does his feelings have to be 100x more noticeable when your tragically hurt!?

he sat down on the empty chair beside the hospital bed, wondering why no one else was visiting at this time.

he stared at you, something he couldn’t get off of his mind lately.

“why do you make me feel things, dumbass?” he asked, waiting for a response. “i never skip class! you just had to get hurt and make me skip the test review.” he rolled his eyes, but his face softened as he looked at you, still sleeping.

“i’ll help you study. you’ll probably fail without going over what we learned.”

.....

“would you wake up, you shitty woman!” he yelled, gripping the side of your bed “this is scary, you know?”

.....

“i should’ve called you today, i just assumed you’d be too busy to talk. if you told me you were in trouble, i’d blast my ass to wherever you were in a heartbeat.” bakugo said, feeling his actual heart skip a beat when you still didn’t respond. 

“please wake up...”

after about an hour of waiting, your other classmates came in, checking on your condition.

you still hadn’t woken up, but your vitals were better and your breath were more steady.

by the time night fell, everyone left; except for bakugo

he was just starting to fall asleep when he felt she. he heard you stir in the hospital bed.

his head shot up, quickly turning to face you as he saw you blinking you eyes slowly.

“y/n!” he yelled a little louder than anticipated, making you shoot awake and look at him.

you blinked a few more times before realizing who you were looking at. “katsuki!?” you asked, trying to sit up, but feeling a sharp pain in your side.

“hey! don’t move dumbass. are you okay? do you remember anything?” he frantically asked.

“umm...i’m fine?” you said, sounding like you were trying to convince yourself. “why are you here?”

“why am i here? you were admitted into the hospital in critical condition!”

“i-i’m sorry, everything’s a bit fuzzy right now.” you say softly, putting a hand on your forehead and tryin got remember everything.

bakugo softened, and waited until you got yourself together. “how long have you been here?” you ask

“since this morning.”

“this morning!? katsuki what about school? do your parents even know you’re here?”

“why the hell are you worried about me? you’re the one hooked up to all these machines and can barely move!” bakugo yelled, trying to understand why you were so focused on him being there with you.

“i just never thought you’d be the one to go out of your way to check on someone. let alone be here the whole day...” you whispered, suddenly feeling shy at the idea of bakugo keeping your sleeping body company for hours.

bakugo froze at your words.

he really wasn’t the type to go check on people for more than a few minutes. especially not one to skip school because of it.

maybe he did this because he felt a little more than what he thought he did.

maybe this wasn’t a stupid little crush? maybe it was something serious that he had just been blowing off.

when he heard about your condition, he just couldn’t stand by. there must have been something that pushed him to run to you.

“it’s cause u care about you...idiot. i wasn’t gonna a let you suffer here alone.” he huffs, crossing his arms.

“katsukiii do you like me or something?” you asked in a teasing tone

he couldn’t believe you were making jokes at a time like this. furthermore, he couldn’t believe how easy it was for you to see through his facade.

“i do.” he states. there was no point in lying.

“i was just kidding kats-“

“i’m not.” he cuts you off. “i care about you, and i like you. a lot. so...you better like be bad damn it. or i’ll blow you to bits!”

you chuckled and smiled tenderly at him. you definitely weren’t expecting him to say that, but you weren’t complaining.

“i like you too...i guess.” you smile, and katsuki tsked before smirking at you.

he finally felt like he could breath again, and that everything was going to be fine now.

except...katsuki didn’t like you. he loved you. but no way would he tell you that

this absolutely sucks i can’t believe i’m posting this. if you can, plz give me some requests so i don’t make trash hcs like this again. they’ll be a pt.2 later. hopefully it isn’t as bad as this one.

click here to send a request. i’d really appreciate it!

[mmilkbreadd]

Chapter twenty five: “The End”

Masterpost - Prev.

Warning(s): a bit of swearing ; post-timeskip manga spoilers!!

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Or aka, ‘The Sakusa Kiyoomi Theory’

Act One: “Who is Sakusa Kiyoomi?”

Saturday, 6:23 am, “y/n's home”

“You're late,” said y/n with crossed arms, she was already waiting for him at the door of her house. “I hope this doesn't become routine.”

It was already morning in the streets of Paris. Tendou Satori and her neighbor (and best friend), y/n l/n, were walking towards their famous bakery and chocolate shop, ‘Sweet Strawberries.’ It was a small place with a few tables to sit for tea and delicious things to eat. Also, although it was small, it was quite crowded.

“Woah, how angry you are today, little baker... More than usual, actually” y/n shook her head at her friend's comment. “But obviously I already know why, and it seems that you know why too.”

Y/n decided to ignore what Satori had said, and keep walking quite ahead of him. It was still an hour before the store opened, but they already had several orders that were due to deliver around nine in the morning. A three-tier wedding cake, forty heart-shaped chocolates for the anniversary of a married couple, and of course, the strawberry cake for someone named Sakusa Kiyoomi.

Around a quarter to seven, they arrived at the bakery, and they got down to work to get all the orders completed on time. 

Tendou was more dedicated to the chocolate part, of course, and to serve customers. Despite y/n had advanced a lot in terms of her social skills, she still needed to learn a little about how to communicate normally with a person.

“That 'Sakusa Kiyoomi' has a Japanese name, do you think he is too?” y/n asked, wiping flour from her hands.

“I don't know, they could be. But doesn't that name sound too familiar to you?”  Satori replied.

“That's exactly what I was thinking!”

“Weird.”

“Yeah... Anyway, the customer asked not to make the chocolate so bitter so add more milk to that please.”

“Yes, boss!” Satori made a military signal and continued his work.

Act Two: “Pretending to be Sakusa Kiyoomi.”

8:39 am, “Paris” (?)

Bokuto Koutarou, along with Miya Atsumu and Hinata Shoyo were lost in Paris. They had circled the Eiffel Tower at least five times. But it seemed they hadn't realized it yet.

They were more lost than Bokuto studying math. But a simple city would not defeat them so easily... would it?

“Maybe we should have brought Sakusa,” Hinata said after round number six.

“And hear him complain about how dirty everything is? No thanks,” Atsumu Miya replied, shaking his head. “We don't need Omi-Omi. I, Miya Atsumu, am enough to know where we are.”

Atsumu put a hand on his chest, pretending to be offended. Bokuto and Hinata looked around, ignoring the enormous tower behind them, wondering where they were.

“And where are we then?”

“Paris, of course” he replied. “I can’t believe you’re seriously asking that, Shoyo.”

Hinata and Bokuto looked at each other, unable to believe what their teammate was saying.

“Sure…” Bokuto said, getting his phone out of his pocket. It was time to be the serious person of the trio. “Akaashi, we got lost” and that time was now over. Koutarou was crying as he spoke to his friend, who was on another continent. “No, I can't stop crying, Akaashi. I swear I was following the steps you wrote on the map so we wouldn't get lost, but Atsumu wanted to take the lead, so he broke the instructions, and we don’t know where we are. It's all his fault...! No, Sakusa has not come either.”

“Hey! It wasn't my fault,” the dyed blonde complained, crossing his arms. “And we never needed Omi-Omi!”

“Okay, Akaashi, I'll do it. Bye, love you… As a bro of course” Bokuto finished saying and hung up. “He told me I have to call Tendou. Is the only way.”

Hinata started shaking his head from side to side, while Atsumu slapped his forehead with his hand. Then a message came from Keiji; It was the number of Tendou Satori himself. Bokuto started dialing the numbers that appeared on the screen of his phone, on Hinata's.

“Wait wait, shouldn't I speak? He might recognize your voice” Hinata said, awkwardly taking the phone from Bokuto's hands. 

“He would also recognize yours, Shoyo. I'll do it.” Atsumu snatched the device from him and pressed the call button. “Hello, sir, what’s up? I'm Sakusa Kiyoomi, could you help me get to your store? I'm a bit lost... How did I get your number you ask? Eh– It's on your website dude! You should delete it, some people pretend to be someone else and you should not fall for that...”

Act Three: “If Sakusa Kiyoomi was real, we should have brought him.”

10:04 am, “Sweet Strawberries Bakery and Chocolate Shop”

“I can't believe it took us almost two hours to get here! It wasn't even that far from the hotel” Hinata said looking towards the building that was a few meters in front of them.

“Six blocks. Can’t believe it either.” Atsumu wiped the sweat from his brow. “And now that? Are we going in or not?”

Bokuto went pale. He was going to see you, after so many years without communicating or having exchanged glances. He never imagined that he would see you again after that cold day in Miyagi. He had made a thousand scenarios in his head of how you two meet again: in some distant future you visit your hometown and he visits Hinata, and thus you meet in the park or on the street. You would have your own family, and he would have his. But that would happen in many years, not now. Not at this moment, when neither of you had grown enough... When he hadn't managed to forget you yet. But these weren't Koutarou's inventions, this was reality.

The incredible and stupid reality.

“I don't want to go in,” Bokuto said suddenly and stopped walking. “I’m not ready.”

Atsumu, who was already one step away from the door, turned to see him. Hinata collided with Miya's chest because he was walking right behind him.

“What are you talking about? Let's go in now” Atsumu said walking towards the ex-owl. “We didn't change the whole tour just so you don't go see your little girlfriend… We change it so you do! Don't be scared, do it now or you'll regret it for life. I remember how you talked about her during practice, and I even want to meet her after that! Come on dude, use the little braveness you have left.”

It seemed that Atsumu's words, or Hinata's smile next to him, made Bokuto take courage and head towards the entrance of the shop. 

A bell rang before three pairs of feet echoed through the small place. There was a great smell of chocolate that invaded every inch of the establishment. Hinata paced around the place until the sound of a door opening made the three teammates turn their heads to where the sound was coming from.

“Welcome, what can I offer-- So all of you are Sakusa Kiyoomi, huh?” Satori Tendou said, coming out of the back-room. “You see guys, I never believed this would happen. It makes me think a lot too… So, is Sakusa Kiyoomi even real?”

Atsumu, Hinata, and Bokuto were paralyzed in place for several seconds. The former Shiratorizawa monster stood with his hands on his hips, staring at them.

“Is it Sakusa Kiyoomi? Tell him I'm coming in a minute!” y/n yelled from the back room.

“Oh no, y/n, it’s someone much better!” Tendou replied, holding back his laughter. “You won't believe it even if you see this!”

Then, silence took over the place until a few quick steps interrupted it. A figure appeared through the door, with several boxes in their hands. A pile of boxes so big it covered their face.

“Help me, Satori, I'm going to fall” y/n complained, and after Tendou took out the boxes that covered her view, she saw her friend smiling widely. “What?”

Satori, who couldn't contain his laughter anymore, gestured with his head towards the three statues in the middle of the place. And finally, seeing her friend's face, he started to laugh out loud.

“Kou?”

“A-and Hinata!” shouted Bokuto nervously. Shoyo looked at him and then pointed at Atsumu.

“And also Atsumu!”

“And Saku– shit, we should have brought Omi-Omi after all…”

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Note: I am very very very very sorry for not posting this sooner, but I had thousand of things going on in my life. Now I’m better and ready to finish this beautiful, and crazy, love-story.

I hope you loved it as much as I did. I truly enjoyed it writing, and I’m happy to finish it too.

I’ll appreciate it a lot if you comment down below what you thought about the series. I’ll read you later -Tina.

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Tags in reblog!

Thanks for reading🥰