#yeah it was fun i went tubing and did karaoke and stuff!!

[lillywillow]

Skincare Party

Summary: A night in with your three best friends; one like they’ve never experienced before

 Word Count: 1495

 Square Filled: Playful Relationship

 Pairings: Bucky/F!Reader/Sam (platonic), Steve x F!Reader

 Warnings: Mild themes and lewdness, pimple popping, mild pain/ discomfort, drinking, maybe some minor swear words

Written for @star-spangled-bingo

 Ever since you first joined The Avengers, you had been inseparable from the three soldiers of the group. The others in the group had taken to calling you ‘The Four Musketeers’ and you even had an entire floor to yourselves in the tower. Once a week, assuming there wasn’t a mission any of you had to go on, you would take turns in picking an activity to do together. The four of you had completed everything from bar hoping, to karaoke, to movie marathons, to videogame night. Tonight was your turn to pick an activity and you knew it was something that none of the boys had ever done before.

Earlier in the day, you had informed Bucky, Sam and Steve, you would be spending the night in and told them the dress code was ‘comfy’. The trio arrived in the living room at the time you had specified, a little surprised to see all the bottles, jars, tubes and various other containers laid out on the coffee table.

 “Right on time, gentlemen,” you grinned.

 “Uh, Y/N... What exactly are we doing?” Bucky asked with a mild look of concern.

 “Tonight I thought we would do something a little different... with a skincare pamper party.”

 “Isn’t that kind of girly?” Sam quipped.

 “Now, now, now, my dear peregrine, the skin is the biggest organ of the human body and as such, it is just as important to take care of.”

 “Peregrine?”

 “Yeah, you know... ‘Cause you’re a falcon,” you grinned, making Sam roll his eyes. “Besides, we can drink beer and watch those Dwayne Van Schwartza-Willis shoot-em-up type films.”

 You swore you could you could practically hear Sam’s brain malfunctioning as a plethora of jokes swirling around, each one desperate to be the first one out his mouth.

 “I think you broke Sam... I like this idea already,” Bucky smirked.

 You also laughed and ushered the boys to the couch, explaining the purpose of the cleansers, toners, and other products and how to use them. Soon, the four of you settled down on the couch with a timer set for your respective face masks.

 You applied a pollution cleansing mask, Bucky had a coffee exfoliating mask, Steve had a simple hydrating tissue mask and Sam had bravely opted for the charcoal peel mask. All of you wore headbands to keep any hair from falling into the stuff you were using and Bucky had his hair pulled back in a ponytail. When the timer was up, you and Bucky went to rinse off your masks and Steve threw his out.

 “Um, Y/N... how do I get this thing off?” You went over to Sam and got the mask started by scratching a little and began pulling. Sam let out a strangled sound as the tar like substance moved off his face like a second skin. Steve and Bucky watched in morbid fascination. Finally, you managed to get the whole thing off.

 “There,” you said, handing him the stuff.

 “Ew! All that was in my face?” he grimaced, looking at the gunk which had been removed from his pores.

 “Yep... hang on a sec, you’ve still got some stuff,” you said, grabbing your special tool.

 “What is that?”

 “Relax... it won’t hurt a bit...”

 “No... I don’t like the look of it... get it away from me... Y/N! AGH!”

 Sam bolted and you gave chase. Steve and Bucky roared with laughter as you tackled him to the ground, using your knees to pin his arms. You used one hand to hold his head still while you attacked his blemishes with your pimple popper.

 “Oh, man, those are some good ones,” you muttered, moving off Sam and looking at the contents of your tool.

 “You’re sick, Y/N!”

 “Lighten up, Sam. You know what they say, pain is beauty, darling,” you said in a posh, European accent. You clean the end and picked up the tweezers before rounding on Bucky who had no chance to move.

 “Your turn...” You began on Bucky, getting all his ingrown hairs around his beard and other blemishes.

 “Alpine, help! Daddy’s being attacked!” You turned to look at the snowy white feline who had wandered into the room. She merely took one glance and the scene and promptly cleaned her paw.

 “What did you think she was going to do? Scratch me to death?”

 “Don’t knock her. She can do some serious damage when she wants to...”

 After Bucky, you went onto Steve, taking his face in your hands. Steve made no resistance as you straddled him, watching as you carefully examined his face. You had a big crush of Steve but were too afraid of saying anything to him about it in fear of losing him as your friend.

 “Actually, your face is pretty clear...” you stayed there for a moment, admiring him before shifting. “I think the next step, we’ll do pedicures...” You walked off to get buckets of water to soak your feet in. Steve sat there in a dreamy daze before getting walloped in the face by a cushion.

 “Hey!”

 “Dude, when are you gonna stop fawning over Y/N, man up and ask her out already?” Sam asked.

 “I...”

 “For once, Sam has a point, Steve...”

 “You hear that? The cyborg agrees!” Bucky glared at him. “Besides, if you don’t ask her out, I will...”

 “You wouldn’t dare...”

 “Why not? She’s cute, smart, funny and unattached...” Before Steve could respond, you came back with the buckets of water. You settled back down on the couch but were suddenly shocked as Sam pulled off his socks.

 “What the heck is up with your toes?!” Bucky remarked, referring to Sam’s long, almost dagger like nails.

 “Sam, question; is it true you are known to carry off prey in your talons?”

 “That’s how you’re playing, huh? Two falcon jokes in one night?”

 “What can I say? When you’re on a roll, you’re on a roll and I am rolling like a stone.” Sam groaned at your joke but Steve and Bucky grinned, proud for having understood the reference.

 As you soaked your feet and watched the good guy blast the crap out of the baddies, the boys asked you questions about how they should go about caring for their skin. You answered them the best you could, being completely honest, after all, they were your best friends.

 Eventually, it got to a point where the hero had a love scene and poor Steve didn’t know where to look.

 “Hey, Y/N? How do I know if a girl I’m with is really enjoying herself and not, you know, making me feel better about myself?” Sam asked.

 “Well...”

 Now poor Steve really did wish he could vanish into the sofa. Between the conversation happing beside him and the, in his opinion far too graphic action on the TV, his face was totally red. He desperately tried to tune out.

 “... Steve?”

 “Huh? What?”

 “I asked if you wanted another beer...”

 “Oh, uh... sure...”

 “Hey, can you grab me another one?” Bucky asked.

 “Me too... why don’t you go with her to help carry them back?” Sam prompted, the pair seeing a chance to get the two of you alone in the other room so Steve could confess his feelings.

 You thought it was a little strange, after all, you were more than capable of carrying four drinks back by yourself but shrugged it off as you dried off your feet, Steve following suit.

 You went to the kitchen and grabbed the beers but before you left, Steve placed his hand on your shoulder.

 “Uh, Y/N...”

 “Yes, Steve?”

 “I was wondering if... you’d like to get dinner tomorrow night...”

 “Sure. Do you want me to make reservations for the four of us, or...?”

 “No, I mean... just us two... like a date.” You couldn’t help but smile at his shyness and kissed his cheek.

 “I’d love to.”

 “R-really?”

 “Of course... I... I was actually hoping you would ask me,” you smiled, making Steve beam at you.

 By the time you came back with the drinks, Sam and Bucky were grinning impishly.

 “What?”

 “Nothing...”

 “Do you want me to get my special tool again? Because I will.”

 “No! Hell no!” They simultaneously objected.

 “It’s just, it’s good to see you both happy...” You looked at Steve who smiled shyly at you.

 “Well get used to it,” you smiled, taking your place back next to Steve on the couch. While watching the movie, Steve gently held your hand, making your heart flutter.

 As different as this was, all four of you had a lot of fun that night and more importantly, you were finally able to confess your feelings to your long time crush.

[c-c-cherry]

What's the most embarrassing thing each of the Bucci gang has done/has had happen to them?

Ok I took WAY too long on this but I loved this question so much and it was so fun coming up with these. Special thanks to my girl @jjadegreen for helping me!!

**This isn’t NSFW but I’d say its teen and up just because of some of the stuff talked about hehe**

______________________

Mista

-Pre-canon Mista was a bit sick one night so Bruno made him stay home while they all went on this one mission

-So naturally he’s like “HELL YEAH HOME ALONE”

-Bruno forgets his wallet and had to come back a little while later to get it and walks in on him wearing the following:

One of Abbacchio’s signature goth dress robe thing

Like 12 of Bruno’s barrettes all sticking to the top of his head

Fugo’s tie

Narancia’s bandana

All while BLASTING K-Pop at full volume in the living room. And our man is INTO IT. This isn’t just some radio coincidence shit, he was SCREAMING the lyrics. He owns the CDs.

-Bucciarati LOSES IT. Mista has never been so mortified in his life and Bruno has never laughed so hard in his life.

-He promises not to tell the rest of the gang but tells him it’s officially blackmail material

-They never speak of it again but at Christmas Mista opens Bruno’s gift and it's a brand new K-pop CD and everyone thinks its just a gag gift but like

-He definitely listens to it later alone in his room

Bucciarati

Bruno Bucciarati does not get drunk for two main reasons:

He blacks out every time

He’s an absolute lightweight

-The last time Bruno got absolutely piss drunk, he was with Abbacchio and it wasn’t even funny. It was just surreal because Bucciarati never lets himself go to such an extent

-For whatever reason Bruno is like “hey I never drink we should go to the bar or something” after a successful mission

-Even though the legal age of drinking is technically 16 in Italy they leave “the kids” home to watch mean girls or some shit

-Mista tags along too because he’s worried Bruno will get drunk and spill about the unfortunate “K-pop incident”

-My man Bruno drank like two beers and was immediately GONE like he got up and got lost in the bar after way too many drinks and ran into a drag Queen with Abbacchio’s hair

-Said drag queen became Bruno Bucciarati’s new drinking buddy

-He stumbles over to the karaoke contest and gets onstage and grabs the shitty bar mic and screams “THIS GOES OUT TO LEONE I LOVE YOU SO MUCH MWUA TWO YEARS HONEY~” and Mista is just like 👁👄👁

-Because uhhh they have literally been together for two years but everyone in the gang just thinks its a weird on/off thing because they never talk about it

-He sings dancing queen because its by ABBA and both Leone and Mista are fucking screaming with laughter and Abbacchio is filming the entire goddamn thing

-He buys the entire bar drinks they all love him so much

-Afterwards Leone tries to get them home so he leaves them outside while he takes a piss and when he walks back out THEY ARE GONE.

-Mista thought it would be a perfect time for them to get tattoos because his fucking capo is drunk off his ass and there is no better time

-Mista gets these two giant smoking guns on his back and his ass is in SO MUCH PAIN afterward that he leaves Bruno alone while he’s picking out his tattoo to get ice cream

-When he comes back Bruno has a tattoo ON HIS LEFT FOOT THAT SAYS “Never don’t give up.” The tattoo people tried to correct him but he insisted

-Abba finds them and is just like “jesus god” and takes them all to a hotel because there is no way in hell he’s taking them back home like this

-The next morning Bruno remembers absolutely NOTHING and as the gang admires Mista’s giant tattoo they ask if Bruno got one too and he’s like “god no I’m not that irresponsible”

-As soon as they’re alone Abba’s like “you got one on the bottom of your foot” and you can just see the moment Bucciarati’s soul leaves his body

Fugo

-Ok so if y’all didn’t know Fugo literally canonically wears a thong

-This isn’t sexualizing him (also I am indeed a minor don’t harass me) it's just a fact of life. You do you Fugo.

-So he sneaks out of the house once in a while and goes shopping for them cause our man’s gotta live, you know?

-He pops in the underwear store one day and you wanna know who he fucking passes by in the lingerie section?

-Bruno fucking Bucciarati.

-Which isn’t exactly a surprise considering he’s wearing visible lingerie in his tiddy window outfit but like

-That’s like running into your dad at femboy hooters

-Much to his dismay, the man spots him immediately and there’s just this...awkward silence as Fugo is holding this shopping basket of underwear and Bruno is holding the raunchiest piece of clothing he’s ever seen in his life

-They never talk about it again. Fugo finds a different store.

Abbacchio

-The most mortifying moment Abbacchio can live to remember is the first time he told Bucciarati that he loved him

-Pre-canon, our man is NOT having a vibing time

-He gets absolutely wasted with while Bruno’s at his apartment

-He’s the most miserable drunk, so he’s just fucking sobbing and Bucci is sitting there trying to console him and Abbacchio just looks up at him with tears streaking down his face and says “I’m in love with you” and the look on Bruno’s face just makes him feel even more miserable

-The entire night he keeps blubbering about how much he loves him and how much he means to him and how beautiful he is and the entire time Bruno is doing that thing where he tries to cover his face with his hand because our man is mega FLUSTERED up in here

-When he wakes up he remembers EVERYTHING and he wished he didn’t because then maybe he would be able to say that he didn’t mean it

-Bruno is surprisingly just like “Did you really mean it?” and he can’t lie so he just tells the truth and he’s just nonchalantly like “me too”

-Bruno thinks it’ll be a nice wedding story and Abbacchio no longer wants to live on this planet

Narancia

-Mista and Narancia are vibing in the living room one night and Nara tells Mista to grab his gameboy from upstairs

-He says its under his pillow (or else Bruno will take it away every night hehe)

-But you wanna know what else is under Narancia’s pillow? His Diary. No, it’s not a journal or just a blank book, Mista finds a book titled DIARY.

-And the shit in there is priceless.

“Bucciarati is sooo cool. I tried cutting my hair like his, but it didn’t really work. I think I gotta wear this hat for the next couple weeks. Shit. Fuck. If someone takes it off, I’m so fucked.”

“I clogged up the toilet yesterday and was too scared to tell Abba, so I just flushed it again but then the water wouldn’t stop flooding everywhere so I used Aerosmith to explode the toilet and told Abba that it was a stand attack. He believed me. If ANYONE ever finds out, I’m dead.”

“HOLY SHIT. I swallowed a tide pod yesterday and freaked out so I made Giorno turn it into a grape in my stomach with his stand. I almost DIED. But I didn’t so I’m over it. If Giorno ever tells anyone, I’ll kill him.”

-Narancia realizes about ten minutes after Mista left that HOLY SHIT HIS DIARY

-he finds Mista three quarters way through it and gives him $50 not to tell anyone about it.

-The shame never leaves, though

Trish

-Jade gave me a cute headcanon that Trish’s mom was still only teaching her how to properly put on makeup before she died (it's not like there was youtube or anything to teach her either) so our girl Trish only knows the basics

-She puts on lip gloss and blush and mascara and stuff but she’s never even TOUCHED eyeliner and rarely puts on eyeshadow. She doesn’t even wear concealer most of the time (she honestly doesn’t even need to, her skin is baby soft smooth)

-So long story short she kind of misses her mom and remembers how her mom was going to teach her a smokey eye before she died and is determined to teach it to herself now

-So she pulls a little heist and snatches some of Abbacchio’s makeup while they’re all out doing stuff

-She was not prepared for how heavy this shit was. She was used to the lighter, more natural stuff but Abba’s makeup is EXTREME.

-All of his stuff is waterproof so it doesn’t wash off while he’s crying at 3am and it’s just this—dark, heavy stuff.

-She actually hasn’t used a thick, real tube of lipstick before, only those little gloss tubes with the stick because she has smaller lips so when she crouches over with a small makeup mirror in fear of anyone somehow walking in on her and smears Abbacchio’s thick, dark purple lipstick on her lips, she knew she was absolutely fucked. She has no idea how to do this shit, especially not with dark, heavy goth makeup

-The smokey eye does not work. It’s just smeared eyeshadow EVERYWHERE, it looks like she has two giant, awful, black eyes and her first attempt at eyeliner was just—unspeakably horrible

-She has no idea where to start so she just puts on way too much of absolutely everything and immediately regrets it the moment she looks at herself in the bathroom mirror

-Abba comes home early and immediately realizes that some of his makeup is gone and he knows it has to be Trish

-He walks upstairs to confront her but just hears loud, ugly sobbing coming from her room and bursts in only to find her desperately trying to wipe off layers of caked-on water-proof makeup and absolutely failing

-The two of them spend all night taking it off all while Trish is still crying teary apologies to him

-To add in some wholesome Dadbacchio, he teaches her how to properly put everything on the next day <3

Giorno

-Some people forget that as a 15 year old, Giorno sometimes has absolutely no impulse control

-So when Polnareff tells him that he’s the spitting image of his evil, murderous, vampire dad he’s immediately like “haha well I’m gonna go dye my hair now”

-Everyone had something to do that day/night so Giorno waltzes over to the nearest drug store and grabs one of those at-home dying kits (he got dark green cause he thought it would look cool with his new outfit)

-He gets home and has absolutely no idea what he’s doing so he just thinks it’ll work out somehow

-Soooo yeah he does NOT put it in properly at all, he just kind of takes the shit and slathers it all over his hair and doesn’t do his roots and doesn’t put it up and leaves it dripping down his back and stuff and his stupid ass FALLS ASLEEP with the hair dye in

-He wakes up and the sheets are this really awful light green colour but he doesn’t pay any mind to it

-He looks in the mirror and from the front it actually looks good and he gets all excited and decides to wash it out

-When he gets out of the shower it’s this awful disgusting light light ugly green and he almost cries. Almost.

-It looks like someone dunked him in that Nickelodeon slime and he looks at the package and it says the dye will stay in for at least 3 weeks and there aRE TEARY EYES

-He spends the next hour in the shower trying to wash it out. It does not wash out.

-Utterly defeated with his hair matted and donuts practically falling apart, he stumbles over to his room and tries to wash the sheets covered in slime-coloured hair dye which *surprise!!!* doesn’t wash out either!

-He must dispose of the evidence, but of COURSE they’re out of garbage bags so he shoves all the dye kit stuff and the sheets into a mafia body bag and chucks it by the garbage can outside without a single thought

-Which he SHOULD have had a single thought about it, because when they get home and Narancia spots the body bag he’s like “holy shit guys I think Giorno killed someone while we were out”

-So they all panically pop into the house and cautiously try to find Giorno. Fugo finally finds him pacing around his room in the dark and when he flicks on the lights HO-LY SHIT.

-Fugo obviously bursts out into laughter and Bruno books it up the stairs and also starts cackling and Narancia is like “OH MY GOD YOU KILLED SOMEONE LOOKING LIKE THAT?!” and Giorno has to explain to them that the body bag is filled with stained bedsheets (much to his embarrassment)

-Abbacchio takes so many pictures and Giorno is having a nervous breakdown because he cannot live with his hair looking like this

-Bruno makes Abba fix it the next morning and he loves every second of Giorno’s mortification

-The pictures Abbacchio took of that night are framed next to the pictures of Bruno’s wasted karaoke night in his room

______________________

Thank you for the ask, anon!! I’m absolutely exhausted now haha so I’ll scroll through the rest of the asks when I wake up!!

[emotionalsupportbun-chan]

guess who got preoccupied with a different fandom 

anyway here’s part two 

Joon-Gi did not sing. This wasn’t a surprise; Joon-Gi never sang when they all got together for karaoke at Survive. Zhao sometimes wondered why, but typically chalked it up to self-consciousness. The man never did anything unless he could ensure absolute perfection in execution - a difficult feat after a whiskey or two. 

Finally tired out, Kasuga had settled into the usual routine of shuffling through the stack of old records he’d picked up throughout their escapades. Koi no Disco Queen played loud enough that anyone trying to have a conversation had to speak at an uncomfortable volume. Fine enough for Zhao. Their mind was elsewhere anyway. Who was that woman? And what sorcery did she command? Most of the major aches and pains that they’d started the night with were gone. And maybe it had been the exhaustion, but they didn’t typically make a habit of letting their guard down so easily. Sure, she was pretty. Sure, she had a certain spark about her that was instantly disarming, that planted something small and fluttery at the bottom of their chest, that made them want to let go for just a little while. But none of that should matter. They had enemies. Everyone in this bar had at least one asshole dedicated to their downfall. They can’t just let themselves get swept away in the arms and hands and eyes and tongues - and everything - of strange women. 

So Zhao closed their eyes. Took a breath. And tried to crush the small, fluttery thing at the bottom of their chest. And failed. And tried and failed again. Perhaps their only choice was to succumb to steel butterflies. 

Perhaps it was easier to drown them. 

Zhao ordered another whiskey. Neat, this time. They needed a less dangerous burn in their gut. The bartender deposited it without comment and returned to his quiet conversation with Iroha. The drink went down in a single gulp - a trail of fire felt down to the toes, its warmth blunting the edges of sharp thoughts. They raised a hand. Another round, double this time. Down the hatch. Before they could order another, a white sleeved arm wound its way around theirs and Saeko slid onto the barstool beside them. 

“Heyyy, Zhao-chan!” Like Scary Boss Zhao, Silly Drunk Saeko was a mask, often used to pry valuable gossip from the unsuspecting. Most of the time, the party was content to play along. It was nice to unload their problems onto someone they could pretend wouldn’t remember in the morning. 

“Hey, Sa-chan.” They tried to inject some enthusiasm in the reply. No luck. Thoughts elsewhere. 

“You’re even quieter than usual. Whatcha thinking about?” She leaned against them, loose-bodied, sharp eyes her only tell. 

“Nothing much.” Wait. “Sa-chan, were you friendly with any of the girls at Otohime Land?” It was a long shot, but maybe they’d met a time or two. 

“No, not really.” She gave them a sly smile and a swat on the arm. “Why, you see a picture you like?” 

“No! No, that’s not it. I was just..curious.” Keep it cool. Heat began to creep into their cheeks. 

“Sure, Zhao-chan.” She slipped away as quickly as she came, prancing back to her seat at a table with Adachi and Joon-Gi. They huddled immediately, abandoning all subtlety. 

Her sudden absence allowed the deep throb of a bruise to resurface, reminding Zhao of the nasty hit they’d taken to the shoulder. They reached into a pocket and pulled out the little tube of cream the strange woman had left behind. Arni-Heal: Ultra Strong Bruise Cream. Zhao turned the tube to read the ingredients and found a mobile number scrawled in the blank space above the usage directions. A particularly resilient butterfly shot up into their throat. 

They started at the tube for long enough for the bartender to silently refill their drink. A little more than a double this time. Downing it, they pulled the phone from their pocket. 

-

Laying in the darkened room upstairs, it was hard not to think about how the night could have ended. The symphony of quiet snoring was enough to remind them that they weren’t alone; for the first time since they’d left the Liumang, they missed the privacy of the small back room at the restaurant they used to crash in after a hard night out. 

It took every ounce of self control to wait until the woman replied. Zhao wasn’t normally one to double text; patience as a virtue was instilled in them from a young age. But the phone, silenced out of consideration, weighed heavy in their hand. Not a single notification since they’d sent the initial message. She’s probably sleeping. It was late, after all. Almost more morning than night. Yet, they weren’t quite ready to accept that. They got the feeling that this woman kept to her own idea of a schedule. 

Sleeplessness was an old friend for Zhao. They had a variety of methods that typically did the trick. Mediation, deep breathing, counting backwards - they ran the gamut trying to distract themselves from the disappointingly inactive phone. Just as they felt their mind begin to go quiet, a dull buzz rattled in their hand. They checked it immediately. 

hey hot stuff 

nice sleuthin’ took ya long enough 

whatcha doin’ 

i’m bored wanna go out  

Four messages, rapid fire. The sudden appearance of her reply sent their pulse through the roof and left them a little dizzy, a little hazy with the whiskey still coursing through their system. Out? Now? They checked the time. 2:17. 

what ya sleepin’ 

The next message was a selfie - her face in the foreground, hair mussed and lipstick faded. The background however, distinctly showcased the two planters outside the bar. Zhao sat up, abandoning any attempt at being quiet. Did she know about the hideout? 

Where are you? 

It took a few moments for her to respond this time. 

idk outside some old bar 

i wanna go to this party 

come with me 

pleeease ;) 

Suspicion faded, for better or worse. It was just a coincidence. It had to be. Looking around the room, they weighed the options. It was already so late; they were already so tired. The others slept soundly around them, futons tucked into whatever corner would accommodate. The party would be worried if Zhao wasn’t there in the morning. But this mystery woman had implanted herself firmly in their mind. Thoughts of the almost-but-not-quite hookup resurfaced - the strength in her hands, the gentle attention paid to Zhao’s wounds, her purring whisper. Who’s to say they couldn’t pick up where they’d left off? 

You don’t even know this woman. She could be anyone. None of this even makes any sense. Maybe none of that mattered. Maybe they could have a little fun. Maybe they could be someone else tonight.  

come be stupid with me 

;P <3 

Zhao grabbed their coat and slipped out of the room. 

-

They had approximately 30 seconds to construct Party Zhao. Party Zhao did shots off a strange girl’s tits. Party Zhao knew how to dance. Party Zhao was a little slutty. Party Zhao didn’t care where the exits and entrances of a building were. The tenets of Party Zhao took shape over the trip down the stairs and across the main room of Survive. Before opening the door, they took a moment to fix their hair and straighten their clothes. They’d even swiped a travel spray vial of cologne out of Joon-Gi’s coat pocket. Gucci Guilty. It was a little woody-er, a little spicier than they’d prefer, but it smelled expensive. Zhao wondered if the woman would like it. 

She was standing right outside the door, leaning against the brick of the building. Under normal circumstances, Zhao might have noticed her lack of surprise at their sudden appearance. But they were a little distracted. The athletic outfit that she’d worn earlier had been traded for a red plaid miniskirt, black crop, and an oversized bomber jacket. Paired with union-jack adorned boots and heart-shaped glasses, she looked like she’d stepped out of an old punk rock magazine. It was a little tacky, but the height of fashion. It also showed off the great pair of thighs that accompanied her previously acknowledged great ass.  

A woman after your own heart. “So, you said something about a party?” Zhao tried to sound casual, as if they hadn’t waited hours to hear from her. As if they hadn’t spent the evening daydreaming absolutely filthy revisions to their previous encounter. 

“Ah, Zhao-chan!” She threw her arms around their neck and planted a little kiss on their cheek. “I didn’t think ya’d come.” Her eyes were glazed, slightly unfocused. Lips parted slightly as she drew back from the greeting. Staring up at them all dreamy and come-hither, she sealed her body against theirs for a moment, a knee slipped between theirs so that they were touching from toe to torso. “You smell nice.”  

She smelled like candy and black pepper. And a little like liquor. Zhao tightened the hug, if only so that she’d continue pressing her body to theirs. They wondered if she could feel their heart hammering away. The thought of leaning in for a real kiss came and was discarded. Be Cool. Party Zhao. They let a smirk tug at the corner of their mouth, and returned the kiss in similar fashion- a little farther back, almost on the neck. “Hey, pretty.” They tried on the tone some of their former compatriots used with cabaret girls. It was borderline sleazy, but might distract from their racing pulse and creeping blush. “Didn’t think I’d see you again tonight.” 

“Yeah, aren’t ya lucky.” If she noticed anything was amiss, she didn’t let on. “Come on, it’s not far,” she said. Pulling away and slipping her hand into theirs, she led them deeper into the Bar District. Zhao sighed, caught up in the heat of the embrace (and the whiskey). They didn’t even pretend they weren’t staring at her ass for the entirety of the short trip.  

A few blocks away, she stopped at a disused elevator tucked away down an alley and began pushing bags of trash away from a corner with the tip of her boot. After a few minutes, she exclaimed and retrieved a key from where it had been hidden under a half-shattered flower pot. She fit it into the keyhole above the elevator’s single button and turned. A full thirty seconds later, the carriage arrived and opened with more of an electrical spark than a ding. “You sure this thing is up to code?” Zhao inspected the seams of the derelict elevator, trying to peer through them and get a look at the wires and cords beyond. 

“It absolutely ain’t.” She pushed them in with her palm flat against their back and followed, pressing a button labeled only by a sticky note proclaiming “No Boys Allowed”. 

[ohnonono18]

Surprise!

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“So what’s the plan?” Sam asked. “Is there even a plan?”

“Surprise party.” Sungjae answered. “At Andrew’s house.”

Sam nodded.

“Why does it have to be Andrew’s house?” She asked.

“Because. . .” Sungjae trailed off but realized he doesn’t have an answer. “I honestly have no idea.”

Sam giggled and Sungjae turned to Hyunsik for an answer.

“Why did we choose Andrew’s house again?” He asked.

“Because he volunteered.” Hyunsik shrugged as they ate lunch in Nicky’s dining room.

“Do you even have gifts?” Eunkwang asked.

“I. . . don’t.” Sam trailed off. “That’s for sure. I kinda don’t have one. Yet.”

“I was thinking of buying [Y/N] a phone case.” Changsub said with a mischievous smirk and everyone stared at him for a moment in silence when it finally dawned on them.

“Yah! That’s mean!” Ann laughed and playfully hit him as everyone laughed along.

“Man, he almost got away with that.” Hyunsik laughed.

Everyone knew that [Y/N] kinda broke her phone that means she doesn’t have a phone at the moment.

“Although, I am honest. I’m going to buy her a phone first though.” Changsub said.

“The perks of being rich.” Sungjae smirked.

“You’re rich too, you know.” Minhyuk rolled his eyes playfully. “I mean, all of us are.”

“Not all.” Nicky pointed out.

“I quite agree.” Sam said as she went to wash the dishes they used.

“Where’s [Y/N] by the way?” Peniel asked.

“She’s with Shannon.” Minhyuk said. “Though some of us are going to join her and help distract [Y/N] so that she doesn’t get the hint of the surprise.”

“Also, there will be people that will decorate for the party at my house.” Andrew said. “Who’s the group so that we can get started?”

“I’m going to cook some food so I’m going to have to go to the grocery store first.” Nicky said.

“I’m going to help with cooking so I guess I’ll be coming along.” Hyunsik decided.

“I’m in charge of the banner.” Ann said. “I’m going to take Sam with me.”

Sam was surprised as she just came back in the room after washing the dishes.

“Don’t you want Iris to be with you?” Sam suggested.

“You don’t want to?” Ann asked, looking a bit worried.

“No, it’s not like that.” Sam defended herself. “It’s just that I’m not good at stuff like that.”

“I’m in the distraction team.” Iris said. “So either way, you’re gonna end up going with her.”

“Okay, okay. I’m game!” Sam smiled.

“I’m gonna facilitate my house.” Andrew said and with a smirk he added, “So you all should behave yourselves!”

They all laughed along.

“The main point here is that Sungjae isn’t supposed to be here.” Nicky said. “You’re the surprise.”

“Yeah, cause she thinks I’m innnn USA.” Sungjae smiled.

“With Peniel.” Ilhoon reminded.

“That’s why the two of you shouldn’t be seen.” Eunkwang said.

“Better keep up the act until the big surprise.” Sam said.

“So,” Ilhoon started. “Who’s in charge of the cake?”

“Eve and Eunkwang.” Ann said. “You’re gonna be in charge of that.”

“Okay, okay. Yes, Madame.” Eve giggled.

“So, Iris and Minhyuk are going to help with distracting her.” Hyunsik said. “So we’ll text you to tell you that everything is ready?”

“Yep!” Iris smiled.

“So that leaves me and Ilhoon for the decorations.” Changsub said. “Any specific requests?”

“Roses?” Sam suggested.

“Balloons!” Eve laughed.

“Streamers!” Andrew smiled.

“What?” Nicky had a confused expression. “What did you say? Strippers?”

Ilhoon faced palmed and laughed with the others.

“Streamers, Nicky.” Iris repeated a little loudly and a little slowly. “Streamers. Why are you even talking about strippers? We’re not opening a club.”

Everyone laughed and Nicky apologized but she was also laughing at her mistake.

“Okay, okay!” Ilhoon gathered everyone’s attention. “Let’s do this!”

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“Okay,” Sungjae started and stared at the green lawn of Andrew’s house. “If me and Peniel aren’t supposed to be seen, where can we go that we can help?”

“Kitchen?” Andrew suggested.

“Yeah, we could use some help here.” Nicky said. “Come on, it’ll be fun!”

“Ok, ok!” Sungjae smiled and went over to Nicky and helped her carry some grocery bags while Peniel help gather up the kitchen utensils that was needed in the process of making the dishes they were going to make.

“So, we’re going to decorate this garden.” Ilhoon said as he looked around.

“We could put fairy lights.” Changsub suggested.

“Yeah,” Ilhoon agreed. “And we could put the banner over there.”

He pointed over at a black wall.

“The hardest part in this is if the girls will come and see our work and they wouldn’t like it.” Changsub laughed.

“Nah, I’m sure they’ll love it.” Ilhoon smiled as they both got to work.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“How about this picture?” Sam pointed to a picture of [Y/N] in the gallery filled with her various photos.

“Yeah, that can work.” Ann said. “And we can put it in this background.”

She showed a cool ombre style background.

“Yeah! That’s awesome!” Sam exclaimed.

“And maybe this font?” Ann selected a font style to use for the birthday greeting.

“Woah, looks great!” Sam smiled.

“Let’s send it to the others.” Ann smiled as she captured a photo of it and sent it to the others.

“Hey, what if we print out a picture of Sungjae too?” Sam suggested. “Then we’ll make him sign it.”

“Yeah, we could do that.” Ann was excited as they got to work again and browsed pictures of Yook Sungjae.

When the finished, they gave each other a high five and told the others about it too.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“Hey, [Y/N].” Shannon said. “We have to go to the studio. Your manager says that he has something to tell you.”

“What?” [Y/N] was surprised. “Please don’t let it be work. I’m so tired. I’ve been working for days. I’ve been working on choreographies for days. Come on, let me rest.”

“Come on, it won’t be so bad.” Iris said reassuringly, and she also knew what their manager had in mind but acted like she doesn’t know anything. “Come on, let’s go see him.”

They went over to the studio with Minhyuk driving them and when they opened the door of the building, [Y/N] was met with bits of colorful papers falling from the ceiling as a chorus of “Happy Birthday!” greeted her.

[Y/N] smiled brightly as everyone came to give her their best wishes and some gifts.

“Happy birthday to my favorite dancer!” Her manager, Sir Hodgson, said as he gave her a small present.

“Oh! Wow!” [Y/N] laughed. “Wow, you even bothered to give me a present!”

“Yeah, but, you know.” He leaned in closer to her ear. “Next time, when your you get paid with your salary, at least treat me a little mango shake, huh?”

“Sir!” [Y/N] playfully pushed him away and they both laughed.

“You know, you should be treating me with a mango shake because you get a higher salary than me, hm?” She said and they laughed more.

“Anyway, happy birthday! Keep up the good work!” Sir Hodgson said with a smile before everyone decided to get on with their lives.

“And give me a mango shake!” He said before he went inside his office.

“So? What’s up?” Minhyuk asked Iris.

“They’re ready!” Iris said in a hushed whisper before they took [Y/N] to the surprise they prepared.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“Okay, wow.” Sam said in awe as she looked at the garden. There were fairy lights hanging around and under them were round tables and chairs, each with a little lantern in the middle to give off more light.

“They outdid themselves, right?” Eve said as she approached Sam and stood beside her for a while.

“Yeah, they did.” Sam said. “It’s so beautiful.”

Eve nodded.

“Now, excuse me.” She said and Sam turned to look at her in curiosity. “I should go and give my boyfriend a kiss for making such a beautiful thing.”

Sam laughed as Eve walked away to find Ilhoon.

Sam took one last look at the garden arrangement before she set off to find Sungjae and have that photo of him that she and Ann printed out be signed by him.

“Hey, Sungjae!” She said as she went in the kitchen to see Nicky and the others busily working.

“What?” Sungjae looked up and wiped his forehead.

“I need you to sign something.” Sam said and they both went to find a flat surface for him to properly write on.

“Hey, have you seen Ilhoon?” Andrew went in the kitchen and asked everyone.

“I haven’t seen him.” Eunkwang said as he carefully moved the cake into a porcelain plate.

“Have you seen Ilhoon?” Ann went in.

“No, we haven’t.” Hyunsik said as he sliced some cheese.

“Where would he be?” Eunkwang asked as he placed the cake in the fridge. “Have you asked Sam? I saw them talking a while ago.”

“Where’s Sam?” Andrew asked.

“She and Sungjae went out to find a table and a marker.” Hyunsik said.

“Thanks, I’ll go check.” Andrew said.

“And I’ll go find Changsub.” Ann said and they both went separate ways.

“Sam,” Andrew said when he found her at the dining room with Sungjae signing a photo.

“Yes?” Sam asked.

“Have you seen Ilhoon?” Andrew asked.

“Oh, yeah.” Sam said. “I think. Eve said something about kissing him.”

Andrew gave off an annoyed expression.

“Try the closet.” Sam suggested jokingly but he did just that and sure enough, they were there.

“Guys, come on! Not in my house!” Andrew whined as Eve and Ilhoon went out of the closet, giggling.

“Geez, they’re not even drunk yet.” Andrew rolled his eyes and told Ilhoon to go to Ann and Andrew followed him while he told Eve to go and check the karaoke machine.

Ilhoon and Changsub hung up the banner with Ann’s directions. In the corner, Sam and Eunkwang were cutting the thorns out of the roses. And one by one, the others helped in putting out silverware and plates before they displayed the food.

For a few minutes, they rested and freshened up before the celebrant arrives.

They were lounging around the living room, talking lightly when they heard a car stop in their block.

Ilhoon looked out the window to check and saw that it was Minhyuk’s car.

“Guys! They’re here!” He informed everyone.

“Quick! Hide!” Hyunsik told Sungjae and Peniel and the two went to find hiding places.

Everyone else scrambled into a formation that made no sense before the door opened.

“Sam, pass the streamers!” Ilhoon whispered and she tossed him a tube before she shoved one to Hyunsik who was right beside her.

When the door opened, there came a huge bang! and then streamers fell down slowly from above as they greeted [Y/N].

“Happy birthday!” They all chorused around her and they proceeded to go and give her a hug.

“Happy birthday, my twin!” Eve said to her in a joking way because they were often told that they looked alike.

“Happy birthday!” Sam went on and hugged her. “I love you.”

“Happy birthday!” Hyunsik smiled at her.

“Awww!” [Y/N] gushed. “Thank you guys!”

“Oh, by the way.” Andrew gave her a photograph of Sungjae with his signature on it.

[Y/N] took it from him and she was ecstatic to see the picture.

“You guys just didn’t.” She peered at everyone. “Did you really go all the trouble?” To USA? Just to let him sign this?”

“Eh, worth it.” Hyunsik shrugged.

“Also, here.” Changsub gave [Y/N] a small box.

“What is it?” She asked.

“Open it.” He smiled and she did.

Waiting inside the box was a brand new phone.

“You didn’t!” [Y/N] exclaimed in shock.

“I did!” Changsub said, spreading out his arms for a hug. “Happy birthday!”

“Thank you!” [Y/N] hugged him and some of them cooed.

Ring! Ring!

“Oh, look!” Hyunsik spoke up. “Someone’s calling you.”

[Y/N] and Changsub broke the hug and she looked at the caller ID, it was an unknown number.

“Hello?” She asked.

“Hey, jagi.” Came Sungjae’s voice.

“Jagi!” [Y/N] said excitedly. “How are you?”

“We’re good.” Sungjae said. “Here, Peniel has something to say.”

“Hey, [Y/N]!” Peniel said happily. “Happy birthday!”

“Thanks, Peniel.” [Y/N] smiled.

“Don’t be sad on your birthday, okay?” He said. “Then again, we’re not as far as you think you are.”

“Yeah,” [Y/N] agreed. “Cause you’re always in my heart.”

“That’s right, jagi.” Sungjae said because Peniel passed back the phone to him.

“When are you coming back?” [Y/N] asked.

“Soon.” Sungjae smiled and Peniel snuck up behind her. “You won’t even notice that I’m already by your side.”

Peniel placed his hands on [Y/N]’s eyes, engulfing her sight in darkness.

“Who is this?” She asked after a little squeak of surprise.

“Guess whoo?” Peniel whispered in her ear with a big smile.

“Sungjae?” [Y/N] guessed.

“Nope.”

“Nicky?” She asked.

“Wow, I grew tall.” Nicky mused and they all laughed.

“Okay, this is your last try.” Peniel said.

“What?!” [Y/N] exclaimed. “I didn’t know there were only three tries!”

“Well, you do now!” He laughed.

“Ummm. Eunkwang?” She asked.

“Sorry, I’m right beside my own girl.” Eunkwang said as he held Sam’s hand.

Peniel took away his hands from [Y/N]’s eyes and he spread his arms.

“Surprise! Happy birthday!” He said happily.

[Y/N] was surprised and she laughed.

“What are you doing here? I thought you’re in USA with Sungjae!” She said. “Did you leave him there with foreigners?”

“Yeah, I’m that evil.” Peniel said with a mischievous smirk before he acted out an evil laugh.

Everyone laughed along.

Then suddenly, someone hugged [Y/N] from behind and lifted her before she was swung around.

She screamed for a while, demanding that she was to be set down while the others laughed.

When she felt that she was back on the ground, she turned behind her to yell at whoever did that to her and she was face to face with no other than Sungjae.

Her eyes held surprise but she wasn’t fazed by him.

“Why’d you do that?” She playfully hit him and laughed.

“Surprise!” Sungjae stooped down and smiled at her. “Happy birthday, jagi.”

“So the whole USA thing was a lie?” [Y/N] asked.

“Uh, yeah. Sorry about that.” Sungjae rubbed the back of his neck.

“Next time you travel, you better bring me along.” She playfully suggested.

Sungjae smiled.

“No problem, jagi.”

And with that, the celebration started. There were a lot of food to eat, a lot of stories to tell and a lot of songs to sing.

All of these people gathering around for the sake of one person: [Y/N].

Happy birthday, [Y/N]!

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

The End

[p-artsypants]

320 State Street- (9) July 17, 2016

A03 | FF.net | Previous

Short chapter

—

“Thanks and have a nice day!”

The customer smiled as Hiccup handed him his change and receipt. He was a shy man, quiet and reserved. “Um, can I ask you a question?”

“Sure, shoot.”

“Well, the thing is…I’m sorry, this is a really weird…I shouldn’t really…” He stammered, his face turning red.

Hiccup smiled patiently.

“The manure that you guys sell here…”

“Yeah?”

“Is it safe for human consumption?”

Hiccup was always quick on the draw, and laughed at the joke. In response, the man only looked back in confusion, and seemed a bit offended.

“Uh, I don’t know.” He replied quickly, “but I wouldn’t recommend testing it out.”

The man nodded once and ducked out of the store, just as Astrid came in.

“Hey,” she greeted.

“Heeeyyyooooo what happened to your eye?!” His greeting turned into an exclamation.

“I got into a fight.” She answered simply, trying to hide the bruise behind her bangs.

“With who?”

There was an awkward silence as Astrid headed towards the back room.

“Was it Scott?”

She didn’t turn to look at him, but answered simply. “Yeah.”

By time she came back into the room, he was no longer behind the counter. Instead, she heard him throwing stuff around in the chaos of the store. She waited at the register, pensive.

A customer came, made a purchase, and then left. Then more silence…

Finally, he stormed up to the counter. “This—This is not okay!”

“Please calm down.”

“I can’t! My best friend is—you were—he—!!“

She smiled a soft smile. “Hiccup, it’s really okay. Everything is fine.”

“Obviously not if you have a black eye!” He gripped his hair frantically. “This is not okay! You need to leave him!”

She sighed harshly, and Hiccup shut up. “Hiccup, I know you don’t like Scott. But please…just leave it alone.”

“Okay, yeah I know, but still, like…can you not see how dangerous this is?”

“He’s not going to hit me again.”

“But how do you know?”

“Trust me. I know.”

“That really instills me with confidence…”

“Hiccup. Drop it.”

He looked away like he was the one who had been hit. “Sorry for being concerned.”

“I…I didn’t ask you to worry about me.”

“That’s the thing. It would be easier not to worry about you, but I can’t help it. I care a lot about you. And I hate what he does to you…but I’ll shut up about it now. Like you asked. Just…if you need anything…” He stuck his hands in his pockets. “The spare key to my house is in the garage. Middle cabinet behind my bike, it’s hidden behind a roll of duct tape on the wall.”

She shook her head, “Thanks, but I’m not going to need that…do you tell a lot of people where that key is?”

“My friends know. My dad is the chief of police and I have an attack panther. The only incident we had was Tuff breaking in and stealing some of my dad’s beer. Only because Meijer was out of Founder’s. Anyway, you never know what could happen. So…just in case.”

“Just in case.” She repeated.

It wasn’t much longer until the twins returned from their deliveries. “I’m telling you, in a fight, the King Kong would totally win!”

“The Hulk is smarter than King Kong! He would be able to strategize.” Tuff argued.

“Yeah, okay, but also King Kong is 50 bajillion times bigger. He could squish Hulk under his thumb.”

“Tell that to Ant Man.”

“What?”

“Exactly!” The twins both looked at Astrid and grimaced. “Dude, what happened to your face?”

“It looks like you tried to hammer in a fence post, but didn’t have a hammer.”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” She supplied.

Ruff picked up on it immediately, but unfortunately, Tuff did not. “It’s like two summers ago when Ruff and I were tubing on the lake, and we hit a rough patch and I accidentally kicked her in the face…my ankle hasn’t been the same since.”

“You have any plans for tonight?” Asked Ruff.

“Not really…” Shrugged Astrid.

“Want to go clubbing?”

“You mean to Czars?”

“Yeah! It’ll be fun! We can have a couple drinks, do some karaoke, have some drinks, flirt with guys and give them the wrong number…come on, it’ll be fun!”

“Ah man, I love Czars,” said Tuff, a nostalgic grin on his face. “You meet the best people there.”

“Like who?”

“Like Thor.”

Everyone, including Hiccup who was trying to work, stared at Tuff like he had grown a second head.

“There was a live action Marvel show over at the college last year…” He began. “I went because I got free tickets, and it was awesome. But the harnesses for the flying scenes were broken, so every time a character was supposed to fly off screen, he’d just stare into the lights, and then sprint backstage.” He cleared his throat, “anyway, after the show was over, I decided to go to Czars just to chill. And when I got there, low and behold, the actor who played Thor was there, in costume. I don’t think he was supposed to be wearing it out and about, but all I know was that we got slammed, and we walked down to the pier singing the Captain America theme song.” He looked to the ceiling, woefully. “Sometimes, I can still hear his angelic voice. I’ll wait for you forever Thor.”

“How much of that is true?” Astrid asked Ruff.

“I dunno.” She shrugged.

Astrid contemplated the idea, and looked over to Hiccup.

He was not having a part in this conversation, it seemed.

“Yeah, you know what? That sounds fun. I’ll go.”

“Great! And Hiccup will be our designated driver!”

“Oh no you don’t!” Hiccup stormed back over to the group. “I will not tote around a bunch of drunks at one in the morning! Call an Uber!”

—

It was one in the morning, and Hiccup was wide awake. Maybe he shouldn’t have turned them down. What if they hadn’t gotten an Uber? What if Tuff thought he was sober enough to drive? What if they got in an accident and died? What if, what if, what if…

He turned over in his bed and covered his head with his pillow in an attempt to stifle the negative thoughts.

His phone buzzed.

Hiccup nearly launched himself off the mattress to grab it. There was a single text from Tuff.

vry drink. come get.

Hiccup was scooting into his shoe before he could even tap out, “I’ll be right there, don’t go any where!”

Since it was one in the morning, traffic was nearly non-existent and Hiccup hurried downtown. Rain beat down on the road and created an unearthly haze around the streetlights.

Czars was still open and thriving with music and flashing lights. Outside, three blondes leaned against each other, waiting by the curb. Drenched. He should have brought towels.

“Someone call for a ride?” He asked as he drove up in his Dodge Camaro.

“Hiccup~!” Tuff sing-songed. “You’re an Uber now?”

“Did you not know you texted me?”

Tuff looked at his phone and then burst out laughing. “I have you in my phone as Uber! Cause you always come and get me when I’m drunk!”

Hiccup rolled his eyes.

“Thanks for coming, Hiccup.” Astrid said sincerely, sliding into the front seat.

“Glad to see not everyone is totally schlonkered.”

Ruff chuckled. “Don’t be fooled. Astrid is amazing at pretending to be sober. She’s the schlonkeredest of us all.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about, Ruff.” Astrid rolled her eyes. “I had one drink.”

“You had Stella’s Punch. 8 shots of tequila.”

“I’m fine!”

Ruff leaned over the console in an attempt to make eye contact with Hiccup. “She’s super drunk.”

“Not I’m not!”

“She’s super drunk.”

“Alright, alright!” Hiccup called. “What are we doing?”

“Me and Tuff are going to my apartment.” Explained Ruff.

“If it wouldn’t be too much trouble, could I just stay at your house?” Asked Astrid. “I really don’t want to go back to my apartment and face Elenor while I’m tipsy.”

“That’s fair.”

As Hiccup pulled away from the curb, he turned the radio up.

She grabs the yellow bottle

She likes the way it hits her lips

She gets to the bottom

It sends her on a trip so right

She might be goin' home with me tonight

“JAY T! MY BOI!!!” Tuff nearly screamed. The twins continued to scream along with the lyrics, although, unintelligibly.

She looks like a model

Except she's got a little more ass

Don't even bother

Unless you've got that thing she likes

I hope she's goin' home with me tonight

“Hiccup, I don’t know if I’ve ever told you this, but you have a nice car.” Spoke Astrid, crisply.

“Uh, I think you told me that. That night I picked you up after your car broke down. You screamed it actually.”

She laughed. “Well, it’s a way nicer car than I have.”

“I like it. And you’re fortunate to even have a car. Can you imagine walking to work?”

“I wouldn’t have a car if we just had a bus system around here.”

He shivered. “No, trust me. Buses are the worst. Your jeep is fine.”  

Those flashing lights come from everywhere

The way they hit her I just stop and stare

She's got me love stoned

Man I swear she's bad and she knows

I think that she knows

By time they got to Ruff’s apartment, the twins had both passed out in the back seat. It took some serious shaking and yelling to get them up, but they eventually got out of the car and hobbled into the house.

Doubtless, they passed out again on the floor.

She shuts the room down

The way she walks and causes a fuss

The baddest in town

She's flawless like some uncut ice

I hope she's goin' home with me tonight

The rest of the drive was fine and mostly uneventful. Astrid sat relaxed, a small smile on her face.

“You seem to be doing better.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

Hiccup had turned the radio off after the twins were dropped off. He was too tired for this stuff now. It was almost two in the morning.

“Is your dad going to be okay with me staying over?”

“Yeah, but he’s also not home. He’s pulling a late shift tonight.”

“Oh. Okay.”

Hiccup pulled into the garage and rolled his shoulders. Now that the anxiety of potentially dead friends because of his own laziness had worn off, he was exhausted. He yawned. “Do you need to take a shower or anything before going to bed?”

“No, I’m fine.” She mumbled. It seemed that she was tired too. She followed him into the house and quietly down the hall. The house was silent and dark and she had to feel her way by the walls.

They arrived at his room. “I’ll find you some comfy clothes to sleep in.”

“Thanks…” she slurred.

He turned to look at her, only to find her leaning against the doorframe with her eyes closed.  

“You should at least towel your hair dry.”

“Hmmm…” She replied. Standing straight, she headed to the bathroom.

Hiccup found an oversized t-shirt and some basketball shorts in the depths of his dresser.

“Alright, I found some pajamas.” He announced, coming into the bathroom.

Empty.

He peeked in the guest room.

Empty.

He peeked in his father’s room.

Empty.

Every bedroom was vacant. Every room was vacant.

In the living room, Hiccup consulted his pet. “Toothless, did you see Astrid?”

The panther lazily opened his eyes and leapt from his perch on the support beam. He stretched.

“I guess not…I wonder where she could have gone.”

He took another lap around the house, “Astrid! Astrid, where did you go?” He chuckled. “I know you’re here!”

Then he noticed that Toothless was sitting by the garage door. “What? Did she go outside?”

The cat stood and motioned with his head.

“She’s probably cleaning up the seats. She’d do that.”

But upon further inspection, the garage was empty as well. At least, at first glance. Toothless trotted over to a piece of cloth on the floor. Astrid’s shirt to be precise. Then he noticed the service door was open.

“Cmon, bud. She couldn’t have wandered too far.” Hiccup beckoned the panther with him out into the rain.

“Astrid!” He cried, but to no avail. It was raining harder now, and he could hear thunder in the distance. He hurried into a run, his eyes frantically searching the darkness. “Astrid! Where are you!? It’s not safe out here!” He called again.

Toothless had darted off into the storm too, hopefully catching her scent.

The dirt road was slick with mud, and he almost slipped more than once.

He heard Toothless roar to his left, and finally, in the glow of a neighbor’s landscape light, he spotted a girlish figure. “Astrid!”

She stopped, and turned to him slowly. Normally, he would have been embarrassed to see Astrid, of all people, in booty shorts in a bra, but he was so worried about her and the zombie look over her face.

“Astrid! Are you crazy? It’s the middle of the night in a thunderstorm! You’re only in your bra—and you’ve got no shoes! Cmon, let’s go back inside!” He took her hand.

Instantly, she started sobbing. “I’m sorry!”

“Oh hey…no…I was just worried.” He reached his arms out for her and she rushed to him, screaming and wailing all the while. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”

“Astrid, it’s okay!” He soothed. “Man, Ruff wasn’t kidding, you are drunk.”

“I’m so stupid!” She screamed, clawing at his shirt.

“You’re not stupid. A little crazy, but who can blame you?”

“This whole thing is a mistake!”

“I mean, going to a club is always kind of a mistake. The music is loud, people grind up next to you, it costs 8 dollars for a drink…”

“I should have never called him that night!”

Suddenly, Hiccup realized she was talking about something entirely different, and shut up.

“I hate what he’s done to me!” She buried her face in his shoulder, smearing her ruined eyeliner even more. “…my life is falling apart…”

“You still have people who care about you, Astrid.” He promised, rubbing her back. “Even if it gets hard, we’re here to help.”

“My life is falling apart!” She screamed it, her eyes screwing shut. “He hit me! Scott hit me! I can’t get away!”

“Yes you can!” He pleaded.

“If he goes it all goes! He’s the only thing that’s constant…”

Hiccup pulled away slightly and grabbed her shoulders. “Astrid, listen to me. You need to leave him. Screw this debt thing you’ve got going on. You can pay him back with out dating him. He’s destroying you. Get out of it!”

She only heaved a broken sob. “Don’t yell at me!”

“I’m not…I’m sorry.” He ran his hands down her arms in reassurance. “I don’t want to hurt you. I’d never do that.” Almost painfully, he reached out and cupped her cheek. “I will do whatever it takes to make you happy. So just tell me.”

Her shoulders heaved as she fought to breathe. “I don’t know! I can’t think! I can’t—“

Without any warning, Astrid flung her arms around him in a vise grip and planted a firm kiss on his lips.

Instinctually, he pulled away. “Astrid, you’re drunk!”

She shook her head, and kissed him again.

The thing about kissing Astrid was this: he knew it was wrong, and in this circumstance, is was really wrong. But it felt right. It felt like the only thing he could do to help. Her hungry lips clamored over his, drinking him in. Her soul cried out for solace within him, and he wanted to give it to her.

Hiccup was vaguely aware of lights next to him before he heard a police siren. He jumped away from Astrid, still holding her arms. He looked frantically over to his dad. Lipstick smeared all over his mouth.

“This isn’t what it looks like!”

From the intercom, Stoick’s voiced boomed, “this isn’t the Notebook, boy-o!”