#Candy Cane Tea

[readtheuniverse]

[chery1bery1]

Here’s a comparison of some of the Strawberry Shortcake characters over the years!

[sonoyin]

Merry Christmas you cutie babies ily <3

[lipstickstainedcup14]

"we can leave the christmas lights up untillll january..."

[highfire3]

unshackled by societal niceties

[theabode]

[lalexxiaart]

Peppermint Tea Earrings 🍵

[furbab]

I’m a slut for peppermint and I’m tired of hearing slander from the bubblegum bitches

[suenitos]

My tummy hurts :( I’m starting to relate to sapnap on such a deep spiritual level bc my tummy hurts all the time lately

anogie 🫂 aw im sorry to hear that i hope you feel better soon

[friday-tea]

2024 Tea Advent Calendar: Decaf Edition! 🍵🎁

Day Two: Decaf Peppermint Stick

[riverj289]

I'm falling apart but pictures make it hurt less

[moonstruckme]

emt marauders where they go away on a hokiday and reader gets sick but hides it so they can have fun?

cw: some phlegm talk? idk hardly a trigger but a little gross depending on your tolerance of all that

emt!marauders x fem!reader ♡ 1.4k words

“Ow,” Sirius whines. 

“Sorry,” says Remus, clearly being as gentle as he can in smoothing sun lotion onto Sirius’ pinkened shoulders. “It wouldn’t hurt if you’d reapplied earlier.” 

“No one else had to reapply,” he grumbles, then hisses as Remus moves to a new spot. 

“You’re extra special.” James simpers, kissing Sirius’ cheek. “You can always hang back in the room if it hurts too much, you know.” 

Sirius glares. “I’m not going to sit in the room by myself while you all play Baywatch and make out in the ocean.” 

“We don’t do that.” Remus frowns. 

“I’ll stay with you,” you offer. You hope your eagerness doesn’t sound as obvious to your boyfriends as it does to you.

Sirius softens some. “You don’t have to miss out for me, baby.” 

“I don’t mind.” 

“I’m not going to waste a day of holiday anyway,” he says decisively, just as Remus puts the cap back on the sun lotion. “Onward!” 

You try not to deflate, resigning yourself to spending the afternoon as you spent the morning and all of yesterday before that: camped out under an umbrella, using toilet paper stolen from your hotel room as tissues when the boys aren’t looking. 

“Can we stop for ice cream on the way?” you ask as you make your way out of the room. 

“Again?” James laughs. “Angel, at this rate you’re going to be going through sugar withdrawal on the flight home.” 

You shrug. “That place by the boardwalk is really good.” 

You wouldn’t actually know. Your taste buds have gone rather lackluster since the onset of your cold; you wouldn’t know much difference if you got strawberry or bubblegum or peppermint candy cane. It makes your sore throat feel much better for a few minutes, though. 

Ordinarily one of your boyfriends might push back against you eating sweets for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but because it’s a holiday you’re sitting on the sand finishing off a cone of pink something a short time later. Sirius has taken up residence by your legs, slowly covering them with sand to fulfill his vision of making you a mermaid tail. You’re trying not to wince as the sun worsens your headache. 

You want to enjoy your trip, you really do, but the beach is just too hot and too bright and too coarse when what you really long for is your bed and a cup of honeyed tea. No one drinks honeyed tea at the beach. You wouldn’t even know where to begin to look for some. 

“Do you think you ought to have scales?” Sirius asks. 

You hum, furrowing your brows like you’re paying attention. “I think so. Most mermaids do, right?” 

“Probably right.” Sirius leans forward, kissing you before you can stop him. “Brilliant girl.” 

You think you’re a horrible girlfriend. Even when he does sweet things like that, you want him gone badly. Before Sirius got sunburned and took shelter under the umbrella with you, it was him and James in the water all day long and Remus lying next to you but too absorbed in his book to notice you occasionally sneezing or blowing your nose. With Sirius here, you can feel the buildup in your sinuses like a dam ready to break. 

You know it would be easier to just tell your boyfriends you’re feeling under the weather. Easier for you, but not easier for them. They’d want to look after you, and they’d be giving up their own fun to do it. You won’t ruin their holiday because you’ve got the sniffles. 

“Hey, if you lay back I can give you a mermaid torso too.” 

You frown. “Don’t mermaids have human torsos?” 

“Yeah, but with a seashell bra.” 

Before you can come up with an excuse for why you don’t want to lie down and let Sirius cover you up to your neck in sand, James comes bounding over. He’s dripping wet dangerously near to Remus, who pulls his book closer with a reproachful look. 

“No one wants to come out in the water with me?” James asks. 

Sirius pouts at him. “You need a playmate, babe?” 

“Yeah, I do actually.” 

“Too bad. Get the sun to be nicer to me, and I’ll come out.”

“Why is that my job?” James looks to you, pleading. “Come on, lovie. You haven’t been in the water nearly this whole time. Do you really want to go home without having been in the ocean?” 

Guilt eats at you. “I’m okay,” you say, apology in your tone. “I’m having a good time here.” 

“Why don’t you go for a little while?” asks Remus. You hadn’t realized he was paying attention. “Just to say you did.” 

“Don’t make me carry you out there,” James teases. 

You try to smile before eating the last piece of your cone. “Okay,” you say, “just for a little while.” 

“Fine.” Sirius throws up his hands as though he’s lost a long and onerous argument. “If you’re going to leave me here with boring old Remus” —he drops a wink, though Remus only rolls his eyes— “I’ll come too.” 

James half drags you both to the water, you and Sirius grimacing at the sun for different reasons. The water isn’t terribly cold, but you shiver still, grateful when James pulls you close before starting to make his way out to a sandbar he found this morning.

Only, the sandbar seems to have gone away further than where he left it. James and Sirius don’t mind, laughing and splashing each other and trying to coax you into their games. You smile tersely, using all your energy to continue swimming. You’ve gone far enough out that the tips of your toes are barely skimming the sand, though when you turn around Remus and your umbrella really don’t appear so far away. 

It’s because you’ve turned to look that the wave takes you by surprise. 

You’re underwater in an instant, thrown head over heels and tumbling like a piece of litter caught in the tide. You choke on saltwater. It takes you what feels like forever to figure out which way is up, but then you push down on the sea floor, shoving yourself towards the surface. 

You emerge coughing. Sea water streaming from your nose and mouth, tears welling in your eyes. It stings. 

You hear the boys laughing, James’ warm hand landing between your shoulders. He rubs consolingly. 

“Aw, sorry, lovie. It happens. That really took you down, huh?” 

You try to laugh along with them, but it’s hard when saltwater seems to flow endlessly from your nose. You realize at the same time as James that it’s not all saltwater. 

“Whoa. Needed a purge, did you?”

“Sorry.” You wipe your nose on your arm, rinsing it off in the water. You feel disgusting and embarrassed. 

“No, don’t be.” James palms your face, smiling as he wipes the couple of tears that have escaped your eyes. “This is what saltwater does. It cleans out your nasal passages. It’s a good thing, getting all the muck out.” 

You’re about to respond with something equally positive when you sneeze violently. More snot comes out of your nose. 

“Shit, baby,” says Sirius. “You were really clogged up. You feeling sick or something?” 

You think that maybe it could be a joke, but your guilty expression gives you away. 

James blinks. “Really?” 

“I’m fine,” you say. You know it’s not very convincing when you’re trying and failing to stop the globs of mucus leaving your nostrils. 

“You’re sick.” Sirius sounds aghast. “For how long? Why didn’t you say?”

“A couple days,” you admit, “but it’s really not bad. I didn’t want to ruin everyone’s fun.” 

“Ruin everyone’s fun,” Sirius repeats, muttering. He pulls you into a hug, mindless of the snot getting on his shoulder. “You are the fun, baby.” 

You nearly snort. “Not like this.” 

“Did you ever think that maybe I like making you tea and bossing you around? Hm? Did it occur to you that that might be fun for me?” 

“I think it’s occurred to all of us that being bossy is fun for you, babe,” says James. His smile has a pitying edge as he begins to shepherd you both back towards the shore. “Come on, let’s go.” 

“Please don’t let my cold mess this up for you,” you plead.

Sirius gives you a stern look. “Shush.” 

“Angel, how could it?” James asks in a nicer tone. “We’ll still be together, won’t we?” 

[vanilladove]

⋆⁺₊❅⋆ christmas w/ the bsd men .ᐟ

⍋⋆*❅ pairing: various bsd men x gn!reader [dazai, atsushi, ayatsuji, ranpo, fukuzawa, kunikida, chuuya, akutagawa, oda, ango, nikolai, fyodor, sigma, shibusawa, jouno, tecchou]

⍋⋆*❅ genre: fluffy headcanons (some crack again hehe)

⍋⋆*❅ content warnings: none! also headcanons are focused more on cultural/winter festivity aspects of christmas, not the religious ones (except for mentions in fyodor's part)

⋆˙ ☃︎ — 𝐀𝐑𝐌𝐄𝐃 𝐃𝐄𝐓𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐀𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐘

⁺⋆*❅ dazai osamu

you both decide to go out and explore the city!

purposely stops under every mistletoe around town to makeout with you (he somehow knows where all of them are...)

you go bar hopping to try different holiday drinks like spiked eggnog, cranberry mimosas, and whiskey sours

after you both get super drunk, he takes you out to the town square and twirls you around so you're both dancing under the fresh snow and moonlight

you make christmas cards for everyone with custom stamps and bake christmas cookies to gift (he sets aside the ugly cards + burnt cookies to give to mori/the port mafia)

⁺⋆*❅ atsushi nakajima

something cute to heal your inner child

he takes you sledding, and you scream the whole time from how fast you both go

atsushi tries to help all the kids at the bottom of the hill who wipe out (awwww)

you don't tell him, but his nose gets super red from the cold and you think it's really cute

you get hot chocolate on the way back and spend the night talking by the fireplace (he got you both matching pjs)

⁺⋆*❅ ayatsuji yukito

christmas = the perfect opportunity to dress you up, either as a slavic doll or mr./mrs. claus

escorted by security and a sniper ofc, you both go to the mall and shop around (mostly so he can buy more clothes and accessories for you)

you both get some eggnog and take photobooth pictures at the mall

before he gives you your presents back at home, he pulls you into his lap and makes you tell him if you've been naughty or nice like he's santa lol

does the pocky thing with you but uses a candy cane o///o

gifts you all the shopping bags full of clothes he bought for you at the mall

⁺⋆*❅ ranpo edogawa

ofc it's all about sweets so you build gingerbread houses

ranpo can't build one so he ends up eating his and all of the candy you bought

you both make more sweets from scratch (ranpo probably quits halfway through bc he burnt the gingerbread cookies), so it's just you lol

you decorate christmas cookies and make candy cane hot cocoa and eggnog

after voicing your concerns about having too many sweets and baked goods, ranpo assures you that they'll be added to his snack collection/vault and there's no need to share them with everyone else

⁺⋆*❅ fukuzawa yukichi

doesn't like to celebrate much--he originally wanted to go to a cat cafe, but it was closed bc of the holiday :(

he planned on having a cozy christmas dinner with you and some other members of the doa instead at the office (definitely not bc he also still has work to finish)

somehow, ranpo convices the both of you to dress up as mr. & mrs. claus and you have a whole photoshoot at the office

you end the night at a secluded onsen with some warm tea 😌

⁺⋆*❅ kunikida doppo

basically the karen/soccer mom of christmas. he has an itenerary planned out and you're sticking to it.

you start by unwrapping presents by the tree⎯he gets you something you've had your eye on for a while, since he knows you wouldn't buy it with your own money (so he bought it for you)

i can't explain it but he def has the perfect ugly sweater that he only pulls out and wears on christmas

you then go to do something cute outside, deliver presents to the other doa members (he gives dazai bandages + coal...)

probably the type to refuse to go into their houses/apartments bc he doesn't want to waste too much time (he lowk caves in tho)

at the end of the day, you both visit a pretty christmas lights show

⋆˙ ☃︎ — 𝐏𝐎𝐑𝐓 𝐌𝐀𝐅𝐈𝐀

⁺⋆*❅ chuuya nakahara

chuuya is extra so he goes all out with decorations. he fills the house with poinsettias and a huge christmas tree (he has to use gravity to put all the ornaments on it lol)

you make a special mulled wine together

he takes you out a nice fancy dinner (ofc he bought you a beautiful red suit/dress to go along)

sings for you by the fireplace hehe

the tree is full of gifts when you get home (don't ask him how much he spent, just be appreciative that chuuya's your lover 🤫)

⁺⋆*❅ akutagawa ryunosuke

lowk hates the cold but wants to make u happy so he goes out with you to a christmas market

you both get a matching black scarf and glove set

u go to a curios and antiques store (one of his fav places!) and stop to get some hot tea

akutagawa is constantly blushing bc of ur cuteness, and when u kiss him under a mistletoe, he turns beet red but insists it's just the cold

periodically hugs you "for warmth" and definitely not bc he gets jealous of other people looking at you

when you get back home, you both take a warm bath and cuddle by the fire, and he gifts you a special antique item he secretly bought from the store ♡

⁺⋆*❅ oda sakunosuke

christmas dinner with the kiddos

gets everyone matching ugly sweaters and you both fill the kids' stockings while they make snow angels outside

you go to the mall to take the kids to meet and take pictures with santa

you all bake and decorate gingerbread houses and christmas cookies together

his present for you is a wedding ring, and the kids are beyond excited to have you as their other parent

you all fall asleep watching a christmas movie

⁺⋆*❅ ango sakaguchi

he was forced to take work off bc of the holiday, but he's relieved that he gets to spend more time with you

he takes you to a fancy christmas ball that's being thrown by some government officials

he gets a little tipsy and can't stop complimenting how nice you look in your dress/suit, and how grateful he is to have you as his partner

when you finally dance together, you swear it's the most lively you've seen him look⎯he has that glow in his eyes ^u^

firm believer that he gets super clingy when he hasn't seen you in a while, so during dinner he pulls you into his lap to eat and always has a hand on you

when you both finally go home after a long night out, he gives you a present, which is a nice watch/bracelet

⋆˙ ☃︎ — 𝐃𝐄𝐂𝐀𝐘 𝐎𝐅 𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐋𝐒

⁺⋆*❅ fyodor dostoevsky

obviously takes you to church first

listens to christmas carols from the church choir (he's lowk an old man so he likes them)

you then go to a ballet show to watch the nutcracker

he makes traditional russian dishes for dinner like meat pies, vegetable fillings, and fish, and drink some sbiten (a warm honey + spice drink), which he prefers over hot cocoa

you end the night reading books by the fireplace as he strokes your hair

gifts you your favorite books and some warm winter clothes/coats

⁺⋆*❅ nikolai gogol

christmas is one of his fav holidays after halloween

after decorating the house and the tree, you both go to a christmas wonderland attraction

other visitors/children keep asking if he's santa bc of his white hair, and you giggle innocently as you take pictures of him

makes Sviat Vechir: A 12-dish meal with kolach, cabbage rolls, and other traditional ukrainian dishes for dinner

gifts u a white sweater he knit himself (awww)

⁺⋆*❅ sigma

it's one of his first christmases, so he lets you plan what to do

you make him some cinnamon rolls + eggnog for breakfast

you both bake and decorate some christmas cookies⎯he's surprisingly good at making intricate patterns and designs, and his cookies are so pretty you almost don't want to eat them

you go skiing⎯sigma definitely struggles at first but he gets the hang of it pretty fast

after you get cold, you both go back inside to get some hot cocos and eat some fondue

you both watch the sunset on the ski lift, which is the most beautiful view against the snow-covered mountains (he secretly can't talk his eyes off you tho)

at home, you unbox presents!

he gifts you plane tickets to a nice getaway vacation ( ๑ ˃̵ᴗ˂̵)و ♡

⁺⋆*❅ shibusawa tatsuhiko

(honorary doa girlie lol)

not particularly interested in the holidays, but he likes flashy things so i think he'd enjoy seeing light shows/big christmas displays

however, he likes to spoil you, so he gets you an advent calendar with an assortment of nice clothes, fancy jewelry, and more

watches as you unbox each day's gift and relishes in your cute reactions

lets you paint his nails red, white, and/or green as you sit in his lap

decorates the christmas tree with gems instead of ornaments since he has so many laying around

⋆˙ ☃︎ — 𝐇𝐔𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐃𝐎𝐆𝐒

⁺⋆*❅ jouno saigiku

another winter cabin getaway bc he hates how crowded and noisy the city gets during this time of year

you go iceskating on the lake together

he can hear the position of you feet and corrects your form so you don't slip and fall on the ice

even if you're good at iceskaing, he keep his arms linked with yours the whole time or holds onto your hand

at one point, he feels like showing off and spins you around and throws you up into the air like a figure skater, and he giggles maniacally while you scream

makes snow angels with you

once you get back to the cabin, you both roast some s'mores over the fireplace and enjoy a warm cup of hot cocoa

you snuggle by the fire and fall asleep in eachother's arms

⁺⋆*❅ tecchou suehiro

he takes you to go hunting + ice fishing

you probably get freaked out by the thought of shooting the animals, so you both end up just doing a nature walk in the woods instead lol

while looking for the perfect tree, you find a clearing and build a buff snowman (tecchou insists he's more muscular tho)

tecchou chops the tree you decide on and hauls it back home himself bc he's that strong lol

he decorates the tree while you cook some of the fish he caught for dinner

you also make some berry tarts and jam cookies with some berries you foraged on the walk (.◜◡◝)

[fluff-cember]

Fluffcember in July 2025

Alright, the poll was faily clear: A lot of people want to do a summer Fluffcember. Which obviously is also fun! Remember, this idea came about due to people from the Southern Hemisphere noting, that all "december" challenges tend to focus on winter-related topics, while in the Southern Hemisphere it was summer.

So, to be fair, now another somewhat wintery challenge in July, when the Southern Hemisphere people have their own winter.

From December onwards, I will make sure the challenges will be two-sided. Summer-side and Winter-side!

Bonus challenge: Put your characters in the Southern Hemisphere for once. (Okay, this one is probably easier for the Dragon Age fandom xD)

Rules and Lists are underneath the cut!

Rules:

You can participate with fanfics, original writing, poetry, graphics, or art of any sort.

You do not need to write/create for every day. If you do only want to do every second day that is fine.

Please post your entries on the days or later though - not before.

If you participate with fics: please note that this account will only repost stuff that is written out. No "this is an idea of a fic one could write to this prompt". For prose writing the min length is 100 words (so the lenght of a drabble).

If you want this account to reblog post the entry under #fluffcemberinjuly25 and please also tag this account @fluff-cember.

Please make sure your post also note the fandom that your entry is for!

The fic should be somewhat soft or fluffy. It can however absolutely be fluff in a NSFW way. There is no issue with that.

The one thing I cannot allow because it is a bit iffy in regards to my homecountry's laws: RPS. Anything with real people who were alive in the last 100 years I cannot admit. If they are dead for longe than that it is fine.

There will be a collection for this opened in June.

The List

Day 01: Fire

Day 02: Candy

Day 03: Warm Hugs

Day 04: Charity

Day 05: Snow Angels

Day 06: The Southern Cross

Day 07: Kittens

Day 08: Snowman

Day 09: Scented Candles

Day 10: Long Nights

Day 11: Snowflakes

Day 12: Pillow Fort

Day 13: Glitter

Day 14: Five Course Meal

Day 15: Snow on the Beach

Day 16: Aurora

Day 17: Evergreen

Day 18: Rainy Winter

Day 19: Cozy Blankets

Day 20: Found Family

Day 21: Cabin

Day 22: Sauna visits

Day 23: Tea

Day 24: Cold Feet

Day 25: Ice Crystals

Day 26: Snowed-In

Day 27: Fireworks

Day 28: Family Gathering

Day 29: Gift Giving

Day 30: Hibernation

Day 31: Coming Home

Extra: Candy Cane, Hot Chocolate, Gift Wrapper, Well-Kept Secret, Full Moon

[rosiesdiner]

"it is rather nice," she agreed. Some years back, the brand tried changing all their boxes to minimalist white packaging with artistic drawings of the main ingredients on the front. The backlash was wild and they conceded to their original designs. "And it does help me sleep. But most chamomile teas are relaxing. And lavender."

"I tried taking melatonin a few years back, but I guess I'm sort of allergic?" She pulled out another mug from under the counter and prepared a cup of tea too. After dunking the tea bag she explained. "It gave me night terrors. Not just nightmares. Tobias..." she tripped a little on the name, unaccustomed to saying it, "-he was our doctor here- he's the one who told me there's a difference. Nightmares you can shake off. They're still scary, but you can distance yourself. Night terrors just... stay with you." It had been tumultous, thinking about such horrid dreams so often. "I kept crying and thinking about them, really terrible situations. I was so glad we figured out what it was. Be careful of melatonin I guess. Best to stick to chamomile."

she liked watching the mugs steam, the endless chatter of simple conversation that hadn't required much of her own input. there was something simple to it, almost as though she was back at the family kitchen table. she could sit and sit, without needing to get a word in between the chatter of her older siblings. filled with details of happy family, normal bits of detail that could be left in. it had almost lulled her, before the conversation turned back to her.

she blinked up from her cup, trying summon words back into existence. "yes." it was all in the name, who didn't like the ability to simply drop off with a mug of tea. the comfort of predictability where it could be accounted for. "it's um— well, it's got a nice logo."

[pomefioredove]

hiiii can i have a sugar cookie, #19, with whipped cream and candy cane tyy 💖

hello! can i have a sugar cookie, #19, with whipped cream and sprinkles please? ❤❤❤

made an executive decision to combine these prompts because the ideas I had for them were too similar, so you both get a lil something extra on your cookies :P

order #19, sugar with whipped cream, sprinkles, candy cane

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ held (in contempt of the court)

summary: a mysterious meeting with a former friend tropes: royalty au, hurt/comfort, childhood friends to lovers characters: riddle additional info: romantic, gender neutral reader, wonderlandish AU

"But I didn't mean to! If I had known to whom the tart belonged, I never would have-"

CLANG!

Two heart-tipped spears clash mere inches from your chest, keeping you from getting any closer to the stand.

"Rules are rules are rules," says the four of diamonds. "Those who don't follow the rules... are fools."

The three of clubs sighs. "You don't have to do the rhyme every time,"

The two take to bickering between themselves, perfectly ignoring you.

"Pardon me," you pipe up. "But I really must be going. You see, I'm trying to find my way home-"

"Your way?" say the club of threes.

"All ways are the Queen's way," the four of diamonds agrees.

"SILENCE IN THE COURT!"

You, the card soldiers, and the jury of curious characters, starts and sways like the sea in a storm of tears.

At the stand, in the judge's seat, swinging a scepter as if it were a gavel, or, more fittingly, a toy, is a child.

You squint. No, not a child, but not a queen, either. A boy.

A boy who looks an awful lot like...

No. No, that couldn't be. You haven't seen Riddle Rosehearts since you were small. He was your playmate, your partner-in-no-crime, as he would have it, until his mother mysteriously pulled him out of primary school for private study.

He was strict, stern, demanding and demeaning, and he was your friend. An awfully sweet friend. But not a queen.

Riddle? A royal? That would be... impossible.

But, then, you had become quite acquainted with the impossible.

He unfurls a scroll longer than the courtroom itself. It spills over the stand and rolls through the room, past your shoes, and into the hall.

"The defendant is found guilty on charges of trespassing, thievery, unauthorized tart handling, and wearing black shoes on a Tuesday..."

"Wha- guilty?!" you cry. "I haven't even been tried!"

He peers over the scroll. "Is that right?"

The card soldiers shrug.

"That can't be-" the Queen quiets, squints, and then smiles. "Oh, it's you."

"Me? But I- you-"

"No backtalk!" he demands. "You are acquitted. GUARDS!"

The four of diamonds and three of clubs reluctantly release you, withdrawing their spears and rolling their eyes. The jury flattens. You suppose everyone had been expecting more of a show.

The boy, Riddle, slips from his seat and descends the stand, each step echoing off the walls of the courtroom and giving him the false impression of grandness. He stops in front of you. He's much less impressive at this height.

You look to the card soldiers for help, but they've gone back to bickering about rhymes.

"You will join me for tea," he decides, commanding the attention of the cabinet with a swing of his scepter.

"But I-"

"AND THAT'S FINAL!"

Out the courtly doors, down the hall, here and there and hither and thither. This castle is like a maze, you think, but Riddle traverses the corridors with ease. He's (apparently) not even paying attention to where you're walking, since he's been going on about the rules for far too long now. You pass a garden with a hedgehog pen, a flamingo pond, and too many tea rooms.

He's smiling as he speaks. "You've just missed croquet, I'm afraid, but tomorrow-"

"-Tomorrow? But I-"

"And tea. Of course," he says, swinging the scepter into his palm. "Oh, I haven't had a guest in so long. It's so difficult to find good company these days..."

He sighs, and then swings right into a study, leaving you scrambling to keep pace. Had that door been there before?

"Make yourself comfortable," he demands, leaving no room for argument. "Sit."

And he means next to him. Not in the tall, lumpy armchair at the desk, but on a plush red bench by the books. You sit, and he hums.

"Now, whatever brings you here?" he asks, pouring himself a cup of tea from a pot that certainly wasn't there a second ago. And before you could answer, "It's so nice to have a guest, you know. I've near gone mad trying to command my mother's subjects."

You perk up. "Ah, your mother is the Queen?"

"Yes, that's right," he says, his expression souring. "But she's been away on business, and so I've been ruling in her absence."

For once, something here makes sense. You nod. "And you've been surrounded by the old crones in the court," Perhaps that's why he was so eager to see someone else. Unless he was just happy to see you.

But that would be... impossible.

"They don't make for pleasant company," he mumbles, pouring out his tea. Instead of splashing on the carpet, it spills upwards and splatters on the ceiling. You stare.

"...Don't bother, I'll see to that," he waves off your wide-eyed concern. "I would never dream of making a mess, but..."

"...But?"

"...I've been rather clumsy lately," is all he says.

You glance at the ceiling, and the tea is gone. Strange. "I suppose I have, too,"

He smiles and occupies his hands with straightening your collar. Was he really so desperate for the company of a peer? Apparently, he was. You suppose you can sympathize. You've been all on your own in this awful place of labyrinths for days now.

Not a peer, then. A friend.

Riddle then reaches for the teacup-shaped table and takes a red rose, the same color as his hair, from the pot that had once been filled with tea, and he tucks it into your tie. A mark of himself on your persons. An unspoken promise not to let go. Not again.

More than a friend, perhaps.

But that would be... well, possible. Very possible, you supposed.

You could fall asleep here. You haven't been tired until just now, all the exhaustion in the world weighing on your muddled mind.

You slump onto his side, and the boy, the prince who's supposed to be queen, Riddle, allows you. His hand hesitates, and then holds your shoulder, taking you in some sort of awkward embrace. Your head rests on his shoulder, and his on yours.

Strange. All of this is terribly, terribly strange.

But perhaps you can accept this strangeness of his, as he's accepted yours.