#the Brother's favourite thing is a boiled egg...

[photozoi]

The Birthday Assemblage

Mr the Mung Bean questions why his egg does not have a candle.

"It is not your Egg Day, Bean!" The Brother sets the facts straight.

"I told him to go, it is my Egg Day and I want his Egg."

The Imp appeals to a higher court, after all, there are more eggs in the chickens in the yard. More than enough to go around.

the Imp and the Brother, celebrating 9 years of life, and nephew Mr the Mung Bean (who got his egg)- Silken Windhounds

[twoidiotwriters1]

Chapter 25. Hydrangeas

Summary: Benedict is in Genovia, and he'll be here for at least half a month. Masterlist Previous Chapter // Next Chapter Words: 1,455 Listen to: 'I Need You' -by Morrissey & Marshall A/N: I can't write a Benedict love story without a masquerade -Danny

Dear Diary,

Hyacinth Bridgerton has sent me a letter.

"Morning!" Rowan enters looking fresh and eager. "Who wants to join us to get our disguises for the ball?"

Marie makes a face. "Are we having a masquerade again? When will you grow out of dressing up like twats?"

"Quand tu arrêtes de coucher avec les gardes," Rowan whispers with a wicked gleam in his eyes. Marie tries to stab his arm with a fork, but you snatch the object out of her hand, walking past her in a sort of daze, visibly shaken. 

"Y/N?" Richard looks at you with concern.

"I'm not feeling well," you claim, face flushing as you speak. "But you know what I'll be anyway, can you get it for me?"

"Sure," Rowan mellows, sensing your stress. "Same colour and everything?"

"Yes," you say feebly.

"Y/N?" Marie frowns. "What's wrong?"

"I think," you say, carefully leaving the fork in front of you, "Marie's right. It's time we change things for this year's masquerade ball."

You look at her, incapable of telling her what's happening while your brothers are here. Sure, you confided in your father because you know he can keep a secret, but your brothers? God, they have slippery minds, often preoccupied with experiments, and forget they're not supposed to say things if you approach them while focused on their work.

Benedict is in Genovia, and he'll be here for at least half a month. You're in love with him, you know it now with certainty, life got back its colour the moment you read the news. Hyacinth told you everything, Eloise's plans and Benedict's willingness to accompany her as chaperone, and he'll never look for you, no matter what, so you must find him.

Eloise wakes him at dawn, banging on his door, already dressed and vibrating with excitement. She can barely eat while waiting for Benedict, who is slowly chewing his eggs and toast. He barely slept last night; the conversation kept replaying in his head, and it harassed him until exhaustion made him fall asleep on a chair that was too small for his frame.

They decide to walk to the college. Eloise wants to see the people around them more closely, and Benedict needs to use his body, or the energy coming to a boiling point inside him will make him explode. He should've sent you letters, he should've said yes when you told him he could come to you, but alas, pride! His bloody need to hide behind this careless persona.

When they arrive at Genovia's college, two headmasters show up, a man and a woman, who seem used to foreign ladies coming to see if they're a right fit for the school. They take Eloise out of Benedict's hands, though they ask if he's interested in enrolling as well, but he declines, claiming he is well off. 

Well? All he wants to do is turn around and run straight to London, forget he ever tried... what was he trying, coming here without even sending a letter to announce his arrival? The nerve to think she'd be waiting as if she were some maiden and not the Queen-to-be of a country!

He walks alone and distracted, barely paying attention to the curious glances he gets from the students he runs into. They can tell he's a foreigner, and they whisper it with a tiny smile. "Bollitore." Which in Genovian humour can be roughly translated to 'Kettle-head'.

His eyes catch sight of an abandoned easel as he passes by an empty classroom, much like a bird-watcher can spot their favourite type of winged creature from afar. He stops at the doorway, noticing this place has been forsaken: the sheets covering the desk and bookshelves are dusty and have cobwebs, and the tools are all going to waste, along with the canvases.

"Genovia prides itself in its scientific advancements and humanitarian laws," says a male voice over his shoulder, "but the arts have been neglected."

Benedict turns to see the headmaster standing a few meters away from him, hands behind his back. He must be around fifty, with greyish hair that still holds some black locks and a rich beard that's shiny and gives him a softer look rather than making him scarier. Benedict turns to face him properly, and he must be looking quite aghast because the man laughs as he continues.

"I know, I know... How is a country so rich in everything lacking such a big part of what makes us human? Well, we can't become prosperous if most of our folk are locked up drawing pretty things, can we? The youth here have everything they can dream of, so naturally, they don't need to imagine or escape life, which is often the purpose of art."

Benedict considers this. "I knew there had to be a downside to living here..."

"We're the home of geniuses, not poets," the headmaster smiles ruefully. "Though they are sorely missed. People come here to live, not to write or paint about it."

Benedict itches to speak in depth with this man, but then, if he's here, that must mean the tour is over. "My sister—"

"She's waiting with the Headmistress, so I came to fetch you. Your sister mentioned you're an artist, and at once I knew I'd find you here—this room calls to the likes of you."

His heart is pounding like before, though now it's for a completely different reason. He doesn't know what it means, though. "I should go back to my sister. Thank you for your time."

"No problem, we receive visitors almost every week. Ladies like your sister, and the occasional gifted boy."

"Do you think she..." Benedict pauses, unsure of how to ask.

"We pride ourselves on our diverse alumni," the headmaster nods. "We've had many Eloise Bridgertons come and go, all happy to be here."

Benedict smiles, excited for his sister's prospects. Once they reach her and the Headmistress, he bows. "Thank you again."

Eloise loops her arm through his and immediately begins to tell him all about the school and the curriculum, practically skipping as they go, cheeks flared with the barely contained excitement within her. "This place is home," she states with certitude. 

The statement resonates in Benedict, and it takes a lot of effort not to look towards the distant castle as they walk away.

"An open invitation?" Your mother stares at you, dumbfounded.

"What is a few hundred extra mouths to feed?" You debate. "The ball is half a week away, that's enough time to make adjustments. The twins agreed to it."

"And these adjustments, I assume, are going to be supervised by you?" Your mother raises a brow. "Because your brothers don't have the ability to focus long enough to take care of it, and I certainly can't use my time on this."

"I can help her," your dad offers, but your mother glares at him.

"She's the one who thinks balls are easy. Let her."

You blush with embarrassment and irritation. You know balls aren't easy, but your decision was impulsive, and even though you hate that your mother thinks you ignorant on this matter, you prefer it over admitting that you're doing this in hopes that it'll bring Benedict. He loves a good party.

"I will take care of it," you say with all the dignity you can muster. "I thought it'd be a nice gesture to our people, it's thanks to them that we have our reputation as a forward-thinking country. Let's be forward then, and be one with our common folk."

King Nicholas smiles proudly, which only makes you feel worse. "That's a Queen in the making, Mia. Don't you remember when you gave away your state to make it a home for orphaned children?"

Your mother softens, realising she might be getting a bit caught up in her role as monarch. "Yes... Yes, I remember," she looks at you with a bit more empathy. "Mary can help you. Paula too, of course. But your father and I can't stop our royal duties for the sake of a masquerade ball."

"You don't have to, Your Highness," you say soberly. "You can trust me." She gestures at you with a weak hand gesture, and you curtsy briefly before leaving the throne room, rubbing your clenched jaw once you're out of sight.

The Queen rubs her brow. "Y/N, Y/N..."

King Nicholas chuckles and leans down, reaching for her hand and kissing it. "Isn't she something?"

"You humour her too much," she declares.

"Can't help it. She reminds me of her mother," Nicholas winks. "It'll be alright, Mia. She's a grown woman, and she wants to do something nice for our subjects. She wants to live up to your legacy, can't you see?"

Mia squeezes his hand. "Ever since she came back from London, she's been so..."

Nicholas looks at the doorway through which you vanished, and the corners of his lips turn up in a gentle smile. "It wasn't London."

Next Chapter –>

Taglist.

@cokamarie24 @babypink224221 @Booknerdlife @djsporks @lght-roastcoffee @marii-ren @mythical-goth @omgsuperstarg @creepytoes88 @sarahskywalker-amidala @23victoria @shadowolf993 @squirreljoe @syxtiramishuui @stargirl-mayaa @dolllol2405 @aemondslove @inspiringwaves @optimisticsandwichgladiator @alloof @sydney-m @sirivusblack @mimibookish @marvelouslyme96 @imaginexred @black-kitten-imagines @bands-tv-movies-is-me @justanotherkpopstanlol @Nala @whatasadlittlelife @blkmystery @spiderbunny-13 @sky0401 @chxosunbound

[vanillablankcanvas]

Favorite food? and least favorite food

John Dory - Troll equivalent of beef jerky. Bug jerky? Yeah let's go with that. 😏 Snail jerky, cricket jerky, worm jerky! And steak! 🥩 Hates mushrooms! 🍄 There was a time when it was all he could find when foraging! Yes it kept him alive, but it was disgusting!

Bruce - absolutely LOATHES eggs🥚At one point when he was younger, to keep up his physique he would eat only boiled eggs for days at a time. He quickly got sick of them! His favourite food now is fried chicken wings 🍗. Yaaaasss!

Clay - Clay likes sandwiches. 🥪 They are efficient! They can be custom made to whatever he is craving or whatever is he has available. They are quick and easy to make and he can pack one to eat later. At the Hole n Fun, sunflower seeds were a staple. They could make them into flour, then into bread. Clay hates sea food. Can't stand the smell of it! He tolerates it the best he can when visiting Bruce, but if he can avoid it, he will! 🐟

Floyd - he likes a specific dish that's made by the Hard Rock Trolls. It's a very spicy pizza-like meal from a restaurant called 'Upper Crust'. 🍕 He has tried to recreate it but it never quite tastes the same. Cannot stand the taste of olives. 🫒 He will sit there and pick every last one of them them out of a dish before he can eat it.

Branch - If you ask him he will say his favourite food is he will say potatoes. 🥔 They can become many different meals, he can store heaps of them and regrow them from cuttings. Buuuuut secretly his favourite food is his Grandma's Fluffleberry Cake. 🍰 He likes sugar like any other Troll but he can't tolerate OVERLY sugary things e.g. candy floss, meringue. Too much of it reminds him off the taste of Ring Pops and it makes him sick.

Fun fact - All of the brothers like the taste of coriander/cilantro. To Poppy and Viva it tastes like soap. 🫧

[sweetmilkbread]

I was tagged by @bobakick to share a favourite piece of my writing! thanks for the tag and I really like reading your except :) I don't normally re-read my fics, so this was fun!

I've put my writing below the cut <3

This fic was super fun to write! The Bear really lends itself to getting descriptive about food lol. I wrote the descriptions when I was hungry in the summer sun.

He made bread rolls from scratch. When he added yeast, the dough breathed and moved when he poked it. Carmy kneaded, shaped and scored it lovingly, hands covered in flour. When the rolls were baked, he could tap on the crust to hear the hollowed sound it made, satisfied. He beat eggs until they swirled like golden suns, poured them over a hot pan until they formed a fluffy omelette. He added in all sorts of things, bright red tomatoes, a handful of basil and melting pink prosciutto. Carmy baked salmon with dill and lemon. He prepared mussels in their black chipped shells, those clots of muscle fragrant and salty even if the wine they were cooked in was cheap. He boiled sugar and berries to make a pot of dizzyingly sweet strawberry jam, poured espresso over ice cream just to watch it melt, spread chocolate frosting smooth over thin layers of sponge cake and candied clementine peels into bright twists of orange.

Also I have to stick this train of thought from a different The Bear fic in because I'm fond of it. Context is the fic is a pre canon character study (I hit Carmy with the Transgender Beam Ray) and this section is build up where the added context makes the canon line weigh differently.

On Sydney's first day, when she asked him why he was working at The Beef, Carmy didn't know what to answer. How could he hope to explain it all? How could he explain Mikey to her? There was so much to say. Mikey was so funny, so warm and so fucking stupid. He could walk into a room and light the place up. His eyes always had that spark in them, his mouth always quirked at the corner like he was about to laugh. He made the best spaghetti in the world, the only thing he could play on the bass guitar was Seven Nation Army, and at thirteen years old he did a killer Oscar the Grouch impression. The first time Carmy tried to do his own T shot, his hands had shook so much that he had to get Mikey to do it for him. There was no one else he trusted with something so personal. Growing up, Mikey had been his biggest supporter, his role model, his hero. How could he tell Sydney that there was no one else like Mikey? And that there never would be again? Carmy fucking hated his brother sometimes. He loved him too, more than anything in the world. And of course, to explain Mikey, the very reason Carmy was here, meant explaining everything else: his Mom, his fucked up stomach, Richie's birthday noogies and Fak's Mario Kart wins, food, fear, his Dad, the barbecue incident, memories, dreams and his transition. It meant diving into his little family unit, his siblings and Richie, and admitting that it drifted apart too soon. Carmy wasn't ready to do that. It would be too much, to unearth all that pain. All that joy. All that time lost in the past, in a place where he can never return to. So to answer Sydney's question of what he was doing there in The Beef, Carmy had just shrugged and replied, "I'm making sandwiches."

My last bit is from a succession fic that I wrote after the s4 bitey episode aired (tw for gore/blood/mild sexual content). Shiv is allowed to literally bite and eat people in this one. Good for her. <3

Like a fine perfume, there are different notes that mix together. Sweet is always the base. The middle tang of copper floods in afterwards. The top note changes; sometimes it is warm beer, other times cigarette smoke, strawberries, pulpy plasma or even salt. Every man tastes different. Leaning over from her side of the bed, Shiv sinks her teeth into the base of Tom's thumb. "Relax," she tells him. They haven't done this in a while. She feels the muscles in his hand twitch as sweet, crimson blood fills her mouth. She licks and the crude, wet noise fills their room. Beside her, Tom moans. The sound of his free hand shuffling to unbuckle his belt and shift into his pants. It took him some time but Tom has gotten used to this now. He enjoys it. He has come to love this part of her.Shiv pulls back and licks her lips. She looks at her husband and smiles wide, a flash of white exposed beneath the red on her teeth.

[shingekicornwrites]

One of the things that hooked me right away about bad miracle is how fleshed out and real the family drama was even from chapter one. So, 8, 12, 15, 20 for any of the extended Umino family that strikes your fancy?

What is the origin of their personality? And let's be honest - how much of it is projecting?

Seeing as how there's so few Uminos on the right side of the drama, let's just go down the list:

Granny: Granny Umino comes directly from the cultural concept of the Yamato Nadeshiko. The ideal woman. The ultimate matriarch of a family, who is soft and feminine but holds a spine of steel that shines when she steps up to support her husbands authority. Though Umino Miori is a farm woman, now that the Uminos aren't a wealthy name anymore, that hasn't stopped her from being the same kind of firm presence. She runs that family with a gentle hand but not one that's to be trifled with. I knew the sanest member of the Umino family would need a strong will to have led it for so many years, and would be a figure the other women in the family would look up to.

Yuzuki: If Granny is a classical woman and Amane is the ideal wife, then Yuzuki is a modern woman. She may meet Japanese standards for being a tomboy, but not because she's masculine--the bar is just extremely low and she gave up trying to match Amane's energy years ago in favor of chasing her own hobbies and interests. Yuzuki is a bit of a foil to her sister in that she's far more grounded and understanding of other people's feelings, which makes the current grieving process so much worse all around. Yuzuki is meant to be one of the more mature observers of the family, one that I knew would be needed to ground everyone and say the sensible thing without shame or hesitation.

Aoba: Aoba I didn't actually think too hard on. He's a bit like an older brother, a bit like every aimless young adult, but most of all he's defined by being a College Student and how that boils down to him being broke and stressed all the time, and unable to help. And ultimately that just makes his devotion to doing the right thing even firmer. I crafted him to be a bit of an everyman, but one who still wants to help regardless of how little he can actually do. I did however give him my childhood desire to be a marine biologist because I loved sharks, a dream ultimately crushed because science class eventually became Math 2 and frankly I'm convinced at this point I have dyscalculia

Erika: We haven't met Erika yet. But Erika is...fury. Incarnate. Erika is the result of Amane's musical tutelage and you can tell they share blood because their anger is rolling beneath their skin, and cannot be stopped. But Erika is also an immense well of love. And that's all I can say for now.

Do you have a playlist for the character? What songs do you associate with them and why?

I absolutely do not have it in me to make playlists for any of these characters, picking out chapter songs is hard enough when a bitch has auditory processing problems

Have you ever made a moodboard for them?

I have to admit something. I am 29. I have no idea how people make those.

Bonus question: share any additional thoughts, art, favourite scenes, anything you've been waiting for a chance to ramble about

fun fact from the Umino family albums: when Yuzuki had her shark twins and her family came to visit her in the hospital, Aoba commented that he was surprised the birth went as well as it did since shark births can get pretty messy.

Not because of birthing complications, but because a lot of sharks eat their siblings in the womb! Just straight up chomping! The alternative is that the babies could have come out in a shark egg, which a lot of people call mermaids purses since the empty ones wash up on beaches and look like empty sacks and wow one of those coming out of a human would actually be pretty fascinating--

Amane politely walked him out so they could get some drinks from the vending machines while Yuzuki laid in bed with a look of utter horror

[vilandel]

Silver Cats & Black Roses

Chapter 12 – One Step Forward

A/N Sibling fluff with Charlotte and Luck, romantic comfort fluff with Nozel and Vanessa, especially after the encounter last chapter... Now, this is something for Fluffmay 💜💙 Also, one of Vanessas last lines in this chapter is one of my favorites.

Ao3 link

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“That was a lot of fun! Let’s fight again, captain Charlotte!”

Charlotte smiled, exhausted but also happy. For those two months she came to visit the Black Bulls on a regular basis, she came to know a lot about her little brother… Especially about his particular passion to fight and to win. He really seemed to love it and so, Charlotte decided she grant him a duel most of the time she came.

The Black Bulls had been a bit surprised that the captain of the Blue Roses visited often over the last two months. But none of them was against it, even though each show it in their own way.

Finral and Gordon were actually very happy to see her, given how much they supported her with her feelings for Yami. Gordon even had added a doll looking like her in his collection. As creepy those dolls looked, the gesture was actually touching.

Nacht Faust wasn’t there often, but the two times Charlotte saw the vice-captain of the Black Bulls, he was more or less welcoming her and asking why she started to hang out with an idiot like Yami. Since she was aware that Nacht didn’t hate really Yami, she just shrugged.

Charlotte bonded with Henry a lot. She related to him so much given his curse and she followed his progress with support and interest. Grey was also one she liked to spend time with. She came to help that poor girl with her shyness and sometimes invited her to the Blue Rose squad to meet Puli, after she learned about her still hidden crush for Gauche Adlai.

Speaking of Gauche, his worshipping attitude towards his little sister irritated her at first, but she quickly came to learn more about him, realizing that there was more to him and behind his grumpy attitude, he was really caring for his fellow Black Bulls… especially Grey.

The very first question Charmy Pappitson asked her was about her favourite foods and the answer was enough for the little chef to welcome Charlotte with open arms and to spoil her with meals every visit. One day, Charlotte revealed to her that her favourite kind of breakfast was simply a cup of rose tea with a drop of milk and now sugar, a honey croissant and a soft boiled egg with herbal salt. Charmy took it at heart and every time Charlotte came in the morning, the first thing she got entering the Black Bulls Hideout was this specific breakfast.

Asta and Magna somehow didn’t forgot her confession from Spade and how they interpreted, so they were always really happy to see that she wanted to become even better friends with their captain. Charlotte thought that maybe one day, she needed to tell them the truth but given how she still was struggling to confess to Yami, that won’t be for soon.

Zora and Nero weren’t the most excited about the new regular visitor she was, but definitely not against. With them, Charlotte could just sit down and talk. Zora even mentioned once that she was one of the rare people he could have a serious adult talk in this hideout, so Charlotte took it as a compliment. After a while, she realized that Zora was talking a lot about Nebra Silva, not every time but often enough to be worth mentioning. Mostly to complain, but his complaints sounded more like her complaints towards Yami than real ones. Sometimes, Charlotte if wondered there was something going on between those two and if lady Nebra might be in a similar situation like herself…

Speaking of Silvas, Noelle try to act all royalty, but she was very welcoming and kind in her own special way. She complained a lot about the stupidity of most of her squadmates, which was funny to listen too, especially Asta. Honestly, it was very obvious that Noelle was in love with him, but it seems that she wasn’t ready to admit it. Given how long it took Charlotte before to accept her feelings and even longer to admit it to her squad, she understood the young princess more than anyone. Even more so that Asta seemed to be just as dense as Yami, although kinder.

At first, Charlotte had somehow feared to interact with Vanessa Enoteca, due to her stupid jealousy. But to her surprise, the witch didn’t seemed to mind at all. On the contrary, she was the most welcoming out of the Bulls. Charlotte finally convinced herself that Vanessa wasn’t at all a rival for Yamis heart, she just had a flirty attitude. And it seemed she had a secret admirer. At least, according to the other Black Bulls. Vanessa apparently got a very detailed sewing box from that person, covered with expensive printed linen and she loved using it, Charlotte saw her with that box almost every visit, looking extremely delighted every time she looked at it.

Charlotte wondered who that mysterious secret admirer might be…

But honestly, the Black Bull she was the most interested in besides Yami was of course Luck Voltia, her younger brother.

Today was the day. Today, she finally got a strong enough grip on herself to finally tell him about their familiar bond. She was still very nervous about it, though. Almost as much as her feelings for Yami.

Speaking of him, Charlotte honestly would have preferred that he would be here as well for the revelation, but today he went away, apparently for squad matters with the Purple Orcas. This was weird coming from Yami and Charlotte wondered what the real deal was. Maybe she would ask him later.

On the other hand, maybe it was also a good thing that she would tell Luck the truth alone.

“So, can we fight again? Can we fight?”

“Um, not yet, Luck. First there is… something I need to tell you.”

“Is it about fighting?”

“No it’s not,” Charlotte replied, mildly irritated but mostly amused. Wasn’t that a normal feeling to have with younger siblings? She actually liked that feeling.

But it didn’t change that telling the truth was still a difficult task.

Luck just looked at her, smiling and excited. It was what he usually looked like, which was a bit concerning. Charlotte wondered how Grace raised him as a single mother, after lord Fidel Roselei chased her away in arrogant selfishness.

“Luck… when you were a little boy, did your mother ever told you anything about who your father was?”

Okay, this wasn’t really direct, but Charlotte didn’t want to blurt it out just like that either.

“Hm, don’t know. She just said that he was a scumbag and that she hated nobles because of him. She was really happy when I beat up a noble and said that I should continue to fight and win. Don’t know who my dad was and well, mom also said that we don’t need him.”

“Did you ever wondered who he was?”

“Sometimes, maybe? Many other kids had dads, after all. But we were happy with just mom and me, so it wasn’t really a problem. He surely was mean to mom, given the rare times she talked about him.”

“Oh, he was surely more than mean to your mother.”

“Yep. How did you find this out?”

“Luck… It might shock you, I honestly have no idea how we both will deal with this, but you deserve to know. Your father… is also my father.”

There was a sudden silence, which made Charlotte really nervous. Until…

“But isn’t your dad married to your mom?”

Charlotte couldn’t help but chuckle. “He is, but that didn’t stop him to… well, let me start from the beginning.”

So, Charlotte told Luck everything she knew. Her father’s affair with his mother, how he chased her away, Charlottes own guilt for what he did and her compassion, how Yami helped her with this investigation… She didn’t leave anything out.

It really felt so good to finally let go of that secret to the person who deserved to know it the most. If only she could find the courage to tell Yami that she loved him since a decade.

Luck just looked at her, even after she ended blurting out everything. He looked thoughtful, at least, in his very unique kind of way. Even though she was nervous about his reaction, she couldn’t ignore again the similarities in their traits. Jonathan had been right. Both have the eye colour from their father and the same shade of blonde… Charlotte also observed that her and Luck always rubbed their nose slightly when they had no idea what to say. Or that they preferred to eat any kinds of dessert creams with a soup spoon.

“So… those that mean that you’re my big sister?”

Really? With everything she told him, that was the first thing he concluded? It surprised Charlotte but it also made her happy as she saw how excited and happy Luck looked at that perspective.

As if she still needed some confirmation, her little brother jumped in her arms, holding her with both arms and legs, like a little monkey.

“That’s so cool! I have another sister! Vanessa, Noelle, Charmy, Grey and Nero are already like my sisters, but now I have another one! One for me alone! And she is so strong and can fight me, that’s so cool! Best big sister ever!”

Charlotte blushed at his excitement, but also laughed in relief. She was really happy that Luck reacted that way. For a while, she had feared he would be angry, especially at their father.

She had been wrong to fear that, Luck seemed more happy to call her his big sister than angry at their father.

“How long did you know that we’re siblings?”

“Since two months. I’m sorry I didn’t told you anything before, I was nervous. What my father and by that, my house did to your mother, I thought you might be angry about it. And the Black Bulls are already like your family, I was afraid the revelation would somehow take you away from them and I refused to do something like this. But you also deserved the truth, so… I wanted to visit and get to know you better before that.”

“But you’re not taking me away, obviously. I gained a new sister, who is strong and can fight with me! What can be cooler than that?”

Luck hugged her again and Charlotte couldn’t help but hug him back. It was so relieving and more than nice to be a sister. She might still had no idea what they should do next with this knowledge, but she refused to miss the happiness to have a little brother.

“Shall I beat up our dad? He not only hurt my mom, but also you in a way.”

“What? Um, as much as I wouldn’t be against it, I don’t think it will be a good idea.”

“Okay. Even for your mom? She was hurt by him as well.”

“She never had any idea that my father cheated on her, so I don’t know if she was hurt. If anything, we shouldn’t tell her yet or my father. This won’t be happy news for them.”

Not to mention that since two months, Charlotte didn’t talked much anymore with her mother, just some small talk and never when they were alone. She didn’t even tried to avoid her mother, it was more like the other way around.

But lady Orchidea didn’t seem upset at her daughter for her outburst. Every time she looked at Charlotte, her eyes were more… sad and guilty.

Charlotte had no idea what this could mean.

“But we can tell the Black Bulls and also the Blue Roses if you want, Luck.”

“Yeah! I wanna show off my big sister, especially to Magna! Oh, speaking of Magna… Can I tell you a secret?”

“Sure.”

“Don’t tell him, but he is the best one to fight with for me and even though he’s fun to make fun of, I don’t like when his sad or left behind. Me fighting with him is actually a way to cheer him up. But don’t tell him, Magna is also very stupid and proud, he doesn’t like admit he needs to be cheered up from time to time.”

“I won’t tell anything. Um… since you shared a secret, I might as well share mine. It is a bit difficult to say, but I dwelt on it for way too long. Just promise me to not blurt it out to anyone yet.”

“Promised!”

“I’m… I’m in love with your captain. I loved him for ten years now and I’m still hopelessly in love with Yami.”

There it was. For the second time in her life, she blurted her biggest secret out and it still wasn’t to the person who was the most concerned. Wasn’t she a bit a lost cause for romance?

Luck didn’t say anything at first, before he actually exclaimed, “I knew that Magna was wrong!”

“Huh?”

“He believed that what you said to captain Yami in Spade was because you wanted to be friends with him and this was also way you visited more often. But I told you that Magna is an idiot, so I was certain he was wrong. I just had no idea what it could be, though. I was never in love, so I never thought about that. But that’s cool too, my big sister and my captain together!”

“Yeah, about that… I never got the courage to tell him…” “That’s okay. Noelle never admitted she’s in love with Asta either and she even refused to admit it to herself. But wait… ten years and captain never realized you’re in love with him, despite all his Ki reading?”

“Well… yes.”

“Captain’s dumb. Shall I fight him to make him realize?”

“I don’t think that’ll be the solution. But if you want to help me, Gordon, Finral and the whole Blue Rose squad are on board to help me with him. Do you want to join?”

“Hell yeah!”

As the two siblings walked back to the Black Bulls hideout, Charlotte couldn’t help but feel like part of her burden had finally been taken from her. Not the whole package, but it felt already so much lighter.

Maybe one day she would be able to finally find the courage to finally properly confess to Yami.

♣♣♣

Vanessa really hoped that Acier Silva cheated on her husband with brother or a cousin of him and got her four children with her lover instead. Because there was no way that this jerk could be the father of Nozel and Noelle. Heck, even Nebra and Solid deserved better!

Thank goodness she listened to her instincts and actually didn’t really left after Nozel told her that it was okay. Because it clearly wasn’t okay. She was so horribly worried for Nozel, knowing he was alone with this horrible man was so sickening she just couldn’t leave. Hiding behind a tree nearby, she heard everything…

Vanessa had no words to described how she felt listening to this talk between Nozel and his father. That man always seemed so confident in such a sickening way. Even when Nozel made out pretty good points and did a really good job to defend himself in her books, his father didn’t seemed impress. As if he was talking to a weak, rebellious child and not a full grown adult, a captain of a royal squad, a head of one of the three royal houses.

As she tighten the grip she had on her broom stick while she followed Nozel, Vanessa tried to sort the things out from the talk between father and son.

The detail of an arranged marriage hurt, probably more than it should. She realized her love for Nozel since two months and this was one of the rare times she actually regretted to not acted upon it already. All the royal duties and complication were kinda frightening, so she had been afraid to be a burden for Nozel if she confessed her love to him. Or worse, if he would stop spending time with her. Their meetings, almost dates maybe, meant so much to her, she grow afraid to lose them.

The shadow of an arranged marriage always lingered, but Vanessa had ignore it. After all, Nozel obviously wasn’t seriously looking for a spouse. But when that jerk of a father mentioned it, it felt suddenly very more real and horrible. Nozel only considered an arranged marriage because he wanted his siblings to be free from it. His father was the opposite, ready to sacrifice his children into a loveless marriage, just for his goal.

Vanessa had no idea what that goal could be, but she knew that Nozel, Noelle, Nebra and Solid would suffer if it becomes a reality.

She also couldn’t help but wonder if that man had a particular hatred towards Nozel specifically. That speech how he should have been an only child if it weren’t for his magic affinity, calling Nozel a mama’s boy and stupid, that deal…

It gave Vanessa some relief that Nozel didn’t gave in to his father’s threats and even more that he took her defence so fiercely. But when he left, he still looked so terribly defeated. That sight broke her heart, she had no other choice than to follow him.

He looked so lonely, so guilty even though it wasn’t his fault… His cold mask gained more and more cracks the more she knew him and now, it was barely being hold together. The mask might fall apart, but Nozel looked so broken as well. Alone and broken… And there was a mention of Nozel being cursed and Vanessa didn’t know if it was just metaphorical. Or worse, real.

He needed someone to hold him back together, to not let him alone, to be there for him… And Vanessa wanted to be this person. Loving him made her care for him with the same strength she cared about every Black Bull, to a point she started to believe that Rouge would work on him as well.

Vanessa wanted to be here for Nozel. And she would be.

It wasn’t long until Nozel reached the Silva palace, Vanessa pretty close behind him. He hadn’t noticed her presence yet, probably torturing himself with thoughts about his horrible father.

Vanessa thought that Nozel would have landed in the plaza shared by all three palaces and then went to his own. It would have been difficult to make her presence acknowledged – she still hadn’t thought that part through. But Nozel didn’t stop. His mercury eagle flew towards the Silva palace, passing by towers and wings, passing over some small courtyards and a flower garden, until he stopped right over a balcony.

The eagle disappeared as Nozel landed on a balcony, searching something in his pocket before opening a french window. Was this the balcony to his bedroom? Seemed like Noelle wasn’t the only one to enter her bedroom by the window, especially when she was feeling down, Nozel did it as well. Was this maybe a Silva thing? Or was it just something Noelle and Nozel shared as siblings?

Nozel closed behind him and Vanessa decided to land as well. It was near sunset, but the sun was still shining brightly on the white walls of the palace, giving a slight golden touch.

Normally, Vanessa would have find it really beautiful, but she wasn’t here for that. Nozel was important right now, more important than anything else.

Looking through the window, what she saw first was white and big room. And mostly… an almost empty room. Just a bed, a desk with a chair, two bookshelves, a single armchair at another window… that was it.

She would have expected more furniture in a royal bedroom, but this… this was so bare. It kinda reminded her of her cage, back in the Forest.

Gosh, how lonely had Nozel been and for how long?

Speaking of the eagle, Nozel was sitting on the floor, the back to his bed, kneels pulled to his chest, arms around his leg, his face hidden.

Vanessas heart broke again at this sight. He looked so different from the stern captain of the Silver Eagles, from the man she came to know and love since their talk in Spade.

Now he looked, somehow more fragile and younger.

Like a fourteen year old boy who just lost his mother…

Vanessa fought back her tears and getting all her courage together, knocked against the glass.

The sound made Nozel terribly flinch and as he looked up, his eyes were a mix of shock, relief, sadness, disbelief and guilt. No cold mask. Didn’t he wear it when he was alone in his bedroom?

Nozel seemed frozen, just looking at her. For a moment, Vanessa feared she might have overstepped something by coming here, even though she wanted to be here for him, to comfort him.

But then, Nozel quickly got up, walked towards the french window and opening it, even stepping aside to let her in like a gentleman. Vanessa didn’t asked twice as she came in, leaving her broom and her shopping bags on Nozels bedroom floor.

It should felt so random or awkward, coming into his room like that, with her bags, through the balcony, as if they were secret lovers in a dark romance novel. But despite the unusual situation, it just felt… right.

“What are you doing here?”

His voice was full of disbelief, but Nozel didn’t seem upset or angry. Just trying to understand and sad and exhausted.

“I… wanted to see you. I was worried you’re not fine.”

Vanessa hated how hesitant she sounded. She was so certain of what she wanted, which was to look after him. But acting upon it with Nozel was somehow a bit more easier said than done. And she didn’t have any plan.

“I’m-“

“And don’t tell me you’re fine, because we both know that you’re not.”

Nozel closed his mouth again, already giving up to argue. Vanessa took a closer look at him. She would have expected him to have cried, to have tears in his eyes or at least wet cheeks. But there was nothing. His eyes were watery, but there weren’t any tears. Was he trying to hold them back`

“Nozel, you shouldn’t hold back your tears. It’s more difficult to hold them back than to let them flow, trust me.”

Nozel just shook his head, not looking at her. Gosh, just as stubborn as Noelle, was this a family thing?

“Please, it’s not good to hold them back, trust me. It’s not a weakness… I won’t judge you for crying, if it’s that what you fear.”

This time, he looked at her, clearly surprised by her words. Was he really afraid she would somehow think less of him if he cried? Who was the idiot who told him that sadness was a weakness? 

At least, he didn’t hold his tears back anymore, letting them flow on his cheeks. He didn’t cry, those were silent tears.

Vanessa took a deep breath. He was surely still wondering what she was doing here and she owed him the truth.

“Nozel, I… When you told me it was alright to leave, I was still so worried about you. So, I didn’t really flew away. I was hiding nearby and… I heard everything your father said to you.”

Nozel looked away again and Vanessa feared for a moment that she had chosen the wrong words to tell him this.

“You must think I’m pathetic.”

“What? No, of course not! On the contrary, I even think you managed well. You did your best to defend yourself and to fight his arguments, you didn’t even gave in to his deal. Seriously, it should be forbidden to even try such underhanded deals instead of helping the Magic Knights with their investigations, Asta would be so angry about it. And… I loved how you took my defence. It really means a lot to me. So, why would I even consider you pathetic?”

“You saw him, right? He wasn’t impressed by anything I’ve said. Nothing of it counts for him. In his eyes, I’m probably nothing better than a rebellious teenager who will come to reason eventually.”

“But you’re not, you’re a grown adult and he should realize that.”

“You don’t know him, Vanessa. My father is a master in manipulation. He is very well-loved within nobility and royalty. His words are like guidelines to follow, the king listen to his councils, nobles consider him a perfect royal, despite the fact that he only married into royalty and that he is a widow today. He wasn’t there for my mother’s funeral and made everyone believing that it was because of the time he needed to travel back to Clover. He often has diplomatic missions and enjoys to manipulate foreign countries so much he’s away sometimes for years. When he came back, there was a party for his welcome and everyone was so joyful, no one would have thought he should be grieving at least a bit for his wife. I tried to make him understand this, but… I’ve already made a few mistakes since I became Head of House not so long ago and he… My father made it worse by subtly showing how incompetent I was already and he used it to give a better image of himself. It worked, king Augustus and lord Achilles Vermillion never forget to put shade on the Silvas and practically worshipping my father. He plays everyone like fiddle and he doesn’t even need to lie for that. No, he uses the truth and he even managed to make it sound in a way that arranges him.”

“But you aren’t blinded by him like the rest of the nobles. He can’t manipulate you because you see through his game. He only sees the truth he wants and can’t see who you really are. You are strong,” Vanessa protested. Hopefully, Nozel could see and understand this. It was already kinda scary that someone didn’t use lies but the truth to play others like a fiddle.

“I might be Head of House and I have the reputation of a perfect royal. And yes, I know I have authority over my squad. But that’s all. It doesn’t look like it, but my word doesn’t count for much within noble circles. I’ve already made many mistakes in their eyes and… a lot of them are even true, like the whole situation with Noelle. They might have different reasons to believe it, but it is still true. I was only fifteen when I took over the house after my mother died and I was grieving, but I should have been stronger from the start. I don’t deserve-“

“Stop it right there,” Vanessa said softly but firmly. She already knew were this would lead. Gosh, she already suspected Nozel had serious guilt issues and she wasn’t even surprised that they run so deep. Also, he was probably alone for so long, his room was already screaming loneliness. He never got help, that was sure. Maybe he wouldn’t have accepted help as well?

“I know you made mistakes, especially with Noelle and I wouldn’t lie that I resented you at first. But I didn’t know you back then. Today, Noelle has forgiven you and I forgiven you. I came to know you pretty well during those last months, Nozel. The real you. I think that I understand you better today. You have a good heart and probably you have it for a long time already. The fact alone that you only considered an arranged marriage so that your siblings could choose who they want already proves it. Also, you told me that you not only send Noelle to the Black Bulls because we didn’t had any dangerous missions back then, but also because we wouldn’t care about her bad reputation. Despite how it looked like and despite how you handled it, your intentions were mostly to keep your sister save.”

Nozel looked like he wanted to protest, but Vanessa didn’t let him. He needed to listen to this, he needed to hear another image he gave than the ones nobles knew and criticized.

“Don’t you dare think that you doesn’t deserve any kindness or happiness. I certain that you are a victim too and your pain matters as well. You went through a lot and even worse, you were alone, with no one there to help.”

“It wasn’t like I accepted any help. My father would have never, the other two royal heads would have never. A head of house was always supposed to be perfect from the start and I wasn’t.”

“Yeah, I guessed that much. You just lost your mother, Nozel, you were still grieving. They should be ashamed to not let you grieve properly. As for a perfect Head of House… They were already adults when they took over the Kiras and the Vermillions, I bet.”

“That’s true… Actually, my Vermillion aunt certainly wanted to help me. She was a Silva married into the Vermillions, but she never forgot her roots. Aunt Océane probably did tried to reach out, but lord Achilles must have hold her back every time she tried. The head of house Vermillion hates the Silvas to almost unhealthy degrees and it’s one of his hobbies to throw shades on it.”

“Geez, that sounds messed up.”

“It is.”

“Well, that’s somehow also proves my point. You were a victim too, Nozel, and given the circumstances, you did everything you could. I think it takes a lot of inner strength to deal with everything you had to face. You were just strong alone for way too long. You are a good man despite your mistakes and you try so much to make amends. You… Actually, no one is harsher on you than yourself.”

Nozel didn’t answered immediately. Tears were still flowing from his eyes, but less than before. When he finally spoke again, his voice was full of guilt and sadness. “How do you make it? Noelle, you…”

“How we make what?”

“Forgiving me. You made it sound so easy, but… I can’t. Every time I look in the mirror, I remember what I did and I hate myself. Unable to forgive the man I see in the reflection. I… I can’t do this alone.”

“You don’t need to forgive yourself alone. I will help you. All I want is for you to be happy.”

She took his hand and was relieved when he didn’t back away. He was so lonely, so sad behind his cold mask and still so caring and goodhearted. It was such a shame that he hadn’t been able to show his kind heart for so long.

Since his mother died. Vanessa wondered if deep down, young teenager Nozel was still there and if he never stopped crying since Acier Silva passed away.

Nozel deserved to be happy. And for that, she needed to admit something.

“Nozel… Do you remember when you saw me upset for the first time?”

“How can I forget. You’re always so full of joy and optimism, seeing you like this… I’ll admit that it pained me.”

“I’m sorry for that. I’m also sorry I haven’t told you why I was upset.”

“It’s alright. Some things are difficult to put in words. And you needed comfort first.”

“And you still think that you’re a horrible man? Come on, it shows how good of a heart you have by being this understanding. But to tell you the truth… I was upset because I overheard three young nobles, real jerks, gossiping about us. And what they said hurt…”

Vanessa finally told him everything what happened that day. Two months ago… She still hasn’t forgotten. Probably because she discovered a detail of Nozels world that wasn’t beautiful at all. It was even horrible.

She didn’t look Nozel in the eyes while she was telling him all that. But the way he firmly hold her hand was proof enough how shocked and upset he was by what he was hearing.

When Vanessa finally stopped, all he could say was, “Why didn’t you told me back then?”

“I’m not sure. You… already had such a burden, I didn’t want you to have worries because of what some jerks told about us. You were doing better, being happier, I was afraid to destroy that. Also… I was afraid that if you learned you would stop spending time with me, not because you might be ashamed, but more to protect me from the rumours somehow and I didn’t want to risk that. The… the time we are spending together… it means so much to me, more than you imagined. I was afraid to lose it… quite stupid, I know.”

“It’s not stupid.”

His hand was now holding hers very tight. As if he was afraid to let her go or that if she would start crying if he would. The other was now touching her cheeks, cleaning some tears away. Vanessa hadn’t realized that she had tears in her eyes and that they started flowing on her cheeks.

She looked up, only to see Nozel staring directly at her, tears still flowing down his chiseled face. Why did he still think of himself as someone horrible when he was looking at her with so much compassion and care, with so much kindness?

No wonder actually Vanessa fell in love with Nozel. How could she not love a kind man?

Before both of them realized it, their faces came closer to each other. Slowly but surely, their lips met.

Vanessa had no idea how her first kiss with Nozel would be. She dreamt about it in so often and in such different ways, it became impossible to really know how it would be in reality.

Which didn’t matter. This first kiss right here was perfect, so much better than her fleeting dreams and fantasies.

His lips were so incredibly soft, maybe also a bit cold. Not freezing, more like a sunny day in winter, when it was close to the evening. It was also wet and a bit salty due to the tears, but Vanessa didn’t care.

Nozel kissed her back very softly, one could say even respectfully. Vanessa smiled against his lips. Some might find respect not exciting in love, but those were probably idiots most of the time. Nozel always had been respectful with her and she didn’t wanted him any other way.

But soon, Nozel started to get a bit bolder. He began to kiss her with more passion. His tongue brushed her lips, she opened her mouth, their tongues were now touching…

They both suddenly jumped apart, realizing a bit late what exactly they were doing. Both were breathing heavily. Vanessa tried to focus on what just happened. Okay, she knew exactly what just happened. But this wasn’t the point.

The point was how natural it felt, as if it was just meant to be. Never had it been like that before, never did Vanessa stopped thinking when she kissed one of her few previous partners. It had never been really pretty, not always bad, but never did it had this effect on her.

Until Nozel.

And despite the shock, she just couldn’t regret it.

But did he regret their kiss?

This was one of the most frightening thoughts Vanessa ever had. She stared at him and almost flinched when she saw Nozel staring back at her. He was shocked and heavily breathing. But there wasn’t any regret in his eyes. Something else instead, which Vanessa was a bit afraid to define.

The stared at each other, with the same tension from the last two months. Only that it wasn’t as comfortable as usual this time. Something seemed to scream within them. Something that might have screamed for as long as this tension existed, they just didn’t heard it. And even know, Vanessa couldn’t understand what was screamed.

Or was she afraid to understand?

Well, she still needed to say something before it became too unbearable and before she would give in to her fear and actually fear Nozels bedroom.

“Vanessa, I-“

“What did you mean with you being cursed?”

They both were still staring at each other, it was still a bit uncomfortable, but not as much as before. Vanessa took a deep breath before she asked again, “During the talk with your father, you said you were cursed. What did you mean with that?”

Nozel just looked at her, stunned, before he actually sighed, “It is something I haven’t told anyone yet. Not even Noelle. Even Dorothy who knew more isn’t well aware of it.”

He sat up straight, before slowly removing his typical Silva upper shirt. Then he managed to remove the golden choker and took off his undershirt.

What caught Vanessas eyes first was that despite not being buff, he was still not a bean-pole. Well, she already knew it, but it was nice to have it confirmed. He had well-defined muscles, not immediately eye-catching maybe but still wonderfully fine and hot.

Why did she focused on only buff men before when this existed?

But then, Nozel touched his neck and Vanessa forgot about her slight thirst to focus on a subtle scar he had on his neck. Her eyes widened.

“Nozel… what… How did you this happened to you?”

“You might already heard part of the story. When mother was fighting against Vanica, she had been cursed. Weakening her and killing her slowly. But when mother was cursed… I was affected too. If I ever told anyone about Megiculas involvement in my mother’s demise, I would die. Furthermore, if anyone would hear about it, they would be affected by the same curse. It would have spread like a disease. The only I could talk about it was my mother, because of her own curse.”

Vanessa had no idea what to say.

“It had let a mark on my neck. That’s why I added the golden choker to the Silva attire. My father saw it once. Of course I didn’t told him, I couldn’t even. But he isn’t stupid. My father understood very quickly I had been cursed. And in his eyes… that made me a failure.”

“What? But this isn’t-“

“Fair? I know. But fairness was never something he considered worth it when it wasn’t useful for him. He never tried to ask what happened and never considered it important. His own child had been cursed and still, not important because it wasn’t useful for his own goal. While he went on cocktails and soirees, refining his already excellent reputation, I was left at home, watching my mother slowly dying. At first I tried to search for a way to save my mother. But there wasn’t and it pained me so much my mother had to ask me to stop. So, for one year, I was unable to do anything but watching my mother weakening and dying. I felt like a failure, so useless-“

“You’re not a failure,” Vanessa whispered, holding his hands. What he told her just now… it explained so much about him, about how the Silvas are today, about many things concerning Noelle.

Somehow, Nozel had been in a cage. He still was a bit, with how he put his siblings before himself. Because he cared so much about all three of them.

He and she… They were very different personality wise. But in some ways, they were also similar.

Nozel sighed at her sentence, probably feeling too tired to protest. He just continued, “When Megicula was defeated for good, my curse was lifted. But… it didn’t made disappear anything I did. I can never forget them.”

“Of course none of it ever disappeared. It happened no matter what. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be free. Nozel, do you really think I would think badly of you after everything you just told me? Think again! Why would I beaten up an already terribly broken man?”

Vanessa hugged him tightly, her chin resting against his shoulder. She wanted to hug all of his pain away, all of his guilt, even though she knew his past would never disappear. But she would do anything to soothe his worries, to help him to forgive himself and finally move on.

Nozel slowly hugged her back. Gosh, wasn’t he used to compassion as well?

“Listen well to me, Nozel. You’re a victim too. You did everything you could. You deserve now that happy things happen to you.”

And I love you.

Vanessa wasn’t sure if she could confess already. Nozel was so down already, something like this might scare him away like a bird. Even birds in cage could fly away.

For a while, they just hold each other. She still didn’t hear him cry, but given how he was trembling, the tears just didn’t stop falling down his cheeks. The same applied to her. Her heart was bleeding for him.

Before she could even think about it, Vanessa slightly turned her head and pressed her lips against his neck. Right were the scar was, right were his curse mark used to be.

She felt Nozel flinched at the gesture and to be honest, she was still a bit surprised about how bold this was, with him and in this situation. But Vanessa didn’t care. She just wanted him to comfort him and even though she had no idea still on how to do it so it could help, at least she was trying everything she could.

Didn’t Finral said something like this once? When he explained why he wanted to comfort Langris on something?

Don’t focus on what you can’t do to comfort someone. Focus on what you can give in the moment.

Well, that was probably exactly what she was doing.

After a while, Vanessa felt Nozel finally relaxing a bit, holding her closer and even diving his face in the crook of her neck.

Now she was flinching slightly at the gesture, but didn’t let go of her hold. She didn’t wanted to think anymore, she refused to question anything right now. Just focusing on Nozel, on his warmth and his presence, on how his heart was beathing and her own. Just at the same rhythm somehow…

Slowly, their lips find their way to each other again. This kiss was even better than the first and felt just as natural.

Ending this kiss just lead to another one. And another one. And another one.

Vanessa ended up losing all notions of time as the kisses got more heated and passionate, really deep. She felt Nozel grabbing her hips firmly, holding her closer to him, and her own arms going around his neck, deepening the current kiss.

Vaguely, she felt falling backwards on the mattress but she couldn’t care less. Nozel only felt important to her right now.

Their lips weren’t only searching each other now, also trailing on their jaws and cheeks, on their necks and shoulders. But right when Nozel started trailing kisses on her collarbone, he stopped abruptly. Vanessa groaned at the loss of his lips and looked up to him, almost pouting.

The look in Nozels eyes was a mix of fear and determination, of deep tenderness and a thirst he seemed to hold back the best he could.

“Vanessa, if we continue now… I fear I won’t be able to stop. I… don’t want to if you don’t, I respect you too much for-“

Vanessa made him stop by cupping his face and she whispered firmly, “Respect me all you want, but don’t you dare stop.”

Nozel just looked at her, surprised and relieved, before he went for her lips again, pulling her into a deep kiss and even rolling over so that she was now on top of him.

They forgot the world around them, their different status, losing all notion of time and space, only knowing each other as they slowly get rid of their clothes.

Logically speaking, this embrace maybe happened too fast, too soon, too unorthodox to start a relationship. But Vanessa didn’t care right now, as it just felt so right when Nozel gently lied her back on the bed and when they became one soon after.

There was an urgency but neither Vanessa nor Nozel wanted to give in and rush it all. They took it very slow, focusing on each other, caresses just as slow as breezes, the kisses slow and deep, not only taking the pleasure, but also giving it to the other, making sure none of them were neglecting themselves.

Tonight, their souls came together, perfectly matching with each other…

[haleyyshottakes]

“The good old days''

A common saying but it is so true isn't it. The good old days when money mattered less than what was for dessert tonight. When nobody cared what brand of shoes you wore, only if they lit up when you stomped. When violence was something your parents and the child-lock on the TV protected you from. When orange was simply the second colour of the rainbow. When I  had a name. the good of days before I became number 20461. 

When I was a kid, every day was a good day. A little blue house on the corner of Delta Street and 52nd, where anything was possible and I was safe from the world. The place I called home. My morning routine was like a well-oiled machine, a consistent routine engraved in my brain from an early age, I guess some things never change. “You get the best of both worlds”, my Hannah Montana alarm wakes me up, I emerge from a cave of stuffed animals, hop out of bed and tear open the frilly white curtains hoping for a sunny day. My bedroom looked over our backyard with its quaint little play set that also served as a pirate ship, princess castle and occasionally a dungeon when my brother was misbehaving (ironic isn’t it).

Bed-making has always been my mortal enemy, my parents didn't seem to get that I was gonna make it messy again that night so I reluctantly obliged. Always a bit of a fashionista, getting dressed was a whole production. Once my closet floor was sufficiently covered in rejected skirts, tops, and the occasional tiara, I would finally be pleased with the ensemble.

Then I skipped to the bathroom down the hall to brush my teeth, making sure to sing the ABC’s and check for wiggly ones. Next it was time for the most important meal of the day! Special K with fruit, Cheerios with a side of bacon, mini wheats and a hard boiled egg (whites only yolks freaked me out), as long as some form of milk soaked sugary carbs were in the equation I was content. 6am rises may not seem necessary with school at 8:00,but dont be fooled I had it down to the minute. Exactly enough time to take care of the necessities and enjoy one episode of my favourite Disney channel sitcom, which arguably, is just as necessary. I credit my punctuality to the trauma of arriving late to class. Always at the back of the line, out of breath thanks to my sprint from the car because mom could never get out the door on time.

Elementary school was a fever dream. The politics of who your teacher was gonna be, if your number one bff was gonna be in the same class, split class vs full grade, were surprisingly intense. I remember how exciting it was to graduate from the primary playground to the intermediate where we had watched the big kids play in awe for years before. The little things, from playing pretend, to Christmas concerts, making little heart envelopes and hoping for a lollipop from your crush on Valentine. All so pleasant, so simple, and so good.

[tastesoftamriel]

I don't remember seeing any asks about solely fish based foods across tamriel, so what are the most popular fish based foods around the provinces?

Fish and seafood are much beloved by every Tamrielic race, but what sort they consume is entirely dependent on geographical access to bodies of water. Whether it's oceans or lakes and rivers, there's a dish for every fish lover out there.

Altmer

Summerset inhabitants are spoiled for choice when it comes to fish, as they are not only surrounded by the ocean, but also have access to bodies of fresh water like the Clott River. One of the most traditional fish dishes, said to be passed on from the Aldmer, combines ocean fish with river crawfish in a delightfully flavourful stew served with rice, somewhat similar to coastal Imperial paella. The seafood is stewed in Russafeld Heights white wine with herbs and spices, and the boiling mixture is poured over rice and left to cook on low temperature until the rice is creamy and tender. You can also find more Altmeri seafood inspiration at the Anchors Aweigh Inn!

Argonians

The stereotypes are true: Saxhleel cuisine is, where possible, primarily seafood-based. Whether it's Blackwood Stuffed Banana Leaves or baked clams in coconut sauce, there's a little something for every seafood lover out there in Black Marsh. Most importantly, everything must be as fresh as possible; no pickled fish! Be sure to try the Lilmoth specialty of whole coconut coal-grilled snapper and king prawns, served with calamansi sambal and coconut rice.

Bosmer

Fish are most certainly Green Pact compliant, but many people seem to forget that the Bosmeri diet consists of far more than just meat! Both river and ocean fish and crustaceans are beloved across Valenwood, and popular seafood dishes include things like timber mammoth cheese-baked mudcrab, fishcakes served with crispy bacon, and creamy molten scampi baked with witchetty grub "rice" . Rich, filling, and delicious!

Bretons

Seafood is much beloved by coastal Bretons, and there are many ways to serve it in High Rock! From smoked and breaded herring roe to fish pies and soups, Breton seafood dishes are renowned for being mild yet flavourful. Aside from the ubiquitous crisp fish and chips (always served with plenty of salt and malt vinegar), fans of fried seafood can also enjoy a whole range of battered delights, from cod bites to prawns, mussels, squid, and crab claws when visiting any Breton street food or beach stall. Don't forget the lemon aioli!

Dunmer

Seeing as Morrowind and Solstheim are both islands, there is an abundance of fish dishes featured in Dunmeri cuisine that are often overlooked in favour of more exciting meats like nix-hound or guar. However, one can't call themselves a true seafood connoisseur without trying a Narsis favourite: a flavoursome seafood broth thickened with saltrice, brimming with generous slices of Resdaynian Sailfin, Shalk-Brother Crayfish, steamed hackle-lo, and kwama egg drops. Simple, satisfying, and very tasty.

Imperials

The Gold Coast is renowned across Tamriel for its delightful fresh seafood, and takes special pride in featuring it in small sampler plates known as tapas. Squid ink paella, boiled cold octopus with lemon, grilled fish sausages, and scallops in brown butter sauce are some classics that will whet your appetite! Of course, don't forget to pair it with your favourite white wine, in true Cyrodiilic fashion.

Khajiit

Southern Elsweyr is known for its delicious seafood, and if there's one cohesive theme there, it's the spice! You can expect any Khajiiti fish dish to be loaded with flavour and an appropriate amount of tear-jerking spices. I'm a huge fan of grilled lobster tails topped with loads of chunky fried chilis in sweet moon sugar syrup, Pellitine Tilapia red curry with coconut rice, crunchy baby squid in moon sugar saltrice sauce, and crispy fried Khaj'Roh (something of a cross between an eel and a catfish) salad with sour young papaya.

Nords

People love picking on Nords for our pickled fish, but always forget that Skyrim has access to rivers, lakes, and the Sea of Ghosts, thus making seafood one of the backbones of Nord cuisine. Whether it's smoked fish roe paste on rye bread for breakfast, mudcrab salad for lunch, or baked salmon with potatoes and leeks for dinner, you'll find no shortage of fishy delights all day, every day.

Orcs

Wrothgarian Orsimer have greater access to the coast, and as a result have a more seafood-heavy diet than their inland kin. Blood cockle omelette, made with chub loon eggs, is a favourite dish in the region, and is served with frost mirriam-infused echatere cream cheese. Another local specialty are savoury, cake-like octopus balls served with a sweet and spicy mayonnaise dressing, and topped with crispy dried whitebait and shaved bonito (the latter being a curious import made popular by Baandari travellers).

Redguards

You won't find much in the way of fish in the desert, but Redguards from Sentinel, Hew's Bane, and Stros M'Kai love their seafood! Curries are one of the most common ways to serve fish and crustaceans, and they range from mild and creamy to spicy and pungent. In addition, prawns and crawfish with sweet goat's butter sauce topped with crisp cereal flakes, fried fishcakes with shredded coconut and chilis, and bread rolls stuffed with curried potato and mudcrab are just a few of the delicious things you can try on the region.

[brooklynislandgirl]

Sense and Other Specific Headcanons

What does your muse smell like? Before the world went to hell, Beth would make her own essential-oil perfumes and soaps. Better for the environment, less likely to hurt a patient or ruin a lab culture, and far longer lasting than the alcohol based ones sold in drug stores and ultra-exclusive boutiques. What little she has left, she hoards like gold. Uses it only on truly special occasions. Firstly it’s because Walkers seem to be attracted by smell as much as noise, and because when survival is the only order of the day, she doesn’t have the luxury of beauty routines. Her favourite scents are a combination of lei flower {plumeria; which can be described as sweet, somewhat citrusy, but like jasmine or gardenia} and clary sage, or sandalwood and blood orange. Even in the humidity and heat of Georgia, or because of it, she always does have a hint of tropical flowers or juices. What does your muse's hands feel like? Beth has never been able to give up the habit of constant hand-washing, whether it’s with little bottles of sanitizer found in abandoned truck stops, or the luxury of using lukewarm water that’s cooled down after it’s been retrieved from a stream and boiled to within an inch of its life. One would think that this would dry her skin out, but she takes care to keep the smooth, callous free and soft. They are small and fine boned but they are as capable of the same hard work as others do just as much as they are trained in the medical arts.  She also carefully trims and files her nails. Despite thin, earth can be found beneath them and in the lines of her palms or knuckles. Fortunately, her group does not need constant medical care, so she makes herself useful in a variety of other ways; collecting edible nuts, seeds, fungi, and plants. Gardening when they settle down for long enough stretches. Helping strip, clean, and maintain their armoury. Whatever is asked of her, and a lot of things that aren’t. When she is caring for someone sick or injured, her hands are gentle, they are cool and dry, and they are steady.

What does your muse usually eat in a day? Even before the Wildfire Virus was unleashed on an unsuspecting world, Beth was never the kind to indulge in food as a means of nourishment and comfort. From her teen years, her medications often put her off on food. Her dedication to preserving life lead her toward being a pescatarian, and then work as a Doctor often meant that she was too tired by the end of the night or day to even want more than a piece of toast, half abandoned beside her coffee or tea. More often than not, it was wine that made its way inside of her. Her brother would complain about her being underweight ~technically, she is, despite her short stature~ and now when things are scarce? She is inclined to give a majority of their meals to the ones that need it most: the children of the group or community, the men who do most of the heavy work and the protection of all, and the older souls who might not be able to thrive on smaller portions. Beth’s normal diet might be a protein bar nibbled at as if it had done her and her kin deepest wrong packet or instant oatmeal, and preferably coffee with whatever they can find that will pass for cream and sugar. Drinking something sweet is the quickest way to get carbs into the bloodstream, after all. If she’s feeling indulgent, and they’re lucky enough... she might eat an two egg omelette with wild mushrooms and wild onions. A piece of toast. Lunch might be a repeat of breakfast, depending on what was happening for the day. She takes what she can get and doesn’t complain. Though she misses simple things like spaghetti bolognese with garlic bread, or pasta Alfredo. She might be willing to kill for coconut curry or a plain grilled cheese. Does your muse have a good singing voice? Beth can sing. It doesn’t mean she should. Music was always Andy’s gift. He could play any instrument, and had a perfect voice for blues and rock, though he wasn’t half bad at country either. Beth however was far more gifted with dancing and art. She can sing along to songs she knows by heart, but learning new ones is an excruciating process. She also mishears a lot of lyrics and because she’s been teased about it in the past, she usually politely and shyly declines when asked to sing. She is incredibly soft-spoken, barely talking above a whisper, and her voice happens to be husky. Pearl Jam is her favourite band, and she knows every word of every song by heart. She also loves the Beatles, Pink Floyd, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. These are the easiest songs to get her to come out of her shell. Does your muse have any bad habits or nervous ticks? Beth tends to hide her smile behind her palm, rarely flashing her teeth openly. Her canines are pronounced as are most of the others, and they are a little crooked. While she could have had cosmetic orthodontics at any point in her life, she’s never had them fixed. However, she’s been told that they are unsightly and no one wants to see fangs in a human mouth. Beth will often bite the inside corners of her lips or suck her lower lip between her teeth when she’s deep in contemplation or holding something back. When possible, she’ll self-medicate her feelings or lack there of by drinking wine or if it’s particularly bad or horrific, vodka. She doesn’t allow people to touch her left leg, and goes through great pains to keep it “hidden” due to the horrific scarring caused by a shark bite. She says it is kapu. Whether she means this in a sense of it’s sacred, or whether it’s taboo is anyone’s guess. Due to her audio processing disorder and difficulty with spoken language, Beth is often speaking Pidgin, a Hawai’ian creole dialect, though she can and does speak perfectly good English when she wants or needs to.  What does your muse usually look like/wear? Being extremely tactile and sensitive to touch, Beth has a difficult time with too tight, too form fitting clothes when the texture of them is off-putting. Being as physically small as she is, it is often difficult to find clothes in her size, too. When she started her search for her brother, she took a sea bag worth of clothes with her. Two pairs of scrubs, two pairs of hiking shorts, her lab coat, two sets of thermal leggings and long sleeve shirts, two pairs of jeans, a couple of her brother’s tee-shirts to sleep in, a week’s worth of underpants and socks, a pair of sneakers, hiking boots, and ‘slippahs’ {flip flops}. She has a denim jacket for cool weather, and a winter coat that can double as a pillow or blanket. Somewhere in this mess is also two of her favourite bikinis. Beth is thankfully slight enough in built that she typically doesn’t have to worry about wearing a bra, but she knows the importance of layers. All of this is a far cry from her favourite clothing which is long flowing skirts and sleeveless shirts. She used to wear as little as possible. She doesn’t have that luxury any more. Is your muse affectionate? How so? As a byproduct of being a medical professional, Beth literally cares about every single person she encounters. Some might say overly so, some might say she wears her heart on her sleeve, or call her a hippy-tree-hugger. Those people aren’t technically wrong, and because of her own tragedies, she’s especially fond of children and the elderly. She doesn’t think twice about giving someone’s arm a squeeze, a reassuring pat, or a hug when it seems like they need one. She’s quick to laugh at other people’s jokes. She tends to stand or talk closely with others {which helps her read lips and watch for micro-expressions}. She is very open, giving, understanding. Above all else, she tries so hard to live by the motto “First, Do No Harm.” Part of it is cultural, part of it has to do with being a doctor, and part of it she just doesn’t have a mean bone in her body. On the downside, she is easily misled, and for someone so smart, she’s incredibly naive. What position does your muse sleep in? When Beth can get sleep ~she has been a lifelong insomniac, prone to night terrors and bouts of sleep paralysis~ it’s because she’s sleeping beside someone she trusts, and in those moments, she falls asleep however she finally ‘drops’, but most comfortably she sleeps on her side. Small-spoon style. If that isn’t convenient, she has a need to be touching the other person at least with her toes or finger tips. She never actually sleeps in any one position for long, and is likely to toss or turn several times a ‘night’. Sometimes, she inexplicably cries in her sleep, silent tears that soak into her pillow. Can you hear your muse in the hallway from another room?

You’d have an easier time hearing a mouse creeping forty feet below ground than hear Beth make a single-foot fall. She walks softly in every sense of the word, and spent a lifetime learning to be as unobtrusive as humanly possible. She is not a loud talker. She is definitely not a mouth-breather, and doesn’t snore. More often than not, if she can manage to be still for a very long time, people will forget she’s even there.

Tagged by: my darling Kennzie @deputygonebye​

Tagging: Go ahead and do it. If you’ve done it before, pick a fave au <3

[junicai]

Relationship with WAYV

➣ KUN ☾ karia

if it wasn’t for dotae potentially coming to kill him, he would steal aria into wayv

he’s the cool dad? 

they can’t spend a lot of time together because none of their schedules match up, but aria takes every third or so weekend out to come have dinner in the wayv dorms

she’s surprisingly close to the china line, and its a combination of ten dragging her to his dorm for an entire month and them just kinda adopting her when they realized she was a foreigner as well 

yuta can fight them, she’s one of them now

he doesn’t like to baby her a lot, and she really appreciates the break from being the “maknae” so to speak 

however does that stop him from giving her the forehead kithes? no

aria sad? forehead kith

aria mad? forehead kith

aria smad? forehead kith + kuddles (kun cuddles)

he has sent her a passive agressive text when he found out that she wasn’t eating enough again and had almost passed out

but he finished it with a heart so its ok

if she isn’t smiling at all times, someone will die

aria feels like she can trust him with a lot; that no matter what she tells him, he’ll never out her or make fun of her

kun actually took a two-week online course to learn how to make traditional japanese dishes when aria mentioned missing her parents

he originally was going to learn how to make irish dishes, but he changed his mind after seeing what they were

“im not giving my kids boiled cabbage and mashed potatoes what kind of post world war-”

wants to give her a chinese name but hasn’t yet because he hasn’t found the one that fits her right and he wants it to be perfect 

aria teaches him japanese phrases in exchange for him teaching her a little bit of mandarin

FAN FAVOURITE MOMENT.

aria saw kun’s back as she entered the practice room, the man standing with three other members in the centre of the floor before the choreographer came in to start their practice. coming up behind him, she wrapped her arms around his waist, peeking her head around from where she was. “hi!” she smiled brightly.

“hi,” ten chuckled, showing her the camera that had just filmed all of that. 

➣ TEN ☾ tenaria

Whipped(TM)

so so gone for her its upsetting actually

yangyang and aria share the position of his baby 

except aria willingly accepts the title while yangyang would rather fling himself from a rooftop

ten’s instagram is half his cats, half miyazu aria

he posts her dancing practice on his story a lot, with a variety of captions ranging from “thats my baby  ♡( ◡‿◡ )” to “yah that’s not right...(눈_눈)”

such an enabler for her bad ideas 

aria wants to go shopping at 4am? ten agrees, now they’re sitting by han river eating ice cream

pls he’s gonna get her in so much trouble one day

when they walk together, ten likes to take her hand and put it in his pocket 

its under the pretense of not wanting her to get lost 

he just wants to hold her hand

yes he has lost her in a shopping mall, and NO it wasn’t his fault

ten always complains that they never have schedules together and he misses his baby 

“we have superm-” “I NEVER SEE YOUUUU (ﾉಥ益ಥ)ﾉ”

if they’re in the same room ten is either watching her out of the corner of his eye, or is actually wrapped around her like a boa constrictor 

hugs n kithes all around

only he is allowed make fun of her mistakes in dancing 

anyone else gets deaded. he will fight for her honor how dare you insult his baby 

sm give these ttwo a dancing duo video pls 

FAN FAVOURITE MOMENT. 

the first and only time aria and ten had a duet was during their last concert on superm’s first world tour. during the second half of ten’s solo performance, aria emerged from the left side of the stage, coming to join him in the centre stage. no one had ever seen aria as serious as she was then, both herself and ten becoming completely different people in the moment. midway through, aria spun with her back to ten and leaped backwards into the air - eyes closed - completely trusting ten to be where she needed him to be to catch her. 

➣ WINWIN ☾ winria

a love hate relationship at its finest

they don’t actually hate each other it’s just really funny to pretend that they do (especially because yuta complains that 2 of his favourite people aren’t getting along)

winwin is so savage towards aria but it’s ok she claps back twice as hard

at first, before czennies had seen enough of their dynamic they thought that they actually did hate each other

but that’s not true they just don’t know how to express, affection, without brutally insulting the other with a loving tone

they are, surprisingly, the most stable pairing in 127 - they have a dynamic and rarely stray from that, which is a good comfort for the fans

despite what they might say to each other, they don’t mean any of it - and winwin has been seen several times raising his eyebrows with a questioning look at aria to make sure she wasn’t taking any of his playful jabs to heart

oh god the flexibility

the entirety of nct is terrified of them

the day sm gives them a circus act is the day that kun and taeyong have a heart attack

quietly supportive of each other - catch aria “playing” with a water bottle and not getting up to get it when it conveniently rolls across the floor and into winwin’s leg

he makes sure to save some new chinese sweets whenever the wayv members get packages from their familes, and sneak it into aria’s room before the managers can catch her breaking her diet

not really physically affectionate with each other, which played into czennies idea that they didn’t like each other but aria cleared it up in a vlive

“winwinnie and I, well. we don’t hug a lot because i know he doesn’t like it as much as i might, so i try to show him i care with other things :)”

FAN FAVOURITE MOMENT.

winwin and aria going in to each other on knowing brothers, to the point where the mc’s had their eyes popping out of their head and waved about to stop the segment before aria could start attacking winwin’s cooking methods-

nothing is off limits when it comes to them

➣ LUCAS ☾ arihei

besties 

please they’re so cute together - tol child next to tini child she barely comes up to his chest :(

bear hugs

he just swamps her in his arms, and when he doesn’t feel like being bent over he picks her up 

complains that she’s too heavy but then immediately after will throw her around like a softball 

someone tell this man to be careful with her she’s not a barbie doll 

singular braincell energy

don’t get it wrong, they’re both super smart 

so it’s just - being smort together, but then nearly dying because neither of them remembered that you couldn’t eat raw cookie dough when there are eggs in it

she adores how he’s so confident in the things that he does - like convincing the entire nct fandom that he was fluent in english? king behaviour

so aria looks up to him (literally) but also because she wants to have that confidence some day 

lucas says they’re not close and then aria pouts and he takes it all back

nczennies made a 14 minute compilation titled “lucas melting like a popsicle in australia for aria” 

and literally what the title tells you, this man goes :(( when he sees her 

lucas was actually the person to convince her to go ahead with the [redacted] proposal - and reminded her that it was too good an opportunity to pass up just because she felt like she was outgrowing the boys

he’s so proud of her

and she’s so proud of him 

they’re so proud of each other and it makes nczennies want to cry because they never are seen together 

sm stop separating the platonic soulmates first markhyuck and now arihei smh

FAN FAVOURITE MOMENT.

during a photoshoot, aria was standing off to the side of the boys, dressed in white suit to contrast the boys’ black ones. the photographer was calling out to her to get her to move closer, but she couldn’t hear him from so far away, and so lucas (who was on the end) just walked over to her, gripped her by the biceps and lifted her vertically and to the left a little bit. 

“luc-LUCAS?”

“you had to move :)”

➣ XIAOJUN ☾ arijun

honestly these two aren’t super close, just because their schedules never matched up until the NCT 2020 promotions

even when aria was dragged to the wayv dorms, xiaojun kept his distance from her because he didn’t want to make her uncomfortable 

even so, when they were filming Make A Wish together, they seemed comfortable enough around each other

there was a mutual agreement to not try fill the silence with awkward small talk, so they sat in silence when left alone together

they’re both shy :( someone needs to get them to talk to each other :(

even so, aria was all supportive smiles and thumbs-up when she saw him getting nervous before their first public stage as the unit 

he was a little intimidated of her at first, but also really curious about how she was holding her own against the other members

not only physically, but her vibes are tiny let the man be concerned ok

his first impression of aria was just: small quiet? she was sitting apart from the other boys in the practice room, and he almost wanted to go over and ask her if she was ok; before she was approached by donghyuck and her face broke into a bright smile 

aria’s first impression of xiaojun was: eyebrows he was really handsome? at first, she thought he was in the wrong room, seeing as the SM modeling auditions were happening in the next room down

any arijun shippers are starved of content im so sorry guys 

FAN FAVOURITE MOMENT. 

currently still up for debate between the fandom :(

➣ HENDERY ☾ aridery

ah these two 

you might as well sign a waiver if you decide to do anything with them, because they can and will get you killed 

kun can testify

ten’s the enabler but hendery is the do-er

super giggly around each other, for no reason at all

hendery could pick up and throw a basketball and suddenly aria’s on the floor in literal stitches 

have a secret code 

no seriously

they don’t text in words, they just send various reaction memes and a colourful variety of emojis to convey emotions and scenarios 

it’s become quite a beautiful language actually 

got some nice proverbs in there

they’re like, cousins but the ones you only see at family reunions but get so hype to see them

that energy 

asides from the chaotic, murderous vibes they possess as a duo

hendery knows what it’s like to miss home, to miss your parents, etc etc

and so he tries to make aria feel as home as possible - especially with wayv, because they’re all foreigners who know how she feels 

whenever he gets packages from his parents who have sent things over, he always makes sure to keep some of the small treats/sweets back for aria

1. because he knows she’ll appreciate the thought and she gives good hugs

2. because he knows she’s on a diet constantly and never allowed eat these things when she’s in the dorms with managers around 

FAN FAVOURITE MOMENT. 

filming the Resonance “Wish” event, aria was put in a skimpy minimalistic mock-suit to differentiate from the others’ clothes. unfortunately, that left aria with a little too much shoulder and chest on display than she would like, and she was noticeably uncomfortable with her clothes, constantly pulling it up and even going so far as to just hold it with her hands. 

hendery saw this, and knew he was finished filming his segment for the time being, so he pulled off his own jacket and tossed it over to aria, who caught it with a grateful smile. “thank you,” she mouthed to him, tugging the dark blue material over her shoulders.

➣ YANGYANG ☾ ariyang

aria. has 9 days of age on this boy and will never let him forget it

“respect your elders you brat” “9. DAYS.”

european pals 

they feel so cultured when they get asked about europe, and then are kindly reminded by hendery that A. Germany started 2 world wars, and B. Ireland was just a British colony until 100 years ago. 

they both hit him for that

aria teaching him curse words in irish and yangyang teaching her curse words in german? more likely than you’d think 

they met before yangyang’s debut was announced, in a practice room that had let them accidentally overlap their practice times 

instead of working it out between them, they actually just started to alternate their songs - and the other gave them some good, constructive criticism 

most of the time

when they found out they were going to be in 90s Love together, they were so happy 

it was going to be their first official schedule together

all the behind-the-scenes videos are just aria and yangyang being children and then ten coming over and cooing at them 

they love ten, but they will trash talk the man behind his back 

yangyang confessed to her that he sometimes feels nervous when speaking korean, like he’s going to make a big mistake

so she tries her best to teach and correct him where she can, and make him as comfortable as possible 

if you look at any of the 90s Love promotions - aria is always beside yangyang

he bit her ear once

she doesn’t know why and he won’t tell her

but now when she makes fun of him, he threatens to do it again 

FAN FAVOURITE MOMENT. 

aria skating onto the rink during filming, and yangyang following her because she promised to teach him how to skate backwards.

“ok just, think like you’re leading with your heels. press your knees in, and push outwards, with you-no no that’s forwards. go backwards yangyang.”

“no no no thats a WALL YANGYANG STOP-” 

[sweetsouya]

SUGOAKU

A/N: I have been having major issues with my reblogs of my work not appearing in tags (i had 74 notes on the og). So I am seeing if a compete, fresh post of it, will work … fingers crossed.

Likes are nice but reblogs is what keeps artist alive …

Parings: Souya x Reader

Words (currently): 2786

Other notes: The reader’s gender, ethnicity etc isn’t stated, its 100% you, no matter who you are! HOWEVER, this work depicts adult, 28 year old Souya and Nahoya, where they’re running their ramen shop, therefore, I will be making the reader and adult too, and around their age.

CHAPTER 1 - KIMCHI

[Reader] recently returned to Japan, after having been living abroad for a number of years. [Reader] found themselves living back in their old neighborhood of Meguro. It felt good being back in familiar surroundings, like many areas of Tokyo, things were constantly changing. There was a mixture of new establishments, along with old favourites. One of the new establishments was recommended to her by a neighbor, a ramen shop called, Sugoaku.

It had not long ago and was finding success fairly quickly, which in [reader]’s humble opinion was a good thing. Starting a business in the food industry was difficult in any location. But in Meguro, with competing with long-standing businesses that have tested time, and popular chain restaurants. There was still a risk of the business failing. However, those behind Sugoaku appeared to know what they were doing, confident in their skills and business know-how.

Business appeared to be doing well for Sugoaku, there were always at least a small handful of patrons in the restaurant at any given time, and (in [reader]’s opinion) their product was worth visiting multiple times a week. The menu never changed too much, typical of ramen establishments, which suited [reader]’s taste anyway. Instead, they always ordered the same type of ramen: a Tonkotsu ramen with normal noodle hardness. Depending on the day, often by recommendation, additions would be added: extra nori, a soft-boiled egg, extra Negi, and even extra cha-shu. The combinations were almost limitless.

With a rapidly growing business, it was only natural that the establishment would be at full capacity, with people lining up outside for a seat, during lunch and dinner rush hours. It wasn’t [reader]’s ideal situation. They had made that mistake once before and were sorely disappointed. Therefore, they attempted to visit Sugoaku after the rush, when the business was quieting down and the atmosphere was more at ease. Such was the case as one particular evening when [reader] went to Sugoaku for possibly the fourth time that week. It was a Sunday evening, and they had (thankfully) just missed the dinner time rush.

IRASSHAIMASE~

The chorus of welcomes greeted [reader] as they entered the restaurant and gestured to the server for a seat for one person. With the rush now over, it meant that the counter was close to being fully vacant, except for the odd random man or two minding their own business as they ate. Reaching their seat, [reader] scanned the kitchen briefly, inspecting who was currently present in front of them.

“Ahhhh~!” A light-hearted voice reached their ears, “you can’t seem to get enough of us!” [Reader]’s eyes stopped in the form of a pink-haired young man behind the counter, his smile growing a little wider as he watched them. The very same smile that they thought was incredibly infectious, as a smile of their own stretched across their lips. “Indeed,” they replied, their eyes flicking around the kitchen for the pink-haired man’s accomplice. “I’m just doing my bit to support a growing business, that is all.”

The pink-haired man was about to retort before a blue-haired man intervened, “it’s very considerate of you, thank you.” He had been on the restaurant floor, assisting their server to tidy up and had come up beside [reader]. Who had not heard his approach, and was slightly startled at his sudden appearance, which was not left undetected by him. “I’m sorry,” he murmured under his breath, [reader] strained to hear it but knew it was directed at them. They threw a smile in his direction, wordlessly telling him it was fine, “you’re welcome.”

The pink and blue-haired men were the owners of Sugoaku, twin brothers of stark contrasts. The pink-haired twin was Nahoya, playful, carefree, and had an ever-present smile gracing his lips. It always seemed that nothing ever bothered him, and it was often hard to take him seriously. He also often spoke his mind a little too much and says “I’ll fucking kill you” in such a nonchalant manner, that it never sat well with the self-entitled (alcohol-driven) late-night customers. He was rather cocky with [reader]’s patronage to their business. [Reader] wasn’t so sure what to make of it at first, but soon learned that he was just teasing and was appreciative of [reader]’s loyalty.

His blue-haired twin, Souya, was completely different compared to his brother. He always looked intensely irritated, looking like he was ready to jump over the counter to beat the next customer, who Nahoya just told to die. However, despite his face and gruff voice, he was the kinder of the two. He was always polite, spoke carefully, and was the one who calmed things down whenever things got heated between his brother and a customer. He was the one [reader] felt more at ease with, it was always easy to fall into a comfortable conversation with him. Like his brother he was appreciative of [reader]’s loyalty, he was the one who personally made sure your order was taken correctly; heaven forbid a part-timer messes up your order.

Souya hummed lightly in response, passing a few empty dishes to his brother, and with his hands now free, reached for a notepad and pen in his back pocket. “What will it be today?” He asked, amusement clear in his voice. A small smile crept along with your features upon catching the tone in his voice, “hmmm…” [reader]’s eyes flickered across their menu as they tried to make a final decision. After a brief moment, they looked up at the blue-haired man and set the menu down, “I’ll have the chef’s choice.”

Souya looked lost for a brief moment but wrote down their request nevertheless. As he did so, Nahoya let out a chuckle, “and which chef’s choice would that be~?” he called out, mischief fully lacing his voice. [Reader] looked over at the elder twin, “not yours,” they responded without missing a beat. There was no way in hell that they were going to let Nahoya choose whatever he wanted in your ramen; chances are he’ll make it spicier than his signature dish.

“Lame~” Nahoya simply shrugged his shoulders and continued what he was doing. Next to [reader], Souya let out a soft hum, “so, my choice then …” he was thinking of what to put together for them. “Is that all? Or would you like your usual sides?” [Reader] nodded in response, deciding that some gyoza and small fried rice on the side would be a good idea. “Noted.” Jotting down the final request to your order, Souya nodded his head and moved to join his brother behind the counter, in the kitchen.

As [reader] waited for their order, they mindlessly scrolled through their phone before setting it down and looked around the shop, before their gaze finally came to rest upon the twin brothers working in front of them. It was always a curiosity watching them work, [reader] was sure that it was all down to the fact they were twins. They worked in unison, both mindful of each other’s space, and did not always need words to communicate with each other. They were certain that they would never get bored watching the two men work together.

“What’s with that face~?” Nahoya’s voice sang out, startling [reader] into attention. “Uh…what?” [Reader] was so engrossed in watching the two men work, that they had become unaware of themselves and their surroundings. A blush dusted their cheeks as they looked between the two, Nahoya was chuckling to himself, and Souya, although poker-faced, held an amused look in his eyes. “Ah, nothing,” [reader] busied themselves at their seat, by taking a sip of their glass of water, which just earned them more chuckles from Nahoya, “… It’s just been a long day.”

“Bro, stop it,” Souya muttered, taking note of [reader]’s embarrassment as he finished off placing the last few garnishes on top of the fried rice he had just finished cooking. He knew that his brother’s laughing was not helping the situation, and he wanted [reader] to enjoy their visits to their shop, not dread it because of his brother’s constant teasing. A playful hum came from the elder twin, indicating nothing but trouble and Souya let out a deep sigh as he placed the bowl of fried rice in front of [reader], “your Gyoza and Ramen are coming…”

“[Reader] was just admiring my good looks as always, Angry~!” If it was entirely possible, Nahoya’s Cheshire Cat-like grin just grew wider, and in turn, if it was entirely possible, [reader]’s blush deepened. “That’s why they keep coming back.” He wasn’t wrong, both brothers were good-looking but to be called out like that was typical of Nahoya trying to get a rise out of them. “Nahoya…” [Reader] groaned in further embarrassment, pressing their face into their palm, missing the threatening look Souya cast over his brother. Letting out a sigh, they turned their focus to the fried rice that Souya made, beginning to eat it while it was still hot.

Meanwhile, Souya closed in on his older brother, nudging his shoulder as he did. “Tch, bro, hurry up with [reader]’s gyoza and noodles. Remember, normal firmness.” He pressed, hoping it would get his brother to work and off [reader]’s back. He had cooked off [reader]’s fried rice, which should’ve allowed Nahoya enough time to prepare the noodles and pan fry the gyoza, so he could start assembling [reader]’s order of “chef’s choice.” But his brother’s taunting of [reader] held up the progress line a bit, which annoyed Souya; it ruined the flow and synchronisation of how the brothers worked.

“Hurry up,” Souya muttered again, leaving his brother’s side and taking a visual sweep of the restaurant, nodding to a leaving patron who was at the cashier being seen by their part-timer. The business was slowing down for the evening, nothing too unusual, the slower pace allowed the brothers to relax and enjoy their work a little more. However, it did bother Souya when his brother slacked off a little too much or became a little too playful with their patrons. He picked up the water pitcher, glancing over at [reader] ’s snow empty cup, and refilled it. “Just ignore my brother,” he grumbled to them, hoping that they weren’t too embarrassed by Nahoya’s teasing. “Don’t be afraid to show him some attitude either. Otherwise, he’ll just walk all over you.” [Reader] glanced up to the blue-haired man, giving him a small smile of thanks for the refill, and let out a small laugh. “It’s quite alright,” they replied, picking up their glass of water and taking a sip. “I’m not that bothered by his antics.” Souya hummed in reply, his eyes flickering over his shoulder to his elder, “but still, don’t hold back if it gets too much.”

[Reader] gave Souya a reassuring smile, they enjoyed their time at Sugoaku especially when they were able to talk with the twins, especially Souya. There had been several times, they had considered giving them their LINE username, in an attempt to see them outside of the business setting; however, [reader] was unsure if it was unprofessional to do so. So for now, [reader] had to settle with their visits to the restaurant. “So, Sou-,” [reader] was about to attempt to strike up a conversation with Souya before the part-timer interrupted. “Boss, new order,” they announced, passing Souya the newly written receipt. “Thanks,” Souya waved off the part-timer, as his eyes flickered over to [reader], who nodded in silent understanding. A constant and expected occurrence, the interruption from new orders. It just encouraged [reader] to take their time eating at the restaurant, the longer they stayed there, the more time they stayed with the twins.

“New order,” Souya announced to his brother and the two seamlessly got to work. Nahoya had finished the [readers] noodles and was plating up the fresh gyoza, while Souya began cooking the noodles and setting up the tray of various plates and bowls for the new order. “M’dear~” Nahoya grinned at [reader], placing the gyoza in front of them, alongside a small plate of kimchi. [Reader] looked at the kimchi for a moment in confusion, they were sure that they didn’t normally order the side dish. So why was Nahoya placing it in front of them? “My treat,” he told them, “since Souya is going to make your bowl, this is my little contribution.” [Reader] let out a small laugh, those two brothers were truly a package, you can’t have one without the other. Even though they weren’t overly keen on the spicy fermented cabbage, as it was a little too spicy for their tastes. [Reader] began to pick at it, gingerly putting small amounts into their mouth.

“You don’t need to eat it,” Souya had spotted them pick at the side dish, as he was putting together a bowl of ramen, which [reader] assumed to be their order. The blue-haired man knew that they were being polite, and wished that his brother picked a different side dish to give them; a few pieces of karaage would’ve been sufficient. [Reader] looked over at Souya and gave him a sheepish smile, “Big bro likes to make his kimchi and makes it too spicy, despite how many times I tell him.” He continued, as he worked on the bowl adding on the finishing touches. “Maybe, if he notices you not eating it, he’ll get the damn hint.”

On the other side of the kitchen, Nahoya heard everything. “Oh ho~ What’s this lil bro? Recruiting [reader] to go against my kimchi~?” He sang out, his usual light and playful voice now having a threatening edge to it. “Just because you can’t handle a little spice, doesn’t mean they can’t either. Right, [reader]~?” [reader]’s eyes flicked between the two brothers, with the elder now getting a rise out of the younger’s comments. Their eyes settled on Souya, who was now placing the bowl of fresh ramen in front of them. His eyes were apologetic and clearly over it at the same time, the subject of Nahoya’s spicy kimchi must be one that had never been resolved. “Well …” [reader] began, their eyes flickering between the brothers and back down at the kimchi. “It is good kimchi …” in unison Souya looked deflated and Nahoya straightened in triumph, “but it is a little too spicy.” The moods instantly switched when [reader] finished off their verdict. Nahoya losing his trademark grin, with Souya looking over his shoulder with a clear ‘told you so’ look on his face.

“Well that sucks!” Nahoya bounced back, his grin plastered back on his face. “That just means one thing~ [Reader] you can be my official kimchi taster,” he declared, placing the next order on the counter for the part-timer to deliver to a customer. “Oi, table 15 is ready!” It was in that instant the near confrontation over the kimchi was forgotten, Nahoya had quickly moved on and began rinsing dishes to put into the dishwasher at the back of the kitchen. “That went better than I thought it would,” Souya commented, watching his brother’s back for a brief moment before drawing his attention back to [reader]. “I have given you a modified version of my specialty.”

[Reader] looked at the bowl of ramen in front of them. It was indeed Souya’s signature dish, which was called “Angry” and was a black Tonkotsu ramen. The broth gets its colour from a mixture of black sesame seed and black garlic oil, and despite appearances, the balance between the flavours was to perfection. Neither flavour overpowered the other or the other components of the dish. It was a quick favourite of [reader]’s, as it combined two of their favourite ingredients on the planet; not that they would admit that to Souya. His signature dish was, of course, a stark contrast to his brother’s which was a white Tonkotsu ramen, which was deceivingly spicy. Having known the twins for a while now, it was always amusing to [reader] how well their representative signature dishes reflected the personalities of each twin.

“So,” Souya began listing out the toppings he added to [reader]’s bowl. “We have the usuals there: menma, negi, cha-shu, and nori. I know you like corn and egg in your ramen, so I added those to your bowl.” The fact that he remembered [reader]’s favourite toppings, made them a little warm and fuzzy on the inside. Souya must make hundreds, if not thousands of bowls a day or week even, and he still made the effort to remember their usual order and favourite toppings. “Thank you, it looks great,” they replied softly, smiling at him.

“Itadakimasu~”

[theamberwriter]

Ficmas Day 1: One More Sleep [Tenya Iida]

Pairing: ProHero!Tenya Iida x Fem!Reader

Song: One More Sleep by Leona Lewis

Word Count: 5.4k

A/N: I tried to get this done a few days ago, but I was just so tired 😭 Anyway, I hope that you guys like it!

~

Tenya rubbed his eyes groggily, staring at the ceiling. He rolled over to look at the clock on the nightstand. 3:43 AM. How frustrated he was by this. He should've been asleep hours ago. He sat up, deciding it was no good. Sleep wouldn't come, not until you were here by his side.

    He checked his phone for the date. December 21th. Four. More. Days. Five more grueling, restless nights. Tenya figured he should've been used to this. Spending time apart. Your relationship had been that way since the beginning. You traveled for work while he stayed put. Doing the hero gig he'd always dreamed of.

    But now - so close to Christmas - it was impossible to think of anything else but you. Here. In the bed you'd spend nearly a year deciding on because he insisted you had to look at all the options first. Your side was barely worn. It made his heart ache in ways he was too stubborn to admit.

    Tenya wondered if it's be too cruel to ask you to stop. To stop traveling. To stay put, just for a little while. No more calling at wild hours. No more flickering signals or long distance fees. Just you and him. Together in the home that you'd bought. The place you made love and fought and kissed endlessly to make up for lost time.

    But when was enough, enough?

    He swung his feet out of bed, put on his glasses, and slid on his slippers. A blue bathrobe hung from the best post. It was one you'd bought him last year from somewhere over seas. You had said it reminded you of his eyes. Apparently you'd worn it considerably before gifting it. It was drenched in your scent by the time it reached his hands. The collar smelled like your shampoo, the rest of smelling of your favourite spray. You'd bashfully admitted you wore it because you missed him. And this one little thing made you feel closer.

    Your smell had been washed from it by now. But he silently wished it was still there as he put it on. He only flicked on a few lights as he made his way to the kitchen. A warm cup of tea on a cold, snowy night sounded wonderful. Tenya looked out at the piling snow as he waited for the water to boil.

    He worried your flight would get delayed. Or worse – it'd be put off until after the storm passed. Sure, he'd video chatted you early that evening. But he felt like he'd die if he had to wait even a single day more than he already had to. He ran a hand through his hair. What a funny thing love was.

    Tenya had never expected you to come into his life. He never really expected to share love with anyone. It was just another thing his brother talked sweetly of. Telling him, “Tenya, you'll know when she's the one.” Tenya breathed his brother's every word like gospel.

    Except for that one.

    What had Tensei meant by you'll know – it wasn't very informative. It didn't help too much. It only kept him guessing as he passed attractive women. Until Tenya found you. It wasn't love at first sight. Not entirely. But the first words he thought when he saw your face? I just found my wife.

    It had been such a nauseating, powerful experience. One little glance as you said 'hello' from your new spot at a desk in his agency. Tenya had rushed away, and left out the back so he wouldn't have to pass you again.

    It was the single most powerful moment in his life.

    Many things had changed over the years. You were one of those earth shattering experiences for him. Breaking open the egg that was the world. Showing him more than he would've thought possible. Four years ago, that thought that he'd fall in love with a stranger and get married to them just two years after would've seemed ridiculous. But here you two were.

    You worked as a travel writer. Going to exotic places. Trying new things. Meeting new people. While Tenya was living his dream. Fulfilling his brother's legacy as Ingenium. He never thought being alone could feel so hollow and bitter and cold. He'd never really felt lonely when he was alone, until you two made a home together. Tenya worried that home was too boring for you. Surely it had to be after seeing so much of the world. It gnawed at him. No matter how much reassurance you gave him that coming back home to him was always the best part of the trip.

    Tenya contemplated his tea as he poured in the water. Watching as a deep red color soaked out from the leaves. Only four more days, he kept reminding himself. Five more nights, and she'll be with you. But the mantra didn't help at all.

    Tenya went to his reading chair by the window. Yours was next to his, a table separating them. Your side was stacked with books. Even your chair had a few on it. Bookmarks spouted from a few. Tenya was sure you'd never finish them. But watching you try was endearing nonetheless. Your wedding picture sat on the table, along with a vase of your favourite flowers. He went every day to get one while you were away.

    He counted twenty three. Twenty three flowers. Twenty three days apart. But only four more until you were back in his arms. Until he could kiss you and hold you. Feel your warm skin against his own. They'd made you stay longer, so you'd have writing material through the first of the year. Didn't they know you had a husband and a dog to get back home to?

    That picture encapsulated the best day of his life. A face splitting grin on his own. You wore a goofy smile because he'd made you laugh. Tenya cried when he saw you come down the aisle. Though he desperately tried to hide them. You teased him later about that. He simply covered you with kisses.

    A small lump formed in Tenya's throat as he watched your dog slump sadly down onto the floor in front of your chair. He rolled his eyes up at Tenya and whined, his tail wagging only once. Things just weren't the same with you away. Tenya blew on his tea with a sigh.

    “I know boy, I miss her, too,” he said softly. Then took a sip. The hot tea did nothing to warm the cold that settled in him.

    Only four. More. Days.

    Tenya didn't sleep much after that. Dozing on the couch until the morning light woke him up. He was very stiff and chilled to the bone. Like someone had left a window open. Tenya searched the house, simply pushing the heater up when he found no cause for alarm.

    Tenya was very surprised as he let the dog out. The snow was ludicrously high. Five feet, give or take. He was willing to say give. Your poor pooch could barely get down to use the bathroom. Tenya just knew he was going to have to shovel a path for him.

    Was his ideal morning bundled up and shoveling snow? He was fairly sure that no body's was. But he diligently donned his his coat, hat, scarves, gloves, and snow boots. Being a good dog father and shoveling a path down into the yard.

    Tenya chuckled at the thought of you out here last year in the snow. A hair dry plugged into the side of the house. He yelled at you about the hazard, trying to argue that a hair dryer was not the most efficient way the clear snow. You started a snow ball fight after that. You'd both gone in drenched, and took a nice, hot, steamy shower together. His body tingled warmly at the thought, his face (and quite a few other places) feeling hot.

    After shoveling, it was shower time. Then he made himself and the dog breakfast (yes, he makes the dog's food because he is a very good doggy daddy). After was time to tend to all the chores he'd been putting off in the wake of his depression. This included wrapping your gifts. Tenya knew you'd be home for Christmas, but it'd been too painful to wrap them before. Between his loneliness and the excitement that bubbled in him at the thought of you coming home in a few days, he felt numb but jittery. One canceling the other out.

    And there was still so much to do.

    Ochaco and Izuku had accidentally, inadvertently invited themselves over for Christmas. They wanted to throw a party. And somehow Tenya had gotten wrapped up in it all. He hadn't been able to get a hold of you to try and talk them down. So he did the responsible thing and said he'd take care of it all. They gushed about what to bring and who to invite, he just had to take care of the house and making sure everything was perfect. He supposed this was a sort of coming home celebration for you, so it didn't annoy him quite as much.

    Tenya measured the dimensions each and every package he wrapped. Then he measured the wrapping paper. The process was tedious, but it ensured every piece of paper was used to the fullest. He pulled off the smallest pieces of tape that he possibly could, so he didn't waste the roll. Honestly, Tenya thought of how you might react as you opened them all. The excitement, the embarrassment, the sheer happiness that he wanted so much to bring you. He'd gone overboard, sure. But you were worth every penny. And all the burnt fingers. The thing he'd tried to make you did not go as well as he wanted. But Tenya just knew you were going to love it.

    After wrapping, he figured having a nice tree to put them under would help. He'd only gone out and bought one. Nothing was decorated. That was something you two usually did together. There wasn't a tinkle of a light anywhere to be seen. Though he knew Ochaco and Izuku expected the place to look as warm and cozy as it always did this time of year.

    The decorations were stored in a closet under the stairs. You had made it a giant Janga tower. Honestly, Tenya was a little scared to pull everything out. If he was crushed to death by decorations, no body would know for days. He studied your tower for a while. Thinking about when you'd put them in. You had struggled tremendously. He'd just chuckled. Tenya always thought everything you did was endearing. In it's own sort of way. In the love touched way.

    When Tenya was sure nothing was going to fall, he started to pull things out and organize them into piles. Garland, ornaments, outside lights, indoor lights, the tree angel, upstairs decorations, table runners, stockings – he sprinted through the house as he sorted. He planned to start upstairs, then work his way down.

    By the time he finished the upstairs it was early evening. He'd missed lunch, stopping only briefly to feed the dog. Now it was dinner time. He had no gumption to cook, though. So he heated up leftovers and sat at the table. Tenya stared at your empty chair as he ate. It was made up with a place mat, and a book, and your favourite mug.

    Three more days.

    It surprised him in the morning when there was a ring at the doorbell. Tenya had been up, working slowly at things around the house. He wasn't planning on company. Nor for Ochaco and Izuku to be standing behind the door. They had their own bags and piles of things in their arms. They grinned widely at him.

    “What a surprise,” Tenya said, then moved aside. “Come in out of the snow. I hope the roads weren't too bad.”

    They nodded and ducked in. “Thanks!”

    “Most of the snow is melted already,” Ochaco pouted. “Izuku and I built a snowman yesterday, but he was just a pile of mush things morning!”

    Izuku looked around, clearly surprised by the bare walls and shelves and tree. “Tenya, you haven't started decorating yet?”

    Tenya looked away ashamedly. Eyes wandering on their own to a picture of you. His guests' eyes followed. Ochaco's grin dropped.

    “Oh,” she said, putting her stuff down. “You're probably waiting for [Name], right?”

    “Tenya, if you didn't want to have the party, you could've said something,” Izuku insisted.

    Tenya had tried to tell them he didn't want to throw the party. Not at his house anyway. But they were so excited that they didn't listen. “It's fine. [Name] is coming home on Christmas. It'll be nice to have everyone here to welcome her back. I've just been putting it off. I didn't want to decorate alone.”

    Ochaco hugged him tightly. “I'm sorry, Tenya. We're here to help!”

    “Yeah!” Izuku looked disproportionately determined for the task. But Tenya was glad that his friend was as enthusiastic as ever. He needed the energy boost. “We're going to make it amazing for when [Name] comes home! You have nothing to worry about.”

    The pair ran off, doing what, Tenya didn't know. But he sure was glad to have friends like them. They helped him finish decorating downstairs. And he made them lunch. Soon everything was dripping with sparkling lights and garlands and glitter. Three stockings hung on hooks that suctioned to the wall, one for you, one for Tenya, and one for the dog. He hoped to add more stockings in the near future. But how was that going to happen when you were barely home together long enough?

    Ochaco and Izuku treated Iida to dinner that evening. Taking him to a restaurant down the way. They chatted quietly, mostly going over holiday plans.

    “We're going to my parents' on Christmas Eve,” Ochaco noted, looking over the menu. “Then Deku's mom and All Might are coming with us to the party Christmas day. I hope you don't mind.”

    Tenya shook his head. “No, it'll be nice to see them.”

    “Are you doing anything Christmas Eve? You could always come with us,” offered Izuku.

    “I'm going to my parents house. Tensei and his wife will be there.”

    Ochaco's eyes lit up. “I didn't know he got married!”

    “Not too long before I did. She's a lovely woman, and takes very good care of my brother. We're all very grateful to her.” Tensei smiled lightly, thinking about his brother's wedding. It'd been a very beautiful ceremony with many tears. He was best man, and dreaming about the day he was going to propose to you.

    They ate and talked and laughed. For just a little while, Tenya felt like himself. Izuku and Ochaco walked him back home. It was dark now, and cold bit through their coats.

    “Oh, before we go – I have invites for you to pass out at your agency.” Ochaco produced a stack of envelopes from her pocket. “Could you give them out next time you go in?”

    “I managed to get a few days off to prepare for [Name]'s arrival, but I can run them in tomorrow,” Tenya said, taking the stack.

    “Let us know when you're back,” said Izuku. “We'll help you decorate the outside.”

    Tenya shook his head. “You've already done so much, I couldn't ask for more.”

    “It's really no problem. We don't mind helping.”

    “Very well, then.” Tenya nodded. “I'll see you tomorrow.”

    As Tenya shut himself in for the night he sighed, leaning his head back against the door.

    Just two more days.

    Tenya set off bright and early the next morning. The air was still frosty and the sky looked like it wanted to flood the ground with more white. He was going to try and make this trip quick. He'd been getting increasingly pitying looks. He didn't want to hang around long, to see their eyes boring holes in him.

    He hesitated at the doors, watching as his breath floated up to the sky. Even with gloves on, it felt like the cold seeped through from the door handle. Tenya didn't bother going to his office. He stopped at the front desk. The woman there smiled up at him.

    “Good morning, Mr. Ingenium,” she greeted. “How can I help you?”

    “I need you to distribute these to all of the staff and heroes,” he said, pulling a large stack of envelopes from his coat. He'd spent the entire night trying to remember all of the staff at his agency.

    “Can do.” She took the envelopes. But she didn't shift her gaze. “You look tired, sir. Are you doing okay?”

    “There's a lot to do, is all. My wife will be home in a few days.” Tenya cleaned his glasses, looking for an excuse to break eye contact.

    “Right,” she bit curtly. “Your wife.”

    Tenya leaned on the counter, hoping to charm her with a smile. He was far too tired for this today. He was going to have to hire a new secretary sometime soon. “Izumi, it would mean a lot if you could pass these out to everyone. I'd be very grateful.”

    The woman softened. “Anything you want, sir.”

    He nodded. “Thank you.”

    Tenya left swiftly, before he had to endure anymore one sided flirting. The distaste his secretary expressed for his wife got tiresome. Along with her not-so-subtle hints for him to have an affair with her. He had more important things to worry about. Like making sure you came home to a magical display.

    “Izuku,” he started, phone to his ear as he walked down the road. “I just left I should be home....soon....”

    “Okay Tenya!” Izuku cheered from the other side. Then there was a long pause. “Tenya?”

    But the man was distracted by the window he was passing. “I'll call you back when I get to the house.”

    “Wait, is something wro –”

    Tenya hung up, staring at the window display. It was perfect. It was just what he was looking for to top off the season. You were going to love it. He rushed in, demanding the display in the window. He wasn't usually the type. But he was just too excited. The clerks gently packaged it, tying neat bows around the box. Tenya had to stop himself from sprinting full force down the road.

    He rushed a message to Izuku when he got home. But there was no hope of sitting still for him. By the time Ochaco and Izuku got there, he'd already had half the outside decorated. He was on the roof, hooking up the lights. He waved down at them.

    Ochaco floated up the rest of the boxes for the roof. Izuku nearly floated away as he tried to help finish the lights. Tenya caught him and hauled him down. It felt like they were back in UA as students with the ensuing chaos.

    Tenya treated the pair to a home made dinner. They had a few drinks and some laughs. But honestly, he just wanted to chug through the next few days. Today was the twenty third. Two more days to Christmas. Two more days to you coming home.

    The trio examined their handy work when the sun went down. The house glowed and twinkled. It really did look like a winter wonderland. Tenya just knew you were going to love it. He was looking forward to seeing your face as you watched the display they made.

    Just a few more days.

    The morning of the twenty fourth was a lazy one. He didn't want to get out of bed. Tenya wanted to lay there until the following night. When you'd be there with him. To finally warm the thorough chill that hadn't left him in days.

    But eventually he pulled himself up, going to the vase in the living room.

    “Twenty five,” he muttered, slipping a flower in. “Twenty six....you'll have a very big bouquet this time, [Name].”

    Tenya set to breakfast. He'd lost all his fire from yesterday. He was a tired shell now. He was so sure you were going to love what he found for you. But now one, long agonizing day laid ahead of him. The house was decorated, inside and out. Presents were wrapped. The tree was ready. Filled to the brim with perfectly packaged gifts, awaiting your arrival.

    Tomorrow would be the party. You'd arrive after dark, hopefully with people still around to greet you. You wouldn't have to worry about a thing. Ochaco and Izuku were going to take care of all the other little details. All of the invites read a potluck and BYOB. In the meantime, he had to wait the day out. The only thing he had to look forward to distract him was seeing his family later that evening.

    Christmas morning was to be lonely. Then, by three, the house would start filling up. By eight, you should be walking up the front entrance. By 8:01, you'd be in his arms and smothered in kisses. With any luck, you'd be making love by midnight.

    Tenya went out and shoveled snow again. More than two feet had fallen in the night. The more snow that fell, the more he worried the weather was going to be too rough for your plane. He needed you, sooner rather than later preferably.

    The day seemed to crawl away. Only a few minutes had passed every time he glanced at the clock. Had it always been so difficult to entertain himself? He'd already showered, made lunch, brushed snow meticulously from the front porch and back deck. He uncovered all of the decorations he'd put up the day before.

    He was impatient by the time he had to leave to see his family. Even the ride there drove him crazy. The road seemed to stretch. The cars squeezing from every side. Would the tedium ever cease?

    As the evening with his family began, he discovered it would not. Even as he laughed with his parents and brother, as he listened to stories and shared a few. His eyes never left his watch for long. It didn't go unnoticed, but it was left unmentioned. Just a look exchanged around him.

    They knew, of course. That he counted down every second until he'd see you again. The light and fire you brought into his life was wonderful to see. But how they wished you didn't leave so much.

    Tenya went to bed when he got home. But sleep didn't come. Not for a very long time. He tried to force himself asleep, just a single thought leaping in his head.

    One. More. Night.

    A new tickle of joy danced in his chest as he realized the day. Christmas. You were going to be home. He was going to be counting down the hours until he saw you.

    Tenya zipped through his morning. Shoveling the fresh few inches of snow. Hand making the dog's food for the next week. Making breakfast for himself, showering, and pulling out the outfit you'd picked over video call a week ago. Just a red sweater with stripes and snowflakes and charcoal grey slacks. He spent time cleaning, making sure every inch was dusted.

    He had his fire back – until he checked his phone just after lunch.

[NAME] (Wife)

My plane is being delayed. I won't be home until tomorrow. I'm so sorry, my love, I wanted to be home for Christmas. So, very much....

    Tenya felt a little bit of himself break. He slumped in his reading chair, phone discarded on the table. He stared blankly ahead of him. His worst fear had come true. One more day had turned into two. And with this snow, two could easily turn into three or four.

    Ochaco and Izuku came not too long after. They knocked on the door, rang the door bell. The dog barked. Eventually they tried the handle, letting themselves in. They exchanged a worried look as they spied their friend. They could see the hollowness of his eyes.

    “Tenya...?” Ochaco whispered.

    “She's not coming,” he muttered numbly.

    Izuku put a hand on Tenya's shoulder. “What do you mean?”

    “[Name]'s flight – it's been delayed. She won't be home until tomorrow....” Tenya could barely scrap his eyes to his phone. He didn't want to look at it. To see anything else that might ruin him.

    “But she'll be home, at least.”

    “You don't understand. You two have each other. Tensei will be spending the holiday with his wife. And I have her. If [Name] isn't here....”

    Izuku and Ochaco glanced at each other again.

    “We'll still have a good time, Tenya,” Ochaco said, trying to cheer him up.

    “Yeah, people will start to be here soon! You won't even know she's missing!” Then Izuku began to panic. “Not that we don't want her here. But maybe getting your mind off of her will help. Not that you shouldn't miss your wife on a holiday but –”

    Tenya chuckled. At least something was normal. Izuku eased some at the sound. He and Ochaco set up the kitchen, while Tenya put away anything he didn't want broken. You never knew if someone was going to get rowdy.

    As the first people showed up, the booze flooded in. Tenya had only meant to have one. But he was having a self-pity streak. One became two, two became three. Different Christmas mixes that people brought, some made right in his kitchen; homemade egg nogs, and Christmas cocktails, holiday ciders. He claimed they were just to try. Normally, he'd be following people around. Putting down coasters, ensuring that they didn't slosh on the couch, making sure no one was scuffing up the floors. But Izuku was already doing a pretty good job of that. Probably to make sure Tenya didn't have to worry. But it left him too idle.

    Tenya chatted with his co-workers as they came. They complimented his house, saying they wouldn't have expected anything else from an Iida. He went around, greeting everyone. Thanking each person for coming. Each drink numbing just slightly more. He spent a good deal of time talking to Izuku's mom and All Might.

    He was caught in the middle of an inescapable conversation with his insufferable secretary when Izuku came to tap him on the shoulder. His friend pointed towards the entrance to your house. Tenya's eyes followed his arm, going wide at what they found. They swept to the clock on the wall – it only read 5:23. In alarm, he triple checked what he was reading, to be sure he was right. With a puff from his quirk, Tenya launched himself.

    You screamed as he tackled you. He kept you upright, making you didn't fall. Tenya smooshed your face with too many kisses to keep up with. He squeezed you tightly in his arms. You could smell the liquor on him. Since when did he drink? You hoped this wasn't the start of a bad habit.

    “[Name]! You're here!” he exclaimed in disbelief. He held you at arm's length, looking you up and down just to be sure you were real.

    You laughed, nodding. “Yeah!”

    “But your plane –”

    “I – uh – I lied.” You glanced away from him, your face hot. “My flight was actually bumped up. I wanted to surprise you. I wasn't expecting you to get stupid drunk.”

    Tenya sunk to the floor, and pulled you into his lap. He was so cute with his goofy grin and the pink dusting on his cheeks. He rubbed his cheek against yours. Your guests chuckled at the sight. You pulled him in for a long, hard kiss. So glad to finally have him in your arms. You could feel every bit of his body against yours. You had to calm his hands as they roamed freely over your body. They were dipping into places that shouldn't be caressed in public.

    Finally – no more counting the days.

    No more nights between you.

    No more hours to wait.

    You two were together. And it was the sweetest feeling in the world.

    “Why wouldn't I have been upset by the delay?” he rambled. “I've missed you, and I didn't want to think of another day without you here. I needed a little boost. Drinking was perhaps not the best choice.”

    Tenya clung to you all night, never letting you out of his sight. Seeing everyone was lovely. You really couldn't have asked for a better homecoming. The lights he'd put up outside were spectacular. And the warm cozy air your home had taken on was supernatural. Or maybe it was just because you were glad to be home.

    It was nearly midnight when everybody finally left. Ochaco and Izuku had stayed to help you clean. Tenya wouldn't let you go long enough to do anything. You were about to force him upstairs when he stumbled over to the tree.

    “No, no, no – you have to open this. While it's still Christmas. Please,” Tenya pouted, and forced a little black box with a shimmering silver lid into your hand. The childish pout on his face was adorable, but he really should've been getting to bed.

    “Tenya –”

    “Open it.”

    You eyed him suspiciously, but planted yourself on the couch. He adhered himself to your side. He held you closely, head on your shoulder. A red ribbon was tied lovingly around the box. It was always too beautiful to unwrap. You had a suspicion Tenya hadn't done this himself. He packaged things neatly, but aesthetics weren't his forte.

    You pulled the ribbon, then peered into the box. You looked at him, then in the box, then back again.

    “You did not go out and spend a fortune,” you scolded.

    Tenya shrugged. “You deserve the world.”

    “Tenya!” But you couldn't deny it was beautiful.

    It was simple, with a thin silver chain. Hanging from the end was a pendant. It had your birth stone in set on the part where the chain went through. And there was immaculate scroll work around the edges. Tenya took it briefly from your hands, the pressed the sides.

    The front popped open. A lump pressed in your throat. A miniature of your wedding photo was nestled inside the frame. Tenya turned it over, revealing both of your initials along with your wedding date on the back.

    “I left the other half open, for when we have a family of our own,” he muttered drowsily. “I love you more than the world. I'm very happy you're finally home. I'd be very happy if you didn't have to leave again.”

    “I love this. I love you,” you murmured in reply, then turned your head to kiss him.

    You put the locket back in the box, then helped him stand. You hauled Tenya upstairs, and got him changed. He insisted on brushing his teeth, even though he coud barely stand up right. The necklace took up a home on your night stand. You were going to wear this every day that you could. It was your new favourite piece of jewelry.

    Once you were settled into bed, he immediately took you in him arms. He hummed in content.

    “How would you feel about being a secretary?” Tenya slurred, nuzzling his nose into the back of your neck. “I'm going to need a new one soon. Mine is gonna get fired.”

    You sighed. “I actually wanted to talk to about that. I wanted to wait until you were sober. But – I'm going to quit my job. That way I can be home with you. If we want a family....I'm also tired of spending so much time away from you. You can't imagine how lonely the world is without you with me to see it.”

    Tenya sighed. “I want your....baabbeeezzz...”

    You chuckled. “Tenya? - Love?”

    A light snoring told you he was out cold. You smiled to yourself as he snuggled closer to you. You relaxed into him. You'd been waiting for this for ages. Or, it felt like ages anyway. You didn't want to be away from him anymore. Coming home to the one you love? It was amazing. But getting to stay home with them? That was the best Christmas gift you could ask for.

~

[sunflowersseemhappy]

hi!! so glad your requests are open again- can I get modern main six picking mc up from the airport after a long and tiring trip? ty 💖

Hi to you too anon, I’m glad my requests are back open too! I hope you like, I quite enjoyed this little scenario and I’ve got requests for a Modern AU so more of this is coming!

REQUESTS ARE OPEN and here is my Masterlist!

Asra

Always on time, Asra says it’s because he has ‘magic powers’.

In reality he just has the app that tells him when your planes land.

Likes to sneak up on you outside the gates, but his white as always hair  generally makes him stand out.

If he’s able to he’ll grab your bags before you’re through the gate and you find him sitting on the large suitcase with that fox-like smirk after he texts “Behind you! 😜” to your phone.

Standing up and opening his arms as you slouch into them and give him a tired kiss as he lifts you up so your toes are off the floor.

He usually pulls your chin up to give you another lingering kiss on your lips before picking up your bags.

He updates you on any news on the way to his car, opening the door for you and then lugging the bags into the trunk.

When he’s sitting in the car too Asra will lean over and give you another lingering kiss as he pops the glove compartment open.

Handing you your favourite snack and drink as well as popping in your favourite music CD or radio station.

On the car ride home Asra is either rubbing your knee or holding your hand at every possible second, talking about the new recipe he found for pumpkin bread and how Faust managed to escape her tank again.

His smooth chatter lulls you to sleep every time, that, and the jet lag.

Now that he expects it Asra has a nice warm pile of blankets and pillows to snuggle up in every time, cradling you in his arms as he lies back and enjoys the sound of your soft snores.

He doesn’t mean to but he usually falls asleep too, often times he finds the escaped Faust nestled up on his chest when the two of you wake.

You find it pretty funny how friendly that little snake is toward Asra, and how much she likes cuddles, but you can’t really complain.

Asra’s cuddles are the best.

Nadia

Usually on time, although her day job sometimes makes her a bit late.

She’ll text you all the same to tell you when she’s on her way or there.

Nadia usually waits by the exits to the airport for two reasons:

a) its hard to find her way in crowds (especially given she’s been on a few magazine covers) and...

b) she wouldn’t get to hold up the sign near the taxi drivers that says “love of my life” for you to find her (you get a few stares and giggles but it is pretty cute).

As you go up to her Nadia will loop her arm around yours and help you carry the bags with a vivid smile, asking how the journey went, etc...

Once the two of you have packed up the car Nadia will loop her arms around your neck and give you a long smooch on the cheek, giggling at the mark her lipstick leaves.

Rubbing it off with her thumb she’ll beckon you to get in the car and depending on what you want to do or what time it is Nadia will ask you if you want to go get a massage, or go to a restaurant.

Most of the time you shrug, wherever Nadia is you’ll be happy, although you really fancy some of your favourite take out food (think KFC/McDonalds/Chinese).

But whatever you want Nadia obliges with a wink and a kiss as you rumble down the roads in her car.

Afterwards when you’re yawning so wide Nadia jokes you could swallow an orange whole she takes you home where the two of you chat over your take out and joke over strange happenings.

Outside the owl Nadia has named Chandra watches your shadows by the window.

Then the two of you watch a movie, it doesn’t take long until you are asleep, snoozing against Naida’s chest as she fiddles with your hair and thinks about the meeting she has in the next hour.

She can cancel, this moment with you is much more important.

Julian

Julian is always late, every single time, but not overly so.

He’s never been more than an hour late, but night shifts are tough on him so you don’t really mind.

Its a good time to grab some coffee and sort out any missed calls on the flight whilst waiting for him. Free Wi-Fi is a god-send in airports.

Just as you’re about to check up with Julian on the phone, a tall lanky man, all too familiar pulls out a chair and slumps across the table.

Taking a final sip of your coffee you’d laugh if Julian didn’t look so upset about being late once again.

You just ruffle his hair sympathetically and nod in understanding as he grumbles into the table, dipping your own chin to rest it on the table.

You give him a quick fleeting kiss on the corner of his mouth when he looks up at your silence, face instantly going crimson as you place your hands either side of his face and nod to get out of the airport.

As the ‘gentleman’ he is Julian insists on carrying all your bags, it’s like a game of Tetris (that he’s loosing) as you watch him fumble disastrously with the keys, the truck and the bags.

When he sets aside the suitcase to open the door for you it starts loudly clattering away across the uneven ground and he has to race to save it from getting smashed under another car.

Once the two of you are finally in the car, Julian breathless from running and you breathless from holding back laughter the two of you give each other smiles and snigger between yourselves.

Julian offers you some of his cold coffee on the way back home, which you manage to decline. Thankfully your warm coffee is working just fine.

So much so that when you get back to your little apartment the two of you spend all night in the kitchen, talking, drinking and cooking some successful and not so successful dishes (thankfully the neighbourhood raven Julian has affectionately named Malak is more than happy for the scraps).

Somehow you’re both drunk enough to dance and twirl each other around, lazily kissing until you collapse to the floor leaning against Julian’s shoulder from the exhaustion in your feet.

You wouldn’t have it any other way.

Muriel

Muriel is usually early to the airport, he likes to make sure he can avoid traffic and have Inanna (a wolf dog mix) buckled up to come along. Inanna loves car rides.

And to your memory he has never been late once.

Given his dislike for crowds you usually find him perched on a bench outside the exit scanning the crowd for you and once he sees you his face brightens, then goes red when he realises he made such a face.

Inanna is instantly jumping at your heels as she runs to greet you, almost knocking you off balance as she does so, Muriel is up on his feet steadying you before you know it.

“Inanna missed you... and so did I.”

Your hand slipping into his Muriel leans down so that he can plant a kiss to the top of your head, cheekily you reach around his neck and hug him placing your lips against his with a small smirk.

He turns brighter red, beginning to lead you off to his car, carrying all your bags in one hand and leading along the suitcase in the other.

Once they’re in the trunk you bump into Muriel affectionately, his own smirk plays on his lips as he helps you up into the cab of his pickup, as soon as you’re seated Inanna is trying to lick your face.

As Muriel pushes Inanna off you he offers you some of your favourite seasoned bread and some boiled eggs to snack on as he drives the three of you home.

By the time you’re back home it’s raining and you racing Muriel into the house, you’re pretty sure he let you win but even so the both of you are soaked to the bone.

You spend the evening in your small bathroom, dancing around each other to reach things, somehow the two of you both fit in the tub together and wash each other’s hair.

Leaning back on Muriel in the warm soapy water is enough to make you doze as he combs your hair through his fingers.

Muriel makes you a nice warm meal just before you fall asleep properly in his arms with Inanna laying across the two of you.

You’re home.

Portia

Like her brother Portia is always famously late.

Usually because of her various hobbies and huge workload.

Retreating from the hustle and bustle of the airport you find a nice spot to chill out and flick through your phone, thankfully Portia sent you a text saying she’d be late but was on her way.

Just as you’re finishing a soda, a small Portia-shaped creature tackles you with a squeal of joy, bowling you over into the grass. Jubilantly yelling “you’re back! You’re back, you’re back, you’re back!”

It definitely creates a scene but you don’t much care about that as you hug Portia back, your face burying into her curls.

When you pull back Portia is reeling off all kinds of questions, barely taking a breath in between and not really waiting for your answers, with a roll of your eyes you give Portia a smooch to shut her up.

That triggers her to kiss you a bunch of times all over your face, until you yell for mercy.

The only one of the six who doesn’t drive Portia is glued to you as you ride the buses back home, as if she’s afraid you’ll leave again.

To make up for being late she’s brought you your favourite Starbucks/Costa drink and the two of you sip on them until you finally get home.

Pepi comes to greet you (in a little sweater?) with much meowing and by winding herself through your legs, it takes a lot of bribing with tuna for the cat to leave you be for the evening.

The two of you order in a pizza or two as Portia goes over her new hobby of making cat clothes with Pepi as the model, the cat gives you a miffed look that makes you laugh during the talk.

It takes hours for Portia to tell you what’s been going on and all the latest gossip, so much so that when she finally runs out of things to say you’re fast asleep with a placid smile on your lips.

Portia has god to admit, you’re pretty cute when you’re asleep.

Lucio

On time or late, but never early.

Lucio’s been counting down the seconds till he sees you again, but usually that leads to him getting bored and falling asleep.

That particular day Lucio is on time and it is not hard to miss him...

When he pulls up in his shiny new car (the second in a month) honking his custom horn and yelling your name from the window enthusiastically.

You let out a curt chuckle as he pulls up in the pick up bay and jumps out of his car, hair slicked back and ray-bans on his nose, not at all aware that his car is rolling forwards.

“Um...Lucio!”

“I know, I know, you missed me so much-” His arm comes to circle around your shoulders as he gives you a winning smile. You sigh wearily as the two of you hear a crunch.

“The handbrake is off again.”

Lucio is pouting in the cab of the recovery truck as it tows his car back home you can only comfort him about the loss of his new car.

But he surprises you when he explains that he was going to treat you to dinner at your absolutely favourite restaurant and that’s why he’s upset.

It’s so sweet that you cup his face and plant a kiss to the corner of his mouth, tousling his hair with your hand as you pluck his sunglasses off his face and sit them on your own nose.

Scoffing Lucio moves in to give you a much fiercer kiss, the recovery man clears his throat and you put a finger to Lucio’s lips to make him wait.

When you finally get dropped off and Lucio’s car is taken to the mechanic, you shrug when you get up to the apartment as Mercedes and Melinchor leap at your knees.

You manage to scavenge some microwave popcorn and a dusty wine bottle from the back of the cupboards (Lucio eats out a lot when you’re gone), and the two of you spend the evening watching terrible rom-coms.

Lucio kissing the back of your neck as you lie up against his chest, dozing off from his feather-light kisses.

Lucio only notice’s when you start to snore but despite the disaster of the day so long as you’re around not much can put him down.

Well except when he got a call saying his car was a write off.

[astoryinred]

3, 10, 17, and 22 about enjolras for character asks ^-^

Oh this is fun!

3. What clothing do they usually wear? Do they keep up with the era's fashion? Would they wear a wig? - Enjolras hardly considers himself a man of fashion: he will wear whatever is comfortable but also smart looking. In this case it means a shirt, waistcoat, morning coat or tail coat, cravat (in a small knot), trousers, and a good pair of shoes or boots. He thinks breeches make him look like a fop. He also doesn't particularly care if his clothes are a year or two behind what is trendy, and would just as soon have a tailor repair or update his clothes instead of getting a new suit altogether. He has no need for a wig and will never have need for it.

10. Can they cook? How many different meals can they make? What is their favourite? What would they like to try?

- Enjolras can boil an egg, but he probably cannot make a several course meal. He doesn't particularly like cooking, to be honest. But if asked to show off, he can come up with some good fried fish or a decent summer salad. He is a bit piqued by charcuterie boards and would like to learn how to appreciate them.

17. Can they sing? What kinds of songs do they know?

- Oh yes, Enjolras can sing. He has a good voice (baritone). He knows a lot of folk songs in Occitan, and can be caught singing them or humming them sometimes. He has picked up some of the more sane drinking songs from his friends, and can keep up.

22. How superstitious are they? Do they have any personal rituals/traditions?

- Enjolras doesn't take stock into superstitions, even if he knows all of them. His personal rituals and traditions are built more around the people he loves and reveres.

Every June 5, he will visit the Rue de Chanvrerie to honor those who died there.

Every morning he winds the watch Combeferre gave him a year after the barricade, and he visits his friend at his home in Picpus at least once every few weeks.

He takes up invites to go sparring or shooting with Courfeyrac since it's the time that they can talk about things without colleagues/ladies/kids butting in.

Every day he tells Eponine that he will see her later, since that phrase serves to ground them both. He also does wait for that phrase coming from her if she's the one leaving the house first.

He lets Gavroche call him a 'statue' as an old joke, but he calls Neville and Jacques 'petit' since they are practically his sons.

He calls Jehan his brother and Azelma his sister because those two always wanted older brothers but never got that.

He leaves doors unlocked for Feuilly, so the latter never feels unwelcome.

He always brings some curiosity or food for Bahorel when visiting him at the Prefecture.

When he gets a package of dried citrons from his extended family in Provence, he shares them with Joly and Bossuet.

He lets Grantaire throw around mythological allusions because that's how they get each other (after all these years).

He makes sure to talk to both Marius and Cosette if there are some decisions that need to be made involving that family, since he knows Cosette has a mind of her own.

[starlessskies94]

Consequence (Joel Miller x OC)

Summary: What if Joel survived his injuries from the Abby and Fireflies attack but ends up with really bad amnesia. He can’t remember his wife, Ellie, or the Outbreak; only before. How will his family bring back the man they once knew?

Pairing: Joel Miller x OC

Note: Okay this is a big one, I wrote this over the course of like 3 days I think? Anyway I hope you like it because it's probably the longest chapter I've ever written for one of my stories <3

Chapter One

It was just five in the morning when Adaline Miller woke up. Her head still a little groggy from a decent night’s sleep and her fading dreams. She turned to see Joel still asleep beside her; his gentle snores muffled into his pillow. She smiled and leaned over kissing his bare shoulder before rolling out of bed to get ready for her day.

Stepping downstairs towards the kitchen, Ada realised just how cold it was when she noticed how frosted over the windows had become overnight. Ada hated winter. It was her least favourite season. After everything that had happened almost five years ago it wasn’t hard to understand why. Even now she still sometimes had nightmares about it.

Waking up to find Joel cold in his bed; his stomach wound torn open. Blood everywhere. Or finding Ellie beaten and bruised, left alone in that burned out restaurant.

Joel had always been there to console her, holding her until she calmed down. His voice low to just a whisper as he told her everything was okay. She was safe. He was there and he wasn’t ever going to leave.

It was a comfort she appreciated even after being married to the man for just under four years.

Stepping through into the kitchen, the brunette quickly got to work preparing some eggs on the stove for breakfast before moving across the counter to make up a pot of coffee for herself and Joel. She still wasn’t totally sure what her husband had traded for the beans; but Joel had seemed rather embarrassed by it for some reason. Though after finally getting to taste coffee again after so long, she didn’t much care she supposed. After the hot water was boiled she poured the beverage out, setting aside Joel’s favourite owl mug for when he came down.

Joel had always been an early riser and more often than not, he was almost always the one that beat her to the kitchen in the morning. It had taken some time after settling in Jackson to actually get the man to finally relax a little. It was unfortunate for Ada that he had taken that to mean ‘no sleeping in past seven’. Even on days off, Joel was up before the sun. Lucky Ada had found her own ways to at least keep him in bed past seven on those days; sleeping or otherwise. Thankfully Joel never complained.

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the creaking of the stairs as Ada glanced up to meet eyes with Joel. His arms stretched above his head and suppressing a yawn. He stepped through the door, his hand dropping to scratch at his bearded chin.

“Morning darlin’.” Joel slurred, heading straight for his coffee mug. “Hold on...why are you dressed already?” Ada questioned. Her egg covered spoon gesturing at him in his winter gear. Joel followed her gaze, his brows raised in confusion. “I thought you weren’t on patrol until this afternoon.” She clarified.

“Oh yeah...forgot to tell you last night. Change of plans. Tommy’s gotten word of a horde gathering near the ski lodge.” He explained between sips, leaning against the counter, crossing one foot over the over. “Reckon we needed to deal with it quickly before it gets to be a problem.”

Ada pouted but said nothing, her gaze turning from Joel back to her scrambled eggs on the stove. Joel sighed abandoning his mug on the side as he moved across towards her. His arms wrapping around her waist and resting his chin over her shoulder.

“I can hear you thinking.” He said lowly into her ear. But again Ada said nothing. He sighs moving to kiss her neck but she turns her head away as he does.

He hates this. He hates when she worries. It’s always the same routine when he heads out for clean up duty. Clearing out infected is never an easy job but it is what keeps Jackson safe. They both know that. But still whenever he’s due to leave for another job, Ada goes quiet. She’s distant and he fucking hates it.

It was the same when Ellie first asked to train for patrol, they’d been reluctant. And while they were both well aware of Ellie’s skills and her strength; it was still hard watching their baby girl in such a hurry to go out alone without them.

His arms around her waist squeeze gently as he pulls her close to his chest, his head over her shoulder stealing a kiss on her cheek.

“Baby please stop worrying, I’ll be fine.” He knew it was a foolish thing to promise because the world they lived in wasn’t safe. You never knew what the next day would bring. But if there was anything in this world Joel would find to fight for; it was coming home to his wife. His family.

Ada dumped the cooked eggs onto the plates laid out, they were a little burned on the edges. She hadn’t been paying that much attention to them if she was honest. Then turned in her husband’s arms to face him.

“Back by dinner or I kick your ass.” She warned playfully. “Deal.” He chuckled, pulling her close as their lips met in a kiss.

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

It didn’t take long for Ada to get to the stables when she’d finished breakfast. After reluctantly pulling herself from Joel’s arms; they’d both parted ways as the older man went to meet his brother at the gate.

She’d quickly threw herself into her list of jobs for the day, hoping it would take her mind off her worry.

“Morning Max.” She smiled at the stable hand, walking through to the back room. “Mornin’ Ada, whadda we got today?” he grinned in reply, his frame leaning through the door as she tidied her workspace. Collecting all her notes and paperwork together.

“Well Daisy has been lame for a couple days so she needs to stay on box rest. Then I need King and Blue tacked up before noon.” She explained, her eyes never leaving the sheets of paper in her hand. “Bob and Maggie are headed out on patrol so they need them ready before half twelve.”

“You got it boss!” Max assured with a joyful grin, sending her a mock salute. She chuckled at the old man as he disappeared from the doorway, but she quickly caught up to him, catching herself on the wooden frame.

“Oh! Could you also take Barnaby out into the paddock this morning please? He had a touch of colic yesterday and I want to keep his gut moving to make sure it’s passed.” She explained. Max simply nodded and turned to make a start on his duties. Ada always liked Max. He was an older gentleman, around seventy years old but still incredibly fit for his age. He’d arrived in Jackson a few years after herself, Ellie and Joel. Along with his grandsons from somewhere near Montana. Having the experience of running his own ranch before the Outbreak; he’d been the perfect fit to help Ada run the stables and take care of the horses.

She continued through until around nine o’ clock, just making the finishing touches to the poultice she’d wrapped around the gelding’s leg she was treating. “There ya go buddy.” She cooed sweetly, giving the horse a soft scratch behind the ears as he nickered in reply.

“Morning Ada!” A familiar voice greeted as the brunette moved to close the stable door closed behind her. “Morning Dina, you out on patrol this morning?”

“Yep, heading out on the creek trails with Ellie.” She smiled, Ada quickly returning it as they both looked to Ellie walking through the door. “How’s my boy?” Dina asked, grabbing Ada’s attention once again.

“Oh he’s fine, Japan had a little mud fever but I think we got it under control now. He’s good to go. All tacked up for you with Max down there.” Dina gave her a quick thumbs up and threw a thanks over her shoulder as she ran down towards the back of the barn. Leaving the woman alone with her adoptive daughter who slowly trailed behind.

“Good morning sunshine. How are you feeling this morning?” She teased. Ellie rolled her eyes at her mother’s smirk.

“Oh jeez don’t. I already got half the town giving me weird looks.” She whined. After the dance the night before, her kiss with Dina, Seth drunk and aggressively harassing the girls; it had certainly been the talk of the town the following morning. Ellie was just hoping she could outlive the embarrassment.

“So you and Dina patrolling together huh? That should be interesting. Have you talked to her yet?” “Ugh mom stop!” Ellie hissed softly, her lips twitching into a subtle smile.

“What? I like her, she’s a sweet girl. You two would be so cute together.” The teen stifled a giggle as she playfully shoved her mom’s shoulder, the older woman chuckling in return. “Shut up.”

The laughter faded when Ada sighed in thought, Ellie glancing back knowing what was coming next. Her gaze immediately falling to her feet.

“You uh...you talk to Joel yet?” She asked cautiously. For the past two years; it had been a sore subject for Ellie whenever Ada brought Joel up in conversations. After finding out the truth back in Salt Lake; she’d been so angry at both of them for everything they had kept from her. But after learning that Joel had been the one that pulled the trigger. That one that had made that decision for all of them and acted alone, she’d declared she wanted nothing more to do with him. And while it had been hard for Ada to be stuck in the middle; she’d still tried her damn hardest to build a bridge between them.

“A little...but one conversation isn’t going to fix everything.” She mumbled. Her foot kicking at the mud covered floor, eyes never leaving the ground.

“It’s a start though. Baby he really misses you.” she said. “I know. I still don’t know if I can forgive him for what he did though. But I am willing to try.” Ellie said softly, her hands now pulling at her jacket sleeves. “I uh...I was thinking of maybe inviting him over for a movie night tomorrow. If that’s okay?”

Ada smiled at this. It had been hard with Ellie not speaking to Joel for so long, watching the man she loved struggle with losing a daughter that no longer wanted anything to do with him. It was obvious he was hurting even if he never said the words out loud. He missed Ellie, he’d be so grateful to hear she wanted to do movie night again, for the first time in so long.

“Of course it is. When you get back from patrol we’ll figure something out okay? Joel’s out with Tommy but he should be back by dinner.”

Ellie simply nodded with a timid smile before turning towards Max waiting with Shimmer.

“Hang on, gotcha some lunch. I still worry you ain’t eating enough.” Ada shouted after her, reaching into her backpack to hand her daughter the pack of food she’d prepared.

“Thank you!” Dina called before Ellie had the chance to reply, swiping the pack out of Ada’s hand. “Hey! She said my lunch!” Ellie poked in jest. The teen simply scoffed peaking through the bag to see what was inside. “Our lunch...there’s plenty for both of us. Let’s see; turkey sandwiches, nice.” Dina continued snooping through the pack while Ellie merely rolled her eyes as Ada stood with folded arms smirking at the two. They really were cute together.

“Oh shit! No way, Ellie there’s cookies in here! Awesome! Thanks Ada!”

Ada laughed at Dina’s joy as Ellie reluctantly followed behind, snatching the packed lunch back and stuffing it into her bag before Dina could complain.

“Ugh I haven’t had cookies since I was a kid. I fucking love your mom, she’s just the best.” Dina complimented as she mounted Japan, taking the reins and walking the gelding out into the snow, Ellie not far behind on Shimmer. The young girl turned back to take one last glance at her mother brushing down another horse, a smile lighting up her face.

“Yeah, yeah she is.” Ellie agreed.

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After such an early start, Ada was pleased when the day was beginning to draw to an end. She’d not stopped the whole day and she was tired.

When the time came to feed and bed down the horses for the night, she was more than ready to head home, eat dinner, maybe snuggle up to Joel on the couch to watch a movie and call it a day. She’d already sent Max home to his boys when she finished up the last of her routine checks to close up the barn; when she’d been ambushed by both Jesse and Dina.

They both looked terrified, Dina with tear stained cheeks and Jesse breathless and shell shocked like he’d just run for miles without taking a second to breathe.

The brunette couldn’t remember much of what was said when they’d bombarded her with information. Only that something bad had happened and it had happened to Joel.

A thousand thoughts had rushed through her head at once. A flash of images muddled with the white noise that squealed in her ears the closer she ran towards the infirmary. Her nightmare was coming true and she felt like she was drowning. Lost in a dark ocean of uncertainty, falling without a lifeline to hold on to.

When she burst through the doors, Tommy was the first to reach her. She winced aghast at seeing his injuries. His swollen black eye, the deep bloodied gash on his forehead. She felt numb as her brother in law explained what had happened. What those bastards had done to her husband. Shot and beaten mercilessly. Her heart ached, her eyes raw from the tears she’d cried. And what made the whole thing worse, was that Ellie had been there to see the whole thing.

Ada had tried to brace herself before stepping into Joel’s room, her hand trembling as she reached for the handle. Ellie was sat slumped over his bedside, her hand clinging to his as he lay unconscious. The scuff of her mother’s boots grabbing her attention as she rose to her feet and met her halfway when Ada rushed towards her with open arms.

“Mom!” Ellie whimpered and it reminded her all too much of that night all those years ago. Ada squeezed her eyes shut as she pulled Ellie closer, her heart beating in her ears.

“Oh baby girl.” She soothed, her hand gently stroking her back for comfort. “I tried…” Ellie hiccuped. “I tried to stop them. I begged them to stop but they wouldn’t listen. And I told Joel to get up, just fucking get up.” Her voice broke as the girl choked back another sob and Ada couldn’t help her own tears as she listened silently. Gently guiding Ellie back to Joel’s bedside so she could sit, all the while the mother never once letting go of her daughter.

“I told him to get up, but it was like he’d just given up.” She explained quietly. Her shaking hands reaching up to wipe at her sore bloodshot eyes. Her cheeks and nose reddened from her tears. “The doctor said he needs to be asleep for a while, something about something needing time to settle?! I don’t fucking know!” She shouted in frustration, almost collapsing from exhaustion in her chair.

Ada merely nodded solemnly. Tommy had partly explained before she’d rushed to Joel. The doctor had insisted on keeping Joel sedated to give the brain time to heal itself while the swelling subsides. Ada just hoped it wouldn’t take too long for him before he was able to wake up.

As the night drew on Ellie had finally given in to her fatigue, stretching on the old beat up couch in the corner of the room. Tommy had thoughtfully brought her a blanket and a bag of clothes for the girls before heading home himself, Ada swearing that she would send Ellie the second they had any news on his brother.

It wasn’t until then that Ada had the still and the silence of the night did she truly take in Joel’s injuries. His leg, broken and mangled. It had been a damn miracle that they’d even be able to save it. But there had been a reasonable amount of confidence it would eventually heal, though Joel would definitely have some difficulty getting around at first and most likely a permanent limp afterwards; he was damn lucky in that respect.

His head injuries however were a different story. There were still flecks of dried blood in patches of his dark head where the club had struck. Patches of hair cut away, close to the scalp in order to reach the violent blows into his crown. Deep cuts and dark bruises covered his handsome face. A good chunk of his ear was missing, she’d noticed as she softly brushed her fingers through his hair in a feeble attempt to clean him up. It had been treated and neatly stitched but would most likely leave a scar.

Her lips trembled as a quiet sob worked its way up into her throat, her eyes blurred from the welling tears the longer she looked at him.

She should have been there...Why hadn’t she been there?!

The days went by and Joel still hadn’t woken up. The doctor took him off sedation a few days after the attack, in the hopes he would come around on his own. The endless nights slowly dragging by, each holding with it a suffocating pause that felt to be drawing out longer and longer. Like the string of a bow, pulling tighter and tighter until it was closely reaching its breaking point, a moment of holding strong until it was too much to bear.

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It had been exactly nine days later when Joel eyelids flickered. His fingers twitched and convulsed as he finally began to regain consciousness.

A string of mumbles and panicked gasps uttered from his dry lips as he stirred awake. And Ellie and Ada were right there beside him. The young girl skidding on her heel as she took off through the door in order to grab Tommy.

“Joel? Can you hear me?” Ada asked delicately. Her heart beating rapidly in her chest. Tentatively reaching out to place her hand upon his as he moved to face her with squinted eyes.

“Wher...Where?” He tried to speak. His voice low and rough like gravel. It strained against his dry throat. Ada quickly moving to his bedside to help him drink from the glass of water placed beside him.

He winced but managed a few mouthfuls before lowering himself back down against his pillow. His tired eyes darted around the room, breath quickening and short the more the confusion set in as to how he’d ended up there.

“You're in the infirmary. You were out with Tommy and were attacked.” Ada explained carefully, Joel’s eyes drifting back towards her sat by his bedside. “Was anyone else hurt?” He asked. “Tommy got roughed up a little, bump on the head and a black eye. Couple of bruised ribs but he’ll be fine.”

Joel simply nodded at the information. His eyes never leaving Ada.

“Is Sarah okay? I assume she’s with Tommy, could you call her? Tell her I’m okay…” He spoke so casually, Ada almost didn’t hear what he’d said. But yet there was no change in his eyes as he asked the question. “How long do you reckon till I can head home?”

This question made Ada stop cold. Her heart slowing and her breath catching in her throat.

“Joel... do you know who I am?”

He looked at her like she was crazy, the confusion met in the touching of his dark brows creasing with his forehead. “Yeah, you’re my doctor.”

It was at that moment Ada almost collapsed. When she realised there was truly no hint of recognition in Joel’s eyes as he stared at her.

Her worst fear realised; her own husband saw her as a stranger.

[harley-sunday]

The Draw [16]

Summary: The whirlwind starts at the 2018 ACE Comic Con in Phoenix but you’re not sure where it will end…

Pairing: Sebastian Stan x reader (unnamed OFC)

Warnings: Language. 

Word count: 5k

AN: I just can’t seem to quit this story - I keep adding parts... But. BUT. We are closer to end. There’s not much more I can say without giving anything away, except that this chapter seems to consist of mostly phone calls... 🤷🏻‍♀️ I hope you like it, please let me know what you think - I’d love to read your thoughts :) ♥

Masterlist

“I don’t know, Brad,” you try your hardest not to sound as frustrated as you feel, “last week you told me that you understood the process, so I don’t really get why we are missing all this inventory right now.” You rub your temples, trying to get rid of the headache that started when you got to the office this morning, quietly cursing the jetlag that has been bothering you ever since you got back from Greece on Saturday, although you know Brad’s fuck-up also has something to do with it. Inventory is not that difficult. 

Brad, who’s been interning at the San Francisco office for a grand total of three weeks and yet somehow thinks he’s God’s gift to this company, just shrugs, “I’m sorry?”

You just stare at him and shake your head, “No. Go over it one more time, ok? I’m keeping these here,” you tap the stack of papers on your desk, “so really start at zero again and report back to me tomorrow morning.” You watch him roll his eyes before he nods and turns around to leave. “Brad?” You no longer try to hide the annoyance in your voice, “Close the door on your way out, will you?”

When he does you let out a frustrated groan and lean back in your chair, quietly shaking your head and wondering if you were ever this cocky when you first started working here. Probably not, Deb would have never allowed it. As if on cue your phone rings and when you see who’s calling you answer with a smile, “Hi, Deb.”

“How you holding up, kid?”

“Just told an intern to start over on inventory,” you offer, “so I’m sure he’s telling the other interns what a bitch I am right about now.”

You hear Deb chuckle, “Good for you.” There are some muffled sounds on the other end of the line then and you can just imagine her getting up and walking to the kitchen to get another cup of coffee because the woman seems to run on double espressos and cigarettes. “Listen, I want to run something by you.”  

Weird. This is weird. Usually she just informs you after whatever it is she has decided, but her wanting to 'run something by you' tells you she actually wants your opinion. You sit up in your chair, curious to hear what she has to say, “Sure.”

“Technically I’ve found someone to take over the San Francisco office from you,” she says, “and on short notice too, because I know you’ve already been out there longer than you’d like.”

“Ok,” you draw out, not sure where she’s going with this.

You hear her sigh and then she mutters something about biting the bullet before she says, “It’s Mark.”

“Oh.” Your heart drops and your throat goes dry, the lump that suddenly has appeared hard to swallow. There’s a million things running through your head all at the same time, some good, most of them bad, and an involuntary shiver runs down your spine. You don’t really know what else to say and so you stay quiet, waiting for Deb to give you something more to go on.

“I know,” her voice is unusually kind, reserved only for the really shitty situations and it tells you she hates this as much as you do. She clears her throat then, “I’ll be honest with you, kid, I contacted him. I know he wasn’t happy when I shipped him off to the London office after you-” she hesitates and clears her throat again, “After what happened. Thing is, he has done some great work there, out of all our overseas offices, this one’s giving us the best turnover.”

You only half-listen to her listing off why this is a good idea, your mind drifting to when you first met Mark. There was talk of a new guy coming in to maybe take over from Deb in a few years, supposedly the best in the business although some called him an asshole who would stop at nothing to get to the top and so by default you had decided you probably wouldn't like him, but then all of a sudden there he was, all six foot two of him, full of ambition and good looks  and sweeping you off your feet almost instantly. You told yourself, and him, you didn’t do office romance, that you would never date a colleague, but all it took was one night of overtime and some celebratory drinks after to make you forget your so-called rule. 

And the first six months were good, really good. Or at least that’s what you thought. In the end there were warning signs all along, but you just choose to ignore them. And even now you’re not sure what triggered him but something changed after those six months and Mark became manipulative, obsessive, and abusive, and at first you told yourself it was just stress from work, even though deep down you knew better. Still, you always believed you’d be the one to make him change his ways, if only you did what he wanted. Problem was, you were never sure what that was. 

He’d want you to wear a tight dress and high heels one day, and the next he would tell you you looked like a whore and what were you thinking leaving the house looking like that? It took you too long to understand you could never make him happy, no matter what you did, and that he would always find things to obsess over. When you finally realized your relationship had turned toxic it still took you another two years to quit him, and that was only after you learned he’d cheated on you with a girl from accounting. When Deb found out what Mark did she immediately took your side and made it look like his sudden move to the London office had been planned all along even though you know she had to pull quite a few strings. 

She still doesn’t know about the verbal abuse and the threats and the mind games, you realize then. Maybe if she did she wouldn’t have offered him to come back. 

“You still there?” Her voice interrupts your thoughts. 

“Yeah.” 

She sighs and you can just imagine her pinching the bridge of her nose, “Thing is, with the experience he has, you’d only need a day, two at most, to bring him up to speed.” She hesitates, “If we bring in someone new-”

“It’ll take at least four weeks,” you offer with a nod even though she can’t see you. 

“Yes.” 

“Yes,” you echo. You roll your lip between your teeth, trying to decide whether or not you should tell her the full story. Would it matter? And if it did, would it mean you’d be stuck out here longer?

“Listen, take the day to think about it,” she offers then, “get back to me tomorrow and let me know, ok?” 

“Ok.”

“Alright.” 

Before you get a chance to say goodbye she has disconnected the call and so you’re left with your own thoughts. Tapping your phone against your chin you’re trying to decide what to do, but it seems like too big of a decision to make on your own. You pull up your texting app and send Lauren a quick message:

You free tonight? 

Her reply comes not much later and surprises you:

Sorry, can’t tonight. Going on a date :)

You type a reply almost immediately:

?? Why didn’t you tell me? But also, YASSS! Go get it, girl! Call me tomorrow?

You lean back in your chair while you wait for her reply, a little upset that she didn’t tell you, and you can’t help but wonder why. 

Her reply doesn’t really make you feel any better:

You were busy, babe. Talk to you tomorrow.

You kick off your shoes the moment you step into the apartment you refuse to call home, and head straight to the kitchen to pour yourself a glass of wine, before you open the takeout container and put some of the fried rice and egg rolls you got from your favourite restaurant on a plate. It’s still nice outside and so you end up on the tiny balcony, now bare feet propped up on the railing as you eat your dinner. 

The thought of having to work with Mark again, if only for a short while, takes up most of your headspace and you hate how indecisive you are about it. Part of you wants nothing to do with him ever again, but part of you knows he really is the best man for the job. Say what you will about the asshole, but he knows how to run a company. Having Mark at the San Francisco office would probably mean neither you nor Deb would have to step in ever again and, you reason, he could probably manage Seattle and Phoenix from here too. 

You really just want to talk to somebody about this, because putting your thoughts into words has always helped you, and so you call your brother.

The call goes straight to voicemail although a message follows soon after:

At Jake's science fair, or did you forget that was today?

You let out a frustrated groan, because yes, you totally forgot. 

It does nothing to help your mood and you're starting to feel so bad about missing out on so much that's happening in Charlotte right now, what with Jake’s science fair and Lauren apparently dating someone, that it's actually making you homesick. You decide to pour yourself another glass of wine, because fuck it. 

When you close the fridge your eyes fall on a picture of you and Sebastian you've put up there and you figure maybe you should just call him. A quick glance at the clock, however, tells you it's early morning in Greece and so you forego that idea because you don't really want to wake him up with the news your ex is about to make a comeback into your life.

You are having a very ‘Woo is me’ moment and hate how alone you feel right now. You know the wine is not helping and so you dump what’s left in the glass in the kitchen sink and put the kettle on for a cup of tea instead. While the water boiling you set out to find a notebook, hoping that putting your thoughts on paper will help you figure out what it is you can do about this situation and maybe make some decisions.

You call Deb the moment you’re at your desk and she answers on the first ring.

“Tell me,” 

Never one to beat around the bush, you think, although in this case you appreciate it. “Have Mark take over San Francisco,” you tell her, “but I need him to do his homework in advance because two days is my absolute max.”

“Noted,” Deb agrees easily, “but?”

You take a deep breath, trying to calm your nerves, “I want to be able to divide my time between Charlotte and New York as I see fit, with Charlotte as my home base, at least for now. If I ever decide to move to New York I want it to be an option to turn that arrangement around-” 

“Give me two weeks once Mark has settled in-”

“-and I’d like to take four weeks of unpaid leave in August,” you add quickly, before you lose momentum. 

She sucks in her breath, “I don’t know if I can do that, kid.” 

“It’s only four weeks, Deb,” you counter, “and it’s unpaid. I still have enough days left to make it a paid vacation if that’s what you prefer.” You close your eyes and scrunch up your nose, anxious about her reply, because you’ve never really talked back to her like this before. 

Turns out there was nothing to worry about when she tells you, “Look who finally put on her big-girl panties, standing up to her boss.” She lets out a laugh, “I’m proud of ya, kid.” 

“Will you let me know when to expect Mark? I’ll make sure everything’s ready by then.”

“Yes, ma’am.” 

“It’s just,” Lauren hesitates, and you want to tell her it’s ok, that you know you haven’t been there for her as much as you should have, but she continues then, “it’s weird not having you around, not knowing what you’re up to. Not knowing if, when I call you, I’m bothering you.”

“Hey,” you counter quickly, “you are one of the few people who never have to worry about that and I’m a little shocked you would even think that. You can call me day or night, Laur, always.” 

“I know.” She sighs then, “It’s just- I feel like- I don’t know, ok? It’s just different with you being so far away for so long. I miss you.” 

“I know,” you try to smile even though she can’t see you, “I’m sorry for not being the best bestest friend these past few weeks. I miss you too, babe.” You get up from the couch and make your way onto the balcony where you lean against the railing, “Let’s just hope Mark can make it out of London soon so I can get back to Charlotte and get back to annoying you twenty-four seven.” 

She laughs, “You’re going to have to share me now, though.”

You’re relieved she seems to have accepted your apology and so you decide to tease her a little more, “You do realize the first thing I’m doing when I get back is give Matt the same stern talking-to as you did Sebastian?” 

“Oh shit,” she whispers. A little louder then, “Please don’t, I really like him.” 

“Well you better tell him then that your best friend is not above kicking his ass if he ever hurts you.”

“Will do.” She clears her throat then, “So, are you going to tell Sebastian about Mark?” 

“That was the most abrupt change of subject ever,” you scoff with a grin, “what the hell, Laur?”

“I just think you should tell him.”

“I know,” you pinch the bridge of your nose, “I will. I just want to wait until I know when Mark gets here, you know?”

“Yeah.” She lets out a yawn and laughs, “Sorry.”

“Alright, alright,” you smile, “I get the hint.” 

She laughs, “I’m sorry, babe, it’s been a long day. Listen,” another yawn, although you’re sure this one was on purpose, “let me know once you know more about Mark and when you’re getting back, ok?”

“Yup, will do.” You have to stifle your own yawn then, “Talk to you soon, babe.” 

“Love you.”

It isn’t until Friday afternoon that there’s an email from Deb, informing you Mark will take a flight from London next Wednesday so that you have all of Thursday and Friday to get him settled in. She’s included a list of subjects he wants to discuss but you decide that’s for later, before you close all active connections and shut your laptop off. You grab your phone off your desk and send a quick message to Lauren:

Coming home next weekend :)

Her reply comes when you’re at the elevator bay:

Yay! Let me know how when you land and I’ll pick you up! Xx

Your next message is to Sebastian:

Missing you something fierce, Stan! Call me when you can? X

The sound of your phone wakes you from a deep sleep early on Sunday morning, but you can’t help but smile when you see ‘Mr Smooth’ flashing on your screen and so you answer with a quiet, “Hey you.”

“God, it’s good to hear your voice again,” he whispers. “Hi, sweetheart.” 

“Hi,” 

“You ok?”

“Yeah,” you smile, “I have some news though.” There’s a knot starting to form in your stomach and so you figured it’s better to bite the bullet right away. 

“Tell me,”

“Promise you’ll let me finish before you say anything?”

“That bad?”

“Not really- I don’t know,” you push the covers off and swing your legs over the edge of the bed. You take a deep breath before you continue, “Remember when I told you about my ex, Mark?” 

“Hmm,” he replies, and you take that as your cue to continue.

“What I didn’t tell you then- And maybe I should have- We used to work together in Charlotte.” You clear your throat, “And when we broke up Deb moved him to the London office, but now she wants him to take over San Francisco from me.” You wait for a reply from him, but then remember you told him to wait and so you continue, “He starts on Thursday and we’ve scheduled two days for me to bring him up to speed, so I’m going to have to spend some time together with him and I don’t know, I just thought you should know.” You push yourself off the bed and make your way to the kitchen, “The good news though, is that I got Deb to agree to let me divide my time between Charlotte and New York from now on, and that I have four weeks off in August.”

He stays quiet for a little too long and so you’re preparing for the worst when he finally replies. But then he just says, “How do you feel about seeing him again?” and you feel a wave of relief washing over you.

“I don’t know,” you answer honestly. “I mean, I know he’s right for the job and it’s always easier to bring in someone who has experience and knows the company, but I- There’s a lot of history there and I just hope he realizes I’m not the same person anymore.” You lean against the counter and let out a sigh, “I guess I just want to get this over with and go back to Charlotte.”

“So nothing for me to worry about?” His voice is soft.

“No,” you’re quick to reassure him. 

“Good.”

Mark is, well, he’s still an asshole, you realize when he walks into your office and tries to greet you with a hug. You offer him a hand and a curt, “Hello,” and have to hide your smile when you see the disappointment in his eyes. You’ve been feeling nervous all morning, hell, all week, because somehow you knew he would try to act like nothing ever happened. 

“So this is how it’s  going to be, huh?” He says while he puts his briefcase down on one of the visitors’ chairs on the other side of your desk. 

“Yes, Mark,” you nod and sit down in your own chair, “this is exactly how it’s going to be.” You watch as he unbuttons the jacket of his three piece suit before he sits down and leans back in his chair and you hand him a folder, “Read this first, it’s an overview of the last five years and should give you a fairly good impression of how things are run here.”

He thumbs through the papers, seemingly resigned to the fact that it’s solely a business relationship between you two from now on, and you see his eyebrows go up when he comes to the financial statements, “How on earth-”

“I know,” you hand him another folder, “this is Paul Kroeger’s file. Or at least everything that I’ve managed to uncover in the few weeks I’ve been here. I really urge you to keep digging, because I’m sure more shit will come up.” 

“Why didn’t Deb step in sooner?”

“You’ll have to ask Deb that,” you offer with a shrug. Another folder then, “This is everything you need to know about the rest of the staff here. I don’t think anyone else was in on it, but again, you might want to keep digging.”

He nods, “Ok.” Taking all three folders, he puts them in his briefcase before he looks back at you, squinting a little as if he’s trying to read you. There’s a hint of a smile playing on his lips when he says, “You’ve changed.” 

And you haven’t, you want to bite back, but don’t because you want to at least try to keep things civil. Instead you simply agree, “I have.” You try to steer the conversation back to work, “We have a meeting with Finance in ten minutes, then lunch with the board, and a meeting with Sales in the afternoon. After that I figured we could take a quick tour of the building, so you can meet everyone, and then I’ll send out the official message to all of our partners.”

He just nods.

“I’ll make sure to have this office empty by the end of the day so you can get settled in,” you continue, “and then I’ll be available all day tomorrow should you have any further questions.” 

“You forgot one thing,”

You don’t say anything and just look at him with a raised eyebrow. 

A cocky smile flashes across his face when he says, “You forgot to mention we’ll be having dinner tonight so we-”

“We’re not having dinner tonight, Mark,” you say, effectively cutting him off. It makes you feel good to tell him no and so you have to try your hardest to hide your smile when you see his face drop. 

“You really have changed,” he says again, but this time there’s a hint of dismay in his voice.

You smile widely now, because fuck him, “Yes. I really have.”

Blame it on the red-eye flight and thus having to get up extremely early this morning, or simply on the fact that it’s been five weeks since you last saw her, but you find yourself actually tearing up when you walk out of exit E and see Lauren waiting there for you. 

She holds out her arms as you walk up to her and then envelopes you in a tight hug, “Don’t cry, silly.” 

“I just really missed you,” you sniffle while you wrap your arms around her. “And it’s that time of the month, so you know,” you chuckle through your tears, “double the fun.” When you pull back you see her eyes are glossed over as well and so you just stick out your tongue at her, “Let’s go home.” 

“Alright,” she says once you’re in her car, “start talking, babe. I want to know everything that’s happened since I last saw you.”

You’ve just finished telling her about your parents’ visit to San Francisco and your trip to Greece when she pulls up on your driveway and so all of a sudden you’re home again after almost two months. The garden looks absolutely immaculate and you know you have your parents to thank for that, reminding yourself to call them later today. Grabbing your suitcases out the trunk you let Lauren take one from your as you follow her to your house.

She turns around rather dramatically when you get to the front door, “Ok. So. Please don’t be mad, but-” she pulls a face, “-that plant in your dining room?” 

“Felicity?”

“Sure, yeah,” she scoffs, “name your plants. What’s next? Naming your electrical appliances?”

“You’re just stalling because Felicity the Fiddle Leaf Fig is obviously no longer with us and you’re just too afraid to admit you killed her,” you counter, trying to keep a straight face.

“I didn’t-” Lauren hesitates then and seems to realize you’re just messing with her, “but yes. Felicity has gone to plant heaven. It was all very sad. I buried her in the backyard if you want to pay your respects.” 

You let out a laugh, “I’d rather you just open the front door for me so we can have a drink and gossip about Mark.”

“You really said that?” 

“I really did,” you admit with a smile, thinking back to when you told Mark to have a nice life when you left the office Friday afternoon. You grab the bottle of wine from off the floor next to you and top of her glass before you fill yours, “I don’t know. In a way those two days gave me some sort of closure, I guess.”

“Hmm,” she agrees, taking a sip of her wine. “So what’s next?”

“Well first you’re going to introduce me to Matt sometime this week-”

“Babe.”

“Babe,” you echo. “You’ve been dating for almost a month, do I need to remind you that you met Sebastian before we even were officially dating?”

“Yeah, ok,” she agrees, “I guess you could both come over for dinner next weekend.” She sits up a little, “So you’re going to be here for a while, right?”

You nod, “Sort of. I go back to work on Monday and then Sebastian’s scheduled to fly back on the third and that’s the same weekend I start my four-week leave-”

“That’s only two more weeks.”

“It is,” you smile. “I don’t know if he wants to celebrate his birthday here or if he wants to go to New York, and I think he said something about maybe taking a short holiday somewhere, but his next project starts in September so I’ll come back to Charlotte then and probably stay here while he’s away.” 

“Ugh,” Lauren rolls her eyes and shakes her head but smiles, “to be the girlfriend of an international superstar.” 

“Tante!” Jake exclaims when he opens the front door. He all but jumps in your arms to give you a hug.

“Uh, excuse me, sir,” you tease, resisting the hug, “who are you and what did you do with my nephew?” You laugh when he pulls a face, “You are getting too big, kiddo, slow it down a little, will you?” 

Jake giggles and hugs you even tighter. 

“Ah, there she is,” Nathan says from the doorway, arms crossed in front of his chest, “my long-lost sister. So glad you're finally gracing us with your presence after coming back home a week ago.” 

“So dramatic,” you counter with a grin, although he has a point. You should have gone to see them sooner, but as always work got in the way, what with Deb doubling your workload before you take your leave in another two weeks. Jake jumps out of your arms then and so you get to hug your brother for the first time in what feels like forever, ‘“ Hi, Nate.”

“Hi, loser,” he says from somewhere over your shoulder, but the way he holds you tight tells you he’s missed you too. 

“How you holding up?”

“Good,” he pulls back and smiles, “still some headaches every now and then, but not as much as two months ago-”

“That’s good,” you agree. You follow them through the house and out into the backyard, where Jake excitedly shows you the inflatable swimming pool he and Nathan put up yesterday. Sitting down on one of the chairs you watch him as he takes off his shirt and jumps in without hesitation. 

Nathan re-emerges from the kitchen with some iced tea and hands you a glass before he sits down somewhere next to you. He flicks your upper arm, “You good?”

You nod, “Yeah.” 

“Truth?”

“Truth,” you reply with a nod. “Why?”

“I don’t know,” he shrugs, “a lot has happened in a short time, I guess.” 

This is new, you think, this out-in-the-open caring side of your brother. You decide you like it and so you try not to make a smart remark but instead reassure him, “I’m good.”

“You sure?”

“Nate, what are you getting at?” You’re confused now, because why is he pressing this? 

He hangs his head and lets out a sigh, “I guess you haven’t seen it yet, have you?”

“I’m not-” you watch him as he gets his phone and pulls up something that has his jaw set in a way that tells you whatever it is, it’s not good. He hands you his phone then and you let out a quiet, “Oh,” when you see the pictures.

“I figured that’s why you were here,” he says with a nod towards his phone.

"When?"

"Saw them this morning," he offers.

You scroll further down and feel your throat go dry when you see picture after picture of Sebastian and some girl, her hand on his arm as she seems to whisper something in his ear. He’s laughing in some of the pictures and if you didn’t know any better you’d think they were on a date. 

“Is that his co-star?” Nate asks quietly, knowing that if it is the pictures could have been taken on set and it wouldn’t be as bad. 

Not trusting your voice right now you just shake your head because no. No, it isn’t. 

“I’m sure it’s nothing, babe,” Lauren tries again, but she sounds a little less confident now that she’s seen the pictures and read the accompanying article about Sebastian’s new mystery woman where they claim she’s a Greek local he fell for while filming ‘Monday’.

You drove straight to her house when you left Nathan’s in a hurry, but only after you promised him you wouldn’t do anything reckless, and now you’re on her balcony, trying to make sense of all of this over some hard liquor because you both deemed wine wasn’t going to cut it. 

She says something else then, but you’re not really listening and so you just continue to stare into the distance. She nudges you with her foot, “Call him.” 

You shake your head, “I don’t want to.” 

“Why not?”

You look at her with tears in your eyes, your voice barely above a whisper, “What if it’s true?”